The main objective in larynx cancer is to successfully control the malignant process. As conservative procedures develop, increased importance is given to organ preservation. Glottic tumors can be discovered in early stages, as the most common symptom, hoarseness develops rapidly. Transoral LASER surgery is a convenient option for early stage glottic cancer as it assures both a complete resection of the tumoral mass and preserves the larynx, thus its functions. Generally, it is reserved for TI and TII cancers, but in experienced centers its indication can be extended to more advanced tumors. Depending on tumor extension, clinical status and imagistic examinations, the surgical treatment can be associated with other therapeutic options (radiotherapy, chemotherapy or both). The therapeutic plan must be decided by a multidisciplinary team that includes an ENT surgeon, an oncologist and an anatomopathologist.


Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorder characterized by peculiarly high levels of blood glucose due to complete or relative insufficiency of insulin secretion as well as disturbances in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Increasing indication revealed that oxidative stress plays a main role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Free radicals are formed excessively in diabetes by glucose oxidation and non-enzymatic protein glycation. Abnormally high levels of free radicals and the simultaneous decline of antioxidant defense mechanisms can lead to damage of cellular organelles and enzymes increased lipid peroxidation, and development of insulin resistance. This penalty of oxidative stress can promote the development of complications of diabetes mellitus. Antioxidants obtained from nature helps in neutralization of reactive oxygen species and significantly reduce the probability of progression of diabetic complications. A variety of nutritionally important vitamins, supplements and some constituents of natural food sources, including cappers, broccoli, tomatoes, berries, grapes, spinach, carrots, nuts, etc. naturally trim down the injury caused by oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus. The review describes the oxidative stress and super power role of antioxidants role in diabetes mellitus.


Baba Saheb Bhima Rao Ramji Ambedkar is remembered as the greatest Champion of socio political and religious thought even today. He is also Known as the greatest pioneer of social justice of the 20 th century India as well as the greatest – emancipator of down trodden who struggled and suffered for the amelioration of their throughout his eventful life. As the greatest champion of social justice, he is regarded as the greatest messiah of this cause and the exigencies of Indian politics. Dr. Ambedkar was a great splendored as President K.R. Narayan says that he is remembered by the most of all as a great and compassionate rebel as militant reformer and a liberator of downtrodden masses of the sub-continent. Ambedkar socio-political thought that God almighty is one and there is no middleman between man and God and that greatness should not depend on the condition of one's birth, the great aversion of castes and irrational rituals and there was no room for caste discrimination is even today very essential to establish in every field of human activities in this rotten corrupt environment of the society. It is the movement based on reason, morality and humanism. He firmly believes in the philosophy of pragmatism that if man is to enjoy real freedom, it is necessary to consider the social condition conducive to perpetuation of freedom. He believes that democracy is a way of life which is expounded through the teachings which people have for each other and its success is measured by the effect it has on their lives. His political thought that right is natural and inherent in individual, and so individual have certain inviolable and inalienable rights which built his theory of social and political thought further more powerful, need to practice today for the well-being of the society as well as the universe .This view of Ambedkar that ideal society should have many interests consciously communicated and share. There should be social endosmosis. This view of Ambedkar that social conscience is the only safeguard of all rights, fundamental and non-fundamental and this social conscience was a rebel against wrong deeds of any power on the earth. His ideal was strived for human survival but a life of respect, justice and equality. To him, nothing was more disgraceful for man than to live a life devoid of honor, self-respect, great cause and love for a man, society and his country. Ambedkar viewed that unless there was " fluidity " among classes, there could not be social progress and therefore, no social depend upon the attainment of the caste system in Indian society. So long as there was caste system, the ideal of social solidarity and unity was remote. Ambedkar views on religion is also much relevant even today because he consider that religion is essential for life and practice of society, so he remarks that religion is not an opium but a driving force of human activities. He also remarks that man cannot live by bread alone. He has a mind which needs food for thought and the religion instills help in man drives him to activity. In his opinion religion must be judged by the social standard based on social ethics. He also believes that religion is the source of social and spiritual amity.  Hence, I conclude my opinion that Ambedkar thoughts on  various aspect and contents of society even today highly relevant because there is found everywhere today distrust, injustice, inequality, discrimination, corruption and narrow feelings of  regionalism is  great & menace to the unity and integrity of the country. Last but not least I conclude my view that Ambedkar thought needs to make more effective and practicable for the all-round development of the weaker sections of the society in particular and masses, in general, as the most of his relevant thoughts for entire humanity of the universe.


Abstract— A labile intermediate in the photolytic rearrangement of the antibacterial drug, metronidazole, was identified by isolating the product of photolysis of metronidazole benzoate in methanol. The intermediate, 1‐hydroxyethyl‐2‐methyl‐4‐hydroxyimino‐5‐oxo‐imidazole, was shown to act as a bidentate chelating agent for copper(II) ions, whereas metronidazole forms a weak monodentate complex. The intermediate may be relevant to the bioactivation mechanism of metronidazole.


Within a yearly horizon, a transmission system operator needs to schedule the maintenance outages of the set of transmission lines due for maintenance. Facing this task, two conflicting objectives arise: on one hand, the transmission system adequacy should be preserved as much as possible, and, on the other hand, market operation should be altered in the least possible manner. To address this scheduling problem, a bilevel model is proposed whose upper-level problem schedules line maintenance outages pursuing maximum transmission capacity margin. This upper-level problem is constrained by a set of lower-level problems that represent the clearing of the market for all the time periods considered within the yearly planning horizon. This bilevel model is conveniently converted into a nonlinear mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) that can be recast as a mixed-integer linear programming problem solvable with currently available branch-and-cut techniques.


The right to recognition of legal personality has been addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in many decisions; establishing its importance for the benefit of other rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights. This article addresses the case law development of that right within the decisions of the international court in order to determine the content of its protection and the liabilities of the States around it. To do this, the so-called census method, is used as a method to collect the case laws being analyzed; the results are presented in three different sections, including conceptualization, uses in the judgment of the proposed tribunal and the challenges that should arise before the right under study. tos prescritivos sao expressos. A conclusao central da investigacao comprova a possibilidade de determinar a existencia de novos direitos, especialmente o da inclusao digital.


Spontaneous Platelet Aggregation (SPA) is a condition when spontaneously platelet aggregate in plasma left in a tube at room temperature for 2-3 hours without adding any agonists. It is not entirely sure why this phenomenon happens. Pregnant females have a more tendency of hypercoagulability. Nevertheless, SPA demonstrates hyper aggregation of platelet and not the coagulation pathway. So far, there is no report regarding this phenomenon in pregnant females. This study aimed to find out whether pregnant females, especially in the third-trimester of the pregnancy, had the tendency of SPA. This cross-sectional study was established in the Department of Clinical Pathology and Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan between January–March 2016. Twenty-six females were included. Ultrasonography (USG) was used to know the age of pregnancy. From 26 females in this study, 10 were pregnant females in the third-trimester of pregnancy while 16 others were normal non-pregnant females as controls, with a mean age of 29.2±2.78 years old and 36.5±4.63 years old. There were significant differences between platelet aggregation using ADP agonist in pregnant females and controls (p <0.01). In the median Tmax 10%, there were no significant differences between platelet aggregation without ADP agonist in pregnant females and controls after 3 hours (p >0.05). Hyper aggregation and hypercoagulability in the third-trimester pregnancy tend to develop SPA. Even though there are only mild signs and symptoms, it can be an arising risk of thrombus.


A C-band dual polarization radar observed ice particles in the wintertime thunderclouds along the coast of the Sea of Japan. The polarimetric information (ZH, ZDR) is then discussed in view of prediction of lightning time and location. The observations were conducted in Arai, Niigata (37/spl deg/00'49"N, 138/spl deg/ 14'32"E) in December 1992 and January 1993, succeeding those in Sakata, Yamagata in 1990 and 1991. Graupel particles and ice crystals are discriminated by their extremely low- and high-ZDR values, respectively. The height distribution of these ice particles is also confirmed by in-situ measurements using radiosonde. Before a lightning stroke occurs, graupel is shown to be lifted up to 3-4 km near the cloud top and then tends to descend to the cloud base, whereas ice crystals still ascend to the cloud top, suggesting the thunderstorm electrification between them. The electric charge distribution of each ice particle obtained from the radiosonde also indicates evidence of charge separation between graupel and ice crystals.<<ETX>>


Sacrificial songs contain both natural and cultrural implications.One of the songs belongs to Yang class in Shangnan county with the thesis to memorize what parents had done for the children and remind the younger generation to respect the old in daily life.The other belongs to Yin class with traditional ceremonies to express Yin Yang theory and the thought of retribution from good and evil.The Sacrificial songs in Shangnan county is a type of natural local culture with special aesthetic significance.


Clomazone was evaluated preplant incorporated (PPI) or post-transplant (PT) for weed control in sweet potatoes. No crop injury by clomazone was detected. Clomazone controlled (≥90%). broadleaf signalgrass, large crabgrass, barnyardgrass, and prickly sida at all rates and methods of application (MOA). Common cocklebur was controlled (≥93%) by clomazone at 1.1 kg ai ha-1 applied PT or at 3.4 kg ai ha-1 PPI in 1988 and at all rates and MOA in 1989. Clomazone did not control carpetweed.


Presented is examining of the problem of formation and development of legal culture in the youth midst. The article is devoted to the study of formation questions of legal culture of students. Research in development of legal culture of student youth was conducted on the base of Kurgan state university. In the course of questionnaire of student youth of the university the authors elaborate existing problems, solution of which, they stated, could significantly and positively activate the process of formation of legal culture in that midst.


Various metabolic substrates were measured in plasma (glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), ketones, lactate), heart, liver, and skeletal muscle (glycogen, ketones, lactate) of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) in association with their daily torpor cycle. Immediately after feeding, substrate levels were similar to those observed in other mammals. However, within 8–10 h carbohydrate indices (glucose, glycogen) decreased significantly in plasma, liver, and skeletal muscle, with prominent increases in FAA and ketones. Thus the metabolic condition of normothermic deer mice (body temperature 35–38 °C) resembled that seen during acute starvation. Conditions during the actual torpor bout (body temperature 19–24 °C) were similar to those immediately prior to torpor entrance. Glycogen levels in heart were actually highest during daily torpor, possibly as an 'anticipatory' response prior to arousal. Following arousal no repletion of glucose or glycogen was noted, while ketone levels exceeded 5 mM (plasma) and 5 μmol/g...


, e text which Mr. Lee has followed is ^ of Targa?some tables and notes aie taken from " that splendid and very ?orrect edition by Dr. Milligan"?while he acknowledges his obligations to various ancient and modern authors, in the construction of his work. His principal object was to present the reader " with the most approved text of the various editors from Caesarius in the year 1528, to that of Targa in 1769," who left little for other authors to do in that respect. The Ordo VerboIium, which is of such great assistance to! the student, appears to be judiciously constructed ; while the translation is ren> dered as literal as the idioms of the two languages will admit. We shall now offer a specimen of the performance, selected at random, which will convey a very fair idea of the manner in which the'


Risk analysis and scenario testing are two of the core activities carried out by economists at central banks. With the increasing adoption of machine learning to enhance decision-support systems, and the amount of collected data spiking, institutions provide countless use-cases for the application of these innovative technologies. Consequently, in recent years, the term sup-tech has entered the financial jargon and is here to stay. In this paper, we address risk assessment from a central bank's perspective. The uptrending number of involved banks and institutions raises the necessity of a standardised risk methodology. For that reason, we adopted the Risk Assessment Methodology (RAS), the quantitative pillar from the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). Based on real-world supervisory data from the Portuguese banking sector, from March 2014 until August 2021, we successfully model the supervisory risk assessment process, in its quantitative approach by the RAS. Our findings and the resulting model are proposed as an Early Warning System that can support supervisors in their day-to-day tasks, as well as within the SREP process.


The 'Medata Blowaway System' is a portable device designed to blow warm air under the sow while she is standing, to encourage piglets to move out of the crate area. The airflow is automatically switched off when the sow lies down. The trial examined the use of the 'Medata Blowaway System' and its effect on piglet mortality, particularly the number of piglets overlaid by the sow. Due to the constraints imposed by a farm trial the number of litters involved was relatively small and this should be taken into account when interpreting the results.


The main goal of this article is to show how dance was used in medical practice of different cultures at different times, and to investigate its role in many pathological processes, focusing on Croatian dancing tradition. The healing power of dance has been used in many different ways; for centuries it was offered as a tribute to gods; in other cultures it improved mental and physical state by influencing the flow of vital corporeal energy. On the other hand, many diseases have been associated with dance through the history such as chorea, ergot poisoning, epilepsy, and sunstroke.


Purpose
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to the displacement of many Ukrainians. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between their contact with Dutch society and their mental health. To this end, 136 adult, mostly female, displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands participated in an online survey to investigate the relationship between quality of host national contact and mental health, as moderated by quantity of host national contact. The survey had a Ukrainian, Russian and English version, and it consisted of single questions assessing various variables, including quality of host national contact, quantity of host national contact, amount of discrimination/prejudice as well as five questions assessing mental health (Mental Health Inventory 5 [MHI-5]; Berwick et al., 1991). Contrary to the hypotheses, no interaction was found between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact, and quality of host national contact did not have a significant main effect on mental health. However, there is a significant, yet nonlinear main effect of quantity of host national contact on mental health. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact. Finally, and interestingly, there is a positive relationship between the amount of discrimination/prejudice and mental health among people who chose to fill out the Ukrainian version of the survey. These results provide a nuanced view of the relationship between the host environment and mental health, and governmental policies should take into account the complexity of this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach
A total of 161 displaced, mostly female (90.40%), Ukrainians in the Netherlands with the average age of 35 agreed to participate in this online survey. The main variables measured were mental health (dependent variable), quality of host national contact (independent variable 1) and quantity of host national contact (independent variable 2/moderator). Additional variables, such as the level of perceived discrimination/prejudice, have been included in the analyses. The survey was available in three different languages: Ukrainian, Russian and English.

Findings
In this study, the role of host national contact in the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands was investigated. The results showed that there was no interaction between quality of host national contact and quantity of host national contact in the prediction of mental health. Moreover, quality of host national contact did not predict mental health. Thus, both of the (preregistered) hypotheses of this study were refuted. However, the amount of perceived discrimination/prejudice turned out to be linked to mental health. Surprisingly, the amount of perceived discrimination/prejudice predicted higher mental health scores among participants who chose to fill out the survey in Ukrainian. Moreover, of the respondents included in the analysis, 94.85% gave reason for mental health concerns, as expressed by a converted MHI-5 score below 60.

Research limitations/implications
Even though this study does show a positive relationship between the level of discrimination/prejudice and mental health among displaced Ukrainians who filled out the Ukrainian version of the survey, it does not offer a definite explanation for why this seemingly unexpected result occurred. No causal conclusions can be drawn based on this study regarding the relationship between host national contact and mental health.

Practical implications
The results of this study show that certain occurrences in the contact with host society members relate to mental health in unexpected and seemingly complex ways. This might mean that this study has potential for nuancing the current scientific knowledge regarding the relationship between host national contact and mental health. Such nuances might be quite important, as scientific research often forms the basis for governmental policies aimed at improving the mental health of displaced people. Therefore, governmental policymakers should be aware of the fact that there is no easy, clear-cut answer yet to the complex host society factors that play a role in the mental health of various displaced groups. Moreover, an investigation of the role of host national contact might lead to valuable knowledge about factors that contribute to the mental health of refugees. As has been said, refugees are at risk of developing various mental health issues, so they might need help managing their mental health. To this end, policymakers might need evidence-based information to develop interventions targeted at specific refugee groups. By investigating the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands, new insights will be gained to optimize mental health care for this particular refugee group.

Social implications
This study yields important information regarding the degree of participation and inclusion of displaced Ukrainians in Dutch society, which can inform policies targeted at improving the experiences of this new displaced group. Because displaced Ukrainians have to deal with the mental health consequences of war and displacement, they might be particularly in need of a safe haven in which they feel included.

Originality/value
To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study in which the role of the host society context in the mental health of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands is assessed. The results are quite unexpected and can nuance the current research on the link between discrimination and mental health. Moreover, this study can inspire future research to be conducted in the reasons behind this nuance, by researching the role of identity and uncertainty. Also, the author believes that this study is particularly suitable for this journal because it really looks at the link between social inclusion in the Dutch context and mental health outcomes.


Total polyphenol content and biological activities of water and methanol extract from Aronia melanocarpa berry, leaf, stem and twig were analyzed to investigate the potential for a bio-functional material. The polyphenol content of leaf and twig extracts were higher than those of berry and stem extracts. DPPH radical and ABTS radical scavenging activities of both extracts, were measured in order of twig, leaf, berry and stem. Tyrosinase inhibitory activities of water extract were measured in order of berry, leaf, twig and stem. Those of methanol extract were measured in order of twig, leaf, berry and stem. The nitrite-scavenging ability of water and methanol extract were measured in order of berry, leaf, twig and stem. Consequently it was shown that the non-edible parts of aronia, leaf and twig, had antioxidant activities and nitric oxide scavenging activities. It is expected that these materials could be used as functional bio-materials in bio-health care products including cosmetic products.


Abstract In 1990, 91 freshmen at a small women's college responded to a questionnaire designed to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of HIV and AIDS. The survey included questions on various aspects of the AIDS crisis, including biology, epidemiology, condom use, mandatory testing, and social policy issues. The original questionnaire was revised and distributed to the entering freshmen class during student orientation from 1991–1994, and these results were compared with those of the 1990 survey. Thus, data collected over a five year period have been reviewed. The students' general knowledge of HIV disease improved during the five year study period. The vast majority of respondents favored mandatory HIV testing in the health care setting. Although most students were able to identify high risk behaviors, including unprotected sex, for contracting HIV, the majority said that they do not use condoms on a regular basis. The findings of the survey underscore the need for AIDS education programs that ...


Because of the wide application of Google Earth,the paper presents a method to display the exploration spots in Google Earth according to its high speed and visualization,and displays some exploration spots of hydrology,engineering,environment and geophysical prospecting in the Google Earth combined with project samples,which is profit for management and inquiry of information.


The determination of the structure factor for liquid metals at temperatures up to 1300 °C by means of neutron diffraction techniques is described. Particular attention is given to the corrections which must be applied if reliable structure factors are to be extracted from the measurements, including those for absorption, multiple scattering and inelastic effects. It is concluded that for the heavier elements the neutron method can yield reliable data which are accurate to a few per cent over most of the range of momentum transfer.


An investigation has been carried out upon 1,637 New Guinean serum samples to ascertain whether yaws and Mycoplasma pneumoniæ infections were in any way associated with the high incidence of asymptomatic cold agglutinins observed in New Guineans. The results show that cold agglutinins are frequently but not always present in people whose sera react with non‐treponemal and treponemal antigens. M. pneumoniæ infection appears to have a minor role in the cold agglutinin production. Ascaris lumbricoides infestation, owing to its ability to provoke an intensive lymphatic reaction in the Peyer's patches and in the mesenteric lymph nodes, and owing to its high incidence in New Guinea, could possibly be another cause for the cold agglutinin production.


The use of spray cooling devices and cooling ponds for cooling thermal power plants are discussed. Spray cooling devices have attracted increased attention in connection with the requirements for protection of natural bodies of water from the harmful effects of thermal effluents from these power plants. The efficient and economical operation of this type of cooling system is discussed.


The invention provides an avapro dispersible tablet and a preparation method thereof. The dispersible tablet comprises a main component, namely avapro, and auxiliary components such as disintegrant, filler, flavoring agent and the like. The avapro dispersible tablet has the advantages of quickly forming uniform suspension when meeting water, has the characteristics of convenient taking, quick absorption, high bioavailability and the like, can improve the applicability of a patient, and increases options of clinical administration for doctors and patients.


Iso-condensed heteroaromatic pyrroles 1 are 10 -electron aromatic compounds. They are of interest from both theoretical and synthetic points of view. They are the cyclic analogues of heteroaromatic ortho-quinodimethanes 2, and can react with dienophiles in a Diels-Alder reaction to give the synthetically useful cycloadducts 3. Many of them are also of potential pharmaceutical importance because they are isosteric with indoles. Iso-condensed heteroaromatic pyrroles 1 can be used also as the monomers for the synthesis of new conducting polymers 5 with special properties and characteristics. However, the methods for the efficient preparation of the iso-condensed heteroaromatic pyrroles are quite limited. Iso-condensed heteroaromatic pyrroles are generally unstable in acidic conditions and are easily oxidized by air. In our laboratories, we developed three methods for the preparation of this labile heterocyclic ring system under acidic, neutral, and basic conditions.1 Synthesis of the conjugated systems such as 6 for OLED applications will also be discussed.


The most effective method to ensure the stable operation of wind turbines, reduce maintenance costs, through the remote monitoring system to monitor and analyze real-time operating state of its real-time operation. Firstly, the remote monitoring system based on PC is constructed by using the Ethernet gateway of wireless sensor network to overcome the environment of the position constraint. Then, we collect the measured signal data of a distributed node to install the wireless sensor network in wind turbine farms, and extract feature information through empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis to classify the fault and normal signal pattern. In the experiment, the EMD learning using the following fault signal as an example of the back propagation (BP) neural network algorithm with the generator vibration, the rotor imbalance, and the bearing fault. In this paper, a fault diagnosis method based on signal analysis and recognition is presented, and the validity of the method is demonstrated by simulation.


Seventy-six healthy individuals (44 men and 32 women), ranging in age from 20 to 80 years, were recruited from 2005 to 2008. This study found that memory decline was related to enhanced mean diffusivity at the level of the hippocampal formation, which may predict future development of Alzheimer disease.

See p. 194; Editorial, p. 188

This study enrolled 819 subjects (229 cognitively normal, 398 with MCI, and 192 with AD). The MCI subjects were more memory-impaired than the cognitively …


Objective: To determine the pattern of early complications following modified radical mastectomy with axillary clearance for established cases of early carcinoma of breast. Material and Mehods: This descriptive study was carried out in the Breast Clinic, Surgical "A" Ward Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, from January 01, 2004 to March 31, 2005. The study included female patients with the established diagnosis of early carcinoma of breast (stage I, stage II) and undergoing modified radical mastectomy with axillary clearance. These patients were followed for postoperative complications up to one month in the Breast Clinic on out patient basis. Results: During the study period, 154 patients underwent modified radical mastectomy with axillary clearance as per inclusion criteria. Average age of the patients was 47.32 + 13.53 SD. Early complications were evaluated. Seroma formation was most common complication that occurred in 59 (38.3%) patients followed by edema of arm observed in 40(26%) patients. Wound infection was noticed in 19(12.3%) patients, paraesthesia due to damage of the intercostobranchial nerve in 15(9.7%) patients, haemorrhage in 6(3.9%) patients, haematoma in6(3.9%) patients and skin flap necrosis was observed in 6(3.9%) patients. Seratus anterior muscle paralysis and Latissmus dorsi muscle paralysis were found in 3(1.9%) patients. Conclusion: Seroma formation, wound infection, edema of arm, paresthesia due to intercostobronchial nerve involvement, haematoma, skin flap necrosis and muscular paralysis of seratus anterior are early complications of modified radical mastectomy with axillary dissection that may be detected early through proper postoperative care.


The invention relates to a method for purifying the biologically active coagulation protein GLA- domain comprising the following steps: a) containing one or more GLA- domain coagulation proteins, and biologically inactive molecule consisting of a GLA- domain protein (s) between a sample which may contain them, nuclear aptamer specifically binding to at least one of the biologically active coagulation protein GLA- domain are (i) the core aptamer and (ii) the GLA- domain coagulation protein (s) phase, b) said step a) comprises emitting a GLA- domain, wherein the coagulation protein (s) from the complex formed in, and c) in that to form a composite, so as to be in contact with that the affinity support fixed on the biological recovering a purified (s) active GLA- domain coagulation protein form.


A package (10) for sterile fluids, such as contrast media. More particularly the invention relates to a package (10) comprising a container (20), a plug (40) and a float (15) residing in the container (20). The float (15) will close the exit (49) of the container before the container (20) is completely empty, preventing air from inadvertently being withdrawn from the container (20) when in the inverted position.


The paper covers an issue of justice in the light of a new paradigm in political philosophy proposed by Otfried Hoeffe's theory of the exchange of justice. The author analyses the impact of this approach to justice upon understanding of how could contemporary society develop its fair moral and legal grounds. It is proved that for an adequate understanding of justice is its understanding as a personal responsibility, organically related to guidance on solidarity and recognition. Their interpretations of as well attempts to join moral and material grounds of social life to overcome of injustice are in the author's focus. It is showed that freedom and justice are enrooted in a lifeword, as well relay upon formal norms and procedures of moral and justice. It gives a methodology for understanding of O. Hoeffe's philosophy of political justice that states freedom and justice as basic conditions of human being.


Under the background of the deepening medical and health system reform in China,Skin Disease Hospital in Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences set an objective which is to construct a internationally known and domestic leading specialized research and education type hospital.In aspects of optimizing discipline construction,strengthening research platform building,highlighting on human resources training and instruction,promoting research incentive and improving discipline research,how to build a disease research oriented discipline team are discussed.Building a research and education type specialized hospital needs to seek common ideological,overcome institutional problems,build discipline team,strengthen performance assessment system,develop research outcome transferred to application and protect hospital brand.


We explore the basis of understanding wildland fire behaviour with the intention of stimulating curiosity and promoting fundamental investigations of fire spread problems that persist even in the presence of tremendous modelling advances. Internationally, many fire models have been developed based on a variety of assumptions and expressions for the fundamental heat transfer and combustion processes. The diversity of these assumptions raises the question as to whether the absence of a sound and coherent fire spread theory is partly responsible. We explore the thesis that, without a common understanding of what processes occur and how they occur, model reliability cannot be confirmed. A theory is defined as a collection of logically connected hypotheses that provide a coherent explanation of some aspect of reality. Models implement theory for a particular purpose, including hypotheses of phenomena and practical uses, such as prediction. We emphasise the need for theory and demonstrate the difference between theory and modelling. Increasingly sophisticated fire management requires modelling capabilities well beyond the fundamental basis of current models. These capabilities can only be met with fundamental fire behaviour research. Furthermore, possibilities as well as limitations for modelling may not be known or knowable without first having the theory.


In this paper, a three-dimensional chaotic autonomous system is presented. The stability of the equilibrium and the conditions of the Hopf bifurcation are studied by means of nonlinear dynamics theory. Then, the circuit of chaotic system is structured out in Multisim platform by the unit circuit. The chaotic system is applied to secure communications by linear feedback synchronization control. All simulations results performed on three-dimensional chaotic autonomous system are verified the applicable of secure communication. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i1.4003


Photographic print. Black and white. Snapshot, deckle edged of woman in two piece suit, light in color; white blouse will ruffles down front; darker shoes have small bows. Arms behind back; chicken wire fence at left; houses in background; one low dark building with one window directly behind. Inscribed, "To Aunt Dora/ Arding." Stamped on back, "704." Courtesy of Ralph & Loretta (Jonas) Schultz Collection, 2012.21, GRHC.


Cordes and Labrousse ([2] p. 697), and Kaniel and Schechter ([6] p. 429) showed that if S and T are domain-dense closed linear operators on a Hilbert space H into itself, the range of S is closed in H and the codimension of the range of S is finite, then, (TS)* = S * T *. With a somewhat different approach and more restricted condition on S, the same assertion was obtained by Holland [5] recently, that S is a bounded everywhere-defined linear operator whose range is a closed subspace of finite codimension in H.


DREEM inventory developed by Dundee University in England was used to measure medical education environment of Medical University of China. It was found that the total perception of educational environment and the perception of teachers and learning of female students were higher than those of male students, but female students' confidence was lower than male students'. In this article the authors will express their own opinions on these problems and propose appropriate countermeasures.


Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology – State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, CEP, 87020-900, Brazil Laboratory of Insects, Department of Morphology, Bioscience Institute,UNESP, São Paulo, State University, Botucatu, SP, CEP, 18618-970, Brazil *Corresponding author's Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Received: 12 Nov. 2015 Accepted: 15 Dec. 2015 ABSTRACT Pest infestation, in general such as flies, is a problem faced by poultry workers in poultry breeding farms. Control of these populations is desirable, due to the damage they cause and, most times, it is done through chemical management, with insecticide application. Musca domestica is one of the species with the greatest ability to develop resistance to insecticides, and the digestive system, especially the midgut, is one of the most vulnerable organs to structural alteration, because in it there is production of digestive enzymes and absorption of nutrients. Damage caused by use of synthetic insecticides reactivated studies with bioinsecticides for being one of the most selective options in pest control. Furthermore, they do not cause environmental alterations such as food, soil, water poisoning and they are practically nontoxic to mammals. Among vegetable species with insecticidal activities that have been used a lot, we have neem, subtropical plant that shows low residual power and lower risk of intoxication for mammals and poultry. Thus the objectives that guided this work, was the observation of morphological alteration in M. domestica larvae and malformation of pupae after the use of neem, powder and emulsifiable oil at different concentrations (0,5%, 1%, 1,5%) were tested. Following, after the applications, the midgut of flies in larval stage was isolated, processed and analyzed under light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. As in most dipterous, the cell types found were columnar cells and regenerative cells, which showed alterations such as: coalescing vacuoles, intercellular spaces, formation of cytoplasmic protrusions, broken microvilli, rough endoplasmic reticulum and dilated mitochondria. The statistical analysis registered for pupa malformation showed significant results in comparison to control, but there was no difference among treatments. The different concentrations of neem oil contributed in altering morphological and ultrastructurally the midgut in M. domestica larvae, interrupting its development. These results showed that in poultry breeding farms, neem oil can be a pratical alternative to the control of M. domestica.


Handling background noise or echo (reverberation) etc. is very important for having an automated robot etc. recognize remote speech in a real environment. As effective schemes for handling this problem, noise reducing schemes such as model adaptation schemes including HMM decomposition and composition or microphone array (beamformer) signal processing, spectral subtraction, etc. have been proposed. In particular, a model adaptation scheme is very effective for speech recognition in a noisy environment and its recognition performance increases in proportion to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this paper, improving the recognition performance in a low-SNR environment by receiving speech at a high SNR using a microphone array before HMM decomposition and composition is attempted. The results of speech recognition experiments conducted in a noisy environment in an acoustic laboratory show an improvement in the recognition rate of about 25% by the proposed method for the case in which the SNR in a single microphone is 0 dB, as compared with the cases of using microphone array signal processing, HMM decomposition and composition alone. In addition, the proposed method shows recognition performance comparable to the case of using cepstrum mean normalization and spectral subtraction performed with an optimal coefficient given to the speech after microphone array processing. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 85(9): 13–22, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience. wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.10068


It is imperative to investigate the psychopathology of culture-specific syndromes using a multi-faceted approach, considering their uneven distribution and region-specific concentration.1,2 Because culture-bound syndromes are closely related to cultural factors, understanding and management from a cultural perspective are warranted. Culture-bound syndromes cannot easily be conceptualized from the viewpoint of the pre-existing psychiatric classification system, which is mainly based on Western psychiatry. Thus, non-Western syndromes need to be described with proper characterization.3 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been the most prestigious taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by American Psychiatric Association (APA). The culture-bound syndromes have been changed into the cultural conceptualizations of distress—which include cultural syndromes, idioms of distress, and explanatory models—along with the revision of DSMIV to DSM-5, because DSM-5 emphasizes cultural formulation.4,5 In terms of cultural formulation, as shown in Table 1, South Korea has been mentioned four and five times in DSM-IV and DSM-5, respectively. In DSM-5, hwa-byung (anger syndrome) and taein-kong-po (fear of interpersonal relations) were introduced in the section of cultural concept of distress. Furthermore, it is described that both internet gaming disorder and alcohol-metabolizing enzyme gene polymorphisms are highly prevalent in Koreans.5


PMMA-epoxy-clay ternary composites have been prepared combining the polymerization induced phase separation phenomenon with two dispersion processing methods: a melt-blending and an ultrasonic-blending with solvent. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis shows that phase separation between PMMA and epoxy network was obtained as spherical nodules in both processing methods. Organoclay particles were finely dispersed into thermosetting network and predominantly delaminated in ultrasonic-blending, whereas organoclays formed micrometer-sized aggregates in melt-blending. Exfoliation state has been investigated using Small Angle X-Ray scattering (SAXS) in cured systems and during reaction. For reacted systems, an exfoliation of platelets can occur through the de-aggregation of large agglomerates into smaller particles composed of a few platelets. For in-situ SAXS studies, the distribution of the thicknesses of diffusing entities and the evolution of this distribution with reaction time were followed. This technique has showed also that movements at a nanometer scale of clay tactoids are possible even after the gel point. The effect of thermoplastic PMMA and clay Cloisite 30B addition on the cure kinetics of an epoxy/amine thermosetting system was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It appeared that the addition of PMMA slow down the reaction up to the phase separation due to a dilution effect of the reactive species. In opposition, the presence of clay accelerates the reaction (probably due to a catalytic effect of some metal ions introduced with the clay) but it has no sensitive effect on the cloud point conversion in the presence of PMMA. The reactivity of different systems has been studied and one kinetic model has been developed for the ternary system with help of previous studies with binary systems. The mechanics properties of different composites have been evaluated and discussed with help of fracture surfaces obtained by scanning electron microscopy. It was showed that the best dispersion of surfaces of clay did not give the best resistance to fracture critical initiation.


This paper considers the estimation of treatment assignment rules when the policy maker faces a general budget or resource constraint. Utilizing the PAC-Bayesian framework, we propose new treatment assignment rules that allow for flexible notions of treatment outcome, treatment cost, and a budget constraint. For example, the constraint setting allows for cost-savings, when the costs of non-treatment exceed those of treatment for a subpopulation, to be factored into the budget. It also accommodates simpler settings, such as quantity constraints, and doesn't require outcome responses and costs to have the same unit of measurement. Importantly, the approach accounts for settings where budget or resource limitations may preclude treating all that can benefit, where costs may vary with individual characteristics, and where there may be uncertainty regarding the cost of treatment rules of interest. Despite the nomenclature, our theoretical analysis examines frequentist properties of the proposed rules. For stochastic rules that typically approach budget-penalized empirical welfare maximizing policies in larger samples, we derive non-asymptotic generalization bounds for the target population costs and sharp oracle-type inequalities that compare the rules' welfare regret to that of optimal policies in relevant budget categories. A closely related, non-stochastic, model aggregation treatment assignment rule is shown to inherit desirable attributes.


With the fast development of the global economic and technology,the competition in ship industry is becoming hotter and hotter.Higher production technique and management Technology been put forwarded to these shipbuilding enterprises.The CADDS5 is one of the advanced 3D production design system in shipbuilding.We can realize the 3D digitization modeling of shipbuilding by using the CADDS5 system,which is produced by PTC.The old 2D modeling of production design was broken.And with using the technology,it is likely to product shipbuilding accurately.Good condition is provided to the design of pipeline and Electric Appliance by 3D model nicely and actually.Accordingly,Interference can be avoided and the productivity of dockyard will be improved greatly.


Non-thermal methods of reducing bacterial numbers have been studied for more than a century. A majority of this work has focused on high pressure processing (>100 MPa). The addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) at lower pressures (<100 MPa) is a relatively new process, but has demonstrated similar bactericidal effects. Pressurized CO2 has also been shown to inactivate enzymes, but this ability has not been studied in milk. Dense phase CO2 is defined as CO2 which exists in the liquid or supercritical state. A proprietary piece of equipment designed by Praxair (Chicago, IL) applied dense phase carbon dioxide to milk in a continuous manner. Enzyme activity was assayed by acid degree value and protein breakdown. Temperatures between 15°C and 40°C and pressures between 7 MPa and 62 MPa were investigated. Because of milk's susceptibility to pH change, the process's effect on casein proteins was also studied. At higher temperatures (40°) and CO2 concentrations, the process was shown to significantly reduce the proteolytic and lipolytic endproducts. However, these conditions also changed the structure of the underlying casein protein. By reducing the severity of treatment both in terms of temperature and CO2 content, no change to the casein was observed. However, in these less severe conditions no significant effect on the rate of lipolysis or proteolysis was observed.


We report a case of gynaecologic haemorrhage after a Piver type-3 procedure treated by a packing technique. The postoperative course was uneventful and the packs were removed after six days. Intra-abdominal packing should be familiar to both obstetricians and gynecologists because when any other attempt to provide hemostasis fails, it can be the last successful way to control a life-threatening haemorrhage.


The new antiinsectan metabolite 2 (10-oxo-11,33-dihydropenitrem B) has been isolated from the sclerotia of Aspergillus sulphureus. Compound 2 is related to the penitrems, a known group of tremorgenic fungal metabolites. The structure of 2 was assigned primarily by NMR studies (e.g., COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and NOISY) and by comparison to data published for the penitrems. A known aflavinine analog (3; 10,23-dihydro-24,25-dehydroaflavinine) was also isolated from A. sulphureus sclerotia. This is the first report of by aflavinine analog from a member of the Aspergillus ochraceus taxonomic group


An optical isomer of rebeprazole is represented as formula I, which can be prepared by general chiral drug preparation methods as spectrum separation, asymmetry oxidation and separation. The optical isomer of rebeprazole can be used to treat digestive tract diseases, particularly to treat peptic ulcer.


ABSTRACT The Enron disaster prompted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 with new auditor independence rules, creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, corporate governance and certification requirements, whistleblower protections, extended statutes of limitations, and more severe penalties. Although some provisions affect privately traded companies, the Act was primarily aimed at publicly traded companies. In any event, Sarbanes-Oxley did not create a private cause of action against auditors for malpractice. Securities laws that govern fraud carry a heavy scienter burden, and the negligence and strict liability provisions in these laws are limited to specific parties and functions within the purview of the respective Acts. Common law fraud also includes the intentional or reckless disregard burden. The bread and butter of aggrieved investors, lenders, and creditors for claims against accountants performing auditing activities remain the common law negligence and negligent misrepresentation torts. The law on these torts is not monolithic among the states, and because the variance in approaches is dramatic, accountants, lawyers, and academics must constantly revisit auditor liability to nonclients to stay abreast of developments. This article reintroduces the subject in the post-Enron era, reviews key attributes of auditing functions-reports-standards, discusses the historical paradigm of liability, explores recent cases, and offers policy implications for this fact-driven, unsettled area. INTRODUCTION The accounting profession has been bombarded with litigation primarily due to corporate failures. The recent collapse of Enron is no exception. Due to this major debacle the accounting profession has once again come under severe attack. The common thread between Enron and other corporate failures is the questionable performance of the companies' accountants (Gomez 2003). According to Impastato, because of audit failures accountants are to blame for investors losing billions of dollars in earnings in addition to market capitalization (2003). These losses usually come as a result of reliance upon misleading or erroneous financial statements (Impastato 2003). Once these companies become insolvent they no longer have the source of revenue to repay upset investors and creditors. These investors and creditors often view accountants as having "deep pockets." Consequently, accountants are sought after in an attempt to recoup their (investors and creditors) losses (Allegaert and Tinkelman 2000). Although financial statements are assertions made by management and are primarily the responsibility of management, it is the accountant's duty to provide assurance of these assertions for the users of the information (Shore 2000). As the liability of auditors to third parties increases, auditors will be forced to more carefully perform their work and look for additional means of reducing their liability. However, if accountants are not held to a high standard, their incentives to carry out their job will be reduced (Allegaert and Tinkelman 2000). If someone is not held accountable for these erroneous financial statements, investors will be hesitant to invest in the American economy (Gomez 2003). ACCOUNTING FUNCTIONS AND PRINCIPLES The Auditing Function For a better grasp of the accountants' duties, the auditing function must first be understood (Gomez 2003). The audit committee is in charge of hiring an independent auditor. With the oversight of the audit committee, management's responsibility is the preparation of the financial statements. Traditionally the audit function was not in place as a guard against accounting fraud within a company. The assumption that management is dishonest is both impractical and costly (Gomez 2003). The overall goal of the auditing function is to provide assurance to the users of financial statements of the accuracy of the assertions made by management and to ensure the statements comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (Shore 2000). …


The addition of fibers in shotcrete is a well-established practice in many underground applications. Indeed, fiber reinforced shotcrete, or FRS, typically exhibits improved resistance to crack opening as well as substantial energy absorption. The latter is often found to be a key element in controlling the extent of damages and providing minimum safety to worker in the event of microseismic activity. This energy absorption capacity, or toughness, is developed when the fibers increase the work necessary to propagate a crack; therefore, this mechanism is highly dependent on the type of fiber used, the quality of the matrix, and, obviously, the actual amount of fibers present in the in-place mixture. The study reported in this paper was devoted to the effect the pneumatic placement and consolidation mechanisms have on the in-place fiber content and the resulting shotcrete properties, namely compressive strength and toughness. Indeed, it has been reported in the past that the amount of fiber rebound can be much higher in proportion than the other constituents in the overall rebound losses. The experimental results show a complex relationship between the hardened matrix properties and the fiber content, leading to an optimal toughness value that does not necessarily corresponds to the higher fiber content or higher compressive strength. It should be noted that all the results were obtained from shotcrete test panels prepared in a laboratory-controlled environment, using typical shotcreting equipment. Finally, the mechanisms behind the pneumatic placement and incorporation of fibers in a layer of shotcrete are discussed, based on the most recent observations made in the laboratory using a high speed imaging system.


Super-RENS (Super-Resolution Near Field Structure) technique, which is capable of compatibility with conventional systems, is one of next optical data storage. In this paper, to mitigate the nonlinear inter-symbol interference (ISI), we developed a second-order Volterra model-based nonlinear equalizer for a Super-RENS disc system.


Why should wait for some days to get or receive the advertising the uneasy persuasion book that you order? Why should you take it if you can get the faster one? You can find the same book that you order right here. This is it the book that you can receive directly after purchasing. This advertising the uneasy persuasion is well known book in the world, of course many people will try to own it. Why don't you become the first? Still confused with the way?


In this paper, we describe a rote extractor that learns patterns for finding semantic relationships in unrestricted text, with new procedures for pattern generalization and scoring. These include the use of part-of-speech tags to guide the generalization, Named Entity categories inside the patterns, an edit-distance-based pattern generalization algorithm, and a pattern accuracy calculation procedure based on evaluating the patterns on several test corpora. In an evaluation with 14 entities, the system attains a precision higher than 50% for half of the relationships considered.


By analyzing the actuality of mortgage in our country, the article gives the reasons that mortgage could be used for securitization and discusses the necessity and the possibility of mortgage. At last,the article gives some suggestions on mortgage-backed securitization.


1. The rates of histamine release from the liver, skin and muscle by four kinds of histamine-releasing substances, sinomenine, compound 48/80, tween 20 and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), were compared by intravenous injection in dogs, each in a dosage to cause a fall of approximately 80 per cent in the arterial blood pressure.
2. By compound 48/80, the rates were especially marked from the liver and muscle and only slight from the skin, while those by sinomenine, tween 20 and PVP were largest from the skin, followed by those from the liver and muscle, in that order. The rate of histamine release from the skin by PVP was characteristic in that it was far larger than that by other releasers. 3. On direct application of the drug solutions to the excised tissues
of the liver and skin the rates of release of histamine differed only slightly by the tissue in any of these releasers 4. Some considerations were given on the reason for the different ratios by the organ of in vivo histamine release though as yet no definite conclusion could be drawn.


The Upper Triass ic evaporites have a wide ex ten s ion in the o rogen ic zones of the con tinental margin (throu ghout the Albanidcf-Iclenide-Dinaridc tectonic assembly), and there fo re across the Adriati c p latform. They constitute the substratum of all the above tectonic zones, playing a s ignifi cant role both in the s tructural model and in aiding the thrusting process. Genera lly, these evaporites consis t of inte rcalations o r anhyd rite , gypsum , chlorites, dolomites, limestones, multicoloured c lays e tc. Occasionally volcanic matter, e .g. bipiramidai quart z c ryslals arc encounte red. The age of the evaporites is Upper Triass ic, and is verified by palynologica l de te rmination with th e presence of species such as: Call1el'OSpOriles, Parillosporifes, Vericosporifes, O\'o/ipo/is, Zonalisporifes e tc. In Albania, the evaporite di api rs may be encountered in three tectonic settings:


With the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), deep neural networks (DNNs) are widely used in different domains, such as computer vision, healthcare, social media, and defense. The hardware-level architecture of a DNN can be built using an in-memory computing-based design, which is loaded with the weights of a well-trained DNN model. However, such hardware-based DNN systems are vulnerable to model stealing attacks where an attacker reverse-engineers (REs) and extracts the weights of the DNN model. In this work, we propose an energy-efficient defense technique that combines a ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET)-based reconfigurable physically unclonable function (PUF) with an in-memory FeFET XNOR to thwart model stealing attacks. We leverage the inherent stochasticity in the FE domains to build a PUF that helps to corrupt the neural network's (NN) weights when an adversarial attack is detected. We showcase the efficacy of the proposed defense scheme by performing experiments on graph-NNs (GNNs), a particular type of DNN. The proposed defense scheme is a first of its kind that evaluates the security of GNNs. We investigate the effect of corrupting the weights on different layers of the GNN on the accuracy degradation of the graph classification application for two specific error models of corrupting the FeFET-based PUFs and five different bioinformatics datasets. We demonstrate that our approach successfully degrades the inference accuracy of the graph classification by corrupting any layer of the GNN after a small rewrite pulse.


Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a promising technology positioned to address the future energy needs of the world.An advanced design concept for ICF reactors is to use a circulating liquid barrier to protect the first wall of the target chamber.With the impaction of the high energy-density plasma on the liquid barrier, sputtering and vaporization can occur causing particulate matter to enter the target chamber interior volume.In order to best engineer the design of the target chamber, this interaction must be well characterized.A small-size experimental facility was designed, constructed, and operated at NC State University to simulate the interaction of high energy-density plasma with liquid metals.This study focuses on characterization of the plasma-liquid metal plume.Characterization of the generated plumes shape and size of evolved vaporized liquid metal particulates; density and other plasma parameters were studied in this research.Electrical and spectral data were obtained for each experiment to obtain the plasma parameters including total power, impedance, electron temperature and density and identification of species.It was determined that a typical plasma generated from a 2 kV discharge has a temperature of 1.0 ± 0.3 eV and a density of 4.2 ± 1.7 x 1017 cm-3.The height and geometric configurations of the collection substrates were changed to produce a model of the generated metallic plume.Data analysis of the substrates indicates that the plume has a higher density profile and smaller particulates at distances closer to the point of impact, and the particulate size increases and the particulate density profile decreases with increased distance from liquid metal pool.


Abstract Solutions of ammonium hexathiocyanatochromate(III) were made up in acetone (Ac), acetonitrile (An), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), propanediol-1,2-carbonate (PDC), formamide (FA), N.N-dimethylformamide (DMF), tetrahydrofurane (THF) and nitroethane (NE). Cyclic voltammetry was used to investigate electrode reactions on a platinum electrode and half-wave potentials were measured over the temperature range 10–35[ddot]C by means of polarography at the dropping-mercury electrode. Both electrochemical and kinetic data are found to exhibit isokinetic relationships which support the interpretation of the solvent effects. Electronic spectra show only small shifts of maxima with change of solvent, but pronounced variations of molar absorbancies. The Cr-N stretching and N-C-S bending frequencies are little influenced by the solvent. Quantum mechanical calculations were carried out with CNDO/2 and MNDO models. The results of the former method are rejected as they yield too small a...


This paper describes the software system being developed for Cm*, a distributed multi-microprocessor. This software provides for flexible, yet controlled, sharing of code and data via a capability addressed virtual memory, creation and management of groups of processes known as task forces, and efficient interprocess communication. Both the software and hardware are currently under construction at Carnegie-Mellon University.


IN the month of July, 1911, I found in the shop of a Roman dealer in antiquities a Latin inscription (Fig. 1) which was of such interest and importance that it seemed unwise to let it lie longer unnoticed. I therefore brought it to the attention of the Director of the Museo delle Terme, Dr. Roberto Paribeni, who promptly secured it for the Museum, and most kindly suggested that I publish it at my convenience. The inscription is cut, in fine letters of the early imperial period, on a slab of marble 0.51 m. in height and 1.125 m. in width. Small fragments are missing at three corners. The text is as follows:


Although weight management is important to diabetes treatment (1–3), obesity remains common among adults with diabetes (4). This may reflect the difficulty of promoting weight loss (5) or inattention to obesity management during routine clinical practice (6). Since self-management is a major tenet of diabetes care (4), patient understanding of weight-related health risk may be an important step toward setting healthy lifestyle goals and effective weight management. We sought to understand how well patients with diabetes who receive care in primary care practices could identify healthy body weight.

During a diabetes education initiative, a survey was mailed to 2,607 patients with diabetes from three university-based general medicine practices in a single urban area. It included questions on knowledge (diabetes knowledge test, general knowledge subscale [7]) and behaviors related to diabetes. Patients were also asked to report their current height and weight, and "the healthiest weight for your height."

To ensure privacy, patients with diabetes were identified anonymously from the practices' electronic medical records. Participant responses were anonymous; to avoid undue burden on nonresponders uninterested in participating, the University's Institutional Review Board precluded multiple mailings.

Each participant's current BMI (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters [kg/m2]) was calculated. Likewise, perceived healthiest BMI was calculated from reported current height and "healthiest" weight. If the current BMI was higher …


Governments, international organizations and academics have, in recent decades, expressed a sense of crisis in the practice of democracy based largely upon increasing levels of disengagement by citizens from even the most basic elements of civic life. One response has been to devise civics and citizenship education curricula for schools with the concomitant expectations of enhanced civic practice. Our examination of citizenship education programs has revealed considerable variation from country to country in the degree of success achieved in the design, development and implementation of programs. This paper examines recent developments in citizenship education in four leading Western democracies – Australia, Canada, England and the USA; each one with its own particular successes and shortcomings. It identifies several factors associated with the successful building of curriculum capacity for citizenship education and argues that these are fundamental for countries wishing to move beyond rhetoric and toward substance in citizenship education.


Title: Airlines experiential marketing: gaining and retaining customers Research Question: How do airlines use the experiential marketing to gain and retain consumers? Supervisor: Venilton Reinert ...


In order to solve the problem of illumination which leads to poor segmentation effect of rapeseed image in the field, the method of combining EXG algorithm and Lab space threshold segmentation algorithm is used to realize the location of all rapeseed regions by EXG color segmentation. However, due to illumination problem, the color similarity between the flower stalk and rapeseed leads to false segmentation. The rapeseed image in RGB color space was transformed into Lab color space, and the b-component was threshold segmented, but the green part of the blooming rapeseed flower and bud was undersegmented. Therefore, combined with EXG algorithm and Lab color space b-component threshold algorithm, the accurate segmentation of rapeseed flowers in field rapeseed crops is realized. The mean value and variance of segmentation error are only 8.33%, 0.22% and the mean value and variance of classification error are only 0.67%, 0.007%, which are lower than those of the other two algorithms. The results of rapeseed image processing in different regions show that the combination of EXG algorithm and b-component threshold segmentation in Lab color space can extract rapeseed flowers accurately, which effectively avoids the problem of false segmentation of flower stalks and rapeseed flowers caused by illumination, and undersegmentation of the green part of rapeseed flowers and buds.


AbstractDespite various evidences that show Islamic banking has gained popularity even by non-Muslim consumers and businesses in many parts of the world, there is still a general misconception that consumer's choice for Islamic banking is only influenced by religious obligations and thus it is just a Muslim-only affair. Yet, our knowledge of consumer motivations for choosing Islamic versus conventional banking services is modest and the research to date is limited and ambiguous on these key issues. Therefore, this study conducts a two-step empirical analyses and first identifies the factors influencing customer's decision whether to choose Islamic or conventional banking using Linear Probability Model (LPM) and Tobit estimation method, and as a second step, it investigates the main attributing factors to consumers overall level of satisfaction with the services provided by Islamic banks compared to conventional banks using ordinal-logistic regression model. The study was based on a randomly selected 322 bank customers from Bahrain, Jordan, and UAE. The study confirms that although religious factors such as Shari'a compliance are important, other non-religious factors including better quality of services and information disclosure are also playing crucial roles for the growing consumers' demand for Islamic banking. Nevertheless; factors such as better rate of return, accessibility to credit, and SMS banking are found to be the main significant determinants of consumers' choice and satisfaction with the services provided by conventional banks. Overall, the recent experience especially after the financial crisis of 2008 demonstrates that Islamic banking system can be part of the solution since it is mainly based on stronger regulatory system.


FREEDOM OF SPEECH, A CORNERSTONE OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, IS BEING SACRIFICED TO THE UK GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO INTRODUCE A LAW ON INCITEMENT TO RELIGIOUS HATRED


Here we present Tri-4C, a targeted chromatin conformation capture method for ultrafine mapping of chromatin interactions. Tri-4C quantitatively reveals cis-regulatory loops with unprecedented resolution, identifying functional enhancer loops devoid of typical epigenomic marks and uncovering allele-specific loop alterations in enhancer interaction networks underlying dynamic gene control. The Tri-4C approach is applicable to general 3C-derived methods for the study of single-allele enhancer loop networks.


The banking sector in Pakistan has always been one of the most significant economic sectors of the country. The purpose of this paper has been to identify the factors urging bank employees to volunteer themselves for activities outside of their formal job obligations. A total of 315 responses were gathered from the employees of the four private commercial banks in Pakistan. The researchers tested the relationship between the four facets of psychological capital (i.e., efficacy, resilience, optimism, and hope) and the two dimensions of extra role behaviour (individual and organisational). The researchers used the SPSS version 23 to analyse the demographic profiles of the respondents, and the SmartPLS version 3 to test the hypotheses formed using the structural equation modelling technique. The researchers also investigated the mechanism through which psychological impacts extra role behaviour. Under the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model, work engagement is employed as a mediating variable. The results of the study revealed a significant positive relationship between efficacy, optimism, and resilience with extra role behaviours. However, hope remained insignificant to extra role behaviours. The study outcomes also supported the major hypotheses on the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between the psychological capital and extra role behaviour. Recommendations for future studies and the limitations of the present study were aslo discussed.


Abstract The sodium-cooled fast reactor is a Generation-IV International Forum recommended technology, with an aim to improve sustainability, safety, and proliferation resistance. To ensure accurate reactor physics calculation and safety analyses, nuclear data libraries require continuous improvement through modifications based on additional measurements, evaluations, and validation studies with criticality experiments. In this work the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Uncertainty Analysis in Modeling (SFR-UAM) benchmark served as a basis to assess differences in nuclear data libraries and estimate variability in criticality and power distribution results. The research has been carried out using the OpenMC code and the study presented here covers two SFR models: MOX-3600 and ABR-1000. The neutronic calculation of numerous parameters in fast spectrum systems including effective multiplication factor (keff), effective delayed neutron fraction (βeff), sodium void reactivity (ΔρNa), Doppler constant (ΔρDoppler), and control rod (ρCR) worth were calculated and compared mainly to five libraries: ENDF/B-VII.1, ENDF/B-VIII, JEFF-3.3, JENDL-4.0 and TENDL-2019. In addition, sensitivity calculations using GPT-free method were conducted to understand relevant sensitivities for a given quantity of interest in major isotope/reaction pairs. The major driver of observed uncertainty in keff are found for the high actinide isotopes mainly capture cross section of 239, 240Pu as well as fission reaction of 239Pu.


SafeSpot is a digital educational programme that aims to raise awareness of mental health problems and develop helpful coping strategies to improve mental health in young people.


The Great East Japan Earthquake (March 11, 2011) has inflicted enormous damage on the accelerator facility of Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. A 300 MeV linac operated for 46 years as an accelerator for radioisotope (RI) production and also as an injector of a 1.2 GeV booster synchrotron for nuclear physics experiments. The low energy part of the linac will be rebuilt with all the recyclable components and will be run for RI production. New small linac is constructed as the injector for the booster synchrotron. The injector consists of a thermionic rf-gun, an alpha magnet, two 3mlong accelerating structures, and transport line to the synchrotron. The maximum energy of injector is 90 MeV with beam loading. The detail of the injector linac is introduced in this conference.


Salamandra salamandra is a polymorphic species with seven endemic subspecies in the Iberian Peninsula. Assignment of populations to subspecies in many areas is controversial because of discrepancies between morphological or molecular datasets. One potential intermixing area includes the Sistema Central Mountains, inhabited by S. s. almanzoris, a subspecies with a restricted distribution. In order to delimit the distribution area of S. s. almanzoris, we obtained sequences of the cytochrome-b gene in 84 individuals representing 26 populations covering the potential range of this subspecies and scored variation at 33 nuclear loci in ten of these populations through allozyme electrophoresis. S. s. almanzoris is fragmented into three disjoint groups of populations in the Sierras of Gredos, Guadarrama and San Vicente. The observation of (i) discordance between mtDNA and allozymes; (ii) coexistence of divergent mtDNA haplotypes in two populations; and (iii) discordance between external morphology and mtDNA haplotypes in different populations suggests recent events of secondary contact between S. s. almanzoris and other lineages within S. salamandra in the lowlands of the Sistema Central. We discuss the implications of these findings for the management of S. s. almanzoris populations in central Spain.


The most important histopathological finding in patients with Ménière's Disease (MD) is endolymphatic hydrops (EH). In 1938, Hallpike in London first reported EH in the temporal bones of two cases of MD. In the same year, Yamakawa of Osaka independently discovered EH in the temporal bone specimen of his colleague who suffered from MD. In 2007, Naganawa and Nakashima of Nagoya were the first to visualize EH in patients with MD in MR images ob-tained using Siemens 3 T MRI with a 32 ch head coil after intratympanic administration of 1/8 ― diluted gadolinium (Gd). In 2010, EH imaging was successfully accomplished after intravenous administration of a standard dose of Gd. In the chronic course of MD, the vertiginous episodes improve, but both the vestibular and hearing functions deteriorate. However, the details of how EH behaves in this process re-mains unclear, and in this short review, the author describes the details of how EH behaves during this process. Furthermore, the author also describes delayed endolymphatic hydrops (DEH), which is a secondary form of EH, and other related current findings.


The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines frustration as a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs. It lists as synonyms: aggravation, bother, botheration, bugbear, exasperation, annoyance, hairshirt, hassle, headache, inconvenience, irk, irritant, nuisance, peeve, pest, rub, ruffle, thorn, trial, and vexation. It has been said that to conquer frustration one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.This Article owes its existence to frustration on two counts. The substantive topic is section 162(f). It was Congress's response in 1969 to certain deductions claimed by taxpayers that were thought to frustrate public policy. That is one count. The other is that the vagaries of section 162(f) have frustrated taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service, and the courts ever since its enactment. That second count is the primary focus of this Article. The first count is described in more detail below, primarily as background.


Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma accounting for 30%-40%. The most common first-line therapy for DLBCL is rituximab in combination with chemotherapy. About two thirds of patients treated by the first-line therapy achieve a complete remission (CR) and are cured finally, but nearly one third of patients can not reach CR after frontline treatment appearing refractory or relapse early, especially for the high risk patients or cases with MYC alterations, the regimen improving the long-term survival is not much. In the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, a plenty of treatment as focus on these patients brought in encouraging results, which makes it possible to further improve the CR rate. The progresses on DLBCL of relapse and refractory, high risk and special types were summarized in this paper based on the reports in the 57th ASH annual meeting.

Key words:
Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; Therapy; American Society of Hematology annual meeting


FIELD: engines and pumps. SUBSTANCE: device and method for an internal combustion engine (ICE) with direct fuel injection running on two types of fuel are proposed. A high pressure pump (10) is connected to ICE and guide-distributor for direct fuel injection. At least two fuel storages (21, 27) holding gasoline andcondensed gas are provided. The device provides switching from one fuel to another. Switching occurs by treating fuel from the high pressure pump (10) and from fuel supply line connected to it by a temporary accumulation of the fuel in a treatment unit (28). The treatment unit (28) is positioned for treating the high pressure pump (10), pushing the prevailing fuel in such a way and displacing it with new fuel. EFFECT: increased reliability of the fuel supply system when switching from condensed gas to liquid fuel injection. 26 cl, 4 dwg


Because of the influence of economic news features and news report patterns,China economic news has many drawbacks,such as too many figures,policies and dreary languages.With the development of economy and the revolution of the journalism,to soften the economic news has become urigent.When we do it,we should soften it from the following aspects:content,Language and the technique of expression.


Hosted by The University of Glasgow's Music Department, the biennial IASPM UK & Ireland Conference, entitled 'Problems, Disputes, Questions', took place on 12–14 September 2008. The aim was to explore issues that have in recent years concerned and provoked discussion among IASPM members, with the three main themes of the conference being Music and National Identity, Popular Music Theory, and The Musical Experience.


Poverty has become a general household problem in every home in Nigeria. It has prompted the occurrences of other social problems like crime, insecurity and abuse, especially the abuse of the minor (Children) in the society. The abuse of the children has become a p latform for the problem of teenage pregnancy among the female children in Nigeria. With sampled students (n =180) fro m a Nigerian Private Un iversity, this paper examined the perspectives of the university students on causal relat ionship between child abuse and teenage pregnancy. The Un iversity of our case study was purposively selected, while convenience sampling was used in selecting the students who participated in the study. Frequency distribution and percentage were used as method of data analyses, while ch i-square method was used in testing the hypotheses stated in the study. The information and the data gathered fro m the students through the questionnaire, wh ich was our research instrument, reflected that child abuse and teenage pregnancy were overwhelmingly acknowledged as social problems in Nigeria. The hypotheses tested showed a causal relationship between poverty and teenage pregnancy, child neglect and teenage pregnancy, and child abuse of all forms and teenage pregnancy. The study recommends pro active interventions from the parents, the government, the non-governmental organizat ions and relig ious bodies in Nigeria, in curb ing the problem of child abuse and teenage pregnancy. The imp lications of these were discussed in this paper.


Power outage in urban area carry heavy social and economic costs. Conventional service restoration method focused on the optimization model with ideal condition, which leaves much scope for improvement in complex environment. To improve robustness of model, we proposed a reinforcement framework to analyze emergency commanding process without prior rules considering the complexity and computing speed in actual needs. At each time step, the optimal decision is made by conducting Monte-Carlo tree search (MCTS) with a learned model. In this framework, the approach can sequentially make decisions for service restoration without relying on prior rules. The numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


We have investigated the mesoscopic transport properties of an Aharonov–Bohm (AB) interferometer composed of a direct tunneling path and a resonant tunneling path incorporating a quantum dot (QD). The QD is perturbed by a rotating magnetic field (RMF) and an oscillating magnetic field (OMF). The nonresonant tunneling (NRT) path takes significant role in the spin and charge currents, and the Fano profiles display in the currents due to the modification of NRT strength. The spin current exhibits completely different behaviors as the source–drain bias eV = 0 and eV≠0. The spin current is symmetric versus gate voltage when the source–drain bias eV = 0; however, it becomes asymmetric Fano-line shape resulting from the interference effect when eV≠0. The OMF induced photon-assisted tunneling is quite different from the ones induced by the oscillating electric field and RMF. The tunnel currents vary dramatically with the evolution of the AB magnetic flux, and the Fano-type spin and charge currents are adjusted by OMF, RMF, AB flux, gate voltage, the source–drain bias, as well as the NRT strength to generate novel Fano-type photon-assisted spin and charge currents.


This research studies the effects of state laws ban ning access to in-state resident tuition (ISRT) rates and other educational benefits for una uthorized immigrant students (UIS) in five states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, and Oh io. It measures the overall effect of policies denying ISRT that were implemented between 2005-201 2 in the United States. Three potential effects are evaluated. First, the s udy estimates the policy effects on the college enrollment of UIS. Because the policy does not deny access to higher education institutions, the possibility exists for this popul ation to attend public or private colleges. However, facing higher costs (i.e., out-of-state tu ition) can deter them from continuing their educational plans. Second, considering the potentia l dynamic effects of policies banning access to ISRT for UIS, the research evaluates the policy effects on school drop out rates among unauthorized immigrants. The lack of real opportun ities to attend higher education might demotivate secondary UIS, thus prompting them to dr op out of school. Finally, the research estimates the effects of banning ISRT access for UI S on the enrollment of citizens and legal residents in higher education. To answer the research questions a multivariate reg r ssion difference-in-differences identification strategy is advanced through the con struction of a natural quasi-experiment using as the main data source the American Community Surv ey. The research finds significant negative policy effects on the college attendance r at s of Hispanic foreign-born non-citizens who are highly likely to be unauthorized immigrants in policy states compared to their peers in nonpolicy states. The results also indicate that amon g the groups analyzed, policies have mainly affected recent high school graduates. With regard to dropping out of school, no-statistically significant evidence was found to support the h ypothesis of dynamic effects of the policies on the enrollment of unauthorized immigrants in second ary education. This research finds no evidence of college attendance benefits for U.S.-bo rn citizens associated with the ISRT policy, save for suggestive evidence for a subgroup of Blac k men. Suggestive evidence of moderate benefits among two subgroups of naturalized citizen s is also found.


Economic globalization is the important component in global strategiesof developed countries, it brings about great changes in outside enviroment of domestic enterprises' existnce and development and has important influence on our national enterprises, so Chinese enterprises should seize the opportunities, meet the challenges and take effective strategies to promote development.


Visual exploration of unknown environments is considered a typical and highly important task in intelligent robotics. Although robots with visual capabilities comparable to human skills (e.g. mushroom-picking robots or bird-viewing robots) are apparently unachievable in the near future, but the concept of robots able to search for known objects in unknown surroundings is one of the ultimate goals for machine vision applications. In the scenarios that are currently envisaged, the expectations should be realistically limited. Nevertheless, one can expect that a robot, after a visual presentation of an object of interest, should be able to "learn" it and, subsequently, to detect the same object in complex scenes which may be degraded by typical effects, i.e. partial visibility of the objects (due to occlusions and/or poor illumination) and their unpredictable locations. The purpose of this chapter is to propose a novel mechanism that is potentially useful (it has been confirmed by promising preliminary results) in such applications. Several theories exist explaining the human perception of objects (e.g. Edelman, 1997). Some researchers promote the importance of multiple model views (e.g. Tarr et al., 1997) others (e.g. Biederman, 1987) postulate viewpoint invariants in the form of shape primitives (geons). From all the theories, however, the practical conclusion is that vision systems detecting objects in a human-like manner should use locally-perceived features as the fundamental tool for matching the scene content to the models of known objects. The idea of using local features (keypoints, local visual saliencies, interest points, characteristic points, corner points – several almost equivalent names exist) in machine vision can be traced back to the 80's (e.g. Moravec, 1983; Harris & Stephens, 1988). Although stereovision and motion tracking were initially the most typical applications, it was later found that the same approach can be used in more challenging tasks (e.g. matching images in order to detect partially hidden objects). A well-known Harris-Plessey operator (Harris & Stephens, 1988) was combined with local descriptors of detected points to solve object recognition problems in which local features from analysed images are matched against a database of images depicting known objects (e.g. Schmid & Mohr, 1995). The intention was to retrieve images containing arbitrarily rotated and partially occluded objects. Subsequently developed keypoint detectors address the issues of scale changes (this was the weakest point of the original detectors) and perspective distortions. Generally, to achieve


The paper mainly discussed the significance of mathematical methods for the educational technology development.It focused on the discussion among the historical origins,the present situation and future trends of mathematical methods for the educational technology development.Finally,the paper put forward the constructive suggestions for the development of Educational Technology.


Extraction of polyphenols from the heartwood of loblolly pine, Fraser fir, and red spruce, followed by pectinase and cellulase treatments, resulted in the removal of chemical constituents and the creation of openings in the torus of bordered-pit membranes. The results suggest that during heartwood formation polyphenols rather than lignin are produced and deposited within the torus.


The cationic polymerization of 3-methylbutene-1 was investigated with the use of aluminum chloride and aluminum bromide initiators in the temperature range of −62 to −102°C. Polymerizations are homogeneous in the presence of pentane, and above −50°C. in methyl chloride. However, the polymer tends to precipitate below −50°C. in methyl chloride. The molecular weight of poly-3-methylbutene-1 increases with decreasing temperatures at the same conversion level. Significantly, the molecular weights increase with conversion and seem to reach their maximum at high conversions. Higher molecular weights were obtained in n-pentane-alkyl chloride mixtures than in methyl chloride solution alone. The molecular weights are independent of catalyst concentrations in the range investigated (31.8–7.97 × 10−4 mole/l. AlBr3 and 57.6–28.8 × 10−4 mole/l. AlCl3). The rate of homogeneous polymerization with aluminum bromide in propane solvent was studied. The rate is first order in monomer concentration and catalyst concentration and the rate constant is 0.610 l./mole sec. The apparent activation energy calculated from the Arrhenius plot is 6.57 kcal./mole. In methyl bromide the rate of polymerization increases significantly (effect of the dielectric constant). In toluene the molecular weight as well as the rate is strongly depressed indicating the preponderance of a chain breaking mechanism involving this solvent.


This informative study explores the issues currently faced by female administrators in India as compared to other women in Indian society while taking a close look at the socio-economic background and future prospects of these working women. The country's overall attitude towards political and social change is discussed as well as the roles the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) are playing.


In 2019 the International System of units (SI) conceptually re-invented itself. This was necessary because quantum-electronic devices had become so precise that the old SI could no longer calibrate them. The new system defines values of fundamental constants (including c, h, k, e but not G) and allows units to be realized from the defined constants through any applicable equation of physics. In this new and more abstract SI, units can take on new guises—for example, the kilogram is at present best implemented as a derived electrical unit. Relevant to astronomy, however, is that several formerly non-SI units, such as electron-volts, light-seconds, and what we may call "gravity seconds" GM/c3, can now be interpreted not as themselves units, but as shorthand for volts and seconds being used with particular equations of physics. Moreover, the classical astronomical units have exact and rather convenient equivalents in the new SI: zero AB magnitude amounts to ≃5 × 1010 photons m−2 s−1 per logarithmic frequency or wavelength interval, 1 au ≃ 500 lt-s, 1 pc ≃ 108 lt-s, while a solar mass ≃5 gravity-seconds. As a result, the unit conversions ubiquitous in astrophysics can now be eliminated, without introducing other problems, as the old-style SI would have done. We review a variety of astrophysical processes illustrating the simplifications possible with the new-style SI, with special attention to gravitational dynamics, where care is needed to avoid propagating the uncertainty in G. Well-known systems (GPS satellites, GW170817, and the M87 black hole) are used as examples wherever possible.


Abstract
Background: Approximately 30% of overweight/obese children display an adverse lipid profile. While weight loss is the commonly prescribed intervention, success in treatment has been limited. The substantial


A generalized blocking model is derived for a switch access system that was investigated by Doshi, Dravida, Jeske, Murti and Samadi ( 1998) by relaxing the assumption that the line unit is a cross bar switch. The need for this arises from the fact that in some switch access architectures, the number of servers in a server group is smaller than the number of timeslots in the bus connecting the line units to the server groups. Lower and upper bounds on the blocking probability are derived to incorporate the architecture changes. The bounds are then applied to practical switch access systems and shown to be tight and useful.


Colorless, transparent single crystals of Ca3Sn2.2Ti0.8Al2O12 are prepared from a mixture of CaCO3, SnO2, TiO2, and α-Al2O3 in an atomic ratio of Ca:Sn:Ti:Al = 5:1:1:5 (1550 °C, 1 h).


We examine the effects of short-term synaptic depression on the orientation tuning of the LGN input to simple cells in cat primary visual cortex (V1). The total LGN input has an untuned component as well as a tuned component, both of which grow with stimulus contrast. The untuned component is not visible in the firing rate responses of the simple cells. The suppression of the contribution of the untuned input component to firing rate responses is key to establishing orientation selectivity and its invariance with stimulus contrast. It has been argued that synaptic depression of LGN inputs could contribute to the selective suppression of the untuned component and thus contribute to the tuning observed in simple cells. We examine this using a model fit to the depression observed at thalamocortical synapses in-vivo, and compare this to an earlier model fit based on in-vitro observations. We examine the tuning of both the conductance and the firing rate induced in simple cells by the net LGN input. We find that depression causes minimal suppression of the untuned component. The primary effect of depression is to cause the contrast response curve to saturate at lower contrasts without differentially affecting the tuned vs. untuned components. This effect is slightly weaker for in-vivo vs. in-vitro parameters. Thus, synaptic depression of LGN inputs does not appreciably contribute to the orientation tuning of V1 simple cells. Citation: Cimenser A, Miller KD (2014) The Effects of Short-Term Synaptic Depression at Thalamocortical Synapses on Orientation Tuning in Cat V1. PLoS ONE 9(8): e106046. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106046 Editor: Li I. Zhang, University of Southern California, United States of America Received March 24, 2014; Accepted July 30, 2014; Published August 26, 2014 Copyright: 2014 Cimenser, Miller. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. Data is available as a Supporting Information file: Dataset S1. Funding: This study was supported by R01-EY11001 (http://report.nih.gov) to KM and by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation through the Gatsby Initiative in Brain Circuitry at Columbia University (http://www.gatsby.org.uk/en/Neuroscience.aspx). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


Measuring bias temperature instability (BTI) on ring oscillators (ROs) is frequently used. However, performance of a semiconductor chip is fluctuated dynamically due to bias, temperature and etc. BTI-sensitive and -insensitive ROs are implemented in order to extract BTI-induced degradation without those temporal fluctuation factors. A test chip including those ROs was fabricated in a 65 nm process and residual components without fluctuation could be extracted. The well-known power-law model of BTI with time exponent $n = 1/6$ is extracted from smooth degradation curves.