10058 Background: Contemporary cancer protocols have incorporated modifications to minimize cardiotoxic exposures and preserve long-term health. We investigated the impact of these changes on late cardiac outcomes in a large cohort of adult survivors of childhood cancer. Methods: Congestive heart failure (CHF), myocardial infarction (MI), valvular disease, pericardial disease, and arrhythmias were graded by the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events among 23,462 five-year cancer survivors [6,193 (26%) treated in the 1970s, 9,363 (40%) in the 1980s, and 7,906 (34%) in the 1990s] and 5,057 siblings. Cumulative incidence and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated by treatment decade. Adjusted multivariable subdistribution hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI for cardiac outcomes by decade. Mediation analysis examined risks with and without cardiotoxic exposures. Results: For survivors [median age 6 years (range: 0-21) at diagnosis, 28 years (8.2-58) at follow-up], cardiac radiation (RT) exposure declined from 77% of those treated in the 1970s to 55% and 40% in the 1980s and 1990s. Anthracycline exposure increased from 28% to 50% to 64%. The 20-year cumulative incidence of CHF (0.69% for those treated in 1970s, 0.74% in the 1980s, 0.54% in the 1990s) and MI (0.38%, 0.24%, 0.19%) declined in more recent treatment eras (p < 0.01). This change was not seen for valvular disease (0.06%, 0.06%, 0.05%), pericardial disease (0.04%, 0.02%, 0.03%) or arrhythmias (0.08%, 0.09%, 0.13%). Compared to survivors diagnosed in the 1970s, the risk of CHF, MI, and valvular disease decreased in the 1980s and 1990s, but only significantly for MI (HR 0.64 95% CI 0.47-0.89 and 0.52 95% CI 0.32-0.83). The overall MI risk was attenuated by adjustment for cardiac RT exposure (HR 0.94 95% CI 0.80-1.11), mostly among Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors (HR 0.82 95% CI 0.69-0.98 [unadjusted for RT]; 1.03 95% CI 0.83-1.28 [adjusted for RT]). Conclusions: Reductions in exposure to cardiotoxic cancer therapies have resulted in declines in adverse cardiac outcomes, particularly for the RT-associated risk of myocardial infarction among HL survivors.


A series of acene-modified zinc porphyrins (benzene to pentacene, denoted as LAC-1 to LAC-5) were prepared to study their absorption spectra, electrochemical properties, and photovoltaic properties. For the absorption spectral changes in THF, porphyrin B bands are red-shifted and broadened from 449 to 501 nm for LAC-1 to LAC-3, showing the effect of additional π-conjugation. In contrast, the B bands of LAC-4 and LAC-5 are blue-shifted. In addition, the tetracenyl group of LAC-4 gives rise to absorption bands in between B and Q bands. On the other hand, the Q bands of LAC-1 to LAC-5 are systematically broadened and red-shifted from 629 to 751 nm. By comparison, the absorption bands of LAC porphyrins on TiO2 films are broadened and slightly shifted. Fluorescence emission maxima of LAC porphyrins in THF are also systematically red-shifted from LAC-1 to LAC-5. Cyclic voltammetry experiments in THF/TBAP show that the first reductions are systematically positive-shifted from −1.16 to −0.85 V vs SCE for LAC-1 to...


People often think of evolution as increasing complexity, but from the microbial point of view, simplicity is a fitness advantage. "The photosynthesizing cyanobacteria [in genus] Prochlorococcus, for example, are some of the genetically wimpiest bacteria in the world. Left to their own devices, these little cells would have an exceedingly difficult time just staying alive, and yet they're the most abundant photosynthesizing organisms on Earth," says J. Jeffrey Morris, from Richard Lenski's lab at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Morris and his colleagues initially watched thousands of generations of replicating Escherichia coli, a stand in for ocean-dwelling Prochlorococcus, cope with hydrogen peroxide and showed that helper cells leaking the hydrogen peroxide–detoxifying enzyme KatG enabled beneficiary bacteria to reduce their genomes and, therefore, to replicate with greater efficiency. They call this "the black queen hypothesis" (BQH), after the queen of spades in the game of hearts—the costly card everyone wants to avoid. In contrast to the arms race described by the red queen hypothesis (doi:10.1093/biosci/biu066), the BQH is a passive affair. "Species are in a 'race to the bottom,' deleting the genes for as many costly functions as they can get away with," Morris explains. In their latest study (doi:10.1111/ evo.12485), these researchers tested and confirmed the central prediction of the BQH: Normally competing bacterial strains can stably coexist because of the shared public goods produced by leaky producer cells—in this case, KatG—which these researchers describe as a form of cooperation. "This is important because there isn't any long-term structure in open ocean microbial communities, and traditional evolutionary theory predicts that you wouldn't see any cooperation. But in reality," claims Morris, "there's tons of cooperation around." For example, many microbial plankton species have jettisoned the genes needed to produce one or more essential vitamins and instead outsource them from or exchange them with other cells in their environment, says Stephen J. Giovannoni, from Oregon State University, in Corvallis. He argues that "most of the time, the fitness advantages of smaller genomes and lower cell replicating costs offset the potential fitness gains that would come from vitamin manufacture when the required nutrients are in short supply." As is exemplified by Prochlorococcus, extensive gene loss exists even among Cyanobacteria, a group that otherwise contains some of the most complex bacteria on Earth. But the reconstruction of archaeal genomes provides the most compelling evidence for the dominance of genome reduction and simplification in nature, according to Eugene V. Koonin and Yuri Wolf, at the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Biotechnology Information. "The pattern of gene loss and gain in archaea is not trivial; there seems to have been some net gain at the base of each major archaeal branch that was invariably followed by substantial gene loss," they note in the journal Bioessays (doi:10.1002/bies.201300037). Furthermore, when ancient Cyanobacteria were domesticated by the ancestors of plants, the bacteria deleted most of their genes or transferred them to the host nucleus, becoming chloroplasts, and, along with mitochondria, are considered "the ultimate realization of bacterial reductive evolution," Koonin says. The association "dramatically increased the habitat of these photosynthetic bacteria from the sea to terrestrial ecosystems" and enabled plants to colonize the Earth, according to Ton Bisseling, at King Saud University, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, writing in Science (doi:10.1126/science.1256542). Notably, though, in contrast to most other forms of microbial cooperation, BQH participants make no commitments. "At first glance, you might think that the interaction we studied involves altruism or, perhaps, some sort of reciprocal benefits. However, we know the initial state of the system, and we saw how it evolved over time in the lab. So we know the coexistence of the two [competing] bacterial types depends on the detoxification—on the protection—provided by the black queen function. Because that function is leaky, the detoxifiers can't help but produce a public good, and the beneficiaries simply take advantage of the cleaned-up environment to lose costly genes," according to Lenski. Giovannoni comments on the importance of "streamlining theory" to the BQH, explaining that it originally showed how gene loss works. He also notes that, although "some lost functions make interactions more complicated in ways predicted by the BQH, others enable cells to use resources more efficiently, without increasing interaction." "The concept of streamlining had little traction before the discovery of small-genome microbial cells in the oceans caused a shift in perceptions, putting greater emphasis on the high cost of metabolic functions in some ecosystems," he says.


Abstract In order to investigate the fatigue effects of ferroelectric thin films, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films doped Fe3+, Ni2+, Nd3+, and Nb5+ were fabricated by using rf-magnetron sputtering and sol-gel methods. The fatigue measurements were performed with bipolar switching pulses. All of the doped PZT thin films showed similar behavior on bipolar pulses in which polarization abruptly decreased around 106 Hz. There was no apparent difference between doped and undoped PZT in fatigue characteristics. The samples were refreshed to the initial state when DC bias voltage of - 19 V was applied to the top electrode of the fatigued samples for 100 sec. However, they were not refreshed in case of DC bias voltage of +19 V. The coercive field slightly increased from the initial state. It was noted that an accumulation of oxygen vacancy caused by internal field at ferroelectric-electrode interfaces, platinum bottom electrode, plays an important role in the fatigue mechanism. The results suggests that th...


Distributed resiliency becomes paramount to alleviate the growing costs of data movement and I/Os while preserving the data accuracy in HPC systems. This paper proposes to adopt blockchain-like decentralized protocols to achieve such distributed resiliency. The key challenge for such an adoption lies in the mismatch between blockchain's targeting systems (e.g., shared-nothing, loosely-coupled, TCP/IP stack) and HPC's unique design on storage subsystems, resource allocation, and programming models. We present BAASH, Blockchain-As-A-Service for HPC, deployable in a plug-n-play fashion. BAASH bridges the HPC-blockchain gap with two key components: (i) Lightweight consensus protocols for the HPC's shared-storage architecture, (ii) A new fault-tolerant mechanism compensating for the MPI to guarantee the distributed resiliency. We have implemented a prototype system and evaluated it with more than two million transactions on a 500-core HPC cluster. Results show that the prototype of the proposed techniques significantly outperforms vanilla blockchain systems and exhibits strong reliability with MPI.


The objective of the research was to determine dan analyze the influence of political connection dan capital intensity ratio on effectivetax rate as a moderating variable on profitability. The research method used is a quantitative method with sampling using purposivesampling. The research sample is 72 mining sector company data listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2018-2021 period. The research analysis uses path analysis with the help of the SEM-PLS 3.3 application The results of the study show that political connections affect the effective tax rate. The capital intensity ratio does not affect the effective tax rate. While profitability can moderate political connections and profitability are not able to moderate the capital intensity ratio on the effective tax rate. This research is expected to contribute to providing input dan an overview regarding tax avoidance so that it can help stakeholders such as the government to make decisions dan policies on tax regulations that will be applied.


The diversity and changing patterns of rugose corals in the Carboniferous and Permian of South China are analysed by statistical analyses of 45 families, 284 genera, and 1979 species from 14 consecutive time intervals. The ancestors of Carboniferous rugose corals originated early and underwent preliminary radiation in the late Famennian, but were eliminated by the Hangenberg global regressive event, which marks the Devonian—Carboniferous boundary. Radiation of typical Carboniferous rugose corals began in the late Tournaisian, when they were represented by an abundance of columellate taxa such as Kueichouphyllum and a significant diversification of Keyserlingophyllum. A decrease in the diversity of rugose genera occurred in the Serpukhovian, followed by a change in the composition of the rugose coral assemblages at the Mid‐Carboniferous Serpukhovian—Bashkirian boundary, where large dissepimented taxa with complex axial structures disappeared. In the Bashkirian the Serpukhovian taxa were replaced by compound rugosan taxa of the Geyerophyllidae, Kepingophyllidae and Waagenophyllidae. This compositional change was associated with a global regressive event, recognized in South China by the absence of upper Serpukhovian strata in many places and by several erosional surfaces in carbonate sequences in the Lower Yangtze region. This regressive event was probably caused by an episode of glaciation in Gondwana. Subsequent transgression occurred in South China during the early Bashkirian, where a wide, uniform shallow‐water platform developed in South China, on which were deposited tidal‐flat dolostone and pure limestone containing compound rugose corals. Another change in the rugose coral assemblages, at the Sakmarian‐Artinskian boundary, resulted in the absence from the Artinskian of representatives of typical Pennsylvanian and Early Permian families such as the Bothrophyllidae, Lithostrotionidae, Cyathopsidae, and Petalaxidae. Families uniquely typical of the Permian, characterized by Waagenophyllidae and Kepingophyllidae, dominate post‐Sakmarian strata. This faunal change may be related to a major, worldwide regression, recognized at the end of the Sakmarian. Extinction of rugose corals at the end of the Permian occurred in two phases in South China. The first phase occurred at the end of the Capitanian and eliminated 47% of the families and 45% of the genera. Extrusion of the Omeishan Basalt, which is widely distributed in the western part of South China, and/or a global regression at the end of the Guadalupian could be the principal causes of this first phase of mass extinction. The second phase, which occurred at the end of the Changhsingian and is the largest extinction event in Earth's history, eliminated all remaining rugose corals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Compact online learning architectures can be used to enhance internet of things devices, allowing them to learn directly on received data instead of sending data to a remote server for learning. This saves communication energy and enhances privacy and security, as the data is not shared. This paper presents a 3D memristor based multicore architecture capable of on-line learning, where a mixed signal design utilizes memristor crossbars to both store synaptic weights and to carry out analog dot product computations. A 3D memristor architecture is one where several memristor crossbars are stacked vertically on top of each other to reduce the area footprint of a chip. A variety of deep learning applications can be processed using the proposed architecture, and we show how the simulated architecture is able to learn and classify several datasets. In this work we also examine how changing the number of vertically stacked crossbars within a neural core impacts energy, time, and area requirements of the architecture.


With the two parts of the Bonn Spectral Atlas it was hoped to provide a tool for the improvement of accuracy in low-dispersion spectral classification. Earlier estimates from our spectra by different observers with classification experience indicated a rather small increase in classification errors with decreasing resolution. They amount to 0.17 spectral types per 1000 A mm -1 increase (larger numbers) in dispersion in the range 200 - 1300 A mm -1 dispersion added to the 0.1 spectral types which are typical errors at MK classification dispersion near 100 A mm -1 and 0.56 luminosity classes per 1000 A mm -1 increase (larger numbers) in dispersion in the range 200 - 1300 A mm -1 dispersion added to the 0.6 luminosity classes which are typical errors at MK classifications near 100 A mm -1 . In order to improve on the error determinations the three first-named authors, all graduate students with no previous experience in spectral classification, classified independently between 800 and 1300 spectra with each of the three Bonn Atlas dispersions of 240, 645 and 1280 A mm -1 . The classification errors of the three students differ by very small amounts and thus are averaged in the following discussion.


Code development involving above-core structures (ACS) has recently focused on modeling the complexities of mechanical interactions in the ACS support columns which play a very important role in their behavior. These developments are directed toward two considerations: (1) the prediction of the forces exerted by the column in a hypothetical core-disruptive accident (HCDA) in order that the motion of the ACS can be predicted in a coupled fluid-structure analysis, (2) the calculation of the strains and deformations of the support columns so that situations which lead to complete failure can be identified. Finite element capabilities have been developed to handle various types of plant design for the analysis of coupled hydrodynamics and structural response. Beam elements, which previously represented the support columns were able to account for geometric nonlinearities and material nonlinearities, however, changes in the column cross section were not treated. Therefore, one of the aims of this study was to examine the effect of the change in cross section on the behavior of the support columns. A second effect which has been studied is the behavior of support columns consisting of two concentric cylinders.


«Mystagogia» consists of twenty-four chapters in which saint Maximus presented the parts of the Divine Liturgy: from the gathering of the faithful up to the Holy Communion. In «Mystagogia» saint Maximus used symbolic figures of the Divine Liturgy in order to, firstly, signify the contribution of Committed the Divine Liturgy in the spiritual progress of mankind in the Christian life and, secondly, provide the utmost importance value of the Divine Liturgy in the devotional life of the Orthodox Church. This MA thesis stressed out the eschatological orientation of the humankind, the pronounced value of the Divine Liturgy in humanity.


The embodiment of the invention discloses a method and device for monitoring network equipment, and relates to the technical field of information networks. Under the condition that a network port is only connected with one set of equipment, illegal wireless network equipment connected with the network port can be determined, and thus the safety of internal network information is improved. The method for monitoring the network equipment comprises the steps of acquiring a BSSID of the wireless network equipment in a network system managed by a network management system, determining a BSSID of the illegal wireless network equipment from the BSSID of the wireless network equipment in the acquired network system by using a legal wireless network equipment fingerprint database, acquiring an MAC forwarding list corresponding to the network port oriented to users, and determining the illegal wireless network equipment connected into the network port according to the BBSID of the illegal wireless network equipment and an MAC address. The method and device for monitoring the network equipment are suitable for being applied to scenes of monitoring the network equipment.


"There is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila.The Sankhya philosophy of Kapila was the first rational system that the world ever saw. Every metaphysician in the world must pay homage to him. This wonderful man, the most ancient of philosophers, is mentioned even in the Shruti: "O Lord, Thou who produced the sage Kapila in the Beginning." How wonderful his perceptions were, and if there is any proof required of the extraordinary power of the perception of Swami Yogis, such men are the proof.


demonstrated. The bacterial species studied were Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Staphylococcus aureus and Legionella pneumophila. A 3.0 log10 reduction in the concentration of P. aeruginosa cells was achieved with the adsorbent that was regenerated at 30 mA cm_2 with 100% regeneration on each adsorption cycle. The process was quite effective in removing S. aureus present in water with a significantly higher reduction in the number of cells (ca. 9log10 reduction) at relatively low current density (10 mA cm_2). Similarly, L. pneumophila were removed from water with a ca. 7.5-log10 reduction in the number of bacterial cells. The SEM images confirmed the adsorption of L. pneumophila onto the adsorbent and its electrochemical regeneration at 20 mA cm_2 that is considered a refractory pathogen against chlorination. The process was also found to be suitable for disinfecting fungal spores, Aspergillus awamori and yeasts including Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rhodosporidium turoloides However, the removal of Cryptosporidium parvum from water was not demonstrated successfully. The preliminary results suggest that using a chloride free environment and a relatively high current density could be useful in disinfecting C. parvum. Introduction The purpose of disinfecting water is the elimination of pathogens that are responsible for waterborne diseases. Chlorination is the most commonly used chemical method of water disinfection which is effective for removing a range of microbial pathogens[1].However, chlorine has been identified as a source of potentially toxic disinfection by-products. It reacts with several organic impurities in water and converts them into trihalomethanes and other halogenated hydrocarbons [2]. Furthermore, significant hazards are associated with the transport and storage of chlorine. In this context, alternative water disinfection technologies have been developed that include chemical and physical processes. Chemical methods employ disinfectants such as ozone [3], chlorine dioxide [4], bromine [5], iodine [6], copper [7] etc. Thermal treatment, ultraviolet irradiation [8], ultrasonication [9], pulsed electric fields irradiation [10] and reverse osmosis [11] are the major physical methods of water disinfection. Amongst physio-chemical systems including photocatalysis using titanium dioxide [12] and photodynamic disinfection [13], electrochemical disinfection of water [14] has emerged as a promising alternative to chlorine providing both primary and secondary disinfection. Electrochemical disinfection has the potential to be developed as a cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative for the disinfection of water and wastewater [15]. During electrochemical disinfection, the water to be treated is passed through an electrolytic cell which is equipped with a set of electrodes. The effectiveness of the process depends upon cell configuration, electrode material, electrolyte composition, microorganism, water flow rate and current density [14]. One of the main advantages of electrochemical disinfection is the on-site production of disinfectants; thereby the common drawbacks of chlorination including transportation and storage of hazardous chemicals can be avoided [15]. On the other hand, the high cell voltages due to low electrical conductivity of water and the high capital cost are the main bottlenecks for electrochemical disinfection. Electrochemical disinfection of bacteria adsorbed onto the surface of granular activated carbon (GAC) has already been evaluated [16]. The complete sterilization of the adsorbed bacteria could not be possible without having electrical contact for each GAC particle. However, after the adsorption of bacteria onto the surface of GAC, the electrical contact is disrupted by the formation of a bacterial film on the GAC surface. Greater disinfection could be achieved by utilizing more electrically conductive materials. It was, therefore, anticipated that graphite intercalation compound (GIC) would be effective for electrochemical disinfection as the conductivity of the GIC adsorbent bed has been shown to be over 13 times greater compared with powdered activated carbon [17]. Recently, the disinfection of water by a distinctive process of adsorption using graphite intercalation compound adsorbent with electrochemical treatment has been evaluated [18]. Adsorption of Escherichia coli on the GIC adsorbent was followed by electro-chemical treatment under a range of experimental conditions in a sequential batch reactor. The adsorption of E. coli was found to be a fast process and about 8.5-log10 reduction of E. coli concentration was achieved. It was indicated that further work is required to evaluate the treatment of other pathogens including Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Legionellla and Cryptosporidium. Therefore, the present study is focused on the removal of a number of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa by the process of adsorption with electrochemical treatment using graphite intercalation compound. Materials and methods Adsorbent The adsorbent used was an unexpanded graphite intercalation compound (GIC) in the form of flakes supplied by Arvia Technology Ltd., UK. The material was non-porous as indicated by Mercury porosimetry and therefore did not acquire internal surface area. However, the BET surface area of the particles was found to be around 1.0 m2 g_1 by nitrogen adsorption technique. Laser diffraction (Mastersizer-2000, Malvern Instruments, UK) have indicated that the mean particle diameter of particles was around 480 mm. All the chemicals used in this work were of analytical grades. Microorganisms Bacteria Three bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Legionella pneumophila were studied in this work. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a gram-negative rod shaped free living bacterium that is ubiquitous in the environment [19]. It may cause a variety of infections including endocarditis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia, urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections [20]. P. aeroginoas is frequently found in natural waters including lakes and rivers. However, high concentrations of P. aeruginosa can also be found in swimming pools and hot tubs. This is due to the relatively high temperatures and aeration; both of these factors favour the growth P. aeruginosa [20]. Epidemics have also been reported from exposure to P. aeruginosa in swimming pools and water slides [21]. In addition, it has resistance to many antibiotics and disinfectants [22]. P. aeruginosa used in this work was obtained from School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, The University of Manchester. Staphylococcus aureus: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a gram positive bacterium usually arranged in grape like irregular clusters. While it occurs widely in the environment, it is found mainly on skin and the mucous membranes of animals. S. aureus can be released into swimming pools, spa pools and other recreational waters by human contact. S. aureus is one of the main causes of pyogenic infections including boils, skin infections, abscesses, osteomyelities, septic arthritis, endocarditis and food poisoning [23]. S. aureus has been found to be more resistant to chlorination than E. coli or P. aeruginosa [23]. A culture of S. aureus (on nutrient agar plate) was obtained from the School of Chemical and Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, UK. Legionella pneumophila: Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is a gram negative rod shaped bacterium. It is one of the water borne pathogens responsible for about 90% of all the cases of legionnaires, a fatal infectious disease [23]. It occurs naturally in rivers and lakes. However, L. pneumoplila also live in cold storage tanks, cooling towers, fire-fighting equipments and spa baths. Stagnant warm water provides an ideal environment for the growth of this bacterium [24]. Inhalation of contaminated aerosols formed by showers, air conditioning systems and cooling towers can spread the disease. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate L. pneumophila from water systems associated with public usage in order to prevent such outbreaks. L. pneumophila strain ATCC 33152 serogroup 1 was obtained from School of Pharmacy and Bimolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, UK. Fungi Fungi occupy a wide spectrum of habitats in animal and plant environments, and they are important both as harmful or useful microorganisms. They can contaminate foods and feeds [25]. By contrast, they are also frequently used in the fermentation industry for the production of organic acids, enzymes, vitamins, and antibiotics [26]. Therefore, water is not a primary route for acquiring human fungal infections. However, some fungi including Fusarium can produce toxic substance in water that are associated with a variety of respiratory, neurological and other systemic symptoms [27]. Low concentrations of some of the fungi present in raw water supplies can pass through both sand filtration and disinfection and thus can occur in drinking water leading to potential health problems [28]. In order to investigate whether adsorption using GIC adsorbents with electrochemical regeneration is effective in disinfecting fungal spores in water, Aspergillus awamori (A. awamori) was selected as a model species for water disinfection. A strain of A. awamori (2B. 361 U2/1) classified by the Commonwealth Mycological Institute as in the Aspergillus niger complex, was obtained from the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, UK. Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: In order to investigate the effectiveness of adsorption using GIC adsorbents with electrochemical regeneration to disinfect yeast in water, S. cerevisiae was selected since this species has been intensively studied as a model eukaryotic organism in microbiology. It was obtained from the School of Chemical Engineering and


With the gradual improvement of living standards, people's consumption levels and habits are changing. One notable fact is that the demand for fresh products is growing steadily. Accordingly, fresh-product preservation and logistics distribution also require higher standards. Based on the practice of fresh domestic transport and preservation, for which the producer and the distributor are responsible, this paper discusses their optimal decisions taking into account the freshness-keeping effort of the distributor. Our main contributions include the derivations of the optimal decisions of the order quantity and the freshness-keeping effort in both the pull and push models, which are common in practice but have not been studied in the literature. Our analytical models lead to the result that, all other settings being the same, the distributor always puts a greater effort into preserving the product quality in the pull model than in the push model. This phenomenon results in a greater distributor's order quantity and producer's shipping quantity in the pull model. We also conduct a comprehensive numerical comparison of the effects of different modulating factors, including the price and the proportion and variation of surviving quantity, in these two settings. We find that the profits of the participants and the supply chain are always larger in the pull model, which indicates that the pull model is a better choice for the supply chain.


This study uses selective exposure and selective perception theories to analyze both the viewership and the reaction to 'In Living Color."; Created, produced, and directed by an African American, this controversial prime‐time satire uses traditional racial stereotypes to look at the African American community. Two studies were conducted to test the selective exposure and perception hypotheses. In the first study, a survey was used to measure viewership and reaction to the program. The second study used focus groups to explore perceptions of the show in more depth. Several themes concerning the show (negative stereotyping, potential for learning about African American culture, reality vs. parody, comparison to similar shows, and economic vs. societal value of the show) are presented and discussed.


The aim of this study was to evaluate right ventricle (RV) dyssynchrony and its relation with mortality using speckle‐tracking echocardiography (STE) in patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction (IMI).


Project management system which we have proposed is a network based Enterprise Project Management (EPM) system, it can be configured and customized for the organization, unlike a web-based application which would have to have a generalized scheme with minimum customization. Being a network application we will still be able to use the network based software technologies which are used in web based applications and which help make web applications faster and better like XML, AJAX, JavaScript, etc. While using J2EE to make the connected components communicate faster (response time is reduced), make the system scalable allowing multiple simultaneous access. It involves features such as requirement analysis, allocation of the resources, project designing and its planning followed by scheduling and also responsible for managing the cost and the system administration which can handle complex projects. The system was implemented on an enterprise scale where many users simultaneously access the system and also insert and retrieve information; security is also provided so that misuse does not occur. Enterprise Project Management (EPM) is responsible for developing an organization that processes the integral management and adapting to the changes of a transformation.


Papers presented at session 2 were as follows: shear lag analysis of concrete box beams using small computer capacity (maisel,bi); staggered shear design of concrete bridge girders (marti,p); ultimate strength evaluation for bridge structures (nowak,as); fatigue design problems in steel bridges (pietraszek,t); hybrid precast concrete girder bridges (harvey,di); forces at the slab-web connections of box-girders (razaqpur,ag). For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 291033. (TRRL)


Aim of this current diploma thesis is the investigation of the organizations which are involved in topics like culture diversity, in the city of Patras. Mainly, the purpose is the classification and cartography of these organizations, the recording of their services in immigrants and refugees and last the investigation based on the similarity or diversification between those services. During the survey 12 organizations, which are in the city of Patras, were participating. The research methodology includes the use of semi-structured interviews in representatives of the organizations, which are organized in immigrant communities, institutionalized and non-institutionalized and in civil organizations. The columns of the interview include topics such as general information, management, aim, services, cooperation and work of the organization. The results show that during the refugee crisis there are still organizations that are active in culture diversity and that their services display similarities and/or differences towards migrants and refugees.


This research addresses the implementation of mutual authentication with key agreement scheme for centralized e-prescribing system to prevent illegal access to all data stored on the server. Two-way authentication process between the user and server can prevent the occurrence of disguises either done by users such as administrator, doctors and pharmacies or carried out on the server side. Threats that can occur, such as accessing and reselling doctor's prescriptions can be done by attackers disguising onself or impersonating a physician or pharmacy entity. In this research, the web-based e-prescribing system was developed using the Design Research Methodology (DRM) with WebML software development methods, built using Java script programming language and PHP. The test results prove that the e-prescribing system is resistant to the user impersonation attack.


In this contribution we describe a novel procedure to represent fuzziness in rating scales in terms of fuzzy numbers. Following the rationale of fuzzy conversion scale, we adopted a two-step procedure based on a psychometric model (i.e., Item Response Theory-based tree) to represent the process of answer survey questions. This provides a coherent context where fuzzy numbers, and the related fuzziness, can be interpreted in terms of decision uncertainty that usually affects the rater's response process. We reported results from a simulation study and an empirical application to highlight the characteristics and properties of the proposed approach.


The supplementary movie and the data used to generate the figures of the manuscript 'Formation of sodium layer in lower altitudes associated with passage of multiple mesospheric frontal systems' submitted for review in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics are provided herein. The data discussed in the work are sodium lidar and airglow imaging observations from the date 19 December 2014.


Original Research Paper Received 28 March 2015 Accepted 21 May 2015 Available Online 24 June 2015 Cold roll-forming is process by which metal sheet will obtain its required section form by being passed through series of rotating rollers. The pre-notched sections have frequent usage in different industries. The problem with these products is the deformation of the holes after completion of the forming process. Also, there are problems like edge waves, buckling, bending, distortion of the holes, etc. In order to analyze and predict the important parameters in deforming the ellipsoidal holes during the cold roll-forming of U-channel section, three-dimensional model with finite element has been taken into account. The effective parameters of forming the Uchannel section with pre-notches such as the minor and major hole diameter, hole spacing, the distance of holes from the flange edge, thickness and the material were intended. Furthermore, by usage of response surface methodology, the set of tests were designed. Afterward, set of out-put parameters such as: edge buckling, the wave of the holes, the change of the hole spacing size, the change of the distance of the holes from the flange edge, and the change of the hole size were considered. The output parameters were measured and the chart of experiment design was completed. Then, by applying ANOVA, the accuracy of the statistical results was obtained. Also, by comparison of the results with experimental study, the accuracy of the simulated models was analyzed. Finally, the effect of the significant parameters has been extracted both in statistical form and mathematical functions.


Objective:To assess the improvement of Guizhi Fuling Capsule in medical abortion.Methods:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) involving Guizhi Fuling Capsule versus placebo or blank control group in medical abortion were identified from CBM(1978 to 2013),VIP(1989 to 2013),WANFANG Database(1998 to 2013),CNKI(1979 to 2013).We also searched relevant journals from Tianjin University of TCM.Data was extracted and evaluated by two reviewers independently with a specially designed extraction form.The Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan5.1.4 software was used for data analyses.Results:A total of 21 trials involving 4502 patients were included.Meta-analyses showed that the time of Vaginal bleeding(d) in the experimental group was different when compared with blank control group(WMD =-5.29,95% CI-6.66 to-3.91),P 0.00001.As for the complete abortion rate,significant difference was noted between experimental group and blank control group(RR =1.10,95% CI 1.06 to 1.14),P 0.00001.Also in the normal vaginal bleeding rate(≤menstrual flow),significant difference was noted(RR = 1.26,95% CI 1.12 to 1.41),P 0.00001.Meta-analyses showed that the vaginal bleeding time normal rate(≤7 d) in the experimental group was different when compared with that of blank control group(RR = 2.18,95%CI 1.76 to2.71),P 0.00001.Conclusion:The profit treated by Guizhi Fuling Capsule can improve the effectiveness of medical abortion in reducing the time and the volume of vaginal bleeding and it also can reduce the proportion of curettage of uterine cavity.Further large-scale trials are required to define the role of Guizhi Fuling Capsule in the improvement of medical abortion.


Trachoma was by regulation of the Unites States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service declared "a dangerous contagious disease" in 1897. Under this regulation, operating at all ports of entry since 1899, many undesirable immigrants have been excluded who, if admitted, were considered likely to become public charges. The ruling was a commendable one for this reason alone. Health officials almost without question accepted this ruling. State after state made this "dangerous contagious disease" reportable. The movements of those affected with trachoma have often been limited as if this regulation were literally true. Has the time not come for state health officials to reconsider the facts with regard to trachoma, its contagiousness and its epidemiology? Is it possible that trachoma may be primarily a deficiency disease? SYMPTOMS AND CURE Trachoma is the name given a pathologic condition of the conjunctival tissues, usually first noted as a marked folliculosis in the


A series of experiments,including cold and heat-tolerance tests,weight carrying swimming test and hypoxia tolerance experiment,were conducted for studying the effects of compound butaphosphan solution on endurance capability and energy metabolism in mice. Liver glycogen and skeletal muscle glycogen were determined by anthrone colourimetry and three kinds of adenosine phosphates were detected by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography,respectively. The results showed that survival time of mice in experimental groups were remarkably longer than those in control group in heat and cold tolerance tests,normobaric hypoxia tests and swimming tests,respectively. The glycogen,adenosine triphosphate(ATP) and adenosine diphosphate(ADP) in liver and muscle were also increased. However,the adenosine monophosphate(AMP) content in liver was not affected and the content in muscle was decreased. These results indicated that compound butaphosphan solution can significantly enhance the ability of anti-stress and energy metabolism in mice by improving liver glycogen and muscle glycogen and promoting the synthesis of ATP and ADP.


Impurity effects on trapped electron modes (TEMs) in tokamak plasmas with inverted electron density profile (IEDP) are numerically investigated with a gyrokinetic integral eigenmode equation. It is found that different from the negative gradient of normal electron density profile, the positive gradient of the IEDP has a stabilizing effect on TEM in the presence of impurity ions. The electron temperature gradient threshold for TEM excitation increases not only with the increasing absolute value of IEDP but also with increasing impurity content. Furthermore, the effects of different impurity species and different impurity peaking profiles on TEMs with the IEDP are analyzed in detail. It is shown that there is a transition point of impurity density profile, on both sides of which the impurity has opposite effects on TEM. The dependence of such a transition point on electron temperature and density gradients is obtained numerically. Besides, the synergistic effects of ion temperature gradient and impurity density gradient are studied, in which a similar transition point of the ion temperature gradient is also identified in the case of outwardly peaked impurity density profile. In addition, impurity effects on the characteristics of mode structure and on the radial transport coefficients in positive and negative magnetic shear regions are discussed as well based on quasi-linear mixing length estimation.


Introduction: Tonsillitis is inflammation of tonsils which is characterized by various signs and symptoms with sore throat being the most consistent symptom. The condition is mostly caused by bacterial infection with Streptococci being the most common bacteria. McIssac scoring technique is clinical symptoms based scoring method designed for diagnosing streptococcal tonsillitis.
Aims: To find out the association between McIssac Score and beta hemolytic streptococcal infection in acute tonsillitis.
Methods: This hospital based, prospective study was carried out in the Department of ENT, Nepalgunj Medical College from July 2020 to June 2021. Patients were scored as per McIssac score. The specimens were collected from the tonsillar surface using sterile cotton swabs and subjected for culture and sensitivity.
Results:The most common affected age group was 21 to 30 years (46%). Females were affected more commonly (57%). The most common organism isolated in the study was Group A beta hemolyticn Streptococcus (48%), followed by Pseudomonas (10%), Enterococcus (9%) and Klebsiella (8%) and no organisms were isolated in 25% of the patients. It was observed that high McIssac score was associated with higher chance of having positive beta hemolytic streptococcal infection. Out of 48 group A beta hemolytic streptococci culture positive patients 18(37.5%) patients scored 3, 9 (18.75%) patients scored 4 and 7(14.5%) patients scored 5.The most common antibiotic effective against group A beta hemolytic srtreptococci was ceftriaxone in 25(72.9%), followed by amoxyclavulinic acid in 20 isolates (41.6%) and amikacin in seventeen (35.4%) isolates.
Conclusion: The correlation between throat swab culture and McIssac score emphasized that this clinical scoring system aid in early diagnosis of group A beta hemolytic streptococci tonsillitis.


Although volcanic eruptions represent short periods in the whole history of a volcano, the large amount of loose pyroclastic material produced, combined with aeolian processes, can lead to continuous, long-lasting reworking of volcanic products. Driven by wind, these processes significantly influence the geomorphology and prolong the impacts of eruptions on exposed communities and ecosystems. Since such phenomena are of interest to scientists from a range of disciplines (e.g., volcanology, atmospheric and soil sciences), a well-defined, common nomenclature is necessary to optimise the multidisciplinary characterisation of both processes and deposits. We, therefore, first describe ash wind-remobilisation processes and provide definitions for appropriate terms consistent with the World Meteorological Organisation's (WMO's) classification of lithometeors. Second, we apply these definitions to investigate aeolian remobilisation of the 2011 Cordón Caulle (Chile) tephra-fallout deposit, which has strongly impacted rural communities in the Argentinian Patagonia steppe. We combine field observations and a physical characterisation of systematically collected ground and airborne material in order to identify the secondary deposits associated with: (i) non-erodible surface roughness elements (e.g., vegetation and rocks) and (ii) pre-existing mounds or similar erodible bedforms. Grainsize analysis shows that wind-remobilised particles have a specific size range, from <0.4 to 500 μm, with a 95% of the material between 1 and 255 μm, median values of 25–135 μm and modes of 30–95 μm. We find that 15–40% of the remobilised material ranges from 63–125 μm, coinciding with the size range which minimises the wind threshold friction velocity. Interestingly, particle shape analysis shows that for this size fraction, remobilised particles display the largest differences in shape descriptors (convexity, solidity and circularity) with respect to the primary ash, indicating abrasion and rounding due to saltation. Although particle (size and shape) and deposit features (morphology and structures) alone are insufficient to interpret transport mechanisms, their combination suggests that whilst saltation is the most common particle transport mechanism, suspension and creep also play an important role. As well as inferring transport mechanisms from this combined approach, we also demonstrate how the correlation of the primary volcanic source with the associated remobilised deposits is fundamental to our understanding of the life cycle of volcanic ash.


In this paper, we study the relationship of Gorenstein projective objects among three Abelian categories in a recollement. As an application, we introduce the relation of n Gorenstein tilting modules (and Gorenstein syzygy modules) in three Abelian categories. For a recollement R p A 1 , A , A 2 q of Abelian categories, we show that a resolving subcategory in A induce two resolving subcategories in A 1 and A 2 . On the other hand, we also prove that two resolving subcategories in A 1 and A 2 can induce a resolving subcategory in A . Moreover, we give the size relationship between the relative global dimensions of three Abelian categories.


The Surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocities and the associated mechanical and electric fields for the Z-axis cylinder family of cuts in potassium niobate (KNbO/sub 3/) have been theoretically calculated. It is found that these cuts support pure shear horizontal (SH) SAWs or Bleustein-Gulyaev (BG) waves with displacements in the surface plane and perpendicular to the propagation direction and an electric field in the sagittal plane. The piezoelectric coupling coefficient is predicted to have a maximum of 53%, which is significantly larger than any SAW coupling coefficient observed in LiNbO/sub 3/, LiTaO/sub 3/ or quartz. Since the SH SAW is not damped when loaded with a liquid, the Z-axis cylinder cuts of KNbO/sub 3/ may offer promising piezoelectric substrates for liquid phase acoustic wave sensors.


Wednesday, May 18 9:00-12:10 OPIC Plenary Session Room 501+502 ----Lunch Break (12:10-13:30)----13:30-15:15 LIC+PLD+SLPC Joint Session 1 (PLD1) Room 301 Chair: K. Washio, Paradigm Laser Research, Japan Opening Remarks of Joint Session 13:30 T. Taira, Conference Chair of LIC' 14 Institute for Molecular Science, Japan T. Jitsuno, Conference Chair of PLD' 14 Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka Univ.,Japan Y. Okamoto, Conference Chair of SLPC2016 Okayama Univ., Japan Chair: K. Washio, Paradigm Laser Research, Japan SLPC5j-1 13:45 (Invited) Optimized design and performance of laser ablation system for paint and coating removal for manufacturing and maintenance of vehicles and airplanes Y. Kwon Powerlaser Photonics, UK PLD1j-1 14:15 (Invited) High performance interference coatings for near infrared high energy lasers C. Menoni, D. Schiltz, D. Patel, B. Reagan Colorado State Univ., USA PLD1j-2 14:45 (Invited) Modeling of laser induced damage and usage at National Ignition Facility Z. M.Liao, M. Nostrand, J. Bude, T. Suratwala Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA ----Break (15:15-15:45)----15:45-17:20 LIC+PLD+SLPC Joint Session 2 (PLD2) Room 301 Chair: TBD SLPC6j-1 15:45 Fiber delivery of ultrafast lasers E. Mottay Amplitude Systemes, France LICj-1 16:15 The latest technology demand of the internal processing type laser dicing technology N. Uchiyama Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Japan LICj-2 16:45 Micro-laser based material processing (tentative) D. Barbier Team Photonics Co., France 17:15 Closing Remarks K. Washio, Paradigm Laser Research, Japan


The model assumes that an 'initiating event' results in positive ions on the surface near the anode and reverses the direction of the normal component of electric field so that electrons in vacuum are attracted to the dielectric locally. A sequence of surface electron avalanches progresses in steps from the anode to the cathode. For 200 kV across 1 cm, the spacing of avalanches is predicted to be about 13 microns. The time for avalanches to step from the anode to the cathode is predicted to be about a ns.


Aflatoxins are among the most carcinogenic natural compounds known, and have been frequently detected in numerous agricultural commodities, nut fruits being among the most contaminated ones. These toxins are a result of the secondary metabolism of fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus Section Flavi, namelly Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. The early detection of aflatoxigenic fungal contamination and the preventive control of aflatoxin production seems to be the only viable way to respond to the rigorous limits imposed by EU legislation. In Portugal, knowledge on mycoflora and mycotoxigenic profiles of almonds is scarce. Our objective was to characterise portuguese almonds in respect to mycoflora, with strong emphasis on aflatoxigenic fungi, from production to commercialization.


Elastomers are natural or synthetic polymers used in the automotive, mining, mold, assembly and other industries, due to their mechanical resistance in a wide temperature range from 60 °C to 320 °C; however, the waste generated is not disposed of properly, especially in the manufacture of tires, which generates environmental problems like inadequate final disposal, generation of toxic gases and public health problems; Therefore, in order to recycle these wastes, the present investigation modified elastomers superficially in order to produce strong adhesion with inorganic compounds like cement, through oxidation and sulfonation processes. For this purpose, NaOH and KMnO4 solutions were prepared at a concentration of 5% and then impregnated in saturated NaHSO3 solution. Subsequently, the modified elastomer was morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetrically by differential scanning calorimeter; compositionally by infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and hydrophobic tests using contact angle techniques, in order to establish morphological and chemical compatibility with inorganic compounds. Results evidenced inclusion of functional groups OH, C = O and SO3, the reduction of carbon present in weak bonds and the presence of inorganic components such as potassium, sodium, manganese and sulfur were evident. The scanning electron microscope shows an increase in the roughness and contact surface of the elastomer as a function of the inclusion of polar functional groups by surface chemical treatment. These characteristics are to generate greater inclusion and compatibility of elastomers of an organic nature in inorganic compounds like cement matrices.


(t), specifically (t) (t e (t ) , where the exponential term progressively reduces the weight of (t). Intracellular recordings show that looming stimuli typically evoked bursts of graded EPSPs with peak amplitudes up to 9 mV in the M-cell. The proposed scaling function (t) predicts the slope of the depolarizing envelope of these EPSPs and the timing of the largest peak. An analysis of the firing rate of presynaptic inhibitory interneurons suggests the timing of the EPSP peak is shaped by an interaction of excitatoryandinhibitoryinputstotheM-cellandcorrespondstothetemporalwindowinwhichtheprobabilisticdecisionofwhetheror nottoescapeisreached.


The purpose of writing is to describe and integrate teaching material with learning materials for students by utilizing folklore for students in the material to preserve the value of local wisdom through folklore. Based on the results of the learning process in class X of Seluma Bengkulu 1 Vocational High School, Bengkulu folklore memorization in learning Indonesian language and literature shows that students are more interested and easy to find character education values. The results of analysis identify Bengkulu folklore and find content that has been analyzed as three kinds of folklore, namely: Clever Sleepers, Seven Head Snakes and Princess Serindang Bulan. Where class X students have analyzed using five values of character education, namely: honest, independent, disciplined, socially caring, and responsible. Not all of the five character education values are contained in each story. In the story of the Clever Contest students find the values of character honest, disciplined and caring socially. In the story of the Seven Head of Snake Legend, students find the values of character honest, disciplined and caring socially. In the story of Putri Serindang Bulan, students find the value of discipline and social care character education. Keywords—character building; folklore


The use of technology makes it possible to accommodate different learning styles in providing course materials. Course designs that "meet the student's goal, learning style, pace and life situation will pay off handsomely in increased learning" [6, p. 202]. There is an abundant amount of literature on learning styles, but how do you incorporate different learning styles and still cover the required material in a course? This paper describes a pedagogy using customized rich media presentations as a key component in a beginning programming course. The impact of rich media presentations is measured by student evaluations before and after their


The objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of subcritical steam to pretreat coal for slurry liquefaction, allowing liquefaction to be carried out at lower severity and improving product yield and quality. Samples of Illinois No. 6 coal were pretreated in 750 psia steam at 340{degree}C for 15 minutes. These samples, as well as raw coal, were liquefied at high (400{degree}C, 30 min.) and low (385{degree}C, 15 min.) severity conditions under 1500 psia hydrogen with tetralin as the donor solvent. Improved yields were obtained at both conditions. (Improved yields were not obtained at a liquefaction temperature of 350{degree}C as that put the sample into the region of retrogressive reactions). The deleterious effects of slow heating and exposure of the sample to air were demonstrated. Under low severity conditions, steam pretreatment more that doubled the oil yield, increasing it from 12.5 to 29 wt %. Tests were also conducted with aromatic ethers as model compounds. These were exposed to inert gas and steam at pretreatment conditions and in some cases to liquid water at 315{degree}C. {alpha}-Benzylnaphthyl ether and {alpha}- naphthylmethyl phenyl ether show little difference in conversion and product distribution when the thermolysis atmosphere is changed from inert gas to steam. However when these compounds were reacted in the presence of 5 {angstrom} zeolite, the yields of the thermolysis products improved. Zeolite proved effective in suppressing isomerization of the starting materials. These results suggested that zeolites might be beneficial in steam pretreatment of coal and in coal liquefaction. Pretreatment and liquefaction of mixtures of coal and zeolites increases yields of asphaltenes and preasphaltenes.


It is extremely desirable to effectively exploit the photo-excited electrons for achieving highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. Herein, atomically dispersed platinum clusters are developed as a novel single atom co-catalyst,...


Controlled thermonuclear fusion offers one possible option to meet our future energy needs in a sustainable way. Magnetic confinement in a so-called 'tokamak'-machine is a possible approach towards the achievement of a burning plasma. An important issue in this tokamak research is the transition of the plasma edge to the inner wall.
A first topic that is addressed in this thesis, is the ergodic divertor (ED) configuration. An ED achieves the transition between the confined plasma and the wall in a layer where the flux lines have been ergodized by a proper resonant magnetic perturbation. The connection between up- and downstream plasma parameters during ED operation in the tokamaks Tore Supra en TEXTOR has been investigated experimentally by means of Langmuir probes.
As an important first step in the theoretical interpretation of those experiments, a Hamiltonian field line mapping code, which had been previously developed for the TEXTOR dynamic ergodic divertor, has been adapted to the geometry of the Tore Supra ED. Subsequently, this adapted code has been used to study some of the properties of the Tore Supra ED magnetic field line structure, as well as to make a qualitative comparison of the sensitivity of the TEXTOR and Tore Supra ergodic divertor magnetic topology to changes in the central density.
A second topic of this thesis concerns certain interpretation issues regarding the current-voltage characteristics obtained by a newly developed type of Langmuir probe for the investigation of edge plasmas. More in particular, the sensitivity of the TP to a small population of nonthermal electrons has been investigated in addition to the influence of suprathermal electrons on the scaling and structure of the Debye and the magnetic sheath at the inside of the tunnel probe.


Summary Oxytocin failed to initiate lactation when injected 4 times daily into 45 mature female New Zealand White rabbits initially primed with estradiol or made pseudopregnant to develop their mammary glands. Prolactin injections initiated copious milk production in pseudopregnant rabbits. 2. Neither oxytocin nor vasopressin inhibited mammary involution or induced secretion in estrogen-primed rats, whereas injections of prolactin alone retarded mammary involution and addition of ACTH initiated mammary secretion. 3. It is concluded that oxytocin does not induce prolactin release in rabbits or rats.


In the evolutionary scheme, insects are the most successful creatures, having entered nearly every ecological niche and adapted to special environments. Although their morphology and senses vary widely, they tend to have one organ in common: their antennae, an effective adaptable solution for interaction with the environment. The Fraunhofer IFF and Bielefeld University have developed and constructed an antenna-like tactile device for robotic walking based on the Carausius morosus or "walking stick" on a scale of 10:1. Above all, the antenna has to be a lightweight construction because it must not compromise the carrying capacity of the robot and, since the scanning motions of the antenna are fast, every bit of weight reduces the life of joints and motors. Furthermore, the device is more than a simple push-button. It detects the contact point along the antenna. Weight constraints eliminated the option of using many small sensors along the antenna (like hairs or whiskers). We opted for a single acceleration sensor. Imagine a bored student flipping a ruler on a table. The sound, more accurately the pitch, depends on the length of the ruler, i.e. the vibration frequency is related to the length. Using an acceleration sensor to measure the vibrations makes it possible to detect the contact point along the antenna. Adding the angles in the joints provides full 3-D information on the contact point. Nature is endowed with even more sophisticated features, which have not yet been fully implemented: The natural antenna consists of a special compound material and its shape is tapered, thus improving terminal vibrations. While insects do not employ this approach, they do have little hairs for sensing and these are distributed specifically. Moreover, "Johnston's organ" analyzes antenna vibrations. Ultimately, insect antennae were the archetype that inspired the development of this dependable and accurate obstacle detection device.


Part I of this report describes and evaluates potential impacts associated with changes in environmental conditions on a low-level radioactive waste disposal site over a long period of time. Ecological processes are discussed and baselines are established consistent with their potential for causing a significant impact to low-level radioactive waste facility. A variety of factors that might disrupt or act on long-term predictions are evaluated including biological, chemical, and physical phenomena of both natural and anthropogenic origin. These factors are then applied to six existing, yet very different, low-level radioactive waste sites. A summary and recommendations for future site characterization and monitoring activities is given for application to potential and existing sites. Part II of this report contains guidance on the design and implementation of a performance monitoring program for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. A monitoring programs is described that will assess whether engineered barriers surrounding the waste are effectively isolating the waste and will continue to isolate the waste by remaining structurally stable. Monitoring techniques and instruments are discussed relative to their ability to measure (a) parameters directly related to water movement though engineered barriers, (b) parameters directly related to the structural stability of engineered barriers, and (c)more » parameters that characterize external or internal conditions that may cause physical changes leading to enhanced water movement or compromises in stability. Data interpretation leading to decisions concerning facility closure is discussed. 120 refs., 12 figs., 17 tabs.« less


This study deals with the development of the novel rotary-hydrothermal process for potassium niobate, in special monophase KNbO 3 , under mild hydrothermal conditions at lower synthetic temperatures for short synthetic time with using lower concentration of KOH solution. Potassium niobates were synthesized by the conventional hydrothermal process and novel rotary-hydrothermal process and the products were characterized by XRD and SEM observations. As a result, monophase KNbO 3 was obtained at 180 ℃ for 12h with using 7.5 M KOH solution by the rotary-hydrothermal process and the particle size for their monophase KNbO 3 products was finer than one synthesized by the conventional hydrothermal process. Effect of rotary-hydrothermal process on the microstructure and morphologies for potassium niobate was discussed, compared to the conventional hydrothermal process.


ABSTRACT Both discussions from Drs. Holmes and Straker (this issue) resonate curiosity and introspection. This response attempts to meet them in collaborative synchrony to continue exploring the psychic impacts of privilege and how clinical work may meet such sociopolitical dynamics, both with clearer conceptualizations as well as a sense of caution regarding the role of psychoanalytic practice. Through their invitations to go further, together, I will try to consider the intersection between White privilege and White supremacy as well as further examine the conditions and capacities undergirding the constructive use of deserved shame. While opening up space for such change is primarily taken up at the level of the individual, the elaborative and reparative potential of shame lies in its togetherness, seeking to better bridge self with the ideal self as well as self with the other. Deserved shame holds prospect to reclaim the intersubjective nexus of shame as not just a space of misattunement, inferiority, envy, and aggression but for re-attunement and intentionality, wherein subjective and objectiveness awareness may transition and interpenetrate.


In this work the adaptive hierarchical transforms of a signal used or suitable for using in lossy compression algorithms of images are presented. The main idea of this transforms consists of image sampling on separate parts and its representing in the form of three-dimensional structure. New schemes of an adaptive compression are presented.


The unprecedented situation in 2020 put employers in a state of uncertainty and challenged them to find new forms of work, maintain employment relationships, ensure a safe working environment and working conditions, and at the same time comply with regulatory requirements. In this context, labor legislation has had to be adapted to the new circumstances in which the elements of the employment relationship have acquired "extraordinary" aspects. The purpose of this report is to review new aspects of labor relations in a pandemic environment, discussing regulatory changes, their consequences and opportunities.


Objective To investigate the clinical effects of treating congestive heart failure (CHF) with different dosage fosinopril. Methods 178 patients were divided into two groups, low dosage group took Fosinopril with 10-20mg qd for one month, high dosage group took fosinopril with 30-40mg qd for one month. Doppler ulfrasound cardiogram and cardiac functional were measured before and after treatment. Results Total effective rate of treating CHF 94. 6% with fosinopril in high dosage group, and 87% in low dosage group. The difference between the two group is significant (P0. 05). Before and after treatment, left ventricle fraction shortering (LVFS), left ventricle ejection fraction(LVEF), stroke volume (SV) and cardiac index (CD all exist significant difference(P0. 01); High dosage group excelled low dosage(P0. 05). Conclusion fosinopril is a safe and effective medicine for treatment of CHF. High dosage is better than low one.


This paper describes the full scale icebreaking tests conducted on the USCGC Katmai Bay in February and March 1979. The Katmai Bay is the first of a new class of U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking tugs that were designed to replace the aging 110-foot Coast Guard tugs. Analysis of the data indicates that the vessel could penetrate up to 22 in. (56 cm) of homogeneous sheet ice with 3 in. (7.6 cm) of snow cover and up to 48 in. (122 cm) of brash ice. The vessel has an installed bubbler system and a low friction coating. This paper describes the tests that were conducted, the instrumentation utilized and an analysis of the results. The data collected are presented in appendices.


S cience and medicine have a long and troubling history of reinforcing racist, antiethnic, and sexist attitudes and beliefs, as well as ignoring and mistreating marginalized people. In their editorial in Nature, 1 entitled " Science must overcome its racist legacy " , Nobles and colleagues describe how the scienti fi c enterprise has reinforced racist beliefs and cultures over time. For example, the authors discuss the impact of colonization on racism, including how apartheid, imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and eugenics were memorably endorsed by science. They then assert that acknowledging and learning this history is necessary if we are to restore, rebuild, and avoid perpetuating these injustices. Similarly, there is a long history of exclusion of women from science and medicine as a profession due to structural discrimination as well as exclusion of women from research participation in clinical trials to develop pharmacologically-based therapeutics. 2 The science of pain is no exception. As Bourke 3 explores in an article on the history of pain sensitivity, misconceptions about pain sensitivity put forth by physicians and scientists from 1800 − 1965 rei fi ed existing social hierarchies. It was believed that sensitivity to painful stimuli was linked to different personalities that were biologically de fi ned by race, sex, or religion; thereby reinforcing existing racist and sexist science. Unfortunately, myths regarding pain and implicit biases persist, with some studies suggesting that gender stereotypes in fl uence pain estimates due to beliefs that women are more emotive and men are more stoic. 4 This can contribute to an underestimation of pain in female persons, a fi nding reinforced by studies on estimating pain in both adults and children. 5


The penetration level of renewable energy resources such as wind and photovoltaic in power systems is increasing. The intermittent nature of such resources introduces challenges for frequency and voltage regulation. On the other hand, with increasing the presence of EVs in the future grids and their charging/discharging management can provide ancillary services, such as frequency regulation to the microgrid. In this paper, a new strategy for charging or discharging of EVs in the presence of renewable resources is proposed. In this strategy, with the application of day-ahead load and generation of renewables, a cost signal is obtained to manage EVs charging and discharging process. Based on this cost signal, EVs are encouraged to discharge their stored energy while the microgrid power reserve is low and they charge when the power reserve is high. Moreover, four modes are defined in a way that EVs respond to frequency deviations in both charging and discharging processes. The results show that the proposed strategy in decreasing the frequency deviations and improving the power reserve of the microgrid is successful.


ORCID Isabel Garrido https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7801-466X R E FE R E N C E S 1. Nathwani R, Mukherjee S, Forlano R, et al. Letter: liver disease and COVID-19 not the perfect storm. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2020;52:572-574. 2. Garrido I, Liberal R, Macedo G. Review article: Covid-19 and liver disease – what we know on 1st May 2020. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2020;52:267-275 3. Oyelade T, Alqahtani J, Canciani G. Prognosis of COVID-19 in patients with liver and kidney diseases: an early systematic review and meta-analysis. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2020;5:E80. 4. Moon AM, Webb GJ, Aloman C, et al. High mortality rates for SARSCoV-2 infection in patients with pre-existing chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: preliminary results from an international registry. J Hepatol. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2020.05.013 5. Singh S, Khan A. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 among patients with pre-existing liver disease in United States: a multi-center research network study. Gastroenterology. 2020. https:// doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2020.04.064 6. Tapper EB, Asrani SK. COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the quality of cirrhosis care. J Hepatol. 2020;. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhep.2020.04.005 7. Ridruejoa E, Soza A. The liver in times of COVID-19: What hepatologists should know. Ann Hepatol. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. aohep.2020.05.001


The investigation on hazards situation of pests,parasitic plants of Tengchong Camellia old tree were conducted from June 2011 to June 2012.The results showed there were 15 kinds of endangered disease,7 kinds of pests,4 categories of parasitic plants.The incidence of leaves and fruit diseases in sucking insects,leaf-eating insects,and tree clothing were highest,but less harmful to the plant;hazards of branch rot,dry rot,stem bored,and parasitic Loranthaceae were more serious;pests and diseases on old trees of Camellia reticulate in pure forest were more serious than in the mixed and all around,but the hazards of the twigs disease,mistletoe and tree clothing heavier in mixed forest were serious.Recommendations to step up publicity,to improve protection awareness of people,to strengthen the rejuvenation of old trees and pest control also were carried out.


I f additive condition involves more than four squares, then such functions r is uniquely determined. In this theorem, assume that a multiplicative functions g is 5-additive on positive squares. g(a 2 + b 2 + c 2 + d 2 + e 2 ) = g(a 2 ) + g(b 2 ) + g(c 2 ) + g(d 2 ) + g(e 2 ) for arbitrary positive integers a, b, c, d and e, then g is an identity function.


Background: The Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the main risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD). Genetic variants and haplotypes in regions near the APOE locus may be associated with LOAD in the Colombian population. Objective: We evaluated frequencies and risk of genetic variants and haplotypes in APOE, TOMM40, and APOC1 promoters, also in putative regulatory enhancer elements (TOMM40 IVS2-4 and TOMM40 IVS6), and in cis-regulatory elements (ME1 and BCR). Materials and Methods: Our case-control association study was carried out in 50 patients with LOAD and 50 controls. We determined frequencies and odd ratios for genetic variants and haplotypes. Results: We found a significant association between LOAD and genetic variants at the TOMM40 promoter, at TOMM40 IVS2-4 and TOMM40 IVS6 regulatory enhancer elements, and at the APOC1 promoter. Particularly, variants of Poly-T and APOC1 promoter could anticipate the age of onset of LOAD in our population. We identified three risk haplotypes in TOMM40 (ACGGAG, ACGGGG, and ATAGGC) related to LOAD's age of onset. We also found other risk or protection haplotypes at the TOMM40 and APOE promoters, at TOMM40 IVS2-4, TOMM40 IVS6 regulatory enhancer elements, and at ME1. Conclusion: Genetic variants and haplotypes near the APOE locus are related to LOAD risk and accelerated onset of LOAD in the Colombian population.


For effective application of nanocarriers as drug delivery system, it is necessary to fully characterize their integrity, encapsulation, and release properties. The aim of my PhD project is to develop fluorescence-based methods for characterizing integrity of lipid nanocarriers and the release of active molecules in vitr o and in vivo. First, using FRET between specially designed near-infrared dyes the integrity of lipid nanocarriers in bloodstream and tumor was assessed and quantified by near-infrared ratiometric imaging in living mice. Second, we have developed fast and simple FCS-based assay for in situ quantification of release from different NCs. Third, using Nile Red bleaching by sodium dithionite, we established an original approach to study the physical state of the nanocarriers and the level of dye encapsulation. Finally, we showed that dye-loaded lipid nanocarriers appear as a prospective tool for light-controlled release of active molecules in vitro and in vivo.


In the background of the international financial crisis,It is important for our country's economic development to change model pattern of growth into domestic demand,but it requires a strong social security system as a support.This paper researches the rural social security spending to the rural residents' consumption demand impact by the Consumption function of Ando and Modigliani as the basis of consumption and innovation together with China's rural areas of social security expenditures related data from 1985 to 2010.Proposal is made on policy to promote and improve our social security system healthy researches the rural social security spending to the rural residents' consumption demand impact


JiYun lives in a period when Qing Empire has become "glorious sunset"from prosperity and power.Guidelines used to maintain the individual normal operation are out of balance.JiYun criticizes the social evils of the day and advocates making Confucian Ethics as the axis and advocating Ethical Ideals of Consistency of "Morality and the Well-being",to eliminate the people's feeling of injustice and bring hope,care,comfort to the people who abide by morality.JiYun wants to restore the ethics′ effective intervention to social order and individual behaviors,in order to form a fair and reasonable society.


Vehicle re-identification is to recognize the same vehicle through vehicle images from different perspectives shot by multiple cameras. At present, the most of vehicle re-identification methods uses convolutional neural network to extract image features but lack the subtle feature discrimination ability. Therefore, we propose a novel vehicle re-identification methods called MSMG Net (Multi-Scale and Multi-Granularity) to solve this problem. We use ResNet-50 as the backbone network, and we design the multi-scale method to extract features of multi-granularity, which is from convolutional layer 3 to convolutional layer 5. For convolutional layer 3, we make the feature map to be divide global feature and local feature of three parts which dimension is 256. For convolutional layer 4, we make the feature map as layer 3 but has only one difference is two parts of local feature. For convolutional layer 5, we extract the global feature from global pooling which dimension is 256. Finally, we fuse these above eight features and get the 2048-dimension to compute the triplet loss and cross-entropy loss. Experiments on the Veri-776 dataset show that the proposed method achieves better performance, and good retrieval results have been achieved on the mAP(74.67%) and Rank-1(94.87%) evaluation index.


The development of automation and programming tools is one of the priority areas determined by the State Program "National Technology Initiative," which requires the development of methods on the basis of which algorithms will be built.At the same time, energy saving is one of the directions for the development of refrigeration equipment. This issue is paid attention both at the state level (Federal Law No. 261-FZ "On Energy Saving and Increasing Energy Efficiency and Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation") and by the users of refrigeration equipment themselves, since the share of electricity consumed by refrigeration equipment is a significant part of the total energy balance of a particular enterprise. For example, the share of energy consumption of air conditioning systems in Europe ranges from 2% to 6%.The existing systems for monitoring the operating parameters of the refrigeration plant do not fully use their resource, since they are very often used only to identify emergencies and alarm them.This article describes the procedure for assessing the energy efficiency of refrigeration plants operating on a single-stage compression cycle with single throttling, which allows to evaluate both at the design stage and during the operation of the refrigeration plant, and allows to obtain a distribution of losses by elements and processes of the refrigeration plant.


The correlation between psychological pressure characteristics and mental health about the needy college students in Guizhou is put under examination.Significant differences,in terms of the five factors concerning the psychological pressure,are found in gender,grade,discipline,mother's education,whether or not a part-time time student,whether or not an only child(P0.05=.No significance is found in the source place of the student,the educational degree of the student's father in the same regard(P0.05).A positive correlation is found in between the five factors of psychological stress and the nine factors of mental health.The five factors of psychological stress have different predictive power to the nine factors of mental health.


In overwintering flower buds of 'Redhaven' peach [Prunus persica (L) Batsch], seasonal changes in the supercooling point were correlated significantly with seasonal changes in water content of the whole flower bud and its parts, the flower primordium within the flower bud and the vascular traces just below the flower primordium. Both the supercooling point and the water content of the whole flower bud and its parts were correlated significantly with the 2- and 5-day mean air temperature preceding collection. Controlled-temperature studies with 'Siberian C' and 'Redhaven' revealed that the water content of the flower primordium and vascular traces and not that of the whole flower bud was critical to the level of supercooling attained. Supercooling of the flower primordium appeared to be related directly to its water content. Water content of the vascular trace appeared to be important during the initial stages of freezing for preventing spread of the ice boundary into supercooled regions of the flower primordium. Water content of the 2 critical tissues appeared to be determined by migration from and to these tissues during freezing and thawing. During freezing, water was lost from the flower primordium and vascular traces by migration to the flower bud scales which appeared to act as an ice sink. After prolonged exposure to freezing outdoors, water was also lost to the exterior of the flower bud. After thawing, the flower primordium and vascular traces regained water content by transfer from the ice sinks within the flower bud and sources external to the flower bud. Loss of flower bud hardiness occurred during storage at 0°C for 10 days, which was not due to change in water content of the flower bud or its parts. The excised flower buds of the hardier 'Siberian C' supercooled to a lower temperature than excised flower buds of the less hardy 'Redhaven' at equivalent water content.


Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a progressive metabolic disorder, some natural compounds are thought to be beneficial in improving the metabolic status of patients with T2DM. Curcumin is the main bioactive agent of turmeric, the impact of curcumin on T2DM is still controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of curcumin on lipids profile and glucose status in patients with T2DM. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effects of curcumin on lipids profile and glycemic control of T2DM patients were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library. Pooled estimates of weighted mean difference (WMD) were calculated between intervention and control groups using random-effects or fixed-effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the effects. Nine eligible RCT with 604 subjects were included. The estimated pooled mean changes with curcumin were −18.97 mg/dL (95% CI: −36.47 to −1.47; P=0.03) for triglyceride (TG), −8.91 mg/dL (95% CI: −14.18 to −3.63, P=0.001) for total cholesterol (TC), -4.01 mg/dL (95% CI: -10.96 to 2.95, P=0.259) for low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), 0.32 mg/dL (95% CI: −0.74 to 1.37, P=0.557) for high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), −8.85 mg/dL (95% CI: −14.4 to −3.29, P=0.002) for fasting blood glucose (FBG), -0.54 (95% CI: −0.81 to −0.27, P ≤ 0.001) for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (%) compared with controls. There was a significant heterogeneity for the influence of curcumin on TG, LDL-c, FBG and HbA1c. Subgroup analysis revealed that the heterogeneity mainly attributed to trial period, curcumin dosage and other therapy. The results of this study showed that curcumin supplementation had beneficial effects on glycemic status and some lipid parameters in patients with T2DM. Further studies with large-scale are still needed to confirm the results.


The invention relates to a method for preparing a selective catalytic reduction SCR flue gas denitration catalyst and a method for preparing a raw material titanium-tungsten powder of the SCR flue gas denitration catalyst. The method for preparing the SCR flue gas denitration catalyst comprises the followings: smashing titanium-bearing blast furnace slag, leaching TiO2 in the smashed titanium-bearing blast furnace slag with dilute sulphuric acid, filtering and separating the mixture to obtain residues and titanium solution, adding a porous catalyst carrier which is easy to be burnt off into the titanium solution and hydrolyzing the mixture; filtering, washing and drying the hydrolyzed product to obtain a carrier supported metatitanic acid, and further loading tungsten and vanadium on the metatitanic acid, and baking the obtained product to obtain a vanadium-tungsten-titanium SCR denitration catalyst. The method not only effectively utilizes valuable elements in blast furnace slag, solves the problems that the titanium dioxide product is extracted, separated and purified difficultly from the blast furnace slag, and the quality of the product cannot meet the standard easily, and also greatly reduces the production cost of the vanadium-tungsten-titanium SCR denitration catalyst and has a broad application prospect.


The primary science objective of the Coronal Suprathermal Particle Explorer (C-SPEX) is to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of coronal suprathermal particle populations that are seeds for acceleration to solar energetic particles (SEPs). It is understood that such seed particle populations vary with coronal structures and can change responding to solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) events. Models have shown that higher densities of suprathermal protons can result in higher rates of acceleration to high energies. Understanding the variations in the suprathermal seed particle population is thus crucial for understanding the variations in SEPs. However, direct measurements are still lacking. C-SPEX will measure the variation in the suprathermal protons across various coronal magnetic structures, before/after the passage of CME shocks, in the post-CME current sheets, and before/after major solar flares. Understanding the causes for variation in the suprathermal seed particle population and its effect on the variation in SEPs will also help build the predictive capability of SEPs that reach Earth. The CSPEX measurements will be obtained from instrumentation on the International Space Station (ISS) employing well-established UV coronal spectroscopy techniques.


We studied the different parts (lock and feather) of Inconel 738C gas turbine blade, which were cut from the working turbine blade after long operation and recovery heat treatment. Undesired phases such as TCP phase (sigma phase) and some of continuous carbides such as M23C6 in the grain boundary are found. The presence of M23C6 carbides in studied samples testifies to the diffusion process of decomposition of MC carbide and the associated softening of the alloy. The appearance of sigma phase leads to embrittlement of the alloy. Generation of these specifications in the structure results in degradation of metallurgical and mechanical properties of the blade and eventually its destruction.


【Objective】To investigate the inhibitory effects of sorafenib combined with cytokine induced-killer(CIK) cells on the expansion of hepatocellular carcinoma cell line BEL-7402 in vitro.【Methods】CIK cells were generated in vitro by stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells subsets with interferon-gamma(IFN-γ)、IL-1, IL-2 and anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody.Phenotype analysis of CIK cells on the 1, 7, 14 days was performed with flow cytometer(FCM).The specific cytotoxicities of CIK cells against cell line BEL-7402 was determined by cell counting Kit-8.The Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Derection Kit was used to detect apoptosis.【Results】Amount of CD3+CD56+ cells were increased from(2.66±0.42)% to(46.83±2.53)% with elevated absolute amount over 1000 times after 2 week culture.Combined treatment of the cells resulted in significantly higher killing rate and apoptsis rate than that in the other groups(P 0.05).ConclusionSorafenib combined with CIK showed growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in BEL-7402 cells efficiently.


pigmentary dispersion is solvent based, compositions useful for forming solventborne coating and comprises: (a) a copolymer pigment dispersant having at least one quaternary ammonium functional group; pigment dispersant being a block copolymer AB; (B) a pigment having a pH of less than 7, 0; and (c) an organic liquid carrier.


Aim of the Study: To evaluate the efficacy of forearm tourniquet in comparison with upperarm tourniquet in Intravenous Regional Anesthesia on the quality of the block and the post operative pain relief. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized comparative study, was done in 30 patients each in the control group (upperarm intravenous regional anesthesia) using 40ml of 0.5% lignocaine and the study group(forearm intravenous regional anesthesia) using 20ml of 0.5% lignocaine Statistical Tools: Using Epidemiological Information Package (EPI 2002) and Kruskul Wallis chi-square test was used to test the significance of difference between quantitative variables. A 'p' value less than 0.05 is taken to denote significant relationship. Conclusion: Intra Venous Regional Anesthesia using forearm tourniquet in comparison with upperarm tourniquet, has increased margin of safety, by allowing fifty percent reduction in the drug dosage, provides adequate intraoperative analgesia, offers longer duration of sensory blockade after tourniquet deflation, provides, prolonged post operative analgesia, provides lesser degree of motor blockade which is useful in certain tendon surgeries.


Purpose - The most problematic area of any carbon policy debate is the treatment of incumbent CO2 intensive coal-fired electricity generators. Policy applied to the electricity sector is rarely well guided by macroeconomic theory and modeling alone, especially in the case of carbon where the impacts are concentrated, involve a small number of firms and an essential service. The purpose of this paper is to examine the consequences of poor climate change policy development on the efficiency of capital markets within the Australian electricity sector. Design/methodology/approach - The authors conducted a survey of Australian project finance professionals to determine the risk profiles to be applied to the electricity sector, in the event a poorly-designed climate change policy is adopted. Findings - The Australian case study finds that if zero compensation results in the financial distress of project financed coal generators, finance costs for all plant rises, including new gas and renewables, leading to unnecessary increases in electricity prices. Accordingly, an unambiguous case for providing structural adjustment assistance to coal generators exists on the grounds of economic efficiency. Originality/value - Accordingly, the paper shows that an unambiguous case for providing structural adjustment assistance to coal generators exists, on the grounds of economic efficiency.


To provide the quality of combat decision-making.from the behavioral point of view,surrounding the commander,integrate the cognize-science,psychology,then research the commander's combat decision-making behavior.From the game point of view,introducing the EWA-Model,analyse and optimize the commander's combat decision-making behavior,The result shows that the EWA-model,especially the tact EWA-model,can obviously improve the commander's combat decision-making behavior.The study is crucial for the commander,in particular the Commander of poor-experience.


This paper is inspired by the manuscript of Philip Kitcher's forthcoming book Deaths in Venice: The Cases of Gustav von Aschenbach, in which he offers a brilliant, philosophically inspired reading of Thomas Mann's novel, as well as his views on the relationship between literature and philosophy. One of Kitcher's claims, which is my starting point, is that philosophy can be done not only by philosophers but also within some art forms, such as literature and music. Within the literary text, Kitcher claims, philosophy lies in the showing and the text can influence the way readers think and perceive the world. Due to this claim, I see Kitcher as pertaining to the group of literary cognitivists. He offers some powerful arguments in support of the cognitive value of literature, although his approach is substantially different from the arguments usually put forward in defence of literary cognitivism. In this paper, my aim is twofold: firstly, I want to analyse the relationship between philosophy and literature with the aim of showing that despite some overlap between the two disciplines, we have to keep them separate. Secondly, I want to explore what ramifications this has for literary cognitivism.


Immunization with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) L1 virus‐like particles or L2 capsid protein elicits neutralizing antibodies that mediate protection. A high‐throughput and sensitive in vitro neutralization assay is therefore valuable for prophylactic HPV vaccine studies. Over several hours during infection of the genital tract, virions take on a distinct intermediate conformation, including a required furin cleavage of L2 at its N‐terminus. This intermediate is an important target for neutralization by L2‐specific antibody, but it is very transiently exposed during in vitro infection of most cell lines resulting in insensitive measurement for L2, but not L1‐specific neutralizing antibodies. To model this intermediate, we describe a protocol to generate furin‐cleaved HPV pseudovirions (fc‐PsV), which deliver an encapsidated reporter plasmid to facilitate infectivity measurements. We also describe a protocol for use of fc‐PsV in a high‐throughput in vitro neutralization assay for the sensitive measurement of both L1 and L2‐specific neutralizing antibodies. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Loss functions are introduced for detecting outliers in panel data. The loss functions for nonnegative data take into account both the size of the base and the relative change. When the data generation processes take a particular form, an exact parametrization is available. The loss functions are extended to variables whose outlier criteria depend on another variable and to data of mixed sign. In the latter case, the geometry dictates one parametrization.


Moving objects in indoor space has been a research focus in recent years, as most people live and work in indoor space, e.g. working in office, living in apartment, etc. In this paper, we make a first step in indoor moving object management. We focus on the conceptual modeling of indoor space as well as indoor moving objects, and aim to describe the semantics and properties of indoor moving objects. Firstly, a conceptual modeling framework for indoor space is defined, based on which we propose a semantic description of indoor moving objects. Compared with previous models, our model takes into account the relationships among rooms, doors, sensors and moving objects, and uses a layered approach to represent indoor space and indoor moving objects. The model proposed can be further extended to meet different needs in indoor moving object monitoring and tracking.


OBJECTIVE
Obesity, high body mass index, and visceral fat accumulation are associated with renal diseases. However, the association between body measurements and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is still unclear.

METHODS
A cohort of 7,825 participants scheduled for follow-up of CKD was recruited from 2000 to 2008 in Taiwan. A questionnaire was developed to collect the basic demographics, lifestyle variables, personal disease history, and family disease history of the participants. A 3-dimensional body surface scanning system was used to take their body measurements. The participants underwent an average follow-up of 14.3 years for evaluation of the incidence of CKD. A multiple Cox regression model was built.

RESULTS
Three body measurements, namely chest width (hazard ratio [HR] 1.059, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.011-1.110), waist circumference (HR 1.017, 95% CI 1.006-1.029), and thigh circumference (HR 0.941, 95% CI 0.922-0.961), were significantly associated with CKD. Two combinations of body measurements, namely the waist-to-thigh ratio and chest-to-thigh ratio, were derived to predict the occurrence of CKD. Participants with the highest quartile of waist-to-thigh ratio and chest-to-thigh ratio had a 2.175-fold and 2.182-fold risk of developing CKD, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that along with central obesity, body limb measurements can be used as an indicator to predict the occurrence of CKD. The effects of limb measurements on CKD could help provide an innovative perspective regarding the intervention to be developed for the treatment of CKD and a preventive medicine for high-risk individuals. The association of thigh circumference with CKD warrants further investigation.