Using a sample of 538 M&A transactions covering public and private firms in a wide range of predominantly high technology industries, I investigate how the innovation characteristics of the target as well as the technological and product market distance between the target and the acquirer affect the acquirer's choice of M&A targets and the transaction price. I show that the existence of an inverted U-shape relationship between technological distance and the likelihood of being chosen as a target is not very robust. The higher the product market (technological) distance between the acquirer and the target, the more do acquirers prefer firms which are close in technological (product market) space. Regarding the role of acquirer characteristics, I find that the lower the acquirer's patenting growth and return on assets, the more technologically distant firms are chosen. The relationship between technological distance and the transaction price is also investigated parametrically and semi-parametrically, but no statistically robust inverted U-shape relationship is found. I also provide explanations for the apparent inconsistency between the evidence found herein and previous studies on the impact of technological distance on post M&A innovation performance.


Reconstruction-based methods have struggled to achieve competitive performance on anomaly detection. In this paper, we introduce Denoising Diffusion Anomaly Detection (DDAD). We propose a novel denoising process for image reconstruction conditioned on a target image. This results in a coherent restoration that closely resembles the target image. Subsequently, our anomaly detection framework leverages this conditioning where the target image is set as the input image to guide the denoising process, leading to defectless reconstruction while maintaining nominal patterns. We localise anomalies via a pixel-wise and feature-wise comparison of the input and reconstructed image. Finally, to enhance the effectiveness of feature comparison, we introduce a domain adaptation method that utilises generated examples from our conditioned denoising process to fine-tune the feature extractor. The veracity of the approach is demonstrated on various datasets including MVTec and VisA benchmarks, achieving state-of-the-art results of 99.5% and 99.3% image-level AUROC respectively.


uRPF is a widely used technology for filtering source IP spoofed packets by using route information. With uRPF filtering, a router automatically updates filtering rules based on its route information and does not require manual changes by operators. However, uRPF, specifically when it is in strict mode, has a drawback in that it may incorrectly detect packets as spoofed when a route is asymmetric, i.e., the routes from and to the sender are different from each other. This is due to uRPF using the internal (receiving router's own) route information. In this paper, we present a method for filtering using external route information. Here, external means that the route information of sender routers is included. Generally, however, the route information of sender routers is not available. Thus, we use publicly available route information, which is provided by research projects, and infer the route information of sender routers.


In the Next Generation Networks the control plane and the service plane are entirely separated. This separation ensures the autonomy of each plane and enables their independent development and deployment. The specification of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), as a unique service control overlay over the heterogeneous networks, eases the interaction between these planes. However, this interaction becomes challenging when multiple services are invoked during a session. The goal of this thesis is to provide IMS, with mechanisms to manage the interactions between services. We addressed two problems in this field: the negative interactions that are due to the conflicts between services and the positive interactions that enable the composition of services. The service conflicts occur as services invoked during an IP session behave correctly when processed separately from each other, but not when running together. We defined a SIP-based algorithm and the associated mechanisms to enhance IMS service invocation. This algorithm is the core of the Service Broker, a new functional entity in charge of managing the service conflicts. We validated our proposal through a performance evaluation and prototyped the Service Broker on an open source IMS platform. By means of service composition all kinds of service inter-working scenarios, independently of the underlying control functionalities, can be achieved. We defined a SIP-based service composition management algorithm, over the Service Capability Interaction Manager (SCIM) of IMS. This algorithm enables the interoperability and cooperation between different services and allows enriching and personalizing the services based on the user needs and preferences. We presented the application of our proposition in different use cases and validated it through the analytical studies.


Nurses have won the right to special leave for personal and family needs under new arrangements announced by Health Minister Virginia Bottomley last week.


This study represents the flow uniformity and pressure drop in catalytic converter. Present research model type is a monolithic catalytic converter. So, this type have been widely used for satisfaction the regulations of pollutant emissions in automobiles. The mean experimental parameter was engine speed and ceramics monolith in the catalytic converter. The exhaust pressure was measured with pressure sensor. The experimental test engine model was used the 124.1cc motorcycle engine. The phase of exhaust pressure with high speed was moved according to increasing engine speed comparing with exhaust pressure with low speed. Also, the distribution of exhaust pressure at the megaphone type is similar with distribution of without monolith at catalytic converter. Present research models was taken as a base model and megaphone type was used for advanced model. Normally, the base type shape is used in automotive exhaust system. But megaphone type is not used in automotive exhaust system. Therefore, Megaphone type is applied newly at motorcycle.


Fiber – a primitive yet ubiquitous form of material – intertwines with our bodies and surroundings, from constructing our fibrous muscles that enable our movement, to forming fabrics that intimately interface with our skin. In soft robotics and advanced materials science research, actuated fibers are gaining interest as thin, flexible materials that can morph in response to external stimuli. In this paper, we build on fluidic artificial muscles research to develop OmniFiber - a soft, line-based material system for designing movement-based interactions. We devised actuated thin (øouter < 1.8 mm) fluidic fibers with integrated soft sensors that exhibit perceivably strong forces, up to 19 N at 0.5 MPa, and a high speed of linear actuation peaking at 150mm/s. These allow to flexibly weave them into everyday tangible interactions; including on-body haptic devices for embodied learning, synchronized tangible interfaces for remote communication, and robotic crafting for expressivity. The design of such interactive capabilities is supported by OmniFiber's design space, accessible fabrication pipeline, and a fluidic I/O control system to bring omni-functional fluidic fibers to the HCI toolbox of interactive morphing materials.


We have investigated the effect of applying microwave power at the electron cyclotron frequency on the characteristics of the ion beam extracted from a hotcathode PIG ion source. No change was seen in the ion charge state distribution. A small but significant reduction in the beam noise level was seen, and it is possible that the technique may find application in situations where beam quiescence is important.


The traditional option for starting insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is the start of basal insulin. However, this does not always lead to the achievement of the goals of glycemic control – only 30% of patients reach the target glycemic values 6 months after the initiation of insulin therapy. The correct use of basal insulin (especially adequate dose titration) allows to achieve the target fasting glucose, but does not always allow to achieve the target values of postprandial glycemia and, accordingly, the target level of HbA1c. To achieve the best results of therapy, it seems promising to use fixed ratio combinations of basal insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which, according to the results of clinical studies, allow 74% of patients to achieve HbA1c less than 7% at the start of insulin therapy, which is the target value for most patients with diabetes. The article presents data from clinical trials of the efficacy and safety of fixed ratio combination of insulin glargine and lixisenatide, confirming the advantage over the use of each of its components separately. A clinical case of the successful use of a fixed ratio combination of insulin glargine + lixisenatide on the start of insulin therapy in patient with type 2 diabetes is presented.


The article consideres the possibilities of computer tests developed in the system "Iren" and training environment MOODLE. Describes the types of training tests: practice tests, theory tests and home task tests. Provides the basic types of test tasks in both systems: multiple choice (with one or several answers), completion, matching, ordering and classification tasks. It is shown that both systems are a powerful tool in preparation of the tests and in testing. Considers in detail such differences in the preparation of the tests in the system "Iren" and MOODLE, which are important in creation of educational tests in mathematical disciplines, such as: the introduction of variability in tasks by setting a random numeric values using mathematical formulas, the ability to create tasks connected by the same numerical parameters. The problem of both systems consists in the lack of accessibility for students.


Psychological harassment in the workplace, or mobbing, is a practice that has become today a health problem that affects not only the victim but also society as a whole; however, nursing professionals, who are both victims and perpetrators, are no exception. The present study allows, within the framework of the research, to gather more sources of information in order to provide the basis for the creation of protocols, public policies and measures to protect and promote a healthy work environment, free of violent practices and based on the ultimate goal of the profession: to take care of oneself in order to take care of others. Objective: To identify the effects of workplace violence on the mental health of nursing professionals within the in-hospital setting at the national and international level. Method: An exhaustive analysis of the world literature on workplace mobbing among nursing professionals from different countries was carried out. For this purpose, databases such as Web of Science, Scielo, ResearchGate, PubMed, Science Direct, Redalyc, Google Scholar and the Repositorio Académico de la Universidad de Chile were used, where a series of key words corresponding to the research topic were used. Results: There are effects on health, interpersonal relationships and job performance in nurses when exposed to workplace bullying. Coping and prevention strategies used by nurses from various countries against mobbing were identified. Conclusions: It was possible to identify the negative effects of workplace mobbing among nursing professionals, as well as their respective coping and prevention strategies. It is recommended to increase research on the subject and implement urgent regulations at the national level.


In this paper, positive, negative, and bipolar nanosecond pulses are employed to generate stable and diffuse discharge plasma using array needles-plate electrode configuration at atmospheric pressure. A comparison study of discharge images, electrical characteristics, optical emission spectra, and plasma vibrational temperature and rotational temperatures in three pulsed polarity discharges is carried on under different discharge conditions. It is found that bipolar pulse is beneficial to the excitation of diffuse dielectric barrier discharge, which can generate a room temperature plasma with more homogeneous and higher discharge intensity compared with unipolar discharges. Under the condition of 6 mm electrode gap distance, 26 kV pulse peak voltage, and 150 Hz pulse repetition rate, the emission intensity of N2 (C3Πu → B3Πg) of the bipolar pulsed discharge is 4 times higher than the unipolar discharge (both positive and negative), while the plasma gas temperature is kept at 300 K, which is about 10–20 K ...


Neural networks a group of computer models of how the brain might work have generated much interest, not to mention hype, in the past few years. Yet while their ability to illuminate the dark recesses of the mind may have been exaggerated by ardent proponents, there remains a strong belief in some quarters that neural networks will link up with emerging studies of brain cells in action to produce new insights into how the human brain makes sense of the world and generates complex thoughts. In fact, according to a report in the Sept. 9 SCIENCE, this field of "computational neuroscience" has already arrived. Its ultimate aim is to explain how the brain uses electrical and chemical signals to represent and process information, say three researchers involved in neural network modeling: biophysicist Terrence J. Sejnowski of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, computer scientist Christof Koch of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and philosopher Patricia S. Churchland of the University of California, San Diego. Although this goal is not new, they contend science is now in a better position to serve as a matchmaker between the computer hardware of neural networks, or "connectionist" models, and the three pounds of "wetware" encased in the human skull. At the philosophical heart of network modeling lies the notion that the mind emerges from the brain's behavior. Thus, it makes sense to imitate in computer setups the structure and biological wiring of the brain to reproduce mental abilities. The appeal of this approach, says Yale University psychologist Denise Dellarosa, "has its roots in an idea that will not die" associationism. Put simply, associationism posits that humans learn through repetition to recognize people, things and events as more or less related to each other and as familiar or novel. Generalizing from examples, recognizing familiar faces in a crowd and driving a car are a few of the many tasks that characterize the effortless nature of associative learning. Eighteenth-century philosophers David Hume and George Berkeley and psychologists in later centuries including William James and B.E Skinnerhave championed, in their own ways, the cause of cognition as a building of associations through experience, Dellarosa says. Neural networks attempt to simulate associative learning involved in vision, language processing, problem solving and motor control. Mathematical calculations adjust the strength of connections linking up "neuron-like" processing units. A given stimulus fed into the network activates all the units at the same time, including feedback mechanisms that stimulate or suppress designated connections. If the statistical assumptions guiding the connections are on target, a correct response is produced gradually after hundreds or thousands of trials.


This study is a descriptive study to offer an actual basic data as Nursing intervention strategy of nurses before delivery in order that pregnant women in Korea may effectively practice Taekyo by examining the relation after apprehending level of recognition and practice of our pregnant women about Taekyo. This study collected questionnaires from 801 pregnant women who visited general hospitals in 10 areas(Seoul, Daejon, chunan, Daegu, Kummi Kyongju, Pohang, Busan, Jonju, and Yonkwang) for prenatal care through an outpatient obstetrics and gynecology from July 15 to August 30, 1999. This study used the tool of lee, Ki Young(1993) revised an complemented by investigator to measure recognition of Taekyo and the tool of Jang, Shun Buk and Park, Young Ju(1996) revised and complemented by investigator to measure practice of Taekyo. The Cronbach's alpha value of each tool was .88 in recognitionof Taekyo, while the value was .90 in practice of Taekyo. For data analysis, this study used the descriptive and statistical analysis, Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA, Tukey's post hoc contrast, and Stepwise multiple regression in accordance with the purpose of this study with using SPSS Win 7.5 program. The results were as follows ; 1. The practice of Taekyo was low in comparison with recognition of Teakyo by showing average 4.28 points and standard deviation 0.48 at level of recognition of pregnant women about Taekyo on the basis of 5 points and showing to show average 2.81 points and standard deviation 0.36 at practice level on the basis of 4 points.2. They showed the higher level of recognition on Taekyo at high educational background of pregnant woman(F=3.735, p=.005), Roman catholicism (F=4.570, p=.002), satisfied married life(F=5.448, p=.004), high monthly income(F=6.096, p=.000) and cases of hoping pregnancy(F=2.525, p=.012).3. They showed the higher level of practice on Taekyo at high educational background of pregnant woman(F=2.883, P=.022), Roman catholicism(F=3.616, p=.032), satisfied married life(F=19.924, p=.000), good health condition(F=2.386, p=.017), cases of hoping pregnancy(F=0.677, p=.000), cases of planning pregnancy with husband(F=3.024, p=.001), cases of regular prenatal care before delivery(F=0.241, p=.005), cases of maternal breast feeding (F=9.132, p=.000), and the number of less children(F=2.763, p=.041).4. In result of examining correlation between recognition and practice of Taekyo, they showed high level of practice on Taekyo under high level of recognition of pregnant women on Taekyo by showing the statistically significant correlation.5. In result of examining the related factors that affect recognition and practice of Taekyo y the object, practice of Taekyo had 16.8 percents of explanatory range, purpose of practicing Taekyo 8.5 percents of explanatory range, and monthly income 1.9 percent of explanatory range as variables of affecting recognition of Taekyo. The total explanatory range was 27.2 percents, Recognition of Taekyo had 16.1 percents of explanatory ragne, time of starting Taekyo 3.2 percents, health condition 2.2 percents of explanatory range, condition of hoping pregnancy 1.1 percent of explanatry range, satisfaction of married life 0.8 percent of explanatory range, and religion 0.6 percent of explanatory range as variables of affecting practice of Taekyo. The total explanatory range was 24.0 percents.


In practice large antenna spacings are needed to achieve high capacity gains in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems. The use of dual-polarized antennas is a promising cost effective alternative where two spatially separated antennas can be replaced by a single antenna element employing orthogonal polarizations. This paper investigates the performance of spatial multiplexing in MIMO wireless systems with dual-polarized antennas. We compute estimates of the symbol error rate as a function of cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) and spatial fading correlations. Using these estimates, we show that dual-polarized antennas can significantly improve the performance of spatial multiplexing systems. It is demonstrated that improvements in terms of symbol error rate of up to an order of magnitude are possible. We furthermore find that in general for a given SNR there is an optimum XPD for which the symbol error rate is minimum. Finally, we present simulation results and we show that our estimates closely match the numerical results.


A cruise missile should climb with a large climbing angle to arrive at the cruise height in an optimum way and begin the cruising flight at the cruising speed.To deal with this problem,this paper presents a fast method,which using NURBS curve to represent the flight control rule,using the genetic algorithm to get the optimum result.Simulation results show that this method can get the optimum trajectory with ease,provide the calculation data for the conceptive design and even for the detail design of the engine and the missile.


In this paper, an algorithm for eliminating extreme values and reducing the estimation variance of an integrated trispectrum under low signal-to-noise ratio and short data sample conditions is presented. An analysis of the results of simulations using this algorithm and comparison with the conventional power spectrum and integrated trispectrum methods are presented.


The grey-green Yue wares of south China and the bluish-green Koryŏ celadons of South Korea are two of the most distinguished productions in the history of world ceramics. The development of Korean celadons owed a great deal to the Chinese Yue tradition in terms of forms and manufacturing methods; but Korean potters took the Yue style to new heights through their use of subtle bluish-green celadon glazes plus complex and ambitious designs. This detailed work has shown how closely related Chinese yue wares and Korean celadons are in their essential body compositions and also in their general production technologies. It has also helped to explain the vital differences that exist between the glazes used in China and Korea for celadon wares. The chapter is intended as a resume of this scientific work, beginning with a sketch of the historical and technical backgrounds to the two materials. Keywords: bluish-green Koryŏ; Chinese Yue tradition; grey-green Yue wares; Korean celadons; world ceramics


Recently, U.S. policy toward Colombia has focused increasingly on containing the terrorist threat to that country's security posed by groups engaged in drug trafficking. The high national priority given to terrorism has resulted in enhanced focus on links between drug and terror groups. A challenge facing policymakers is not to divert counter-drug resources for anti-terror ends in areas of potentially low payoff. An issue likely to receive continued attention in the 109th Congress is that of skyrocketing opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and whether to press for aerial crop eradication against the wishes of the local Afghan leadership. ht tp :/ /w ik ile ak s. or g/ w ik i/ C R SR L 33 58 2 Congressional Research Service  ̃ The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Order Code RL33582 International Drug Trade and U.S. Foreign Policy Updated November 6, 2006 Raphael F. Perl Specialist in International Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division ht tp :/ /w ik ile ak s. or g/ w ik i/ C R SR L 33 58 2 International Drug Trade and U.S. Foreign Policy


In this short note we study the fourth order consequences of the stochastic stability property for mean field spin glass models introduced in previous paper by Aizenman and Contucci. We show that due to a remarkable cancellation mechanism it reduces to the well known second order version as predicted by Parisi's replica-equivalent ansatz.


Intelligent Agent technology is an important, exciting and relatively new paradigm in software design. The term intelligent agent is now used as an umbrella term representing a wide range of software with different characteristics and abilities [1]. This fact led to many definitions of intelligent agent, but the authors agree with the definition proposed by Wooldridge and Jennings [2] stating that an intelligent agent is a problem solving entity characterized by the following properties: • autonomy, the agent does the major part of its tasks without user intervention • social ability, the agent is able to communicate with other agents (or human beings) to solve a given problem. This property has an enormous importance because it requires that the agent is able to understand a language, to know when and with who this should communicate and so on. • Proactiveness, the agent takes the initiative to act on the surrounding environment when appropriate • Responsiveness, the agent is aware of the surrounding environment and can react to its variations. The natural evolution of the intelligent agent technology is the Multi Agent System (MAS) technology [3].Systems of this kind are composed of a set of intelligent agents interacting and collaborating each other to solve complex problems that are beyond the individual capability or knowledge of each agent. There are many applications of MAS in various problems. For example MAS technology was used in [4] to increase the reliable of a distributed sensor network, in [5] this technology was used for databases integration, in [6] as decision support system for an intelligent transport system, in [7] a MAS that implements mine detection, obstacle avoidance and route planning was proposed. In this work the authors will show the advantages that MAS technology can obtain combining the autonomy and proactivity of the intelligent agents and the intrinsic mobility of the RFID devices.


A new texture classification method intended for classifying leathers made of the same materials is presented. Unlike the conventional methods which mainly use global features, the authors use both global features extracted from the two dimensional power spectrum of enhanced leather trench image and the local features based on mathematical morphology operation of a segmented leather image. The experiment is conducted on a group of sample leathers and the results are satisfactory.<<ETX>>


Research was performed on advanced austenitic alloys for tubing in heat recovery systems. Evaluations addressed the need to optimize strength, fabricability, and surface protection for specific environments and temperatures. Alloys studied included advanced lean austenitic stainless steels and higher chromium alloys to 760{degree}C, nickel-chromium-iron aluminides at temperature to 760{degree}C, and Ni--Cr alloys with capability for service to 1000{degree}C. Coordinated research was performed at a number of universities and industrial research facilities. Evaluation of the lean stainless steels focused on MC-forming alloys and a family of modified 316 stainless steels. Work nearing completion revealed that many of the alloy design criteria for the lean stainless steels could be met. With the judicious selection of thermal-mechanical processing, data indicated that high strength and ductility could be achieved in both base metal and weldments. Fabrication requirements needed to produce optimum performance called for high solution treating temperatures and small levels of cold or warm work. Evaluations of high chromium stainless steels and modifications of alloy 800H were encouraging, and good properties were observed for temperatures to 760{degree}C. Work on the alloys and claddings for service to 1000{degree}C was begun on two commercial alloys of nearest in PBFC hot gas cleanup systems. 20 refs.,more » 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less


This paper proposes an approach to generate LTS of SA specification described by CHAM. According to the testing requirement we select testing criteria. By using all paths testing method, we generate testing paths based on the testing creteria. Finally, Regarding Browser/Server architecture as an example, the method on generating testing paths of SA is shown feasible.


Biological observations were made on specimens of Tityus (Atreus) neblina Lourenco, 2008 collected the region of 'Cerro de la Neblina', on the border between Brazil and Venezuela. The total duration of embryonic development ranged be- tween 4.7 and 21 months. It is suggested, however, that durations exceeding 6 months undoubtedly correspond with seasonal diapause. The moults necessary to reach the various juvenile instars and adulthood took place at average ages of: 4, 83, 239, 413 and 606 days. These developmental periods are significantly longer from those in other medium-sized species of Tityus, but are similar to those previously observed among large species of the genus. Morphometric growth values of the different in- stars are similar to those in other known species of Tityus. A new example of parthenogenesis is confirmed in Tityus neblina.


The pentacyclic unsaturated ketone 3 is obtained as the sole product by the reaction of pinocarvone (1) with cycloocta-triene in the presence of catalytic amounts of dicarbonyl-bis(η4-pinocarvone)molybdenum (2). Compound 3 formally resulting from a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of bicy-clo[4.2.0]octa-2,4-diene with the alkene fragment of pinocarvone was characterised by means of spectroscopy (1H, 13CNMR, IR, MS) as well as by X-ray crystal structure analysis. A mechanism is proposed involving rigid molybdenum complexes as intermediates in order to explain the stereospecificity of the reaction.


Relative density is an important index affecting the mechanical behaviors of calcareous sands. The dense sands present softening strength, whereas the loose sands exhibit hardening strength. Furthermore, the relative density is determined based on the maximum and minimum void ratios obtained by using the maximum and minimum dry density test. In this study, a series of tests were carried out on various mixed graded sands to explore their material properties and the relationship between the limit void ratio, considering the effects of test methods, equipment, and fine content. It is shown that a more accurate maximum void ratio can be attained by using the 1000mL measuring cylinder with low rotation speed. In addition, in order to avoid particle breakage of calcareous sands, it is suggested that the minimum void ratio should be obtained with the 1000mL compaction cylinder combining vibration with hit. The results also show that a linear relationship exists among the limit void ratio of various mixed graded sands. Besides, the void ratio is significantly affected by the fine content. 40% is the critical fine content corresponding to the lowest value of the limit void ratio.


Public alarms have sounded over the rising holdings of cash on Canadian businesses' balance sheets. Critics have alleged the hoards reflect a market failure or collective business failure to invest productively in new machinery and equipment. A closer look at the situation suggests more to the story. While corporate cash as a share of assets has risen in the past decade, the share of other, non-income-earning current asset components, such as inventories and accounts receivable, has significantly fallen. Businesses appear to have been responding to long-term trends in economic conditions, including enhanced business processes that have shrunk inventories, by better managing their balance sheets. Evidence therefore suggests that businesses ha ve been shoring up financial assets to match liabilities, in part for precautionary reasons, that there is no economic problem or market failure to be addressed and, accordingly, no policy action indicated in response.


ABSTRACT After having noticed the statement by M. Du Cazal, that tincture of coca would relieve painful affections of the throat, I made several trials of the remedy, but failed to get satisfactory results; and since the publication of Dr. Agnew's report on the hydrochlorate of cocaine, being unable to obtain any of the latter, I have made trials of a strong solution of the extract of coca, and also of citrate of caffeine, which, from its close resemblance to cocaine, I hoped might produce similar local effects; but in both I was completely disappointed.I was unable to obtain any of the hydrochlorate of cocaine until the 13th of this month, when I received a 2 per cent, solution from New York. My first trial was in a healthy subject, who, however, had a very sensitive Schneiderian mucous membrane. I ascertained by experiment that, with the moderate pressure applied, only


Performance of a constructed wetland utilized to improve the water quality in "Bahr ElBaqar" drain was evaluated. The drain is located on the north-eastern edge of the Nile Delta, which receives a mixture of domestic and agricultural discharges. The treatment system consists of two sedimentation units followed by ten constructed wetlands operated as free water surface flow basins. The drain discharges its water into "El-Manzala" Lake, which has fishing activities and connects to the Mediterranean Sea. Results showed that, at an organic loading of 2,800 kg BOD (biological oxygen demand) d -1 , treatment facilities achieved overall removals: 75 ± 3% (BOD), 57 ± 5% (chemical oxygen demand, COD), 78 ± 2% (suspended solids), 50 ± 5% (NH4) and 44 ± 8% (total P). Profiles of basins revealed that, due to natural aeration at the water surface (shallowness) and from the roots of the plants, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels gradually increased from 1.0 ± 0.1 to 6.5 ± 0.7 mg L -1


When we think about ethics and policies at the end of life, we confront a troubling paradox. Substantial sectors of our society include people who have historically been marginalized, whose decision making capacity has been denigrated or trammeled, or who continue to be vulnerable due to poverty or discrimination. Such groups broadly include women, people of color, and people with disabilities. Ackerman (1998) would include in this category also the demented, the ill, and the aged. Does supporting, even valorizing, their ''death with dignity'' celebrate these people's autonomy, or does it express an underlying lack of respect for the value of their lives? Do we need to protect women's right to end their lives when and how they choose, or do we need to protect their right to continue to live when they are old, ill, disabled, and demented? This issue is highlighted by the recent suicide of eminent psychologist Sandra Bem, who carried out a plan to end her life with an overdose of phenobarbital, when Alzheimer's Disease began to threaten her ability to ''end her life while she still could'' (Ove, 2014). Bem had been a lifelong fighter for equal opportunities for women and a scholar who worked to explode gender stereotypes. Not having had the privilege of knowing Sandra Bem, I do not have the temerity to declaim the ''meaning'' of her decision. But certainly, her example points us to this very difficult question of what it means to ''respect'' the end-of-life decisions of people who are members of oppressed or marginalized groups. I was struck by this dilemma from a different angle, during the national paroxysm in the USA over the death of Terri Schiavo. Schiavo was a young woman who fell in 1990 into a coma that was eventually diagnosed as a persistent vegetative state (PVS). After eight years, her husband requested that artificial provision of nutrition and hydration be removed, so that Schiavo would be allowed to die.


The aim of this research is descriptive- correlation procedure was carried out to determine the relationship between cultural development and tend to the voluntary participation of citizens was KHORASGAN branch area. Statistical research community now to all the citizens of the area formed the number 100468 KHORASGAN branch to the people through the Cochrane sampling formula number 382 n sample size calculations through method of random sampling proportional to size, the sample was selected. The research instrument was made a three-part questionnaire. The first part to demographic variables, the second part of the third sector and voluntary partnerships tend to be cultural development were studied. Formal validity, content and structure tool by several experienced teachers and citizens of KHORASGAN branch, factor analysis was confirmed. Reliability of the questionnaire tend to cultural development based on the validity and cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.91 0.88 was estimated to contribute voluntary questionnaire. An analysis of descriptive information in two levels (mean, standard deviation) and inference (coefficient of correlation, multiple regressions). The results showed that between tend to cultural development and the voluntary participation of citizens showed a significant relationship between KHORASGAN branch area (with 890/0). The results showed it was willing to participate in social and cultural development (with 781/0), political participation (with 951/0), cultural participation (with 827/0) and the economic partnership (with 599/0) citizens, citizens of the region there was a significant relationship between KHORASGAN branch. The results predict the disclosure showed willingness to develop a culture of political participation, participation by way of cultural and economic partnership in the third step, it was predictable. In fact, for a unit increase in political participation, tend to develop a unified cultural 753/0 per a unit increase in the participation of cultural development, cultural tendency to 291/0 units. A unit increase in the participation of the economic and cultural development, the desire to 108/0 units. The findings also showed that voluntary contributions are the variables sex, age, marital status, significant but scores tend to be cultural development according to the qualification was significant.


Introduction. The relevance of the research is determined by high public concern with the educational sphere, especially the area of developing secondary school learners' personal results that have the form of the system of value-oriented attitudes and settings. Further self-education, personal growth, self-identification and community commitment on the whole depend on them. The authors for the first time attempted to estimate systemically axiological aspects of the social and cultural context of the modern educational environment. Their objective was to reveal the specifics of axiological orientation systems and to determine the degree of uniformity and congruence of information axiological field of participants involved in various educational relations.
Materials and Methods. Senin's core values questionnaire was used to examine the value orientation of university teaching staff and graduates; the personal growth questionnaire by D. V. Grigorev, I. V. Kuleshova, P. V. Stepanov was used to study high school students' value-based attitude to several significant objects; mathematical and statistical methods of data processing were ap plied.
Results. On the basis of revealed general and specific qualities of the value system of educational relationship participants, one can conclude that teenagers develop criticism in estimation of most real-world objects and tension in perception of subject-subject relations and their own personalities. The authors found that teachers with different work experience select spheres with high and low status in a similar way.
Discussion and Сonclusion. This range of problems is to be further investigated in longitudinal studies devoted, in particular, to the estimation of congruence of values of all participants engaged in educational relationship. The obtained results can be used to choose strategies of psychological, pedagogical and tutor support of teenagers and teachers and to define new priorities of continuous teacher training.


Given a system of two autonomous ordinary differential equations whose right-hand sides are polynomials, it is very hard to tell if any nonsingular trajectories of the system are contained in algebraic curves. We present an effective method of deciding whether a given system has an invariant algebraic curve of a given degree. The method also allows the construction of examples of polynomial systems with invariant algebraic curves of a given degree. We present the first known example of a degree 6 algebraic saddle-loop for polynomial system of degree 2, which has been found using the described method. We also present some new examples of invariant algebraic curves of degrees 4 and 5 with an interesting geometry.


Pharmacokinetic (PK) evaluation of clotting factor concentrates has since 1988 been a recommended procedure to evaluate not only the bioequivalence of new and older products but also to tailor replacement therapy in patients with inherited clotting factor deficiency [1]. Pharmacokinetics of Factor VIII/IX concentrates are quite easy to be assessed in haemophilia patients. Severe Haemophilia A/B patients are supposed to be a quite homogeneous population and the factor VIII/IX genotypes seem to play a moderate role in pharmacokinetic characteristics of rDNAor plasmaderived concentrates. The conditions are completely different and much more complex when the behaviour of von Willebrand factor (VWF) concentrates in von Willebrand's disease (VWD) patients must be characterized. In this case, we have to take into account several sources of variability: 1. The heterogeneity of patients: only type 3 or severe type 1 should be considered in the conduction of single dose PK studies as types 2A or 2M behave differently. Only a few studies have been conducted in type 3 VWD homogeneous cohorts [2,3]. 2. The VWF/FVIII ratio is very different in the final formulation of VWF concentrates: Intermediate Purity Concentrates (IPC) are rich of high molecular weight multimers of VWF and have a ratio 2.0–2.5 whilst High Purity Concentrates (HPC) have a ratio 1.0–1.2. Furthermore, a pure VWF concentrate which does not contain FVIII is also available. 3. VWF:Ag, VWFR:Co, VWF:CBA should be dosed to have a complete picture of protein decay. Such accurate evaluation of VWF has been conducted in only one study [4]. 4. FVIII:C decay is very hard to evaluate because the plasma concentration is the sum of administered and endogenously synthesized FVIII. After infusion of IPC an increase or a plateau of FVIII concentration can be observed, during the first 12–24 h. This phenomenon sometimes makes it impossible to use the standard PK analysis, both by non-compartment and compartment methods, because when the FVIII is increasing the Clearance becomes negative and only terminal half life can be evaluated. This is the reason why in most studies evaluating the PK of IPC, FVIII kinetics has been omitted [2,3,5,6]. After infusion of pure VWF concentrate, the FVIII increase is due exclusively to the endogenous synthesis of FVIII and it is difficult to define its decay [3,7], except when the timing of blood collection is prolonged up to 96 h [8]. 5. The different ratio VWF:RCo/FVIII is a confounding factor in the dosing of PK procedures. During PK studies, each dose must be entered in terms of plasma concentrations of the factor under investigation, as recently pointed out by Kessler and colleagues [9]. 6. The gold rule of PK for good analysis is that the preinfusion baseline concentration must be achieved at the end of the decay curve. In some studies the blood sample collection have been truncated at 24 h [2,4] or at 48–50 h [5,6] when still the trough was quite high. In only two studies were the blood samples collected up to at 72 h [7,9] or 96 h [3,8]. This discrepancy of study design does not allow a direct comparison among the different concentrates. 7. For the best definition of a decay of a clotting factor concentrate at least three parameters must be reported: Clearance, Volume of distribution Area (VdArea), preferably normalized for body weight (expressed as ml/h/kg or ml/kg, respectively), and Mean Residence Time (MRT). Also Terminal half life can be useful if the fitting of the last 3 o 4 points is linear. Unfortunately, very frequently only In Vivo Recovery (IVR) has been mentioned but it is well known how this parameter is misleading because it is derived from a single point. As a minimum, the peak during the first hour should be Correspondence: Massimo Morfini, Agency for Haemophilia, Department of Emergency & Reception, Azienda OspedalieroUniversitaria Careggi, Firenze, Italy. Tel.: +39 055 7947587; fax: +39 055 7947794: e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Potassium pyrophosphate forms zinc pyrophosphate deposit by ad ding zinc acetate to pyrophosphate copper plating solution under a condition of pH≈4.After filtration,phosphoric acid reacts with sodium molybdate to form bl ue heteropolyacid complex with cevitamic acid as reducing agent and bismuth nitr ate as catalyst,the concentration of potassium phosphate in the solution is mea sured by using a spectrophotometric method.Effects of the copper ions and colo r developing reagent on the measurement of potassium phosphate are eliminated by using reference solution,and the absorbence is measured at a wavelength of 660 nm.The relative average deviation of the method is 2.0%.The recovery ratio is 97.8% to 103%.


The article considers the system of teaching professionally-oriented English to future IT specialists on the example of textbooks published by teachers of the "Foreign Languages" Department. The examples of tasks by working with a lexical minimum on professional topics, by working with professionally-oriented texts, as well as the use of a variety of clichés and conversational formulas by discussing original texts are given.


A recent Air Traffic Management (ATM) initiative has reduced certain oceanic routes from a 2,000-foot vertical separation minimum to a 1,000-foot (300 m) separation minimum between flight levels of 29,000 feet and 41,000 feet. As a result of this initiative, an aircraft transitioning from the Continental United States (CONUS) to Europe or Asia will be required to have a validated, certified altimeter reporting system within the specified tolerances. The aging military airframes are not currently Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) certified. The impact on military deployment time to foreign theatres as well as high-fuel cost makes this a high-priority DoD issue. This paper describes the test and evaluation (T&E) challenge, viable solutions and test method for meeting the RVSM requirements in an approved, affordable, and least down-time (minimal aircraft modification) manner. The test method described herein utilizes a PACER aircraft in formation with the RVSM candidate aircraft. The RVSM is just one of the many Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) requirements which must be met for military aircraft to fly within premium airspace during overseas deployment. The commercial equivalent of GATM is Communications Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM). Our focus will be on meeting the RVSM certification requirements as related to the test environment.


We present an analysis of the optical response of lumped-element kinetic-inductance arrays, using the NIKA2 1mm array as an example. This array design has a dualpolarization sensitive Hilbert inductor for directly absorbing incident photons. We calculated the optical response from a transmission line model and compared it with simulation using HFSS. From the simulation, we noticed that a non-negligible part of energy is reflected as higher modes. We show the difficulty of achieving high absorption rate using aluminum. This analysis could be extended to other kinetic inductance detector array designs in millimeter, sub-millimeter and terahertz frequency bands.


This study tracked the development of organizational commitment from a pre-employment period through the first three months of employment. All major linkages in the Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982) model of the determinants of organizational commitment were tested and supported. Commitment had a strong association with behavioral intentions to turnover, which in turn were significantly associated with subsequent turnover behavior.


Abstract Background The recurrence of concurrent metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) after primary surgery and subsequent irinotecan-based therapies is still a challenge. Fong's CRS criteria prompted us to identify mCRC with high recurrence risk, and whether there are any specific gene signatures identifing those mCRC? Therefore, we aimed to identify gene signatures and investigated how they regulate the mCRC immunophenotype and thus affect the prognosis.. Methods We investigated RNA expression in different populations and platforms. Based on metastasis-related genes, a metastatic evaluation model (MEM) was developed, which divided mCRCs into high and low recurrence risk groups. Further investigation of these two groups made an immune prognostic model (IPM) based on differentially expressed immune-related genes. Then, the influence of the IPM on mCRC's immune microenvironment was comprehensively analyzed by bioinformatics. Results High recurrence risk in mCRC after surgery and subsequent irinotecan-based therapies was attributed to the down-regulation of immune response, which was influenced mainly by 3 metastasis-related genes (BAMBI, F13A1, LCN2) and 3 immune-related genes (SLIT2, CDKN2A, CLU). MEM and IPM were established and validated based on 231 mCRC patients to differentiate patients with a low or high risk of recurrence. A nomogram was established. Functional enrichment analysis showed immune response and immune system diseases pathway represented the major function and pathway, respectively, related to IPM genes. Moreover, we found IPM high-risk group had higher fractions of Tregs and CD8+ T cells, lower fractions of neutrophils and eosinophils, and presented higher expression of CCR8 than low-risk group. Conclusions The recurrence of mCRC after primary surgery and subsequent irinotecan-based therapies is strongly related to the immune microenvironment. Our IPM may have important implications for identifying subgroups of mCRC with low or high risk of recurrence, and give new insights in personal chemotherapy and immunotherapy for mCRC. Legal entity responsible for the study CICAMS. Funding Initial Project 2018-1-4021 Beijing Municipal Health Commission. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


A theory of the hyper-Raman scattering in gases is considered. Allowance for the polarization features of the scattering process shows that it is preferable to use circularly polarized radiation as the pump wave. It is shown that the nuclear contribution to the nonlinear polarizability of molecules may increase considerably the efficiency of the hyper-Raman scattering when an infrared laser is used as a pump source.


A finite-difference scheme arising from fourth order rational approximants to the matrix-exponential term in a two-time level recurrence relation has been proposed for the numerical solution of the modified Burgers' equation already known in the bibliography. The method leads to the solution of a nonlinear system. To overcome this difficulty a linearized scheme is proposed.


We review electronic digital-to-analog converter (DAC) technologies with sampling rates beyond 200 GSa/s and analog electrical bandwidths of 100 GHz using digital bandwidth interleaving. These allow the all-electronic generation of up to 195-GBaud electrical and 180-Gbaud optical modulation formats.


Contrast radiography is one of the most important adjunct procedures for imaging of the oral and maxillo-facial region. Despite the advent of newer investigation techniques, it remains one of the most useful diagnostic tools. Contrast radiography improves or allows the visualisation of organs surrounded by tissues of the same radiographic opacity, thus providing information about the size, shape and position of these structures and neighbouring areas. It shows the internal structure of an organ, including its mucosal pattern and may also occasionally help in assessing organ function. In the beginning, contrast agents were used mainly with conventional X rays but later they have evolved as an important subset of the newly developed specialized imaging techniques used for specific anatomic or physiologic dysfunction, eg. Sialography, Arthography, Angiography & Nasopharyngography. The adverse effects from the intravascular administration of ICM are generally mild and self-limited; reactions that occur from the extravascular use of ICM are rare, severe or life-threatening reactions can occur very rarely.


By combining with the construction practice of the masonry residence in Hohhot railway bureau,the paper from the purchasing of the architectural materials,the equipment and the construction,introduces the construction points for mall-scale concrete fired perforated brick masonry,and indicates its differences and similarities with clay brick masonry,so as to ensure the construction quality.


The (Mn55Bi45)100−x/(Nd2Fe14B)x hybrid magnetic alloys were prepared by the ball milling of the combined annealed Mn55Bi45 powders and Nd2Fe14B powders. The magnetic properties at room temperature and elevated temperature were investigated. It was found that the saturation magnetization and the coercivity at room temperature increased significantly with the increasing Nd2Fe14B content. The enhanced energy product of 10.8 MGOe and 11.5 MGOe were obtained in (Mn55Bi45)40/(Nd2Fe14B)60 and (Mn55Bi45)20/(Nd2Fe14B)80. At elevated temperatures (350 K), the coercivities of 16.6 kOe and 16.1 kOe were obtained with Nd2Fe14B content of 20 wt.% and 40 wt.%, which were higher than those at room temperature. The temperature coefficients of coercivity of (Mn55Bi45)80/(Nd2Fe14B)20 and (Mn55Bi45)60/(Nd2Fe14B)40 were calculated to be positive, owing to the coercivity temperature characteristics of MnBi alloy. Finally, the energy products remained 10.5 MGOe and 10.1 MGOe in (Mn55Bi45)40/(Nd2Fe14B)60 and (Mn55Bi45)20/(Nd2Fe14B)80 at 350 K, which exhibited potential for high temperature applications.


Busulfan(Bu)-based chemotherapy is a conditioning treatment prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) of patients with acute and chronic myelogenous leukemia (AML, CML). A major obstacle to successful HSCT is Bu resistance, which might be attributed to individual differences in drug pharmacokinetics and metabolism, or inherent resistance of cancer cells. We hypothesize that gene expression profiling of leukemia cells can be used to dissect the factors that contribute to their Bu resistance. Two Bu-resistant leukemia cell lines were established, characterized and analyzed by microarray and real-time RT-PCR techniques to identify differentially expressed genes. The CML B5/Bu250 6 cells are 4.5-fold more resistant to Bu than their parental B5 cells. The AML KBM3/Bu250 6 cells are 4.0-fold more Bu-resistant than KBM3 parental cells. Both resistant sublines evade Bu-mediated G2-arrest and apoptosis with constitutively up-regulated anti-apoptotic genes ( BCL-X L , BCL2 , BCL2L10 , BAG3 and IAP2/BIRC3 ) and down-regulated pro-apoptotic genes ( BIK , BNIP3 , and LTBR ).). Bu-induced apoptosis is partly mediated by activation of caspases; use of the inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK completely abrogated PARP1 cleavage and reduced apoptosis by ∼ 50%. Furthermore, Bu resistance in these cells may be attributed in part to up-regulation of HSP90 protein and activation of STAT3. Inhibition of HSP90 with geldanamycin attenuated phosphorylated STAT3 and made B5/Bu250 6 and KBM3/Bu250 6 more Bu-sensitive. Analysis of cells derived from patients classified as either clinically resistant or sensitive to high-dose Bu-based chemotherapy had alterations in gene expression that were analogous to those observed in the in-vitro model cell lines, confirming the potential clinical relevance of this model for Bu resistance. Our results suggest the important roles of apoptotic signaling mechanism, HSP90 and STAT3 and should be considered in the classification of AML patients who will likely benefit from busulfan-based pretransplant conditioning therapy and those who should be offered alternative treatment modalities.


The period 1861 to 1920 witnessed sharp price convergence in British Indian wheat and rice markets. Previous authors have assumed that since a vast railway system was built during that time, railways were probably the main cause of that convergence. But tests examining relative price differences between individual districts provide surprisingly weak support for that hypothesis. Railways clearly mattered, but even controlling for the effects on nearby districts, railways seem capable of explaining only about 20% of the decline in grain price dispersion. The modest estimated effect fundamentally derives from the fact that prices were converging during this time almost as rapidly between districts without railways as with railways. Our fixed effect estimation using yearly dummies points out that the pattern of price convergence between a given district pair was no different before they got railways than after they got the rail. One reason for this may be that India was already a well established, partially integrated economy at the time of the railroad expansion. Some lines were built along existing trade routes where there was already significant commerce between districts. The impact of railroads on districts not obviously linked by trade was shown to be about five times larger than the impact on previously well linked districts. There was also considerable heterogeneity of the railway effect depending on whether districts were already close to railways or not. ∗ Department of Economics, Pomona College, Claremont, CA 91711. We would like to thank Jishnu Das, Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Steve Marks and seminar participants at USC, the Pacific Coast Development Conference 2007, WEA Annual meetings 2005, and the NEUDC 2005 for valuable comments. All remaining errors are ours.


Incident management is very important in order to ensure the continuity of a system. Information systems require incident management to ensure information systems can provide maximum service according to the service provided. Many of the problems that arise in academic information systems come from incidents that are not properly handled. The objective of this study aims to find the appropriate way of incident management. The incident can be managed so it will not be a big problem. This research uses the ITIL framework to solve incident problems. The technique used in this study is a technique adopted and developed from the service operations section of the ITIL framework. The results of this research found that 84.5% of incidents appearing in academic information systems can be handled quickly and appropriately. 15.5% incidents can be escalated so as to not cause any new problems. The model of incident management applied to make academic information system can run quickly in providing academic service in a good and efficient. The incident management model implemented in this research is able to manage resources appropriately so as to quickly and easily manage incidents.


Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is current crisis in more than 200 countries in the world. The virus originated in bats and was transmitted to humans in December 2019 via still unknown intermediate animals in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. In India, Corona virus confirmed cases are 101,139, recovered cases are 39,174, deaths 3,163 and active cases are 58,802 on the date of 19 May 2020. "In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared phase wise complete lockdown for corona virus pandemics to save India and every Indian." In this lockdown period, children are getting bored, separation from playgroups and friends and their daily routine of playing is creating a lot of anxiety for children, they are losing their attachments. Children's social life and learning have been affected. Due to the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic, closure of schools has affected the education of more than 1.5 billion children and young people worldwide. It should be well-known that school closures are liable to broaden the learning gap between the lower-income and higher-income families among children. So we need to engage the children in purposive and creative activity and give them some leaning task related to their studies. This short communication concludes with the key learning for the parents of children on how to engage school going children during covid-19 lockdown.


ICDS (Integrated child development scheme) is one of the best schemes for the improvement of nutritional and health status of children and women in India. In 1972, Planning Commission suggested the implementation of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme in all the States of India. Under this scheme, a package of services, consisting of supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, health education and non–formal pre–school education is provided to children below 6 years of age and pregnant women and nursing mothers in the age group of 15-45 years in an integrated manner. The government of Jammu and Kashmir started ICDS in 1976 since then the growth of Anganwadi in Bandipora District has been increasing. The present paper focuses on the implementation of this scheme in Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir.


This book presents the papers given at a symposium on materials for fission and fusion reactors. Topics considered at the symposium included liquid metal corrosion, wear-resistant alloys, Zircaloy-2 calandria tubes, the control of microstructure in fuel cans, martensitic stainless steels, austenitic steels, the swelling behavior of stainless steel-316, radiation embrittlement, the aging of iridium and plutonium dioxide, alloying effects on ferritic steels, and void nucleation.


The central airways of the lung are a complex system of bifurcations and pipes. In the case of artificial ventilation support with the necessity of using airway management devices (i.e. endotracheal tubes) the complexity of the system even increases and a complete understanding of the ventilation and oxygenation mechanisms is of major interest in order to ensure protective oxygenation and ventilation of the patient. Numerical investigations on the influence of endotracheal tubes on the flow revealed that thesel tubes have an important impact within the trachea and accordingly in the central airways of the lung. A parametric study on the effect of the tube's level of detail on the resulting flow regime showed that it is necessary to model not only the tube's ending but also the bending which is essential for the development of secondary flows. A comparison of numerical data generated with a turbulent and a laminar Navier-Stokes solver revealed that for the indistinct, potentially transitional flow in the airways with endotracheal tube the simulations with turbulence model are more promising but in terms of computational costs more expensive. INTRODUCTION Since a large number of patients admitted to the intensive care unit require artificial ventilation support the development of lung protective ventilation strategies is an important subject in biomedical research. The central airways of the lung are a complex system of bifurcations and pipes with characteristic diameters ranging from approx. 15 mm to 20 mm at the trachea to approx. 50 m to 250 m at alveolar level. The lungs principle task to ensure the gas exchange is intimately depending on the fluid mechanical transport mechanisms governing the complex branching system. For patients suffering from adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury or at the worst from acute lung failure, mechanical ventilation is the fundamental life saving therapy but even after years of practical experience and research the mortality rate is still high. This is related to inspiratory lung epithelia overstretching and repeated collapse and re-expansion of alveoli which results in adverse shear forces which in turn tend to aggravate the aetiopathology finally leading to ventilator associated lung injury (VALI). In case of artificial ventilation support with the necessity of using airway management devices (i.e. endotracheal tubes) the complexity of the system even increases and a complete understanding of the ventilation and oxygenation mechanisms is of major interest in order to ensure protective oxygenation and ventilation of the patient. Protective Artificial Ventilation The objective of the protective artificial lung ventilation strategy is to achieve an improved gas exchange in the lungs while applying ventilation methods which allow for avoidance of inspiratory epithelial overstretching and repeated collapse and re-expansion of alveoli. A promising lung protective ventilation approach is the "High Frequency Ventilation Oscillation (HFOV)". The HFOV concept was introduced in the early 1960s as a new ventilation technique for treating the neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Today it is also used as a rescue therapy for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. A proper understanding of the fluid mechanical mechanisms governing the HFOV is essential for optimising this artificial ventilation approach in terms of protective, efficient, and reliable oxygenation and ventilation of patients suffering from acute respiratory failure. Figure 1: Functional principle of HFOV [ViasysHC] Sixth International Symposium on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena Seoul, Korea, 22-24 June 2009


The reasons for the rise in metabolic disorders in society include busy schedules with abnormally pressured lifestyles, altered food habits and their patterns, insufficient sleep, and a lack of observance of Dincharya, Ritucharya, Ratricharya and Sadvritta. Achieving the unlimited desires in a very short period of time produces different types of anxiety, worry, anger, fear and depression which directly or indirectly leads to various types of G.I. tract disorders and Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of them. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which affects most nations and their populations, has become a widespread ailment over time. Reflux, or the backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus, throat, lungs, and airways, is a common complaint among GERD sufferers. Nowadays people do not follow the rules like 'Dincharya' and 'Ritucharya'. All these things disturb the balance of 'Tridosha'. In addition to these, addition to various vices such as smoking and alcohol results in the disturbance of normal physiology of the body, which again affects G.I. tract and thus produces G.I. disorders. The Pitta Dosha is disturbed by all of the aforementioned elements. The Vyadhis like Amlapitta, Ajirna, Annadravashoola and Parinamashoola can be correlated with GERD. In Amlapitta there is mainly vitiation of Pitta Dosha. Normally Pitta has Katu Rasa but when Katu Rasa becomes Vidagdha and attains Shuktibhava, it creates Amlata in Amashaya, it is called vitiation of Pitta Dosha. Amlapitta is one of the disorders caused by vitiated Pitta. These three Vyadhis come under Annavaha Srotas and Agnimandya is their underlined cause which should be treated. To gain an insight this review will aim to understand the Ayurvedic perspective of gastroesophageal reflux disease.


Rheumatoid disease is rarely static. Its course is variable and largely unpredictable. In the hand, tendons and muscles may be involved, as well as joints. Hand function is influenced by the presence of joint involvement elsewhere, particularly in the upper limb, and by complications such as neuropathy. It is, however, important to assess the effect ofthe disease on individual joints at regular intervals, and also to consider the function of the hand as a whole. From such assessments a decision can be made on the advisability of surgical intervention, and later these may be used to evaluate the results of treatment. These assessments should be made by a senior member of the team.


: Research on the effects of blast loads on concrete structures has been conducted extensively in recent decades. This is primarily due to the increasing risk of deliberate explosive attacks, accidental explosions, and other types of explosion-related failures that structures worldwide are facing. The magnitude of blast loads generated by most explosions far exceeds the design loads considered in traditional structural design. Consequently, this heightened awareness has prompted building owners, government agencies, and design professionals to prioritize the ability of buildings to withstand blast loading and ensure the survival of structures in the face of constant global terrorist attacks. This research paper focuses on the modeling and dynamic analysis of the foundation of a steam turbine generator, which is an important and valuable element. While there have been previous studies on the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures under blast loads, this paper specifically examines the nonlinear dynamic responses and failure behaviors of the supporting structure of turbine generators subjected to blast loads using Explicit Dynamic Analysis in Ansys Workbench. The study investigates the effects of middle-rate impact loading stresses on the blast responses of RC structures. By conducting dynamic analysis using Ansys Workbench, the researchers found that the RC structure is significantly influenced by the blast load. Moreover, they observed that the effect of the blast load decreases as the distance between the TNT source and the RC structure increases.


The diffusion of atoms and radicals on interstellar dust grains is a fundamental ingredient for predicting accurate molecular abundances in astronomical environments. Quantitative values of diffusivity and diffusion barriers usually rely heavily on empirical rules. In this paper, we compute the diffusion coefficients of adsorbed nitrogen atoms by combining machine-learned interatomic potentials, metadynamics, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. With this approach, we obtain a diffusion coefficient of nitrogen atoms on the surface of amorphous solid water of merely (3.5± 1.1)× 10−34 cm2s−1 at 10 K for a bare ice surface. Thus, we find that nitrogen, as a paradigmatic case for light and weakly bound adsorbates, is unable to diffuse on bare amorphous solid water at 10 K. Surface coverage has a strong effect on the diffusion coefficient by modulating its value over 9–12 orders of magnitude at 10 K and enables diffusion for specific conditions. In addition, we have found that atom tunneling has a negligible effect. Average diffusion barriers of the potential energy surface (2.56 kJ mol−1) differ strongly from the effective diffusion barrier obtained from the diffusion coefficient for a bare surface (6.06 kJ mol−1) and are, thus, inappropriate for diffusion modeling. Our findings suggest that the thermal diffusion of N on water ice is a process that is highly dependent on the physical conditions of the ice.


Small amplitude motion in the chaotic maser model with finite temperature is studied in the context of a mean field approximation. The equilibrium state is constructed for both the normal and superradiant phases. The linear response of the model is obtained in these two cases and analytical expressions for the variation of the corresponding frequencies with temperature are derived. Their behaviour both in the integrable and chaotic limit is discussed. Sum rules are shown to be fulfilled and relative percentages turn out to be temperature dependent. Finally the authors obtain the dynamical stability conditions for the chaotic maser model at finite temperature.


As radar signal environments become denser and radar signals become more complex, the task of an ESM operator becomes more difficult. In environments where the numbers of radars may be large and the number of pulses transmitted by a radar may be small, the operator becomes the dominating factor in the efficiency of an ESM system. The paper discusses the problem of developing automatic sorting of radar environments, in order to assist, and eventually replace, the ESM equipment operator. The paper separates the signal sorting problem into two subproblems of describing the radar environment in a pulse-train sorter and monitoring changes in the perceived environment in a new-signal detector. Emphasis is placed on the need to use all available pulse parameter measurement data in order to achieve the highest possible confidence in the descriptions of the emitters which the signal sorter provides.


Many studies have examined the benefits of conducting technical analysis on the stock market, with mixedresults. With a view to clarifying the usefulness of technical analysis, this paper examines the capacity oftechnical analysis rules to predict future prices on the Amman Stock Exchange. As data for this research, asample of closing prices for the general index on the Amman Stock Exchange was used. Our results show thattechnical analysis does have the power to predict the movement of the stock price, and to generate profitablebuy and sell signals.


We present the phase information of solar p-mode waves constructed with an acoustic imaging technique in the solar interior. There exists a phase shift between the time series constructed with ingoing waves and outgoing waves. We find that this phase shift is different in an active region and the quiet Sun. The p-mode travel time is shorter in the magnetic regions than in the quiet Sun. We construct a three-dimensional phase shift map of the solar interior. As with the acoustic absorption images, the phase shift features of the active region in maps at the surface correlate with magnetic fields. The vertical extension of phase shift features in the active region is smaller in the phase maps constructed with shorter wavelengths. This indicates the vertical spatial resolution of these three-dimensional phase maps is sensitive to the range of modes used in constructing the signal. The actual depths of the phase shift features in the active region may be smaller than those shown in the three-dimensional phase maps.


The condition that all spherical diagrams in a 2-complex be reducible is shown to be equivalent to the condition that all finite branched covers be aspherical. This result is related to the study of equations over groups. Furthermore large classes of 2-complexes are shown to be diagrammatically reducible in the above sense; in particular, every 2-complex has a subdivision which admits a finite branched cover which is diagrammatically reducible. A consequence of the classical Riemann-Hurwitz formula for Riemann surfaces [6, p. 301] is the fact that a finite branched cover of an aspherical Riemann surface is also aspherical. However the property of asphericity of a 2-complex implying asphericity of finite branched covers fails for general 2-complexes. In fact we shall prove (Theorem 4.5 below) that this property holds precisely for those 2-complexes which are diagrammatically reducible. A 2-complex X is said to be diagrammatically reducible (abbreviated DR(X)) if for every combinatorial map f: S2 X of the 2-sphere into X (a "spherical diagram" in X) there is a pair of faces in the domain with an edge in common which are mapped mirrorwise by f across that edge. A closely related notion was introduced by Lyndon and Schupp [13] but this notion appears in its present form in a paper by Sieradski [14]. In that same paper Sieradski asked a question which would have implied that all classical knot complements in the 3-sphere are homotopy equivalent to diagrammatically reducible 2-complexes. We shall prove this latter assertion (Theorem 6.5) making use of our amalgamation theorem for diagrammatic reducibility (Theorem 5.4). The characterization of diagrammatic reducibility in terms of branched covers llows from a lifting theorem which may be of general interest. If f: X Y is a combinatorial map of combinatorial 2-complexes, then f induces a map of the link complexes of vertices Lf: Lx > Ly (the "star graphs" or "coinitial graph" in group theoretical language). The map f is said to be reduced if Lf is an immersion. We prove (Theorem 4.2) th t if f: X Y is a reduced map of 2-complexes with X finite, then there is a commutative diagram (see below) where qT: Z > Y is a finite branched cover and where g is injective off the zero skeleton of X. This result is Received by the editors July 9, 1986. 1980 MuthenluticsSulviectClussificwtios? (1985 Retvisios?). Primary20F05, 57M12; Secondary57M20. 1987 American Mathematical Scoclety 0002-9947/87 $1 .0() + $.25 pel page


Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) comprise an increasing proportion of individuals living with CHD in the United States (US) although little is known regarding lesion or age‐specific mortality in the modern era. Our study aimed to describe current era ACHD mortality rates by age and CHD lesion and provide temporal mortality rate trends for the last two decades.


We describe a new mechanism for pulsations in evolved stars: relaxation oscillations driven by a coupling between the luminosity-dependent mass-loss rate and the H fuel abundance in a nuclear-burning shell. When mass loss is included, the outward flow of matter can modulate the flow of fuel into the shell when the stellar luminosity is close to the Eddington luminosity LEdd. When the luminosity drops below LEdd, the mass outflow declines and the shell is resupplied with fuel. This process can be repetitive. We demonstrate the existence of such oscillations and discuss the dependence of the results on the stellar parameters. In particular, we show that the oscillation period scales specifically with the mass of the H-burning relaxation shell (HBRS), defined as the part of the H-burning shell above the minimum radius at which the luminosity from below first exceeds the Eddington threshold at the onset of the mass-loss phase. For a stellar mass M* ~ 0.7 M☉, luminosity L* ~ 104 L☉, and mass-loss rate || ~ 10-5 M☉ yr-1, the oscillations have a recurrence time of ~1400 yr ~ 57τfsm, where τfsm is the timescale for modulation of the fuel-supply in the HBRS by the varying mass-loss rate. This period agrees very well with the ~1400 yr period inferred for the spacings between the shells surrounding some planetary nebulae. We also find the half-width of the luminosity peak to be ~0.39 times the oscillation period; for comparison, the observational shell thickness of ~1000 AU corresponds to ~0.36 of the spacing between pulses. We find oscillations only for models in which the luminosity of the relaxation shell is ~10%-15% of the total stellar luminosity and for which energy generation occurs through the p-p chain. We suggest this mechanism as a natural explanation for the circumnebular shells surrounding some planetary nebulae, which appear only at the end of the AGB phase.


This paper provides a tutorial on the ATM adaptation layer (AAL) protocols in conjunction with a discussion of quality of service (QoS) issues. We describe the various traffic classes and explain the relationship of the traffic classes to the various AAL protocols. We discuss the negotiation of a traffic contract prior to connection-set-up and the enforcement of this traffic contract during the connection. Then we present a short case study on the transmission of video across an ATM network by considering the various protocol options and modes of operation available and their advantages and disadvantages.


438 Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health | Nov-Dec 2016 | Vol 9 | Issue 6 Dear Sir, Zika virus infection is an emerging public health problem. At present, it can be seen in several countries around the world.[1] The great concern is on the new emerging of Zika virus infection in a new setting. In Taiwan, the recent new emerging of imported Zika virus infection case from Thailand is of concern. The great concern is on how to early detect the problem at immigration point to stop the entering of disease. In fact, the Zika virus is a dengue‐like illness, the use of thermoscan for screening at the airport might be useful. However, there are many concerns. The limitation of this scanning technique can be seen in the previous situation of atypical flu outbreaks. In addition, the Zika virus infection can also be asymptomatic an afebrile.[2,3] In the indexed case, the Thai patient had the overt clinical problem and diagnosed in Taiwan. Finally, since the disease is a mosquito‐borne infection, importing of the vector from endemic area is a big concern. Indeed, the existence of mosquito in an airplane is possible and can be the origin of emerging infection in the new setting.


In this paper the author sketches out the following points. My unified formulas for reflection and transmission of plane elastic wave; Dynamic difference between converted wave and unconverted wave; The reflection and transmission coefficients of plane elastic and converted wave incident upon an interface between different elastic media are the odd functions of ray parameter p respectively. The reflection and transmission coefficients of unconverted wave are the even function of ray parameter p. Some power series type formulas for reflection and transmission of plane elastic wave, which include Aki's and Shuey's formulas that are widely used nowadays. These new formulas have more definite physical meaning, clearer lithology property, simpler form and easier separation of variates than other's formulas. They broaden the application of AVO technique, favor better lithology parameter inversion and advantage separating P wave from S wave. The author's AVO filtering concept that copes with the problem existing in seismic horizontal stacking. The author's AVO curve filtering, which is a new processing method for obtaining amplitude fidelity, high resolution and high S/N ratio. It is pointed out that traditional CDP stacking concept may be forsaken in more reliable new lithology analysis, which is the development tendency of seismic exploration.more » The principles and application of these new methods are illustrated at the conclusion of the article.« less


The composition of the primordial mantle has a primary influence on the amount and composition of Earth's early continental crust. Studying the processes associated with ancient crust formation is complicated due to the limited exposure of Hadean-Archaean (>3.2 Ga) rocks. The western Dharwar Craton, India, (dominantly ~3.4 Ga) is one of the few well-accessible Paleoarchaean cratons that host both high temperature and pressure (deep) melts like komatiites and high to medium pressure (shallow) melts like TTGs. Detrital zircons yield a maximum 207 Pb/ 206 Pb age of ~3.6 Ga which defines the oldest crustal components of the craton (Guitreau et al., 2017). Based on trace element abundances ( 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ~0.16; 176 Lu/ 177 Hf ~0.02) and Sr isotopes (Ravindran et al., 2020), this crust was dominantly mafic. Hafnium and Nd isotopes of TTGs and greenstone mafic rocks of the western Dharwar Craton are well-correlated and support a mildly depleted mantle as their main source. In contrast, ultramafic rocks (komatiites, komatiitic basalts, cumulates) show a very strong depletion and ' decoupled ' Hf-Nd isotope systematics. The initial ɛ Hf of these ultramafic rocks range from +3 to +20. Such extreme initial isotope ratios have also been observed in ultramafic rocks of other Paleoarchaean cratons (e.g. Hoffmann & Wilson, 2017). The whole rock Lu-Hf age of 3182±170 Ma agrees with the U-Pb zircon age (3228±22


In this paper, we postulate a general class of price competition models with Mixed Multinomial Logit demand functions under affine cost functions. We first characterize the equilibrium behavior of this class of models in the case where each product in the market is sold by a separate, independent firm and customers share a common income level. We identify a simple and very broadly satisfied condition under which a Nash equilibrium exists while the set of Nash equilibria coincides with the solutions of the system of First Order Condition equations, a property of essential importance to empirical studies. This condition specifies that in every market segment, each firm captures less than 50% of the potential customer population when pricing at a level which, under the condition, can be shown to be an upper bound for a rational price choice for the firm irrespective of the prices chosen by its competitors. We show that under a somewhat stronger, but still broadly satisfied version of the above condition, a unique equilibrium exists. We complete the picture, establishing the existence of a Nash equilibrium, indeed a unique Nash equilibrium, for markets with an arbitrary degree of concentration; under sufficiently tight price bounds. We then discuss two extensions of our model: unequal customer income and a continuum of customer types. A discussion of the multi product case is included in the appendix. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for structural estimation methods.


An orthorhombic (2- Amino 5 – Nitro Pyridinum Phosphate) semi organic crystals was grown using slow evaporation method. As grown crystals of 2A5NPDP was characterized by microhardness, dielectric and photoconductivity studies. Hardness value was measured by Vickers hardness. The study of dielectric constant was carried out by using HIOKI 3532-50 LCR HITESTER. The photoconductivity was also measured by using KEITHLEY 485 picometer.


Carrot is one of the vital root vegetables rich in bioactive compounds like carotenoids and dietary fibres with considerable levels of several other useful components having remarkable health-advancing properties. The utilization of carrot and its products is expanding relentlessly due to its recognition as an important source of natural antioxidants having anticancer activity. Carrot pomace having about 50% of β-carotene could beneficially be used for the supplementation of products like cake, bread, biscuits and preparation of several types of useful products. The present review highlights the nutritional composition, health advancing phytonutrients, functional properties, products development and by-products utilization of carrot and carrot pomace alongside their potential application.


With the progress of space science,manned spacecraft,deep exploration,data describing long term materials performance under exposure to space environments has accumulated gradually over the past four decades.The first-hand data of environmental effects on materials could be got by materials flight experiments.Such data are critical to provide appropriate guideline for the design of space vehicles and associated equipment.This paper is intended to introduce design,content and scheme of the typical materials flight experiments.


Pore-type is a very important factor influencing the rock physics properties of carbonate reservoirs, which plays an important role on studying storage performance and the connectivity of fracture-cave system in carbonate reservoirs. At present, pore types are identified mainly by utilizing well logging data, rarely conducted with seismic data. On the basis of DEM theory and Gassmann equation, particularly taking the influence of fracture on seismic wave's velocity into consideration, this paper proposes a new pore-type seismic quantitative inversion method based on improved dual-pore system. Firstly, elastic parameters are obtained by pre-stack seismic inversion, such as Vp/Vs, density, porosity; secondly, based on the improved dual-pore system, reservoir space models with different proportion of cave-pore-fracture are established by Berryman 3D special pore theory, and quantitative relationship template between pore types, P wave velocity and porosity is figured out through theoretical calculation; finally, pore types can be identified in seismic scale. A case of the ZG8 area in Tarim Basin shows this method can not only figure out three secondary pore types and their proportion in carbonate reservoir successfully, but also can predict the distribution of different pore types in the underground medium, which demonstrate the method's feasibility and practicability.


Bhattacharyya, D.K. 1990. "An Econometric Model of Estimating the 'Hidden Economy,' United Kingdom (1960–1984): Estimates and Tests," Economic Journal 100 (September): 703–17. Boonchalaksi, Wathinee, and Philip Guest. 1998. "Prostitution in Thailand." In The Sex Sector: The Economic and Social Bases of Prostitution in Southeast Asia, ed. Lin Lean Lim, 130–69. Geneva: International Labor Organization. Cebula, Richard J. 1997. "An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Government Tax and Auditing Policies on the Size of the Underground Economy: The Case of the United States." American Journal of Economics and Sociology 56: 173–86. Denison, Edward F. 1982. "Is U.S. Growth Understated Because of the Underground Economy? Employment Rations Suggest Not." Review of Income and Wealth 28, no. 1 (March): 1–16. Feige, Edgar L. 1980. "A New Perspective on Macroeconomic Phenomena. The Theory and Measurement of the Unobserved Sector of the United States: Causes, Consequences and Implications." Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies, Wassenaar. Goldstein, Paul J. 1979. Prostitution and Drugs. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1979. Gutmann, Peter M. 1977. "The Subterranean Economy." Financial Analysts Journal 33: 26–27, 34. Honma, Masaaki; Toshihiro Ihori; Naozumi Atoda; and Junki Murayama. 1984. "Shotokuzei futan gyoshukan kakusa no jittai–mikurotaki apur÷ochi" [Disparity of Income Tax Burden in Different Line of Business]. Kikan gendai keizai, no. 59: 14–25. Isachsen, Arne Jon, and Strom Steinar. 1985. "The Size and Growth of the Hidden Economy in Norway." Review of Income and Wealth 31, no. 1: 21–38. Ishi, Hiromitsu. 1981. "Kazei shotoku hosokuritsu gyoshukan kakusa" [Disparity of Tax Coverage in Different Line of Business]. Kikan gendai keizai, no. 42: 72–83. ———. 2001. The Japanese Tax System. 3d ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Iwanaga, Fumio. 2000. Fu-zoku no keizaigaku [The Economics of the Sex Entertainment Industry]. Tokyo: KK Best Sales.


Value analysis indicates that inclusion of thermal energy storage (TES) as an element in a pulsed space power supply will reduce the mass of the heat rejection system. A candidate design for the TES component utilizes lithium hydride (LiH) encapsulated in 304L stainless steel or molybdenum in a packed-bed configuration with a lithium or sodium-potassium (NaK) heat transport fluid. Critical concerns with this concept are the need to (1) accommodate shell stresses induced by volumetric expansion of the melting salt or surface gripping by the freezing salt and (2) minimize hydrogen loss through the shell due to LiH dissociation at high temperatures. Experi mental observation of significant cracking of the LiH during cooling mitigates the first of these issues by providing a leakage path into the interior void as melting occurs at the salt-containment interface, thus Postgraduate student, University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma, TN 37388. fope


Paper-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensors can be fabricated easily by dropcasting or inkjet printing colloidal Au nanoparticles onto cellulose-based filter papers. They are flexible, economical, and sensitive and provide the crucial advantage of point-of-need sampling for application in the field. In this study, paper-based SERS sensors are fabricated through inkjet printing of a colloidal Au sol onto a filter paper substrate. We have character-ized their SERS performances with benzenethiol and pyridine molecules using a handheld Raman analyzer. Due to the heterogeneous loading of the Au nanoclusters on the paper substrate, we introduce the concept of receiver operating characteristic as an alternate measurand to quantify the performance of these sensors. With their inherent filtration sampling capability, we demonstrate the use of paper SERS sensors for the detection of chemical aerosols. Lastly, we present the use of a precision materials printer to deposit quantifiable amounts of analyte (fentanyl) uniformly across the active sensing area of a paper SERS sensor. This will allow for analyte-loaded certified references to be prepared and used in the field as standards for comparison.


This paper gives the object behavior model of software, describes the interactive relationship between classes by sequence diagram and the state change of classes by state diagram. In the concrete process of modeling, this paper first uses UML modeling language to construct the structural model and behavioral model of the system and then uses integrated modeling method to establish the UML/OOPN model of software to carry out analysis and verification from another angle. Finally, it gives the general principle and design example of database design and interface design of the system.


The heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) has been studied extensively for its application in extremely high-density hard disk drives. In this paper, we utilize the hybrid Monte Carlo micromagnetics to investigate the HAMR write process and the recording performances by evaluating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The simulation results show that, recording on granular FePt-C media with a grain size (D) ~4 nm, the medium SNR drops to 8.36 dB with areal density reaching to ~4 Tbit/in2. Furthermore, the effects of grain size distribution and Curie temperature (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T\text{c}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) distribution on HAMR recording are introduced in our simulation considering the sputter conditions in experiments. We build up HAMR recording models by varying grain size distribution and Tc distribution and find out that the effect of the Tc distribution is much stronger than the grain size distribution. With <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma T\text{c}/T\text{c}\,\,=0.037$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma \text{D}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/D = 0.09), the SNR decreases from 15.14 to 12.72 dB while the SNR decreases to 15.01 dB with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma \text{D}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/D rising from 0.09 to 0.15 (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma T\text{c}/T\text{c}\,\,=0$ </tex-math></inline-formula>).


With the development of China, the food supply is increasingly demand. In order to meet consumers' demand for fresh food, the food production, distribution, and retail supply chain system are enhanced. Based on this consideration, this paper uses means-end analysis method(means/end analysis(MEA)) to assess the environmental performance of food supply chain(food supply chains(FSC)). A detailed analysis of the evaluation methods and steps is given. The article concludes that the food industry should strengthen the environment assessment of food supply chains, and reduce the pollution.


10501 Background: Fibromatosis, a rare soft-tissue and locally invasive neoplasm, consist of distinct clinical entities including sporadic extra-abdominal fibromatosis (EAF). The potential morbidity of loco-regional treatments combined with the high local recurrence rate have led investigators to assess the possibility to design a "wait and see" policy in a subset of patients (pts). Up to date, molecular biomarkers of local recurrence of EAF remain unknown. As dysregulation of β-catenin (βC) expression hallmarks fibromatosis, herein we searched for βC mutations in a large retrospective European multi-centric tumors series to relate with clinicopathologic parameters.

METHODS
From 1987 to 2007, 155 pts with fibromatosis from all sites were gathered by the Conticanet Network were analysed. Direct sequencing of exon 3 βC gene was performed for 155 frozen tissues. All mutated cases were confirmed by an independent analysis. From this cohort, 101 pts with EAF surgically treated with curative intent and follow-up allowed us to relate βC mutational status to disease outcome.

RESULTS
Mutations of βC were detected in 84% of all cases. Among 101 pts with EAF surgically treated, similar mutations types and rates (87%) were observed, namely T41A (39.5%), S45P (9%), S45F (36.5%) and deletion (2%). There were 36 men and 65 women. Majority of pts were treated for primary EAF (57%). Most of surgical margin were RO (38%) or R1 (34%). Few pts were treated after surgery with radiation therapy (18%) and medical treatment (8%). With a median follow-up of 62 months, 51 pts (51%) relapsed. Neither clinicopathologic parameters were found to be significantly associated with βC mutational status. The five-year recurrence free-survival was significantly worse in βC mutated tumors regardless of a specific genotype, than in wild-type tumors (49 versus 93%, respectively, p=0.02). No significant difference was observed in considering either T41A, or S45F or S45P mutants, even if 45Fmutation appears to show a weak trend of significance for a dismal outcome.

CONCLUSIONS
A high frequency (87%) of βC mutation hallmarks EAF from a large multicentric retrospective study. Moreover, wild type βC appears as a good prognosis marker that can be useful for therapeutic management of the EAF. [Table: see text].


The aim of this research was to analyze the relationship between burnout, engagement and academic self-efficacy in a sample of 1756 students (M=14.47, SD=1.63) belonging to 12 secondary education highschools. The instruments used were the Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Student Survey (MBI-SS), Utrecht Student Student Scale (UWES-S) and the Specific Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale of Academic Situations (EAPESA). The results showed inverse relationship between physical&emotional effort and cynicism with vigor and dedication in the same way those positive relationships between academic self-efficacy with vigor, dedication and task absorption, in a more adaptive behaviors. The importance of the promotion of adaptive behaviors that improve the well-being and academic life of the students in their educational centers is revealed.


Hypolipoproteinaemia, resulting from deficiency of one or more of the major serum lipoprotein fractions, may be due to a primary genetically determined condition or may occur as a secondary manifestation in another disease state (table I). This paper will be confined to a discussion of the primary disorders which, although rare, have contributed greatly to our understanding of the normal function of the serum lipoproteins.