Triterpenoids have diverse chemical structures and bioactivities. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play a key role in their structural diversification. In higher plants, CYP716A subfamily enzymes are triterpene oxidases. In this study, Arabidopsis thaliana CYP716A1 and CYP716A2 were characterized by heterologously expressing them in simple triterpene‐producing yeast strains. In contrast to the C‐28 oxidative activity of CYP716A1 shown in several CYP716A subfamily enzymes, remarkably, CYP716A2 displayed 22α‐hydroxylation activity against α‐amyrin that has not been previously reported, which produces the cytotoxic triterpenoid, 22α‐hydroxy‐α‐amyrin. Our results contribute to the enrichment of the molecular toolbox that allows for the combinatorial biosynthesis of diverse triterpenoids.


Canada has world's third largest oil reserves in the form of oil sands and 20% of those are easily accessible by surface mining. The hot water bitumen extraction process has been used since 1967 and the process produces vast amount of tailings which are stored in ponds. Tailings ponds pose a grave challenge towards sustainable development of Alberta's mined oil sands. For every barrel of bitumen produced, nearly 15 barrels of tailings including 2 barrels of Mature Fine Tailings (MFT) are generated. Though about 7 barrels of process water is recycled, the rest of the tailings pose complex challenge to faster reclamation. The fine non-settling particles in the tailings are mainly sub-micron size clay particles with repulsive charges. Aggregating these fine suspended particles together holds a key to tailings sedimentation problem. It has been observed that settling of fine particles can be achieved by high electric field treatment by newly developed electrical Near-field Resonant AutoTransformer (NRAT) system. The NRAT system can produce alternating electric field in order of 10 V/m for a resonant frequency of about 250 kHz. The voltage and current are out of phase and very little energy is consumed with rest stored back in the system. It was observed that high electric field and field gradient can treat fine tailings in few hours compared to couple of years of gravity treatment. The decanted water can be recycled back while the thickened tailings can be further dielectrically heated with the same NRAT system and dried out. Thus, NRAT system seems to offer a complete solution to tailings problem. We propose to demonstrate usefulness of NRAT system as a cost effective, energy efficient and a safe way for complete treatment of tailings.


Ab initio coupled Hartree–Fock calculations on Br– in NaBr give a polarisability of 27.6 a.u., a reduction of more than 35% from the free-ion value. Electron correlation, approximated by Moller–Plesset theory, adds 1 a.u. and brings the calculated bromide polarisability to within 1% of the value derived from the experimental refractive index of the solid. Polarisability derivatives with respect to nearest-neighbour displacements are calculated and interpreted in terms of changes in the confining potential well of a distorted solid.


This study investigates how financial education in high school, college, or in the workplace affects the shortand long-term financial behaviors of adults using the 2015 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) data. Financial education appears to have generally insignificant effects on short-term behaviors for which there is regular feedback and penalties, and thus greater opportunity for learning by doing. If consumers do not pay off their credit card bill, they get a monthly statement showing interest charges and penalties. Financial education appears to have more positive and stronger effects on long-term behaviors with less timely feedback, and for which the adverse consequences are not fully realized until later in life, so learning by doing may not work. Not saving enough money for retirement cannot be easily or quickly corrected, if at all. The benefits to financial education may differ based on the time horizon for the financial behaviors. JEL Codes: D12, D14, I21


iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the School of Public Health at Georgia State University for sharing their knowledge and skills. My special thanks go to my thesis committee members Dr. Richard Rothenberg and Dr. Ike S. Okosun for their expertise, patience, guidance, and advice during the completion of this thesis. My extra thanks to Dr. Ike S. Okosun for his guidance and advice throughout my public health study and for sharing his knowledge and expertise during my practicum in public health. I thank my beloved daughter Emmanuella L.S. Agoumba and husband Alphonse Folly for their love, tremendous patience, and support during this journey. I am very grateful for the unconditional love, support and encouragement of my sisters Blandine and Marlene Accalogoun and all the other members of my family, of my husband's best friend forever Severin Assamoi, and of family friends Wilfried and Elvire Gangbo. My heartfelt appreciation and gratitude are extended to my fellow graduate students and PhD candidates Reynolds A. Morrison and Francis B. Annor for their assistance during this research project. I would not end my statement without acknowledging first and foremost the help of Almighty God who made this journey in public health possible from the beginning to the end. Table 4 Univariate analysis of the association between selected risk factors and HIV status in Cameroon Table 6 Multivariate analysis of the association between selected risk factors and HIV status between


5 : ED rest has been accused of contributing to or causing | | phlebothrombosis, pulmonary embolism, hypostatic pneumonia, decubitus ulcers, constipation, myasthenia, osteoporosis and nephrolithiasis. These are obviously , serious charges against one of the most widely utilized forms of treatment in medicine. Not only is bed rest frequently condemned, it is also rarely defined. The term may be used to denote the inactivity of a comatose patient or the activity of a patient suffering with Graves' disease who is confined to bed. Our attitudes toward bed rest appear to be at once disparaging and confused. Particularly because of the need for speeding the convalescence and rehabilitation of disabled soldiers in World War II, studies were devised to clarify the manner in which bed rest influences the physiological and metabolic derangements associated with traumatic and infectious states. Very few experiments have been carried out in which the effects of illness can be differentiated to any 'extent from those due to so-called bed rest. The purpose of our investigation' was to obtain quantitative metabolic and physiological data on the effects of bed rest on normal, healthy individuals. Such data would furnish a basis for differentiating the effects of bed rest per se from those which might arise from disease or trauma. Our plan was to study human volunteers on the Metabolism Ward of the New York Hospital and the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology. The difficulty in such a human experiment is to keep as many factors


The sections in this article are

Electrochemical Reduction and Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide
Binary Metal Carbonyls
Mononuclear Carbonyls
Dinuclear and Polynuclear Binary Carbonyls


Winding machines are generally utilized in the wire drawing manufacturing line. A solitary bobbin winder that is utilized presently in the business has certain disadvantages connected with production like time utilization for supplanting bobbins, harm to wire material because of the utilization of improper wire cutting strategy or instruments, and additional work for following through with the responsibility of supplanting bobbins. We broke down various kinds of Wire winding machines at present utilized in Industries and arrived at the decision of fostering a Multi bobbin wire winder to conquer the issues looked by the maker. We have fostered a Tripod style flat Multi bobbin winder which is worked utilizing different motor regulators or PLC and a basic electronic controlled system to wind the wire around every bobbin at the underlying phase of winding. The Winding, replacing of bobbin, entanglement and clamping of wire on bobbin is done automatically. The motivation behind this improvement was to improve the production rate and accuracy while utilizing less labor and time.


Traditional vocational education adopts "four steps" ladder-style teaching pattern, i.e. literary course-specialized basic course-specialized course-specialized practice. This teaching pattern puts emphasis on establishing a more stable foundation, but it neglects the adaptive ability required by the profession. Through analyzing the old teaching pattern, it presents following points regarding the vocational technical education of highway and bridge major. On the basis of current source of students, reform teaching pattern and method with the teaching principles of wide basis and flexible module and strengthen the fostering of students' comprehensive quality, post required capabilities, professional adaptability. That will shorten students' transitional period and adapting themselves to the needs of traffic infrastructure construction and development. 


1. Fifteen pregnant mice, time-mated so as to be simultaneously at the same stages of gestation, were weighed daily at the same time for the duration of their pregnancies. As expected, except for gestation day 2, there was a steady increment to 45 grams in the average total body weight of the 15 pregnant mice at day 18, as the fetuses are preparing for birth. The average total body weight almost doubled the original body weight of 25 grams.2. The white blood cell counts of the pregnant mouse showed a rapid rise by the third day, possibly related to marshalling of leukocytes (neutrophils and macrophages) to phagocytize the invading spermatozoa, or to changes in the uterine mucosa anticipating implantation which usually occurs at day 4½. There is a second peak in the peripheral white cell count at 9 days when the placenta is being organized. Thereafter the average white cell count remains below the normal level for this strain of mouse, with a slight rise of the average at 14 days and another at 16 days, bu...


In the study of air-defense missile weapon system data fusion, engineering algorithm plays an important role. This paper brings forward several engineering algorithms and does sorts of emulation experiments.


Meeting summarization aims to distill meaningful information from lengthy meeting transcripts into concise texts, allowing participants to grasp key points quickly. However, meeting transcripts often feature complex dialogue structures, such as incomplete sentences and information scattered across multiple utterances. Additionally, the length of these transcripts often exceeds the maximum input limit for pretrained language models. In this paper


Summary Classical canonical correlation analysis seeks the associations between two data sets, i.e. it searches for linear combinations of the original variables having maximal correlation. Our task is to maximize this correlation, and is equivalent to solving a generalized eigenvalue problem. The maximal correlation coefficient (being a solution of this problem) is the first canonical correlation coefficient. In this paper we propose a new method of constructing canonical correlations and canonical variables for a pair of stochastic processes represented by a finite number of orthonormal basis functions.


The status of college students' career planning is researched and discussed in this thesis.The author applies the related methods to analyzes the relationship between college students's employment and career planning and relevant resolutions are put forward.


An increasing number of developments has been planned in areas subject to flood hazards. To protect developments from flood damage and to prevent accumulated negative effects on floodplains, agencies are enforcing tighter regulations. Where floodplain features are complicated, several regulatory entities may be involved, each with different design requirements. Awareness of up-to-date design procedures and regulations and early incorporation of flood control planning and engineering in site development are essential to the project success. Innovative approaches must be adopted when standard design methods are not applicable and design criteria and regulations are not well defined. Development on alluvial fans is one of these cases which continue to be a major challenge to regulatory agencies, developers, planners and engineers. This paper presents significant floodplain issues, engineering principles and current floodplain regulations specific for developments subject to alluvial fan flooding.


The calculations of clusters modeling the fluorine-doping and oxygen deficiency of YBa2Cu307 have been performed by the method of all-electronab initio Hartree-Fock with self-consistent crystal field. Results show that in CuO planes electric charge significantly increases, the chemical valence of Cu decreases and the covalent bonding of Cu-O greatly weakens owing to oxygen deficiency, while the effect of F restores the local electronic structure of YBa2Cu3O7. The reported opinion that F occupied the oxygen vacancy in Cu-O chains seems disputable according to the calculated bonding characteristics


Research into how the 'type' of sibling death impacts surviving siblings at a social level was conducted using a semi-structured interview format with 25 bereaved siblings and seven counsellors. The results indicated that in cases where a sibling's death had a greater impact within public spheres, the young adult was more likely to receive beneficial social support than young adults associated with 'private' death examples. The paper concludes by outlining how individuals can provide effective support for bereaved young adults, as well as avoid unhelpful support behaviours.


Aims: To provide a synopsis of the sixth survey of the Tromsø Study, Tromsø 6, objectives and new target areas, study design, follow-up studies, data collection, attendance, and participant characteristics. Methods: The Tromsø Study, initiated in 1974, is an epidemiological, prospective study of health conditions and chronic diseases, and a resource for the surveillance of disease risk factors. The purpose of Tromsø 6 (2007–08) was to collect novel and repeated measurements of exposure data and to assess levels of disease risk factors. Tromsø 6 included a main study that comprised two screening visits and several follow-up studies. Main study data collection: First visit (n=12,984): questionnaires, interviews, measurements of height, weight, hip and waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, forearm bone density, grip strength, pain sensitivity measurements, and blood and hair samples and nose and throat swab cultures. Second visit (n=7307): sampling of biological specimens (blood, urine, nose and throat swab cultures) and clinical examinations (12-lead electrocardiography, cognitive tests, visual acuity test, retinal photography, carotid ultrasound, spirometry, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and echocardiography. Results: A total of 12,984 participants aged 30–87 years were examined. The attendance rate was 66%, lower than in previous Tromsø Study surveys. The attendance was lowest in the youngest and oldest, those invited for the first time, and lower in men than women. Conclusions: The completion of the survey with this comprehensive data collection went satisfactorily. The decreasing attendance rate calls for new recruitment strategies and optimisation of the study organisation to facilitate attendance.


By analyzing the collapse account of steel tubular scaffold with couplers,and discussing several relative problems in the calculation standards of formwork scaffold,this paper points out some aspects to be paid attention to in the design of formwork engineering and suggestive revisions of concerned standard items.


Did Vermeer use optical devices in making his paintings? If so, how? Here is a fresh contribution to an old debate. The "rediscovery" of Vermeer in 1866 in a series of articles by ThCophile ThorCBiirger, who reconstituted Vermeer's body of work and artistic persona after a long period of neglect, occurred not only by coincidence at a time when viewers were becoming accustomed to seeing photographic images. The photograph-like qualities of Vermeer's paintings were remarked in the late nineteenth century, and received repeated scholarly scrutiny in the twentieth century. At present it is difficult to reject the notion that Vermeer at least must have seen images produced with optical devices, given the evidence in the pictures of such features as soft-focus effects, halation of highlights, disregard for linear boundaries, dramatic shifts in scale between foreground and background, and a peculiar consistency and simplification in tonal organization, as well as the circumstantial evidence of interest in and familiarity with optical devices among other artists and experimenters in Vermeer's milieu. What remains in question is what sort of optical device Vermeer may have used, how he used any such device, and whether there is definitive evidence. These are the questions that animate Philip Steadman's narrow but intriguing new book. Steadman brings an uncommon set of skills and interests to the debate. He is not an art historian by profession, but rather an architecture professor with expertise in computer-aided design and a long-standing fascination with Vermeer's work. His background allows him to write what the book jacket describes as an "intellectual detective story," but a story which he wants us to understand as fact, not fiction. His subtitle sets the task of "uncovering the truth," a rather unusual goal for an art historical work, where one might expect analysis and interpretation of works of art as aesthetic achievements and/or as rich sources of insight about society and culture, but this is an unusual book. The difficulty of describing it according to established categories is made evident in its having been assigned a 'TR" classification in the Library of Congress cataloguing system; this groups it not with books on painting but, remarkably, with books on photography. Steadman addresses a quite limited and specialized topic, despite what claims might be made for its broader importance or sigruficance. General readers will probably find it too involved and technical, while specialists are likely to be


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------iv DEDICATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------vi LIST OF FIGURES------------------------------------------------------------------------------x LIST OF TABLES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS--------------------------------------------------------------xiii LIST OF SYMBOLS-------------------------------------------------------------------------xiv


BACKGROUND
Little is known about patterns of end-of-life care for patients with advanced kidney disease not treated with maintenance dialysis.

STUDY DESIGN
Case series.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
A sample of 14,071 patients with sustained estimated glomerular filtration rates < 15mL/min/1.73m2 treated in the US Veterans Affairs health care system who died during 2000 to 2011. Before death, 12,756 of these patients had been treated with dialysis, 503 had been discussing and/or preparing for dialysis therapy, and for 812, there had been a decision not to pursue dialysis therapy.

OUTCOMES
Hospitalization and receipt of an intensive procedure during the final month of life, in-hospital death, and palliative care consultation and hospice enrollment before death.

RESULTS
Compared with decedents treated with dialysis, those for whom a decision not to pursue dialysis therapy had been made were less often hospitalized (57.3% vs 76.8%; OR, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.34-0.46]), less often the recipient of an intensive procedure (3.5% vs 24.6%; OR, 0.15 [95% CI, 0.10-0.22]), more often the recipient of a palliative care consultation (52.6% vs 21.6%; OR, 4.19 [95% CI, 3.58-4.90]), more often used hospice services (38.7% vs 18.2%; OR, 3.32 [95% CI, 2.83-3.89]), and died less frequently in a hospital (41.4% vs 57.3%; OR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.74-0.82]). Hospitalization (55.5%; OR, 0.39 [95% CI, 0.32-0.46]), receipt of an intensive procedure (13.7%; OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.46-0.77]), and in-hospital death (39.0%; OR, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.39-0.56]) were also less common among decedents who had been discussing and/or preparing for dialysis therapy, but their use of palliative care and hospice services was similar.

LIMITATIONS
Findings may not be generalizable to groups not well represented in the Veterans Affairs health care system.

CONCLUSIONS
Among decedents, patients not treated with dialysis before death received less intensive patterns of end-of-life care than those treated with dialysis. Decedents for whom there had been a decision not to pursue dialysis therapy before death were more likely to receive palliative care and hospice.


This is the Progenetta incerta of Depéret, which requires a new name, as it is far from identical with the Mustela incerta, Lartet, from Sansan, with which Depéret identified his specimens from La Grive.


Two-day BiOS will be followed by a wide range of Photonics West sessions, from MEMS, nanostructures, displays, and optoelectronic devices, to back-to-back joint sessions highlighting the development of lasers in silicon.


Twenty nine dogs positive for bacterial dermatitis had lesions of multifocal alopecia, erythema, folliculitis, comedone, nodulocystic lesions papule, pustule with oozing of purulent discharge, hair matting with scab formation and itching. Staphylococcus spp. was the main causative organism in cases of pyoderma. Majority of infection showed highest antibacterial sensitivity of Cephalexin. Haematobiochemical parameters, haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), total leukocyte count (TLC), Differential Leukocyte Count (DLC), Total Erythrocyte Count (TEC), total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus, glucose, sodium and potassium were studied. The mean Hb, PCV and TEC levels showed a significant decrease in bacterial dermatitis. Leucocytosis along with neutrophilia and non significant alterations in total protein, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium and glucose level were observed in all dermatitis cases. The animals treated with Cephalexin (13 no.), Ciprofloxacin (9 no.) and Erythromycin (7 no.) started showing improvement within 72 hours of treatment.


The precision measurement of two-dimensional displacements is needed in many domains, such as precision fabrication and detection. This paper presents a novel inductive position sensor with the capability of measuring displacements in x- and y- directions simultaneously. The sensor consists of two parts: a ferromagnetic plate with primary windings which are composed of four layers of planar coils, a ferromagnetic plate with secondary windings which are composed of four layers of planar coils. Primary windings are supplied with two orthogonal 20KHz alternating current to generate traveling wave magnetic field along x- and y- directions separately. Secondary windings output two signals whose phases are proportional to linear displacements of X and Y directions respectively. The structure and working principles of the sensor are proposed. Meanwhile, a sensor model is simulated to verify the feasibility of the working principle and a sensor prototype is fabricated for physical experiment. According to the analysis of experiment results, the measurement range is 140mm×140mm, and the maximum linearity in one pitch is 1%. The performance of sensor may be improved by optimizing the layout of primary and secondary windings and signal processing circuit.


A preliminary study on the efficiency of styrene-siloxane block and graft copolymer as toughening additives for polystyrene has been made. Block and graft copolymers of required molecular weight were synthesized for making compatible blends with polystyrene. Compatibility of these systems was evaluated through differential scanning calorimetry, thermo-mechanical analysis, rheovibron studies, and scanning electron microscopy. A good miscibility of block and graft copolymers was confirmed by these methods. Higher work of rupture in these blended polystyrene samples further demonstrates the feasibility of styrene-siloxane block and graft copolymers as good toughening material for a brittle polystyrene matrix. The mechanical properties have been related to the morphology and the amount of siloxane content in the blended polystyrene.


This paper presents the results of radiocarbon dating of a multilayer site Surungur (Fergana Valley, South Kyrgyzstan), discovered in 2017. The results show that the site was occupied from the early Holocene and that the sedimentation processes were evenly at the site.


The efficacy of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in reducing the healing time of the cornea after an epikeratoplasty has been evaluated in an open study in two groups of patients. The time required for complete reepithelialization of the cornea was recorded, and the data obtained were analyzed statistically. In the EGF group the reepithelialization was significantly faster than in the control group. These results indicate that EGF is effective in reducing the reepithelialization time of the cornea after an epikeratoplasty.


Background and aimDrug-eluting stents (DESs) have been reported to be more efficacious compared with bare-metal stents (BMSs) in reducing the need for target vessel revascularization (TVR). However, the long-term benefits for patients with diabetes with small vessel disease are less certain. We aim to determine the clinical outcome of patients with diabetes with diffuse small vessel coronary artery disease who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. MethodsThis is a single-center prospective registry of all patients with diabetes with target lesions implanted with stents that were 2.25 mm or less in diameter and approximately 20 mm in total stent length between January 2002 and October 2008. Primary outcome was combined major adverse cardiovascular events: death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and TVR up to 5 years. Outcomes were adjusted for age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors. ResultsThere were 544 patients (63% males, mean age 62±10 years) with 1010 lesions that were followed up for a mean duration of 3±2 years. Two hundred and thirty-nine patients (439 lesions) received BMS whereas 305 (571 lesions) received DES. DES lesions were longer (mean length 23.3±6.96 vs. 17.8±5.02 mm, P<0.001) than BMS lesions. Procedural success was similar for BMS and DES patients (86.2 vs. 86.6%, P=0.90). DES patients had less TVR at 6 months [3.9 vs. 9.2%, odds ratio (OR): 4.90, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.53–15.65, P=0.007], 1 year (1 vs. 3.8%, OR: 8.01, 95% CI: 1.25–51.10, P=0.028) and3 years (13.8 vs. 18.0%, OR: 5.50, 95% CI: 3.74–8.13, P=0.043). By 5 years, the primary outcome was lower in DES patients (21.6 vs. 28%, OR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.14–2.80, P=0.011). Independent predictors of TVR at 6 months were above or equal to 59 years of age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90–1.00, P=0.032) and use of glycoprotein-IIbIIIa inhibitors (OR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.001–0.50, P=0.018). Stent length was not a significant predictor of TVR. ConclusionOur observational analysis suggests that DES seems to have short-term and mid-term advantages over BMS in reducing TVR and overall major adverse cardiovascular events. Percutaneous coronary intervention with DES may be considered as an option in these patients with limited revascularization options.


Extracting significant features from high-dimensional and small sample-size microarray data is a challenging problem. Other than wrapper or filter methods, we propose a novel feature selection algorithm which integrates the ideas of professional tennis players ranking, such as seed players and dynamic ranking with Monte Carlo simulation. Seed players make the 'game' more competitive and selective, hence improve the selection efficiency. Besides, the ranks of features are dynamically updated and this ensures that it is always the current best players to take part in each competitions. The proposed algorithm is tested on widely used public datasets. Results demonstrate that the proposed method comparatively converges faster, more stable and has good performance in classification and therefore is an efficient algorithm for feature selection.


The first report of inscriptions found in the Ancient Agora during the course of excavations by the Amerncan School of Classical Studies was presented this year by Professor Merittlin Volume II of Hesperia, pp. 149-169. The supplementary report, lhere published, contains three inscriptions found in the second campaign (1932) and four others found at the beginning of the third season. The inscriptions, published in each year, will be numbered consecutively as of that year. A map showino the sections of the Agora and the houses (with numbers), to which reference is made in the following pages, may be consulted in Hesperia, II 1933, p. 99.


Scientific research nowadays is moving from an independent and single-disciplinary ideal towards a collective effort combining diverse actors and capabilities. This study uses network analysis and mapping technology to explore the characteristics of research collaboration in the academic community of Taiwan. We construct large-scale networks using empirical data representing research partnerships formed through national research program. With the application of software tools we also explore and visibly depict the intensity and dynamics of these research networks. The main aims of our analysis are: (1) to reveal different patterns of networking relationships among academic researchers; (2) to understand the mutual interaction of knowledge production and dissemination across different research disciplines; and (3) to analyze the role and the characteristics of important researchers and their research groups. Through the study we demonstrate the feasibility and potential of social network analysis. The results could be used to understand intra- and inter-discipline networks and to foster a research environment that collaboration is encouraged and supported.


This paper proposes a face super-resolution algorithm based on Independent Components Analysis(ICA).It obtains ICs from offline training high-resolution face images by ICA.The prior of ICA coefficients are estimated by performing PCA on training images.For a low-resolution image,the high-resolution image is reconstructed by the linear combination of the ICs where the weight coefficients are obtained by Maximum A Posteriori probability(MAP).A structure-tensor-based filter is proposed to refine the estimated image.Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm is robust to various pose,expressions and lighting conditions.And the hallucination results preserve both the global structure and the high spatial-frequency information better such as sharp edges and high contrast.After that,reconstruction results are used for face recognition which improves the recognition rate.


Usually the lateral cutaneous branch of second intercostal nerve is called as intercostobrachial nerve. The variations of intercostobrachial nerves are most common. We observed the variations in the number and branching of intercostobrachial nerves and their union with the branches of brachial plexus on each side in 11 cases during routine dissection of 40 adult embalmed cadavers. The knowledge of these various anatomical variations is of important for surgeons and radiologists, to avoid post-operative complications.


Cache only memory architecture (COMA) for distributed shared memory multiprocessors attempts to provide high utilization of local memory by organizing the local memory as a large cache, called attraction memory (AM), without traditional main memory. To facilitate caching of replicated data, it is desirable to have some of the physical storage space in the AMs left unallocated, i.e. not utilized as a part of the physical address space. Without the unallocated space, excessive relocation and migration of memory blocks between the AMs can happen due to replacement, negating the very purpose of the AM. It is important in a COMA machine that the operating system maintains a certain amount of unallocated memory space to provide good performance. In this paper, we identify an important relation between the amount of unallocated space and the set associativity of the AM, and discuss the trade-off between additional unallocated memory space and higher set associativity.


Abatacept population pharmacokinetics (PK) and exposure‐response (E‐R) models for selective efficacy end points were developed using phase 2 and 3 study data in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with abatacept (intravenous [IV] or subcutaneous [SC]), followed by simulations. Two efficacy end points were assessed in the E‐R analyses: Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) and American College of Rheumatology response criteria for 20/50/70% improvement (ACR20/50/70). The analyses were performed with data from 11 clinical studies for the population PK analysis and from 3 clinical studies for the E‐R analyses (DAS28 and ACR20/50/70). The PK of abatacept were time invariant and can be described by a linear 2‐compartment model with first‐order elimination and with zero‐order IV infusion or first‐order absorption for SC abatacept. Baseline body weight was the only clinically meaningful covariate; that is, abatacept clearance and volume of central compartment increased with increasing baseline body weight. Steady‐state trough concentration (Cminss) of abatacept was identified as the best exposure predictor of DAS28 response compared with other exposure measures. In addition, the E‐R relationship was the same for IV and SC abatacept. Similar results were confirmed in the ACR20/50/70 E‐R analyses. Efficacy responses increased with increasing Cminss and a near‐maximal response was associated with Cminss ≥10 μg/mL. The model‐based analyses confirmed that the weight‐tiered ∼10 mg/kg IV and fixed 125 mg SC abatacept dosing regimens are comparable and achieved plateau responses, by delivering Cminss ≥10 μg/mL in RA patients across all body weights.


In C language that support dynamic memory operations,the usage of pointer brings about memory leak which is the key factor that causes system performance degradation.For the inadequacy of existing approaches,a method of static detection to memory leak based on model checking was proposed in this paper.By modeling memory leak vulnerabilities based on the attributes of a pointer,the method instrument the source code with corresponding constraint assertions,and then verify the reachability of these assertions by model checking tools.Experimental results show that the method is effective and accurate.


Redundancy is an undoudtable factor in language use. Though it may violate some accepted language principles, it has got a reasonable existence according to the needs of the communication. This paper, relating to the theories of intention and context, aims to explore its positiveness in different situations from the angles of pragmatics.


A new self‐powered brain‐linked vision electronic‐skin (e‐skin) for mimicking retina is realized from Polypyrrole/Polydimethysiloxane (Ppy/PDMS) triboelectric‐photodetecting pixel‐addressable matrix. The e‐skin can be driven by human motion, so no external electricity power is needed in both photodetecting and signal transmitting processes. The triboelectric output is significantly dependent on the photo illumination, which can act as visual bionic electric impulse. Taking blue illumination (405 nm) as an example, as the e‐skin is exposed to 100 µW cm−2 illumination, the output current decreases from 7.5 to 4.9 nA, and the photosensitivity is 34.7. And the photosensitivity of the e‐skin keeps stable with different bending angles and force. The e‐skin is flexible enough to combine with human body and can be driven by blinking eyes to detect UV illumination. In addition, the 4 × 4 photodetecting unit matrix in the e‐skin can map single‐point and multipoint illumination‐stimuli (visual‐image recognition) via the multichannel data acquisition method. Furthermore, the e‐skin can directly transmit photodetecting signals into mouse brain for participating in the perception and behavior intervention. This new self‐powered perception device can lower down the production cost of traditional complex sensory‐substitution system, and can be easily extended to various brain–machine interaction applications.


Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) IpLITRs belong to the Ig superfamily and regulate innate immune cell effector responses. This study tested the hypothesis that ITAM‐dependent and ITAM‐independent phagocytic pathways are engaged by different subtypes of the IpLITR family. When stably expressed in RBL‐2H3 cells, the ITAM‐containing fusion‐construct IpLITR 2.6b/IpFcRγ‐L stimulated phagocytic responses that were abrogated at suboptimal incubation temperatures and by pharmacological inhibitors of the classic signaling components of the mammalian FcR‐dependent phagocytic pathway. Interestingly, the ITIM‐containing receptor IpLITR 1.1b also induced phagocytosis through an actin‐dependent mechanism, but this process was insensitive to the pharmacological inhibitors tested and remained functional at temperatures as low as 22°C. The IpLITR 1.1b also displayed a unique target‐acquisition phenotype that consisted of complex, membranous protrusions, which captured targets in phagocytic cup‐like structures but often failed to completely engulf targets. Taken together, these findings suggest that teleost immunoregulatory receptors that associate with ITAM‐containing adaptors can engage conserved components of the phagocytic machinery to engulf extracellular targets akin to the classic FcR‐mediated response in mammals. Alternatively, IpLITR 1.1b displays a stalled phagocytic phenotype that is likely dependent on the selective recruitment of the minimal molecular machinery required for target capture but results in incomplete target engulfment. Overall, this study demonstrates that IpLITRs can selectively engage distinct components of the phagocytic process and provides important new information regarding the target acquisition as well as internalization mechanisms involved in controlling phagocytic responses across vertebrates.


In the method for active damping of vibrations in an apparatus for processing a moving web, in which the web interacts with the working circumference of at least one roller (6), the active damping is performed by a phase offset to the vibration in the axle or shaft (8) of the roll (6) introduced bending moments. The invention also relates to a roller for processing a moving web with a device for the active damping of vibrations of the roll, wherein the engagement portion of the device on the axle or shaft (8) of the roller (6) is located such that the device for active damping vibrations in anti-phase bending moments acting initiates in the axle or shaft (8) of the roller (6).


cupied researchers over the past 60 years and, not surprisingly, has attracted considerable sponsorship from organisations wanting to identify what differentiates particularly effective leaders from the rest. Literature pertaining to leadership in the elderly care home sector is lacking. Care homes currently exist in an environment characterised by turbulence, increasingly complex problems, and growing internal and external competition. New leadership models are emerging that are less concerned with understanding how best to manage order and predictability, and more with predicting who can best ensure survival in this constantly changing environment. This paper analyses and evaluates research into different leadership styles and suggests future leadership trends. Research into related areas are also considered and used to develop an understanding of the effects of leadership styles on healthcare workers. First, considered is research on leadership styles and how they affect nurses' perception of quality of care, job satisfaction, work attitudes, absenteeism, behaviour, interaction, flexibility and effectiveness. Second, is workplace-based research and the value of emotional support. This paper shows different types of leadership in action and builds an argument for the need for leadership in the elderly care home sector.


In Brazil, logging in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) under management plans that include clear-cutting has increased in recent decades, and the structure, composition, diversity and functioning of the forest likely must have been affected. The aim of this study was to understand the growth dynamics of shrub–tree biomass (STB), species richness and vegetation structure as a function of regeneration time after clear-cutting (treatments), taking the Legal Reserve (40 years of regeneration) as reference. The study was carried out in 2018 at the Ramalhete Settlement, General Sampaio, in the state of Ceará. All plants with a circumference at breast height (CBH) ≥ 6 cm were identified and the CBH was measured across 42 sample plots (20.0 m × 20.0 m), using seven plots per treatment (3, 5, 8, 11 and 15 years after clear-cutting, and the Legal Reserve, 40 years of regeneration). The following were determined: STB (total and by species), density and basal area (by ecological group and diameter class), basal area (species of higher added value), diversity (Hill numbers), and the importance value index (IVI). It was found that during the early years (up to at least 11 years), many important forest characteristics related to the composition of the ecological groups and vegetation structure were strongly affected, and major impacts can be seen, the effects of which, however, decreased over time of regeneration, having almost no effect after 15 years. After 15 years following clear-cutting, the SDTF presented accumulated STB, species richness and structure similar to the area undergoing regeneration for 40 years. However, the small number of indicator species of more-preserved areas (even at T15 and T40) points out that management needs to be improved. However, promoting species of greater added value and determining whether the forest recovers its structure and diversity after successive cutting cycles also still need to be addressed.


This paper provides a sufficient condition for the existence of a type of Evans triangle.By our result,six Evans triangles of the type are obtained,which have the ratios of the high and base,respectively n(n+2),(n2-1),2n(n2-2),4n(n+1),4n(n-1),2n(n2-1)(n2-2)(n2-3).We also consider the other type of Evans triangle with ratio 2(n2-1)(2n2-1).


Pistachios are a known source of several cardioprotective, bioactive components. A randomized, crossover, controlled feeding study was conducted to determine their dose‐related effects on emerging CVD risk factors in persons (N=28) with moderately elevated LDL‐C levels (≥ 2.86 mmol/L). Three test diets (2100 kcal/d; SFA ~ 8%; cholesterol < 300mg/dl) of either a low‐fat, control diet (CON; 25% total fat); a low‐dose diet (1 PD) with 32–63 g/d pistachios (CON + 10% energy from pistachios, 30% total fat); or a high‐dose diet (2 PD) with 63–126 g/d pistachios (CON + 20% energy from pistachios, 34% total fat) were evaluated. We report a significant difference (P < 0.05) in small‐dense LDL levels (sdLDL) between the 2 PD (34.96 ± 1.74 mg/dl) and the CON diet (44.10 ± 2.58 mg/dl) with no significant difference between the 1 PD (42.37 ± 3.29 mg/dl) and CON diet or between the 1 PD and 2 PD diets. No significant effects on Lipoprotein (a) or HDL subpopulations were detected. Similar, significant decreases in LDL‐C for both the 1PD and 2PD versus CON were seen but differences in sdLDL are important since this is a strong predictor of CVD risk status. These results support the use of 63–126 g/d of pistachios in a cholesterol‐lowering diet due to their effects on LDL‐C and sdLDL levels.


Abstract : The problem of obtaining optimum trajectories is studied, such as the one for effecting interception of a target following a known course above the sensible atmosphere, with minimum fuel consumption, or in minimum time. A procedure is given for determining the trajectory on a digital computer, and some conditions are given for the corresponding optimum trajectories. The methods apply generally to problems wherein the range and time are not too great and the terminal velocity is irrelevant.


This invention provides an aerator comprising a jet stream generator for ejecting a gas and a liquid in a mixed state from a nozzle, and a tubular flow straightener for mixing the bubble-containing stream ejected from the nozzle with ambient water and discharging the resulting mixture from the discharge orifice thereof, characterized in that the flow straightener has a tubular form whose internal diameter is reduced from the inlet toward the discharge orifice through at least a part of its length. This aerator can produce a stream containing minute gas bubbles, even when a gas is supplied thereto in such a large amount as to give a gas-to-liquid volume ratio of 3/1.


Value reduction in rough set theory and decision tree in data mining are effectively used in the classification, but each of them has shortcomings. Those two methods were combined to generate a new minimal method based on value core to pollard the decision tree. Then judgmental standards of rule reduction were proposed to decrease the quantity of reducted rules. In the end, the classing rules were dealed with by maximal method to ensure the consistency of the knowledge contained by the rules. The algorithm is efficient which was proved by the experiment.


For traditional intrusion detection technology, the lack of intelligent and self-adaptive has become increasingly prominent when they cope with unknown attacks. A method based on genetic algorithm was presented for discovering and learning the intrusion detection rules. This algorithm uses the network data packet as an original data source, after pretreatment, initialized them to be the initial population of the genetic algorithm, then derive the classification rules. These rules were used to detect or classify network intrusions in a real-time network environment, selecting the intrusion packets. The experiment proves the efficiency of the presented method.


Investigation of competitive adsorption is carried out using the Xe–CH4 mixture in zeolite NaA as a model system. The Xen clusters are trapped in the alpha cages of this zeolite for times sufficiently long that it is possible to observe individual peaks in the NMR spectrum for each cluster while the CH4 molecules are in fast exchange between the cages and also with the gas outside. The 129Xe nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of nine samples of varying Xe and CH4 loadings have been observed and analyzed to obtain the 129Xe chemical shifts and the intensities of the peaks which are dependent on the average methane and xenon occupancies. The distributions Pn, the fraction of cages containing n Xe atoms, regardless of the number of CH4 molecules are obtained directly from the relative intensities of the Xen peaks. From the observed 129Xe chemical shift of each Xen peak can be obtained the average number of CH4 molecules in the same cavity as n Xe atoms. Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations of mixtu...


The 21st century is a talent competitive time; it is necessary for common colleges to organize a qualified faculty in order to survive the competition and develop towards the first - class universities. Higher education should put its emphasis on how to introduce, retain and administrate the talents. This paper gives some suggestions about this issue.


The invention discloses a confocal axial response curve peak position extracting algorithm and belongs to the technical field of confocal scanning optical measurement. The method comprises the following steps of at first, normalizing data, and selecting effective data from measured data; taking a sinc4(a(x-b)) function as an objective function, and calculating the initial value of target parameter according to measured parameters; taking the sinc4(a(x-b)) function as the objective function, and using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm to perform fitting to obtain the target parameter; according to the target parameter, calculating peak position. According to the confocal axial response curve peak position extracting algorithm, a confocal axial response curve peak position is obtained by taking sinc4 as the fitting objective function, so that data utilization rate and measurement uncertainty can be improved, meanwhile, iteration times is reduced, and the operation time of the extracting algorithm is reduced.


inform Ding's discussion of key areas of the grammar such as lexical categories, which show a wide range of multifunctionality (pp. 72–87); a system of pragmatically based agentive marking with no grammaticalized syntactic pivot (pp. 146–55); the relational, deictic nature of directional orientation markers (pp. 109–14); the detailed discussion of topic and comment in the broader context of information structure (pp. 297–317), and in details about how speakers can mark ad hoc control for non-volitional verbs for pragmatic purposes (p. 240). The author's functional approach to these issues allows balance, and in-depth description of the grammatical constructions as they are used by speakers. This work does have a few minor shortcomings. First, the examples lack information on which subset of the corpus they represent. This sometimes renders the reader uncertain as to which examples come from naturally occurring discourse, and which are from elicited translations. Second, loan words are not marked as such in the glossaries. Aside from the forms mentioned in earlier reviews, I find the following Tibetan loans: ɹəwɑ < re.ba 'hope'; mi ̃to < men.tok 'lotus'; tʃhi < chos 'religion'; pu < spos 'incense'; n̥jɛ ̃ < nyung 'be few'; mo < mɑr 'butter'; mo dʒe < mɑr.ja 'butter tea'; ʒ ̩i ̃ < zhim 'delicious'; ɹ̥ɑ̃ < ring 'be long'; m̥jɛ̃ < sman 'medicine'; tɕhjɑ < ? phyoks 'direction'. Suspected Chinese loan words include: ɥa < wă 'tile'; kwɑ < guā 'melon'; lɜ < la ́ng 'wolf'; and ʒjɛ̃ < yān 'tobacco'. The words pɜtɛj 'umbrella', (p. 165), do 'damn' (p. 140), ri 'get' (possibly < Tibetan rag) (p. 328) are not found in the glossaries. Lastly, given the highly productive nature of compounding in the language, it is unfortunate that the glossary does not provide the internal composition of lexemes. These oversights do little to detract from an overall excellent grammar which will prove a useful resource for future historical-comparative work, and also as a model for linguists working on descriptive grammars.


Based on preceding shaking table test on a six-story reinforced concrete(RC) frame with specially shaped columns,a ten-story RC shear-wall frame with specially shaped columns under same conditions is designed for 1/8 scale shaking table test.The test focuses on the differences in seismic performance and damage mechanism between shear-wall frame and frame with specially shaped columns,and suitability for high intensity zones.Based on numerical results of structural design,experimental observation and analysis,the applicability of computational model,global seismic performance and damage mechanism of structure are revealed.Experiment also shows advantages of the structure,that is easy attainment for drift control requirement,predomination of beam hinge mechanism under major shock,and good collapse-proof capacity.The comparison of damage phenomena with frame shows that the shear-wall frame is an effective solution for requirement on joint capacity and is favorable structural system for the application of specially shaped column structures in high intensity zones.


.................................................................................................................................................
  viii CHAPTER 1.
   INTRODUCTION
  ...........................................................................................................................
  1 Significance
  of
  the
  problem
  .....................................................................................................
  3 Goals
  and
  intended
  audiences
  ............................................................................................
  14 Locating
  myself
  as
  a
  researcher
  .........................................................................................
  16 Research
  questions
  ..................................................................................................................
  22 Organization
  of
  the
  study
  ......................................................................................................
  23 2.

   FOUR
  CRITIQUES
  OF
  COMMUNITY-‐BASED
  ANTI-‐RACIST
  EDUCATION
  ..........
  25 A
  brief
  overview
  of
  CBARE
  ...................................................................................................
  25 Two
  brief
  histories
  of
  CBARE
  ..............................................................................................
  36 Anti-‐intersectional
  praxes
  ....................................................................................................
  58 Binary
  racial
  paradigms
  ........................................................................................................
  63 Racial
  essentialism
  ...................................................................................................................
  67 Pathologizing
  "resistance"
  ....................................................................................................
  73 Toward
  new
  anti-‐racist
  praxes:
  Accounting
  for
  monoracism
  ..............................
  78 3.

   THEORIZING
  MONORACISM
  ...............................................................................................
  80 Theorizing
  monoracism
  ........................................................................................................
  81 Addressing
  challenges
  to
  a
  theory
  of
  monoracism
  ..................................................
  100 Benefits
  of
  theorizing
  monoracism
  ................................................................................
  120 Summary
  ....................................................................................................................................
  127 4.

   METHODOLOGY
  ......................................................................................................................
  129 Focus
  group
  interview
  methodology
  .............................................................................
  129 Participants
  ...............................................................................................................................
  135 Focus
  groups:
  Number,
  size,
  and
  locations
  .................................................................
  147 Pre-‐focus
  group
  data
  collection:

  Surveys,
  curricula
  sharing,
  and curricula
  analysis
  ............................................................................................................
  150 Focus
  group
  data
  collection
  ...............................................................................................
  154 Data
  analysis
  .............................................................................................................................
  162


This article analyses how COVID-19 is affecting the EU federalism position in 21 Member States. The analysis is based on an ordered probit econometric model that explains the citizens' support to a major involvement of the EU institutions to control the corona virus pandemic. The dataset is the product of a survey administered to 21804 European citizens about a number of issues about the pandemic in 21 EU countries. The empirical analysis provides conclusive evidence on the determinants that affect the individual shift position of European citizens to a major involvement of the European institutions in the control of the pandemic. Our results show that Portuguese, Greeks, Bulgarians, Italians and Spaniards and males are those more in favour of the EU federalist solution to control the COVID-19 crisis. Years of education and social class are among the variables that do not have any significant effect. Meanwhile, the political support to the national government, the priority given to health vs. economy and, being in favour of limiting individual rights to control the pandemic seem to have a positive effect on EU federalism. Moreover, concerns about being infected by the pandemic, need of the help of others, altruism (helping others), economic loss, and social interaction with others also play a determinant role. Thus, the article contributes to the debate of the attitudes and behaviour that affect the individual position of the citizens who want a shift in authority from the national governments to the federal EU as a link to create more resilient regions during COVID-19.


There are numerous real world applications for singing voice segregation from mixed audio. Using Robust Principal Component Analysis which is a compositional model for segregation, which decomposes the varied source of audio signal into low rank and sparse components, where it is assumed that musical accompaniment as low rank subspace since musical signal model is repetitive in character while singing voices can be treated as moderately sparse in nature within the song. Performance evaluation of the algorithm is verified by various performance measurement parameter such as source to distortion ratio (SDR), source to artifact ratio (SAR), source to interference ratio (SIR) and Global Normalized source to Distortion Ratio GNSDR.


2.7vol%TiNi/6061 Al composites with TiNi shape memory alloy as reinforcement were fabricated by vacuum hot press. It was investigated by OM, SEM, EPMA and XRD analysis for the behavior of diffusion layer formation on various heat treatment condition. Thickness of diffusion layer was increased proportionally according to heat treatment time. The layer was formed by the mutual diffusion of TiNi and Al. The diffusion rate from TiNi fiber to Al matrix was faster than that of reverse diffusion path. The more diffused layer was formed in Al matrix. The diffusion at interface layer was consisted of Ti, Ni analyzed by EPMA, XRD results.


A new 16-leg mega-frame platform (MFP) was constructed based on an actual jacket platform (W12–1) using the mega-frame theory. Two control platforms, traditional jacket platform and jacket platform with upright column, were also built based on principle that all the platforms had the equal or similar weight, the same upper deck structure and the same function. Every column of the MFP had the most equal load and the smallest stress under the same horizontal and vertical unequal loads. So the MFP had the best loads bearing ability of all the three types' platforms above. In order to find out the effect of the structure parameters' change to the platforms' static performance, many types of MFPs were constructed by changing the number, the height and the stiffness of the major beams and/or by changing the stiffness and the angle of the major columns on the basic model MFP-313707. The analyses of all types of MFPs with different parameters under the same horizontal and vertical unequal loads show that: 1) The increase of the major beams' height makes the platforms' columns bear more equally than the increase of the major beams' number; 2) The increase of major columns' stiffness has better effect on the platform's maximal deformation decrease and the columns' loads equality. And the effect of the increase of the major beams' and columns' stiffness on the MFP's static capability has the optimal values. Beyond the optimal values, the increase of the platforms' weight caused by the increase of the stiffness is much bigger than the decrease of the platform's deformation and the increase of the columns' loads' equality. The analyses also show that the slope angle of the platforms' columns must be set around 10°.© 2007 ASME


Previous research has shown that parity (P) 4 progeny have greater weaning weights and decreased microbial diversity. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate litter performance, passive immunity, and fecal microbiota among P1 (n = 56) and P3 (n = 49) dams and their progeny. Blood samples were collected from P1 and P3 dams on d 90 and 114 of gestation and d 0 of lactation and from their progeny (n = 4 pigs/litter) on d 0, 7, and 14 of lactation. Colostrum/milk samples were collected from dams on d 0, 7, and 14 of lactation. Fecal samples were collected from dams (d 7) and their progeny (n = 4 pigs/litter; d 0, 7, and 14 of lactation). Serum and milk samples were analyzed for immunoglobulin (Ig; G and A) concentrations via ELISA. Microbial fingerprinting of fecal samples from dams and progeny were performed via DGGE. No differences were observed between parities in total born, live born, mummies, deaths, or total weaned. A greater number of stillborns (P 0.50). Litter performance and transfer of passive immunity are affected by dam parity.


By adding small amount of composite activator in steel slag-blast furnace slag(BFS)-clinker system,high content of steel slag and high strength steel slag cementitious materials was successfully prepared.The effect of activators,the dosage of clinker and steel slag on the properties of steel slag cementitious materials was studied.Hydration products of the material and micro-structure of harden paste were investigated by SEM and XRD.The results show that the activity of steel slag is enhanced significantly and the early properties of the material is remarkably improved.The 3 d compressive strength is increased by 119.7% by the addition of activator.The species of hydration products of steel slag cementitious materials mortar are influenced slightly,but the content of C-S-H gel and AFt crystals is apparently higher than that in Portland cement mortar and the content of Ca(OH)_2 crystals is lower than that.


Optical biosensors typically require complex engineering and multistep fabrication strategies, which make them expensive and difficult to service. For example, to fabricate a very popular plasmonic sensor, one starts with a polished glass prism, then deposits a nanometer-thick metallic layer, activates the surface with bioor chemical receptors, and finally installs a prefabricated optofluidic system that allows simultaneous optical interrogation and analyte flow. If one could produce a complete biosensor in a single step, this would have a significant impact on its commercial viability. Photonic-bandgap (PBG) fibers might offer a way of achieving this without compromising sensitivity or the ease of microfluidic integration. PBG fibers are a subset of photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs), which are typically fabricated by stacking tubes, rods, or multilayered structures into a macroscopic preform several centimeters in diameter and tens of centimeters long. The preform is then melted in a furnace at one end and drawn out to form a microscopic fiber. Finally, the resultant fiber can be chopped into disposable pieces of the required length for interrogation using a sensor system. PCFs containing very complex transverse microand nanostructures can thus be created (see Figure 1). Remarkably, various material combinations—such as biofunctional polymers, low-melting-temperature metal alloys, and optical plastics—have already been successfully tried in various combinations to make optical fibers. It is likely that complete bioand chemical sensors fabricated in a single drawing step will soon be demonstrated. PBG fibers are used in industrial laser-assisted cutting and laser surgery, which require the hollow core to be filled with gas to guide high-power laser light over a distance of several meters. Other applications, which rely on guiding terahertz (THz: far-IR) light over a similar distance, include nondestructive Figure 1. Fabrication of a complete biochemical sensor in a single drawing step using the stack-and-draw technique.


As opposed to genome-wide testing of several hundreds of thousands of genes on very few samples, gene panels target as few as tens of genes and enable the simultaneous testing of many samples.  For example, some cancer gene panels test for 50 genes that can affect tumor growth and potentially identify treatment options directed against the genetic mutation.  The increasing popularity of gene panel testing has spurred the technological development of panels that test for diverse data types such as expression and mutation.   Once samples are tested, there is the desire to examine clinical associations based on the panel and for this purpose, one would like to identify, among the samples tested, which show support for a molecular profile (e.g., presence of mutation with increased expression) versus those samples that do not among the genes tested.  With user-specified molecular profile of interest, and gene panel data matrices (e.g., gene expression, variants, etc.) that define the profile, shinySISPA (Sample Integrated Set Profile Analysis) is a web-based shiny tool to define two sample groups with and without profile support based on our previously published method from which clinical associations may be readily examined. The shinySISPA can be accessed from . http://shinygispa.winship.emory.edu/shinySISPA/ Jeanne Kowalski ( ) Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com : Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft Author roles: Dwivedi B Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing; : Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Methodology, Project Kowalski J Administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing No competing interests were disclosed. Competing interests: Dwivedi B and Kowalski J. How to cite this article: shinySISPA: A web tool for defining sample groups using gene sets from 2018,  :213 (doi: ) multiple-omics data [version 1; referees: awaiting peer review] F1000Research 7 10.12688/f1000research.13934.1 © 2018 Dwivedi B and Kowalski J. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Licence This work is funded by the Georgia Research Alliance Scientist Award (Jeanne Kowalski); Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Grant information: Shared Resource of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and NIH/NCI [Award number P30CA138292, in part]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. 22 Feb 2018,  :213 (doi: ) First published: 7 10.12688/f1000research.13934.1 1


We studied the effect of an SHF electromagnetic field on the strength of composite materials. We used samples of aramid fabric TSVM-DZh which was impregnated with glue 88 and cured. We carried out two series of experiments. In the first case, we used a single-layer of aramid fabric without a binder, and in the second - with a binder. We established that after single-layer aramid fabric was exposed to an SHF electromagnetic field of low specific power, the resis-tance of samples to cone puncturing increases from 1.8 to 2.2 times. The samples that were made with a binder and exposed to SHF modification had a greater strengthening effect than the samples without glue 88. The strength increased up to 2 times. We also studied the microstructure of these series of samples. The microphotographs show that the SHF electromagnetic field has a more pronounced effect on the samples with a binder, which results in formation of agglomerates smaller than in the control sample. The agglomerates have pronounced edges, which allows us to obtain more contact points, to increase the contact surface area, thus strengthening their connec-tion. The paper shows the correlation between the corrected values of increase in strength properties of the experimental samples in comparison with the control ones and the changes in microstructure caused by the described electrophysical effect. The above facts make it possible to control the mechanical properties by influencing the microstructure of end products. The results allow us to predict an improvement in the performance of structural aircraft elements made of organoplastics and personal protective equipment of the 1st and 2nd classes.


1. Ancient cosmologies 2. The Greek epicycles 3. Reaching out to the milky way 4. Our position in the galaxy 5. The world of galaxies 6. The expanding universe 7. Modelling the universe 8. What is the geometry of the universe like? 9. A universe without a beginning and without an end 10. The cosmological debate 1950-1965 11. The origin of the chemical elements 12. Cosmic microwave background 13. The very early universe 14. Dark matter and dark energy 15. An alternative cosmology 16. Unfaced challenges in cosmology 17. Epilogue.


In this paper,Fe-doped ZnO thin films were prepared by a sol-gel method on quartz glass substrates and effect of Fe-doping concentration on the structural and optical properties of the films were investigated.X-ray diffraction(XRD) was used to study the crystalline orientation and crystal phase.Atomic force microscopy was employed to observe the surface morphologies.A UV-visible spectrophotometer was used to analyze the optical properties of the films.The results show that the prepared ZnO thin films in this study all have a hexagonal wurtzite structure and are preferentially oriented along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface.After Fe is doped by 1%,the preferred orientation along the c-axis is further increased and the crystalline quality of the film is also further improved.When the Fe-doping concentration is above 1%,the intensity of (002) peaks drops again.The possible reason is that due to the difference in ionic radius of Fex+(x=2 or 3) and Zn2+,when a lot of Fex+ went into lattice sites substituting for Zn2+,it led to large lattice distortion,which affected the normal growth of ZnO crystals.The optical band gaps evaluated from the absorption edges of the films show that with the increase of Fe content,the band gaps are gradually widened.


We present atomistic simulations of crystal growth where realistic experimental deposition rates are reproduced, without needing any a priori information on the relevant diffusion processes. Using the temperature accelerated dynamics method, we simulate the deposition of 4 monolayers (ML) of Ag/Ag(100) at the rate of 0.075 ML/s, thus obtaining a boost of several orders of magnitude with respect to ordinary molecular dynamics. In the temperature range analyzed (0-70 K), steering and activated mechanisms compete in determining the surface roughness.


U.S. producers of the major chloralkalies—chlorine, caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), and soda ash (sodium carbonate)—knew business had weakened a year ago (C&EN, March 1,1982, page 10), but they expected a pickup later in the year. Instead, things got even worse. Unbelievably, plant use for chlorine/caustic sank to 60% and even below, an astounding level for plants traditionally run from 80 to 95% even in bad years. Output fell 15% from 1981. Prices remained shattered in chlorine and fell back from dizzy heights for caustic soda. In soda ash, the new prosperity from heavy investment in natural product facilities in Wyoming had to take a breather. Here, the mine use rate retreated to 75% in 1982, output dropped 6% from 1981, and prices finally gave ground. Chlor-alkali producers believe they hit bottom at last about the end of 1982 and finally can move up again this year. However, it will be slow going. Growth ...


Fundamental requirements for the connection of distributed generation resources to the network are not only power quality constraints, but also voltage regulation and the total fault level, which should remain below the network desired value. This constraint is often the main limiting factor for the interconnection of these resources units to the grids. In the presented paper, the impact of installation of distributed resources in the distribution systems from the perspective of increase in the fault contribution will be discussed and comparative study will be performed to analyze the effect of type and interconnection of distributed generation unit on the fault current contribution of the distribution systems. Simulation results indicate that the increase in fault currents is often greater in the synchronous machine implementation versus a comparable inverter based design.


The growth of networked multimedia systems has created the need for the copyright protection of various digital medium, e.g., images, audio clips, video, etc. Copyright protection involves the authentication of ownership and the identi cation of illegal copies of a (possibly forged) image. One approach used to address this problem is to add a visible or invisible structure to an image that can be used to seal or mark it. These structures are known as digital watermarks. The watermark is capable of carrying such information as authentication or authorization codes, or a legend essential for image interpretation. This capability is envisaged to nd application in image tagging, copyright enforcement, counterfeit protection, and controlled access. In this paper, we rst outline the desirable characteristics of digital watermarks. Previous work in digital watermarking is then summarized. Several recent approaches that address these issues are also discussed.


The present work to obtain the title of Master in Constitutional Procedural Law, focuses on finding a way to resolve normative conflicts in the area of Human Rights. The intention is to propose a methodological model for resolving existing antinomies, based on the application of the pro-person principle.


This research is aimed to expose the effect of some variables (job satisfaction, education and job experience) on the performance of manufacturing company managers in Indonesia. Respondents in this research were the managers of the big scale manufacturing companies in Indonesia. The data in this research were collected by quesionares which were sent by mail. Data processing in this study was supported by Statistics Program. The data analysis was carried on by regression analysis. The results from the analysis showed that job satisfaction affected the job performance of manufacturing company managers in Indonesia. Education and job experience not affected the performance of manufacturing company managers in Indonesia.


The design of an airfoil structure involves the disciplines of aerodynamics and structural mechanics, both of which are considered in the design methodology presented in this article. The approach described in this article starts from a requirement formulation based on a time-series of spanwise lift distributions on a morphing wing, representing the mission profile of the aircraft as a whole. This allows to specify goals based directly on aerodynamic performances instead of prescribing fixed geometrical shapes. Using the aero-structural analysis tool presented here, together with a parametrization representing the airfoil outer shape as well as its mechanical properties, allows the formulation of a combined aero-structural optimization problem. Promising aerodynamic and structural morphing performances have been obtained by applying the method to a morphing concept using Dielectric Elastomers (DEs) as actuators. Although the coupled physics are considered and a detailed material model has been used, results can be obtained within reasonable computational time by parallel evaluation of the candidate solutions. Improved aerodynamic performances have been obtained using this concurrent coupled method, in comparison to a sequential aerodynamic and structural optimization.


OFDM technology has been changed high-speed data flow into the low-speed data flow through the serial to parallel conversion and transmitted on several orthogonal narrowband sub-channel parallel. It has widely application prospects which can not only increase the transmission rate and the capacity of the wireless communication system, but also effectively resist multi-path fading as well as restrain interference and noise. The Simulink toolbox in Matlab is used to set up a simulation model for OFDM communication system simulation, the scatter Plot and SNR curve are also given based on the established model. The simulation results indicate that, in the same symbol rate and the same Eb/N0 case, QPSK bit error rate is lower than 16QAM, QPSK has a better performance than 16QAM. When transmission rate is the same, 16QAM is higher than QPSK in the rate of information transmission. When the SNR is increased, the channel estimation algorithm for OFDM system is lower bit error rate much than that of without channel estimation algorithm for BER.


SUMMARY An investigation of hemoglobin H which consists of four 0" polypeptide chains showed that : 1. The number of reactive SH groups is two per @ chain (i.e. eight per mole), although the same j3 chains in hemoglobin A contain only o?ze reactive -SH group per chain. 2. Hemoglobin H has no Bohr effect. 3. Its oxygen affinity is approximately 10 times that of hemo- globin A and its oxygen dissociation curve shows no evidence of heme-heme interaction. This behavior is duplicated by hemoglobin A in 6 M urea as shown by Rosi-Fanelli et at. 4. It is concluded that interactions between (Y and @ chains are essential for the normal oxygen affinity of hemoglobin A as well as for the variation of this parameter with oxygenation and pH value. Acknowledgnwnts-The authors are grateful to Drs. Paul Beznikoff and Ralph Engle who referred patient N. H. for study, and to Mr. Anatol Morel1 who suggested the ultrafiltra- tion method. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, and the National Heart Institute (H-2733), United States Public Health Service; by Grant A-4592 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, United States Public Health Service, and by Grant (Contract U-1039) from the Health Research Council of New York City. REFEREXCES


Together with the artwork titled 'No Man's Land' that was exhibited in the ANTARA exhibition, this paper presents an understanding of properties and attributes of presence and how they manifest through locative media. Building on the ideology of existentialism, the author equates the performativity of locative media with the intentionality to move. The work maps out the multiple ontologies of presence and space conditioned to locative technology usage. The author concludes by highlighting a new mode of existential location consciousness and reflecting upon the potential of this perception for future research in this area


Using linear sweep polarography (LSP) in an acidic solution (pH 2.8) containing Au(III) ions and N-allyl-N′-(sodium-p-phenylsufonate)thiourea (NTu), the product of the reaction between Au(III) and NTu (NDF) is reducible at the mercury electrode with two waves at about −0.40 and −0.95 V [versus the saturated calomel electrode (SCE)]. In the presence of excess chloride, the potential of the first wave shifts positively to −0.35 V. This forms the basis of a highly selective and sensitive method for gold. The linear range for gold is from 1 × 10−7 to 3 × 10−M, and the detection limit is 5 × 10−8 M (9 ppb). This method has been used for the determination of gold in ore samples, and the results agree well with values obtained by accepted procedures. Various electrochemical techniques were used to study the mechanism of the redox process. The reaction mainly involves the formation of C,C′-di-N-allyl-N′- (sodium-p-phenysulfonate)dithiodiformamidine (NDF). Unlike some explanations reported in the literature about the reduction of formamidine derivatives (containing an SS bond) on an Hg electuode, the electrode process for the first wave (−0.40 V) is ascribed to the reduction of the HgS film, which is caused by the reaction of Hg with adsorbed NDF. In the presence of excess Cl- ions, the mixed precipitation film of HgS·xHg2Cl2 may be formed on the electrode surface and make the first wave shift to −0.35 V. The second wave (−0.95 V) is caused by the irreversible reduction of NDF.


In an electric machine tool having an interface (14) via which the electric machine tool can be mechanically and electrically connected to a battery pack (20), a coupling apparatus (30) is provided, which can be mechanically and electrically connected to the electric machine tool via the interface (14), wherein the coupling apparatus (30) has at least one first battery interface (40) for connection to a first battery pack (60) and at least one second battery interface (50) for connection to a second battery pack.


This paper describes a real-time vergence control mechanism developed for the stereo head MEDUSA 13], in the context of behavior based active control 3]. Real-time control architectures for active vision impose strong constraints on the computational complexity of image processing algorithms. In many applications, the image size is often drastically reduced in order to achieve fast and reactive routines, at the cost of precision in the output of the algorithms. Non-uniform sampling of the images, through the log-polar mapping, is an eecient way of reducing the amount of data to process 8, 17], while maintaining a good resolution in the center of the eld of view. By using active vision devices, such as stereo heads, we are able to inspect a wide eld of view with high resolution. Besides the image size reduction feature, the correlation index of log-polar images, as a function of the vergence angle, has major advantages over cartesian images, in the detection of correct vergence conngurations 9]. Moreover, in this paper we show that the correlation index can be used for robust vergence control, with very low resolution log-polar images, leading to a very fast visuo-motor process. There is no explicit disparity estimation and the control law is a function of direct image measurements. A performance analysis of the of this method for several log-polar sensors is done, establishing criteria to choose adequate layouts. A real time implementation is described and extensive experiments have been performed. Abstract This paper describes a real-time vergence control mechanism developed for the stereo head MEDUSA 13], in the context of behavior based active control 3]. Real-time control architectures for active vision impose strong constraints on the computational complexity of image processing algorithms. In many applications, the image size is often drastically reduced in order to achieve fast and reactive routines, at the cost of precision in the output of the algorithms. Non-uniform sampling of the images, through the log-polar mapping, is an eecient way of reducing the amount of data to process 8, 17], while maintaining a good resolution in the center of the eld of view. By using active vision devices, such as stereo heads, we are able to inspect a wide eld of view with high resolution. Besides the image size reduction feature, the correlation index of log-polar images, as a function of the vergence angle, has major advantages over cartesian images, in the detection of correct vergence …


European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the most important forest tree speci es in Poland and it covers 5.2% of forest area. Present g enetic structure of beech populations has been formed within the last few thousand years and influ enced by many different factors, not only of environmental (postglacial) and genetic origin, but also by anthropogenic ones. In Poland, beech attains its north-eastern limit of natural range, a nd is limited by continental climate, winter temperatures, air humidity and soil conditions. The growth of beech stands outside the natural beech limit indicates that the species possesses a potent ially wider range. Based on their phytosociological characteristics, n ine beech experimental plots of one hectare area were established in selected seed stands, represent ing the typical plant associations and the most imp ortant beech provenance (seed) regions. The genetic analys es were performed using isoenzyme electrophoresis for seven loci (GOT, LAP, MDH, MNR, PGM, PGI, SKDH) and DNA markers using RAPD primers. The following genetic parameters were calculated: average number of alleles per locus, percentage of polymorphic loci and heterozyg osity (on the basis of isoenzyme analysis). Dendrograms based on genetic distances were constructed. There is a slight decrease of genetic variation of beech populations towards the north of Poland, which can be explained by migration paths and selec tion after the glacial period. The genetic differentiation of beech in Poland does not allow d istinguishing provenance regions. The data show a mosaic character of species differentiation and an ecotypic variation. isoenzyme analysis / DNA-RAPD markers / genetic variation / genetic differentiation / progeny differentiation


The present invention discloses a display and operating apparatus (1) for construction system technology. The display and operating apparatus (1) is connected to actuators (9, 10, 11, 12) via a processing unit (7) and a bus system (8), electrical devices (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) being connected to said actuators, and which comprises a touch-screen element (2) for controlling these devices. At least one room (22) of a house or one sub-area of a room is represented on the touch-screen element (2) in the form of a photo, on which the electrical devices (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) to be controlled can be seen. The representational photo area of a specific electrical device (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) is allocated to an address assigned in the system to the actuator of this electrical device. A required actuator function is implemented on touching the representational photo area.


Objective To analyze the diagnosis and treatment value of the C-reactive protein(CRP) in infectious diseases for the newborn children.Methods 90 neonatal patients with bacterial infectious diseases in our hospital were taken as the observation group(90 cases),and physiological jaundice in newborns as control group(60 cases).CRP for two groups in venous blood was compared.Results Before treatment the serum CRP values for two groups had statistically significant difference(P0.01);after treatment,serum CRP values for two groups had no statistically difference(P0.05).Conclusion CRP value can be evaluated as one of the indicators of early neonatal infection,and it is worth to clinically recommend.


As a rule, CSSH does not do special issues. We tell this to the many intellectual entrepreneurs who come to us with good (and bad) ideas for special issues. The reason for this policy is that special issues take up valuable space that could be given to individual submissions, of which we have no shortage. Special issues also tend to be uneven, with weak papers slotted in among the strong ones, whereas the individual submissions we publish are selected for their strength. Finally, with our traditional use of "rubrics," under which we group related essays for comparative effect, every issue of CSSH contains several special issues. All of this we say to assure you that what you are about to read is not a special issue. It is, however, a special occasion. Over the last few years, CSSH has seen a dramatic increase in manuscripts dealing with secularism. Any alert observer of the social sciences and humanities would have guessed this trend. We are not the only journal experiencing it, but it is problematic for CSSH in unique ways. When a concept as generic and value laden as secularism is applied by so many scholars to so many places, times, and problems, the concept is in danger of losing its comparative utility. The special occasion we mark in this issue is one of accumulation and, yes, troubling excess. All of the essays presented here deal specifically with secularism, all came to us as individual submissions, and each author suggests, in their own way, that the current mania for studies of the secular has reached a tipping point. Our goal in this issue is, quite frankly, to tip the secularism literature over, not in hopes of disrupting a fad—we are not dealing with an intellectual fad plain and simple—but in hopes of spilling important ideas in the most promising directions. The contributors to this issue suggest several new possibilities for research that engages rigorously, and in less formulaic ways, with the sociopolitical and economic forces driving the current profusion of secularism studies. We want to encourage studies of this metacontextual kind. We would also like to use this occasion to announce a new CSSH standard for future submissions on secularism, the secular, secularization, and secularity. If you send us anything on these topics, it should be as sharp and insightful as the essays that follow, and it should move beyond them analytically, posing new questions and building new interpretive frames. We are convinced that a more productive phase of comparative work will result from a critical awareness of dominant trends in the secularism manuscripts we receive at CSSH, and the rubrics we have devised for this issue sum up the major tropes. Comparative Studies in Society and History 2010;52(3):489–494. 0010-4175/10 $15.00 # Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 2010 doi:10.1017/S0010417510000277


Research focuses on studying social representations of students about conscience. The use of two complementary research methods of social representations reveals both conscious and rational opinions about the young people of conscience and poorly conscious meanings and associations connected with the phenomenon of conscience. The results showed that the core of representations of young people of conscience has a positively stained category as a conscious and the conscious in weak form. However, in weakly conscious representations of conscience are more frequently observed elements with negative emotional overtones. Method P. Verges shows the trend of change of the core of representations of this social group in the future. It was found that along with positive categories in the core can enter category with negative emotional load («pangs of conscience», «tor «pangs of conscience», «tor pangs of conscience», «torments», «lack of conscience»), which indicates that the threat of deterioration of the moral consciousness of young people in the future.


New port technology is essential to maintaining economic growth and competitiveness. Developing new methods and technologies for ports has become an entirely separate economic activity. Until recently there was very little competition between ports and port related costs were relatively insignificant in comparison to the high cost of ocean and inland transport. There was little incentive to improve port efficiency and effectiveness. Most ports are competing with one another on a global scale and this has led the drive to improve port efficiency, lower cargo handling costs and integrate port services with other sectors of the global distribution network with regard to lowering emissions, safety and security. The maritime sector has considerable influence on the volumes and conditions of trade and the capacity for economic development. Developing new practices and technologies for ports has become vital for maintaining growth and generating trade. New port technology and capital investment in infrastructure is essential to maintaining economic growth and competitiveness. Global competition, intelligent transport systems (ITS) and communication technologies are continuously modifying the environment. The future is bringing increasing demands for greater efficiency and for more sustainable designs in cargo handling technologies. Moreover, the scarcity of land is forcing port companies to realize higher area utilization. Terminal operators have the same objectives but they are also looking for cost reduction through decreased life cycle costs, energy consumption, maintenance etc. This is forcing terminal operators to invest in more sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost effective cargo handling equipment. The challenge is how to balance service requirements, costs and demand for sustainability. Ports play a vital role in economic growth by attracting and generating trade. A port that is not able to cope with rapidly advancing technologies will not be in a position to foster the development of the trade sector. Therefore the development of new cargo handling technology is of paramount importance if a port is to succeed in implementing its economic role. The main problem in handling increasing levels of cargo is managing the internal traffic and optimizing space inside smaller and medium sized ports. A new generation of cargo handling technology has been designed in the form of an Intelligent Autonomous Vehicle (IAV). The IAV is a clean, safe, intelligent vehicle which will contribute to improving the traffic management and space optimization inside confined space by developing a clean, safe and intelligent intermodal transport system.


Some researches show that the hydrological cycle in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding arid area is particularly sensitive to global climate change.Due to the observations of evaporation and runoff are sparse,the hydrological cycle change in the study area is certainly limited.Based on the observation driving data,Global Land Data Assimilation System(GLDAS) represents the regional distribution of surface hydrological cycle element,and also give support to the study of regional scale of hydrological cycle change.Firstly,the four climatic regions are divided the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding arid area,the variation characteristics of temperature and rainfall in each climate zone are analyzed.Then the suitability of temperature and precipitation data of GLDAS four land surface models in 1979-2007 is tested.Lastly the space variation of evaporation and runoff and the change of surface hydrological cycle key elements in different climate zones are discussed.The results show that the average temperature of four climate regions in 2000-2007 and 1979-1994 ranging from 0.65 to 0.97 ℃,and grew obviously.Precipitation changes differently,mean of which in arid and semi-arid area in 2000-2007 is more than 14 mm and 25 mm in 1979-1994.GLDAS temperature and precipitation data have high applicability in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding arid area in 1979-1994.The root-mean-square error beteen GLDAS temperature data and Chinese surface grid temperature data in extreme arid area is only 0.41 ℃.The differences beteen GLDAS data and APHRODITE precipitation data in four climate region are all less than 0.18 mm·d-1.The water cycle in study area is in dynamic balance during the research period.But the data quality of 2000-2007 has yet to be improved.Runoff and evaporation increasing area grew significantly,and the amplitude have risen sharply,but changing magnitude is uncertain.The change characteristics of hydrological cycle key elements in most areas of Xinjiang Province are consistent with the scientific hypothesis of climatic shift from warm-dry to warm-humid previous proposed.The precipitation of this area is mainly used for evaporation.In the recent years,the hydrological cycle is strengthened.Multi-year average runoff coefficient are less than 0.2.


References CUSACK, R. R., GROMAN, D. B., MACKINNON, A-M., KIBENGE, F. S. B., WADOWSKA, D. & BROWN, N. (2001) Pathology associated with an aquareovirus in captive juvenile Altantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus and an experimental treatment strategy for a concurrent bacterial infection. Diseases ofAquatic Organisms 44, 7-16 GROTMOL, S., TOTLAND, G. K., THORUD, K. & HJELTNES, B. K. (1997) Vacuolating encephalopathy and retinopathy associated with a nodaviruslike agent: a probable cause of a mass mortality of cultured larval and juvenile Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus. Diseases ofAquatic Organisms 29, 85-97 RODGER, H. D. & FRERICHS, G. N. (1997) Clinical infectious pancreatic necrosis infection in farmed halibut in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Record 140, 401-402 STARKEY, W. G., IRELAND, J. H., MUIR, K. F., SHINN, A. P., RICHARDS, R. H. & FERGUSON, H. W. (2000) Isolation of nodavirus from Scottish farmed halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L). Journal ofFish Diseases 23, 419-422 WOLF, K. (1988) Fish Viruses and Fish Viral Diseases. Ithaca, Cornell University Press. pp 250-252


Severe croup and epiglottitis are common causes of acute inflammatory upper airway obstruction that should be treated in intensive care units. These conditions are potentially life threatening and require immediate and skilled attention. Once the patient has been intubated, the principal aspects of management are efficient maintenance of the airway and good supportive care, and as long as mishaps are minimised, full recovery should result.' There are not many paediatric intensive care units and those that there are, are often unable to accept transfers. The provision of paediatric beds in a district general hospital adult intensive care unit helps to overcome this difficulty, and has been advocated in a recent publication by the British Paediatric Association.2 If general intensive care units are to accept children routinely, however, it is important that the quality of care received is adequate, and does not fall far short of that offered in a specialist paediatric intensive care unit. The managment of acute upper airway obstruction is reasonably straightforward and should be confidently undertaken by any general intensive care unit that accepts children. Results from different units should be comparable, and could be used as a guide to the quality of care provided. We present an account of our practice, and describe the results of a survey of five years' experience of the management of croup and epiglottitis in our general intensive care unit. We discuss the lessons learnt, and the implications for the organisation of facilities of children in general intensive care units.