Realistic simulations of slewing bearings require simultaneous consideration of all essential physical effects in their complex interaction. A detailed description of contact mechanics is just as much a part of the repertoire as taking into account all elasticities of the bearing components as well as those of companion structures. Eventual partial gap opening or truncated pressure ellipses have to be taken into account, too. In addition there are application-specific requirements e.g. concerning temperature differences, roller profiles or the transverse strain of the bearing due to pretension for bolted rings. In a 2.5-year joint project, a total of 16 interacting effects characterizing all essential mechanical mechanisms were examined and quantified with regard to their impact to overall system behavior. In this process, the calculation program REBA, developed by thyssenkrupp Bearings, which uses an analogous model completely tailored toward the needs of bearings, was compared and confirmed by independent calculation methods. Each chosen reference – VDI rules, FVA software, 3D FEM – representing the published current state of the art could be reached or even exceeded in terms of the investigated relevant effects. The contribution demonstrates the enormous importance of these intrinsic interaction mechanisms by the example of a single main rotor bearing of a wind turbine. Requirements from the non-linear system behavior in reality are threatened to be ignored because they are not covered by the restrictive assumptions of current load-based classifying methods in lifetime calculation. This problem cannot be sufficiently countered with an increased number of load classes only. In particular, the summary of load directions and amplitudes as well as the neglect of the relative movement between the asymmetrical companion structures, however, still limit the accuracy. Thus, it is advantageous to carry out the classification on the basis of stresses. For this, however, each of the millions of single load cases with their specific configuration must be calculated individually. Due to the calculation speed of REBA this is no unrealistic challenge. As a consequence of the parametric control the program REBA yields highly reproducible results independent from the user and is ideally suited for automation. This is the basis for a high quality bearing design process. BEARING WORLD 2018 – International Conference Calculation and Design ©FVA www.bearingworld.org 2/5 Requirements of large scale bearing calculation As a manufacturer of large scale slewing bearings thyssenkrupp Bearings has been faced with customer desires and demands regarding various bearing designs and applications for decades. Together with customers, Rothe Erde steadily works on further development to establish more detailed models and to achieve calculation methods becoming more and more realistic. In general bearing simulation software should take into account at least the most important mechanical mechanisms. Dealing with large scale bearings namely these are: • load distribution in the raceway system between and within single rows of rolling elements • varying contact angles and a possible pressure ellipse truncation for ball rows respectively inclination for rollers • elasticity of the bearing rings as well as of companion structures • the rotational position between rotating and fixed submodel • bolted connections with regard to (pre)loads as well as stresses • non-linear contact mechanic for gaping joints • rows of rolling elements with preload or clearance • effects of temperature differences between inner and outer rings Since all these mechanisms in fact are in high interaction, it is absolutely necessary to consider them simultaneously but not sequential in the simulation process, too. Figure 1 shows some basic dependencies. Furthermore, there are much more indirect interactions – ultimately, each component depends on the actual configuration of the overall system. For this purpose, thyssenkrupp Bearings developed a program REBA which has been used in the industrial practice for about 15 years, [1] [2]. It works with mathematical analogous model consisting of a special mixture of numerical and analytical methods completely tailored to the needs of bearing calculation. The goal of each calculation is to bring external loads (given as five components in the center of the bearing and optionFigure 1: Input variables (white) and intrinsic interaction between individual mechanisms (grey) of bearing simulation. Double row tapered roller bearing as rotor bearing (background). BEARING WORLD 2018 – International Conference Calculation and Design ©FVA www.bearingworld.org 3/5 ally distributed local loads at the companion structures) in an exact equilibrium with internal loads (summed up from all over the raceway system). The rotational position and all the other mentioned aspects characterizing the overall system interaction are handled as additional information in each step of the iterative solving. Joint project for independent validation of REBA To check and proof the correctness of REBA was the task for a 2.5 year joint project with the Allianz Center for Technology (Allianz Risk Consulting GmbH) as external partner with a high level of expertise and long experience in the field of drive technology, [3]. In particular, the wind energy sector with its characteristic requirements regarding simulation, design and potential damage mechanisms is an important field of activity, [4] [8]. The collected necessities mentioned above are motivated by the physical and technical needs as basis for a realistic simulation. Firstly, they have been fragmented into typical tasks from mechanical engineering such as contact mechanics between roller and raceway or the evaluation of bolted connections. This led to a total of 16 subprojects, which were investigated by making comparisons with widely accepted references. All examinations were conducted by three exemplary designs and applications: a double row fourpoint contact ball bearing as blade bearing, a double row tapered roller bearing as rotor bearing and a three-row roller slewing bearing as crane bearing. As references there were used FVA software (LAGER2, RIKOR) as well as rules (e.g. VDI 2230, [9]) and also 3D finite element software (ANSYS). On the one hand, the selection was made with the aim of using the widest possible and therefore reliable basis for comparison. On the other hand, these calculations or the comparison software often require assumptions that can be violated in the practical bearing calculation. The desire to keep their scope and at the same time not to restrict the complex modeling of REBA too much, necessarily leads to a partial breakup of the intrinsic interactions during the individual theoretical test packages. Regular feedback in the test procedure, nevertheless, allows a proof of plausibility of the overall system behavior. Finally after all the theoretical test packages could be successfully verified a comparison was made with measured values from the test bench or from the field. The parameters for measurement were chosen in such a way that they have the highest possible significance for the overall system behavior. For example, the maximum bolt tension in partial gap opening under test load of a truck crane can only be reasonably well determined if: the raceway loads, all elasticities of rings, companion structures and fastening bolts, the gap opening mechanism and the correct rotational position were suitable considered. The fact that there is a difference of < 2% between the simulation result and the measured bolt stress, thus, indirectly proves the correct mapping of all these individual aspects. Validation result and further properties of REBA Summarized each investigated part of the calculation method of REBA achieves or exceeds the state of the art, which is represented by the reference programs. Since it also takes the interactions of all individual effects into account, the program is capable of realistically modeling and analyzing large rolling and slewing bearings. In addition, as a consequence of the parametric control the program REBA yields highly reproducible results independent from the user and is ideally suited for automation. This is the basis for a high quality bearing design process. BEARING WORLD 2018 – International Conference Calculation and Design ©FVA www.bearingworld.org 4/5 Intrinsic interaction leads to non-linearity: Illustrated by example of a rotor bearing The skillful combination of proven analytic designs formulations (e.g., Hertzian contact model) and optimized finite element models enable very short computation time (seconds per variant). At the same time for all variants the highly non-linear system interactions can be considered. The short computation time also allows a consideration of a large number of load cases (up to some millions). This calculation option could help to overcome problems, which might arise from the today common practice of load case reduction. This applies in particular for multi-axle and nonlinear load conditions as typically experienced for applications such as tapered roller bearings used as rotor bearing, [10]. By definition [11] the load based reduction also yields to assumptions – and in the end results – which are too conservative. Then again highly loaded local zones might not be identified correctly as the turning position between rotating and fixed submodel in relation to the applied load has an important influence factor, which might not be sufficiently considered by the load case reduction. In particular, the damage experience shows that local analyses of the respective component are desired to identify local damage "hot spots". How much the degree of interaction is reflected in a non-linearity is shown using the tapered roller bearing, mentioned above. The fact that a very close match between the calculation and th


Ceramic materials typically have to be sintered at high temperatures, often above 1000 °C. This precludes the coating of lower-melting substrate materials, such as metals, glasses and polymers, with dense and robust thin or thick ceramic films. In addition, decomposition or uncontrolled volatilization of the ceramic components can occur at elevated temperatures. As an alternative, the Aerosol Deposition (AD) method is a spray coating process to produce dense and nanocrystalline ceramic films at room temperature directly from an initial bulk powder on almost any substrate material with no need for sintering. This great potential attracts the attention of a growing number of research groups as reflected by a rapidly growing number of publications. The objective of this review is to give a holistic overview of the AD science and technology. It describes typical process equipment and parameters and starting powder and resulting film characteristics. Special attention is given to Al2O3, TiO 2, BaTiO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, as they represent a few of the most frequently used ceramics in AD. Aerosol Deposition of many other materials are also described to demonstrate the versatility of this new technology, its ability to realize novel combinations of materials and microstructures, and its suitability for future applications. Also discussed is the current state of understanding of aerosol deposition behavior and the experimental and modeling approaches used to explain the primary aerosol deposition mechanism(s).


Reemergence of the discussion and use of multiple health care philosophies and treatments alternative or parallel to Western biomedicine has rekindled old debates. First is the issue of the probability that an intervention works to achieve a desired health outcome, and how that probability is established. Second is the issue of who pays for the intervention, and under what circumstances. I examine these two issues in the rest of this essay. Increasing use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is fueling these debates. Between 1990 and 1997, users of CAM practitioners in the United States grew by over 20%, while annual visits grew about one third to 629 million, more than the number of visits to all primary care physicians during the same period. CAM expenditures were estimated at $27 billion, with 78.5% for professional services.


Departing from de Soto's recent volume on property rights, the author argues that before assessing the extent to which lack of unified property registers limits economic development, it is necessary to know whether small businesses are seriously hampered by their informal status. Access to formalised sources of credit is not necessary crucial: the extralegal sector has its own networks, it is argued. Referring to the history of Turkish suburbs after the Second World War, the question is raised: what might happen if squatters in developing countries acquired property rights to the land on which they had squatted? Poor people with a short time horizon might well be tempted to sell their property in order to survive—and might then go on to another extralegal area and settle there. This would involve a transfer of wealth, but they might lose the social infrastructure they had in the old place.


Professor LI Guang-rong is one of the most famous Chinese medical gynecologic experts of our country.She has accumulated rich experiences in treating infertility.Combined with modern medical theory,she deems that the patients of immunological infertility with spleen and kidney deficiency were usually hurt by damp-heat because of living carelessly,or unclean sexual life.Combined with blood,damp-heat can blocked flush and conception vessels and uterus.The pathogenesis is that dampness,heat and blood stasis are the incidental,deficiency of spleen and kidney is fundamental.The diagnosis is deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality.According to the principle of treating both the superficiality and origin,strengthening kidney and spleen should be done in order to improve Qi,blood and essence,clear away heat,dispelling dampness and promoting blood should be done in order to clear and regulate the uterus and uterine collaterals.


Subject
 US data privacy laws.

 Significance
 US and EU authorities met last week for the annual review of their 'Privacy Shield' agreement on the terms and security of transatlantic data flows. The review took place amid an intensifying debate in the United States regarding federal action on data protections.

 Impacts
 Evidence of data misuse in the midterms would intensify pressure for federal protections.
 The European Commission is likely to support the continued operation of the Privacy Shield agreement.
 However, if the agreement is struck down, ongoing diplomatic tensions will make negotiating a new policy harder.


This study presents methods that provide the time and frequency standards comparison accuracy in the nanosecond limits. But there are different complications in the usage of some or the other methods. Hence, one should always be guided not by the considerations of achieving the maximum accuracy, but by the practicability of the usage of some of the methods in the particular situation when choosing the synchronization method. This work advises to unite several synchronization methods in order to increase reliability. For example, it is recommended to combine radio meteoric method of synchronization (RMS) and satellite radionavigating systems (SNRS) time and frequency scales synchronization systems. Both mutual calibration and examination of both systems results allows to achieve higher synchronization precision.


Since the non-traditional security is of more and more importance and has a greater and greater effect on the traffic projects for national defense, the paper analyses some characteristics about it and puts forward some suggestions and methods to improve the safety of traffic projects.


The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting on the income of the greenhouse strawberry farms. The 2013-2014 Agricultural Products Income Data (RDA) was used for analysis and classified into two groups: 292 farm households of forcing culture and 222 semi-forcing culture. The input cost, quantities, management cost, and quality of strawberry were selected as exogenous variables. The technological level of strawberry farm was quantified based on management consultation records. The Path Analysis was used. As the results of the study, the quantity was more influential to affect the income of strawberry farms than price and/or management cost. The management cost has a disadvantageous effect on income.


This paper describes a well-defined palladium(II) system that operates in aprotic solvents at ambient temperature to generate E-CO copolymers without chain termination. Furthermore, for the first time, it becomes possible to synthesize graft polymers with alt-E-CO blocks. It has been demonstrated for the first time (a) the nonterminating alternating copolymerization of C{sub 2}H{sub 4} with CO and (b) a procedure for the synthesis of graft polymers with alt-C{sub 2}H{sub 4}-CO blocks. Results show that alt-C{sub 2}H{sub 4}-CO blocks can be grafted on to any carboxy-terminated polymer. 16 refs., 1 fig.


Travel behavior entails several interrelated decisions made by people, as well as the execution of routines not preceded by deliberate decisions. Furthermore, travel decisions are dependent on choices to participate in activities. After a brief review of research aiming at describing activity/travel patterns and approaches in which activity/travel decisions are modelled by means of discrete-choice modelling techniques, a conceptual framework is proposed as a background to an evaluation of several computational-process models. Further needed developments of these models are discussed, as well as the use of geographical information systems in their operationalization and application to traffic planning.


OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the expression of thymidylate synthase(TS) and pemetrexed treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.METHODS: Fourty-two patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who received pemetrexed plus cisplatin or carboplatin treatment were retrospectively studied.The TS expressions in tumor tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry,and the therapeutic effect was analyzed.RESULTS: In 42 cases,TS-negative was 76.2%(32/42),and TS-positive was 23.8%(10/42).The total response rate was 38.1%(16/42) and the total disease control rate was 76.2%(32/42).The response rate in the low TS patient group(43.8%,14/32) was not statistically significant compared to patients with high TS(20.0%,2/10)expression(χ2=1.822,P=0.177).Patients with low TS expression(84.4%,27/32) had significantly higher disease control by pemetrexed treatment than those with TS(50.0%,5/10) overexpression(χ2=4.063,P=0.026).The median progression-free survival(PFS) was 5.0 months and the median overall survival was 12.5 months.Patients with low TS expression(6.4 months) had a longer median progression-free survival(PFS) than those with high TS expression(3.8 months,P=0.000),but the median overall survival was not statistically significant(13.0 and 8.5 months,P=0.079).CONCLUSION: TS expression levels may be related to the efficacy of pemetrexed,and serve as a biomarker to predict the efficacy of pemetrexed for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.


21st Century Skills and Information Literacy are very important to know about their development in the lecture process in tertiary institutions. Profiling has yet to be carried out to map this in the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Study Program. Therefore, this research aims to profile 21st Century Skills and Information Literacy in Indonesian Language and Literature Education. This type of research is mixed methods research using a Concurrent Embedded Design. The respondents were 30 undergraduate students of Indonesian Language and Literature Education. Methods of data collection using observation, interviews, and questionnaires. The research instruments used were questionnaires, interview guides, and observation sheets. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U Test. The study's results, namely critical thinking skills and problem-solving, communication and collaboration, creativity and innovation, and information literacy skills, still needed to be higher for most students. Only the Creativity and Innovation Skills skills differed significantly between the upper and lower semesters. The study findings are discussed, followed by a review of the implications for educational institutions, policymakers, and future research.


Methods: Research was conducted using self-experience along with scientific literature findings to fully understand the physical and emotional syndromes of premenstrual dystrophic disorders (PMDD). Findings: Correlation with low progesterone in relation to negative affective and physical symptoms during the follicle and luteal phase were observed. Allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid, as a therapeutic agent can alleviate PMDD symptoms. Specific nutritional sources can also help alleviating the presenting symptoms. Conclusion: Awareness about PMDD symptoms is warranted in women experiencing them. Providers need to be familiar of the emotional and physical effect of low progesterone and the mechanism of action of Allopregnanolone in treating PMDD, when other interventions such as psychotherapy and other pharmacological intervention failed.


Eight chloroplast markers were developed from Japanese and snow camellia (Camellia japonica and C. rusticana). Six markers were based on mononucleotide repeats, while the other two resulted from indels of larger units. Polymorphisms were screened using 15 individuals from all over the Japanese archipelago, including C. japonica, C. japonica var. macrocarpa, C. japonica var. hozanensis, and C. rusticana. Polymorphisms within a single population were searched in 22 and 26 individuals of C. japonica and C. rusticana, respectively. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to three, resulting in eight haplotypes, two of which were specific to C. rusticana. No polymorphisms were detected within a single population for both C. japonica and C. rusticana. The eight markers developed in the present study will be useful for analyzing the genetic diversity and tracing maternal origins of Japanese and snow camellias.


Freshly prepared cupric hydroxide loses its characteristic blue colour, in the course of a few hours after its preparation and yields a black product. The factors which influence the stabdity of cupric hydroxide have not been clearly understood.
Blucher and Farnate found that in presence of small amounts of salts of manganese, nickel, cobalt, zinc and aluminium, cupric hydroxide was stable for some time even at the temperature of boiling water. They prepared cupric hydroxide by mixing 1 ml. each of I N solutions of sodium hydroxide and copper sulphate in presence of about 10 m1. or water, and treated the samples with a few (1 to 6) drops of manganous sulphate, nickel sulphate etc. The test tubes holding the samples were placed in boiling water. They found that the samples of cupric hydroxide so treated did not blacken as rapidly as an untreated sample. Weiser" investigated the phenomenon in great detail and found that small amounts of salts of manganese, nickel, cobalt etc. as well as cupric sulphate and acids had stabilising action on cupric hydroxide.


The invention relates to a receiving tank for waste taken from a road vehicle of the type comprising a frame, a cabin, means for cleaning and suction means comprising a turbine (6) and a suction duct (8 ) the U-shaped vessel (5) is arranged on the lower arm formed by the horizontal tubular portion of the conduit (8) and between the two side branches (8a and 8b) formed by the vertical portions of said tubular conduit, said lateral legs extending respectively on each other and along the side walls (5c and 5d) of the tank (5) to join the upper and cooperate with means of filtration and particle separation, arranged to inside the tank, consisting of a central baffle (20) positioned against the upper wall of the tank (5) associated with the side rails (21a and 21b) in accordion.


expression of accommodation during the examination. Two children, 1 boy and 1 girl were found to be myopic at the subjective examination at the eye department; the boy: -1.0 D and the girl: -1.37 D/-0.25 D . The boy did not have glasses, but the girl had -2.25 D/-1.5 D. At the examination following cyclopentolate neither were found to be near-sighted, on the contrary, they were slightly hypermetropic: the boy +1 .O D and the girl +1.87 D . Thus, these 2 children were the only ones in the material suffering from a subjectively determined myopia which was found to be reversible using cyclopentolate. The material at the baseline examination thus comprised: 87 (96-9) boys and 72 (87-15) girls.


The objective of this research were to detect how many days where necessary to animals to adapt to diets, to measure intake and milk production; also, to evaluate the effect of four levels of crude protein in the non protein nitrogen (NPN) based compounds (2,22; 4,18; 5,96 e 8,09%) on the milk composition and production, the intake and apparent digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (CHOT) and crude protein (CP) and the intake of total digestible nutrient (NDT). Sixteen Holstein cows were allotted to four balanced 4 x 4 Latin square design in accordance with the lactation period. The four experimental diet were formulated to contain 60% of corn silage and 40% of corn meal, soybean meal, urea and mineral mix misture. Crescent levels of urea in the concentrate (0,0; 0,7; 1,4 e 2,1%) for the treatment 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, were used. All diets were isoproteics, approximately 14% CP. There were a decrease in the intake of DM, OM, CP CHOT and TDN; and EE linearly increased as the NPN increased in the diets. While, the intake of NDF, expressed as kg/day and %LW, presenting a quadratic response, with maximum intake values of 6,99 kg and 1,56% for 4,54 and 4,26% NPN, respectively. The total apparent digestibilities of DM, OM, NDF, EE, CP and CHOT were not influenced by the NPN level in the diets, with observed means of 69,45; 70,71; 62,26; 88,34; 70,57 and 70,91%, respectively. The milk production corrected or not for 3,5% fat, the fat and milk protein yield and milk protein content linearly decrease while the fat content and feed efficiency, expressed as kg milk/ kgDM were not influenced by the NPN levels in the diet.


A laminar steady‐state 2D axisymmetric model of a direct current (DC) thermal plasma torch using a magneto‐hydrodynamic approach has been developed. The model takes into account the entire torch system comprising the plasma gas injection, the inner region of the torch, and the jet exiting into the ambient environment. Numerical results are obtained for two different power inputs chosen from published experimental data. The temperature predictions at the torch exit are found in good agreement with experimental results. Velocity analysis of the plasma jet has been presented and the impact of electromagnetic force on jet velocity is analysed. The Lorentz force arising due to the coupling of fluid motion and electromagnetic forces shoots up the jet velocity to significantly high values near the cathode tip. Temperature and velocity profiles are in good agreement with the characteristics of a long laminar plasma jet. An operating value of heat transfer coefficient (h) has been suggested for optimal torch operation, thus ensuring a low anode erosion rate and acceptable thermal efficiency. The argon torch has the maximum temperature and longest jet length among the plasma gases considered.


The field of stereoselective propene polymerization has been dramatically innovated by the discovery of homogeneous metallocene-based catalysts with well-defined and tunable molecular structure. Of all, "oscillating" metallocenes are probably the most ingenious and challenging example of catalyst design. Their catalytic species were built to "flip-flop" between a chiral and an achiral conformation, at a rate intermediate between those of monomer insertion and chain transfer. The result of this molecular switching would be a polypropylene with an isotactic/atactic stereoblock structure, performing as a thermoplastic elastomer. This essay discusses how the real polymerization mechanism differs from what the catalyst inventors had in mind, but also how - through fortunate circumstances their optimism has been rewarded.


Automatic block and passing control systems using optical techniques for automobiles on multiple highway lanes are proposed and discussed. This system combines an optical lane-guidance system, optical lane-change guidance system and block control on the lane, optical pass-guidance system, car-to-car distance-monitoring system and follow-up control system as well as lane-merge control system. For the all the above sub-systems, optical laser scanning methods are introduced, discussed and illustrated. Hardware mechanization and a vehicle identification method using retro-reflectors are also proposed and discussed.


George I. Monsivais's Hispanic Immigrant Identity: Political Allegiance vs. Cultural Preference (LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC 2004) In his book Hispanic Immigrant Identity: Political Allegiance vs. Cultural Preference, George I. Monsivais investigates a paradox that is often exploited by the media and anti-immigrant interests. The paradox is this: why is it that Hispanic1 immigrants, most of whom plan to remain in the United States, identify themselves by their national origin and not as Americans or hyphenated Americans? This paradox raises concerns when, for example, the media show immigrants waving the flags of their mother countries. Dr. Monsivais argues that immigrants are making a cultural statement, not a political statement, and he offers substantial evidence to support his hypothesis. The author first noticed this paradox when he was interviewing Latino immigrants in Miami and Houston. He later examined the National Latino Immigrant Study (NLIS) and found the same phenomenon. Many immigrants, although they planned to stay in the United States, had learned English, believed in the American principles of democracy and freedom but nevertheless identified themselves primarily with their country of origin. When asked, they say, "I am Cuban," "I am Honduran," or "I am Mexican," more often than they say, "I am American," or "I am Mexican American." Using data from the NLIS, Monsivais first constructs several measures, based on the extant literature, that specify the beliefs and behaviors necessary to be an American. In broad terms, they are, first, belief in the "American style of republican democracy" and its important values including liberty, equality, self rule, etc.; and, second, "living a moral civic life" through the practice of electoral participation and volunteerism, and proficiency in English (79). If an immigrant espouses these beliefs, values and behaviors, then she has adopted the necessary attributes of an American. What the data show is that there is no relationship between how immigrants self-identify and their measures of "American-ness." That is, an immigrant can demonstrate all the attributes of an American and still not refer to herself as an American. Next, Monsivais aims to show how the self-identification label is a cultural and familial label rather than a political one. He does this with focus group data gathered in California and Utah. The interview data is, in many respects, the most compelling aspect of the book because the author acknowledges the complexity of self-identity. The author might also have taken the opportunity here to discuss the substantial literature on overlapping identities. For example, most of us identify simultaneously with our city, our town and our region, but context determines which we proclaim in any particular situation. These overlapping identities are not captured in most surveys. The author touches on these topics in the focus groups by asking participants what it means to be an American. Not surprisingly, there is a diversity of opinion, but many respondents focus on the cultural aspects of being American including diet, family relations and language. If this is their construct, it is not hard to understand why immigrants might not identify as American. One of the strengths of the book is that it is ambitious in its exploration of the rambling literature on what it means to be an American. Monsivais focuses appropriately on the legal and social changes that remove race and ethnicity as criteria for determining who is an American. …


Water trees, which grow in all organic dielectrics under the action of electrical stress in a wet environment, have the characteristic of vanishing when the stress is removed and the material containing them is permitted to become dry. This behavior is quite distinctive in comparison to electrical trees which are actually permanent hollow channels, and electrochemical trees which are permanently stained or colored during growth by chemical agents from their environment.


This study explored an alternative approach to short essay writing on language assessment tasks. Thirty-nine intermediate learners of French performed two essay-writing tasks: writing directly into French as well as writing in L1 and then translating into French. Two-thirds of the students did better on the direct writing task across all rating scales; one-third, better on the translated task. While raters found no significant differences in the grammatical scales across the two types of writing, differences did emerge in the scales for expression, transitions, and clauses. Retrospective verbal report data from the students indicated that they were often thinking through English when writing in French, suggesting that the writing tasks were not necessarily distinct in nature. Since the study was intended to simulate writing situations that students encounter in typical classroom assessments, the findings suggest that direct writing may be the most effective choice for some learners when under time pressure. Research report submitted to the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (CISW) and to the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), University of Minnesota, June 2000. The third author of the final report for this study, Melody Jacobs-Cassuto, was responsible for conducting the statistical analyses. Funding for the study was provided by the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Writing and by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota, and by the Max Orovitz Summer Award in the Humanities, University of Miami. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Anne Fretheim in revising this report. Introduction This report explores the issue of nonnative writers attempting to think directly through the second or foreign language while composing text. The question is whether, contrary to the common-sense view held by many language teachers and students alike, thinking through the first language (L1) and even writing out a text first in the L1 may actually enhance the production of good writing, at least at the beginning and intermediate levels. The report will first briefly review the literature on writing strategies as it relates to this issue of translation and will then present a study which explored the use of translation from the L1 or a dominant language while composing text in yet another language. Studies Contrasting L1 and L2 Strategies Most studies that have compared first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) writing have found that there are similarities among the strategies used for the two processes. Both ESL and FL studies point to a transfer of writing strategies from L1 to L2 writing, particularly for planning and revision strategies. In one such study on the use of writing strategies, verbal report data collected from eight ESL students showed that the students used strategies for L2 writing that were similar to those of many L1 writers: engaging in limited prewriting and planning, and using much rescanning (Raimes, 1987). However, the ESL students did tend to edit and correct their work more than did L1 writers. Of the eight students, those who were in non-remedial ESL classes also tended to revise and edit more and to be more attuned to issues of audience that those ESL students who were in remedial ESL courses. Background experience with the target 2 The study reported in this paper looked exclusively at a foreign language context, namely one in which the language being learned was not that of a community of speakers in which the students lived nor did they have any regular contact with such a community of French speakers. For the sake of simplicity, this paper will generally refer to the foreign language situation under the same L2 label that is often reserved for second language environments in which contact with native speakers takes place.


This study examines and analyses the effect of Islamic emotional intelligence, work-life balance, and burnout on organizational commitment. In addition, this study also examines and analyzes the role of burnout in mediating the effect of Islamic emotional intelligence and work-life balance on organizational commitment. Respondents in this study were female employees who worked at the Ministry of Religion in Pekanbaru, Riau, with a total of 73 respondents. The sampling technique was carried out by saturated sampling or census with SEM-PLS statistical analysis. The results showed that (i) Islamic emotional intelligence has an effect on organizational commitment, (ii) work-life balance has an effect on organizational commitment, (iii) burnout has an effect on organizational commitment, (iv) Islamic emotional intelligence has an effect on burnout, (v) work-life balance affects burnout, (vi) burnout can mediate the effect of Islamic emotional intelligence on organizational commitment, (vii) burnout can mediate the effect of work-life balance on organizational commitment.


Individuals with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar, and major depressive disorders are being disproportionately relegated to US prisons and jails instead of community-based mental health clinics. They enter a system designed for criminal offenders. It is estimated that 10% to 20% of jail inmates and 25% of prison inmates have a serious mental illness; the proportion of affected jail inmates is estimated to be 3 to 6 times the rate in the general population.1 A significant percentage of these individuals are not receiving the psychiatric care they need and deserve. The lack of psychiatric beds in the United States likely contributes to this problem


Ectoine, a cyclic amino acid derivative is produced by some moderately halophilic microorganisms. It is widely used in the field of medicine and cosmetics; however its high cost, low yield and complicated production process restrict its use in an industry. The present study was carried out to construct an engineered Escherichia coli for the heterologous ectoine production. Firstly, the ectoine synthesis cluster (ectABC genes) from Halomonas elongata were introduced into E. coli for the ectoine production in heterologous system. Secondly, the effect of deletion for lysA and thrA on producing ectoine was investigated. Thirdly, the bioconversion conditions for synthesizing ectoine were optimized. In this study, nine strains of E.coli BW25113 were constructed, and an engineering strain ABC (∆lysA) /BW25113 with ectoine synthesis ability was screened out. An improved yield of ectoine was obtained with optimized conditions like 100 mmol/L sodium aspartate, 100 mmol/L glycerol, 80 mmol/L glucose and 120 mmol/L KCl at temperature 30°C, and the pH 7.0. A yield 2.08 g/L of ectoine was obtained. After preliminary optimization, the ABC (∆lysA) /BW25113 catalytic synthesis of ectoine increased by 2 times, indicating that optimized reaction conditions can increase the yield of ectoine. Here, we successfully constructed an engineered Escherichia coli for the heterologous production of ectoine. Our study herein provides a feasible and valuable biosynthesis pathway of ectoine with a potential for large-scale industrial production using simple and cheap feedstocks.


The companies that have branches needs to follow the activities of its various branches, and one of the activities that the administration follows is segmental reports, as an income statement is prepared for each branch of the unit and in a way that helps in assessing the performance of the work of each branch and provides information on the extent of their contributions in Achieving profits for the company, and for segmental reports to be prepared. The transfer pricing method must be followed to transfer products from one branch to another. The transfer price provides the branches a degree of autonomy for making their administrative decisions. An appropriate transfer price must be used to achieve the objectives' balance of the transferor and the transferee branches, consequently the goals of the company as a whole are achieved.
The problem with the study is that do the administrative cadres in the company aware of modern policies for pricing the products transferred between the branches of the company? And does the transfer prices contribute to evaluating the performance of the company branches through segmental reports?
The study aims to know the transfer prices and their application as a tool to evaluate the performance of the branches in the companies that have branches. And knowing the extent of applying the transfer prices policy in the research sample company. As well as determining the role of its contribution in evaluating the performance of the branches of the research sample company through preparing segmental reports.
The researchers concluded that the best way to price transfers that achieve the goal of the company as a whole, is the transfer price based on the market price. As for the purchasing branches (Erbil and Sulaymaniyah), the best way to price the transferred products is the variable cost method. Thus, the market price mayn't be desirable for the managers of the purchasing branches, if their performance is evaluated. Conversely, the variable cost method may be desirable by managers because it increases the branches' operating income. This leads to goals' conflict between the company and its subsidiaries, as the company sells to its branches.
Among the most important recommendations of the research is the necessity of preparing segmental reports in detail for each branch and following the use of transfer prices to transfer products between them, which show the performance of each of the company's branches, follow-up and evaluating of the performance of branch managers in appropriate manner to the company's goals.


The pattern of Holocene emergence at Piliravijuk Bay, innermost Makinson Inlet, south-central Ellesmere Island, is outlined on the basis of radiocarbon age determinations on three samples of marine pelecypod shells and eight samples of far-traveled coniferous driftwood. Emergence of at least 100 m. perhaps as much as 120 m, has taken place in the last 8800 radiocarbon years. The amount of emergence approaches that documented earlier for Cape Storm and South Cape Fiord on the south coast of Ellesmere Island, and for Cape Herschel on the east-central coast, facing Greenland


A new modeling method for the analysis of conduit enclosed electric circuits is presented. The model permits the computation of the magnetic field around the circuit and the apparent impedance of the circuit as a function of the electric current. The nonuniform magnetic saturation of the steel conduit is accurately predicted. The conduit enclosed circuit model has been integrated into a network solver, which is capable of simulating power distribution systems with any number of embedded conduit enclosed circuits and other devices. This approach allows performance evaluation of conduit-enclosed circuits, taking into account the interactions with the overall electric power system. Several types of conduit materials can be simulated, including electrical metallic tubing (EMT), intermediate metal conduit (IMC), galvanized rigid conduit (GRC), aluminum conduit (ARC) as well as nonconductive conduit (for example PVC). The model has been validated with a series of laboratory tests.


The change in electrochemical properties caused by microstructural changes was utilized for the nondestructive detection of material degradation. S/H tubes of fossil boilers were studied where carbide, Laves and sigma phase formation were detected by the anodic current peak IP in an anodic polarization measurement of 316H stainless steel in lM KOH electrolytes. For practical uses, a small and light-weight electrochemical probe and a portable anodic polarization measuring system were developed; their effectiveness was shown through on-site measurements in many actual plants. Using measured IP, the equivalent operational temperature of tubes after long-term service operation was estimated with reference to the IP-t exp (-Q/RT) curve of aged materials. It is suggested that their metallographic changes can be evaluated by a parameter of IP/IPC, where Ipc is estimated as to be the threshold value of IP. It is also indicated that their mechanical damage markedly increases by nucleation and growth of Laves phases at IP/IPC value over 0.7.


In article the author analyses some problems of modern organic course in the context of student's professional development. The article discusses the possibility of application the principles of theoretical and praxiological approach to projecting and realizing the organic chemistry course. The author offers the approach of using case-study method and a method of debriefing in organic chemistry training.


Malpractice is one of the serious issues faced in examination hall. The candidates will be examined thoroughly in the entrance itself. If they are found with possessing the electronic devices, the PGD (Paper Gadget Detector) will detect it. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) displays the values and an alarm system will be used to give a warning to them. The proposed system is to search the candidates who are carrying the hidden written paper to the exam hall. The searching of hidden written paper can be obtained from Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna (RMPA). Here RMPA acts as a sensor which is used to detect the hidden material. This sensor can detect the target based on the permittivity value of each material. The sensors used in this study can be adjusted according to the values of blank paper and also to identify something written in the paper with different densities. The designed antenna has been simulated using Advanced Design System (ADS). The designed antenna (single element and 4 elements) has been compared in terms of various parameters like Gain, Efficiency, Directivity and Radiation Pattern etc.


Abstract : This volume consists of 84 papers/abstracts. Section topics include : Physical properties of sea ice -- Structural and chemical properties, Optical, electrical, acoustical and mechanical properties, and Biological and sediment inclusions in sea ice; Morphological processes in sea ice -- Leads and pressure ridges; Large-scale variations in drift, extent, snowmelt and concentration of sea ice; Satellite and airborne remote sensing; Sea ice and ice-ocean modeling; Polar oceanography -- Field observations. (edc)


Energy security may be defined, generally, as the availability of clean
 energy sources at affordable prices. If a country or region does not have its
 own sources of energy in the necessary extent, their energy security is in a
 long-term threat. To this point, countries seek to achieve diversification of
 energy sources and transport routes. This is one of the reasons for launching
 new energy projects in Europe and Asia; the other is an attempt by Russia to
 consolidate its dominant position on the part of the international energy
 market; the third factor is the oil transnational corporations. Russia is the
 dominant natural trading partner and Europe's energy supplier. Problems with
 the transit of natural gas and oil from Russia to Europe, which directly
 threaten its energy security, were the reason to launch the new energy
 projects.


Background: Head and neck cancers constitute 6% of cancers worldwide. The management requires a multidisciplinary approach. Concomitant CRT with cisplatin is the standard approach for locally advanced head and neck cancers. In developing countries, poor built and general condition of patients may allow use of other radio sensitizers like Hydroxyurea to enhance the effect of radiation. Methods: Squamous cell carcinoma of stage III, IVA and IVB of oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx were studied for one year. 90 patients were randomized in control and study arm, 45 patients in each arm. Total dose of radiation was 66Gy/33#/6 1⁄2 weeks from Monday to Friday in both the arms with inj. Cisplatin 30mg/m 2 i.v. infusion weekly in control arm and oral Hydroxyurea25mg/kg approx. 16-18hours before radiation. Results: The locoregional control was similar in both the arms at 1 st follow up as well as at median follow up. However a trend towards better response was seen with cisplatin arm. The acute toxicities in Hydroxyurea arm were more but they were managed conservatively. Conclusions: Hydroxyurea can be used in the patients of head and neck cancers as a radio sensitizer where the use of cisplatin is precluded like old age, comorbidities or patient is reluctant for weekly injectable chemotherapy or in developing countries like India, where infrastructure is lacking.


1. Joho-Arreola AL, Bauersfeld U, Stauffer UG, Baenziger O, Bernet V. Incidence and treatment of diaphragmatic paralysis after cardiac surgery in children. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2005;27:53-57. 2. Akay TH, Ozkan S, Gultekin B, et al. Diaphragmatic paralysis after cardiac surgery in children: incidence, prognosis and surgical management. Pediatr Surg Int. 2006;22:341-346. 3. Sarwal A, Walker FO, Cartwright MS. Neuromuscular ultrasound for evaluation of the diaphragm. Muscle Nerve. 2013;47:319-329. 4. Vitale V, Ricci Z, Gaddi S, Testa G, Toma P, Cogo P. Lung ultrasound profile after cardiopulmonary bypass in paediatric cardiac surgery: first experience in a simple cohort. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2017;24:598-602. 5. Fine-Goulden MR, Puppala NK, Durward A. Mechanisms of ventilator dependence in children with neuromuscular and respiratory control disorders identified by monitoring diaphragm electrical activity. Intensive Care Med. 2012;38:2072-2079.


Objective: To investigate the effect of local delivery of c-myc antisense oligonucleotide on neointimal thickening and vascular remodeling after angioplasty in rabbits.Methods: The celiac artery endothelia of 75 male Japanese white rabbits(2.5±0.5 kg) fed with high cholesterol diet were denuded to establish the model of atherosclerotic celiac artery stenosis.The rabbits with significant atherosclerotic celiac artery stenosis(greater than or equal to 50%) demonstrated by angiography were randomly divided into 4 groups: group 1(antisense group),group 2(sense group),group 3(saline control group),and group 4(simple balloon dilatation group).The rabbits in group 1,2,and 3 were injected with c-myc antisense oligonucleotide,cmyc sense oligonucleotide,and saline by using a porous balloon catheter,respectively.The local vessels were sampled for morphological and intracellular ultrastructure examinations.Results: The ratio of neointimal area (NEA) to medial area(MA) in group 1 was significantly less than that in each of the other 3 groups(P0.05).The remodeling index in group 1 was significantly larger than that in each of the other 3 groups(P0.05).Conclusion: Local delivery of c-myc antisense oligoucleotide could inhibit the neointimal proliferation and vascular remodeling after angioplasty in rabbits.


Traffic simulations have traditionally used strictly deterministic, differential-equation-based, models of driving processes. Human decision making is, however, a linguistically structured rule-based process where desired outcomes are only approximately defined. The nature of human reasoning is thus better captured by fuzzy-inference logic, which this project uses to model driving behavior. Individualized fuzzy inference models of different types of drivers have been developed and incorporated into the TRAF-NETSIM microscopic traffic flow simulation environment. Users can now choose this fuzzy inference based driver decision model as an option when running TRAF-NETSIM to simulate more realistic vehicle motion accuracy.


ABSTRACT Natural drug research is one of the main directions for the discovery and development of new drugs. Underutilized vegetables with a rich source of medicinal value have drawn much attention from scientists in synthesizing new drugs and finding new pharmacological actions. Apigenin is a natural flavonoid with pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, anti-radiation, antidepressant effect, cardiovascular protection, regulated glucose and lipid metabolism, protecting the kidneys, neuroprotection, antibacterial, etc. Thus, these pharmacological effects of apigenin and the interaction between apigenin and drugs were mainly reviewed in this paper. The pharmacological actions of apigenin are being elucidated not only on the molecular level but also on the apigenin-receptor interaction, changes in factors, enzymes, proteins, cells, or tissues. The apigenin derivatives and complexes with their pharmacological actions were also summarized, which is expected to provide a reference for the rational development and utilization of apigenin. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


We have measured initial susceptibility χ0 and the dependence of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) on applied field for seven samples of magnetite, with mean grain sizes from 40 to 540 nm. TRM acquisition is nonlinear in geomagnetically relevant weak fields, contrary to the usual assumption made in paleointensity determination. Over the 40–540 nm range, χ0 varies with particle shape but only weakly with particle size d and can be used to correct for varying magnetite concentrations in sediment cores. ARM is strongly size dependent over the same range and is the best parameter for monitoring grain size variations in natural samples. ARM and TRM have similar variations, as d−1 for d≤1 μm, suggesting a common source for this pseudo-single-domain (PSD) dependence on grain size. However, TRM is 10–20 times more intense than ARM in grains around 0.2 μm in size. The TRM microstate seems to be a two-domain structure, whereas the ARM microstate may be a vortex structure, which has never before been convincingly demonstrated by magnetic measurements. Independent evidence comes from theoretical fits to TRM and ARM field dependence data. In moderate and strong fields, TRM in 215–540 nm magnetites is explained by two-domain theory, but ARM is not. In smaller grains (d≤0.1 μm), a PSD theory predicts that TRM is carried by single-domain (SD) moments of entire grains but ARM resides in moments (≈1 per grain) 20–40 times weaker. These remanence levels match those of (metastable) SD and vortex states, respectively. We therefore propose that magnetite grains in the 0.1–0.5 μm size range can remain in metastable SD or two-domain states following acquisition of TRM but revert to a vortex ground state when field-cycled, for example, in ARM acquisition or alternating field demagnetization.


Model-based predictive control (MBPC) contains a whole family of algorithms with the same basic idea: to perform long range prediction of future outputs based on a process model and a set of hypothesised controls; to optimise a suitable cost-function to get the 'best' control sequence; and to assert the first of the set. Previous work has shown the role of 'horizons' in MBPC to attain stability and various other performance objectives in the 'good model' case. The present author concentrates on the model structure and filter design to maintain stability when the model is mis-matched to the plant. Some basic and general properties of prediction are presented.


In this paper, we describe a computational study to solve hard partial constraint satisfaction problems (PCSPs) to optimality. The PCSP is a general class of problems that contains a diversity of problems, such as generalized subgraph problems, MAX‐SAT, Boolean quadratic programs, and assignment problems like coloring and frequency planning. We present a dynamic programming algorithm that solves PCSPs based on the structure (tree decomposition) of the underlying constraint graph. With the use of dominance and bounding techniques, we are able to solve small and medium‐size instances of the problem to optimality and to obtain good lower bounds for large‐size instances within reasonable time and memory limits. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


In this thesis we study analytical and numerical methods which describe interactions and evolution of complex physical systems modeled by microscopic processes. We focus on two types of systems which are differentiated based on how modeling is taking place at the microscopic level. In that respect we study systems which can be described either by stochastic differential equations or by elementary microscopic stochastic processes.
 For the case of stochastic differential equations, we illustrate how to produce their solutions both analytically and numerically. For the case of elementary microscopic stochastic processes it is unrealistic to expect that an analytic solution would always exist since often such systems can be transient and out of equilibrium. We therefore produce numerical solutions for those systems which are based on Monte Carlo simulations.
 We constitute the respective analytic solutions and numerical methods from two vastly different research areas such as finance and traffic flow in order to better illustrate the wide applicability of such methods


The idea of heritability may have consequences for individuals' sense of self by connecting identity to the actions of others who happen to share genetic ties. Across seven experimental studies (total N=2,628), recalling morally bad or good actions by family members influenced individuals' moral self among those who endorse a lay belief that moral character is genetically heritable, but not among those who did not endorse this belief (Study 1-5). In contrast, recalling actions by unrelated individuals had no effect, regardless of lay beliefs (Study 2, 5), the endorsement of other relevant lay beliefs did not moderate the effect of parent's actions on self-judgments (Study 3). Individuals who endorsed heritability beliefs also chose less helpful responses to hypothetical helping scenarios if they had recalled unhelpful (vs. helpful) acts by a genetically-related family member (Study 5). Taken together, these studies suggest that lay beliefs in the role of genetics are important for self-perceptions.


Three‐dimensional laser‐induced fluorescence (3D LIF) was applied to visualize and quantitatively analyze hydrodynamics and mixing in a multichamber ozone contactor, the most widely used design for water disinfection. Results suggested that mixing was characterized by extensive short‐circuiting between chambers, internal recirculation within the chambers, and dead zones at the chamber centers. Because of these nonideal mixing behaviors, the hydrodynamics in the entire reactor showed greater dispersion than a series of completely mixed reactors. These flow patterns could be diminished by decreasing the channel width, whereas the effects of the flow rate and baffle gap were negligible within the range investigated. Accordingly, reactive transport model simulations suggested that overall reactor performance could be significantly improved by preventing these flow behaviors. The 3D LIF technique developed and presented in this study is expected to provide a novel tool for reactor diagnosis, retrofitting to improve performance, and new reactor design.


Background: Bilioenteric fistulas include cholecystoduodenal fistula, cholecystocolic fistula, and cholecystogastric fistula. They are known but rare complication of cholecystitis. Previously presence of any cholecystoenteric fistula was an indication to convert laparoscopic cholecystectomy to open operation1. But with time and experience new techniques, new technology and expertise has developed in the laparoscopic field and now the scenario is changed. This is our experience in a tertiary care diabetic hospital where we encountered 21 cases of cholecystoenteric fistula during laparoscopic cholecystectomy over a period of 2 years. Our series: From January 2013 to January 2015 we performed 1191 cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in our unit. We encountered 12 cases of cholecystoduodenal fistula, 7 cases of cholecystocolic fistula and 2 cases of cholecystogastric fistula. All cases were diagnosed during laparoscopy, and were dealt with laparoscopy. Intracorporeal suturing was used in all cases. Observation: Successful per operative diagnosis requires suspicion and careful adhesiolysis in all cases. Avoiding conversion to open operation reduces hospital stay, pain, wound infection and chest complications associated with upper abdominal incision. As the fistulous tract is usually near the fundus and far away from Callots there is not much increased risk of common bile duct injury. Conclusion: Cholecystoenteric fistulas can now safely be managed laparoscopically in advanced centers by experienced surgeon. Bangladesh Crit Care J March 2015; 3 (1): 7-8


What sets humans apart from other animals is not the use of technology: Many mammals are innovative in making simple tools to assist in life. But it is the sheer scale of technological development that distinguishes humans. Over the millennia, people have invented technologies, used them, and enhanced them. The once-innovative technologies become mundane elements of everyday contemporary life as human societies progress. The technological developments of the last decades have dramatically altered most humans' way of life and perceptions of the myriad elements of the immediate and distant environment. It would not be an exaggeration to view humans as standing at the cusp of profound social changes that are in line with those following the invention of writing or the steam engine. Therefore, now is a good time to stop for a moment and ponder the forces that make such new developments possible. What should we pay specific attention to when we attempt to make sense of where we have succeeded as a species, and where we have failed? Certainly this complicated, multifaceted, and intangible question cannot be answered in the next three pages, or even in a thousand times that many: There are simply too many interrelated forces that form the necessary conditions for progress. But I can isolate one particularly relevant force to contemplate, one that underscores the human role amid the multitude of other factors: That force is the reception of new ideas. Humans are a creative sort, continually imagining new ideas to address common and uncommon problems in daily life. But the success of an idea depends not solely on its conception: An equal partner of the potential of an idea is its social acceptance. The lack of ideas is certainly not an ideal situation, and one must remember that even a bad idea is better than no idea at all. Many bad ideas have been rethought, reworked, and reinvented into pretty good ideas. But new ideas are also a double-edged sword: While innovative thinking may propose a solution to a perceived problem, the inventor often finds that his or her "big idea"


This paper summarizes current understanding of structural and electronic properties of metal silicide precipitates in silicon and their interrelation. Combined studies of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and deep level transient spectroscopy together with numerical simulations show that the bounding dislocation of nickel silicide platelets is the key to understand their rapid growth and electrical properties. Different misfit relaxation phenomena govern the structural evolution of copper silicide precipitates from their early stages to the well-known colony growth. This evolution involves different types of secondary defects indicating that the deep band-like states observed throughout this process are associated with the silicide precipitates themselves.


The aim of this study was determining teacher candidates' TPACK education competencies and qualifications and the status of different teaching styles so the relationship between TPACK education competencies and teaching styles could be shown. For this purpose, two different measuring tools of quantitative methods were applied to teacher candidates. To determine teacher candidates' teaching styles "Teaching Style Inventory" developed by Grasha , and adapted by Uredi to Turkish was applied. Moreover, "TPACK-Deep - Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale" developed by Kabakçı-Yurdakul, Odabaşı, Kılıçer, Çoklar, Birinci and Kurt was used. The participants of the study consisted of 342 senior students who were teacher candidates studying at the University of Necmettin Erbakan during the academic year of 2012-2013. As a result of the research it was seen that teacher candidates' teaching style scores were respectively listed as, facilitator, delegator, personal model, expert and authority. In terms of TPACK education competencies, teachers found themselves at a highly advanced level. On the other hand, the type of teaching style, as well as TPACK competencies didn't show any statistically significant gender differences. Finally, between all the teaching styles and TPACK competencies, there was an intermediate and a positive correlation.


We have used quantum control to suppress the impact of random atom positions on coherent population transfer within atom pairs, enabling the observation of dipole-dipole driven Rabi oscillations in a Rydberg gas with hundreds of atoms. The method exploits the reduced coupling-strength sensitivity of the off-resonant Rabi frequency, and coherently amplifies the achievable population transfer in analogy to quasi-phase-matching in non-linear optics. Simulations reproduce the experimental results and demonstrate the potential benefits of the technique to other many-body quantum control applications.


The aim was to analyze the mediation role of self-esteem in the interaction between social support from the best friend, friends, and parents, and physical activity (PA). Participants were N=444 adolescents of both genders (male= 205), aged between 12-18 years (M= 16.02; SD= 1.57). Structural equation modeling, serial mediation and multigroup analysis were used to test the proposed hypothesis. Self-reported instruments were used to collect both PA social support and self-esteem. Self-esteem mediates partially the interaction between different social supports and vigorous PA, independently of adolescent sex. Interestingly, self-esteem was fully mediating the interaction between parents' social support and vigorous PA in female adolescents. In contrast, self-esteem revealed no mediation in the interaction between social support and light and moderate PA. In conclusion, self-esteem mediates the relationship between social support and vigorous PA, the strength of mediation is higher in girls than in boys, in both genders the mediation is higher when the social support came from parents.


Objective: To study the value of 16-slice helical CT(MSCT) and three-dimensional(3D) reconstructions in the diagnosis of extracardial vascular deformities in patients with congenital heart disease(CHD). Methods: To analyse extracardial vascular abnormalities in 26 patients confirmed by surgery. All patients were examined by contrast-enhanced MSCT and subsequent 3D reconstruction at work-station. Correlative evaluations were performed with 26 echocardiograms(UCG) and 13 cineangiocardiograms(CAG). Results: Eighty-three extracardial vascular abnormalities were confirmed. The denifite rate of diagnosis of MSCT,UCG and CAG were 98.8%,89.2%,100% respectively. MSCT and CAG were superior to UCG in the identification of extracardial vascular abnormalities(χ2=4.76,P0.05); (χ2=4.11,P0.05),the diagnostic accuracy of MSCT and CAG showed no difference(χ2=0.43,P0.05). Conclusions: MSCT(short acquisition time of image) with 3D reconstruction were superior to UCG for the assessment of extracardial vascular abnormalities in patients with CHD and could demonstrate the pathological morphology. This combination was a good noninvasive diagnostic way in preoperative evaluation and selecting operative modality. The combination of MSCT and UCG was a substitution for invasive CAG in great extent.


Effective apical irrigation is one of the most important root canal procedures that has stood as a long-standing challenge for the clinician. Despite the myriad of technological advances seen in the last few decades such as nickel–titanium rotary files of various designs and new irrigation delivery systems, very few seem to reliably impact upon a clinician's ability to deliver and replenish irrigant in the most apical part of a root canal. Replenishing irrigant in the apical third is complicated by the multitude of factors that affect the efficacy of this procedure. The current research provides detailed insight on how the principles of fluid mechanics work to explain the physical impediments to thorough irrigation, and how the biological impediments, in the form of biofilm, prevent disinfection despite adequate irrigation. The recent introduction of new irrigation and agitation modalities, coupled with a new understanding of the old problem through novel research techniques, provides a vision to the future and will establish a new standard of irrigation in this field.


Among other forms in the lexicon of Hesychius a preverb ζά 'much, very', without an indication of the dialectal provenance can be found; this form has been quoted as a typical Lesbian formation by Johannes Grammaticus Philoponus (490-580 AD) in his work on Lesbian dialect. In fact, the occurence of instead of may be observed only twice in Lesbian inscriptions. On the other hand, one observes the use of ζά attested in literary dialect, both in an absolute form and as a member of compound in Sappho and Alcaeus. The forms with ζα- are attested also in Homeric poems, and as probable Homeric elements they occur also in the Archaic Lyric. According to Hoffmann, all the glosses found in Hesychius, which display the use of the preverb ζά in place of διά should be interpreted as originating from the Lesbian dialect. It seems however more probable to consider the big group of compound glosses consisting of ζα- to be rather poetical formations. They all belong to the poetical diction (even if the possibility of existing in the vernacular use in some cases cannot be excluded), where since early Epic the metrically caused variants ζα- and δια- existed hand in hand. The occurring interchange ζά for διά for the metrical reason in Sappho and Alcaeus should then be considered another element of Epic/Homeric influence upon an independent Aeolic poetical tradition.


Background/Aims: The aim of study was to investigate the expression of TGF-β, TGF-RII and VEGF determined by immunohistochemical analysis with a comparison of the clinicopathological parameters such as tumor size, grade of dysplasia, lymph node metastasis and Dukes' stage in colorectal adenomas and adenocarcinomas, by use of a tissue microarray method. Methods: The expression of TGF-β1, TGF-βRII, and VEGF was determined by immunohistochemistry in 20 adenomas and 40 adenocarcinomas. Tissue microarrays consisting of 2 mm cores from corresponding blocks were constructed and stained. Results: In adenomas, the staining intensity of TGF-β, TGF-βRII and VEGF was increased in a high-grade dysplasia group of patients as compared a with low-grade dysplasia group of patients, respectively. The staining intensity of TGF-βRII was significantly increased in a high-grade dysplasia group of patients than a low-grade dysplasia group of patients (p =0.021). For the adenocarcinomas, the expression and staining intensity of TGF-β1, TGF-βRII and VEGF were increased as compared with the adenomas (p<0.001). However, no significant correlation was observed between the staining intensity of TGF-β, TGF-βRII and VEGF and the clinicopathological parameters. Conclusions: The increased expression of TGF-β1, TGF-βRII and VEGF in colorectal adenocarcinoma suggests a role for these proteins in colorectal carcinogenesis. Loss of the growth-inhibitory effect of TGF-β may commence in the early stage of colorectal carcinogenesis. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2007;35:313-320)


Lymphoma, a benign tumour of lymphoid cells, was observed around the bulbar gland of penis in a crossbred male dog brought to the College clinic with complaint of pain, difficulty in micturition and blood in the urine for the last six weeks. The excised tumour outgrowth was elliptical in shape, pinkish coloured and somehow soft in consistency enclosed by a fibrosis tissue capsule. The neoplastic cells appeared to be lymphocytes and some immature forms of lymphoid cells. The unrestricted sexual contact could be the cause of the spread of the venereal tumours in dogs.


Although early reports (Hart, Robinson, Allchin and Maclagan, 1949; Wilkinson and Bywaters, 1958) stressed the high frequency of respiratory infections in patients with ankylosing spondylitis involving the thoracic cage, later reports (Hart, Emerson and Gregg, 1963; Zorab, 1962) showed that they were only perhaps more prone to contract pulmonary tuberculosis. Zorab (1962) concluded that these patients did not die from respiratory failure since diaphragmatic movement compensated adequately for reduced rib movement. It is the purpose of this report to show that respiratory failure and cor pulmonale may develop in ankylosingspondylitis when there is no intrinsic lung disease but only restriction of ventilation and that this restriction of ventilation may potentiate the effect of intrinsic lung disease so that cardiorespiratory failure is more easily produced. CASE REPORTS


Visible injury to crops in the Los Angeles area has caused losses exceeding $3,000,000 annually since 1953. No estimates have been made of economic loss from reduced growth and lowered production in the absence of visible injury. The effects of ethylene, fluorides, herbicides, oxidized hydrocarbons, ozone, and sulfur dioxide on crops are discussed in detail. The symptoms produced by these pollutants vary from discoloration of the leaves to leaf drop. The various plants differ in their sensitivity to the different pollutants. Seriously damaged crops have included cotton, grapes, peas, tomatoes, melons, broccoli, sugar beets, lettuce, alfalfa, citrus trees, and many other ornamental plants.


Abstract. The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) is a probe-class mission concept with a large collecting area with a point-spread-function of order 1 to 2 arcsec. We describe a possible X-ray grating spectrometer (XGS) that could be added to AXIS with minimal design changes to the telescope itself and costs a small fraction of the total mission budget. The XGS would be based on critical-angle transmission (CAT) gratings, a technology already matured for Arcus and Lynx. Using detailed ray-tracing, we investigate several options for subaperturing that provide a trade-off between effective area and spectral resolving power. Depending on how much of the full aperture is covered with gratings (e.g., 17% to 100%), we find a high spectral resolving power up to λ  /  Δλ  =  4000 can be achieved with effective area of 1500  cm2 in the 1.2 to 2.8 nm range or λ  /  Δλ  =  6000 with effective area 500  cm2. An important benefit of CAT gratings is that they are mostly transparent at high energies, and thus hard x-rays can still be used for simultaneous imaging spectroscopy. We study different grating sizes and other enhancements, but even in the basic configuration an XGS can be added to AXIS to provide high-resolution spectral capabilities, opening a range of new science investigations. Our ray-tracing shows that this concept is mature and can be added to AXIS with minimal impact on other instruments. We discuss one exemplary science case that would be enabled by the XGS.


The procedure for optimizing cost performance analyzed cost trends and discrete operational practices. This method separates the time-related costs associated with the operational performance from the fixed costs associated with procurement items.


Free radicals have very unstable and reactive molecules. Excessive free radicals can trigger oxidative stress and cause various diseases. The peel of red dragon fruit contains chemical compounds that shows potential as an antioxidants. This study aims to optimize the benefits of red dragon fruit peels as tea bags because its convenient and simple to use. Design of this study was a randomized block design (RBD) which consisted of two factors, the drying temperature of the red dragon fruit skin (T) and the teabag formulation (F). Ginger and cinnamon are added as flavoring ingredients to the formula. The result showed that the drying temperature of the peel red dragon fruit affects the antioxidant activity of the teabag, where T1 has the highest antioxidant activity. The formulation of teabags also affects the antioxidant activity of the teabag, where F1 has the highest antioxidant activity. T1F1 had the highest antioxidant activity, and the interaction between the two (T and F) had a significant effect on antioxidant activity (p < 0.05).


Introduction: Varicocele is a common condition affecting over one in 10 men, and in cases with abnormal semen parameters, varicocele is present in about one in four men. Several methods have been used to treat this condition, of which microsurgical treatment has the lowest failure and complication rates. We present a single-centre UK series of microsurgical repair of varicocele. Methods: All microsurgical varicocelectomy cases performed between 2013 and 2017 were retrospectively identified and reviewed. The approach used is low inguinal using a high-powered Leica microscope. Results: Microsurgical varicocele repairs were performed in 30 cases, with a median age of 34.7 years. There were 22 cases with chronic scrotal pain of which eight cases had failed previous embolisation with a success rate of 90.5%. There were eight with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, showing an improvement of more than 75% in sperm count after repair. Conclusions: Microsurgical ligation is a very effective treatment for symptomatic varicoceles and should be considered when radiological embolisation has failed. It is also effective in improving semen parameters in all followed up oligoasthenoteratozoospermia cases. It should be considered a primary method of varicocele treatment in the UK. Level of evidence: 3.


Abstract: This paper considers the performance of a DS-CDMA system which employs adaptive antenna technology at the basestation site. By utilising the capability of ray-tracing to provide the complex channel impulse response, a new ray-based simulation methodology for an adaptive antenna in a DS-CDMA system is presented. Results for a typical microcellular environment highlight the behaviour of the adaptive antenna. Finally, with the help of a DS-CDMA capacity analysis, the potential spectrum efficiency enhancement is evaluated and the improvement of some of the statistics of the system is discussed. I. INTRODUCTION The need for mobile radio systems with increased spectrum efficiency is paramount in the drive towards third generation systems [ 1-21. Currently favoured solutions in today's systems, which are generally applicable to any modulation scheme or access technique, include the deployment of smaller cells as well as fixed sector, or multi-beam antennas at the basestation site. In terms of modulation schemes and access techniques the application of spread spectrum modulation techniques with Code Division multiple access (CDMA) and especially Direct Sequence (DS) CDMA is one


1 Rolain JM, Brouqui P, Koehler JE, Maguina C, Dolan MJ, Raoult D. Recommendations for treatment of human infections caused by Bartonella species. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004; 48: 1221–933. 2 Conrad DA. Treatment of cat-scratch disease. Curr Opin Pediatr 2002; 13: 56–9. 3 Bass JW, Freitas BC, Freitas AD et al. Prospective randomised double blind placebo-controlled evaluation of azithromycin for treatment of cat-scratch disease. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1988; 17: 447–52. 4 Arisoy ES, Correa AG, Wagner ML, Kaplan SL. Hepatosplenic cat-scratch disease in children: selected clinical features and treatment. Clin Infect Dis 1999; 28: 778–84. 5 Kaplan S. Cat-scratch disease in children. MMWR 2002; 51: 212–4. 6 Bryant K, Marshall GS. Hepatosplenic cat-scratch disease treated with corticosteroids. Arch Dis Child 2003; 88: 345–6. 7 Tsujino K, Tsukahara M, Tsuneoka H et al. Clinical implication of prolonged fever in children with cat scratch disease. J Infect Chemother 2004; 10: 227–33.


Background: Although the bleeding tendency in hemophilia A can be explained by a defect in coagulation, a possible platelet dysfunction has not been formally investigated. Methods: We studied collagen and TF-induced hemostasis using the blood of patients with severe hemophilia A in an in vitro set-up. Blood samples from healthy donors (n=11) or from patients (n=9) were anticoagulated with low molecular weight heparin. Perfusion studies at moderate shear rates (600s), were performed using damaged vascular segments; whereas PFA-100® with specially devised cartridges of collagen alone (COL) or collagen-tissue factor (COL-TF) were used for high shear rates (5000s ). We also tested the ability of rFVIIa to improve hemostasis. Results: Addition of rFVIIa (equivalent to 380 μg/Kg) to blood samples from healthy individuals induced an increase of fibrin formation (53.8±12.1% vs. 37.7±8.2%). In experiments performed with blood from hemophiliacs, fibrin deposition was almost absent (< 5%), but increased to 48.1±9.2% with rFVIIa. Experiments at high shear rate showed a prolonged closure times in samples from hemophilic patients using COL cartridges (255±22s vs.191±16s in healthy donors; p<0.05). Presence of TF in the apertures caused a 20% shortening in closure times in both cases. Addition of rFVIIa to hemophilic blood samples induced a further statistically significant reduction of closure times in COL-TF cartridges (p<0.05). This reduction was not observed in healthy individuals. Conclusions: Under our experimental settings, hemophilic patients showed a platelet dysfunction at high shear rate. rFVIIa, in the presence of TF, contributed to a partial correction of this effect. Studies with healthy donors, indirectly suggest no additional prothrombotic profile for rFVIIa under very high shear rate conditions. Potentially, PFA-100 could be used as a system for monitoring FVIIa in hemophilic patients. INTRODUCTION Normal hemostasis is the result of an adequate balance of platelet function interplaying with activators and inhibitors of the coagulation system. Predominance of activating factors can lead to a prothrombotic state, whereas lack or impairment of the coagulation factors can result in severe bleeding. After vessel injury, highly reactive proteins, such as collagen and Tissue Factor, are exposed to flowing blood. The TF/FVIIa complex activates the coagulation protease cascade, which leads to fibrin deposition and platelet activation though thrombin generation [1;2]. Absences of factor VIII or factor IX (hemophilia A and B respectively) are the coagulopathies that course with the most severe bleeding episodes. Interestingly, the hemorrhagic symptoms seem to be related to alteration in coagulation mechanisms since platelet functions are thought to be normal. Recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) was developed for the management and prevention of bleeding episodes in patients with FVII deficiency [3], as well as in patients with hemophilia A and B who have developed inhibitors [4;5]. Additionally, in vivo and in vitro studies have evidenced that rFVIIa improves hemostasis in several coagulopathies and thrombopathies favoring the development of an hemostatic response at sites where TF is exposed [6-13]. Several studies have investigated the mechanism of action of rFVIIa in patients with hemophilia in detail [14;15]. Recent studies suggest that, in these patients, hemostatic action of rFVIIa is the result of an increase of coagulation mechanisms and a decrease of fibrinolysis due to the activation of an inhibitor of fibrinolysis such as ThrombinActivatable Fibrinolysis Inhibitor (TAFI) [16]. Previous in vitro studies from our group and others consistently found that rFVIIa can exert procoagulant effects in blood from patients with severe thrombocytopenia, major glycoprotein deficiencies [11;17;18], patients with impaired coagulation system as hemophiliacs and patients treated with oral anticoagulation [19] and cirrhotic patients [10] through an enhancement of thrombin


Based on the differences between the act of right in rein and the act of creditors right, it is argued that the former should exist independently and it should not be included in the latter. Yet they both form the basis of the legal act and each is an indispensable part of the civil law system. The act in Rem is both theoretically and practically necessary in building and perfecting the law system in China.


This paper describes novel low-complexity transcoding techniques for an efficient MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC transcoder. We present a motion and mode mapping algorithm that directly maps incoming MPEG-2 motion information to H.264/AVC motion vectors as well as coding modes. Refinement strategies are also presented to improve performance. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed low-complexity transcoder


Composition of business correspondence is primarily restrained by the contexts,namely,extra-linguistic context,linguistic context,preceding-context and following-context.The organization of the four context is the premise that results in good composition of business correspondence,which is accurate,practical and ready to meet the purpose of business communication.


This book will engage a large audience with its easy-to-read, relevant and comprehensive text. Top Tips in Primary Care Management introduces key management skills as they relate to the daily running of a practice. Each chapter is complete with a list of suggestions for further reading.


ABSTRACT Andika Limas Putra. K6413004. THE TOLERANCE VALUES STRENGTHENING AS ONE OF THE WAYS TO MAINTAIN THE INTER-RELIGIOUS HARMONY AT MAJELIS ILMU DAN DZIKIR AR- RAUDHAH SURAKARTA. Thesis, Surakarta: Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. The objectives of the research were: 1) to know the member's perception of Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar Raudhoh in tolerance values to maintain inter-religious harmony 2) to describe the implementation of tolerance values strengthening in Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar- Raudhah 3) to describe the impact of tolerance values strengthening in Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar- Raudhah 4) to know the obstacles and supporting factors in implementing of values strengthening at Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar- Raudhah. This research used qualitative approach method. The research is in the form of qualitative descriptive. Source of the data are informants, places, events and documents. Technique used to collect the sample is purposive sampling. Techniques used to collect the data are interview, observation and document analysis. Data triangulation and analysis triangulation used to test the data validity. Data analysis used in the research is interactive model analysis. Keywords : Tolerance Values Strengthening, Inter-religious harmony, Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar–Raudhah. Based on the result of the research, it can be concluded that (1) the values perception about tolerance values strengthening in the membership of Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah was good (2) the implementation of tolerance values strengthening at Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah as one of the ways to maintain the inter-religious harmony done in the materials contents and methods at recitation activity on Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar-Raudhah (3) the impact of tolerance values strengthening at Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah can be seen in the implementation of tolerance values which contains in recitation activity and becomes the guidelines, overview and basics for the members of Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah in doing their daily life (4) the supporting factors of tolerance values strengthening at Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah were: the tolerance values at Islam, the high levels of understanding from the members and the materials contents at recitation activity delivered to the members in the easy and understandable language. However, the obstacles factors in implementing the tolerance values strengthening at Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudah were: there is no special department of study to determine the tolerance values; the recitation done in the night has a low impact to the members, especially when they are tired. Keywords : Majelis Ilmu dan Dzikir Ar – Raudhah, tolerance values strengthening, inter-religious harmony


Even though there are positive developments in the agriculture sector. the sector is still constrained by several challenges, like, declined public capital formation, relatively lesser gro~vth, inadequate diversification and value additions, inadequate infrastructure, high incidence of rural poverty, unemployment, etc. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in association with Government of India and Reserve Bank of India has been taking a number of initiatives to deal with these challenges through various policy measures.


Owing to the solubility of lipins in ether and alcohol we have a basis for the isolation of these substances. To separate them from their ether and alcohol solution we have several methods. As a rule these methods are expensive as most of the solvent is lost, they require considerable time and in some of the methods heat is applied, a bad procedure on account of the labile nature of some of these substances. I have devised a method which gives good results, allows the solvent to be regained and takes little time without using heat. It is based on the fact that lipins are insoluble in water. The method is as follows; to the ether or alcohol extract of the lipins add cold water containing 0.5 per cent. of sodium chloride, 1 till no further precipitation occurs. The water should be added slowly without shaking or stirring, otherwise some of the lipins will be emulsified. Any of the precipitate not coming to the surface may be obtained by filtration. 2 It will be found that this precipitate contains the lipins and if one wants to obtain the phospholipins from the precipitate, simply wash thoroughly with acetone until no residue is obtained, when the washings are evaporated to dryness. The acetone removes all the lipins except the phospholipins. In the presence of much chromlipin (lipochrome) this method does not work so well as it requires from 12 to 24 hours for the insoluble lipins to separate out and as a rule the precipitate goes to the bottom of the container instead of rising to the surface. It appears from this observation that the presence of chromlipin in some way changes the physico-chemical conditions of the associated lipins.


JOAQUIM BRUNA Dedicat a la memória den Pere Menal We prove a boundary uniqueness theorem for harmonic functions with respect to Bergman metric in the unit ball of Cn and give an application to a Runge type approximation theorem for such functions . Let B be the unit ball in en and S its boundary. The invariant laplacian 0 in B is the Laplacian associated to the Bergman metric and it is given in coordinates by Partially supported by DGICYT grant PB89-0311 . (6i7 zizj)DiDj . The term invariant comes from the fact that it commutes with all automorphisms kP of B : 0(u o T) = Du o T . Correspondingly, those functions u E C2 (B) annihilated by O are called invariantly harmonic or M-harmonic (see [4, chapter 4] for the more relevant properties of these functions) . The aim of this note is to give a boundary uniqueness theorem for Mharmonic functions and an application to a Runge type approximation problem . 1 . The uniqueness theorem essentially states that S, though A completely degenerates there, is non-characteristic for a certain Cauchy problem :


An exponential whiteness function and a modified clustering weight were developed in grey-clustering model for its shortcomings in quality assessment.Exponential whiteness function establishes the correspondence between the sample values and each grade,and avoid the problem of zero weight,the modified clustering weight reflect the each pollutant's amplitude in the same grade of air quality.The improved-grey-clustering method is applied to air quality assessment in Fuzhou from 2004 to 2008,the results showed that improved-grey-clustering method made the evaluation results more objectively and fairly.


Genistein is an isoflavone with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. That said, its use in the industry is limited by its low solubility in aqueous systems. In this work, bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and BNC modified with cetyltrimethylammonium (BNC-CTAB) were evaluated as genistein-encapsulating materials for their controlled release in cancer chemoprevention. Thin films were obtained and characterized by contact angle, AFM, TEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy FTIR, and TGA techniques to verify surface modification and genistein encapsulation. The results show a decrease in hydrophilization degree and an increase in diameter after BNC modification. Furthermore, the affinity of genistein with the encapsulating materials was determined in the context of monolayer and multilayer isotherms, thermodynamic parameters and adsorption kinetics. Spontaneous, endothermic and reversible adsorption processes were found for BNC-GEN and BNC-CTAB-GEN. After two hours, the maximum adsorption capacity corresponded to 4.59 mg GEN∙g−1 BNC and 6.10 mg GEN∙g−1 BNC-CTAB; the latter was a more stable system. Additionally, in vitro release assays performed with simulated gastrointestinal fluids indicated controlled and continuous desorption in gastric and colon fluids, with a release of around 5% and 85%, respectively, for either system. Finally, the IC50 tests made it possible to determine the amounts of films required to achieve therapeutic concentrations for SW480 and SW620 cell lines.


patient with chronic HF in an outpatient setting. Results:EightRCTswithatotalof1726patientsandwith a mean duration of 16 months (range, 3-24 months) were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, there was a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (relative risk [RR], 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-0.91;P=.003) in the BNP-guided therapy group compared with the control group. In the subgroup of patients younger than 75 years,all-causemortalitywasalsosignificantlylowerinthe BNP-guidedgroup(RR,0.52;95%CI,0.33-0.82;P=.005). However, there was no reduction in mortality with BNPguidedtherapyinpatients75yearsorolder(RR,0.94;95% CI, 0.71-1.25; P=.70). The risk of all-cause hospitalization and survival free of any hospitalization was not significantlydifferentbetweengroups(RR,0.82;95%CI,0.641.05; P=.12 and RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.85-1.34; P=.58, respectively).Theadditionalpercentageofpatientsachieving target doses of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and -blockers during the course of these trials averaged21%and22%intheBNPgroupand11.7%and12.5% in the control group, respectively. Conclusions: B-type natriuretic peptide–guided therapy reducesall-causemortalityinpatientswithchronicHFcomparedwithusualclinicalcare,especiallyinpatientsyounger than 75 years. A component of this survival benefit may be due to increased use of agents proven to decrease mortality in chronic HF. However, there does not seem to be a reductioninall-causehospitalizationoranincreaseinsurvival free of hospitalization using this approach.


In the title compound, [Cu(C7H4FO2)2(C12H8N2)(H2O)], the coordination around the CuII atom is square-pyramidal. The equatorial positions are occupied by two N atoms from a 1,10-phenanthroline ligand [Cu—N = 2.008 (3) and 2.019 (3) Å] and two O atoms from 3-fluorobenzoate ligands and a water molecule [Cu—O = 1.950 (2) and 1.978 (2) Å]. One O atom from another 3-fluorobenzoate ligand occupies the apical positon [Cu—O = 2.210 (2) Å]. Hydrogen bonds occur between coordinated water molecules and benzoate ligands, while O—H⋯O, C—H⋯O, C—H⋯F and π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distance = 3.731 (2) Å] interactions consolidate the crystal packing.


1. The integrity of the gastric mucosa and its ability to secrete mucus are believed to be essential for protection of gastric mucosa against ulceration induced by aggressive factors active in any stress situation. This study involves a three‐compartmental analysis of gastric mucosal barrier in pylorus‐ligated albino rats.


Siting any nuclear waste facility is problematic in today's climate of distrust toward nuclear agencies and fear of nuclear waste. This study compares and contrasts the siting and public participation processes as two citizen task forces dealt with their difficult responsibilities. Though one dealt with a high level waste (Monitored Retrievable Storage - MRS) proposal in Tennessee in 1985-6 and the other with a proposed low level waste facility in Illinois (1988 and still ongoing), the needs of citizen decision makers were very similar. Key differences were found in the communities themselves as well as in the siting and public participation (PP) processes. As a result, the two task forces performed different functions in these different contexts.


The blast-wave (BW) spectrum model has been applied extensively to nucleus-nucleus collision data with the intention to demonstrate formation of a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in more-central A-A collisions. More recently the BW model has been applied to p-p, d-Au and p-Pb collisions. Such results are interpreted to indicate that ``collectivity'' (flows) and QGP appear in smaller systems. I consider variations of the BW model and supporting assumptions. In this talk I review BW analysis of identified-hadron spectra from 5 TeV p-Pb collisions and examine the shape evolution of model spectra with collision centrality. I evaluate data-model fit quality using conventional statistical measures. I conclude that the BW model is not a valid data model.