The Connecticut General Assembly recently enacted significant changes to the state's Affordable Housing Appeals Procedure.' This Note explains why these amendments, which took effect on October 1, 2000, fail to advance the statute's original purpose of increasing the amount of lowand moderate-income housing throughout Connecticut. 2 The amendments, while purporting to help low-income housing consumers, are likely to slow considerably the construction of affordable housing in the state. The Appeals Procedure was originally enacted to promote the construction of housing for lowand moderate-income families by providing developers an opportunity to obtain judicial review of towns' denials of their applications to develop affordable housing. The law applied both to nonprofit and public housing organizations and to private developers. It allowed private developers to appeal denials as long they placed restrictive covenants on twenty percent of the units in their


Borrowing affixes may be rare compared to lexical borrowing, but it is not random. The current study describes regular patterns of affix borrowing in a database containing 649 borrowed affixes, challenging a number of previous claims about relative borrowability, in particular regarding inflectional categories. It is shown that borrowing affixes of all major nominal and verbal inflectional categories, including case markers and argument indexes, is well attested. Borrowing case markers, for instance, appears to be just as common as borrowing plural markers. By factoring in the "availability" for borrowing (i.e. whether a potential donor language has a relevant affix), it can be shown that nominal categories are far more frequently borrowed than verbal categories. Additionally, it is shown that sets of borrowed affixes often consist of interrelated sets of forms, e.g. forming paradigms, rather than being isolated forms from different morphosyntactic systems, in particular for the more tightly integrated inflectional subsystems. The frequency and systematicity by which inflectional affixes are borrowed calls for a reconsideration of the role of inflection in models of language contact.


2 + 1D bosonic topological orders can be characterized by the S, T matrices that encode the statistics of topological excitations. In particular, the S, T matrices can be used to systematically obtain the gapped boundaries of bosonic topological orders. Such an approach, however, does not naively apply to fermionic topological orders (FTOs). In this work, we propose a systematic approach to obtain the gapped boundaries of 2 + 1D abelian FTOs. The main trick is to construct a bosonic extension in which the fermionic excitation is "condensed" to form the associated FTOs. Here we choose the parent bosonic topological order to be the Z2 topological order, which indeed has a fermionic excitation. Such a construction allows us to find an explicit correspondence between abelian FTOs (described by odd K-matrix KF ) and the "fermion-" condensed Z2 topological orders (described by even K-matrix KB). This provides a systematic algorithm to obtain the modular covariant boundary partition functions as well as the boundary topological excitations of abelian FTOs. For example, the ν = 1 − 1


Background and Aims: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of six weeks of hopping training on the dynamic balance of volleyball players with Functional Ankle Instability (FAI). Materials and Methods: To do so, 30 volleyball players with FAI were selected using Cumberland ankle instability tool (CAIT) questionnaire and then divided into experimental and control groups. Pre-test was performed using drop-landing test on force plate and after six weeks of training on experimental group, the post-test was given. Participants' dynamic stability was evaluated using Time to Stabilization (TTS) index during drop-landing task, as one of the deleterious athletic movements. The participants' TTS were calculated in three directions (Vertical, Medio-lateral, and Antero-posterior) and ANCOVA was used to analyze data (α ‹ 0.05). Results: The results showed that six weeks of hopping training had no significant effects on time to stabilization mean in the vertical (P = 0.513), the medio-lateral (P = 0.369), and the antero-posterior directions (P = 0.999) in both experiment and control groups. Conclusion: The results of the present study may not be compatible with those of the previous studies because of the limitations of the previous tests and methods. Also, given that the participants in our study were elite volleyball players, they may have been kept within a certain range by making compensatory changes in their joints. Therefore, it is suggested that further researches, with regard to the effect of exercises on the joints and muscles, be conducted separately and also in conjunction with each other until the possibility of observing changes in each joint separately is provided and also consideration of compensatory changes in the movements of joints involved in motion is possible


The Erd\H{o}s-S\'{o}s Conjecture states that every graph with average degree more than $k-2$ contains all trees of order $k$ as subgraphs. In this paper, we consider a variation of the above conjecture: studying the maximum size of an $(n,m)$-bipartite graph which does not contain all $(k,l)$-bipartite trees for given integers $n\ge m$ and $k\ge l$. In particular, we determine that the maximum size of an $(n,m)$-bipartite graph which does not contain all $(n,m)$-bipartite trees as subgraphs (or all $(k,2)$-bipartite trees as subgraphs, respectively). Furthermore, all these extremal graphs are characterized.


All the plants in Korean fairy tales have a symbolic meaning. In the process of translation, of course, it is necessary to take into account the image of the plant, the reason for its participation in the fairy tale. Because in some places it is better to make changes, to translate literally or figuratively.


Logical Postivism is a disastrously wrong theory of knowledge. It rules out unobservables and uncertains from the domain of knowledge, and reduces knowledge to binaries of true or false. Most knowledge admits of grey shades, and multiple perspectives on the same issue bring substantial additional understanding. Despite its failure, economists remain committed to positivist views of knowledge, and hence have difficulty understanding pluralism. This paper explains the misconception at the heart of the positivist perspective, to remove obstacles to a pluralist perspective on knowledge in general, and economics in particulat.


This paper analyzes the historical background of Russia's economic modernization,strategic layout and constraining factors in the post-crisis era.On the basis of defining the meaning of economic modernization,this article analyzes the historical background under which Russian government restarted the process of economic modernization,and then points out the strategic layout with which the Russian government wants to achieve the objective of modernization.At last,this paper analyzes the main factors influencing and restricting the modernization process of Russia.The results show that the top-down modernization of the Russian economy will experience a long and arduous process.


The title compound, C17H20N2O2, is chiral but crystallizes in a centrosymmetric space group as a racemate, the relative configuration at the stereogenic centres being 2S*,3R*,4S*. The cyclohexane ring adopts a half-chair conformation while the pyrazole ring has an envelope conformation. The crystal packing displays intermolecular O—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding.


In some methods usually used in goaf stability monitoring,some shortages(only monitoring point area,need manual installation,poor real-time performance,etc) occur.3D laser scanning is used to obtain goaf space profile,then to analyze goaf stability.The realization of high precision control of 3D laser scanner is focused on by means of mechanical optimization,attitude compensation,adaptive control and other technical means.The method greatly improves performance of 3D laser scanning system used in goaf monitoring,meets the needs of practical application of mine,meantime,it can provide references for road and bridge monitoring and cultural relic protection.


A simple and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of ARQ531, a BTK inhibitor in rat plasma. After protein precipitation with acetonitrile, the samples were separated on a UPLC BEH C18 column with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The mass detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) with precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z 479.1 > 365.1 and m/z 441.2 > 138.1 for ARQ531 and ISTD, respectively. Good linearity (correlation coefficient > 0.9988) was achieved over the concentration range of 0.5-1000 ng/mL and the LLOQ was 0.5 ng/mL. The accuracy ranged from -13.50 % to 11.35% and the precision was < 8.87%. The extraction recovery was mor than 85.56%. ARQ531 was demonstrated to be stable under the tested conditions. The validated method was further applied to a pharmacokinetic study of ARQ531 in rats after intravenous (1 mg/kg) and oral (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) administrations. The results demonstrated that ARQ531 displayed linear pharmacokinetic profiles over the oral dose range of 1-10 mg/kg and good oral bioavailability (>50%).


The scalable synthesis of Cu-doped WO3 nanomaterials from molecular precursors is addressed here. A desktop flame spray pyrolysis process was used to synthesize of the oxide with 20 nm average diameter of the orthorhombic phase polymorph, which is the stable phase for WO3. The as-sprayed nanoparticles exhibit superior photoelectrical response to visible light illumination compared with nanoparticles of the same system processed by other routes.


A theoretical two-dimensional surface of angular correlation of positron-annihilation radiation (ACAR) in Cu is calculated by the APW method and is compared with the corresponding experimental data obtained by a multidetector ACAR apparatus. The agreement between theory and experiment is reasonable; deviations are attributed to positron-electron many-body effects.


Collections of the Arabic Maqāmāt, especially those that were composed in the Late Middle Ages, have been little explored in the national and foreign Arabic studies. Introduction for the scientific use of previously unstudied maqamat texts allows us to consider the evolution of the Maqāma genre as a typological phenomenon from more objective point of view. As a result of such research it was found that several works, considerably distant from each other by dates of their creation, are based on a similar literary motif. As it shown in the article, there are different interpretations of this motif in Maqāma genre, which could be considered as reflections of respective changes in Arabic didactic literature and literary canon, which are inseparably connected with maqāma. The author conducts a comparative analysis of three works from the Maqāma genre and Shadow plays, written by al-Ḥarīrī (11 th cent.), al-Mauṣilī (13 th cent.), al-'Abbās (16 th cent.), which are based on the variation of the rare in the Arabic fine fiction motif fraudulent marriage. Special feature of the article is a comparative analysis of the Late Medieval Maqāma and Shadow plays, which was not undertaken in national Arabic studies previously.


This article examines the relationship between female schooling and two behaviors, cumulative fertility and contraceptive use, in fourteen Sub-Saharan African countries where Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) have been conducted since the mid-1980s. Average levels of schooling among women of reproductive age are very low, from less than two years to six. Controlling for background variables, the last years of female primary schooling have a negative relation with fertility in about half the countries, while secondary schooling is associated with substantially lower fertility in all countries. Female schooling has a positive relationship with contraceptive use at all levels. Among ever-married women, husband's schooling exerts a smaller effect than doe's female schooling on contraceptive use and, in almost all cases, on fertility. Although the results suggest commonalities among these Sub-Saharan countries, they also reveal intriguing international differences in the impact of female schooling, which might reflect differences in the quality of schooling, labor markets, and family planning programs, among others.


Dragon fly's sweet dreams, America's nightmares by Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie (Seminole/Muskogee/Dine), CN Gorman Museum, University of California-Davis Finding Sovereignty through Relocation: Considering Photographic Consumption by Veronica Passalacqua, CN Gorman Musuem, University of California-Davis Memories of Glass and Fire: B. A. Haldane, a 19th Century Tsimshian Photographer by Mique'l Askren (Tsimshian), University of British Columbia Museums and the Creation of Visual Memories by Henrietta Lidchi, National Museums Scotland 'A Many-Splendored Thing': Rosalie Favell's Digital Photo-art by Amalia Conrad, University of British Columbia Changing Concepts of Community Access to Museum Photographs, a Case Study from the Jicarilla Apaches by Joyce Herold, Denver Museum of Nature & Science American Myths and Indigenous Photograph by Larry McNeil (Tlingit), Boise State University


This study was to determine the motivation and awareness among Muslim and non-Muslim customer Islamic banking in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Malaysia has two types of bank which is Conventional bank and Islamic bank. But, not all Malaysian know the difference of the two types of banks about terms, product and contract. This caused a number of factors including the religious factor, knowledge and find source. Therefore, this study will explain the differences and awareness of the advantages of Islamic banking to Muslim and non-Muslim. Besides, this study also will expand the knowledge to Malaysian people about Islamic banking and will enlighten customers about the importance of awareness in Islamic bank. Data analysis and implication and recommendation are provided.


AIM: To observe the changes of cardiac function and autonomic regulation after lower body negative pressure or physical exercise,or joint training of both,and to develop special anti-G endurance training programs.METHODS: Twenty-four healthy male subjects were randomly divided into three groups: physical exercise group(EX),lower body negative pressure group(LBNP) and lower body negative pressure plus physical exercise group(LBNP+EX).EX group conducted muscle exercise for two consecutive weeks for muscle-based explosive and static strength.LBNP group conducted-50 mmHg lower body negative pressure training for 10 min each day.LBNP+EX group conducted joint exercise of both EX and LBNP groups.Before and after training,cardiac pumping function,systolic function and heart rate variability testing were performed.RESULTS: After 10 days' training,stroke volume(SV),cardiac output(CO) and cardiac index(CI) in LBNP+EX group were significantly higher than those before training(P0.05),and total peripheral resistance(TPR) significantly decreased(P0.05).No significant changes were observed in these parameters in EX or LBNP group.PEP/LVET(pre-ejection period /left ventricular ejection time) in LBNP+EX group was significantly lower than that before training.Heart rate variability analysis showed that LFn(low frequency of normalized) and LF/HF(low frequency/high frequency) of EX group significantly decreased(P0.01),and HFn(high frequency of normalized) significantly increased as compared with that of pre-exercise(P0.01).Compared with that of pre-exercise,LFn and LF/HF of LBNP group increased significantly(P0.01).No significant difference was observed in these parameters in LBNP+EX group between pre-and post-training.CONCLUSION: Ten days' joint training of LBNP and EX is more effective than LBNP training or physical exercise alone in improving cardiac pump and systolic function,and LBNP training alone could improve the sympathetic tone.The three different training programs may improve the anti-G endurance of convalescent pilots from different aspects.


Thermal and infrared imagery creates considerable developments in Non-destructive Testing (NDT) area. An analysis for thermal NDT inspection is addressed applying a new technique for computation of eigen-decomposition (factor analysis) similar to Principal Component Thermography(PCT). It is referred as Candid Covariance-Free Incremental Principal Component Thermography (CCIPCT). The proposed approach uses a computational short-cut to estimate covariance matrix and Singular Value Decomposition(SVD) to obtain faster PCT results, but while the dimension of the data increases. The problem of computational cost for high-dimensional thermal image acquisition is also investigated. Three types of specimens (CFRP, plexiglass and aluminum) have been used for comparative benchmarking. Then, a clustering algorithm segments the defect at the surface of the specimens. The results conclusively indicate the promising performance and demonstrated a confirmation for the outlined properties.


This paper is focused on the geothermal technology application that is centered on the case study of hot dry rock geothermal technology in the Black sea basin. The paper tackles the innovative potential of the hot dry rock geothermal technology, in particular, the application of integrated assessment methodology based on the region's resources estimates, their structure and key performance indicators exemplified by the Krasnodar Region of the Black Sea area in the Russian Federation. Our results might be of a special interest for both political scientists, economists and international relations specialists, as well as for the local policy-makers and relevant stakeholders. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p425


Relativistic particle production often requires the use of Tsallis statistics to account for the apparently power-like behavior of transverse momenta observed in the data even at a few GeV/c. In such an approach this behavior is attributed to some specific intrinsic fluctuations of the temperature T in the hadronizing system and is fully accounted by the nonextensivity parameter q. On the other hand, it was recently shown that similar power-law spectra can also be obtained by introducing some specific volume fluctuations, apparently without invoking the introduction of Tsallis statistics. We demonstrate that, in fact, when the total energy is kept constant, these volume fluctuations are equivalent to temperature fluctuations and can be derived from them. In addition, we show that fluctuations leading to multiparticle power-law Tsallis distributions introduce specific correlations between the considered particles. We then propose a possible way to distinguish the fluctuations in each event from those occurring from event-to-event. This could have applications in the analysis of high density events at LHC (and especially in ALICE).


Objective:To optimize the water extraction method of Such 9 flavor crude drugs as Chinese angelica,raddle ,etc.of Zhepujiuweirunzao Tang based on the latest development.Method:According to the total content of polysaccharide and ferulic acid,the water extraction condition was investigated by L_9(43) orthogonal design to elect the best one.Result:The best extraction condition was 9,7 and 7 folds water for 3 times and for 0.5 hour each time.The content of polysaccharide and ferulic acid was 22.5311 mg·g -1(n=3,RSD= 10.5%),0.0079 mg·g -1 (n=4,RSD= 3.8%).Conclusion:The best extraction method is available for the development and production of Zhepujiuweirunzao Tang.


A state-of-the-art scanning Hall probe microscope (magnetic "eld sensitivity : spatial resolution: 30 nT/JHz : 0.8 lm}300 nT/JHz : 0.25 lm) has been used to image a range of ferromagnetic media. The technique is non-invasive and yields quantitative pro"les of the stray "elds near the sample surface as illustrated by images of a standard magnetic reference sample, permalloy nanostructures and colossal magnetoresistive perovskites. Rapid scanning (&1 frame/12 sec) has also been used to study the domain reversal in a thin Ni "lm. ( 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Objectives: We explored the opinions of 40 Black Americans regarding: (1) what they thought most Blacks and Whites believe about genetic causes for perceived race differences in human traits, and (2) the impact of genetic science on them, their families, and Black people. Methods: We conducted in-depth telephone interviews with 40 self-identified Black men and women. Transcripts of the interviews were recorded and examined for common themes. Results: The majority of our respondents felt that most Whites, unlike most Blacks, attribute differences between these groups to genetic factors. Many in our sample felt that genetic advances may provide benefits in the area of health care, but many also recognized potential harm. Conclusions: Our results provide a glimpse as to what some Blacks believe about genetic science in the context of racial issues.


In the current information technology era, social media users increase every year. Recorded in 2017, among 143.26 million internet users, 87.13% or about 124.82 million used social media as part of lifestyle. There are some crimes such as robberies and murder happen caused by posting pictures or video regarding the privacy of Instagram users. In this research, there are some actions that users can do to avoid the crimes. This research aims to measure the privacy awareness of Instagram users in Indonesia by doing measurement using three dimensions of awareness such as Attitude, Knowledge, Behavior with four focus areas of privacy, namely Perceived Surveillance, Perceived Intrusion, Secondary Use of Information, Disclosing Personal Information. This research used the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to measure the privacy awareness of Instagram users in Indonesia. Privacy awareness level in all dimensions is good. However, the attitude dimension with focus areas on perceived surveillance and perceived intrusion is still in the criterion of average awareness. It means that those focus areas potentially need treatment to improve such as being more careful while posting some content on Instagram because unauthorized people can get access more easily to the user's personal information and the users' activities.


Objective
To explore the diagnostic value of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), elastography and their combined use in diagnosing non-mass-like lesions on breast.

Methods
From November 2015 to January 2017, 79 nodules diagnosed by conventional ultrasound were prospectively enrolled and examined by CEUS and elastography before surgery. Multivariate logistic regression models were established for CEUS and CEUS combined with elastography to diagnose breast malignancy. The diagnostic performances of CEUS, elastography and their combined use were evaluated with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results
The CEUS features significantly predicting malignancy were hyperenhancement, heterogeneous enhancement, visualization of penetrating vessels (P<0.01). Furthermore, the multivariate logistic regression for CEUS combined with elastography showed that heterogeneous enhancement, visualization of penetrating vessels and elasticity score were the independent predictors of breast malignancy. The area under the ROC curve of CEUS combined with elastography was (0.915±0.223), which was higher than that of CEUS and elatography (0.851±0.029, 0.790±0.038, P<0.05). Moreover, the sensitivity, and accuracy of CEUS combined with elastography were 89.1%, and 86.1%, respectively. The omission diagnostic rate of CEUS combined with elastography (8.9%) was reduced. The diagnostic accuracy of CEUS combined with elastography was significantly higher than that of CEUS and elastography.

Conclusions
The diagnostic value of CEUS combined with elastography was remarkably significant in the differential diagnosis of non-mass-like lesions on breast.

Key words:
Ultrasonography; Elasticity imaging techniques; Breast diseases/DI


when targeted with IL-1 β blockade, saw the inhibition of lung cancer initiation, revealing a potentially targetable axis to pre-vent air pollution associated lung cancer. Notably, a previous clinical trial suggested a dose dependent reduction in lung cancer incidence with anti-IL1 β antibody treatment. 36 Worldwide air pollution has long been acknowledged as a cause for overall health concern, and recent evidence has associated rising levels of PM 2.5 associated with air pollution as a primary driver of lung cancer development. While the risk of lung cancer from air pollution is lower than from tobacco smoking, we have to breathe the air around us, estimated about 10,000 L during a typical day for an adult, such that even low-level carcinogens in air can be very significant. A new era of improved understanding of air pollution-related lung cancer may lead to new interventions but prevention remains key as in tobacco smoke related lung cancers. Thus, improving air quality in heavily populated areas is a fundamental and urgent health priority, which will be the most effective strat-egy to combat this awful disease globally and locally.


In Denmark, several homosexual and bisexual men have, through a HIV test, chosen to find out whether they are infected with the AIDS virus. There is, however, little knowledge about the group of men who have chosen not to be tested. This study describes, on the basis of in-depth interviews, how 10 non-HIV-tested homosexual and bisexual men evaluate the threat of AIDS and how they cope with the epidemic. The men have good knowledge of how the AIDS virus is transmitted and which sex practices can prevent infection. Six men have chosen to cope with the risk of infection by adopting safe sex practices, and four men have, in principle, chosen to abandon the most risky sexual practices. They have various degrees of risk behaviour and suffer from crises periodically. Three of them seek emotional support from their social network. The men with risky sexual behaviour have all experienced traumatic events and received no professional help to come to terms with these events. The study puts forward the hypothesis tha...


This paper is a response to a critique by C. Brooks Brenneis of the written account of a clinical enactment that featured countertransference dissociative effects in treatment and in supervision. The response focuses on the need to analyze power in overlapping clinical dyads, the effect of transpersonal transmission of affect states and disavowed experience, and the relation of power dynamics to transference and to meaning making.


Abstract : The aim of this paper is to show what could be the kind of joints that would reduce the electrical resistance when a carbon fiber reinforce structure has to be jointed with an aluminum part. Assembly of specimens has been considered in fixed and removable configurations. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic F263-T300 Fabric 3K70PW; and Aluminum alloy 2-24 - T3. New difficulties are arising during the design of CFRP parts in comparison with aluminum ones. The main problem with be to verify the composite structure behaviour from the electrical point of view. It will be necessary to consider how the environment will affect the structures made of composite material. Events such as lightning strike can have more dangerous effects on CFRP than on metallic parts. (SDW)


We propose a new CRT-based multiplication algorithm for finite fields F_p^k of small prime characteristic, whose complexity does not depend on a special form of the reduction polynomial. With a complexity of O(k^3/2) this is the first general subquadratic algorithm for fields of small odd characteristic.


The detrimental effects of metallic on certain key electrical parameters of silicon devices mandates the use of state‐of‐the‐art characterization and metrology tools as well as appropriate control plans. Historically, this has been commonly achieved in‐line on monitor wafers through a combination of Total Reflectance X‐Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) and post anneal Surface Photo Voltage (SPV). On the other hand, VPD (Vapor Phase Decomposition) combined with ICP‐MS (Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry) or TXRF is known to provide both identification and quantification of surface trace metals at lower detection limits. Based on these considerations the description of an advanced monitoring scheme using SPV, TXRF and automated VPD ICP‐MS is described.


Global dynamics of a non-linear Cellular Automata is, in general irregular, asymmetric and unpredictable as opposed to that of a linear CA, which is highly systematic and tractable. In the past efforts have been made to systematize non-linear CA evolutions in the light of Boolean derivatives and Jacobian Matrices. In this paper two different efforts have been made: first we try to systematize non-linear CA evolution in the light of deviant states and non-deviant states. For all the non-deviant states the nearest linear rule matrix is applicable where as for the deviant states we have a set of other matrices. Second using algebraic manipulation, an efficient algorithm is proposed by which every Non-linear Boolean function can be characterized by a sequence of binary matrices.


In clearance studies in rats, increases in filtration rate and electrolyte excretion were observed following both intravascular and extracellular fluid volume expansion. The inulin concentration ratio of proximal tubular fluid to plasma was decreased with extracellular expansion. Neither natriuresis nor fractional sodium reabsorption was related to the degree of intravascular expansion. Microperfusion studies demonstrated a decrease in proximal sodium reabsorption only when both intravascular and extravascular volumes were expanded; net sodium transport was not affected by a blood volume increase alone. From the data it is concluded that in the rat an increase in blood volume is followed by a rise of filtration rate and a fall of fractional reabsorption at a site distal to the proximal tubule, resulting in diuresis and natriuresis. If, in addition, the interstitial fluid compartment is expanded, a direct inhibition of the active transport component of proximal Na+ reabsorption occurs.


which an object is only considered as existing after it has been constructed"—and suggests that "the exigency that only constructible objects can be considered or mentioned, suffices to explain the particularities of intuitionistic mathematics." Among these he mentions: (i) The notion of constructible object must be primitive (undefinable) and admit no arbitrariness; (ii) constructions are mental operations and, although some degree of symbolization is necessary in practice, formulas are uniquely interpretable as expressing mathematical constructions; (iii) choice sequences are not constructible objects in a "stria sense," but they can be introduced in intuitionistic mathematics by interpreting quantifications (Vx)A(x) over such sequences as, "Before the choices for the sequence x are made, we are sure that it will satisfy A(x)."


This paper presents a new approach for the use of spreading codes in multiple access systems. Such systems have a number of drawbacks, the most important one being that, with the increasing of used code length, the overall system rate increases, so, consequently, the Bit Error Rate (BER) performances at the receiver end might decrease. In order to partially circumvent those disadvantages, we combine the spreading codes with Manchester encoding, avoiding thus the apparition of long sequences of '0' or '1'. Extensive simulations have been performed in Matlab in order to evaluate the BER performances versus Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for different types of spreading codes used (PN, Gold, Walsh Hadamard), and different modulation techniques (BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM). The results are compared with the standard techniques, without Manchester encoding, and a number of interesting results will be highlighted.


Let $L$ be an integral lattice in the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^n$ and $W$ an irreducible representation of the orthogonal group of $\mathbb{R}^n$. We give an implemented algorithm computing the dimension of the subspace of invariants in $W$ under the isometry group ${\rm O}(L)$ of $L$. A key step is the determination of the number of elements in ${\rm O}(L)$ having any given characteristic polynomial, a datum that we call the {\it characteristic masses} of $L$. As an application, we determine the characteristic masses of all the Niemeier lattices, and more generally of any even lattice of determinant $\leq 2$ in dimension $n \leq 25$.
For Niemeier lattices, as a verification, we provide an alternative (human) computation of the characteristic masses. The main ingredient is the determination, for each Niemeier lattice $L$ with non-empty root system $R$, of the ${\rm G}(R)$-conjugacy classes of the elements of the "umbral" subgroup ${\rm O}(L)/{\rm W}(R)$ of ${\rm G}(R)$, where ${\rm G}(R)$ is the automorphism group of the Dynkin diagram of $R$, and ${\rm W}(R)$ its Weyl group.
These results have consequences for the study of the spaces of automorphic forms of the definite orthogonal groups in $n$ variables over $\mathbb{Q}$. As an example, we provide concrete dimension formulas in the level $1$ case, as a function of the weight $W$, up to dimension $n=25$.


This paper investigates the recycling decision for used products in uncertain environment. Two single-cycle recycling models of manufacturing/remanufacturing hybrid system are established considering two kinds of inspection policies. In our models, random variables of known probabilities are used to describe the uncertainty of quantity and quality of recycling products, where the amount of collected used products is assumed as a function of buy-back cost and the quality level of collected used products follows a known distribution. And we describe the differences of remanufacturing costs by quality grading. In order to maximize the total profit of the system in the cycle, the best recovery price and the lowest quality acceptable level are found. Then, the dynamic adjustment strategy is introduced into the quantum genetic algorithm and the corresponding solving process is designed. Finally, a case study is addressed to verify the feasibility of the algorithm and the sensitivity analysis of the parameters are given.


The concept of molecular scaffolds is widely applied in medicinal and computational chemistry to represent core structures of compounds and series. A hierarchical organization of compounds has long dominated scaffold design and generation. Recently, so called 'analog series-based' (ASB) scaffolds have been introduced as an alternative category of scaffolds. ASB scaffolds are designed to represent analog series and take reaction information into account, and do not follow a molecular hierarchy. We report a large-scale comparison of ASB scaffolds representing more than 15 000 analog series with activity against more than 1200 targets and their corresponding hierarchical scaffolds. Most ASB and conventional hierarchical scaffolds were structurally distinct. However, many ASB scaffolds contained conventional scaffolds as substructures or shared smaller substructures with these scaffolds. Although ASB scaffolds and their corresponding hierarchical scaffolds often shared the same target annotations, ASB scaffolds further distinguished between closely related compound series with different activities that yielded the same conventional scaffolds. Taken together, the findings reported herein reveal that ASB scaffolds further extend current core structure representations for the analysis of structure–activity relationships.


Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED), the most common of the ectodermal dysplasias, is a genetic disease commonly linked to the X chromosome (XLHED) and inherited as a recessive trait. Common clinical aspects of HED patients include hypodontia, hypohidrosis, hypotrichosis, and onychodysplasia. HED patients usually develop hyperpyrexia due to diminished sweat production. Hypodontia and conical teeth result inappropriate to eat and develop malnutrition, furthermore, physical appearance and dental defects have a high impact on the quality of life of HED patients. It has been reported that the incidence of HED is 1 in 100,000 live births, however, 20 HED patients were found in Akil, a small rural town of just 6978 inhabitants in Yucatan, Mexico, in 2007 which, considering the low worldwide incidence of the disease, is a higher-thanexpected prevalence for any population. Seven male HED Akil's patients are shown in Fig. 1. These HED patients were detected when they recurrently demanded medical service because of fever or respiratory diseases. They were clinically evaluated and their family histories were analyzed to conclude that they suffer from HED. Akil's HED patients show several clinical characteristics of the classical HED patients, such as lower body weight, hyperthermia, saddle nose, everted lips, and diminished or absent sweating (Table 1). Reduced sweating was assessed by the starch-iodine test. This test consists of applying iodine and then starch and local heat on the skin of one arm of suspected HED patients. Akil's HED patients showed minimal or no change in color with the starch-iodine test, which indicates low or absent sweating (anhidrosis or hypohidrosis) on the assessed area. Teeth defects that we found involve hypodontia, hypoplastic or conical teeth, enamel destruction of demineralization with trend towards development of dental caries; teeth agenesis mainly involve 2nd molars, maxillary lateral incisors, and central and lateral mandibular incisors (Fig. 2); eight adult patients older than 20 years showed anodontia in both jaws with the masticatory function reduced; all the 20 patients showed fluid and scanty saliva. Hypotrichosis involve total or partial alopecia with thin, short, fragile, and hypopigmented hair (Fig. 3), with longitudinal and transversal fissures, named fissured trichorrhexis. They have sparse body and face hair, with scanty eyebrows and eyelashes (Fig. 4). Other characteristics involve lower-than-normal-implanted and big ears in 12 patients, atopic dermatitis affecting flexion areas in two patient, and heat intolerance in all of them. All patients showed fragile, rounded and convex nails (Fig. 5). All the 20 HED patients showed mild to severe 1050


The paper estimates substitution elasticity between labor and capital in a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function based on the World Input-Output Database (WIOD, Timmer 2012). I estimate the elasticities and growth rates of factor-augmented technical progress based on the two first order conditions (FOCs) under the assumption of competitive profit-maximization producers. Taking into account for the capital as a fixed input and the labor as a variable input in the short term particularly within a year, I adopt the FOC with respect to capital where capital input is the explanatory variable and the FOC with respect to labor where wage rate is the explanatory variable. The results show that the industrial elastisities fall within a range from 0.4 to 0.9 and aggregate country-level elasticity is around 0.62. 90% of the estimated annual changes in factor-augmented technology fall within a range from -0.12 to 0.17. At the country level, 35 of the 40 countries exhibit net labor-augmenting technical progress.


The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting brand loyalty and how these factors (customer satisfaction, brand trust, price fairness, brand affect, brand value, brand image) influence brand loyalty of customers. This research focus on brand loyalty of Chang'an Car in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China. 400 questionnaires were distributed to the customers who are the owner of Chang'an car between April 2014 and May 2014. The findings show that the brand image has a strong positive effect on brand loyalty. Additionally, price fairness has a medium positive effect on brand loyalty, and customer satisfaction, brand trust, brand affect and brand value have a low positive impact on brand loyalty. A series of recommendations are made based on these findings.


Current economic growth and the presently deployed technology result in high entropic cost for the planet. Resource efficiency considers using the Earth's limited resources in a sustainable manner while minimising impacts on the environment. Paper presents the concepts of entropy and circular economy, and elaborates on waste, energy/nutrients and water nexus. Integrating the energy, water and waste sectors is indispensable for achieving resource efficiency. The Republic of Croatia should endeavour to benefit from this strategy to conserve its ecosystems and natural capital. Moreover, resource efficiency achievement can generate substantial benefits which include reduced landfill and carbon emissions, higher rates of re-use and recycling of products and greater job creation


Chromatin structure plays a decisive role in gene regulation through the actions of transcriptional activators, coactivators, and epigenetic machinery. These trans-acting factors contribute to gene expression through their interactions with chromatin structure. In yeast INO1 activation, transcriptional activators and coactivators have been defined through intense study but the mechanistic links within these trans-acting factors and their functional implications are not yet fully understood. In this study, we examined the crosstalk within transcriptional coactivators with regard to the implications of Snf2p acetylation during INO1 activation. Through various biochemical analysis, we demonstrated that both Snf2p and Ino80p chromatin remodelers accumulate at the INO1 promoter in the absence of Snf2p acetylation during induction. Furthermore, nucleosome density and histone acetylation patterns remained unaffected by Snf2p acetylation status. We also showed that cells experience increased sensitivity to copper toxicity when remodelers accumulate at the INO1 promoter due to the decreased CUP1 expression. Therefore, our data provide evidence for crosstalk within transcriptional co-activators during INO1 activation. In light of these findings, we propose a model in which acetylation-driven chromatin remodeler recycling allows for efficient regulation of genes that are dependent upon limited co-activators.


The European ACTS project optical pan-European network (OPEN) aims at assessing the feasibility of an optical pan-European overlay network, interconnecting major European cities by means of a mesh of high-capacity optical fiber links, cross-connected through transparent photonic nodes. Both the transmission links and the routing network elements rely on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) all-optical technologies, such as wavelength translation. This paper presents results obtained in the following domains covered within the project: network topology considerations (optimization and dimensioning); network physical layer simulation; fabrications of packaged functional modules based on advanced optoelectronic devices; laboratory demonstrations of N/spl times/10 Gb/s transmission and routing; feasibility of an optical time division multiplexing/WDM (OTDM/WDM) interface; and the field implementation of a 4/spl times/4 multiwavelength crossconnect prototype, featuring all-optical space and wavelength routing. This implementation was realized in two cross-border field trials, one conducted between Norway and Denmark and the other between France and Belgium. The final results of the Norway to Denmark field trials are presented, featuring the successful cascade of three wavelength-translating optical crossconnects (OXCs), along with the transmission over 1000 km of a mix of standard/submarine cable links for four channels at 2.5 Gb/s.


The inverse problem of determining a spacewise dependent heat source in one-dimensional heat equation with convection term where data is given at some fixed time.This problem is ill-posed,i.e.,the solution does not depend continuously on the data.A regularized solution of the inverse problem will be obtained by Fourier truncation method.For the regularized solution,we obtain the Hlder type stability estimate between the regularized solution and the exact solution.


In this work, a holographic interferometric method and device for determining the refractive index change in transparent samples is proposed that can find application in measurements and nondestructive testing of non-homogeneities, cracks and other hidden defects.


Agriculture is of vital importance to feed Europe in a healthy way, while Europe has also an important role in feeding the world. It is a large sector with a big social and economic impact, e.g.: • 43% of the EU's land area is being farmed [2]; • The food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the EU, representing 15% of EU manufacturing sector turnover [3]; • Agri-food logistics has 27% share in the EU road transport [4]; • Agri-food exports contribute to more than 7% to total EU exports in goods [5]; • Europe is the largest exporter of agri-food products in the world, EU28 exports reached €122 billion in 2014 [5].


Ten new 2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-5-[(5-alkylthio-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methylthio]-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were synthesized from 2-mercapto-5-(3,4,5-trimethoxypheny1)-1,3,4-thiadiazole in four steps of thioetherification, hydrazidation, cyclization and thioetherification. The synthesis of the title compounds catalyzed by In(OTf)3 at 40 °C in aqueous media was easily achieved in high yields under environmentally benign conditions. Furthermore, In(OTf)3 can be recovered and reused without any notable loss of its catalytic activity.


This paper presents a nonlinear analysis for the motion of equations proposed by Nakamura [8] to predict the lateral girder response induced by pedestrians on footbridges. The relationship between the lateral vibration of footbridge and the coefficients in Nakamura's model, including the rate of a pedestrian's lateral force, pedestrian density, rate of synchronized pedestrians, and pedestrians' attitude to large vibration amplitude, has been revealed, the simulation results demonstrate the validity of our theoretical analysis. The influence of the function to describe how pedestrians synchronize with the bridge natural frequency in Nakamura's model on lateral vibration of footbridge has been known. Our result shows that pedestrians are not always most likely to synchronize at the bridge frequency around 1.0Hz.


In this paper,we present a design of the digital image sampling system interface based on DSP2812 and CPLD.After matching the CMOS image sensor with the timing interface in the CPLD,the data of image was directly written to the system's SRAM.DSP2812 get the data of image by reading the data of SRAM and send the data to PC or handling with the data by itself.This method can realize the high speed image sampling flexibly.


Copper foils with etched axial grooves were diffusion bonded to carry out laminated object manufacturing(LOM) of a wick and integral structure for flat heat pipe.The influences of groove width,heating power and cooling mode on thermal performance of the heat pipe were studied experimentally.The results indicate that LOM structure by diffusion bonding is applicable in manufacturing flat heat pipe.Heat pipe with the groove width of 0.4 mm worked well during the whole experiments,and the best performance was presented under the heating power of 40 W,put horizontally,forced air cooling during heating,with the equivalent thermal conductivity reaching 2552.2 W·m-1·K-1,which is 6.7 times that of copper.Smaller grooves formed during diffusion bonding can help liquid reflow,which enhances the thermal performance of the heat pipe.


In this article we describe an important class of 3-manifolds studied by Poincaré in his papers on analysis situs (1892 – 1904). They are constructed by identifying the sides of a cube in more or less complicated ways and are therefore called here "cube manifolds". This idea goes back to Poincaré's work on autormorphic functions (early 1880's).


This paper is focused on the analysis and design of a switching control strategy to correct power factor, to regulate output voltage of a single-phase active three-level rectifier (SPATR) and to guarantee low harmonic distortion using a type of hysteresis current-mode control. The switching criterion is designed analyzing the stability of the switched linear system, to avoid information loss from sinusoidal signals during the whole period of operation. The main advantage of the proposed control is that it is capable of controlling the input current ripple and maintaining a low harmonic distortion. The approach uses switched linear models instead of average models, therefore its applicability is not restricted in a local set about the operating point. Simulations were carried out to demonstrate the advantages of the control as well as to compare its performance with other existing in the literature. Simulations of the SPATR and control algorithm were performed using the Matlab / Simulink environment.


—Wetland, as a unique ecological system with highest productive forces on earth, is one of the most important environmental resources, which are named "kidney of the earth". Wetland mapping plays an important role on the scientific exploitation and conservation of wetland resources. It is convenient for a big range of wetlands extraction based on MODIS and one of the most significant advantages of MODIS data is able to provide time-series data sets. At present, there are many mapping applications using a variety of MODIS data products. This study completed China wetland mapping in 2012. Wetlands were classified into three classes, including Open water, Vegetated wetlands and Flooded wetlands. The study used MODIS Reflectance product MCD43A4 at 8 days temporal resolution and 500 meters spatial resolution to estimate modified normalized difference water Index (MNDWI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The other factors included the 7 bands spectral reflectance characteristics of typical ground objects and the SRTM digital elevation information. Firstly, China was divided into four zones based on eco-geographic regional system. Then the study used the decision tree classification method to complete classification in each zone. The total accuracy was as much as 70%. The wetlands map will provide decision makers with valuable information about wetlands distribution and change in response to global warming and human activities.


Introduction Shigella remains highly infectious in the United States, and rapid detection of Shigella outbreaks is crucial for disease control and timely public health actions. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) implemented a Communicable Disease Electronic Surveillance System (CDESS) for local health departments (LHDs) to collect clinical and laboratory testing information and supplement epidemiologic information for the patients from New York State, excluding New York City, with infectious diseases. The CDESS includes reported cases that are involved in outbreaks and which constituted the base for identifying any outbreak. The selection of a fitted outbreak detection method would play a critical role in enhancing disease surveillance.


This article researched on hollow-making martiral used for making middle-hollow round catalysis carrier.The optical component obtained using orthogonal tests was 15%A,15%B,8%C and 62%D.The physics and chemical properties were little different between the middle-hollow and the solid,except a little lower press strength and a much lower settled densidy,which could be meet the need of the manufacture.


Due to its high photocatalysis ability, total degradation and no secondary pollution, TiO2 plays an important role in photocatalysis filed. Especially, in recent years, polyoxometalates-anatase TiO2 composite photoca-talyst have received considerable attention due to its excellent performance in photocatalysis. In the review, the kinds of common polyoxometalates are introduced and the photocatalysis process and mechanism of polyoxomeatalates-anatase TiO2 composites are analyzed. Polyoxometalates can act as electron scavengers of TiO2,then the recombination rate of electron-holes greatly decreases. Doped methods such as sol-gel process and dipping method are introduced. The influences of experimental factors on the photocatalysis activity, such as the concentration of HPA (POMs) and organic pollutants, the structure of TiO2 and HPA, are also discussed. The trend of this technology is predicted and some problems to be solved are also pointed out.


In the first of two features focusing on leadership training provided by DCP-Scotland, Sheelagh Rodgers outlines recent opportunities for clinical psychologists at different stages of their careers. We also hear from delegates who were keen to improve their skills.


An investigation into the stability of metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) transistors based on α-sexithiophene is reported. In particular the kinetics of the threshold voltage shift upon application of a gate bias has been determined. The kinetics follow a stretched-hyperbola type behavior, in agreement with the formalism developed to explain metastability in amorphous–silicon thin film transistors. Using this model, quantification of device stability is possible. Temperature-dependent measurements show that there are two processes involved in the threshold voltage shift, one occurring at T≈220 K and the other at T≈300 K. The latter process is found to be sample dependent. This suggests a relation between device stability and α-sexithiophene deposition parameters. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Considering the short history of the feminist philosophy of language, Rae Langton's article2 "Speech Acts and Unspeakable Acts" was highly influential as one of the first positive research programs within the movement.3 In that paper, Langton – using John L. Austin's speech act theory – tries to interpret Catharine MacKinnon's thesis: pornography is a speech that subordinates and silences women.4 Despite the importance of the subject, those unfamiliar with certain historical and contextual features of the topic would hardly understand it. My paper aims to introduce some of the major accounts in this special area at the intersection of speech act theory and feminist philosophy. Rather than just reconstructing Langton's arguments and the most common objections against it, I will take a more holistic approach, examining its surrounding literature as well. My article has six sections. In Section 1, I contrast the conservative and liberal arguments against pornography and sketch MacKinnon's liberal critique. In Section 2, I give alternative interpretations of MacKinnon's thesis, "pornography is harm". In Section 3, I try to make sense of the prima facie implausible assumption that pornography is speech. In Section 4 and 5, I will analyze the Langtonian theories about subordination and silencing. Finally, in Section 6, I will mention the most challenging problems for Langton's approach, considering the verbal nature of pornography, the limits of the protection of free speech, and the different positions on sexual consent.


Simple Summary Patients with non-small cell lung cancer with an activating EGFR mutation in the tumor, are treated with targeted therapy against this mutation. In the end, all patients develop resistance against this therapy, but some patients have a very short or no benefit. In this study, the authors used blood samples from 41 patients to investigate predictive factors for lack of or short efficacy of targeted therapy. They found that lack of disappearance of the treated mutation in blood after 6 or 12 weeks, the presence of co-occurring TP53 mutations, and decrease of erlotinib therapy concentrations in time are correlated to a shorter time of benefit. Confirmation of these findings in a larger cohort is desirable, this may lead to implementation of blood sampling for DNA analysis and therapy concentration measurement in daily practice in the future, to identify patients in need of closer follow-up or more extensive treatment. Abstract Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the preferred treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), not all patients benefit. We therefore explored the impact of the presence of mutations found in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and TKI plasma concentrations during treatment on progression-free survival (PFS). In the prospective START-TKI study blood samples from 41 patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with EGFR-TKIs were available. Next generation sequencing (NGS) on cfDNA was performed, and plasma TKI concentrations were measured. Patients without complete plasma conversion of EGFR mutation at week 6 had a significantly shorter PFS (5.5 vs. 17.0 months, p = 0.002) and OS (14.0 vs. 25.5 months, p = 0.003) compared to patients with plasma conversion. In thirteen (second line) osimertinib-treated patients with a (plasma or tissue) concomitant TP53 mutation at baseline, PFS was significantly shorter compared to six wild-type cases; 8.8 vs. 18.8 months, p = 0.017. Erlotinib Cmean decrease of ≥10% in the second tertile of treatment was also associated with a significantly shorter PFS; 8.9 vs. 23.6 months, p = 0.037. We obtained evidence that absence of plasma loss of the primary EGFR mutation, isolated plasma p.T790M loss after six weeks, baseline concomitant TP53 mutations, and erlotinib Cmean decrease during treatment are probably related to worse outcome.


The GI surgery department deals with many clinical conditions including lumps and bumps that affect the torso, posterior neck, groin, buttock, perianal and perineal areas. Over the pandemic it was noted that there were many referrals for 'lumps and bumps' at a time where theatre capacity and staffing was limited. To create a referral pathway to assess patients for suitability for referral and treatment in the secondary care setting/ to determine which lesions were suitable for treatment in the community.

 A review of 374 cases of lumps and bumps referred between 2019 and 2021. Various patient factors were taken in to account, as well as the size and type of lesion to determine whether it could be managed in the community under local anaesthetic.

 Of the total cases, 45% were deemed to be suitable for treatment in community. Of all lesion types, epidermoid cysts were most suitable for GP treatment. Patients were travelling long distances to reach the hospital and we were treating patients outside our catchment area. We also found that the average waiting time from referral until treatment for lesions managed in community was nearly 9 times shorter than when managed in the hospital setting.

 A new referral pathway was created for all of South East London to reduce the number of lumps and bumps referred. This ultimately allowed for increased theatre capacity for more complex cases, ensured faster treatment and reduced travel distances for patients.


The SIGNAL is a high-level synchronous data-flowlanguage for the design and implementation of safety-criticalembedded systems. It provides a unified framework forspecification, modeling, formal analysis, and automatic codegeneration for different general-purpose languages like Java, C, and C++. However, fully implemented and verified open sourcetool for code generation from SIGNAL to Hardware DescriptionLanguage (HDL) is not available. This paper describes theformal verification of the generated Verilog code from theSIGNAL language. Proving the correctness of generated code isvery important when it is for safety-critical embedded systems. We use the translation validation technique for verifying thecorrectness of the generated code. In this approach, thePolychrony Toolset builds the models of source SIGNALprograms with its associated model checker SIGALI. The opensource tool Yosys generates models for target Verilog programsin the SMT-LIB standard format. We transform the modelgenerated by Yosys to the model accepted by the SIGALI modelchecker. Finally, we use the SIGALI model checker to validatethe translation by symbolic simulation between both source andtarget program models. The target program may have fewerbehaviors than the source program therefore if the model of thetarget program implies the model of the source program, itmeans the target program preserves the semantics of the sourceprogram, and the translation is correct.


The study examined the impact of social responsibility accounting on the performance of corporate organizations in selected sectors in Nigeria. Ten (10) selected companies representing different sectors of the economy for a period of ten (10) consecutive years 2004 – 2014 were studied. Annual reports were majorly used to elicit data used for the study using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model of multiple regression, which was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Result showed amongst others that corporate social responsibility or accounting has a significant impact on returns of Shareholders of Organisations in Nigeria. The study recommended amongst others, that shareholders should advise management in their regular meetings to critically and extensively look into corporate social responsibility as it affects such organisations since there is a significant impact of corporate social responsibility on shareholders" returns.


The crop straw were tested in the production of squash in greenhouse. When crop straw is used,greenhouse temperature and CO2 concentration were increased and relative humidity was decreased. The plants were more vigorous and the leaves were greener compared with control. The first harvesting time was 5-7 days earlier,and the yield was 32% higher. The net profit was 18% than the control.


Summary

External cathodic polarization of lacquered tinplate specimens immersed in solutions of different organic acid anion types and pH was employed to study the delamination produced around a deliberately introduced defect in the coating. Attempts were made to utilize this technique as the basis for a rapid, simple and reproducible method for the evaluation and prediction of the suitability of lacquered tinplate samples exposed to different food media. Results of experiments conducted with three types of lacquers on tinplate in citric, malic, oxalic, tartaric, fumaric, lactic and acetic acids at pH's ranging from 2.5 to 6.0, showed good reproducibility as well as good agreement with results from an accelerated immersion test and with those from actual cases of canned foods.


Dead gharial hatchlings (137) aged between 6 to 42 weeks were collected from Gharial Breeding Center (GBC), autopsied and examined. Four organs (Liver, lungs, heart blood and kidney) of 102 hatchlings subjected to aerobic bacterial cultures identified Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative rods. Gram positive organism isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Actinomyces spp., Bacillus spp. and Clostridium spp. Gram negative organisms were Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia coli, Providencia rettgeri, Pseudomonas spp., Proteus vulgaris, P. mirabilis, Aeromonas spp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Morganella morganii, Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. Fourty samples (hatchlings infected with Surahi fluke (Exotidendrium sp.) and having a distinct "Sphincter Cap") from the rectocloacal area were cultured aerobically. It resulted in the isolation of two organisms (Bacillus subtilis and Strep. viridans) of the Gram-positive group and nine organisms of the Gram-negative group. The dominant isolates were Citrobacter freundii (30%) and E. coli (20%). One hundred and forty eight culture positive samples based upon monthly mortality were analyzed and it revealed 25% infection in September, 16.89% in August, and less than 14% infection in other months. Bacterial infections in different organs detected on 148 culture positive gharial hatchlings were found to be 27.03, 42.57, 15.54 and 14.86% in liver, lungs, kidney and heart respectively. Spectrum of bacteria on 90 culture positive gharial hatchlings were only one species in 70%, two species in 21.11% and three or more bacterial species in 8.89% of the carcasses. Presence of infection in particular age group of hatchlings led to the finding that the highest percentage of infection (75%) was recorded in the 30-34 weeks old hatchlings and in an average 38.64% hatchlings had been infected by one or more bacteria. Out of 102 hatchlings subjected to bacterial culture, 12 hatchlings (11.76%) were found negative to cultures. Culture of skin scrapings from suspected skin lesions led to the isolation of six environmental fungi without a higher prevalence of any particular species. It is concluded that higher mortality of gharial hatchlings in Chitwan was multifactorial. Bacteria, fungi, coccidia and parasites were significantly associated to these deaths, but environmental factors such as extreme temperatures and managemental deficiencies could not be ignored.


The effect of multi-wall carbon nanotubes content on physico-mechanical properties of glass microspheres-epoxy resin syntactic foam was evaluated experimentally. Syntactic foam with high volume fraction of microspheres (70 vol%) was prepared and modified by 1 to 5 vol% of multi-wall carbon nanotubes. The compressive, flexural and impact strength tests were conducted, the load-displacement curves were captured. The quality of dispersion of nanoparticles was evaluated in relation to the mixing procedure using scanning electron microscope observation.


The authors look at Beuys's activities and those of artists and students who worked with him between 1962 and 1972 in the context of the School of Fine Arts in Dusseldorf. The artist's "broad concept of art", his influence as a teacher and the theoretical and social implications of his ideas and works are analyzed. Brief essays outline the aesthetic concerns of artists who collaborated with Beuys. Biographical notes. 11 bibl. ref.


Many methods of nutritional diagnosis present discordant reports. It is necessary to study how these diagnoses relate to agricultural productivity and nutrient balance for a more efficient nutritional monitoring of the crops. This study had two objectives: (1) evaluate and compare Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) methods for nutritional diagnosis of sugarcane cultivated in the Northeast of Brazil; (2) establish standards, identify and hierarchize nutritional limitations. The database consisted of 183 samples, in which 31 were in areas with high productivity (³ 80 Mg ha-1) and 152 of areas with low productivity (< 80 Mg ha-1). Sugarcane leaves were collected and contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and B were determined. The DRIS indexes were calculated by methods DRIS-Beaufils, DRIS-Jones, DRIS-Elwali and Gascho, M-DRIS Beaufils, M-DRIS Jones, and the indexes CND too were calculated. The DRIS-Beaufils, DRIS-Jones, M-DRIS Beaufils and M-DRIS Jones methods tended to agree on the nutritional diagnosis of sugarcane. The nutritional diagnosis of the CND method interpreted by the Potencial Fertilization Response (PFR) was different from the DRIS methods for N and Mn nutrients. The M-DRIS Beaufils and M-DRIS Jones methods showed a higher correlation with nutrient contents. However, there was no significant correlation between agricultural productivity and nutrient balance index mean (NBIm), suggesting that other factors influenced sugarcane production more than nutritional factors. The nutritional diagnosis methods identified excessive fertilization with N and limitations of Ca, Mg, K, S, Mn, Cu, Zn and B in sugarcane in the Northeast of Brazil.


Rhinosinusitis (RS) may be sub-classified into several groups based on duration of symptoms, etiology, associated clinical history, and findings during endoscopic nasal examination. While one may dissect RS into several subgroups, the four major clinical categories are Recurrent Acute Rhinosinusitis (RARS), Chronic Rhinosinusitis without Nasal Polyps (CRSsNP), Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP), and Hyperplastic Rhinosinusitis (HRS). The American academy of Otolaryngology defines RARS as 4 or more acute infections per year of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis [1] lasting < 12 weeks. CRS is an inflammatory condition requiring the presence of 2 or more symptoms; one of which should be nasal discharge or nasal obstruction/blockage/congestion, +/facial pain, +/reduced or absent sense of smell, for 12 weeks or more. In addition, endoscopic findings or CT images showing pathological changes in the middle meat us should be present. CRS may exist with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP) or without Nasal Polyps (CRSsNP). Extensive nasal polyposis may also be driven by allergic fungal sinusitis or by aspirin sensitivity in a subset of patients with asthma and nasal polyposis (Samter's triad) [2]. The latter two groups have been collectively referred to as Hyperplastic Rhinosinusitis (HRS) by Kennedy and Borish [3], and will be referred to as such for the purposes of this study.


An expression for collection efficiency in actual Si solar cells is derived from the expression of Basore for inverse quantum efficiency vs. absorption depth at near-bandgap wavelengths. In the new expression, only internal rear-surface reflectance is an adjustable parameter. The new expression is used in reported actual Si solar cells, where it is compared to different approaches to evaluate collection efficiency including the linear fitting to inverse internal quantum efficiency versus absorption depth. This allows showing experimentally that these approaches are more liable to errors than the proposed expression for collection efficiency.


Thank you for reading building the city of god community and cooperation among the mormons. As you may know, people have look numerous times for their favorite readings like this building the city of god community and cooperation among the mormons, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some harmful virus inside their computer.


A simple observational approach for studying the response of the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.), to environmental gradients including latitude, insecticide application and climate change, was developed in this study. Insecticide resistance and carboxylesterase frequency in DBM collected in 1979/1980 and 1986/1987 were selected as two ecological variables for analysing and defining the response. Variation in the correlation between larval carboxylesterase 9b and malathion resistance of this insect was also investigated during the period of 1987 to 1997. A clustering dendrogram based on frequencies of seven carboxylesterase isozymes in 16 Taiwan populations showed a decreasingly latitude-dependent distribution of three major clades orientated from north to south. A multidimensional scaling configuration based on the same data had a stress value of 0.18 indicating that these three clades are barely separated. Data on insecticide resistance of 18 populations to five insecticides in a study by Cheng (1981) were used for clustering and multidimensional scaling analysis. The cluster of insecticide resistance in DBM also showed a latitude-dependent distribution of three clades. Multidimensional scaling configuration of insecticide resistance had a stress value of 0.03 indicating that the whole operative taxonomic unit was unable to be separated except for the Tou-Cheng population. Nevertheless, these two clustering dendrograms were similar to each other in three aspects: 1. susceptible populations of Tou-Cheng and Jeo-Feng diamondback moth in northern Taiwan stood as an outgroup from the two different operative taxonomic units; 2. both clusters and both configurations showed that the Sheh-Tzu population in northern Taiwan was grouped together with three southern populations, indicating autopomorphy; 3. geographically related populations adjacent to one another were grouped together as three latitude-dependent clades. However, discordance of the morphometric gradient of the isozyme of DBM populations among adjacent regions was observed. Of seven carboxylesterase isozymes, frequency of EST 9b in DBM was found to be positively correlated with resistance to mevinphos, malathion, fenvalerate and permethrin in this insect. These findings suggest that: 1. the increasing frequency of EST 9b in these populations is roughly associated with decreasing latitude and the distribution of EST 9b in these populations is not random; 2. populations of higher insecticide-resistance have a higher frequency of EST 9b in the zymogram of DBM; 3. both frequencies of EST 9b and insecticide-resistance in DBM are temporarily sustainable and may have varied little during the period of 1981-1997. However, a series of studies on the correlation between EST 9b frequency in DBM and the susceptibility of DBM to a discriminating dose of malathion (0.12 mg per larva) during 1989-1997 revealed that the slopes of the linear regression lines increased in a tangent angle from 16.7, 20.4 to 29.0 . All three slopes intercepted approximately at zero frequency of EST 9b. This suggested that the association between the mechanism of malathion-resistance and EST 9b in 1989, 1991 and 1997 increased during this period of time. Frequency of EST 9b in 2001 DBM reached its highest titre of 78% suggesting that the association between EST 9b and the resistance mechanism may reach its maximum. Two factors may be involved in the rapid spread of EST 9b in Taiwan populations: 1. dispersal of EST 9b increased in susceptible populations due to migration of the gene coded for EST 9b; 2. a warm winter season due to El Niño in 1998/1999 enhanced the dispersal of EST 9b in all populations. Significance of variation in the correlation between frequency of EST 9b and malathion resistance of DBM is discussed.


FDA on April 1 approved the first sublingual alternative to immunotherapy injections for people 10–65 years of age who are allergic to sweet vernal-grass, orchardgrass, perennial ryegrass, timothy, or Kentucky bluegrass.

Each tablet, the agency said, contains freeze-dried pollen extracts of those


The present paper debates the main aspects related to ethics, into an industry that recorded exponential growth in Romania insurance field. A very important role for a good business is enhanced by the ethics. The specialists appreciate that ethics represent a key factor for business success. Obviously, the insurance field into a competition market must follow all the aspects related to ethics. The ethics should be an essential element of every insurance company management. If we talk about ethics in insurance we must mention all the generated relations between the insurance company and persons/companies/ organizations that it comes into contact. We also will analyze how the distribution channels follow the ethics principles. The principles that should guide the activity of an insurance agent in the moment he presents an insurance policy are honesty, respect towards other persons or property. Even if these principles seem to be just a theory, the usage of them in the daily activity represents premise of business success. The insurance companies that will use practically the ethics principles will have important benefits in the future, regarding their cota shre in the insurance field, but also towards theirs perception for society.


We estimate the long-run economic value of photovoltaic (PV) generation with increasing penetration using a unique investment and dispatch model that captures long-run investment decisions while also incorporating detailed operational constraints and hourly time resolution over a full year. High time resolution and operational constraints can be important to estimate the economic value of variable generation resources like PV, as is the use of a modeling framework that accommodates new investment decisions. The model is herein applied to a case study that is loosely based on California in 2030. The marginal economic value of PV is decomposed into the capacity value, energy value, day-ahead forecast error cost, and ancillary services. The value of PV is found to exceed the value of a flat block of power by US$ 19/MWh at low penetration, largely due to the high capacity value of PV at low penetration. The value of PV is found to drop considerably (by more than US$ 60/MWh) as the penetration increases toward 30% on an energy basis, first primarily due to a steep drop in the capacity value followed by a decrease in the energy value. Day-ahead forecast error and ancillary service costs, although not insignificant, do not change as dramatically with increasing penetration. In the near term, efforts to mitigate changes in the value of PV with increasing penetration may be most effective if focused on maintaining the capacity value of PV.


While related with electronic commerce and supply chain management, the concept of ERP is more extended. Even information technology makes it more important to achieve company competence.
Automobile material industry in which there are the variety of suppliers and materials, has to relate with external information such as supply chain information in order to induct efficient ERP system.
This study focuses on the induction policies of ERP system through data sharing within supply chain, and performed both case study and statistical analysis through the interviews to the suppliers of automobile materials.
To the better induction of ERP through information sharing of SCM, we have to consider the needs of partner of which information sharing is being done well. This study suggests that organizational change management, business process, information technology are orderly taken into account as the analytical results.


The authors describe the structure of an improvement process using total quality control. Improvement is achieved by changing the process mechanism, starting from an external symptom. If the problem is limited, the procedure for improvement becomes easier. Software or hardware developments are a net of transformation processes, which is regarded as a cause-and-effect net. Other structures such as the development organization net and work practice net also constitute cause-and-effect nets. Refining the process makes the quality improve. It is concluded that these procedures for improvement are universal and applicable to various aspects of organization.<<ETX>>


Orthopedic injuries in female athletes continue to rise at a dramatic rate at every level of competition. This has sparked increased research interests into the pathoanatomy, epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes related to sex-specific differences involving ligament injuries, including ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries. However, most published research studies have been limited when evaluating for any sex-specific differences beyond anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.  Most UCL-related research, especially as it pertains to high level athletes, has occurred in the realm of professional baseball, a male-dominated sport.  While there are small reports of UCL injuries in females, these injuries are more common in women who participate in track and field (javelin), and gymnastics.  It is imperative for our orthopedic surgery community to continue to advance our understanding of sex-related differences in elbow UCL injuries to improve our injury understanding and ultimately help improve treatment and rehabilitation protocols for both male and female athletes with regards to different ligament injuries.


The Hangjinqi area was explored for natural gas around 40 years ago, but the efficient consideration in this area was started around a decade ago for pure gas exploration. Many wells have been drilled, yet the Hangjinqi area remains an exploration area, and the potential zones are still unclear. The Lower Shihezi Formation is a proven reservoir in the northern Ordos Basin. This study focuses on the second and third members of the Lower Shihezi Formation to understand the controlling factors of faults and sedimentary facies distribution, aimed to identify the favorable zones of gas accumulation within the Hangjinqi area. The research is conducted on a regional level by incorporating the 3D seismic grid of about 2500 km2, 62 well logs, and several cores using seismic stratigraphy, geological modeling, seismic attribute analysis, and well logging for the delineation of gas accumulation zones. The integrated results of structural maps, thickness maps, sand-ratio maps, and root mean square map showed that the northwestern region was uplifted compared to the southern part. The natural gas accumulated in southern zones was migrated through Porjianghaizi fault toward the northern region. Well J45 from the north zone and J77 from the south zone were chosen to compare the favorable zones of pure gas accumulation, proving that J45 lies in the pure gas zone compared to J77. Based on the faults and sedimentary facies distribution research, we suggest that the favorable zones of gas accumulation lie toward the northern region within the Hangjinqi area.


Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune blistering disease that causes intraepidermal blisters on the skin and mucous membranes. Autoantibodies targeting desmoglein 1 and desmoglein 3, which are cell adhesion molecules connecting epidermal cells, play an essential role in the development of PV.1 It has been suggested that one mechanism for the production of autoantibodies is molecular mimicry, i.e. a phenomenon in which different molecules have similar structures. For example, if antigens of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses are in a molecular mimicry relationship with selfantigens, immune responses to infections may cause autoimmune diseases.2,3 Autoimmune diseases caused by molecular mimicry could also be caused by vaccines. However, cases of PV occurring after vaccination are rare. The mechanism by which PV is triggered by vaccination is unknown. Here, we report a case of PV with latent hypopharyngeal and gastric cancer that manifested after SARSCoV2 vaccination. An 86yearold Japanese man received the SARSCoV2 vaccine (BNT162b2) on days 0 and 21. On day 22, flaccid bullae appeared mainly in the lumbar region. PV was suspected, and the patient was referred to our hospital on day 33. On arrival at our hospital, we found flaccid bullae scattered mainly in the right lumbar region (Figure 1a) and left upper arm (Figure 1b). The skin biopsy showed an intraepidermal blister with a single basal layer remaining (Figure 1c). Direct immunofluorescent staining showed IgG deposition on the keratinocytes of the lesional epidermis (Figure 1d). Blood tests showed high levels of antidesmoglein 1 antibody (962.3 U/mL,


The human IgA1 molecule has exceptional O-glycans in its hinge region. The fundamental structure of the Oglycans is the linkage between the a-anomeric carbon atom in N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and the hydroxy group of serine or threonine (GalNAc a1-O-Ser (Thr)). A wide structural variety of the sugar side-chains in glycoproteins is observed under physiological conditions. The phenomenon is called 'the microheterogeneity of carbohydrates'. In several previous studies analysing the structural varieties of the O-glycans in the hinge region of serum IgA1 and the deposited IgA1 in glomeruli (glomerular IgA1) in IgA nephropathy (IgAN), it was found that the hinge glycopeptides in IgA1 were under-glycosylated. Recently, we investigated that the O-glycan structure of IgA1 molecules produced by tonsillar lymphocytes (tonsillar IgA1) were also under-glycosylated in IgAN patients. These findings suggested that the underglycosylated IgA1 might play a role in the cause of IgAN. Upper respiratory infections and tonsillitis often precede increases in haematuria and proteinuria in patients with IgAN. Béné et al. reported that tonsillectomy might be an efficient treatment for preventing the progression of IgAN. Recently, Hotta et al. reported that tonsillectomy combined with steroid pulse therapy (combination therapy) had a strong effect on IgAN. Therefore, tonsillectomy and combination therapy might have an influence upon the structural varieties of O-glycans of IgA1 in IgAN.


Drought is a major abiotic factor limiting the grain yield and yield stability of maize throughout the world therefore, the development of drought tolerant genotypes is an important breeding objective. In this study, an experimental field was conducted at Agricultural Research and Development Station Simnic in the water-stressed (2017) and non-stressed conditions (2018) to select the best performing maize hybrids. For this purpose, the new indices: RCI (the resilience capacity index), PCI (the production capacity index), YSSI (the yield susceptibility score index) and YPSI (the yield production score index) were used. The results indicated that using this new selection method, maize hybrids can be easy identified and classified in four categories of tolerance. The hybrids from category 1: HS 88013, HS 1158-14, HS 1156-14 were selected as combining high resilience with high productivity.


This second part of paper develops a theory of linear viscoelastic nematodynamics applicable to LCP. The viscous and elastic nematic components in theory are described by using the LEP approach for viscous nematics and de Gennes free energy for weakly elastic nematic elastomers. The case of applied external magnetic field exemplifies the occurrence of non-symmetric stresses. In spite of multi- (10) parametric character of the theory, the use of nematic operators presents it in an elegant form. When the magnetic field is absent, the theory is simplified for symmetric case with 6 parameters, and takes an extremely simple, 2-parametric form for viscoelastic nematodynamics with possible soft deformation modes. It is shown that the linear nematodynamics is always reduced to the LEP-like equations where the coefficients are changed for linear memory functionals whose parameters are calculated from original viscosities and moduli.


A simple method for the study of wave propagation in uniform hollow waveguides of very general cross sections is proposed. The method is based upon the concept of contour lines of electromagnetic field components on a typical cross section of the waveguide and applies when the boundry of the cross section of the guide is a closed curve. Examples show that values of cutoff frequencies can be obtained easily to a useful degree of accuracy.


Abstract: The results of this paper indicate that the implementation of the development of multiple intelligences in the Wadas Kelir Creative House (RKWK) is done through creative learning, ie leaming-based games to develop children's creativity in accordance with the potential of intelligence has, especially 5 (five) intelligence developed, namely language intelligence (linguistic-verbal), numbers intelligence (logical-mathematical), picture intelligence (visual-spatial), body intelligence (kinesthetic), and musical intelligence. However, other intelligence such as social-interpersonal intelligence, self-reflection intelligence (intrapersonal) and naturalistic intelligence also can not be neglected in leaming activities and become an integral part in it. The workleaming products children were sent to the media and exhibited and performed in a particular activity or event.
Keywords: Multiple Intelligences, Creative Leaming, Rumah Kreatif Wadas Kelir (RKWK).


Critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at high risk for infections associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs (1-3). The overall infection rate in critically ill patients approaches 40% and may be as high as 50% or 60% in patients who remain in the ICU for more than 5 days (4, 5). Respiratory tract infections account for 30% to 60% of all such infections. The incidence of pneumonia acquired in the ICU ranges from 10% to 65% (6-11). Among patients at high risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are those who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, burns, neurosurgical conditions, the acute respiratory distress syndrome, and witnessed aspiration; those who are reintubated; and those who receive paralytic agents or enteral nutrition (12, 13). The attributable morbidity and mortality of VAP are clinically important. In a prospective, matched cohort study, patients with VAP remained in the ICU 4.3 days (95% CI, 1.5 to 7.0 days) longer than patients who did not have VAP and had a trend toward an increased risk for death (absolute risk increase, 5.8% [CI, 2.4% to 14.0%]) (14). Six other studies using a matching strategy found a prolonged length of ICU stay associated with VAP (range, 5 to 13 days) and attributable mortality ranging from an absolute risk increase of 0% to 50% (15-20). Therefore, strategies to decrease the incidence of VAP could decrease morbidity, mortality, and health care costs and improve patient safety. A survey of the use of VAP prevention strategies identified differences across countries (21). For example, changing the ventilator circuit for each new patient was reported more frequently by French ICU directors than those in Canada (21). This survey also showed that some effective strategies were used infrequently, suggesting inadequate translation of randomized trial results into practice. One potential catalyst for knowledge translation is an evidence-based clinical practice guideline. Therefore, a Joint Planning Group of the Canadian Critical Care Society and Canadian Critical Care Trials Group commissioned the development of an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the prevention of VAP. In this paper, we describe the methods used to create the guideline and the recommendations generated. Methods The Joint Planning Group selected an 11-member VAP Prevention Guideline Panel made up of 9 intensivists from university-affiliated and community hospitals, an ICU nurse, and an ICU respiratory therapist. Panel members were experts in critical care medicine (n= 9), VAP (n= 4), evidence-based medicine (n= 4), and guideline development (n= 3). The context was mechanically ventilated adult patients cared for in the ICU. The target audience was ICU clinicians in university-affiliated and community hospitals. To identify potentially relevant evidence, we searched 3 bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) to 1 April 2003 for randomized trials that evaluated interventions influencing VAP (Appendix). We had no language restrictions. We also reviewed personal files and practice guidelines on this subject previously published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (22) and the American Thoracic Society (23). We included randomized trials and systematic reviews of randomized trials that 1) studied adult critically ill patients; 2) had VAP as an outcome; and 3) evaluated any of the following interventions: physical strategies (route of endotracheal intubation, systematic search for maxillary sinusitis, frequency of ventilator circuit changes, type of airway humidification, frequency of humidifier changes, endotracheal suctioning system, subglottic secretion drainage, chest physiotherapy, and tracheostomy timing), positional strategies (kinetic beds, semi-recumbent positioning, and prone positioning), and pharmacologic strategies (stress ulcer prophylaxis and prophylactic antibiotics, including selective decontamination of the digestive tract). Since study authors used various definitions of VAP, we used the definitions they provided. The most common definition was a new or persistent radiographic infiltrate plus fever, leukocytosis, change in the volume or color of sputum, or isolation of a pathogen. If available, histologic evidence of pneumonia was also used. A priori, we decided to review only systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials for antibiotic prophylaxis and only randomized clinical trials for all other topics. We excluded crossover and beforeafter studies. We also excluded randomized trials of ventilator weaning, including noninvasive mechanical ventilation, and nutritional interventions evaluating VAP because guidelines addressing these topics have recently been published (24, 25). In duplicate and independently, 3 pairs of panel members critically appraised each trial (26, 27) and systematic review (28). Each member of a pair compared his or her independent appraisal of a given trial or systematic review with that of the other member of the pair. For each randomized trial, we abstracted sample, allocation, intervention, co-interventions, exclusions after randomization, blinding of outcome assessment, definition of VAP, crude VAP events, relative risk for VAP, and other outcomes. For each intervention, we summarized the risk differences and calculated a pooled risk difference. For each systematic review, we abstracted number of trials, population, intervention, selection criteria, search strategy, validity assessment, method of pooling results, homogeneity assessment, VAP definition, pooled event rates, and other outcomes. Before the panel meeting, each pair of appraisers achieved consensus on the validity and results of the trials they reviewed. One month before the panel meeting, panel members received the evidence tables for review prepared by the 3 pairs of appraisers. A priori, panel members agreed to read all circulated documents and evidence tables in advance, to use levels of evidence to generate a status statement for each item, and to abide by the group process and consensus methods. The Canadian Critical Care Society appointed a chair to ensure that the panel achieved its objectives through group process (29). At the panel meeting, each member recorded any potential conflicts of interest (30). The pair of panel members responsible for critical appraisal of each intervention provided a structured written and oral presentation of the evidence. After the panel discussion, the initial evidence summary was revised if necessary. The panel members assigned levels of evidence, semi-quantitative scores to summarize the evidence and describe the intervention, and a status statement. We classified trials as level 1 if they had all of the following: concealed randomization, blinded outcome adjudication, an intention-to-treat analysis, and an explicit definition of VAP. Trials were classified as level 2 if any one of these characteristics was unfulfilled and as level 3 if allocation was not strictly randomized. We used a semi-quantitative score (0, 1, 2, or 3) to evaluate each intervention with respect to the validity of the randomized trials; the effect size of each intervention; the confidence intervals around the estimate of effect; the homogeneity of the trial results; and the safety, feasibility, and economic consequences of the intervention. The language of the status statement for each item was keyed to the levels of evidence and the semi-quantitative scores. We used the term recommended if there were no reservations about endorsing an intervention and the term considered if the evidence supported an intervention but there were minor uncertainties about the benefits, harms, or costs. No recommendation was made if evidence regarding an intervention was inadequate or if there were major uncertainties about the benefits, harms, or costs. After the panel meeting, the chair compiled the summaries and status statements and sent them to all panel members to check accuracy and clarity. In addition, the pairs of evidence appraisers wrote background documents for the interventions they appraised, including the rationale for each intervention, appraisal of randomized trials and systematic reviews, and harms and costs of the interventions. The chair and the writing committee organized the background documents, the evidence summaries, a table of the semi-quantitative scores, and the status statement for each item. We formatted the document with a structured abstract (31), a summary of the evidentiary basis for each recommendation, and a status statement for each item. We also created a quick reference guide. The draft guideline document was submitted for structured external review by the executives of the Canadian Critical Care Society and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group and the respective executives of the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses, Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists, Canadian Infectious Disease Society, and Canadian Thoracic Society. External reviewers were asked to critique whether the guideline was logical, clear, and practical and to critique the guideline development process. The panel revised the document on the basis of this feedback. The final guideline was returned to the external reviewers for further comments and official endorsement by their respective organizations. The final guideline was then piloted in 2 institutions. To record the agreement of each panel member with the final status statement for each item, we sent the final document to all panel members. Independently, blinded to each other's ratings, panel members used a Likert scale from 1 to 9 that was anchored by disagree completely at the low end and agree completely at the high end. The panel will formally review and update this guideline every 2 years (32). The funding source played no role in study selection for this guideline and had no role in its development