A new Ru-containing catalyst based on Fe3O4-SiO2 particles that exhibit magnetic properties is proposed for the hydrogenolysis of cellulose to glycols and the hydrolytic hydrogenation of inulin to mannitol. Here, we also report utilisation of a magnetically recoverable catalyst in the inulin hydrolytic hydrogenation to mannitol. The effect of process parameters on the selectivity toward the main products is studied. In the hydrogenolysis of cellulose, the highest selectivities for EG (19.1 %) and PG (20.9 %) are achieved within 50 min under conditions of 255 °C, H2 60 bar. The conversion of cellulose is 100 %. In the hydrolytic hydrogenation of inulin, maximum mannitol selectivity (44.3 %) is reached within 45 min under conditions of 150 °C, H2 60 bar. The conversion of inulin is 100 %.The catalyst used in this work is stable under hydrothermal conditions of the process. It can be easily magnetically separated from the reaction mixture and reused without any loss of selectivity and activity, making this catalyst promising for practical applications in biomass conversion.


This article provides a view of contemporary Australia in terms of patterns of offending and incarceration, the characteristics of its correctional systems, vocational education and training (VET) within correctional settings, and post-release employment of prisoners and offenders serving community-based orders (CBOs). A two-year case study of employment assistance for 2,458 Australian prisoners and offenders serving CBOs was evaluated. The voluntary 12-month programme targeted participants at moderate to high risk of reoffending. Overall, employment outcomes were positive with more than one-third of registrations resulting in employment. Employment outcomes varied for gender and participant status (prisoner/offender). Recidivism outcomes were analysed for the whole programme and for a random sample of 600 prisoner participants. Results indicated a very low overall recidivism rate (7.46 per cent) for programme participants, and comparison of pre-programme and post-release recidivism showed reduced recidivism on three recidivism measures. The findings are contextualized in terms of current thinking and emerging practices in offender treatment, with a focus on reintegration as ecological system engagement and integrated systems of support as central to promoting positive lifestyle change.


The regulatory region and the signal peptide sequence of the sacB gene has been amplified by PCR using Bacillus subtilis chromosomal DNA as template, and an inducible secretion vector has been developed based on this sequence, which was ligated with Bacillus subtilis alkaline proteinase gene. Transform Bacillus subtilis DB403 with this vector, and the expression of the inserted Bacillus subtilis alkaline proteinase gene can be induced by addition of sucrose into the medium.


According to the definition of stream function and vorticity,this article theoretically derives a formulation of definite solution problems for resolving two dimensional flow,which is different from the usual formulation,from the stream function-vorticity N-S equation.And then,it is discussed that there are not only one symmetric solutions in the sudden-expansion flows of open channel and round pipe.Besides,this article initially analyses the reasons why this problem has not been valued.


No effective treatment exists for dominant inherited diseases. Here, we present a CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing strategy that combines multiple innovations to achieve specific and efficient disruption of the pathogenic allele with a single-nucleotide mutation (Rho-P23H) in a mouse model of dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Our study demonstrates the possibility of a spacer-mediated allele-specific editing approach, which may be applicable to a broad range of dominant disorders in which the mutant allele is not discriminable by placement of a PAM sequence.


The invention relates to a preparation method of polyurethane raw liquid for high-speed spinning. The preparation method comprises the following steps: (1) adding a solvent and mixed polyester to a pre-polymerization tank; (2) accurately adding mixed diisocyanate according to a predetermined NCO/OH ratio so as to carry out prepolymefization reaction; (3) after ending prepolymefization reaction, transferring a prepolymer to a chain extension tank, adding a cleaning solvent, uniformly stirring, and cooling a refrigerant to about 0-20 DEG C; (4) slowly adding chain extension amine and a chain terminating agent solution, and reacting so as to form a polyurethane urea solution in the end; (5) transferring the obtained polyurethane urea solution to a storage tank, and adding multiple functional auxiliary materials and additives; and (6) fully and uniformly stirring, carrying out vacuum defoamation, and preparing polyurethane fibers by using polymerization raw liquid through dry spinning. The polyurethane raw liquid for high-speed spinning can be used for the spinning of fibers at the spinning speed of above 1000m/min. The new technology can be used for improving the spinning efficiency and reducing energy consumption and labor cost.


VLSI will be reaching to the limit of minimization in the 1990s, and after that, further increase of packing density or functions night depend on the vertical integration technology and wafer scale integration. The 3-D ICs consisting of completely stacked active layers offers the flexibility of circuit design and composition of various devices. Three-dimensional (3-D) integration is expected to provide several advantages, such as 1) parallel processing, 2) high-speed operation, 3) high packing density, and 4) multifunctional operation. This will lead upto new system design and the novel functional device. It will become a big trend for VLSI in the next generation.


Although bear-inflicted (Ursus spp.) human fatalities are rare in North America, human injuries, property damage, and bear mortalities occur wherever bears and humans commingle. We investigated the efficacy of portable electric fencing systems for bear deterrence under a variety of environmental conditions in the lab and field. Our results showed that the bear deterrent systems we evaluated were effective in protecting humans, their food, and property from bears >99% of the time. Herein, we discuss the benefits of using electric fencing, reasons why fences sometimes fail, and provide guidance regarding the most effective implementation of the systems we evaluated. Lastly, we also explore why this deterrent is not yet in widespread use. We encourage the use of electric fencing in bear country for protecting humans, their camping gear and food, and ultimately to promote bear conservation.


Results are presented for three-dimensional planar fracture propagation in the presence of variations in confining stress, reservoir properties and frac-fluid viscosity when the well-bore pressure is constant throughout the frac-job. Solid rock deformation during the frac-job is described by the dislocation method with singular integral equations, and the fluid flow in the fracture is represented by the finite element method. A convergence study is undertaken on the three-dimensional numerical model, and good agreement is obtained with results from laboratory tests and from the simpler circular model.


Multiagent systems (MAS) can be employed to solve a great many problems. When combined with an organization model, a MAS becomes an even more useful structure capable of taking on problems that require self-organization, adaptation, and recovery. To capture and understand the concept of organization and reorganization, we must define organization transition. Specifically, we describe a formal process of organization transition.


ABSTRACT The classic peripheral chemoreflex response is a critical homeostatic mechanism. In healthy individuals, appropriate chemoreflex responses are triggered by acute activation of the carotid body - the principal chemosensory organ in mammals. However, the aberrant chronic activation of the carotid body can drive the elevated sympathetic activity underlying cardio-respiratory diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart failure. Carotid body resection induces intolerable side effects and so understanding how to modulate carotid body output without removing it, and whilst maintaining the physiological chemoreflex response, represents the next logical next step in the development of effective clinical interventions. By definition, excessive carotid body output must result from altered intra-carotid body inter-cellular communication. Alongside the canonical synaptic transmission from glomus cells to petrosal afferents, many other modes of information exchange in the carotid body have been identified, for example bidirectional signalling between type I and type II cells via ATP-induced ATP release, as well as electrical communication via gap junctions. Thus, herein we review the carotid body as an integrated circuit, discussing a variety of different inter-cellular signalling mechanisms and highlighting those that are potentially relevant to its pathological hyperactivity in disease with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets.


This article describes the final stages of construction of the 8km long twin-tube bored rail tunnel under the Eastern Channel of the Storebaelt in Denmark, and discusses some of the lessons to be learned. This project has had an exceptionally large number of disasters and other problems, which delayed progress and severely strained contractual relationships. Despite some very desparate moments, these problems were overcome, and the southern tube was completed in October 1994. However, in June 1994, a devastating fire broke out in the almost completed northern tube, believed to have been caused by the ignition of escaping oil vapour. Fortunately, the fire caused no casualties, and it was put out just in time to prevent very serious flooding of the tunnel. The last segment of bored tunnel was placed in April 1995, leaving only a small section to excavate by hand. Other channels of the tunnel included: (1) frozen tunnel junctions; (2) geology and tunnel boring machine selection; (3) serious underestimation of the abrasive quality of the overlying glacial till; (4) cross passages; and (5) the precast concrete segmental lining. The root causes of the tunnel's problems may never be fully understood, but they raise many different questions.


Summary Fifty-four me-year-old steers in store condition were grazed on wheat stubble at three rates of stocking. Whole wheat grain was fed at three levels at each stocking rate for a feeding period of 13 weeks. Stocking rate had no influence on liveweight gain at any level of grain feeding. Average rates of liveweight gain were 0.02, 0.30 and 0.47 kg/day when the animals were fed an average of 2.3, 3.4 and 4.5 kg grain/day respectively. Reasons for low rates of liveweight gain are advanced.


1 The effects of several K+ channel blockers (sulphonylureas, 4‐aminopyridine and tetraethylammonium) on the antinociception induced by clonidine, baclofen and U50,488H were evaluated by use of a tail flick test in mice. 2 Clonidine (0.125–2 mg kg−1, s.c.) induced a dose‐dependent antinociceptive effect. The ATP‐dependent K+ (KATP) channel blocker gliquidone (4–8 μg/mouse, i.c.v.) produced a dose‐dependent displacement to the right of the clonidine dose‐response line, but neither 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP) (25–250 ng/mouse, i.c.v.) nor tetraethylammonium (TEA) (10–20 μg/mouse, i.c.v.) significantly modified clonidine‐induced antinociception. 3 The order of potency of sulphonylureas in antagonizing clonidine‐induced antinociception was gliquidone > glipizide > glibenclamide > tolbutamide, which is the same order of potency as these drugs block KATP channels in neurones of the CNS. 4 Baclofen (2–16 mg kg−1, s.c.) also induced a dose‐dependent antinociceptive effect. Both 4‐AP (2.5–25 ng/mouse, i.c.v.) and TEA (10–20 μg/mouse, i.c.v.) dose‐dependently antagonized baclofen antinociception, producing a displacement to the right of the baclofen dose‐response line. However, gliquidone (8–16 μg/mouse, i.c.v.) did not significantly modify the baclofen effect. 5 None of the K+ channel blockers tested (gliquidone, 8–16 μg/mouse; 4‐AP, 25–250 ng/mouse and TEA, 10–20 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), significantly modified the antinociception induced by U50,488H (8 mg kg−1, s.c). 6 These results suggest that the opening of K+ channels is involved in the antinoceptive effect of α2 and GABAB, but not κ‐opioid, receptor agonists. The K+ channels opened by α2‐adrenoceptor agonists seem to be ATP‐dependent channels, whereas those opened by GABAB receptor agonists are not.


The Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum, compiled in the 5th century AD, was a collection of Roman surveying manuals, produced by a variety of authors, writing at different times and with very different priorities; authors include Julius Frontius, Aegennius Urbicus, Hyginus, Balbus, Siculus Flaccus, as well as miscellaneous texts. This substantial volume aims to make these sources more accessible by presenting the Latin text with facing English translation, suceeded by a 130 page commentary. The eclectic choice of sources avoids the purely technical texts and includes those which Campbell considers to be most useful for historians, archaeologists and those studying ancient technology. The introduction discusses the text and authors, the origins, development and status of surveying and Roman land division. A series of illustrations, diagrams, a glossary of terms and a large bibliography conclude the volume.... Download ebook, read file pdf Introduction, Text, Translation and Commentary


Objective: To retrospectively summarize the IQ state of cases after skull injury. Methods:The IQ state of 223 cases who suffered from the skull injury were analyzed and summarized. Results:The average level of the IQ of the cases who suffered from the skull injury was within the sphere of the slight defection. No one was within the sphere of the heavy and ultimate injury. And the level of IQ was basically not influenced by the age, sex and the level of education before the skull was injured. Conclusion: After the skull was injured for a certain period, the cranial function could be restored as much as possible. The proper time of identifying the IQ after the cranial injury ranged form half a year to one year after the crainial injury.


The paper at hand discusses the design and implementation of the "Open eCard App", which is a lightweight and open eID client, which integrates major international standards. It supports strong authentication and electronic signatures with numerous common electronic identity cards in desktop as well as mobile environments. The Open eCard App is designed to be as lightweight, usable and modular as possible to support a variety of popular platforms including Android for example. It will be distributed under a suitable open source license and hence may provide an interesting alternative to existing eID clients.


Air pollution transport in the Kathmandu valley/basin has been investigated by numerical simulation of local flows and the observation of NO 2 and SO 2 . The observation was performed at 22 sites with passive samplers from February to April 2001, and the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) was utilized for the flow simulation. The calculation reproduced reasonably well the surface wind and temperature at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) as well as the vertical wind profile taken at the center of the valley by sodar observation. The calculation showed that two characteristic local flows tend to intrude into the valley/basin in the afternoon through the mountain gaps surrounding Kathmandu, that is, the southwesterly from the Indian Plain and the northwesterly from the valley west to Kathmandu. These cool wind layers meet at the center of the Kathmandu basin and form a double-layering structure there. The lower layer is shallow with a depth of about 250 m, being composed of the cooler southwesterly air mass from the Indian Plain. It was concluded that this local flow structure suppresses vertical mixing and leads to high air pollution by decreasing the daytime ventilation of air mass over the valley. The observations performed during the period confirmed it.


Through analyzing the operational performance of typical cyclones,including pressure drop and flow ratio,few operation features of the cyclones with different design have been deduced.The relationship between design and the operational features has also been analyzed.This paper mostly introduced the variety between the pressure drop and flux and the outlet size impacting on the flow ratio.


The mixed Ni,Co,Al material has the highest capacity as the industrialized cathode of lithium-ion batteries,which has the advantages of reasonable cycle ability,low cost and rich raw materials.It is the candidate of the potential materials for lithium ion power battery.However,it is difficult to prepare a pure phase of LiNi1-x-yCoxAlyO2 by these methods.On the other hand,the disadvantages,such as low charge-discharge efficiency,poor stability in high temperature and low tap density,constrained its development and application.Current research of LiNi1-x-yCoxAlyO2 material was focused on this review,including synthetic methods,doping,coating and surface treatment.The application and prospects of LiNi1-x-yCoxAlyO2 for lithium ion batteries are predicted.


Abstract The effect of quenching and tempering temperature on the tensile properties and the yield strength ratio of 30MnB5, 27MnCrB5, and 34MnB5 boron steel have been investigated. Quenching (Q) and tempering (T) temperatures varied in the range of 850 to 950 °C and 150 to 450 °C, respectively. The mechanical properties of quenched and tempered steel were examined with the application of the tensile test and hardness testing. The microstructure was characterized using optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The increase in Q & T temperatures resulted in a decrease in the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and break strength (BS) values and an increase in the yield strength ratio. The tempering temperature was found to be more effective on the UTS, YS and BS values than was the austenitizing temperature. It was noted that the effect of tempering temperature is greater on the ultimate tensile than on the yield strength for the investigated low alloyed boron steel. The effect of the tempering temperature on the elongation to fracture is also greater than the effect on the uniform elongation. The yield strength ratio showed a tendency to increase with increasing tempering temperatures. It was raised considerably by increasing the tempering temperatures from 300 to 450 °C, while it remained at a similar level between 150 and 300 °C. The ratio of ultimate tensile strength and mean hardness decreased with increasing tempering temperatures for the tested varieties of steel. Increasing tempering temperature leads to an increase in yield strength ratio and a total elongation and a decrease in the strength of the tempered martensite.


We present the lasing dynamics of an electrically pumped quantum dot vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting lasers (QD‐VCSELs) using self‐consistently combined QD‐WL Maxwell‐Bloch equations. In order to determine the dephasing times of the system, Coulomb and electron‐phonon scattering processes between the quantum dot (QD) states and the QD‐embedding wetting layer (WL) states are microscopically calculated and implemented into the material equations. The QD‐WL Maxwell‐Bloch equations are used to study the characteristics of the switch‐on dynamics which are crucial for high‐speed optical systems. The carrier dynamics and the electric field propagation are evaluated using the finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) method within the full structure of QD‐VCSELs.


Abstract Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) college students report significantly higher rates of sexual violence victimization than their heterosexual counterparts. The additional stressors (e.g., discrimination) that sexual minority populations face may impact their decision to disclose victimization and anticipated social reactions. Therefore, we compared rates of disclosure and anticipated social reactions of lesbian/gay, bisexual, and heterosexual community college students (n = 677) who reported at least one incident of sexual violence victimization since enrolling at their institution. Students who identified as bisexual reported victimization at higher rates (63.8%) than students who identified as lesbian/gay and heterosexual and were significantly more likely to disclose victimization. Bisexual survivors reported significantly lower well-being outcomes (i.e., mental health and life satisfaction) than heterosexual survivors. However, lesbian/gay survivors reported anticipating more negative social reactions than heterosexual survivors. These findings highlight the importance of offering support services to LGB students at community colleges. Implications for future research are discussed.


We derive the approximate pressure profiles, density profiles, and temperature profiles of an atmosphere, also called barometric formulas. Our variant of a derivation goes beyond the common standard exercise of a thermodynamics lecture, where commonly the discussion of the underlying physical assumptions is missed. We depart from the Navier-Stokes equation and explicitly point our attention on the physical assumptions disregarded elsewhere. We show that the usual assumptions can be relaxed leading to generalized formulas that hold even in the case of horizontal winds. This fundamental physics has some relevance to the current discussions on the climate debate.


The belief that the Torah was given by divine revelation, as defined by Maimonides in his eighth principle of faith and accepted collectively by the Jewish people, 1 conflicts with the opinions of modern biblical scholarship. 2 As a result, biblical commentators adhering to both the peshat (literal or contextual) method and the belief in the divine revelation of the Torah, are unable to utilize the exegetical insights associated with the documentary hypothesis developed by Wellhausen and his school, a respected and accepted academic discipline. 3 As Moshe Greenberg has written, "orthodoxy saw biblical criticism in general as irreconcilable with the principles of Jewish faith." 4 Therefore, in the words of D. S. Sperling, "in general, Orthodox Jews in America, Israel, and elsewhere have remained on the periphery of biblical scholarship." 5 However, the documentary hypothesis is not the only obstacle to the religious peshat commentator. Theological complications also arise from the use of archeolog-ical discoveries from the ancient Near East, which are analogous to the Torah and can be a very rich source for its interpretation. 6 The comparison of biblical


The laws establishing the conservation of mass, momentum and energy in a
physical system translate into a well defined system of partial differential
equations, In these equations, the effect of sources, sinks, chemical
reactions and other phenomena of interest are modeled by the inclusion of
additional terms, which are generically referred to as source terms.

This memoir is devoted to the study of the numerical treatment of source terms in hyperbolic conservation laws and systems. In particular, we study two types of situations that are particularly delicate from the point of view of their numerical approximation: The case of balance laws, with the shallow water system as the main example, and the case of hyperbolic equations with stiff source terms.

There are nowadays many techniques that can produce accurate numerical
solutions of homogeneous conservation laws and systems. It is well
known that these solutions can be discontinuous, even when the initial data in
a Cauchy problem is perfectly smooth. Standard (linear, data-independent)
finite-difference, finite-volume or finite-element techniques tend to produce oscillatory numerical approximations when the order of accuracy of the scheme is larger than one. A large amount of research in the last decades has resulted in a well established technology to construct High Resolution Shock Capturing (HRSC henceforth) schemes. These schemes lead to accurate results away from discontinuities, as well as well defined, very steep, monotone profiles at those locations where discontinuities in the solution do occur.

On the other hand, the numerical solution of Ordinary Differential Equations
(ODE) is a well established discipline that has produced a variety of
numerical techniques that have proved to be useful in many applications.

Because of these facts, a standard approach to solve hyperbolic
conservation laws with source terms is to apply the so-called fractional
 step approach. This technique alternates between solving a homogeneous
conservation law and solving an ODE that contains only the source term. However, there are situations where the fractional-step approach does not lead to acceptable numerical approximations.

When computing numerical approximations to balance laws, such as the shallow water equations, in steady-state or quasi-steady-state situations, the
numerical solutions of the homogeneous PDE and the ODE are required to balance exactly. This exact balance is not likely to be respected by the fractional splitting procedure, and parasitic waves of a purely numerical nature can occur.

For stiff source terms, the usage of a stiff ODE solver combined with a HRSC
method can lead to numerical solutions that look reasonable but are
completely wrong. This phenomenon was observed as early as 1986 by Colella, Majda and Roytburd in [19] on a model combustion problem that
involved the Euler equations of Gas Dynamics coupled with a single chemistry
variable representing the mass fraction of unburnt gas in a detonation
wave. The structure of the detonation waves obtained was well understood, and it was observed that the numerical solution obtained was qualitatively
incorrect when computing on coarse grids.
Stiff source terms could describe also the effect of relaxation as in the kinetic theory of rarefied gases, hydrodynamical models for semiconductors
elasticity with memory, water waves, traffic flows, etc.

There has been a large amount of literature in recent years devoted to
 the numerical problems that occur in these two types of situations.

For shallow water equations, several authors extended the classical
Riemann solver of Roe to nonhomogeneous problems related to balance laws
 [5], [7], [17], [58], [104]. In these works, the discrete form of
 the source terms is constructed in a way similar to that employed for the construction of the numerical fluxes, seeking an equilibria that exists in a steady-state conservation law with source terms. The idea of source-term upwinding lead Bermudez and Vazquez-Cendon [5] to formulate the so-called C-property (for Conservation property) for a numerical scheme, which prevents the propagation of parasitic waves in steady and quasi-steady flows. Independently, Greenberg and Leroux [46] coined the term well-balanced for schemes that preserve steady states at the discrete level. These ideas have been explored and developed for shallow water flows in the recent literature [4], [24], [42], [61], [71], [78], [106] ...

In this work, we follow the strategy described by Gascon and Corberan in [38] and Donat, Caselles and Haro in [10]. In [38], the authors propose to formally write the source term in divergence form so that the nonhomogeneous problem can be 'transformed' into a 'homogeneous form' through the definition of a new flux function. This change seeks to preserve the balance of the source and flux terms at steady states in an almost automatic manner, and suggests a way to apply well known schemes for homogeneous conservation laws to the non-homogenous case. However, as they readily observe, the application of the numerical methods for the homogeneous case is not immediate and adequate formalizations are required.

In [10], the idea of flux gradient and source term balancing in [38] was incorporated into the numerical scheme developed by Donat and Marquina in [26], thus effectively extending this scheme to balance laws.

 In this work, we concentrate on the theoretical foundations of high-resolution total variation diminishing (TVD) schemes for
homogeneous scalar conservation laws, firmly established through the work of Harten [50], Sweby [95], and Roe [80] and analyzed the properties of a second order, flux-limited version of the Lax-Wendroff scheme which avoids oscillations around discontinuities, while preserving steady states [38]. When applied to homogeneous conservation laws, TVD schemes prevent an increase in the total variation of the numerical solution, hence guaranteeing the absence of numerically generated oscillations. They are successfully implemented in the form of flux-limiters or slope limiters for scalar conservation laws and systems. Our technique is based on a flux limiting procedure applied only to those terms related to the physical flow derivative/Jacobian.

 With respect to the numerical treatment of stiff source terms, we follow
 Leveque and Yee in [73]. Taking the simple model problem considered in
 [73], we study the properties of the numerical solution obtained with different numerical techniques. We are able to identify the delay factor, which is responsible for the anomalous speed of propagation of the numerical solution on coarse grids. The delay is due to the introduction of non-equilibrium values through numerical dissipation, and can only be controlled by adequately reducing the spatial resolution of the simulation. Explicit schemes suffer from the same numerical pathology, even after reducing the time step so that the stability requirements imposed by the fastest scales are satisfied. We study the behavior of Implicit-Explicit (IMEX) numerical techniques, as a tool to obtain high resolution simulations that incorporate the stiff source term in an implicit, systematic, manner. The IMEX framework has been also successfully applied to hyperbolic systems with relaxation (see [9], [73], [110]).

 Usually, when using very fine uniform grids, we find that the computational time becomes the main drawback in the numerical simulation. For some high resolution shock capturing schemes (HRSC), fine mesh simulations in two dimensions are out of reach simply because they cost too much. The numerical flux evaluations are too expensive. However, the flux computations are needed only because nonsmooth structures may develop spontaneously in the solution of a hyperbolic system of conservation laws and evolve in time, which lead to develop techniques that reduce the computational effort associated to these simulations. Harten in [49] proposed a scheme based on reducing the computational cost using the smoothness
 information of the data, and replacing the expensive numerical flux with a cheap polynomial interpolation in the smooth regions. The key is the use of different multilevel strategy to reduce the computational effort associated to HRSC scheme. In smooth regions, Harten in [49] proposes to evaluate the numerical flux function of the HRSC only on a coarse grid and to use these values to compute the fluxes on the finest grid using an inexpensive polynomial interpolation process in a multilevel fashion. Here, we extend the technique developed in [16] to hyperbolic conservation laws with source terms and apply the multilevel technique to the shallow water system.


Throughout the years origami has influenced culture in many different ways. For many years European and Japanese children were introduced to paper folding as an educational tool in their first years of school. The origami crane has become a symbol of the global peace movement. Folding techniques have found innovative applications in engineering and technology. Origami has also influenced fashion and design. In this exhibit traditional methods and designs are juxtaposed next to modern techniques, demonstrating the breadth of the craft. Folding Paper is curated by Meher McArthur, an independent Asian art curator, with Dr Robert Lang as exhibition advisor [3]. It will be touring through 2015 and sites include museums in California, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Oregon, Illinois, Washington, and Florida. For a complete schedule visit http://www.artsandartists.org/exhibitionsfoldingpaper.php. The exhibit is divided into four sections. Traditional forms, books, and prints describe the beginnings of origami as a folding technique used in both Japan and Europe. Contemporary artists have developed new techniques, featured in the many figurative works on display. Mathematics plays a significant role in origami design and can be seen throughout the exhibit, but especially in the abstract forms. Examples of origami's influence in other areas are also on display. The exhibit's introduction, The History of Origami, examines the origins of origami as a traditional Japanese technique. Paper folding is thought to have begun around the sixth century AD, shortly after paper was introduced to Japan from China. Shinto priests, members of the Imperial Court of the Heian period, and eventually upper class warriors, used folded paper as adornments and gift wrap-


Ultra‐wideband technology has experienced a rapid growth over the last decade for its contribution in different sectors of human society. Printed antennas are considered as preferred platform for implementing this technology because of its alluring characteristics like light weight, low cost, ease of fabrication, integration capability with other systems, etc. Antennas developed for ultra‐wideband applications are desired to have notch characteristics for avoiding interference with other existing radio communication systems. The techniques related to design and developments of printed band‐notched antennas are continuously upgraded for improving the antenna performance. In this article, a comprehensive review has been carried out on ultra‐wideband antennas with band notch characteristics proposed in around last decade. The band notched UWB antennas available in the literature have broadly been classified into five different categories based on their notch characteristics like single band‐notch, dual band‐notch, triple band‐notch, quad/multiple band‐notch, and reconfigurable/tunable band‐notch, respectively. This review exercise may be helpful for beginners working on ultra‐wideband band‐notched antennas and also such a review process is not available in the open literature to the best of author's knowledge.


Novel self-reinforced polymer composites of a base polymer with a melt processable liquid crystal polymer are prepared according to this invention. The base poly ner is a flexible chain polymer, e.g. a conventional thermoplastic. Polycarbonate is a particularly suitable base polymer. The liquid crystal polymer is melt pro cessable, that is, it has a melting point and exhibits aniso tropic properties in the melt phase. Wholly aromatic copolyesters are particularly suitable. Mixing is carried out at a temperature at which both the base polymer and the liquid crystal are melt processable, i.e., at a temperature at which the base polymer flows readily and the liquid crystal polymer is above its melting point. The products of this invention comprise about 2 to 20 percent by weight of liquid crystal polymer, which is in the form of essentially unidirectionally oriented contin uous fibers primarily in the range of about 1 to 10 mi crometers in diameter, distributed in a matrix of the base polymer. The polymer composites of this invention have high tensile strength in both the fiber direction and the transverse direction, and also have high modulus, satisfactory elongation, good impact strength, and good high temperature properties.


This study aims to explore the changes of Chinese coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) policy topics in the eclipse, outbreak, and convalescent stage of COVID-19 based on 4982 textual policies. By using the co-occurrence clustering network method, we find that the strict prevention and control of the epidemic is the only topic of policies in the eclipse stage. In the outbreak stage, strict epidemic prevention and control is still the most important policy topic. The policies of resuming work of "essential" enterprises and stabilizing market prices are important support and guarantee for fighting against COVID-19. In the convalescent stage, as the prevention and control of COVID-19 has become regular, promoting and ensuring the resumption of work in all sectors of society is the most important topic of the policies. Moreover, the success of Wuhan City's fight against COVID-19 reflects China's governance characteristics of "concentrating power to do a major event". Finally, the possible improvements for Chinese COVID-19 policies are discussed, which can provide practical suggestions for government departments on how to effectively respond to public health emergencies.


The radial basis function network (RBFN) is one of artificial neural networks (ANNs) applied widely. A new adaptive RBFN algorithm, named the two level iteration cluster algorithm, is put forward, which can calculate automatically RBFN parameters with samples, and overcomes the conventional algorithm's shortcoming where the hidden layer neuron number must be given in advance. In addition, a new generator vibration fault diagnosis method based on a stator and rotor vibration spectrum eigenvector is presented. Using practically acquired MJF-30-6 generator vibration data in three conditions of normal operation, rotor excitation winding short circuit and stator winding fault, the results of verification show that the method has higher diagnosis precision than the conventional method based on rotor vibration spectrum eigenvector.


This paper presents an analytical model for a general automatic repeat request (ARQ) cooperative diversity (ACD) scheme in cluster-based multi-hop wireless networks. For the considered ACD scheme, transmission in each hop is supported by a number of relays using a finite number of transmission rounds. While prior works in the literature mostly focused on simulation and/or information theoretic analysis, we instead develop a model to analyze end-to-end performance in terms of probability of end-to-end delivery failure, end-to-end delay distribution, and end-to-end throughput. The application of the proposed analytical model for a transmission scheme which employs jointly a truncated ARQ protocol and a maximal ratio combiner is illustrated. Numerical results validate the proposed analytical model and compare the ACD scheme with the Amplify-and-Forward (AF) and traditional truncated ARQ schemes in a linear network. The ACD scheme exploiting both time diversity (through retransmission) and spatial diversity is shown to have several desirable adaptive characteristics compared to other schemes.


This article offers an analysis of factors that influence the well-being and health, in a time when lack of time and indebtedness are elements that run through people's daily lives. The starting point is the examination of human activity in its positive or negative relationships with respect to an idea of justice. From a narrative review, we evaluated the themes of freedom, necessity, of individualism, competition, lack of time and the relationship between the market and the state. The results of this research indicate that increasing the time busy with activities, which are presented as necessary means to decrease the time free activities, associated with the care of their own well-being and health. Keywords: health, debt, time, freedom, necessity


David R. DeWalle, James N. Kochenderfer, Mary Beth Adams, Gary W. Miller, Frank S. Gilliam, Frederica Wood, Stephanie S. OdenwaldClemens, and William E. Sharpe The Pennsylvania State University, School of Forest Resources and Institutes of the Environment, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802; USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Timber and Watershed Lab, Parsons, West Virginia 26287; USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505; Marshall University, Department of Biological Sciences, Huntington, West Virginia 25755.


Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a fairly uncommon group of highly heterogeneous diseases with regard to their biological behaviour and clinical course. Despite the improved understanding and recognition of these tumors, they remain "orphan" diseases and much is still to be done to improve their outcome. In order to optimize patient care and improve survival, NET patients must be treated with a multidisciplinary team-approach in centers with a specialist interest. Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are derived from different cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system and can originate from any location in the body. NETs of bronchopulmonary and gastrointestinal origin were traditionally referred to as carcinoid tumors, but in the past decades there has been the increased recognition that this terminology does not account for the extreme heterogeneity and complexity of these tumors with regard to their biological behaviour and clinical course. In effect, today we have good reason to abandon the traditional carcinoid terminology (which however will not be completely left, especially with regard to pulmonary tumors) and to talk about endocrine or neuroendocrine tumors and divide them according to their site of origin. Specifically, this has been prompted by the increasing awareness that when we talk about carcinoids, we might talk about completely different diseases. A very good example is the difference between the carcinoids arising in the foregut, the midgut and the hindgut. In the foregut there are three types of stomach carcinoids, in the midgut we know that ileal tumors can produce the carcinoid syndromes with all specific related problems, like heart disease, flushing and diarrhea, generally occurring in the presence of metastases to the liver, whereas in the hindgut rectal carcinoids hardly produce any carcinoid syndrome and are more famous or infamous because of the local symptoms. We also know that some NETs (the so-called functioning tumors) can produce several biologically active hormones or peptides and in these tuTumori, 96: 833-846, 2010


Empowering student learning has been a central concern facing educators and policy-makers. Research, literature and best practices from classrooms around the globe advocate many benefits of such learner-centred learning environments – often foregrounding the various innovative tools and models one can apply. Yet, successfully managing the demands of authentic learning environments has been an ongoing struggle and perhaps a factor in the inconsistent application of more innovative learning paradigms across educators' classrooms. This suggests that educators face challenges in managing the difficulties, conflicts and uncertainties that result in such authentic environments. This paper situates this discussion by studying a peer-tutoring (PT) programme and learning model designed by the researcher applied in a Junior College for senior students across 3 academic ability bands in the teaching and learning of General Paper – a subject best learnt in a discursive environment. This programme which is based on the researcher's two-tier model, The Teach Learn Model, embodies principles of constructivism and socialconstructivism and is motivated by the Teach Less, Learn More initiative by the Ministry of Education (Singapore) and aims towards less teacher-directed learning. The Teach-Learn Model which forms the basis of PT draws strength from weaving together various pedagogical principals – such as collaboration, co-generative dialogue, reflection, blended learning, and maximising learner diversity – within a tight, structured framework of learning. While, the programme noted numerous benefits in enhancing student learning processes and outcomes, it also began to highlight some issues of concern which related to issues of student engagement, differentiated reception across academic-ability bands, managing the extent of student autonomy, learner aptitude in managing such a rigorous programme and the place of assessment in such an environment when high-stakes pressures beckon. This paper therefore grapples with some of these challenges and considers the situation from the perspective of the tutor and students and suggests some ways to manage these dilemmas.


Development of tourism on Zadar Islands at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century transformed them into mainly leisure zones. Once dependent on agriculture, fishing and maritime transport Zadar Islands became strongly dependent on tourism. Tourism influenced transformation of landscape, coastal and marine ecosystems, but also caused social and cultural changes. Based on statistical data, survey and field research the aim of this paper is to determine whether tourism can reverse negative socio-economic processes on Zadar Islands such as population decline, aging, and economic stagnation. Statistical data referred to official demographic and tourist records while survey included questions about current and future islands development. The answers were later analysed by Mann-Whitney (U) test and Chi-square test. Results showed that tourism is nowadays the most important economic activity on Zadar Islands but fishery and agriculture should have prominent role as well. This paper is a contribution to study of Zadar Islands, especially because it includes an opinion of local population on various issues, which was until now rarely done.


2-Dialkylamino-4(3H)-quinazolinones 4 were rapidly synthesized by a solution-phase parallel synthetic method, which includes aza-Wittig reaction of iminophosphorane 1 with aromatic isocynate to give carbodiimide 2 and subsequent reaction of 2 with various aliphatic secondary amine in a parallel fashion.


Eosinophilic lung diseases have many causes but are not often the result of neoplastic disease. We describe a patient with subacute dyspnea due to eosinophilic lung disease who also had a peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The diagnosis was made by imaging and transbronchial biopsies of the lungs along with an excisional biopsy of a palpable epitrochlear lymph node. There is a rare association between eosinophilic pneumonias and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. This is the third known case of a peripheral T-cell lymphoma associated with eosinophilic lung disease. This report highlights the association, discusses theorized mechanisms involved, and emphasizes the importance of searching for underlying etiologies for eosinophilic lung disease.


In this paper the relationship between humanities as a field and tragedy is examined. Relying on Menke's analysis of the tragic (Menke 2009) we examine in some depth the ideas of Schelling, Hölderlin and Friedrich Schlegel on the subject and how they positioned themselves on the topic of the possibility of the tragic in Modernity. Accepting that both the speculative idealist model of the didactic play and the model of the romantic comedy tried to overcome the tragic, we conclude that the element of tragic is still a worthy and much needed topic to be part of the humanities in the XXI century and Post-Modernity, primarily as a way of thinking power.


SUMMARY We evaluated pressure relief index (PRI) values in patients with chronic venous insufficiency. The study group comprised 15 healthy subjects and 71 patients. We determined the venous pressure in the orthostatic position, during exersion and following exercise. We repeated the procedure after the placement of a pressure cuff, located above the ankles. We estimated the pressure at rest (p-s), the lowest pressure during exersion (p-min.), the time needed to obtain normal pressure values (RT), 90% of RT and the Pressure Relief Index (PRI). The following groups were formed: group I — 19 healthy limbs, group II — 17 limbs with superficial varices, group III — 4 limbs with superficial varices and varicose ulcers, group IV — 22 limbs with the postphlebitis syndrome, without varicose ulcers, group V — 43 limbs with the postphlebitis syndrome and ulcerations. Curves demonstrated the groups distribution of venous pressures. PRI values of healthy subjects amounted to an average of 1826 and were statistically higher, in comparison with the other groups (p<0.001). PRI values were as follows: group II — 915, group III — 377.5, group IV — 530.6, group V — 176.6. p<0.05 was considered as stastically significant. During the cuff test PRI values in group II increased to 1399.5, contrary to group III and IV values. A similar difference was observed between group V (PRI — 286.7) and group IV. PRI values below 300 consisted with a70% risk of varicose ulcerations.


An Anglo-Indian merchant, Henry Gouger traveled to Ava on a private trade mission in 1822 and was interned for the duration of the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26). This article offers an analysis of his well-known account of these events in A Personal Narrative of Two Years' Imprisonment in Burmah (1860). A colorful, sentimental narrative, Gouger's book affords a rare opportunity to study the mentality of a private trader. My article seeks to explain the diversity of views of Burma and its people found in Gouger's text, with special emphasis on his commercial purpose, shifting fortunes, and unsettled identity. I place Gouger's experience in the context of diplomatic and military relations between the rival expanding empires of Ava and the English East India Company, and engage with recent scholarship on cross-cultural encounters and travel writing. In so doing, I dissent from grand narratives of colonial contact and question the contention that in the early 19th century, British views of Asia coalesced into a monolithic "Orientalist" stereotype that served colonialist agendas.


AUTHOR Matzen, Richard N., Jr.; And Uthers TITLE The Role of Traditional Grammar Instruction in the Teaching of Writing: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography. PUB DATE Mar 95 NOTE 10p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (46th, Washington, DC, March 23-25, 1995). PUB TYPE Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) Speeches/Conference Papers (150)


The usefulness of basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in school systems has been questioned, considering that young students may not have the physical or cognitive skills required to perform complex tasks correctly. In the study conducted by Fleishhackl and coworkers, students as young as 9 years were able to successfully and effectively learn basic CPR skills, including automated external defibrillator deployment, correct recovery position, and emergency calling. As in adults, physical strength may limit the depth of chest compressions and ventilation volumes given by younger individuals with low body mass index; however, skill retention is good. Training all persons across an entire community in CPR may have a logarithmic improvement in survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest because bystanders, usually family members, are more likely to know CPR and can perform it immediately, when it is physiologically most effective. Training captured audiences of trainees, such as the entire workforce of the community or the local school system, are excellent mechanisms to help achieve that goal. In addition to better retention with new half hour training kits, a multiplier effect can be achieved through school children. In addition, early training not only sets the stage for subsequent training and better retention, but it also reinforces the concept of a social obligation to help others. The prospective investigation conducted by Fleischhackl and coworkers [1], reported in the previous issue of Critical Care, sets out to determine whether young students have the physical and cognitive skills to implement cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In this investigation, the average time from the last class of CPR instruction to the evaluation session was 120 days. It is not clear whether such a large gap in time between initial instruction and skills testing may have affected testing performance, except that good performance could indicate good retention. Students tested also included those with special learning needs, which may skew the examination results in an unfavorable direction. Nevertheless, the outcomes were generally very good. As the investigators demonstrated, students as young as 9 years are able to effectively learn CPR skills, including automated external defibrillator deployment, correct recovery position, and emergency calling. As in adults, physical strength may have limited the depth of chest compressions and ventilation volumes, but perhaps the key finding was that skills retention was good. These findings are consistent with other studies in which


Rényi divergence is related to Rényi entropy much like Kullback-Leibler divergence is related to Shannon's entropy, and comes up in many settings. It was introduced by Rényi as a measure of information that satisfies almost the same axioms as Kullback-Leibler divergence, and depends on a parameter that is called its order. In particular, the Rényi divergence of order 1 equals the Kullback-Leibler divergence. We review and extend the most important properties of Rényi divergence and Kullback- Leibler divergence, including convexity, continuity, limits of σ-algebras, and the relation of the special order 0 to the Gaussian dichotomy and contiguity. We also show how to generalize the Pythagorean inequality to orders different from 1, and we extend the known equivalence between channel capacity and minimax redundancy to continuous channel inputs (for all orders) and present several other minimax results.


Joint offense and offense discontinue are the special form of offense constituting structure and in the course of offense.While both the two co-exist will produce the so-called "joint offense discontinue"question.The present offense discontinue theory of our country is called in respect of individual offense;in practice,with regard to this question there often arise quite many arguments.This note,through borrowing and absorbing from the foreign advantages such as subjectivism,objectivism,eclecticism about this question,holds that it is a possible way of perfecting the joint offense discontinue theory in our country's criminal law to solve this difficult question by taking "the theory of gettingride of joint-offense relation"as the foundation of expanding explanation,and borrowing "cause and effect joint-offense theory"


Five hundred and two ejaculates were collected from 27 crossbred bulls ageing 24 to 88 months to study the relationship between scrotal circumference (SC) and seminal characteristics. A significant positive correlation was observed between SC and ejaculate volume (r=0.64), sperm motility (r=0.48), sperm concentration (r=0.43) and total sperm output (r=0.61). Significant negative correlation was observed between SC and total sperm abnormalities (r=−0.78); and a non-significant correlation was noticed between SC and per cent of live sperms and post-thaw revival rates.


A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a topic that is only going to gain importance as a couple of nations have recently went line with a retail CBDC system, dozens of them are piloting it and there are even more who actively research the topic. In the process, many studies have already identified several important potential benefits of a CBDC as well as potential risks and costs. As is already well understood, a CBDC introduction can have a profound impact on all three monetary policy, financial stability and payment systems. This paper, trying to be a go-to starting point for those just exposed to the topic, thoroughly reviews all the benefits and risks/costs associated with a CBDC in the current literature as well as underlines key areas of this topic that need more research. In addition, we try to lay some ground for systematizing three-dimensional linkages between benefits, costs/risks and design choices by (i) discussing probable design choices needed for each item in the list of benefits and costs/risks to-be-mitigated and (ii) overviewing what other benefits and cost/risk-mitigation aims these design choices may be in conflict with. JEL Codes: E42, E50, G20


In this article, I present the perspectives of an independent measurement expert regarding the Texas state graduation test, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). I conclude, among other things, that (a) the TAAS was constructed according to acceptable professional standards; (b) it tests curricular material that Texas Board of Education views important for graduates to have mastered; (c) students have had ample opportunity to learn the material tested on the TAAS; (d) providing instruction on the domain the test samples seems commendable; (e) the TAAS requirement should increase efforts to educate all students in Texas; (f) the TAAS is sufficiently reliable and valid; (g) conjunctive decision making is an appropriate decision making model; and (h) the standard setting was done in a manner that met professional standards.


The methods of simplifying the FEM model and establishing rivet and bolt-joint are presented through the example of structure analysis for a converter. An integration of ProE-ANSYS simulation environment is realized in the process of establishing models. The structure analysis is performed by combination of the advantages of all software. The results show that the strength and rigidity of the converter cabinet satisfy the technical specifications and requirements.


Objective:To have a good understanding of maternal health workers' knowledge of and attitude towards domestic violence(DV),how maternal health workers deal with the DV,and the barriers they met in practice in 7 hospitals of Shanghai.Methods:332 maternal health workers in 7 hospitals of Shanghai were surveyed by self-edited questionnaire according to the literatures.Results:273 maternal health workers were surveyed and the answer rate was 82.2%.The median score of DV knowledge of maternal health workers was 18 points(the total score was 48 points),and the median score of attitude was 13 points(the total score was 24 points).The knowledge score was positive correlated with the attitude score.12.8% maternal health workers had ever suspected that their patients were victims of DV,and 34.4% of them had asked their patients about DV.Maternal health workers who "had ever suspected that their patients were victims of DV" or "had asked their patients about DV" had higher attitude scores.Maternal health workers' main barriers were "no specific laws instructing health workers to intervened DV","lack of knowledge and skills of dealing with DV",and "feeling uncomfortable to this questions and afraid to offend patients".Conclusion:Maternal health workers have little knowledge of DV,negative attitude and many barriers when dealing with DV.The related laws should be established to enhance social supporting system and increase related education to maternal health workers.Therefore,maternal health workers can self-consciously participate in DV intervention.


The death penalty is the most serious punishment,so it is very important to ensure that the death sentence is imposed correctly and equally.But the procedures safeguards referring to sentencing for death sentence are rarely provided in the law of China except the procedure for review of death sentence.This article discusses the American sentencing procedures for death sentence and the Chinese provisions concerning death sentence and then proposes the reference of Amercian sentencing procedures to Chinese sentencing procedures.


Details of a dye ring laser with an output coupler of adjustable transmission based on frustrated total internal reflection are reported. The construction allows optimization of tuning range or output power. Using appropriate intracavity etalons and a Fox-Smith reflector as mode selector reliable single-mode operation was observed with peak powers of 1 kW and bandwidths of 0.03 pm


The Roe Deer was present in the Monti Lepini (Southern Lazio) up to the first half of the nineteenth century, then it went locally extinct. In this note we report four new records of this species that testify for the current existence of a (likely very small) local population, which would represent the only other wild ungulate in the area, in addition to the very common Wild Boar.


Low and intermediate mass stars with super solar metallicities comprise a known portion of the universe. Yet yields for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with metallicities greater than $Z=0.04$ do not exist in the literature. This contributes a significant uncertainty to galactic chemical evolution simulations. We present stellar yields of AGB stars for $M=1-8$$M_\odot$ and $Z=0.04-0.10$. We also weight these yields to represent the chemical contribution of a metal-rich stellar population. We find that as metallicity increases, the efficiency of the mixing episodes (known as the third dredge up) on the thermally pulsing AGB (TP-AGB) decrease significantly. Consequently, much of the nucleosynthesis that occurs on the TP-AGB is not represented on the surface of very metal-rich stars. It instead remains locked inside the white dwarf remnant. The temperatures at the base of the convective envelope also decrease with increasing metallicity. For the intermediate mass models, this results in the occurrence of only partial hydrogen burning at this location, if any burning at all. We also investigate heavy element production via the slow neutron capture process (s-process) for three 6$M_\odot$ models: $Z=0.04, 0.05$ and $0.06$. There is minor production at the first s-process peak at strontium, which decreases sharply with increasing metallicity. We find the chemical contributions of our models are dominated by proton capture nucleosynthesis, mixed to the surface during first and second dredge up events. This conclusion is mirrored in our stellar population yields, weighted towards the lower mass regime to reflect the mass distribution within a respective galaxy.


The Deutsch Empire I was not the pioneer of the Industrial Revolution,but it was the origin of the Modern social security system.As the starting of the Modern social security system,Germany issued the first "Sickness Insurance Act" in the world in 1883.And it also make it that Germany becomes the origin of the Modern social security.This has its historical inevitability,and also ties closely to Germany's unique economic,political,ideological and cultural,historical traditions and conditions.


The rate and spectrum of central nervous system lesion in children parenterally infected by AIDS the rate of clinical manifestations of lesions, life duration of such children are established. The differential diagnosis of nervous system lesion is made difficult due to the high rate of combining various symptoms in one patient, hence there are the complications of selecting the treatment tactics. Tomography, nuclear magnet resonance, brain biopsy should be used, neuropsychologic testing with standard tests should be performed to reveal the early signs of progressive encephalopathy.


Ensiling, a lactic acid fermentation process, is mainly used to preserve biomass. In addition, it has been shown to affect seed viability of some plant species. The extent to which this makes ensiling suitable as a weed control measure, however, has not yet been determined. Both the range of controllable species and the parameters of an ensiling process that safely kills seeds are still undefined. We aimed to determine the effect of varying substrate and ensiling conditions on the seed viability of 10 species selected to represent a wide range of different seed traits. Five different types of silages were made from maize or mixtures of wildflower and maize biomass and ensiled in lab-scale silos for 8 months. The pure maize silages were prepared under conditions either ideal or suboptimal for ensiling forage. Seeds of important weeds (Chenopodium album, Abutilon theophrasti) and of species from a wildflower mixture suitable for ensiling and biogas production (Cichorium intybus, Daucus carota, Echium vulgare, Malva alcea, Malva sylvestris, Melilotus albus, Melilotus officinalis) were tested. Seed viability was determined using a combination of tetrazolium and germination tests. Ensiling reduced seed viability across all 10 species significantly. Seed-killing efficacies of ensiling, however, differed widely among the species studied, largely related to whether the species could produce hard (physically dormant) seeds. Seeds from species without hardseededness were completely inactivated by ensiling, while the seed-killing efficacies for hardseeded species ranged from 5 to 60%. Variation in ensiled substrate and ensiling conditions had no consistent effect on seed survival. We concluded that ensiling has the potential to sustainably reduce seed viability of a wide range of species and therefore should be adopted as a component of integrated weed management in organic agriculture.


The concept of sustainability management is gaining popularity due to the fact that maintaining a balance of economic, social and environmental principles can improve efficiency of management. Implementation of sustainability management concept in practice meets with difficulties to spread these institutions in society – in the peoples' minds, business processes and politics. In order to implement sustainability management in practice, integrate sustainability strategy into the organization's culture, we need to learn more about the values and benefits that sustainability management creates, as well as abut the motives and factors that will actually work. Our study is focused on the concept of sustainability management, in particular on the motives and values of sustainability management in organizations/projects. To conduct our study we used a structured online survey with managers of organizations in Russia. Our data-frame includes answers from 76 respondents from different regions of Russia.


Rolled compacted concrete (RCC) is important of newly technique in construction of pavement. that can be employed in low traffic or high trafficked roads. Due to its inexpensive, quick creation , durable and low maintenance RCC is becoming more commonly gradually . If the UHPC compared to normal concrete has some privilege such as plenty stability and supreme permanence however the utilization of it is restricted owing to its expensiveness and minimal cods for design.. Its constancy leads to its stay persistent when subjected to vibratory compacter, since it has sufficient wetting so it causes permit enough mixing and repartition of paste without segregation. Fly ash, silica fume and some admixture can be utilized to concrete to decrease the quantity of water cand generate high arid mixture.


. Let K be an arbitrary totally real algebraic number field of degree n ^ 2. It is shown that there exists an upper bound on the absolute value of the discriminant of any totally imaginary quadratic extension of K of class number h with at most one possible exception. This bound depends in an effective way on the parameters of the field K.


: [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of static stretch and myofascial release. [Participants and Methods] Sixteen healthy adults were randomly assigned to two groups of eight participants each. Their mean age was 29.9 ± 5.8 years. The evaluation indices used were heel-to-floor distance at maximum elevation in the single leg raise (SLR), feeling of tension at maximum elevation (VAS), and a short-form self-report measure to assess relaxation effects (S-MARE). [Results] There were significant changes in SLR and VAS after the static stretch and myofascial release interventions, with increased SLR and decreased VAS. S-MARE showed a significant increase after the intervention only with the myofascial release. [Conclusion] Myofascial release was the most effective intervention examined in this study. However, it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of the interventions from only the findings of this study. It is necessary to select the appropriate interventions according to individuals' unique conditions.


We performed a retrospective study of 26 patients with acoustic tumors and 26 patients with otologically diagnosed cochlear pathology to determine the sensitivity (hit rate), specificity (false-ala...


This study examines the perceptions of student teachers on the importance of mentoring, in teacher education programme at Zimbabwe Open University, A total of 50 student teachers doing Post Graduate Diploma in Education in the Department of Teacher Education during the 2015-2016 academic year participated in the study. A researcher-designed questionnaire was utilized to collect data. The results indicate that participants perceive high disagreement toward the effectiveness of mentor teachers. They express that they wish mentor teachers to be understanding, good models, to treat them as a teacher candidate not as a student and to give constructive feedback. The study concludes by offering a number of practical and theoretical implications for the field of study.


Most clinicians would agree that heartburn is associated with the reflux of gastric or duodenal contents into a dysfunctioning lower esophagus. In the absence of demonstrable hiatus hernia or esophagitis"', it may be considered a functional disorder. Globus has also been characterized as reflecting a functional disorder of the esophagus.3 This feeling of having a "lump in the throat", when unrelated to dyspepsia, is believed to be due to dysfunction of the upper esophageal sphincter.4', It is also said to be a physical manifestation of suppressed emotion specifically, holding back tears.6 Although much money and effort are spent in managing the symptoms of these two disorders of the esophagus, there is little in the literature on their incidence, or on their relation to each other or to other functional gastrointestinal disorders. We decided to address these questions as part of a study of bowel symptoms in 301 subjects, the results of which have, already been published.7


The article discusses some provisions of the problem of moving cargo on a ship within the theory of initial stability. It is indicated that the presentation of the issue of the stability of the ship during the transverse and longitudinal movement of cargo on it in some traditional textbooks is not specific enough. If possible, the reasons for the occurrence of non-specific moments in the problem are analyzed. It is proposed to present this task using clearer formulations of its provisions. In particular, contrary to the existing opinion about the immutability of the initial stability of a ship when carrying cargo on its deck, the article clearly shows that the initial stability of a ship tilted due to the displacement of its center of gravity will be greater than that of the same ship in a straight state (with an unbiased center of gravity). And this is inextricably linked with the subsequent change in the stability of the ship at large roll angles. The materials of the article will help to form a better understanding of the ship's behavior at small roll angles caused by the movement of cargo on the deck, and will help to eliminate from the literature on ship statics sometimes incorrect conclusions from solving the problem of such cargo transfer.


Background: Immunizations among vulnerable population, including solid organ transplant recipients (SOT), present suboptimal responses at vaccination and over time. We investigated safety and immunogenicity of the BNT162B2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in 34 SOT young adults as compared to 36 healthy controls (HC). Methods: immunogenicity was measured through the analysis of anti SARS-CoV2 IgG Antibodies and antigen specific CD4 T cells (CD40L+), detected by flow cytometry before vaccination, 21 days after priming (T21), 7 days after booster dose (T28) and 2-4 months after priming (T120). Baseline T and B cell immune phenotype was deeply investigated. The safety profile was investigated by close monitoring and self-reported diary. Results: Anti-S and anti-Trimeric Ab responses were significantly lower in SOT vs HC at T21 (p<0.0001) and at T28 (p<0.0001). Ten out of 34 SOT (29%) at T28 and 3 out of 33 (9%) at T120 had undetectable SARS-CoV-2 IgG. The analysis of SARS-CoV-2 specific CD4 T cells showed lower CD40L expression after in vitro stimulation in SOT compared to HC. Lower frequencies of memory B cells were found in patients not responding to vaccination. Lack of seroconversion was higher in patients treated with mycophenolate (p=0.0005). The vaccination was safe and well tolerated. Only short-term adverse events, were reported and no hospitalization or graft rejection were observed after vaccinations. Conclusions: These data show that SOT have a suboptimal immune response following mRNA vaccinations as compared to HC. Alternative strategies should be investigated to improve the immunization against SARS-CoV-2 in these patients.


Negative emotional memory was mostly painful memory,so whether or not a person can rid himself of such memory intentionally will directly affect his living.The essence of negative emotional memory intentional forgetting was an active suppression of the negative emotional memory.Both researches in directed forgetting and suppressed forgetting have found that negative emotion affects memory inhibiting,yet we couldn't say for sure whether this kind of inhibition is conducive or harmful,for the two conclusions can find support from brain mechanism study.Future research remains to be done in comparative studies of intentional forgetting in negative emotional pictures and negative emotional words,and retrieval stage ERP study of negative emotional memory intentional forgetting and comparative study of directed forgetting and suppressed forgetting.


The brittle graphite machined surface quality cannot be completely evaluated only by surface roughness Ra measured by profilometer, owing to its 3D surface defects. This paper developed an image detection system for brittle material machined surface quality based on Matlab and VB seamless interface mixed programming. The system hardware setup, software constitution and system programming principle are emphatically elaborated. Finally, the application of this system to detect brittle graphite surface quality proved its good feasibility.


It has been postulated that the establishment of acquired, neonatal immunologic tolerance is due to a "deficit" in interleukin 2 (IL-2). To test this hypothesis, chickens were made immunologically tolerant to both major and minor histocompatibility antigens by transplantation of skin grafts onto newly hatched recipients. In this study, we injected various doses of IL-2 and concanavalin A simultaneously with transplantation and in some cases, several days posttransplantation, and we failed to enhance graft rejection. These results may have practical importance in respect to the clinical use of recombinant IL-2. Injection of IL-2 in and around surviving skin grafts also failed to alter skin graft survival.


idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (VF) characterized by right bundle branch block (RBBB) and STsegment elevation in the precordial leads.1 Since then, such patients have constituted a distinct clinical and electrocardiographic (ECG) category, and they are considered at high risk of sudden cardiac death due to polymorphic ventricular tachycardia or VF.2–7 However, patients with vasospastic angina frequently experience syncope,8 and cardiac arrest and sudden death are important risks of variant angina.8,9 We report here a patient with chest pain and syncopal episodes, whose ECG had the characteristics of Brugada syndrome. VF was induced by programmed electrical stimulation and coronary artery spasm was also induced by intracoronary administration of acetylcholine.


We here demonstrate that general anesthesia with isoflurane can have profound effects on the brain of mice long after the anesthetic has been discontinued. Three hours of exposure to 1% isoflurane induced rapid and longlasting protection against 60 min transient focal cerebral ischemia induced by filament occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). Mean infarct volumes were significantly smaller in animals pretreated with isoflurane 0, 12, and 24 h before MCAO (−38%, −31%, −24%, respectively). Mild hypoxia (17% O2) during or 5 mg/kg desferrioxiamine administered at the onset of isoflurane pretreatment completely abrogated the development of delayed tolerance (12 h) against focal cerebral ischemia, suggesting that the signaling of delayed protection induced by isoflurane is sensitive to the intracellular oxygenation state.


Evaluation of: Goss PE, Ingle JN, Pater JN et al.: Late extended adjuvant treatment with letrozole improves outcome in women with early-stage breast cancer who complete 5 years of tamoxifen. J. Clin. Oncol. 26(12), 1948–1955 (2008). Data from the National Institute of Canada MA.17 trial showed that patients who were disease free after 5 years of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen had a 42% reduction of breast cancer recurrences (p < 0.001) when they received a further treatment with the nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor letrozole, immediately or within 3 months from the end of tamoxifen.


As a result of modern preventive medicine and surgery the average life span has been increased to the point where geriatric problems are demanding more attention than was true in the previous medical generation. Peripheral vascular diseases assume major importance in this increasingly aged general population. The sympathetic nervous system plays a vital role in the pathogenesis as well as the treatment of many peripheral vascular disorders. In certain diseases much of the etiology can be traced to increased sympathetic activity, viz., Raynaud's disease, causalgia, frostbite, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and, to a more limited extent, the postphlebitic syndrome. 1 In other instances the sympathetic system plays an important secondary role by setting up an extensive reflex vasoconstriction secondary to the stimulus of an occlusive arterial lesion. Such a situation obtains in peripheral arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis as well as in thromboangiitis obliterans. The sympathetic system functions as a defense mechanism in


The present invention relates to conducting paint, and is especially one kind of TiB2 powder based conducting paint powder and its preparation process and application. The TiB2 powder based conducting paint powder consists of film forming material, coupling agent, diluent, assistants and curing agent; and conducting assistant consists of TiB2 powder as main component, carbon black, graphite, acetylene black and other conducting powder in certain proportion. It is prepared through adding the assistants into the film forming material and dispersing in a dispersing machine, adding coupling agent and conducting powder through stirring, adding mixed diluent through stirring to obtain paint product. The conducting paint coating is formed through brushing, spraying or dipping, and cured at room temperature or through heating. The present invention has the advantages of high conducting property, high hardness, high wear resistance, excellent protecting performance, etc.


Indian parliament is getting ready to debate the National Food Security Bill that would be the single biggest poverty alleviation programme, costing about 1.5 per cent of India's gross domestic product. There has been a fierce debate
leading up to the drafting of the bill and subsequent modifications. This article first points out the salient features of the Indian economy to give context to assess the current debate. In particular, it gives a detailed picture of the grain
market in India and the important role played in it by the central government. It traces the path of the bill from its genesis through the subsequent debate and political process. The article identifies the key players in the debate and the
role they have played in shaping the provisions in the latest draft of the bill. At the end, the authors speculate about likely food security outcomes in India.


We used the quantitative receptor autoradiographic method with a radioligand of [ 125I ]lysergic acid diethylamide ([125I]LSD) to quantitate platelet serotonin (5-HT)2A receptors in affective disorders. Specific binding of [125I]LSD to human platelet pellet sections was saturable, and of high affinity and single. Both ketanserin and spiperone, 5-HT2A selective ligands, inhibited [125I]LSD binding to human plate-let pellets with high potency (IC50 values of 0.15 and 0.19 nM, respectively), whereas 5-HT and paroxetine, selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitors, inhibited binding with a very low potency. These data confirmed that binding sites of human plate-let pellets specifically labelled by [125I] LSD were 5-HT2A receptors. The number of 5-HT2A receptors (Bmax of [ 125I] LSD binding) of human platelets obtained from drug-free depressed patients was significantly higher than those of healthy volunteers. There were no statistical differences in the number of 5-HT2A receptors between depressed patients with and without suicidal behaviors. The increased number in platelet 5-HT2A receptotrs may indicate a hyperfunction of the central 5-HT2A receptors. The method with human platelets pellet sections we used is simple and sensitive for investigating platelet 5-HT2A receptors, a diagnostic and therapeutic marker in depressive disorders, in the clinical research.


Context: Although they have no legal authority, medical organizations are frequently asked to assess physician conduct. These organizations have established a variety of procedures to review grievances brought for their consideration. Objective: This analysis was conducted to assess the nature and the disposition of the complaints considered by the Professional Standards Committee (Committee) of an urban medical society. Design: All cases considered by the Committee (193 complaints) during a six-year period were arbitrarily sorted into categories and the nature of how the case was resolved was tabulated. Results: Of all the cases considered 108 (56 percent) were catego-rized as related to quality of care and physician/staff behavior issues. Of these, 39 (20 percent) dealt with the characteristics of the care provided, 28 (15 percent) with physician and staff behavior, 23 (12 percent) with physician and staff communications and 18 (nine percent) with ethical issues. An additional 85 cases (44 percent) were related to administrative issues and office procedures. Of these, 50 (26 percent) were related to billing, fees and charges, 23 (12 percent) concerned medical records, 10 (five percent) dealt with office practices and procedures and two (one percent) were related to worker's compensation. Of 141 cases in which a judgment could be made, 48.2 percent were decided in the complainant's favor and corrective recommendations were made. The grievance appeared to be inappropriate in 51.8 percent of the cases and the reason for this decision was explained to the complainant. In the remaining 22 percent of the cases irreconcilable descriptions of the circumstances made it impossible for the Committee to make a decision or recommendation about the grievance. The mechanism of review by the Professional Standards Committee of a medical society does appear to offer a pro-cedure by which there can be some resolution of these complaints. In cases in which a judgment could be made the complaint was decided in favor of the complainant as frequently as in favor of the physician.


The objective of the experiment was to study the growth performance and meat quality of difference type pigs.24 pigs of E-Xi(EX)black boars(Lard type),Landrace-York(LY) hybridized pigs(Bacon type) and Chang-Ye-E(CYE) boars(Meat type) respectively about 50 kg were raised to 100 kg and then 6 pigs each species were slaughtered to analyze the growth performance,carcass traits and meat quality.The results showed that the growth performance of LY pigs was higher than that of EX boars(P0.05),and had a insignificant difference with CYE boars.The undressing percentage,lean percentage and eye lean area of LY pigs were higher significantly than those of EX boars and CYE boars and feed/gain ratio and backfat thickness were lower that EX boars(P0.05).The meat pH2,drop loss and shear force of LY pigs were higher significantly than those of EX boars and meat color was lower than EX boars.The meat quality of CYE boars had an insignificant difference with LY pigs and EX boars.


Abstract : This report describes a thermal analysis for a power conditioning unit for the M119 A1 howitzer. The analysis includes conduction, convection, and radiation as described by the Army's rigorous environmental standards. The analysis was completed using computational fluid dynamics in the STAR-CCM+ software package. The analysis estimated the maximum temperature of various components. Most components are predicted to exceed their allowable operating temperature. Some components are predicted to fail with conduction alone. A redesign could include additional heat sinks.


Abstract Hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) is a biochemical condition characterized by mildly or strongly elevated concentrations of the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe) in the blood. HPA is commonly diagnosed by newborn screening. The primary cause of HPA is phenylketonuria (PKU), an inborn error of metabolism characterized by persistently elevated plasma concentrations of Phe secondary to a total or partial deficiency of the liver enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. The treatment of babies affected with PKU is based on a Phe-restricted diet, aiming to maintain blood Phe concentrations within a range of 120 to 360 μmol/L to prevent the spectrum of neurological disorders associated with PKU, that is, microcephaly, learning disability, epilepsy, pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, and behavioral changes. This metabolic disorder mainly affects the white matter (e.g., dysmyelination, demyelination, and hypomyelination) and the cortical-subcortical structures. A delay in starting the dietary treatment, or an inadequate Phe-restricted diet, may relentlessly lead to brain damage.


Hoffmann H. In Structure and Flow in Surfactant Solutions; ACS Symp. Ser. 578; Herb C.A., Prudhomme R. Eds. American Chemi cal Society: Washington, DC, 1994; pp. 2-31. Rose, G. D. and Teot, A. S., "Viscoelastic Surfactants—Rheology control without polymers or particulates'. In Structure and Flow in Surfactant Solutions; ACS Symp. Ser. 578; Herb C.A., Prudhomme R. Eds. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1994; pp. 352-369.


In memory of their foundational scholarship and the outstanding contribution to Qualitative Health Research (QHR) made by Dr. Mike Agar and Dr. Kathy Charmaz, QHR established the Agar and Charmaz Awards. Mike Agar was a linguistic anthropologist and social theorist, as well as an ethnographer. His contributions are extensive, but for a partial list see http://www. ethknoworks.com/bio.htm. Agar studied important topics within his own culture using ethnographic and other approaches and invested in people who wanted to learn how to do meaningful research. He acknowledged the risks in such work but noted, with his characteristic chuckle, that risk was an inherent part of the process. The Agar Prize is awarded for a paper that is creative and surprising, one in which the authors write evocatively and put disparate pieces together in new and interesting ways. Kathy Charmaz was an internationally acclaimed grounded theorist who supported grounded theory and health research. As one of the first students of Glaser and Strauss, she developed constructivist grounded theory, publishing methods texts, numerous articles, and presenting workshops and keynote addresses internationally. With her degree in social work, her research was focused on illness. Kathy's first and most acclaimed text was Good Days and Bad Days: The Self in Chronic Illness and Time (Rutgers, 1991). The Charmaz Prize is awarded for the best paper drawing on grounded theory. The articles written by winners of the Agar award and the Charmaz award were published in QHR in 2022 and were selected by a subcommittee lead by members of the editorial board. The winners of the Agar and Charmaz awards are


This thesis is a consideration of the Spirit's role in the interpretation of scripture (pneumatic interpretation) through a conversation surrounding this topic that has been taking place between scholars who are in, or who identify with, the renewal tradition (also known as the Pentecostal and charismatic movement[s]) since 1970 when renewed emphasis on and experience of the Spirit spurred hermeneutical conversations.

Its purpose is twofold: 1) to build understanding of pneumatic interpretation through the voices of those involved in the conversation; 2) to foster appreciation and understanding between scholars across or identifying with the renewal tradition. A significant proportion of contributions to this conversation have been from those involved in Pentecostal hermeneutics but the thesis uses renewal terminology to reflect inclusivity of all scholars across or identifying with the renewal tradition who emphasise the Spirit and accentuate the Spirit's role in hermeneutical considerations.

The thesis stresses that central to pneumatic interpretation in the renewal tradition is priority placed on personal experience of and intimate relationship with the triune God through pneumatic encounter. Three integral, and dynamically interrelating components of this relationship are given attention: affect, ethics, and cognition. It also stresses that considering the Spirit's role in scriptural interpretation requires contemplation of the relational nature of God from a pneumatic starting point. The thesis therefore asserts that pneumatic interpretation is holistic and cannot be restricted to interpretation of the scriptural text, because the Spirit always works through and beyond the written words interpreting and appropriating scriptural truth in our lives in ways that align with scripture and transform and draw us holistically into knowledge of God as Father, Son, and Spirit.

In terms of structure, the thesis addresses the conversation chronologically to show historical and thematic progress.


The purpose of this work is to explain the emergence of a modern, original electronic auto parts research and development (R&D) center: Delphi Juarez. The ba...


In order to ensure that the photovoltaic power generation system can quickly reach the maximum power point and can operate stably, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller combined with a correction link linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC-C) is proposed and designed. In the traditional linear active disturbance rejection controller, the lead-lag correction idea is introduced to improve the output channel of the linear expansion state observer, and the bandwidth of the disturbance observation channel is adjusted by the correction link. In this paper, the mathematical model of the photovoltaic cell system is analyzed, and the second-order linear extended state observer (LESO) matrix in the mathematical model of the system controller is optimized to improve the observation accuracy of the LESO. Finally, the frequency domain analysis of LADRC-C, and the Matlab/Simulink simulation platform verifies that the controller can significantly improve the tracking speed of the MPPT system and greatly reduce the power oscillation.


Strategies exist that can mitigate the risk of causing iatrogenic infertility when men require testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). This article reviews the current medical therapies that preserve spermatogenesis when TRT is indicated. Furthermore, we highlight the re-emerging concept of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis reset in hypergonadotrophic, hypogonadal infertile men who are planning sperm retrieval procedures. Finally, we present our hypothesis for a novel protocol to optimize hypergonadotrophic hypogonadal men before sperm extraction surgeries hormonally.


Review on EBAG9 (Estrogen receptor-binding fragment-associated antigen 9), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated.


Admission tutoring students in this course more institutions ease of recording, to improve accuracy and reduce the small error possible in the activities of the admissions process. Save time in obtain information about the collection of student data reception classes primarily smooth running of teaching and learning. Providing information such as monthly reports about the amount of increase or not the number of students to the leadership. And the analysis, it appeared that the New Registration System at MENTORING COURSE LEARNING IN INSTITUTIONS Global Computer Education Center (GEC), there is still less efficient the work of their respective existing functions. Therefore, there should be a better system and provide easiness for students and the courses that underway, the author tries to make an information system the goal to be able to optimize the running system. And with authors propose a system that is expected to provide convenience - convenience for students and the courses.


A mean-field monomer-dimer model which includes an attractive interaction among both monomers and dimers is introduced and its exact solution rigorously derived. The Heilmann-Lieb method for the pure hard-core interacting case is used to compute upper and lower bounds for the pressure. The bounds are shown to coincide in the thermodynamic limit for a suitable choice of the monomer density m. The consistency equation characterising m is studied in the phase space (h, J), where h tunes the monomer potential and J the attractive potential. The critical point and exponents are computed and show that the model is in the mean-field ferromagnetic universality class.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a widespread, severe disease that has outpaced many infectious and non-infectious diseases in terms of both incidence increases and economic burden in most developed countries. In addition to the direct threat to the health and well-being of patients, DM is associated with many severe complications. Among the most significant late complications of DM are diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME) which can lead to slow, persistent vision loss up to blindness. Significant progress in treating DME has been obtained after the role of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) in the disease's pathophysiology became more understood, with several powerful clinical options emerging as result. Among the anti-VEGF drugs that have proven themselves well in clinical trials and practice with regards to treating DME are ranibizumab and aflibercept. Since there is currently relatively little understanding of their comparative pharmacoeconomic performance within context of Russian healthcare, the current pharmacoeconomic research (PHe) effort was undertaken. Aim. To perform comparative PHe analysis of ranibizumab and aflibercept for treatment of patients with DME in Russian Federation (RF). Methodology. A Markov model with 3 month long cycles, simulating the changes in patient's vision acuity was designed for this research effort. For each of the compared therapeutic alternative a simulated group of 1000 DME patients was constructed. The PHe analysis was performed from the point of view of Russian healthcare system within context of Mandatory Medical Insurance system and also from point of view of Russian budget as whole. Randomized controlled clinical trials investigating safety and efficacy of analyzed drugs were used as source of efficacy and safety data. Number of patients who avoided stage IV vision loss (blindness) was used as efficacy criterion. Time horizon of PHe analysis was set at 3 years. Costs were accounted based on existing treatment standards, and literature sources were used to link quality of life and vision acuity and then register QALY for various model states. Modelling results were used to carry out cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), cost-utility analysis (CUA) and budget impact analysis (BIA). Two single-factor sensitivity analyses (SA) were used to ensure the results are robust to changes in market situation, and an additional analysis was undertaken to test for effects of choice of eye being treated (better seeing or worse seeing). Results. CEA indicated that ranibizumab administered using Pro Re Nata (PRN) regimen has best cost-efficacy, with lowest CER of 1 264 rub. Ranibizumab administered in Treat and Extend (T&E) regimen and aflibercept had higher CERs and thus inferior cost-efficacy (1 403 rub and 1667 rub respectively). The advantage of ranibizumab PRN extended to CUA, in which CUR was 554 rub for ranibizumab PRN, 616 rub for ranibizumab T&E and 729 rub for aflibercept. BIA performed per 100 000 population (accounted for prevalence of DM and DME epidemiology) has found that use of ranibizumab PRN instead of aflibercept could result in budget burden reduction of more than 17 million rubles per 3 years. All SA have confirmed result robustness. Conclusion. These results indicate that ranibizumab demonstrates favorable pharmacoeconomic properties and its further introduction into Russian clinical practice would allow to increase the efficacy of healthcare resource utilization in the RF.


This paper provides some theorems on the generic differentiability of convex operators between topological vector spaces. These results are applied to give new conditions for subgradients of convex operators to be non-empty and well behaved. Limiting examples are given.


PET scanner simulation is an excellent tool for understanding and making crucial decisions concerning the modeled scanner, such as optimal data organization or rebinning. The simulation is trusted for use only after it has been validated with experimental results. We developed a Geant4 simulation of the CPS HiRez PET scanner. The simulation is benchmarked on experimental results, which are presented in this paper. A point source in the center of the field of view (FOV), a line source in the center of the FOV, and a line source in a scattering phantom have been simulated. Sensitivity, spatial resolution, scatter fraction, and energy spectra have also been studied.