This article presents a review of the CMOS rectifier for radio frequency energy harvesting application. The on-chip rectifier converts the ambient low-power radio frequency signal coming to antenna to useable DC voltage that recharges energy to wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes and radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags, therefore the rectifier is the most important part of the radio frequency energy harvesting system. The impedance matching network maximizes power transfer from antenna to rectifier. The design and comparison between the simulation results of one- and multi-stage differential drive cross connected rectifier (DDCCR) at the operating frequencies of 2.44GHz, and 28GHz show the output voltage of the multi-stage rectifier doubles at each added stage and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of rectifier at 2.44GHz was higher than 28GHz. The (DDCCR) rectifier is the most efficient rectifier topology to date and is used widely for passive WSN nodes and RFID tags.


The purpose of this paper is to prove the theorem of Paley-Wiener type on the universal covering group of de Sitter group (Theorem 3.4). Theorems of this type on semisimple Lie groups have been proved in several cases: L. Ehrenpreis and F. I. Mautner [5] is the first that proved theorems of Paley-Wiener type for $SL(2, R)$ . For a general noncompact semisimple Lie group, this is not proved but there are some papers on theorems of similar type; [17] for compact groups, [7], [11] for symmetric spaces and [1], [14], [16], for certain another function spaces. And recently some characterizations of the Fourier image of -function with compact support on a rank 1 semisimple Lie group were given in [2], [6], [12]. But in the case when $G$ is the universal covering group of de Sitter group we can give a more explicit characterization than that of [2], [6], [12].


The paper outlines the problems of fish rearing in the water with negative redox potential. Water is known to consist of supermolecules, the so-called clusters and cells, connected by a special molecular structure. This structure changes when exposed to water in different ways: chemical, electromagnetic, mechanical. Under these influences the water molecules rearrange forming the structured living water. The effectiveness of activated water is explained by the fact that in the process of electrolysis the dead water acquires a positive electric potential, and living water – a negative electrical potential. It becomes a weak electrolyte which quickly interacts with body fluids (gastric juice, blood, lymph, intercellular fluid, etc.). As a result of the studies carried out on juvenile tilapia, it has been found that the hydrochemical parameters in the experimental (growing in structured water) and control variants were within the standard values. Concentration of O2 made 7 mg/l, pH of the medium was 7.2, and nitrite concentration was 0.3 mg/l. It has been inferred that the redox potential (redox) of the blood of young tilapia has a negative value
(–96 mV). It has been recorded that at a water temperature of 21°C that is sufficiently low for thermophilic tilapia and at a negative redox (–212 mV) there has been observed a high growth rate of fish. It was found that the use of redox water (–100 mV) is most effective, because the linear-weight gain of juveniles increases by 41% in comparison with the control. Negatively charged (cathode) water increases the efficiency of rearing tilapia fry and does not affect the physiological state of fish. Tilapia fry reared in the structured water have the highest hemoglobin content (62-64 g/l) and total protein (13.3-14.3 g/l).


To know the effect of injecting powder with gas on the bubbling-jetting transition, an experimental study has been made on powder injection into a liquid. The gas powder mixture was injected into a water bath through a nozzle of 0.2cm in I.D. installed at the vessel bottom. The powders used were glass beads of 105-149μm, 177-210μm, and 350-420 μm. The mixture jet behavior was photographed by a high speed cinecamera. The injecting pressure was measured at the entrance to the nozzle.It is found that injecting powder with gas produces a drastic effect on the bubbling-jetting transition. The critical gas flow velocity for the initiation of jetting decreases in powder injection with increasing solid-to-gas mass ratio. This decrease in the critical gas flow velocity is found to become a larger extent for powders of smaller size. These findings could be ascribed to the fact that the velocity of sound of gas solid mixtures decreases with increasing the mass ratio and this decrease in the sonic velocity becomes a larger extent for powders of smaller size.


Cytogenetic studies started during the early 1940's with the studies of Karl Sax on the induction of chromosomal aberration in Tradescantia microspores by X-rays and later it has been applied in the study of human chromosomes. Generally the cytogenetic techniques are useful to estimate radiation doses received due to external radiation exposure it is difficult to estimate radiation doses except for certain radio-nuclides like tritium (IAEA., 1986).


Clinical Background: Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is potentially curative for patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), however, few data exist regarding prognostic factors and transplant outcomes regarding Chinese. Aims: Aims: To review the updated trends of myeloablative conditioning practice and outcomes in allo-HSCT to treat CMML, we retrospectively evaluated 40 patients who underwent myeloablative conditioning regimen followed by allo-HSCT between January 2009 to December 2021. Methods: Methods: The CMML-specific prognostic scoring system (CPSS) has been validated in subjects receiving non-transplant therapy and was included in our study. From 2009–2021, there were 40 adult subjects who received allo-HSCT for CMML. Results: Results: After the median duration of follow-up was 36.9 months (range, 3 to 156 months), the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were 65.0% and 47.5% respectively. The median age at allo-HSCT was 47 years (range, 20 to 59 years). Thirty-five percent of the patients had HLA-haploidentical donors, 62.5% had HLA-identical sibling donors, and 2.5% had matched unrelated donors. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 30.0%, and that of extensive chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 25.0%. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 32.5%, the non-relapse mortality (NRM) was 20.0%. Eighteen patients harbored at least one gene mutation detected by Next-generation sequencing (NGS) mutation analysis. In addition, according to the number of gene mutations, the patients could be divided into groups with


Evoked potentials technique owing to informativeness and diagnostic value is widely used in clinical and experimental studies. Herein, we investigated whether the auditory P300 event-related potentials predict syndrome vascular mild cognitive impairment. 42 patients with I and II stages of discirulatory encephalopathy (50-70 years) included in clinical study. The discriminant analysis method was used to work out an equation with two variables as predictors the P300 latent period and patient's age. The diagnostic accuracy of the discriminant equation at a cut-off -0,268 was established through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis (sensitivity 80%, specificity 74,1%).


Mystical tourism, with its magical spaces, is currently a booming tourism modality, since decades past at an international level this type of tourism has been developed in much of the world and is gradually creating a very different segment within the tourism market to mass tourism and more related to cultural and religious tourism, although they are different tourist modalities. There are authors who frame Mystical Tourism, within a macro-category


Fish and
 fish products have become increasing popular throughout the world. At the
 same time there is a consumer's need for safe, natural and additive-free
 foods as possible without compromising quality. Fresh, untreated or slightly
 treated fish meat is perishable though. High pressure processing (HPP)
 technology is supposed to be a gentle technique in terms of maintaining the
 valuable substances as well as nativeness of the
 product. Furthermore, HPP is able to reduce the bacterial load of food
 depending on the matrix and thereby increases food safety and prolongs shelf
 life of food. In this
 study, effects of HPP on fish fillet parameters like freshness and quality as
 well as microbial effects were investigated. The aim of this study was to
 determine if HPP is a suitable technology for fish products and to evaluate
 which HPP treatment can guarantee microbial safety of fish fillets. For this
 purpose, vacuum-packed samples of fresh catfish fillets and mild smoked
 rainbow trout fillets were treated with high hydrostatic pressure. The
 catfish fillets were tested microbiologically for aerobic mesophilic
 total viable count, pseudomonads, lactobacilli, yeasts and moulds as well as Listeria (L.) monocytogenes
 before and after treatment. The catfish fillets were physically analysed by measuring the aw value, pH value and the colour
 values L*, a*, and b*. The microbiological investigation of mild smoked
 rainbow trout included the aerobic mesophilic total
 viable count and L. monocytogenes and
 E. coli. The microbiological analyses were carried out according to the
 German Food and Feed Code (§ 64 LFGB). To evaluate the effects of high
 pressure on L. monocytogenes and E. coli,
 the fish samples were inoculated accordingly. Both kinds of fish fillets
 underwent a sensory investigation (ISO 4121:2003). The examinations of
 the catfish were conducted on days 1, 4 and 7 and those of the rainbow trout
 on days 1, 13, 21 and 41 during the storage after HPP. Overall, the
 experiments were repeated for six times. For the catfish fillets, six types
 of HPP treatment and for the rainbow trout fillets, four types of
 HPP-treatment were used, each consisting of a combination of pressure (200,
 400 or 600 MPa) and time (1 or 5 min).
 HPP was
 able to significantly reduce the examined microorganisms (except yeasts and moulds). Generally, treatment with higher pressure led to
 higher reductions. The most intense treatment (600 MPa/5
 min) decreased the aerobic mesophilic total viable
 count of rainbow trout as well as the counts of pseudomonads, lactobacilli,
 L. monocytogenes and E. coli of both fish
 products below the detection limit. Reductions of L. monocytogenes
 were 6.27 lg CFU/g (catfish) and 6.53 lg CFU/g (rainbow trout) and 6.17 lg
 CFU/g of E. coli in the rainbow trout samples. During storage all
 bacteria showed regrowth even after the most intense treatment. E. coli
 and the aerobic mesophilic total viable count
 increased during storage, but only by 0.04 to 0.7 CFU/g.
 The less intense treatments, 200 MPa/1 min and 200 MPa/5 min, lead to no significant difference of the
 aerobic mesophilic total viable count,
 pseudomonads, lactobacilli and L. monocytogenes.
 The same
 HPP treatment of catfish fillets and rainbow trout fillets (400 MPa/5 min, 600 MPa/1 min)
 induced a higher reduction of L. monocytogenes
 (1.0 lg CFU/g) in mild smoked rainbow trout
 fillets. Additionally, E. coli displayed higher reductions than the
 L. monocytogenes after the same treatment
 conditions. A complete inactivation of the bacteria could not be achieved by
 any of the used HPP treatments. An
 influence of HPP treatment on aw value was not
 detectable, whereas pH values after treatments of 400 MPa
 and 600 MPa increased. At the same time, a decrease
 of pH values during storage could be prevented by every type of treatment.
 Measuring the colour, the catfish fillet showed
 significant increases of L* and b* values depending on pressure and time of
 the HPP treatment. In contrast, a* values could not clearly be assigned to
 the treatments and showed no significances. Throughout the entire storage,
 all three colour values remained stable. A
 considerably lighter appearance as well as texture changes of the catfish
 fillets could be confirmed by sensory assessment depending on HPP-treatment.
 However, the changes of the assessed sensory parameters of the rainbow trout
 fillets did not correlate with the intensity of treatment. The panelists recognised solely a general alteration of the treated
 samples compared to the untreated control.
 In
 summary, most of the analysed effects of HPP
 depended on the intensity pressure and the holding time. The number of
 bacteria was reduced on both fish fillets and thereby microbial safety was
 improved. The changes of the sensory parameters of the catfish fillets could
 influence consumer's acceptance, but it is not sure whether this influence
 might be negative or positive. However, sensory changes of the rainbow trout
 fillets were minor and therefore less critical. Further research (e.g. direct
 consumer surveys) to clarify a possible marketability of high
 pressure-treated fish products is needed.


Cruise CAGE21-3 with UiT's research vessel R/V Helmer Hanssen was carried out to address the following objectives within the SEAMSTRESS project (Tectonic stress effects on Arctic methane seepage):1- Recovery of 10 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) deployed last year north of the Knipovich Ridge-Molloy Transform Fault corner (see report CAGE20-5).2- Conduction of an active source OBS experiment for the study of shear waves propagation in relation to local stress field and focused fluid flow.3- Acquisition of seismic lines for completing a side survey for the FRAME-IODP proposal.In 2020, 10 ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) were deployed at the northern termination of the Knipovich Ridge to monitor seismic activity. The aim is to detect regional and local earthquakes. If localearthquakes are captured we will investigate the stress field in the region and how faults and fluids react to such stress (Figure 1). From the 10 instruments 8 are from Awi and 2 from UiT. IODP proposal 985 Eastern Fram Strait Palaeo-archive (FRAME) proposed to drill five sites on the western Svalbard margin in order to study chronostratigraphy, palaeoceanography, the palaeoclimatic evolution, and the forcing mechanisms responsible for main climatic transitions and the dynamics of the Svalbard Barents Sea Ice Sheet complex. This cruise acquired additional site survey seismic data for proposed primary and alternate drill sites.
The cruise may be known as: CAGE21_3


Abstract : High resolution atmospheric transmittance curves are presented for the spectral region 320 to 13,200/cm (0.7576 to 31.25 micrometers). These spectra are useful as a guide for selecting laser wavelengths for atmospheric propagation studies in this spectral region. In addition, this report provides attenuation coefficients for those lines of the CO, HF, DF, and CO2 laser systems which suffer the least atmospheric attenuation. A new aerosol model is introduced here, taking into account recent measurements of the complex index of refraction of aerosol particles.


although probably rare, the coexistence of malignancy and EN should be borne in mind, especially when this dermatosis develops inexplicably in an elderly subject. In such cases, additional investigative procedures should be undertaken.^ Finally, as EN may also be associated with menstruation^ and pregnancy/ this raises the question of whether EN associated with irradiated or untreated uterine malignancy is due to shedding of an antigen by the neoplasm, or might it be due to release of the same hypothetical factor which gives rise to EN in association with menstruation or pregnancy? This problem deserves further investigation.


There are about 95.812 ha of critical to potential critical land and about 2.665.829 ha of potential land in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, these land have not been cultivated for agriculture. Identification of soil/land physical dan chemical properties are needed in order to find out how these land are suitable for low land rice growth. Low land rice is choosen because this area are flooded in rainy seasson and dried in dry seasson, that why traditionally farmers cultivate their soils are based on water level ( "sonor or padi lebak"). Data analysis of soil physical dan chemical properties are structure, texture, permeability, organic matter content, pH, N-total, P and K. Drainage and slope steepness are also investigated in the field. Then soil suitability for low land rice are classified based on laboratories data dan field data. The results show that soil pH, drainage, soil texture, pirite, and tickness of peat are as limiting factors for paddy plant. Actual land suitabilities are S2 and S3 Classes, if the drainage system was rehabilitated and lime was applied for increasing pH, the potential suitable classes become S1, S2, and S3. Only texture could not be improved, but to minimize texture effect it could be applied organic matter. However, dominantly land in this area are potentially suitable for development and extension of paddy field and might be one of the biggest land recourse for supporting South Sumatra as food producer .


The motion of common rail injector needle valve and the hydraulic process of fuel control circuit are studied by using simulation method. The simulation model is verified by comparing the injection rate curve. The results demonstrate that the lifting of the injector ball valve changes the fuel flow in the control chamber, leading to two different speed stages as the needle valve is opened. The seating of ball valve changes the clearance between the ball valve and the valve seat, and the needle valve closing motion curve slope remains unchanged. The increase of rail pressure affects the needle valve motion speed at the rapid opening stage. When the rail pressure reaches a certain valve, it no longer affects the motion characteristics of the needle valve. The change of fuel inlet hole diameter affects the needle valve rapid opening and closing movement. The change of fuel outlet hole diameter mainly affects the closing movement of needle valve.


Objective To assess the diagnostic value of enhanced liver fibrosis(ELF)test to predict liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods This is a prospective study and it included 156 patients with chronic hepatitis C from January 2011 to April 2013.Hyaluronic acid,tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase typeⅠ,and amino-terminal propeptide typeⅢ procollagen were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the ELF test.Fibrosis stage was determined using the Metavir scoring system. Results In our study,for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis(Metavir F≥2)a cut-off value7.72 provides a sensitivity of 93.0%and a specificity of 83.0%.The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve were 0.94(P0.01).For the diagnosis of cirrhosis(Metavir F=4)a cut-off value9.3provides a sensitivity of 93.0%and a specificity of 86.0%. Conclusion The ELF test is a promising non-invasive method for assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.It is effective in the diagnosis of both fibrosis and cirrhosis.


The recovery of 316L steel capillaries used in neutral geothermal wells orbital welding by weld is evaluated from the point of view of its resistance to corrosion in the conditions of use, through basic electrochemical techniques. In the pre-treatment is more convenient than carrying out a chemical pickling prior to welding for 5 minutes. While subsequent to the application of welding heat treatment of stress reduction is not justified from the standpoint of corrosion resistance. There is also the comparison of capillaries capillary soldiers regarding new and used soldier's capillaries having an intermediate behavior between the two.


In this paper, we investigate existence and stability of solitary waves to the rotation-Camassa-Holm equation which can be considered as a model in the shallow water for the long-crested waves propagating near the equator with effect of the Coriolis force due to the Earth's rotation. We prove existence of solitary traveling wave solutions by performing a phase plane analysis of the corresponding system of ordinary differential equations and providing a qualitative description of the wave profile. It is shown that solitary traveling wave solutions are positive, symmetric with respect to the crest line and have a unique maximum which increases with the wave speed, i.e. faster waves are taller. Moreover, utilizing the approach proposed by Grillakis-Shatah-Strauss, and relies on a reformulation of the evolution equation in Hamiltonian form, we prove stability of solitary waves by proving the convexity of a scalar function, which is based on two conserved quantities.


Many problems have been reported on honey bees colonies including fertility problems of queens resulted in production failure. Pesticides can be the cause of this failure in connection with the quality of sperm drone. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the influence of exposure to syrup contaminated with clothianidin at 0.1 μg/L on semen parameters of drones. Results showed a significant decrease of semen volume and sperm concentration and an increase in sperm mortality rate. As for the energetic state, clothianidin increased cell redox potential, the ATP content of spermatozoa as well as the lactate dehydrogenase activity (LDH). It was concluded that exposure to clothianidin during the sexual maturity of drones could affect the semen quality.


To maintain a sustainable market for major non-cereal crops in Bangladesh, the present study evaluated the asymmetric effect of the key macroeconomic variables on the imported and exported non-cereal crops. In this connection, this study evaluated the nonlinear interactions and co-movements between the international market indicators such as the world prices, total trade amount, and gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) and the market prices of potato and rapeseed in Bangladesh. Using yearly data from 1988 to 2019, we used the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to investigate both short- and long-term market dynamics concerning the positive and negative shocks in the macroeconomic variables on imported and exported non-cereal crops. First, the study identifies that during the period investigated, the world potato and rapeseed prices led to an increase in the Bangladesh potato and rapeseed prices when they are increasing. Second, we find that the changes in the trade volume only have an influence on the potato price, both in the long-run and short-run. Finally, our findings revealed that domestic rapeseed prices tend to decrease when the GDPPC increases. Our empirical findings imply that it is important for market participants of potato and rapeseed in Bangladesh to take into consideration the sensitivity of the above-mentioned variables when designing resource allocation decisions in the event of positive and negative effects.


Abstract This paper presents a case study in intraparadigmatic variation. It begins with a fine-grained morphological decomposition of the reinforced demonstrative pronoun in Old Norse. Five distinct morphemes are identified, and it is shown that there are three patterns into which these morphemes can be assembled within the paradigm. Applying Cinque's (2005) U20 theory of movement, it is then shown that the three different structures observed in the reinforced demonstrative paradigm are derived from a single functional sequence of four syntactic heads. Interestingly, a morphological reflex of the cyclic/roll-up divide is identified in the process. Finally, an account is provided for why only these three structures appear in the paradigm in the first place. Overall the paper argues that Cinque's (2005) theory of syntactic movement can be applied also at the morphological level and ultimately that syntax and morphology are governed by the same principles.


It can be argued that in order to produce a sub-stantial improvement in multi-objective estimation of distribution algorithms it is necessary to focus on a particular group of issues, in particular, on the weaknesses derived from multi-objective fitness assignment and selection methods, the incorrect treatment of relevant but isolated (precursor) individuals; the loss of population diversity, and the use of `general purpose' modeling algorithms without taking note of the particular requirements of the task. In this work we introduce the S-Metric Selection Estimation of Distribution Algorithm based on Multivariate Extension of Copulas (SMS-EDA-MEC). SMS-EDA-MEC was devised with the intention of dealing with those issues in mind. It builds the population model relying on the comprehensive Clayton's copula and incorporates methods for automatic population restarting and for priming precursor individuals. The experimental studies presented show that SMS-EDA-MEC yields better results than current and `traditional' approaches.


Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of Yisui Shengxue Granule in treating patients with HbH disease. Methods A randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 59 patients with HbH disease were randomized to receive either Yisui Shengxue Granule(Yisui Shengxue Granule group, 27 cases) or placebo(control group, 32 cases) orally for 3 months. Before and after treatment, blood parameters(Hb, RBC, Ret) were examined, the TCM syndromes were measured, the therapeutic effect of TCM and western medicine were analyzed. Results After treatment, the level of Hb and RBC in Yisui Shengxue Granule group were improved(P 0.01, P 0.05), the total score of TCM syndrome was lowered(P 0.01), the total efficiency of western medicine was 77.8%(21 of effective cases, 6 of invalid cases), and the total efficiency of TCM was 90.9%(20 of effective cases, 2 of invalid cases). The level of Hb and RBC in control group had no obvious improvement compared with those before treatment(P 0.05), the total score of TCM syndrome had no significant decrease(P 0.05), the total efficiency of western medicine was 15.6%(5 of effective cases, 27 of invalid cases), the total efficiency of TCM was 36.0%(9 of effective cases, 16 of invalid cases). Yisui Shengxue Granule group was superior to the control group in elevating Hb, reducing the total score of TCM syndrome, and in the therapeutic effect of western medicine and TCM(P 0.01). Conclusion Yisui Shengxue Granule can effectively improve the degree of anemia, alleviate the clinical symptoms of patients with HbH disease.


This paper proposes two new extended recursive three-step filters for linear discrete systems with dual-unknown inputs, which can simultaneously estimate unknown input and state. Extended recursive three-step filter 1 (ERTSF1) introduces an innovation for obtaining the estimates of the unknown input in the measurement equation, then derives the estimates of the unknown input in the state equation. After that, it uses the already obtained estimates of the dual-unknown inputs to correct the one-step prediction of the state, and finally, it obtains the minimum-variance unbiased estimate of the system state. Extended recursive three-step filter 2 (ERTSF2) establishes a unified innovation feedback model, then applies linear minimum-variance unbiased estimation to obtain the estimates of the system state and the dual-unknown inputs to refine a more concise recursive filter. Numerical Simulation Ex-ample demonstrates the effectiveness and superiority of the two filters in this paper compared with the traditional method. The battery state of charge estimation results demonstrate the effectiveness of ERTSF2 in practical applications.


CORKUM, L. D., and HANES, E. C. 1992. Effects of temperature and photoperiod on larval size and survivorship of a burrowing mayfly (Ephemeroptera, Ephemeridae). Can. J. Zool. 70: 256-263. There is great size variation in naturally occurring and laboratory-reared populations of larvae of Hexagenia species. We investigated differences in mean larval size and survivorship of Hexagenia limbata and Hexagenia rigida reared at different temperatures (12, 17, and 22°C) and photoperiods (24 h L, 24 h D, 12 h L : 12 h D) over two time intervals (60 and 120 d) in the laboratory. Owing to space limitations, two sets of replicates (3 replicates per set) were conducted in sequence for the 60-d trial. Larvae were hatched from eggs collected from imagoes at the Detroit River near Windsor, Ontario, and stored at 8°C. Of the factors examined, temperature alone influenced larval size after 60 d of growth. None of the factors had any significant effect on larval survival after 60 d. Larvae from the second 60-d replicate set (hatched from eggs incubated for 75 d longer than the first set) were larger and exhibited lower survivorship than larvae in the first set. This finding suggests that larval size may not be a good indicator of larval age, especially if eggs have been exposed to low temperatures for varying periods. Temperature and its interaction with photoperiod significantly affected both size and survivorship of larvae reared for 120 d. At 22"C, larvae reared under the 12 h L : 12 h D regime were larger than those reared under either constant light or dark conditions; no discernible trend in photoperiod was evident at the lower temperatures. Larval survivorship was lowest for treatments exhibiting conflicting environmental cues (12°C and 24 h L, and 22°C and 24 h D).


The Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP) is providing technical assistance and capacity building initiatives to foster sustainable improvements in asset management performance in selected rural road agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Central to the research methodology is the development of a specification to enable road agencies to assess their performance in asset management as a basis for self-improvement. The specification is based on the development of an objectively determinable "road sector sustainability index" which measures the extent to which six building blocks considered essential for achieving effective road asset preservation are satisfied in practice. Periodic measurements of the condition of the project road networks, coupled with the collection of socioeconomic data, are being used to monitor the trend in road asset value, and to assess the effectiveness of, and improvements in, asset management as well as the impact of road condition on the wellbeing of rural communities. This paper outlines methodologies and tools that have been developed and piloted in four Sub-Saharan African countries to assess and monitor performance in rural road asset management and to achieve improvements over time. It summarizes progress achieved in the first 3 years since the project's inception. The initial findings of the research indicate that severe institutional, funding, and technical shortcomings exist in the participating countries that preclude sustainable road asset preservation. However, following implementation of the methods summarized here, there is now an increased awareness of the importance of adopting a holistic approach to road asset management using simple and sustainable methods.


ABSTRACT This paper applies the concept of Hybrid Governance to the analysis of the GASAP (Groupe d'Achats Solidaires de l'Agriculture Paysanne), a solidarity-based producers–consumers network established in Brussels in 2006. The Hybrid Governance concept allows to capture the role of key governance tensions in driving the self-organisation, scaling out and self-reflexive dynamics of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs). The approach provides a multifaceted and sound socio-political account of the ways AFNs arise, self-organise, associate and build networks in the pursuit of their food allocation objectives, often facing a contradictory socio-institutional environment. Three types of governance tensions, i.e. organisational, resource, and institutional, as well as the interactions among them, are analysed throughout the life-course of the GASAP network. The analysis identifies three phases in the GASAP's life-course, showing how governance tensions and their interrelations arise and play a critical role in conditioning the overall development of the organisation through time. The paper concludes with highlighting prospective values of the hybrid governance approach for the analysis of AFNs in general. These values relate to: the role of the hybrid approach in illuminating on key drivers behind the scaling out of AFNs; the hybrid governance as a tool to conceptualise and sustain the self-reflexive capacity of local food initiatives and the ways by which this approach unravels challenges to build cooperative alliances and networks among a diversity of agents in the food arena.


One of the economic indicators that are widely used to measure the level of prosperity and welfare is per capita income. However, an accurate income data is difficult to be obtained. In Susenas this data is approached by using data on expenditures per capita. This study employ Hierarchical Bayes (HB) and Empirical Bayes (EB) methods to be applied to Small Area Estimation (SAE) to estimate the expenditure per-capita in Banyuwangi. The results showed indirect estimation using hierarchical Bayes and Empirical Bayes produce RMSE values smaller than the direct estimation. The HB method, on the other hand, produces smaller RMSE value than the EB method. Finally, this research suggests to use HB method to estimate the expenditure per-capita in Banyuwangi rather than direct estimation which is used nowadays.


A scale invariant model of statistical mechanics is applied to describe a modified statistical theory of turbulence and its quantum mechanical foundations. Hierarchies of statistical fields from cosmic to Planck scales are described. Energy spectrum of equilibrium isotropic turbulence is shown to follow Planck law. Predicted velocity profiles of turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate at four consecutive scales of LED, LCD, LMD, and LAD are shown to be in close agreement with the experimental observations in the literature. The physical and quantum nature of time is described and a scale-invariant definition of time is presented and its relativistic behavior is examined. New paradigms for physical foundations of quantum mechanics as well as derivation of Dirac relativistic wave equation are introduced.


This study aims to investigate the contamination of Euphrates and Shatt al-Arab with heavy metals. Identifying the pollution degrees and the sources of contamination are among the aims of this study. The fieldwork was carried out in January 2018 by using Stream Sediments Core Sampler Device at depths ranges 20–58 cm from eight river bed sediment sites (from S1 to S12) along the course of Euphrates to Shatt Al-Arab (from north Hilla to Basrah). About twenty-five core samples were chosen for this purpose. Twenty-one of heavy elements were determined by XRF technique. These trace elements are; Ta, W, Ni, Mo, Cr, As, Br, Pb, Co, Ga, Zn, Sr, V, Zr, Mn, Ba, Th, Cu, Rb, Y and Nb. Four indices are selected to evaluate the contamination levels. These are; enrichment factor (EF), the geo-accumulation index (I-geo), contamination factor (CF), and pollution load index (PLI). According to EF mean values, the heavy metals W and Ta recorded a very high enrichment category denoting very high pollution, whilst Ni and Mo referred to a significant category. Nevertheless, the other metals reflected moderate to minimal category. I-geo mean values showed high polluted grade for Ta metal, and moderate polluted grade for Ni, Mo and W metals. However, the other metals were either unpolluted or moderate to unpolluted. Due to CF average values, the heavy elements Ni, Mo, Ta, and W reported very high contamination, but the other elements generally had moderate to low contaminated grade. It was clear that the very polluted heavy elements in the current study were Ta, W, Ni, and Mo. Moreover, the contaminated grade can be ordered as following; Diwania>Simawa>Nasiria>Hilla> Basrah. The high degree of contamination may be mainly attributed to different anthropogenic sources. The other reason maybe originated from the crustal materials of natural origin (lithogenic source).


An ab-initio calculation of the geometry and vibrational frequencies of the primary and secondary ozonides of ethylene is presented. Agreement between the calculations and available experimental data is very good, allowing a detailed description of the structures of the normal modes. Some modifications of former assignments based on empirical force field calculations and/or analogies with group frequencies are proposed. These calculations can be used in the future to assist in the assignments of the vibrational spectra of larger ozonides. Keywords" Ab-initio study; Ethylene; Normal modes; Ozonides


Location-based services (LBS) have been significantly developed and widely deployed in mobile devices. It is also well-known that LBS applications may result in severe privacy concerns by collecting sensitive locations. A strong privacy model ''local differential privacy'' (LDP) has been recently deployed in many different applications (e.g., Google RAPPOR, iOS, and Microsoft Telemetry) but not effective for LBS applications due to the low utility of existing LDP mechanisms. To address such deficiency, we propose the first LDP framework for a variety of location-based services (namely ''L-SRR''), which privately collects and analyzes user locations with high utility. Specifically, we design a novel randomization mechanism ''Staircase Randomized Response'' (SRR) and extend the empirical estimation to significantly boost the utility for SRR in different LBS applications (e.g., traffic density estimation, and k-nearest neighbors). We have conducted extensive experiments on four real LBS datasets by benchmarking with other LDP schemes in practical applications. The experimental results demonstrate that L-SRR significantly outperforms them.


I've never read any Poppy Z Brite, but Dave Slusher's recent (out of order) podcast made me consider trying the food books..


Binding of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) to its high affinity receptor activates a kinase cascade and induces expression of immediate early genes, such as c-fos and c-jun. This process has been studied extensively in PC12 cells, a rat chromaffin cell line. NGF causes these cells to undergo neuronal differentiation, as they cease mitosis, extend neurites and acquire electrical excitability. A number of genes are activated as a relatively late event following NGF addition and their activation is characteristically dependent on protein synthesis. One of these late activation genes is that for Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36 amino acid peptide neurotransmitter (1) present in a subset of post-ganglionic sympathetic nerves. NPY peptide and mRNA levels are normally expressed at low levels in undifferentiated PC12 (2,3) cells and their induction following addition of NGF is dependent on protein synthesis as treatment of cells with cycloheximide abolishes the response (4.5). The presence of regulatory elements in the NPY promoter which respond to PKA and PKC is reflected by the ability of both forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase. and phorbol esters to increase NPY mRNA levels (4.5). However, the relative contribution of these signal transduction pathways to NGF-mediated stimulation have yet to be elucidated.


the JOURNAL OF LARYNGOLOGY, RHINOLOGY, AND OTOLOGY, May, 1914, covers the ground of my demonstration at the International Congress; while a more recent demonstration, which I had the privilege of giving in the Laryngological Section of the British Medical Association Meeting at Aberdeen last July, is substantially the same, and hence hardly merits any further extended note in your reports of the proceedings of that meeting. I have the honour to remain, Yours faithfully, September, 1914. P. WATSON-WILLIAMS.


The invention relates to a theoretical modeling method based on measured data under the scene of a high-speed train and a viaduct. According to the method, on the basis of analysis of actual channel measuring data, theoretical modeling is performed according to influences of a regularity building on communication between the ground and a train during the travelling process of the train. The method mainly comprises steps as follows: establishing a theoretical model according to the actual environment and train operation characteristics; calculating propagation time of each propagation path according to the established theoretical model; extracting power fading of each propagation path according to actually measured data; and establishing a theoretical propagation model through simulation. According to the method, a broadband wireless channel is modelled under the scene of the high-speed train, and the regular multipath characteristics of the channel are accurately described, so that the method has important significance on improving and optimizing the characteristics of a wireless system.


The relevance of the problems of cooperative construction in the formation of Belarusian scientific schools is determined. The role of the Belarusian State University in the development of problems of cooperation in the 1920s is characterised. The activity of S. L. Pevsner as a representative of the economic thought of the 1920s is studied. In the perspective of «history through personality», the problems of the formation of the personnel potential of Belarusian State University are revealed. The relations between the management and the teaching staff of the university, the status and issues of material well-being of teachers invited to Belarusian State University are characterised. The conclusion is made about a significant personnel shortage and the presence of serious competition in the personnel sphere of university science in the 1920s with the development of higher education in the USSR.


Previous studies find that legislators who adopt a partisan voting record are penalized come election time. To date, these studies examine the electoral effects of aggregate legislative behavior. While useful for identifying macro-level relationships, this approach discards valuable information about the timing of elite partisanship that contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between legislative behavior and election outcomes. After all, studies find that recent elite behavior tends to factor more prominently in voters' decision calculus. We offer a model that more explicitly accounts for the timing of elite partisanship, and we test it using US House elections data from 1956 to 2004. Even when accounting for aggregate party voting, we find that electoral success is significantly dependent on the temporal patterns of members' party loyalty as elections approach. We attribute this, in part, to voters paying disproportionate attention to legislative activity around elections.


: Wikipedia articles contain a vast number of hyperlinks (internal links) connecting subjects to other Wikipedia articles. It is useful to predict future links for newly created articles. Suggesting new links from/to existing articles can reduce editors' burdens, by prompting editors about necessary or missing links in their updates. In this paper, we discuss link prediction on linked and versioned articles. We propose new graph embeddings utilizing temporal random walk, which is biased by timestamp difference and semantic difference between linked and versioned articles. We generate article sequences by concatenating the article titles and category names on each random walk path. A pretrained language model is further trained to learn contextualized embeddings of article sequences. We design our link prediction experiments by predicting future links between new nodes and existing nodes. For evaluation, we compare our model's prediction results with three random walk-based graph embedding models DeepWalk, Node2vec, and CTDNE, through ROC AUC score, PRC AUC score, Precision@k, Recall@k, and F1@k as evaluation metrics. Our experimental results show that our proposed TLPRB outperforms these models in all the evaluation metrics.


With both parents working and the harried lifestyle that invariably follows when mom heads off to work every day, the question arises: Who is minding the children? Enter Planned Parenthood, pushing wheelbarrows of money provided to it by the federal government - money derived from the toil of those parents who are struggling to provide the best life they can for their children. Planned Parenthood is using this money to partner with school districts in its disgusting "comprehensive" sex education programs, banking on the fact that parents are too busy making a living to do a thorough examination of what their children are being taught at school. One of those programs is TOP (Teen Outreach Program), which is spreading throughout the nation at an alarming rate.


Malva nut or Sterculia lychnophora is a traditional medicine and is widely found in the Southeast Asia region and China. This traditional medicine is known to have good health effects and can act as a food additive to improve the texture of several food products as well as functional ingredients. In this study, nutritional evaluation of functional biscuits supplemented malva nuts (Sterculia lychnophora) was thoroughly and successfully investigated. Consequently, the crude malva nut powders were extracted by using two different solvents (water and ethanol) and were supplemented into biscuits at the level of 2.5%, 5%, 7,5%, and 10%. The physio-chemical determination and sensory evaluation were carried out to all the developed biscuits. Overall, supplementation of crude malva nut powder into biscuits significantly affects the nutritional values and physical properties of developed biscuits. On the nutritional basis, at the same level of supplementation, biscuits supplemented with water extracted crude malva nut powder showed higher fat content while biscuits made with ethanol extracted ethanol demonstrated higher ash, protein, fiber, and total carbohydrates contents, especially at 10% of supplementation. For the sensorial differences, except the 7.5%, biscuits with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% crude malva nut powders clearly unidentical. The obtained results of this study have indicated that the developed biscuits were not only improved in terms of nutritional value and health benefits, but also had high potential of being accepted by consumers.
Keywords: malva nut, Sterculia lychnophora, solvents, functional biscuits


This report provides information on total conventional hip replacement procedures performed with metal/metal bearing surfaces. All hip replacement procedures recorded by the Registry from the commencement date to 31 December 2022 have been included in this report. Summary data on the use of metal/metal bearings are provided, along with outcomes (revision rate, reason for revision and type of revision) according to patient and implant characteristics (e.g. head size, age and gender). The use of metal/metal conventional hip replacements peaked between 2006 and 2008 (when over 3,000 were implanted each year) and then rapidly declined, with no metal/metal THRs implanted since 2016. The revision rate for metal/metal THRs is higher than for other bearing surfaces, but the high revision rate is mainly restricted to prostheses with head sizes >32mm. The most common reason for revision of a primary metal/metal hip replacement is metal related pathology, followed by loosening and infection. This Report is one of 16 supplementary reports to complete the AOANJRR Annual Report for 2023. Information on the background, purpose, aims, benefits and governance of the Registry can be found in the Introductory chapter of the 2023 Hip, Knee and Shoulder Arthroplasty Annual Report. The Registry data quality processes including data collection, validation and outcomes assessment, are provided in detail in the Data Quality section of the introductory chapter of the 2023 Hip, Knee and Shoulder Arthroplasty Annual Report: https://aoanjrr.sahmri.com/annual-reports-2023.


HE 5th edition of the Portuguese Software Engineering Doctoral Symposium (SEDES'2014) is held in September 23, 2014, in Guimarães, Portugal, co-located with the QUATIC'2014 conference. The aim of this symposium is to bring together Software Engineering PhD students supervised or co-supervised by faculty members of Portuguese Universities in a constructive environment, where they can present and discuss their ongoing PhD projects, receive feedback and valuable suggestions from faculty and peers, as well as network with other researchers in the field. The symposium aims at selecting PhD students that have already decided on a specific research topic, but are at least one year from delivering their dissertation, so that they can still benefit from the symposium discussions. This symposium is also instrumental as a gathering point for the Software Engineering research community in Portugal, with a tradition of synergies facilitator since its first edition. As such, an effort has been made to hold this event in different towns. Previous editions were held in Coimbra [1], Caparica [2], Porto [3], and Lisboa [4].


Nanostructured and conventional titania (TiO2) coatings were thermally sprayed using air plasma spray (APS) and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) processes. The fatigue and mechanical properties of these coatings were investigated. The fatigue strength of coatings deposited onto low-carbon steel showed that the nanostructured titania coated specimens exhibited significantly higher fatigue strength compared to the conventionally sprayed titania. SEM analysis of fracture surfaces revealed valuable information regarding the influence of these coatings on the performance of the coated component. Analysis of surface deformation around Vickers indentations was carried out. This investigation gives new understanding to the nature of fatigue and deformation of these coatings.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The growth of the rubber industry is reflected in the development of the Akron area as the major center of rubber manufacturing in the United States. Until recently, the Akron rubber companies manufactured half of the nation's tires as well as a large part of all the other rubber goods. Harold McCarty (1940) states, "It is difficult to find a city more highly specialized in the manufacture of a single product." However, since 1929 when the greatest concentration occurred, there has been a relative decline in the proportion of the industry located in the Akron area. Recent Census of Manufactures data for 1954 show that Akron had only 3.3 percent of the total number of establishments in the industry and 17.6 percent of the total number of production workers (table 1). In the tire and tube divi-


The biological soil activity is responsible for several physical and chemical transformations of deposited organic residues, therefore maintaining the environmental sustainability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of the soil microbial community and mesofauna in a dry forest (Caatinga) in the semi-arid region of Paraiba, northeastern Brazil. To determine the microorganism population soil samples from the 0-15 cm soil layer were evaluated. Total counts of fungi and bacteria were evaluated in specific culture media. The Berleusse-Tullgren modified method was used to extract the soil mesofauna. Oscillations in the soil water content and high temperatures promoted variations in the microbial population. The fungi population was larger than that of bacteria in both years of the study period, probably due to the slightly acidic soil pH. Shannon's index (H) and Pielou's index (e) also varied according to the season of the year. The most important mesofauna groups are Diptera (42.5 %), Acarinae (40.3 %) and Collembola (8.8 %). These groups play an important role in nutrient cycling in dry forest sites.


In order to solve these problems such as the rapid growth of educational information based on internet and the increasing complexity of information retrieval,the query architecture is proposed using ontology technology which has a four-layer structure.The concepts and relationships are summarized in the ontology by 5W1H analysis method,and a conceptual model of the ontology based on 5W1H established;the persistence technology and the ontology rule-based reasoning technology is mainly researched,and the query rules based on SPARQL and the information query algorithm based on Jena reasoning rules are designed.For example,the query functions such as precise query,fuzzy query and semantic query are realized by using Jena and MySQL under the ontology query system of teacher's information.


We analyze the all-optical wavelength converter (AOWC) based on a single-port-coupled (SPC) semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). A comprehensive dynamic model is developed by considering longitudinal variations of carrier density, the residual rear-facet reflectivity of SOA and wide-band spontaneous noise emission (ASE). The numerical simulations for the novel wavelength conversion at 10Gbit/s are presented based on the model. The impact of the rear facet reflectivity on extinction ratio and conversion efficiency is analyzed. We find that when the reflectivity is in the range of 0.2 and 0.3, the extinction ratio over 10dB and the conversion efficiency over 0dB can be achieved. The pattern effect is also discussed to optimize the reflectivity. The wavelength conversion experiments employing two single-port-coupled SOAs with different reflectivity are demonstrated. The extinction ratio and conversion efficiency are measured. The experimental results are agreement with the simulation results.


Let K be an algebraic number field, OK its ring of integers. An order O in K is a subring of OK which contains a Z -basis for the field K. The conductor of O is the largest ideal of OK contained in O. This paper showed that Z + ƒ is the only one order in quadratic number fields having conductor ideal and conductor ideals were characterized in a Galois extension over Q.


Abstract We evaluate whether the abundance of the freshwater crabs Aegla itacolomiensis and A. platensis is related to any or all of 11 environmental variables. We sampled 205 Surber samples (33 × 33 cm) in a stream five meters wide in southern Brazil. For each Surber sample we obtained measures of flow velocity, depth, type of substrate, and availability of coarse particulate organic matter. The relationships between abundances of the two species and the environmental variables were assessed by regression trees. Only 2 of the 11 environmental variables were important in describing the abundances of the two species, both of them related to availability of coarse particulate organic matter. The abundance of Aegla itacolomiensis was related positively to quantity of fragmented leaves and, to a lesser degree, to quantity of twigs. For the abundance of A. platensis, quantity of twigs, followed by fragmented leaves, were the most important environmental factors. The quantity of recently fallen, unfragmented leaves was unimportant. We conclude that the two species of Aegla select locations with abundant old plant fragments that are usually colonized by fungi and bacteria. This conclusion is corroborated by previous studies indicating that Aegla spp. feed mostly on plant fragments.


The decomposition product of 2-dimethylaminoethyl methylphosphonofluoridate (IV, n = 2) was identified as 1,1,4,4-tetramethylpiperazinium bis-(methylphosphonofluoridate) (VI). In hexadeuteriodimethyl sulfoxide (60°), the first-order rate of decomposition of IV (n = 2) is ∼ 830 times greater than the rate of the analogous decomposition of 2-dimethylaminoethyl isopropyl methylphosphonate (XV).

The hitherto unreported O-2-dimethylaminoethyl methylphosphonofluoridothioate (IX, R = Me) degrades on heating to 1,1,4,4-tetramethylpiperazinium bis(methylphosphonofluoridothioate) (XIII, R = Me), whereas IX (R = n-Pr) rearranges to S-2-di-n-propylaminoethyl methylphosphonofluoridothioate (XI, R = n-Pr). Arguments are put forward that the decomposition reactions of IV (n = 2), XV and IX (R = Me), as well as the rearrangement of IX (R = n-Pr) proceed via a 1,1-dialkylaziridinium cation.

The decomposition of 3-dimethylaminopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (IV, n = 3) at 40° gives a polymeric salt [VIII, Y = OPO(Me)F].


Objective To discuss the therapeutic effect of saprophytic muscle paste in diabetic patients with pressure ulcers.Methods 51 diabetic patients complicated with pressure ulcers (69 parts)from January 2010 to June 2013 were selected.They were divided into the observation group (28 cases,39 parts) and the control group (23 cases,30 parts) retrospectively using a random number table.The observation group used saprophytic muscle paste for treatment,the control group used traditional treatment methods.The healing time of pressure ulcers and treatment effect were compared between two groups.Results The treatment effect of the observation group had significant difference compared with that of the control group.The healing time of phase Ⅱ and phase Ⅲ pressure ulcers also had significant differences between two groups.Conclusions Better effect was seen in treatment of pressure ulcers in diabetic patients than traditional methods.

Key words:
Diabetes mellitus;  Pressure sores;  Saprophytic muscle paste;  Effect


Abstract The effects of ferrite–pearlite and ferrite–martensite starting microstructures on ferrite grain sizes and carbide particle sizes after cold rolling and prolonged annealing treatment have been investigated. Ferrite–martensite starting microstructures showed finer grain and particle sizes and improved tensile properties after cold rolling annealing cycle compared to ferrite–pearlite starting microstructures. A 'fibrous' martensite morphology developed by intermediate quenching treatment is more beneficial in that respect compared to the 'blocky' martensite morphology obtained from the step quenching treatment.


The fifth harmonic of the YAG laser represents a possible alternative to the line‐narrowed KrF excimer laser for use in deep ultraviolet microlithography. Producing useful amounts of radiation at 213 nm, the fifth‐harmonic YAG has a spectral linewidth well within the needs of today's nearly monochromatic microlithography lenses. This extremely narrow spectral width, combined with nearly single transverse‐mode operation, leads to challenging levels of coherence and speckle. Initial measurements of far‐field speckle patterns produced by illuminating a diffuser confirm that the speckle contrast is nearly 100%. Rotating the diffuser so that each pulse produced a different speckle pattern would require nearly 10 000 pulses to form an integrated average with 1% rms noise. We have investigated a relatively simple scheme for reducing the speckle contrast produced by a single pulse. This scheme consists of two counter rotating diffusers placed close to each other. It will be shown that for modest rotation speeds (...


The phenomenal ambiguity and irony in Camilo José Cela's La familia de Pascual Duarte has led to many often differing conclusions regarding its social message. While some scholars regard its protagonist as a victim of society and of the new regime that followed the Civil War, others have argued that Pascual is the evil perpetrator of unspeakable crimes who is rightly punished by the new order. This article proposes to reconsider the picaresque nature of this novel, focusing on two features of the picaresque genre, namely its political commitment (or poética comprometida) and the determinism versus free will foil. This analysis will show that Cela replicated the Quevedian vilification of the protagonist and the Alemanian presentation of a false conversion at the end of the story with one purpose: to present Pascual as an unremorseful murderer who lived an irreligious life, killed his mother, and supported the Republican repression in his village killing the local aristocrat, before the new regime makes justice by executing him.


Objective:Women explore the hepatitis B virus(HBV)carriers in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer(IVFET)outcome of pregnancy after assisted reproduction treatment. Methods:Retrospective analysis from March 2010 to December 2012 in our center for female infertility due to progesterone IVF-ET patients medical records of 422 cycles,HBsAg positive and the man to the woman HBsAg negative for Group A:HBV carriers were 81 cycles;Both HBsAg-negative group B:Normal control group of 341 cycles;The two groups were compared IVF-ET treatment outcome.Results:Two groups in age,duration of infertility,Gn and the total number of days usage,number of oocytes,embryos no difference in the number of cases,the fertilization rate,cleavage rate,D3-quality embryo rate,implantation rate,clinical pregnancy rate,early abortion rate and the total abortion rate was no significant difference(P0.05).Conclusion:Women HBV carriers OK IVF-ET progesterone treatment has no effect on pregnancy outcome.


: The present study was undertaken in two successive seasons of 2014 and 2015 on jojoba " Simmondsia chinensis Link) transplants at the experimental farm of the Horticultural Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza Governorate, Egypt. The aim was to compare between three clones and different salts "CaCl ; MgSO ; KCl; K SO ; Na SO and NaCl" concentrations (0.00 "Control", 3000, and 9000 ppm) at sodium adsorption ratio (SAR 12). The results showed the ability of the three jojoba clones under study [namely (Fg10, Fg22 and Fg24) which were previously evaluated] to tolerate irrigation with saline water. Data showed that, the maximum values of vegetative growth measurements were recorded with control treatment for Fg24 clone, while the lowest values were detected with clone Fg22 under saline water 9000 ppm. There was a negative relationship between leaf pigments contents and salinity applied concentrations, besides, Fg24 had the highest values, followed by Fg10 and Fg22. Whereas, the highest values of leaf proline and total sugars were significantly concomitant to the higher level of salt concentration (9000 ppm). Leaves nutrients (N, P and K) contents were the highest for clone Fg24 and with the control treatment, while it was the lowest by irrigation with saline water 9000 ppm. On the contrary, the highest values of Na, Cl and Na/K were recorded with 9000 ppm of saline water and the lowest values were found with the control. The osmotic pressure (L.O.P) in the leaf increased by increasing the salinity of the irrigation water to 9000 ppm and decreased with the control treatment, clone Fg24 recorded the highest values in this concern. Regarding leaf succulence grad, it followed the same trend of osmotic pressure. Microscopic examination of jojoba leaves showed that increasing the salinity level of the irrigation water increased leaf blade thickness, epidermis thickness for the upper and lower leaf surfaces, upper and lower palisade tissue layer, as well as number and thickness of palisade tissue layer compared to the control treatment. On the other hand, increasing the salinity of the irrigation water decreased number and thickness of spongy tissues. It can be concluded from this study that jojoba transplants can be irrigated with high salinity irrigation water and clone F24 which can survive on high concentrations of saline water (up to 6000 ppm) can be recommended to expand its cultivation in these areas. Moreover, jojoba is an important crop for expansion in the new reclamation areas in Egypt.


We present a theory of the magnetic dipolar interaction of two electrostatically coupled carbene triplet states. Using a model spin hamiltonian of a bicarbene system the spin functions and energy eigenvalues of the singlet (S = 0), triplet (S = 1), quintet (S = 2) and mixed singlet-quintet spin pair states are calculated. The resulting zero field and high field E.S.R. spectra are sensitively dependent on the energy separation ΔeSQ resulting from different electronic configurations of the same symmetry between the individual total singlet and quintet spin pair states. The results of this theory are compared with the E.S.R. data of the quintet states observed during low temperature photopolymerization of diacetylene single crystals.


The present invention provides a method of forming the structure over the copper post formed columnar structure good adhesion of intermetallic compound with a columnar structure and a flip-chip bonding structure. The method includes depositing a copper layer to form a copper post; depositing a diffusion barrier layer on copper pillar layer; depositing copper capping layer over the diffusion barrier layer, wherein forming intermetallic compound (IMC cap layer between the copper and the diffusion barrier layer ); and a solder layer is formed over the cap layer copper. Intermetallic compound having good adhesion to the copper pillar structure, and the thickness of the intermetallic compound of copper is determined by the thickness of the cap layer, and a diffusion barrier layer limits the diffusion of copper from the copper pillars layer to the solder layer. Cap layer before depositing copper, the method further comprises depositing a thin layer on the diffusion barrier layer, to improve the wettability (wetability). Advantages of the present invention comprises forming a good adhesion of the intermetallic compound (IMC) on the copper pillar bump, reliable and form a unitary structure.


Various methods are applied to construct decision rules for detecting a weak compound signal in exponential-type independent noise with unknown parameters. The case of detection involving simultaneous modification of mutually independent bias and scale parameters is considered. Examples of decision rules are presented.


In the present research, the microstructural alteration and microhardness at near-surface of AISI H13 steel by hard milling under different cutting parameters with coated cutting tools have been investigated. Very thin white layer forms or even no obvious microstructural alteration layer appears at the near-surface. It is reasonable that the formation of the very thin white layer is primarily due to mechanical effect (severe plastic deformation) rather than thermal effect (rapid heating and quenching). The 'hook' shape of the microhardness profile indicates that the highest microhardness appears on the very top surface; while the smallest microhardness occurs at the depth of 25 µm below the machined surface. Moreover, the microhardness profiles below the machined surfaces well correlate with the microstructural change of the machined near-surface. It is expected that the experimental results will provide a useful guide to control or minimize the white layer formation and, more significantly, to promote the application of hard milling technique in die and mold industry.


Abstract Three subsamples of a batch of meat and bone meal (MBM0) were heat-treated for 1.5 h (MBM1.5), 3 h (MBM3), and 5 h (MBM5). The true digestibility of amino acids (TAAD) of the MBM samples (MBM0–MBMs5) was determined using the precision-feeding technique with adult cockerels and the availability of lysine determined using the in vitro 1-fluoro-2,4 dinitrobenzene (FDNB) method. Heat treatment reduced the TAAD of all amino acids, except arginine, and the availability of lysine by at least 30 percentage units. The results of the TAAD and FDNB assays were compared with the relative amounts of lysine available as determined by growth assay. Comparison of regression lines of the digestibility-availability of lysine (determined with the digestibility-availability assays) on available lysine (determined by growth) indicated that although the magnitude of the digestibility-availability values differed, the changes in lysine digestibility-availability caused by heat treatment were the same when comparing ass...


It's unclear how physician-assisted dying will work in Canada when it becomes legal on Feb. 6, 2016, but if national legislation isn't passed, Canada could end up with a patchwork of rules that differs from province to province or even among hospitals.

The Supreme Court's February 2015 ruling


Betamethasone 21-acetate was catalytically reduced with tritium. The crude product was oxidized with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) to betamethasone-1,2,4−3H 21-acetate. Hydrolysis gave betamethasone-1,2,4−3H, which, when allowed to react with trimethylorthobenzoate, gave both betamethasone-1,2,4−3H 17,21-methylorthobenzoate and betamethasone-1,2,4−3H 17,21-orthobenzoate. Selective hydrolysis of the betamethasone-1,2,4−3H methylorthobenzoate gave the desired betamethasone-1,2,4−3H 17-benzoate.


Abstract For a two-parameter exponential model with increasing failure rate (IFR) or decreasing failure rate (DFR) distributions necessary and sufficient conditions of the existence of a solution of the likelihood equations are given. Also, all of the scale-invariant two-parameter statistical models closed by raising to a power and by exponential tilting are introduced. The conditions of existence of a solution of the likelihood equations are studied for these invariant models, and the models are applied to obtain some uniformly most powerful unbiased tests of exponentially against alternatives in these models.


Background T-cell replete haploidentical stem cell transplantation (HaploSCT) using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) has been performed primarily with using non-myeloablative conditioning. This approach has been associated with very low non-relapse mortality (NRM); however, a high relapse rate was noted for pts in remission, suggesting that a more intense conditioning could be used to decrease rate of relapse post-transplant. We explored a myeloablative yet reduced-intensity melphalan-based conditioning regimen in an ongoing phase II clinical trial.

Patients and Methods Results from the first 57 patients (pts) with advanced hematologic malignancies between 03/2009 and 4/2013 are reported. All pts received a melphalan-based conditioning regimen using fludarabine 160mg/m2, melphalan 140mg/m2 (N=35) or 100mg/m2 (N=22) +/- thiotepa 5-10mg/kg. GVHD prophylaxis was with post transplant cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg on days +3 and +4 followed by tacrolimus and mycophenolate, for at least 6 and 3 mo post-transplant, respectively. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and group differences were determined using the log-rank test. Cumulative incidence (CI) of relapse, GVHD, and non-relapse mortality (NRM) were assessed using the competing risks method, where the competing risk for CIR was death, for NRM was relapse, and for GVHD was death and relapse. Group differences were determined using Gray's test.

Results 34 (60%) pts were males and the median age was 47 years (range 21-66). Diagnoses were AML/MDS 28 (49.1%), CML 7 (12.3%), ALL 7 (12.3%), and lymphoma/CLL 10 (3 Hodgkin's, 3 NHL, 4 CLL) (17.5%), myelofibrosis/AML 4 (7%) and myeloma 1 pts. Racial distribution was: 18 (31.6%) African-Americans, 16 (28%) Caucasians, 12 (21%) Hispanics, 4 (7%) Asians, 7 (12.3%) Middle-Eastern. All patients except 2 (96.5%) had a bone marrow graft. 20/28 (71.4%) pts with AML/MDS were in complete remission (CR) at transplant (CR1+CR2) and 15/28 pts with AML had poor-risk by cytogenetics (N=12) or FLT3 mutation (N=3). All ALL pts had disease beyond CR1 except 1; 7/10 (70%) lymphoma/CLL pts had advanced disease. All patients with myelofibrosis have progressed to AML. Donors were children (N=26, 46.5%), siblings (N=23, 40.3%), parents (N=7, 12.3%), cousin (N=1), with 3-5 HLA antigen mismatches.

The median follow-up of survivors was 14 mo (range: 1.0-48.4 months). One patient had early death due to RSV infection. Primary engraftment was achieved in 54/56 (96.5%) of evaluable patients, with majority (N=51, 90%) achieving full donor chimerism. Of the 6 who had mixed chimerism, 2 relapsed and 4 pts converted to full chimerism. Median time to neutrophil engraftment was 18 days (range 11-43). The CI of gr 2-4 aGVHD and 3-4 aGVHD were 29.7% and 3.7%, respectively, while CI of cGVHD limited+extensive and extensive only were 23.7% and 11.5%. Overall, the NRM was 21.4%, CI of relapse was 25.8% and PFS was 52.8% at the last follow-up ([Figure 1A][1]). NRM for myeloid pts transplanted in remission was 9% and PFS 66.8% at 50 mo median follow-up (Table 1, [Figure 1B][1]).

![Figure 1][2]

Figure 1
A. PFS all patients; B. PFS for myeloid patients in remission (AML/MDS, CML – chronic phase).

Conclusions Melphalan-based conditioning for HaploSCT offers good disease control with acceptable NRM for patients in remission at transplant. A low relapse rate was observed in lymphoma/CLL patients despite the fact that most patients were not in remission at transplant. Overall, patients with advanced disease remain a challenge due to higher relapse rate and novel strategies are needed to significantly improve outcomes of these patients.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 [1]: #F1
 [2]: pending:yes


Abstract President Obama has stated his intent to reclaim science as a political and social necessity, and has backed words with action: highlighting scientific issues that impact all of us, appointing prominent scientists to his administration, and using public policy and funding to further scientific studies. These and similar initiatives may provide museums and science educators with increasing opportunities to facilitate meaningful dialogue about science and technology-related issues. The socially sensitive nature of many of these issues and the need for public engagement require public programs to move beyond education to discussion. Centers of informal learning are especially apt institutions to meet these needs and to empower society around science. Science centers and museums have begun to encourage citizens to participate actively in dialogues and debates; and as science blossoms at all levels of U.S. society, this role should only grow.


The calcareous deposits were affected by syn-sedimentary (lamination, bedding, convolute, ripple marks, pseudo-nodule) and post-sedimentary structure (diaclase, fault, and desiccation crack). Lamination and bedding expressed by color variation and granulometry are linked to a calm period of sedimentation and seasonal fluctuations and are periodically affected by seismic shocks giving the convolute bedding and pseudo-nodules. The presence of symmetrical ripple marks and desiccation cracks indicate respectively back and forth water movements and periodic phases of emersion characteristics of lacustrine to swampy environments. According to geochemistry data, the major element composition classifies the studied samples as shales and wackes. High LREE/HREE ratios (9.07–13.08; average: 11.77); slight positive and negative Eu anomaly (0.98–1.11); Al2O3/TiO2 ratios (16.52–21.87; average: 19.73), Th/Co ratios (1.24–4.18; average: 2.26), La/Sc versus Th/Co and Zr versus TiO2 plots indicate sediments derived from felsic rocks. The K2O/Na2O ratios (0.24–1.90; average: 1.01); index of compositional variability (0.88–1.35); PIA (64.94–98.42) and the Zr/Sc versus Th/Sc diagram indicate ∗Corresponding author. ISSN (electronic) : 1778-7025 https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/ 266 Milan Stafford Tchouatcha et al. that the source rocks have experienced globally a moderate recycling and sorting as well as moderate weathering. The chemical index of alteration values and the SiO2 versus Al2O3 +K2O+Na2O diagram could indicate relatively warm and arid to semi-arid climate during deposition of sediments. The Sr/Ba (0.22–2.01; average: 0.58) ratios indicate a variant salinity. The Y/Ho (<40) and U/Th (<0.75) suggest respectively nonmarine environment and oxic conditions. The Djerem continental sub-basin would not have undergone marine influences yet known in the Nigeria basins of Benue.


Geographically, Srumbung District, Magelang Regency is one of the areas located on the slopes of Mount Merapi. The slopes of Mount Merapi are rich in potential mining materials, namely class C minerals in the form of sand and stone. The potential for mining materials in the form of Merapi sand was formed due to the eruption of the eruption of Mount Merapi. The potential for industrial materials, especially Merapi sand, is very large for mining activities because it can increase the economy for the local community. Mining activities carried out, both mechanically and traditionally, always have an impact, namely giving positive and negative impacts. Tailings are formed as a result of mining Merapi sand produced from mining in several companies. So that the amount of tailings produced can damage the environment, with current developments the waste can be used as an additional material in building construction. With the aim of providing composition and explaining the characteristics in making bricks that meet the standards and also explaining the use or designation of bricks produced using qualitative methods. So that analysis of the utilization of Merapi sand tailings needs to be done, namely to overcome environmental problems caused by the sand mining process, namely by making the raw material for making bricks.


Microwave rotational transitions for HMn(CO) 5 with 13 C isotopic substitution in the axial and in one equatorial site were measured using a Flygare-Balle-type pulsed-beam spectrometer. Rotational constants obtained are A=B=903.433(1) MHz for the axial 13 CO isotopomer and A=902.218(3) MHz and B=901.161(3) MHz for the isotopomer with one equatorial 13 C substitution. The new data are combined with previous data on HMn(CO) 5 and DMn(CO) 5 to obtain structural parameters for this complex. The Mn-H bond length obtained is r(Mn-H)=1.65(2) A and C ax -Mn-C eq =91.0(5) o


The area to be reviewed in this writing is a district located in Riau Province, namely Kerinci Kanan District. Kerinci area Right water is difficult due to its location far from the water source and the soil is not safe to be drilled. Previous drilling efforts have been made for the wellbore, but from inside the soil emit a kind of gas odor so that drilling is stopped. The Local Government has built a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) located in Lubuk Dalam District to meet the needs of clean water in Lubuk Dalam District and Kerinci Kanan District. For water sources taken from Buatan River. Distribution pipes are still in progress and need testing in software or lab tests. This test aims to ensure that the water discharged can meet the needs of the community as planned.


Data processing system including acquisition, handling, and final analysis for magnetic tapes for computer program of tracking station data at Goddard Space Flight Center


PURPOSE: A pirate ship eradication system and method are provided to warn that a dangerous ship is generated by setting various determination elements for determining the features of a pirate ship and comparing the determination elements with the information of surrounding ships. CONSTITUTION: A pirate ship eradication system comprises a monitoring unit (100), an integrated management unit (200), and a dealing unit (300). The monitoring unit measures the position and movement information of a mother ship and surrounding ships existing within a specific range. The integrated management unit calculates the degree of risk based on the position and movement information of the mother ship and the surrounding ships and compares the degree of risk with a reference value to warn that a dangerous ship is generated. If son ships among the surrounding ships are detected, the sensitivity of the reference value is up-regulated. The dealing unit deals with the access of the dangerous ship using multiple dealing units. [Reference numerals] (10) Pirate ship eradication system; (100) Monitoring unit; (110) Radar module; (120) AIS module; (130) Location measuring module; (140) Ship's course measuring module; (150) Navigation module; (160) Navigation module; (170) Ship alarm module; (200) Integrated management unit; (300) Dealing unit; (310) Water cannon; (320) Water shutter; (330) Remote controller


This study aimed to propose a deep transfer learning framework for histopathological image analysis by using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with visualization schemes, and to evaluate its usage for automated and interpretable diagnosis of cervical cancer. First, in order to examine
 the potential of the transfer learning for classifying cervix histopathological images, we pre-trained three state-of-the-art CNN architectures on large-size natural image datasets and then fine-tuned them on small-size histopathological datasets. Second, we investigated the impact of three
 learning strategies on classification accuracy. Third, we visualized both the multiple-layer convolutional kernels of CNNs and the regions of interest so as to increase the clinical interpretability of the networks. Our method was evaluated on a database of 4993 cervical histological images
 (2503 benign and 2490 malignant). The experimental results demonstrated that our method achieved 95.88% sensitivity, 98.93% specificity, 97.42% accuracy, 94.81% Youden's index and 99.71% area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Our method can reduce the cognitive burden on pathologists
 for cervical disease classification and improve their diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. It may be potentially used in clinical routine for histopathological diagnosis of cervical cancer.


The newly prepared polyherbal formulations (Ointmen t a d Gel) were evaluated for their wound healing a ctivity in Excision and Incision wound models in rats. The wound-healing activity was assessed by the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialization and skin-b reaking strength . In Excision wound model the polyherbal Ointment treated group exhibit 100% reduction in wo und area on 20 th day when compared to standard Betadine Ointment and controls which was 98.55±0.40 % and 90 .10±0.75% and faster rate of epithelization (16.55 ± 0.54). In the incision wound model, there was a significant i ncrease in tensile strength (538.1± 2.6) was observ ed in ointment treated group. In all cases, there was a progressiv decrease in wound area with time, indicating an e fficacy of the formulations in healing the induced wounds. Our pre sent study reveals that the new polyherbal formulat ions posses potent wound healing activity, which could be a goo d choice of remedy for wound healing.


The concept of the Mediterranean as a flourishing world-economy in the long sixteenth century has been well established ever since Fernand Braudel's classic work, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II appeared in 1949. The view that the Mediterranean "waned" in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is equally largely agreed to by historians who have worked on the region. Faruk Tabak complains that the second period that of the waning has been treated almost entirely in an idiographic, segmented manner. "[T]he historical unity, physical and human, [of the Mediterranean] is considered to have collapsed with the rise of the Baltic and the Atlantic..." The holistic approach of Fernand Braudel has been as a consequence entirely ignored for this period. Tabak believes that this has been a serious error and he sets out to rectify it by treating the second period as holistically as Braudel did the first. This is an ambitious task. Tabak performs it very well indeed, in the course of which he demonstrates once again the strength of Braudel's geohistorical concepts -their ability to open up new vistas and new questions for analysis by historical social scientists. Tabak wishes to look at what he calls the "general trends and common destinies" of the Mediterranean during the long period 1550-1870. It


special interest because thyreoid substance was admiuistered for a time with a harmful effect, considerable weight being lost. It is most instructive to review this series. All the patients might well have been presented as Illustrations of varying grades of ~immonds's disease, yet it may be said with confidence that the correct diagnosis was anoreeia nercoea. Those who meet with emaciated patients with more or less profound metabolie concomitant effects will he wise to remember that proved Simmonds's disease is very uncommon. Auoreeia nercos«, on the other hand, is not very uncommon, and its prompt recognition should lead to an equally prompt assessment of the neurotic elements in the patient's life and history. Even laboratory findings, such as low basal metabolic rates, flat blood sugar curves, and clinical data, such as emaciation and moderate lu-adycardia. will not justify a "spot" diagnosis of ~immoJl(ls'H disease. Even the illusion involved in the apparent success of endocrine therapy should be discounted. as the first and second cases in this Heries show. Xatnrally the first duty of a physician in such eases is to try to satisfy himself that 110 organic lesion is eert'ainly pres~nt; hut he must not so swing to the more inechaniatic outlook on medicine as to fail to evaluate the nervous factors in this disease. which is so curious in type and HO difficult aud tardy of cure. The battle is probably partly won when it is realized that the malady is one of the spirit.


Safety critical number-entry tasks, such as programming syringe pumps, are common occurrences in healthcare settings. However, humans are prone to error and healthcare staff must often work in distracting and high stress environments. Previous work has developed a potential intervention that could reduce errors using a phenomenon called the Perceptual Interference Effect (PIE). In this paper, the numbers to be entered are presented in a hard-to-read form and experimental studies showed that this reduced the errors that people made. The aim of this paper is to investigate the robustness of this effect in the context of a distracting environment and therefore to begin to move towards investigating its efficacy in real-world settings. We report on an experiment, which uses auditory distractors alongside the PIE effect to investigate the effect on number-entry errors. The results are promising: the number of errors is significantly reduced by PIE and the rate of making errors is reduced though significance is marginal. Nonetheless, the results are suggestive that the PIE could work even in distracting circumstances though the isolation of this phenomenon in experimental studies is challenging. We explore the implications for future studies into this effect for eventual application in real-world contexts.


Two tri-component mixtures as base mixtures for vertically aligned mode LCD's were prepared. The eutectic compositions were theoretically estimated and experimentally verified from differential scanning calorimetry studies. A room temperature nematic mixture with fairly broad operating range emerged from each of the tri-component mixtures. The optical birefringence of these mixtures at the eutectic composition was measured as a function of temperature. X-ray diffraction measurements were done on these mixtures to obtain the orientational order parameters as a function of temperature. The order parameter values were also determined from birefringence measurements and the results were compared with mean field theory. Structural parameters like intermolecular distance and apparent molecular length have also been determined.


KEYWORD: PZT; Wind; Energy generation; Rotating excitation ABSTRACT: To meet the demands of rotating machine monitoring system for self-power, a novel PZT wind generator (PWG) was presented. The influence of magnetic force (number and configura- tion of the magnets) and wind speed on energy generation of the PWG was investigated experimen- tally. The research results show that there are several optimal wind speeds for the PWG to achieve peak voltages at speed range of 3 to 13m/s. The optimal wind speed value decreases, and the output voltage rising with the number of rotating magnets increasing under given number of magnets fixed on PZT. The optimal wind speed decreases and the relative voltage rises with the number of magnets fixed on PZT increasing under the given number of rotating magnets. Besides, when wind speed, number and configuration of the magnets meet an appropriate matching, the generating capacity can be improved obviously.


Successfully addressing global warming requires decisive actions and hinges on a?2?C-consistent reallocation of capital and financial flows. The implementation of adequate climate policies will be decisive to foster this process. The financial sector can play a complementary role to enhance the effectiveness of these policies, as the recognition of the risks and opportunities related to climate change contributes to this reallocation. Understanding the issues at play, the availability of data on the financial consequences of climate change as well as an appropriation of climate issues by the financial sector are key factors for risk management. Several policy measures have been implemented in this respect, particularly in France.


Acrylic resin used in water-borne coating is comp os ed of acrylic, methyl acrlic and styrene. The influential factors in synthesizin g acrylic resin are studied.


A sintered ferro alloy comprises 5 to 25 wt % of one or two elements selected from Mio and W, 2 to 10 wt % of Cr, 0.1 to 0.9 wt % of Si, less than or equal to 0.7 wt % of Mn, less than or equal to 0.05 wt % of P, 0.5 to 2.0 wt % of C, 0.5 to 2.0 wt % of B, 0.1 to 7.0 wt % of at least one element selected from borides of La, Ce, Nd, Sn, Eu, Gd, Yb, Y or Sc, residual Fe, and contaminants. Also the alloy may comprise less than or equal to 20 wt % of at least one element selected from V, Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, Hf, Co or Ni, if necessary. The alloy is produced by mixing the above mentioned components and pressuriz ing then in an Fe matrix, then sintering the pressurized mixture at 1150 C. to 1260 C. for 60 min. and reheating after sintering. This alloy has wear and heat resistance and can be utilized as valve seats for internal combus tion engines in automotive vehicles.


We construct an explicit counter-example of a holomorphic motion of a four-point subset of the Riemann sphere over a non-simply connected one-dimensional hyperbolic complex manifold such that it satisfies the zero winding number condition but is not fully extendable.


We report a 39-year-old man who had newly developed a postural headache followed by a progressive decline in his level of consciousness with behavioral changes. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and radioisotope cisternography revealed typical findings of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypovolemic syndrome combined with bilateral subdural hematoma and diencephalic compression. His headache and mental status improved after repeated epidural blood patches. Early detection of this rare complication and rapid treatment such as blood patches are very important in the treatment of these patients. J Korean Neurol Assoc 24(4):378-380, 2006


Purpose - This study explores the extent of Human Resources (HR) Reporting and the strategic positioning of Human Resources Management (HRM) in 10 corporations in Hong Kong. Design - Documentary analysis was conducted on 2007 annual reports and 2009 corporate websites of 10 listed companies. Senior corporate executives of the same organisations were then interviewed regarding their views on the need for HR reporting and the strategic positioning of HRM in their organisations. Findings - Findings from documentary analysis showed that HR reporting is underdeveloped in Hong Kong as compared with developed economies and these reported mainly on 'training and development'. Only a few HR managers were named as members of the senior management staff. Respondents revealed that this limited reporting reflects a low strategic positioning of HRM, indifferent attitudes of senior corporate executives towards HRM and doubts over the strategic competencies of some HR managers. HR reporting in Hong Kong was further hampered by the Chinese cultural characteristic of confrontation avoidance. Ironically, the interview respondents expressed a desire for more HR reporting and they expected HR disclosures to improve branding of the organisations, to increase share prices and to attract talent to the organisations. Limitation - This study is limited by the small sample of companies studied. Implications - There are structural and attitudinal barriers towards developing and implementing HR reporting programs; and giving a strategic direction to HRM. Originality - This is one of the few studies to combine the examination of corporate documents with interviews of senior corporate executives in Hong Kong regarding HR reporting and the strategic positioning of HRM.


Objectives: Many patients with massive hemorrhage, respiratory failure due to trauma admit the emergency department, and further that the experience can fall into shock, inducing to sepsis, multiple organ failure due to hyperinflammation or immunosuppression. In the these patients, the low oxygen flow with immunosuppression is believed to play a significant role. Hence, oxygen supply and medicines is essential in severe trauma patients. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of oxygen and variable medicines in hypoxic condition.

Methods: T cells and macrophages were plated into trans-well plate for co-culture for 30 minutes in hypoxia. After that, the cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) followed by variable medicines by normoxia or oxygen supply for 2 hrs and cells were inculated overnight under normoxic conditions. The T cell viability was measured by MTT, and the expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) were measured by western blots using the T cells with co-culture with inflammatory maccrophages. Also, the concentration of MIF was analyzed by ELISA.

Results: The T cells viability was decreased in hypoxia with LPS stimulation, however, pentoxifylline (PTX) effectively restored cell viability regardless of oxygen state (p < 0.05). Besides, PTX in oxygen supply status restored the decreases in IL-2 expression of T cells and the increases MIF in the LPS stimulation with hypoxia (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: PTX has more effectively restored the T cells immunosuppression in hypoxia during oxygen supply, and has an immunomodulation effect by controlling hyperinflammation.


The paper analyzes certain gender problems of the educational system in modern Russia. Some of these problems have existed for a long time and are now becoming more acute. Other ones have arisen only recently, as a consequence of socio-economic changes in the country in general and in the educational system in particular. The paper analyzes the dynamics of gender composition of students in different levels of education (both general and professional training). It is shown that recently the level of education of Russian women has surpassed that of men. In the near future this gap will only widen. It is shown that at all levels of professional education the percentage of female students is growing even in the traditionally "male" institutions. That creates a basis for a similar process to take place in the job market. The paper presents data demonstrating the further feminisation of the faculty in higher education institutions. The research is based on government statistics.


Islam teaches Muslims to practice non-food consumption based on Islamic teaching and values. Some Muslims have followed Islamic teaching in daily non-food consumption, while other Muslims have consumptive behavior in their daily consumption. This study, therefore, conducted a study within Muslim society in Palu city Indonesia to understand their non-food consumption pattern from an Islamic perspective. The objective of this study is to provide insight regarding Muslim consumption compliance with Islamic teaching. This study was carried out with a qualitative method, and the data were gathered through in-depth interviews with the local religious Muslim citizens and direct observation. The results of this study show that Muslim communities have followed Islamic teaching in their daily non-food consumption by prioritizing primer non-food needs. However, some Muslims also consumed excessive non-food things such as clothes due to being influenced by the trend in mode. Muslim scholars have played important roles in educating Muslim communities to practice consumption based on Islamic teaching. The limitation of this study is that we did not consider economic growth but we only focused on the appropriateness of non-food consumption according to Islamic law perspective. Further study may focus on Muslim community consumption by considering Islamic economic calculation.


Books on allergy and immunology are a real growth industry these days. In the last few years the number of such titles has increased enormously. Among the first overall review books on immunology were Glynn and Holborow on autoimmunity, and the textbook by Humphrey and White. Today it would be difficult for two authors to cover the whole subject of immunology in as comprehensive a fashion as those authors did. The multiauthor texts that are household names are Samter, Gell & Coombs, and Weir. These are now in their second or third editions, and are aimed at a specific audience. I greet a new multiauthor textbook with some trepidation, especially when the title states "principles and practice." Such a compendium tries to serve many purposes: (1) the student, either undergraduate or postgraduate, should be able to read and understand it. Thus each chapter should itself be a minitextbook starting with basic principles, and leading to general discussion with enough of the small print to make it complete and appetising; (2) the professional should be able to refer to a chapter for a "top-up" to make sure that nothing is forgotten for a lecture or seminar; and (3) each chapter should be an up-to-date review of the particular subject covered.