Hepatorenal syndrome is a complication of cirrhosis, with high morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism involving how kidney injury aggravates the progression of cirrhosis remains unclear. This study aims to explore the role of the TLR4 signaling pathway in mediating liver and kidney injuries in HRS mice induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and/or bile duct ligation (BDL). Two weeks after UUO, there were no obvious pathological changes in mouse liver and the unligated side of kidney. Nevertheless, impaired liver and kidney functions, inflammatory response and fibrosis were examined in mice after two weeks of BDL. Compared with those of other groups, mice in the BDL&UUO group presented severer liver and kidney injuries, higher levels of inflammatory factors, and faster deposition of collagens, suggesting that kidney injuries accelerated the aggravation of HRS. Correlation analysis identified a positive correlation between expression levels of inflammatory factors and fibrotic levels. Meanwhile, TLR4 and its ligand MyD88 were upregulated during the process of liver and kidney injuries in HRS mice. Further animal experiments in transgenic TLR4-/- mice or in those treated with TAK242, a small molecule inhibitor of TLR4, showed that blocking the TLR4 signaling pathway significantly improved survival quality and survival rate in HRS mice by alleviating liver fibrosis and kidney injury. It is concluded that kidney dysfunction plays an important role in the aggravation of cirrhosis, which may be attributed to the TLR4 signaling pathway. Targeting TLR4 could be a promising therapeutic strategy for protecting both liver and kidneys in patients.


The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of button shape on the buttoning and unbuttoning of clothes by the elderly. Study participants were 22 elderly females and 19 young adult females. Six types of buttons, i.e., (flat and rimmed buttons)×(thicknesses of 2, 3 and 4 mm), were sewn on clothes. Participants wore these clothes and buttoned and unbuttoned them in trials. The time taken to button and unbutton clothing was measured and subjective sensory perceptions were assessed during these trials. The obtained data ware analyzed using paired three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The factors for that analysis were age group, the type of button, and button thickness. Results revealed the following: 1)the elderly took longer to button and unbutton clothing than young adults did, and that difference was primarily due to differences in hand and finger dexterity, 2)the button thickness affected the time both the elderly and young adults took to button and unbutton clothing while the type of button affected the time the elderly took to unbutton clothing, and 3)the type of button and its thickness affected subjective sensory perceptions, but perceptions of the elderly were affected less than those of young adults.


In this paper the drop size distribution is estimated via the reflected energy distribution over the polarization spectral components received with the set of the antennas adjusted to receiving signals with different polarization. The drop size distribution estimate is made by determination of the diameters of spherical drops formed just after the fission of the larger deformed drop. The estimate is necessary to find the correspondence of drop size to the polarization components level for wind speed determination using the polarimetric radar.


This paper explores the personal competency characteristics of medical metrology in the new situation,it will provide a reference for selection and cultivation of metrology personnel for medical institutions. Based on the past research about different kinds of professional technicians in China,by the literature review,expert interviews,based on the measurement of staff positions by analyzing the requirements and standards,refining excellent metrology personnel connotation,the paper initially forms a medical metrology personnel competency evaluation index and theoretical frameworks. The evaluation index of medical metrology personnel competency has some predictive validity.


In this paper, a truncated bathtub is proposed to model the failure rate of a product with perfect burn-in. We expose some counter-intuition observations, e.g., increasing the MTTF does not necessarily increase the average and instantaneous availability during the product's lifetime, and the average and instantaneous availability could be improved without changing the MTTF. The MTTF and the steady-state availability are not particularly informative and fail to evaluate the product with time-varying failure rate and short upgrading interval.


Boxwood moth Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) is a serious threat to plants of the genus Buxus in all agroclimatic regions of the Crimea. The use of bioinsecticides is one of the environmentally safe and effective methods of reducing the number of phytophages. The use of preparations of Lepidocidae Bitoxibacillin in three standards of application provided high biological effectiveness against boxwood moths caterpillars of all ages. For older caterpillars on the fifth day, the biological effectiveness of Lepidocidae Bitoxibacillin in all standards of use was 100%. Fitoverm proved to be more effective against young and middle-aged caterpillars. On the fifth day after treatment with Fitoverm, biological efficiency for young caterpillars was 98,8%, and for middle-aged caterpillars - from 94,4 to 96,8%.


Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) lasers have been used in dentistry for cutting bone and removal of caries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bone healing in a skull defect prepared in rats using various instruments including Er:YAG laser. The 7 mm calvarial defects were created in 45 rats and 45 rats were divided into three groups (n = 15): a high-speed rotation engine with carbide round bur (2-mm diameter), a low-speed rotation engine with carbide round bur (2-mm diameter), and an Er:YAG laser. Specimens obtained after 3 days or 4 or 8 weeks were submitted for histological analysis. Three days after surgery, no bone formation had occurred in any of the groups. Four weeks after surgery, 90 ±8.16% new bone formation was observed in the high-speed group, and 8 weeks after surgery, 100 ±0% new bone formation was observed in the low- and high-speed groups. There were significant differences among the periods after surgery, but no significant differences were observed among final results with in different device groups.


Date Presented 03/31/2022
 Sedentary behavior is prevalent and related to numerous chronic diseases. The Everyday Meaningful Activities (EMA) intervention is individualized and client centered and aims to increase adherence to active lifestyle behaviors. We showed the preliminary effectiveness of the EMA intervention in forming new active behavior habits and decreasing sedentary time among older adults living in the community. The EMA intervention can potentially be integrated into current OT practice.
 Primary Author and Speaker: Young Joo Kim
 Additional Authors and Speakers: Melissa Dale, Anne E. Dickerson, Qiang Wu, Lynne Murphy


A vector controller for a permanent magnet synchronous motor uses current command values and detected currents of the d-axis and q-axis, a calculated frequency, and motor constant settings to control the output voltage of a power converter; the motor constants are identified by use of active or reactive power obtained from the output voltage and detected current of the power converter, the calculated frequency, and the detected current immediately before or during an actual operation.


The Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) is a future Higgs factory proposed by the Chinese high energy physics community. Using Monte Carlo samples of 5 ab 1 at 250 GeV center-of-mass energy, the benchmark luminosity of CEPC Higgs runs, model independent (MI) analyses on Higgsstrahlung (ZH) cross section ZH and Higgs mass mH are performed with ZH events where the Z boson decays into a pair of muons. The relative precision of ZH could reach 0.92% and the mH could be measured to an accuracy of 6.5 MeV. Using information from Higgs decay nal states, the backgrounds could be further reduced, leading to a mass precision of 5.4 MeV. The impacts of tracker size are investigated and parameterized for these measurements. Using similar analysis technology, we analyzed the capability of CEPC in measuring the Higgs invisible decay. Using ZH (Z ! + ) events at 5 ab 1 , the upper limit of invisible decay cross section beyond the standard model (SM) BSMH!inv can be determined to be 2.0 fb at 95% condence level.


The removal of germanium from acid solution systems using a Kelex-100 [7-(4-ethyl-1-methyloctyl)-8-hydroxyquinoline] functional sol−gel adsorbent was investigated. Kelex-100 has been used for separating metals such as Ga(III), Co(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) from aqueous solution by solvent extraction and liquid membranes. The goal of this work was to demonstrate that elutable mesoporous organo-ceramic adsorbents based on Kelex-100 can be synthesized for the selective separation of germanium from simulated leachate solution. The speciation diagram of Ge(IV) in an aqueous system with varying pH was prepared and evaluated by analysis of the equilibrium equations. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was found to provide a satisfactory fit of the adsorption data, and the uptake capacity at pH 6.0 was found to be 0.33 mmol/g (23 mg/g). A kinetics study conducted on a germanium(IV) solution in a batch reactor at different pH values showed a high rate of adsorption relative to other adsorbents [Inukai et al. Ana...


DURING THIS CENTURY WE have made great progress in extending human rights to children and young people. Large-scale, exploitive sweatshops are a phenomenon of the past; many state statutes contain provisions against corporal punishment in schools; and the public is now intervening when there is evidence of child abuse or neglect. Many constitutional rights and privileges, previously granted to adults over 18, have been extended to children and adolescents. High school dress codes and freedom of speech restrictions have been relaxed; the right to defense in juvenile court is now mandatory; and employers are required to pay children the national hourly minimum wage for part-time work. These are healthy trends. Moreover, these legal trends are consistent with social trends and social policy generally. Over the last two decades, educational systems have been modified so that young people can play an increasing role in deciding what they want to learn. As a result of career education and other reform movements, young people are helped to make informed choices on training for their future careers (Heyneman, in press). In fiscal year 1976, eight Federal agencies sponsored 23 research and development projects that included a youth participation component (Heyneman, Mintz, and Mann 1977); these projects were designed to give young people an increasingly active voice in the guidance of their own affairs and over the affairs of others. This, too, is healthy. Nevertheless, social policy on adolescence can be divided into two categories; the above examples represent only one. They represent a category in which an adolescent's participation is "sponsored"; that is, an adult privilege or an adult activity is extended to adolescents, which they can choose to exercise without having to relinquish their non-adult financial or legal status. The second category of social policy is one that requires something of adolescents. This differs from the first in that in exchange for health, protection, and education, a non -adult is asked to participate in an activity over which s/he has little or no choice (Heyneman and Thomas, 1977). Thus the first category of policy represents "sponsored" experience; the second category represents "required" experience. I contend that public policy on adolescence has concentrated on the first and has ignored the second. Briefly I will summarize how each can be defined both for private (family) and public policy, including education, and then suggest how social policy which "requires" something can be advanced without it being unjust.


The motion of charged particles (electrons or ions) is considered in a uniform magnetic field B = Be z , and a linearly polarised gravitational wave propagating along the x-axis. It is found numerically that for certain values of the amplitude of the wave, α, and the relative frequency, ν = ω/Ω, (where by ω we denote the angular frequency of the wave and by Ω the angular Larmor frequency of the charged particle) the motion of the particles becomes chaotic. In this way secular transfer of energy between the wave and the particles becomes possible, resulting in a possible damping of the wave


Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent arrhythmia in clinical practice, yet the pathophysiology by which genetic factors can increase the risk of AF is not well understood. Recently, a multitiered transcriptional network, driven by a T-box transcription factor gene TBX5 and a paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 gene PITX2 was discovered. This transcriptional network regulates gene expressions associated with ion channels in a complex fashion, and through mice knockout studies, it was found that reducing the expression of TBX5 altered the gene expressions of certain types of ion channels and generated abnormal depolarizations in the form of early afterdepolarizations, delayed afterdepolarizations, or spontaneous triggered action potentials. To systematically investigate the ionic mechanisms by which impaired TBX5 can lead to AF, we integrated the calcium dynamics of the Grandi et al. model into the Courtemanche-Ramirez-Nattel model. Our model reproduced all forms of abnormal depolarizations observed in TBX5 knockout atrial myocytes. Furthermore, we discovered that the remodeling of the inward-rectifier potassium channel (IK1) and the L- type calcium channel (ICaL), due to impaired TBX5, causes an elevation in the concentration of calcium ([Ca2+]), which reactivates the sodium-calcium exchanger (INaCa) and ICaL to generate abnormal depolarizations.


This study examined the effects of individual-level and group-level trust on willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language, targeting Japanese university students in a group-language (English) learning setting. Although the effects of group language learning on students' learning attitudes and the effects of trust on WTC in a second language have been examined extensively, no study has examined group-level factors in a group-language learning setting. A questionnaire survey was conducted thrice per semester. Multilevel analysis found that individual-level trust in group members positively influenced individual-level WTC in English, and group-level trust in group members also positively influenced group-level WTC in English repeatedly through one semester. Moreover, the degree of group-level WTC in English changed after the mid-semester. This study contributes to the literature on group-language learning, and has implications for language education where educators must be mindful not only of each student's characteristics but also of each group's characteristics to enhance their performance.


This paper describes an investigation into alternative management models applied to public call centres operations with the aim of delivering significant added value to the overall public firm. Call centres offer significant potential for value creation. However, in practice they are often created as mechanistic organisations and managed in such a way is to inhibit value creation. An investigation in a UK city council was carried out through the means of a case study using both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from directors, middle-managers and employees to evaluate the development of a lean thinking type of call centre. The results indicate that by implementing the lean thinking approach to the design of call centre service operations significant, but often counter-intuitive, benefits can be created. Lean thinking was found to yield improvements in service performance, value work productivity, and employees' affective commitment. Evidence on lean value-added to the public call centres is very limited, this paper addresses this shortcoming.


Abstract With the CRR/CRD IV package being in effect, the banking supervisors of the European Union possess an impressive set of macroprudential instruments to fight systemic risks in the financial system. However, in order to be effective and efficient, the instruments need an appropriate organizational and institutional setting. The text analyzes the complex multi-level network of actors of macroprudential supervision from a legal and economic perspective.


In activity recognition, the number of target classes and classification accuracy are insufficient for practical application because accuracy declines in real situations. To address this problem, we consider that acquiring personal data is effective. We propose an active learning system for the accuracy problem and discuss an effective classifier and method to select appropriate data. We demonstrate that a Random Forest classifier using a Least Confident active learning method increases the F-measure the fastest in the combination of classifiers (Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest) and active learning methods (Least Confident, Margin Sampling, and Entropy).


We propose a new framework for the sampling, compression, and analysis of distributions of point sets and other geometric objects embedded in Euclidean spaces. A set of randomly selected rays are projected onto their closest points in the data set, forming the ray signature. From the signature, statistical information about the data set, as well as certain geometrical information, can be extracted, independent of the ray set. We present promising results from "RayNN", a neural network for the classification of point clouds based on ray signatures.


In this study we concentrated on the radiative turbulent air to enter into the convective vertical channel. The vertical channel is having two openings at top and the bottom. The radiation is modelled with discrete ordinates method and turbulence is modelled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach using Lambremhorst turbulence model. The governing equations are solved and discretized by using Finite Difference Method (FDM). The parametric study is performed on Assisting and opposing cases by comparing both the cases with the radiation and without radiation in the channel and found that temperature and velocity characteristics have much impact when the channel is involved with radiation


The last two decades have shown us the growing importance of corporate, social and governance programs, as executives, investors and regulators have become increasingly aware of these programs' potential to mitigate corporate crises and build solid social reputation. Thus, mutual funds that invest according to social, environmental and ethical criteria have increased both in volume and value. This paper investigates the performance of a sample of 80 socially responsible mutual funds from 8 European countries, within the period from 2002 to 2010. Using both the mainstream unconditional model and the most recent conditional models, we address a performance comparison between these funds and unscreened benchmark Indices as well as socially responsible benchmark Indices. We then attest the models results by applying the classical Sharpe Ratio to our Funds sample. We find out that European socially responsible mutual funds present, in general, neutral performance when compared with both benchmark portfolios. Furthermore, performance estimates seem to be slightly higher when funds are analyzed in relation to socially responsible indices and this benchmark has higher explaining power. Conditional models also seem to lead to a slight uplift of performance estimates and of explanatory capacity of the models applied. Sharpe Ratio confirms that there is no significant performance difference between the compared elements. This is consistent with most precedent empirical findings on this issue. Our study reveals that investors can adhibit social screens to their investment choices without pledging their financial returns, contrary to portfolio theory predictions. This paper proves that it is possible to "do well (financially) while doing good (socially)".


Nowadays,with the rapid development of exihibition industry in China,more and more exihibition units have joined the UFI(The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry)actively.It is a great trend go gain international Certification in the exihibition industry.With an introduction to the UFI,the paper analyzes the present development as well as the cause of international certification in China.It points out that the UFI will not be fully applicable to China.In order to succeed in international exihibition competion,it is vital to improve the competive power by building the native certification system.


Abstract : The Chief, Visual Sciences Branch, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, requested a determination of the incidence of color vision deficiency among Army aviators. As we enter the next century, the color vision requirements of Army aviators will increase with the introduction of multicolored displays. Since aviator training applicants are disqualified routinely from training due to color vision deficiency, there should be no aviators with color vision deficiency. However, this paper details incidents of exception to policy for known color vision deficiency, acquired color vision deficiency, and aviation medicine clinic screening program failures due to poor methods or deception by applicants and conspirators. The in-flight evaluation of aviators discovered to have color vision deficiency is described.


The paper explores the links between the tolling of flows through infrastructure passageways and the nature of financial securities that capture the earnings from these flows. At the heart of this relationship is a distinctive class of property rights that enable the traversal of otherwise discrete private property holdings. The paper tracks the evolution of infrastructure as a category and of its property rights to reveal the peculiar nature of infrastructure privatisation. Important is the role of the state, the only institution capable of creating the property and regulatory conditions for an increasingly private sphere of economic activity. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.


Lateral and dorsal curvature of the penis in hypospadias in children are very rare conditions. Articles dealing with correction of these rare forms of curvature in children are not easy to find. The objective of this work was to improve the outcomes of treating children with hypospadias and rare (dorsal/lateral) forms of penile curvature. Patients and methods. The study included 49 patients with coronary and penile hypospadias, chordee with hypospadias, and also with rare forms of curvature – dorsal and lateral at 30-45 degrees. Depending on the form of penile curvature the patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 – 36 patients with dorsal curvature, who underwent ventral plication of the corpora cavernosa; group 2 – 13 patients with lateral curvature and lateral plication of the contralateral corpus cavernosum (9 patients had a curve to the left and 4 – to the right). Results. No penile curvature in the early post-operative period and a year afterwards was not noted in patients of both groups. Dorsal penile curvature occurs in 5% of cases, and lateral in 1.7% of cases. Conclusion. The use of the method of plication of the corpora cavernosa opposite the curvature makes it possible to obtain good functional and cosmetic outcomes of management of hypospadias. Key words: lateral curvature, dorsal curvature, hypospadias, curvature correction


In the traditional performance of College English teaching, there exists a common misleading phenomenon where the teaching focus is on the language points, grammar details and knowledge input, instead of on the information acquisition, passage context and skills development. The only way to improve this phenomenon is to develop multiple element and mutual communication teaching of college English, that is to adopt the goodness of all kinds of teaching methods, and introduce the all-round information teaching mode which provides the comprehension training of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating.


To improve the solution efficiency and reliability of multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), an enhanced MDO approach, called sequenced collaborative optimization (SCO), is proposed. The proposed approach introduces the design structure matrix (DSM) to describe the coupling effects among disciplines and aggregates those mutually coupling disciplines into the strong tie groups among similar ones and the weak tie among heterogeneous ones through clustering algorithms. Further, those in the same group are sequenced by the DSM division algorithm. Moreover, by adding constraints, the groups are made independent, resulting in a tree structure without loops, thus decoupling the original multidisciplinary problem into several independent collaborative optimization modules. In the end, an example is employed to verify the efficiency and reliability of the approach.


The values of nurses and midwives are based on the core ethic of caring, built upon professionalism, advocacy and holism. We recognise ourselves by these values.


A method for producing organic fertilizer with excrement and urine includes baking by hot air at 500-1000 deg. C from combustion furnace while sterilizing, deodourizing, breaking, drying and granulating under the action of said hot air, removing impurities by sieve when its water content is less than 15%, addition of biochemical enzyme and packing, and features no damage of virus and parasites topersons, low cost, and reducing environmental pollution.


The juxtaposition of the words economy and digital fact refers to an 'economy of numbers. This mathematical vision which is more restrictive than the notion of 'computer economy' seems to prioritize the numbers on the other types of information. Often the term digital economy returns in a reductive way to e-commerce leaving aside other components such as services, infrastructure and the underlying technology. More specifically, the term should refer to telecommunications, audiovisual, software, computer networks, computer services, services and content online. According to GfK, the digital market brings together information technology (computers, phones, players, GPS...) and communication (social networks, online... sales) services and would be 681 billion in 2009. Digital brings together the Technologies of Information and Communication as well as all the techniques used in the processing and the transmission of information such as for example telecommunications, internet and information technology. The digital sector means the sector of economic activity on the Technologies of Information and Communication and the production and sale of digital products and services.


Abstract. Coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) has been considered a powerful and reliable tool for horizontal wind shear monitoring since the 1990s. However, radial observations obtained by Doppler lidar are limited in determining sophisticated variations in horizontal wind field and thus the wind shear. In our work, this problem is solved by applying a statistical interpolation technique to a CDL system, which is implemented at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (103°E, 36°03′N) since August 2019, for routine observation of the horizontal shear along the pathway of the aircraft. By means of that, the horizontal wind vectors are retrieved in real time and the wind shear is also obtained simultaneously. Compared with radial observations, the accuracy of real-time horizontal wind vectors is indicated with the root mean squared error of 0.504  m  ·  s  −  1. During the field campaign, a typical wind shear induced by wind gust is obtained by the CDL system, which moves from south to north with the maximum up to 9.6  m  ·  s  −  1   ·  km  −  1. Also, five cases resulting in flights going around are described in detail and compared with the reports from the airport terminal control office. The results reveal that the CDL system is quite suitable for wind shear forewarning for demonstrating the time, position, and intensity of wind shear with acceptable accuracy.


Abstract : Electro-optic identification (EOID) sensors are transitioning to the fleet and will be used as a short-range identification tool for mine-like contacts from long-range sensors. The present operation of the EOID sensors uses an operator for identification. Whereas the human operator is unparalleled in detecting and recognizing objects of interest, there are still some limitations which may be needed to distinguish between mine types, such as differentiating a 68 inch object from a 72 inch object in a still image or moving waterfall display. To help overcome some of these weaknesses and improve the mine identification process, computer aided identification (CAI) and automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithms are being developed. In addition to building a foundation towards the long-term goal of fully autonomous operation, these algorithms can be used to queue operators of potential mine-like objects within the data as well as to segment and compute vital geometric information Eon manually flagged objects of interest. The operator can then use this supplementary information for a more accurate identification. The near-term objective is to develop and implement these CAI/ATR algorithms into a real-time console and/or a post mission analysis (PMA) tool that can be used in the FY05 Organic Mine Warfare future naval capability (FNC) demonstration.


Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain CFT073 was sequenced with the complete genome and published in 2002. However, the state-of-the-art genomic studies on CFT073 are not yet satisfactory, largely due to the systematic errors and being outdated with the current gene annotation in public database. In this paper, the authors carried out a systematic re-annotation by combining a series of bioinformatics tools and manual efforts to provide a comprehensive understanding of virulence for the CFT073 genome. The re-annotation results in corrections, modifications and supplements to both protein-coding genes and RNA-coding genes. Based on the re-annotation, a group of new virulence factor candidates was listed. Further analysis demonstrated that the present work may facilitate an accurate and comprehensive depiction of virulence mechanisms of the CFT073 strain.


Being an important part of the sustainable development of agriculture and even global economy, the sustainable development of livestock production has been paid more and more attentions recently.The article pointed out the main problems presently occured in the development process of livestock production, and analyzed the potential problems which can be caused by the future development of livestock production from the following two aspects, the carrying capacity of resource and the limit functional integration of ecological system . We hope such kind of study could stimulate the research work in the sustainable development of China livestock husbandry.


Addition of metal chelates in a wet stack gas scrubber to improve removal efficiency of both NO and SO/sub 2/ could provide a major new dimension to environmental control technology without requiring major capital modification to existing power plants. Criteria for an effective metal chelate additive include large absorption capacity and rapid binding rate of NO, and rapid regeneration rate of metal chelates from nitrosyl metal chelates by reaction with absorbed SO/sub 2/ in aqueous solutions. The thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions involved are discussed. Laser Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry have been employed to directly and unambiguously identify some reaction intermediates and products.


Introduction: The Martian surface presents thousands of lobate ejecta craters. Their formation is in part due to the presence of volatiles in the subsurface [1, 2]. From ballistical analysis, each ejecta layer are formed at the same time [2]. The crater dating is not trivial and ejecta lobate craters have a sufficient surface to date their formation by counting craters present on their blankets. Knowledge of the formation age of this type of craters is therefore essential for informations on the subsurface in one place and at one time and to better constrain climatic variations on Mars. Methodology: In order to better constrain the dynamic and evolution of layered ejecta craters, we did a detailed geological map of a multiple-layer rampartcrater on the basis of high resolution images (CTX, HiRISE, MOC, HRSC and THEMIS) (Fig.1). We estimated the formation age of the different morphological units. All craters whith diameters larger than 100 m were manually recorded with Crater Tool [5] on ArcGIS and craterisation curves are plotted with CraterStats [6] using the Hartmann production function [7]. The craterisation curve of the surrounding ground unit (Sg) was plotted by counting all craters larger than 1 km. Secondary craters population is excluded by identifying limited overcraterisation density areas [8] because overcraterisation induces an increase of the formation age. Arandas crater: Arandas crater on Mars (15.17°, W, 42.77°, N), located in Acidalia Planitia, is a well preserved 25.1km multiple-layer ejecta rampart crater [9] (Fig.1) and provides an excellent opportunity to study potentials relations between craterisation density and ejecta morphology. We defined six different geomorphological units on the ejecta blankets : The hummocky ejecta unit (He) adjacent to the crater rim extending up to approximately 2 kilometers is characterized by smooth materials with hummocky material. Adjacent to the He unit, the inner layer unit (Il) is characterized by the presence of radial ridges and a terminal ridge. The unit Sil exhibits radial ridges with lightly concentric crest on relatively irregularly surface. The unit, Cil shows a clear gradual disappearance of radial ridges and an increase of concentric crest. The outer layer (Ol) exhibits a lobate morphology and some relatively thick terminale lobes (Dl).


We presentboth Goos-Hänchendisplacement andImbert-Fedorov displacement on biaxial anisotropic medium surface in this paper. After the total reflection condition of TE wave and TM wave incident from the isotropic medium tobiaxial anisotropic medium are derived, based on the steady-state phasemethod and the energy flux method, we get the expressions of GH andIF displacements. And someuniquephenomena are found:total reflection occurs when the incident angle is less than the critical angle, displacement's tendency changing with the incidence angle is more diverse onbiaxial anisotropic mediumsurface.


The present invention relates to the technical field of chemical synthesis of N- benzyloxycarbonyl -L- valine, its main feature is in the L- valine dissolved directly in a mixture of sodium hydroxide solution was added dropwise benzyloxycarbonyl chloride , cooled by ice brine and the reaction mass temperature was maintained at 15-25 deg.] C, without the need to ensure that the original conditions 0-5 deg.] C the reaction by cooling, save energy, reduce cost, using ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent, toxicity, convenient, cheap and easy recovery, product yield present invention in terms of up to 138% L- valine, more than twice the yield described in the literature, to improve the economic, synthesis method of the present invention, simple process, suitable for mass production, economical, safe and easy operation, high production efficiency.


The field of criminology has increasingly taken to heart a concern with exploring the content and contours of media images of crime and social control. The discipline has been well served in recent years by a number of works that have provided stimulating analyses of these issues, drawing on a diversity of theoretical perspectives and empirical orientations. In Policing and the Media, Leishman and Mason attempt to chart a course through this growing literature by teasing out the nature of this staple feature of media output, the various forms it takes, and its potential impact. The authors focus specifically on media depictions of policing in Britain, although the nature of this material inevitably touches on wider aspects of the criminal justice system and, for that matter, Britain's place in the wider world. Policing and the Media is divided into main three substantive sections that address, in turn, 'facts, fictions and factions' concerning media depictions of policing. The first section of the book focuses broadly on the 'construction, content and effects of media images of policing and crime' (p. 1). Here the authors are on familiar ground as they examine the nature of media coverage of policing and outline its main features. In Chapter 2 they note the high proportion of media output concerning these issues, and observe that media coverage of specific crimes is often in inverse proportion to their prevalence. They discuss the relationship between media coverage and the nature and level of fear and anxiety over crime, and assess the evidence concerning whether media coverage of crime is socially corrosive. Recent events such as the News of the World's campaign in 2000 'to name and shame paedophiles' highlight the media's capacity to generate and/or contribute to public concern on such issues. However, in light of the methodological issues involved and the somewhat equivocal findings from research, Leishman and Mason argue that, on the broad issue of the media's impact, 'definitive conclusions are difficult to reach' (p. 25). Chapter 3 examines the police's increased involvement in promotionalism, particularly through the gradual professionalization of police–media relations in recent decades. As the authors note, the police may no longer be characterized as, in Punch's memorable


_ The proportion of land-derived organic matter in sediments of the upper St. Lawrence Estuary is unexpectedly low. In the Saguenay Fjord and the lower estuary, high organic carbon to nitrogen ratios and the presence of lignin indicate a substantial contri6ution of organic matter from terrestrial sources. The proportion of terrigenous organic matter decreases rapidly thereafter, approaching levels typical of marine sediments in the open Gulf.


Objective To analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of non-iodized salt at household level based on geographic information system (GIS) in Chongqing.Methods The database of non-iodized salt at county level from 2001 to 2010 was established in Chongqing.By using GIS technology,the spatial distribution and spatial autocorrelation were analyzed by ArcGIS 9.3 software.Results The rate of non-iodized salt was fluctuated between 2.35%-5.78% during 2001-2006 and the rate was reduced to less than 2.00% after 2007.The result of spatial autocorrelation analysis on non-iodized salt from 2001 to 2006 indicated that Moran's Ⅰindex was 0.145578,0.078801,0.108033,0.091957,0.127749,0.214302,respectively(Z value was 3.066275,1.977321,2.541619,2.309972,2.900446,3.874203,respectively,all P < 0.05).The spatial distribution of non-iodized salt had marked spatial cluster through Chongqing region from 2001 to 2006.The result of local spatial autocorrelation analysis from 2001 to 2006 indicated that Fengdu and Fuling were two high-risk areas(all P < 0.05).Dianjiang,Yubei,Jiangbei,Wulong and Banan were also confirmed as high-risk areas in 2001,2005 and 2006(all P < 0.05).The results also indicated that the distribution of non-iodized salt in the seven high-risk areas was positively correlated.The result of spatial autocorrelation analysis on non-iodized salt from 2007 to 2010 indicated that Moran's Ⅰ index was 0.018361,0.016186,0.040769,-0.059691,respectively (Z value was 1.093310,0.787361,1.071811,-0.583820,respectively,all P > 0.05).The spatial distribution of non-iodized salt was at random on the whole from 2007 to 2010.However,there were four local high-risk areas.The distribution in Fengdu and Dianjiang was positively correlated,while that in Jiangjin and Shizhu was negatively correlated.Conclusions The distribution of non-iodized salt at households level in Chongqing is changed from spatial distribution before 2006 to random distribution after 2007,but there are high value areas,which should be taken as the focus of monitoring.

Key words:
Iodine; Salts; Spatial autocorrelation; Chongqing


In today's world, the limitation of fossil fuel has led people to look for renewable energy sources. Among all the sources, solar energy has a remarkable potential of producing electrical energy very cost-effectively. The output of the solar cells depends on the intensity of light and the angle of incident rays from the sun. But because of the earth's rotation the panels can't always maintain their position aligned with the sun. This paper is based on the design and implementation of a multi-level dual axis automatic sun tracking system. Servo motors are used for rotating the panels and LDRs are used as sensors to detect the maximum intensity of the light. Multi-Level Dual axis sun tracking system has a great potential than any other dual axis tracker in terms of both efficiency and cost minimization. This paper describes a system designed with four solar panels, where only four LDRs are required to measure the light intensity for rotation of the panel in both horizontal and vertical axis. Moreover, the unique structural design of the system allows rotating the panels with only five servo motors rather than eight used in normal four dual axis trackers. This reduction of LDRs and motors reduced the cost of the system and made the system simple. The output data is compared with the static solar panel and with some dual axis trackers output data from some research papers in terms of voltage, current and power, which proves that it is a more efficient system.


Policymaking for tourism needs a comprehensive analysis, particularly related to the economic sector. More than the geomorphology aspect, the socioeconomic, cultural, environment carrying capacity, and spatial planning are also be considered. The condition often encountered is when the policies are not in line with the environmental carrying capacity and natural resources potential. This research aims to develop a decision support system (DSS) that integrates knowledge-based and technology-based parameters to support sustainable tourism. An information system named Natural Resource Accounting for Coastal Tourism Development Planning (ASAP4) has been built to support decision-makers in the coastal tourism sector. Hence, the stakeholders can combine sustainability aspects while still considering the economic valuation of natural resources. ASAP4 provides relevant and effective solutions by taking advantage of various knowledge related to tourism in the form of spatial-based DSS.


Electronic music is a growing phenomenon in Bogota, every day there are new actors in this context which contribute and influence the creation of a culture around this music genre. The documentary looks to take the viewer in an inmersive trip through this culture and the events which happen thanks to it. Because of the previews investigation made, we were able to have different points of view which allowed us to think of electronic music and its context in Bogota as a real culture which is contributing to the formation of young generations in Bogota.


Analysis and design of a frame can be done in two principally different ways. The first method, calculation according to first order elastic theory, is based on buckling lengthsand interaction relations. The advantage with this method is its simplicity. The difficulty lies in the determination of buckling lengths.
The second method, calculation according to second order elastic theory, results in muchmore complicated calculations because of non-linearity, but the design can then be done by section check and no buckling lengths are needed.


IT is good to find so much material appearing on the so-called Kirdi groups of northern Cameroon, which like similar groups in Northern Nigeria ('Pagan' and 'Kirdi' have the same perjorative connotations vis-a-vis their Moslem neighbours) have been neglected by anthropologists and historians to the advantage of their better known and more powerful neighbours such as the Hausa and Fulani. In the Mandara mountains of Cameroon there are some twenty of these refugee groups, the most important of which are the Matakam, Mofu, Kapsiki, and Fali, and this account of Muktele social organization is a welcome, straightforward study of this isolated people. (It seems remarkable in an age of Western contact and swift change that this should be the first ethnographic survey of the Muktele and that the author had to use a schoolboy as his interpreter since no adult Muktele could speak a European language.) An introductory account of Muktele demography and economy is followed by a detailed description of the lineage and marriage systems. Like most related groups in the Mandara range the Muktele entered their present habitat piecemeal, over a period of centuries, and always as refugee groups. Within the mountains the movements continued and have resulted in an ethnic complexity which means that none of them can claim fixed boundaries, either geographical or cultural. The segmentary lineage system is very much affected by continuing migrations and micro-migrations in the mountains and segmentation and fission are continuous due to enforced movements in search of land. There are no clans and maximal lineages are not exogamous; their only functions are ritual. Minimal lineages, tshay, do not control specific tracts of land although dominant tshay perform political functions through their association with a territory. Consequently territory is of far greater significance than the lineage organization as such—dominant tshay are associated with quarters, massifs, and segments of a massif, their political importance being symbolized by a cemetery, a shrine, or an ancestor house. Inhabitants of a massif meet for an annual sacrifice and rain ritual; they also join in communal farm labour and provide help in the case of decimation of cattle herds. The whole tribe meets once a year for an annual sacrifice. Of greater significance, politically, however are the sections of a massif which come under the authority of war chiefs and which may form alliances.


In May 1995, SACLANTCEN performed broadband (200–800 Hz) acoustic measurements in the Giglio basin off the coast of Italy as part of the Yellow Shark inversion experiments. In this paper, inversion of sparse, broadband transmission loss (TL) measurements is investigated to determine bottom properties in strongly range-dependent (RD) situations commonly encountered in shallow water. The data are from the Elba–Formiche transect where water depth varies from 65 m at the acoustic projector location, to approximately 120 m at the 4-element vertical arrays deployed at ranges of 8, 16, 24, 32, and 40 km along the transect. The experimental site has a soft clay-layer bottom which varies in thickness from 3 to 10 m with a sound speed less than the water column. A modal analysis including coupling effect is given to explain the frequency bands for which high TL was observed as a function of range and depth. The TL measurements were inverted by matching the RD fields with model results. Using parabolic equation modeling, bottom geoacoustic parameters were varied in a marching search to fit the TL measured at the five ranges. The experimental results demonstrate that RD bottom properties such as sound speed and thickness of the slow clay layer can be obtained from broadband TL measurements sparsely distributed in range and depth.


Functional jaw movements are the result of activation of jaw as well as neck muscles, leading to simultaneous movements in the temporomandibular, atlanto-occipital and cervical spine joints. This s ...


Objective To study the effect of acupuncture on the expression of serum proteins in rats with cerebral infarction.Methods Twenty SD adult male rats were randomly assigned into control group(n=10),and acupunture group(n=10).The cerebral ischemia model was estabished by using suture-occluded method.After being treated for 1 week by acupunture,rats were sacrificed.Two-dimensional(2-D) gel electrophoresis was applied to separate serum proteins.PDQuest software was used to detect the differential expression of proteins between control and acupuncture groups based on 2-D protein mapping.The selected proteins were further analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization two-stage time of flight(MALDI TOF/TOF) tandem mass spectrometry.The mass spectrometric data were retrieved through the general proteomics standard(GPS)in Mascot database.Results Thirteen serum proteins were up-regulated by acupuncture,while two were down-regulated.Three proteins were selected for retrieval.Serum amyloid P was down-regulated while serine protease inhibitor and albumin was up-regulated by acupuncture.Conclusion Acupuncture protects the brain from ischemic injury by up-regualting the expression of serine protease inhibitor and promoting the albumin synthesis in the liver


Based on a paper presented at the UKSG seminar 'Scientific Publications: Free for all?', The Geological Society, London, Tuesday 23 November 2004 The Select Committee report is the first time that the issue of scientific publication has been considered in this way in the United Kingdom. Although both the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading have considered the issues of scientific journal publishing, the inquiry brought the issues into a more public forum. This paper reviews the report in terms of how it has been received within the academic library community and how its recommendations, if implemented, might change the role of academic libraries. It also examines the Government's response to the report along with other responses to date, and reaction to the report elsewhere in the world. Finally, it considers how the debate and the practice may develop in the future.


es in secondary cases.2,8-10 h-MDS is considered a new entity, outside the FAB classification but related to refractory anemia.1,2,4 Evolution to MDS has been observed during the follow-up of non-transplanted patients with AA. Since prognosis and treatment are different in both entities, differential diagnosis is important. As detection of clonality is not possible in many cases,1,2,5 differentiation is based predominantly on morphologic parameters. Half of our cases with h-MDS had an irregular distribution of hemopoiesis. Presence and morphology of megakaryocytes were more important criteria than features of erythroblasts and granulocytes. However, since no single new parameter enabled us to differentiate the two diagnostic groups clearly, a linear discriminant analysis was performed. Using an algorithm based on the combination of the four new parameters described, nearly 90% of the cases could be correctly classified. The jackknife procedure showed that the model was stable and we could create therefore an index which can be used easily in daily practice.


College English Reading is an important course for the development of students' overall language proficiency. This article, from the perspective of Reading Schema Theory, tries to share with readers some ideas on how to teach this course.


This paper proposes to apply the 1-bit delta-sigma modulator to a series resonant converter. The 1-bit delta-sigma modulator, which is an analog to digital (A/D) converter, outputs a 1-bit (1/0) signal based on the analog input signal. This technology has been applied to digital audio amplifiers in the markets. These days, the delta-sigma modulation is also applied to switching power converters instead of the pulse width modulation (PWM). Applying the 1-bit signal to the driving signal for a switching converter, the output can be well controlled almost continuously with low sub-harmonics. In this study, one of the characteristics of the delta-sigma modulation that is ldquoperiodicityrdquo of the 1-bit output signal is focused. In voltage-source series resonant converters, zero-current switching (ZCS) is maintained when the switching frequency is equal to the resonant frequency. Therefore, the periodical 1-bit output signal of the delta-sigma modulator is a perfect method to regulate the output power/voltage of series resonant converters. In this paper, it is proposed to apply a 1-bit delta sigma modulator PCM4202 to the Class D series resonant converter for the output voltage regulation. The theoretical approach, simulation results, and experimental results with a low-voltage prototype circuit are introduced. The ZCS of the switching devices is confirmed in the simulation and the circuit experiments. In circuit experiments, the output power from 0.094 W at 0.97 V to 5.56 W at 7.43 V is obtained from the input voltage 20.0 V with the load resistance 9.92 Omega at 198.7 kHz, where the measured power conversion efficiencies are 54.7% at 0.97 V and 71.4% at 7.43 V The output voltage can be smoothly and continuously changed within the range. No specific sub-harmonies are observed in time domain and in frequency domain.


A method for dynamically allocating channels in a multi-cell downlink system is provided to increase performance about throughput per unit area as compared to other channel allocation techniques by allocating a channel in consideration of a mobile terminal's interference range dependent on the distance between a base station and the mobile terminal. A base station, if a channel allocation request is detected, checks whether unassigned channels exist(600,602). If unassigned channels exist, the base station selects one of the unassigned channels(604). On the assumption that the selected channel is allocated, the base station judges whether the selected channel has influence on mobile terminals which belong to neighbor base stations(606). In case it is judged that any of the mobile terminals which belong to neighbor base stations is not influenced by the selected channel, the base station allocates the selected channel(610). Then the base station transmits downlink channel allocation information to the neighbor base stations, including allocated channel information(612).


The study presented here begins with the relationships between the composition (defined by the chemical properties of the constituents entering into the system and by the ratio of the phases of the produced binder), the structure (micromorphology observed with the fluorescence microscope) and the rheological and practical properties of binders modified by the incorporation of styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers. This study of the modification of asphalts by a trisequenced SBS copolymer shows the following: 1) The material conditions of blend preparation have an important impact on the structure and properties of modified binders: the longer the agitation time, the finer the microstructure. 2) There is a relationship between microstructure and physical properties: binders with a coarse microstructure and an asphalt matrix are not deformable at low temperature. 3) The amount of polymer required for matrix inversion and for obtaining highly modified practical properties depends to a great extent on the asphalt itself, but chemical analysis by generic groups does not allow a prediction of the value of this inversion threshold. 4) The extent of swelling in asphalt-SPS blends is practically independent of the temperature over the 80-160 C range. 5) The saturated oil fraction of the asphalt may play an important role in the mechanisms behind the modification of the properties of asphalt-SBS blends. 6) An increase in the ring and ball softening temperature and in the plasticity interval, and a decrease in the thermal sensitivity of asphalt-SBS blends is not directly proportional to polymer content and depends significantly on the asphalt itself. 7) There is a colloidal instability index value beyond which the polymer is no longer swollen in the modified binder, but solubilized by the asphalt.


Diagrams are used to present an exact high-temperature low-field series expansion for the Gibbs free energy of the classical n-vector model ferromagnet. It is shown, within the framework of the series expansion method, that, to leading order in (small) n, the zero-field Gibbs free energy and the zero-field susceptibility of the ferromagnet are effectively equal to the self-avoiding polygon and self-avoiding chain generating functions, respectively. The critical point and critical exponents determined by the above properties of the ferromagnet to leading order in n are identified with those of the corresponding self-avoiding walk problem.


The young home ownership rate is lower in Italy than in other European countries. The levels of temporary employment associated with higher chances of job changes, unemployment and volatile income have significant effects on youth home ownership, reducing also the probability of acceding to a mortgage. It is therefore necessary to identify alternative ways to adapt costs, amount and forms of house financing to the new scenario


The paper discusses the measures of Philippine financial system reform,analyses the development status and the trend of Philippine financial system,and further,it discusses the issue and challenges in the development of Philippine financial system.


Abstract Despite numerous government interventions, increasing agricultural productivity to ensure food security still remains a challenge facing Ghana's agriculture, which is largely conventional, but has a growing organic production and niche market. Since 2001, the Integrated Tamale Fruit Company has been assisting Northern Ghana's hitherto subsistence farmers to cultivate organic mango through an out-grower scheme aimed at boosting the productivity and market access, and reducing the production cost of farms in the scheme. Anecdotally, the livelihood of organic mango farmers does not seem to have improved, despite significant increases in the performance of participating farms. This study provides empirical evidence on the actual economic performance of organic mango farmers in Northern Ghana and establishes the implications of this for livelihood and empowerment in organic mango farm household by estimating input-use efficiency. By fitting a tranlog average response production function to data from 204 organic mango farms, we obtained input-use efficiency ratios of 1.83 and 1.91 for weeding expenditure incurred by group and family out-growers respectively, and ratios of 0.24 and 0.11 for organic pesticides. The results suggest that to improve their livelihood, farmers need to increase their investment in weeding and reduce that of pesticides use.


The assessment of the status of fisheries resources is pivotal due to the importance of marine resources in global food security and to halt the ongoing decline in marine biodiversity. Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is one of the most valuable resources in the Northeast Atlantic. However, overfishing has caused the decline of several Nephrops stocks over the last decades, particularly in the Nephrops Functional Units (FUs) 25 (NW Spain), 26-27 (NW Spain and North Portugal) and 31 (Cantabrian Sea, North Spain). Since 2003, the information provided by the very low level of landings and fishing effort of these three stocks was insufficient to carry out an adequate analytical assessment, so the base of the assessment has been the trends from commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE). The objective of this study was to carry out the first assessment of these three stocks with an analytical MSY-based model. A review of the available data was made and the stochastic Surplus Production Model in Continuous Time (SPiCT) was fitted for each FU. The results indicate an extremely low biomass for FUs 25 and 26-27 since the mid-nineties well below the reference points. For FU 31, on the other hand, estimated biomass is larger. Our findings also identified long-term temporal and spatial changes in the population dynamic of Nephrops in the Northwest Iberian coast. The results were compare with those obtained in the same stocks with other data-limited methods. Also the role of abiotic factors on the observed dynamic of the stocks was explored. The results of this study are not only relevant for the sustainable exploitation of Norway lobster stocks off the Northwest Iberian coast but provide valuable insights into the suitability and limitations of production models for the assessment of crustacean stocks in general.


The RFID technology has attracted much attention these days due to the far better efficiency than the bar-code and magnetic card system. As an important usage, the 433 MHz active RFID tag was already adopted to the container ports in the United States and Europe for container loading/unloading automation and equipment location. However, there is one problem to be solved for the complete automation. RFID readers support only the direct communication with tags within their RF communication range. Then there are a lot of containers and equipments such as crane, yard tractor, and forklift in ports; and because they are made of metal, they interfere the RF communication, resulting in the occurrence of the dead-zone. In the dead-zone, RFID tags cannot receive any signal from readers. There may be several solutions to resolve the dead-zone problem. Among them, this paper suggests the most economical solution where RFID tags in the dead-zone can communicate with readers via neighbor tags in the multi-hop manner The new RFID communication architecture should be carefully designed in order to maintain the compatibility with the previous standard. Our experiment shows that the proposed architecture works well even in the case where some tags are out of the RF range of reader.


In the future, nursing will have to be characterized by transparency in self-regulation, it will have to be implemented and presented as a discipline solidly based on scientific evidence. The key elements of achieving these goals include having relevant knowledge, being informed, following the latest research evidence, the ability to appear in front of nursing professionals and the lay public, own research work, inclusion in EU researches and international collaboration with recognized EU decision-makers. Above all, nursing professionals will have to define their work, critically evaluate the competences of nursing as a profession and allocate existing resources. Nurses are expected to assume responsibility for new roles in health care provision, but the guidelines for doing so must be laid out by the state, professional associations and senior management of health care institutions and educational institutions. Managers should insist on and create conditions for reflection of professional work, critical thinking, gathering of information on similar issues in professional and scientific publications, as well as clearly define nursing issues and solve them in cooperation with the research settings. A National Research Center should be established and the responsibility of doing this lies with the Nurses and Midwives Association of Slovenia. Finally, managers of health care institutions should start planning research and development departments.


This paper presents a new high-sensitivity PET geometry for high fidelity MRI-compatible PET breast imaging which can scan both breasts simultaneously and have: high sensitivity and resolution; compatibility with MR-breast imaged volume; complete visualization of both breasts, mediastinum and axilla; and a modular design. Whereas contemporary dedicated x-ray and molecular breast imaging devices only scan one breast at a time, this approach relies on an unconventional PET geometry, and is able to provide a PET field of view (FOV) larger than that from dedicated breast MRI. The system geometry is evaluated with GATE Monte Carlo simulations of intrinsic system parameters. Various sized lesions (4-6mm) having [6:1 to 4:1] lesion:background radioactivity ratios mimicking different biological uptake are simulated, strategically located throughout a volumetric anthropomorphic torso. Dedicated breast PET (dbPET) imaging is compared with contemporary clinical PET. The dbPET system sensitivity is >6X greater than for contemporary whole-body PET. The novel, non-conventional system geometry allows for simultaneous dual-breast imaging, along with full medial and axillary imaging. Iteratively reconstructed full-volumetric images illustrate sharper visualization of 4mm lower uptake [4:1] lesions throughout the FOV compared with clinical PET. Image overlap between dedicated breast PET and MRI FOVs is excellent. Simulation results indicate clear superiority over conventional, high-sensitivity whole-body PET systems, as well as improved sensitivity over single-breast dbPET systems. This proposed system potentially facilitates both early detection and diagnosis, especially by increasing specificity of MRI, as well as visualizing tissue heterogeneity, monitoring therapeutic efficacy, and detecting breast cancer recurrence throughout the entire mediastinum.


A semi-empirical model was developed for the drying of press cake on an inert sphere in the spout region of a dryer. The coefficients for the Lewis and Page (for the prediction of moisture ratio) and the Chung-Pfost (for the prediction of equilibrium moisture content) models were determined experimentally. The predicted temperature of the press cake was validated using three trials conducted at drying conditions (temperature, relative humidity): 55°C, 55%; 65°C, 45%; and 75°C, 43%. Predicted temperatures were within ∼10% of the experimental temperatures. Improved prediction accuracy was achieved as press cake temperature approached air temperature.


Governments throughout the Pacific islands seek policies to improve agricultural productivity and nutrition, and conserve genetic resources, by working at both national and regional levels. The objective is to achieve sustainable food security within the framework set by the Rome Declaration of the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS), reaffirmed at the WFS five years later and expressed in the Millennium Development Goals (FAO 2002). However, throughout the region there is little agriculture research and development (R&D) to improve productivity, even for the major food crops, and where it occurs the results are neither widely shared nor disseminated. If increased productivity is not achieved, it is unlikely that people will have sufficient time for other economic enterprises such as processing and value addition of presently grown crops, or diversification into new economic activities. Thus, unemployment will continue to rise, with concomitant increases in migration to urban centres. The challenge faced by most Pacific island countries and territories is how to address these problems and carry out the R&D activities related to food crop improvement under the circumstances of prohibitively high costs of research, limited capacity, and the complexity of the regional development issues. The concept of a Pacific Regional Crop Improvement Programme (PARCIP) arose to address these issues and is outlined below, together with the rationale for collaboration and networking amongst Pacific island countries and territories to undertake research into food crop improvement. An analysis of the issues, challenges and opportunities of such a program to achieve food security in the Pacific region is presented.


In this paper, we present experimental evidence of phase matched third harmonic generation at 355 nm from a beam at 1064 nm incident on a photonic crystal made of 120 nm in diameter polystyrene spheres ordered in an fee lattice. Numerical calculations show that at the lower angle edge of the Bragg reflected band, the periodical structure induced effective index of refraction at 355 nm matches the index of refraction at 1064 nm.


Around the world the number, size and level of complexity of FRP structures in infrastructure increases rapidly, and it is seen that also for traffic bridges and lock doors FRP is selected in commercial projects. The main challenge in design guidance is the fact that FRP can be made by many different processes with varying degrees of automation. So how can we deal with this variety? How do we take the limited experience branch wide into account? The CUR 96 [1] is the Dutch Design Guidance for FRP in Infrastructure (2003). It is currently being revised into Eurocode format and chapters are added dealing with aspects such as quality control and design verification by tests. The partial factors of the CUR96 guidance were compared to material test data on samples that have been exposed to water for 10 years. Due to the limited number of samples this cannot be considered as a full calibration but allows for a valuable assessment of the validity of the factors.


This paper presents a scalable 256-element Ka-band switchable dual-polarizrd phased-array SATCOM transmitter (TX). The phased-array can generate linear, rotated linear, clockwise and counter-clockwise polarization which can be selected by setting the phased shifters in the beamformer chips. The low-cost design uses FR-4 based printed circuit board (PCB), surface mount technology (SMT) and silicon beamformer chips. The phased-array can scan to ± 60° in the elevation plane with a 3-dB beamwidth of 7° and 34.5 dBW EIRP at broadside. It has a measured 3-dB instantaneous axial-ratio bandwidth of 2 GHz and is scalable without grating lobes to allow economical construction of larger phased-arrays. The compact size of (14 x 11.5 cm) makes it suitable for a low-cost Ka-band SATCOM terminal.


Recent advancements in antiemetic therapy have dramatically improved the supportive care of cancer patients undergoing treatment. Although chemotherapyinduced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a preventable side effect in most patients receiving emetogenic chemotherapy, an estimated 70% to 80% of patients still experience symptoms.1,2 Uncontrolled CINV not only affects the patient's functional activity and quality of life, but it may also lead to poor treatment adherence and delays in treatment.3,4 In addition, inadequately controlled CINV is associated with potentially serious consequences that result in increased healthcare costs and resource utilization.2,4 CINV persists as one of the most common and distressing side effects of cancer therapy.4,5 In one study, more than 90% of patients who experienced both acute and delayed CINV reported that their daily life had been affected.6 Another study revealed that more than 75% of physicians and nurses underestimated the incidence of delayed CINV following highly emetogenic and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC and MEC), although they accurately predicted the incidence of acute CINV.7 The results of this study indicate that delayed CINV continues to be an important target for improved therapeutic intervention.7 There also appears to be a gap in knowledge regarding the latest evidence-based antiemetic guidelines.8 In order to provide patients with optimal protection throughout their therapy, clinicians must be aware of the most up-to-date recommendations for the prevention and management of CINV, as well as effective implementation strategies. INTRODUCTION


This paper presents design and implementation of a GSM payphone. Low production price, design simplicity and low power consumption are the main features of the designed payphone. Our design integrates two microcontrollers, a GSM engine and some analog and digital parts.


The modal structure of an atmospheric aerosol size spectrum determines to a significant extent the role of aerosol particles in the formation of weather and climate and their potential danger to living beings. In this paper, the modal structure of the atmospheric aerosol particle size spectra for nucleation burst days was investigated using data acquired at a rural measurement site in Estonia during the year 2005. The measurements were made with the original electrical aerosol spectrometer designed at the Institute of Environmental Physics of the University of Tartu. The performed analysis relied on air mass histories, factor analysis and least-square fitting. The highest particle number concentrations were found in Arctic air masses. The start time of a nucleation burst was found to be dependent on the air mass type: in Arctic air masses nucleation occurred before the noon, whereas in the polar air it occurred in the afternoon.


A socioeconomic gradient describes the relationship between a social outcome and socioeconomic status for individuals in a specific jurisdiction, such as a school, a province or state, or a country (Willms, 2003a). Within this framework, this presentation will analyze the relationship between students' performance in mathematics and reading and their socioeconomic and cultural status in the case of Latin American and Caribbean primary school students that were assessed by the Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study-SERCE, OREALC/UNESCO Santiago (2008). It is shown that there is a considerably variation of the strength of this relationship among countries, suggesting different degrees of success in reducing the disparities associated with socioeconomic and cultural status.


This study examined the influence of Astaxanthin added in feed on pigment accumulation in the muscle-skin, as well as resistance to salinity stress and copper toxicity of clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris). Mean length of fish was 33.05 ± 3.29 mm. Five experiments were performed with synthetic Astaxanthin contents: 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg diets. After 8 weeks of the experiment, the pigment accumulation of Astaxanthin in the muscle-skin of clownfish was the lowest in the control treatment of 2.11 ± 0.13 µg/g, while these treatments of 150 and 200 mg/kg diets were over 10 µg/g. The treatments of 150 and 200 mg Astaxanthin/kg increased the resistance to copper toxicity and salinity stress test of the fish. The resistance of the fish was longer (>50 minutes) compared to the control (42.4 minutes) in an environment with salinity of 0‰ (p


The need for literal education, matching the rapid changes in the media has been increasing in recent years. However, it is true that not enough research has been done on the efficiency of literacy compared to the increasing need. For example, empirical approaches such as studies on the effects of integrated media literacy on youth learning. Thus, this paper took multimedia education, which is different from existing image education, as a subject of research and studied the results of education that fused text and video and sound to teenagers in terms of learning effectiveness. It is an academic quest to see if multimedia education really has positive ᄃ effect for teenagers' learning. As a result of both quantitative and qualitative research as a method of research, multimedia education was concluded to be meaningful in improving learning ability, and based on this, it presented a practical-oriented learner participation education while expanding appearance such as language education through multimedia education. The suggestions for these various education policies will spread to the confidence that multimedia education can be the center of all learning activities as the core of education that achieves an all-round personality, not just an aid to existing education.


Abstract To cater to the growing personalized need of customers, increasingly more make-to-order distribution centers consider a two-phase production (i.e. raw material granulation and order packaging) process when making production and routing decisions, especially for time-sensitive commodities. In this article, we extend the production routing problem to the make-pack-route problem (MPRP) to devise production and routing schedules that allow for flexible order composition and ensure in-time delivery. To solve the MPRP, we propose an iterative sequential scheduling heuristic embedded with the local search, which sequentially solves the three corresponding scheduling problems and improves the overall schedule in an iterative manner. Our numerical studies verify that our method can solve practically meaningful instances (e.g. up to 200 orders and 30 items) in an acceptable time duration (i.e. 1 hour). Our studies show an average 11.6% reduction in the total processing cost compared to an ad hoc scheduling method commonly used in practice. Our studies also suggest that our solution method saves more costs with more orders, higher order variety and larger average commodity quantity and variety in each order.


Abstract: Since 2010, four Parliamentary committees have criticized Britain's failure to promote its capacity for strategy making. Publicly, this failure is identified with the decisions of 2002-03, and especially with the invasion of Iraq. But the 1998 Strategic Defence Review was in trouble before the 9/11 attacks because it was underfunded. More culpable was Britain's failure to learn and adapt in 2006. The formation of the National Security Council by the 2010 coalition has yet to deliver. ********** On 10 April 2013, the United Kingdom's (UK) House of Commons Defence Committee published its tenth report of the 2012-13 session, Securing the Future of Afghanistan. Few of the 39 numbered paragraphs of conclusions and recommendations could be described as laudatory, and most took aim at the British government and specifically the Ministry of Defence. The overall tenor of the report was evident in its paragraph on strategic communications. It is vital that the process [of the hand over to Afghanistan of the responsibility for its own security] is seen as transition and not as a 'withdrawal through fatigue.' We have seen little evidence that the government's communications strategy is fulfilling its objectives. The strategy should contain as a bare minimum the following: what we set out to do; what we achieved; what remains to be done including managing the continuing risk, albeit reduced, of UK casualties; and the manner of the departure of UK Armed Forces. (1) Currently, the British government has yet to reply, but it can safely be said that no one is holding their breath. A communications strategy is impossible without a security strategy, and the absence of both has been the subject of comment by parliamentary committees in addition to that on defense. In March 2011, the Foreign Affairs Committee, in its report on the UK's foreign policy approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan, stated it "had gained the impression that the focus on tactical military gains in specific provinces is in danger of obscuring the very real security and other strategic challenges which exist beyond the immediate military campaign elsewhere in Afghanistan." Tellingly, these words appeared under the overall heading "Tactical Rather Than Strategic Success? (2) A year later the Joint Parliamentary Committee on National Security Strategy examined the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) procedure which had been used to underpin the 2010 National Security Strategy. The latter had said Afghanistan had not been included in the NSRA as the risk assessment process was designed to address only future security risks, not immediate ones. The committee expressed its surprise: We remain to be convinced of the Government's reasoning for not including Afghanistan in the NSRA. The Government has said that it is not including "immediate security issues", but terrorism, accidents, flooding and cyber attack are included, though they are all current threats. While the date of troop withdrawal may be a firm policy, we take the view that Afghanistan and the surrounding region remain an area of risk for the UK's security and this ought to be reflected in the NSRA. (3) The Joint Parliamentary Committee's comments about Afghanistan in particular were set against a wider worry: that the problem was not confined to Afghanistan alone. Over the last five years a consensus has developed that Britain is not very good at making strategy, and that this represents a fall from grace for a generation inclined to cite Churchill and Alanbrooke as evidence that once it was. The National Security Strategy (NSS) published in 2010 by David Cameron's government, the Joint Parliamentary Committee opined, "does not yet present a clear overarching strategy: a common understanding about the UK's interests and objectives that guides choices on investment across government departments, including domestic departments, as well as guiding operational priorities and crisis response. …


Glucose phosphorylation was increased and the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase was decreased in the liver of perch Perca fluviatilis after feeding previously fasted fish with a high protein/low carbohydrate diet as well as with a diet containing 23% carbohydrate. Activity of the low affinity hexokinase IV (or D), also called glucokinase (GK), was not observed in the liver of perch on the natural diet, fasted perch or perch after feeding with the high protein/low-carbohydrate diet (< 0.2% CHO). How ever, hepatic GK-activity appeared after feeding with the carbohydrate containing diet. By contrast, the activity of hepatic high affinity hexokinase (HK), which was very low in fasted fish, was strongly increased after feeding with the low-carbohydrate as well as the carbohydrate-containing diet. Apparently, HK rather than GK is the hexokinase isoenzyme that is consistently regulated inversely to glucose-6-phosphatase. Activities of the lipogenic enzymes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, ATP-citrate lyase and malic enzyme were increased by feeding, particularly with the high protein/low carbohydrate diet. Very high levels of hepatic glycogen were observed after both diets. The results are in accordance with the hypothesis that the hepatic high affinity isoenzyme (HK) has a particular anabolic role.


Five hundred financial institutions in the United States were randomly sampled each year for five consecutive years in order to examine Internet participation, both evident at the time of the survey and planned by the selected financial institutions. Each year the selected institutions were surveyed regarding the existing involvement of their institution with online banking and that institution's Internet plans for the following two-year period. This study examines changes over time in the responses of the surveyed institutions. The results show that, over the study period, the percent of respondents that had or planned an Internet present within two years of the survey increased from 52% in 1996 to over 90% in 2000, and that the number of online services offered to customers is increasing.


In Republican and Imperial Rome, weeping often accompanied private or public events. To embellish their speeches and establish their authority, senators, emperors and outstanding soldiers did not hesitate to shed tears when the situation was serious. The effect of such sobbing in public depended on their social positions and their fame: an aristocrat's laments had more influence than a simple soldier's. For women, on the contrary, tears were often prohibited (except in mourning), even though their "nature" and their imbecillus animus (Livy, 3, 48, 8) were assumed to predispose them to cry. Emotional blackmail was generally considered a female phenomenon by the Romans. Despite its insistence on composure, the philosophy of the time, particularly that of the Stoics, was unable to prevent this major recourse to tears, which was gradually diverted and given renewed value by Christian authors in their praise of repentance.


PEOPLE AND PLANTS: TWO HUNDRED MILLENNIA OF COEVOLUTION CROPS AND THEIR GENETICS: 90 MILLION YEARS OF EVOLUTION PEOPLE, PLANTS, AND FARMING IN PREHISTORIC TIMES: TEN MILLENNIA OF CLIMATIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE PEOPLE AND PLANTS IN HISTORIC TIMES: GLOBALISATION OF AGRICULTURE AND THE RISE OF SCIENCE


Four isostructural inorganic-organic hybrid ferroelectric compounds, assembled from achiral 3-R-benzylidene-1-aminopyridiniums (R = NO(2), Br, Cl, or F for 1-4, respectively) and [PbI(3)](-) anions with the chiral Kagomé-shaped tubular aggregating architecture, show larger spontaneous polarizations.


This article will provide an overview and discussion of the psychodynamic school of coaching psychology and psychodynamic therapy. Furthermore, we will consider some of the main similarities and differences in the application of psychodynamic coaching with a special focus on distinctions between therapy and coaching. These distinctions will be presented as thirteen bullet-points.


Sixth cranial nerve palsy can occur due to pathology involving any of the five sections along its course from the dorsal pons to the lateral rectus muscle within the orbit. Of all the cranial nerves it has the longest intracranial course. Although pathologies such as hemorrhage, meningitis, inflammation, and infiltration with tumors have been reported to affect cisternal portion of the sixth nerve. Neurovascular conflict causing abducens palsy is relatively rare.[1] Ischemic mononeuropathy due to atherosclerotic risk factors such as older age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia is considered the most likely etiology of isolated sixth nerve palsy, but it does not exclude a structural cause which needs detailed imaging.[2] In this issue, Arishima and Kikuta describe microvascular conflict by the dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar system as the cause of isolated abducens palsy.[3] The authors should be commended for their observation and detailed imaging to find out vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia as the cause of the sixth nerve palsy though their patient had the risk factors for ischemic mononeuropathy such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and ischemic heart disease.


Eight basmati varieties/lines were selected on the basis of phenotypic and genotypic screening for the development of F1 seed. All the possible combinations were made between the selected rice germplasm lines excluding reciprocals in diallel mating design. Based on the genetic component analysis, both additive and non-additive components appeared what is important in the inheritance of the most traits. Different type of gene expressions was present in all the morphological traits under study, but some traits were also influenced by the environmental conditions. Genetic analysis showed the greatest genetic variability among the basmati rice germplasm for various traits. The high genetic variability could help the breeders to develop new high yielding varieties under water stressed condition. The objective of the study was screening of high yielding rice varieties and development of new one. Griffing analysis revealed that genotypes CB-17, CB-42, Basmati-198 and Basmati-2000 were good general combiners for various traits especially under water stressed conditions. Highest specific combining ability was found in Basmati198 × CB-17 for primary branches per panicle, Basmati-2000 × CB-42 for spikelets per panicle and CB-42 × CB-17 for heading days and maturity especially under water stressed conditions. From this study, it is concluded that our recent germplasm has great genetic potential that can be used for the development of new rice varieties.


Abstract Objectives To assess the clinical value of voxel-based automatic quantitative analysis using a normal brain glucose metabolism database in the preoperative localization of focal intractable temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Methods Patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy who underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) imaging were retrospectively enrolled from January to June 2017. Visual analysis was performed by two nuclear medicine radiologists, and the automatic quantitative analysis was carried out using MIMneuro software based the age- and gender-stratified normal brain glucose metabolism database. Setting postoperative outcomes as reference, the consistency between visual analysis and automatic quantitative analysis was tested by Cohen's kappa coefficient, and differences in localization of epileptic foci of the two methods were compared by Chi-square test. Results A total of 32 patients intractable temporal lobe epilepsy were included in this study. There was a moderate agreement between the automatic quantitative analysis based on MIMneuro software and visual analysis (kappa coefficient = 0.472, p = 0.002). In terms of the efficiency of focus localization, the voxel-based automatic quantitative analysis was higher than that of visual analysis (Chi-square value = 6.969, p = 0.008). Conclusions The voxel-based automatic quantitative analysis combined with normal brain glucose metabolism database had a certain clinical application value for detection temporal lobe epilepsy.


This paper presented a method of analyzing the probability of Internet worm infection in internal network.Analyzed the packets through the switch in network by using the active of Internet worm,acquired the amount of abnormal packets,then analyzed the number of abnormal packets to get the abnormal packets rise rate by using AR model.Weighted the abnormal flow and abnormal packets rise rate in internal network,comprehensively estimated them and got the probability of Internet worm infection in internal network.The experiment results show that the method is effective and feasible.


This work presents the experimental investigation of heat fluxes through the walls of a reduced-scale rocket motor using hydrogen and oxygen as propellants. The engine is water-cooled so that it can be run in steady state for up to 120 s. More than 100 thermocouples are used to retrieve wall temperature and derive heat fluxes. It is shown how the chamber pressure affects the overall heat-flux level, while the mixture ratio greatly influences its distribution. Direct visualisation of the flame provides an indication that the heat-flux distribution is correlated to the location of heat release given by OH* visualization.


The urban sustainability is a new paradigm in the form of understand and manage the city. It is a process more than an end; it recognizes the disposal of resources, the change of the urban metabolism, included in the others matter the limit and the form. In the context of the European Union (EU) has initiated some policies, strategies and compromises to promote the sustainability in the European cities. This article analyzes the main urban problems in the EU, and the initiatives toward the urban sustainability that delineates a European model for a sustainable city.


With software systems becoming increasingly complex and opaque, explainability has become an emerging software quality aspect of our time. Raising explainability requirements for a large crowd of stakeholders can be a difficult task. At this point, it is unclear what factors have an impact on the subjective need for explanations. As researchers, we do not know whether end-users' explainability needs are specific for each system or if there are user types that have more generalized needs. Designing stakeholder personas has proven to be an effective method to elicit and communicate requirements. Indeed, personas have been established in both research and in applied scenarios such as software projects. Past work has created end-user personas for explainability requirements in the context of a specific system. The goal of this work is to design personas that do not only apply to explainability requirements of a certain software, but to explainability requirements in general. To this end, we conduct a mixed-methods user study consisting of an online survey and an interview study. Based on insights of 70 participants from the online survey, 10 of which were also interviewed, we design four end-user personas for general explainability requirements. We also validate the personas by doing use case walkthroughs with our participants. Our results indicate that it is possible to design end-user personas for general explainability requirements. These personas might be used in early software development stages to estimate end-users explainability needs before more specific requirements can be raised.


The literature on agreement between psychiatrists on the diagnostic assignment of cases has been extensively reviewed by Ley (1970). Percentage agreement figures ranged from 24 per cent and 28 per cent agreement for type of character disorder and type of neurosis respectively to 80 percent for type of organic illness. Taken at face value these findings suggested that psychiatric diagnosis may often be of little value.


As part of the RCN response to JM Consulting's document reviewing the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, the RCN suggested that a probationary period for newly qualified nurses should be considered.


Liquid-air interfacial tensions of representative alkanol+alkane and alkanol+amine systems measured by the differential capillary rise technique at 298.15 K are reported. The binary systems studied are hexane+ethanol and +1-propanol, heptane+ethanol and +1-propanol, and n-butylamine+methanol, +ethanol, and +1-butanol. The excess surface tensions in the alkanol+alkane systems are negative, while in the alkanol+amine systems they are positive. The surface tensions themselves for the alkanol+amine systems, when plotted against mole fraction, exhibit a maximum. The two classes of systems erhibit characteristic patterns in their relative adsorptions. The results are discussed in relation to the bulk properties of these hydrogen-bonded systems


Introduction There are several different models for describing the nutrient ruminal degradation of feeds. The use of a particular model in fitting a given degradability data set and estimating the degradability parameters implies the holistic examination of model goodness-of-fit, otherwise the validity of estimated parameters may be controvertible. One of the criteria for evaluating goodness-of-fit is model behaviour analysis. In the present work, the behaviour of a first-order model when fitting whole soybean ruminal degradability data was investigated.


Abstract Advances in RNA and DNA profiling have identified four core molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma of prognostic significance: Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) subtype, WNT subtype, Group 3, and Group 4. Infants and young children with SHH medulloblastoma have demonstrated a favorable outcome in clinical trials utilizing either high-dose chemotherapy ("Head Start") or a combination of intravenous and intraventricular methotrexate (HIT-SKK). Two recently conducted clinical trials (COG ACNS1221 and St. Jude – SJYC07) failed to demonstrate similar survival advantage with conventional dose chemotherapy and without intraventricular methotrexate. "Head Start" 4 (HS 4) is a prospective randomized clinical trial that tailors treatment based on medulloblastoma molecular subgroups and response to induction chemotherapy to compare the efficacy of one versus versus three (tandem) cycles of myeloablative therapy. Eligibility includes newly diagnosed children less than six years of age with localized medulloblastoma. Eligible patients with SHH medulloblastoma were considered "low-risk" and non-randomly assigned to receive three cycles of induction chemotherapy (vincristine, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and high-dose methotrexate) followed by consolidation with single cycle of myeloablative chemotherapy (thiotepa, carboplatin, etoposide) and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell rescue. Patients with less than a complete response after three induction cycles received two additional cycles prior to consolidation therapy. Only children between 6 -10 years old, or those with confirmed residual tumor post-consolidation, were meant to receive irradiation after consolidation. Twenty-eight children with localized SHH medulloblastoma were enrolled on the trial with a median age of 2.1 years (range: 0.3-5.9 years). Median follow-up for this cohort is 29.6 months (range: 7.0-58.6 months). The estimated 3-year event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) is 96% (CI: 89-100%) and 100%, respectively. The estimated 3-year EFS for SHH subtype 1 and 2 patients is 100% and 95%, respectively (p=0.65). None of the M0 SHH medulloblastoma patients received irradiation.


A preliminary checklist of butterflies collected in the Caldera de Lubá is presented. Of the 70 species cited, 14 represent the first records from Bioko (Graphium ucalegon ucalegon, Nepheronia argia argia, Pentila fidonioides, Cymothoe althea, Cymothoe capella, Cymothoe consanguis, Lachnoptera anticlia, Amauris vashti, Bicyclus golo, Bicyclus neustetteri, Coeliades forestan, Ceratrichia phocion camerona, Celaenorrhinus plagiatus and Semalea pulvina). From the results obtained after applying different diversity indices (richness, dominance, evenness) and accumulation functions, we can infer that the Rhopalocera of the Gran Caldera de Lubá constitute an extraordinarily diverse community of great evenness, lacking generally highly threatened taxa or species with a localized occurrence on Bioko and, collectively, the fauna is characterized by a highly even and stable structure. The results obtained can provide the tools to develop conservation measures in the future, as well as to strengthen the creation of Scientific Reserves used as genetic resources warehouse.


A new technique for digital watermarking MP3 file is presented. A Psychoacoustic auditory model is applied to shape and insert the watermark waveform into the MP3 file. The strength of frequency hopping spread spectrum and multiple frequency-shift keying modulation is used to generate a robust digital watermark. Watermark recovery is performed in the absence of the original file. According to experimental tests, the proposed method not only shows a good resistance to different kinds of attacks either intentional or unintentional but also retains the perceptual quality of MP3 file.