We present the results of experiments in which we investigate how the physical gamma maps onto the perceived gamma, and how the subjective quality of a printed image may be influenced by the grey scale mapping that is used to print the image. The grey scale is altered by changing the gamma, the exponent relating the input to the output luminance. Five natural images, widely different in content, have been printed with 16 different values of gamma. First the printer gamma is measured. In general, this gamma differs from 1. In the printer a gamma transform is performed as well. The selected gamma values are corrected using the directly gamma function. The aim of the first experiment is to find out what the relation is between physical gamma and perceived gamma. The stimulus response function derived from our data is found to be quite linear over the range investigated. The aim of the second experiment is to test the subjective preference for a particular gamma. We have found that these gammas are not independent of image content. The mean preference averaged over the subjects for the various images ranges form 1.6 to 2.2.


The invention relates to a method for large-scale preparation of pramiracetam. The method comprises the following steps of: carrying out a condensation reaction, dissolving and filtering, re-dissolving and extracting, refluxing, freezing and suction-filtering. The method provided by the invention has simple process operation, is safe and pollution-free. Moreover, the prepared pramiracetam has high yield, high purity, easily obtained materials, and low production cost, and is suitable for large-scale production of the enterprises.


Fibrosarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm of fibroblasts that rarely affects the oral cavity and can cause local recurrences or metastasis. Fibrosarcoma is uncommon in the head and neck region and constitutes about 1% of all the malignancies affecting the human race. Of all the fibrosarcomas occurring in humans, only 0.05% occurs in the head and neck region. Of this, almost 23% is seen in the oral cavity. In this article we describe an uncommon case of fibrosarcoma involving the posterior region of the upper jaw in a 37 year old female.


Records Committee review of six Greater Prairie-Chickens at Five Ridges Prairie in Plymouth County, IA on September 6, 1996. Includes a record review document with votes and a documentation form submitted to the committee.


The transport sector in Mexico is a very important part of its economy; by trucks is the most used transportation for moving goods overland. Carriers are increasingly required to provide quality services at the lowest prices because they are regarded as an essential part of the process logistics for companies who use them. Against this background, are forced to seek alternative strategies to enable them to improve their operating costs without sacrificing the quality of their services and establish a competitive advantage which gives a differentiator with its competitors. This study, proposes the establishment of a strategy to change the traditional pattern of operation, replacing the assignment of a truck to a driver in a particular, and instead rely on a trucks group and a group of drivers that allows any tractor can be used by any driver, minimizing or eliminating the problem of current shipments denied by unavailability of trucks. This lack of availability occurs when, in the traditional pattern of operation, a tractor is marked as in rest and can not be used, while his driver takes his allotted time compulsory leave after a shipment. The introduction of the proposed strategy will allow maximizing the use of their resources and increase their profits. This research presents the history of transportation in Mexico, its current status and statistics branch, as well as the general description of the operation of a typical Mexican carrier, and through it, will discuss the details of deploying the strategy and its financial effects, concluding on the feasibility of such implementation and tangible benefits to the company analyzed.


The rapid development of miniature electronics has accelerated the demand for simplified and scalable production of micro‐supercapacitors (MSCs); however, the preparation of active materials, patterning microelectrodes, and subsequent modular integration of the reported MSCs are normally separated and are involved in multiple complex steps. Herein, a one‐step, cost‐effective strategy for fast and scalable fabrication of patterned laser‐induced graphene (LIG) for all‐solid‐state planar integrated MSCs (LIG‐MSCs) with various form factors of designable shape, exceptional flexibility, performance uniformity, superior modularization, and high‐temperature stability is demonstrated. Notably, using the conductive and porous LIG patterns composed of randomly stacked graphene nanosheets simultaneously acting as both microelectrodes and interconnects, the resulting LIG‐MSCs represent typical electrical double capacitive behavior, having an impressive areal capacitance of 0.62 mF cm−2 and long‐term stability without capacitance degeneration after 10 000 cycles. Furthermore, LIG‐MSCs display exceptional mechanical flexibility and adjustable voltage and capacitance output through arbitrary arrangement of cells connected in series and in parallel, indicative of exceptional performance customization. Moreover, all‐solid‐state LIG‐MSCs working at ionogel electrolyte exhibit highly stable performance even at high temperature of 100 °C, with 90% capacitance retention over 3000 cycles, suggestive of outstanding reliability. Therefore, the LIG‐MSCs offer tremendous opportunities for miniature power source‐integrated microelectronics.


The invention relates to a sinusoidal phase modulation parallel complex frequency domain optical coherence tomography imaging system and a method. The method and the system are characterized in that on the basis of the parallel frequency domain optical coherence tomography imaging system and method, a reflective space sinusoidal phase modulation device is used for replacing a reference plane reflecting mirror of an interference reference arm, two-dimensional frequency domain interference fringes obtained on a two-dimensional photoelectric detector array are introduced into a space to be subjected to sinusoidal phase modulation, i.e. spatial carriers are introduced into the two-dimensional frequency domain interference fringes; and then, the two-dimensional frequency domain interference fringes containing the spatial carriers are subjected to spatial Fourier transform analysis, two-dimensional complex frequency domain interference fringes are obtained, and finally, the chromatographic profile of samples to be measured is obtained through the inverse Fourier transform in the optical frequency direction. The system and the method have the characteristics that the structure is simple, the imaging speed is high, the sensitivity on the motion blur is low, and the samples to be measured are always in a region with higher sensitivity. The chromatographic profile of samples to be measured can be obtained only through once exposure.


ABSTRACT: Anibal Perez-Linan is Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on democratization, the rule of law, political stability, and institutional performance among new democracies. He is currently researching the political conditions that preclude judicial independence in developing countries and the consequences of political radicalization for democratic survival. His publications include Presidential Impeachment and the New Political Instability in Latin America (2007); and, with Scott Mainwaring, the award-winning Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America: Emergence, Survival, and Fall (2013). He is Editor-in-chief of the Latin American Research Review, the scholarly journal of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and co-editor with Kellogg Institute Director, Paolo Carozza, of the Kellogg Series on Democracy and Development at the University of Notre Dame Press. This interview is divided into three main sections. The first section addresses current research and the challenges to judicial politics field of study. The second section targets Brazilian and Latin American politics focusing on the potential inter-branch crisis. Moreover, the last section summarizes practical suggestions for Brazilian researchers that want to publish in international journals, besides some inspiring reflections about the future of academic research in a global and tech-based society.


Security-oriented risk assessment tools are used to determine the impact of certain events on the security status of a network. Most existing approaches are generally limited to manual risk evaluations that are not suitable for real-time use. In this paper, we introduce an approach to network risk assessment that is novel in a number of ways. First of all, the risk level of a network is determined as the composition of the risks of individual hosts, providing a more precise, fine-grained model. Second, we use Hidden Markov models to represent the likelihood of transitions between security states. Third, we tightly integrate our risk assessment tool with an existing framework for distributed, large-scale intrusion detection, and we apply the results of the risk assessment to prioritize the alerts produced by the intrusion detection sensors. We also evaluate our approach on both simulated and real-world data.


(54) CLOSURE STRIPS FOR A SHEET OR A BAG, Publication Classification AND ARESULTING SHEET OR A BAG (51) Int. Cl. (75) Inventor: Henri Bois, Neuilly sur seine (FR) A44B 9/10 (2006.01) B65D 33/6 (2006.01) Correspondence Address: (52) U.S. Cl. ................................................. 24/400; 383/64 BLAKELY SOKOLOFFTAYLOR & ZAFMAN 124OO WILSHIRE BOULEVARD SEVENTH FLOOR (57) ABSTRACT LOS ANGELES, CA 90025-1030 (US)


The multilevel voltage source inverter utilization has been increased as an alternative to the normal two level voltage source inverter, especially in the area of high power, medium voltage application due to their ability to synthesize waveforms with better harmonic spectrum and faithful output. For the proper utilization of multilevel inverter topologies, suitable modulation technique is also needed for the best performance. In power electronics, pulse width modulation (PWM) is the best way to obtain the voltage and current waveforms under required conditions. There is no single PWM technique that is the best suited for all the application. With advances in solid state power electronic devices and some advanced controllers, varies PWM techniques have been developed for industrial application. Here, we presents advanced multicarrier PWM techniquesIn Phase Disposition, Phase Opposition Disposition and Alternate Phase Opposition Disposition for three phase system with Induction Motor as a load. Simulation is done using MATLAB ® Simulink. KeywordMultilevel Inverter, Multicarrier PWM Technique, In Phase Disposition, Phase Opposition Disposition, Alternate Phase Opposition Disposition


Objective: The aims of this study were to test the individual association of the 5-HTT, BDNF, and GABRA6 genes with anxiety-related traits and to explore putative GxG interactions in a healthy sample. Method: A sample of 937 individuals from the general population completed the TCI questionnaire; a subsample of 553 individuals also filled in a brief version of the NEO inventory. The whole sample was genotyped for the 5HTTLPR polymorphism (5-HTT gene), the Val66Met polymorphism (BDNF gene) and the T1521C polymorphism (GABRA6 gene). Results: Individuals carrying the TTgenotype of the T1512C polymorphism presented slightly higher scores for Harm Avoidance ( HA ) than C allele carriers (F=2.96, p=0.051). In addition, there was a significant GxG interaction on HA between the 5-HTTLPR and Val66Met polymorphisms (F=3.4, p=0.009). Conclusion: GABRA6 emerges as a putative gene may be involved in the variability of HA. The effect of a significant GxG interaction between the 5-HTT and BDNF genes on HA could explain part of the genetic basis underlying anxiety-related traits.


In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti‐inflammatory activity, antinociceptive activity and the action mechanism of Trachelospermi caulis extract. The anti‐inflammatory effects were investigated using arachidonic acid, 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol 13‐acetate or carrageenan‐induced oedema assays. Antinociceptive activity, using the acetic acid‐induced writhing model, was also tested in mice. The extract exhibited dose‐dependent and significant (P & 0.05 at 100–400 mg kg−1) anti‐inflammatory and antinociceptive activity in the animals. To further understand the mechanism of activity, we investigated whether the extract inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of TNF‐α from murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Similar to the in‐vivo activity, the iNOS expression, NO production and TNF‐α expression were found to be dose dependent and significantly suppressed by the extract through the inhibition of the p38 MAP kinase/NF‐κB pathway. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that T. caulis extract may be useful for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases.


Survey-based experimental methods are increasingly used in the social sciences to study, among others, attitudes, norms, and fairness judgments. One of these methods is the factorial survey experiment (FSE or vignette experiment) in which respondents are confronted with various descriptions of situations that differ in a discrete number of attributes (or factors), and they are asked to evaluate those situations according to criteria such as agreement, approval, and fairness. Due to the systematic experimental variation of the presented situations, an FSE can separate effects of single situational attributes, allowing the causal influence of relevant situational attributes to be determined. This is the key advantage over simple survey items. While most studies using FSEs are carried out in developed countries in which respondents are familiar with surveys, we add further evidence that this method can also unfold its power in a developing context. Building on previous applications of FSEs in Africa, we demonstrate the usefulness of this method in four novel studies on social norms regarding the physical punishment of children and the social approval of technology adoption in Benin as well as judgments of just earnings in Rwanda. We also test for the first time the applicability of multiple vignettes per respondents in a Global South/remote area context. The results of these studies are theoretically meaningful and the overwhelming majority of respondents discriminate between vignettes. This supports the validity of FSEs. However, conducting survey experiments in developing countries is different from similar experimental research in developed countries and, therefore, we also discuss some of these differences and corresponding challenges. Last but not least, our article shows, provided a few precautions are heeded, that FSEs could be used as a vehicle to innovate social science research in a Global South/remote area context.


Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability. — —William Osler (1849–1919)

In this edition of Circulation , Spirito and coworkers present a retrospective study of a large cohort of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which they compare the prognostic significance of neurally mediated (vasovagal) faints and unexplained syncope.1 Although neither symptom was significantly associated with sudden-death risk, subgroup analysis revealed that unexplained syncope was associated with a higher mortality in patients who had experienced their symptom within 6 months of their initial evaluation and in those aged <18 years. The authors conclude that recent unexplained syncope in all age groups "may justify consideration for prophylactic implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator." The challenge for clinicians is the translation of this message into everyday clinical management.

Article p 1703

Syncope can be a difficult symptom to evaluate because patients may be unable to recall or accurately report their symptoms, have comorbidities such as epilepsy and diabetes mellitus that confound interpretation, or have more than 1 reason to faint. Nevertheless, a systematic approach to clinical assessment often identifies a probable mechanism (Table 1).2,3 The first and most important step is a careful history. For example, syncope that occurs after prolonged standing in a hot crowded environment or during the postprandial absorptive state or that is associated with nausea and vomiting is suggestive of neurally mediated (reflex) syncope. In contrast, syncope during exertion or preceded by palpitation or chest pain is more suggestive …


*Colonel (Retired), Medical Service Corps, US Army Reserve; Associate Professor, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; formerly, Chief, Biodefense Epidemiology and Education & Training Programs, Division of Medicine, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick, Maryland. †Colonel (Retired), Medical Corps, US Army; Research Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1100 South Grand Boulevard, St Louis, Missouri 63104


In assembling 13 essays in "Terrorism and the International Business Environment," Gabriele Suder has very effectively compiled a broad overview of perspectives on current and future impacts of the globalization of terrorism on international business. Suder's intent is to develop guidelines in the economic and corporate sectors for adjusting to the growing threat of terrorism in a post-September 11th context. Since the long term implications of globalized terrorism for the international business community are instability, complexity and uncertainty, Suder encourages industry to redevelop methodologies of quantifying and mitigating the risk, transcending beyond traditional measures such as "country risk," and incorporate new metrics such as "geopolitical risk." Through this collection of essays, Suder succinctly outlines potential ramifications for all business sectors from terrorism as a global concern.


The biliary programme during this World Congress was both stimulating and varied and covered a whole range of topics in the form of symposia, update sessions, debates, videos, free papers and posters. The main topics discussed included surgical techniques ranging from bile duct resection to robotics, biliary tumours ranging from choledochol cysts to carcinoma, calculus disease of the biliary tract, inflammatory and infectious disorders involving the bile ducts and motility. Bile duct injuries were discussed in the forums of symposia, free papers and posters. With a reported incidence of 0.4–0.6%, J.-F. Gigot emphasized that the key to prevention of injury to the bile duct was to recognize the anatomy of the operating field. Gigot showed that 87% of bile duct injuries occurred during dissection of Calot's triangle and were largely due to misidentification of the common bile duct (CBD). For the management of bile duct injuries, D. Carlocke presented non-operative management using stents and in particular, using multiple stents. Carlocke demonstrated that in non-complex bile duct injuries, biliary stenting succeeded in almost all cases for the control of bile leaks. For complex bile duct injuries, timing and local expertise were important factors in determining the final outcome of these patients (D. J. Gouma, E. Santibañes). Of the oral presentations, A. Sultana (Liverpool) showed that associated vascular injuries occurred in one-third of iatrogenic bile duct injuries with the right hepatic artery most commonly injured. This occurred in the absence of any vascular anomalies. A retrospective review by M. A. Mercado (Mexico) of 204 cases of bile duct injuries concluded that preservation of the biliary confluence resulted in significantly better outcomes. Of the 10 poster presentations, F. Ahmad (Leicester) presented an algorithm for the management of bile leaks following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This protocol involved establishment of drainage, insertion of endoscopic stent and laparoscopic lavage in cases with peritonitis. A. M. Smith (Cleveland) posed the question of whether surveillance following definitive repair of bile duct injury was warranted. In this prospective surveillance study of 18 patients, 4 patients required stricture dilation. Of these four, only one presented with cholangitis, indicating that successful repair of bile duct injuries can occur in 90% of cases. The management of gallbladder cancer was presented in the form of videos, oral presentations and posters. Of note, was a video presentation involving central bisegmentectomy with bile duct resection for advanced gallbladder cancer. This complex dissection took 722 minutes with an estimated blood loss of 997 ml and good outcomes for the patient after 5 months (K. Kubota, Japan). Of the oral presentations,—K. M. Mullerpatan (India) presented preliminary data on six patients with locally advanced gallbladder cancers who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (gemcitabine+cisplatin). Following radical cholecystectomy, a 450% response was reported. A. Agarwal (India) reported a prospective cohort of patients with gallbladder cancer and biliary obstruction. The presence of biliary obstruction has generally been viewed as a sign of inoperability. However, in their cohort of patients, Agarwal et al. performed radical resection with curative intent. Of the seven patients reported, the longest survivor was 39 months, with two patients surviving 42 years. There were 13 posters on gallbladder cancers. Of note, Lee et al. (Korea) retrospectively analysed 62 gallbladder cancer specimens and reported that Cox-2 expression was related to gallbladder staging, i.e. depth of tumour invasion and lymph node involvement in a negative fashion. Freena et al. (Italy) evaluated their 8-year results for all gallbladder cancers operated with curative intent. Patients with localized disease had the best survival. The interesting and controversial topic of cholangiocarcinoma was presented at multiple forums including a symposium and update sessions, oral presentations and posters. On preoperative staging, W. Jarnagin discussed the challenges that have arisen from advancement in imaging techniques which have allowed better identification and definition of hilar structures. As such, preoperative clinical staging is useful in predicting resectability of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The treatment of choice for resectable disease includes aggressive radical resection, i.e. surgical resection of extrahepatic bile ducts, liver resection plus lymphadenectomy and when required en bloc portal vein resection to achieve negative histological margins (R0) (P. Neuhaus). Similarly, resection of hepatic artery may also be required (M. Miyazaki). On the role of chemoradiation, R. Adams presented level 3 data indicating anecdotal benefit of chemoradiation following surgical resection with margin involvement. The dismal prognosis of patients with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma was summarized by T. Todoraki. In his series of patients with microscopic margin involvement (R1), a survival benefit was demonstrated from integrated adjuvant radiotherapy where 5-year survival improved to 40%. There were 10 oral presentations including 6 from various units advocating the radical approach. All oral papers confirmed survival benefit from aggressive radical resection to achieve negative histological HPB, 2005; 7: 85–86


This article presents an overview of a wide range of measurement models currently available to the analyst who needs to make accurate and valid inferences about respondents and stimuli from data. First, a number of existing item response theory models are presented to highlight common features of current-day measurement models. This provides the starting point for a review of taxonomies and model investigations, most of which are from the area of latent variable modeling, with the purpose of discussing the advantages and limitations of their organizing principles. Then, with an appropriate definition of the term measurement model at hand, existing measurement models from a variety of theoretical frameworks are described from a model assembly perspective that starts at the item level. Building an item-level model is viewed as a feature-selection process based on substantive theory about the construct and theoretical nomological network, the type of data available, and desiderata of the structural and inferential properties of the model. At the next level, the process of item-set modeling to accommodate more complex model structures such as hierarchical models, longitudinal models, and models estimated as a Bayesian inferential network is described. The models reviewed in this article encompass models with and without predictor variables, models with observed and latent predictors, parametric and nonparametric models, and models for order-restricted inference. Attention is given to highlight relations between psychometric modeling and traditional statistical modeling within frameworks such as generalized linear models and structural equation modeling.


Although the relations between periodontal issues and other physical disease have been reported, significant relations among periodontal disease, malocclusion and orthodontic treatment have not been reported. However, orthodontic treatment creates pockets, causing gingival recession as well as bone loss. Especially, in adult orthodontic treatment we must consider the periodontal tissue. It has been considered that occlusal problem would not cause periodontal disease, but mesial inclined teeth tends to cause plaques to the mesial site, forming pockets, eventually leading the bone loss. We concluded that what we conduct orthodontic treatment, we must be careful of the periodontal tissues, in order to avoid the bone loss, attachment loss, or formation of periodontal pocket.


The structures and magnetic properties of Fe/Al multilayered thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering have been investigated. The crystal structures and magnetic properties of the films were found to depend on the thickness ratio of Fe and Al (=dFe/dAl). The lattice constant increases with decreasing dFe/dAl, because solid solutions of Fe and Al are formed in the interface layer. For the thickness ratio below 3. the lattice constant increases discontinuously and the saturation magnetization of iron layer decreases rapidly with decreasing dFe/dAl. In the region of the thickness ratio below 3, ordered structures such as Fe3Al seems to be formed resulting in the decrease of Hc and the increase of the resistivity with decreasing dFe/dAl in the film. In the condition of dFe=18A and dAl=6A, the magnetic properties of Hc=1 Oe, Ms=1200 emu/cc were obtained.


According to the International Finance Corporation-World Bank Group (2010), "agriculture is still the single most important economic sector and source of employment in emerging markets. Seventy percent of the world's poor live in rural areas. IFC has made agribusiness a priority because of its potential for broad development impact and especially strong role in poverty reduction". However, according to Manyukwe (2008), "Zimbabwe is losing US$650 million in potential farm export earnings due to a deepening shortage of power and key inputs, a Parliamentary committee reports". Moreover, given the scarcity of research into export planning among agribusiness firms in Zimbabwe, this paper presents the results of a study that was designed to identify whether planning and research were carried out by Zimbabwean agribusiness firms prior to exporting, the market entry strategies used by Zimbabwean agribusiness firms in exporting, and to identify managerial perceptions of exporting barriers.


There are no specific ways to prevent and cure human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection to date. We investigate the effect and mechanism of baicalein (BAI) and genistein (GEN) used as a drug to inhibit HCMV infection in human astrocyte(AS). RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression changes of viral IE1,IE2 genes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP) was used to detect the expression change of major immediate early promoter (MIEP). RT-qPCR results showed that compared with HCMV group, 20 μmol/L BAI+HCMV,HCMV+BAI group, and 10 μmol/L GEN+HCMV,HCMV+GEN group can down-regulate the IE1,IE2 genes expressions. ChIP results showed that compared with HCMV group, 20 μmol/L BAI+HCMV,HCMV+BAI group, and 10 μmol/L GEN+HCMV and HCMV+GEN group can reduce histone acetylation of MIEP. A certain concentration of BAI or GEN can inhibit the human astrocyte's IE1 and IE2 to some extent. The inhibiting mechanism may be that BAI and GEN can decrease the expression of IE1,IE2 genes and also inhibit histone acetylation of MIEP, thus decrease the expression of IE1,IE2 genes, which makes BAI and GEN inhibit viral proliferation.


A functional field effect transistor with self-organized In0.15Ga0.85As/GaAs quantum wires (QWRs) as a channel was achieved by molecular beam epitaxy on a (553)B GaAs substrate. Both the three-dimensional image of atomic force microscopy and the polarization of the photoluminance peaks reveal that the channel of the device is a self-organized QWR structure. The device with a gate length of 2 µm and a source-drain spacing of 5 µm performed a good enhancement-mode characteristic and a maximum transconductance of 65 mS/mm was obtained at the gate voltage of 1.0 V by the geometric gate width at room temperature. The saturated drain current is as high as 5.6 mA. The device exhibited a much larger current capacity due to the high density of the self-organized QWRs in its channel layer. In addition, the effective gate width was discussed in comparison with the geometric gate width of the device, from which a larger maximum transconductance of 130 mS/mm could be estimated.


This article is a review of lectures, that were relected at the scientific seminar of the current state of language and new directions in the development of linguistics.


The ability of sanctions to act as a deterrent has been a major subject of interest in international politics. Sanctions on sovereign states have failed to act as a deterrent in most cases, as cost of compliance have often overridden cost of non-compliance. The main objective of this study is to identify the role of transnational actors in shaping the various actors in the international system, identify what led to the imposition of sanctions, to know the nature of the EU sanctions, and examine its impact on both the Russian Federation and the EU. The Study also examines the initiatives Russia has embarked upon in response to the EU sanctions and restrictive measures. The qualitative method was used in this study with secondary data mostly being analyzed. The study established that the sanctions on Russia have not deterred Russia from supporting pro-Russian states of Donetsk and Luhansk, in what it refers to as a humanitarian mission, informed by core Russian foreign policy objectives. Some findings made are that the sanctions have augmented tensions between the west, the EU and the Baltic states. The study established that the sanction on the shale oil production was counterproductive, as it affected the EU far more than Russia. Furthermore, Russia still supplied to the EU on existing contracts with major energy companies within the period of assessment. The counter sanctions by Russia on some agricultural products also have affected the EU, since Russia is the largest importer of EU agricultural products. The researcher recommends, based on the findings of the study that the sanctions on shale oil production, and major petroleum companies like Gazprom must be lifted immediately as the cost of compliance by the sanctioned is far lesser than that of noncompliance. The sanctions have not led to compliance as the very purpose for which it was imposed, (annexation of Crimea and support of pro-Russian states) have not been reversed. In order for sanctions to be effective, trans-national actors must conduct a robust risk assessment before imposing restrictive measures. Where the cost of convergence is greater than divergence, the sanctions is most likely not going to act as a deterrent. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh


Sulcotrione and atrazine were determined by a sensitive RP-HPLC method with Hypersilod C18 200㎜×4.6㎜(id)colum,methanol-water-acetic acid(Vmethanol∶V water∶Vacetic acid=60∶40∶0.3) as mobile phase and UV detection at 254 nm.Average recoveries of sulcotrione and atrazine were 99.52% and 99.81%,coefficients of variation were 0.60% and 0.92%.The method was convenient and accurate.


Original Research Article Background: Osteonecrosis is a condition caused by a temporary or permanent loss of blood flow to the bone. Data regarding the incidence and prevalence of AVN hip in Indian scenario is not clear, studies which are of recent origin estimate the prevalence or presence of disease based on North Indian population as having more males involved than females without any clear picture regarding the prevalence in general population. Study was planned to get a clear picture in the hospital settings as to what can be the possible causes of AVN hip and treatment being given to such cases. Material and methods: Hospital based study on patients coming to the Orthopedics OPD of Dr. Hardas Singh Orthopedic hospital and superspeciality research centre was conducted from June 2018-June 2020. Data was collected for willing patients and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: 139 Males were affected mostly out of 158 patients, the common reasons behind the cause of AVN hip were Chronic diseases, Idiopathic reasons and Smoking. Treatment in form of Surgery was refused by 43 individuals while 115 patients were upon and core decompression, vascularized fibular bone graft and total hip replacement was the commonest option given. Conclusion: More research is needed on this topic and patient education is needed to make them seek early medical care.


Aquaculture production and invasive species are intricately linked. Invasives enter waterways threatening production, increasing costs, and diminishing grower returns. Live plants and animals introduced for economic production escape their confines and establish in the wild. This paper provides an overview of the dominant issues illustrated with cases from around the world.


The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS or the Convention) is one of the most important accomplishments in the development of international law in the twentieth century. As a comprehensive compilation of the modern law of the sea, the UNCLOS not only codifies numerous customary rules of law of the sea, but also progressively develops the treaty rules of law of the sea. Especially the three bodies established by the UNCLOS, namely the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), have played an important role in facilitating the implementation of the UNCLOS and promoting stability and development of the international marine order. As a member of the big family of the States Parties to the UNCLOS, China has been faithfully fulfilling the obligations of the UNCLOS, fully engaged in the work of the three bodies and actively contributing its solutions and wisdom. In the process of implementing the UNCLOS, China has formed its own practices and policies.


In Railway stations normally used  foot over bridges to go to the other platforms. Sometimes it is very difficult for the elderly persons or physically handicapped persons to use that bridge. The project designed here finds a solution to this problem. In this paper demonstrates two individual functions to go from one platform to the other easily in the railway stations. One among the two functions is the multi functional elevator and the other is the moving platform. Both of these are intended to minimize the efforts of crossing the railway track with luggage through the foot over bridges in the railway stations. Both the operations designed  are independent and automated.


The synthesis as well as the electrochemical properties study of niobium-doped TiO2 (NTO) with mesoporosity and high surface area is presented. The mesoporous NTO was prepared using a novel poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) amphiphilic diblock copolymer as a template and simple titanium reagents (TiCl4 and Nb(OC2H5)5) by a polymer-assisted sol−gel process. The samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (including high-resolution imaging-HRTEM), and the Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET). All samples are highly crystalline and have pore-solid architectures after removal of the polymer template by calcination. The resulting mesoporous NTO shows a high porosity of 46% and a high surface area of 128 m2/g, respectively. The as-prepared samples were used as positive electrode materials for lithium-...


Pyridine-2,3-diol can be satisfactorily used as an indicator in the chelatometric determination of iron(III) over the pH range of 1 to 4, the end-point being sharp and distinct. The indicator is effective in the presence of common bivalent metal ions. Interferences from some quadrivalent, tervalent and bivalent metal ions have been prevented by using masking agents, but oxalate and thiocyanate seriously interfere. Borate, tartrate and citrate do not interfere. However, the presence of a large excess of acetate ions must be avoided.


Market segmentation is a key concept in marketing research. Identification of consumer segments helps in setting up and improving a marketing strategy. Hence, the need is to improve existing methods and to develop new segmentation methods. We introduce two new consumer indicators that can be used as segmentation basis in two-stage methods, the forces and the dfbetas. Both bases express a subject's effect on the aggregate estimates of the parameters in a conditional logit model. Further, individual-level estimates, obtained by either estimating a conditional logit model for each individual separately with maximum likelihood or by hierarchical Bayes (HB) estimation of a mixed logit choice model, and the respondents' raw choices are also used as segmentation basis. In the second stage of the methods the bases are classified into segments with cluster analysis or latent class models. All methods are applied to choice data because of the increasing popularity of choice experiments to analyze choice behavior. To verify whether two-stage segmentation methods can compete with a one-stage approach, a latent class choice model is estimated as well. A simulation study reveals the superiority of the two-stage method that clusters the HB estimates and the one-stage latent class choice model. Additionally, very good results are obtained for two-stage latent class cluster analysis of the choices as well as for the two-stage methods clustering the forces, the dfbetas and the choices.


The transport system comprises a skid frame (1-5) and is particularly for car transport through assembly line, test, and other processing stations, remaining with the car in the respective station during each operation. The flat plane enclosed by the frame contains only four supports (10-13), pref. on the inside of the longitudinal members (2,3), protruding inwards to accommodate the car wheels.


The public health management system (PHMS) becomes the bottleneck of the development of public health, which is the basis to design a set of information system in accord with Chinese universal health or health insurance, it adopts SDO/SCA/BPEL techniques of SOA system to connect all the modules seamlessly, and releases to the outside through a Web service. The design of the system is advanced technology, flexible, easy to expand, practical, safe and reliable. This paper provides a solution to the applying of SOA frame in large scales service system, through analysis and design of public health management system.


Spend your few moment to read a book even only few pages. Reading book is not obligation and force for everybody. When you don't want to read, you can get punishment from the publisher. Read a book becomes a choice of your different characteristics. Many people with reading habit will always be enjoyable to read, or on the contrary. For some reasons, this psychology and law in a changing world new trends in theory practice and research tends to be the representative book in this website.


ABSTRACT We have investigated the pressure dependence of the structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of the ternary AlXY3 (X = B, C) compounds through the ab initio pseudopotential plane wave method within the general gradient approximation developed especially for solids. The optimized lattice parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical counterparts. Analysis of the monocrystalline elastic constants predicted through the strain–stress technique shows that the studied materials are mechanically stable with strong elastic anisotropy. The calculated polycrystalline moduli highlight that the title compounds exhibit a moderate resistant to external deformations, AlBC3 is in the border between ductility and brittleness and AlCY3 is brittle. The quasi-harmonic Debye model was used to explore the temperature and pressure dependencies of the lattice parameter, bulk modulus, isochore and isobar heat capacities, volume thermal expansion coefficient and Debye temperature.


Ni–silica composites have been prepared by reacting the
zerovalent nickel complex bis(cyclooctadiene)nickel(0),
Ni(cod)2, with triethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane,
and tetraethoxysilane mixtures engaged in the gelling process. Nickel particles
have been produced within the silica matrix at low temperature. Samples were
prepared, changing the ratio between the silica precursors, the metal load,
and the synthesis conditions. XRD, FTIR, TGA and N2 adsorption
data suggest the mechanism for the production of nickel particles is based
on hydrosilylation of the Si–H moiety of triethoxysilane and Ni(0)-coordinated
olefin, ensuring extreme dispersion of the reduced metal. The effect of thermal
treatment on the silica matrix and metal dispersion has been studied; in case
of triethoxysilane-derived matrices, the average size of the Ni particles
is slightly modified by the pyrolysis process, carried out under argon up
to 1000 °C. The features of the silica matrix are affected by the
Ni dispersion, which changes the Si–O–Si bonding population, the
surface area, the porosity and the pyrolysis behavior of the silsesquioxane
gel.


Developing communication skills in collaborative contexts is of special interest for educational institutions, since these skills are crucial to forming competent professionals for today's world. New and accessible technologies open a way to analyze collaborative activities in face-to-face and non-face-to-face situations, where collaboration and student attitudes are difficult to measure using traditional methods. In this context, Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA) appear as an alternative to complement the evaluation and feedback of core skills. We present a MMLA platform to support collaboration assessment based on the capture and classification of non-verbal communication interactions. The developed platform integrates hardware and software, including machine learning techniques, to detect spoken interactions and body postures from video and audio recordings. The captured data is presented in a set of visualizations, designed to help teachers to obtain insights about the collaboration of a team. We performed a case study to explore if the visualizations were useful to represent different behavioral indicators of collaboration in different teamwork situations: a collaborative situation and a competitive situation. We discussed the results of the case study in a focus group with three teachers, to get insights in the usefulness of our proposal. The results show that the measurements and visualizations are helpful to understand differences in collaboration, confirming the feasibility the MMLA approach for assessing and providing collaboration insights based on non-verbal communication.


Sheep arachnoid granulations were examined to determine the morphologic changes induced by varying pressure differences between the subarachnoid space and the superior sagittal sinus. With the superior sagittal sinus pressure maintained at zero, increasing subarachnoid space pressures caused increasing distention of the arachnoid granulations. Granulations fixed in the distended state by combined subarachnoid and arterial perfusion of aldehydes remained distended even when the gradient was reduced to zero. Electron microscopic studies showed that as the pressure difference was increased (1) neighboring endothelial cell overlappings were shorter and the intercellular spaces were irregularly widened, (2) the endothelial-lined tubules became distended, (3) the endothelial cells showed increased pinocytotic activity, and (4) the stromal cellular and extracellular components were more separated.


A variable gas pressure regulator comprises a throttling valve regulating the fluid flow between a high-pressure fluid inlet and a regulated space fluidly connected to a fluid outlet, a high-pressure solenoid commanded to control fluid flow between the fluid inlet and a control space and a low-pressure solenoid commanded to control fluid flow between the control space and the regulated space. The regulator achieves a variable pressure at the regulator outlet by commanding the two solenoids to control the pressure in the control space relative to the regulated space. The regulator further comprises a lock-off valve which is controlled by the action of the low-pressure solenoid and of the high- pressure solenoid based on the relative pressure difference between the control space and the regulated space. The lock-off valve seals the passage between the fluid inlet and the regulated space.


Purpose of reviewSurvival of critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury is still low. The aim of this review is to describe recent scientific evidence on renal replacement therapy (RRT) and its potential implications for future research and clinical practice. Recent findingsTiming, dose and special indications of RRT will be described: recent literature provided new answers and new controversies about these three topics. SummarySpecific research on RRT timing will be mandatory in the next few years: a standard definition of timing will certainly help to shed new light on how to improve RRT patients' outcome. Dialytic dose of continuous RRT has been recently and definitely standardized to 20–25 ml/kg per hour (dialysis or hemofiltration), however, application to clinical practice still needs to be improved and new evidence on net ultrafiltration prescription showed that fluid balance may be as important as blood purification in critically ill patients with renal dysfunction. Special settings such as septic RRT, pediatric RRT, and RRT during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation recently achieved important results and new applications in clinical practice with important consequences for technical improvement and future care of these patients.


The interaction of high-velocity neutron stars with the interstellar medium produces bow shock nebulae, in which the relativistic neutron star wind is confined by ram pressure. We present multiwavelength observations of the Guitar Nebula, including narrowband Hα imaging with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2, which resolves the head of the bow shock. The HST observations are used to fit for the inclination of the pulsar velocity vector to the line of sight and to determine the combination of spin-down energy loss, velocity, and ambient density that sets the scale of the bow shock. We find that the velocity vector is most likely in the plane of the sky. We use the Guitar Nebula and other observed neutron star bow shocks to test scaling laws for their size and Hα emission, discuss their prevalence, and present criteria for their detectability in targeted searches. The set of Hα bow shocks shows remarkable consistency, in spite of the expected variation in ambient densities and orientations. Together, they support the assumption that a pulsar's spin-down energy losses are carried away by a relativistic wind that is indistinguishable from being isotropic. Comparison of Hα bow shocks with X-ray and nonthermal radio-synchrotron bow shocks produced by neutron stars indicates that the overall shape and scaling is consistent with the same physics. It also appears that nonthermal radio emission and Hα emission are mutually exclusive in the known objects and perhaps in all objects.


A laboratory scale chlorination of Egyptian monazite sand concentrate was carried out at 900 deg C in a horizontal tube furnace, and the variables affecting the condensation and purity of the thorium chloride produced were studied. In 30 minutes, 97.8% of the monazite content was attacked. The thorium chloride condensed in the first collector at the first adjustment (850 to 375 deg C) was contaminated with 3.7% of the chlorides of uranium, iron, and phosphorus. By using the second adjustment (850 to 475 deg C) it was possible to get thorium chloride of 99.2% purity free from uranium chloride. The purity of the rare earth chlorides obtained decreased by decreasing the purity of monazite concentrate as the chlorides of calcium and magnesium are nonvolatile at the chlorinating temperature. On the other hand the degree of purity of the thorium chloride collected was very slightly affected. (P.C.H.)


Background: Allergic rhinitis is the most prevalent of allergic diseases in the world. Pharmacotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment.  Nasal corticosteroids being the most applicable drugs for its treatment. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of fluticasone propionate (FP) and mometasone furoate (MF) nasal sprays in the treatment of allergic rhinitis based on total nasal symptom score (TNSS) questionnaire. Methods: A prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, comparative study was conducted among 80 allergic rhinitis patients fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were randomly assigned to two groups: FP and MF groups. FP group received 200 µg dose of FP nasal spray (1 spray/nostril) daily and the MF group received 100 µg dose of MF nasal spray (1 spray/nostril) daily for 8 weeks. The effects of the two agents were compared based on TNSS questionnaire in 0, 4 and 8 weeks after the beginning of the treatment. Results: At the end of eight weeks of treatment, both groups showed statistically significant (p<0.005) improvements from their baseline TNSS. Mean TNSS was reduced from to 9.46 to 2.716 in FP group and from 10.18 to 2.504 in MF group. Conclusions: Both the groups showed a significant therapeutic benefit in patients with allergic rhinitis. Even though, the difference between the two is not significant for 8 weeks therapy.


Robotized filament winding is a technology to deposit a roving on a die according to a planned robot trajectory and to polymerize the wound part in a furnace for thermoset resin matrix. In this way, it is possible to wind asymmetric or complex parts. The winding trajectory is a critical aspect of the robotized filament winding process, since the mechanical performances and the winding time of the manufactured composite part change according to winding trajectory geometry. The present work discusses original criteria for the determination of a proper winding system trajectory and its influence on the winding time. This work studies the influence of the geometric parameters, that characterize the trajectory covered by the deposition system to wind the roving on the die, on winding time. The obtained results may help to identify the values of the geometric parameters that minimize the winding time and, at the same time, that keep constant the winding tension in order to assure an acceptable quality of composite parts. This work represents the first step to optimize the planning of the winding trajectory.


Smooth muscle contraction is modulated by three pathways: the amount of free [Ca2+]i; Ca2+ sensitivity; and, the regulation of intracellular filaments comprising the contractile machinery. Recently, a new dimension has emerged to play a role in airway smooth muscle function, namely the scaffolding protein family A‐kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) that bind cAMP effector PKA and other proteins to specific cellular compartments. Here we studied the role of AKAPs in maintaining the contractile phenotype of the airway smooth muscle. Treatment with AKAP‐PKA interaction inhibitor st‐Ht31 (50 μM) for 96 h caused an increase in abundance of the contractile proteins α‐smooth muscle actin (αSMA) (283% of basal) and calponin (159% of basal) in immortalized human tracheal smooth muscle cells, without an increase in mRNA expression or stability. To understand potential underlying mechanisms for this response, after 72 h incubation with st‐Ht31, we treated cells (24 h) with the mRNA transcription inhibitor, actinomycin D (1 μg/mL): this decreased abundance of both proteins in absence and presence of st‐Ht31 (~50 αSMA, ~70% calponin). Nonetheless, st‐Ht31 still induced higher protein levels compared to untreated control cultures (~35% αSMA, ~80% calponin). Inhibition of protein synthesis using cycloheximide (5 μg/mL) had no effect on the expression αSMA, however it did increase the expression of calponin under both control and st‐Ht31‐treatment conditions (~200%), suggesting that αSMA is a rather stable protein and that calponin degradation requires de novo synthesis of an unknown protein. Lysosomal inhibition using chloroquine (50 μM) did not affect either protein. Inhibition of the proteasome with MG‐132 (5 μM) reversed st‐Ht31‐induced increase of αSMA (102% of basal), without affecting the st‐Ht31 induced increase of calponin (210% of basal), revealing that st‐Ht31‐induced increase in αSMA requires proteasomal degradation of an unknown protein. Functionally, incubation of human tracheal smooth muscle strips with st‐Ht31 for 96 h increased both the abundance of contractile proteins and the contractile response to methacholine. These data implicate that AKAPs regulate the maintenance of contractile smooth muscle, probably by post‐translationally controlling levels of contractile proteins.


In this paper, we propose the holographic reconstruction by overlapped pattern from the images that captured by Integral Image (II) method with some image processing. An elemental image array of 3D object is pick-upped by II method and modified to a sub-image array. Then each elemental hologram pattern is generated by each sub-image with computational technique then overlapped like uniform ratio. Finally, the overlapped hologram pattern is reconstructed using the reference wave which is used to the hologram generation process. In this simulation, the characters of 'KW' with different depth are used as 3D objects and pick-upped and processed using II method. Then processed image is successfully reconstructed using hologram technique.


Element free Galerkin method (EFGM) is hard to handle the boundary and interface conditions. The paper treated these conditions by using visibility criterion and an alterative Lagrange multipliers technique. This proposed method avoids using interpolation basis function comparing the traditional Lagrange multipliers method, and is more comfortable to deal with complex boundary condition or three-dimensional issue. We applied the scheme to the analysis of 2D and 3D static electromagnetic model with inhomogeneous medium. It validates the proposed model against benchmarked FEMs. This paper demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed method by applying it to a range of problems.


The SS Yongala is believed to have sunk in cyclonic conditions experienced on 23 and 24 March 1911. Until this time no material evidence existed to contradict or confirm this theory. In December 1997, two items were recovered from the Yongala shipwreck by a member of the Museum of Tropical Queensland maritime archaeology staff before they could be pilfered. Recent conservation work has allowed for the positive identification of both items as a Kelvin and James White Company chronometer and a ship's clock. With archaeological evidence preserved on the chronometer and clock's face by a combination of concretion and corrosion product, and based further on technical and historical research, two hypotheses for the sinking are put forward by the authors.


The concept of state and private partnership contributes to the conditions of mutual interest of the state and business including the sphere of education. The article considers the conditions and different aspects of production enterprises' participation in staff training at the level of secondary vocational education in the framework of state and private partnership


Pressure intensifies on a strategy consulting team as they deliver a critical project, and the team manager faces a dilemma about her changing role on the team. Although she had been the key decision-maker in the early weeks of the project, Julia Narino now finds that her team increasingly discounts her deep client expertise while deferring to the senior partner's more generalized contributions. Trouble arises because the client expects the team to deliver a highly customized solution that absolutely requires Julia's expertise. This case presents an opportunity for students to analyze two prevailing aspects of organizational life: working in teams and working under pressure. This case also offers a platform for instructors to introduce the concept of threat rigidity to the class and explore some of the team behaviors that result from this condition.


This explorative study contributes to the theoretical debate on political incivility beyond the domination of Western-centric approaches while connecting the bodies of literature in political philosophy and media research. It offers empirical evidence of Bolsonaro's delegitimizing criticisms and uncivil expressions toward the press, some specific news outlets, and individual journalists during the first two years of his presidential mandate in Brazil. It concludes that Bolsonaro displayed the complete repertoire of the defining elements of political incivility in liberal democracies vis à vis the delegitimization of the press. He also unprecedently pushed the limits of civility in political discourse by employing the entire arsenal of verbal manifestations of impoliteness.


The study of the mechanisms controlling organ size during development and regeneration is critical to understanding how complex life arises from cooperating single cells. Long bones are powerful models in this regard, as their size depends on a scaffold made from another tissue (cartilage, composed of chondrocytes), and both tissues interact during the growth period. Investigating long bone growth offers a valuable window into the processes that integrate internal and external cues to yield finely controlled size of organs. Within the cellular and molecular pathways that control bone growth, the regulation of stem‐cell renewal, along with amplification and differentiation of their progeny, are key to understanding normal and perturbed long‐bone development. The phenomenon of "catch‐up" growth–where cellular hyperproliferation occurs following injury to restore a normal growth trajectory–reveals key aspects of this regulation, such as the fact that bone growth is target‐seeking. The control mechanisms that lead to this behavior are either bottom‐up or top‐down, and the interaction between these modes is likely critical to achieve a highly nuanced, yet flexible, degree of control. The role of cartilage‐intrinsic mechanisms has been well studied, establishing a very solid groundwork for this field. However, addressing the unanswered questions of bone growth arguably requires new hypotheses and approaches. Future research could for example address to what extent extrinsic signals and cells, as well as communication with other tissues, modulate intra‐limb and inter‐organ growth coordination.


The writer has compiled a table of altitudes and azimuths for the star Rigil Kent using as argument astrograph times, which are tabulated at four-minute intervals. The tables have been compiled for latitudes S. 35° to S. 39° but could, of course, be extended to all latitudes and for any star. In this note they will be referred to as the Astrograph-time Star Tables.


Central American species of Castilleja" in which 54 species are recognized, I7 being new to science. A clear and concise key precedes the enumeration and description of species; the same author (ibid. 603-608) describes I2 new species of Mexican flowering plants belonging to different genera.-B. L. ROBINSON (ibid. 592-596) in a "Revision of the genus Rumfordia" records six known species, of which two are here described for the first time, and (ibid. 6I3-626) under the title "Diagnoses and transfers of tropical American phanerogams" publishes 20 new species and three new varieties, and makes several new combinations.-H. H. BARTLETT (ibid. 597-602) gives a "Synopsis of the American species of Litsea," recognizing iI species, 5 of which are new, and (ibid. 609-6I2) under "Notes on Mexican and Central American alders" describes one new species and three new varieties; the same author (ibid., 627-637) has published I4 new species and varieties of flowering plants chiefly from Mexico, and proposes one new genus (Basistelina) of the Asclepiadaceae. J. R. JOHNSTON has recently issued, as Contribution no. 37 of the above series, a "Flora of the islands of Margarita and Coche, Venezuela," based chiefly on his own observations and collections made on the islands during two expeditions, one in i90i, the other in I903. A brief historical sketch of the botany of the islands, an account of the physical features, a catalogue of the species, a list of the economic and medicinal plants, the distribution of species, the composition and relationship of the flora are the main topics presented, to which is added a bibliography of all works that relate directly to the vegetation of the islands. Approximately 650 species are known from Margarita and Coche at the present time; and the author estimates that this number represents about three-fourths of the entire flora. Forty-two species and two new genera have been discovered on Margarita during the course of Mr. JOHNSTON'S preparation of the present publication. The relationship of the flora, as would be expected, is with the mainland. The work forms an excellent basis for future investigations on the flora of the islands; it is, moreover, of particular scientific value since the plants on which the catalogue of species is based are deposited in several of the larger herbaria of Europe and America.-J. M. GREENIJAN.


Abstract Removal of a parotid duct calculus using a Dormia basket is described and the literature reviewed. To our knowledge, this procedure has not previously been reported.


In vascular plants, the apical meristem of the shoot normally represents a continuation of growth in the apical meristem of the embryo itself. This is not the case in Arceuthobium. Here the shoot apex of the embryo is rudimentary and eventually dies after infection of the host occurs. The inflorescence of Arceuthobium is, therefore, an adventitious structure originating in the endophytic system rather than from the shoot apex of the seedling. Inflorescence buds arise in either of 2 ways. In some species (A. douglasii and A. americanum), buds first appear as small meristematic protuberances on the outer surface of cortical strands. In other species (A. campylopodum), the buds arise at the ends of short branches. The former, or diffuse, type gives rise to inflorescences along the entire surface of the host branch; in the latter, or condensed, type infloreseences are formed in clusters. Early ontogenv of the inflorescence apex of both types is described. Studies of subseqtient growth of the inflorescence apex show 5 well-defined plastochronic stages: (1) maximal area stage; (2) minimal area stage; (3) early post-minimal stage; (4) late post-minimal stage; and (5) pre-maximal stage. THE DWARF nmistletoe plant consists of 2 morphologically distinct parts: an extensive haustorial system within the host, and an aerial portion (the inflorescence) of spike-like cymes which bear either staminate or pistillate flowers. Whereas the anatoin-y of the haustorial system of several species of dwarf mistletoes has already been described in considerable detail (Solms-Laubach, 1867; Heinricher, 1923; Thoday and Johnson, 1930; Cohen, 1954; Kuijt, 1960; Srivastava and Esau, 1961; and others), details of inflorescence development are fragmentary and imperfectly known (Thoday and Johnson. 1930; Cohen, 1954; Kuijt, 1960). In vascular plants, the shoot apical meristem normally represents a continuation of growth in the apical meristem of the embryo itself. This is not the case in Arceuthobiurn. Here the shoot apex of the embryo is rudinmentary; it eventually dies and decays along with the remaining external portion of the seedling after the host is infected (Cohen, 1963b). The inflorescence in Arceuthobium is therefore an adventitious structure which originates in the endophytic system located within the host plant rather than from the shoot apex of the seedling. The present investigation was designed to study inflorescence initiation and development and to provide bases for comparing inflorescence development in Arceuthobium with that of several nonparasitic angiosperms. From this study, it is concluded that the aerial portion of the plant (the inflorescence) has evolved along evolutionary lines similar to those of angiosperms with an autotrophic mode of nutrition. The materials and methods employed in this study are essentially I Received for publication August 7, 1964. the same as those cited in previous papers in this series (Cohen, 1963a,b). INITIATION OF THE INFLORESCENCE-Buds which give rise to inflorescences (the aerial shoots) are formed in the peripheral region of the endophytic system (Thoday and Johnson, 1930; Cohen, 1954). They first appear either as small meristematic protuberances on the outer surface of cortical strands or at the ends of short branches. In some species of Arceuthobium, buds are distributed along the entire length of the strand; in other species, the buds are localized in clusters which are joined at their bases in a large cortical plexus. The endophytic system of A. douglasii Engelm. and A. americanum Nutt. ex Engelnm. are examples of the diffuse type. Penetration of new host tissue by these mistletoes is lengthwise and growth of the endophytic system keeps pace with that of the apices of the host. Kuijt (1960) refers to this type of endophytic growth as being isophasic (in contrast to the anisophasic growth shown by the condensed type). The systemiiic infection in the diffuse type is extensive but the resulting hypertrophy is not pronounced externally. New buds are formed acropetally, and it is possible by means of serial sections to obtain a complete series of developmental stages. In studying my material, 2 difficulties were encountered: the first was to distinguish some of the earliest bud prinmordial stages from contiguous cortical strand tissue; the second involved finding properly oriented older buds still embedded within the cortex of the host. Sectioning of perfectly oriented bud material was, therefore, a matter of chance. In the condensed system, represented by A. campylopodum Engelm., clusters of buds are formed radiating from a major center of infection


The purpose of this study is to explore the performance in Chess and in Mathematics of the college players in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Specif-ically, it aimed to determine the respondents' mathematics and chess per-formances, their playing styles and their beliefs regarding chess players and mathematicians. The descriptive correlational research design was utilized in this study and the data gathered by the researcher were tallied and tabulated using frequency, percentage, mean and Pearson's r. Furthermore, open-ended questions were used to solicit remarks/comments from the respondents regarding the role of chess in enhancing their thinking skills. It was found out that the general weighted average (GWA) in Mathematics of the respondents was above average. Most of them are barangay/school level champions. Males are tactician type of players while females are positional players. A respondent who performed better in higher chess competition also performed better or obtained higher GWA in Mathematics. Furthermore, the respondents believed that a chess player can be a good mathematician especially if they start playing early in life and if chess was a part of the school curriculum since playing chess continuously has helped them in developing and improving their problem solving and critical thinking skills.


This study was to identify the long term determinant factors of inbound tourism by airline. It also examined the determinant factors' recursive effects. Using quarterly time series data(1999-2009) of air inbound visitors from China, Japan and USA to Korea, VAR model and consequential impulse response function were tested to examine the relative importance of the determinants and their durability. Contrary to the previous literature, foreign exchange rate was not a significant determinant factor of the demand. In contrast, the income level of China and Japan, which were measured by each country's GDP, significantly and substantially influenced on the demand in the two lag terms. Even tough, all the other macro variables were found to be influential on the demand with three and four lag terms, they were not substantial and disappeared after nine lag terms. Results also showed a significant and substantial variation in the size of coefficients and in the length of durability among the three countries as to the determinants' impacts on tourism demand. These results strongly suggest that idiosyncratic response may be pertinent to the variation of inbound tourism demand.


When wood irradiated by  ̄(60)Co γ radiation,the valance of its polymer would break and freeradicals are induced.According to ESR observation result from free radicals of 21 tree species inFujian province,the intensity of the free radicals of major spectrum increase expontially as the ra-diation dose increase,and finaly it will go to the saturated state. The decaycoefficient α_a is related to the tree species,but it is less than 1.In conclusion the wood free radi-cals has great intensity and stability as well as value of use.


The interfacial characteristics and electrical properties of as-deposited and annealed Al2O3 gate dielectric films fabricated on fully depleted SiGe on insulator are investigated. The surface morphology of the gate dielectric is observed by atomic force microscopy, and its physical thickness and structure are determined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Assessment of the energy shifts of the interfacial components observed by high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that oxidation of Ge occurs readily at the growth temperature, leading to a mixture of Si and Ge oxides at the Al2O3∕SiGe interface. After annealing, the relative intensity of GeOx diminishes significantly, whereas the relative intensity of the Si suboxides or SiO2 increases, and especially, the formation of silicate is observed. The chemical state changes in the interfacial layer affect the flatband voltage (Vfb) and the density of the interfacial states.


that it is to be "appropriate" for the clerical position he is in, and the two factors that make it possible to determine this "appropriateness" more precisely, namely: taking into account the nature of the tasks entrusted and the adjustment of the cost of remuneration to the circumstances of place and time.


Oxidation of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) was carried out over niobium pentoxide catalysts with aqueous hydrogen peroxide to obtain monoand di-epoxides. Niobium pentoxide treated with hydrogen peroxide was found to demonstrate superior performance when compared to the other catalyst. At an optimum temperature 50 °C in acetonitrile, the DCPD conversion was 99%, while selectivity for 1,2-epoxy was 22%, 8,9-epoxy 22%, and di-epoxy 48%. The catalysts were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Based on the catalytic and characterisation results, it was postulated that hydroxo/peroxo species had formed after treatment with hydrogen peroxide, which was active in the selective oxidation of DCPD. Amorphous niobium pentoxide with high surface area showed a superior activity in DCPD oxidation than crystalline niobium pentoxide. A plausible mechanism was suggested based on the product distribution. Recycle studies on amorphous Nb2O5 catalyst led to the formation of crystalline Nb2O5 phase, which was one of the obstacles of using Nb2O5 in this study. Effective regeneration of the amorphous Nb2O5 catalyst should be considered to overcome this disadvantage.


Adverse effect of environment, climatic changes, increasing water temperature ( Parihar and Dubey,1995), declining water level (Dubey et al., 2011), tremendous use of pesticide and xenobiotic compound (Dubey,1995), routines dumping of city garbage and garlanding in the aquatic bodies affected the fisheries productivity hence decreasing the number of aquatic organism specially fish species in the aquatic ecosystem. Fishes are not useful as source of food, medicine, and economic value but it also plays a crucial role in the second tropic level of the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, in the present investigation preliminary observations of fishes were carried out in the Banisagar Dam of Chhatarpur. Thirty two fish species under eleven families were observed initially. It is conclude that the Dam have high Ichthyic-diversity with good economic potential. To conserve and maintain the Ichthyic-diversity, anthropogenic activities should be controlled and further need to assess the water quality of this dam. Introduction Chhatarpur is situated with Longitudes and Latitudes of 2406 and 2520 on North 7859 to 8026 on East respectively with approximate 182 meter above mean sea level experiencing an annual rain fall of 1000-1200 mm. Average temperature in cold 6-9 C, summer 46-48 C, and rain 28-37 C. Banisagar Dam is the most important Dam of Chhatarpur District. Besides being a source of water for irrigation and also the water of this Dam used for artificial breading of Indian Major Carp in the Chinese Hatchery 158 Ashwani Kumar Dubey et al is located here. Chinese Hatchery is established in 1985.The Dam harbors a wide variety of fish resources. The catchment area is 380 hectare. The various scientists have been reported 23,000 fish species in the world out of these 2546 species are dwell in India Chakraborty (2004). The studies carried out by various researchers in concern of fish community Hora and Nair (1941), Karamchandani et al (1967), Rao et al (1991), Vyas et al (2007), Desai (1992), Singh (1995), Dubey (1994), Anon (1971), Bakawale and Kanhere (2006), Shravastava(1968) and Shrivastava et al ( 1970) given an account about fish fauna of Ken River. No data appeared in literature concern Ichthyic-diversity of Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh. Therefore, in the present investigation preliminary observations of the fishes were carried out in the Banisagar Dam. Materials and Methods Fishes were caught for the present study from Banisagar Dam of Chhatarpur, by local fisherman by operating cast net and during Government operation using drag nets and gill net for its harvesting. A period of one year from September 2010 to August 2011. Fishes were identified using the standard keys of Day (1989), Mishra (1959), Jhingran (1991), Jayaram (1999) and Shrivastava(1998). Result and Discussion In the present investigation various species observed. Total 32 species were identified initially under eleven families in seven orders at Banisagar Dam. Family Cyprinidae is most dominant species in Banisagar Dam. Results are summarized in Table. Table: Fishes Diversity of Banisagar Dam Chhatarpur (M.P.) S.No. Order Family Genus Species Local Name 1 Clupeiformes Notopteridae Notopterus notopterus Moh 2 Notopterus chitala Chital 3 Cyperiniformes Cyprinidae Catla catla Katla 4 Cirrhinus mrigala Mrigal 5 Labeo rohita Rohu


An algorithm to extract features of electro-cardio-gram (ECG) signal based on wavelet multiresolution analysis is developed. The wavelet transform is used for the segmentation and the feature extraction of ordinary 12-lead ECG. The support vector machine is used to classify the unknown ECG signal. The result shows that feature extraction technology has an optimistic prospect.


Diffractive events at hadron colliders are typically characterised by a region of the detector without particles, known as a rapidity gap. In order to observe diffractive events in this way, we consider the pseudorapidity acceptance in the forward region of the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and discuss the methods to select soft diffractive dissociation for pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. We showed that in the limited detector rapidity acceptance, it is possible to select diffractive dissociated events by requiring a rapidity gap in the event, however, it is not possible to distinguish single diffractive dissociated events from double diffractive dissociated events with a low diffractive mass.


In order to solve the problems such as hydraulic misadjustment,frequent occurance of faults,high consumption of energy and high risk of accidents in heat supplying system,the energy-consumption parts and major hazards of heating system were analyzed.The structure of safe and energy-conservation automatic control system was proposed.The operating principles of the designed system and energy conservation mechanism were investigated in detail.The system characterized by energy saving and safe,and integrates multiple functions such as realtime intelligent automatic control,pre-warning and warning,fault diagnosis,data management,safety analysis,etc was designed and developed.Practical application of the exploited system showed good effectiveness in energy saving,safe,stable and economical operation.


We present a study performed for the CLIC CDR on the measurement of chargino and neutralino production at sqrt(s) = 3 TeV. Fully hadronic final states with four jets and missing transverse energy were considered. Results obtained using full detector simulation for the masses and for the production cross sections of the changino and the lightest and next-to-lightest neutralinos are discussed.


Passive detection of the radiative recombination of electrons in the p-type GaAs base of active heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) has been utilised to demonstrate a non-invasive analytical probing technique, compatible with conventional wafer probers, which produces TV pictures of ICs with the active HBTs hiqhlighted. Failure modes, such as in-operative tail current sources and latched stages, were identified in ECL divide by four circuits implemented in 4μm emitter, 2μm feature size HBTs, using this technique.


The question has often arisen in Ohio as to whether words used by the defendant are libelous per se or libelous per quo. The answer to this question is important because of the view Ohio courts have taken regarding libel actions, particularly in regard to the requirement of special damages. In England and in many American courts all libelous words are actionable per se, i.e., it is not necessary for the plaintiff to prove special damages, malice, or falsity, all these being presumed from the speaking of the words.' Not all slander, however, is actionable per se. Unless the words charge the plaintiff with an indictable offense (involving moral turpitude or infamous punishment), a loathsome disease, or are calculated to injure him in his trade or profession, he must show the words caused him specific, pecuniary loss in order to recover.2 Thus there are many words actionable per se if written which require allegation and proof of special damages if merely spoken. All courts make a distinction between written words which are clearly defamatory on their face and those which are ambiguous, capable of either an innocent or a defamatory meaning, or defamatory only in light of extrinsic facts or circumstances. 3 Words in the first class are referred to as libelous per se: words in the latter class are referred to as libelous per quod. If the words are in the latter class the plaintiff must allege the defamatory meaning of the words by an innuendo, and if they are defamatory only in light of


A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE: (1) THE DEGREE OF USE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY BY EACH UTILITY IN THE STATE OF UTAH, (2) WHETHER THERE ARE ANY REAL ADVANTAGES WHICH ACCRUE TO UTILITIES FROM THE USE OF ROADS AND STREETS FOR RIGHTS-OF WAY PURPOSES, AND (3) THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE VARIOUS POLICY ALTERNATIVES. THE ANALYSIS CONSISTS OF: (1) PRESENTATION OF THE DATA COLLECTED INCLUDING A HISTORY OF HIGHWAY USE BY UTILITIES AND A REVIEW OF ESTABLISHED POLICY AND RECENT LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL ACTIONS RELATED TO RELOCATION COST POLICY, (2) A COMPARISON OF UTILITY COSTS AND BENEFITS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY BY THE SEVERAL UTILITIES, AND (3) CONSOLIDATION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS. DATA USED IN THE ANALYSIS WERE THE NUMBER OF MILES ROADS AND STREETS BY ELECTRIC, TELEPHONE, NATURAL GAS, WATER AND SEWAGE UTILITIES IN UTAH. THESE DATA WERE OBTAINED THROUGH SAMPLES, MAPS, QUESTIONNAIRES AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE BENEFITS AND COSTS WHICH ARE CERTAIN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH UTILITY USE OF THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY. THE COSTS INCLUDE THE MARRING OF LANDSCAPE AND REDUCTION IN TRAFFIC FLOW. THE BENEFITS INCLUDE (1) LOWER RATES AND HIGHER INPUT, (2) LOWER MAINTENANCE COSTS, (3) LOWER CONSTRUCTION COSTS, AND (4) BETTER UTILIZATION OF SCARCE RESOURCES. THE SCOPE OF THIS STUDY DOES NOT INCUDE FORMULATION OF POLICY REGARDING THE USE OF ROADS AND STREETS BY UTILITIES FOR RIGHT-OF-WAY PURPOSES, BUT RATHER IT IS AN ASSEMBLY OF FACTS WHICH ARE NEEDED BY THOSE WHO MUST DETERMINE POLICY. /VHRC/


Research efforts are presented for the use of remote sensing in environmental surveys in Kentucky. Ground truth parameters were established that represent the vegetative cover of disturbed and undisturbed watersheds in the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky. Several water quality parameters were monitored of the watersheds utilized in the establishment of ground truth data. The capabilities of multistage-multispectral aerial photography and satellite imagery were evaluated in detecting various land use practices. The use of photographic signatures of known land use areas utilizing manually-operated spot densitometers was studied. The correlation of imagery signature data to water quality data was examined. Potential water quality predictions were developed from forested and nonforested watersheds based upon the above correlations. The cost effectiveness of predicting water quality values was evaluated using multistage and satellite imagery sampling techniques.


I am pleased to introduce Journal of Drug Metabolism & Toxicology (JDMT) a rapid peer reviewed Journal which have a key concerns over the medical practices by exploring the best patient oriented clinical research and by exhibiting this information both directly, as clinical findings, and in practice oriented formats of direct application in day-to-day situations. I am pleased to announce that, all issues of volume 10 were published online well within the time and the print issues were also brought out and dispatched within 30 days of publishing the issue online during the year of 2019.


authorizations" (p. 206). Martel's is a "rhetorical" reading of Leviathan, expressly intended to be more radical than David Johnston's, Raia Prokhovnik's and Quentin Skinner's. Critical of their rhetorical interpretations for hardly departing from the overt meaning of the text (pp. 30–33), he is intent on revealing an anti-Leviathan. The obvious question is posed in conclusion: "Isn't it perverse to claim that this, of all books, is antisovereign?" No, Martel replies, "this is no more perverse than reading The Prince as being against the prince" (p. 222). It is difficult to know what to say about the claim that the theory can be read in this way. However, taking a more traditional view of the relationship between author and reader, let me suggest two gaps in Martel's interpretation. While it covers a wide range of literature, including relating Hobbes to Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, and Emmanuel Levinas, he neglects literature specifically relevant to his arguments. I have in mind, in particular, the subject of authority over scriptural interpretation, which has been extensively canvassed by, among others, Richard Tuck, Johann Sommerville, and Glenn Burgess. Second, he fails to note an obvious difference between The Prince and Leviathan. In Machiavelli's case, there is overt textual evidence—in the form of the Discourses—for an antiprince reading. Although parts of Hobbes's theory were appropriated by republicans in the Engagement Controversy of the early Interregnum, he never penned republican sentiments. As different in approach and subject as these commentaries are, they both are efforts to rescue Hobbism by relieving it of now-unfashionable ideas of competitive individualism and political absolutism. Frost's and Martel's Hobbism is more communitarian and therefore less disturbing than Hobbism of a Lord of the Flies variety, and its politics more appealing than the Hobbism that served the Stuart monarchs. There is something to be said, though, for not endeavoring to tame the bear of Malmesbury. A natural state of war and the fearsome Leviathan-state are images that have become part of the stuff of Western political imagination and ought not to be painted over with prettier scenarios.


This paper reports a new class of periodic banding of Fe(OH)3 precipitate through reaction–diffusion–reaction (RDR) processes in agarose gel sandwiched between two metal rods (Ti and Fe) with cyclic alternating voltages. In the RDR processes, electrochemical reactions at metal rods to generate reactant ions, diffusion of the ions influenced by the electric field in the gel, and reactions of the ions to form precipitates were coupled to generate periodic bands of Fe(OH)3 precipitates at the cathode side. The banding morphologies, spatial Fe distribution, and microscopic morphologies of the precipitates were investigated by visual inspection, Fe Kα intensity distribution measurements, and scanning electron microscopy observations. The periodic banding strongly depended on the applied voltages, the periods for voltage alternation, the cycle number (N C), and the length of the gel column. Periodic bands resembling Liesegang bands were most clearly observed with high reproducibility for 50 mm gel columns under the applied cyclic alternating voltages of 3 and 1 V for 1 and 4 h, respectively. The number of the periodic bands formed in this system was generally given by N C—N C1 + 1, where N C1 is the cycle number where the first band emerges. These periodic bands contained significant amounts of Fe atoms that were almost uniformly distributed in the agarose gel, strongly supporting the formation of gelatinous Fe(OH)3 precipitates in the bands.


The performance of heterogeneous distributed computed systems is severely limited by the inability to transfer primitive data types between dissimilar processors because of the different representations used. The use of hardware transformation units is proposed to reduce the time required to transfer the data. The transformation units must know the source processor type, data type, and destination processor type and must be capable of performing all required transformations. Three location schemes for the transformation units are local, central, and distributed. The three schemes are compared for twelve factors, and performance models for each scheme are developed.<<ETX>>


The present disclosure provides methods of sequencing polynucleotides and compounds, compositions useful for sequencing of polynucleotides. The chemical compounds include nucleotides and their analogs which possess a sugar moiety comprising a cleavable chemical group capping the 3'-OH group and a base that is attached to a detectable label through a cleavable linker comprising a disulfide bond. In addition, both the disulfide bond and the cleavable chemical group are cleavable by a chemical reagent. Furthermore, after the disulfide bond is cleaved by the chemical reagent, there is no free thiol group linked to the base of the nucleotides.


Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings
Considerable scope exists for corporate-level strategies to positively affect firm performance. Organizations need to ascertain whether major strategic change is needed, the appropriate nature of it and how often change should be implemented.

Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


Student evaluation measures developed in recent years reflect a growing recognition of the relationship between teacher effectiveness and the affective components of the teacher's classroom communication. This paper reports the development of a fourteen‐item Index of Teachers' Affective Communication (ITAC) which was designed to avoid the shortcomings associated with currently available measurement strategies.


Past sea surface temperatures (SST) in the northern and southern areas of the South China Sea have been reconstructed for the past 220 kyr using the UK37 alkenone index. The SST profiles follow the glacial/interglacial pattern exhibiting differences between Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene that are 1°–3°C larger than those observed at the same latitudes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In Termination I both planktonic foraminiferal δ18O and SST exhibit well-defined Bolling-Allerod and Younger Dryas events with temperature differences between both periods of 0.8° and 0.4°C in north and south, respectively. SSTs record a constant north-south difference of 1°C in the interglacials and nearly 2.5°C in the glacial stages. These differences define two distinct climatic and water circulation patterns that correspond with glacial/interglacial sea level oscillations which opened and closed water exchange with the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean through the present Sunda Shelf.


The hydrogen-bonded assembly of 3-amino-1H-pyrazol-2-ium 3,5-dinitrobenzoate monohydrate and bis(3-amino-1H-pyrazol-2-ium) fumarate fumaric acid is two-dimensional, but that in the orthorhombic form of the simple salt 3-amino-1H-pyrazol-2-ium nitrate is three-dimensional.


Abstract 305

Introduction: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) are malignant tumors usually sensitive to chemotherapy; this results in prolonged survival and possibly disease eradication in a large proportion of patients. However, despite the general improvement in treatment options, a variable number of patients still shows a refractory disease, i.e. poor or absent response to induction therapy. Prediction and management of refractory disease is a major issue in the biological and clinical research programs for NHL. The present study was undertaken to evaluate on a large series of NHL patients, managed at two Italian centers over the last three decades: i. the actual rate of refractory patients; ii. the main factors associated with refractory disease; iii. the long-term outcome of refractory vs. responsive patients.

Patients and Methods: Data have been collected on a series of 3,952 NHL patients, referred and treated at the University Hematology of Torino (S. Giovanni B. and Mauriziano Hospitals) (864 cases) and at the Hematology Division of Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo (3,088 cases), between 1984 and 2012. There were 1,819 (46%) female patients, 2,056 (52%) were aged less than 60 yrs, B-cell NHL were 3,633 (92%), with 318 (8%) patients diagnosed as T-NHL; main histological subtypes included: 1,809 (45.8%) Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma (DLCL), 758 (19.2%) follicular lymphoma (FL), 210 (5.3%) mantle-cell lymphoma, the remaining 1,175 (29.7) had other histologies. According to Ann Arbor staging, 2,369 (62%) patients presented with advanced stage disease and 914 out of 2,174 evaluable patients (42%) had an intermediate-high IPI score. Overall, 1,430 out of 3,187 (44.9%) received conventional chemo-radiotherapy supplemented with rituximab. The criteria to identify refractory patients were: stable or progressive disease (fully refractory) or transient response with disease progression within 6 months (early relapse), following first-line chemotherapy.

Results: Among 2,543 broadly analysed patients, treated during the last 28 yrs, 649 (25.5%) were classified as refractory, including 14% fully refractory and 11.5% with early relapse or disease progression. The overall incidence of refractory disease was similar in the two Centers, 24.1% in Torino and 26.3% in Bergamo. The rate of refractoriness was as high as 46.9% in the small T-cell subgroup, while the overall incidence was 23.6% for B-cell NHL (p<0.001), with refractory patients more frequently observed among DLCL (26.0%) than in FL (15.1%) (p<0.001). Besides T-cell histology, the following factors had the highest association (p<0.001) with treatment response: i. intermediate-high risk IPI presentation , with 38.5% refractory patients, compared to 16.7% for 0–2 IPI scores; ii. female gender , with a markedly lower incidence (22%) of refractoriness compared to males (28.4%); iii. rituximab addition, that cut the incidence of refractoriness to 19.2% compared to 28.8% for patients treated without rituximab. These factors maintained their independent predictive values in multivariate regression analysis. At a median follow-up of 5.4 yrs., 1,607 (61%) out of 2,543 patients are alive, 11.8% of them were refractory to their first line treatment. Indeed, among 649 refractory patients, 189 (29%) are presently alive, compared to 1,418 alive (75%) among 1,894 responsive patients. Lastly, the overall survival (OS) was significantly poorer for fully refractory (median survival: 1.1 yrs) compared to early relapse patients (2.09 yrs) (p<0.001); both these refractory subgroups had a definitely poorer OS compared to responsive patients, whose median survival was 22.2 yrs (see [Figure 1][1]).

Conclusions: i. Overall, in this large series of NHL patients who received induction therapy both in the pre- and post-Rituximab era, approximately one fourth displays full refractoriness or early relapse/progression; ii. the introduction of rituximab has markedly reduced the risk of refractory disease, whose incidence is now around 19%; iii. a markedly higher rate of refractory disease is observed with T-subtypes compared to B-cell NHL; iv. intermediate-high IPI score is associated to refractoriness, while female gender significantly reduces the risk of refractory disease; iv. patients responsive to first-line therapy have a very prolonged life expectancy, with a median survival around 22 yrs, whereas the median survival for refractory patients does not exceed 2 yrs.

![Figure][2]

Disclosures: Tarella: Hoffmann-La Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria. Rambaldi: Hoffmann-La Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria.

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


In modern society,code-switching of netspeak falls into the scope of language variety.Based on Wittgenstein's view of language game,this paper attempts to probe info the functions for code-switching of net speak.There are several code-switching functions of network language,including entertainment function,economic function and option function.


Erlotinib has potential therapeutic effect on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients, but the mechanism is not clear. Effective tumor biomarkers for erlotinib in the treatment of AML remain poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that erlotinib in vitro significantly inhibits the growth of the FLT3‐ITD mutant AML cell MV4‐11 and Ba/F3‐FLT3‐ITD cell via targeting FLT3, a certified valid target for the effective treatment of AML. In vivo, oral administration of erlotinib at 100 mg/kg/day induced rapid MV4‐11 tumor regression and significantly prolonged the survival time of bone marrow engraftment AML mice via inhibiting the FLT3 signal. Thus, the therapeutic benefits of erlotinib on AML are due to its ability to target FLT3. FLT3‐ITD mutation is an effective biomarker for erlotinib during AML treatment. In addition, we also demonstrate that erlotinib inhibits the activity of AML cell KG‐1 (no FLT3 expression) by targeting Lyn. Recently, single cell analysis demonstrated that intratumoral heterogeneity are one of the contributors in the relapse and FLT3 inhibitor resistance. Erlotinib could effectively inhibit the MV4‐11 cells via targeting FLT3, and inhibit KG‐1 cells via targeting Lyn. Therefore, Erlotinib also has the potential to overcome intratumoral heterogeneity via targeting FLT3 and Lyn.


A heat-resistant cast TiAl alloy applicable to passenger vehicle turbochargers has been developed. This newly developed TiAl alloy is based on Ti-Al-7at%Nb, with small amounts of Cr, Si and Ni added to accord with required properties. The specific high-temperature tensile strength of turbine wheels made of this alloy is superior to conventional TiAl alloy, and is much stronger than Inconel 713C when proper HIP treatment is applied. Furthermore, substantially better endurance than conventional TiAl alloy has been confirmed by means of engine endurance testing in a realistic environment.