Objective To analyze the relationship between pH of dental plaque fluid in the primary teeth and caries status,sugar exposure frequency.Methods Subjects were 93 of 3-5 years old children lived in Beijing area. According to their caries status, they were classified into two groups: severe early childhood caries group, dt≥5, n=47; caries free group, dmft=0, n=46. Plaque samples were collected from subjects respectively. Micro-electrode technique was used to test pH of dental plaque fluid. The information of daily sugar exposure frequency of children was obtained from a standardize questionnaire filled by their parents. The relationship between pH of dental plaque fluid and daily sugar exposure frequency was analyzed, the relationship between pH of dental plaque fluid and dt in the S-ECC group was also analyzed.Results The mean value for pH was lower in the S-ECC group, the difference between mean values was found to be statistically significant(P 0.05). There was an inverse relationship between pH of dental plaque fluid and sugar exposure frequency in primary dentition. In the S-ECC group, there was an inverse relationship between pH of dental plaque fluid in the primary teeth and dt value.Conclusion There was an inverse relationship between the pH of dental plaque fluid and sugar exposure frequency in primary dentition. Dental plaque fluid from the S-ECC group shows a stronger cariogenic potential than that from the CF group.


Tong Ren (TR) is an untested energy healing modality with anecdotally-reported effectiveness for a variety of disorders. Study objective: To describe participant reports of effectiveness and safety. Design: Cross-sectional, anonymous survey. Setting: Weekly group sessions in the Northeast US. Participants: Adults attending group sessions. Measures: Changes in conditions attributed to TR. Results: Response rate 89% (n = 265). Cancer (30.6%), endocrine/autoimmune (17.5%) and musculoskeletal disorders (17.2%) were the most commonly reported conditions. Among respondents who had attended more than one session (n = 216), 30% used superlatives (e.g., ``amazing'') to describe TR's impact, and one-third noted improved quality of life. No adverse effects were described. Anxiety, depression, cancer, and autoimmune disorders appeared to have the greatest treatment responses, with 63.8%, 61.0%, 60.3%, and 58.1% of participants with these conditions reporting substantial improvements. Conclusion: This first study documenting self-reported effects of TR shows subjective benefits and no adverse effects. Further research on this approach is warranted.


2D and 3D simulations of gas species diffusion in a pseudo-2D bubbling fluidized bed were carried out and compared to experimental measurements. Tracer gas concentration and solids velocity profiles measured throughout the bed showed great deviations of the 2D simulations due to negligence of the friction on the large front and back walls of the pseudo-2D unit and the inability to resolve gas species gradients across the thickness of the bed. 3D simulations circumvent these limitations and result in much more reasonable comparisons with experimental data. A clear lack of gas species diffusion was observed, however, and this was attributed to the negligence of particle-induced diffusion of gas species within the bed. Further work is recommended to investigate the modelling of particle-induced gas species diffusion in fluidized bed reactors.


Mammography, a soft tissue roentgenographic technic, is a practical method for studying the breast. Its reported accuracy of diagnosis in diseases of the breast ranges from 79 to 97 per cent in various series.Mammography is simple to perform but requires especially modified roentgenographs equipment and interpretation of x-rays by a roentgenologist who is experienced in the procedure.Although it is not an infallible diagnostic examination, mammography has proved valuable for studying a patient whose condition is difficult to evaluate clinically and as a supplement to traditional methods of diagnosing breast diseases.


cantilever bone graft, nasal reconstruction, saddle nasal deformity. Abstract The concept of the cantilever bone graft, popularised by Millard (1966), and its subsequent modification by Chait et al. (1980), led to the idea of the costochondral cantilever graft for nasal dorsum augmentation. Over 150 costochondral nasal grafts have been performed at the Australian Craniofacial Unit (ACFU) over the last 25 years, and the aim of this study was to review a cohort of fractured costochondral graft in patients treated at the ACFU. The notes of patients with nasal costochondral grafts were reviewed, those with a fractured graft forming the basis of this study. Patients with Binder Syndrome accounted for nearly 30% of the cohort. Other diagnoses included Opitz syndrome, frontonasal dysplasia and other craniofacial abnormalities. 3 patients were identified with late fractured costochondral grafts. The prominent position of the nose makes it easily susceptible to trauma, and very often, low energy impact can produce fractures of the nasal bones. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported series of fractures of costochondral nasal grafts and their subsequent management. We would advocate early surgical management of the fractured grafts when conservative treatment has failed. In our present series, all 3 patients still maintained a satisfactory cosmetic and functional result after a mean of 8.5 years following the reparative surgery.


With the development of distribution Internet of things, the workload of judging and maintaining running state of sensors is quite considerable after large-scale construction of sensing layer. Moreover, promotion of long-distance low-power sensors puts forward the requirements of low energy consumption and bandwidth reduction for communication network between "side" and "end". This paper proposes a state fusion evaluation method of multi-source sensors and data fusion compression method of low-power wireless sensors under the new inspection mode of distribution Internet of things. Taking the sensor system in Jiangsu power distribution substation as an example, the validity of state fusion evaluation of sensors is verified. The application of fusion compression algorithm can keep waveform characteristics and reduce data flow by 99.3%, which is more suitable for low-power and long-distance wireless transmission.


The waste management system in Kosovo is in an unsatisfactory situation, which presents a major problem for the country. The population covered with waste collection services is approximately around 50%.The lack of collecting and treating waste generated in the last decade has created a bad image in aesthetic and environmental pollution. The amount of waste landfills, in such sites, has been estimated to be over 250,000 tons per year[7]. This study has been conducted, in order of detecting illegal waste dumps in the Republic of Kosovo. This means that a huge amount of waste is burnt, either through rivers or in inappropriate places, such as illegal landfills. The major contributors of the illegal dumps, are; building contractors, demolition, remodeling, roofing, and waste management companies. The areas/lands around the landfill have greater opportunities to contamination and groundwater. Many of the products that have toxic origin, and heavy metals, such as, arsenic, zinc, copper, selenium, are harmful to the environment. The Law on Waste obliges municipalities to issue a register of illegal landfills in their territory within a period of one year[12]. In 16 municipalities a total of 1062 illegal landfills were identified. In Drenas, most of the illegal landfills occupy a huge surface of more than 400 m2. Based on the results, we can conclude that a huge amount of waste is not going to the landfills, but are thrown away by the population.


Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is well recognized as a cause of morbidity and mortality in heart transplant recipients. Primary CMV infection can occur early post transplant in at‐risk recipients with donor‐derived infection, or any time after transplantation in community‐acquired infection. We describe a unique case of primary CMV infection occurring 14 years after cardiac transplantation. In addition to end‐organ CMV disease, this patient developed a post‐infectious neurologic phenomenon, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. This entity has rarely been reported in the solid organ transplant population.


[Author Affiliation]Burak Acikel. 1 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.Ahmet Yar. 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.Sabri Herguner. 1 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.Address correspondence to: Sabri Herguner, MD, Meram Tip Fakultesi, Cocuk ve Ergen Psikiyatrisi AD, 42090, Konya, Turkey, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com The Editor:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by deficits in social communication and interaction, as well as by restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors and activities. In addition to these core symptoms, children with ASD may present with medical conditions, including gastrointestinal dysfunctions. Several studies showed that children with ASD had higher rates of gastrointestinal problems than typically developing controls, such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, reflux, and vomiting (Kang et al. 2014).Functional vomiting (FV) is defined as vomiting in the absence of gastrointestinal or central nervous system or metabolic diseases. Several pharmacological agents, such as antipsychotics (e.g., chlorpromazine) (Ozdemir et al. 2014), and antidepressants (e.g., mirtazapine) (Coskun and Alyanak 2011) have been reported to be efficient in management of FV. In this report, we describe a child with ASD who had frequent episodes of vomiting that improved after aripiprazole administration.Case ReportA 6-year-old boy with a diagnosis of ASD was referred to our outpatient clinic because of his disruptive behaviors, including hyperactivity, temper tantrums, and irritability. According to his parents, he had also had frequent vomiting episodes, occurring once or twice every day for the past 3 years. His physical examination and diagnostic tests, including endoscopy, were unremarkable. He was diagnosed as having functional vomiting by his gastroenterologist. Risperidone 0.5 mg was initiated for his disruptive behaviors, and the dose was titrated up to 1 mg/day, but no improvement was observed during a 3 month period. Then it was decided to change risperidone to aripiprazole, and the dose was increased to 5 mg/day for a 1 month period. According to the patient's parents, his hyperactivity and irritability did not improve; however, his vomiting episodes remitted completely. He was on this regime for 6 months, and during this time he did not experience any vomiting episode. Six months later, his parents stopped aripiprazole by themselves, as the boy's disruptive behaviors did not improve significantly. However, his vomiting episodes recurred after cessation of aripiprazole. Subsequently, his parents restarted aripiprazole 1 mg/day, and the patient was free of vomiting for 3 months.DiscussionIn this report, we described a patient with ASD who had frequent vomiting episodes and had a marked and rapid improvement following aripiprazole. …


The Mississippi Gulf Coast region extends from the MississippiLouisiana boundary at Pearl River eastward to the Mississippi-Alabama boundary and includes Hancock, Harrison, ' and Jackson Counties, Mississippi Sound, and the barrier islands. The region is underlain by southward sloping irregular beds of sand and clay that range from Minrono tn Hnlnrono in ana iu un cu u biu y eyuu Miocene to Holocene in age. The Miocene aquifer system in the Gulf Coast area includes waterbearing zones in the Pascagoula and Graham Ferry Formations. The Citronelle aquifer and younger strata overlie the Miocene aquifer system. Freshwater extends to depths ranging from about 1,200 feet east of Pascagoula to slightly more than 3,000 feet in western Hancock County. Most large wells in the area range from 400 to about 1,000 feet in depth and commonly produce 500 to 1,000 gallons per minute. Water-levels have declined regionally about 2 feet per year during the past 30 years. In the Pascagoula-Moss Point area, concentrated large withdrawals since about 1900 have caused declines of as much as 136 feet. In the Biloxi-Gulfport area declines have been as much as 100 feet from above land surface to about 50 feet below land surface. Although these declines seem large, most of the region can accomodate much larger declines, and the aquifers are capable of yielding much larger quantities of water. The major streams in the region include the Pearl, Jourdan, Wolf, Tchoutachabouffa, Biloxi, Escatawpa, and Pascagoula Rivers. Back Bay of Biloxi and St. Louis Bay are promiment estuarine features. The Pearl and Pascagoula Rivers are the principal drainage from central and southern Mississippi. The Escatawpa River is a tributary to the Pascagoula River. The other rivers drain directly into Mississippi Sound, Back Bay of Biloxi, or St. Louis Bay. The region is subject to flooding from land surface runoff from excessive precipitation and from hurricane-induced flood tides. Surface water in the region generally is soft, acidic, and low in dissolved solids. Suspended sediment concentrations are low; however, some streams are high in organic color. All streams are subject to saltwater intrusion. Ground water is generally of good quality but locally contains excessive concentrations of dissolved solids. Saltwater intrusion has not been observed except in shallow aquifers that are hydraulically connected to estuarine streams. Water-quality problems in deeper aquifers are related to freshwater-saJ.twa.ter.--jji.terfaces that occur in all confined aquifers. Water otemperatures range from about 68 F in very shallow wells to over 100 F in the deepest aquifers. From Biloxi westward, the deeper aquifers are virtually undeveloped. Fresh surface water is used by industry in the Pascagoula area. Brackish surface water is used in the Biloxi area for thermoelectric cooling. All public water supplies and some industrial water supplies use ground water; however, most of the water .^sed in the area in terms of volume is brackish surface water. Total water use in 1980 was about 50 mi 11 ion gallons per day from ground-water sources and about 720 million gallons per day from surface sources. INTRODUCTION The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is making a water-resources management study that includes the three counties that border the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Corps of Engineers study was authorized by resolutions adopted in June 1972 and March 1973 by the Committees on Public Works of the Senate and House of Representatives, 92d and 93d Congresses of the United States. In 1984, the U.S. Geological Survey entered into agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide a summary of available hydrologic information for the area. PURPOSE AND SCOPE This report summarizes the published and open-file hydrologic information available for the three-county Mississippi Gulf Coast area. The sources of information include the publications and files of the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies. Surface-water records were run on standard analytical programs to compute statistical relations for low-flow, average flow, and high-flow conditions in major streams. Particular attention was directed to the hydrology of streams at points of entry to the area, and to the problem reaches of the streams within the area. Available publications and file data on ground-water resources are summarized from the standpoint of recharge areas, delineation of aquifers, ground-water use, changes in water levels, and changes in water quality. No previously unreleased data or interpretative information are presented. PHYSICAL SETTING The Mississippi Gulf Coast region is bounded on the east by the Mississippi-Alabama state line and on the west by the Pearl River, the common state boundary with Louisiana. The region includes Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Countries,. Mississippi Sound, and the barrier islands situated 10 to 12 miles south of the shoreline. The three counties have a combined area of about 1,800 mi'2. The Mississippi Sound comprises about 800 mi 2 of additional area. The four principal islands, subject to changes in area, include a total of about 50 mi2 (fig. 1). The climate of the study area is characterized by heavy rainfall, hot summers, and mild winters. Rainfall averages about 60 inches annually, and relative humidity generally remains high throughout the year. Temperatures during the summer months seldom exceed 100° but often reach 90° (Newcome and others, 1968). i Land forms in the coastal area, described in detail by Brown and others (1944, p. 17-31), include the Long Leaf Pine Hills, the Coastal Pine Meadows, the alluvial plains of the larger streams, beach ridges, sand dunes, and barrier islands. The beds exposed at the surface in the area range in age from Miocene to Holocene (fig. 2 and table 1) The area is underlain by a south-southwestward dipping series of deltaic and estuarine sediments that are composed mostly of clay, silt, sand, and irregular beds of gravel. The oldest exposed strata have been assigned to the Pascagoula Formation and are Miocene in age whereas the younger Graham Ferry and Citronelle Formations were considered to be of Pliocene age in Mississippi by Newcome and others (1968). The Citronelle is a blanket deposit that overlies both the Graham Ferry and the Pascagoula and extends beyond the study area to the north (Boswell, 1979). The Citronelle in the coastal area is overlain by Pleistocene and Holocene coastal and terrace deposits and alluvium. The south-southwestward slope that is characteristic of the older units is the result of gradual subsidence (sinking) in the Gulf Coast geosyncline. The younger beds exhibit successively less southwestward slope. Most of the units thicken down the dip to the southwest (Brown and others, 1944). The major streams in the area (fig. 1) include the Pearl, Jourdan, Wolf, Tchoutachabouffa, Biloxi, Escatawpa, and Pascagoula Rivers. These streams have well-defined inland channels that provide drainage for the mostly rural area. Back Bay of Biloxi and St. Louis Bay are large estuarine features. Major population centers within the area of investigation include Pascagoula-Moss Point, Biloxi-Ocean Springs, Gulfport-Long Beach-Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis-Waveland. Also included is the National Space Technology Laboratories area, Keesler Air Force Base, and U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center. E X P L A N A T IO N G a g in g S ta tio n s A ct iv e D is co n tin u e d A 2 A 5A le ss t h a n 10 y e a r*


Background: Nutrition education is defined as instruction or training intended to lead to acquired nutrition-related knowledge and/or nutrition-related skills and be provided in individual. It is also demonstrably capable of improving dietary behaviour and nutrition status on its own.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the urban and rural ICDS projects of Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh from July 2014 to June 2015. Three types of instruments were used: NIPCCD Suposhan Guide, a structured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements including weight, height and MUAC. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel and was analyzed by using EPI Info version 7.Results: As per Z score 7.9% children had normal weight (Z score above -1SD), 31.7% had mild underweight (Z score between -1SD to -2SD), 40.7% had moderate underweight (Z score between -2SD to -3SD) and 19.6% had severe underweight (Z score below -3SD). Reduction in moderate underweight was from 39.2% to 33.9% and in severe underweight it was from 19.3% to 15.2% in urban area. In the rural area reduction in moderate underweight was from 44.1% to 36.6% and in the severe underweight group it was from 20.4% to 9.7%.Conclusions: In our nutrition education intervention we found that a well planned, short, simple, focused and based on locally available food items delivered with little empathy can do a lot even in weaker sections of the society.


Problem statement: Al-Harida volcano is located in the Jordanian parts of the Harrat Al-Shaam plateau and contains considerable amounts of mantle xenoliths within its pyroclastic successions. Approach: These xenoliths are reported for the first time for this area. Mineralogical investigations show that they are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, spinel and phlogopite. Results: The xenoliths range in size from 5-30 cm with an average of 10 cm. They are classified as Type I and belong to the Cr-diopside group and are characterized by high contents of MgO, Cr and Ni. The occurrence of hydrous mineral phases and the enrichment of incompatible elements such as Sr, Rb and Ba indicate a considerable mantle metasomatism. Conclusion/Recommendations: Thermobarometry of the studied xenoliths indicates a temperature ranging from 960-1040°C and pressure ranging from 11-13 Kbar which corresponds to a depth of origin of about 43 km.


This study examined the influences on maternal acceptance-rejection and mediating effects of parenting stress. Participants were 150 mothers of children aged 3 to 6 in Seoul and Jeju. Research questions were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Results showed that children's age, congenital diseases or anomalies, planned pregnancy, and father's occupation influenced maternal acceptance-rejection directly. Mothers' perceived treatment in childhood and fathers' age influenced parenting stress; parenting stress, in turn, influenced maternal acceptance-rejection. Fathers' age influenced parenting stress negatively; parenting stress, in turn, influenced maternal acceptance-rejection positively.


Complex interactions between Over-Tip Leakage (OTL) flow and cooling injection have been the focus in turbomachinery. In the present work, a numerical investigation was carried out for such interactions between the transonic OTL flow and cooling injection with the quasithree-dimensional (Quasi-3D) models employed. The results show that, for the flat tip, the nondimensional scale of separation bubble is pretty much constant. For the squealer tip, the interaction between cooling injectio n and OTL forms a counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP), and the thermal stripes on the suction side (SS) rim are mainly caused by the interaction between OTL and CRVP. For the given cooled flat and squealer tips, the flow was blocked by cooling injection, and which may reduce the overall OTL mass flux. Further research revealed that this blocking effect was related to the cooling hole location and orientation. Threedimensional numerical simulations provide further validation for those conclusions. INTRODUCTION In modern turbomachinery, the blade tip of the highpressure turbine (HPT) becomes one of the most vulnerable areas due to the high thermal load. The flow passing through the tip clearance between the blade tip and the casing also leads to the flow loss, namely, the OTL flow loss. It decreases the turbine efficiency. Therefore, heat transfer and aerodynamics need to be comprehensively considered to design qualified blade tips of HPT. Experimental studies have been extensively carried out to investigate the heat transfer and aerodynamic performance on the tip regions. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and static pressure distributions on different tip geometries were measured by Azad et al. (2000a, 2000b) by utilizing the transient liquid crystal technique. Kwak et al. (2003), Kwak and Han (2002a, 2002b) analysed the effects of tip gap heights, turbulence intensity and Reynolds number on the heat transfer in the tip regions of both flat and squealer tips. Christophel et al. (2005a, 2005b) experimentally investigated the effect of the pressure side (PS) blowing on the heat transfer coefficients and the adiabatic effectiveness levels. Using the 2D-PIV technique, Hu et al. (2014) reported that a good leakage control effect only happened on the condition of a small tip gap and the medium blade load. Zhang et al. (2011) showed that the heat transfer over the turbine blade tip is greatly influenced by the shock wave structure within the tip gap. After multiple reflections of shock waves, the supersonic flow finally ended with a normal shock. A strong interaction between heat transfer and aerodynamics for transonic turbine blade tips was discussed by Zhang and He (2014) as well. Hofer and Arts (2009) found that the effect of cooling on the overall mass-weighted loss coefficient was marginal for the double squealer geometries investigated in their transonic experimental study. Lots of numerical calculations have also been conducted to study the aerothermal characteristics. The effects of different tip geometries, including flat tip, double squealer tip, and suction side squealer tip, were numerically studied by Krishnababu et al. (2007). Their results illustrated the OTL mass flow rate and heat transfer to the tip increased with the increase of tip gap height. The effects of relative casing motion and cooing injection on the flow and heat transfer performances of the OTL flow were investigated by Krishnababu (2007) and Newton et. al. (2009) as well. Similar researches were conducted by Yang et al. (2006, 2013). The simulation results showed that the heat transfer weakened with increasing cavity depth, and the shallow cavity is the most effective tip geometry to decrease the overall heat load. The effects of tip gap clearance and casing recess on the heat transfer and the stage efficiency for many


In this paper, time fractional dengue virus modelling will be solved analytically. The model consists of three coupled time fractional ordinary differential equations. We defined the time-fractional derivative in the Caputo sense. In this scheme, the analytical solutions of the three-coupled time fractional ordinary differential equations at each time step will be derived. It can be concluded that the analytical solutions derived from this scheme provides interesting features in understanding the behaviour of dengue virus transmission in the human body.


The samples were prepared as follows to minimize the use of NaOH in the oxidation of lignosulfonate to produce vanillin; the milk of lime was added to the S. P. waste liquor to pH 10.5 and the precipitate formed was removed. The milk of lime was further added to the mother liquor to pH 11.5 and the precipitate was separated, and the centrifuged was used as samples.Forty grams of the sample (containing 3.0g of lignosulfonic acid, ca. 30g of water and 70g of lime and other substances) was oxidized with various amounts of solid NaOH, in an autoclave with a magnetic stirrer. The effect of NaOH concentration was investigated without catalyst under the initial pressure of 6.5kg/cm2 at 160°C. The highest yield was obtained when the NaOH concentration was approx. 2N. Therefore this concentration of NaOH was used throughout the following experiments. The maximum yield was obtained at 3 hrs. of the reaction. Under the same condition the samples were also oxidized in sodium peroxide solution. In the experiments optimum time was shortened but no higher yields were obtained in sodium peroxide solution.The rate of air oxidation of vanillin in NaOH solution was then investigated. It was found that the reaction is of the first order, with rate constant 1.42×10-2. The rate constant for the formation of vanillin by the oxidation of lignosulfonate was estimated to be 1.47×10-1 on the assumption that the oxidation reaction of lignosulfonate is of the first order. The catalytic effects by a little addition of some inorganic oxides, salts, and other related organic compounds were also investigated, No higher yields were obtained than that in the case of the addition of nitrobenzene, with which the maximum yield of vanillin was 17.29% of lignosulfonic acid.


Road Safety Audit is relatively new in Sarawak. Unlike in West Malaysia, where RSA has been introduced in the 90's, there is only a handful of road projects in Sarawak include RSA as part of its design requirements. In this study, the BDC Kenyalang intercharge will be used as case study and scrutinized in term of its safety to road users by conducting qualitative study on safety performance examination similar to RSA stage 5 procedures and the collection of information through series of interviews with experts from government agencies and private sectors. RSA was conducted to identify the problems such as wear and tear due to environment maturity.


It was studied analytically and numerically the excitation of modulation instability and dissipative solitons, and also bistability phenomena in molecular j-aggregates at resonance optical pumping. Three-particle molecular interactions connected with exciton-exciton annihilation in chains were taking into account. Modulation instability boundaries both in the bistability region and outside it were determined. The investigation of various soliton types was carried out.


To fly farther, to fly higher, and to fly faster, have been the aims ever urging the aircraft designer on to further progress. Of all, the lust for high speed is the most compelling. While the past few years have seen spectacular increases in the World's High Speed Record (see Fig. 1) still higher performance in the supersonic region will be commonplace in the near future. To attain these speeds, largely made possible by the increased power and light weight of the turbo-jet unit, the designer must seek out means still further to reduce aerodynamic drag.


Francis and Felton4 have proposed a measure of virulence, based on the susceptibility of mice, guniea pigs, and rabbits to infection with this organism, which appears to be the most direct and valid of any that have been applied. Approximately 1 to 10 organisms of maximum virulence are sufficient to cause fatal infection in mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Diminished virulence first shows itself in the failure of the organisms to kill rabbits. This method of as-


Since 1972 CARE-A-VAN has been a pioneer in coordinating transportation services, combining more than two dozen funding sources to avoid duplication of administration, personnel, and equipment. Twenty-seven vehicles provide about 155,000 trips annually. SAINT was established as a pilot project for the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1983 to recruit volunteers who used their own cars to provide economical transportation for senior or disabled residents. Administrative costs caused the volunteer system to operate at a significantly higher cost per trip than the private nonprofit CARE-A-VAN system. Disappointed supporters withdrew dollars shifted to SAINT without restoring them to the professional system. In January 1988, SAINT became a volunteer division of CARE-A-VAN. Cooperation replaced competition. In the first year, rides increased by 26% (to 10,464), donations increased, emphasis shifted from survival to quality of service and the benefits of coordination were demonstrated.


Performance assessment of technology-based ventures requires consideration of the nature of their businesses and the dynamics of their emerging industries. This paper explores the development of a cluster-based and quantitative measurement system for science and technology parks to evaluate the performance of technology-based ventures. The proposed method incorporates technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and weight allocation. It ranks the technology-based ventures in different technological clusters, based on a range of indicators pertinent to productivity, research and development (R&D) effort, R&D personnel percentage, time to market and financial performance. This method has been implemented through a trial study conducted within the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. The results indicate that R&D spending has a strong impact on a company's performance ranking. The performance of technology-based ventures should be measured with respect to their R&D investments and their pertinent efforts to commercialise products.


Abstract : As a first part of an investigation of the factors affecting the dynamic response of proportional fluidic amplifiers, the behaviour of an oscillating jet has been experimentally studies. Measurements of instantaneous velocity profiles of a jet oscillating between two side plates has been made, as well as of the trajectories and deflection of the centerline. Measurements of characteristic parameters of the longitudinal turbulence have also been made. The results were compared with the results obtained for an identical jet in stationary conditions. Analysis of the results allowed an estimate of the convection velocity for the jet oscillations, and the determination of a similarity parameter for the unsteady behaviour. All the measurements have been made using an analog synchronous sampling technique. (Author)


An economic growth theory model is developed in which worldwide economic and population growth is optimistically allowed to be increasing in current population-and-economy size, but degradation of environmental quality can cause eventual population-and-economic collapse. The existence of an environmental technology time path that guarantees sustained growth (dY/dt >= 0) is proven. This time path is labeled a technology benchmark, a path of environmental technology in use that society must achieve to ensure against population-and-economic collapse. The World3 global simulation model, developed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists to analyze global growth and its relation to environmental issues, is used to derive estimates of the requisite time path for several key technologies. The estimated time paths are compared with available information on actual rates of technological change. Such technology benchmarks could serve as measurable goals for national and international policy.


Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a progressive, multi-organ disease with limited treatment options. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 have been implicated in the fibrotic pathway and pathogenesis of SSc and are promising targets. Romilkimab (RKB) is an engineered humanized bispecific Ig-G4 antibody that binds and neutralizes both IL-4/IL-13. We report a Phase IIa randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT02921971, Sanofi funded) employing RKB in SSc.To evaluate the efficacy and safety of RKB in dcSSc.Patients with dcSSc duration ≤36 months, mRSS 10-35, with or without immunosuppressive background therapy were randomized (1:1) to subcutaneous RKB 200mg or placebo (PBO) for 24 weeks and stratified on history of SSc-ILD. Primary endpoint was mean change in mRSS at Week 24 and FVC/DLco and HAQ-DI were secondary endpoints. All analyses used a 1-sided p-value <0.05 as reaching statistical significance.Ninety-seven patients with similar baseline characteristics between arms, including use of background therapy (RKB 59.2% vs. PBO 52.1%) were randomized. Six (12.2%) and 4 (8.3%) patients discontinued study treatment early in the PBO and RKB arms, respectively. Primary endpoint showed an absolute change in mRSS of -2.45 (0.85) and -4.76 (0.86) for PBO and RKB groups, respectively with a difference of -2.31 (1.21) favoring RKB (p=0.029). Subgroup analysis based on background therapy showed a similar treatment effect with a PBO subtracted difference in mRSS of -2.69 (1.83) and -2.38 (1.59), suggesting an additive effect between background therapy and RKB. Secondary endpoints did not show a statistically significant difference between RKB vs. PBO arms, although there was numerically less decline in FVC with RKB with a PBO subtracted difference of 70ml (p=0.06). Exploratory endpoints suggested possible effect of RKB on overall pain, Raynaud's, digital ulcers, and EQ-5D-5L. Post-hoc analysis was undertaken to determine time to progression (first event defined as death, ≥10% relative decline in % predicted FVC, ≥15% relative decline in % predicted DLCO, ≥20% increase or +5 in mRSS, or other events: cardiac, SRC, PAH development) and showed a benefit for RKB (HR: 0.47 p=0.04). Adverse events were balanced between the two groups (RKB 83.3% vs. PBO 83.7%). There were 5 and 4 SAEs in the PBO and RKB arms, respectively. One death occurred in each arm (SRC – RKB, cardiomyopathy – PBO).Patients with dcSSc who were treated with RKB showed a statistically significant reduction in mRSS compared to those receiving PBO. Secondary outcomes were not met, although RKB was associated with a smaller decline in FVC than PBO. Post-hoc analysis showed a possible reduction on time to progression with RKB. RKB was well tolerated with no major safety concerns.None.Yannick Allanore Grant/research support from: Yannick Allanore has received grants from Inventiva, Roche and Sanofi, Consultant of: Yannick Allanore has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Curzion, Inventiva, Roche, Sanofi, Peter Wung Shareholder of: I own Sanofi stock, Employee of: I work for Sanofi, Christina Soubrane Employee of: I work for Sanofi., Corinne Esperet Employee of: I work for Sanofi., MARRACHE Frederic Employee of: I work for Sanofi, Raphael Bejuit Employee of: I work for Sanofi., Amel Lahmar Employee of: I work for Sanofi., Dinesh Khanna Shareholder of: Eicos Sciences, Inc./Civi Biopharma, Inc., Grant/research support from: Dr Khanna was supported by NIH/NIAMS K24AR063120, Consultant of: Acceleron, Actelion, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Horizon Therapeutic, Galapagos, Roche/Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Sanofi-Aventis/Genzyme, UCB, Christopher Denton Grant/research support from: GlaxoSmithKline, CSL Behring, and Inventiva, Consultant of: Medscape, Roche-Genentech, Actelion, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Aventis, Inventiva, CSL Behring, Boehringer Ingelheim, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Acceleron, Curzion and Bayer


A vast literature advancing the case for world federalism has its origins in our own century. At the same time, there is no reason to suppose that this case rests on more durable intellectual foundations today than it did when Pierre Dubois wrote on the subject in 1306. In volume after volume, there is no evidence to suggest that a systematic examination of the federal model is ever undertaken. Indeed, from the standpoint of effective power-management or war prevention, the improved character of proposed configurations is never even doubted. It is accepted as self-evident. This situation is regrettable. The requirements of effective powermanagement in the world system are extraordinarily complex. Whether or not federal alternatives are more suitable than prevailing arrangements for the mangement of global power depends upon the outcome of painstaking investigation. Intuition and "common sense" are not enough. With this in mind, the following essay will, after reviewing the long tradition of world federalist advocacy, systematically examine the power-management features of the world federal model. This examination will not rest upon the kind of "reasoning by analogy" which ordinarily characterizes such study. (Such reasoning derives from the mistaken assumption that the national actors in world politics are guided by the same preference orderings as their constituent sub-units, e.g., states, provinces, cantons.) Rather, it will seek predictive conclusions by drawing out the implications of certain explicitly-stated assumptions pertaining to the behavior of nations in world politics.


The article reveals the current state of selection and seed production of grain crops in the Russian Federation. There were considered the barriers of the development of the subsector in the conditions when one of the priorities is the creation of export-oriented grain production, which is not possible without well-developed plant breeding and seed production. There were revealed the features of selection and seed production of grain crops in modern conditions: underfunding of organizations engaged in selection, lack of breeding laboratories in the field of genetic technologies, imperfection of legislation in the country, low level of material and technical support of seed production, illegal seed trafficking, lack of financial opportunities of agricultural producers to conduct timely the variety exchange and variety renewal. There were proposed the measures to improve the system of state regulation in the field of selection and seed production of grain crops to solve these problems.


This special issue of Jewish Social Studies presents the proceedings of a conference entitled "History and Responsibility: Hebrew Literature and 1948," held at Stanford University in June 2011. The introduction frames the questions that arose out of 1948 and the simultaneous creation of the Israeli state and the Nakba.


In the present work, the cluster radioactivity of even A uranium isotopes (218–236U) with the emission of both alpha‐like and non‐alpha‐like neon clusters (20,22,24,26,28Ne) was studied. The decimal logarithm of half‐lives (expressed in seconds) were calculated by three different approaches based on (i) the single line of Universal curve (UNIV) for alpha and cluster radioactive decay, (ii) the Universal Decay law (UDL) and (iii) by considering a fission‐like model in which the interacting nuclear potential barrier was taken to be the sum of Coulomb and proximity potentials (CPPM) respectively. Based on the half‐lives calculated by using the three different approaches mentioned above, significance of the role of 208Pb nucleus (doubly magic nucleus) and nuclear shell effects in trans‐lead cluster radioactivity were investigated. The calculated half‐lives have also been compared with available experimental results. It was observed that cluster decay modes leading to the formation of 208Pb daughter nucleus have the lowest half‐lives. This implies that there is a shell closure at proton number (Z) = 82 and neutron number (N) = 126. Hence, it confirms the existence of nuclear shell effect and stresses the significance of role of 208Pb daughter nucleus in the trans‐lead cluster radioactivity. It can be noticed that the calculated half‐lives for several cluster decay modes are well within the present experimental upper limit for measurements (T1/2 < 1030S). These results may be useful for future experiments.


The migration behavior of Pt particles supported on the outside surface of ordered mesoporous carbon powder during potential cycling measurement was studied. Monodispersion of Pt nanoparticles was successfully obtained by the arc plasma deposition technique. By use of high resolution STEM measurements, identical location observations were obtained of Pt particles supported on carbon powders before and after the potential cycling. From these measurements, we found that surface gaps formed between the carbon rod bundles of the mesoporous carbon have an important role in suppression of Pt migration and aggregation.


ABSTRACT At several places in Sweden there is a continuous oil-spill into ponds and lakes from engine sheds. During 1969–1971 new methods and materials were tested in order to reconstruct oil-contaminated water and sediment. Thus the bottom of a lake was harrowed with compressed air and the oil brought to the water surface where it was adsorbed. A new type of adsorption material, adsorbent blower, booms, incinerators and technique were designed. The result of the reconstruction was the following: In February 1972, 600 tons of diesel oil was spilled in a river in the northern part of Sweden. Downstream from the spill is a system of hydroelectric power stations, fisheries and freshwater-intakes. Thus there was a real chance to destroy domestic water. The mean temperature during January and February was between −25°C to −35°C and the river was partly frozen. Materials and methods were thus tested during hard conditions. The restoration was divided into using standard methods and developing new methods and ma...


With the problem of nuclear leakage being concerned by more and more industries, the research of coastal ecological environment monitoring has become more and more important. Therefore, it is necessary to study the current unsystematic coastal ecological environment monitoring and protection system. Aiming at the accuracy of feature fusion and representation of single short environment information, this paper compares the classification effects of the three fusion methods on four classifiers: logistic regression, SVM, random forest, and naive Bayes, to verify the effectiveness of LDA and DS model fusion and determine the consistency vector representation method of short environment information data. This paper collects and analyzes the coastal data in recent years using multisource information fusion decision-making. In this paper, DS (Dempster Shafer) evidence algorithm is used to collect the data of coastal salinization degree and air relative humidity, and then, the DS feature matching model is introduced to fuse the whole index system. The method in the article completes the standardized and standardized processing of monitoring data digital conversion, quality control, and data classification, forms interrelated four-dimensional spatiotemporal data, and establishes a distributed, object-oriented, Internet-oriented dynamic management real-time and delayed database. Finally, this paper carries out tree decision processing on the coastal ecological environment monitoring data of multisource information fusion, to achieve the extraction and intuitive analysis of special data, and puts forward targeted protection strategies for the coastal ecological environment according to the data results of the DS algorithm. The research shows that the number of indicators in multisource information fusion in this paper is 16, a total of 3251 data, 2866 meaningful information, and 1869 data including ecological cycle. These data are the results of the collection of multi-information data. Based on the multilevel nature of the existing marine environment three-dimensional monitoring system, the study established a comprehensive resource-guaranteed framework and divided it into four levels according to the level of the marine monitoring system: country, sea area, locality, and data access point. In specific analysis, the guarantee resources involved in each level are introduced. On the basis of in-depth analysis of the requirements of the marine environment three-dimensional monitoring system operation guarantee and the guarantee resource structure, the marine environment three-dimensional monitoring operation comprehensive guarantee system is described from the internal structure and the external connection. The DS algorithm extracts the status information resources of various marine environment three-dimensional monitoring systems, through the interaction of various subsystems, realizes the operation and maintenance of the monitoring system, and provides various technical supports such as system evaluation and failure analysis. After multisource information fusion and decision-making, it is obtained that the index equilibrium module in the DS algorithm in this paper is 0.52, the sensitivity is 0.68, and the independence is 0.42. Among them, the range of sensitivity is the largest. In the simulation results, the eco-economic coefficient can be increased from 12% to 36%. Therefore, using the method of multisource information fusion for quantitative index analysis can provide data support for coastal ecological environment detection, to establish a more perfect protection system.


The essay attempts to rethink the relationships between styles, publics, and politics, as well as the position of intellectuals in it. Any writing, even in the most private form of a diary, as an example from the George Orwell's novel 1984 shows, is addressed to a public. Paradoxically, the public only exists, as Warner asserts, by virtue of its own address. In this sense, style does perform a political function. However, the critics of the opaque writing of some leftist academics overlook that the public can have a temporal span into the future when they view it only horizontally in terms of its size and deduce the political efficacy of writing on that account. The confusion of the public with citizens in general leads to the undermining of politics by the headline temporality of journalistic publics. Aspirations of some academics for the role of public intellectuals are faced with the fact that for the most part there are currently no conditions for public circulation between these spheres. As a possible counterweight, Warner recalls the approach of Michel Foucault, not merely as a reminder of how it relocated the limits of the political, but also in order to suggest how the path between intellectual work and politics could be bridged by the method of "problematization": the development of a domain of acts and practices on the scene of a tentative counterpublic.


Songhua River and Liaohe River valley is one of the three largest valleys in China, having a great potential in hydropower. However, there are a number of problems in the development of this area as well, such as lack of long-term planning and lack of investment. This paper claims that it is an important part of realizing the sustainable development strategy to make a sustainable use of the hydropower resources in this valley. More importantly, it is necessary to know the extent to which this valley can be developed in a sustainable and harmonious way by studying carefully the evaluation standard and methods. Therefore, appropriate strategies and measures should be taken to realize the sustainable development of the Songhua and Liaohe river valley.


As reported widely in the general media and also in recent editions of Primary Industry Management, there is increasing recognition of the need to improve the sustainability of New Zealand agricultural systems. For example, Fonterra's Mark Leslie stated that the success of New Zealand's dairy industry depends on its continued sustainability. Sustainability issues around greenhouse gas emissions are front of mind for many. Mark Aspin, Manager of the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium recently said 'Global attitudes towards climate change have changed considerably. There is now much greater acceptance of the view that human activities are altering the composition of the atmosphere to such an extent that the planet's energy balance has been changed. The accumulation of greenhouse gases are causing the planet to retain more solar radiation, trapping more of the energy that previously would have been emitted back into space'. It is clear that international agreements between governments will result in a charge for greenhouse gas emissions and that New Zealand will either have to pay for excess emissions or reduce them. a real rISk Tim Groser, Minister of Trade, has recently said that there was a need to deal with new environmental and climate change demands in traditional markets in Europe and North America and that the real risk is not about governments. It is that customers, or rather retailers that make the crucial decisions on sourcing, may walk away from New Zealand over environmental, climate change or other production processes and methods. It is a real risk that we must not treat lightly. Sustainability issues relating to nitrate leaching into rivers, lakes and groundwater are already having an adverse effect on agricultural development. Major irrigation development projects are being delayed because of fears about the environmental effects that will be caused by the intensification of agriculture. Progress to address those environmental concerns has been made through the development of the draft Canterbury Water Management Strategy released in August 2009. This strategy relies heavily on new technologies, such as nitrification inhibitors, to give the public confidence that threats of agricultural pollution can be reduced. The strategy states that 'Land use practice is changing and there are technologies available such as nitrogen The effectiveness of nitrification inhibitor technology to improve the sustainability of agriculture


Self-esteem is one of the hottest topics in psychological study. There are certain achievement gained in this field in China, which are mainly on the definition of concept and structure of self-esteem. We pay enough attention to dynamic introduction of self-esteem from international study field. At the same time, we study deeply on its characteristics, affected factors and functions. Nevertheless, there are still problems for succeeding scholars to study on.


In this study, we documented patterns of variation in leaf phenology and leaf herbivory in scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia Wang) along the slope of a closed topographical depression, 15 m deep and 400 m wide, in the pine barrens of eastern Massachusetts. Minimum temperatures over the grow- ing season averaged 6.5 ?C lower at the bottom of the depres- sion than at the top. Bud break at the bottom of the depression was 2-3 weeks delayed compared with the top. In both years of this study, 1988 and 1989, leaf damage by thrips increased down slope producing differences of about 10 % in the pro- portion of leaf area damaged between the top and the bottom of the depression. Because thrips fed exclusively on the young- est leaves, this pattern could be attributed to a closer synchrony between the timing of leaf flushing and the period of insect feeding activity towards the bottom of the depression. Aver- age differences in leaf damage between years could also be accounted for by variation in leaf phenology. These patterns support the hypothesis that the degree of temporal overlap between availability of high quality foliage and the period of insect feeding activity may greatly determine spatial and tem- poral variation in leaf damage by insect herbivores.


Picthers play an important role in softball, especially when defending. Pitching is a high explosive motion involving both smooth and big muscles especially an upper limb. This study aimed to acquire data and empirical proof of muscle performance on learning softball pitching based on science through electromyography (EMG) sensor approach. The research method used in this study is descriptive quantitative with analytical survey. The sampling technique employed in this study is saturated sampling since the sample is all the population which are all members of UPI students' softball club. The results of the data analysis show that the muscle performance included the upper body (34% pectoral, 28% bicepes, 17% deltoid, 14% latisimus dorsi, and 6% triceps), and lower body (42% hamstring, 23% outer quadriceps, 19% inner quadriceps, and 16% glute) for the first session. For the second session, the results of the upper body are 34% pectoral, 31% biceps, 15% deltoid, 14% latisimus dorsi, and 6% triceps and those of the lower body are 41% hamstring, 25% quadricpes, 20% inner quadriceps, and 14% glute. Based on the results, it can be concluded that pitching learning have the most impact on pectoral and hamstring muscles. Keywords—muscle performance; softball; pitching; picthing motion


The ways of deferring the fast metabolism of cordycepin were summarized: adding a side-chain group to prevent the deamination,joint application with adenosine deaminase inhibitor and embedded with nano-materials and their research progress.It was found that embedding cordycepin with new materials by nanotechnology was a good way to deferring the fast metabolism of cordycepin.


The invention discloses a nonlinear interface circuit for wide band piezoelectric generation and a direct current voltage control method for the nonlinear interface circuit. The circuit comprises an electronic switch circuit, a bridge type rectifying circuit, a voltage control circuit and a DC-DC switching circuit that are electrically connected in sequence; the electronic switch circuit is used for detecting the maximum amplitude of vibration excitation; the bridge type rectifying circuit is used for switching the alternating current output by the piezoelectric generation into direct current; the voltage control circuit is used for maintaining the voltage at the two ends of a rectifying capacitor to be close to the optimized voltage; and the DC-DC switching circuit is used for switching the direct current voltage output by the bridge type rectifying circuit into low direct current voltage required by the electric load. By maintaining the voltage at the two ends of the rectifying capacitor to be close to the optimized voltage through the voltage control circuit, the interface circuit can be kept at high piezoelectric generation conversion efficiency under the wide band vibration conditions.


As the result of an attempt to prepare unordered compounds of graphite containing more than 1.5 x 10/sup -3/ acceptor per carbon atom by the introduction of both chemical acceptors and radiation damage centers, evidence has been found for mutunl destruction of chemical acceptors and daunage centers. An analysis of the kinetic behavior of the mutunl destruction indicates that the extent of destruction is independent of the order in which the radiation damaging and chemical treatments are carried out. From some auxiliary experiments made necessary by the discovery of the above interaction it is concluded that the graphite bisulfate residue compounds are stable at room ffmperature, and that the bisulfate ion is not appreciably decomposed by the gamma flux in the reactor during short irradiations. The dependence of some electrical properties of graphite on the concentrations of both chemical acceptors and radiation damage centers has been analyzed on the basis of the two-band theory of a seuniconductor above its degeneracy temperature. It is concluded that whereas the Hall effect may be reasonably well understood the behaviors of the electrical resistance and magnetoresistance carnot be understood in terms of this theory, so that ihe introduction of additional hypotheses appears necessary. (auth)


A characterization in terms of the canonical model spaces of L. de Branges and J. Rovnyak is obtained for Hilbert spaces of formal power series with vector coefficients which satisfy a difference-quotient inequality, thereby extending the closed ideal theorems of A. Beurling and P. D. Lax.


Methantheline (Banthine) bromide and similar autonomic blocking agents have established themselves as adjuncts in the medical management of duodenal ulcer. Presumably through the mechanism of suppressing gastrointestinal activity, as evidenced by balloon-kymograph tracings,1and less constantly by reducing gastric secretion, they have produced relief of ulcer pain and discomfort. This effect has suggested its use in other gastrointestinal disturbances where hypermotility is an important feature. Methantheline has thus been used in patients with "irritable colon," hyperfunctioning ileostomies, the dumping syndrome, and ulcerative colitis.2Experimental evidence indicating the effectiveness of methantheline in abolishing colonic motility for periods up to five hours3prompted us to investigate clinically the efficacy of the drug in controlling the manifestations of the unstable ("irritable") colon on a long-term basis. METHOD OF STUDY Criteria of clinical responses are admittedly difficult to appraise, but it was hoped that the prolonged period of personal observation by


Colchicine-indced polyploids derived from Oenothera (subgenus Raimannia) diploids with meiotic chromosome configurations 7 pairs, _??_ 10, 2 paris, _??_ 10, _??_ 4, and _??_ 14, were used to study chromosome behaviour of tetraploids in relation to structural heterozygosity. Tetraploid plants showed "gigas" features of morphology related to increased cell size; in octoploids, there was a further increase in cell size but overall size and vigor was reduced and they were infertile.Cytologically, all tetraploids showed a reduction in chaisma frequency. Meiotic irregularities of tetraploids and octoploids were similar to those found occasionally in diploids but occurred more frequently. Tetraploids derived from the structurally homozygous diploid race showed quadrivalents, trivalents, bivalents and univalents; those derived from completely structurally heterozygous diploids showed a range of chromosome configurations from univalents, through ring pairs and intermediate chains and circles to ch20. Intermediate tetraploids showed an intermediate configuration range although some differences between them could not be related to differences in their diploid progenitors and it was concluded that although chromosome behaviour of tetraploids is largely determined by the degree of structural heterozygosity of the diploid progenitor, the genetic makeup of a race may modify this behaviour.In tetraploids there was a fertility decrease in pollen and seed set except for pollen of O.mollissima Cayrasco where percentage sterile grains was unchanged; tetraploids derived from structurally heterozygous diploids showed a smaller fertility reduction than those derived from the homozygous diploids.


Cognitive flexibility requires processing multiple sources of information and flexible adaptation of behavioral responses. Poverty negatively impacts cognitive control in young children, but its effects on infants are not well-understood. This study investigated longitudinally the development of cognitive flexibility in low-income infants. Thirty-two infants (15 low-SES, 17 high-SES) were tested at 6, 9, and 12 months of age. Cognitive flexibility was measured with a perseverative reaching task, where infants were taught to reach to one location and then asked to switch to a second location. High-SES infants replicated the typical developmental trajectory, reaching randomly at 6 months, perseverating at 9 months, and reaching correctly at 12 months. In contrast, the low-SES infants showed a delayed pattern, reaching correctly at 6 months, randomly at 9 months, and perseverating at 12 months. Links between cognitive flexibility and frontal cortex development are explored as a potential mechanism. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive flexibility refers to an individual's ability to switch between response sets and process multiple sources of information simultaneously (Anderson, 2002). Cognitive flexibility encompasses processes such as divided attention, working memory, conceptual transfer, and feedback utilization. Studies of cognitive flexibility often use procedures that involve performing a task according to a certain rule that specifies criteria for correct responding, and then making a switch that requires completing the same task using a new rule or set of rules (e.g., Espy, 1997; Müller, Dick, Gela, Overton, & Zelazo, 2006). The ability to monitor one's performance and modify behavior according to verbal feedback is important for success on these kinds of tasks (Bohlmann & Fenson, 2005). Children who are capable of flexibly shifting their behavior on tests of cognitive flexibility also tend to have stronger working memories than children who do not demonstrate flexible behavior on the same task (Blackwell, Cepeda, & Munakata, 2009). Underdeveloped or deficient flexibility often manifests as perseverative errors, or a tendency to repeat strategies that have been successful in the past, even if those strategies are no longer effective. This general notion of perseveration as a lack of cognitive flexibility has been observed in a variety of different tasks at different ages. One classic test of cognitive flexibility for pre-schoolers, the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), asks children to sort cards according to one rule (e.g., color), and then asks them to make a switch where cards are now sorted according to a new, conflicting rule (e.g., shape). Pre-schoolers are able to accurately sort by the initial rule, but tend to perseverate after the switch (Bohlmann & Fenson, 2005; Müller et al., 2006; Müller, Zelazo, Lurye, & Liebermann, 2008). This pattern of behavior reflects the fact that young children are unable to conceptualize a task in a new way once they have learned to respond to it in one way; they are unable to flexibly respond when the demands of the task have changed, tending to repeat past successful strategies instead. Cognitive flexibility can also be measured in young infants using an adaptation of Piaget's (1954) A-not-B task (e.g., Smith, Thelen, Titzer, & McLin, 1999). Originally developed to measure infants' sense of object permanence, this task has ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com (M.W. Clearfield). 0163-6383/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.09.007 Author's personal copy 30 M.W. Clearfield, L.C. Niman / Infant Behavior & Development 35 (2012) 29– 35 been widely used as a measure of cognitive flexibility in infant and preschool populations (see Zelazo & Müller, 2002). In the original task, an infant was presented with two wells covered with identical lids. A desirable toy was hidden under one of the lids (the A location) while the infant watched, and the infant was allowed to reach for the hidden toy after a time delay of a few seconds. After several trials of reaching to A, the experimenter would then hide the toy under the other lid (the B location), again while the infant watched. This change to the B location represents a critical shift in the task, and the ability to accurately follow this switch by reaching to the B location indicates cognitive flexibility. More recent research shows that a simpler adaptation of this task can be used to the same effect. In this version of the task (outlined in Smith et al., 1999), no hidden toys are used. Instead, infants are simply presented with two identical objects and their attention is drawn to one of the two objects for several trials, and then their attention is directed to the second object. Infants' patterns of reaching on this version of the task do not differ from their response when hidden objects are used (Smith et al., 1999). A longitudinal study of infants' behavior in this perseverative reaching task shows a surprising developmental trajectory (Clearfield, Diedrich, Smith, & Thelen, 2006). The task is typically used on 8–10-month-old infants, who reliably perseverate (e.g., Munakata, 1997; Smith et al., 1999). This longitudinal study tested infants monthly beginning at 5 months of age (the youngest age at which infants can reliably reach for a target) through 8 months of age (when perseveration is expected). The 5-month-old infants actually tended to either reach correctly on all trials, including the critical switch trial, or exhibited an unstable pattern of response (reaching incorrectly on the first set trials and randomly on switch trials). Infants reached randomly on both kinds of trials at 6 and 7 months, and only reliably perseverated at 8 months of age (Clearfield et al., 2006). Additional studies confirm that by 12 months, infants typically attain true flexibility on the task, reaching correctly on all trials (e.g., Diamond, 1985). Two related models can account for infants' behavior on the critical shift trial in the perseverative reaching task. The Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) model (Munakata, 1998) explains the task in terms of an interaction between active (faster) and latent (slower) memory traces. Active traces arise as a result of infants' immediate response to each trial, and decay rapidly over time, while latent traces build as a result of a cumulative history of active traces. The Dynamic Field Theory model (DFT) (e.g., Smith et al., 1999) also explains the task dynamics in terms of faster and slower memories. In this explanation, the fast memories depend on an infant's response to the specific, immediate stimuli of each trial, whereas the slow memories are a consequence of a repeated motor reach to a certain location. Despite important differences, both of these explanations conceptualize infants' reaching behavior on this task in terms of flexibility, or the ability of the infant to modify behavior in response to changes in the specific demands of the task. Both models offer insight on the surprising developmental trajectory, based on the interaction between past action and memory. At 5 months, infants do not form strong memories for a particular behavioral pattern as a result of experience (Clearfield et al., 2006). Because they rely solely on immediate stimuli in the environment, they are able to readily adapt their behavior, exhibiting a kind of immature flexibility. The development of perseveration between 8 and 10 months reflects the ability to apply past experience to a current problem. Although at this age this kind of stable responding is overextended, in the sense that it leads infants to make errors (Diedrich, Highlands, Spahr, Thelen, & Smith, 2001), it represents an important component of cognitive flexibility. Because true flexibility requires a balance of both adaptable responses to novelty and stability across similar situations, perseveration represents an important step in the development of truly flexible behavior. By the end of the first year, infants are able to adapt to the changing task demands without being overwhelmed by their past experiences, thus demonstrating true cognitive flexibility. This developmental trajectory makes the perseverative reaching task particularly well-suited to exploring the development of cognitive flexibility in an at-risk population: infants living in poverty. The negative developmental consequences of growing up in poverty have been well-documented (e.g., Bradley & Corwyn, 2002; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Duncan, Yeung, Brooks-Gunn, & Smith, 1998; Evans, 2004). Children living in poverty are more likely than their non-poor peers to be underor malnourished and to live in crowded, substandard housing situations (e.g., Bradley & Corwyn, 2002; Evans, 2004). They are less likely to receive adequate health care, have access to stimulating learning materials, and their parents are less likely to engage with them or provide educational experiences. These factors contribute to an overall risk for negative social, emotional, and cognitive outcomes for poor children. Links between poverty and lowered academic achievement have also been well-established in the literature (e.g., Bradley & Corwyn, 2002), and children in poverty consistently perform worse than their non-poor counterparts on measures of cognitive ability. Poor children are twice as likely to repeat a grade, and 1.4 times more likely to have a learning disability, compared to their non-poor peers (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Children in families with incomes less than $15,000 complete almost a full year less of school and are 4.1 times less likely to complete high school than children in families with incomes between $15,000 and $25,000 (Duncan et al., 1998). Poor children are also 1.3 times more likely than non-poor children to experience cognitive developmental delays (l


Reliable interconnection with low resistance is substantially required on DRAM with 90 nm design rule in terms of its integration and functionality. Several key interconnect technologies, including poly metal gate, W bitline, contact and via processes using advanced CVD-Al, are described. Full metal interconnected DRAM exhibits excellent performance and even further scalability.


The characteristics of the model of Taiwan modernization after 1949 may be summarized into the following two aspects: First,economically,Kuomintang authority adopted "pragmatic economic policy",i.e.,"to adopt the most suitable measures in the most opportune moment",which includes respecting the regime of market and exercising the economic functions of government.Actually,this special policy has already created a lot of "transplantable experiences";Secondly,politically,responding to the inside and outside changes,Taiwan has experienced the process of democratization and transferred from authoritarian polity to "electoral democracy",under the leadership of Chiang Ching-kuo and his party.Compared with Kuomintang,the Democratic Progressive Party(DPP),as the ruling party for 8 years,has performed badly in economic,politics and ethics.


Sharan Burrow opened the 2010 NTEU Women's Conference with an inspiring plenary address about continuing our engagement in the social issues of our time. As Sharan heads off to the frontline at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Brussels, and with Australia's first woman Prime Minister in office, the time has never been more right for women to engage in current social debates: climate change, pay equity, flexible patterns of work and paid maturity leave are all paramount.


Parking challenges have been a part of our community for a long time and old-fashioned parking management approaches have come a long way. The problems related with parking are common to all drivers. This paper tries to review globally implemented parking management systems that influence innovative technologies. Moreover, by testing a range of parking management solutions from around the world, this literature aims to test the shift in focus of modern parking management strategies. Finally, the paper does a simulation analysis of a case study for a big number of vehicles that are searching for a parking space. Furthermore, this paper gives a quick review about the most common parking techniques.


International law in general — Sources — General principles of law — Estoppel or preclusion — Scope and meaning in international law — Substantive nature of principle — Distinction between estoppel and acquiescence — Circumstances in which acquiescence operates as estoppel — Requirement of reliance upon statements or conduct by other party — Burden of proof. Territorial sovereignty — In general — Nature of — Disputes as to sovereignty — Judicial settlement of — Burden of proof. Territorial sovereignty-In general — Nature of — Disputes as to sovereignty — Relinquishment of territory by treaty — Presumption in javorem ejus qui dat. Treaties — In general — Form of international agreements — Agreement inferred from conduct — Whether delivery of maps to neighbouring State may be basis for inference as to boundary agreement. Treaties — Operation of — Requirement of consistency in interpretation and observance. State territory — Parts of — Boundaries — Land boundaries — Treaty providing for watershed line — Map of area subsequently published by one Party — Evidential value of maps — Effect of material errorLine on map not correct watershed line — Whether circumstances such as to put other Party on notice — Effect of acceptance of map by other Party — Acceptance based on mistaken belief that map correctly drawn — Operation of principle of acquiescence in relation to maps — Map acquiring treaty character — Effect of failure to object to map in subsequent negotiations — Relevance of administrative acts as evidence of acceptance or non — acceptanceof map — Relevance of official visit to area and flying of flag of host State — Relevance of intention to achieve finality in boundary treaty.


ABSTRACT Container terminals play a significant role as representative logistics facilities for contemporary trades by handling outbound, inbound, and transshipment containers to and from the sea (shipping liners) and the hinterland (consignees). Capacity planning is a fundamental decision process when constructing, expanding, or renovating a container terminal to meet demand, and the outcome of this planning is typically represented in terms of configurations of resources (e.g., the numbers of quay cranes, yard cranes, and vehicles), which enables the container flows to satisfy a high service level for vessels (e.g., berth-on-arrivals). This study presents a decision-making process that optimizes the capacity planning of large-scale container terminals. Advanced simulation-based optimization algorithms, such as Multi-Objective Multi-Fidelity Optimization with Ordinal Transformation and Optimal Sampling (MO-MO2TOS), Multi-Objective Optimal Computing Budget Allocation (MOCBA), and Multi-Objective Convergent Optimization via Most-Promising-Area Stochastic Search (MO-COMPASS), were employed to formulate and optimally solve the large-scale multi-objective problem with multi-fidelity simulation models. Various simulation results are compared with one another in terms of the capacities over different resource configurations to understand the effect of various parameter settings on optimal capacity across the algorithms.


The construct of a brand relationship is quite complex. Numerous types of brand relationships can be identified and each of them is associated with different emotions and norms. Works on relationship marketing implies that developing relationship between consumers and their preferred brand is important. The presence of strong brand in the market is the source of various financial rewards to organization and due to this, creation of strong brand is a top priority for many organizations. Brand resonance is the term which focuses on the various stages of consumer brand relationship through which consumer is connected with brand. Our move toward a science of consumer -brand relationships presents many challenges, many doubts that something so idiosyncratic can be brought to the level of generalizability that science requires. Literature of branding verifies that the brand resonance does not depend on one thing only; it shows the impact of many brand related factors. Marketers must know the nature and mode of the consumer's relationship with their brand. This study presents a brief discussion on brand resonance with help of literature of branding. The current research attempts to find out how the Mobile phone manufacturers have been able to achieve brand resonance. More specifically the research investigates the application of the CBBE model of brand resonance, and relates the implications of each of the building blocks of the model in creating a strong brand. Several questions are addressed in the study. Few of them are: Can customers recognize and recall brands? Do they see some of the products superior to others? Do customers feel that the prices are high? What is customer's evaluation of the quality of the products? Are customers loyal to specific brands? Answers to several of the questions can critically appraise the branding initiatives of the mobile phone manufacturing players in the market of Tamilnadu, India.


Aim: The effect of crude extract of apple on the activity of Na + /K + -ATPase in the liver, kidney and heart tissues of rats was investigated. Methodology: Two separate test groups of animals were fed a standard laboratory diet, water and given 1 ml and 1.5 ml/ kg body weight of crude extract of apple respectively. The control animals were fed the diet and water. The animals were treated for 6 weeks and then sacrificed. The liver, kidney and heart were excised from the rats and subsequently used for analysis of Na + /K + ATPase. Results: The results obtained indicate that there was no significant (p>0.05) change in body weights of rats administered 1 ml and 1.5 ml/ kg body weight of apple extract. Similarly no significant (P>0.05) change was observed in the weight of liver, kidney and heart of test rats relative to control. Examination of the data reveal that the activity of the enzyme was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in the kidney but not in the liver and heart of the rats treated with the extract as compared to control. The renal Na + /K + -ATPase activity was lowest in rats treated with an extract dose of 1.5 ml / kg body weight of extract. Conclusion: The present study has shown that the Na + /K + -ATPase activity in the kidney was inhibited by apple extract. The inhibition of the enzyme is suspected to be due to some phytochemicals present in apple. However, this suggestion remains to be scientifically confirmed.


In a modern green tire tread compound, silica is added together with silane to the rubber matrix. A suitable mixing process has to be applied to guarantee an efficient coupling reaction between the silica and the silane in order to reach a good hydrophobation of the silica surface. Therefore, the adjustment and careful control of critical mixing parameters like mixing time and mixing temperature is essential. Alternative approaches to overcome this difficulties can be the use of pre-silanized silica or silica-NR masterbatches. In the present study the in-rubber performances of all three systems will be compared and the advantages and disadvantages discussed. Introduction Natural rubber (NR) is a renewable material which offers superiorities over the synthetic ones in terms of elasticity and mechanical performance. Therefore, natural rubber is generally used as anti-vibration mountings, conveyor belts, heavy-duty tires, high quality technical rubber products and many others. The filler is a vital part in rubber compounds. Silica-silane filled compounds have better tensile and tear strength, higher abrasion resistance, lower rolling resistance and hysteresis, as well as improved wet traction for winter tires when compared to carbon black filled compounds [1]. Silica is rather polar compared to natural rubber, therefore it builds up a strong filler network through hydrogen bonds. Addition of a coupling agent is essential to break these networks and bridge the silica to the rubber, leading to an optimized reinforcing efficiency. In conventional mixing, in which rubber, silica and silane are separately added into the mixer, a second non-productive mixing stage is needed in order to achieve good hydrophobation of the silica surface and to control the thermal load of the compound. Consequently, this mixing method is timeand energy-consuming. Besides, ethanol is generated as by-product of the silanization reaction, reducing mixing efficiency, hindering the silica-silane coupling yield in the compound and being problematic when emitted in large amounts. Better alternatives to the dry mix are presilanized silica and presilanized silica in a masterbatch [2]. For both options, the second re-mixing and silanization stage is no longer required and ethanol emission is not an issue any more. However, from the mixing point of view and considering the change of the material consistency from a more elastic to a stiffer silicacontaining rubber, the addition of a processing aid could be useful to ease the mixing process. More insight into the effect of mixing time and processing aid on the properties of NR-silica compounds is required to determine whether the alternative compounds are actually better than the conventionally mixed ones. The outcome of this research can lead to a shift in the way of preparation of NR-silica compounds to a more favorable method in terms of timeand cost-efficiency. Experimental The presilanized silica and the NR-silica masterbatch (MB) offer the possibility of a shorter mixing time. Furthermore, the compound containing the silica-masterbatch is supposed to have the highest dispersion quality and, as a consequence, the best mechanical properties. To confirm this hypothesis, silica-filled NR compounds are prepared by three methods: in a dry mix, used as presilanized silica and as a NR-silica masterbatch, and they are prepared using different mixing times and processing aids. The presilanized silica and NR-silica masterbatch were delivered by Behn Meyer, Germany. The technical information concerning these two products is described elsewhere [2]. Both alternatives contain grades and contents of NR, silica and silane comparable to the conventional silica-silane system of the dry mix. The performance of the silica-filled NR compounds in terms of mixing efficiency and vulcanizate properties is evaluated. The rubber formulations are presented in Table 1. The total amount of silica and silane in the presilanized silica and in the silica-masterbatch was adjusted by taking into account the mass loss of water and alcohol in the silanization reaction. Table 2 shows the experimental design with a series of compounds assigned to different raw materials, mixing cycles and processing aids. Table 1 Compound formulations. Ingredients Dosage (phr) NR or NR-silica masterbatch (MB) a) 100.0 or 152.0 Ultrasil VN3 or presilanized silica (PS) 50.0 or 52.0 TESPT 5.0 or 0.0 b) Processing aid 2.0 TDAE oil 5.0 ZnO / Stearic acid 4.0 / 1.5 6PPD / TMQ / wax 2.5 / 1.2 / 3.0 CBS / TBzTD 1.5 / 2.0 Sulfur 1.5 a) NR-silica masterbatch contains 52.0 phr of presilanized silica. b) TESPT was not added in PSand MB-based compounds. Table 2 Experimental design of this study. Compounds Number Mixing cycle Processing aid Notation Conventional silica-silane system or Dry Mix (DM) 1 Long (L) PA1 (Ultra-Flow 700S) DM-PA1_L (1) 2 Very short (VS) PA1 DM-PA1_VS (2) 3 Very short PA2 (Ultra-DFR 900) DM-PA2_VS (3) Presilanized silica (PS) 4 Long PA1 PS-PA1_L (4) 5 Very short PA1 PS-PA1_VS (5) NR-silica masterbatch (MB) 6 Long PA1 MB-PA1_L (6) 7 Short (S) PA1 MB-PA1_S (7) 8 Very short PA2 MB-PA2_VS (8) Mixing of the ingredients was done in a Brabender internal mixer with a capacity of 390 ml. For all mixing stages, a fill factor of 70% was chosen together with a rotor speed of 60 rpm and a starting temperature of 80oC. After addition of the chemicals, the rotor speed was adjusted manually to reach the dump temperature of 140oC as soon as possible. The three mixing cycles employed are called as long (L), short (S) and very short (VS) cycles. The details are shown in Tables 3 and 4. Table 1 Mixing procedure: long cycle (L: with 3 stages) and short cycle (S: without stage 2) a). Stage 1 Stage 2: silanization a) Stage 3: final mixing Time Action Time Action Time Action 0:00 Load STR 5L / 1⁄2 NR-silica MB 0:00 Load masterbatch 0:00 Load masterbatch 0:30 Close ram 0:30 Close ram 0:30 Close ram 1:00 Add silica, silane / 1⁄2 NR-silica MB 4:30 Discharge 1:00 Add curatives 3:00 Close ram 1:20 Close ram 5:00 Add chemicals and PA1 b) 1:50 Sweep 5:20 Close ram 2:10 Close ram 6:50 Sweep 3:10 Discharge 7:10 Close ram 11:10 Discharge Shear duration: 8 minutes Shear duration: 4 minutes Shear duration: 2 minutes a) The long cycle is a 3-step mixing, while the short cycle is a 2-step mixing procedure of which the second mixing stage is eliminated. b) Processing aid Table 4 Mixing procedure: very short cycle (VS). Stage 1 Stage 2: final mixing Time Action Time Action 0:00 Load STR 5L / 1⁄2 NR-silica MB 0:00 Load masterbatch 0:30 Close ram 0:30 Close ram 1:00 Add silica, silane / 1⁄2 NR-silica MB and 1⁄2 PA2 1:00 Add curatives 3:00 Close ram 1:20 Close ram 3:30 Add chemicals and PA1 or 1⁄2 PA2 1:50 Sweep 3:50 Close ram 2:10 Close ram 4:50 Sweep 3:10 Discharge 5:10 Close ram 7:10 Discharge Shear duration: 4 minutes Shear duration: 2 minutes Vulcanization of the compounds was done in a curing press at a temperature of 160oC for the curing time t95 determined from the cure characteristics test. The Payne effect was analyzed using a Rubber Process Analyzer (RPA2000) from Alpha Technologies. The change in modulus was recorded during a strain sweep from 0.56% to 100% at 100oC and 5 Hz. The bound rubber measurement comprised of two parts, total and chemically bound rubber. In the latter, ammonia treatment is needed to break down the physical bonding between the filler and polymer. The measurement was conducted according to the procedure described in earlier work [3]. The dispersion level of the filler in the vulcanized rubber matrix was evaluated with a Dispergrader Alpha View from Alpha Technologies. Tensile properties were measured with a Zwick Roell Z1.0 machine under a crosshead speed of 500 mm/min according to ISO 37 with a type 2 dumbbell. Results and discussion Mixing. ̶ Figure 1 shows that from minutes 1 to 3, the NR-silica masterbatch is a tough material due to its silica content and the absence of processing additives, thus higher energy is required to mix the masterbatch compounds. These conditions appear as irregularity and wide fluctuation in the mixing torque of the masterbatch compound in this timescale.


With micro-level data of the machine tool industry,this paper studied the impact of technology import on enterprises' productivity and confirmed the existence of spillover effects of imported technology and its mechanism.The empirical results present the following findings;TFP of import enterprise are significantly higher than the non-import enterprises;the higher proportion of import to intermediate inputs and newly-added fixed assets,the higher TFP;the impact of spillover effects of import technology on micro-level productivity presents a U-shape,i.e.import promotes enterprise productivity only when import intensity reaches a certain threshold;the impact of imports on enterprise's TFP depends on enterprise's productivity level,imports have stronger promotion on enterprises with higher productivity and learning ability,on the contrary,imports may even impede the productivity of enterprise with lower productivity and learning ability.In order to investigate the robustness of above analysis,we adjusted the research methods from two aspects;first,adopts different measurement methods on TFP,second,change the two-phase methodology into one-phase methodology.The robustness tests support the previous conclusion.After introducing " learning by doing" effect into the analytical framework of the machine tool industry,empirical study showed that during the survey period,despite the significant promotion of "learning by doing" effect to micro-level productivity,imports of foreign advanced technology has a greater contribution to enterprises' productivity.This means that technology progress obtained through participating in international division of labor is still staying on the surface,and the "learning by doing" effect based on independent technical progress has not been fully realized.Conclusions obtained in this paper have strong policy implications on the complicated equipment manufacturing industry which enjoys similar technical and economic characteristics with the machine tool industry.Among those industries,the international competitiveness of Chinese enterprise are rising sharply,however,the technology level,in particular key components still lags far behind international advanced level.It is effective to raise technology level through the importing of key components,and this has been acknowledged by this paper.However,with the narrowing technology gap,the spillover effects of imported technology will gradually weaken or even turn negative;the "learning by doing" effect based on independent technological progress will take the key role in promoting productivity.Against the backdrop of current international and domestic competition conditions,Chinese enterprises should consider how to deepen the technology progress obtained through international labor division.Only by achieving the technology transformation from importing to innovation,i.e.a shift from spillover effects of imported technology to the "learning by doing" effect,can enterprises achieve the significant progress from outside to the inside and from product to ability.Enterprises are faced with the task of improving the spillover effects of imported technology and "learning by doing" effect,while paying special attention to the latter.Both aspects should be based on fostering independent innovation capability.In terms of promoting technological progress,independent innovation should be the inexhaustible source of power of raising technological spillover effects and "learning by doing" effect.Therefore,in the new era,it is necessary to expand independent innovation to a wider area,to promote independent innovation through institutional building and mechanism fostering,forming inherent capability of continuous innovation and gaining market opportunities.


Many secondary-level mathematics students have experience with graphical calculators from high school. For the purposes of this paper we define graphical calculators as those able to perform rudimentary symbolic manipulation and solve complicated equations requiring very modest user knowledge. The use of more advanced computer algebra systems e.g. Maple, Mathematica, Mathcad, Matlab/MuPad is becoming more prevalent in tertiary-level courses.
This paper explores our students' experience using one such system (MuPad) in first-year tertiary Engineering Mathematics and Mechanics courses.
The effectiveness of graphical calculators and computer algebra systems in mathematical pedagogy has been investigated by a multitude of educational researchers (e.g. Ravaglia et al. 1998). Most of these studies found very small or no correlation between student use of
graphical calculators or exposure to computer algebra systems with future achievement in mathematics courses (Buteau et al. 2010).
In this paper we focus instead on students' attitude towards a more advanced standalone computer algebra system (MuPad), and whether students' inclination to use the system is indicative of their mathematical understanding.
Paper describing some preliminary research into use of computer algebra systems for teaching engineering mathematics.


Auteur(s) : Felicidade Santiago, David Serra, Ricardo Vieira, Maria Manuel Brites, Americo Figueiredo Dermatology Department, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Praceta Mota Pinto, 3000-075 Coimbra, Portugal Alternaria sp., uncommon agents of phaeohyphomycosis, are dematiaceous hyphomycetes that grow in culture as black molds. Cutaneous infection with Alternaria sp. is rare and occurs predominantly in immunocompromised patients [1, 2]. A 55-year-old male patient, living in a rural [...]


I introduce a simple model which endogenously generates a Pareto distribution in top earnings, consistent with empirics. Workers inhabit different niches, and the earnings of a worker is determined by the niche-specific supply of labor and a constant-elasticity labor-demand curve. The highest paid workers are the ones that inhabit a niche with few other workers. A Pareto tail in earnings emerges as long as the distribution of workers over niches satisfies a regularity condition from extreme-value theory, satisfied by virtually all continuous distributions in economics.


According to the requirement of the design of cable arrangement mechanism on a winch, designs a linear displacement sensor for reed switch arrays, the sensor of which is a passive structure, with a relatively good accuracy in output resistance and, though low in resolution, very good resistance to dust, smear, and electromagnetic interference. This sensor is better cost-effective, and suitable for use in harsh environment.


Objective:To investigate the function of quality control circle in the preparation of surgical instruments.Methods:The quality control circle which was consisted of 9 staff analyzed the cause of inadequate preparation and implemented corresponding measures to improve it.Results:The inadequate preparation rate was decreased from 8.2% to 2.3% after the application of quality control circle method(P0.05).Conclusion:The application of quality control circle functions well on the preparation of surgical instruments by improving the inadequate preparation rate,it can also motivate team working spirit and enhance the enthusiasm creativity and initiative among nurses.


A brief introduction is presented of adaptive predictive control based on a Laguerre function approximate model, and an extended predictive control algorithm is developed. The algorithm can be applied to a broad range of systems, including open loop unstable systems and non minimum phase systems. It is verified by the simulations that the control algorithm based on the extended Laguerre Model can make a system more robust when there are variances in the order or time delay of the system.


Biochar as a soil amendment is being considered as a potential way to improve soil quality and nitrogen use efficiency.Biochar of this study was pyrolyzed by crop stalks(at 240~360 ℃).Using a pot trial,we investigated the impacts of biochar and mineral fertilizer on spinach(Spinacia oleracea L.) yield,tissue nitrate and nutrients(N,P and K) uptake by spinach.Biochar had three levels:C0(0 g·kg-1),C5(5 g·kg-1) and C10(10 g·kg-1),and nitrogen fertilizer also included three levels:N0(0 mg·kg-1),N1(90 mg·kg-1) and N2(120 mg·kg-1).The two factor(biochar and nitrogen fertilizer) were compined freely.Results showed that for the N0 and N1 levels,application of biochar significantly increased spinach yield by ranging from 16.6% to 57.3%,whereas no significant change(P0.05) in yields were observed among biochar treatment in the N2 level condition.Meanwhile,for the N1 level,the C5 and C10 treatments increased tissue nitrate content by 198.7% and 233.4% respectively,as compared to the C0 treatment;on the other hand,when the N2 level was considered,the improvement in nitrate content under C5 and C10 treatments was by 8.8% and 46.3% respectively,relative to control.Irrespective of nitrogen fertilizer treatments,biochar-amended soils improved nitrogen and potassium uptake by spinach,while the effect on phosphorus uptake was not obvious.In conclusion,the interaction of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer could increase the yield of spinach and N use efficiency.


A Jamaican who had been in England for 13 years was successfully treated for hyperinfection with the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. She presented as an emergency with acute abdominal pain, developed paralytic ileus and responded well to a long course of thiabendazole. A review of the literature revealed reports of 3 other cases of hyperinfection in Great Britain, all of whom had died, 2 afrer laparotomy.


Objective To observe the clinical effect of PEG-IFNα-2a combined with ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C.Methods 53 cases patients with chronic hepatitis C were randomly divided into two groups,experimental group(28 cases) treated with PEG-IFNα-2a and ribavirin,control group(25 cases) treated with regular interferon and ribavirin.The total course of both groups were 48 weeks and followed up for 24 weeks.Observed the situation of virologic and biochemical response of 2 groups.Results Compared with control group,virologic response rate of experimental group were significantly higher,the rate of end of treatment virological response(ETVR) and sustained virological response(SVR) were statistically significant difference(P0.05) .Compared with before treatment,liver function of patients of 2 groups were significantly improved;The end of treatment and follow-up 24 weeks,experimental group remained higher biochemical response rate(P0.05) .Conclusion PEG-interferon combined with ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C has nice virological and biochemical response,the effect is better than regular interferon.