Objective. Biomimetic protein-based artificial retinas offer a new paradigm for restoring vision for patients blinded by retinal degeneration. Artificial retinas, comprised of an ion-permeable membrane and alternating layers of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and a polycation binder, are assembled using layer-by-layer electrostatic adsorption. Upon light absorption, the oriented BR layers generate a unidirectional proton gradient. The main objective of this investigation is to demonstrate the ability of the ion-mediated subretinal artificial retina to activate retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of degenerated retinal tissue. Approach. Ex vivo extracellular recording experiments with P23H line 1 rats are used to measure the response of RGCs following selective stimulation of our artificial retina using a pulsed light source. Single-unit recording is used to evaluate the efficiency and latency of activation, while a multielectrode array (MEA) is used to assess the spatial sensitivity of the artificial retina films. Main results. The activation efficiency of the artificial retina increases with increased incident light intensity and demonstrates an activation latency of ∼150 ms. The results suggest that the implant is most efficient with 200 BR layers and can stimulate the retina using light intensities comparable to indoor ambient light. Results from using an MEA show that activation is limited to the targeted receptive field. Significance. The results of this study establish potential effectiveness of using an ion-mediated artificial retina to restore vision for those with degenerative retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa.


Consistency preservation is a general problem in data processing, especially in NoSQL systems. NoSQL databases introduce a new approach, in which the efficiency is a major feature. It is partially achieved at the expense of some difficulties of programming. The application should handle situations which may introduce inconsistency in data. The paper presents the methods of data consistency preservation in selected NoSQL: MongoDB, Mircosoft Windows Azure, Apache Cassandra, Oracle NoSQL.


Addition to alk-1-enes or alk-1-ynes of the radical obtained from 3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-4-iodobut-1-ene by either peroxide or metal-salt initiation, provides a convenient route to hex-5-enyl radicals. The size of the rings produced from these radicals is discussed on the basis of the polarisation of the terminal double bond and of the nature of the attacking radical.


In Denmark, time trends of ischaemic stroke in people with type 2 diabetes are showing a striking decline. Between 1996 and 2015, the incidence of stroke dropped by around 50%. The fall coincided with an increase in the use of prophylactic cardiovascular medications, especially statins (where the prevalence of use increased from 5% to 50%) and multiple antihypertensive drugs (where the prevalence of use increased from 18% to 33%) (Diabetes Care doi:10.2337/dc22-0440).


Immune checkpoints, including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), restrain the immune response, maintain self-tolerance, and prevent excessive collateral damage. Immune checkpoint blockade has revolutionized cancer immunotherapy by unleashing exhausted immune cells to kill tumor cells, but can lead to immune related adverse events (IrAEs). Patients receiving PD-1 blockade can develop IrAEs including vitiligo, colitis, endocrinopathies, and sicca syndrome, an autoimmune disease characterized by the accumulation of immune cells in the salivary and lacrimal glands, leading to deterioration and dysfunction. Because PD-1 is highly expressed on CD8 +T cells in the naive submandibular gland (SMG), we hypothesized that loss of PD-1 is likely to disrupt the previously reported hyporesponsive microenvironment of the SMG, leaving patients particularly susceptible to IrAEs affecting this gland. Our data indicates that genetic loss of PD-1 results in increased CD8 +T cell number and frequency in the SMG of naïve C57BL/6 animals. To characterize this expanding population, we recently collaborated with the ImmGen T consortium to perform single-cell RNA-seq on SMG T cells of wildtype and PD-1 knockout mice. Preliminary analysis indicates that the expanding CD8 +T cells in the salivary gland of PD-1 deficient animals have a unique phenotype. These cells exhibit exhaustion characteristics including expression of transcription factors Nr4a2and Tox, and inhibitory receptors LAG-3 and TIGIT. Altogether, our data provide insights for IrAE prevention and treatments in patients receiving PD-1 blockade. This work was supported by NIH research Grants AI46709 (L.B.), AI-072073 (ImmGen T), and a Brown University Presidential Award (S.B.).
 This work was supported by NIH research Grants AI46709 (L.B.), AI-072073 (ImmGen T), and a Brown University Presidential Award (S.B.).


A didactic proposal for ects implemented in a class on the pedagogical bases of special education at the University of Malaga, Spain, is presented. The proposal is innovative in that it offers a cooperative way of organising learning in higher education. A cooperative methodology was applied to the making and screening of a documentary film. The participants were 142 students (86 women and 56 men) enrolled in the master's degree programmes for special education teachers and physical education teachers. The study was based on models focussing on the evaluation of organisational change. The general objectives of the evaluation were to explore the students' stated subjective contentment with the proposal and to ascertain the proposal's impact on training for inclusive education. The research follows a descriptive design combining quantitative and qualitative methodology. The study results indicate that students believe the proposal to be new, original and inspirational. They feel well rewarded and satisfied with the final results. The evaluation shows that the organisational structures of cooperative learning are perceived by students as original. Student satisfaction with individual and group work is based on aspects related to the responsibility students assume for themselves and with the support of the group. The evaluation indicates that the proposal enables: a) the implementation of key processes and values in inclusive education, b) the description of the characteristics of self-directed learning in ects experiences and c) the discovery of the key elements of didactic instruction and scaffolded instruction. The results give a clue to the actual time invested in learning. The practice could thus be applied to the new European credit system.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal application of a suite of curriculum authoring tools (CATs) to inclusive classroom teaching practice in a secondary school setting. The study sought to establish whether the incorporation of the CATs into the teachers' curriculum development and implementation covaried with improved implementation integrity of classroom teaching practice over time. A repeated measures design was used to establish whether those teachers with high levels of tool use also recorded higher levels of implementation integrity in their use of specific inclusive teaching practices. The effects of the tools were measured using 578 50-minute classroom observations gathered over a 2.5-year period. The results indicated that higher levels of implementation integrity in classroom practice covaried with the extent to which the tools were used for the design and implementation of curriculum.


The purpose of this study is to estimate the determinants of Elderly Residental Satisfaction on the residential environment improving projects and suggest the political implications. The survey include questionnaires about the satisfaction level on the project physical and non-physical maintenance factors. The results were statistically analyzed by Correlation Analysis and Regression Analysis. As the result of the study, firstly, it shows that 'traffic and improve pedestrian environment' and 'improved parking environment' factors that are important to the satisfaction of the elderly residents of a high impact on the business component a physical maintenance. Secondly, it shows that 'home improvement and management support' and 'economic foundation' factors that are important to the satisfaction of the elderly residents of a high impact on the business component a non-physical maintenance. The results of analysis on the determinants of Elderly Residental Satisfaction on the residential environment improving projects of Yonnam project may be important foundation for future strategies for improvement.


INTRODUCION................................................................ 193 STUDIES ON 0 ANTIGENS...................................................... 196 Isolation and Properties of O-Specific Preparations from Bacteria.................. 196 Trichloroacetic acid extraction of the whole "Boivin" antigen.................... 196 Extraction of lipopolysaccharides with phenol-water, aqueous ether, and similar methods.................................................. ............. 196 Extraction ofpolysaccharides with sodium hydroxide: alkali polysaccharide ...... 197 Extraction ofpolysaccharide by acetic acid: degraded Freeman polysaccharide...... 197 Physical and biological properties of 0-specific preparations..................... 197 Sugar Constituents of the Specific Polysaccharides.............................. 198 6-Deoxyhexoses........................................................... 199 3, 6-Dideoxyhexoses ...................................................... 199 Heptoses................................................................. 200 Hexosamines.............................................................. 200 Ribose.................................................................. 200 2-Keto-3-deoxy-octonate (KDO)............................................. 200 0-phosphorylethanolamine.................................................. 201 Sugar Composition ofSpecific Polysaccharides.................................. 201 Structure of the O-Specific Side Chain.......................................... 204 Salmonella ofgroup DI ................. .................................... 204 Salmonella ofgroup B ............... ...................................... 205 Salmonella ofgroups E1 (3, 10), E2 (3, 15), E3 (3, 15, 34), and E4 (1, 3, 19) ......... 206 Salmonella of groups G (13, 22), N (30), and U (43) ...... .................... 206 Structure of 0 Factors in Specific Polysaccharides.............................. 206 Role of 3,6-dideoxyhexoses: 0 factors 2, 4, 8, 9, 35, 50........................ 207 Artificial antigens......................................................... 209 Factor 5................................................................. 209 Factors 1, 112, 19, 37....................................................... 210 Factors 3, 10, 15, and 34 .............. ..................................... 211 Factor 12........... .. .. ... .. ... .. ... ............................ 212 Location of the factors on the chain........................................ 212 Biochemical and Genetic Basis of Changes in Specificity After Phage Conversion .... 214 Appearance offactor 1..................................................... 215 Conversions in group E..................................................... 216 Appearance of factors 27A, 27B, and 27D in groups A, B, and D after conversion byphage27............................................................ 216 STUDIES ON R ANTIGENS...................................................... 219 Preparation and Composition of R (Lipo)polysaccharides........................ 221 R Mutants ofChemotype Ra (Serotype R II Mutants) ...... ...................... 221 Chemical structure ........................................................ 223 Enzymatic defects......................................................... 225 R Mutants of Chemotype Rb (Serotype R I Mutants)............................. 227 Serology.................................................................. 227 Chemical structure ........................................................ 227 Enzymatic defects......................................................... 227 0-specific polysaccharide hapten ofR I mutants ....... ......................... 228 R Mutants ofChemotype Rc (M Mutants) ........ .............................. 228 Enzymatic defects and biochemical properties.................................. 228 Chemical analysis ofchemotype Rc lipopolysaccharides......................... 229 Accumulation ofnucleoside diphospho sugars in M mutants...................... 229 R Mutants of Chemotype Rd.................................................. 230 R Mutants of Chemotype Re.................................................. 230 Salmonella T Forms......................................................... 231 Semirough Forms ........... ................................................ 231 Genetics ofR Mutants ...................................................... 232


The replay flux from isolated and sequences of recorded patterned elements was analysed and analytical expressions for the replay spectra were derived. The noise arising from bit size variations and bit position jitter has been modelled analytically allowing expressions for the signal-to-noise ratio for patterned media to be presented.


The purpose. The aim of the study is to deepen the methodological basis and develop practical recommendations in the context of motivating staff to increase the level of work intellectualization in the new management paradigm.
Method. To achieve this goal, methods of monographic and logical analysis, axiological and systematic approaches, comparison were used. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study are the economics and management science classics, domestic and foreign scientists works, aimed at studying current issues of motivation to improve the efficiency of innovative enterprises intellectual activity. Results. Developed scientific position in the management approaches transformation essence context of to motivating and stimulating staff in terms of innovative enterprises. The study highlights the value of creative potential, as well as proves its impact on the socio-economic development of modern enterprise. A number of new opportunities and threats to human activity in the new economy are outlined. A system of material and intangible incentives for increasing the labor intellectualization are formed, taking into account the factors influencing them. Motivators and tools that motivate staff to professional development are identified. Methods of motivating the enterprises employees to creative content intellectual work are offered. It is proved that the formation of employees motivating system to effective intellectual work will accelerate the management of innovative enterprises. Scientific novelty. An algorithm for forming a motivation system is developed, which contributes to the achievement of the company's goals by attracting creative workers, their creative and professional qualification skills. Applying this innovative model in practice will contribute to more intensive training and the desire of employees to share existing experience, resulting in effective exchange and increase of organizational knowledge, both at the cognitive and informational levels. Рractical significance of the obtained results: the practical use of scientific developments and recommendations of the author allows us to increase the innovation and efficiency of enterprises as the main structural unit of the national economy. The obtained results provide grounds for deepening research on the enterprises intellectualization as a result of the gradual spread and saturation of society with information technologies, revision of approaches to investing in human capital development, projecting of management support systems for training programs, personnel training.


The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges faced by retirees in Nigeria.  The methodology employed by the research work is secondary data and observation.  Some of the recommendations of the research work include planning for retirement, estimating your sources of income, developing friendship, establishing business in own area of specialization and so on. Keyword s : Retirement, Sustainable Development.


Based on the developing situation and characteristic of electronic reading,the paper analyses its influence on traditional reading way,and puts forward the countermeasures to meet the demands of electronic reading in library construction.


Abstract : Lubricant friction and durability tests were carried out on four lubricants: VV-L-800A(PL-S), MIL-L-14107B(LAW), MIL-L-46000A(LSA), and MIL-L- 46150(LSA-T). The tests were conducted on the USAWECOM Friction and Wear Tester, a reciprocating motion machine in which weapon action is simulated. In this test, AISI 4340 steel with a manganese phosphate finish was used. Test loads varied from 37 to 312 pounds or from 62 to 473 pounds per square inch. Dynamic friction coefficients obtained during operation at loads of 312 pounds were: PL-S, 0.15; LSA, 0.10; and LSA-T, 0.08. The LAW could not support the 312-pound load; its friction coefficient increased with increasing load. Lubricant durabilities were in the order LSA-T>LSA>PL-S>LAW. These results show a correlation with weapon tests.


Voltage sag is one of major power quality issue to the industrial customers, which can be mitigated by voltage injection method using the custom power device Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR). This paper proposes the simulation of DVR with pulse width modulation(PWM) based controller using Matlab/Simulink. The performance of the DVR depends on the efficiency of the control technique involved in switching the inverter and the DC energy storage system. The two control techniques used in this paper is Proportional-Integral Controller (PI) and Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and the DC energy storage system is composed of DC link capacitor supported by Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) based Wind energy conversion system. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed system in voltage sag mitigation.


Film, a medium from the realm of cinema has spread over the most experimental artistic practices of the 1960 and 1970s. The integration of film in the art world erupted and disseminated among the main art movements that redefined and expanded the field of visual arts. From the analysis of a selection of international and portuguese works this article reflects on the integration of film in Conceptualism to reflect how the medium – with its physical, technological and institutional specificity – played a key role in the dematerialization of the artistic object and the expansion of art.


The rapid growth in the economy of the Asia Pacific region has attracted many banks to expand in this area. Rapid expansion has brought the need for an increased emphasis on internal controls. A more structured control over the internal audit function is needed to provide sufficient assurance to head office. Due to the varying cultures, business practices and government regulations, there are many difficulties in the establishment of a centralized internal audit approach for different audit units in the region. These have been resolved by the international bank in this case study through (1) developing and implementing a uniform audit planning model; (2) establishing centres of excellence to cultivate expert knowledge in specific systems to streamline the development efforts in audit programme formulation; (3) formulating an Internal Audit Manual with laid‐down guidelines on the roles, objectives, standards of performance and work procedures for the audit units; (4) setting up a uniform reporting line; (5...


In the present paper an improved version of the algebraic multilevel iteration (AMLI) method for finite element matrices, which has been suggested in [6], is proposed. To improve the quality of the AMLI-preconditioner or, the same, speed up the rate of convergence the family of iterative parameters defined on an error compensation principle is suggested and analyzed. Performance results on standard test problems are presented and discussed.


Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is a sensitive and reliable technique for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of wide range of elements in various types of samples. The method involves the irradiation of samples and the detection of gamma energies emitted from the isotope s for med from the process of neutron capture. Most NAA were done by comparison method, which is found to have high errors due to the differences in the matrix composition of sample as well a s comparator. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate an alternative technique of activation analysis based on absolute gammarray measurem ents and the direct calculation of elemental concentrations from reaction rates equation of neutron capture process.


This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact email@example.com. DEDICATION To my mother, Sylvia C. Davis, who by her encouragement in my pursuit of an education, is able to witness the completion of my formal studies.


Statistical analysis was conducted to investigate the ionospheric diurnal double‐maxima (DDM) patterns using the total electron content (TEC) from the Beidou geostationary (GEO) satellites. The data were used over the Asian‐Australian sector during 2016–2018. It was found that the ionospheric DDM had the obvious seasonal and latitudinal variations as well as hemispheric differences. The occurrence rate of ionospheric DDM presented a semi‐annual variation with a main peak around the June solstice (local summer) and a secondary peak around the December solstice in the northern hemisphere and equator region, whereas an annual variation with the highest occurrence rate around the June solstice (local winter) was observed in the southern hemisphere. Furthermore, the occurrence rate of ionospheric DDM around the equatorial ionization anomaly crest region was lower than that at other latitudes. There was an anti‐correlation between the occurrence rate of ionospheric DDM and the background TEC, indicating that the drivers, which determine the variations of the background TEC, possibly play an important role in producing the latitudinal and seasonal variations of ionospheric DDM as well. Nevertheless, the causative mechanisms could be different for daytime and post‐sunset DDMs.


Mining is a very capital-intensive business where new ventures or expansion are often based on forecasts for long term profitability. Performance is dependent on how cost effective the mine equipment is from day one. The costs of owning and maintaining capital equipment require effective utilization of the mobile fleet for optimal productivity. The core competency of a mining company is the ability to create the greatest efficiency and lowest cost in meeting production goals. This makes decisions about matching the selection of mine sites, assignment of people and equipment with output rates that satisfy customer demand critical for the success of the business. Sophisticated scheduling that addresses a multitude of constraints and variables for infrastructure, geotechnology and market conditions is required. Traditional systems currently in use today, operate in an iterative mode constantly switching between scheduling and execution. Techniques from Artificial Intelligence (AI) have already been used in Intelligent Manufacturing for more than twenty years. However, the recent developments in multi-agent systems in the new domain of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) have brought new and interesting possibilities. Agent based computing has been hailed as the most significant breakthrough in software development and the new revolution in software. The agent based system described in this paper can be used to develop mine scheduling solutions that are fully customizable to a number of mining scenarios and provide a much more dynamic scheduling environment than current mine scheduling applications.


Theater design for cruise ships presents many challenges that are different than building designs on land. The acoustic challenges include a limited palette of material choices based on weight, space, and fire restrictions, room adjacency issues, and coordination with shipyard construction methods. We will discuss the program uses of the spaces and the acoustic criteria, architectural treatments, room shaping and volume, sound isolation utilizing sandwich and floating floor constructions, and HVAC noise control without the use of fiberglass. We will specifically focus on the design for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Voyager, Millennium, and Radiance class ships. Information will be presented that could be transferable to land based designs to solve acoustic problems that involve similar weight, space, and fire restrictions.


The shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, spurred an immediate national and international response in the fall of 2014. Washington University Libraries in St. Louis, Missouri, established the Documenting Ferguson web archive to gather digital media documenting local protests and demonstrations as captured by community members in order to archive the materials for future research and scholarly use. This preliminary study identified the factors that motivated participants to contribute content to the Documenting Ferguson online community archive, uncovering themes of altruism, reciprocity, and personal development.


Objective To analyze the phlebitis caused by intravenous amiodarone causes of phlebitis reduction and mitigation measures of preventive care.Methods From the use of drug concentrations,medicine,nursing staff duration,patients are analyzed,and the factors into phlebitis reason occurred,and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures,after cure actively phlebitis.Results 20 cases of amiodarone intravenous drip of 13 patients were phlebitis reasons for drug factors,65%,4 cases of nursing staff factors,20%,3 cases of patients,15%.Conclusion Amiodarone phlebitis drugs for caused by factors,infusion process should be actively adopt effective nursing measures of amiodarone phlebitis due to the prevention and control and have an extremely important role.


In this article, we study a boundary value problem of a class of generalized linear matrix differential equations whose coefficients are square constant matrices. By using matrix pencil theory we obtain formulas for the solutions and we give necessary and sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of solutions. Moreover we provide some numerical examples. These kinds of systems are inherent in many physical and engineering phenomena.


Summary

1
Niche differentiation is widely thought to promote both coexistence of many species within a trophic level, and higher total biomass of those species. However, the joint effects of changes in diversity within multiple trophic levels are unknown. The potential for niche differences to promote high diversity and biomass within a trophic level may depend on the diversity and composition of adjacent trophic levels.

2
Using a simple mechanistic model, I examine the joint consequences of changes in diversity on two adjacent trophic levels ('predators' and 'prey') for the total biomass of prey. Niche differences among prey reflect a trade-off between ability to compete for resources and ability to avoid/sustain predation. Niche differences among predators reflect differences in ability to consume different prey species.

3
Total prey biomass is a complex, joint function of prey and predator diversity. In particular, transgressive overyielding (when a diverse polyculture of prey outperforms any prey monoculture) can occur for some parameter values when a specialist predator mediates prey coexistence, and for a different set of parameter values when a specialist and a generalist predator together mediate prey coexistence, but is impossible when a generalist predator alone mediates prey coexistence.

4
Increased initial predator diversity tends to reduce total prey biomass even when predators cannot coexist, due to a 'selection' effect for the most effective predator. Predators coexist only in prey polycultures. Coexisting predators can, but do not necessarily, reduce total prey biomass to a lower level than could any predator alone.

5
The niche differences that permit coexistence strongly constrain the rank order of total prey biomass across all prey and predator combinations. Knowledge of the key trade-offs that promote coexistence within food webs can allow powerful qualitative predictions of the effects of species loss on ecosystem-level properties such as total biomass.


Aggregation and cytoplasmic mislocalization of TDP-43 are pathological hallmarks of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) spectrum. However, the molecular mechanism by which TDP-43 aggregates form and cause neurodegeneration remains poorly understood. Cyclophilin A, also known as peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase A (PPIA), is a foldase and molecular chaperone. We previously found that PPIA interacts with TDP-43 and governs some of its functions, and its deficiency accelerates disease in a mouse model of ALS. Here we characterized PPIA knock-out mice throughout their lifespan and found that they develop a neurodegenerative disease with key behavioural features of FTD, marked TDP-43 pathology and late-onset motor dysfunction. In the mouse brain, deficient PPIA induces aggregation of the GTP-binding nuclear protein Ran, a PPIA substrate required for TDP-43 nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. Moreover, in absence of PPIA, TDP-43 autoregulation is perturbed and TDP-43 and proteins involved in synaptic function are downregulated, leading to impairment of synaptic plasticity. Finally, we found that PPIA was downregulated in several ALS and ALS-FTD patients and identified a PPIA loss-of-function mutation in a sporadic ALS patient. The mutant PPIA has low stability, altered structure and impaired interaction with TDP-43. These findings strongly implicate that defective PPIA function causes TDP-43 mislocalization and dysfunction and should be considered in future therapeutic approaches.


In this paper, we present a bill-type document generator capable of supplying on demand all the mass of documents that a learning system needs. The lack of administrative documents has long been a handicap because of the confidentiality of this type of document. In addition, this generator allowed us to solve the problem of annotations since they are done automatically during the generation and put directly in XML-GEDI form. Then, to show the interest of the generator, we proposed a system of invoice recognition based on graph convolutional neural network. The experiments took place in excellent conditions since we had all the possibilities to vary the classes, the samples in the classes, and their parameters.


In this paper, we perform a careful study of the effect of infrequent objects on the performance of many well-known web proxy cache replacement policies including LRU, LFU, GDSF, and LFD (an offline policy). Using a "frequency-aware" version of these policy (one that is aware of these infrequent objects), we show that significant improvement in the performance (hit rates and byte hit rates) can potentially be achieved. We also present LRU-Pred, which is a modified LRU replacement policy that attempts to predict single access objects that it will not cache. The algorithm, though simple, achieve better performance than LRU. The results are encouraging and point to more research on designing more sophisticated replacement policies that can predict infrequent objects.


The present contribution constitutes an extensive density functional theory (DFT) investigation of the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a large number of molecules belonging to the azobenzene and azothiophene families of photochromic compounds which can act as NLO switches. Toward the design of systems simultaneously presenting both large total nonlinear response values, βtot, and large contrast, βratio, between the cis and trans isomers, we have focused not only on the monomers but also on azobenzene dimers, the latter containing two N═N bonds along the molecular backbone. After it was established that the inclusion of implicit solvation is not important in drawing qualitative conclusions on the NLO switching ability for the investigated systems, gas-phase calculations have shown that for the asymmetric push–pull azobenzene and azothiophene candidates, the combination of strong donating groups such as NPh2, N(Ph-OMe)2, and N(Ph-NMe2)2 with the dicyanoethene group CH═C(C≡N)2 as an acceptor delivers l...


University courses often describe an intention to p roduce graduate students who are work ready and who have had 'hands-on' industry experience. Work Integrated Learning programmes (in various forms) in university c ourses are not new. Traditionally, some form of practical based le arning has been expected in vocationally oriented d egrees that lead to professional accreditation and are generally reg arded as a good learning exposure. There is little doubt that students acquire the skills of their discipline profession b y being immersed in the industry culture; learning how to process information and solve real-world problems within co ntext, as well as working and communicating with te chnical and non-technical colleagues. With the restructure of academic programs across th e Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering in 2 006, spatial science and surveying students now undertake a formal work integrated learning unit. This paper provid es an overview of this new units operation and implementation into the spatial science program at QUT. Some findings are presented of the student perceptions of aspects of their work experiences along with comment on how students are formally evaluated on their performance and the importance o f the significant contribution from industry partne rs.


Decreasing discrimination and stigma of dementia is an international issue. In 2004, the Japanese government changed the previous Japanese stigmatic term of dementia ("Chiho") to the present one ("Ninchi‐sho") a meaning near "neurocognitive disorder." This study aimed to examine cross‐sectionally if the present term functioned well or not from the viewpoint of families of people with dementia (PWD), and to discover variables influencing their feelings of the term: the feelings about people surrounding PWD, and the family members' and PWD's attributes.


This paper presents the Minimum Preservation Tool (MPT), designed and developed by the British Library to provide a basic and local technical digital preservation environment for collections awaiting ingest to a more formal digital preservation repository. The MPT can satisfy fundamental preservation storage requirements that are not typically otherwise supported in a standard corporate technical environment more focused on cyber-security. Replication, checksum generation and validation, and regular reporting are all key features of the MPT, written as a set of Python Utilities and freely available on Github. MPT is an entry-level tool that lowers the bar for early participation in preservation endeavors, in contrast with larger scale and more expensive, complex end-to-end technical solutions.


Painful, expensive bone marrow aspiration is not necessary to rule out leukemia and confirm a diagnosis of typical acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), Canadian researchers reported. Of the 7,612 bone marrow aspirations performed between 1984 and 1996 on children ages 6 months to 18 years at a Toronto children9s hospital, 484 (6.4 percent) were to confirm a provisional diagnosis of ITP. During the same period, 672 children were admitted with a primary diagnosis of acute ITP. Thus, approximately 72 percent of children with ITP underwent bone marrow aspiration, researchers reported.


Friction is usually induced when the contacts are in relative motion, leading to mechanical vibration and consequently heat generation. The reduction of these undesirable parameters is possible by the application of greases, which intends to increase the service life of the bearings. The present work incorporates the frictional and vibration behaviors of concentrated point contact lubricated with bare and nanocomposite greases. The nanocomposite greases were formulated by dispersing different categories of nano-additives like reduced graphene oxide (rGO), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and alumina (α-Al2O3) in bare grease (BG). The formulated nanocomposite greases are tested for film formation, frictional and vibrational response under a limited supply of greases. The use of transparent glass disk better analyses the profile of film thickness to understand the lubrication mechanism of the point contact. The microstructure of nano-additives and the formulated nanocomposite greases were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The presence of different functional groups in nano-additives and the formulated nanocomposite greases were characterized using Raman spectroscopy. The tribological contact operates under 3% and 30% slide-roll-ratio (SRR) for varying rolling speed (0.001–1 m/s) at a load of 30 N (Hertzian pressure, pH = 0.9 GPa). Film thickness, friction and vibration behavior were recorded to focus the tribo-performance, degree of starvation and dynamics of the tribological contact with slip varying from 3% to 30% SRR. The vibration level was refined to 32% with the addition of rGO nanosheets in BG. The incompatibility of α-Al2O3 with the grease structure results in disruption of tribo-dynamics behavior of the point contact.


Two species of suspected hyperparasitoids, Chartocerus sp. and Pachyneuron crassiculme , emerged from parasitized Diaphorina citri nymphs collected in Punjab Pakistan over 15-22 Apr 2013. Exposure tests conducted in quarantine on D. citri nymphs parasitized by Tamarixia radiata and Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis , as well as unparasitized D. citri nymphs, confirmed that Chartocerus sp. and P. crassiculme are hyperparasitoids. Both Chartocerus sp . and P. crassiculme successfully reproduced on D. aligarhensis , with one instance of P. crassiculme reproducing on T. radiata . There was no emergence from unparasitized D. citri . Dos especies de hiperparasitoides sospechosos, Chartocerus sp. y Pachyneuron crassiculme , emergieron de ninfas parasitadas de Diaphorina citri recolectadas en Punjab Pakistan del 15 al 22 de abril del 2013. Las pruebas de la exposicion realizada en cuarentena sobre ninfas de D. citri parasitadas por Tamarixia radiata y Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis , asi como ninfas de D. citri no parasitadas confirmaron que Chartocerus sp. y P. crassiculme son hiperparasitoides. Tanto Chartocerus sp. y P. crassiculme se reprodujeron con exito sobre D. aligarhensis , con un caso de P. crassiculme reproducido sobre T. radiata . No hubo emergencia de parasitos de las ninfas de D. citri no parasitidas.


This paper is concerned with the effect of exercise on the blood pressure and the modification of this effect by hexamethonium bromide. It is well known that the methonium compounds can produce a fall in the blood pressure ofmany hypertensive subjects when lying down. This fall, however, is variable and inconstant. In normal persons, the methonium compounds do not produce a fall in the basal blood pressure taken in the supine position (Conway, 1953). In all persons, normal and hypertensive, methonium compounds produce a postural fall in the blood pressure. This postural hypotension has, for the most part, been regarded as an undesirable side-effect ofmethonium therapy but some have attempted to turn it to good account; for example, the head of the bed has been raised on blocks as a routine part of hexamethonium treatment of hypertension (Shirley Smith, 1953). By taking blood pressure recordings in the lying and standing positions, it was found that hexamethonium bromide had, in many subjects, only a postural effect. If this postural effect was only present when the person was standing still and passed off on exercise-and this seemed a likely a priori supposition-then the postural hypotension would obviously be of no value but merely an unpleasant side-effect likely to cause fainting in the erect position, or even to precipitate thrombosis. If, however, a hypotensive effect persisted on exercise-that is when the patient was upright and about his daily work-then this so-called side-action should constitute a most significant factor in the treatment of hypertension by the methonium compounds. It, therefore, seemed logical to study the effect of exercise on the blood pressure of hypertensive persons before and after treatment with methonium compounds.


Network slicing is one of the key technologies of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communications for supporting various use cases with diverse quality of service (QoS) require-ments. As each network slice is tailored to meet a specific set of QoS requirements, intelligent resource allocation becomes vital for network slicing. However, intelligent resource allocation that jointly considers QoS and energy efficiency for network slicing has not been well-studied. Therefore, in this paper, under the architecture of heterogeneous cloud radio access network (H-CRAN), we propose an intelligent, multi-objective resource allocation scheme that takes into account the aforementioned performance aspects for 5G network slicing. This resource allocation scheme encompasses allocation of baseband unit (BBU) pool resources among remote radio heads (RRHs), and resource block (RB) allocation among user equipment (UEs) for all RRHs. In particular, the BBU resource allocation and the RB allocation are performed using a greedy algorithm and deep reinforcement learning algorithm respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve better QoS provisioning and comparable energy efficiency as compared with the baseline scheme.


ABSTRACT While the academic literature on human trafficking has grown enormously in the last 20 years, few studies have been done that empirically examine the organizations taking part in anti-trafficking responses. This article reports some findings of a study of 1,861 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide that identify themselves as working on the issue of human trafficking. The findings show that anti-trafficking NGOs have a wide variety of specializations, are most prevalent in Asia and Europe, mainly target children, often focus on both labor and sex trafficking, and engage in awareness and legislative or policy advocacy more often than direct service provision. Methodological, theoretical, and applied implications are discussed.


Interferometry with single-point detection is widely used for the precise measurement of short-range displacements, when its range is less than a quarter of the wavelength. The moire technique is also used for the same purpose when the displacement is smaller than half the period of the superimposed gratings. In both interferometry and the moire technique, the response function of the system takes a periodic form by increasing the displacement value. For larger values of the displacements, the moment the detected signal experiences one of the extremum values, the signal trend does not reflect the direction of the motion, and it leads to an ambiguity in the motion reconstruction. Since an interference pattern has a sinusoidal intensity profile, by using three-point detection and the aid of conventional spatial phase shifting, we have recently proposed a new method for chasing moving interference fringes and were able to remove the disability of the interferometry in discriminating of the direction of motion for long-range displacements (see Opt. Laser Technol.103, 387 (2018)). But the transmission function of a moire pattern is a triangular or trapezoidal function. Therefore, the conventional phase shifting algorithms are not applicable for moire fringe chasing. In this work, first we introduce a new method for data acquisition in moire-based displacement and vibration sensors. We use a three-point intensity detection method for chasing moving moire fringes and we introduce a new algorithm based on the data of three point detectors to remove the disability of the moire technique to discriminate the direction of motion for long-range displacements. With the aid of three-point intensity detection, a high speed, high accuracy, and long-range displacement sensor based on the moire technique is built. This sensor can be used in the calibration of mechanical positioning sensors. Also, using a data acquisition procedure we have introduced, in a moire-based vibration sensor, the vibration parameters can be determined in a simple and reliable manner.


The access of wind turbines to the power grid will bring new challenges to the safe and stable operation of power systems. When the wind turbine adopts the virtual synchronous control strategy, it can match the characteristics of the traditional synchronous generator and solve the unstable operation problem caused by the lack of inertia. In this paper, the influence mechanism of virtual synchronous machine (VSM) model on voltage stability of power system is analyzed with bifurcation theory. The increase of the damping coefficient of the VSM and the reduction of the inertia time constant will be beneficial to the voltage stability, which can provide a basis for the wind power transmission limit.


Metal granshot is a process that is used to convert metal lumps or scraps into metal grains of uniform sizes and shapes. The concept of metal granulation is based on the heat difference between melting and pouring medium. The commercial uses of metal granules are jewelry making and spray coating of costly metals such as silver, gold, and platinum. The basic aim of the silver granshot process is to get uniform size, shape, and maximum yield of silver metal granules. During processing, the metal gets superheated within vacuum up to viscosity more than 2.2 cP flow out of the minimum diameter orifice and allow to drop in the coolant with high pressurized argon gas. The present study focuses on the granulation of silver and tries to achieve the maximum yield of metal. The shape and size of the granules produced were observed using scanning electron microscopy and the results show that the average diameters of granules are between 1.2 mm and 3.8 mm. Yield is also considered as an important factor for granulation of valuable metals like silver, and after experimentation successfully achieved the 99.9 percent yield. The granulation process of silver will help to ease the trading of metal in the jewelry industry.


We introduced a method of measuring the modulus of elasticity of steel wire with vernier caliper.The method is easy to operate,and the instrument is cheap and convenient.The relative error of measurement is about 3% .The teaching experience has proved that this method is effective and deserved to popularize.


Determination of Rheological Properties and Dispersion Quality of Shear Thickening Fluid. European Journal of Science and Technology , (28), 781-784


VSAT technology has been used in various communication systems all over the world because of its low cost and easy installation. This further stimulates the study of satellite multiple-access protocols. The combined random/reservation protocol is a good solution for VSAT networks that have both interactive and batch-type messages, so that it has undergone rapid development in recent years. This paper mainly deals with the response time performance of a combined random/reservation protocol. Two calculation methods for packet delay are presented after a simple description of the principle of the protocol, and finally the message response time (or delay) characteristics are given. The results show that, the protocol keeps good response time performance for both short and long messages. And the results can be verified by comparison with simulation results.


This study examined the spatiotemporal climate variability over the Ceyhan River basin in Southern Anatolia, Türkiye using historical rainfall and temperature observations recorded at 15 meteorology stations. Various statistical and geostatistical techniques were employed to determine the significance of trends for each climatic variable in the whole basin and its three sub-regions (northern, central, and southern regions). The results revealed that the recent years in the basin were generally warmer compared with previous years, with a temperature increase of approximately 4 °C. The standardized temperature index analysis indicated a shift towards hotter periods after 2005, while the coldest periods were observed in the early 1990s. The spatial distribution of temperature showed non-uniform patterns throughout the basin. The first decade of the study period (1975–1984) was characterized by relatively cold temperatures, followed by a transition period from cold to hot between 1985 and 2004, and a hotter period in the last decade (2005–2014). The rainfall analysis indicated a decreasing trend in annual rainfall, particularly in the northern and central regions of the basin. However, the southern region showed an increasing trend in annual rainfall during the study period. The spatial distribution of rainfall exhibited considerable variability across the basin, with different regions experiencing distinct patterns. The standardized precipitation index analysis revealed the occurrence of multiple drought events throughout the study period. The most severe and prolonged droughts were observed in the years 1992–1996 and 2007–2010. These drought events had significant impacts on water availability and agricultural productivity in the basin.


We show that the number of distinct solutions of a Diophantine equation over a finite field is represented by the order and rank of a certain matrix derived from the coecients.


This article focuses on the practical and methodological dimensions of a somewhat-neglected aspect of so-called 'digital history': user digitization of historical documents for research projects. Increasing numbers of professional researchers, including historians and historical geographers, are embracing digital technologies as a way to speed research, collect large amounts of primary source material, and enhance their use of this material by mobilizing it from its institutional context. Yet few scholars or information managers have reflected on the implications of this vast, decentralized and idiosyncratic digitization exercise. Debates over digital history have focused mainly on the role and place of archives in the digitization of historical sources or the collection and preservation of digitally created sources, or the merits of the application of new information technologies to historical research. In this short reflection on our own research process, we consider the trend towards self-digitization of archival sources, and share our practical experiences of document digitization for research and collaborative purposes. We contend that practitioner document digitization opens up exciting new methods for reading and analysing documents, in particular possibilities for enhanced scholarly collaboration.


Summary l-Isoleucine and l-methionine are essential for growth of erythrocytic forms of P. knowlesi. An exoerythrocytic source of l-cystine, l-tyrosine, l-arginine, l-glutamine, l-histidine, and l-lysine is required for optimal in vitro development of P. knowlesi during one schizogonic cycle.


The invention relates to a convertible top of a convertible vehicle, comprising at least one folding-top element, the spanning between a vehicle interior closed position and a vehicle interior up releasing storage position is adjustable, and is related to a vertical top longitudinal center plane both sides a respective side portion (16), the shutter system (20, 60) receives the determination of the relevant side portion of a front cowl of the vehicle in question or another deck member, said closure system (20, 60) which are adjustable between a locking position and a release position, in each case a latch hook (22) cooperates with a corresponding locking element and the hook is pivotable about an axis and comprising a drive means including a pivotable about a pivot axis and on the respective side portion (16) mounted control element (40) drives that has a Koppeleinrichtu ng is connected to the locking hook (22). The pivot axis of the control element (40) and the hook axis are oriented skew to each other and the coupling means comprises at least one 3D link.


Iron is known to interfere with the absorption of simultaneously taken tetracycline derivatives. The possibility to avoid this interaction, by observing a suitable time interval between the drugs, has been studied on human volunteers using ferrous sulphate and tetracycline. Three consecutive experiments were performed with 25, 20 and 15 volunteers from a pool of 38 healthy medical students. It was found that if iron was given not less than three hours before or two hours after tetracycline no significant interference occurred.


In this paper, we study the viscoelastic Kirchhoff type equation with the following nonlinear source and time-varying delay utt −M(x, t, ‖∇u(t)‖)4u+ ∫ t 0 h(t− τ)div[a(x)∇u(τ)]dτ +|u|u+ μ1ut(x, t) + μ2ut(x, t− s(t)) = 0. Under the smallness condition with respect to Kirchhoff coefficient and the relaxation function and other assumptions, we prove the uniform decay rate of the Kirchhoff type energy.


A modulation contrast microscope employs a closely wound lamp filament of a rectangular configuration as an illuminating source. The image of the filament is registered on a Fourier plane to which plane a modulator is located which serves to render phase gradients in phase objects visible by functioning to provide light amplitude differences in accordance with modifying the amplitude of the light beam relatively about a given region in both a greater and lesser intensity.


A situation of maximal triglyceride (TG) hydrolysis was generated in normals and patients with type III hyperlipoproteinemia by a large oral fat load and subsequent heparin administration one hour after the fat meal. Lipoprotein fractions [chylomicrons, very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL1 d 1.006-1.019, LDL2 d 1.019-1.063), and high density lipoproteins (HDL2 d 1.063-1.125, HDL, d 1.125-1.25)| were obtained by zonal or preparative ultracentrifugation and subsequent chromatography on 2% agarose. Electron microscopy was performed on full plasma and lipoprotein fractions by using the techniques of negative staining, freeze etching, shadowing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The lipoprotein morphology thus obtained was compared with that of type I hyperlipoproteinemia and of Zieve's syndrome. All conditions investigated had some abnormal lipoprotein structures in com mon: 1) Liposome-like particles (500-4000 A) in the intermediate molecular weight (IMW) fraction of d 1....


The achievable exponential behavior (reliability) of decoding-delay limited communication systems is analyzed for several settings, and compared to the case where the delay constraint is relaxed. The effect of the delay constraint on the reliability of random block and convolutional codes without and with Ack/Nack feedback is investigated and interesting conclusions are presented.<<ETX>>


Introduction: Spina bifida is one of the most common neural tube defects due to its serious repercussions: neurologic, urologic, orthopaedic and others to varying degrees requiring multidisciplinary management. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of 202 patients managed in the pediatric surgery department of the Hassan II University Hospital of Fez, during an 8-year period from January 2014 to January 2021. Results: The annual incidence of spina bifida was 40 cases/year with a male predominance. The main site of the malformation is at the lumbar and lumbodorsal level in 68%. The clinical examination was abnormal in almost 64%. Hydrocephalus was found in 83%. Transfontanellar ultrasound and CT scan were performed in all our patients, MRI in 85 %. All the patients had a surgical cure of the spina bifida, the patients with hydrocephalus had a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. The short term outcome was good in 79%. Conclusion: Spina bifida is a serious pathology, it can frequently lead to functional and vital prognosis without forgetting the psychological one. The prognosis is mainly generated by the delay of management and the presence of associated complications.


This is a summary report of 'How to Save Gasoline: Public Policy Alternatives for the Automobile.' The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) to develop analytical tools to aid in evaluating national energy conservation policies for private auto transportation; and (2) to apply the tools in a systematic analysis and comparison of several alternative policy instruments. The study is concerned with two types of policy instruments: those raising in price of driving and those designed to improve average auto fuel economy through regulatory means.


A descriptive study was carried out in 42 women victims of marital violence assisted in the emergency service in the local Hospital of Sayaxche department of Peten in Guatemala, in the period of January to October 2015 with the objective of characterizing the forced females, who went to the emergency service to be assisted according to variables of interest for the investigation. It was selected as universe and sample the 42 females assisted for being victims of violence. The information was obtained from the surveys and the individual clinical histories, from where data were obtained that served for the making of a questionnaire with the study variables: manifestations of violence who suffer these women, age, ethnic group, origin, denounced cases to the public ministry. Qualitative and quantitative techniques of the scientific investigation were used, structured clinical interviews, in form of questionnaire, elaborated by the authors, which was evaluated by a group of experts using the statistical method of Kappa. Coming to the following conclusions: the psychological violence prevailed in 100% of the cases. The affected age group was that of 30-39 years. The ethnic group victim of violence was the mixed race population. The patients of rural origin were the most forced ones and 24 cases were denounced to the court.


ABSTRACT This article examines the strategies employed – or not employed – in the Peruvian counterinsurgency campaign against the Sendero Luminoso insurgent group. Using Carl von Clausewitz's and Colin Gray's strategic theories as a lens through which to analyze the conflict, the aim here is to show what role strategy played in the eventual defeat of this insurgency and what obstacles the Peruvian state and its armed forces faced in enacting good strategy. Specifically, the utilization of the 'strategy bridge' concept is investigated. For a large part of this conflict, the strategy bridge linking the civil authorities with the military and its activities was missing. Once there emerged a clear understanding of the importance of ends, ways and means working in harmony could an effective counterinsurgency campaign flourish.


One of many choices in investing in capital market is in form of share, which intend to own or buy open enterprise's stocks with aim to gain return as profit. However, investing in capital market is dealing with risk, so that investors need some analysis to assess and determine which enterprise's stock is deserve to bought. In this research, researcher intends to find out the influence of accounting profit and operational cash flow report to stock price either partially or simultaneously. Populations in this research were all enterprises which were grouped in LQ 45 and were listed in BEI in 2006-2008 period. Samples were determined with purposive sampling method. Samples were chosen according to a certain proposed criteria which in this case were listed in group LQ 45 continuously during 2006-2008 period. Operational definitions of the variables discussed in this study are as follows: the dependent variable is the Share Price (Y) is the income received by the shareholders in the from of capital gains are calculated by comparing the difference between closing price current year with previous years divided by the stock's closing price the previous period. Meanwhile, independent variable is the accounting profit (X1) which is the net result after tax and operating cash flows (X2), namely cash flow from the main producing activities and corporate income other activities that are not investing activities and financing activities. Simultaneously test results showed the Anova test, obtained significance value of 0,034 which is smaller than the level of significant 5% (α = 0,05) therepore, can be said that accounting profit variable and operating cash flow variable simultaneously affect stock. While the partial test results accounting profit (X1) to the stock price generate significance value of 0,016 which is smaller than the level of significant 5% (α = 0,05). This shows that there is significant influence between accounting profit (X1) of the stock price. Partial test Operational Cash Flow (X2) to the stock price produce significance value of  0,033 which is smaller than the level of significant 5% (α = 0,05). Can concluded that there is significant influence between Operating Cash Flow (X2) to the stock price.


Results: During the 13-year study period, a total of 13,652 non-duplicate patients had positive cultures for mycobacteria from respiratory specimens. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) was isolated from 5,878 (43.1%) patients, and NTM were isolated from 7,774 (56.9%) patients. During the study period, a total of 823 patients had positive cultures for NTM from various extra-pulmonary specimens. A significant rise in the incidence of NTM isolation among all mycobacteria with year were noted (P<0.01). The ratio of NTM isolations was found to be increasing with age in contrast to the isolation of MTB was decreasing with age (P < 0.01). Moreover, in contrast to the decreasing incidence of TB, the annual incidence of NTM diseases and colonization significantly increased with time (P < 0.01). Most of the NTM diseases and colonization developed in the group of age between 65 and 84, and the risk of NTM diseases was significantly increasing with age (P <0.01). As for gender, NTM infection and colonization more commonly developed in male than female. The rate of different mycobacteria species infection/colonization varied according to gender, age groups, and medical departments.


As tenants become more interested in and request more value, quality and management of their apartment buildings, they try to secure their rights about defects at their allotted apartment buildings which have been shown as an apartment building defect claims and they are steadily increasing. However...


In this paper is described the pulsed magnetization of a 20-turn short-circuited coil from a stabilized HTSC-2G tape. The trapped field in the coil is close to the value obtained at the field cooling (FC) process and varies only slightly with a 5-fold increase in the amplitude of the magnetizing pulse. The copper coating of the tape significantly reduces the effects of pulsed heating. The relaxation of the current in the initial stage is determined by the flow of current between the superconducting and normal layer and the type of the current-voltage characteristic. At large times (t> 100 s), attenuation is determined by the contact resistance of the junction.


Summary RATIONALE: The National Lung Screening Trial demonstrated a 20% decrease in lung cancer mortality for high-risk individuals undergoing annual screening with low dose chest CT scans (LDCT). The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends lung cancer screening for smokers aged 55-80 years who have used tobacco within 15 years and have a > 30 pack-year total cigarette smoking history. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cautions, "...Providers must ascertain smoking history accurately, taking into consideration intermittent periods of not smoking or reduced amounts, to ensure optimal screening outcomes." In conclusion, EMR smoking histories may preclude optimal identification of lung cancer screening candidates. Inaccuracies appear greater in populations at higher risk for adverse outcomesmen and those with less of education and Medicare insurance. Enhanced training and detailed tools are needed for staff obtaining tobacco use histories. Wu, Yi-Chia Poster 66 Urban & Community Health Pathway EMR Smoking History Does Not Accurately Identify Lung Cancer Screening Candidates Authors: Wu Y-C, Perkovich MT, Woldemichael KM, Gilbert IA Project Mentor: Ileen Gilbert, MD The NLST demonstrated a 20% decrease in lung cancer mortality for high-risk individuals undergoing annual screening with LDCT. USPSTF recommends screening for smokers aged 55-80 who have used tobacco within 15 years with > 30 pack-years smoking histories. Froedtert & MCW's EMR determines smoking history using cigarettes smoked/day and number of years smoked. We developed a detailed calculator queries variances in cigarettes used throughout a patient's lifetime. The difference between EMR and calculator was greater for men, those with less education, and Medicaid patients vs. women, those with > a high school degree, and Medicare and privately insured individuals (p < .05 for each). Overall, EMR vs. Calculator missed 35% of patients potentially eligible for screening, and 20% of EMR-identified candidates did not meet pack-year requirements as determined via the calculator method (p < .001). Enhanced training and detailed tools are needed for staff obtaining tobacco use histories.


We study the recursive path ordering (RPO) in the context of string-rewriting systems. We are interested in finding a symbol ordering in RPO such that for every rule in the rewriting system, the left hand side is higher than the right hand side. We show that this SYMBOL-ORDER problem is NP-complete by a reduction from the 2-3-SAT problem. We also work on the one-rule case and show a polynomial time algorithm for such systems.


A femto base station obtains cell information of a neighboring femto base station during a listen mode, and obtains the IP address of the neighboring femto base station from a system for managing the femto base station by using the cell information, so as to set an interface with the neighboring femto base station, wherein the system for managing the femto base station manages a plurality of femto base stations.


Herein, the effect of Nb content on the phase transformation kinetics, microstructure, and mechanical properties of hot‐rolled quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steel is investigated. The characteristics of three C–Mn–Si–Ti steels (0.18C, 2.0Si, 2.6Mn, and 0.015Ti) containing 0, 0.027, or 0.061 wt% Nb are compared. Results reveal that grain boundary pinning by precipitates and Nb solute drag effects refine the austenite grain size during the hot‐rolling process; the microstructural refinement is carried over to the final microstructure subjected to the Q&P treatment. The remaining supersaturated Nb suppresses the bainite formation and decreases the final bainite fraction formed in the Q&P process. The microstructural evolution leads to an increase in the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the steel containing 0.027 wt% Nb from 1169 to 1228 MPa, while keeping the total elongation at 18%. When the Nb content is increased to 0.061 wt%, the UTS of the steel increases to 1313 MPa, but the elongation at break drops to 16%. The effect is due to the carbon consumption by the Nb precipitates, which causes a decrease in the stability of the retained austenite and reduces the strain hardening at high strain levels.


"Tartan TAG", the most recent "Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference", took place in Glasgow in December 2004. Amongst the usual collection of sessions on epistemology, materiality, post-structuralism and other contemporary preoccupations of an increasingly self-aware academic discipline, there nestled a session whose aim was simple yet ambitious, and which may have been the most important session of the whole conference.


Interactions between marine mammals and fisheries have a biological and economic impact that is often detrimental to both fishermen and species of concern. False killer whale bycatch in the Hawaii longline fishery has exceeded the potential biological removal (PBR) triggering the designation of a take reduction team under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). As an attempt to understand the importance of acoustic cues in depredation events, this study presents preliminary data looking at the echolocation ability of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) to detect a longline fishing hook at various distances. Using a go/no-go paradigm, the whale was trained to report the presence of the hook at distances varying in 50 cm increments. A total of 28 sessions of 25 trials each were collected and echolocation signals were recorded using a nine element acoustic array. Number of clicks, acoustic parameters, decision time and performance were recorded. The subject successfully reported the presence of the ...


Abstract There is increasing enrolment of Chinese heritage language learners in tertiary Chinese language classrooms across Australia. Educated in English, Chinese heritage learners are of diverse national origins and the Chinese language varieties to which they have been exposed through family or community are also diverse. Recent research in this field has called for greater attention to pedagogical questions in heritage language study, entailing a better understanding of learners and their learning motivation. This study was driven by pedagogical concern as to the perceived underachievement of the learner group and low retention rate at the beginner level. Through an analysis of quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data, the study closely examines the particular motivational orientations, learning needs, and goals of a group of Chinese heritage language learners in one Australian university setting. Motivation from heritage and cultural identity is balanced by the drive towards employment prospects, or perceived economic capital of learning Chinese. The students' goal of communicative competence is at odds with the apparent traditional Chinese teaching goals, which have stressed complex written literacy construction. This study fills a significant gap in the field by identifying research-based pedagogic implications and strategies for teaching Chinese heritage learners in the Australian context.


One of the most powerful features of R is its infrastructure for contributed code. The built-in package manager and complementary repositories provide a great system for development and exchange of code, and have played an important role in the growth of the platform towards the de-facto standard in statistical computing that it is today. However, the number of packages on CRAN and other repositories has increased beyond what might have been foreseen, and is revealing some limitations of the current design. One such problem is the general lack of dependency versioning in the infrastructure. This paper explores this problem in greater detail, and suggests approaches taken by other open source communities that might work for R as well. Three use cases are defined that exemplify the issue, and illustrate how improving this aspect of package management could increase reliability while supporting further growth of the R community.


The aim of this work was to obtain of the information referring to the thermal processes of the composite materials having natural polymers. A comparatively study of thermo oxidative behavior of the some polyolefin/wood flour (WF) and lignin (L) blends with variable composition were made. It was remark that materials with a higher percent of the natural polymer present a reduced thermal stability comparatively with the matrix. One can also observed that the introduction as filling materials of the lignin leads to composite materials much stable for thermal point of view than those containing wood sawdust.


In this paper, we propose a generalized algorithm that converts traffic composed of vehicles located randomly in a set of lanes into sorted traffic in which vehicles are moved into the lane corresponding to their destination group. Focus is placed on the cooperative behavior of vehicles. The proposed algorithm architecture divides the entire scenario into various independent sections (called frames) that can be processed in parallel at the same time. Processing each frame involves solving an optimization procedure of a nonlinear programming problem reducible to a linear programming problem. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested using the Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) simulator. Results are obtained and presented for average sorting distance required for sorting all vehicles in the scenario for different traffic settings.


The paper describes the practice and purpose of the medical missionaries research on the traditional Chinese drugs(中藥). Searches were made using the...


Experimental wastewater generated in the process of preparation catalyst for the production of acrylamide, it containing a large number of sub-phosphate, sulfate. As a starting point to reduce total phosphorus concentration (TP = 2300mg/L), determine conditions to examine such as the best precipitant agent and its dosage, reaction pH, temperature and other single-factor conditions. After extensive tests confirmed, 100ml of this phosphorus-containing wastewater was adjusted to pH 8, at 30 °C, 3.0g of calcium chloride was added, reaction 180min, total phosphorus concentration can be reduced to 200mg/L or less, phosphorus removal rate can reach 91%. XRD, TG-DTA characterization analysis showed that the main component of chemical deposits were calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate crystals


The more recent observations on peptic ulcer have produced many changes in opinion. Many dogmas formerly held in high esteem have been discarded, to be supplanted by beliefs that would once have been regarded with suspicion. This change in sentiment has concerned various phases of the ulcer problem—the nature and etiology of the lesion itself, the preferred status of medical or surgical treatment, and the outlook for permanent cure of the lesion. These questions are all interrelated and their true answers depend at least in some measure on a still unsolved problem, the basic etiology of the disease. It has gradually become obvious that one must think not of cure of the disease but rather of "successful management." In fact, it may be stated that the life history of ulcer in an ulcer-bearing individual ends only with the life of the individual. The successful medical management of the disease, the


abstract:Frederick Luis Aldama's in-depth interview with Robert Alter covers over 50 years of scholarly contributions to the field of narrative studies. Alter shares his grand intellectual odyssey as informed by and distinctively different to a variety of different literary schools and approaches. The interview shares insights into how Alter deepened understanding of how language, style, and narrative devices shape Old Testament narratives as well as 18th, 19th, and 20th century literary works and their creating of a complex range of social, moral, and psychological realities. The interview shares insights into Alter's significant contribution to the field of translation studies and his translation of the Old Testament.


The electronic structures and electronic absorption spectra of m-fluoro-, m-chloro-, m-bromo-, and m-methoxybenzenediazonium cations were studied by making molecular orbital calculations, and by measuring the near-ultraviolet absorption spectra. From the calculations it is understood that when an electron-donating group is introduced at the m-position of the benzenediazonium cation, a mixing of the lowest locally-excited 1B1 state within the benzenediazonium cation and the intramolecular charge-transfer state arising from the electron transfer from the electron-donating group at the m-position to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the benzenediazonium framework comes to show a large contribution of the substituted cation in the lowest excited state while at the same time the energy of the corresponding state is lowered. The ground and the excited 1A1 states of the nonsubstituted cation are not so greatly affected by the m-substitution as is the 1B1 state. The degree of the mixing of the 1A1 and 1B...


This article deals with the French-Uzbek literary relations of the independence period. Unda A. The Uzbek translation of Camus's novel Plague will be analyzed, with special emphasis on translation skills.


We study the problem of jointly designing the sensor and controller for a dynamical system driven by a privacy-sensitive input process. This problem is motivated by the modern thermostat control example where home's occupancy is continually monitored and leveraged to tailor thermostat behaviors for better energy savings and comfort, which, however, arouses users' concern over privacy. We start by quantifying the instantaneous privacy loss in a control system under standard inference attacks. We present the closed form of privacy loss for linear Gaussian systems and propose a sampling-based method to approximate privacy loss for general dynamical systems. The optimal control and sensor query strategy for a private-input-driven system is then characterized, and we further prove the validity of separation principle for a linear system with Gaussian disturbance and quadratic cost under the privacy loss proposed in this paper. We close the paper by demonstrating the flexibility of the joint sensor-controller policy in the occupancy-based thermostat control example and providing some insights on the tradeoff among energy, comfort, and privacy.


Studies have suggested that distance runners have decreased calf muscle-tendon unit (MTU) flexibility, which is related to improved running economy. This study examined the passive elastic properties of the calf MTU of distance runners to test the hypothesis that they have increased passive elastic properties measured in viva. Ten distance runners (aged 18-21 years) and 10 untrained men (aged 23-28 years) were tested. A Kin-Corn® dynamometer stretched the right calf MTU from plantarflexion (PF) to maximal dorsiflexion (DF) at 5°.s -1 (0.087 rad.s -1 ) with minimal surface electromyogram activity in the soleus, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior muscles. ANOVA analyses indicated that the maximal DF ROM did not differ between groups, but the maximal passive DF torque (Nm), total absorbed passive elastic energy (area under full stretch curve [°.Nm]) and passive elastic stiffness (Nm.° -1 ) within the last 10° of the stretch were greater for the distance runners when controlled for body mass (P ≤ 0.007). The maximal passive DF torque and the passive elastic stiffness were greater when controlled for PF maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque (P < 0.028). The increased passive resistive properties suggested structural adaptations in the calf MTU, possibly the result of eccentric loading and stretching, which would contribute to improved running economy.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of internal and external focus of attention on novices' rehearsal evaluations. Thirty-two undergraduate instrumental music education students led bands in a series of three 6-minute rehearsals on their assigned excerpt. Prior to these rehearsals, participants were led in score study and rehearsal preparation activities. Internal group (n = 16) participants' preparation related to knowledge of the score, whereas external group (n = 16) participants focused their preparations on observable rehearsal behaviors with a minimal amount of time devoted to score study. No significant differences were found between conditions for any of several dependent measures, including participants' self-evaluation of their teaching, participants' evaluation of ensemble performance, ensemble members' evaluations of conductor rehearsal effectiveness and of conductor score knowledge, and independent audio evaluation of the final ensemble performance run-through. Results of repeated-measures analyses did indicate significant improvements in participants' and ensemble members' evaluations, for both experimental groups, between the first rehearsal and the second and third rehearsals. Both methods may have helped novice conductors prepare to rehearse, but their direct experience in working with ensembles may have been comparatively more informative in preparing them for future rehearsals.


The Pamir–Hindu Kush seismic zone is caused by the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate. Earthquakes in this region can occur down to ~250 km depth. Intermediate-depth earthquakes that occur in the Hindu Kush region may be related to deformation and break-off of the Indian plate, dehydration of former oceanic crust in the northern margin of the Indian plate, or subduction of the Eurasian plate in the eastern part of the Pamir–Hindu Kush region. We use a cross-correlation-based method to estimate differential rupture duration between each pair of seismic stations to find the rupture direction and the orientation of the fault plane for 52 intermediate-depth earthquakes between 1990 and 2009. We found most of the analyzed intermediate-depth earthquakes are located in the western part of the Pamir-Hindu Kush seismic zone. Among the 52 analyzed earthquakes, we observed directivity for 13 intermediate-depth earthquakes. Moreover, 6 of the earthquakes that show directivity have their rupture toward the intersection of the nodal planes. Regardless of the rupture direction, we can classify the earthquakes with observable directivity at depths between 180 and 240 km into two clusters based on the orientation of the fault planes. Earthquakes in cluster I have similar rupture behavior. Furthermore, earthquakes in cluster II have their fault planes migrate with the shape of Indian slab.


The present invention relates to a method of controlling a mobile terminal of a radio telecommunications network receiver, wherein in the telecommunication network transmission frame signal (FR) to a plurality of signals received by the mobile terminal, the signal comprising a encoded digital content, the method comprising determining a signal quality of a signal, determining a reception time scheme of a radio receiver of the mobile terminal (TR) in accordance with the signal quality and controls the radio receiver receives the signal reception time in accordance with the program. The present invention further relates to a program and a mobile terminal performing the method.


In this study we evaluated the impact of the updated pulmonary hypertension (PH) definitive criteria proposed in 6th World PH Symposium (WSPH) on numbers and frequencies of and pre- versus post-capillary PH as compared to those in European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2015 PH Guidelines.

 Study group comprised the retrospectively evaluated 1299 patients (pts) (age 53.1±18.8 years, female 807, 62.1%) who underwent right heart catheterisation (RHC) with different indications between 2006 and 2018. For ESC and WSPH PH definitions, pulmonary arterial mean pressure (PAMP) ≥25 mmHg (definition-A) and PAMP >20 mmHg (definition-B) RHC criteria were used, respectively. For pre-capillary PH definitions, pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) ≤15 mmHg and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) ≥3 Wood units criteria were included in the both definitions.

 In RHC assessments, PAMP ≥25 mmHg and >20 mmHg were noted in 891 (68.6%) and 1051 (80.9%) of overall pts, respectively. Moreover, pre-capillary PH was diagnosed in 284 (21.8%) and 298 (22.9%) with definition-A and B, respectively. Although updated WSPH definition was associated with a net 12.3% and a relative 18% increase in the overall PH diagnosis, net and relative changes in the frequency of the pre-capillary PH were only 1% and 4.9%. Increase in the overall PH with updated WSPH criterias compared to previous ESC definitions was associated with increase in the number of pre-capillary PH (n=298, 22.9%) but not in the overall frequency of post-capillary PH (688, 52.9%). Because PVR was the product of the transpulmonary gradient (PAMP minus PAWP) divided by cardiac output, this measure was found to keep specificity for distinction between pre- versus post-capillary PH even after lowering thetreshold diagnostic for PAMP from 25 to 20 mmHg.

 Although updated WSPH definition was associated with net 12.3% and relative 18% increase in the overall PH diagnosis, its impact on frequencies of pre- versus post-capillary PH within overall PH population was negligible.These seem to be due to critical role of PVR ensuring specificity in pre-capillary PH diagnosis even after lowering the definitive PAMP treshold to 20 mmHg.


ABSTRACT This article examines how the study of premodern cosmographical knowledge in the modern classroom can educate students about how knowledge is made. Through my discussion of a course unit that considers Richard Hakluyt's Principall Navigations (1589) in conversation with Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia (1544), I demonstrate how these premodern visions of the world created ideological pathways toward imperial and racial violence. White, European cosmographers developed a genre of knowledge production about the world, and these generic conventions both authorized their perspectives and established a conceptual mapping toward empire that early modern cartographers and travel writers would reproduce and expand. These cosmographers, cartographers, and travel writers utilized these conventions to legitimize their visions of the world. I argue that these ideological pathways extend the theoretical and empirical work of these writings into course curricula, and continue to inform how knowledge is produced.


Electronic structure contribution to reactivity in pyranopterin Mo enzymes is presented and discussed. This is accomplished by relating spectroscopic studies of relevant model compounds with those of the enzymes. This has contributed to a greater understanding of how the pyranopterin dithiolene functions in catalysis, and has led to an enhanced understanding of how electronic structure controls reactivity in sulfite oxidase, xanthine oxidase, CO dehydrogenase, DMSO reductase and MOSC family proteins.


Aiming at the complex structure and weak real-time performance of traditional visual tracking system, a scheme based on PYNQ (Python productivity for Zynq) framework is designed and deployed in Zynq heterogeneous platform. Firstly, according to the real-time requirements, the kernel-related filter tracking algorithm is selected. Then, according to the characteristics of the Zynq computing platform, the software and hardware collaborative design method is used to divide the system tasks, and the algorithm is converted into RTL (Register Transfer Level) by HLS (High Level Synthesis) development tools, and the calculation is performed. The process is optimized and exported as an IP core. Then, Python is used to import the IP core as a hardware coprocessor at the top level to implement the underlying to top-level data interaction. Finally, the system result is asynchronously updated in the Jupyter notebook. Experiments show that the system has good real-time performance, and the tracking speed averages 27.9FPS. At the same time, it has superior execution efficiency, is easy to develop and transplant, and has certain engineering reference value.


Rapid thermal processing has been utilized to sinter and anneal phase‐pure and CuO‐rich YBa2Cu3O7 fibers and woven fibers formed by melt spinning a powder/polymer composite. The optimum temperature for sintering the powders varies for the stoichiometric (1025 °C) and 5% CuO‐rich fibers (1000 °C), but in both cases the temperature window is extremely narrow (±25 °C). Typical processing consists of a rapid heating (250 °C/s) of the fibers to the sintering temperature in 1 atm of pure oxygen, holding at temperature for 1 s and cooling over a period of 2–3 min. The resulting fibers are orthorhombic YBa2Cu3O7 with large Meissner and shielding fractions, have zero resistance up to 92 K, critical‐current densities in zero applied field to 1100 A/cm2 at 76 K, and show clean grain boundaries by transmission electron microscopy. Despite the short processing times, microstructural analysis shows considerable grain growth and evidence of metastable congruent melting of oxygen‐rich YBa2Cu3O7.


Objective: To investigate effects of Agaricus blazei polysaccharide(ABP) on rat thymocyte apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential which were induced by dexamethasone(DEX).Method: Forty Wistar rats were divided into four groups randomly with 10 in each group.The four groups were as follows: normal group,model group,low dose ABP group and high dose ABP group.Normal group and model group were prepared by normal saline solution;low dose ABP group and high dose ABP group were prepared by ABP solution(60,120 mg.kg-1),once a day for seven days continuously.Model group and low dose ABP group were injected through belly by DEX(0.02 g.kg-1).All groups were killed three hours later and rat thymocyte was taken out clenly.Mcroscopic observation and flow cytometry were used to observe morph ological changes and apoptosis of rat thymocyte,percentage of deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) strand breakage,mitochondrial membrane potential changes and contents of superoxide dismutase(SOD) in rat thymocyte and malomialdehvde(MDA).Result: Mitochondria cristal dilatation of thyocyte obviously released in ABP group compared with model group.Rate of rat thymocyte apoptosis in ABP group [low dose(5.96 ± 1.14) %,high dose(5.07 ± 1.02) % ],DNA breakage rate [low dose(3.67 ± 0.49) %,high dose(3.24 ± 0.45) %] and MDA content in rat thymocyte [low dose(1.87 ± 0.25) μg.mg-1,high dose(1.72 ± 0.23) μg.mg-1] were obviously lower than model group [(7.14 ±1.62) %,(4.25 ±0.86) %,(2.16 ±0.38) μg.mg-1];mitochondrial membrane potential in rat thymocyte(fluorescence index: low dose 38.57 ± 6.29,high dose 41.36 ± 7.18) and SOD conten in rat thymocyte [low dose(25.78 ± 3.94) μg.mg-1,high dose(27.36 ± 4.21) μg.mg-1] were significantly higher than model group(32.76 ± 5.48) fluorescence index,(21.45 ± 3.52) μg.mg-1.Conclusion: ABP prevent DNA strand breakage and the decreasing of mitochondrial membrane potential which can inhibit rat thymocyte apoptosis induced by DEX.The mechanism may be that ABP strengthen antioxidan function of thymus.


Swami Ji's thoughts have been carefully sifted and analyzed for the benefit of prospective teacher educators. Swami Ji thought of 'education as a manifestation of perfection within an individual'. The real issue is as to how to attain this avowed goal. His comprehensive vision in this regard includes diverse matters ranging from quality and excellence to national integration, equality of educational opportunity, education of the masses, environmental education and management, women empowerment, and wellness life style through health, hygiene and yoga. On all these matters and many more, Swamiji was very articulate and forthright in advising the youth and various other audiences who used to throng on him.


Using radioimmunoassay we have measured the serum concentrations of the C-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen (pColl-1-C) in 12 Tanner I-II subjects (aged 9–16 years) with severe Crohn's disease (8 patients) or ulcerative colitis (4 patients) and markedly decreased growth velocity who were subjected to surgery and 50 similarly aged children with either ulcerative colitis (20 patients) or Crohn's disease (30 patients) and normal growth. Prior to operation, the mean growth velocity and pColl-1-C concentration in the former group of 12 children were 0.03 ± 0.02 cm/month (normal >0.5 cm/month) and 14.1 ± 1.9 μg/dl, respectively. This pColl-1-C concentration is comparable with that previously reported for adults (5–17 μg/dl) and significantly lower than found in the 50 normally growing children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (46.9 ± 2.0 μg/dl) (p < 0.001). All 12 children subjected to surgery had a marked increase in growth velocity and pColl-1-C concentration to 0.73 ± 0.08 cm/month and 59.1 ± 5.6 μg/dl, respectively (p < 0.001 compared with preoperative values). Changes in pColl-1-C concentrations antedated measurable changes in linear growth. These data suggest that pColl-1-C concentrations can reflect growth velocity in children with IBD subjected to surgery and may provide a rapidly available measure of current "growth activity."


The stress analysis of a pressure vessel needs three prerequisites, namely, definition of the structure, loading conditions and nomination of the 'design code' to be used. Among the many codes in existence throughout the world, it is probably true that the one most widely used is the A.S.M.E. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The stress analysis philosophy of this code allows the use of classical formulae where appropriate, in addition to such techniques as finite-element analysis, supported by experimental verification in the form of photo-elasticity and straingauging. This code will be assumed as the applicable one in this paper. Many pressure-vessel structures lack geometrical and/or loading symmetry, rendering the classical mathematical analytical approach difficult, if not impossible. In these circumstances, the stress analysis must make some simplifying assumptions in a theoretical approach and some physical structural representation in an experimental method. In general terms, all of these simplifying techniques may be termed 'structural modelling'.


The growth of the diffraction efficiency and recording velocity were found in the films of the 4-[(2-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl methacrylate copolymers with octyl methacrylate at room temperature holographic recording with a plane wavefront from parallel and orthogonal orientation of polarization of light beams for copolymer with less softening temperature. The effect of strengthening the diffraction efficiency was observed when charging the surface of investigated copolymers films with the recorded hologram in corona discharge. This effect is explained by growth of amplitude of regular geometric relief of the film surface appearing during formation of the polarization hologram in the copolymer with azobenzene chromophore.


This thesis introduces what deep ecology as a discipline covers and its development and present situation, and expounds the relationship between deep ecology and ecological ethics. The author thinks that the two disciplines are closely interconnected but have different emphasis. Deep ecology stresses the deep philosophical questioning about the intrinsic value of nature, man's place in nature, and ecological systems etc. while ecological ethics focuses on the moral relationship between man and nature, the natural moral principles and the moral criteria for judging people's behavior towards nature.


Examples of the experience on diagnostics and monitoring of CESI and IPH are presented. For medium voltage cables, diagnostics tools were developed. The results of a systematic campaign to assess the conditions of the MV installed cables are summarized and analysed. The long-term experience with partial discharge (PD) measurements during type tests, PQ tests and after laying tests of HV/EHV cable systems are illustrated. These tests led to an appropriate system concept for online PD monitoring. The system set up is presented. (6 pages)


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The Article surveys the growing law and finance literature providing evidence that legal protections for minority investors (and accompanying private and public institutions) correlate with various indices of financial development. Evidence in particular exists that countries with a common law origin enjoy both strong levels of investor protection as well as superior financial performance compared with civil law origin countries. Correlation does not mean causation, however. The Article examines the evidence related to whether the legal regime in fact causes financial development. Even if the legal regime does in fact cause such development, a question remains: How to generate investor-friendly legal regimes. Evidence on the efficacy of top-down reforms, including the transplant of laws from one regime to another, is examined. As an alternative, the Article puts forth the hypothesis that increased competition (whether product market, capital market, or regulatory competition) may have a greater ability to generate lasting changes in a country's legal environment to the benefit of investors and overall welfare.