Healthcare executives, if you are in the market for a new job, you already know that the competition can be fierce. In our fast-paced business world, employers are looking for outstanding candidates to lead their organization towards success. In most cases, a number of senior-level professionals are competing for one prized job opening. To beat your competition, you must outshine them in your resume and in person. To do this, you need to present the unique value that you bring to the table – this is your Value Proposition.


Literature Cornelissen, E. R., Harmsen, D. J. H., Beerendonk, E. F., Qin, J. J., and Kappelhof, J. W. M. N. (2011). "Effect of draw solution type and operational mode of forward osmosis with lab-scale membranes and a spiral wound membrane module." Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 01(3), 133-140. Hancock, N. T., Xu, P., Heil, D. M., Bellona, C., and Cath, T. Y. (2011). "Comprehensive benchand pilot-scale investigation of trace organic compounds rejection by forward osmosis." Environmental Science and Technology, 45(19), 8483-8490. Xu, Y., Peng, X., Tang, C. Y., Fu, Q. S., and Nie, S. (2010). "Effect of draw solution concentration and operating conditions on forward osmosis and pressure retarded osmosis performance in a spiral wound module." Journal of Membrane Science, 348(1-2), 298-309. • PAO might increase FO performance; however, the effect of PAO will be dependent on the type, structure and material of FO membranes.


To address the high cost and low efficiency in treatment of refractory organics in landfill leachate, the treatment efficiency of landfill leachate by microwave-enhanced adsorption and Fenton oxidation was studied. Landfill leachate with high concentration COD and ammonia nitrogen (initial COD and ammonia nitrogen concentration were 33384.17mg/L and 3588.16 mg/L.), which were difficult to be biodegraded directly. Based on species and dosage of adsorbent and oxidant, pH, microwave intensity and duration, a series of experimental studies were carried on, concluding that absorption and oxidation enhanced by microwave process using zeolite (15 mesh) as adsorbent and Fenton reagent as oxidant, the dosage of zeolite was 40g/L, pH 3, the best dosage of Fenton reagent was 1g/L FeSO4 and 0.1L/LH2O2, microwave intensity was 640W, microwave initial temperature was 80°C. In order to improve the treatment efficiency, flocculation and sand filtration treatment was settled to treat landfill leachate before this process, mainly to remove suspended solids and colloidal wastewater in substance and to clarify the water. Under optimal conditions, through absorption and oxidation enhanced by microwave treatment, the removal rate of COD and ammonia nitrogen (making the concentration after filtration as the initial concentration) were 51.60% and 76.82%. The mechanism findings indicated: Adsorption and oxidation worked meanwhile, the skeleton-like crystal structure of zeolite provides oxidation carrier for oxidants, which improved the efficiency of the oxidation. Microwave not only decomposed the refractory organic matter and strengthened the zeolite dispersion force and electrostatic adsorption of the role of ammonia, but also activated H2O2 to produce hydroxyl radical to oxidize wastewater with Fenton's reagent. Through microwave-enhanced absorption and oxidation process, foul odor of landfill leachate disappeared, the color changed from thick black to colorless, concentration of organic matter and ammonia nitrogen decreased significantly.


Based on the theoretical frame of breakage mechanics for geological materials,a new constitutive model,referred to as Binary Medium Model for rock materials,is formulated when subjected to cyclic loading. In the model,rock materials are conceptualized as binary medium consisting of bonded blocks and weakened bands which are idealized as bonded elements and frictional elements respectively. During the loading process the bonded elements gradually fracture and transform to be the frictional elements. The deformation properties of the bonded elements are described by ideal elasticbrittle materials and those of the frictional elements are described by ideal elasto-plastic model. Two sets of breakage parameters,i. e.,breakage ratios and strain concentration coefficients,describing the influence of rock structure on the process of failure are introduced. The proposed model has been used to predict the behavior of sandstone sample in triaxial compression test under static and cyclic loadings. By making comparisons of predictions with experimental data it is demonstrated that the new model provides satisfactory modeling of many important features of the behavior of rock materials subjected to cyclic loadings.


The first successful attempt in crystallization of membrane-bound dehydrogenase was achieved with alcohol dehydrogenase purified from Gluconobacter sub- oxydans. After spontaneous dimerization of the enzyme molecule, by interacting the hydrophobic region of the monomeric enzyme caused by removal of Triton X-100 from the enzyme solution, crystallization of the enzyme was completed by adding protein precipitatnt, ammoniumsulfate or polyethylene glycol, under the conditions that the dimeric enzyme remained stable. The enzyme was shown to be crystallized as dehydrogenase-cyto-chrome c complex as it was solubilized and purified from the bacterial membrane.Acharacteristic absorption spectrum of pyrroloquinoline quinone, the prosthetic group of the enzyme, was also seen vividly with the crystallized enzyme at a wavelength of 300~400nm.


Background Telepharmacy, as a remote pharmaceutical care procedure, is being used worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of preserving the health of patients and professionals. Its future development should incorporate the assessment of patient perception, but no research study has investigated it. Objective The objective was to poll the opinions and experiences of outpatients with telepharmacy through a purpose-developed questionnaire and to assess it's quality through an internal validity and reliability analysis. Methods Cross-sectional observational study of adult patients who used telepharmacy services during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Spain. The subjects answered a 24-item questionnaire, after giving their informed consent. Place of delivery, informed pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, opinion about telepharmacy, future development, ethics/satisfaction, and coordination constituted the six questionnaire categories. After assessing the adequate sample size with the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test, the Bartlett sphericity test analyzed the validity of the questionnaire. The intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach's α coefficient calculations verified the reliability and internal consistency. Results A total of 9442 interviews were administered to patients from 81 hospitals, of which 8079 were valid (52.8% female). A 54.1% were aged between 41–65 years; 42.7% had been in treatment for more than 5 years; 42.8% lived between 6–31 miles from the hospital. As many as 96.7% of patients were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with telepharmacy, 97.5% considering it complementary to their usual follow-up; 55.9% expressed a preference for being followed up face to face when visiting the hospital. 75.6% said they had rather receive their medication at home. The sample size obtained was deemed appropriate [the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test (0.789) and Bartlett's sphericity test (p<0.005)]. The reliability analysis resulted in a Cronbach α = 0.7. Conclusion Patients have shown high satisfaction with telepharmacy and the ENOPEX questionnaire is a tool with sufficient validity and reliability to be used in the evaluation of the care that patients receive through telepharmacy.


In the speech at Berkeley, Carmichael revealed a potential in discourse that enabled him to develop, from out of the confines of a tactical rhetoric, a strategic rhetoric of blackness. Close analysis of Carmichael's speech, grounded in Burke's paradox of purity, illuminates the internal logic of Black Power, as well as Carmichael's use of reflexivity, reversal, deconstruction and re‐construction of dialectical terms and relationships. Contemporary discursive practices addressing issues of civil rights and race are then examined in light of the principles and purposes developed by Carmichael. The results challenge rhetorical scholars and critics to disrupt reliance on dialectical constructions within discourses of race.


In the context of deep waste disposals, the geological barrier (i.e., the host rock) will be exposed to saline plumes from bituminous waste and alkaline plumes from concrete degradation. These chemical disturbances will affect the hydraulic and mechanical properties of the clay rock by modifying its microstructure. As a result, the self-sealing of the fractures created during excavation could be affected,further affecting the long-term safety of the repositories. To this end, the effect of salinity and alkalinity on the microstructure of a partially saturated Opalinus Clay from the lower sandy facies of Mont Terri was investigated. It was found that at 𝑤 = 4.1%, salinity decreases the density and the peak of the mesopores compared to the synthetic water. This is due to the water transfer from the meso to the macro pores and to the decrease of the thickness of the diffuse double layer. For the same water content, alkalinity generates meso and macro pores. The dissolutions of clay and non-clay minerals are the main mechanisms involved.


Because modern managerial discourse emerges from a dominant discourse characterised by neo-liberalism and rational managerialism, there is little place for wisdom in its theory and practice. A rare instance of management seeking to retain wisdom is a Canadian Public Service document, The Getting and Keeping of Wisdom. This document is (computer-assisted) text-analysed to determine the extent to which it meets nine criteria of wisdom derived from Aristotelian philosophy and recent psychological studies. Although the document soundly applies empirically-based psychological theory, there is a tension this and the values and assumptions privileged in the dominant discourse. Thus the capacity for wise management is inhibited to the extent that it attempts to work within the dominant managerialist discourse. Just as knowledge management is limited by a limited theory of knowledge, it is likely that wisdom management will be weakened by a lack of knowledge about wisdom.


It is demonstrated experimentally that expanded face centred tetragonal (e-fct) Mn, which is characterized by an axial ratio c/a > 1, can be stabilized by epitaxial growth on ferromagnetic (FM) fct Co(0 0 1) films. At room temperature this new metastable Mn phase is antiferromagnetically (AFM) ordered for thicknesses above the 2.5 monolayer, as inferred from AFM/FM magnetic exchange interaction studies. This critical thickness does not depend on the magnetization direction of the FM layer. Even though for out-of-plane magnetized FM layers the coercivities are distinctly enhanced by the exchange interaction, no exchange bias can be detected. On the other hand, both coercivity enhancement and exchange biasing is observed for the in-plane magnetized FM/e-fct Mn bilayer. These results provide experimental evidence that the AFM spin structure of e-fct Mn at the AFM/FM interface is confined to the film plane.


The aim of this study was to examine the effect of C. zambesicus leaf ext ract on the gastric emptying capacity, histomorphometry, nitric o xide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels in experimentally induced diabetic wistar rats. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed and the stomach excised for gastric emptying analysis. Tissues were later processed and stained for histomorphometric analysis. Seru m was obtained for NO and PGE2 analysis using respective research kits. The results showed that the percentage gastric emptying capacity were significantly increased (P<0.05) in group pretreated with C. zambesicus (78.40 ± 2.99%) and group treated with C. za mbesicus for four weeks (72.80 ± 5.82%) when compared with the untreated diabetic group (39.20 ± 6.15% ). NO and PGE2 were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the untreated diabetic rats when compared with extract treated groups. Also, there was a significant (p<0.05) improvement in the histomorphometry of the extract treated groups as compared with the untreated diabetic group. In conclusion, this study had shown that C. zambesicus extract has a positive influence on gastric emptying capacity and gastric mucosa integrity in d iabetic rats.


This paper presents a Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) phase-shift DC/DC converter, which is able to optimize the amount of reactive current required to guarantee ZVS for the power MOSFETs. The intended application for the proposed DC/DC converter is automotive, in particular a battery charger for an electric vehicle. Since a very wide range of load/line variations is expected in this application, the converter should be able to sustain ZVS under different conditions in order to demonstrate a reliable and efficient performance. The converter utilizes coupled inductors to provide the reactive current for soft-switching. The coupled inductor in conjunction with the specific control system is able to generate the optimal amount of reactive current produced by the auxiliary circuit. This leads to minimized conduction losses in the power MOSFETs, as well as the losses in the coupled inductors. In the proposed approach, the peak value of the reactive current is controlled by the phase-shift between the leading leg and lagging leg of the full-bridge converter to optimize the load impact. In addition, the peak current value is controlled by the switching frequency in order to compensate for the input voltage variations. Experimental results for a 2kW prototype are presented. The results show a significant improvement in efficiency and enhanced performance of the converter particularly for heavy loads.


Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) due to antibiotic nephrotoxicity is a complication that can be avoided or managed properly if diagnosed early. Objectives: We aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors of AKI and to assess the possible effects of nephrotoxic antibiotic therapy on its development in a large group of patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Methods: Patients with definite or possible IE diagnosed based on the Duke criteria were included in this retrospective cohort study at a tertiary referral center from 2007 to 2017. Data were derived from the single-center Iranian Registry of Infective Endocarditis (IRIE). Baseline risk factors for AKI were assessed via repeated serum creatinine measurements. Patients (n = 22) with end-stage renal failure undergoing dialysis were excluded. AKI was defined and staged in accordance with the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification. Results: Totally, 498 patients at a mean age of 45 ± 16 years were studied. The baseline creatinine level was 1.26 ± 0.72 mg/dL. AKI occurred in 126 (26.3%) patients 1 week after the initiation of antibiotic therapy. There was a significant relationship between AKI and the use of gentamicin (P = 0.01) and gentamicin and vancomycin concomitantly (P = 0.01). At the end of the treatment, after dose adjustment and additional treatments, the incidence of AKI decreased to 22.7%, whereas this improvement was less remarkable in the patients with prior renal failure. Some independent variables, including age (P = 0.04), diabetes (P 2 mg/dL), anemia (P = 0.003), left-sided IE (P = 0.04), and positive blood cultures with Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.04) had a statistically significant association with AKI. Conclusions: Close monitoring of the renal function is essential in IE patients receiving treatment with nephrotoxic antibiotics, especially patients with advanced age, diabetes, chronic renal failure, anemia, and left-sided IE.


Breast cancer is a rare entity in men, accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancers. Contralateral breast cancer diagnosed within 12 months of the prior breast cancer is known as bilateral synchronous breast cancer. Bilateral, synchronous male breast cancer is extremely rare and consequently there are few publications describing imaging findings of synchronous bilateral male breast cancer. We aim to raise awareness about this rare entity by presenting the clinical and pathologic findings of a 64-year-old male case with synchronous bilateral breast cancer using multimodality imaging techniques including magnetic resonance imaging. Increasing awareness of the disease will prevent delays in diagnosis and treatment.


Abstract Synthetic precipitated amorphous white silica nanofiller was used to reinforce and crosslink styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The silica surfaces were pre-treated with bis[3-triethoxysilylpropyl-)tetrasulfide (TESPT) bifunctional organosilane. TESPT chemically adheres silica to rubber and also prevents silica from interfering with the reaction mechanism of sulfur-cure. The silica particles were fully dispersed in the rubber, which was cured primarily by using sulfur in TESPT, or, by adding elemental sulfur to the cure system. The cure was also optimized by incorporating different accelerators and activators in the rubber. This study showed that the silica particles could be used both as crosslinking and reinforcing filler in the rubber.


Hector Rail AB is a Swedish line haul provider for the European Rail Transport Market. On one of their lines, Hector Rail transports large cylinder-shaped paper rolls of different sizes from Holmsu ...


..................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 12 Participants ........................................................................................................................... 12 Measures ............................................................................................................................... 15 The Imagery and Social Trauma Interview .......................................................................... 15 The MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) ............................................... 16 The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Diagnostic Module (BDD-DM) ........................................ 17 Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory (III)........................................................................... 17 Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) ................................................................................................ 18 The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) .......................................................................... 18 Social Phobia Weekly Summary Scale (SPWSS) .................................................................. 19 The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) ..................................................................... 19 The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) ..................................................................................... 19 Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 19 Statistical analyses ................................................................................................................ 22 Results ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Frequency, characteristics and content of clinically significant images ............................. 22 Beliefs and appraisals related to the intrusive image .......................................................... 25 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 27 Study limitations ........................................................................................................... 31 Treatment implications ................................................................................................. 31 References ................................................................................................................................ 32


Flexibility is a vital component of fitness required for most desirable musculoskeletal functioning and maximizing the performance of physical activities. Flexibility dysfunction is a widespread problem faced by common as well as sportspersons, especially in case of hamstring group of muscles. Hamstring tightness is not only a causative factor for reduced range of motion but it can also lead to various other musculoskeletal problems, Stretching is general term used to describe any therapeutic manoeuvre designed to increase the extensibility of soft tissues, thereby improving flexibility and ROM by elongating structures that have adaptively shortened and have become hypo mobile over time.Mulligan BLR technique consist of gentle isometric stretching of hamstring in specific directions in progressively greater positions of the hip flexion, the expecting result are increased flexibility of hamstring muscle with increased ROM of active knee extension. The study performed was an experimental study on 30 students with hamstring tightness, of age group 18-25 years, both genders of Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy. The pre and post assessment was done by active knee extension test and SLR by goniometer after assessment Mulligan BLR was given to the selected students. This study concluded that the Mulligan bent leg raise is effective in improving hamstring flexibility, increasing active SLR range and shows sustained effect after 1 week of treatment.


A device (10) for channeling fluid for hammer drill, including drill a casing (2) having an interior space (SC), a drive chamber (3) and a chamber (4) valve being defined each within the interior space (SC), a piston (5) movably disposed within the casing (2) and having an upper end (5a) which can be arranged within the drive chamber (3) and a longitudinal through hole (6) and a valve (7) configured to control flow into the drive chamber (3) and having a surface (7a) bounding a section of the chamber (4) valve, the device comprising (10) pipe: a first member (12) at least partially disposed within the drive chamber (3) in order to extend into the hole (6) of the piston when the upper end (5a) of the piston is located within of the drive chamber (3), the first member (12) an outer surface (16), an interior space (18) and at least one port (20) extending between the outer surface (16) and the interior space (18) and fluidly connectable with the chamber drive (3); a second member (14) at least partially disposed within the interior space (18) of the first member; and a central axis (11) extending longitudinally through each of the first and second members (12, 14); characterized in that: the first member (12) has at least a first port (21A) and a second port (21B), the first port (21A) being spaced a first distance (d1) of the chamber (4) valve and the second port (21B) a second distance (d2) of the chamber (4) being spaced valve, the second distance (d2) greater than the first distance (d1); the second member (14) has a passage (26) fluidly connected with the chamber (4) valve and connectable fluidly with an independent of the first and second ports (21A, 21B) in order to establish fluid communication between the drive chamber (3) and the chamber (4) valve; and at least one of the first and second members (12, 14) is angularly movable relative to the other of the first and second members (12, 14) about the axis (11) in order to adjust the position of the port ( 20; 21A, 21B) relative to the passage (26).


Proposed short tube of high-temperature-superconducting material like YBa2Cu3O7 acts as strong electromagnet that flows as long as magnetic field remains below critical value and temperature of cylinder maintained sufficiently below superconducting-transition temperature. Design exploits maximally anisotropy of high-temperature-superconducting material.


For a one-dimensional atom, we derive an exact analytical expression for the uncertainty product of a Rydberg wave packet (WP) produced by the impact of two time-delayed half-cycle pulses (HCPs) and use the result to study the problems of its (WP's) phase-space localization. We also investigate how to effectively use the second HCP to increase the atomic ionization probability. The time delay (t1) between the two HCPs plays a crucial role in both cases. The values of t1 can be chosen for the second HCP to kick the WP when the latter is near the inner or outer turning point. We found that long-lived localized states are produced by the impact of the second HCP only when the WP is near the inner turning point. In the same situation, if the electron is kicked away from the nucleus, the atomic ionization probability tends to a maximum.


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In order to attain mission of medical services and to ensure sustainable development, the military hospital in new situation should strengthen idea of development, establish the global strategy, use the principle of material interests, aim the demand of the battlefield and the market , do well in subject building and introduce the talent and train the talent through the new ideas. The author hold the ideas that development with the time going is prerequisite of the sustainable development, the building of the team is the guarantee of the sustainable development, the building of the subject is the key of the sustainable development and the manpower resource is the base of the sustainable development. Only when the military hospital can do all the above, may it be thought sustainable and hold the favorable position in the competition of the medical market.


It is rare indeed that the forced movement of people will not have an economic dimension. Economic issues related to the movement of people have generally been viewed as beyond the scope of the debate on the international status and protection of refugees. Instead, `economics` and `refugees` when heard together, or even in loose association, have evoked the pejorative images of those who move to seek a `better life`. While recognising on the one hand the inevitability of economic dimensions to refugee movements, many advocates for refugees have traditionally taken great care in their policy and advocacy work to downplay the economic element of the complex matrix of motivations that lead refugees and other forced migrants to move. This paper takes a different approach. It promotes the right to work, a social and economic right, as integral to protection and to all durable solutions. It explores its relevance, and indeed its significance, as a matter of law, policy and practice to the lives of refugees and those responsible for their protection, including their hosts. After all, `[d]espite the statistical existence of unemployment in every country in the world, work continues to be "an essential part of the human condition"`. In addition, the paper examines the importance of a rights-based analysis of work in understanding its relevance in the field both of international and national protection. In doing so, it explores the connections between work and the right to work and the three durable solutions. It acknowledges that social and economic conditions and inequities are often amongst the root causes of conflict which then lead to the failure of national protection and precipitate flight.


In the present paper it will be shown that in country level economic growth has a positive impact on stock prices in the long run. This study refers annually to the Western Europe, Japan and the United States during the period 1999-2007. Therefore, any factor favoring economic growth should be encouraged, while any factor that is an obstacle to economic growth should be discouraged. Data source is Eurostat and the panel data ere elaborated through the Eviews software package.


During the first decade of the twentieth century, U.S. Secretary of State, Elihu Root, used international law as mode of contact and communication in which he could persuasively present U.S. cultural values in terms of social, political, and economic expectations as a way of creating change within Latin American societies. This represented a less intrusive and seemingly more respectful way of exerting influence in the region all for the purpose of addressing Washington's concerns with national security and economic stability. Though the United States, as expressed by Root, articulated certain moral and ethical principles of conduct in foreign relations and invited Latin America to adopt those principles, the true focus and concern within international law from the U.S. perspective was creating a world in which U.S. political and economic interests could thrive. As adopted and deployed by Elihu Root, international law projected certain cultural constructions that defined America's understanding of civilization, which had the effect of creating more rigid boundaries of separation among nations. America's definition and application of civilization to foreign affairs installed further support for intervention by the


ABSTRACT How can the United States get past the Chinese "no" to engaging on nuclear arms control? What can and should the United States do in the immediate to short term to lay the groundwork for arms control negotiations with China to begin? This paper reviews the origins and evolution of US-China nuclear relations and the history of China's perceptions of, and approach to, nuclear arms control, and the restraint regimes more generally. On that basis, it reflects on several first steps that the United States can and should take now to try and develop an arms control relationship with China. The paper argues that developing such a relationship will take time but that taking these, or some of these, steps now is important.


A heat sink and a plasma display device comprising the same are provided to reduce noise generation by minimizing the influence due to the vibration of a semiconductor device. In a heat sink(300) including a base(310) contacting with a semiconductor device and a number of heat dissipation pins(320) formed vertically to the base, the width(D1) of a bottom part integrated with the base of the heat dissipation pin is wider than the width(D2) of a top part of the heat dissipation pin. The width of the heat dissipation pin becomes narrow while going from the bottom part to the top part.


Analyzing the forest farmers' behavioral characteristic managing the different forest category behind the new round of collective forest property rights institution reform,we arrive at a conclusion that the objective expectancy and reformation result is not the same.Then we explain why the reform have no obvious effect by the institutional economics theory,that is lack of institution supply,such as cutting quotas,ecological efficiency compensation and forestry taxation.At last,it points out why the country supply institution insufficiently from five respects,gives some suggestion improving the supporting reform.


Digital marketing represents a growing trend that increasingly finds its application in education. This paper will present the tools of digital marketing that are used in higher education institutions in order to attract future students to choose their institution. The study aims to review relevant literature and draw special attention to the importance of marketing activities that affect student's satisfaction. The research will be performed at the University of Novi Sad, on Faculty of Technical Sciences. The SERVPERF method will be used for the research. The results gained by the research will be compared to previous research for measuring the quality of services in higher education institutions in developed countries, in order to provide suggestions for improving the internet presentation of Faculty of Technical Sciences.


Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) is an economically and traditionally an important crop in Ethiopia. It is also necessary vegetable crop mainly for small-scale farmers in Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia. The productivity of this crop is low under national level, it is said to be 7.36qt per hectare. It is even lower to that of the national in Amhara National Regional State growing areas. Assessing pepper growing areas and collect damaged plants by the disease and identification of diseases was the focus of this study. Three districts were selected purposively based on accessibility, production and problem, available time, logistics, and representativeness. In each district three representative peasant administrations (PAs)/kebeles were selected. Sampled kebeles and respondents were selected using simple random sampling techniques. A total of 135 respondents were selected for interview. The data was collected through semi structured interview schedule. In each PA, three simple random sample selected farmers' fields were assessed. The assessment was done at one growth stage of the plant (flowering-podding stage). The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of this study confirm that in all the surveyed peasant farms, only one type of variety, which is Marekofana was encountered with low to high levels infestation of different leaf, stem, and root diseases. Root rot/wilt complex diseases were found distributed in almost all the surveyed areas. The prevalence of the disease, pepper wilt/root rot complex is high, therefore; efforts better to be made towards the integration of multiple control options.


We examine how firms' cash holdings affect bank loan terms. We document a negative relation between cash and loan spreads that is robust to using reported cash and measures of normal and excess cash. The relation is stronger when firms face idiosyncratic or systematic difficulty in accessing funds. Loans to high-cash firms have longer maturity, are made by smaller syndicates, and have fewer and less restrictive covenants. Contrary to the view that larger cash holdings signal greater credit risk, our findings suggest that high cash balances increase financial and operational flexibility by lowering price and non-price costs of loans.


The goal of the authors' research is that they make a business model to revitalize the center of the city by Information and Communication Technologies. For this purpose, they have developed three kinds of systems which aim to add values for Light Rail Transit in Toyama city as follows: Tram Signage System; Tram Augmented Reality System; Tram Location and Route Navigation System. In this paper, they show the overview of these systems and the evaluation results of the experiments conducted since February 2012.


In line 2 of (A2), we obtain the relation between ∇αθM and its previous term ∇αθM−1, like a linear function with its weight (I − η1∇2θM−1L̄t(α, θM−1)) and bias term −η1∇α∇θM−1L̄t(α, θM−1) . In the following derivation, ∇αθM−1 can be replaced with its previous linear form of ∇αθM−2, until we reach the initial ∇αθ0, which equals to 0. Summing up all the bias terms gives the final expression. From (A2), the derivation of ∇αθM requires the Jacobi and Hessian matrix in previous M steps, which is memory consuming. By approximating all previous θτ as θM , we obtain the following best-response approximation:


In this paper we have carried out a transformation from Ashtekar's theory of GR into a reduced theory where the physical degrees of freedom are explicit. We have performed the canonical analysis, computed the classical dynamics and have performed a quantization on this reduced space, constructing a Hilbert space of states for vanishing cosmological constant. Finally, we have clarified the canonical structure of the dual theory in relation to the original Ashtekar theory.


Objectives: Tree pollen causes allergic rhinitis and asthma. We investigated children who diagnosed as rhinitis or asthma, living in Busan, for tree allergen sensitization, component allergen, oral allergy syndrome, and the relationship between pollen counts and allergen sensitization. Methods: Pollen were collected in Busan, from January 1 to December 31, 2017, using a Rotorod sampler and enumerated using a microscope. We conducted a study of children with rhinitis or asthma at Busan St. Mary's Hospital in 2017, administered an ISAAC questionnaire, and an oral allergy syndrome survey. Serum specific Ig E tests were performed. Results: Among the 57 patients, the mean age was 9.3 years. The pollen counts in decreasing order were as follows: pine, alder, oak, juniper, beech, ginkgo, and birch. For sensitization, birch and alder 35.1%, Japanese cedar 19.3%, juniper 17.5%, pine 10.5%, and Japanese cypress 8.2%. The component Ig E was tested in 27 patients. Bet v 1 had a high correlation with birch, alder, and peach. Bet v 2 showed a statistically significant correlation with all tree pollen except cypress. Bet v 4 did not have any apparent correlation. Bet v 6 had the same pattern as Bet v 2, but correlation coefficient was higher than that of Bet v 2. Oral allergy syndrome was noted in 7 patients, including peach, peanut, apple, tomato, kiwi, and sesame. Conclusions: Alder and juniper are clinically important tree pollens in Busan. These pollens cause sensitization to birch and Japanese cedar by cross-reaction.


© 2016 International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow The use of dexmedetomidine in the intensive care setting has risen dramatically in recent years, which can be attributed to the benefits of decreased ventilator dependence,[1] shortened Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stays, and decreased costs of hospitalization associated with these improvements.[2] However, the hypotension and bradycardia associated with dexmedetomidine administration is well documented and can limit its use in critically ill patients. To date, scant evidence is available to predict which patients will suffer these potentially life‐threatening effects. With increasing emphasis on cost‐effective healthcare delivery, determining the patient populations and characteristics that would most benefit from dexmedetomidine use is critical both for patient safety and optimal resource utilization.


So far much of the work in advanced networks has been concentrated on high-speed transmission and the design of low-level packet switching mechanisms. Less is known about interfacing and integrating such networks into our existing data and telecommunications systems. We examine one aspect of this problem, interfacing these networks to existing LAN systems based on standard protocols. An internetworking structure is proposed, and supported with experimental evidence.


We use a model of galaxy disk formation to explore the metallicities, dust content, and neutral gas mass density of damped Lyα (DLyα) absorbers. We find that the [Zn/H] abundance measurements of DLyα systems now available can be reproduced either by a population of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies forming at redshifts z>3, whose chemical contents evolve slowly with time and whose star formation rates are described by continuous bursts, or by high surface brightness (HSB) galaxies that form continuously over an interval of z~0.5-3 (and no higher). Although, in reality, a mixture of galaxy types may be responsible for low-z DLyα systems, our models predict that HSB galaxies form more dust, more rapidly, than LSB galaxies and that HSB galaxies may therefore obscure background QSOs and not give rise to DLyα lines, as suggested by other researchers. Significantly, we find that the rate at which HSB disks consume neutral gas is too fast to explain the observed evolution in the neutral gas mass density with redshift and that the consumption of hydrogen by LSB galaxies fits the data better. This further suggests that LSB disks may dominate the DLyα population at high redshift.


Evaluating magnetic properties accurately under various flux conditions is necessary to reduce iron losses in design- ing motors and transformers. Particularly, two-dimensional (2-D) magnetic property is one of the most important factors for highly efficient electrical machines. In order to evaluate 2-D magnetic properties of electrical steel sheets, several types of 2-D single sheet testers (2-D SSTs) have been proposed. The structure of magnetizing yoke and coils in a 2-D SST is more complex than an SST for measuring one-dimensional (1-D) magnetic properties of electrical steel sheets (1-D SST). Therefore, leakage inductance of a 2-D SST is generally much larger than that of a 1-D SST, which results in the fact that it is very difficult to measure magnetic properties up to high flux density region with a 2-D SST. In this paper, a round rotational 2-D SST (RRSST) is developed based on motor stator core. The RRSST is compared with the 2-D SST using a square specimen (SRSST) from the standpoint of 2-D magnetic measurement in high flux density region under rotational and alternating flux conditions.


The present invention provides multimedia message sending and receiving methods and devices. The sending method comprises: selecting one or more channels to be shared from an applied channel list; and adding information of the one or more channels to a multimedia message, and sending the generated multimedia message to a receiver. The receiving method comprises: receiving and parsing a multimedia message; and when the multimedia message comprises information of one or more channels, acquiring the information of the one or more channels from the multimedia message, and performing sharing. With the present invention, a user can directly receive favorite channels of a friend through a multimedia message and save same as channels thereof without searching for channels, and similarly, if the user uses a new mobile phone, the user can use favorite channels saved on the original mobile phone as channels on the new mobile phone by sharing through a multimedia message.


Background: Cases of poor nutritional status in toddlers can be found in families that are materially classified as rich, this is due to clean and healthy living behavior that is not in accordance with health standards. In Girimukti Village, Cibatu Health Center, Garut Regency, the majority condition of the education is in low level and only 1591 (32%) of 5569 patriarch had passed Junior High School, and has income in low level, between 300 - 500 thousand (IDR) per month.Purpose: Knowing The effect of family mentoring program (FMP) on improvement of nutritional statusMethods: The type of this study was quasi experimental with pretest, posttest and control design with pretest-posttest quasi experimental design. The study sample was carried out using stratified random sampling with a population of malnourished mothers and under-fives for the Girimukti village area, the working area of Cibatu Community Health Center was 61 people.Results: Statistical test results with a confidence level of 95% showed that there were changes in parents' knowledge about nutrition. The average change in calorie intake consumed by toddlers in the treatment group reached 6.92% of the original calorie intake and the average change in calorie intake consumed in the control group reached 2.10% of the original calorie intake. The results of statistical tests show that there are significant differences in the average changes in calorie intake consumed by toddlers between the treatment group and the control group (p <0.05).Conclusion: From the results of the study it can be concluded that the knowledge and attitudes of mothers of children under five who received family nursing care by students were better than mothers who did not receive family nursing care.


In November 2017, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology experiment successfully demonstrated the feasibility of X-ray Pulsar Navigation (XNAV) as part of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer mission, which is an X-ray Astrophysics Mission of Opportunity currently operating onboard the International Space Station. XNAV provides a GPS-like, absolute autonomous navigation and timing capability available anywhere in the Solar System and beyond. While the most significant benefits of XNAV are expected to come in support of very deepspace missions, the absolute autonomous navigation and timing capability also has utility for inner Solar System missions where increased autonomy or backup navigation and timing services are required, e.g., address loss of communication scenarios.


In this paper a possible method demonstrated for in-situ reliability testing of various TIM materials. The method is based on thermal transient measurements of a power semiconductor device in a TO-type package which has a flat, external cooling surface. By powering the junction of the semiconductor cyclically the whole assembly is exposed to intense thermal cycles in which the main heat-flow path leads through the TIM material. May the quality of the TIM change during the cycles the maximum


Context. Warm corona is a possible explanation for Soft X-ray Excess in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). This paper contains self consistent modeling of both: accretion disk with optically thick corona, where the gas is heated by magneto-rotational instability dynamo (MRI), and cooled by radiation which undergoes free-free absorption and Compton scattering. Aims. We determine the parameters of warm corona in AGN using disk-corona structure model that takes into account magnetic and radiation pressure. We aim to show the role of thermal instability (TI) as a constraint for warm, optically thick X-ray corona in AGN. Methods. With the use of relaxation code, the vertical solution of the disk driven by MRI together with radiative transfer in hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium is calculated, which allows us to point out how TI affects the corona for wide range of global parameters. Results. We show that magnetic heating is strong enough to heat upper layers of the accretion disk atmosphere, which form the warm corona covering the disk. Magnetic pressure does not remove TI caused by radiative processes operating in X-ray emitting plasma. TI disappears only in case of accretion rates higher than 0.2 of Eddington, and high magnetic field parameter $\alpha_{\rm B}$>0.1. Conclusions. TI plays the major role in the formation of the warm corona above magnetically driven accretion disk in AGN. The warm, Compton cooled corona, responsible for soft X-ray excess, resulted from our model has typical temperature in the range of 0.01 - 2 keV and optical depth even up to 50, which agrees with recent observations.


Type of funding sources: None.

 Against a background of increasing global population aging, frailty affects 8-10% of those over 65 years and 25-50% in those over 85 years. Frailty has a 4-6 times greater prevalence in heart failure patients and is increasingly recognised as a predictor of increasing hospitalisation and mortality in cardiovascular disease. The Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale estimates an individual's degree of frailty on a scale of 1(very fit) to 9 (terminally ill) with a score of 5 or greater indicating frailty.

 To estimate the 30-day prevalence of frailty in patients attending an ANP-led Heart Failure Clinic as a precursor to developing a clinical care pathway that systematically identifies frailty and triggers a comprehensive geriatric assessment.

 A multi-centre audit was conducted in three hospitals in Ireland. We retrospectively audited consecutive patients attending three ANP-led HF clinics in November 2021 to assess the prevalence of frailty. Demographic data, NYHA classification, number of hospital admissions in the previous year, clinical Frailty Score (CFS) and the number of patients under the care of a geriatrician was obtained from the medical notes of 170 heart failure patients consecutively reviewed. CFS was calculated in those patients over 65 years.

 Of 376 HF reviews in November 2021, 170 individual patients were identified, 65% were male, 86% were aged 65ys or older of which 34% were over 80 years and a mean age of 73.4 years. 52% of the cohort were admitted at least once in the previous year of which 12% were admitted twice and 5% were admitted 3-4 times. 37% were classified as NYHA III and 0.6% were NYHA IV. The majority (68%) were newly diagnosed with HF within the previous year. 14% of patients were aged under 65yrs and did not have a CFS, 19% were deemed vulnerable (CFS 4), 41% were CFS 5 or greater and only 5% were under the care of a geriatrician.

 The prevalence of frailty (41%) was high in comparison with the national average of 24% and global average of 17%. Despite a strong association between age, frailty and heart failure, few patients were managed by a geriatrician. This audit emphasises the importance of developing a regional clinical care pathway that promptly recognises frailty in a high-risk population and triggers a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Furthermore, this audit highlights the limitations of the CFS in demonstrating cognitive and social vulnerability provoking further discourse in how patients are assessed and managed in the future.


abstract:Touro Synagogue stands as a statement of deeply held beliefs in a modern interpretation of Jewish principles and in the importance of classical architecture. The design's incorporation of both neo-Solomonic themes and Palladian principles placed it on the cutting edge of synagogue design in the Atlantic world. While seemingly separate, these two systems converge symbolically in the synagogue's women's balcony. Following contemporary neo-Solomonic principles, the balcony was a key component in the creation of numerological relationships among the parts of the building. At the same time, it also established architectural balance within the progression of Palladian elements. As a pivotal space in both theories, the women's balcony inserted women into the process of Judaic worship in a way that reflected the values of open-mindedness and inclusion inherent in Newport's Jewish community. It also placed them at the heart of two larger dialogues, one about the role of women within Judaic practice and one involving the relationship between the Newport congregation and the Atlantic world.


Abstract During the growth of coherent precipitates stresses are generated because the lattice dimensions of the precipitate differ from those of the matrix. Whon the strain energy is large enough it will be relieved by the precipitate losing continuity with the matrix, i.e. becoming non-coherent. It is suggested that this will occur by the formation or annihilation of close-packed planes of atoms by the aggregation of either interstitials or vacancies. This leads to the formation of dislocations at the interface. The exact nature of the process in a given precipitate will depend upon both the shear stresses and hydrostatic stresses acting on the close-packed planes and upon the stacking-fault energy of the precipitate. The problem is given a general treatment for the case of precipitation in a f.c.c. matrix.


This article will review artificial satellites from their historical development, characteristics, size, functionality, and classification according to diverse parameters. It will also show some aspects related to their type of orbit and procedures for launching. Similarly, a summary about evolution and current advances in Latin American countries will be shown. Finally, it is described the historical advance in Colombia and the support of Fuerza Aerea Colombiana (Colombian Air Force), and its innovative capacity of huge impact in Colombian society is highlighted.


and Matrimonio all'italiana. In the sixth and final chapter, "Remembrance of Films Past: Mastroianni and the Aging Male Body," as well as in the conclusion, Reich explores not only some of the films that the actor made in the last stages of his career, but also those in which he allowed makeup to purposely age his body. What emerges is a graceful portrait of a man who, far from shying away from the effects of time, courageously embraced them in his life as much as in his art. However, Reich's analysis goes beyond the biographical to show how the characters Mastroianni played in Stanno tutti bene and Ginger e Fred acquire a symbolic representation of "Italian Cinema as Fossil," wherein "aging masculinity comes to symbolize loss on a personal as well as a national/cultural level" (146). Reich's book makes a significant contribution to several fields, including Italian, film, gender, and cultural studies. Mastroianni, as an Italian as well as an international icon, offers a point of entry for a study that exceeds the construction and commodification of the actor on the international scene, only partially tackled, and focuses primarily on the representation of unstable masculinity that Mastroianni embodied in some of his most memorable films. Scholars in the fields mentioned above will find ample film discussions and historical contexualization supported by substantial bibliographical references. In sum, Reich's book raises as many questions about Italian culture and sexuality as it tries to answer. For instance, one line of inquiry would involve the interrogation of the persistence of gender imbalances in society despite the obvious exposure, in many of Mastroianni's films, of the fragile and unstable construction upon which masculinity and femininity are based. This and other questions will have to be pursued by scholars in future research, for which Reich has certainly sown the seeds.


The article provides an overview of modern approaches of treatment of enuresis in children, developed the International Children's Continence Society (ICCS). The article considers the main stages of pathogenesis, clinical features and diagnostic algorithm of primary enuresis in children. Detail the principles of therapy, including from the point of view of pathogenesis.


This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using the meta cognition strategies in teaching mathematics on the development of systemic thinking among the basic ninth grade students in Tafila Governorate. The sample of this study consisted of two female groups; experimental and control were selected from Tafila basic school for girls, and another two male groups; experimental and control were selected from Omar bin Alkhattab basic school for Boys. The analysis unit to factors and fractures was selected; teacher's guide was prepared to be used as a teaching guide. Achievement test was set up to measure the systemic thinking among the study sample, where its reliability and validity were also confirmed. The results indicated that the level of systemic thinking did not reach the level of mastery of 75%; where the average of the scores of the experimental group students was 25.28, which is considered less than proposed average of the level of mastery of 30, and with statistical significance, and with statistically significant differences between the mean scores of individuals in experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group, and that there are statistically significant differences between males and females in favor of females. In light of these findings, the study recommends training the teachers on these strategies, and using the meta cognition teaching when developing the curricula. In addition, it recommends conducting similar studies on other variables such as creative thinking, critical thinking, and attitudes towards mathematics.


Stigma associated with depression and mental illness is a widespread problem, often leading to negative health outcomes and discrimination for people with these conditions. Common stigma reduction interventions focus on two strategies: education (increasing basic understanding of the condition) and social contact (humanizing or 'putting a face' to the condition). These interventions have been explored in various formats, but little is known about the potential of leveraging online social media outlets to reduce stigma. BlueFriends is an application that seeks to reduce stigma by displaying a shareable information visualization graphic aimed at increasing both education and social contact. This application employs a predictive model of depression detection on Facebook. It visualizes the potential proportion of depression in a user's online social network and displays a comparison of depression prevalence with other common prevalence levels in the US. BlueFriends expands current stigma reduction interventions by leveraging online social environments. By creating customized visualizations that users can share within their network, we hypothesize that BlueFriends will prompt collective stigma reduction and societal depression awareness.


"Legionella pneumophila", a relatively rare bacterial pathogen of community-acquired or nosocomial pneumonia, can cause severe illness and death if not treated properly. All reports of legionella pneumonia in uremic patients have focused on hemodialysis, but none on peritoneal dialysis, Here, we report the firstcase of severe community-acquire d Legionnaires' disease in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients of Taiwan . He was admitted to the intensive care unit and his pneumonia resolved gradually after treatment with levofloxacin, followed by erythromycin for one month. Legionnaires' disease is not readily recognizable by clinical manifestations or laboratory tests; hence, "L. pneumophila" should be included in the differential diagnosis of severe pneumonia, especially in immune-compromised host s like dialysis patients. Early diagnosis and appropriate antibiotics therapy can reduce mortality.


Coverage of system states during system testing is a nontrivial problem. It is because the number of system states is usually very large, and system developers often do not construct system state model. In this paper, we propose a method to design system test cases to achieve coverage of system states based on UML models constructed during normal development process. We use UML use case, sequence and class level statechart models to generate a set of sequences of scenarios that can achieve adequate coverage of system states.


Transitions from self‐incompatibility to self‐compatibility in angiosperms may be frequently driven by selection for reproductive assurance when mates or pollinators are rare, and are often succeeded by loss of inbreeding depression by purging. Here, we use experimental evolution to investigate the spread of self‐compatibility from one such population of the perennial plant Linaria cavanillesii into self‐incompatible (SI) populations that still have high inbreeding depression. We introduced self‐compatible (SC) individuals at different frequencies into replicate experimental populations of L. cavanillesii that varied in access to pollinators. Our experiment revealed a rapid shift to self‐compatibility in all replicates, driven by both greater seed set and greater outcross siring success of SC individuals. We discuss our results in the light of computer simulations that confirm the tendency of self‐compatibility to spread into SI populations under the observed conditions. Our study illustrates the ease with which self‐compatibility can spread among populations, a requisite for species‐wide transitions from self‐incompatibility to self‐compatibility.


Abstract Eighty years of monthly mean station temperatures are used to evaluate the persistence of monthly air temperature anomalies over the United States. The geographical and seasonal dependence of the monthly persistence are described in term of the day-to-day persistence of temperature anomalies, the influence of the large-scale atmospheric circulation, and inferred associations with the slowly varying properties of the earth's surface. The monthly persistence is generally smallest in the continental interior and largest in coastal regions. The seasonality of this spatial pattern is quite small, although the continental interior is characterized by a summer maximum. For the country as a whole, persistence is highest (0.30) in winter and summer and least (0.15) in fall and spring. For both raw and detrended data, the anomaly pattern correlations at lags of two and three months are much larger than would be expected from a first-order Markov process. The pattern of persistences computed using day-to-da...


BACKGROUND/AIM
Several factors may have influence on systemic circulation. Additionally, peripheral circulation also demonstrates sex differences, in young women presenting significantly lower finger blood flow in comparison to men of the same age, a finding that disappears in women after menopause. The aim of this study was to compare the retrobulbar hemodynamic parameters measured by means of color Doppler imaging in women and men with open-angle glaucoma and elevated intraocular pressure.

METHODS
A total of 52 eyes from 52 open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients, with elevated intraocular pressure (lOP), were included in this cross-sectional study. Peak-systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), and Pourcelot resistivity index (RI) were assessed in the ophtalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), and posterior cilliary arteries (PCA). IOP was measured both with Goldmann Applanation tonometer (GAT) and with the dynamic contour tonometer (DCT), three times respectively. Ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) appeared during the DCT measurement.

RESULTS
The retrobulbar hemodynamic parameters did not show any difference between men and post-menopausal women.

CONCLUSION
The results of our study did not find any difference between sexes in patients with open-angle glaucoma and elevated intraocular pressure.


Objective To investigate the application and effect on comfort care mode in patients with acute ischemic stroke.Methods 190 patients with acute ischemic stroke of department of neurology in our hospital from August 2010 to September 2012 were selected as object of study,who were divided into group A and group B according to the presence of comfort care,patients of group A were only given usual care of acute ischemic stroke,and patients of group B were given comfort care model of care measures under the guidance of patient care,anxiety and depression, the pass rate of the basis care quality and care services satisfaction of patient of two groups were compared.Results Anxiety and depression standard points of group B of was significantly lower than that in group A,the difference was statistically significant(P 0.05),and the pass rate of basis care quality and care services satisfaction of patient of group B were significantly higher than that of group A,the differences were statistically significant(P 0.05).Conclusion Comfort care model under the guidance of nursing interventions can significantly improve anxiety and depression of patients with acute ischemic stroke,and improve the pass rate of the basis care quality and care services satisfaction,whichs worthy of further promotion,and improve the comfort of patients during hospitalization.


Jointly affected by urban expansion, industrial relocation, and other effects from downtown, land use change in metropolitan fringe areas is marked. Pinggu District is one of the 18 districts in Beijing, functioning as an agricultural supply base. However, as the economy and industry develop, allocation of land resources becomes increasingly complicated. Analyzing land use change during the past years and examining land use trends are of importance to future development. Using land use maps of Pinggu District in 1993 and 2008, land use dynamic change was analyzed in this paper from aspects of quantity, spatial pattern, and transformation. With natural conditions of Pinggu and socio-economic statistics from Statistical Yearbook, some phenomena were explained. Results indicate that the area of arable land decreased rapidly from 1993 throughout 2008, orchard land increased significantly, and the built-up land increased gradually. Based primarily on elevation and slope, the study district was generally partitioned into three township-based landform areas, i.e., the mountainous area in the north and the east, semi-mountainous area in the centre and the west, and plains in the southwest. The land-use pattern and the spatial distribution of land use change varied significantly in different landforms. In mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, due to agricultural structural adjustment and the Sloping Land Conversion Program, arable land decreased greatly, which were mainly transformed into orchard land and woodland. While in the plain area, expansion of built-up land was the major reason for loss of arable land. A large quantity of new construction land appeared in the plain area, particularly in Pinggu town. There was less change taking place in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. As to transformation of land-use types, only 1/3 arable land in 1993 was preserved from the matrix of land-use change, most of which was transformed into orchard land, woodland, and built-up land. Woodland was transformed into orchard, grass land transformed into woodland. A large part of new build-up land was transformed from agricultural land, especially the arable land. Therefore, it is a significant issue to ease the conflicts between economic development and agricultural land protection, strengthen environmental protection, and to alleviate land degradation, with the ultimate goal to guarantee functions of ecological services of Pinggu District and societal and economic development of Beijing.


The essay is an anatomy of the interface of disaster management and development, with the aim of drawing a framework for understanding how and why outright development strategies should mainstream disaster management as an elementary ingredient for sustainability. It accounts for why developing countries should consider disasters as a developmental issue insofar as they suffer a double tragedy, that of being "underdeveloped" and abhorrently vulnerable to disasters. The paper methodologically thrived on desktop research to find out and highlight multifarious case illustrations of the negative ramifications of disasters on development. The analysis proceeded within the theoretical lens of the structural and technocratic approaches to disaster management as conceptual framework. It was avowed that, indeed there is a convoluted relationship between disasters and development, and therefore was seen imperative to mainstream disaster risk management in development planning in order to ensure optimum development outcomes in the long run.


University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2016. Major: Family Social Science. Advisors: William Doherty, Tai Mendenhall. 1 computer file (PDF); vii, 53 pages.


Background: Traditional risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) likely contribute to the pathogenesis of AF through their effects on left atrial (LA) enlargement. However, little is known about risk factors for AF in individuals with normal LA size. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the risk factors for AF differ between individuals with normal and enlarged LA. Methods: LA diameter was measured by cardiac echocardiography in participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study during 2011 - 13. AF was defined by ECGs and/or hospital discharge ICD-9 codes. Gender-specific cut points (3.9 cm for females and 4.1 cm for males were used to dichotomize the sample into normal and enlarged LA. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models adjusting for age, gender, race, diabetes, hypertension, alcohol use (>1 drink/day), height, weight, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and exercise (>1 day per week) were used to evaluate risk factors for AF among ARIC participants with and withou...


Tactile motion instructions are vibrotactile feedback patterns delivered across the entire body that indicate how to move during physical activities. This work investigates the perception and identification of such patterns, based on two different metaphors, under stationary and active situations. We further combine and sequentially trigger different patterns to explore whether tactile motion instructions are understandable as a simple language. A tactile language could represent motion sequences to guide students during demanding exercises. Finally, the presented studies provide insights into perception and interpretation of tactile feedback and help to inform a design space for full-body vibrotactile cues.


A proposed new heavy ion preinjector for RHIC is described. The progress made at BNL on the development of an Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) has increased our confidence that one can build a preinjector meeting RHIC requirements using an EBIS producing intermediate charge state heavy ions. A new RFQ and Linac will be required to accelerate beams from this source to an energy sufficient for injection into the AGS Booster. These are both straightforward devices, very similar to ones already in operation at other laboratories. Injection into the Booster will occur at the same location as the existing heavy ion injection from the Tandem Van de Graaff.


INTRODUCTION The ionization sensor is an electrical probe for combustion diagnostics. Its signal contains information on both the early phase of the combustion process due to chemical ionization in the flame front and the main combustion due to ionization equilibrium in the post-flame gases. All factors influencing the ion-current in spark ignited combustion are not fully understood. The sensor signal consists of two major parts, a first peak and a second one. The first peak occurs when the flame is in contact with the spark plug electrodes. It is caused by the chemical ionization in the flame, and its magnitude is related to the local equivalence ratio close to the electrode gap. The second peak is located close to the position of the pressure peak. A theory presented by S. Yoshima et al. [1] also explained the second peak as flame front ionization. A bomb experiment showed that the second peak appeared when the flame front was in contact with the combustion chamber wall. Another proposed model for the second ion-current peak was presented by Saitzkoff et al. [2]. In this model the main factor influencing the second ion-current peak was thermal ionization of NO. Franke et al. [3] presented a theory based on thermal ionization of alkali metals (potassium) where it was stated that thermal ionization of NO is a major factor at high temperatures. At low temperatures, where not enough NO is formed, the alkali metals play an important roll for the occurrence of the second peak. The combustion model used in the present work is a zerodimensional zonal model. The gas in the combustion chamber is divided into two different zones, burned and unburned gases, separated by the flame front. Due to the zero-dimensionality, the flame front is assumed thin, i.e. the flame stretch and curvature are neglected [7]. The assumption of zero-dimensionality is valid for the whole model. Detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms are implemented for both the unburned and burned zones. The walls of the combustion chamber can be either kept at a constant temperature w T or a wall heat flux w Q can be specified. An external cooling system of the walls may also be considered. However, for such approach the convective heat transfer coefficient and the temperature in the cooling system must be known. The adiabatic temperature of the flame front is calculated by minimizing Gibb's free energy and using the unburned gas temperature and pressure. The flame front propagation is modeled using Wiebe function with adjustable parameters [4].


Post traumatic stress disorder diagnosis, management and treatment . Edited by david nutt, jonathan r t davidson,and joseph zohar (Pp 272, £39.95). Published by Martin Dunitz Publishers, London, 2000. ISBN 1 85317 926 4

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not enter the psychiatric lexicon until 1980 when the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-III proposed operational diagnostic criteria for a group of stress related disorders. Nevertheless, it is clear from previous descriptive studies that the symptoms which are now associated with PTSD were often and consistently recognised in victims of trauma, particularly involving military conflict. The impetus to the establishment of PTSD as a …


Projects have become a reality of our times, with such a tool more and more challenges of various kinds are being solved - social, economic, cultural, educational, scientific, etc. Within them, regardless of the field of implementation, certain similarities are outlined regarding the stages of the projects development. Among these common challenges we mention project risk management, as an indispensable part of an efficient and qualitative project management, to ensure the achievement of the planned objectives. It is from this reality that the widespread dissemination of the working method through projects derives the topicality of the research carried out. In this context, the purpose of this article is to investigate the essence and particularities of project risk, the challenges they pose to the project team, and the components of their effective management as an integral part of project quality management. The research methodology focused on studying the existing scientific approaches in the researched field, especially the analysis of bibliographic sources through methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, the comparative research method, etc. At the end of the paper, the author comes with the generalization of some conclusions regarding the approached problem.


Video games are immensely popular around the world. They are played on computers, handheld devices, cell phones, and game consoles. They are played at home, at arcades, at school, in automobiles, and virtually anywhere that an electronic device can be operated. The video game industry's revenues surpassed the movie industry's several years ago and surpassed the music industry's in 2008. A recent, nationally representative sample of U.S. teens found that 99% of boys and 94% of girls played video games (Lenhart et al., 2008). The amount of time spent playing games has increased over time (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008; Gentile & Anderson, 2003).


Many biological databases and tools are available over the network. Effective and efficient manipulation of the databases and tools determines the output quality and cost in the biological analysis. This paper introduces a bioinformatics tool which automates the analysis process to retrieve potentially relevant DNA sequence information based on the given query, to allow the analyst to easily select interesting items. to collect all the DNA sequences for the selected items, to translate them into amino acid sequences and recommend the most likely ones based on the found ORFs(Open Reading Frame), to retrieve all relevant information matched with the translated ORF sequences. In order to implement the services, it makes use of web robot technique and biological knowledge such as ORF finding.


The synthesis of 3a starting from compound 1 is described. Copper-catalyzed oxidative coupling of 3b under Hay conditions gives the novel polymer 9 with octatetrayne-cyclobutadiene units.


Experimental measurements on transient dielectric responses have shown that few materials actually follow Debye's theory of dielectrics relaxation. The existing theoretical explanation for the deviation from Debye's behaviour is that each material may possess a distribution of relaxation times (DRT). However, until now no physical explanation has ever been obtained for the distribution functions. Furthermore, the correspondence between a distribution function and an observed dispersion law is simply a mathematical relationship, namely, a Hilbert transformation. Another important difficulty for ORT, as well as for Debye's theory, is that it does not account for the nonsteady-state nature of dipole interactions in the transient regime. Therefore, without an independent physical explanation of the distribution functions, an alternative theory may be needed to explain the deviation of the dielectric properties from Debye's theory.


The importance and feasibility of intelligent lighting was summarized, the difference between digital and analog control technology was compared, as well as the DALL digital control put emphasis on. At last it was pointed out that DALI protocol will be the best choice of intelligent lighting.


CASE DESCRIPTION The subject matter of this case is leadership and managerial competence. The case has a difficulty level of four; it is appropriate for senior level and first year graduate students. The case is designed to be taught together with the Slastyona (A) case, or in a follow-up class for approximately 1/2 hour. The B case requires 1 hour of outside preparation by students. CASE SYNOPSIS The B case is designed to complement the Slastyona Confectionary (A) case by providing additional information on Wilton Winchester's leadership and competencies by providing a verbatim interview transcript. Winchester is the General Manager of Slastyona's Factory A. A team of management consultants completed a compensation project in the Slastyona A case and was to do a follow-up assignment that included interviews with managers. The B case begins President Jeffrey Walker asking the consultants "what they have learned" after interviewing Winchester. The rest of the case contains a transcript of a semi-structured interview with Winchester, designed to elicit comments that reveal behavior indicative of his leadership and managerial competencies. SLASTYONA CONFECTIONARY (B) - THE FACTORY GENERAL MANAGER Jeffrey Walker, President of Slastyona Confectionary, waited in his office for an informal meeting with MartinaEspinosa, Director of Human Resources, and the management consultants who had been hired for a follow-up assignment after their recently completed compensation study. Walker had asked the consultants to think again about what might need to be done at Factory A in Nizhniy Novgorod before changes in the pay structure could be implemented. He was convinced that a number of potential issues needed to be explored. After all, Factory A was intended to be the flagship manufacturing site in Russia, at which product innovation, new process technology, and manufacturing management training and development would be experimented with in the coming years. Whatever happened at Factory A would surely have an impact on the remaining 4 (soon to be 5) factories and throughout the whole firm in Russia. Following their report with compensation policy recommendations, Walker had asked the consultants to "take another look" at Slastyona, and in particular at Factory A. What potential organizational and staffing issues needed to be planned for? What additional support did Moscow need to provide to Nizhniy Novgorod? What about the leadership and management competence of the people at HQ and in Factory A? The consultants had begun to address his questions by carrying out a series of long interviews to assess managers at Moscow HQ and in Nizhniy Novgorod. In fact, they had interviewed Walker himself for about 3 hours, with tape recorders to capture every word! Their approach was semi-structured; they asked each manager to tell three "stories" in his or her own words. The first story was supposed to be about a success the interviewee had personally achieved at Slastyona. The second story was about a failure at Slastyona or elsewhere, and the third about either success or failure. Based on these interviews, the consultants would prepare reports about the competencies and cognitive capabilities of the managers, with recommendations for development. Although the reports were still being prepared, Walker wanted the consultants' "unofficial" view of Wilton Winchester. APPENDIX: PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF WINCHESTER INTERVIEW Subject: Wilton Winchester, III Age: 52 Company: Slastyona Job: General Manager, Factory A Interviewer: S [Introductions, background, explanation of the 3-story format.] S Very good, okay! So, I would like you to tell me three stories, about anything that interests you. Start with a success story, if you can think of one. Please tell me the title of your story before you proceed. About anything that interests you. …


This invention relates to a solid support coated with a set of representative fragments of genes whose pattern of expression for all of these genes in a subject having a breast tumor allows the diagnosis or prognosis of character metastatic or localized to said tumor, and a kit comprising such a support; the invention also relates to a diagnostic method or prognostic in vitro character of metastatic or localized breast tumor, where appropriate also to characterize whether the cells of said mammary tumor or do not express estrogen receptors, said method involving the use of solid support.


Electrician machine practice is an important engineering practice teaching element in the cultivation plan of undergraduate student of electricity. The task- driven teaching method is adopted in order to improve the quality of practice teaching, and to cultivate the ability of practice and creativity in the electrician machine practice. This paper discusses the mission design and implementation process which based on constructivist task-driven teaching method in the teaching of electrician machine practice, and points out several questions which should be noticed in the practice. The practice approves the application of task- driven teaching method in electrician machine practice can improve the teaching quality through excavating the student's practice and creativity ability and cultivate the capability of independent thinking ,exploration and reclamation more effectively.


This collection of oral histories of the Saturn/Apollo program recounts the unique adventure of the lunar landing programme as witnessed by some of the political leaders, engineers, scientists and astronauts who made it such a success. It includes recollections from James Webb, the NASA administrator whose political connections to Washington extended back to the New Deal of the 1930s; rocket pioneer and architect of the Saturn V rocket Wernher von Braun; the resolute Robert Gilruth, director of the Houston centre; the engineering iconoclast Maxime Faget, whose designs of spacecraft made flights to the moon possible; and astronauts such as Harrison Schmitt and Charles Duke.


AbstractA neighborhood postprocessing approach that relates quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) to probability of precipitation (PoP) forecasts applied to a single model run was found by Schaffer et al. to be as good as traditional ensemble-based approaches using 10 members in 30-h forecasts of convective precipitation. The present study evaluates if PoP forecasts derived from additional variations of the approach can improve PoP forecasts further compared with previous methods. Ensemble forecasts from the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) are used for neighborhood tests comparing a single model run and a traditional ensemble. In the first test, PoP forecasts for different combinations of training and testing datasets using a single model member with 4-km grid spacing are compared against those obtained with a 10-member traditional ensemble. Overall, forecasts for the neighborhood approach with just one member are only slightly less accurate to those using a more traditional neigh...


We elicit time preferences of a representative sample of 1,102 Dutch individuals and also confront them with a series of incentivized investment decisions. There are two treatments which di¤er by the frequency at which individuals decide about the invested amount. The low frequency treatment provides a nudge by stimulating decision makers to frame a sequence of risky decisions broadly rather than narrowly. We ?nd that impatient individuals are more ?nudgeable? than patient ones as the e¤ect of the treatment on investment levels is signi?cantly larger within the group of high discounters than within the group of low discounters. This result is robust to controlling for various economic and demographic variables and cognitive ability. This ?nding is interesting from a policy perspective because impatient individuals are often the target group of nudges as impatience is associated with problematic behaviors such as low savings, little equity holdings, low investments in human capital, and an unhealthy lifestyle.


In the article the key factors of hepatic insufficiency at pancreonecrosis are revealed. The most significant among these factors are immune disbalance, and also reduction of portohepatic haemodynamics. The efficiency of laser therapy in treatment of hepatic insufficiency is argued. It improves the immune status of patients and haemodynamics mainly due to blood flow through the vessels of portal system enhancement.


We address the comments made by Thornton et al. (Ecology and Evolution, 2019) in response to our recent article on measuring the agreement among experts in classifying camera images of bobcats and Canada lynx.


The present invention relates to a process for the synthesis of 3,3'-dimethyl-4,4'-diamino-dicyclohexylmethane (the MACM), comprising: to 3,3'-dimethyl-4,4'- diaminodiphenyl methane (MDT) as a starting material, the product obtained by catalytic hydrogenation MACM, the first product isomer and MACM formula I is occupied content of less than or equal to 26wt%. The present invention also provides a corresponding plurality of isomer composition, the composition ratio of the first isomer constitutes the MACM specific products. Preferably a noble metal catalyst used in the reaction and adding an alkaline earth metal promoter; reaction temperature is preferably 50 ~ 150 ℃, the reaction pressure is 8-30MPa, the reaction time is 3 to 50 hours. The present invention can be prepared at a low temperature and pressure MACM, short reaction time, mild conditions, simple process; MACM resulting product has a low freezing point, conducive to the production, storage and use of the product, and improve the quality of downstream products.


White slavery narratives - stories about white women forced into prostitution - played an important role in the construction of racial distinctions in the early twentieth century. New York City politicians launched a well-publicized anti-vice crusade in 1910 that led to the imprisonment of a mixed-race woman named Belle Moore. In this article, I analyse this event to show the importance of sexuality and gender for creating racial boundaries. Testimony in People vs. Belle Moore designated certain intimacies as violating the color line, thereby clarifying what it meant to be 'white' or 'colored'. I argue that theories of racial formation must include a more careful consideration of gender and sexuality because the ongoing maintenance of racial categories depends upon cultural narratives about sexual deviance and purity.


For equiripple filters, the relation among the filter length N+1, the transition bandwidth /spl Delta//spl omega/, and the optimal passband and stopband errors /spl delta//sub p/ and /spl delta//sub s/ has been a secret for more than 20 years. This paper is aimed at solving this mystery. We derive the exact asymptotic results in the weight-free case /spl delta//sub p/=/spl delta//sub s/=/spl delta/, which enables us to interpret and improve the existing empirical formulas. Our main results are finally combined into a formula. In the transition band, the filter response is discovered to be asymptotically close to a scaled error function. The main tools are potential theory in the complex plane and asymptotic analysis.


Abstract : Contents: Determination of Possible Supply Deficits; Evaluation of Demand and Loss Reduction Measures; Evaluation of Emergency Water Supplies; Determination of Shortage Mitigation Plans.


Techniques of reversible circuits can be used in low-power microchips and quantum communications. Current most works focuses on synthesis of reversible circuits but seldom for fault testing which is sure to be an important step in any robust implementation. In this study, we propose a Universal Toffoli Gate (UTG) with four inputs which can realize all basic Boolean functions. The all single stuck-at faults are analyzed and a test-set with minimum test vectors is given. Using the proposed UTG, it is easy to implement a complex reversible circuit and test all stuck-at faults of the circuit. The experiments show that reversible circuits constructed by the UTGs have less quantum cost and test vectors compared to other works.


Electronic Menu or abbreviated as eMenu is an application that designed to improve the performance of service processes in a business sector, especially restaurants. eMenu aims to change thefood ordering service process that was originally traditional using paper, into web-based digital media. Not only handling food ordering services, eMenu also handles almost all business processes in a restaurant such as menu management, managing information on orders received by waiters and chef, payment transactions, to sales reports. To handle payment transaction, eMenu using third party application payment gateway, called Duitku. eMenu is built using Single-Page Application concept that use AJAX calls which allows time efficiency in displaying the required data. By using the Single-Page Application, the browser does not reload the entire requested page but only part of data is displayed dynamically. The Single-Page Application uses Vue.js as Front-end stack, and Laravel to manage Back-end. eMenu application is responsive design, so that user can access via smartphone or desktop computer with properly.


This study examined the financial management practices of 62 participants in Smart Steps stepfamily education courses 1 year following their course completion. Qualitative interviews revealed 29 participants changed their financial practices as a result of the course, 29 did not change, and 4 provided unclear responses. Common reasons for no change included having functional practices that predated the relationship education course or financial difficulties remaining, despite course participation. Common reasons for change included working together as a couple and implementing budget or saving practices. Latino participants were more likely to report change than were European Americans. Findings and implications highlight both the opportunities and challenges associated with teaching financial education as part of a relationship education program.


Figure 51.1: Inclusive differential jet cross sections, in the central rapidity region, plotted as a function of the jet transverse momentum. Results earlier than from the Tevatron Run 2 used transverse energy rather than transverse momentum and pseudo-rapidity η rather than rapidity y, but pT and y are used for all results shown here for simplicity. The error bars plotted are in most cases the experimental stat. and syst. errors added in quadrature. The CDF and D0 measurements use jet sizes of 0.7 (JetClu for CDF Run 1, and Midpoint and kT for CDF Run 2, a cone algorithm for D0 in Run 1 and the Midpoint algorithm in Run 2). The ATLAS results are plotted for the antikT algorithm for R=0.4, while the CMS results also use antikT, but with R=0.5. NLO QCD predictions in general provide a good description of the Tevatron and LHC data; the Tevatron jet data in fact are crucial components of global PDF fits, and the LHC data are starting to be used as well. Comparisons with the older cross sections are more difficult due to the nature of the jet algorithms used. ATLAS:Phys. Rev. D86, 014022 (2012), Eur. Phys. J C73, 2509 (2013); CMS: Phys. Rev. D84, 052011 (2011); CDF: Phys. Rev. D75, 092006 (2007), Phys. Rev. D64, 032001 (2001), Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1376 (1993); D0: Phys. Rev. D64, 032003 (2001); UA2: Phys. Lett. B257, 232 (1991); UA1: Phys. Lett. 172, 461 (1986); R807: Phys. Lett. B123, 133 (1983). (Courtesy of J. Huston, Michigan State University, 2013.)


Application-based mobile learning (ABML) has a significant impact on the university students learning process and results from the past decade. As a result, the high number of scientific papers have been published that focus on application-based M-learning globally. Thus, ABML related literature from the past 6 years has rather fragmented focusing on the advancement of LMS available on smartphones. In this context, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was developed that offers a holistic literature review of application-based M-Learning in Pakistan.  The Systematic Review was done based on 65 systematically selected articles from 2 databases Elsevier and Springer Nature. The results of this study show that the number of scientific papers on M-learning has been increased from the past 3 years. Therefore, among many aspects application-based M-learning is the most popular research trend in Pakistan, also some of the occurring in the near future are also be illuminated in this research.


Supporting atomicity of multi-site transactions in a distributed transaction management system is equated with long-duration delays, blocking, and loss of autonomy of the individual sites. The two-phase Commit protocol embodies these problems. The focus of this paper is on an alternative notion of relaxed atomicity where these difficult ies are alleviated. Relaxed atomicity is characterized by an asynchronous process of recovering from uncoordinated local decisions as to whether to commit or abort a multi-site transaction, and finally coercing a unanimous outcome. The consequent atomicity notion is weaker than the standard all-or-nothing atomicity, as transactions with discrepant commit decisions are recovered semantically rather than physically. A formal model that unifies the two dual methods of semantic recovery, namely compensation and retry, is constructed. Due to the asynchrony introduced to the commit procedure, non-atomic executions of t ransactions occur, and it is required to isolate them from other transactions until they are semantically recovered. The required isolation property is defined, and a protocol that satisfies this property is presented.


In cyber security, the ontology is invented to provide vocabulary in a generalized machine-processable language for downstream works such as attack detection. Meanwhile, machine learning (ML) as a promising intelligent field, is widely investigated to achieve the automation of these tasks. Existing ML-based methods suffer from confines of specific data and preprocessing, while applying ontology with machine learning methods is still rarely discussed. In this paper, 1) we propose a novel approach for automatic attack detection by generating ontology with deep learning through neural network embeddings; 2) we validate the learned ontology by comparing it with a manual ontology built by security expert, the results demonstrates that the latent representation learned with neural networks could serve as a novel ontology format so as to provide a generalized machine-processable language for downstream works, which is the intention of the ontology; 3) finally, we develop a platform to achieve the entire intelligent ontology learning and utilization for cyber attack detection. Our experimental results shows that our proposed ontology is promising to collaborate with machine learning based methods in order to improve the intelligent intrusion detection for cyber security.


In previous work it was demonstrated that reaction times (RTs) in a lexical decision paradigm were related to words' ratings on the dimensions of evaluation, potency, and activity (independent of word frequency). This was found to be true of words in general [D. A. Vakoch and L. H. Wurm, Cognition and Emotion (in press)], and also of words from the affective lexicon [L. H. Wurm and D. A. Vakoch, Cognition and Emotion 10, 409–423 (1996)], but there were differences in the way these dimensions appeared to be used in each case. For emotion words, RTs were quickest for words that were rated as bad, strong, and fast (the evaluation × potency × activity interaction was significant), a finding interpreted in terms of the adaptiveness of danger avoidance. For words from the general lexicon, RTs were quickest to words that were rated as either good and strong, or good and fast, as though these represented resources that had to be seized quickly or lost. The current study clarifies the earlier findings, and expands...


Readiness for mechanical ventilation (MecV) weaning and extubation is usually assessed clinically with the use of a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), but its accuracy is limited, and the pathophysiology of weaning failure not completely elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to describe the physiological behavior of electrical impedance tomography parameters during SBT and to propose additional variables that could be helpful in defining weaning/extubation outcome.