A child is a mandate and a give from God. In his or her own there is dignity and
prestige as a whole human being, and a child is also a ray of hope, a potency and
young generation who will continue the aspiration of the nation. Because of this a
child should get a chance as large as possible to grow and to develop physically,
mentally and socially as optimally as possible and to be a person who has glorious
character (morals). In developing his potency a child needs protection. This
protection, for example, can be given by a police to the child as a victim of physical
harshness at school. In doing this job a police often finds obstacles. In composing the
writing about law the writer uses normative observation, that is by studying the
current law. The protection that is given by the police to the child as the victim of the
physical harshness at school is by providing a certain place for him and giving special
protection to children that is facing law. So the person who maintain law, in
executing the problem of harness to a child as a victim of physical harshness must
pay attention to the rights of the child and the good interest for the child, so the
principle for the good sake of the child as it is explained in the law number 23 of
2002 about child Protection can be done.


The reactions of the bulky phosphines Mes3P or (otol)3P with AlX3 (X = I, Br, Cl) and CO2 are probed and shown to give complexes of the form Mes3PC(OAlX3)2 (X = I (3), Br (4), Cl (5)) and (otol)3PC(OAlI3)2 (6). The former compounds under CO2 are further transformed to Mes3PC(OAlX2)2OAlX3 (X = I (8), Br (10)) and [Mes3PX][AlX4] (X = I (9), Br (11)). These latter reactions are thought to proceed via dissociation of alane, as evidenced by the generation of (otol)3PC(OAl(C6F5)3) from (otol)3PC(OAl(C6F5)3)2 (7) and the isolation of (otol)3PC(O)OAl(OC(CF3)3)3 (15). Subsequent insertion of CO2 into the Al–X bond is evidenced by the characterization of [(C6F5)C(O)OAl(C6F5)2]2 (14) from the reaction of Al(C6F5)3 and CO2. The isolation of Al(C6F5)3·2(C6H5Br) (16) also suggests dissociation of Al(C6F5)3 from 7 may be facilitated by interactions with solvent. Kinetics of the formation of 8/9 from 3 show the reaction is first order in 3 and CO2 and the rate-determining step involves an associative process. A mechanism...


AVIAN FAUNA ACROSS THE ECOSYSTEM GRADIENT OF KALIKASAN FOREST PARK AND BICOL UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS Jocelyn E. Serrano* 1 , Jonathan Jaime G. Guerrero 1 , Josiah David G. Quimpo 2 , Giovani C. Andes 1 ,Erwin N. Banares 1 , and Mheljor A. General 1 1Bicol University College of Science Department of Biology, Legazpi City 2Haribon Foundation *corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com ABSTRACT Avian diversity was documented within the Kalikasan Park and Bicol University Main Campus adjacent ecosystems. A total of 44 species were recorded with thirteen as Philippine endemics. Bird species assemblage was higher inn the forest fragment as compared with the main campus area. No species was recorded under the IUCN red list. The study recommends that Bicol University Main campus be transformed into an avian buffer and safe zone for the protection and conservation of these species. Keywords: Birds, Avian, Bicol University, Kalikasan Park, Diversity


Maintenance of a sustainable clean water supply is critical for our future. However, watershed degradation is a common phenomenon around the world that leads to poor water quality. In order to protect water resources, the Watershed Forest Management Information System (WFMIS), was developed as an extension of ArcGIS and is described in this paper. There are three submodels to address nonpoint source pollution mitigation, road system management, and silvicultural operations, respectively. The Watershed Management Priority Indices (WMPI) is a zoning approach to prioritize critical areas for conservation and restoration management. It meets the critical need to spatially differentiate land cover and site characteristics within a watershed to quantify their relative influence on overall water quality. The Forest Road Evaluation System (FRES) is a module to evaluate road networks in order to develop preventive management strategies. The Harvest Schedule Review System (HSRS) is a module to analyze and evaluate multi-year and multi-unit forest harvesting to assist in the reduction of impact on water yield and associated changes in water quality. The WFMIS utilizes commonly available spatial data and has user friendly interfaces to assist foresters and planners to manage watersheds in an environmentally healthy way. Application examples of each submodel are presented. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Software availability Name of software: Watershed Forest Management Information System (WFMIS) Developed by: Yanli Zhang Contact information: The Watershed Exchange and Technology Partnership, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA Tel.: þ1 413 545 4358 Fax: þ1 413 545 4853 Email: email@example.com Availability: free at http://www.wetpartnership.org/software_ downloads1.html Available since: June 2006 Learning materials at: http://www.wetpartnership.org/ softwareapps.html Software required: ArcGIS 9.0 and up with Spatial Analyst extension.


In this paper, an advanced inference and defuzzification strategy is proposed yielding a higher level of transparency compared with the commonly used methods. This enables a straightforward design of fuzzy controllers. Applying the new strategy, a rule error function is determined for each rule which evaluates the values of the output variable with regard to their fitness as the controller output. The sum of all rule error functions which is called rule base error, contains the complete information about all rules and membership functions. This allows a systematic defuzzification by minimizing the rule base error


Conclusions 1. In the early gastrula of the anuran Hyla regilla the inductor of the neural plate is localized approximately in the dorsal lip region of the mesodermal band, that is, it extends about 45° on either side of the dorsal mid-line. 2. The tail-forming potencies are localized in the lateral and ventro-lateral regions of the mesoderm, with the higher percentage of tails developing from the ventro-lateral regions after implantation. The dorsal and the ventral lip mesoderm do not form tails after implantation. 3. The present results show that the anuran Hyla has distinct differences in the localization of certain developmental capacities as compared to the eggs of urodeles. Both the neural inductor and the tail mesoderm have a more limited meridional extent in Hyla.


A series of polyhalogenated monoterpenes have been isolated from the New Zealand marine red alga Plocamium cartilagineum (L.) Dixon. These findings are in contrast to the previously reported finding of a hydroxy bisnor monoterpene from a morphologically similar sample of P. cartilagineum collected from the same area.


Abstract Exploration activity over the last three years has outlined a hydrocarbon bearing province of carbonate buildups of Miocene age in Mobil's North Sumatra offshore area (NSO). Major activity concentrated on some 2,000 square kilometers of the Sunda/Malacca Shelf on the eastern flank of the North Sumatra Basin (NSB). In 1972, a significant gas discovery (NSB–A1) in 357 feet of water established the presence of reefs. NSB–H1 drilled in 1979 tested the first black oil in the Malacca Straits and prompted increased activity. Detailed seismic mapping in 1979–81 revealed more than 70 carbonate buildups. Within this reef area, four oil and four gas discoveries resulted from the drilling of 12 wildcats in the last three years. Most carbonate buildups are pinnacle-like reefs, with up to 1,100 feet of vertical and 3,000 acres of areal closure, located on basement highs and commonly with an underlying and/or interbedded clastic sequence of variable thickness. Mounded form and distinct lateral variation in seismic character together with termination of events on the flanks and drape in shallower beds define the structures. Reservoir properties are due to original sedimentary environments overprinted by diagenetic facies. Current carbonate porosities range up to 30 percent. Dissolution, recrystallization, chalkification and dolomitization have significant effects. Dolomitization is commonly selective but can be pervasive, both increasing and decreasing porosity. Fracturing is indicated by lost circulation while drilling, in cores, on logs, and by test data. Commercial gas and oil reserves have been established and various production systems are currently being studied. Flow rates up to 11 MMCFD were tested from the gas reservoirs which are normally pressured. The gas contains up to 1.5 percent H2S and 31 percent CO2. Development of the sour gas will require dehydration and compression facilities plus a 100 km pipeline to the LNG plant at Lho Seumawe. High gravity, low pour point crude oil flowed at rates up to 5,600 BOPD in the NSB–L1 well. Current plans for the oil discoveries envisage a floating oil production system utilizing subsea completions, a test barge, single point mooring (SPM) loading and tanker storage.


One of the directions addressed by the SmartCity concept is traffic management. The growth of the population and of the number of cars in urban areas requires traffic management in order to reduce fuel loss, exhaust emissions, to eliminate time consuming bottlenecks, in other words, to increase the quality of life. The detection of vehicles on the road has been a concern for many researches. Methods of detection were developed based on different types of sensors or devices. Herein is presented an attempt to use a relatively new method of detection based on the measurement of the disturbance of Earth's magnetic field by metallic vehicles. The goal of the work was to design, produce and test the prototype of a vehicle detection module based on a magnetic sensor with very low power consumption and an increased range length of data transmission over wireless radiofrequency link. In order to meet the goals, the prototype was built on the basis of a very low power microcontroller and on the new long range low power technology, LoRa. The tests have been focused on finding the proper algorithm in order to obtain the best accuracy of vehicle detection and lowest power consumption.


[Objection] To describe a technique of completely laparoscopic radical correction of gastric distal end carcinoma.[Method] 16 patients of gastric distal end carcinoma received totally laparoscopic gastric radical correction from 2000.4 to 2006.3.[Result] Operations were successfully done for 13 patients.3 cases were reversed into open surgery because carcinoma offended environment.3 cases received laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the same time.The operative time ranged from 250 to 300 min,the blood loss was 10 to 160 mL.The average time of intestinal function recovery was 2.3 days.The hospital stay ranged from 8 to 15 days.3 patients had 1 or 3 positive lymph nodes of No.1.1 case had 36 positive lymph nodes of No.1 and No.2 in signet-ring cell carcinoma of sinus ventriculi.Postoperative follow-up were 2~60 months in 13 cases.Only 1 case succumbed to pulmonary metastasis after 18 months,others were no complications and relapse(the average of live is 21months).[Conclusion] The completely laparoscopic radical correction of gastric distal end carcinoma was safe and effective for gastric distal end carcinoma with the advantages rapid recovery and short hospitalization.It's worth to further research.


Normal 0 21 false false false ES X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normal Tablo"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} Due to global warming, environmental pollution and cost reduction, increasing efficiency of electricity conversion has become a key issue for the offshore market. This paper proposes an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), which uses heat waste from exhaust gases of an FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading unit) as heating source, and deep ocean water as cooling source. A genetic algorithm optimization was conducted targeting maximization of net power output, by taking in to consideration of 23 working fluids. Expander inlet temperature and pressure were set as independent variables. The analysis encompasses subcritical or supercritical conditions and recuperation was included in a second version of the system as an option. The first configuration presented ethanol as optimal fluid, followed by toluene and the second configuration indicated cyclohexane followed by ethanol. Use of recuperation, when feasible, increased power output specially for cycles operating with dry and isentropic fluids, presenting an average contribution of 22.7%. Net power and efficiency results from ORC using deep sea water in condenser were presented and compared with ORC using shallow ocean water as cooling source and with Carnot efficiency operating under the same temperatures. Use of deep water raised net power output by 23.3% (cyclohexane recuperative ORC) and 12.5% (ethanol non-recuperative ORC) for the optimal configurations.


Spinal motor neurons (MNs) are susceptible to glutamatergic excitotoxicity, an effect associated with lumbar MN degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MN susceptibility to environmental toxicant exposure, one prospective contributor to sporadic ALS, has not been systematically studied. The goal of this study was to test the ability of a well-known environmental neurotoxicant to induce hyperexcitability in mouse lumbar MNs. Methylmercury (MeHg) causes neurotoxicity through mechanisms involving elevated intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), a hallmark of excitotoxicity. We tested whether acute exposure to MeHg induces hyperexcitability in MNs by altering synaptic transmission, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings of lumbar spinal MNs in vitro. Acute MeHg exposure (20 μM) led to an increase in the frequency of both spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSCs) and miniature EPSCs. The frequency of inhibitory post-synaptic currents (IPSCs) was also increased by MeHg. Action potential firing rates, both spontaneous and evoked, were increased by MeHg, despite increases in both EPSCs and IPSCs, indicating a shift toward hyperexcitability. Also consistent with hyperexcitability, fluo4AM microfluorimetry indicated that MeHg exposure induced an increase in [Ca2+]i. Spinal cord hyperexcitability is partially mediated by Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors, as MeHg-dependent increases in EPSCs were blocked by 1-napthyl spermine (NAS). Therefore, spinal MNs appear highly susceptible to MeHg exposure, leading to significant increases in spontaneous network excitability and disruption of normal function. Prolonged hyperexcitability could lead to eventual neurodegeneration and loss of motor function as observed in spinal cord after MeHg exposure in vivo and may contribute to MeHg-induced acceleration of ALS symptoms.


This article discusses the dynamics of collective bargaining in the management of restructuring, drawing on the example of the banking sector in France, Luxembourg and Romania. We show that the organized decentralization of the corporatist or statist models of France and Luxembourg helped sustain employment relations systems and cushion crisis effects. Bargaining outcomes included internal mobility and training. In Romania, by contrast, disorganized decentralization meant that solutions were left to the company level and to market forces.


For flows past a cylinder with a transversely oscillatory external forcing, a rapid phase change of during synchronization has been noted in experimental studies in both laminar and turbulent regimes. In the present analysis, the Stuart — Landau (SL) model that was validated in unforced vortex shedding proves to be a feasible way in predicting this phase change. In addition, using this model other phenomena observed in experimental studies are also noted. These include the possible occurrence of hysteresis, and the broadening of frequency range undergoing phase change with the increase of forcing amplitude.


The invention discloses an electronic device on-off control device and an electronic device. The on-off control device comprises a signal control module and a power control module, the power control module is provided with a power input port P1, a power output port P3, a signal detection port P2 and a control signal input port P4, a signal detection port of the signal control module is connected with the signal detection port P2 of the power control module, and a control signal output port of the signal control module is connected with the control signal input port P4 of the power control module. The power control module comprises a field-effect transistor Q2, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, a touch switch S5, a sixth diode D6, a seventh diode D7 and a triode Q1. By the aid of the technical scheme, the problem that an existing electronic product still has power loss in a sleep mode can be solved.


In this paper, an efficient calculation approach on radiation pattern of conformal array antenna is presented by using far-field data of antenna element. To demonstrate the computational accuracy of the proposed method, a 16-element cylindrical array antenna is simulated as an example. And the simulated results are compared with those of HFSS. Then the performance of the virtual phase shifting technology for cylindrical array is investigated. Finally, the effects of the attenuation accuracy of attenuator and the bit number of digital phase shifter on the radiation pattern of cylindrical array antenna, including beam granularity and pointing accuracy, are discussed.


The practice of using neurotechnologies for commercial purposes is new today and begins to be actively introduced all over the world. In particular, in recent years such practice has spread in Russia, as a result of which the number of neuromarketing agencies and their clients is increasing. This trend is accompanied by numerous studies confirming the economic efficiency of this tool. At the same time, the direction connected with the study of the ethics of neurotechnology was formed in the scientific literature. Currently, due to the ethical problems of neurotechnology, it is legally prohibited in France and causes a mixed reaction in European society as a whole. However, studies do not provide quantitative data on the negative opinion of consumers, which may lead to a ban on the development of neurotechnologies in Russia. This article made a comprehensive assessment of the views of Russian consumers on the practice of using neurotechnologies for commercial purposes. The study analyzed the awareness of Russian consumers, the quality of knowledge about neurotechnologies and their own consumer behavior, attitudes towards the use of neurotechnologies. Consumer opinion is analyzed to determine the risk associated with public discontent, prejudice to the introduction of neurotechnologies. The result of the research is the determination of possible threats to the development of neurotechnologies from public opinion. The results of the study showed that the risk of legislative prohibition of neurotechnologies as a result of public discontent and low consumer rating in terms of compliance with the ethics of this tool in Russia is significantly overestimated by the authors of modern research and the media. In fact, consumers are tolerant of this tool, without showing active discontent or fear. The study allows us to conclude about the long-term relevance of the data.


The paper discusses two scenarios for a Third World War in Europe, and argues that it is often convenient to supplement a scenario by a formal model. The problems of creating such a model are examined, and a model is formulated for land, air, and sea combat in Europe and the Atlantic, using the System Dynamics approach, which has not hitherto been widely employed for military analysis. The model conflrms the results of the two scenarios, and its use for the analysis of alternative force configurations is illustrated. Some implications in the interpretation of Soviet military literature are discussed, and the paper ends with speculations on the role and value of such models.


The Beckenstein-Hawking formula for black hole entropy indicates that black holes have the highest possible entropy density in the universe. This suggests that, in addition to increasing entropy by its inexorable expansion, the universe can also increase it by creating more black holes. And one way to accomplish this would be to have the gravitational 'constant' ('Big G') increase with time. This paper explores how the dynamic of these two competing entropic processes might play out, how 'Big G' might vary with time, and where to look for evidence.


Constipation is one major complaint in elderly population. It may be due to physiological and anatomical reasons of aging, but it can be also due chronic medical and mental illnesses and due to use of multiple medications. Constipation itself is a precipitating factor for delirium. Drugs used for constipation can also be the culprit. A 64-year-old female who had a history of hypertension and chronic constipation presented with symptoms of confused and altered behavior, decreased oral intake, decreased sleep. On history taking it was known that she was using Herbal medication containing senna glycoside and other compounds since 8-9months. On examination she had signs of dehydration, disoriented and attention was impaired. On investigation her serum sodium was 122.6 mmol/ and other investigations were within normal limits. She was diagnosed as a case of Delirium according to ICD-10 criteria. Her dehydration was corrected by giving intravenous fluids and serum sodium level was corrected using salt capsules 2 tablets thrice daily. For disturbed sleep she was prescribed Tab Melatonin 10mg at bedtime and constipation was treated with per rectal enema and syrup lactulose 30ml at bedtime. Patient improved in 1 week time. Senna a herbal laxative used to treat constipation. It can alter intestinal electrolyte transportation and irritates intestinal mucosa. It is due to increased peristalsis and increased defecation and even diarrhea Prolonged use can cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and delirium. Senna, an over-the-counter laxative with FDA approval is a matter of concern in the current scenario. This case report warns into the judicious use of laxatives containing senna in elderly population.

Key words: Delirium, Herbal Laxative, Senna, Constipation.


Objective To explore the effects of intravenous phosphate replacement therapy to the weaning off mechanical ventilators and the prognosis of mechanical-ventilated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) patients.Methods 64 mechanical-ventilated COPD patients were divided into two treatment groups perspectively.In the control group,30 cases were treated by routine therapies and mechanical ventilations,without correcting hypophosphatemia.In the therapeutic group,34 cases were managed by intravenous infusions of potassium hydrogen phosphate,in addition to routine therapies and mechanical ventilations,and blood levels of phosphate were monitored.The parental phosphate supplements were discontinued when blood level of phosphate rose to 0.65 mmol/L and normal blood phosphate levels were maintained.Results Comparing with control group,the successful rate of weaning off mechanical ventilators was higher(47.1% to23.3%,P0.05),the weaning time was shorter[(5.2±1.8)d to(9.2±1.6)d,P0.01],the incidence of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS) was lower(32.4% to 60.0%,P0.05),and the mortality rate was lower(29.4% to 56.7%,P0.05) in therapeutic group.Conclusions Aggressive phosphate repletion for mechanical-ventilated COPD patients with hypophosphatemia shows positive significance for enhancing the successful rate of weaning off mechanical ventilators and decreasing the incidence of MODS.It should be emphasized clinically.


An aneurysmal cyst of the proximal tibia recurred twice after a surgical procedure of curettage and cancellous bone graft. PEMF stimulation was used and after 4 months of electrical stimulation bone healing was obtained. No recurrence was observed in a 2-year follow-up.


One of the main arguments against increased immigration is that it puts pressure on public services, by 'crowding out' other parts of the population. Using evidence from Germany and the UK, Jonathan Wadsworth investigates immigrants' use of health services, finding that while there may be some difference in health outcomes, immigrants do not use health services substantially more than the native-born population.


This thesis examines if there are any differences depending on gender in interpretation of the procedural requirement "socially destructive behaviour" in the LVU. Furthermore, if ethics and expectations about gender influence transpiracy and legal certainty in these cases.
The purpose is to find out if there are moral codes and expectations about how a girl or a boy should behave, which are not attended as guidelines for interpretation, which inflicts upon the investigations in LVU.
The major questions are: Does application of the law and legal certainty differ based on gender in interpretation of the procedural requirement "socially destructive behaviour" in the LVU?
Does codes and expectations, beyond the ones expressed in the legislative framework rules, influence the application of the law?
To find answers to these questions I have studied theoretic models about law, codes and morality and also by performing interviews with rapporteurs at different Swedish administrative courts.
The analysis result shows that different expectations about how boys and girls should behave inflicts on the application of the law and also on legal certainty. There are special codes for girls according to sexual behaviour which are historically accepted in the moral codes of society. These codes becomes a part of the application even though they are not expressed in the legislative framework.


As the first spacecraft to achieve orbit at Saturn in 2004, Cassini has collected science data throughout its four year prime mission (2004–2008) and has since been approved for a first and second extended mission through September 2017. Cassini uses reaction wheels to achieve the spacecraft pointing stability that is needed during imaging operations of several science instruments. The Cassini flight software makes in-flight estimates of reaction wheel bearing drag torque and made them available to the mission operations team. In trending these telemetry data (for the purpose of monitoring the long-term health of the reaction wheel bearings), anomalous drag torque signatures have been observed over the past 15 years. One of these anomalous drag conditions is bearing cage instability that appeared (and disappeared) spontaneously and unpredictably. Cage instability is an uncontrolled vibratory motion of the bearing cage that can produce high-impact forces internal to the bearing, which will cause intermitte...


INFORMAS Food Labelling Module - Monitoring health-related labeling and promotional characters/premium offers on foods and non-alcoholic beverages in retail outlets.


After the independence of the Republic of Croatia was declared in 1991, the newly-formed national postal and telecommunications company HPT (Croatian Post and Telecommunications) found itself in an unenviable position. Croatia was in the group of countries at the forefront of telecommunications development in Europe. In 1990, it had only 17 telephone connections per 100 inhabitants. However, in the next eight years it moved closer to the European average, doubling its capacity to 35 telephone lines per 100 inhabitants by 1999. It did so despite the devastation of the Homeland War and the enormous damage suffered by its public telephone network. Croatia managed to negate the telecommunications blockade by finding alternative telecommunication routes, and then set out to build an efficient telephony and transmission system based on the use of fibre-optic cables and modern switching equipment. By the end of 1993, international switching hubs in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Đakovo using AXE 10 technology were built, and the following year cities on the Croatian Adriatic coast were connected with cities in continental Croatia by fibre-optic cable. During this process, Croatia received its one-millionth telephone subscriber. Thanks to its participation in the TEL (Trans Europe Line) project, it became part of the telecommunication bridge between Eastern and Western Europe. In addition to the fixed public telephone network, it simultaneously developed a mobile public telephone network, first an analogue mobile network aptly named MOBITEL in 1991, and then the CRONET digital mobile network in 1996. These steps resulted in a significant increase in telephone traffic and the widespread availability of fixed and mobile telephone connections, which completely revolutionised public telephony in Croatia.


Glycoprtein from Chinese yam purified by DEAE-cellulose 52. It was successful to obtain one fraction GLP by the step gradient elution. GLP was further purified by Sephadex G-75. TLC was applied to identify the purity of the GLP. The molecular weight of GLP measured by Sephadex G-75 is 89381 D. The experimental result of TLC revealed that the monosac-charide components of GLP are L-galactose, D-glucose and D-mannose. GLP is confirmed by its characteristic absorption peak of infrared spectrum.


Cites a number of brackish to lacustrine formations, of Liassic, uppermost Jurassic, and Neocomian (Cretaceous) age, which contain crustacean coprolites (mainly in Aquitaine, France, and north Africa).


Inkjet printing has been demonstrated to be able to print all materials required for integrated circuits at low costs when compared to conventional silicon processing. With the advent of organic electronics, a wide range of materials became available and the fabrication of devices with unique properties for interfacing with biology is now possible. One important example is the use of conducting polymer coatings on metal electrodes that are implanted in the central nervous system, which provides electrical stimulation of neurons. This work reports on the fabrication of biocompatible organic devices by means of inkjet printing with a novel combination of materials. The devices were fabricated on Parylene C (PaC), a biocompatible, flexible polymer substrate. The contact tracks were printed using a silver nanoparticle ink, while the active sites were inkjet printed using a poly (3,4ethylenedioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) solution. To insulate the final device, a polyimide ink was used to print a thick film, leaving small opened windows upon the active sites. Electrical characterization of the final device and evaluation of its interface with biology (cells culture assays) were performed. The results show that inexpensive and biocompatible devices can be produced by direct writing without any pre-patterning or self-alignment techniques using organic inks.


Because of the complex terrain structure in the off road environments, and the lack of mobility of traditional multi-wheeled tracked robots, a novel $6 \times 6$ wheeled-track unmanned robot (6-WTU) is designed in this study. we describes a large spatial region mobility prediction method for the robot (>5×5km2). For more accurate and efficient prediction of the robot's mobility in off-road environments. We used the Ordinary Kriging method to refine the digital elevation map (DEM), however, before the interpolation, we compared three sampling methods, and selected the optimal sampling method by comparing the semi-variogram to reduce the calculation of the interpolation. After the reconstruction of the DEM. The GO/NOGO map was generated by combining the terrain features and the kinematic limits of the robot. To further demonstrate the validity of the mobility prediction proposed in this paper, the path planning algorithms of two strategies were used, and the effectiveness of the mobility prediction was verified by simulation experiments.


International trade by multinational company can result in risk borne by the company. Foreign exchange rate fluctuation risk is the biggest rist that affect international trading activity. Therefore to reduce that risk, the company using hedging policy as risk management. This study is aimed to analyse the impact of leverage , firm size, and profitability of the hedging decision using derivative instruments in manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2013 until 2017.  Sampling using purposive sampling techniques and according to the criteria established company obstained 107 sample and 535 dirm year observation. Logistic regression techniques was used to test this research. The result of this study indicates that variables debt to equity ratio as a proxy for leverage has a positive and significant effect on hedging activites, variables  Ln(total asset) as a proxy for firn size has a positive and significant effect on hedging activities, and return on asset as proxy for profitability has a posistive and significant on hedging activities.
     Key Word: leverage, firm size, profitability, hedging.


The goal of this thesis is stating the place for the concept of humanitarian intervention in international system which necessitates a holistic approach for both right of sovereignty and human rights. We tried to determine the place of human rights as a rising value and forcing power behind the change in principles of classic sovereignty right like no-interfere to the internal affairs, independency and equality in nation state system. Classic sovereignty right approach sees a state's all behaviors to their own citizens as an internal affair. Acceptance of human rights as internal affairs have caused increase in human rights violation in time. This situation displayed the inadequacy of assurance provided by nation states for protection of human rights and necessity for international community to take action in violation cases for preventing persecutions. In this case, international community faced with sovereignty rights of nation states as a norm which makes them immune against international intervention and limits the required actions. Nation states are immune from foreign intervention because of sovereignty right as a basic principle of international law but action of persecution on their citizens and on their sovereign lands requires a rethinking and new interpretation of sovereignty right in context of human rights. In fact, human rights are a subject of debate since ancient times in the context of natural rights. However, human rights as a criterion of legitimacy of states internally and externally is a new subject. This new situation is a result of developments in human rights approach which caused change in definition of classic sovereignty. There are two important result of consideration of human rights as criterion for legitimacy of states. The first one is that, if a state does not have legitimacy it will lose its statehood. The second one is that if a political unit loses its statehood it also will lose the rights which are directly related to statehood. Among these rights, sovereignty right is the first comer. If a state lost its sovereignty right and do some violation of human rights, international community can resort force to prevent human right violation in the sovereign land of this state. The intervention of international community to the internal affairs of a state for prevention of serious human rights violation is the main logic of humanitarian intervention. Even tough, humanitarian intervention seems very rational in the framework of this logic, many claim that, humanitarian interventions can drug international community into anarchy and it is not in the framework of agreed international law. The jus cognes article of UN Charter which used as a reference by international lawyers, prohibits the individual power use and this is the main evidence of being unlawful of humanitarian intervention. Who believe the humanitarian intervention will drug international community into anarchy act based on the idea of sovereignty right being main principle behind international order. Both of these approaches show that no state can act on its own to intervene another state's internal affairs based on its understanding of humanitarian intervention. Otherwise, states will act individually and caused international anarchy without considering the related UN Charter, prohibition of individual power use. International community is mature enough to rise its voice when there are serious human rights violations. In addition to this, both sides who believe the necessity of humanitarian intervention and possible harm caused by humanitarian intervention have rightful reasons. However, global developments in understanding of human rights make validity of definition for classic sovereignty almost impossible. States are being hold responsible for their actions in human rights area as a result of mentioned developments. Mechanisms to question and if it is required intervene states in case of they do not fulfill responsibility properly are continuing to developed by international community.


Objective To study the protective function of estradiol after cerebral ischemia reperfusion and its effect on the expression of GDNF.Methods Rat cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established with suture emboli method to observe infarction volumes and the score of neurological behavior and the expression of GDNF.Results Compared with pure ischemia-reperfusion injured group,estradiol treatment group showed significant decrease of the score of neurological behavior,as well as cerebral infarction volumes was reduced significantly.In the injured cortex,the expression of GDNF were up-regulated significantly at 24 h after reperfusion(P0.05).Conclusions Estradiol has significantly cerebral protective effect and can induce upregulation of GDNF expression.


nursing. By action of the House of Delegates the American Nurses' Association is committed to promoting legislation (federal, state, and local), which will provide financial aid for the expansion and improvement of nursing education programs, basic professional, advanced professional, and practical nursing education programs. The American Nurses' Association recognizes the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses as the official national organization of practical nurses and has developed certain relationships with that group. A member of the ANA serves on the Advisory Council of NFLPN. State nurses associations have encouraged and assisted practical nurses to form organizations of their own and have developed relationships with these organizations on a state and local level which have been very helpful in working on common problems. Further evidence that the American Nurses' Association recognizes the necessary role of the practical nurse in today's health services lies in the fact that the services of the ANA Professional Counseling and Placement Service are made available to practical nurses and employers seeking their services. To provide a more complete service to their communities many official professional registries conducted by district nurses associations serve qualified practical nurse registrants. Through this kind of service a qualified professional nurse eg strar selects the cases to which the practical nurse is assigned and the fees charged by registrants are commensurate with the type of service that is given. The increasing use of nonprofessional workers in nursing has been one outcome of the expansion of health services and of necessary changes in the character of those services. Rapidly increasing numbers of practical nurses, nursing aides, and other auxiliary workers in nursing services have brought problems for all the groups concerned. Functions must be reallocated. Adequate supervision of nonprofessional workers must be provided. Means must be found for the public, and for their co-workers, to readily identify the registered professional nurse, the practical nurse, and the nursing aide. Economic problems must be dealt with. Licensing laws must be changed to provide the public a greater measure of protection. These problems, and others relating to nonprofessional workers in nursing, command the attention of members of the American Nurses' Association. Registered professional nurses working through their own district, state, and national organization will continue to foster high standards of nurse practice and to promote the welfare of nurses to the end that all people may have better nursing care.


The invention relates to an oil gas recovery device, which mainly solves the problem in the prior art that the oil gas recovery efficiency is low, the recovery cost is high, and the service life of an adsorbing agent is short. The oil gas recovery device provided by the invention comprises at least two adsorption tanks (13) and (14), a vacuum pump (2), a control system (18), an oil storing tank (1), electromagnetic valves and temperature-measuring elements, wherein the oil storing tank (1) is provided with an oil inlet pipeline (19) and an oil gas discharging pipeline (20); the oil gas discharging pipeline (20) is connected with electromagnetic valves (3) and (4) on inlet pipelines of the adsorption tanks (13) and (14), outlet pipelines of the adsorption tanks (13) and (14) are provided with electromagnetic valves (15) and (16) and are respectively connected with a discharge outlet (17), and each temperature-measuring element, each electromagnetic valve and the vacuum pump (2) are all connected with the control system (18). According to the technical scheme, the oil gas recovery device well solves the problems in the prior art and is used for recovering oil gas.


The paper points out that the trade policy carried out in one country depends on both the national income and national welfare. Traditional trade theory believes that the complete competition is the best interpretation of the normal international market. The strategic interfering policy makes the market competition a battle. However, protectionism does no good to world economy as a whole, though protectionism might bring some limited benefits to the welfare of some countries, for it brings high cost to country's social economy.


Varicocele is the most frequent cause of male infertility which is characterized by poor seminal quality with high levels of reactive oxidative species. Surgical correction is considered the treatment of choice in this disorder and few studies focus on improving semen quality after varicocelectomy. In this study we determine the effect of Lepidium meyenii in patients with varicocele and post varicocelectomy. Semen samples were evaluated in thirty patients with infertility and varicocele grades II and III before surgery, at three and six months after surgery. At three months after surgery men were evaluated again and treated with 1,200 mg/day of L. meyenii. After three months post-surgery, an increase in sperm parameters was observed with a reduction in seminal viscosity; but at six months the improvement of the seminal parameters was more evident in treated men. Samples of patients with severe oligozoospermia improved after treatment with L. meyenii. Probably the antioxidant effect of polyphenols of maca are reducing factors of oxidative stress in the varicose testis. It is concluded that the administration of L. meyenni in patients with varicocele helps the restoration of sperm quality and probably in fertility.


This study examines hydrogen (H2) transport and separation factors for various gases on mesoporous membrane for unmodified and dip-coated silica membrane. Single gas permeation of H2, N2, CH4, Ar and CO2 were determined at permeation temperature of 298–373 K and feed gauge pressure of 0.1 to 0.9 barg. H2 permaetion rose from 3.3 to about 6.4 l/min at 0.9 bar. H2 selectivity over N2, CH4, Ar and CO2 for the dip-coated silica membrane at 298 K and 0.9 bar was 2.93, 2.18, 3.51 and 3.61 respectively. Observation of the permeation of these membranes revealed that the transport of gases is governed by a combination of activated transport and knudsen flow.


As internet usage is increasing day by day web services are expanding very fast. Video on demand servers have heavy web traff ic .To speed up the growth of web traffic the concept of load balancer was introduced. The role of load balancer is to distribute the tasks among the web servers efficiently. The most popular algorithms used for distributing the load are: FCFS, Genetic, Randomized and Heuristic algorithms. Performance of algorithms is calculated on the basis of makespan and average resource utilization. Genetic algorithm is giving better result over other server selecton techniques. Genetic algorithm gave lower makespan and higher resource utilization.


Analysis of repeated leveling observations in the vicinity of the San Gabriel fault in Southern California indicate subsidence immediately south of the fault relative to points to the north, south, and east. These observations were previously interpreted as reflecting tectonic motions associated with either the "Palmdale Bulge" or with preseismic effects of the San Fernando earthquake. Relative subsidence between 1953 and 1964 reaches approximately 9 cm and extends over a distance of more than 20 km. Subsidence occurs directly above the Saugus aquifer and shows a temporal correlation with the history of water level decline within the aquifer. The degree of subsidence of individual benchmarks is roughly proportional to the product of aquifer thickness and water level decline at the location of the benchmarks. These observations strongly suggest that movements of the surface near the San Gabriel Fault, previously inferred to be of tectonic origin, actually result from near surface sediment compaction within the Saugus basin.


The teaching of a foreign language to adultsvery often lacks appropriate assistance for thelearning of pronunciation. Insights into thelearning processes are necessary in order to beable to design ...


Unemployment and psychological distress. Results of a longitudinal study 1991–2004 Objectives: Research on the correlation of unemployment and health has a long tradition. This correlation is explained by two opposite hypotheses: The causality theory proposes the occurance of health impairments as a consequence of unemployment; according to the selectivity theory, however, psychologically impaired persons are more likely to become unemployed than healthier individuals. Methods: Both hypotheses are examined by analysing the three waves of the Saxonian profile study (1991, 1996, 2004). The sample contains N = 153 persons that were interviewed at all three waves. The average age increased from M = 18 years in 1991 to M = 31 in 2004. 57% of the sample were female. The subjective psychological distress was measured by a newly designed 4-item instrument, the D-Score, which was proven to be reliable and valid. In addition, experiences with unemployment were acquired. Results: In 1996 nearly 50% of the respondents had already experiences with unemployment, in 2004 nearly 60%. The duration of unemployment was associated with the D-Score within the individual waves: Persons, who were unemployed for a longer time, were more distressed in each case. The psychological condition from earlier waves was strongly correlated with the total period of unemployment experienced, which was raised in 2004. Conclusion: The results give hints for both causality and selection hypotheses. More distressed persons may become unemployed more frequently, and unemployment may in turn lead to more pronounced distress. Thus, an interplaying, self-energizing effect of selection and causality may be assumed in the sense of a vicious circle: Psychologically impaired persons are more often unemployed and then suffer more from the consequences of their unemployment. This in turn may lead to poor chances on the job market.


Soil is a local material which allows populations in warm regions to better cope with severe environmental conditions. The materials' performance depends on the chemical and physical nature of the soil. The greatest problem with these materials remains their high sensitivity to shrinkage, and their vulnerability in terms of cracking due to drying. These pathologies may lead to a radical decrease in their mechanical performance. Several works have indicated that the consideration of plant fibers, as reinforcement in earth materials, made it possible to avoid cracking, and, thus, ensure the stability of structures. These results are not generalizable and depend on the involved materials. This work aims to investigate different scenarios for the stabilization of earth blocks. In this context, the use of cement with two types of natural fibers for the stabilization of Lebanese earth blocks has been studied. The mechanical properties of stabilized earth blocks have shown that the developed mix provides suitable results compared to the traditional masonry block. The environmental impacts of earth blocks have been compared using SimaPro software. The results of this study show that the stabilized earth blocks are gaining their place as a sustainable, affordable building material suitable for low-cost construction.


A comparison of DQ-coke (dry quenched coke) with WQ-coke (wet quenched coke) for blast furnace operation was made. The results were as follows: a decrease in coke moisture caused a sharp rise in the top gas temperature; a decrease in coke moisture fluctuation was confirmed, and it is estimated that DQ-coke contributes to reducing furnace heat fluctuation; coke size distribution on the coke dry quenching exit side showed a clear change into small sizes; reduction of coke reactivity caused a decrease in the amount of solution loss reaction and a increase in the CO gas utilization; and since changes in blast temperature and blast moisture were used to cope with the reserve of heat capacity, the coke rate was approximately equal. The superiority of DQ-coke for blast furnace operations was confirmed. Although contribution of each factor cannot be verified, coke rate reduction can be produced as the integrated effect.


Sofia Gomes Fonseca Integrated Master in Biomedical Engineering Instituto Superior Técnico Abstract The continuous innovation in health technologies demands their evaluation to guarantee their ability to deliver the upmost care, quality, safety and value for money. However, few medical devices are evaluated in hospitals within structured formats integrating the views and perspectives of hospital stakeholders, especially in the anesthesiology context. Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) has been increasingly explored within Health Technology Assessment, but few studies have been developed in hospital settings. This study aims to develop a socio-technical approach to improve the process of evaluating anesthesia kits currently applied at Hospital Santa Maria through inclusion of relevant experts, to promote consensus, and use of technological tools to bring innovation and support to a more transparent and structured evaluation process. A MCDA socio-technical approach for process improvement in the evaluation of anesthesia kits, named MD – Evaluation tool, was designed. Therefore, exploratory interviews were made with anesthesiologists to understand their views and concerns on anesthesia kits. Then, the MACBETH approach was applied to build individual quantitative evaluation models with anesthesiologists, capturing each perspective, and then to build a compromise group model through qualitative protocols of questioning, using web-based platforms and a decision-conference. The aftermath of this study is the improvement of the evaluation process through a decision-support tool, composed by an Excel tool and the MACBETH software, suitable to guide the DM during the evaluation and selection process of anesthesia kits. The validation of this tool in the anesthesiology context indicates that it could be adapted and implemented to improve evaluation processes for other medical specialties.


The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze teachers' awareness about educational environment in unit learning space concentrated on the modernized elementary model schools. The data about difference of teachers' awareness in unit learning space will be helpful to suggest architectural plans for qualitative improvement of educational facilities. The teachers of ten elementary schools are participated through questionnaires with survey of physical environment for this analysis. According to the results, educational facilities, learning area utilizing corner, learning assisting area, environmental condition in classroom, convenient facilities and interior equipment are influential in order on the degree of satisfaction of teachers in the educational environment of unit learning space. The satisfaction level of women teachers about unit learning space is markedly low in teaching materials for learning and interior convenient facilities. The difference of the terms desired about educational environment of unit learning space in elementary school is also shown in each school. This means that the consideration of foundation background in each school is required to the planning of architectural environment. Especially, educational equipment for learning and spacial conditions are more influential factors than the interior environment, these factors must be examined in detail.


Author(s): Ma, Ning | Advisor(s): Yu, Angela J; Delgado, Ken K | Abstract: Intelligent agents often need to make actions with uncertain consequences under changing environment, and to modify those actions adaptively according to ongoing sensory processing and changing task demands. The ability to cancel or modify planned actions according to changing task conditions is known as inhibitory control, and thought to be an important aspect of human cognitive function. Inhibitory control has been studied extensively using the stop-signal experiment. Although a few models and experiments attempted to explain the subject's behavioral result,much work was still needed to understand the underlying mechanism.Using Bayesian inference, hidden Markov model and stochastic control theory, this dissertation proposes new model and experimental investigations to attain a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism of human decision making process in inhibitory control. We demonstrate how human's reaction time, previously thought of as a random quantity, is highly correlated with model simulated predictive belief state. More specifically, the model and data enable us to provide strong evidence that Go process and Stop process are highly dependent, in contrast to being independent, as previously proposed. Our new proposed model can not only cover the behavior data but also the neural data. Finally, by applying our model to the clinical data, we discover the behavior and neural difference between methamphetamine-dependent individuals and comparison group, indicating that the model simulated quantity could be served as a biomarker to predict substance dependent user.


OBJECTIVES
The author examined the prevalence and predictors of colorectal cancer screening among the urban Japanese population of the United States.

METHODS
A sample of Japanese residents of major US metropolitan areas completed a self-administered mailed survey.

RESULTS
Physician recommendation, acculturation, and perceived psychological costs were consistent predictors of screening for colorectal cancer. Gender and marital status were related to screening via fecal occult blood testing; age, susceptibility, and health insurance were related to sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy screening.

CONCLUSIONS
Colorectal cancer screening among the urban Japanese population could be increased with interventions seeking to promote physician recommendations for screening, alleviate perceived psychological costs among patients, and improve physician-patient communication.


Thymic epithelial tumors are rare malignancies requiring multidisciplinary management. Systemic treatments are part of this global approach in both locally advanced cases—for which combined strategy is needed—and metastatic disease, using standard chemotherapy. Current systemic treatments are insufficient, and the prognosis of advanced disease remains poor. Treatments mostly derived from general oncologic research and we lack specific thymic tumors targeting drugs to develop precision medicine strategies. Many thymic tumors systemic therapy trials are currently ongoing around the world, facing the difficulties of rare disease research and management: lack of biomarkers, lack of patients, difficulties in establishing good landmarks and wise endpoints... To be able to hit, those trials have to fit some prerequisites. The clinical needs have to be identified clearly. Trials have to be built with adequate endpoints, good selection of patients and integration of well-defined biomarkers. Those criteria allow the selection of trials that will possibly ultimately hit in any situation in which systemic treatments are required in the management of thymic tumors. This concerns primary treatment—systemic treatment in association with local treatment in a curative intent strategy; exclusive treatment—first line systemic treatment administered alone in thymic tumors no accessible to local treatment (surgery or radiotherapy); treatment for recurrences—systemic treatments administered in recurrent diseases not accessible to local management. Given the rarity of thymic tumors, building up trials remains a real challenge and few trials meet the strict conditions to be able to finally hit. The easiest way to overcome all those difficulties is probably to aim at a more collaborative approaches through international trials, tumor boards and multidisciplinary interactions.


Reprocessing of seismic data with latest processing tools and new geological insight has often produced better subsurface imaging for enhanced confidence of the interpreter / satisfaction of the client. A case study showcasing the improvements brought out by reprocessing is presented in this paper. The reprocessing of one 3D data set of Cauvery Basin, on land Southern India, was carried out at RCC, Chennai to overcome the ambiguities encountered in earlier interpretations.


Katja Thomas, MD Thorsten Schultheiss, MD Tjalf Ziemssen, MD, PhD NEUROBORRELIOSIS DURING NATALIZUMAB TREATMENT IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS We present a case of acute neuroborreliosis in the setting of long-term treatment with natalizumab. A 33-year-old man was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1999. Following failure of various immunomodulatory treatments including interferon and immunoglobulin, he was treated with mitoxantrone from May 2000 to August 2004. Due to persistently high disease activity, he was also treated with cyclophosphamide (December 2005–April 2006) and then azathioprine (April–June 2006), which were both discontinued due to adverse effects. After the patient scored 6.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale and had 2 relapses in 2006, we initiated natalizumab therapy (300 mg monthly, starting September 2006). The patient improved significantly in ambulation and the relapse rate slowed as well. In 2010, JC virus serology was positive. In July 2011 (60th natalizumab infusion), the patient complained of progressive bilateral neuropathic pain in his arms. Subsequent brain MRI results were similar to those from 2006, demonstrating multiple partly confluent supratentorial and infratentorial lesions. Despite methylprednisolone treatment, the patient's clinical status worsened. We also noted generalized myalgia, fever, progressive diplopia, paresthesia, and hyperpathia in both legs and neck without an obvious central or peripheral origin. Again, MRI including cervical spinal cord was unchanged. CSF analysis revealed elevated lymphocyte count (189 MPt/L with increased activated immunoglobulin [Ig] and CD191 B cells; figure, A and B). CXCL13, tumor necrosis factor–a, and interleukin-6 peaked in CSF at time of symptom presentation (figure, C and D). In addition, intrathecal protein, IgG, and IgM concentrations were elevated (figure, E). Blood– brain barrier breakdown was evident due to increased CSF/serum IgG gradient and albumin ratio (figure, F). Virologic and bacteriologic analyses were negative. Although CSF was negative for BorreliaDNA according to PCR analysis, Borrelia-specific antibodies against IgM and IgG in serum and CSF confirmed acute neuroborreliosis (figure, G). Retrospectively, the patient reported a tick bite 5 weeks before onset of symptoms. Antibiotic treatment (ceftriaxone 2 g/day) was started IV and administered for 14 days. Neuropathic pain and diplopia remitted soon after. Follow-up CSF analysis showed gradually decreasing pathologic parameters (figure, A). Natalizumab infusions were not interrupted during diagnostic workup and subsequent ceftriaxone treatment and the patient continues to have monthly treatment. VLA-4 saturation and concentrations in CSF and serum were stable in 2010 through the ceftriaxone treatment period (figure, H).


This article deals with the ubiquitous problem of wavelet estimation. In essence, the problem consists of estimating, at best, two unknowns from one equation. In the seismic case, as it is well known, the model of the recorded seismic trace, xt, is generally formulated as a convolution, xt=wt*rt, where wt is the seismic source signature, or wavelet, and rt is the reflectivity series which is comprised of all primary and multiple reflections. Since, in general, we can assume that rt is white (or nearly so), the amplitude signature of wt may be estimated with some degree of confidence. It is, of course, the phase of wt that presents the difficulty. It turns out, perhaps somewhat counterintuitively, that, except for rather special circumstances, the phase of a signal uniquely determines the signal to within a scale factor. The amplitude spectrum plays no part whatsoever (we explore this further below). No wonder, then, that the phase is the all‐important factor.


This work studies the analog performance of uniaxially and biaxially strained single-gate fully depleted SOI nMOSFETs and standard and strained Si (sSOI) n-type triple-gate FinFETs with high-¿ dielectrics and TiN gate material. The analysis is performed focusing on some important analog figures of merit such as transconductance, Early voltage, output conductance and intrinsic voltage gain. It is shown that for single-gate devices the use of any kind of strain promotes the improvement of most analog parameters, resulting in a better or at least not worsen gain than for its unstrained counterpart. However for FinFETs devices, it is demonstrated that both standard and strained FinFETs with short channel length and narrow fins have similar analog properties, whereas an increase of the channel length degrades the Early voltage of the strained devices, consequently decreasing the device intrinsic voltage gain with respect to standard ones. Narrow strained FinFETs with long channel show a degradation of the Early voltage if compared to standard ones suggesting that strained devices are more subjected to the channel length modulation effect. Only for wider and long FinFETs the effect of strain is favorable to both gm and gD, resulting in a larger intrinsic voltage gain than in standard FinFETs.


The aim of this paper is to provide an instrument for measuring attitudes towards
mathematics in high school. The main reason is to evaluate at the beginning of the
school year, in addition to the current knowledge in the subject, the attitudes that
hold our students towards the subject. Knowing these attitudes allow us to adapt the
teaching of the class accordingly. A questionnaire has been designed, developed and
validated, applying it to high school students. Questionnaire items belong to the six
components of attitude that, after reviewing the theoretical framework, influences
more into the performance of Mathematics: Self-Concept, Causal Attributions,
Target Orientation, Utility of Mathematics, Taste for Mathematics and Security
towards Mathematics. The reliability of the instrument was measured by Cronbach's
alpha using the SPSS 22 software. Its validity and internal consistency have been
very high, at 96.4%. Furthermore, in order to achieve greater consistency in terms of
the different components of attitude which have already been mentioned, the
reliability of the six mini-questionnaires resulting from the items that form each of
the components of attitude, has been analyzed and the initial questionnaire has been
changed accordingly by removing three items, thus increasing the internal
consistency of two of the mini-questionnaires and obtaining a very high total
reliability of 96.5%


Spring clamping device (2) comprises for the connection of an electrical conductor in a connection arrangement, said spring clamp is made from a flat elastic material and has a first arm (4) which is adapted to come into abutment against a fixed conductor portion of the terminal assembly, further comprising a curved movable second arm (6) comprises, on the one hand on the side of its free end a flat portion (24) which is provided with a for passage of the end of a cable to be connected designed opening (30), and on the other hand, a first arm ( 4) opposing portion (28), and further comprising a connecting region (8), the two arms (4, 6) connecting to form a loop, characterized in that each arm (4, 6) at least one on the outside of the loop toward the concave portion (14, 28, 14 ', 28', 14 '', 28 '') and that the convex to the inside of the loop back sides of the two concave portions facing each other and inside the loop of a narrowing ...


Autonomous driving is considered one of the revolutionary technologies shaping humanity's future mobility and quality of life. However, safety remains a critical hurdle in the way of commercialization and widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles on public roads. Safety concerns require the autonomous driving system to handle uncertainties from multiple sources that are either preexisting, e.g., the stochastic behavior of traffic participants or scenario occlusion, or introduced as a result of processing, e.g., the application of neural networks. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the sources of uncertainties and quantify the risks associated with them, including the propagated risks that accumulate in the decision-making system. In this context, this paper provides an overview of uncertainty challenges and state-of-the-art techniques for mitigating these challenges. We argue that the uncertainties mainly originate from two aspects: 1) the external traffic environment, and 2) the internal autonomous driving system. Specifically, this paper first analyzes the safety challenges caused by the uncertainties and summarizes their sources. In addition, the corresponding techniques that mitigate and quantify the risk of uncertainties are presented. Finally, research perspectives are highlighted to facilitate future studies for guaranteeing the safety of autonomous vehicles.


The authors present the concept of a holistic method to determine the optimal battery design which takes safety, production, costs and electrothermal gradients' effects on ageing into account. The focus lies on the ageing and the scalability for variant capacity, format and dimensions. It is to be determined which modeling approach is best suited for the given inputs and the desired outputs. The proposed approaches range from a full physical-electrochemical model (PECM) of the electrothermal and aging behavior to simplifications in one or both areas and the optimization algorithm. The proposed approach realizes the evaluation of the battery design by the crucial parameters of EVs. It merges the new insights of various research fields and makes it accessible to industrial parties such as cell and automotive manufacturers. The simulation of the electrothermal gradients in the performance and ageing model allow for a more accurate analysis of the battery design. The comparison of implementations with varying complexity facilitate an application-oriented suitability assessment of the approach. In this poster the concept of the holistic method is presented. Then the full PEC model with its underlying functions is shown. Preliminary simulation results of the electrothermal and ageing behavior of the battery cell are discussed and compared with state-of-the-art models. The suitability of the method is evaluated by weighing the accuracy of the method against its computing effort.


Integrated product development processes are based on sharing the knowledge between the suppliers and customers, and internal features of the organization could lower the difficulties of designing a new product in the new-product-development projectwhich ultimately results in customers' satisfaction. Althoughso much attention is paid to the cost and time, the success rate in new projects is still low. Difficulties in designing new products in integrated product development process can lead to high costs and time-consuming processes and postpone the development process. Some studies have suggested a negative relationship between knowledge sharing and product designing difficulties.According to the past studies and using a population of 279 people including managers, employees, and engineers in Saipa Car Making Company a model has been suggested to investigate the relationship between integrated product development process knowledge sharing and customers' satisfaction with new product development as a mediator. Structural Equations Method (SEM) and SPSS software and LISREL were used for this purpose. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the variables in question.


As presented by Hirabayashi et al. (2004) these proceedings, the VSOP-2 mission is currently being planned. Various kinds of developments are being made for the misson, and here we introduce the large antenna, fast switching scheme using CMG, low noise receivers, gigabit data transmission, and high data rate sampling on-board. We are also studying the system configuration of the VSOP-2 satellite and the orbit appropriate for the expected launch vehicle, the M-V rocket. VSOP-2 science goals include imaging the accretion disks around the massive blackholes in the nuclei of the active galaxies, studies of magnetic field orientation and evolution in jets, and the highest resolution studies of spectral line masers and mega-masers. Here we describe the design and the development of the space antenna, high speed sampler, and the satellite system.


Cheese whey is a by-product of the transformation of milk into cheese (85% of the total milk used). The current production of this waste in the Veracruz State, Mexico is of 354,227 tons. This waste is disposed on bodies of water and soil, causing damage to the environment due to high oxygen demand that is needed to degrade the high concentrations of organic matter that it presents. This situation has generated the search for new processes for the approach of this waste. Actually, several alternatives have been proposed for your exploitation such as contemplates its use as a substrate for obtaining products with added-value as biofuels, enzymes, lipids and organic acids. The objective was to analyze different alternatives for the use of cheese whey produced in the Veracruz State, Mexico.


OBJECTIVE We examined the relationship between GH concentrations and free insulin concentrations, used as an index of insulin sensitivity, before and after recombinant human insulin‐like growth factor I (rhIGF‐I) administration in adolescents with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).


Quiescent endothelial cells respond rapidly to pathological and physiological stimuli with integrin-mediated changes in actin filament content and organization and changes in cell motility. Little is known about mechanisms regulating the differential activation of the RhoGTPases that induce actin polymerization and determine their function and organization in integrin signaling complexes. Since the specificity of RhoGTPase recruitment is determined by adaptor proteins, we initiated studies to identify adaptor proteins that associate with integrin complexes in a regulated manner. Using bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells, we showed that spectrin, which contains an SH3 motif, is selectively recruited to transient integrin complexes that activate Rac and initiate membrane projections at new sites of attachment. In a two-hybrid screen, the spectrin SH3 domain interacted with a 9 proline-motif sequence in a protein of Mw ∼48 kD. The presence of multiple proline motifs suggested that this protein might be an adaptor, capable of interacting with spectrin and recruiting additional SH3-containing proteins to integrin complexes. Although it lacked 30 N-terminal residues, the sequence of the SH3-binding protein was otherwise identical to that of the endothelial cell protein, Nogo B. Nogo family members localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), although some are in the plasma membrane, where their extracellular domain interacts with adjacent cells, inhibiting their growth. Despite 9 cytoplasmic proline motifs, the possibility that Nogo proteins regulate signaling in the cell in which they are expressed has not been investigated. In the present study, we determined whether Nogo B interacts with SH3-motifs in vivo and regulates signaling in integrin complexes. Using an SH3 domain array, we identified CrkII, Vav2 and intersectin as Nogo B-interacting proteins. In vivo , Nogo B recruited both spectrin and CrkII, as shown by their coimmunoprecipitation from BAEC with EGFP-48kD Nogo B. Both endogenous and EGFP-48 kD Nogo B localized to the population of spectrin-containing integrin complexes. Like spectrin, they were excluded from the focal adhesions that form in less motile cells, appearing to be present only in the ER in these cells. When expressed in BAEC, spectrin SH3 domain was recruited to the Nogo B containing integrin complexes, arresting Rac activation and membrane extension. To examine the role of NogoB in integrin-mediated motile events, NIH3T3 cells stably expressing EGFP-48k Da Nogo B or EGFP alone were plated on an integrin substrate; cells expressing 48 kDa Nogo B activated Rac, formed submembranous actin networks, extended projections, and spread more rapidly than control cells. The accelerated motile events did not occur in cells plated on poly-L-lysine, in cells treated with Nogo siRNA, in cells transfected with the 9 proline-motif sequence, or in cells transfected with the spectrin SH3 domain. They were initiated upstream of Rac activation, as shown by their absence in cells expressing dominant-negative Rac. These data suggest that Nogo proteins function as SH3-recruiting adaptors and describe a novel mechanism for accelerating integrin-mediated Rac activation and membrane projections through the transient association of the proline-rich sequence of Nogo B with the SH3 domain of integrin-associated spectrin, and recruitment of additional SH3-containing proteins involved in Rac activation to these integrin complexes.


We thank Dr Sleeper for her interest in our manuscript and agree that the findings are similar to those in other reports [1–6]. Heart disease in chimpanzees and other great apes continues to be a poorly understood subject. Our primary purpose in this study was to try and identify some factors that may contribute to this condition and thereby identify areas for future research. Dr Sleeper raises an important question concerning the use of the term acute heart failure and the contribution of sudden cardiac death in these chimpanzees. This manuscript was prepared from a retrospective evaluation of necropsy and available clinical information. We had limited clinical information to work with and did not attempt to define specific clinical entities. We saw two main clinical presentations of chimpanzee cardiomyopathy at necropsy. One was chimpanzees with history and lesions indicative of congestive heart failure (CHF). The other was chimpanzees with recent (often perimortem) or no clinical diagnosis of heart failure and histologic lesions of cardiomyopathy, without lesions indicative of CHF. We lacked the detailed clinical records and histories to adequately define specific clinical conditions, but rather attempted to separate the chimpanzees with evidence of CHF from those without. Hence we used the term 'acute heart failure' to describe chimpanzees lacking the lesions of CHF. The idea was to separate chimpanzees with evidence of chronic cardiac disease from those without. It was not intended to imply the specific clinical syndrome and was perhaps a poor choice of words. Sudden cardiac death is another specific well defined condition and was likely the cause of death in several chimpanzees we classified as 'acute heart failure'. These were generally chimpanzees identified as 'found dead' in the submission history. Unfortunately in such a retrospective study, the detail of information, including the general lack of electrocardiograms, available does not allow assigning this level of diagnostic specificity to these cases. Generally, we tried to ascertain from the necropsy records if the primary cause of death was because of heart disease or not. Many of the chimpanzees in the CHF group had ascites, pulmonary edema, and scrotal edema (males). These animals would be expected to be dyspneic, however, our criteria for classifying CHF cases was based on the gross and histologic necropsy findings. Although, we reported differences seen in serum potassium status, the values were still within normal ranges and statistically different only between males in the idiopathic cardiomyopathy group compared with males without heart disease. It is likely the same result would have been obtained comparing males with other heart disease to males without heart disease had there been a higher number of cases. We agree that they most likely represent evidence of heart failure; however, low normal serum potassium values may provoke closer examination for evidence of cardiomyopathy in previously undiagnosed chimpanzees. Dr Sleeper's comments regarding hypokalemia increasing the risk of arythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death is intriguing. It would be interesting to know what impact small differences in serum potassium values, even within the perceived normal range, would have.


This study elaborates on the emergence of national identity in connection with museums and the society and illustrates the interaction between the museums and economic, political and social events in Singapore. Singapore, which was established by the United Kingdom as a commercial colony in 1819 and proclaimed its independence in 1965, is the geographically smallest country in Southeast Asia. A closer look to the country's demographic structure cannot reveal the given characteristics of a certain nation. Almost the entire population in Singapore is made up of immigrants with Chinese, Malaysian, Indian or similar origins. In this context, it can be considered as a multiracial, multilingual, multi religious or, in short, a multicultural country. Having celebrated the 41 st


The traditional self-defense system demands that defenders can self-defense only when violations are ongoing or urgency. According to this condition, the vast majority of abused women are out of the self-defense system. However, it isn't until criminal violations have already begun or been very urgent, abused women in a weak position have been difficult to effective defense. To explain this problem, Lenore Walker, an American scholar, proposed the theory of "battered woman syndrome". This theory enlightens us that we should use the condition of necessity instead of the condition of urgency in self-defense system; defenders do not have to perform obligations of avoid in most cases; we should consider gender differences when we design self-defense system.


Machine learning techniques provide a remarkable tool for advancing scientific research, and this area has significantly grown in the past few years. In particular, reinforcement learning, an approach that maximizes a (long-term) reward by means of the actions taken by an agent in a given environment, can allow one for optimizing scientific discovery in a variety of fields such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Morover, physical systems, in particular quantum systems, may allow one for more efficient reinforcement learning protocols. In this review, we describe recent results in the field of reinforcement learning and physics. We include standard reinforcement learning techniques in the computer science community for enhancing physics research, as well as the more recent and emerging area of quantum reinforcement learning, inside quantum machine learning, for improving reinforcement learning computations.


Eskom is the national electrical utility of South Africa with a nominal capacity of 42011 MW. This capacity is made up of coal, nuclear, hydro, gas turbine and pumped storage power plants. The current generation projects in progress as well as other options for new capacity are discussed


Mastalgia (defined as self-reported breast pain, unilateral or bilateral for a period of not less than two months) is one of the symptoms that might affect young ladies who seek medical advice. Method and Results: Pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. 418 ladies aged (18-45 years) were included in the study, 340 had unilateral or bilateral breast pain for a period of not less than two months, either localized (54%) or generalized. 19.7% had the pain for more than 10 times per year. (77%) of those ladies were used to drink coffee once daily, (13%) of them were using contraceptive pills, and 49 patients were smokers and all of them had breast pain. (60.8%) were obese with significant P value (0.003). Conclusion: Mastalgia is common among the Saudi population. Providing a good healthcare and preventing the risk factors will reduce the number of ladies visiting the outpatient department (OPD). The management should start with lifestyle changes, education and reassurance.


FIELD: testing equipment. SUBSTANCE: tube element sample is prepared, as well as a standard from a piece of a pipe that has not been operated in the boiler, having similar composition and method of manufacturing, X-ray study of the standard is carried out in the thermocycling mode in the cycle "heating - cooling down to room temperature", it is used to build dependence of ratios of integral intensities produced under room temperature for two strongest diffraction lines that are not superimposed with diffraction lines of other phases from thermocycle temperature, X-ray study of the tube element sample is carried out under room temperature, for which they determine the ratio of integral intensities of the same two diffraction lines, ratios of integral intensities of diffraction lines in the sample and the standard are compared, and the temperature of operation of the tube element section is defined, accepting it as equal to the standard temperature at this value of the ratio of integral intensities. EFFECT: provision of the possibility to realise method of determination of temperature conditions of operation of tube elements of boilers, which covers all types of steel, regardless of water regime of boiler operation, without damage of sample surface. 1 dwg, 4 tbl


This paper presents recently expanded test data for resin infused glass fiber laminates of interest for wind turbine blades. The new static and fatigue data extend and clarify trends reported in References 3-7 for the relative performance of epoxy, vinyl ester and polyester resins, and various unidirectional (UD) and biaxial (±45) fabrics, and multidirectional (MD) combinations, in standard laminate tests. Significant resin, fabric and process interactions are identified and explored. A second part of the study involves characterizing the performance of the various fabrics and resins in the context of a recently developed complex structured coupon geometry including ply drops. This coupon provides a simplified approach to exploring the relative performance of blade materials in the context of the complex structural details typical of infused blades. This testing approach highlights the significance of resin toughness differences in a representation which can conveniently be applied to blade design as strain knockdown factors.


With the economic development in all countries and the deteriorating relationship between economy and environment, the implementation of low-carbon economy has become an inevitable choice for the national development, which means that we need to explain low-carbon economy from economic theories. Traditional Western mainstream economics ignored low-carbon economyin terms of the scope and the fundamental theories. Based on the author's learning and teaching experience for many years, this article first interprets low-carbon economy in Marx's economic theory and proposesdevelopment measures of low-carbon economy from the perspective of Marxist ecological philosophy.


Tetraploid in Lilium formosanum were obtained by colchicine treatment. Reciprocal crosses of diploids and tetraploids were made but only diploids were obtained from 2x×4x. Hypo-, hyper- and eu-tetraploids were obtained from 4x×4x and 4x×2x. Even some of the individuals having 48 chromosomes were not found to be eu-tetraploids because of the lack or excess of certain chromosomes. However, these hypo-, hyper- and eu-tetraploids could be of great use from the ornamental point of view because of their large, heavy-textured crowns and short stems.


Various deletions and point mutations in the Parkin gene have been strongly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and parkinsonism, especially when the onset occurs at a young age. In this study, we screened 25 'early-onset' (<49 years at onset) and 91 later-onset PD patients from a Han Chinese population from South-West China for deletions and mutations in the Parkin gene. We found no deletions or point mutations in exons 1–12 of the Parkin gene using direct sequence analysis and only detected the common Ser167Asn polymorphism. We analysed Ser167Asn in 116 patients with sporadic PD and 124 controls, matched for age and gender. There were significant differences in allele and genotype frequency between PD patients, with the 167Asn allele more common in cases than controls (46.6 vs. 35.1%; χ2 = 6.54, p = 0.011, odds ratio = 1.61, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.10–2.37), as was the 167Asn genotype (17.3 vs. 11.3%; p = 0.04). The frequency of the 167Ser genotype was significantly lower in PD patients than in controls when compared with that of the other two genotypes combined (χ2 = 7.84, p = 0.005, odds ratio = 0.46, 95% CI 0.25 – 0.82). No significant differences in the frequencies of the allele and genotypes were found between patients classified into two groups according to symptoms at onset (χ2 = 0.191, p = 0.66, odds ratio = 1.12, 95% CI 0.65–1.95; χ2 = 0.24, p = 0.887) or age of onset (p = 0.787). In summary, homozygous deletion mutations and point mutations in exons 1–12 of the Parkin gene were not detected in this Han Chinese population, although we cannot exclude compound heterozygous deletions. In addition, our study suggests that the variant 167Asn increases the risk of developing PD.


Abstract : Preliminary hazard evaluations of the above candidate repellents were performed by means of laboratory animal studies using rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs. None of the compounds caused any phototoxic or skin sensitization reactions, nor were they acutely toxic by ingestion. AI3-36325 and AI3-36328 caused moderate corneal and conjunctival injuries, however, AI3-36326 and AI3-36328 caused mild skin irritation. (Author)


The utility model discloses a solid rotor brake motor, which belongs to the motor. The utility model solves the technical problem that a motor which has smooth starting without impact and light weight is designed. The solid rotor brake motor comprises a stator and a rotor, wherein the rotor is a solid rotor. An inner hole of a brake disk is a tooth sleeve matched with a tooth sleeve on a motor shaft; both ends of an armature iron are separately corresponding to the brake disk, a yoke, and a spring in a hole in a yoke shell; a spline groove on an inner hole of the armature iron is glidingly matched with a spline on a post face of the brake disk. The input ends of rectifying diodes D1 and D2 of an electric controller are respectively electrically connected with an alternating current power supply and the output ends are mutually electrically connected. Both ends of a capacitor C2 are respectively electrically connected with the input ends of the rectifying diodes D1 and D2; the output ends of the rectifying diodes D1 and D2 and the input ends of the rectifying diode D1 are respectively electrically connected with both ends of a yoke coil. The utility model is mainly used for a crane.


Cancer survivors are persons who have been diagnosed with cancer and people in their lives who are affected by the diagnosis, including family, friends and caregivers (CDC). The number of cancer survivors is increasing due to improved therapies and early detection. Hence, this population creates a new demographic for health care providers, including dietitians, health and nutrition educators, with a need to provide education about diet and physical activity. Our curricula for dietetics/nutritional science and kinesiology majors had limited focus on cancer survivorship. With funding from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and American Cancer Society Midwest, we developed DEEP‐C's. Our team included faculty in nutrition, dietetics and kinesiology and partnership with oncology professionals in our local medical center. The objectives were to 1) develop learning modules on diet and physical activity in cancer survivorship for selected courses; 2) create a service learning program for students to gain practical knowledge of educating cancer survivors and 3) develop a model to be used by other academic programs. We have successfully integrated cancer survivorship modules into our curricula and have over 50 toolkits for community education. Students, faculty, the cancer support network and health care community have embraced the project and we are evolving to address underserved populations.


This thesis describes the development of a device designed for culturing liver tissue in a 3D perfused environment. Cells form tissue inside miniature channels of a scaffold, and the tissue is perfused with culture medium to create a culture microenvironment that has previously been described by the Griffith lab. In order to support this microenvironment, the reactor needs a pumping system, reservoirs and a controller. Previously, these have all been stand-alone components. This work focuses on the development of a new, integrated culture system. This system integrates 12 reactor microenvironments, reservoirs and pumping systems onto a single plate with a configuration modeled after standard multi-well plates. Each of the 12 bioreactor units utilize pneumatic pumps driven by a single external controller. This design offers substantial advantages over previous systems as it is far more userfriendly and can be used in a higher throughput capacity. The thesis describes the design and fabrication of the reactor and controller, including several models that were used during the development process. It also offers mechanical and biological characterizations of the device. Thesis Supervisor: Linda G. Griffith Title: Professor of Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering


Shortage of space is a common phenomenon for a lot of functions, industrial and others. Still more so, if the question of space is combined with that of place. Problems might become worse if the single unit of production is growing, which is the case in a few industrial branches, e.g. manufacturers of aircraft and ships. In a previous communication a general background was lined out, possible solutions to the problem involving lack of space were discussed and the Scandinavian shipbuilding industry was studied in order to provide empirical data and illustrations (cf Lewan 1972). This paper intends to discuss the findings further and to contemplate some general implications. In order to throw more light upon the geographical effects of recent changes in shipbuilding, yards and shipbuilding organizations in Britain and the Netherlands have been


Obtaining a proper bile sample for investigative purposes is of utmost importance to obtain valid results. Bile can be collected by direct aspiration of the gallbladder, by duodenal intubation or by T-tube drainage. The optimal method of collection depends on the investigative question, as well as on the resources available to the investigator. The procedures for obtaining, processing and analyzing human bile (gallbladder and hepatic) are summarized, pointing out the disadvantages and pitfalls that may occur.


How are today's youth perceived by a teacher? What position do they take with regard to their own situation, their desires, and their anxieties, when they are asked about them in the classroom? The following brings together the thoughts of a teacher with the statements of male and female apprentices who also are students and shows what can be learned by lending an attentive ear to them.


The objective of the paper is to investigate the potential of integrating lean philosophy with Goldratt's theory of constraints (TOC) to improve operational performance in an auto component manufacturing firm. This paper proposes an integrated lean philosophy-TOC framework and its case application to enhance operational performance in an auto component manufacturing firm. Case study results indicate that the company benefited from its emphasis on operational performance enhancement by the TOC concept. Managers were able to select a continuous improvement (CI) project that had a greater impact on the bottom line performance. On the other hand, lean philosophy provided seven wastes identification and reduction techniques, to enhance customer value as well as to optimise utilisation of available resources. Further empirical investigation and robust model development on TOC-based lean implementation will guide lean practitioners to leverage lean advantages which can further be improved by integrating with other CI techniques. Integration of lean manufacturing philosophy and TOC can provide managers with an effective platform for two CI techniques to work together and create great energies. The paper reveals a typical case of a journey of enhancing operational performance by adopting lean philosophy with initiations of TOC approach.


The lesser mouse-tailed bat Rhinopoma hardwickii Gray, 1831 has not been recorded from Pakistan except from northern Punjab (Rohtas) and southern Sindh (Karachi, Landhi and Karchat Hills near Hyderabad). These records date back to 1927. Here after 84 years, we provide an account of the third country and first record of this species from southern Punjab. Rhinopomatid bats (n =5) were captured from this region of which two were euthanized to describe their external body, cranial and bacular measurements. This paper compares various morphometeric measurements of these bats to those already mentioned in literatures and documents habitat and new distribution map of this species in Pakistan.


Due to the operational characteristics of the air conditioning systems, unnecessary energy is likely to be used for maintaining acceptable indoor environmental quality. Two control strategies are examined for optimum operation of the air conditioning system with variable supply air flow rate. The conventional strategy is based on fixed temperature set point and the proposed strategy is based on variable temperature set point. The optimization problem for both control strategy is formulated based on the cost of energy consumption and constrained by system and thermal space transient models. The optimization problem is solved using genetic algorithm. The optimization models are applied to a case study for the Library building in Phase 3 at Institut Teknologi Brunei for the assessment of its energy performance and potential energy conservation opportunities. Based on these results, it is apparent that there is a potential for improving energy performance and justification to employ the suggested measures for achieving energy savings and minimize energy consumption.


This is the first human development report prepared for Delhi that identifies problems of distributional inequalities, and makes assessments of its achievements and progress.


Amylose is thought to be a slightly branched polymer with a s-amylolysis limit of about 78%. Treating amylose with a mixture of the debranching enzyme pullulanase and s-amylase will give 100% conversion to maltose. Interesting one does not obtain 100% conversion if the enzymes are used sequentially. We have found that amylose retrogrades and becomes insoluble while being incubated with pullulanase. Minimum debranching time will give 100% s-amylolysis, which we think explains the previously reported need to use the enzymes simultaneously.


Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of Argon-Helium targeted ablation for malignant adrenal pheochromocytoma. Methods From August 2000 to March 2008, 6 patients with recurred malignant adrenal pheochromocytoma received percutaneous Argon-Helium targeted cryoablation. Results There were significant differences between pre-and post-cryoablation in blood pressure and supine plasm renin activity, angiotensin Ⅱ , and aldosterone levels (P0.05). On radiography, 50% reduction in the tumor size occurred in 3 patients, no significant change in 2, and infiltration to the surrounding tissue in 1. A temporary rise in intraoperative blood pressure developed in 2 patients. No any other complications occurred. Conclusions Argon-Helium targeted ablation is a safe, effective palliative treatment for unresectable or recurred malignant pheochromocytoma, with fewer fatal complications.