Increased knowledge and contemporary technology have brought to the healthcare scene methods to control human liv ing, dying, and experimentation to prolong life or to gain knowledge. This kind of control over life and death means that professionals have a different kind of responsibility today than in the past. This responsibility requires participative de cision making about another person's life, health, and func tional ability to perform in the various roles as a person. The quality of life is a major issue being discussed in communi ties, in healthcare systems, and in nursing. Three ethical is sues being debated currently revolve around rationing healthcare, that is, restricting resources because of a policy of cost containment in the system, end-of-life decisions, and care by incompetent workers. Problems arise in specific patient situations when decision making involves choosing between legal and ethical consequences of the decisions. Nurses' legal right to practice is given in the Nurse Practice Act in each state in the United States. Knowledge of ethical theories and principles is essential to help nurses make professional decisions in healthcare. If ethical principles are to be useful in decision making by professional nurses, norms that deal with standards of human behavior must be known by all nurses, especially with in creased recognition of human rights of all persons in health care systems. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code for Nurses(1985) andStandards of Clinical Nursing Practice(1998) provide the foundation for ethical decision making in nursing situations. How does nursing theory pro vide knowledge to use in ethical decisions, especially when confronted by ethical issues in practice? This question re quires an overview of one's philosophy of science and beliefs about human beings. For example, what is human nature? The relationship between one's philosophy and theory of goal at tainment is relevant because the concepts of the theory repre sent substantive knowledge used by nurses in deliberating ethical issues and making decisions.


Fulminant type 1 diabetes which is characterized by the abrupt onset of disease,severe diabetic ketoacidosis,high serum pancreatic enzyme concentrations,absence of diabetes-related antibodies is classified as type 1B diabetes.This article aimed to review the recent studies on clinical and immunologic characteristics,diagnostic criteria,the treatment and prognosis,the associations with pregnancy and delivery of fulminant type 1 diabetes.


X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) experiments were carried out on a series of ferroelectric materials PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) sx=0.40,0.47,0.49,0.55 d to study the local structure around Ti and Zr atoms in each sample. Based on the fact that PZT has a single phase in the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) from the x-ray diffraction measurements, both extended XAFS (EXAFS) and x-ray absorption near-edge structure results suggest that at 3 K the orientation of the Ti off-center displacement in these materials changes gradually from the [001] to [111] direction (in pseudocubic notation ) as the Ti concentrationx decreases from 0.55 to 0.40. This is evidence for a continuous rotation of the local electrical polarization across the MPB region in PZT. The ZrK-edge EXAFS data suggest that at low temperature, the ZrO 6 octahedra in PZT are less distorted than indicated from the average structure for all samples, though a small Zr displacement relative to the O atoms may exist. This possible small Zr displacement is also much less than that found in density functional theory calculations. The ZrO 6 local structure hardly changes with Ti concentration across the MPB region. Finally, the XAFS data also show that the sizes of the ZrO 6 octahedra are larger than that of the TiO 6 octahedra which was also observed by experimental neutron pair distribution function analysis.


The problemBeing able to manage the process- and material flows in an efficient way is essential for delivering goods, on time and at the lowest possible cost, to customers. Efficient flows have a ...


STADIA or tail pibals (FIG. 1) have been used to correct for the effects of rough terrain and turbulence in the first few minutes of pilot-balloon flights (Middleton [1 ] ) . Since previous experiments were designed to improve the accuracy of regular pibal ascents, the tail was made as light as possible in order to obtain normal ascension rate. In the present experiment the detection of wave motion was desired, so a small free lift was used to study the lower layers of the atmosphere in more detail.


1.
Habitat suitability criteria that fail to incorporate temporal variability in habitat preferences of stream fish may mis-represent critical habitat requirements and lead to setting of inappropriate flow targets when used in instream flow assessments. Developing suitability criteria from daytime observations alone relies on the assumption that habitat preferences are constant over the diel cycle. Few studies have tested these assumptions, particularly for small-bodied, cryptic, benthic species.

2.
During summer in two gravel-bed rivers, bluegill bullies (Gobiomorphus hubbsi), torrentfish (Cheimarrichthys fosteri) and upland bullies (Gobiomorphus breviceps) exhibited strong preferences with respect to water depth, velocity and substratum size. All three species underwent a diel shift in microhabitat preference for at least two of these variables.

3.
Microhabitat preferences were generally weaker when fish were active at night; bluegill bullies, upland bullies and especially torrentfish were observed over a broader range of depths, velocities and substratum sizes at night than during the day. Observations of fish in a stream simulator confirmed that bluegill bullies and torrentfish showed a preference for runs at dusk and return to riffles before dawn, but habitat preferences of upland bullies remained static across the diel cycle.

4.
Diel microhabitat shifts affected the assessment of flow requirements. Instream habitat analysis of the Waipara River using separate day and night suitability criteria predicted differing amounts of habitat available at a given flow, and the relationships between fish abundance, fish density and flow. The presence of diel microhabitat shifts in stream fishes suggests that instream habitat analyses will produce more effective and defensible flow recommendations when patterns of nocturnal microhabitat preferences are known and critical habitat bottlenecks can be identified. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Edible MC films were made from the main MC-based material,and then edible MC compound films were prepared by adding other material.Properties of edible MC compound films were evaluated with tense strength(T_S) and percent enlongation(E) and water vapor permeability(f_W),so the best quantity of added substances was determined,and obtained well edible MC compound films.


This study was carried out to evaluate changes in the meat quality and antioxidation activity in the loin and ham of Korean Native Black Pigs (KNBP) during frozen storage at -18℃ for 150 days. The pH value of the loin was decreased as storage days progressed, while the pH value of the ham showed no consistent changes with storage days. The lightness (L*) of the loin did not show any significant reduction until day 120, whereas L* of the ham was significantly declined throughout the storage period (p<0.05). The redness (a*) values of the loin and ham were significantly decreased as storage progressed. The water holding capacity of the loin was decreased by day 30 and that value was maintained until the end of storage. The initial total numbers of microorganisms in the loin and ham were 4.88 and 5.16 Log CFU/g, respectively and these numbers were significantly decreased by day 30 (p<0.05). The levels of 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (a measurement of lipid oxidation) in the loin and ham ranged from 0.057-0.069 and 0.052-0.087 mg MDA/kg meat, respectively, until storage day 150. Volatile basic nitrogen values of the loin and ham ranged from 15.13-16.55 and 16.05-16.23 mg%. Oxygen radical absorbance capacities and carnosine contents of the loin and ham were significantly decreased during frozen storage for 3 months (p<0.05). In summary, the meat quality of the loin and ham from KNBP was somewhat decreased during frozen storage. However, the levels of antioxidants and dipeptides with antioxidant activity were significantly decreased in pork loin and ham during frozen storage.


Background Several factors had been suggested to contribute to the development of hypertension in chronic glomerulonephritis (GN). This study was conducted to find the association of baseline blood pressure (BP) with pathophysiologic findings and later renal progression in chronic GN. Methods Clinico-pathological findings including serum creatinine (Cr), proteinuria, pathological findings, and urinary Na excretion were analyzed in a total of 233 patients with IgA nephropathy from The Kyung-Hee Cohort of GN. Glomerular surface area (GSA) was measured by imaging analysis and urine angiotensinogen (AGT) concentrations by human ELISA kits. Results Systolic BP was ≥130mmHg in 124 patients (53%). Systolic BP was negatively correlated with follow-up eGFR (r=−0.32, p<0.0001) and positively serum uric acid concentrations, while it had no significant relationships with initial serum Cr and eGFR. As compared with patients with systolic BP<130 mmHg, those with ≥130 mmHg were older and showed higher serum Cr, proteinuria, 24 hr urinary Na excretion, mean GSA, and T-I fibrosis, lower follow-up eGFR, and steeper decline in slope of eGFR. The results in patients with normal serum Cr concentrations were comparable to those in whole group. Systolic BP was positively correlated with age, baseline and follow-up proteinuria, serum uric acid concentrations and IgM deposit and negatively with follow-up eGFR. In subgroup analysis, systolic BP was also positively correlated with mean GSA and urinary AGT concentrations. Conclusion This study showed that baseline systolic BP is related to urinary Na excretion, glomerulomegaly, T-I fibrosis and later renal progression in patients with IgA nephropathy.


The arc routing problems are one of the combinatorial optimization problems. The aim of solving such problems is to determine a least cost tour which covers all or subset of arcs in a graph. The Hierarchical Chinese Postman Problem (HCPP) is a variant of Chinese Postman Problem, one of the most common arc routing problems. There are many application areas of HCPP in real life, such as snow plowing, garbage collection, road maintenance, letter delivery, routing of patrolling vehicles. In this study, it was aimed to find the best / nearest routes with the least cost by the HCPP approach in order to carry out the road maintenance activities which the roads connected to the 12 Regional Directorate of Highways. A nearest neighbor search based algorithm was developed in order to solve the handled large-scale problem. The proposed algorithm was conducted on the road network involved and an efficient result was obtained.


Times in remission from affective illness were prolonged during treatment with lithium carbonate and carbamazepine, but lithium was the more effective. Similar global scores for the two drugs suggested that other factors may determine their acceptability.


Nuclear magnetic resonance of 143Nd and 145Nd in Nd2Fe14B and Nd15Fe77B8 at 4.2 K by zero‐field spin‐echo nuclear magnetic resonance has been used to determine hyperfine fields, magnetic moments, and relaxation times for the two inequivalent Nd crystal sites. It was found that the Nd spin‐echo spectra of Nd2Fe14B and Nd15Fe77B8 are essentially identical, which is consistent with the Nd signal arising from the Nd2Fe14B phase in Nd15Fe77B8. The calculated Nd moments are higher than those obtained by neutron diffraction by 15 to 20%. The relaxation time mechanism appears to arise both from first‐order quadrupolar broadening and from anisotropies in the hyperfine field distribution.


This paper presents the results of fungal treatment of a real industrial wastewater (WW), providing insight into the main mechanisms involved and clarifying some ambiguities and uncertainties in the previous reports. In this regard, the mycoremediation potentials of four strains of white rot fungi (WRF): Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trametes versicolor, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius were tested to remove humic acids (HA) from a real humic-rich industrial treated WW of a food-processing plant. The HA removal was assessed by color measurement and size- exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis. T. versicolor showed the best decolorization efficiency of 90% and yielded more than 45% degradation of HA, which was the highest among the tested fungal strains. The nitrogen limitation was studied and results showed that it affected the fungal extracellular laccase and manganese peroxidase (MnP) activities. The results of the SEC analysis revealed that the mechanism of HA removal by WRF involves degradation of large HA molecules to smaller molecules, conversion of HA to fulvic acid-like molecules and also biosorption of HA by fungal mycelia. The effect of HS on the growth of WRF was investigated and results showed that the inhibition or stimulation of growth differs among the fungal strains. P450 come from, what do they do and what can they do for us?


Objective: To evaluate estrogen-testosterone ratio in rabbits with a left artificial varicocele. Material & Method: Eight rabbits were divided into two groups. The first group underwent ligation of left renal vein to induce artificial varicocele and the second group underwent a sham operation as control group. Eight week after ligation, blood samples were taken from the pampiniform plexus in both groups. Serologic examination (ELISA) was performed to measure testosterone and estrogen level. The t-test was used to compare the differences of the estrogen-testosterone ratios, a p value < 0,05 is considered significant. Results: Testosterone level was increased with 279% and estrogen level was increased with 33% blood from the pampiniform plexus in group 1 compared with group 2 (normal rabbits). The ratio of estrogen-testosterone between the control group and the artificial varicocele group were 1 : 3. Differences of the ratio between two groups were statistically significant (p < 0,05). Conclusion: Estrogen-testosterone ratio was lower in varicocele rabbit compared with normal rabbits. Keywords: Estrogen-testosteron ratio, left artificial varicocele. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */
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The alignment of postgraduate academic programmes with the institutional and national aspirations, especially in terms of graduate attributes cultivation, has always been monitored with regular reviews involving all related stakeholders. The rapid changes and growing expectations of the industry have however provoked a growing murmur among industrial players on the sub-par competencies of master's and doctoral graduates from public varsities. On the other hand, having a finger on the job market's pulse, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia has established the National Graduate Employability Blueprint 2012-2017 [1] to serve as a guideline for higher education providers, including public universities like UTHM. This is referred to in the design and delivery of academic programmes for developing basic but essential graduate characteristics to meet the demands of the industry. With the implementation of Outcome-based Education in Malaysia for almost over half a century now [2], it is therefore not without trepidation to perceive the spreading ripples of murmur on the subpar performance of graduates in the industry. Clearly the alleged mismatch between institutional targets and the industrial expectations needs to be investigated, especially if the chasm exists despite the continuous monitoring of academic programmes involving relevant industrial stakeholders. Considering that it is the University's ultimate social responsibility to nurture desired graduate attributes for sustaining the graduate employability of public university graduates, it is important to identify if the universities are seeing eye-to-eye with the industry through the students undertaking the academic programmes. It follows that if graduate employability skills are the outcomes of an academic training, then the academic programmes would be the processes undergone by the students to cultivate the desired skills. This paper examines the students' view on the effectiveness of 3 master's engineering programmes (via the learning objectives / outcomes) in shaping them for the job market, corresponding with the graduate attributes outlined in the Blueprint. Keywords— graduate attributes; job market; competencies; soft skills; engineering education; postgraduate


A ten year old boy came with a chief complaint of unerupted permanent maxillary right central incisor. Deciduous right central and lateral incisors were retained. Radiographic examination revealed an inverted and dilacerated mesiodens with the root bent over the incisal surface of the right central incisor preventing its eruption. An occlusal radiograph and radiographs using shift cone technique were taken to determine the position of the mesiodens. Extraction of retained deciduous incisors was done, followed by surgical removal of mesiodens to allow unhindered eruption of the central incisor.


McGill University Let X1 , X2, • . . be a sequence of independent uniformly distributed random variables on [0, 1] and Kn be the kth largest spacing induced by X 1 , X12 . We show that P(Kn < (log n log3n log 2)/n i .o .) = 1 where log, is the j times iterated logarithm. This settles a question left open in Devroye (1981) . Thus, we have lim inf(nKn log n + log3n) _ -log 2 almost surely, and lim sup(nK, t log n)/2 log2n = 1/k almost surely .


The mathematical didactics has gradually left the reference to global  or partial placement of whole chapters or areas of mathematics to be  retraced in teaching activities. The current trend consists in a passage  from discrete to continuous. Teaching methods and mathematical  structure are recreated from the important and meaningful elements  to teach and learn.


Objective: To describe the outpatient service profile in a plastic surgery clinic in southern Brazil. Materials and Methods: It was conducted a descriptive, exploratory and quantitative study in order to analyze the total outpatient service (consultations and surgeries) performed in a private plastic surgery clinic in the period from January 1th to December 31th of 2010. Results: It was observed that from 671 (60,5%) new consultations, only 205 (18,5%) surgeries were performed. March was the month with the highest number of consultations (10%) and surgeries (11,7%). Of the total of new consultations, the reparative ones were prevalent in 55,6% of the cases, followed by the esthetic with 33,7%. The average age was 37 years and the women were predominant. The ages ranged from 8 months to 89 years. The married patients represented the majority of surgeries (49,8%)and there was a predominance of adult patients (31-59 years) with 316 patients (47,1%). Unimed was the health insurance plan more used (49,3%) in the consultations; the most frequent surgical procedures were excisions and/or scraping of skin disorders and attachment 70 (33,1%), followed by mammoplasty (augmentation mammoplasty, mastopexy, gynecomastia). Conclusion: Although most of the surgical service were exeresis of congenital deformities and/or acquired, the result is not far from the reality found in the rest of Brazil, with a predominance of women and large number of breast implants. The studied clinic is an institution that provides conditions for the feasibility of outpatient care, considering the numerous advantages offered by this method.


The computational complexity of sorting and joining relations with duplicates is investigated. The measure of complexity is the number of three branch comparisons needed to process these operations. A relation is characterized by its cardinality n and the number of distinct elements L in the attribute columns of interest. Under this characterization, the worst time complexity of these two operations is investigated. Upper and lower bounds on the number of three branch comparisons needed to process these two operations are established. It is shown, in particular, that a priori knowledge of the number of distinct elements in the attribute columns of interest leads to a reduction in the computational complexity of these two operations.<<ETX>>


Throughout this thesis, we are going to introduce various (specific and generalized) models that capture positive and negative externalities in social and economics networks. Our main contribution is to indicate the structural implications induced hereby. We are going to derive results about pairwise stability, asymptotic pairwise stability and strong efficiency. Additionally, we draw specific conclusions depending on the underlying framework and compare our results to the related literature.

The thesis consists of 5 chapters.

Chapter 1 provides a short introduction.

In chapter 2 we develop a modification of the connections model by Jackson and Wolinsky (1996) that takes into account negative externalities arising from the connectivity of direct and indirect neighbors, thus combining aspects of the connections model and the co-author model. We consider a general functional form for agents' utility that incorporates both the effects of distance and of neighbors' degree. Consider a situation in which people are involved in projects. They generate some kind of knowledge by themselves and receive some from others. If an agent is involved in many projects, he will have less time to generate output by himself. However, the more connections he has, the more knowledge he will receive from neighbors, neighbors of neighbors and so on. Consequently, we introduce a framework that can be seen as a degree-distance-based connections model with both, negative and positive, externalities. Our analysis shows how the introduction of negative externalities changes certain results on stability and efficiency in comparison to the original connections model. In particular, we see the emergence of new stable structures, such as a star with links between peripheral nodes. Our analysis focuses mainly on structures with short diameters, but also considers cases with extreme levels of decay. We also identify structures, for example, certain disconnected networks that are efficient in our model, but which cannot be efficient in the original connections model. While our results are proved for the general utility function, some of them are illustrated by using a specific functional form of the degree-distance-based utility.

In chapter 3 we deal with network formation frameworks, where payoffs reflect an agent's ability to access information from direct and indirect contacts. We integrate negative externalities due to connectivity associated with two types of effects: competition for the access to information, and rivalrous use of information. We consider two separate models to capture the first and the second situation, respectively. In the first model we assume that information is a non-rivalrous good, but that there is competition for the access to information, for example because an agent with many contacts must share his time between them and thus has fewer opportunities to pass on information to each particular contact. In the second model we do not assume that there is competition for the access to information, but rather that the use of information is rivalrous. In this case, it is assumed that when people are closer to the sender than an agent, the harmful effect is greater than when others are at the same distance to the sender as that agent. In both models we analyze pairwise stability and examine if the stability of a structure is preserved when the number of agents becomes very large. This leads to a new concept that we call asymptotic pairwise stability. We show that there exists a tension between asymptotic pairwise stability and efficiency. The results allow us to compare and contrast the effects of two kinds of competition for information.

While in chapter 2 the connections model by Jackson and Wolinsky (1996) is modified to a degree-distance-based variation, in chapter 4 we present another modification of the connections model that is closely related and takes account of negative externalities by overall connectivity. The idea for this approach goes back to Jackson and Wolinsky (1996) who mention in their seminal paper that "... one might have a decreasing value for each connection (direct or indirect) as the total amount of connectedness increases." (p. 53.). Taking this as a starting point, we add a weighting factor depending on overall connectivity to the functional form of the original connections model. This weighting factor is independent of own links, but benefits received from direct and indirect connections are reduced by increasing overall connectivity of the other nodes in the network. In this context, we solve for pairwise stable and asymptotically pairwise stable networks and analyze strongly efficient networks. We compare the results and indicate the similarities and differences of the connections model with purely positive link externalities and the adjusted version with negative externalities by overall connectivity. What appears to be striking in the overall connectivity model is the role of the star network. It turns out to be pairwise stable, asymptotically pairwise stable and to be a very well performing structure in terms of strong efficiency. The reason for this is that it combines short distances between all nodes with a minimal number of links. Hence, all nodes receive many spillovers with low decay and relatively low punishment by overall connectivity.

Chapter 5 is more applied and we investigate a duopoly with horizontal product differentiation, in which firms strategically form costly links to customers. Such a link to a customer may be interpreted as the firm granting access to trade its product. Altering the network of links changes the structure of competition. This results in externalities and influences the equilibrium quantities and profits. We investigate in how far the degree of substitutability of the firms' products and the costs of link formation influence equilibrium profits and thus the incentives to form or delete links. We illustrate which networks are locally and Nash stable for which regions of costs/substitutability combinations. For networks with an arbitrary number of customers we analyze local stability regions for selected networks and determine their limits as the number of customers becomes large. We also relate local and Nash stability for selected networks with n customers. For networks with three customers we entirely characterize locally stable networks. In particular, existence is guaranteed for any degree of substitutability and any cost value.


The current research in real-time scheduling focuses mostly on the certification of functionalities with respect to safety requirements under conservative assumptions or to achieve efficient resource utilization but with optimistic assumptions. With growing system complexity, the safety certification is becoming hard, especially in event-triggered environments. In time-triggered environments, the network nodes are synchronized by clocks and follow a static schedule hence they are easily certifiable. However, the time-triggered paradigm has two disadvantages. The first one is its general non-flexibility (e.g. message retransmission, efficient resource usage) and the second one is the need for an efficient scheduling algorithm producing the schedule. In this paper, we propose a solution to both of these issues. To address the first disadvantage, we propose a method for non-preemptive message retransmission in time-triggered environments while preserving the efficient use of resources. Based on the message criticality we allow a certain number of retransmissions. The observed prolongation of the processing time of a highly critical message is compensated by skipping transmission of less critical messages. Static schedules then contain all alternatives caused by the retransmissions that can occur during a run time execution. Schedules conform with certification requirements imposed on the highly critical messages while preserving the efficient use of resources. To address the second disadvantage, we propose a novel heuristic scheduling algorithm with an unscheduling step for solving large instances of periodic message scheduling problem. The message periodicity is assumed to be a power of two and the objective is to minimize the maximal jitter. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on problem instances with up to 2000 messages.


The purpose of this study is to examine the long term psychological effects of war stress regarded as traumatic experience. The subjects are Serbian internally displaced people (IDP) of adolescent population from Kosovo. It is a very big concern whether the adolescents would overcome the social and psychological difficulties caused by the war stress in order to reconstruct the better society. The result came out that the long-term effects still exist in PTSD, depression and hopelessness, which affects self-esteem and the attitude in purpose in life that are important factors for personality development. This paper also examines the difference between IDPs with war stress and the adolescent sufferers of the big earthquake in Japan.


Device that releases the amount of fluid 3 storable pulsed into the reservoir housing 2, the lock device 7 is formed by a piston-cylinder arrangement 8 having a cylinder housing 9, the cylinder housing by actuating the piston 10 a first working chamber 11 is divided into the second working chamber 12, the peripheral surface 13 of the actuating piston 10 in this case, or in the working piston 10 itself, electrical rheological or magneto rheological valve 14 It is characterized in that it is arranged as a gap 15 or openings between the first working chamber and a second working chamber.


Abstract The formation of stars constitutes one of the basic problems in astrophysics. Understanding star formation efficiency of molecular clouds (MCs) of a galaxy is necessary for studying the galactic evolution. Present data and theoretical formulations show that the structure and dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM) are extremely complex. Therefore, there is no simple model that can explain adequately the star formation efficiency of MCs because of its complex nature. The initial mass of the cloud needed for collapse varies based on the environment in which the cloud resides and the strength of its magnetic field, turbulence, as well as the speed of rotation. In this paper, we estimate the star formation efficiency by combining pre-determined models and the critical mass formulated by Kumssa & Tessema (2018).


Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most efficient non-destructive geophysical techniques used for subsurface investigations like detection of buried objects, underground life lines such as water mains, storage tanks and to some extent, void spaces in retaining structures and embankments. Identification of various shear failure surfaces generated due to static or cyclic loading on subgrade soils is very difficult. In this study, 1.6 GHz high frequency antenna has been used to predict the failure patterns of densified sand bed overlying weak subgrade layers in a 1m test tank, with and without geocell reinforcement. Radar-grams were generated before and after a repeated traffic load equivalent to the contact pressure of 550 kPa applied on the test bed. The radargrams obtained were analyzed using 3D Vision software for detecting the subsurface deformations.


Based on the averaged Korean head shapes that are the results of digital Korean project by KISTI and Catholic university, experimental apparatus of head dummies of Korean male and female are developed in order to measure head-related transfer functions(HRTF) by using a reverse engineering and rapid prototyping techniques. For the Korean dummies, HRTFs are measured using the substitution method ever 12kHz frequency bands. At every azimuth angle HRTFs are measured for elevation angles , and . The measured HRTFs are compared with those of KEMAR(knowles electronic manikin for acoustic research) dummy head, which shows difference over kHz frequency band.


A web page (www.uv.es/ioptica) has been developed for students of Optics and Optometry and Physics degrees, respectively. The web environment is designed for solving 24 exercises of Geometrical Optics using graphical tool for tracing optical beams. The approach for each exercise is based on a multiple answer diagram, which is completed after the graphical resolution of the exercise.


With the rapid development of magnetic resonance imaging technology, the study on language functional imaging of bilingual people is deepening in the aspects of depth, breadth and precision. Development imaging more clearly high field strength magnetic resonance imaging system, ultra-fast imaging software and data post-processing software, making the secret of human language was revealed step by step. This paper focused on the application of magnetic resonance in bilingual teaching. It summarized the main findings and achievements of magnetic resonance technology in bilingual teaching. Based on the existing research, this paper further discussed the development trend of magnetic resonance in bilingual teaching. In the future of magnetic resonance technology under the linguistic research to provide research base and learn from experience.


This study examines nonlinear adjustment effects in the purchasing power parity (PPP) between South Africa and her main currency trading partners; namely, the US, the UK, the Euro area, China and Japan. We use monthly data of the nominal exchange rates and domestic price level data collected between the periods 1971-2014. The empirical study is conducted using nonlinear unit root and asymmetric cointegration analysis. Our empirical results show significant asymmetric PPP effects between South Africa and her main trading partners with causal effects flowing from exchange rates to price differentials.


To determine scientifically how the lecture demonstration method compares with the individual-laboratory method of teaching, when geometric material is presented as a laboratory science, is the problem. The pro cedure consisted of forming two parallel groups of pupils which were nearly alike in mental equipment as measured by those factors which were considered likely deter minants for successful achievement in school subjects, and which were about at the same point on the learning curve in terms of achievement in geometry. The group which was taught by the lecture-demonstration method was designated the control group and the one taught by the individual-laboratory method was designated the experimental group.


In the group of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, mosquito-borne arboviruses are considered public health challenges. Early recognition of local transmission, followed by rapid and effective vector control and encouragement of social mobilization programs, can broaden prevention measures and minimize the risk of dissemination by reducing the occurrence of sudden outbreaks caused by arboviruses. The present work aimed to identify the occurrence of arboviruses and to correlate them with socioenvironmental aspects in the community Santa Bárbara, João Pessoa / PB. For this, traps were placed for oviposition, for later analysis and quantification of the species. To characterize the epidemiological factors, to draw the sociodemographic profile, an investigative questionnaire was applied to correlate the socioenvironmental issues that could be influencing the presence and maintenance of the vectors in the community. The traps showed a higher oviposition in the hotter periods of the year with a peak in the February period, which confirms the positive influence of temperature on vector proliferation. Humidity also interfered positively, followed by precipitation in order of importance. It was observed that most of the Santa Bárbara Community is marked by the absence of basic sanitation. The recorded cases of arbovirus cases was 62.56% of the studied population, of which 63.11% were affected by Dengue. Among those affected by some arboviruses, only 48.86% were submitted to diagnostic confirmation tests. Although the role of endemic agents is of fundamental importance for the prevention and control of outbreaks of arboviruses cases, it was verified that many residences were not visited by them and those who received the visit were not surveyed nor did their residents receive any information on how to prevent or combat the proliferation of vectors. Through the investigation of the breeding sites and the vector positivity by type of container it was possible to verify that the highest breeding indexes were characterized as type D2 residues. Based on the results, we can infer that climatic factors and socioenvironmental issues directly influence the development and oviposition of vector insects and that they are adapted to the local ecosystem. .


The aim of this study was to select superior materials of Eucalyptus spp. using univariate and multivariate statistical analyzes. Twenty-five genetic materials from Eucalyptus spp. collected in Itamarandiba, Minas Gerais were used. The properties of wood and charcoal were determined for all genetic materials, in addition to the gravimetric yield. Data were submitted to Scott-Knott hierarchical clustering algorithm as univariate analysis. For the multivariate approach, a combination between principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis was used. Both analyzes were efficient in the selection of genetic materials for charcoal production. According to the Scott-Knott test, genetic materials 9 and 21 were the most suitable to produce charcoal. By means of the multivariate analyzes the most indicated were 9, 10 and 21. The Scott-Knott test allowed the visualization of the results of each quality parameter independently. On the other hand, the multivariate tools enabled the observation of the relation between the properties of wood and charcoal.


Purpose – Singapore's rapid economic progress has been accompanied by a series of experiments in medical savings and health insurance. This paper aims to examine the "three Ms" – Medisave, MediShield, and Medifund – in order to establish the way in which the policy-instruments are expected to deliver the status required. Design/methodology/approach – The paper collects evidence on both outcomes and payments. Findings – Results show that a nation in which the median citizen is under 40 is in a strong position to rely principally on individual medical savings accounts. The paper predicts that Singapore, as its population ages, will probably rely more heavily on risk pooling and insurance. Practical implications – The practical implications are that an extension of insurance is inevitable, but that earmarked savings will probably remain the first line of defence. Originality/value – The paper is the first to document the Singapore experience of payment for health. It draws inferences and makes recommendations that will be of interest to policy makers both in poorer and in richer countries.


Introduction
 Surgery for Hashimoto  thyroiditis (HT) can be difficult due to dense inflammatory process surrounding the gland and postoperatively patient can develop hypocalcaemia, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, haematoma and infection. Purpose of this study was to compare the rate of post-operative complications in HT with that in benign goitres.
Materials and Methods
Data of the patients, who underwent thyroidectomy for benign goitres between January 2013 and December 2017, were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were divided in to two groups. Group A included patients confirmed to have Hashimoto thyroiditis (n=148) and  Group B included patients who underwent thyroidectomy for other benign thyroid disorders (n=430).
Results
A total of 578 patients who underwent thyroidectomy for benign thyroid diseases were included in the present retrospective study. Group A consisted of 148 patients who had HT. Group B consisted of 430 patients who had other benign thyroid diseases. The data was analysed using SPSS 23 and p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Patients undergoing thyroidectomy in HT had significantly higher post-operative complication rate (p<0.005). Of the 148 patients with HT, 31.6% (77) had hypocalcaemia while 68.4% (167) with benign goitres had hypocalcaemia. In addition, 51.8% of the patients in the HT group were later diagnosed with malignancy; there were no malignancies present in the group B.
Conclusion
Though patients with HT suffer higher rate of complications after thyroidectomy when compared to benign goitres, careful pre-operative planning and  risk counselling of patients with improved surgical techniques helps to minimize postoperative morbidity.


The nonlocal spin resistance is measured as a function of temperature in a Fe/GaAs spin-injection device. For nonannealed samples that show minority-spin injection, the spin resistance is observed up to room temperature and decays exponentially with temperature at a rate of 0.018\,K$^{-1}$. Post-growth annealing at 440\,K increases the spin signal at low temperatures, but the decay rate also increases to 0.030\,K$^{-1}$. From measurements of the diffusion constant and the spin lifetime in the GaAs channel, we conclude that sample annealing modifies the temperature dependence of the spin transfer efficiency at injection and detection contacts. Surprisingly, the spin transfer efficiency increases in samples that exhibit minority-spin injection.


Background/Aims: We aimed at characterizing the clinical features of dementia associated with argyrophilic grain disease (AgD). Methods: Relatives or close friends of 24 individuals with autopsy-confirmed AgD and 29 patients with autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD) were administered a novel Retrospective Dementia Inventory to assess the cognitive, behavioral and affective symptoms of the deceased patients. Results: AgD patients showed less severe impairments in memory, language, attention and executive function than AD patients.Conclusion: Compared to AD patients, individuals suffering from AgD appear to present with comparable deficits in behavior and affect but relatively spared cognitive functioning.


Dairy cattle breeding is one of the most important branches of animal husbandry. It serves as a source of such valuable food products as milk, meat, as well as a source of raw materials for industry. Milk is an almost indispensable basis for nutrition in childhood, both humans and animals. It contains all the necessary nutrients. By its diverse composition, not one of the known foods can compete with it. In milk, there are almost all currently known vitamins.


There has been no reported systematic exploration of the hypothesis that the low birthweight of infants whose mothers smoke in pregnancy is mediated by depressed caloric intake. Using gestational weight gain as an index of energy balance, we have studied this question among 162 mothers and their liveborn singleton infants, in a poor, black, urban American community. Smoking mothers had lower mean weekly weight gain (0.73 versus 0.90 pounds per week; t=2.63; p<0.01), and a strong and highly significant gradient of decreasing weight gain with increased amount smoked (0.017 fewer pounds per week gained per additional cigarette per day; F=12.45; p<0.005). Women who stopped smoking before delivery had higher weight gain than those who continued; the difference was not significant, but numbers were small. Regression analyses were performed in order to quantitate the unique and joint contributions of smoking and change in maternal weight to birthweight. At least half, and usually closer to three‐quarters, of the effect of smoking on birthweight was jointly shared with maternal weight change. Smoking is in all likelihood depressing fetal growth, in large part, by depression of caloric intake, reflected by lower maternal weight gain. No other examined differences between smokers and non‐smokers accounted for these differences.


We consider a four-dimensional space-time supplemented by two discrete points assigned to a Z2-algebraic structure and develop the formalism of noncommutative geometry. By setting up a generalized vielbein, we study the metric structure. Metric-compatible torsion-free connection defines a unique finite field content in the model and leads to a discretized version of Kaluza-Klein theory. We study some special cases of this model that illustrate the rich and complex structure with massive modes and the possible presence of a cosmological constant.


This passage sets forth a basic thread for the construction of higher vocational and technical education in the practical teaching system,which makes it clear by aspects as practical teaching curriculum structural system,practical teaching quality-monitoring system,open laboratory management system and practical teaching base construction and so forth.


Recent results from HERMES in the hadron leptoproduction off nuclei are presented. The possible interpretations in terms of medium modifications of the parton fragmentation function and the implications on the parton energy loss and the hadron formation time are discussed.


This paper presents a philosophical analysis of two central concepts and 'principles' of urban design, namely, 'legibility' and 'aesthetics', and then an argument about their respective importance for urban design. After a summary of Kevin Lynch's seminal work on legibility, the paper compares the nature of the human perception of urban legibility and aesthetics, emphasizing that, whereas the perception of urban legibility is essentially cognitive, environmental aesthetic perception is crucially affective as well as cognitive. The paper then argues that, on its own, mere legibility is not as significant a criterion of the perceptible quality of townscapes as the aesthetic quality of townscapes. Aesthetics therefore emerges as a more important consideration in urban design than legibility. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the alleged subjectivity of aesthetic perception and judgement, which might seem to threaten the argument of the paper.


Angela Aguayo reports on "We Tell: Fifty Years of Participatory Community Media," a touring retrospective of documentary media projects coprogrammed by Louis Massiah and Patricia R. Zimmermann, with archival assistance from the XFR Collective, and featuring forty projects produced by thirty-six nonprofit community organizations and cultural centers. "We Tell" dives into more than fifty years of media as developed by embattled communities with a shared political vision and a focus on advocacy and addressing problems more often excluded from larger public concern. In her review of the exhibition, Aguayo argues that participatory community media presents a critique of representational politics within the larger documentary field and offers a corrective to the tourism tendencies of contemporary documentary-production culture by foregrounding collaborative authorship and collective agency.


Timothy Longman, Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009). 352pp. $90.00. During the spring of 1994, approximately 800,000 people perished in the Rwandan gen...


TECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL How accurate electromagnetic simulation is enabling coils and permanent magnets to be designed, modeled and fully optimized Researchers at the University of New Orleans have pioneered a way to realize highly sophisticated 3D functional magnetic micro-and nanostructures to be formed by bending and twisting flat film patterns


This study aims to look at how the representation of the Islam Nusantara in the national media in Indonesia, namely Kompas and Republika. The method used in this study is critical discourse analysis, Theo van Leeuwen, which focuses on how actors are represented in media texts both in the inclusion and the exclusion strategies. This study concludes that, first, Kompas tends to support the Islamic discourse of Nusantara, while Republika tend to reject the discourse. Further, Kompas represents the ideology of pluralism and nationalism, whilts Republika tends to present a contestation between the pros and cons of Islam Nusantara. Those who disagree with Islam Nusantara more represent the ideology of scrituralism, whilst those who pros of it tend to reflect traditionalist ideology.


30 mmol/L KNO3,60 mmol/L KNO3,10 mmol/L KH2PO4,30 mmol/L KH2PO4,3%sugag,0.03%rootless plant growth regulator were sprayed on the pea sprout when seedling 2.5 cm,5.0 cm and 7.0 cm high,to test its effect on the growth of the sprout and the accumulation of selenium.The result shows that 10 mmol/L KH2PO4 and 30 mmol/L KH2PO4 enhence the yield of the sprouting vegetable and make the total quantity of selenium absorbed and large moleculer-linked selenium increase markedly.


This chapter discusses recent accomplishments of NMP enabling various types of biomaterials. Rather mild reaction conditions and fast reaction times in organic and aqueous environments led to the development polymeric structures reaching from glycopolymers and bioconjugates to nanoparticles and composite materials encompassing surface derivatization and nanomaterial modification. Especially water-soluble SG1-based alkoxyamines, derived macroinitiators and 'drug-initiated' polymerization techniques led to the development of nanomaterials suitable for drug delivery applications.


Uterocutaneous fistula that was present in a 36-year-old para 1+0 alive is reported. The presenting complaint was of simultaneous retrograde cyclical effluent of menstrual blood through an abdominal sinus that developed after cesarean section. Diagnosis was confirmed by hysterosalpingogram. Surgical excision of the fistula was carried out successfully.


"The impression of an inward principle," asserted Thomas Aquinas, "is to natural things what the promulgation of law is to men; because law, by being promulgated, impresses on man a directive principle of human actions." Promulgation is of the very essence of law, and a sine qua non of legal obligation. This is true both logically and historically. The very idea of obedience presupposes knowledge of that which is to be obeyed, without which knowledge there could be only the coincidence, never the obligation, of obedience. If human relationships are to be calculable, the people of a community must know, and know in advance, the rules by which they are to act and by which they may expect other men to act. Here is a proposition of such obvious force that any conception of legal obligation is almost bound to deal with it as an ethical obstruction to law enforcement which must be obviated by promulgation and a supplemental overall presumption that "everyone knows the law."


The invention provides a magnetic switch device characterized by long service life and capability of detecting two direction movement of an operation body. The magnetic switch is provided with a magnet (13) arranged on an operation body (11) which is operated in a rotated manner and a magnetic sensor (15) which is used to detect magnetic field orientation change of the magnet, wherein the magnet is arranged opposite to an operation part (11t) across the rotation shaft line (Kj) of the operation body, the magnet is magnetized to form different magnetic poles along the protruding direction of the operation part, and the magnetic sensor is arranged opposite to the rotation shaft line (Kj) through the magnet. In a neutral position where the operation body is rotated, the magnetic field which is generated in the place where the magnetic sensor is arranged faces towards the radial direction of the rotating operation body. When the operation body is operated in a rotated manner in the neutral position, two magnetic fields generated in the magnetic sensor arrangement place when the operation body is rotated to one direction and when the operation body is rotated to the other direction are opposite in orientation direction, respectively facing to the radial direction and opposite to the radial direction.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Previous studies showed that the infection rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is higher in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients than in non-primary liver cancer solid tumor patients and general population in the same region, but the correlation of HBV infection to NHL is inconclusive. This study was to compare HBV infection rate of NHL patients with that of non-primary liver cancer solid tumor patients, and explore the correlation of HBV infection to NHL.

METHODS
The infection of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in 109 NHL patients and 128 colorectal carcinoma patients was detected. The positive rates of HBsAg in the patients and general population were compared by Chi-square test.

RESULTS
The positive rate of HBsAg was significantly higher in NHL patients than in colorectal carcinoma patients and general population (40.4% vs. 14.1% and 17.3%, P<0.01). Regarding colorectal carcinoma patients as a reference group, odds ratio (OR) of NHL in HbsAg-positive population was 2.87, and the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.830-4.502.

CONCLUSION
The positive rate of HBsAg is higher in NHL patients than in colorectal carcinoma patients and general population.


Calix[4]arene-based triple helicates take up an achiral part of chiral guests; the chiral center outside the cavity causes the asymmetric induction of their supramolecular helicity.


The invention relates to a coating method of a lithium manganite cathode material for a lithium battery. The coating method comprises the steps as follows: a MnSO4 aqueous solution and a sodium carbonate aqueous solution are prepared, and a complexing agent ammonium hydroxide is added to the sodium carbonate aqueous solution; then a peristaltic pump is utilized to continuously input the mixed aqueous solution into a reaction flask; after reaction is finished, precipitation is separated centrifugally, washed repeatedly by distilled water to remove residual ions and dried; then the precipitation and Li2CO3 or LiOH are mixed and ground uniformly for calcination in a muffle furnace step by step, a calcined product is dispersed in a graphite oxide solution and subjected to ultrasonic dispersion, centrifugation and drying; and the calcined product is placed in a vacuum tube furnace and calcined in protective atmosphere at the temperature of 400 DEGC-700 DEG C. According to the coating method of the lithium manganite cathode material for the lithium battery, direct contact between the cathode material and an electrolyte solution can be effectively reduced, dissolution of Mn ions is reduced, meanwhile, the conductivity of lithium manganite is further improved, the electrical loss is reduced, and specific capacity and rate capability of the lithium manganite cathode material are greatly improved.


: The strength and latitudinal position of the southern westerly winds (SWW) influence mid-latitude precipitation and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Despite the important role the westerlies play in the global climate system, past variability is poorly constrained. Here, we present a geochemical record of hydroclimate change from Lake Von in south-west New Zealand that spans the last 16 000 years. During the Lateglacial and early Holocene, we find stratigraphic and geochemical evidence for three distinct periods of low lake levels that occur during North Atlantic cold events when the Intertropical Convergence Zone is displaced southwards, Southern Ocean upwelling is enhanced and the Antarctic is rapidly warming. We attribute these hydrological changes to southward shifts of the SWW and associated storm tracks that cause arid conditions in southern New Zealand. During the early Holocene, we find evidence for an extended period of low lake levels that are caused by a combination of diminished wind strength, higher air temperatures and reduced seasonality. Finally, we interpret an overall intensification of the SWW after 5500 cal a bp. Our results support the idea that climate mechanisms originating in the high latitudes and the tropics work together to influence the SWW on millennial timescales. Copyright # 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. we hydrologic and climatic variations using Bulk organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, lipid biomarker n -alkane distributions, diatom abundance, and physical sediment properties are measured in sediment cores collected to evaluate hydroclimate change since the retreat of ice from this small We specifically evaluate changes in organic matter provenance that are driven by lake level fluctuations and attribute these variations to changes in the westerly wind regime. We compare these results to established paleoclimate records from the islands, Australia and to constrain past and evaluate two hypotheses of SWW change: (i) and early weakening


The movement to abolish the unequal treaties was the cause célèbre of Chinese nationalism after the First World War. It was an extension of the late Qing movement to retrieve the rights and interests (shouhui liquan yundong) that had been lost to the powers over the decades. Whereas the quintessence of the late Qing campaign was economic nationalism and the means it employed peaceful, the post-war drive was highly political and at times accompanied by a degree of violence. The Chinese determination, strengthened by Germany's and Austria's relinquishment of their treaty status, was a bond that united the whole nation from Beijing to Guangzhou (Canton) despite their domestic political differences.


of the Central Metasedimentary Belt, Grenville Geological Province, are famous for their abundance of interesting and well-formed minerals, often occurring in large crystals (some more than 1 meter in maximum dimension). Most mineral collecting localities in this region consist of old mines, mine tailings, weathered outcrops, and diggings. In the Wakefield, Québec, area, an outstanding opportunity was available to collectors: the extension of Highway 5 resulted in the excavation of many road cuts over a distance of 9 kilometers from 2007 to 2014. Almost every road cut contained mineral specimens of interWakefield Area Outaouais Québec, Canada


A piezoelectric device includes a first substrate that includes a piezoelectric element (32) provided in a first region where bending deformation is allowed and an electrode layer (39) electrically connected to the piezoelectric element (32), a second substrate in which a bump electrode (43) abutting and conducting the electrode layer (39), and having elasticity is formed, and which is disposed so as to face the piezoelectric element (32) with a predetermined space, and adhesive (43) that bonds the first substrate and the second substrate in a state where a distance between the first substrate and the second substrate is maintained. The adhesive (43) has a width in a center portion in a height direction relative to a surface of the first substrate or the second substrate greater than a width in end portions in the same direction.


A part of the literature on fiscal federalism aver the years has dealt with environmental policy as a particular case of the supply of public goods. The centrai issue is the identification of criteria on how to allocate powers and functions aver environmental management at different levels of govemment. The main stream of literature focuses on the conditions needed to establish whether pollution standards and regulatory programs should be set and designed by centraI or rather by local governments. This paper provides a review of the debate and explores a few potential limits of the prevailing line of enquiry.


Deuterium-tritium plasmas (D-T) with core parameters almost identical to those expected in the core of ignited plasmas in ITER have served as a test bed to carry out the first detailed studies of D-T plasma physics including the first observations of alpha particle heating and alpha driven instabilities. TFTR operated above the original engineering design requirements and with high availability in D-T until experimental operation was terminated due to U.S. fusion budget cutbacks. A most valuable lesson learned was that D-T operation of a large experimental device is feasible as TFTR operation could have continued many more years while remaining within tritium and neutron activation limits. The flexibility and control of plasma parameters (e.g. plasma rotation) and the comprehensive diagnostic system enabled TFTR to make seminal contributions to tokamak plasma science such as first confirmation of the bootstrap current in a tokamak, detailed turbulence studies leading to a new paradigm for transport understanding, first observations of neoclassical tearing modes, and detailed measurements and modeling of plasma disruptions. Recent advances in understanding the fundamental processes controlling plasma transport provide new opportunities for improving tokamak plasma performance. Implementation of recent knowledge could lead to D-T operating regimes with strong alpha heating with modest extensions of the TFTR operating regimes.


The theme of our work was a story about the princess Turandot. I have chosen opera, which was written by Puccini.
I think, make opera is a good provocation for me. I like this version of Turandot, this music and a myth how this opera was born.
We could find a stage, which we wanted. I situated this play to the national opera in Prague, because I needed not hight portal with big wide backdrop
for a feel of countryside.


Spider monkey optimization (SMO) algorithm is a new swarm intelligence optimization algorithm proposed in recent years. It simulates the foraging behavior of spider monkeys which have fission-fusion social structure (FFSS). In this paper, a modified spider monkey optimization algorithm is proposed. The self-adaptive inertia weight is introduced in the local leader phase to enhance the self-learning ability of the spider monkey. According to the function value of an individual, the distance from the optimal value is determined, so the inertia weight related the individual function value is added to strength the global search ability or local search ability. The proposed algorithm is tested on 20 benchmark problems and compared with the original SMO and the hybrid algorithm SMOGA and GASMO. The numerical results show that the proposed algorithm has a certain degree of improvement in convergence accuracy and convergence speed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is also inspected by two classical engineering design problems.


Thisarticle presents a single carrier synchronized OCC-CDMAsystem architecture utilizing offset-stacked spreading modulation andRakereceiver. Theproposed systemhasthefollowing properties: no multipath interference (MI)ormulti-access interference (MAI), flexible dataratevariation, accurate channel estimation andhaving multipath diversity gain. Inthis article, a mathematical expression isderived forbiterror rate (BER)inmultipath slowly fading channel conditions, those factors having impact ontheBERperformance are revealed andanalyzed. Ourworkprovides guidance for thesystem design andparameter optimization.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the hearing conservation program at ii Company XYZ's sW Wisconsin plant to determine how employee noise exposures are being managed and to identify strategies which will further reduce such exposures. In 2006, seven people showed a Standard Threshold Shift on their annual audiometric exam. It was not until months later that six of the seven were deemed not work related. However, in that time the EHS department became concerned about the levels of sound produced in The Plant. A literature review was conducted to establish a knowledge base of topics that are directly related to the development and perpetuation of an effective hearing conservation program. Noise level measurements were measured using dosimeters and a sound level meter in order to ascertain whether or not employee exposures were above government based, limits. As a result of the findings,


According to the results of a comprehensive study of the problem, it was found that domestic criminal legislation reflects the fact of committing a crime for the first time, traditionally in a legal, and not factual (committing a crime for the first time in life) understanding: such legislative practice always has a preferential criminal law value and is carried out in various ways: in relation to specific crimes or their separate elements, in relation to certain categories of crimes. When assessing the legislative practice of using the concept of a person who first committed a crime in the legal (criminal-legal) sense for the prospect of its improvement and further development, it is noted that the "cross-cutting" meaning of this concept for the entire Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 1996 was not defined in any norm of this Criminal Code. It has been suggested that for this reason the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not give an interpretation of this concept "for all occasions": to date, no explanation has been given of the criminal-legal meaning of the concept of a person who first committed a crime in the cases provided for in Part 1 Article 531, part 1 of Article 56, paragraph "a", Part 1 of Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It was revealed that such clarifications are expected by the law enforcement officer because the existing interpretations in relation to other norms are of a "thematic" nature and differ in their content. The advantages and disadvantages of the last form of reflecting this circumstance in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 1996 are named. Based on the analysis of the practice of applying criminal legislation, attention is drawn to the need for its improvement in this direction with specific proposals.


An approach to designing of all-optical universal integrated-optical logical elements (UIOLEs) for digital optical systems of data processing and transmission based on effects of changing of reference radiation spreading direction under the influence of control radiation is examined. The possibility of construction of multichannel universal logical elements with high-speed programmed tuning on a realized Boolean function is presented. Their throughput may be up to 100 billions of operations/s and higher.


Abstract. Sex identification is an important research topic in avian ecology because easy and accurate sex identification is useful for studies of evolution, behavior, and population dynamics. We used field photographs to measure the markings on the tail feathers of adult Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) breeding in Japan to elucidate the attributes that allow individual sex determination. We labeled the dark, horizontal bands B1, B2, and B3, starting from the tip of the tail feathers and proceeding toward the base; we designated the light, horizontal band between B1 and B2 as W1, and the light, horizontal band between B2 and B3 as W2. To clarify the difference between the tail feathers of the sexes, we measured the ratio of W2 to W1 (W2/W1) of the right tail feather 3, right tail feather 4, left tail feather 3, and left tail feather 4, and calculated the average of these four values (average W2/ W1). We tested these ratios using the Brunner-Munzel test to determine whether they discriminated the sexes. We found that the four individual feather ratios differed significantly between males and females. In addition, males and females could be reliably distinguished using the average W2/W1. This method can be widely used for fast, non-invasive sexing of Grey-faced Buzzards because it does not require sophisticated techniques.


Several major new books on Tibetan art were critically reviewed during the Asian Studies Research Collection (ASRC) seminar 'Heritage as soft power: Recent publishing on Tibetan antiquities in China and its uses', led by myself at Matheson Library, Monash University, on 21st May 2013. In my presentation I argued that Chinese publishing on Tibetan art is beginning to reflect some of China's priorities in soft power projection, using books newly acquired by the ASRC as examples. Tibetan Buddhism has a sophisticated, universalistic character that appeals to the world in a way that other aspects of the Chinese milieu do not. Much of the tradition's material culture is in the custody of the PRC, and scholars there have lately been making good use of their access to it. The monographs on Tibetan art history now being produced in China demonstrate, in many cases, new and impressively high standards of scholarship, printing and book design. These publications appeal in part to a domestic audience increasingly willing to study and support Tibetan Buddhism, but many are also clearly intended for international and non-Chinese consumption—they are furnished with translations and multilingual glossaries, and are informed by major Western studies in the field. These books are important resources for specialists in Tibetan and Buddhist art. Yet at the time of writing, they have become known to only a few, and the ASRC is the only library outside China holding copies of certain titles. Their importance lies in the fact that they reproduce or reexamine neglected primary sources; they treat large, significant sites and collections of art; and they are concerned with motifs common not only to China and its Tibetan regions, but also to the transnational domain of tantric Buddhism: Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and much of East, and Central and Southeast Asia. In order to make these studies more widely known, an annotated bibliography of selected titles is given below. I freely dedicate this short contribution to the ASRC librarians, especially Mr. Dennis Kishere and Mr. Hueimin Chen, as I could not have used these books in my research without their guidance and kind assistance.


Cu-Ag alloy nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized from micropowders of pure Cu and Ag using consecutively two non-equilibrium processes based on plasma and lasers in liquids. Plasma process reduces the size of initial micrometric powders down to nanometric size at which the laser fluence is sufficient to melt them, making alloying possible. Measurements at macroscopic (solution absorption), microscopic (scattering of individual NPs) and nanoscopic (electron microscopy) scales confirm alloying of NPs and homogenization in size and composition. This has noticeable effect on the final colloidal solution that absorbs yellow-orange light (550-600 nm) after laser treatment. The possibility to quench the as-formed liquid alloy leads to phase compositions that are not compliant with the phase diagram. With a synthesis rate of 360 mg/h, this process opens up interesting perspectives for non-equilibrium nanometallurgy of functional NPs.


Implementation UU No. 32 Tahun 2004 makes consequence in relationship between the state government and local government. In this study looking for the form of local governance with good governance principles is still running. Kata Kunci: Kerjasama, Kolaborasi, Organisasi


Experimental immunizations with both the Polyomavirus BK and with the isolated viral genomic dsDNA regularly induce antibodies with a relative affinity for BK virus dsDNA. In the present study we demonstrate that the anti‐dsDNA responses to BK virus in experimental animals also appear during natural BK virus infection in man. Fifty‐nine children were examined over time for serological signs of primary BK virus infection. Of eight children found to undergo primary infection with BK virus, anti‐BK dsDNA antibodies appeared in all. In 4 of the 8 patients the antibodies cross‐reacted significantly with mammalian dsDNA, and weak cross‐reactions were also noted in at least three other patients. The antibodies resembled those induced in the experimental model with regard to their relative affinity for BK dsDNA. In contrast, most, but not all, anti‐dsDNA antibodies from 10 SLE patients cross‐reacted extensively with dsDNA from viral and mammalian origin. Thus, a dsDNA virus like BK virus may provoke immunological intolerance to dsDNA, but, with qualities different from those produced during SLE. The present observations demonstrate that induction of anti‐dsDNA antibodies is not restricted to experimental immunization of animals, but does also take place in humans during naturally acquired BK virus infection. The relevance of this model for the spontaneous production of anti‐dsDNA antibodies is discussed.


Rapid economic growth via industrialization has given not only a significant impact in terms of income distributions and quality of life, but it also resulted in increasing number of accidents at workplace. In reducing risk at the workplace, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is an important aspect. It is a standard which are set in legislation with the aim to eliminate and reduce hazards at workplace. Besides OSH, the term of 'safety culture' is also an important aspect in reducing risk and accident at workplace. This paper highlights the problems in the Malaysian manufacturing industries namely the high accident rate in manufacturing industries which may be due to lack of safety culture and non-compliance of the Malaysian Occupational Safety and Health Act's (OSHA's) requirements which may inadvertently led to lack of safety culture. The existence of these problems shows that workers' and employers' behaviour and compliance to OSHA will lead to positive safety culture which in turn will lead to reduction of accidents rate in the manufacturing industries in Malaysia.


Objective: To determine self-efficacy, attitude towards drug use and health perceived by 8 to 12 yearoldchildren attending schools that participate in the Dr...


EFFICACY OF NON-CONVENTIONAL FUNGICIDES FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF DOLLAR SPOT DISEASE CAUSED BY CLARIREEDIA JACKSONII Matthew Joseph Rudland Advisor: University of Guelph, 2020 Dr. Tom Hsiang The potential for non-conventional fungicides to suppress dollar spot disease, caused by Clarireedia jacksonii, was investigated. Treatments were selected from reports in the literature, as well as from the Ontario Government Class 11 lowrisk pesticide list. Treatments found to be efficacious in both preliminary lab and field trials, including ferrous sulfate heptahydrate (FSH) (21% Fe), paraaminobenzoic acid (PABA) (100%) and Affirm WDG (11.3% polyoxin-D zinc salt), were compared across 10 cultivars of Agrostis stolonifera. Significant differences in cultivar response were observed with 1x FSH (250 g/100 m2) applications. On average, 1x FSH and 5x FSH suppressed dollar spot disease by 74 to 78% and 95 to 99% respectively. However, a significant darkening was observed with increasing rates of FSH, which led to phytotoxicity and scarring, especially during hotter


Time reversal (TR) recently emerged as an interesting communication technology capable of providing a good spatio-temporal signal focusing effect. New generations of large-bandwidth devices with reduced cost leverage the use of TR wideband communication systems. While TR is usually implemented in the time domain, the same benefit can be obtained in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system by precoding the information in the frequency domain. Besides using multiple antennas, the focusing effect of TR also comes from the use of a high rate back-off factor (BOF), which is the signal up-sampling (or down-sampling) rate in the original time-domain TR precoding. However, a frequency-domain TR precoding in the literature has only considered BOF of one, which does not fully exploit the focusing property of TR. In this paper, we discuss how to properly implement different BOFs using frequency-domain TR precoding in the OFDM system. Moreover, we demonstrate that increasing the BOF and/or the number of transmit antennas significantly improves the focusing gain at the intended position. In contrast, the unintended positions receive less useful power. Furthermore, closed-form approximations of the mean-square-errors (MSEs) of equalized received signals at either intended or unintended positions are derived, expressing the focusing gain as a function of the BOF and the number of antennas. Numerical simulations with multi-path channels are carried out to validate the MSE expressions.


The probability of IT project failures can be mitigated more success- fully when discovered early. To support an early detection, transparency regard- ing a project's cash flows shall be increased. Therefore, an appropriate analysis and calculation of a project's costs, benefits, risks and interdependencies is in- evitable. Until today, however, a method that appropriately considers these fac- tors when estimating the ex ante project business case does not yet exist. Using the Action Design Research approach, we designed, applied and tested a practi- cable and integrated method of determining the monetary value of IT projects to generate generalized insights to benefits management. This method was con- jointly developed by practice and academia, to ensure practical applicability while upholding scientific rigor. Furthermore, to support understandability of the method, we provide an application example.


This article introduces methodological principles, methodological provisions and practical suggestions on formation and development of household institutions in the modern Russian economy. Special attention is paid to the subject matter of the saving strategies of households and peculiarities of their implementation in the modern economy of Russia. The strategy of consumption and saving behavior of households is built based on information on the permanent income in the current period, which is planned by them.


as central transmission mechanisms through which the working poor contribute to, and benefit from, economic growth. However, despite the significance attached to paid work as the primary means through which the poor can secure and advance their own interests, employment generation as a policy variable has not featured significantly in the macroeconomic agenda. It has been assumed that opening up economies to global competition and the promotion of flexible labour markets would generate the labour-intensive growth trajectories necessary for poverty reduction. It has also been assumed that the jobs generated will offer basic security of livelihoods as well as enable workers to insure themselves and their dependants against a variety of threats to their livelihoods. Public measures for social protection could then be restricted to those unable, for reasons beyond their control, to earn their own living, thereby restricting potential distortions to the labour market.


FIELD: physics; communication. SUBSTANCE: present invention pertains to transfer of data packets. Communication session between a host trying to access the network, and the network access server (NAS) is established only if there are several message exchanges. After detection of a physical channel between the host and NAS, the NAS immediately sends an identification request message to the host. In response, the host sends a request message, which comprises all parameter versions, in addition to the response to the identification request message, for configuration of the communication channel and control of access to the network. The NAS then selects parameter versions and sends chosen versions back to the host. If the chosen versions in the response message satisfy a threshold value, the host just transfers user data for access to the network through the NAS. EFFECT: design of a fast and efficient method of setting up initial communication channels before any subsequent levels of data traffic. 47 cl, 14 dwg


We use two series of eight-month UHF radar observations collected during the dry and wet seasons of AMMA field campaign. The ultimate goal is to do preliminary work to know whether the lowest layers are suitable for wind energy applications. Surface wind is usually weak in West Africa, but the regular occurrence of a nocturnal low level jet (NLLJ) could provide interesting conditions for wind energy. This work is two-fold: it first aims at improving our knowledge about the NLLJ in West Africa regarding its structure and its variability during the year. Then, special attention is paid to the first 200 m agl, to study the possibility to use the sub-jet wind as a source of energy. A set of enhanced radio-soundings is taken to help to understand the dynamics and thermodynamics and to find a way to extrapolate the wind at low level, where the UHF radars do not provide data.


Erythema Annulare Centrifugum (EAC) is an uncommon disease that presents as slowly-emerging, annular, erythematous lesions. Although the underlying etiology is often unknown, contributing factors such as infectious agents, pregnancy, underlying malignancy, and medications have all been implicated. We report a case of a 45-year-old woman with a pityriasiform eruption that persisted more than 6 months despite use of topical corticosteroids, oral antibiotics and oral antifungal agents. Clinical suspicion and repeat biopsy led to a diagnosis of amitriptyline-induced EAC. The patient was given a short course of prednisone and her amitriptyline was discontinued. Within three weeks the patient reported near complete resolution of her symptoms, which remained in remission at her six-month followup.


"The Implementation of Total Quality Management in International and Acceleration Classes of Junior Secondary Islamic Modern Boarding School (MTs PPMI) Assalaam Surakarta". This study is an effort to capture the application of Total Quality Management system in international and acceleration classes in MTs PPMI Assalaam Surakarta, including planning managers on TQM, the implementation of TQM, and TQM evaluation system. In this descriptive study, there are two sources of data, namely primary and secondary sources. The data were obtained through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results show the following three things. First, at the planning stage, the managers of the Education Services Program (PLP) MTs PPMI Assalaam for international and acceleration classes conduct coordination meetings in the framework of a program of action for these classes. In the meeting it was determined that the programs will be implemented during the year. This effort is intended that all matters related to the implementation of the program run systematic, focused, and according to the agenda. The effort is, for instance, to develop a work program in accordance with the inputs or students of international and accelerated classes.Second, the efforts of TQM application in the international and acceleration classes can be seen from: (1) the existence of problem solving between teachers, administrators, and students, (2) the provision of additional activities for students, such as AMT, tutoring, enrichment, drilling, and training that supports the interests and talents of students, (3) the exclusion of psychologists from both within (internal) or outside the cottage (external) to address the problems faced by students, and (4) engaging students in classroom management.Third, it is generally no disclosed term of evaluation for TQM implementation in international and acceleration class es MTs PPMI Assalaam. However, PLP managers especially still pursue the continuous assessment system in the form of learning evaluation and evaluation of planning program s .


We organize the effective (self)interaction terms for complex scalar dark matter candidates which are either an isosinglet, isodoublet or an isotriplet with respect to the weak interactions. The classification has been performed ordering the operators in inverse powers of the dark matter cutoff scale. We assume Lorentz invariance, color and charge neutrality. We also introduce potentially interesting dark matter induced flavor-changing operators. Our general framework allows for model independent investigations of dark matter properties. Preprint: CP 3-Origins-2011-05 †firstname.lastname@example.com ‡firstname.lastname@example.com ar X iv :1 10 2. 31 16 v2 [ he pph ] 1 8 A pr 2 01 2


We describe the Phonexia submission for the VoxCeleb Speaker Recognition Challenge 2021 (VoxSRC-21) in the unsupervised speaker verification track. Our solution was very similar to IDLab's winning submission for VoxSRC-20. An embedding extractor was bootstrapped using momentum contrastive learning, with input augmentations as the only source of supervision. This was followed by several iterations of clustering to assign pseudo-speaker labels that were then used for supervised embedding extractor training. Finally, a score fusion was done, by averaging the zt-normalized cosine scores of five different embedding extractors. We briefly also describe unsuccessful solutions involving i-vectors instead of DNN embeddings and PLDA instead of cosine scoring.


Metal cation-exchanged montmorillonite (M
 n+
-mont)
works in acetonitrile at 80 °C as a Lewis acid catalyst for
the intermolecular carbonyl-ene reaction of
α-methylstyrenes with paraformaldehyde to give the
corresponding homoallylic alcohols, Zr
 4+
-mont being the most
effective of the many M
 n+
-mont catalysts examined.
Similarly, the catalyst is also useful for the highly stereoselective
intramolecular cyclization of citronellals to afford isopulegols, the
reaction being much faster. Regeneration of the catalyst is confirmed
for Zr
 4+
-mont, which can be effectively recycled at least
five times.


A graph is equitably k-colorable if its vertices can be partitioned into k independent sets of as near equal sizes as possible. In this paper, we determine a sufficient and necessary condition for which a complete r-partite graph is equitably k-colorable. From this result, we can provide another way to prove some previous results.


Dissolution of pyrite by chemical oxidation and bioleaching were studied with using short-term batch experiments. The results show that the rate of oxidative dissolution of pyrite increases with the increasing concentration of ferric in ferric sulfate solutions. With the corresponding in the bioleaching, the leaching rate of pyrite is markedly affected by the Eh of the solution. The ferric/ferrous ratio controls the relative rate of the oxidation reactions involved in the process. Additionally, the leaching rate of pyrite is controlled by the pH. The phase analysis of products indicated that S2- 2oxidation can produce S0 and SO2- 4under these conditions. On the basis of predecessors and using these species,the simplest expected oxidation mechanism is S2O2- 3regarded as the intermediate mechanism during the oxidation process.


Developing a new type of modified water kino adhesives,theadhesives does not include such chemical compositions as magnesium, phosphorus, aluminum, iron, etc. They can make theintensity ofgreen ball and dry ball of the coke powdercold forming ball group raise by a large margin. It has many advantages, for example, it costslow and is able to bear high temperature,has fine chemical responsivity, little fixed carbon, low ash contentment, etc.


Material properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) are usually determined by testing the large samples in robust machines. In this study, commercially available dynamic shear and bending beam rheometers (DSR, BBR) were used to obtain HMA's shear, J(t), and tensile, D(t), compliances. Samples of about five grams of material were cut from bulk briquettes and tested in dynamic oscillations in DSR in the form of torsion bars with amplitudes not exceeding strain of 0.5. Similarly, the tensile creep and recovery was measured using larger beams (20 grams) in BBR. Polymer modified asphalt binder, used in the HMA, and binder with mineral filler (mastic), was tested at the same conditions. Results showed similar properties of modified binder and mastic, HMA samples exhibited different behavior. The relation between J(t) and D(t) functions was studied. Two commercially available rheometers were used to test asphalt binder, mastic and hot mix asphalt (HMA). For the covering abstract see ITRD E121480.


Block samples were collected in an east-west profile across the 1,655 m.y.-old Johnny Lyon granodiorite, Cochise County, Arizona. Progressive alternating field demagnetization shows that the NRM directions are stable to 175 Oe, and remain tightly grouped. Beyond this field the angular changes are large and irregular. The mean directions initially and after 175 Oe are remote from either the axial or the inclined present fields. The corresponding paleomagnetic pole after 175 Oe shows good agreement with poles from Cretaceous rocks from North America. This independent evidence supports the conclusion from isotopic studies (Silver and Deutsch 1963) that the granodiorite was profoundly affected by Cretaceous alteration processes.


The genus Isostenosmylus Krüger, 1913 (Neuroptera: Osmylidae) is the most species-rich genus of lance lacewings in the Neotropical region. Seven species are newly described here (Isostenosmylus angustipennis, sp. nov., Isostenosmylus apaapensis sp. nov., Isostenosmylus barbatus, sp. nov., Isostenosmylus inca, sp. nov., Isostenosmylus jaguar, sp. nov., Isostenosmylus penai, sp. nov., Isostenosmylus triangulatus, sp. nov.). A neotype of Oedosmylus morenoi Navás, 1928 is proposed, the male of Isostenosmylus irroratus Ardila-Camacho et al., 2016 is newly described, and identification keys to males and females of Isostenosmylus species are provided. A morphological phylogeny and biogeographical analysis of the genus are also presented. Isostenosmylus is recovered as a monophyletic genus and species are divided in two main clades (named here as 'bifurcatus' and 'pulverulentus' clades); the greatest diversity of this genus is located in the Andean mountain range, where new studies should be focused on. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7AA1CED6-D30D-4DE5-A45A-86C2F038B915


A fish habitat restoration plan was developed for six coastal streams in Coos Bay, Oregon, U.S.A. using both watershed assessments and landowner involvement. A high level of public participation was a salient characteristic of this process, and a key to its success. While general and open public involvement is useful in some restoration projects, its unique social dynamics may discourage key stakeholders from becoming "too involved"� or participating at all. Because stakeholders who own riverbank properties are extremely important to the successful implementation of a restoration plan, we took a "neighbor-shed" approach to public involvement. The targeted public involvement we used consisted of a series of 'coffee klatches' designed to attract as many landowners as possible within each of the six basins. The initial meetings were used to present the state of affairs' in each watershed, and were followed up with field trips to show habitat restoration projects. A second round of coffee klatches and a workshop with an expert panel were used to prioritize restoration actions. Prioritization of restoration actions was carried out with a group of volunteer landowners and experts using a scoring process that relied on both an ecological filter and an 'economic-social filter' to rank the multiple options. The resulting draft restoration strategy was presented to the larger group of landowners for their feedback. That 'calibration' helped developed a more advanced restoration plan that has been well received by many key stakeholders, as landowners indicate their willingness in signing up for restoration projects. Surveys indicated that landowners liked the targeted approach and supported restoration they would not have supported otherwise.


The present invention provides a thermosensitive hydrogel composition comprising a nucleic acid and chitosan. Wherein the hydrogel is a biocompatible and bio-stability is excellent and at the same time the sol as a function of temperature - is it tinged the properties of the gel phase transition (phase transition) at room temperature is present in a state of sol temperature was applied to the infusion or epidermal surface of the skin body When the gel is increased. Thus, a variety of treatment it is possible to make the thermosensitive hydrogel of the invention treatment is enough to be usable by increasing the direct-injection and is available and retention and the mounting time of the drug through the gel according to the temperature applied to the specific portion required It is expected to take.


Background Estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) are key players in the maturation of the human endometrium. The corresponding steroid hormone modulators, tamoxifen (TAM) and mifepristone (RU486) are widely used in breast cancer therapy and for contraception purposes, respectively. Methodology/Principal findings Gene expression profiling of the human endometrial Ishikawa cancer cell line treated with E2 and P4 for 3 h and 12 h, and TAM and RU486 for 12 h, was performed using RNA-sequencing. High levels of mRNA were detected for genes, including PSAP, ATP5G2, ATP5H, and GNB2L1 following E2 or P4 treatment. A total of 82 biomarkers for endometrial biology were identified among E2 induced genes, and 93 among P4 responsive genes. Identified biomarkers included: EZH2, MDK, MUC1, SLIT2, and IL6ST, which are genes previously associated with endometrial receptivity. Moreover, 98.8% and 98.6% of E2 and P4 responsive genes in Ishikawa cells, respectively, were also detected in two human mid-secretory endometrial biopsy samples. TAM treatment exhibited both antagonistic and agonistic effects of E2, and also regulated a subset of genes independently. The cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 (CCND1) showed significant up-regulation following treatment with TAM. RU486 did not appear to act as a pure antagonist of P4 and a functional analysis of RU486 response identified genes related to adhesion and apoptosis, including down-regulated genes associated with cell-cell contacts and adhesion as CTNND1, JUP, CDH2, IQGAP1, and COL2A1. Conclusions Significant changes in gene expression by the Ishikawa cell line were detected after treatments with E2, P4, TAM, and RU486. These transcriptome data provide valuable insight into potential biomarkers related to endometrial receptivity, and also facilitate an understanding of the molecular changes that take place in the endometrium in the early stages of breast cancer treatment and contraception usage.


The motion of the paraelectric–ferroelectric interface in KNbO3 at a hydrostatic pressure is studied in the framework of the mean-field theory. The kink solution is applied to the calculations of the width and velocity of the interface at different pressures. The calculations are based on the experimental data for the Curie–Weiss constant and the parameter of the Ginzburg-Landau expression for the free energy. The response of the interface motion to the hydrostatic pressure and the tricritical point is investigated nonempirically.


Infrequent bowel movements decrease the number of beneficial bacteria in the human intestines, thereby potentially increasing the individual's risk of colorectal cancer. The correction of such bowel problems could therefore make an important contribution to improving population health and quality-adjusted lifespan. We examined independent and interactive effects upon the fecal microbiota of two potentially favorable determinants of intestinal motility: the intake frequency of a fermented milk product containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) and the quantity/quality of habitual physical activity in 338 community-living Japanese aged 65–92 years. Subjects were arbitrarily grouped on the basis of questionnaire estimates of LcS intake (0–2, 3–5, and 6–7 days/week) and pedometer/accelerometer-determined patterns of physical activity [<7000 and ≥7000 steps/day, or <15 and ≥15 min/day of activity at an intensity >3 metabolic equivalents (METs)]. After adjustment for potential confounders, the respective numbers of various beneficial fecal bacteria tended to be larger in more frequent consumers of LcS-containing products, this trend being statistically significant (mostly P < 0.001) for total Lactobacillus, the Lactobacillus casei subgroup, and the Atopobium cluster; in contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in fecal bacterial counts between the physical activity groups. A multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analysis estimated that the risk of infrequent bowel movements (arbitrarily defined as defecating ≤3 days/week) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in subjects who ingested LcS-containing products 6–7 rather than 0–2 days/week [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.382 (0.149–0.974)] and was also lower in those who took ≥7000 rather than <7000 steps/day [0.441 (0.201–0.971)] or spent ≥15 rather than <15 min/day of physical activity at an intensity >3 METs [0.412 (0.183–0.929)]. The risk of infrequent bowel movements in subjects who combined 6–7 days/week of LcS with ≥7000 steps/day or ≥15 min/day of activity at >3 METs was only a tenth of that for individuals who combined 0–2 days/week of LcS with <7000 steps/day or <15 min/day at >3 METs. These results suggest that elderly individuals can usefully ingest LcS-containing supplements regularly (≥6 days/week) and also engage in moderate habitual physical activity (≥7000 steps/day and/or ≥15 min/day at >3 METs) in order to enhance their gastrointestinal health.