Objective. To analyze the types and frequency of adverse drug reactions to local intrawound application of vancomycin powder in patients after posterior decompression and stabilization in the lumbosacral spine. Material and Methods . Clinical series published in 2011–2017 were analyzed. At the first stage, Medline and PubMed databases were searched for English-language literature sources using the keywords «intrawound vancomycin», «surgical site infection», and «posterior lumbar fusion», and e-Library for Russian-language sources using «local application of vancomycin powder», «infection in the surgical site», and «posterior decompression and stabilization». At the second stage, abstracts of articles were examined, and publications that did not meet the research criteria were excluded. At the third stage, the full texts of the selected articles were reviewed for compliance with inclusion criteria, as well as references for relevant studies. Results. Nineteen clinical studies (16 retrospective and 3 prospective) with a total of 13,077 patients were selected for a systematic review. In 55.3 % (7,236) of posterior lumbosacral surgery cases, vancomycin powder was applied locally to prevent surgical site infection. Among the entire cohort of patients, unwanted drug reactions were detected in 2.19 % of patients. Conclusions. Local application of vancomycin powder is associated with a low incidence of unwanted drug reactions.


Al-Li alloys have higher mechanical properties and more lightweight than other conventional aluminum alloys. Therefore , it is focused as a good material for weight reduction of industrial fields. However, since the Al-Li alloy are highly active and hard to cast, there has been limited research on casting. In this study, age-hardening behavior of Al-2.5mass%Li alloys cast into sand and metal mold were investigated. All alloys cast into Y-block shape sand mold, and then artificial aged after solution treated at 743K for 36ks. Because of difference in quantity of precipitation by metastable δ'(Al3Li) phase, peak hardness of metal mold casting is higher than that of sand molds castings.


Mao Zedong Thought is rich in contents,including politics,economics,philosophy,military,education,literature,art,and so on.There is no doubt that Mao Zedong contributed a lot to the Chinese revolution.He generalized a series of unique experiences from the practice of the Chinese revolution and construction,and thereby formed Mao Zedong Thought,which is our long-term guiding ideology.However,we find that there are few contents about legal system among Mao's works and remarks.And even a great deal of his remarks are opposite to the spirit of legality,which distinctly runs counter to the requirement of building harmonious society with consummate law and order.Why did Mao disregard the legal system while he won great successes at other aspects? There are many reasons.And we can analyze from different aspects.This paper focus on Mao's understanding of the legal system and try to identify the underlying reasons.The author hopes this paper could provide a useful reference for today's building of a harmonious society.


Machine Learning techniques have been employed in virtually all domains in the past few years. New applications demand the ability to cope with dynamic environments like data streams with transient behavior. Such environments present new requirements like incrementally process incoming data instances in a single pass, under both memory and time constraints. Furthermore, prediction models often need to adapt to concept drifts observed in non-stationary data streams. Ensemble learning comprises a class of stream mining algorithms that achieved remarkable prediction performance in this scenario. Implemented as a set of (several) individual component classifiers whose predictions are combined to predict new incoming instances, ensembles are naturally amendable for task parallelism. Despite its relevance, an efficient implementation of ensemble algorithms is still challenging. For example, dynamic data structures used to model non-stationary data behavior and detect concept drifts cause inefficient memory usage patterns and poor cache memory performance in multi-core environments. In this paper, we propose a minibatching strategy which can significantly reduce cache misses and improve the performance of several ensemble algorithms for stream mining in multi-core environments. We assess our strategy on four different state-of-art ensemble algorithms applying four widely used machine learning benchmark datasets with varied characteristics. Results from two different hardware show speedups of up to 5X on 8-core processors with ensembles of 100 and 150 learners. The benefits come at the cost of changes in predictive performances.


This study aims at clarifying the relationship between politics represented by the authority and the society, particularly its citizens, and how freedom becomes frail and turns into restrictions imposed on the citizens by the authorities. As an interdisciplinary approach, political sociology identifies politics' influence on society and vice versa. As a result of the condition of the countries, political sociology appeared in the nineteenth century by Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. The study focuses on the Prague Spring in examining the relationship between authority and citizens and the effect of the political mess on the citizens and society through Simon Mawer's novel Prague Spring . The study is divided into six sections: the first discussed political sociology. The second presents the meaning of the theme 'The Frailty of Freedom'. Thus, the third section discusses the historical background of the Prague Spring. The life of the British writer Simon Mawer is presented in the fourth section. The fifth section shows the analysis of Simon Mawer's Prague Spring . The research ends with the sixth section, which presents the conclusions.


key scenes. Thus, as American occupation troops march through the streets of Tokyo the newsreel editor may cut to a shot of cheering, grinning Japanese onlookers. Later on in the story, perhaps, he intercuts other enthusiastic civilians. It may be that most of the citizens who happened to be around that day turned their backs on the Yanks or stayed indoors, that windows were shuttered, even, as the soldiers approached; but these scenes, let us say, were either unavailable, not filmed, or omitted. The effect created finally depends on the editor's attitude and honesty. Does he want to show the enemy as happy, complaisant in defeat, or as sullen, reluctant to acknowledge the conquerors' rule? Newsreels are of necessity a selected segment of life. But is their content selected or rejected purely on the criteria of drama or news value? Not always. The attempted strikebreaking at Republic Steel in 1937 was thoroughly "covered" by most newsreels, but the films were not released until months afterward, at the instance of the Senate's LaFollette Committee. The committee members had seen the evidence


Abstract : This study had four principal objectives: to develop valid rules for creating episodes of care from computerized claims data, to develop comprehensive age- and diagnosis-specific profiles of quality of care, to judge the quality of care for several respiratory infections, and to investigate differences in quality of care by characteristics of physicians. The respiratory illnesses studied were streptococcal sore throat, pharyngitis and/or tonsillitis, acute otitis media, acute bronchitis, influenza, and acute upper respiratory tract infection. Data were taken from the New Mexico Medicaid program on a cohort of persons who had been enrolled in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children aid category continuously for the years covered by the study. The cohort changed in no way except natural aging. It comprised primarily women and children, was predominantly white, and accounted for a large portion of New Mexico Medicaid expenditures during this period. Quality-of-care profiles were based on explicit process criteria and took into account both the presence and absence of appropriate and inappropriate elements of care. Included in the profiles were use of intramuscular (IM) and oral antimicrobials (antibiotics) singly and in numerous conditions, IM and oral medications typically used for symptomatic relief of these respiratory infections, a variety of laboratory and diagnostic tests, and followup visits.


A novel method to account for dynamic speaker characteristic properties in aspeech recognition system is presented. The estimated trajectory of a property canbe constrained to be constant or to hav ...


Abstract Previously only one species of the genus Diostracus was known to occur in Tibet. Here the following two new species are added to the fauna of Tibet: Diostracus acutatus sp. n. and Diostracus tibetensis sp. n. Their relationships with similar species are discussed. A key to the species of Diostracus from the Himalayas is presented.


With two common vegetables(Shanghaiqing,Pakchoi) seeds as materials,the effect of the soil with pollution of DDNP wastewater pollution(by the concentration of nitrophenols) on their seed germination,root and shoot elongation inhibition,the strength of photosynthetic and respiration are studied.Results demonstrated that in the range of 0-12 mg/kg the nitrophenols pollution could promote the seed germination rate of the two plants,but did not reach the significance level(P0.05).With the concentration over 24 mg/kg,the germination rate of Shanghaiqing could be inhibited,and as it was more than 36 mg/kg,the Pakchoi germination rate of could be inhibited.Their was a significant(P0.01) linear relationship between the concentration of nitrophenols within the soil with the root and shoot elongation inhibition rate of the two vegetables.The IC50 of the root and shoot elongation inhibition rate of Shanghaiqing was 60.39 and 99.34 mg/kg,and the IC50 of the Pakchoi was 65.48 and 109.89 mg/kg.For the nitrophenols pollution,Shanghaiqing is more sensitive,to the same kind of crops,the root is more sensitive to shoot.As the increase of nitrophenols concentration within the soil,the amount of CO2 used by photosynthetic and produced by respiration was downtrend.It shows that the pollution of DDNP wastewater could influent the photosynthetic and respiration and caused damage of the plant organism.


2.0 25 30 35 4.0 A total of 141 red (squirrel) hake (Urophycis chuss) was collected in June 1982 from three sites (39O43":72O18'W; 39O48'N:72O27'W; 39O41'N:72O32'W) a t the outer margin of the New York Bight adjacent to the Hudson Canyon, representing stations at the northeast and southwest sides of the head of the canyon. Water depths were 100,74, and 76 meters, respectively, for the three collection sites. Fish were collected using a standard '/4 Yankee trawl net, with a 10-foot throat and a 45-foot sweep. The fish ranged in size from 18.W3.3-cm standard length (S.L.). Regression of weight on length was best described by a second-order polynomial (Y = 0.001X2 0.034X + 0.321) with r2 =


The research report by Hengartner et al. (1) in this journal claims that "antidepressant use during acute inpatient care is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric rehospitalisation over a 12month follow-up after discharge". The authors employed a matched pairs comparison of inpatients who were referred with a mixed range of diagnoses to a psychiatric hospital. Patients were matched via nearest neighbor propensity scores (2) and divided into two groups of N = 45 with respect to whether they had been prescribed an antidepressant or not, i.e. whether they were either antidepressant users or non-users. The matching procedure was based on 14 covariates that assessed sociodemographic items, psychosocial impairments, functioning deficits, and illness severity. While this general methodological approach in naturalistic clinical studies is widely accepted (3), the conclusions made in this particular paper are not warranted. Here, the covariates employed for the matching procedure are, unfortunately, incomplete with regard to the intervention of interest, namely the prescription or non-prescription of antidepressant medication. In fact, none of the 14 matching parameters addressed presence or absence of any reason(s) for clinically meaningful inor off-label antidepressant use (4, 5), which would be mandatory for the research question under study. Most importantly, assuming a non-random prescription of antidepressants, the patients in the two groups must have been fundamentally different with respect to relevant clinical parameters (6, 7) which, in turn, would be likely to predict outcome as reflected in rehospitalization rate (8). Obviously, these relevant critical factors were not assessed in the analysis. Incidentally, rehospitilization rate is not actually considered to be a marker of treatment quality and is thus a somewhat questionable outcome measure (9). The paper's conclusion is thus the ramification of a hidden selection bias due to omission of information of fundamental relevance. To illustrate the pitfalls of this faulty approach, a similar


This paper assesses the correlation between impedance and reference voltage of degraded metal oxide varistors. Low-voltage varistor devices are artificially degraded using switching impulse currents and thermal stresses. Impedance and reference voltage are measured before and after degradation tests. Linear regression is applied in order to model the relationship between observed changes in varistor impedance and reference voltage. The validity of the obtained model is subsequently verified using analysis of variance. Results show no linear relationship between varistor impedance decrease and reference voltage.


This article is based on the discussion of the Financial Assistance Program Family, in order to demonstrate how the federal government is managing the scope of social programs and whether they have given any positive results for the country. For that, we made bibliographic surveys the authors have discussed the case, and also seek information in government records that deal with the subject. Thus, it may be noted that the results of the Financial Assistance Program Family, despite what some say, have shown very positive situations under the breaking aspect of the intergenerational cycle of poverty with the poor and extremely poor families, including giving them the opportunities for growth and material development and social inclusion, thus achieving improved quality of life and better conditions of survival, which are the focus of social programs.


Introduction Four third grade boys, aged 8 years old, are engaged in a 20-minute long sequence of imaginative play. The boys are walking, hopping, running, and falling while they play on the snow-covered soccer field. One of the primary things they pretend during this recess period is that they are cats and dogs walking on "radical soda", which is a mixture of toxic waste and poison. Andy points to the ground and says, "Toxic waste. This can help us mutate", as he pretends to drink something. "Then I turn into an evil kitten", says Andy as he crouches low. Andy stands up and holds his hands together with his elbows out to the side and acts like he is stalking something. Peter yells, "Run"! and runs away from Andy, looking over his shoulder. One of the other boys follows him. The fourth boy walks next to Andy. Peter runs away for a few seconds, and then he turns around and runs up to Andy. The other boy who had been running also returns. Walking four abreast, the boys then walk across the field.


As an opportunistic pathogen,Pseudomonas aeruginosa can produce biofilm and pyocyanin,which play a critical role in its pathogenesis.This study aims to elucidate the function of the Arr gene in formation of biofilm and production of pyocyanin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Using the chromosome DNA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as template,we first cloned the Arr gene by PCR.With the insertion of gentamycin resistance cassette(aacC1),the mutant PA-AG has then been constructed by homologous recombination.The formation of biofilm is determined by staining with crystal violet,and production of pyocyanin is detected with spectrophotometric method.In KMB or LB medium,biofilm formation of the parental strain PAO1 is about 2 folds higher than that of the Arr mutant PA-AG.The biosynthesis of pyocyanin in the Arr mutant PA-AG is about 2.5 folds higher than that in the parental strain PAO1.These results indicate that the Arr gene negatively controls the pyocyanin biosynthesis,but Arr could exert some positive effect on the biofilm formation.It is suggested that regulation mediated by the Arr gene on biofilm and biosynthesis of pyocyanin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is specific and different.


Correspondence: Arjun Ballal P.G. Student, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Mangalore 575018, Karnataka, India. Mobile : +91 84316 44077 E-mail : firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract: Intramuscular haemangiomas are believed to be hamartomatous and are a distinctive type of haemangioma occurring within skeletal muscle. They account for less than 1% of all haemangiomas. They occur more often in trunk and extremity muscles. A sixty five year old lady presented with swelling and pain from the back of the left knee for two years. On clinical examination, a mass of about 10X10 cms in size was noted in the left popliteal fossa. The swelling was tender with well defined borders but fixed to the muscle. She had a flexion deformity of knee of ten degrees. MRI revealed a large encapsulated cystic lesion in the posterior aspect of the muscular compartment of the knee. She underwent excision of the mass, intraoperatively the mass was noted to be arising from the gastrocnemius. Histopathology revealed large cavernous filled spaces filled with blood which indicated a cavernous haemangioma. Most of the literature suggest the occurance of capillary haemangioma to be a commoner one. Occurance of a cavernous haemangioma is usually before the third decade and is congenital in most times. Most of the authors emphasize that radiological methods are generally insufficient for the correct diagnosis of intramuscular hemangiomas, and surgery is the treatment of choice to exclude malignancy and for adequate treatment of these lesions. Hence, the present case which we are reporting here is a rare occurance of a cavernous haemangioma of the gastrocnemius in a 65 year old lady, which was managed by surgical methods.


Least squares method in matrix form is described for simultaneous determination of benzoic acid and salicylic acid in oinment without prior separation from each other. The concentration of each component has been determined spectrophotometrically measured at 5nm intervals from 230 to 300 nm. The mean percentage recovery and standard deviation of content in ointment is 98.86 +/- 2.93 for benzoic acid and is 100.36 +/- 3.03 for salicylic acid.


Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging dependent polymer gel dosimetry is a technique that offers unique advantages for implementing increasingly complex radiotherapy procedures, due to the high spatial resolution and volumetric dosimetry capabilities. The technique involves the estimation of radiation dose distribution based on the changes in MR relaxation parameters caused by radiation induced polymerization (1). Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is a technique for quantitatively assessing the stiffness of materials by imaging the propagation of externally induced mechanical shear waves(2). Since radiation causes polymerization of monomers in polymer gel dosimeters, we hypothesized that the stiffness of an irradiated region would quantitatively reflect the radiation dose to the gel. The purpose of this work was to test this hypothesis in a series of polymer gel phantoms by investigating the correlation between the absorbed radiation dose and MREassessed stiffness. If the hypothesis is correct, this would provide an independent approach for polymer gel-based radiation dosimetry. Materials and Methods: A 1.5-T whole body scanner (GE Signa, Milwaukee, WI) was used in all of the experiments. A series of cubic phantoms of 236 cm were made using the MAGIC dosimetry gel (3) and were irradiated with a conventional 1.25 MeV Theratron 780C Cobalt-60 radiation therapy unit (MDS Nordion, Kanata, Canada). A cylindrical region (radius 3 cm) of the phantom was irradiated, with the phantom remaining stationary and the Co-60 unit gantry rotating (180) around the isocenter using parallel-opposed fields to guarantee dose distribution homogeneity. The radiation dose ranged from 0 to 50 Gy with 10 Gy steps. MR Relaxometry (4) images depicting the transverse relaxation parameter (R2 = 1/T2) of these irradiated phantoms were acquired with a double echo spin-echo sequence with echo times (TE) of 20 and 100 ms and a long repetition time (TR = 4,000 ms). For acquiring MRE data, mechanical shear waves of frequency 250 Hz were introduced in these phantoms and the propagation of these waves was imaged using a gradient echo based pulse sequence with one cyclic motion encoding gradient pair. Other relevant imaging parameters were FOV = 14 cm, acquisition matrix = 256x64, frequency encoding direction = SI, TR/TE = 100/21 ms and slice thickness = 10 mm. From these wave propagation images, elastograms were generated using a Local Frequency Estimation algorithm with application of spatio-temporal directional filters (5). Results and Discussion: Figure 1a shows a spin echo MR magnitude image of the 50 Gy absorbed dose phantom with TE at 20 ms, where the presence of the irradiated region could be identified due to the change in T2. It becomes clearly visible in the normalized relaxometry image of the phantom shown in figure 1b that maps the R2 of the phantom. Figure 2 shows one of the wave propagation images obtained from the elastography experiments for the control phantom with no irradiation (2a) and the 50 Gy absorbed dose phantom (2b). A wavelength difference between the 50 Gy and control phantoms is clearly apparent in the irradiated region. The wavelength is longer in the irradiated region than the non-irradiated region of the same phantom, due to increased stiffness in radiated gel. The corresponding elastograms for the control and the 50 Gy absorbed dose phantoms are shown in figures 3a and 3b respectively. It is evident that the stiffness of the irradiated region is higher than that of the non-irradiated region in the same sample or the control phantom due to the conversion of monomers to polymer aggregates upon irradiation. Comparing the stiffness estimate map and the normalized relaxometry map of the 50 Gy phantom (1b), it can be seen that they are very well correlated. Figure 4 shows the stiffness values of the phantoms as a function of the absorbed dose and the increase in stiffness of the irradiated region as the radiation dose increases is clearly evident. Conclusion: The results show that the stiffness of a polymer gel dosimeter is directly correlated to the applied radiation dose. Given this correlation, it is possible to use Magnetic Resonance Elastography to estimate radiation dose distribution through the measurement of shear stiffness of materials. We conclude that MRE provides an independent method for measuring radiation does distributions in polymer gel dosimetry constructs. The results provide motivation for further studies to compare the accuracy and dose estimation ranges of relaxometry and elastography-based 3D gel dosimetry methods. References :(1) Maryanski et al., Phys Med Biol. 39: 1437-1455, 1994. (2) Muthupillai et al., Science 269: 1854–1857 1995. (3) Fong et al., Phys Med Biol. 46: 3105–3113, 2001. (4)Carneiro et al., Braz J Phys 36: 9-15, 2006. (5) Manduca A et al., Med Imag Anal. 5: 237-254, 2001 Figure 1 : 1a. Conventional MR magnitude image and 1b. Normalized Relaxometry image of the 50 Gy phantom depicting R2.


Some lessons on making a great discovery in science. These are lessons I wish I would have been able to tell myself about 7 years ago. I hope they can help you.


Abstract : Cerenkov x-ray emissions should not exist in media where the index of refraction is less than unity. In previous work, x-ray Cerenkov radiation at the K absorption edge of aluminum was reported to have been observed. The present experiment observed no x-ray Cerenkov radiation. However, radiation not characteristic of the Cerenkov mechanism was seen. The results of the experiment are provided. Various aspects of an experiment designed to investigate Cerenkov radiation in the x-ray region are also considered by exploring procedures, methods, equipment design and limitations. Suggestions for improvements to facilitate further experiments with media that allow the formation of Cerenkov radiation are provided. (Thesis) (Author)


The study deals with the assessment of wastewater irrigation practices and soil properties in connection with demographic information, availability of water sources, health hazards and the benefit-cost analysis in the Gazipur district of Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey was carried out to collect data on farmers' perceptions and responses to mainly agricultural production issues. It found that most respondents used wastewater because they had no alternative sources and sank their land during rush hour as well as the rainy season due to the lack of a proper wastewater disposal system by adjacent industries. The majority of respondents had skin problems from working with wastewater. No significant benefits were found from using direct wastewater in the fields. Irrigation costs could be reduced, however, fertilizer costs as well as the total cost of plant production were not adequate. The farmers did not get as much grown grain as they wanted. In addition, indirect wastewater users were rated better compared to direct users from the drainage canal. Farmers' perception showed that no major impact on the consumption of crops was noted, but rather the long-term use of wastewater in the field, which gradually reduced crop production and affected soil fertility. To evaluate Ca ++, Mg ++, K +, N, P, Cu, Pb, Cd and Ni from the investigation area; It was examined that the concentration of N, P and Cd was much higher than the standard limit. The heavy metal concentration series were as follows: Cd <Cu <Ni <Pb. In summary, the overall results of the study suggest that untreated or partially treated wastewater will slowly affect land and crop production in the long run.


X-Ray diffraction has established the structure of [Mo2O4(MeCO2)(NCS)4]3– ions as containing molyb-denum atoms linked by a double oxygen bridge and an acetate anion.


This study is concerned with the effectiveness of individual user performance for an extended self-tutoring task in a time-shared computing facility. The investigation is an experimental case history of one individual (the author) following the TINT self-tutoring user manual from beginning to end in the SDC Q-32 Time-Sharing System at a Teletype console. (TINT is a user-oriented dialect of JOVIAL, an interpretive language adapted to time-sharing with many self-teaching features.) The methodology featured measurement of natural user behavior in which the user served as his own control in successive console sessions. The sample included 1,861 user input commands collected over 18 hours at the teletypewriter terminal. The quantitative results revealed some evidence for systematic learning and reinforcement effects; there were progressive tendencies toward higher productivity and lower error rates with increasing TINT experience. The qualitative findings revealed that the numerous and diversified exercises facilitated familiarity with the elements and the varied services of the TINT system. The chief drawback was exclusive reliance of the tutoring method on literal reproduction of the text by the user at his console. The paper concludes with recommendations for more genuine interactive involvement between the user, the central system, and self-tutoring aids.


A distributed energy system with the function of solar energy storage is proposed. Methanol and solar energy absorbed by trough receiver serve as the system input, which generate pure hydrogen through methanol steam reforming. The electricity power generated by proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) acts as the system output. The tubular receiver divided into vaporizer channel and reformer channel is mounted along the focal line of the trough receiver innovatively. Heat needed by vaporizer and reformer are all from solar energy. The influences of different solar radiation flux, mole ratio of water/methanol and inlet velocity on methanol steam reforming integrating solar energy are studied. The overall efficiency and output power of the combined system are analyzed under the condition of continuous operation for 24 hours. In addition, a comparison of electric power generation between the combined system with the separate power generation of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) and thermal solar power generation is studied. The results indicate that the combined system not only has advantage in efficiency under different output power, but also surmounts the defect of intermittent solar energy. The influence of varying solar radiation flux on the operating performance of the system is also obtained.


Section headings and selected papers: Strategies for the Detection and Diagnosis of Process Faults. Robust model-based fault detection in dynamic systems, P. M. Frank. Structured residuals for fault isolation, disturbance decoupling and modelling error robustness, J. Gertler. Facilitated operations using complete and rigorous models, P. K. Nair. Modeling, Validation and Interpretation of Process Trends. Model-based measurement validation using MFM, J. E. Larsson. A recursive detection scheme for serially correlated process data, R. J. Rowlands & M. Pereira-Leite. The implications of digital communications on sensor validation, M. Henry & G. Wood. Supervision and Control of Chemical Plants. On-line hydrogen resource management in a refinery using fuzzy optimization, T. F. Petti & P. S. Dhurjati. Novel method for the optimal control of batch processes, V. Pillai et al. Protection and perpetual supervision systems of oxygen turbocompressors, W. Prokop. Neural Networks in Process Supervision and Fault Diagnosis. Use of artificial neural networks to monitor faults and for troubleshooting in the process industries, D. M. Himmelblau. On the classification characteristics of networks with ellipsoidal activation functions: a comparative study, S. N. Kavuri & V. Venkatasubramanian. A decomposition approach to solving large-scale fault diagnosis problems with modular neural networks, J. A. Leonard & M. A. Kramer. Industrial Applications in Process Supervision and Fault Diagnosis. Beyond Falcon: industrial applications of knowledge-based systems, D. A. Rowan. On-line process monitoring, control and supervision for an industrial polymerization process, M. T. Vester. On line diagnosis of water chemistry in thermal power plant, N. V. L. Addanki & R. Sethuraman. Author index. Keyword index.


A nonlocal `interaction-free' experiment is discussed. It is shown that the absence of detection of a photon of a polarization-entangled pair can `force' the other photon of the pair into a well-defined polarization state. Its consequences for a possible ontological interpretation of quantum mechanical formalism are examined.


Abstract: Potent antiplatelet factors were identified in water-soluble tomato concentrate (WSTC) which significantly inhibited platelet aggregation. Hyperactive platelets, in addition to their roles in thrombosis, are also important mediators of atherogenesis. It is therefore important to find alternative safe antiplatelet inhibitors for the vulnerable population who have hyperactive platelets in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Human volunteer studies demonstrated the potency and bioavailability of active compounds in WSTC. WSTC, also known as Fruitflow®, became the first product in Europe to obtain an approved positive health claim under Article 13.5 of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regulations. Fruitflow® is now commercially available in different countries.


A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam, Tamilnadu, during 20162017, to study the effect of enhanced N, P, K and Zn fertilizer on growth, yield and economics of wet seeded rice under Tamirabarani command area. Among different treatments, application of 150% recommended dose of N, P, K and Zn coupled with concurrent growing of green manure and its incorporation at 30 DAS (T9) resulted in higher growth, yield and net return, it was comparable with the application of 125% recommended dose of N, P, K and Zn coupled with concurrent growing of green manure and its in-situ incorporation at 30 DAS (T8). Highest benefit : cost ratio was recorded with the treatment T8.


Summary Control of weld quality is one of the most important and complex processes to be carried out on production lines. Neural networks have shown good results in fields such as modelling and control of physical processes. It is suggested in this article that a neural classifier should be used to carry out non‐destructive on‐line analysis. This system has been developed and installed at resistance welding stations. Results confirm the validity of neural networks used for this type of application.


We present a linear analysis of the stability of accretion disks in which angular momentum is removed by the magnetic torque exerted by a centrifugally driven wind. The effects of the dependence of the wind torque on field strength and inclination, the sub-Keplerian rotation due to magnetic forces, and the compression of the disk by the field are included. A WKB dispersion relation is derived for the stability problem. We find that the disk is always unstable if the wind torque is strong. The growth time scale of the instability can be as short as the orbital time scale. The instability is mainly the result of the sensitivity of the mass flux to changes in the inclination of the field at the disk surface. Magnetic diffusion in the disk stabilizes if the wind torque is small.


BACKGROUND: Endothelial cells (ECs) produce both antiand procoagulant factors, in particular von Willebrand factor (vWF) . vWF leads to platelet activation following platelet aggregation, as well as is actively involved in vascular inflammation . AIM: To evaluate the level and activity of (vWF) in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who underwent endovascular or open bypass grafting . MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 115 patients with chronic lower limb ischemia due to PAD, stage IIb–IV according to A .V . Pokrovsky–Fontaine . Fifty-five participants underwent endovascular treatment, while sixty underwent open bypass procedures using synthetic grafts . Peripheral blood samples were collected from all patients at baseline and three months after invasive treatment to determine the vWF antigen and activity . All patients were monitored every three months for a year to detect the development of unfavorable outcomes including disease progression, restenosis, graft thrombosis, oncology, myocardial infarction (MI), limb loss, stroke, and lethal outcomes . RESULTS: The highest values of vWF antigen in patients who underwent endovascular treatment were detected in patients with multilevel lesions — 1 .25 μg/mL (vs 0 .2 μg/mL, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0 .72–3 .21 mcg/mL p = 0 .019); with a similar trend observed after a 3–month follow-up . Baseline vWF antigen was higher in endovascular group patients who developed myocardial infarction (MI) within a year following the procedures as compared to those without MI: 1 .15 mcg/mL (95% CI 1 .05–1 .175 mcg/mL) and 0 .9 mcg/mL (95% CI 0 .78–1 .01 mcg/mL), respectively (p = 0 .015) . Moreover, vWF antigen was increased at the 3-month follow-up in patients with lethal outcomes–1 .06 mcg/ mL (95% CI 0 .96–1 .18 mcg/mL, р = 0 .031) . vWF activity in endovascular group patients with developed MI was four times higher than those without MI (р = 0 .022); a similar trend was detected in the development of lethal outcomes (р = 0 .009) . Those who underwent open bypass grafting presented with high activity of vWF with maximum values detected in participants with proximal iliofemoral lesions (1200%, 95% CI 640%–1200%) and stage IV disease (770%, 95% CI 320%– 1200%, p < 0 .05) . ROC analysis revealed that vWF activity at least 6 .2 times higher in patients who underwent endovascular treatment associated with the development of lethal outcomes within one year after invasive treatments; sensitivity and specificity of the method were 83 .3% and 75 .5%, accordingly . CONCLUSION: Patients with PAD presented with increased vWF antigen and activity with maximum values detected in patients with multilevel lesions and critical lower limb ischemia . Increased vWF antigen and activity was associated with development of MI and lethal outcomes within one year following endovascular procedures on lower extremity arteries .


Abstract : I hope this brief description about our foreign assistance efforts may have given a better sense of the priorities which guide these programs and, perhaps, dispelled some misconceptions about their extent and character. I hope you will consider the objectives we are seeking to be worthy ones. I also hope there is a heightened awareness of the importance we attach to having this tool of foreign policy to advance our interests overseas. We believe America's foreign assistance programs enhance regional security, promote economic development, encourage the growth of democratic institutions, stimulate commercial relations with the Third World, and alleviate human suffering. They help our friends and allies help us while helping themselves. In short, we believe the benefits of our foreign assistance programs are disproportionate to their cost. We think we get a good return on each dollar. Perhaps most importantly, our foreign assistance programs give us the opportunity to be creative and helpful in shaping the kind of world we all want to see: a world in which prosperity is growing, a world in which freedom and human opportunities are expanding, and a world in which we are making our contributions to safeguarding peace.


REPORTS O/g peripheral nervous system function during induced total body hypothermia have been scarce. 1 The majority of previous investigations concerning the effects of cold have been done in mammals by means of local cooling, or in isolated nerve preparations of lower animals in which species difference is likely to be marked. Since total body hypothermia induces distinct functional changes in various organs simultaneously, its effects on the peripheral nervous system may be considerably different from those observed in in v i tro preparations or even in nerves cooled locally in situ. Many of the adverse effects of hypothermia may be attributable to the accompanying acid-base derangement. This probability was the basis for the suggestion by Carson and Morris 2 of an optimal pH and PaCO2 which varies relative to temperature change. They developed this concept for the clinical management of patients cooled during extraeorporeal circulation, and have reported some evidence of improved physiologic function at lower temperatures, 3 as well as excellent and rapid recovery. 4 The method used consists of the addition of carbon dioxide into the pump blood to lower its pH deliberately by 0.0147 unit for every degree centigrade fall in the temperature. The present investigation was undertaken to study the effects of hypothermia on some elementary functional modalities of the peripheral nervous system, namely the conduction velocity of nerve impulses and their conduction time across the neuromuscular iunction, and to test the validity of the concept of optimal pH and PaCO2 cited above as it applies to the peripheral nervous system during hypothermia.


P-(2-Pyrrolylmethyleneamino) styrene(PIS) which is a monomer-ligand with two coordination sites was synthesized from p-aminostyrene and 2-formylpyrrole. The copolymerization parameters, Q and e values, of PIS were 2.8 and -1, 2, respectively. The large values of 2 and e are assumed to be due to the large r-conjugated system and excessive r-electrons of pyrrole ring. A yellowish green and insoluble polymer-chelate was synthesized from tetrahydrofuran solutions of PIS-St copolymer, and of Co(II)Cl2. The formation of polymer-complex was determined by IR spetra and. elemental analyses.


Intimal hyperplasia (IH) leading to restenosis is a major complication of arterial revascularization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using mono‐L‐aspartyl chlorin e6 (NPe6) as a photosensitizer and intraluminal radial irradiation for inhibition of IH experimentally.


Prodrugs are inactive precursors of an active drug designed to be bioconverted (activated) post administration with the main aim of improving the pharmacokinetic properties of the parent drug. Prod...


The utility model provides a trans-audient device for a flatted factory. Trans-audient cylinders vertically pass through a plurality of layers of floors; the trans-audient cylinder between each two floors is provided with an up-going trans-audient opening and a down-going trans-audient opening; an opening direction of the up-going trans-audient opening faces to the under-layer floor, and an opening direction of the down-going trans-audient opening faces to the upper-layer floor. With the adoption of the trans-audient device for the flatted factory provided by the utility model, staff in the different floors can conveniently communicate. The trans-audient device is simple in structure and has a good industrial application prospect.


A simultaneous immunosensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was developed for determination of 3 pesticides —boscalid, clothianidin and nitenpyram— instead of the direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (dcELISAs) widely used as individual determination methods. Carboxy groups that introduced compounds to their pesticides were designed, and conjugates of them and bovine serum albumin were immobilized onto separate channels of the same sensor chip. When a mixture of 3 monoclonal antibodies reacted to each pesticide, and 3 pesticides were injected into the SPR immunosensor, each channel showed specific reactivity at 15-93 ng mL^−1 for boscalid, 6.7-27 ng mL^−1 for clothianidin, and 7.3-62 ng mL^−1 for nitenpyram. Recovery tests using vegetables spiked with a mixture of 3 pesticides showed good results: 75-90%, 88-104%, and 72-105%, respectively, with a high correlation to results of the dcELISAs. The SPR immunosensor would be useful for the determination of pesticide residues in vegetables.


The dynamics of the relaxation processes in a glass‐forming system, B2O3, was investigated by means of 11B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Using a homemade high temperature NMR probe, we collected NMR data over a wide temperature range from room temperature to 1200 °C. The NMR data were interpreted in terms of a Fourier transform of the Kohlrausch decay function, f(t)=exp[−(t/τc)−b], where the parameter b varied from 0 to 1. The temperature dependence of τc and b in the decay function was estimated by using both the data from a 11B NMR longitudinal relaxation and a line shape measurement at each temperature. Above 800 °C, the NMR data were well simulated by a single exponential decay of the function (i.e., b=1). Below 800 °C, stretched exponential was introduced to the simulation with the b parameters of 0.6 and 0.8. An Arrhenius plot of τc showed a bend at around 600 °C, which indicates the existence of two distinct reorientational processes crossing each other at that temperature. Below 600 °C, an alm...


Evaluates how economic co‐operation can be organized for the mutual advantage of the two economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The methodological approach adopted by the authors explores the dynamics of market design within the two transitional economies and examines how they could contribute to the performance of an all‐island economy. The emphasis is on public utilities, electricity and telecommunications as sources of inter‐firm synergies. At a time when many European countries are moving towards greater integration, it is imperative that the two economies on the island of Ireland integrate in order to realize competitive advantages. Integration may not be the panacea for solving specific economic problems such as unemployment or housing shortages, however, it will solve the problem of diseconomies of small scale which impair the competitiveness of commercially oriented public utility firms on the island. The politics is not about the spoils of a united Ireland but the gains from p...


This paper explores major sources of current changes facing the CPA profession today and tomorrow. This paper also discusses major sources of challenges facing traditional CPA services and new assurances services. In addition, the paper offers recommendations that will enhance the competitiveness of the CPA profession in future markets.


The paper is devoted to multivariate statistical analysis of academic performance data. The phenomina of general grade inflation and the effect of the first passing of an egzam on grades of the egzam are investigated by making use of general linear (mixed) model and logistic regresion.


Abstract—This paper reports on observations of the distribution of micro-structural features in a sample of cortical bone (mid-diaphysis femur from bovine). Such features include lacunae, Haversian canals, and canaliculi clusters and are considered, upon bone treatment, to be porosities. Initially, image segmentation was utilized to quantify feature geometric attributes such as area A (μm), perimeter P(μm), elliptical ratio min/maj axis length, and compactness. A center point of the bone cross section was determined from which a polar coordinate system was constructed related to which was a grid containing 25 regions of roughly 500x500 μm in size. Distributions of these features were plotted vs. distal radius and vs. angular positions as measured from the center of the bone. Analyses of the linear trends reveals that all porosity attributes and for all feature types (Haversian canals, and canaliculi clusters) appear to decrease fairly linearly with increasing radius from bone center (p< 0.05%) as the outer perimeter is reached. Also, these features tend to become more round (p< 0.05%) as they get closer to the outer shell. In contrast, the geometric attributes appear to be indifferent vs. the angle.


In their recent article in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases , van der Heijde D et al 1 evaluated the effect of certolizumab pegol (CZP) on radiographic progression in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA). They suggested that CZP-treated patients …


Abstract : Since 1964 the people of Brazil have been living under an oppressive military government which not only does not intend to turn the government back to the people but seems to have the support of the United States in its activities. A revolution of violetn nature is very possible in the near future. The only segment of the Brazilian society that can prevent a violent and bloody overthrow of the status quo is the Catholic Church. If it is encouraged and able to use its great influence, and if it is not already too late, the church can help in bringing peace and justice and stability to Brazil. With the proper assistance of the United States' interests thic can happen more quickly and less violently.


The present paper outlines the voice over internet protocol service, various features and services provided by VOIP technology, The quality of voice over IP is evaluated based on packet-loss rate, delay, jitter and echo compensation. In this paper we discuss viability of real time processing of adaptive voice over IP using adaptive rate control algorithms. Finally, performance analysis of LMS, Sign-Error LMS algorithms for AVOIP is presented in this paper.


Realistic power calculations for large cohort studies and nested case control studies are essential for successfully answering important and complex research questions in epidemiology and clinical medicine. For this, we provide a methodical framework for general realistic power calculations via simulations that we put into practice by means of an R‐based template. We consider staggered recruitment and individual hazard rates, competing risks, interaction effects, and the misclassification of covariates. The study cohort is assembled with respect to given age‐, gender‐, and community distributions. Nested case‐control analyses with a varying number of controls enable comparisons of power with a full cohort analysis. Time‐to‐event generation under competing risks, including delayed study‐entry times, is realized on the basis of a six‐state Markov model. Incidence rates, prevalence of risk factors and prefixed hazard ratios allow for the assignment of age‐dependent transition rates given in the form of Cox models. These provide the basis for a central simulation‐algorithm, which is used for the generation of sample paths of the underlying time‐inhomogeneous Markov processes. With the inclusion of frailty terms into the Cox models the Markov property is specifically biased. An "individual Markov process given frailty" creates some unobserved heterogeneity between individuals. Different left‐truncation‐ and right‐censoring patterns call for the use of Cox models for data analysis. p‐values are recorded over repeated simulation runs to allow for the desired power calculations. For illustration, we consider scenarios with a "testing" character as well as realistic scenarios. This enables the validation of a correct implementation of theoretical concepts and concrete sample size recommendations against an actual epidemiological background, here given with possible substudy designs within the German National Cohort.


Vaginal dryness is a frequent complaint, especially in post-menopausal women. The physiology underlying the production of vaginal lubrication in response to arousing stimuli is established; however, no current pharmacological agents successfully target mechanisms within this physiology. Previous research from our lab has demonstrated that female methamphetamine (meth) users experience the immediate production of excessive vaginal lubrication, accompanied by a warmth or flushing sensation spreading from the chest areas to the pelvic region, when using the drug intravenously (IV). The physiological source of this previously undescribed effect of meth could present a potential mechanism to enhance a woman's natural production of vaginal lubrication, providing a potentially life-changing option to patients experiencing vaginal dryness.

 The purpose of the current study was to determine if vaginal lubrication induced by IV meth use reported in a previous study from our lab occurs in rats, and if this effect is dose-dependent. This study also sought to begin to uncover the mechanism behind this phenomenon.

 Adult female Wistar rats (n=8) were implanted with chronic indwelling jugular catheters and allowed at least one week to recover from surgery. Rats anesthetized with isoflurane gas were intravenously infused with one of seven doses of meth ranging from 0.015-0.96 mg/kg meth or saline IV via the implanted catheter. Pre-weighed cotton-tipped swabs inserted into the vaginal canal collected fluid secreted following drug administration. The change in weight of the swab was taken as the weight of fluid produced. Consequent studies examined several signaling molecules in plasma known to have an influence on vaginal lubrication, including the steroid hormones estradiol, progesterone and testosterone, as well as the gaseous vasodilator nitric oxide. These molecules were measured at time points up to 60 minutes after meth administration.

 As hypothesized, meth increased vaginal lubrication in a dose-dependent manner. Doses of 0.06 and 0.24 mg/kg of meth induced significant increases in vaginal lubrication compared to saline. Further, compared to pre-meth levels, significant increases in estradiol were seen at two and 15 minutes after meth administration. Significant increases in progesterone, testosterone and nitric oxide were seen ten minutes after meth administration.

 This study has far-reaching implications since the majority of women will experience vaginal dryness at least once, if not recurrently. The underlying mechanism of meth-induced vaginal lubrication, when elucidated, may provide a pharmacological target in treating not only meth use disorder, but also the millions of women suffering from vaginal dryness.

 No.


We study the kick dynamics of periodically driven quantum systems, and provide a time-independent effective Hamiltonian with the analytical form to reasonably describe the effective dynamics in a long timescale. It is shown that the effective coupling strength can be much larger than the coupling strength of the original system in some parameter regions, which stems from the zero time duration of kicks. Furthermore, different regimes can be transformed from and to each other in the same three-level system by only modulating the period of periodic kicks. In particular, the population of excited states can be selectively suppressed in periodic kicks, benefiting from the large detuning regime of the original system. Finally, some applications and physical implementation of periodic kicks are demonstrated in quantum systems. These unique features would make periodic kicks become a powerful tool for quantum state engineering.


The existing problems of Bao Tou city ecological environment are summarized,the measures are put forward according to current situation of ecological protection and management.


A new method for measuring two-dimensional water content distribution on skin surface is presented. Water content of the stratum corneum affects the scattering properties over the skin surface. The difference of the scattering properties are visualized by introducing the polarization imaging technique. Polarization imaging enables us to divide reflected light into polarization maintained light and depolarized light which correspond to superficially reflected light and deeply penetrated light, respectively.


This study aims at determining the phytochemical potentials of Daucus carota and Zingiber officinale collected from a location in Abuja, FCT. Standard laboratory procedures were employed to achieve the objectives. To ascertain the presence of phytochemical components which may be responsible for the healing and ethno-medicinal properties, a qualitative and quantitative screening of the extracts of the sampled plants was conducted. Daucus carota and Zingiber officinale were collected from Kado Bimko market, Gwarinpa, Abuja in October, 2016. Vegetable samples were washed, chopped into uniform sizes and dehydrated into powder form in preparation for further analysis. The phytochemical screening of chemical constituents of the vegetable extracts were carried out to confirm if they contain some notable phytochemicals in them, the result obtained showed some differences in the two samples tested, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, Terpenes, steroids, Anthraquinones, and resins were present in zingiber officianale sample while daucus carota showed presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenes, steroids, phenols, and resins. The presence of these important plant constituents suggests that these vegetables could be potential sources of phytochemicals, which are responsible for their curative and healing properties. This however confirms that they can be used in drug development and treatment and management of various diseases in Nigeria.


The invention provides a downlink control information detecting processing method and device and a downlink control information detecting method and device. The downlink control information detecting processing method comprises the following steps: configuring a dedicated exclusive trunking search space for each trunking relative to a trunking downlink multicast channel in a broadband trunking communication system, wherein the exclusive trunking search space is identified by the temporary identification T-RNTI of the trunking wireless network; and allocating specified polymerization degree to a PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) in the configured exclusive trunking search space so that a trunking terminal detects the PDCCH in the exclusive trunking search space blindly according to the specified polymerization degree. Due to the adoption of the technical scheme of the invention, the problem that no technical means for detecting the PDCCH covered by the T-RNTI is available in the prior art is solved, the requirement of detecting the downlink control information when the trunking service information and the common service information in the trunking system coexist is met hereby.


I describe a series of processes, including hierarchical fragmentation, gravitational scattering, Kozai cycles within triple systems, tidal friction and magnetic braking, that I believe are responsible for producing the modest but significant fraction of stars that are observed as contact binaries. I also discuss further processes, namely heat transport, mass transport, nuclear evolution, thermal relaxation oscillations, and further magnetic braking with tidal friction, that influence the evolution during contact. The endpoint, for contact, is that the two components merge into a single star, as recently was observed in the remarkable system V1309 Sco. The single star probably throws off some mass and rotates rapidly at first, and then slows by magnetic braking to become a rather inconspicuous but normal dwarf or subgiant. If however the contact binary was part of a triple system originally-as I suggested above was rather likely-then the result could be a binary with apparently non-coeval components. There are several such known.


There is little evidence that foods described in adverts of particular appeal to children are less nutritious than those advertised to other groups.


American options are popularly traded in the financial market, so pricing those options becomes crucial in practice. In reality, many popular pricing models do not have analytical solutions. Hence techniques such as Monte Carlo are often used in practice. This paper presents a CPU-FPGA collaborative accelerator using state-of-the-art Least-Square Monte Carlo method, for pricing American options. We provide a new sequence of generating the Monte Carlo paths, and a precalculation strategy for the regression process. Our design is customisable for different pricing models, discretisation schemes, and regression functions. The Heston model is used as a case study for evaluating our strategy. Experimental results show that an FPGA-based solution could provide 22 to 64.5 times faster than a single-core CPU implementation.


The word "entrepreneur" conjures up images of the rugged individualist pitting him- or herself against larger, more established businesses. Jumping in with both feet, fighting the good fight, and working against all odds to make it on her or his own. Bob Reiss, successful entrepreneur and author of Low-Risk, High-Reward: Starting and Growing Your Small Business With Minimal Risk, likens entrepreneurship as the recognition and pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources one currently controls, with confidence that one can succeed, with the flexibility to change course as necessary, and with the will to rebound from setbacks. Many people, including career development professionals, state they would love to start a business, but they just don't have the know-how, the time, or the money to get started. However, many of history's greatest entrepreneurs did not let this stop them. Columbus lobbied and cajoled Spanish royalty to finance several trips to the New World. Paul Revere, most famous for his midnight ride, was a successful small business owner who worked with metal and jewelry. Bill Gates quit Harvard to launch his own business on a shoestring. Michael Dell started his computer company in his college dorm room. Lillian Vernon began her mail-order business when she was a homemaker looking for extra income. And Ray Kroc, at age 52, created one of the most successful entrepreneurial businesses ever: McDonald's. These successful entrepreneurs did not start rich and successful. They ended rich and successful. And we can learn from their inspiration, their lessons, and their mistakes. Bernard Kamoroff, entrepreneur, owner of Bell Springs Publishing, and author of the highly-regarded and best selling book, Small Time Operator: How To Start Your Own Small Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, And Stay Out Of Trouble! says: "The original dictionary definition of entrepreneur is one who undertakes to carry out an enterprise. The words entrepreneur and enterprise possibly having the same root. But people who do call themselves entrepreneurs I find usually think of themselves as more than 'just' a business owner carrying out an enterprise. They view themselves more as a swashbuckler, business adventurer, risk taker. Me, personally, I do not make the distinction in my books. One of the fun things of being your own boss is giving yourself whatever title you like." I think Kamoroff's statement speaks volumes as does the work, commitment, and dedication of the contributing authors to this special Journal. The chance to work with these authors provided a rare opportunity on the discussion and subject matter related to entrepreneurship. The objective was to select a spectrum of viewpoints and strategies. The background of the authors include successful career development professionals who have started and grown their own entrepreneurial businesses, college professors and administrators who have researched, practiced, and applied entrepreneurial principles, and people who have transitioned from the workplace to becoming business owners. Each author gives us much to think about and many tools, should we decide to launch our own entrepreneurial "ship." Further, they give us approaches to assist clients who may be interested in becoming self-employed. In the spirit of readiness, Dan Strakal, in Entrepreurship: Are You Ready? covers seven steps that everyone needs to know before he or she gets too far down the road toward self-employment. The article is not meant to be a comprehensive business planning tool, but rather, a "pre"business planning review to see if one is ready to launch an entrepreneurial business. This review is comprised of a series of assessments and checklists taken from various sources and proven to be excellent gauges that measure one's readiness to embark on the entrepreneurial highway. Paul Edwards and Sarah Edwards, in Avoiding the Pitfalls When Starting Your Career Coaching/Counseling Practice provide strategies for career development professionals and their clients on how to avoid classic pitfalls when starting a private practice. …


Tris(phenanthroline) ruthenium (Ⅱ) complex Ru(phen)3 (PF6 )2 was synthesized and characterized by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the Ru(phen)3 (PF6 )2 has layer structure feature. Cation([Ru(phen)3]2+) layer and anion(PF6-) layer arranged alternately resulting in the formation of crystal. Single layer, solid-state light-emitting electrochemical cells with structure of[ITO/Ru(Ⅱ)-complexes(100 nm)/Al(200 nm)]had been prepared based on Ru(phen)3(PF6)2 and Ru(phen)3Cl2. The device based on Ru(phen)3(PF6)2 showed the maximum luminescence was 1 829 cd/m2 and the maximum current efficiency was 0. 24 cd/A,and that based on Ru(phen)3Cl2 showed the 350 cd/m2 maximum luminescence and the 0. 18 cd/A maximum current efficiency. The results showed that the Ru(phen)3(PF6)2 is superior to Ru(phen)3Cl2 in the electroluminescent devices.


L-band power amplifiers operating with high efficiency and linearity at a single, low supply voltage are in strong demand in mobile communication systems. This paper reports the effect of source impedance on the phase distortion and the adjacent channel power (ACP) for a /spl pi//4-shift QPSK modulated signal in the InGaP/GaAs power heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Our results show that the phase distortion and the ACP of our HBTs are improved by adding a positive reactance to a gain-matched source impedance. The ACP for a 50 kHz offset is -49.2 dBc with a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 56% at a output power (P/sub out/) of 31 dBm under a supply voltage of 3.5 V.


Base on analysing the technique characters of horizontal well bore trajectory control,and integrate the AT1-2H horizontal well,AT1-9H horizontal well where are in Tahe oilfield Talimu basin.This article ingoing research into Gordian techniques of horizontal well bore trajectory control.There Gordian techniques include how to optimise horizontal well bore profile,how to select sidetrack drilling tool assembly,landing control(the principle of tool's built-up rates,the technique of closure Azimuth control,drilling the top of the oil layer by maintain angle and how to drill the vectored targets)and horizontal control(adding composite drillings,how to control vertical displacement and dynamic control).


A wind power generation Co., Ltd. in Inner Mongolia. On a certain day in 2017, when eliminating the defects of a wind turbine, the operation inspection personnel found that a high-strength connecting bolt at the connection between the foundation ring of the wind turbine and the first cylinder section of the tower was broken and failed.


Lutz Schirrmeister, Georg Schwamborn, Pier Paul Overduin, Jens Strauss, Margret C. Fuchs, Mikhail Grigoriev, Irina Yakshina, Janet Rethemeyer, Elisabeth Dietze, Sebastian Wetterich "YEDOMA ICE COMPLEX OF THE BUOR KHAYA PENINSULA (SOUTHERN LAPTEV SEA)" This manuscript is based on complex study of Yedoma deposits of the Buor Khaya Peninsula and provides unique information on Yedoma structure and properties. The paper makes a significant contribution to circum-Arctic Yedoma studies. The manuscript is clearly written and contains valuable information and I strongly support its publication. However, it requires some revision. My comments and recommendations are listed below: Thank you fort taking time and effort to review the manuscript. We found your suggestions helpful and adopted most of your recommendations.


It has been consistently testified that teaching as a profession prompted stress among teachers. It is essential that as early as practice teachers are being prepared to be licensed teachers, they need to be aware about the reality of teaching yet only few researches provide intensive information about the causes of the stressors of practice teachers. Since it is also the interest of this study to inform incoming practice teachers about the challenges that they might as well be encountering in the future, this study would be beneficial in providing them grounds to prepare themselves to combat possible stressors. Through the use of questionnaires and focus group discussion and by utilizing qualitative design, this study revealed workload, financial problem, cooperating teacher, call time, and students' misbehavior cause stress among practice teachers of the School of Teacher Education of Saint Louis University. They also identified counter measures they used in overcoming their stressors such as using personal coping strategies, behavioral coping strategies, and social coping strategies. It can then be drawn that even if practice teachers experienced a lot of stress, they still find ways to overcome their stressors.


(10) The present invention relates to at least one member for generating regions of the forming member (12), especially members of the flow feeder (12). Means (10) wherein said at least two may comprise the lower platform member (16), and having at least one connecting region construct (20) for receiving at least one layer of powder material member; relative to the (16) at least one mobile platform member heating means (24, 28); and means for generating at least one high-energy beam (22) at least one radiation source, the radiation source through said layer of powder may be locally melted and / member or region of the sintered layer construction and connecting region (20); and at least one set of aspiration and / or gas in the heating means (24, 28) of the feeding apparatus (36). However, means (10) may further comprise for the at least one layer of powder material applied to the component at least one member of the lower platform (16) Construction and connecting region (20) of the at least one coating applicator machine (14), wherein said applicator (14) relative to said platform member (16) moves, and at least one suction and / or the gas supply means (36) is disposed in said (14) on the coater.


Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to 2568 graduates from UK universities in 1993 in order to assess teaching efficiency. Following a methodology developed by Thanassoulis & Portela (2002), each individual's efficiency is decomposed into two components: one attributable to the university at which the student studied, and the other attributable to the student himself. From the former component, a measure of each institution's teaching efficiency is derived and compared to efficiency scores derived from a conventional DEA applied using each institution as a decision making unit (DMU). The results suggest that efficiencies derived from DEAs performed at an aggregate level include both institution and individual components, and are therefore misleading. Thus the unit of analysis in a DEA is highly important. Moreover, an analysis at the individual level can give institutions insight into whether it is the students' own efforts or the institution's efficiency which are a constraint on increased efficiency. JEL Classification: I21, C14


The lymphocyte transformation test was used to assess cell-mediated immune reactivity in 107 Ethiopian patients with syphilis. Lymphocytes from patients with early syphilis were unreactive to the Nichols strain of Treponema pallidum, which was in marked contrast to previous findings in similar patients in England. Lymphocytes obtained from patients with late syphilis, however, were reactive. The responses elicited by a strain of T. pallidum isolated from an Ethiopian with early syphilis did not differ from those with the usual Nichols strain. About half the patients with early syphilis who had received antibiotic treatment for 8 days showed an increase of lymphocyte reactivity towards T. pallidum, although responses to PPD and PHA were unchanged.

Plasma from patients with syphilis was examined for its capacity to inhibit lymphocyte responses in vitro. Although plasma from people with late (cardiovascular) syphilis did not differ from controls, plasma from patients with early syphilis inhibited the responses of their own cells to both PPD and PHA. The inhibitory effect on PHA responses was abrogated after the patients had received antibiotic treatment for 1 week.

The significance of the differences in lymphocyte reactivity observed between Ethiopians with syphilis and their counterparts in England is discussed with regard to a possible explanation of the differences in the natural history of the disease in the two countries.


Elizabeth Nathanson's Television and Postfeminist Housekeeping: No Time for Mother joins a slate of recent studies about representations of ''women's work'' within a postfeminist TV landscape. Like many other television scholars (most notably Lynn Spigel, Nathanson's doctoral advisor at Northwestern University), Nathanson sees programs as occupying a central role within the rhythms of housework, even as they try to distance themselves from more traditional expectations of women's domestic roles. The result, she argues, is a contradiction in how contemporary television represents White, middle-class women's labor: Programs applaud women for their newfound self-determination in the working world, even as they still express anxiety and disapproval with the growing laundry piles and neglected motherly obligations supposedly created by such a work focus. Exploring this contradiction through a wide variety of programs and genres, Nathanson's text emerges as a welcome extension and broadening of other books on the relations between contemporary television and flexible labor, such as Mark Andrejevic's Reality TV (2004), Laurie Ouellette and James Hay's Better Living Through Reality TV (2008), and Brenda Weber's Makeover TV (2009). Nathanson's central argument is that television encourages women to manage time under conditions of scarcity. When there is ''no time for mother,'' television positions itself as a way for women to learn more efficient ways of maintaining their work=life balance. TV shows depict a world where women face increasing demands on their time, and they offer viewers strategies for balancing the impossible schedules of their work and personal lives. The result is an uneasy ambivalence about women's work, situated between ''the forward-moving hands of the market and the backwardlooking glance of nostalgic desire for a fantasy past in which women had all the time in the world'' (p. 76). Rather than discussing how men and women could more equitably parse out house and child care duties, TV shows treat the problem as a matter for women's responsibility and planning. All of Nathanson's chapters relate back to this theme in one way or another, noting how particular programs frame time scarcity in matters of cleaning, cooking, childbirth, and crafts. By locating the solutions within self-management skills, however, these shows often reproduce the very anxieties that they purport to solve. The first four chapters primarily characterize television as a technology of selfhood, educating female viewers about the tools of proper time and household management. In Chapter 1, such lifestyle programs as Home Made Easy offer Women's Studies in Communication, 38:351–355, 2015 Copyright # The Organization for Research on Women and Communication ISSN: 0749-1409 print=2152-999X online DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2015.1064720


Ferrites are widely used in power electronics applications where the frequency range is from KHz to MHz. No other alternative materials except ferrites are available at such high frequencies. The areas of magnetic nanoparticles and thin films lead to revolutionary new approaches in basic and advanced magnetism, and are more effective in the field of high density storage media. The main objective of the present study was to produce single phase ferrites in the form of bulk, nano and thin films with improved structural, electrical and magnetic properties. This thesis examines the issue encountered in the growth, structural, microstructural, electrical and magnetic properties of ferrites in the form of bulk, nanoparticles and thin films. Here the materials examined include Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2xAlxO4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) ferrites prepared with solid state reaction method, Co0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 (calcined at 500, 600, 700, 800, 900°C), Mn0.5Cu0.5-xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5), Mn0.5Cu0.5-xNixFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) ferrites prepared with sol-gel combustion method and Fe3O4 The effect of Al thin films prepared with pulsed laser deposition technique. 3+ on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties were investigated in Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2-xAlxO4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) ferrites prepared with solid state reaction method. Single phase cubic spinel structure was revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. For all the samples, crystallite size remained in the range of 25-30 nm. Lattice constants of all the samples decreased, whereas porosity increased with increasing Al concentration due to the substitution of smaller Al ion (0.51 Å) for large Fe ion (0.64 Å). Due to non-magnetic trend of Al concentrations for a magnetic element Fe at the B-site gradually decreased the saturation magnetization. Al ε has significant impact on the dielectric constant ( / ε ), tangent of dielectric loss angle (tanδ) and dielectric loss factor ( // Three series of ferrites Co ). The possible reason for the variation in dielectric properties has been understood on the basis of space charge polarization. 0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 (calcined at 500, 600, 700, 800, 900°C), Mn0.5Cu0.5-xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5), Mn0.5Cu0.5-xNixFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) were prepared by sol-gel combustion method. In Co0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 ferrites, crystallite size was determined with Scherrer's formula. Crystallite size increases with calcination temperature but coercivity decreases. The decrease in coercivity at larger crystallite size can be attributed to domain walls. Single phase nanocrystalline Mn0.5Cu0.5-xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) ferrites were successfully prepared at low temperature of 300°C using citric acid as a fuel and nitrates as oxidants by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and room temperature vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) studies have been carried out in order to understand the structural and magnetic properties as a function of zinc concentration. The variations of observed lattice parameter and crystallite size have been explained by considering the larger ionic radius of zinc. The coercivity decreases as the crystallite size increases, attaining a minimum value of 46.32 Oe. This decrease at larger crystallite size could be due to three reasons. First, the crossover of single domain to multiphase domain, second combined effect of surface and surface anisotropy, third migration of Fe ions from A to B-site. Another series of single phase nano-crystalline Mn0.5Cu0.5xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0 to 0.5) ferrites were successfully synthesized by combustion method at a temperature as low as 300°C. The presence of Ni ions did not show a consistent trend in diffraction peaks shifting to either lower or higher angles. It was observed that with increasing nickel concentration, saturation magnetization (Ms) increased but coercivity (Hc) decreased which could be attributed to the substitution of soft ferromagnetic Ni ions in place of diamagnetic Cu ions. The minimum value of coercivity (87.20 Oe) was observed for the composition Mn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 Fe . 3O4 thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrates with pulsed laser deposition technique. First we studied the effect of annealing and deposition temperature, and second the effect of annealing time of 30, 60 and 90 minutes on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 thin films. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometery and vibrating sample magnetometry were used to find the film thickness, Fe3O4 phase and magnetic properties respectively. We demonstrate optimized deposition and annealing condition for an enhanced magnetization of 854 emu/cc that is very high as compared to the bulk sample. Effect of annealing time on Fe3O4 thin films were studied by X-ray diffractometer and vibrating sample magnetometer. Single phase [111] oriented Fe3O4 thin films independent of substrate orientation was obtained after ninety minutes annealing. This preferred [111] oriented growth was explained on the basis of the achievement of a thermodynamic stable state.


Background: Doctors and postgraduate students, especially those in the surgical field, face a highly stressful environment and are exposed to various emotions that have been studied, but the concept of shame-based learning (SBL) is still undergoing investigation, especially in the field of plastic surgery. SBL is a teaching method in which an instructor instills a sense of shame in the student, which may cause depression, anxiety, aggression, and poor job performance, leading to burnout, mental health illness, substance abuse, and suicide. Methods: From March to May 2022, two cross-sectional electronic surveys were conducted for residents and consultants in Saudi Arabia, respectively, which used a validated questionnaire to assess SBL. Results: Among the 70 responses received (29 residents and 41 consultants), 75.9% of the residents and 80.5% of the consultants were shamed. For residents, a wrong answer was the most common trigger for shame (44.8%), and the operating room was the most common place for it (51.7%). Losing self-confidence was the most common result of shaming (37.9%) and (41.4%) dealt with it by keeping it to themselves. Although 27.6% of residents stated that they had no negative effect, 20.7% stated that they were motivated. There are consultants who practice shaming directly or indirectly (65.9%), while some agreed that it is not necessary (80.5%). Conclusions: Although both groups agreed that SBL is unnecessary for the field and will not be practiced in the future, most residents and consultants experienced shame. The negative impact of SBL has several effects on the trainer, the teaching environment, and patient care.


The main target of the present study is to identify the structure and the stratigraphic features associated with the potential traps by using the recent acquired 3D seismic data at the southern part of West El Qantara area in the Nile Delta Basin. The integrated usage of seismic attributes (Variance, Root Mean Square RMS and Amplitude Extraction) added significant information on the geological features, facies and the minor structures of the study area and consequently enhanced the hydrocarbon potentiality. The correlation of extracted depositional and structure models from the interpreted seismic data with the regional stratigraphic and structural setting of the Nile Delta showed a good match and led to a better understanding of the geological history and hydrocarbon potentiality of the study area. This consequently could be used as useful tool for future development in the study area.


Upper secondary education is the upper or high-level stage of secondary education,which serves for teenagers who are from fourteen,fifteen to seventeen,eighteen years old or from fifteen,sixteen to eighteen,nineteen years old.It is very complex because it provides not only general education,but also vo-cational,technical and professional education.In modern society,the basic character,national character and popular character form the essential features of upper secondary education.Making the balance between the social function and ontic function of upper secondary education is the origin of the research of upper sec-ondary education reform.


FEW YEARS AGO I WAS RENDERED NEARLY APOPLECTIC iП a Seminar, ^ and I have just begun to understand what happened. Several faculty members at Denison University were engaged in an interdisciplinary study group on cosmology, and we were talking one day about what the Apollo program might tell us of the origin of the moon and, ultimately, the history of the universe. During a lull in the discussion, I suggested that it might be worthwhile to spend one session investigating the political and military dimensions of the space program, as a way of looking at the complex blend of pure and applied research that seems to characterize much of contemporary science and technology. With not even a hint of rancor, the physicist who led our seminar said he would not participate in such a discussion. Such issues, he said, did not interest him at all. The substance of my reply I have blessedly repressed, but I know it failed to convey a tenth of my rage, and it surely conveyed little else. I recall that we went on, with only the briefest hesitation, to study cosmology in ways the physicist found acceptable. That relatively inconsequential exchange was an aborted part of a tradition, I now believe, in which the seemingly peripheral issue of tone has been surprisingly important. A good place to begin to trace the tradition is with Thomas Carlyle's essay "Signs of the Times" (1829) and Timothy Walker's answering "Defence of Mechanical Philosophy," which appeared in the North American Review (1831). Carlyle's essay is a prophetic statement about the impact of technology on modern life, but


Biology of diatoms.-Cell division is described by BERGON29 for Biddulphia, but the nuclear details are not shown. No centrosomes are figured. The principal point of interest in the formation of auxospores is that not one, but two are formed in each cell. Spores (the so-called microspores) have been described and the observations have been disputed. Although the existence of such spores might safely be conceded, this paper describes the development of sporangia and spores so clearly that there can be no doubt either as to their existence or the mode of their formation.-CHARLES J. CHAMBERLAIN.


An evaluation of the dosimetric impact of discharge of low level radioactive effluents authorized to be released from the La Hague Cogema spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant located in North Cotentin (France) led to an assessment of chlorine-36 (36Cl) dose contribution to local populations [1]. Though not usually systematically included in such assessments, Cl is produced in nuclear reactors by activation of Cl contained in nuclear fuel. It was measured in lichens sampled in the areas surrounding the Chernobyl NPP, at activity levels from 1 to 100 mBq.kg dry [2.]. It may therefore be liberated when processing nuclear fuel and released with the radioactive effluents. It was measured in radioactive effluent injected into the ground of a US reprocessing site in Idaho [3]. Cl found at natural levels in the environment is continuously produced by a series of natural nuclear reactions occurring in the atmosphere and the earth crust. It was likewise released and scattered at the global level during the explosion of nuclear devices in the atmosphere and particularly those done underwater in the ocean.


At high enough energies, hadronic cross sections, if averaged over an appropriate energy range, must coincide with a perturbative QCD description. One famous example in deep inelastic scattering is termed Bloom-Gilman duality. This quark-hadron duality shows that the nucleon resonance region closely mimics the deep inelastic region where we assume single quark scattering to be dominant. This Bloom-Gilman duality was recently found to work to high precision to far lower momentum transfers, and far smaller regions in invariant mass, than anticipated. Implications for using the spin/flavor selectivity of (polarized) electron-proton scattering and/or (polarized) meson electroproduction to examine such duality in more detail are discussed.


The study analyzes how urbanization has altered the hydrologic character of the Waller Creek watershed. There is a focus on how urbanization is expected to increase flooding in the watershed.


The optimization of the calculation model for the urban land grading index based on obstacles was deployed.The calculation problem of the urban land grading index based on obstacles was solved by using GIS dimensional analysis method to make the grading results of urban land more reasonable.Meanwhile,taking Caidian District of Wuhan City as an example,the validation research was made on the model.It was proved that this model had better applicability.


This paper describes some of the benefits of electronic packages manufactured from silicon carbide reinforced aluminium composites. The housings which were analysed and tested consisted of iron‐nickel alloy sidewalls soldered to composite bases. The metal matrix composite bases were produced using Lanxide's PRIMEX™ pressureless metal infiltration process. Hermeticity test results on the base to sidewall seals are presented along with comparative electrical performance of the composite versus conventional base materials. Analysis of the thermal, mechanical and weight performance of this approach is also provided.


This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the changing landscape of higher education in the United Kingdom. It challenges the notion that the spread of bureaucratic rationality and the rise of corporate culture have invariably resulted in a loss of meaning in academic life. Drawing upon the work of Onora O'Neill, Max Weber and Jürgen Habermas, the article argues for a more measured response to calls for greater accountability in higher education. The function of university mission groups is also examined, particularly in respect of their role in discursively producing notions of superiority and inferiority in the sector. The authors suggest that it is as much the machinations of influential university mission groups as the 'iron cage' of societal rationalisation that have brought about a perceived loss of freedom in academic life.


Let L be a free Lie algebra of finite rank r over a field . For each positive integer n, denote the degree n homogeneous component of L by L. The group of graded algebra automorphisms of L may be identified with GLr; ' in such a way that L1 becomes the natural module, and then the L are referred to as the Lie powers of this module. Understanding the GLr; '-module structure of the L may be thought of as an essential part of understanding L. For the case when the characteristic of is 0, the L are semisimple and the multiplicities of the various simple modules in the L are given by a formula of Wever [24]. We are concerned here with the case when has prime characteristic, p; then very few of the L are semisimple, and the problem has a different complexion. If n is not divisible by p, then L is a direct summand of the n-fold tensor power of the natural module L1, so the indecomposable direct summands of L may be taken as known from that context. This has been exploited in Erdmann [12] and in Donkin and


General concept of a gradation slicing is used to analyze polynomial solutions of ordinary differential equations (ODE) with polynomial coefficients, , where , pl(z) are polynomials, z is a coordinate, and . It is not required that ODE is either (i) Fuchsian or (ii) leads to a usual Sturm–Liouville eigenvalue problem. General necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a polynomial solution are formulated involving constraint relations. The necessary condition for a polynomial solution of nth degree to exist forces energy to a nth baseline. Once the constraint relations on the nth baseline can be solved, a polynomial solution is in principle possible even in the absence of any underlying algebraic structure. The usefulness of theory is demonstrated on the examples of various Rabi models. For those models, a baseline is known as a Juddian baseline (e.g. in the case of the Rabi model the curve described by the nth energy level of a displaced harmonic oscillator with varying coupling g). The corresponding constraint relations are shown to (i) reproduce known constraint polynomials for the usual and driven Rabi models and (ii) generate hitherto unknown constraint polynomials for the two-mode, two-photon, and generalized Rabi models, implying that the eigenvalues of corresponding polynomial eigenfunctions can be determined algebraically. Interestingly, the ODE of the above Rabi models are shown to be characterized, at least for some parameter range, by the same unique set of grading parameters.


Severe heat stroke is associated with loss of intestinal barrier function resulting in release of endotoxin into the blood. In rat, intestinal permeability is elevated at or above 41.5 °C. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of mouse intestine to hyperthermia and to evaluate if oxidant production contributes to increases in permeability. Mouse small intestines were excised, cleaned, everted over a glass rod and filled with pre‐oxygenated Ringers solution. Gut sacs (1‐2 cm) were then placed into cuvettes containing oxygenated buffer, with 4kD fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) dextran (0.3mM) for 90 min. Leakage of FITC‐dextran into the gut sac was found by fluorometery to be 2.8 ±0.6, 2.2 ± 0.2 and 7.8 ±0.4 μmoles /cm2 at 37, 40.5 and 41.5 °C, respectively. Tiron (1mM), a superoxide scavenger, showed no protective effect on intestinal permeability at 41.5 °C (7.9 μmoles /cm2 ±0.47) and no effect at 37 °C (3.1 μmoles/cm2 ±0.8). The results demonstrate that a threshold temperature of 41.5ºC is necessary for significant loss of intestinal barrier function in mouse (P< 0.01) and that superoxide scavenging does not significantly alter permeability. NHLBI 53333


The country is paying the consequences of a harsh economic and a social crisis that have wholly characterized the last decade. Citizens have been waiting so long for the public service's reform aimed to the employment development and to the matching between job-demand and job-offer. The current common perception shows how the Employment Centers do not seem able to give effective responses to citizen's professional expectations and entreprise's requirements. The article describes the evolution, the methodology and the results of the European best practice Porta Futuro. A particular emphasis is put on the results of the service's innovation. This consist in taking charge, even emotionally, of citizens in very hard employment situations, offering them continuing education according to a pedagogical approach that invests in empowerment and awareness. The text, which includes a depth research on service's functionality and the possibility to replicate it on a national level, is a contribution to facilitate the research of professional opportunities through the typical Italian society cultural heterogeneity.


Two kinds of continuous-wave GaN-based ultraviolet laser diodes (LDs) operated at room temperature and with different emission wavelengths are demonstrated. The LDs epitaxial layers are grown on GaN substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, with a 10 × 600 μm2 ridge waveguide structure. The electrical and optical characteristics of the ultraviolet LDs are investigated under direct-current injection at room temperature. The stimulated emission peak wavelength of first LD is 392.9 nm, the threshold current density and voltage is 1.5 kA/cm2 and 5.0 V, respectively. The output light power is 80 mW under the 4.0 kA/cm2 injection current density. The stimulated emission peak wavelength of second LD is 381.9 nm, the threshold current density the voltage is 2.8 kA/cm2 and 5.5 V, respectively. The output light power is 14 mW under a 4.0 kA/cm2 injection current density.


A field experiment was conducted to study the temporal and spatial changes of active organic C and N in the newly cultivated light sierozem soil under faba bean/maize intercropping system at Hong Shipu in Ningxia.The results showed that the contents of soil microbial biomass C and N(SMBC,SMBN) and soil soluble organic C and N(SOC,SON) in this newly cultivated soil were low in comparison with long-term cultivated soil.Soil microbial biomass C increased with the addition of N fertilizer.The contents of SMBC and SMBN in soil after harvesting maize were significantly higher than harvesting faba bean.The contents of SMBC and SMBN were the highest between lines of faba bean,followed by on lines of maize,and between lines of maize.Application of N fertilizers significantly increased SOC and SON contents at faba bean harvest time in comparison to the treatment without addition of N fertilizer;and had no effect on SOC and SON contents at maize harvest time.The contents of soluble organic C and N in soil were the highest between lines of maize,followed by between lines of faba bean,and on line of faba bean,and between lines of maize and faba bean,and the lowest was in on line of maize.Significant increase of SMBC and SMBN in soil at maize harvest phase suggested that immobilization of mineral N by soil microbial community could improve the fertility of the newly cultivated soil.


Background Increasing evidence from animal and human studies indicates that chlorpyrifos (CPF), similar to other organophosphorus insecticides still widely used, is a developmental neurotoxicant. Developmental exposure to CPF in rodents induces sex-dimorphic behavioral changes at adulthood, including social and agonistic responses, which suggests that CPF may interfere with maturation of neuroendocrine mechanisms. Objectives We assessed the hypothesis that CPF affects the levels of neurohypophyseal hormones acting as modulators of social behavior in mammals, such as oxytocin (OT), arginine vasopressin (AVP), and prolactin (PRL). Methods Pregnant female mice were orally administered with either vehicle (peanut oil) or 3 or 6 mg/kg CPF on gestational day (GD) 15 to GD18, and offspring were treated subcutaneously with either vehicle or 1 or 3 mg/kg CPF on postnatal days (PNDs) 11 to PND14. Dose levels were chosen to avoid systemic toxicity and inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase. Offspring were sacrificed at 5 months of age, and expression of OT, AVP, and PRL was analyzed in the hypothalamus by Western blot or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. Results Both male and female mice showed dose-related enhancement of OT expression, with males presenting the more intense effect. AVP expression was significantly reduced in male mice at the higher prenatal and postnatal dose. We observed no significant effect on PRL expression in either sex. Overall, outcomes were mainly attributable to fetal exposure, whereas postnatal doses appeared to potentiate the prenatal effects. Conclusions Our data indicate that developmental exposure to CPF may permanently interfere with specific key signaling proteins of the hypothalamic peptidergic system, with time-, dose-, and sex-related effects still evident at adulthood.


With the rapid development of communication technology, due to the advantages of high flexibility, good compatibility, wide openness and other advantages of software radio, and it is easy to upgrade and expand the system in the later stage, software radio technology has been applied in many radio engineering occasions, showing broad application prospects. This paper applies the GNU Radio experimental platform, and selects eight modulation methods of AM, DSB, SSB, 2ASK, MASK, 2FSK, 2PSK, MPSK, etc., through the setting of basic parameters such as frequency, phase, FFT points, window function and the setting of channel parameters such as additive white Gaussian noise, frequency offset, epsilon and signal-to-noise ratio range, to obtain different simulated time domain charts, frequency domain charts, waterfall charts, constellation charts, and compare and analyze different signal modulation techniques, understand and master the modulation principles and modulation methods of signals. At the same time, modeled on a number of open source datasets such as RML2016.10A and RML2018.01A, a small sample electromagnetic dataset is formed in the GNU Radio software platform, providing a reliable data set for technical research in the field of electromagnetic space and providing more general options for researchers who design related systems.