Introduction and historical perspective: Cryptogenic cirrhosis(CC) is defined as cases of cirrhosis where the etiology remains uncertain after careful and extensive clinical, laboratory and histologic analysis. The incidence of CC has been steadily declining over the years. Prior to 1965 the CC constituted about 50% of all cases of cirrhosis. In 1965 Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was discovered which subsequently led to its recognition as a major cause of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis worldwide. While autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) was first described as an important cause of chronic liver disease in 1950, its clinical diagnosis remained erratic. The first diagnostic criteria by an international working group were proposed in 1998 and subsequently modified in 2008, which led to improved diagnosis of AIH. Another landmark discovery in this field was discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989, which eventually led its recognition as one of the major causes of cirrhosis worldwide. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was first described as a clinical entity by Ludwig in 1980, but it took few decades to understand its real impact on the burden of liver disease and contribution to cirrhosis. Now non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD/NASH) has been recognized as the next big epidemic in chronic liver disorders. Over these years better understanding of many other metabolic disorders and their improved diagnosis [Wilson's disease, A1AT deficiency, familial inherited cholestatic (PFIC) syndromes, iron overload syndromes] also contributed to the continued decline of CC. Currently CC seems to accounts for an estimated 5-30% of cases of cirrhosis in various studies. The wide difference in the reported incidence likely results from variations in clinical practice and resources available at different Institutions across the world. Some of it may also be contributed by ethnic and geographic differences. Overall, in developed countries and tertiary care medical centers, CC accounts for about 5-10% of all cases of cirrhosis. It accounts for about 10% of liver transplants and is present in 3-14% of adults awaiting liver transplantation. As the diagnosis of liver disorders continues to evolve, the proportion of CC cases continues to decline.


This paper summarizes the results of three individual research projects (Asfaw, 2005; Lamiraud et al., 2005; Xu et al., 2005) measuring the impact of membership in a health insurance scheme in three African countries, namely Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. It is structured as follows. The first section briefly outlines the health care systems in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, followed by a short description of the methodology and data used in the research. The later sections focus on empirical results and policy implications.


Early heat and drought priming may increase the plant's ability to resist later drought and heat stress. However, it remains unclear whether combined heat and drought priming can enhance the acclimation of plants to later combined stress by improving physiological activities. In this study, maize seedlings were first pre-exposed twice to heat, drought, and a combination of stresses followed by recovery, and then subjected to six days of more severe stresses. A considerable reduction in photosynthetic pigment content, stomatal size, and photosynthesis was observed under heat and drought conditions, and the changes in the above indicators were amplified under combined stress conditions. Stress priming improves antioxidant defense and cellular osmoregulation, as indicated by improved superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), and ascorbate peroxidase activities, as well as elevated soluble sugar (SS) and proline (Pro) contents. Lower superoxide anion and malondialdehyde contents and injury index in the primed seedlings demonstrated the mitigation of oxidative stress. ROC analysis revealed that SOD and POD had considerable reliability in determining that maize seedlings were experiencing heat stress (AUC = 0.941–0.971); GR and SS were capable of accurately monitoring drought stress that was being experienced by plants (AUC = 0.919–0.958); and SOD, GR, and Pro had more capability for detecting the combination of heat and drought stress (AUC = 0.907–0.958). Collectively, the primed seedlings exhibited better performance than the non-primed seedlings, exhibiting stronger stress acclimation supported by an effective antioxidant defense system and osmoregulatory function.


Taking Huayuankou Station in lower reaches of the Yellow River for an example,based on the data of annual runoff and sediment from 1952 to 2009,the methods of empirical mode decomposition(EMD) and Hilbert-Huang transform(HHT) are applied to analyze the multiple time-scale characteristic of annual runoff and sediment series.And the reasons and influence factors for the variation of each fluctuation component are discussed.Then oscillation and trend components with different fluctuation periods are obtained.Finally,multiple time-scale structure of the variation of annual runoff and sediment is revealed,and the variation of annual runoff and sediment is caused by the periodic oscillations of 3-years.


This paper presents new TSV-Based applications such as resonant inductive coupling, variable Inductor, power amplifier, bandpass filter, and antenna. These proposed systems use a spiral inductor built using TSV technology. The Resonant Inductive Coupling system increases the amount of magnetic flux linked between coils and improves the power transmission significantly. A proposed architecture based on TSV technology for a variable bridge spiral inductor is demonstrated and characterized. Where, we can obtain different values for the inductor according to the switch state, whether it is ON or OFF. In addition, TSV is used to construct transformer-coupled power amplifier. A new architecture for on-chip bandpass filters, based on through silicon via (TSV) technology. This architecture is the first in literature. According to the simulation results, the TSV-based bandpass filter has an insertion loss of 1.5 dB at 90 GHz and 20 GHz passband from 80 to 100 GHz. This band can be tuned by changing the dimensions of the coupled TSVs. TSV are also used to build an antenna on high resistivity substrate. The characteristic of this antenna is a function of TSV diameter, TSV length, and silicon resistivity. Compared to conventional on-chip antennas who suffers from low gain and low radiation efficiency, our novel antenna provides better performance parameters such as higher radiation pattern efficiency and higher gain as the antenna delivers a high gain of 5.8 dBi and the radiation efficiency is 86% over the prescribed range of frequencies. The proposed antenna is centered at 90 GHz with 20 GHz bandwidth. The overall area of the proposed antenna is 400μm×100μm. Building the antenna using TSV technology not only improves the performance, but also improves the isolation between the antenna and other active circuits.


We review the main characteristics and the inferred properties of the hectometric (HOM) radiation which was observed by IMP-6, RAE-1 and Voyager spacecraft. This includes the occurrence of HOM in Jovian longitude, the strong beaming in latitude, the polarization properties, the local time effect, and the solar wind control of the emission. Like many radio emissions observed at the other magnetized planets, the hectometric component is likely to be generated in the R-X mode from sources in the northern and southern auroral zones. The emission is beamed along the surface of hollow cones and is possibly produced by the cyclotron maser mechanism. The HOM sources extend up to 7 R J (Jovian radii) along field lines near L=20 in the auroral zone ; they are distinct from the Io-controlled decametric (DAM) sources but are probably the extension of the non-Io DAM sources. Finally, we discuss certain questions of still unresolved problems that could be answered when Ulysses passes around Jupiter


The inner ear of teleost fishes contains three calcareous structures (otoliths) that are part of the organs for hearing and balance. The largest of these structures, the sagitta, is usually composed of calcium carbonate crystals in the form of aragonite, but the calcium carbonate also occurs less frequently in a clear crystallized form called vaterite. We investigated the functional consequences of otolith crystal structure on hearing in juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using the auditory brainstem response technique. A significant loss of sensitivity (2.5–6.5 dB) occurred within the primary hearing range (100–300 Hz) among salmon that had at least one vateritic sagitta. Auditory thresholds were not significantly different in fish with one vs. two vaterite sagittae. Crystallized sagittae were significantly larger and less dense than their aragonite counterparts. Saccular epithelium shape and hair bundle orientation patterns did not differ between saccules with different crystal types. Th...


Abstract Daylight fluorescent pigments are formulated with a select range of colorants that both absorb and emit strongly in the visible region. To ensure best practices in the preservation and authentication of artworks that contain daylight fluorescent colorants, this study investigates the fluorescent dye formulation behind daylight fluorescent pigments by specifically examining the DayGlo daylight fluorescent pigment range. A recently developed extraction–separation protocol was applied to isolate individual dye components of each pigment for fluorescence analysis. Through fluorimetric analysis at the constituent dye level, the formulation behind each pigment's observed hue was characterized and interaction by energy transfer between specific dye pairs was established. This research finds that complex dye formulations employed in daylight fluorescent pigment manufacture raise several implications for the display and treatment of this modern palette.


Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an autologous cell therapy that is widely used for the treatment of T cell-mediated diseases. ECP has been FDA-approved for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) and has shown potent clinical benefits in various other (non-cancer) T cell-mediated diseases, such as graft versus host disease (GvHD), allograft rejection, as well as in autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, systemic sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn's disease (1–3). The ECP treatment consists in the irradiation by UV-A in presence of a photosensitizer agent (8-methoxypsoralen) of PBMCs collected by apheresis (4). This will lead to an irreversible DNA crosslink by the psoralen, culminating by the apoptosis of virtually all the treated cells (5, 6). Then, the treated cells are re-infused to the patient. This repeated process leads to the improvement in patients' clinical status, allowing the decrease or the disappearance of tumoral T cells in CTCL, or a decrease or a total disruption of immunosuppressive drugs, thus avoiding steroid-related side effects in GvHD (7). ECP has also shown benefits in cortico-refractory patients (8). Conversely to immunosuppressive treatments, ECP seems to selectively target allo- and auto-reactive T cells in GvHD and autoimmune diseases, respectively (called pathogenic T cells hereafter), without inducing systemic immunosuppression (9). Today, even if ECP has created real hopes for the treatment of these pathologies, its implementation is quite limited due to a relative empiric utilization due to the absence of prospective randomized clinical trials and a lack in the understanding of its mechanism of action (MoA).


In this paper the concept of Simultaneous Coded Emission in the context of Coherent ultrasound Plane Wave Compounding (SCE-CPWC) is studied. The constraints under which SCE-CPWC was proven to be effective are released and we show that a good estimation of the insonified medium can be obtained using l1-regularization. Simulation results on medium with sparse and dense distribution of scatterers are presented and discussed.


Acknowledgements. List of illustrations. Chronology. Who's Who. Genealogies of the Rulers of Jerusalem and Antioch. 1. Introduction. 2. The First Crusade. 3. The early decades of the Latin East c. 1097-c. 1152: Establishment and consolidation. 4. The challenges of a new land: Frankish rule and settlement. 5. The military orders. 6. The Second Crusade. 7. Warfare, strategy and castles in the Levant. 8. The aftermath of the Second Crusade: Recovery and expansion. 9. The Frankish rulers of the Levant: Power and succession, c. 1100-74. 10. Religious life and pilgrimage in the Levant. 11. The reign of Baldwin IV, the Leper-King, the rise of Saladin. 12. The Third Crusade and beyond. 13. The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople. 14. Conclusion: The impact of the Crusades. Documents. Bibliography. Index.


In the wake of the Castanheira de Pera disaster in 2017, Médicos do Mundo implemented the Hope Mission, with the aim of providing people with humanitarian support. It involved the Equipa Técnica de Rua [Technical Street Team], for community intervention. This consisted of one occupational therapist, two final year Occupational Therapy degree students, one nurse, and one local facilitator. It was the first time in Portugal that Occupational Therapy professionals participated in a humanitarian mission in the context of a disaster. In this interventional study, the occupational therapy was implemented in three strands: Home, with adaptation of the context, insertion of support products, teaching energy conservation, and counselling; Institutional, with implementation of group activities to promote the sharing and solving of problems, and the creation of healthy habits/routines in the population; Community, in terms of health education, cultural and artisanal activities such as tapestry or the commemoration of World Mental Health Day. We intend to raise awareness about the oOccupational Therapy intervention in this context, to encourage autonomy and participation.


The refurbished Z pulsed power driver has been operational since October of 2007 delivering a peak current of ∼26 MA to the load. A critical component of the refurbished Z accelerator was the Laser Triggered Gas Switch (LTGS) with a maximum proven operating point of 6.5 MV, 820 kA and an overall 1-σ timing jitter of ∼6 ns. We have identified a feature in the V-dot monitor on the Pulse Forming Line (PFL) downstream of the LTGS which is indicative of the closure of the trigger section of the switch. The PFL "squiggle" feature allows us to independently measure the runtime of the cascade and trigger sections and identify problems associated with the laser triggering of the switch, such as poor alignment or degrading transmission of the focusing lens. The squiggle also helps characterize the effect of changes in operating conditions and switch design. For the most recent design version of the LTGS, the trigger and cascade section runtimes with ±1-σ jitter are 0.8 ±1.3 ns and 46 ± 5.3 ns respectively. The trigger and cascade section runtimes are not correlated suggesting that the trigger and cascade sections operate independently of each other.


I had wanted to speak with Maurice Marks since meeting him in the low care facility in which he resides, in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. I knew him to be an interesting, modest and funny man, but now I know he has other special qualities. Maurice has an exceptional memory and at 90 years of age, his stories are told as if they happened yesterday. Maurice dedicated many years of his life to his community, working with frail and aged people at the Sir Joseph Banks Day Care Centre at Caringbah. His work led to nomination for an Order of Australia Medal. Macular degeneration has left Maurice with minimal eyesight, but even that does not slow this amazing Australian down! This is his story.


Workplace bullying is a phenomenon in American and Canadian organizations that has been ignored for many years and as a result targeted employees are suffering [1-3]. Workplace bullying is at epidemic proportions with little done to address the issue. The workplace for bullied employees has become an uncivilized and hostile environment [4]. Leaders who embrace a rational self-interested approach to leading are contributing to the workplace bullying phenomenon. Using Chi Square tests of independence, the study was conducted to determine the extent to which rational self-interested leaders rely on bullying behaviors when interacting with employees. Three hundred fifty-five employees were asked to complete a survey consisting of fifteen bullying behavior statements. The results of the Chi Square tests indicate a significant relationship exists between employee demographics vs. certain bullying behaviors associated with threats to personal standing, professional status and destabilization. The results further reveal that rational self-interested leaders are relying on bullying in three areas: threat to personal standing, threat to professional status and destabilization. It was also noted that if the rational self-interest leader did not make changes the problem of workplace bullying would continue to escalate. The recommendation was that rational self-interested leaders could benefit by changing their perspective on employees to include more personal and humane treatment, rewards, and recognition.


Pathogenic microorganism in fresh-cut fruits and vegetables is the important factor influencing its security. This article summarized the main way to ensure the safety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables using microbial control, including the antagonism, inhibition, invading as well as combination of many kinds of ways. The application prospects of microbial control on safety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables were also proposed.


Abstract Traditionally, the dynamic reservoir effects in the dam–reservoir system are approximated using the added mass approach. The objective of this study is to develop unconditionally stable solutions for the dam-reservoir interaction problem in the time domain. The dam–reservoir system can be categorized as a coupled field system, in which two physical systems of fluid and structure interact only at the two domains interface. Two methods of staggered solution procedure are proposed for the dam–reservoir interaction. The first method, the staggered displacement method, is based on the approximation of the displacement from the structure's equation of motion. The second method, is based on the approximation of pressure from the fluid's equation of motion. Both methods are shown to be unconditionally stable when the two differential equations of the fluid and structure include damping terms. The staggered pressure method was modified for use when the equation of motion includes a diagonal mass matrix. Two different configurations of concrete gravity dams are used to investigate the accuracy and stability of the staggered displacement and the modified staggered pressure methods. The proposed staggered methods were found to be quite accurate when compared with the existing finite element solution.


The invention provides an insect flying form observing and dynamic characteristic testing device which comprises a base, an observing box, a stimulating module, a micro pulling force detecting module, an image collecting module and a controller. The observing box is arranged on the base and is used for placing of insects. The stimulating module is arranged on the side wall of the observing box and is used for stimulating the insects, and the insects are urged to fly or change the flying states of the insects. The micro pulling force detecting module is placed on the lower portion of the observing box and is used for computing the kinetic parameters during insect flying according to the displacement caused on the insects during insect flying. The image collecting module is used for collecting images of the flying states of the insects. The controller is arranged on the side face of the base and is connected with the stimulating module and the image collecting module respectively, and the controller is used for controlling the stimulating module and the image collecting module. According to the testing device, effective flying observing can be carried out on the insects, direct and accurate measuring can be carried out on the kinetic parameters during practical insect flying, accurate samples can be provided for insect flapping wing flying mechanism research, and meanwhile the device is simple in structure and low in cost.


Objective To explore the effect of obstructive jaundice of different degrees on the liver regeneration in rats of post-hepatectomy. Methods Rat models with obstructive jaundice were set up and used for evaluating bilirubin in different periods. A group,B group,C group and D group were established respectively in accordance with the level of bilirubin at 0,1,3 and 7 days. The rats then received hepatectomy(about 70% of total liver). Mortality was thus followed. The observance of liver function was conducted at postoperative 0,12,24,48,72 and 168 hours,so were the study of PCNA index with immunohistological analysis,and HGF mRNA expression in remnant liver tissues. The ratio of the remnant liver's weight against body weight at 7 days after operation was also collected. Results After hepatectomy,compared with C group and D group,the mortality,serum liver function,PCNA index with immunohistological analysis,HGF mRNA expression in remnant liver tissues and the ratio of the remnant liver's weight against body weight were significantly different (P0.05 ) in rats of B group. Conclusion Hyperbilirubinemia caused by biliary obstruction before operation obviously inhibits the liver regeneration of post-hepatectomy. Hepatectomy is considered relatively safe only when a relatively low level of preoperative bilirubin and short-termed obstruction are achieved.


Purpose: Vertical Farming (VF) is a technique of growing food in vertically stacked layers or vertically inclined surfaces. Theoretically, it has the capability of growing any crops, fruits, or vegetables. The modern techniques of vertical farming through a controlled environment can support the growth and harvest of a crop irrespective of the season and climatic conditions. The newer modern techniques of VF have further reduced the dependency on sunlight, soil, and water. This paper analyses the appropriateness of vertical farming for developing countries like Oman. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper is based on secondary data and establishes the arguments in favor and against vertical farming. Findings: The findings support the need for vertical farming and suggest that it is very appropriate for the urban setups, where it reduces the transportation cost and facilitates the availability of fresh and pesticide-less food products. Research Limitations: The major limitation of this paper is that it only accounts the secondary information, the empirical investigation is missing. Managerial Implications: This paper implies government policies, allied agencies, and the agricultural sector. Originality/Value: This paper is an original paper based on secondary data, providing a conceptual model for Oman, on which very limited studies in the given context is available.


Sir: Microbial conversion of antibiotically inactive macrocyclic lactones to active compounds is an important approach in the search for new macrolide antibiotics. Mutational biosynthesis originally proposed by SHIER et al.1) was proved useful also for constructing new macrolide antibiotics and many new derivatives were obtained. However, these were virtually inactive,2-1) or weakly active and acquired substantial antibiotic activity only after chemical modifications.') As an alternative, we have proposed a hybrid biosynthesis method which utilizes enzyme inhibitors. By means of hybrid biosynthesis, the biologically inactive tylosin aglycone, protylonolide, was converted into 5-O-desosaminylprotylonolide (=M-4365 G1)6) by a pikromycin-producing streptomycete in the presence of cerulenin, an inhibitor of de novo synthesis of the aglycone moiety. Using this technique, further attempts were carried out to convert protylonolide by a spiramycin-producing strain, Streptomyces ambofaciens KA-448. Protylonolide was transformed into two new active macrolide antibiotics named chimeramycins A and B. This communication describes the fermentation, isolation, structure elucidation and biological properties of the chimeramycins. S. ambofaciens KA-448 (ATCC 15154) was cultured in a spiramycin production medium (glucose 1.0%, dried yeast 1.0%, NaC1 0.5%, CaCO3 1.0 %, NaNO30.1 %, pH 7.5) in the presence of cerulenin (40 ttg/ml/day). After 24 hours, 100 Fig/ml of protylonolide was added into the culture and the cultivation was continued for a further 48 hours. The cultured broth was centrifuged to remove mycelia. The supernatant was extracted with an equal volume of benzene, and the organic solvent layer was concentrated to afford a dark brownish residue. The residue


At present support vector machine has found applications in model classification. As for the undivided linear sample space, the kernel function is needed to map onto another high dimension linear space. Theoretically how to choose Kernel function remains unsolved. Therefore it is of great significance to study the properties of kernel function of support vector machine. For this reason, several important properties of kernel function are discussed on the basis of support vector machine.


Abstract Bibliometric research focuses on the analysis of the bibliographic indicators quantitatively. It is a useful way for classifying information according to different variables, including journals, institutions and countries. This paper presents a general overview of research conducted in the field of process capability using bibliometric indicators. The main advantage of the current study is that the bibliometric indicators provide a broad picture and identify some of the most influential research conducted in the area of process capability. The analysis is divided into key sections focused on relevant journals, research papers, authors, institutions and countries. Web of Science (WOS) databases is the source of data for carrying out this bibliometric analysis. The study reveals that W.L. Pearn and C.W. Wu. are the two most influential authors in process capability research. On the other hand, Journal of Quality Technology, and Quality and Reliability Engineering International are the two most influential journals for publishing process capability researches. Furthermore, Taiwan is found to be the most influential country, followed by the U.S.A. in the process capability research.


METHODS: The sample included 52 adults with ID (25 men; age 45 ± 14 years) who wore an accelerometer (wGT3X-BT; Actigraph) on the hip for 7 days. Using valid days, we determined total sedentary time, percent of wear time spent sedentary, number and duration of sedentary bouts, and breaks in sedentary time. We examined sedentary bouts with thresholds of ≥1, ≥10, ≥30, ≥60 and ≥90 min and breaks for bouts ≥10 min. We used t-tests and 2×2 (sex by day) ANOVA to evaluate the effects of sex and day of the week. RESULTS: Total sedentary time did not differ between men and women (533 ± 139 and 496 ± 140 min∙day, respectively; p = 0.35; for both sexes combined, 514 ± 139 min∙day). Men and women with ID accumulated sedentary time mostly in short bouts <10 min in duration. There were no significant differences between men and women, except for duration of sedentary bouts ≥1 min which was longer for men than women for weekdays (6.45 ± 2.58 and 5.18 ± 1.09 min, respectively; p = 0.027) and for all days of the week combined (6.71 ± 2.62 and 5.29 ± 1.11 min, respectively; p = 0.017). Most variables did not differ between week and weekend days, except for: duration of sedentary bouts ≥1 min was longer during weekend than weekdays in women (5.5 ± 1.8 and 5.18 ± 1.07 min, respectively; p = 0.048); duration of sedentary bouts ≥60 min was longer during week than weekend days in men (56 ± 42 and 47 ± 44 min, respectively; p = 0.037); number of sedentary bouts ≥1 min was greater during weekdays than weekend days in men (87 ± 21 and 83 ± 25 bouts∙day, respectively; p = 0.045); and duration of breaks was greater during the weekdays than weekend days in men (138 ± 126 and 81 ± 67 min, respectively; p <0.001). CONCLUSION: U.S. adults with ID spend a large portion of the day in sedentary behavior primarily of short bouts. There are small differences between sexes and between days of the week, suggesting near-uniform sedentary behavior levels and patterns for men and women with ID throughout the week.


Any opinions, statements, or recommendations contained in this report are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of or imply endorsements by NIST or the U.S. Government. Additionally, neither NIST nor any of its employees make any warranty, expressed or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process included in this publication. NIST policy is to use the International System of Units (metric units) in all its publications. In this report, however, information is presented in U.S. Customary Units (inch-pound), as this is the preferred system of units in the U.S. earthquake engineering industry.


Cusped-field Hall thrusters (CFHT) have significant potential for use in many space missions due to their simplicity, long life and high efficiency. CFHT-27, designed and developed at the Bogazici University Space Technologies Laboratory (BUSTLab), is a prototype CFHT with a 27-mm diameter discharge channel. CFHT-27 utilizes samarium-cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets. The thrust and efficiency of a cusped-field thruster is closely related to its size and design parameters. In this study, in order to understand the relationships between the design parameters and the thruster performance, the performance tests of the CFHT-27 are carried out for a given magnetic field topology. The thruster was operated at discharge voltages ranging from 250 to 500V with argon propellant with up to 3,000 s of specific impulse. The measurements show that CFHT-27 can achieve thrust values from 1 to 46 mN. Thus, this thruster can be used for a wide range of thrust values allowing throttle capabilities for different missions.


OBJECTIVE:
To assess the ONSD with B Scan(10 MHz probe) and MRI(fat suppressed T2 weighted sequence) in patients with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension(IIH) and to compare the significance of ONSD in diagnosing raised intracranial pressure.
BACKGROUND:
The optic nerve sheath is in direct communication with the intracranial subarachnoid space which forms the physiological basis for using the Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter(ONSD) as a surrogate for intracranial pressure measurement.
METHODS:
15 patients of IIH were selected according to Modified Dandy Criteria and were subjected to measurement of ONSD with MRI brain and B Scan separately. ONSD was measured in an axis perpendicular to the optic nerve, 3 mm and 5 mm behind the globe on both sides. Cut off values of ONSD to diagnose increased intra cranial pressure are taken as 5.8 mm and 6mm for MRI and B scan respectively.
RESULTS:
In B scan, 10 out of 15 patients are abnormal in 3 mm depth when compared to 5mm where 7 out of 15 patients are abnormal(p 0.010).In MRI, 11 out of 15 patients are abnormal in 3 mm depth when compared to 5mm depth where 7 out of 15 patients are abnormal(p 0.029). In 3 mm depth, 9 out of 15 patients are abnormal with MRI when compared to B scan where 8 out of 15 patients in right eye(0.004) and 6 out of 15 patients in left eye(0.017) are abnormal. In 5 mm depth, 6 out of 15 patients are abnormal with MRI when compared to B scan where 3 out of 15 patients in right eye(0.659) are abnormal.
CONCLUSIONS:
B scan and MRI measured at 3mm behind the globe from optic disc is statistically significant than 5 mm. MRI is statistically superior to B scan in measuring the optic nerve sheath diameter in diagnosing raised intracranial pressure. Disclosure: Dr. Kilji has nothing to disclose. Dr. Srinivasan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bhanu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Samivel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ranganathan has nothing to disclose.


Page 1 of 7 To say that information visualization is still a young and evolving fi eld is a considerable understatement. We are still only scratching the surface of its potential. As the science on which it is built continues to yield new insights and an increasing number of talented and innovative people apply these insights in search of new solutions, we can expect eye-opening progress in the next few years. In this article, I want to describe an example of how this process works. To do so, I'm turning to the work of a relatively small but gifted business intelligence software vendor named Panopticon.


This paper presents a developed compact lowpass filter which is devised by concatenating 'T' and inverted 'T' open stubs on a microstrip line. They are combined to enhance the bandwidth and also to improve the outband performance. Insertion loss of the developed filter is less than -0.15 dB and the return loss is -30 dB at 2.85 GHz. Stopband performance of the filter is less than -20 dB from 5.4 GHz to 7.8 GHz and provides -3 dB cut-off frequency at 4.5 GHz. The final dimension of the fabricated filter with the above features is only 16.17 mm (length) $\times$15.76 mm (width). The response of the developed filter has a good agreement with simulation response.


The theory of risk society claims that 'individualisation' has led social class positions to loose their significance in explaining risk and risk perceptions in late modernity. Using social survey data from England, this proposition was put to an empirical test for three types of risks: income loss, accident or illness, and poor customer service or advice. Regression analyses revealed that class position only affected perceptions of the risk of income loss, whereas the risks of accidents or illness and of poor customer service or advice were strongly shaped by welfare and value orientations. While other indicators of individualisation derived from the data failed to explain variations in risk perceptions, the strongest effect on current risk perceptions was the experience of risk events in the past, and awareness of and drawing on support systems. The findings demonstrate the need for risk theory to differentiate between types of risks and to draw out more clearly their sociological contexts in order to grasp fully the nature of perceptions of risk prevailing in late modern society.


Frontline is an online course developed in the UK in the theory and practice of reader centred work in the public lending library. It is designed to challenge library staff to rethink their jobs and change the way that they work by putting readers first rather than books. Following a successful pilot and rollout in Melbourne Library Service, a three year program of the course across the state of Victoria began in October 2010.


Perleche was first described by Lemaistre, 1 who considered an organism which he called Streptococcus plicatilis as responsible for the disorder. His clinical and bacteriologic observations were based on a study of 300 cases. The disease had been recognized in various European countries for a long time prior to his work, and had received numerous popular and scientific names, among the latter, angulus infectiosus (Faulecke) and impetigo commissural (Sabouraud). It was believed by Sabouraud, Colcott Fox, Cole and Jadassohn, 2 Lane, 3 Smith, 4 and others, in view of their investigative work, to be of streptococcic origin, and at the present time, although the streptococcus has not been proved to be the etiologic agent, it is almost universally regarded as such. It should be mentioned that only in rare instances has impetigo been seen in patients with perleche, only with such frequency as might be accounted for on the grounds


The growth responses of clove seedling to light and soil water regimes were studied by a field experiment with shading and irrigation treatments to clarify their growth traits at the early stage of plantation establishment. Eighteen-month-old clove seedlings were subjected to twelve treatments, that is, 3 shading treatments (0%, 60% and 80% shading) × 4 watering treatments (1.0, 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 l/m2 /day), for ca. 6 months. Increment ratio of seedling height (IH), number of newly created buds (NB) during the experimental period and dry mass per plant at the end of the experiment (leaves: LM, stem and branch: SM, root: RM and total plant: TM) were compared among the treatment. The growth of clove seedlings (height < 150 cm) was generally more susceptible to water stress than to low light availability. The growth retardation by water shortage was observed in all the examined parameters except for SM. The effect of the shading treatment appeared to be limited; however, LM and NB showed significantly lower values under the heavy shade (80% shading). We concluded that dense planting of clove seedling with other competitive crops should be avoided to ensure the fast growth of clove seedlings at the establishment stage.


Objectives – MJD1/SCA3 is the most common type of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) worldwide. To explain the low prevalence of the disease among SCA patients from eastern India, we analysed CAG repeats and two bi‐allelic intragenic markers at SCA3 locus among 412 normal individuals and 10 patients.


We demonstrate a novel variable attenuator composed of a three dimensional (3D) hollow optical waveguide with a variable air gap. The change of the gap results in variation of lateral optical confinement, which gives us variable attenuation of 14 dB.


We revisit a particular visual grounding method: the "Image Retrieval Using Scene Graphs" (IRSG) system of Johnson et al. Our experiments indicate that the system does not effectively use its learned object-relationship models. We also look closely at the IRSG dataset, as well as the widely used Visual Relationship Dataset (VRD) that is adapted from it. We find that these datasets exhibit bias that allows methods that ignore relationships to perform relatively well. We also describe several other problems with the IRSG dataset, and report on experiments using a subset of the dataset in which the biases and other problems are removed. Our studies contribute to a more general effort: that of better understanding what machine-learning methods that combine language and vision actually learn and what popular datasets actually test.


A number of specific features of the human capital directly influence process of his formation, accumulation and use. They are that the person concerns use of the human capital and obtaining the income controls it; free wills of efficiency of functioning of the human capital cause it owner, individual interests, preferences and values, cultural and moral level. Since the 90s years of the 20th century in Edward Denison, B. F. Kiker, Richard of Mayo Smith's works and most of the Russian scientists (Kostiuk V. I., Klimov S. M., Korogodin I., Dobrynin A. I., S. A. Dyatlov, V. A. Games, Kurgan S. A., etc.) investigate the human capital of an individual. In the collective scientific work «Strategic Answer of Russia to Challenges of the New Century» under L. I. Abalkin's edition definition of the human capital is closest to individual. Development of the human capital assumes that it is both object, and the subject of management and result of activity. In the course of transition from labor to the human capital there is a place to investment, the individual can carry it, and result of investment acquisition of new qualitative characteristics of the human capital will be of firm, the region and the state at the level. The public institutes realizing a trajectory of development of the human capital form need for special quality of labor human resources. Research of the human capital at the level of its owner (individual) is a starting point of further increase in its efficiency. In other words, quality of the human capital in aspect of intelligence, education and qualification plays the defining role in creation of competitive economy.


In the age when there are so many users of narcotic drugs as at the present, it is rather surprising that nothing definite is known about the concentration of barbital in blood after its administration; and this can be keenly realized if one takes into consideration the fact that barbital is one of the most frequently used narcotic drugs. This aroused my interest in intiating the study on the barbital concentration in body. I have examined human body repeatedly with the use of Goldschmidt's method and measured the barbital concentration in blood. As the results, it has been found that the barbital concentration in blood reaches its maximum about two hours after its administration, and although it gradually decreases thereafter, it still maintains a relatively high level after twenty-four hours. This point coincides well with that of drugs clinically used for inducing lasting sleep.


A series of haloaliphatic compounds that react with nucleophiles by the SRN1 mechanism due to steric, electronic, or strain factors.


SUMMARY: The kinetics of the emulsion polymerization of butadiene was investigated using Dresinate 214 as emulsifier and three dissociative initiators, viz. potassium peroxodisulfate, 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) and 2,2'-azoisobutyronitrile. All experiments were conducted in the presence of a thiol as chain transfer agent, as usual in diene-polymerizations. The polymerization rate in interval 11, Rpol, was found to be highly insensitive to changes in the initiator concentration (R,,, = Primary radicals are generated in large abundance in interval I as compared with the final particle number, indicating that the initiator efficiency with regard to particle nucleation is very low. The development of particle number as a function of conversion at several emulsifier concentrations shows that limited coagulation is occurring in the present system. R,,, depends on the emulsifier concentration with an exponent of 0,61, while the final particle number after cessation of coagulation depends on the emulsifier concentration to the 1,6th power. As a consequence the average number of radicals per particle must be a function of particle size, because the monomer concentration in the latex particles is approximately constant in interval 11. A certain analogy in behaviour between the emulsion polymerization of various polar monomers, kinetically dominated by radical desorption, and the emulsion polymerization of butadiene, suggests that similar events determine the kinetic course in the present system.


The global technology revolution is changing the integrated circuit industry from the one driven by performance to the one driven by energy, scalability and more-balanced design goals. Without clock-related issues, asynchronous circuits enable further design tradeoffs and inoperation adaptive adjustments for energy efficiency. This dissertation work presents the design methodology of the asynchronous circuit using NULL Convention Logic (NCL) and multithreshold CMOS techniques for energy efficiency and throughput optimization in digital signal processing circuits. Parallel homogeneous and heterogeneous platforms implementing adaptive dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) based on the observation of system fullness and workload prediction are developed for balanced control of the performance and energy efficiency. Datapath control logic with NULL Cycle Reduction (NCR) and arbitration network are incorporated in the heterogeneous platform for large scale cascading. The platforms have been integrated with the data processing units using the IBM 130 nm 8RF process and fabricated using the MITLL 90 nm FDSOI process. Simulation and physical testing results show the energy efficiency advantage of asynchronous designs and the effective of the adaptive DVS mechanism in balancing the energy and performance in both platforms. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Jia Di, for his guidance, encouragement, and support throughout my Ph.D. studies. His profound knowledge and rigorous attitude toward research have been inspiring me throughout my four years of research at the University of Arkansas and will benefit my professional career as well. I am grateful to my committee members: Dr. Dale Thomas, Dr. J. Patrick Parkerson, and Dr. Jingxian Wu for their suggestions and kind supports for my research work. It has been a great pleasure to work with my colleagues at the Cato Springs Research Center (CSRC), not only because of the talent but also the friendship. I cherish the wonderful time that we worked together. I would like to thank Dr. Brent Hollosi, Mr. Justin Roark, Dr. Landon Caley, Mr. Michael Hinds, Mr. Nathan Kuhns, Mr. Chien-Wei Lo, Mr. Francis Sabado, Ms. Thao Le, Mr. Jean Habimana, Mr. Andrew Suchanek, Mr. Brett Sparkman, Mr. John Brady, Mr. Brent Bell, Mr. William Bouillon, Mr. Lucas Weaver, Dr. Fahard Parsan, Dr. Ashfaqur Rahman, Dr. Matt Barlow, Mr. Guangyuan Cai, for their helpful discussion, great support and precious friendship. My gratitude also goes out to Dr. Chuanzhao Yu, for his tremendous help with the analog circuitry design. The love and support of a family is irreplaceable in both life and education. I offer my deepest gratitude to my wife, Jing Li, my son, Andrew Z. Men, my father, Huijun Men, my mother, Zhiqin Zhang, my sister, Liangkun Men, and my nephew Yunyi Cao, for their everlasting love, support and encouragement for all my endeavors. DEDICATION In memory of my grandma, Shenggu Zhang (1935-2015), whose courage and diligence continue to inspire.


The TJNAF Free Electron Laser (FEL) will be upgraded to operate at 10 kW average power in the near future. Multimode simulations are used to analyze the operation describing the evolution of short optical pulses in the far infrared wavelength regime. In an FEL that recirculates the electron beam, performance can depend on the electron beam distribution exiting the undulator. The effects of varying the undulator field strength and Rayleigh length of the resonator are explored, as well as the possibility of using an optical klystron. The simulations indicate that the FEL output power can reach the design goal of 10 kW. r 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Learning to learn approaches can be used to train a recurrent neural network (RNN) that learns an optimization algorithm. Adaptive computation time for RNNs allows a network to adjust its depth at each time step to the input received so far. In this work we developed two adaptive meta-learners that combine the learning to learn and adaptive computation time approaches in order to optimize loss functions of base-learners. Integrating both approaches is motivated by the idea that a learned, iterative optimization algorithm benefits from being able to adjust the number of optimization steps to the input, by learning to weight the time step losses. Our newly proposed models could be trained with less computational effort on convex and non-convex optimization tasks compared to the baseline optimizer introduced by Andrychowicz et al. (2016). Moreover the adaptive optimizers developed their own training regime that trades off computational effort against accuracy based on a prior injected preference.


Objective:To understand the clinical onset manifestations's features of Primary Sjgren's syndrome,and enhance dentists' understanding for pSS,thus to improve the level of diagnosis.Methods:The clinical data of 66 cases of pSS were analyzed retrospectively.Results:66 cases,the frequency clinical onset manifestations in mouth,47 out 66 with dry mouth,19 out 66 with rampant caries,6 out 66 with oral membrane ulceration and parotid swollen;38 out 66 with dry eye,46 out 66 with arthralgia,the highest 59 out 66 with positive rate of lip gland histopathologically,28 out 66、29 out 66、26 out 66、32 out 66and28 out 66 with ANA(+),anti-SSA(+),anti-SSB(+),ESR(+)and RF(+);57 out 66 with hyperglobulinenia,16 out 66,10 out 66 with IgG、IgA content abnormal.Conclusion: Primary Sjgren's syndrome is one of the systemic immune diseases,over 80% patients with hyperglobulinenia,the most common onset symptoms are rampan caries、dryness of mouth and eyes and arthralgia,lip gland histopathological,parotid sialography、detectation of ANA and anti-SSA are helpful to the early diagonosis of pSS.


Objective To analyse changes of magnetocardiogram (MCG) after PTCA in old patients with coronary artery disease.Methods MCG was performed in 90 old patients with chest pain. Forty-four of them had coronary artery stenosis50% (control group) and 46 had coronary artery stenosis≥70% (coronary artery disease group) before and one week and one month after PTCA. MCG recording for 3 times in 31/46 patients was performed on time. The maps of magnetic field distribution were plotted in course of ST-T interval with 12 ms steps on the bases of two-dimensional interpolation algorithm. Two quantitative indicators were analyzed :average classification of total maps(ACTM),ratio of abnormal maps(RAM).Results ACTM and RAM were much higher in CAD group than in control group [3.04±0.64 vs 2.72±0.82,P0.05; (65.28±31.50)% vs (50.84±36.26)%,P0.05]. ACTM and RAM in 24—72 h after PTCA were lower than those before PTCA but no significant difference(P0.05) and were much lower one month after PTCA than before PTCA[RAM(52.65±30.16)% vs (71.58±27.10)%,P0.05].Conclusion MCG might be a new screening method for diagnosis of coronary artery disease and a noninvasive method for evaluation of cardiac ischemic degree of patients.


Director/producer Ray Quint and writer Sue Smith spoke to Mia Treacey about making the miniseries 'Bastard Boys' and the tension between drama and history in bringing the story of the 1998 waterfront dispute to the small screen.


Let $L:= a(x) (-\Delta)^{-\alpha/2}+ (b(x), \nabla)$, where $\alpha\in (0,2)$, and $a:\mathbb{R}^d\to \mathbb{R}$, $b: \mathbb{R}^d\to \mathbb{R}^d$ are H\"older continuous. We show that the $C_\infty(\mathbb{R}^d)$-closure of $(L, C_\infty^2(\mathbb{R}^d))$ is the generator of a Feller Markov process $X$, which possesses a transition probability density $p_t(x,y)$. Complete description of this process is given both in terms of a martingale problem and as a weak solution to an SDE driven by an $\alpha$-stable noise. To construct the transition probability density and to obtain the two-sided estimates for it, we develop a new version of the parametrix method, which allows one to handle the case where $0<\alpha\leq 1$ and $b\neq 0$; that is, in our approach the gradient part of the generator is not required to be dominated by the jump part.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between chronic pyelonephritis (CPN) and immune function, and the therapeutic mechanism of Yishenkang granule (YSKG).

METHODS
One hundred and twenty patients of CPN were divided into 3 groups randomly, the YSKG group (treated with YSKG), the control A group (treated with Sanjin tablet) and the control B group (treated with western medicine). Serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig), complement 3 (C3), interleukin-2 (IL-2), peripheral T-lymphocyte subsets, and urinary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were determined before and after treatment with monoclonal antibody assay, agar diffusion method, radioimmunoassay (RIA), and radioimmuno-equilibrium method, and compared with normal control.

RESULTS
There were disorders of T-lymphocyte subsets in CPN, lowering of serum Ig, C3 and urinary sIgA, and increase of blood IL-2 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). These abnormalities could be normalized after YSKG treatment.

CONCLUSION
Functional disorders of cellular and humoral immunity exist in CPN patients of chronic stage, YSKG could correct the immune functional disorder, control the recurrence of CPN effectively and alleviate the immunopathological damage.


Abstract The expression for the Operating Characteristics (OC) and Average Sample Number (ASN) functions are derived under inspection error. Two types of error are defined i.e. (i) failing to find one or more of the nonconformities in the sample and (ii) declaring one or more nonconformities when none exist. It is seen by OC and ASN curves that inspector errors have considerable effects on the results of a sequential test for Poisson distribution.


Results of current studies aimed at the development of low activity blankets for Tokamak experimental power reactors are presented. First wall loadings in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 MW(th)/m$sup 2$ have been assumed. Blanket designs are developed for both circular plasma reactors (R = 6.25m, a = 2.1m) and non-circular plasma reactors (R = 4.0m, a = 1.0m, b = 3.0m). For each of these two reactor choices, two blanket options are described. 1) In the first option, the blanket is thick graphite block structure (approximately 50cm thickness) with SAP coolant tubes carrying helium imbedded deep within the graphite to minimize radiation damage. The neutron and gamma energy deposited in the graphite is radiated along internal slots to the coolant tubes where approximately 80 percent of the fusion energy is carried off by He at 380$sup 0$C. The remaining 20 percent of the fusion energy is removed by a separate He stream at a slightly lower temperature. The maximum graphite surface temperature is relatively low (approximately 1700$sup 0$C at 1 MW(th)/m2). 2) In the second blanket option, the blanket is composed of aluminum modules. The aluminum shell (5000 series alloy) is maintained at a low temperature (approximately 200$sup 0$C)more » by a water coolant stream. Approximately 40 percent of the fusion energy is removed in this circuit. The remaining 60 percent of the fusion energy is deposited in a thermally insulated hot interior (SiC and B$sub 4$C) where it is transferred to a separate He coolant, with exit temperature of 700$sup 0$C. (auth)« less


Kakawin Nāgarakŗtāgama describes Majapahit's territory during its victorious day almost covering the current area of the Nusantara, including the Ambon Island in the region of the Maluku Islands. However, there are only small trace of physical evidence and literary data that can prove the existence of Majapahit influence in Ambon Island, or in other words, there is no absolute proof that can be accepted by academician. The people of Ambon Island who are illiterate have an oral tradition of telling the history. Ema village in Ambon Island has an oral tradition that tells the arrival of Majapahit. This study used oral tradition analysis method also by field observation to find related artefactual data and  supported by relevant literature review. Based on the results of oral tradition studies, it is known that the arrival of the delegates of Majapahit Kingdom in Ema Village is a real historical event occurred and supported by evidence of artefactual data found in the field. The results of this study became the first primary reference of historical events that occurred in the Ambon island after so long that the published literature earlier did not contain clear evidence of the interaction or the coming of the Majapahit Kingdom in Ambon Island. The result of this study is also sufficient to prove that Ambon Island is not the territory of Majapahit Kingdom.


The following human biochemical genetic markers that can either typed or subtyped by the use of analytical isoelectric focusing in thin layer polyacrylamide gels are reviewed: glucose-60phosphate dehydrogenase, haemoglobin, protease inhibitor,transferrin,group specific component, phosphoglucomutase I,salivary amylase, -fucosidase and neutral -glucosidase C. Our attempt to subtype properdin factor B is described.


The discovery of graphene makes the researcher interested towards the other two-dimensional material which has quite similar properties like graphene. Among them, MoS 2 nanosheets ha ve s extraordinary optoelectronic and physical properties. It has several applications in developing battery, sensor, optoelectronic device etc. On the other hand, amorphous carbon nanotube can be synthesized by using a low temperature chemical process. Due to the ease processing of amorphous carbon nanotube (ACNT), good optoelectronic and physical property based nanomaterial with amorphous carbon nanotube, can be a good replacement of crystalline carbon nanotube in numerous applications. Amorphous carbon nanotube-molybdenum disulfide nanohybrids were prepared by using hydrothermal method using sodium molybdate dehydrate and L-cysteine as precursor. Characterization of as prepared sample was done by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) method. FE-SEM and HRTEM image confirms the formation of ACNT-MoS 2 nanohybrids. I-V curve under dark and illumination condition has also been experimented.


The seepage control problem of soil and rocks dam on non-homogeneous infinite deep pervious dam foundation has not been resolved at present and there are many related real problems being solved in engineering.The paper calculated the length of unpermeable blanket on non-homogeneous infinite deep pervious dam foundation through establishing a mathematics model,and validated it through a related model experiment.The theory calculation and the experiment are validated to each other,So as to get the basic method of seepage calculation of soil and rocks dam on non-homogeneous infinite deep pervious dam foundation,the result is satisfactory.


Fourteen cottonseed (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes were assessed for the biochemical constituents. Genotypes Pusa-321, LH-1912 and Vikas exhibited highest values for seed index, hull content and kernel percentage, respectively. Seed meal of LH-1899 recorded highest protein content, RS-2013 and Vikas highest methionine and tryptophan, respectively. The genotype CNH-120 was found with highest oil (44.34%). Highest values for nutrional quality index and oleic acid were in seed oil of F-1974 and linoleic acid in CA-899.


ABSTRACT The importance of information retrieval systems is unquestionable in the modern society and both individuals as well as enterprises recognise the benefits of being able to find information effectively. Current code-focused information retrieval systems such as Google Code Search, Codeplex or Koders produce results based on specific keywords. However, these systems do not take into account developers' context such as development language, technology framework, goal of the project, project complexity and developer's domain expertise. They also impose additional cognitive burden on users in switching between different interfaces and clicking through to find the relevant code. Hence, they are not used by software developers. In this paper, we discuss how software engineers interact with information and general-purpose information retrieval systems (e.g. Google, Yahoo!) and investigate to what extent domain-specific search and recommendation utilities can be developed in order to support their work-related activities. In order to investigate this, we conducted a user study and found that software engineers followed many identifiable and repeatable work tasks and behaviours. These behaviours can be used to develop implicit relevance feedback-based systems based on the observed retention actions. Moreover, we discuss the implications for the development of task-specific search and collaborative recommendation utilities embedded with the Google standard search engine and Microsoft IntelliSense for retrieval and re-engineering of code. Based on implicit relevance feedback, we have implemented a prototype of the proposed collaborative recommendation system, which was evaluated in a controlled environment simulating the real-world situation of professional software engineers. The evaluation has achieved promising initial results on the precision and recall performance of the system.


Previous research concerning the linkages between women's occupational origins and destinations has applied models developed for the study of men's intergenerational occupational mobility. In this paper, we use an approach that incorporates two unique aspects of women's occupational experiences. First, we consider housework to be a possible occupational outcome for women. Second, we consider the occupations of mothers as well as those of fathers in the portrayal of women's occupational origins. We show that this approach more fully displays the influences of occupational origins on women's subsequent occupational activities. In particular, we find that women whose mothers worked are themselves more likely to join the labor force, and their occupations are likely to resemble their mother's.


It is first to select proper software architecture when designing software architecture.In this paper we provide a method to select style based the evaluation matrix.We experimentalize it with one cases,the experiment result is satisfied.


On the basis of study of the effection factors for communication frequencies caused by underground geology condition and production condition, a relatively good frequency group of wireless communication transmission in underground was defined, and the distributing scheme of base-station in underground cellular communication was offered.


In this account I explore and clarify my responsibility as I explain how I have come to my current understanding of talent creation, and why I feel it is so important to develop an inclusive approach to talent creation which provides opportunities for all the children to develop talents through their time at school, and to have them recognised and be able to give them as gifts to the school community.


A new method for the determination of nitrite was established on the basis of the fact that the decoloration of m-Cresol purple, which was resulted by the oxidation by bromate, was catalyzed by nitite in H_2SO_4 medium. Kinetic conditions were studied. Apparent reaction rate constant (k′=1.03×10~(-4)s~(-1)) and apparent activation energy (E′_a=10.25 kJ·mol~(-1)) were determined. Determination range of the method was 8.0-150 μg·L~(-1) and detection limit 0.9 μg·L~(-1) for nitrite. The method has been applied to the determination of nitrite in water samples.


Motion of robot manipulators can be divided generally into the following three categories: i) fine motion which requires high positioning accuracy in all directions, but makes light of the moving speed (ex. assembling) ii) gross motion which tolerates rough positioning accuracy in all directions, only requires high speed movement (ex. material handling) iii) partially fine motion which requires high speed movement in sole directions and high positioning accuracy in other directions (ex. grinding). In this paper we propose several control schemes which are suitable for realizing the motion of category ii) or iii) by extending the method devised for the motion of category i) by Takegaki and Arimoto. The basic idea to derive these schemes is to supply the manipulator system with an artificial potential function and dissipation function according to the substance of each task. In the paper, two


This paper investigates the commonly debated question about innovations and firm age. Are innovations made by incumbent firms, and does innovation therefore constitute a barrier to entry, or is innovation a way for new firms to successfully compete? The paper further investigates the relationship between firm size and innovation. Does innovation constitute a way for small firms to compete or are innovation a large firm phenomenon? In the analysis the paper explicitly distinguishes between product and process innovation. Data from 1997 and 1999 on product and process R&D, firm size and age in the Swedish manufacturing industry is used in the empirical analysis. A multinomial logit-model is used to estimate the probability of performing process and product R&D. The results show that there are complementarities between product and process R&D and very few firms conduct only process R&D. The probability of product R&D and combined product and process R&D is higher for large firms and firms that are older than 80 years. The size and age effects are more pronounced for firms that carry out both process and product R&D.


PURPOSE: A power saving method of portable internet device and portable internet device thereof and instant messaging system using the same is provided to reduce a power consumption of an instant messaging system when the portable internet device is in idle mode. CONSTITUTION: An instant message communication unit(14) sends/receives an instant message through the network transmission unit. A processing unit(15) makes a display unit(13) a visible state or invisible state. The instant message communications unit enters into the first mode when the display unit is in the visible state. The instant message communications unit enters into the second mode when the display unit is in the invisible state. An electricity supplying unit(16) provides a power supply which is needed in portable internet device operation.


Current methods of diagnosis and treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in an era in which surfactant replacement therapy is being used routinely in respiratory distress syndrome are reviewed. Surfactant results in the early development of a left-to-right ductal shunt that affects the clinical presentation of the ductus in very preterm infants. The timing and indications for echocardiography in a cohort of very preterm infants at Monash Medical Centre were reported, and a comparison was made between those whose ductus was suspected and treated early within one week with those who presented later. Necrotising enterocolitis following indomethacin was seen only with early therapy, and treatment failure required surgical closure only with late therapy. The incidence of chronic lung disease was similar in the two groups. In the post- surfactant era, the optimal protocol for the management of the ductus requires further study in very preterm infants.


Besides the financial crash and the global economic crisis that are currently electrifiyng the public the demographic change and its consequences (particularly also as regards housing) have ranked among the most discussed socioeconomic trends for some time now. After decades of denial, the subject "demographic change" has now not only aroused the attention of politicy-makers and the public but is also causing hectic activity. At the same time, however, a certain change of perspective has also become apparent. Only a few years ago, the ageing of society was almost exclusively perceived as a threat and burden to the future prospects of economy and society.This perception of the perspectives of an ageing society is now changing, the deficit thesis is being pushed back in favour of a focus on skills and potentials. Politics and business are increasingly becoming aware of the fact that the specific interests of older people can – under certain circumstances be a good basis for generating demand for products and services that are geared to the needs of the older generation and can thus stimulate or ensure turnover and employment.


I learned a great deal from my seven-month stay in France from December 1984 to June 1985. But as it drew to an end, I was led to ask : Is it possible that the French I have met may have learned anything from me? The question was posed most poignantly in early June when I was asked to act as the American "expert" in a panel under the auspices of France-Amérique in the beautiful rooms of their mansion on Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt. The other members of the panel were French political scientists and writers, and the announced subject was "La tradition libérale américaine: Quels enseignements pour la France d'aujourd'hui?" In formulating my thoughts, I found forming in them a notion of American liberalism, its changing definitions and its abiding meaning over the course of our history. Much of this is not new to Americans if they have reflected at all on our history. But my French audience seemed to have an interest in it, even beyond their impenetrable politesse. I have made here a few excerpts of what I told the French about us, and then have added some observations, which I was not presumptuous enough to make in the presence of the French panel, of what this history might-just might—mean to a thoughtful French person as he or she looks around the French scene today with all that knowledge and intimacy which a foreign observer can never possess.


Work is reported on the development and enhancement of the GRASP software engineering and visualization tool. GRASP automatically produces visualizations of control and complexity (control structure diagrams and complexity profile graphs, respectively) of source code written in Ada 95, C, and Java. These visualizations use intuitive, compact graphical representations that allow the software engineer to holistically visualize the overall program as well as visualize the details of a small section of the code. Current features and enhancements of GRASP as well as its availability are discussed.


Spring frosts are usual in many of Spain's fruit-growing areas, so it is common to insure crops against frost damage. After a frost, crop loss must be evaluated, by comparing what crop is left with the amount that would have been obtained under normal conditions. Potential crop must be evaluated quickly through the use of measurements obtainable at the beginning of the tree's growth cycle. During the years 1997 through 1999 and in 86 commercial plots of peach and nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch), the following measurements were obtained: trunk cross-sectional area (TCA, cm2), trunk cross sectional area per hectare (TCA/ha), estimated total shoot length per trunk cross-sectional area (SLT, shoot m/cm2 TCA), crop density (CD, amount of fruit/cm2 TCA), fruit weight (FW, g), yield effi ciency (YE, kg of fruit/cm2 TCA), yield per tree (Y, kg fruit/tree) and days between full bloom and harvest (BHP, days). CD and average FW were related to the rest of the variables through the use of multiple regression models. The models which provided the best fi t were CD = SLT - TCA/ha and FW = SLT + BHP - CD. These models were signifi cant, consistent, and appropriate for all three years. The models' predictive ability was evaluated for 32 different plots in 2001 and 2002. Statistical analysis showed the models to be valid for the forecast of orchards' potential yield effi ciency, so that they represent a useful tool for early crop prediction and evaluation of losses due to late frosts.


Ca−alginate gels were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering and rheology to determine relations between chemical composition and concentrations of the alginate and the elasticity and structure of the gels. The gels were prepared by in situ release of Ca2+ from either Ca−EGTA or CaCO3 with total Ca2+ concentration in the range 5−30 mM. Alginates with low (39%), intermediate (50%), and high (68%) fractions of α-l-GulA originating from the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum, Laminaria hyperborea leaf, and Laminaria hyperborea stipe, respectively, were employed. Two to three different degrees of polymerization for each chemical composition were used in the experiments. The excess small-angle X-ray scattering for the alginates in solution yielded linear cross-sectional Guinier plots, and the cross-sectional radius of gyration, Rg,c, was determined to be 3.1−4.6 A. The SAXS profiles of the alginate gels depended on the alginate concentration, Ca2+ concentration, and the alginate composition. The SAXS data sugges...


A field study was conducted to investigate the performance of different herbicides for controlling weeds in wheat and their effect on the grain yield of wheat variety Manthar-2003 at Agronomic Research Station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan during the year 2004-05. The treatment included the broad spectrum herbicides viz. Isoproturon 50WP 2.0 kg ha, Sencor 70WP @ 250 g ha, Puma Super 75 FW @ 1.25 L ha + Buctril Super 60EC @ 750 ml ha (tank mixed), grass selective herbicides Puma Super 75 EW @ 1.25 L ha and Topik 15 WP @ 250 g ha , dicot selective herbicide Buctril super 60 EC @ 750 ml ha and mechanical control i.e hoeing twice at Ist and 2 irrigations were compared with the weedy check. Puma Super 75 EW + Buctril Super 60 EC applied 40 days after sowing gave 98% control of both grassy and broad leaf weeds followed by isoproturon applied after first irrigation in wet condition gave 95% weed control as compared to the weedy check.. As a result of excellent weed control, the maximum grain yield of 3990 Kg ha was recorded from the Puma Super 75 EW @ 1.25L ha + Buctril Super 60EC @ 750 ml ha followed by Isoproturon @ 2 kg ha having statistically at par grain yield of 3973 kg ha. Although Puma Super 75 EW + Buctril Super produced the maximum grain yield yet Isoproturon has given maximum benefit: cost ratio 582% and proved to be the most economical herbicide for weed control in wheat. The weedy check produced the lowest statistical grain yield of 3393 kg ha as compared to the herbicides and mechanical (hoeing twice) treatments included in the experiment. It is concluded from the study that all the treatments resulted in the statistically significant weed control and enhanced the grain yield over the weedy check. Key Word Triticum aestivum, chemical control, hand weeding


Purpose: the aim of this study is to research applied models of air traffic controllers' errors prevention in terminal control areas (TMA) under uncertainty conditions. In this work the theoretical framework descripting safety events and errors of air traffic controllers connected with the operations in TMA is proposed. Methods: optimisation of terminal control area formal description based on the Threat and Error management model and the TMA network model of air traffic flows. Results: the human factors variables associated with safety events in work of air traffic controllers under uncertainty conditions were obtained. The Threat and Error management model application principles to air traffic controller operations and the TMA network model of air traffic flows were proposed. Discussion: Information processing context for preventing air traffic controller errors, examples of threats in work of air traffic controllers, which are relevant for TMA operations under uncertainty conditions.


The NHS Commissioning Board will hold contracts and make contract payments for general practices and will manage performers lists from April 2013, latest guidance from the organisation says.

The board will hold and negotiate all general medical services (GMS), personal medical services (PMS), and alternative provider medical services (APMS) contracts, with a view to developing "greater consistency" in the different forms of contract.

The board and its 27 local area teams will also be responsible for contract monitoring and performance management of …


Synthesis of poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA, in a mass scale production using 2-steps direct polycondensation methods was investigated. One hundred kilogram of L-lactic acid was esterified in a designed reactor under reduced pressure at elevated temperature in the first step, followed solid state polymerization, SSP. The synthesized PLLA from both laboratory (5 g) and mass (100 L) scales show comparable melting temperature, Tm (151 – 172 oC) and molecular weight (Mn) (10,000 -32,000) at the similar polymerization conditions. The appearances of synthesized PLLA are yellow-white solid powder. The results show high potential to produce environmental friendly polymer, PLLA, using non-complex facilities process.


The pole -changer -free electric motor technology, which connects tile large synchronous electric motors with the electric network through frequency -ehangers and uses fedback signals of magnetic pole position of rotors to achieve closed -loop control, enables large synchronous electric motors to achieve stepless smooth speed regulation as direct-current electric motors. The maximum single motor capacity has gone up to 100 MW so far with a limit capacity of 250 MW, and it has a great prospect application in the electric power and transmission industry.


Since sectors differ in their sensitivity to interest rates, monetary policy produces inefficient sectoral fluctuations. In a model with sectoral heterogeneity, I show that policymakers should weight sectors proportionally to their interest elasticities, account for dynamic demand effects from durable goods, and systematically utilize forward guidance to reduce sectoral volatility. A calibrated model confirms these recommendations and finds that neglecting sectoral volatility produces substantial welfare losses. The best-performing policy rule stabilizes a sectorally weighted measure of inflation, plus lags of past durable inflation. (JEL E12, E23, E24, E31, E32, E43, E52)


The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. The primary purpose of this site scientific mission plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team, Operations Team, and Instrument Team) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the Site operator, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.


Background: Mentalization-based treatment is a model of psychodynamic therapy rooted in attachment theory that aims to enhance the individual's capacity to represent thoughts, feelings, wishes, beliefs and desires in themselves and in others in the context of attachment relationships. Aims: To describe the normal development of mentalization as well as anomalies in mentalization that can arise and can ultimately lead to the development of personality disorder. Method: Description of the basic principles of mentalization-based treatment as well as the rationale for use of these techniques. Results: Summaries of randomized controlled trial and a description of an ongoing RCT for the outpatient treatment of BPD. Conclusion: MBT is a generic psychotherapeutic treatment which shares many features with other psychotherapeutic approaches but is unique in focusing on enhancing the patient's capacity to think about and regulate mental states.


Eggs of the gray tree frog. During amplexus, the male deposits sperm on the eggs as the female lays them. Hours later, the protective jelly firms, shielding the developing embryos until they hatch as tadpoles. I t's a warm Saturday night in July, and things are literally hopping down at the pond. Hordes of male gray tree frogs have gathered at the water's edge, belting out guttural trills that fill the air with songs of frog love. Seduced by the dulcet tones, female frogs their eggs ripe for fertilization descend from the trees around midnight for their once-yearly night of romance. Each selects a male and pulls him onto her back in a mating clasp called amplexus. But instead of lingering to luxuriate in the embrace and release her eggs, she immediately hops away with her lover still clinging in search of a more perfect pond for pairing. Why, after being dragged around season after season for millennia, haven't the species' males evolved to call from sites that better suit the females? Ecologists who study the gray tree frog, Hyla chrysoscelis, have long been stumped by this odd gender gap. Although the phenomenon remains unresolved, new research shows that males and females of this nonterritorial species have somewhat different criteria for what constitutes the ultimate love puddle. William J. Resetarits Jr. and Henry M. Wilbur of Duke University in Durham, N.C., began studying the species' disjointed breeding behavior in 1985. As population ecologists, they sought to discover whether opposing natural forces kept the males and females out of sync. "We want to understand how ecology affects the behavior of organisms," says Resetarits, now at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "We're really interested not only in the behavior of individual species, but what effect their behavior may have on the community" In the June ECOLOGY, Wilbur, now at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and Resetarits report the results of 52 long, sweaty summer nights spent in the woods of North Carolina, monitoring the frogs' mating quirks at 45 pseudo-ponds.


Rationale: Acute respiratory failure (ARF) in COVID-19 (C19) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. To date, physiologic descriptions have largely focused on gas exchange and respiratory system compliance, however our anecdotal observations suggested that increased airways resistance also commonly contributed to ARF in C19. Normal inspiratory airways resistance (iRaw) has been reported to be 1 cm H2O/L/sec, while unselected patients with ARDS have been reported to have values closer to 5 cm H2O/L/sec (https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm/139.5.1169). Methods: We measured iRaw in a prospective convenience sample of 55 mechanically ventilated patients with C19 in 3 adult ICUs between March and September 2020. There were no exclusion criteria. We collected baseline demographics, date of first positive C19 test, days from intubation until the first captured waveform (see below), gas exchange parameters, inflammatory biomarkers, and 90-day mortality. All C19 medical care including sedation and neuromuscular blockade was determined by the primary team. During measurements of ventilatory mechanics, patients were placed on volume control ventilation 6 ml/kg/PBW, square flow at 60 L/min, and an end-inspiratory hold time of 0.3 seconds. Screen shots of flow-time and pressure-time scalars were captured for later review. iRaw was calculated as peak airway pressure-plateau airway pressure/flow. Results: Patient characteristics are shown in the table. The median iRaw was 12 cm H2O/L/sec (IQR 10-16). iRaw was not significantly different among patients with asthma or COPD compared to those without a history of obstructive airways disease (median 12.5 vs 12 cm H2O/L/sec, respectively, p=0.66). Survival to 90 days among patients with iRaw above 12 cm H2O/L/sec was 68% compared to 60% for patients below 12 cm H2O/L/sec (p=0.58). iRaw did not correlate with CRP, ferritin, PaO2/FiO2 ratio, or static compliance (Cstat). Conclusion: Waveform analysis using a convenience sample of mechanically ventilated patients with ARF due to C19 showed a significant increase in iRaw compared to prior studies done on unselected ARDS patients without C19. Increased iRaw was independent of a history of obstructive airways disease and did not correlate with biomarkers of disease severity nor did it predict mortality. Additional studies will be needed to determine if increased iRaw prolongs the duration of mechanical ventilation in C19.


This paper proposes a general framework for analyzing the performance of ultra wide band (UWB) communication systems in a synchronous reference scenario. In this context the information flows, produced by various sources, are synchronously multiplexed to share the common radio resource. The analysis in mainly devoted to investigate the performance of differential UWB receiver architectures, with the signal plus (multiplexing) interference to noise ratio (SINR) and bit error rate (BER) being the parameters of interest. While the obtained results point out that typical channelization codes (i.e. Hadamard) do not seem to be adequate to mitigate multiplexing interference (MI), we identified exact expressions to completely remove MI. In this perspective, the developed framework turns out to be a fundamental setup to identify efficient code families that aims at optimizing the overall system performance


This thesis deals with the stylistic analysis used in Iwan Fals' and Ebiet Ade's song lyrics. The objectives of this study are to describe types of figures of speech found in the Iwan Fals' and Ebiet G Ade's song lyrics, to describe the interpretation of Iwan Fals' and Ebiet G Ade's song lyrics and to elaborate the reason why they use it. A qualitative descriptive research was applied. The data source were taken from the album of Iwan Fals and Ebiet G Ade's album from 1982 to 1990. There are 11 album of Iwan Fals and 6 album of Ebiet G Ade.Iwan Fals' album are choosen randomly as well as Ebiet G Ade's album.To take the album is used percentage namely 30 percent of Iwan Fals' album and Ebiet G Ade's album. There are 3 album of Iwan Fals and 2 album of Ebiet G ade that will be the source of data. The songs that characterized the most representative are taken respectively from the album collection. The researcher takes 30 percent of it as the data namely 8 song lyrics of Iwan Fals and 6 song lyrics of Ebiet Ade. Documentary technique is applied in collecting the data. The instrument for collecting the data is documentary sheet. The data were analyzed by using Mile and Huberman's data analysis. The findings show that there are 10 types of figures of speech are found in the Iwan Fals song lyrics namely: personification, apostrophe, simile, metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, paradox, allegory, and overstatement/hyperbole and 8 types of figures of speech are found in Ebiet G Ade's song lyrics namely: personification, apostrophe, metaphor, symbol, paradox, allegory, overstatement/hyperbole and understatement. It is found that Iwan Fals and Ebiet G Ade wrote song lyrics as the medium to convey message and advice. The reasons of using Figures of Speech in song Lyrics are (1) style as personality/individuality, (2) Style as deviation from the norm, (3) Style as situation or relationship between message and medium.


This article summarizes a systematic review of the electroencephalography (EEG)-based cognitive workload (CWL) estimation. The focus of the article is twofold: identify the disparate experimental paradigms used for reliably eliciting discreet and quantifiable levels of cognitive load and the specific nature and representational structure of the commonly used input formulations in deep neural networks (DNNs) used for signal classification. The analysis revealed a number of studies using EEG signals in its native representation of a two-dimensional matrix for offline classification of CWL. However, only a few studies adopted an online or pseudo-online classification strategy for real-time CWL estimation. Further, only a couple of interpretable DNNs and a single generative model were employed for cognitive load detection till date during this review. More often than not, researchers were using DNNs as black-box type models. In conclusion, DNNs prove to be valuable tools for classifying EEG signals, primarily due to the substantial modeling power provided by the depth of their network architecture. It is further suggested that interpretable and explainable DNN models must be employed for cognitive workload estimation since existing methods are limited in the face of the non-stationary nature of the signal.


I am grateful to Tirthankar Roy for his prompt response, and his generosity in acknowledging the validity of some of my criticisms. It will be obvious to readers that there are some fundamental disagreements between us regarding what constitutes economic history. On this, and a number of other issues that Professor Roy has chosen not to address, it would be tedious to repeat myself; we must agree to disagree and invite readers of this journal to draw for themselves the conclusions they wish—and, ultimately, how fair I have been in assessing his book is something that readers will only be able to judge by reading it themselves. I focus below on the three core issues with which most of his response is concerned: 'reading the past with reference to the present', the importance of a 'region-focused approach', and the 'comparative approach'.


Objective: To observe the curative effect of acupuncture treatment on obstetrics and gynecology urinary retention. Methods:108 cases with uroschesis were divided into the treatment group and the control group according to the treatment method. Results: The total efficiency rate of the treatment group was 98.15% which was significantly higher than 92.59% in the control group and the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion: The clinical symptoms was remarkably improved after acupuncture treatment. So it's worth to popularize.


Abstract The highly concentrated nature of the swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) production industry in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina, along with economic constraints that discourage transport of the swine effluent more than a few kilometers from the site of production, result in frequent and repeated application of swine effluent to the same agricultural fields or pastures. Creation of value‐added products and marketing as a fertilizer is an alternative means of redistributing nutrients that are concentrated regionally. Fertilizer equivalency greenhouse studies were conducted to evaluate the potential for processed swine lagoon solids (PSLS) formulated from dewatered swine lagoon solids and rock flour to serve as a fertilizer source for agricultural crops. Sweet corn (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), and field bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were grown for six weeks, and common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.) was grown for 18 weeks on a Norfolk sandy loam (fine‐loamy, Kaolinitic...


Members of the Unc-13/Munc13 protein family are components of the presynaptic active zone and essential vesicle priming factors in regulated exocytosis. They are thought to mediate vesicle priming by stabilizing the open conformation of the Q-SNARE Syntaxin, thereby promoting the SNARE core complex assembly. The Unc-13/Munc13 protein family is evolutionarily highly conserved and comparison of the various Unc-13 homologs in different species demonstrates that the respective genes consist of two modules that have evolved differentially and may have independent functional roles. The carboxy-terminal two-thirds of the protein are highly conserved between Drosophila, C. elegans, mouse, rat, and human, whereas of the known mammalian Unc-13 homologs, only Munc13-1 and ubMunc13-2 contain an amino-terminus with homology to the Unc-13 L region of C. elegans. RIM is an active zone protein, that has been found to bind this conserved amino-terminus of Munc13-1 and ubMunc13-2 and has been! proposed to act at multiple steps of the synaptic vesicle cycle, including targeting/docking, priming and fusion of synaptic vesicles. In the present study, we used a random mutagenesis approach in combination with yeast two-hybrid technology, biochemical assays as well as immunocytochemistry to identify residue(s) in the Munc13-1/ubMunc13-2 sequence that are critical for RIM binding. The ultimate aim of these studies is to develop the basis for subtle genetic interference with the RIM/Munc13-interaction in mice, which will allow a detailed functional characterization of this synaptic regulatory protein-protein interaction.


Several scholars acknowledge that the ability to think critically and process new information is a skill that must be learnt in order to challenge a rapidly changing world. It is important to enhance students' critical thinking skills to help them be successful in their upcoming life plans in numerous domains. In other words, integrating critical thinking skills in schools is not only a way to assist learners obtain favorable outcome in schools, but it is also crucial if learners are going to be able to operate in an increasingly difficult world. However ; little attention has been given to examine strategies that can help teachers incorporate critical thinking skills in education. This paper attempts to address the importance of critical thinking in education. Besides, it aims to discuss the issue of teaching critical thinking for the 21st century students learning English as a foreign language. Finally, the paper  addresses elements that prevent the improvement of critical thinking in classrooms.


There is a long-standing tradition of assessing the antecedents and consequences of the role of context in entrepreneurship (Aldrich & Fiol, 1994; Autio et al., 2014; Thornton, 1999; Zahra & Wright, 2011). This Point-CounterPoint (PCP) addresses several fundament questions that lie at the core of entrepreneurship research:

1)How do entrepreneurs identify or create opportunities?

2)How do they acquireand combinethe resources requiredto exploit those opportunities?

3)How do they make judgments under conditions of risk and uncertainty?

4)How do market, institutional and intra-firm contextsenable or constrain those judgments?

To address these questions, the authors of this PCPplace, first of all, entrepreneurship in distinct disciplinary contexts. Foss, Klein and Bjornskov draw on the insights of economics to explain how organizational, institutional and market contexts shape entrepreneurial judgment. Lounsbury, Gehman and Glynn resort to the theories and concepts in the cultural entrepreneurship literature and sociology to argue that entrepreneurship is embedded in, and fundamentally shaped by, socio-cultural dynamics.


A novel sol-gel process for preparing oxides and mixed oxides sols from precipitation and peptization process is reported in this article. Inorganic salts are used as raw materials in this study. It is found that the amount of acid has great influence on the stability and particle diameter distribution of the precursor sols. Ultrasonic treatment is used to prepare alumina sol at room temperature. The result of 27 Al NMR shows that there exist Al 13 7+ species in the sol. By controlling the sol particles with narrow particle diameter distribution, alumina, titania and silica-alumina (SA) materials with narrow mesoporous distribution are formed by regular packing of sol particles during gelation without using any templates. The results also show that the structure and particle diameter distribution of precursor sol determine the final materials' texture.


Thrombin and trypsin, two proteases with overlapping cleavage specificity, activate human platelets by inducing the aggregation and release of serotonin from intracellular storage granules. To activate platelets, thrombin has to bind to the cell membrane and retain its proteolytic activity. It is apparent that binding and generation of the intra cellular signal are two separate processes. The pro teolytic action of thrombin on plasma membrane proteins is still poorly understood; thrombin catalyzes the cleavage of a specific platelet protein, termed "glycoprotein V," but the meaning of this reaction and the function or function of this protein are unknown. In platelets, thrombin elicits phospholipase Cinduced breakdown of polyphosphoinositides with the production of two putative second messengers, myo-inostiol-l,4,5-tris-phosphate and 1,2-diacylglycerol. The former has been connected to intracellu lar Ca + mobilization, and the latter is known to activate protein kinase C. In this article we show that trypsin also elicites phospholipase C-induced breakdown of polyphos phoinositides with formation of inositol phosphates (Table 1) and phosphorylation of 20,000 and 40,000 D proteins (Fig. 1), which are the substrates, respec tively, of myosin light chain kinase and protein kinase C. The autoradiograph in Figure 1 also shows that trypsin, but not thrombin, stimulates the phosphorylation of another protein, of approximate 25,000 D molecular weight. Leupeptin, a protease inhibitor produced by various species of actinomycetes, inhibits platelet activation induced by thrombin and trypsin; leupep tin does not inhibit thrombin proteolytic activity when assayed with synthetic substrates, and it does not inhibit thrombin binding to platelets. However, leupeptin inhibits platelet aggrega tion and serotonin release induced by thrombin and trypsin in a dose-dependent manner. It also inhibits thrombinand trypsin-induced formation of inositol phosphates (Table 1). Leupeptin also inhibits thrombin and trypsin-induced activation of protein kinase C and myosin light chain kinase in human platelets (Fig. 1); trypsin-induced phosphorylation of a 25,000 D protein is inhibited by leupeptin also (Fig. 1). Our study suggests that thrombinand trypsininduced activation of phospholipase C is related to their proteolytic activity: another possibility is that the initial degradation of plasma membrane pro teins induced by thrombin and trypsin could acti vate platelet endogenous proteases involved in transmembrane signalling. Indeed, platelet phos pholipase C is degraded by Ca-dependent pro teases when the cytosolic enzyme is isolated in the absence of leupeptin or ethylene glycol-bis (βaminoelthyl ether)-NN'-tetraacetic acid, and the proteolytic action of thrombin might affect guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins that could interact with platelet phospholipases.


This is a descreptive - analytic study of 200 employed and housewifed mothers aged 20-35 years old, married, moslem, live in meshad, have one or more child under 4 years old. The aim of this study was the comparison of depression level in employed and housewife mothers. The correlation between depression and the level of husband's co - operation at home, mothers self-esteem, social support, role and status satisfaction and the level of work stress, was also evaluated. The results of this research showed that the mean of depression in employed mothers was less than housewifed mothers (11/3 vs 13/4). The prevalence of depression was found 13% in employed and 20% in housewifed mothers. The result of this study revealled that employment indirectly affects and influenced on the level of pathological depression. The result of the present study suggested the needs of paying more attention to mothers' with young children for providing mental health.