AIM:To analyze the changes of HLA class I molecules,MHC class I chain-related molecules(MICA/MICB)on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line(CNE2)after 24 h coculture with NK cells and NK cell-mediated cytolysis.METHODS:The expressions of HLA class I molecules and MICA/MICB on the surface of CNE2 cells and edited CNE2 cells(coculture of NK cells with CNE2 cells for 24 h at E/T ratios of 10∶1)were analyzed by flow cytometry.The KIR genotypes(isolated from 3 healthy persons)were determined by PCR-SSP,and cytotoxicities of NK cells were detected by LDH releasing assay.RESULTS:After 24 h culture,the expression of MICA/MICB on the CNE2 cells and the edited CNE2 cells were(88.67±2.81)%,(34.53±3.15)%,respectively(P0.01);the expression of HLA class I molecules on CNE2 cells and the edited CNE2 cells were(99.77±0.12)%,(97.80±0.87)%,respectively,and there was no difference in HLA class I molecule expression between them(P0.05).The cytotoxicity against CNE2 and edited CNE2 cells mediated by NK cells were(26.96±1.47)%,(6.60±0.86)% at E∶T ratios of 10∶1,(35.74±3.59)%,(11.57±2.02)% at E∶T ratios of 20∶1,respectively.NK cells displayed lower cytotoxicity against the edited CNE2 cells than that against the CNE2 cells(P0.01).CONCLUSION:Downregulating MICA/MICB expression on NK cells-edited tumor cells leads to low capacity to trigger NK cell-mediated cytolysis.Our research highlights the molecular mechanism of reduced cytotoxicity mediated by NK cells and the potential molecular target for boosting NK cell-mediated cytolysis against the edited tumor cells.


"Nothing can please luxury unless it is expensive." Seneca Natural Questions, 4b.13.4 Luxuria (extravagance, luxury, excess) was a problematic concept for the Romans; it undermined ancestral customs and encouraged 'un-Roman' practices. In Roman moral discourse, luxuria destabilised the social order by encouraging behaviour that directed attention away from civic and familial duties. Roman men, through their actions and attire, were supposed to strive for virtus (moral excellence), gravitas (seriousness conveying dignity), continentia (self-control) and frugalitas (frugality). Roman women were expected to demonstrate munditia (elegance of appearance) by wearing respectable clothing and modest amounts of jewellery and make up. Their pudicitia (modesty and chastity) and fides (trustworthiness and honesty) was linked to their domestic roles within the household. Extravagant lifestyles built around foreign imports, Roman moralists claimed, provided only fleeting pleasures. Those who indulged themselves were likely to suffer personal demise, and at the same time destabilise the Roman state. The Exhibition 'Useless Beauty' explores the tension which arose between individuals and groups who helped to develop a culture of consumption for pleasure in Rome and Italy, and Roman authorities who attempted to curb this culture because they believed it threatened the established political and social order. Moralising Roman authors sought to reflect many of the anxieties felt by members of the Roman upper class, by parodying extravagance. However, it is clear that many Romans of different social classes had no desire to curb their perceived excesses and return to the frugal lifestyle once advocated by Cato the Elder.


This paper is aconcise introduction to arecent work [6] by the authors on an inverse bifurcation problem in mathematical ecology. It deals with the identification of the nonlinear kinetics in adiffusional model of population dynamics fiiom its bifurcation curve that describes the relation between growth rates and central densities of steady-state population distributions. It is emphasized that acertain class of Wiener-Hopf integral equations plays aprincipal role in our mathematical analysis of the inverse problem.


A shift register circuit and method includes: a plurality of shift registers configured to generate latch clock signals by sequentially shifting input signals according to first and second clock signals, the first and second clock signals including: periods longer than a shift register clock signal, and phases different from each other, wherein odd shift registers among the plurality of shift registers are configured to be driven by the first clock signal, and wherein even shift registers are configured to be driven by the second clock signal.


O NE OF the most fmpor-tant voting populations in New York State is the civil service body. The total number of public employees in Federal, state and local government is nearly 900,000 —more than 10 per cent of the nearly eight million registered voters in the state. Earlier, this column referred to the civil service vote as a "sleeping giant" and urged candidates of both political parties to give a close look at the impact to be gained by winning a heavy civil service vote. Justice Staley permitted at-tornies for both sides to sub-Democratic nominee for governor. Morganthau had not replied to the invitation at Leader press time, but indications are that he will appear at the meeting sometime during the two-day business business will be a series of de-session. partmental meetings that evening More than 700 delegates to the i in the hotel. Agenda Delegates, representing some 108,000 CSEA members, will register at the Statler-Hllton Hotel on Oct. 9 and the first order of convention will hear Governor The business sessions will begin Rockefeller on the morning of ; the next day. Oct. 11. He Is the second major speaker set for the meeting. Earlier , Senate Majority Leader Wal-The resolutions approved by the delegates will be incorporated in the Employees Association 1963 ter J. Mahoney accepted an in-legislative program or be acted vitation to be principal speaker I upon at other levels. in organizing qity employees that wa.s given to other employee organizations , specifically the Amer-ican Federation of State, County and Municipal employees. 2. Homer be stayed from recognizing any union of city employees under the ordinance in question and from entering into negotiations for a collective bar-Tliere will be a meeting of the Erie chapter of the Civil Service Employees Association at the Erie County Savings Bank, Bi'oadway and Wilson Streets, Buffalo on Oct. 10 at 8 P.M. Members are advised that this is a new meeting place. Prank M. Casey, supervisor of field representatives for the Civil Service Employees Assn., has ' asked The Leader to express his (thanks for the hundreds of cards and messages sent to him as the result of his illness. Casey, who has been confined to his home In Tioy for several weeks, is still convalescing. It is ' not possible for him to personally reply to his large number of well-wishers at tliis time, he said. mentioned in the …


Since the observation that aggregated α‐synuclein, the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), is found in the gut in almost all patients, it has been suggested that the enteric nervous system (ENS) could be a starting point for α‐synuclein pathology. α‐synuclein has long been thought to occur as a monomer in living cells, but recent studies reported that it instead exists as a tetramer in non‐neuronal cells and in neurons. Given the possible key role of the ENS in PD pathophysiology, we undertook the current research to characterize the native state of α‐synuclein in rat primary culture of ENS and in adult human healthy ENS. Using amine‐reactive cross‐linking, we showed that, by contrast to cell lines and brain neurons, α‐synuclein exists primarily as a monomer in intact enteric neurons, suggesting that the native state of α‐synuclein is different between the ENS and the brain. Our results provide new insights into the widely discussed concepts of α‐synuclein aggregation and misfolding in PD and raise issue about the possible transmission of α‐synuclein from the ENS to the brain.


In the last years the traditional construction materials, such as wood, glass and steel, have been increasingly replaced by polymer composite materials due to their superior properties. However, this feature has also raised buildings' combustibility fire hazards. Polymer modification with inorganic nanoparticles can be a potential and efficient solution to control matrix flammability without sacrificing other important properties. In this study a new type of unsaturated polyester based composite materials with enhanced fire retardancy are developed, through polymer modification with nano/micro oxide particles and common flame retardants systems. For this purpose, the design of experiments based on Taguchi methodology and analyses of variance were applied. Samples with different material contents and processing parameters resultant from the L9 Taguchi orthogonal array were produced, and their fire properties assessed and quantified by single-flame source and vertical flammability tests. It was found that material and processing parameters have different effects on different properties. Unsaturated polyester composites modified with nano and micro oxide particles showed better fire performance compared to the neat composite improving at least one fire property whatever the nature of the filler. More thorough studies are required in order to improve mix design formulations towards further fire retardancy enhancement.


The objective of this study was to study the plant height selection of three dominant grasshoppers in hilly meadow steppe of Horqin, clear the characteristics of space utilization of grasshoppers community in this area. The three dominant grasshoppers, Oedaleus decorus asiaticus, Calliptamus abbreviatus and Euchorthippus unicolor, were observed for plant height selection of Leymus chinensis by field cage method. The differences of plant height selection of these three dominant grasshoppers and the same species with different gender grasshoppers were analyzed and the relationships between plant height selection of grasshoppers and the weight of grasshoppers, temperature factor were determined. The results showed that the weight of C. abbreviates was significantly higher than that of Eu. Unicolor(p0.01), but significantly lower than that of O. decorus asiaticus(p0.01). The select proportion of O. decorus asiaticus, C. abbreviates and Eu. Unicolor in more than 20 cm on the plant were 13.17%, 27.41% and 47.08%. Selection of plant height of grasshoppers were positive correlation with weight of grasshoppers in 30 cm or less on the plant, and were negative correlation with weight of grasshoppers in more than 30 cm on the plant. The plant height selection of C. abbreviates were negative correlation with temperature in more than 20 cm on the plant,the plant height selection of O. decorus asiaticus was negative correlation with temperature in 0~10cm on the plant, the plant height selection of Eu. Unicolor was negative correlation with temperature in 20 cm or less on the plant(p 0.01). The plant selection of height of grasshoppers was determined by temperature and its biological characteristics. Height of plant selection of grasshopper reflected its strong adaption.


Intramuscular injection is one of the most common medical procedures performed worldwide every year; however there is still much that is unknown ahout this process. The research focuses on the development of additional features to the Smart Syringe that will monitor its movement and the forces applied to the plunger by the user during injection. This advancement will allow for data to be collected to better understand and determine the quality of the user's abilities and further improve current practicing guidelines. These results can determine the type of injection given, describe the actions of each stage of the procedure, determine the tissue layers that were penetrated, whether or not the bone was struck, and improve the accuracy of the trajectory.


The current state of total enterprise strategy simulations is assessed within a framework of four dimensions for adopters to consider. As such, simulations are viewed in terms of their user friendliness. comprehensiveness, theoretical grounding, and adaptability. This view builds on Snyder's (1993) work on providing a theoretical means for assessing total enterprise simulations. The paper concludes with a proposed questionnaire to assess the current mix of strategy simulations on the market.


Extracted from text ... SAMJ FORUM
August 2006, Vol. 96, No. 8 SAMJ
Osteochondral lesions of the femoral trochlea are rare. They
may involve only the cartilage (chondral lesion), the cartilage
and subchondral bone (true osteochondral lesion) or the
subchondral bone in isolation with an intact overlying cartilage
(subchondral lesion).
Clinical presentation
A 17-year-old boy injured the medial aspect of the knee
during a soccer game. He described a feeling suggestive of a
loose fragment in the joint.
On examination there was a moderate effusion, no instability
was present and there was tenderness over the medial joint
line. Aspiration of the effusion yielded ..


Abstract Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) embedding is routinely used in histomorphometry to analyze the periprosthetic tissue response to the presence of an implant in situ. However, the embedment process can limit the variety of stains that can be successfully used to highlight different tissue types within the periprosthetic tissue. In this study, a new staining protocol, the modified trichrome method, was developed to simultaneously label the collagen fiber matrix, epithelial tissue morphology, vascular network, granulation tissue, and fibrous capsule that surround the percutaneous implant. The new staining technique was compared to established histological evaluation protocols, namely Masson's trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) protocols. The newly developed staining protocol for analyzing implant–soft tissue integration was significantly more effective in identifying cellular and tissue structures than previously established techniques. The detail found with the modified trichrome allows a high degree of structural quantification. The ultimate goal of the present research is to improve the long term soft tissue integration of implants made from different biomaterials. The modified trichrome can benefit translational studies through a more accurate quantification of both skin attachment mechanism and cellular response to the presence of percutaneous biomaterials.


By the example of tensile polycrystals of aluminum alloy AVT-1 we propose a method for estimating the efficiency of surface hardening treatment of materials to increase their fatigue strength. The method is based on the fractal analysis of optical images of the deformation structure formed on the specimen surface in active tension and on the correlation of the obtained characteristics with the fatigue test results for the specimens. We have obtained the plastic-strain dependences of two pairs of parameters that characterize the self-organization of the material structure in active tension at two scale levels. The use of a compact, pictorial and informative representation of the above dependences is substantiated. The dependences demonstrate variations in the number of blocks that form a self-similar surface fractal at the second scale level ΔL2 with strain degree growth. The investigation results show that the proposed parameter is highly sensible to the modes of surface hardening treatment and can be used for estimating the treatment efficiency to increase the fatigue strength of the specimens.


It was the multi unit combined spring and damp model that was widely used to study rheological properties of wood material, but its some constant coefficients were not easily solved. In this paper, a concept of variation coefficient rheological model was put forward, which adopted two unit Maxwell body of variation coefficients to simulate the creep behavior of medium density fiberboard (MDF). Results showed that the model could be effectively used to fit the creep of the MDF, and easily to seek the rheological coefficients because of its fewer units of combination modulus of spring damper. The author also indicated that the model could fit the creep of MDF on changing load with Boltzmann superposition principle.


This paper presents analyses and forcasts of trends related to road traffic and pedestrian casualties and fatalities in Great Britain. For people killed and seriously injured, these forecasts are based on extrapolation of the absolute of the absolute number of casualties. For casualties classified as slight, forecasts are made of the rate of casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometers. Forecasts, using autoregressive models, are then compared with government targets and show that at the aggregate level it is unlikely that, for the numbers that are killed or seriously injured, these targets will be achieved.


This paper attempts to propose a new research methodology to text analysis in the accounting field in which classical Islamic hermeneutics is applied to understand and interpret data in the qualitative research in the Islamic world context. This paper reviewed a wide range of Quranic interpretation literature. This paper found that classical Islamic hermeneutics requires two phases to understanding the text: the retrospective understanding phase and interpretation phase. The first phase in which the scholar gains this understanding is through a review of secondary data. Having this prior knowledge is necessary if the scholar is to understand the views of the stakeholders because classical Islamic hermeneutics calls for an understanding of the original meaning of the text originator.


Finally, the committee advises the further examination of the possibilities that other opiates can offer for the treatment of heroin addicts. This research should concentrate particularly on those drugs that are available, or that can be made available, in administration forms that are practical in use. Apart from the scientific medical experiment proposed in this report, the committee advocates that palliative treatment with heroin or opiates equivalent to heroin should be facilitated for seriously ill patients with a longlasting, permanent addiction to heroin, and a short life expectancy. Copies of these reports are available in Dutch, and their summaries available in English, from Dr. M. van Leenven, Health Council of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 90517, 2509 LM The Hague, the Netherlands.


Soils of the northern high latitudes store carbon over thousands of years and contain almost double the carbon stock of the atmosphere. Erosion processes can mobilise this pre-aged soil organic carbon from the landscape and supply it to rivers. If it escapes degradation during river transport and is delivered to the coastal ocean, this carbon may be sequestered for much longer periods of time (>10 yr) as a geological CO2 sink. Despite this recognition, the erosional flux and fate of particulate organic carbon (POC) in large rivers draining the high latitudes remains poorly constrained.


The success of an educational process is determined by the teacher, the students and the school environment. Although the teacher has explained about a material, but uncertainly the student can receive well. Therefore, teachers must innovate to provide learning fun, not boring and easily accepted by the students. One of them is the use of learning strategies is an effective way of presenting the material to the students that will have an effect on learning outcomes. In using these learning strategies students can know, understand and apply the information in the day life. The Activeness of students and student learning outcomes can be realized through the use of various learning strategies. Learning strategies that will lead students on learning objectives to be achieved. This study examines about: Is there a significant difference in the use of Card Sort strategy by True or False to the Islamic Religious Education Learning Outcomes Student grade VIII SMP N 3 Sawit, Boyolali 2015/2016 academic year. This research is experimental research with experimental designs Quasi-Experimental Designs types, that is design by providing test after both experimental groups were treated. The population in this study were all students of grade VIII SMP N 3 SAWIT BOYOLALI totaling 186 are divided into 6 classes. The sample used in this study is a sample of which the first experiment class VIII E totalled 31 students, the second experiment Class VIII G totaled 31 students. The sampling is random sampling. This data collection techniques using the test methods and documentation. While technical analysis with the study hypothesis test using t test data analysis. The results of this study concluded: (1) There are significant differences of Islamic Religious Education Learning Outcomes Student Grade VIII SMP N 3 SAWIT BOYOLALI 2015/2016 academic year with the Learning Strategy Card Sort by True or False in bad attitudes material that is reverenge and hypocritical (2) the score of Islamic Religious Education Learning Outcomes Student grade VIII SMP N 3 sawit BOYOLALI 2015/2016 academic year with the Learning Strategy Card Sort is higher than the use of Learning Strategies True or False. The average score of learning with the Card Sort strategy is 85.26, while the is True or False, 79.48.


With the continuous improvement of China's comprehensive national strength, the degree of national attention to education is also constantly strengthened, many educational reforms are slowly beginning to move on the itinerary, implementation, generally speaking, is constantly improving the teaching of education. The country is also gradually popularizing quality-oriented education, the major cities have entered the itinerary of quality-oriented education, and continue to run widely. The content of teaching is no longer confined to the main basic courses outside the number of words , and many art courses are also being paid more attention to, among which art is a very important course in quality education in recent years, and it is also a very important part of the many contents of this quality education. Since the educational reform, many schools have been experimenting with the new form of "flipping the classroom ", not only art courses, but many basic subjects are also approaching in this respect. The development of information network has given this form of education an opportunity to develop, which has led to innovative improvement in the traditional teaching form, and the use of this form of teaching has also achieved good results in practice. It can be seen that the application of "flipping classroom" is used in the course of art, so that many abstract types of teaching things in art can be better presented, and greatly improve the efficiency of art teaching.Starting with the characteristics and current situation of "flipping classroom ", this paper puts forward some suggestions on this situation, which is of great practical significance for improving art teaching.


As a central banker, I prefer not to focus on the change in the latest monthly sentiment indicators and on quarterly growth figures, but rather on longer-term issues which are essential for a stability-oriented monetary policy, for potential growth and for an economy's resilience to shocks. I shall also be highlighting some differences and similarities between economic fundamentals in Europe and the United States.


The government attract non-government investor taking participate in the infrastructure project financing by providing government guarantee,infrastructure projects have plenty of uncertainty factors.The government provides project guarantee can avoid the business risk that non-governmental investor can't control.At the same time the contingent liabilities bring huge burden to government for government guarantee.As the information asymmetry,participant's limited rational and contract's incompleteness,hold-up problem exists in the guarantee of infrastructure projects.This paper describes the mechanism of the government guarantee,analysis the hold-up problem in the guarantee combined with the option theory,and establishes the game mode respectively of the minimum-style guarantee,upper and lower limits-style guarantee and upper and lower limits-style guarantee in the times of proportion's hold-up problem,compared the advantages and disadvantages of three kinds of guarantee way.Finally gives the optimal strategy in different conditions and the measures to solve the hold-up problem.


We have studied helminths from 532 grey-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus) in two localities in northern Finland, representing different biogeographic zones, during 1978–1983. The helminth communities in the two study areas were similar, characterized by a small number of species (eight) compared to eastern Siberia and Japan, and by the dominance of a single anoplocephalid cestode Andrya kalelai. The prevalence of this helminth varied significantly among habitats, possibly because of differences in the distribution and abundance of the intermediate hosts, oribatid mites. Vole density did not explain the habitat differences in A. kalelai, nor did the prevalence of A. kalelai increase between 2 yr of sustained high density in the host population. A between-year increase in the prevalence of the larval cestode Taenia tenuicollis at Kilpisjärvi was probably due to a simultaneous increase in the abundance of its definitive hosts, mustelids. The prevalence of A. kalelai was always higher in males; no sexual differences were detected in the larval T. tenuicollis.


Abstract The last few million years on planet Earth have witnessed two remarkable phases of hominid development, starting with a phase of biological evolution characterized by rather rapid increase of the size of the brain. This has been followed by a phase of even more rapid technological evolution and concomitant expansion of the size of the population that began when our own particular 'sapiens' species emerged, just a few hundred thousand years ago. The present investigation exploits the analogy between the neo-Darwinian genetic evolution mechanism governing the first phase, and the memetic evolution mechanism governing the second phase. From the outset of the latter until very recently – about the year 2000 – the growth of the global population N was roughly governed by an equation of the form dN/Ndt=N/T*, in which T* is a coefficient introduced (in 1960) by von Foerster, who evaluated it empirically as about 200 000 million years. It is shown here how the value of this hitherto mysterious timescale governing the memetic phase is explicable in terms of what happened in the preceding genetic phase. The outcome is that the order of magnitude of the Foerster timescale can be accounted for as the product of the relevant (human) generation timescale, about 20 years, with the number of bits of information in the genome, of the order of 10 000 million. Whereas the origin of our 'homo' genus may well have involved an evolutionary hard step, it transpires that the emergence of our particular 'sapiens' species was rather an automatic process.


* Play moods – A language for play experiences Inaugural lecture by Professor MSO Helle Marie Skovbjerg Play is a common human experience that enables participants to explore who they are, their relationship to the world, to other people and to the materials that they have access to. To be in play is to explore what a human is. How is it possible to grasp that human experience? In this talk I will present the mood perspective, as a way to capture the poetics of play as a human experience. Developing a language that fits the experience of play may lead to new types of design decisions. * Designing for open-ended play Inaugural lecture by Honorary Professor Tilde Bekker Play as an activity has very powerful properties that ensure that play is a self-propelling joyful experience. People engaging in play have a sense of freedom to explore, create meaning while they play, improvise along the way and enjoy the overall experience. How can designers exploit these powerful properties not only for play, but also for other domains such as health and education? The talk discusses different perspectives on play that can guide the design of interactive products and systems.


The United States is one of the China's major food-exporting countries.In order to promote China's food exports to the U.S,it is essential to know the entry-port inspection system in the U.S.In this paper,the entry-port inspection system for imported food by the anencies of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are introduced,to improve our government surveillance level and help customs clearance to USA more efficiently.


The applicability of the two dye tracers was discussed based on their adsorption characteristics in standard sand.The adsorption type of KMnO4 in standard sand was determined by experiments.The adsorption processes of the two dye tracers in standard sand under hydrostatic condition were monitored by the digital imaging method,and the processes were compared by treatment of the obtained images with Gaussian template.Moreover,the adsorptions of KMnO4 solute to sand grains both under hydrostatic and flow conditions were also compared.According to the result,the applicability of the two dye tracers commonly used in solute transport experiments was verified.As a commonly used tracer,KMnO4 is of linear adsorption characteristic,and its adsorption time is too long as compared with that of brilliant blue,especially at low flow velocity.Therefore,KMnO4 is not suitable for the transport experiments in which adsorption effect should be considered;while,the use of brilliant blue can accelerate experiments.


Recent waves of immigrants into the US have tended to have lower wages compared to native-born workers, something that can be at least partially attributed to native-born workers' generally better communication and interpersonal skills. In new research, Delia Furtado and Tao Song find that the wage premium for immigrants married to native-born Americans has risen from 1.4 to 10.3 percent over the past 30 years. They argue that this increasing wage premium has been driven by changes in technology and globalization which have resulted in larger payoffs to the people skills of immigrants married to natives relative to those married to other immigrants.


A biphenyl derivative having a specific structure represented by the following formula (I), and an organic electroluminescent device in which an organic thin film layer composed of one layer or a plurality of layers having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between a cathode and an anode, wherein at least one of the organic thin film layers The layer contains the biphenyl derivative alone or as a component of a mixture, to provide a long life organic EL device, and to provide a biphenyl derivative particularly suitable as a light emitting material used in the organic EL device of the present invention. Formula I [In formula, Ar and Ar are condensed aromatic hydrocarbon group which consists of three or more rings, and Ar is a phenyl group or condensed aromatic hydrocarbon group which consists of two or more rings. Provided that when either Ar 1 to Ar 3 is an anthracene-9-yl group, the anthracene 10 position is not a hydrogen atom.]


The paper puts forward a design concept named Human-Machine-Integration which refers to the shape of the product designed according to the location and contact type when the product is used. It considers the double properties of function and aesthetics to product and makes the designer combine the formal principle with Human-Machine Engineering theory together to mould the product shape conforming to the easy-to-user principle with the consideration of form beauty at the same time. It regards the man - machine – environment as a whole body and has practical significance to the system design of the product. When a product is designed according to Human-Machine-Integration theory, contact parts form and contact area and the harmonious relationship between forms of contact parts and overall product should be considered. And the Convex-concave match of product part and body part should be complement with each other and tolerant match of product part is contacted with the human body part. At the same time, the purpose of form should be fully considered. Correspondence, Integrity, Systematicness and Independence are four characteristics of Human-Machine-Integration design.


Objective:To study the stability of suppository of extractant from Chinese herbal prescription and to predict its efficacy term for clinical application.Methods:Thetest of determining the factors that influence the stability of extractant,the test of reserving it under the condition of(30±2) ℃ and RH 60%±5%,and under the condition of room temperature were used.Results: High humidity is the main factor that influence the extractant stability and it is stable under the con-dition of room temperature.Conclusion:Its efficacy term for clinical application is 2 years if it is reserved under the condition of room temperature.


Due to the demand of immune health products, Quicksilver Scientific has fast-tracked the launch of its new product Liposomal Vitamin C + Elderberry.


In recent years, the search for inexpensive and eco-friendly synthesis
routes has increased significantly. Nanotechnology and biotechnology
have established themselves as a major ally in building green
technologies for effective, stable, and non-toxic nanomaterial
synthesis. [1-3]. Thus, the principles of green bio nanotechnology are
associated with waste prevention, maximizing atom economy, and less
use of precursors with less hazardous synthesis routes and the use of
safe chemicals with low toxicity. Reaction conditions are also
advantageous due to safe methodologies and increased energy
efficiency.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of thyme methanolic extract on ruminal dry matter (DM) degradation parameters of sunflower meal. Treatments were: sunflower meal (no additive), thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid). In situ rumen degradability was performed with of three Gezel rams rumen fistulaed in times at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h. The results showed that dry matter disappearance at 24 h incubation, were 65.89 and 54.14 percent for sunflower meal and thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) respectively. Dry matter disappearance at 48 h incubation, were 79.16 and 73.98 percent for sunflower meal and thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) respectively. Water soluble fraction (a) for sunflower meal and thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) were estimated, 19.76 and 17.14%, respectively. Effective rumen degradable dry matter for sunflower meal and thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) at a rate of 0.02/h, 61.53 and 66.46%, respectively were estimated. Potentially degradable fraction (b) for sunflower meal and thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) were estimated, 57.05 and 72.6%, respectively. Thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) treatments significantly decreased dry matter degradability of sunflower meal on different incubation times. Although thyme methanolic extract (0.3 ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) decreased (p<0.05) the water soluble fraction (a) but increased (p<0.05) the potentially degradable fraction (b) of DM, constant rate of degradation (c), total degradability (a+b) and Effective Rumen Degradability of Dry Matter (ERDM) at a rate of 0.02, 0.05 and 0.08/h.


Stone disease is a common urological presentation that carries significant morbidity. Patients with renal calculi often experience ipsilateral recurrences. Sleep posture has been implicated in conditions ranging from heart failure to glaucoma. We seek a consensus view on the association between sleep laterality and stone disease and discuss its possible clinical implications.

 A literature search was conducted on the PubMed database from its inception through to September 2020. Publications assessing the correlation between sleep laterality and unilateral stone formation or clearance were included. 19 results were identified, of which 13 were excluded due to irrelevance.

 A review of the literature suggests that sleep laterality is positively correlated with ipsilateral stone formation. Interestingly, a study examining the interaction between sleep laterality and stone clearance following shock wave lithotripsy showed greater clearance of stones in patients who slept on the ipsilateral side.

 Sleep laterality may positively influence both the formation and clearance of unilateral kidney stones. The mechanism for this remains unclear. However, sleep posture aids may prove to be a low-cost intervention with potential for both preventative and therapeutic benefit. This would be of particular value in patients with recurrent unilateral stone disease as well as those with a single-functioning kidney.


Background & Objectives: To evaluate the visual outcomes of children presenting with unilateral traumatic cataract. Materials & Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 111 children (70 males and 41 females) below 16 years of age who were diagnosed with unilateral traumatic cataract between June 2013 and May 2015 and who underwent surgical intervention and completed at least six months follow up at Paediatrics department (supported by ORBIS International), R. M. Kedia eye hospital, Birganj, Nepal. Data regarding demographic profile, causative agent, clinical course and visual outcomes were recorded. Results: There was a male predilection with a male to female ratio of 1.70:1. The age group more frequently affected was five to nine years (58.5%). Commonest causative agent was trauma with wooden stick in 20 eyes (18%) followed by firecrackers in 15 eyes (14%) and pen in 11 eyes (10%). Pre-existing posterior capsular defects were observed intraoperatively in six eyes. Anterior uveitis was evident in 21 cases and Posterior capsular opacification in 10 eyes. Best corrected visual acuity of 6/6-6/60 at six months was achieved in 91 cases (81%). Duration between injury and cataract surgery did not affect the final visual outcome of traumatic cataract patients. Conclusion : The best possible visual outcome of traumatic cataract depends on its management and its complication. Ocular trauma and traumatic cataract formation can be avoided by taking protective measures in sports, work and patient education. JCMS Nepal. 2016;12(2):40-3


e18074 Background: Physician reimbursement for care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries fundamentally changed with the 2015 MACRA legislation, requiring eligible clinicians to report quality measures in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). To determine whether structured data in electronic health records (EHRs) were adequate to report MIPS results, EHR data ingested by ASCO's CancerLinQ (CLQ) was analyzed. Methods: Nineteen MIPS measures specified for medical oncology, including 8 shared by other specialties, were retrieved from qpp.cms.gov and systematically evaluated to determine data elements necessary to satisfy each measure. The existence of corresponding data fields and completion of these fields with clinical data was analyzed according to EHR implementation in de-identified and aggregated CLQ data. Results: Five clinician informaticists reviewed the 19 oncology MIPS measures, and identified a consensus list of 52 discrete EHR data elements (DEs) that would be needed. CLQ-processed data from 4 commercial EHR systems implemented at 47 CLQ practices found structured data fields for 84% (43 of 52) of the DE, but fewer than half (46%) of these fields were ever populated and only 32% (17 of 52) of DE were recorded for > 20% of cases. Only 3-5 of 19 MIPS measures could be reliably reported based on data element availability by most practices in this sample set. There were minimal differences between the EHRs ability to encode MIPS DE. Elements most likely to be encoded were those for registration (birthdate, gender), billing (diagnosis, meds), vital signs and smoking status, while those seldom or never encoded related to care plans (tobacco, alcohol, pain management). Other DE rarely encoded were patient events occurring outside the oncology practice (receipt/completion of consultations, dates of hospice enrollment and death), which would be dependent on data exchange between work units and practice entities or, more likely, re-entry by oncology practices. Conclusions: Only a minority of DE required to satisfy MIPS criteria are available as discrete data fields in current EHRs, limiting automated reporting efforts. Improved data quality and completeness is needed to satisfy mandated reporting.


Abstract: This study was conducted to test the effects of Concept Graphics on learning in clinical nephrology. Second-year medical students were exposed to summaries of the major renal pathologies presented as text with, or without Concept Graphics for 30 minutes, followed by a quiz. Concept Graphics summarize diagnoses using icons that are metaphors of objects or processes. Of nine quiz questions, five were classified as correlation questions and four as memorization questions. The experimental group (n = 39) performed better than the controls (n = 33) in answering the correlation questions (p = 0.018). The experimental group mentioned more frequently than the controls two pathognomonic criteria of the nephritic syndrome (p = 0.02). Results of an opinion poll of the students, comparing sources used in their studies of nephrology were treated by correspondence analysis; the Concept Graphics ranked closest to the classification "very useful".


The household industry is an economic development through the transformation of resources using simple tools. The household industry is involved in the change from labor-intensive to capital intensive methods. The household industry is usually built in an area close to the raw materials that are the raw materials of the industry. The existence of household industry in the village has an important meaning in the framework of national development. Because of the existence of the household industry is a solution for the undeveloped workforce and economic improvement of the village community. However, the strategic position of the household industry in various places has not been supported by facilities and infrastructure that can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of rural economic life. The existence of cracker household industry in Hiri Island Subdistrict greatly affects the social life of local people.  With the household industry of food products that can produce hundreds of thousands to millions of rupiah every month.  So this indicates how important the activities of IRT activities have an important meaning in the framework of national development. Because the existence of the household industry is a solution for the undeveloped workforce and economic improvement of the village community, so that welfare and a decent life enjoyed This community service activity will socialize and fulfill the understanding of the community on the importance of halal principles and provisions in the JPH Law.. The community, especially IRT actors, can understand that the application of halal standards can have an impact on increasing the market capacity for their products. The understanding of the community that facilitates the importance of the implementation of halal standards will facilitate the way for the establishment of halal zones, which in particular in this program will be pursued in the District of Hiri Island. This socialization recommendation will also be submitted to the government of Ternate City, so that Hiri Island may be used as a place for halal-lying products, such as smoked fish products and banana rips.


For non-cubic crystals, polarized X-ray absorption due to anisotropic anomalous scattering (AAS) occurring in the vicinity of absorption edges can be determined, both qualitatively and quantitatively, from polarized fluorescence measurements. For crystals exhibiting `large' faces, a method is presented that allows the simultaneous determination of all absorption-tensor elements from a single-crystal rotation experiment. Energy variation included, the method may be used for single-crystal polarized absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Depending on the crystal system and the face investigated, the experimental set-up can require a tilt of the polarization direction(s) against the plane of measurement as well as a precession of the crystal face normal about the rotation axis Ψ. For all systems except triclinic, the experimental conditions are discussed and fluorescence intensity functions IF(Ψ) are developed and illustrated by model calculations.


To present the outcome of a consecutive series of 19 fetuses referred to our center for megacystis in the first half of the pregnancy.


The low-temperature thermoluminescense (TSL) technique has been applied for probing the energetic disorder of localized states in poly(methyl-phenylsilylene) (PMPSi) combining the TSL studies and transport properties as determined by photocurrent transients. The results are described in terms of the disorder model and the energetic relaxation of photogenerated charge carriers within a manifold of the states of Gaussian distribution. Analysis both of the energetic position of the TSL peak maximum and the shape of its high energy wing allowed to extract a parameter characterized the intrinsic energetic disorder in PMPSi, the value of which coincided well with the width of the density-of-states determined from transport measurements. The interpretation of results leads to conclusion that although the disorder is the dominant factor, the polaron contribution should be taken into account for the description of the charge carrier transport in PMIPSi. The problem of the photochemical stability of PMPSi as well as the appearance of new trapping centers, is briefly outlined.
Keywords: organic polymeric photoconductors, poly(mcthyl-phenylsilylene), energetic disorder, charge carrier transport, thermoluminescence.


In this article, a novel weakly supervised machine learning approach is proposed for intelligent predictive maintenance (IPdM). It employs balanced random forest and multiple instance learning based on event logs from ships' electric propulsion systems. The objectives are predicting failure likelihood, time to failure, and explainable predictions to ensure timely crew intervention. The IPdM approach uncovers, then learns, and classifies sequences of events that represent early causes or symptoms to forecast imminent failures. In particular, this article contributes effective solutions to irregular, imbalanced, and unlabeled data issues where conventional methods become obsolete. First, the events occur at irregular intervals; they include alarms, warnings, and operational information collected across multiple units and control systems. Second, the datasets exhibit extreme imbalance due to few failures and multiple failure modes; this entails biased predictions. Third, the training datasets are weakly labeled; only the failure timestamp is known without any expert input on prior causes or early symptoms. Temporal random indexing is proposed to transform textual log messages into a numerical lower dimensional space where timeseries analyses are applicable. Balanced random-forest models are developed for unbiased classification and regression. The overall approach learns recursively the ungiven data labels while training the base learners. The IPdM approach is validated through millions of events of multithousand types collected from two years of seagoing vessels. It successfully forecasts actual propulsion failures and performs better when compared with contemporary methods.


ABSTRACT Synaptic plasticity is considered to underly information processing and memory formation in the brain and stabilization of neurotransmission during plasticity likely includes reorganization of active zones (AZs). Here, we used localization microscopy and hierarchical density-based spatial clustering to probe AZ architecture at the Drosophila melanogaster neuromuscular junction. We observed distinct arrangements of the scaffold protein Bruchpilot (Brp) at AZs of high release probability type Is and low release probability type Ib boutons. Most remarkably, Brp proteins at type Is AZs were arranged more compact than at type Ib AZs. To ascertain whether adaptations of the AZ scaffold also occur in response to short-term demands, we used philanthotoxin (PhTx) to induce acute homeostatic plasticity. PhTx decreased AZ size, the distance between Brp subclusters and the AZ center, leading to compaction of the Brp scaffold. These changes only occurred at type Ib but not type Is AZs which, already compact, did not undergo structural rearrangement. In summary, our data describe a molecular compaction of the AZ scaffold reflecting the functional demands at high release probability synapses and during an acute homeostasic challenge.


. Up to this day, there is no reliable data on the ecology and biology of wild boars common in the fauna of the Republic of Artsakh. Given that wild boars are game animals, they are considered a vulnerable species. The paper presents the results of the first study in the ecology and distribution of wild boars in the foothill of the Martakert Region of the Republic of Artsakh. The territories for the study were not a random choice as they take into account both survival and stress factors. The study started in 1999 and is still on. The authors used environmental monitoring, camera traps and GPSmap 62stc to obtain data on the population, lifestyle, types of activity, ecology and biology of wild boars. The number of wild boars remains relatively stable, which is, most likely, due to their high fecundity. A massive reduction in the population of wild boars is driven by the spread of African plague, unregulated hunting, poaching, as well as deforestation and forest fires. Wild boars are mostly sedentary species. They are omnivores. The ratio of plant and animal food varies depending on the season and environmental conditions. Food competitors are represented by herbivorous mammals. Wild boars are prolific. The main danger to wild boars is posed by carnivorous mammals and humans.


Considered by critics to be the highest point in T. S. Eliot's poetic production, the Four Quartets carry out a poetical reflection on time under the direct influence of Henri Bergson's philosophy. What we would like to show in this article is how Eliot's poetical use of Bergson's concept of duree makes it possible for the poet to articulate poetry and thought in a unique combination which is peculiar to Eliot's poetry. The peculiarity of such combination poetry-thought in the Four Quartets, this is the second point we would like to show, fundamentally involves a religious-poetical-philosophical syncretism that can be seen already in Eliot's first poems, but which gets full expression in the Four Quartets.


Preliminary results of a compilation of international data on sterilization are presented and the laws and regulations governing sterilization are reviewed. Data from surveys and service projects indicate that the incidence of sterilization is high and/or rising in many countries and virtually no areas show a decline. Female sterilization still substantially outnumbers male sterilization. Fluctuations observed in sterilization rates reflect policy changes national campaigns and demographic factors. Sterilization prevalence is very high and/or rising in a significant number of large countries in Asia and Latin America; however prevalence and incidence remain low in Africa. Small families account for a substantial number of acceptors and as desired and actual family sizes fall prevalence of sterilization at lower parities is expected to increase. The average age at sterilization is also declining. No single pattern for the influence of education on sterilization prevalence was revealed. Finally sterilization prevalence is increasing as fast or faster in rural than urban areas of some countries. This is attributed to simpler techniques program outreach with mobile teams and easier travel to cities. A final version of this report will be available in 1984. In terms of laws and regulations governing sterilization there are 6 models on the international level: 1) laws that explicitly forbid sterilization (7 countries); 2) laws that can be interpreted to forbid sterilization (13 countries); 3) laws that permit sterilization only for medical/eugenic reasons (5 countries); 4) laws that can be interpreted to permit sterilization for contraceptive purposes (48 countries); 5) laws that explicitly permit sterilization for contraception purposes (21 countries); and 6) laws that are unclear (37 countries). Overall 73.8% of the worlds population in 1982 lived in countries where sterilization is explicitly legal. Recent legislative changes have been in the direction of liberalization and sterilization has been increasingly incorporated into national family planning programs and even officially encouraged.


The Weka workbench is a designed set of stateof-the-art machine learning techniques and data preprocessing tools. The primary way of relating with these methods is by calling up them from the command line. However, suitable interactive graphical user interfaces are provided for data exploration, for setting up large-scale test on distributed computing platforms. Classification is a significant data mining technique with major applications. It classifies data of different kinds. Decision Trees are a mixture of tree predictors such that every tree depends on the values of a random vector sampled independently and with the same distribution for all trees in the forest. This paper has been carried out to make a performance evaluation of J48, ADTree, REPTree and BFTree classification algorithm. For processing Weka API were used. The data set from the UCI Machine learning Repository is used in this experiment.


The flapping foil propulsion method offers a more efficient choice for underwater vehicle propulsion.To mathematically study the hydrodynamic performances of flapping foils,the panel method was employed,based on potential flow theory.The hydrostatic forces of a flapping foil in specified motion were calculated by panel method using Fortran code.The results calculated by the panel method agreed well with thrust data of MIT experimental.The software Fluent was used to perform the same calculations to verify other dydrodynamic force caculation results by panal method such as lift and moment.The caculation results by panel mathod agreed well with the calculation results by Fluent.They had the similar variation tendency and calculation error was about 10%,verifying that calculating with the panel method was appropriate.Deeper analysis of the calculation methodology allowed the effects of some parameters of hydrodynamic performances to be investigated,including incoming velocity,flap amplitude,phase difference and oscillation frequency.


This paper presents the results of studying the inheritance of protein markers in different generations of interspecific hybrids of cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. × G. barbadense L. and G. barbadense L. × G. hirsutum L. While these hybrids were in development, the species G. hirsutum was represented by dwarf plants and the species G. barbadense, by variety C-6037 plants. G. hirsutum plants had protein marker H-0.13 and G. barbadense plants had the homologous marker, protein B-0.18. Previous studies demonstrated that in interspecific crosses these markers behave as alleles of the same locus. This allowed these markers to be used for analysis of the ratios of phenotypic classes in the succession of generations of interspecific hybrids, including F2, F9 and F10. In these studies, the plants with only one type of protein (H-0.13 or B-0.18) were regarded as homozygous for the corresponding gene, while plants with both proteins (H-0.13 and B-0.18), as heterozygous. Some polymorphic progeny showed a significant shift in the ratios of phenotypic classes. These changes were observed as an increased or a decreased share of a particular phenotypic class, or as a significant increase or decrease in the proportion of the heterozygotes. The electrophoretic protein composition of cotton seed samples remained unchanged until the tenth generation of hybrids, but in the tenth generation, some heterozygous plants gave offspring, the seeds of which lacked protein with an electrophoretic mobility of 0.70. Plants in which this protein was absent belonged to the homozygous phenotypic class with marker H-0.13.


We report 90-nm MOSFET subthreshold hump characteristics obtained for the first time by using a newly developed MOSFET array test structure. The array contains small-scale device-under-test groups with a new poly-Si gate layout pattern, which eliminates the influence of gate leakage and off leakage currents observed on measured MOSFET parameter data such as Vth, Ion, and subthreshold slope. We confirmed that subthreshold humps occur at random in an array. The rate at which humps occur is expressed as a percentage with respect to the whole array (referred to as the hump occurrence rate); the rate depends on chips from a wafer. It is also confirmed that the influence of subthreshold humps on /spl sigma/(Vth) is not negligible, and we revealed that it is important to design RF/analog circuits with an appropriate current density to reduce their influence. By extracting hump variations using a MOSFET array, it is possible to accurately estimate and reduce the standby current in logic large-scale integration (LSI) chips.


We study two basic problems regarding edit errors (insertions and deletions). The first one is document exchange, where two parties Alice and Bob hold two strings x and y with a bounded edit distance k. The goal is to have Alice send a short sketch to Bob, so that Bob can recover x based on y and the sketch. The second one is the fundamental problem of designing error correcting codes for edit errors, where the goal is to construct an explicit code to transmit a message x through a channel that can add at most k worst case insertions and deletions, so that the original message x can be successfully recovered at the other end of the channel. Both problems have been extensively studied for decades, and in this paper we focus on deterministic document exchange protocols and binary codes for insertions and deletions (insdel codes). If the length of x is n, then it is known that for small k (e.g., k ≤ n/4), in both problems the optimal sketch size or the optimal number of redundant bits is Θ(k log n/k). In particular, this implies the existence of binary codes that can correct ε fraction of insertions and deletions with rate 1-Θ(ε log (1/ε). However, known constructions are far from achieving these bounds. In this paper we significantly improve previous results on both problems. For document exchange, we give an efficient deterministic protocol with sketch size O(k log^2 n/k). This significantly improves the previous best known deterministic protocol, which has sketch size O(k^2 + k log^2 n) [2]. For binary insdel codes, we obtain the following results: 1) An explicit binary insdel code which encodes an n-bit message x against k errors with redundancy O(k log^2 n/k). In particular this implies an explicit family of binary insdel codes that can correct ε fraction of insertions and deletions with rate 1-O(ε log^2 1/(1-ε))=1-Õ(ε). This significantly improves the previous best known result which only achieves rate 1-Õ(√ε) [11], [10], and is optimal up to a log (1/ε) factor. 1) An explicit binary insdel code which encodes an n-bit message x against k errors with redundancy O(k log n). This significantly improves the previous best known result of [4], which only works for constant k and has redundancy O(k^2 log k log n); and that of [2], which has redundancy O(k^2 + k log^2 n). Our code has optimal redundancy for k ≤ n^1-α, any constant 0 < α < 1. This is the first explicit construction of binary insdel codes that has optimal redundancy for a wide range of error parameters k, and this brings our understanding of binary insdel codes much closer to that of standard binary error correcting codes. In obtaining our results we introduce several new techniques. Most notably, we introduce the notion of ε-self matching hash functions and ε-synchronization hash functions. We believe our techniques can have further applications in the literature.


Serious complications due to periorbital vascular occlusion can occur after facial injections, including skin necrosis, ophthalmoplegia, blepharoptosis, and visual loss. Visual loss after facial filler injection is particularly rare, but it is known to have a poor prognosis despite treatment.


Light microscopical and histochemical investigations were performed on biopsies, which were obtained from the mammary glands of healthy pregnant cows during different stages of the nonlactating period. The results demonstrate characteristic morphological changes in the different phases of the nonlactating period. They can be interpreted as involution and regeneration processes, which occur in the alveoli and interalveolar tissue of the bovine mammary gland during the nonlactating period.


Co_3O_4-based spinels are a new class of wide-band-gap p-type conductive oxides with high work functions. We examined the structures, conductivities, work functions, and optical spectra of quaternary Zn-Ni-Co-0 thin films across the entire spinel region of the ZnO-NiO-Co_3O_4 diagram using a high-throughput combinatorial approach. We found that the conductivity of as-deposited films is maximized (100 S/cm) and optical absorption (at 1.8 eV) is minimized in different regions of the diagram, while the work function of annealed films is high and relatively constant (5.8 ± 0.1 eV). These properties made Zn-Ni-Co-O thin films applicable as p-type interlayers in solar cells. As an example, amorphous Zn-Co-0 hole transport layers had good performance in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices.


To investigate the effect of resveratrol on proliferation and cytotoxicity of human NK cells against lung cancer cells A-549 in vitro,NK cells were generated in vitro by stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors in SCGM medium for 10 days,then the purity of NK cells was accessed by flow cytometer.After co-cultured with different concentrations of resveratrol for 48 h,growth curve of yS T cells in each group were determined by MTT assay.Flow cytometry was used to detect expression of perforin,granzyme B,CD107a by NK cells and LDH assay was used to measure cytotoxic activity of NK cells against lung A-549 cells.The purity of NK cells from different individuals cultured for 10 d reached approximately68%.After treated with various concentrations(0.05-12.5μmol/L) of resveratrol for 48 h,it was found that resveratrol not only promoted NK cells growth but also increased perforin,granzyme B and CD107a expression.Moreover,NK cells treated with 0.75μmol/L of resveratrol showed significantly higher cytotoxicity against A-549 cells than that of the control group.Taken together,resveratrol at proper concentrations could promote proliferation of NK cells and enhance their cytotoxic activity against A-549 cells.


According to the practical sittuation in the broadcasting industry, video record search system is proposed in this paper.The structure,principle and implementation methods of this system are introduced in detail.


The research described in this report was carried out as part of a cooperation between the Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division (DWW) of the Dutch Department for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat), the Delft University of Technology, and Netherlands Pavement Consultants (NPC). Four point bending tests were carried out on sand asphalt specimens to determine the stress intensity factor K(sub Ic) and the crack growth rate. The material tested was sand asphalt with 8.5% bitumen 45/60. The specimens consisted of five beams with dimensions 450x60x60 cubic mm and six beams with dimensions 450x60x30 cubic mm. Using crack opening displacement (COD) measurements and visual crack length measurements the crack growth rate was determined with empirical relationships. The K(sub Ic) value was determined from the crack length just before brittle fracture. At the testing frequencies used, ranging from 1 to 30 Hz, creep crack growth seems to be the dominating mechanism.


Objective:Engagement in care is key to successful HIV treatment in resource-limited settings; yet little is known about the magnitude and determinants of reengagement among patients out of care. We assessed patient-reported reasons for not returning to clinic, identified latent variables underlying these reasons, and examined their influence on subsequent care reengagement. Design:We used data from the East Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS to identify a cohort of patients disengaged from care (>3 months late for last appointment, reporting no HIV care in preceding 3 months) (n = 430) who were interviewed about reasons why they stopped care. Among the 399 patients for whom follow-up data were available, 104 returned to clinic within a median observation time of 273 days (interquartile range: 165–325). Methods:We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA, CFA) to identify latent variables underlying patient-reported reasons, then used these factors as predictors of time to clinic return in adjusted Cox regression models. Results:EFA and CFA findings suggested a six-factor structure that lent coherence to the range of barriers and motivations underlying care disengagement, including poverty, transport costs, and interference with work responsibilities; health system 'failures,' including poor treatment by providers; fearing disclosure of HIV status; feeling healthy; and treatment fatigue/seeking spiritual alternatives to medicine. Factors related to poverty and poor treatment predicted higher rate of return to clinic, whereas the treatment fatigue factor was suggestive of a reduced rate of return. Conclusion:Certain barriers to reengagement appear easier to overcome than factors such as treatment fatigue. Further research will be needed to identify the easiest, least expensive interventions to reengage patients lost to HIV care systems. Interpersonal interventions may continue to play an important role in addressing psychological barriers to retention.


This article presents an overview of what we know about two perspectives, coined instructionist and constructionist, to games for learning. The instructionists, accustomed to thinking in terms of making instructional educational materials, turn naturally to the concept of designing instructional games. Far fewer people have sought to turn the tables: by making games for learning instead of playing games for learning. Rather than embedding "lessons" directly in games, constructionists have focused their efforts on providing students with greater opportunities to construct their own games—and to construct new relationships with knowledge in the process. Research has only begun to build a body of experience that willmake us believe in the value of playing and making games for learning.


The solubility parameters of polylactide (PLA), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and various disperse dyes calculated according to the group contribution method were used to explain the low sorption of some disperse dyes on PLA but the high sorption of the same dyes on PET. It was found that the dyes with high sorption on PLA tended to have solubility parameters near that of PLA, which has a lower solubility parameter than that of PET. It was also found that the solubility parameter, which was calculated based on cohesive energy and molar volume at 25°C, was more appropriate for explaining dyeings at lower temperature, 100 and 110°C, than those at higher temperature, 130°C. Based on the finding that dyes with solubility parameters near that of PLA tend to have high sorption on PLA, general structures for disperse dye that may have high sorption on PLA were proposed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 416–422, 2005


Objective To study the relationship between left ventricular failure and myocardial ischemia by nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging to provide important evidence for clinical early therapeutic decision-making.Methods Seventy-five hospitalized cases with clinical definite diagnosis of left ventricular failure,including 46 males and 29 females aged 35~75 years(60±24),were checked through nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging.Positive patients were checked by coronary arteriography(CAG).Patients were divided into the positive and the negative of nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging were do χ2 test for end-systolic volume and end-iastolic dimension of stress and observed integral difference between ischemic area and vascular capacitance.Simultaneously,the patients consistent with clinical indication were undergone angioplasty,rechecked by nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging postoperatively and contrastingly analyzed with the preoperative.Results Negative nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging were 15 cases,15 cases of light ischemia,36 cases midrange ischemia,all the cases were positive stress imaging;9 cases of severity ischemic,all the cases were positive stress and rest imaging.Ischemic area percentage was(15±10)%,severity degree standard deviation was-2.7±1.8,ejection fraction(EF)were(43±8)%.In different level,according to α=0.05 size of test,left ventricular volume and ischemic area show ischemic the more serious,heart ventricle volume the more augmentation,ventricular ejection function correspondingly descended,too.Correlation coefficient(r)of ischemic area with stress end-diastolic dimension and rest end-diastolic dimension and stress end-systolic volume,rest end-systolic volume were 0.68,0.70,0.65,0.73(P0.01),respectively.Sixty patients with positive nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging were checked CAG,there was 46 patients of different degree narrowness(≥50%).Left vascular capacitance resume of patients undergoing postoperative angioplasty had statistical significance(P0.05).Conclusion Nuclide myocardial perfusion imaging had positive significance in judging early etiological factor and making correct decision in left ventricular failure diagnosis.


Within the framework of a three-level model, the process of three-photon ionization with one-photon resonance between two excited levels (with the lower one being initially unpopulated) is considered using the density matrix method. It is shown that such resonance can result in the appearance of a maximum in the three-photon ionization spectrum when detuning between the resonance wavenumber and the wavenumber of the transition responsible for the lower excited level being populated exceeds the laser radiation linewidth by more than three orders of magnitude.


_____________ _ PURPOSE: To provide the perfusion community with a literature review of liver transplantation and the four year liver transplant experience at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center METHODS: 1. define the various diagnoses associated with liver transplantation 2. describe past and present immunosuppressant therapy 3. describe the development and use of a heparinless veno-venous extracorporeal circulation system 4. describe the development and use of past and present rapid-infusion systems 5. correlate liver disease diagnosis with blood usage and survival CONCLUSION: Liver transplantation is fast becoming a service operation: 1. operative mortality has decreased from 10% to less than 1% 2. operative bloodloss and blood usage has been significantly redqced 3. gastrointestinal engorgement has essentially been eliminated Introduction -----~--------After 20 years as an experimental procedure, orthotopic liver transplantation has come of age. It gives the chance of excellent rehabilitation for patients with no other treatment available, and the operation is oftentimes less costly than prolonged care of a patient dying of liver disease in hospital. 1 The history of liver transplantation dates back to the immediate post World War II years when early experiments, performed primarily on dogs, showed the Direct communications to: Wayne Calder, 9232 Oak Court, Pittsburgh, P A 15237 122 technical feasibility of transplanting a liver into a recipient, either heterotopically or orthotopically. The first known reported efforts at experimental liver transplantation were made by Dr. Jack Cannon of Los Angeles in 1956. This report was very brief but did note the animals did not survive operation. In June and August of 1958, programs of canine orthotopic liver transplantation research were initiated respectively at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston by Dr. Francis D. Moore and at Northwestern University in Chicago by Dr. Thomas Starzl. The technical problems of liver transplantation and the issues of rejection in untreated canine recipients were delineated and chronic survival was achieved in mongrel dogs, of which one lived for almost 12 years. 2 The history of human orthotopic liver transplantation dates back to March 1963 when Thomas Starzl and associates performed the first liver transplant at the University of Colorado in Denver. This patient died along with four other liver replacement attempts in Boston and Paris. Finally, after six consecutive failures in three institutions, the first extended survival of a human recipient was achieved on July 23, 1967. The patient, an 18 month old girl, lived for more than 13 months before dying of metastases from the hepatocellular carcinoma for which she had been treated. 2 Since 1963 and until 1979, the Colorado group performed 170 liver transplants with an adult survival rate of only 24%. The worldwide survival rate at this time was approximately 26%. 3 With these statistics it is understandable that the attitude among health care providers was that liver transplantation was a lastditch and expensive effort. Up until1984 this attitude was supported by the fact that there were only six centers on the North American continent that were involved in orthotopic liver transplantation. These centers were located in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Memphis, Sacramento, Boston, and London, Ontario. In the last two years, this attitude has dramatically changed. In June 1983, during the National Institutes of Health's Consensus Development Conference, organized to develop guidelines on liver transplantation, Dr. Thomas Starzl reported that liver transplant one-year survival rate at the University of Pittsburgh since 1981 exceeded 50%, and there have been recent reports that suggest that one-year survival in pediatric patients should exceed 85% and approach 75% in adults. 5 This reasoning is supported by the proliferation of liver transplant programs during the last two years to 40 programs in North America and approximately 25 centers outside the United States and Canada. The number of patients that these centers will treat is difficult to estimate. Few new centers will expect to transplant more than 15 patients per year and most likely will treat fewer than 10 per year. In Pittsburgh, the projected number of adult and pediatric transplant procedures to be performed in 1986 is approximately 400. Although there are many variables to consider for the increased number of liver transplants performed worldwide and the tremendous increase in 1-year survival during the past 5 years, the introduction of Cyclosporin A as a potent immunosuppressant has had a dramatic impact on survival following liver transplantation, while the use of heparinless, venovenous bypass system has contributed to a number of the technical difficulties to the anhepatic phase of a liver transplant procedure. Materials and Methods ________ _ 1. Diagnoses Associated with Liver Transplantation In 1983 the American Liver Foundation estimated that 100 hospital admissions and 50,000 deaths in 1983 were attributable to liver disease. It has been estimated that only 5,000 of these patients would be suitable candidates for liver transplantation. Also during 1983, after a thorough review of the literature and oral testimony by experts in the field, an NIH panel determined which patients would be most likely to have a satisfactory result from transplantation. The panel concluded that patients most likely to benefit from liver transplantation are those with biliary atresia, chronic active hepatitis, and primary biliary cirrhosis. Other less common potential candidates include patients with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Wilson's disease, Criglar-Najjar syndrome, and some genetic disorders. 4 A brief synopsis of the more common liver diseases associated with adult liver transplantation is given. a. Primary Biliary Cirrhosis is a chronic, progressive, and usually fatal liver disease. The etiology of the disease is unknown, however, it is widely assumed that tissue injury is mediated by immunologic mechanisms and that the pathogenesis is related in part to abnormalities of immune response. This liver disease group comprises the largest number of liver transplants (73 patients).• b. Cirrhosis and Hepatitis contain the second greatest number of liver transplant patients (65). Cirrhosis is a diffuse process characterized by fibrosis and a conversion of normal architecture into structurally abnormal nodules. Fibrosis is an integral part of the definition and pathogenesis of cirrhosis. Also, it is essential to the diagnosis because it differentiates cirrhosis from diffuse nodular hyperplasia. • The etiology of cirrhosis is varied and may be unknown in individual cases. The major causes are listed below. Their significance and predominance varies geographically and socially. For example, alcohol is the most common cause of cirrhosis in the United States and England, whereas cirrhosis due to hepatitis B is common in Africa and many parts of Asia. In addition, cirrhosis is usually classified by its etiology; however, some causes are best grouped under a common pathogenesis, for example, biliary obstruction. In this system, cirrhosis is a stage in liver damage reached in the evolution of a particular disease. •


The crystal structures,oxygen-permeation properties and stabilities of the ZrO 2-doped SrFe 0.6 Co 0.4 ·O 3-δ perovskite-related oxide and a series of Sr(Co,Fe,Zr)O 3-δ perovskite-type oxides developed in our laboratory,and their application in membrane reactor for methane conversion are introduced in details.The trend of development is also discussed.


A mathematical model has been developed for the heating phase of extrusion welding. It is shown that weld quality is mainly determined by melting a layer of the base material. All the parameters relevant to the heating phase are shown to affect weld quality through their effect on the thickness of the molten layer in the base material. It is shown that these parameters can be well controlled.


Aesthetica Festival British Short Film
7-11 November 2018

Individual Methods:
Finding Your Voice
Masterclass with Chris Shepherd

Friday 9 November
14:00-15:00
York St John, DG 125

Chris Shepherd is a BIFA-winning and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker whose work is a hybrid of live action and animation. Chris works in the short form, with commended films such as ASFF's 2017 Animation winner Johnno's Dead, as well as a collaboration with Illustrator David Shrigley, alongside well-known commissions for the likes of BBC, Channel 4, Canal+ and Arte. In this session, Shepherd focuses on defining yourself as a filmmaker.


In this paper, the problem of the fractional-order linear systems' simultaneous fault detection and reliable control (SFDC) in the finite frequency domain is investigated. A dynamic observer aimed at detecting faults is designed, which also generates state estimation signals. In particular, it is found that the proposed dynamic-observer-based controller can achieve a better H∞ performance. We derived the detector and controller's design conditions to achieve H− fault sensitivity performance and H∞ interference attenuation performance in the limited frequency domain based on the generalized KYP lemma, which can achieve a better disturbance attenuation performance and fault sensitivity performance. Finally, the simulation results show the designed method's effectiveness.


The rise and fall of a nation largely depends upon the growth of the industrial sector, The success of industrialisation not only relies on the drive and initiative of the entrepreneurs bout zfso on the stimulatory, supporting and sustaining activities on the part of the promotional agencies. The need of the hour in the country is massive employment generation which can only be achieved through the promotion of low capital small scale industries. which can absorb the growing labour force. Unfortunately a low priority was given to entrepreneurship development and the small scale sector in the first four five year plans covering the period of 1951-1971. Nore attention was paid to physical capita formation rather than the development of human capital. Then the Government of India opted to boost the industrial sector by launching public sector enterprises like Heavy Machine Tools, Heavy Electricals and Fertilizers. During this period the small scale and cottage industries were to play a residual, secondary role. These were encouraged only in low technology. labour-intensive areas where big industrial houses could not enter because of [ow profitability. It was assumed that what was required to accelerate the growth of small scale sector was to establish specialised financial institutions at the state level (e.g. State Financial Corporations, State Industrial Investment Corporations, etc.) and create infrastructure facilities like industrial estates and zones of industrial sheds.


The concept of Harm Reduction plays a central role in the current context of the drug discus-sion. In view of the socio-cultural transformations that occurred in the field of drugs at the end of the 20th century in Brazil, with emphasis on the reduction of injecting cocaine use and the incidence of crack use, Harm Reduction professionals question the nature of the inputs In their practices. This paper proposes to discuss the place of art and culture in the context of Harm Reduction practices in contemporary times. Specifically, it identifies and characterizes the activities developed by the Culture Point of the E de Lei Coexistence Center, located in Sao Paulo (SP), which present an interface between art, culture and Harm Reduction. It inves-tigates the relationships between aesthetic experience, art, culture, inputs and Harm Reduction in the production of social ties. It characterizes the input in Harm Reduction as something that facilitates the establishment of a link between the drug user and who the offer. He attributes to this bond the capacity to provoke a displacement of the subject from the solitary relation es-tablished with the substance, which provides him with fleeting corporal satisfaction, in favor of the social ties that enable him to exercise his condition of singular subject in the culture. It concludes that the aesthetic experience in the fields of art and culture used as input in Harm Reduction allows the establishment of new social bonds.


In this research, the effects of sintering temperatures on structural and bioactivity in BaFe12O19 (BF) /P2O5-CaO-Na2O bioactive glass ceramics were investigated. The BF/P2O5-CaO-Na2O bioactive glass ceramics were fabricated under various sintering temperatures in a range of 550-700 oC. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to characterize phase and microstructure. The studied samples were evaluated for mechanical properties by hardness testing. Moreover, the bioactivities of studied samples were studied by using simulated body fluid (SBF) in vitro. It was found that, the sintering temperatures are the most influential parameter on microstructure and mechanical properties of the bioactive glass ceramics. The highest density of studied ceramics was found in the sample sintered at 700 oC. The microstructural properties of the studies samples were investigated and the results were then correlated with the characteristics of sintering temperature as well as the microstructure of the bioactive glass ceramic. Moreover, the covering of bone-like apatite layer on the surface sample after a 7 day immersion in SBF suggested that the BF/P2O5-CaO-Na2O glass ceramics have acceptable bioactivities.


In article questions of epidemiology of oncological diseases are considered, the emphasis is placed on adequate use of methods of medical screening of oncological pathology. Explicitly problems of life quality at some categories of oncological patients are described.


6510 Background: Nilotinib is a highly potent and selective BCR-ABL inhibitor with efficacy in pts with imatinib-resistant and -intolerant CML in chronic phase (CP) and accelerated phase (AP). Resu...


Objective To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics,diagnosis and differential diagnosis of granular cell tumor(GCT) of the breast.Methods One case of granular cell tumor of the breast was studied by histopathology,radiological and immunohistochemistry,and the literature was reviewed.Results The tumor was located in the upper inner quadrant of the left breast.The tumor was 2 cm×2 cm in size.Microscopically,the cells was large,round,polygonal to spindle in shape,containing abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasms.It was diastase resistant and PAS positive,the immunohistochemical analysis showed the positive staining for the S-100 protein,NSE and vimentin and the negative staining for cytokeratin,EMA,myoglobin,estrogen and progesterone receptors.Conclusion Primary GCT of the breast is a rare neoplasm.It is usually misdiagnosed based mainly on the clinical,radiological,cytological or rapid intraoperative frozen specimen findings.The correct diagnosis is dependent on the histopathological and immunohistochemical features.


Despite enormous potential for technological applications, fundamentals of stable non-equilibrium micro-plasmas at ambient pressure are still only partly understood. Micro-plasma jets are one sub-group of these plasma sources. For an understanding it is particularly important to analyse transport phenomena of energy and particles within and between the core and effluent of the discharge. The complexity of the problem requires the combination and correlation of various highly sophisticated diagnostics yielding different information with an extremely high temporal and spatial resolution. A specially designed rf microscale atmospheric pressure plasma jet (μ-APPJ) provides excellent access for optical diagnostics to the discharge volume and the effluent region. This allows detailed investigations of the discharge dynamics and energy transport mechanisms from the discharge to the effluent. Here we present examples for diagnostics applicable to different regions and combine the results. The diagnostics applied are optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in the visible and ultraviolet and two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. By the latter spatially resolved absolutely calibrated density maps of atomic oxygen have been determined for the effluent. OES yields an insight into energy transport mechanisms from the core into the effluent. The first results of spatially and phase-resolved OES measurements of the discharge dynamics of the core are presented.


Most prediction markets focus on events with a short time horizon such as forthcoming elections. Contracts are typically traded for periods measured in weeks, but rarely exceeding a year. There is great interest in using prediction markets for events with a long time horizon such as climate change outcomes. This paper develops an analytic framework for exploring the time horizon limitations of prediction markets and suggests a simple, practical solution: the market operator must invest cash holdings in a diversified financial portfolio that generates returns that reflect individual traders' heterogeneous attitudes towards risk and return. The analytic framework identifies how the presence of an opportunity cost for investors reduces market liquidity through a participation constraint and biases the equilibrium price through an inherent money-at-risk asymmetry between long and short positions in a prediction market. This paper explores continuous outcome markets, which are relevant for science-related long-term predictions, along with familiar winner-takes-all markets.


The invention discloses a throat-tube type cold-wind-drafted and melt micro-fibre spinning device. The throat-tube type cold-wind-drafted and melt micro-fibre spinning device specifically comprises an extruder, a metering pump, a spinneret plate, a throat-tube type airflow drafter, a receiving device and a winding device, wherein the extruder penetrates through the metering pump through a conveying tube and is connected with the spinneret plate; the spinneret plate is arranged at the upper end of the throat-tube type airflow drafter; a spinneret is arranged at the lower end of the spinneret plate; the throat-tube type airflow drafter comprises an upper portion and a lower portion; a first airflow channel is formed between the upper portion and the lower portion; the centre of the lower portion is a second airflow channel; the receiving device is arranged just below the second airflow channel; the winding device is located at one side of the receiving device. According to the throat-tube type cold-wind-drafted and melt micro-fibre spinning device disclosed by the invention, production energy consumption is greatly reduced, energy is saved, and carbon emission is reduced.


We describe remote side-channel attacks on private (a.k.a. shielded) transactions in Zcash. Our attacks exploit a lack of isolation between the Zcash client's peer-to-peer and wallet functionalities, and weaken or break the anonymity of shielded transactions. We describe two active attacks—REJECT and PING—on the implementation of in-band secret distribution in the main Zcash client. At a high-level, both attacks exploit differences in the way that a client processes transactions, depending on whether the client is the transaction's payee or not. The REJECT attack sends out specially malformed transactions that are accepted by all nodes except by the payee who responds with an explicit "reject" message. The PING attack relays a transaction to a node, immediately follows it with a "ping" message, and infers whether the node is the transaction's payee based on the timing of the ping's response. These two types of attacks could enable an active remote attacker to: 1. Determine the identity of the payee for a shielded transaction being sent into the network. 2. Locate the Zcash node that holds the private incoming viewing key (ivk) that corresponds to an attacker-known shielded payment address ("zaddr"). 3. Break Zcash's unlinkability of diversified payment addresses, by determining whether two attacker-known payment addresses correspond to a same private viewing key. 4. Corrupt and crash a Zcash node that holds the private ivk corresponding to an attackerknown shielded payment address. 5. Set up a remote timing side-channel on an ECDH key exchange between a victim node's private ivk and an ephemeral public key. In principle, this side-channel can be used to fully recover the victim's ivk, although the attack is probably impractical. The vulnerabilities underlying these attacks affected Zcash's Sapling implementation, from the initial Sapling release (v2.0.0) until release v2.0.7-2. We have disclosed these attacks to Zcash's security team, who fixed them in the latest v2.0.7-3 release [1]. The Zcash team's security announcement can be found here [2]. Users who have updated to the latest release are no longer vulnerable to these attacks. ∗Work performed while the first author was visiting ETH Zürich


Scorpion envenomation in pregnant victims has been scarcely studied. Accidents with venomous animals can induce serious injuries for both mothers and embryos. In the current work, the lethality of Buthus occitanus tunetanus (Bot) and Androctonus australis garzoni (Aag) venoms was assessed in pregnant and nonpregnant murine rat models. The median lethal dose (LD50) was determined following the Spearman-Karber method. Our results showed great similarities of envenomation symptoms between term-pregnant and nonmated rats. An unusual vaginal bleeding was also seen in pregnant rats envenomed with Bot and Aag venoms. Our findings suggest that gestation may increase the venoms toxicity in rats.


Background: Spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section has gained popularity over epidural techniques because of its easy placement and rapid onset. In pregnant women, engorgement of epidural veins from aortocaval compression with displacement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may contribute to unwanted cephalad extensions of the block. The aim of our study was to evaluate the interval of time required for the maximal sensory block along with haemodynamic variations of pulse and blood pressure after spinal anaesthesia among patients undergoing elective caesarean section. Methods: A prospective study was conducted at the Department of Anaesthesia, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan over a period of 6 months. Spinal anaesthesia was given to 100 participants using 25 G, Quincke needle and 1.8 ml of 0.75% hyperbaric bupivacaine was injected. Patients were positioned supine immediately and 10° head down tilt and wedge was placed under right hip to prevent aorto-caval compression. Block level was assessed every 2 minutes with sensation to touch, pinprick, and cold ice saline for 30 minutes. Procedure was started as the maximal sensory T4 block confirmed. Results: The maximal sensory block achieved was up to the level of 3 thoracic site (T3) with a range of T2-T7. The mean time for the block to reach maximal sensory level was 9.2±4.6 minutes. The maximal decrease in pulse, systolic BP and diastolic BP were 15.4±8.7/min, 33.6±11.3 mmHg and 18.2±7.8 mmHg respectively from the baseline. Conclusions: Injection bupivacaine 0.75%, 1.8 ml given via spinal needle in the subarachnoid space at the level of L3–L4 is sufficient to provide an adequate T4 sensory block in the desired time.


Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a remarkable, multifunctional semiconducting material with a direct, wide bandgap energy (E ~ 3.4 eV), intrinsically bigh transparency over tbe wbole visible range, and a resistivity that can be tuned from semi-insulating right through to semi-metallic by doping.̂ It also presents one of the highest piezoelectric responses of any semiconductor and has a relatively high thermoelectric figure of merit. Moreover, it has been judged to be biocompatible and has been approved for human consumption (in products such as vitamin pills) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These distinctive properties have led to a number of industrial applications for ZnO. A recent Nanomarkets (Glen Allen, VA) study estimated that the ZnO-based optoelectronics market was already worth over half a billion dollars in 2010 and forecast to grow to more than 2.3 billion dollars by 2017, at which point over 65% of the market is to be made up of emerging applications: predominantly photovoltaics, displays, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and sensors (gas, ultraviolet [UV] light, and biological). In photovoltaics, ZnO is currently displacing indium tin oxide for use as a transparent conducting electrical contact due to recent improvements in conductivity obtainable with aluminium-doped ZnO, combined with processing, cost, and toxicity advantages.^ For display applications, the greatly superior electron mobilities and current on/off ratios that can be obtained with ZnO-based transparent thin film transistors have opened up the potential for replacing amorphous silicon select field-effect transistors in both active-matrix organic LED and liquidcrystal-based displays/screens.


Machine learning tools are increasingly employed for the early detection of various diseases over the last few years. This article makes a novel attempt in applying Naive Bayes classifier in discriminating healthy control from Alzheimer's affected brain. Percentage volumes of white matter (WM), gray matter (GM) and cerebro spinal fluid (CSF) are used as potential biomarkers in the proposed classification process. A large number of ADNI images have been considered for validating the results. Experimental observations have revealed satisfactory performance in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, precision and specificity of the classifier.


Relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties in SPS-Zn/PEG blends are investigated. Ion/dipole interactions induce the miscibility of both blend components for PEG content up to 10 wt.-% as evidenced by DSC and TEM observations. Elemental mapping by EFTEM was used to investigate the ionic cluster microstructure and the phase structure in the blends. PEG chains do not hinder the formation of ionic multiplets but modify the microstructure of the clusters. Moreover, a PEG-rich layer is observed in the vicinity of the aggregates surface. As a consequence, no cluster glass transition is observed in DMA experiments for these blend systems and besides, the absence of ionic plateau is assigned to the decrease in the ionic clusters' stability.


In Asia, infrastructure projects are plentiful; however, investors to finance these projects are in limited supply. Banks, though, are willing to lend money to infrastructure projects, especially if government export credit agencies are involved in the deal. A new trend in Asia which will lead more investors to infrastructure financing is local-currency debt funding. This article explains how Asia's fledging project debt market is developing. For example, the Malaysian government is standing behind the development of infrastructure, which adds a level of comfort to project financing and risk taking for investors. Eventually, the development of local debt markets should complement project finance bank lending and equity. Infrastructure developers and project financiers will view local debt capital markets as viable financing alternatives. A sidebar is included on enhancing local debt.


Examines the effects of the crisis on employment conditions, job loss, labour relations, and the preferred socially responsible responses. Includes the questionnaires, addressed to management and unions, on changed working conditions, flexible work practice, role of collective agreements, and expectations from national governments.


A guide to basic information resources on Studies in Studies in Literature: Literature and Religion—Writings of the Spiritual Quest, English 218. Background Information/Overview of Subject Area/Reference Sources