The Yoruba Historical Research Scheme was conceived in 1956 under the sponsorship of the Western Region of Nigeria Government with the assigned task of writing a full and authoritative history of the Yoruba peoples. The first fruits of this commendable project, so long awaited, are just now appearing in the form of the new book Sources of Yoruba History, edited by the director of the scheme and noted historian, Dr. S. 0. Biobaku. For this reason, if for no other, one must greet the publication of this book with enthusiasm.


It is shown that all extremal codes are homogeneous. This implies that each punctured code of an extremal code has the same weight distribution, which can be calculated directly from the weight distribution of the parent extremal code. >


The use of chemically modified silica-salen was studied for the separation and concentration of the metal ions from an aqueous solution by a solid phase extraction. After the salen(NEt2)2 was synthesized, it was chemically bonded to silica gel by a diazonium coupling reaction. The adsorption capacities and binding constants were obtained with respect to Cu(II), Mn(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) by a graphical method. Some experimental conditions were optimized for the determination of the trace elements. After the silica-salen(NEt2)2 was pulverized in a sample solution of which the pH was adjusted, the solution was stirred to pre-concentrate the metal ions. The metal ions adsorbed were desorbed with nitric acid solution. And the concentrated analytes were determined by a flame AAS. The method proposed here was so rarely influenced by a sample matrix that the procedure was applied to 3 types of water samples. The reproducible results of less than 10% RSD were obtained at the concentration level of ca. 100 ng/mL and the recoveries of 95-109% were obtained in the spiked samples in which given amounts of analytes were added.


The collections of female poetry compiled in Qing Dynasty,which had most eminent achievements and distinctive characteristics.From the external aspect,it displayed three main points:the quantity increased greatly, the scale got broader,and the poems written by woman poets in Qing Dynasty have been paid more attention than ever.A highly complicated scene also appeared in its internal formation.It included a lot of new types,just like local,patriarchal clan,female students,etc.


Background Submergence threatens plant growth and survival by decreasing or eliminating oxygen supply. Uncovering the complex regulatory network underlying the tolerance of Salix to submergence and identifying the key regulators are important for molecular-assisted breeding of Salix. Methods In this study, we screened germplasm resources of arbor willows and discovered both submergence-tolerant and submergence-sensitive varieties. Then, by performing RNA-seq, we compared the differences between the transcriptomes of two varieties, i.e., the submergence-tolerant variety "Suliu 795" and the submergence-sensitive variety "Yanliu No. 1," and the different submergence treatment time points to identify the potential mechanisms of submergence in Salix and the unique approaches by which the variety "Suliu 795" possessed a higher tolerance compared to "Yanliu No. 1". Results A total of 22,790 differentially expressed genes were identified from 25 comparisons. Using gene ontology annotation and pathway enrichment analysis, the expression pattern of transcriptional factors, important players in hormone signaling, carbohydrate metabolism, and the anaerobic respiration pathway were found to differ significantly between the two varieties. The principal component analysis and qRT-PCR results verified the reliability of the RNA sequencing data. The results of further analysis indicated that "Suliu 795" had higher submergence tolerant activity than "Yanliu No. 1" because of three characteristics: (1) high sensitivity to the probable low oxygen stress and initiation of appropriate responding mechanisms in advance; (2) maintenance of energy homeostasis to prevent energy depletion under hypoxic stress; and (3) keep "quiescence" through fine-tuning the equilibrium between phytohormones GA, SA and ethylene.


Pd3P, which crystallises in the cementite, Fe3C-type structure, forms a solid solution with nickel. The crystal structure contains two crystallographically different palladium sites (8d and 4c). Refinements of neutron powder diffraction intensities using the Rietveld method show that all nickel atoms occupy the eight-fold position. The unit cell parameters were refined to a=5.7812(4) Å, b=7.4756(6) Å and c=5.1376(4) Å, for Pd2.7Ni0.3P0.94.


Magnetic and transport properties of 70 nm SrRuO(3) films grown on (001) SrTiO(3), (001) LaAlO(3) and (001) MgO have been investigated. A perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is observed in compressive strained films grown on SrTiO(3). A weaker perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a weak in-plane magnetic anisotropy are found in strain-free films grown on MgO and LAO, respectively, possibly due to different growth mechanisms. In addition, metallic behavior is observed in all the as-grown films and the resistivity of the film grown on MgO is lowest (230 mu Omega cm at 300 K), which is close to that of bulk single crystal SrRuO(3) (about 195 mu Omega cm). The relation between structure and properties indicates that the magnetic anisotropy, as well as the magnitude of resistivity of SrRuO(3) films, can be effectively tailored by taking advantage of different strains and growth mechanisms induced by growth on different substrates. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3540669]


Regeneratively cooled channel wall nozzles incorporate a series of integral coolant channels to contain the coolant to maintain adequate wall temperatures and expand hot gas providing engine thrust and specific impulse. NASA has been evaluating manufacturing techniques targeting large scale channel wall nozzles to support affordability of current and future liquid rocket engine nozzles and thrust chamber assemblies. The development of these large scale manufacturing techniques focus on the liner formation, channel slotting with advanced abrasive water-jet milling techniques and closeout of the coolant channels to replace or augment other cost reduction techniques being evaluated for nozzles. NASA is developing a series of channel closeout techniques including large scale additive manufacturing laser deposition and explosively bonded closeouts. A series of subscale nozzles were completed evaluating these processes. Fabrication of mechanical test and metallography samples, in addition to subscale hardware has focused on Inconel 625, 300 series stainless, aluminum alloys as well as other candidate materials. Evaluations of these techniques are demonstrating potential for significant cost reductions for large scale nozzles and chambers. Hot fire testing is planned using these techniques in the future.


The accidents of wind energy industry which happened from 2000 to the December,31st 2012 were collected and analyzed.By analyzing different types of accidents,it showed that the risk of the wind energy industries has the intrinsic characters risk.The accidents are keeping in an uptrend,and blade failure,fire,structural failure,ice throw,transport and environmental damage are the main accident types,which will threaten the safety of employee in wind farms and the surrounded public.Wind energy is developing very fast in China,industrial work safety risk is comparatively high,which should be prioritized by the policy makers and employers.It is necessary to conduct systemic research on the wind energy safety and make new methods to the full industrial production chain,develop intrinsic safe process and equipments,and strength the construction and operation safety management.The discussion will be useful for the policy makers and employers to improve their practical safety management level.


Loudspeaker defects caused by manufacturing, aging, overload or climate impact generate special kind of irregular distortion commonly known as rub & buzz which are highly audible and intolerable for the human ear. Contrary to regular loudspeaker distortions defined in the design process the irregular distortions are hardly predictable and are generated by an independent process triggered by the input signal. Traditional distortion measurements such as THD fail in the reliable detection of those defects. The paper discusses the most important defect classes, new measurement techniques, audibility and the impact on perceived sound quality.


Introduction:
 Intracardiac flow imaging of the right ventricle [RV] may improve the management of congenital heart disease like repaired Tetralogy of Fallot [rTOF] or atrial shunts that cause RV dilation [RVD]. However, this is mostly performed via 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], which has limited availability and is resource intensive. We propose the use of conventional echocardiography as a viable alternative to assess RV intracardiac flow.

 Hypothesis:
 We hypothesize that a velocity reconstruction algorithm implemented for conventional color Doppler echocardiography can resolve flow quantities with good agreement to 4D flow MRI.

 Methods:
 We retrospectively collected echos for children with rTOF/RVD and age-matched controls. Color Doppler echos of the RV were evaluated using an in-house algorithm called Doppler Velocity Reconstruction [DoVeR]. Measurements from 4D flow MRI and DoVeR were post-processed to collect hemodynamics parameters for relative pressure difference , vortex strength , total kinetic energy , and viscous energy loss . Agreement between modalities was performed by cross-correlation and L2-norm difference between indexed chamber-average timeseries measurements.

 Results:
 10 rTOF subjects, 3 RVD, and 7 age-matched controls were identified. There was qualitative agreement in spatial and time series measurements between DoVeR and 4D flow MRI (Figure 1). For timeseries measurements, there was strong correlation (median R > 0.85) with low differences (median L2 < 15%) between DoVer and 4D flow MRI.

 Conclusions:
 A color Doppler reconstruction method, DoVeR, can effectively measure hemodyanmics parameters using conventional color Doppler echocardiography, with strong agreement against 4D flow MRI.

 Figure 1: Left – Flow field overlaid onto pressure reconstruction and pressure difference estimates between DoVeR and 4D flow modalities. Right – Correlation coefficient and difference between modality timeseries measurements.


Purpose of the study: The article contains information on the forced labor performed by Jews for the benefit of Germans during the Second World War. The research area was narrowed down to the area of the Szydłowiec ghetto and its vicinity (the Radom district in the General Government. The text presents the types of work performed by Jews, forms of forcing them to take up forced labor, and their attempts to bypass German restrictions.
Methodology: This article is based on a comparative-historical method, the aim of which is to enable the researcher to identify Jews as a separate social group that was used by the Germans for forced labor. The use of this method is aimed at learning about the historical processes and mechanisms of functioning of selected Nazi restrictions in Poland. In addition, prosopographic and inductive methods as well as a method based on the grounded theory will be used. Moreover, due to the nature of the subject of the work, the research conducted in this field also requires the use of oral history.
Main Findings: Extremely burdensome, in many aspects, compulsion for Jews was the almost slave labor they performed for the benefit of the Germans. Every Jew had to work at least one day a week for the Third Reich. Jews were used for various types of work, including snow removal from roads. Slave labor for the benefit of the Nazis was one of the causes of the increasing poverty of Jews.
Application: The results of the research make a significant contribution to the knowledge of the history of Jews from Szydłowiec. This research not only broadens the knowledge about the history of the functioning of the Jewish community in Szydłowiec during World War II, but also broadens the knowledge about the history of the Holocaust and the mechanisms of crimes. These studies can be used to further analyze the situation of Jews during the German occupation in the territory of the Radom district, or more broadly, in the territory of the General Government.
Novelty/Originality of the study: For the first time in this study, many fragments of Jewish diaries from the Memorial Book of Szydłowiec were used (some of the memoirs were published only in Yiddish). The article is the basis for further research on the history of Jews during World War II in the area of the Radom district.


of a paper presented at the 22nd ISSD conference, Toronto, November 2005. Based on a chapter in Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders: DSM-V and Beyond, Paul Dell and John O'Neill, Eds. (submitted for publication).Chapter coauthors: John Read, Susie Farrelly, Thom Rudegeair and Ondra Williams. While there is an entrenched clinical belief that 'dissociative' voices differ from 'psychotic' voices... there is no compelling evidence that this is so.


A method of preparing oxygen-containing propene compound comprising an oxygenate in a first reactor and / or regenerated catalyst is contacted with spent catalyst, ethylene, light olefins in the second reactor and regenerated catalyst introduced into the reaction continuing the reaction in the third reactor, wherein the catalyst in the first reactor of the catalyst and / or regeneration of the spent catalyst, the catalyst comprising a medium pore zeolite modified. Preparation method of propylene-oxygen-containing compound of the present invention provides, a high propylene selectivity.


Great speakers of the world delivered influential speeches/lectures and mesmerised a great number of listeners around the globe. The research is aimed to focus on the written version of those influential historic speeches. Do they have the same impact on present day individuals who have access only to the written version of these inspiring epitomes of verbal excellence.


Synovial hemangioma is a benign neoplastic formation originating in the synovium. They are most frequently seen in the knee at a rate of 60% and in adolescene and early adulthood. Here we are presenting an older patient with synovial hemangioma of the elbow.


Ongoing project with Stroud Valleys Artspace, Gloucestershire, a lottery-funded commission connected to a major building development for this studio-based community of artists
Layzell's ongoing project with Stroud Valleys Artspace in Stroud, Gloucestershire is a Lottery-funded commission connected to a major building development for this studio-based community of artists. The studio complex has been very significantly redesigned by the award-winning architects Tony Fretton Associates. Layzell is the commissioned artist selected to follow the project through to completion, working closely with the architects, the leaders of the project and this community of 50 artists.

The outcomes of the project to date have been many and varied. They include:

1) A participatory performance event 'Beddin' where artist/members of the studio donated a piece of the work to be embedded in the sub floor of the excavated sculpture studio before being sealed in by concrete. A residue of soil, removed by each artist, was catalogued and is then to be encased in the foyer along with documentation of the event;

2) 'The stumbling block', a site-specific intervention in the floor of the building;

3) A series of public presentations/seminars and texts linked to the Site Festivals in the summers of 2005 and 2006, including a published text 'Manage about it';

4) Co-curation and participation in 'Some Vacant Accommodation' an exhibition throughout the Artspace building in January 2007;

5) 'The Perfect Image' a photographic project of images of the building, exhibited in the SVA project space in October 2007;

6) Leadership and co-design of 'Re.Vision' a developmental workshop for this community of artists in October 2006, with participation from other artist-led organisations such as Cafe Gallery Projects, London and Spike Island, Bristol.

The residency and the outcomes are documented on www.sva.org.uk.


This paper shows how to detect the edge by a'trous algorithm based on the quadric B-spline wavelet,divide the image into small blocks,choose appropriate edge detection threshold for each by human-robot interaction,and use edge tracking and compensating algorithm to improve the edge detection performance.Experimental results indicate that the algorithm is very effective.


Symmetricaloutput DC high voltage amplifiers and high voltage supplies are the key components of a DC suspension system.Our achievements on these two components are described in this paper,followed by a DC suspension system based on these new elements.Relevant experimental results are presented as well.


In this study, we have presented Neuro-Fuzzy model for fault diagnosis of power transformer based on dissolved gas analysis (DGA). DGA is a very efficient tool for monitoring transformers in-service behavior to avoid catastrophic failures, costly outages and losses of production. Determination of the fault type with few key gases is a convenience for on-line gas-in-oil monitoring systems, used for detecting incipient faults. Three key gases Methane (CH4), Ethylene (C2H4) and Acetylene (C2H2) were chosen for this study. Neuro-Fuzzy is a reliable classification technique based on fuzzy and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Total accumulated amount of these gases were calculated and 100 percents (%) of each gas used as inputs of Neuro-Fuzzy. The output is one of the fault types PD, D1, D2, T1, T2, and T3. Classification accuracy has reached up to 76.0 %.


By enriching culture,hydrolysis ring,9 xylanase producing strains were screened from the soil on which corncobs piled for a long time.A high-yield xylanase producing strain was selected,whose characteristics were studied and with which enzymes were produced by fermentation.Results show that xylanase enzyme activity was high;it was 13.68 U/mL when temperature was at 28~30℃,original pH value about 5.0,turning speed 150 r/min,and time 48 h.Xylanase produced was heat1-resisting,its enzyme activity reserving 60.82 after 120 mins undertemperature 60℃.Its optimal temperature and pH value were 53℃ and pH 5.3 respectively.


Large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) systems often use a multi-pass decoding strategy with a combination of multiple systems in the final stage. To reduce the error rate, these models must be complementary, i.e. make different errors. Previously, complementary systems have been generated by independently training a number of models, explicitly performing all combinations and picking the best performance. This method becomes infeasible as the potential number of systems increases, and does not guarantee that any of the models will be complementary. This paper presents an algorithm for generating complementary systems by altering the decision tree generation. Confusions made by a baseline system are resolved by separating confusable states, which might previously have been clustered together using the standard decision tree algorithm. Experimental results presented on a broadcast news Mandarin task show gains when combining the baseline with a complementary directed decision tree system.


Two important results came out of our investigations in the TREC 2001 Interactive Track (Belkin, et al. , 2002). One was that the greater the amount of interaction that searchers engaged in, the lower their satisfaction with the results of the search. We understood this to mean that interaction effort was inversely related to search satisfaction, and therefore, that making interaction more effective would lead to increased search satisfaction. The second was that performance in the searching task increased with query length. We conjectured that this was due, at least in part, to the subjects having searched using a best-match search engine (Excite


Cancer stem cells are bad actors. They enable cancers to metastasize, or spread, and help revive cancers after the malignancies go dormant. One of the few agents that can effectively attack them is a small molecule called salinomycin. But scientists haven't understood how the compound kills the cells. Now, researchers have discovered salinomycin's mechanism (Nat. Chem. 2017, DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2778). The findings reveal a key weakness of cancer stem cells that could lead to the design of other drugs to help fight the cells. To discover the mechanism, Raphael Rodriguez of Institut Curie and France's National Center for Scientific Research, Maryam Mehrpour of Institut Necker Enfants Malades and the French National Institute of Health & Medical Research, and coworkers first tried to create a more potent version of salinomycin by modifying it with groups of varying polarity and charge. The most potent was ironomycin, in which one of salinomycin's hydroxyl groups


Plant cells in culture secrete a sulfated peptide named phytosulfokine-α (PSK-α), and this peptide induces the cell division and/or cell differentiation by means of specific high and low affinity receptors. Putative receptor proteins for this autocrine type growth factor were identified by photoaffinity labeling of plasma membrane fractions derived from rice suspension cells. Incubation of membranes with a photoactivable 125I-labeled PSK-α analog, [N ε-(4-azidosalicyl)Lys5]PSK-α (AS-PSK-α), followed by UV irradiation resulted in specific labeling of 120- and 160-kDa bands in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The labeling of both bands was completely inhibited by unlabeled PSK-α and partially decreased by PSK-α analogs possessing moderate binding activities. In contrast, PSK-α analogs that have no biological activity showed no competition for125I-AS-PSK-α binding, confirming the specificity of binding proteins. Analysis of the affinity of 125I incorporation into the protein by ligand saturation experiments gave apparent K d values of 5.0 nm for the 120-kDa band and 5.4 nm for the 160-kDa band, suggesting that both proteins correspond to the high affinity binding site. Treatment of 125I-AS-PSK-α cross-linked proteins with peptide N-glycosidase F demonstrated that both proteins contained approximately 10 kDa of N-linked oligosaccharides. Specific cross-linking of 125I-AS-PSK-α was also observed by using plasma membranes derived from carrot and tobacco cells, indicating the widespread occurrence of the binding proteins. Together, these data suggest that the 120- and 160-kDa proteins are PSK-α receptors that mediate the biological activities of PSK-α.


Total and intrarenal distribution of blood flow was determined repeatedly in five unanesthetized dogs using the 85Kr method. No consistent effect of oxytocin (syntocinon) could be demonstrated. Eleven anesthetized dogs showed similar TRBF variability. However, intravascular silicone rubber injections and autoradiographs suggest a postglomerular (vasa rectae) dilation in response to oxytocin. Water intoxication occurs in dogs given massive doses of oxytocin with a water load as is seen in man. Kidneys from pregnant, postpartum and suckling bitches show the similar vasa rectae dilation to that induced with oxytocin. Progesterone also appears to have some effect. Estrogen and oxytocin appears to interact diminishing cortical flow with little effect on the vasa rectae. No interaction of oxytocin and autonomic blocking agents, prostaglandin A1 or F2a or chorionic gonadotropins was demonstrated.


We describe a logical system to organize and index organic reactions. This is implemented in the COGNOS program to search reaction databases for literature precedents. It is based on the net structural change in a reaction, rather than on substructure searching. This system rigorously provides a place for any possible reaction, generalizing and classifying all reactions into families by their changes in skeleton and functionality. These families are digitally identified, allowing databases to be indexed and grouped in numerical order so as to afford instant retrieval of matching reactions. The retrieved entries are further pruned by structural details at the reacting atoms to provide small, manageable sets most closely matching any input query.


Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1: Inspecting the Foundations 1 Why Return to Foundational Assumptions? Part 2: The Foundations of Meaningful Life 2 Meaningful Life and the Conception of the Person 3 Justifying Cultural Accommodation: Identification, Communities, and Contexts of Value 4 Situated Autonomy and Socialization Part 3: A Politics of Liberal Multiculturalism 5 Defining Communities and Justifying Accommodation 6 Designing Cultural Accommodation 7 State-Community Relations Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index


This is a brief presentation of the methodology of a study in progress for identifying rhetorical strategies used in CSR reports having to deal with risk issues. It presents the conceptual approach of a study meant to analyze excerpts of CSR reports for 2012 of several US large companies. The analysis is rooted in discourse analysis and rhetorical theory. The focus of the study is the way in which the company addresses the stakeholders so as to argue implicitly in favor of the company's preoccupation for risk prevention, elimination of various hazards, counter balancing negative consequences and effects of the company's activity. The study discusses anticipates on possible findings to be later valued in the field of Business Ethics.


In a previous paper an attempt was made to apply semi-groups in transport theory as the usual tool for treating dynamic problems in physics. Using semigroups generated by the linear collision operator, a modified transport equation without linear scattering terms has been obtained. After all, particle interaction is being expressed through the time-dependent operator in a space propagation term. This equation should be further carefully considered for numerous semigroup approximate methods in addition to existing numerical techniques. In any case, further functional analysis of the modified transport operator is still necessary. However, the previous result, motivated by classical analysis and accurate for 0 {le} t {le} 1, has shown an interesting relation to Case and Zweifel`s stationary transport theory. Accordingly, this paper is mainly based on further theoretical development, while the numerical presentation, because of limited space, will not be considered in detail. Using a time mean of the modified transport operator, a new exponential formula of the Feynman-Kac type has been obtained, enabling a more accurate calculation.


Supervised Change Detection Tool (SCDT) is an in-house developed tool in Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST). The developed tool is based on Algebra Change Detection algorithm and multi-class Support Vector Machine classifier and is capable of highlighting the areas of change, describing them, and discarding any falsedetections that result from shadow. Further, it can collect the analysis results, which include the change of class an area went through and the overall change percentage of each class defined, in a Microsoft Word document automatically. This paper evaluates the performance of the SCDT, which was initially developed for DubaiSat-1 multispectral images, on DubaiSat-2 multispectral and pansharp images. Moreover, it compares its performance opposed to Change Detection Analysis (i.e. Post-Classification) in ENVI.


To reduce costs and enhance the research quality in clinical trials (CT) a more systematic approach is needed for CT automatization as well as for enhancing interoperability at various levels of the research process. To this aim a conceptual model of CTs should be developed. At the base of any modelling approach there are partitioning criteria which enable us to dominate the complexity of the modelled universe. In this report we introduce an original analysis method based on stakeholders' concerns to partition the CT conceptual domain in stakeholder-oriented sub-domains. Mental representations of stakeholders related to each concern are identified as clusters of concepts related to each other. We consider such a cluster as a semantic rationale for the associated concern. The concepts found in the semantic rationales populate the universe of discourse specific to each stakeholder and compose the stakeholder's vocabulary. Some concepts are shared with other stakeholders while others are specific to one stakeholder, some concepts are CT specific while others are medical or general concepts. In this way a concern-oriented ontology of the CT can be created. The method is illustrated for the subject selection criteria, a component of a CT project, but it can be used for any other component of the CT protocol. The taxonomy of the vocabulary of CT concepts and the relative semantic rationale net give us a valuable structure for software development especially in solutions based on a service-oriented architecture.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent unnecessary restarting from being performed when updating a BIOS. SOLUTION: A processor includes: a holding unit wherein rebooting information indicating whether rebooting of the processor is necessary in response to updating of the BIOS or not and rewrite information indicating information of a resister to be rewritten are held; a determination unit for determining whether rebooting of the processor is necessary or not on the basis of the rebooting information; and a rewriting unit which, if rebooting is determined to be unnecessary, rewrites the register on the basis of the rewrite information. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT


Tang, Xin Teaching practices in early primary school: dimensions, patterns and consequences Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2017, 64 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 601) ISBN 978-951-39-7262-2 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-7263-9 (PDF) The present thesis tested the reliability and validity of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM; Stipek & Byler, 2004, 2005), identified the profiles of teaching practices, i.e., teaching styles, and, finally, examined the predictive role of teaching styles in early primary students' reading skills. Specifically, the thesis had four aims: first, to examine the psychometric properties of the ECCOM in Finnish and Estonian early primary school, i.e., grades 1 and 3; second, to identify the profiles of teaching practices, i.e., teaching styles, among Finnish and Estonian teachers by using a person-oriented approach; third, to compare the use of teaching styles between Finnish and Estonian teachers; and, finally, to investigate the predictive relationships between teaching styles and reading skills. The data stem from the First Step longitudinal study in Finland, and the Kindergarten-School Study and the Reading Study in Estonia. A total of 91 first-grade teachers and 70 third-grade teachers were observed using the ECCOM instrument. One thousand and twelve first-grade students and 958 thirdgrade students in the classrooms of these teachers were examined in terms of their reading skills, i.e., fluency and comprehension. A subgroup of 359 Finnish students reading skills was tested longitudinally from grade 1 to grade 3. The results of the present thesis firstly suggest that the ECCOM is a valid classroom observation tool in Finnish and Estonian early primary grades. Secondly, the thesis identified four latent profiles of teaching practices in the first grade: child-centred, teacher-directed, childdominated, and mixture teaching style, i.e., a mixture of child-centred and teacherdirected practices. In addition, one extra profile was found in the third grade: extremechild-centred style. Thirdly, Finnish teachers used less of the child-dominated style in grade 1 and more of the child-centred style, but less of the extreme-child-centred style in grade 3 than Estonian teachers. Finally, the child-centred style and mixture teaching style showed more beneficial influences on students' reading skills development than other teaching styles. By contrast, the child-dominated style was found to have detrimental impacts on children's reading skills development. The extreme-child-centred style did not, however, contribute positively to reading fluency in grade 3. Overall, the results suggest that the ECCOM is a valid and reliable measure of classroom practices in school environments outside the United States. Moreover, the use of the personoriented approach can expand our understanding of teaching practices in important ways, and child-centred and teacher-directed practices can be used in conjunction to support children's reading skills development in early school years.


In this paper, we investigate systems subject to random shocks that are classified into critical and noncritical categories, and develop two novel critical shock models. Classical extreme shock models and run shock models are special cases of our developed models. The system fails when the total number of critical shocks reaches a predetermined threshold, or when the system stays in an environment that induces critical shocks for a preset threshold time, corresponding to failure mechanisms of the developed two critical shock models respectively. Markov renewal processes are employed to capture the magnitude and interarrival time dependency of environment‐induced shocks. Explicit formulas for systems under the two critical shock models are derived, including the reliability function, the mean time to failure and so on. Furthermore, the two critical shock models are extended to the random threshold case and the integrated case where formulas of the reliability indexes of the systems are provided. Finally, a case study of a lithium‐ion battery system is conducted to illustrate the proposed models and the obtained results.


This brief article discusses the recent Supreme Court decision in CIGNA v. Amara. That case held that ERISA authorizes a court to reform a pension plan that an employer had changed so that employees receive the benefits they had been promised. The article considers the key implications of this decision for employees and employers, focusing on relevant communications of the employer and the applicable standard of proof.


Objective
To analyze the clinical characteristics of respiratory involvement in relapsing polychondritis(RPC).

Methods
The clinical data of 38 patients with respiratory(larynx, trachea and bronchus)involvement in RPC were retrospectively analyzed.

Results
The incidence of respiratory involvement in patients with RPC was 51.35%(38/74), and the most common symptoms were cough, wheezing, chest tightness and dyspnea. The incidences of erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)increasing, C-reactive protein(CRP)increasing, fibrinogen increasing, D-dimer increased and rheumatoid factor(RF)positive in patients with respiratory involvement were significantly higher than those in patients without respiratory involvement: 47.37%(18/38)vs. 30.56%(11/36), 52.63%(20/38)vs. 33.33%(12/36), 31.58%(12/38)vs. 25.00%(9/36), 21.05%(8/38)vs. 13.89%(5/36)and 36.84%(14/38)vs. 5.56%(2/36), and there were statistical differences(P <0.05). CT was the main method to discover the respiratory involvement, and MRI could detect early cartilage inflammation lesions. Laryngoscope and bronchoscope could early detect mucosa and cartilage damage. Pathology was given priority to lymphocytes and neutrophils infiltration. Some patients had epithelium metaplasia and even canceration. Primary treatment methods were glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressant. Airway stenosis and infection was the main factors influencing the prognosis of patients.

Conclusions
The respiratory involvement is not uncommon in RPC, and early CT, MRI, laryngoscope and bronchoscope examination is an important means of early diagnosis.Early glucocorticoid combined immunosuppressive therapy is the key to achieve good prognosis.

Key words:
Polychondritis, relapsing; Signs and symptoms; Retrospective studies


Background . Objectives A prospective, randomized and single-blind study has been performed in order to compare the efficiency of ultrasound treatment of various durations as applied to patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. Methods Forty patients, diagnosed with subacromial impingement syndrome, clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging participated in this study. Patients were divided into two randomized groups of twenty patients. The first group was applied 15 session therapeutic ultrasound (1.5 watts / cm 2, 1 mHz frequency, 8 minutes), superficial heat (infrared) and transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) therapy combined with exercise; the second group was applied 15 session therapeutic ultrasound (1.5 watts / cm 2, 1 mHz frequency, 4 minutes), superficial heat (infrared) and transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) therapy combined with exercise. The patients were evaluated before the treatment and after the treatment. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for pain, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Constant Scale for shoulder function, Beck Depression İnventory (BDI) for depression level. Results There was no statistically significant difference between age, beginning time of pain, sex, education and depression level (p>0,05) before the treatment. Post-treatment evaluation of patients with intra-group VAS, UCLA, Constant, and BDI scores was statistically significant improvement (p<0.001). When the two groups were compared after two weeks treatment, there was no statistically difference between VAS, UCLA, Constant and BDI scores (p>0,05). Conclusions Ultrasound therapy in the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome; pain, activities of daily living, active range of motion was found to have beneficial effects. But in our study, the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome a 4-minute ultrasound treatment and of an 8-minute advantage to each other could not be detected. References Acknowledgements . Disclosure of Interest: None Declared


Brugia malayi is one of the three causative parasites of lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, a parasitic disease causing swelling of extremities and lymphatic damage. Current literature shows antifolate drugs inhibit B. malayi, suggesting that dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a potential drug target for the elimination of the parasite. Conditions for the expression and purification of B. malayi DHFR have not previously been investigated. As such, this study aims to establish ideal conditions for the expression and purification of Bm‐DHFR, to determine kinetic values for the enzyme (kcat, Km, Vmax), and to study existing antifolate compounds as possible inhibitors. Initial work was completed using a Bm‐DHFR gene whose sequence was obtained from the UniProt database (accession number A8QGA9). When compared to the Bm‐DHFR sequence entry from Wormbase (BM34009), the UniProt sequence was found to be missing a loop known to play a role in catalysis (FG loop) consisting of residues #113‐125 in BM34009. The Uniprot Bm‐DHFR was difficult to express in soluble form and exhibited no catalytic activity. These findings correlate with previous studies showing that point mutations in the E. coli DHFR FG loop result in markedly decreased catalytic activity. A new Bm‐DHFR construct is currently being used with the sequence obtained from BM34009 entry. This Bm‐DHFR was designed incorporating an N‐terminal His6‐tag and was obtained in the pUC57 vector. Current work includes subcloning the gene into pET25b an E. coli expression plasmid. Expression and purification conditions will be optimized and Ki and IC50 values will be determined for a set of DHFR inhibitors including trimethoprim and pyrimethamine to validate Bm‐DHFR as a priority drug target.


This work is mainly devoted to design the retaining wall reconstruction of the road II/355 in the village Holetin. This is a proposal Gravity walls of reinforced concrete, which will replace the stone. Work includes structural analysis and drawings proposed by the wall.


Platelet gels (PG) are blood‐derived biomaterials that are generally obtained through the activation of a platelet‐rich plasma or a platelet concentrate by thrombin or calcium chloride, resulting in the simultaneous conversion of fibrinogen into a fibrin gel and in the generation of a platelet releasate rich in a physiological cocktail of growth factors. To reinforce the physical strength of the fibrin network, a fibrinogen‐rich fraction – generally cryoprecipitate – can be added to the platelet fraction prior to activation, resulting in the generation of platelet fibrin glue (PFG). PG and PFG, prepared from single donations, either autologous or allogeneic, are increasingly used, alone or in combination with grafting materials, in various field of regenerative medicine where the presence of growth factors is expected to stimulate the healing of soft or hard tissues. Being obtained from human blood, they are physiological and biodegradable preparations and do not induce tissue necrosis. So far, the viral safety of most allogeneic PG and PFG relies on donors selection and donation testing, as is the case for all non‐virally inactivated blood components for transfusion. Major fields of clinical applications of PG and PFG in osseous tissue regeneration include maxillo‐facial surgery, implantology, reconstructive and plastic surgery. Platelet gels are also used for enhancing the healing of soft tissues, most particularly recalcitrant lower extremity ulcers of various aetiologies, and burns. Newer promising indications include the treatment of osteo‐arthritis and joint inflammation, and the repair of musculoskeletal tissue lesions in sports medicine. Autologous PG and PFG are mostly 'home‐made' single‐donor preparations prepared using medical devices. They suffer from the variability in donor characteristics and in isolation procedures of the platelet fraction. Clinical application methods are not standardized. Variability in autologous product characteristics is high, and optimal content of growth factors is unknown, confusing the analysis of product efficacy. The evidence of clinical benefits of these products based on controlled clinical studies is lacking in most indications, although many case studies do support an objective benefit in soft and probably hard tissues healing. Improvement in the standardization and formulation of PG and PFG is a mandatory step forward for improving the reliability and the predictability of clinical outcomes of these interesting blood preparations.


OSA is characterized by repetitive partial or complete upper airway collapse duringsleep, resulting in disrupted normal sleep architecture and associated with arterial desaturations. The diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea is confirmed by overnight polysomnography (PSG). Sleep MRI is a new emerging non invasive modality in the preoperative evaluation of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.
It was observed that Muller's maneuver could depict the airway pathologies accurately at par with the images acquired during sleep


In the article the estimation of geothermal resources and technical capabilities of achieving energy potential of geothermal energy Ukraine with the release of the most suitable for the development heo-termalnoyi energy regions. Hover data on the use of geothermal energy in Europe for heating and cooling housing, agriculture, tourism, medical treatment. We describe the main characteristics of geothermal Ukraine. Main factors influencing the extraction of geothermal energy. Deals with investments in the geothermal energy. Consider the use of dormant oil wells to extract geothermal waters, environmental issues using geothermal energy for power generation, reduction of harmful gases into the atmosphere, their reuse and recycling. Emphasis was placed on the possibilities and the future use of this type of renewable energy to replace the traditional comprehensive energy in terms of the energy crisis in Ukraine.


In computer service we understand the demand environment and supply environment interaction balance as acceptable probability of computing service of overfilled demand array in comparison with the standard of supply resource. At the same time the overflow level obeys prior probabilistic limitations resulted from the demand environment exploration by supply system point of view. Having previously mentioned probability met the ½ condition, we arrive at the problem of computing service overflow by the demand with the set of features postulated.


It is well-known that intuitionistic logics can be formalized by means of Heyting algebras, i.e. relatively pseudocomplemented semilattices. Within such algebras the logical connectives implication and conjunction are formalized as the relative pseudocomplement and the semilattice operation meet, respectively. If the Heyting algebra has a bottom element $0$, then the relative pseudocomplement with respect to $0$ is called the pseudocomplement and it is considered as the connective negation in this logic. Our idea is to consider an arbitrary meet-semilattice with $0$ satisfying only the Ascending Chain Condition (these assumptions are trivially satisfied in finite meet-semilattices) and introduce the operators formalizing the connectives negation $x^{0}$ and implication $x\rightarrow y$ as the set of all maximal elements $z$ satisfying $x\wedge z=0$ and as the set of all maximal elements $z$ satisfying $x\wedge z\leq y$, respectively. Such a negation and implication is 'unsharp' since it assigns to one entry $x$ or to two entries $x$ and $y$ belonging to the semilattice, respectively, a subset instead of an element of the semilattice. Surprisingly, this kind of negation and implication still shares a number of properties of these connectives in intuitionistic logic, in particular the derivation rule Modus Ponens. Moreover, unsharp negation and unsharp implication can be characterized by means of five, respectively seven simple axioms. We present several examples. The concepts of a deductive system and of a filter are introduced as well as the congruence determined by such a filter. We finally describe certain relationships between these concepts.


Online learning and the use of the World Wide Web in the classroom has dominated my course development time for the past two years. It is my experience that developing the "History of America Since 1865" course online has enhanced learning for my on-campus students and allowed students I never would have met otherwise to experience the excitement of taking American history. In the fall of 1998, Danville Area Community College asked me to teach an entirely online class. I volunteered to adapt my American government course, and it filled quickly. Students said the course went well, so I put my American history course up in the spring of 1999. This course also filled quickly, and I told students they were part of an experiment in learning history. Nobody bristled at the idea of being part of an experiment, and they embraced the project. Registered students attended a one-hour orientation on campus in order to acquire the basic technical knowledge required by the online structure. I found that two students did not know how to turn on the computer and one also did not know how to use a mouse. Out of a class of eighteen, that might not be too statistically surprising, but I did ask why they had signed up for a computer course. Both of them worked and said that the course was the only way they could get the three credit hours they needed in history. I mentioned my video course, but they thought video courses were too impersonal. I agreed, and we decided to tackle the net together. The students were very fortunate that our college had created the position of technical advisor for our Internet course. Because of the small number of offerings at the time, her primary job was to help instructors put courses online. She also assisted students with Internet basics and the operation of our course platform, WEBCT. Without Laura Hensgen's help the first time through, the students and I would have been in big trouble. She helped both of my technically challenged students stay in the class during their early difficulties. In addition to Hensgen's efforts, I discussed technical questions with individual students during office hours, and posted some frequendy asked questions (FAQs) on our course web page to help clear up basic issues. Course content was presented in sixteen separate modules. Each module contained guided reading assignments, a quiz that was graded online, hyperlinks, and a bulletin board assignment allowing members of the class to share their thoughts on historical issues. I did not load lectures. Students were supplied with a set of course notes in their course study guide. Designing the modules proved to be both great fun and a great burden. I chose to develop them myself, which was difficult given my limited knowledge of web design. Once again I was fortunate that the college and my brother, who is a professional web designer, offered technical advice. I know there are some very nice courses already designed by the major book companies, but I wanted to see what I would come up with, and I hoped that sixteen years of teaching the course would plug me into what the students needed. It was in designing the modules that I found the benefits for my campus students. For example, in searching for links on prohibition, I discovered that an online source of missionary journals at Ohio State University contained articles written about the coal miners and bars in Westville, Illinois, a small town five miles from the college. My online students were able to read about the town and see how alcohol was an issue locally, and we visited the site in class and discussed the portrayal of


Motivated by recent advances in deep domain adaptation, this paper introduces a deep architecture for estimating 3D keypoints when the training (source) and the test (target) images greatly differ in terms of visual appearance (domain shift). Our approach operates by promoting domain distribution alignment in the feature space adopting batch normalization-based techniques. Furthermore, we propose to collect statistics about 3D keypoints positions of the source training data and to use this prior information to constrain predictions on the target domain introducing a loss derived from Multidimensional Scaling. We conduct an extensive experimental evaluation considering three publicly available benchmarks and show that our approach out-performs state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods for 3D keypoints predictions.


Salmonella spp. is responsible for the vast majority of foodborne illnesses in the US. Adenosine is an antiinflammatory mediator that limits tissue damage during inflammation. Surface enzymes CD39 & CD73 mediate the synthesis of extracellular adenosine & can regulate immune responses. We studied the expression of CD39 & CD73 in liver & spleen after infection of C57BL/6 mice with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (ST) & evaluated the role of CD73 after oral infection of wildtype & CD73-KO mice, in regulating immune responses & bacterial persistence. Liver & spleen cytokine mRNA expression was tested by RT-PCR. Cytokines were assayed by ELISA from cultured supernatant of activated splenocytes. Splenocyte-derived Th cells were tested for intracellular cytokines by FACS. Inflammatory responses in infected CD73-/- mouse livers were tested in H&E sections. Bacterial count was done from liver tissues. After ST infection of wildtype mice, both CD39 & CD73 transcript levels declined in spleen & liver. Splenocytes from ST-infected CD73-/- mice produced significantly more IFN-γ & IL17a. Infected CD73-/- mice had higher expressions of IFN-γ & TNF-α mRNA in liver. Histological examinations of liver sections showed significantly greater number of "inflammatory-foci". Liver bacterial load was significantly lower in CD73-/-mice. CD73 expression contributes to adenosine accumulation that attenuates inflammation during Salmonellosis & may impair immunity to favor bacterial persistence.


MS diagnosis and prognosis is based on a combination of clinical criteria, MRI, and CSF findings. However, we still lack the ability to predict disease course, including relapse frequency and disability progression. Thus, reliable biomarkers of MS risk and prognosis are sorely needed. In this issue of Neurology® Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, Rothhammer et al.1 suggest that changes in serum agonistic activity of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) may be a useful measure of MS activity.


This paper addresses the three receivers in multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) systems based on the different criteria which are matched filtering (MF), zero-forcing (ZF) and minimum mean square error (MMSE). The baseband system model of multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) systems is built up. The receivers do not take extra measures to mitigate the multiuser interference (MUI) and directly process the received signal according to the different criteria. Simulations show that the performance of receivers has relation to the number of receive antennas. The MMSE receiver outperforms the other two receivers and the ZF receiver is better than the MF receiver only when the number of the receive antennas is more than one.


Age at onset, duration, and severity of dementia were evaluated in 165 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Rate of progression of dementia was determined in 77 patients by repeated administration of the Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS). The distribution of age onset among patients was bimodal, with a division at about age 65. Duration of dementia at the time of initial examination was shorter, and rate of progression on follow‐up examination was more rapid in senile‐onset (age 65 or greater) than in presenile‐onset (before age 65) cases. Considerable overlap among values for the two patient groups was observed for both variables, indicating that age at onset is not a strong predictor of rate of progression of dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease.


Louise Nørkjær 1 Mathilde Stærk 1–3 Kasper G Lauridsen Tabita K Gallacher Jakob B Løyche Kristian Krogh Bo Løfgren 1,3,6,7 1Research Center for Emergency Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Clinical Research Unit, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 4Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 5Department of Surgery and Intensive Care, Randers Regional Hospital, Randers, Denmark; 6Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 7Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Purpose: Using a supraglottic airway (SGA) may provide more effective ventilations compared with a mouth-to-pocket-mask for drowning victims. SGAs are widely used by nurse anesthetists but it is unknown whether surf lifeguards can use SGAs effectively. We aimed to compare the use of SGA by surf lifeguards and experienced nurse anesthetists. Materials and Methods: Surf lifeguards inserted a SGA (i-gel O2, size 4) in a resuscitation manikin during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and nurse anesthetists inserted a SGA in a resuscitation manikin placed on a bed, and performed ventilations. Outcome measures: time to first ventilation, tidal volume, proportion of ventilations with visible manikin chest rise, and ventilations within the recommended tidal volume (0.5–0.6 L). Results: Overall, 30 surf lifeguards and 30 nurse anesthetists participated. Median (Q1–Q3) time to first ventilation was 20 s (15–22) for surf lifeguards and 17 s (15–21) for nurse anesthetists (p=0.31). Mean (SD) tidal volume was 0.55 L (0.21) for surf lifeguards and 0.31 L (0.10) for nurse anesthetists (p<0.0001). Surf lifeguards and nurse anesthetists delivered 100% and 95% ventilations with visible manikin chest rise (p=0.004) and 19% and 5% ventilations within the recommended tidal volume, respectively (p<0.0001). Conclusion: In a simulated setting, there was no significant difference between surf lifeguards and experienced nurse anesthetists in time to first ventilation when using a SGA. Surf lifeguards delivered a higher tidal volume, and a higher proportion of ventilations within guideline recommendations, but generally ventilations caused visible manikin chest rise for both groups.


Printing is one aspect where Linux has progressed very slowly. Most free operating systems continue to use Berkeley LPR, and replacement printing systems have been slow to catch on. This paper describes how VA Linux Systems and HP's LaserJet division teamed up to add PPD functionality to lpr.


The GTC global gyrokinetic PIC model has been adapted to 3D configurations such as stellarators, tokamaks with symmetry-breaking effects, and helical RFP states. Applications have been made to LHD, W7-X, and NSTX with ELM coils. Fast ion driven instabilities with real frequencies in the shear Alfvén branch have been observed in each configuration and their dependencies on fast particle density, energy, and mode number selection studied. Additionally, the nonlinear evolution and saturation has been studied for a few cases. These initial results have indicated that the gyrokinetic PIC approach offers a comprehensive and flexible approach for the analysis of energetic particle physics in 3D systems. Introduction Recently there has been increasing interest in the physics of toroidal devices with 3D field modifications. Energetic particle physics can play an important role in these devices for many of the same reasons as in axisymmetric tokamaks (protection of PFCs, loss of heating efficiency and diagnostic uses). 3D configurations modify EP physics through: emergence of new gap structures, larger finite orbit width effects, and the need to consider mode families with multiple toroidal mode numbers. To address these issues, the GTC global gyrokinetic PIC model has been adapted to 3D VMEC equilibria and provides a new method for the unified analysis of Alfvénic instabilities in stellarators, 3D tokamaks, and helical RFP states. The gyrokinetic orderings (k||/k⊥~ ω/Ωci ~ δB/B0 << 1) are applicable to a wide range of energetic particle driven instabilities that have been observed in 3D configurations. This paper will describe the GTC global gyrokinetic model, its adaptation to 3D systems, and recent results. Applications of this model to stellarators have indicated that a variety of different Alfvén instabilities can be excited, depending on the toroidal mode number, fast ion average energy and fast ion density profile. TAE, EAE and GAE modes have been found in the simulations, depending on the mode family and fast ion profiles used. The dynamical evolution of the instabilities shows the field period coupling between n and n + Nfp, as expected for 3D configurations. Description of the gyrokinetic model – GTC is an electromagnetic global gyrokinetic particle-in-cell model that has been extensively applied to Alfvén instabilites in tokamaks and checked both against experiments and other EP stability models. GTC has been adapted to 3D equilbria based on the VMEC code. The VMEC equilibria are first This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doepublic-access-plan).


The analytic solution of the optical property of Gaussian-apodized FBGs(GA-FBGs) is derived from the Fourier mode coupling(FMC) theory for the first time.The analytic solution is achieved by the calculation of coupling equation in the spatial domain spectrum,which is the Fourier transform result of refractive index perturbation in GA-FBGs.The reflective spectra of GA-FBGs are fast simulated here using the analytic solution.The simulation shows that the calculated spectra on the analytic solution are agreement with that on transfer matrix method,and that the analysis efficiency of FMC theory is improved over 2824 times that of the transfer matrix method.The analytic solution is suitable for fast analysis or real-time control during the design and manufacture of GA-FBG or its mask.


It is unclear whether sperm origin, either ejaculated or testicular, in couples diagnosed with male factor infertility, affects the timing of the embryo's developmental events evaluated by time‐lapse monitoring and implantation rates.


Calculations of nuclear structure functions (SFs) ${F}_{k=1,2}^{A}(x,{Q}^{2})$ routinely exploit a generalized convolution, involving the SFs for nucleons ${F}_{k}^{N}$ and the linking SF ${f}^{\mathit{PN},A}$ of a fictitious nucleus, composed of point particles, with the latter usually expressed in terms of hadronic degrees of freedom. For finite ${Q}^{2}$ the approach seemed to be lacking a solid justification and the same is the case for recently proposed, effective nuclear parton distribution functions, which exactly reproduce the above-mentioned hadronically computed ${F}_{k}^{A}$. Many years ago Jaffe and West proved the above convolution in the plane-wave impulse approximation for the nuclear components in the convolution. We extend the above proof to include classes of nuclear final-state interactions. One and the same function appears to relate parton distribution functions in nuclei and nucleons and SFs for nuclear targets and for nucleons. That relation is the previously conjectured one, with an entirely different interpretation of ${f}^{\mathit{PN},A}$. We conclude with an extensive analysis of moments of nuclear SFs based on the generalized convolution. Characteristics of those moments are shown to be quite similar to those for a nucleon. We conclude that the above is evidence of asymptotic freedom of a nucleon in a medium and not the same for a composite nucleus.


Based on synthesizing opinions of related experts in domestic timber circle, the imported mahogany in Yunnan has been classified into 4 types, namely real mahogany, equivalent mahogany, substitution mahogany and false mahogany. At the same time, their micro-characteristics have been described in details.


A correlation that is suitable for predicting infinite dilution binary activity coefficients of saturated, unsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons from the pure physical constants of their components is presented. The original equation was obtained by Weimer and Prausnitz by using the Scatchard-Hildebrand and Flory-Huggins activity equation. The equation was then revised by Helpinstill-Winkle and the present study improved it further by introducing the concept of Wilson's local volume fraction. Data from over 180 binary hydrocarbon solvent systems were used to improve the correlation. The calculated infinite dilution activity coefficients were compared with those predicted by Helpinstill-Winkle. It has been proved that the new expression was more satisfactory in prodicting the infinite dilution activity coefficients.


Previous studies discovered that Amphioxus ( Branchiostoma bekheri ) had primitive reproductive endocrine regulation axis (brain Hatschek's pit gonads) which synthesizes and secretes sex steriod hormones (estrogen, androgen and progestergone). However, the feedback regulation of sex steroid hormones on brain and Hatschek's pit (homologous with the pituitary gland) of Amphioxus had not been reported so far. Thus, we used polyclonal antibodies against estrogen and androgen receptors to investigate the immuno recognition of estrogen and androgen receptors in nervous system and Hatschek's pit of Amphioxus at different development stages. Amphioxus were collected from the Tong'an Qiongtou sea area near Xiamen. Each fish was divided into three segments, head (from tentaculum peristomial to the first pair of gonads), medial (from the first pair of gonads to the amus) and tail. Samples were fixed in Bouin's solution without acetic acid for 8~12 h, then embedded in paraplast. Sections with the structure of brain and Hatschek's pit were identified under a light microscope and selected for immunostaining with the SABC technique. The results showed that the immuno recognition of estrogen and androgen receptors existed in the telencephalon and the middle and posterior part of midbrain. Immunopositive substances mostly located in the nucleus of nerve cells, with a few in the cytoplasm. The dorsal side and middle region of nerve tube also showed immunopositive reaction, and the immunopositive substances of estrogen and androgen receptors distributed in the nucleus, cytoplasm and nerve fibers of nerve cells. But immunonegative reaction was showed in the hindbrain. On the other hand, immuno recognition of estrogen and androgen receptors existed in the nucleus or the cytoplasm of epithelial cells (primitive gonadotrophic cells in Amphioxus) in the base part of Hatschek's pit at different stages of development. The other two cells in Hatschek's pit showed immunonegative reaction. The results demonstrate for the first time that estrogen and androgen receptors exist in cephalochordata Amphioxus, and the immunorecognitive regions of the estrogen and androgen receptors in the brain and Hatschek's pit are similar to those of vertebrates. It suggests that sex steroid hormones exert feedback regulation on brain and Hatschek's pit, and stimulate the development and maturity of the reproductive endocrine regulation axis function in Amphioxus. These facts further demonstrate a system of reproductive endocrine regulation in Amphioxus similar to, or with close relationship with that in vertebrate. On the other hand, we suggest that the regulatory role of sex steroid hormones on gonads function and reproduction behavior may be direct or indirect through sex steroid hormones receptors in brain.


Reverse analysis is the most common method in analyzing malware.The reverse analysis process is an advanced and efficient method that exposes the intention and processes of malware.The focus of this paper was to show the general patterns ascertained using reverse analysis applied to the aspects of start function,parameter transfer of function,data structure,control statement and Windows API.A case study of malware,used to obtain account information,login names,and passwords for the popular Chinese social networking program "QQ",was presented to illustrate how the reverse analysis quickly and accurately locates key information used to determine general patterns.


Based on data-base of plant level supervisory information system(SIS),a new method to establish model of the thermodynamic control system in power plant has been put forward,and the quality optimization of said control system being realized.The said method improved the traditional optimization method for adjusting the control quality through field tests.The practice in one power plant shows the said method is effective and practical,can substontially enhance the debugging quality of control systems.


This paper seeks to describe the history of the agricultural machinery industry from its origins to its current stage of development, with emphasis on the experience of the United States. Towards this goal, we utilized an analytical and descriptive methodology to summarize and interpret the existing bibliography while producing a timeline for this industry. The main conclusion of this work is that there were four industrial stages of development: the first phase was a pre-industrial age, the second was mass production with innovations, globalization through mergers and acquisitions dominated the third stage, and the current stage is one characterized by the integration of modern technology with precision agriculture. At the end of the article, we discuss points that require further research.


Power transformers are the most expensive and strategically important components of any power generation and transmission system. Diagnostics methods result from the necessity to provide the operational reliability of power equipment and extend its operation time. Acoustic method is one of the perspective methods to determine transformer oil quality. In comparison with standard methods the acoustic method have follow important advantages: low labor intensity, need lack of the difficult expensive equipment, carrying out researches in vitro frames and high qualification of researches. This study represents results of impurity influence investigation (water and cellulose) on an acoustic range of new transformer oil


The Teaching Excellence Framework has resulted in an increased focus on personalised learning, as part of the wider learning environment, and on graduate employment, as an indicator of student outcomes and learning gain. One element of the academic role which is fundamental to both these considerations is that of the personal tutor.

The benefits of an effective personal tutoring system include promoting the development of transferable skills, improving student retention and progression, and strengthening career awareness and employability (McFarlane, 2016). Inconsistencies in the implementation of this important element of individualised student support may be partly due to staff uncertainties about the scope of their responsibilities, concerns about the boundaries between pastoral and academic elements of the role, and the lack of readily available resources and tools for the personal tutor. (Race 2010; Luck 2010; Gardner and Lane 2010; Barlow and Antoniou 2007; Levy et al. 2009). Moreover, students can have variable experiences of personal tutoring (Thomas 2006a; Hixenbaugh, Pearson and Williams, 2006), which result in them viewing it as poorly organised and perhaps unnecessary.

This presentation will explore the challenges involved in the creation of a tool designed to help personal tutors facilitate student reflection on their progress and to signpost them to a range of employability resources and opportunities, and the strategies used to overcome these. There were four contributory elements to this development. An exploration of staff and students' experiences of personal tutoring included focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with students and staff across five different Departments which included sciences, geography and engineering. The findings of an institutional survey into student readiness for employability highlighted the proportion of students who did not appear to be considering the importance of in-course preparation for future graduate employment. Two examples of initiatives in which personal tutoring had been successfully embedded into curricula were then considered, from geography and health programmes. One of these had involved embedding personal tutoring within a core module and the other incorporated several mandatory individual meetings scheduled between students and personal tutors throughout an undergraduate programme.

Lessons learned from all these elements were discussed with personal tutor coordinators, and the Director of Placements and Employability who advised about local, national and regional resources and opportunities, both at Faculty and University level.

Building on these elements, a tool for personal tutors was developed and distributed to colleagues. The aim of the tool was to provide them with easily accessible resources which could be used at meetings with their personal tutees. It included elements of the work and toolkit developed by Winston, Nash, Parker and Rowntree (2017), created to encourage students to optimise the use of their assessment feedback, and reflect on their personal development. Alongside this, it highlighted the whole range of employability opportunities which might enable students to better consider their future following graduation.

Feedback from colleagues was very positive and it was disseminated across the institution. Comments from colleagues who were new to Higher Education indicated that some were quite daunted as it highlighted the scope of their role as personal tutor, but that the tool was helpful in adapting to this responsibility.


Describes the elements of a successful logistics partnership. Looks at what can cause failure and questions whether the benefits of a logistics partnership are worth the effort required. Concludes that strategic alliances are increasingly becoming a matter of survival, not merely a matter of competitive advantage. Refers to the example of the long‐term relationship between Kimberly‐Clark Corporation and Interamerican group's Tricor Warehousing, Inc.


In this paper certain transformation formulas for Exton's quadruple hypergeometric functions ) , , ( 10 9 5 3 K and K K K are obtained. A number of a known and new reduction formulas for such other types of hypergeometric functions are shown as special cases of our main results.


Pyrogen Igniter (PI) is a mission critical component used for igniting large rocket motors. PI is made up of propellant grain cast into a Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper (SRBP) tube, which in turn bonded inside Glass Epoxy (GE) casing. The variations in processing of PI may result in non-uniformity in thickness of its constituents and defects at interfaces that can affect performance of PI. X-ray Radiography is widely used to assess the quality of PI during different stages of manufacturing though Radiography compresses 3D volume information of PI into a 2D image. UT is less used because of couplant seepage and difficulty in interpreting the multiple reflection & refraction from different interfaces. This paper discusses the application of Computed Tomography (CT) in diagnosing the indications observed in RT of PI. Radiographs have shown a thickness variation between SRBP and Propellant grain but the boundaries could not be delineated due to the overlapping of the features. Then CT was employed to resolve the ambiguity in identifying the boundaries. CT could reveal all the interfaces, their boundaries including thickness variation noticeably without any overlap. Further investigation has concluded that the thickness variations were due to the mandrel shift during propellant casting.


In past societies the absence of a mother was normally due to her death either in childbirth or when her children were still strongly dependent on her. Part of this is due to what is called 'maternal mortality' and is directly related to pregnancy puerperium and childbirth. Yet the authors of this paper believe that when assessing the importance of mothers for their children's health the key variable is the 'mortality of mothers' rather than 'maternal mortality'. Mortality of mothers due to a wide variety of causes must have been just as important to the health of their children as mortality directly related to childbirth (maternal mortality) though the ages and number of the surviving children probably differed substantially. In more contemporary low-mortality contexts the absence of a mother is more likely due to divorce separation or to work than it is to her death. While this sort of absence may take its toll as well on children's well-being it is normally not important for their survival. Thus there are two ways of tackling the issue of mothers one based on their absence due to death and its implications for children's survival probabilities and another based on their absence due to social reasons with its implications for well-being but not necessarily for survival. This paper will tackle the first set of issues where the indicators of both the mother's presence and the child's health are rather crude but at least they are clearly defined. Furthermore it represents the most common scenario for the importance of mothers historically and even today in many parts of the world. As often occurs the reason for the relative lack of studies on this issue is data driven. The subject cannot be addressed adequately without making use of a large enough data set containing individual longitudinal information in which a mother's health status can be linked to that of her children. The present paper is based on this sort of data taken from a research project currently under way in Spain. The authors generate a series of straightforward demographic indicators designed to show just how important the presence of a mother was for the survival probabilities of her children. The results are stunning give ample evidence of just how important mothers were and raise new issues for future research. (excerpt)


Indian banks continued to manage growth with resilience during 2010-11 with ample reserves of capital and liquidity, improved performance in profitability and asset quality. With high growth potential of the Indian economy and favorable demographics, banks have immense opportunities to further expand their business both with traditional and innovative products and through financial inclusion using technology enabled sustainable business models. The prevailing interest rate environment and slowing growth in the near-term amidst somewhat skewed exposures to interest sensitive sectors will require adept management of such exposures going forward. It will be challenging for banks to raise additional capital and liquidity to support higher growth and to comply with Base III stipulations. The challenge to converge with the International Financial Reporting System would require banks to upgrade infrastructure including information technology and human resources. Given the focus on inclusive growth, banks are also expected to renew efforts to broaden the scope of financial inclusion and use viable business models to achieve their targets. Finally, sustained pursuit of forward looking strategies aimed at mitigating risks, diversifying revenue sources, containing asset-liability mismatches, providing effective response to changing global market environment and improving customer relationships should strengthen the overall growth of the banking sector.


Abstract The list of returnees (Ezra 2, 1–67; Nehemiah 7, 6–68) forms one of the cornerstones for the study of the province of Yehud in the Persian period. Because of the lack of ancient Near Eastern sources on Yehud, discussion has focused primarily on the biblical texts and has thus, in certain cases, become trapped in circular reasoning. The only source of information that can break this deadlock is archaeology. The finds at the places mentioned in the list of returnees seem to show that it does not represent Persian-period realities. Important Persian-period places not mentioned in the list support this notion. The archaeology of the list seems to indicate that it was compiled in the late Hellenistic (Hasmonaean) period and represents the reality of that time.


Combustion of a nonmetallized organic gelled droplet was studied using high-speed (5 kHz) hydroxide planar laser induced fluorescence. Monomethylhydrazine was gelled with 3 and 6 wt % hydroxypropyl cellulose and burned in a pressure vessel with 35–414 kPa of ambient air. Fuel jetting is observed during the combustion of the gelled droplets. Three distinct types of jetting events were observed for the first time: 1) jets that distort the flame front, 2) jets that break the flame front, and 3) jets that form a fire ball outside of the flame front. The average jet speed was the highest for type 3 and the lowest for type 1. Speeds and locations of the fuel jets were quantified. It was observed that the radial jet velocity increases with increasing gellant concentration and decreases with increasing ambient pressure. Also, jets were observed to occur at the same location repeatedly. A possible explanation is that the initial jetting event weakens the shell, causing more jets to occur at the weakened location. ...


We describe an extensive auditory test series on the perceived quality of narrowband (NB, 300-3400 Hz) and wideband (WB, 50-7000 Hz) speech coders under different network conditions. Listening quality tests may be classified according to two different dichotomies [1]: (i) analytical—utilitarian refers to whether the perceptual features of transmitted speech are assessed (analytical), or its integral quality (utilitarian). (ii) subjectoriented—object-oriented refers to whether the perception process or the role of the human test subjects is under test (subject-oriented), or the speech transmission system (object-oriented). In the test discussed in this paper, integral speech quality was assessed (utilitarian test), taking both a subjectand an object-oriented perspective.


Abstract. This article discusses the concept of training and methodical support of the basic education program and analyzes its structure in the framework of the implementation of competence-based approach. In the educational-methodical support there are two interrelated parts: educational-methodical documentation and educational tools. Also, the concept of educational-methodical complex as one of the components of the educational-methodical documentation is considered and its structure is revealed. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the fund evaluation tools as a tool for the assessment of the degree of development of the competencies. The quality of the learning process is depended from its high-quality design and using effectively. The article emphasizes the significance of training and methodological support used in modern University for the efficient formation of competences of students and training of highly qualified and competitive specialists who are in demand on the labor market.


As Ansel Adams once said, "The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance." Now, with Photoshop CS4 for Photographers: Desktop Printing Techniques, creating breathtaking prints is within reach. In this course, photographer and instructor Chris Orwig teaches techniques and workflows for crafting powerful and enduring images that bring the photographer's vision to life. From producing a business card to visiting a working press, Chris covers everything photographers need to know to achieve unique, compelling results from the printing process. Exercise files accompany the course.Macintosh RequirementsOS 10.3.9 or higher DVD-ROM drive 1024x768 resolution 24-bit video support Quicktime 7 or higherWindows Requirements XP or Vista DVD-ROM drive 1024x768 resolution 24-bit video support PC sound card/speakers Quicktime 7 or higher (included) .NET 2.0 or higher (included)


The studied area is located at the east of the Hazar Lake, approximately 30 kilometers at SE of Elazig city and covers an area of 95 km 2 . Magmatic, sedimentary and volcano-sedimentary units which are aged from Jurassic to Middle Eocene outcrops in the area. The Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous aged Guleman Ophiolite forms the base rocks. Maastrichtian-Early Eocene aged Hazar Group overlies with an unconformity on the ophiolitic rocks and consists of three formations. These are, from bottom to top the Ceffan formation which includes reddish conglomerates, the Simaki formation which has flysch character and the Gehroz formation which comprises limestone. Maden Complex is Middle Eocene in age and lies unconformably on the Guleman Ophiolites in the north of the investigation area Volcanosedimantary unit that is associated with basaltic-andesitic volcanics begin with conglomerates and sandstones on the base,and basses into mudstone-marl and limestone upward. The Guleman Ophiolite and the Hazar Group overthrusted onto the Middle Eocene aged Maden Complex after Middle Eocene from south to north. East Anatolian Fault which is a left lateral strike-slip fault crosses the investigation area and it forms a zone which has 5-6 km width. It includes some faults paralel to each other and aligned to NE-SW. It includes few main faults which are paralel to eacher other and have high dip-slip components with strikes to NE-SW (N 60° E).


The emission spectrum of neodymium produced by vacuum spark sources was observed in the vacuum ultraviolet on two normal-incidence spectrographs. In an initial result, more than 550 lines have been identified as transitions from 85 4f25d levels to 37 levels of the 4f3 ground configuration in the free ion Nd3+. The levels 4f34F3/2 and 4I11/2, responsible for the well-known 1064 nm laser line, have respective positions of 11 698.57 ±0.1 cm−1 and 1897.07 ±0.1 cm−1 above the ground level 4I9/2. The newly found levels of 4f3 constitute the first isolated 4fN configuration (N > 2) and therefore enable checks of effective parameters that represent far configuration interaction. Slater parameters Fk(4f, 4f) derived from Nd3+:LaCl3 are 3% to 5% smaller than in the free ion.


Although a variety of metrics are available for workload assessment, little research has been conducted to construct guidelines for optimally matching them to individual workload questions or test environments. In an effort to remedy this problem, AFAMRL is currently developing a standardized methodology which will be used to evaluate candidate workload measures on several theoretical and pragmatic criteria. The central feature of this methodology is a set of representative loading tasks. This paper outlines the analyses that were conducted to screen potential components of the Criterion Task Set (CTS) and describes the tasks which were selected to produce demands on a number of functional dimensions of information processing.


Often people limit the work of the Holy Spirit to things related to spiritual gifts. Apart from spectacular things like healing the sick or raising the dead, prophesying about what will happen, speaking in tongues, is not considered the work of the Holy Spirit. This paper describes the work of the Holy Spirit which is realized in four important church activities recorded in Acts 2:42. These four activities are the tasks of the church initiated by the Holy Spirit, namely the teaching of the apostles (didache), communion (koinonia), breaking of bread (diakonia), and praying (proseuche). The current condition of the church demands an active role from its leaders to return to work on these four things so that the church today does not lose its identity as a community of believers who make disciples of all nations of Christ.


The invention relates to the field of stamping dies, in particular to a circular arc whole circle side flanging moving mechanism. The moving mechanism comprises a driving part, a moving male die part and a driven part, wherein the driving part serves as an upper die of stamping equipment, the upper surface of the upper die is provided with a driving face and an inserted type guide plate, and the back side of the upper die is a vertical face and provided with a guide plate; the moving male die part is a moving body facilitating pickup workpiece manufacturing, a side face guide plate and the lower end face of the moving body slide parallel to a guide face of a base, and a return stroke elastic body is arranged in a sliding block; the driven part is the sliding block assembled in the base in a sliding mode, the lower end face of the sliding block is a sliding face and slides parallel to the guide face of the base, and a return stroke elastic body is arranged in the sliding block; a slope surface of the upper portion of the back side of the sliding block is a driving face, and the driving face is matched with a driving block arranged between the base and the sliding block in a driving mode; the kinematic relation between sliding components and driving components can be controlled and regulated by means of related guiding components, limiting components and material pressing sources. According to the circular arc whole circle side flanging moving mechanism, the precision of a worpiece obtained through whole circular side flanging on the workpiece in different directions is higher than that of a worpiece obtained through sequential side flanging on the workpiece by 10%, and the percent of pass is promoted by 5%.


Site-response coefficients, Fa and Fv, used in U.S. building code provisions are based on empirical data for motions up to 0.1 g. For larger motions they are based on theoretical and laboratory results. The Northridge earthquake of 17 January 1994 provided a significant new set of empirical data up to 0.5 g. These data together with recent site characterizations based on shear-wave velocity measurements provide empirical estimates of the site coefficients at base accelerations up to 0.5 g for Site Classes C and D. These empirical estimates of Fa and Fv as well as their decrease with increasing base acceleration level are consistent at the 95 percent confidence level with those in present building code provisions, with the exception of estimates for Fa at levels of 0.1 and 0.2 g, which are less than the lower confidence bound by amounts up to 13 percent. The site-coefficient estimates are consistent at the 95 percent confidence level with those of several other investigators for base accelerations greater than 0.3 g. These consistencies and present code procedures indicate that changes in the site coefficients are not warranted. Empirical results for base accelerations greater than 0.2 g confirm the need for both a short- and a mid- or long-period site coefficient to characterize site response for purposes of estimating site-specific design spectra.


The authors evaluated the intraindividual and interindividual variations in the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid after oral administration of mycophenolate mofetil in 10 liver transplant patients. Mycophenolic acid and its metabolite, mycophenolic acid glucuronide, were measured in plasma and urine by high‐pressure liquid chromatography. The plasma protein binding of mycophenolic acid was determined by ultrafiltration. The maximum concentration of mycophenolic acid in plasma increased significantly (P .05) with time from 9.1 ± 7.2 μg/mL (<1 week) to 36.7 ± 15.6 μg/mL (1 month). The area under the plasma concentration versus time curve of mycophenolic acid also increased significantly with time, from 50.8 ± 42.1 μg•h/mL to 118.0 ± 57.6 μg•h/mL (P .05). The plasma protein binding of mycophenolic acid increased from 92% to 98%, and the apparent oral clearance [CL/F] decreased from 32.9 ± 21.4 L/h during the first study period to 9.0 ± 4.4 L/h (P .05) during the third study period. The apparent intrinsic clearance of mycophenolic acid did not change significantly over time. The ratio of the area under the curve of mycophenolic acid glucluronide to mycophenolic acid in plasma decreased with time (25.5 ± 21.2 vs 8.0 ± 3.3) but did not reach statistical significance. The increased binding of mycophenolic acid to plasma proteins with time after transplantation appeared to contribute to the intraindividual variation, whereas differences in the ability of the liver to metabolize mycophenolic acid between patients appear to contribute to the large interindividual variation in the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid. The observations in this study support the concept of measuring the unbound concentration of mycophenolic acid. The observations in this study support the concept of measuring the unbound concentration of mycophenolic acid to optimize immunosuppressive drug therapy with mycophenolic acid.


Abstract This paper analyzes the productivity of weak verbs (1st conjugation with present in -ez and 4th conjugation with present in -esc) in Romanian. The weak model originated in two derivational patterns common to all Romance languages, that developed into inflectional mechanisms only in some of them. Among its sister languages Romanian has exploited most intensively the weak inflection. It has been maintained that Modern Romanian has a single fully productive class, namely the 1st conjugation. However, there is no analysis that clearly distinguishes the productivity of the weak vs. the strong model in the 1st conjugation and that determines the domains of competition between the 1st and the 4th conjugation, which is also productive. This paper tries to fill this lacuna by a more accurate analysis of the productivity in the Romanian verb inflection. Based on an analysis of modern and historical data, and using also data from an experiment with nonce words, the conclusion is that Modern Romanian has two fully productive classes: weak verbs of the 1st conjugation and weak verbs of the 4th conjugation. The competition between these two classes seems to be governed by diaphasic and phonological criteria.


The pendulum, having swung to "mod ern math" with disastrous results, must now swing "back to basics"?so goes the popular myth. I want to explain why I think the pendulum theory is wrong and why the two alternatives it holds out? "old" versus "new" math?are equally fraudulent. There are several different ways of teach ing mathematics, each based on a different conception of what mathematics is. In this article, I will consider three ways that typify the major approaches that have been put forward in the last hundred years of Ameri can education. In the first approach, math ematics is seen as a collection of special techniques to solve special problems. Tra ditionally, arithmetic and algebra have al ways been taught in this fashion. The sec ond approach sees mathematics as a rigorous axiomatic system. Geometry has traditionally been taught in this manner, but this approach also encompasses much of the "modern math" of the last fifteen years. The third approach has not been tried seriously, although it has been dis cussed for the last seventy-five years. It views mathematics as the "language of sci ence"?one way of describing the world around us. Some characterizations of these three methods are collected in the chart in figure 1. We now proceed to a more detailed dis cussion of each method.


The present study was aimed at observing both the damage and change process undergone in lymphatic collectors in obstructive extremity lymphedema. Forty-five patients with obstructive extremity lymphedema who had been examined with magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) were enrolled in the study. Among this group, 36 were diagnosed with secondary lymphedema of the lower extremity and 9 exhibited upper extremity lymphedema after mastectomy. Morphological damage as a result of obstruction of collecting lymph vessels was recorded and analyzed. Obvious damage to the lymph vessels was found in all of the 36 lower extremity lymphedema cases with different lengths of history, including vessel disruption in 21 and lymphatic regeneration in 15. Lymphatic damage occurred in the anterior tibial area of the lower leg in almost every case. In 9 cases with upper extremity lymphedema, collecting lymphatic disruption and lymph tracer leakage was seen in multiple patterns. Imaging displayed that ruptured lymph collectors healed spontaneously or regenerated into a segment of the lymphatic network. The present study provided real-time images of collecting lymphatic vessels in obstructive lymphedema. These were seen to have undergone disruption, displayed lymphorrhoea, Lymphology Center of Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai 9th People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China and/or lymphatic regeneration. In addition, the images suggest that the anterior tibial lymphatic is the weak point of the lymphatic pathway in the lower limb.


To analyse the circumstances surrounding farm and tractor‐related childhood fatalities in South Australia, to identify potentially dangerous situations and to delineate prevention strategies.


The concepts of deteriorating jobs and learning effects have been individually studied in many scheduling problems. However, most studies considering the deteriorating and learning effects ignore the fact that production efficiency can be increased by grouping various parts and products with similar designs and/or production processes. This phenomenon is known as 'group technology' in the literature. In this paper, a new group scheduling model with deteriorating and learning effects is proposed, where learning effect depends not only on job position, but also on the position of the corresponding job group; deteriorating effect depends on its starting time of the job. This paper shows that the makespan and the total completion time problems remain polynomial optimal solvable under the proposed model. In addition, a polynomial optimal solution is also presented to minimise the maximum lateness problem under certain agreeable restriction.


Abstract The sorption and diffusion of dichloromethane liquid in a wide range of activities and at different temperatures in poly(ether imide) (PEI) films was studied. They were prepared by solution casting at slow solvent evaporation conditions. The sorption behavior is characterized by two zones depending on temperature and penetrant activity. In zone I, at low activity, the isotherms follow Henry's law. The range of activity between 0.25 and 0.30 is characterized by a negative deviation from Henry's law and shows an accentuated dependence on previous thermal history of the films. In zone II, with a range of activity higher than 0.35, the isotherms follow Flory-Huggin's behavior. In both zones, the diffusional behavior, based on sorption measurements, shows a linear relationship between the diffusion coefficient and the equilibrium sorption concentration of dichloromethane. In the activity range between 0.25 and 0.35, an accentuated discontinuity indicates a possible conformational structural change in ...


Little is known of carcinoma in situ in terms of recurrence, or failure to have it removed in toto by conization, and whether it becomes invasive or might it have been invasive at the time of biopsy. Follow-up studies with and without hysterectomy will need to continue for years. The authors have made some observations on a short-term basis.