ABSTRACT Spatial variability in soil shear strength affects the occurrence of the ultimate limit state not only by the spatial averaging along the potential slip curve but also by seeking out mechanically admissible weak zones. The former factor (spatial averaging) reduces the variance of the mobilised shear strength, whereas the latter factor (weak-zone seeking) reduces the mean of the mobilised shear strength among others. Existing simplified formulas for determining the characteristic value of shear strength consider statistical spatial averaging only, not weak-zone seeking. This paper calibrates the weakest-path model (WPM) using simulation results from the random finite element method (RFEM). The calibrated WPM captures both spatial averaging and weak-zone seeking. Moreover, the behaviours for the calibrated WPM are similar to those for the RFEM. Based on the calibrated WPM, a simplified formula is proposed to determine a mobilisation-based characteristic value. The effectiveness of this formula is showcased by real case studies. It is found that for problems whose uncertainty is dominated by spatial variability and whose slip curve is not highly constrained by mechanical admissibility, the proposed formula provides significant improvements over existing simplified formulas in the literature that consider only statistics and do not consider mechanics at a detailed level.


The flow analysis network (FAN) method was modified to analyze the flow during polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in a model counter-rotating nonintermeshing screw extruder. The shear viscosity of the reactive mixture in the twin screw extruder was considered as a mixture of polymer and monomer. Thus, the reaction viscosity of the mixture of polymer and monomer was taken to be an explicit function dependent on the shear rate, temperature, conversion, and molecular weight. A new flow path method was developed to calculate the residence time distribution, which related to the degree of conversion. The numerical prediction of the velocity, temperature, viscosity, and pressure profiles during reaction in the model twin screw extruder is described.


Morphometry and terrain analyses are important in geomorphology where quantitative measurements are made on physical characteristics of landforms. It is done mainly to understand the structure, processes and evolution of landscape. In this paper, an attempt is made to study the morphometric aspects of streams and terrain characteristics of landforms of Payaswani river basin of Kerala and Karnataka states using GIS. It has an area of 1342 km 2 . Of which, 42.02 per cent of the total area is in Kasaragod district of Kerala state and 57.08 per cent in Karnataka state. Survey of India Topographic maps and SRTM data were used for the study. ArcGIS and Spatial Analyst Module were used for the study. Payaswani River is the 6 th order stream in which there are 5643 streams available in the basin. Relief is varying between mean sea level west and 1100 meters in the south east. There are two planation surfaces at 100m and 200m height. Hundred meter surface occupy 52.7 per cent of the total area. Three to six degrees slope category is the predominant slope with 19.7 per cent. North direction slope occupy 17.7 per cent. Most of the area comes under erosional landforms. Bifurcation ratio indicates that there was neotectonic activity in the lower region of the basin. In general the landscape indicates structural control over the landform development.


A large value of beam horizontal emittance in ultrarelativistic, electron synchrotrons is an obstacle to efficient introduction of electron cooling in hadron colliders. In this work, an adapting optics is proposed for the electron beam, in order to cancel the horizontal emittance's contribution to electron beam temperature in the cooling section. It involves a solenoid along the cooling section and special skew quadrupole blocks to match the solenoid and rest of electron ring, which has conventional optics. As result, the horizontal emittance becomes responsible only for the electron beam cross-section in the solenoid, while the transverse temperature in solenoid is determined by the outside vertical emittance, which is very small. This adaptation essentially raises the prospective efficiency of the high energy electron cooling.


Effectiveness of teaching and learning is the core of the education sector. It is an important issue for evaluating the teaching performance to improve the effectiveness of teaching. However, the evaluators have personal subjective preference or judgment depending on their individual knowledge or experiences. It is suitable for evaluators to use linguistic variables to express their subjective opinions in the assessment process. The 2-tuple linguistic variables are used in this paper for evaluators to express their opinions. Under this situation, a transformation method will be applied to transform the non-homogeneous evaluation information into a common set of linguistic variables. Then, an evaluation model is proposed in this paper based on computing with linguistic variables to compute the degree of effectiveness of teaching from the viewpoints of students. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the computational process of the proposed method at the end of this paper.


This thesis expounds the constructive process and the key techniques of national student loan information management platform in Jilin province.The purpose of the thesis is to provide instructions on theory and methods and helpful thoughts for the construction of management platform of informationalized government affairs and the realization of resource share.


The effect of heat conduction through the adiabatic section on the oscillating motion and heat transfer performance in an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) was investigated experimentally. Two, closed loop, 6-turn OHPs were constructed; one with a separate copper block for the evaporator and condenser sections (split block design) and one using a single continuous copper block for the evaporator, adiabatic, and condenser sections (continuous block design). The results show that the presence of heat conduction directly from the evaporator wall to the adiabatic section and from the adiabatic section to the condenser of a heat pipe will reduce the oscillating amplitude of the evaporator, adiabatic, and condenser temperatures. It was also found that in addition to a higher level of temperature uniformity, the continuous block design results in better heat transfer performance than a heat pipe without conduction through the adiabatic section.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Earthworm activity has a notable influence on soil properties that contribute to increased soil fertility and plant performance, such as pH, texture, porosity and organic matter content. These annelids have a set of ecological and physiological features that make them excellent indicators of soil pollution compared to other terrestrial invertebrates. Earthworms are found in a wide variety of soil types and horizons, thereby being classified in three ecological categories: the epigeic species that are surface active and dwell in litter (e.g., Eisenia fetida), the endogeic species that live in the organic horizons and create horizontal burrows (e.g., Aporrectodea caliginosa), and the anecic species that live in vertical and deep burrows and ingest large amounts of soil (e.g., Lumbricus terrestris). Earthworms are therefore continuously exposed to soil contaminants through their exterior epidermis and alimentary surfaces. Many species are large size (e.g., anecic species) and the measurement of pollutant residues and biomarkers is feasible in a single individual as well as in different tissues or organs. Earthworms are also the common prey of many vertebrate species such as birds and shrews; they play therefore a key role in the biomagnification process of several soil pollutants and in the occurrence of indirect effects on terrestrial vertebrates from soil pollution. These characteristics, and others, have made earthworm one of the most common standard organisms in soil toxicity testing. They also are excellent bioindicators in the field monitoring of soil pollution. Thus, changes in earthworm abundance or species richness have been positively correlated to point-sources of soil pollution or to the level of soil degradation by agricultural activity. In addition, these organisms are suitable indicators for monitoring the effectiveness of polluted-soil remediation procedures. Nevertheless, the assessment of heavy metal pollution has been the main scope in most of the ecotoxicological investigations with earthworms, and very few studies have examined the toxic effects upon earthworms from currently used organic pollutants such as pesticides. Biomarkers are an important element in the ecological risk assessment of pollution; they are used to estimate the exposure level and sublethal effects from pollutants. Biomarkers are commonly defined as measurable biological changes, from molecular to behavioural levels, in response to one or more contaminants. This approach has been well developed in aquatic (eco)toxicology, and sediment toxicity testing usually includes biomarker measurements that give solid evidence for pollutant bioavailability, and identify the Earthworm biomarkers of pesticide contamination: Current status and perspectives


mainly in people under the age of fifty. Other workers have found similar changes, and even inversion of the '1' waves has been observed with minor changesin the P-R interval and in the voltage of the QR S complex. Theseexperimentsresemble those carried out on surface temperatureof the limbs in relation to the changes produced by smoking. They demonstratethat smoke,presumably owing to the action of nicotine, produceschangesin cardio-vascularfunction. The degreeof harm likely to be wrought by such changeswe cannotestimate, but at least our pharmacological knowledge of tobacco is growing. Segal also reports a series of cases in which a definite degree of fatigue was complained of by smokers, a condition which was permanently relieved by the abandonmentof the habit. This work is basedon vaguer clinical observations. He statesthat the relationship of fatigue to smoking may dependin somecasesupon the depletionof the glycogen reserves,since it is known that nicotine has a direct effect on the height of the blood sugar. These results seem to need more control experiments; but they open up an interestingfield.


Intelligence and Intelligence Testing. Personality - Factor Theories. Cognitive Approaches to Personality. Approaches to Abnormality. Forms of Psychopathology. Therapeutic Approaches.


Professional development is a long-life journey and rewarding in an academia. Teachers are required to improve their competences. They do not only enhance their subject matters but also upgrade their pedagogical knowledge. Professional development can be conducted through many ways. It could be done through formal education, informal training or self-reflection. This is reflexivity on an English teacher's professional journey. It scrutinizes phases of language learning and teaching awareness. The article starts with my first contact with English and then goes on to learning-teaching experience in the later phases. The reflection on these experiences shapes my teaching identity and improves teaching competence. Abstrak: Upaya untuk peningkatan kemampuan profesi merupakan pendidikan seumur hidup bagi para akademisi. Para akademisi tersebut tidak hanya meningkatkan kemampuan keilmuan mereka semata, tapi mereka juga harus meningkatkan kemampuan mengajarnya. Pengembagan kemampuan profesi ini dapat dilakukan dengan berbagai cara. Melalui pendidikan formal, pelatihan informal atau juga refleksi secara mandari. Artikel ini merefleksikan tahapan-tahapan pengalaman belajar dan mengajar seorang guru/dosen Bahasa Inggris. Refleksi terhadap pengalaman tersebut mis.eningkatkan kemampuan pengajajaran seorang guru/dosen Bahasa Inggr Kata Kunci: Reflexivity, professional development, teaching competence, learning experience REFLEXIVITY This is a reflexive and narrative inquiry on my EFL learning-teaching experience. As an academician, I see my life journey as a long-life education, in which I learn and thus improve my teaching competent through experience. This reflexivity reminds me to the work of Hickey (2012), in which she asked herself "how might my own experiences bring insights to my knowledge of the experiences of English learners" (p. 149), and thus I start this paper with a similar inquiry. John Dewey once says that "...all genuine education comes about through experience..." (1997, p. 25), and this statement seems applicable to my journeys as a student and as a teacher as well. Kabilan, Adlina and Embi (2011) also put forward that life-long learning is a must-journey leading to professional development. This article then begins with this intention. As I share similar conception to that of John Dewey, I aim at producing a scholarly piece, in which I record my experience being an EFL learner and teacher, and then provide implications for my teaching career. In this article, therefore, I propose to narratechronologically phases of my English learning and teaching, and gain insights from those experiences that improve my teaching skills. Learning from and reflecting on experience is an important journey that produces insights for professional development. As this belief has been around for centuries, work on selfdevelopment has been developed as well (refer to Christodoulou, 2003; Gibbons, 2009; Peacock, 2001; Pettis, 2005; Tarpey, 2009; and Taylor, 2005). This article is very straightforward in nature. First, I scrutinize my first contact with English, which was during my Secondary School Years. This first contact was very important to elaborate in this article, since from which I gained interest to English. Factors leading me into EFL learning journeys start form these school years. These years gave me not only experiences as an EFL learner but also experiences as a junior teacher. The second main section of the article deals with my EFL learning experience in the college years, in which reason underlying my Zulfikar, Looking Into My Backyard: Shifts In Professional Identity | 114 choice to study at department of EFL education is explained. I also elaborate phase of experience within these four years of colleague and its implication to my journey to be a professional teacher. Again, this phase of journey is colourful. I was a student in the department of EFL education and at the same time, I was an EFL instructor in a private English school. These college years have shifted my pedagogical philosophy upon interacting and engaging with EFL lecturers graduating from American and Australian universities. The information discussed in the third main section of this article is intriguing indeed. I elaborate phases, in which my interest to EFL teaching increases and at the same time I also give a depth scrutiny to what makes my passionate to English decreases. Therefore, in this section I discuss my negotiation being in the intersection of forked roads. I experienced a battle inside between staying in the path of EFL teaching and choosing other professional career. In the final section of this article, I provide implication of these learning and teaching experience toward my present professional career. Narrative has been seen as a legitimate professional journey (Knight, 2011. Elliott (2005), and it is "understood to organize a sequence of events into a whole so that significance of each event can be understood through its relation to that whole" ( p. 3). This definition suggests that narratives are embodied in three features: narratives are chronological because they represent events in a sequence; they are also meaningful, since the sequence gives meaning to events being represented; and third, narratives are social because they are produced for a particular audience (Elliott, 2005). My narrative reflects my learning experience that shaped the way I see my small world as a lecturer in the Department of EFL education and also the way I negotiate my professional career within my big world in the jungle of academic environment. THE FIRST CONTACT My first contact with foreign languages was in 1989 during my school years at a Boarding School, in which I learnt both English and Arabic as two core subjects. This learning experience was terrifying, since English was a total alien to me. In fact, none of my family speaks the language. Nevertheless, similar learning anxiety seemed to be absent in my Arabic learning. This anxiety, however, did not halt my English learning motivation, and in the end made it as my learning focus. My passionate toward English begins during my intense exposure with my first English teacher at the school. I was attracted with his teaching styles. He seemed to combine L1 and L2 but more emphasis was made on the later. He also developed good relationship with students. He built rapports with students through gaining their trust toward him. Trust is considered important in the learning process, since it triggers continuous learning. As a novice learner, however, I was not certain about my teacher's teaching methodology. My initial assumption suggested that English was taught through Grammar Translation Method. This was because teaching process was concerned with grammar; teaching grammar deductively was the focus of GMT (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, 2004). It believes that to learn a language, students are to acquire grammatical competent, and thus it should be taught explicitly and through translation into L1. However, the focus of the instruction was not on developing reading and writings as the focus of GTM (Richards & Rodger, 2001, p. 6); instead, his medium of instruction was very much like Direct Methods (Richards & Rodger, 2001, 2004). He was concerned with developing speaking skill. In spite of this mixed methods, his ways of teaching was intriguing. In addition to practicing English and Arabic in class of 35 students, we were to speak the two languages outside of the classroom. As we live in dormitories, our language practices can be tightly monitored and controlled. Dormitory allows students to establish a community of learning, in which practicing the language in daily basis was very feasible (DeVillar & Jiang, 2004; Morgan, 2004). Students are required to speak English from Monday to Wednesday, and Arabic from 115 | Jurnal Al-Ta'lim, Jilid 1, Nomor 2 Juli 2012, hlm. 113-121 Thursday to Saturday, and Sunday was devoted to the two languages. Speaking the two languages within the dormitory building was an obligatory, and thus breaching this rule will result in severe punishments. Practicing these languages in informal settings through role play and partners was also our model of language learning. Under teachers and seniors' supervision we were put into groups every day at 5 pm to practice the two languages. We used various fun learning activities such as guessing vocabularies based on partners' description of the word. Partners' description was a clue to predict the vocabulary. In addition, as a part of our routine activities, every morning we were to write three vocabularies in our notebook and submitted it to teachers' office. The book should be collected in the afternoon by memorizing these vocabularies to enables us get the book back. This method seemed effective in vocabulary building in the short run, but it did not help students to understand the use of vocabularies in context as they were memorized in isolation (Nation & Meara, 2002). In spite of some shortcomings in such a teaching methodology, it helped student to develop their communicative competent. For example, in the first six months of schooling, my speaking skill had increased from level 0+ to level 1 or 1+, in which I gained sufficient competent to develop simple English expressions. While those who study in state secondary schools, in which speaking English is not an obligatory, gained very limited communicative skill. This experience led to my hypotheses that daily practices of the language improve the chance to gain sufficient communicative competent (Richards & Rodger, 2001). In fact, the boarding school was transformed into language learning community, and thus it enhance feasibility that students will acquire language competent, especial oral proficiency more easily (Morgan, 2004 and DeVillar & Jiang, 2004). Nevertheless, our negligence in writing and reading skills created potential problems in our ability to be fully competen


The astaxanthin-hyperproducing mutants of oceanic red yeast were efficiently screened with β-ionone.As shown by the result,the biomass and astaxanthin content of oceanic red yeast was reduced due to the presence of β-ionone which inhibited the synthesis of carotenoids.The lethality rate of oceanic red yeast would attained 92.3% if 370 mg/L of the β-ionone concentration was contained in the plate medium.The oceanic red yeast mutated by ethyl methane sulfonate was cultured on plate medium containing 370 mg/L of the β-ionone.200 mutants were randomly screened,positive mutants with increased the biomass,astaxanthin volumetric yield and astaxanthin specific yield accounted for 18% of the total strain,the mutants with higher biomass,astaxanthin volumetric yield and astaxanthin specific yield higher occupied 22.5%,45% and 46%,respectively.The results indicated that the astaxanthin-hyperproducing strains of oceanic red yeast could be efficiently isolated on the selective medium containing β-ionone.


The many changes in today's world of work are attributed to two reasons: top management's recognition that what employees do on the job carries a high cost; and today's work force is markedly different from yesterday's. For today's work force, self-fulfillment takes first place. The results of studies show a decline in job satisfaction nationwide since 1973. The major findings of a Quality of Employment Survey by the University of Michigan are listed. Some work improvement experiments undertaken in the 1970's and briefly outlined. There is a clear belief that there is a need and desire for more participation. It is also recognized that effective innovation produces both economic benefits for the organization and human benefits for its employees. New approaches, that involve shift from reward-and-punishment systems to approaches that encourage doing a job well and take into account individual preferences, learning curves and motivations, might sometimes be justified.


In the Yi-Xia concept of Confucian and Mohist in Pre-Qin,the Confucians highlights theories of Sinocentralism,Hua-Yi distinction and Yi-Xia defenses.while in terms of the concept of"the world as a whole",the Mohist emphasizes that the Man-Yi-Rong-Di peoples' customs are only representations of environmental adaptation rather than mark underdevelopment.And the Monists proclaims equality and mutual love between the Yi and the Xia.So it is of significance to advocate the Monist's Yi-Xia concept in the present that were distinctive and advanced in those days.


Plantation developers mostly prefer exotic to indigenous tree species in restoration of degraded forests due, perhaps to, inadequate information on indigenous tree plantations to enable them change in that direction. The study was conducted at the Jimira Forest Reserve in the Nkawie Forest District to compare the growth performance of Ceiba pentandra, Terminalia superba and Triplochiton scleroxylon in their pure and mixed stands. Four plots, each divided into four subplots measuring 50m x 50m, of one hectare demarcated represented three pure stands of Ceiba pentandra, Terminalia superba and Triplochiton scleroxylon and one mixed stand of the three species. Simple random sampling was used to a subplot from each plotand diameter and height measurements were taken. The mean growth rates in diameter of Ceiba pentandra, Terminalia superba, and Triplochiton scleroxylon in the pure stands and the mixed stand were 1.73 and 1.61cm/year; 1.77 and 2.02 cm/year; and 2.70 and 2.57 cm/year respectively and those in height were 1.06 and 0.80 m/year; 1.16 and 1.25 m/year; and 1.98 and 1.59 m/year respectively. The statistical analysis carried out to determine the variations in tree diameter and height in the pure and mixed stands indicated no significant differences. Keywords: Growth Performance, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Terminalia superba, Ceiba pentandra, Pure and Mixed Stands. DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-4-07


The title compound, 2C2H8N+·C30H12N2O12 2−·2H2O, comprises dimethylammonium cations, 3,3′-dicarboxy-5,5′-(5,7,12,14-tetraoxo-6,13-diazatetracyclo[6.6.2.04,16.011,15]hexadeca-1,3,8,10,15-pentaene-6,13-diyl)dibenzoate dianions and water molecules. The dianion is situated on a crystallographic inversion centre. Two very strong symmetry-restricted O⋯H⋯O hydrogen bonds are present which are situated about the crystallographic inversion centres. In one of these hydrogen bonds, the H atom is situated at its centre, while in the other one the H atom is disordered about its centre. Both H atoms are involved in the chain-like C 2 2(16) motif, and not in a more common motif R 2 2(8) that is composed of a pair of hydrogen carboxylates with the H atoms situated about the centre between the pair of O atoms. In the crystal, interaction of these hydrogen bonds results in formation of anionic layers of dianions parallel to (-111). The water molecules donate their H atoms to one of two of the carboxylate O atoms, forming strong hydrogen bonds. The dimethylammonium donates a bifurcated hydrogen bond to an oxo group of the dianion, forming weak hydrogen bonds. All the hydrogen bonds form a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network.


Trans-Re02l(PMe2Ph)3 (1) is formed by the reaction of [0Re(02CNPh)I(PPh3)]3 or Re02l(PPh3)2 with excess of PMe2Ph. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group /^ i /« with a = 944.8(4), b = 1364.4(5), c = 2175.6(5) pm, ß = 95.84(3)°, Z = 4. In the trans-dioxo complex the central rheniuni(V) atom is octahedrally coordinated. In the linear 0 = Re = 0 moiety the distances R e O are 176.6(4) and 179.0(4) pm indicating double bonds. ReNl2(PMe2Ph)3 (2) is obtained from 1 and Me3SiN(Me)SiMe3 in a complex reaction. 2 forms orthorhombic crystals with the Space group Pbca and a = 1681.5(7), 1771.7(6), c = 1912.7(9) pm, Z = 8. In the octahedral rhenium(V) complex the phosphane groups are in meridional arrangement, and the two I atoms have eis orientation. As a result of the strong trans-influence of the triply bonded nitrido ligand [Re —N = 168.4(5) pm] the two Re —I distances are different: R e lais = 274.47(5), R e I , " n s = 295.33(6) pm.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of the venous anastomotic Flow Coupler in monitoring free flaps used for breast reconstruction in a consecutive series of patients.


The exact generalization of GEHAN's (1965) two-sample test for arbitrarily censored survival data has been overlooked by subsequent work on the multisample problem. We give this general covariance matrix and show how it may be used in test procedures. While this permutation test is less powerful than its competitors in cases where both apply, it may be used on types of data not previously discussed.


The interaction between Au n (n = 1–6) clusters and graphene is studied using first-principles simulations, based on density functional theory. The computed binding energy between Au n and graphene depends on the number of atoms in the cluster and lies between −0.6 eV and −1.7 eV, suggesting (weak) chemisorption of the clusters on graphene, rather than physisorption. Overall, the electronic properties, spin–orbit interaction and spin texture, as well as the transport properties of graphene strongly depend on the precise size of the Au n clusters. Doping of graphene is predicted for clusters with an odd number of Au atoms, due to overlap between Au s and carbon pz states close to the Fermi level. On the other hand, there is no charge transfer between even size Au clusters and graphene, but a gap is formed at the Dirac cone, due to the breaking of the pseudo spin inversion symmetry of graphene's lattice. The adsorbed Au n clusters induce spin–orbit interactions as well as spin and pseudo spin interactions in graphene, as indicated by the splitting of the electronic band structure. A hedgehog spin texture is also predicted for adsorbed clusters with an even number of Au atoms. Ballistic transport simulations are performed to study the influence of the adsorbed clusters on graphene's electronic transport properties. The influence of the cluster on the electron transmission across the structure depends on the mixing of the valence orbitals in the transport energy window. In the specific case of the Au3/graphene system, the adsorbed clusters reduce the transmission and the conductance of graphene. The Au3 clusters act as 'scattering centers' for charge carriers, in agreement with recent experimental studies.


This research paper presents results on the construction of a system for recognizing emotional state of energy facilities operators by the expression of their faces in the images. The model uses one of the algorithms of artificial immune systems as a classifier. An artificial immune system is a concept that contains methods and algorithms that try to apply the basic mechanisms of biological immune system to solve various practical problems. In accordance with the main aim of the research, the article deals with existing concepts of emotion classification as well as current methods for recognizing emotions from facial expressions in images. Also, a brief review of the literature is given in accordance with the questions posed. The proposed model uses a feature extraction approach based on marking the human face with 68 points, followed by extraction of their coordinates. For the obtained coordinates, a new special technique for their processing for subsequent classification is proposed. The built model is able to classify the 7 basic Ekman emotions both on images and in the video stream, with an accuracy of about 80%.


Vaginal cultures for the genital mycoplasmas (Mycoplasma hominis and T-mycoplasmas) were obtained from 388 consecutive women who delivered at the Boston City Hospital. We were unable to relate vaginal colonization with genital mycoplasmas to postpartum fever. Patients who became febrile after delivery were examined and blood and urine cultures were obtained. M. hominis was isolated from the blood of 2 of 27 women with otherwise unexplained postpartum fever as well as from the blood of 1 of 31 afebrile patients who served as controls. Neither of the febrile women who had M. hominis in her blood was seriously ill and both recovered without specific antimicrobial therapy. All 3 women who had M. hominis in their blood developed mycoplasmacidal antibodies to M. hominis. (authors modified)


The ambitious task of the Liturgical Press's Wisdom Commentary series is to publish a critical feminist commentary on every book of the Roman Catholic Bible. Some 13 volumes have appeared to date, and this newest volume on the epistle to the Ephesians comes from the pen of one of the foremost theorists of feminist biblical interpretation, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Her thesis about the epistle is that 'Ephesians is a "mystery" text that seeks to make known the multifarious Wisdom of G*d. At its heart is the question of power' (p. lxxxii). Regarding this question of power, building on her own previous (and already classic) hermeneutical proposals, Schüssler Fiorenza advocates for a reading of Ephesians against itself. She writes, 'If we read Ephesians in terms of Divine Wisdom and ekklesia we can reject the rhetoric of submission and obedience as a kyriarchal oppressive relic of imperial culture and domination and recover the letter's rhetoric of love and "divine fullness" as the central the*logical theme of Ephesians' (p. 122). The running commentary itself is relatively short (122 pages), but there are an additional 82 pages of critical introduction and 23 pages of back matter. Schüssler Fiorenza accomplishes quite a lot, however, in this short space. Perhaps most significantly, she is not content to make the Paul of the undisputed letters out to be a gender egalitarian while consigning the deutero-Pauline letters to the dustbin for their more bourgeois gender politics. In her earlier work, she has subjected the undisputed Pauline letters to pointed feminist criticism, and here she is determined to mine Ephesians for what she sees as its powerful liberative resources. This yields a fascinating reading of the letter, one quite different from what one finds in the standard handbooks and introductions.


The concept of translating meanings but not words is firstly advanced by Liang Qichao.Though discussed frequently,it has not been elaborated by scholars till now.As a translation method,it not only reflects Liang Qichao's views on translation,but also is applied in his translation activities.This paper attempts to probe into it by analyzing Liang's translation of George Byron's The Isles of Greece.


Nowadays China is entering an era of opening to the outside world,a market economy era,an information era and a law era.Thechanges of the times have put forward the new demand for every piece of work of the Party.Colleges are the place where various types oftalents gather,and the cradle where all kinds of talents are trained.The key that whether one could become a useful person depends on twoaspects:First,whether he can do work well,which is up to his academic program;second,whether he tries to be a good fellow,whichneeds our ideology work to guarantee.Ideology work is the important component of our Party.Only by facing the changes of times and re-alizing renewal of ideas,can college ideology staff keep up with the times.


An analysis has been made of the sounds of the Highland bagpipe. This instrument consists of a leather bag fitted with five pipes: the blowpipe through which the player fills the bag with air, the chanter that has eight open holes on which the melody is played, and two tenor drones and one bass drone, which produce harmonious steady tones. This study was made of the sounds produced by four individual pipers, each using his own instrument. Three of the pipers had considerable professional experience—the fourth was a young beginner. Spectral analyses were obtained for each drone and the chanter sounding separately under otherwise normal playing conditions. The harmonic structure of these sounds was investigated as a function of a number of parameters including blowing pressure, length of drone, and aging of the chanter reed. Transient as well as steady‐state conditions were studied.


The preparation of carbon materials with molecular sieve function is very challenging due to their noncrystalline structure, but they have broad application prospects in petrochemical industries for the separation of...


In rate and state friction (RSF) theory, time‐dependent evolution (represented by the Aging law) and slip‐dependent evolution (represented by the Slip law) both succeed in explaining some features of the friction curves while failing in explaining others. Nevertheless, experimental results provided strong evidence for the two ideas and suggested that they are both critical components in friction evolution. Making a first attempt toward reconciling these two ideas, we developed a new friction model for RSF evolution assuming combined physical mechanisms that highlight asperities' plastic behavior: the time‐dependent growth of asperity contact area and the slip‐dependent enhancement (slip strengthening) of asperity intrinsic strength. Our model adopts a two‐scale mathematical structure developed by Li and Rubin (2017; https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB013970), where the specification of the surface distribution of asperity ensembles and their geometry facilitates the numerical construction of the state variable in the RSF equation. Results show that this new model's fit to the slide‐hold‐slide experiments is similar to the best fits of the Slip law, while it provides an improved physical picture; however, for velocity steps it fails to match the symmetry of step ups and downs, although the general fit is acceptable. By introducing two new parameters to specify the slip‐hardening mechanism, we allow the model to incorporate as a subset the pure time‐dependent model discussed in Li and Rubin (2017). Although failing to completely reconcile time‐ and slip‐dependent friction evolution, this study produced useful insights for future research; for example, a granular numerical description of the frictional surface might be convenient for modeling the physics of friction.


In Swiss environment legislation, protection of the soil is defined by reference to the long-term maintenance of soil fertility. To fulfil this commitment, long-lasting damage to the soil must be prevented, respectively reduced to a minimum. When the forest floor is driven over with heavy logging machinery, this can lead to profound and long-lasting changes in the soil structure in the ruts thus formed. Based on driving trials under controlled conditions in the Heiteren region of the forest near Bern, investigations were made to find out whether the classification of ruts into three distinct types showing morphologically determined changes in the soil could be substantiated with the help of known values in soil physics. It was shown that the non-compacted reference soils could be clearly distinguished from all three types of rut by comparison of the stratification density, the total pore space and the saturated water permeability. In addition, the three types significantly differed from each other. Damage...


Background
Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common malignant tumor of the digestive system. Although progress has been reported in terms of treatment, it is still the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Long non-coding RNAs have been shown to play a key role in human cancers in recent investigations. However, the role of POT1-AS1 in GC is still unclear.

Methods
The relative POT1-AS1 level in GC tissues and paracancerous tissues was detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The biological function of POT1-AS1 was studied by CCK8 and Transwell assays in vitro experiments. Moreover, the downstream target genes of POT1-AS1 were predicted by bioinformatics.

Results
In this study, high POT1-AS1 expression in GC cells was confirmed, and its elevated expression was linked to patients' negative clinicopathological characteristics, as well as shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). POT1-AS1 was shown to serve as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-497-5p to increase PDK3 expression. The impact of POT1-AS1 silencing on GC malignant phenotypes could be reversed by suppressing miR-497-5p or restoring PDK3, according to rescue experiments.

Conclusions
In brief, POT1-AS1 acted as an oncogenic lncRNA in GC, facilitating GC development by affecting the miR-497-5p/PDK3 axis, implying that the POT1-AS1/miR-497-5p/PDK3 axis is a useful target in anticancer therapy.


Presently, air pollution is a burning problem for every part of the globe. More than 100 pollutants which pollute air have been identified. They may be in the form of solids, liquids or gases. They differ significantly from place to place depending upon the particular complex of contaminant source and atmospheric conditions. The air pollutants emitted from both natural as well as anthropogenic sources. The study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), reveals that 77% of Indian urban agglomerations exceeded national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for suspended particulate matter (SPM). Estimates from the WHO suggest that 13 out of 20 cities in the world with the worst fine particulate (PM2.5) air pollution are in India, including Delhi, the worst-ranked metropolitan. Off late researchers, policy makers and governments have focused their attention on air quality in the urban areas only. Air quality in the countryside remains a neglected issue so far. The common belief is that the countrysideis free from air pollution. On the contrary, air quality in the countrysideall over the world and particularly in the developing countries may be more polluted than some of the urban International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 10 (2017) pp. 3151-3165 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


Block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D) is an image denoising algorithm that works in two similar steps. Both of these steps need to perform grouping by block-matching. We implement the block-matching in an FPGA, leveraging its ability to perform parallel computations. Our goal is to enable other researchers to use our solution in the future for real-time video denoising in video cameras that use FPGAs (such as the AXIOM Beta).


The inclusion complexation of several 4,4′-bipyridinium ions by sulfonated calix[6]arenes has been investigated in aqueous media using electrochemical and 1H-NMR spectroscopic techniques.


This paper analyzes the unique characteristics of South Korean ethics and morality and classes them into three types: multi-value viewpoints, orientation towards practice and traditional Confucian root. Through expounding their forms, manifestations and future development, the author points out their content, coming to the conclusion that South Korea is endeavoring to retain its good traditional culture while attaining modernization rapidly.


What is the role of lead arranger reputation in the loan syndication market? We answer this question by examining the impact of borrower bankruptcy - which we use to identify loss of reputation - on a lead arranger's ability to syndicate future loans. Consistent with a reduced syndication ability, there is a drop in the lead arranger's aggregate level of activity in the loan syndication market. The lead arranger shifts lending to less risky borrowers and is more likely to include security and restrictive covenants in its loans. Controlling for loan amount and borrower fixed effects, the lead arranger syndicates loans less often and finances a larger percentage of the loans that it does syndicate. Other lenders are in general less willing to participate in the lead arranger's syndicates, but this effect is weaker in case of lenders that have done several deals with the lead arranger in the past. The negative consequences of borrower bankruptcy are stronger for small lead arrangers and are weaker in years when several other lead arrangers also suffer borrower bankruptcy. Overall, our findings support the notion of borrower bankruptcy damaging the lead arranger's reputation, and highlight the importance of lead arranger reputation in the loan syndication market. Our findings cannot be fully explained by alternate hypotheses that only emphasize pecuniary losses incurred by the lead arranger or poor investment prospects in the lead arranger's area of specialization.


The past several years have brought public awareness of social movements to the forefront, from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, highlighting their ability to advocate for social change. In m...


Gynecologic Oncology is divided into benign tumor and malignant tumor.Benign tumor includes uterine fibroids,adenomyosis,ovarian benign tumors such as fibroids,ovarian endometrioid tumors,ovarian cysts,etc.Malignant tumor includes Vulvar and vaginal cancer,cervical cancer,uterine sarcoma,endometrial cancer,ovarian cancer,fallopian tube cancer,trophoblastic tumor and so on.The most common benign tumor is the Hysteromyoma,and the common malignant tumor is cervical cancer,ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer,ovarian cancer is in which the highest grade.Professor WANG Xiu-xia based the whole concept of traditional Chinese medicine for symptomatic treatment.And she takes the principle of combining the treatment of anti-tumor and Fuzheng to treat tumors,which has achieved a satisfactory therapeutic effect.


We explore possible manifestations of an odd number of extra dimensions in gravitational radiation, which are associated with violation of Huygens' principle in flat odd-dimensional spacetime. Our setup can be regarded as the limit of an infinite compactification radius in ADD model and is not viable as realistic cosmology, but it still may be useful as a simple analytically solvable model catching certain features of more realistic scenarios. The model consists of two point masses moving inside a flat three-dimensional brane, embedded in a five-dimensional Minkowski space and interacting only through a massless scalar field localized on the same brane, while gravitational radiation is emitted into the bulk. This setup avoids the difficulties associated with taking into account the gravitational stresses binding the system, which require the cubic terms in the perturbative gravitational Lagrangian, and permits to limit ourselves to linearized theory. We calculate radiation in a linearized five-dimensional gravity generalizing the Rohrlich-Teitelboim approach to extract the emitted part of the retarded gravitational field. The source term consists of a local contribution from point particles and a non-local contribution from scalar field stresses, which is calculated using the DIRE approach to post-Newtonian expansions. In the nonrelativistic limit, we find an analog of the quadrupole formula containing an integral over the history of the particles' motion preceding the retarded time. We also show that, for an observer on the brane, the radiation contains a third polarization: the breathing mode.


Harrogate Town slumped to a 3 goal defeat at Damson Park, Solihull. Steve Mallory, a late signing from Bradford Park Avenue,was given a place in ...


Early visitors crusaders royalty writers clergymen port wine tourists earthquake the war of the two brothers plotters ambassadors learned consul prisoners of Dom Miguel the Earl of Essex and the bishop's books two captains and a major.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate silica in fi ltration into dental zirconia (VITA In-Ceram 2000 YZ, Vita Zahnfabrik) and its effects on zirconia ' s surface characteristics, structural homogeneity and bonding to a resin cement. Methods: In fi ltration was performed by immersion of the pre-sintered zirconia specimens in silica sols for fi ve days (ZIn). Negative (pure zirconia specimens, ZCon-) and positive controls (specimens kept in water for 5 days, ZCon+) were also performed. After sintering, the groups were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), grazing angle X-ray diffraction (DRXR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurements, optical pro fi lometry, biaxial fl exural test and shear bonding test. Weibull analysis was used to determine the Weibull modulus (m) and characteristic strength ( s 0 ) of all groups. Results: There were no major changes in strength for the in fi ltrated group, and homogeneity (m) was also increased. A layer of ZrSiO 4 was formed on the surface. The bond strength to resin cement was improved after zirconia in fi ltration, acid conditioning and the use of an MDP primer. Conclusion: The sol-gel method is an ef fi cient and simple method to increase the homogeneity of zirconia. In fi ltration also improved bonding to resin cement. Clinical signi fi cance: The performance of a zirconia in fi ltrated by silica gel improved in at least two ways: structural homogeneity and bonding to resin cement. The in fi ltration is simple to perform and can be easily managed in a prosthesis laboratory.


This work expands previous work (Doyle and Nilsson, 2016) on the impact that pedagogical changes, including a hybrid flipped classroom, have on student engagement and retention of material in engineering statics. During two academic years (2015-2016 and 2017–2018), data were collected from eight total engineering statics sessions. The data set includes prerequisite grades, final statics grades, scores from pre- and post-statics concept inventory and a post-course survey administered via google forms. The additional data collected during 2017-2018 provides a more robust data set to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of the pedagogical changes. The data show underrepresented minorities (females) are more engaged in the material with the hybrid flipped classroom, and more importantly, make greater gains in knowledge compared to their male counterparts. Across all data, female students concept inventory scores show greater gains from pre- to post- course. Female students (n = 36) increase concept inventory score by 138% compared to an increase of 77% by male classmates (n = 90). The value of active pedagogies was reinforced as 58% of all students stated that this course 'increased' or 'greatly increased' their interest in engineering with a greater percentage of females indicated the course 'greatly increased' their interest in engineering. Results from this study are of particular interest as engineering programs strive to retain all students, especially underrepresented minorities, and to increase diversity and inclusion in engineering. An unexpected result of this work was the reinforcement of the need for targeted faculty development in the implementation of active-learning methodologies to insure the method has the intended effect on student learning and engagement. 5.566, p = 0.000. These results suggest that students enrolled in


A parameter detector sends at least one test signal to a display and receives at least one detected display parameter from a remote control device in proximity of the display. A content parameter analyzer retrieves at least one content parameter from content to be sent to the display. A parameter comparator then compares the detected display parameter to the content parameter and adjusts outgoing content signals based on the content parameter but in accordance with the detected display parameter. The parameter comparator provides at least one suggested display parameter adjustment when the content parameter is beyond the detected display parameter. The suggested display parameter can be transmitted using a video and/or an audio signal.


We present an end-to-end ecosystem trial of the Licensed Shared Access (LSA) concept using a live LTE network sharing the 2.3 GHz band with incumbent wireless cameras. The entire LSA concept is implemented introducing LTE network as an additional licensed user in the band with the aid of an LSA Repository for spectrum availability information from wireless cameras and an LSA Controller for managing the LTE network. The trial goes beyond previous LSA demos by presenting enhanced LSA resource optimization with LSA Controller that is integrated into a real network management system to coordinate a heterogeneous network of macro and small cells. Enhanced incumbent protection is provided with algorithms for tracking a moving incumbent and considering aggregate interference from the LTE network to incumbent. Trial gives a unique opportunity to see live how a commercial LTE network adapts transmissions on the fly according to the location of the incumbent. Small cells are shown to improve the LSA resource use as the enhanced incumbent protection algorithm can allow small cells to continue operations in situation where macro cells need to close down.


Abstract Background: Increased fat deposition is a hallmark of exogenous and endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing's syndrome, CS). Fat accumulates not only in the abdomen and liver, but also in unusual locations such as the temporal and supraclavicular fossae, intrascapular fat pads and spinal epidural space (1). Here we describe, to our knowledge, the first report of intracapsular fat deposition at the hip in a patient (pt) with CS. Case Presentation: A 47 year old African American male presented with a six year history of diabetes and hypertension. He also reported abdominal weight gain, moodiness, facial flushing, blurry vision, fatigue, joint aches (especially knee and hips), muscle weakness leading to falls, difficulty with ambulation, straie, and decreased memory. Physical exam on admission revealed a rounded face with bitemporal fat pads, supraclavicular and dorsocervical fat pads, central obesity, +1 pitting edema of the lower extremities, 4/5 strength in shoulders and hips, ankle flexion and hand grip strength 5/5, wide violaceous striae on the abdomen. Biochemical evaluation revealed urine free cortisol 1460.8 and 1031.2 mcg/24h (ref: 3.5-45 mcg/24h), and plasma ACTH levels of 51.3-158 pg/ml (ref:5-46pg/ml). Pituitary MRI showed an 8mm lesion, CRH stimulation test showed 52% increase in cortisol level (29.8 to 43.1 mcg/dl) and a 79% increase in ACTH level, (95.9 to 175 pg/ml), suggestive of Cushing's disease. However, cortisol increased by 41% after 8mg dexamethasone (23.2 to 32.8 mcg/dL), and IPSS also was consistent with an ectopic source of ACTH. A 10mm right hilar lesion was identified by CT, MRI, and 68Ga-DOTATATE. While awaiting surgical resection, pt was treated with ketoconazole and metyrapone. Three weeks after initiation of medical therapy, pt reported new unprovoked bilateral hip pain with antalgic gait. MRI hip revealed only bilateral symmetric intracapsular fat abutting the superolateral aspects of the femur in the subcapital region. There was no evidence of avascular necrosis of bone, osteoarthritis, or collagen tear. Physiatry evaluation reported functional hip strength in the 4- range, hip extension bilaterally 2+, unchanged ability from a prior admission to stand from sitting position without the use of upper extremities, and ability to ambulate independently across a room, but necessary use of a single point cane for longer distances. Physical therapy noted a decline in his mobility status since last visit, and recommended use of a wheeled walker. Discussion: This is the first time we have identified a patient with increased fat in the hip joint explained by no other comorbidities other than Cushing's Syndrome. This new finding adds another unusual location for increased adipose in the clinical presentation of patients with CS. Further studies are needed to better assess the correlation between the finding of intracapsular hip fat, pain and hypercortisolism.


Background: Although anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common in female soccer players, the optimal graft option for ACL reconstruction is currently unclear. Purpose/Hypothesis: To compare the outcomes of female soccer players after ACL reconstruction using either hamstring tendon autograft or bone–patellar tendon–bone (BTB) autograft. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in clinical outcome scores, return to sport, or retear rates between BTB and hamstring grafts in our study cohort. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all skeletally mature adolescent female soccer players who underwent primary ACL reconstruction using either hamstring tendon or BTB autograft between 2013 and 2016. Demographic, injury, and surgical variables were documented. Outcome measures included the Lysholm score, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, Tegner activity score, and visual analog scales for pain and for satisfaction, as well as ability to return to sport. Results: Overall, 90 female soccer players met the inclusion criteria, of whom 79% (41 BTB and 30 hamstring) were available for a minimum 2-year follow-up or had a graft failure before the follow-up. The BTB group had a lower body mass index (mean ± SD, 23 ± 3 vs 25 ± 4; P = .02) and shorter postoperative follow-up time in months (mean ± SD, 37.4 vs 46.1; P ≤ .001); otherwise, no differences in demographic, injury, or surgical variables between groups were noted. Regarding outcome measures, the BTB group achieved a higher Tegner score (6.0 vs 4.2; P = .004), and there was no other difference between groups. Of the patients who did not return to soccer, 44.7% reported fear as the reason. Of the patients who did return to soccer, 31.9% sustained another ACL injury (retear or contralateral tear), with no differences in reinjury rates based on graft selection. Conclusion: Adolescent female soccer players undergoing ACL reconstruction had relatively high satisfaction and outcome scores independent of autograft choice. Notwithstanding, patients and families need to be counseled that less than half of patients will return to their preinjury level of sport and, if an athlete attempts to return, there is a high risk of further ACL injury.


To the Editor: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) allows for the delivery of high biologically effective dose (BED) of radiation to small, well-defined targets using 1 to 5 radiotherapy fractions. While its use in adult patients with early stage, non-small cell lung carcinoma and those with oligometastasis is well documented [1–3], there is limited information regarding its use in children [4,5]. We describe a case of an isolated bone metastasis treated with SBRT in a 12-year-old male with WHO Grade 3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Initial computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance scan of the head and neck showed a mass within the nasopharynx and bilateral cervical nodal metastasis. Bone scan (Fig. 1A) showed osteoblastic activity in the left pelvis, and MRI confirmed the left iliac lesion. Although the differential diagnosis included osteoid osteoma, the lesion was most consistent for a metastatic focus of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The patientwas given three cycles of induction chemotherapywith 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (1,000mg/m/day 4 days) and cisplatin (80mg/m/dose). The lesion showed significant improvement on both bone scan and MRI after induction therapy, providing clinical confirmation of metastatic disease. Cisplatin (100mg/m/dose q 21 days 2 doses, followed by a dose-reduction to 50mg/m/dose) was then given along with intensity modulated radiation therapy (61.2Gy in 34 fractions over 6.8 weeks) to the nasopharynx and bilateral neck. After completion of chemoradiation, the left iliac bony metastasis received 40Gy in 5 fractions, delivered every other day for 1.5 weeks using SBRT. Currently he is 4 years after completion of therapy, doing well without any evidence of progression. There has been no late complication such as bowel injury or bone fracture. A bone scan performed 3 years after SBRT (Fig. 1B) confirms sustained local control of the solitary iliac metastatic disease site. Radiotherapy doses traditionally used to target bone metastasis have a low BED and are more consistent with palliative rather than curative intent. Two of the most common regimens for bone metastases have been 30Gy in 10 fractions (BED, 39) and 8Gy in 1 fraction (BED, 14.4). The dose (40Gy in 5 fractions) we delivered to the iliac bonemetastasis had a BED of 72, which is the sameBED as delivering 60Gy in 30 fractions, biologically very similar towhat our patient received to the nasopharynx and cervical nodal disease. Several studies have confirmed the high efficacy and safety of SBRT for oligometastatic disease [2–3]. Only two publications exist in children. One is a review article with a Ewing sarcoma patient treated with SBRT for an isolated pulmonary metastasis after whole lung irradiation and salvage chemotherapy [4]. The other is an abstract of 27 osseous and pulmonary sites treated with SBRT in metastatic bone sarcoma. Five local failures occurred; however, median follow-up was only 7.4 months [5]. Future studies are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of SBRT in the pediatric population, given the limited literature that is currently available.


According to the established missile electric steering gear,the simplified model of adaptive discrete variable structure controller is designed,and in the system simulation experimental results show that the system has a good dynamic quality,stability and robustness.


This Paper presents a new kind of hourglass worm trans missim,the tooth surfaces of which are the same as those of the ordinarly worms,but the addemda are not constant.While the generating of the hobbing tool was simplified than the hourglass worm hobber.


BACKGROUND
 Accurately estimating HIV incidence and the number of people living with HIV informs programme evaluation and planning.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study documents the manner in which a selection of EU/EEA Member States (MS) used the ECDC HIV Modelling Tool to model HIV incidence estimates, including the number of undiagnosed, using surveillance data.

 METHODS
 Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and Portugal were selected based on their HIV epidemics, surveillance system characteristics and data availability. Each country calculated its national HIV estimates with the tool and provided feedback on data validation (e.g. CD4 count completeness), selection of diagnosis probabilities, assessment of goodness of fit and interpretation of outputs through a questionnaire developed by ECDC.

 RESULTS
 MS relied on tool assumptions regarding the CD4 count completeness, which varied among participants between 46 and 80%. Each country modelled several HIV diagnosis probabilities based on their surveillance system characteristics and HIV epidemic such as outbreaks or an increasing HIV migrant population. The final model was chosen based on goodness of fit statistics and the perceived reliability of the estimates when compared to other estimates or data sources. Over the period 2014-16, the undiagnosed proportion of people living with HIV ranged from 9.7% to 20.4% and the estimated mean time from HIV infection to diagnosis was four years.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Our study shows that the modelling outcomes provide a more realistic picture of the true HIV burden which are based on transparent assumptions and quantitative surveillance data and the outputs may be considered suitable for national policy making.


Insecticide uses continue to be the main method for dengue and malaria vector control in Thailand, but may cause mosquitoes developing resistance to insecticide. This study aimed to identify insecticide resistant situation in Eastern Thailand. The survey questionnaires were used for collecting data of used insecticide of Local Administrative Organizations (LAO) of 9 provinces in the East, and found that 92.7% of LAO have been using insecticide 100% to control Aedes, 11.8% for Anopheles which were organophosphate and pyrethroid. Cypermethrin was the most utilized for adulticide and temephos was the most used for larvicide in Aedes control. The insecticide susceptibility of Aedes aegypti adult from four provinces (Sakaew, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat) were conducted under the WHO susceptibility test, the results indicated that all populations of Ae. aegypti resist to permethrin 0.75% and lambdacyhalothrin 0.05%. Almost all Ae. aegypti were incipient resistant or resistant to cyfluthrin 0.15% and deltamethrin 0.05%., but for malathion 5% and fenitrothion 5% were high susceptibility. However, the result of insecticide susceptibility of An. minimus adult from all provinces was high susceptibility to permethrin 0.75% and deltamethrin 0.05%. The diagnostic dose for temephos susceptibility test of Ae. aegypti larvae found that all provinces were high susceptibility to temephos and resistance ratio (RR50 and RR95) of all Ae. Aegypti were 2.47-3.08. Therefore there should be insecticide regularly monitoring and guideline for using insecticide for such period of time that will be applied by every organizations.


Most of the bioethics literature published in France during the 1991 1993 period concerns concepts that are prominent in bills currently being considered in Parliament: the notions of human body and human person; the categories of donation, gratuitousness, dignity and consent; and the principles of inviolability ('immunite') and indisposability (or unavailability) ('indisponibilite') of the human body. Some of the literature deals with the more formal problems raised by attempting to translate bioethics into bio law. This essay will follow the sequence of topics requested by the editor but will assemble them under three headings: (1) life, (2) health and society, and (3) death. We will emphasize the major influence that the preparation of legislative bills has had on ethical reflections and discussions during the last two years.


We give new characterizations for matrix monotonicity and convexity of fixed order which connects previous characterizations by Loewner, Dobsch, Donoghue, Kraus and Bendat--Sherman. The ideas introduced are then used to characterize matrix monotone functions of arbitrary order on general subsets of the real line.


The principles of the functional and structural construction of a communication part of the UAV system based on SDR and SoC technologies while ensuring the survivability of the formed radio channels are presented. The main increase in survivability is achieved through the use of adaptation over the frequency range using an additional reception channel for continuous analysis of interference conditions, using two or more data transmission channels, complex algorithms for optimal selection of the operating range, transmission channel parameters and adaptive protocols for simultaneous data transmission over two or more channels.


Abstract The results of a series of nine experiments over a three-year period arc reported, Experiments One through Six. previously published, indicated that a pedal which actuated an accelerator upon depression of the toe and actuated the brake upon depression of the heel saved 0·2 sec (one car length at 60 mph) over the conventional separate controls. Experiment Seven investigated the effect on reaction time of: the angle the pedal made with the floor; the force required to actuate the brake control; the force required to actuate the accelerator control; and the seat reference distance. The minimum time was 0·241 see. Little penalty resulted when the pedal angle was between 30 and 40°, brake actuation force was between 13 and 21 lb, accelerator actuation force was between 4 and 8 lb, and seat reference distance was between 4n and 55% of the person's height. Experiment Eight investigated the effect on reaction time of; the angle the pedal made with the floor; seat height from the floor; the angle of twis...


The objective of the study is to investigate the effects of Al stress and exogenous nitric oxide under Al stress on Al adsorption of root tip cell wall of rye and wheat by using nitric oxide donor(sodium nitroprusside,SNP) to treat the rye and wheat seedling under Al stress.The results showed that root growths of rye and wheat were markedly inhibited by Al,it was more strictness in wheat than in rye.SNP treatment could ameliorate inhibiting effect of Al,and 1 mmol/L SNP had thebest effect.Al adsorption content and adsorption rateof wheat were higher than that of rye.1 mmol/L SNP decreased significantly Al adsorption content of wheat and rye,and Al content in root tip decreased significantly.These results imply that Al binding to cell wall is an important pathway in the response of wheat root to Al toxicity,and reducing Al adsorption of cell walls of root tip is important mechanism of exogenous NO alleviating Al toxicity.


The invention provides an electronic device casing body. The electronic device casing body comprises a body, a soft glue layer which is covered on the body, and a metal decorative piece which is arranged on the soft glue layer. A corona layer is formed on the soft glue layer through a corona method. The metal decorative piece is bonded on the corona layer. The invention further provides a manufacturing method for manufacturing the electronic device casing body.


A wheel module adapted on a vehicle chassis. A vehicle may comprise a drive operably connected to the chassis of a vehicle wheel module. The wheel module comprises at least one non-rotatable structural unit, a rotatable wheel, a vehicle interface connector, a rotatable wheel can be controllably connected to the structural unit of the vehicle interface connector operably linked to the structural unit of the non-rotatable, holder comprising a carrier vehicle and a coupling member control signal receiver. Wheel module further comprises a chassis means includes a brake system, steering system, a motor and at least one of the suspension system, the system is operably connected to the non-rotatable wheel and a structural unit, and operatively connected to the control signal received the wheel is controlled in response to a non-mechanical control signal received by control signal receiver.


The necessity of using innovative social technologies, and explores the concept of social entrepreneurship, which is parsed as a form of social innovations. It analyzes the concept of «social entrepreneurship» as a relatively new specific type of enterprise, and its differences from commercial entrepreneurship. It proves, that today in terms of the new model of economic development the social entrepreneurship allows, first of all, to carry out efficient change of social relations and management systems, for the sake of the growth of sociopolitical accessibility of marginalized groups to resources for provision of more qualitative satisfaction of the needs and participation in political processes; and, secondly, to save communicative integrity of social system due to the increase of social capital and possibility of choice for a social individual. It gives a characteristic of both "European" and "American" models of social entrepreneurship, as well as its peculiarities and differences. The provides the examples, how the most successful social entrepreneurs from the West contributed with the distribution of innovations, whose usefulness was rated so highly, that they were implemented on a national scale with the support of the state and business. Also, it analyzes current level of development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine, the existing problems of creating favorable organizational, 115 Актуальні проблеми міжнародних відносин. Випуск 128. 2016 © Ступницький О. І., Генін В. 2016 legal, economic and competitive conditions, organization and operation of different forms of social entrepreneurship, interaction between the state and public organizations, and maintenance of the development of social entrepreneurship in regions.


(IV), C30H50O, m. p. 201•`202•K (mono-O-acetate, m. p. 280•`282•K). Compounds (I) and (II) gave color reactions characteristic of flavonoid compounds, and examination of their hydrolysis products established the identity of these flavonoids respectively with quercitrin (quercetin-3-L-rhamnoside) and myricitrin (myricetin-3-L -rhamnoside). Compound (III) agreed in all respect with bergenin and the mixed melting point determination established the identity of these two substances. Compound (IV) revealed color reactions characteristic of triterpenoid compounds and it was identified as ilexol3,4) by the mixed melting point determination and comparison of infrared absorption. It is of interest that the co-existence of quercitrin and myricitrin has been reported so far only in the leaves of Corylus avellana LINNAEUS (Corylaceae),5) and that bergenin has recently been isolated from Ardisia hortorum (Myrsinaceae), a Chinese plant assumed to be taxonomically akin to Bladhia japonica HORNSTEDT.


ABSTRACT Here, we report the draft genome sequence of "Paramesorhizobium deserti" A-3-ET, a strain isolated from the Taklimakan Desert of Xinjiang, China, which is resistant to multiple β-lactam antibiotics and other antibiotics (kanamycin, erythromycin, streptomycin, etc.) as well.


Focusing problems in urban CBD(Central Business District) area like disequilibrium passenger flow,lack of public transit resources and various troubles when getting on board…etc,this paper introduces a public transit dynamic query and pedestrian guidance system from standpoint of pedestrian.The authors firstly analyze the character of public transit passenger flow,as well as the shortages of several most popular existing public transit query software in China,and then raise the basic needs and fundamental requirements.Moreover,the overall functions and structure are discussed.Also,a modified Dijkstra algorithm and dynamic programming ideas are used as the essential algorithm,by which the system can work out different recommended bus-taking suggestions during different traffic conditions.At last,a method to realize this system is revealed.


A study of the effect of air humidity on four different ionization chamber cap materials verified earlier studies (Kristensen and Sundbom, 1981; Mijnheer et al., 1983) and extended our understanding of the problem. We found nylon and A-150 plastic caps swell as they absorb water from the air. This accounts for as much as 2.5% increase in ionization response. Graphite chambers readily absorb and desorb water from the air. This creates a problem in maintaining dry air in a wet graphite chamber. Humid air has a different density and W value than dry air (Niatel, 1969, 1975). This decreases the charge collected in a wet graphite chamber. We observe a decrease in response of approximately 2%, a value greater than can be accounted for by these effects alone. Polyethylene chambers are unaffected by humid air. 4 refs., 9 figs.


Assistive robotics has brought convenience especially to disabled and handicapped including the blinds. Mobile housekeeping robots such as floor cleaners are capable of local obstacle avoidance. However there is always a risk of hitting moving obstacles or blind human when they walk through the environment. In this article, a new decision mechanism is introduced for modelling path planning strategies adopted by blind travellers including wall-following, and taking shortcuts in indoor spaces e.g.; home, and office. A statistical path prediction method is used together with Fuzzy Cognitive Map FCM for prediction of entire paths from partial trajectories. Supplying knowledge from the presented model of spatial cognition and path planning to mobile robots can enhance their motion algorithms for better obstacle avoidance as well as safer service to users with visual impairment and blindness.


Objective:To determine the interobserver and intraobserver repeatability and reliability of PUMC classification for idiopathic scoliosis and review the factors correlating to this.Method:Eighty patients with id- iopathic scoliosis treated in Drum Tower hospital from 2004 to 2006 were randomly chosen for study,which included 15 males and 65 females with a mean age of 14.6 years old (range,10 to 18 years old).Pre-opera- tive standing AP and lateral view X-ray as well as supine lateral bending were taken in all patients.Four spine surgeons independently assign the curve type to each patients following the guidance described by Qiu Guixing et al.The procedure was repeated two weeks later with the patients presented in different order.Kappa value was used to determine the intraobserver and interobserver repeatability and reliability.Result:All curves could be assigned into the PUMC classification system.A mean kappa value of 0.801 for interobserver relia- bility were determined,and a mean kappa of 0.878 for intraobserver repeatability.The disagreement evidenced included the determination of the upper thoracic curve(18 times),distinguishment between structural and non- structural lumbar curve secondary to thoracic major curve (15 times),distinguishment between structural and nonstructural thoracic curve secondary to lumbar major curve (18 times),determination of apic vertebral from single curve(18 times) and angular variation due to each curve.Conclusion:PUMC new classification has rela- tive short-time learning curve and is more reliable and repeatability for practical application.


Tanzania is among countries earmarked for piloting REDD+ activities in order to inform the global community through lessons learned for sustainable implementation of this programme. This study was carried out to assess the REDD+ piloting process in Tanzania with reference to the village as an arena for defining and defending local and national interests. Social interface approach was used for data collection. The study revealed ambiguity in forest tenure security as a major constraint in the implementation of REDD+. Among the actors in the process, NGOs were found to serve as power brokers between state agencies and local communities. The governance structures at village level play a key role in regulating forest use and implementation of any project. Since communities have a higher trust on their village governments, the villages remain core area for protecting interests of REDD+ and conservation initiatives in the country. Similarly, clear and secure land tenure and forest user rights are critical ingredients for the success of REDD+ initiatives.


Quartz particles from alluvial deposits in Italy display crystalline overgrowths when examined under the scanning electron microscope. Similar crystals have been observed adhering to loess particles from the Kaiserstühl. Preliminary investigation suggests that the crystals consist of dolomite.


The focus of the study is Human Rights (HAM) Perspective of Islamic Law. Human rights perspective of Islamic law is more universal and humane, the basic principles of human rights enforcement in the perspective of Islamic law can only be realized, if the formation, formulation, regulation in the field of law by law enforcement officers in Indonesia refers to Islamic law. The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the human rights perspective of Islamic law, with a normative, jurudic and socilogical theological approach. Human rights as a gift from God Almighty are basic rights that naturally attach to human beings and include: the right to live properly, the right to embrace religion and worship according to their respective religions, the right to have a family and to obtain offspring through a legal marriage, the right to education, the right to do business, private property, the right to obtain legal certainty and equality in law, justice and security, the right to express opinions,  associate and gather.


Objective To investigate the clinical effect of partial scar excision,laser and drug treatment for hyperplastic scar.Methods A total of 186 cases with hyperplastic scar were treated by partial excision,drug treatment and laser(the combined therapy group),the other 135 patients were treated by surgery only(the surgery group),and the remaining 204 cases underwent drug treatment only(the drug treatment group).The curative effect of the 3 groups was compared.Results In the combined therapy group,the incisions recovered,without further proliferation of scar in 162 cases according to follow-up for 1~2 years.The curative effect of this group was better than that of the surgery group and the drug treatment group(P0.05).Conclusion This method is simple and effective.


The task-based language teaching approach is a new teaching way widely adopted in the global foreign language teaching field.Taking the teaching of A New Practical English Integrated Course as an example,the present paper has analyzed how to implement the concept of task-based language teaching approach to vocational college English both from theory and practice angles.


Inducing a compensated metabolic acidosis by feeding anionic salts in close-up cows has been shown by some researchers to be a useful strategy for milk fever prevention. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the daily variability of the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) in close-up diets; 2) evaluate the daily variability of urine pH and the proportion of cows that were properly acidified based on urine pH; 3) determine if acidification levels were maintained as parturition approached; 4) investigate the relationship between DCAD level and urine pH; and 5) evaluate the association between urine pH days prior to calving and postpartum calcium concentration on a commercial Jersey herd.


To develop the model of behavior estimated for this study, we assumed that consumers maximize utility by choosing hamburger doneness, where health contributes positively to utility, but palatability (taste, tenderness, and juiciness) also contributes to utility. The perceived relationship between palatability and doneness may be bell-shaped for many consumers, with palatability rising to a maximum somewhere between rare and well-done, and then declining past that point. Consumer i chooses doneness (T for internal temperature) to maximize utility as a function of the palatability of the hamburger (P) and the probability of getting sick from the hamburger (S). We assume that this decision is separable from other arguments of the utility function, that is, other goods the consumer consumes.


At home it is always extensively adopted profiled steel sheet or aluminum cushion material in construction roof material system,but they have unconquerable overcomes on noise reductuon,heat preservation,light pollution prevention,water resistance and surface clean etc.It is worthy to mention that the vermiculite type sheet material,as a new light and environmental roof material,reprents superiority on those aspects.It is given an introduction on the features and method of installation of the material in this essay for the widely application.


Summary Progenies were grown from a number of plants of Trifolium arvense from several localities in the South Island, New Zealand. Date of commencement of flowering was recorded, and means and within- and between-progenies variances computed. Means of samples from different localities, and of samples collected within localities varied considerably, but these differences could not be related to environmental differences between the collecting sites. It is suggested that random effects may be important in determining population means, and that the populations are strongly buffered against selective change. The breeding system of T. arvense in New Zealand is probably predominantly self-fertilisation, but with a significant amount of out-crossing.


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To flee, or not to flee? The answer to that question may lie in physiology. Whether an animal adopts an active or passive defense strategy when faced with danger is related to its behavioral phenotype, or 'personality'. For example, bold individuals typically behave actively


Objectives: The present study was aimed to find the effective method to assess the performance of students and their interest towards e-learning. Methods: Questionnaire survey was conducted among Indian students and their response were identified on various aspects; assessment, interaction, evaluation and feedback. Statistical analysis: The responses were collected and the data were analyzed with statistical software. Results: Interaction and evaluation aspects had high impact; signifying 40% of the students agree that online learning is more effective, innovative and convenient than the conventional way of learning. Assessment and interaction showed the highest positive correlation (0.564) when compared to the evaluation and feedback (0.440). The evaluation has attained significant value in the statistical analysis of ANOVA.
Keywords: Internet; Assessment; e-learning; Statistical software; Correlation


The supporting system selection is analyzed in mining small piece of 2.4~3.8 m middle and high seam.Using single hydraulic supporting system mined by one time is reasonable.According to the size of sigle hydraulic postes,The single hydraulic post improvement with height added is pointed out.A good demonstration has been set up in mining small piece of 2.4~3.8 middle and high seam by practice.


Existing face forgery detection methods often consider the manipulation detection problem as a binary classification problem, which are easily prone to overfitting. The detection performance degrades for datasets not appearing in the training stage. To solve this problem, we utilize the idea of domain generalization and design a hybrid domain meta-learning network (HDMNet) for face forgery detection and manipulation localization. The network allows the reveal of more essential face-swapping traces through multi-domain off-sets. Specifically, HDMNet consists of three modules, namely the feature extraction module (FEM), the face mask representation module (FMRM) and the meta-learning module (MLM). The FEM is composed of a comprehensive feature representation of image color features and high-frequency noise features. The FMRM utilizes graph convolution to predict face masks, providing supervision of domain knowledge. The MLM extracts domain-invariant features through a hybrid domain meta-learning strategy. Extensive experiments on several benchmark databases validate the effectiveness and good generalization ability of our method compared with several state-of-the-art methods.


Knots and links are ubiquitous in chemical systems. Their structure can be responsible for a variety of physical and chemical properties, making them very important in materials development. In this article, we analyze the topological structures of interlocking molecules composed of metal-peptide rings using the concept of polyhedral links. To that end, we discuss the topological classification of alternating polyhedral links.


Lossless image compression techniques typically consider images to be a sequence of pixels in row major order. The processing of each pixel consists of two separate operations. The first step forms a prediction as to the numeric value of the next pixel. Typical predictors involve a linear combination of neighboring pixel values, possibly in conjunction with an edge detection heuristic. In the second step, the difference between that prediction and the actual value of the next pixel is coded. In high-performance mechanisms such as JPEG-LS, the error differential is coded in a conditioning context established by a possibly-different set of neighboring pixels. A per-context arithmetic, minimum-redundancy, or Rice coder completes the processing of each pixel.In this paper we explore pixel reordering as a way of reducing the start-up (or learning) cost associated with each context. By permuting the prediction errors into an order that reflects the assessed volatility of the conditioning context, we are able to use a single coding context, with the changing probability estimates captured by local adaptation in the coder. In this sense, our proposal has elements in common with the Burrows-Wheeler text compression mechanism. The result is a lossless compression implementation that achieves excellent compression rates.


Introduction The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensisi, with a population of less than 400 in the world, is the most critically endangered of all the five existing rhino species. Its distribution that used to range from northern India to Borneo is now fragmentarily found in Sumatra, Peninsula Malaysia, and Sabah. In other parts of South-EastAsia, such as Sarawak., Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, their existence has yet to be confirmed and the viability of any population is unlikely. Poaching for horns, habitat degradation for timber and land conversion into agriculture, industries and other human uses are major threats to these rhinos (WWF, 1996). Worldwide, captive breeding for over a hundred years has yet to produce a progeny. Aggressive courtship behaviour may be the major factor for difficult breeding in Sumatran rhinos. Such occasion usually occurs due to untimely introduction of the male to a female that is not in oestrus (Zainal-Zahari et al., 1995). In order to determine oestrus, various methods including plasma hormonal assay (Zainal-Zahari et al., 1995), excretory metabolites assay (Heistermann et al., 1998; Wasser et al., 1996; Schwarzenberger et al., 1993; Hindle et al., 1992) and ultrasonography (Schaffer, et al., 1994) have been deployed. These methods may although proved to be effective, are usually costly, tedious and require professional handling. Thus, vaginal cytology, a fast, inexpensive and an easy method that had been proven effective in dogs (Wright et al., 1990; England, 1992), sheep (Zourgui et al., 1976), Yucatan pigs (Rodgers et al., 1993) silver foxes, Vulpes vulpes (Boue et al., 2(00) was employed on Sumatran rhinoceros to test for its applicability in detecting oestrus in this species.


Balloon-borne measurements of condensation nuclei and H2SO4 molecules in large negative ion clusters have been made in the stratosphere at around 30 km altitude. The nuclei observed were in the 0.01-0.1 micron diameter range. Consideration was given to sunspot activity as a triggering event for ionization of upper atmospheric H2SO4 species and subsequent formation of the nuclei. A numerical model was defined for a steady state between the H2SO4 association and ion recombination in order to determine a critical nucleation rate. It is concluded that condensation nuclei are produced in ion nucleation in an H2SO4 supersaturated polar cloud chamber, with the process being initiated by solar flare particle ionization.


Indiscriminate dumping of household solid wastes on our streets, rivers and drainages has contributed in no small measure to drainage blockage, flooded road and the spread of offensive odours and diseases. Recycling has been viewed as a veritable tool in minimizing the amount of household solid wastes that enter the dump sites. It also provides the needed raw materials for industries. More so, it has been established that, it is the best, efficient and effective method of solid waste management system. Awareness and attitude of people in the community appear to be crucial as their points of understanding of household solid waste management ultimately play an important role in providing answer to environmental problem. For a successful recycling programme, householders' support cannot be ruled out. In this study, the success of Ado-Ekiti Plastic Bag Waste Recycling Innovation (APBWRI) was tested and gauged by investigating the awareness, attitude and willingness of householders to participate. The research methods employed include questionnaire, interviews, and observational study within the administrative boundary of Ado - Ekiti. Chi-square test was carried out, using WINKS SDA Statistical Data Analysis Software Package. It was discovered that awareness of household solid waste recycling activities in Ado-Ekiti was still at its lowest ebb. There is a positive attitude towards recycling in Ado-Ekiti with an inclination towards a pro-environmental attitude and ecological motives for participation in the programme.


Abstract : 6 sigma is a management innovation strategy which improves most of all managerial processes including transac-tional and project based operations such as marketing, purchasing, accounting, and construction. Even though 6 sigma is trying to solve problems from the customer's viewpoint in the scientific manner, project leader feels some difficulties in implementation because of several reasons. Especially the difficulties are prevalent in construction site. This paper investigates the cause of the difficulties through questionnaires, analyzes the investigation results, and verifies the critical success factors of 6 sigma implemen-tation. Factor analysis has been usually employed in reducing quantity of data and summarizing information chaos. In this study, several variables from questionnaires are grouped into just only four factors by the process of factor analysis. The critical success factors are extracted as project management system, implementation mechanism, site condition, and project ownership. Some ideas for each individual success factor are suggested, which are expected to be useful in successful implementation of 6 Sigma in construction site.Key words : 6 Sigma, Critical Success Factor, Factor Analysis. Construction Site


Taking being complemented pipe jacking engineering as an example,this paper introduces construction equipment and techniques of slurry balanced pipe jacking,and analyzes its advantages,notices and preventive measures in construction process according to practical condition and engineering difficulties in the construction,which to offer a reference for pipe jacking construction.


A new aerostatic bearing is developed by applying the stainless steel porous material.The experimental testing and analysis are carried out for the load capacity and stiffness of porous aerostatic bearing with different average aperture and surface compound restricted aerostatic bearing.The results show that applying the appropriate materials and processing methods can produce the aerostatic bearings with the higher load capacity and stiffness.


Based on the investigation of creative P.E. in middle school, found P.E. pay attention to biology reformation, but not to depth and inherent P.E. for innovation in middle school. Relate with the investigation, the author put forward some idea for creative P.E on teaching content, teaching method, learning check and how to train creative thought in middle school.


This paper reports the phase-noise characteristics and their analysis model of an SC-cut dual-mode oscillator. The C-mode phase-noise sideband levels of -124 dBc at 10 Hz and 154 dBc at 10 kHz have been demonstrated using a dual-mode oscillator with a 10 MHz 3rd overtone SC-cut crystal resonator. These levels are not especially low but they are only 3 to 6 dB higher than the corresponding levels of the signal obtained by the single-C-mode oscillation using one active circuit. It is therefore evident that the proposed dual-mode oscillator can be used as a reference oscillator in communication systems. Moreover, the phase-noise levels of the C-mode in the dual-mode oscillation correspond well to those obtained at stopping the B-mode oscillation. These results demonstrate that the B-mode oscillation does not disturb the phase-noise sideband levels of the C-mode signal.


Citrate is excreted in comparatively large amounts in human urine, and its excretion varies with age, diet, sex, and other factors from 100 to 1500 mg. per day. 1-4 It is lower in infants and children as compared with adults. 1-3,5-7 Citrate excretion is decreased by acidosis 7-12 (dietary, uremic, and diabetic) and by testosterone administration. 13 It is increased in alkalosis 7-12 and by the administration of estrogens, 14,15 parathyroid extract, 2,16,17 and vitamin D. 18-22 Previous experimental and clinical studies have suggested that urinary citrate aids in the chelation of calcium into a soluble complex. Low citrate levels in the presence of normal calcium-phosphorous ratios may play a role in the formation of renal calculi.2,23,24 In addition, citrate therapy has been reported to have induced an apparent improvement in a case of nephrocalcinosis. 25 In rats, acetazolamide administration has been observed to result in the deposition of calcium


Market risk exposures of balance sheet asset values are becoming an increasingly important accounting issue. In oil and gas, oilfield exposures to oil prices are specific and contractual, presenting a contingency problem for standard setting bodies. In this paper we use 292 oilfield contracts to explore the effects of market risk on sector financial reporting. Asset disclosures do not distinguish between global variations in oilfield ownership terms, nor on market risk implications for the value of oilfield assets. We provide evidence that disclosures do not capture price sensitivities implicit in oilfield ownership contracts and propose refinements to capture market risk in financial reporting.


Storing CO2 in geological formations can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In order to explore the fracture behavior of caprock during CO2 geological storage, three caprock adsorption experiments for supercritical, liquid, and gaseous CO2 were designed. The fracture toughness of mode I, mode II, and mixed‐mode I/II of sandstone before and after the experiment was tested, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to examine the fracture mechanical characteristics of sandstone. Results showed that the pure mode I fracture toughness of sandstone immersed in supercritical CO2 (ScCO2), liquid CO2, and gaseous CO2 for 30 days decreased by 27.89%, 11.01%, and 17.43%, respectively, compared to nonimmersed sandstone. Pure mode I fracture toughness was more sensitive than mixed‐mode I/II and pure mode II fracture toughness to the various CO2 phase states. Furthermore, the ability of sandstone to resist fracture and failure was significantly reduced by the adsorption of CO2 in different phases. The effects of the different phases were in the following order: ScCO2 > gaseous CO2 > liquid CO2. The decreased ability of sandstone to resist fracture was primarily due to the geophysical and chemical reactions between CO2 and minerals, the alteration of minerals, or the formation of new substances. SEM observations showed that liquid CO2 adsorption caused the sandstone to undergo intergranular fracture, and the adsorption of gaseous CO2 promoted the occurrence of transgranular fractures. In particular, due to the ScCO2 adsorption, various fracture forms such as intergranular fractures, transgranular fractures, and mutual coupling fractures existed simultaneously. Sandstone exhibited numerous fractures and pores, and fracture resistance was weakened. Results of this study have important significance for evaluating the stability and safety of CO2 geological storage.


The provision of transfusion support to isolated military or civilian projects may require the use of an emergency donor panel (EDP) for immediate warm fresh whole blood (WFWB). The aim of this short discussion article is to raise and resolve some of the practical aspects for the nonspecialist faced with the emergency collection of WFWB whole blood in the austere medical environment (AME).