ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To describe self-perceived oral health among elderly people and assess associated sociodemographic and clinical factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 876 participants forming a representative sample of elderly people (65 years of age or over) in Campinas, Southeastern Brazil, in 2008-2009. Dental examinations were conducted in accordance with criteria standardized by the World Health Organization for epidemiological surveys on oral health. Self-perceived oral health was evaluated using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Individuals were classified according to sociodemographic characteristics, dental factors and prevalence of biological frailty. Associations were assessed using Poisson regression analysis, taking into consideration sample weights and the complex structure of the cluster sampling. RESULTS: The subjects' mean age was 72.8 years; 70.1% were women. The proportion of the individuals with more than 20 teeth present was 17.2%; 38.2% were using full dentures in both arches; 8.5% needed dental prostheses in at least one arch. On average, the GOHAI was high: 33.9 (maximum possible: 36.0). Retaining 20 teeth or more, using full dentures in both arches, not needing such treatment, not presenting any oral mucosa abnormalities and not presenting biological frailty were factors signifi cantly associated with better self-perceived oral health (p < 0.05).


Objective To explore the advantage of transection the cervical muscles at sternal end and flip fixed in therapeutic bilateral huge thyroid surgery.Methods The transection of the cervical muscles at sternal end and flip fixed in 53 cases was observation group,44 cases of the neck white line incision thyroid surgery completed for the control group.The completion of the surgery by the same group of physicians.The operative time,operation field of exposing effect,amount of bleeding in operation,postoperative complications,and postoperative drainage volume were compared between two groups.Results There was no statistically differences of sex,age,disease composition,and tumor size between two groups(P0.05).Operative time,amount of bleeding,and postoperative drainage volume in observation group were shorter(less) than that in control group(P0.01).The postoperative complication rate in observation group was lower than that in control group(P=0.04).Surgical field exposure in observation group was better than that in control group(P0.01).Conclusions The huge bilateral thyroid surgery with the sternal end approach is feasible and simple.The operation field exposure is better than the white line neck incision,complications after operation is less.It is worthy of clinical application.


Propofol is a commonly used agent for induction of general anesthesia. Propofol bolus is often associated with pain. Lidocaine is commonly used to decrease the pain on injection with propofol. The method of administering lidocaine often varies among individual anesthesia providers. A double-blind study was performed on 52 ASA1-3 ambulatory surgery patients, comparing the effectiveness in reducing pain of propofol bolus by administering lidocaine 40 mg as pretreatment versus a mixture of 40mg lidocaine and propofol . An induction dose of propofol at 2.5mg/kg was divided equally and administered simultaneously and into each upper extremity. One alliquot contained soley propofol following a 40mg lidocaine bolus, the other contained propofol mixed with 40mg of lidocaine. Each patient served as his own control. Our data indicates that lidocaine, when mixed with propofol, was more effective in reducing the pain of injection (p < 0.001) than when given as a pretreatment. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as reflecting the views of the Departments of the Army, Air Force or Defense. There are no commercial associations in conjunction with these investigators.


The structures and stabilities of 12 possible isomers of C_(70)PH were studied by using semi-empirical AM1, PM3 and MNDO methods. The calculation results indicate that there are three 6-6 closed and one 6-6 opened isomers in which -PH group is added to unequatorial and equatorial 6-6 bonds respectively, meanwhile each of four 6-5 adducts has both closed and opened structures in which one 6-5 closed and three 6-5 opened structures are more stable when the -PH group is added to one 6-5 double bond and three 6-5 single bonds, respectively. Among all the closed isomers, the structure of C_(70)PH in which the -PH group is added to the 6-6 bonds at the pole of C70 is the most stable. The open structure is more stable than other opened isomers while -PH group is added to the equatorial 6-6 bonds.


An early diabetes electrophysiological testing method and an early diabetes electrophysiological testing system. The early diabetes electrophysiological testing method comprises: marking measurement sites at peripheral arterial positions of the human body and positions in proximity to the pancreas; arranging multiple electrodes at the marked measurement sites; by employing measurement signals of different frequencies, measuring the resistance between electrodes at the measurement sites corresponding to each human body resistance network according to preset combination of human body resistance networks; and, according to a preset testing standard, determining and displaying an early diabetes electrophysiological test result on the basis of measured changes in the resistance between the electrodes at the measurement sites corresponding to the human body resistance networks at different frequencies. The early diabetes electrophysiological testing method and the early diabetes electrophysiological testing system allow targeted measurement of a state of disease or health of local body tissues of the human body, allow increased accuracy of an early electrophysiological diabetes test result, obviate the need for a test subject to exercise rigorously prior to being tested, and provide increased testing efficiency.


The stem (column plus attachment structure) of the extant, Pacific bourgueticrinine crinoid Phrynocrinus nudus A. H. Clark is described, and some notes provided on the crown. The attachment structure is a simple, terminal discoidal holdfast, typical of an obligate encruster of hard substrates and probably derived neotenously from the attached larval stage of an ancestral isocrinid. The column is long and composed of robust columnals. Unlike isocrinids, the mesistele, rather than the proxistele, is the most flexible part of the column. The proximale columnal has an inflexible articulation with the basals; a new proximale grows irregularly between these ossicles. Articulation between the proximale and columnal 2 is synostosial, but all more distal articulations are synarthrial. Proximally and in the dististele, articular facets are rounded, but for much of the column facets are strongly elliptical with offsets approaching 90° in many columnals. However, offset of fulcra is variable between columnals, indicating that it is not a consistently useful criterion for separating species in the bourgueticrinines.


As the first bourgeois written constitution in the world,American constitution is one of the results of the independente war.The in dependence of legislation,judicature,and administration isn't epual to the honesty o f gorernment.Its real meaning is ruling by law.


Objective: To establish a simple primary culture technique of human dental pulp cells in vitro.Methods: The pulp tissue was separated from 45 healthy young human teeth extracted for orthodontic purpose.The pulp explants were cultured by three methods,tissue explants method,tissue-explants collagenase/dispase digestion method and modified tissue culture techniques respectively.The cell culture efficiency,cell morphology and quantity were observed and evaluated by phase-contract microscopy and growth curres of human pulptissue cells.Immunocytochemical staining method was used to characterize the dental pulp cell lineage.Results: The cultured cells appeared to be fibroblast-like cells,which was positive for anti-vimentin and negative for anti-cytokeratin by immunohistochemical stain.The primary dental pulp cells cultured by the tissue explants method could reach confluence after 4 weeks and the culture success was 26.7%.The culture success of dental pulp cells was only 13.3% by collagenase/dispase digestion method.Dental pulp cells can be obtained by the modified tissue culture without floating tissue fragments and the success rate was 80.0%.Conclusion: Modified tissue culture techniques solved the difficulty of adherence of tissue fragments,simplified the procedure,and kept the high success rate.The modified tissue techniques culture established in this study is an effective method for the primary culture of human dental pulp cells in vitro.


1. A process for preparing a pharmaceutical composition in the form of tablets, the formula I wherein the active pharmaceutical ingredient! ! wherein R represents lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, halogen or trifluoromethyl; ! R1 represents a hydrogen or halogen atom; and when p is 1, R1 may in addition to the above substituents be taken together with R to form -CH = CH-CH = CH-; ! R2 and R2 'each independently represents a hydrogen atom, halogen, trifluoromethyl, lower alkoxy or cyano; and when n is 1, R2 and R2 'may in addition to the above substituents form -CH = CH-CH = CH- is unsubstituted or substituted with one or two substituents selected from lower alkyl or lower alkoxy; ! R3 and R3 'represent a hydrogen atom, lower alkyl or taken together with the attached carbon atom form a cycloalkyl group; ! R4 is hydrogen, -N (R5) (CH2) nOH, -N (R5) S (O) 2-lower alkyl, -N (R5) S (O) 2-phenyl, -N = CH-N ( R5) 2, -N (R5) C (O) R5,! or ; ! R5 represents a hydrogen atom, C3-6 cycloalkyl, benzyl or lower alkyl; ! R6 represents hydrogen, hydroxy, lower alkyl, - (CH2) nCOO- (R5), -N (R5) CO-lower alkyl, hydroxy-lower alkyl, - (CH2) nCN, - (CH2) nO (CH2) nOH, -CHO or a 5- or 6-membered heterocyclic ring containing from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, and wherein one of the carbon atoms in said ring being unsubstituted or substituted by an oxo group, wherein heterocyclic ring is directly bonded or linked via an alkylene group to the remainder of the molecule; ! It is a cyclic tertiary amine, which may contain one additional heteroatom selected from the group consisting of sour


Absent terminal phalanges are often associated with corresponding omission of the associated nail. Lack of phalanges may arise in isolation or may be associated with other skeletal or dental abnormalities. We report two cases of corn associated with congenital aphalangia and anonychia in a 3-year-old child and a 22-year-old woman.


The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine cultural values, practices, traditions, and beliefs and explore whether they may or may not contribute towards the successful implementation of the amnesty program in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The goal of this study is to offer evaluative assessment and interpretation of the findings of the research study as indicated by the responses of the participants and observations made. This informed the decision to utilize the qualitative research methods embedded in the ethnographic tradition, which included field notes of observations, in-depth interviews, and review of available documents associated with the amnesty program. The findings of this study have also led to possible solutions and conclusions drawn from the research study. The discussion concludes by offering recommendations for further studies and on related topics or concepts that this study failed to address. Implications for social change include informing policy makers of the importance the culture which may contribute towards the successful implementation of any developmental initiative such as the amnesty program. The conceptual framework which guided the study in providing answers to the research questions was based on Oakley's (1989) concepts of community participation, while Benet's (2013) polarities of democracy provided the theoretical framework for examining the political economy struggle for power and determining if the Urhobo culture offers ways to peacefully resolve that struggle.


Extended Abstract Prestressed concrete beam system could be a good economical alternative to typical reinforced concrete beams because it could provide relative thinner thickness than the conventional concrete beam system. Sherif and Dilger performed fullscale prestressed concrete slab tests and proposed the deflection equation [1]. Chao and Naaman proposed the simplified equation to predict deflection for prestresssed concrete members based on finite element analysis [2]. Abhinav and Valsson studied the behaviour of prestressed beams based on finite element analysis [3]. Amin and Ramez proposed prediction model of long-term deflection for prestressed concrete beams [4]. In this paper, an experimental investigation was carried out to study the flexural behaviour of prestressed concrete beams with eccentricity. Three specimens were manufactured and tested to evaluate the flexural capacity of the prestressed concrete beams considering the eccentricity as a variable. The prestressing force was designed to be the same and each beam had one straight tendon with diameter of 12.7 mm. The design compressive strength of the concrete was 35 MPa. The total length and clear span of the specimens were 3.1 m and 2.7 m, respectively. The sectional width and height of the specimen were 800 mm and 300 mm, respectively. Boundary condition of all specimens was simply supported. Compared were crack pattern, failure mode, and load-deflection relations in order to evaluate the flexural performance of the specimens. Flexural cracks were first observed in the pure moment zone. As the load was increased, flexural cracks propagated toward the compression zone of the beam. Finally, flexural failure occurred to all the specimens. All the specimens exhibited similar load-deflection responses. On appearance of flexural cracks, the beam stiffness was reduced. The deflection increased substantially with little increase in load. All beams showed ductile behaviour at ultimate. As expected, the maximum load increased as the eccentricity increased. The test results were analysed to propose the nonlinear finite element model taking into account the nonlinearity of concrete. This proposed model is capable of prediction of the deflections considering eccentricity of the tendons. In this model, degenerate shell elements employing a layered discretisation through the thickness were adopted. Analytical and experimental results show good agreement with each other.


Flavanones are one of the most interesting naturally occurring flavonoids in view of their structural pattern as well as biological and pharmacological potentials. The present review deals with natural flavanones reported from 1998 to mid 2007, along with their biological and pharmacological activities. The review includes more than 160 new naturally occurring flavanones from 135 references. The reported flavonoids belong to thirty-six plant families.


Background: Depression is a common mental disorder with societal and economic burden. Current diagnosis relies on self-reports and assessment scales, which have reliability issues. Objective approaches are needed for diagnosing depression. Objective: Evaluate the potential of GPT technology in diagnosing depression. Assess its ability to simulate individuals with depression and investigate the influence of depression scales. Methods: Three depression-related assessment tools (HAMD-17, SDS, GDS-15) were used. Two experiments simulated GPT responses to normal individuals and individuals with depression. Compare GPT's responses with expected results, assess its understanding of depressive symptoms, and performance differences under different conditions. Results: GPT's performance in depression assessment was evaluated. It aligned with scoring criteria for both individuals with depression and normal individuals. Some performance differences were observed based on depression severity. GPT performed better on scales with higher sensitivity. Conclusion: GPT accurately simulates individuals with depression and normal individuals during depression-related assessments. Deviations occur when simulating different degrees of depression, limiting understanding of mild and moderate cases. GPT performs better on scales with higher sensitivity, indicating potential for developing more effective depression scales. GPT has important potential in depression assessment, supporting clinicians and patients.


Objective To summarize the clinic characteristics of abdominal compartment syndrome and find some effective treatments. Methods Among 12 cases with abdominal compartment syndrome(ACS) from Jan, 2000 to Dec,2006,there were 9 males and 3 females,6 cases sufferred from acute severe pancreatitis,3 cases abdominal infection,1 case intra-abdominal tumor. The intraabdominal pressure were above 24cmH2O(1cmH2O=0.098Kpa). 2 patients received non-operative therapy,10 patients received operation. Results In 12 patients,10 patients cured,2 patients death. Conclusion For critical surgical patients presented with ACS,the mortality rate is high. If those patients got earlier correct diagnosis and endured effective abdominal decompression and multiple organ function support treatments in time,the patients' progrosis may be greatly improved.


Objective To analyze the complications and treatment for deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty.Methods In a retrospective case series study,a total of 62 patients (62 eyes) who had complications from deep lamellar keratoplasty that was performed in our department between January 2005 and February 2012 were included in the study.Intraoperative and postoperative complications were analyzed.Different techniques were used based on specific complications.Results The Decement's membrane was perforated in 13 eyes during the operation.Postoperative complications included double anterior chamber (16 eyes).Decement's membrane perforation (13 eyes),secondary glaucoma (8 eyes),prematurely loosened sutures (7 eyes),recurrence (14 eyes),rejection (4 eyes),unhealed corneal epithelium and stromatolysis (5 eyes).The conditions of all the patients were under control and they recovered well after appropriate treatment.Conclusion Decement's membrane perforation and double anterior chamber were the most common complications.Deep lamellar keratoplasty will achieve good long-term results if complications are minimized and properly treated when they occur.

Key words:
Deep anterior lamellar; Keratoplasty; Postoperative complications; Decement's membrane perferation


Objective To investigate the significance of CTHRC1 expression levels in human stomach cancer.Methods Using Western-Blot to detect CTHRC1 levels in human stomach cancer tissues and normal stomach tissues.GAPDH was used as a control in this detection.Results The expression levels in 33 stomach cancer tissues were 0.315±0.234,it is significantly lower than that in the 33 normal stomach tissues 0.500±0.148(t=6.482,P0.01).Conclusion The results suggested that CTHRC1 maybe contribute to the occurrence and progress of human stomach cancer.


Wavelength-routed optical networks-on-chip (WRONoCs) are known for delivering collision- and arbitration-free on-chip communication in many-cores systems. While appealing for low latency and high predictability, WRONoCs are challenged by scalability concerns due to two reasons: (1) State-of-the-art WRONoC topologies use a large number of microring resonators (MRRs) which result in much MRR tuning power and crosstalk noise. (2) The positions of master and slave nodes in current topologies do not match realistic layout constraints. Thus, many additional waveguide crossings will be introduced during physical implementation, which degrades the network performance. In this work, we propose an N x (N - 1) WRONoC topology: Light with a 4 x 3 router Hash as the basic building block, and a simple but efficient approach to configure the resonant wavelength for each MRR. Experimental results show that Light outperforms state-of-the-art topologies in terms of enhancing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reducing insertion loss, especially for large-scale networks. Furthermore, Light can be easily implemented onto a physical plane without causing external waveguide crossings.


This article deals with the solution for the inverse problem of simultaneously estimating moisture content and temperature-dependent moisture diffusivity, together with thermal conductivity, heat capacity, density, and phase conversion factor of a drying body as well as boundary condition coefficients, by using only temperature measurements. Two different physical problems, convective and contact drying, are examined and compared. The present parameter estimation problem is solved with the Levenberg–Marquardt method of minimization of the least-squares norm, by using simulated experimental data. The temperature responses during the drying are obtained with a numerical solution of the non-linear one-dimensional Luikov's equations. As a representative drying body, a mixture of bentonite and quartz sand with known thermophysical properties has been chosen. Analyses of the sensitivity coefficients and of the determinant of the information matrix are presented.


[Objective] To evaluate the safety and efficacy of retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy.[Methods] A total of 56 patients(34 males and 22 females;age range,23~86 years;mean age,58 years)underwent retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy from November 2002 to July 2004.Of the 56 cases,53 were detected by B-ultrasound during physical examination and the rest 3,when visiting doctors due to painless hematuria.The masses by B-ultrasound was on average 4.5cm(range,1.5~8.ocm)in diameter.With 27 masses at the upper pole of the kidney,13 at the middle and 16 at the inferior pole.CT scan was performed on all the 56 cases and MRI on 41.The tumor size detected by CT and MRI was consistent by B-ultrasound.Preoperatively,3 cases had the tumors of clinical stage TlN0M0,48 of T2N0M0 and 5 of T3aN0M0.[Results] The operative time was 60~255 min(mean,145 min),and blood loss was 20~800 mL(mean,133 mL).Adrenalectomy was performed on 32 patients(70%).Complications occurred in 3 cases,of whom only 1 required conversion to open surgery due to injury of genital gland vein,with blood loss of 800 mL.Pathology showed that 51 cases were of renal clear cell carcinoma,2 of cystic renal cell carcinoma,l of chromophobe carcinoma,l of hamartoma and l of oxyphil cell tumor.During the follow-up of l-20 months(mean,9 months),45 patients survived;only 1 died of liver metastasis.[Conclusions] Retroperitoneoscopy radical nephrectomy is safe and effective.


Using a methodology based on noncollinear coupled-perturbed density functional theory [J. Chem. Phys. 2013, 138, 174115] we calculate the magnetic exchange coupling parameters in a recently synthesized set of Fe7III disklike clusters [Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 3849–3851] to explain the unusually high ground-state spin found in the experiments. We show that the calculated exchange interactions for the new series of Fe7III disks present strikingly different trends compared to prior Fe7III disks. These differences are attributed to variations in the bridging ligands and the consequent structural changes in the complexes. The impact of these differences on the experimental ground-state spin of these complexes is rationalized using a simple classical spin model system and the calculated magnetic exchange couplings.


Abstract Mycosphaerella blight, caused by Peyronellaea pinodes (Berk. & A. Bloxam) Aveskamp, Gruyter & Verkley (syn. Mycosphaerella pinodes (Berk. et Blox.) Vesterg.), is a destructive foliar pathogen of field pea that is managed, in large part, through application of foliar fungicide at flowering. The fungicides are usually applied into dense crop canopies, so reaching the lower areas of the canopy where the pathogen is initially most active is a challenge. Field trials were conducted across the Canadian prairies from 2008 to 2011 to assess the efficacy of various nozzle numbers and orientations, droplet sizes, and water volumes for the management of Mycosphaerella blight to increase yield in field pea. Pea plants were assessed for disease severity during flowering and seed yield was measured. In 10 of the 13 trials, double-nozzle configurations provided a 15% reduction in disease severity and up to a 60% increase in yield. In contrast, droplet size and angle of application had no effect on field pea yield. Water volume trials using up to 400 L ha−1 improved fungicide efficacy relative to control treatments, however, volumes above 400 L ha−1 resulted in high-disease severity and lower yield, likely as a result of fungicide run-off due to saturation of the leaf surface. When deciding on effective sprayer techniques for fungicide application, disease pressure, environmental conditions and cultivar characteristics are important to consider.


The centrality of internationalism is among the most rewarding points of emphasis in Auritro Majumder's Insurgent Imaginations. There is even a kind of intellectual daring in his proposing internationalism as a defining concept for reckoning with peripheral literature, given that categories such as cosmopolitanism or globalization are far more apt to catch the attention of contemporary readers. Nonetheless, it is to the internationalist orientation of writers and artists from outside the "West" that Majumder returns, not out of a hoary commitment to preserve the old or the outmoded but to keep faith with the actual histories of cultural and political struggle spurring the vast output of artistic creativity in the global south. Majumder focuses specifically on the literary and cultural forms that articulate this peripheral worldview, unified by a singular ambition: to "push the boundaries of humanist emancipation."1 The first thing that strikes me as salutary in locating internationalism as a universal aspiration which finds expression in locations such as Cuba, India, Mexico, or Brazil (among other places) is the author's decision to avoid what Theodor Adorno's translator, the philosopher Robert Hullot-Kentor, calls the "gratuitous plural."2 That is, Majumder is guided by the understanding that locating a desired plurality simply by designating it (e.g., "internationalisms" instead of "internationalism," "racisms" instead of "racism," "modernities" instead of "modernity") cannot in fact render it real. Even though this move is evident everywhere in criticism today, it involves a category mistake—geared less toward demonstrating the equality between ideas or isms than in virtue signaling. At the end of the day, such nominalizations only succeed in shunting


Objective To analyse efficiency and risks in the treatment intertrochanter fracture of femur by hollow compression screws.Methods 42 patients,with an average age of 72 years,were treated by double heads hollow compression screws from January 2000 to January 2008.Results 38 cases were followed up.The average follow-up varied from 4 to 18 months.All the fractures healed including 5 oxa adducta and none perioperative mortality.Patients with excellent or good results were 86.8%.Conclusion The treatment of intertrochanter fracture of femur by hollow compression screws in elderly patients has proved to be less aggressive,less bleeding and can shorten the operating time.So it is good for the treatment of intertrochanter fracture of elderly patients.


The Amami rabbit Pentalagus [urnessi is an endemic species of the central Ryukyus, Japan, and occurs only on two islands, Amami Oshima I. and Tokunoshima I. For the conservation of this species, some research programs to reveal the population size, spatial and temporal patterns of activity, and impacts of introduced predators were carried out. The habitat available to the rabbit has obviously been reducing with considerable fragmentation on each island, and size of each population also seems to have been decreasing as well (2700-6500 in total of the two islands in 1995). The estimated home range size was relatively small (1.3 ha for males and 1.2 ha for females), and the rabbits moved 100-200 m from their burrows mainly during the night. The negative impact of the introduced mongoose on the rabbit was quite serious on Amami Oshima I., and effective control of this exotic predator is an urgent necessity for the conservation of the rabbit, as well as the whole ecosystem, of this island.


I am very grateful to Michael DePaul, Anne Meylan, and Carrie Ichikawa Jenkins for their attention to my work and for their excellent comments. There are important points of agreement between us, but I will of course focus in what follows on the remaining disagreements, even if space precludes detailed responses on all of them. In any case, it has been helpful, a learning experience, to reflect on their stimulating commentary.


An array cell (AC) architecture is described, which is dedicated to low-power design of NMOS 4-phase dynamic logic. This AC is constructed of (M/spl times/N)+2 transistors so as to constitute each type of NMOS 4-phase logic gate. The structure regularity of the AC contributes much toward the reduction of the total layout area. A number of experimental results demonstrate that not only the low-power dissipation but also the high density of a logic macro can be attained by the NMOS 4-phase dynamic logic.


The present invention relates to one or more of power connections, including household appliances (4) (2) for supplying the electric energy from the indoor power power supply. According to the invention, the power connection (4) is characterized by having a data transmission contact (6).


This case study aimed at understanding the grieving process for the loss of a child in an elderly caregiver of a chronic patient. Sixteen brief psychotherapy sessions were held at home. Mourning was understood as a process permeated with pain and addiction, especially due to the intense bond established between mother and child, lack of representation for this type of loss and the occurrence of this situation among the other losses during aging. It was found that the grieving process has no defined time period and that its psychic process does not necessarily result in melancholy. The work of caregivers, in the circumstance of the loss of a child, can be slow and partial, especially when the loss occurs abruptly. The caregiver role as a positive factor during this process was confirmed and psychotherapy as a possible aid in helping a person to cope with this symbolic process of this loss, especially given the social necessity of combating in the light of social requirements to combat sadness in current times.


We present second-order nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional periodic arrays of Au nanorods arranged two dimensionally on SiO2 along with the one-dimensional periodic arrays in the direction either coaxial or vertical to the plasmon polarizations. The geometry of the nanorods was symmetric with respect to the normal line to the top surface of the rods, and the system was excited at oblique incidence angles so as to break the centro-symmetry. Our experimental results demonstrated that the coordination longitudinal to plasmon polarizations reduced the nonlinearities of the nanorods while the coordination transverse to polarizations did not give any significant influences on them.


Three lead resistant bacteria Bacillus pumilus (TE07), Bacillus cerus (TE12 & TE14), were examined for their plant growth promotion /remediation potential. Their ability to promote early growth and their effects on metal uptake by three varieties of Vigna mungo L. (Hepper) i.e., NARC-Mash-2, NARC-Mash-3 and NARC-Mash-97 was screened out under different concentration (0, 1, 2, 5, and 10Mm) of lead. Different growth parameters (seed germination, seedling root and shoot length, seedling fresh and dry biomass, dry matter accumulation per seedling) and accumulation of lead by inoculated and non inoculated seedlings were observed and recorded. Results revealed that lead drastically reduce the seed germination and seedling growth of all three verities of Mash, while bacterial inoculations improved germination and various growth parameters of Mash varieties. All bacteria for variety NARC-Mash-3 and strain TE-12 for Variety NARC-Mash-2 had a positive relationship to combat lead stress by improving the seedling growth. Study also revealed that genetic variation of both plant variety and bacterial strain is important in developing a successful remedial mechanism.


The invention provides a dietary fiber rod, which is prepared from a baking process, wherein the content of dietary fiber is higher than 10%. The dietary fiber rod is high in dietary fiber content, great in mouth feeling, and stable in property.


We show that the NiO6 crystal field energies can be tailored indirectly via heterovalent A cation ordering in layered (La,A)NiO4 Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) oxides, where A = Sr, Ca, or Ba, using density functional calculations. We leverage as a driving force the electrostatic interactions between charged [LaO]1 + and neutral [AO]0 planes to inductively tune the Ni–O bond distortions, without intentional doping or epitaxial strain, altering the correlated d-orbital energies. We use this strategy to design cation ordered LaCaNiO4 and LaBaNiO4 with distortions favoring enhanced Ni eg orbital polarization, and find local electronic structure signatures analogous to those in RP La-cuprates, i.e., parent phases of the high-temperature superconducting oxides.


A Field experiment was conducted A Field experiment was conducted in 2019 in the growing season, to study the effect of foliar application of zinc-chelated "Zn-EDTA" at concentrations 0,50,100 and 200 mg.l-1 on the seasonal dynamic of the growth and development of some physical and chemical characteristic in berries of Halwani Lebanon grape cultivar, grown on a calcareous soil in Mosul region- Iraq. The results revealed that the foliar application of 100 mgZn.l-1 caused a significant increase of berry weight, TSS, Glucose and Fructose in berries. While spraying with 200 mgZn.l-1 caused a significant decrease in the TA and Malic acid in juice berries compared to the control. Additionally, berry weight, TSS, Glucose and Fructose were increased from the beginning of berry growth to véraison and ripening stages. Total acidity was increased from berry set to 14 June and decrease towards the end of the maturity of berries on September 6th during growth season. While Tartaric and Malic acids were increased from berry set to véraison. Whereas, decrease towards the maturity of berries. On the other hand, the interaction between zinc levels and times on growth and development of berries were also discussed.


Wheeled mobile robots need the ability to estimate their motion and the effect of their control actions for navigation planning. In this paper, we present ST-VIO, a novel approach which tightly fuses a single-track dynamics model for wheeled ground vehicles with visual inertial odometry. Our method calibrates and adapts the dynamics model online and facilitates accurate forward prediction conditioned on future control inputs. The single-track dynamics model approximates wheeled vehicle motion under specific control inputs on flat ground using ordinary differential equations. We use a singularity-free and differentiable variant of the single-track model to enable seamless integration as dynamics factor into VIO and to optimize the model parameters online together with the VIO state variables. We validate our method with real-world data in both indoor and outdoor environments with different terrain types and wheels. In our experiments, we demonstrate that our ST-VIO can not only adapt to the change of the environments and achieve accurate prediction under new control inputs, but even improves the tracking accuracy. Supplementary video: https://youtu.be/BuGY1L1FRa4.


The authors have obtained evidence for structural differences in the cardiac glycoside binding site between the ..cap alpha.. and ..cap alpha..(+) forms of the catalytic subunit of NaK-ATPase, using three closely related photoaffinity derivatives of the cardiotonic steroid, digitoxigenin. (/sup 125/I)N-(p-azido-m-iodo-o-hydroxybenzoyl)-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-galactosyl digitoxigenin (IA-GaD), (/sup 125/I)N-(3-(p-azido-m-iodophenyl)-propionyl)-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-ga-lactosyl digitoxigenin (AIPP-GaD) and (/sup 125/I)N-(3-(p-azido-m-iodophenyl)-propionyl)-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-glucosyl digitoxi-genin (AIPP-GluD) were synthesized. AIPP-GaD and AIPP-GluD are stereoisomers. Eel electroplax and dog kidney NaK-ATPase (..cap alpha.. form) and rat brain synaptosomes (rich in ..cap alpha..(+) form) were photolabelled and then analyzed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. Photolysis with either carrier-free IA-GaD or AIPP-GluD gave ouabain-protectable labelling of NaK-ATPase catalytic subunit from all three tissues. However, photolysis with AIPP-GaD showed protectable labelling of the enzyme from eel and kidney but not from brain. This suggests a structural difference in the ..cap alpha..(+) form which results in either an inability to bind AIPP-GaD, or, perhaps more likely, an absence of a photoinsertion site in the correct location in the ..cap alpha..(+) form, as compared with the ..cap alpha.. form. It is of interest that the labelling pattern of the enzyme in the human erythrocyte resembles that of the brain enzyme.


We construct Q-factorial terminal Fano varieties, starting in dimension 4, whose nef cone jumps when the variety is deformed. It follows that de Fernex and Hacon's results on deformations of 3-dimensional Fanos are optimal. The examples are based on the existence of high-dimensional flips which deform to isomorphisms, generalizing the Mukai flop.
We also extend de Fernex and Hacon's positive results on deformations of Fano varieties. Toric Fano varieties which are smooth in codimension 2 and Q-factorial in codimension 3 are rigid. The divisor class group is deformation-invariant for klt Fanos which are smooth in codimension 2 and Q-factorial in codimension 3. The Cox ring deforms in a flat family when a terminal Fano which is Q-factorial in codimension 3 is deformed.
A side result which seems to be new is that the divisor class group of a klt Fano variety maps isomorphically to ordinary homology.


Nine species of the genus Hydropsyche Pictet are recorded from the Philippine Islands. The holotype of H. forcipata Ulmer was examined to enable the exact identification of the species in the collected material. H. forcipata belongs to the little known "javanica"-group together with six new species. They were figured and described as H. schintlmeisteri n. sp., H. villica n. sp., H. bifurcata n. sp., H. unitaria n. sp., H. luzonica n. sp., and H. excelsa n. sp. The original description of H. faurai Navas turned out to be informative enough to recognize the species. It was described in detail and compared with H. declinans n. sp. They both form a distinct species group within the genus in the Philippines.


This multidisciplinary study (facies analysis, sequence stratigraphy, calcareous nannofossils and carbon stable isotopes) focuses on the Lower to Middle Toarcian succession cropping out in the Coimbra region (Northern sector of the Lusitanian Basin), Portugal. Deposited on homoclinal carbonate ramp, the sampled hemipelagic series, consisting of marl/limestone alternations can be subdivided into three third-order depositional sequences (ST1, ST2 and ST3) characterised by different vertical facies arrangements and palaeontological contents. The sequence boundaries lie within the Polymorphum Zone, around the Polymorphum/Levisoni Zone boundary and in the Bifrons Subzone (Bifrons Zone). The calcareous nannofossils provide a continuos succession of age-significant assemblages, and a useful set of nannobiohorizons that include the LO of Calcivascularis jansae , the LOs of Biscutum grande and Biscutum finchii , and the FOs of Carinolithus cantaluppii , Carinolithus superbus , Discorhabdus striatus and Discorhabdus ignotus . The evolution of the ð13C agrees with the sequential developments of the series because the positive excursions roughly coincide with transgressive depositional phases, whereas a negative trend is observed during regressive phases.


The utility model is an intelligent notebook anti-theft device comprising an electronic anti-theft module, an integrated control module, a power supply module, a data storage circuit, a USB communication circuit and a principal computer, wherein the power supply module supplies power to the integrated control module, the electronic anti-theft module is connected with the integrated control module, and the integrated control module is connected through the principal computer through the USB communication circuit. The intelligent notebook anti-theft device of the utility model is small in size, convenient to carry, plug-and-play, and low in cost. The intelligent notebook anti-theft device is convenient to use and can be widely applied to coffee halls, offices, conference halls and other occasions.


The effect of crosslinking of polyamide 11 and butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (nitrile rubber) was studied. The effect of static and dynamic crosslinking on blending are described. Static and dynamic crosslinking do not significantly improve impact strength of low-rubber-content PA11/NBR blends. For blends with dynamic crosslinking and high rubber contents, mechanical properties including impact strength improve. Thermal behavior of crosslinked PA11/NBR blends were studied by DSC and DMA. SEM was used for investigation of the effect of crosslinking on particle size and particle size distribution, phase morphology, and fracture surface morphology. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1605–1611, 1997


This study was conducted to help practitioners determine the most accurate and efficient way to answer these questions in their own communities. It provides information such as methods and optimum timing for pedestrian and bicycle data collection; emerging technologies that can be used to gather and analyze data; and benefits, limitations, and costs of different techniques.


TRACHEO-ESOPHAGEAL FISTULAE are either congenital or acquired. The acquired variety may be due to malignant or nonmalignant causes, the latter being due to infection, chemicals, trauma, and esophageal diverticula.1This case report presents the first known case of tracheo-esophageal fistula due to necrotizing vasculitis. Report of a Case A 47-year-old white woman entered the Swedish Covenant Hospital on April 6, 1963, because of fever, productive cough, and facial eruption of two months' duration. She had developed a pruritic, papular, erythematous rash on her face, followed two weeks later by a sore throat and cough productive of profuse, whitish-mucoid sputum, without associated chest pain or respiratory difficulty. One week prior to admission the patient developed chills with constant fever. Personal history revealed that the patient was a dressmaker who did not indulge in alcoholic beverages or tobacco. She gave no history of injuries or surgical operations. For one year prior


FIELD: railway transport. SUBSTANCE: front section of rail car contains longitudinal beams 10, coupler gear holder 6 and buffer heads 4. Front lower part of front section is formed by horizontal cross beam 2 connected with longitudinal beams 10 arranged on sides of body whose end parts 3, starting from places of connection, pass diagonally towards buffer heads 4 and longitudinal axle 1 of body. Coupler gear holder 6 is secured in middle of cross beam 2 carrying the motor and is reliably connected with buffer heads 4 by slanting beams 5. To form rear part of front section adapter beam 9 is used arranged parallel to cross motor carrying beam 2 at a distance from said beam towards middle of car. Beam 9, in its turn, is strongly connected with longitudinal beams 10 by its ends. Metal stiffening sheets 7 are secured in front lower part and also in rear part on upper and/or lower side of front section. EFFECT: increased safety and improved riding characteristics. 2 cl, 1 dwg


Virtual channels are an appealing flow control technique for on-chip interconnection networks (NoCs), in that they can potentially avoid deadlock and improve link utilization and network throughput. However, their use in the resource constrained multi-processor system-on-chip (MPSoC) domain is still controversial, due to their significant overhead in terms of area, power and cycle time degradation. This paper proposes a simple yet efficient approach to VC implementation, which results in more area- and power-saving solutions than conventional design techniques. While these latter replicate only buffering resources for each physical link, we replicate the entire switch and prove that our solution is counter intuitively more area/power efficient while potentially operating at higher speeds. This result builds on a well-known principle of logic synthesis for combinational circuits (the area-performance trade-off when inferring a logic function into a gate-level netlist), and proves that when a designer is aware of this, novel architecture design techniques can be conceived.


We have needs to develop a performance analysis system that can be used in domestic nuclear power plants to determine performance status of turbine cycle. We developed new NOPAS system to aid performance analysis of turbine cycle . Procedures of performance calculation are improved using several adaptations from standard calculation algorithms based on ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) PTC (Performance Test Code). Robustness in the performance analysis is increased by verification & validation scheme for measured input data. The system also provides useful aids for performance analysis such as graphic heat balance of turbine cycle and components, turbine expansion lines, automatic generation of analysis reports.


On hot days with no rain, or after long dry spells, flying-foxes at the camp on Bellingen Island, NSW, dip in the river at dusk before flying out for the night's foraging. On exceptionally hot days they come out of the camp to dip while it is still daylight. It appears that the higher the temperature the earlier they begin. The number of animals in the camp who do this varies, apparently according to the day's temperature and to the length of time since rain, but it is rare for a major proportion of them to dip on one evening. This same behaviour has been observed at other camps.


The electronic, vibrational and conformational relaxation of trans- and cis-1,3,5-hexatriene in solution have been investigated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Upon excitation to the 1B state, the transient absorption is observed in the visible region, which mainly consists of an instantaneous rise (<150 fs) and a subpicosecond decay. For the trans isomer, the decay of the transient absorption signals becomes faster at longer wavelengths. On the other hand, for the cis isomer, the decay of the signals does not depend on the probe wavelength significantly. For both isomers, these temporal profiles of signals show that the internal conversion from the S2 to S1 state occurs within 100 fs and the lifetime of the S1 state is less than 500 fs. The observed dependence of the decay on the probe wavelengths for the trans isomer is ascribed to vibrational energy redistribution in the S1 state. We also measured the bleach recovery signals by the one-color pump−probe method in the UV region. The ble...


To screen for host volatiles that effectively attract the lesser pine shoot beetle, Tomicus minor (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), an important forest pest, water vapor distillation extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were combined to analyze volatiles emitted from uninfested and infested shoots of Pinus yunnanensis (Pinaceae). Electroantennography and Y-tube olfactometer behavioral tests were used to compare and analyze the responses of male and female beetles to each of selected eight compounds. The spectrometry results showed that monoterpenes are the primary chemicals emitted by P. yunnanensis . The electroantennogram responses of adult T. minor to six of the plant compounds peaked at 10 μg/μL; the exceptions were terpinolene and myrcene, which had maxima above 100 μg/μL. (+)-a-Pinene and b-phellandrene were strongly attractiveto the male and female adults.


The fear of Yahweh/God is one of the most crucial and at the same time most complex issues in the Hebrew Bible. It is also one of the predominant topics in biblical wisdom literature. The subsequent study focuses on the fear of Yahweh as presented in the book of Proverbs. It is not only quite frequent there but also located in strategic places within its composition. There is no doubt then that the topic is crucial for comprehension of the book1. In this context it seems quite astonishing that so far no monograph on the fear of Yahweh in Proverbs has been provided. My contribution is only a short presentation of main problems related to the topic.


In any case of the natural risks or human risks, populations, ecosystems, flora and fauna are exposed to threats. The objective is to study the impact of intervening disasters in Bukavu city from 17 to January 26 2014. We preceded the interview of people met instead of the disaster victim. We have visit the damaged sites also (districts), through a transect walk as definite by Dery and al., (1999). The identification of the different disasters was done by free observation. The disasters occurred in Bukavu are varied (crumbling, landslide, tornado). The consequences on the buildings are considerable (wall collapsed to Camp Zaire, house slipped to Muhungu, house swallowed in the mud at College Alfajiri basin. The reasons of the disasters are the anarchical constructions in Bukavu city. The human damages recorder from 19 to 28 January 2014 is 21 deaths. For one housemaids management and prevention of the natural disasters in Bukavu city, the provincial government should push and improve the legal setting of assignment of the permits to build and fundamental titles taking into account the seismic norm.


The ability of the SimPlate method in determining total plate counts and total coliforms was investigated by comparing the conventional method using test strains and food samples. There was no significant difference in the total plate counts between the SimPlate and the conventional methods. In the experiment using heatand high-pressure injured bacteria, the total plate counts determined by the SimPlate method seemed to be slightly higher than those by the conventional method, but there was no significant difference. High correlation between the two methods (r=0.93) was observed in the total plate counts determined using 150 food samples. Furthermore, in the total coliform counts determined using test strains, there was no significant difference between the two methods. When using heatand high-pressure injured bacteria, the total coliform counts determined by the SimPlate method were also slightly higher than those determined by the conventional method. Total coliform counts were determined using 150 food samples, and a high degree of correlation between the two methods (r=0.91) was observed. These findings suggest that the SimPlate method can be effective as a rapid and convenient means for determining total plate counts and total coliform counts. (Received Feb. 27, 2002; Accepted Apr. 21, 2002)


This paper proposes a flow-path-network-based (FPN-based) algorithm, constructed from a square-grid digital elevation model (DEM) to improve the simulation of the flow path curvature (C). First, the flow-path network model was utilized to obtain an FPN. Then, a flow-path-network-flow-path-curvature (FPN-C) algorithm was proposed to estimate C from the FPN. The experiments consisted of two sections: (1) quantitatively evaluating the accuracy using 5 m DEMs generated from the mathematical ellipsoid and Gauss models, and (2) qualitatively assessing the accuracy using a 30 m DEM of a real-world complex region. The three algorithms proposed by Evans (1980), Zevenbergen and Throne (1987), and Shary (1995) were used to validate the accuracy of the new algorithm. The results demonstrate that the C value of the proposed algorithm was generally closer to the theoretical C value derived from two mathematical surfaces. The root mean standard error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the new method are 0.0014 and 0.0002 m, reduced by 42% and 82% of that of the third algorithm on the ellipsoid surface, respectively. The RMSE and MAE of the presented method are 0.0043 and 0.0025 m at best, reduced by up to 35% and 14% of that of the former two algorithms on the Gauss surface, respectively. The proposed algorithm generally produces better spatial distributions of C on different terrain surfaces.


Discourse markers (e.g. δέ, ἀλλά) comprise a functional category. They narrow or explicate discourse relations, instructing the reader on how to process the discourse and build a mental representation of it. In so doing, they aid the reader in the comprehension task, reducing cognitive effort and facilitating successful communication. Unfortunately, these considerations rarely feature in discussions on Greek discourse markers. Instead, their functions are often conflated with the semantics of their surrounding contexts of use and with the functions of their translational glosses. This often results in less precision in one's comprehension of the flow and structure of the discourse. The aim of this thesis is twofold. First, it examines a selection of discourse markers – δέ, εἰ/ἐὰν μή, ἀλλά, ἀλλ ̓ ἤ, μέν – in early Koine Greek from a cognitive–functional linguistic framework in order to determine their pragmatic functions. Each chapter begins with an investigation of a discourse marker in the Ptolemaic papyri, thus providing a basic map of the marker's function(s) in early Koine. This is followed by a treatment of its occurrences in the Old Greek text of the Minor Prophets, or, if more data are required, its occurrences throughout the Greek Pentateuch or the entire Greek Old Testament. Thus, for each discourse marker, a profile is built of its pragmatic function(s) based on its uses in the Ptolemaic papyri and the Greek Old Testament. In addition to the Greek language data, insights and data from cognitive, functional, and typological linguistics are incorporated that inform and further confirm the findings. The resulting profile is


The present invention discloses an electronic payment system using a multifunctional prepaid card sales and the method of pre-paid cards. The electronic payment system includes a preset personal identification number (PIN) multi-purpose prepaid card; multi-function for pre-paid card users to provide services or goods, need to use the multi-purpose prepaid card personal identification number (PIN) to pay shopping / service provider; when the prepaid card management system, it multi-purpose prepaid card status / balance information with a PIN database management, and issue a payment request in the shopping / service provider for a specific PIN, and the PIN settlement appropriate balance, and updating the settlement result on the database. The above system and multi-function prepaid cards are widely used in various paid services or purchase of goods.


Spino Cerebellar Ataxia type 2 is an autosomal dominant cerebellar hereditary ataxia with the highest prevalence in Cuba. Typical symptoms in patients of SCA2 ataxia include modifications in latency, peak velocity, and deviation in visual saccadic movements. After applying some electro-oculography based tests to both healthy and SCA2 afflicted individuals, differences in saccade morphology were found, mainly for 60º of stimulus amplitude. In this work, independent component analysis (ICA) is used to decompose the pulse and step components for the control of saccadic ocular movements, finding significant differences in time and amplitude ratio of both components. The obtained results point out the validity of the proposed methodology in order to study the effects of ataxia SCA2 in the oculomotor system.


Rapid growth in technology and its accessibility by general public produce voluminous, heterogeneous and unstructured data resulted in the emergence of new concepts. Different computational tools such as rough-set theory, fuzzy-set theory and fuzzy-rough-set that are often applied to analyze such kind of data are the focus of this chapter. Real-life data is often vague, so fuzzy logic and rough-set theory are applied to handle uncertainty and maintain consistency in the data sets. The aim of the fuzzy-rough-based method is to generate optimum variation in the range of membership functions of linguistic variables. In this paper we have discussed the definition of Fuzzy set and Fuzzy rough set. Then we have used fuzzy set and fuzzy rough set concept in some decision making of a real life problem of uncertainty. Here we have taken fuzzy set in universe X where all concepts are described. A lower and upper approximation of acoefficient of belongingness of an object x belongs to X to a fuzzy decision concept have been described. This can be done by means of a family of fuzzy concept defined on the universal set X.


The movie Bite to Eat tells a story of a little Vampire. He wants to be a good example to his kind and be the scary wright of the night. Unfortunatelly, he is not very good at it. After a couple of obstacles, he founds out that being different isn't that bad at all, it is quite the opposite. With his funny look and awkwardness, he won the girls heart.


This book is an autobiographical account of the founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus. This work is a fundamental rethinking of the economic relationship between the rich and the poor, as well as their rights and obligations.


The production of moving images, film and video, by Canadian LGBTQ activists during the post-Omnibus/pre-AIDS era (roughly 1970-1982), was as uneven and as underdeveloped as the political movements of the day in major Canadian cities. As a young film critic for The Body Politic , the author of the first comprehensive survey of images of lesbians and gays in Quebec cinema (1981) and the teacher of one of the first Canadian lesbian and gay cinema courses on the planet (1982-83), I often lamented the dearth of Canadian film and video production. Despite the fact that Toronto and Montreal each offered its pioneering iconic feature film, Il etait une fois dans l'Est and Outrageous! , I still found myself asking where the Canadian Word is Out or Army of Lovers Revolt of the Perverts -- or for that matter Boys in the Sand-- was hiding. Yet there was more going on in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver than met the eye. Looking back on the 1970s almost forty years later, one can reevaluate the cinematic heritage of those years, as well as the categories of "activist," "political" and "moving images"—and reconsider the contribution of moving image activism to proto-queer community and subcultural formations during the decade following "We Demand." The proposed lecture-presentation will take on those tasks, building on the research published in my monograph The Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas (2006). Showing excerpts from ten exemplary films and videos from Canada's three moving-image production metropoles, a few familiar but most rescued from the archives or seen in a new light, "We Demand… Moving Images" will develop a subjective survey of the political cinematic landscape in the wake of "We Demand…"—a contrapuntal historiography of activist film and video from 1970 to 1982.


Monitoring and fault diagnosis in gas transmission and distribution process are key technologies to assure the safe operation.A multiagent system with monitoring and fault diagnosis functions is put forward, including three kinds of intelligent agents: monitoring intelligent agent,fault diagnosis intelligent agent and harmony intelligent agent.They can work together in an integrated frame.The system has batter precision and real-time, and can be applied for monitoring and fault diagnosis in gas transmission and distribution process.


Given the chronic illness of one of its elements, the family has struggled and is pressed to mobilize mechanisms that do not belong to their usual repertoire. During the process of adapting to this situation, the reactions of the sick person and other members of his family influence each other, a process that can become in itself a problem, leading to new risks for the family and for the ill person. Thus, the family should not be excluded from the process of care. This dissertation focuses on the impact of chronic disease in the sick person and his family, it analyzes the context of factors that influence and identifies types of medical interventions that promote adaptive responses to disease. Structured into seven parts, the first part of this dissertation demonstrates the importance of chronic diseases, focusing its weight in the pattern of current morbidity and its impact on health care costs, direct and indirect, in the organization of health care, and in the family and the sick person, the latter two levels of impact which focuses this thesis. In the second part, we review the definitions in question in this dissertation and the theories that fall, including the general systems theory and the Bronfenbrenner ́s bioecological model of development. In the third part, we justified the methodological options of this dissertation. Inserted in the interpretive paradigm is grounded and uses qualitative and quantitative data, a triangulation of methods and analysis. To support the rationale for choices made, described the dialogue between alternative paradigms, including the definition of the respective concepts and standards. Given the rhetoric not be limited to quantitative research versus qualitative research, but also occur between the different currents of the latter, passed in review their distinct historical moments, since persist and coexist on


In this study, I analyzed the impact of land-use on mercury and methylmercury in the San Francisco Bay area and I explored correlations of mercury and methylmercury with various water quality indicators using water and sediment quality data from the Regional Monitoring Program. To understand the relationships of land-use and water and sediment quality with mercury and methylmercury concentrations, I conducted a correlation coefficient analysis using Microsoft EXCEL 2007. In the San Joaquin Delta watershed and the Suisun Bay watershed, heavy metals showed strong relationship with methylmercury. Developed land uses such as industrial, commercial services and urban built-up had a strong relationship with methylmercury, while agricultural land uses generally had a negative relationship with methylmercury. Mercury and methylmercury had a strong positive relationship with clay, silt, and fine sand. Mercury had significant negative correlation with pH and significant positive correlation with silver. Methylmercury was strongly related to temperature and total nitrogen. Although underestimated in this study, strip mines had a fairly strong correlation with mercury, indicating that they may be a major source of mercury to the San Francisco Bay. Restoration efforts should target areas with developed land-use, high clay, silt, fine sand and heavy metals.


To evaluate the effect of artificial insemination with frozen-sexed sperm on the reproductive performance of dairy cow,and to further improve insemination strategies,frozen spermwassexed by flow cytometry.Then 3 947 health Holstein cow were artificially inseminated with frozen sperm unsexed or sexed.The results showed:①The pregnancy and calving rates were 48.91% and 97.97% for sexed-sperm AIs,51.74% and 98.05% for the unsexed-sperm AIs(P0.05).The proportion of female calves derived from sexed-sperm AIs was 92.01% compared with 51.13% for control AIs(P0.01),the reproductive rate was 51.13% for sexed-sperm AIs and 34.97% for control AIs(P0.01).② The pregnancy rate was 55.25% for primiparous cow and was obviously higher than that of multiparous cow(P0.01),the calving rate was 98.31% for primiparous cow and was higher than that of multiparous cow(P0.05),the reprodcutive rates was 51.84% for primiparous cow and 42.12% for multiparous cow,there were significant differences(P0.01).③When a insemination was followed by a second one 10—11 hours later,and a single-doses sperm was used in each time,the pregnancy and reproductive rates were both the highest(P0.01).Our results indicated that AI using sexed sperm under field conditions in commercial dairy herds without oestrus synchronization resulted in a significantly improvement of reprocuctive effect compared with AI using unsexed sperm.


We describe computational treatments of archival collections through a case study involving World War II Japanese-American Incarceration Camps. We focus on automating the detection of personally identifiable information or PII. The paper also discusses the emergence of computational archival science (CAS) and the development of a computational framework for library and archival education. Computational Thinking practices are applied to Archival Science practices. These include: (1) data creation, manipulation, analysis, and visualization (2) designing and constructing computational models, and (3) computer programming, developing modular computational solutions, and troubleshooting and debugging. We conclude with PII algorithm accuracy, transparency, and performance considerations and future developments.


Using generalized Riccati transformation, some new oscillation criteria for damped linear differential equations are established. These results improve and generalize some known oscillation criteria due to A.Wintner [8], I.V.Kamenev [10] for the undamped linear differential equations, and Sobol [3], J.S.W.Wong [1] for the damped linear differential equations.


n this paper we first use the Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth to document how various household choices (including consumption and wealth) change in response to an income change. We show that these responses are not consistent with simple benchmark models (i.e. complete markets or hands to mouth consumers). In particular, we find evidence of significant asymmetries in how consumption and wealth respond to income change. We also find that these responses have changed significantly over time. We then explore how existing partial risk sharing models can account for this evidence. Preliminary work suggest that such a model, especially if one wants to explain more recent data, will have to include better insurance means than the standard incomplete markets but substantially less than a model with a full set of contingent assets.


INTRODUCTION
This research investigates the possible potential of Rosa canina (RC) as an immunomodulator in rats and its effects on some biochemical parameters.

METHODS
In this experiment, 45 male Wistar rats were obtained and divided into three groups (n = 15). These groups received normal saline (10 mg/kg), RC fruit extract (250 mg/kg) and RC fruit extract (500 mg/kg) as oral gavages every day for a period of four weeks, respective-ly. After obtaining blood samples (at the end of each week), differential white blood cell (WBC) counts, phagocyte activity (number), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphates (ALP) albumin and globulins levels of sam-ples were obtained. The malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels in the se-rum were determined only in day 28 of study. The radical scavenger activity (RSA) of the RC extract was measured spectrophotometrically.

RESULTS
the gamma globulin level, neu-trophil and monocyte counts and phagocyte activity increased significantly in comparison with the normal saline group. ALT, AST and ALP had not significantly differences in compared to control group. RC extract significantly increased thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and also decreased GSH levels in comparing to control group in day 28.

CONCLUSION
the data suggest that the RC extract has been used in traditional medicine might have immunomodulatory effects.


In the international literature the coauthorship networks of researchers from various scientific fields have been studied, thus evidencing their efficacy, effectiveness and impact of their publications, however, in Mexico this type of studies are scarce and present significant potential development, so.the objective of this study is to analyze the structure of the network of coauthorship of national level 3 researchers in political science in the country, under the structural metrics of network theory. One of the main conclusions is that the network presents a fragmented configuration, in view of this it is proposed in the first instance to reorient the public policy of the Mexican government to strengthen those of inter and multidisciplinary research groups and promote the creation of research networks in priority areas for the country.


penser makes his own discovery of the New World in the Proem to Book I1 of the Faerie Queene, where he offers the skeptic of Faery Land the evidence of other newly discovered "great Regions" which had never before been "mentioned": Peru, the Amazon River, and Virginia. Recently Spenser's readers have been making-or perhaps more accurately, remaking-this discovery as well: Spenser's "great Regions" have become increasingly common points of reference in scholarship on the Faerie Queene. This new interest in the New World results partly from a growing awareness of the wealth of relatively neglected material that exists on the conquest and colonization of the Americas, and that can be fruitfully brought to bear on the study of Elizabethan literary history; it results partly, too, from the elevation of this material by the New Historicist school which has grown to be such a force in Renaissance studies during the past ten years.' We have now accustomed ourselves to thinking of the Faerie


or total care to some segment, determined on the basis of age, length of service, or any other factor? 'As a dentist,' he answers, 'I tend toward the concept of complete coverage for a segment of the group, rather than partial coverage for the total group. A partial coverage program would tend to interfere with the complete rehabilitation of a mouth ... The size of the segment for whom service is projected is determined by availability of funds, and we previously stated that a known income (for the program) on a continuing basis is necessary.'


In this paper, we present the analysis of subthreshold leakage current with temperature variations in an IP3 SRAM bit-cell. A comparison of subthreshold leakage current of IP3 SRAM bit-cell with conventional 6T, P4 and P3 is performed at elevated temperatures ranging from 0C to 125C. It is observed that subthreshold leakage increases with temperature and also IP3 SRAM bit-cell has the lowest subthreshold leakage variations when compared with conventional 6T , P4 and P3 SRAM bit-cell structures.


Fungi can rapidly produce large amounts of spores suitable for aerial dispersal. The hydrophobicity of spores is provided by the unique amphiphilic and superior surface-active proteins – hydrophobins (HFBs) – that self-assemble at hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces and thus change surface properties. Using the HFB-enriched mold Trichoderma and the HFB-free yeast Pichia pastoris, we revealed a distinctive HFB secretory pathway that includes an intracellular accumulation of HFBs in lipid bodies (LBs) that can internalize in vacuoles. The resulting vacuolar multicisternal structures (VMS) are stabilized by HFB layers that line up on their surfaces. These HFB-enriched VMSs can move to the periplasm for secretion or become fused in large tonoplast-like organelles. The latter contributes to the maintenance of turgor pressure required for the erection of sporogenic structures and rapid HFB secretion by squeezing out periplasmic VMSs through the cell wall. Thus, HFBs are essential accessory proteins for the development of aerial hyphae and colony architecture.


Today's economy is based on technology and innovation. The muzzle velocity has the daring task of defining the required standards and the necessary business-effectiveness. And what better example than one of the relatively recent industries that has shown a positive development over the years, taking into consideration the impact on human life: aviation industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economical influences of the recent crisis on the national aeronautical industry. Therefore we will follow the movement of 30 companies in this particular segment, chosen due to the impact it has on the economy. In order to assess the influence of the crisis, we took into consideration some basic indicators such as market segmentation index and other concentration indices. Following market dynamics we observe an unconventional behaviours that betrays a high degree of assimilation between international decline and the aviation market economy.


This is the final technical report for DOE Grant DE-SC0009945. It includes a summary of the accomplishments, products, and impact of this research project in theoretical high energy physics.


Roll-forming process is used in manufacturing multi-beam oil tubes, while reducing their outer profile diameter and forming star-like profile. In this paper a steel tubes are studied with a drawing and pushing processes. This study gets into different issues including elastoplastic behavior, contacts and friction using finite element analysis. In simulations, a plane symmetric steady-state model is used. Numerical results are compared with experimental results. A better understanding and modelling of the behavior of materials lead to a new form of roller tool with significant advantages.


In the rural area of Liyang city,Jiangsu province,there are various sized communities,where the residents usually speak two different dialects,the Henan dialect and the Liyang dialect.The formation of the community of Henan dialect has a background of post-war immigration history of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolutionaries.It was formed on the basis of traditional kinship and geographical relationships,and reflects the tribal group culture consciousness of the Henan immigrants.Due to contact with the Liyang dialect for so long,Henan dialect in the Liyang rural area has already changed extensively,and an enormous change has taken place in the user's language psychology too.Local government departments and the inhabitants in the community of Henan dialect should take certain measures to curb and delay the speed of decay of the Henan dialect.


Changes in land use in watersheds play a major role in the study of changes in tidal inundation. Land use is a form of human effort to change the environment into a stable environment such as agricultural land, roads, plantations, and settlements. The purpose of this study is the slope of the catchment area, changes in land use in 1996-2020, and the potential for tidal flooding due to changes in land use in the Cipunagara watershed. The method used is the analysis of satellite images available on the Google Earth Engine platform data cloud using machine learning algorithms. The results of the slope analysis in the Cipunagara watershed are divided into five classes, namely the flat category with an area of 52.67 km 2 , the sloping category covering an area of 823.98 km 2 , slightly steep covering an area of 226.79 km 2 , steep covering an area of 126.02 km 2 , and very steep covering an area of 74.96 km 2 . Spatial changes in land use from 1996 to 2020, namely for open land/settlements decreased by -15% (-196.92 km 2 ), forest vegetation increased by +11% (+145.78 km 2 ), waters/water decreased by -13% (-164.96 km 2 ), and paddy fields/ponds increased by +17% (+216.11 km 2 ). Analysis of the potential for tidal inundation (river runoff) downstream of the Cipunagara watershed correlates with changes in the use of open land, forest vegetation, and rice fields with an area of 1,982 ha (47%). Meanwhile, the potential for tidal inundation (tidal events) is correlated with changes in the use of paddy fields and waters/water with an area of 2,213.93 ha (53%). The results of the research can be utilized in the management of flood risk in the downstream area of the watershed.


The original form of /3/3enolase (EC 126.96.36.199) in tissue is modified to two more electrophoreticallydistinctformswhen incubatedwith human serum. The three postsyntheticforms are designated /3/33,/3/32,and /3131, in order of increasing anodal mobility and increasing modification. Serum and carboxypeptidasesA and B all produce identicalmodifications of /3/3 enolase but exhibit very different pH-activity profiles.A purifiedhuman serum proteinpreviouslynamed "modifyingprotein,"which is responsiblefor the modification of creatine kinase-M and a-enolase subunits, modifies 13/3 enolaseand also has a pH-activity profileidenticalto thatfor serum. Thus we conclude that the modifyingprotein is not identicalto either carboxypeptidaseA or B; it may, however, be an as-yet-undescribedcarboxypeptidase.With increased modification,both aa and 1313enolase decrease in apparent activationenergy; yy enolase showsno evidenceof modification, and its apparent activationenergy remains stable. Measurementof activationenergy is an easy toolfor screening for postsyntheticmodificationsin an enzyme.


The present study was carried out at Sakha Agric. Research Station during 2011 growing season to study the germination and early seedling growth and physiological attributes of five soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) cultivars (Toano, Giza 35, Giza 111, Giza 22 and Giza 83, beside the five breeding lines H32, DR. 101, H9L186, H6L136 and H2L78) under different levels of saline water. Two experiments were conducted first experiment on Petri dishes and the other in pots and saline water concentration, were 0, 6 ds/m 9 ds/m, 12 ds/m and 15 ds/m. The obtained results proved that the genotypes under study could be arranged into three groups according to their sensitivity to salinity stress. The first group included the genotypes DR 101, Toano, H2L78, H9L86 and Giza 83, which are the most tolerant to salinity due to the high germinability and vigorous growth to development for whole plant under all levels of salinity. The second group included H32 and Giza 111 which are moderate tolerant. The third group include; H6L136, Giza 22 and Giza 35 genotypes as susceptible genotypes under different levels of salinity. Determination of ions showed that Na + concentration increased with increasing salinity level in all of genotypes. While the K + concentration was higher in salt stress tolerant soybean plants than the susceptible ones which decreased Na+ toxicity. It could be concluded that soybean genotypes Toano, Giza 83 and DR. 101 are salt stress tolerant due to their less Na + absorption and more Na + accumulation in root compared with other studied genotypes. The results indicated that under salt stress plant growth of cultivars Toano, Giza 83 and DR. 101 were better compared to the other soybean genotypes.


Background: T cell lymphoma, comprising 15% of diagnosed US lymphomas, currently has no standard of care in the relapsed setting. Exposure to molds diminishes the numbers of T-helpers cells in peripheral blood. Aspergillus and Penicillium are known to produce small molecules called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have previously been associated with immunosuppressive effects (Sutton et al., 1994, 1995), and a reduction of cytokine secretion (Rossano et al., 1999.) This study investigates the effects of two of these mycotoxins, Gliotoxin and Patulin, on the cellular components of mononuclear cells in peripheral blood of normal donors and T-cell lymphoma cells, examining viability and apoptotic damage in CD3+ (T cells), CD4+ (cytotoxic t cells), CD8+ (t helper cells), and CD16+ (NK cells), BDCA1+ and BDCA2+ (dendritic cells), CD14+ (monocytes), and CD19+ (B cells). Methods: Two mycotoxins, Gliotoxin and Patulin were solubilized into methanol or ethanol and cultured with either normal ficolled blood samples, T-cell lymphoma or T-cell leukemic cells. We plated cells at a concentration of 1x 106 cells per well, treated them with concentrations of 0, 1, 10, 100, 1,000, or 10,000 ng/mL, and incubated for 24 hours. After incubation the cells were removed and washed, and stained with fluorescent antibodies. Cellular content was determined by flow cytometry (FACS). Prior to acquisition by FACS, counting beads were added to each sample to determine absolute counts of each population of cells. Populations of interest were CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+, BDCA1+ and BDCA2+, CD14+, and CD19+. Annexin and Propidium Iodide (PI) were added to evaluate apoptotic and non-viable cells. FloJo software was used to analyze the FACS data. Absolute count of viable cells was then converted to percentages using solvent only control as 100% viable. Results: The dose of Gliotoxin, most effective for inducing apoptosis and cell death in normal donor T cells is 100 ng/mL, whereas the most effective dose of Patulin was 1,000 ng/mL. In the cell line, the lowest dose of both mycotoxins that produced significant apoptosis and cell death was 1,000 ng/mL. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the mycotoxins, Patulin and Gliotoxin kill PBMC, and confirm the results found by Stanzani et al that Gliotoxin is most cytotoxic against the antigen presenting cells (APC), which impairs T cell response. Our experiment showed that Patulin had the same effect against APC. T cell viability itself was greatly influenced by the addition of Gliotoxin or Patulin, which supports previous evidence that mycotoxins suppress some populations of T cells. Certain issues, such as a less toxic solvent must be addressed; the data, however, shows that mycotoxins do have the ability to kill both normal and T cell leukemic/lymphoma cells.


By Mike Anderson Last year as we were forming Aragon I was a steadfast Windows user. Although we had made the decision early that we would allow user freedom of choice for computing, Jim was all Mac in his home office. Keeping integration simple by choosing...


Globalization has brought opportunities,as well as challenges,to students for political socialization.Challenges for college students' political socialization interior and exterior are discussed here.Dealing with the challenges,solutions are proposed to make it possible for their political socialization.


To tackle the power consumption challenges in terahertz band wireless communication, this study proposes a deep learning-driven approach for transceiver design that utilizes one-bit quantization and oversampling at the receiver. The solution also involves implementing Faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) transmission on a fading channel. Our approach employs a convolutional autoencoder (AE) to enable the transmission of higher-order modulation over a one-bit fading channel while utilizing pilots. By exploiting the AE transceiver, it is evident that performance in quantized communication has significantly improved for QPSK, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM modulation levels, approaching the theoretical lower bound for the corresponding modulation over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Furthermore, the study has explored how to use the robust error-correcting capabilities of the AE transceiver to boost spectral efficiency by increasing FTN rates without dire Bit-error-rate sacrifice.


For the decision of the problem of optimum control of the multiphase process, the model of which is made on the basis of the method of power information modeling, the method of dynamic programming has been used. The idea of carrying out of local descent from many index points has been realized and the choice of the best local minimum as the decision (a combination of methods of casual multistart, configurations and sifting) has been made. As a result of the algorithm work a set of the operating influences, bringing the process to the set criterion of quality is received. The management efficiency with the use of the developed algorithms has been checked by means of the method of imitating modeling.


A trigger track processor is being designed for the CDF upgrade. This processor identities high momentum (P/sub T/>1.5 GeV/c) charged tracks in the new central outer tracking chamber for CDF II. The track processor is called the eXtremely Fast Tracker (XFT). The XFT design is highly parallel to handle the input rate of 183 Gbits/sec and output rate of 44 Gbits/sec. The processor is pipelined and reports the results for a new event every 132 ns. The processor uses three stages, hit classification, segment finding, and segment linking. The pattern recognition algorithms for the three stages are implemented in programmable logic devices (PLDs) which allow for in-situ modification of the algorithm at any time. The PLDs reside on three different types of modules. Prototypes of each of these modules have been designed and built, and are presently undergoing testing. An overview of the track processor and results of testing are presented.


Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography method for determination of ofloxacin in Ofloxacin Suppositories.Methods C18 chromatographic column was used,and the mobile phase was the solution of 0.05 mol·L-1 citric acid(pH was adjusted to 4.0 with triethylamine)-acetonitrile(85∶15),and the detection wavelength was 293 nm.Results The linear range of ofloxacin was 20.02-400.3 μg·mL-1(r=0.999 7).The mean recovery was 99.3%(n=9) with RSD 0.6%.Conclusion The method is simple,quick,accurate,and can be used for the quality control of Ofloxacin Suppositories.


Objective To discuss the diagnosis and therapy of glomus jugulare. Methods Eighteen cases of glomus jugulare tumors were reviewed. Results 5 cases were A type, 4 cases were B type, 6 cases were C type, 3 cases were D type. Three different kinds of surgical approaches were selected and 18 cases tumors were resected completely. Conclusions Surgical treatment is the first choice to treat glomus jugulare tumors. Preoperative embo1ization is able to reduce the operation time and blood loss. Radiotherapy is able to control the residual tumor.


This paper provides a novel framework for single-domain generalized object detection (i.e., Single-DGOD), where we are interested in learning and maintaining the semantic structures of self-augmented compound cross-domain samples to enhance the model's generalization ability. Different from DGOD trained on multiple source domains, Single-DGOD is far more challenging to generalize well to multiple target domains with only one single source domain. Existing methods mostly adopt a similar treatment from DGOD to learn domain-invariant features by decoupling or compressing the semantic space. However, there may have two potential limitations: 1) pseudo attribute-label correlation, due to extremely scarce single-domain data; and 2) the semantic structural information is usually ignored, i.e., we found the affinities of instance-level semantic relations in samples are crucial to model generalization. In this paper, we introduce Semantic Reasoning with Compound Domains (SRCD) for Single-DGOD. Specifically, our SRCD contains two main components, namely, the texture-based self-augmentation (TBSA) module, and the local-global semantic reasoning (LGSR) module. TBSA aims to eliminate the effects of irrelevant attributes associated with labels, such as light, shadow, color, etc., at the image level by a light-yet-efficient self-augmentation. Moreover, LGSR is used to further model the semantic relationships on instance features to uncover and maintain the intrinsic semantic structures. Extensive experiments on multiple benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SRCD.


ABSTRACT Successfully implementing Internet access for the public's use in a public library requires careful planning and a commitment of both staff and financial resources. It also requires a new look at materials access and selection policies and procedures and the library's collection development process. Public libraries offering Internet access should have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and specific procedures for patrons' use of the Internet service. The use of the Internet should be integrated into the library's collection development process and into the library's day-to-day operations.


Data Protection and Privacy is a priority focus for each organization, driven by rapidly emerging regulatory requirements around the world. These regulations are generating continuous need of review and adaption across software used by business. Over the past years, usage of Machine Learning for businesses increased significantly. The increase of usage is giving significant advantages to the business with its capabilities of predicting the results, enables the business to prepare for the upcoming challenges. Core principle on which Machine Learning is based on is "Predictions are more accurate when the models can be trainable on huge amounts of data from various sources". However, the need of processing large amounts of data is also bringing in a concern in terms of Data Privacy. With this paper, we will provide a risk-based approach, following the privacy focused threat modeling to ensure data privacy compliant machine learning lifecycle. Risk based approach advocates "Start Early" to identify potential risk early to plan and mitigate. We will describe in this paper, how risk-based approach can systematically help identifying usage of personal data, data minimization and flow and process implementation required to ensure the machine learning business case is meeting the data privacy regulatory requirement.


Compared with children without disability, children with Down syndrome are thought to have poorer quality of life, particularly in relation to social support and peers, and physical wellbeing. The authors wanted to describe the healthrelated quality of life of Australian children and adolescents with Down syndrome, and compare it with normreferenced data (a form of standardized testing). Healthrelated quality of life is how a person feels about their physical and mental health over time. A survey was completed by the parents of 75 children and adolescents (43 males, 32 females) with Down syndrome aged 5 to 18 years (average age 13 years 2 months). Parents completed on behalf of their children a questionnaire called KIDSCREEN27 that measures physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, autonomy and parent relations, social support and peers, and school environment. This information was then analyzed to see what patterns emerged and was compared to data from children without disability. The healthrelated quality of life scores of children and adolescents with Down syndrome for psychological wellbeing, autonomy, and school environment were within the expected values, whereas scores for physical wellbeing, and social support and peers, were lower than expected. Children and adolescents with Down syndrome scored lower than children and adolescents without disability for physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, and social support and peers. Adolescents with Down syndrome scored poorer on all aspects of healthrelated quality of life than children without Down syndrome. The findings give a better understanding of the lived experiences of children and adolescents with Down syndrome, as perceived by their parents, and indicates how their healthrelated quality of life might be improved by attending to their physical health and social support needs. DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.15455


Abstract This article presents our approach for conflict management in our knowledge acquisition tool KATEMES, aimed at tackling multiple experts. We offer a method for helping the knowledge engineer to detect expertise conflicts in the framework of the KADS knowledge acquisition method. We also propose techniques for conflict management through comparison of knowledge graphs.


It is well known that weeds have high plasticity and are therefore able to adapt to the environmental conditions. In addition, weeds are prone to intraspecific mutation, which is one of the reasons they present serious problems in weed control practices (Brainard et al. 2007; Clements et al. 2004; Mayor and Dessaint 1998; Menalled et al. 2001; Sosnoskie et al. 2006). Tea gardens are specific environments for weed species, as they are different from other crop fields and orchards, and it is important to clarify the intraspecific variation in weeds in tea gardens in order to be able to effectively control the weeds in tea gardens.Tea plants (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) contain alkaloids, polyphenols, and phenolic compounds (Maclas et al. 1996), and they also have allelopathic activity (Waller et al. 1986; Suzuki and Waller 1987).


Recent papers have shown that spatial (quenched) disorder can suppress discontinuous absorbing phase transitions. Conversely, the scenario for temporal disorder is still unknown. In order to shed some light in this direction, we investigate its effect in three different two dimensional models which are known to exhibit discontinuous absorbing phase transitions. The temporal disorder is introduced by allowing the control parameter to be time dependent p → p(t), either varying as a uniform distribution with mean p̄ and variance σ or as a bimodal distribution, fluctuating between a value p and a value pl ≪ p. In contrast to spatial disorder, our numerical results strongly suggest that such uncorrelated temporal disorder does not forbid the existence of a discontinuous absorbing phase transition. We find that all cases are characterized by behaviors similar to their pure (without disorder) counterparts, including bistability around the coexistence point and common finite size scaling behavior with the inverse of the system volume, as recently proposed in Phys. Rev. E. 92, 062126 (2015). We also observe that temporal disorder does not induce temporal Griffiths phases around discontinuous phase transitions, at least for d = 2. PACS numbers: 05.70.Ln, 05.50.+q, 05.65.+bx


Characterizing a set of data as a random sample from a specified distribution is often a precursor to statistical inference or hypothesis testing involving the extremes of the distribution -precisely the regions of greatest uncertainty. It seems reasonable then to exploit as best we can our limited knowledge of this region. Toward this end we investigate here the areas in the tails of the distribution as determined by the extreme order statistics as a criterion for testing goodness-of-fit.


Abstract : The study examines damage to the Detroit Fire Department as a result of the Five-City-Study attack and analyzes the fire department capabilities in dealing with the postattack fire situation. After reviewing damage incurred by personnel, facilities, and equipment, the remaining fire-service resources were evaluated with respect to the magnitude of the demand situation and obstacles preventing the satisfaction of these demands.


Hip fractures, which represent a severe health problem for the elderly, typically result in sideways falls with a direct impact to the hip. One possibility to prevent hip fractures is the use of hip protectors. An experimental test device was developed which consists of anatomically shaped structures that represent the hard and soft tissues of the femur and the hip. In parallel to the development of the experimental set-up, a finite element model of the device was established. On the one hand the model was used during the design process to investigate several design aspects like the positioning of the load cell or the choice of materials for the soft tissue surrogate. On the other hand, as the final model matches exactly the test device, it was used to study different hip protector design strategies and can serve as a design tool for the development of new hip protectors. By means of finite element modeling, a detailed stress analysis of the device under impact was performed to ensure that the tri-axial load cell of the experimental set-up was positioned reasonably, i.e. at the position where the maximum stress can be expected in the femoral neck. The mechanical hip model was used to investigate ten different types of hip protectors, including three energy-shunting systems with hard shells and seven energy-absorbing systems consisting of soft foam pads. The anatomically shaped hip model which was developed in this study is suitable to investigate the effect of hip protectors with respect to femoral neck loading. Different design strategies of hip protectors as well as different positioning (out-of-position problem) can be analysed. Hence it is possible to use the test device plus a standardised test procedure as basis for a quality assessment scheme to rate the performance of commercially available hip protectors. In addition, the device is helpful for the optimisation and development of future protectors. Correlating the load recorded to the actual risk of sustaining femoral neck fractures, a Swiss certificate will be issued which allows the consumer to assess the protective potential of a hip protector. For the covering abstract see ITRD E141807.


This article provides an innovative interpretation of the rules of Italian limited responsibility companies (s.r.l.), which takes into account not only and not much the phenome-non of crowdfunding, but also and above all the financing via business angels and venture capital. We therefore advance a proposal for a complete re-reading of the subject as reformed in 2012-2015-2017, aimed wherever possible at making venture capital financing feasible. The proposed construction reflects the original intentions of the legislator, reduces the impact of mandatory rules and is consistent with the deeply felt need to modernise Italian company law.