BACKGROUND
As maize is one of the world's most important crops, its stable production and supply is crucial for food security and socio-economic development. The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is one of the major pests in maize. We evaluated the control effect of a bio-bait, an adult attractant, combined with insecticide, a 'toxicant-infused bait', on H. armigera populations in maize fields, as well as the impact on crop yield and quality through large-scale field applications in Hebei Province, China over a period spanning 2019 to 2021.

RESULT
The number of male and female H. armigera adults killed by strip application ranged from 1 to 37 and 4 to 36 per strip, respectively, of which female moths were 53%. Following the application of toxicant-infused bait, we observed a significant reduction in the populations of eggs and larvae, with the average adjusted decrease range from 58% to 63% for eggs and 34% to 62% for larvae. The application of toxicant-infused bait also resulted in a notable reduction in the proportion of damaged maize plants, with an adjusted decline rate ranging from 59% to 69%. Concurrently, we observed an increase in yield by 4% to 8%. The concentration of aflatoxin in harvested maize grains was significantly reduced from an initial level of 1.24 ug/kg to 0.1 ug/kg.

CONCLUSION
By applying toxicant-infused bait, there was a significant reduction in the population of H. armigera adults and their offspring, resulting in an improved yield and quality of maize. Toxicant-infused bait has great application potential in the integrated pest management of H. armigera. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


CuO nanorod arrays, networks of nanosheets and pistachio nuts consisting nanorods were prepared via a multi-step synthesis method starting from copper oxalate precursor. CuO nanorod arrays were prepared by solid state thermal calcination of Cu(OH)2 nanorod arrays through the reaction of copper oxalate precursor with NaOH at 40°C. CuO networks of nanosheets were obtained by treatment at 60°C for 90min, and CuO pistachio nuts consisting nanorods were obtained at 80°C for 20min. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The influences of temperature and reaction time on the synthesis of CuO were investigated. The formation mechanism of CuO nanostructures was discussed.


The 'preferred place of care' (PPC)1 patient assessment
tool, recently renamed 'preferred priorities for care', is one of
three interventions promoted within the National Health
Service (NHS) End of Life Care Initiative. PPC offers
patients, their carers and healthcare professionals the opportunity
to consider, discuss, express and record priorities for
care at the end of life. Department of Health guidance highlights
how 'available evidence suggests that whilst over 50%
of all patients wish to spend their final days at home, less than
20% in practice are actually able to do so'.2 Nationally, the
proportion of home deaths for patients with cancer is falling,
from 27% in 1994 to 22% in 2003.3 Choice over care is a fundamental
tenet of government policy. A retrospective quantitative
and spatial analysis of the first 100 PPC assessments
identified patients' and carers' preferences for care and place
of death at the end of life, and highlights issues for the development of PPC.


The paper describes the conception and implementation in the Matlab environment of the MISO inference system with knowledge base containing weighted IF-THEN rules. The main notes on system constructing and working have been presented. Knowledge base systems are an alternative for systems based on models and traditional numerical algorithms. They have been used for several years with issues concerning control, diagnostics, identification, or decision making – in situations, where information on a given field contain certain types of uncertainty. The aim of this paper is to present the concept of an inference system with a knowledge base [1], which allows for uncertainty of information in probabilistic and fuzzy categories at the same time, for modelling a wide variety of issues. The knowledge base of such system contains a representation of linguistic knowledge of a given issue ( o L o N o o B B A A / / 1 ) ( ) 1 ( ,..., , ,..., ) and the probability of an event in linguistic categories (wo,w1/o,...,wL/o), due to placing it in the form of the following file rules [4]:


As the quality of higher education institutes is becoming more emphasized nowadays, accountability and institutional enhancement should be inextricably linked. This paper describes how accountability is formed, the content of accountability, and the accountability subjects, such as government, society, markets, students, institution, self and colleague. In addition, a school should establish an effective internal accountability system to support itself under the external pressure. This paper addresses some accountability models such as, ADRE, TQM, ISO9001, MBNQA, assessment, and balanced scorecard. It also introduces the external accountability systems, and the trend of performance budgeting, funding and reporting. Finally, it summarizes that quality audit is one of the best mechanisms that can be applied internally and externally.


Advances in computer mediated communication technologies have sparked and continue to facilitate the proliferation of online courses, degree programs, and educational institutions. Leading the way with these advances has been the use of asynchronous discussion forums. However merely setting up a discussion forum does not always ensure quality participation and interaction. The way the course is managed has an impact on the participation as well. This paper compares the difference in course management over four study periods and discusses the resulting consequences on the participation and achievement of the students. This paper also investigates the quality of interaction as perceived by fully online students. The main benefits of this research are that it provides a guideline regarding what course management factors can
make the difference in online participation in fully online courses, and how the quality of interaction can be designed.


In the study of Greenhouse effect one of the important aspect of global warming is relating to increase of temperature. The factors like CO2,CO and Nitrogen etc plays a vital role to hasten the process of increase in global temperature. The only source of global warming is CO2 emission . Stochastic models are widely used in the study of global warming and its consequences. There are many aspects which are taken for study, the time to green house effect depending upon the increase of global temperature. If the global temperature crosses the threshold level which in turn leads to greenhouse effect. The threshold itself is considered to be a random variable. In this paper assuming that threshold satisfies the property known as Setting the Clock Back to Zero (SCBZ) property, the expected time to seroconversion and its variance are derived. The results are augmented with suitable numerical illustrations.


-Domestic pigeons were derived from Rock Doves (Columba livia) by artificial selection perhaps 5,000 ybp. Feral pigeon populations developed after domestics escaped captivity; this began in Europe soon after initial domestications occurred and has continued intermittently in other regions. Ferals developed from domestic stocks in North America no earlier than 400 ybp and are genealogically closer to domestics than to European ferals or wild Rock Doves. Nevertheless, North American ferals are significantly closer in skeletal size and shape to European ferals and Rock Doves than to domestics. Natural selection evidently has been reconstituting reasonable facsimiles of wild size and shape phenotypes in feral pigeons of Europe and North America. Received 17 April 1991, accepted 13 January 1992. Man, therefore, may be said to have been trying an experiment on a gigantic scale; and it is an experiment which nature during the long lapse of time has incessantly tried [Darwin 1868]. Of the many kinds of animals examined for the study of variation under domestication by Charles Darwin, only for pigeons (Columba livia) did he describe fully the chief domestic strains, along with "their history, the amount and nature of their differences, and the probable steps by which they have been formed" (Darwin 1868: 1 [vol. 1]). He did artificial selection and studied inheritance of plumage colors, color patterns, and body size and shape in domestic pigeons; the results of these studies were important to his work on natural selection (Darwin 1859, 1868). Darwin's findings supported the idea that the range of colors, patterns, sizes, and shapes shown by domestic strains had antecedents in the variation of wild Rock Doves. He also thought that feral pigeons were an understandable consequence of domestic birds escaping captivity. In the late 1850s, however, Darwin was heavily involved in writing his "big book" (Stauffer 1975), so origins of ferals from domestics were barely mentioned. Details of such origins, involving character variation molded presumably by natural selection, are nevertheless of interest to thinking concerning population differentiation; some details inferred from skeletal morphology are reported here. Rock Doves were domesticated in the period 10,000 to 5,000 ybp, earlier than has been previously suggested (e.g. Sossinka 1982). Domestications evidently occurred many times throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Near East, and southwestern Asia; this is known to be true in more recent time (Darwin 1868; N. E. Baldaccini, pers. comm.). Later, pigeons escaping captivity either rejoined wild colonies or became feral, and are now found in most of the world (Long 1981). European, North African, and Asiatic ferals may have histories of several thousand years. North American ferals have a significantly shorter history, stemming from British dovecote pigeons (the earliest of which were brought to Britain by the Romans; Levi 1974) introduced by Scottish and English immigrants to American Atlantic seaboard localities in 1600-1610 (Schorger 1952). North American ferals, therefore, are not directly lineally related to ferals of the Old World (Fig. 1). Additionally, founder gene frequencies seemingly departed significantly from those of European domestics, judging from allozymes of North American and European ferals (Johnston et al. 1989). Thus, the evolutionary derivation of ferals is more complex than it might have been. The complexity is most useful-it is, for example, important that feral pigeons were derived from domestics more than once, because the development of ferals in North America can be viewed as an independent replicate of the natural experiment in ferality tried in Europe and Asia. Without the replicate, this study would almost certainly not have been undertaken, nor would it in any event have a satisfactory conclusion. Getting to that conclusion employs assessment of skeletal similarities and differences among wild, domestic, and the two feral lines of Rock Doves, and approximating how the similarities and differences could have occurred.


The authors deal with the use of higher-order time-frequency distributions for the detection of transient signals. They show that a recent method is linked to those objects and also related to information measures. They then propose an heuristic method to detect transients. This method uses a new adaptive estimator of the fourth-order cumulant that they study in details, before presenting simulations that validate the detection method.<<ETX>>


The invention provides a blue-phase liquid crystal display with the low voltage and high transmittance. The blue-phase liquid crystal display comprises an upper substrate 9, a liquid crystal layer 8 and a lower substrate 10. The upper substrate 9 and the lower substrate 10 are arranged in parallel. The liquid crystal layer 8 is made of blue-phase liquid crystal materials. The upper substrate 9 comprises an upper substrate polarizing film 1, a lambada/2 double-axis compensation film 2 and an upper substrate glass layer 3. The lower substrate 10 comprises a lower substrate glass layer 6 and a lower substrate polarizing film 7. The light-transmitting axis direction of the upper substrate polarizing film 1 is perpendicular to the light-transmitting axis direction of the lower substrate polarizing film 7. Transparent concave-shaped electrodes 4 are formed by arraying pixel electrodes P and common electrodes C in an alternate mode, and rectangular regions preferably serve as etching regions 5.


An independent analysis of the reproductive abilities of the pteromalid pupal ectoparasites Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) and Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders was conducted on 2 strains of house fly, Musca domestica L., hosts originally collected from Bamberg, South Carolina and McMinnville, Tennessee and their interpopulation hybrid. Interbreeding between natural host populations is shown to have important consequences on the evolutionary adaptations and interactions with their parasite complex. Although the differences in the responses of N. vitripennis and M. raptor to the 2 parental host strains were insignificant, the direction of the response was consistently similar. Both parasite species were more successful on the hybrid pupae than on either parental line with more offspring being produced and a lower developmental mortality. These data suggest that genetic factors can alter the nutrient quality of the host pupae. The consequences of host population hybridization and genetics on parasite-host interaction are discussed.


We present a pair density PD functional scheme utilizing the noninteracting reference system. In order to check to what extent this scheme can express the correlation effects, actual calculations are performed for the neutral neon atom. It is shown that this scheme reproduces about 20% of the correlation energy through use of noninteracting single determinants with an approximate correlating kinetic energy functional. Thus, since it obviously provides the N-representable and correlated PD, this scheme can be positioned as an effective initial theory in the field of the PD functional theory, just like the position of the Hartree-Fock approximation in the field of the wave function theory.


Methods for testing and evaluating survey questionnaires , Methods for testing and evaluating survey questionnaires , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز


Objective: Population density and biomass of the giant anteater ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) wasestimated in conserved and intervened landscapes of the natural floodable savanna ecosystem in the paths of San Rafael and Cafifies that belong to the Pore municipality, in Casanare, Colombia. Methods: The study area covered a surface of 347.29 km 2 . The Lineal transect method was used to calculate the density and biomass for each landscape. Results: The population density of anteaters for the study area was 0.64 ind/km 2 . A population of 222.08 individuals of M. tridactyla was estimated. The estimated population of anteaters living in the conserved natural savanna landscape was higher (1 ind/km 2 ) than that found in the intervened landscape (0.29 ind/km 2 ). The biomass calculated for the entire study area was 19.51 kg/km 2 . In the conserved natural savanna the estimated biomass was 32.90 kg/km 2 and in the introduced pastures and rice crops were 8.84 kg/km 2 . Conclusions : A decrease in the population density and biomass in the intervened pastures was observed, probably caused by the change of the use of the soil for the establishment of rice crops and introduced pastures. This is the first study that evaluates the population density of the giant anteater in Colombia. It is necessary to complement this investigation with new short and long term studies, in different ecosystems to implement conservation strategies of the species.


Objective: In search of genes associated with growth of vestibular schwannoma (VS), this study examines the tumor gene expression in relation to preoperative growth determined by repeated MRI, using cDNA microarray technology. Material and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from 16 sporadic VSs, using TRIzol according to standard procedures. Five ug RNA was used in the labeling and biotinylation protocol to produce cRNA, which was hybridized to HG-U133A arrays. Fluorescent images were imported into dChip v.1.3 and normalized using invariant set normalization. Differentially expressed genes were identified as 1.5-fold differences between slow- and fast-growing tumors, with a P value < 0.01. Results: A total of 109 genes were significantly up- or downregulated in relation to tumor growth pattern. Genes associated with, for example, apoptosis, growth and cellular proliferation were identified (e.g., Erbin, PDGF-C, DAB2, actinin, caspase-1, and cathepsin B). Conclusion: Specific genes are associated with vestibular schwannoma growth. Identification of these genes may lead to identification of growth prognosticators and/or new treatments aimed at growth arrest or mitigation.


Magnetic and electrical properties of materials are investigated by the use of a novel method inspired by the known distance-to-fault (DTF) measurement. The principles of the one-port method are detailed and it is verified by presenting measurement results. The complex relative permeability and permittivity of the samples are derived simultaneously by means of a network analyzer and control software. The coaxial sample holder designed for this measurement allows the investigation of liquid and porous materials. As a special feature, the method can be easily implemented into various applications, since it is based on using a scalar network analyzer. Precognition of the sample length is not necessary, which provides high level of flexibility when using the presented method.


Sand production has been highlighted as one of the critical challenges for Zawtika Project. Throughout the years of field experiences, sand production management has brought up many challenges, especially in terms of field potential sustaining, well productivity and investment justification. Alternative sand control technique is one of the keys to overcome these challenges with continuous improvements driven by lessons learnt.
 Chemical Sand Consolidation (CSC) is the chemical sand control technique using the resin to bond the formation grain and strengthen the formation strength whereas Thru-Tubing Gravel Pack (TTGP) is retrofit sand control method, which the sand control principle is similar to conventional Cased-Hole Gravel Pack (CHGP), but can be installed in a smaller completion size. In Zawtika existing development phases, almost 150 zones of sand producing intervals are handled by CHGP completion design. In addition to CHGP, these mentioned alternative sand control techniques have been successfully implemented in 3.5-inch-tubing monobore completion for selected deep reservoir intervals after some degree of depletion.
 Field trial of CSC and TTGP had been implemented during 2019-2020 with 5 reservoirs in 7 monobore completion wells (4 CSC wells and 3 TTGP wells). All wells showed positive results with no sand production from the post-job production; and with a reasonable increase in Maximum Allowable Sand Free Rate (MASR). Based on well performance monitoring until early of 2022, all 3 TTGP wells as well as 3 CSC wells no longer have any sand production issue. Nevertheless, only 1 CSC well with water production history record prior to CSC implementation shows poorer performance on sand production prevention.
 Following the positive results of TTGP from the previous campaign in term of sand production prevention and well life extension, 8 more TTGP well candidates have been implemented in early of 2022. At the early phase of production, sand free production has been observed for all wells with 51 mmscfd incremental MASR.
 With all aspects of technical and fiscal evaluation proven to be successful, sand retention and production performance of CSC and TTGP are continuously monitored to confirm long-term performance efficiency for full application in the future.
 Zawtika sand management strategy through alternative sand control completion has been improved upon accumulated lesson learns and production experiences. The lesson learns and experiences from both operation and well performance monitoring will be integrated for further improvement for the next implementation phases. Maximizing gas potential through alternative sand control methods is also believed to be the cost-effective approach which strengthens PTTEP's competitive performance.


In this paper we investigate Moishezon twistor spaces which have a structure of double covering over a very simple rational threefold. These spaces can be regarded as a direct generalization of the twistor spaces studied by Poon and Kreussler-Kurke to the case of arbitrary signature. In particular, the branch divisor of the double covering is a cut of the rational threefold by a single quartic hypersurface. A defining equation of the hypersurface is determined in an explicit form. We also show that these twistor spaces interpolate LeBrun twistor spaces and the twistor spaces constructed in math.DG/0701278.


Abstract Objective: because they are health professionals, nursing and medical students' hands during internships can function as a transmission vehicle for hospital-acquired infections. Method: a descriptive study with nursing and medical degree students on the quality of the hand hygiene technique, which was assessed via a visual test using a hydroalcoholic solution marked with fluorescence and an ultraviolet lamp. Results: 546 students were assessed, 73.8% from medicine and 26.2% from nursing. The area of the hand with a proper antiseptic distribution was the palm (92.9%); areas not properly scrubbed were the thumbs (55.1%). 24.7% was very good in both hands, 29.8% was good, 25.1% was fair, and 20.3% was poor. The worst assessed were the male, nursing and first year students. There were no significant differences in the age groups. Conclusions: hand hygiene technique is not applied efficiently. Education plays a key role in setting a good practice base in hand hygiene, theoretical knowledge, and in skill development, as well as good practice reinforcement.


With 29 acid-mutual solvent treatments performed in Wilcox gas sands, 27 have been successful and 2 have shown no change in production. The resulting production increase has been 27,843 Mcfd. The cost was approx. $4,500 per well when the coiled tubing was used with total expenditures of all wells being $160,000. The new rates established are holding up and are not exhibiting their previous rapidly declining production characteristics. The good results are probably a combination of cleaning out the fill, acidizing with the mutual solvent, and jetting the wells in quickly with nitrogen. Caution should be exercised when proposing coiled tubing for high pressure wells. Although the surface equipment may be adequate for the particular environment, the coiled tubing limitations are usually the controlling factors in each situation. On critical wells, it is advisable to obtain a new string of coiled tubing specifically designed for the job to be performed.


To obtain geometric parameters of fiber end-face fast,exactly and conveniently,we researched and designed this automatic measurement system for fiber end-face parameters on the basis of digital image collection and process.In this article,theory of using digital image processing methods to measure geometric parameters of optical fiber automatically is introduced.Effects of Canny edge detection and high-pass filter method used to detect the edges of fiber end-face images are compared,and results show that high-pass filter method is more superior in fiber end-face image process.Software is designed to automatically measure fiber geometric parameters for ordinary fiber,polarization-maintaining fiber and photonic crystal fiber,with the consideration of their different end-face forms.Results show that this system can measure end-face geometric parameters of diversiform fibers effectively.


Plants activate complex mechanisms of cellular signaling in response to environmental changes. Thus, signaling pathways controlled by the heterotrimeric G protein play an essential role. The G complex is composed of one guanine nucleotide-binding alpha subunit, one beta and one gamma. In spite of the fact that those proteins were conserved in eukaryotes during the evolution process, plants, algae, and protists, as well as organisms at the evolutionary base, possess self-activating alpha subunits with an accelerated GDP-to-GTP exchange activity at its catalytical domain. Thus, self-activating proteins differ from their orthologs at the activation level that is not controlled by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Instead, those are regulated by RGS (regulator of G-signaling) proteins with a seven-transmembrane (7TM) domain. Differently from the classical switching mechanism via the GTP/GDP state of Gα, the post- translational modifications on G-core components add a new layer of sensitization, discrimination of recognized stimulus, and propagation of stimulus signaling, which defines a four-state model of G-protein activation. Although several phosphorylation sites have already been identified, the underlying mechanisms and the specificity of each of them on signaling pathways are not fully elucidated. Therefore, to shed a light on this additional control layer in G-protein regulation, as well as on the mechanism of its regulator RGS, we used the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and evaluated the effect of phosphorylation in the G subunits in the signal activation and distinction upon different conditions. In the first chapter, we have crossed in vivo and in vitro phosphorylation data of canonical and non-canonical subunits, and we highlight the phosphosite conservation among eukaryotes. We pointed out the kinase receptors involved and the potential effect of those modifications on signal plasticity. In the second chapter, through site-direct mutagenesis, we generated phosphomimetics and phosphonull mutants of AtRGS1 residues that presented higher conservation among species and were previously identified by their phosphorylation. Thus, we evaluated the central role of those residues in interacting with G complex proteins and with possible adaptors involved in its subcellular localization. These data, taken together with confocal microscopy results, immunodetection methods, and state-of-the-art protein structural modeling tools, reveal a phosphorylation mechanism that is possibly conserved in plants, in which multiple residues are phosphorylated in a cooperative manner to respond to different stimuli. Several lines of evidence suggest that the serine 278 residue is an essential modulator of RGS1 function and its signaling pathways. First, mutation on the serine residue to glutamic acid significantly decreases the interaction of RGS with G complex proteins and VPS26b (Vacuolar Protein Sorting 26). Second, the RGS internalization process upon flg22 stimulus requires the 278 residue phosphorylation, which is only partially required upon UDP-glucose stimulus. Third, phosphonull S278A mutation decreases the VPS26 proteins recruitment upon flg22 elicitation. Finally, the serine residue 278 is considerably conserved in a flexible protein region, and it regulates the phosphorylation levels of C-terminal tail residues, and one or more threonine residues that are detected for the first time in vivo. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations evidenced the effect of this residue on domain positioning and flexibility of other regions. Accordingly, this work presents the relevance of post-translational modifications in the signal distinction triggered by G protein signaling, in addition to demonstrating the influence of those modifications on the structural alterations in the RGS proteins, which control their specific stimulus responses. Keywords: RGS. Phosphorylation. Flg22. G-protein. 7TM.


Purpose – While manufacturing organisations were early adopters of ISO 9000, lately, many service sector organisations have also pursued adoption. The aim of this paper is to compare the experiences with the standard of the two sectors.Design/methodology/approach – The research collected data from 149 service and 160 manufacturing organisations using a common survey measurement instrument.Findings – Results show that there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of time and cost of obtaining registration. Also, there are only small points of differences in motivation for registration and difficulties faced. There are greater differences between the groups in terms of benefits gained and management practices associated with the standard.Originality/value – These results provide interesting insights into how the two groups perceive and engage with the standard, how cross‐industry diffusion could be taking place, and the veracity of the claims made about the universal app...


This paper deals with speed control of DC drive fed from parallel QRC. In this work the GA optimization technique is successfully applied for speed control of QRC fed DC drive. In general PI controllers are used as conventional feedback controllers but the advent of Fuzzy logic controllers (FLC) enhances the effectiveness of control. In addition the drive fed from Zero current switching Quasi-resonant converter (ZCSQRC) has various advantages like reduced switching stresses and switching losses. The main objective of this work is to achieve reduced steady state error and also to reduce complexity in coding that improves the effectiveness of soft computing technique employed. KeywordsFuzzy logic controller (FLC), Zero Current Switching Quasi-Resonant Converter (ZCS-QRC), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Integral Absolute Error (IAE),Direct Current (DC)


Grade information has been considered in Yuan et al. (2007) wherein they proposed a Quasi-CRM method to incorporate the grade toxicity information in phase I trials. A potential problem with the Quasi-CRM model is that the choice of skeleton may dramatically vary the performance of the CRM model, which results in similar consequences for the Quasi-CRM model. In this paper, we propose a new model by utilizing bayesian model selection approach – Robust Quasi-CRM model – to tackle the above-mentioned pitfall with the Quasi-CRM model. The Robust Quasi-CRM model literally inherits the BMA-CRM model proposed by Yin and Yuan (2009) to consider a parallel of skeletons for Quasi-CRM. The superior performance of Robust Quasi-CRM model was demonstrated by extensive simulation studies. We conclude that the proposed method can be freely used in real practice.


Piezo-actuated micropositioning stages consist of a piezoelectric actuator that operates a positioning system. Hysteresis nonlinearity is one of the significant variables limiting the positioning precision of these stages. This paper introduces a technique of developing a hybrid controller for a precise positioning tracking of a piezoelectric micropositioning system. Bouc-Wen nonlinear hysteresis model is utilized to denote the hysteresis nonlinear phenomenon of the piezo-actuated system. A hysteresis observer-based feedforward controller is designed based on Luenberger observer. This feedforward controller is then coupled with a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback controller to form a hybrid controller. A new fitness function is used to compute the optimal PID gains. This fitness function is intended to reduce the overshoot, steady-state error, and the rise and settling times. The findings of this work indicate that using the developed controller structure can significantly decrease the hysteresis effect. In addition, the proposed structure shows the ability to reduce the error is to 0.046% of the maximum displacement range. Such performance demonstrates that the proposed hybrid control structure is efficient for precise micropositioning applications.


IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING OF UNSTEADY REYNOLDS-AVERAGED NAVIER-STOKES AND DETACHED EDDY SIMULATION USING AN IMPLICIT UNSTRUCTURED MULTIGRID SCHEME Juan A. Pelaez Old Dominion University, 2003 Director: Dr. O. A. Kandil Investigation and development of the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) technique for the computation of unsteady flows on unstructured grids are presented. The motivation of the research work is driven by the ultimate goal of predicting separated flows of aerodynamic importance, such as massive stall or flows over complex non streamlined geometries. These cases, in which large regions of massively separated flow are present, represent a challenge for conventional Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged NavierStokes (URANS) models, that in many cases, cannot produce solutions accurate enough and/or fast enough for industrial design and applications. A Detached Eddy Simulation model is implemented and its performance compared to the one equation SpalartAllmaras Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence model. Validation cases using DES and URANS include decaying homogenous turbulence in a periodic domain, flow over a sphere and flow over a wing with a NACA 0012 profile, including massive stall regimes. Because of the inherent unsteadiness of turbulence, the first step towards computing separated flows is the development of an unsteady solution technique for Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. unstructured meshes to be able to produce time accurate solutions. An implicit method for the computation of unsteady flows on unstructured grids was implemented based on an existing steady state multigrid unstructured mesh solver. The resulting non-linear system of equations is solved at each time step by using an agglomeration multigrid procedure. The method allows for arbitrarily large time steps and is efficient in terms of computational effort and storage. Validation of the time accurate URANS solver is performed for the well-known case of flow over a cylinder. Co-Director of Advisory Committee: Dr. Dimitri J. Mavriplis Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


Aim To assess the effect of postprandial triglyceride and serum level of NO,ET-1 on the endothelial function in elderly type 2 diabetic patients. Methods Subjects were assigned to two groups: the observed group of 26 fasting normotriglyceridemic elderly type 2 diabetic patients who were divided into two subgroups: subgroup 1[4 hour postprandial blood triglyceride level (TG≤2.0 mmol/l)] and subgroup 2 (TG2.0 mmol/l)according to the level of TG±2S in control group; the healthy control group of 10 normal subjects. Total triglyceride(TG)、NO、ET-1 were measured before and 2, 4 and 6 hours after a fatty meal (600 kcal, 56%fat, 6.5%protein, 37.5%carbohydrate). Carotid IMTc、fasting FMD and 4h after the meal were measured by ultrasonography. Results 2, 4, 6 hours after a fatty meal, there was a slightly postprandial rise of TG and significant differences in TG4h between the observed group and healthy controls(P0.05). NO/ET-1 was positively correlated with FMD and IMTc. Conclusion There are postprandial triglyceride metabolic disturbance in the elderly diabetes, which leads to compensate increasing production of NO and moment descendent of ET-1 level. The disturbance of the equilibrium between TG and NO, ET-1 which induced endothelial dysfunction may be correlated with diabetic angioplasty.


Palladium-catalyzed intermolecular aminocarbonylation/intramolecular amidation cascade sequences can be used to convert a range of 2-(2-haloalkenyl)aryl halide substrates efficiently and selectively to the corresponding 2-quinolones. Delaying the introduction of the CO atmosphere allows an amination/carbonylation sequence and the preparation of an isoquinolone.


Objective To investigate the relationship between normal buccal crown contour and surrounding healthy gingiva of normal molars.Methods The normal second premolars and first molars were selected as study objects.In CEREC software platform two cross-sections were made through crown and gingiva of the model tooth.The angle of undercut,the horizontal and vertical distance of the crests of facial contour and the intersection point of the free gingiva and the attached gingiva were measured.The tangent through the highest point of buccal crown contour and gingiva contour was drawn separately,and the crossing angle of these two tangents was measured.Results Most(92.6%) of the emergence profile angles were in the range of 101°~140°,only4.5%of the angles were in the range of 80°~100°.The horizontal distances of the crests of facial contour and the intersection point of the free gingiva and the attached gingiva were in the range of1.5~1.9 mm.Conclusion The results revealed that the relationship between crown contour and gingiva of normal molars measured and analyzed on CEREC platform can be used as the guidance to restore the outline of crown.


he rapid advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the wide use of the World Wide Web has important implications for education. This continuous advancement in technology (e.g. Broadband internet connections, Ubiquitous Computing , Open Source Softwares) in conjunction with the recent recommendations in medical education suggesting a move toward problem-based learning (PBL) and use of information and communication technologies. All these factors led to the evolution of the e-learning environment in medical education.


This paper tries to show the relationship between citizenship and the «care», all from a feminism perspective. In this sense, the consideration, valuation and integration of the care, how an activity, value and political relationship mean the necessary articulation again of citizenship as a social and political identity. Someone attempt to make a critic of an inclusive citizenship from gender point of view, has to go to the deconstruction of discourse of care's female naturalization, and the other hand, to place again and value the care as an activity and value that it guarantee the necessary welfare to achieve a full citizenship.


Phytogenic feed additives are plant-derived products that have beneficial properties on inflammation, digestion, and rumen function. These benefits are of particular interest in lactating dairy cows due to the increased pressure on efficiency in milk production. Therefore, three studies over approximately 3,100 cows were conducted to determine the effect of Digestarom® Dairy (DD; BIOMIN America, Inc.) on milk production and components in lactating dairy cows at commercial dairies. Each study was comprised of two treatment groups: 1) basal diet (CON) and 2) basal diet + DD, 2 g/h/d. Treatment groups were fed for 28, 140, and 180 d for trials (T) 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For 3 lactation groups (LACT): 1, 2, and 3, daily total weight for milk and test day fat and protein were collected and energy-corrected milk (ECM) calculated to adjust milk yield to a standard 3.5% and 3.2% fat and protein, respectively. Data were analyzed as repeated measures within trial and LACT with diet as a fixed effect using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. In T3, LACT1 DD had increased (P < 0.10) milk, reduced (P < 0.05) protein, and numerically improved fat and ECM compared with CON. In T2, LACT2 DD had reduced (P < 0.05) milk, but numerically improved fat and thus ECM compared with CON. Overall, ECM was on average across trials, numerically improved in DD by 0.64, 0.30, and 2.06 kg for LACT1, LACT2, and LACT3, respectively compared with CON. The DD benefit in ECM was primarily due to the numerical improvement in fat content across LACT and trials compared to CON. Fluid milk was improved by DD most in younger LACT groups; however, fat and ECM had the greatest improvement by DD in older LACT groups. Digestarom® Dairy may be a viable option for dairy producers seeking to improve their fat content and energy-corrected milk.


Characterization of cerebral hemodynamic and oxygenation metabolic changes, as well neuronal function is of great importance to study of brain functions and the relevant brain disorders such as drug addiction. Compared with other neuroimaging modalities, optical imaging techniques have the potential for high spatiotemporal resolution and dissection of the changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood volume (CBV), and hemoglobing oxygenation and intracellular Ca ([Ca2+]i), which serves as markers of vascular function, tissue metabolism and neuronal activity, respectively. Recently, we developed a multiwavelength imaging system and integrated it into a surgical microscope. Three LEDs of λ1=530nm, λ2=570nm and λ3=630nm were used for exciting [Ca2+]i fluorescence labeled by Rhod2 (AM) and sensitizing total hemoglobin (i.e., CBV), and deoxygenated-hemoglobin, whereas one LD of λ1=830nm was used for laser speckle imaging to form a CBF mapping of the brain. These light sources were time-sharing for illumination on the brain and synchronized with the exposure of CCD camera for multichannel images of the brain. Our animal studies indicated that this optical approach enabled simultaneous mapping of cocaine-induced changes in CBF, CBV and oxygenated- and deoxygenated hemoglobin as well as [Ca2+]i in the cortical brain. Its high spatiotemporal resolution (30μm, 10Hz) and large field of view (4x5 mm2) are advanced as a neuroimaging tool for brain functional study.


To take action on climate impacts, practitioners must understand how climate change will effect their region, and the country. Training provided here by EPA and partners allow users to better grasp the issues and make decisions based on current science.


Background: Online weight control programs have a growing evidence base and offer advantages in terms of extended reach and lower barriers to engaging in behavioral treatment. African American women have significantly higher rates of overweight and obesity than seen among Caucasian American women and therefore might uniquely benefit from online programs. There are indications in-person behavioral treatment programs may produce smaller weight losses among African American women than seen among their Caucasian sisters. We are aware of no examinations of responses of African American women to multi-component web-based behavioral weight loss treatment programs. Objective: To examine the weight loss outcomes of African American women engaged in an online weight control program. Methods: Data from two randomized controlled studies that implemented the same culturally adapted online behavioral weight control program are combined and examined. A total of 140 obese (mean BMI=38.1) African American women were randomized to an online group behavioral weight control program, which consisted of synchronous chat sessions, and access to online self-monitoring and social support tools as part of these 2 RCTs. Forty three obese (mean BMI=36.2) African American women were randomized to receive the same behavioral program delivered in-person, allowing a comparison of outcomes between online and in-person delivery of weight control to this high risk group. Furthermore, 109 obese (mean BMI=35.8) Caucasian women were randomized to the online weight control arm, allowing a comparison of outcomes between race groups enrolled in online programs. Weight was measured at baseline, 6- and 18-months and percent weight lost from baseline was calculated as the primary outcome. Results: African American women lost 3.4% (+/-5.1) at 6 months and 1.8% (+/-6.3) at 18 months in the online behavioral weight control program. This compares with 6.3% (+/-5.8) at 6-months and 4.8% (+/-8.8) at 18-months among African American women receiving the same program in person. Thus, African American women lost more weight with the in-person program than with online delivery at 6 months (p= 0.004) and 18 months (p= 0.49). Caucasian women who also received the weight control program online lost significantly more weight at 6-months (5.8% +/-5.3) than did African American women (p=0.0005), but weight losses of Caucasians at 18-months (3.6% +/-8.1) did not differ from African American women. Conclusions: Although African American women average significantly greater weight loss with in-person delivery of a behavioral weight control program than with online delivery of the same program, weight loss with this online program was commensurate with other reports of in-person intervention with African American women. Further, long-term weight loss outcomes among African American women in the online program were comparable with those seen among Caucasian women, albeit modest weight loss. Online delivery has the potential for broad reach and reducing barriers to access. Therefore, methods to enhance weight loss outcomes with online delivery for African American women have the potential for substantive public health impact in a population group which experiences high levels of obesity and significant associated morbidity. []


Abstract A high frequency and high reliable level-up shifter is proposed. In the design, an initialize circuit, a voltage limiter and a dynamic biasing feed-back are added. In the simulation, our circuit based on 0.18m vertical MOSFETs shows more than 70% reduction of the overshoot voltages above VDD from the conventional. It achieves 164-MHz operation frequency with 2-pF loads at 1.8-V maximum voltage applied to the MOSFETS, which is larger than 1.6 times of the conventional frequency.


We study the decentralized optimization problem where a network of $n$ agents seeks to minimize the average of a set of heterogeneous non-convex cost functions distributedly. State-of-the-art decentralized algorithms like Exact Diffusion~(ED) and Gradient Tracking~(GT) involve communicating every iteration. However, communication is expensive, resource intensive, and slow. In this work, we analyze a locally updated GT method (LU-GT), where agents perform local recursions before interacting with their neighbors. While local updates have been shown to reduce communication overhead in practice, their theoretical influence has not been fully characterized. We show LU-GT has the same communication complexity as the Federated Learning setting but allows arbitrary network topologies. In addition, we prove that the number of local updates does not degrade the quality of the solution achieved by LU-GT. Numerical examples reveal that local updates can lower communication costs in certain regimes (e.g., well-connected graphs).


AbstractThe real transfer function and the phase shift between sea surface height (SSH) and sea surface buoyancy (SSB) were estimated from the output of a realistic eddy-resolving model of the Mediterranean Sea circulation. The analysis of their temporal evolution unveiled the existence of a clear seasonal cycle closely related to that of the mixed layer depth. The phase shifts between SSH and SSB attain their minimum for deep mixed layers, which is different from zero. Besides, the spectral slope of the transfer function at scales shorter than 100 km fluctuates between k−1 and k−2. For deep mixed layers, it is close to k−1, as predicted by the surface quasigeostrophic (SQG) solution. At longer wavelengths, it is approximately constant under the different environmental conditions in all of the subbasins analyzed with the exception of the Gulf of Lions. The capability to observe sea surface temperature (SST) from satellites motivated the extension of this analysis to SST and SSH. Results showed a similar q...


In this paper analyzed the single-phase metallic ground fault in neutral point grounding system,and analyzed the transition resistance ground fault in different circumstances occurring,find a regular pattern of three-phase voltage when resistance transition Single phase earthing,point out science-based for distinguish fault identification,correct the error happened in operation,scheduling personnel determining the ground phase,it is important for handling on-site operation and incident.


The center of M83, a barred starburst galaxy with a double nucleus, has been observed in the CO (J = 2-1) and CO (J = 3-2) lines with the Submillimeter Array. The molecular gas shows a distribution and kinematics typical for barred galaxies at ~1 kpc radii but reveals unusual kinematics around the double nucleus in the central ~300 pc. Our CO velocity data show that the visible nucleus in M83 is at least 3'' (65 pc) away from the galaxy's dynamical center, which most likely coincides with the center of symmetry previously determined in the K band and is suggested to host another nucleus. We discovered high-velocity molecular gas associated with the visible off-center nucleus and also found a steep velocity gradient across it. We attribute these features to a gas disk rotating around the off-center nucleus, which may be the remnant of a small galaxy accreted by M83. The dynamical mass of this component is estimated to be 3 × 108 M☉ within a radius of 40 pc. The dynamical perturbation from the off-center nucleus may have played a key role in shaping the lopsided starburst.


Certain conditions resulting from tilling, bed shaping, planting, thinning, and cultivating practices may cause lettuce heads to develop off center—which leads the U. C. mechanical selective lettuce harvester to "believe" that the heads are not ready to harvest, or affects the harvester's ability to cut the heads accurately.


Print image processing is largely based on the paper whiteness, which is a matter that still has no precise definition. Different international standards determine whiteness diversely. Paper composition, obviously, affects the whiteness, however, few is known about the influence on whiteness that produces particular chemical element in paper. This paper aims to establish the relationship between paper whiteness and the content. We describe an approach to paper whiteness assessment taking into account the filler elements content. We distinguish 255 sample papers by their color difference dE94 in comparison with the standard paper that has CIE Lab coordinates (95/0/-2). The X-ray fluorescence analysis reveal 25 chemical elements in paper samples. Based on that, the clustering of papers and further discriminant analysis reveal four clusters with distinguishable paper composition and whiteness. We figure out 12 elements that show the most influence on the paper whiteness (S, Ti, Mn, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Sb, I, Ba, Th).


Groundnut is one of the important oil seed crop in arid and semi arid area of India. In Uttar Pradesh it is grown as rainfed crop in Eastern U.P.and Bundelkhand. In eastern U.P it is mainly grown in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Balrampur, Shravasti and Bahraich not as a oilseed crop but as a dietary supplement or confectionary. The major constrains in its production are diseases caused by Bacteria, Fungi, Virus and Nematodes. Among these Tikka-leaf spot, Rust, Anthracnose, Wilt, Stem rot, Root rot, Collar rot and Yellow mold is noticed as most destructive diseases for yield loss. Among all these Tikka disease and rust are most common and destructive to reduce the quantity as well as quality of produce. To minimize the loss caused by this pathogen various measures are applied. Among all these measures biological control is most beneficial.


The organizational, staffing, and financial problems slowing the development of Russian science are examined. Results of a prognosis of numbers of higher education graduates and graduate students up to the year 2030, based on statistical data, are given, as well as a prediction of the influence of those statistics on the future numbers of researchers in Russia. Recommendations are provided for strengthening the workforce in Russian scholarship, particularly in science.


I studied the natural history of a short-horned tropical forest grasshopper, Microtylopteryx hebardi Rehn (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Ommatolampinae) at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. M. hebardi is flightless as an adult, and hence has low dispersal capabilities, yet inhabits light gaps and other temporary habitats. Numbers of adult M. hebardi were relatively constant between gaps and during the seven month study period, and all life stages were found year-round. Host plant range of M. hebardi included 52 species in 16 monocot and dicot families, but the majority of feeding records and all oviposition records occurred in four related monocotyledonous families.


Abstract The author gives an account of his first visit to Rwanda, the Commonwealth's newest member, and describes the process leading up to Rwanda's admission. Commitment to and expectations of the Commonwealth are high in Rwanda and the Commonwealth has a position there of considerable leverage and influence.


Essentials FcγRIIa‐mediated thrombocytopenia is associated with drug‐dependent antibodies (DDAbs). We investigated the correlation between αIIbβ3 binding epitopes and induction of DDAbs. An FcγRIIa‐transgenic mouse model was used to evaluate thrombocytopenia among anti‐thrombotics. An antithrombotic with binding motif toward αIIbβ‐propeller domain has less bleeding tendency.


Ocean is basic environment and important resource for human survival and development. Nowadays, on the background of resources exhausting, environment deteriorating and population increasing, development of marine resources and economy has become a worldwide trend and national strategy choice. As the special transitional geographical area from ocean to land, coastal zone plays an important carrier and springboard role in the marine economic development. What's more, the coordination with the hinterland space is not only the important content in the coordinated implementation of the development strategy of land and sea, but also major initiative in improving the utilization efficiency of marine resource and the development quality of marine economy. The reasonable development and utilization of spatial resources in coastal zone is playing a more and more important role in the sustainable development of coastal cities. According to the natural,economic, and social characteristics of the area, the coastline and coastal zones can be divided into different spaces for proper coastal development and protection. Nowadays, using related division methods to get higher distribution efficiency of spatial resources has become a hot topic of geographical research. Most of the scholars construct the evaluation index system from the aspects of economic and ecological factors, and make some useful exploration and attempt on the division methods. However, there are some differences in the selection of indicators because of the natural specificity of the coastal zone and the need to attach emphasis on the overall strategy of land and ocean about the utilization of spatial resources. Taking the coastal zone in Ningbo as an example, this paper discusses the evaluation index system and division methods of spatial function regionalization about coastline and coastal zone. Based on the existing division methods, this paper focuses on technical methods of the division of evaluation unit, the selection and treatment of indicators,and so on. Specially, from the perspective of overall strategy of land and ocean, we evaluate the suitability of the coastline development including ecological suitability, production suitability and living suitability, and propose the spatial function regionalization of coastal zone. Then, we divide the coastal zone in Ningbo into ecological space, production space and living space, and propose adjustment directions and control requirements for the spatial layouts of different types of regions on the basis of the current situation of space exploitation in Ningbo. From the point of division methods, we find that the selection of indicators and data reliability has great influence on the scientific results. However, some incoming data,hydrological data and underwater terrain data are collected from data interpretation and related research reports, not the first-hand measured data. And this needs to be further supplemented in the following studies. Through this paper, we hope to provide a scientific basis for the spatial development and control of coastal zone.


ASXL3 mutations were first identified in 2013 by Bainbridge et al . as a cause of syndromic intellectual disability in four children with similar phenotypes using whole-exome sequencing. The clinical features – postulated by Bainbridge et al . were developmental delay, severe feeding difficulties, failure to thrive and neurological abnormalities. To date, a total of nine individuals with BRPS have been published in the literature in four reports (Bainbridge et al ., Dinwiddie et al , Srivastava et al . and Hori et al .). In this report, we describe an uncertain variant present in Exon 11 of ASXL3(+) heterozygous zygosity in a female child with clinical features: truncal muscular hypotonia with significant motor delay, profound speech impairment, intellectual disability and a characteristic dysmorphic facies phenotype (open mouth, full lips, depressed nasal bridge, metopic prominence, microcephaly (45.5.cm), with camptodactyly and dysplastic fingers). Hence, we are reporting a rare case of developmental delay.


People-oriented thinking is one of the core scientific development concept,is the fundamental concept of all work.Students work in colleges and universities must adhere to the people-oriented,student-centred,close to students,students to understand and respect the individuality of students. The student works should always implement people-oriented thinking,the measures must focus on the students, and fully mobilize students enthusiasm,initiative and creativity, to the overall development of students and adults as students work through the fundamental starting point and ultimate value lies.


The mimosa webworm, Homadaula albizziae Clarke, was found in Kentucky by 1950, and is now statewide in distribution. Most of its damage is directed at ornamental plantings of mimosa and locust. Experimental work in control began in 1957. In August, 60 moraine locust trees were sprayed once with dieldrin, malathion or toxaphene emulsion concentrates, Toxaphene was the most effective measured by larval counts made 6 days after application, but by September it was difficult to distinguish treated from untreated trees.

In 1950, the systemic insecticides phorate and demeton in one early season application were tested on locust, using three techniques. Trunk implantation of concentrates, applied directly or encapsulated into holes bored into the trunk gave variable results. Soil injections applied with n hydraulic sprayer using 20 gallons of spray mixture in four to six probes within 3 feet of the tree trunk were effective when the dose was 80 grams of material per 3-inch tree, Foliar applications of demeton and phorate were effective, but. one application was not sufficient to keep the trees free of infestation for the whole season.

In 1960, granulated Di-Syston® ( O,O -diethyt S -2-(ethylthio) ethyl phosphorodithioate) and phorate applied to the soil and 10-foot circle around the tree, worked lightly into the soil and then watered, gave effective control, as did the emulsion concentrate of phorate sprinkled around the tree in a 10-foot circle, Control of three generations of this insect was achieved, An abundant supply of water is probably required for effectiveness, Placing thc materials into holes in the ground under the limbspread proved ineffective. Spray treatments alone or combined with granules did not add to the effectiveness, Tests of foliage 5 months after application of Di-Syston and phorate to soil gave strong cholinesterase inhibition.


Bkitish Museum Ms., Oriental 8606, a Syriac codex of Melchite origin, written in the year A.D. 723, contains, besides a Syriac Corpus Athanasianum (the only Syriac Corpus of Athanasian writings so far discovered), a collection of Homilies on the Nativity by various authors. With one exception, a Homily by St. Ephraim, these are all translated from Greek originals. One of these discourses, a Homily by Severian, Bishop of Gabala in Syria, " On the Nativity of our Lord and against Heretics ", seems to be no longer extant in Greek, nor, so far as I can discover, has the Syriac version ever been published. This is somewhat surprising since the same discourse is to be found in Cod. Vat. Syr. 369, fol.15v–17v. As very few of Severian's sermons are preserved in the original Greek, it seemed to me that an edition of this piece might be of interest to scholars.


ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold) is emerging as a process offering technical benefits for users and assemblers. The ENEPIG finish is an interesting alternative to ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) since ENEPIG is not concerned with "black pad" or nickel corrosion risk. Electroless palladium is deposited onto the nickel phosphorous layer and finished with immersion gold. Analyses were firstly performed on ENEPIG PCB before assembly to raise any risk linked with this finish. Full destructive physical analyses (optical inspections, microsections, wettability tests with/without accelerated ageing tests, SIR, etc.) were completed with an industrial survey and physical analysis (chemical etching, ionic polishing, X-Ray fluorescence, etc.). They revealed positive results in terms of cosmetic, wettability and reliability. Lessons learned during these first analyses shall be used for the second phase of this project: a full reliability evaluation on ENEPIG assembly test boards and its comparison with fused tin/lead finish (considering tin/lead process and tin/lead packages).


By integrating redox self-assembly and redox etching processes, we report a general one-pot strategy for the synthesis of Au@multi-MxOy (M = Co, Ce, Fe, and Sn) yolk@shell nanospheres.


CLINICIANS have long been interested in the adequate nutrition of their patients. Illnesses involve the whole patient rather than isolated systems, and general nonspecific therapeutic measures must frequently be added in the treatment of the whole patient as well as the specific clinical condition. Anorexia is a common complaint in illness, leading to inadequate caloric intake that may be of prolonged duration. In a prolonged caloric deficiency, ingested proteins are deaminated and metabolized directly for their caloric content rather than made available for protoplasmic regeneration. Thus, if caloric equilibrium is not attained, even supplemental protein feedings are used as expensive . . .


Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of rollator use on health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. Design. Randomized controlled trial. Methods. Thirty-one postrehabilitation patients with COPD were randomized to receive a rollator (n = 18) or usual care (n = 13) for 8 weeks and to record the frequency of rollator use. Outcome measures at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks included the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) and the 6-min walk (6MW). Results. During acute testing, subjects consistently walked further when assisted (baseline 6MW: 292 T 67 m vs 263 T 67 m; 8 weeks: 283 T 65 m vs 259 T 68 m [TSD]; P = 0.013). However, provision of a rollator at home was not associated with group differences in the CRQ (P 9 0.08) or in the unassisted 6MW (P = 0.4) or the assisted 6MW (P = 0.5). Eight of 18 subjects assigned to the rollator group used the rollator less than three times per week. Regular users demonstrated a consistent improvement in mastery compared with infrequent users (4 weeks: 4.7 T 0.6 vs 5.2 T 0.8, respectively; 8 weeks: 5.3 T 0.8 vs 4.7 T 0.4; P = 0.014). Conclusions. Despite evidence of effectiveness during acute testing, this study did not demonstrate a rollator effect on quality of life or exercise capacity when the rollator was provided at home, for a longer period. Actual use of a rollator may be an important determinant of its effect. Therefore, when prescribing a rollator, health-care professionals should attempt to identify those most likely to use it. Clinical Commentary. The effectiveness of supplemental aids for patients with COPD to use in the outpatient environment has received little attention. The use of a rollator by patients with COPD (during acute testing) has been shown in previous studies to be an effective means to improve various outcomes. Although this study did not show a group effect in the home setting, an improvement in mastery was noted in those patients who regularly used the device. The identification of patients who would be appropriate candidates for the use of this therapy is important and deserves further study. VBC


This paper assesses the role of relationship lending in explaining simultaneously the innovation activity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), their probability to export (i.e. the extensive margin) and their share of exports on total sales conditional on exporting (i.e. the intensive margin). We adopt a measure of informational tightness based on the ratio of firm's debt with its main bank to firm's total assets. Our results show that the strength of the bank-firm relation has a positive impact on both SME's probability to export and their export margins. This positive effect is only marginally mediated by the SME's increased propensity to introduce product innovation. We further discuss the financial and non-financial channels through which the intensity of bank-firm relationship supports SMEs' international activities.


By compared Chinese and western traditional lawsuit culture, author pointed out three differents between them. First is the basic of ideology ; Second is the concept of the value; The last one is procedure .The aim of these comparisons is to point out the cultural foundation differents between two traditional lawsuit system. These differents must be thought about when we transplant the western lawsuit system. And these differents must be pay attention on while we build our socialism modern lawsuit system.


In this thesis, new approaches to improve tumour therapy for patients with inoperable, radiationand chemoresistant tumours were in focus. Ultrasound and ionising radiation, especially accelerated ions, are both non-invasive agents that have high precision and deep penetration in tissues, enabling increased dose to the tumour while sparing the normal tissues. The first aim was to investigate cell survival and various cell responses of non-thermal ultrasound, both as a single treatment or in combination with radiation or a chemotherapeutic agent, and the second aim was to investigate the effects of accelerated ions. Treatment of solid tumours using focused high-intensity ultrasound for thermal ablation has been initiated. In the present study lower intensities of ultrasound, not inducing thermal increase but inducing cavitation and production of free radicals were used for investigation of cellular effects. Cells were exposed to 1 MHz continuous mode ultrasound at varying intensities, either alone or in combination with Xor γradiation, or the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Intensity-dependent clonogenic cell survival and induction of apoptosis were seen in five different human solid tumour cell lines (lung carcinoma, cervical carcinoma, two gliomas, and melanoma). The variation in ultrasound sensitivity was very small compared to the large variation after photon radiation. Both in a rodent (lung fibroblast) and a human solid tumour (lung carcinoma) cell line synergistic effects after combined exposures to ultrasound and radiation was found. Also, ultrasound enhanced the effect of cisplatin, induced intensity-dependent increase in instant cytolysis, induction in DNA damage, cells with increased membrane permeability and aberrant morphology. In radiation therapy the dominating modality is external therapy with photons or electrons. Accelerated protons and carbon ions have improved the treatment of inoperable and radioresistant tumours. Other charged particles and radiation qualities may further optimise the treatment. Therefore we investigated the effects of accelerated boron ions at four different linear energy transfer (LET) in a human solid tumor cell line (melanoma). The clonogenic cell survival decreased with increasing LET. Boron irradiation induced higher levels of apoptosis compared to photons at all time points studied although no clear LET-dependence due to the complex time-dependent response pattern. Even intermediate LETs were effective in increasing cell killing, apoptosis, cell cycle delay and reducing DSB rejoining. Both ultrasound and boron ions were effective in tumour cell elimination. By combining different treatment modalities cell killing was further enhanced due to interacting sublethal damage. This finding, in combination with the minimal variation in sensitivity among human solid tumour cell lines after ion and ultrasound irradiation, suggests some new avenues for treating heterogeneous tumours with varying radiationand chemoresistance.


Electric energy transport networks as an important part in the process of supply to the points of consumption must be monitored continuously, a task that demands large periods of time and high costs. With the investigation of automated inspection methods using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is proposed to create a 3D model using the techniques of structure from motion (SFM). Currently there are different algorithms that detect and
describe keypoints as a first step in the reconstruction process. The most popular one is the descriptor SIFT (DoG); however, this is too computationally intensive to be used in three-dimensional reconstruction outdoor image. There are other feature descriptors such as ORB, BRISK, and FREAK that can accelerate the reconstruction process. This paper presents the evaluation of three-dimensional model of electrical infraestructure, using the different mentioned descriptors in combination whit the geometrical theory of structure from motion.


The method of detecting harmonic currents by applying high pass filters, based on the instantaneous reactive power theory, is briefly discussed. A new and improved detecting method is proposed, which can detect high frequency harmonic and reactive currents simultaneously when the reactive current channel is connected directly without using high pass filter. Form computer simulations by using MATLAB software, it shows that the proposed method is correct and feasible.


A characterization is given of those bicategories which are biequivalent to bicategories of modules for some suitable base. These bicategories are the correct (non elementary) notion of cosmos, which is shown to be closed under several basic constructions.


This paper proposes a new configuration of wind energy conversion system, called Single External Feeding of Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (SEF-DFIG), and its control scheme. In the proposed configuration, the stator windings are directly connected to the grid, and the rotor windings are fed by an isolated inverter with no power source. Since the power electronics including dc link capacitors can be integrated into the rotor, it is possible to eliminate slip rings and brushes, which are requisites in the conventional DFIG system. The isolation of the rotor circuits requires controlling the dc link voltage by manipulating the rotor power. For this reason, the controllability of the power factor is limited, so it is important to optimize the operating points depending on the generated power and speed. Several considerations on the characteristics of the proposed system; torque, power factor, possible operating area and efficiency for wind turbine applications are analyzed. And where the SEF-DFIG is applied in wind turbine system, the considerations for the performances are also discussed. The experimental results of a 2kW DFIG system are presented to prove the feasibility of the proposed system and method.


In 1978 Noack and Spiegel have published the results of run down measurements on a (hardened steel on babbith) journal bearing [1]. From their measurements it may be con cluded that with increasing run down number the surface roughness is reduced along with increasing Sommerfeld number. This results in lower minimum friction values. When making an estimation of the maximum and the average surface roughness of the bearing as a function of the run down number, it ap peared possible to approximate the coefficient of friction as a function of the roughness values and the Sommerfeld number, A Maple V compu ter program was used to find a bestfit for the Stribeck curves as meas ured in [1]. A good resemblance was obtained. Inversely it appeared possible to approximate the roughness values of a journal bearing from a measured Stribeck curve. Further research is needed in order to investigate the relation-ship between the best-fit exponent and properties such as Yield strengths, hardness, Young's moduli, compliance, specific wear rate and roughness distribution of the bearing materials.


Chromatic adaptation transform is used to many color appearance models. Also, the iCAM06 model, a highdynamic range (HDR) rendering process contains chromatic adaptation and is based on the CIECAM02 model. The D factor or degree of adaptation in chromatic adaptation of the iCAM06 model is the function of surround luminance or adapting luminance level, but does not consider visual white point shift according to the variation of luminance level. The iCAM06 model acquires a white image from the Gaussian low-passed image. So, each pixel has different white value, and when some of colors cover the whole image, de-saturation effect appears around these colors. In addition, the scale factor used to reduce de-saturation effect causes unsuitable change of adaptation degree. Therefore, we propose the new method to find global illuminant information and degree of adaptation in the HDR image rendering process. By comparing the proposed with the conventional method, we confirm that the proposed method has better performance in illuminant estimation and color representation.


Just when bankers are getting a feet for the benefits of Web 2.0 now comes Security 2.0, a radical new approach to foiling "malware," malicious software whose target is the nitty gritty transaction details of online banking. Much of the security software now used in banking is designed to protect users against identity theft and other frauds typically perpetrated via e-mail and generically known as phishing, like security in any arena, phishing quickly turned into an arms race between offense and defense. White e-malt messages promising financial or physical enrichment were once staples for enticing users to give out their passwords or credit card numbers, that approach is losing its potency. So the arms race escalated. Fraudsters devised cleverer come-on messages that e-mail users couldn't see through and sent them out in such profusion that fraud fighters couldn't keep up with them. The classic of this kind was Storm Worm, a spam e-mail attachment that broke out in January '07 with subject tines such as "230 dead as storm batters Europe" (in a week when there actually was a deadly storm in Europe). One executive of an anti-virus firm detected tens of thousands of variants of this message. At the beginning of 2007 anti-malware vendors detected about a quarter of a million incidents worldwide. At the end of the year the number of attacks had reached half a million, as reported in IT security threat summary by F-Secure, a pioneer in next-generation anti-ma[ware services. This doubling of detected incidents means that the bad guys launched as many attacks in one year as they had in the previous 20, F-Secure reports. The sharp escalation in volume indicates that in 2007 malware authors were adapting, refining, and massively propagating variations of existing techniques rather than innovating new strategies. Here are the main differences between phishing and emerging malware: * Phishing expeditions cast wide global nets. It's as easy to host multitudes of phishing sites as it is to host one. The new banking trojans attack one or a few banks that they know are rich targets. * Phishing gets the victim to cooperate in attacking her bank's server. Banking trojans rely on stealth to steal crucial software code at the browser. * Anti-phishing strategies first detect new viruses in action worldwide and then devise countermeasures. Strategies against banking trojans constantly probe every site for suspicious behavior and try to disable it before it strikes. F-Secure, the anti-malware vendor, has dubbed the new behavior-based strategy "Man in the browser." This is a common scenario: The "man" (i.e. trojan) uses some ploy to create a facsimile of crucial elements of a legitimate online banking system. One way to start this chain of events is to intervene in the sign-on procedure by first rejecting the username and password and then copying the user's second response onto the imposter system. Then the trojan lies in wait in some cozy corner of the browser, doing nothing but watching for useful coding strings, such as "Welcome to Citibank" that identify a rich target. Once inside the banking software, it can execute a fake transaction, such as "Transfer $987.00 to the Guesswho account." F-secure's behavioral counterstrategy is to monitor every action on a user's browser, looking for suspicious strings of code. …


The development of renewable energy technology provides an effective approach to replace fossil fuels for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Technological innovation and transfer are the main driving f ...


The structural features of four different kraft papers were related to their surface properties and to the response upon industrial impregnation with phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin. The chemical composition and the structure of paper were suggested to be important factors determining the interaction with PF resin, which was assessed by contact angle measurements and surface energy analysis. The presence of fatty matter (extractives) and inorganic fillers together with structural anisotropy of paper confers the difference in affinity of the face and backside of papers toward PF resin. This affects the resin distribution in impregnated precured kraft papers as revealed by microfluorescence spectroscopic analysis of transversal cuts.


The topic of the publication is the description of the method of quick detection and identification of pollution derived from oil on the water surface. This method is based on the teledetection technique. It is based on the application of a teledetection head, which consists of a digital camera working in a 300 – 1100 nm range and equipped in a suitable filter. The point is to receive digital imageries in several spectral ranges, and processing them in such a way to get an appearance of a polluted area on the imagery. It is possible because of using different reemission characteristics of polluted water surface and water surface free from pollution.


A gifted student-athlete, Charlie Bloomfield is introduced to athlete's journals by his coaches at Burke Mountain Academy (Vermont), an elite American ski school. Used by Olympians and professionals alike, journals provide athletes with ways to organize and reflect on training and competitions. Athlete's journals help gifted male athletes address identity development and create images of their emerging adult selves. The themes that emerged in Charlie's journals offer insight into this student-athlete's physical and social-emotional needs while suggesting the potential benefits of journals for gifted student-athletes like Charlie.


The article deals with the general economic situation in Malaysia, its place in the world economy, as well as the main areas of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Malaysia, its achievements and future prospects.


ASIDE from the relatively few more dramatic dermatoses which infrequently accompany the gravid state, a pregnant woman seldom derives much sympathy for her integumental complaints. Dermatologists and obstetricians alike are prone to ascribe most cutaneous symptoms occurring in these women to the pregnancy and dismiss them with a cursory inspection and simple prescription for symptomatic relief. There are numerous physiologic changes in the skin during gestation which may be unjustly classified as "skin diseases of pregnancy." These include alterations in pigmentation, growth of hair, striae albicantes, edema of the skin, gingival changes and assorted vasomotor disturbances. Most of these physiologic aberrations may be observed in varying degrees associated with other systemic disorders unrelated to pregnancy. A great many diseases of the skin have been reported as related to, aggravated by or benefited by gestation in isolated instances or in small groups of cases. With but two exceptions


Interaction with context-aware mobile hand-held devices creates new demands for user interfaces and interaction methods. These devices, which detect the use context in order to adapt the device behavior in appropriate means, provide challenging design tasks in the field of human-computer interaction, when the aspects of mobility, small size and reliability have to be taken into account. The device has to meet user's demands as well in efficiency and acceptability as with the ethical issues in privacy and control. This paper draws together several aspects requiring a specific concern, and introduces the author's research plan for the considered topic.


J.Antony Rex Rodrigo and P.Mariappan introduced the characterizations and properties of g-closed sets in ideal topological space. In this paper, we introduced TI g# -space,TI g# ∗ -space, strongly Ig#-continuous maps, perfectly Ig#-continuous and Ig#-compactness.


This study examines participants' perceptions of the appropriateness of judgmental language to describe own, similar, and dissimilar attitudes. The judgmental language consisted of pre-tested adjectives that varied in terms of their descriptive content, evaluative connotation and type of implication. Adjectives were classified as person implicated if they primarily implied an evaluation of person(s), and as issue implicated if their central focus was on an evaluation of the issue. Findings confirm the prediction of a differential positivity bias. Participants preferred positive person implication adjectives as compared to positive issue implication adjectives to describe their own and similar attitudes. When describing people with opposing attitudes participants preferred negative person implication adjectives over negative issue implication adjectives. This finding is related to other self-serving biases in the judgment of attitude positions and groups, and its application to different communicative contexts is discussed.


Sesame, an important oil-yielding crop is a popular cooking medium used throughout India. The crop demonstrates good promise in the State of West Bengal also, because of higher productivity than national average. India ranks low in sesame productivity mainly due to dearth of high yielding varieties. Narrow gene pool in the available germplasms demands the need of crop restructuring for higher productivity. On the other hand, development of superior varieties may foster higher production of sesame in the country both through horizontal and vertical expansion and can obviously narrow down the huge demand-supply gap of oilseeds. Creation of variability transpires to be primary step to get desirable types. Mutation breeding has long been known as a potential technique to unlock additional genetic variability for supplementing conventional crop breeding methodology. Mutagenesis offers a unique scope for creating variation, as it may alter even those genes that are common to all the varieties of a species. Induced mutation has been extensively and successfully used for the improvement of International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 9 (2017) pp. 2172-2178 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


We present the Arbitrating Value Transfer Protocol (AVTP), a deterministic binary countdown algorithm for multi-hop wireless networks. AVTP enables deterministic arbitration among contending nodes within a given hop radius, which may be chosen to reach network-wide arbitration, thereby exceeding the capabilities of existing protocols. In addition, the deterministic agreement on data values among all nodes is supported. Even taking into account the limitations of actual hardware devices, AVTP provides small and constant arbitration delays, and has low and bounded complexity. It does not require bidirectional links, and is robust against topology changes. Applications of AVTP include deterministic and robust leader election with bounded delay.Finally, we have implemented and evaluated AVTP on Imote2 sensor nodes.


Objective To investigate the treatment and outcome of the flexor tendon injuries. Methods From 1994 ~ 1999,115 fingers of 82 cases with flexor tendon injuries had been treated , which were sutured by modificated Kessler's method, and early rehabilitation was given. Results According to TAM standard, the re-sults were excellent in 38 cases, good in 36 cases, fair in 5 cases and bad in 3 cases, the superior rate was 91.4%. Conclusion Early rehabilitation and microsurgery repair were important for preventing tendon adhe-sion.


FDI by Korean firms has rapidly increased recently and its cumulative amount recorded 91.7 billion dollars at the end of 2007. Internationalization stage of Korean firms is considered to be stepped into a growth or even a maturity stage for some large companies. In this context, it is very important for Korean multinationals to enhance the performance of their foreign subsidiaries. It is regarded that one of the ways to enhance their performance is to transfer much knowledge from the parent company to the subsidiaries. This study empirically analyzed the impact of knowledge transfer from the parent company in Korea on the performance of its foreign subsidiary. Using the data collected from 128 foreign subsidiaries through e-mail, a multiple regression analysis was performed to verify the relationship between the degree of knowledge transferred and the performance of foreign subsidiary. Moderating effects of communication efficiency and absorptive capacity were also analyzed respectively on the relationship. The regression results showed that the degree of knowledge transferred has a positive impact on the performance of foreign subsidiary as respected. However, the moderating effects of communication efficiency and absorptive capacity were not verified respectively, and instead the two variables turned out to directly have a positive relationship with the performance of foreign subsidiary.


Modern data science relies on data analytic pipelines to organize interdependent computational steps. Such analytic pipelines often involve different algorithms across multiple steps, each with its own hyperparameters. To achieve the best performance, it is often critical to select optimal algorithms and to set appropriate hyperparameters, which requires large computational efforts. Bayesian optimization provides a principled way for searching optimal hyperparameters for a single algorithm. However, many challenges remain in solving pipeline optimization problems with high-dimensional and highly conditional search space. In this work, we propose Fast LineAr SearcH (FLASH), an efficient method for tuning analytic pipelines. FLASH is a two-layer Bayesian optimization framework, which firstly uses a parametric model to select promising algorithms, then computes a nonparametric model to fine-tune hyperparameters of the promising algorithms. FLASH also includes an effective caching algorithm which can further accelerate the search process. Extensive experiments on a number of benchmark datasets have demonstrated that FLASH significantly outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods in both search speed and accuracy. Using 50% of the time budget, FLASH achieves up to 20% improvement on test error rate compared to the baselines. FLASH also yields state-of-the-art performance on a real-world application for healthcare predictive modeling.


The phase-transition temperatures, T*, molar enthalpies, ΔH2*, and molar heat capacities, ΔCp, of pure cholesteryl esters, i.e. myristate (ChM), palmitate (ChP) and oleate (ChO), were measured by using a differential scanning calorimeter. The observed kinds of transition were crystal (k)/smectic phase (s), s/cholesteric phase (c), and c/isotropic phase (i) for ChM, k/c and c/i for ChP, and k/i transition for ChO, respectively. From the values of T*, ΔH2*, and ΔCp, the values of T* and ΔH2* of k/i transition for ChM and ChP were theoretically estimated. The molar transition enthalpies of the k/i transition, which occurs at the co-existence of solute (cholesteryl ester) and its solution with solvent, were also calculated for ChM, ChP and ChO at 298.15 K. By use of the above quantities, the solubility vs. temperature relationship of cholesteryl ester in ethanol, 1-pentanol, acetone, toluene and carbon tetrachloride was analyzed thermodynamically as well as in terms of regular solution theory. The activity coefficient of cholesteryl ester, 12, the product of solution lattice coordination number and solute-solvent interaction energy, zw, and the solubility parameter of cholesteryl ester, δ2, were estimated at 298.15K. Toluene and


Background: Most adolescents lack access to age- and sex-appropriate health information which is vital for young people to make informed decisions about their reproductive sexual health. Objectives: The study objective was to study the effectiveness of the interventional reproductive and sexual health education on knowledge, attitude, and menstrual practices of school-going adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: It was an interventional study consisting of a pretest, intervention session, and posttest conducted among 400 school-going adolescent girls in a rural area of Maharashtra. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge, attitude, and practice median scores following intervention (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Age- and sex-appropriate health education programs can facilitate the development of healthy reproductive and sexual behavior patterns among adolescents through the enhancement of knowledge and development of right attitude.


Fine powders of the composition Bi1.6Pb0.4Ca2Sr2Cu3Ox have been prepared by the spray-pyrolysis method. The particles were spherical and their diameter was uniformly-distributed at about 1.5, μm. The body sintered from these powders at 840°C showed the offset of superconducting transition at Tc=104 K. Furthermore, the thick films have been prepared on a Ag plate or between two Ag plates using the powders. The powders were pressed on a Ag plate or between two Ag plates at 200kg/cm2 and heat-treated at 855°C for 30 min. The resultant films on a Ag plate were again heat-treated at 840°C for 62 hr after the cooling to room temperature. The thick films obtained showed the offset temperature of 104 K. On the other hand, the films sandwiched between Ag plates, which were heat-treated also at 855°C for 40 hr after the cooling, showed the offset temperature of 80k


Hydrogen chloride catalyses the decomposition of t-butyl ethyl ether at 320-428o. Isobutene is quantitatively the product and the kinetic form is first order in the ether and in hydrogen chloride. The Arrhenius equation:          k, = 1012'16exp( -30,60O/RT) (sec-l ml mole-=) is followed. The mechanism of the reaction seems similar to those of other hydrogen halide catalysed decompositions of ethers and alcohols.


The purpose of this paper is to compare some aspects of epidemics of bubonic plague epidemics in Oporto, in 1899, and in Brazil, more specifically in Rio de Janeiro, 1900-1906. First, we will compare as was held the official diagnosis of disease in each country. Second, the government measures to combat epidemics in Porto and in Rio de Janeiro. Third, we will examine the reaction of the people of Rio and Porto on government measures.


T his study aims to: 1) analyze the reasons of failure of v illage government in producing a superior policy; 2) analyze the existing institutions in the community, as the realization of the carrying capacity of a superior policy; and 3) develop a model of institutional strengthening to achieve the excellence of public policy. Thi s study use s a qualitative approach with description methods. T he data used is the primary and secondary data. Secondary data were  obtained  from the local government in the form of the relevant documentation. The primary data obtained from interviews, observation, focus group discussions. The data collected are analyzed qualitative descriptive. The research location is in L ampung, Province of South Lampung , 9 in v illages. The results show that the failure of development due to the institutional model of village planning meetings is bureaucratic, formalism and the measurement focuse s on the p rocess instead of the result. There a re no institutional support ing c ommunities and the village planning meetings do not involve stakeholders. Required solutions are in the form of representative models of institutional strengthening, get to know t o the community residents through a deliberative forum with a multi- stakeholders.


A terminal capable of P2P(Peer-to-Peer) communication, a communication method using the same, and a billing method based on the same are provided to enable a terminal to perform P2P communication without having a short range communication module. A terminal capable of P2P communication comprises a transmitting module(220), a receiving module(230), a received channel measurement part(240), and a communication mode control part(250). The transmitting module(220) modulates and spreads Tx data and outputs a certain Tx signal. The receiving module(230) receives a downstream signal from a base station or a P2P signal from an adjacent terminal, despreads and demodulates the received signal, and outputs certain Rx data. The received channel measurement part(240) measures strength of the received signal by using averaging processing. The communication mode control part(250) controls handover between a base station communication mode and a P2P communication mode according to the measured strength.


The design of a digital subband tuner (SBT) with an embedded GaAs finite-impulse-response (FIR) filter is described. The tuner is used in digital signal processing applications to tune adaptively to narrowband signals for improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and higher signal selectivity against interferers. The SBT performance is maximized using GaAs gate arrays and memory devices designed to support a 400-MHz system clock rate.<<ETX>>


A great deal has been written about both international law and government lawyering. 1 Most of it has focused on a government legal adviser's duties to give confidential advice to his or her principal, Secretary, Minister, or agency; his or her role in negotiation and litigation; and efforts among legal advisers to develop national and international networks to improve their effectiveness. Too little has been written about the crucial, overlooked responsibility of government international lawyers to explain publicly their government's international law rationale for its actions: what I call "The Legal Adviser's Duty to Explain." As I suggested five years ago, the Legal Adviser's Duty to Explain is a loyalty that government legal advisers owe not just to their clients and ministers but also to their publics and national citizenries. 2 Under this important


10526 Background: PIK3CA mutations are a rare oncogenic event of potential therapeutic relevance in NSCLC. Here we report frequency and characteristics of patients with PIK3CA mutated lung tumors. Methods: Patients with NSCLC and PIK3CA mutations were identified within our regional Network for Molecular Screening in Lung Cancer. We further analyzed the presence of BRAF, KRAS, EGFR mutations as well as ALK translocation, ERBB2 and FGFR1 amplifications in PIK3CA mutated samples. Clinical data on age, sex, TNM classification and tumor stage, histological type, grading, overall survival, smoking status, comorbidity, BMI and secondary malignancies were retrieved from clinical charts in accordance with the local ethics committee. Results: PIK3CA mutations were detected with a frequency of 3.7% (24% exon 20,76% exon 9) in 1000 patients. Histologically 32% were defined as squamous cell carcinoma, 48% as adenocarcinoma and 18% other histological subtypes or NSCLC-NOS. Exon 9 mutations were present in the acinar an...


Background: Aminoglycoside antibiotics are commonly prescribed for the treatment of Gram‐negative infections. Appropriate dosing and therapeutic monitoring of aminoglycosides are important because these agents have a narrow therapeutic index.


In the multi-vendor systems, a customer connected to an Access network (AN) must be capable of selecting a specific Service Node (SN) according to the services the SN provides. The multiplicity of technologically varying AN calls for the definition of a standard reference point between the AN and the SN widely known as the VB interface. Two versions are currently offered. The VB5.1 is simpler to implement but is not as flexible as the VB5.2, which supports switched connections. The VB5.2 functionality is closely coupled to the Broadband Bearer Channel Connection Protocol (B-BCCP). The B-BCCP is used for conveying the necessary information for dynamic resource allocation, traffic policing and routing in the AN as well as for information exchange concerning the status of the AN before a new call is established by the SN. By relying on such a protocol for the exchange of information instead of intercepting and interpreting signalling messages in the AN, the architecture of the AN is simplified because the functionality related to processing is not duplicated. In this paper a prominent B- BCCP candidate is defined, called the Service node Access network Interaction Protocol.