The role of structural characteristics of soft sediment on absorption of total hydrocarbon content (THC) and physicochemistry due to human induced pollution in the lower bonny estuary were studied in a bid to measure the danger of human actions along the catchments on the estuary. Samples were collected and analyzed from five sampling stations representing fuel depot site, garbage dump, fishing spots, living quarters and an upstream station far removed from direct human impacts (control). Sediment samples were collected for six months representing wet and dry seasons. Samples were analyzed for THC, Organic Carbon, phosphate (PO4), Electrical conductivity (EC), and pH. Sediment particle was also determined by the hydrometer method. Result from the investigation reveal that there were significant seasonal differences in measured parameters (p<0.05). pH and THC and EC in wet season>dry season. While Organic Carbon and PO4 in wet season < dry season. Sample stations did not show any significant difference (p>0.05). Soil sediment analyses reveal that percentage of sand in sediment was uniform throughout the wet and dry season and all sample stations. Clay content was constant in all stations in dry season but fluctuated in the wet season between stations. Silt content in sediment fluctuated between stations in both wet and dry seasons. THC and physico-chemical parameters did not have any direct correlation with sediment characteristics.Station 5 (control) revealed lower values in almost all measured. parameters compared to other stations, implying greater ecological stability in the control station. The findings of this work is suggestive of the fact that Bonny estuary is under a subtle threat from land-based activities.


We have combined the idea of renormalization group and quantum-information theory. We have shown how the entanglement or concurrence evolve as the size of the system becomes large, i.e., the finite size scaling is obtained. Moreover, we introduce how the renormalization-group approach can be implemented to obtain the quantum-information properties of a many-body system. We have obtained the concurrence as a measure of entanglement, its derivatives and their scaling behavior versus the size of system for the one-dimensional Ising model in transverse field. We have found that the derivative of concurrence between two blocks each containing half of the system size diverges at the critical point with the exponent, which is directly associated with the divergence of the correlation length.


The paper discusses principles of local taxation such as accountability, benefit-tax link, non-distortion, regional equity, long-term efficiency, reliability and stability of tax bases, tax sharing as implicit insurance, and administrative simplicity. Not all of the criteria for local taxation are consistent with each other and could be realized at the same time.


The present investigation was aimed to evaluate the effect of growth regulators on induction of callus from leaf segments of Cissampelos pareira. The surface sterilized young leaves were inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with different concentration and combination of growth regulators for induction of callus. The phytochemical constituents were analyzed in the different solvent extracts using standard methods. Maximum callus induction was observed on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/L of NAA or 2, 4-D alone and in combinations of NAA (2 mg/L) + BAP (1 mg/L) and NAA (2 mg/L) + KIN (0.5 mg/L). The preliminary phytochemical screening of leaf and leaf derived callus revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids, coumarins etc. The developed protocol is useful for large scale production of callus from leaf explants which may be useful for isolation of important bioactive compounds for the treatment of various diseases.


The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accumulator ring is a high intensity ring and must have low uncontrolled losses for hands on maintenance. To achieve these low losses one needs very tight tolerance. These tight tolerances have been achieved through shimming the magnets and sorting. Dipoles are solid core magnets and had very good field quality but magnet to magnet variation were sorted out according to ITF, since all the dipole are powered with one power supply. Typically, sorting is done to minimize linear effects in beam dynamics. Here, sorting of quadrupoles was done according to a scheme, which allows reducing unwanted strength of nonlinear resonances. As a result, the strength of sextupole resonances for our base line tune-box was strongly reduced which was confirmed by a subsequent beam dynamics simulation.


In this paper we construct Gamow vectors for resonances given by poles of the analytic continuation of the S matrix of any finite order. We study their modes of decay (or growth). We obtain Jordan block structures for the extended Hamiltonians and evolution operators on the subspaces spanned by these Gamow vectors. We perform this study within the context of the rigged Hilbert space extension of quantum theory. We construct an explicit Friedrichs model with a double pole resonance to illustrate the general formulation.


India's higher education system is the third largest in the world. According to the latest report on the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), number of educational institutions are over whelming. The quantitative flare up in higher education institutions has not been coordinated by the quality of the education they provide. Consistency reports on employability by various organizations exposed that there is a dearth of 'Job Ready' skills among the graduates and only very less per cent of them were employable. This made the researcher to ponder in a way that, "Is this situation is due to lack of competency of the teachers?". Hence, the researcher conducted a study on evaluation of Teachers' competency in Self-financing Arts and Science and Engineering Colleges of four districts in Coimbatore Region. The study used both the primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected with the help of questionnaire among the sample of 460 Students and 196 HODs. The primary data collected have been analysed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study identified various factors of Teacher competencies which are commonly categorized in to four groups such as Teaching, Behavioural, Managerial and Research competencies. All the four groups of teacher competencies are evaluated by both the Students and HoDs and found that there is a difference in their evaluation. Based on the students' evaluation, central competencies of teachers viz. Teaching and Research are at a lower level among the educators. Appropriate suggestions are given in order to improve those competencies.


A sensitive and selective chemosensing system for bromate anions (BrO3− anions) is highly demand due to the serious toxicity of BrO3− anions. In this report, polymeric ethylene imine (PEI) functionalized photoluminescent carbon dots (CDs@PEI) were prepared by the thermal pyrolysis of citric acid and PEI. The as-prepared CDs@PEI were successfully employed to establish a photoluminescence (PL)-based sensing system for BrO3− anions with high sensitivity and selectivity. The experimental conditions were systemically optimized, and a linear relationship between the PL quenching rate of the CDs@PEI and BrO3− anion concentration in the range from 0.04 to 0.35 μM could be obtained, with a very low limit of detection of ca. 0.17 nM. The proposed method was further employed to determine BrO3− anions in drinking water, bottled water and lake water samples with good recoveries. This established method was also successfully employed to detect BrO3− anion content in practical pastry samples.


. Video grounding aims to localize the corresponding moment in an untrimmed video given a sentence description. Existing methods often address this task in an indirect "one-to-many" way, i.e., predicting much more than one proposal for one sentence description, by casting it as a propose-and-match or fusion-and-detection problem. Solving these surrogate problems often requires sophisticated label assignment during training and hand-crafted removal of near-duplicate results. Meanwhile, existing works typically focus on sparse video grounding with a single sentence as input, which could result in ambiguous localization due to its unclear description. In this paper, we tackle a new problem of dense video grounding, by simultaneously localizing multiple moments with a paragraph as input. From a perspective on video grounding as language conditioned regression, we present an end-to-end parallel decoding paradigm by re-purposing a Transformer-alike architecture (PRVG). The key design in our PRVG is to use languages as queries, and regress only one temporal boundary for each sentence based on language-modulated visual representations. Thanks to its simplicity in design, our PRVG framework predicts in an "one-to-one" manner, getting rid of complicated label assignment when training and allowing for efficient inference without any post-processing technique. In addition, we devise a robust proposal-level attention loss to guide the training of PRVG, which is in-variant to moment duration and contributes to model convergence. We perform experiments on two benchmarks, namely ActivityNet Captions and TACoS, demonstrating that our PRVG can significantly outperform previous methods. We also perform in-depth studies to investigate the effectiveness of the parallel regression paradigm on video grounding.


Professor Angus Mclntosh has recently pointed out the importance of a 'graphematic' analysis of Middle English manuscripts), and the present article represents an attempt to illustrate bis thesis by an examination of certain scribal peculiarities common to two otberwise unrelated manuscripts, MSS Cotton Caligula A ii and Cotton Julius D ix. Botb these manuscripts are of the fifteenth Century, both are written in the south-eastern dialect and show many Kentish features; but there is no known association of provenance, and their contents are very diverse. MS Cotton Caligula A ii is a paper manuscript of the mid fifteenth Century and contains, äs well äs various miscellaneous verse pieces by Lydgate and others, a number of romances, including Octavian, Launfal, Lybeaus Discanus, Emari and The Chevalere Aasigne). MS Cotton Julius D ix, on the other hand, contains a version of The South Englieh Legendary. Most of the more important articles in MS Cotton Caligula A ii have been printed; but to limit the somewhat unwieldy material the present discussion deals primarily with Sir Launfal, though reference is occasionally made to forme from other pieces). No single legend from MS Cotton Julius D ix has yet been printed), and the only material in


After the investigation of the transmission tower, some common conditions were found: the inverted tower phenomenon occurred in recent years when there were short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorm, strong wind and other strong convective weather. The area where the inverted tower phenomenon occurs and the surrounding environment have the same or similar conditions; The rod types with inverted tower are mainly 7722 (zs3) and 7727 (zgu2) (both of which are typical tower types designed in the 1970s). Therefore, the goal of reinforcement of transmission towers is proposed: the reinforcement scheme of ZS and zgu2 towers is reasonably proposed to achieve the requirements of reliable technology, simple construction, good reinforcement effect, small impact on the use function, economic rationality and neat appearance. According to the preliminary reinforcement measures and schemes of existing experience, we propose two solutions.


TiO2 nanotube array films were prepared on porous titanium via anodic oxidation. The morphology and phases of the films were characterized, and the thermal stability, bioactivity in-vitro, biocompatibility in vivo, and osteoinductivity of the films were also studied. It was found the anatase nanotubues give better bioactivity than the amorphous. The porous titanium after anodic oxidation and annealing at 500 °C formed hydroxyapatite on surface and can induce blood vessel formation and promote the expressions of bone morphogenetic protein BMP-2, which contribute to the potential osteoinductivity. This study will promote the development of novel functional porous supports.


Objective
To investigate the application of expanded local flap in repairing extremity scars.

Methods
Thirty patients with extremity scars contracture as a result of trauma, surgery or infection during July 2000 and March 2013 were included. There were 11 male and 19 female patients with age ranging from 11 to 34 years. Tissue expansion, scar resection, flap transfer and scar management were involved in this process.

Results
There 24 patients suffered from upper extremity scars and 6 patients suffered from lower extremity scars. Expander exposure was noted in 3 patients, and 3 patients suffered from infection during the expansion. During the 6-month to 1-year follow-up, all patients satisfied with the results in terms of the skin texture, color, flexibility after the treatment with expanded local skin flap.

Conclusions
The expanded local flaps are suitable for the repair of the longitudinal and oblique scars in the extremities.

Key words:
Cicatrix; Contracture; Extremities; Dilatation; Surgical flaps


Measuring the electrical field induced by a borehole Stoneley wave is a new method for characterizing a rock formation around a borehole. Our field measurements demonstrate that the Stoneley-wave-induced electrical field can be detected in sedimentary rocks (dolomite in our experiment), and that the amplitude of this electroseismic phenomenon can be used to detect isolated fractures and permeable zones. INTRODUCTION Electroseismic phenomena allow direct observation of pore fluid flow driven through a rock formation by a seismic wave. Even though these seismic-wave-driven fluid flows are very small, it is possible to detect them in field experiments by measuring the streaming electrical fields that they induce. In turn, measurements of seismic-wave-induced pore fluid flows provide geophysicists with a new way to study rock properties. Laboratory experiments (Zhu and Toksiiz, 1997) and theoretical analysis (Haartsen, 1995; Mikhailov et al., 1998) suggest that borehole electroseismic measurements can be used to detect permeable zones. Our study is aimed at determining the practical value of borehole electroseismic phenomena for geophysical exploration. We focus our investigation on the electrical fields induced by a borehole Stoneley wave. In this paper we first demonstrate that this phenomenon can be observed in sedimentary rock formations in the field. Further, we compare the results of our electroseismic measurements with the results of other geophysical measurements and show that the normalized amplitude of the Stoneley-wave-induced electrical field can be used to detect isolated fractures and permeable zones intersected by a borehole.


Experimental data are presented from three different heavy-ion storage rings (ASTRID in Aarhus, CRYRING in Stockholm, and TSR in Heidelberg) to assess the reliability of this experimental tool for the extraction of absolute rate coefficients and cross sections for dissociative recombination (DR). The DR reaction between HD. and electrons has been studied between 0 and 30 eV on a dense energy grid. HD+ displays two characteristic local maxima in the DR rate around 9 and 16 eV. These maxima influence the data analysis at smaller collision energies. We conclude that resonant structures in the DR cross sections are reproduced among the experiments within the collision energy resolution. The absolute cross sections agree within the systematic experimental errors of 20% related to the measurement of the ion currents. Absolute thermal rate coefficients for HD. ions are given for an electron temperature range of 50-300 K. Results for the DR cross section and the thermal rate coefficients are compared to recent theoretical calculations including rotational effects, finding satisfactory agreement.


The treatment of class II malocclusion during adolescence is an important challenge for orthodontists, moreover, if there are other growth factors that hinder the reaching of a normal occlusion. Maxillary molar distalization is an orthodontic treatment method that has obtained an important diffusion since last years for correcting pure dental Class II malocclusion. In the past, several appliances including headgear, pendulums, Jones jigs, and distal jets have conventionally been used for maxillary molar distalization. However, distalization is often associated with adverse effects such as anchor loss and uncontrolled tipping. The first problem for the clinical is the undesired tooth movement in response to the application of forces for correcting the dental malpositions and obtaining an acceptable occlusion. This is the concept of anchorage which represents the base in every orthognatodontics treatment planning. With the use of TADs (temporary anchorage devices) it's possible to obtain a good control of anchorage and, thus, to have a predictable tooth movement without the risks of malocclusion relapses. Nowadays, TADs are used to enforce anchorage in many devices, with a great standard of success. The aim of this study is to examine the application of TADs in orthodontic treatment planning and, in particular, for obtaining molar distalization and a proper anterior retraction in the therapy of II class malocclusion.


Based on an investigation with 67 samplings from Taihu Lake in the autumn of 2004,the bio-optical properties including absorption coefficient,backscattering coefficient and irradiance reflectance just beneath the water surface,and the concentrations of the optically active substances are measured and calculated.Semi-analytical retrieval models of three optically active substances(tripton,phytoplankton pigment and CDOM) are developed using bio-optical model.Significant spatial differences are found for the concentrations of three optically active substances suggesting the spatial heterogeneous in the large shallow lake.The estimation models adequately predict tripton,phytoplankton pigment concentrations,and CDOM absorption in well-mixed and optically complex water in the Taihu Lake.


A method of evaluating relative repellency of chemicals to Blattella germanica (L.) is presented. The procedure was based on providing adult male cockroaches, deprived of food and water for 24 hr, with the choice of entering one of several identically baited harborages placed inside a stainless steel arena (1 m diameter). Harborage placement inside the arena was according to a latin square design randomized in two directions. One harborage was a control, treated on the exterior with water, while exteriors of other harborages were treated with test chemicals. All treatments were applied to harborages using an air brush and an apparatus powered by a gear motor. The designs of the treatment apparatus and arena are described. Results indicate that the arena test can provide a valid measure of the relative repellent activity of chemicals.


The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it offers a summary compilation of the main achievements in recent scholarship on the issue of pragmatic ethics – underlining the lack of consensus, but also showing basic agreement about the key features of the ethical philosophy of pragmatism. Second, it focus on two strands of pragmatism: the one spearheaded by Charles S. Peirce, which stresses the importance of habits, and the tendency of things (including human beings) to become habit-governed as the key to the development of 'concrete reasonableness,' the ultimate end by which human action ought to be guided; and the one led by John Dewey, which stresses the importance of deliberative activity – a 'dramatic rehearsal' of the possible consequences of every course of action – and the central role of educational work in developing the 'growth' of human nature, in itself the highest ethical ideal – an ideal that manifests itself in the 'reconstruction' of a new and more democratic society.


The interpretation of "The Mencius" by Chu Hsi is to make a comprehensive survey to the deduction of Chinese Classics. It base on quotation of sage and expanding from great virtue Confucian scholar interaction, to be a traditional classics, and to be a source of authority values. It edifies a moral conduct and forbearing pattern. On the other side, it adore classical comment of sages and the virtuous. To disturb the divine region, Chu Hsi devote himself encouragement also disclose his life experience and ideal. Thus, he interpreted a explanatory notes of classics, become to practice self-learning with body and mind, and also to implant the classics with nonstop inner abundant meanings. Interpreting the developing history of Chinese Classics carefully, the Chinese Classics in Song dynasty was an important key point of Mencius study extension. The interpretations started from Chinese Literature-Masters and philosophers (zibu), educed to Chinese Literature-Classics category (jingbu) continued the ancient "Sinology", and opened the new "Song Learning". It not only explained the elevation of classical position in "The Mencius", and also pointed out the importance of the literature in the history. Chu Hsi ( a literary author in the South Song dynasty) was in this environment and climate, therefore determined to collect the great undertaking of interpretations of the "Four Chinese Confucianism Literature" which is including Classics category (jingbu), Historio-graphical category (shibu), Masters and philosophers (zibu), Anthologies category or "Belles-lettres" (jibu).The paper is to seek the interpretation of "The Mencius" which was interpreted by Chu Hsi, also deduce the reason of changes in Confucianism explanatory note by comparing the developing history of "The Mencius" with the Chinese literature in Song dynasty. Let us not only know that why the Confucianism in Song dynasty is respect to Confucian orthodoxy, and aspire to continue the tradition, but also reply the challenge of Buddhism and Taoism. In this paper intend to analyze the subject by two sections here. First, bring up the origin of Confucianism, and analyze why that Chu Hsi constructed the "Four Chinese Confucianism Literature" system to replace "The Five Confucian Classics". Second, analyze the interpreted method used by Chu Hsi, and tell how he reversed the interpretations from Sui and Tang Dynasty, and how he integrated the Sinology and Song Confucianism to open up a new "Mencius Learning" history. Chu Hsi respected to "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", and esteemed "The Mencius", "The Confucius Analects". The man opened up hundred years of Mencius learning climate, and established an indestructible orthodox position of "The Mencius" in Confucianism. Thus, the paper restores the interpreted standpoint and methods of Chu Hsi, and compare with the west interpreted theory, also try to advance the explanation in the above-mentioned subject.


We have applied pressure (i.e., stress) to single-crystal YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ along the c axis to reduce the separation between the copper-oxygen planes. For the normal state, increasing pressures up to approx.1 kbar causes the c-axis resistivity to decrease dramatically and tend toward a metalliclike temperature dependence. No change is observed in the ab-plane resistivity. The superconducting T/sub c/ increases with decreasing interplane separation with dT/sub c//dPapprox. =0.1 K/kbar. Some implications of these findings for normal-state conduction mechanisms and models of high-T/sub c/ superconductivity for YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ are discussed.


The ANTARES Collaboration is currently constructing a large neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean sea. The telescope will use a three-dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to detect the Cherenkov light emitted in sea water by neutrino-induced muons. The array of 12 strings, which hold 900 PMTs, is planned to be deployed at a depth of about 2500 m near Toulon (France), 40 km off the coast. The scientific objective of ANTARES is to detect high-energy neutrinos, which may be produced at astrophysical sources -- sites of the cosmic-ray acceleration, such as quasars, gamma-ray bursters, microquasars and supernova remnants. The objectives also include the indirect search for WIMPs by looking for neutrinos from neutralino annihilations in the centres of the Sun, the Earth and the Galaxy. In 2003 two strings have been successfully deployed and connected to the electro-optical cable, which transmitted data to shore station.


Correspondence: Maria Immacolata Spagnuolo Department of Paediatrics, University Federico II, Naples, Via S. Pansini, 580131 Naples, Italy Tel + 39 081 746 4337 Fax + 39 081 746 4337 email firstname.lastname@example.com Background: Children with intestinal failure need parenteral nutrition to survive, and the only alternative is intestinal transplantation which still entails high mortality. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes in candidates and noncandidates for intestinal transplantation, and to compare the outcomes with and without transplant surgery. Patients and methods: The clinical records of children admitted to hospital from 1997 to 2008 because of intestinal failure were reviewed for etiology of intestinal failure, age at start of parenteral nutrition, duration of parenteral nutrition, indications for intestinal transplantation, and outcome. Results: Thirty-four children were enrolled. Median age at start of parenteral nutrition was 13.1 (median 20.7) months. There was no difference in survival rate between candidates and noncandidates for intestinal transplantation. Survival was significantly higher in candidates who did not undergo intestinal transplantation than in children who underwent intestinal transplantation (P , 0.001). Conclusion: Candidates for intestinal transplantation who did not undergo transplant surgery had a better outcome than children who underwent transplant surgery.


This paper describes how Almatis as a global supplier of premium alumina raw materials supports customers in the refractory industry to enhance their business in a more and more globalised business environment. In addition, key trends in the steel and the refractory industry are discussed. Finally, the Almatis global product concept is introduced. ALMATIS GLOBAL PREMIUM ALUMINA SUPPLIER In March 2004 the specialty chemicals business was sold by Alcoa to private equity firms and became Almatis. Almatis is a stand alone company and has a clear focus on the global and secure supply of premium aluminas. Almatis recently has made considerable investment in premium alumina manufacturing facilities: • Multi million dollar investment in large batch mill capacity in Ludwigshafen, Germany (March 2004), and re-started ground reactive aluminas batch mill in Bauxite, Arkansas, U.S. (June 2004), • Major investment ($18 million) in a fully integrated tabular alumina facility with approximately 85-90,000 mt sized tabular capacity in Qingdao, China, to expand existing tabular capacities (July 2004, to be operational in March 2006). A further important investment in 2005 is the introduction of the new global integrated software system SAP R3 within Almatis. It will further contribute to a harmonisation of processes such as customer order handling and global demand management. In the late 1990s the ABS (Almatis Business System) was initiated in the Rotterdam cement plant and subsequently implemented in all Almatis plants worldwide. The system was developed from the Toyota Production System and means a change from a classical push to an advanced pull system. The ABS is described in detail by Post et al. [1]. Almatis ensures consistency of supply by multiple manufacturing locations worldwide, as shown in Figure 1. New sales offices in China have been opened in Shanghai in November 2004, and Kaifeng in January 2005. In addition, a global network of agents and distributors with local warehousing ensures the desired proximity to customers. Product development and technical customer support are a fundamental part of Almatis ́ market strategy, which is supported by applications laboratories in all regions. Having started already in the year 2000, several task teams within Almatis, each responsible for a certain product line, investigated how to support the key changes in our refractory customers ́ industry, and how to position Almatis products for the future. As a result, Almatis decided to undertake a major change in its product offering and offers certain key products from within its refractory portfolio as "Global Products". These selected products are produced around the world in all Almatis plants to the same specifications. In cases where this has proved not to be the best option, it has been decided to identify the "Center of Excellence" for a certain product line and to concentrate all production for these products in this selected superior plant. The Global Product concept will help Almatis ́ customers to further reduce their costs. It will enable research and development departments to access similar raw materials worldwide. Reformulation and regional adjustment of products due to variations in raw materials will become the rare exception rather than the rule. Production facilities around the world have access to similar raw materials. When new refractory products are being developed for a global market in the future, this can be done more efficiently during the development phase when all formulations can be based as near as possible on these Global Products. Before the Global Product concept for Tabular Alumina and the other product lines of the Almatis raw material portfolio are presented in more detail, the key trends in the global steel and refractory industries will be discussed to give a better understanding of the business environment. Fig. 1: Almatis locations worldwide (RCP products) TRENDS IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY The steel industry is the main consumer of refractories, accounting for 60-70 % of the consumption. Therefore, the first focus of the discussion will be on the global trends in the steel industry. Since 2000, the steel market has shown an unpredicted boom due to the growth in China (Fig. 2). Also in South America and other parts of Asia, the steel market is steadily growing. However, the growth in the mature markets Europe, North America, and Japan is limited. The growing steel markets are summarised as "BRIC", which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The BRIC ́s share in world steel production is shown in Figure 3, and predicted by Olsher [3] to account for 50 % of the world steel production in 2010. Dollé [4] forecasts an increase of steel volumes by 2015 of about 425 million tonnes worldwide, of which BRIC accounts for about 273 million tonnes. This would result in about 50 % share of BRIC in the world steel market. A key driver for this development is, of course, the growth of demand in the developing economies. The steel consumption per capita is much lower in BRIC compared to the mature markets (Fig. 4). In addition other advantages of BRIC play an important role, like close proximity to raw material resources, lower labor costs, and energy. The cost leadership of the BRIC ́s can be ranked by full costs of steel slabs (2003) in Euro per tonne [3]: Russia < Brazil < ... < China < India < Japan < ... < EU 15 < NAFTA. And the steel industry profitability (margins) is clearly higher in BRIC [7]. Fig. 2: Crude steel production per region 1970-2004 [2] 0 50 100 150 200 250 30


Currently, many important light metals, including a luminium, magnesium and titanium, are produced via electrowinning involving the use of ca rbon anodes in the reduction of solid metal oxides in a molten salt bath (for example, cryolite , Na3AlF6 or calcium chloride, CaCl 2) operating at ~1000oC. The carbon anodes can contamin ate the light metal product and are consumed at a rapid rate, producing carbon dioxide emissions, necessitating frequent replacement, all of which affects cell stability an d reduces cell efficiency.


The treatment of images captured in situations where there is smoke or fog is a great challenge. Images corrupted by natural effects tend to lose color quality due to the dispersion and absorption of light by the cloudy medium formed by the particles present in the atmospheric environment leaving the im- age with low visibility of details, harming for example, applications of computer vision. Thus, in this sense, this article presents a hybrid method for attenua- tion of fog or smoke in digital images, the method is implemented through three stages, and in the first two stages noise filtering is done with two methods al- ready known in the literature, the method of He et al and Meng et al, and in the last step is to make a correction in the intensity of the pixels to improve color quality. After a statistical comparison of the filtering methods in this work us- ing objective metrics MSE, PSNR and SSIM, their visual results are illustrated, proving the improvement of the proposed method.


: This study presents a potential approach to applying image processing to the cocoa farming industry. Industry 4.0 is changing how technology is applied in cocoa cultivation. Research shows that pests and diseases are major factors that can reduce productivity, especially in the upstream and downstream industries. This study aims to conduct a literature review of several related studies, including previous research. Based on relevant references related to previous research, it is found that the case of disease attack in cocoa is most often studied. This study shows that the color analysis model is more inclined to the case of disease image patterns. The performance pattern of the existing approaches, the average accuracy is 82.85%. More challenges in image processing and e ff orts are made to improve accuracy but with lower processing complexity. This study also recommends a model that supports the implementation of image processing with machine learning technology in the upstream cocoa cultivation industry. The study results show that the proposed modeling framework can be the following reference for research development towards artificial intelligence technology to support Industry 4.0, particularly in cocoa cultivation.


Abstract : The research discussed herein entails an investigation of the effect of strain on polymer morphology. Model thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPEs) were subjected to tensile strains between 100% and 400% elongation and aged for varying lengths of time at ambient and elevated temperature. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to investigate the changes in morphology that occurred as a result of strain elongation. The effect of aging was also related to the TPE's mechanical properties such as abrasion resistance. DSC results indicate that the polymer undergoes morphology changes due to strain, resulting in some degree of phase mixing. DMA data suggest that strain aging causes a minor change in the glass transition temperature (Tg) but a significant change in the peak magnitude of E" and tan delta.


Adjustable access couplers for multimode fiber-optic networks have been constructed. The 4-port fiber-coupled devices make use of voltage-controlled total internal reflection by a thin film of nematic liquid crystal. The devices can serve as tee-couplers in unidirec-tional single-strand data buses or in duplexed two-strand buses. This active-coupler approach gives low loss between any pair of addressed terminals on the bus. In the devices, multimode fibers are coupled to rod lenses, and those lenses are, in turn, coupled to flint glass prisms that confine a 6-μm liquid-crystal layer. The achromatic switches have a 1.6 dB optical insertion loss, a tap-ratio that is controllable from -48 dB to -4.6 dB, a directionality of 44 dB, and an operating voltage of 5 to 20 V rms at 1 kHz. The structure is extendable to matrix switching arrays and to higher-order switching functions.


Hypertension is a disease that is described by an increase in blood pressure higher than the normal limit that lasts continuously for a long period of time. There are efforts to prevent and early detection of NCDs, namely the Integrated Development Post for Non-Communicable Diseases which is a form of community health-based effort under the guidance of the puskesmas in controlling PTM risk factors such as hypertension. This study aims to determine how the utilization of PTM Posbindu by hypertensive patients participating in BPJS Health at Aro Health Center in 2021. This study is a quantitative study with a cross sectional approach. The sampling technique used is simple random sampling. Data was collected by interview with a sample of 83 people. The results showed that there was a relationship between knowledge (p value = 0.019), and cadre support (p value = 0.010), with the utilization of PTM Posbindu by hypertension patients participating in BPJS Kesehatan at Aro Health Center in 2021. Be supposed to the puskesmas and cadres will work well together in preparing all matters related to activities to increase community participation in the utilization of PTM posbindu.


The present study aims at setting forth the socio-economic structure of Bolatlı village in State of Hüdavendigar, Kütahya District, Dazkırı city in the year 1261 (Hijri)/1845 (Gregorian) making use of the temettiat register numbered 7695). The people living in this village live on agriculture and animal husbandry. Other jobs are also done. Apart from smithery, these jobs are done for fringe benefit. The income sources of Bolatlı can be categorized as agriculture, animal husbandry, professions and others. Also, the families in Bolatlı pay two kinds of taxes: speacial tax and tithe. To clarify these issues, the place called as Bolatlı was chosen as the issue of the study.


In the Japanese population, sporadic late‐onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) cases had significantly higher frequencies of the A allele of α1−antichymotrypsin (ACT) gene as well as the $4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene than controls. The odds ratio for LOAD in APOE4 carriers with the ACT‐A allele was more than six times that in APOE4 carriers without the ACT‐A allele (21.1 vs 3.2). These results indicate that the ACT‐A allele is a risk modifier for LOAD in APOE4 carriers.


As a new solvent or functional materials,ionic liquid not only have many good properties,but achieve the goal of specific application by designing and changing anion-cationic and composition.In this paper,the author summarized the formation mechanism and harm of acid mine drainage,through analyzing and studiing massive literatures of treatment metal ions by ionic liquid,the author put forward the assumption of treatment acid mine drainage by ionic liquid as green solvent.


We analyze and compare the complexity of IMDD-based 56-Gb/s Multi-band CAP and DMT over 80-km DCF-free SMFs for data center interconnects. Multi-band CAP with small sub-band count has comparable complexity to DMT at similar OSNR performance.


Three different types of nickel oxide (NiO)-samarium doped ceria (SDC) composite particles were synthesized using the spray pyrolysis technique. The starting conditions were controlled to produce (1) capsule-type particles in which NiO is enveloped with SDC, (2) matrix-type in which SDC is finely dispersed within a matrix of NiO and (3) hollow-type, with a shell of less than 100nm in thickness. The capsule- and matrix-type composite particles were spherical, whereas the hollow-type particles were observed to be a mixture of hollow spheres and flake-like pieces which were probably broken particles. Measurements of the performance of single cells with La 0.9 Sr 0.1 Ga 0.8 Mg 0.2 O 3-δ as the electrolyte, Lao 0.6 Sr 0.4 CoO 3-δ as the cathode and each of the three particle types as the anode were made at 750°C. The cells fabricated from the matrix-type particles showed higher power density than those made from the capsule- and hollow-type particles. The better performance of the matrix-type composite was attributed to a lower ohmic loss. It is therefore considered that the matrix type of particle is likely to be best suited to the development of a fine and well-connected network structure which avoids aggregation of nickel phase during cell fabrication, resulting in a lower ohmic loss.


For a long period, there exists a big gap between urban and rural areas in supply of public goods. So the institutional arrangement of separate management between urban and rural areas becomes a social spotlight. The author makes an analysis on the competition relation between urban and rural areas, points out its condition for balancing public goods between urban and rural areas, sets up a supply model and comes up with some suggestions to better rural public goods.


We report the case of a child with Moyamoya disease during a cerebral angiography procedure in which the effects of propofol on the cerebral perfusion were seen to be different compared with isoflurane. We suggest propofol was associated with a better preservation of cerebral circulation compared to isoflurane in this case of Moyamoya, as it maintained blood supply to the watershed areas.


Background: Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect induced by chemotherapy agents like Cisplatin, Paclitaxel andDocetaxel. At present, there is no preventive strategy available against the development of neuropathy. This pilot study wasperformed to evaluate the feasibility of cold therapy and its impact on the incidence and severity of neuropathy induced bypaclitaxel in a dose dense adjuvant regimen among patients with breast cancer. Methods: All adult female patients with early breast cancer planned to be treated with dose-dense schedule of Adriamycin,cyclophosphamide and Paclitaxel were eligible. Ice boot and glove were applied for the duration of all four Paclitaxel infusionson one side while the contralateral limbs were taken as control. Peripheral neuropathy was evaluated and graded prior to eachPaclitaxel infusion and then at 3 and 6 months post treatment. Results: A total of 23 patients were recruited. Cold therapy was found to be feasible as no patient discontinued the ice glove andboot during Paclitaxel infusions. Neuropathy symptoms were observed more frequently and with higher grade of severity oncontrol limbs compared to experimental side. There were 5 patients who were switched to ice glove and boot therapy after theydeveloped peripheral neuropathy in the control limbs. These patients observed improvement in their symptoms subsequently. Conclusion: Cold therapy appears to be feasible and appears to have some potential to prevent Paclitaxel induced peripheralneuropathy in this pilot study. This role of cold therapy may be further explored and confirmed in future randomized trials.


Targeted ligand delivery (TLD) or selective delivery of cargo to peripheral axonal and neuronal compartments is a useful strategy for several unmet clinical and preclinical needs relevant to the health and diseases of peripheral nervous system (PNS). Potentially, PNS organization and architecture can be exploited to achieve TLD. As a tissue peripheral nerves are widely distributed and interact directly with almost all other tissues of the mammalian body. Peripheral neurons are highly polarized cells with long axonal processes and structural specializations along their length and termini. The neuronal projections are organized into discrete bundles of peripheral nerves that hugely vary in their size and fiber type constitution (sensory, motor, and autonomic) and wire the entire body along different planes and depths along their paths. The polarized nature of peripheral neuronal and axonal compartments provide an opportunity to access these compartments at the axonal termini of peripheral neurons, which are typically not segregated by blood-tissue (neural) barriers and relatively accessible to circulating materials. Materials entering axonal termini can be distributed throughout the respective axonal and neuronal compartment by retrograde transport systems that are integral to neurons.


We investigated Moran - Ricker model with time lag 1. It is made analytical and numerical study of the model. It is shown there is co-existence of various dynamic regimes under the same values of parameters. The model simultaneously possesses several different limit regimes: stable state, periodic fluctuations, and chaotic attractor. The research results show if present population size substantially depends on population number of previous year then it is observed quasi-periodic oscillations. Fluctuations with period 2 occur when the growth of population size is regulated by density dependence in the current year.


We present a parallel approximation algorithm for a class of mixed packing and covering semidefinite programs which generalize on the class of positive semidefinite programs as considered by Jain and Yao [6]. As a corollary we get a faster approximation algorithm for positive semidefinite programs with better dependence of the parallel running time on the approximation factor, as compared to that of Jain and Yao [6]. Our algorithm and analysis is on similar lines as that of Young [10] who considered analogous linear programs.


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Pretreatment with the neuroleptics viz, haloperidol and molindone significantly antagonised the vasodepressor response induced by apomorphine in anesthetized dogs. This vasodepressor response to apomorphine was, however, not significantly affected by atropine or propranolol pretreatment. Further, moliodone was also effective in antagonising apomorphine stereotypy in rats, apomorphine induced cage climbing behaviour in mice and apomorphine induced emesis in dogs. The results suggest that molindone is capable of blocking the peripheral dopamine receptors responsible for mediating apomorphine induced fall in blood pressure and also the central dopamine receptors responsible for mediating apomorphine induced stereotypy and emesis.


Aureococcus anophagefferens is a small pelagophyte that has caused harmful brown tide blooms in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland. It is visually indistinguishable from other small algae in environmental samples using standard light microscopy, and current species‐specific immunofluorescent counting techniques are not sensitive enough to detect concentrations lower than approximately 5000 cells mL−1. A TaqMan molecular probe was developed that is specific for A. anophagefferens based on a unique 18S rDNA sequence to detect cells at low levels. Real‐time quantitative PCR (qPCR) on an ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detection System was used to generate a standard curve of cycle thresholds (Ct) with known concentrations of A. anophagefferens (R2 = 0.98). Cell concentrations of A. anophagefferens in environmental samples are determined by linear regression analysis, with a sensitivity of approximately 1 cell mL−1. Estuarine and coastal water samples were collected along the U.S. East Coast from Florida to Delaware, and during a transect from the Delaware River to offshore mid‐Atlantic waters, then analyzed using qPCR. Aureococcus has a wide distribution at background concentrations as far south as Northern Florida, far outside the presently recognized range of the organism. It was also found in offshore Atlantic samples, suggesting a possible oceanic source for bloom inoculation. qPCR allows for detection of cells at prebloom levels, which is essential for effective management and prediction of brown tide blooms.


The spray of the Asian whipscorpion, TyPoPeltis crucifer Pocock, 1894, was investigated chemically using a high perfermance ]iquid chromatograph and a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The spray mainly consists of acetic acid, capr>,lic acid, and water. No other fatty acids, other volatile materials or active amines can be detected in the spray. The adult discharged ca. 5 to 15 × 10'5 mol of the tetal acid in the Ist shot.


Abstract In the linear theory of the isentropic zonally averaged circulation (Gallimore and Johnson, 1981), stable meridional circulations within the circumpolar vortex are forced by larger scale diabatic beating and angular momentum torques. The linear theory, however, could not describe important nonlinear interactions between the forcing of meridional circulations and the maintenance of the circumpolar vortex nor could the quasi-steady balance be ascertained. In this study, an isentropic numerical model is developed to investigate the forcing of the meridional circulation and its role and the role of angular momentum torques in maintaining the circumpolar vortex. The model is based on a set of isentropic zonally averaged equations applied to the Northern Hemisphere. The horizontal resolution is 5° of latitude while nine equally spaced isentropic levels are used for vertical resolution. The basic forcing of the model is diabatic heating and zonal pressure and friction torques. The distribution of diabat...


Reforms of laparoscopic surgery training-called for reduction of patient's risks from surgeons in training. In arthroscopy (joint surgery), like all keyhole surgery, training is a mixture of formal courses and practice on patients. Simple arthroscopy simulation models used in courses only cater adequately for an early learning curve. This leaves a gap in patient risk. VR applications are increasing in power to prod;ce complex training devices such as the Sheffield Knee Arthroscopy Training System (SKATS), an advanced knee surgery trainer. Requirements capture for safety critical VR training is more complex than conventional design. This paper discusses SKATS psychological requirements capture process. This exceeds accepted human factors in design and embraces the idea of risk-based innovation. We argue that design aim to reduce risk must utilise operationally defined risk concepts as design inputs. The system is substantially weakened if, due to the primacy of technological and HCI considerations, these are consigned to post design validation.


Maize(Zea mays L.) is one of the crops studied widely by QTL mapping. There are a lot of reports about QTL mapping for important traits,including yield components,plant height,grain moisture and growth period and so on.Grain yield is a very complicated quantitative trait,existing interactions not only with gene by gene,but also gene by environment.Studying the interactions between genes and environments and finding the yield QTL expressed in given environment are of importance in practice for developing new varieties adapting to some area.If consensus QTL of yield and its adjacent marker can be found,it will provide possibility for molecular breeding by marker assisted selection(MAS).The objectives of this experiment were to characterize QTL controlling yield,and to identify common genetic loci of yield as well as adjacent marker in differents environments,which could provide the basis for fine mapping of yield QTL and MAS.One hundred and ninety-one F_(2) individuals derived from the cross,Mo17×Huangzao4,were genotyped by SSR and AFLP markers to construct the genetic linkage map,and 184 corresponding F_(2∶3) families were phenotyped for maize yield components in Beijing and Xinjiang.The performance and correlations among 5 yield components including ears per plant(EPP),row number per ear(RN),kernel number per row(KR),100-kernel weight(KW) and grain yield per plant(GY) were evaluated,and the quantitative trait loci(QTL) were characterized.Totally,47 QTL were identified for 5 traits,locating on 9 chromosomes with exception of the chromosome 10.10,13,9,10 and 5 QTL were detected for EPP,RN,KR,KW and GY,respectively.Each of these QTL could explain 5.3% to 25.6% phenotypic variation of EPP,(4.5%) to 23.2% of RN,5.4% to 13.7% of KR,4.9% to(13.3%) of KW and 6.1% to 35.8% of GY.Most of the QTL are detected in single environment,indicating the significant interactions between QTL and environments.Different QTL relevant to the yield components which are phenotypically correlated each other can be identified easily in the same or adjacent chromosome regions.Several regions with clustered QTL relevant to multiple yield components identified in the study may provide the genetic loci of the universal yield QTL.


AbstractExisting automated compliance checking (ACC) efforts are limited in their automation and reasoning capabilities; the state of the art in ACC still uses ad hoc reasoning schema/methods, with lack of support for complete automation in ACC reasoning. First-order logic (FOL) representation and reasoning can provide a generalized reasoning method to facilitate complete automation in ACC reasoning. This paper presents a new FOL-based information representation and compliance reasoning (IRep and CR) schema for representing and reasoning about regulatory information and design information for checking regulatory compliance of building designs. The schema formalizes the representation of regulatory information and design information in the form of semantic-based (ontology-based) logic clauses that could be directly used for automated compliance reasoning. Two alternative subschemas, following a closed-world assumption and an open-world assumption for noncompliance detection, respectively, were proposed and...


Words matter. I firmly believe this. Every year, I torment my catechism class with lots of terms. Sometimes I try to soften the blow by calling them BSTW's: Big Scary Theological Words. But I still make them learn what justification and sanctification and many other words mean. I talk to them about the word pictures behind conversion and regeneration and illumination. Words matter. But then I entitle my convention essay "Properly Called: The Role of the 'Laity' in the Public Administration of the Gospel" and I have to put the word laity in quotation marks because, as we shall see, there's no such thing as a lay person in the public administration of the gospel. It's a little like saying "the role of an unemployed person in the workforce." It's a contradiction in terms. But it's hard to express the concept that I want to talk about in quick and easy language. Sometimes words fail us. The point is the proper place of the members of our congregations in speaking, preaching and teaching the word of God on behalf of the congregation as a whole. Is there a role for our members to play? What does it mean for the doctrine of the divine call? What kind of precedent does it set and how will it be viewed and understood by our members when we ask members to take a public place in our preaching and teaching of God's Word? We can't possibly say all there is to say about this subject, but I hope to do at least two things this afternoon. First, I want to establish what role, if any, members have in the public administration of the gospel and how that relates to God's call into the ministry. Second, I want to look at a few practical ways we have done and might do that, focusing especially on some questions about communion practice that have come up in our district.


The purpose of this paper is to analyses the phenomenon of Muslims responding to government policies in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a review of the polarization of Muslims towards government policies to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a change in the lifestyle of the Indonesian 'Muslim community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of them can be seen from their worship practices. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as a religious authority has issued a fatwa that supports the government's program in preventing the transmission of COVID-19. However, polarization occurred among the people, giving rise to new social categories that tended to be opposed to pro-government people. The methodology used is a religious sociology approach. The conclusion of this analysis is that Muslims are polarized in accepting government policies, namely; 1) irrational-passive groups, those whose views are not based on scientific logic and do not provide solutions in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) active-hating groups but the arguments given tend to be irrational, 3) rational groups, but some are semi-rational and support government policies, 4) rational groups but shy in presenting their arguments, and 5) rational-active groups supporting government policies.


The initial phase of supported employment is structured by a framework that guides the provision of assessment, job development, job placement, and intensive training services. After fading, the job coach is left with little or no structure for providing long-term follow up services. This article describes how the implementation of a leisure education program can support both the goal of employment, as well as the broader purpose of community participation. Key elements of the leisure education program are described, with examples of how the elements were incorporated in two supported employment programs. Preliminary research findings are offered for generalization of skills such as decision-making.


The aim of this paper is to present and discuss proposals around the unconscious and automatic behavior of the player while the activity of reading (cognitive processing) as well as the activities carried out by it in a controlled way (metacognitive processing). Through metacognitive activities, the student makes connections between different knowledge reaching understanding of reading.


This paper proves that the success rate of differential attack on self-synchronous HBB by Joux method is 0.31.It analyzes the relationship between the data complexity and success rate for obtaining the key and gives an improved method to the differential attack.By deriving differential distribution of SPS in HBB algorithm,the success rate is improved to 0.6,and the data complexity is decreased from 2 KB to 1.3 KB.


Coral reefs are extensively studied around the world with regard to their taxonomy, distribution, diversity, bleaching events, diseases, conservation, and restoration aspects. However, exhibition of blue pigmentation by corals under certain stressed condition such as high temperature and bleaching events has not been widely investigated. In the present study, during a massive bleaching event of coral reefs in 21 islands of Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, corals such as Acropora sp. and Turbinaria sp. and some other encrusting corals have displayed purple blue pigmentation in response to high temperature and to avoid complete bleaching of their food supplying symbiotic zooxanthellae. This documentation from this environment is being reported for the first time and thus further immunological and genomic studies are required to study the variation in the zooxanthellae in bleached and non-bleached corals as well as blue pigment showing and non-pigmented corals. The compound responsible for blue pigmentation is needed to be analyzed further which could be employed for other industrial and biomedical applications.


The rapidly increasing demand for circuit breakers with extremely high interrupting capacities has resulted in the development of a 10,000-megavolt-ampere (mva) 138-kv 3-cycle oil circuit breaker. Recent system growth and economic considerations have dictated the expanding utilization of switching equipment with this high short-circuit interrupting capacity which until 1953 was not recognized in the standards of the industry. Furthermore, the trend continues upward and breakers of even higher capacity are currently in the process of being manufactured. The 10,000-mva short-circuit interrupting requirement has extended from the original 230-kv application at the Grand Coulee Dam, but is still confined to the higher transmission voltages. Oil circuit breakers which fulfill this need at both 230 and 161 kv have already been described. 1·2 This paper presents a new oil circuit breaker answering this extreme interrupting requirement at 138 kv, and having a continuous current rating of 1,600 amperes.


It is only through acknowledging complexity and a willingness to engage in an ongoing quest for understanding that we can ever hope to fully understand the phenomena of problem gambling. While prevalence studies constitute one of the most frequently used types of research in the field of gambling studies, are they prone to be misinterpreted when efforts are made to gain an insight into the causes behind the development of gambling problems?


Growth in crustaceans is characterized by ontogenetic differentiation during the development of their body structures, so studies on relative growth are widely applied in this group. In this study, the growth pattern of the body structures was verified through the analysis of relative growth, and then, morphological sexual maturity of the mangrove crab Aratus pisonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) was estimated. The carapace width (CW), cheliped propodus length (PL), cheliped propodus height (PH), propodus width (PW), abdomen width (AW), and first pleopod length (FPL) of the crabs were measured. The relationships that best showed changes in the allometric coefficient among demographic categories were FPL vs. CW for males and AW vs. CW for females. This study verified the increased size of the cheliped in terms of length, width, and height, which occurred mainly in adult males. This increase reflects the importance of this structure in the reproductive processes of A. pisonii. For females, the increase in abdomen growth reflects their reproductive potential, since it is a structure that provides protection for eggs.


Since the first discovery of conducting polymers in 1977, the field of conducting polymers has become one of the most active fields in materials science due to its special structure and excellent physical and chemical properties. The antenna of intelligence label, namely Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) printed mainly by conductive ink consisting of conductive polymers displays the merits of environmental protection, efficient and low cost. In past decades, considerable efforts have been devoted to improving the electrical conductivity of conducting polymers by the method of "doping". With the advantages of spherical symmetry or quasi-symmetric structure, high grafting density and high charge density, spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) are expected to be novel dopant of conducting polymers. In this article, the trends, doping mechanism and development prospects of conducting polymers doped with spherical polyelectrolyte brushes are described on the basis of an overview of the general doping system of conducting polymers.


The chromosome constitution of 64 bladder tumors was examined. All well‐differentiated, moderately differentiated, and 20% of poorly differentiated tumors were in the diploid range (42–49 chromosomes); the remainder had high ploidy levels without a modal preference. There are no characteristic karyotypic abnormalities specific to transitional cell carcinomas. Evolution of karyotypic change was observed in several recurrent tumors. The stability of well‐differentiated and moderately differentiated tumors is discussed.


Intraosseous pressure (IOP) and cerebrospinal fluid pressure (CSFP) in the lumbar region were measured simultaneosly in two groups of patients with either spinal canal stenosis or disc herniation, to compare dynamic changes with positional changes, and to learn whether these pressure changes may have some role in the onset of claudication. IOP and CSFP showed almost the same change patterns with positional changes in two groups. They were lowest in the prone position and highest at the standing position. In standing with flexion, they were almost the same as in the prone position, but in extension they increased above the standing pressure. These dynamic pressure changes could act as a compression force to the cauda equina in the patient with spinal canal stenosis.


Through analyzing ethylene plant debutanizer,transforming thermal bypass technology of the original process,simulating and calculating computation used ProII software,the problem of original tower top pressure unstable operation is solved by increasing thermal bypass method.


The present invention provides a compound of formula (I) [wherein, n is 1 or 3; R is hydrogen or Stress hormone levels and / or decreased androgen hormone levels relates to a method of treating a disease or disorder characterized increased in Kentai.


Spread bend to introduce the ball (10), then even when the spring back to its original position, the ball socket (1) which can not as fragile or elastic deformation made of an elastic deformable material having at least one region with the geometry (6), a ball socket for receiving the ball (1) is disclosed. Thus, assembly of the ball joint having a ball socket (1) and the ball (10) is facilitated, the ball (10) is securely received in the ball socket (1) in accordance with the present invention.


In this paper we investigate the performance of using, within the EEG classification algorithm, feature extractors such phase synchrony and relative power spectral density indices calculated for seven frequency bands - delta (0.1-4 Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), alpha1 (7-10 Hz), alpha2 (10-13 Hz), beta1 (13-18 Hz), beta2 (18-30 Hz), gamma (30-70 Hz) -, that are believed to mostly reflect functionally different components of cognitive cortical activity. For classification of five mental tasks (baseline, count, letter, math and rotate) a multi layer perceptron (MLP) neural network classifier was used. A standard principal component analysis (PCA) was applied here in order to reduce the high dimensionality of the input data. To quantitatively assess the performance of the extracted features a comparative study between their corresponding results and between them and some other EEG features is also provided.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of telomerase activity in the development and progression of gastric cancer (GC) and if knowedge of telomerase activity may be an indicator for the early diagnosis and poteneial treatment of GC.

METHODS
Using PCR-based TRAP (telomeric repeats amplification protocol) assay, we examined telomerase activity in 176 samples of gastric mucosa. Meanwhile, some tumor tissues were also analyzed by serial dilution.

RESULTS
Telomerase activity detected in chronic atrophy gastritis (CAG), intestinal metaplasia (IM); dysplasia (Dys); and gastric cancer (GC) was 24.6% (14/57), 38.9% (7/18), 37.5% (3/8), and 92.3% (60/65) respectively; which was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (NT) (P < 0.01-0.05). Telomerase activity in group of GC was also significantly higher than that in group of CAG, IM and Dys (P < 0.01). Frequencye and levels of telomerase activity were not associated with patients' sex, tumor location, size gross type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastases, differentiation and clinical stage.

CONCLUSION
Telomerase activity is detected not only in GC tissues, but also in some premalignant lesions or diseases.


This article considers the potential for tourism to contribute to efforts to secure justice. It reviews the evolution of tourism from a respected tool for personal development and social transformation to its now industrialised form under neoliberalism where its value is estimated in terms of employment and income. Despite this context, recognition that the justice issues of tourism and justice capacities of tourism are worthy of analysis has grown in the 2000s. Justice tourism takes many forms and is facilitated by a number of means and stakeholders, but at its core it is focused on ensuring tourism delivers more sociologically and ecologically benign forms of tourism development which create better futures for all stakeholders, but particularly the hosting communities. Efforts to make tourism more responsible, ethical and just have been critiqued, both from a neoliberal perspective that tourism is not a site for moralisation and from a critical race positioning that many forms of justice tourism might not attain their goals of solidarity and emancipation.Looking forward, this analysis suggests that it is imperative that future research and action addresses the larger structural issues of justice and that the critical tourism studies movement is potentially a promising vehicle for this work. Additionally challenging contemporary times demand renewed and more rigorous focus. Future topics to consider include structural issues of mobility in a precarious world, climate injustices, justice for non-human others in the era of the Anthropocene and diverse paradigms and worldviews for thinking through justice tourism.


The purposes of this research were to 1) develop Management Information System for instruction on web applications. 2) evaluate the efficiency of the developed system for instructional Management on web applications 3) examine satisfactions of the system users. The efficiency of MIS development were evaluated by five experts. The Satisfactions of the system users composed of two groups including a group of 10 lecturers and a group of 50 third-year students, from computer science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University under the Royal Patronage. The researcher used the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as the original software model to develop the instructional system in this study. The research instruments composed of 1) the MIS for instructional via web application 2) the evaluation form for the experts to evaluate the system efficiency and 3) the satisfaction form for the system users. Data were analyzed by the statistical devices including mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed that 1) the developed MIS for instruction via web application was efficient involving the user management system, course information system, tracking system, assessment and evaluation system, and communication system. For the present study, it divided the users into 3 groups including system administrators, lecturers, and students 2) the overall of MIS efficiency was found in a high level and 3) the overall satisfactions of both user groups were at high level.


Objective To observe in vivo antitumor effect of phlorotannins from Sargassum fusiforme. Methods S180sarcoma-bearing mice were divided into control and low-, mid- and high-dose phlorotannin groups, each containing 12 animals. The low-, mid- and high-dose phlorotannin groups received intragastric administration of 62.5 mg/kg, 125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg phlorotannins once daily for 8 days, respectively, while the control group was treated with distilled water. The mice were sacrificed on day 9, and the tumor weight, thymus and spleen index, T lymphocyte proliferation, NK cell activity, and serum levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD), glutathion peroxidase(GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde(MDA) were then measured. Results The phlorotannins at different concentration increased the thymus index(P0.01). Compared with control group, the tumor weight decreased, but lymphocyte proliferation and NK cell activity improved in mid- and high-dose phlorotannin groups(P0.05). Meanwhile, SOD and GSH-Px contents increased but MDA level decreased in high-dose phlorotannin group compared with control group(P0.05). Conclusion The phlorotannins from Sargassum fusiforme can possess the antitumor role, which might be related to the improvement of immune and antioxidative effect.


This paper presents a parametric and performance cycle analysis of a high performance aircraft engine using Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS). NPSS is an object oriented tool developed for the modeling and analysis of propulsion systems based on aero- thermodynamic equations. A low bypass mixed-flow turbofan engine with data for both design and off-design performance parameters available in literature is modeled in the numerical environment. The component characteristics are iterated as part of the modeling procedure. The design and off design simulations are carried out for the entire flight envelope and the performance deck is validated using the data of the modeled engine presented in the literature. The presented model may serve as a baseline for modeling and simulation of jet engines for academic and research purposes.


To establish a high performance liquid chromatographic(HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of hesperidin and baicalin in Jian'er Xiaoshi Oral Liquid.The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax SB-C18(3.0mm×250mm,5μm) column at the detection wavelength of 280nm,using a mobile phase consisted of 1% acetic acid solution and acetonitrile in gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.35ml·min-1.The linear ranges were 15.5-155.0μg·ml-1 and 58.0-290.0μg·ml-1 for hesperidin and baicalin,respectively.The average recoveries of hesperidin was 99.5% and the relative standard deviations was 1.1%,those of baicalin were 99.6% and 0.85%.


For the practical situation of lower yields of lump and friability of lump,the washed grained coal product has been put forward through investigations,studys and demonstrations in Yangquan First Mine.The new product creats considerable economic benefits.


The invasive African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) is currently spreading over a large area in western France. In order to investigate the population expansion processes we studied the feasibility of implanted transmitters use. Seven frogs were radiotracked during the winter period. Even in this cold period of the year, individual movements were observed in the natural water network, and also in the flooded terrestrial surrounding area. These areas play a key role in the invasive process. During the study, freezing and predation by the polecat (Mustela putorius) seemed to be the major adult mortality factors.


Editor – I welcome very much the excellent but very concise conference report on neuromuscular conditions by Edwards and Phillips.[1][1] However, its brevity results in some of the points raised by the speakers or in discussion being omitted.

Developing children into young adults is challenging,


This letter describes the use of a sensitive photoresist for direct imaging of optical intensity profiles in near-field photolithographic experiments. A comparison between experimental patterns in exposed, developed photoresist and calculated profiles of intensity shows that this procedure provides a reliable semiquantitative image of the irradiance distribution in the near field; experiment and theory correlate adequately. A potential use of the superficial diffraction contrast recorded in photoresist as the basis for a new method of the fabrication of nanostructures is discussed.


A thorough understanding of the neutron star crust is necessary to describe some observations of transient events such as quasi-periodic oscillations after magnetar giant flares and cooling following outbursts in low-mass X-ray binaries. I perform molecular dynamics simulations to model the crystalline structure of the crust and also compute shear modulus and liquid-solid phase diagrams.


This article explores the places of the work of ,,Gul and Navruz" in connection with folklore and analyzes several features in it.As well as a number of folklore-specific features in the epic.


The convergence of different types of networks, such as for telecommunication and data transfer, on the hardware layer has an obvious impact on both network management and security management, which especially affects network service providers as well as data centers. This paper argues that also methods, algorithms, and tools from both research domains, network management and security management, should systematically be reviewed for synergies. It first analyzes the current state of the art in both domains and identifies gap areas that require further investigation. Then, the Customer Network Management for the X-WiN (WebCNM) network management tool, which started as a research prototype in the pan-European research and education network, GÉANT, is presented along with selected extensions that were designed and implemented to integrate security management functionality. Several security event visualization options and their use within the European industry-focused Safe And Secure European Routing (SASER) project are discussed. Keywords–Network management; Security management; Integrated management; Enterprise management; Convergence.


The d-q harmonics detection algorithms are dominant methods to generate current reference for active power filter (APF). They are often processed in synchronous frame and time domain. This paper researches the frequency characteristics of d-q synchronous transformation which are quite related to the design of close loop regulator and analysis of the performance. Intuitively, the synchronous transformation is explained with amplitude modulation (AM) in this paper. Then the synchronous filter is proven as time-invariant linear transformation and modeled with transfer functions in stationary frame and frequency domain. The frequency-domain analytical models imply that the synchronous transformation has an equivalent effect of frequency transformation, with which the synchronous filter achieves a band pass filter from the low pass filter in synchronous frame. To simplify the analytical model, an instantaneous positive/negative sequence frame is proposed as an expansion of symmetrical components theory. Based on these frequency analytical models, the synchronous filter is compared with the traditional filters in stationary frame. Further more, the d-q harmonics detection methods are improved to get rid of the inherent coupling of synchronous transformation. Typical examples are given to verify previous analysis and comparison. Simulation and experimental results are also given.


Aqueous potassium salt of serine was proposed as an alternative absorbent to monoethanolamine (MEA) and its absorption characteristics were studied. The experiment has been conducted using screening test equipment with NDIR type gas analyzer and vapor-liquid equilibrium apparatus. absorption/desorption rate and net amount of absorbed in cyclic process are the criteria to assess the absorption characteristics in this study. Effective loading of potassium salt of serine and MEA are 0.425 and 0.230 respectively. Cyclic capacities are 0.354 and 0.298 for potassium salt of serine and MEA. The absorption rate of the potassium serinate decreased sharply at loading is 0.1 and were maintained approximately at half of MEA. To enhance the absorption rate of aqueous potassium salt of serine, small quantities of rate promoters, namely piperazine and tetraethylenepentamine were blended, so that rich loading were increased by 13.7% and 18.7% respectively. The rich loading of potassium salt of serine was 29.2% and 35.0% higher than those of aqueous sodium and lithium salt of serine, respectively. The absorption rate of potassium salt of valine and isoleucine which have similar molecular structures to serine were lower than that of serine because of the presence of bulky side group. Precipitation phenomena during absorption were discussed by the aid of literatures.


Endemic nephropathy (EN) is a chronic tubulo-interstitial disease of unknown etiology, and it is associated with increased frequency of urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary system. Histologically, atrophy of proximal tubules and diffuse cortical fibrosis is the most prominent finding. Hyperplastic arteriopathy of small and middle-sized arteries is also reported as a constant finding in EN cases. Renal artery changes are observed in high frequency in patients with renal cell carcinoma, as well as in patients with urothelial carcinoma of renal pelvis from non-endemic region. Aim of this study was to analyze renal artery changes in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary system and endemic nephropathy.


David Foster Wallace's magnum opus, Infinite Jest, is 1079 pages long. The narrative is arguably endless. Thus, the complete omission of a positively enforced queer culture is troubling and presumably intentional. In this paper, I interrogate the lack of LGBTIQ characters in Infinite Jest through multiple angles. Initially, I examine the overall 'queerness' of Wallace's rhetoric versus the lack of queer community in his diegeses. With the aid of feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray's contentions on male and female constructions of language, I postulate that Wallace's rhetoric is in fact not inherently 'queer', but profoundly masculine – therefore, grounded in privilege. This argument is extended by the claim that – as a result of its masculine discourse – Infinite Jest creates a specifically homoerotic landscape rather than an overarching queer one. I navigate this homoeroticism primarily through a critique of the tropes of homoerotic literature in conjunction with the narrative of Hal Incandenza – the 'protagonist' of Infinite Jest, who finds himself the anomaly in the privileged, homophobic, and racist environment of Enfield Tennis Academy. I suggest that Hal's character development is in fact an allegory of the homosexual rite of passage – 'coming out'. Given this, I further argue that having Infinite Jest grounded in homoeroticism justifies the negative portrayal of a more 'flamboyant' queer culture found in Wallace's prose, largely through an investigation of the troubling depiction of the transgender community.


This article investigates the status of the foot–strut split in the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. The East Midlands area is a linguistic transition zone between northern English varieties with a phoneme inventory of five short vowels, where foot and strut are represented by the same phoneme, and southern English varieties which have the foot–strut split and therefore six short vowels. However, a lack of research on the distribution of the foot and strut vowels in the East Midlands exists and to fill that gap, this article examines the possible diffusion of the split northwards as predicted by Trudgill (1986). Reading-passage data, stratified by age group, sex and location is used to provide an apparent time, multilocal view on the distribution of the two vowel categories. Surprisingly, the changes that we notice do not concern the increasing distance between foot and strut but mainly foot-fronting in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and strut-retraction in Derbyshire which leads to an increase in overlap between foot and strut in all three counties.


This paper uses the 2011-2012 national baseline investigation data of CHARLS,which is shorted for China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study,to analyse the factors that influence the rural 60 or older people's living arrangement preferences. Under the premise of distinguishing whether the old have their spouses or not,the research adopts contingency tables to assess the association between the old's living arrangement preferences and the potential influencing factors,and then uses Logistic regression model to identify significant factors that determining the living arrangement preferences. The results show clearly that the old who live in the rural districts prefer to live with their children or at least live close to them. On the condition of having their spouses accompanied,the middle aged old people and those who show severely inability in performing instrumental activities of daily living tend to choose to live together with their children. It also shows that the old with mild or severe depression or whose children have non-agricultural Hukou prefer not to live with their children. And the old who depend on their children to support them prefer to live with their children. On the condition that they don't have their spouses,the old who are suffering from slightly or severely inability in the activities of daily living all prefer to live with their children. But compared with the condition that they don't have their spouses,those with mild or severe depression have a higher probability not to live with their children. For those whose children have non-agricultural Hukou,they have a lower probability of choosing to live with their children.


Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive 360 viewing experience and has been widely used in vast areas such as education, entertainment and training. To further widen its applications, networked 360 VR video becomes essential. Quality of Experience (QoE), which objectively measures user experience, is vital for 360 VR video transmission mechanism design. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are few subjective QoE metric for 360 VR video transmission over wireless networks. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by proposing a general QoE model based on subjective quality evaluation experiments. First, the state-of-the-art 360 VR video processing and wireless transmission schemes are used to conduct subjective experiments according to the international standard. Then, how user experience is affected by different factors, including users' viewing angle, tiling (how the 360 VR video is partitioned into smaller parts to facilitate transmission), stall and resolution switch, is analyzed mathematically. A general QoE model is finally proposed to facilitate the future 360 VR video streaming mechanism design.


This paper reports the design and performance of CPW fed UWB antenna having two U–shaped slots etched in the radiating structure. UWB performance of proposed structure is obtained through the truncated shape of the patch and L-slits etched in ground plane. By applying two U- shaped slots in a radiating patch, we achieved dual notch band characteristics. The proposed antenna is simulated by applying CST Microwave Studio simulator. This antenna provides wide impedance bandwidth of 12.585 GHz (2.74GHz - 15.325 GHz) with dual notched band characteristics. This antenna may be proved as a useful structure for modern wireless communication systems including UWB band.This paper reports the design and performance of CPW fed UWB antenna having two U–shaped slots etched in the radiating structure. UWB performance of proposed structure is obtained through the truncated shape of the patch and L-slits etched in ground plane. By applying two U- shaped slots in a radiating patch, we achieved dual notch band characteristics. The proposed antenna is simulated by applying CST Microwave Studio simulator. This antenna provides wide impedance bandwidth of 12.585 GHz (2.74GHz - 15.325 GHz) with dual notched band characteristics. This antenna may be proved as a useful structure for modern wireless communication systems including UWB band.


The literature on Eskimo-Aleut languages typically recognizes nouns, verbs, and particles as syntactic categories, sometimes also admitting other members such as locative adverbs, demonstratives, or interjections as additional categories. To a large degree this is due to the Lexicalist Hypothesis (Jackendoff 1972, Selkirk 1982) – the idea that words are built in a morphological module of grammar in which they receive a category, and then these categorized words become the atoms of the syntactic module of grammar. Given that, by and large, words in Inuit are either nominal (e.g., taking case and possessive marking) or verbal (e.g., taking mood, person agreement, etc.), the natural outcome when such a theory of grammar is applied to the language is to categorize most words as nouns or verbs, with the remaining words classified as particles.


The proceedings contain 63 papers. The topics discussed include: doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in human organotypic cardiac slices is modulated by P38 MAPK inhibition in a sex- and isoform-specific manner;validation of a modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors after stereotactic ablative radiosurgery for lung cancer;safer use of aspirin in older adults, need for a consensus;efficacy of facemasks in prevention of COVID-19: a systematic review;practice patterns of rapid influenza diagnostic test;equity and inclusion in patient centered outcomes research: lessons from the adaptable study at Montefiore site;a solution to decrease potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) use during hospitalization;predictors of misperceptions, risk perceptions, and personal risk perceptions about COVID-19 by country, education and income;cognitive function and the consumption of probiotic foods in older adults: an NHANES study;and registered dietitian nutritionist care impacts nutrition-related outcomes for patients with cancer in the outpatient setting.


In order to achieve the real-time detection of the rotating inertia from machine drive system,a ADuC812 single-chip microcomputer is taken as a core and a control circuit for other perpheral chips is used.Two circuits for SCM signal acquisition and processing,and a circuit for relay control are realized in design hardware.The design method of main program flow chart is presented in software.The hardware testing results show that the circuit can implement the the real-time detection of rotary inertia rapidly and conveniently.The hardware circuit has simple structure,and the system has good linearity and low noise figure.


In this paper, we propose a human daily activity recognition method that is used for Ambient Assisted Living. The proposed system is able to learn a user's activities using the data from motion and door sensors. We extract low level features from the sensor data and feed the features to a model that combines support vector machines (SVMs) and conditional random fields (CRFs) to give accurate recognition results. We propose to combine SVM and CRF classifiers in a hierarchical model which results in better accuracies and can also make use of high level features. We conducted experiments and presented the effectiveness and accuracies of the proposed method.


The CLLC-type resonant DC Transformer (simplified as DCT) has been proposed in the coexisting hybrid AC/DC microgrid to substitute the traditional bulky line-frequency AC transformer. It can ensure the bus voltage matching and galvanic isolation as the high-frequency operating condition, high power-density as well as the adjustable characteristics. However, it is worthy pointing out that the hybrid AC/DC microgrid is a special application, which often poses a series of specific challenges to the DCT design, such as the transmission power features, efficiency, etc., which largely depend on the deviation between the switching and resonant frequency. Therefore, the resonant point of the CLLC-type resonant DCT is analyzed to guide its future parameters design in the hybrid AC/DC microgrid. Based on the system description, the equivalent mathematic model of the CLLC-type DCT is established to derive the resonant point number under various load conditions by minimizing the reactive power. An example is given with the simulation results to verify the theoretical analysis. Lab-scale CLLC-type DCT prototype has been developed for experimental verifications.


For the sensitivity of Deng algorithm to noise,an adaptive image enhancement algorithm is proposed.According to the human visual properties,the algorithm uses the basic principle of the Deng algorithm to get automatic parameters of method adaptively.It can not only keep the original advantages such as easy realization、quick calculation,but also play a certain role in restraining noise.By comparing the result of adaptive image enhancement algorithm and that of other image enhancement algorithm,the adaptive image enhancement algorithm can get automatic parameters of method adaptively.Besides the easy realization of original Deng algorithm,it can improve the performance in restraining noise.


1 In order to elucidate the physiological and potential pathological roles of endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) in coronary artery contraction and relaxation, we undertook the present study to examine the action of ET‐1 itself, and the combined effects of ET‐1 with vasoconstrictor agonists such as acetylcholine (ACh), histamine, and 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT), all of which have been implicated in the genesis of coronary spasm. 2 Isometric tension and cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in a ring segment of porcine coronary artery loaded with fura‐2 were measured simultaneously. 3 ET‐1 contracted the artery in a concentration‐dependent manner; and nisoldipine, a Ca2+ channel blocking drug of the 1,4‐dihydropyridine type, antagonized the ET‐1 action non‐competitively. A radioreceptor binding assay also indicated the mutually exclusive binding of ET‐1 and (+)‐[3H]‐PN200–110, a Ca2+ channel ligand, to the membrane fraction of porcine coronary artery. 4 ET‐1 (10–100 pm) increased tension and [Ca2+]i in a parallel manner, while at higher concentrations (1–10 nm) it produced further contraction with a small increase in [Ca2+]i. 5 ET‐1 (30–100 pm) selectively potentiated the 5‐HT‐induced contraction 1.5 to 2 times over the control without causing a significant increase in [Ca2+]i, which seems to be qualitatively similar to a tumour promoting phorbol ester, 12‐deoxyphorbol 13‐isobutylate (DPB). Bay K 8644 (10 nm), on the other hand, potentiated the contraction in response to practically all agonists used and affected a concomitant increase in [Ca2+]i. 6 A Ca2+ channel blocking drug such as diltiazem abolished the increase in [Ca2+]i and partially attenuated the mechanical potentiation produced by a small amount of ET‐1 in combination with 5‐HT. 7 The results suggest that ET‐1 and 5‐HT interact functionally at the cellular or subcellular level and modulate the Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile elements through the possible activation of protein kinase C.


Historically tolls played a significant role in financing the development of roads in the United Kingdom, but, with the exception of a limited number of estuarial crossings, they have now fallen into disuse. This paper is concerned with two issues. First, the role that tolls played in the early growth of the road system is discussed and lessons that may be learned from this are considered. Second, current official policy with respect to existing tolled facilities is examined. Attention is particularly focused on the financial problems that have arisen because of the presently favored "accountancy" approach to tolling and cost recovery. Some evidence is also offered that there are effects on industrial location and traffic patterns when only specific links in the road network are subjected to tolls. The main conclusion of this work, which itself stems from a much larger study of the tolling of estuarial crossings in the United Kingdom, is that there are serious problems in initiating ill-thought-out toll policies. Although on first-best economic principles there is a logical case for charging the road user the relevant costs of the infrastructure provided, and doing it in such a way that the user is fully cognizant of the resource costs involved in each journey, in a world where annual taxation and other less direct means of road user charges abound it is difficult to devise the appropriate second-best pricing rules on which tolls should be based. Simply "tacking" tolled facilities on to an existing road network is seen to be potentially distortive.


University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California. A cute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a common disorder that is frequently managed by hospitalists. This management is expected to expand over the next several years because of a continuing increase in the number of ADHF admissions coupled with a plateau or possible decline in the number of practicing cardiologists (Figure 1). In addition, 12% of fellowship training positions in cardiology were eliminated between 1995 and 2001, and the fact that the current number of training positions is inadequate to meet future demands is not recognized. Given the severity of this disorder, the limited data from randomized, controlled clinical trials, and the limitations of current treatment, this management can be both challenging and rewarding. The goal of this special supplement of the Journal of Hospital Medicine is to assist hospitalists in this endeavor by summarizing the currently available data and treatment options and presenting a rational evidence-based algorithm for the management of ADHF. A multidisciplinary approach to heart failure has been shown to reduce cost, decrease length of stay, curtail readmissions, and improve compliance. By leading and coordinating teams of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nutritionists, physical therapists, and case managers and by developing and implementing indications for cardiology consultation, hospitalists can facilitate this multidisciplinary approach. However, it is important to remember that hospitalists do not replace cardiologists, who remain a valuable and key component of this multidisciplinary team. Their input is vital in developing care pathways and criteria for consultation, and they, along with primary care physicians, will be the primary source of patient care following hospital discharge. Good communication between hospitalists and cardiologists is essential to optimize the care of patients with ADHF. Maximizing the efficacy of ADHF care requires a thorough understanding of (1) the causes and potential treatments for the patient's acute decompensation, (2) the management of the patient's chronic heart failure, and (3) potential future therapies. Strategies to improve the continuum of heart failure care have been employed to help improve patient outcomes. For example, hospital-based disease management programs have consistently been shown to optimize care and reduce rehospitalization rates in patients with heart failure. These programs involve a multidisciplinary, multifaceted approach to care in order to provide a continuum of care extending from hospitalization and into a patient's home environment. Alpesh Amin received research support and editorial assistance from OptumHealth Education through an educational grant from Otsuka American Pharmaceuticals and an honorarium from OptumHealth Education, in support of this work.