Biscuits are convenient food products, becoming very popular among urban and rural populations of world wide. Some of the reasons for such vide popularity are low cost among other processed foods, varied taste, easy availability and longer shelf life. This paper presents review regarding several aspects of the quality and impact biscuits until packaging, mainly from food technologist point of view. During biscuits production, the optimization characteristics of dough, textural properties of biscuits and baking (heat and mass transfer) process may cause the optimization. Besides the major influence of this phenomenon on selection of ingredients, equipment usage and monitoring complete processing; it is the responsible for other relevant changes occurring in during biscuit baking. The biscuit prepared by wheat flour, Ragi flour and stevia powder in treatment T3 was best in terms of organoleptic characteristics and received highest score in (organoleptic) evaluation (color & appearance, body & texture, flavor & taste, overall acceptability). In view of the results obtained during the present investigation, it may be concluded that the optimized fiber rich sugar free biscuit is prepared by wheat flour, Ragi flour and stevia


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of disruptions on service quality and market share in the U.S. domestic airline industry. Structural equation modeling was used to empirically test the effect of disruptions on service quality and market share for the network and low-cost airlines. The findings suggested that network airlines could manage disruptions more effectively than low-cost airlines. Although disruptions had a negative effect on service quality for both network and low-cost airlines, their effect on airline market share was different. Disruptions had a significant (negative) effect on market share for the low-cost airlines, whereas they did appear to affect market share for the network airlines. Multigroup analysis of invariance was used to compare the effect of disruptions on service quality and market share between airlines. The analysis showed that the effect of disruptions on service quality and market share was different between airlines. On the basis of the findings of this study, recommendations for managers in the airline industry are provided.


Semiconductor circuits used in place of conventional control gear can reduce the size and weight of discharge lamp ballasts, and in many cases improve both lamp and overall efficiencies. The paper describes small semiconductor — series choke arrangements which could replace large leakage transformers or choke—transformer combinations. A number of different practical semiconductor ballast circuits with thyristors and transistors are discussed. Some design problems and the effects on discharge lamp performance are also mentioned.


Sorbtions and biological active compounds are perspective drugs for treatment of the purulent wounds. Results of the wound healing with phytomineralsorbent are shown in this article. Relative characteristic of phytomyneralsorbent and Dexpanthenol (Russia, Pharmstandard) was done on purulent injury of rat. Simulation of a purulent wound was applied to the area between the shoulder blades of Wistar rats. Infection was carried out with a hospital strain of Escherichia coli. Wound dressings were performed by the investigated agents in doses of 1 mg on injury of the animal during all phases of injury healing (21 days). Evaluation of the wound healing effect was performed on histological sections with early hematoxylin-eosin stained and dynamic of increasing wound surface. The wound defect of rats, which was treated by phytomineralsorbent, was significantly less than control in 2 times. The depth of necrosis in the inflammatory phase of the wound process was up to 0,85 microns deep, which is 1,7 times less than in control group. Using Dexpanthenol was characterized by a suppuration reaction and the presence of microbes. Thus, the use of phytomineral containing agents promotes a better healing of a purulent wound in the acute phase of the wound process. have completely comparable clinical effectiveness. Expenses on the taking of fixed combinations of mentioned medicines exceed expenditures on their wandering combinations.


Objective: To compare refractive and visual results, corneal aberrations and contrast sensitivity after femtosecond laserassisted laser in situ keratomileusis (f-LASIK) and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for myopia and myopic astigmatism. Method: Patients who underwent f-LASIK in one eye and SMILE in the other eye and who were followed up for at least 18-months were included in the study. Spherical equivalent (SE) of manifest refraction, uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), contrast sensitivity, total higher-order aberrations (HOA), spherical aberration, and trefoil were analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively within the frame of the study. Results: Forty-eight eyes of 24 patients were evaluated within the context of the study. At postoperative 18-month visit, mean SE in f-LASIK and SMILE groups were 0.35±0.27 D and 0.32±0.27 D, respectively (p=0.608). Compared with SMILE group, uncorrected visuıal acuity was significantly better in f-LASIK group at 1 month postoperatively (0.01±0.03 and 0.05±0.10 logMAR in f-LASIK and SMILE groups, respectively p=0.026) but any statistically significant difference was not detected after 1-month visit. Total HOA, SA and coma increased statistically significantly in both groups, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. At postoperative 18-month visit, mean HOA RMS in f-LASIK and SMILE groups were 0.51±0.10 and 0.52±0.14, respectively (p=0.608). Trefoil increased only in SMILE group and it was significantly higher at 6-, 12 and 18-month visits when compared to f-LASIK group. In both groups, there was no significant change in contrast sensitivity, postoperatively. Conclusion: Refractive results and final visual acuity after SMILE and f-LASIK are comparable. However, visual rehabilitation is faster in patients who underwent f-LASIK. Also, SMILE may induce some higher order aberrations more than f-LASIK.


Objective:
To statistically analyze human resource allocation and service delivery for low vision in tertiary medical institutions in mainland China, and to provide a basis for the development of low vision medical rehabilitation work.

Methods:
All tertiary medical institutions providing ophthalmic services participated in an online survey in 2015. Descriptive statistics were used for data collection and statistical analysis was performed on staffing and service provisions for low vision in tertiary medical institutions.

Results:
Among 1 508 tertiary medical institutions surveyed, 559 institutions provided medical rehabilitation service (37.07%), while 949 did not provide this service (62.93%). There was a significant difference in providing low vision rehabilitation services of medical institutions at all levels (χ2=61.94, P<0.001). Among those institutions providing services, 338 institutions had low vision clinics (60.47%) with an annual average of 964 outpatient visits. There were 2 993 professionals working in low vision medical rehabilitation, with 1.98 ophthalmologists, 0.46 nursing staff, 0.41 technicians, and 0.22 support staff in each institution. Functional vision rehabilitation training for children, community education and publicity and typoscope prescriptions were the main services provided by tertiary institutions.

Conclusions:
A trained staff qualified to provide low vision services in tertiary medical institutions needs to be accumulated and strengthened. Human resources are quite sparse and the group talent hierarchy is imperfect. Low vision care is characterized by the low number of service clinics with programs consisting of a single treatment that can not meet the comprehensive service needs of low vision patients in mainland China.

Key words:
low vision; tertiary medical institution; medical rehabilitation


After more than a year of online education in Croatia, which was caused by COVID-19, it is necessary to determine the effectiveness of online teaching. Therefore, the goal of the study was to determine the difference of the students' perception of quality between online and face-to-face teaching. The empirical study reveals which form of teaching is perceived to be of higher quality when taken as a whole by students, and what their perception is regarding the individual segments (lectures, seminars, mid-term exams, exercises, written/oral exams) of both types of teaching. The research was carried out with a questionnaire (N = 172). To process the results of the research, statistical methods of descriptive statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and the t-test were used. The findings show that there is a statistically significant difference between online and F2F teaching. For more generalised data, it is necessary to involve other higher education institutions. The research makes recommendations for improving the education process in online teaching during the COVID-19 crisis or other similar crises.


Predicting shock/shock and shock/boundary-layer interactions in gas flows that surround high-speed vehicles is key in aerodynamic design. Under typical hypersonic conditions, these flow structures ...


Currently coronary arteriography is widely used to establish the presence or absence of coronary stenoses, define therapeutic options, and determine prognosis in patients with symptoms or signs of ischemic coronary artery disease. Vasospastic angina indicates a form of angina caused by coronary artery spasm. The article reviews the most common difficulties and prospect of application of contemporary methods of diagnostics and treatment to find a solution of the task. The important tendency is development of percutaneous coronary interventions in treatment of coronary vasospasm.


It appeared from time to time some people make the Holy Qur'an the only source for enacting rulings;  They intend by this to strip the Prophetic Sunnah from its source and authenticity, and they base their claim in that on suspicions that make people believe that the Qur'an is the one who ordered us to make it the only source of legislation.  It contains the provisions in total, and the Prophetic Sunnah is the one that took care of clarifying its details, and explaining its summaries.  And in the Qur'an itself there are many verses that prove that the Sunnah is one of the sources of legislation. Among these verses are verses in Surat Al-Ahzab.


Let C denote any of the following cardinal characteristics of Boolean algebras: incomparability, spread, character, �-character, hereditary Lindelof number, hereditary density. It is shown to be consistent that there exists a sequence h Bi : i < �i of Boolean algebras and an ultrafilter D onsuch that


Fly ash with 22%~40% mass fraction of alumina is a very good resource for preparing aluminum oxide,because it can save resource,protect environment and increase business profits.In this paper,processes of extracting alumina from fly ash including acid extraction method and sintering-acid extraction method were introduced as well as research progress.Advantages and shortcomings of different processes were discussed.Industrial application trend of extracting alumina processes from fly ash was put forward.


To overcome disadvantages of the conventional grey entropy relation algorithm,for example standard sequences of fault types are difficult to determine and faults subjection degrees has very low resolving power,a novel grey entropy relation algorithm is presented.By utilizing the C-Means fuzzy cluster(FC) method,the typical faults samples are divided into c kinds of grey types,and C optimal cluster centers are computed.Based on the above-mentioned cluster,principal component analysis(PCA) is applied in the grey entropy relation algorithm and then a novel model for diagnosing fault transformer is established based on FC and PCA.The results show that,by utilizing the proposed method,higher faults subjection degrees resolving power can be achieved.The accuracy of diagnosis reaches 94%,and a novel means is provided for the diagnosis of the fault transformer.


In the field of heat transfer in permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs)
 for electric vehicles (EVs), the boundary element method (BEM) has been
 applied for the first time to calculate the steady-state temperature of the
 PMSM with a spiral water-cooled system. In this investigation, the
 boundary-integration equation (BIE) for the steady-state heat transfer
 problem of a water-cooled PMSM is first derived on the basis of
 thermodynamic theory, and the system of constant coefficient differential
 equations is obtained by discretizing its boundaries, while the temperature
 results obtained from the BEM are compared with the fnite element method
 (FEM) results. Furthermore, the temperature distribution and heat transfer
 characteristics obtained from the FEM and BEM were verified twice using the
 PMSM prototype and test platform. The results show that the maximum relative
 error between the temperature calculation results of FEM and BEM is 1.97%,
 and the maximum relative error between the results of BEM and the test does
 not exceed 3%, which finally verifies the validity and accuracy of BEM in
 solving the heat transfer problems of water-cooled PMSMs.


Bentonite is a mining material with montmorillonite clay mineral as main component. This mineral possesses high cations exchange capacity therefore naturally capable to absorb cationic pollutant. To increase the capability of bentonite in absorbing pollutant, especially to absorb non polar organic substances, this material has to be activated. In this research the bentonite from Karangnunggal, Tasikmalaya was activated using organic cation of hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) to change its surface environment from hydrophilic to organophilic. The characteristics of natural bentonite and the activated bentonite were analyzed using XRD, TG/DTA and IR-spectroscopy. The absorption capacity of the bentonite were tested using inorganic solution of dichromate (Cr 2O7 2- ) anion and liquid wastes of textile, fertilizer, pulp and paper, and pesticide industries. Intercalation of HDTMA into interlayer space has changed the basal spacing of the montmorillonite in the bentonite from 14 A (Mg saturation) to 20 A and the results of the spectroscopy were characterized by vibration peak at 2,924 and 2,852 cm -1 for C-H and –CH 3 vibration and vibration peak of N from NR 4bentonite at 1,478 cm -1 . Thermogram of HDTMA-bentonite showed exothermic reaction at around 200 °C that originated from organic compound reaction. Cation exchange capacity of bentonite decrease from 83.95 cmol (+) /kg to 19.4 cmol (+) /kg after was treated with HDTMA. The HDTMAactivated bentonite was capable to absorb Cr in the form of Cr 2O7 2- anion at the amount of 8,892 ppm Cr as compared to 1,187 ppm Cr before activation and also capable to reduce some parameters in the liquid waste of textile and fertilizer industries, such as color (reduced 60 - 98%), turbidity (reduced 50 - 96%), TSS (reduced 85 – 98%), BOD (reduced 37 - 91%), and COD (reduced 37 - 94%). On the test with liquid wastes of pesticide, and pulp and paper industries, HDTMA-bentonite was not quite satisfying to reduce BOD and COD.


Cadaveric dissection has been the gold standard in the teaching of anatomy in medical schools around the world. Cadaveric dissection allows a medical student to understand the spatial relationships of different parts in the body in ways that a typical 2D representation cannot, due to its ability to provide an authentic learning experience which engages all the senses. However, in the modern times that we live in, the availability of suitable cadavers for medical education is low, and there is an urgent need to supplement the practice of cadaveric dissection with more sustainable and economical methods of teaching. Virtual Reality (VR) may serve as a suitable supplement owing to its ability to simulate an immersive 3D environment. However, the authentic learning experience is difficult to recreate in VR, due to the lack of design guidelines. This project is an early exploration into designing active learning interactions for learning anatomy.


From feeding and nutrition to solving the sleep dilemma, "The About.com Guide to Baby Care" offers expert advice for coping with the thrills and challenges of new parenthood. Robin Elise Weiss is a certified postpartum educator, mother of seven, and trusted counselor to thousands of visitors to About.com. Written in the first person, Robin shares her vast expertise to guide new parents through baby care. This title features expert advice on: solutions to common breastfeeding issues; sleep techniques for baby and mum; slings, swings, and carseats - all the equipment needed to get around easily and safely; and, guidance on babyproofing the house. A complete resource for first-time mums, this book informs, assures, and demystifies early parenthood.


In this study, thermosensitve hydrogels (ChGPs) were prepared using chitosan and glycerol phosphate disodium salt hydrate (GP) for adhesion inhibitor. The chitosan with various molecular weight (Mw) was studied for biomaterials such as adhesion inhibitor. The chitosan, fractionated by ultrafiltration techniques, showed narrow Mw distributions depending on the applied ultrafiltration membranes. The ChGP hydrogels according to Mw of chitosan showed sol-gel phase transition ranging from 31℃ to 37℃. Also ChGP hydrogels did not show any cytotoxic effect on the L929 cell. The results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that surface of ChGP hyrogels have a lot of porous. With these results, ChGP hydroges may be considered a potential candidate for various biomaterials such as adhesion inhibitor and drug and /or peptide delivery carriers.


Stereotactic radiosurgery represents a non-invasive method of precisely delivering a single large fraction of radiation to an intracranial target. This technique was initially developed by Leksell and colleagues in the early 1950's at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm with an orthovoltage radiation source. Since then three different methods of radiosurgery have been developed utilizing modern linear accelerators, cobalt sources (Gamma Knife), and charged particles (protons and helium ions). Initially this technique was primarily intended for use in functional brain surgery for the destruction of deep fibre tracts or nuclei, but soon was used for unresectable arteriovenous malformations (AVM), acoustic schwannomas in elderly patients, and pituitary adenomas. In the last ten years there has been a proliferation of linear accelerator and Gamma Knife radiosurgery centres, and the technique is being increasingly utilized in the management of patients with gliomas, brain metastases, meningiomas, and other intracranial tumours in addition to the above mentioned conditions. This issue of the Journal contains three articles on linear accelerator based radiosurgery in patients with AVM and gliomas. Young and her colleagues from the Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre report on their experience with the use of radiosurgery for the management of their first 50 patients with AVM with a minimum follow-up of 3 years. They have carefully documented their patient selection criteria, AVM size and location, and technique and dose of radiosurgery. The patient follow-up imaging and outcome are well described. Of note is the fact that their team is comprised of neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, radiation oncologists and physicists amongst whom exists expertise in the microsurgical resection, embolization, and radiosurgical ablation of AVMs, a critical issue in the proper management of this patient population. One of the major thrusts of this article is the discussion of the quoted obliteration rates reported in the literature. Young and colleagues have a higher rate of angiographic follow-up (39 of 50 patients) than most reports in the literature, and demonstrate the significant variability of obliteration rates from other centres when the denominator includes or excludes patients without angiographic follow-up. This point has been previously stated for the literature on AVM by Mehta, but the article by Young has explicitly demonstrated the potential variations in obliteration rate and reminds us all that one must always exercise caution in the interpretation of reports of efficacy of any technology when the denominator does not include all patients having received the therapy under discussion. The other issue that arises from their report is the fact that approximately 30-40% of patients (depending on the denominator used) did not experience complete obliteration of their AVM in their series. In an elegant report from Pittsburgh, Pollack et al. reported on their experience with a second radiosurgical procedure on 45 patients with AVMs and retrospectively tried to assess possible reasons for the failure of the first radiosurgical procedure. They found that incomplete angiographic definition of the nidus was the most frequent factor associated with failed radiosurgery (26 patients), usually due to inadequate appreciation of the 3 dimensional shape of the AVM based solely on orthogonal views at angiography. Most radiosurgical centres now incorporate either CT or MRI examinations or both in the target definition for their radiosurgical procedures. This issue does not appear to have been a concern in the current report by Young et al., as all 50 patients did undergo an enhanced CT scan of the brain in addition to angiography on the day of their radiosurgery. An inadequate dose of radiosurgery may be a contributing factor in their report, as there was a trend towards higher obliteration rates with the 20 Gray (Gy) cohort of patients (18/31) than the 15 Gy cohort (6/16), but small numbers of patients with variable rates of angiographic follow-up make this assessment difficult. While other authors have shown a correlation between increasing AVM diameter and decreasing obliteration rates, this small study did not demonstrate this relationship, in part because dose was meant to be 20 Gy for all patients and was reduced to 15 Gy by proximity to critical normal structures and not by size of the AVM."


Abstract In this study, the effect of clinoptilolite dealumination on the total oxidation of toluene was reported for the first time. To avoid excess decrease of catalyst crystallinity, chemical modification of zeolite was carried out using a mild acid like oxalic acid. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XRF, SEM, BET and TPD analyses. It was found that dealumination resulted in a significant enhancement of toluene conversion when 0.050 M acid oxalic was used for a treatment period of 2 h. Dealumination substantially changed the distribution of the concentration of acid sites of different strength and increased the surface area and porosity, so that the temperature corresponding to the maximum conversion shifts around 50 °C towards lower temperatures (in case of CLP 050). The effect of dealumination on the activity of the zeolite samples and the total oxidation of toluene was discussed in terms of Si/Al ratio, crystallinity, distribution of acid site strength and textural characteristics of the samples.


The article aims to critically assess, through discourse analysis of their respective political programmes, the way populist parties in old and new democracies approach different questions in their societies. The representatives of the old democracies include the Sweden Democrats and the True Finns, while the new democracies are represented by the two Central Eastern European parties – the Czech ANO and the Slovak OĽaNO. The biggest contribution of this paper is the analysis of how these parties in their discourses approach the idea and definitions of the people (populus), the enemy, both as a cultural enemy and the establishment, in addition to critically dissecting their influence on liberal democracy (corrective or threat). The distinction between old and new democracies does not hold its ground anymore because the parties from new democracies are gradually following the same course set by the well-established populist parties, mainly in altering the perspective of the external enemy, currently depicted in immigration.


Traction control method for a motor vehicle, in which - a traction slip control phase for a respective drive wheel is activated when the drive slip a predeterminable slip threshold value (Ssw) exceeds, characterized in that - is determined by sensors whether the current driving situation is within or outside a predetermined range of stable straight-ahead driving, and - the slip threshold value (Ssw) for driving situations which are within the predetermined range of stable traveling straight ahead, to an actual offset value (Off


We discuss the effect of different types of fluctuations on dynamos generated in the limit of scale separation. We first recall that the magnetic field observed in the VKS (von Karman flow of liquid sodium) experiment is not the one that would be generated by the mean flow alone and that smaller scale turbulent fluctuations therefore play an important role. We then consider how velocity fluctuations affect the dynamo threshold in the framework of mean-field magnetohydrodynamics. We show that the detrimental effect of turbulent fluctuations observed with many flows disappears in the case of helical flows with scale separation. We also find that fluctuations of the electrical conductivity of the fluid, for instance related to temperature fluctuations in convective flows, provide an efficient mechanism for dynamo action. Finally, we conclude by describing an experimental configuration that could be used to test the validity of mean-field magnetohydrodynamics in strongly turbulent flows.


It is nearly universally agreed among commentators that according to Aristotle's account of voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics ( NE ), only voluntary actions are blame-worthy. I argue for a qualified rejection of this assumption: some actions that Aristotle counts as blameworthy do not meet the criteria for voluntariness set out in NE 3.1. However, in NE 3.5 and elsewhere, one finds a broader conception of voluntary action, and it is true that, for Aristotle, an action must be voluntary on this broader conception in order to be blameworthy. While the narrow conception only counts actions that are under the agent's direct control as voluntary, the broader conception includes also actions that are under the agent's indirect control. The compresence of these two conceptions in the NE is not simply a matter of sloppiness on Aristotle's part. Rather, he has good philosophical reasons for employing both.


This paper proposes a self-learning based dictionary training approach for single image super-resolution where the low-resolution (LR) and high-resolution (HR) dictionaries are jointly trained using training data set and different scaled versions of the input image. Local variance based salient feature identification is carried out to speed up the super-resolution algorithm. It can be demonstrated that our modified SR algorithm can qualitatively and quantitatively outperform bicubic interpolation and state-of-the-art methods.


This work reports on the characterization and identi¢cation of 249 strains of lactic acid bacteria (237 rods and12 cocci) isolated from freshwater ¢sh (mainly wild brown trout) and their surrounding environments. Approximately 90% (226 strains), not able to grow on Acetate (Rogosa) agar, exhibited a high degree of phenotypic homogeneity and were assigned to the genus Carnobacterium. Only a reduced numberof strains (22)were allocated to the genera Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Lactococcus or Vagococcus. One strain remained unidenti¢ed at genus level. Most Carnobacteria were identi¢ed as C. piscicola (156), whereas the species C. divergens was represented only by 10 strains. A total of 59 carnobacteria remained unidenti¢ed at species level. After a numerical taxonomy classi¢cation based on phenotypic features, at a similarity level of 86% (SSM), andwith an average linkage algorithm (UPGMA) of clustering,13 clusters were formed, seven of which contained three or more strains (regarded as signi¢cant clusters). Clusters I and II were labelled as Enterococcus durans andLactobacillus spp, respectively. Clusters III toVIwere assigned toC. piscicola, whereas clusterVIIwas adscribed to the species C. divergens. An accurate discrimination among Carnobacteria and Lactobacillus was achieved through the use of numerical taxonomy, although the separation between Carnobacterium species was not so clearly de¢ned. Phenotypically, the distinction between both species relied only on a reduced number of tests (growth at 408C and mannitol fermentation).The ability of Carnobacteria to degrade proteinaceous and lipidic compounds was scarce. # 2000 Academic Press


Summary form only given. We present a novel technique in cavity ringdown spectroscopy that permits 1/spl times/10/sup -10/ absorption sensitivity with microwatt level light power. Heterodyne detection is employed between two alternating cavity modes, with one of them interacting with a molecular resonance.


The paper describes a model, BIOSCOPE, developed within the Energy Division of VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research. BIOSCOPE stands for Balanced Input–Output System for CO2 in Products of an Economy, and is designed to give estimates of the CO2 that has been emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels to produce certain products. We stress that this model is a macro model that takes into consideration the whole of an open economy. If 'a product' is mentioned in this text, generally, the 'average product' of a certain sector is addressed. Whenever a product is consumed, it intrinsically carries a certain amount of CO2 that was emitted during the transformation process that yielded this specific product. BIOSCOPE tries to track down these CO2 emissions for products of industrial and commercial sectors. The study of CO2 attributed to consumption and export products, rather than the CO2 emissions of a certain sector of an economy, is important because it sheds a light on how the consumption pattern rather than the industrial structure of an economy influences the emissions of CO2. In the view of the trans-boundary aspects of CO2 attributed to products, and questions being raised on the subject 'how much of the CO2 emitted in a country is attributable to the consumption of products in that country, and how much CO2 has been emitted elsewhere for inland consumers', BIOSCOPE can help in the estimation process. The model uses input–output tables as its main source of input data, along with energy and CO2-emission data and uses Markov chain theory to attribute CO2 emissions to a certain class of products.


Cu2O–10CuAlO2–xCu cermets, as candidate inert anode materials for Al production, were prepared via hot-pressing (HP) technology, and their electrical conductivity was studied. The results show that the Cu2O–10CuAlO2–xCu cermet materials can act as an electrical conductor when the Cu content is higher than 15 wt%. The electrical conductivity of the cermet material depends on the content, the particle size of the metal phase, and also on the porosity of the cermet material. The electrical conductivity increases with the decrease of particle size of the metal phase and the porosity. The particle size of the metal phase decreases with the increase of HP pressure, while it increases with increase of the HP temperature. The mathematic relationship connecting electrical conductivity and the influence factors was found.


We derive new reduction formulas for the incomplete beta function Bν,0,z and the Lerch transcendent Φz,1,ν in terms of elementary functions when ν is rational and z is complex. As an application, we calculate some new integrals. Additionally, we use these reduction formulas to test the performance of the algorithms devoted to the numerical evaluation of the incomplete beta function.


PURPOSE
To determine the value of sonography in the evaluation of acute traumatic tears of the rotator cuff.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Preoperative sonography was performed within 3 weeks of trauma in 184 patients, 98 of whom underwent surgery. The rotator cuff tears were preoperatively classified as partial-thickness tears or as small, large, or massive full-thickness tears. Sonographic findings were correlated with surgical findings (n = 70) and arthroscopic inspection (n = 28).

RESULTS
Adequate examination was possible in 163 (88%) of 184 patients. Sonography demonstrated 42 (91%) of 46 full-thickness tears and seven (78%) of nine partial-thickness tears. Sonography showed more extensive tears than were found at surgery in four (4%) of 98 patients and less extensive tears in seven (7%) of 98 patients. Sonographic patterns were a defect (31 [63%] of 49 tears), focal thinning (10 [21%] of 49 tears), and nonvisualization (eight [16%] of 49 tears).

CONCLUSION
Sonography is useful in the evaluation of acute shoulder trauma when a rotator cuff tear is suspected and findings at plain radiography are negative.


Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, placed on the NPL in 1990, was faced in 1993 with a two year slippage in the FFA investigation schedule. An aggressive and innovative program was developed to achieve schedule recovery and focus on remediation over investigation. The remedial investigation was designed to rapidly evaluate the environmental condition of 18 sites and identify those sites that warrant remediation. The Navy, in partnership with the US EPA and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, developed a strategy that eliminated the phased sampling approach and integrated CPT soil sample collection techniques, on-site mobile laboratory analysis, and geostatistical modeling to accelerate decision making during the field investigation. Soil samples were collected and rapidly analyzed by the on-site laboratory to determine the concentrations of selected classes of chemicals. The on-site laboratory analytical results were constantly monitored to coordinate the collection of additional samples as necessary to complete a generalized definition of contaminant plumes. Results were modeled geostatistically to predict the location of contaminant ``hot spots``. Evaluation of the ``hot spot`` data was conducted to determine if the concentrations represent an unacceptable level of risk that warrants remediation. The successful implementation of this investigation program resulted in: (1) recovery ofmore » over 20 months of schedule slippage; (2) a savings of an estimated $5 million in investigation funds; and (3) the ability to accelerate planning and implementation of remedial actions.« less


Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by the presence of depressive symptoms. Methods Cytokine and deiodinase iodothyronines (DIOs) levels were evaluated in COPD patients and patients diagnosed with depressive disorder and control individuals. using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results Interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were higher in COPD and depression patients than in control individuals. DIO2 were significantly lower in COPD and recurrent depressive disorder (rDD) patients than in controls. Conclusions Changes in the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and DIO2 in COPD patients may explain the presence of depression in COPD patients.


The construction of "double first-class" universities is the strategic goal of the development of Chinese universities in the new period. On the basis of fully researching the domestic "double first-class" talent training model, this paper builds a new type of talent training model with Chinese characteristics suitable for the "double first-class" development requirements through reference, digestion, comparison and integration, hoping to further improve universities Quality of teaching.


In one execution mode the sampling information and the frame length information are obtained from the audio signal. The sampling information is the total number of audio data sampling of each track in the audio signal, and the frame length information is the sampling number in one frame of each track. The sampling information is divided by the frame length information and is judged whether a remainder exists, and if a remainder exists then the frame number in the audio signal is confirmed to a number which is added from the integer value obtained by dividing the sampling information with the frame information and 1. Additionally, if a remainder is judged to exist in the judging procedure then the length of the last frame is set basing on the residue. The data sampling executes decoding basing on the confirmed frame number.


The area of the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curve provides a nonparametric index of diagnostic test performance.1 The area of the ROC curve is criterion-free and corresponds to the discriminability of patient test scores from normal test scores. That is, the area of the ROC curve is equivalent to the probability of correctly identifying patient test results in a two-alternative forced-choice decision task. Because of this equivalence, ROC analysis provides for the comparison of subjective clinical judgments with quantitative test results, using the same statistic.1-2


The objective of this paper is to study the quality of procedures utilized by nursing team in urine collect to culture in hospitals and laboratories of São Paulo City.


Disproving the 'famous-for-being-famous' epithet, Kim Kardashian shares the intricacy of the tricky and binding work of celebrity into the nascent screen-based culture, the mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood (KK: H). With swipes and taps to follow the in-game stories, the KK: H player discovers the set of rules and features of KK: H that welcome them to the digitalized version of aesthetic and glamour labors where the states of being fashionable, ageless and charming are matter. Through an analysis of in-game dominant discourse as well as the player's game experience shown in Facebook public groups, this study explores the underlying values manifesting the practice of aesthetic and glamour labors as an engaging strategy of digital gameplay. The exploration falls into four stages of docility (Power, System, Surveillance, and Normalization) that built upon Michel Foucault's theory of Docile Body to examine the gameplay as simulating the "real" constitutive social practice of celebrity that lead the examination to the case of Hyperreality. The result of this examination places KK: H as the particular cultural representation as well as a seemingly playful parody of celebrity work wherein the pursuit of mass beauty standard is associated with the pursuit of fame in the interest of financial benefits and personal satisfaction.


Abstract To find the optimal solution of a sum of geodesic quasi-convex functions, we introduce a new path incremental quasi-subgradient method in the setting of a Riemannian manifold whose sectional curvature is nonnegative. To study the convergence analysis of the proposed algorithm, some auxiliary results related to geodesic quasi-convex functions and an existence result for a Greenberg-Pierskalla quasi-subgradient of the geodesic quasi-convex function in the setting of Riemannian manifolds are established. The convergence result of the proposed algorithm with the dynamic step size is presented in the case when the optimal solution is unknown. To demonstrate practical applicability, we show that the proposed method can be used to find a solution of the (geodesic) quasi-convex feasibility problems and the sum of ratio problems in the setting of Riemannian manifolds.


The influence of Anatasa/Rutile ratio on TiO2 films, grown by electrophoretic deposition was studied in the photoassisted electrolytic copper ions removal from cyanide solutions. The proper dispersant dosage allowing the simultaneous electrophoretic deposition of Anatase and Rutile was chosen based on electrokinetic measurements; evidenced by the XRD spectra of the formed films. The evaluation of films photoassisted electrolytic copper ion removal showeds that it is possible to enhance the activity of Anatase films by adding some Rutile exploiting the synergetic interaction between these two materials, achieve by its proper deposition.


The present invention relates to a process for the production of ethylene oxide by the catalytic gas phase oxidation of ethylene with oxygen, wherein the reaction in 5 to 50 successive reaction zones is carried out under adiabatic conditions and a reactor system for carrying out the method.


Pelvic fractures are a fairly common result of falls, automobile collisions, or other direct impact incidents. Most fractures are relatively mild and not life-threatening, but severe damage may have debilitating effects on the victim's health and quality of life. Pelvic breakage often requires surgery to alleviate, but procedures may be difficult given the complex anatomical structure of the area and the specific location of the fractures. This project aimed to make the planning stage easier for surgeons by analyzing left-right symmetry of the pelvis and using this property to create, in cases where one side is fractured and the other remains intact, 3D models of reconstructed pelvic fractures. Pelvic bone has been proven to be highly symmetrical. This method would provide surgeons with a clearer idea of how to best reassemble and otherwise correct fractures in the pelvis. First, various one-sided pelvic fractures from a batch of anonymized subjects obtained from the University of Alberta Hospital were digitized in medical imaging software. Data from six subjects in total was used in the collection of results. The digitized pelvises were then used to construct 3D models. The fractured pieces were aligned in best-fit with a mirrored intact side. Colour deviation maps, which differentiated between areas of high and low symmetry by measuring the degree of point deviance against a scale, were then generated. Deviance was generally more prevalent along the fracture lines. The predefined threshold considered a maximum of 2 mm of deviation as highly symmetrical. The average RMS value was found to be 1.65 mm and the average percentage of points within 2 mm of difference was 85.1%, indicating that the pelvic bones studied possessed a reasonably high degree of left-right symmetry. The results from this study suggest that this virtual reconstruction method is reliable for use in surgical planning for one-sided pelvic fractures.


Living lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, can change the intestinal flora of patients with cancer of the colon. These are the findings of a study published in the journal BMJ Open Gastroenterology . "The probiotic strains used in this study are a promising positive factor for the continued development of treatments for colon cancer," confirms


We study topological properties of invariant sets of Anosov diffeomorphisms with holes. Results related to cardinality, local maximality, entropy and dimension are presented. The main result states that the Hausdorff dimension of the invariant set can be computed by the entropy of the invariant set together with the hyperbolicity constants.


Grid saturation has been reported in electricity distribution systems with a high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems. This saturation is often caused by overvoltage and results in curtailing or shutting down of the PV inverters, leading to a loss of renewable electricity generation. The presented work assesses the potential of rule-based demand-side management (DSM) applied to domestic hot water (DHW) production with heat pumps in dwellings for reducing the non-renewable energy use of the neighbourhood. The studied case consists of 33 single-family dwellings connected to a single phase distribution grid in a moderate European climate. Each dwelling is designed as a net-zero energy building by adequate design of a heat pump and PV system. A detailed dynamic simulation model is implemented by use of a cross-domain Modelica library for integrated district energy assessment. The user behaviour is obtained from a stochastic model based on Markov chains and survival analysis. Different rule-based DSM control strategies are applied to the individual dwelling's DHW systems. The results show that for balancing the PV production, active thermal energy storage in the DHW storage tanks is very promising. Even with very basic control algorithms and small storage tanks of 0.3 m3, curtailing losses can be reduced by 74%. This represents a net energy saving on a neighbourhood level of 3.4%.


In this communication, we demonstrate that graphene oxide (GO) greatly inhibits the peroxidatic activity of a horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme. Combining this observation with the unique DNA/GO interactions, an ultrasensitive GO-based chemiluminescence DNA biosensing platform is developed.


Background: Faculties that teach cultural competence are in a great position to identify training gaps and improve the depth of teaching for pharmacy students.
Objective: To assess the perspective of faculty on their perceived confidence and extent of teaching cultural competence (CC) content in the pharmacy curricula.
Methods: A cross-sectional study using an adapted version of the Self-assessment of Perceived Level of Cultural Competence (SAPLCC) questionnaire.  Data analysis included factor-level and item-level analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Out of the 70 study participants, 77.1% were female and the average age was 47.97 (±10.52). Faculty with prior training reported a higher level of confidence to teach CC content in three areas, "addressing population health needs" (p = 0.007), " recognising disparity-related discrimination" (p = 0.017), and "recognising social determinants of health" (p = 0.03). The faculty's years of experience had a positive impact on both the extent of teaching CC and confidence.
Conclusion: Study findings indicate a gap to address training needs for faculty development on CC to prepare students for an increasingly diverse patient population.


In this paper we generalizew the semi-analytical method16 for solving the Derivative Riemann Problem to hyperbolic systems for which the Riemann problem solution is not available. As an application example we implement the new derivative Riemann solver in the high-order finite-volume ADER advection schemes. We provide numerical examples for two-dimensional hyperbolic systems which illustrate robustness and high ac- curacy of the resulting schemes.


By comparing long-term ring-oscillator hot-carrier degradation data and simulation results the authors show that a public-domain circuit simulator, BERT (Berkeley Reliability Tools), can predict CMOS digital circuit speed degradation from transistor DC stress data. Large initial PMOSFET drain current enhancement can result in initial frequency enhancement followed by an initial fast degradation due to the zero crossing effect. The relationship between circuit lifetime and transistor DC stress is examined.<<ETX>>


a. Eulycopersicon, to which L. esculentum Mill. (cultivated tomato) and L. pimpinellifolium Mill. (currant tomato) belong. These species are redfruited and lack pseudostipules. b. Eriopersicon, to which L. peruuianum Mill., L. cheesmanii Riley, L. glandulosum C. H. Mull. and L. hirsutum Humb. & Bonpl. belong. These species are green-fruited and have pseudostipules. LUCKWILL'S (1943) classification is very similar to that of MULLER except that LUCKWILL recognizes an additional species, L. pissisi, which in MULLER'S treatment is L. peruuianum var. humifusum. The wild species, especially L. hirsutum, were intensively studied for disease resistance by ALEXANDER (1942) ; PORTE, DOOLITTLE and WELLMAN (1939) ; KIKUTA and FRAZIER (1947) ; and for flesh color by LESLEY and LESLEY (1947). MACARTHUR and CHIASSON (1947) studied the crossing relations of L. esculentum with the rest of the species and made preliminary observations of meiosis in pollen-mother cells of the F, hybrids. In none of these, nor any other works, however, were segregating generations subjected to detailed genetical study, which is so important to breeding work. TO understand the segregating generations it is necessary to study cytologically the chromosome behavior in the hybrid. These studies may furthermore contribute to our understanding of the cytotaxonomy and evolution of these species. With these objectives in mind the present project was undertaken to investigate the relationships between L. esculentum and two botanical forms of L. hirsutum. THE genera:


Coating a layer of PEG functionalized porous silica shell onto doxorubicin-conjugated Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles, we demonstrated, provides a number of combined advantages in view of the magnetic carrier's therapeutic functionality to treat tumors.


The present study attempts to highlight the overview of the regulatory reforms undertaken by Government of Rajasthan and also investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the small businesses of the state. The study is based upon primary survey. The result of the survey depicts that the regulatory reforms undertaken by the state have positive effect on the businesses, though the existing reforms could only provide limited support to the losses incurred by business during the time of pandemic. The results highlight that the key challenges faced by all the businesses include repayment and acquiring loans, payment of wages and salaries, weakening of demand and retaining of workforce. The effective ways to support the revival from losses include technological innovations, increase the sales and demand for goods, lowering of the cost to business along with the incentives and bailout packages given by the government. The study gives the perception of businesses that can help policymakers and public representatives to design state-specific strategic plan for the revival of businesses from the losses caused during the pandemic.


Furthermore, the paper invites readers to explore my work on the creation of a micro-theoretical framework that is particular to this demographic and honors them as a distinct reality. Critical Race Theory evolved originally as a legal theoretical framework, and later found application in the educational experiences of minoritized populations (LadsonBillings & Tate, 1995). [...]if educational organizations are now engaging in DEI work, they are threatened by the critical analysis of systemic racism that will emerge. Being identifiable as Muslim because of the headscarf, Arabic name, or beard can affect how one will be treated. [...]the predicament of concealing or revealing (celebrating, or just being) identity remains ever present. c) Gender impacts how oppressive stereotypes are situated on a spectrum.


Background/Objective: The non-invasive detection and quantification of hypoxic areas in tumors has been of tremendous interest, since hypoxic cancer cells are more resistant to treatment and thus, tumor hypoxia has been related to treatment outcome and patient survival. Hypoxia imaging and the identification of tumor necrosis early after the start of treatment facilitate the assessment of treatment response before tumor shrinkage occurs. Clinically and preclinically, dynamic contrast enhanced H MRI (DCE-MRI) has been used to characterize the leaky and chaotic vasculature in tumors. Recently, Cho et al. imaged the tumor microenvironment in a preclinical tumor model, using in vivo DCE-MRI plus F-Fmiso PET and ex vivo immunohistochemical and histological validation. The tumor Akep value, a measure of tumor perfusion/permeability derived from DCE-MRI data analysis using the Hoffmann model, was able to distinguish well-perfused from necrotic tumor tissue, while the in vivo identification of hypoxic areas required the additional acquisition of F-Fmiso PET. The Shutter-Speed model 8 (SSM) for DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic data analysis accounts for finite inter-compartmental water exchange effects. In addition to the conventional K and ve parameters, the SSM analysis also returns a third parameter, the mean intracellular water molecule lifetime τi. A recent yeast cell suspension study shows that τi is inversely correlated to cell membrane ion ATPase kinetics, a measure of metabolic activity. Using the experimental DCE-MRI data obtained by Cho et al., we investigate whether DCE-MRI biomarkers obtained from SSM analysis can separate perfused (oxygenated), hypoxic (viable), and necrotic tumor regions. Materials and Methods: The experimental data for this study were acquired as described in detail previously. The DCE-MRI signal intensity time-course data in the tumor region of interest (ROI) underwent pixel-by-pixel SSM pharmacokinetic analysis . The pre-contrast T1 value was calculated by comparing the signal intensity of the DCE-MRI with that of the proton density MR images acquired before contrast agent injection. The arterial input function (AIF) curve shape was taken from a direct measurement in another DCE-MRI study and temporally resampled to match the current DCE-MRI data. The AIF amplitude was then adjusted using a muscle ROI within the image field-of-view as reference tissue. To investigate the relationship of the SSM parameters K and τi with the tumor microenvironment, masks selecting pixels in the tumor that are predominantly well perfused (P), hypoxic (H), or necrotic (N) were obtained by thresholding of in vivo Akep maps (P), ex vivo pimonidazole (H) and Hematoxylin & Eosin (N) staining of tissue sections (Fig. 1A). Results: The spatial, heterogeneous distribution of tumor perfusion/permeability (P), hypoxia (H) and necrosis (N) of a representative tumor slice from an experimental tumor (V = 1230 mm) are shown in Fig. 1. Qualitatively, K (Fig. 1B) and Akep (Fig. 1A) appear to be similarly spatially distributed and positively related, while high τi values (Fig. 1B) appear to correspond to tumor necrosis (N). Quantitatively (Fig. 2), perfused areas (P) are characterized by high Akep (Fig. 2A) or high K and low τi values (Fig. 2B), while necrotic areas (N) are characterized by low Akep (Fig. 2A) or low K and high τi values (Fig. 2B). Hypoxic areas (H) also have low Akep or K, and thus, cannot be separated from necrotic areas (N), using either parameter alone (Fig. 2). However, our preliminary data indicate that a combination of K and τi can separate hypoxic from necrotic or perfused areas, as K values are low and τi values cover an intermediate range in hypoxic areas (Fig. 2B, histograms). Discussion / Conclusions: Our preliminary results indicate that a combination of K and τi can separate areas that are predominantly viable/well-perfused or viable/hypoxic or necrotic. Overlapping values, as seen in the histograms distributions, are to be expected due to volume averaging, especially for pixels containing hypoxic cells located close to well-perfused areas. These are indicative of pixels containing more than one tumor characteristic. For the purposes of predicting and monitoring cancer treatment response in the clinic, successful implementation of SSM analysis of DCE-MRI data may potentially obviate the need for additional imaging studies, such as F-Fmiso PET, to assess the tumor microenvironment. References: 1. Cho H et al. Neoplasia 2009. 11(3):247; 2. Vaupel P et al. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2007. 26(2):225; 3. Tatum JL et al. Int J Radiat Biol 2006. 82(10):699; 4. Vaupel P 2004. 14(3):198; 5. Ocak I et al. Front Biosci 2007. 12:3601; 6. Bhujwalla ZM et al. Topics Magn Reson Imaging 1999. 10(2):92; 7. Huang W et al. PNAS 2008. 105(46):17943; 8. Li X et al. Magn Reson Med 2005. 53(3):724; 9. Hoffmann U et al. Magn Reson Med 1995. 33(4):506; 10. Zhang Y et al. Biophys J 2011; 101:000; 11. Li X et al. J Magn Reson 2010. 206:190. Acknowledgements: Supported by NIH grants PO1 CA115675, R24 CA83084, NCI P30 CA0874, UO1 CA154602, and RO1 CA120861. Figure 2: Overlay of masks onto Akep (A), K and τi maps (B), depicting the spatial distribution of these parameters in well-perfused (P, top row), hypoxic (H, 2 row), and necrotic (N, 3 row) areas, while the bottom three rows display the corresponding histograms of the masked regions with mean (variance) denoted. Color scale as in Fig. 1. Figure 1: (A) The top row shows an Akep map and corresponding tissue sections depicting hypoxic and necrotic areas in a representative tumor slice (Adapted from). The 2 row displays the masks (obtained by 'thresholding') corresponding to perfused, hypoxic, and necrotic tumor areas. (B) K and τi maps of the same tumor slice as in (A), obtained from the SSM analysis.


Digitalization has become a key driver of business innovation in recent years. It provides businesses with new opportunities to innovate and create value. Digital technologies, such as cloud computing, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence, have helped businesses boost the development of new products and services, optimize their operations, and improve customer engagement. This study aimed to analyze the impact of digitalization on business performance within business innovation. This study applied an ordinary least square regression model and an intermediary to explore relationship in the chain of digital capability–business model innovation–company performance. The object of investigation was 1663 listed A-share companies Shanghai and Shenzhen in the software and information technology service sectors. The results showed that digital capabilities could be divided into three dimensions according to the hierarchical relationship: (1) basic digital capabilities, (2) digital operation capabilities, and (3) digital integration capabilities, all of which significantly positively affected enterprise performance. Furthermore, while business model innovation significantly positively affected corporate performance, it was also driven by the preceding variables of digital capabilities. Business model innovation enhanced the positive impact of basic digital capabilities, digital operation capabilities, and digital integration capabilities on company's performance. Considering the empirical results, this study underlines that the government should promote digital skills development, create supportive regulatory environments, promote access to funding for innovations, foster partnerships between businesses and technology providers, and promote collaboration between businesses, which are conducive to extending digitalization within the business innovation model and improving business performance.


Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are argued to constrain policy making by allowing foreign investors to sue countries for alleged breaches of the treaties' terms. Those dynamics are typically studied in the context of regulatory policy, chiefly in health and environmental rules. We argue that BITs also restrain tax policy. Specifically, we show that BITs limit developing country governments' resource taxation, and that umbrella clauses clauses that extend BITs' protection to the terms in side agreements that are typically more constraining than the BITs themselves appear to be a major reason behind our finding. This is particularly important because a) BITs are often thought and explicitly designed to be tax-neutral; and b) resource revenues are an especially important aspect of developing countries' public finance systems. Any assessment of BIT's developmental benefits should consider their fiscal impact alongside their potential to attract capital inflows. Pages (excluding title and abstract page): 35


Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease mainly affected human respiratory system leading to respiratory distress syndrome and mortality. Coronavirus Disease 2019 begin in Wuhan, China then became pandemic in February 2020. High transmission rate and easyly to spread had made government to implement COVID-19 health protocols. People are confused and afraid with the disease. The aim of this community service was to inform community with latest data and science of COVID-19. The community service form was counseling, held online via Zoom Application. Online community counselings had been done for 7 times and each of counseling take 2 hours of time. There were 7 topics of COVID-19 discussed in 14 hours counseling with participation of 400 person. Participants were very active during counselings and gave positive feedbacks. Community counseling can be held safely in the time of pandemic via online platform.


Data-intensive physics facilities are increasingly reliant on heterogeneous and large-scale data processing and computational systems in order to collect, distribute, process, filter, and analyze the ever increasing huge volumes of data being collected. Moreover, these tasks are often performed in hard real-time or quasi real-time processing pipelines that place extreme constraints on various parameters and design choices for those systems. Consequently, a large number and variety of challenges are faced to design, construct, and operate such facilities. This is especially true at the energy and intensity frontiers of particle physics where bandwidths of raw data can exceed 100 TB/s of heterogeneous, high-dimensional data sourced from 300M+ individual sensors. Data filtering and compression algorithms deployed at these facilities often operate at the level of 1 part in $10^5$, and once executed, these algorithms drive the data curation process, further highlighting the critical roles that these systems have in the physics impact of those endeavors. This White Paper aims to highlight the challenges that these facilities face in the design of the trigger and data acquisition instrumentation and systems, as well as in their installation, commissioning, integration and operation, and in building the domain knowledge and technical expertise required to do so.


Introduction: Osteoblasts play a critical role in the bone remodeling. Nitric oxide (NO) is detectable in osteoblasts and contributes to the modulation of bone remodeling (Collin-Osdoby et al., 1995). Our previous study has shown that NO could induce osteoblast apoptosis through the de novo synthesis of apoptotic Bax protein (Chen et al., 2002). Caspases are cystein proteases. The activation of caspases results in the proteolytic cleavage of key cellular targets and then leads to cell apoptosis (Gill et al., 2002). Two distinct pathways of caspases activation are involved in the apoptotic mechanism: the mitochondriadependent and –independent caspase activation pathways. In the mitochondria-dependent pathway, apoptotic factors, including cytochrome c, Bcl-2/Bax proteins and reactive oxygen species, released from mitochondria can signal transductionally activate caspase-9, –3 and 6. The mitochondria-independent pathway, also named caspases-8directed pathway, involves death receptors such as Fas or tumor necrosis factor receptors, which lead to the activation of caspase-8 and subsequently activate downstream caspases-3, or -6. This study is aimed to evaluate the roles of caspases in the nitric oxide-induced osteoblast apoptosis using neonatal rat calvarial osteoblasts as the experimental model.


Between 1820 and 1823, French political life was marked by a growing number of plots against the restored Bourbon Monarchy. The organisation leading the conspiracies, the French Charbonnerie, did not survive the failure of its schemes, leaving many unanswered questions about the true extent of its power and the causes of its disappearance. During the July Monarchy, the veil had been partially lifted from this occult organisation: it appeared that the Charbonnerie had spread widely throughout the country. Its decline in power was often attributed to a lack of unified political opinion, with the socialists also believing that the low recruitment of the working class was a factor. This paper successively discusses these hypotheses and then focuses on the paradoxes of the Charbonnerie imaginary: a mix of Liberal and Enlightenment ideals, and fascination for secret societies. It takes into consideration a new source, a copy of the statutes of the association, seized in 1834 during a search at a lawyer's house from Vienne in Isere and now conserved at the Museum of French History in Paris.


The activity of Gc-250 catalyst and the effects of the reaction temperature and the feed rate for dehydrogenation were studied. It was found that the technolohy of successively dehydrogenation of Cyclododecanol by using this catalyst was superior to the past produced technology,with moderate reactive condition,dependable operation and simple equipment.It's feasible to achieve industrial production by medium test.


ABSTRACT This essay theorises skin as a potential meeting point of Buddhist mindfulness, disability activism, and an ethics of care. The phenomenological turn in disability studies has redirected attention from social conditions to the materiality of the body, restoring discussions of pain, sexuality, and caregiving to disability praxis. Yet metaphors of health continue to suffuse philosophical work on moral agency and touch, and explanations of mindfulness tend similarly to assume a non-disabled physicality in their discussions of mind-body interaction. At the same time, little of the work on touch in the context of disability and pain focuses on the precise moment of contact between subjects. How, then, do we think and write about the symbolic import, and the psychotherapeutic value, of skin touching skin? Mindfulness practice begins with the belief that skin mediates between bodily and emotional states. If we take seriously the kind of skin-to-skin connection that might occur in instances where someone is in pain or has a disability, we might arrive at a more nuanced and sustainable notion of embodiment as the site of emotion, intelligence, and change. This in turn might foster ways of understanding ourselves as interdependent and corporeal beings, introducing the intensities and transformative potential of physical touch to the ways in which we conceptualise subjectivity.


We reviewed two key repositories of social entrepreneurship pedagogical resources: Ashoka.org and CasePlace.org. Each provides a set of useful resources, comprising videos, syllabi, cases, readings...


A new genus and species of late Permian dicynodont, Kwazulusaurus shakai, is described on the basis of a complete skull from the late Permian Dicynodon Assemblage Zone of the South African Beaufort Group. It is an advanced form which shows characters, such as the shape of the snout and the loss of the ectopterygoid, that link it to the early Triassic genus Lystrosaurus. Kwazulusaurus represents the most basal member of the lystrosaurian lineage. The phylogeny of progressive pristerodontian dicynodonts is discussed. It appears possible that the Kannemeyeriiformes and Lystrosauridae do not form a monophylum, as previously assumed. Instead a sister‐group relationship between lystrosaurids and dicynodontids plus kannemeyeriiforms is suggested.


Dualism and integration of Islamic education and general education is one of Islamic
education problems in Indonesia that is very interesting to be discussed. The fact of the presence
of two ministries; National Education Ministry and Religious Ministry, those are equal in charge of
education in Indonesia become evidence of that. The presence of both ministries that is in charge
surely cannot be separated from the context of the history of education policy implemented in
Indonesia from The Dutch colonial era to the days after Indonesian independence. The government
effort in facing the problems of dualism and integration oflslamic education has been done but the
result is not satisfactory. Until now Islamic education still occupies a position that is not aligned
with the general education. Those can be seen after enactment of curriculum in 2013for public
schools, while the Islamic school recently will implement the curriculum in 2014.


The temperature of a tool plays an important role in thermal distortion and the machined part's dimensional accuracy, as well as in tool life in machining. The most significant factors in tool wear are temperature and the degree of chemical affinity between the tool and the workpiece. This research focuses on developing a clear understanding of the temperature distribution with cutting tool inserts embedded with heat pipes to eliminate the use of cutting fluids and reduce tool wealr in machining. A novel approach using the finite element analysis was developed to simulate the thermal behavior of a carbide cutting tool in three-dimensional dry machining. The carbide tools possess high material strengths at room temperature, but they cannot retain useful hardness at temperatures above 900°C (1700°F). Therefore, the reduction of tool wear typically requires maintaining the temperature of cutting tool inserts below some critical values. The particular temperature distribution depends on density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, shape and contact of the tool and heat pipe. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) shows that the temperature drops greatly at the tool-chip interface and that the heat flow to the tool is effectively removed when a heat pipe is embedded.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


: 20 Rationale : Mitochondria are dynamic organelles, which continuously change their 21 shape through fission and fusion. Disruption of mitochondrial dynamics is involved 22 in disease pathology through excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. 23 Accelerated cellular senescence resulting from cigarette smoke (CS) exposure 24 with excessive ROS production has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic 25 obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hence, we investigated the involvement of 26 mitochondrial dynamics and ROS production in terms of CS extract (CSE)-induced 27 cellular senescence in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC). 28 Methods : Mitochondrial morphology was examined by electron microscopy and 29 fluorescence microscopy. Senescence associated beta-galactosidase (SA- β -gal) 30 staining and p21 western blotting of primary HBEC were performed to evaluate 31 cellular senescence. Mitochondrial specific superoxide production was measured 32 by MitoSOX staining. Mitochondrial fragmentation was induced by knockdown of 33 mitochondrial fusion proteins (OPA1 or Mitofusins) by siRNA transfection. 34 N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and Mito-TEMPO were used as antioxidants. Results : Mitochondria cells were prone to be more fragmented in COPD lung tissues. CSE induced mitochondrial fragmentation and mitochondrial ROS production, which were responsible for acceleration of HBEC. Mitochondrial fragmentation induced 39 by knockdown of fusion proteins also increased mitochondrial ROS production and 40 percentages of senescent cells. HBEC senescence and mitochondria 41 fragmentation in response to CSE treatment were inhibited in the presence of 42 antioxidants. 43 Conclusions: CSE-induced mitochondrial fragmentation is involved in cellular 44 senescence through the mechanism of mitochondrial ROS production. Hence, 45 disruption of mitochondrial dynamics may be a part of the pathogenic sequence of 46 COPD development. 47 smokers without COPD and from COPD patients. In electron microscopic examination of lung tissues, we demonstrated that mitochondria in bronchial epithelial cells tended to be fragmented in COPD but not in smokers without COPD, suggesting the fission process dominancy of mitochondrial dynamics in COPD pathogenesis. These results are in accordance with previous reports demonstrating that mitochondria in skeletal muscles from COPD patients tended to be smaller in size accompanied by increased ROS production(16, 37, 39).


The authors describe how the MSC/MAGNETIC finite-element analysis program is used to compute electrostatic and electrodynamic fields. Example calculations are described for a capacitor with multiple lossy dielectric layers and for a high voltage bushing with a resistive coating. Comparison with classical results is given for the capacitor. The results for the simple lossy capacitor agree with conventional circuit theory. The results for the conductively coated bushing appear to show correctly the influence of conductivity on AC electric fields. >


on prematurity is the only sure foundation on which to build reliable scientific data regarding this major paediatric problem. Hitherto, it has not been possible to compare the prematurity statistics emanating from maternity hospitals, owing to the lack of a uniform method of statistical analysis. To enable accurate comparisons to be made between various methods of care and treatment it is suggested that the following seven conditions would provide a comparative basis: (I) A large number of infants. (2) Accurate weighing at birth. (3) Strict interpretation of the definition 'liveborn.' (4) Inclusion of all liveborn infants with congenital malformations. (5) Definition of the weight range of viable prematurity. (6) Subdivision of the standard weight range into half-pound weight groups. (7) Segregation of the infants of booked mothers from those of unbooked mothers. 1. A large number of infants. Conclusions which


In this paper, we study classes of subexcedant functions enumerated by the Bell numbers and present bijections on set partitions. We present a set of permutations whose transposition arrays are the restricted growth functions, thus defining Bell permutations of the second kind. We describe a bijection between Bell permutations of the first kind (introduced by Ponti and Vajnovzski) and the second kind. We present two other Bell number enumerated classes of subexcedant functions. Further, we present bijections on set partitions, in particular, an involution that interchanges the set of merging blocks and the set of successions. We use the bijections to enumerate the distribution of these statistics over the set of set partitions, and also give some enumeration results.


Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers receive little attention by the media and the general public, which is why I decided to look into and clarify their situation in Slovenia.

In the theoretical part legal issues concerning refugee policy, the origin, numbers and vulnerability of asylum seekers in Slovenia and the rest of the world are explained. Furthermore the topic of participation is presented from different points of view. The second, empirical part of the thesis is aimed to find out which institutions work with minor asylum seekers and what kind of work they do. Another goal is to find out what participation possibilities unaccompanied minors in everyday life and in legal issues actually have and what participation means to them.

Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are placed in an asylum home on the outskirts of Ljubljana, which provides them with basic care under the auspices of the Ministry of Home affairs. The centre for social work is responsible for assigning legal guardians to minors and the NGO Slovene Philanthropy offers psychosocial support. Minor asylum seekers are therefore integrated in institutions and organisations and limited by their restrictions and offers. Formally it is possible for them to influence their life and make decisions about it, but changes come slowly and when they do, they are small.

In the conclusion a suggestion is offered and discussed on how to work with unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in a more appropriate way.


Delayed-neutron precursor data are being compiled in preparation of a new ENDF/B evaluation of delayed-neutron data. The probability of delayed-neutron emission, P /SUB n/, has been updated using ENDF/B-VM fission product yields and ENDF/B-V fission product decay data. Evaluations of 77 percursors are presented along with their effect on fission yields, P /SUB n/ systematics, and calculational models.


Abstract Compounds involving the 1,3-dimethyl-1,3-diaza-2-phosphetidin-4-thione framework: Synthesis of 1,3-dimethyl-1,3-diaza-2Δ3-phosphetidin-4-thione derivatives and oxidation reactions at the phosphorus(III) atom. The reactions of singly lithiated N,N′-dimethylthiourea 1 with diorganoaminodichlorophosphines (organo groups: CH2CH[dbnd]CH2, C6H11 3, Ph 4) are described. The resulting 1,3-dimethyl-1,3-diaza-2Δ3-phosphetidin-4-thione derivatives 5-7 undergo oxidation reactions with trimethylsilyl azide, hexa-fluoroacetone, tetrachloroorthobenzoquinone and elemental sulfur. With trimethylsilyl azide and hexa-fluoroacetone a rearrangement of the four-membered diazaphosphetidine ring system was observed in addition to the oxidation at the phosphorus atom. The new compounds 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13-19 were characterized by elemental analysis, 1H-, 13C-, 31P-NMR-spectroscopy and mass spectrometry; 6, 10 and 18 were characterized by X-ray structure analysis. Compound 6 displays two independent molecules with no signi...


Objective: We report a case of congenital tuberculosis in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the management of exposure to other neonates in the hospital. We review the literature regarding congenital tuberculosis and management of exposures in the NICU. Design: Case report and a survey of exposures with a 3-month follow-up. Setting: Urban hospital. Patients: Neonates exposed to a case of congenital tuberculosis. Interventions: Exposure to tuberculosis was treated with isoniazid. Purified protein derivative tests were placed at base-line and 3 to 4 months after exposure. Chest radiographs were performed if clinically indicated. Results: Congenital tuberculosis was diagnosed in our patient at 21 days of age during a prolonged hospital course. After initiation of anti-tuberculous medications, the patient gradually recovered from his illness. While he was treated in the NICU, there were 37 potentially exposed infants. Of these, 36 were administered tuberculin skin tests (average age, 1.7 months), all of which were read as 0 mm of induration. Of those 37, 35 began prophylaxis with isoniazid, and 30 were able to complete treatment with a minimum of 3 months of isoniazid therapy. Of those 30, two infants received 6 months of therapy. Additionally, 29 of the 37 infants had chest radiographs, none of which showed suspicious infiltrates or adenopathy. Finally, 30 of the 36 infants had repeat tuberculin skin tests at 3 months, all of which were read as 0 mm of induration (average age, 3.7 months). Conclusion: Congenital tuberculosis is an uncommon disease that requires early diagnosis for successful therapy and vigilant follow-up of potential exposures in the NICU. (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2002;23:573-579).


The Russian community living in medieval Visby (ca. 1150-1400) is, although known, almost entirely invisible in historical texts. Considering the importance of Russian trade on the Baltic, this gen ...


After the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese officials claimed that the goal of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" had been achieved. Historically, the London 2012 Olympic Games had a similar goal: to increase sports participation for all by hosting the Olympic Games. Given these goals, the impact of the Olympic Games on sports participation has clearly become significant. These impacts can be referred to as the Olympic sport participation legacy, an intangible Olympic legacy. The Olympic sport participation legacy has attracted a lot of researchers' interest in the academic field in recent years. This paper aims to conduct a scoping review of Olympic sport participation legacy studies between 2000 and 2021 to identify the progress of studies on the sustainability of Olympic sport participation legacies. Unlike previous scoping reviews on sport participation legacies, this review adopts a Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence of Practice, and Research Recommendations (PAGER) framework at the results analysis stage to improve the quality of the findings. The results from the scoping review contained 54 peer-reviewed articles on three levels of research: the population level, social level, and intervention processes. Many studies indicate that achieving a sustainable Olympic sport participation legacy requires joint collaboration and long-term planning between governments, community organisations, and other stakeholders.


Electronic commerce is a new economic form,whether it's theory or the practice is in the mature process.This makes so many problems in training talents.For these reasons,local higher vocational colleges should fulfill "four-way",including,special field construction recombination-relation,technical ability-relation,teaching material chooses integrate melt and "double-qualification" teachers.


The main issues related to the verification of cores embedded in a microcontroller unit (MCU) are addressed in this paper. Issues such as verification environment design, simulation pattern strategies and reuse, as well as standalone and chip level verification are discussed. An analysis of the verification environment is performed from the perspective of the reuse across the design cycle, focussing on the core standalone and on the chip level verification. A case study analysis is included.


This paper examines the utility of a self-directed feedback training method for machine learning models trained on synthetic data. This method aims to improve the speed of data generation and training by generating small batches of training data and observing the classification performance for each class. The classification accuracy is then used to adjust subsequent training classes and data generation limiting the total generation and training time while achieving optimal performance. Synthetic generation of images provides a viable approach to training machine learning models when real data is sparse. Synthetic data removes the intensive and error-prone manual process of human data labeling through automatic tagging. This is particularly valuable for re-identification tasks where unique objects need to be identified from multiple cameras with different orientations, lighting, or focal characteristics. We construct an artificial re-identification scene using 3D modeling software and generate images with a number of human avatar objects taken from different orientations, backgrounds, and lighting conditions. Automatic tagging and bounding generates re-identification metadata allowing unique avatars to be recognized by a metric learning neural network. As the network improves, the classes with lowest performance prompt the generator to supply additional images to improve the classifier accuracy. This allows the rendering engine to focus on the dominant error cases. This process will be compared against the rendering/training time and accuracy of the same system trained without self-directed feedback training.


To investigate the effects of Zhikeping on the expression of oxyradical and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) of experimental early atherosclerosis blood vessel.The model of SD rat early atherosclerosis was induced by cholesterol diet;the suspension of Zhikeping and simvastatin were administered intragastrically,respectively.After 10 weeks,the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and maleic dialdehyde (MDA) were detected by enzyme colorimetric method.ICAM-1 and its expression of mRNA in aortic wall were detected by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR,respectively.The results show that the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and maleic dialdehyde (MDA) of treated groups were obviously improved compare with those of the model group,ICAM-1 and its expression of mRNA was decreased obviously,and the effect of Zhikeping was better than that of simvastatin.It is suggested the mechanism of anti-atherosclerosis of Zhikeping have close relationship with the function of its anti-oxidizing and anti-adhesiveness that can protect vessel endothelial cell.


Authors' Note: This is a short summary of the final report that was submitted at the conclusion of the project. The facade panel product described herein is patent-pending, and certain technical aspects of the product are proprietary information. As such, this summary has been compiled to exclude content that the project sponsor wishes not to disclose to the public. However, the general ideas presented here remain essentially unchanged. – B.F., N.F., J.N., T.T.


It is widely recognized that by balancing the present use of N (Nitrogen) and P (Phosphorous), the yields of important crops in Pakistan can be increased from twenty five to forty five percent. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad has developed Fertilizer Prediction Models that can be used to predict the exact quantity of N and P for the desired yield of major crops on the basis of soil test values of the specific field. These models were validated and disseminated under the project titled "Improving Soil Fertility and Soil Health in Pakistan Through Demonstration and Dissemination of Best Management Practices for Farmers" from 2014-18. The particular aspect of the model investigated through the present research was disseminated by Agricultural Service Providers (ASPs) in three villages viz; 81 JB Pansera, 109 JB Jarawala and 411 GB Tandailiawala of Faisalabad district. The basic objective of research was to quantify the economic benefits of fertilizer prediction model disseminated and implemented through ASPs in the selected villages. ASPs applied doses of fertilizers to selected farmers after soil tests in accordance with UAF fertilizer model in case of wheat crop. A primary data was collected through random sampling technique from 60 wheat growers including 10 adopters and 10 non adopters from each village. The data was analyzed by applying descriptive statics in SPSS software. The survey results revealed that overall income gain from balanced use of fertilizer and higher yield of wheat crop was Rs. 4194.6 per acre. Further, the balanced use of fertilizers also helped in improving the fertility status of sampled farms. There was definitely increase in awareness and adoption intention of model among the farmers of selected villages after the project campaign. It is concluded that a continuous effort from public or private sector is required to adopt the UAF model by the farming community and reap maximum benefits from it.


A process is disclosed wherein essentially all of the rhenium can be removed from an aqueous solution of molybdenum without the extraction of molybdenum using a particular solvent extraction solution. The extraction solution consists essentially of a quaternary ammonium compound and at least about 50 percent by volume of a highly aromatic solvent which dissolves a quaternary ammonium-rhenium complex to the extent of at least 0.1 percent by volume. 2 claims, 2 figures.


Macrophage inflammatory protein-3α/C-C chemokine ligand 20 (MIP-3α/CCL20) is an antimicrobial peptide that plays an important role in innate immunity. In addition to direct microbicidal effects, MIP-3α/CCL20 also exhibits cytokine-like functions that are critical during dendritic cell activation. The aim of the present study was to investigate further which signaling pathways are involved in the MIP-3α/CCL20 mRNA expression in response to whole-cell Porphyromonas gingivalis. Primary gingival epithelial cells (GECs) and the immortalized oral keratinocyte cell-line OKF6/TERT-2 were stimulated with whole-cell P. gingivalis. Prior to stimulation, GECs and OKF6/TERT-2 cells were pretreated with specific inhibitors for nuclear-factor-κB (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phospholipase C (PLC), and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K). In GECs and OKF6/TERT-2 cells, activation of NF-κB was examined after exposure to P. gingivalis. The gene expression of MIP-3α/CCL20 was significantly induced in response to P. gingivalis (P ≤ 0.05) compared to unstimulated control cells. This induction was specifically blocked when cells were pre-incubated with inhibitors for NF-κB, MAPK, and PLC (P ≤ 0.05), but not for PI3K. These results demonstrate that P. gingivalis induces the MIP-3α/CCL20 mRNA in a NF-κB-, PLC-, and MAPKdependent manner.


This study investigated the current processing degree and ingredients of sauce on the packaging of the commercial eel products made in Northeast Asia (Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan) and surveyedthe perception of nutritional functionality and purchasing pattern of Japanese consumers for the processed eels. The results are considered as a useful aid for preparation of processed eel products. The commercial eel products, purchased at a department store, supermarket and discount market, were divided by processing method, package quantity, storage method and sauce ingredients. The processing method was indicated in many different ways in each country, such as sauce ingredients and intake method. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 105 Japanese consumers (male 43, female 62) visiting Korea. Of the respondents, 44% answered and the major reasons for purchasing processed eel products were as a side dish for meals. The results for this factor were significantly different in relation to age (p


This paper shows that street names provide a very valuable source of information for quantitative empirical analysis in social sciences. They reflect the cumulative commemorative decisions of municipalities and, as such, can be used as proxies for their historical and cultural characteristics, which is particularly useful given the scarcity of cultural data at the local level. The use of street names as a data source is illustrated through the construction of an indicator of religiosity, which enables us to discuss theoretical and methodological issues, as well as show that the indicator is strongly correlated with the cultural factor it is supposed to capture. Finally, the article explores a range of potential empirical applications to important topics in social sciences. WP No 16-013


A true expert in the percutaneous treatment of below-the-knee (BTK) arterial disease once told us: ''If you adequately obtain and secure antegrade femoral access, you have already successfully completed 50% of BTK angioplasty'' (personal communication: Massimiliano Fusaro, Deutsches Herzzentrum, Munich, Germany). It is indeed true that skills in antegrade femoral puncture are a key element of safe and effective infrainguinal percutaneous revascularization. This is well proven by the excellent results reported by groups experienced in antegrade femoral access. Thus, it is pivotal to emphasize a thorough training path for antegrade femoral access and adequate caseload to obtain and maintain such skills. After access is obtained, current techniques and devices, including subintimal angioplasty and stents, can provide satisfactory early and late results of infrainguinal revascularization. The procedure does not finish, however, with a good final angiographic result, as hemostasis remains a crucial step, rarely but predictably associated with dire complications, such as pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, retroperitoneal bleeding, dissection, or thrombosis. Several approaches to achieve hemostasis after antegrade femoral arteriotomy are available (Table), which can be categorized in 3 groups: external mechanical approaches, dedicated closure devices, and contralateral intraluminal approaches. METHODS TO ACHIEVE PUNCTURE-SITE CLOSURE


While the importance of sustainable consumption is well acknowledged and consumers increasingly demand sustainable alternatives, the consumption of environmentally strenuous products continues to grow. Technological solutions have been discussed for addressing the misalignment between consumers' attitudes and behavior. This study is the first to use the service-dominant logic lens to investigate how digital services may be harnessed to drive the co-creation of sustainability value in the retail industry. We conduct 10 semi-structured interviews with a Finnish retail company and its customers and reflect on the customers' experiences with respect to the company's value propositions in the servicescape. Our findings indicate that understanding and harnessing consumers' personal sustainability goals may be the key to designing digital services that help mitigate the impacts of consumption through value co-creation (VCC). We propose a preliminary framework for sustainability VCC and value co-destruction (VCD) in the retail industry and discuss its implications.


As for the machine learning algorithm, one of the main factors restricting its further large-scale application is the value of hyperparameter. Therefore, researchers have done a lot of original numerical optimization algorithms to ensure the validity of hyperparameter selection. Based on previous studies, this study innovatively puts forward a model generated using skewed distribution (gamma distribution) as hyperparameter fitting and combines the Bayesian estimation method and Gauss hypergeometric function to propose a mathematically optimal solution for discrete hyperparameter selection. The results show that under strict mathematical conditions, the value of discrete hyperparameters can be given a reasonable expected value. This heuristic parameter adjustment method based on prior conditions can improve the accuracy of some traditional models in experiments and then improve the application value of models. At the same time, through the empirical study of relevant datasets, the effectiveness of the parameter adjustment strategy proposed in this study is further proved.


Although social science research is replete with scholarly works on capacity building, relatively few studies have focused on how government can induce capacity building among privately owned enterprises in emerging economies. We seek to fill the lacuna in our understanding by examining how a government can induce capacity building among privately owned enterprises. The study adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with hotel owners, employees and managers, as well as government officials in Ghana to examine the issue. We identified three unique stages through which such capacity-building initiatives unfold encompassing diagnosing, renewal and customer centricity. The study revealed that capacity building through collaborative partnership was partly motivated by desire to overcome societal resistance to services seen as "tainted". The concluding section outlines a number of theoretical and practical implications.


During this project the method and calculation for a hydraulic axial piston pump efficiency test has been evaluated. There are difficulties in how the maximum displacement of an axial piston pump i ...


In the imported converter gas recovery system at Steelmaking Plant of Baotou Iron and Steel Co Ltd there are some shortages,such as,bad gas didusted and dewatering effect,and frequent clogging in wa- ter-sealed capsule,so analytical meter is easy to damage.In addition,steam heating mode is used in the pri- mary sampling equipment,but its temperature is not high enough to meet the need of stoving effect,so sam- pling filter core is easy to block.After the system is modified,electric heating mode with automatic control system is used to sampling device,and it is proven that running effect of the modified system is good.


Phytochemicals, including flavonoids and other polyphenols, are promising candidates as chemopreventive agents against cancers, obesity, stroke and cardiovascular disease, and as such are often marketed in form of food supplements. Previous studies using various models in our laboratory have shown methoxylated flavonoids to display metabolic stability, high cellular uptake and increased bioavailability. Using a sensitive trout liver cell culture model, we further investigated effects of hydroxylated flavonoids and their methoxylated analogues on cell proliferation and toxicity. Microscopy visualization and BrdU incorporation assays demonstrated detrimental effects of hydroxylated flavonoids, especially by the ubiquitous flavones chrysin and apigenin, resulting in decreased cell proliferation and rapid induction of cell death. The same 25 μM concentration of 5,7‐dimethoxyflavone and 3′,4′‐dimethoxyflavone, but also the non‐methoxylated compounds naringenin and quercetin, inhibited cell proliferation without inducing cell death. Differences in toxicity may be a result of differential cellular oxidation and is under further investigation.


Objective To investigate the relativity of quantitative detection of HCV RNA and detection of hepatitis C virus(HCV) core antigen and alanine ammotrans ferase(ALT).Methods 94 human serum were collected from inpatients and outpatients.HCV RNA was quantitatively detected by real-time fluorescence PCR.HCV core antigen was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and ALT was detected by using automatic biochemical analyzer.Results The positive rates of HCV RNA and HCV core antigen were 56.9%(53/94) and 53.2%(50/94),respectively.There was no significant statistical difference between two methods(P0.05) and the coincidence rate was 84.9%(45/53).The abnormal rate of ALT was 62.3%(33/53),which was enhanced with the increase of HCV RNA.Conclusion Quantitative detection of HCV RNA and HCV core antigen test with ALT results can help clinicians to understand the level of HCV replication in the body and the inflammatory response status of the liver.This will guide clinical treatment and observation of treatment effects.


This thesis derives from the comprehension that liminality has the potential for new social relations to form towards new social conditions. With an intimate approach and a deeper understanding of ...


Celebrating Eid al-Fitr after fasting in the month of Ramadan with extended family is a routine for some Indonesian people. In this Eid Al-Fitr there is a tradition that has become entrenched, namely the Bara'an Tradition. Bara'an is the right moment to stay in touch and apologize to one another. Bara'an is also considered as a place for productive communication between various components of the nation which is carried out with joy and is formed ceremonially followed by a group of citizens from various religions, races and ethnicities. The purpose of this research is to find out the values in the Baraan Tradition. To answer this question, this research uses descriptive qualitative methods. Because using descriptive qualitative methods, the authors examine the values of the Baraan tradition with data collection techniques through observation and interviews with the people of Kembung Luar Village, Bantan District, Bengkalis Regency. The results of the interviews can be concluded that the values contained in the bara'an tradition are the Value of Compassion, the Value of Happiness, the Value of Blessing, the Value of Religion, the Value of Social