People with disabilities who are included in the DTKS (Integrated Data on Social Welfare) of Semarang City in 2020 are 3,243 people while the total number of people with disabilities in Semarang City is 5,800 people. This problem certainly requires the role of the Semarang City Social Service to improve the welfare of the disabled community. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the role of the Semarang City Social Service in improving the welfare of people with disabilities and their driving and inhibiting factors. This research method is descriptive qualitative. The data collection techniques of this research are observation, interview, documentation and literature study. Determination of the subject in this study was done by purposive sampling method. The theory used is the role theory according to Jam Ife and Frank Tesoriero covering facilitative, educational, representative and technical roles. The results of the research conducted are that the role of the Semarang City Social Service in improving the welfare of the disabled community is quite good. The role that is not well implemented is the four role indicators, namely the facilitative role. The driving factors for the role of the Semarang City Social Service in improving the welfare of the disabled community consist of competence, socialization and role behavior while the inhibiting factors are role transition and role distance.


Under the analysis of timber logistics mode,the location models for building timber logistics centers are set up and the method with which genetic algorithm is applied to work out the models is presented.Based on the timber logistics data from Yongan Forestry Group Co.,Ltd,a practical location model is proposed.Thus,the efficiency and precision of location strategies are improved with the application of genetic algorithm based on Repeated Natural Number Coding and Visual Basic as the programming platform.


Introduction. Aggressive behavior of children and adolescents in the educational environment should be assessed differentially depending on the nature of its manifestation and the age of the student. Extreme variants of aggression, expressed in attacks on educational institutions, are multifactorial in nature and combine auto- and hetero-aggressive tendencies.Goal. Identifying medical and psychological indicators of vulnerabilities in adolescents, warning of the possibility of their auto- and hetero-aggressive behavior, also in the educational environment.Material and methods. Qualitative and descriptive analysis of the empirical material of complex forensic psychological and psychiatric examinations of minors with suicidal and hetero-aggressive behavior.Results. Behavioral indicators and typological psychological features inherent in this category of adolescents are described. The order of work of specialists (teachers, school and clinical psychologists, social educators, psychiatrists) with adolescents displaying these behaviors is presented. Particular attention is paid to the clinical manifestations of mental disorders that can be found in such adolescents.Conclusions. Prevention of auto- and hetero-aggressive behavior of adolescents in the educational environment, starting with the fixation of described behavioral indicators, requires the consistent involvement of various specialists in work with adolescents and their interdisciplinary and interdepartmental interaction.


Zhengdan 958 and Nongda 364 were adopted in this experiment,water potential of husk leaves senescence for two different maize(Zea mays L.)genotypes were comparatively studied in the field condition,and the relation among the water potential and water saturation deficit were discussed as well.The results showed that:the same diurnal change trend of water potential in two different genotypes was basically the same parabola-form,diurnal average and change range of water potential in husk leaves of Zhengdan 958 were higher than that of Nongda 364;Water potential and relative water content of husk leaves were in the trend of reduction along with the growing of maize,the water reverse was ture for saturation deficit;Zhengdan 958 had a higher saturation deficit than Nongda 364,but had a relatively lower relative water content than that;It was shown linear relation between water potential and saturation deficit of husk leaves:Y=A+BX.The constant item in Zhengdan 958 are bigger than that in Nongda 364,which indicated that the former had a higher saturation deficit、relatively lower relative water content,than latter under normal water condition,Therefore,the drought-resistance of Zhengdan 958 was prior to Nongda 364.


This paper first analyses the Chinese banking regulations on double-layer principle-agent framework. With reference to the research of western scholars and the present situation in China, the paper then explores some reasons behind for the failure of incentive and supervision on account of inherent flaws of corporate governance; finally the paper concludes that the regulation department should strengthen the management of senior executives to improve the regulation efficiency.


The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for milk yields, milk concentrations and ratios of milk components. Herd-test records from 268 Jersey cows from a Waikato dairy farm were obtained along with pedigree information. Genetic and phenotypic (co)variances for daily yields of milk (MY), fat (FY), protein (PY), milksolids (MSY; FY + PY) and lactose (LY), percentages of fat, protein, and lactose, and ratios of protein to fat (P:F) and protein to protein plus lactose (P:PL), and somatic cell score, were obtained with single trait and bivariate animal models using a restricted maximum likelihood methodology. The models included the fixed effects of month of calving and days in milk, modelled using an exponential curve, lactation number and the random effects of animal and cow permanent environment effects were also included in the model. Heritability estimates were 0.50 ± 0.12 (standard error) for MY, 0.25 ± 0.10 for FY, 0.30 ± 0.12 for PY, 0.27 ± 0.11 for MSY, 0.50 ± 0.12 for LY, 0.24 ± 0.04 for P:F ratio and 0.53 ± 0.04 for P:PL ratio. The genetic correlations for daily yields were high and positive. The genetic correlation between MSY and P:F ratio was -0.35 indicating that increases in MSY under the current breeding objective will decrease the P:F ratio, thus departing from an optimal ratio for whole milk powder processing.


The Baltic Sea is one of the world's most stressed sea areas. Major threats to the ecosystem include eutrophication and oil spills. The progression of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is lengthy and gradual, while oil spills cause rapid changes in the system, with varying impact time. We quantify the impact of eutrophication and the key ecological covariates on the population dynamics of the major pelagic fish stock, the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras), in the Gulf of Finland. The full life cycle of herring is represented with a probabilistic state-space model. Moreover, we analyse the impact of the oil spill from M/T Antonio Gramsci in 1987 on herring survival. The results confirm impact of the spill on the early life-stage survival; the observed high frequency of malformed herring larvae in surveys signaled elevated mortality of the year class. The optimal July–August chlorophyll a concentration for herring reproduction is approximately 5 μg·L−1. This level is currently exceeded, suggesting re...


Necessity is the internal driving force for the popularization of Marxism.Marx discussed the power of need,the type and level of need and the need to have the social and historical issues,which provided theoretical guidance to understand the psychological needs during the process of the popularization of Marxism.Marxism is the dialectical unity of the truth and value to meet the needs of the public,which is the premise and basis of the popularization of Marxism.The needs of the public have differences due to the developmenl of the limes anil the different groups.The popularization of Marxism must understand(he needs of the public,constantly taking into consideration the public need in order to obtain the support of the fundamental driving force.


This report describes an analysis performed using conservative and bounding assumptions. These assumptions lead to a lower bound on the butanol removal rate and an upper bound on the liquid phase butanol concentration.


Radiation in the spectral ranges of UV and VIS are environmental impact factors that can cause ageing of many materials or products. The reason for this is that especially organic materials, such as food or many pharmaceutical, are subject to photochemical degradation. Of course, suited transparent packaging material may give protection against such impact for radiation sensitive fillings. But for this, it is necessary to know about the spectral range of the fillings sensitivity as well as about the radiation impact of the radiation sources that are relevant during the life time of the product.
The spectral irradiance for characterizing the emission of various radiation sources is easily measured by means of a spectroradiometer. The spectral sensitivity of a filling's property can be determined by spectrally dispersed irradiation, where the positions on a sample are related to the different wavelengths. Thus, the damaging effect of the different wavelengths can be directly evaluated. A lateral measurement of the relevant property change shows the activation spectrum, which is the product of the spectral radiant exposure and the spectral sensitivity. By measuring the spectral irradiance for each sample position, the spectral sensitivity of the ageing property can be calculated.
Comparing the fillings spectral sensitivity and the spectral irradiance of a potential radiation source during later transport and storage, conclusions can be drawn about necessary spectral absorption of a (partly) transparent packaging to give sufficient protection.
The setup for such investigation will be shown and several illustrating samples from daily food experience will be given.


History of architecture is perpetually on the path of self-renewal with new guises and use of new materials. Media surfaces are the new dimensions looking ahead of the postmodern architectural trends that mellow down the long standing conflict between "less is more" and "less is a bore" debate. With a click of a button the building facade could be a minimalist design for the "less is more" diehards, and the next moment it could be ornamented with a lot "more" for the proponents of "less is bore" maxim. Designing with media surfaces is an aesthetical, technological, environmental and social challenge that an architect is going to face. Here's one challenge that we undertook, and solved the question of spatial illusion, environmental impact and human safety, presented by a transparent media facade (TMF) designed to clad a self- ventilated seven-story parking podium of an under-construction corporate headquarter building in an upscale neighborhood.


Russia has achieved a high level of Internet connectivity and the use of digital technologies;this helps to accumulate and systematize huge amounts of population data. Modern challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require a more prompt and detailed analysis of the demographic situation. Understanding the information collected by digital platforms and services can improve the quality of decision-making and be widely used in science and management. The aim of our study is to assess the change in the demographic situation in the Russian Arctic under the influence of the pandemic, with the use of new sources of population data that have emerged as a result of digitalization of the economy and public life. The article proposes an outline for the formation of a demographic knowledge base by combining traditional population statistics with data from digital platforms. We consider advantages and disadvantages of new data sources, features and examples of their application. We provide a detailed description of demographic processes in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation in 2020-2021 with the use of municipal statistics, data from Yandex online platforms and international pandemic databases. With the help of the proposed outline, we consider the dynamics of morbidity, mortality and vaccination against coronavirus infection. We study the reaction of the population of the Russian Arctic to the pandemic by analyzing the structure of search queries and the intensity of movement in city streets. We reveal the specifics of the spread of COVID-19 in the Arctic and estimate the impact of the pandemic on the natural population change and human mobility in the Arctic Zone. We calculate excess mortality at the regional and municipal levels. Based on the vaccination rates, we draw conclusions about the prospects for further development of the pandemic. The results obtained can be used for development of socio-demographic policy measures and construction of demographic forecasts for the Northern and Arctic territories.


Archaeological sites with unclear conditions of sediment accumulation and stratigraphic disturbances are always complicated to research. Usually other sites in the region with better preservation of cultural layers helps to understand and divide them into cultural chronological stages. However lack of such sites results in the need to find other approaches and research methods to study stratigraphic positions of cultural horizons.
Purpose. This article considers approaches and methods and their application to estimate the preservation of cultural layers at the Upper Paleolithic site of Moiltyn Am in Central Mongolia.
Results. The authors analyzed positions of artifacts from layers 1.2, 2, 3 and 4. Indexes of layer 1.2 fall within the value range, characteristic to rockfall. Layers 2 and 3 are also close to rockfall, but the level of isotropy falls outside the limits of its range. Layer 4 is closer to the range of solifluction.
Conclusions. The authors correlated lithological divisions, revealed in 2018–2019, and stratigraphic units, that previous researchers divided and described. Sediments of Layer 4 were accumulated under the solifluction process and went through post-sedimentological disturbances, that also impacted the underlying layers. Layers 2 and 3 were formed under drier conditions.


Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze available evidence from randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of pomegranate juice consumption and blood pressure (BP). Design and method: A comprehensive literature search in Medline and Scopus was carried out to identify eligible RCTs. A meta-analysis of eligible studies was performed using a random-effects model. Quality assessment, sensitivity analysisand publication bias evaluations were conducted using standard methods. Results: Quantitative data synthesis from 8 RCTs showed significant reductions in both systolic [weighed mean difference (WMD): −4.96 mmHg, 95% CI: −7.67 to −2.25, p < 0.001) and diastolic BP (WMD: −2.01 mmHg, 95% CI: −3.71 to −0.31, p = 0.021) after pomegranate juice consumption. Effects on SBP remained stable to sensitivity analyses. Pomegranate juice reduced SBP regardless of the duration (> 12 wks: WMD = −4.36 mmHg, 95% CI: −7.89 to −0.82, p = 0.016) and < 12 wks: WMD = −5.83 mmHg, 95% CI: −10.05 to −1.61, p = 0.007) and dose consumed (> 240 cc: WMD = −3.62 mmHg, 95% CI: −6.62 to −0.63, p = 0.018) and < 240 cc: WMD = −11.01 mmHg, 95% CI: −17.38 to −4.65, p = 0.001, pomegranate juice per day) whereas doses > 240 cc provided a borderline significant effect in reducing DBP. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggests consistent benefits of pomegranate juice consumption on BP. This evidence suggests it may be prudent to include this fruit juice in a heart-healthy diet.


Background Belatacept is a novel immunosuppressive therapy designed to improve clinical outcomes associated with kidney transplant recipients while minimizing use of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). Methods We searched for clinical trials related to administration of belatacept to kidney transplant patients compared to various immunosuppression regimens, as well as for studies that utilized data from belatacept trials to validate new surrogate measures. The purpose of this review is to consolidate the published evidence of belatacept's effectiveness and safety in renal transplant recipients to better elucidate its place in clinical practice. Results Analysis of the results from the Belatacept Evaluation of Nephroprotection and Effi-cacy as First-Line Immunosuppressive Trial (BENEFIT) study, a de novo trial that compared cyclosporine (CsA)-based therapy to belatacept-based therapy in standard criteria donors, found a significant difference in mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 13–15 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 23–27 mL/min/1.73 m2 at 1 year and 7 years, respectively. The BENEFIT-EXT study was similarly designed with the exception that it included extended criteria donors. Renal function improved significantly for the more intensive belatacept group in all years of the BENEFIT-EXT study; however, it was not significant in the less intensive group until 5 years after transplant. Belatacept regimens resulted in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and incidence of new-onset diabetes after transplant compared to CsA-based regimens. Results from conversion of CNIs to belatacept therapy, dual therapy of belatacept with sirolimus, and belatacept with corticosteroid avoidance therapy are also included in this article. Conclusion The evidence reviewed in this article suggests that belatacept is an effective alternative in kidney transplant recipients. Compared to CNI-based therapy, belatacept-based therapy results in superior renal function and similar rates of allograft survival. In terms of safety, belatacept was shown to have lower incidence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes; however, incidence of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder and the cost of belatacept may hinder use of this medication.


practice (constituted by representatives of eight societies and by invited experts). Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2003;10:S1–S10. 2. Rosenson RS. Current overview of statin-induced myopathy. Am J Med 2004;116:408–416. 3. Eriksson M, Angelin B, Sjoberg S. Risk for fatal stain-induced rhabdomyolysis as a consequence of misinterpretation of 'evidence-based medicine'. J Intern Med 2005;257:313–314. 4. Baker SK. Molecular clues into the pathogenesis of statin-mediated muscle toxicity. Muscle Nerve 2005;31:572–580. 5. Prasad GV, Wong T, Meliton G et al. Rhabdomyolysis due to red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) in a renal transplant recipient. Transplantation 2002;27:1200–1201. 6. Smith DJ, Olive KE. Chinese red rice-induced myopathy. South Med J 2003; 96:1265–1267. 7. Rundek T, Naini A, Sacco R et al. Atorvastatin decreases the coenzyme Q10 level in the blood of patients at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Arch Neurol 2004;61:889–892. 8. Yang HT, Lin SH, Huang SY et al. Acute administration of red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) depletes tissue coenzyme Q (10) levels in ICR mice. Br J Nutr 2005;93:131–135.


There are lots of parameter values, which is include of some confirmed and some unconfirmed, should be considered. It's necessary that applying some science method to combine both of the parameter values. This paper would discuss a further studying method, which is beneficial to the studying of the selection of bridge based on catastrophe theory


Objective To determine the relationship between occult HBV infection and the mutation within the 'a' determinant. Methods HBV S gene of 7 patients with occult HBV infection were analyzed. The sequences were compared with reference strains retrieved from the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database to determining the amino acid mutation within the 'a' determinant. Results For the 7 patients, 5 were infected with HBV genotype C (serotype adr) and the other 2 were infected with HBV genotype B (serotype adw). Three of the 7 patients had no mutation and the other 4 had amino acid substitutions in the major hydrophilic region (MHR) of HBsAg caused by point mutation or combined mutations. These changes included the following: Q101K, T116I, K122N, T126N, Q129R/N, T131A, C138Y, N146S, and C147F. Conclusion The results indicated that the mutation within the 'a' determinant was not the only reason, but was really an important factor for patients with occult HBV infection.


Graphene is probably the most fascinating material ever discovered, but it has some drawbacks: it has no gap, it is not superconducting, and it has a weak spin-orbit coupling. The interesting electronic properties of graphene, such as the presence of charge carriers that behave as if they would have no mass, are rooted on the honeycomb lattice of the carbon atoms. A key question in this regard is: if we engineer a honeycomb lattice out of semiconducting nanocrystals, is it going to behave like graphene or like the semiconducting building blocks?


Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of acute illness. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality as well as a high cost to healthcare systems. There are a broad range of causes of AKI which should be considered in a systematic fashion to avoid missing multiple potential causative factors. These include pre-renal causes from hypovolaemia, intrinsic renal causes such as glomerular diseases and post-renal obstructive causes. In the intensive care unit, two-thirds of AKI cases result from renal hypoperfusion, sepsis, contrast and nephrotoxic agents; up to 5% will require renal replacement therapy. Modalities of renal replacement therapy include intermittent haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous haemofiltration. Continuous haemofiltration is usually favoured in the intensive care setting as it has greater haemodynamic stability and greater capacity to extract fluid from patients with fluid overload. Anticoagulation is recommended with haemodialysis and haemofiltration and systemic heparin, regional citrate or zero anticoagulation are the usual options.


In the age of globalization, nation states have to negotiate with the neo-liberal world order, articulating national interest on the one hand and preserving national identity and sovereignty on the other. National media draw a world map for ordinary people and explain the relationship between globalization and their lives. Therefore one important way of examining the international discursive contestation is to look through national media's prisms to explore how the state acts as the repository of national interest. Chinese and Indian elite media discourses offer an illuminating pair for case comparison. This study attempts to investigate the differences between national media construction of globalization in China and India. Theoretically, this thesis argues that national media discursive construction is shaped and influenced by the national interest as defined by state elites located in a larger international political economy. Empirically, this study compared 1,004 editorials of three national newspapers-the People's Daily, the Global Times, and the Hindu-from 1996 to 2006. Besides, 185 editorials from 2000 to 2006 from the Times of India were included for further comparison. Content analysis and discourse analysis were applied; the former acts as the prelude to the latter. This study aimed to answer three research questions. (1) What is China and India located in the international political economy? (2) How do Chinese and Indian media construct globalization in line with these contexts? (3) What explain the similarities and differences in their media constructions? Content analysis revealed that the media in the two countries take a positive attitude towards globalization. Two media frames were prominent in referencing "globalization:" namely, the "Interest" frame and the "Identity" frame. According to the two frames, I unpacked globalization into four issues: the international issues and the benefit-cost in the neo-liberal world order; the domestic conflicts and the contestation among various groups within state; the continuity and discontinuity between history and globalization; the boundary of the "other" and "us" and the construction of the others. The study finds that the Chinese media believe that China should accommodate to the global world in terms of economic development, but politically to fight against western hegemony to preserve China's autonomy and legitimacy. The Indian media focus


How do motion pictures portray photojournalists - both still photographers and television cameramen - in film? Do these depictions present stereotypes of visual journalists, and are ethical considerations taken into affect? This book attempts to find answers to these questions through a scholarly approach. By querying the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Database through the University of Southern California-Annenberg,and critiquing the evident and implied characteristics of photojournalists portrayed in movies from 1954 to 2006, the author is able to draw certain conclusions from the findings of this study.


Application of bio-fertilizers, especially mycorrhizal fungi in place of chemical fertilizers is one of the most important strategies for plant nutrition, especially in sustainable management of agro-ecosystems. In order to study the effect of different irrigation regimes (irrigation intervals) and different mycorrhizal bio-fertilizers on morphological and physiological characteristics of Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), an experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Islamic Azad University, Birjand Branch, during growing season of 2011. The experiment was CRBD with three replication. The main plots was irrigation in three intervals (6, 12 and 18 day) and the sub- plots was three types of bio-fertilizers (G. fasiculatum, G. intraradiseae and G. mosseae) and a control treatment. The results showed that increasing irrigation intervals had significant effect on yield and yield components of Millet (p<0.05), so that highest yield and yield components were gained in 6 days interval treatment. Increasing irrigation intervals had no significant effect on thousand grain weight. In addition, consumption of mycorrhizal fertilizer improved yield and yield components of millet, both in optimum irrigation and stress conditions. The interactions of irrigation and mycorrhiza on number of plant per m 2 , number of tiller per m 2 , harvest index of panicle per plant and grain yield were significant. Results of this study indicated that application of mycorrhizal fertilizers particularly Glomus fasiculatum improved resistance of millet plant to drought stress; and could compensate some of the effects of the drought stress.


The low-frequency response of glycerol has been studied by polarized Raman scattering. The «boson peak» always appear far above T g =193 K, whereas the depolarization ratio is nearly constant between 5 cm -1 and 200 cm -1 at temperatures from 333 to 90 K. In the analysis of the boson peak, comparisons are made between experimental results and calculations based on the two types of structural correlation function. The typical behavior of line shape and depolarization ratio of the spectra is fitted with an exponential structural correlation function. The structural correlation length is estimated to be about 14 A


The United States (US) federal government requires that state and local school districts be responsible for school transportation polices. Current state-of-the-practice shows that these local entities do not consider tradeoffs between land use and transportation costs when making decisions about school locations and resource allocation. US Department of Education (DOE) data shows that Americans spend over $20 billion dollars per year busing over 25 million children to school. The indirect cost of transporting children to school via alternate modes of transportation such as private automobile, walking, and biking are not considered. This article provides a cost breakdown structure for each mode of transportation and summarizes the related costs. The article documents the probable ranges for the costs of school transportation by mode and includes references to assist researchers, planners, officials, and other potential users in measuring the multi-modal costs of school transportation.


Background: The West Nile Virus (WNV), discovered in New York, USA in 1999 after it was first isolated in Uganda in 1937, has since spread not only in the United States but also around the world. Africa, Eurasia, Australia, and the Middle East have sporadic cases of the disease. Objectives: We aimed to find real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay to be more sensitive than conventional RT-PCR, and more rapid and efficient than conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR for WNV detection. Methods: A total of 32 genomic sequences from different strains of WNV were analyzed to identify conserved nucleotide sequence regions. Six WNV specific RT-LAMP primers targeting the E gene were designed. Results: The novel primer for the real-time RT-LAMP assay can detect WNV with high specificity. The efficiency of the real-time RT-LAMP assay is higher than the conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR. Real-time RT-PCR and conventional PCR require at least 30 – 40 min and 2 h, respectively, to yield results, whereas real-time RT-LAMP provides positive results in only 10 – 20 min. Conclusions: The novel primers were developed by analyzing of 32 genomic sequences of WNV strains. The primers were designed from the most conserved region of the E gene for real-time RT-LAMP. The LAMP assay is a rapid, efficient, highly sensitive, and specific tool for the identification of WNV.


W hile conflict, in general, has received much attention in the literature, "affect felt" during conflicts and its influence has not been a major concern to researchers. Only a few investigations of "affect intensity" associated w ith conflict have been conducted. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of affect intensity, an individual differences factor, in the affect experienced in conflict situations with friends and acquaintances by different age groups, and the resolution strategies that are used. Students from grades 5, 8 , and 11 and first and second year college students completed the A ffect Intensity Measure, a conflict questionnaire, and a constructed conflict vignette. The questionnaire and vignette focussed on either a best friend, friend, or an acquaintance relationship. Differences in the strength of feeling for the reported conflict on the questionnaire and the vignette situation was examined as well as affect, strength of affect, resolution strategies, and the relationships among these factors. Gender differences were also examined. The intensity of affect was found to differ as a function of age/grade and relationship target, and the intensity of affect also influenced resolution strategies that were chosen. These differences suggest that some changes are occurring in later adolescence that involve interactions among friends and acquaintances. Further research on affect intensity in conflicts involving adolescents is necessary in order to understand more fully the dynamics of affect in conflict situations. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family and friends for their constant support. This would not have been possible w ithout their encouraging words and undying faith in me, especially during times I felt in despair. I cannot thank my parents enough. W ithout my father's continual push for me to persevere and my mother's patience, understanding and belief in me, this would have remained a dream. I extend my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Joseph C. LaVoie, w ho has always emphasized to me the importance of a good mentor, a concept I believe I'm beginning to understand. I thank him for all his tim e and patience over the past fe w years. W ithout his efforts, I would not have been able to m eet the challenges brought by this project, i'd also like to thank Dr. Brigette Ryalls, Dr. Ray M illim et, and Dr. Cassia Spohn who served on my Thesis Com m ittee. Their tim e, input, and willingness to help when I asked for advise is greatly appreciated. Others whose help cannot go unmentioned include Carol Lloyd, Reading Specialist, who conducted the readability check, Candy Lindberg, an undergraduate student, who helped me w ith data input, and the schools that agreed to allow their students to participate in my study. I thank them all for their assistance. I also cannot fail to mention my supervisor, Gina Pearson, whose flexibility and understanding has allowed me to continue my studies. I thank her and all my co-workers, whom I consider dear friends, for their constant support. To all whom I have mentioned, my accomplishment is your accomplishment. I could not have completed my thesis w ithout you.


In this chapter, I evaluated the aggregation propensity of humanized antibody after heat treatment in the presence of six buffer species. The comparison under equivalent pH showed high aggregation propensity on phosphate and citrate buffer. In contrast, MES, 3–(N–morpholino)propanesulfonate (MOPS), acetate, and imidazole buffer showed lower aggregation propensity than the above two buffers. Meanwhile, unfolding temperature evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry measurement was not altered among these buffer species. The light scattering analysis suggested that heat–denatured intermediate was aggregated slightly on MES and acetate buffer. Therefore, I found that the different aggregation propensity among buffer species was caused from the aggregation propensity of heat–denatured intermediate rather than the unfolding temperature. Furthermore, I revealed that the aggregation dependency on buffer species was accounted for by the specific molecular interaction between buffer and IgG, rather than the ionic strength. On the contrary, on the analyses of unfolding and aggregation propensity by molecular dissection of IgG into Fab and Fc fragments, aggregation propensity of Fc fragment on MES, acetate, and phosphate buffer was almost the same as whole IgG. These findings suggested that the specific interaction between buffer molecule and Fc domain of IgG was involved in the aggregation propensity of heat–


▼Teriparatide (Forsteo - Eli Lilly) is the first parathyroid hormone derivative to be licensed for the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is described as a "bone-formation agent",1 in contrast to established treatments, such as bisphosphonates, raloxifene, calcitriol and calcitonin, which reduce bone resorption.2–4 Here we consider whether teriparatide offers any worthwhile advantages over these other options.


In this paper, an extended version of the FOTF Toolbox is presented which can be used to handle multivariable fractional-order transfer function matrices. A good interface is provided on top of the well-established MFD (Multivariable Frequency Design) Toolbox, which enables the users to perform frequency domain analysis and design of linear fractional-order systems. An illustrative example is also provided in the paper to show the applications of modeling, analysis and design of fractional-order systems with the proposed toolbox.


Worldwide, approximately 15% of the people older than 60 suffer from a mental disorder, such as depression and anxiety disorders (1). A total of 322 million people worldwide are affected. The prevalence rates vary by age and peaks in older adults (2). Modern devices, such as smartphones and tablets, can be used to provide digital interventions for various health-related issues. Digital interventions are promising in their ability to provide researchers, medical practitioners, and patients with a dynamic and individualizable tool for assessing behavior and behavioral change, consultation, treatment, and integrated care. These digital interventions can help patients manage their diseases or their general health as a form of disease prevention. This is particularly important in older people, as individuals often have to deal with highly complex interactions involved in managing their daily lives along with the consequences of a multitude of chronic diseases (3). Digital interventions can, for example, assess, control, and positively influence mental health and well-being among older patients (4). Particularly with regard to mental health, digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) appear to close a gap in healthcare provision. Many patients with mental health problems have to wait a long time to get an appointment for initial counseling or therapy; in rural areas, older patients may face long travel distances, and many people are still afraid of stigmatization and avoid therapy completely (5). Reviews and meta-analyses have shown the benefits of DMHIs, for example, for people with depression and anxiety (6–8). While DMHIs are becoming more important and popular, there exists a danger that older people will be excluded. When not comfortable with new technologies, older adults can experience barriers to accessing DMHIs, which might result in larger healthcare inequalities (9). This can happen if only already-advantaged populations use and benefit from these interventions. Therefore, this article will outline and discuss the problems in this field and make recommendations for future developments.


Research investigating life inside U.S. prisons is on the decline at the precise time when it is arguably most desperately needed. And absent from much of the work that has been done is a consideration of how incarcerated men and women actually cope with, conceive of, and experience their imprisonment. Undertaking the case study of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), I analyze over two decades worth of prisoners' writings contained in The Angolite prison newsmagazine in order to further our understanding of the daily lived experiences of incarcerated individuals during the era of mass imprisonment. First, I examine how the correctional instability that characterized the last several decades of the twentieth century played out on-the-ground at Angola, as well as how penological changes shaped the conditions of confinement and impacted prisoners' lives. Next, I explore in-depth one factor with the potential to influence a prisoner's life behind bars: masculinities. Specifically, I investigate how prisoners navigate the hypermasculine prison code in addition to how they conceptualize manhood. And in the third paper I dig deeper into Angola's plantation past. That is, I analyze how administrators narrate the history of the prison to tourists and outsiders as well as if and how the collective memories of slavery and the Jim Crow era inform prisoners' ideas about their


Numerical analysis of the vapor-phase combustion of droplets is much more complex than the analysis of the heterogeneous combustion of particles of solid fuel. Therefore, the problem concerning flame propagation through a gas suspension becomes more difficult if liquid droplets and not solid particles are suspended in the gas. There are very few experimental papers devoted to this problem and this also makes the solution of flame propagation through a gas suspension of droplets more difficult. As a rule, experiments have been carried out under turbulent flow conditions of the mixture (see, for example, [1-4]), so that the flow was far from uniform and the droplets had very different sizes. Only two papers [5, 6] are known, at best, in which the normal flame velocities v 0 were measured over a stabilized contcoidal combustion front in a Bunsen burner for different suspended drop sizes d o and for different excess air coefficients cr in the mixture. The combustion of a suspension of droplets of Tetralin was investigated in [5]; the results of the measurements are plotted in Fig. 1, where the numbers near each experimental point denote the corresponding value* of v 0 in era/see. The combustion of kerosene droplets was studied in [6]; the results of the measurements were generalized by an empirical relation of the type vo/v' ~ 1/d 0 (1/ce is 1/5.6)~ where v' is the pulsation velocity in the flow. In the papers mentioned, the investigations were carried out only for mixtures with 5 > 1 and they confirm that with an increase of the excess air, the flame velocity decreases.t The relation v0=v0(d 0) in these papers was obtained differently: in [6], the flame velocity always decreased with increase of the size of the drop (~l/d0) , and Ln [5] when ~ =1.4 it increased (see Fig. 1). In [3, 4], a closed flame of a mixture of gasoline (and kerosene) with air was investigated for c~ ~ 1; the measured rate of combustion for d o ~ 290 gm was less than for d o ~ 90 pro, regardless of the turbulence intensity in the flow (4-16%) or the degree of prevaporization of the fuel (0 to 80%). Measurements of the combustion velocity of an open flame jet of a twophase mixture with ~ ~ 1 [1, 2] showed that at high pulsatton velocities in the flow (~,2 m/see) the combustion velocity is almost independent of the drop size and is approximately equal to the combustion velocity of a homogeneous fuel mixture v h of the same composition; in the case of a low turbulence intensity, the combustion velocity decreases with increase of the drop size (55-110 pro) and is always less than v h. In this same paper, the functions Vh/V' =f1(5) and rely' =f2(5), which are measured in the range of a =0.6 to 2, are compared; it can be seen that with a large excess of air (5 _>1.5) the flame velocity in a two-phase mixture may be greater than in a homogeneous mixture. In almost all the papers mentioned, it is noted that in the case of a small excess of air (5 41.5), combustion is observed also around individual droplets, and in the space of the flame jet; the latter is characterized by a blue background. When 5 is increased, the blue glow in the flame jet gradually fades and only the zones of combustion of the individual droplets glow. We call this condition of propagation of the combustion front in a gas suspension of droplets quasiheterogeneous.+ + In [5], in a gas suspension of very fine droplets (d o < 10 #m), another limiting mechanism of flame propagation was observed - quasihomogeneous, i.e., when combustion


Materials under space confinement can alter their physical and chemical properties, paving the way for new science and novel applications. Nanoparticles can enforce spatial constraints on the polym...


A frequency offset correction algorithm suitable for low symbol rate satellite communication systems is presented.In this algorithm,each earth station first estimates the carrier frequency offset of the received network management broadcast channel,and then estimates the frequency of the reference source of each station and the LO frequency of satellite transponder,and finally,open loop frequency compensation is added to the transmitter or the receiver to achieve fast synchronization of the communication signal.


A system and process for performing orthopedic surgery is provided that uses a patient's existing implant as a registration tool in an orthopedic surgical procedure. The systems and processes may be used with computer assisted systems or navigation systems to aid in the removal of bone, bone cement, or a bone prosthesis, typically a bone prosthesis used in hip replacement surgery, knee replacement surgery, and the like. The removal of the prosthesis may be done by conventional methods, with navigation systems, robotic assistance or articulating hand held systems. The removal of bone and/or bone cement may be performed with navigated systems, robotic systems, articulating hand-held systems and combinations thereof.


In order to investigate the influences of the structure parameters on the heat transfer characteristics of a porous media solar power tower plant volumetric receiver,the mass and heat transfer models in the porous media solar receiver was proposed,volume convection heat transfer coefficient models in the porous media was summarized,a novel convection heat transfer model according to the porous media solar receiver based on the literature data was developed,and the validity by the literature data was testified.The heat transfer equations were solved by numerical method,and the typical influences of the porosity,average particle diameter,air inlet velocity,and thickness on the temperature distribution were analyzed.The research results of the structure parameters influences on the temperature field can provide a reference for this type of receiver design and reconstruction.


The majority of the population in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) lives in urban areas. In the year 2030, the percentage of the rural population is expected to be 14% in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 11% in the United Arab Emirates, 10% in Oman, 9% in Bahrain, 1% in Qatar, and will remain 0% in Kuwait. Like many other countries, however, GCC countries continue to invest efforts and resources toward their national agendas aimed at sustainable development. In this context, smart villages are of special interest as, increasingly, they serve as the crossroads between urban living and rural life embracing history, culture, tradition, spiritual values, and human capital. The objective of this chapter is to explore actions taken toward the development of smart villages in the GCC countries, with a comparative overview on pertaining approaches and strategies; challenges related to the implementation of these actions are identified. It is demonstrated that despite GCCs' tremendous efforts toward developing infrastructure in urban centers, more infrastructure investment is needed with regard to key issues related to developing remote areas – including their smart networks, digital facilities, and e-governance. It is also highlighted that more research is needed, especially on issues related to the transformation of villages into smart villages, including the need for holistic approaches, policies, and strategies toward smart villages.


An experiment was carried out to investigate the relationship between the initial electron emission and the effective field strength under a nonuniform field, as in the case of the cathode-anode needle-plane and hemisphere-plane geometries. The curvature of the cathode was altered to change the characteristics of the surface field strength, and the initial electron current was measured. The curvatures were 1.2 mu m to infinity (plane). The range of the current was 1*10/sup -19/ A to 1*10/sup -14/ A in a high vacuum (2*10/sup -7/ torr). The effect of the effective field strength on the initial electron emission under nonuniform and uniform fields was evaluated. The effective field strength is mostly constant at 10/sup 8/ V/cm, irrespective of the cathode shape. In the case of gas adsorption, the effective field strength of the inception of the electron emission is mostly constant.<<ETX>>


This study provides a systematic assessment of the costs of the ongoing armed conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine. By combining the pre-war geographical distribution of fixed capital with data on battle intensity, survey evidence on household damage in the conflict-affected areas and novel data on the macroeconomy of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the report estimates the minimum reconstruction costs of the region at USD 21.7 billion. On the basis of the composition of the costs, the study argues that the government's main focus should be on restoring the basic institutions that are usually taken for granted in most economies the markets and state capacity. The study proposes the key features of a reconstruction plan to help achieve this goal. This plan – assuming a lasting ceasefire is being observed – involves a continuation of the reform path in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth, to attract both foreign and domestic investments, improve the well-being of Ukrainian citizens and increase the opportunity costs of conflict. The systematic collection and dissemination of data on the Donbas region is essential. Ukraine should strive for balanced trade with the rest of the world. Last but not least, ensure that the peace settlement is durable. In the case of the Donbas this would mean an additional agreement that would not substitute the Minsk II Agreement but would both help to implement and complement it. Website 'Disconnected - Economic Challenges and Costs of Reintegrating the Donbas Region'


This paper intends to explore a feminist economics perspective on business case arguments for gender equality in the UK labour market, where there are significant inequalities between men and women. Policy discourse on gender equality has moved from one which emphasises 'equal opportunities' and notions of fairness and equal treatment to one which focuses on increasing economic efficiency in the wider economy and viewing female employees as a competitive advantage for individual firms. Developments in the policy discourse of gender equality in the labour market have been heavily influenced by mainstream, neoclassical economics. An example of this is the current UK government aim to encourage private sector employers to take action on gender equality voluntarily on the basis of 'business case' arguments. The business case itself has been critiqued by many authors but has yet to be considered from an explicitly feminist economics perspective. Feminist economics is argued to be a more appropriate paradigm for the consideration of gender inequalities.


—Aromatic hydrocarbons incorporated into cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTACl) or sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) micelles are efficiently quenched and photobleached by carbon tetrachloride. Similar results were obtained employing chloroform, but the efficiency of this compound as a quencher is nearly 103 times smaller than that of carbon tetrachloride.


There are obvious differences in special higher educational resource allocation in different regions of China for the different conditions.This paper mainly compares the campus building areas per capita,per fixed assets and pupil-teacher ratio during 2006-2010 in the subordinate universities of the Ministry by the difference measuring instruments of range,range ratio,standard deviation and variance coefficient.It can be found that the differences of the campus building areas per capita and per fixed assets are all becoming reduced between provinces,cities and regions,while the differences of the pupil-teacher ratio is becoming increased between provinces,cities and regions.


Panayotis Michelis (1903-1969) is the most significant Greek theoretician whose work focuses on the aesthetics of architecture. His thinking became known from his literary and academic work as a professor in the National Technical University of Athens from 1941 until 1969. He was highly influenced by the 19th century philosophical thinking in Germany; the romantic idealism of that era as explored in Schopenhauer's and Nietzsche's scripts on Art played an important role in the formation of his own Theories of Aesthetics.


The main objective of this paper is to introduce and illustrate a new tool stemming from Young measure theory in order to capture concentrations, jump sign and gradient oscillations of sequences of SBV-functions. We show how this notion of measure can be applied for the analysis of approximating solutions of Mumford-Shah type energy functionals in the one dimensional case.


Corrective feedback (CF) has long been a hot topic in language education circles and has received extensive research attention. However, there is still controversy over the effectiveness of CF use and error correction in language classes. To address this discrepancy, the current study probed the effectiveness of different CF types in improving grammatical accuracy in writing. We recruited 74 female English as a foreign language students within the age range of 16–21 at an intermediate proficiency level and divided them into four treatment groups and one control group. Four feedback types were used in the treatment, namely explicit correction, clarification request, metalinguistic, and elicitation. The experimental groups' grammatical knowledge of target structures (tense, voice, and agreement) was assessed before and after CF treatments and was compared with that of the control group. The findings revealed that all feedback groups outperformed the control group, highlighting the effectiveness of CF treatment. In addition, the metalinguistic feedback group outperformed all other experimental groups, with no difference observed between elicitation and clarification request groups. Further findings and implications are discussed in the paper.


Human being is creature that is blessed with a knowledge and curiosity. The human being is recognized by a human body that varies genotypically but is somewhat similar phenotypically. The knowledge gaining of the human being is reflected in the form of speaking ,and this speaking is mainly a function of tongue and teeth. Gums are a structure that surrounds the teeth and in the dental terminology, the gums are called as the gingiva. These gums are of utmost importance both from oral health point of view and from systemic health point of view. In this short communication the importance of gum health and their correlation with oral health and systemic health is emphasized.


The efficiency of any programme is determined by the impact it creates on the beneficiaries or on the participants. The impact is the consequence of the action undertaken, it is determined by whether a particular programme has achieved its purpose or not, for which it has been implemented. Assessment of impact of Microfinance is not that simple, as the impact is not a linear product in this matter. Women empowerment is a multifaceted concept which has besides many things implied in it, and it is moved by a number of factors, so, it becomes difficult to evaluate the impact of Microcredit separately on women empowerment.


The pitting resistance of some biodegradable fully formulated rapeseed-based oils was investigated using an FZG gear testing. The results were compared with a corresponding conventional mineral-based oil. Additional tests were performed to evaluate the frictional characteristics of the tested oils and an analytical evaluation of the lubricant film thickness during the course of the experiment was performed. The mechanism of pitting fatigue failure was analyzed by LOM and SEM. The results showed better pitting resistance and lower coefficient of friction for rapeseed-based oils as compared to mineral oil.


In the title complex, [Ni(C21H24N2O4)]·1.78H2O, the NiII ion has a slightly distorted planar geometry, coordinated by the two N and two O atoms of the tetradentate Schiff base ligand, with a mean deviation of 0.272 Å from the NiN2O2 plane. The N and O donor atoms are mutually cis. The dihedral angle between two benzene rings of the ligand is 38.86 (8)°. There are also three solvent water molecules, two of which lie across different crystallographic twofold rotation axes; one of these is partially occupied with a refined occupancy factor of 0.570 (7). The water molecules are linked together as tetramers in R 2 2(8) ring motifs, which also connect two neighbouring molecules of the complex through a network of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure is further stabilized by intermolecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π interactions, which link neighbouring molecules into extended chains along the b axis. Other interesting features of the crystal structure are the short intermolecular C⋯C [3.204 (3)–3.365 (3) Å] and the C⋯O [3.199 (2)–3.205 (2) Å] contacts which are shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii of these atoms.


This paper proves that the implementation of Qanun Aceh no. 14 of 2003 on khalwat in Subulussalam city has not fully run well. Many obstacles faced both from the executor (government) and the community as the object of the law of the application of Islamic Shari'a itself. The legal factor is one of the main factors causing its stagnant action against the violation of Qanun. 14 Year 2003 in Subulussalam City in addition to other factors. This paper attempts to outline the obstacles in the effectiveness of law enforcement which is an indicator of the assessment of the enforcement of a law, in order to measure the success or targets set in the application of a law especially to the enforcement of Qanun. 14 Year 2003 in the jurisdiction of Subulussalam City, Aceh.


Mycoplasma is a major respiratory pathogen of domestic sheep, goat and other animals causes primary atypical pneumonia and also predispose to secondary pneumonia with other agents. Species of Mycoplasma also causes conjunctivitis, polyarthritis and mastitis. For any disease, rapid and accurate diagnosis is essential to prevent the spread of infection. In the recent years, molecular genetic techniques with better sensitivity, specificity and less time consuming are available to detect Mycoplasma species. The present study was undertaken to detect the presence of Mycoplasma in various clinical samples by using 16s rRNA gene primers. Out of 20 samples tested, 2 samples showed PCR product at 280 bp level indicative of positive for Mycoplasma species. The results indicated that the PCR can be used for diagnosis of Mycoplasma infection at field level as it is sensitive and rapid compared to other conventional serological and isolation methods.


XML, as an most popular technology, is used to improve traditional data exchange and platform sharing for reusable and extensible problems. This paper introduces the good characteristics of XML as data exchange format, presents an XML-base data exchange prototype and then discussed.


Purpose – The federal government of Nigeria in December 2011 formally adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) as an
alternative housing delivery option for Nigeria. However, evidence from available literature indicates there is the lack of
empirical evidence on how the private and public sector can be better motivated to achieve improved results in PPP housing.
The research therefore, investigated the Motives and Motivation for partnership between public and private sector in housing
provision in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to identify and examine the motivating factors for the partnership of public and
private sector operators in housing provision in Nigeria and examine how these factors can be enhanced to achieve better
outcome for PPP housing in Nigeria. Methodology – A total of 24 housing PPP experts from both public and private sectors
operators directly involved in the selected 8 case studies were selected and interviewed. Findings: The study indicates that
derive to provide affordable housing, develop towns and cities, reduce acute housing shortage, eliminating of budget constraint,
profit making and faster project completion are the motives and motivating factors for the government in PPP housing in Nigeria
while the motivating factors for the private sector includes profit maximisation, large demand market, fast approvals. The study
also indicated that to enhance these factors, there is need for a reform of the PPP housing policy to encourage and support
private sector participation. Recommendation/Implication: The findings of the study implies that there is need to amend the
PPP laws and policy with a view to encouraging and supporting the participation of the private sector in housing provision.
 DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2p149


We investigate the effect of the population III (Pop III) stars supernova explosion (SN) on the high redshifts reionization history using the latest Planck data. It is predicted that massive Pop III stars (130M ≤ M ≤ 270M ) explode energetically at the end of their stellar life as pair-instability supernovae (PISNe). In the explosion, supernova remnants grow as hot ionized bubbles and enhance the ionization fraction in the early stage of the reionization history. This enhancement affects the optical depth of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and generates the additional anisotropy of the CMB polarization on large scales. Therefore, analyzing the Planck polarization data allows us to examine the Pop III star SNe and the abundance of their progenitors, massive Pop III stars. In order to model the SN contribution to reionization, we introduce a new parameter ζ, which relates to the abundance of the SNe to the collapse fraction of the Universe. Using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method with the latest Planck polarization data, we obtain the constraint on our model parameter, ζ. Our constraint tells us that observed CMB polarization is consistent with the abundance of PISNe predicted from the star formation rate and initial mass function of Pop III stars in recent cosmological simulations. We also suggest that combining further observations on the late reionization history such as high redshift quasi-stellar object (QSO) observations can provide tighter constraints and important information on the nature of Pop III stars.


Background :Immunohistochemical determination of proliferative activity is a useful supplement for establishing the histopathological diagnosis of glioma. Ki-67/MIB-1 immunostaining is most commonly used and has been shown to correlate positively with tumor grade and prognosis [6,7,8]. Despite its widespread use, the procedure still has many uncertain and limiting factors, including problematic overlap of indices between different glioma grades and inherent problems in the immunohistochemical analysis [5-11]. Thus, publishing data on Ki-67/MIB-1 immunostaining in human gliomas is still worthwhile in order to optimize this method, with the superior goal of achieving a standardized procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Ki67/MIB-1 proliferative indices (PIs) in a series of gliomas and critically evaluate the findings and procedure. Materials and Methods : In the present study, a total of 54 patients with gliomas were included. Ki-67 LI was done on all cases and was compared in correlation with World Health Organization histological grading of astrocytomas. Results:In our material we found that the Ki-67 LI correlated significantly with increasing tumor grade in all types of gliomas. The median Ki 67 LI was 1.5 (range 1-13%) in grade 1 gliomas, 3.5 (range 1-20%) in grade 2 gliomas, 23 (range 4-32%) in grade 3 gliomas and 26 (range 2-45%) in grade 4 gliomas. P values were significant in differentiating grade 2 from grade 3 and grade 4 gliomas. Conclusion:Ki 67 is a simple, reliable and essential component in the evaluation of proliferative potential of glial lesions. Ki-67 cannot be used as a sole prognostic factor but can be a useful adjunct to other prognostic indicators like age, tumour location, tumour resection and genetic alterations.


ABSTRACT Atherosclerosis is an impairment of the artery walls made up of two membrane layers, intima and media. Oxidative stress, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia are the three main factors that cause atherosclerosis. These conditions are frequently found together and may cause atherogenesis to rapidly occur. The edible genus Pleurotus is commonly known as oyster mushrooms. Pleurotus spp. has been proven to have valuable medicinal attributes. Hence, they have been listed among "mushroom nutriceuticals" and categorized as both functional foods and medicinal mushrooms. In this review, we report the benefits of Pleurotus spp. for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis via reduction of oxidative stress, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia in terms of the therapeutic compounds responsible. This review revealed that at least ten different types of Pleurotus spp. have been reported to have anti-atherogenic capabilities, with six of them possessing high levels of anti-atherogenic compounds such as ACE inhibitor peptide, ergothioneine, chrysin, and lovastatin. Hence, it has been demonstrated that Pleurotus spp. has great potential for use as food or extracts from fruiting bodies or mycelium in an alternative therapy for atherosclerosis, through prevention and treatment of oxidative stress, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.


Quantitative evaluation of cardiac function from magnetic resonance images generally requires the clinician to first trace the left ventricle contours. However, detection of myocardial walls continues to remain a challenge on magnetic resonance images acquired from patients having serious pathologies because of three key issues: 1) low contrast; 2) high noise level; and 3) blood pool region in the left ventricle is highly non-homogeneous. In this paper, a semi-automatic graph-based method is proposed to segment such pathological left ventricles. This paper has mainly three contributions, and they are: 1) weighting function in graph-based approaches for image segmentation is thoroughly analyzed; 2) a new weighting function is introduced for graph-based methods to outline the endocardium; and 3) epicardium is extracted by a proposed active contour model. We have tested the algorithm on real data sets obtained from two sources, Hospital for Sick Children (SICK-KID), Toronto, and MICCAI Left Ventricle Segmentation Challenge. Average Dice coefficients (in %), false positive ratio, false negative ratio, sensitivity, and specificity for SICK-KID database are found to be 94.7 ± 1.1, 0.023,  $8.13\times 10^{-3}, 0.93$ , and 0.76, respectively; for MICCAI database, they are  ${96.1\pm 1.1,} 0.022, 8.10\times 10^{-3}, 0.94$ , and 0.74, respectively. Average Hausdorff distances between segmented contour and ground truth in these two databases are determined to be 2.86 and 2.84 mm, respectively. Promising experimental results by the method tested on publicly available database demonstrate the potential of the approach.


We report on the final reuslts of split skin flapping and mesh grafting in 7 patients with large skin defecs of varying origin


Non-Convectional Machining (NCM) processes are used widely to produce accurate and intricate material shape such as titanium, stainless steels and resistant alloy that are of high strength, fiber-based composite, refractories and ceramics. The production of more complex shapes of materials using convectional machining processes is considered to be challenging. This research paper focusses on the section of the most effective NCM process. The 'choice' of the most considerable NCM process for a particular application could be seen as a multi-technique for making proper choices for diverse or conflicting approaches. To aid the process of choosing, various NCM techniques have been proposed in this research. This contribution focuses on the usage of unexplored NCM and Multi-Feature Decision-Making (MFDM) 'choice' issues.


(54) ONLINE PROTECTION OF INFORMATION (52) U.S. Cl. ............................................................ 726/4 AND RESOURCES (57) ABSTRACT (75) Inventors: Kesavardhanan Jayaraman, Chennai (IN); Ahmad A computer implemented method and system for protecting Abdulateef, Kanyakumari District information and resources in an online environment is pro (IN); Gregory Ravi Panakkal, vided. A process initialization monitor application monitors Cochin (IN); Babu process initialization of a client application provided on a Katchapalayam, Cupertino, CA user's communication device. The client application identi (US) fies and authenticates one or more components operating on the communication device and one or more third party appli (73) Assignee: K7 Computing Private Ltd. cations attempting to access the client application. The client application performs the authentication by performing a code (21) Appl. No.: 13/167,279 integrity check integrated in the client application indepen dent of the communication device, and grants access to the (22) Filed: Jun. 23, 2011 authenticated components and the authenticated third party applications. The client application protects information (30) Foreign Application Priority Data being processed, exchanged, stored, and displayed within the client application. The client application masks input infor


In Romania nearly 7,500,000 (34%) inhabitants are living in metropolitan areas. The socio-economic and political changes brought about by the post-communist period have reshaped the metropolitan landscape together with its functional and socio-spatial pattern triggering a wide range of transformations mainly related to urban sprawl process (suburbanization). As one of its major consequences, residential development had caused the deconcentration and the spatial redistribution of the population within metropolitan areas. The paper attempts to analyse the main suburbanization-related residential patterns in connection with their key driving forces (socio-political, demographic, economic, housing) and the associated environmental consequences in the Romanian metropolitan areas in terms of: urban (residential) sprawl, real-estate market dynamics, changes in spatial pattern of population, living floor dynamics, etc., with a special focus on the most significant metropolitan systems: Bucharest, Oradea, Iaşi and Constanţa. The present study will combine GIS computer mapping techniques with housing and demographic data and field surveys to identify the main urban-sprawl-related current residential patterns in the Romanian metropolitan areas and understand causes of change in order to predict how alternative policies will influence future spatial development.


This paper is concerned with the role that privately operated bus services might play in urban areas of Australia, vis a vis services provided by public operators. It shows that a given level of bus service can be provided substantially more cheaply by private than public operators, and that the majority of the cost savings arise from better utilisation of staff and lower wage rates and associated on costs. Expansion of the role of private services is therefore a possible means of reducing the levels of urban public transport subsidies. The principles which should underlie subsidy schemes for private operators are discussed. (A)


TPS104 Background: Multi-gene tumor assays have provided clinically useful prognostic information for patients with HR receptor and node-positive breast cancer. The 21-gene RS was shown to be prognostic for patients treated with tamoxifen alone, and exploratory studies suggested that it may be predictive of benefit from chemotherapy. In retrospective analyses from S8814, patients with low RS appeared to get no benefit from adjuvant CAF chemotherapy, while those with higher RS did. These retrospective data require validation, especially since more modern chemotherapy might be more effective than the regimen used in S8814. In January 2011 SWOG activated a trial to test the efficacy of using modern chemotherapy regimens in node positive patients with low RS, whose prognosis is still moderately poor but may not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy based on tumor biology predicted by the RS value. The trial is similar to the Tailor RX study, but focuses on a node-positive population with low and intermediate RS.

METHODS
Phase III randomized clinical trial of best endocrine therapy vs. best endocrine therapy and chemotherapy. Patients with 1 to 3 positive lymph nodes, HR-positive and HER2-negative invasive breast cancer with RS ≤ 25 are eligible for randomization. Approximately, 9,400 patients will be screened to randomize 4000, stratified by RS (0-13 vs. 14-25), menopausal status, and axillary surgery (sentinel node vs.full dissection). Patients will be informed of their RS. Trial is powered on finding a significant interaction of treatment assignment and the continuous RS value and subsequently deriving a cutpoint for using the assay to guide treatment decisions. Patients who consent to screening are required to consent to banking of the tumor tissue and blood for further studies. Patient Reported Outcomes will be collected pre, post screening and post-randomization. The study also has a cost-effectiveness analysis. Status: Open nationwide through participating NCI-funded cooperative groups. NCT01272037 .


. The design of earthquake resistant buildings is built with strong columns and weak beams. One of the reasons that building collapses is due to the selection of soft storey structures. The research objective was to determine the increase in stiffness, the maximum load capacity regarding to brick as a load and brick as a structure. The method used is numerical simulation with the finite element method. From the results of data analysis, it can be concluded that the maximum base shear force of brick X direction is 147.88 kN (as load), 148.59 kN (as a structure). The basic shear force of the brick with the maximum direction of Y direction is 156.10 kN (as a load), 158.32 kN (as a structure). From the results of data analysis, the maximum stiffness of bricks in X direction is 11.73 kN / mm (as a load), 11.28 kN / mm (as a structure). In terms of the maximum stiffness of the brick from the Y direction, it is = 8.68 kN / mm (as load), 9.01 kN / mm (as a structure). The basic shear force increases by 1.01 times (brick as a structure), 1.015 times (brick as a load). When compared to brick as a load, the maximum stiffness increases by 0.96 times (brick as a structure) and 1,044 times (brick as a load).


Three 3D carbon allotropes with ultrahigh thermal conductivity κL have been identified and their κL indeed shows correlation with the scaled Pugh ratio.


Self-developed structural optimization software has the low abilities of man-machine interface and structural analysis.A structural optimization software system is constructed through PCL(PATRAN Command Language) on the base of commercial FEM software MSC.PATRAN/NASTRAN.In the new system NASTRAN performs the structural analyses and design sensitivity analysis, and a self-developed coding two-level multi-point approximation method is used for the optimization calculation,Moreover,special functions and corresponding interface for structural optimization of spacecraft are developed,which greatly expanded the capabilities of primal PATRAN/NASTRAN system.The application results of typical examples and practical engineering problem show that the developed system is effective in calculation,convenient in usage,and suitable to be applied in the structural optimization of spacecraft.


This article makes a deep penetration in the entire structure of the new curriculum and the characteristics of each teaching module for history,looking far ahead at the effects in the application of the new curriculum reform.Based on the research,the article proposes the profound meditation about evolvement of history teaching methods theoretically and practically.


This research aimed to establish the relationship of learning styles with the repetition and retardation academic of students in Biomedical, Electronic, and Industrial Engineering programs. The CHAEA questionnaire was applied to a sample of 69 students enrolled in the period 2016-1, to identify the predominant learning styles. To establish the levels of academic repetition and retardation academic, the academic report data available at the institution were consulted. To obtain the results of the relationship between learning styles with retardation and academic repetition we used the Pearson correlation. The results showed that in terms of learning styles they followed this order: high preference for the theoretical style and moderate preference in both active, refl exive and pragmatic styles. In addition, a statistically signifi cant relationship was found between repetition and retardation academic.


Knowledge of sickle cell disease (SCD) among adult sickle cell disease patients had not been studied in south-south Nigeria. A good knowledge of SCD especially among those with the diseases is essential in the management of this condition particularly as regards compliance with routine drugs and clinic visit. A descriptive cross-sectional study of adult sickle cell disease patients attending the out-patients clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital from May 2010 to July 2010 was conducted. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to extract information on socio-demographic features, sickle cell disease knowledge, source of information on sickle cell disease and disease severity. A total of 192 patients comprising 75 (39.1%) males and 117 (60.9%) females were studied. One hundred and ninety had the SS while 2 had the SC genotype. The mean age of the respondents was 28.1±10.8 years, and the male to female ratio was 1: 1.6. The mean level of knowledge of the respondents was 6.8±2.7 out of 14 points. Level of knowledge increased with increasing age, increasing level of education, marriage, and early commencement of regular clinic visits. Level of knowledge was noted to be significantly poor among the uneducated patients (p=0.034) and among patients with severe disease (more than three vaso-occlusive crises requiring hospital admission or the presence of complications of SCD) (p=0.034). Level of knowledge is a very important factor in determining the severity of SCD. Improving the level of knowledge of SCD among sufferers will help ameliorate their disease.


Electrochemical micromachining is an electrochemical dissolution micro process that can remove electrically conductive materials with the transferring of ions, so that high precision is achievable. This study develops a wire electrochemical micromachining process. Based on electrochemical principle, the mechanism of wire electrochemical micromachining with nanosecond pulses was investigated. The computerized numerical control system of wire electrochemical micromachining is developed. Experiments have been carried out to investigate the influence of the diameter of wire electrode and pulse parameters of power supply on machining accuracy. Various microgrooves in width of 20µm were experimental obtained.


Purpose To evaluate the impacts of a community based intervention of informed choice on contraceptive practice and incidence of induced abortion among women at reproductive age in rural area. Methods A community-based intervention study was conducted in 3 rural counties of three provinces.In each county,several villages were randomly assigned to either intervention group or control group.In the intervention group,informed choice on contraceptives with routine family planning care was implemented,while routine family planning care was conducted in the control group.By conducting questionnaire survey among women of reproductive age,the study evaluated the impacts of informed choice on people's contraceptive behavior and incidence of induced abortion. Results Intervention increased self-choice of contraceptives among subjects.Among those who had changed or initiated a new contraceptive,the proportion of self-choice was higher in the intervention group than that in the control group,and the OR value was 2.46(95% CI: 1.50-4.04).However, the results showed that intervention activities had no impacts on contraceptive rate,switch rate,initiative rate and discontinuation rate of contraception.As to induced abortion rate,no significant difference was found between two groups during the implementation of the project. Conclusions The community-based intervention of informed choice had effectively improved women's abilities on self-choice of contraceptive in rural area,while had no evident influence on contraceptive and induced abortion rate.


Haemostatis has not previously been studied in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF‐1), despite case reports of an association with von Willebrand disease and reported excessive bleeding in those undergoing surgery for neurofibromas. Platelets from NF‐1 patients (n= 28) were tested for aggregation and ATP release with agonists including ADP, arachidonic acid, thrombin and collagen. Mepacrine staining of platelets and three different assays for von Willebrand factor (VWF) were also performed.


Prognostic factors predictive of postmetastasis survival (PMS) in metastatic osteosarcoma are poorly understood. Our aims were to evaluate PMS in patients with high‐grade osteosarcoma in extremities, and to identify prognostic factors related to PMS.


Abstract We examine the preferences of respondents for six types of payment instruments, namely cash, debit and credit cards, card and server-based electronic money, and internet or mobile banking. By applying a nested logit model to 500 household data covering six provincial capitals in Indonesia, we find that the decision to choose payment instruments is made sequentially. Socio-economic characteristics, including education, age, income, and transaction objectives or functionality have a significant effect on the probability of using non-cash electronic payment instruments. We find a substitution pattern between payment instruments, not only between cash and non-cash instruments but also between non-cash instruments. In light of these findings, appropriate payment system policies are in order to hasten the use of non-cash payment.


In this paper, the problem of above bound of regular bounded nonvanishing functions f(z)=a_0+a_1z+…+a_n+…Λ in the unit disk |z|1 is put to diseussion. That is, we find sup |a_0+a_1+a_2+a_3| for the sum of first four coefficients in expansion of f(x). The properties of the bounded nonvanishing functions, the principle of the extremum and triangle inequality are put to use. And a new expression of above bound is obtained. The result helps generalize the problem of Krzyz's conjecture.


Measurements of lightning electric fields, E, and dE/dt signatures were made near Tampa Bay, Florida, under conditions where the field propagation from the source to the detector was entirely over sea water. The fast transitions found on the initial portion of return stroke E waveforms have 10 to 90 percent risetimes ranging from 40 to 200 nsec, with a mean of 90 nsec. The maximum dE/dt values during these transitions range from 5 to 80 (V/m)microsec, with a mean of about 30 (V/m)microsec when normalized to a distance of 100 km. The initial risetimes of stepped-leader impulses that occur just prior to the first return stroke in cloud-to-ground flashes are very similar to the fast transitions in return strokes. The dE/dt values during leader steps range from 10 to 40 (V/m)/microsec with a mean of 20 (V/m)/microsec when normalized to 100 km. The fast impulses superimposed on large-amplitude intracloud waveforms have E risetimes and dE/dt values similar to those of the leader steps.


"I SIMPLY CAME BACK TO WORK" Pablo Neruda, All the Odes, edited by lian Stavans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013)Sometimes, excess must be welcomed and embraced. Here is a book of 225 poems in Spanish and English, with eighteen different translators. Despite the fact that Neruda's odes are slender, typically one to four words per line, so that the two languages can run side by side on the page, the result is a book of 863 pages, a regular door-stop of an object, a monster among poetry books, but one that just happens to be brimming with life and energy and discovery.There are any number of ways to cope with a book of such size and generosity. One could read an ode a day for most of a year, then start over. Or one could binge and read twenty, thirty, forty odes at a time. If one is a poet, one could read an ode, write a response, read another, etc. They make you feel like a poet and their democratic spirit is inclusionary; Neruda welcomes you to his territory and methodology. The more odes the better, seems to be his motto.This was a poet who straddled romanticism and modernism, merging them and living happily with both. The romantics loved the ode because it implied celebration and lyrical musicality, in a high style, as it had in its Greek and Roman origins. But modernism could choose to turn the music into something like jazz-casual, improvisatory, and populist. And Neruda epitomized that side of the modernist spirit, not so much the erudite opacity of Eliot and Pound, but more the tradition of breaking with formality and elitism, the modernism of Whitman and Williams and, yes, Stevens. He was playful, he broke rules, and he wrote for popular consumption.Indeed, these odes owe their existence in great part to a deal that Neruda made with a Venezualan newspaper: he would supply one ode a week if they would be printed in the news section rather than on the arts pages. This commitment cranked up an already substantial output and allowed him to explore the fullest possibilities of subject. It was not so much the question of what an ode could celebrate, more a sense of there being nothing it could not.That was the first thing I learned about Neruda's odes: that they praised mundane things like socks and shoelaces, as if to demonstrate that poetry was anywhere and everywhere. But the truth about them is even more spectacular than the deliberate celebration of the ordinary, of spoons and eggs and bicycles; it's that their range is so spectacular and unpredictable. I open All the Odes at random and come to #96, "Oda para planchar"/"Ode to Ironing":Poetry is white:it comes from water swathed in drops,it wrinkles and gathers,this planet's skin has to spread out,the sea's whiteness has to be ironed out,and the hands keep moving,the sacred surfaces get smoothed,and things are done this way:the hands make the world every day,fire conjoins with steel,linen, canvas and cotton arrivefrom the scuffles in the laundries,and from light a dove is bom:chastity returns out of the foam.(tr. Stavans)As it happens, this is one of the shortest odes. Its association of the mundane task of ironing with other human labor and with large natural processes is a typical Nerudan strategy. That it accomplishes it so briskly is unusual, as are the longer lines. More characteristic of length and movement is #98, "Oda a Jean Arthur Rimbaud,"/"Ode to Jean Arthur Rimbaud," which opens this way:Now,this Octoberyou will turna hundred,harrowing friend.May I speak to you?I'm alone,through my windowthe Pacific breaksits eternal threatening thunder.It is night.The burning firewood castsa fugitive rayon the ovalof your old portrait. . .There's something almost Cubist about the fragmenting effect of breaking sentences down into component particles of one or two or three words. …


The case of a 2.9-year-old girl with autoimmune neutropenia and silent coeliac disease is presented. The relationship between coeliac disease and other autoimmune disorders is discussed.


High resolution susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) was shown to be superior to conventional gradient echo (GRE) in detecting hemorrhages caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). More lesions were present and were more visible on SWI compared to conventional GRE. Patients with lower Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) at initial evaluation were found to have a greater number of lesions and larger areas of signal loss in regions of hemorrhage. The number of hemorrhagic lesions detected shortly after injury also correlated with severity of subsequent outcome. SWI can improve diagnosis of hemorrhagic brain injuries and potentially predict outcome after TBI.


Background Gestational weight gain (GWG) reflects maternal nutrition during pregnancy. However, the associations between maternal GWG and adverse birth outcomes are inconclusive. Objective We aimed to examine the associations between maternal GWG and adverse birth outcomes according to maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories in a large, multiethnic and diverse population in the U.S. Study Design We used nationwide birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System to examine the association of GWG (below, within and above the Institute of Medicine [IOM] guidelines) with six adverse birth outcomes (preterm birth, low birthweight, macrosomia, small for gestational age [SGA], large for gestational age [LGA], and low Apgar score) according to the pre-pregnancy BMI categories (underweight to obesity grade 3). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 9,191,842 women aged 18–49 years at delivery with live singleton births were included. Among them, 24.5% of women had GWG below IOM guidelines, 27.6% within the guidelines, and 47.9% above the guidelines. Compared with maternal GWG within guidelines, GWG below guidelines was associated with higher odds of preterm birth (OR = 1.52, 95%CI = 1.51–1.53), low birthweight (OR = 1.46, 95%CI = 1.45–1.47) and SGA (OR = 1.44, 95%CI = 1.43–1.45). In contrast, maternal GWG above guidelines was associated with higher odds of macrosomia (OR = 2.12, 95%CI = 2.11–2.14) and LGA (OR = 2.12, 95%CI = 2.11–2.14). In addition, maternal GWG below or above guidelines had slightly higher odds of low Apgar score (below guidelines: OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 1.03–1.06, above guidelines: OR = 1.17, 95%CI = 1.15–1.18). The results were largely similar among women with GWG below or above guidelines across pre-pregnancy BMI categories of underweight, overweight, and obesity grade 1 to grade 3. Conclusion Pregnant women with GWG below or above the IOM guidelines have increased odds of selected adverse infant birth outcomes. Monitoring maternal GWG could enable physicians to provide tailored nutrition and exercise advice as well as prenatal care to pregnant women to reduce the likelihood of adverse birth outcomes.


This paper presents the investigations on the minimization of the DC link capacitance in AC-DC-AC converters for induction motor (IM) drives. The major focus is the impact of the linearized model deviations from the real system on the minimization of the DC link capacitor. Different input-output power control schemes were applied to the AC-DC-AC converter. The impact of estimation errors, parameter mismatches and distorted grid voltages on the DC link voltage and the system stability were investigated. Simulation results are verified by experimental results obtained from a 15 kVA induction motor drive with a DC link capacitance of only 80 muF


This paper gave a brief review of the history in quality protein maize breeding,and also described quality protein maize development and perspectives for feed utilization in Sichuan province.Problems encountered with breeding quality protein maize and some proposed solutions,on the basis of several studies and breeding practices,were discussed.In 1963,Mertz at Purdue University discovered the opaque-2 maize's superior qualities,grain levels of lysine and tryptophan amino acids significantly higher than normal maize,but the opaque-2 gene also conferred low yield and susceptibility to many pests and diseases.Over the next 20 years,scientists at CIMMYT overcame the opaque-2's drawbacks through the use of modifier genes,and developed high yielding quality protein maize variety.Nutritional studies with the pigs and poultry have all shown a significantly advantage from use of QPM in animal feeds.Sichuan is the pig feeding base with annual production of 62.74 million heads.Due to the rapid development of pig farming,the demand for maize increased continually,and about 2.1 million tons of maize grain had to be bought from North China each year.This huge amount occupies 30 % of annual total production in Sichuan.We take two-way street to develop maize production.One is increasing the yield by utilizing high-yielding hybrid.It is impossible for us to overcome the 30 % of demand gap in short time.The other is improving protein quality of maize grain by developing and planting QPM hybrid.QPM utilization in the form of animal feed will certainly economize maize consumption,and also alleviate the deficiency of feed resources in Sichuan.In 1985,the first opaque-2 hybrid,Zhong Dan 206,was successfully introduced and grown in Sichuan;Since then,opaque-2 maize extension was significantly accelerated in Sichuan.During the late 1980s and mid 2000s,five opaque-2 maize hybrids,Zhong Dan 206,Lou Da 107,Lou Da 108,Lu Dan 203,Cheng Dan 201 and Cheng Dan 202 were used for maize production,covered 33 thousand hectares in the most widely grown year.Since 1984,the QPM breeding program started in Sichuan,a lot of opaque-2 lines from Crop Institute of CAAS were collected.The development of opaque-2 line was initiated by the backcross conversion of elite normal lines to opaque-2 type.Shortly afterwards,our breeders turned their efforts to QPM with modified endosperm.Cheng Dan 202 with semi-hard endosperm,developed by Crop Institute of SAAS,reached 0.39 % lysine content,and also yielded 11.5 % more than local normal hybrid check in provincial trials.Cheng Dan 202 accomplishing high yield and high quality mostly depends on the use of QPM germplasm from CIMMYT.In recent years,the development and distribution of new hybrids is going on better and faster.QPM hybrids have to be in the face of drastic competition,the planting area of QPM was gradually decreasing from 34 thousand hectare to 20 thousand hectare.QPM hybrids without making a yield breakthrough cannot be extensively used for maize production.Breeders must foresee and run ahead of the maize production development.We have recognized that it is of greatest importance to create superior breeding material.,Qi 205 inbred line was derived from QPM population 70×(Wei Ai 141×Zhong Si 017),and is a good example on utilization of modified gene and subtropical germplasm.Qi 205 was used not only in QPM hybrids (Lu Dan 203,Cheng Dan 202) and also in conventional maize hybrids.In future,we will devote major efforts on the exploitation of QPM germplasm from CIMMYT,and modification of the present heterosis pattern to gradually increase the yield potential of QMP hybrid.QPM breeding is confronted with more difficulties than that of normal maize.QPM progress has fallen further behind the normal maize's.Fortunately,Dr.Zheng Shi-huang,director of China's QPM program,has done a good job in seeking the international cooperation and financial support,and also put large portion of the funds into Southwestern provinces.In order to promoting the development of QPM,we should take some measures:(i) to get governors really know its nutritional and economic value,and comprehend its strategic significance for sustaining development of agriculture.(ii) to strengthen the cooperation between research institute and Seed Company to speed up the distribution of QPM,and get a high yield and economic benefits.In order to realize high-yield,high-quality and high-efficiency agriculture,we should strive to overcome difficulties and push the development of QPM production.


Grafting of methylacrylate onto the sufrace of PE powder was performed in the medium of water toluene. The effect of monomer(MMA) and initiator(BPO) concentrations, reaction time on graft degree and graft efficiency were investigated by using the orthogonal design method. The grafted PE was laminated with polar materials, such as aluminium foil and nylon, and shows much stronger adhesion than that of unmodified PE. The grafted PE also enhanes the interfacial surface affinity between PE and glass fiber in PE/GF composite. The tensile strength of grafted PE/GF conposite shows much higher than that of unmodified composite, while the notch impact strength of the modified composite is lower than that of unmodified composite. The paper gives a reasonable explaination.


Broadband stripline circulators are studied by means of a mixed numerical technique which employs both Boundary Integral and Segmentation methods; this technique allows to analyze planar circuits where the substrate is constituted by several regions with arbitrary shape and different electrical properties. The method of study here presented allows to determine the overall impedance matrix of a 3-port circulator constituted by a non-reciprocal disk with sections of striplines going outside each port; in this way the discontinuities between reciprocal and non-reciprocal medium are included in characterization of the overall device.


W ell, that is a WTA (Western Trauma Association) moment! Classic Western Trauma! That would make the perfect WTA abstract! These phrases are a unique part of our lexicon and mythology. I do not think I have ever heard of an AAST (American Association for the Surgery of Trauma) moment and definitely not an SUS or American Surgical moment. There is no doubt that this is a special and unique organization such that being your president is the pinnacle of my professional career. When I thought about the most memorable addresses I have heard in this forum during the past 2 decades, they have been personal and have come from the heart. They also most commonly could not have been given as presidential addresses to any other ''professional'' organization. Thus, they were the true embodiment of a ''WTA moment.'' I surely have no idea where medicine is going or how to best teach the next generation. My own research, which you have heard mentioned, is fairly eclectic, and while I consider it interesting, it likely holds minimal interest for many. Sort of like porcupines making love, fascinating as a concept, but not something you really want to see. No, what I kept coming back to is what the WTA represents, why this is the perfect meeting, and why we actually need the WTA in our lives, maybe even more now than when it was founded. More importantly, it is what the WTA might be able to teach you about balance in your professional life; how some of these concepts might sustain you for the 51 weeks we are not together; and just how did a bunch of orthopods on a ski boondoggle get it so right or, if they did not, how the wisdom of those who followed did. To accomplish this, I am going to go through a bit about our society and especially the structure of our annual meetingVhow


An enzyme based biosensor was developed for the detection of glucose in blood plasma. The electrode was fabricated by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) along with graphene oxide (GO) on Prussian blue (PB) modified platinum (Pt) electrode using nafion as a binder. The GO modification on Pt/PB electrode increases the voltammetric response current towards the reduction of H2O2 compared to Pt/PB electrode. The modified electrode showed a linear amperometric response at an applied potential of −0.1 V towards the detection of glucose from 2 μM to 20 μM with a detection limit of 1.35 μM and its sensitivity was found to be 175 × 10−2 A M−1 cm−2. As the low applied potential avoids the interferences due to urea, uric acid and ascorbic acid, the amperometric response of the modified electrode was found to be negligible both in the presence and absence of glucose. The response time for 95% of the response current was found to be 5 s. The developed electrode shows excellent stability over a period of two weeks with only a 13.6% decrease from the initial amperometric response and an appreciable repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.43% (n = 6).