These Proceedings are dedicated to our co-editor Konrad Bajer, who carried the lion's share of the work involved until his sudden and untimely death from cancer on 29th August 2014. Konrad was one of the key Organisers of the program "Topological Dynamics in the Physical and Biological Sciences" held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge from July to December 2012. During that time, he was on leave from the University of Warsaw, and held a Visiting Fellow Commonership at Trinity College, Cambridge. He had particular responsibility for the satellite workshop Tangled Magnetic Fields in Astro- and Plasma Physics, held at ICMS, Edinburgh, in October 2012. Konrad graduated in Physics from the University of Warsaw in 1980, and took his PhD in Fluid Dynamics at DAMTP, Cambridge, 1984-89. He was active in EUROMECH, having been a principal organiser of the European Turbulence Conference (ETC13) in Warsaw 2011, and the meeting Turbulence: the Historical Perspective that followed it. He has been equally active in IUTAM; his distinction was recognised by his very recent election to the Congress Committee of IUTAM. Konrad's research interests were in magnetohydrodynamics and vortex dynamics in classical and quantum systems; also in problems of gasifcation, in which he played a coordinating role at the University of Warsaw. He impressed all with his exceptionally warm and friendly personality, and will be greatly missed in the whole scientifc community.


We characterize exactly the compactness properties of the product of \kappa\ copies of the space \omega\ with the discrete topology. The characterization involves uniform ultrafilters, infinitary languages, and the existence of nonstandard elements in elementary estensions. We also have results involving products of possibly uncountable regular cardinals.


The paper examines the effects of mass media health communication, specifically, maternal access and use of media communication in health and health care on childhood immunisation at the peri-urban settlements in the Kumasi metropolis. A sample of 240 mothers, drawn using random (chance selection) was used for the survey. The main research instrument was formal interview (face-to-face). Charts were used to depict the results whilst chi square tests, derived from cross-tabulation using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS), were used to determine significant differences among the independent variables. Results show that children whose parents regularly access mass media health communication go through all or greater part of immunisation methods. Other factors that influence childhood immunisation are maternal age, schooling, employment, marital status and husband's education. For maternal access of health communication, the significant factors influencing it are maternal education, husband's education and marital status. Recommendations made to improve maternal access of childhood immunisation facilities and health communication include, compulsory education of the girl-child beyond basic education, informal education of illiterate mothers, provision of mass media health communication facilities such as television sets in the communities, enhancement of health communication at the hospitals, the simplification of the language used in health communication, and the regular use of local languages. Further research areas have been proposed.


This paper describes how to control water activity in a PEM fuel cell using a new graphic formalism of energy systems called Macroscopic Energy Representation (MER). This methodology allowed us to model the behavior of a PEMFC (fuel cell voltage, power and relative humidity) as a function of operating variables such as (current, pressure, temperature, flows of hydrogen, oxygen and water). The validation of the simulation results shows the importance of the influence of relative humidity RH on the PEMFC cell behavior. In addition, these variables adjusted to take account of the RH in order to obtain better performance of the operation of the FC. For this reason, a control method based on inversion the Maximum Control Structure (MCS) used in order to ensure a relevant and adequate use of this energy system and to avoid the disadvantages of flooding and drying case, to achieve the desired relative humidity for relaxed operation of this PEMFC.


Many types of aeromechanics simulations are very expensive to perform because the computational cost per time step is quadratic or cubic in the discretization. To improve this situation, it is shown how such simulations can be accelerated by using two approaches: 1. Utilizing powerful parallel hardware for high computational throughput; 2. Developing effective fast algorithms to reduce the computational complexity. The hardware method has been implemented by using parallel programming on graphic processors with hundreds cores, and the algorithmic method was realized by an efficient fast multipole method. An application is shown where the use of both methods is combined to give nearly two orders of magnitude reduction in computational cost.


In attempting to prepare a vinyl ether from vinyl chloride and a sodium alkoxide via the Williamson ether synthesis, Reppe and his coworkers' discovered the vinylation reaction. They found this reaction to have wide applicability not only to alcohols but to many other classes of compounds including phenols, carboxylic acids, mercaptans, amines, imines, and amides containing an active hydrogen atom. The process of adding such molecules to acetylene is known as vinylation and may be formulated according to Equation 1, in which Q is oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur, and R is alkyl or aryl.


Introduction: Injuries to the nervous system create microenvironments that are not conducive to regeneration and have severe functional repercussions. In this sense, many neurotrophic factors have been studied and suggested as a possible therapeutic strategy for the regeneration and repair of nervous tissue. Objective: To study the neurotrophic factors and their possible potential for the regeneration of nervous tissue, especially the nervous system of adult animals. Method: This is a systematic review of the literature that searched for articles from the Medline and Web of Science databases, published between January 1, 1980 and March 31, 2020. Results: Twenty two experimental studies were selected that prove that neurotrophic factors: 1) improve plasticity and neurogenesis; 2) completely reverse the negative effects of chronic axotomy / activate expression of molecules associated with regeneration and late functional recovery after injury; 3) increase the number of regenerated sensory neurons and improve sensory functional recovery; 4) promote sustained survival and increased motoneuronium / improved muscle re-innervation / recovery of voluntary function / improve locomotor functional recovery; 5) increase the thickness of the nerve fiber, axon diameter and myelin sheath / favors remyelination. Conclusion: Neurotrophic factors are biomolecules that have effects on neurons, such as their survival and stimulation and direction of nerve fiber growth. Some of these factors are products of muscle and other structures that are innervated by neurons, but others are produced by neuroglia. Neurotrophic factors have been highlighted as a possible therapeutic strategy for the regeneration of nervous tissue.


Measuring information asymmetry is an important issue in modern finance. Although there are various information asymmetry measures in the literature, there is no systematic analysis of the merits and drawbacks of these measures. Naturally, the choice of an information asymmetry measure is left to individual researcher's arbitrary decision. This paper attempts to compare various information asymmetry measures. For the analysis, we choose measures derived from four econometric models that are widely used in the market microstructure literature: the Huang and Stoll model (1997; HS), the Madhavan, Richardson, and Roomans model (1997; MRR), the Hasbrouck (1991), Foster and Viswanathan (1993) model (HFV), and Easley, Hvidkjaer, and O'Hara's (2002) PIN (Probability of informed trading) measure. Conceptually, these four measures share the sprit of the Glosten and Milgrom model (1985), in which information asymmetry induces bid-ask spread. In the model, a market maker sets bid and ask prices continuously, and her price-setting behavior is affected by information asymmetry. However, the four measures are differently implemented. HS, MRR and HFV explain the price-setting behavior of the market maker using price changes and an indicator representing the initiator of a trade. HS decomposes the bid-ask spread into three components: adverse selection cost, inventory holding cost, and order processing cost. MRR decomposes the bid-ask spread into two components, adverse selection cost and order processing cost, and considers a first autocorrelation of the trade direction variable. HFV measures the adverse selection cost by using the price impact on the unexpected volume. * We acknowledge the helpful comments of Professor Hee-Joon Ahn, Jay M. Chung, participators in the 2006 First Korea Security Association Regular Seminar and two anonymous referees. Hyuk Choe would like to thank the Management Research Center of Seoul National University for research support.


An open-system irreversible thermodynamic analysis on inert wear and attrition is presented. The aim is to derive a theory which may be implemented in computational fluid dynamics flow solvers. In order to conduct analysis on the differential scale, it is shown that traditional macroscopic-scale concepts, earlier well-established in the literature, cannot be immediately applied. Hence, new differential concepts are introduced. It is argued that the overall analysis can be split up into sub-processes, where different types of specific sub-processes of wear and attrition may be extracted, and directly connected with the corresponding breakage or deformation of either ductile- or brittle-type target materials. Applying the residual thermodynamics framework, the new concepts of wear work and attrition work (at adiabatic conditions) can be defined, which typically only represent a small – often negligible – fraction of the total work.


The advancement of information and communication technologies, offers the training sector the promise that the latest generation of network applications will induce qualitative changes in education and training. In the present European context, Romania plans the strategically goals assumed in the process of integration to became reality an established strategic goals for the transition to a competitive and dynamic economy, to a high quality educational system, based on need to assuring the independence and autonomy context and ensure that higher education and research systems .


This manuscript has presented evidence for the value of and strategy for the development of Plant (Botanical) preparations as approved drugs (pharmaceuticals). Such preparations have historically been the basis for many (most) traditional medicines but have not usually been developed clinically in such a way as to provide confirmation of their safety and efficacy and importantly their consistency such that they provide predictable clinical outcomes patient to patient and reproducibly over time. We outline the process by which these attributes may be accomplished. There are numerous unmet medical needs where botanical drugs can contribute to their solution.


Big philanthropic foundations are transforming public health around the world, but their links to food and drug companies pose potential conflicts of interest, says a study.

The research says that some of the corporations benefit directly from grants from foundations, and foundations in turn have investments in the corporations to which they award the grants.

Foundation board members and decision makers also sit on the boards of some for-profit corporations benefiting from their grants.

Three experts on public health examined the activities, financial investments, and institutional relations of five of …


Colonization of the benthic environment requires planktonic larvae to settle from the water column and metamorphose to a juvenile stage. For many species, planktonic larvae can discriminate between settlement sites; the larvae not only choose consistently between substrates in the laboratory, but cluster on preferred substrates in the field. Chemical properties of benthic environments are known to provide essential cues for larvae actively colonizing habitat sites. The requirements for chemical inducers to trigger settlement and metamorphosis can be exploited for ecological management and commercial benefits.


Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans is a soil bacterium that uses the pyridine pathway to degrade nicotine. The genome of strain ATCC 49919 is composed of a ~4.3-Mbp chromosome and a ~165-kbp plasmid. The second strain, termed here nic-, is a cured derivative lacking the plasmid and not able to degrade nicotine. ABSTRACT Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans is a soil bacterium that uses the pyridine pathway to degrade nicotine. The genome of strain ATCC 49919 is composed of a ~4.3-Mbp chromosome and a ~165-kbp plasmid. The second strain, termed here nic-, is a cured derivative lacking the plasmid and not able to degrade nicotine.


Abstract We determined the migration timing of fry-stocked smolts of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar relative to environmental and physiological factors, by using net weirs and counting fences in three tributaries of the West River, Vermont. Smolt migration began in late April and early May when water temperature was 5°C, peak movements occurred in early and mid-May at temperatures exceeding 8°C, and migration was complete by early June. Within this seasonal window, significant differences in migration timing and gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity occurred among tributaries. In both years of the study, smolts tended to migrate earlier and exhibit greater gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the warmest tributary than in the coolest tributary. Smolt migration timing differed most among tributaries in mid-May when (1) water temperatures were more than 8°C, (2) smolts peaked in gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity, and (3) discharge peaked, stimulating smolt migration. Smolts captured after the migratory period had lower gill Na+,K+-...


Our understanding of the pathophysiology of the anaemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has improved considerably in the last decade with the discovery of the iron regulatory peptide hepcidin. Reduced clearance of hepcidin and the presence of a chronic inflammatory state contribute to elevated hepcidin levels in kidney disease. The recent discovery of the various factors and signalling pathways regulating hepcidin has opened up an exciting avenue for research into the development of newer agents that could treat anaemia of CKD. This review highlights our current understanding of iron metabolism in health, the regulators of hepcidin, issues associated with the current available therapies for the treatment of anaemia in CKD and potential novel therapies that could be available in the near future targeting the various factors that regulate hepcidin.


I really wanted to make a feathered star and this quilt is my first. It is also my first attempt at paper-piecing which I used to create the star. The Ghanaian Adinkra symbol Sankofa is the focal point for this quilt. Sankofa means, "return and get it" and symbolizes the importance of learning from the past. I used batiks I hand stamped in Ghana during trips in 2012 (magenta) and 2014 (black). The Sankofa bird in the center of my quilt reminds me to remember the importance of my heritage as a descendant of enslaved Africans.


In this paper we study the distributional properties of the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model often being applied in economics. For a large class of non‐normal distributions of the noise process various inequalities on the distribution of the GARCH process are established. Moreover, these results are used to derive useful conclusions about the behavior of the average run length of a Shewhart control chart for time series.


The factors of risk coronary are predisposing of the coronary disease, due to implicate an increased at probably of suffering the disease. According of the Ministry of Health the cardiovascular disease is the first cause of death at Venezuela. For that, this studio pretended to evaluate the predisposing factors and determinating the coronary risk on arterial hypertension's workmen of ceramics producer enterprise at Aragua-Venezuela. It is transversal studio and descriptive, in which was realized a medical evaluation and an inquiry that explored aspects nutritional and epidemiological area, a representative sample of 30 people with a middle age of 43 years old, intervening aleatory selection of a population of 503 workmen. The dates were tabulated and processed on Excel2000®, and statistical on Epi-Infov.6.0. It resulted a middle body mass index of 28,57kg/m founding the majority with overweight (80.00%; P<0.01); a middle of 6,37 years with diagnostic of arterial hypertension, receiving treatment with ACEIs (64.71%, P<0.05). The 80% referred familiar antecedent of cardiovascular disease (P<0.05; x=21.60); 16,67% present cigarette smoking with a Acta Cientifica Estudiantil Sociedad Cientifica de Estudiantes de Medicina de la UCV 34 34 index pack/year middle of 2,88p/y; and 73,33% referred alcohol consumption(P<0,05; x=21,60). In agreement the study's software (PROCAM), it found a coronary disease risk to 8 years middle of 5.24%, 45.06years of cardiovascular age, and fitting age risk of 3.29%. Of this extracts named population is submitted to numerous factors that can increased their coronary disease risk, because of this conduced the realization of investigations that allow creating adequate secondary prevention's program.


IO2F has a polymeric structure in the crystalline state. The molecules are linked by secondary I−O bonds with lengths of 2.226(6) A. With IO2F, for the first time the crystal structure of a halogenylfluoride has been determined.


Based on detection and practice on H2S Monitor during the drilling process of a large number of wells with H2S,the writers of this paper studied how temperature,humidity and frequency will influence the confidence level of H2S Monitor when the Monitor is placed at different situations and established the formula for influence of the confidence level of H2S Monitor and introduced the comprehensive confidence level to the assessment of calibration interval of measuring instruments.


Numerous work revolve around the Sierpinski gasket. Its three-dimensional analogue, the Sierpinski tetrahedron, obtained by means of an iterative process which consists in repeatedly contracting a regular 3-simplex to one half of its original height, put together four copies, the frontier corners of which coincide with the initial simplex, appears as a natural extension. Yet, very few works concern the Sierpinski tetrahedron in the existing literature. We go further and, after a detailed study, we give the explicit spectrum of the Laplacian, with a specific presentation of the first eigenvalues. This enables us to obtain an estimate of the spectral counting function (analogous of Weyl's law)


Scratch programming software uses block building instead of code input, which effectively reduces the difficulty of programming. This paper discusses how to use deep learning theory to improve the teaching effect of Scratch programming, and proposes some effective Scratch programming teaching strategies based on deep learning, which can provide reference for front-line Scratch programming teachers.


Positioning based services really picked up pace in the early 90's which came with the emergency response lines like 911, 100, etc. and which due public awareness regarding the location services being offered. These services also extend to the transport and logistics side an example of which would be that nowadays taxies have inbuilt location bases services to track the vehicles. There are multiple positioning based services available like GPS, GLONASS, Time of Arrival, Angle of Arrival, etc. with each having their own pros and cons. We shall cover some of these services and review them for their functioning and functionality.


England antitheatricalism nourished because of fears that the theater interfered with "the audience's power to see things as they are" (150). This was particularly dangerous for the King. Corneille's Cinna, Moliere's Tartuffe, and Racine's Esther all attempt to create a positive image of the monarch which cannot be attacked for its theatricality. Rude and obsessed with his own personal dignity, Voltaire was not able to play the part of court poet under Louis X V as successfully as Racine had under Louis XIV. Neither was he a success at the court of Frederick the Great of Prussia. After defying Louis and presuming upon Frederick's friendship, he invents his own fantasy kingdom at Ferney. The final chapter focuses on King Gustav of Sweden, the playerking, a mild ruler, who took on roles associated with monstrous transgression and who was assassinated leaving a masked ball. Wikander rescues him from his reputation as a king lost in "a theatrical cloud cuckoo-land" by showing how Gustav's involvement with the theater has roots in the humanist tradition of princely education. In each chapter Wikander achieves a sensitive balance between the occasional nature of the dramas he studies and their lasting influence. The result is a rich study that emphasizes the complexity of a relationship that changes with each monarch and each playwright. SALEM C O L L E G E , Caroline McAlister WINSTON-SALEM


Despite very high rates of HIV suppression among patients receiving and adhering to antiretroviral therapy (ART), the proportion of HIV-infected


When Nadya Suleman gave birth to eight babies in January 2009, the story ignited a media frenzy—first because the babies were only the second set of octuplets born in the United States, and later because of the irregularities of their conception by in vitro fertilization and the personal details of their mother's life. Hidden beneath the sensational aspects of the story, though, are a number of fundamental ethical, medical, and legal issues concerning assisted reproductive technologies. Three essays examine these questions.


ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of different performance goals (best time vs. beat the opponent) on pacing behaviour during a 10-km cycling race and explored the influence of different performance level of opponents on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), affective feelings and self-efficacy. Thirteen cyclists performed two time-trials (TT) and two races against a faster (FAST +6%) or a slower (SLOW –3%) virtual opponent. Power output (PO), RPE, affective feelings and self-efficacy were recorded at each kilometre point. Race average and race phases [starting (P1 = first kilometre); first half (P2 = 2nd–5th kilometre); second half (P3 = 6th–9th kilometre) and final sprint (FS = last kilometre)] were analysed. There was no difference in performance, assessed by race time between conditions (p = .84). PO during TT was lower in P3 compared to FS (p = .03; ES 0.6; 90%CI 0.4–0.7). In SLOW and FAST, PO was higher in P1 compared to other phases (p < .05). PO in FS was higher in TT compared to FAST (p = .01; ES −0.97; 90%IC −1.4 to −0.5). RPE increased and affective feelings decreased during all conditions. Self-efficacy was stable through TT and SLOW, but decreased during FAST with higher values in P1 compared to P2 (p = .01; ES −1.1; 90%IC −1.6 to −0.6), P3 (p < .001; ES −2.2; 90%IC −2.8 to −1.6) and FS (p < .001; ES −2.6; 90%IC −3.3 to −1.8). Pacing behaviour, specifically starting and final sprint, was affected by virtual opponents independent of performance level, demonstrating the importance of goal orientation. Highlights Adjustments in exercise intensity result from a complex decision-making process involving physiological, psychological, environmental and tactical information. Goal pursuit is an important determinant of pacing behaviour since athletes must balance their efforts with expectations of success. A competitive environment may be included to motivate participants to maintain their effort and at the same time to improve their self-confidence. The presence of a final sprint seems to be related to the goal orientation and perceived outcomes of success or failure.


Since underwater images are an important route to underwater information, underwater image enhancement becomes an important fundamental study to underwater vision tasks. Regarding problems with underwater degraded images, such as color distortion causing image rendering blue or green, blur and low contrast leading to image loss of detail information, we propose a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) based model that adds an attention mechanism to enhance underwater images. The model finally achieves the purpose of generating clear underwater images by learning the relationship between underwater degraded images and ground truth values, removing color interference in the image and enhancing the details of the image. We compared the proposed model with the the state-of-the-art methods on both EUVP and Underwater Image Enhancement Benchmark Dataset, experimental results on both datasets prove that our method performs more stable than state-of-the-art methods.


The differences both in formation of grain quality and activity of relative enzymes between high-oil maize(HE-2) and common maize(Xundan 20) were studied during filling-maturing stage under field conditions.The results indicated that oil and protein accumulated fast during the fillingmaturing stage and contents of oil and protein in high-oil maize(HE-2) kernel were higher than those in common maize(Xundan 20).Their relevant physiological and biochemical characteristics were also studied,and the activities of nitrate reductase(NR),glutamine synthetase(GS) in leaves and GS,phosphatidate phosphates in grain of the two cultivars took on the same tendency.The activity of NR decreased all the time from prophase of grain filling stage to mature stage, the activities of NR,GS in leaves and GS,phosphatidate phosphatase in high-oil maize were higher than those in Xundan 20,but the invertase activity and starch content were significantly lower.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older people. Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. Several reasons makes the early diagnosis in Alzheimer's Disease important. One of them is that it allows treatments for Alzheimer's disease that help slow its progression. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the CT scan shows a degree of generalized cerebral atrophy. Thus, analysis the CT scan images are very important in early diagnosis in Alzheimer's Disease. Image processing uses for detecting for objects of CT images. Edge detection; which is a method of determining the discontinuities gray level images, is a very important initial step in Image processing. Many classical edge detectors have been developed over time. Some of the well-known edge detection operators based on the first derivative of the image are Roberts, Prewitt, Sobel which are traditionally implemented by convolving the image with masks. Also Gaussian distribution has been used to build masks for the first and second derivative. However, this distribution has a limit to only symmetric shape. This paper will use to construct the masks. The Weibull distribution which was more general than Gaussian because it has symmetric and asymmetric shape. The constructed masks are applied to images and we obtained good results.


The relative changes in the total energy distribution of field-emitted electrons upon adsorption of single atoms have been measured for adsorption of the alkaline-earth atoms (Ba, Sr, and Ca) on several crystal planes of tungsten. The expected perturbations of the energy distribution due to the tunneling resonance through an atomic "virtual level" at various positions relative to the Fermi surface and of various half-widths $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ is demonstrated by a simple one-dimensional calculation. The measured energy-dependent structure in the current-enhancement factor due to the adsorbate has been interpreted in a tunneling-resonance model to yield the positions and shapes of the atomic "virtual levels." The ground-state $^{1}S$ $6{s}^{2}$ level of Ba is broadened to a half-width ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{S}=0.75$ eV and shifted upward by $\ensuremath{\Delta}{E}^{S}=0.95$ eV. This causes it to overlap and mix with the first two excited states: a triplet $^{3}D$ $6s5d$ and a singlet $^{1}D$ $6s5d$. The observed $^{3}D$ and $^{1}D$ levels were not shifted and had a half-width ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{D}=0.1$ eV. Similarly, the first excited state of Ca, a triplet $^{3}P$ $4s4p$, was shifted by $\ensuremath{\Delta}{E}^{3\mathrm{P}}\ensuremath{\approx}0.4$ eV with a width ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{3\mathrm{P}}\ensuremath{\approx}0.3$ eV ($2\ensuremath{\Gamma}=\mathrm{FWHM}$). The effect of the band structure of the substrate on tunneling resonance is discussed.


Provided are a mobile terminal multi-access point name (APN) network concurrent system and concurrent networking method thereof, the system comprising: a multi-APN networking channel module and a routing management module disposed between an application layer and a drive module of a bottom layer; the multi-APN networking channel module is embedded with APN channel configuration information and a multi-APN channel monitoring management module; the APN channel monitoring management module monitors and manages an APN networking channel; when the application layer sequentially issues at least one APN networking instruction to the multi-APN networking channel module, the multi-APN networking channel module allocates, according to the networking instruction, at least one path of a predefined and/or dynamically created virtual network unit, and the routing management module utilizes a channel mode specified by an application program, and/or a routing mode bound to a target address, and/or a mode specified by a transmission address, and/or a default routing mode, thus orderly managing the transmitting and receiving of data in a specified APN data channel before or during data transmission by the application program.


A new system for rearing Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) is described, which integrates economization of space, minimization of contamination and automatic collection of imagos.


NGC 2655, a nearby bright S0/a galaxy in a loose group, has strongly asymmetric central dust lanes and an extended disk of neutral hydrogen gas. Here we present deep optical images showing tidal arms and regions of diffuse starlight well beyond the main galaxy, suggestive of a recent merger. Our maps in the 21 cm line show a layer of neutral hydrogen extending to at least 7.5′ or 40 kpc from the center, with a broken streamer of gas trailing off toward the small neighbor galaxy UGC 4714. The global profile has sloping "shoulders" of extreme-velocity gas, usually a sign of interaction. The diffuse stellar light corresponds generally but not in detail with the distribution of H i. In particular, the stellar light of the main tidal arm extends beyond the H i layer, which is limb-brightened as if it had been compressed from outside. The pattern of gas velocities is generally bisymmetric, but the H i layer is strongly warped; it does not share the kinematics of the stellar disk. The gas orbits twist by at least 90° between 1′ and 3′ of the center, as the H i layer appears to warp through edge-on. The complex optical tails and H i dynamics suggest that the galaxy has undergone multiple mergers. Both at small and at large radii, the gas layer twists in a trailing sense relative to its orbital motion. If the twist results from differential precession in the galaxy's gravitational potential, this would indicate that the dark halo is prolate, elongated along the rotation axis of the disk.


The Regional committee for the honors of the victims of Marzabotto has recently extended its institutional activity to projects and educational workshops for the schools in the Monte Sole area. This contribution takes into account what was done in the school year 2021-2022, that was a phase of significant growth of this commitment in favor of civic education aimed at the new generations.


Pneumology Department, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania; Pneumology Department, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Faculty of Medicine, "Ovidius" University of Constanta, Constanta, Romania; AstraZeneca Romania, Bucharest, Romania; Medical Department, "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania Objective: This study assessed the characteristics and the relationship between symptoms in any part of the 24-hour (24-h) day, physical activity level (PAL), and other clinical and functional outcomes in stable COPD patients. Patients and Methods: Out of the 2162 patients enrolled in the SPACE study (The Symptoms and Physical Activity in COPD patients in Europe, clinicaltrials.gov NCT03031769), 406 (18.8%) were recruited from Romania. Here, we present the Romanian cohort results. Eligible patients were adults with age at least 40 years, confirmed diagnosis of stable COPD, current or former smokers with a smoking history of minimum 10 pack-years. The 24-h respiratory symptoms were assessed using Early Morning Symptoms of COPD Instrument (EMSCI), Evaluating Respiratory Symptoms in COPD (E-RSTM: COPD) and Nighttime Symptoms of COPD Instrument (NiSCI). During clinical interview, patients self-evaluated PAL through Exercise as Vital Sign (EVS) and Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS). Physicians assessed PAL through their clinical judgment. Results: For each combination of 2 between the early morning (EM), daytime (DT) and night-time (NT) symptoms of the 24-h day, there was a significant association (p < 0.001 for each). All symptoms significantly correlated with exacerbation history (p < 0.001 for EM and NT, p=0.002 for DT), and number of severe exacerbations (p < 0.001 for DT, p=0.001 for EM and p=0.026 for NT, respectively). The 24-h symptoms correlated negatively and significantly with PAL (p < 0.001), irrespective of the assessment used. Self-reported PAL negatively correlated with dyspnea, symptom burden, severity of disease and number of exacerbations (p < 0.001). Patients spent an average (standard deviation) of 25.8 (21.0) hours/week performing physical activity. Physicians overestimated their patients' daily PAL. Conclusion: A negative and significant correlation between the 24-h day symptoms and PAL was identified in stable COPD patients. Physicians need to routinely assess PAL using adequate tools and start educating inactive COPD patients to optimize their disease outcomes.


In everyday life, it is often not practical to conduct choice tests or operant conditioning tests, and what vets, farmers, zoo keepers, pet owners and others concerned with the day-to-day care of animals need are quicker and easier ways of assessing whether animals have what they want. Sounds, gestures, facial expressions or other behaviours often provide information about whether animals have, or do not have what they want and so are potential correlates of welfare. However, deciphering the body language of animals correctly take time and effort and it is often not easy to find behaviour that reliably distinguishes between situations that animals want and those that they want to avoid. In order to establish the valence of behaviour such as stereotypies, anticipation behaviour, changes in activity levels or diversity, it has to be shown that these are reliable indicators of what animals want.


Today, mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) are the main target platforms for developers. To support the new challenges, traditional programming languages are not enough and new ones are emergent to enable programmers (and end-users) to develop software that takes advantage of new hardware capabilities. Since the first edition in 2013, PROMOTO has brought together researchers interested in exploring new programming paradigms and embracing the new technologies in the area of touch-enabled mobile devices.


Recent landslides of Pakistan (2005), Boulivia and Indonesia (April, 2003) caused huge losses of lives and property. Such threatening landslides are widely distributed in the world and in Oman too. Several have occurred in the last two decades due to slope failure and/or rock cutting for socio-economic purposes. Hilat Al-Sad landslide is one example of Al-Wattayah(Muscat) landslides which spread panic in 1996. It was activated just after the completion of a rock cut. The sliding raised a question whether it happened due to rock cutting activity or due to regional stresses. For searching the evidence, shallow seismic refraction investigations were carried out in this structurally folded and faulted rocks of varied lithology and ages, using 24-channels seismic recorder and the hammer as energy source. The orthogonal seismic spreads revealed the existence of two perpendicular faults within 20 meters depth. But sliding was found to be unrelated to the faults; it appears to have occurred due to toe failure on a weaker plane developed recently or previously.


I explore the concept of attunement in this paper. Informed by my own story and other scholarly work, attunement in this paper is employed to describe an autobiographical theory of education. In such an autobiographical theory of education learning becomes situated not only in the school-subject and specific prior knowledge, but also in one's subjective sense of intellectual labor. Basically, this paper comprises two sections. In the first I elucidate my understanding of the concept of attunement. Attunement, in this paper, refers to learning guided and experienced by oneself subjectively striving for deeper understanding, during which one searches for meaning as well as begets one's engagement with the world. In the second, I describe that attunement has three elements: contingency, boundary and sensitivity. Contingency emphasizes the particularity of experience, identified from one's own perspective; boundary refers to the challenges and difficulties experienced by oneself; sensitivity underscores how one can go beyond one's boundary subjectively, thus being attuned to new forms of understanding or thinking.

Key-words: attunement, contingency, sensitivity, awakening inwardness


The clinical, hematological, and cytogenetic data from two young adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) FAB type M1 is described. At diagnosis, cytogenetic investigation revealed the presence of the translocation t(6;9)(p23;q34). Bone marrow basophilia was not detected in either patient nor was there any evidence of preceding or underlying myelodysplasia. Both patients achieved complete remission (CR) and one patient remains in CR of over 5 years duration. It is suggested that the presence of basophilia may be associated with the myelodysplasia rather than the chromosome anomaly t(6;9).


To test the influence of urban built environment on walkability in mainland Chinese cities, this study developed a questionnaire to perceive the residents' perception of walkability around their neighborhood, which was based on the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated (NEWS-A), and modified to reflect the characteristics of mainland Chinese built environment and people's behavior mode. To perceive the final version of Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Mainland China (NEWS-MC), We made a pilot study which include 50 samples, then interview 350 residents from 4 selected residential districts in Harbin which were different in walkability attributes and economic status. The final version of the NEWS-MC included 8 subscales and 5 single items (81 items in total). Test-retest reliability showed moderate to high except 1 subscale. In total, the NEWS-MC could illustrate residents' perceptions of walkability attributes in mainland Chinese cities and could be use in other Chinese urban attributes studies related to walking.


history of others who lived there—Germans andjews before the 1980s and, since the early 1990s, Slovaks and Roma. This is not to say that Paces does not deal with the question of erasure, because she does. But her analysis would have been enriched by investigating in greater depth the issues she does raise in her final chapter. The second, and admittedly more challenging area of research that could have improved the later chapters of the book—those dealing with more recent manifestations of the issues central to her study—is the ways in which non-elite citizens of Prague have constantly redefined these spaces in their own ways and for their own purposes. Paces does mention, for instance, graffiti on certain monuments at certain moments, but anyone who has visited the more out-of-the-way national monuments of Prague in the past decade or so is confronted by the constant refashioning of walls, sidewalks, and even the monuments themselves by graffiti artists and taggers, but also by young people who have turned what once were "sacred" spaces into places to drink or use drugs, ride skateboards, or have sex late at night. Similarly, a consideration of such ad hoc sites of memory as the "Lennon Wall" might have shed additional light on how Prague youth culture fashioned its own sacred spaces. Extensively documented and felicitously argued, Prague Panoramas is a useful addition to any library or syllabus devoted to modern central European history, the history of modern cities, or the study of the interactions between religion, politics, and culture.


The growing proliferation of Deposit Money Banks' branches across the country call for commensurate growth in the demonstration of their corporate social responsibility practices. The correlation between such practices and firms performances is no longer a moot matter. This paper examines the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance of selected deposit money banks in Nigeria, from 2013-2017. The variables comprise of corporate social responsibility health and sports expenditures as proxies for the independent variable while profit after tax (PAT) measures the dependent variable. Data analysed were obtained from the financial statements of the various banks for the period under study. The statistical tools of analysis used were correlation matrix, descriptive statistics and panel least square regression. The results show that corporate social responsibility expenditure on health has an insignificant positive impact on profit after tax (PAT) of selected deposit money bank in Nigeria. Also, corporate social responsibility expenditure on sport (CSRSE) has a significant positive impact on profit after tax in selected deposit money banks in Nigeria, for the period under review. The study recommends that the management of Nigerian deposit money banks should reduce and strictly monitor their corporate social responsibility health expenditure in order to enhance their performance. The study also recommends that the management of Nigerian deposit money banks should sustain and further increase their corporate social responsibility expenditure on sports in order to increase their performances.


Property Location Located in Pattaya South Pattaya, Cocco Resort is convenient to Pattaya Hill and Dongtan Beach. This resort is within close proximity of Walking Street and Pattaya Pier.Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 48 air-conditioned rooms..


We consider a visibility-based pursuit-evasion problem in which a single robot with an omnidirectional but unreliable sensor moving through an environment must systematically search that environment to detect an unpredictably moving target. A common assumption in visibility-based pursuit-evasion is that the sensors used to detect the evader are perfectly reliable. That is, any evader that moves within view of the pursuer for any interval of time will be detected. This assumption is problematic because, when implemented on real sensor systems, such plans cannot account for the possibility of short-term false negative errors in evader detection. This paper addresses this limitation by introducing a model based on the idea of pessimal unoccluded distance to reason about the degree of plausibility that the evader may be concealed within each occluded region. We describe a decomposition of the environment that fully characterizes the opportune moment for an evader to take advantage of sensor error. Furthermore, we present a complete algorithm that solves the active problem of planning a search for a pursuer which maximizes the distance that the evader must travel through the pursuer robot's sensor footprint.


A simple, rapid, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method for the determination of isoniazid in urine has been developed. The method is based on the formation of an orange yellow colour complex between isoniazid and ammonium metavanadate in an acid medium (pH=1,80-2,20). The resulting complex  is stable for 12 hours  and has an absorption maximum at 420 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range of 1,37-13,70 µg/ml (R 2 = 0,998) with limit of detection (LOD) being 0,28 µg/ml. The molar absorptivities were  1,5.10 4 l.mol -1 .cm -1 . This method was applied to the determination of isoniazid acetylation rates (phenotypes) in healthy volunteers, patients with hepatitis B and diabetes type 2.


This study examined the effect of lease financing on the financial performance of listed manufacturing companies. The study relied on secondary data which covered the period of 2011 to 2021. It was established from findings that financial lease create positive effect on financial performance of companies through the creation of opportunities to use capital intensive assets in production activities. However, the insignificant effect of lease financing in the study suggests the underutilisation of leasing financing options by manufacturing companies. It was recommended that lease financial should be extensively explore by manufacturing companies. In addition, companies should endeavor to maintain appropriate balance between different source of financing, investment opportunities and performance.


ABSTRACT Background: Prolonged postoperative ileus (PPI) is the inability to tolerate an oral diet, pass flatus, or have a bowel movement after postoperative day 3. Acupuncture has been used to treat gastrointestinal problems. Objective: To determine if acupuncture is effective in preventing PPI among cancer patients undergoing ileostomy/colostomy closure. Design, Setting, and Patients: Randomized clinical trial comparing bowel function, quality of life, and cost between inpatients treated with acupuncture after surgery and controls (no acupuncture). Participants (n = 78) were recruited from the Department of Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center between September 2003 and March 2006. All participants completed follow-up. Intervention: Patients in the treatment group (n = 38) received acupuncture twice a day, starting on postoperative day 1, for up to 4 consecutive days. Main Outcome Measures: Outcomes measured included bowel function, pain, use of opioid analgesics, na...


Polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis confirmed the association of at least one phytoplasma with widespread yellowing and tillering disease in sugarcane in Sri Lanka. The associated phytoplasma is 98% identical to both sugarcane white leaf phytoplasma and sugarcane grassy shoot phytoplasma.


ABSTRACT Flooding is an inherently uncertain hydrometeorological phenomenon. When it occurs in transboundary basins, the complexity of its management is amplified by international treaties and needs for political accountability. Little has been written about FRM under the inevitable uncertainty in these transboundary contexts. This paper addresses this gap through an exploratory case study of a new FRM plan (Plan 2014) in the Great Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River system in North America. We examine the evolving nature of contemporary FRM towards more flexible approaches in the face of increasing uncertainty. When this new management plan coincided with severe transboundary flooding, this highlighted deep tensions, notably between upstream and downstream communities, expert and lay opinion, and between the planners setting rules and the operators using those rules. This story also showcases the complex balancing act faced by flood risk managers operating across national boundaries who are asked to contend with hydrological variability as well as public needs for certainty. We contend that the negotiation and agreed dispute resolution processes surrounding these tensions is a fundamental component of FRM in international basins, and one that may become ever more important as climate change further increases the uncertainty regarding these hydrometeorological hazards.


In this article, the author examines the judiciary's treatment of the arbitration process, and, particularly, the finality of arbitrators' decisions in the state of Rhode Island. It is argued that a change in judicial philosophy reflects the policy predilections of the court as state government has grown increasingly conservative on economic and labor relations matters. ARBITRATION: PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR VIEWS For many years labor arbitration has been the favored means of settling disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements in the United States. The legal principles first articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Lincoln Mills [1] and later more fully developed by it in the Steelworkers Trilogy [2] have underpinned the system for forty years. These principles include a strong presumption in favor of arbitration when the parties disagree as to whether an issue is arbitrable, and very strong support for the finality of an arbitrator's decision. Although lower courts have wavered on occasion, subsequent cases at the Supreme Court level have steadfastly affirmed these principles [3]. In the private sector there is no question that management and unions are free to enter into arbitration agreements and to place virtually any issues they wish before an arbitrator [4, p. 23]. And since the parties are free to include or not include grievance and arbitration clauses within their contracts, the courts have held they should be bound by such agreements and bound further by the ultimate decision of the arbitrator [5]. The only issues that would be inappropri-


On the basis of an analysis of the relaxation rates of the aluminum-27 nuclei and protons of A1H/sub 4//sup -/ in a solution of LiA1H/sub 4/ in diglyme at various temperatures it has been determined that the Li-A1 internuclear distance in the Li/sup +/A1H/sub 4//sup -/ contact ion pair decreases by a factor of 1.4 from 2.5 to 1.8 A as the temperature is increased from 280 to 350/sup 0/K. Data on the rates of magnetic relaxation and the scalar spin-spin coupling constants of the /sup 27/A1 and D nuclei of A1D/sub 4//sup -/ in solutions of LiA1D/sub 4/ in diglyme and of Bu/sub 4/NA1D/sub 4/ in tetrahydrofuran at various temperatures, which were obtained by analysis of the complex NMR lineshapes of /sup 27/A1 and D on a computer according to an iteration procedure, have been presented. It has been found that the chemical shifts of the hydride protons are equal to 3.08 ppm in A1H/sub 4//sup -/ and 2.58 ppm in GaH/sub 4//sup -/ in the downfield direction relative to tetramethylsilane.


TPTHM NPs are candidates for PAI/PTT agents due to their NIR absorption, good biocompatibility, high photostability and photothermal conversion efficiency (38%).


Aiming at Computer Numerical Control(CNC) equipment controller as network physical node of infrastructure level in networked reconfigurable production line,adaptability and enhancement of STandard for the Exchange of Product model data-NC(STEP-NC) compliant open architecture controller for distributed and reconfigurable manufacturing were analyzed.Based on STEP-NC data program,IEC 61499 mechanism was introduced to improve overall reconfigurable control performance.Making machining feature as bridge connecting STEP-NC and IEC 61499,Device model of CNC equipment compliant to IEC 61499 was constructed.Flexible control structure was designed centering on axis control based Resource model and local machining function module,also design method for event-driven major function modules was discussed in detail.A case study for four-axis motion control platform was provided at last.


The synovial cavity constitutes the ideal stage to study the interplay between microbial Toll‐like receptor (TLR) ligands and cytokines. Infiltrated leukocytes and synovial fibroblasts produce cytokine‐ and chemokine‐induced proteases for remodeling the extracellular matrix. The regulation of chemokine function for attraction and activation of leukocytes constitutes a key feature in host immunity and resolution of inflammation after infection. Enhanced levels of the CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL9)/monokine induced by interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and CXCL11/IFN‐inducible T cell α chemoattractant, two chemoattractants for activated T cells and natural killer cells, and ligands for CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) were detected in the synovial fluid of septic arthritis compared with osteo‐ and crystal arthritis patients. In vitro, IFN‐γ and TLR3 ligation by double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) induced the expression of CXCL9 and CXCL11 in leukocytes and skin‐muscle fibroblasts, whereas ligation of TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, and TLR9 by peptidoglycan (PGN), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), flagellin, and unmethylated CpG oligonucleotides, respectively, did not. PGN and LPS, but not unmethylated CpG oligonucleotides, even inhibited IFN‐γ‐induced CXCL9 and CXCL11 expression in leukocytes. In sharp contrast, in fibroblasts, the TLR ligands PGN, dsRNA, LPS, and flagellin synergized with IFN‐γ for the production of CXCL9 and CXCL11. Although TLR ligands stimulate leukocytes to produce CXCL8/interleukin‐8 during the early innate defense, they contribute less to the production of CXCR3 ligands, whereas fibroblasts are important sources of CXCR3 ligands. These results illustrate the complex interaction between cytokines and TLR ligands in infection.


Second International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Computational Electronics and Communication System (AICECS 2023) Welcome to AICECS 2023 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) in association with IEEE Student Branch Manipal (IEEE SBM) organized the second International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Computational Electronics and Communication Systems (AICECS) 2023, on 16-17 February 2023 in MIT - Manipal campus. The conference received funding's from SERB-DST, Govt. of India. List of Edited By, Inaugural Program, Track and sessions, Track 1: Artificial Intelligence, Track 2: Computational Electronics, Track 3: Communication Systems, session 1, Cultural Program and Banquet Dinner, Valedictory Program, About the Institute, Committees, All photos are available in this pdf.


Dermatophytosis is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide and causes serious chronic morbidity.1 Dermatophytes usually cause superficial infection of the keratinized tissue like skin, hair and nail. The infection is usually superficial in immunocompetent individuals, but the infection can go deeper in immunocompromised individuals either due to AIDS or due to any other cause of immunosuppression. The three-anamorph genera of Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, Microsporum and telomorph genera of Trichophyton species of Arthroderma benhamiae are the causative organisms.


Combinatorics and Counting.- Topological Map: An Efficient Tool to Compute Incrementally Topological Features on 3D Images.- Counting Gaps in Binary Pictures.- The Exact Lattice Width of Planar Sets and Minimal Arithmetical Thickness.- Thinning and Watersheds.- Branch Voxels and Junctions in 3D Skeletons.- New 2D Parallel Thinning Algorithms Based on Critical Kernels.- Grayscale Watersheds on Perfect Fusion Graphs.- Distances.- Matching of the Multi-channel Images with Improved Nonparametric Transformations and Weighted Binary Distance Measures.- Approximating Euclidean Distance Using Distances Based on Neighbourhood Sequences in Non-standard Three-Dimensional Grids.- Fuzzy Distance Based Hierarchical Clustering Calculated Using the A??? Algorithm.- Image Representation and Segmentation.- A New Sub-pixel Map for Image Analysis.- Feature Based Defuzzification at Increased Spatial Resolution.- Extended Mumford-Shah Regularization in Bayesian Estimation for Blind Image Deconvolution and Segmentation.- Invited Paper.- Polygonal Approximation of Point Sets.- Approximations I.- Linear Discrete Line Recognition and Reconstruction Based on a Generalized Preimage.- Digital Line Recognition, Convex Hull, Thickness, a Unified and Logarithmic Technique.- Incremental and Transitive Discrete Rotations.- Digital Topology.- Discrete Homotopy of a Closed k-Surface.- Topology Preserving Digitization with FCC and BCC Grids.- On the Notion of Dimension in Digital Spaces.- Shape and Matching.- Size and Shape Measure of Particles by Image Analysis.- A Comparison of Shape Matching Methods for Contour Based Pose Estimation.- Relevance Criteria for Data Mining Using Error-Tolerant Graph Matching.- Invited Paper.- Computational Aspects of Digital Plane and Hyperplane Recognition.- Approximations II.- A Linear Algorithm for Polygonal Representations of Digital Sets.- The Monogenic Curvature Scale-Space.- Combinatorics and Grammars.- Combinatorial Properties of Scale Space Singular Points.- Additive Subsets.- Cooperating Basic Puzzle Grammar Systems.- Tomography.- Quasi-isometric and Quasi-conformal Development of Triangulated Surfaces for Computerized Tomography.- Binary Tomography with Deblurring.- A Neural Network Approach to Real-Time Discrete Tomography.- Poster Session.- A Novel Automated Hand-Based Personal Identification.- Shortest Paths in a Cuboidal World.- Surface Registration Markers from Range Scan Data.- Two-Dimensional Discrete Shape Matching and Recognition.- Hierarchical Tree of Image Derived by Diffusion Filtering.- Object Tracking Using Genetic Evolution Based Kernel Particle Filter.- An Efficient Reconstruction of 2D-Tiling with t 1,2, t 2,1, t 1,1 Tiles.


In everyday conversations, the terms Manager and Leader seem to be used interchangeably. Also, over the past thirty years or so the term Transformational has crept into our vocabulary as a concept, which is moving thinking away from economic transactions – towards collaborative and emotional transactions that bring change. A challenge occurs when attempting to galvanize several streams of leadership and innovation, whilst looking to achieve compelling brand singularity across all functions. Dr Wilson's talk shares key findings from his research on the field, with a consideration given to the Muslim context.


The people who are interested in photography, are likely to be infected with hematuria. In the present study, we elaborated on the relation between photography with blood in the urine. This study shows likeness or dislikeness for photography. 1 male has blood in his urine and he shows likeness for photography. 8 males don't have any blood in their urine. They also show likeness for photography. 6 females show the presence of blood in their urine but they also show likeness for photography. 46 females don't have blood in their urine they also show likeness for photography. On the other hand, 2 males have blood in their urine and they show dislikeness toward photography. 6 males don't have any blood in their urine but they also show dislikeness for photography. 3 females have blood in their urine but they don't like photography. 12 females having no blood in their urine also don't like photography


PURPOSE: A small LED lamp is provided to efficiently radiate heat by including an auxiliary radiation rib in a heat sink. CONSTITUTION: A bracket(10) comprises a socket(11) and a pair of bars(12) The bracket comprises a pair of joints(13) and plurality of protrusions(14) A heat sink(20) is formed into a pair of insertion holes(22) and a radiating unit(23). The heat sink is comprised of a radiation fin, an auxiliary radiation rib, and a girth(27). The auxiliary radiation rib forms a protrusion. A lighting-emitting area(30) is arranged in the upper part of the radiating unit. The lighting-emitting area comprises a coupling plate(32) and a lamp(33). The lamp is combined in the coupling plate. A cover(40) comprises a lamp groove(41), a lamp protrusion(42), and an insert protrusion(45).


A diagnostic method on rotating machinery based on fuzzy C-means clustering and rough set theory is proposed in this paper, which includes two processes: one is rough-set-technique-based diagnostic rules requisition and the other is diagnosis of new objects based on the rules obtained. The diagnostic rule requisition process takes into account the duplicated and conflicting objects in decision table and makes the rules obtained covering all the learning objects, and obtains corresponding rules strength. In the diagnostic process, the significance of condition attributes of rales, the matching degree of condition attributes of objects with diagnostic rales, the strength of those rules and the conclusion threshold is considered to give diagnosis conclusion and belief degree of conclusion. So the conclusion based on the proposed method is objective. In the end of this paper, this method is employed to diagnose the faults of rotating machinery and the result is proved to be effective.


ABSTRACT In this essay, we argue that the conventional, stage-gate, new product innovation process does not support sustainable development. We advocate that companies need to rethink their conventional approach to new product innovation by putting sustainability more at the centre of the process. If companies ever want to develop truly sustainable products, they need to start innovating around societal and environmental grand challenges instead of sales. We argue that the conventional new product innovation process narrows a company's attentional focus on sales and the short term. However, to foster sustainable development through new product innovations, companies need to spend more time on understanding and formulating the innovation problem originating from a larger environmental and societal context. This requires a creative mindset and thinking on a much wider spatiotemporal innovation scale. We developed this essay based on insights from a research project together with a globally leading innovation company.


An energy functional with bidirectional flow is presented to sharpen image by reducing its edge width, which performs a forward diffusion in brighter lateral on edge ramp and backward diffusion that proceeds in darker lateral. We first consider the diffusion equations as gradient flows on integral functionals and then modify the inner product from to a Sobolev inner product. The experimental results demonstrate that our model efficiently reconstructs the real image, leading to a natural interpolation with reduced blurring, staircase artifacts and preserving better the texture features of image.


Hypotheses on the mechanism of gold's antirheumatic action are reviewed, and preliminary results of estimations of plasma gold levels in five patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving chryso‐ therapy are described. Varying levels in different patients on similar dosage, and long persistence following cessation of therapy were observed. Individual plasma gold levels are correlated with gold dermatitis.


Abstract:
Fear of God are hates evil; hates pride, hates conceit, hates evil conduct, and hates guile-filled mouths. In the fear of God is also a sign of the quality and morality of a person who can be accountable for his life before God and shows a view of life that contains human proper attitudes that are always shown in everyday life because of his good and close relationship with God. The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of fearing God according to Proverbs 8:13 in the GPdI "Filadelfia" congregation in Oepaleo Kupang. This article is a qualitative research with an evaluation approach, the data is processed and analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the results of the percentage of the five indicators that the researcher included in this study, the average percentage value was in the high criteria, namely 61.81%. In other words, the congregation at GPdI "Filadelfia" Oepaleo Kupang already understands the meaning of fearing God, but it needs to be improved.


An adaptive algorithm for the blind separation of periodic sources is proposed in this paper. The method uses only the second order statistics of the data, and exploits the periodic nature of the source signals. Simulation results show that the proposed approach has the ability to restore statistical independence, and its performance is comparable to that of a well-established, higher order, blind source separation method.


The given work is devoted to the analysis of a current state of development of transport in Ukraine. The dynamics of volumes of transportations of cargo and passengers on principal transport is reflected


Abstract Background: Bronchodilators administered through inhalation devices are the mainstay treatment for patients with obstructive lung diseases. Patients do not view devices as interchangeable. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined device feature preferences among patients with obstructive lung diseases treated with handheld inhalers. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched to identify publications between 2010 and 2019 that met the following criteria:(1) English language;(2) studied adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, or emphysema; and(3) reported patients' device feature preferences specific to metered-dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, and soft mist inhalers. A manual search extended the study period from 2001 to 2019. Random-effects models were used to generate pooled mean effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for preferred device features. Heterogeneity was measured by the I2 statistic. Results: Nineteen studies (n = 11,256) were included in this meta-analysis. Average age ranged from 50.4 to 74.3 years. The majority of patients were male (57%) and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (92%). Patients preferred the following device features:(1) small size (71.7%, 95% CI: 46.3, 97.1; n = 604, 3 studies);(2) rapid medication administration (64.9%, 95% CI: 36.5, 93.4; n = 745, 3 studies);(3) durability (62.1%, 95% CI: 39.7, 84.4; n = 4,500, 4 studies);(4) a dose counter (52.3%, 95% CI: 20.7, 83.9; n = 4,536, 4 studies);(5) portability (51.8%, 95% CI: 29.1, 74.5; n = 4,975, 7 studies);(6) perceived ease of use (51.2%, 95% CI: 35.6, 66.7; n = 5,878, 10 studies); and(7) perceived ease of dose preparation (50.1%, 95% CI: 26.2, 73.9; n = 4,003, 4 studies). Conclusions and Implications of Key Findings: Adults with obstructive lung diseases preferred small inhaler devices that were portable, durable, perceived as easy to use, and fast in medication administration. Healthcare providers should give due consideration to the patient's device feature preferences when developing a treatment plan that prescribes an inhalation device.


Estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the most widely used test of renal function, reflecting the relative mass of functional renal tissue and thus the number of functioning nephrons. Methods based on measurement of exogenous substances such as inulin, 51Cr-EDTA, 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, and iohexol are accurate but too complex and laborious for routine clinical use; thus, measurement of endogenous blood substances is common practice. Plasma or serum creatinine and its renal clearance are the approaches most commonly used despite their acknowledged unreliability.

Cystatin C, a small basic protein, has been proposed as a better marker than creatinine. Recently, the value of cystatin C was thoroughly reviewed in this Journal (1), and according to this review and a new metaanalysis (2), most studies have concluded that cystatin C is superior to plasma creatinine, whereas several authors have concluded that cystatin C provides no advantage. One purpose of the present study was to clarify possible reasons for the earlier, partly conflicting results.

A recently published guideline from the National Kidney Foundation (3) recommended that GFR be estimated from prediction equations taking into account the serum creatinine concentration and some or all of the following variables: age, gender, race, and body size. We therefore also compared cystatin C with GFRs calculated by the Cockcroft–Gault (4) and the MDRD(5) formulas.

We studied 112 patients (55 men and 57 women) for whom 51Cr-EDTA clearance had been requested. The mean age of the patients was 57.0 years (range, 17–89 years). Body mass index (BMI) was 15.2–42.4 kg/m2, and 51 …


The purpose of this study was to investigate teaching-learning processes for training life skills. A life skills training program with a focus on assertive communication skills was conducted at elementary schools in Chiba prefecture and Tokyo on 278 fifth-grade students. The basic training for life skills development includes the following five stages; 1) Instruction: Learning the meaning of assertive communication skills (cognitive domain), 2) Modeling: Observing the model, 3) Practice: Participating in role-play, 4) Feedback: Receiving positive feedback and comments on their role-play from other students, 5) Reinforcement: Writing a statement declaring the intention to use assertive communication in everyday life. Cognitive domain (how to develop assertive communication skills) was used in the instruction stages, and self-efficacy formation (affective domain) was used in the modeling, practice, and feedback stages. Students were placed into one of four training programs: a cognitive and self-efficacy formation training program (80 students), a cognitive domain training program (55 students), a self-efficacy formation training program (56 students), and a program for basic development of life skills (87 students). An assertiveness scale, self-efficacy scale and self-esteem scale for children were used for evaluation before the class, right after the class, a week after the class and a month later. Formative assessment was used in class. The main results were as follows: 1) The group which adopted cognitive domain development attained skills more effectively immediately after the class. The group that adopted affective formation (self-efficacy formation) was able to attain the skills more effectively after one week, and also one month after the class. 2) It was effective to incorporate cognitive development and self-efficacy formation into the teaching-learning process when trying to develop assertive communication skills. It can be concluded from this study that, in addition to the five basic processes of life skill development, it is effective to incorporate a 'how to develop' assertive communication skills program as well as self-efficacy formation into the teaching-learning process for assertive communication training.


We verified a critical rendition that short channel effects depend on junction depth, and showed that junction depth by itself is not important for improving short channel immunity. The depletion region width of a short channel device changes significantly depending on the location along the channel. We proposed a universal channel depletion width parameter that effectively expresses this dependence. Using this parameter, we solved a two-dimensional (2-D) potential distribution and derived a threshold voltage model. The model reproduces the numerical data of sub-0.1-/spl mu/m gate length devices, including channel doping concentration, gate oxide thickness, drain voltage, and back bias dependencies.


As the prognosis of patients who undergo resection for pancreatic cancer has improved, reports of remnant pancreatic cancer after pancreatic cancer resection have been increasing. Previous studies regarding early‐stage pancreatic cancer showed a high incidence of remnant pancreatic cancer in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of remnant pancreatic cancer according to the degree of progression of the initial pancreatic cancer.


Based on introducing the connotation of relocating poverty alleviation model,the concrete applications of "returning people to mountain" poverty alleviation model in Xiangxi Prefecture was discussed.Some countermeasures were proposed for perfecting the relocating poverty alleviation problem,in order to provide reference for realizing poverty alleviation of farmers in vast west mountain areas in China.


Duncan Bythell, The Sweated Trades: Outwork in Nineteenth-Century Britain, B. T. Batsford, London, 1978. 278 pp. £14.50. Recent research into the history of manufacturing firms has emphasized the surprisingly small scale of the average industrial unit in Britain until well into the second half of the nineteenth century. A less fully explored topic has been the continued prevalence of 'outwork' the practice whereby both largeand small-scale capitalists contracted with domestic producers to make goods in their own homes. Problems of definition and lack of detailed empirical data make it impossible to assess the full extent of outwork, but the evidence of nineteenthcentury commissions of inquiry makes it clear that it coexisted with factory work, not merely in the classic case of cotton hand-loom weaving but in woollens, linen, silk and lace-making, in the boot and shoe industry, in clothing, hatmaking and bespoke tailoring and in many other trades. Nevertheless, the precise relationship between outwork and industrialization remains unclear was it essentially an archaic survival from the pre-industrial period, or was it a process largely spawned and substantially reinforced by industrialization itself? Why did its decline in certain trades (for example spinning and weaving) coincide with its rapid extension in certain other trades (for example clothing and tailoring)? Why, with few exceptions, were the outwork trades characterized throughout the nineteenth century by what became known as 'sweating' excessively long hours of work for below-subsistence rates of pay? Was sweating inherent in domestic production, or should it be ascribed to secondary causes, such as the fact that most outworkers were women and children? Dr Bythell's study, based largely on official and secondary sources, surveys some of these problems of interpretation and indicates some further lines of research. Bythell is sceptical of the 'proto-industrialization' approach to outwork, suggesting, on the contrary, that the encouragement given by outwork to demographic explosion in the early industrial period may actually have hindered structural growth. He makes some interesting comments on the political culture of the outwork trades, seeing them as an important source of that radical egalitarian individualism which was such a distinctive feature of late-nineteenthcentury Lib-Labism. He suggests that the unexpected survival power of outwork may have been linked with the imperfections of the domestic capital market and with the obstinate conservatism of many entrepreneurs. In general, I found this a useful, comprehensive and workmanlike introduction to an important subject. Its findings, however, scarcely bear the weight of a rather tendentious conclusion, in which the miseries and ultimate decline of the British outwork system are used to demonstrate the fallacies of E. F. Schumacher and the irrelevance of the 'intermediate technology' approach to the socio-economic problems of the developing world.


Electricity retail market models applied across Europe differ significantly from each other. The models used in the Nordic countries are not similar either. Some aspects of them will, however, experience harmonization because of the aim of a common Nordic end-user market for electricity. Lately, there has also been discussion about a need to harmonize models all over Europe. This paper presents the current features of retail market models applied in the Nordic countries and discusses the future changes that may occur. Also Nordic industry's views concerning retail market models are discussed.


The study investigates the effect of technological advancement on the employability business education graduates in Nigeria labour market. The study had four specific objectives and, as a guide, four null hypotheses were formulated. Descriptive survey design method was adopted for the study. Four rating structured questionnaire titled "Modern Technology and Employability skills" (MTES) was employed to generate data from 89 respondents that participated in the 2012/2013 business education postgraduates entry examination. Data collected were coded using SPSS to run Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to test null hypothesis one. Chi-square was used to test null hypothesis two, while ANNOVA was used to test null hypotheses three and four. All the four hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The analysis reveals, among other findings, that business education curriculum contents in Nigeria do not equip students with generic skills required for their employability in Nigerian labour market in the present advanced technological era. Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that all the major skills in the modern technologies needed by the Nigerian labour market should be integrated into the curriculum of business education programme in Nigerian universities. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development July 2013, Vol. 2, No. 3


Background . Good health services will greatly affect health improvement and treatment. One of the health service facilities is the mosque health service. The number of visits to mosque health services from 2016-2018 decreased by 49.1%. Purpose . This study aims to determine the factors that influence the worshipers of the mosque in the utilization of mosque health services in Surabaya Ittihad mosque. Method . This study design used descriptive method with cross sectional research design. Population and samples were the entire worshipers of the Ittihad mosque. The number of samples 123 respondents with sampling techniques conducted by means of purposive sampling. Data was collected by interview using a questionnaire. Data analysis used Chi Square test. Results . This study shows that the sex of mosque worshipers (p = 0,604), age (p = 0,617), education (p = 0,690), occupation (p = 0,243), knowledge about mosque health services (p = 0,999), mosque health service Tariff (p = 0.645), and access to information (p = <0.001). Conclusion . It can be concluded that the factors that influence the utilization of mosque health services are access to information provided by the mosque and mosque health services.


Since grain yield is the product of number of spikelets per unit field area and percentage of ripened grains (ripening percentage), it is necessary to increase these two yield-components for increasing yield . However, as there exists a negative correlation between these two factors in general, remarkable yield increase may not be expected without breaking such correlation. For that purpose, the ripening percentage must be increased at a high level of spikelet number per unit field area by increasing carbon assimilation during the ripening stage. Basic components of carbon assimilation are photosynthetic ability per unit leaf area and the size of leaf area; the first and the second factor respectively. In addition, carbon assimilation of plant community is influenced by light intensity at individual leaves so that plant type (light-receiving structure) constitutes the third factor. For the first and second factors, nutrient supply was proved directly effective, whereas varietal improvement rather than cultural methods has been considered predominantly in relation to the third factor . However, it seems to be possible to regulate plant type by means of nutrient supply because the determinant of plant type is leaf growth itself . An increase of leaf area is inevitable for producing sufficient number of spikelets for increasing yield, but at the same time the main cause of lowering light intensity inside plant community is leaf area itself. Therefore, it is most important in rice culture how to obtain higher light-receiving efficiency than expected from the size of leaf area at the stage of maximum leaf area. From this point of view, the author carried out a series of research to establish a rational cultural method for higher yield by means of plant type regulation. Some of the major results are presented in this paper.


Introduction: In the United States, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common bloodborne infection with an estimated prevalence of 3.2 million people. Although new cases of HCV have been declining since the 1980s there are still approximately 17,000 new cases diagnosed each year. HCV infection has become the most frequent reason for hepatologic consultation and the single leading indication for hepatic transplantation, accounting for 30% of such procedures in the United States. Until late 2013, the treatment of choice for chronic HCV was pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin, which achieved a cure rate of 54%-63%. Recently, novel antiviral drugs that specifically target HCV have provided better options in HCV treatment. Use of ledipasvir, an HCV NS5A replication complex inhibitor in combination with sofosbuvir, a nucleotide analog HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitor, in patients with chronic HCV, achieves high rates of sustained viral response (SVR) with just 12-weeks of treatment. Methods: This prospective cohort study represents a collaboration between James Madison University and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic. This is a pilot study including only 10 patients. Patients received a five fixed-dose combination of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (90mg/400mg), or Harvoni, for a total of 12-weeks. During this time various physiologic parameters were measured to monitor ledipasvirsofosbuvir efficacy including liver function tests, complete blood counts, and HCV-RNA levels. Results: Patients experienced statistically significant decreases in ALT/AST values just 30 days after initiating treatment with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir and maintained this response throughout duration of therapy. Additionally, HCV RNA levels declined to undetectable levels in 60% of patients within 8 weeks of therapy. Discussion: This study is a work in progress, and patients will continue to be monitored for response to ledipasvir-sofosbuvir for at least 6 months after completions of HCV treatment. Improvements to consider would be improving study power by increasing the number of study participants and expand scope of research to include quality of life assessments. The results of this study are congruent with other published research on the efficacy of 12-weeks of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir However, this study has not yet reached an endpoint to evaluate the rate of HCV relapse associated with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir treatment. INTRODUCTION: Epidemiology of Viral Hepatitis C Infection Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common chronic liver diseases and results in thousands of deaths each year. There are six major genotypes (1-6) of HCV; with genotype 1 being the most common and accounting for 70 to 80% of the hepatitis C cases in the United States. Globally, areas with the highest prevalence of HCV include Central and East Asia, North Africa, and The Middle East. The Asia Pacific, Latin America, and North America are among the places that were noted to have the least prevalence of HCV. Hepatitis C can be separated into acute and chronic; however, 75% of patients with acute hepatitis C develop the chronic infection. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate 2.7 million people in the United States living with chronic hepatitis C virus. The CDC also states the infection is most prevalent among those born in 1945 to 1965, with the majority of this population being infected during the 1970s and 1980s which were when rates of HCV were the highest. Table 1 is derived from statistics updated in the current year by the CDC showing the risk of developing chronic HCV, chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and chronic infection resulting in death due to hepatitis C virus. Table 1: Of every 100 persons infected with HCV, approximately 75–85 Will go on to develop chronic infection 60–70 Will go on to develop chronic liver disease 5–20 Will go on to develop cirrhosis over a period of 20–30 years 1–5 Will die from the consequences of chronic infection (liver cancer or cirrhosis) 75–85 Will go on to develop chronic infection Centers of Disease Control and Prevention: Updated October 2015 Hepatitis C viral infection is primarily transmitted through large or repeated percutaneous exposures to infected blood such as injection drug use, receiving donated blood, blood products or organs, needlestick injuries in healthcare settings and birth to an HCV-infected mother. HCV can also be spread through sexual intercourse with an HCV-infected person, sharing razors or toothbrushes, or other health care procedures that involve invasive techniques. Currently the most common means of transmission in the US is injection drug use with the sharing of needles. This accounts for approximately one third of young aged injection drug users (IDUs) that are HCV-infected and approximately 70-90% of older and former IDUs who also have hepatitis C virus. Etiology Risk factors for infection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the United States include intravenous drug use, blood transfusion sex with an intravenous drug user, incarceration for more than three days, religious scarification, blood-carrying fomite exposure, piercings, and immunoglobulin injection. Overall, intravenous drug use is the most significant risk factor for HCV infection and also the most efficient means of transmission; According to a global systematic review of 77 countries intravenous drug use accounts for 60-80% of HCV transmission, with China, USA, and Russia having the largest populations at 1.6 million, 1.5 million, and 1.3 million respectively. Approximately 80% of patients in the United States with chronic HCV were born between 1945 and 1965, however age of infection appears to be decreasing, with the largest increases occurring east of the Mississippi River. Data from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System for Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia for the period between 2006 and 2012 confirms a total of 1,377 cases of acute HCV infection reported with 44.8% of these cases among persons aged ≤ 30 years old. Approximately 70% of these individuals reported intravenous drug use as the principal risk factor, suggesting a correlation between increased intravenous drug use and decreasing age of HCV infection. Pathophysiology Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was first cloned in 1989 and identified as the main causative agent of a disease previously known as post transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis virus infection. HCV is an enveloped RNA virus belonging to the Hepacivirus of the family Flaviviridae. HCV has a sense-strand RNA genome that is composed of a highly conserved 5'-untranslated region (UTR), which includes an internal ribosome entry site, and open reading frame that encodes both structural and non-structural proteins, and a 3'-UTR. One non-structural protein of importance is the NS5B RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), an effective target for anti-HCV agents. Viral RdRp lack proof-reading function, which accounts for the high genetic variability of HCV. Of the nine genetically distinct HCV genotypes, genotype 1 is the predominant type in the United States, affecting 72% of patients with HCV infection. HCV only infects humans and chimpanzees. Hepatocytes are the main target of HCV but infection of B cells, dendritic cells, and other cell types has also been reported. Circulating HCV particles can be associated with low and very-low density lipoproteins, and viral entry to hepatocytes may involve the low-density lipoprotein receptor, glycosaminoglycans scavenger receptor class B type-I and the tetraspanin protein CD81 and claudin-1 (CLDN1). CLDN1 functions to mediate incorporation into the hepatocyte, a process involving clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Infection with HCV triggers the nonspecific immune response involving type I interferon (IFN) secretion and natural killer cell activation. Recent studies of liver samples from chimpanzees infected with HCV show that IFN-alpha inducible genes are broadly and rapidly induced, but that this response fails to control viral replication. The adaptive immune response occurs approximately 7-31 weeks after infection when anti-HCV antibodies are detectable. It is not known whether these antibodies play a role in viral clearance, but they may be capable of preventing HCV reinfection. Spontaneous HCV clearance is related to a sustained virusspecific CD4+ T-cell response. This response is weak in individuals who develop chronic infection, and that this may be due to direct HCV infection of immune cells or modulation of function. Clinical Diagnosis of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection Patients with chronic hepatitis C need to have a thorough history and physical exam that focuses on factors associated with accelerated disease progression. The history should include questions regarding alcohol use, complications associated with fatty liver or underlying cirrhosis, and menopausal status (in women). Also included would be factors that may affect their ability to qualify for antiviral therapy (cardiopulmonary disease, past or present psychiatric problems, autoimmune disease, and other comorbid conditions). The physical exam for these patients needs to evaluate for signs of advanced liver disease such as spider angiomata, palmar erythema, splenomegaly, jaundice or caput medusa. People who develop HCV are usually asymptomatic, however, they may present with mild symptoms that are shown in Table 2. Patients who develop symptoms will usually develop them within 4-12 weeks after exposure to the virus. It is noted that approximately 20 to 30% of newly infected individuals present with abdominal pain, jaundice, poor appetite and fatigue. The vast majority of patients with chronic HCV are also minimally symptomatic, however, in these patients the most common complaint is fatigue. Chronic hepatitis C may also be associated with lichen planus, mucocutaneous vasculitis, glomerulonephritis, porphyria cutanea tarda and possible non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma


Experience with smooth-wall horn radiators of rectangular and circular cross-section has shown that significant reflection can occur from apertures of moderate size, resulting in mismatch at the horn input. The existing literature gives no indication of the level of reflection in open-ended elliptical waveguide, although W.C. Chew et al. (1986) recently formulated the problem. The purpose of this study is to outline another solution to the problem and to present preliminary theoretical results. To demonstrate the effect of the open end, the computed reflection coefficient of the TE/sub c11/ mode is plotted as a function of normalized frequency ka with waveguide ellipticity as a parameter. In these calculations, coupling to other modes in the aperture was neglected, an approximation known to work well provided the high-order modes are below cutoff. Reflection in elliptical waveguides increases as a/b increases in much the same way as reflection of the TE/sub 10/ mode in rectangular waveguides. Well above cutoff, the level of reflection of the TE/sub c11/ mode was found to be approximately the same as for the TE/sub 10/ mode in open-ended rectangular waveguides with the same value of a/b.<<ETX>>


This review (containing 101 refs.) covers recent achievements in the development of new approaches for enzy- matically assisted detection of nucleic acids on microarrays. We discuss molecular techniques including the polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription, allele specific primer extension and a range of isothermal techniques for the amplification and discrimination of nucleic acids. This also includes their imple- mentation into microfluidic systems. These techniques all show great promise for use in the life sciences by allowing for high throughput, cost effective and highly sensitive and specific analysis of nucleic acids. Importantly, they can be potentially integrated into personalized and point-of-care medicine.


Based on the Fick 's second law and the time dependent performance of chloride ion diffusion coefficients,a random time dependent prediction model of the maximum pitting corrosion depth of steel bar was derived,and according to the corrosion test results of concrete under the artificial climate environment,main influence factors of the maximum pitting corrosion depth of steel bar and sensitivity of factors were analyzed. Based on the Monte Carlo method,the probability distribution characteristics of the maximum pitting corrosion depth of steel bar in concrete under artificial climate environment were studied,and the maximum pitting corrosion depths of steel bar in the difference exposure time were predicted. The analysis results indicate that the most important influence factor of the maximum pitting corrosion depth is the thickness of the concrete cover,and the distribution type of the maximum pitting corrosion depth follows normal distribution. The corrosion pit depth increase nearly linearly with the exposure time under the artificial climate environment,and this result is in correspondence with the test data.


We develop a new traffic data collecting device. The device is based on magneto-resistive technology, in which the circuit resistance is changed with the imposing magnetic field. It is known that ferrous-body vehicles interfere with Earth's magnetic field, which can be monitored with our device. The signal will then be processed and yields vehicle count, speed, occupancy time, and classification. We also design our device to communicate to its base station via radio frequency. We form a network of these many sensor nodes at places where traffic monitoring are required. Our system is very flexible and adapt to many environments of vehicle detection.


Comprehensive optical and electrical measurements of plasma and combined insitu and ex-situ measurements of nanoparticles, and results of 2-D fluid simulations of the arc plasma revealed the first insights into the whole chain of synthesis processes starting from generation of the carbon feedstock to the growth of CNTs in plasma.