Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by great clinical heterogeneity. Its complex pathogenesis has not been fully understood and factors influencing the development of different clinical phenotypes are still to unveil. A better understanding of these aspects could help in identifying new potential biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets to manage different disease subsets. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) has two opposite effects: it inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine production but can also exert stimulatory effects by promoting B cell growth and differentiation [1-3]. Consequently, follicular and extrafollicular IL-10 producing B Helper T cells could play a pathogenic role. In SLE patients an increased frequency of circulating extrafollicular CCR6+ B Helper T cells have been reported especially in patients with active disease [1,4]. CRR6+ B helper T cells produce IL-10 and spontaneously induce IgG in SLE patients, including the pathogenic anti-dsDNA autoantibody [4].Our aim was to evaluate the role of IL-10 -secreting cells in the pathogenesis of SLE and to highlight differences in the expression of these cells in different disease stages and clinical phenotypes.We analyzed the percentages of IL-10-producing lymphocytes either ex vivo (a standard negative control) or after brief stimulation with PMA and ionomycin, which activates all T-cells to produce cytokines. Surprisingly, 4 patients had very high levels of IL-10 production ex vivo, while the remaining patients produced some IL-10 only upon stimulation, similarly to healthy controls. We then divided our population into 2 groups according to disease activity: patients with SLEDAI ≥ 4 displayed significantly higher IL-10 production than inactive patients. To assess which cells were responsible for spontaneous IL-10 production, we analyzed the phenotype of IL-10+ cells. Spontaneously IL-10 secreting lymphocytes were mainly CD4+ helper T-cells that expressed high levels of CCR6, CXCR5 and IL-7R.We looked at the percentage frequency of IL-10 -producing cells out of total lymphocytes under two conditions: ex vivo and after stimulation with PMA and ionomycin. Surprisingly, 4 patients had high levels of IL-10 production ex vivo, while the remaining patients produced IL-10 only following stimulation as expected. We then divided the test population into two groups according to disease activity: patients with SLEDAI ≥ 4 displayed significantly higher IL-10 levels than inactive patients. To assess which cells were responsible for IL-10 production, we analyzed the percentage of CD4 and CD8 cells in two populations of lymphocytes, those that expressed IL-10 and those that did not (Figure 1). Spontaneosly IL-10 secreting cells were mainly CD4+ helper T-cells that expressed high levels of CCR6, CXCR5 and IL-7R.IL-10 was reported to be spontaneously produced by B-cells and monocytes, but this is to our knowledge the first evidence that also T-cells spontaneously produce Il.-10 in SLE. IL-10 levels were higher in active disease and produced mainly by B helper T-cells, suggesting that it stimulates autoreactive B cells to produce pathogenic autoantibodies: the ex vivo production of IL-10 by B helper T cells in selected patients suggest that they are continuously activated by autoantigens and contribute to the aberrant production of autoantibodies. However, further analysis are needed to better characterize the spontaneously IL-10 producing lymphocytes in these patients.[1]Geginat J, et al. IL-10 producing regulatory and helper T-cells in systemic lupus erythematosus. Semin immunol 2019; 44:101330[2]Geginat J, et al. The light and the dark sides of Interleukin-10 in immune-mediated diseases and cancer. Cyt Grow Fact Rev 2016, 30:87[3]Canete e al. Regulatory roles of IL-10 -producing human follicular T cells. J Exp Med 2019, 216:1843[4]Facciotti F, et al. Evidence for a pathogenic role of extrafollicular, IL-10 -producing CCR6+B helper T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus PNAS 2020, 117:7305Figure 1.CD4 and CD8 cells in IL10+ and IL10- T cellsNIL.None Declared.


INESC TEC is strongly committed to become a center of excellence in maritime technology and, in particular, deep sea technology. The STRONGMAR project aims at creating solid and productive links in the global field of marine science and technology between INESC TEC and established leading research European institutions, capable of enhancing the scientific and technological capacity of INESC TEC and linked institutions, helping raising its staff's research profile and its recognition as a European maritime research center of excellence. The STRONGMAR project seeks complementarity to the TEC4SEA research infrastructure: on the one hand, TEC4SEA promotes the establishment of a unique infrastructure of research and technological development, and on the other, the STRONGMAR project intends to develop the scientific expertise of the research team of INESC TEC.


During a recent volunteer medical mission to the Dominican Republic, we administered anesthesia to a child with severe pulmonary valvular stenosis and suprasystemic right ventricular pressure. This patient underwent a balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty but then developed worsening right ventricular outflow tract obstruction that required immediate therapy to prevent a low cardiac output state. As the development of hyperdynamic right ventricular outflow tract obstruction cannot be predicted, we emphasize the need for preemptive hydration and beta‐blockade therapy prior to balloon dilatation.


Problem: Asthma affects one out of every ten children in the United States. It is recommended that children with persistent asthma take long-term controller (LTC) medications to achieve control. However, adherence varies, and many children do not take their LTC medication at all. The average cost for hospitalization of a child with asthma is $8,406. Asthma in children also contributes to school absenteeism and a decrease in quality of life. Objective: A literature review was performed to examine factors that affect adherence to LTC medications used to control asthma in children. Method: A literature review was performed using the CINAHL, ERIC, Medline, Psych Info, and Academic Search Premier databases.


Fe_(0.92)Mn_(0.08)Si__x_(_x_=1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5) thermoelectric alloys have been prepared by rapid solidification and hot uniaxial pressing (HUP) with 50 MPa for 30min at 975℃. XRD analyses showed that all samples reached to phase equilibrium after HUP and the α-Fe_2Si_5 transformed completely to β-FeSi_2 phase after 800℃ annealing for 20h. 93%~98% of the theoretical densities have been obtained by the annealed samples. It was found that a small amount of dispersed fine silicon particles were of benefit to the improvement of the thermoelectric figure of merit of β-FeSi_2 based alloys. The highest figure of merit, 0.18, has been obtained for the sample Fe_(0.92)Mn_(0.08)Si_(2.1) at 650℃. However, when more excessive silicon added, the thermoelectric figures of merit decrease due to higher thermal conductivities.


In this artic1e the author ana1yses problems about student administration in collegesand universities of higher education. Then she points out the development of time requiries the newadministral pattern in higher education. Lastly she thinks humanism should be highlightened andchanges should be carried out from problem-solving management to self-management.


Water bodies often receive agrochemicals indiscriminately, but we know little about the effects of agrochemicals on the flora and fauna of the water bodies. In this study we assess the direct effects of pesticides and fertilizer on the fish production and biodiversity of two important beels; Hilna beel and Kumari beel of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh from July 2007 to June 2009. The result shows that in Hilna beel 2.92 kg ha and Kumari beel 2.95 kg ha pesticide was used. The amount was found to be increased 1.41 times for Hilna beel and 1.44 times for Kumari beel from 2005 to 2009. The results documented that fish production in both beels was decreased with the increment of pesticides used. The results obtained from this study will improve the understanding of the influence of agrochemicals on the important small indigenous fishes.


This work presents the design and simulation of an indirect compensated class-AB operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) suitable for low-power low-voltage applications. The designed OTA is made up of a two-stage amplifier that is stabilized using an indirect Miller compensation capacitor while a Class-AB modification used to enhance the slew rate of the overall amplifier. Self-cascode composite transistor were used to improve the amplifier DC gain. The designed OTA presents a DC gain, bandwidth, gain-bandwidth product, and phase margin of 79.6 dB, 79 Hz, 655 kHz, and 42°, respectively. Also, this OTA exhibits a slew rate of 0.371 V/μs, a power consumption of 1.32 μW, and a silicon area of 170.7 μm x 191.25 μm. A 0.50μm CMOS standard technology was used for simulation and layout purposes.


Objective To explore different doses of calcium 5-formyltetrahydrofolate(CF)for protecting enteral mucosa after chemotherapy of high-dose methotrexate(HD-MTX) in rats.Methods Sixty of 6 weeks old Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups in random,12 rats every group.Group A:control group,normal sodium(NS) intraperitoneal injection only;Group B to E:after HD-MTX intraperitoneal injection(120 mg/kg),1% CF(CF dose amounts to 1% of total MTX dose) for group B,2% CF for group C,8% CF for Group D and empty for group E.For group B、C and D,CF were intramuscular injected after 12 hours of MTX used,q6h×7 times.Rats were killed after 18 hours of the last time of CF.Morphous of jejunum dissection were observed and length of intestinal villus and depth of crypt were mea-sured.Results For group A,jejunum walls were thick and elastic and intestinal villus were close and orderly.Jejunum walls were congestive,swollen and thin,length of intestinal villus and depth of crypt reduced both in group B to E.These were most obvious in group E,and were secondary in group B.Statistical analysis showed that significant difference in effect existed between group B,C,D,E and group A(Pa0.05),same between group C,D and group B,E(Pa0.05).No difference between group C and D(P0.05).Conclusion MTX can damage in intestinal mucosa of rats,CF can reduce this damage,excessive low doses of CF can't play this role.


Introduction:Despite rapidly emerging data on all possible manifestations and complications of Coronavirus 19 (COVID19) disease, little evidence is available on patients presenting with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and a normal chest radiograph (CXR). The goal of our study was to evaluate outcomes of patients with normal CXR on admission and hypoxic respiratory failure due to COVID19 infection accordingly to their D-Dimer level on admission. Methods:We conducted a retrospective review of all adult patients with confirmed COVID19 infection presenting with acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring supplemental oxygen and a normal CXR on admission, admitted to Bronx Care Health System between March and June 2020. A total of 115 patients were included and classified into 2 groups accordingly to their initial D-Dimer level: D-dimer level ≥ 4 times upper limit of normal (ULN) and a D-Dimer level ≤ 4 times ULN. Primary outcome was mortality and secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay (HLOS), need for mechanical ventilation, shock, acute kidney injury (AKI), electrolyte abnormalities. Results:115 patients were included and classified according to the initial D-Dimer level. 31 patients had a d-dimer level ≥ 4 times ULN and 84 had d-dimers ≤ 4 times ULN. Patients with d-dimer level ≥ 4 times ULN were older (mean age 65 vs 55 p<0.05, CI 3.4-16.7) and more likely to be African-American in comparison to any other race (58% vs 28.5%, p<0.05). Patients with initial normal CXR and a d-dimer level ≥ 4 times ULN had significantly higher mortality, higher requirement for mechanical ventilation, higher serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and were more likely to have acute kidney injury (AKI) compared with patients with lower levels of ddimers. We found no differences in hospital or intensive care length of stay (LOS) among the groups. Conclusions:Patients with hypoxic respiratory failure with elevated d-dimers and normal admission CXR have higher mortality, more likely develop shock, renal failure and need for mechanical ventilation. Care must be taken in both triage and discharge planning in those patients, as they need close monitoring. This is especially important in African-American patients and those with increased serum LDH levels. A composite scoring system for this group of patients will be helpful.


In the title compound, C28H32O11·0.16H2O, the substituted benzene rings are twisted slightly away from the furan ring. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 8.8 (1)°. In the crystal structure, the molecules exist as C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonded dimers.


This work reports on membranes of a combination of chitosan–starch with lithium-modified multiwall carbon nanotubes. One of the most important contributions of this article is the functionalization of the surface of multiwall carbon nanotubes by means of an accessible technique that allows for high grafting yields of lithium and their incorporation into a polymeric matrix. The natural compounds chitosan and starch were used as a support to embed the nanotubes, forming membranes with good mechanical stability. A thorough characterization via Raman, infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, transmission and scanning electron microscopies and dynamic mechanical analysis is presented here, as well as electrochemical characterization. The composition, structure and mechanical stability of the membranes make them viable candidates to be used as anodes sustainable Li-ion batteries.


The neutral salt spray tests specified in ISO 92271) have been extensively used as the most popular and fundamental tests for estimating the corrosivity (corrosion resistance) of metals and its alloys, and organic or inorganic coatings. The Japanese delegate pointed out that the existing ISO 9227 published in 1990 had some problems and proposed its revision to ISO/TC156/WG7 (Corrosion of metals and its alloys / Accelerated corrosion tests). The Japanese proposed subjects were generally agreed upon. The most significant one was the corrosion reference specimen and the procedure for estimating corrosivity in a test chamber using it. In order to find a suitable reference specimen, international round robin tests were carried out on three test methods − neutral salt spray, acetic acid salt spray and copper accelerated acetic acid salt spray − specified in ISO 9227, with the participation of 18 laboratories in 9 countries.The results of the round robin tests showed that a steel reference specimen was satisfactory in use common to the three test methods. An environment-friendly new cleaning method for removal of corrosion products was also recommended. Thus ISO 9227 should be revised based on those results.


Objective To investigate changes of ventricular function in patients with complete right bundle branch block(CRBBB). Methods Systolic and diastolic velocity and time interval were measured by pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging(PW-TDI)on 48 CRBBB patients without structural heart diseases and 42 normal adults. Results ①Systole peak velocity(Sm), peak velocity of the early relaxation wave(Em), Em/ peak velocity of the later relaxation wave(Am)ratio of the basal segments of right ventricular lateral wall(RVLW) in CRBBB patients significantly decreased compared with those in controls(13.7±2.53 cm/s vs 17.00±3.10 cm/s; 12.1±2.06 cm/s vs 21.05±4.23 cm/s; 0.71±0.38 cm/s vs 1.22±0.65 cm/s ,P0.01). Am of basic segment of RVLW were similar in two groups(P0.05); Sm,Em,Am,Em/Am of the basal segments of the left ventricle were also similar in two groups (P0. 05).②Electromechanical delay(EMD)and isovolumic relaxation time(IVRT)of the basal segments of RVLW in CRBBB were longer than those in controls(55±13 ms vs 46±10 ms; 41±20 ms vs 30±16 ms,P0.05), Ejection time(ET)of the basal segments of RVLW in CRBBB patients were shorter than those in controls(309±43 ms vs 400±60 ms,P0.05),while isovolumic contraction time(IVCT) and filling time(FT) were similar in two groups(P0.05).EMD, IVCT,ET,IVRT,and FT of the basal segments of the left ventricle were not significantly different in two groups(P0.05). ③Myocardial performance index(Tei)in CRBBB patients was longer than that in controls(0.56±0.14 vs 0.43±0.13,P0.05).There was no much change for Tei of the basal segments of the left ventricle in two groups(P0.05). Conclusion CRBBB may have bad effects on mechanical function of right ventricle, but fail to impair systolic and diastolic functions of left ventricle.


Synthesis of Cadmium Selinium Nanoparticles (CdSe-NPs) was accomplished by a green procedure employing aqueous solutions of soapnutsfruit pericarp. The size of nanoparticles obtained are in range of 4–12 nm which is achieved by the reduction of CdSe precursers with the aqueous extract of soapnutsfruit pericarp.The resulted CdSe-NPs are highly crystalline face-centered cubic (fcc) structures. The obtained CdSe-NPs might be stabilized through the interactions of carboxylic groups in the saponins and the carbonyl groups in the flavonoids present in the soapnut shells. TEM, XRD, SEM with EDS were used to study the morphology, distribution, crystallinity and size of the particles. The reports showed that CdSe-NPs formed with Cubic phase. The particles exhibited excellent absorption maximum at 608 nm and produced an emission maximum at 655 nm, upon excitation. This biogenesis is straightforward, amenable for big scale industrial production and technical applications.


Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography (CTCA) is a rapid, non-invasive diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease (CAD). Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinics (RACPC) were introduced in UK in 2000, in order to assess rapidly patients with chest pain. To evaluate the use of CTCA as initial work-up for unstable angina pectoris in a primary care-based RACPC. Eighty-eight (n=88) patients were examined by a consultant cardiologist and referred for CTCA if indicated. CTCA was performed with a 640 slices, 320-row CT scanner. Thirty-five (n=35) patients were discharged without further investigations; 50 (mean age 59.8 years; 24 male) were referred for CTCA and 3 were referred directly for an invasive angiography (IA). Following CTCA, 17 patients were discharged. Seventeen (n=17) patients with no history of CAD, but with positive CTCA findings and eleven (n=11) patients with known CAD but without new lesions on CTCA were discharged after optimisation of medical treatment. Five (n=5) of the 50 patients eventually underwent IA; 2 were referred for CABG; 3 continued with medical treatment. No major adverse cardiac events were recorded in a 6-months' follow up period. The cost for each patient who underwent CTCA was £1,087; 94% of patients rated their experience as good or excellent. The time interval from RACPC visit-to-definitive diagnosis was <3 weeks in 50% of patients, <6 weeks in 90%. Use of CTCA as initial investigation in Primary Care, is both clinically and cost-effective. CTCA should be considered in the initial diagnostic work-up of unstable angina pectoris patients, with or without prior history of CAD.


The purpose of this study is to find out empirical evidence of components that affect the tax avoidance. The components that affect it are Return on Assets (ROA), company size, capital intensity, independent commissioner, age firm, leverage, audit committee, and inventory intensity. This study chooses manufacturing companies as the samples. The data were obtained from manufacturing company's financial statement that listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from the years 2018 until 2020. After selecting the sample using purposive sampling technique, the of 61 companies was obtained with a total of 183 data. To analyze the correlation of independent variable to dependent variable, which is tax avoidance, this study using multiple regression technique. The conclusion of this study is audit committee affect tax avoidance. Many members of the audit committee provide coverage to be able to intervene in determining tax policies in the company. The more the number of audit committees (AC), the higher the level of tax avoidance activities. While Return on Asset (ROA), company size, capital intensity, independent commissioner, age firm, leverage, and inventory intensity do not affect tax avoidance.


This paper presents a novel 3-axis fine positioning stage using magnetically preloaded PZT actuators. All the procedure concerning the design, fabrication, experiment and performance evaluation of the stage are described. The stage considered here is composed of flexure hinges, piezoelectric actuators and their peripherals. A special flexure hinge is adopted to actuate the single stage in three axes at the same time. The developed stage makes use of magnetically preloaded PZT actuators and a ball contact mechanism to avoid the cross-talk among the axes. The structural design for the stage is analyzed and optimized with the help of a finite element computer simulation. Performance evaluation is also made for the PZT actuators as well as the stage positioning accuracy. Experimental results show that the developed stage is accurate enough to be used for nanometer positioning.


In hot summer and cold winter zone, engineers and designers are always plagued by the rational use of energy-saving glass combining with practical engineering. Scientific selection of energy-saving glass has important theoretical and engineering significance for building energy saving In this study, glass comprehensive index was established, technical and economic factors of glass were considered altogether. The comprehensive indexes of different energy-saving glasses were calculated and the evaluation analyses of energy-saving glasses were done. For the first time, research results show that mid-hollow Low-E glass has maximum energy efficiency under the present technical and economic conditions and vacuum glass has wide application prospect in the future. The conclusions of the study are in good agreement with engineering practice.


Previous research on how court-ordered equalization affects public school expenditures has not yielded a clear pattern of results. The most comprehensive study to date is that of Murray et al. (1998), which concludes that equalization decisions lead to both lower levels of inequality and higher per-pupil expenditures. After replicating their results, we find that their results are not robust to econometric modifications and the addition of panels of data through 2007, indicating that court-ordered reform does not affect the distribution of expenditures across school districts nor average per-pupil expenditures. Thus almost forty years after the first court-ordered equalization in California, these rulings may have reached the limit of what they are able to achieve in terms of fiscal outcomes.


[Entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae) are insect parasites that appear to use both cruising and ambushing search strategies. Cruising species Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae, and S. glaseri spent more time crawling (88.8, 80.3, and 92.5% of observation period, respectively) and therefore traveled farther (22.4, 18.6, and 24.3 mm, respectively) and searched a larger area (18.3, 13.7, and 26.6 mm2, respectively) than ambushing species. Ambusher species S. carpocapsae and S. scapterisci traveled shorter distances (4.8 and 4.7 mm, respectively) and searched smaller areas (3.0 and 2.5 mm2, respectively) because they spent most of the observation period nictating (77.5 and 78.2%, respectively). Nictating infective juveniles raise greater than 95% of their body off the substrate and maintain a straight posture. A nictating species S. carpocapsae was up to 43 times as effective at finding mobile insect hosts compared to a non-nictating species H. bacteriophora. When unable to nictate host-finding of mobile insects declined from 35.7±7.19 to 3.9±1.11 infective juveniles per host. Nictation, by reducing the surface tension forces holding the nematode to the substrate, can increase the nematodes ability to attach to passing insects. S. carpocapsae also tended to search more effectively along a surface than through a matrix. Although entomopathogenic nematodes have a broad potential host range, differences in search behavior may result in a narrower actual host range. Ambushers being more specialized for mobile insects on the soil surface and cruisers for more sedentary and/or subterranean insects., Entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae) are insect parasites that appear to use both cruising and ambushing search strategies. Cruising species Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae, and S. glaseri spent more time crawling (88.8, 80.3, and 92.5% of observation period, respectively) and therefore traveled farther (22.4, 18.6, and 24.3 mm, respectively) and searched a larger area (18.3, 13.7, and 26.6 mm2, respectively) than ambushing species. Ambusher species S. carpocapsae and S. scapterisci traveled shorter distances (4.8 and 4.7 mm, respectively) and searched smaller areas (3.0 and 2.5 mm2, respectively) because they spent most of the observation period nictating (77.5 and 78.2%, respectively). Nictating infective juveniles raise greater than 95% of their body off the substrate and maintain a straight posture. A nictating species S. carpocapsae was up to 43 times as effective at finding mobile insect hosts compared to a non-nictating species H. bacteriophora. When unable to nictate host-finding of mobile insects declined from 35.7±7.19 to 3.9±1.11 infective juveniles per host. Nictation, by reducing the surface tension forces holding the nematode to the substrate, can increase the nematodes ability to attach to passing insects. S. carpocapsae also tended to search more effectively along a surface than through a matrix. Although entomopathogenic nematodes have a broad potential host range, differences in search behavior may result in a narrower actual host range. Ambushers being more specialized for mobile insects on the soil surface and cruisers for more sedentary and/or subterranean insects.]


Recent progress in theoretical mineral physics based on the ab initio quantum mechanical computation method has been dramatic in conjunction with the rapid advancement of computer technologies. It is now possible to predict stability, elasticity, and transport properties of complex minerals quantitatively with uncertainties that are comparable to or even smaller than those attached in experimental data. These calculations under in situ high-pressure ( P) and high-temperature conditions are of particular interest because they allow us to construct a priori mineralogical models of the deep Earth. In this article, we briefly review recent progress in studying high- P phase relations, elasticity, thermal conductivity, and rheological properties of lower mantle minerals including silicates, oxides, and some hydrous phases. Our analyses indicate that the pyrolitic composition can describe Earth's properties quite well in terms of density and P- and S-wave velocity. Computations also suggest some new hydrous compounds that could persist up to the deepest mantle and that the postperovskite phase boundary is the boundary of not only the mineralogy but also the thermal conductivity. ▪  The ab initio method is a strong tool to investigate physical properties of minerals under high pressure and high temperature. ▪  Calculated thermoelasticity indicates that the pyrolytic composition is representative to the chemistry of Earth's lower mantle. ▪  Simulations predict new dense hydrous phases stable in the whole lower mantle pressure and temperature condition. ▪  Calculated lattice thermal conductivity suggests a heat flow across the core mantle boundary no greater than 10 TW.


[Objective]The content is measured by Jinzhai Country testing soil for formulated.Studied distribution difference of agricultural soil organic matter content in the country.[Method]Adopt method of GB9834 - 88 to determine organic content.[Result]The agricultural soil matter content exists differences of time and space in the region.The content in March and April is higher than in December.The conent in the mountainous areas significantly higher than in the hilly area and low mountains.It shows that the agricultural soil organic matter in the region belongs to middle and low-level through analying lack or abundance of soil organic matter.The soil is relatively infertile.[Conclusion]According to test results the difference of soil organic matter content in Jinzhai country mainly exists the internal environmental conditions.The determination should take organic matter content in December as standard.


The purpose of this essay has been to 1) examine if one, by using the method of a combined quantitative and qualitative content analysis, can see how alcohol and drug abusers are socially constructed and, 2) study verdicts made according to The Care of Alcoholics and Drug Abuser Act (LVM 1988:870) to see how the social services, the county administrative court and the individual abuser describes and talks about alcohol and drug abusers. To serve the purpose we have been working within the frame of following questions:

• How can one, by using the method of a combined quantitative and qualitative content analysis, study how alcohol and drug abusers are socially constructed?
• Is it possible to get relevant information about the subject above through studying verdicts made according to The Care of Alcoholics and Drug Abuser Act (LVM 1988:870)?
• What does the social services, the county administrative court and the individual abuser focus on to argue for and state their reasons for a wished for outcome of the verdict?
• Is it possible to perceive patterns according to gender in the social construction of drug abusers?

Through this study we have come to the conclusion that it is possible to get information from verdicts as those mentioned above, about how alcohol and drug abusers are socially constructed by using the method of a combined quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The design of the tool used for analysing the text is however of vital importance for the width and depth of the results. We have also seen that the social services, the county administrative court and the individual abuser are constructing alcohol and drug abusers by referring to the abusers deviant behaviour in areas such as medical circumstances, the character of the drug- or alcohol abuse, personal qualities, social circumstances and earlier experiences of abuse treatment. Finally, we have seen no distinct patterns according to gender in the social construction of drug abusers in this certain study.


A Schiff base was prepared by condensation reaction of 2,6-diformyl-4-methylphenol with trimethylsilyl-methyl-p-aminobenzoate and it was further used, without isolation, as a ligand for copper (Cu(II)) ions. The structure of the resulting coordination complex was evidenced by spectral techniques (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy) and by single crystal X-ray diffraction, which revealed a covalent one-dimensional (1D) structure where neutral molecular units (Cu(II) coordination polymer [CuL2]) are linked through the bridging oxygen atoms. The 1D polymeric chains are associated by intermolecular C–H···O hydrogen bonding to form two-dimensional supramolecular layers. The polymeric nature of the compound was also supported by the presence of glass transition in differential scanning calorimetry trace. This coordination polymer forms spherical aggregates in a nonpolar medium (hexane) as was emphasized by transmission electron microscopy image taken on the film remained after solvent evaporation. The thermogravimetrical analysis indicates a good stability for the Cu(II) coordination polymer and the biological tests revealed good antibacterial and antifungal activities.


We study the Domany-Kinzel model, which is a class of discrete time Markov processes with two parameters (p 1 , p 2 ) ∈ [0, 1] 2 and whose states are subsets of Z, the set of integers. When p 1 = αβ and p 2 = α(2β - β 2 ) with (α, β) ∈ [0, 1] 2 , the process can be identified with the mixed site-bond oriented percolation model on a square lattice with the probabilities of open site a and of open bond β. For the attractive case, 0 < p 1 ≥ p 2 < 1, the complete convergence theorem is easily obtained. On the other hand, the case (p 1 , p 2 ) = (1, 0) realizes the rule 90 cellular automaton of Wolfram in which, starting from the Bernoulli measure with density 0, the distribution converges weakly only if θ E {0, 1/2, 1}. Using our new construction of processes based on signed measures, we prove limit theorems which are also valid for nonattractive cases with (p 1 , p 2 ) ¬= (1, 0). In particular, when p 2 ∈ [0, 1] and p 1 is close to 1, the complete convergence theorem is obtained as a corollary of the limit theorems.


Due to the dispersed nature of forestry operations in much of the world, only a subset of a given forest road network are used in any year. Specifically, spur roads are generally only used when harvesting operations are adjacent to roadways; otherwise, they remain unused or only have infrequent administrative traffic. During these periods of light use, a substantial amount of organic litter may build up on the roads. As this detritus accumulates and decays, it creates conditions that encourage the growth of unwanted vegetation in the roadway, accelerating the contamination of the surface aggregate. This organic material can degrade the road by retaining moisture and creating a less tractive road surface. Contemporary forest practices control this unwanted vegetation by using a combination of grading or herbicides, at significant expense. One potential alternative treatment is the utilization of a rotary-mounted asphalt broom for vegetation and debris removal. A series of field trials were performed on wet, contaminated forest roads, in which we evaluated vegetation, debris removal effectiveness, and tire slip on segments of road before and after sweeping. The combined effects of wire and synthetic bristles on the rotary broom proved effective in both increasing traction and removing unwanted debris and vegetation from the road surface. Application of this technique was expedient, and did not result in significant loss of surface aggregate, removing on average less than 1% of the aggregate surface.


Background: Spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema with pneumomediastinum is a rare, but potentially dangerous complication of labour. The incidence is estimated to be between 1:2000 to 1:100,000 deliveries. Case: A nulliparous women developed extensive swelling of face & neck along with breathing problem after prolonged second stage of labour. Examination showed severe facial & neck oedema with crepitus. Surgical emphysema with pneumomediastinum was confirmed on chest X-Ray. She was managed conservatively and recovered well in 2-3 days. Conclusion: This condition is usually associated with proloinged second stage of labour. The clinical course is often benign. Management is primarily conservative. Early recognition followed by appropriate measures to prevent further complications is the key factor to reduce the morbidity & mortality associated with this condition. INTRODUCTION Subcutaneous emphysema & pneumomediastinum although runs a benign course, but fatalities have been reported. This condition is generally self-limiting; therefore, observation, reassurance & symptomatic treatment with analgesia and oxygen is all that is needed in most cases. CASE HISTORY A 23 year old nulliparous woman presented to the Labour ward at 41 weeks of pregnancy with regular contractions & possible rupture of membranes. Her antenatal period was uneventful. She was on medication for asthma & was a non-smoker. On examination, she was in early labour with cervix dilated to 3 cm and intact membranes. She was prescribed Entonox for pain-relief throughout the labour. The cervix was fully dilated 5 hours after admission. After 30 minutes of pushing, she complained of a sore throat and her face looked flushed. She was advised regarding pushing technique as she appeared to push 'into her throat'. Her face & eyes were swollen after 1 hour and 10 minutes although there was no problem with breathing. After second stage of labour lasting just short of two hours, she had spontaneous vaginal delivery of 3.342 kg baby. After delivery the facial and neck swelling increased to a significant extent that it was quite painful and she could hardly open her eyes. She also complained of difficulty in breathing along with blocked nose and throat. She was transferred to High Dependency Unit in the labour ward. Examination showed severe facial and neck oedema with crepitus. Cardio-respiratory status was stable and clear chest with bilaterally equal air entry. Chest x-ray revealed gross and extensive surgical emphysema across the chest and up into the neck and pneumomediastinum with no evidence of pneumothorax (Fig.1) She was managed conservatively with physiotherapy, analgesics and salbutamol nebulizer. She recovered well in 2-3 days time. Subcutaneous Emphysema With Pneumomediastinum During The Second Stage Of Labour: A Rare Intrapartum Complication 2 of 3 Figure 1 Figure 1: Chest x-ray showing extensive subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediatimun CONCLUSION Subcutaneous emphysema with pneumomediastinum is also known as Hamman's Syndrome. It occurs mostly during the second stage of labour, related to the valsalva manoeuvre during the expulsive phase of labour where 'pushing down' acutely raises intra-alveolar pressure. Pneumomediastinum is thought to occur when a marginally situated alveolus ruptures into the pulmonary interstitial space, with tracking of air toward the hilum and mediastinum .1 The diagnosis of subcutaneous emphysema is self-evident. The crepitus palpable on the face & the neck is virtually pathognomonic of this condition. The definitive diagnosis is made on the chest x-ray mainly lateral view as they improve the visibility of air in the anterior mediastinum. 2 The majority of patients require conservative management alone. Use of Entonox analgesia is probably contraindicated because it is likely to cause further expansion of the pneumomediastinum.3 Identification of subcutaneous emphysema is important because potential complications can be serious like pneumothorax & cardiac compression.4 To avoid such complications, shortening the second stage of labour by the use of forceps or vacuum extraction is recommended when pneumomediastinum has been diagnosed. To conclude, surgical emphysema with pneumomediastinum is a rare complication of labour. This is generally a selflimiting condition. Early recognition followed by appropriate measures to prevent further complications is the key factor to reduce the morbidity & mortality associated with this condition. CORRESPONDENCE TO Dr. P. Jain 1 St Thomas Close Sutton Coldfield B75 7QJ West Midlands UK Tel: +44 121 2402256 ( R) +44 77890 72062 (M) e-mail : email@example.com Fax: +44 121 3786182 References 1. Weinberger SE, Weiss ST (1988) Pulmonary disease. In: Burrows GN, Ferris TR. Medical complications during pregnancy. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders, 474-5 2. Karson EM, Saltzman D, Davis MR.(1984) Pneumomediastinum in pregnancy: two case reports and a review of the literature, pathophysiology and management. Obstetrics and Gynaecology 64: 39S-43S. 3. Y. Jayran-Nejad.(1993) Subcutaneous emphysema in labour. Anaesthesia 48 (2): 139-140. 4. Raley JC, Andrews JI.(2001) Spontaneous pneumomediastinum presenting as jaw pain during labour. Obstet Gynecol 98 No 5 Part 2, 904-6 Subcutaneous Emphysema With Pneumomediastinum During The Second Stage Of Labour: A Rare Intrapartum Complication 3 of 3 Author Information Preeti Jain, MRCOG Specialist Registrar, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust Tracey Vanner, MRCOG Consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust


Dynamics of the aircraft configuration considered in this paper show a unique characteristic in that there are no stable attractors in the entire high angle-of-attack flight envelope. As a result, once the aircraft has departed from the normal flight regime, no standard technique can be applied to recover the aircraft. In this paper, using feedback linearization technique, a nonlinear controller is designed at high angles of attack, which is engaged after the aircraft departs from normal flight regime. This controller stabilizes the aircraft into a stable spin. Then a set of synthetic pilot inputs is applied to cause an automatic transition from the spin equilibrium to low angles of attack where the second controller is connected. This controller is a normal gain-scheduled controller designed to have a large domain of attraction at low angles of attack. It traps the aircraft into a low angle-of-attack level flight. This entire concept of recovery has been verified using six-degrees-of-freedom nonlinear simulation. Feedback linearization technique used to design a controller ensures internal stability only if the nonlinear plant has stable zero dynamics. Because zero dynamics depend on the selection of outputs, a new method of choosing outputs is described to obtain a plant that has stable zero dynamics. Certain important aspects pertaining to the implementation of a feedback linearization-based controller are also discussed.


Freedom refers to the actual limit of man's mind and behavior conformed to laws and regulations and personal liberty is a collective concept that consists of many rights. Deprivation and restriction of freedom actually includes those of the relevant rights. As a result, criminals in prison can not have the relevant rights, which can be found in the current laws both home and abroad.


This article introduced the principle of the Digital Hail-Rain Measuring Instrument. After the hail separated from the raindrop through the filtering device,the hailfall amount can be measured out according to Archimedes' s law. By taking full advantage of rainfall measurement,GPRS data transmission,solar-powered system and other advanced technologies,this instrument is featured with automatic observation,digital measurement and favorable networking capacity. The observations in the field show that the performance of this instrument is stable,and the observed data is reliable. Through the analysis of the data observed in the field,the rainfall measuring errors of this instrument fall into acceptable error range compared with other instruments. Finally,due to observing the amount of hailfall in real time,this instrument provides the study of hailfall observation with powerful instrumental support.


The paper gives a brief review of properties and applications of developed extra-hard nanostructured composite materials and coatings based on them. The presentresearch suggestsaerospace applications of nanostructured composite materials based on carbides, carbonitrides and diboridesof transition and refractory metals. To improve the technical and economic performance of gas turbine engines, it is advisable to use new composite structural materials whose basic physicomechanical properties are several times superior to traditional ones. The greatest progress in developing new composites should be expected in the area of materials created on the basis of polymer, metal, intermetallic and ceramic matrices. Currently components and assemblies of gas turbine engines and multiple lighting power units with long operation life and durability will vigorously develop. Next-generation composites are studied in all developed countries, primarily in the United States and Japan.


The standard waiting time for elective surgery is 18 weeks. However, it continues to face pressure. We aimed to look at:

 Retrospective data of patients listed for a cholecystectomy throughout the health board from April 2019-June 2022 were collected using electronic records. Patients removed from the list were excluded. Data was collected on patient demographics, hospital listed/performed, waiting list length, surgical approach and post-operative outcomes.

 278 patients were included. 79% operations were listed centrally with 52% performed there. 72% were female and 28% male. The average age was 53.6 years (22-91).
 Of those listed 45% underwent surgery. The average waiting time was 106 days overall (5-1024), 110.5 in 2020, 156 in 2021, 57.5 in 2022, 78% being performed within target. 98.4% were laparoscopic and 1.6% converted. 88% of operations were elective and 12% emergency. 1 patient had malignancy on pathology. 15 patients had complications with 3 bile leaks (2.4%).
 22 patients were admitted whilst waiting for a total of 36 days, costing an estimated £14,400. 64% received an emergency operation during admission, all which were performed centrally (p=<0.05)
 Length of stay was shorter at C (p=<0.05) and equivalent at B. Complications were lower at C (7.7%) and B (11%) compared to centrally (13%).

 Patients are waiting longer for cholecystectomies with increased financial burden. Complications rates have increased, especially bile leaks which needs to be investigated further. Rural hospitals can be safely used to alleviate pressures.


Although epidemiologic data suggest that CMV is transmitted with blood products, the identification of virus carriers has been elusive. Additionally, it has been suggested that CMV may be transmitted in or with transplanted organs and other tissues. In these latter instances it is uncertain whether CMV has been transferred in endogenous cells or in circulating cells carried passively within the organ. The location of virus and identification of carriers will have to precede the application of techniques to eliminate these infections. Some specific suggested questions and topics for study are outlined below.


1. Political communication online: A field in flux. 2. ICON: A visual approach to multimodality in political communication. 3. Investigating political communication online: Analytical levels and procedures. 4. Political communication online at a multimodal glance: General trends and characteristics. 5. News and campaigns: Findings from two traditional genres of political communication. 6. NGOs and social movements: Political communication with social origins. 7. Moving forward: Evolving genres and future research directions in political communication online.


Abstract
There are distinctions between Islamic astronomers in Indonesia on how to determine the beginning of kamariah. Some of them prefer using rukyatul hilal while some others tend to employ hisab. The disparities emerge because the Islamic astronomers have different understanding of shar'i argumentation and its application. The development of Islamic astronomy in determining the beginning of kamariah is not in line with the development of science. For instance, there are some Islamic astronomers who still make use of traditional method even though the result is not accurate. This article is not aimed at integrating the method of hisab and rukyat but to explain the construct/form of disparity in determining the beginning of kamariah. This article also conveys the view of syar'i especially Islamic astronomy in dealing with the differences.


An otherwise healthy 5-year-old boy was referred for shoulder asymmetry and limited range of motion on the left. According to the boy's mother, he hardly ever complained about it, and was a good swimmer. Physical examination revealed left scapular elevation; glenohumeral function was good, apart from forward elevation (150 degrees). Frontal chest radiograph (Fig. A) and left shoulder plain film (Fig. B) showed elevation of the left scapula with medial rotation of its inferior angle, pointing towards the spine (arrow). This was connected to the posterior elements of the sixth cervical vertebra by a bony bar ( arrowheads), which was better appreciated on a lateral radiograph of the cervical spine (Fig. C). The right shoulder girdle was normal (Fig. A, dotted arrow). No other abnormality was seen.


The reliability of PLC control system is judged between hardware and software. The former improves the system reliability through power source, input and output ends protection, grounding, and connection mode. The latter improves the software reliability by improving input signal reliability, improving the locked logic, improving the fault judging ability and tracking reaction time, and protecting equipment safety.


Yahya Kemal published his initial poems in joumals such as Malumat, Irtika, Musavver Terakki and Musavver Fen ve Edeb. Some of them were published in the book named Incomplete Poems. Three poems and one prose poem published in Musavver Fen ve Edeb were not included in Incomplete Poems. In the article, we discussed these poems.


The widespread use of electric vehicles is nowadays limited by the "range anxiety" of the customers. The drivers' main concerns are related to the kilometric range of the vehicle and to the charging time. An optimized fast-charge profile can help to decrease the charging time, without degrading the cell performance and reducing the cycle life. One of the main reasons for battery capacity fade is linked to the Lithium plating phenomenon. This work investigates two methodologies, i.e., three-electrode cell measurement and internal resistance evolution during charging, for detecting the Lithium plating conditions. From this preliminary analysis, it was possible to develop new Multi-Stage Constant-Current profiles, designed to improve the performance in terms of charging time and cells capacity retention with respect to a reference profile. Four new profiles were tested and compared to a reference. The results coming from the new profiles demonstrate a simultaneous improvement in terms of charging time and cycling life, showing the reliability of the implemented methodology in preventing Lithium plating.


.e worldwidemachine tool market is anticipated to reach a value of USD 68.9 billion by 2021, fromUSD 65.6 billion in 2020..is projection is based on the progressive production drop within the car industry, which is the largest customer of machine devices, and supply chain disruption. .e machine tool industry in Taiwan faces a severe challenge and has been unobtrusively experiencing an inner reshuffling and innovative transformation. .e developing strategic alliances reflect a basic endeavor by numerous firms to improve their specialized capabilities..is study applied the DEMATEL, a suitable method for gathering group knowledge to form a structural model and visualize the casual relationship between subsystems through a casual diagram, revealing that the causal relationships between measurement criteria and the proposed model can provide a viable assessment of the alliance with satisfactory criteria that fit the decision-makers requirements, especially when the assessment criteria are various and interrelated. Financial resources were the strongest factor within the strategic behavior dimension (D1), whereas theminimize manufacturing cost was the foremost basic determinant in the cost perspective (D2). .e specialists also demonstrated that obtaining dominant technology was a determinative component within organizational learning (D3). .is paper offers proposals for government authorities to plan a machine tools industry strategy for Taiwan and for companies to formulate business directions for long-run advancement.


Abstract In zinc borosulphate glasses (ZnSO4:B203 binary system) nano-crystallites formation is observed which can be attributed to homogenous nucleation process and the size of the crystaUites formed is in the range 40-50 nm. Using IR spectroscopy studies, it has been found that the glass-ceramics region consists of tetrahedral borates (BO4) 5- while the glassy region is made of triangular borates (BO3) 3- and boroxyl ring (B306) 3- networks. The profound dependence of nucleation properties on the halides added in the glass composition can be explained in terms of an inductive effect. The Eu 3 + ion in this glass system yields intense SD 0 ~ 7Fj emission. Also it has been found that the 02 and 124 Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters are very much dependent on the covalent surroundings of the Eu 3 + luminescent centre. Various results based on these are discussed. I. Introduction Optical glasses have become attractive hosts for applications in optical fibers and fiber lasers owing to several advantages viz., transparency in a wide optical region and compatibility to a number of rare-earth ions. The spectroscopic study of rare-earths doped glasses is an essential tool to find applications for these glasses. The optical properties of these glasses depend on the chemical composition of the glasses controlling the glass structure and bonds. Larger variation in optical properties of the glasses is possible with compositional change (both the network former and modifier ions) of the glass system. Nucleation (or devitrification) is another significant phenomenon that is of great technological importance for optical glasses [ 1 ]. Nucleation of crystallites hav- ing dimensions in nano scale can be either homogenous or induced (either thermodynamically or with com-


The title salt, C12H24N+·NCS−, represents a monoclinic polymorph of the previously reported orthorhombic form [Khawar Rauf et al. (2008 ▶). Acta Cryst. E64, o366]. Two independent formula units comprise the asymmetric unit with the major difference in their molecular structures relating to the relative dispositions of the cyclohexyl rings [dihedral angles = 79.88 (6) and 67.72 (5)°]. Further, the independent anions form distinctive patterns of hydrogen-bonding interactions, i.e. 2 × N—H⋯N versus N—H⋯N and N—H⋯S. The resulting supramolecular architecture is a supramolecular chain along the c axis based on a square-wave topology.


Objective: The aim of this study was to discuss the effects of expression of miR-545-3p in esophageal cancer tissues on proliferation and apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells. Methods: This study collected samples of cancer tissues and para-carcinoma tissues from 121 esophageal cancer (EC) patients, admitted to the Central Hospital of Wuhan, between April 2013 and July 2014. Expression vectors were conducted for miR-545-3p, transfecting them into human esophagus cancer CaEs-17 cells. Cells with recombinant expression vectors were selected as the positive group, while those with empty expression vectors were selected as the control group. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to detect expression levels of miR-545-3p in EC tissues and CaEs-17 cells. Proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of CaEs-17 cells were tested by MTT assay, TUNEL assay, and Transwell migration assay, respectively. Results: Relative expression levels of miR-545-3p in EC tissues were lower than in normal para-carcinoma tissues (P<0.05). Relative expression levels of miR-545-3p in the positive group were higher than in the control group (t=3.026, P=0.039). According to MTT assay, absorbance of CaEs-17 cells in the positive group was lower than that in the control group after 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours of culturing, respectively (all P<0.05). Results indicated that the proliferative capacity of CaES-17 cells in the positive group was lower than in the control group. Comparison of absorbance, at different time points, between the two groups showed that the absorbance of both groups increased in the first 48 hours of culturing (P<0.05). Absorbance of the control group continued to increase after 72 hours of culturing (P<0.05). No significant differences were found in the absorbance of the positive group at 72 hours of culturing, compared with that at 48 hours of culturing (P>0.05). According to TUNEL assay the apoptosis rate of CaEs-17 cells in the positive group was significantly higher than that in the control group (t=14.987, P<0.001). According to Transwell migration assay, the number of migrated CaEs-17 cells in the positive group was significantly lower than that in the control group (t=9.074, P=0.001). Conclusion: Expression levels of miR-545-3p declined in esophageal cancer tissues, indicating that miR-545-3p could be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of EC by inhibiting proliferation and invasion of EC cells and promoting apoptosis.


This article deals with trends in postsecondary science in the United States. Analysis of the literature indicates that science is undergoing a subtle but steady metamorphosis in higher education as follows: a shift in the research paradigm, the rising tide of commercialism, more stringent human subject research regulations, teaching for a scientific workforce, the instructional technology invasion, pressure to participate in teacher education, ethnic and gender inequalities, a proliferation of research disciplines, and fading public influence. It is time that the university science community comes to the realization that science in higher education, like any other human enterprise, is as good as the people who learn, teach, research, and work in it and, most important, that the future of science depends on how it is used for the welfare of all mankind.


This study was conducted to analyze the relationship among climatic factors and radial growth of Pinus koraiensis in South Korea. To determine climate-growth relationships, cluster analysis was applied to group climatically similar surveyed regions, and dendroclimatological model was developed to predict radial growth for each climate group under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios for greenhouse gases. The dendroclimatological models were developed through climatic variables and standardized residual chronology for each climatic cluster of P. koraiensis. 2 to 4 climatic variables were used in the models (R 2 values between 0.35~0.49). For each of the climatic clusters for Pinus koraiensis, the growth simulations obtained from two RCP climate-change scenarios were used for growth prediction. The radial growth of the Clusters 2 and 3, which grow at high elevation, tend to increase. In contrast, Cluster 1, which grows at low elevation, tends to decrease with a large difference. Thus, the growth of Pinus koraiensis, which is a boreal species, could increase along with increasing temperature up to a certain point.


The microstructure evolution during deformation enhanced transformation of undercooled austenite of a plain low carbon steel has been investigated by means of hot compression simulation experiment under various conditions of strain rate, deformation temperature and strain. The effect of austenite grain size on the strain enhanced ferrite transformation has been studied. The ferrite dynamic recrystallization involved in successive hot deformation has been explored.


n its continuous attempt to build intelligent artificial creatures, robotics has oftenbeen inspired by nature. Particularly interesting is the remarkable variety of light-sensing structures and information processing strategies occurring in animal visualsystems. The physiology of these systems appears to have been influenced, throughevolution, by the ecological niche and lifestyle of each animal species. Insects suchas bees, ants, and flies have become a particularly appealing source of inspirationbecause of the remarkable navigational capabilities they display, despite their relativelyrestricted neural system. This, apparently, forced them to develop solutions to naviga-tion tasks, which are ingenious in their simplicity and robust in their implementation,both of which are invaluable characteristics for robotic systems.The navigation task examined in this work is the centering behavior, whichconsists of moving in the middle of a corridor-like environment. Bees are able toaccomplish similar tasks by exploiting three features of their visuo-motor sys-tem: the wide field of view of their eyes, their ability to estimate retinalmotion, and a control mechanism that reorients their flight so that retinalmotion in the two eyes remains balanced [1].Inspired by this biological solution, we attempt to create a reactive,vision-based centering behavior for a nonholonomic mobile robotequipped with a panoramic camera, providing a 360


Multiple expierence data, being an indicate of the role of the immune mechanisms of pathogenesis with participation of T-cytotoxic lymphocytes, cytokines are generalised in the article.


Sudden blindness due to occlusion of the central retinal artery is a rare condition in childhood, and one which is generally attended by a poor prognosis as to the restoration of serviceable vision. The following case is presented because of its rarity and the beneficial results obtained by operation. REPORT OF CASE History. —Edith R., 9 years of age, felt well on arising on the morning of March 27, 1931, but within an hour or two complained of the sudden loss of vision in the right eye. There were no premonitory symptoms. The family history was irrelevant. The patient had been in good health, except for attacks of measles at 4 years, whooping cough at 7 years and pyuria at 8 years of age. Examination. —Physical examination made by one of us (M. B. G.) at 9 a. m., one hour after the onset, revealed a well developed and nourished


The study was realised in the cold greenhouse from Vegetable Horticulture Department, Universiy of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, Romania, between 2007-2008 years. The culture was made on the soil. Generally, in our country, during the cold season the fruit of smaller size between 100-150 g is used and in the warm season, the tomato with bigger fruit of 150-200 g. We test 8 tomato hybrids cultivated between 10th of April and 10th of October in cold greenhouse with ten inflorescence on the plants. On the basis of the production dates in cold greenhouse for those 8 tomato hybrids we found out that the biggest total production was recorded at Monroe F1 (9.45 kg/plants). The fruit mass of tomato was in average of 185 g, uniformly. The early productions also represent 27 % of total production.


Outdoor and early biting by mosquitoes challenge the efficacy of bed nets and indoor residual spraying against malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of outdoor residual spraying (ORS) for malaria vector-control in this region. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted between July 2018 and April 2019 in twelve villages in Karen (Kayin) state, Myanmar. Villages were randomly assigned to receive either a single round of ORS with a capsule suspension of lambda-cyhalothrin for two days in October or no intervention (six villages per group). The primary endpoint was the biting rate of malaria mosquitoes assessed with human-landing catch and cow-baited trap collection methods, and was analyzed with a Bayesian multi-level model. In the intervention villages, the proportion of households located within the sprayed area ranged between 42 and 100% and the application rate ranged between 63 and 559 g of active ingredient per hectare. At baseline, the median of Anopheles biting rate estimates in the twelve villages was 2 bites per person per night (inter-quartile range [IQR] 0–5, range 0–48) indoors, 6 bites per person per night (IQR 2–16, range 0–342) outdoors and 206 bites per cow per night (IQR 83–380, range 19–1149) in the cow-baited trap. In intention-to-treat analysis, it was estimated that ORS reduced biting rate by 72% (95% confidence interval [CI] 63–79) from Month 0 to Month 3 and by 79% (95% CI 62–88) from Month 4 to Month 6, considering control villages as the reference. In conclusion, ORS rapidly reduces the biting rates of malaria mosquitoes in a Southeast Asian setting where the vectors bite mostly outdoors and at a time when people are not protected by mosquito bed nets.


The invention provides a zoom lens and an image pick-up device comprising the zoom lens that comprises a first lens unit with a positive refracted focal power, a second lens unit with a negative refracted focal power, a third lens unit with a positive refracted focal power, and a fourth lens unit with a negative refracted focal power in order from an object side to an image side, and undergoes zooming through altering a distance between the lens units. The first lends unit comprises two or less lenses, the second lens unit comprises a negative lens and a positive lends from an object side to an image side in order. The zoom lens meets the following condition that m1/(fwXfT) is more than -1.3 but less than -0.8, wherein fw and fT are focuses of the whole lens units at a wide angle end and a telephoto end, and m1 is amount of movement of the first lens unit along a direction of optical axis during zooming period from the wide angle end to the telephoto end.


We theoretically study the effect of a magnetic field on quasicrystalline superconductors, by modelling them as the attractive Hubbard model on the Penrose-tiling structure. We find that at low temperatures and under a high magnetic field there appears an exotic superconducting state with the order parameter changing its sign in real space. We discuss the state in comparison with the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state proposed many years ago for periodic systems, clarifying commonalities and differences. It is remarkable that, even in the absence of periodicity, the electronic system finds a way to keep a coherent superconducting state with a spatially sign-changing order parameter compatible with the underlying quasiperiodic structure.


Though the bumper of a vehicle plays a major role in protecting the vehicle body against damage in low speed impacts, many bumpers, particularly in large vehicles, are too stiff for pedestrian protection. In designing a bumper for an automobile, pedestrian protection is as important as bumper energy absorption in low speed collisions. To prevent lower extremity injuries in car-pedestrian collisions, it is important to determine the loadings that car front structures impart on the lower extremities and the mechanisms by which injury is caused by these loadings. The present work was focused on gaining more insight into the injury mechanisms leading to both ligament damage and bone fracture during bumper-pedestrian collisions. The European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee (EEVC) legform impactor model was introduced and validated against EEVC/WG17 criteria. The collision mechanism between a bumper and this legform impactor was investigated numerically using LS-DYNA software. To identify the effect of the bumper beam material on leg injuries, four analyses were performed on bumpers that had the same assembly but were made from different materials.


Policies are rules that govern the choices in behaviour of a system. Policy based management aims at supporting dynamic adaptability of behaviour by changing policy without receding or stopping the system. The common accepted architecture of such systems includes two main management agents: the policy decision point that analyses requests and set decisions based on a policy and the policy enforcement point that enforces the PDP 's decision. While many works deal with PDP implementations, PEP is considered to be only an interface between applications to be managed and the PDP. PEPs are usually specific to an application and a context of use. As a consequence, they cannot be re-used for new applications and they are implemented from scratch each time. In this article, we present a modular architecture to implement reusable PEPs for policy based authorization systems.


Food shortage, as a result of increasing human population is the main concern of this decade. In order to overcome this issue, lots of research was done to provide new high yield crops. One of these crops, used by the majority of human populations around the world is rice. Generally rice plant improvement involves several traits and these are quantitative in nature. Genomic information at the molecular level is the most reliable tool for plant scientists. Therefore, present study aimed to detect the polymorphism in Malaysian rice cultivars using microsatellite markers. Twenty one Malaysian rice cultivars were studied for polymorphism by 27 microsatellite primers distributed throughout the rice genome. These microsatellite primers exhibited 37 types of bands in Malaysian cultivated rice. All Malaysian cultivated rice showed monomorphism for RM103, RM505 and RM453 on chromosome chromosomes 6, 7 and 12, respectively. Polymorphism and monomorphism were calculated based on microsatellite bands and sizes of respective bands to perceive the genomic similarity and genomic variability indexes. Results showed that genomic similarity index and genomic variability index in Malaysian cultivated rice are 58.79 % and 41.21%, respectively. It reflected that the Malaysian cultivated rice still has a notable genomic variability for future hybridization programs


SUMMARY This paper is concerned with changing meanings of home for Taiwanese employers of foreign domestics under globalization. Shifting sense of home occurs for Taiwanese employers as well as foreign domestics in the process of labor migration. The author argues that Taiwanese employers, facing aliens at home, have adopted various rhetorical strategies to redefine their relationships with foreign domestics and deployed diverse practices of management within their households. As foreign domestics do housework at home, Taiwanese employers also do their own "homework," struggling to understand and cope with the process of becoming and being household employers. Their "homework" is an integral part of the globalization of domestic service.


Faced with a flood of proposals for electric generation projects, foreign governments and utilities are turning to competitive bidding as a means of choosing the best option. In some countries, it is used to ensure transparency in the resource selection process, thereby avoiding political concerns of favoritism or special dealing that may have previously been associated with infrastructure development. As the interest in competitive bidding in the international market grows, foreign countries and utilities are looking to the US experience as a model.


A regulating agency in a government, i.e. regulator, must co-align its information systems (IS) planning strategy with executing agencies, i.e. executors, for better e-government performance. Using an established strategic co-alignment model, we analyze the mutual participating strategies between regulator and executors and examine the outcomes and performance associated with that coalignment choice. After conducting a large-scale survey study of government agencies in Taiwan, the co-alignment relationship between e-government IS policy regulator and executor is examined. Based on the findings, we discuss their implications for e-government research and practice.


Abstract : Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are playing a significant role in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Until recently, small UAS (SUAS) were an insignificant part of these efforts. Now their numbers exceed those of their larger counterparts by an order of magnitude. Future projections anticipate a growing demand for SUAS making now the best time to examine the functions they perform in order to make better decisions concerning their future design and development. This thesis provides a brief history of UAS and discusses the current capabilities and mission areas in which they perform. Their relevance to modern warfare and assumptions concerning their future roles on the battlefield is presented. Predominant UAS missions are identified, as well as the technical requirements deemed necessary for their success. A generic UAS functional model is developed to illustrate where the challenges and technology gaps manifest in SUAS design. Possible technology solutions that could fill these gaps are presented and a field experiment is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of several possible solutions. The goal of this thesis is to identify existing technology gaps and offer technology solutions that lead to better design of future SUAS flight and mission control support systems (FMCSS).


Quantum mechanical calculations have been made of vibrational transition probabilities in the collinear collision of an inert gas atom with either CO2 or OCS. The dependence of the transition probability on the relative translational energy and the reduced mass is similar to that found for atom–diatom collisions. The transition P00 10 (excitation of the first stretching mode) is much greater than P00 01 (the second stretching mode). This is largely due to the difference in frequencies but it has been shown that there is an independent mass factor responsible for this difference.


This article analyzes the social protection of military men under conditions of the antiterrorist operation (hereinafter "ATO"). The article provides an analysis of legislative support for social protection, in particular of a range of normative and legal acts regulating social protection of military men and their families. The article presents a classification of social protection instruments for military men, including the traditional (financial) ones, used by the country, and the nontraditional (non-financial) ones, which are a common efficient instrument for the realization of functions of interacting subjects of social policy. The author suggests that a rehabilitation program for ATO participants should be introduced at the national level.


This paper presents a statistical analysis of the radar detection characteristics of FMCW based automotive radar in the presence of FMCW interference. The characteristics of interference are investigated and compared with Gaussian noise by determining the distribution and probability of detection for different waveform parameters. The majority of cases show that interference in the victim receiver has a low correlation value and a probability density function close to a Gaussian distribution, with some specific cases demonstrating a sinusoidal distribution. The analysis is validated by experimental results for specific case performance in a controlled laboratory environment.


The purpose of this paper is to clarify and to examine the theory of architectural evolution by Makino Masami and the controversy over it, through digesting a treatise called "Kenchiku-shicho o kataru" in 1929, in which he pointed out the laws concerning architectural evolution, and summarizing the developments and points of the controversy between Makino and Magara Tozo in 1930. The theory was metaphorically explained by the evolution of a biological species. A form of architecture exposed from the gene inside one an architecture and kept in step with the times. Besides, this paper examines the background of the controversy. This paper is the first part of a study of discourses by Makino Masami (1903-1983) in modern Japan, and is based on a study presented at Architectural Institute of Japan Kinki Branch research report (Planning system) in 2010 and 2015. The purpose of this paper is to clarify and to examine his theory of architectural evolution and the controversy over it. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University (present the University of Tokyo) in 1927, Makino was employed at the Okura-doboku Corporation (present Taisei Corporation). He went to France, and became a disciple of Le Corbusier in 1928. After he returned to Japan in 1929, he was widely active as a writer, a lecturer and an architect, and then a treatise called "Kenchiku-shicho o kataru (On the architectural theory)", in which he pointed out the laws concerning architectural evolution. In the second chapter, some historians presented the view that Makino did not give a lecture titled "Kenchiku-shicho o kataru" with the same name as his treatise, but the author clarified Makino gave the lecture from some articles of academic journal "Architecture Journal" and other journals of architecture published. In the third chapter, the author digested the treatise "Kenchiku-shicho o kataru", consisting of 4 chapters. The points of these chapters are as follows: an called


Given a set of positive reals, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for a free Borel flow to admit a cross section with all distances between adjacent points coming from this set.


Survey in 1988 brought to light statue-menhirs in their primary context at Anvoia and Plassagrop, two sites near Ossimo in Val Camonica. Detailed excavation of the Anvoia site in 1988–2002 has provided substantial information about Copper Age ritual sites in the valley and the Central Alps, particularly the finding that human skeletal remains were introduced and ritually treated at Anvoia. Such contextual data modify interpretation of the symbolic monoliths that define such sites. Here a brief account of the site and excavations is given, with particular attention to ritual behaviour, the sense of place and ideology. An ideology of ancestors and memory may have provided the context for statue-menhir sites in the Copper Age (3rd millennium BC) Alps.


As the leading economy, industrial development in Nanchong is faced with resource, environmental, economic and social pressure from all sides. The low-carbon economy is pointing out the direction for the healthy and sustainable development of Nanchong. This article firstly analyzes the necessity of its low carbon economy, according to the actual national economic development of Nanchong. Secondly, it analyzes the problems of low-carbon economy development in Nanchong, and further it elaborates the feasibility of low-carbon economy road. Finally, from the macro and micro perspective, this paper puts forward a specific low-carbon path to three major industries in Nanchong.


This study examined whether the broad ability general speediness (Gs) could be measured via the auditory modality. Existing and purpose-developed auditory tasks that maintained the cognitive requirements of established visually presented Gs markers were completed by 96 university undergraduates. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the auditory tasks combined with established visual measures to define latent Gs and reaction time factors. These findings provide preliminary evidence that suggests that if auditory tasks are developed that maintain the same cognitive requirements as existing visual measures, then they are likely to index similar cognitive processes.


Through analyzing the washback from CET to College English teaching, this paper aims to make use of positive washback from CET to cultivate the comprehensive English capability of college students, and promote the reform of English teaching.


Objective: To study the relationgship of Helicobacter Pylori(HP) infection and ulcerative colitis.Methods: Fifty cases of ulcerative colitis patients were experimental group and fifty cases of having digestive symptom but examined normally were control group.The infection rates of HP in two groups were analyzed by13C breath test.Results: The infection rates of HP in experimental group(26%)was significantly lower than that in control group(56%).HP infection rate was statistically different(P0.05).Conclusion: HP infection was protective in ulcerative colitis.


The statistical equilibrium equations of the /sup P/sub 0,1,2/, /sup D/ sub 2/ and /sup 1/S/sub 0/ levels of the ground 3s/sup 3p/sup 2/ configuration of Fe/sup +12/ were solved for the ranges of electron temperature, electron density, and geometrical dilution factor believed to be relevart to Fe XIII emission from the solar corona. Direct collisional and radiative transitions between these levels and indirect collisional excitation of allowed transitions to the 3s 3p/ sup 3/ and 3s/sup 2/ 3p 3d configuations followed by radiative decay to the ground configuration were taken into account using new atomic data calculated in irtermediate coupling allowing for the effects of configuration interaction. Particular attention was paid to assessing the remaining uncertainties in the atomic parameters. The indirect process was found to be the dominant collisional process in the statistical equilibrium equations. The variation of the lambda l0747/ lambda l0798 and lambda 3388/ lambda l0747 line intensity ratios are presented as functions of electron density and consistert values of the electron density of the emitting region were obtained when the calculated intensity ratios were combined with existing observations. (auth)


SUMMARY. A commercially available substrate-labelled fluorescent immunoassay procedure has been modified to create a simple rapid method for the determination of capillary phenytoin concentration in dried filter paper blood spots of patients on phenytoin therapy. The specimens are collected and despatched to the laboratory by the patient, thus domiciliary monitoring of phenytoin therapy can take place. The technique was validated by comparing the phenytoin results of simultaneously collected capillary dried blood spots and conventional plasma samples. The technique offers a convenient method for overcoming many of the practical problems of monitoring phenytoin therapy in epilepsy. Monitoring of anti-epileptic drug levels is imp'or-tant in the management of patients with seizure disorders. Repeated visits by patients for venesection to obtain plasma samples may be traumatic, inconvenient, and time consuming. This is particularly true for children and the elderly, in those whose employment is precarious , and when their epilepsy is complicated by physical or mental handicap. For the general practitioner the difficulty of obtaining a sample for laboratory analysis may result in over-cautious prescribing (leading to sub-therapeutic levels, poor control, and multiple drug therapy), or a failure to recognise drug toxicity. A more acceptable method of obtaining samples which are suitable for analysis by standard laboratory methods is therefore required. As dried blood spots (DBS) collected at home and posted to the laboratory for glucose assay were well accepted by diabetic patients, 1 we have established a DBS-phenytoin assay by adapting the Ames (Miles Laboratories, Stoke Poges, Slough) TDA Fluorostat method to assay the Source of support: A Fluorostat instrument and TDA phenytoin reagents were provided by the Ames concentration of phenytoin in discs punched from DBS collected on to filter paper cards by patients using an Autoletf at home. A gas chromatographic phenytoin assay for DBS has also been described.i but it requires more complex equipment and sample preparation. Methods SUBJECTS Fifty-six adults (25 male, 28 female) and three paediatric (male) unselected patients with epilepsy receiving conventional single or combination anticonvulsant therapy were studied. Ten members of the laboratory staff known not to be taking anticonvulsant therapy were also studied. BLOOD SAMPLES Plasma samples Venous blood was obtained from an antecubital vein at the same time as the capillary specimen, and the plasma was stored at-20°C until assay. Capillary blood samples Filter paper (Whatman Ltd, grade 160, Catalogue No. 2160917) was cut into 15 X 10 cm cards and stamped with …


The paper reviews the resource situation,ornamental characteristic and comprehensive utilization value of Diospyros tree species,and expounds their good characteristics and configuration forms in garden application.


АBSTRАCT:
Background: The ability of the retrograde filling material to adhere to dentin has a substantial impact on the success of endodontic procedures. the marginal adaptation of the rᴏᴏt end filling materials considered important factor, since it demonstrates the materials adaptation to the dentinal walls.
Objective: Assess the marginal adaptation of Biᴏ-C reparative materials in contrast to MTA (АNGELUS) and Amalgam.
Material and method: A total of thirty human maxillary central incisors teeth that each had a single root were chosen. To keep the root canal length at 15mm, the crown was resected. The teeth underwent endodontic treatment, along with the resection of their root ends and preparation of root-end cavities. On the basis of the type of filling, the teeth were categorized into one of three groups, as follows: (А) Bio-C repair (Bioceramic reparative material), (B) MTА АNGELUS, (C) Amalgam. teeth were sectioned in longitudinal manner, marginal gabs measured by the use of a scanning electron microscope. Data was statically analyzed using АNOVА and Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (Tukey's HSD).
Results: Bio-C Repair material and MTA show better marginal adaptation with significant difference between them and amalgam, no significant different between Bio-C repair group and MTA group.
Conclusion: marginal adaptation better for Bio-C repair in comparison to Amalgam and MTА АNGELUS


Collisions are studied as the main risks of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) offloading operations in this paper. The large application of FPSO in offshore industry has highlighted the safety issues during offloading operation. Firstly, the research progress about offshore collisions and the related risk analysis methods are studied. Secondly, a compact analysis of collisions and near miss cases is done in order to identify the risk factors associated with the collisions. The results are illustrated using fault tree analysis method. Finally, qualitative analyses of collisions are discussed regarding excessive surge and horizontal oscillation based on the feature of FPSO operations in China seas. The status of FPSO with diverse relative positions is studied and the corresponding risk control measures are presented. The works herein are instructive for the operation process during FPSO offloading.


This study examines the Accounting models operational in different countries of the world. It employs library research which forms the basis for the Researchers' conclusion. Accounting is developed and nurtured by its environment. The financial reporting activities of companies in a country for a specific period constitute the accounting system of that country. However, accounting system can be exported from one country to another, just as socio-political ideas are exported among different countries. The study took an overview of the following models: the British-American model, the Inflation-Adjusted Model, the Legal Compliance Model, the Communist Model, the Mixed Economy Model, and the International Accounting Model. The study concludes that despite the differences in these accounting models, they have helped in the uniformity among the various aspect of financial presentation of the countries practising them. However, although environmental factors and other emerging factors affect the universal acceptability of a particular model, for global comparison of financial statements, a unified accounting model- reflected in the International Accounting Model should be adopted globally. Mixed Economy Model, International Accounting Model.


In contrast to most transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer disease (AD), knock-in mice expressing familial AD-linked mutations of the amyloid precursor protein (App) gene exhibit stereotypical age-dependent amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology and cognitive impairment without physiologically unrealistic App overexpression. This study investigated the effect of familial AD-linked App mutations on hippocampal CA1 neuronal activity and function. To enable calcium imaging of neuronal activity, AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F knock-in (APPki) mice were crossed with Thy1-GCaMP6s+/- (C-TG) mice to generate AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F×Thy1-GCaMP6s+/- (A-TG) mice, which were characterized at 12 months of age. A-TG mice exhibited Aβ pathology in the hippocampus. In several configurations of an air-induced running task, A-TG mice and C-TG mice were equally successful in learning to run or to stay immobile. In the Morris water place test, A-TG mice were impaired, but learned the task. Comparisons of hippocampal CA1 neuronal activity in the air-induced running task showed that A-TG mice displayed neuronal hypoactivity both during movement and immobility. A-TG mice and C-TG CA1 neuronal encoding of distance or time in the air induced running task were not different. These results suggest that knock-in of familial AD-linked mutations in A-TG mice results in Aβ pathology, neuronal hypoactivity, and cognitive impairment without severely affecting CA1 neuronal encoding. In comparison to APPki mice, A-TG mice had less severe AD-like memory impairments at 12 months of age (Saito et al., 2014; Mehla et al., 2019), suggesting that the disease onset was delayed in A-TG mice. The effect of APP mutations may have been mitigated through genetic mechanisms when APPKi mice were crossed with C-TG mice.


School mathematics in the 21st century seems likely to be characterized in part by new expectations regarding the complex lives of students after they leave school. In this chapter, an analysis of four domains of 21st century life is provided: working, shopping, participating in society and personal satisfaction. A productive worker will need to use the mathematics they have learned at school in the increasingly rapidly changing world of work. A careful consumer will need to develop expertise in understanding the many choices they need to make regularly over the course of their adult lives. The informed citizen will need to engage with, understand and even contribute to the rapidly changing world of information in the 21st century for both personal and national benefit. The balanced person will need to become aware of and appreciate mathematical perspectives on everyday events and on mathematics itself. Some examples are offered in each of these domains, recognizing that an important part of the craft of mathematics teaching is to interpret and implement the curriculum to achieve the best outcomes for students. While some of these outcomes are determined by short-term transition from school to later study, others require a longer perspective.


Architectural barbarism, better known as modern architecture, never made any sense, nor did it fulfill any need or provide any benefits. Stranger still are the events that led to its survival…


To elucidate the post-mortem proteolysis we investigated the behaviour of the free amino acids in rotting liver homogenates by means of two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and reflection densitometry. The post-mortem alterations of the amino acid levels are characterized mostly by a two-phase increase with maxima at the end of the first and after the third week. A few amino acids showed only little changes hardly above the physiological intra-cellular levels. Anaerobic rat experiments and experiences with antibiotic treatment give rise to the supposition that increasing amino acid concentrations indicate a predominance of proteolytic activities over aminoacid catabolism. In the beginning autoenzymes are prevalent, while afterwards bacterial proteases probably predominate. The transient regression about the second and thrid week is interpreted as the effect of a temporarily intensified amino acid degradation by foreign enzymes (maximal bacterial growth).


Robinson asserts that the future of globalization will be determined by the correlation of social forces not only between the TCC and popular movements but also within these groups as well. Apart from the author's ideal of a democratic socialist alternative, he provides an analysis of how disagreements within the TCC and potential alliances with leaders of popular movements could lead to global Keynesianism. Robinson's contribution to the studies of globalization will definitely strengthen this field of academic study, if only through the amount of debate that it sparks. The chief concern with his depiction is that of any theory: trying to explain all of reality without any specific demarcations. Historical materialism continues to be one of the strongest tools for organizing complex, multifaceted social phenomena, such as globalization. Yet the one trap is reducing all such phenomena to materialist causation, for example, that ethnic conflict and the politics of security (e.g., the Rwandan genocide and war mobilization over Kashmir) are being driven by the social contradictions of capitalism. Critical theory must also be developed in explaining the relations among globalization and identity, ideology, and religion that are not necessarily reducible to a materialist base. Needless to say, this book will be useful for scholars and accessible by students who are interested in the theme.


Day old broiler chicks (Vencobb strain) were divided into 6 groups of 18 birds each and maintained for 6 weeks. Group I: basal diet, Group II: basal diet + Sodium arsenite (150 ppm), Group III: basal diet + Ascorbic acid (200 ppm), Group IV: basal diet + Vitamin-E (300 ppm), Group V: basal diet + Sodium arsenite (150 ppm) + Ascorbic acid (200 ppm) and Group VI: basal diet + Sodium arsenite (150 ppm) + Vitamin-E (300 ppm). Feeding of sodium arsenite @ 150 ppm resulted in significant (p<0.05) reduction in the body weights, feed consumption and increase in FCR. The overall mean values of Hb, PCV, TEC, TLC, total protein, albumin and globulin were significantly (p< 0.05) reduced, while significant (p<0.05) increase in A/G ratio, AST, creatinine and GGT was observed in group II in comparison to other groups. Grossly, group II birds revealed ecchymotic haemorrhages in heart, congestion and haemorrhages in liver, congested intestinal mucosa, kidneys were swollen, spleen was regressed and haemorrhagic. Histologically, group II birds revealed disruption of cardiac muscle bundles, sinusoidal congestion, fatty change, focal areas of lymphoid aggregation, fibrous tissue proliferation around the central vein, disrupted villi tips, sub mucosal congestion, inter and intra tubular haemorrhages, congestion, infiltration of mononuclear cells in kidney, depletion of lymphocytes and haemorrhages in spleen and depletion of lymphocytes and cystic spaces were observed in bursa of Fabricius. In amelioration groups, significant improvement in all the above parameters in comparison to group II was noted. By correlating the haematological, biochemical profiles and histological changes, sodium arsenite at 150ppm showed significant toxic effects and ascorbic acid @ 200 ppm and vitamin-E @ 300 ppm in feed were effective in counteracting the toxic effects of arsenic in broiler chicken.


Recently advanced computer have brought real-time three dimension object simulation running in high speed. In numerical method, the explicit integration method still remains the problem of stability while the implicit integration method suffers from high memory storage. Especially in mass spring system, the calculation time becomes large for the complex models. When interval time step becomes large, it causes the simulation to be collapsed and the models vanish from the scene. In this paper, we present the potentially improved Euler method that can solve the stability by adapting the method between explicit and implicit methods where the integration can be approximately averaged from the current force and the predicted force to prevent the mass-spring system simulation from failure. The simulation results more stable and accurate for the mass-spring system.


Time-intensity (TI) sweetness curves were generated and ten TI parameters were determined for selected carbohydrate and high potency sweeteners. Samples were evalutated by trained panelists at 5% sucrose equivalency (SEV) in water for sucralose, sucrose, fructose, aspartame, cyclamate, acesulfame-K and saccharin and at 9% SEV in water and a buffered model beverage system for sucralose, sucrose, fructose, aspartame and cyclamate. When compared within each system, differences in temporal properties appeared to be concentration and media dependent. No differences in onset characteristics were observed among equisweet groups. Aftertaste characteristics differed among sweeteners only .at 9% SEV in water where high potency sweeteners tended to have somewhat longer aftertaste than nutritive sweeteners.


Phoneme perception is influenced by spectral properties of surrounding sounds. For example, listeners perceive /g/ (lower F3 onset) more often after sentences filtered to emphasize high-F3 frequencies, and perceive /d/ (higher F3 onset) more often after sentences filtered to emphasize low-F3 frequencies. These biases are known as spectral contrast effects (SCEs). Much of this work examined differences between long-term average spectra (LTAS) of preceding sounds and target phonemes. Stilp and Assgari (2018 ASA) revealed that spectra of the last 500 ms of precursor sentences, not the entire LTAS, predicted biases in consonant categorization. Here, the influences of Early (before the last 500 ms) versus Late (last 500 ms) portions of precursor sentences on subsequent consonant categorization were compared. Sentences emphasized different frequency regions in each temporal window (Early = low-F3 emphasis, Late = high-F3 emphasis, and vice versa) naturally or via filtering. Entire-sentence LTASes predicted that SCEs would not bias consonant categorization, but instead responses were biased by the spectrum of the Late window. This was replicated when the Early window did not emphasize either frequency region but the Late window did. Results endorse closer consideration of patterns of spectral energy over time in preceding sounds, not just their LTAS.Phoneme perception is influenced by spectral properties of surrounding sounds. For example, listeners perceive /g/ (lower F3 onset) more often after sentences filtered to emphasize high-F3 frequencies, and perceive /d/ (higher F3 onset) more often after sentences filtered to emphasize low-F3 frequencies. These biases are known as spectral contrast effects (SCEs). Much of this work examined differences between long-term average spectra (LTAS) of preceding sounds and target phonemes. Stilp and Assgari (2018 ASA) revealed that spectra of the last 500 ms of precursor sentences, not the entire LTAS, predicted biases in consonant categorization. Here, the influences of Early (before the last 500 ms) versus Late (last 500 ms) portions of precursor sentences on subsequent consonant categorization were compared. Sentences emphasized different frequency regions in each temporal window (Early = low-F3 emphasis, Late = high-F3 emphasis, and vice versa) naturally or via filtering. Entire-sentence LTASes predicted that...