Online retailing is dominated by a channel structure in which a retailer either buys products from competing manufacturers and resells to consumers (wholesale scheme) or lets manufacturers directly sell to consumers on its platform for a commission (platform scheme). Easy access to publicly available third-party information such as product reviews which facilitate consumers' purchase decisions is another distinctive and ubiquitous characteristic of online retailing. We show that retailers can use the upstream pricing scheme, wholesale or platform, as a strategic tool to benefit from third-party information. Information on the quality dimension homogenizes consumers' perceived utility differences between competing products and increases the upstream competition, which benefits the retailer under the wholesale scheme but hurts the retailer under the platform scheme. Information on the fit dimension heterogenizes consumers' estimated fits to the products and softens the upstream competition, which hurts the retailer under the wholesale scheme but benefits the retailer under the platform scheme. Consequently, when the precision of the third-party information is high (low), a retailer can benefit from third-party information by adopting the wholesale (platform) scheme if the quality dimension plays a dominant role and by adopting the platform (wholesale) scheme if the fit dimension plays a dominant role. Furthermore, the effect of precision improvement on the retailer's profit depends on pricing scheme choice and relative importance of quality and fit attributes in consumers' evaluation of products. For instance, when the fit dimension plays a dominant role, increasing the precision can hurt the retailer under wholesale scheme but benefit under platform scheme.


By using the methods of documentation,survey,questionnaire,mathematical statistics and logical analysis,it investigates the health conditions of Yao residents at Liannan Yao Autonomous County in Guangdong province,emphasizes on the analysis of percentage of physical activity participation,intentions of physical activity,items of physical activity,place of physical exercise and sports consumption etc.,and suggests some proposals about expanding the participation of physical activity of Yao people.


The article is devoted to the history of the police in the states of the Muslim East in the Middle Ages and the modern period. According to the author, the police appeared in the tribal com-munities of this region even before the emergence of the state and performed, among other things, the functions of political investigation. In the countries of the Muslim East, the formation of the police was determined by the general regularities of global change, as well as the specificity of Islam as a religion and Sharia as legislation. The article identifies the historical models and reveals the na-ture of the institution of the police in the Muslim world, including their national security functions. Much attention is paid to the activities of the religious police in Central Asia. According to the au-thor, their abolition in Russian Turkestan revealed many negative phenomena that had existed earli-er in the life of Muslim society in the pre-Russian period. The author concludes that in the states of the Muslim East as a whole the police played a historically positive role in the development of the region.


Based on the reality of military oil reserve layout, the paper proposes the goal of optimizing oil reserve layout, establishes the total expense objective functions and solves them in turns.


This collection of eight papers is a follow-up to the series of articles that appeared in Issue 2 of ASGP Volume 89 (see also Golonka and Bębenek, 2017). These contributions provide a good sample of the scope of a major research project (BG1/GAZGEOLMOD/13), devoted to unravelling the unconventional hydrocarbon potential of the Lower Palaeozoic shales of the East European Craton (EEC) in Poland and funded by the Polish National Research and Development Centre (NCBiR). The principal aim of this research was optimization of the exploration process, using innovative data analysis based on state-of-the-art geological and geophysical techniques, as well as definition of the technological limitations, imposed by the geological conditions encountered in license areas of the Polish Oil and Gas Company and Orlen Upstream. Our research focused on three Ediacaran-Early Palaeozoic depocentres, known as the Baltic, Podlasie and Lublin basins (Fig. 1), with emphasis on the structure, biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic development, stratigraphic mapping and tectono-thermal history of the Ordovician‒Silurian (Fig. 2) black shales. On the basis of a series of geological maps and cross-sections, an exhaustive review of the structural setting and geological evolution of these basins is provided in an introductory paper (Poprawa, this volume). The basin development was placed within a series of palaeogeographic reconstructions, showing the locations of the EEC during the Palaeozoic (Golonka et al., this volume). The palaeogeographic reconstructions provide a large-scale framework for understanding the temporal evolution of the EEC in terms of plate kinematics, yielding additional insight into the distribution of petroleum system components. A significant effort was made towards cartographic representation of selected stratigraphic surfaces, thickness data, fault zones, total organic carbon contents and tectono-thermal domains across the entire EEC segment subcropping in Poland. An innovative methodology for database creation and mapping is summarized in a separate contribution (Papiernik and Michna, this volume). The input data for the cartographic work were 104 published maps (Żelichowski and Kozłowski, 1983; Kotański, 1997; Modliński, 2010) and a wealth of new structural and stratigraphic data, derived from the PolandSPAN seismic cross-sections through the Baltic and Lublin basins (Kasperska et al., 2019; Kufrasa et al., 2019) and acquired during realization of the BLUEGAS project modules. Biostratigraphic work concentrated on the graptolite stratigraphy of the Ordovician and Silurian mudrocks. The results permitted updating of the existing, local stratigraphic divisions into the O‒S standard stages, while age determinations of the newly acquired well cores resulted in improved dating of some lithostratigraphic units (Podhalańska, this volume). New palaeoenvironmental interpretations were presented for the Cambrian siliciclastic shelf of the Podlasie Basin (Wendorff, this volume), following similar research in the Lublin Basin (Stadnik et al., 2019). A restoration technique was used to verify the correctness of the structural and palaeothickness maps and to reproduce the initial geometry and thickness of three basin-fill stages in the Cambrian‒Devonian succession (Barmuta et al., this volume). An application of illite-smectite palaeothermometry showed that the maximum heating and gas generation occurred in the Early Carboniferous, at the turn of the Early and Late Carboniferous and during the Early Permian (Kowalska et al., this volume). Therefore, it is suggested that the Mesozoic inversion across the EEC may have resulted in the significant escape of gas. In the closing contribution (Papiernik et al., this volume), a range of potential gas-bearing reservoirs is pinpointed on PREFACE: UNCONVENTIONAL HYDROCARBON ACCUMULATIONS IN THE EAST EUROPEAN CRATON IN POLAND


Research on shiftwork has shown that fatigue and related performance problems increase at night. In Australia, this has lead to calls to limit night work for long distance heavy vehicle drivers. However the evidence for diminished performance at night among heavy vehicle drivers is equivocal, and the risks posed need to be weighed against different safety risks inherent in daytime driving. This study sought to directly compare the impact of day and night shift rosters on the fatigue and performance of heavy vehicle drivers going about their normal work. Self-reported fatigue increased similarly over the week for all drivers, but more over individual night shifts than individual day shifts. There were also indications of slowing response speed over the week but this effect was not different for night and day drivers. In short, night shifts made drivers feel more tired than day shifts, but did not produce significantly poorer performance, suggesting that night drivers can manage their fatigue. Whether these results would also apply to drivers working the types of irregular shifts common in the long-haul road transport industry requires further investigation.


Objective To establish an HPLC method for the determination of oleanolic acid in Yawei Gantai Tablet.Methods With a Navpak C18 column (5 μm,150 mm×4.6 mm) at 30 ℃,methyl alcohol-methyl cyanide-water (72:15:13) was used as the mobile phase,the flow rate was 0.8 mL/min,the wavelength was 210 nm.Result Oleanolic acid had a good linear relationship in the range of 2.3~11.5 μg,r =0.999 5.The average recovery was 98.368% and RSD was 1.83%.Conclusion The established method is simple,stable and repeatable,and can be applied for the quality control of Yawei Gantai Tablet.


E. coli is one of the most important pathogenic agent affecting chickens which costs the poultry industry resulting into high economic losses due to increased mortality. During present study, mortality due to Colibacillosis in nine commercial chicken flocks belonging to Nagpur region of Maharashtra was noticed. Characteristic lesions perihepatitis, pericarditis, air saculitis and pneumonia were observed. Pink colonies on MLA, metallic sheen on EMB confirmed the E. coli infection. Clinical samples of liver collected from nine commercial chicken flocks were further confirmed as E. coli. by PCR amplification of 500bp of ecp gene. Pathological lesions, cultural characteristics along with PCR amplification of ecp gene confirmed E. coli infection in commercial chickens.


Over-end unwinding involves pulling yam from a fixed package to be used in textile processes such as knitting, sewing, twisting, weft insertion in weaving, and doubling. During unwinding, the yam slides on the package surface and lifts off into the balloon formed between the package and the guide eyelet. Variations in yam tension and bal loon shape can adversely affect process efficiency and final product quality. This paper investigates the steady-state motion of inextensible yam during unwinding. Previously developed models that predict the yam tension and motion in the unwinding balloon and on the package surface are modified to include the effects of nonzero wind angle packages and to allow comparison with experimental results. In the experiment, PC controlled video, tension, speed, and yam rotation sensors measure nine dynamic un winding process variables. Synchronized tension measurements and video images allow simultaneous measurement of eyelet and lift-off tension, balloon height, and lift-off and...


This paper concentrates on the development of a video sensing system and its combination with an electric power steering (EPS) system to provide lane support functionality. The purpose of the system is to reduce the likelihood of the vehicle making unintended lane departures and to reduce the driver's workload in lane keeping. The lane guide system is described in detail along with the control strategies explored.


The objective was to determine common bean response to different urea concentrations (0, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 g kg-1). N was supplied through leaves at different hours of application (8:00 AM, 04:00 PM, and 08:00 PM), in either the presence or the absence of N (urea) soil surface dressing at the rate of 40 kg ha-1 N. The soil used was a clayey Typic Haplustox . The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks in a factorial scheme 5x3 with five urea rates and three times of application, with four replicates. Plant characteristics and degree of fitotoxicity were measured. It is concluded that N applied to the soil increased grain yield. N applied to leaves did not affect the agronomic characteristics nor bean yield.


Since J company stores products as horizontal and passive form, there are many things to improve such as inefficiency of logistic management, too much...


Crude Jatropha curcas L. oil (Oil) normally contains some free fatty acids (FFAs), and it must be pre-esterified with methanol before it is used as the feedstock of the transesterification operation in biodiesel production. The mutual solubility of the pre-esterification reaction mixture was measured over the reaction temperature range from (303.1 to 333.1) K. The phase diagrams included the ternary diagrams of FFA + oil + methanol, FFA + methanol + water, Jatropha curcas L. oil methyl ester (FAME) + methanol + water, and FAME + methanol + oil. The data show that the mutual solubility increases with temperature. High FFA content can increase the mutual solubility of methanol and oil. The products, namely, water and FAME, change the distribution of oil and methanol.


Seven upland soils, which were sampled from main wheat produce areas in Hubei province, were utilized to study the effect of application of Mo fertilizer to wheat on N and Mo nutritions with pot culture method. The main results are as follows: when Mo was deficiency, the obstruction of wheat growth caused by both NO~(-)_(3)-N accumulation and available NH~(+)_(4)-N deficiency, Mo fertilizer application could improve N and Mo nutrtios of wheat, which included the increase of Mo value and uptake amount in wheat organs; stimulation of nitrate reductase activity(NRA) and prevention of the acumulation of nitrate. Applying Mo also speeded nitrogen translocation from wheat stem and leaves to its grains and stimulated nitrogen transformation from free N to protein-N. All these acted on the grain quality.


We analyzed literature data and our results of treatment of 37 patients with cancer of the middle and lower rectal ampulla (Т2-4аN0-2М0) who underwent low anterior resection of the rectum with colorectal anastomosis. The purpose of the study was to reveal characteristics of late colorectal anastomotic leakage. The results demonstrated differences in the clinical course of early and late colorectal anastomotic leakage, the site of anastomotic defect, anastomosis characteristics and the need for repeat surgery. There were some pathogenetic aspects distinguishing early and late anastomotic leakage, such as technical problems in early leakage and association with preoperative radiotherapy in late anastomotic leakage. Conclusions: timely diagnostics of microleakage of colorectal anastomosis will allow changing the further tactics of the patient management and avoiding the manifestation of late anastomotic leakage.


When Is the Pig in the Parlor?: The Interface of Legal and Aesthetic ConsiderationsAuthor(s): Richard C. SmardonSource: Environmental Review: ER, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Summer, 1984), pp. 146-161Published by: Forest History Society and American Society for Environmental HistoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3984192Accessed: 25/05/2010 11:35


In this essay, a construction of jewish and Christian identities as "male virgin" in the Book of Revelation" are studied and compared, with theories of masculinity as theoretical tool


Abstract
 Randia brevituba is a new species of the Paranean region of Argentina and Paraguay. It differs from the closest species, R. ferox, which is sympatric, in having short corolla tubes of 4.7–5.4 mm in the pistillate flowers and 2.8–7.9 mm in the staminate flowers, calyx lobes varying in shape and size in the same pistillate flower, and globose fruits 14–17 mm long (versus corolla tubes of 25.0–27.0 and 22.6– 34.0 mm long, respectively, calyx lobes equal in shape and size, and fruit 3–5 cm and ovoid, ellipsoid or subglobose in R. ferox). We also discuss the taxonomic concept and geographic distribution of Randia armata, and conclude that it is markedly different from R. brevituba and the other species in the Southern Cone studied here, and moreover, that it does not occur in the Southern Cone. We provide a taxonomic key to distinguish the new species from other species of Randia in the Southern Cone of America.


A method for determinating 13 organochlorine compounds in Standards for Drinking Water Quality( GB 5749- 2006) by liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using MRM was established. The linear range was 0. 5 to 200 μg / L,the correlation coefficient was more than 0. 995,the detection limit was 2 to 8 ng / L,the recovery rate was 83. 6% to 128. 4%, and the RSD was 4. 65% to 12. 9%. This method is precise for quantitative and qualitative detection of trace organochlorine compounds in drinking water.


This paper aimed to discuss the concept of social vulnerability associated with sanitation and its connection to environmental injustice in a framework of governance as a new way to manage natural resources, which includes the participation of social actors in planning environmental policies, by investigating how the social vulnerability associated with sanitation and its connection to environmental injustice in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in Palestine, and the paper analyzes cases of inequality within two axes. The first axis is based on the use of the methodology of organizing information that is carried out through bibliographic review, and the second axis is based on the statistical analysis of the relevant tables, which showed an increasing mathematical function by increasing independent variables that are closely related, noting that The results of the analysis showed a close and increasing correlation between the method of connecting wastewater to the sewage networks with poverty rates based on the area of residence (rural, camp, urban). The analysis focuses on the two axes of the paper on taking into account the essential role of public policies in combating social and environmental inequalities, especially those related to the arbitrary practices of the Israeli occupation. One of the most important results of the analysis was that the social vulnerability associated with sanitation is related to environmental injustice in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and is exacerbated by the arbitrary practices of the Israeli occupation, especially environmental ones. The paper concluded with the importance of taking into account the integration of water policies with those related to agriculture and economic works, and the inclusion of all socio-economic factors within specialized programs within the framework of partnership with institutions, including private sector institutions, to develop joint activities between them, and to prioritize safe environmental sanitation for the poor population, and areas Low-income people and those most affected by the arbitrary policies of the Israeli occupation, in addition the paper recommended the importance of establishing programs to ensure social justice, combat differences in service levels, adopt the principle of differentiation between users by imposing fees on water uses, and manage the balance between preserving resources and promoting multiple uses for them.


Background: Pancreatic cancer is the fth leading cause of cancer death.. Pancreatic cancer is diicult to diagnose in its
early stages. at the time presentation nearly 50% cases have distant metastsis. CA 19-9 is tumor associated mucin
glycoprotein present in epithelial tissues of pancreas, biliary ductularcells, stomach, gall bladder. Blood levels may be elevated in benign as well
as malignant conditions.
Aims And Objectives: To study the relation between levels of CA 19-19 and tumor respectability in cases of carcinoma head of pancreas. To
study the relation between levels of CA 19-9 and prognosis of the cases.
Materials And Methods: A Retrospective analysis of all the cases of carcinoma head of pancreas admiited over a period of 2 years, June 2019 to
may 2021 at king George Hospital Visakhapatnam and in them the data was collected from all the patients of ca head of pancrteas on basis of
CECT, MRCP. CA 19-9 levels were measured and recorded. During surgery the operative ndings on operability and prognosis were
documented and tabulated aganist correspoding CA 19-9 levels.
Results: A total of 45 cases Carcinoma head of pancreas of which 30 were operated; of which 21 cases were operable and underwent whipples
procedure and 9 under went palliative bypass procedure. CA 19-9 was elevated in all the cases. In operable cases (21) CA 19-9 levels were
elevated but not more than 1000IU/ml. Among inoperable cases (24) 85% cases have high levels of CA !9-9 (greater than 1000 IU/ml)
Conclusion: Rasie in CA 19-9 levels are seen in many bengin conditions and CA 19-9 is tumor marker for various GI malignancies. Very high
levels of CA 19-9 denotes high chances of inooperability and distant metastasis and poor prognosis.


The use and abuse of amphetamines in athletic locker rooms apparently has not significantly decreased even though many controlling agencies have banned their usage for sports participation. Research findings do not conclusively indicate that amphetamine improves sport performance, strength, or cardio-respiratory endurance; however, slight gains in reaction time may be obtained. Documentation of amphetamine abuse and research findings of the amphetamines as they are related to sport performance are included.


The pre-democracy negotiations between the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) established nine provincial forms of government to replace the four provinces of the apartheid era. The nine provinces contrasted with the historical goal of the ANC to create a 'democratic, non-racial and unitary South Africa'. The NP wanted nine new provinces to prevent centralized state power under an ANC government and saw possibilities for winning electoral power in the Western Cape. The ANC conceded following political pressure from the Inkatha Freedom Party, which threatened civil war, and a policy shift after examining the German federal governance system. The article analyzes the history, politics, process and outcomes of the establishment of the nine provinces for social policy delivery in South Africa. It explores the contention that the nine provinces re-fragmented service delivery (although not on a statutory racial basis) and created a system of fiscal decentralization with serious implications for social policy: weakening bureaucratic capacity, institutional capability and political accountability. The provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions created a particular 'path dependency' which, 18 years after democratic, rule still impacts negatively on service delivery and more equitable policy outcomes. This is in part due to the undermining of provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions by a significant minority of corrupt and incompetent provincial civil servants. The corruption of these provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions erodes the egalitarian values aimed at creating a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and unitary South Africa which historically underpinned the policy agenda of the ANC. It also has weakened social citizenship on a geographical and ultimately racial basis given the continuing co-incidence of race and place in a democratic South Africa.


ABSTRACT The Internet provides electronic information sources such as electronic journals, mailing lists, newsgroups, and other Web documents which can be used by members of various professions for professional development and upgrading their knowledge. The paper presents results and discussions of a study of the use of the Internet for professional development by library professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results of the study of 47 librarians indicate that they have access to the Internet and e-mail facilities and this is mainly done at workplaces. However, use of the facilities for accessing electronic journals, discussion groups, newsgroups and other useful Internet sources is quite low and in some cases almost non-existent due to the shortage of Internet and e-mail access computers, poor telecommunications lines, slow and unreliable Internet links, inadequate Internet use skills, and since the facilities are available at workplaces, lack of enough time to use them. The study also found that there is...


To investigate and characterize the single electron reactions of coals in order to determine the role these reactions play in the chemistry of coal. Attempts will be made to demonstrate that the radicals from the inertinite maceral group will initiate the polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine. The molecule N,N-diphenyl-phenylenediamine will be deposited in coals to characterize their native free radicals. Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) will be used to characterize the numbers and strengths of single electron donors in coals.


MADE is the acronym for an ESPRIT III project aiming at the development of a programming environment for multimedia applications. The resulting software library is based on C++, and is planned to operate on UNIX Workstations as well as on PC{based platforms. This reports gives a technical overview of the project, and describes some possible application scenarios where the MADE environment can be of a great help for multimedia programming.


Lake Victoria had a complex multi-species fishery dominated until the late 1970s by the tilapiine and haplochromine cichlids but with important subsidiary fisheries of more than 20 genera of non-cichlid fishes. Since the 1980s, however, the fishery has been dominated by the Nile perch (Lates niloticus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus eduardianus) both introduced into the lake during the late 1950s and early 1960s and Rastrineobola argentea, a pelagic cyprinid. Although the actual landed commercial catch figures from the Uganda sector of the lake point to the increased landings since 1984, the catch rates in the experimental trawl fishery and mean weight of fish in both experimental trawl and commercial fishery have been on the decline.


The title of this conference is very apt. Brexit will certainly require a new future to be forged between the United Kingdom and the EU. The United Kingdom's departure has important implications for the EU financial system, most notably for capital markets. So we need to give serious thought to optimally shaping the future relationship between our financial sectors in the awareness that London, though likely to remain an important global financial centre, will become less integrated with EU markets and firms. We will also need to step up our efforts to further develop the EU's domestic capacity in capital market activities, so as to avoid a Brexit-induced increase in financial fragmentation, while at the same time ensuring that the United Kingdom and EU Member States do not engage in a race to the bottom on regulation.


The main objective of this research paper is to highlight the issues related to deprivation among vulnerable age –group mainly in the old age. This paper comprises different aspects of deprivation among elderly. I focussed here on three aspects of deprivation among older people –Economic, Health and Social aspects of deprivation. In this paper I have focussed on EAG (Empowered Action Group)States, Southern and North-East States. I have used three different indices EDI, HDI and SDI as well as a composite index to measure different aspects of deprivation.


The design and implementation of temperature control system based on single chip microcontroller AT89S5l are introduced in this paper.When the temperature is under the lower limit,the microcontroller starts heating equipment.When the temperature is over the upper limit,the microcontroller starts refrigeration equipment.When the temperature exceeds the control range,the microcontroller starts the alarm.The overall framework of the system and the program flow chart are given.The designed functions are achieved in hardware platform.


Background: Anemia is a frequent comorbidity in patients with heart failure (HF) and both are associated with renal failure. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and cardio-renal variables in patients with HF. Methods: A cross-section study was conducted of 110 HF patients selected from the medical records of Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) Hospitals. Clinical presentation, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, laboratory, and echocardiographic data were analyzed. Statistical Analysis: The subjects were divided into terciles according to their Hb levels and a chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables. ANOVA was used to analyze Hb and symmetric quantitative variables, while a Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare asymmetric quantitative variables. The relationship between Hb levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (CockcroftGault) was assessed by the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Significant p-values of <0.05 were found. Results: The lower Hb tercile (33.6%) consisted mainly of women (62.2%) (p=0.04), older patients and patients with diminished renal function. The upper tercile (30.9%) contained the highest prevalence of former or current smoking patients (64.1%) (p=0.01). There was a correlation between Hb and eGFR when all the subjects were considered, r=0.23 (p=0.05). Conclusions: Lower Hb levels occurred more frequently among elderly, female and patients with diminished renal function. Higher Hb levels occurred in former or current smokers. There was a correlation between Hb and eGFR when all the subjects were considered.


Resonance phenomena in a model of intrinsic Josephson junctions shunted by LC-elements (L-inductance, C-capacitance) are studied. The phase dynamics and IV-characteristics are investigated in detail when the Josephson frequency approaches the frequency of the resonance circuit. A realization of parametric resonance through the excitation of a longitudinal plasma wave, within the bias current interval corresponding to the resonance circuit branch, is demonstrated. It is found that the temporal dependence of the total voltage of the stack, and the voltage measured across the shunt capacitor, reflect the charging of superconducting layers, a phenomenon which might be useful as a means of detecting such charging experimentally. Thus, based on the voltage dynamics, a novel method for the determination of charging in the superconducting layers of coupled Josephson junctions is proposed. A demonstration and discussion of the influence of external electromagnetic radiation on the IV-characteristics and charge-time dependence is given. Over certain parameter ranges the radiation causes an interesting new type of temporal splitting in the charge-time oscillations within the superconducting layers.


Background: Tracheoesophageal voice prostheses are invaluable for speech rehabilitation in patients who have received total laryngectomy, but device failure impedes communication and creates psychosocial and financial burdens. This study compares the Provox 2 and Provox Vega voice prostheses on the parameter of device life. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of 21 patients with 181 device replacements at an academic tertiary care medical center. Disparity in device life and factors that may influence device life were analyzed. Results: The mean device life for Provox 2, at 115.6 days (SE = 5.8), was longer than for Provox Vega, at 65.1 days (SE = 7.5) (P < .001). Conclusions: Device longevity was greater for Provox 2 over Provox Vega. These results will facilitate the design of prospective studies to assess reasons for variations in device life between patients and device types.


Abstract The research reported here represents a qualitative case study that engaged teachers as participants over a prolonged period, examining their teaching practices and agentive roles in the language development of their students. This study draws on a social constructivist framework and transformative learning theory, both of which approach the learner as an agentive self and in the socio-cultural context of language learning. Data collection took place at an all-female university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It includes face-to-face semi-structured interviews of six teachers from two different classrooms, classroom observations (of two of the six teachers), and audio recordings of instructional practices. The findings reveal that the implementation of autonomous learning is a significant factor in students' intrinsic engagement and motivation to develop vocabulary knowledge. This study aims to offer guidance to language teachers and researchers who advocate for learner autonomy and innovative classroom practices. It recommends new strategies for cultivating learner autonomy in English education, both in the KSA classroom and elsewhere.


Abstract Hillslopes in the steep mountainous terrains are eroded by landslides, however the quantitative characterization of the interaction between the soil erosion and landslide is rare. Here, taking the largest tableland in the Loess Plateau of China as an example, we calculated the area and volume of 5,420 shallow loess landslides and compared these against the Chinese Soil Loss Equation (CSLE) derived soil erosion rate of 15 sub-catchments. The results on the spatial variability of soil erosion suggest that the average soil erosion modulus in the study area is 50.54 tons·ha−1·year−1, but the value varies widely across the whole research area. Overall, soil erosion is more severe in the north, which is similar to the distribution of landslide scars extracted from Google imagery. The volume of the landslides in the northern watershed was approximately 4-fold that of the landslides in the southern watershed. Our analysis reveals a satisfactory linear fitting result (R2 = 0.68) between the area of landslides and soil erosion. Based on the results, we believe that restoring vegetation cover in landslide scars should become the most urgent action to mitigate soil erosion.


The Journal of Medicine and Movies was always open to publish articles by students of health sciences and other degrees. Encouraging the participation of students was always one of the pretensions of the journal. The objective of this article is to describe the participation of students in the journal informing of the number of articles published, the number of authors, the type of work carried out, the universities of origin, the commented films and the topics discussed. All articles published since 2005, at the beginning of the magazine, until 2019 were reviewed. 42 articles were registered with the participation of students (16,9 % of total) with 60 authors from 12 different universities and 10 different degrees, six of them from health sciences. It is concluded that the Journal of Medicine and Movies, in addition to being a means to promote learning in health science studies, can facilitate to the students the development of the generic competence to produce scientific articles.


ABSTRACT Disposal of waste into aquatic ecosystems may cause microalgae to be exposed to various metals, e.g. copper and cadmium. The effects caused by combinations of metals may be more serious. Evaluations of subcellular fate, bioaccumulation, and biological effects of metals on aquatic organisms are generally derived from experiments with individual metals. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of exposure of Chlorella pyrenoidosa to copper and cadmium in combination on subcellular accumulation, distribution, and growth. The algae were exposed for 72 h to copper at concentrations of 13 – 25 µmol L−1, cadmium at about 6 µmol L−1, and combinations thereof. The levels of copper and cadmium in subcellular organelles, heat-denaturated protein, metal-rich granules, and heat-stable protein were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Exposure of C. pyrenoidosa to copper and cadmium in combination inhibited growth more strongly than copper and cadmium individually. Highest accumulation was observed in metal-rich granules and heat-stable proteins. Administration of both metals in combination affected their subcellular distribution: copper was mainly distributed into the metal-rich granules (70%–80%) and heat-stable proteins (9%–24%), cadmium in the metal-rich granules (88%–98%).


...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ............................................................................................................. ix List of Tables............................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 The National Guard ............................................................................................... 1 Energy Audits for New Jersey National Guard Armories ....................................... 2 Scope of This Work ............................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review ....................................................................................... 7 Chapter 3: New Jersey National Guard Armories ......................................................... 18 Meta Data Comparison .......................................................................................... 19 Regression Analysis. ........................................................................................ 20 Chapter 4: Simulation Software and Limitations .......................................................... 28 Available Software Packages ................................................................................. 28 Limitations of Software ......................................................................................... 31 Details about eQUEST ........................................................................................... 34 Assumptions in eQUEST ....................................................................................... 35 Assumptions in the Wizard: Base Assumptions ................................................ 37 Assumptions in the Wizard: Assumed to be Correct Values ............................. 41 Assumptions in the Wizard: Typically Incorrect Values ................................... 43 Chapter 5: Methodology and Approach ....................................................................... 48 Purpose of Audits .................................................................................................. 48 Models ................................................................................................................... 49


AbstractThe aim of this paper is to optimize and validate a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for separation and quantification of five isoflavones. A statistical central composite design was used to separate all peaks. These multivariate procedures were efficient in determining the optimal separation condition using resolution, capacity factor, asymmetry and number of theoretical plates.

 The effective separation of the examined compounds was applied on a Develosil RP Aqueous AR 5 RP-30 column with a gradient mobile phase system and a DAD detector.The isolation and preconcentration of the isoflavones from urine and plasma samples were conducted by means of the solid-phase extraction (SPE). For optimize SPE conditions various sorbents were tested. Furthermore, high recoveries and good relative standard deviations were obtained when the samples were passed through the Oasis HLB column. The developed method was validated and successfully applied for determination of isoflavones in urine and plasma.


Abstract: The study of integrative effects of various management strategies in Kenyan MSMEs was an objective in a major study leading to doctoral award. The various management strategies selected were the chief executive (owner manager strategies), human resource, technological, financial, entrepreneurial, marketing as well as interpersonal and environmental factors. Profitability was taken as the measure of performance. A predictive equation was obtained capable of classifying cases into either performance or non performance. Several recommendations were made that would benefit the managers of MSMES. Key words: Integrative effects; MSMEs; Management strategies; Management factors; Performance


-Parallel evolution, as exemplified by data on opisthobranch mollusks (a group in which snails have repeatedly evolved into slugs), often exceeds divergent evolution. A similar level of parallelism has been described in an array of other organisms. This fact presents a serious challenge to those systematists who claim that a cladogram with a minimal number of steps represents a most parsimonious and most likely scenario of genealogical relationship. When rampant parallelism is present, pattern cladism or other congruence networks which rely solely on ingroup comparison of characters are unsuccessful in resolving the problem. We suggest that emphasis on unique innovation and divergent apomorphy presents a fruitful and scientifically consistent alternative to this dilemma. We contend that cladists have drastically altered the meaning of several terms-including "parallel evolution," "parsimony," and "a priori"-to suit their own methodological and philosophical paradigm. These modifications reduce the testability of their hypotheses and, therefore, the scientific credibility of their methods. The construction of a genealogy based on shared-derived features, which is independent of a theoretical basis, represents a resurfacing of typological thinking which has little value in explaining or even depicting the patterns of diversity of life. [Parallel evolution; parsimony; phylogenetic methodology; opisthobranch gastropods.] Phylogenetics is the sun around which systematics revolves, carrying with it the whole of comparative biology. This was one of Darwin's most important contributions. "Our classifications will come to be, as far as they can be made so, genealogies" (Darwin, 1859:486). What may be called "classical phylogenetics" was founded by Darwin and has continued as part of systematics ever since. However, the sunlight of genealogy has often been obscured by the umbrage of typology, often motivated by efforts to discredit evolutionary biology in general. Repeatedly, it has been necessary to return to fundamentals and devise methodologies adequate to the task. A major figure in such endeavors was Hennig (1950, 1966), whose "phylogenetic systematics" has been the inspiration for the so-called "cladist" tradition. The result has been a continued polarization among factions; legitimate methodologies, long accepted and used by competent evolutionary biologists, have been treated as if they did not exist. We believe that it is time for these issues to be more fully examined. We contend that many cladists have systematically dismissed some major operational and philosophical difficulties with their methods and ignored some alternative or supplementary techniques which might achieve better results. We find much of what cladists say perfectly acceptable. There is no question that one of the goals of systematics is to infer genealogical relationships. There being just one historical reality, there is one (and only one) true phylogenetic tree for any group of organisms. Employing "innovations" or "apomorphies" to infer lineages is, or should be, operationally routine. Such matters as whether to allow paraphyletic taxa are not the bones of contention they might seem, being matters of formal classification, not phylogenetic history proper. The thesis that species and other taxa are inAdividuals (Ghiselin, 1966a, 1969a, 1974a, 1981) has been accepted by many cladists (e.g., Eldredge and Cracraft, 1980;


The methods of technological and topological mismatches automatic compensation are presented in this paper. A 80 dB dynamic range, 100 kHz - 80 MHz and 80 dB dynamic range, 10 MHz - 100 MHz SiGe RSSI for analog-to-digital converter are described in this article. The integrated circuit has 17 mA current consumption from a 3.3-V supply. The proposed solution allows not to use of external capacitors for transfer characteristic correction. The operation of the detectors is described, and the results of the main characteristics are presented.


This is a discussion of the literature surrounding motivation of students to learn pathology at medical school. There are a number of possible approaches but making the session fun, the content relevant to the audience and developing an open, cooperative learning environment are important factors in developing learner engagement. Positive feedback, verbal and non-verbal, is also important to give the learner a sense of achievement and competence.


Coherent data communication over doubly-selective channels requires that the channel response be known at the receiver. Training-based schemes, which involve probing of the channel with known signaling waveforms and processing of the corresponding channel output to estimate the channel parameters, are commonly employed to learn the channel response in practice. Conventional training-based methods, often comprising of linear least squares channel estimators, are known to be optimal under the assumption of rich multipath channels. Numerous measurement campaigns have shown, however, that physical multipath channels tend to exhibit a sparse structure at high signal space dimension (time-bandwidth product), and can be characterized with significantly fewer parameters compared to the maximum number dictated by the delay-Doppler spread of the channel. In this paper, it is established that traditional training-based channel learning techniques are ill-suited to fully exploiting the inherent low-dimensionality of sparse channels. In contrast, key ideas from the emerging theory of compressed sensing are leveraged to propose sparse channel learning methods for both single-carrier and multicarrier probing waveforms that employ reconstruction algorithms based on convex/linear programming. In particular, it is shown that the performance of the proposed schemes come within a logarithmic factor of that of an ideal channel estimator, leading to significant reductions in the training energy and the loss in spectral efficiency associated with conventional training-based methods.


With the Xiaogou Mega Bridge in Shanxi as a practical example, a complete monitoring system is established. Three components of this bridge health monitoring system are introduced in the paper one by one, which are the sensor sub-system, the data acquisition and transportation sub-system, and the long-distance analysis sub-system, with a data-processing method based on statistical analysis provided in the end. The construction of this health monitoring system will provide valuable experience for bridge-managing departments and health monitoring systems of similar types of bridges.


The invention provides an MPP framework database cluster sequence system and a sequence management method. The MPP framework database cluster sequence system comprises a memory database used for providing a sequence object management service for each cluster node. With the adoption of the technical scheme provided by the invention, an MPP framework database cluster can be endowed with a sequence function comprising sequence object management, so that the same experience as a stand-alone database can be obtained by using the sequence function of the MPP framework database cluster; in addition, the sequence function is provided by the memory database, so that a high-performance sequence function can be provided; and the sequence management is carried out in the memory database, and a high-speed concurrent processing mechanism can be provided, so that the performance of the memory database is far superior to that of the stand-alone database.


In the neutral Beam Injector (NBI) systems, Cu-Cr-Zr alloy having constituents in the range of 0.6 – 0.8 % in Cr, 0.07 – 0.15 % in Zr, forms the key constituent of the high heat flux components. Applications manifest in swirl tubes (rectangular, circular) and Heat Transfer Elements (more conventionally known as hypervapotrons).


In his elegant and absorbing essay, Fox argues from philosophical and evolutionary underpinnings that stereotyping is essentially a necessary and adaptive judgment process. Although others have proposed this before (e.g., Allport, 1954; Hamilton, 1979; Lippman, 1922; Tajfel, 1969)-indeed, the social-cognitive "revolution" in social psychology is partially based on such an assumption-Fox travels somewhat beyond this notion to posit that "what we cannot do is change the established, physiological, stereotypical basis of thinking itself. We are locked in stereotypical-prototypical thinking and cannot live outside it." Despite disagreeing with his conclusion, I find portions of his argument quite compelling. Indeed, I applaud the fact that Fox considers our evolutionary history as a relevant determinant of present-day judgment processes. To ignore such a force is to leave our understanding of present human psychology incomplete. Stereotyping is indeed an adaptive process, borne of the need to make rapid survival-relevant judgments. It strikes me, however, that Fox's evolutionary analysis is incomplete, thus (a) producing an underappreciation of the adaptiveness and present-day role of relatively nonstereotypic, or individuating, judgment processes, and (b) spawning his belief that stereotyping as the dominant judgment process shall always be with us.


In this paper,based on finished experimental results,uncertainty of the calculating mode of load-carrying capacity for axially-compressed members and eccentrically-compressed members of 550 MPa high-strength cold-formed thin-walled steel section with lipped channel sections was determined,and the uncertainties of material strength and geometric characteristics of the typical sections were statistically analyzed.Then,according to the recommended resistance partial coefficient in'Technical code of cold-formed thin-walled steel structures'(GB 50018—2002),the reliability indexes the axially-compressed members and eccentrically-compressed members of the high-strength coldformed thin-walled steel section with lipped channel sections was investigated by the improved second-order moment method considering different possible external loading combinations.The results show that,using the recommended resistance partial coefficient in the current code,the reliability indexes of the axially-compressed members and the eccentrically-compressed members with width-thickness ratio within the limitation of current code can well meet the target reliability index,by which the suitability of the corresponding calculating modes of load-carrying capacity is established.However the reliability indexes of the members with width-thickness ratio over the limitation may not meet the target reliability index.


In architecture, development and improvement are generally considered to have been prompted by external factors such as new building materi als or new social demands, which arose independently from the architec ture that existed at a certain time, and to which it despite itself eventually had to respond. I Architecture seems to be rather passive, and to not have an inner urge for renewing its own aesthetics. Classicist forms were persistent over the centuries, even to the point that the new modernist architecture of the twentieth century could be at best analysed as some sort of charade Classicism. 2 While there is every reason, there fore, to consider architecture to be the a-rt of repetition rather than of difference, the question remains how a growth of knowledge was organ ised or might be so within this repetitiveness as time went by. Even if we could agree with Giorgio Grassi's tautological, culturally isolationistic definition of architecture as merely the sum of all the architectures from the past and from the future, the inevitable accumulation of forms, solu tions, and building types over time would raise the question if and how a growth of knowledge or its absence for that matter is structured within that very accumulation. In that, discourse on architectural educa tion plays a key role.


This paper analyzes the recent mergers in the oil industry. Oil is assumed to be a homogeneous good which is produced by a small number of firms with different unit costs. Merger formation is endogenously explained as a result of cooperative decisions. We show that the mergers are amongst very asymmetric firms if initial size differences are moderate. If size differences are large, however, the more efficient firms participate in the mergers, while the least efficient firms are not attractive partners and, therefore, remain independent in the post-merger market.


Timely detection of an outbreak of any infectious disease is essential to implement timely mitigation strategies. Several approaches have been proposed to model and detect the occurrence of an outbreak. However, many of these approaches rely on health surveillance methods and informal and formal reports of illnesses. This paper proposes a single framework for detecting multiple infectious disease outbreaks by integrating disease-specific domain knowledge and public search trend data. We tested our framework with eleven infectious diseases and compared the results with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outbreak data. Results show that our framework reaches accuracies greater than 95% in most cases. To our knowledge, this is the first study that uses standardized disease symptoms as main indicators, in combination with web search data, to detect infectious disease outbreaks. This work should pave the path for integrating domain-specific static information with user-generated dynamic data for detecting outbreaks of infectious diseases.


-India follows traditional agricultural methods in irrigation practices. Irrigation is a foremost factor in determining crop yield and largely varies with the geographical, climatic, and topological factors. Farmers primarily depend on personal monitoring and their experience in irrigating the fields, and as a result, irrigation becomes largely inefficient and eccentric. India, therefore, requires a simple irrigation solution on which the farmers can depend indefinitely, which can habituate to the local climatic conditions, and accurately forecast the quantity of water required by the crops for judicious utilization of water resources, and additionally a better crop yield. This paper describes our attempt to innovate an automatic but smart irrigation system that can detect soil moisture content and facilitate automatic watering to the plants along with a buzzer system. This application will help save the water resources judicially and give the farmers the comfort to monitor the plants digitally. Our outcome involves a full proof android application to facilitate the overall understanding of automatic irrigation involving minimal human intervention. We intend to incorporate our readings, research and results into this paper explaining the complete system thoroughly.


Setting out from the property of art design in the senior vocational school environment,the essay has analysed the fundamental problem appearing in current teaching in practice,established the ultimate target of the teaching reform with the progress of students' synthetic ability and tried to building-up a professional practice teaching pattern that market-oriented and combine society and industry developing trend,submit corresponding suggestion and measure to lift up the synthesized quality and the ability in practice and innovation actually.


Maintaining the sustainable development of agricultural ecological environment is the prerequisite for a sustainable and stable development of agriculture,and the implementation of agricultural environmental insurance is a favorable institutional arrangement for constraining ecological environmental hazards arising from agricultural production.Based on the analysis of two types of comparatively mature agricultural environmental insurance products in America and their working principle,the viability of agricultural insurance used in environmental protection was theoretically illustrates first,then in the perspective of New Institution Economics and combined with China's national conditions,the institutional change of agricultural environmental insurance was discussed and a basic model of operation was designed.A mathematic model to analyze the pattern of the implementation of agricultural environmental insurance was constructed.


The aim of the present paper was the synthesis and characterization of some new dibenzo[b,e]thiepine derivatives. O-acyl-oximino-dibenzo[b,e]thiepines (3) were obtained by acylation of 11-hydroximino-6,11-dihydro-dibenzo[b,e]thiepine (2) with various acid chlorides. O-acyl-oximino-dibenzo[b,e]thiepine-5,5-dioxides (4) were synthesized using two different pathways. Thus, compounds 4a-b have resulted by oxidation of O-acyloximino-dibenzo[b,e]thiepines 3a-b and compounds 4c-f have resulted following a multistage synthesis which implies transforming the 6,11-dihydrodibenzo[b,e]thiepin11(6H)-one (1) into the corresponding 5,5-dioxide (5) and subsequently to the corresponding oxime (6), the acylation taking place in the last stage. All the new products were characterized by their physical properties, and the structures were confirmed by elemental analysis and spectral analysis ( 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, IR).


Tikhur (Curcuma angustifolia; family Zingiberaceae) is a rhizomatous herb also known as white turmeric or East Indian Arrowroot. Its cultivation has now been undertaken by the farmers of Bastar on a large area. Tikhur is also found in central province, Bihar, Maharashtra and Southern part of India. In undivided Madhya Pradesh, it is widely distributed in Bastar, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Surguja, Bilaspur, Raipur and Mandla districts (Kirtikar and Basu, 1918). Two types of tikhur are found in the Bastar division; one with An investigation was conducted at Shaheed Gundadhoor College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kumhrawand, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Chhattisgarh in Horticultural laboratory under AICRP on Tuber Crops. The experiment was undertaken during 2016 and 2017. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design in which 11 treatments tested in three replications for identification of best recipe for preparation of blended tikhur Burfi. Tikhur Burfi was prepared in Horticulture laboratory for evaluation of best recipe among 11 different treatments. The different recipe combination of tikhur starch, cashew nut kernel sugar and water in 11 treatments were taken to standardize the recipe. The results clearly indicated that the highest score was also awarded to recipe T10 for sweetness. Highest score of 8.31 was awarded by panel of 11 judges after organoleptic taste of tikur Burfi to treatment T10=50 parts tikhur powder by weight+50 parts cashew nut kernel. The hedonic scale rating of treatment T10 was awarded liked very much (LVM) and liked slightly (LS) after 2 days interval of storage by Judges. The highest score was awarded to treatment T10 for its, flavour, fibrousness sweetness, texture and moisture content and similarly T9 also recorded. Highest score was also awarded to treatment T10 for overall acceptability just after preparation and after 14 days storage by panel of judges. On the basis of above findings it can be concluded that the treatment or recipe combination T10=50 parts tikhur powder by weight+ 50 parts cashew nut kernel was best for the preparation of blended tikhur Burfi. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 04 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


This study is intended to make a first estimate of the exposure of the two Polish largest ports – Gdańsk and Gdynia, localized in the Gulf of Gdańsk – to threats from storm extremes. These ports are elements of the Polish critical infrastructure and presented analysis is one of the tasks related to critical infrastructure protection. Hypothetical extreme meteorological conditions have been defined based on 138-year NOAA data and assumed wave fields for those conditions have been generated. Using HIPOCAS project database the 21 extreme historical storms over the period 1958–2001 were selected to simulate realistic conditions in the vicinity of the ports. The highest significant wave height was found to be nearly 4 m in the vicinity of Port of Gdańsk and nearly 2 m in the vicinity of Port of Gdynia. A future intensification of these wave conditions should be considered due to the climate change and sea level rise.


In this thesis specific attributes of region Těsinske Slezsko are treated, with a view to cultural (and especially theatre) activities. It decribes history and current situation of populous polish community which lives in here. It follows both professional and non-professional culture. In the area of professional culture it?s focusing on polish department of theatre in Ceský Těsin and puppet theatre Teatr lalky Bajka. Also the tesis pay special attention to production Avion ? kavarna, ktera neni (Avion ? cafe, which doesn?t exist anymore). Main topic of this production are difficulties (but also attractions) of multicultural cohabitation, which is typical for this region. The production became very popular and contributed to rehabilitation of relations among different ethnic groups.
I?m not historian neither art historian. My target is not to set up komplete study, but to illustrate status of theatre in region, which stays wrongly past natural interest, including my own personal experiencies.


We study the transport mechanisms of different types of azurin (Az) monolayer heterojunctions with a variety of metal substituents. The systems include Holo-Az (Cu-substituted), Apo-Az (no metal), and Ni-, Co- and Zn-substituted azurins. Our theoretical analysis is based on measurements of the voltage and temperature dependencies of the current and attempts to reproduce both dependencies using a common mechanism and corresponding set of parameters. Our results strongly suggest that for Holo-Az the transport mechanism depends on the protein monolayer/heterojunction setup. In one type of heterojunction, transport is dominated by resonant incoherent hopping through the Cu redox site, whereas in the other it is mediated by off-resonant tunneling. For the unsubstituted (Apo-Az) and other metal-substituted azurins, the dominant transport mechanism at low temperatures is off-resonant tunneling, with an average tunneling barrier that depends on the type of metal dopant, and at the highest temperatures, it is thro...


Engineers all over the world are known for their creativity, innovations and ingenuity in
harnessing the resources and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind. No doubt, engineers in
some parts of the world have done so well in view of their giant and mind throbbing
technological breakthroughs, while some other parts of the world are at the receiving end of the
products of engineering technology. This paper underscores the importance of Computer Aided
Design (CAD) in Engineering while calling for a wake-up and real-time embracement of CAD
technology by the developing countries. The objective is to re-echo the indisputable fact that
CAD represents the most critical part of modern engineering training curricula and by
extension, the most important aspect of engineering professionalism. The need to step-up
academic training of CAD systems users to better align and measure-up with continuing
evolutions in modern day CAD driven engineering is summarily emphasized.


This paper describes a new and larger coverage Finite-State Morphological Analyser (FSM) and Generator for the Dravidian language Tamil. The FSM has been developed in the context of computational grammar engineering, adhering to the standards of the ParGram effort. Tamil is a morphologically rich language and the interaction between linguistic analysis and formal implementation is complex, resulting in a challenging task. In order to allow the development of the FSM to focus more on the linguistic analysis and less on the formal details, we have developed a system of meta-morph(ology) rules along with a script which translates these rules into FSM processable representations. The introduction of meta-morph rules makes it possible for computationally naive linguists to interact with the system and to expand it in future work. We found that the meta-morph rules help to express linguistic generalisations and reduce the manual effort of writing lexical classes for morphological analysis. Our Tamil FSM currently handles mainly the inflectional morphology of 3,300 verb roots and their 260 forms. Further, it also has a lexicon of approximately 100,000 nouns along with a guesser to handle out-of-vocabulary items. Although the Tamil FSM was primarily developed to be part of a computational grammar, it can also be used as a web or stand-alone application for other NLP tasks, as per general ParGram practice.


A novel multicasting-enable WDM-PON architecture utilizing multiple-pump four-wave-mixing (FWM) scheme with configurable multicasting amount and signal is proposed. Downstream transmission of 10-Gb/s point-to-point signal and 10-Gb/s multicasting signal for 7 optical network units is successfully demonstrated.


An investigation was made of the excitation conditions and characteristics of lasing due to the 472.2-nm self-terminating transition in a bismuth atom. At low (0.5–6 Torr) neon pressures, lasing occurred over the complete section of the gas-discharge tube when using an exit mirror with a ~35% reflection coefficient.


In this study,the tender leaves and petioles of Angelica keiske in seedling were used as explants to establish an in vitro propagation system.In tissue culture period,explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid(NAA)and zeatin(ZT),NAA and6-Benzylaminopurine(6-BA).The results showed that Angelica keiskei cultured on MS medium containing zeatin(ZT)were better than that on MS containing 6-BA.MS + 1 mg/L NAA + 3 mg/L ZT was optimum for leaves and MS+0.5mg/L NAA +0.5mg/L ZT for petioles.The regeneration plants could be obtained within 30~40days.


Teachers and ADHD ii Literature Review: Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes About Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ADHD is a neuro-developmental disorder that is diagnosed in 3 to 6% of the childhood population in a diversity of cultures and a variety of geographical locations. It presents as a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity impulsivity, with boys being over-represented by approximately 3 to 1. High levels of comorbidity between ADHD and a number of other disorders, including Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and learning disabilities, have been identified. This review will examine the historical development of the understanding of ADHD, knowledge of its etiology, and the influence of this disorder in the school environment. In particular, it will explore the relatively few studies available on teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes to, the treatment of ADHD. Current research will also be analysed to determine the way in which teachers' knowledge about ADHD is inter-related with their general attitude toward the condition. As teachers have a major influence on the success or failure of ADHD students, it is important for them to have positive attitudes and a sound knowledge base regarding the disorder. The literature will be used to provide evidence of the difficulties that ADHD children experience in the behavioural components needed for academic success, and the role that teachers might play in the process of identification, assessment, and management of this disorder. Finally, this review will examine the implications of these findings for the provision of ADHD training to teachers. Author: Bruna Bekle Supervisors: Dr Lisbeth T. Pike (Principal) Dr Phyllis Prout (Associate) Submitted: November, 2000 Teachers and ADHD iii


In the United States, exaggerated advertising claims for products and services, known as "puffery," make up a considerable proportion of all claims in the marketplace. Legally, advertisers do not need to substantiate the puffery claims because it is believed that consumers would not be deceived by such exaggerated claims. This research reports two experiments that examined the moderating role of brand familiarity and repetition on puffery claims. Results indicated that while puffery generally led to weak main effects, it had significant interaction effects with brand familiarity (Study 1) and claim repetition (Study 2) on the dependent variables.


Distributions of crystallite sizes and lattice distortions in the direction normal to (110) of the polyethylene crystal are derived from 110 Debye‐Scherrer profiles, by means of a Fourier technique developed by one of the present authors. Samples investigated are linear polyethylene powder, single‐crystal mats grown at 85 °C and 70 °C, and branched polyethylene powder with a different methyl‐group concentration. It is found that in the crystallite size distribution each of the polyethylenes examined has a common peak at about 100, 250, 350, and 450 A. The presence of branches with lower methyl concentration does not seriously affect the distribution, but at the highest concentration of branches (29 CH3/1000 CH2) peaks at 350 and 450 A disappear. Lattice distortions in the crystallites of polyethylene cannot be always explained by paracrystalline or strained‐lattice‐type strain alone, but may be generally expressed by a superposition of them.


Polymer nanocomposites are formed by nanometrical particles embedded in a matrix. Additions of small amounts of nanoparticles of inorganic material in polymer matrixes can greatly improve mechanical properties when compared with the pure polymer. The high specific surface area of the inorganic nanoparticle materials promotes its dispersion in the polymeric matrix and the resulting properties are strongly related to the homogeneity of the dispersion. In the present work, nylon 6.12 nanocomposites with aged pseudoboehmite were obtained using octadecylamine to improve the union between the polymer and the pseudoboehmite. The nanocomposites were characterized by thermal and mechanical test. The pseudoboehmite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The nanocomposite was characterized by tensile strength test, 3 points bending test and impact Izod resistance test. The addition of pseudoboehmite promote the increase of the elasticity modulus evidencing the interaction of the pseudoboehmite with the polymeric matrix, probably modifying its crystalline structure. The addition of pseudoboehmite promoted an increase in the HDT an Vicat temperatures of the nanocomposite.


Funded by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC),
the 4-year Groundnut Seed Project (GSP) entitled
"Development of sustainable groundnut seed systems in
West Africa" was concluded on 30 June 2007. The
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT), as project executing agency (PEA),
organized an end-of-project final workshop from 2 to 3
July 2007 at Bamako, Mali. The objective was to present
the achievements of the project to a wide range of
stakeholders.


Airlines were 'big data' pioneers by establishing loyalty programs long before other sectors. Today, frequent-flyer programs (FFP) are among the most successful loyalty schemes in business history. However, their nature has substantially changed over time. On the one hand, instead of rewarding frequent flying in the literal sense, their main focus now is on linking access to advertised FFP benefits to their members' absolute spending. On the other hand, FFP were opened to non-airline businesses. As a result, not only have FFP members' opportunities to earn and spend FFP miles or points1 multiplied. Also, the airlines' access to data on their FFP members' purchasing behavior beyond air travel is now as broad-based as never before. As a downside to multiplying earning opportunities, the accumulated stock of FFP miles became a massive financial liability on the airlines' balance sheets, however. This development prompted airlines to continuously, and often substantially, reduce both the purchasing power of accumulated FFP miles for so-called awards and simultaneously to restrict, and partly even eliminate, earning opportunities at the same time. This is an ongoing 'disinflationary' process. In our paper, we explore the future role of FFP as a tool to generate and maintain customer loyalty.


s should be submitted to Meetings Manager, American Rocket Society, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York 36, N.Y. They will be for- warded to the appropriate Technical Committee Deadline date for abstracts is July 17.


ABSTRACT Hundreds of compounds have been tested over the years in a search for adjuvants to incorporate with antigens or allergens to enhance the immune response. Despite this, aluminum salts have been the only adjuvants that have been both registered for clinical application and used on a large scale until recently. Salts of aluminum, such as aluminum hydroxide, have been used as general immunologic adjuvants for several decades. Some allergen vaccines used for the treatment of allergy are still formulated with aluminum-based adjuvants. These formulations have generally proved efficacious and have a good safety profile compared with simple aqueous extracts. However, there is reported sensitivity and toxicity associated with use of aluminum. In addition, aluminum salts are known to be potent stimulators of T helper (h) 2 cell activity. Because Th2 activity directs towards an allergic response, aluminum salts are potentially counterproductive when used as adjuvants in the immunologic treatment of type 1 hypersensitivity. Many soluble and insoluble molecules have been reported to have adjuvant activity in experimental systems. Some of these have been used clinically, but side effects, such as local granuloma formation, have led to their withdrawal from clinical use. Newer depot-type adjuvants, such as insoluble calcium salts, tyrosine (now registered) and coupled alginates, may eliminate some of the potential problems of aluminum salts and are currently used in some allergy vaccines but have not as yet formed a complete replacement. Liposomes, iscoms and biodegradable microspheres are now being considered for clinical use as adjuvants for both oral and parenteral routes. Soluble adjuvants that are capable of directing the immune response in a more selective way are currently in development for use in allergy vaccines. One of these, the Th1-directing adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL®; Corixa, Seattle, WA, USA), is now in clinical use in allergy vaccines formulated with the depot adjuvant L-tyrosine. Other ways of stimulating a Th 1 response using immunostimulatory DNA sequences (immunostimulatory DNA sequences (ISS) or CpG motifs) as 'built-in' adjuvants are being studied. Further interesting adjuvants reported in the literature, such as Montanide ISA 720, SAF-m, RC-529 and QS21, may also be applicable to allergy vaccination.


Heinrich Hoffmann's children's book Der Struwwelpeter is frequently criticized as being unsuitable for children, yet it remains the most popular German children's book of all time worldwide. This article accounts for this ambivalent reception by means of a dialectical approach to the text-image relationship at work in Hoffmann's book which reveals that the images do not simply support the horrific events described in the text nor fully subvert them via comical depictions, but rather manage to do both at once. The analysis reveals that on occasion the images subvert the text precisely by supporting it too faithfully—that is, by depicting the exaggerated elements of the text in a literal manner. Such 'conflicts of agreement' explain how readers can simultaneously be amused and shocked by Hoffmann's work, contributing to both its long-lived popularity and its notoriety. (BP)


Active layer and permafrost monitoring at two sites in Northern Victoria Land, Boulder Clay (74°44′45′′S—164°01′17′′E at 205 m a.s.l.) and Oasi (74°42′S—164°06′E at 80 m a.s.l.), have been undertaken since 1996. Active layer monitoring was performed at Boulder Clay by probing on a 100×100 m grid following the CALM protocol, and by temperature measurements to ascertain the maximum depth of the 0°C isotherm. Automatic and year‐round recording of ground temperatures and of the main climatic parameters was carried out near the grid. Since 1999, ground temperatures have been monitored in a 15.5 m borehole at Oasi. The depth of the 0°C isotherm correlates well with climate because the thermal offset is small, averaging less than 0.5°C. The large spatial and temporal variability of its depth mainly reflects the snow accumulation pattern. Future efforts to extend the monitoring network in continental Antarctica may combine annual measurements of the maximum 0°C isotherm depth with year‐round monitoring of ground temperature at selected points of standardised CALM grids. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper introduces Warshall's algorithm of transitive closure and the conventional algorithm of First Closure.Warshall's algorithm on the relative matrice of transitive algebnique has been improved so as to be more practical.It introduces a new algorithm of solving First closure based on improved Warshall's algorithm.This method is more efficiency than the conventional algorithm of First Closure.


The University of Worcester has developed its curriculum to ensure students are able to demonstrate the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)1 standards of proficiency for midwives – Domain 5: promoting excellence: the midwife as colleague, scholar and leader. Having a clear understanding of what students need to achieve enables clinicians to support and challenge the learning of students in their role as practice supervisors and assessors. While in the midst of Covid-19, it is clear that at the point of registration, all midwives need to be able to respond to rapidly changing services with resilience and confidence, and still question effectively the evidence that underpins decision making.


The present titling project is a strategic proposal of digital marketing for the tourist promotion of the parish of Pact, Metropolitan District of Quito DMQ. It begins by theoretically developing the current situation of tourism, the importance of having a digital marketing for tourism and the advantage of using digital media aimed at tourism. According to the current characterization of the area of intervention, an information survey of attractiveness, current supply and demand, and a diagnosis that analyzes the problem of the territory is developed, where the problem of the territory can be thoroughly understood. With the development of the project proposal, which, through the development of objectives, goals, activities, managed to obtain positive results, which can be verified by means of indicators, which generate direct or indirect benefits, therefore, a budget and a schedule of activities are the essential guide for the follow-up of the project. Finally, the implementation strategy is defined and developed, through the analysis and environmental impact, the institutional framework and the breakdown of financing of the actors involved; the description of the monitoring tools of the project, and the conclusions of it.


Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction. By Tristram D. Wyatt. 2017. Oxford University Press. (ISBN 9780198712152). 146 pp. Paperback, $11.95. Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction is a single volume in the wide-reaching series of over 500 volumes published by Oxford University Press, with titles ranging from "Accounting," "Alexander the Great," and "Anesthesia" to "Witchcraft," "Word Music," and "Zionism." The series is described by the publishers as "very short introductions for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way into a new subject." As such, this is a readable, fascinating, and altogether excellent introduction to the topic. Finding relevant and interesting examples to share in this review is difficult, as practically every page contains a gem of fascinating information; reading this little book from cover to cover is a pleasure. The standard important topics of behavior are presented, of course: optimal foraging, signals, competition, tool use, mating systems, kinship selection, self-organization, and more. Classic experiments are well explained, including accessible and useful analogies (optimal foraging is like choosing the right line in the supermarket). Animals are presented carrying out sneaky deception (such as the "femme fatale" firefly who signals to hopeful mates and then eats them), outright competition (damselfly males have penis scoops to remove the sperm of rivals from female reproductive tracts), mutualistic relationships (including the fascinating interdependency of human honey-hunters and the honeyguide bird), and so much more. Wonderful examples of understanding animal behaviors through experimental ingenuity are presented. One such experiment, investigating the famous dance of the honeybee, used optic flow tunnels to test the relationship between distance to foraging areas and length of the dance's waggle, thereby solving the "odor controversy" (the suggestion that bees were responding to scents carried by the forager) through creation of a waggling and buzzing computer-controlled mechanical bee. In another study, researchers silenced mating male frogs (by rubber-banding their mouths closed!) and played recorded calls from differently sized males to examine the effect of perceived size on challenges from rival males. There is even a chapter on "Applying Behaviour": using animal behavior to reduce competition or aid conservation, including use of insect pheromones to control insect pests, creation of bee-hive fences to protect crops from foraging elephants, use of pinging noisemakers to reduce cetacean bycatch in gill nets, and changing sheep-grazing lands to protect the ant critical in the reproductive lifecycle of England's large blue butterfly. Each topic is presented with remarkable thoroughness, given the length of the book. The text is not, perhaps, for the very beginning scientist, as a basic understanding of biology is needed to follow the discussion. However, it could be of great use in helping a student understand the interconnectedness of different branches of the biological sciences. Neurochemistry and neurobiology are well presented, as is the critical genetic component to all behaviors, emphasizing that "what an animal experiences during its life affects the switching on and off of its genes." This text could be useful in the biology classroom in so many ways – I have already presented several extracts to my Advanced Biology students, showing examples of behaviors, describing experimental design, and examining ways to graph, interpret, and analyze experimental results. Most of all, with each page, this little gem provides the opportunity to revel in the rich complexities of the interactions of the animal would surrounding us.


Village selection for the Manunggal Army Building a Village (TMMD) activity at Korem 042/GAPU is still using the manual method, making it difficult to select and consider villages that are entitled to receive assistance. The method used is Fuzzy Attribute Decision Making (FMADM) to determine the results of the selection of each alternative and the calculation in this study uses Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), then calculations are carried out on each predetermined criterion. The results of this research are web-based. The data input into this system is in the form of population, village name, village address, data on the criteria for the most prioritized infrastructure facilities, data on budget funds criteria, and data on criteria for mileage from the village to the city. Then carry out the data input process and produce output in the form of recommendations for which villages are entitled to receive assistance from TMMD activities. By using this system, it is hoped that the activity organizers can determine which villages are entitled to receive assistance appropriately and efficiently.


Variation in individual response to clopidogrel's antiplatelet activity is, in part, governed by genetic variation in the CYP2C19 activating enzyme. To


Recombinant interleukins (IL) have had limited clinical success due to inefficient tumor targeting and short pharmacokinetics (PK), requiring frequent dosing that leads to aberrant immunostimulation and toxicity. IL-12 is a promising cancer treatment due to its activation of T and natural killer (NK) lymphocytes to produce interferon (IFN)-γ, yet dosing strategies have failed to provide adequate therapeutic benefit in humans. To address these issues, we developed a novel platform that delivers either mono- or bifunctional immunomodulator(s) linked to a Fully-Human, Albumin Binding scFv domain (FHAB®), which provides enhanced tumor targeting and retention through albumin binding to over-expressed FcRn, GP60, and SPARC, an improved PK profile, a dose-sparing effect that decreases the toxicity risk, and a broader therapeutic index. Excellent tumor growth inhibition was seen using a "cold" immunosuppressive B16F10 melanoma model for comparing the efficacy of IL12-FHAB with rIL-12, resulting in significant increases in activated NK, NKT, Th1, and cytotoxic CD8 T cells.
 We are conducting a first-in-human, dose-escalation trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of SON-1010 (IL12-FHAB) and to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in patients with advanced solid tumors. The study has a traditional 3+3 design, modified to take advantage of the known tachyphylaxis of IL-12 with the introduction of a desensitizing first dose to allow administration of higher maintenance doses. No dose-limiting toxicities have been encountered in the first 3 dose cohorts and the MTD is at least 300 ng/kg. While adverse events seen in other studies of IL-12 have occurred, they have been transient and tolerable, allowing further dose escalation. Increases in IFN-γ were dose-related, controlled, and prolonged. The levels peaked at 24 to 48 hours and returned to baseline after 2 to 4 weeks. Low levels of IL-10 were induced in a dose-dependent manner. No drug-related increase was seen with IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, or TNF-α and there was no evidence of cytokine release syndrome at these doses. The preliminary geomean elimination half-life (T½) was 122 hrs with first-order kinetics, compared with 12 hrs for SC rhIL-12. The accumulation estimates are within the margin of error and are not likely to be physiologically significant with subcutaneous dosing of SON-1010 every 3 weeks. Eight of 11 patients had stable disease at the first follow-up CT, 4 of whom were progressing at study entry. Two patients were stable at 4 months and 2 had unconfirmed progressive disease; 1 patient remains stable after 8 months on SON-1010 with evidence of tumor regression.
 SON-1010 may have a positive synergistic effect with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), particularly with 'cold' tumors that over-express SPARC. The next stage of development will be to explore the MTD of SON-1010 in combination with an ICI, then to compare that approach with the standard of care in Phase 2.
 Citation Format: Sant P. Chawla, Victoria S. Chua, Erlinda M. Gordon, John Cini, Susan Dexter, Manual DaFonseca, Justus Bingham, Grantham W. Hogeland, Richard T. Kenney. Clinical development of a novel form of interleukin-12 with extended pharmacokinetics [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 2 (Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Research); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(8_Suppl):Abstract nr CT245.


Digital arthrodesis is one of the most common surgical procedures performed by the foot and ankle surgeon. The market offers a variety of devices available to the surgeon to accomplish solid, permanent, and safe fusion for the patient. However, with these new devices come high surgical costs, adding to the burden on the already strapped health care system. We offer a simple technique updating the way in which a Kirschner wire is utilized for interphalangeal digital arthrodesis that employs the benefits of the newer implantable devices at a fraction of the cost. Two Kirschner wires are buried in a slightly diverging pattern to increase rotational stability while adding slight compression across the fusion site. In this article, we explain the technique and present a case example of its implementation. Levels of Evidence: Therapeutic, Level V: Expert opinion


METHODS: Male (n = 7) college-aged students (26.3±2.8 yrs, 176.5±8.1 cm, 73.6±12.6 kg, 9.9±3.2 BF(%), VO2max: 68.9±9.5 ml.kg .min) completed two 24-hour (rest and exercise) cortisol profiles. Subjects had a catheter inserted at 0600hr and blood and saliva samples were collected simultaneously every 120 mins. During the exercise condition, subjects performed 5x30s sprinting intervals on the cycle ergometer, at a resistance of 7.5% of body mass. Subjects were permitted 3-min of passive recovery between bouts. Csal and Cser were analyzed via competitive-binding assay. Cprop was calculated as proportion of Csal relative to Cser at each time point. Multilevel growth models with varying fixed/random coefficients were tested and compared (AIC). The final cubic growth model controlled for condition and freely estimated the intercept, velocity, and acceleration terms while the initial trajectory of Cprop was fixed across all individuals. RESULTS: The IQR of Cprop was 3.56-6.29%. The greatest Cprop values were consistently observed during nighttime sampling with the magnitude of Cprop being greatest at 2300hr. The cubic growth models were determined to best-represent 24-hr changes in Cprop. The final model showed a significant effect for exercise (β = -1.37, p = 0.036; AIC = 1030.781). CONCLUSION: The greatest Cprop at 2300hr appears to be driven primarily by elevations in Csal. This shift may be influenced by night time cortisol secretion interactions with binding proteins, alterations in salivary flow rate, or salivary gland enzymatic activity. Exercise appears to influence Cprop dynamics, especially during late afternoon and nighttime hours. It is therefore recommended that cortisol profiles be constructed from both total and free Cser for the most accurate monitoring of the HPA-axis, especially within an exercise context.


Working for the public and assuming power for the people are the essence of the important thought of "Three Represents",the basic point to recognize and impenetrate the important thought of "Three Represents",the fundamental requirement for the Party construction to strengthen its ruling ability in the new era,the key to constantly improving the ruling legality of the Party,and the ruling principle to be always adhered to by the Party.Whether this essence of working for the public and assuming power for the people can be carried out is the symbol of whether the important thought of "Three Represents" is fully understood and sincerely put into practice.Therefore,while studying and following the important thought of "Three Represents", we should firmly grasp the essence of working for the public and assuming power for the people.


Optimize the process parameters for low concentration blended tri-solvent

This experimental work has studied the effect of various operating factors (such as MEA/DEA/PZ concentration, temperature, operating pressure, agitation speed, and time) on absorption capacity from stored gas reservoir. As the current approach has a significant application to the bio-gas reservoirs to enhance the purity of CH4 and elimination of CO2 from the gas. The RSM has been used to model and optimize the CO2 capture process relating to low-pressure operating conditions.

Maximize rapid CO2 absorption

The CO2 absorption was performed for the total solvent (5, 10, and 15 %v/v) under the temperature range of (20, 25, and 30 °C) having reservoir pressure (1.5, 2, and 2.5 bar). The fraction of DEA: MEA was restricted to (0.2, 0.5, and 0.8) with simultaneous loading of anhydrous PZ range from 0 to 2 gms; and agitation speed for step intervals of (300, 600, and 900 rpm).

The relative error was found to be within ±1.93% and ± 2.25% for the initial absorption rate and CO2 absorption (at t=15 min.) respectively. According to this evidence, the process statistical model suits to be appropriate and accomplishes the goal of optimization.

The findings of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) illustrates good agreement between the experimental and statistical model confirming the potential of blended tri-solvent by aggressive initial rate of absorption and rapid CO2 absorption of 3.415 gm. CO2/min. & 17.779 gm. CO2 respectively.

RSM has successfully optimised the CO2 absorption by blended tri-solvent (MEA/DEA/PZ) for stored gas reservoir. For the initial absorption rate and CO2 absorption (at t=15 min.), the experimental design, quadratic models, and regression analysis developed for these variables were found to be reasonably accurate and efficient in forecasting response values in a range of the variables, with a relative error of ±1.93% and ± 2.25%, respectively. The potential of blended tri-solvent to attain a very high degree of absorption in a relatively short amount of time was proved by the optimum value of initial absorption rate, which was calculated to be 3.415 gm. CO2/min. and rapid CO2 absorption, which was calculated to be 17.779 gm. CO2. The 3D surface plots have shed light on the interactive effects that the process parameters have on the CO2 absorption while the synergistic effects of MEA/DEA/PZ have been taken into consideration.


The evaluation of heat transfer and natural room air temperature
of a building needs to formulate an effective heating & cooling
design and accurately evaluate indoor thermal environment. After
understanding the property of natural room air temperature in the
experiment for 4 model buildings which have different insulation
types, natural room air temperature by response factor method was
analyzed in this study.
Theoretical result by the proposed method of this study was shown
to be comparatively coincided with actual result by experiment.
Accordingly, it is estimated that this method will be put to
practical use for evaluation of indoor thermal environment and hear
load calculation of a building.


Objective : To determine the clinical, functional and radiological outcome of unstable intertrochanteric femur fractures treated with proximal femur nail Methods : The study is a prospective study on 20 patients to analyse clinical, functional and radiological outcome of unstable intertrochanteric femur fractures treated with proximal femur nail conducted in the Department of Orthopedics at Stanley medical college, Chennai from June 2018 to August 2020. Functional outcome was assessed using Harris hip score. Results: 20 patients of unstable intertrochanteric fracture were treated surgically with proximal femur nail and the results were functionally and radiologically analysed. Patients were followed up from 11months to 22 months and mean follow up in months was 15.9 ± 2.73. Mean Harris hip space at 3months was 73.85 ± 3.4, Mean Harris hip score at 6months was 85.15 ± 2.66. Radiological Fracture union was noted between 12-16 weeks and mean time for union was 12.90 ± 1.4 weeks Conclusion: Intramedullary nailing with the PFN has distinct advantages over DHS like shorter operating time and lesser blood loss for unstable trochanteric fractures. Early mobilization and weight bearing is allowed in patients treated with PFN thereby decreasing the incidence of bedsores, uraemia and hypostatic pneumonia. The incidence of pre-operative and postoperative planning and correct technique, adequate reaming of femoral canal, insertion by hand and meticulous placement of distal locking screws. PFN is a significant advancement in the treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures which has the unique advantage of closed reduction, preservation of fracture haematoma, less tissue damage during surgery, early rehabilitation and early return to work.


Vertex detectors are of great importance in particle physics experiments, as the knowledge of the event flavour is becoming an issue for the physics programme at Future Linear Colliders. Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) based on a novel detector structure have been proposed. Their fabrication is compatible with a standard CMOS process. The sensor is inseparable from the readout electronics, since both of them are integrated on the same, low-resistivity silicon wafer. The basic pixel configuration comprises only three MOS transistors and a diode collecting the charge through thermal diffusion. The charge is generated in the thin undepleted epitaxial layer underneath the readout electronics. This approach provides, at low cost, a high resolution and thin device with the whole area sensitive to radiation. Device simulations using the ISE-TCAD package have been carried out to study the charge collection mechanism. In order to demonstrate the viability of the technique, four prototype chips have been fabricated using different submicrometer CMOS processes. The pixel gain has been calibrated using a 55Fe source and the Poisson sequence method. The prototypes have been exposed to high-energy particle beams at CERN. The tests proved excellent detection performances expressed in a single-track spatial resolution of 1.5 μm and detection efficiency close to 100%, resulting from a SNR ratio of more than 30. Irradiation tests showed immunity of MAPS to a level of a few times 1012 n/cm2 and a few hundred kRad of ionising radiation. The ideas for future work, including on-pixel signal amplification, double sampling operation and current mode pixel design are present as well.