Fault seal prediction has become one of the most important considerations in petroleum exploration in recent years. This has been the result of intensive research from seismic to core to micro scale and has resulted in such developments as robust fault juxtaposition analysis diagrams and an understanding of the microscale processes that result in fault rock development. Well constrained lithological and juxtaposition data tied to seismically observable fault zones can provide good estimates of seal potential along faults and uncover regions along a fault zone where potential leak windows exist. However, while such analyses can define the sealing potential of faults that have been inactive since hydrocarbon charge, they cannot incorporate the potential for seal breach due to fault reactivation subsequent to charge. The likelihood of reactivation can be assessed given knowledge of the stress field, fault orientation and the failure envelope for the fault rocks, assuming the current in situ stress field is representative of the stress field during reactivation. The relationship between these variables also dictates the likely mode of failure the fault will undergo. Morris et al. (1996) defined slip tendency as the ratio of shear stress to normal stress acting on a fault surface. Ferrill et al., (1999) defined dilation tendency as the normal stress acting on a fault plane normalised by comparison with the differential stress. Calculations of slip and dilation tendency were used to assess the likelihood of fault reactivation at the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. However, neither of these methods incorporates rock properties into their calculations resulting in relative estimates of shear and extensional failure. The relative risk between slip and dilation tendency cannot be determined and mixed mode failure (extensional-shear) is not considered at all. Wiprut and Zoback (2000) determined the increase in pore pressure required to induce reactivation of a previously inactive normal fault in the Visund Field, northern North Sea, assuming cohesionless frictional failure. These and related studies of the relationship between stresses and fault reactivation/permeability assume that the failure envelopes for pre-existing faults are described by a cohesionless Byerlee (1978)-type friction law. However, frictional sliding experiments on cohesionless joints or saw-cuts through rocks of the type summarised by Byerlee (1978) do not describe the failure envelopes for cemented fault rocks which may exhibit significant cohesion. This paper presents failure envelopes for microstructurally and petrophysically characterised fault rocks. Further, given that cohesionless friction relations do not describe the failure of these fault rocks, and that the methods outlined above require separate calculations to assess the risk of shear and tensile failure, an alternative approach to assessing the risk of fault reactivation and associated seal breach is presented and applied to a case study in the Otway Basin. This technique combines laboratory derived failure envelopes for fault rocks with in situ stress conditions to allow the risk of tensile and shear failure to be assessed using a single method. The results of natural and laboratory-induced fault behaviour from wells in the Otway Basin are compared with sample material from a producing Carnarvon Basin field where rocks from a fault zone


This paper briefly analyzed the current situation of the textile industry,proposed that the modular design is the important means to solve low-volume variety and realize the flexibility of textile machinery,introduced the basic theories of the modular design.Combined with the characteristic of the textile machinery,it analyzed the relation between functions and modules of the fly frame by taking fly frame as an example,and the scheme of the module partition was put forward.


A compact optical performance monitor for dense wavelength division multiplex networks is presented. This novel low-cost device can be used to assess the signal quality in terms of the Q-factor independently of data format and line rate.


We investigated the content and form, in times of megaevents, public policy sports in a city in Minas Gerais and the possibility of access of the population, especially the working class. Making use of historical materialism was used as methodological tools to search for documents in official organs of the municipal council; visits to neighborhoods of the city and its structures for the development of sports and other elements of body culture, photo-recording and reporting; finally privileged interlocutors were interviewed in order to understand the state of the art of public policies in the city.


Objective:To study the clinical manifestations and histopathological and immunohistochemical features of anaplastic large cell lymphoma(ALCL) in children.Methods:We analyzed the clinical data,performed pathological examination,and tested the immunophenotypes of four ALCL children who were admitted in our hospital from 2001 to 2006.Results:The main clinical manifestations included enlarged superficial lymphnodes,rapid development disease,irregular fever,and hepatosplenomegaly.Morphological examination showed that the normal structure of lymphnode was destroyed and the large cells infiltrated into lymphnode sinuses.The tumor cells had large size with eccentric,horseshoe or kidney-shaped nucleus.Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the tumor cells positively expressed activin receptor-like kinase-1(ALK-1),epithelial membrane antigen(EMA),and Ki-1.Conclusion:Detection of the expression of ALK-1,Ki-1,and EMA in ALCLs will provide assistance for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of ALCLs.


Stochastic frontier models for cross‐sectional data typically assume that the one‐sided distribution of firm‐level inefficiency is continuous. However, it may be reasonable to hypothesize that inefficiency is continuous except for a discrete mass at zero capturing fully efficient firms (zero‐inefficiency). We propose a sieve‐type density estimator for such a mixture distribution in a nonparametric stochastic frontier setting under a unimodality‐at‐zero assumption. Consistency, rates of convergence and asymptotic normality of the estimators are established, as well as a test of the zero‐inefficiency hypothesis. Simulations and two applications are provided to demonstrate the practicality of the method.


This volume presents ecological consequences and evolutionary mechanisms that may be associated with behavioral alterations in parasitized hosts. Alterations may result from natural selection favoring the host or parasite, or there may be side effects of physiological changes associated with symbiosis. This book summarizes the literature in this area, showing that reports of alteration may frequently be consistent with more than one evolutionary explanation and that rigorous tests are needed before the phenomenon can be understood and placed in a predictive framework. Such understanding is important, because these behavioral alterations have been shown to have the potential to affect the distribution of animals in nature and their interactions with predators and competitors, and the alterations may have implications for vector biology.


The invention relates to a method for utilizing stainless steel removed dust as ironmaking raw material, comprising the following steps:1, proportioning: well mixing 10 parts of stainless steel removed dust and 0.8-1.2 parts of cement in parts by weight; 2, adding water and organic adhesive, and spraying glue prepared from 0.8-1.2 parts by weight of cement and 0.01-0.02 part by weight of polyvinyl alcohol on the mixed material, and mixing the material evenly; 3, extruding the material for formation and conveying the material added with glue to a ball press to be pressed into blocks with maximum external size of 30-45mm; and 4, curing, naturally drying the extruded blocks. The method for utilizing the stainless steel removed dust as the ironmaking raw material and sintering in a sintering plant have low cost.


The purpose then of this paper has been to expand our knowledge of these aquatic forms by investigating the cultural, physiological, morphological, and chemical characteristics of an actinomycete isolated from the water supply, Lake Waco, of Waco, Texas.


Abstract A genetic algorithm for scheduling computational task graphs is presented. The problem of assigning tasks to processing elements as a combinatorial optimization is formulated, and a heuristic based on a genetic algorithm is presented. The objective function to be minimized is the 'time on completion' of all tasks. Results are compared with those published in the literature and with randomly generated task graphs whose optimal schedules are known a priori.


Raven is a Multi-Object Adaptive Optics (MOAO) scientific demonstrator which will be used on-sky at the Subaru observatory from 2014. Raven is currently being built and tested at the University of Victoria AO Lab. This paper presents an overview of the optomechanical design and the software architecture of Raven, and gives the current status of this project. Raven includes three open loop wavefront sensors (WFSs), a laser guide star WFS and two figure/truth WFSs. Two science channels containing deformable mirrors (DMs) feed light to the Subaru IRCS spectrograph. Central to the Raven is a Calibration Unit which contains multiple sources, a telescope simulator including two phase screens and a ground layer DM that can be used to calibrate and test Raven in the lab. Preliminary results on calibration and open-loop AO correction using a tomographic reconstructor are presented.


Accurate detection of cyber-attacks plays a central role in safeguarding computer networks and information systems. This paper addresses the problem of detecting SYN flood attacks, which are the most popular Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. Here, we compare the detection capacity of three commonly monitoring charts namely, a Shewhart chart, a Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control chart and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart, in detecting SYN flood attacks. The comparison study is conducted using the publicly available benchmark datasets: the 1999 DARPA Intrusion Detection Evaluation Datasets.


Caculated the change of the Gibbs free energy when ions transport through the membranes and take the applied electric field into account.At last,analyzed the electroporation mechanism under the transient electromagnetic field.


Experimental density data are reported for diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether from (283.15 to 363.15) K at pressures up to 60 MPa using a vibrating-tube densimeter. Relative uncertainties of density measurements are 0.001 with confidence level 0.95. The experimental data were fitted with a Tait-like equation; average relative deviations were 0.017% for diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, 0.015% for diethylene glycol dibutyl ether, and 0.019% for ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. The isobaric thermal expansivity and the isothermal compressibility were derived from the Tait-like equation.


The Arkoma basin of southeastern Oklahoma is characterized by long, steeply folded anticlines, dry gas production, and no oil. One of the most prolific gas reservoirs in the area is the Hartshorne Sand, of early Desmoinesian age, productive at 1,000-4,000 ft. This sandstone produces gas in the Poteau-Gilmore field on the Gilmore anticline, at Cameron field on the Midland anticline, at Red Oak-Norris on the Brazil anticline, and at Quinton-Carney-Featherston and Kinta fields on the Kinta anticline. The first commercial gas well in the Quinton field was completed in September, 1915, with an open-flow potential of 25 million cu. ft. of gas daily from the Hartshorne Sand. Subsequent drilling along the structural axis of the anticline found the Blocker-Featherston, Carney, and Kinta fields. The significance of the "structural" accumulation of gas on the Kinta anticline was not fully understood until Pine Hollow gas field was discovered and developed nearly 50 years after the completion of the discovery well at Quinton. It now appears that the Hartshorne Sand is producing from stratigraphic traps in a series of off-shore bar deposits that extend from Pine Hollow to Kinta. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1561------------


We present a new technique for providing nuclei for diamond formation on nondiamond substrates and its application to the growth of diamond on a Cu substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This is a predeposition process in which the substrate is immersed in a CH4/H2 plasma formed by electron cyclotron resonance at a low pressure (0.1 Torr). The technique provides possibilities of nucleation over an increased area at temperatures lower (about 500°C) than usual, as well as improved process controllability. The grown diamonds on Cu exhibit a morphology significantly different from that of diamonds grown on Si.


The invention relates to a method for monitoring and evaluating a highway large and medium-sized mammal passage based on an infrared camera technology. The method comprises selection of an animal passage to be monitored and a monitored target species, and settings of infrared cameras such as the number, positions, heights, angles and parameters; and the cross-over efficiency of a large and medium-sized mammal for a certain passage or a certain kind of passages is evaluated through an animal passage efficiency evaluation method such as independent photo screening, definitions of cross-over attempt and actual cross-over, cross-over rate calculation and selected chi-square test or variance analysis. According to the invention, the continuous dynamic monitoring of a highway large and medium-sized mammal passage can be realized, and the efficiency of the highway large and medium-sized mammal passage can be scientifically evaluated, thereby further optimizing the settings of the highway large and medium-sized mammal passage in a similar region.


The most part of the research paths that we have undertaken in recent years has developed within contexts inhabited by fragility – Nursing Homes for the elderly , by agony – the so call Hospice –, by the departments that receive cancer terminally ill patients and by those who are appointed to deal with them, the socio/health carers. In this sense, our interest has been primarily directed towards the communities strongly affected by situations of high distress or cognitive/physical downfall, settings that could reveal unexpected representations of life.In these places, the relationship between those receiving care and those giving it not only consists of sets of techniques acquired or to be acquired and their acceptance by the patient, but a space where listening, understanding, waiting, words, gestures and emotions compete in the definition of a reciprocal process of care.The sites of disease, as well as the places of death, paradoxically, are the spaces where we can humbly linger to listen to life itself. Wherever care, through its joint expression, can set itself against vulnerability, as a new condition, far from being just a powerful healing practice. If conceived in this way, treatment can also be seen as one possible form of human understanding, in which to develop a dialogue, a "Socratic thinking" between knowledge, skills, people and the countless performances that derive from.Studying the contexts of care and work practices (Wenger 2005) that permeate them, therefore, can not leave out a reworking by the researcher, the episteme of the same sickness and health (defined, respectively, as a temporary or chronic deficiency of the individual and the other as the absence of disease), and the research methodology the researcher chooses to follow has to address towards these questions. Especially in the field of health and illness, today, the social research tends to follow trajectories already set in advance by needs, or positions, no matter whether they provide for a socially useful outcome and the studies remain mainly oriented to the achievement of objectives statistically representative (in terms of correspondences between economic and social needs) or the construction of reflections on the effectiveness and efficiency of services. Polarities certainly important, but not enough, as we theorize.


Sardinella longiceps being a commercially important fish needs special attention
and a study of its food and feeding is important. Some work has been
done on this subject on the south-west coast of India as referred to by Nair
(1952). Recently Venkataraman (1960), Kuthalingam (1960) and Dhulkhed (1962)
have made some studies at Calicut, Madras and Mangalore respectively; and
at Karwar nothing has so far been reported.


Education is regarded as the powerful instrument of national development (Gogoi, Dutta & Soni 2016). If we talk about social media, it includes all the web-sites and applications which facilitate users to share the content of their creation or to contribute in social networking like- YouTube, Facebook, Whatsapp, WeChat, Google form, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedln, TikTok, Skype, Line, Hago, Messenger etc. has more than 1000 million users (in average) worldwide. The users can be found mainly youth as per the census reports. They are more influenced by this powerful social media and got addicted now. Most of the parents got engaged in their own works and professions. They seek for freedom and want to stay free from their child because of some overload works as a result they failed to look after the uses of electronic devices and social media. In fact they provide to their children some electronic devices so that they can get information globally. The youth are now highly depended on electronic devices like- computer, tablet, mobile etc. Instead of purchasing course books, they like to be more interested depending on internet.


The cathode is one of the key components in lithium batteries since its properties significantly affect the battery performance. Therefore, currently, the research in the field of cathode synthesis and modification is quite relevant. Among the various widely used strategies aimed at improving the electrochemical performance of batteries, the application of cathode surfaces is one of the extremely useful and widely used technologies. Electrospinning technology is one of the methods to produce porous electrodes out of a polymer solution by applying electrostatic forces to the solution. Polyvinylidene fluoride is one of the common polymer-binding agents in lithium-ion batteries. It is characterized by a useful combination of elasticity and mechanical strength that allows using it in the electrospinning method. The purpose of this work was the attempt to optimize the microstructure of the cathode coating by fabrication of the fiber cathode based on lithium-iron-phosphate with the help of the electrospinning technique using polyvinylidene fluoride.


Introduction:
 Atypical myocarditis, presenting as isolated chest pain, elevated troponin and preserved cardiac output in childhood is rare. Beyond small volume single center case series, limited data are reported on CMR characteristics at initial presentation and follow up.

 Methods:
 This is a pediatric multi-center retrospective study. Patients with chest pain and elevated cardiac troponin who underwent an echo and CMR within 30 days of each other were included. Clinical, echo and CMR parameters were collected at presentation and follow up. CMR global longitudinal strain (GLS) was performed with feature tracking technology (TomTec). Cases were divided into CMR myocarditis positive (Myo+) and CMR myocarditis negative (Myo-) based on Lake Louise criteria. Findings were compared to 19 age matched controls.

 Results:
 A total of 108 cases were included (88 Myo+ and 20 Myo-). Majority were male (88%) with average age of 15.6 ± 2.1 years. Median troponin was 13 (0.18-260.1 ng/mL), median BNP was 270.8 (12-3949 pg/ml). Abnormal ECG findings were present in 79% at presentation. While CMR LVEF did not differ between cases (56 ± 9%) and controls (60 ± 4%, p 0.06), GLS was significantly worse in cases (-16.2 ± 2.7%) compared to controls (-19.2 ± 2.1%, p <0.001). Unlike LVEF, GLS was significantly worse in Myo+ (-15.7 ± 2.8%) compared to Myo- cases (-18.0 ± 1.3%, p < 0.001). Fifty-four subjects had follow up data with 35 repeat CMRs. Median follow up was 204 (30-944) days. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) persisted in 82% of the Myo+ cases. Of the cases with abnormal GLS at presentation, 77% had persistent LGE. At follow up, 14% of cases were on heart failure medications, 33% had abnormal GLS and 39% had abnormal LVEF (<55%). Neither treatment with steroids or IVIG at presentation nor LGE on initial or follow up CMR were associated with the need for heart failure medications or persistent symptoms at follow up.

 Conclusions:
 In atypical myocarditis, CMR GLS can help differentiate between Myo+ and Myo- cases. Abnormal CMR GLS at presentation has higher association with persistence of LGE at follow up, irrespective of type of treatment. Future studies are needed to identify other characteristics that predict persistently abnormal findings important to clinical management and prognosis.


The second generation circular digital variable optical attenuator (CDVOA) with an effective area of 1500 μm diameter has been designed and fabricated based on SOI technology. C-band incoming Gaussian light can be reflected to an outgoing fiber from a shiny circular area, which is divided into sectors that can be individually tilted and addressed electrostatically to achieve variable light attenuation. Using a delay mask process, each movable component i) has an underlying ridge frame to maintain flatness, ii) is suspended by two micro beams at a bridge structure that connects to a handle where aluminum electrode is located underneath, and iii) is separated by wall structures at the handle area to reduce crosstalk from adjacent electrodes. Critical fabrication processes including the mirror and chip release are performed using a HF vapor phase etcher. Fluidic pressure and chip-dicing shocks are avoided. Initial results show that a mirror sector suspended by two 345 μm long beams with a cross-section of about 5×5 μm2 can be tilted to 2.8° at about 18 V driving voltage. Initial interferometric measurement gives estimated individual mirror flatness after metallic reflective coating to be about λ/15. The assembled chips are ready for further testing and characterization.


The current investigation was designed to assess the preliminary phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial and anti-radical effect of crude methanolic extract and isolated fractions of Nigella sativa seeds using established protocol. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, reducing sugars, saponins, steroids, proteins and amino acids, fatty acids and caumarine. The crude methanolic extract and isolated fraction were subjected to antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities. The ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions demonstrated significant (80% and 78%) antioxidant activity. Regarding antibacterial activity of N. sativa, chloroform fraction showed good antibacterial effect as compared to the rest of solvent extracted fractions. Fractions were tested for antifungal activity as well. Amongst all, MeOH fraction showed good antifungal activity against A. N and A. S. n- Hexane showed no activity while other fractions showed moderate activity. The current finding suggests that N. sativa contains potential molecules which exhibited excellent antioxidant and antibacterial effect.


The reactions of four esters, naphth-1-ylmethyl acetate, naphth-1-ylmethyl benzoate, benzyl acetate, and benzyl benzoate, with the salts of radical anions of fluoranthene and biphenyl have been studied. When ester radical anion formation is energetically possible, CH 2 -O bond cleavage follows rapidly. The resultant ArCH 2 radical is reduced under the reactionconditions. The ArCH 2 anion thus produced can react with the ester both as a nucleophile and as a base to promote a variety of side reactions. In most cases, these processes compete with the initial reduction and cleavage


10 G EPON is regarded as next generation PON technology,which can meet the broadband access needs of video services such as IPTV in triple play.In order to realize the operation of multicast services in 10 G EPON system,controlled multicast technology is introduced to control the multicast operation in 10 G EPON.The realization principle and procedure of IPTV controlled multicast in 10 G EPONare given,and the control and management methods of IPTV multicast based on IGMP controlled message and extended OAM message are proposed.


With the increasing demand for composite products to be affordable, net-shaped and efficiently assembled, tight dimension tolerance is critical. Due to lack of accurate process models, dimension analysis and control for resin transfer molding (RTM) processes are often performed using trial-and-error approaches based on engineers' experiences or previous production data. Such approaches are limited to specific geometry and materials and often fail to achieve the required dimensional accuracy in the final products. This paper presents an innovative dimension variation prediction approach. First a dimension variation model was developed based on process simulation, the classical laminate theory (CLT) and finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA-based dimension variation model was validated against experimental data. The deformations of common features in typical composite structures were analyzed using the FEA-based dimension variation model. Design parameters were identified and the regression-based dimension variation model was developed. The model provides a fast, practical and proactive tool to predict and control dimension variations in RTM processes. The structural tree method (STM) is presented for design optimization and tolerance analysis/synthesis of composite assemblies.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of eccentric training and retraining on delayed onset muscule soreness (DOMS) in sedentary young men. Methods: Sixteen healthy male students without any DOMS experience within last six months (age: 21.62±1.73 year, weight: 70.76 ± 8.12 kg, and height: 174.25±5.90 cm) participated in this study voluntarily and randomly divided into 2 groups (control n: 8, the experimental group n: 8). Physical activity program for DOMS was seventy repitition of elbow flexor muscles. Before performing DOMS protocol- l, as well as, after 1, 24, 26, 48 and 72 hours after exercise, range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness (pain perception), maximum eccentric force (MEF), arm circumference, serum levels of cretain kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. Repeated measure with Bonferroni correction used in order to compare control and experimental effects during different measurements. Independent t-test used for comparison of results between groups (control and experimental) in each time. Results: CK, 48 hours after exercise showed significant difference between 2 groups (P≤ 0/001). Furthermore, Experimental and control group did not show any significant differences in LDH various points of post exercise. Maximum Eccentric Force (MEF), showed significant difference 1 hours after exercise (P≤ 0/034). Range of Motion (ROM), showed significant difference 48 hours of after exercise (P≤ 0/003). Muscle soreness (pain perception), did not show any significant differences various points of post exercise between 2 groups. Furthermore, Arm circumference, 48 hours of after exercise showed significant difference between 2 groups (P≤ 0/05). Conclusion: This study results showed that eccentric retraining has not any effect on the treatment of DOMS of sedentary young men.

Keywords: DOMS, Eccentric Retraining, CK, LDH


The author assesses the current status of the field and places the problem of Chinese recognition into perspective with other areas of optical character recognition. Early experiments are briefly reviewed, and sources of more up-to-date information, including review articles, are indicated, advances in computer technology are discussed that have had a significant impact on the problem, and a sampling of relatively recent research on the classification of both printed and handprinted ideographs is presented. Included in the discussion are techniques of preprocessing (character location and segmentation) and hierarchical classification.<<ETX>>


his paper primarily focuses on various fractal geometries and their applications to antenna designs. Several natures inspired and human inspired fractal geometries are presented one by one. Their importance and design procedure are also briefly discussed. The dimensions of such fractal geometries are found using their mathematical modeling. Considering modeling and their corresponding shapes various low profiles, low cost, small size and, light weight antenna designs for various wireless applications are described. The broadband, wideband, and multiband nature of the design due to fractal application are discussed. Finally advantages, disadvantages, major applications, and future scope of such fractal geometries are mentioned.


Availability of clean water is a serious problem, especially in developing countries. Therefore, there is demand of low cost treatment for water purification. The use of natural coagulant like Moringa oleifera for the water treatment is the best low cost treatment method useful for society. In the present book the evaluation of Moringa oleifera seeds as a natural absorbent and antimicrobial agent for drinking water treatment was studied. Moringa oleifera, native to India, grows in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is commonly known as 'drumstick tree'. Moringa oleifera seeds possess effective coagulation properties and they are non toxic to humans or animals and also biodegradable. These seeds contain proteins that have active coagulation properties and are being used for turbidity removal in many countries. The use of the local Moringa seeds for clarification is therefore useful in the purification of drinking water in developing countries, than other chemicals used. This book evaluates Moringa oleifera seeds as a water purifier and shows that it would be possible to develop an economical and an environmentally safe method of water purification


Gotu kola is one of the medicinal plants that is widely used because of its various nutritional content. In general, the cultivation only uses inorganic fertilizers, which have long-term effects that are not good for the environment. The use of organic fertilizers is an effort to produce high-standard products. Rabbit urine liquid organic fertilizer and goat manure are alternative types of fertilizer that can be given. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the response of giving liquid organic fertilizer of rabbit urine and goat manure and their interaction with the growth and yield. The study used a Factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD). The first factor was rabbit urine liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) with a concentration of 0, 2, and 4%. The second factor was goat manure with doses of 0, 37, and 75 g/polybag. The results showed that applying rabbit urine (LOF) and goat manure increased the growth and yield of gotu kola. Application of 2% rabbit urine LOF significantly increased stalk length compared to controls. Gotu kola plants given 37 g/polybag of goat manure produced stolons that were significantly longer than those treated with goat manure 75 g/polybag and had significantly heavier roots than other treatments. The interaction of rabbit urine LOF and goat manure application had no significant effect on all observed variables.

Keywords: goat manure, gotu kola, liquid organic fertilizer, rabbit urine


A single pump generates counter-propagating Brillouin laser, enabling dual-soliton excitation in an over-modal microresonator. Via tuning the pump detuning, the dual-soliton demonstrates tunable repetition offset ranging from 8.4 MHz to 367 MHz.


De Meyer and Moussa Saley [4] provide an endogenous justification for the appearance of Brownian Motion in Finance by modeling the strategic interaction between two asymmetrically informed market makers with a zero-sum repeated game with one-sided information. The crucial point of this justification is the appearance of the normal distribution in the asymptotic behavior of Vn(P) pn . In De Meyer and Moussa Saley's model [4], agents can fix a price in a continuous space. In the real world however, the market compels the agents to post prices in a discrete set. The previous remark raises the following question: Does the normal density still appear in the asymptotic of Vn pn for the discrete market game? The main topic of this paper is to prove that for all discretization of the price set, Vn(P) pn converges uniformly to 0. Despite of this fact, we do not reject De Meyer, Moussa analysis: when the size of the discretization step is small as compared to n−12 , the continuous market game is a good approximation of the discrete one.


In this article, we establish a class of new projected type iteration methods based on matrix spitting for solving the linear complementarity problem. Also, we provide a sufficient condition for the convergence analysis when the system matrix is an $H_+$-matrix. We show the efficiency of the proposed method by using two numerical examples for different parameters. Keywords. Iterative method, Linear complementarity problem, $H_{+}$-matrix, $P$-matrix, Matrix splitting, Convergence.


Though the equity incentive plan was introduced into China just for a short time, the number of listed companies that implemented equity incentive plan was growing fast. In order to improve the effect of equity incentive plan on alleviating agent problem between the owners and managers, China Securities Regulatory Commission supports it by the developing the legislation and prefer-ential tax policies. In China, it is a general phenomenon of major shareholders' tunneling behavior. However, there is little research focusing on the relationship between tunneling behavior and equity incentive plan. This paper mainly researched the effect of major shareholders' tunneling behavior on the preference of equity incentive plan, using cross-sectional data of A-share listed companies in China security market from 2006 to 2013. Actually, the empirical result showed that, the major shareholders' tunneling behavior has a negative effect on equity incentive plan. The major shareholders' tunneling behavior affects the welfare tendency of equity incentive plan, and the companies with serious major shareholders' tunneling behavior are more likely to choose the welfare-tendency equity incentive plan.


The effect of pH on copper toxicity to two planktonic blue-green algae, Aphanizomenon gracile and Oscillatoria redekei, was investigated. Growth rates of the algae without copper treatment decrease with pH, Aphanizomenon is earlier and more affected than Oscillatoria. On the other hand, pH-lowering leads sooner to a toxicity enhancement in Oscillatoria. In the acid range, toxicity retardation occurs in Aphanizomenon. At pH 5.1, shortening of the interval between copper toxicity and copper stimulus is characteristic for both species.


In this paper, an improved decoding algorithm is developed for Raptor codes in fading channels to enhance its error performance. As the classic decoding algorithm of the Raptor codes is designed for erasure channels and its error performance degrades severely over the fading channels, a modified coding and decoding algorithm is developed for Raptor codes with short codeword length in fading channels. A random interleaver is introduced between the inner LT code and the outer LDPC code, and then an iterative soft information upgrading and transferring-based decoding algorithm under Turbo principle is employed to combat the fading. Simulation results show the presented coding and decoding algorithm can enhance the bit error rate(BER) performance of Raptor codes in fading channels.


The Munich Orbital Verification Experiment (MOVE) is a CubeSat student project housed at the Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight at the Technical University of Munich. MOVE-III is the fourth CubeSat under development, and the first 6U mission of the MOVE project that will carry a dedicated scientific payload in orbit. The mission aims at acquiring in-situ observations of sub-millimetre space debris and meteoroids in Low Earth Orbit, with the objective of compiling a dataset of flux, as well as object mass and velocity measurements that can be used for the validation of the small object estimates of space debris models and support further studies related to the characterisation of the space environment. The MOVE-III CubeSat employs the MOVE-BEYOND platform and is planned to carry three Debris Density Retrieval and Analysis (DEDRA) plasma ionization sensors. The Preliminary Design Review has been completed in early 2022, with the next milestone being the Critical Design Review, planned for 2023. The paper elaborates on the scientific objectives of the mission and the expected data products, provides an overview of the detector operation principle and presents the overall system architecture, the platform configuration and the subsystem interaction. Considerations on the debris mitigation aspects of the mission are additionally discussed.


[ 1] To study interplanetary magnetic clouds (IMCs), it is important to find their configurations and boundaries from the observed magnetic field data. This paper presents a novel method of identifying the configuration and boundaries of IMCs, wherein the interplanetary magnetic field data, which are measured in the Geocentric Solar Ecliptic (GSE) coordinate system, are converted into an IMC natural coordinate system that can more clearly display the configuration and boundaries of the IMC as a flux tube. The establishment of the natural coordinate system is based on the idea that the IMC is a flux rope with approximately constant a force-free field configuration. We also apply this method to analyze four IMCs observed by the Wind spacecraft. Two of them are identified as having the flux rope configuration lying in the ecliptic plane, and the other two are flux ropes vertical to the ecliptic plane. The results demonstrate that our method can work well for real IMCs.


In this study, we developed a wearable tactile sensor which can measure the position and the pressure applied on a patient body for quantifying care skills in the care technique called" Humanitude". Humanitude has been attracting much attention as a gentle and effective care technique for a dementia patient in recent years. The developed wearable tactile sensor aims to quantify the "touch" skill among the four representative skills in Humanitude, which are gaze, touch, talk, and stand up. We have developed two types of wearable tactile sensors, an underwear-type using a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet and a FPC, and a vest-type using a conductive cloth. In addition, we developed a learning system of Humanitude using AR technology and a real object, which realizes the interaction between a care-giver and a patient by overlaying a face and eyes of a patient on a real doll using AR technology, and the quantification of touch skill using the wearable sensor.


This paper proposes normalized recursive least moduli (NRLM) algorithm for complex-domain adaptive filters in which the normalizing factor is q-norm of filter input. Stochastic models are given for two types of impulse noise found in adaptive filtering systems: one in observation noise and another at filter input. We first review q-norm and normalized least mean modulus (NLMM) algorithm, and then derive the NRLM algorithm. Analysis of the NRLM algorithm is developed to calculate theoretical convergence. Through experiment, we find that the filter convergence behavior does not critically depend on the value of q. This suggests use of infinity-norm which is easiest to compute. It is also demonstrated that the NRLM algorithm is effective in improving the filter convergence speed, while it enhances the robustness of the NLMM algorithm against both types of impulse noise. Validity of the analysis is confirmed by good agreement observed between simulations and theory.


Markov decision processes are one of the most popular frameworks for reinforcement learning. The entropy of probability density functions of Markv decision processes is referred to as the stochastic complexity. The stochastic complexity is helpful for tuning the parameters of an action-selection strategy to alleviate the exploration-exploitation dilemma. In this paper, we improve an action-selection strategy to make it insensitive to parameter-settings by using the stochastic complexity. This gives better policies for alleviating the above dilemma in most parameter-settings.


Anaphora plays an indispensable role in discourse cohesion since it tells us how discourse is constructed and arranged. The present paper aims to analyze anaphora from a semantic angle. In this paper, definition and types of anaphora are presented firstly, and then moves to focus on nominal anaphora. Through analyzing these English nominal anaphoric phenomenons, semantic relations between anaphoric elements and their antecedents such as synonymy, hyponymy and meronymy are found out between these sentences. Finally, some enlightenment with regard to English teaching and learning are provided. Keywords—anaphora; nominal anaphora; semantic relation; College English Teaching


In this paper, an innovative approach for monitoring home electric power quality indicators is presented. Using an electric power analysis device (for this work purpose it will be a smart-meter) and a personal computer it is proved that it is possible to monitor and register electric power quality anomalies, such as long interruptions, voltage dips/swells and frequency oscillations. Through an application developed in Java, a user can view real-time electric parameters, check for electric power quality anomalies and assess load diagram of previous days. Experimental results regarding the application performance are also presented with the respective conclusions.


ABSTRACT We use the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia, 2005–2006, to examine the housing tenure experience of skilled immigrants to Australia 6 and 18 months after arrival for relationships with ethnic capital (cultural background), visa category streams, aspects of human capital, demographics, social capital and discrimination. Homeownership experience is used to indicate integration into Australia's dominantly middle-class society. Multinomial regression analysis identifies visa entry category as the most important independent group of variables accounting for immigrants' short-term dwelling tenure, followed by aspects of human capital, family status, and the importance of ethnic capital for immigrants of both English-speaking and non-English-speaking backgrounds, and discrimination.


These three metallic systems do not exhibit any magnetic ordering despite experiments show the existence of localized moments with large antiferromagnetic exchange: this is a consequence of the strong geometric frustration (Y(Sc)Mn_{2} and LiV_{2}O_{4} have the Pyrochlore structure, while beta-Mn has a more complicated frustrated structure). Another common feature is their very large specific heat coefficient \gamma =C/T (420 mJ mole^{-1} K^{-2} for LiV_{2}O_{4}). Several explanations have been proposed for this ''3d heavy fermion behavior'', including a 3d-Kondo effect. However the similarities between the three compounds indicate that frustration plays a big role. We propose a new model which takes into account the existence of two types of 3d-electrons (localized and itinerant) and a frustrated antiferromagnetic exchange between the localized 3d electrons.


To unveil the role of native culture learning in present classrooms,a questionnaire survey was conducted among 110 college students with an aim to know their understanding of culture integration into English classes,their expressive ability of native culture and their knowledge of foreign culture.Based on the problems found,a social constructivist view is adopted in putting forward suggestions concerning reform of curriculum design,course book compilation,and also enhancement of the role of native culture in learning English.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ii Co-Authorship-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------iii Acknowledgements -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------iv Statement of Originality------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v List of Figures------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xi List of Tables -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xiv List of Abbreviations --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xv Chapter 1-Introduction 1.1 General Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 1.2 Organic contaminants in the wastewater --------------------------------------------------------------3 1.2.1 Sulfonamides------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 1.2.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)------------------------------------------------------6 1.3 Conventional wastewater treatment options ----------------------------------------------------------7 1.3.1 Primary treatment (mechanical) ------------------------------------------------------------------12 1.3.2 Secondary treatment (biological)------------------------------------------------------------------12 1.3.3 Tertiary treatment (chemical) ---------------------------------------------------------------------14 1.3.4 Limitations for Sulfonamides and PAHs---------------------------------------------------------14 1.4 Oil-sands produced water (OSPW)--------------------------------------------------------------------15 1.4.1 Conventional OSPW treatment process------------------------------------------------------------16 1.4.2 Limitations for OSPW -----------------------------------------------------------------------------17 1.5 Advanced wastewater treatment by filtration--------------------------------------------------------18 1.5.1 Limitation of membrane filtration-----------------------------------------------------------------20 1.5.2 Micellar Enhanced Ultrafiltration (MEUF)-------------------------------------------------------21 1.6 Objective of the research--------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 1.7 Scope of the research------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23 1.8 References------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24


firstname.lastname@example.com Crime scene forensic evidence may include audio gunshot recordings obtained from some known or assumed location with respect to the shooting position. The acoustic evidence of the gunshot depends significantly upon the relative orientation of the firearm's barrel and the recording microphone due to the inherent directional characteristics of the gun, the microphone, and the acoustical characteristics of the surrounding environment. This paper describes an experiment involving the directional characteristics of several types of firearms.


According to the structure of the impeller and the character of metal material,the casting process for the first stage impeller of charging pump was determined.The first stage impeller founded by the above method had no shrinks on hub and no sand or slag on the vane.Destructive test was carried out on the first stage impeller to test the casting quality in the blind area of radiographic examination,and all the volume of the impeller has been tested by radiographic examination.The result of radiographic examination proved the high quality of first stage impeller casting,and the acceptance requirements was met.The assessment of this first stage impeller prototype parts were performed strictly in accordance with relevant nuclear standards.It provides good reference for the assessment of prototype parts in nuclear power plant.


Precise Point Positioning (PPP) denotes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) based positioning technique, where dual-frequency code and phase measurements from a single receiver are used to calculate precise site coordinates at the sub-decimeter level. The data processing relies on precise satellite orbits and clock correction information determined from observation data of a global reference station network provided by organizations such as the International GNSS Service (IGS). Typically, the ionospheric delay is almost completely eliminated by means of the ionosphere-free linear combination, while the tropospheric delay and the receiver clock bias are estimated parameters along with the site coordinates. Introduced for the first time about 14 years ago the PPP technique was mainly used in post-processing applications. Barriers for a more intense use of PPP were a lack of accurate real-time orbit and clock products, the still poor knowledge of receiver and satellite calibrations biases and last, but not least, long coordinate filter convergence times due to complex or incomplete integer ambiguity fixing. However, to meet the increasing demand of upcoming real-time (RT) applications IGS has initiated a real-time working group to investigate the feasibility of real-time GNSS data distribution and the generation of derived products such as precise clock corrections and orbits. Scientific organizations and companies operating reference stations can participate in the working group either by delivering their data-streams via a central service or by providing real-time GNSS products. This article deals with the contributions of the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Technical University of Vienna (TUW) to the IGS Real-Time Working Group and with the quality of PPP positioning obtained using the RT-data stream established at our institute. Aside from the positioning aspect the potential of PPP to derive related products such as tropospheric delays to contribute to weather forecast models is discussed. Finally prospects as well as current barriers of PPP in view of the upcoming new GNSS systems and signals are highlighted.


This paper considers model uncertainty in the run-to-run control problem from a probabilistic viewpoint. The methodology assumes that the model parameters are stochastic and uses experimental input-output data off-line to characterize the probability distribution of the model parameters. This naturally leads to the notions of probability of stability and probability of performance as a means of evaluating run-to-run controllers. Analytic formulas for the probability of stability are given for the particular case of an EWMA controller. When considering a more general notion of performance, the Monte Carlo method is used to approximate the probability of performance to a high degree of confidence. This probabilistic approach to run-to-run control is then illustrated on a virtual plasma etching reactor. Finally, the reliability of the method is investigated.


To assess the value of testing the specific IgG4 in sera for diagnosis and treatment efficiency evaluation of cerebral cysticercosis, gold labeled anti human IgG4 McAb was used to test the specific IgG4 in patients sera by dip test. The results showed that among 91 cases of pre treated patients with cerebral cysticercosis, 84 demonstrated positive of the specific IgG4 with the positive rate of 92.3%, among 27 cases of patients with other parasitic diseases, 16 cases with other central nervous disorder and 25 health controls, only one serum of patients with hepatic echincoccosis showed a weak cross reaction, while others were all negative. The positive rate of specific IgG4 in sera lowered with progressing treatment and improvement of patients clinical symptom. It is concluded that the method has a good applying value in the diagnosis and treatment efficiency evaluation of cerebral cysticercosis.


Purpose: (4S)-4-(3-[F]fluoropropyl)-L-glutamate (BAY 94-9392, alias [F]FSPG) is a new tracer to image xC transporter activity with positron emission tomography (PET). We aimed to explore the tumor detection rate of [F]FSPG in patients relative to 2-[F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ([F]FDG). The correlation of [F]FSPG uptake with immunohistochemical expression of xC transporter and CD44, which stabilizes the xCT subunit of system xC , was also analyzed. ExperimentalDesign:Patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, n1⁄4 10) or breast cancer (n1⁄4 5) who had a positive [F]FDG uptake were included in this exploratory study. PET images were acquired following injection of approximately 300MBq [F]FSPG. Immunohistochemistrywas done using xCTand CD44-specific antibody. Results: [F]FSPG PET showed high uptake in the kidney and pancreas with rapid blood clearance. [F]FSPG identified all 10 NSCLC and three of the five breast cancer lesions that were confirmed by pathology. [F]FSPG detected 59 of 67 (88%) [F]FDG lesions in NSCLC, and 30 of 73 (41%) in breast cancer. Seven lesions were additionally detected only on [F]FSPG in NSCLC. The tumor-to-blood pool standardized uptake value (SUV) ratio was not significantly different from that of [F]FDG in NSCLC; however, in breast cancer, it was significantly lower (P < 0.05). The maximum SUV of [F]FSPG correlated significantly with the intensity of immunohistochemical staining of xC transporter and CD44 (P < 0.01). Conclusions: [F]FSPG seems to be a promising tracer with a relatively high cancer detection rate in patients with NSCLC. [F]FSPG PETmay assess xC transporter activity in patients with cancer.Clin Cancer Res; 18(19); 5427–37. 2012 AACR.


The invention discloses a gambogic acid cyclized analog, a preparation method and application thereof. The semi-synthesized gambogic acid cyclized analog is obtained by the extracted and purified gambogic acid through chemical synthesis and has a structural general formula I-III as the right formula, wherein substituent groups of A ring, B ring, C ring, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11 or/and R12 contain glycosyl group, polyhydroxy, amino acid group, acyloxy group, phosphoric acid oxygen group, sulphonic acid oxygen group, alkoxyl group, aromatic oxygen group, heterocyclic oxygen group, mercapto group, substituted mercapto group, primary amine and secondary amines groups or/and substituted primary amine and secondary amines groups, and chain hydrocarbon or and cyclic group containing oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen, carbon or/and phosphor atoms, and one or combination of the substitution groups. The gambogic acid cyclized analog has anti-tumor, antivirus, antibacterial and antifungal pharmacology activities, can be used as anti-tumor, antivirus, immune, antibacterial and antifungal medicaments, and can be applied together with the known anti-tumor, antivirus, immune, antibacterial and antifungal medicaments.


Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is an important plant growth regulator. As the very first endeavor, the study is aimed at extracting and quantifying IAA from seedlings of Bambusa tulda and evaluating its bioactivity. The extraction of IAA was performed in organic solvent followed by sample evaporation and TLC with a mobile phase composed of chloroform, methanol and formic acid (77:22:1 v/v) in isocratic mode. The extract obtained from preparatory TLC was subjected to HPLC with acetic acid and methanol (75:25 v/v) as the mobile phase in isocratic mode at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min and operation pressure of 54 MPa at 30°C, and detection was monitored at 280 nm. Bioassay of the extracted IAA was carried out in Abelmoschus esculentus seedlings. The similar Rf value (0.412) of the extract during TLC analysis and similar peak of HPLC chromatogram with retention time 28.71 min to that of standard IAA indicated the presence of IAA in B. tulda seedling extract. The extracted IAA was quantified to be 10.28 µg/ml. In bioassay experiment, the extracted IAA significantly enhanced root length, root fresh weight, root dry weight, shoot length, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight and significant increase of total chlorophyll and protein in A. esculentus leaves. Therefore, B. tulda seedlings could be a potential source of IAA, and it can be utilized for production of bio-fertilizer at a commercial scale.

 Key words:  Abelmoschus esculentus, Bamboo, High performance liquid chromatography, indole-3 acetic acid.


[Objective]To analyze the clinical effects of stereotactic radiotherapy in the treatment of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. [Methods]71 patients with retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis were treated with stereotactic radiotherapy in our department. The dose was 1.8~2.0 cGy per fraction, the total dose of retroperitoneal were ranged from 40 Gy to 60 Gy, five times a week. The planned target volume was encompassed by more than 80% to 90% isodose line.[Results]The overall response rate(CR+PR) was 77.46%, the 1, 2, 3-years survival rates were 59.15%(42/71), 22.54%(16/71), 9.86%(7/71). The median survival time was 15.3 months. Multivariate analysis showed that original illness, radiotherapy dose, partial and complete response were related to identify predictors of outcome, and the volume of radiotherapy, the size of metastatic-lymph node, tumor thrombi were not related to the outcome. [Conclusion]Stereotactic radiotherapy is an safe and effective treatment for retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. The radiotherapy dose, partial and complete response are related to the outcome.


Objective To develop a method for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of umbelliferone,genkwanin-5-O-β-D-primeveroside,genkwanin-5-O-β-D-glucopyranosid,luteolin,tilirodide,apigenin,hydroxygenkwanin and genkwanin of Genkwa Flos. Methods Chromatographic separation of eight compounds was achieved on a DIAMONSIL-C18 column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm).The mobile phase consisted of methanol(A)and 0.8% HOAc(B),gradient elution(0-15 min,45% A;15-20 min,45% A-51% A;20-40 min,51% A;40-42 min,51% A-82% A;42-60 min,82% A).The flow rate was 0.8 mL·min-1 and the detector wavelength was set at 338 nm.The column temperature was ambient temperature. Results The linear ranges of umbelliferone,genkwanin-5-O-β-D-primeveroside,genkwanin-5-O-β-D-glucopyranosid,luteolin,tilirodide,apigenin,hydroxygenkwanin and genkwanin were 0.22-1.78,0.47-3.77,0.10-0.76,0.22-1.72,0.49-3.94,0.86-6.84,0.88-7.04,0.44-3.56 mg·L-1,respectively.The average recoveries(n=5)of the eight compounds were 98.7% with RSD of 2.7%,98.1% with RSD of 1.0%,97.4% with RSD of 2.4%,97.7% with RSD of 1.3%,101.1% with RSD of 1.8%,101.7% with RSD of 1.2%,100.3% with RSD of 1.6%,98.7% with RSD of 2.2%,respectively. Conclusions This method can serve as a useful quality control tool for Genkwa Flos.


An integrated catheter placement system for accurately placing a catheter within a patient's vasculature is disclosed. In one embodiment, the integrated system comprises a system console, a tip location sensor for temporary placement on the patient's chest, and an ultrasound probe. The tip location sensor senses a magnetic field of a stylet disposed in a lumen of the catheter when the catheter is disposed in the vasculature. The ultrasound probe ultrasonically images a portion of the vasculature prior to introduction of the catheter. ECG signal-based catheter tip guidance is included in the integrated system to enable guidance of the catheter tip to a desired position with respect to a node of the patient's heart. Iconic representations for depiction on the display of the system and relating to positional and other characteristics of the catheter or medical device are also disclosed.


Angela Kallhoff is professor of ethics at the University of Vienna. Drawing from recent political philosophy, she makes the case that "public goods are useful in supporting democracy" (1). The arguments in favor of her thesis, constructed from both Constitutional, and Deliberative Democracy strands of thought are clearly presented in eight relatively short chapters, totaling 146 pages. After introducing the reasons for framing the discussion in normative political philosophy, Kallhoff reviews...


According to the logistics,this paper quantifies the level of logistics demand in the perspective of the demand for the future of Shaanxi Province,and aims to provide a reference for the logistics industry in Shaanxi Province.Firstly,it measures the logistics demand with freight volume,then selects eight economic indicators which affect the logistics demand in order to pick out the main factors.Secondly,with the logistics data from 1996 to 2009,set up the grey prediction model to realize the prediction of logistics demand in Shaanxi Province.


Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi. Food/feed contamination by mycotoxins is a great threat to food safety. The contamination can occur along the food chain and can cause many diseases in humans and animals, and it also can cause economic losses. Many detoxification methods, including physical, chemical, and biological techniques, have been established to eliminate mycotoxins in food/feed. The biological method, with mycotoxin detoxification by microorganisms, is reliable, efficient, less costly, and easy to use compared with physical and chemical ones. However, it is important to discover the metabolite's toxicity resulting from mycotoxin biodegradation. These compounds can be less or more toxic than the parent. On the other hand, mechanisms involved in a mycotoxin's biological control remain still unclear. Mostly, there is little information about the method used by microorganisms to control mycotoxins. Therefore, this article presents an overview of the most toxic mycotoxins and the different microorganisms that have a mycotoxin detoxification ability. At the same time, different screening methods for degradation compound elucidation are given. In addition, the review summarizes mechanisms of mycotoxin biodegradation and gives some applications.


The fungus Alternaria spp. JH505, produces protein activator which had a high insecticidal activity on varied plants and increase crop yield, was indentified and classified using genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics and morphology. The rDNA fragment was cloned from the genomic DNA of strain. GenBank Blast showed that the fragment has a 1 267 bp in length containing the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, the internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2 and the 28S ribosomal RNA gene, and it showed 100%, 97%, 97% and 96% identities in the correspondent regions with Alternaria tenuissima, Alternaria cinerariae, Alternaria dianthi, Alternaria brassicae, Alternaria zinniae, respectively. These data suggests the Alternaria spp. JH505 strain was an A. tenuissima isolate.


The studies on survival rate,growth increment,biomass,canopy structure,and root distribution of Pinus taeda,P.ellottee,P.massoniana showed that the growth of cutting plants was as same as that of seedling plants.The experiment on P.massoniana indicated that the survival rate of cutting plants was high,and the tree height,DBH,and volume of cutting plants at 5 years old were more 27.5%,14.1%,30.1%,and 85.7% than that of seeding plants,These results showed that it was feasible to develop short cycle,fast grow,and high yield forestry with clones.


The level of construction quality of municipal road works has an important significance and role in the construction and management of urban infrastructure and the speed of economic development. In view of the quality problems existing in the construction of road works, relevant government departments should improve the quality management system, improve the technical level and construction quality, strengthen supervision and management, strictly control the quality of the project, and carry out the construction of municipal road engineering projects in a scientific and orderly manner. In order to promote the smooth progress of urban infrastructure construction and the steady and rapid development of the social economy, this paper discusses the quality control and management of municipal engineering road construction.


Bringing together Karl Marx's key intellectual contributions and the best of contemporary anti-racist (critical race) queer feminism is a promising direction for critical social theory. Important studies exist that use this approach. However, its theoretical foundations have not been adequately clarified or elucidated; this article attempts to do so. The proposed anti-racist queer feminist historical materialism rethinks Marx's materialist conception of history and theory of the capitalist mode of production through the more expansive conceptions of social reality offered by anti-racist queer feminism while simultaneously reworking the latter contributions through Marx's critical materialism and particular attention to historical specificity and social form.


Abstract : Many critics have commented on the performance of General Douglas MacArthur during his tenure as Commander of the South West Pacific Theatre in World War II. Criticism is divided between those who praise MacArthur and those who attack him. This paper focuses on the reasons for the lapses in MacArthur's performance, specifically his hopeless plan for the defense of the Philippines, his questionable motives for insisting on the retaking of the Philippines, and his inconsistency in applying his principle of bypassing and envelopment in operations to recapture the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. Rather than being the simple old soldier driven by strict ideals of Duty, Honor, Country, MacArthur was seduced by hubris and questionable personal motives. When he allowed these factors to take over, his generalship plummeted because he was serving MAcArthur and not the nation.


Water vapour is the most effective atmospheric greenhouse gas in terms of warming the atmosphere. Water vapour can magnify the temperature increase that CO2 would cause alone by 2-3 times. As such, it is critical to monitor changes in water vapour abundance to better understand its role in atmospheric change. I have used 10 years of lidar and radiosonde measurements from the MeteoSwiss research station in Payerne, Switzerland to calibrate the lidar, improve its water vapour retrievals, and finally calculate a lidar water vapour climatology and trend analysis. Calculating trends with a lidar requires rigorous calibration. Therefore, my first thesis project was to improve the lidar calibrations by using the best radiosonde product available, measurements from the GCOS Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) and a novel trajectory method. My trajectory method improved the lidar calibration and more consistently agreed with the radiosonde measurement compared to the traditional method. Using GRUAN radiosondes enabled the calculation, for the first time, of a complete uncertainty budget of the calibration constant. The second project was a method for removing a priori information from lidar optimal estimation retrievals. Removing a priori information from optimal estimation retrievals may be desirable in cases where there is low confidence in the knowledge of the a priori state. The a priori removal method was tested with the lidar water vapor mixing ratio retrieval. The new method increased the range of the daytime water vapour altitudes by 1 to 2 km and the nighttime water vapour profiles by an average of 500m. The a priori removal method can be applied to a time series such that the prior will have no influence on a trend or climatological analysis. In my third project, 10 years of lidar water vapour measurements were re-processed to calculate a tropospheric water vapour climatology and trends for Switzerland. The climatology showed that water vapour concentrations above Payerne are typically


Author(s): Kowalko, Lisa Christine | Advisor(s): Vanderwood, Michael | Abstract: This study examined the relationship between the curriculum-based measurement Maze task and the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR-R) and California Standards Test (CST) scores. Participants included 1,479 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students across three public middle schools in an urban school district in southern California. The results indicated a significant correlation between Maze scores in the winter and in the spring, but failed to find a significant correlation between fall Maze screening scores and CST standard scores. Similarly, the second inquiry examined the magnitude of the relationship between STAR-R scores and the scores on the CST. This analysis revealed that STAR-R standard scores are significantly correlated to CST standard scores at all three screening points. Additional analysis showed significant differences in the above relationships between grade levels with a general trend of increased correlation values from Grade 6 to Grade 8 for the majority of screening points. Lastly, a diagnostic accuracy analysis and a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed low to moderate levels of reliability and sensitivity for both measures in predicting CST scaled score classification.


A bench scale aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was evaluated in terms of its potential to treat synthetic dairy wastewater. The 2-l plexiglass bioreactor was supplied with oxygen via a fine bubble air diffuser, fed with synthetic dairy wastewater under various operational conditions. To analyze the process, three significant independent variables — influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS), and aeration time — were assessed. Three dependent process and quality parameters (as process responses) were also evaluated: total COD removal efficiency, sludge volume index (SVI) and final pH. The experiments were based on a central composite design (CCD) and analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). The treatment was limited to the following concentration regimes: COD (1000, 3000 and 5000 mg/l), MLVSS (3000, 5000 and 7000 mg/l) and aeration time (2, 10 and 18 h). Maximum COD removal efficiency (of 96.5%) was obtained for an influent with the following characteristics: COD in : 3000 mg/l, MLVSS 5000 mg/l, and aeration time of 18 h. The study demonstrated the capability of aerobic SBRs for high COD removal from dairy industrial wastewater. Easy operation, low cost, and minimal sludge bulking condition were some of advantages of the SBR system as an option for biological treatment of medium-strength industrial wastewater. The present study provides valuable information about relationships between quality and process parameters for different values of operating variables.


In this paper an algorithm for planning a coordinated motion of a fleet of Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) delivering goods in an automatic warehouse is proposed. The AGVs travel along a common segmented layout and a path is assigned to each robot by a mission planner. Coordination diagrams are used for representing possible collisions among the robots and a novel algorithm for efficiently determining a coordinated motion of the fleet is proposed. The coordination approach proposed in the paper is validated through experiments on real plants layouts. We present an example in which the coordinated motion of 10 vehicles is computed in only 12.4 sec. on a common PC.


Field studies were conducted to test the effect of enhanced ultraviolet-B(UV-B,280~315 nm,5.0 kJ/m2) radiation on the MDA contents of eight wild sugarcane clones under field conditions in 2003 and 2004.The UV-B radiation had significant effect on MDA contents of eight elongation of wild sugarcanes.Intraspecific responses of 8 wild sugarcane clones to enhanced UV-B radiation were observed.Increase in MDA contents of 5 wild sugarcane clones(I91-97,I91-38,Ⅱ91-116,93-25,90-22),No change in MDA contents of Ⅱ91-93 and decrease in MDA contents of 2 wild sugarcane clones(Ⅱ91-98,92-11) was observed.The response difference was obvioused between 2003 and 2004.Response sensitivities of MDA contents of 8 wild sugarcane clones to UV-B radiation in different stages had the following sequence: elongation ripening tillering both in 2003 and 2004.


This article points out the weakness in designing of computer desk chai r in the market and its harmful effects on health.Based on ergonomics,the articl e systemly analyses and researches the sitting position and supporting means whe n people using a computer.Furthermore,it discusses a new design of multi-direct ion computer desk chair in order to content the working and studying demands of the modern people.


—The Software Defined Networking (SDN) technol- ogy is one of the major technical infrastructures for the digital society. This paper focuses on a dynamic streaming network and its efficient implementation. A Peer to Peer (P2P) streaming network tends to be unbalanced because of the dynamic nature of its nodes to join and leave, and often suffers from delivery delay. Therefore, it is required to reconfigure the network dynamically to keep it balanced. This paper proposes an SDN-based scheme for adaptive reconfiguration of the structure and routing in a P2P streaming network. This scheme enables fully decentralized delivery under a centralized control. Some simulation-based experiments confirmed that this scheme worked effectively.


Objective
To evaluate the effect of liver function on the biliary visualization of MR cholangiography (CE-MRC) using gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA).

Methods
Thirty-nine patients were divided into three groups based on Child-Pugh score (23 patients in group A,11 in B,and 5 in C).CE-MRC was scanned 50 minutes after Gd-EOBDTPA injection.Biliary visualization of CE-MRC at that time was qualitatively assessed by 5-point scale.The relative signal intensity (RSI) of the common bile duct (CBD) was quantitatively measured.The serum bilirubin level and the model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score were recorded.Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the rating scores among three groups.Bonferroni method was used to further pairwise comparison.The one-way ANOVA was used to compare the RSI of CBD among three groups.And regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between RSI and the influenced factors.

Results
Visualization rating scores of the CBD,left hepatic duct (LHD),right hepatic duct (RHD),subbranches of intrahepatic bile ducts (SIBD),cystic duct (CD) and gallbladder (GB) were 4 (3,4),3 (2,4),3 (2,4),1 (1,2),3 (2,4),3 (2,4) of group A;3 (0,3),1 (0,2),1 (0,2),0 (0,1),2 (0,2),2 (0,2) of group B; and 1 (1,2),1 (1,1),1 (1,1),0 (0,0),0 (0,1),0 (0,1) of group C.Statistically significant differences were found in visualization rating scores of the CBD,LHD,RHD,SIBD,CD and GB among the 3 groups (χ2=17.881,18.707,23.328,13.016,20.170,19.938,P<0.01).Statistically pairwise comparison differences were found between group A and B,either between group A and C.The RSI of the CBD of these three groups was 17.12±0.41,3.95±0.63 and 3.33±0.30 respectively.There were statistically significant difference between 3 groups. (F=235.843,P<0.01).Statistically significant differences of the RSI were shown between group A and B,also between group A and C.The total serum bilirubin level and the MELD score predicted the RSI of the CBD (β=-0.834,-1.042,P<0.01).

Conclusion
Liver function could affect CE-MRC with Gd-EOB-DTPA and RSI of the CBD.The RSI may reflect liver cell function.

Key words:
Liver diseases; Contrast media; Magnetic resonance imaging


[Objective] The Complex Phosphoesterasum was used in the experiment to extract polysaccharide from mulberry leaves.[Method] Single factor tests and orthogonal experiment design methods were applied to analyze the influence of the factors such as the concentration,time,temperature and pH value of the enzyme on the extraction ratio of polysaccharides from mulberry leaves.[Results] The adoption of new extraction methods improved the extraction ratio of the target products.[Conclusion] The best conditions are as follows: temperature is 50 ℃,pH value is 4.5,the concentration of cellulose enzyme is 1.0% and the extracting time is 1 h.The extraction ratio of Polysaccharides in mulberry leaves is up to 14.32%.


The closed convex polyhedron consisting of all 0-1 normal n-person games with nonempty core is characterized by naming its extreme points. This characterization establishes a geometric setting, in the game space itself, for such solution concepts as the core and the nucleolus. This geometric setting also suggests new solution concepts. A similar geometric setting is also established for the Shapley value, and core and nucleolus solution concepts can be defined in this geometric setting.


This study explores the magnitude and timing of sex and gender disparities in child development by describing differences in health outcomes for male and female siblings, comparing twins to control for all aspects of life circumstances other than sex and gender.


The Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring the Deep Trek Program targeted at improving the economics of drilling and completing deep gas wells. Under the DOE program, Pinnacle Technologies conducted a study to evaluate the stimulation of deep wells. The objective of the project was to review U.S. deep well drilling and stimulation activity, review rock mechanics and fracture growth in deep, high-pressure/temperature wells and evaluate stimulation technology in several key deep plays. This report documents results from this project.


It is imperative to know the health condition of a structure during its service life. The development of laser scanning technology has created new opportunities to leverage high-resolution 3D laser scanning (3DLS) as a non-destructive evaluation tool for detailed geometrical information extracted for the creation of precise computational models. However, the workflow associated with this integration is indirect and presents challenges. The existing scan-to-model strategies use completely scanning data to generate a new finite element model (FEM), leading to excessive computational costs, especially if nonlinear analysis is required. In view of this, this study creates a pathway for a direct scan-to-model strategy suitable for translating condition data derived from a 3D laser scanning system into a FEM capable of describing the mechanical response of the component. Then, based on the scan-to-model strategy, a localized pathway to automatically identify the damaged parts and locally update the FEM is proposed. Instead of generating a new FEM of the damaged component, only the damaged parts are updated, which can reduce the computation cost. After that, the pathways were validated through laboratory-scale tensile testing using 3D Digital Image Correlation (3D-DIC), which enabled full-field deformation characterization and correlation with numerical model prediction. Results of this study provide the foundation of a computational framework for establishing the fundamental link between visually observable geometric and numerical models that engineers use to understand the performance of engineered systems.


Clay minerals are widely utilized in pharmaceutical and dermatological sciences as a gastrointestinal medicine or skin remediation agent. In order to verify the feasibility of clays as an injection, pill, or topical agent, it is important to study their interactions with biological components, such as proteins. In this study, we utilized a protein fluorescence quenching assay and circular dichroism spectroscopy to evaluate general aspects of protein denaturation and conformational change, respectively. Three different clays; layered double oxide (LDO), montmorilonite (MMT) and halloysite nanotube (HNT), were treated with albumin and the physico-chemical effect on the protein's conformation was investigated. MMT was shown to influence the conformational change the most, owing to the large accessible adsorption site. HNT showed meaningful circular dichroism (CD) band collapse as well as fluorescence quenching in the protein, suggesting a potential harmful effect of HNT toward the protein. Among the three tested clays, LDO was determined to affect protein structure the least in terms of three-dimensional conformation and helical structure.


Recent studies have shown that climate change is having severe impacts on production of the tea plant [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze], an important woody cash crop. Quantitative production figures are necessary to provide tea stakeholders and policy makers with evidence to justify immediate action. We used data from Zhejiang Province, China, and the economic output model of four tea plant cultivars (Jiaming 1, Longjing 43, Baiye 1, and Jiukeng) in spring and the yield output model of one tea plant cultivar (Jiukeng) in summer and autumn, and analyzed the impact of climate change on tea production from 1985 to 2018. The results showed that the effects of high temperature and drought on tea production have increased significantly. Temperature was the main factor effecting the economic output of tea plants in spring. Climate change has resulted in the start date of tea buds and leaves plucking period to have become significantly earlier in spring. The risk of frost damage and economic loss, caused by frost, decreased significantly in the period of spring tea production. Among the five bud and leaf grades, the length of plucking periods for superfine, Grades 1 and 2 decreased significantly. High temperatures and drought were the main factors impacting tea production in summer and autumn, and effected the economic output of spring tea in the following year. The economic losses caused by daytime rainfall decreased significantly in spring tea production. This study has provided essential evidence that climate change has already had a significant impact on tea plant output.


Cereus peruvianus (Cactaceae) is an important medical plant. The study was carried out on callus induction of Cereus jamacaru f. monstrosus and Cereus hildmannianus fma monstrosa (Cereus peruvianus). Apical and lateral explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog media with factorial combinations of the auxins indole-3acetic acid (NAA), 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and N-(2-furanyl-methyl)-1-purine-6 amine (kinetin) at the concentrations 1, 2, 3, 4 mg/l . Positive results were obtained from the apical and lateral explants in all conditions tested, but apical explants gave the highest callus induction in all growth regulator combinations tested. Explants' size doesn't have a significant impact.


The present invention relates to a food waste processor is installed in the sink, if more detailed description is sikimyeo enhance the grinding efficiency of food debris by a plurality of grinding process, to flow out by the pulverized food waste on a strong flow of water food and debris can be prevented from being fixed to the inside of the machine, to a food waste processor with noise caused by food waste crushing can be prevented.


Abstract The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council recognizes that the economic, social, and cultural well-being of the Tribe are dependent on the sensitive and wise management of its energy and natural resources. This paper discusses mineral resource exploration and development, oil and gas leasing and development, as well as the regulatory jurisdiction of several federal agencies in managing the exploration and development of mineral resources on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.


The invention belongs to the technical field of regeneration and utilization of waste asphalt in road engineering, and particularly relates to an SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene) modified asphalt regenerant and a preparation method thereof. The SBS modified asphalt regenerant is characterized by comprising the following raw materials in percentage by mass: 20-45% of heavy oil, 40-75% of catalytic cracking oil slurry, 1-5% of penetrant and 3-10% of SBS molecular structure restorative. The regenerant added into the aged SBS modified asphalt can reduce the chemical composition of the asphalt, can restore the molecular structure of the SBS modifier, and has favorable penetrating property. The regenerant can restore the properties of the aged SBS modified asphalt.


This paper focus on optimization of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process parameters for joining of disparate aluminium composites using hybrid approach. The FSW process parameters considered are tool rotational speed, tool profile, axial force and aluminium material. Response Surface Method (RSM) of central composite design is used for determining the experiment. The quality characteristics considered are hardness (H) and tensile strength (TS). Ideal mix of process parameters is dictated by the grey relational grade (GRG) obtained through GRA for numerous performance characteristics. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is employed to determine the contribution of FSW process parameters.


Taking the Cartographic Approach, I argue that the left periphery of nominals in Mandarin (i.e., the domain before demonstrative) has properties similar to the split-CP domain proposed by Rizzi (1997). In addition, I argue that the nominal internal domain (i.e., under demonstrative but outside of NP) encodes information structure in a way similar to the sentence-internal Topic and Focus that has been put forth in the literature. In this paper, I show that identifying Topic and Focus within a nominal at such two distinct domains helps to explain various so-called "reordering" and extraction phenomena affecting nominal elements, their interpretation, and their associated discourse functions. The result of this paper supports the parallelisms between noun phrases and clauses and it provides a new perspective to evaluate such theoretical implication, that is, the interaction between syntax and information structure. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/ vol20/iss1/17 U. Penn Working Papers in Linguistics, Volume 20.1, 2014 Nominal Internal and External Topic and Focus: Evidence from Mandarin


Poster: "ECR 2017 / C-1848 / Understanding " the fusion imaging " – Methods of fusion with their advantages and disadvantages and study various fusion combination with their applications." by: "P. P. singh1, K. Gahlot2, R. Mourya2, V. Gahlot2; 1sagar, m.p./IN, 2Sagar/IN"


GRID3 (Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development) works with countries to generate, validate and use geospatial data on population, settlements, infrastructure, and administrative boundaries. GRID3 combines the expertise of partners in government, United Nations, academia, and the private sector to design adaptable and relevant geospatial solutions based on capacity and development needs of each country.


With the retrospection of the background information of new drug phase Ⅳ clinical trials and post-marketing drug evaluation,this paper compared their similarities and differences and explored the existing problems.Meanwhile,it illustrated the characteristics of clinically verified trials having inclination to pharmaceutical promotion,anticipating helping clinicians and clinical pharmacists clarify the purpose and range of clinical trials,and providing data for clinical rational drug use by distinguishing among new drug phase IV clinical trial,post-marketing drug evaluation and clinical trials having inclination to pharmaceutical promotion.


This invention relates to a height adjustable hood system (1), comprising a height-adjustable suction duct (2) for the extraction of fumes, wherein the height-adjustable suction duct (2) is telescopically constructed so that vapors can be drawn off efficient and focused.


The frequency dependence of the complex permittivity of a series of solutions of tetra(n-butyl) ammonium bromide in 1,2-dichloroethane and pentan-3-one has been studied in the frequency range 0.4 to 3.0 GHz at four temperatures between 0 and 45°C. The dispersion of permittivity observed in the majority of cases cannot be adequately described by means of a single relaxation time. A non-zero distribution parameter must also be included, while the dispersion amplitude is not even an approximately linear function of electrolyte concentration. Possible loss mechanisms involving the rotational diffusion of ion-pairs and the translational diffusion of free ions have been considered in an attempt to interpret these observations.The electrical conductivity and permittivity of representative solutions in 1,2-dichloroethane have been measured between 1 and 100 MHz in addition to the real and imaginary permittivities of the pure solvents at frequencies up to 3 GHz. Density data for solutions of the salt in 1,2-dichloroethane are included and from these data, the partial molar volume of the solute has been evaluated.


This paper presents the review and the analysis of the analytical methods and simulation models, \vhich have been used so far to plan and establish railway infrastructure capacity. The main concept is being defmed, principles, characteristics and the structure ofthe new simulation model SIZES, as well as the results of the simulation, are being outlined. Developed simulation models enable establishing ofthe railway infrastructure capacity in very complex conditions for the multiple-track as well as single-track lines, thenfor the stations, i. e. entry-exit tracksets and tracks, conflict points - the places of converging and diverging of the tracks. The results tested in various conditions produce completely logical results. Based on the research results, it is possible toform the dependence ofthe railway infrastructure capacity on the traffic quality in various infrastructure and traffic organisation conditions.


Bi/Bi2MoO6 composite was prepared via a facile one-step hydrothermal reduction method and its photoelectric property was investigated. During the solvent-controlled reaction process, lysine performed as the reductant to in situ reduce Bi3+ to metallic Bi. XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS and FT-IR were used to characterize the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the samples obtained. Bi/Bi2MoO6 composites have special structure of Bi2MoO6 nanosheets surrounding on the surface of Bi microspheres, besides, the Bi2MoO6 nanosheets have a thickness of 10–20nm. Furthermore, electrochemical test results show that the Bi/Bi2MoO6 composites can significantly enhance the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers, the photocurrent of Bi/Bi2MoO6 composites prepared with 4mmol lysine is about 15 times to pure Bi2MoO6.


Objective To evaluate the Imaging diagnosis of SARS in death case.Methods 11 death patients of SARS in keeping with criteria from April to May 2003 were enrolled into the study. Imaging characteristics of chest x-ray film and CT in these patients were analysed.Results All cases were positive on chest X-ray film and CT,the lung shadows were marked.The extent of the pathological changes in lungs was 80%~90% in 6 cases and 90% above in 5 cases,multilobcs of bilateral lungs were involved in all cases.The lesions were diffuse spotty shadow or shaggy cloudy shadow in 8 cases,ground-glass opacification in one case and bronchogram structures could be seen.Conclusion Imaging findings in the cases with severe SARS mostly manifest as effusion,consolidation and interstitial inflammation in multilobes of bilateral lungs.


The ultimate performance measure for evaluating a voice communication system is the subjective quality of the received speech. To this end we tested subjective speech‐to‐noise‐ratio (SNRsubj) as an absolute measure of overall speech quality for digital waveform coders. High quality digital recordings of two sentences by each of two speakers were processed by nine different waveform coder and transmission rate combinations, and then paired with reference signals corrupted by varying amount of multiplicative white noise. The SNRsubj of a coded test signal is defined as the amount of multiplicative white noise introduced into the uncoded original signal so that it is judged equally preferable to the coded signal. A total of 392 pairs were randomized and presented to 11 naive listeners for preference testing. The SNRsubj for the nine coder configurations varied from 14 to 40 dB and was found suitable to represent overall speech quality of waveform coders in a single dimension. None of two main experimental fa...


This qualitative interview-based study compares beliefs about kindergarten readiness and about the roles of preschools in readiness among parents and preschool teachers in three early childhood programs in the northeastern and southwestern United States. Interviews focused on beliefs concerning meanings of kindergarten readiness and the role of preschool in preparing children for kindergarten, and on resources participants used to inform their beliefs and practices about children's readiness for kindergarten. Participants in all programs and geographic locations identified the primary purpose of preschool to be kindergarten preparation. While teachers and parents generally expressed support for play in the preschool curriculum, parents were more likely to cite specific skills as indicators of readiness. Within-program and across-program beliefs indicated shared perceptions of readiness linked to social and emotional development, attainment of literacy skills, and familiarity with school routines. Parents expressed anxiety regarding kindergarten transitions and expectations. Teachers believed that their programs prepared children for kindergarten, but were unsure if parents shared those beliefs. Responses differed across programs regarding the degree of parental responsibility for readiness, the efficacy of delayed kindergarten entry, and knowledge of local kindergarten expectations. Recommendations for practice include prioritizing communication about kindergarten readiness among teachers and parents, such as sharing information and concerns about assessments and local kindergarten expectations.


Introduction & Objectives: Spermine (Spm) is a typical metabolite that is highly concentrated in healthy prostate epithelium maintaining cell growth and functions. Our previous studies found that Spm was significantly decreased in PCa tissue than in benign prostate tissue, as was the urinary Spm in PCa. This study aimed to reveal the specific role of Spm in PCa.
 Materials & Methods: In this study, Spm was resupplied to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells (PC3 and DU145). Following Spm treatment, MTT (methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium) and EdU (5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine) assay were used to determine the cell proliferation of CRPC cell lines. Cellular apoptosis, cell cycle distribution and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed by flow cytometry. Cellular reactive Oxygen species (ROS) level was measured by fluorescence microscope. mRNA and ATAC sequencing in spermine-treated CRPC cells were performed to reveal the related mechanism for Spm effect.
 Results: In the in vitro studies, Spm was found to inhibit the cell viability of CRPC cells. Transwell assays demonstrated that Spm impaired migration and invasion ability. And Spm blocked tumor progression by inducing G2/M arrest and cellular apoptosis in CRPC cells dose-dependently. mRNA seq revealed that a series of genes were altered after Spm treatment and indicated the potential functional pathway of Spm might be mitophagy. We integrated mRNA seq data with ATAC seq profiles and accessed those genes regulated by polyamine metabolism and Spm-induced mitophagy. Results showed the sequencing tracks for the HMOX1 locus contain higher ATAC-seq peaks at the promoter under Spm treatment. Spm could affect oxidative phosphorylation which will lead to mitophagy and mitochondrial metabolism by modulating the transcriptional accessibility of genes. After Spm treatment, cellular ROS was upregulated while the mitochondrial membrane potential collapsed. Subsequently, western blot results showed that PINK1-mediated mitophagy related-proteins were significantly regulated.
 Conclusion: Our results indicated that Spm treatment led to mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequently degraded through mitophagy in CRPC cells. Our findings could provide a theoretical basis and have preliminary clinical implications in developing Spm as a promising agent against CRPC by inducing cellular mitophagy in CRPC cells.
 Citation Format: Jingkai Sun, Peter Ka-Fung Chiu, Tingting Xie, Jeremy Yuen-Chun Teoh, Chi-Fai Ng. Investigation the function and application of spermine in castration-resistant prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 520.