This paper consolidates and extends the results of a large observational and chemical modeling study of translucent clouds. Thirty-eight molecular species have been observed in an ensemble of 38 translucent objects, for which detailed self-consistent physical models have been constructed. These are used with microturbulent radiative transfer analyses to obtain reliable fractional abundances. The abundances are essentially the same in translucent clouds and cold dense clouds (TMC-1). We have also scaled the column densities of the 12 species studied by Liszt & Lucas in diffuse clouds by adsorption against point-continuum sources to yield fractional abundances. These in turn are found to be remarkably similar to those in translucent and dense quiescent clouds. Thus a global abundance pattern emerges, which holds over a range of hundredfold in density, and transcends the completely photon-dominated chemistry regime to the collision-dominated regime. We have developed comprehensive quiescent gas-phase chemical models, based on the New Standard Model (NSM) reaction data set. We have found a single set of parameters (elemental abundances, depletion factors, and other physical conditions) that can explain the abundances of 34 of the 38 species observed in translucent clouds, spanning the transition region 1 ≤ Av0 ≤ 5 mag. The NSM is insensitive to density in the translucent region. The similarity of abundances in translucent and dense clouds (TMC-1) is explained by the same chemical model with a slightly higher depletion factor for C and O. To explain the diffuse cloud abundances, we need to augment the NSM reaction set of 4,300 reactions with just three turbulence-driven, weakly endothermic reactions as analyzed by Spaans. These latter reactions lose effect as the density increases from the diffuse to the translucent regime, in just such a way that the diffuse-cloud abundances seamlessly join with the translucent abundances, thus replicating the constancy of abundances from diffuse conditions (200 cm-3) to dense cloud conditions (20,000 cm-3). It seems clear that purely low-temperature gas-phase chemistry can explain many more observations than previously recognized.


The annealing temperature dependence of contact characteristics on bulk single-crystal n-ZnO using a TiB 2 /Pt/Au metallization scheme deposited by sputtering are reported. The contacts are rectifying for anneal temperatures <700°C but transition to Ohmic behavior at higher temperatures and exhibit a minimum specific contact resistivity of 5 X 10 -4 Ω cm after 800°C anneals. Higher temperatures lead to severe contact metallurgy intermixing and a sharp increase in specific contact resistivity associated with an increase in sheet resistance of the ZnO under the contact. Pt, Ti, Zn, and B outdiffuse through the Au layer at 800°C while at higher temperatures the contact morphology is destroyed. These boride-based contacts show much higher thermal stability than previous metal schemes used as Ohmic contacts on ZnO and are promising for high-temperature device applications.


Abstract 4605 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small endogenous RNAs that play important regulatory roles by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression. Many reports have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in malignancies, and regulations in the progression of leukemia. However, the miRNAs expression level in Chinese patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and its prognostic value remain elusive. We identified various degrees of down-regulation of miR-15a, miR-16-1, miR-29b, miR-181a and miR-181b in CLL mononuclear cells of 138 patients. Moreover, we have identified that miR-29b, miR-181a and miR-181b expression was significantly correlated with IGHV mutatioal status (the P value was 0.057, 0.034 and 0.004, respectively). Down-expression of miR-181b was significantly associated ( P =0.001) with overall survival in patients while expression for miR-181a was of borderline significant ( P =0.09). To further determine the consequence of miR-181-down regulation, we sought to discover targets of miR-181 family. Transcript levels of predicted target genes BCL-2 and TCL-1 were determined, and the expression levels were significantly upregulated in CLL patients compared with normal controls ( P r =-0.216, P =0.012; r =-0.274, P =0.002; r =-0.184, P =0.036, respectively); furthermore, an inverse correlation was also observed between miRNAs (miR-16-1, miR-181a, miR-181b) and TCL-1 ( r =-0.272, P =0.002; r =-0.224, P =0.009; r =-0.152, P =0.054, respectively), which suggest that these miRNAs may implicated in negatively regulating target mRNA at a transcriptional level. For further study, our study showed that miR-181a and miR-181b functioned as tumor suppressors that induced apoptosis in CLL cells by regulates BCL-2/MCL-1 protein expression. The luciferase activity of a BCL-2-3'-untranslated region-based reporter construct in CLL cells suggests that a new target site in the 3'UTR of BCL-2 of the mature miR-181a/b. MCL-1 is a BCL-2 family member and pro-survival protein associated with drug resistance in leukemia. Using a luciferase construct containing the MCL-1 3' UTR we observed a decrease in luciferase expression upon miR-181b over-expression. It was suggested that miR-181b directly targets MCL-1 mRNA. In addition, enforced miR-181a/b expression in primary CLL cells (n= 52) reduced BCL-2/MCL-1 protein level and sensitized primary CLL B cells to fludarabine-induced apoptosis and also had effect in B-CLL cells from 7 p53 attenuated patients. Taken together, our results suggest that these deregulated miRNAs may play an important role in pathogenesis of CLL and might be applied for the assessment of prognosis in patients with CLL. Among which, miR-181a/b could function as tumor suppressors in human CLL cells, at least in part, by modulation of apoptosis via targeting BCL-2 and MCL-1. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Formal models, as Petri nets, applied to the resource allocation problem have been a fruitful approach in the last years from a double perspective. Firstly, the consolidation of an abstraction process of systems leading to models structured around the concepts of processes and resources, which can be easily translated into Petri nets. Secondly, the obtention of analysis results characterizing deadlock states, as well as methods to amend the problem. Thanks to abstraction, this methods can be applied to many different application domains, although manufacturing is yet predominant. In this paper we follow the same philosophy, but extending the kind of systems that can be tackled. These extensions allow to consider nested iterations within the processes, and to hold resources in the initial state. We will show that these extensions are very relevant, from the real-world system point of view, in order to extend these techniques to a broader scope of scenarios. Nevertheless, the behaviours of the resulting models are much more complex than those of the previous restricted models, e.g., non-directedness.


SUMMARY In the 1700s, there were public poor houses; in the later 1800s, more humanistic not-for-profit homes for the aged; and by the mid-1900s, less humanistic, particularly proprietary, nursing homes. The 1970s witnessed the beginning of a burgeoning literature on piecemeal programs which are beneficial for residents but often have neither produced humanistic culture change nor have persisted. Also, these cultures did not emerge from even ambitious legislated reforms. Yet, the ingredients for humanistic cultures have appeared in many publications even though they have not been incorporated into practice. This article traces the history of humanistic approaches to care and the role of government in catalyzing change.


. Gentrification has played an important role in the neighborhood regeneration. This paper mainly studies on gentrification process in Chinese megacities and financial analysis of gentrification in China artists' district.


The ancient Brachiopodous genus Siphonotreta is well known by its species occurring in the Ordovician and Silurian strataof Russia and Great Britain, and its peculiar pedicle opening hasbeen the subject of remark. The author is not aware that this genus has hitherto been reported from any Cambrian terrain, and, therefore, the greatest interest will attach to a form recently found in the lower beds of the St. John Group, which is nearer to Siphonotreta than to any other known genus.


This chapter aims to provide an in-depth overview of how changes in news work are transforming journalism more broadly by focusing on their effect on journalism cultures. In doing so, it identifies three broader trends - cultural, economic, and technological changes - and argues that for a more comprehensive assessment of the transformation of journalism, scholars need to bear in mind all these aspects, rather than examining only one in isolation. Further, there is an urgent need for comparative studies of these transformations, both within and across nations or regions.


A series of ribo‐ and deoxyribonucleosides bearing 2‐aminopurine as a nucleobase with 7,8‐difluoro‐ 3,4‐dihydro‐3‐methyl‐2H‐[1,4]benzoxazine (conjugated directly or through an aminohexanoyl spacer) was synthesized using an enzymatic transglycosylation reaction. Nucleosides 3‐6 were resistant to deamination under action of adenosine deaminase (ADA) Escherichia coli and ADA from calf intestine. The antiviral activity of the modified nucleosides was evaluated against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1, strain L2). It has been shown that at sub‐toxic concentrations, nucleoside (S)‐4‐[2‐amino‐9‐(β‐D‐ribofuranosyl)‐purin‐6‐yl]‐7,8‐difluoro‐3,4‐dihydro‐3‐methyl‐2H‐[1,4]benzoxazine exhibit significant antiviral activity (SI > 32) on the model of HSV‐1 in vitro, including an acyclovir‐resistant virus strain (HSV‐1, strain L2/R).


We introduce the depth sensor Microsoft Kinect and show how to start its use for developing applications on Linux. We discuss the options for frameworks and drivers and show an (original) installation tutorial on Fedora. Finally, we explain the calibration and we introduce tools to manipulate the depth data using point clouds. Introducing the Kinect Microsoft released the Kinect for Xbox 360 inputdevice in November of 2010, as the first large-scale, commercial release of a depth camera device(a camera that can see in 3D!). A very similar sensor, now specific for developing, the Kinect for Windows, was released in February of 2012. These sensor come with a proprietary algorithms for feature selection, scene analysis, motion tracking, skeletal tracking, and gesture recognition [1]. In addition, the company that developed the, the PrimeSense Ltd. [2], has also released another sensor with the similar technology, the ASUS Xtion [3].


Subsidence can be caused by a diverse set of human activities and natural processes, including mining of coal, withdrawal of ground water, petroleum, and melting of permafrost. More than 80 percent of the identified subsidence in the Nation results from underground water pumping. The increasing development of urban area and need of water resources threaten to exacerbate existing land subsidence problems and initiate new ones (Galloway et al., 1999). Local collapse may damage buildings, roads, and utilities, and either impair or totally destroy them, leading to expensive repairs. The Nation Research Council estimated that annual costs in the United States from flooding and structural damage caused by land subsidence exceeded $125 million (National Research Council, 1991). Thus, it becomes vital to monitor the land subsidence in high spatial and temporal resolutions to be able to assess its impacts on civil infrastructure. In this study, we focus on mapping land deformation over the Houston area that has been caused by the withdrawal of groundwater, oil and gas using an innovative satellite radar imaging technique.


Objective To investigate the expression of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)in human proliferative membranes of proliferative vitreoretinopathy(PVR),and the relationship among CTGF,transforming growth factor-β receptor(TGF-βR)and extracellular matrix(ECM). Methods Immunohistochemistry method of streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase complex(SABC)was used to detect the expression of CTGF,TGF-βRⅡ,fibronectin(FN),collagen Ⅰ,and collagen Ⅲ protein in43periretinal membranes(PRM)of PVR obtained by vitrectomy,and the correlations of the expression of CTGF,TGF-βRⅡ and ECM were analyzed by statistics. Results CTGF and TGF-βRⅡ protein highly expressed in PRM of PVR and most of the CTGF-positive cells were epithelial cells.The result of immunohistochemistry showed that the positive rates of CTGF and TGF-βRⅡ protein were 70%.6% and 76.5%in PVR C membranes,and 73.9% and 69.6%in PVR D membranes respectively.Relationship between positive expression and membranes′ grades appeared no statistical correlation(P0.05).Statistical analysis showed that there was a correlation between the expression of CTGF and TGF-βRⅡ,FN,and collagen Ⅰ and Ⅲ protein,respectively. Conclusions The expression of CTGF and TGF-βRⅡ protein is up-regulated in PRM of PVR,which suggests that the activation of TGF-βRⅡ is involved in the production of CTGF,and CTGF is closely related to the production of ECM and play an important role in the pathogenesis of PVR.


As the growth of managed care promotes a new kind of physician-patient relationship, physicians face dramatically altered financial incentives. The new incentives may change the ways in which physicians focus on quality of patient care, since managed care can exert pressures on physicians through capitation and other financial arrangements to limit the amount of health care services that they provide in the interests of cost control. Physicians now realize financial rewards by considering efficiency rather than exclusively quality or quantity of care.

The business environment that has spawned the growth of managed care reflects powerful economic forces that are not likely to disappear. Quality of patient care will be addressed not by delaying these changes, but by steering them toward desired outcomes. To accomplish this goal, an understanding of the larger environment promoting the business changes in health care is crucial.


Climate change, rising energy costs and resource constraints are increasing becoming global issues for government and business. These global issues are driving new trends in the development of Green Technologies. Renewable energy sources, advanced water management, efficient resource recycling, waste reduction, intelligent utility networks, intelligent transportation systems, and energy efficiency in data center are gaining strong interests and supports from both the public and private sectors. One of the key initiatives is the application of Green Technology to supply chain management. The objective of this green application is to reduce the carbon emission of company operations. In this talk, we will discuss the new wave of green technology and the emerging services and business on green assessment, diagnosis and consulting, tools and modeling, manufacture process and re-design. We will conclude with our views on future trend, directions and research topics on green technology, green computing, and green services.


Aim: to know the technology adopted by nurses in health promotion for elderly people with chronic diseases in Primary Health Care. Method: this is an exploratory research, with qualitative and descriptive approach, held at Cariri, south of Ceara, Brazil. Nurses who adopt technologies for the older adults with chronic were included. Semi-structured interview was used for data collection during July and August 2014, using thematic content analysis. Results: from the analysis, two categories emerged: Technologies used in health promotion of elderly people with chronic diseases and Strategies for the use of technologies in the elderly group in Primary Health Care. Light technologies stood out (humanized host and bond) and hard (glucose meter, tensiometer among others). They were chosen for health promotion activities by professionals. Conclusion: there is no clarity on the concept of health technologies, especially in the use of soft-hard technologies


UPFC (unified power flow controller)is the most versatile FACTS (flexible AC transmission system) controller for power transmission. UPFC provides a full dynamic control of transmission parameters, i.e. voltage, line impedance and phase angle. The active power, reactive power and voltage of transmission line can be fast controlled by it. The modeling of UPFC for power flow study is discussed first, then the control strategy of UPFC and its applications on controlling power flow and improving transient stability are overviewed.


This article tested a widespread belief that by working in groups distance education students achieve cognitive goals of learning, and develop their social competencies and skills. The subject of the study was the achievements of 655 bachelor and master degree students enrolled in 22 on-campus and blended learning units offered within 2 university courses, full-time and part-time, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. in the academic years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. An instrumental case study was carried out: the grades students obtained for individual work were compared with grades obtained for work done in pairs and groups of threes within the same courses. It was found that a statistically significant difference did not exist. But the highest grades (on average 83.81) were obtained by students who had worked individually, and the lowest (81.64%) by those who had worked in groups of three. The highest grades were obtained by the final-year students. They showed an understanding of the assessment criteria and the ability to follow such. Also, they wanted to pass on the first attempt in order to have time to prepare for the final examination. International students were reluctant to work in groups. They focused on achieving good grades and preparing for the thesis due to the time limits of student visas and the unrest caused by the war in Ukraine. First-year students who had no experience in adhering to the assessment criteria and problems with communicating due to isolation caused by the pandemic obtained the lowest grades.


The general situations of the reinforcing project of one office building are introduced. From selection of foundation bearing capacity, structural strengthening and other aspects the content of reinforcement design is elaborated and corresponding technical requirements are proposed. Five years' observation demonstrated that this reconstruction work is safe and reliable.


The invention discloses a method for resending short messages. The method includes: when an internet protocol-short message-gateway (IP-SM-GW) learns that sending of short messages sending to receiving ends in an internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) domain is failed, the IP-SM-GW sends the short messages to a business center, and the short messages are stored by the business center; and when the receiving ends corresponding to the short messages are in an available state, the IP-SM-GW receives the stored short messages sent by the business center, and the short messages are resent to the receiving ends through the IMS domain. Requests for resending the failed short messages can be achieved, and the method and device for resending short messages improves availability for sending the short message requests in an IMS and enhances user experience.


A sensing data service providing system and method by cooperatively operating a sensor network and the Internet are provided to allow a sensor node installed in an area where Internet protocol communication is not possible to communicate with the Internet without allocating Internet protocol information. A sync node(510) includes a sensor processing module(511) for performing conversion of a data frame to transmit data between a sensor node(500) and a gateway(520). A database processing module(521) includes a node information table storing information of the sensor node and a binding table storing mapping information to transfer information between a host(530) and the sensor node. A gateway processing module(523) transmits a command with respect to the use of sensing data of a client, command performing results, and the sensing data to the host. A service processing module(522) processes message transmission with the sync node and processes information according to exchange of a message between the sync node and the host. A client processing module(533) requests node information of the sensor node from the gateway, and receives a service according to the request.


There is a strong relationship between atherosclerotic plaque characteristics (APCs) and major adverse cardiovascular events. However, whether APCs are different in obstructive vs. non-obstructive lesions, and whether diabetic status modifies this relationship is unknown.

 This study examines the relationship between APCs and angiographic stenosis severity in diabetic vs. non-diabetic patients.

 We evaluated 303 subjects referred for invasive coronary angiography with coronary computed tomographic angiography and classified lesions as obstructive (>50%) or non-obstructive using blinded quantitative coronary angiography. APCs, including plaque volume (PV), low density non-calcified plaque (LD-NCP), non-calcified plaque (NCP), calcified plaque (CP), lesion length, positive remodeling (PR), and high-risk plaque (HRP) were quantified and normalized for vessel volume. The relationship between APCs and angiographic stenosis severity was compared in diabetics vs. non-diabetics.

 Among 362 coronary lesions observed, 48.3% were obstructive, 51.7% were non-obstructive. In diabetics, NCP was significantly higher in obstructive vs. non-obstructive lesions (p=0.0033); however, in non-diabetics, no difference was observed (p=0.0525). In non-diabetics, PR was significantly higher in non-obstructive vs. obstructive lesions (p=0.0424); however, among diabetics, no difference was observed (p=0.7509). Comparing ACPs in obstructive lesions between diabetics and non-diabetics, diabetics had less NCP and HRP, more CP, PR and LD-NCP with comparable PV and lesion lengths. Comparing APCs in non-obstructive lesions, diabetics had greater PV, CP and PR with less LD-NCP, NCP, HRP, and shorter lesion lengths.

 In diabetics, NCP is significantly higher in obstructive vs. non-obstructive lesions. Thus, measuring NCP may help identify high-grade stenotic lesions in this population.

 Type of funding sources: None.


Door system elevator car door or elevator shaft, with a door of at least two door panels, which are engaged slidably on its upper side, which are movable telescopically relative to one another to the purpose of the door opening, which are guided on the underside by a cover guide on a door sill in which are embedded several slots independent guide each other, wherein a guide groove (7) is open only towards the elevator shaft, guiding the lower end of a door panel (3) faster, while another guide groove (6) is open towards the story floor or the cage (FKB) and guide in this case, the lower end of a door panel (4) slower, while the other guide groove (6) towards the story floor or cabin (FKB) in such an area, both with the door closed and open is covered open through panels Door (3, 4) with direct access from the ground floor or cabin (FKB).


In this article, a mixed split quadrilateral multiband microstrip antenna is designed and its measurement results in terms of different parameters are given. This patch antenna is designed to support modes with resonances at 6.3, 7.1, 7.5, 8.7, 12.8, 17, and 21.3 GHz. FR‐4 (lossy) is used as substrate to design the recommended antenna which has a firm dimension of 11 × 15 mm2 (0.23λ × 0.31λ). This antenna operates at C, X, Ku, and K band with moderate bandwidth because of its design and feedline. This mixed quadrilateral‐shaped multiband antenna has directivity gain of 1.65, 1.26, 2.4, 3.2, 4.57, 4.03, and 3.46 dBi at resonating frequencies and is suitable for a modern communication system. The proposed split multiband quadrilateral antenna results are obtained in terms of return loss, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), gain, and radiation pattern which have admissible values of return loss less than −10 dB, VSWR less than 2 at each resonant frequency, and gain more than 3 dB. A suitable radiation pattern and an emerging gain make the recommended antenna suitable for the use in a modern communication system.


Entity resolution (ER) is the problem of identifying which records in a database represent the same entity. Often, records of different types are involved (e.g., authors, publications, institutions, venues), and resolving records of one type can impact the resolution of other types of records. In this paper we propose a flexible, modular resolution framework where existing ER algorithms developed for a given record type can be plugged in and used in concert with other ER algorithms. Our approach also makes it possible to run ER on subsets of similar records at a time, important when the full data is too large to resolve together. We study the scheduling and coordination of the individual ER algorithms in order to resolve the full data set. We then evaluate our joint ER techniques on synthetic and real data and show the scalability of our approach.


A rapid semimicro method for t he determination of nitrogen in steel is described . A 0.5to 1.0-gram sample is usually required, and the nitrogen is put into solution as ammonium sulfate by suitable treatment of t he sample with sulfuric acid. The ammonia is separated from the bulk of the sample by steam distillation from an alkaline solution. The distillate is collected in boric acid solut ion, and the ni trogen is determined by titration with O.OI-N acid. Provision is made for the solut ion of difficul tly soluble nitrides. The effect of some of the commonly used alloying elemen ts on the acid solubility of nitrogen compounds in steel is disc ussed . An accuracy of the order of 0.002 percent of nitrogen or better is indicated for samples containin g up to about 0.05 percent of nitrogen a nd about 0.003 percent for t he range of 0.05 to 0.15 percent of nitrogen. In the lower range of nitrogen contents, 0.002 percent and less, better accuracy can be obtained by attention to pertinent details and the use of a colorimetric method for the determination of t he ammonia. A single determination can be completed in about 10 minutes after solution of t he sample, and a group of 10 determinations can be carried out in approximately 2 hours.


The recent COVID-19 outbreak showed us the importance of faster disease diagnosis using medical image processing as it is considered the most reliable and accurate diagnostic tool. In a CNN architecture, performance improves with the increasing number of trainable parameters at the cost of processing time. We have proposed an innovative approach of combining efficient novel architectures like Inception, ResNet, and ResNet-Xt and created a new CNN architecture that benefits Extreme Cardinal dimensions. We have also created four variations of the same base architecture by varying the position of each building block and used X-Ray, Microscopic, MRI, and pathMNIST datasets to train our architecture. For learning curve optimization, we have applied learning rate changing techniques, tuned image augmentation parameters, and chose the best random states value. For a specific dataset, we reduced the validation loss from 0.22 to 0.18 by interchanging the architecture's building block position. Our results indicate that image augmentation parameters can help to decrease the validation loss. We have also shown rearrangement of the building blocks reduces the number of parameters, in our case, from 5,689,008 to 3,876,528.


Because of the differences in the natural endowment of factors of production,the level of econom ic development and the capability of innovation,the regional competitive capacity inside a country,to a certain degree,appears different.At present ,the competitive capacity of Henan ranks behind developed eastern provinces and before western provinces.The im-plementation of the strategy of west development pro vides new opportunities for the development of Henan,but we must con-sciously realize that west develop ment provides not only opportunities,but also challenges.As the strategic point of econ cmic development moves west,Henan will compete with the West in investment environment ,adjustment of industrial structure,labor market and so on.If we don't grasp the opportunities,the competitive advantage will weaken,even disappear.Therefore,we must take feasible measures to elevate the regional competitive capacity,structural adjustment is a strategic measure to promote the regional competitive capacity of Henan.Opening to the inside and outside is an impetus to push forward the e-conomic development of Henan.Renewing conception is a subjective condition to strengthen the competitive capacity of Henan.Greatly developing science and technology and education is the key to promoting the economic development of Henan.


Although in southern and southeastern regions of Brazil, research results with canola culture already exist and are known; in the central plateau savannah they are still nonexistent. The objective of the work was to evaluate the responsiveness of agronomic characteristics and productivity of canola grains in different sowing spatial arrangements in Cerrado of central Brazilian plateau. The experiment was carried out at Fazenda Água Limpa, at the University of Brasília, in Brasília DF. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with treatments formed by two spacing between lines (0.25 and 0.5 m) and three sowing densities (25, 35 and 45 plants per meter), with three replications per block. The used seeds were from the Hyola 575CL hybrid, sown in Oxisol. Plant height (AP), stem diameter (DH), silica per plant (SP), thousand grain mass (MMG) and grain yield evaluations were carried out. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means compared by the Tukey test (P ≥ 0.05). The results indicated a higher AP for 0.5 m spacing between lines and density of 45 plants per meter. Higher DH for 0.5 m spacing 2 Lopes et al./Desempenho agronômico.../v35n2p158-169 (2020) between lines and density of 35 plants per meter. Higher SP occurs with 0.5 m line spacing. Grain productivity is higher with a density of 35 plants per meter. MMG does not differ due to the factors studied.


Although protein crystals of high integrity in a microgravity environment have been reported, the actual implementation of these experiments are very limited. The use of magnetic force is among the most promising methods of simulating the virtual microgravity environment on earth. We have been carrying out the development of superconducting magnets for generating uniform magnetic force fields since 1997. It was not clear at the beginning of this study what configuration of superconducting coils could generate high and uniform magnetic force fields most effectively. We used a nonlinear programming method to reach an optimized design. We constructed a superconducting magnet for generating uniform magnetic force fields, whose coil parameters were based on the optimization result. The superconducting magnet was wound with NbTi conductors and designed to generate 240T2/m of the magnetic force field and 9T of the central magnetic field. This magnetic force field can cancel 17% of the gravity force for pure water. The variation of the magnetic force field is less than 1.0% in the axial component and less than 2.0% in the radial component. The uniformity of the axial component was experimentally confirmed. The magnet has now been in operation for protein crystal growth experiments.


Background: National surveys indicate that among countries in Africa where malaria is endemic, Nigeria alone accounts for 21% of pregnancies
that are unprotected from malaria. This study aimed to ascertain the extent of utilization and effectiveness of malaria prevention methods, found
out the existing relationship between maternal parasitaemia and the effectiveness of these methods at (p<0.05) level of signicance.Methods: The
study was a cross sectional survey involving 264 consenting pregnant women who were recruited at booking clinic at Federal Teaching Hospital,
Ido -Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on their socio-demographic characteristics,
mode and extent of utilization of malaria prevention methods and their effectiveness. Venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for
malaria parasitaemia using the microscopy. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 Results:The malaria prevention methods most commonly
reported as being effective were the Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) or both, which were utilized by 97(36.5%), 79
(30.0%) and 88 (33.4%) participants respectively. Eight (8.3%), 9 (10.8%), and 7 (7.9%) of the participants that used ITNs, IRS or both
combination respectively tested positive for malaria parasitaemia. There was a statistically signicant association between maternal parasitaemia
and malaria prevention methods using ITNs (p=0.001), IRS (p = 0.001) or both (p = 0.001).Conclusion: The most commonly adopted malaria
prevention methods were ITNs, Indoor Residual Spray or both. Despite their protective effectiveness, their utilizations are still poor. Information
and communication strategies by the stakeholders are suggested to improve the utilization of these methods as adopted by other countries.


The human cathelicidin peptide, LL-37, is a host defense peptide with a wide range of immunomodulatory activities and modest direct antimicrobial properties. LL-37 can exert both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects and can modulate the proinflammatory responses of human peripheral blood monocytes and epithelial cells. In this study, we evaluated the effect of LL-37 on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) and tissue macrophages in vitro and in vivo. LL-37 dramatically reduced TNF- a and NO levels produced by LPS and IFN- g –polarized M1-BMDM and slightly reduced reactive oxygen species production by these cells. LL-37 did not affect the ability of IL-4–polarized M2-BMDM to upregulate arginase activity, although it did inhibit LPS-induced TNF- a secretion in these cells. LL-37 did not compromise the ability of M1-polarized BMDM to phagocytose and kill bacteria and did not affect the uptake of apoptotic neutrophils by M2-polarized BMDM. However, LL-37-treated M1-BMDM were more efficient at suppressing tumor growth in vitro. LL-37 significantly reduced LPS-induced TNF- a secretion in ex vivo alveolar macrophages, whereas its effect on peritoneal macrophages was much less dramatic. Effective inhibition of LPS-induced TNF- a secretion by alveolar macrophages also occurred in vivo when LL-37 was administered by intratracheal injection. This demonstrates a selective ability of LL-37 to decrease M1-BMDM, M2-BMDM, and tissue macrophage production of


Crystal structures of two kinds of cobalt oxide superconductors were investigated by neutron powder diffraction. Comparison between the structures of the two phases, one derived from γ-Na0.7CoO2 and the other from α-NaCoO2, indicated that the guest arrangement is common to the two phases in spite of the difference in stacking made of CoO2 host layers. Structure analysis on the basis of composite crystal models with stacking faults revealed that the hydrated sodium ions in the galleries are ordered to form a 2/ a × 2/ a trigonal lattice, where a is a lattice constant of the fundamental unit cell. The guest layers were found to be stacked along the c-direction with a short-range interlayer ordering:  when a guest layer is stacked onto another over a CoO2 layer interposed between them, the stacking must be accompanied by a lateral shift with shift vectors, 1/2a2, 1/2b2, and 1/2a2 +1/2 b2, where a2 and b2 are lattice vectors of the 2/ a × 2/ a lattice with the same probability.


Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has demonstrated efficacy in metastatic melanoma patients, with ~50% objective responses. Amongst parameters recognized as important for the efficacy of ACT is a high proportion of CD8+ T cells in the infusion product. OX40 (CD134) belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor super family and is mainly expressed by activated T lymphocytes. Activation of OX40 signaling promotes proliferation and survival of T-cells via the NF-kB pathway. Agonistic anti-OX40 antibodies have been developed as immunotherapy drugs for the treatment of cancer, one of which was recently shown to increase reactivity of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in patient9s peripheral blood. In this work, we studied the expression of the OX40 receptor on TILs and investigated the impact of an anti-OX40 agonistic antibody on the ex vivo expansion and effector function of TILs. We found that OX40 was enriched in the CD4+ T cell subset of TILs. Its expression was up-regulated in response to anti-CD3 stimulation during the rapid expansion protocol (REP) of TIL production. An anti-OX40 monoclonal antibody was obtained from commercial sources and characterized in vitro. It was shown to bind OX40 specifically and to mediate NF-κB activation in a dose-dependent manner upon clustering. Consistent with its agonistic activity in the reporter assay, the anti-OX40 antibody also heightened IFN-γ production of OKT3-stimulated TILs, suggesting improved T cell effector function (N=6; p=0.03) and supporting its use during TIL expansion. When TILs were propagated by REP in the presence of anti-OX40, the frequency of CD8+ T cells increased significantly in the final product relative to control (N=21, p=0.001). The effect was dose-dependent. Interestingly, cell surface expression of the OX40 receptor was specifically down-regulated in the responding anti-OX40-treated TILs, suggesting a link between regulation of the OX40 signaling axis and the antibody-mediated effect on the TIL subsets. The TCR Vβ repertoire of TILs expanded with anti-OX40 was not changed significantly (N=3). However, expression of T cell surface markers was altered by the antibody, which skewed the T cell phenotype towards a differentiated and activated state. Taken together, maintenance of T cell diversity and differentiation state of the T cells suggest that anti-OX40 acted by selectively promoting the proliferation of CD8+ T cells. When assessed functionally in an IFNγ assay, the potency of the TILs produced in the presence of anti-OX40 was shown to be comparable to that of control TILs. In conclusion, our work shows that activation of OX40 signaling using an agonistic antibody could significantly improve expansion of CD8+ TILs. Implications on in vivo anti-tumor activity remain to be assessed. Citation Format: Krit Ritthipichai, Marcus Machin, Maria Fardis, Cecile Chartier. Anti-OX40 agonistic antibody enhances ex vivo CD8+ TIL expansion with increased T-cell effector function [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-110.


This paper discusses a number of circuit approaches which address lowering the power consumed by a modern current steering DAC while maintaining both DC and AC performance levels. An example design provides 14 bit resolution and 250 MSPS conversion rate in a 1P4M 0.18mum CMOS process, with optional 3.3 volt compatible devices. A power dissipation/conversion rate figure of merit of as low as 0.17 mW/MSPS was achieved for 1.8V operation and as low as 0.28 mW/MSPS at 3.3V. SFDR of 70 dB is achieved at a 50 MHz output frequency


In this paper, a method based on LTSA and VMD is proposed to effectively extract fault feature information of rolling bearing. The selection of reduced dimension d and neighborhood selection parameter k in LTSA adopts grid search method. Taking the fault characteristic energy ratio (FER) as the objective function, a set of optimal parameters is determined as the input parameter of the manifold learning algorithm. Variational modal decomposition (VMD) is used to denoise signal. The kurtosis value, correlation value and envelope entropy value are comprehensively evaluated, and the optimal component is selected for reconstruction. The optimal component of reconstruction is analyzed by envelope spectrum to realize fault diagnosis. The proposed method is applied to the fault measurement signal. The results show that the proposed LTSA-VMD fault diagnosis method has obvious advantages in signal denoising and fault feature extraction.


The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) is used to reveal subtle mineral alignment fabrics in apparently isotropic crystalline lithologies, including granites. Such petrofabrics can be produced by emplacement-related magma flow or post-emplacement tectonic strain. However, discriminating between flow-related and tectonic fabrics using field observations alone may be challenging and is usually a broad and arbitrary interpretation. In this contribution, we employ a range of magnetic analyses to characterize the origin of the petrofabric in the c. 425 Ma Ratagain Complex, NW Scotland, a composite Late Caledonian granitic intrusion. Our detailed magnetic analyses reveal that whilst all intrusive units carry an ambient tectonic overprint, critically, this has not developed into an obvious tectonic fabric and contains a horizontal shortening component indicative of transpression. This appears at odds with the well-defined Silurian (Scandian phase) regional transtensional tectonic regime from c. 420–415 Ma onwards. Accordingly, we suggest that either the complex is younger than previously thought or that it existed as a crystal-mush close to the magmatic solidus for a protracted period after its initial emplacement. This study lays the foundations for much-needed further investigations into the detailed emplacement mechanisms, timescales and petrogenesis of individual granitic intrusions, to aid understanding of Late Caledonian tectonics. Supplementary material: Supplementary data to this article are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5941375 Thematic collection: This article is part of the Early Career Research collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/SJG-early-career-research


Objective To evaluate the risk factors of progression of coronary atherosclerosis.Methods Eighty patients who had undergone two coronary angiograms from January,2005 to December,2006 were divided into progressive group(n=31)and non-progressive group(n=49)based on whether there was progression of coronary atherosclerosis or not. Progression of coronary atherosclerosis was defined as the minimal lumen diameter(MLD)of coronary artery in the second coronary angiogram decreased 0.4 mm when compared with that obtained in first coronary angiogram.Results The number of female patient and patient with acute coronary syndrome(ACS)were much higher in progressive group when compared with non-progressive group(41.9% vs 18.4%,P0.05 and 77.4% vs 46.3%,P0.01).The level of hs-CRP was also significantly higher in progressive group[0.25(0.00-8.00)mg/L vs 0.01(0.00-4.50)mg/L,P0.01].Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that ACS and high level hs-CRP were independent risk factors of progression of coronary atherosclerosis[OR:12.63,95%CI 1.45-110.29;and OR:2.99,95%CI 1.04-8.63].Conclusions ACS,female and high level hs-CRP play important role in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis.ACS and high level hs-CRP are independent risk factors of progression of coronary atherosclerosis.


This plant is valuable for its medicinal purpose and also for ornamental purpose. The plant showing its capability for regeneration following their seeds as well as by the potential application of its mature stem cuttings. Selected stem cuttings were grown in prepared fields and in poly bags (including equally by soil, sand and manure) also. Stem cutting from mother plant was made by selections of the older ones and oblique cut on stem made. For this purpose around 10 – 15 cm long stem cuttings were used for the same purpose. These cutting parts of the stem were further applied for its regeneration in prepared beds and poly bags in large scale to its propagation, protection and for dissemination in different needed sites. Development of new individuals of this plant in each one of the poly bags were monitored and as per need of the plants facilities were provided to support their successful growth and development. Finding for the same was discussed further more in this paper.rn


The wastewater was quickly and fastly cleared by the peel extracts of astringent persimmon fruits. The degree of clearness increased with increasing concentrations (400-600 mg/l) of the peel extracts of astringent persimmon fruits. The removal rates of T-P and CODcr in wastewater with lime and the peel extracts of astringent persimmon fruits were lower than ferric chloride and aluminium sulfate at 100-200 mg/l concentration but higher at above 300 mg/l concentration. The removal rate of T-P increased with increasing concentration of the peel extracts of astringent persimmon fruits.


Robert H. Osher, MD, loves teaching but he bristles at the restrictions that come with some meetings and their CME providers.


Objective To investigate the value of the exercise induced kidney damage by the combined assay of urinary protein and serum uric acid.Methods 167 recruits were investigated after two weeks training with questionnaire,and objective assay,such as urine,serum uric acid,and serum creatinine at the same time.Analysis of the urinary protein and serum uric acid combined with detection of exercise-induced kidney damage complementary was conducted by two way of disordered classification information related to the test.Results After the test of the two-way disordered classification information related,it showedχ2=2.39(P0.05) ,and urine protein possitive had a close relationship with the increased level of the serum uric acid,with the Pearson column connection number being C= 0.118 8.Conclusion Exercise induced renal damage may possiblly cause two different ways of pathological damage in glomerulus and tubular,and urine protein possitive has more close relation with glomerular damage while the increase of serum uric acid has more close relation with tubular damage.The joint detection of urine protein and serum uric acid would help to evaluate the exercise-induced kidney damage,and diagnose the early detection of exerciseinduced kidney damage.And it can also evaluate the exercise training intensity and scientific guide in the sports training so to prevent exercise-induced acute renal failure.


Foreword | This paper models the connection between the rate of terrorist events and the occurrence of counterterrorism interventions in order to examine the relative effectiveness of the interventions. Using data from the Global Terrorism Database and information on interventions collected by the authors, model results show that for Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, reactive types of interventions, such as arrests, indictments, imprisonments, assassinations and other operational activities show the strongest association with the rate of terrorism incidents over time. Maximum effectiveness—as measured by the number of days after an intervention exhibits its full inhibitory effect on the risk of subsequent terrorist attacks—was found to be greatest in Indonesia and the Philippines (11 days and 8 days respectively) and least effective in Thailand (impacting only on the day the intervention occurred). This paper also examines the number of days after an intervention that the response was able to maintain a high level of effectiveness—17 days in Indonesia, 13 days in the Philippines and one day in Thailand. There were significant differences across these three countries and these results highlight a new approach to conceptualising the interaction between terrorism and counter-terrorism efforts.


advocated by Dr. Camplin from his own personal experience as well as from his practical knowledge; and although, as he says, great are the links wanted in the chain by which physiology is to be brought to bear on the subject so as to give us a perfect theory of diabetes, still, doubtless, researches will ere long be made to establish witlhout doubt the true theory of the disease. There can exist no doubt that it is essentially a nervous disorder more especially implicating the medulla oblongata, and much of its excess depends on the influence of the mind. Little will avail treatment by medicine, unless we so regulate the diet that all things from wlhich sugar is capable of beiDg formed by the action of the gastric juice be denied. The fact of the dyspepsia and the defect in the assimilating functions iS sufficient in itself to lead us to consider the condition of the blood, which is invariably in a depressed and vitiated state, and requires us to endeavour to restore by those means which we have at our command. There now exists nlo doubt but that amylaceous food is, in the diabetic system, quickly converted by the saliva aind gastric juice, and more especially in the small intestines into sugar; and, a depraved state of the diaestive and assimilating functions existing, it is removed in this form by the eliminating organs, more especially the kidneys. Such being the case, this disease is niot primarily a disease of the kidney, although post mortem examination will always exhibit an abnormal condition of that org,an, which cannot but be anticipated from the extra work it has to perform in expelling the sugar The renal cells become modified, often to such an extent as to be shed by desquamation. [To be contintued.]


Maurice Lagueux has produced an elegantly written book with a challenging argument. The argument has, in effect, in two parts. One is that economic explanation requires an assumption of rationality. The other is that rationality for this purpose means behaviour that is 'purposeful and makes sense' (p. 92) – no more, no less. That is, people are instrumentally rational: they have objectives and beliefs about the world such that their actions are appropriate to the attainment of those objectives. This may sound standard but it is not. Lagueux's sense of rationality is not tied to maximising behaviour or consistency (or transitivity or any of the other axioms) of the rational choice model. People can be inconsistent for a whole variety of reasons that should not qualify or diminish their rationality. They may be learning, they may be concerned with outcomes that are unavoidably context dependent, they may suffer from inadequate information, tastes may change and so on. Thus, he summarises


Metal-ceramic composites are recently being used as electrode materials in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), which have received much attention as alternative energy sources. In this work cermets of Cu-Ni-Ag/Y2O3 were synthesized with different quantities of Ni and Ag. Various samples were prepared from pure precursors by conventional powder metallurgy processing and sintered at 800°C. The characterization by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analyze (TGA) indicate that the presence of Y2O3 could increase the corrosion resistance of the metallic copper alloys. The copper crystalline structure presents internal strengths and possibly crystallites with different cell parameters due to the effect of thermal and mechanical treatments in presence of Y2O3. The highest electrical conductivity and highest hardness were obtained for the composition with 5% Y2O3 and 5% nickel, which increases the hardness and could contribute to the higher conductivity through a precipitation mechanism.


This Article is intended as a reflection – based on one particular case – on the role of the mimetic portrait in the fifth century, and on the notion of "original" versus "copy". Given the theme of this conference, I will obviously concentrate on portraits with a mnemonic function. Inevitably, however, the debate will also touch on the question of the portrait in general. Through the examples studied here, I will also try to respond to a question which, to me, seems to be one of the central questions surrounding the portrait in late antiquity: to what extent are the formal choices determined by rhetorical considerations? And more generally, what is the impact of oratory on figurative style?


Although the general information about Herpetofauna of Turkish has been provided, the number of herpetological studies related to certain region are very limited. In order to complete this lack of information, a total of 30 specimens, collected from 7 localities around the province of izrnit and Bolu, belonging to 2 amphibian and 8 reptilian species were reported. The morphometric measurements, pholidosis, coloration of the specimens were presented.


We evaluated the cost and efficacy of radiobasilic and brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) methods in terms of forearm autogenous arteriovenous access in hemodialysis patients. We used a decision tree to compare the cost‐effectiveness of proximal radiobasilic AVF (pRBAVF) and brachiobasilic AVF (BBAVF), considering the mean direct medical costs and patency rates. The overall mean cost of pRBAVF per patient (1767.59 Turkish lira [TL]) was lower than that of BBAVF (1877.99 TL). Also, the mean patency duration per patient was higher for pRBAVF (25.72 months) than BBAVF (20.21 months). The incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) showed that pRBAVF was 20.04‐fold more effective than BBAVF. The monthly ICERs also favored pRBAVF, which was less costly and more effective. The pRBAVF provided clinical and economic benefits for hemodialysis patients requiring forearm autogenous arteriovenous access. pRBAVF was more effective in terms of patency than BBAVF, and was also less expensive.


Department of Pharmacology, NationalOrganization forDrugControl andResearch, NODCAR, Giza, Egypt Correspondence EbtehalMohammadFikry (Email: email@example.com) Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an ideal adult stem cell with capacity for self-renewal and differentiation with an extensive tissue distribution. The present study evaluates the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) or adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) against the development of methotrexate (MTX)-induced cardiac fibrosis versus dexamethasone (DEX). Rats were allocated into five groups; group 1, received normal saline orally; group 2, received MTX (14 mg/kg/week for 2 weeks); groups 3 and 4, treated once with 2 × 106 cells of MTX + BM-MSCs and MTX + AD-MSCs, respectively; and group 5, MTX+DEX (0.5mg/kg, for 7 days, P.O.).MTX induced cardiac fibrosis asmarked changes in oxidative biomarkers and elevation of triglyceride, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, gammaglutamyl transferase, creatine kinase, and caspase-3, aswell as deposited collagen. These injurious effects were antagonized after treatment with MSCs. So, MSCs possessed antioxidant, antiapoptotic, as well antifibrotic effects, which will perhaps initiate them as notable prospective for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis.


In 1958 Samuelson considered an economy with overlapping generations and argued that some financial intermediary (or introduction of money) is essential to achieve an efficient allocation. The results in his paper have been extended and criticized by various authors (e.g., Cass-Yaari [1966, 1967], Diamond [1965], Gale [1973]). Recently, the same idea was brought into slightly different framework: a general equilibrium approach to an economy with fiat money. Hayashi, in his recent paper [1976], argues that in some special class of economies there exists a monetary equilibrium (an equilibrium with positive price of money) if we consider an infinite horizon economy. This result is remarkable, although intuitively straightforward, since it is impossible to obtain this equilibrium result in a finite horizon economy without some artificial money absorbing scheme (e. g., Starr [1974], Kurz [1974], Heller [1974], Okuno [1976]). In an infinite horizon economy, any consumer can pass money to another consumer, while there must be some consumer who must end with money holding in a finite economy. Yet, the existence of a monetary equilibrium is not as simple as the previous sentence may suggest, for all other consumers may refuse to accept money if they do not wish to hold it. Hayashi's contribution is important in that he characterizes an economy where such incentives for trades of money exist. However, his model is restricted in two ways. First, he considers an economy where the timing of sales and purchases is exogenously determined for all individuals. This enables him to consider a group of buyers and a group of sellers at each moment. A seller at some instant would become a buyer in the next moment and then leave the market. A consumer's preference is defined over consumption for these two periods (when he is a seller and when he is a buyer). As Hayashi himself observed, one of the most important problems in monetary theory is the existence of idle balances. It would certainly be more interesting to consider an economy where the decision to enter the market and therefore the decision of idle balances are also endogenous. Secondly, all of the previous works on consumption loan models (including Hayashi's) deal essentially with a stationary or balanced growth economy. One


(52) U.S. Cl. .......................................................... 725/46 (75) Inventors: Frank M. Shipman, College Station, TX (US); Andreas (57) ABSTRACT Girgensohn, Palo Alto, CA (US); The invention provides for quickly browsing through a large Lynn D. Wilcox, Palo Alto, CA set of video clips to locate video clips of interest. In an (US) embodiment of the present invention, hierarchical clustering of the video clips can be undertaken enabling the user to Correspondence Address: successively identify the subgroup of video clips of interest. FLESLER MEYER LLP This approach generates a video Summary for the contents of 650 CALIFORNLA STREET, 14TH FLOOR each cluster by selecting representative video clips from indi SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108 vidual videos and lower level clusters within the cluster. Links are added between the more general, higher-level clus ters and the elements they contain. Thus, starting at the top of the set of videos being browsed or returned by the search engine and continuing at each Subsequent cluster level, the user is presented with video summaries for the relevant parts (73) Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO.,LTD., Minato-ku (JP)


application of "interest teaching" in teaching should integrate contents and objects, create conditions to produce direct interests in students , at the same time, enforce cultivation of in-direct interests in students, carry out modern consciousness of sports , develop students' ability of concentration.


There is strong evidence for the observation that psychological risk factors, such as depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and anxiety are associated with higher risk of developing coronary heart dis ...


The invention relates to a sputtering coating device, which comprises a hollow body and a bearing device and a drive device accommodated in the body. The body comprises a top plate and a bottom plate which are opposite. The bearing device comprises a circular ring rack, a circular ring base and a plurality of bars. The circular ring rack is fixedly arranged on the top plate and is formed by connecting at least one flexible assembling plate. The circular ring base is rotatably arranged on the bottom plate and is coaxially arranged with the circular ring rack. The bars are arranged along the axial direction of the circular ring base, are distributed along the circumferential direction of the circular ring base and are connected with the circular ring rack and the circular ring base. The drive device is connected with the circular ring base and the bars, and is used for driving the circular ring base and the bars to rotate around respective central axis. The circular ring rack of the sputtering coating device is formed by connecting at least one flexible assembling plate, so that the opening mold cost is reduced, and the production cost is decreased.


p. 77, L. 5: Section 3.4 could be rearranged a bit to be more clear. p. 28977, L. 20: It is not clear what a 'summer total', 'yearly total', or 'global total' of deposition velocity is without a definition. It wouldn't make sense to have a cm s−1 unit for a year's worth of soil uptake, but a mean could make sense. As could integrating over all latitudinal mean bands. Please explain more clearly. Without a clear explanation it's hard to know


The open-ended scientific-inquiry studies of 22 high-school physics students were analyzed for operational rules as they physically and mentally manipulated materials over a 9-week period. Inquiry activities included studies of pendula, meal worms, and lens construction. The technique of structural analysis is a search for fundamental strategies recognizable as uniquely scientific activity. This study found six operational rules (e.g., identifies key attributes of experience). The rules are presented with concrete examples. The central implication of this study is that scientific activity can be described in terms of structural transformational rules, as well as in terms of behavior, information, skill performance, or attitudes. This more complete description of scientific activity may enable better curriculum, instruction, and program evaluation.


Two deep eutectic solvents (DES) based on betaine (B) and propylene glycol (PG) in molar ratios of 1:4 and 1:5 were prepared and their physico-chemical properties were determined. Liquid-liquid equilibria at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure were determined for 13 quasi-three-component systems with a hydrocarbon (n-hexane, n-heptane, i-octane or toluene), solute (pyridine or thiophene) and DES (B-PG 1:4 or B-PG 1:5). Experimental phase diagrams and calculated distribution ratios showed that DESs are more suitable for denitrification than for desulfurization. The equilibria in the investigated systems were described by the NRTL and UNIQUAC models, and good agreement with experiments was obtained.


sequent liability to be fractured, is possibly anotlher objection to its use. It further appears to me that any substitute material employed in addition to being non-porous ought to be tough, resilient, smooth, non-absorbable and capable of being moulded, and celluloid possesses all these qualities. The material which I lhave made use of lhas been about -1in. in thickness; when warmed it can be moulded to some extent, not so perfectly as aluminium or silver perhaps, but its elasticity and resilience are much greater, and probably therefore it is capable of offering more satisfactory resistance to external violence, blows, etc.; in the case of Mrs. C. (Case 1), for instance, tlle plate certainly served a useful purpose in protecting lher brain from injury from a blow whicll fell directly uponi it. REFERENCES. IGoetz, Bieitrdqe klim. Chir., vol. iii. 2 Klinig, Cen1t. f. Chir.. 1890. p. 497. 3 Mullei, Cent. f. Chir.. 1890, p. 65. 4 Weer and Woolscy, Annai(ils of .Sttrgelry, Vol. xxviii. 5 Grekow, RJ?sskoi Chirutrg., 1901.


Wound management involves repeated clinical trips and procedures of lab tests over days. To eliminate this time lag and provide real-time monitoring of a wound's progress, we have designed an enzymatic biosensor for determining uric acid (UA) in wound fluid. Uric Acid is a biomarker, having an established correlation with wounds and their healing. This electrochemical biosensor comprises enzyme urate oxidase (uricase, UOx) entrapped in a polyvinyl alcohol based cationic polymer for enhanced stability. Results show that the use of a redox electron shuttle, ferrocene carboxylic acid (FCA), enabled electron transfer between the enzyme and the transducer. The immobilized uricase in the polymer matrix provided stable continuous measurements at body temperature for a week with minimal deviation. Detection of uric acid in wound fluid has been determined from volumes as low as 0.5–50 μ L. Studies from different wound samples have shown an average recovery of 107%. The sensor has been interfaced with LMP91000 potentiostat and controlled by CC2650 microcontroller on a Kapton tape-based miniaturized flexible platform. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by ECS. This is an


Situs inversus totalis (SIT) is a rare condition in which the viscera are transposed in a mirror image reversal. We report two cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) performed for SIT patients. A 63-year old male patient with SIT was diagnosed with symptomatic gallstones. We performed LC by 3-port method. The patient was discharged uneventfully on postoperative day 2. A 57-year old female patient with SIT underwent LC for acute cholecystitis. Due to severe inflammation an assistant was needed. The patient was discharged uneventfully on postoperative day 3. Over 80 cases of LCs in SIT patients have been reported so far and LC has become the standard treatment. The current report confirms the safety of laparoscopy in such cases. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed safely in SIT patients if care is taken. Surgeons need to be careful of reversed anatomy and unaccustomed working hand.


Natural disaster often occurs nowadays all around the world result in environmental damage and broken infrastructure which prevent logistics transportation for the evacuees. Therefore, it has been developed a payload transport UAV based on Internet of Things (IoT) for transportation of goods (foods, clothes and medicines) to the disaster location. The transport system consists of a relatively small (52.5 cm, 52.5 cm and 26.5 cm of length, width and height respectively) container (as the main part of the system) lifted by an UAV using a rope, servo motor and a pulley which are controlled by IoT Platform for user friendly access through a smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer. The system is equipped with automatic door and lock system, ultrasonic sensor system for distance measurement and pulley system with 17 N cm torque servo motor 360° for loading and unloading mechanism. Lolin Node (Microcontroller Unit) MCU v3 using Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol of IoT for WiFi and GSM networks has been used for the system for control and communication application. Hereinafter, the pulley system has been successfully tested to lift until 9.27 kg of load, 50 cm of distance motion with 6.3 cm/s upward velocity and 11.4 cm/s downward velocity.


Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDTs) are dominant machine learning algorithms for modeling discrete or tabular data. Unlike neural networks with millions of trainable parameters, GBDTs optimize loss function in an additive manner and have a single trainable parameter per leaf, which makes it easy to apply high-order optimization of the loss function. In this paper, we introduce high-order optimization for GBDTs based on numerical optimization theory which allows us to construct trees based on high-order derivatives of a given loss function. In the experiments, we show that high-order optimization has faster per-iteration convergence that leads to reduced running time. Our solution can be easily parallelized and run on GPUs with little overhead on the code. Finally, we discuss future potential improvements such as automatic differentiation of arbitrary loss function and combination of GBDTs with neural networks.


To analyze the influence of tradable credits and bus departure quantity on travelers' travel mode choice, this study investigated car travel and bus travel as research objects and established a two-mode day-to-day travel mode choice model based on tradable credits and bus departure quantity. To improve the guiding effect of tradable credits and bus departure quantity, an optimization scheme of tradable credits and bus departure quantity was developed with the goal of minimizing the system total travel time of car travel and the system total comprehensive cost of bus travel. Taking a test transportation network as an example, the influence of no tradable credits scheme, tradable credits scheme, and tradable credits and bus departure quantity scheme on the travelers' travel mode choice behavior was analyzed. The results showed that the tradable credits and bus departure quantity scheme could reduce the saturation of road traffic and improve bus service quality.


The invention relates to an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp and a reflecting cup therein. The reflecting cup is used for an illuminating light source and comprises a cup body and a cup top, wherein the cup top is provided with an open pore for the light source to stretch into the reflecting cup, the bottom of the reflecting cup is provided with an opening for the outgoing of light emitted by the light source; the reflecting cup is characterized in that the cup body is provided with a plurality of cambered recesses or protrusions. The cup body of the reflecting cup is provided with a plurality of grains arranged in rows and columns, and a raised or recessed cambered surface is formed on every grain. The cambered surface can be the shape of the spherical surface, cylindrical surface or tapered surface. The curvature of the cambered surface is as follows: the curvature on the grain is obtained from the calculation of linear dimension A-B of the side of the grain, and the vertex height D-C of the curvature is calculated in proportion as below: D-C is equal to 0.02 (A-B) to 0.1 (A-B), especially 0.02 to 0.04 (A-B). The invention further provides an LED reflector lamp containing the reflecting cup.


Introduction: "Hockey stick" irradiation is the classical adjuvant treatment for patients with stage I testicular seminoma after orchiectomy, resulting in 98-99% long-term disease free survival. This treatment option has been recently challenged by two alternative approaches a) observation only or b) adjuvant chemotherapy. One of the concerns raised against radiotherapy has been an increased risk of infertility. Impaired spermatogenesis due to scattered and transmitted irradiation to the remaining testicle has been reported in several studies. Although recovery of sperm cell production is observed in most patients, long term oligospermia or azospermia remains an important concern in these mostly young patients. Patients / Methods: We conducted a retrospective study addressing the question of paternity post "hockey stick" irradiation. We reviewed the medical records of 36 patients with stage I seminoma who received post-orchiectomy irradiation at Hadassah University Hospital between January 1994 and September 2004. Patients were contacted by telephone and interviewed regarding paternity status, fertility problems and any need for assisted reproduction treatments. Results: All patients were treated on a high energy linear accelerator with "hockey stick" field to a dose of 22.5-24 Gy in 1.5 Gy fractions with an AP-PA technique. A testicular shell was always used. Semen preservation was recommended to all patients. With a median follow up of 88 months, no patient developed disease recurrence and the only second primary tumor observed was one contralateral testicular germ cell tumor. 13 of the 36 patients were older than 40 years of age and had children at the time of diagnosis, and did not attempt to have further children. One patient was known to be oligospermic and one was azospermic prior to diagnosis. 5 patients were lost to follow-up. Of the 15 patients left, 5 have not yet "tested" their fertility. The 10 who have tried to conceive succeeded with no need for any interventions. 5 of them have each 2 children born after treatment, the other 5 have each one child. The patient with oligospermia had a successful IVF. Conclusions: In our experience, patients treated with adjuvant post-orchiectomy "hockey stick" radiotherapy preserved their fertility. None of those who wanted to reproduce needed any intervention.


Since 1980 surface modeling has been used in industrial design, CAD and entertainment to create and represent complex forms. Even with this comparatively long history of development, challenges remain in free-form surface modeling. One such challenge is building surface creation and editing techniques that effectively balance the need for local control with the need to control the overall global shape, or sweep of the surface. This dissertation presents a multiresolution approach to the creation of surfaces that allows a designer to more easily manage this balance between local and global control. The techniques presented in this dissertation utilize a wavelet decomposition of B-spline curves and surfaces to allow a designer to easily develop the basic shape using lower level representations, and then seamlessly switch to higher level representations to achieve fine control over local features. The algorithms described in the dissertation are implemented in an interactive software system that is used to demonstrate their effectiveness in comparison to existing methods.


Thus it is somewhat disappointing that Müller has so little to say about the function of recitation in Kafka's literary works, such as Father Samsa's habit of reading the newspaper aloud to his family in Die Verwandlung or the songs and speeches of Kafka's animal artists, Josefi ne and Rotpeter. Though their performances might go, strictly speaking, beyond the bounds of "Vortragskunst," surely Kafka's welldocumented interest in literary reading and recitation informs his numerous fi ctional portraits of vocal and musical performers. However, Müller steers clear of discussing such central works as "Josefi ne, die Sängerin oder das Volk der Mäuse" and "Ein Bericht für eine Akademie." It is only in the very last line of the book, in a suggestive but inconclusive remark, that he invokes Rotpeter as a possible practitioner of "Vortragskunst." This is, alas, too little, too late. The comment could have transitioned nicely to a fi nal chapter on recitation in Kafka's literary work; as a conclusion, it only draws attention to the absence of such analysis. Of course, it is easy to criticize a scholarly work for what it lacks, and yet one of the most diffi cult and important tasks of such work is delimitation. In the end, the power of Müller's book does not lie in clever argument or insightful interpretation. Literary analysis is, simply put, neither Müller's aim nor his interest. He aspires to situate Kafka, for the fi rst time, in a particular cultural setting shaped by the events, activities, locations, and moods that constitute the world of literary reading and recitation. He seeks to restore our sense of the richness and variety of vocal performance, of the vast potential of the human voice to refi ne, modulate, and fashion itself before an audience—all of which the recent emphasis on the technologized voice has obscured. Judged as a cultural history of a forgotten art, Müller's book is a great success.


Cardiovascular disease and its consequences on human health have never stopped and even show a trend of appearing in increasingly younger generations. The establishment of an excellent deep learning algorithm model to assist physicians in identifying and the early screening of ECG abnormalities can effectively improve the accuracy of diagnosis. Therefore, in this study, the deep residual network model is adapted for feature extraction and classification of ECG signals by pooling embedded into layers and double channel connection. At the same time, the wavelet adaptive threshold denoising algorithm is used to complete the high signal-to-noise filtering of ECG signals. Then, the alternate pooling residual network (APRN) is compared with the convolutional neural network (CNN), CNN with one residual unit (CNN-R), and the deep residual network (ResNet-18) using ECG datasets from the American MIT-BIH arrhythmia and ST segment abnormality database, European ST-T database, and sudden cardiac death ambulatory ECG database. The results are as follows: The average classification accuracy of the APRN on the four datasets is 97.89%, while the accuracies on CNN, CNN-R, and ResNet-18 are 97.17%, 97.53%, and 97.73%, respectively. In addition, compared with ResNet-18, the classification accuracy of our APRN on each class of data improves by 16.44% in total.


The surface roughness of metals finished by turning has been treated as a problem determined geometrically by the geometry of cutting tools composed of a nose radius and end- and side-cutting-edge angles and the rate of feed. It has also been regarded as being affected adversely by such factors as a build-up edge, the boundary wear at the end-cutting-edge and vibration in the system of the tool and work being machined. It is commonly known, however, that the surface roughness of low carbon steel depends on the depth of cut and the side-cutting-edge angle when it is machined by a cutting tool of a small nose radius. Another factor may have to be introduced to account for this phenomenon. In this paper, microphotographs of that part of work being machined from which chips are separated at the end-cutting-edge of a cutting tool were observed to examine the effect of the condition of chip separation on the surface roughness. It is expounded that the above-mentioned phenomenon can be accounted for by a new factor based on the chip formation mechanism which has an adverse effect on the surface roughness ; the factor being divided into four elements : (1) burrs on the work being machined at the end-cutting-edge of a tool, (2) burns on chips at the end-cutting-edge, (3) fluctuations of feed force and (4) the secondary contact between chips and the surface which has been just machined.


The diet of the Concho water snake Nerodia harteri paucimaculata was investigated from 1987 to 1990 by palpation of stomach contents. Prey remains representing 304 prey items were recovered from 192 individual snakes. Concho water snakes were almost completely piscivorous, feeding on 19 species of fish from nine families with minnows (Cyprinidae) dominating numerically. Cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) represented the only non-piscine prey. Diet diversity increased ontogenetically according to snake body size. Observations of foraging snakes suggest an ontogenetic change in foraging sites concurrent with a change in diet composition. Prey size was positively correlated with snake body size although some snakes occasionally ingested numerous small prey, possibly due to opportunistic feeding on small prey aggregations. Snakes occasionally attempted to handle prey too large to be ingested. Feeding occurred from mid-March to early November. Gravid females fed throughout the spring into mid-July and resumed feeding after parturition. Neonate and juvenile riverine snakes ingested prey in proportion to apparent availability while adults consumed a disproportionate amount of larger prey species. Lacustrine snakes primarily consumed prey associated with benthic or shallow water habitats. However, few individuals of open water and top water species were ingested, suggesting that prey habitat preference strongly influences catchability in lake systems.


The 9th International Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Industrial Applications (ISCIIA2020) CITIC Jingling Hotel Beijing, Beijing, China, Oct.31-Nov.3, 2020 1 Abstract. Underwater images are confronted with blurriness and poor color consistency due to the haze produced by the absorption and scattering effects of the turbid water. Dark Channel Prior (DCP) is the state-of-the-art and the algorithmic basis to solve underwater image restoration. However, the default parameters of DCP may not be applicable to underwater images with different levels of degradation. The selection of the appropriate DCP parameters for each underwater image is considered as an optimization problem and can be solved using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The proposed PSO-based selection algorithm is defined by its operators: objective function, swarm size, inertial weights and acceleration coefficients. Obtaining appropriate combination of these operators are elaborated. The qualitative and quantitative evaluations observed acceptable visual improvements and measurements to underwater images applied with DCP at optimally selected parameters, in comparison to underwater images applied with DCP at default parameters. Hence, the proposed algorithm provides good adaptability and effectivity to the exhaustive search of appropriate DCP parameters.


The effect of shear flow on the excluded volume properties of bead spring chains is calculated via the perturbation expansion of the mean-square end-to-end distance with respect to the excluded volume parameter z. The coefficient of the series 〈R2〉/〈R2〉0 = 1 + C1 · z − … vanishes for large flow rates but shows a strong dependence on the shear rate in the intermediate regime.


Prediction of polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) values of installed links based on manufacturers' data on the delivered short cable sections are biased by the instruments' sensitivity, thus overestimating power penalties. Field distributions of link PMD coefficients display an unexpected long tail toward high PMD coefficients indicating that the hypothesis of random concatenation of fibers in standard procedures for PMD evaluation is not being obeyed in the field. Better instrument sensitivity is required for correct predictions and we suggest that the link simulation methods shall be revised to account for the color pattern in fibers splicing in cable deployment.


For a robotic system, the complete description of the end-effector motion requires six independent parameters, while the desired end-effector motion for a task often needs less than 6 d.o.f. Therefore, the end-effector motion can be divided into desired motion and undesired motion. The end-effector motion is transformed from the joint motions. In this paper, the efficiency of the joint motions to implement the desired motion is investigated and a new concept called motion purity is proposed to measure this efficiency. The new concept is more comprehensive and direct than other existing performance measures, such as the volume of workspace and manipulability. It is appropriate as a design objective at various phases in designing a robotic mechanism. The tripod machine tool is studied and its structure is optimized from the viewpoint of the motion purity.


This diploma thesis deals with the study, design and construction of a Flyback inverter, which includes an additional circuit that creates zero voltage transition conditions (ZVT) for the main switch. This project was conducted in the Laboratory of Electromechanical Energy Conversion Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Patra.
The objective of this project is the confirmation of the zero voltage transition of the main switch, which will lead to an improvement of the power factor of the conventional Flyback inverter.
The first stage of this work is the theoretical study of the DC to DC Flyback converter and the DC to AC Flyback inverter. After this, there is a thorough theoretical analysis of the zero voltage transition circuit.
The next step is the simulation of the topology, which confirmed the proper behavior of the inverter and the zero voltage transition of the main switch as well.
Following, there is the analysis of the technical characteristics of all the developed circuits and the description of the program code, which was used to produce the pulses.
Finally, there are measurements and oscillography figures which occurred from the experiment transacted after the construction of the printed boards was finished. Photographs of the whole construction are also included.


First the bad news. One indicator of scholastic degeneracy is epistemological closure, a predisposition to rehearse and vindicate the school's view rather than to test and criticize it. Of the 17 papers collected here, only one (by Richard Gonce) strikes a somewhat skeptical pose; the rest range from laudatory to fawning. Now, it must be admitted that this supportive atmosphere owes something to the plain fact that Veblen and Commons were very insightful men, whose ideas deserve far more consideration than they currently receive. But when one sees the book dedicated "in tribute" to Commons and Veblen, "for their contributions to the demystification of economy, polity and society," one must wonder whether the conclusions were not foreordained. At a minimum, one would expect note to be made of the fact that these two founding documents defined "institution" in profoundly different ways, one (Veblen's) as a mental construct, the other (Commons's) as a social artifact. This tension has dogged institutionalism from the outset, but no mention is made of it whatsoever. Other fruitful contrasts could be drawn between these founding fathers: Commons the earnest Christian versus Veblen the studied cynic; Commons the reformist versus Veblen the determinist; Commons the teleologist versus Veblen the behaviorist; and so on. Why, for that matter, did two economists choose to publish their theoretical manifestos in the American Journal of Sociology^ The real task of comparison, in other words, has barely been initiated in this book.


A field experiment was conducted at Junagadh during the rainy season of 1996 and 1997 to study the effect of organic, inorganic and biological sources of nutrients on yield, quality, nutrient content and uptake of semi-spreading groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) as well as nutrient status of soil. Combine application of FYM @ 20 tonnes/ha + 100% recommended dose of fertilizer + Azotobacter spp. + Pseudomonas striata recorded significantly higher shelling (%), protein content and yield, oil yield, mean yield of pod and haulm as well as gross returns than the control, at application of only FYM @ 10 tonnes/ha, Azotobacter spp. + Pseudomonas striata, 50% N of recommended dose of fertilizer + Pseudomonas striata, 50% P2O5 of recommended dose of fertilizer + Azotobacter spp. and 50% recommended dose of fertilizer, while net returns were obtained maximum when crop was fertilized with only 100% recommended dose of fertilizer. Similar trend was also observed for N, P, K content and uptake. Available nitrogen and phosphorus in soil was also improved with combined application of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers.


Abstract This paper explores the identification and exploration of 'unfinished business' in gestalt reminiscence therapy with older adults. The theoretical basis for this integrative approach is briefly outlined, and extroacts from a transcript from a six year long ongoing project in the South of Ireland are used to illustrate the occurrence and processing of unfinished business in therapy. An audio-tape of a particular session on the theme of 'Feelings' was transcribed using a modified Jeffersonian approach as outlined in Potter and Wetherell (1987). The transcript was read critically for the identification and selection of any 'unfinished business' by a panel of three judges, and the chosen excerpts were then analysed using the discourse analysis method.


Keratinization and pigmentation in Crocodilus niloticus skin were compared with the conditions in the lizards Lacerta viridis and Anolis carolinensis. The epidermis, both in the crocodile and in lizards, is arranged to form a surface pattern of scales and narrower intervening hinge regions. Similar keratin-bound substances were found in the crocodile and lizard stratum corneum. Nevertheless, the greater uniformity in histological structure and in distribution of chemical substances throughout the depth of the crocodile stratum corneum was in marked contrast to the lizards, which showed morphological differences, and differences in intensities of chemical reactions in the horny cells laid down early and late in each keratinization cycle. In the crocodile, keratin-bound S-S and SH are uniformly distributed in the horny scales, but in the lizards the superficial cells have most S-S and the lowermost keratinized cells most SH. The loosely arranged horny cells in the crocodile are shed in small flakes as in mammals, in contrast to lizards which undergo periodic sloughs of a compact stratum corneum. In the lizards, the intermediate layer between two horny layer generations contains no detectable S-S and is probably unkeratinized, so that when these cells die a fission zone is formed. The crocodile scales each contain a raised pigmented papule in which melanin is introduced into the epidermal cells, and keratinization is also different from the neighbouring area. Guanophores and lipophores are absent in the crocodile, although present in the lizards. All contain prominent dermal melanophores.


During Communism in Bulgaria a distinction between 'woman's work' (zhenska rabota) and 'man's work' (muzhka rabota) was maintained in the public and the private spheres. Despite the official rhetoric about sex equality, this division was never sufficiently challenged (Petrova, 1997). The Bulgarian family is also characterized by enduring patriarchal traditions (Merdjanska and Panova, 1995). For example, women typically prepare and serve meals in the often extended family situation. There is also one cultural view according to which women should keep quiet when men speak. (Consider the 'joke': 'The door of a Moskvitch [a car] and a woman's mouth are kept shut by a kick'.) Violence against women in the family is a serious problem. A recent report from the Minnesota Advocates of Human Rights (1996: 3) wrote that, 'Bulgarian law explicitly discriminates against victims of domestic assault'. However, during Communism the family was typically represented as if it was a harmonious 'micro' unit of society in which partners' relations were based on love and mutual support. Such representations were divorced from the lived experiences of many people. Violence against women and sexual abuse were represented as if they were problems which existed only in 'other' (i.e. western) societies. In the same vein the image of the 'housewife' was constructed negatively. Western 'housewives' were viewed as victims of capitalism whose lives were meaningless, and these were often contrasted with the lives of Communist


Background: The optimal arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) in patients with acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is unknown and controversial. The objective of this study was to measure global cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity (CO2R), and cerebral metabolic rates (CMR) of oxygen (O2), glucose (glu), and lactate (lac), in patients with ABM and compare the results to those obtained in healthy volunteers.


Herein we describe the synthesis of cis-/trans-3-aminotetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylic acids (cis-/trans-FAA) having a γ-methoxy group cis to the amine. The homo-oligomers of these two diastereomeric FAAs have been prepared. Preliminary investigation of their solution secondary structures revealed that they are the same as the homo-oligomers of the parent cis-/trans-FAA with the methoxy group only being a spectator substituent.


The review of standards for wireless networks and wireless protocols was revised the and classification of data based on standards ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi was proposed in order to quickly connect users to wireless networks with aim of mobility and flexibility. The several ways of sensor network, including on the basis of Arduino microcontrollers and related adapters of different standards were used for this approach. In the article were analyzed the Arduino microcontroller to perform certain functions and tasks. The possibilities of standards ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi within the network were considered using gateways and the usage of Raspberry Pi microcomputer as a router and gateway also was considered.


In this paper, we propose to address the moving average (MA) parameters estimation issue based only on noisy observations and without any knowledge on the variance of the additive stationary white Gaussian measurement noise. For this purpose, the MA process is approximated by a high-order AR process and its parameters are estimated by using an errors-in-variables (EIV) approach, which also makes it possible to derive the variances of both the driving process and the additive white noise. The method is based on the Frisch scheme. One of the main difficulties in this case is to evaluate the minimal AR-process order that must be considered to have a "good" approximation of the MA process. To this end, we propose a way based on K-means method. Simulation results of the proposed method are presented and compared to existing MA-parameter estimation approaches.


Ruscogenin (RUS), first isolated from Ruscus aculeatus, is also a major steroidal sapogenin of the traditional Chinese herb Radix Ophiopogon japonicus. It has robust anti‐inflammatory activities. In previous studies, a ruscogenin affinity column, derived from succinylated ruscogenin (RUS‐2HS), was used to purify an antibody of ruscogenin. A ruscogenin affinity column can also be used to explore its protein targets. However, until now there have been no related pharmacological reports about ruscogenin derivatives. Whether the activity groups of ruscogenin have been blocked during the derivation process remains unknown. The present study was performed to compare the anti‐inflammatory activities in vitro of RUS‐2HS and ruscogenin. Both compounds reduced tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α)‐induced adhesion of human pro‐myelocytic leukemia cells (HL‐60) to endothelial ECV304 cells with IC50 values of 6.90 nM and 7.45 nM, respectively. They were also inhibited overexpression of ICAM‐1 in ECV304 cells at the mRNA level as evaluated by real‐time PCR and at the protein level evaluated by flow cytometry with similar potency. Such data demonstrate that the functional groups of ruscogenin were not blocked by derivation, suggesting further use of the ruscogenin affinity column for target investigation. Meanwhile, RUS‐2HS was found to have remarkable anti‐inflammatory activity for the first time, indicating it would be a new lead compound with improved bioavailability. Drug Dev Res 69: 196–202, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Resilient Packet Ring, defined by the IEEE 802.17 working group, is a new Media Access Control protocol for data packet transmission on ring topology. This paper presents a new implementation of RPR MAC datapath, each station supporting data access, receive and filter, transmit, which are designed to support local and bridged traffic.


This paper analyzes the business cycle behavior of the corporate debt structure and its interaction with economic recovery. The debt structure is measured as the share of bonds in the total credit to nonnancial corporations for a quarterly panel of twenty ve economies over the period 1989-2013. We rst show that the substitution of loans for bonds in recoveries is a regular property of business cycles. Secondly, we provide evidence that economies with high bond share and important bond-loan substitution recover from the recessions faster. The relation between corporate debt structure and the economic recovery is maintained when controls for the developments of nancial markets are introduced. A theoretical model is developed to explain this relation as the outcome of nancial constraints on bank credit supply.


Disclosed in embodiments herein is a method of treating moderate to severe dry eye in a patient in need thereof, the method comprising topically administering to the patient Loteprednol etabonate in an ophthalmolically acceptable carrier. ® KIPO & WIPO 2007


A 49-year-old woman from Kazakhstan, who had immigrated to Germany ~5 years before, developed acute abdominal pain of the right upper quadrant. Cholecystolithiasis was suspected clinically. White blood count showed 7,130 leukocytes/μL with 10% eosinophils. C-reactive protein level was elevated (19 mg/dL), and liver function tests showed a raised gamma-GT of 59 U/L. Cholecystectomy was performed, however, no gallstones were found. Histopathological examination of the removed gallbladder revealed a slight chronic inflammation of the lamina propria. In a Luschka's duct, helminth parasites consistent with hepatic trematodes of the genus Opisthorchis were found ( Figures 1 and 2 ). The eggs seen in the trematode's uterus were much smaller than those of the cosmopolitan liver fluke Fasciola hepatica . Stool examination for helminth ova was not performed. Treatment with praziquantel (75 mg/kg/d in 3 doses) was advised. Opisthorchiasis is caused by the small liver flukes Opisthorchis felineus in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, and Opisthorchis viverrini in Thailand, Lao, Cambodia, and


(57) Abstract: The present invention, working surface having a terminal pad (3) and (2), and the non-actuating surface located on the opposite side of the working surface (2) (4), an integrated circuit having a it is an invention. The reinforcing sheet (5), together with covers the actuation surface of the integrated circuit (1) (2), a reinforcing sheet (6) covers the non-working surface of the integrated circuit (1) (4). The present invention also relates to a method for reinforcing an integrated circuit.


A wireless sensing platform employing digital compensation, self-test, and distributed power management is reported. Using this platform, key portions of a gas chromatograph are integrated in less than 10cc, analyzing multi-component mixtures with detection limits below 1 ppb.


Laminated multiple metal or alloy sheets have been widely used in protective structures. However, energy absorption mechanism remains unclear for those laminates with different interface and surface conditions under low-velocity impact. This study investigates the effect of interface and surface modified double aluminum sheets under drop-weight loading. The experimental results showed that epoxy-bonded double sheets did not dissipate more energy than free-contact sample. The simulation results agree well with the experimental data at low cohesive stress of the epoxy adhesive, and friction plays an important role in absorbing impact energy for free-contact sample. However, at high interface cohesive stress as simulated, epoxy-bonded samples absorb more energy than free-contact ones. Further experiments indicated that sample with grease spread front surface is more sensitive in improving energy absorption than sample with grease applied in between two layers. These results are important reference for designing laminated composites to improve impact resistance.