SETTING
Bangladesh national tuberculosis control programme districts supported by the Damien Foundation (population 18 million).

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the observed gender difference is epidemiologically true or whether it is due to accessibility barriers for women.

DESIGN
Two-stage random sampling population survey. People were interviewed by teams composed of one male and one female volunteer about the presence of symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis. One early morning sputum specimen of all thus identified tuberculosis suspects was examined by Ziehl-Neelsen technique.

RESULTS
A total of 266189 people were surveyed, among whom 223 936 (84.1%) could be interviewed. This led to the identification of 7001 tuberculosis suspects (2406 females and 4595 males) and 64 confirmed TB cases (16 females and 48 males). The female/male ratio (0.33:1) of cases found during the survey was not higher than that observed through routine diagnosis (0.42:1). The routine case-notification rate of sputum-positive cases during 2000 was about twice the rate observed during the survey (44.3 vs. 24.0 per 100 000 population).

CONCLUSIONS
The gender difference observed in routine tuberculosis diagnosis is real, and is not due to lesser accessibility of women to the health services. The routine notification rate compares favourably with the detection of previously unknown cases found during the survey.


Covid 19 epidemic has made people more aware of the importance of health and personal hygiene. They strive to increase body immunity against various viruses, bacteria, and germs.  One of the plants capable of improving body immunity is noni plant. It is much likely to prevent corona virus. Noni fruit contains substance capable of preventing cancer and antimicrobials. skopoletin dan anthraquinon of noni fruit has anti-septic substance that can kill bacteria and fungi in the body. Alkaloid of morinda citrifolia is also effective to increase immunity and to lower cholesterol. Due to its anti-virus property, noni can also cure fever, pain, and cough. For noni fermented beverage, the analysis of SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) has been made for its potential market. The fermented noni drink is expected to be an alternative herbal drink which is healthy and economic-valued. This product is also expected to inspire an innovative enterpreneurship. By making use of often-discarded-noni fruit into fermented noni beverage, people can employ others as noni fruit collectors, thus employment created. The manufacture of the product includes pre-production stage, fermentation production, packaging, promoting, launching, and to the post-production stage. The fermented noni has its particular blend of fresh and sweet flavors. Consumers may get attracted to buy this rich-nutrient herbal drink. The manufacture of fermented noni drink can empower the people of desa pagerngumbuk. They can start by planting the noni plant. Hence, it is expected to make a new enterpreneuship activity among the society of desa Pagerngumbuk. This can be initiated particularly by the women of PKK.


OBJECTIVE: To study the status quo and developing trend of clinical use of antipsychotics in our hospital from 2003 to 2005.METHODS: The consumption sum,DDDs,daily drug expenses etc.were computed and ranked with DDD taken as an index(a drug utilization review method recommended by WHO).RESULTS: Both the drug expenses and DDDs of antipsychotics increased year on year,with yearly increase rates at 42.27% vs.24.29% in 2004 and 8.78% vs.11.73% in 2005,about half of which were from atypical antipsychotics,which had been gradually accepted and widely used in the clinic for their excellent advantages in spite of their high daily expenses.The classic antipsychotics still occupy a large market share because of their low costs.CONCLUSION: A regular comparative analysis on drug utilization is necessary so as to provide scientific evidence and ideas for rational drug use,scientific drug control and the development of new drugs.


The invention relates to an optical diaphragm suitable for an edge-type backlight module. One surface of the optical diaphragm is provided with a plurality of bar-shaped miniature prism bodies, wherein the miniature prism bodies are densely covered on the surface of the optical diaphragm in an array manner and the miniature prism bodies are in left-and-right continuously bending shape and extend. In at least one edge area, along the extension direction of the miniature prism bodies, of the optical diaphragm, each left-and-right continuously bending gap formed by the miniature prism bodies is relatively smaller than the gap of other areas of the optical diaphragm, so that the miniature prism bodies form a much denser left-and-right continuously bending shape in a near edge area, and a light source scattering area is formed through the design of the much denser left-and-right continuously bending shape.


Little is known about the composition of middle cerebral artery (MCA) plaques and how they relate to clinical status. Using high‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR‐MRI), we aimed to examine the occurrence of high signal on T1‐weighted fat‐suppressed images (HST1) of MCA plaques, which are highly suggestive of fresh or recent intraplaque hemorrhage.


When the Diggers, a radical group of improvisational actors associated with the antiwar movement during the 1960s, staged the death of Hippie in Golden Gate Park at the end of 1967 to protest the commercialization of the counterculture, they knew that the media were not ready for Hippie to die. What they did not know was just how ignominious his reincarnation would eventually be. As Fred Turner tells us in his important new book, From Counterculture and Cyberculture, over the next thirty years, cultural entrepreneurs gradually transmogrified Hippie's ethos into the libertarian ideology of the digerati who now populate the pages and covers of today's business magazines.


Problems of training of chemistry in the high schools, connected with lacks of school preparation of students on this discipline are considered. The technology of training based on complex use of the modern training means at lecturing and carrying out of the express check before beginning of each lecture, that provides intensification of educational process, raises a teaching efficiency, develops independent work of students. is described.


For more than 30 years, scholars have explored the transnational qualities and effects of Chinese media. In one of the earliest such studies, Chin-chuan Lee (1979) used case examples of Taiwan and ...


In the surgical department of Osaka University, four cases of neurosugical patients were treated under total circulatory arrest with profound hypothermia using extracorporeal circulation from July 1965 to June 1966. Two of the cases with highly vascularized gross meningiomas were operated with an open-chest technique, and the other two cases with an aneurysm and an arterio-venous malformation respetcively with a closed-chest technique. Case K.T. was cooled to 30° C rectally on a cooling blanket and then to about 15° C with perfusion. Two venous canulas were inserted into the superior and inferior caval veins through the right atrium, and another in the left ventricle to decompress the left side of the heart. An arterial canula was placed in the femoral artery. The perfusion was first done under the flow rate of 2.0 1/m2/min. and then about 0.5l/m2/min. after the rectaltempe rature reached about 15°C. The tumour was resected piece by piece carefully and totally extirpated under the low flow perfusion and total circulatory arrest. But a massive and almost uncontrollable bleeding, mainly from the meningeal attachment to the falx cerebri, occurred after the perfusion was reopened, partly because of the insufficient electrocoagulation and clipping and partly the fibrinolytic phenomenon. The bleeding was controled about four hours after the blood was neutralized with protamine. Postoperatively she was semicomatous with severe thrombocpenia and hemorrhagic diathesis. She died on the 21st postoperative day. Death was believed due to the intracranial bleeding but an autopsy was not done. In Case Y.S. two venous canulas were inserted into the inferior caval vein through each external iliac vein, one of which into the right attrium and the other in the middle of the inferior caval vein, and an arterial one in the external iliac artery. After the surface cooling the patient was perfused under a flow rate of


Earthquake losses due to highway damage depend not only on the response characteristics of the highway components, but also on the nature of the overall highway system (e.g., redundancies, capacities, traffic demands, etc.). This paper describes recent developments for addressing these issues by using seismic risk analysis (SRA) of the highway system. It outlines a new SRA procedure, describes its application to the Memphis, Tennessee highway system, and summarizes research being conducted to further develop the procedure.


Nitric oxide (NO) is a widespread signaling molecule involved in the regulation of an impressive spectrum of diverse cellular functions. Superoxide anions (O2) not only contribute to the localization of NO action by rapid inactivation, but also give rise to the formation of the potentially toxic species peroxynitrite (ONOO−) and other reactive nitrogen oxide species. The chemistry and biological effect of ONOO− depend on the relative rates of formation of NO and O2. However, the simultaneous quantification of NO and O2 has not been achieved yet due to their high rate of interaction, which is almost diffusion-controlled. A sensitive spectrophotometric assay was developed for the simultaneous quantification of NO and O2 in aqueous solution that is based on the NO-induced oxidation of oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) to methemoglobin and the O2-mediated reduction of ferricytochrome c Using a photodiode array photometer, spectral changes of either reaction were analyzed, and appropriate wavelengths were identified for the simultaneous monitoring of absorbance changes of the individual reactions. oxyHb oxidation was followed at 541.2 nm (isosbestic wavelength for the conversion of ferri- to ferrocytochrome c), and ferricytochrome c reduction was followed at 465 nm (wavelength at which absorbance changes during oxyHb to methemoglobin conversion were negligible), using 525 nm as the isosbestic point for both reactions. At final concentrations of 20 μM ferricytochrome c and 5 μM oxyHb, the molar extinction coefficients were determined to be ε465-525 = 7.3 mM−1 cm−1 and ε541.2-525 = 6.6 mM−1 cm−1, respectively. The rates of formation of either NO or O2 determined with the combined assay were virtually identical to those measured with the classical oxyhemoglobin and cytochrome c assays, respectively. The assay was successfully adapted to either kinetic or end point determination in a cuvette or continuous on-line measurement of both radicals in a flow-through system. Maximal assay sensitivity was ∼25 nM for NO and O2. Cross-reactivity with ONOO− was controlled for by the presence of L-methionine. Generation of NO from the NO donor spermine diazeniumdiolate could be reliably quantified in the presence and absence of low, equimolar, and high flux rates of O2. Likewise, O2 enzymatically generated from hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase could be specifically quantified with no difference in absolute rates in the presence or absence of concomitant NO generation at different flux rates. Nonenzymatic decomposition of 3-morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride (100 μM) in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4 (37°C), was found to be associated with almost stoichiometric production of NO and O2 (1.24 μM NO/min and 1.12 μM O2/min). Assay selectivity and applicability to biological systems were demonstrated in cultured endothelial cells and isolated aortic tissue using calcium ionophore and NADH for stimulation of NO and O2 formation, respectively. Based on these data, a computer model was elaborated that successfully predicts the reaction of NO and O2 with hemoprotein and may thus help to further elucidate these reactions. In conclusion, the nitric oxide/superoxide assay allows the specific, sensitive, and simultaneous detection of NO and O2. The simulation model developed also allows the reliable prediction of the reaction between NO and O2 as well as their kinetic interaction with other biomolecules. These new analytical tools will help to gain further insight into the physiological and pathophysiological significance of the formation of these radicals in cell homeostasis.


Background: Changes in physical health and cognition during aging can result in some older adults to stop driving. In this population-based longitudinal study, we describe potential predictors of driving cessation in older adults. Methods: Age-stratified random population cohort of 1982 adults aged 65 years and older drawn from voter registration lists. Participant characteristics were measured using demographics, physical and self-rated health, sleeping habits, driving status, cognitive screening, modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, clinical dementia rating, and mini-mental state examination. Results: Over 12 years of follow-up, 390 participants stopped driving. These individuals were older, more likely to be women and to have a clinical dementia rating score ≥1, had worse self-reported health, and more symptoms of depression, compared with those who were still driving. In addition, individuals with lower test performance in all cognitive domains, loss of visual acuity and fields, and bilateral hearing loss were more likely to stop driving. Conclusions: Age, sex, cognitive impairments, physical health, and depressive symptoms were associated with driving cessation in this cohort. By identifying potential driving cessation predictors, health care providers and families may better recognize these risk factors and begin the driving cessation discussion early.


With the advent of multiple radio interfaces on modern smart phones, simultaneous transmission and reception of data through via both mobile networks and WiFi networks has gained a considerable attention as a cost-effective means for mobile data offloading. In this paper, we present a practical SDN-based data offloading framework based on a Femto-WiFi Integrated network. The proposed framework take advantage of the flow handling and analysis capability of SDN controllers to make decisions on how to distribute data flows between mobile core networks and broadband IP networks. It follows the device-initiated, network-assisted approach, where a User Equipment (UE) make selection on the radio interfaces to be used based on the network traffic flow information provided by an Access Network Selection Information (ANSI) server.


Background

Endometrial receptivity damage caused by impaired decidualization may be one of the mechanisms of infertility in endometriosis (EMs). Our previous study demonstrated that Calpain-7 (CAPN7) is abnormally overexpressed in EMs. Whether CAPN7 affects the regulation of decidualization and by what mechanism CAPN7 regulates decidualization remains to be determined.
Methods

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to assess the CAPN7 expression in human endometria. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting, ELIFA and ELISA were applied to explore PRL and IGFBP-1 expressions in decidualized human endometrial stromal cells (HESC). Immunofluorescence analysis and the nuclear and cytoplasmic protein extract assay were employed to test CAPN7's affection on FoxO1's location in HESC. Western blotting was used to explore the regulatory mechanism of CAPN7 to AKT1/FoxO1 signalling pathway.
Results

In this study, we found CAPN7 expression decreased during human endometrial stromal cell (HESC) decidualization in vitro. CAPN7 negatively regulated decidualization in vitro and in vivo. We also identified one conserved potential PEST sequence in the AKT1 protein and found that CAPN7 was able to hydrolyse AKT1 and enhance AKT1's phosphorylation. Correspondingly, CAPN7 notably promoted the phosphorylation of Forkhead Box O1 (FoxO1), the downstream of AKT1 protein, at Ser319, leading to increased FoxO1 exclusion from nuclei and attenuated FoxO1 transcriptional activity in decidualized HESC. In addition, we detected endometrium CAPN7, p-AKT1 and p-FoxO1 expressions were increased in EMs.
Conclusions

These data demonstrate that CAPN7 negatively regulates HESC decidualization in EMs probably by promoting FoxO1's phosphorylation and FoxO1 nuclear exclusion via hydrolyzing AKT1. The dysregulation of CAPN7 may be a novel cause of EMs.


by I. CHUKWUKERE Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. 19 xii 80 I shall treat the comments pertaining to the dominant theme of my paper (CA 22:61-66)-the structure of Fante burial customs-much more seriously than the largely subjective criticisms of the secondary problem, comparison of Fante and Californian mortuary behaviour. If I understand it correctly, the main purpose of commentary is elucidative and corrective. Thus, it is otiose for Frank (p. 66) to complain that I "stress" (which I studiously avoided in any case) the parallelism "a bit too much for [his] taste." Could this not be a matter of his own dislike (which I may covertly share) of the grotesque Californian world portrayed by Waugh rather than anything to do with the resemblances and differences I drew attention to, as de Mahieu (p. 66) negatively recognizes, at a more or less hypothetical level? Hinderling blows hot and cold in the same breath (p. 67), first dismissing "the relevance of the comparison" and then highlighting his own observations of the ''many apparent similarities" and "divergences" between "the two cases." I can only infer, therefore, that he expects me to have dwelt on structural and semantic analogies. These, however, as I made clear, had no place in my conception and execution because (I must repeat) of reservations about the data source on California. In this sense, I welcome Sangree's (pp. 67-68) dissenting voice. It demonstrates balanced critical judgement of my position: "I find Chukwukere's tentative analogies . . . refreshing, and I also appreciate his caution in not developing these further, particularly since The Loved One is his major ethnographic source" (emphasis mine). I commend the preliminary insights Sangree has offered on Californian social structure to anyone interested in detailed and indepth sociological comparison of the two societies in question. As the comments on my ethnographic and analytical details relating to the Fante funeral are varied, I shall take the more important remarks one by one. Mensah (p. 67) categorically denies that nkaansa is a gift but inadvertently makes it abundantly clear, albeit by circumlocution, that it is precisely that: "it gives the recipient authority to participate fully in the funeral, which includes the bringing, in return, of a much more substantial esiedze." The obligatory nature of the obituary notice (nkaansa) and of the response (esiedze) made by "the recipient" is crucial. I am grateful to Mensah for the additional information on Fante beliefs about death. I hope I shall have the opportunity to use it where its relevance would be indisputable. I should think, as does Frank, that an excursion into "the historical roots" of the coffin-exchange custom might pay off, sociologically speaking, but here, as far as I am concerned, any worthwhile inquiry along the lines he suggests would be a red herring. Sangree is consistently perspicacious, even where we may differ. I appreciate his observation that for a complete picture to emerge one needs "further ethnographic evidence and systematic analysis" of male/female polarity in Fante social structure. I might therefore hint that three of my published papers on Fante society (1978, 1980, and the current one) and a decisive fourth essay (n.d.) form a tetralogy on this theme. De Mahieu outlines a tantalizing alternative structural path to my analytical goal, but on close examination of it I reject its applicability to the Fante ethnographic facts available to me. The asafo/abusua antagonism is obviously present, but the dualism of the man's abusua and his wife's abusua is unquestionably more significant in the funerary context at issue. Therefore, my own reduction of the triad-the deceased's asafo, his abusua, and his wife's and children's abusua-into a dyadic structure of male/female opposition is closer to the empirical reality than de Mahieu's arbitrary relegation of the children to a kind of superimposition on or redundant addition to an essentially binary principle of classification. Reading him, I was reminded of Evans-Pritchard's (1965:70) felicitous rejection of a certain "masterly analysis": "masterly though it was, its conclusions are an unconvincing piece of sociologistic metaphysics." Thus, de Mahieu, accusing me of overeagerness "to arrive at a neat dual structure," has unwittingly grabbed the wrong end of the stick and proceeded to beat me with it. I feel, therefore, compelled to reemphasize here the ethnographic actuality. Fante society expects the children of the dead man to supply the coffin, but if they are minors or unable for any other reason to procure a suitable one it is their mother's eldest brother (wofa), together with his close matrikin, who takes on the responsibility. He, the children, and their mother are very close members of the same matrilineage. Wherein, all these facts taken together, does de Mahieu detect a contradiction in my coalescing "the task of the children of the deceased" with "the task of the matrilineal group of his widow and children"? Simple logical deduction, isn't it? I am at my wits' end to understand Hinderling's interpretation of my structural equation of asafo (in which descent is traced through the father) and abusua (matrilineally determined) with the "male" and "female" categories respectively. I crave the reader's patience for this quotation (p. 67): "But, since any descent group contains as many males as females, the [asafo/abusua relation] is not an opposition or polarity of the 'male' and 'female' principles. Only father and mother as links to these classes refer, to a limited degree, to this polarity." If this were a case of misunderstanding arising from lack of "uniform ethnological terminology" (to use his words), I would be compelled to pull my punches. As the case stands, there is a fundamental weakness in reasoning here that only Hinderling can remedy. Hinderling also demands, unfortunately de haut en bas, further clarification of the basic Fante concept asafo. It is, I repeat, the agnatic descent group par excellence, tracing patrilineal descent beyond the five-generational limit generally characteristic of the Asante ntoro to the very foundation of a Fante community (which may belong to mythical history). The Fante equivalent of the ntoro is the egyabosom ("fatherdeity"); members of an egyabosom belong ipso facto to the same asafo but not the reverse. I might add that the concept of asafo is known and used among other Akan groups, including Asante, but in a much different sense: among the latter all members of a community (town, village, state) regard themselves as constituting one asafo, whereas in Fanteland there exist in each community at least two (and as many as seven) asafo groups. I thank all the commentators for sincerely and unequivocally setting out their diverse responses to the stimuli I offered. If they had not, I would have felt extremely oddrather like the bird of prey in Igbo myothology which, on sensing people's unusual indifference to its seizing of a chick, quickly decided to release its victim on the grounds that "there is something unnatural about such silence following a provocative act." 1 Permission to reprint items in this section may be obtained only from their authors.


Ancient phonology is a branch of traditional phonology,the important part of Chinese phonology.Ancient phonology study is ancient Chinese phonology ontology research and ancient phonology history research.Homophony is very important in Chinese and is closely related to the Chinese phonology study,especially the antediluvian Chinese phonology study.Homophonic and ancient phonology studies are,on one hand,using homophonic material to comb and reconstruct the ancient Chinese phonetic system,and on the other hand,making historical research on homophony and ancient Chinese phonology.This paper combs and discerns the origin and historical evolution of homophony and ancient Chinese phonology,expecting to summarize and explore new research perspectives and development direction for Chinese phonology,Chinese philology,Chinese phonetic history,etc.


Short-time disturbances of the microcirculation in rabbits had a different influence on the ATP-ase activity of smooth and rough microsomes of the liver and heart. Mg+2ATP-ase activity in the liver decreased in both microsome fractions; as in the heart, the enzyme activity increased only in the smooth (light) microsomes.


Green revolution enhanced the quality and increased production of food crops and vegetables by engaging the modern agro technology. The present study was aimed to understand the effect of vermicompost on the germination and plant growth of black nightshade (S. nigrum). The different treatments significantly influenced the seed germination, seedling growth and number of leaves/ plant. The fresh and dry weight of the S. nigrum plant was more in 20 g vermicompost supplemented pots.


European rabbit restocking is one of the most frequent action in hunting estates and for conservation projects in Spain, France and Portugal, where rabbit is a keystone species. The aim of this work is to review current knowledge as regards the establishment of rabbit restocked population in accordance with the IUCN (1998) guidelines for reintroduction in order to identify gaps in knowledge and highlight the techniques that improve the overall success rate. Eight of the 17 selected items of these guidelines were identified as partly studied or unknown, including important items such as the management and release of captive-reared wild rabbits, the development of transport and monitoring programs, the application of vaccine programs, and postrelease long-term studies. Researchers should therefore concentrate their efforts on bridging these knowledge gaps, and wildlife managers should consider all the factors reviewed herein with the aim of establishing accurate management guidelines for subsequent rabbit restocking programs.


The composition and morphology of mineral surfaces is known to play an important role in various phenomena relevant to planetary science. For example, the synthesis and processing of complex organics likely occurs at mineral surfaces strongly affected by the space environment. Furthermore, the dissipative and adhesive properties of dust grains may depend strongly on the chemical state of the surface including the presence of dangling bonds, adsorbates, and radicals. In this dissertation, experimental results are first presented which demonstrate that mineral grains subjected to high temperatures in a reducing environment lead to iron nanoparticles which are strongly catalytic for the formation of complex organic species. Next, results obtained using molecular-dynamics simulations demonstrate that uncoordinated surface atoms in metallic nanoparticles result in plastic deformation, strong dissipation and adhesion during collisions. This can be contrasted with previous simulations which demonstrate significantly weaker dissipation when surface atoms are passivated. Calculations of critical sticking velocities demonstrate that simple coarsegrain models are insufficient for predicting the adhesive behavior of sub-micron sized grains. Next, results are presented describing a computational study illuminating the role of surface chemistry on adhesion and dissipation for iron nanoparticle collisions, which in the case of free radical adsorbates may also contribute to the creation of more complex species. Lastly, to further elucidate dissipation, the direct coupling of harmonic vibrational modes in the dissipation process is established. The results demonstrate broad participation of low and high-frequency modes during a collision during a timescale less than time required for particles to rebound. Hence, our results demonstrate extremely strong likelihood of adhesion during collisions. This approach provides a way to use density-functional theory calculations to directly compute dissipative couplings at mineral interfaces.


Yaounde zone is originally characterized by the small number of aquifers and bad renewal capacity. Within the frame-work of the emergency program which aims at supplying the city with drinking water, seventeen Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were carried out using Schlumberger configuration in parts of Yaounde (latitude 3o- 5oN and longi- tude 11o-13oE) to determine the nature and thickness of aquifer zone and necessary geoelectrical parameters. Four to five geoelectric layers were delineated from the survey area. The first layer is the topsoil and has resistivity values ranging from 13 - 216 Ω·m and thickness is between 0.1 - 6 m. The second layer made up of clay sand and laterite has resistivity values ranging between 23 and 923 Ω·m and thickness ranged from 1 and 40 m. The third and fourth geoelectric layers consisting of clay and gneiss/migmatite with thickness varying from 1.7 - 63.3 m correspond to an aquifer horizon. Resistivity values of the aquifer ranges from 4 to 9215 Ω·m. The study indicates that average depth of the aquifer is 20 m and average thickness of the aquifer is 55 m. Soundings curves suggest several four layered geoelectrical sections KH, KQ, HK type and some five layered sections of the HKH, KHK types. KH type is dominant and can be used as reference for future studies. The resistivity survey reveals that the parameters obtained through interpretation of VES curves corroborate the litho logs of boreholes from the area.


I could not have imagined when I started to unravel 2 years ago, that my workplace could become more disturbed. I am a teacher educator in a research-intensive university in a large metropolitan city. I described my workplace as VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) even before the Covod-19 pandemic. This was the new normal in tertiary education according to Wallace–Hulecki (2017). The characteristics were initially used to describe an environment identified by the US Army War College after the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s (Barber, 1992). They resonated strongly with how I perceived my workplace. Events then, as now, unfold with increasing vehemence but little clarity. Problems, solutions, repercussions, and ramifications are multi-layered and intermingled. There are no clearly defined foes and no clear winners. It is a turbulent and stressful environment to navigate. Successes and failures, wins and losses all take their toll. This self-study was born out of rising desperation and a sense that I was no longer able to cope, that I was not fit for purpose in the new regime, that I would be supernumerary if I did not meet the institution's standards. But this self-study project has also been a lifeline and stabiliser. It has helped me understand that I can and do influence my own "normal" and that I am not alone in my struggles.


We extend understanding of information‐revealing bandwagons by considering a common condition under which adoption of a practice by small organizations, rather than large ones, has a disproportionate influence on future adoption propensities. We hypothesize that when the value of adoption increases with organizational size, smaller adopters have such disproportionate influence because they allow observers better to infer that adoption will be profitable for their own organization. We elaborate the theory by predicting that alternative information sources moderate the influence of smaller adopters. Empirically, we test our theory with longitudinal data on the adoption of the ISO 9000 quality management standard. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Speech enhancement is vital for improved listening practices. Ad hoc microphone arrays are promising assets for this purpose. Most well-established enhancement techniques with conventional arrays can be adapted into ad hoc scenarios. Despite recent efforts to introduce various ad hoc speech enhancement apparatus, a common framework for integration of conventional methods into this new scheme is still missing. This paper establishes such an abstraction based on inter and intra subarray speech coherencies. Along with measures for signal quality at the input of subarrays, a measure of coherency is proposed both for subarray selection in local enhancement approaches, and also for selecting a proper global reference when more than one subarray are used. Proposed methods within this framework are evaluated with regard to quantitative and qualitative measures, including array gains, the speech distortion ratio, the PESQ measure, and the STOI intelligibility measure. Major findings in this work are the observed changes in the superiority of different methods for certain conditions. When perceptual quality or intelligibility of the speech are the ultimate goals, there are turning points where the MVDR and the LCMV are superior to Wiener-based methods. Also, for certain scenarios, local approaches may be preferred to global ones.


In map production it is necessary to keep the spatial relationships between map objects. Generalization is the simplification performed on geographical data when decreasing its representation scale. It is a common practice to simplify each type of spatial objects independently (administrative boundaries first, then road network, hydrographic network, etc.). During the process some spatial conflicts, which require manual correction, arise inevitably. The generalization automation still remains an open issue for data producers and users. Many researchers are working to achieve a higher level of automation. In order to detect the spatial conflicts a refined description of spatial relationships is needed.The paper analyzes models of describing topological relationships of spatial objects: the nine intersections model, the topological chain model and the E-WID model. Each considered model allows to take into account some relations between objects, but does not allow to transfer them exactly. As a result, the task of developing a model of relations preserving topology is relevant. We have proposed an improved model of nine intersections, which takes into account the topological conflict that occurs when a point object is located next to a simplified line. Line simplification is one of the most requested actions in map production and generalization. When the mesh covered the map inside the cell there can be points, line segments and polygonal topological objects, which, if the cell is rather small, are polyline objects. Thus, the issue of simplification of topological objects within a cell is reduced to the issue of simplification of linear objects (polylines). The developed algorithm is planned to be used to solve the problem of consistent generalization of spatial data. The ideas outlined in this article will form the basis of a new index of spatial data that preserves their topological relationships.


Modern medical and environmental problems caused by the Australian set two main groups of the negative impact -original natural and climatic factors and the environmental pollution. Much of Australia is desert-dry low landscaping and water scarcity. The bulk of the population lives in cities and the countryside surrounding. Medical and environmental problems in these areas are the air pollution due to emissions of industrial enterprises and motor transport, preservation of safe drinking water, sanitary protection of soil, differentiated collection, removal and decontamination of waste. Issues of sanitary protection of the environment in Australia paid a lot of attention of the Government and non-governmental organizations.


Use of Supercapacitor with Li-ion Battery as an Energy Storage System (ESS) for a two wheeler can be implemented in a variety of configurations with the aim to improve the cycle life of Li-ion batteries by decreasing the current transients they are subjected to, and to increase the peak power capability of the Power pack. MATLAB/SIMULINK tool is used as simulation software to model the Road Profile, Vehicle, Electric Powertrain and the Hybrid ESS (HESS). In this paper, the effect of different topologies of HESS and effect of degree of hybridization is analyzed w.r.t. current profile, voltage profile and State of Charge (SOC). Results show that use of HESS for Electric two wheeler in place of battery decreases the Peak/RMS Current experienced by the battery with corresponding improvement in battery life.


Surrogate fuel mixtures were formulated using hydrocarbon fluids to investigate the ability of different surrogate formulations to match the sooting characteristics of a specific jet fuel (JP-8 POSF 5699). Three different surrogates were studied: two binary mixtures and a ternary mixture. The first surrogate matched the threshold soot index and average molecular weight of the JP-8; the second matched the threshold soot index and hydrogen-to-carbon; and the third matched the threshold soot index, hydrogen-to-carbon, and derived cetane number. For the second and third surrogates, average molecular weight was within 10% of the estimated average molecular weight of the target JP-8. Soot distributions of JP-8 and its surrogates were compared in wick-fed coflow diffusion flames, and net soot production was compared in a model gas turbine combustor. Line-of-sight and local soot volume fraction measurements were obtained using laser extinction on the wick burner for flames at their smoke point. Line-of-sight soot...


We have successfully developed a plug-in type PDFA module for rack mounted shelves which is assembled on a printed-board. In this module, we use a newly developed Pr/sup 3+/-doped high-NA PbF/sub 2//InF/sub 3/-based fluoride fiber and wavelength stabilized 1.017-/spl mu/m laser diodes (LDs). We have obtained a small-signal gain of 24 dB and a noise figure of 6.6 dB at 1.30 /spl mu/m with an LD drive current of 240 mA/spl times/2. We achieved an output power of 10 dBm with a signal input power of 0 dBm. The total power consumption of this module, including that of a Peltier cooler, was 3.5 W when the LD drive current was 240 mA/spl times/2.


The paper focuses on the origins of the Gothic genre and its evolution into the modern Gothic that is created by Stephen King. King uses the classic g


have considerably and steadily decreased in Berlin until the last three or four years, during which period there has been again a slight increase in the number of cases. The decrease has been due, in the author's opinion, to (1) greater facilities afforded to the general population for the treatment of venereal diseases, more especially through the generalisation of sick clubs; (2) sanitary control, constantly pursued, of professional prostitution; (3) increasing knowledge of the people concerning the nature and modes of c'ommunication of sexual disorders. Still further progress, Dr. Baschko thinks, would be made by: (1) the removal of all restrictions which stand in the way of the treatment of sexual disorders, both inside and outside hospitals, and particularly by the modification of the law as it affects sick clubs; (2) a more perfect medical examination of prostitutes; (3) the further enlightenment of the growing population on the subject of sexual disorders.


This note investigates the structure of clindamycin in an integrated fashion using an Agilent 500 Ion Trap LC/MS and an Agilent 400-MR NMR spectrometer. The data allows for the rapid confirmation of the chemical structure. Introduction One of the basic spectroscopic tasks widely performed in the pharmaceutical industry is confirmation of structure for a known compound. This is a critically important function with relevance in many areas, including medicinal chemistry, process research, pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, and numerous regulatory operations. Two of the key spectroscopic techniques used to accomplish this task are mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). These methods provide a wealth of complementary structural information. Mass spectrometry is used to determine the molecular formula for a given compound and can provide structural information through MS analysis. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to determine the type and connectivity of individual atoms within a structural framework. When used in an integrated fashion, these techniques can unambiguously establish the chemical identity of a pharmaceutical compound. Clindamycin is a widely prescribed lincosamide antibiotic that acts through inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis. This active pharmaceutical ingredient is a semisynthetic material derived from lincomycin, a natural product isolated from the actinobacterium S. lincolnensis. Careful characterization of the bulk drug is important as the synthetic process is known to result in impurities such as clindamycin B, 7-epiclindamycin, and unreacted lincomycin.


In this paper we discuss the use of crowd
simulation in video-games to augment their realism. Using
previous works on emotion modelling and virtual crowds we
define a game world in an urban context. To achieve that, we
explore a biologically inspired human emotion model,
investigate the formation of groups in crowds, and examine
the use of physics middleware for crowds. Furthermore, we
assess the realism and computational performance of the
proposed approach. Our system runs at interactive frame-rate
and can generate large crowds which demonstrate complex
behaviour.


Electric fields, i.e., voltage gradients, are commonly used to drive flows in microfluidic devices because the resulting electroosmotic (EO) flow, which is uniform outside the very thin counterion screening layer next to the charged wall, has less convective dispersion than Poiseuille flow. Recent evanescent-wave particle velocimetry studies suggest, based on measurements of near-wall particle distributions, that colloidal neutrally buoyant particle tracers of radii a = O(0.1-1 ?m) experience a repulsive wall-normal force in the presence of an electric field of magnitude E applied parallel to the wall of O(10?14 N). The magnitude of the force appears to scale as E2 and a2, in agreement with theoretical predictions of a nonlinear "dielectrophoretic-like" force, although the experimental estimates of the actual force magnitude are 10?30 times greater than the theoretical predictions. Given that the force magnitude is proportional to a2, particles of different radii will have different average wall-particle separations, and therefore sample different average velocities, in a nonuniform flow in the presence of an electric field. Evanescent-wave particle velocimetry was therefore used to study the combined EO and Poiseuille flow of dilute aqueous monovalent electrolyte solutions at E < 33 V/cm and pressure gradients ?p/L < 1.1 Bar/m in 30 ?m fused-silica microchannels using a = 125 nm and a = 245 nm fluorescent polystyrene (PS) tracer particles. For this creeping flow, the velocity of the combined flow will be a simple shear flow due to the superposition of the EO and Poiseuille flow velocities. As expected, the average velocities measured by tracers of different sizes in combined flow under otherwise identical conditions differ, due to the discrepancy in their average wall-particle separations. The velocity profiles measured by evanescent-wave particle velocimetry for both tracers are, however, in good agreement with each other and with theory after accounting for the wall-normal positions of the particles. The effects of the repulsive wall-normal force observed in EO flow, and the shear-induced electrokinetic lift force first reported twenty years ago in Poiseuille flow, are observed in the near-wall distributions of the larger particles. Interestingly, a repulsive force with an estimated magnitude that appears to exceed the sum of these two forces is observed in combined electroosmotic and Poiseuille flow for the a = 245 nm particles. The results suggest that there is a nonlinear interaction between the electric field and flow shear, and that combining these two effects may lead to new ways to manipulate microparticles near surfaces.


Rotor blade vibrations observed in the Darmstadt transonic compressor rig are investigated in this paper. The vibrations are non-synchronous and occur in the near stall operating region. Rotor tip flow fluctuations traveling near the leading edge against the direction of rotation (in the rotor relative frame of reference) with about 50% blade tip speed are found to be the reason for the occurrence of the vibrations. The investigations show, that the blockage at the rotor tip is an important factor for the aeroelastic stability of the compressor in the near stall region. It is found, that by application of a recirculating tip injection casing treatment, the aeroelastic stability increases as a result of reduced blockage in the rotor tip region.


The effects of two inhibitors of electron transfer in the cytochrome b6f complex have been studied in whole cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. DNP-INT affected equally the two steps of the concerted oxidation of plastoquinol at the Qo site; it decreased the rates of both cytochrome f reduction and cytochrome b6 turnover, without affecting the amplitude of their redox signals. On the contrary, DBMIB inhibited only the rate of cytochrome f reduction while reducing, at the same time, the amplitude of cytochrome b6 signals. The accessibility of DNP-INT to the Qo site was unaffected by preillumination, while that of DBMIB was greatly enhanced, even after a single turnover of the cytochrome b6f complex. Similar results were obtained with a mutant strain (FUD2) where the Qo site has an affinity for plastoquinol that is diminished by a factor of ∼50 [Finazzi, G., et al. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 2867−2874]. However, the binding of the two inhibitors was differentially influenced by the mutation:  a factor of ∼250 ...


Significance Dental wear analyses are used for diet reconstruction in (paleo-)biology and (paleo-)anthropology. Whether microscopic traces (microwear) are primarily caused by internal (phytoliths) or external (mineral dust/grit) abrasives is still debated. We fed guinea pigs pelleted diets including mineral abrasives of different mineralogy, size, and amount to assess if resulting microwear differs from that caused by plant diets free of adhering abrasives. Sand-sized quartz and volcanic ash lead to extreme wear exceeding that caused even by phytolith-rich plants. Fine silt-sized quartz has a polishing effect, while clay-sized or larger silt-sized abrasives have no discernible effect. Thus, mineral dust ingestion is not unambiguously identifiable, whereas sand-sized grit causes characteristic microwear, allowing more detailed reconstruction of diet quality (mineral load) and environmental settings. Food processing wears down teeth, thus affecting tooth functionality and evolutionary success. Other than intrinsic silica phytoliths, extrinsic mineral dust/grit adhering to plants causes tooth wear in mammalian herbivores. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is widely applied to infer diet from microscopic dental wear traces. The relationship between external abrasives and dental microwear texture (DMT) formation remains elusive. Feeding experiments with sheep have shown negligible effects of dust-laden grass and browse, suggesting that intrinsic properties of plants are more important. Here, we explore the effect of clay- to sand-sized mineral abrasives (quartz, volcanic ash, loess, kaolin) on DMT in a controlled feeding experiment with guinea pigs. By adding 1, 4, 5, or 8% mineral abrasives to a pelleted base diet, we test for the effect of particle size, shape, and amount on DMT. Wear by fine-grained quartz (>5/<50 µm), loess, and kaolin is not significantly different from the abrasive-free control diet. Fine silt-sized quartz (∼5 µm) results in higher surface anisotropy and lower roughness (polishing effect). Coarse-grained volcanic ash leads to significantly higher complexity, while fine sands (130 to 166 µm) result in significantly higher roughness. Complexity and roughness values exceed those from feeding experiments with guinea pigs who received plants with different phytolith content. Our results highlight that large (>95-µm) external silicate abrasives lead to distinct microscopic wear with higher roughness and complexity than caused by mineral abrasive-free herbivorous diets. Hence, high loads of mineral dust and grit in natural diets might be identified by DMTA, also in the fossil record.


We present a novel data selection method for lightly supervised training of acoustic model, which exploits a large amount of data with closed caption texts but not faithful transcripts. In the proposed scheme, a sequence of the closed caption text and that of the ASR hypothesis by the baseline system are aligned. Then, a set of dedicated classifiers is designed and trained to select the correct one among them or reject both. It is demonstrated that the classifiers can effectively filter the usable data for acoustic model training without tuning any threshold parameters. A significant improvement in the ASR accuracy is achieved from the baseline system and also in comparison with the conventional method of lightly supervised training based on simple matching and confidence measure scores.


The radiative viscosity of superfluid $npe$ matter is studied, and it is found that to the lowest order of $\delta \mu/T$ the ratio of radiative viscosity to bulk viscosity is the same as that of the normal matter.


Algorithmic matches in fielded kidney exchanges do not typically result in an actual transplant. We address the problem of cycles and chains in proposed matches failing after the matching algorithm has committed to them. We show that failure-aware kidney exchange can significantly increase the expected number of lives saved (i) in theory, on random graph models; (ii) on real data from kidney exchange match runs between 2010 and 2014; (iii) on synthetic data generated via a model of dynamic kidney exchange. We design a branchand-price-based optimal clearing algorithm specifically for the probabilistic exchange clearing problem and show that this new solver scales well on large simulated data, unlike prior clearing algorithms. We show experimentally that taking failed parts from an initial match and instantaneously rematching them with other vertices still in the waiting pool can result in significant gains. Finally, we show that failure-aware matching can increase overall system efficiency and simultaneously increase the expected number of transplants to highly-sensitized patients, in both static and dynamic models.


Characteristic and application of SimMechanicsTM and CAD-to-SimMechanics Translator were described.Using CAD-to-SimMechanics Translator and SimMechanicsTM,dynamic modeling of hydraulic excavator mechanism was achieved from CAD assemblies easily in Simulink environment.The advantages of this method were demonstrated through practically modeling mechanism of hydraulic excavator via SimMechanicsTM.


The core microbial community has been hypothesized to have essential functions ranging from maintaining health in animals to protection against plant disease. However, the identification of the core microbial community is frequently based on arbitrary thresholds, selecting only the most abundant microorganisms. Here, we developed and tested an approach to identify the core community based on a probabilistic model. The Poisson distribution was used to identify OTUs with a probable occurrence in every sample of a given dataset. We identified the core communities of four extensive microbial datasets, and compared the results with conventional, but arbitrary, methods. The datasets were composed of the microbiomes of humans (tongue, gut, and skin), mice (gut), plant (grapevine) tissue, and the maize rhizosphere. Our proposed method revealed core microbial communities with higher richness and diversity than those previously described. This method also includes a greater number of rare taxa in the core, which are often neglected by arbitrary threshold methods. We demonstrated that our proposed method revels a probable core microbial community for each different habitat, which extend our knowledge about shared microbial communities. Our proposed method may help the next steps proving the essential functions of core microbial communities. Originality-Signifìcance Statement More rigorous and less arbitrary statistical methods could increase knowledge regarding the role of microorganisms and their interactions. Here, we suggest a probabilistic method to identify the microbial core community across systems. Our method identifies a large proportion of the rare community that likely belongs to the microbial core community, which was not identified by conventional methods. Our probabilistic model is a non-arbitrary approach to defining the microbial core community, which may help in the next step of the microbial core community studies.


The rate of hydrogen exchange at H-2 in ethyl 5-amino-l-(2,3-O-isopropylidene-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-imidazole-4-carboxylate has been measured in deuteriated phosphate and glycine buffers over a pH range at 65 °C. The bell-shaped rate curve produced is consistent with rate-determining hydroxide-ion attack on the protonated form of the nucleoside. The assignment of N-3 as the preferred site for protonation has been confirmed by calculations using the MNDO semi-empirical MO method.


Semiconductor varactor diodes are widely used throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, but their performance limits their applications. One technology being pursued by industry and academia as a potential solution to these problems is RF-MEMS varactors. This article introduces the reader to fundamental device research conducted at McGill University concerning the performance limitations of RF-MEMS varactors fabricated in the commercially available PolyMUMPs (Polysilicon Multi-user MEMS Process) foundry. Several varactors were designed, fabricated and characterized, which demonstrated wide capacitance variations (49 to 433 percent) and high Q-factors (Q = 25 to 90) for devices operating at 2.4 GHz. The issues and procedures presented here are easily applied to the development of other devices being developed for commercial applications.


Mixture spectra are common in remote sensing due to the limitations of spatial resolution and the heterogeneity of land surface. During the past 30 years, a lot of subpixel model have developed to investigate the information within mixture pixels. Linear spectral mixture model (LSMM) is a simper and more general subpixel model. LSMM also known as spectral mixture analysis is a widely used procedure to determine the proportion of endmembers (constituent materials) within a pixel based on the endmembers' spectral characteristics. The unmixing accuracy of LSMM is restricted by variety of factors, but now the research about LSMM is mostly focused on appraisement of nonlinear effect relating to itself and techniques used to select endmembers, unfortunately, the environment conditions of study area which could sway the unmixing-accuracy, such as atmospheric scatting and terrain undulation, are not studied. This paper probes emphatically into the accuracy uncertainty of LSMM resulting from the terrain undulation. ASTER dataset was chosen and the C terrain correction algorithm was applied to it. Based on this, fractional abundances for different cover types were extracted from both pre- and post-C terrain illumination corrected ASTER using LSMM. Simultaneously, the regression analyses and the IKONOS image were introduced to assess the unmixing accuracy. Results showed that terrain undulation could dramatically constrain the application of LSMM in mountain area. Specifically, for vegetation abundances, a improved unmixing accuracy of 17.6% (regression against to NDVI) and 18.6% (regression against to MVI) for R2 was achieved respectively by removing terrain undulation. Anyway, this study indicated in a quantitative way that effective removal or minimization of terrain illumination effects was essential for applying LSMM. This paper could also provide a new instance for LSMM applications in mountainous areas. In addition, the methods employed in this study could be effectively used to evaluate different algorithms of terrain undulation correction for further study.


Facial expression recognition is inherently a challenging task, especially for the in-the-wild images with various occlusions and large pose variations, which may lead to the loss of some crucial information. To address it, in this paper, we propose an attentive hybrid architecture (AHA) which learns global, local and integrated features based on different face regions. Compared with one type of feature, our extracted features own complementary information and can reduce the loss of crucial information. Specifically, AHA contains three branches, where all sub-networks in those branches employ the attention mechanism to further localize the interested pixels/regions. Moreover, we propose a two-step fusion strategy based on LSTM to deeply explore the hidden correlations among different face regions. Extensive experiments on four popular expression databases (i.e., CK+, FER-2013, SFEW 2.0, RAF-DB) show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


The problem of the accumulation of the Moon is discussed on the assumption that the Moon is a captured object. If it is such, it is highly improbable that it is the only object of this kind present in the early solar system. Evidence indicating that other massive objects were present at that time is presented. Also, it is pointed out that interior of the Moon must contain normal solar proportions of the elements of intermediate volatility in the lunar interior, if the Moon accumulated in a gas sphere. The problem of lunar origin cannot be discussed effectively without including this problem to some extent in the more general problem of solar system origin, and particularly in the problem of the origin of the terrestrial planets. It will be assumed in this discussion that the solar system was formed by the contraction of a large mass of gas which began to throw off gas and solids at its equator when it had contracted to an equatorial radius somewhat larger than the orbit of Neptune, and continued to do this until the radius of the Sun was near its present value. Immediately after the solar nebula, adequate for the formation of Neptune, had been formed, the process of forming this planet began, and this continued as the material of the successive planets were lost from the contracting Sun. The loss in energy of the con- tracting Sun mostly occurred after the solar mass contracted to the interior of Mer- cury's orbit, and nuclear reactions did not become important until then. It is postula- ted here that the nebula, during this period, was at some low or moderate temperature. Several obvious conditions must have been met during these early processes for the formation of the terrestrial planets. Thus, solids must have accumulated, and the gases must have been lost when the solids were in not too small nor too large objects. If they were too small, the solids would have been swept away with the gases, and if they were too large, possibly the gases could not be swept away. I have thought that possibly the objects should be larger than the asteroids and not larger than the Moon. There should have been a magnetic field in the original mass of gas, and this mass


ABSTRACT

Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) were developed as better alternatives to cigarettes to avoid the release of thousands of chemicals formed when the tobacco is being burnt. One such HTP is the Electrically Heated Tobacco System (EHTS) (from Philip Morris International), in which the tobacco material in the Electrically Heated Tobacco Product (EHTP) is heated instead of being burnt. The significant reduction in emissions from EHTPs compared to combusted cigarettes have been extensively substantiated by independent research groups. The absence of solid particle emissions from the EHTP has also been confirmed in published research. As EHTPs have filter elements between the tobacco portion and the mouth-end, their role associated to the conclusion that no solid particles are formed during use has never been investigated to our knowledge. In this work, aerosol collected from the EHTP with and without filter elements during heating as well as without heating was studied to investigate whether solid particles were formed in any part of the product during use. Two different analytical methods were used and the results from both methods showed that no solid particles originating from thermal processes was present in the EHTP aerosol.


Class 6E and 6E1 ownership reached 300 as build-up to a 500 unit fleet proceeds embracing a South African designed 87.5 tonne Bo-Bo for SAR 3000V d.c. network incorporating GEC Traction electrical equipment. This Union carriage design is a product of the company in co-operation with GEC and includes regenerative braking.


Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is progressively increasing in younger and adult population in India. It is a medical problem that increases risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers. One of the causes of dyslipidaemia is obesity. High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), is a marker of systemic inflammation and a predictor of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Hence it is important to check the relationship of hs-CRP with lipid profiles in obese and non-obese students.Methods: A case control observational study was carried out in 60 students. They were divided in to two groups obese and non-obese based on the BMI ranges. Serum lipid levels, hs-CRP and BMI was estimated in both groups to find out correlation of hs-CRP with lipid profile and BMI.Results: There was a significant rise in serum Total Cholesterol, LDL-C, Triacylglycerol and a significant fall in HDL-C in obese group as compared to non-obese group. Serum hs-CRP and BMI was significantly increased in obese students as compared to non-obese students. There was statistically significant positive correlation found between hs-CRP and total cholesterol, LDL-C, Triacylglycerol in obese students.Conclusions: Significant correlation was found between hs-CRP and lipid profile except HDL-C. Serum hs-CRP levels may decrease by treatment of dyslipidaemia. This would minimize the incidence of atherosclerosis and hence decrease the risk for development of coronary artery disease. Hence, improving the quality of life.


Environmental problems, electricity deregulation, and anxiety overenergy security are contributing to growing attention being paid to co-generation. This study is on the analysis of cogeneration as a conservationstrategy for improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings. An en-ergy conservation model for cogeneration that includes applying a sim-plified method and energy data for a commercial establishment was de-veloped. The methodology calculates the current consumption and futureoperating costs, savings and simple payback for an upgrade system. Itwas determined that using this strategy would result in significant en-ergy savings with an appreciable payback for the investments made.


Recent measurements of the mobility of atomic rare gas ions in their parent gases have shown that the mobility falls with increasing field strength, becoming inversely proportional to the square root of the field at high fields. This paper presents the solution to the ambipolar diffusion problem for cylindrical geometry and with the observed field dependence of ionic mobility. Results for ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$ ions in He indicate that ambipolar diffusion in a low-pressure positive column may be reduced by a factor of two or more from that predicted by using constant mobility. The theory is also applicable to ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{+}$ ions in Ne and to ${\mathrm{A}}^{+}$ ions in A.


This work proposes a new method to enhance the performance of an S-band fiber laser by using a thulium-doped photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The proposed method is based on amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) suppression provided by the thulium-doped PCF unique geometric structure. The enhanced performance of this filter based PCF is dependent on the short and long cut-off wavelength characteristics that define the fiber transmission window. Realizing the short wavelength cut-off location requires the PCF cladding to be doped with a high index material, which provides a refractive index difference between the core and cladding region. Achieving the long cut-off wavelength necessitates enlarging the size of the air holes surrounding the rare-earth doped core region. The PCF structure is optimized so as to achieve the desired ASE suppression regions of below 0.8 μm and above 1.8 μm. The laser performance is simulated for different host media, namely pure silica, alumino-silicate, and fluoride-based fiber ZBLAN based on this thulium-doped PCF design. The host media spectroscopic details, including lifetime variations and quantum efficiency effect on the lasing emission are also discussed. Information on the filter based PCF design is gathered via a full-vectorial finite element method analysis and specifically a numerical modelling solution for the energy level rate equation using the Runge–Kutta method. Results are analyzed for gain improvement, lasing cavity, laser efficiency and effect of core size diameter variation. Results are compared with conventional thulium-doped fiber and thulium-doped PCF for every single host media. We observe that the ZBLAN host media is the most promising candidate due to its greater quantum efficiency.


The modeling issue in the abstract computing machine level has been studied in (Banâtre, Fradet, & Radenac, 2004), where the chemical reaction model (CRM) (Banatre & Le Metayer, 1990 & 1993; Banatre, Fradet, & Radenac, 2005a; Le Metayer, 1994) is used to model an autonomic system. Given the dynamic and concurrent nature of multi-agent systems (MAS), we find that the chemical reaction metaphor provides a mechanism for describing the overall architecture of the distributed MAS precisely and concisely, while giving the design of the real system a solid starting point and allowing step-by-step refinement of the system using transformational methods (Lin, 2004; Lin & Yang, 2006). aBstract


A wavelet based edge detection scheme by scale multiplication is proposed. The dyadic wavelet transforms at two adjacent scales are multiplied as a product function. And the edge is defined as the local max value in a certain threshold. It enhances the ability of recognizing the edge and suppressed the noise. It is shown that the scale multiplication can achieves better results than either of the two scales, especially on the localization performance. It also can solve the problem aroused by dislocation neighboring edges and reduce the interference of neighboring edges.


A description of representative problems and solutions corresponding to a representative electromagnetic pulse from a highaltitude burst is described. Anticipated functional and survival problems in telephone circuits, teletypewriter landlines, switching terminals and switchboards are discussed. Typical problems in Emergency Operating Centers (EOC's) concern antenna grounds, unshielded communications equipment of very wide variety, inadequate telephone frames grounds, power system grounds and transient protection, and generally unshielded sensitive control and monitoring equipment. A qualitative discussion of approach for EMP protection of EOC's, in particular the problem of differing impedances in ground circuits, and positive steps to insure better grounds for several specific cases is presented. Actual improvement factors are not stated. (auth)


0918. Donnelly, S. M. and A. Kramer. TESTING FOR MULTIPLE SPECIES IN FOSSIL SAMPLES: AN EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF TESTS FOR EQUAL RELATIVE VARIATION. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 1999, 108:507-529. The likelihood that multiple species are represented in a collection of fossils is most often evaluated by comparing the magnitude of variation in the fossils with that found in extant species. The latter are assumed to be similar enough to the fossils that they can be used to draw inferences about them. Most often they are the extant species that are most closely related to the fossils in question and serve as a measure of how much variation is reasonable for a single species. Because the reference species and the fossils may exhibit differences in absolute variation because they differ in scale, such comparisons are typically based on a measure of relative rather than absolute variation.


In this article, we have calculated some thermodynamic properties for a system consisting of singy ionized 3He atoms and their corresponding removed electrons by employing the second quantization method at finite temperature. To perform the calculations, we have considered the kinetic term, and Coulomb interaction between the particles in our Hamiltonian. The calculated properties are free energy, specific heat and pressure. It is shown that all these properties are very temperature sensitive. For all temperatures and densities, we have seen that the main contribution to the internal energy comes from the kinetic term. Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstrac tAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstrac tAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstrac tAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstrac tAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstrac tAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract


Abstract— The photochemical reactions of cyclohexanone have been studied in the system sodium octanoate/1‐decanol/water which is known to form bilayers under the conditions used. Cyclohexanone photochemistry was also studied in aqueous media, 1‐decanol, and decane. The photoproducts from the bilayer system result predominantly from reaction of the carbonyl group of cyclohexanone at the hydroxy methylene group of 1‐decanol. These products include cyclohexanol, decanal, and n‐decyl hexanoate. It is concluded that cyclohexanone in the bilayer system is largely concentrated near the hydroxy methylene group of 1‐decanol.


Objective To investigate the status quo of residents' prevalence rate and the healthcare utility in some rural neighborhood of Chengdu.Methods The research methods include a questionnaire,panel discussions and depth interviews and the data collected would be analyzed with the help of SPSS 13.0.Results The case rate in this neighborhood is 11.70%,every two weeks and the respiratory disease account for 26.42%.The visiting rate is 86.16%every two weeks and the hospitalization rate is 7.14%.Conclusion According to those statistics,the following conclusions could be reached.First,the residents' health is relatively good.Second,the utility rate of the healthcare is very high in this neighborhood.Third,chronic disease prevention such as the disease of the respiratory system will be strengthened in the future.


Review(s) of: Shen's textbook on the management of auto-immune diseases with chinese medicine, by Shen Pi'an, translated by Mao Sguzhang, Donica Publishing, 2012, ISBN 9781901149008.


The paper presents a case study, on the assessment of likely impacts of various vehicular pollution prevention and control measures, for the capital city of Delhi. The measures include phasing out of 15year old commercial vehicles; phasing out of leaded petrol; use of CNG as alternate fuel for buses, taxis and three wheelers; and retrofitting of catalytic converters in two and three wheelers. The major pollutants emitted through vehicular sources viz. carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and lead (Pb) have been considered. The emissions of these pollutants are calculated using number of registered vehicles, average vehicle utilization and corresponding emission factors for different categories of vehicles. A total quantity of about 2945 T/day of the four pollutants (excluding PM) is expected to be emitted, wherein CO (1450.0 T/day) has the maximum contribution of about 49% of the total pollution load. NOx, HC and Pb follow this with daily emissions of 1038.0 T, 458.0 T and 0.85 T respectively. In addition, 134.0 T/day of PM is emitted from heavy-duty diesel driven vehicles. Two wheelers are the major source for HC emissions (39.0%) followed by three wheelers (22.6%), heavy-duty vehicles (19.4%) and passenger cars (17.5%). NOx is emitted mainly from the heavy-duty diesel driven vehicles (almost 95% of the total emissions). These vehicles, along with passenger cars, also account for major share of CO emissions. Cars followed by two and three wheelers are the main sources for Pb emissions. The study reveals that phasing out of leaded petrol should reduce the Pb emissions by 85%. Phasing out of 15-year old commercial vehicles is another good step taken for reducing vehicular emissions in Delhi. This will have sizable reduction in PM and NOx emissions, while retrofitting of catalytic converters in two and three wheelers will have significant reduction in HC emissions. Use of CNG as alternate fuel for buses, taxis and three wheelers appears to be one of the most promising options capable of reducing HC emissions by about 32%. This will also reduce emissions of PM and CO by about 16% and 14% respectively.


Monoamine oxidase B (MAO‐B) is well known as a therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease (PD). MAO‐B inhibitors retain antiparkinsonism abilities to improve motor function and prevent neuronal loss by decreasing dopamine metabolism and oxidative stress in the brain. From the study to find novel antiparkinsonism drugs that can inhibit MAO‐B activity, neuronal loss, and behavioral deficits in the mouse model of PD, we identified that 1‐[2‐(4‐benzyloxyphenoxy)ethyl]imidazole (BPEI) or safinamide strongly and selectively inhibited MAO‐B activities in a dose‐dependent manner (IC50 of BPEI and safinamide for MAO‐B were 0.016 and 0.0021 µM and for MAO‐A were 70.0 and 370 µM, respectively). In ex vivo studies after an administration (30 mg/kg, i.p.) of BPEI or safinamide to normal mice, the MAO‐B activity in the brain was reduced by up to 90.6% or 82.4% at 1.0 hr. BPEI (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or safinamide (20 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reversed the behavioral impairments, dopamine levels in the striatum, and neuronal loss in the substantia nigra of 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)‐treated mice compared with the MPTP‐alone‐treated group. In the 6‐hydroxydopamine‐induced PD rat model, behavioral improvement by levodopa sparing activity was observed in the BPEI‐ or safinamide‐treated (20 mg/kg, i.p.) rats. Moreover, BPEI revealed additional curative activities for nonmotor symptoms of PD such as pain, anxiety, epilepsy, and depression in rodent disease models. Therefore, BPEI has broad therapeutic potential for treating motor symptoms via strong and selective inhibitory effects on MAO‐B, with additional benefits for comorbid symptoms in PD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


BACKGROUND: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a recurrent cyclic disorder of cyclical changes in the sexual hormones. It is characterized by emotional, mental and physical symptoms, however pathophysiology is largely unknown. Treatment with drugs like antidepressants, oral contraceptives, GRH agonist has been tried. Recently it has been shown that the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 and electrolytes such as magnesium have much importance in controlling the symptoms of PMS. OBJECTIVE: To determine serum magnesium and 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol (25-OH-D 3 ) in Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) during luteal phase. METHODOLOGY: This comparative study was conducted at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Isra University Hospital during June-December 2013. Unmarried female (n=85) aged 18-28 years were selected through non-probability purposive sampling and divided into controls and those having premenstrual syndrome (PMS). 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol (25-OH-D 3 ) was estimated by ARCHITECT I 1000 system and serum magnesium by DiaSys Merck system. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 21.0. Significant p-value was taken at ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Vitamin 25-OH-D 3 was found very low (14.88 ±SD2.39) in cases of PMS, as compared to control (26.20 ±SD4.30) and difference was statistically significant (p=0.0001). Level of Vitamin 25-OH-D 3 as low as 8 ng/dl was noted in PMS cases. Serum Mg++ was significantly differs between PMS cases and controls 1.72 ±0.31 vs. 1.84 ±0.12 ng/dl (p=0.02). Vitamin 25-OH-D 3 showed positive correlation with serum Mg++ levels (r=0.24, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Serum magnesium and 25-hydroxychlecalciferol are low with positive correlation in female having premenstrual syndrome.


Efforts to identify a suitable follow-on compound to razaxaban (compound 4) focused on modification of the carboxamido linker to eliminate potential in vivo hydrolysis to a primary aniline. Cyclization of the carboxamido linker to the novel bicyclic tetrahydropyrazolopyridinone scaffold retained the potent fXa binding activity. Exceptional potency of the series prompted an investigation of the neutral P1 moieties that resulted in the identification of the p-methoxyphenyl P1, which retained factor Xa binding affinity and good oral bioavailability. Further optimization of the C-3 pyrazole position and replacement of the terminal P4 ring with a neutral heterocycle culminated in the discovery of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7-oxo-6-(4-(2-oxopiperidin-1-yl)phenyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine-3-carboxamide (apixaban, compound 40). Compound 40 exhibits a high degree of fXa potency, selectivity, and efficacy and has an improved pharmacokinetic profile relative to 4.


We consider a general-equilibrium Capital Asset Pricing Model economy where the expected returns for controlling and non-controlling shareholders are different because the first can divert part of the profits. We show that local market correlation (the correlation between the returns of the risky assets) matters in determining ownership structure and control rights because it affects the loss from foregone diversification opportunities arising from concentrated ownership and the level of control benefits that non-controlling investors are willing to tolerate to achieve diversification. The empirical analysis support the model's conclusions. In particular our empirical findings on a group of countries are: ownership is more concentrated the higher is local market correlation; firm size and per capita income are higher the lower is local market correlation and control rights are affected by local market correlation.


This study aims to improve the relationship between nutrition and basic motor development with the intelligence of RA children in Purwasari District. This study uses mixed research methods. The model used is a quantitative method as the main method. The population in this study were 558 RA students in Purwasari District with the sampling technique using the Slovin formula so that 90 samples were obtained as respondents. The data collection technique used in this study is through a quantitative questionnaire; as well as observation, interviews, and documentation for qualitative. While the data analysis technique uses the normality test (quantitative) and reduction (qualitative). The results showed that in addition to providing good nutrition for children, training, stimulus, health factors also support gross motor development and children's intelligence. Three instruments have a reliability value to be used as a data collection tool.


As a part of the implementation of the Federal target program «Managing the consequences of radiation accidents for the period till 2015» the National Standard «Safe life of the population on contaminated territories. Safe use of forests of forestry fund lands and other wooded lands. The basic framework». Its aim is to ensure safe use of forests on forestry fund and other wooded lands in the areas affected by radiation incidents and accidents, including radiation protection providing of the population presence in the forested sites and consumption of forest products.


Recent literature has shown that electricity demand elasticities may not be constant over time and this has investigated using time-varying estimation methods. As accurate modeling of electricity demand is very important in Azerbaijan, which is a transitional country facing significant change in its economic outlook, we analyze whether the response of electricity demand to income and price is varying over time in this economy. We employed the Time-Varying Coefficient cointegration approach, a cutting-edge time-varying estimation method. We find evidence that income elasticity demonstrates sizeable variation for the period of investigation ranging from 0.48% to 0.56%. The study has some useful policy implications related to the income and price aspects of the electricity consumption in Azerbaijan.


To prepare monoclonal antibody(mAb) against TRPC6 peptides and characterize its immunological and biological features,female Balb/c mice were immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin(KLH) conjugated TRPC6 peptides.Then splenocytes from the immunized mice were fused with myeloma cells Ag8.653.We employed indirect ELISA to screen the hybridoma cells by determining the specificities,titer and relative affinities of the produced mAbs.And the subtypes of IgG were identified using a monoclonal antibody subclass determination kit.The hybridoma cell colonies were harvested by limited dilution,and identified using colchicine.Three hybridoma cell strains that could stably secret mAb against TRPC6 peptides were obtained,and named as A2,F11,and H8,which all belongs to IgG1 subtype and have 89±7 chromosomes.The relative affinity of A2,F11 and H8 were 12.5,6,and 12.5 μg/ml,respectively.All the result indicated that these mAbs against TRPC6 might be used to develop various immunoassays to detect TRPC6 protein expression in cells and tissues during investigation of disease mechanisms.


Since this is a pioneering work (nothing comparable exists in the English language at this time), such faults may be inevitable. Keeping this in mind, we can still be grateful to Dr. Kirschbaum for this book. Now the student of Slovak literature will at least have a starting point for his research. And, Kirschbaum·s historiographic contributions will greatly aid the serious scholar in getting acquainted with the relevant literature and going beyond the original scope of this book. That, after all, is what all scholars hope their students will do.


A variational finite element method for solving the blade-to-blade flow in centrifugal compressor's cascades with splitter blades on an arbitrary streamsheet of revolution is suggested in this paper. At first, the variational principle in Ref. / I / is modified, then the variational principle after modification is discretized by eight node isoparametric finite elements to carry out the system of nonlinear algebraic equations for solving the velocity potential function. Finally, the flow field which agrees with the Kutta condition and has a region behind the cascade of enough length has been worked out. In this paper, it has been discovered that when the region behind the cascade L3 spreads too long, the system of equations might become unsolvable as a suitable exit angle β2 can't be found. The linear relation between the velocity difference of the two sides of the trailing edge and the exit angle ß i has been found, it shows that the range of linear variation of ß i decreases with the increasing of the length of the region behind cascades, in addition, the linear variational relation between \ / tan/32 and L3 has also been obtained. The iterative computational method for the flow field with different length L3 is used to get the solution of flow field satisfying the Kutta condition and with enough length L 3 .


A study on optomechanically induced transparency (OMIT), optomechanically induced amplification (OMIAm) and optomechanically induced absorption (OMIAb) in a hybrid optomechanical system (OMS) with an intrinsic two-level defect was conducted. The OMS consists of a cavity, a mechanical resonator and a two-level defect. The coupling interaction between the two-level defect (the cavity field) and the mechanical resonator is described by the Jaynes–Cummings (radiation-pressure) Hamiltonian, while there is no direct coupling between the two-level defect and the cavity filed. In the resolved sideband regime, when only a probe light is applied on the left side of the cavity, double OMIT is obtained due to the additional interference pathway where spacing between the two transparency window dips is determined by the coupling strength between the two-level defect and the mechanical resonator. When an auxiliary driving field is applied on the mechanical resonator it induces OMIAm due to its negative impact on the cavity field. Further, with the increasing amplitude of the auxiliary driving field, amplitudes of the two transparency window dips symmetrically become much deeper. Moreover, when the two probe fields are applied to the right and left sides of the cavity, the destructive interference of the probe fields generates three channels of OMIAb, where summation of the excitations of resonator and two-level defect is always two times of the normalized intracavity probe photon number for different values of the effective radiation pressure coupling.


Aim : Evaluate value ER, PR and HER2 status as independent prognostic factor of local recurrence after breast conserving surgery Methods and materials: The retrospective study of 537 breast cancer patients stage I,II,III which were combined treated in Institute Oncology, Vilnius University in 2005-2006.was made The surgery treatment was used as primarily selection criteria, the data on vital status of all patients was summarized by December, 2008. The median follow-up time was 33 month. Pts age was from 29 years to 76 years. Premenopausal pts ( =10) - 166 pts (30,9%), medium (score 6-9) - 146 pts (27,2%), week (scrore =10) - 141 pts (26,6%), medium (score 6-9) - 125 pts (23,3%), week (scrore Results: Local recurrence rate was calculated according Nelson-Aalen cumulative hazard estimate (analysis time 4 years) and was equal to 8 %.Local recurrence rate according ER-, PR-, HER2 0 vs ER+, PR+, HER2 3+ was equal to 14% vs 4,5%.In 63,5% of all local recurrence ER, PR were negative "0 ",in 40.9% of all local recurrences HER2 was positive (3+) Conclusion: According to our preliminary results ER, PR and HER2 status are independent prognostic factor of local recurrence after breast. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6047.


Purpose: To evaluate the stress level of second-year's nursing students during their first oncology clinical experience. Methods: The descriptive study in order to determine the stress levels of second-year's nursing students. This study was conducted with the students of Uludag University. The study population was consisting of 156 nursing students attending second year class in nursing school. Pagana Clinical Stress Questionnaire (PCSQ) was used. Data in analysis of survey's results was evaluated mean, Pearson's correlation method, t-test was used in statistical analysis percentage. Results: When a comparison is made between the mean score of clinical stress and socio-economic data of the students involved in the study; any meaningful difference has not been observed between the mean scores of stress and the sex, approaches to nursing profession, previous hospital experiences, health status whether having a chronic disease or not. Only meaningful difference (p>0.05) has been observed with family member status whether working as a health worker or not (p<0.05). The mean score of stress of students in the first clinical practice was found as 70 ± 4.15. This result exhibited that the students experienced stress is the average. Conclusions: It was found that the nursing students had a high level of stress during the first clinical practice and experienced the most stress "fighting" dimension from the subscales. So, it was thought that the clinical orientation program must be done before student experience. Because clinical orientation program was effective to reduce the risk.


This study compared the exchange of emotional content in PC and mobile e-mail in business-related discussions. Forty American business people were divided into two groups (PC and mobile e-mail users) and were then assigned to anonymous discussion pairs who exchanged a total of six messages on a predetermined topic. When a message was sent, the writers completed two questionnaires related to 12 target emotions: One questionnaire assessed the emotions they experienced and another estimated their partner's emotional reaction. E-mail readers filled out similar questionnaires. Statistical analysis showed that when emotional exchange was successful, mobile e-mail users more accurately predicted positive emotions than did PC e-mail users. Conversely, when emotional exchange was unsuccessful, mobile e-mail users failed to accurately exchange negative emotions far more than their PC using counterparts. These findings indicate that the communication medium used may influence the exchange of emotional content in text-based communications.


International law is a set of norms that covers the general procedures and institutions for the conduct of international relations. Its general function is to safeguard international peace, security, and justice in relations between states. As its name suggests, it is concerned with relationships between states, and that makes states the main actors or subjects of international law. As international law continues to evolve, however, the subjects of international law have broadened and changed. This has inevitably led to an evolution in the law-making process. Classically international rules could only be made by states, mainly by treaty or through international custom. More recently, the sources of law have expanded, as have the makers of international law. The classical sources of international law, stated in Article 38(1) of the Statute establishing the International Court of Justice (international conventions, international custom, general principles of law, and judicial decisions and teachings of highly qualified publicists), remain relevant, and new sources, principally 'soft law,' are gaining ground. In addition, non-state actors (NSAs) are becoming increasingly relevant, not just as subjects of international law but as participants in the law-making process. NSAs include international organizations, international and domestic judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, hybrid bodies, Civil Society, the private sector, and others. While previously and indeed currently in many spheres of international law international rules were only enforceable by and against states, it is increasingly common for NSAs to enjoy rights of audience before courts and tribunals, and also to participate in the law-making progress in various capacities. This has been through the creation of new customary international law, laying down new rules through the determination of disputes, the operation of soft law, and even the conclusion of treaties that bind states. The readings below start from a more general coverage of law-making to specific works about law-making by NSAs. They have been selected, as far as possible, to blend classical writings with current and recent research on the subject of law-making. Wherever possible, they include writings by practitioners in their relevant areas, such as judges and academics or legal counsel in and before judicial bodies. A note on terminology: many publications use the term "lawmaking" rather than "law-making". Where in the original title of the publication the word "lawmaking" is used or else the words "law" and "making" appear disjunctively, it has been retained; otherwise, the word "law-making" is used.


With the transformation of China's economy and social development, the issue of spatial expansion of the urban construction land and its driving forces has drawn extensive attention from both academic researchers and government departments. The analysis from the perspective of mega-events driving forces is firstly adopted in this paper, to take Taizhou metropolitan area in Jiangsu Province as a case study, which is a representative in the Yangtze River Delta in China's urbanization process. Remote sensing interpretation data of Landsat TM, and ALOS which represent main years' images of Taizhou metropolitan area within the last 20 years are used in the analysis. From the perspective of mega-events driving forces, statistical analysis, together with remote sensing, geographic information system methods and procedure analysis, is adopted to analyze the spatial expansion of urban construction land in Taizhou metropolitan area. The main conclusions are: the mega- events driving forces play an important role in spatial expansion of the urban construction land. In different periods the driving forces of spatial expansion of the urban construction land are significantly influenced by the national, regional and urban mega-events. For the last two decades, the dominant patterns of Taizhou metropolitan area urban construction land, in terms of spatial expansion, are spot-filling and extension, as well as transformation, point-axle corridor pattern, and satellite city pattern, which jointly form an net expansion pattern. The temporal expansion, however, is characterized by rotating development between the south and the north districts, and between urban districts, rural villages, and port regions along the Yangtze River. No research on such issue before was from the perspective of the mega-events driving forces, so this is the academic innovation in this paper. The expansion of city construction land and its driving force has drawn extensive attention from both academic researchers and government departments as Chinese state council focuses greatly on urban construction land management. The discussions of the management are required from theoretical researches and real applications. From an original perspective of mega-events driving forces, this paper takes Taizhou metropolitan area in Jiangsu Province as a case. Not only extracting methods and techniques of urban land-use information with serial high spatial resolution in the background of multi-source data fusion and integration are solved in the research, but also basic spatial information for further study of urban sustainable development in the Yangtze River Delta is provided, with the special period background of Jiangsu Province's great development along the Yangtze River and notable ambition of the modernization in eastern China. Taizhou metropolitan area is selected as the case in our study for the following two reasons: On the one hand, Taizhou metropolitan area, located in the Yangtze River Delta agglomeration, is in the progress of rapid urban construction land expansion; on the other hand, the typical characteristic of Chinese urban construction land expansion is presented in the case: point-axle corridor pattern and net pattern — the northern part of Taizhou metropolitan area shows spot-filling and extension pattern in low density filling; the middle and southern parts of that display point-axle corridor pattern, and satellite city pattern, which jointly form an expansion net pattern in high density filling. International scholars researched on this issue mainly from the perspective of geography and economics. Urban spatial expansion can be categorized into five types: infilling, outspreading, linear development, extension, and large-scale projects (Roberto,2002)


Based on the tests carried out by simulating icing conditions and low pressure in an artificial climate chamber, this paper presents a new method of outdoor insulation coordination with artificial neural network (ANN). This method employs an ANN model to map the climatic condition and the flashover voltage of an insulator. After the appropriate model is established with training and validating, it can forecast the flashover voltage of an insulator in complex ambient conditions. Then, it puts forwards that using this ANN model is helpful in studying outdoor insulation coordination and analyzing the electrical performance of insulator in complex ambient climatic conditions.


A t otal of 48 pigs that were 10 w eeks old w ere used to i nvestigate the effect of feeding cotton seed cake (CSC) with or without fish meal (FM) supplementation in the diets of growing pigs. CSC was included at graded levels of 0, 5 10 and 15 % and FM supplemented at 0, and 1% levels in a feeding trial that l asted for a period of eig ht we eks. T here was n o significant effe ct (P >0.05) o f t he different l evels of CSC and FM on feed intake, we ight gain, f eed to gain ra tio and nutrients d igestibility. There w as a lso no significant i nteraction (P >0.05) bet ween the t reatment factors (CSC Vs FM) on all the p arameters measured (feed intake, weight gain, feed to gain ratio and digestibility). Cost of feed gradually decreased with t he increase i n the level of CSC in t he diets. The results obtained showed that growing pigs can tolerate up to 15% CSC without F M supplementation in their d iet with out ad verse effect o n their performance.