The substituted cysteine accessibility method was used to probe the surface exposure of a pore-lining threonine residue (T6′) common to both the glycine receptor (GlyR) and γ-aminobutyric acid, type A receptor (GABAAR) chloride channels. This residue lies close to the channel activation gate, the ionic selectivity filter, and the main pore blocker binding site. Despite their high amino acid sequence homologies and common role in conducting chloride ions, recent studies have suggested that the GlyRs and GABAARs have divergent open state pore structures at the 6′ position. When both the human α1T6′C homomeric GlyR and the rat α1T6′Cβ1T6′C heteromeric GABAAR were expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, their 6′ residue surface accessibilities differed significantly in the closed state. However, when a soluble cysteine-modifying compound was applied in the presence of saturating agonist concentrations, both receptors were locked into the open state. This action was not induced by oxidizing agents in either receptor. These results provide evidence for a conserved pore opening mechanism in anion-selective members of the ligand-gated ion channel family. The results also indicate that the GABAAR pore structure at the 6′ level may vary between different expression systems.


The general impact of unregulated shifting cultivation in the tropics altered the landscapes that were once large tracts of evergreen dense primary forests into fragmented mosaics of small habitat islands of degraded primary forests, secondary forests, and low quality bamboo forests (1, 2). After slash and burn agriculture (jhum) at lower elevations in northeast (NE) India, the secondary succession passes from a herbaceous weedy community to a bamboo forest (2). Bamboo is a predominant understory species in forest ecosystems of NE India (2). Out of the 150 species of bamboo available in India, 58 are present in NE India (3). Bamboo is an important commercial source for a variety of purposes, such as manufacture of paper; construction of houses, bridges, furniture, bags, and baskets; and use as, although to a limited extent, fuel and fodder (4). Others (5) also mentioned the economic importance of bamboo in the form of food (young shoot), timber, and agricultural implements (culms and branches) in three states (Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Sikkim) of NE India. Bamboo is also inextricably linked with the traditional culture of peoples of NE states, particularly Mizoram, and various festivals are based on it with the performance of the bamboo dance. Therefore, in real sense, bamboo is poor's man timber in the NE states of India. However, one menace occurred from 2005–2006 in NE India in the form of famine, resulting from an increase in the numerical strength of rodents after synchronous bamboo flowering. Bamboo shows a characteristic simultaneous mass flowering after long intervals of several decades (6). Bamboo species flower suddenly and simultaneously, then all the flower clumps die, leading to drastic changes in forest dynamics and environmental conditions, for example, light intensity, seedling survival, organic matter decomposition, and nutrient cycling, although complete destruction of bamboo clumps requires another few years (7). Bamboo communities follow active nutrient cycling, and their vigorous growth and litter production ameliorates nutrient impoverished coal mine spoil and tropical soil fertility (2, 4, 8). However, after mass flowering and death, nutrient uptake by the bamboo ceases and large amounts of dead organic matter are deposited. Several studies emphasized the role of bamboos in soil nutrient conservation (2, 4, 9). Also, bamboos in the early successional fallows of slash and burn agriculture systems of NE India are very important in stabilizing nutrient cycling (2, 9). However, there is very little information on the impact of bamboo flowering on soil properties. Henceforth, in the present study, I confined my quest toward the impact of the flowering bamboo stand on soil fertility. Likewise, the present work attempted to investigate whether soil fertility declines after bamboo flowering because of the disruption of nutrient cycling or is it maintained because of release of nutrients from decomposing organic matter. Further, the findings may be relevant in relation to plant growth and vegetation succession. We therefore examined the surface soil nutrient status and microbial population of sites after bamboo flowering compared with those with living bamboo species in a seasonal tropical forest in a NE state of India. Northeast India forms a significant portion of both the Himalaya and IndoBurma biodiversity hotspots (10–12). The study area was Mizoram, the 23rd state of the Indian union; it covers an area of 21 087 sq km and is sandwiched between Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh (3). The vegetation of Mizoram, according to proposed classification (13), is tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest in the lower altitude hills; subtropical to montane subtropical in the high hills. A major portion of Mizoram's forests are therefore tropical evergreen and semievergreen. The sampling site (23845 and 24831N latitude and between 92816 and 93826E longitude at an elevation of 850 m above mean sea level) was located in periurban settlement of Western Aizawl (3 km away from Mizoram University), the capital of Mizoram, and samplings were performed along a hilly transect varying across slope gradient. The climate was humid tropical, characterized by short winters and long summers with heavy rainfall. During the summer season, the temperature generally varies from 218C to 358C, while the winter temperature ranges from 48C to 238C. The rainfall period generally ranges from April to October. The peak rainfall during the investigation period was recorded as 550 mm. As mentioned earlier, because of the frequent practice of shifting cultivation, bamboos form the major secondary successional vegetation component along with some trees and herbaceous weeds, prominently Lantana camara. In 2007 (during the month of October), approximately 1 year after flowering, two quadrats (20 3 20 m) were placed in triplicate along a slope gradient approximately 100 m apart. One quadrat in each plot was placed in a site with dead bamboo (DB site) and the other in a site with living bamboo (LB site). The LB site comprised nonflowering stands of Bambusa tulda, B. khasiana, and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii whereas flowering stands of Melocanna baccifera syn. bambusoides (common name moutak, i.e., death causing because of associated famine and plague) were present at the DB site along the slope gradient. Because flowering is simultaneous, utmost care was taken to differentiate flowering stands of M. baccifera from other live or nonflowering bamboo species. Five replicates of surface soil (0–10 cm), litter, and ground vegetation samples were collected from the corners and center of each quadrat. The litter layer and herbaceous ground vegetation in a 100 3 100 cm frame were collected, dried at 708C for 1 week in an oven, and then used for biomass estimates. The moist surface soil samples were dried at 1058C in an oven for determination of soil moisture content. Part of the moist soil samples were airdried and sieved to obtain fine soil samples (,2 mm). Soil pH was measured with a soil–water (1 : 5) slurry using a pH glass electrode. Organic carbon was determined according to the Walkley and Black method, total nitrogen was determined using the Kjeldahl method, and available phosphate was extracted using the Bray method. All analyses were conducted as per the methodology described elsewhere (14). To determine potentially available nitrogen (NH4þ and NO ), the steam distillation method was used. The extent of nitrification was expressed as the percentage of mineralized NO in total mineralized nitrogen. For the estimation of microbial population and biomass, another set of three soil samples (0–15 cm depth) were collected. In this case, the corer was wiped with absolute ethanol before every insertion to prevent any external microbial contamination. The bacterial and fungal popula-


As the country's investment in smart grid construction has increased, a series of distribution automation equipment has been gradually put into use. Among them, the widespread use of devices such as distribution Transformer supervisory Terminal Unit (TTU) and Distribution Automation Terminal (DTU) has made smart distribution network technology mature. The article is mainly based on the high-frequency, high-accuracy sampling data provided by the distribution terminal, and the topology structure of the distribution area is established. The mathematical modeling of the impedance parameters of the distribution network line is established, and the mathematical optimization method is used to find the answer when it meets the optimal solution with the smallest voltage error on the low-voltage side of the transformer. At the end of the article, the algorithm verification of the actual station area was carried out on the Pscad simulation software, and the correctness of the algorithm method was tested in the matlab and c language environments.


Abstract Many manufacturers of monomers, emulsifying agents, initiators, modifiers, and other ingredients going into polymerization reactions find it necessary to have a reliable polymerization procedure for testing the quality of their products. The procedure presented, despite some shortcomings, has many advantages. Minimum amounts of material are required, and large numbers of experiments can be conducted in a relatively short time. A serious effort is made to point out some of the pitfalls which beset investigators of polymerization, regardless of the type of technique employed. The best recommendation for the procedure described is that it has been used to develop certain types of synthetic rubber which are now in commercial production.


The evidence exists that low-dose CT can save the lives of patients at high risk for lung cancer, according to MITA.


In 2006 the Basque Government created the regional centres of hospital, home and therapeutic-educative educational care, which consisted of five hospital classrooms (Cruces, Basurto, Aranzazu, Txagorritxu and Santiago). This essay does a research into the pedagogy used in such classrooms regarding the available ICTs, through a qualitative methodology based on personal interviews. During the research process, several educational lacks have been detected in digital and technological skills, as well as in the "living together" and "learning to be" skills, included in the Heziberri Plan 2020 developed by the Basque Government.
Therefore, the main aim of this study is to identify possibilities for improvement in the hospital classrooms in order to develop a series of proposals to favour the inclusion and customization of the education of the hospitalized secondary school student by taking advantages from ICTs. Thus, the adolescent patients will achieve the previously mentioned skills so the return to their school of origin and daily life would be as normalized as possible, in relation to educative terms and social relations.


Regarding gyroscopic effects, approximate equations of the responses in passing through critical speeds for distributed mass rotor systems on isotropic or anisotropic supports are derived by an asymptotic method. In the case of flexible rotors on anisotropic supports, the nonstationary vibration in passing through two neighboring critical speeds are computed and the coupling phenomena are discussed. Further, the whirling directions in transient vibrations of a fundamental rotor on anisotropic supports are made clear by numerical solutions.


Nowadays, high performance concrete is used more frequently because of the many advantages compared to traditional concrete. The higher mechanical properties (e.g., compressive strength, flexural strength, and Young's modulus) allow for larger spans and slender cross-sections. Despite the use of advanced material, standards for structural design do not fully use materials' potential. This can be minimized by using fracture mechanical properties in structural analysis. The fracture mechanical properties help to perform advanced structural analysis, especially when some of the structural elements have a crack. The load presence on the structure can be divided into tensile—mode I, shear—mode II, and combination of tension and shear—mixed mode I/II load. Therefore, it is necessary to perform test, which covers mixed mode loading conditions. One of the tests usually used for the evaluation of fracture resistance of concrete is Brazilian disc test. This contribution compares fracture resistance of two types of structural concrete (normal and high strength) under the mixed mode I/II. The generalized maximum tangential stress (GMTS) criterion was used for the evaluation of the fracture resistance.


Over the past few years PHOBOS has continued to analyze the large data sets obtained from the first five runs of the relativistic heavy-ion collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The two main analysis streams have been pursued. The first one aims to obtain a broad and systematic survey of global properties of particle production in heavy-ion collisions. The second class includes the study of fluctuations and correlations in particle production. Both type of studies have been performed for a variety of the collision systems, covering a wide range in collision energy and centrality. The uniquely large angular coverage of the PHOBOS detector and its ability to measure charged particles down to very low-transverse momentum is exploited. The latest physics results from PHOBOS, as presented at the Quark Matter 2008 Conference, are contained in this paper.


An image display apparatus may include a display section for presenting an image. The apparatus may also include a viewing angle calculation section for determining a viewing angle of a user relative to the display section. Additionally, the apparatus may include an image generation section for generating first image data representing a first image, and for supplying the first image data to the display section for presentation of the first image. The image generation section may generate the first image data based on the user's viewing angle, second image data representing a second image, and third image data representing a third image. The second image may include an object viewed from a first viewing angle and the third image may include the object viewed from a second viewing angle, the first viewing angle and the second viewing angle being different from each other and from the user's viewing angle.


A concise practical, large scale-adaptable six-step sequence has been developed for the transformation of diacetone-glucose into 4,6-di-O-benzoyl-3-O-benzyl-c~-D-arabino-hexopyranos-2-ulosyl bromide (7), a most useful indirect /3-D-mannosyl donor as its blocking group pattern allows the construction of biologically relevant /3-D-mannosides branched at 0-3 and 0-6. The broad utility of this new ulosyl bromide 7 resides in its high anomeric reactivity, and in the ease and uniformity with which /3-stereocontrol can be achieved over both, glycosidations and carbonyl reduction of the /3-ulosides formed: Koenigs-Knorr conditions exclusively provide /3-glycosiduloses, hydride reduction of their carbonyl functions proceeds with high stereoselectivities ( > 20:1) in favor of the /%D-mannosides. These preparatively auspicious properties are materialized in an efficient, straightforward synthesis of c~-D-Manp-(1 ~ 6)-[C~-D-Manp-(1 ~ 3)]-/3-D-Manp-(1 + O)-Octyl, the 3,6-O-branched core-mannotrioside carrying an octyl spacer instead of the chitobiosyl unit. ~3 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Kevwords: /3-D-Mannosides; /3-D-Glycosid-2-uloses: Glycosidation: Mannotrioside: Oligosaccharide synthesis


bilirubin was added "in excess of 50-60 mg/i#{174} ml" (9). A micro adaptation of the column method, with use of crosslinked dextran has a sensitivity limit for bilirubin of 0.3 mg/liter for the qualitative estimation and 0.5 mg/liter for the quantitative procedure (10). The electrophoretic method of Athanassiadis et al. (ref. 2 above) demonstrates a sensitivity of 10 mg/liter. Unconjugated and unbound biirubin is soluble at pH 7.4 to 10 mol/liter, or 58 ig/1iter (1 1 ). Unconjugated and unbound bilirubin in concentrations exceeding 58 Mg/liter precipitate in a micro crystalline form (8, 11). It is this unconjugated and unbound bilirubin that is thought to produce kernicterus (3, 6, 10, 12, 13). One mole of albumin will apparently bind with more than 1 mol of bilirubin, but there is only one binding site per mole of albumin at which bilirubin is very tightly bound. The association constant for this binding site has been estimated to be from 6.2 X 10 to 4 x io liter/mol (6-8, 12, 13). The unbound bilirubin concentration that causes kernicterus is unknown; however, Jacobsen and Wennberg (12) assayed serum from 117 normal or sick newborns within one week of birth and found concentrations of unbound bilirubin ranging from 0.6 to 65 ag/liter and total bilirubin ranging from 15 to 310 mg/liter. They observed one full-term infant with an unbound bilirubin concentration of 65 pg/liter who demonstrated early clinical signs of kernicterus. Jacobsen and Fedders determined the average unbound bilirubin in 25 cord-blood samples was 1.3 X iO molf liter (0.8 pg/liter) and the total Unconjugated bilirubin 18 X 106 mol/liter (10.5 mg/liter); for six sera from adults the average unbound bilirubin was 1 X i0 mol/liter (0.6 big/liter) and the total unconjugated bilirubin 6 X 10-6 mol/ liter (3.5 mg/liter) (6). They also determined that the unbound bilirubin in sera from 69 infants who underwent exchange transfusion ranged from 0.2 to 8.2 mg/liter (6). Nelson et al.(13) determined that the concentration of unbound bilirubin that will kill 50% of L-929 cells at pH 7.4 is about 0.7 imol/ liter (400 gig/liter) and 0.3 imol/liter (175 gfliter) at pH 7.0. Levine criticizes methods that cannot be used to measure true unbound bilirubin concentrations (typically down to 10 nmol or 6 Mg/liter) as being "difficult to apply to specific patient management" (8). At least two methods currently demonstrate sufficient sensitivity to assay unbound bilirubin: the peroxidaselinked oxidation of bilirubin (6) and the fluorescence quenching of bilirubin bound to albumin (8). But these two methods are technically difficult. The peroxidase-linked oxidation of bilirubin suffers from a number of technical difficulties. For example, bilirubin bound to albumin will cause a slow oxidation that must be corrected for in the final calculations, the peroxidase preparation must have a defined activity, each bilirubin preparation must be individually standardized for the method, unbound bilirubin concentrations over 58 Mg/liter are insoluble and so reactant mixing is critical, and finally the within-day coefficients of variation range from 2.3 to 19.2% for the determination of the peroxidase rate constant which is the measured quantity used to calculate the unbound bilirubin concentration (12). The fluorescence quenching method holds much promise, although the method requires a 600to 1000fold dilution of the patient's serum (8). In addition to its lack of sensitivity, the method of Athanassiadis et al. (ref 2 above) has a potentially serious error in the stated concentration of biirubin added to patients' sera. They state that 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 25, and 40 Mlof a 0.4 gfliter bilirubin standard is added to 0.1 ml of patients' sera and therefore the bilirubin concentration in those specimens is increased by 10, 20, 40, 80, 100, and 16mg/liter, respectively. This is an error. They have not taken into account the dilution caused by the volume of added bilirubin standard; the bilirubin concentration is increased by only 9.8, 19.0, 36,4, 66.7, 80.0, and 114.3 mg/liter, respectively. The concentrations stated in this paper cause the bilirubin binding reserve to be overestimated by as much as 29%.


Abstract : The report describes a device for measurement of high pressures. It contains a measuring piston, the shaft of which is connected to an electric drive and devices recording the pressure and torque of rotation. (Author)


The effect of lacking of estrogen on cancellous mic rostructure of dista l femur was investigated in 3 months old ovariectomized rats(OVX) compared with sham-operated rats(SHAM) by scanning electron microscope. The results showed tha t the bone mass decreased,trabecular lessened and microdamage incresed signific antly in group of OVX than in SHAM,which can reduced mechanical properties of the bone and increased the risk of fracture.


This thesis focuses on the development of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSPR) models for physicochemical properties, e.g., vapor pressure and partitioning coefficients. Such models ...


This article sums up our existing polices of public information service in minority areas,analyzes its regularity and shortcomings,proposes further measures to improve ethnic regional public information service policy system: to further improve the related ethnic regional public information service policy system with the Central,the State Council,ministries and local governments,gradually establish government's public information service law,also to highlight the dominant position of the government in policy system,take the minority language into account,and vigorously support social forces and international friends to participate in public information service business in minority areas.


Approximately 1 in 7 women experience perinatal depression, a depressive episode that occurs during pregnancy or within the first year after delivery or adoption. This tip sheet has 5 ways health care providers can help women who are experiencing perinatal depression.

This tip sheet is based off of Listening to Mothers: What's Helpful for Mothers Experiencing Perinatal Depression.


Begin from a framework map of typology of disputes,with the Hai Rui's Theorem I and in the perspective of micro actor,this essay analyzed the social reason that mediation revives in today's China and its consequence.The author holds that,if the idea of mediation in justice influences the society of China,the nature of courts,judges and justice in China could change.Based on the principle of Judicial efficiency and in the perspectives of micro actor,it is suggested that China's mediation in courts should be in the way of separating mediation and justice,bringing mediation to its original status,allowing the parties have the right to choose and controlling the process of mediation.


The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the job characteristics and the level of employees' job satisfaction in the Fisheries Development
Authority of Malaysia (FDAM). The data was collected from 150 respondents by using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed by using Pearson Correlation, T-Test
and ANOVA. Results of the study indicate significance relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction. As a whole, the findings of the study can be
summarized as follows :

i. Significance relationships exist between overall job characteristics and job satisfaction.

ii. The results of the study suggest job characteristics variables such as skill variety , task identity, task significance, task autonomous and task feedback
are positively related to job satisfaction.

iii. Demographic factors such as age, tenure, job position, marital status number of dependents were found to be correlated with job satisfaction.

and
iv. Significance differences exist between demographic factors such as age, tenure, job position, marital status, number of dependents and job satisfaction.


This study investigated the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity on the saturated zone of the soil trying to understand how these physical variables affect the hydrological processes, in an area of primary forest under urban pressure, in Central Amazonia. The experiment was carried out in the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, located on the north of the city of Manaus - AM. One water measurement station (water level scale) was installed in the Igarape Bolivia and four piezometers were installed in the site, the latter on the riparian zone, perpendicular to the course of the stream. The porosity varied in the soil profile, reaching values above 0.40 cm3/cm3. The mean values for the saturated hydraulic conductivity or basic infiltration (K) were high and varied from 89.5 ± 12.8 to 279.5 ± 9.0 mm/h. The stream water level varied from 65 to 141 cm in the observation period (November of 2005 to October of 2007). The deep soil layer piezometer, away from the water stream, varied from 166.2 e 304.9 cm. The hydraulic conductivities of the saturated soil increase with the distance from the stream on the two studied layers, determining the hydrological behavior of the water table in that site.


The determination of C18 fatty acids (FAs) is a key and difficult aspect in FA profiling, and a qualified method with good chromatographic separation and high sensitivity, as well as easy methylation, is required. A GC-MS method was established to simultaneously determine C18 FAs in milk. To simplify the methylation protocol for milk samples, besides a base-catalyzation methylation (50 °C for 20 min), the necessity of an additional acid-catalyzation was also studied using different temperatures (60 °C, 70 °C, 80 °C, and 90 °C) and durations (90 min and 150 min). The results showed that the chromatographic resolution was improved, although three co-eluted peaks existed. The base-catalyzation was sufficient, and an additional acid-catalyzation was not necessary. The proposed method was validated with good sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, and precision, and then applied in determining C18 FAs in 20 raw milk and 30 commercial milk samples. UHT milk presented a different profile of C18 FAs from raw milk and PAS milk samples, which indicated that excessive heating could change the profile. Overall, the proposed method is a high-throughput and competent approach for the determination of C18 FAs in milk, and which presents an improvement in chromatographic resolution and sensitivity, as well as a simplification of methylation.


It is now recommended that all adults, including pregnant women, get a flu shot. So how do you—or don't you—convince your more skeptical patients?


Granular matter is a large assemblage of dense packed particles. A granular skeleton frame is linked by grain-to-grain contacts. An external loading is usually transmitted through selective pathways from the skeleton frame, and heterogeneous force chain architecture is formed. The formation and evolution of shear band have importarit bearing to the stability of a granular assembly. In this work, the mechanical properties of granular matter under biaxial test are studied by using DEM simulations. Evolutions of stress, volumetric strain, coordination number, distribution of particle rotation and solid fractions are analyzed. The results show that within shear zone the solid fraction is smaller and the coordination number fluctuates violently, which indicates that they are unjammed, while beyond the shear band the particles are jammed. Therefore, we could say that the shear band actually corresponds to the complicated jamming transition. Three types of force chain configurations are observed under different axial strains: circle-shaped, column-shaped, both column and vortex-shaped. Such structures would be dominant to the mechanical properties of macro-mechanical properties and granular system, and pending further studies.


The recent economic development of the region confirms that stability has not yet been firmly consolidated in it. There are still some structural factors of macroeconomic instability, various sequels of the debt crisis have not yet been overcome, and fresh macroeconomic tensions of various origins have made their appearance. The challenge currently facing economic policy is to implement reform and growth policies while maintaining the recent achievements in terms of stability. A prior requisite for this is a proper understanding of the way macroeconomic and microeconomic factors interact: the mutual influence of constraints in terms of macroeconomic consistency, on the one hand, and the imbalances generated in the reform process and the consequent changes in the production base, on the other.


Objective To study the effects of Xuefu Zhuyu oral preparation on heart rate variability(HRV) and malignant ventricular arrhythmias(MVA) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods 49 patients with AMI were divided into two groups:25 patients in test group were given Xuefu Zhuyu oral preparation and normal treatment;24 patients were given normal treatment only.HRV indexes and morbidity of MVA events were recorded and analyzed in two groups.Results HRV indexes in test group were significantly increased( P 0.01).Morbidities of MVA events are 8.0% in test group and 16.7% in control group.There was statistic difference between two groups( P 0.01).Conclusions HRV indexes are increased and MVA events are reduced by using Xuefu Zhuyu oral preparation.


Available evidence indicates that the various stages of the malaria parasite life cycle elicit specific immune responses of which the relative levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are key to disease progression, killing the parasite and mediating disease outcomes. This study investigated T-cell response in malaria. Four hundred and sixty-two participants were screened in a community survey of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Baiyeku, Lagos, Nigeria. P. falciparum parasitaemia was determined by microscopy while the serum levels of IL-10, IFNγ and TNFα were determined by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 70 (15.2 %) participants were microscopically positive for P. falciparum of which 70% were females, 30% were males while children aged 1-17 years were 65.7%. The geometric mean parasite density (GMPD) was significantly (p=0.001) higher among females than males. The GMPD of participants <5 years of age was also significantly (p=0.001) higher than other age groups. About 46.8% of the participants were underweight (Body Mass Index, BMI < 18.5) and also had the highest parasite intensity. The TNFα, IFNγ and IL-10 levels were significantly (p< 0.05) higher in the infected than the uninfected participants. IFN-γ values were significantly (p=0.014) elevated among the symptomatic than the asymptomatic participants while there was no significant difference (P>0.053) in the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 (P>0.093) between the symptomatic and asymptomatic participants. The prevalence of P. falciparum obtained in this study area which is endemic to malaria is 15.2% suggesting a significant reduction of the disease over time due to awareness of the disease in the community. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ and TNF-α) in this study were lower due to the down-regulatory action of the anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10). These findings suggest that higher levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-10 levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of uncomplicated malaria.


Enabling Networked Knowledge p. 1 Coordination and Agreement in Multi-Agent Systems p. 16 Agents and Databases: A Symbiosis? p. 24 Agents and Semantic Services: A Critical Review (Abstract) p. 35 Agent-Supported Planning in Distributed Command and Control Environments p. 36 Trust Towards Trust-Based Acquisition of Unverifiable Information p. 41 Modeling Dynamics of Relative Trust of Competitive Information Agents p. 55 A Formal Approach to Aggregated Belief Formation p. 71 Applications Software Engineering for Service-Oriented MAS p. 86 A Service-Oriented MultiAgent Architecture for Cognitive Surveillance p. 101 Trust-Based Classifier Combination for Network Anomaly Detection p. 116 A Distributed Generative CSP Framework for Multi-site Product Configuration p. 131 MobiSoft: Networked Personal Assistants for Mobile Users in Everyday Life p. 147 A Web-Based Virtual Machine for Developing Computational Societies p. 162 Using the Wizard of Oz Method to Train Persuasive Agents p. 177 ASBO: Argumentation System Based on Ontologies p. 191 Coordination and Communication Controlling Contract Net Protocol by Local Observation for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems p. 206


Objective
To explore the influence of continuous nursing mode on Barthel Index and body function of stroke patients, and to provide data support for long-term nursing of stroke patients.

Methods
A total of 100 cases of stroke patients who received treatment in the neurological rehabilitation ward of the hospital from January to October 2016 were selected and divided into the observation group and the control group with 50 cases in each group.Patients in the observation group received continuous nursing mode, while patients in the control group received telephone follow-up nursing mode. The difference of Barthel Index and body function between the two groups was compared after 1 year's follow-up.

Results
Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the scores of body functions between the two groups(P>0.05). After 1 year of follow-up, limb motor function, joint activity, muscle tone, balance ability, visuospatial nerve, sensory function, limb function on the healthy side, language function, and pain score in the observation group were all increased compared with those before the intervention, with statistically significant differences(P 0.05). At 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the intervention, the Barthel Index in the observation group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).

Conclusions
Continuous nursing mode after discharge of stroke patients can improve their self-care ability, physical function and life self-care ability, which is worthy of promotion and application.

Key words:
Stroke; Continuous nursing mode; Barthel Index; Somatic function


Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and can seriously influence women's health. Taxanes have been widely used in the treatment of breast cancer in recent years. Many studies have indicated that the sensitivity and side effects of taxanes vary widely among breast cancer patients. The drug transporter gene polymorphism is one of the important factors causing the difference. This article summarizes the relationship between the polymorphism of the ABCB1 gene coding P-gp gene and the efficacy and toxicity of the taxane in the treatment of breast cancer, and provides a theoretical basis for the development of individualized chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Key words:
Taxane; Breast cancer; Gene polymorphism; Efficacy; Toxicity


Striking renal involvement occurs in NZB and particularly in NZB-NZW F1 hybrid mice. In this paper we describe the morphologic changes observed by light and electron microscopy in the kidneys of both strains during a study of the natural history of the disease. A semiquantitative analysis of the histologic findings was made and was compared with previously published observations in human systemic lupus erythematosus. In the NZB strain, normal kidneys were found in 30 mice of all ages up to 96 weeks; glomerulitis, in which intraglomerular thrombi were often observed, in 19; and glomerulonephritis in four. In the NZB-NZW F1 hybrid, nine kidneys were considered normal (10–28 weeks of age); five had glomerulitis (32–42 weeks); and 17 had glomerulonephritis (34–84 weeks). Morphologically, there are definite similarities between human lupus glomerulitis and the disease seen in the NZB mouse; and, between human lupus glomerulonephritis and that seen in the NZB-NZW F1 hybrid.


The following work shows an investigation about how people from Quito, Ecuador percieve Nayon, a small parish located in the north of Quito in order to determine their positioning upon their current perception. The main aim of this piece of work is of re-structuring the brand image-wise (through visual branding) and a communication strategy...


Increments of tooth length growth from age 6.0 to 14.0 years are given for four mandibular permanent teeth. Same-sex inter-teeth comparisons and opposite-sex similar tooth comparisons of the semilogarithmic regression curves are also made. Adult tooth length values for canines, first and second premolars, and second molars are given.


In this paper we analyze the evolution of firm efficiency in the Czech Republic. Using a large panel of more than 190,000 Czech firm/years we study whether firms fully utilize their resources, how firm efficiency evolves over time, and how firm efficiency is determined by ownership structure. We employ a panel version of a stochastic production frontier model for the period 1996–2007 with time-varying efficiency. We differentiate among various degrees of ownership concentration and domestic or foreign origin. In a two-stage set-up we first estimate the degree of firm inefficiency and then the effect of ownership structure on the distance from the efficiency frontier. Our results support the hypothesis that concentrated ownership is positively related to efficiency. FDI has beneficial effects at the microeconomic level. However, we show that a simple majority is not necessarily the best structure to improve efficiency. We further analyze the effects of ownership coalitions and shed light on many other subtleties of how ownership and the specific industry affect firm efficiency.


The invention relates to a traditional Chinese medicinal composition used for strengthening bone. Effective ingredients of the traditional Chinese medicinal composition used for strengthening bone comprise cornu cervi or extract thereof, semen cuscutae or extract thereof, drynaria rhizome or extract thereof and herba epimedii or extract thereof. The traditional Chinese medicinal composition provided by the invention can be used for increasing bone mineral density and preventing osteoporosis and has the beneficial effect, which can not be reached by a single dose, to a human body. The traditional Chinese medicinal composition used for strengthening bone is simple in production process, easy to take, obvious in curative effect and ideal for increasing the bone mineral density and preventing osteoporosis.


he film Wall Street, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox and Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, effectively portrays the voracious, addictive greed that consumed the business world of the 1980's and reveals numerous fabrications of American society. Most evidently, the movie captures the essence of the widespread belief that any American can simply work hard and/or use determination and intelligence to become wealthy and successful in the actions and events experienced by the main character. Bud Fox's persistent drive to acquire wealth pushes him beyond what is legally sanctioned and he initially suffers hardly any consequences. He represents a realization of the American dream without much of the element of hard work and thereby exhibits an appealing means to gain wealth via illegal measures. Throughout the film's course, the director successfully utilizes the American aspiration to rise to fortune quickly and easily to collectively accomplish the following: stress the importance of honest diligence in one's work, convince his audience that money only proves destructive when made a top priority, expose various falsehoods commonly believed among Americans, and ultimately reveal and oppose society's obsession with materialism and its focus on finance. Bud Fox wants nothing more than to achieve the American dream, to retain both a sizeable sum of wealth and a sense of success and accomplishment that is verified by the six digit numbers describing his personal financial accounts. He believes that attaining such feats requires the knowledge and teachings of an economic tycoon like Gordon Gekko. Bud feels reluctant to follow Gekko's illegal methods, shown during the initial meeting with Gekko, of acquiring insider information in order to trade stocks in a manner that will produce profitable results because he knows doing so could put him in jail and cost him his license. His ambitious and desperate character, which is first illustrated through the 59 incessant phone calls made to Gekko, however, leads him to give in to the illegal utilization and sharing of information that can affect decisions in buying and selling stocks (Wall Street). Through various unlawful techniques, Bud Fox works his way around the majority of the work that would potentially produce the same wealth he achieves. He demonstrates the seizing of individual opportunity by performing dishonest practices shown to him by Gekko. This illustrates the myth that any man or woman can realize the American dream through simple determination and smart decision-making, although the "smart" decisions correspond with doing illegal actions in this scenario. This initial exemplification of the myth of individual opportunity later becomes contradicted by statements and actions of the main characters. The most obvious challenge to the myth comes from Gekko himself, "the richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance" (Wall Street). The majority of the nation's money lies in the hands of those who have done nothing but erupt from their mother's wombs, and slightly less than that is attributed to those who have taken the wealth by working their way up the economic ladder. Appropriately similar to this statistic is the more recent fact given in the essay "Class in America – 2003" by Gregory Mantsios, "sixty percent of the American population holds less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth" (Mantsios 310). These statements together demonstrate how the random individual cannot merely ascend to the top of the economic pyramid through hard work and good decision-making. If a minority of the country already owns most of the wealth, one from the poorer majority cannot gain that wealth without a wealthy T


In teaching college English writing teachers emphasize grammar,the use of words and expressions and the structure of the passage,but ignore the application of literature rhetoric methods in writing.The language in writing used by the students seems bald and uninteresting.Therefore it is necessary to introduce the literature rhetoric methods in teaching writing and discuss its importance in expressing ideas and diversifying the writing forms,which may increase the students' writing ability and help the practice in teaching of college English writing.


The purpose of this research is to reveal the strategy of the madrasa principal in seeking an educated academic environment at MTsN 10 Tanah Datar. This type of research is qualitative research with a case study approach. The research location is at MTsN 10 Tanah Datar. There were 6 research informants, namely school principals, curriculum representatives, public relations representatives, teachers, librarian heads, and students at MTsN 10 Tanah Datar. Data collection techniques used are through interviews, observation and documentation. The technique of data analysis is by means of triangulation, namely triangulation of sources and triangulation of techniques. The results of the study show that the Madrasah Principal's strategy in creating a Literacy Culture at MTsN 10 Tanah Datar is to strive for a literate academic environment with a). Planning literacy activities, namely creating literacy programs and forming a solid work team. B). Implementation of literacy activities, namely encouraging activities that smell of literacy, involving students to diligently read every day, enlivening the literacy corners of the madrasa, providing motivation to write to all madrasa residents to synergize, cooperate, and set an example. C). Evaluation of literacy activities, namely monitoring and follow-up.


Information-systems (IS) has become a 'broad church' that includes academics and practitioners in several areas of theory and application. It is not only important to facilitate understanding and communication among individuals, but to be able to engage into forms of collaboration with others. This paper will highlight some important issues arisen in the practice of formulating IS projects which reflect what is also happening elsewhere in the social sciences. The paper will focus on suggesting ways of enabling collaborations to develop between those involved in exploring new projects and ideas, with a view that these could be facilitated if we assume continuous and systemic attitude of engagement with 'other' people. This attitude would require us to go beyond what we consider relevant for IS as a discipline.


We demonstrate a PAM8 WDM-PON transmission using a single time lens source. Geometric shaping is used to minimize the impact of power-dependent noise. 28×1.5 Gb/s WDM signals are transmitted over 26 km with BER below 3.8×10−3.


Arguably, the brain is the most complex organ in the human body, and, at the same time, the least well understood. Today, more than ever before, the human brain has become a subject of narcissistic study and fascination. The fields of neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery, and neuroradiology have seen tremendous progress over the past two decades; yet, the field of neuromechanics remains underappreciated and poorly understood. Here, we show that mechanical stretch, strain, stress, and force play a critical role in modulating the structure and function of the brain. We discuss the role of neuromechanics across the scales, from individual neurons via neuronal tissue to the whole brain. We review current research highlights and discuss challenges and potential future directions. Using the nonlinear field theories of mechanics, we illustrate three phenomena which are tightly regulated by mechanical factors: neuroelasticity, the Advances in Applied Mechanics, Volume 48 # 2015 Elsevier Inc. ISSN 0065-2156 All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.aams.2015.10.002 79 Author's personal copy


The authors present the formation of Fabry-Perot cavity in single GaAsnanowire prepared by selective-area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. The grownnanowires with hexagonal cross section are highly uniform and vertically oriented. Microphotoluminescence measurements of single GaAsnanowire exhibit periodic peaks in the intensity, which are suggestive of the longitudinal modes of a Fabry-Perot cavity. The cavity is formed along the length of the nanowire and the (111) facets of both ends act as reflecting mirrors. Additionally, optical waveguides in GaAsnanowires were also observed.


Objective Through the analysis of 658 case reports on adverse drug reactions(ADR) collected by our hospital from 2005 to 2009 to aim the improvement of ADR monitor and drugs rational use.Methods Analyze 658 reports by retrospective classification statistic including age,sex,route of administration,drugs and their classification,organs,systems and clinical manifestations involved by ADR.Results In 16 categories of drugs involved in totally 658 reports the anti-infective agents(326 cases) was the top one.The major clinical manifestation of ADR was skin damage(369 cases).Twenty-eight cases(4.26%) were severe ADR.Conclusion The occurrence rate of ADR is closely related to patien's age,route and frequency of administration.


In the extreme environment of the Emergency Operations Center, an important role of technology is to support the natural activities of users. Biological-related emergency incidents make special demands on users' ability to process displayed information, including information about what tasks must be done to comply with procedural workflows. Observations of Emergency Operations Centers suggest that migratory displays that tag along with moving workers may fit the task demands better than static workstations in some situations. We describe an example system, called EVEST, which uses RFID technology to drive migratory displays that provide workflow, alert and situational awareness information that is specific to the user and the user's work role. The goal of the EVEST system is to increase the efficiency of computer-human communications by utilizing the same procedures and cues that are already used for efficient human-human communication.


Nonresponsiveness to hepatitis B vaccine, composed mainly the major hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), has been described in approximately 5–10% of healthy immunocompetent subjects. The underlying cellular and molecular events for the nonresponsiveness are not completely understood, but are likely associated with impaired T helper cell responses to HBsAg in subjects with particular HLA-DR alleles. In this study, we describe a novel formulation of HBsAg vaccine containing GM-CSF in a thermosensitive biodegradable copolymer (hydrogel) system, acting as a sustained-release matrix for the loaded proteins. In responder mouse strains, hydrogel HBsAg/GM-CSF vaccine elicited high titers of anti-HBs antibody and strong T-cell proliferative responses. Importantly, hydrogel HBsAg/GM-CSF vaccine also elicited strong anti-HBs antibody and T-cell immune responses in B10.M mice, a mouse strain with H-2 gene-linked nonresponsive phenotypes. The local and sustained release of GM-CSF is required for its immunostimulatory function in nonresponder mice, because administration of hydrogel/HBsAg and hydrogel/GM-CSF in separate locations or a free mixture of HBsAg and GM-CSF failed to induce detectable humoral and cellular immune responses. Analysis of draining lymph nodes of hydrogel HBsAg/GM-CSF-treated mice revealed an elevated number of CD11c+ dendritic cells with enhanced expression of CD80 and CD86. These results suggest that the local adjuvant activity of GM-CSF helps nonresponder mice generate T helper cells, which subsequently provide help for B cells to produce anti-HBs antibodies, by promoting DC migration to and activation in the draining lymph node. This approach may be applicable to design of vaccines for a variety of other diseases.


Two-dimensional calculation of a positive streamer in corona discharge was carried out in the point-plane electrodes in N2/NO(300 ppm) and N2/O2(20%)/NO(300 ppm) at atmospheric pressure. Although similar works have been already published, the distinctive features of our work are (i) the long calculation time (∼500 ns) compared with other works, and (ii) the introduction of chemical reactions. The excited species with short radiative lifetime such as N2(B3Πg) and N2(C3Πu) are included in addition to radicals and metastable species. First, the physical property of a positive corona streamer was clarified before and after the streamer bridging between the point-plane electrodes. Second, chemical reaction processes in the early discharge stage (∼500 ns) were examined. Particularly, the radical production process and its efficiency were evaluated. Third, the effect of turning off the applied voltage on positive streamer corona discharge was studied.


Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) can be associated and may present with neurological complications. We describe a 32-year-old woman with a debilitating sensory neuropathy, including trigeminal nerve involvement which was the initial manifestation of this disease.


T he day-long seminar was divided into four sessions. It opened with ''Setting the Stage''—an overview of evidence-based medicine and the state of orthopaedic clinical research. Moderators for this session were Vernon T. Tolo, MD and Joseph A. Buckwalter, MD. In ''Lessons Learned,'' investigators presented clinical trials from several orthopaedic specialties. The ''Methodological Issues in Clinical Trials'' included concealment, blinding, sample size, and other elements that can affect outcomes. The final section—''Advanced Concepts in Clinical Trials''—discussed design methodology for clinical trials. Guest lectures were given by Mohit Bhandari, MD and P. J. Devereaux MD, PhD of McMasters University in Hamilton, Ontario. This is the first of a four-part series on the ORS Clinical Research Forum, published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.


Background: The interaction of quality of life (QoL) with functionality, nutrition and depression has been studied, but few studies have compared different realities. Our objective was to compare the associations of QoL with impaired functionality, nutritional status and depressive symptoms among older people patients treated in primary health care (PHC) in Brazil and Portugal. Methods: Cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted with primary data from PHC services in Brazil and Portugal with users over 65 years old. Participants' scores were classified as "impaired" and "preserved" for QoL, functional decline, nutrition and depression. We used Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Our sample had a total of 150 PHC users. We found lower QoL scores in Brazil, which were associated with the risk of functional decline for the domains Physical Functioning, General Health Perceptions, Mental Health dimensions and Physical Health. Nutritional impairment in the group from Portugal included the domains of Vitality and Social Role Functioning. For depressive impairment, Portugal showed an association with the domains Mental Health, Vitality and Social Role Functioning. Conclusions: QoL was associated with functional and nutritional impairment and depressive symptoms, highlighting physical, mental and social characteristics related to the perception of well-being.


This study evaluated the pre-clinical pharmacokinetics induced by sufentanil-2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (SUFHP-β-CD) in comparison with its aqueous formulation (SUF) after intramuscular injection in rabbits and pigs. New Zealand White rabbits and Landrace pigs were divided in two groups (n = 5/6) and treated by intramuscular route with SUF or SUFHP-β-CD complex (10 μg.kg-1). Blood samples were collected by a heparinized cannula pre dose (0 min) and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420 and 480 minutes after the injection of formulations in rabbits and pigs. Sufentanil plasma levels were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Data were submitted to statistical (two-tailed unpaired t-test, p < 0.05) analysis. In both species, intramuscular injections of SUFHP-β-CD induced lower plasma concentrations than SUF at almost all periods of time (p < 0.05) and promoted smaller values for the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and the areas under the curve (AUC0-480) with SUFHP-β-CD (p < 0.05) when compared to SUF. Volume of distribution (Vd) was higher with SUFHP-β-CD (p < 0.05) in pigs and rabbits. These results showed that this cyclodextrin -based drug-delivery system of sufentanil was effective to reduce the absorption of the drug.


We retrospectively surveyed the use of a two-compound ointment containing calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate at our hospital during the 18-month period from October- 2014 to April- 2016. The subjects were 125 patients with psoriasis (96 men, 29 women), ranging in age from 21 to 90 years (average age, 57.8 years). The psoriasis types were psoriasis vulgaris in 114 patients (91%), psoriasis arthropathica in 8 ( 6 %), guttate psoriasis in 2 ( 2 %), and psoriatic erythroderma in 1 patient ( 1 %). The combination therapies were biological treatments in 7 patients ( 6 %), narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) in 14 (11%), combination therapy with narrow-band UVB and etretinate in 7 ( 5 %), cyclosporine in 10 ( 8 %), and external preparations alone in 85 patients (68%). Overall, 100 patients (80%) with psoriasis continued the treatment with the two-compound ointment. Twenty-five patients (20%) discontinued the two-compound ointment and restarted their prior external preparations. The reason for the discontinuation of the two-compound ointment was that the prior external preparations, which were mostly ointments comprising mixtures of corticosteroids and vitamin D 3 analogues, had been more effective.


Ron Johnston (1980b) identified three 'approaches'-the positivist, humanistic/hermeneutic, and structural-all of which seek to advance the process of explanation in human geography. He offers us a personal view of these approaches, 'presenting an individual evaluation of what they have to offer and a critique of where it seems they fail. No solution is offered to the problems of explanation raised . . . ; the observations are offered as personal discussion points in the hope that they will stimulate discussion of "progress in human geography"' (p. 403). We wish to enter that discussion and take issue with some of the evaluations made.


Background/Aims: In the present study, we examined the effects of different concentrations of trehalose in a warming medium on both embryo survival and clinical outcomes in vitrified-warmed embryo transfer cycles. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 209 vitrified-warmed cycles from 177 patients who underwent in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer. Embryos were cryopreserved by the vitrification method and warmed in solutions containing either 0.5 or 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose. We compared the 0.5 and 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose warming solution groups with respect to the embryo survival rate after warming and clinical outcomes. Results: The embryo survival rate in the 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (96.5%) was significantly higher than that in the 0.5 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (57.0%). The percentage of embryo transfers after warming in the 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (94.3%) was significantly higher than that in the 0.5 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (83.7%). The clinical pregnancy rate in the 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (25.0%) was significantly higher than that in the 0.5 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose group (11.1%). Conclusion: Embryo survival and clinical pregnancy rates were higher when a 1.0 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose solution was used than when a 0.5 <smlcap>M</smlcap> trehalose solution was used during the embryo warming process.


The truck (1) has a raised arm (20) comprising two or more telescopic guides (22a-22c) made from lightweight metal. The bottom end of the arm is mounted on the chassis (5) and the top end of the arm is connected to the work platform (30). An angle correction system is used to correct the angle of the arm relative to the floor. The truck has wheels (10) for it to move along a track formed by tubular rails in the floor. The platform can support one or more people. A counter-weight is provided, along with a drive device for moving the truck along the track and for moving the arm.


The invention discloses a shutter type vertical-shaft offset distance wind turbine with trapezoidal flexible vanes. The shutter type vertical-shaft offset distance wind turbine comprises a vertical shaft, cross beams, light-weight rectangular ventilating nets and light-weight flexible blades, wherein the vertical shaft is arranged on a tower frame, and the 3-6 cross beams are symmetrically arranged on the vertical shaft; the light-weight rectangular ventilating nets are vertically arranged below the outer ends of the cross beams, each light-weight flexible blade is trapezoidal or triangular, two waists of the trapezoid or the adjacent two sides of the triangle are mutually vertical, the longest side is parallel to a diagonal line of each light-weight rectangular ventilating net and is arranged on the light-weight rectangular ventilating nets, and one waist of the trapezoid is horizontally arranged; and the light-weight flexible blades are made of a light material, even faint wind can cause the light-weight flexible blades against the wind to wave along the wind without resistance, and cause the light-weight flexible blades following the wind to be sheltered on the light-weight rectangular ventilating nets to form the largest wind-catching face, the light-weight rectangular ventilating nets are suffered from wind pressure so as to drive the vertical shaft to rotate, and when being converted from dead wind to favorable wind, the blades are unfolded along the wind direction, so that the blades can obtain the largest wind-catching face when having the favorable wind.


Forecasting the location of an eruption is of primary importance for risk management in volcanic regions. Locating the underground structural changes associated with a potential eruption is also a key issue to better understand the dynamics at work in a volcano. Using recent results in wave physics, we develop an imaging procedure that is based on the sensitivity of multiply scattered waves to weak changes in heterogeneous media. This procedure allows to locate changes in both mechanical and scattering properties of the studied medium. We study ambient seismic noise from 19 broadband stations at the active volcano Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island, recorded from June to December 2010. During this period, two volcanic eruptions occurred at two different locations. We calculate the noise cross correlations and study two types of changes in the coda: apparent velocity variations related to changes in the elastic properties of the medium; and, waveform decoherence associated with variations in the scattering, and thus the geological structures. We observe that the temporal variations of both of these parameters provide potential precursors of volcanic eruptions at Piton de la Fournaise. The locations determined from the preeruptive and coeruptive changes in both parameters are in good agreement with the actual eruptive activities. These data demonstrate that the coda of ambient noise correlations contains deterministic information on the locations of the eruptive processes in an active volcano. Our analysis offers an original and significant constraint for the localization of forthcoming volcanic eruptions.


Along with the development of technology, the cross-border trade is increasing and therefore there is a need for greater consumer protection. A good consumer protection creates a feeling of safety ...


From the angle of scientific research management in colleges and universities,it analyzes the basic contents of patent strategy in colleges and universities.It discusses the construction of patent strategy pattern in colleges and universities from the patent strategy object,the patent application strategy and the patent actualization strategy.It also discusses the measures related with the patent strategy actualization from the patent strategy plan,the process management of scientific research items and the transfer of science research achievements.


climate change and ecological collapse. The most comprehensive analyses of the global farming system concluded that shifting to a plant-based diet would have the most impact on planetary health compared to any other single driver of climate change.1 International consensus supports a global transition to a plant-based diet as an urgent imperative. The Eat-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health2 evaluated the best available science and developed recommendations for a global healthy reference diet, termed the 'Planetary Health Diet' (https://eatforum.org/learn-anddiscover/the-planetary-health-diet). This diet consists predominantly of whole plant foods, with minimal animal-derived and processed foods. Meat, eggs, and dairy are considered optional and if consumed, provide <13% of calories. Not only would this diet keep the global food system within planetary boundaries, it is estimated that it could prevent 11 million deaths annually from diet-related illnesses.2 Health professionals are a trusted source of evidence-based information. As such, they are key players in helping patients transition to a plant-based diet. In reality, many lack the knowledge to counsel patients, yet implementing such change is well within our capabilities and aligned with current recommendations.3 The key components of a healthy plantbased diet are: fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, in approximately equal proportion, a small portion of nuts and seeds on most days, and water being the main beverage.4 All animal-derived foods are removed or minimised. Fish is considered the healthiest option for animal-derived food, although its consumption for a global population of 10 billion by 2050 is unsustainable. Some countries rely on aquaculture, but here in the UK, fish is not a dietary necessity. There remain ingrained myths and fears about plant-based diets. Nutrients of concern are: protein, calcium, iron, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B12; however, with some education and planning these can be easily obtained.5 Furthermore, plant-based diets are abundant in nutrients such as fibre, potassium, magnesium, folate, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds that are often lacking in the typical British diet.


As part of the health survey on the Ilha da Conceicao, a 25 percent random sample of households was identified and a health guestionnaire completed at 236 households. These households contained 536 children, of whom 239 were under age six. Prenatal care had been obtained by 70 percent of the mothers during the pregnancies of the youngest children and 83 percent of these children had been born in hospital. The use of available health facilities was reported more frequently for the younger children in comparison to the older children. Over 90 percent of the children had been vaccinated against one or more diseases but only 50 to 60 percent of the children had complete vaccination against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. Almost two-thirds of the stool specimens from the children revealed evidence of parasites and were most commonly found in children two to three years of age. Low hemoglobin values were found commonly under age three and hemoglobin leveis above 12 grams were not commonly found until age six. Compared with a North American standard for height and weight, proportionately more children on the Ilha da Conceicao were found below the 25th and 3rd percentiles. These findings suggest that an improved health status for the children on the Ilha da Conceicao would result from a household health record maintained at the island clinic including current information on vaccination status of all children, and a health education program focused on expectant mothers and the well baby clinic program.


[p. 48]). The research seems to have overlooked some items, chiefly Soviet investigations into socio-economic history and Western dissertations on Muscovite institutions and politics. Nor is the archival research substantial, and in some cases (e.g. p. 268 n. 4) the reader is left to wonder whether the author used the actual archival file or merely took the reference from a secondary source. Finally, specialists will find cause to quibble over matters of transliteration and translation, sundry misspellings (e.g. 'Koliazin', pp. 64-5, 101), and simple factual errors (e.g. the Donation of Constantine was exposed as a forgery, not in 'the eighteenth century' [p. 261], but in the fifteenth century by Pico della Mirandola). Still, this is good popular biography, capable of providing the non-specialist with a sound introduction to seventeenth-century Russia. A more fundamental study, making more exhaustive use of archival sources and offering a fresh re-interpretation of this neglected period, has yet to be written.


Reform is a change in the system. The economic system generally has three functions: incentives, resource allocation, and interest distribution. Systemic change will necessarily alter the efficiency of these three functions. Improving the efficiency of incentives and resource allocation will directly improve the productivity of resources of a given quantity and quality.>sup>1>/sup> However, if, in the course of improving incentives and resource allocation, a disequilibrium in the distribution of interests appears, then it will not only increase the cost of reform but it may well become the major cost. The reasons for this are, first, if, in the course of reform, a group of people suffers losses, it will overtly or covertly adopt an uncooperative or resistant attitude, thus increasing the cost of implementing reform. Second, unfairness in the distribution of interests will directly instigate friction among different interest groups. Losses resulting from such friction will become a direct part of the price of reform. Third, disequilibrium in interest distribution will also lead to behavior that disregards or even disrupts the existing economic order; disruption of economic order itself is a social loss. Fourth, disruption of the existing pattern of interests caused by reform can lead to relatively strong social unrest (such as the panic buying that occurred in 1988). Such social unrest would either deprive people of the expectation of stability or exact a greater price from them to overcome.


The disciples of Psychology and Sociology and the social sciences more generally, are and have been for some time, in a state of flux, especially with regard to research methods. The tension, in the view if many, is between the approaches to research in terms of positivist verses naturalist [1,2]. This tension has to a considerable degree remains unsolved and has been exacerbated by the postmodernist's discourse as exemplified in the works of Foucault [3] and Lyotard [4] (see Rosenberg, 2003 for an overview of this discourse). This short commentary cannot address all of these issues. Instead, it will [5] provide an introduction to the history of 19th century and early 20th century social sciences focusing on key differences and similarities in research methods and their philosophic underpinning [6]. This will be followed by a short statement regarding the nature of mid 20th century evolution of the social sciences, touching on both the philosophical and practical aspects of research [7]. This essay will end with an overview of some psychology research conducted within the parameters of the Human sciences.


After the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011, one of the most severe nuclear disasters in history, registered at the highest level of danger (level 7) by the International Atomic Energy Agency, occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plants. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was the result of a series of natural catastrophes, engineering failures, and human errors that resulted in fuel core meltdown and spent fuel exposure, caused by cooling system failures, fires, and hydrogen explosions that destroyed reactor buildings. These catastrophic failures and errors led to the release of radioactive materials into the local and global environment via air and seawater. The ongoing developments of the social, economic, ecological, cultural, and political impacts of this unprecedented incident have farreaching implications for all human beings around the world, and especially on Taiwan, because of several similarities between Taiwan and Japan. Since the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred, the question "Can a crisis like the one in Fukushima occur in Taiwan?" has been repeatedly raised by numerous stakeholders. Taiwan is the fifteenth-largest user of nuclear power in the world, with a 4,884MWe (megawatts electric) nuclear power capacity produced by six nuclear reactors in three nuclear power plants in Kuosheng, Jinshan, and Maanshan. In addition, a fourth nuclear power plant, in Longmen, is currently under construction. General Electric boiling water reactors (BWR) are used for both the Kuosheng and Jinshan plants, and Westinghouse pressure water reactors are used in the Maanshan plant. The two additional facilities under construction in Longmen will be equipped with GE's Advanced BWR technology (ABWR). The six slightly and severely damaged nuclear reactors in Fukushima are all BWRs, and the now canceled Fukushima reactors 7 and 8 are ABWRs.


Objective:To clarify the biologic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on embryo implantation. Method:Thirty Kunming female mice were divided into five groups. The pregnant mice were killed from day 4 to day 8 of pregnancy. The transcription and expression of bFGF were examined with the method of hybridization in situ and immunohistochemistry. Results: Many kinds of cells in uterine endometrium could produce bFGF. The expression of bFGF limited in luminal and glandular epithelial cells on day 4~5 of pregnancy. The transcription of bFGF within decidual cells started from day 5 of pregnancy. The transcription and expression of bFGF increased with the progress of implantation, but bFGF disappeared in decidual cells around implantation site. Conclusion: Both temporally and spatial changes of bFGF in early pregnant uterus indicated this growth factor may regulate embryonic implantation, acting via autocrine and/or paracrine mechanisms.


(p. 98) After this somewhat lengthy analysis, we may now attempt to sum up what we have learnt about Bell Beaker metal-working in the Netherlands in comparison with that of the Early Bronze Age...


Using the chromophore base of benzene sulfonate in sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SDBS),the aggregation property of SDBS with non-ionic surfactant TritonX-100 in aqueous solution was studied by fluorescence.Results show there are two turning points in the variation curve of fluorescence intensity I as a function of concentration,which is the critical micelle concentration and the concentration at which the micelle shape changed,respectively.The interaction parameter βM between SDBS and TritonX-100 was calculated by the formula of mixed micelle interaction.The results show there is synergism and strong interaction between them.


Abstract The purpose of thi research is to describethe ability of solving problems through the application of learning with a problem based teaching materials on the subject of vector analysis 4 th semester students of mathematics education study program in the academic year 2015/2016. This study used a qualitative approach with classroom action research participants. The hallmark of the classroom action research done in the cycles. Each cycles consists of four phases: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. Based on the results of this research is: (1) that students problem solving abilities views of mastery learning students has increased 23% , (2) From the average value of problem solving ability of students increased by 4,2 after improvements in cycle II, (3) Based on observation, the learning process has increased by 9,1% and student activities increased by 6,25%, (4) The all object of the interview stated that they were pleased with applied learning. From all the research results have shown that this research has met the success criteria set.


Chapter 6 uses Occupy Wall Street as a window to examine episodes of politically inflected camping, particularly a series of encampments in the nation's capital since the late 1960s. While for many Occupy seemed unprecedented, earlier protests that used camping to protest poverty, the Vietnam War, and homelessness reveal new perspectives on public nature. Many of them wound through the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court case from 1984 that examined whether the Constitution protected camping and sleeping outside as a First Amendment expression. The rise of the homeless crisis in the 1980s, which this last case concerned, was a significant development. Camping as function of poverty or as a platform for politics remained available as means of last resort—to find shelter or assert voice. Occupy, and protests that preceded it, attempted to use camping to reinvigorate political participation, to reestablish community and connection, and to renew the social contract.


Aspect oriented programming has been growing in popularity for several years. With many languages now available to programmers and software engineers, and extended UML with aspects, it is appropriate to place our attention on aspect orientation. In this paper we will attempt to define AOP, briefly describe several languages that implement aspects, and examine several claims of gain from the implementation of the Aspect Paradigm.


In this paper, a distributed index mesh based on cooperative agents is proposed for distributed searching and retrieval on the Internet. The technique results from adopting several extensions to the whois++/CIP centroid technology. The extensions result mainly from including weighted terms in the exported index objects. Weights are computed using well-known information retrieval techniques. The query routing algorithm enables an efficient traversal of the index mesh even considering a pessimistic approach. The proposed system is a good starting point for effective Internet document searching.


The invention discloses a botanical nematocide and a preparation method of the botanical nematocide, belonging to the biopesticide and preparation technology; the botanical nematocide comprises the following raw materials in percentage by weight: flax root ethanol extract, 99% of ethanol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, methylcellulose, penetrating agent T, peregal, diatomite and water; the preparation method comprises the steps of preparing a flax root ethanol extracting solution, a film-forming solution and a bonding solution; then adding the flax root ethanol extracting solution, the film-forming solution, the bonding solution, the penetrating agent T, peregal, diatomite and water to a sanding kettle for grinding; stopping grinding when the grain size reaches the standard; stewing 30 minutes for precipitation, so as to acquire the botanical nematocide product. The botanical nematocide has a rational formula, a simple manufacturing process, low product cost and good effects, is nontoxic, harmless and residual-free, and is beneficial to improving the quality and yield of soybeans.


The comparison of quasi-instantaneously measured HIPPARCOS proper motions with long-term averaged proper motions, derived from ground-based data, allows the identification of many stellar objects as Delta_mu binaries (Wielen et al., 1999, A&A 346, 675). We have used this method to find Delta_mu binaries among the fundamental stars, among the GC stars, and among the Tycho-2 stars. A finding list for about 4000 Delta_mu binaries is given under the URL this http URL in a machine-readable format. This information on the probable duplicity of the listed objects can be used for planning specific observing programs, for improving our knowledge of binary statistics, or for avoiding the use of these binaries in some astrophysical calibrations or as astrometric reference stars.


Introduction Glycyrrhizinic acid is a natural product of pharmacological relevance and its anticancer activity against breast cancer cell lines has not been evaluated. Therefore the main purpose of the present study was to investigate the anticancer effects of glycyrrhizinic acid in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Material and methods The MTT assay was used to evaluate the anticancer effects while a clonogenic assay was used to study its effects on colony formation tendency. Flow cytometry was used to study the effects on cell cycle phase distribution and apoptosis. Western blot assay was used to study changes in protein expression of the m-TOR/PI3K/Akt pathway. Results The results indicated that glycyrrhizinic acid caused significant (p < 0.01). The growth inhibitory effects MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. The growth inhibitory effects of glycyrrhizinic acid exhibited concentration-dependent as well as time-dependent growth inhibitory trend. Different doses of glycyrrhizinic acid had a tendency to significantly (p < 0.01) inhibit the colony formation tendency of MCF-7 cells. As compared to the control group, glycyrrhizinic acid-treated cells showed a high percentage of apoptotic cells. Cells treated with a 10, 50 and 100 µM dose of glycyrrhizinic acid led to a 24.3%, 41.5% and 82.1% increase in the sub-G1 phase (apoptotic) cells. Glycyrrhizinic acid also led to significant (p < 0.01) inhibition of cell invasion along with downregulation of m-TOR/PI3K/Akt protein expression. Conclusions Glycyrrhizinic acid inhibited MCF-7 human breast cancer cell growth and therefore may prove essential lead molecule in the treatment of breast cancer.


The artichoke has been used for a long time in kitchen and pharmacy. In the seventies of the 20 th century the current research concerning the pharmacological effects has begun. Choleretic, hepatoprotective, anticholestatic, lipid-lowering and anti arteriosclerotic effects are proven. Commission E recommends the artichoke in the case of dyspeptic complaints. The paper gives an overview of the current state of research concerning the use of artichoke extracts.


No center,self-organization,self-management,the network structure characteristics of Ad hoc Network make it especially suitable for tactical environment.However,the safety is the key to the application.In this paper,by analyzing the characteristics of the Ad hoc Network,Introduced the tactical environment of the Ad hoc network security issues,security objectives and key strategies.


The mechanochemical polymerization method uses active center of the powder fracture surface to produce by grinding operation, and it is method to approximately completely carry out a polymer coating in crushed inorganic surface. We focused the attention on the waste glass of the car which had low recycling percentage achievement, and we thought about reusing this as silica filler by mechanochemical polymerization processing now. We found what a polymer generated in the water recently by carrying out mechanochemical polymerization reaction with the high ability mill for grinding such as the planetary mill. Therefore, a preparation of the polymer coating silica filler by the wet grinding using the water was investigated. As a result, we succeeded in a preparation of the silica filler that surface of the waste glass was coated with a polymer. Hence progress of the mechanochemical polymerization reaction was confirmed by grinding of the waste glass in the water. In addition, the particle diameter of the product was around 200 nm without depending on the particle diameter of raw materials. Hosokawa Powder Technology Foundation ANNUAL REPORT No.27(2019) 42–47 Research Grant Report


Volume 3: Engineering Modeling and Sustainability. This 3-volume reference presents the latest findings in impact assessment of recycled hazardous waste materials on surface and ground waters. Topics covered include chemodynamics, toxicology, modeling and information systems. The book serves as a practical guide for the monitoring, design, management, or conduct of environmental impact assessment. Each volume contains the table of contents of all volumes.


What is wisdom? What does a wise person know? Can a wise person know how to act and live well without knowing the whys and wherefores of his own action? How is wisdom acquired? This Element addresses questions regarding the nature and acquisition of wisdom by developing and defending a skill theory of wisdom. Specifically, this theory argues that if a person S is wise, then (i) S knows that overall attitude success contributes to or constitutes well-being; (ii) S knows what the best means to achieve well-being are; (iii) S is reliably successful at acting and living well (in light of what S knows); and (iv) S knows why she is successful at acting and living well. The first three sections of this Element develop this theory, and the final two sections defend this theory against two objections to the effect that there are asymmetries between wisdom and skill.


This article documents increased diversity in financial accounting practice. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard-setting process for the Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-18 is used as documentation. The FASB ASU 2014-18 was approved by a slim margin of four to three of the FASB members. This indicates continuing controversy around accounting for goodwill that relates to the public interest goal of similar accounting for similar transactions and events. This article analyzes the content within the 52 Comment Letters submitted in response to 18 questions asked by the Private Company Council (PCC) that lead to the promulgation of the FASB ASU 2014-18. Private companies are to include non-marketable intangibles in the account goodwill that non-private companies are to continue measure and report separate from goodwill. Plus private companies are allowed to either amortize or test for impairment in measuring and reporting goodwill. Non-private companies are to test for impairment. Non-private companies do not have the option of using amortization as part of the measurement and reporting process regarding goodwill. This diversity in measuring and reporting goodwill decreases progress toward the public interest goal of comparability of financial reports. Comparability is a significant quality thought to improve decision usefulness of information.


This paper recalls of the reform of the SMEs; tries t o modify the traditional model of the corporate governance of share-holding enterp rises; proves that it is a good way to perfect the governance of the SMEs with M BO; at last,We give some open question on the corporate governance of the SMEs.


University of the Fraser Valley; Mennonite Central Committee, British Columbia; BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) ; Fraser Valley Regional District Planning Department ; BC Centre for Social Enterprise


Objective To see whether there is any correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP) and pathological changes of carotid artery and coronary calcification in elderly patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) by determination of CRP, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and coronary calcification index (CCI). Methods Serum CRP in different IMT and different plaques in the carotid artery and CCI were measured and analyzed in 96 CAD old patients. Results The higher the serum CRP was, the greater the IMT (P0.05), the higher the grade of the plaque in the carotid artery (P0.05), and the higher the CCI (P0.05). Conclusions Serum CRP is not only positively correlated with the degree of coronary atherosclerosis but with the extent of plaques in the carotid artery. The degree of carotid atherosclerosis is consistent with coronary calcification in elderly CAD patients.


Hydrogen was incorporated in silicon by plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) with 20 kV high voltage acceleration. Samples treated by hydrogen plasma and by in-line implantation (H, 30 kV) were performed in order to evidence the specific effects promoted by the PBII. Plasma treatments did not induce any significant change in the silicon. With in-line implantation, only classical defects can be observed in the silicon around the ion projected range. Post-annealing is needed to obtain the formation of platelets. On the contrary, bubbles and platelets can be observed immediately after PBII implantation. With the highest doses, no post-annealing is needed to form blisters and cavities, because of the heating due to the PBII treatment.


Malaysia hopes to be a developed country which is driven by the industrial and agricultural sectors by the year 2020. This aspiration is guided by Vision 2020 and in order to achieve this, the manpower of the country must be developed and furnished with strong technological, mathematical, and science backgrounds as early as the primary level. It is important to note that effective learning influences the attitude of the students towards science, and if Malaysia is to develop in accordance with Vision 2020, this issue must be addressed. In developed countries like Australia, the learning of science is developed humanistically to attract students to science. The learning of science in Australia involves materials, environments, and activities which encourage students to actively participate in the class. Therefore, it is important to investigate teachers' perspectives towards students' learning as teachers are facilitators of learning. This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative study that was carried out to compare the perspectives of primary science teachers from Malaysia and from Western Australia, with the focus on five research questions. The first question is "what are the teachers' perspectives of learning science?", whereas the second, third and fourth are, "what are the teachers' perspectives of effective teaching methods, the importance of teaching aids and implementing science process skills in the learning of science?" and the fifth question is, "how to assess the progress of the students in learning science?" The participants of the study were twelve primary science teachers from Western Australia and from Malaysia, respectively. The data collection approaches employed included open-ended questions, non-participant observation techniques, and document collection. The findings indicated that there are four types of teachers' perspectives of learning science, three perspectives of the implementation of science process skills in learning science, and five methods in assessing students' progress in learning science.


A system for coating a printed material with a fluid comprising a printing machine (1). The printing machine (1) comprises a metering device (34) for metering the fluid, which is arranged within the printing machine (1), an intermediate storage tank (14) for temporarily storing the fluid, which is arranged within the printing press, and a first pump (18) for conveying the fluid from the intermediate storage container (14) into the metering device (34) comprising first feed pump (18) within the printing machine (1) is arranged. The metering device (34), the intermediate storage container (14) and the first feed pump (18) together form a loop (20). The system further comprises a storage reservoir (28) for storing the fluid and a second feed pump (23) for conveying the fluid from the supply reservoir (28) into the intermediate storage container (14).


Prokaryotic translational release factors, RF1 and RF2, catalyse protein release at UAG/UAA and UGA/UAA stop codons, respectively. Mutations in RF1 and RF2 are known to cause non‐sense suppression for UAG (amber) and UGA (opal) codons, respectively, and they do not exert a reciprocal ('cross') suppression phenotype. We aimed to isolate RF mutants of such cross‐suppression activity, which we designated 'Csu' phenotype in this paper.


In order to understand the mechanical characteristics and failure modes of prismatic lithium-ion battery under mechanical loading conditions, flat plate compression and hemispherical punch indentation test were performed on 186570 prismatic LiFePO4 lithium-ion batteries and bare cells (cells without shell casing). Load and displacement of the cells and bare cells were measured in all tests. Additionally, temperature and voltage of the battery cells were also recorded. In flat plate compression condition, the battery shell casing cracked and electrolyte was squeezed from the cells. In hemispherical punch indentation condition, the punch displacements were stopped when a drop in force and voltage of the cell, as well as a rise in temperature indicated an internal short circuit in the cell. From the measured load-displacement data of the bare cell under flat compression condition, the individual compression stress-strain curves were calculated for the bare cells and used to develop a finite element model for the prismatic LiFePO4 battery. The bare cell is modeled as compressible foam material in LS-Dyna. This model can successfully predicted the load displacement relation of the cell under compression condition. On the other hand, this model can closely predict the force and punch displacement corresponding to the onset of short circuit in the cell under hemispherical punch indentation condition. The present tests and simulation can help to understand the deformation shape and internal short circuit mechanism of the prismatic lithium-ion cells under mechanical abuse conditions.


Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) have motivated a rapid growth of the domain of computer image synthesis. As almost all the existing image synthesis algorithms consider an image as a pixel matrix, the high-resolution image synthesis is complicated.A good alternative can be vector images. However, they belong to the highly sophisticated parametric space, which is a restriction for solving the task of synthesizing vector graphics by GANs. In this paper, we consider a specific application domain that softens this restriction dramatically allowing the usage of vector image synthesis. Music cover images should meet the requirements of Internet streaming services and printing standards, which imply high resolution of graphic materials without any additional requirements on the content of such images. Existing music cover image generation services do not analyze tracks themselves; however, some services mostly consider only genre tags. To generate music covers as vector images that reflect the music and consist of simple geometric objects, we suggest a GAN-based algorithm called CoverGAN. The assessment of resulting images is based on their correspondence to the music compared with AttnGAN and DALL-E text-to-image generation according to title or lyrics. Moreover, the significance of the patterns found by CoverGAN has been evaluated in terms of the correspondence of the generated cover images to the musical tracks. Listeners evaluate the music covers generated by the proposed algorithm as quite satisfactory and corresponding to the tracks. Music cover images generation code and demo are available at https://github.com/IzhanVarsky/CoverGAN.


Many developing countries face constrained tax capacity due to the presence of an informal sector. Informal workers often evade taxation, and governments may choose low tax rates in order to prevent workers from moving to the informal sector, further reducing tax revenue. The extent of distortionary e↵ects on the allocation of labor across sectors depends on the extensive- and intensive-margin labor supply and wage responses to taxation. I estimate the equilibrium e↵ects of taxation on sectoral choice, work hours and wages in Mexico, a developing country with a large informal sector. I exploit uniquely advantageous sources of variation in worker and firm incentives generated by the Mexican tax and trade policies in the 1990s to study these e↵ects. I find that workers are sensitive to income taxation: the elasticity of formal sector participation with respect to relative after-tax income is 0.4 and the elasticity of hours with respect to the net-of-marginal tax rate is 0.08. My results show that 25.1% of sectoral mobility from 1988-2004 is explained by changes in the average tax rate. In addition, equilibrium wages respond to tax-induced changes in the relative supply of imperfectly substitutable labor inputs. A ten percentage point increase in the net-of-average tax rate causes an increase in formal participation of 2.5%, an e↵ect two-thirds the size of that when labor demand is perfectly elastic and wages do not adjust. These wages responses limit the e↵ectiveness of tax instruments designed to encourage formal sector employment, such as a formal sector tax credit.


Objective To investigate the means that handle the combine diabetes mellitus patients with breast cancer after modified radical mastectomy skin flap necrosis.Methods A total of 54 patients in this group,35 cases were from January 2003 to December 2005 treated patients,as control group,using traditional modified radical mastectomy;19 cases from January 2006 to May 2007 treated patients,as study group,began to use improved methods.Results Study group flap necrosis rate was 10.5%,in control group flap necrosis rate was 45.7%,the two groups statistically difference were significant(P 0.05).Conclusions The improved method,the breast cancer patients with diabetes mellitus flap necrosis rate decreased significantly.


Counselling psychologists consider how people relate, how they think and behave, their experiences of the world and how they function in their everyday life. This will include exploring people's social, economic, cultural, spiritual and physical health experiences. Counselling psychologists use psychological and psychotherapeutic theory and research. They work to reduce psychological distress and to promote the well-being of individuals, groups and families.


Coupling characteristic of metallic enclosures with apertures excited by EMP was investigated.The coupling results of different configurations and number of apertures were discussed.The results showed that the electric field evolvement exhibits resonant behaviour evidently and the resonant peak is the highest at the centre inside the enclosure.For the case of the same area of a single aperture,when the polarization direction is parallel to the shorter side of the rectangular,the coupling energy of the rectangular aperture is the largest,and the circle aperture is the lowest.Keeping the total area unaltered,dividing the single larger aperture into multiple smaller apertures,the coupling energy decreases.Besides,the coupling energy of the enclosure with double layers wall decreases significantly.


Cellulose acetate (CA) fibers loaded with naproxen ester prodrug, naproxen methyl ester, were prepared through a wet-spinning technique by using N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as a solvent. The chemical and morphological characterizations of the medicated fibers were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as the studies of the drug release properties. It was observed that the surface and the cross section of the fibers were quite smooth and cylindrical respectively, whereas microcracks were present on the surface of the fibers. Naproxen methyl ester was successfully encapsulated into a monofilament fiber, and this system was stable in terms of high loading capacity and effectiveness in release. The in vitro release experiment indicated that constant drug release from the fiber was observed for a long duration of time. These findings demonstrate that controlled release of drugs from cellulose acetate fibers could be potentially useful in drug delivery systems.