Fixed bed reactors(FBRs)have been widely used in chemical and bio-chemical processes.However,local flow and heat transfer in fixed bed reactors have challenged researchers for a long period.Although the effective parameter methods have been applied extensively to modeling local heat transfer in fixed beds,the general validity of effective parameters modeling is still questionable due to the lack of full understanding of local temperature fields in fixed beds.The computational fluid dynamics(CFD)technique is a new alternative to experimental approaches to investigate flows and heat transfer in fixed beds.It numerically solves the flow and/or transport governing equations and obtains local information like flow and temperature fields.In contrast to the averaged values acquired with the conventional theoretical and experimental methods,the results of CFD simulation are accurate local distributions of velocity,pressure,temperature,specie concentration and so on.The latest work and progress in the field of CFD modeling of heat transfer in fixed bed reactors were reviewed and analyzed,and also the perspectives of CFD application in fixed bed modeling were discussed.


The chapter explores the philosophical question of whether or not it is ever moral to lie or deceive. Despite the Bible's prohibitions against lying (Ex. 20:12; Lev. 19:11; Prov. 6:17), there are many instances in biblical narrative in which deceptive means are used to achieve a desired end. Exegetes go to great lengths to temper biblical characters' lies and philosophers allegorize or attempt to harmonize biblical texts in order to idealize biblical characters. Such biblical interpretation will be examined from the perspective of moral philosophy in order better to appreciate the ethical teachings of the Bible.


Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a climacteric fruit, i.e., during ripening an increase in ethylene synthesis and high rate of respiration are observed. Low oxygen levels might inhibit or block ethylene biosynthesis and therefore retard the ripening process. Despite commercial applications of low oxygen treatments, the precise mode of action of low oxygen in fruit tissues and ripening is not well understood. In order to delineate the molecular responses to low oxygen stress in fruits, hypoxia-responsive tomato genes encoding heat shock factors, heat shock proteins, and enzymes involved in fermentation and ethylene synthesis pathways were analyzed. In this study, tomato fruit stored under hypoxia conditions showed that HSP17.7 and HSP21 genes were highly induced by low oxygen level, indicating their primary role in maintaining cellular homeostasis after this stress.


In this paper we take into account the main features of public and private B2B e-marketplaces and we analyze the choice of a firm, among the two forms of e-marketplaces in the presence of competition from rival firms as well as in the presence of investments in quality improvement. We provide conditions under which both forms of B2B e-marketplaces arise in equilibrium as well as conditions under which public B2B e-marketplaces prevail. Furthemore, we demonstrate the crucial role of product differentiation and of the efficiency of buyer-supplier coordination in the firm's choice. Finally, we point out the differences between the private and the social incentives regarding the choice of the optimal B2B e-marketplace form.


In mixed-signal circuits, the return currents of sensitive analog and noisy digital signals must be carefully isolated in order to protect the integrity of the analog signals. To address this issue, a common approach is to utilize slots on the reference plane between digital and analog circuits. However, the slots so created cause the discontinuity in the return current path for a signal passing over these slots which causes unintentional radiation and results in unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI). In this regard, we propose the planar interdigital slot structures for use in reference planes of multilayer PCBs in order to provide a low impedance path for return current. The interdigital structure alleviates the return current path discontinuity and hence reduces the unintentional radiation. In addition to this, a relationship between radiated emission and transmission response is obtained, allowing the designer to tune the slot parameters to minimize radiation at the signal frequency. PCBs with different size planar interdigital slot structures are simulated in Ansys HFSS and is found that the longer digit length corresponds to better EMI reduction, especially at higher frequencies.


Objective:  With cochlear implantation, insertion of the electrodes can be hampered by cochlear obstructions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these obstructions on the number of activated electrodes and postoperative speech perception.


A device for feeding a fluid to a container comprising a supplying line (3) for supplying the fluid, an end (3a) for the inlet of the fluid into the supplying line (3), a dispensing end (3b) for dispensing the fluid into the container (2), and an opening/closing valve member (4) intercepting the supplying line (3) and which is movable between a closing position and an opening position.


The objectives were to show the result of the process of learning ethics and bioethics in medical student education through the method of resolution of moral dilemmas and evaluate the applicability of Konstanz Method of solving problems of moral dilemmas in medical practice. For that, two workshops were performed, the firt with freshman students and the second with the seniors students from the medical school UNISC, applying the same moral dilemma to both. After applying the workshop a qualitative evaluation was performed using the method of analysis of the content. The results demonstrated that students who will become physicians can make amoral point of view through discussion, even without a consensus is reached.These conclusions are in line with the theory of discourse ethics of Habermas.These conclusions confirm the hypothesis that this method can be used within thecurriculum of medical schools, as another way of teaching ethics to medical students.


The structure of the reconstructed Si(100) surface is studied using the tight‐binding energy minimization method combined with a renormalization‐group calculation. (2×1), c(2×2), p(2×2), (4×1), c(4×2), and p(4×2) structures are studied and compared. They are classified into two groups which are separated by a large activation barrier. In one group, (2×1), p(2×2), and c(4×2) structures are almost degenerate in energy, which can result in diffuse (2×1) LEED patterns. In the other group, a second‐order phase transition can occur from the c(2×2) to the disordered structure at ∼800 K. Domains of different structures may coexist on the actual surface.


This paper discusses a role for industry in software engineering education, specifically presenting a university-industry partnership between the Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) organization at the Guidant Corporation and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). The focus of the partnership is technology transition. The partnership involves fostering students' professional development, providing students experience solving realworld problems, and exploring modern directions of software engineering. The critical component of the partnership is a student-oriented research laboratory. After discussing the background and history of the project, we focus on the partnership's accomplishments. These include facilitating the transition of graduates from student to employee by developing in them extended software engineering skills and in-depth understanding of the application domain.


Synopsis Academic research cases (ARC) provide interesting learning situations and challenging problems to study. However, it can be difficult to bring these research cases to classroom teaching because the "answers" are embedded within the case studies. Research cases can be redesigned as teaching cases (TCs) through a method of unwrapping the ARC and re‐visioning it as a TC. One method is provided in this paper. Research methodology The authors have taken an unpublished research study and rewritten it as a TC. Elements from both manuscripts are provided in tabular form to guide the creation of TCs by academic researchers. Relevant courses and levels This paper will be helpful for any academic who wishes to transform a qualitative research case study into a useful classroom teaching tool.


Cognitive processes underlying the interchange of cultural information are twofold: on the one hand, the anthropospheric level of cultural knowledge organization allows the recipient to receive it in a processed and ready-to-use form. On the other hand, obtaining from the culture ready-made solutions to the problems faced leads to a decrease in the individual's ability to produce his or her own creative ideas. The processes of cultural information processing are divided into assimilative (aimed at the inclusion of input into the recipient's mental system) and accommodative (aimed at adapting his or her own worldview to information coming from outside) ones. The information received in the process of cultural communication is internalized by the recipient to the extent he or she is sensitive to it. In this case, sensitivity is understood as the ability to harmoniously embed the input data into the existing system of cognitive schemes. At the same time, the act of informational translation becomes a stimulus, while the internalization of data is a reaction to it. A fundamental principle of cultural information assimilation is cognitive economy — the desire to obtain the most effective solution to the problem with the minimum expenditure of mental resources. Often, the result is development of cognitive laziness, inability and unwillingness to use the resources freed up for creative work which could then be used by the person as a donor of cultural information. With the increase in the amount of assimilated information, the level of its recipient's adaptability to the system of culture increases both in the local and global sense applicable to humanity as a whole as the largest of the cultural groups. At the same time, increasing the degree of cultural adaptation leads to a decrease in the person's creative potential since creativity takes a person beyond the general group vector of cultural development.


The article aims to show that there are determinants of consumer behavior in Chinese society that remain relevant regardless of the direction of global social changes – caused by the digital transformation of society and economy, the development of artificial intelligence and unexpected events such as pandemics. The factors influencing consumption in China undoubtedly include culture, politics, as well as macroeconomic factors influencing the level and pace of consumption development. It is worth analyzing consumer behavior using interdisciplinary knowledge and bearing in mind the complex and diverse changes taking place on a national scale, and the emergence of new terminology is a reflection of the changing specificity of consumption in China. Awareness of the dynamics of changes in the behavior of Chinese consumers will not only facilitate business relations with Chinese contractors, but will also help determine the direction of consumption development at the global level, as the possibilities of e-commerce developing in China are also used and tested in Europe.


A systematic study of the superconducting proximity effects in Nb/rare-earth (RE) bilayers is reported, where RE indicates Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho (the first four heavy RE elements in the periodic table). Gd, Tb, and Dy are in the ferromagnetic state below 293 K, 222 K, and 85 K, respectively, while Ho exhibits conical ferromagnetism (inhomogeneous magnetism) below ~20 K. Using the epitaxial growth of Al2O3(11


Anna Nagurney received a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University in 1983. The first woman to be appointed to a named professorship in the University of Massachusetts system, she is the John F. Smith Memorial Professor in the Department of Finance and Operations Management in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is the Founding Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks and the Supernetworks Laboratory for Computation and Visualization at UMass Amherst. She devotes her career to education and research that combines operations research/management science, economics, and engineering. Her focus is the applied and theoretical aspects of decision-making on network systems, particularly in the areas of transportation and logistics, energy and the environment, and economics and finance. She has authored or co-authored 9 books including her most recent, Supply Chain Network Economics: Dynamics of Prices, Flows, and Profits, published in July 2006. She has authored or co-authored more than 125 refereed journal articles, and serves as Editor or Associate Editor for numerous publications.


. This study is based on research gaps and business phenomenon, namely the controversy studies cross-functional cooperation to performance. Moreover there is no cross-functional cooperation inconsistencies study. The findings conclude that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is a follower of innovation undertaken, means that products appear in other regions relatively new then a slight modification. The population in this study was small industrial batik SMEs in Central Java province, amounting to 115, which is distributed in the city Pakalongan, Pekalongan, Pati, Sukoharjo, Apex and Purbalingga (Disperindag Prov.Jateng 2014). Then the method of sampling with purposive sampling technique, meaning that based on characteristics of the population, the area or location. Data analysis techniques used in this study The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) software package AMOS 5.0. Findings from this study indicate that, priority first step in developing a model of innovative performance of SMEs in Central Java province, is done by increasing the knowledge of the intrinsic quality of the indicators are accurate, objective, dynamic / up to date and reliable.


Frontotemporal dementia(FTD) was characterized by neurodegenerative diseases of frontotemporal atrophy.Pick disease is a type of FTD.Etiology was caused by nerve cell changes of axonal secondary lesions.Pathogenesis was autosomal dominant inheritance.Pathology lied in the bilateral frontal and front temporal lobe atrophy.It could be extended to the caudate nucleus,putamen,thalamus,substantia nigra and other subcortical structures.Hidden passage of onset and early symptoms were changes of behavior and personality.It would graduall develop into cognitive impairment and later rapidly cause language barrier.Terminally,an FTD patient may fall silent,can not communicate with others,and may have odd behaviors.MRI showed frontal lobe and front temporal lobe atrophy.Diagnosis relies on pathological evidence,such as the limitations frontotemporal lobe atrophy,tau protein and pick body cells was found in neurons and glial cells.No specific effective treatment has been found.


The numerous ways that postsecondary students benefit from experiential education across the academic disciplines have been well documented in the scholarly literature. One exception, however, is in the field of dance, where these effects have not been researched as extensively. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, this study examines how university dance students participating in service-learning projects at primary and secondary schools are affected academically, behaviourally, cognitively, and professionally. The authors also explore the role of service learning in helping to develop socially embedded artists and model programmes that are successful in accomplishing this objective. Implications for service learning in the arts, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.


This paper analyses the locational determinants of FDI inflows in Italy. Given the discrete nature of the data (count data), a random-effect negative binomial-regression model is used to test the a priori expectations on the locational determinants of FDI inflows.The results show that the number of new foreign entrants is fostered by the following provincial characteristics: level of infra-structure, demand level, education attainment and prior concentration of manufacturing plants (in particular, of foreign-owned manufacturing plants). The results also confirm that a high labour cost hinders foreign entry.


Elliptic curves offer interesting possibilities for alternative cryptosystems, especially in constrained environments like smartcards. However, cryptographic routines running on such lightweight devices can be attacked with the help of "side channel information"; power consumption, for instance. Elliptic curve cryptosystems are not an exception: if no precaution is taken, power traces can help attackers to reveal secret information stored in tamper-resistant devices. Okeya-Takagi scheme (OT scheme) is an efficient countermeasure against such attacks on elliptic curve cryptosystems, which has the unique feature to allow any size for the pre-computed table: depending on how much memory is available, users can flexibly change the table size to fit their needs. Since the nature of OT scheme is different from other side-channel attack countermeasures, it is necessary to deeply investigate its security. In this paper, we present a comprehensive security analysis of OT scheme, and show that based on information leaked by power consumption traces, attackers can slightly enhance standard attacks. Then, we explain how to prevent such information leakage with simple and efficient modifications.


The effects of temperature and humidity cycling on mechanical properties of AS4/3501-6 quasi-isotropic textile composites were determined. The composites were resin transfer molded from unstitched, Kevlar 29 stitched, and S-2 glass stitched uniweave fabric preforms. Data presented include photomicrographs, compression strengths and compression-compression fatigue results for environmentally cycled and uncycled composites. After manufacture, microcracks developed around the glass and Kevlar stitching. These microcracks did not grow after environmental cycling. The unstitched material developed microcracks only after cycling. Temperature and humidity cycling reduced the static compression strength of the unstitched and Kevlar stitched uniweave materials nearly 10 percent. Under the same conditions the glass stitched uniweave material lost 3 percent of its baseline strength. Combined temperature and humidity cycling did not affect the fatigue properties of the uniweave materials when the test specimens were dried to their original weights before testing. Temperature cycling at constant 40 percent humidity, resulted in a 5 percent decrease in static compression strength for the unstitched and Kevlar stitched material. Unstitched, glass stitched and Kevlar stitched materials exposed to constant 60°C and 95 percent relative humidity for 80 days and then saturated in 70'C water, lost 17, 7 and 19 percent of their baseline compression strength, respectively. These conditions lowered the fatigue strengths only after saturation. Braided composites including, a stitched 2-D braid, an unstitched 2-D braid and a 3-D braid were also exposed to environmental cycling. The moisture absorption in the AS4/E905L system was lower than the AS4/3501-6 system. Consequently environmental cycling had little effect on the static or fatigue strengths of braided materials.


. We prove Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequalities with three weights – verifying a joint concavity condition – on open convex cones of R n . If the weights are equal to each other the inequalities become sharp and we compute explicitly the sharp constants. For a certain range of parameters we can characterize the class of extremal functions; in this case, we also show that the sharpness in the main three-weighted Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequality implies that the weights must be equal up to some constant multiplicative factors. Our approach uses optimal mass transport theory and a careful analysis of the joint concavity condition of the weights. As applications we establish sharp weighted p -log-Sobolev, Faber-Krahn and isoperimetric inequalities with explicit sharp constants.


An 800 kW CW klystron operating at 650 MHz is developed for CEPC at Institute of High Energy Physics in China. The conceptual design has been finished and the main parameters are presented in this paper. A 1D large signal disk model code, AJDISK, has been used to design and optimize klystron RF section parameters. In addition, the RF cavities have been designed using SUPERFISH, HFSS and CST.


We have studied the spin-spin coupling between two f electrons of nonmagnetic Ce by means of spin resolved resonant photoemission using circularly polarized synchrotron radiation. The two f electrons participating in the 3d{sub 5/2} {yields} 4f resonance process are coupled in a singlet while the coupling is veiled in the 3d{sub 3/2} {yields} 4f process due to an additional Coster-Kronig decay channel. The identical singlet coupling is observed in the 4d {yields} 4f resonance process. Based on the Ce measurements, it is argued that spin resolved resonant photoemission is a unique approach to study the correlation effects, particularly in the form of spin, in the rare-earths and the actinides.


Objective A method is described for the investigation of scopolamine and its metabolites in homogenate of rat liver by combining liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MSn).Methods Scopolamine was incubated with homogenate of rat liver in vitro under rich oxygen condition.Its metabolites were extracted with ethyl acetate and analyzed by LC-MS and LC-MSn.Identification and structural elucidation of the metabolites were performed by comparing their changes in molecular masses and full scan MSn spectra with those of the parent drug and blank plasma.Results The results revealed that two metabolites(aposcopolamine and norscopolamine) were found in the incubation solution in homogenate of rat liver.Conclusion The major metabolic pathway of scopolamine in homogenate of rat liver are dehydration and demethylation.


The invention relates to a tie-back plug-in sealing device for horizontal well fracturing, which is mainly used for horizontal well fracturing reconstruction in an oil-gas field development process. The tie-back plug-in sealing device for horizontal well fracturing consists of an upper joint, a connecting cylinder, an upper back cap, a righting block, a spring set, a lower back cap, a core tube, a sliding piston, a sealing rubber cylinder, a press ring, an upper connecting sleeve, a supporting sleeve, a lower connecting sleeve and a guide cone, wherein a spring adjustment type righting mechanism is used for guaranteeing that the tie-back plug-in sealing device realizes smooth tie-back in an inclined shaft section; the sliding piston is used for compressing the sealing rubber cylinder to realize the effect that the higher the pressure in a pipe string is, the better the sealing property is; and in addition, a plurality of connecting sleeves can also be connected to elongate a seal section, so that reliability in sealing for the tie-back device is guaranteed, and the problems of sealing failure and the like in horizontal well sectional fracturing are prevented.


The author draws attention to significant and sustained rises in troponin levels in patients with anaphylactic shock. Echocardiography rather than coronary angiography may be the more appropriate investigation in patients with raised plasma troponins. (non-author abstract)


In order to reduce auto seismic oscillations in the ballistic laser gravimeters (BLG) with a symmetric method of measuring the gravitational acceleration (GA), an induction-dynamic catapult (IDC) is used, which is excited by a pulse packet from a capacitive energy storage unit (CES). With such excitation, a decrease in the amplitude of auto seismic oscillations is achieved by reducing the amplitude and increasing the duration of action of the electrodynamic force that occurs in the IDC when pushing the test body (TB). A mathematical model of the IDC of the ballistic laser gravimeter with a symmetric method of measuring the GA is developed and the modeling of its electromechanical characteristics is carried out. Various methods of generating a packet of excitation pulses of the IDC inductor are considered and the characteristics of electrodynamic force pulses that accele-rate the armature of the catapult with TB are investigated for them. The effect of IDC excitation by a pulse packet on the auto seismic component of the GA measurement is investigated. It is shown that on account of the excitation of the IDC by a ten-pulse packet, the auto seismic component of the uncertainty of the GA measurement by ballistic gravimeters can be reduced several (3–5) times in comparison with the excitation of the catapult by a single pulse.


We introduce a photosynthetic pigment-encoding phycoerythrin gene, consisting of alpha (cpeA) and beta (cpeB) units that can be used for biodiversity surveys of callithamnioid red algae. A set of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed to amplify an approximately 1-kb fragment of the gene from 14 taxa. These have been proven useful in isolating the gene from samples mixed with diatoms. Pairwise distance and synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution rates of the cpeA and cpeB regions are described. This is the first study to examine the phycoerythrin sequences for use in red alga biodiversity surveys.


True stress-strain curve has a basic role in the analysis of deformation in theoretical plasticity and numerical simulations. Because of the triaxial state of stresses in the necking or bulging zones, in tension and the compression tests respectively, the true stress-strain curves obtained from relationsare no longer valid and must be corrected. Various correction techniques have been proposed and can be found in literatures. In this study, a new semi-analytical approach for correction of the stress-strain curve in compression test for circular cross-section specimens was introduced and a relation for the correction factor was derived based on the theory of plasticity. This relation requires only a few experimental surface strain measurements which can easily be done using an image processing technique. The correction factor formula was obtained in terms of the initial radius of specimen, the bulge radius, and the surface strain on the bulge surface. The proposed approach in this study was compared with the results of the numerical simulations. Simulation was used to correct the stress-strain curve based on the optimization method with comparing the bulging profile of tested samples and ones simulated by using genetic algorithm.


The background of this research is the wrist flexibility, power arm and l arm length was essential to produce a long serve accuration. The research problem is whether there is a relationship between the wrist flexibility, power arm and arm length with a long serve accomplishments done individually or together on the club's players Tugu Muda Semarang sons ages 8-12 in 2015?  This research used a survey design with one-shot models. Retrieving data with the test method of measurement by measuring the wrist flexibility, power arm, arm length and a long serve. The research sample the club's player Tugu Muda Semarang sons ages 8-12 in 2015 amounting to 8 people while the sampling technique is total sampling. Analysis of the data used is simple and multiple regression analysis. Results of the study is of the club's player Tugu Muda Semarang sons ages 8-12 in 2015 there was a significant correlation between the wrist flexibility with the results of a long serve of 0.932, there was a significant relationship between the power arm with the results a long serve of 0.907, there was a significant arm length with the results of a long serve of 0.966 there was a significant correlation between wrist flexibility, power arm and arm length with the results a long serve of 0.979.   Based on the research results suggested to improve the ability of a long serve then the player should increase the power arm and maximize the wrist flexibility and arm length.


A bi-watermarking algorithm basing on wavelet packet transform(WPT) and discrete cosine transform(DCT) is proposed in this paper.With the human visual system(HVS) in the domain of WPT and DCT,the algorithm adopts different methods to insert one watermark in the low frequency and high frequency of the host image wavelet packet decomposition(WPD) respectively.Experimental results show that the algorithm possesses the following advantages.Embedding the watermarks in the low and high frequency of the host image WPD improves the watermark resistance to different attacks.Considering the DCT energy compression ability and the ability of ridding correlation,the use of DCT in the lowest frequency band of the WPD enhances the watermark robustness and invisibility.Two watermarks embedded in the host image not only increase the watermark capacity,but also improve the serviceability of the algorithm.


Thank you very much for reading literature and material culture from balzac to proust the collection and consumption of curiosities. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search hundreds times for their chosen novels like this literature and material culture from balzac to proust the collection and consumption of curiosities, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious virus inside their desktop computer.


Better health services have a strategic role and take part in public health improvement (Blum, 1974). Better quality of pharmacy service and pharmaceutical care may provide public needs and demands, ---which always change and increase, as well as reduce risks, and should be improved continually and be patient (consumer) oriented. To increase the quality of pharmacy service and pharmaceutical care, we need to know what the consumers' impression about the pharmacy services they received currently and what the ideal pharmacy is according to consumers' opinion. Consumer's impression to pharmacy services in this survey is assessed, based on tangibles dimension (physical facilities, men power etc.), reliability and responsiveness of the services, assurance and empathy. The consumer's impression is categorized as good and bad. Result: overall, 74.5% of consumers had a good impression about the pharmacy although pharmaceutical care they obtained had not yet complied with the community pharmacy standard. In three cities (Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Makassar), pharmacy services and pharmaceutical care were still based on drug-oriented, and had not yet based on patient/consumer oriented. Pharmaceutical care which fulfilled the community pharmacy standard (such as drug information provided by pharmacist, counseling, medicine use monitoring and treatment evaluation, health promotion and education for patients), had not yet turn out to be a reason for consumers' preference of a pharmacy.


Recent Although composites form the base of restorative dentistry but these materials are associated with various shortcomings like polymerization shrinkage stress, biocompatibility issues and material properties like limited toughness and the presence of unreacted monomer that remains following the polymerization, and several other factors. Fortunately, these materials have been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years with the goal of improving restoration performance by changing the initiation system, monomers, and fillers and their coupling agents, and by developing novel polymerization strategies. This review article explains the basics of composites and recent advancements done in these materials to improve their properties.


Pristine WSe2 based electrocatalyst shows poor reaction kinetics in electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction due to a lack of active atomic sites and an inert basal plane. Herein, we report an active system of non‐metallic plasmonic WSe2/WO3−x, supported by highly conductive and eco‐friendly Ag/cellulose paper electrodes. An air thermal annealing technique is used to enrich the p‐WO3−x dopants in WSe2, which is significant for substantially improving electrocatalytic behaviour as well as photo responsive performance in the near‐infrared (NIR) region. The WSe2/WO3−x dramatically decreases the overpotential of HER from −330 to −150 mV (at 10 mA/cm2) owing to homo doping and generation of Se‐vacancies. Surface plasmons resonances of p‐WO3−x give the contributions to injection of photogenerated electrons and overpotential as low as −120 mV can be achieved under the illumination of NIR light. These results represent significant advances in light‐enhanced electrocatalysis and would provide potential applications for commercial hydrogen generation.


As regards the age of the patient, special remark is scarcely called for, for it is now well recognised that mere age is no barrier to surgical operation. I have successfully amputated for gangrene the great toe of a gentleman, in his 98th year. I have made a complete excision of the mamma for cancer in a lady, aged 89, who is still alive and well in her 91st year. I have performed at least ten ovariotomies in patients between 70 and 80. If the patient is well guarded against shock and the operation is quickly performed recovery is quite as satisfactory in the aged as in the young.


On the basis of discussing the necessities of innovation in international finance bilingual education, this paper analyzes the feasibilities of innovation, and stresses on the innovation methods in teaching practice through multimedia.


HIV counseling and testing services have been recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1985 when serologic tests became available to detect antibodies to HIV. In August 1987 CDC published the Public Health Services Guidelines for Counseling and Antibody Testing to Prevent HIV Infection and AIDS. These guidelines remain in effect today. In December 1991 CDC convened a meeting of expert consultants to address the need for additional technical guidance on the subject of HIV counseling. As a result of that meeting this document was developed to supplement the existing guidelines and distributed to state and local health departments in February 1992. This document updates the original guidelines to address: relevance of prevention messages; opportunities to provide and reinforce HIV- prevention messages; messages tailored to behaviors circumstances and special needs of clients; development of individualized negotiated HIV risk-reduction plans; barriers to return for post-test counseling; and appropriate on-going counselor training. (authors)


Musically talented youth, some prodigious by age ten, are recognised through superior performance akin to that of professional adult musicians. Potential for musical enterprise is recognised through various measures including aptitude and achievement tests based on core competencies such as rhythm and pitch. Gordon's 'music thinking' (1997), paralleled in 'language thinking' is grounded in the 'sound-beforesymbol' approach of music educators among whom are Dalcroze and Orff in the focus of rhythm and motion and Kodaly in the principles of elemental singing and notation. Music aptitude, fluctuating from birth and stable beyond age nine (Gordon, 1997) interacts with musical experiences received, resulting in the individual music differences among students, as perceived by music teachers in the music classroom. Therefore it would follow that an effective praxial music education in pre-adolescent years providing the stimuli and exposure towards competency is one context for procedural identification of musical gifts. Moreover activities associated with music education best practice methods may help to address aspects of neglected skills in specialist music school entrants. This paper defines early intervention in music education as before primary school leaving age and it outlines the case for a continuous action music approach for primary school leavers who demonstrate high level potential and achievement in music competencies. The paper focuses on a case study conducted on the Sydney Conservatorium Pilot Program Enrichment Activities. It raises considerations for post-entry program growth after commencement of advanced training in Year 7.


Chlorozotocin (CLZ), a nitrosourea synthesized in the hope that it would have little bone marrow toxicity, has been shown to be effective against animal tumors and tumor cells in culture. However, the clinical results with CLZ have been disappointing. The original report on the synthesis of CLZ indicated that α and β anomers at the d-glucose moiety should be expected, particularly when CLZ is placed in aqueous solution. In this study, the α and β anomers have been separated by high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by UV spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The equilibration and decomposition of the anomers in various physiological solutions were determined as a function of temperature, pH, and serum concentration. In Eagle's basal medium (pH 7.2) held at 25°C, CLZ decomposed with a t ½ of ≈ 82 min; at 37°C with serum, CLZ decomposed with a t ½ of < 10 min. In these two cases, the β:α ratio reached 1 in ≈ 48 min and < 5 min, respectively. The maximum β:α ratio obtained in all cases ranged from 1.25 to 1.5. After holding CLZ in tissue culture medium and compensating for its decomposition, 9L rat brain tumor cells were treated in vitro with CLZ having different ratios of the α and β anomers. These experiments demonstrated that the β anomer has little, if any, ability to kill 9L cells. Thus, this anomerization phenomenon may have been responsible for the disappointing clinical results with CLZ. Our data suggest that appropriate preparation, handling, and drug delivery procedures might be devised to minimize this problem in both experimental and clinical situations.


PURPOSE: A CID(Calling Identification Display) service method by using multimedia contents is provided to confirm an originator in the course of a call connection between the originator and a recipient by providing a device for driving and then outputting extracted or received multimedia contents to a destination terminal. CONSTITUTION: A multimedia contents transmitting service provider(100) loads a multimedia contents making program(105) and a multimedia contents processing agent(110) etc.. A transmitter manufactures multimedia contents through the multimedia contents transmitting service provider(100) and thereafter the multimedia contents processing agent(110) processes the manufactured multimedia contents as a type capable of operating at mobile communication systems and VMs(Virtual Machine). The multimedia contents making program(105) and the multimedia contents processing agent(100) of the multimedia contents transmitting service provider(100) provide an Integrated development environment for manufacturing transmitter's multimedia contents.


Under the background of world financial crisis and anabiosis,the stimulation of domestic demand became the necessary choice for the economic growth of China.As the critical strategy,urbanization is not only the short-run policy to counter the crisis,but also the sustaining motivity for economic growth.The material course of urbanization should pay attention to clear path,industry support and policy circumstance.


The purpose of the thesis is to examine how demographic transition affects economic growth with the Indian economy as an extreme example. Econometric estimates of a growth accounting model, including demographic factors, are used to discuss the effect of demographic change on the growth rate of the economy. The growth accounting framework of this paper is based on endogenous growth theory and is extended with the demographic transition as an additional factor explaining cross-country variations in economic growth. The method of estimating the effect of the demographic transition is to make a regression analysis on cross-country data using the ordinary least squares estimation method.


The utility model discloses an updraft range hood with foldable smoke baffles. The updraft range hood is composed of an updraft range hood of which the smoke suction port is positioned on the middle of a lower panel. The updraft range hood is characterized in that two rectangular smoke baffles are respectively connected with one end of the lower panel of the updraft range hood through a hinge, and panels at two sides of the middle smoke suction port are provided with clips; when the rectangular smoke baffles at two sides of the lower panel are put down, oil smoke escape can be stopped and the smoke suction effect can be enhanced; and when not in use, the rectangular smoke baffles are adhered to the clips of the lower panel. The updraft range hood provided by the utility model has the beneficial effects of stopping oil smoke escape and enhancing the smoke suction effect.


The paper does a try to import the grey-related theory to diagnose a certain ignition system,the method has some advantage such as simple-compution,generalconclusion and so on.A high diagnosis precision and a successful tolerance indentify are produced if we can get more emlutaion and preciser data.


Key Points • EASIX assessed at 1 year after allo-SCT identifies patients at high risk for late NRM.• These findings suggest an important role of the endothelium for late NRM in long-term survivors after allo-SCT.


History A 53 year- old Rican man presented with long standing and gradicaly increasing. He also reported occasional abdominal pain easy brasing and occasional epistaxis. The patient smoking. He stared that his sister had died of pulmonary many years arlier Physical examination revealed bilateral crackles in the lungts and skin hypopigmentation Oxygen saturatiion was 82% on room air. Bed blood cell white bload cell, and plateled counts were normal. Lung funtion test obstructive and restrictive disease, with severe reduction of cathon monaxide diffusing capacity. Lung biopsy was not performed. The patient was hypertensive and had elevated blood urea nitrogen (32 mg/dL [ 11mmol/L]: normal. 10-20 mg/dL [3.6-7.1 mmol/L]) and serum cre(1.9 mg/dL[168 μmol/L]; normal, 0.6-1.5 mg/dl [33.0-132.6 μmol/L| levels. Chest radiography and compated tomography (CT) were performed


We studied quantum yield in biological coenzymes NADH and FAD in water-alcohol solutions. The analysis of the experimental results obtained allowed to separate the factors that influence on the fluorescence quenching in FAD and NADH: the role of molecular conformations in non-radiative relaxation processes in excited states, and solution viscosity and polarity.


Purpose
Psychological factors, such as body image dissatisfaction and the negative feelings associated with it may be related to the adoption of unhealthy eating behaviours. Also, body image dissatisfaction may lower the likelihood of engaging in long-term healthy eating habits and in the level of attention paid to the quality of the food consumed. As a result, body image may be related to consumers' choice to purchase and consume health-enhancing food products. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
A pilot study of a small sample of Italian yogurt consumers was employed to explore if there is a relationship between respondents' level of body image dissatisfaction and the number of health-enhancing yogurt choices. The data were collected by means of a virtual-shelf technique and were analysed using a negative binomial regression.

Findings
Results indicate that body image dissatisfaction is inversely related to the number of yogurt packages with health-enhancing features chosen from the virtual shelf. Also, respondents who read the nutrition label and those with more knowledge regarding leading functional yogurt brands, selected a higher number of functional yogurts from the virtual shelf compared, especially among women.

Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that body image dissatisfaction is inversely related to the number of yogurt packages with health-enhancing features chosen from the virtual shelf. Also, respondents who read the nutrition label and those with more knowledge regarding leading health-enhancing yogurt brands selected a higher number of health-enhancing yogurts options from the virtual shelf compared to others, especially among women.

Originality/value
The relationship between body image dissatisfaction and health-enhancing food choices has not been investigated in the consumer science and marketing literature. Additionally, this is one of the few papers that use a virtual shelf as a data-collection method.


e24171Background: Addressing the religious/spiritual needs of patients is an important component of comprehensive cancer care. Patients often report that providers infrequently engage them about th...


In one disc, in particular for ski goggles, which is made of polycarbonate and along their outer contour is inserted into a frame, it is provided that the disc is sealed along its contour surface. DOLLAR A A ski goggles with such a disk is characterized in that the frame of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in particular soft polyvinyl chloride.


This study examines the long-term postmerger performance of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs). The A-REIT sector is used as a case study being less vulnerable to agency issues due to its regulatory structure (Eichholtz and Kok, 2008; Ratcliffe et al., 2009). Research on conventional firms has shown, on average, shareholders are worse off in the long run (Alexandridis et al., 2012). In contrast, we find that shareholders experience significantly positive abnormal returns, after accounting for the financial crisis. This outcome suggests that when managers are restricted with the use of retained earnings and the type of investment, they may be less susceptible to hubris and/or agency issues.


A number of the articles in this issue focus on the experiences of those who are learning the work of the teacher educator. This issue opens with an analysis of a physical education teacher educator's first year of teaching. In Still Finding the Ground: A Self-Study of a First-Year Physical Education Teacher Educator, Kevin Richards (now at The University of Alabama) studies his teaching as a visiting assistant professor at Northern Illinois University (USA), where critical friend James Ressler worked with him to carry out the analysis. Working with familiar qualitative data such as journaling, student feedback, and focus group interviews, Occupational Socialization Theory was used as a framework for interpreting the data collected. The authors identified three major themes – developing pedagogy, managing relationships with students, and developing the identity of a teacher educator. One of the identity issues concerned Kevin's lack of experience teaching physical education; exploring this issue with self-study methods helped to build his confidence in the teacher education classroom. Having a strong background in pedagogy in post-secondary settings from previous work proved valuable to Kevin. This article is a valuable addition to the growing literature about the experiences of those who are beginning their work as teacher educators. How many teacher educators who have used self-study methods to study their own practices have also tried to teach self-study methods to their colleagues? In Those Who Can Do Self-Study, Do Self-Study: But Can They Teach It?, Jason Ritter of Duquesne University (USA) shares his two-year experience doing just that, and those who would attempt such teaching will value the analysis of his experience. Jason reports that he experienced three types of challenges in his teaching of self-study – instructional, relational, and methodological. Not surprisingly in hindsight, shifting the relationship with members of his department from a collegial one to an instructional one generated complexities that had to be managed. Jason concludes that experiences of doing selfstudy and familiarity with the methods of self-study were helpful background, but they did not fully prepare him to teach self-study to others. It would be helpful to have reports from others who have made similar attempts to teach self-study to colleagues. Annelie Eberhardt and Manuela Heinz of the National University of Ireland, Galway, present Annelie's study of her efforts to teach action research to modern-language teachers in secondary schools in Ireland. Walk Little, Look Lots: Tuning into Teachers' Action Research Rhythm analyzes Annelie's one-year journey as a self-described cultural stranger, a native of Germany providing professional development to experienced teachers in Ireland. In particular, she had to adapt to the fact that the teachers were more interested in resources for their teaching than in planning, conducting, and reporting action research in their own classrooms. She concludes that collaboration and careful listening are essential ingredients of efforts to introduce teachers to an unfamiliar type of research. Struck by the Way Our Bodies Conveyed So Much: A Collaborative Self-Study of our Developing Understanding of Embodied Pedagogies reports the experiences of Rachel Forgasz of Monash University and Sharon McDonough of Federation University Australia as they both facilitated and participated in activities that explored the idea of embodied pedagogies. They begin from the position that "the body has traditionally been either marginalized or rejected outright as a


Essene and Peacor (1995 = " E P " ) published a general review of clay mineral thermometry, the stability of clay minerals and the relevance to natural clay mineral assemblages. Some of the conclusions in that paper have been criticized by Aja and Rosenberg (1996 = "AR") . Our paper dealt with some issues about which there has been healthy (and sometimes highly charged) debate. Such dialogue normally takes the form of 2 papers frequently published in tandem, one a criticism and another a response. We are grateful for a belated opportunity to further discuss the thermodynamic and mineralogical status of compositionally and structurally variable clay minerals, in part because this subject is of critical importance to clay mineralogists. It is therefore essential that the basic theory be clearly defined and understood. This has largely to do with some elementary, but critically important, thermodynamic relations. The discussion of issues by AR is largely in error or misleading and begs for correction. Although Aja and Rosenberg (1992) is not specifically addressed here, many of the points raised represent a criticism of that assessment as well. We will respond only to some of the more important points of disagreement below.


The luminescence and energy transfer properties of Eu 3+ in Y 2 GeO 5 have been investigated. The critical concentration at which the concentration quenching occurred under UV excitation were x = 0.4 in (Y 1-x Eu x ) 2 GeO 5 . To investigate the distinction of photoluminescence behavior of two transitions (i.e., 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 and 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 transition) for the Eu 3+ ion, the decay curves for both 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 and 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 transition have been analyzed. Furthermore the energy migration process of this sample was investigated using Yokota and Tanimoto's formula based on diffusion limited quenching.


Wayward causal chains present an obstacle for causal theories of intentional action as is well known. It is not enough that the intention to A cause one's A-ing, it must cause it nondeviant ly in order to be intentional A-ing. For without excluding deviant causal pathways, many cases which should not be counted as intentional actions would slip through the net and become classified as intentional. S intends to drop the precious vase, but his intention so unnerves him that it causes him to shake, thereby causing him to drop and break the vase. Even if S had changed his mind (which he did not) and ceased to intend to drop the vase, he could not have avoided dropping it. Although the intention to drop the vase is a key player in the etiology of S's vase-breaking, we are not inclined to count it as intentional breaking. Recently, Myles Brand [5] hats catalogued two varieties of deviance (waywardness) in causal chains which might prevent an action's being intentional, even if caused by


A novel approach incorporating a fuzzy rule base technique and an Evidential Reasoning (ER) algorithm is developed to conduct the navigational risk assessment of an Inland Waterway Transportation System (IWTS). A hierarchical structure for modeling IWTS hazards (hazard identification model) is constructed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative criteria are converted to qualitative ones by applying a fuzzy rule based quantitative data transformation technique, which enables the use of ER to synthesize the risk estimates from the bottom to the top along the hierarchy. Intelligent Decision System (IDS) software is used for facilitating risk synthesis and estimation. The proposed method is applied in a case study to compare the navigational safety levels of three different regions in Yangtze River.


The annual report of the Statistical Committee of the Metropolitan Asylums Board is always an interesting document, giving a record, as it does, of the year's ?wortin g of one of the most important institutions for the control of infectious disease that our country possesses. This year the report is made additionally interesting from the fact that it contains, in its medical supplement, a series of papers by the medical officers of the various hospitals dealing with the cases which have


Spin coated films of atactic polystyrene of two different molecular weights have been studied with uv spectroscopy and x-ray reflectivity, the film thickness $(d)$ varying from $\ensuremath{\sim}2{R}_{g}$ to $\ensuremath{\sim}12{R}_{g}$ where ${R}_{g}$ is the unperturbed radius of gyration of the polymer. uv extinction due to the pure electronic singlet $^{1}A_{1g}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{1}E_{1u}$ is seen to increase with ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for $4{R}_{g}\ensuremath{\leqslant}d\ensuremath{\leqslant}12{R}_{g}$ (region 1). This suggests excitonic interaction along $d$. The variation of total exciton energy $(E)$ of the ${A}_{1g}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{E}_{1u}$ singlet with $d$ in region 1 can be well explained by formation of linear $J$-aggregates of polystyrene molecules, in a lattice with spacing ``$a$'' (in \AA{}) ${R}_{g}lal2{R}_{g}$, along $d$. Atomic force microscopic images of the films show the presence of ``spheres'' distributed randomly on film surfaces with in-plane dimensions matching $a$. From the variation of $E$ with ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ the effective mass $({m}_{\mathit{eff}})$ of the exciton is also determined. For ${R}_{g}ldl4{R}_{g}$ (region 2) the extinction and $E$ become essentially independent of $d$, indicating exciton localization along $d$, and the value of ${m}_{\mathit{eff}}$ becomes very large. This enhancement in the effective mass maybe used to quantify localization. The variations of electron density $(\ensuremath{\rho})$ with $d$, i.e., the electron density profiles (EDPs) of the films extracted from x-ray reflectivity studies, indicate formation of layers with period ``$b$'' (in \AA{}), ${R}_{g}lbl2{R}_{g}$ parallel to substrate surface in region 2 and a constant $\ensuremath{\rho}$ film in region 1. On raising the temperature of a typical film to $60\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$, the layering was seen to almost vanish, as obtained from both the EDP and the Patterson function of the reflectivity profile. The close correspondence between ``$a$'' and ``$b$'' indicates that the molecules forming the $J$-aggregates form the layers, too. The average difference in $\ensuremath{\rho}$ between successive extrema in the EDPs in region 2, denoted by $\ensuremath{\delta}$, can be used as the order parameter for the layering transition. For PS-5, $\ensuremath{\delta}g0$ at $d\ensuremath{\simeq}4{R}_{g}$, where the exciton is still delocalized. Layering reduces the Hamaker constant $({A}_{H})$, deciding the cohesive force, between the layers and this reduction, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{A}_{H}$, is found to be less than ${A}_{e}$ at $d\ensuremath{\geqslant}4{R}_{g}$, where $i{A}_{e}∕\ensuremath{\hbar}$ is the amplitude for exciton transfer between neighboring molecules in the excitonic lattice of region 1. On the other hand, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{A}_{H}$ in region 2 starts from a value larger than ${A}_{e}$. This indicates that $\ensuremath{\Delta}{A}_{H}$ acts as a barrier between the layer, which localizes the exciton within the layers.


This paper presents some simulation results on the performances of turbo-codes with multilevel modulation (turbo-TCM) in a wireless environment. The wireless channel is modeled as a frequency selective fading channel with two time delay spread profiles, namely, a two-ray profile and a one-sided exponential profile. Turbo-TCM codes constructed from punctured turbo-codes combined with different modulation schemes are studied. It is found that turbo-TCM achieves unmatched performance of average irreducible BER. Turbo-TCM has much lower error probability than conventional TCM, especially in channels with high delay spread.


Abstract Canine otitis externa is a common and recurrent disease in domestic dogs. Although not being life threatening, it can result in the overuse of antibiotics, increased bacterial resistance and reduction of options for treatment. This study aimed to determine: the principal characteristics (age, race, and gender) of dogs affected by otitis externa; the most frequently bacteria identified as being associated with it and their antimicrobial resistance profiles. A total of 221 bacterial isolates were identified by morphological staining and biochemical processes and tested against eleven antibiotics. Among the 148 dogs diagnosed with otitis externa, 51.4% (76/148) were males and 48.6% (72/148) females. The cases were detected mainly in dogs with age above 7 years (54.7%; 81/148. Among the races examined, poodles were the most numerous (14.84%; 22/148). The most common bacteria found were: coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (StCN), 33.9% (75/221); coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (StCP), 19% (42/221); Proteus spp., 17.2% (38/221) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9.5% (21/221). Simultaneous resistance to more than three classes of antimicrobials were most frequently detected in P. aeruginosa (61.9%; 13/21) and Proteus spp (39.47%; 15/38). According to data obtained from this study, two veterinary medications found to be most effective for topical treatment were tobramycin and ciprofloxacin.


Facial expressions transmit a variety of social, grammatical, and affective signals. For technology to leverage this rich source of communication, tools that better model the breadth of information they convey are required. MiFace is a novel framework for creating expression lexicons that map signal values to parameterized facial muscle movements. In traditional mapping paradigms using posed photographs, naïve judges select from predetermined label sets and movements are inferred by trained experts. The set of generally accepted expressions established in this way is limited to six basic displays of affect. In contrast, our approach generatively simulates muscle movements on a 3D avatar. By applying natural language processing techniques to crowdsourced free-response labels for the resulting images, we efficiently converge on an expression's value across signal categories. Two studies returned 218 discriminable facial expressions with 51 unique labels. The six basic emotions are included, but we additionally define such nuanced expressions as embarrassed, curious, and hopeful.


Libraries, archives and museums around the globe are exposed to risks stemming from environmental
conditions and human-driven potential hazards. Since an emergency/disaster immediately
breaks out, the four key principles of disaster management, namely preparedness, damage reduction,
intervention and improvement, should strictly be defined proactively, planned and necessary measures
should be taken beforehand. In a well set-up Library, Archive ( information and documentation centers)
and Museum Risk Management, it is important to define the hazards and prioritize them after the assessment
of the risks that may be posed by such hazards. Again based on this management system,
continuous improvement through Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles should be aimed. Risk analyses
should be performed in consideration of the incidence frequency, severity and duration of emergency/
disasters; number of collection, library and archive items; number of workers; number of users; building
characteristics (structural quality, quality of non-structural elements, geological condition of soil, etc.) as
well as the properties of hazardous facilities surrounding the building. Separate strategies to control each
risk originating from hazards (aimed at controlling the risks in the short, medium and long term) should
be defined. In this study, the importance of risk analysis and risk assessment for Libraries, Archives and
Museums under the Occupational Health and Safety Law no 6331 has been emphasized, and a sample
risk analysis based on the 5x5 risk matrix method is presented.


The aim of this study was to compare the effect of gemigliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor, and dapagliflozin, a sodium glucose co‐transporter‐2 inhibitor, on glycaemic variability in type 2 diabetes patients.


Go4 (GSI Object Oriented Online Offline) is established as standard GSI analysis framework for several experiments of atomic and nuclear structure physics, e.g. FRS, SHIP, TASCA, and RISING. Go4 is based on ROOT (root.cern.ch) and can be downloaded under GPL from the Go4 homepagego4.gsi.de. At GSI, Go4 is installed and maintained on the public linux cluster. A new release Go4 v4.4 was published in 2009, which can be built either with Qt3 or native Qt4 (Nokia) graphics libraries, respectively. The new version runs on Linux and Solaris, and has been ported to Windows (XP and W7) with full GUI support. More than fifty modifications have been made compared to v4.0 enhancing performance and interactive operation, less than 10% concerning bug fixes. A standard analysis executable is provided which can replace the main programs of most of the applications. New functions to automatically restore or create analysis objects like histogra ms are available. The tools to install, build, and run Go4 are improved considerably. All modifications are downwards compatible. No application code needs to be changed.


A FEW YEARS AGO, when the Irvine Unified School District was to get a handle on sky-high energy spending, it looked to the is virtually always in view given the district's locale: Orange County, CA. Flash forward to 2010, and Irvine USD is in the midst of implementing what it says is the most comprehensive K-12 solar energy initiative of any school district in the country. But that's a claim it isn't likely to be able to make for long, as other districts discover solar power's financial, environmental, and educational benefits. Like businesses and individuals, school districts are having to address rising energy costs. In a 2009 survey of districts by Honeywell Building Solutions, two-thirds of respondents reported cutting spending or modifying their budgets because of increased energy bills. About one-fourth said they have set goals to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, yet few have taken the necessary steps in that direction, even though the installation of photovoltaic systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, is easier and more worthwhile than ever, as technological advances have enabled solar panels to convert a higher percentage of the sunlight they absorb into electricity. "The technology and financing are there," says Irvine USD board member Michael Parham. "It's a no-brainer." For Irvine, modernizing was the catalyst to going solar. "The school district has been living in the Dark Ages in terms of efficiency," Parham says, blaming "inept billing" from the district's utility. "We don't know what our usage per site is and what rates we are being charged until several months after the fact, so we can't make any changes until it is way too late to correct." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Looking to upgrade, the district wanted to show a commitment to conservation. "We wanted to do something more significant than recycling cans and cardboard," Parham says. Initially, the district considered adopting solar power at just one school, as it was weighing its options the federal government began rolling out incentives for renewable-energy projects, including tax credits. As a public school district, Irvine is not eligible for tax credits, but the federal incentives have made renewable energy enticing to investors. Through a mechanism called a Power Purchase Agreement, a financing entity--SunEdison, in Irvine's case--funds, owns, and maintains a solar energy system. A customer then purchases its power from that entity for less than it would have to pay a local utility. In addition to selling the power, the provider is able to take advantage of any applicable federal, state, and local tax rewards. The Power Purchase Agreement option was a good fit, Parham says, because it allowed his district to pursue a larger project--and one that would generate bigger cuts in costs and greenhouse gas emissions--while freeing it from maintenance responsibilities, which are handled by SunEdison. Irvine's adopted plan includes installing solar energy systems on 21 of its school and administrative facilities. The project is expected to generate more than 6.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, representing about 45 percent of the sites' energy use. According to SPG Solar, a northern California-based solar installer hired by Irvine, the district's electricity costs could drop by about 10 percent, saving more than $17 million over 20 years. Meanwhile, the new systems would keep 127 million pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere over the next two decades, which is equivalent to taking 12,000 cars off the road annually over the same time span. Taking power from the sun also will help stabilize energy costs, which will no longer fluctuate according to time-of-usage charges set by a utility. "We need greater confidence in our budgets," Parham says. In general, Power Purchase Agreements are good options for public schools, says Gary Gerber, president of Berkeley, CA-based Sun Light & Power. …


As technology developments seek to improve learning, researchers, developers, and educators seek to understand how technological properties impact performance. This paper delineates how a traditional science course is enhanced through the use of simulation projects directed by the students themselves as a means to increase their level of knowledge comprehension and application. To facilitate the learning of geophysical fluid dynamics, faculty at a midwestern university infused the use of simulations to help students better understand the theory and application of this domain. Three areas were targeted for class restructuring: (1) students' physical understanding of the complicated mathematical structure discussed in class; (2) learning the techniques necessary for turning new physical understanding into concrete results; and (3) ability to use their simulations to drive understanding of the physical system being modeled. In this approach, students are divided into groups based on their pre-existing computer skills and areas of interest. The course lectures are integrated with each step of the simulation. At the end of the simulation experiment, a class discussion analyzes the physical nature of the differing systems and the strengths/weaknesses of the simulations. The final step allows each group to add an additional physical process. (AEF) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** American Educational Research AssociationSan Diego, California, April 1998 STUDENTS AS SIMULATION DESIGNERS AND DEVELOPERS USING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS FOR TEACHING BOUNDARY LAYER PROCESSES Tristan E. Johnson Carol Anne Clayson Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 1. PURPOSE As technology developments seek to improve learning, researchers, developers, and educators seek to understand how technological properties impact performance. This paper delineates how a traditional science course is enhanced through the use of simulation projects directed by the students themselves as a means to increase their level of knowledge comprehension and application. 2. INSTRUCTIONAL GOAL A common goal for educators is the development of thinking skills (Stolberg, 1956). The National Education Association Research Division (1994) has established that the acquisition of higher order thinking skills for students is now an important national goal. If students are to be competitive in the years ahead, faculty need to provide students with the cognitive strategies that will enable them to make decisions, think critically, and solve problems (Pogrow, 1994). One goal of science education is not only to get students to memorize and repeat facts but to teach them how to investigate new areas, while being able to place their results in context of what is currently known. Within the small subject area covered in this class, students learn general methods of application of knowledge and new ways of expanding their knowledge. Due to the increased accessibility of technology, educators are studying the impact of the computer in developing higher-order thinking skills. Computers are thought to have great potential for assisting the development of problem solving skills (Thornburg, 1986). Research on computer-assisted instruction and simulations suggest that computers are effective in reaching deeper understandings of information being learned (Salomon & Gardner, 1986). Quinn (1993) showed that simulations enhance students' problem solving skills by providing them a practice environment whereby they can refine their higher-order thinking strategies. Other studies have also shown instructional benefits by using computer simulations for development of higher-order thinking strategies (Gokhale, 1996; Lieberman & Linn, 1991; Rivers & Vockell, 1987; Thomas & Hooper, 1991). 3. INSTRUCTIONAL PERSPECTIVE Traditionally, geophysical fluid-dynamics has been very difficult for undergraduate and graduate students to learn. From an instructional point of view, this knowledge domain is extremely complicated due to the nature of the content: the components of the system are highly interrelated, and the system is highly mathematical. To facilitate the learning of this scientific domain, faculty at a midwestern university have infused the use of simulations to help students better understand the theory and application of this domain. "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY


Combined with new quota application in the basic railway project,it discusses the problem in the application of prevailing budget quota in railway project from many aspects such as material consumption,mechanical cost,material per cost and added quota,and it bring forward the advice of material cost and regulation cost check in order to solve the insufficience of prevailing budget quota in railway project.


A method for parametrization of vehicle routes, and for providing a movement path in vehicle control and / or Informationssystemem, wherein the parameterization of the vehicle routes is carried out in vectorial form, wherein further the speed of the vehicle is determined by means for measuring speed, the angle deviation is determined from the north direction by means for orientation measurement, queries a central unit of the vehicle at regular intervals this data and determines individual vectors of the movement path, a service center messages about traffic incidents connected to a vectorial description of the drive way in which the event occurred, and vectorial descriptions of alternatives transmitted to the vehicles and a comparison of the distance vector movement path is carried in the vehicles with the received vector and descriptions is carried out at correspondence of portions of sufficient length to implement the vector alternate recommendations in an understandable for the driver avoidance advice.


The uv absorption spectra and melting profiles of an initially ion‐free solution of E. coli unfractionated tRNA are significantly modified by the addition of either Na+, Mg2+, or Mn2+ or of other first‐series transition‐metal ions such as Ni2+, Co2+, and Zn2+. The main effect of the addition of all monovalent or divalent cations examined is an increase of the ordered and stacking stabilized tRNA structure, as revealed by a drop in the absorption near 260 nm, as well as in the 4‐TU absorption region. Sharp differences have, however, been detected in the 290–305‐nm range in the presence of the various ions studied. When transition‐metal ions were added to a tRNA solution, an absorption peak appeared at 294 nm. This effect is interpreted as a perturbation of the electronic structure of the bases due to direct binding of metal ions to the bases. An analysis of the variation in the spectrum as a function of metal concentration and of the thermal melting reversibility in the presence of various metal ions supports the conclusion that while all ions investigated are involved in binding to the phosphate groups of tRNA, transition‐metal ions are also able to bind directly to the bases.


Purpose- Banks are one of the most important players in the financial system, which collects the idle funds of the savers and gives loans to the people in need of financing. Banks contribute to economic development and employment by supporting consumption, investment and production with the loans they give. The covid-19 pandemic, which emerged as of the beginning of 2020, has affected all countries socially, culturally and economically. The measures taken to stop the spread of the pandemic caused deterioration in the country's economies. The pandemic caused the supply and demand balance in the economies to deteriorate and increased the liquidity risk of the sectors. This situation experienced by the sectors especially affected banks and credit processes. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the domestic credit volumes of the Turkish banking sector during the covid-19 pandemic period, in the period of March/2020-November/2022, contain a bubble.
Methodology- The weekly frequency data set was used in the study. Since the Turkish banking sector loan disbursement volumes are published weekly by the BRSA, the data set is handled on a weekly basis. In the study, the GSADF method was applied to detect the bubbles in the domestic credit volume of the Turkish banking sector. GSADF tests are iterative right-tailed unit root tests. In the study, commercial and other loan disbursement volumes and consumer loan volumes of the banking sector were used as variables. Housing, vehicle and consumer loans are included in consumer loan volumes.
Findings- According to the results of the study, 2 bubble movements were detected in the commercial loan and other loan variable and 3 bubble movements in the consumer loans variable at the 1% significance level. It is observed that the third bubble in consumer loans still continues as of November/2022.
Conclusion- It is thought that the precautionary packages taken by the economy management to limit the economic and financial effects of covid-19 create credit bubbles. In addition to the support loans provided by public banks to the real sector and exporting companies, interest-free loans to low-income segments on the individual side fueled the formation of a bubble. In this situation, it is thought that the need for cash of people has increased rapidly with the prolongation of the pandemic, and the unemployment of individuals in this process or the decrease in their monthly income may have increased their loan demands. In addition, it is assumed that the successive interest rate cuts made by the Central Bank cause the formation of foam, as the companies borrow in TL and return to foreign currency and turn to commodities to protect themselves against price increases.

Keywords: Banking sector, credit balloons, bank credits, GSADF test
JEL Codes: G00, G21, C58


The activation kinetics of the inward‐rectifier K+ channel were studied by single‐channel recording in isolated single cells of the guinea‐pig ventricle with two different extracellular concentrations of K+ ([K+]o 150 and 75 mM). When voltage pulses were applied from a holding potential more positive than the potassium equilibrium potential (EK), to potentials more negative than EK, the probability of the channel being in the open state (Po) increased with time after the onset of the command pulse. The ensemble averaged current increased in its initial phase (activation). When the command potential was more negative than EK‐40 mV, the current decreased after rapid activation due to the inactivation of the channel. The averaged current could be divided into an instantaneous and a time‐dependent activation component; the latter was fitted by a single exponential function. The time constant of the time‐dependent component became shorter, at more negative command potentials. When compared at the same command potential, the instantaneous component became smaller, as the patch membrane was held at more depolarized potential. This indicates that the steady‐state Po of the channel decreases with depolarization at potentials more positive than EK. The Po of the activation gate of the channel was estimated by dividing the steady‐state Po of the channel by the Po of the inactivation gate at each potential. It was about 0.1 at EK + 20 mV and increased sigmoidally with hyperpolarization. At potentials more negative than EK‐40 mV, the Po of the activation gate saturated and was almost 1. The single‐channel analysis and the noise analysis of the steady‐state current fluctuations revealed that the activation gate of the channel follows first‐order kinetics between the open and closed states. The activation kinetics shifted along the voltage axis in a similar way as EK when different [K+]o were used. Thus, the activation of the channel depends not only on the membrane potential but also on EK, when [K+]o is changed. The macroscopic current flowing through the inward‐rectifier K+ channel during the activation process was calculated, assuming that the elementary conductance of the channel is not voltage dependent. The calculated current showed a prominent inward‐rectifying property in the steady state and formed a negative conductance region at potentials positive to EK. It was, therefore, concluded that the properties of the inward‐rectifier time‐independent background K+ current (iK1) in the whole‐cell current records (Noble, 1979) mainly depend on the activation kinetics of the inward‐rectifier K+ channel in the cardiac myocyte membrane.


BACKGROUND. Structured abstracts - which include subheadings such as this one - have replaced traditional abstracts in most current medical journals. However, the number and detail of the subheadings used varies, and there is a range of different typographic settings.


Hierarchical Enumerative Coding (HENUC) is proposed for the entropy coding of overhead information in image and video compression. Experimental results of two case studies, compression of quadtree representation and compression of switching information, suggest that HENUC has competitive performance. Its advantages over Huffman coding are that it does not require a priori statistics, and it has better compression performance. Its advantages over arithmetic coding are that it adapts faster, thus yielding better compression performance, and it has less computational complexity.


Seven novel norcycloartane glycosides, maryloside A–G (1–7), were isolated from the leaves of Cymbidium Great Flower 'Marylaurencin', along with a known norcycloartane glycoside, cymbidoside (8). These structures were determined on the basis of mainly NMR experiments as well as chemical degradation and X-ray crystallographic analysis. The isolated compounds (1–6 and 8) were evaluated for the inhibitory activity on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells. Consequently, 1 and 3 exhibited moderate activity.


ABSTRACT Two series of new hydroxy tail-terminated cyanobiphenyl compounds are described. The 4′-ω-hydroxyalkynyl-4-cyanobiphenyl compounds (1a–1g) were synthesised as the key intermediates to the 4′-?ω-hydroxyalkyl-4-cyanobiphenyl compounds (2a–2g) obtained upon reduction of the acetylenes. Many of these ω-hydroxyalkynyl and ω-hydroxyalkyl cyanobiphenyl compounds exhibit nematic mesophases and they also serve as precursors for the synthesis of other interesting materials. Using density functional theory, we calculate the dipole moment of all relevant ω-hydroxyalkynyl and ω-hydroxyalkyl cyanobiphenyl compounds and find a correlation between the calculated dipole moments and measured crystalline to nematic or isotropic liquid transition temperatures. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In this work, we present a novel and general mathematical technique to get Generalized Wiener-Hopf Equations (GWHEs) in angular regions filled by an arbitrary linear medium and with arbitrary boundary conditions [1]–[2]. We first extend the transverse equation theory developed in [3] by Bresler and Marcuvitz for stratified media. We develop the theory for angular regions in electromagnetics using oblique Cartesian coordinates, starting from Maxwell's equations. It yields a matrix differential problem of first order (1) whose unknowns are the field component ψt tangent to the faces of the angular regions (i.e. the field components continuous on the boundaries).\begin{equation*} - \frac{\partial }{{\partial y}}{\psi _t} = \mathcal{M}\left( {\frac{\partial }{{\partial z}},\frac{\partial }{{\partial x}}} \right)\cdot{\psi _t}\tag{1}\end{equation*}


By means of reviewing the book"Recommendations to Teachers"by Cyxomjnhcknn it is found out that in his rich and profound educational thoughts,there exists a brilliant educational theory,namely an educational philosophy of life.In his long-term educational practice,he not only activates student's thinking through life,but also takes life as an important source from which students gain knowledge and bases education on life,which can organically combine the life process with the educational process so as to promote the harmonious development of students and create a unique educational philosophy of life.


textabstractAlthough
clinical
disease
and
associated
lesions
of
the
respiratory
tract
due
to
IAV
infections
are
well
known,
the
exact
pathogenesis
of
acute
respiratory
distress
syndrome
(ARDS)
is
not
yet
fully
understood.
ARDS
is
a
fatal
complication
of
influenza
virus
infection,
and
accounts
for
many
influenza-‐related
mortalities.
At
the
starting
point
of
this
thesis,
the
mechanism
of
pulmonary
oedema
formation,
as
one
of
the
hallmarks
of
influenza-‐induced
ARDS,
was
unknown.
Pulmonary
oedema
as
a
representative
lesion
of
ARDS
was
of
major
interest
in
this
thesis
as
it
is
an
acute
lesion
that
is
easily
detectable
in
histopathology.
Several
factors
(cellular
integrity,
inflammatory
cells,
and
cytokines)
are
known
to
influence
the
homeostasis
of
the
alveolar
epithelial-‐endothelial
barrier
(EEB)
preventing
or
permitting
oedema
to
develop.
The
obvious
question
that
arose
at
the
start
of
this
thesis
was:
what
is
the
mechanism
by
which
influenza
virus
induces
pulmonary
oedema?
Therefore
the
main
aim
of
this
thesis
was
unravelling
the
pathogenesis
of
influenza-‐induced
ARDS
and
pulmonary
oedema
formation,
to
ultimately
pinpoint
the
most
significant
pathogenic
factors.
A
better
understanding
of
the
pathogenesis,
especially
identifying
the
most
important
causative
pathogenic
factors
is
essential
in
the
development
of
new
intervention
strategies.
Improved
intervention
options
will
likely
reduce
the
recurrent
global
burden
of
seasonal
influenza
epidemics
and
pandemics.


Laser applications become more and more interesting in contemporary missions such as earth observations or optical communication in space. One of these applications is light detection and ranging (LIDAR), which comprises huge scientific potential in future missions. The Nd:YAG solid-state laser of such a LIDAR system is optically pumped using 808nm emitting pump sources based on semiconductor laser-diodes in quasi-continuous wave (qcw) operation. Therefore reliable and efficient laser diodes with increased output powers are an important requirement for a spaceborne LIDAR-system. In the past, many tests were performed regarding the performance and life-time of such laser-diodes. There were also studies for spaceborne applications, but a test with long operation times at high powers and statistical relevance is pending. Other applications, such as science packages (e.g. Raman-spectroscopy) on planetary rovers require also reliable high-power light sources. Typically fiber-coupled laser diode modules are used for such applications. Besides high reliability and life-time, designs compatible to the harsh environmental conditions must be taken in account. Mechanical loads, such as shock or strong vibration are expected due to take-off or landing procedures. Many temperature cycles with high change rates and differences must be taken in account due to sun-shadow effects in planetary orbits. Cosmic radiation has strong impact on optical components and must also be taken in account. Last, a hermetic sealing must be considered, since vacuum can have disadvantageous effects on optoelectronics components.


MANET system applications in today situation consume large amount of energy. This energy becomes an important parameter and scarce resource in MANETS. This energy consumption has to be reduced and harvested in the communication devices for enhanced usage of energy. Different energy aware and harvesting strategies have been devised using various protocols to achieve the reduction in usage of the available energy and power resources. This paper surveys and illustrates the differences of various Energy-aware Routing Protocol used in MANETS based on the matrices used. These protocols provide some awareness in optimizing the Energy and Power Resources and limit the consumption when nodes are idle. This increases the life-time sustenance of the node and improves the performance widely investigating the energy efficiency protocols for ad-hoc infrastructure less MANET environment.


Our country is a big country for travel.Travel industry has become an important growth point of the economic development.However,there still exist many things not-norm.for example,the imperfect rules on travel and the increasing actions against the travel agency taken by the consumers.Therefore,our country should strengthen the law-making of travel contract and build up the nominate contract system.Only so can the travel consumers'legal interest gain better protection,we can protect with tourism' reputation and promote our travel to develop orderly,healthily and stably.


S OF COMMUNICATION The Three Hundred and Sixty-jjlh Meeting of the Nutrition Society (One Hundred and Forty-Second of the Scottish Group) was held in the Hugh Nesbit Building, Riccarton Campus, HeriotWatt University, Edinburgh, on Thursday and Friday, 17/18 September 1981 when the followingpapers were read: I 6A ABSTRACTS OF COMMUNICATIONS I 982 Effect of cobalt deficiency on phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in sheep liver. By A. K. LOUCH, W. R. H. DUNCAN, C. R. A. EARL and LESLEY Coums, Rowett Research Institute, Bucksbum, Aberdeen AB2 9SB As part of a study of effects associated with cobalt deficiency in sheep and lambs (Fell, 1981; Garton et al. 1981) an examination was made of the phospholipid composition of liver tissue from ewes fed for up to 18 months on a diet of hay, flaked maize, minerals and vitamin mix (0.05 mg Co/kg dry matter). Control animals received cobalt intraruminally. Determinations of plasma vitamin R 12 and of urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) (Duncan et al. 1981) were made at intervals. Samples of liver obtained at slaughter were stored at -20'; lipids extracted into chloroform-methanol were subjected to two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and the phosphorus content of the constituent phospholipids was estimated (Rouser et al. 1976). Values given in the Table for n, , and MMA were obtained within 14 d of slaughter. Molur ratio of hepatic phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) to phosphatidylcholine (PC), urinary MMA and plasma vitamin B , , in ewes Co-supplemen ted Co-depleted I 2 Ewe No. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PE PC o 50 o 48 o 48 o 87 o 80 o 71 o 58 o 47 o 45 MMA(g/d) o 1 1 0 0 6 0 0 5 3 00 I 10 I 54 o X I o 90 0 0 8 B,?(ng/ml) 2 00 6 00 3 00 o 29 o 24 o 10 o 40 o I j o 24 Molar proportions of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine (PE : PC) were markedly increased in cobalt-depleted ewes (4-6) when the deficiency state was associated with the urinary excretion of more than I g MMA/d; in these ewes intake of feed decreased markedly at least 2 months before slaughter. In ewes 7-9 intake of feed was similar to that of the control animals as was the proportion of PE:PC, even though urinary excretion of MMA by ewe 8 was increased. It seems likely that the increased hepatic PE:PC ratios are associated with a reduction in the enzymic methylation of PE to PC such as has been observed in the livers of B,,-deficient rats (Akesson et al. 1978). Ilecreased production of PC can be attributed to reduced availability of the methyl donor, S-adenosylmethionine, the liver content of which is decreased in B I ,-deficient sheep (Gawthorne & Smith, It is hoped to explore some of the implications of these changes in tissue '974). phospholipid composition in relation to membrane structure and function. Akesson, B., Fehling, C. & Jagerstaad, >I. ( 1 9 7 8 ) . B r . J . Nutr. 40, j 2 1 . Iluncan, \V. K. H., hlorrison, E. R. & Garton, G . .4. (1981) . Br. -7. Nutr. 46, 337. Fell, R. F. (1~81). Phil. Trons. H. Soc. Lond. R (In the Press). Garton, <;. A., Duncan, W. R. 11. & Fell, I3. F. (ry8x). Gawthorne, J. M. & Smith, R. 11. ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Biochem. J . 142, I 19. Rouser, G., Kritchevsky, G. & Yarnarnoto, A. (1976) . In Lipid Chromatographic Analysis In Symposium: Trace Element .MPtabolisrn in Man and Animals--+, Australia: Academy of Science 294, I j 3 . Vol. 3, 2nd ed. p. 7 1 3 [C. \'. hlarinetti, editor]. Uew York: Illarcel Dekker Inc. Vol. 41 Meeting of 17 und 18 September 1981 A study of the effect of zinc on iron absorption in man. By R. W. CROFTON, D. GVOZDANOVIC and P. J. AGGETT, Departments of Gastroenterology and Biomedical Physics and Bio-Engineering, University of Aberdeen Studies in animal models suggest that interactions between iron and zinc may occur during their uptake and absorption by the gastrointestinal tract (Hamilton et al. 1978). In this crossover study the effect of Zn on Fe absorption has been investigated in eight healthy male volunteers. After an overnight fast each subject received either 47 mg (0.84 mmol) of elemental Fe as ferrous sulphate or 47 mg of Fe in combination with 22.5 mg (0.34 mmol) of elemental Zn as zinc sulphate (molar ratio Fe:Zn=:2.47:1). In both mixtures the iron was labelled with 10 pCi 59Fe. The mixtures were given at least 6 weeks apart. Increments in total plasma Fe (PFe) and s9Fe in the 6 h following ingestion of the mixtures were plotted against time and used as indices of Fe absorption. The biological retention of the 59Fe was determined by whole body monitoring. The plasma 59Fe and PFe increments were reduced in seven of the eight patients when Fe and Zn were given simultaneously. The PFe increment (meankm) was 71.6k17.6pmoVlperh after Fe aloneand 54'7'12.5 pmolllperhafterFe+Znin the 6 h post dose. Similarly, Fe absorption as assessed by plasma 59Fe was reduced from 285 '74 pmol to 176+51 pmol. The whole body retention of 59Fe was similar following both doses at 9.8 and 9.1% of the administered dose for Fe and Fe+Zn mixtures respectively. None of these differences were statistically significant (P>0.05). In a further study five healthy male volunteers were given solutions containing 23.5 mg elemental Fe alone and with 27.5 mg Zn (molar ratio I : I ) and 68.8 mg Zn (molar ratio I :2.5). Fe absorption as indicated by PFe was reduced by the addition of Zn from 87.1 t 1 2 . 3 to 17.7'9'2 with the equimolar solutions and to 9.1+12.2 with the 1:2.5 Fe-Zn solution(P<o.or). These initial results indicate that Zn may affect the bio-availability of inorganic Fe at the ratio and dosages used in this study. Such an interaction is important in planning nutritional mineral supplementation and merits further evaluation. Hamilton, D. L., Bellamy, J. E. L., Valberg, J. D. & Valberg, L. S. (1978). Can. J . Physiof. Pharmac. 56,384. I 8A ABSTRACTS OF COMMUNICATIONS 1982 Efficiency of progesterone withdrawal as a factor in low zinc-induced dystocia. By G. E. BUNCE, C. F. MILLS, G. WILSON and A. KLOPPER, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen AB2 9SB and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen Medical School, Aberdeen AB9 2ZB The female rat offered a low-zinc diet during pregnancy experiences delayed and prolonged parturition (Apgar, 1968) associated with a shock-like condition in the dam and an increased incidence of mortality of both dams and foetuses. Uteri from Zn-deficient rats have been shown to have a decreased capacity for conversion of arachidonic acid to 2-series prostaglandins (Cunnane, 1981~) and severely depressed spontaneous contractility (Cunnane, 1981 b). Since luteolysis and progesterone (Pr) withdrawal are necessary for the conversion of the quiescent uterus to an active state, the competency of Zn-deficient rats to accomplish this process was investigated. Second parity Hooded Lister rats (Rowett strain) was maintained from day 7 of gestation on a semi-synthetic diet containing either < I or 40 pg Zn/kg. Both pair-fed (PFC) and ad lib.-fed (ALC) controls were used. Rats were killed by exsanguination under pentobarbital anesthesia on days 19, 20, 21, 22 or 23 of pregnancy (delivery normally beings after 22 d). Heparinized plasma was analysed for Pr by radio-immunoassay. Ovaries were homogenized in 0.25 M-sucrose, centrifuged at 85000 g for 30 min and the supernatant fluid was analysed for activity of 20 a-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20 a-OHSDH). Dietary treatment influenced neither the mean nor the range of plasma Pr on days 19, 20 or 21. Between day 21 and 22, mean Pr in all groups fell from approximately I I O to 40 nmoVl but, whereas eight out of twelve PFC rats and eight out of ten ALC rats were at or below 30 nmoV1, only four out of fifteen Zn deficient rats were in this range. Wiest (1970) has proposed that parturition in the rat cannot begin until uterine Pr falls below 2 lg/Ioo g tissue. A similar threshold for plasma Pr has not been established, but examination of the literature suggests that values of <30 nmol/l are closely correlated with release of the Pr block. Progesterone withdrawal in the rat results from a combination of two events: firstly, a decrease in the steroidogenic activity of the ovary and secondly, the induction of ovarian 20 a-OHSDH which converts the residual pregnenelone precursor to inactive 20 a-hydroxy Pr. Zn deficiency caused the rate of appearance of 20 a-OHSDH in the ovary to be inhibited by approximately 50 and 66% on days 22 and 23 of pregnancy. Observations that delivery was either imminent or concluded by 10.00 hours on day 23 in five out of seven ALC rats and six out of eight PFC rats compared to only three out of seven Zn-deficient rats are consistent with the possibility that delayed or inhibited induction of 20 a-OHSDH may be relevant to the above effects of Zn deficiency. The results suggest that the dystocia of Zn deficiency may in part be explained by an inability to conclude luteolysis in a rapid and efficient manner. Apgar, J. (1968). Am. J. Physiol. 215, 160. Cunnane, S. ( 1 9 8 1 ~ ) . Proc. Nutr. SOC. 40,78A. Cunnane, S. (1981b). Proc. Nutr. SOC. 40, 80A. Wiest, W. (1970). Endocrinology 87.43. Vol. 41 Meeting of 17 and 18 September 1981 1 9A Influence of liver copper concentration on plasma Cu depletion and repletion in the rat. By J. PRICE, J. K. CHESTERS and M. WILL, Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB The feasibility of assessing the relative availabilities of different forms of dietary copper from the rate of increase in plasma Cu concentration in the hypocupraemic rat given Cu orally by gavage is being investigated. In these studies, large differences in the rate of change in plasma Cu concentration have been observed within groups of animals during both the preliminary depletion phase and during repletion with Cu in the form of copper sulphate solution. The possibility that these differences may have arisen as a result of mobilization of Cu, to a varying degree, from the liver into the plasma was therefore examined. Plasma Cu concentration was de