Magnetic composite applied tailings circular economy . 2021. 41 Pages. This master's thesis aims to demonstrate the effects of magnetic composite on recoveries and iron grades in the mineral beneficiation stage, via wet magnetic concentration. The generation and disposal of waste is mandatory in mining, a sector that corresponds to one of the main world producers of waste (Bian et al. 2012), with an important efficiency, environmental and social factor. The need to give sustainable destination to mining residues, especially tailings, obtained more after the tailing's dams in Mariana (2015) and Brumadinho (2019), and the economic use of these materials appears as an alternative to deposition in structures such as batteries and dams. Based on the data declared in the Annual Mining Report (RAL), in the period from 2010 to 2019, it is estimated that, in Brazil, a total of 3.4 billion tons of tailings1 and 8.2 billion tons of waste were generated in undertakings producing iron, gold, copper, phosphate, tin, aluminum, nickel, coal, manganese, zinc, chromium and vanadium. Currently, to increase levels, the most used mineral concentration process is flotation, a process in which the surface properties of materials are induced to hydrophobicity by means of chemicals called collector agents. As a strategy to verify the use of magnetism applied to mining, we induce the environmental magnetism of mineral particles selectively, giving them greater magnetic susceptibility. First, magnetic particles were developed, and next, products that we named magnetic composite based on biopolymeric (native or modified starch) and synthetic were developed. The main function of these products is to act on the hematite found in the ROM (Run of mine) or tailings, giving them a better magnetic susceptibility. In a mine and laboratory environment, we carry out magnetic concentration tests, dosing and conditioning these magnetic composite to the mineral pulp in turbulent form, using mixing or conditioning tanks for this. Subsequently, the tests were performed on a WHIMS (Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separators) and SLON (vertically pulsating high-gradient magnetic separator VPHGMS) class equipment, both on a laboratory scale. When comparing balance sheets and test results through susceptibility, coupled plasma (ICP_OES), X-ray fluorescence (FRX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzes, it was found that there was an effect in relation to the samples in white, which were able to increase up to 50% of magnetic susceptibility, and to reduce up to 65% of contaminants to iron in a first concentration stage (rougher). In the second stage (cleaner from rougher), we observed an increase of up to 28% in mass recovery and an improvement of up to 70% in metallurgical recovery. This makes it possible to obtain even more improvements in the existing magnetic concentration processes or to promote the circular economy through the reuse of ore tailings in a possible evolution to a higher scale of tests.


The authors report a case of fistulas connecting the anterior descending, circumflex, and dominant right coronary arteries with the left ventricle. Although fistulous connections between a coronary artery and a cardiac chamber have been described before, this is only the third known case in which all of the coronary arteries communicated with the left ventricle.


The essay briefly described the current applicable status of titanium alloy investment casting technology in domestic and overseas development with simply introduction to the circumstances of Beijing Researching Academy of Aeronautical Materials,Shenyang Institute of Casting,Guizhou Anji Aeronautic Precise Casting Co.Ltd,Luoyang Researching Academy of Shipping Materials.Problems of titanium alloy investment casting existing in the current stages are simultaneously proposed in the essay.


We think our house would look nice painted white. A city ordinance prohibits that. What is it precisely that impinges on our freedom to paint our house white? When should we rationally fear the city's interference?' One answer might be that it is only the city's actual interference that impinges on our freedom. But the effect on our freedom happened well before then. Should we rationally fear only when the constable knocks at the door, handcuffs in hand? The threat was real, and we should have feared it, long before the actual knock at the door. Is it the mere possibility of interference that impinges on our freedom? Should we rationally fear whenever there is a chance that a constable might possibly appear? That seems premature. Before taking fright, we ought rationally ascertain the likelihood of that possibility, which might turn out to be very remote.2 Sometimes it is rational to fear interference, given its likelihood. No one rationally ought want to be free of those sorts of fears. The "freedom from fear" that we ought rationally seek is freedom only from irrational fears.


PbTi0.5Fe0.5O3 (PTFO) is one of the rare materials exhibiting coexistence of ferromagnetic (Tc ∼350 °C) and ferroelectric (Tc ∼450 °C) ordering at room temperature. Interestingly we have detected two anomalies (dielectric anomaly near magnetic transition and magnetic anomaly near dielectric transition temperature) in this compound. The dielectric anomaly has been reported earlier in different multiferroic systems. However magnetic anomaly near ferroelectric transition is not yet reported in any multiferroic system. The anomalous behavior in magnetic component persisting near ferroelectric transition could be attributed to structural change and stress developed during transition process.


means for political actors to construct a shared meaning of the past, present, and future of international politics to shape the behavior of domestic and international actors. Strategic narratives are a tool for political actors to extend their influence, manage expectations, and change the discursive environment in which they operate. They are narratives about both states and the system itself, both about who we are and what kind of order we want. (2013, 2)


The standard approach to signal reconstruction in frequency-domain optical-coherence tomography (FDOCT) is to apply the inverse Fourier transform to the measurements. This technique offers limited resolution (due to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle). We propose a new super-resolution reconstruction method based on a parametric representation. We consider multilayer specimens, wherein each layer has a constant refractive index and show that the backscattered signal from such a specimen fits accurately in to the framework of finite-rate-of-innovation (FRI) signal model and is represented by a finite number of free parameters. We deploy the high-resolution Prony method and show that high-quality, super-resolved reconstruction is possible with fewer measurements (about one-fourth of the number required for the standard Fourier technique). To further improve robustness to noise in practical scenarios, we take advantage of an iterated singular-value decomposition algorithm (Cadzow denoiser). We present results of Monte Carlo analyses, and assess statistical efficiency of the reconstruction techniques by comparing their performance against the Cramér-Rao bound. Reconstruction results on experimental data obtained from technical as well as biological specimens show a distinct improvement in resolution and signal-to-reconstruction noise offered by the proposed method in comparison with the standard approach.


Reliable operation of the power plant components is esse ntial for maintaining high availability and plant load factor of power plants. NDE forms an integral part for ensuring reliability of the components through timely detection of defects an d condition of their health. Conventional NDE methods have been traditionally used for assessing in te r ty of components. However, there have been efforts for increasing the region of covera ge of inspection in reduced time with higher reliability. NETRA, which is the research and technolog y wing of NTPC (largest power utility of India), has been in pursuit of advanced NDE methods for in c easing reliability of critical components of power plants. Advanced NDE methods like, Ul trasonic Phased Array has been used for inspection of root region of the turbine blades, for ins pection of shrink-fit region of generator rotor shaft in installed condition. Experiments have bee n conducted for TOFD of welds of thinner pipes to take advantage of rapid inspection of long pipeline s of cooling water ducts, during erection stage. Eddy current array is being used for assessing healthi n ss of grooves on turbine rotor disk. LEFT is being applied in NTPC for rapid scanning of boiler w ater wall tubes. IRIS is being used for inspection of boiler tubes to have more information on internal thinning of these tubes. The paper discusses approach of NTPC in application of advanced NDE methods for increasing reliability of power plant components and discusses some of the case s tudies of such applications in NTPC.


With specimens of Y1-xCa1.1xBa2-0.1xCu3Oy prepared under the same conditions, Y0.95Ca0.055Ba1.995Cu3Oy possessed a larger superconducting critical current density Jc than the nondoped YBa2Cu3Oy. The Jc of the former composition was 275 A/cm2 at 77 K, whereas it was 145 A/cm2 with the latter stoichiometric composition.


ISO 14001 is a procedural approach to environmental management, based on a philosophy of continual improvement. The planning element of ISO 14001, requires that environmental objectives and environmental targets are set to achieve the goals of the environmental policy. The stocking of game in Vaalbos National Park, is an aspect which impacts on the environment. Veld condition assessment, is essential to set objectives and targets for the management of the stocking rates in the park. Regular monitoring and a flexible management style is necessary to accommodate the fluctuation in veld condition caused by varying climatic conditions and other factors. This ties in well with the requirements of ISO 14001, an environmental management system, which requires that short and long term objectives and targets be set for managing an environmental aspects (e.g. veld utilisation) and environmental impacts (e.g. loss of biodiversity) that these targets are regularly monitored and improved upon.


Aron, L. (989), Dreams, narrative, and the psychoanalytic method. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 25:108-127. Blechner, M. ]. (2000), Confabulation in dreaming, psychosis, and brain injury. NeuroPsychoanalysis, 2:139-144. Bobrow,]. (1997), Coming to life: The creative intercourse of psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism. In: Soul on the Couch: Spirituality, Religion, and Morality in Contemporary Psychoanalysis, ed. C. Spezzano & G. ]. Gargiulo. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press, pp. 109-146. Fosshage, ]. (1987), The organizing functions of dream mentation. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 33:429-458. Gordon, R. M., Aron, L., Mitchell, S. & Davies,]. M. (998), Relational psychoanalysis. In: Current Theories ofPsychoanalysis, ed. R. tangs. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, pp. 31-58. Kaplan-Solms, K. & Solms, M. (2000), Clinical Studies in Neuro-Psycboanalysis: Introduction to a Depth Neuropsychology. Madison, CT: International Universities Press. Mitchell, S. (997), Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.


A 41-year-old man, without a history of smoking and cardiac disease, presented with a sudden onset of left-sided atypical chest pain. Findings on the physical examination and ECG were unremarkable. Echocardiography and stress single-photon emission computed tomography showed no signs of myocardial i


In this paper we present an automatic hybrid matching system mixing images coming from central catadioptric systems and conventional cameras. We analyze three models of hybrid fundamental matrices. We perform experiments with synthetic and real data to test the behavior of these three approaches. The sensitivy to noise of lifted coordinates induces to select the simplest model to build an automatic matching system between these kind of images. Scale invariant features with a simple unwarping tool are considered to help initial putative matching. Then a robust estimation gives an estimation of the hybrid fundamental matrix and allows to detect wrong matches. Experimental results show the feasibility of this system.


Simple Summary In 2016, globally, 36.7 million people were living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), of which 53% had access to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) (UNAIDS 2017 Global HIV Statistics). The risk of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) associated oropharyngeal, cervical and anal cancers are higher among patients infected with HIV in the era of ART. Generally, HPV infections are self-limiting, however, persistent HPV infection is a major risk to carcinogenic progression. Long intervals between initial infection and cancer development imply cofactors are involved. Co-factors that increase infectivity, viral load, and persistence increase risk of cancer. We propose that the ART Protease Inhibitors (PI) class of drugs are novel co-factors that regulate HPV infection in HIV-infected patients. We developed a model system of organotypic epithelium to study impact of PI treatment on HPV16 infection. Our model could be used to study mechanisms of HPV infection in context of ART, and for developing drugs that minimize HPV infections. Abstract Epidemiology studies suggest that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patients on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) may be at increased risk of acquiring opportunistic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections and developing oral and cervical cancers. Effective HAART usage has improved survival but increased the risk for HPV-associated cancers. In this manuscript, we report that Protease Inhibitors (PI) treatment of three-dimensional tissues derived from primary human gingiva and cervical epithelial cells compromised cell-cell junctions within stratified epithelium and enhanced paracellular permeability of HPV16 to the basal layer for infection, culminating in de novo biosynthesis of progeny HPV16 as determined using 5-Bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling of newly synthesized genomes. We propose that HAART/PI represent a novel class of co-factors that modulate HPV infection of the target epithelium. Our in vitro tissue culture model is an important tool to study the mechanistic role of anti-retroviral drugs in promoting HPV infections in HAART-naïve primary epithelium. Changes in subsequent viral load could promote new infections, create HPV reservoirs that increase virus persistence, and increase the risk of oral and cervical cancer development in HIV-positive patients undergoing long-term HAART treatment.


Recently, hospital patients experience anxiety, confusion, and stress about wayfinding as the spacial layout and treatment circulatory system of hospitals have become complicated due to their oversized and complex structure. As part of finding a solution to the problem, this study seeks to examine w...


In Collinson, M. P.; Platais, K. W. (Eds.) Social science research in the CGIAR: Proceedings of a Meeting of CGIAR Social Scientists held at ISNAR, the Hague, the Netherlands, 17-20 August 1992. Washington, DC, USA: CGIAR


The problem of membrance fouling hinders the commercial popularization of MBR all the time,but the behaviour of bio-flocculation is the main factor that has impact on membrance fouling. This review explores the mechanism of bio-flocculation,and sums up some ways of strengthening the behaviour of bioflocculation. Finally,the prospect in this field is proposed.


Fuzzing is attractive for finding vulnerabilities in binary programs. However, when the application's input space is huge, fuzzing cannot deal with it well. For discovering vulnerabilities more effective, researchers came up concolic testing, and there are much researches on it recently. A common limitation of concolic systems designed to create inputs is that they often concentrate on path-coverage and struggle to exercise deeper paths in the executable under test, but ignore to find those test cases which can trigger the vulnerabilities. In this paper, we present TSM, a novel method for finding potential vulnerabilities in concolic systems, which can help concolic systems more effective for hunting vulnerabilities. We implemented TSM method on a wide-used concolic testing tool-Fuzzgrind, and the evaluation experiments show that TSM can make Fuzzgrind hunt bugs quickly in real-world software, which are hardly found ever before.


The natural fluorescence properties of pterins were investigated in this article. Both the fluorescence spectra of neopterin, biopterin, xanthopterin and pterin and effect of some factors on the fluorescence intensity have been studied in the phosphate buffer(pH 7.7). Under the optimum condition, the linear ranges of the four kinds of pterins were 0~2.6 μg/mL for neopterin, 0~2.4 μg/mL for biopterin, 0~6.0 μg/mL for xanthopterin and 0.6~2.8 μg/mL for pterin respectively. Their dectection limits were 6.71×10 -8 g/mL, 5.79×10 -9 g/mL, 1.75×10 -8 g/mL and 4.29×10 -7 g/mL, respectively.


Loss of telomere DNA repeats in eukaryotic cells is associated with senescence and apoptosis.Activation of telomerase can maintain telomere length stability and make cells immortal.Telomere binding proteins might regulate the length of telomere by means of regulating telomerase or other relative factors.The progress in study of telomere binding proteins and the model of telomere length regulation based on it are reviewed.


A farmer survey conducted in two regional districts of both Son La and Dien Bien, Viet Nam in 2011 revealed that a major limitation to cattle production for small holder farmers was the establishment and management of suitable forages. Although children play a significant role in managing cattle on small holder farms across Asia, parents and land managers have traditionally been the focus of research intervention activities. A school based program was conducted in Quai Nua District Primary School, Dien Bien, Viet Nam in October 2013 in recognition of the importance of children as 'next users' of innovation strategies to improve livestock management. The two hour bi-lingual program involved interactive learning through play, 'learning by doing' activities and reflection. 63 children ages eight to eleven, six farmers, fourteen Teachers, six researchers, three agricultural extension officers (DARD), two observers, a translator and the district Director of Education were in attendance. Qualitative feedback revealed that within eight weeks of delivering the program DARD conducted forage management training with over thirty farmers who had heard about the school program, and Teachers requested a follow up program to 'train the trainer' for undertaking future agricultural knowledge transfer activities. The method used in this project offers a useful template for age-specific, culturally appropriate training in animal production (systems), and strongly supports the recognition of children as legitimate recipients of agricultural extension activity.


Abstract This paper emphasizes the need of estimation of the mutual influence, called "cross-talk," for neutronic analyses of neighboring diagnostics systems shared by the same ITER port. Using examples of several diagnostic systems inserted inside the ITER Equatorial and Upper Port Plugs, we have demonstrated this mutual influence. Cross-talk effects have been shown by examining the radiation environment inside the port plug in terms of neutron energy spectra and Shut-Down Dose Rate (SDDR) inside the Port Interspace (PI) area. In-port cross-talk was investigated for the diagnostic systems deployed in two Equatorial Port Plugs (EPP) #17 and #8, and for the components of Upper Port Plug (UPP) #3. One example of in-port cross-talks is a gamma shadow effect of the Tritium and Deposit Monitor (TDM) shield block, which affects the SDDR inside the PI of EPP#17. Where the gamma radiation originated from the dominant radioactive sources of the irradiated structures of Core-Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) is blocked by the TDM shield. Another example is an influence of neutron streaming along the Fast Ion Loss Detector (FILD) channel on the neutron energy spectra calculated in the Tangential Neutron Spectrometer (TNS) in EPP#8. For the example of UPP#3 with Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS-core), performed neutronic analysis identified excessive neutron streaming along the CXRS shutter, which must be reduced by further design iterations.


ABSTRACT In-Hospital Outcomes in Patients with AcuteCoronary Syndromes Undergoing CoronaryPercutaneous Intervention Primarily Assisted inthe Emergency Care Units (ECUs) – Resultsfrom a Tertiary Cardiology Center Background: Emergency Care Units (ECUs) were createdto meet an urgent need of the Brazilian government toimprove health care to low-income population. ECUs quicklybecame reference centers to treat chest pain in this po-pulation, due to their ability to provide prompt medicalcare, availability of last generation drugs and well trainedstaff. This study is aimed at describing the profile and in-hospital follow-up of patients with acute coronary syndromesseen in these units and later referred to a tertiary hospital,where they were treated by percutaneous coronary inter-vention with stent implantation. Method: Three hundredpatients were referred from ECUs to Santa Helena Hos-pital (Cabo Frio, RJ) from July to December, 2009. Onehundred and sixty four patients (202 lesions) were treatedby percutaneous intervention with stent and were dividedin two groups: group I included 86 patients with acutecoronary syndromes with ST segment elevation and groupII included 78 patients with acute coronary syndromeswithout ST segment elevation. Clinical and angiographiccharacteristics and in-hospital major adverse cardiac eventswere compared between the two groups.


Contents: Preface. Overview of Our Neo-Kohlbergian Approach. Psychological and Philosophical Challenges to Kohlberg's Approach. A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach Based on the DIT. Validity and Reliability Studies of the DIT. New Issues, New Theory, New Findings. Stages or Schemas? Integrating With the Domain Approach. Integrating With the Cultural Psychology Approach. Summary. Appendices: The ATHRI. Services and Materials Available From the Minnesota Center.


Day by day vigorous changes in the human population, indiscriminate growth of urban cities, industrialization, and agricultural practices have led to an increased accumulation of solid organic waste materials in the environment. The recovery of nutrients by modification of wastes like municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, agricultural residues, and animal wastes, etc. is important for their management and for reducing environmental degradation. Recycling of organic wastes through vermicomposting biotechnology is an emerging trend as an "environmentally sustainable", "economically viable" and "socially acceptable" technology all over the world. The review assesses the following topics in detail: Vermicomposting biotechnology, earthworm species for waste management, raw materials for vermicomposting, environmental factors effecting vermicomposting, applications of vermicompost and future prospects.


''Sexual difference is one of the major philosophical issues, if not the issue, of our age'': Luce Irigaray's assertion, quoted near the end of Graham Hammill's Sexuality and Form (169), is surely right. The reason has only partly to do with identity politics over the past thirty years. Or rather, identity politics over the past thirty years speak to the same philosophical issues that occupy Irigaray in An Ethics of Sexual Difference (1993) and Hammill in Sexuality and Form. Sexualität, sexualité, sexuality, sessualità, sexualidad: such words entered European languages in the 1830s and '40s because modern science demanded an abstract term to denote reproductive activity involving differences in male and female body parts and their functions. In the course of the nineteenth century that essentially biological concept became a psychological concept as sexuality increasingly came to mean the subjective experience of genital desire. The publication of Freud's works in the 1920s made that shift in meaning decisive. Sexuality is, for us, a fundamental factor in self-identity. Thanks to Foucault and his History of Sexuality (first volume 1976), it is also a social, political, even ontological concept. The word sexuality marks the site where the human body, ideology, and subjectivity converge. For postmodern thinkers sexuality functions as a master trope, in much the way anima did for scholastic philosophers of the thirteenth century. The convergence of body, ideology, and subjectivity is precisely Hammill's focus in Sexuality and Form. The two terms in the book's title figure rather like the two prongs of a horseshoe-shaped magnet, each attracting its own conglomeration of metal filings and holding them in a state of suspension, while connecting them over the top. On the ''sexuality'' side are flesh, Jacques Lacan's objet a, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's ''intercorporeality''; on the ''form'' side are Norbert Elias's ''civilizing process,'' Lacan's Law of the Father, and ideology as a force of subjection. Hammill's starting point for the entire project is Elias's ''civilizing process,'' with its ambition to discipline the body and produce ''an isomorphic relation between an increasingly sedimented body and an increasing abstracted judgment, the result of which is a regularized expression of social form as psychic space'' (4). Hammill is interested in the violence of that process (a concern he shares with plenty of other critics)—and in the body's resistance to that process (a concern he makes very much his own). Where other critics see binaries, Hammill is apt to see threes—even if, strangely, he consistently uses ''between'' to relate those threes to one another. In connection with the poses in Caravaggio's paintings, for example, Hammill defines his project as ''rethinking relations between being, violence, and the body'' (21–22), while ''sexuality'' in the definition that governs the entire book


a b s t r a c t Objective: Our previous 6-month, randomized study demonstrated the beneficial effect of a vegetarian (V) compared to a conventional diet (C) with similar caloric restriction on cardiovascular risk factors for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely increased insulin sensitivity, reduced body weight, reduced volume of visceral and subcutaneous fat, decreased LDL-cholesterol and improved oxidative stress markers and chosen adipokines. We conducted post-trial monitoring to determine whether the improved outcomes persisted 1 year after the end of the study. Methods: 62 subjects with T2D who completed the study were asked to come for a 1-year follow-up to measure weight, waist circumference, HbA1c and blood lipids. No attempts were made to maintain their previously assigned diets. Results: 44 patients (71%) attended the post-trial monitoring. Hypoglycemic agents were increased by 14% in V and by 26% in C; insulin therapy was introduced in 5% in V and in 13%


Over the last years Technology Entrepreneurship has developed as a distinct stream of research at the nexus of Entrepreneurship and the Management of Technology and Innovation. Yet, despite several special issues and an increased level of interest, no comprehensive definition of the field has been developed so far. This paper attempts to be a starting point for this discussion by deriving a framework based on elements identified in a review of the articles in the special issues. It structures Technology Entrepreneurship along the entrepreneurial process into a formation, exploitation and renewal phase and applies different levels of investigation at the product, firm and at the systems level.


Background: Lumbar Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal at any lumber level. Lumbar spinal stenosis has multiple severities and both conservative and operative treatment options. The objective of the current study was to compare the results of operative and conservative approaches in spinal stenosis treatment.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2019 to June 2019. The data was collected from different hospitals in Lahore (Ittefaq, General, Jinnah, and Hameed Latif). Participants (n=121) of both genders, pre-diagnosed with Lumbar spinal stenosis and symptoms history of 10 weeks (confirmed on imaging) were included. Interventions were decompressive surgery and conventional conservative management. The outcome measures were body pain, functional activities, and the Oswestry Disability Index. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the results between the two groups. A p≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The patients undergoing surgery had statistically significant (p=0.00) advantages of surgery compared to the non-surgical group at 3 months. The 25(36%) of patients remained the same after conservative treatment with 51(72%) having pain radiation and 47(66%) with neurological deficit. The effect of treatment for body pain was 7.8 (95%CI, 8.6, 6.9), physical function −1.3 (95%CI, −0.6, −2.2), and Oswestry Disability Index was −3.4 (95%CI, −2.7, −4.1).

Conclusion: Patients who had surgery of spinal stenosis showed marked improvements in body pains, functional activities, and Oswestry disability index compared to conservatively treated. Patients, health care providers, and other stakeholders may get benefit from the findings of this study.


By using the technology of ASP and database,and with the Script language and SQL command,this system of the water-saving management information was shown by the mode of Browser /Server.The users can input,update,access and delete information of the database that connected with the LAN server with browser.


6 Chapter 1 7 The association between facial cues, attractiveness and health 7 1.1. Sexual selection 7 1.1.1. Mate choice 7 1.2. Attractiveness related to mating success 10 1.3. Relative importance of face and body cues 12 1.4. Relationship between facial attractiveness and health 15 1.5. Facial cues related to attractiveness 17 1.5.1. Symmetry 17 1.5.2. Averageness 20 1.5.3. Sexual dimorphism 21 1.5.4. Skin condition 25 1.6. Relationship between facial cues and health 27 1.6.1. Symmetry 27 1.6.2. Averageness 29 1.6.3. Sexual dimorphism 29 1.6.4. Skin condition 31 1.7. Reasons for poor relationship between facial attractiveness and health 32 1.7.1. The way we measure health 33 1.7.2. The way we measure facial cues 36 1.7.3. Are we missing facial cues to health and attractiveness? 37 1.7.4. The role of environmental, conditional and cultural factors in attractiveness preferences 57 Chapter 2 61 Facial adiposity: a cue to health and attractiveness? 61 2.


SrBi4Ti4O15 nanometer powder was prepared by high strength mechanical mixed special liquid-phase precipitation method with Sr(NO3)3, (C4H9O)4Ti and Bi(NO3)3·5H2O as raw materials. The calcine temperature of SrBi4Ti4O15 precursor, structure and particle size of powder, the sinter temperature of ceramics and its electric property were investigated. The results show that the sintering temperature of SrBi4Ti4O15 precursor is lower and the high sinterablity of the powders leads to lower densification temperature to 100 ℃ at least. The sintering effect is fairly good. The product consists of highly dispersed nanoparticles with homogenous distribution at 970~1 000 ℃. Below 100 Hz, er and tanδ decrease obviously with increase of frequency.


In this paper,the refractive index of visible light in the triple prism was measured by the methord of minimum deviation.Based on the expirical foumula of Cauchy,the experimental data was investigated in Origin software,and the dispersion curvers of the triple prism were obtained.The parameters A0 and B0 of the ZF1 optical glass and the K9 optical glass were determined and the angular diapersion power of two optical glass were obtained.The experimental results show that the angular dispersion power of triple prism related to not only prism materials but also the wave length of the incident light.The angular dispersion power increases with the increase of refraction index and increases with the decrease of wave length.


AIM:To observe the efficiency of mianserine in treatment of the depressive disorders induced by cerebrovascular disorders.METHODS:The 32 patients with post-stroke depressive disorders were treated with mianserine 60 mg,po,qn for 4 wk.The clinical efficacy and side-effects were assessed with four-degree scale and the rating scale of HAMA,HAMA,CGI, and ASBS. RESULTS:The effects were significant after 2 wk.The scores of HAMA and HAMD were reduced,and efficacy index was increased (P 0.01).The total effective rate was 84% after 4 wk;adverse reactions were mild,for example:dizziness,drowsiness, xerostomia,constipation,urinary retention,blurred rision;3 patients'ALT (alanine aminotransferase) was higher transiently. CONCLUSION:Mianserine is a good antidepression agent in treatment of the depressive disorders after apoplectic stroke and is worthwhile for clinical use.


The selection of an architecture is a key step in complex system development and has major, often irreversible effects on the performance, cost, and flexibility of the system. In addition to being a process heavily influenced by the technical performance and cost analysis of each individual architecture, the selection of the initial architecture is also determined by less quantifiable criteria such as architecture flexibility and extensibility. In this paper we study methods to analyze initial architecture decisions influenced by these two factors using a fully enumerated tradespace of architectures for the in-space transportation infrastructure for human exploration of Mars. Our approach is to transform this tradespace into a weighted graph with nodes corresponding to architecture-technology combinations and edges corresponding to the ability to transition between two architectures. We restate the problem of selecting an initial architecture as two simple problems on this graph, finding that this approach can determine a small set of non-dominated options useful to the architecture selection process.


Due to the failure of tradional determination method of signal number,when using harmonic retrieval to detect target in frequency domain by HF ground wave radar,a new method to estimate the number of signal by echo's phase is developed in this paper.The theory based on is presented,the processing procedure and results of real data are investigated at last.


The Catalogue of the exhibition in London is much more attractive in every way. The notes for the 691 entries are more profuse and the additional material is of special interest. There were quite a number of items neither manuscript nor printed. The verse of Dodgson has been collected in a single volume with an introduction by J. F. McDermott (New York, 1929). Much of this verse has been set to music,* some of which is to be found on phonographic records. The number of mathematicians who have written verse, or dramas, is quite large. But the number of those who have produced a great effect on their country's literature, like Lewis Carroll in the writing of nonsense, is exceedingly small.


The utility model discloses a front end detection processing device of a rotating body, which relates to a detecting device of directions and speed of the rotating body. The front end detection processing device comprises a rotating body device, a first Hall sensor, a second Hall sensor, signal acquisition circuits, a data analysis and processing circuit and a data display module, the signal output port of the first Hall sensor is in signal connection with the signal input port of a first signal acquisition circuit, the signal output port of the second Hall sensor is in signal connection with the signal input port of a second signal acquisition circuit, the signal output ports of the signal acquisition circuits are in signal connection with the signal input port of the data analysis and processing circuit, and the signal output port of the data analysis and processing circuit is in signal connection with the signal input port of the data display module. The front end detection processing device of the rotating body needs no procedure when the direction and the speed of the rotating body are detected, and a complex processing method of an old method is greatly simplified.


In order to adjust a trilateration net, we used to apply the method by observation equations more frequently compared with the method by condition equations. The main reason is that the more complex a trilateration net is, the more difficult the formation of condition equations is. It is evident that finding and describing the condition equations which are necessary and sufficient for a given problem are not easy. But it is also true that the adjustment by condition equations has some merits described as follows. A gross error or a mistake can be found out by checking an error of closure in a condition equation at an early stage. The number of normal equations to be solved is generally small, and so the adjustment computation is carried out by a personal computer. The purposes of this paper are as follows. 1. To propose a method which will enable us to describe the condition equations by the use of simple rules for applying the adjustment by condition equations to complicated trilateration nets. Z. To describe linearized formulae of the condition equations. 3. To show a systematic computation work for obtaining cofactor (or variance-covariance) matrices of angles, directions of sides and coordinates of stations. 4. To show the characteristics of errors in several typical trilateration chains by investigating the cofactors (or variances). 5. To present some useful data for making a plan of the observation for practical trilateration chains.


This paper counts the loan of books in the library of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts from 2007 to 2008.According to these data,it discusses the reading trend of readers,and gives some proposal for improving the service level of university library,in order to raise the important function of library in teaching,researching and personnel training.


Compared to the conventional active clamp flyback (ACF) converter, active power decoupling integrated ACF (iACF) converter has recently been proposed due to its capabilities of simultaneous realization of output voltage regulation, active input current shaping, as well as buffer capacitor reduction. This article aims to make a comparative study of different control strategies for iACF converter regarding efficiency, total harmonics distortion (THD), complexity, and dynamic responses aspects. The operating principles of iACF are first reviewed and compared with ACF. The control-to-output relationships of iACF are further explored, and two control strategies are proposed, compared, and optimized. Finally, the control strategies are evaluated by experimental results over a 100-W lab prototype.


Summary.  Background: Prostaglandin (PG) E2 induces expression of matrix metalloproteinases and angiogenic factors, thereby contributing to plaque instability. Objective: To study the influence of cyclooxygenase (COX) and PGE synthase (PGES) isoenzyme expression on PGE2 and PGI2 biosynthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in culture. Methods: Cells were treated with human recombinant IL‐1β over different periods of time. Expression of PGI synthase, and COX and PGES isoenzymes was determined by real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting. Biosynthesis of prostanoids from exogenous or endogenous substrate was analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography or enzyme‐immunoassay after incubation of cells with labeled arachidonic acid or thrombin, respectively. Results: Cytosolic PGES and microsomal PGES (mPGES) ‐1 and ‐2 were expressed in VSMC. PGES activity was mainly linked to mPGES‐1. IL‐1β induced COX‐2 and mPGES‐1 with a different time course. VSMC ability to synthesize PGE2 and PGI2 fitted mPGES‐1 and COX‐2 expression, respectively. The ability of VSMC to produce PGI2 was downregulated by mPGES‐1 expression and was restored when mPGES‐1 expression was silenced. Results from COX‐1 and COX‐2 silencing and selective inhibition showed that both COX‐1 and COX‐2 were involved in the biosynthesis of PGE2 and their relative contribution depended on the time of incubation with IL‐1β. Conclusions: mPGES‐1 is the main PGES responsible for PGE2 biosynthesis by VSMC and its induction downregulates VSMC ability to produce PGI2. These results support the concept that under inflammatory conditions VSMC could significantly contribute to plaque instability and that mPGES‐1 may be a target for therapeutic intervention in patients with cardiovascular risk.


Many technologically important ceramic materials are made of more than one component. If components are isostructural they can form a stable or a metastable solid solution that can undergo phase separation below a critical temperature, which can significantly affect different properties of the material. In this work, we investigated the effect of phase separation on thermal conductivity at room temperature of Ti1-xSnxO2 ceramic with different Ti/Sn ratios. The samples were sintered at 1500 °C and afterwards annealed at 1100 °C for 48 h in order to induce phase separation. It was observed that substitution of Ti with Sn and vice versa considerably reduces the thermal conductivity of the parent phases (TiO2 and SnO2). The thermal conductivity of the samples with compositions inside the spinodal region after annealing increased compared with that of samples that had not been annealed while for the compositions outside the spinodal region, only a limited effect was observed.


The aim of this investigation is to optimise the data post-processing techniques associated with hot film sensors when intended to be used as a means of accurate, high-resolution heat flux measurement. More specifically, this project focuses on the performance of hot film sensors operated in a constant temperature anemometer bridge, used in conjunction with impinging jet air flows. The characteristic heat transfer behaviour in this impinging jet flow provides the reference against which the heat flux data attained using the hot film sensor is compared. As part of this investigation, three hot film calibration methods are examined for a range of sensor overheat values: (A) a wall shear correction method, (B) a physical quasi 1-D conduction model and (C) a physical quasi 2-D fin conduction model. The results show that the method C, when used in conjunction with a 5 K sensor overheat, best replicated that of the reference heat flux sensor for the jet configurations investigated.


Small-scale spatial association of the distribution for 55 abundant tree species with two environmental factors (humus depth and surface microtopography) was examined in two 1-ha plots of a heath (kerangas) forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. More than 80% of the 55 species showed a significant habitat preference in humus depth and/or relative elevation in at least one plot. In particular, ten species occurring in both plots showed a consistent significant preference for humus depth or relative elevation in the two plots. Using randomization tests, however, only five species significantly associated with humus depth and no species with relative elevation. These results suggest that edaphic and topographic factors, especially humus depth, contribute to determining local spatial distribution and floristic composition of abundant tree species in the forest.


This paper analyzes the temperature field, the contraction stress, and the thermal stress in concrete arch culverts using Finite Element Method. The distribution and magnitude of stresses caused by concrete contraction, sunshine in hot climate, and asphalt coating were obtained. The results show that these stresses may lead to cracking of culvert in engineering practice.


In the early years of manned space exploration, it is observed that astronauts easily loose a sense of time. Consequently they forget to eat in time and are not constantly fit to operate. From the need to monitor the physical condition of astronauts during travel, it became customary to equip their clothing with health sensors (Soller, 2002). One can see this as an early instance of health tele-monitoring. These measures originate from the customary monitoring of test pilots to find the effect of extreme flight situations on the human body. But in space travel, the monitoring was not just performed during a couple of minutes but routinely for weeks or even months. This has been extended to other situations where a human pilot is confronted with extreme, potentially life-endangering situations, such as car racing. In all such situations, the clothing can be rigged with a wired network of a fixed-design sensory network and connected to a single control room (Jafari, 2006). With the advance of microelectronics, a potential consumer market is opening. Mobile Health (m-health) is a technical challenge at the crossroads between personal fitness and hospitalization costs. Lack of exercise and/or bad nutrition undermines health and brings diseases such as heart failure and diabetes that can be hardly cured once become easily noticeable. Ultimately hospitalization cannot be avoided. Such stays will be regular and lengthy while surgery will be part of the service. Tele monitoring is currently tested to reduce the length of hospital stays and the number of check-up visits by providing post-surgery health monitoring at home over remote links. On the other hand, a proper life style can delay the advent of diseases or even preclude their coming. The current research interest is to collect data on large groups of people to identify risk groups. Then persons with a high risk can be identified and will receive pre-screening. Consequently, organizing special heart failures and diabetes clinics reduce hospital costs. People do fitness in order to stay in shape. Usually it requires a regular doctor visit to ensure that the training does not damage the person's health. Selfquantification allows the person to play doctor himself, making the health check available constantly. There are little more health-related products in the common house than the thermometer, scales, cough drops and the medicine cabinet. Tele-monitoring requires additional 2,500 Euro worth of equipment to be installed in the house of the patient. This price tag cannot be tolerated for the average household, but the insurance may pick up the tab for the approved patient. Usually health-monitoring equipment is found in clinics and fitness clubs, where many people can take advantage. The modern equivalent is the 'kiosk': a dedicated booth in public places in and outside hospitals that can be visited at will and provides equipment in a direct link to the hospital infrastructure. M-health is the next step to bring affordable healthcare in the home, and to any place where a person goes. It can be attached as simple gadgets or be integrated as plaster, garment or ornament. But it will only be more than a consumer gadget, when it (a) gets medical quality information and (b) communicates that information to the medical world, if desired and necessary. Further into the future, but not that far away, is the caring home, where healthy dwellers are measured to ensure that any health-endangering conditions can be detected and brought to the attention of a physician in time. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) such precautions can reduce the amount of visits to the hospital by 90% (WHO, 2011)! Lambert Spaanenburg Comoray, Sweden


From the analysis of the sector, it was concluded that the city center has an urban structure, which generates spatial and social segregation, so there are areas of tolerance zone, with physical deterioration and insecurity.
However, due to its strategic location and presence of 3 of the main elements of the main ecological system - Magdalena River, Oro River and La Toma Stream - it is a key point of urban revitalization, since it will make it possible to return the importance and relationship of the city with the river.
Therefore, a main urban corridor is proposed that starts on the island known as Isla Aventura on the western side of the river, where an ecological park is proposed, focused on the conservation and learning of the fauna and flora found there. and ends at the old railway station. Likewise, other urban corridors are proposed on the main road axes that allow forming a pedestrian and cycle routes, improving alternative mobility, from the transformation in the road profiles of the sector.
Simultaneously, an urban proposal is made on the eastern edge of the Magdalena River, on which new uses are proposed (cultural, commercial, housing, hotels) and a mixture of them to allow the proper functioning of the proposed new public spaces.
On this edge, the cultural use is emphasized with the objective of encouraging the permanence and the pedestrian flows through new public spaces, sports, recreational and leisure areas, allowing at the same time to generate a sense of belonging and appropriation of the territory. For this purpose, a commercial and service area is proposed, which is based on a productive system based on urban gardens linked to restaurant services and the creation of an open-air market place


The effects of an intense fire on the nutrient status of jarrah(Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest soils were investigated. At seven experimental sites, representing a range of soil and vegetation types, surface soils were sampled to a maximum depth of 20 cm before, immediately after, and 1 year after the fire.

Immediately after the fire, concentrations of total and extracted nutrients in surface (0–3 cm) soils increased markedly. One year later, concentrations of extracted nutrients in surface soils had returned to levels close to pre-burn concentrations. During this period, some properties of sub-surface (3–20 cm) soils also changed: Bray-extractable phosphorus and electrolytic conductivity decreased, whereas ex-tractable potassium and pH increased relative to pre-burn concentrations. Initial increases in concentrations of extractable forms of nutrients were determined largely by the amounts of nutrients deposited in fine ash, whereas the changes after 1 year depended more on the leaching of ions and their reactions with the mineral soil.

Increases in total amounts of major nutrients in surface soils arising from additions of fine ash were generally well correlated with amounts in pre-burn litter and with amounts in the components of organic matter likely to be consumed in the fire. Significant quantities of all nutrients are redistributed from aboveground sources to the soil surface during intense fires, including nutrients which are most susceptible to losses through volatilization. This redistribution of nutrients is discussed in relation to short-term and long-term effects on plant growth and functioning of the jarrah ecosystem.


Hematological and biochemistry parameters are essential for the evaluation of fish health status; it helps provide essential information to diagnose fish diseases. This experiment was conducted to investigate the affect of Streptococcus agalactiae infection on hematological and biochemical parameters in red hybrid tilapia ( Oreochromis sp .). The fish were inoculated intraperitoneally with 1 x10 4 cfu/mL bacteria then blood samples were collected and tested during the experiment. After seven days The red blood cell (RBC) counts decreased from 2.31 x 10 6 to 1.68 x 10 6 . The hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (PCV) counts decreased to 7.17g/dl and 19.2% in the infected fish compared to the control group (9.71g/dl and 28.20%). In contrast, the white blood cell (WBC) counts increased from 4.20x10 3 in the control fish to 13.2x10 3 . The biochemical results initially showed an increase in glucose levels of the infected fish compared to the control from 53.82 to 101.75 on the 72nd hour, respectively.  There were no significant differences in the levels of serum total protein (T. prot), albumin (ALB), and aspartate transminase (AST) between the infected and the control fish.The inoculated fish displayed marked clinical signs such as erratic swimming behavior, exophthalmia and lethargy during the experimental. The present study has established that the changes in hematological, biochemical and clinical signs of fish can be used as an early diagnosis of pathological and physiological status in red tilapia culture


Age momentum correlation experiments in kapton has revealed the existence of two positron states corresponding to the trapping of positrons on the partially negatively charged O and/or N sites in the polymer chain. A young age broadening of the annihilation line shape is also observed and is attributed to the annihilation in flight of the positrons.


Hybrid Dandelion is an interactive real-time animation art installation, used bionic mechanisms of algorithmic design to study generative rules for mimic biological form. It provides an approach to combine the algorithmic data structures from distributed computing, fractal tree, and L-system for investigate growth dandelion-like morphology. This work creates an interaction scenario with using facial recognition to scan audience's biometrics as means decoding your genetic data, and then inserting (the trait) into the dandelion model for modifying its indeed generative rules as like metaphor hybrid genetically modified task. It allows the audience to experience their unique data-driven artificial life form - dandelion as embodied and possessed through their facial features, heartbeat signal, and emotion expression in artistic expression.


The official file of colleges and universities plays an elementary role in the field of cultivating talented man and scientific research.However,the management mode of raditional official file lags behind seriously people virtual requirement about information of official file,so that contradict is outstanding littlie by little,which the management of official file is not fit for the quick development of an institution of higher learning.Higher learning must quicken the course of information construction,prvide the service for educational reform and sustained development of colleges and universities.


Tax planning is one of the key aspects of financial planning from a tax perspective. Efficient tax planning enables every taxpayer to reduce the tax liability to the minimum. This is done by legitimately availing various tax exemptions, deductions under chapter VIA, rebates and allowances available under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The ever increasing functions of the government have naturally lead to increased expenditure, for instance, achieving the social and economic objectives laid down in the constitution, balancing regional economic growth, removing the concentration of economic power in few hands, reducing the inequality of income, and so on. The wealth of an individual is maximized by increasing the level of savings in various investment avenues. The key area of the research is to learn the appropriate popularly used tax saving instruments and also the factors influence the investment in those tax saving instruments. It is empirical research which will throw light upon the aspects of tax planning and ways to reduce the income tax liability.


Staphylococcus epidermidis is frequently resistant to first‐generation cephalosporins. Although I have generally changed the therapy of S. epidermidis CAPD peritonitis to vancomycin when laboratory reports indicate cephalosporin resistance, it frequently appeared that improvement from the cephalosporin was taking place at the time of antibiotic conversion. Should the antibiotics be changed in this setting?


The Canadian corporation Goldcorp's Marlin Mine in San Miguel Ixtahuacán is the first open-pit goldmine in Guatemala. While Goldcorp depicts Marlin as a showcase for development and good business, many Mayan women express extreme distress at the multilayered destruction caused by the corporation. Under the guidance of the indigenous women's movement Tz'ununija', in May–June 2011 and July 2012, I held in-depth interviews with five Maya-Mam leaders and two workshops in San Miguel with more than 30 women opposing the mine. Analysing their visions and Goldcorp's public development discourse, I argue that the mine is decimating San Miguel's social fabric and environment. Although Goldcorp has created employment, infrastructure and injected money into the local economy, gains are short term in comparison with the long-term impacts of the mining venture on land and community. At heart, two fundamentally opposed visions are at stake: Western "development" versus tb'anil qchwinqlal, or quality of life.


"Satellite babies" may seem odd in an age of "helicopter parents," yet Chinese American families' transnational separations are relatively common.


Object Detection is a challenging task in computer vision, but Deep Neural Networks (DNN) have made great progress in this area. This work presents the process and the results obtained in the attempts to embed a YOLO V3 model in a Neural Compute Engine, the Movidius Stick. Experiments were carried out with a Tensorflow model that is converted to Movidius (using OpenVINO) including an evaluation of the Movidius stick connected to a Raspberry Pi3. The application uses aerial images of power distribution towers captured by a drone. Although there are some fully operational networks for Neural Compute Engines, there are some difficulties in porting new networks to the platform, with gains in performance, but with losses in accuracy.


The invention relates to single-gas-phase fluidized bed reactor discharging openings applicable to a multiregion polyreaction. The discharging openings are formed in a single-gas-phase fluidized bed reactor (1) and characterized in that the discharging opening are divided into three layers, including an upper-layer discharging opening (12), a middle discharging opening (13) and a lower-layer discharging opening (14), all the discharging openings are provided with plunger valves (16) for partition, all the plunger valves (16) are each connected with an electric rotating valve (17), and the rotating speed and rotating mode of the electric rotating valve (17) are controlled by setting the material level, so that the discharging amount is controlled. Compared with the prior art, the single-gas-phase fluidized bed reactor discharging openings have the advantages of being high in discharging ability, flexible and adjustable in discharging mode, high in raw material utilization rate and the like.


Lanza`s book is not a rigorous scientific treatment, but the science he refers to is rigorous. Neither is his book a comprehensive philosophical development. Rather, Lanza has a colloquial style that is typical of good popular books, and his book can be understood by non-experts. This is a very important book for the right audience. You can find this book at Amazon: Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe .


Post-modernist historiography meta-fiction includes a strong theoretical content and explores the meta-language,meta-history and the meaning of the text itself of the novel,in which the description of the history of philosophy is the combined product of literature and history through the baptism of post-modernism.This article studies the interrelationship between the emergence and the development of the narrative history and expects to find out the meaning in it.


Coleoptera is the second largest order of forensic insects, with several necrophagous representatives, most being predators but their feeding habit may change between larval and adult stages. The species of Coleoptera increase in number both of individuals and species during advanced stages of decomposition in open environment and are absent or less represented indoors (Goff, 1991). Beetles are encountered in great numbers during the faunal succession process; moreover their biological traits may be used to estimate the post mortem interval; the family of Staphylinidae is one of the most diverse lineages of Coleoptera, with representatives occupying every conceivable non-marine niche (Caterino et al., 2005). The family Staphylinidae occupies almost all moist environments throughout the world. Because none of them is truly aquatic, they do not live in open waters; although winged adults may be skimmed from the sea surface far from land, their presence is due to misadventure but attests to their dispersive ability. They live in the leaf litter of woodland and forest floors and grasslands (Paulian, 1941; Moore and Legner, 1976; Newton et al., 2000).


Purpose: The effectiveness of teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in schools is known to be higher among older students. However, several easier programs have been successful even for primary school children. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal target age for teaching CPR in schools. Methods: Six classes from the fifth to the tenth grade were randomly selected. A video-based self-instructional program was presented by health teachers in each school using the Korean version of CPR Anytime(TM) during normal school hours. Questionnaires were given after training to determine their degree of confidence in performing CPR, their willingness to perform CPR on a family, a friend, and a stranger, and at what age the children wanted to learn CPR. Skill tests were administered for several volunteer students. One week after the training, the students were asked to what extent they had shared their knowledge of CPR technique with other people. Results: Two hundred one students were given the CPR instruction. The confidence in performing CPR was lowest among seventh grade children. The willingness expressed by the students to perform CPR on a family member, a friend, and a stranger were 99.5%, 95.7% and 58.8%, respectively, with boys in the tenth grade most willing to perform CPR on a stranger. The students responded that it is most suitable to learn CPR at grade 6.4±2.4. The highest average skill score of 9.5/11 was for sixth grade. The average distribution rate was 1.23, and again this was highest in sixth grade at 3.72. Conclusion: This study suggests that the optimal target school age for CPR education using video-based self instruction may be at approximately the sixth grade.


Continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) has been implemented over the atmospheric channels over free space. However, atmospheric turbulence weakens the quality of the transmitting quantum signals and hence decreases the secret key rate of the system. Here, we suggest an atmospheric turbulence channel model that involves atmospheric turbulence bubbles and demonstrates the implementation feasibility of passive CVQKD with spectrum resources in the terahertz band over the atmospheric turbulence channel. We achieve the channel transmittance characterized by the refractive index and the wavefront distortions. Moreover, an adaptive optics (AO) unit is used for performance improvement while considering the effect of the thermal noise and excess noise on the atmospheric turbulence bubble-modeled channel. Numerical simulations show that the AO-involved detection scheme can result in reductions in excess noise when being faced with the floating clouds and mist in atmospheric turbulence, which results in performance improvements in terms of secret key rate, which confirms the utility of the high-rate and long-distance CVQKD in terahertz (THz) for practical implementations.


We study the Saffman-Taylor or viscous fingering instability in new experimental conditions, where corrections due to inertia become important. In addition to capillary and viscous forces, inertia has thus to be taken into account in the total force balance. We note that, if inertia is sufficiently high, an inversion of the classical decrease of finger width with increasing velocity is obtained. We investigate the finger width as function of different dimensionless parameters. A short theoretical analysis together with our experimental results shows the importance of a modified Reynolds number Re ∗ : it allows for obtaining a new empirical master curve for high velocity.


The oral administration of aldrin to male and female beagles, whose diet already included a fixed, regular oral dosage of DDT, resulted in a dramatic rise in the concentrations of DDT, DDE, and DDD in blood and fat.


In 2014, the review concerning the incorporation of street vendors into the existing formal system was conducted in earnest, it being only partly included in sidewalk facilities by the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Road Act made by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted various projects aimed at improving matters related to street vendors in the autonomous districts in 2007 as part of its efforts to improve public design in Seoul. The purpose of the study is to establish the application standard of street environment about the street vendor and the standard related to the street vendor based in each law. Being targeted for the street vendor which exists for open 24hrs on the street to derive the standard of the street environment of the street vendor which wasn"t in Seoul so far, It was investigated 1)Direct investigation at a site, 2)Interview of people, government, seller, street vendor"s confederation related street store, 3)Domestic and abroad literature search, 4)Investigation of a statute and a related guideline. In particular, a basic survey was conducted on such details as the width of the sidewalks concerned, the distance between street vendors and major facilities, and what appear to be adequate measurements and operating regulations concerning the ten areas. As a result, reason to set up application standard of environment about street vendors that are open 24hrs along streets and checklist for basic evaluation about propriety were suggested. This research, It"ll be the basic data to make a law from now on based on a result.


This study presents a fitted operator numerical method for solving singularly perturbed boundary value problems with integral boundary condition. The stability and parameter uniform convergence of the proposed method are proved. To validate the applicability of the scheme, a model problem is considered for numerical experimentation and solved for different values of the perturbation parameter, ε and mesh size, h. The numerical results are tabulated in terms of maximum absolute errors and rate of convergence and it is observed that the present method is more accurate and ε-uniformly convergent for h ≥ ε where the classical numerical methods fails to give good result and it also improves the results of the methods existing in the literature.


To the Editor: W e have read the interesting paper by Ulaner et al. entitled "Hepatocellular carcinoma mimicking neuroendocrine tumor metastasis on Ga-DOTATATE PET/ CT" recently published onClinical Nuclear Medicine. The authors report a case of 65-year-oldman affected bywell differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET) with a new lesion in the liver characterized by high expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) at PET/CTwith Ga-DOTATATE, and resulted to be a hepatocellular carcinoma at the subsequently performed histology. This case report raises some additional considerations. A major concern regards the current approach for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis. According to the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)


Let $\mathcal{Z(R)}$ be the set of
zero divisor elements of a commutative
ring $R$ with identity and $\mathcal{M}$
be the space of minimal prime ideals
of $R$ with Zariski topology. An ideal
$I$ of $R$ is called strongly dense
ideal or briefly $sd$-ideal
if $I\subseteq \mathcal{Z(R)}$ and $I$
is contained in no minimal prime ideal.
We denote by $R_{K}(\mathcal{M})$, the
set of all $a\in R$ for which
$\overline{D(a)}=
\overline{\mathcal{M}\setminus V(a)}$
is compact. We show that $R$ has
property $(A)$ and $\mathcal{M}$ is
compact if and only if $R$ has no
$sd$-ideal. It is proved that
$R_{K}(\mathcal{M})$ is an essential
ideal (resp., $sd$-ideal) if and only
if $\mathcal{M}$ is an almost locally
compact (resp., $\mathcal{M}$ is a
locally compact non-compact) space.
The intersection of essential minimal
prime ideals of a reduced ring $R$ need
not be an essential ideal. We find an
equivalent condition for which any
(resp., any countable) intersection of
essential minimal prime ideals of a
reduced ring $R$ is an essential ideal.
Also it is proved that the intersection
of essential minimal prime ideals of
$C(X)$ is equal to the socle of C(X)
(i.e., $C_{F}(X)=
O^{\beta X\setminus I(X)}$).
Finally, we show that a
topological space $X$ is pseudo-discrete
if and only if $I(X)=X_{L}$ and
$C_{K}(X)$ is a pure ideal.


Background: The relationship between economic conditions and demographic events remain classic research issues (e.g., Malthus 1798; Thomas 1927). When it comes to family formation, the basic assumption is that bad times and economic hardship make people revise their plans and postpone marriage and childbearing. A growing literature on the relationship between different measures of the business cycle and fertility generate, however, mixed results. While there is evidence for a negative relationship between unemployment and fertility on the aggregate level (e.g., Adsera 2004, 2005; Ahn & Mira 2002), research focusing on the links between unemployment and fertility at the individual level is inconclusive (e.g., Adsera 2011; Hald Andersen & Ozcan; Hoem 2002; Kravdal 2002; Kreyenfeld 2009; Ozcan et al. 2010).


FIELD: machine building. SUBSTANCE: welding method consists in two-sided simultaneous fusion of opposite sides of a joint. The parts being welded are installed in a horizontal plane. Grooving with bevels and noses of 8-12 mm is carried out. One welding electrode is installed at each side of the joint, the said electrodes are shifted in respect to each other in longitudinal direction. The distance between the electrodes is chosen as equal to 1.0-1.5 of the weld pool length of the front arc. Powers of the welding arcs are regulated separately at each electrode. The travel speeds of the welding electrodes and the arcs are equal. Welding in overhead position is carried out on the side of the edge nose by means of a non-consumable electrode which is set ahead in respect to the direction of the welding path. The speed and power of a welding arc are chosen so that to provide for 25-35% penetration from the nose of the bevelled welded edges. Flat-position welding is carried out on the side of the edge nose by a consumable electrode. The power of a welding arc at flat-position welding is chosen so that to provide for 85-75% penetration from the nose. The diameter of the consumable electrode is chosen so that to provide for maximal filling of grooving cross section. EFFECT: reduction of expenditures on additional material at welding and improvement of welding efficiency. 7 dwg


"Downregulation of lncRNA TUG1 contributes to the development of sepsis‐associated acute kidney injury via regulating miR‐142‐3p/sirtuin 1 axis and modulating NF‐κB pathway," by Xiaodi Liu, Chengying Hong, Shipin Wu, Shiling Song, Zhi Yang, Lin Cao, Tongwei Song, and Ying Yang, J Cell Biochem. 2019; 11331–11341: The above article, published online on March 4, 2019 in Wiley Online Library (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcb.28409), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal's Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Christian Behl, and Wiley Periodicals LLC.


The invention discloses a parameter testing system and a parameter testing method for a high-speed moving object. The system mainly comprises a starting target, a stopping target, a data acquisition module, a master control module and a data transmission processing module, wherein each of the starting target and the stopping target consists of an X-axis and Y-axis rectangular laser light curtain emission unit, an X-axis and Y-axis photosensitive tube array and an amplification shaping unit; the starting target and the stopping target form two parallel virtual thin light curtain target surface which are at a determined interval; the data acquisition module consists of a plurality of field programmable logic arrays (FPGA) with built-in first in first out (FIFO) buffer memories; the master control module consists of an FPGA and a memory FLASH; and the data transmission processing module comprises a universal serial bus (USB) data interface and an upper computer. According to the system, the output level state of the X-axis and Y-axis photosensitive tube array at each moment when the object flies through thin light curtain areas is acquired and stored at high speed under the control of the FPGA of the master control module, and the speed of a fragment, landing coordinates and an overall dimension are calculated by data processing.


A system to control the scanning of an interferometer is designed and tested. The mean position of a oscillating mirror is controlled to within 5 * 10-5 wavelength by the use of an auxiliary Fabry-Perot interferometer.


The purpose of this research is to examine empirically the effect of persistence of earnings, accruals quality, reputable public accounting firms on quality of earnings at manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The population of this research is manufacturing companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in 2010 to 2014. The sample is determined by purposive sampling method, the number of sample in the research are 65 manufacturing comanies. The data used in this research is secondary data. Data collected by using documentation obtained through the official website IDX: www.idx.co.id and obtained from the website: www.yahoofinance.co m. There are three hypothesis examined in this research. The result of the research show that (1) the persistence of earnings does not affect the quality of earnings, (2) the quality of accruals has positive effect on earnings quality, (3) the reputation of KAP has negative effect on the quality of earnings. Keywords: Quality Of Earnings, Earnings Persistence, Accruals Quality, Public Accountant Office Reputation


In this paper, we address the design, fabrication and test of a qualification model of a wire thermal cutting based non-explosive actuation (NEA) device for a small satellite. The important design parameters such as maximum allowable preload and release time are investigated through theoretical analysis. After it is fabricated based on theoretical results, we implemented the mechanical performance tests to assure operability and reliability for the compact size NEA device. From the result of the mechanical performance tests such as maximum preload, shock level and release time tests, we found that the proposed NEA device can be operated under a preload of 1000 kgf within 550 ms stably and it generates a low shock of 58.57 G. The margin calculation shows that the proposed NEA device can hold a solar panel of 20 kg with a margin of safety (MS) of +0.32. In addition, we carried out the environment tests such as the vibration test and thermal vacuum test to qualify the proposed NEA device. From the vibration test, we found the resonant shapes after sine and random vibration were the same which means the proposed NEA device was successfully designed to have a stable structure. From the result of the thermal vacuum test, in addition, the proposed NEA device was well operated in a space environment condition.


Basing on the outline of the characters of artificial neural networks,BP network model and BP algorithm,this paper sums up the relative technologies such as the modification of BP algorithm,the training set and the structure of networks.The artificial neural networks based technologies related to intelligentization of sheet metal forming are summarized emphatically such as expert systems for sheet metal forming, prediction of forming load,parameters identification,intelligent control,faults diagnosis,defects analysis,investigation of the forming ability of sheet metal and optimal die design.The problems in applications of artificial neural networks are discussed,and its developing trend is prospected.


There have been growing concerns around the world over the rising spatial inequality (SI) amid fast and vast globalization. This paper presents an effort to benchmark the conditions and trends of spatial inequality in 37 megaregions in the United States, Europe, and China. Furthermore, the study selected three megaregion examples and analyzed the effect of developing high-speed rail (HSR) as an infrastructure investment strategy on reshaping the spatial pattern of job accessibility. The study measures spatial inequality with the Theil index of gross regional product and with the rank-size coefficient of polycentricity. Results show that spatial inequality exists and varies in magnitude within and between megaregions. On average, Chinese megaregions exhibited the level of spatial inequality about two times or more of those in the U.S. and European megaregions. The decade between 2006 and 2016 saw a decrease in the Theil index measure of megaregional inequality in China, but a slight increase in the United States and Europe. Fast growing megaregions exhibit high levels and rising trends of spatial inequality regardless of the country or continent setting. HSR helps improve mobility and accessibility; yet the extent to which HSR reduces spatial inequality is context dependent. This study presents a first attempt to assess and compare the spatial inequality conditions and trajectories in world megaregions aiming at promoting international learning.


 Science and Technology Development Plan Project of Beijing Education Commission (No.KM201310009013). Abstract In order to measure the monetary liquidity quantitative impact on inflation in China, this paper will measure monetary liquidity from the liquidity of money supply and the currency circulation speed, by using Eviews 6.0 software to establish the regression analysis model, do the cointegration analysis, and establish the VAR and ECM model. The result shows that the liquidity of money supply increases with the consumer price index; and the circulation speed of money and consumer price index react to the liquidity of money supply together. Index Terms Monetary liquidity, Econometrics model, Inflation CLC: F830.53


13C NMR shielding data for 100 naturally occurring and hemisynthetic cyclolignans are tabulated. Some of them have been compiled from the literature. The data have been assigned on the basis of 2D heteronuclear 1H‐13C correlations.


The invention discloses a whitening and moistening pearl cosmetic lotion, containing the following ingredients: sodium carboxymethyl cellulose0.05-3%, pearl powder1-10%, AvicelRC9510 0.1-3.5%, arbutin0.1-4%, flores chamomillae extract 0.1-3%, cherry extract 0.05-3%, vitamin E 0.1-2.5%, polyethyleneglycol1500 1-4%, hyaluronic acid 0.1-4% and water. The invention overcomes the difficulties that the distribution of the added solid pearl powder is not even and the hydrolysate can damage the effective components of pearl and provides a nanometer cosmetic suspension with the functions of cleaning, retaining moisture, moistening and nourishing; the invention is suitable for all kinds of skin natures; the product is unique in appearance, simple in making technique and low in cost and is convenient to use.


In Quelques caricaturistes français (1857), Baudelaire criticized Grandville as "un esprit maladivement littéraire, toujours en quête de moyens bâtards pour faire entrer sa pensée dans le domaine des arts plastiques" (OC 2: 558). This article considers these "moyens bâtards" not as a sign of Grandville's failure as a caricaturist, but rather as a key to his personal theories of caricature, politics, and modernity. Focusing on the artist's theories of metaphor and metamorphosis, the author first analyzes Grandville's role as "author" of Les Métamorphoses du jour (1829), Scénes de la vie privée et publique des animaux (1842), Un Autre Monde (1844), where text is subordinated to image while Grandville's method, as auteur, borrows liberally from the literary arsenal, incorporating metonymy, synecdoche, puns, and wordplay into his visual scenes. The second part of the essay examines Grandville's dialectic formulation of the caricaturist's social and artistic identity through the figure of the singe-peintre. Central to Grandville's aesthetic is the idea of transformation and hybrid form: humanized animals, plants, constellations, and commodities are represented in images that must be "read" – translated, interpreted – in terms of their verbal associations, thus in a hybrid form of their own that highlights the gaps and fissures between language and visual representation. By literalizing metaphor's metamorphic capacity, translating wordplay into concrete representation, Grandville renders visible the discourses of representation, not only in Benjamin's sense of allegory and commodification, but also in the more prosaic relationship between word and image. For Grandville, modernity was found in the crossing of boundaries of form and his relentless pursuit of a hybrid genre through visual/verbal metamorphoses reflected the equally inexorable transformations of the experience of daily life in the July Monarchy.


Realistic 3D face model is desired in various applications such as face recognition, games, avatars, animations, and etc. Construction of 3D face model is composed of 1) building a face shape model and 2) rendering the face shape model. Thus, building a realistic 3D face shape model is an essential step for realistic 3D face model. Recently, 3D morphable model is successfully introduced to deal with the various human face shapes. 3D dense correspondence problem should be precedently resolved for constructing a realistic 3D dense morphable face shape model. Several approaches to 3D dense correspondence problem in 3D face modeling have been proposed previously, and among them optical flow based algorithms and TPS (Thin Plate Spline) based algorithms are representative. Optical flow based algorithms require texture information of faces, which is sensitive to variation of illumination. In TPS based algorithms proposed so far, TPS process is performed on the 2D projection representation in cylindrical coordinates of the 3D face data, not directly on the 3D face data and thus errors due to distortion in data during 2D TPS process may be inevitable. In this paper, we propose a new 3D dense correspondence algorithm for 3D dense morphable face shape modeling. The proposed algorithm does not need texture information and applies TPS directly on 3D face data. Through construction procedures, it is observed that the proposed algorithm constructs realistic 3D face morphable model reliably and fast. Keywords—3D Dense Correspondence, 3D Morphable Face Shape Model, 3D Face Modeling.


Patients with unresectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are generally treated with chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy alone.1 After primary (chemo)radiotherapy, treatment response evaluation is performed around 12 weeks. Because salvage surgery in a previously irradiated neck is associated with a risk of complication and poor long term outcome, salvage neck dissection is only performed in case of suspected residual lymph node metastasis.2 However, treatment response evaluation after (chemo)radiotherapy is challenging because of the difficulties in differentiating residual disease from post treatment tissue changes influencing CT and MRI imaging appearances.


How to set the guiding role of the Marxism in the Chinese culture construction is the key problem in the modernization of the Chinese culture. The historical and modern conditions as well as the developing process demand the guide of the Marxism. The mutual improvement is beneficial both to Marxism and the Chinese culture.


THE preceding lecturers have described and the specimens have shown the terrifically damaging effect of modern high explosives, shells and bombs on the tissues. The wounds thereby inflicted are severe, often multiple, and associated with severe shock and heemorrhage to a degree only rarely met with in civil injuries: Shock and hremorrhage are, of course, frequently associated, and nothing is more detrimental to the condition of patients suffer-ing severely from shock than a continuance of hremorrhage. Actually, no useful purpose would be served in this lecture by an attempt to draw fine distinctions between the two conditions. Although all the underlying phenomena concerned in the production of shock are not yet clearly understood, I think it can be stated that anoxremia or oxygen starvation of the cells of the medullary centres which control the vital processes is the ultimate cause of death in fatal cases. In cases of hremorrhage, this anoxremia is due to the actual loss from the body of the circulating hremoglobin of the red corpuscles to such a degree that the remaining hremoglobin is insufficient to fulfil its function of adequately supplying the tissues with oxygen. In shock, the red corpuscles are not lost from the body, but are out of commtsston, as it were, either in the splanchnic area (although this seems doubtful) or immobilized in the capillary circulation. When the circulating" hremoglobin value falls much below 50% in cases of heemorrhage, the oxygenation of the tissues, especially of the medullary centres, begins to be affected, and prolonged anoxremia causes irreparable damage to the tissue cells, particularly the highly specialized cells in these medullary centres. The total blood in the body is about 10 pints, or rather more than a gallon, and large or rapid hremorrhages may result in a dangerous condition of anoxremia being reached more quickly than is often realized.


It is a pleasure to be with you today. My goal is to share with you what I see as some "early lessons" from the ongoing period of turmoil in real estate and credit markets. It is important, given the turbulence we have lately experienced, to begin to analyze and act on such lessons as early as possible. First, some background. For the past two years, the housing market has gone from bad to worse. What began as a mild reduction in residential investment at the start of 2006 has accelerated, with residential investment declining by more than 20 percent during each of the last two quarters of 2007. Beyond the obvious and intense pain for distressed borrowers, a noteworthy aspect of this downturn in residential investment has been its impact on financial markets.


The author considers the problem of regional self-government model functioning in the cities where the German right had not been introduced. The article analyses the systems of self-government in Vitebsk, Pinsk, Mogilev, Orsha and other settlements. The author introduced the notion of self-government regulations, examines the functions of main government institutions in a number of cities, and identifies the features of their self-government models.


Colloidal-size synthetic-polymer microspheres of three sizes (0.15, 0.31 and 0.70-µm diameter) were each suspended in liquids of three different colors (clear, tan and dark brown) at a range of concentrations. The samples were presented to panelists in a viewing box. Visual-threshold determinations were made for each of the nine sample sets using the ascending method of limits (AMLs) and bright illumination (1,192 lux) with each of the three viewing backgrounds: black velvet, white cotton and white taffeta. The thresholds were much more similarly expressed as turbidimeter observations than as either weight or number concentration. With the black-velvet background, the thresholds ranged from 0.206 to 2.190 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). With white cotton and white taffeta, they were considerably higher (P < 0.001), ranging from 1.97 to 41.00 and 2.97 to 34.40 NTU, respectively. This large difference appears to be a matter of contrast – scattered white light is much easier to perceive against a dark background.


Objective:To observe the changes of CD4+CD25+T cells in patients with Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.Methods:The lymphocyte subpopulations(CD4+,CD8+,CD25+,CD4+CD25+,CD8+CD25+,CD4+CD25+CD62L+ T cells) in peripheral blood mononuclear were in 24 LADA, 18 type 1 diabetic with rapid progression, and 20 normal control by flow cytometric. We assessed the immune changes of T cells subsets of LADA and compared with type 1 diabetic with rapid progression.Results:(1)Patients with LADA and type1 diabetes had higher CD4+T cells and CD4-CD8- ratio compared with patients type 2 diabetes(P0.05). There were no differences between LADA and type 1 diabetes(P0.05). (2)The CD25+, CD4+CD25+, CD4+CD25+CD62L+T cells in LADA patients was higher than normal control(P0.05), and more higher than type 1 diabetes(P0.01).Conclusion:The increasement of regulatory T cells may play an important protective role in development of LADA.


Why is psychological services so suspect on college and university campuses? Because its understanding of learning, of human nature, of communal interaction does not mesh easily with long-held and carefully nurtured convictions of professors. Academic style in writing and speaking, the masquerade of "objectivity," hiding behind expertise, contempt for the "merely emotional," the centrality of grades-all contribute to academic mores and folkways that treat student psychological problems as both unimportant and insignificant. Psychological services challenges these assumptions and proposes a different understanding of the conditions for the dynamics of learning.


Background and Aims:  Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) protects tissues against ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of IPC on protection and regeneration of hepatocytes after prolonged I/R injury.


We introduce a class of spatial point processesinteracting neighbour point (INP) processes, where the density of the process can be written by means of local interactions between a point and subsets of its neighbourhood but where the processes may not be Ripley-Kelly Markov processes with respect to this neighbourhood. We show that the processes are iterated Markov processes defined by Hayat and Gubner (1996). Furthermore, we pay special attention to a subclass of interacting neighbour processes, where the density belongs to the exponential family and all neighbours of a point affect it simultaneously. A simulation study is presented to show that some simple processes of this subclass can produce clustered patterns of great variety. Finally, an empirical example is given.


Objective :To investigate the chemical constituents of the stem and leaves of the titled plant.Method: Silica gel column chromatography was used to separate and purify the chemical constituents.The structures were e- lucidated by spectral analysis.Results:Seven compounds were isolated from the leaves and stem of Osmanthus for- dii,and their structures were identified as uvaol(Ⅰ),oleanolic acid(Ⅱ),luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucopyrano- side(Ⅲ),apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(Ⅳ),rhoifolin(Ⅴ),figustroside(Ⅵ),phillyrin(Ⅶ),re- spectively.Conclusion:All of the seven compounds were isolated from Osmanthus fordii for the first time.


With the issue of environmental degradation already well covered in this journal and many others, this paper will briefly review value creation/destruction models for the risk industry, provide an overview of conservation finance mechanisms that have been deployed to date, and finally present in some depth a menu of very specific insurance products/services that could be developed and deployed in support of conservation initiatives. Beyond just supporting the underlying "alignment of interests" thesis that drives this paper, it is hoped that the thoughts presented will serve to accelerate meaningful joint initiatives between those who are working to protect the planet, and those who are quite legitimately working to protect their balance sheets.


Virazole or Ribavirin (1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) inhibits the growth of vaccinia virus at a concentration ode to a certain extent in the presence of Virazole, the DNA fails to acquire resistance to deoxyribonuclease and virus particles are not formed. Reversibility of the antiviral effect occurs when the drug is washed out from the infected cultures or when guanosine at an equimolar concentration is added.


As in this day and age that the old cars around very little in the encounter, although many are wanting but not much sale.Eventhough there was very expensive and therefore the authors have a website or a block on a web page on the internet so that all commu- nities can nd out information about the ancient cars and want to have it. But many people who do not know about old cars information. On this occasion the authors make use of computer technology (internet) to create a design webs ite Old Car Information, to provide facilities in the relevant information. Website made ??with interesting and interac- tive, so the user does not feel bored. With this website, people can visit this site and can nd out information on old cars as desired.


20. Neurourol Urodynamics 1999;18: 270±1 Metallic stents for malignant and benign ureteric obstruction Sir, We read with interest this paper by Wakui et al. [1]. We recently inserted a different stent, the Ultra ̄ex Diamond@ Biliary stent (Boston Scienti®c, Boston, USA), into the ureter of a 62-year-old man. Between 1969 and 1999 he had initially undergone a right nephroureterectomy and subsequently a cystectomy and formation of an ileal conduit for invasive TCC. He went on to develop TCC in his distal left ureter but refused left nephroureterectomy and dialysis. He consented to have this excised, leaving a short stump of proximal ureter, which was anastomosed to his conduit. He was re-admitted in October 1999 in acute renal failure, with a creatinine level of 1019 mmol/L. A nephrostomy tube was inserted into his solitary left kidney and a nephrostogram con®rmed a 5 cm stricture in his remaining ureter. His creatinine level decreased to 400 mmol/L but he did not tolerate the nephrostomy tube and refused further surgery. Under sedation a  ̄exible cystoscope was passed through the conduit to the stricture, which had the appearance of TCC. Using  ̄uoroscopic guidance, a Jag wire@ (0.89 mm, Boston Scienti®c) was passed through the stricture, which was then dilated retrogradely to 12 F using Amplatz nephrostomy dilators (Cook Urological). Two 4 cm balloon-expanding Ultra ̄ex Diamond Biliary stents were inserted over the guidewire, the second intussuscepting into the ®rst. A follow-up nephrostogram showed free drainage through the stent and his nephrostomy tube was removed. His creatinine level has fallen to 297 mmol/ L. The placement of this stent was straightforward and free of complications. The patient is now at home and has none of the complications of an indwelling nephrostomy tube, as outlined in the paper. We agree that a metallic ureteric stent may offer an easy and safe alternative to external catheter drainage. S. R. J. Bott, L. Kahn and R. F. P. Copland Department of Urology, Chase Farm Hospital, En®eld,


THIS investigation is a time domain study of relay-type feedback control systems with dead time and sampling. It introduces a new approach to the analysis and design of relay-type control systems employing sampling. Because of the sampler, clamper, and relay, the system is nonlinear, and discontinuous in time. Systems of this general nature have been analyzed in the past by Chow1 and Russell2 using the sinusoidal response method introduced by Goldfarb3 and Kochenburger.4


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of nuclear factor of activated T cells -2 (NFAT2) in release of high mobility protein box-1 (HMGB1) from human monocytic THP-1 cells in vitro.

METHODS
The level of HMGB1 release from THP-1 cells in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation was examined by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The effect of LPS stimulation on NFAT2 and HMGB1 interaction in the cytoplasm was observed by immunoprecipitation assay. HMGB1 production and release was detected in cells with specific small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated suppression of NFAT2 expression.

RESULTS
LPS stimulated HMGB1 release from THP-1 cells. As LPS stimulation prolonged, HMGB1 concentration increased in the cell culture supernatant and decreased in the cytoplasm, and the binding between NFAT2 and HMGB1 was not detected in the cell nuclei. NFAT2 suppression by the siRNA plasmid resulted in increased HMGB1 level in the cell culture supernatant.

CONCLUSION
NFAT2 can inhibit HMGB1 release from THP-1 cells in vitro.


A fully susceptible genotype (4106A) of Myzus persicae survived the longest on an artificial diet and, in several of the eight replicates, monitoring was terminated when the culture was still thriving. A genotype with elevated carboxylesterase FE4 at the R3 level (800F) had a mean survival of only 98.13 days, whereas 794J, which combines R3 E4 carboxylesterase with target‐site resistance (knockdown resistance), survived for the even shorter mean time of 84.38 days. The poorer survival of the two genotypes with extremely elevated carboxylesterase‐resistance was not the result of a reluctance to transfer to new diet at each diet change. Although available for only two replicates, a revertant clone of 794J (794Jrev), which has the same genotype as 794J but the amplified E4 genes are not expressed leading to a fully susceptible phenotype, did not appear to survive any better than this clone. This suggests that the poor survival on an artificial diet of the extreme‐carboxylesterase genotypes is not the result of the cost of over‐producing the enzyme. The frequency of insecticide‐resistant genotypes is low in the population until insecticide is applied, indicating that they have reduced fitness, although this does not necessarily reflect a direct cost of expressing the resistance mechanism.