Purpose : To investigate whether growth hormone (GH) has a protective effect on neurons in hippocampal slice cultures of neonatal rats exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Methods : Cultured hippocampal slices of 7-day-old rats were exposed to OGD for 60 min. Then, the slices were immediately treated with three doses of GH (5, 50, or 500 µM) in media. The relative fluorescent densities of propidium iodide (PI) uptake in the slices and relative lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in the media were determined and compared between each GH- treated group of slices and untreated slices (control) at 12 and 24 h after OGD. Immunofluorescent staining for caspase-3 and TUNEL staining were performed to observe the effect of GH on apoptotic neuronal death. Results : The relative fluorescent densities of PI uptake in CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampal slices in each GH-treated group were not significantly different from those in the untreated slices at 12 and 24 h after OGD (P>0.05). Treatment with GH could reduce the relative LDH activities in the media of the GH-treated groups only at 12 h after OGD (P<0.05). Expression of caspase-3 and TUNEL positivity in CA1 and DG of the slices treated with 50-iM GH were not different from those of the untreated slices at 12 and 24 h after OGD. Conclusion : Treatment of hippocampal slice cultures with GH after OGD does not show a definitive protective effect on neuronal death but can reduce the LDH efflux of the slices in media at 12 h after OGD.


YF45MnV steel,used as vehicle axles,requires extremely low total oxygen and proper sulfur in steel,which makes it difficult to control sizes and morphology of sulfides by conventional ways.A process of isothermal heat treatment for controlling inclusions in continuous casting slabs of YF45MnV steel was investigated.The thermo-calc software was used to calculate the temperature for precipitation of sulfides,and based on which effect of heat treatment on sizes of sulfides was studied.A Gleeble-1500 machine was used in compression experiment to examine austenite coarsening of the steel.The results show that small-sized sulfides with spindle and nearly spherical shapes in continuous slabs are obtained in the steel with proper heat treatment process.Grain refinement of coarsening austenite caused by isothermal heat treatment can be achieved by following deformation processing.


This paper evaluates the performance of a high frequency (HF) wireless network for transporting packet multimedia services. Beyond of allowing civil/amateur communications, HF bands are also used for long distance wireless military communications. Therefore, our work is based on NATO Link and Physical layer standards, STANAG 5066 and STANAG 4539 respectively. At each HF channel, a typical transmission bandwidth is about 3 kHz with the resulting throughput bit rate up to 12800 bps. This very low bit rate by itself imposes serious challenges for reliable and low delay real time multimedia communications. Thus, this paper discusses the performance of a real time communication system designed to allow an end-to-end communication through "best effort" networks. With HF channel diversity, the packet loss percentage, on average considering three channel conditions, is decreased by 16% in the channel SNR range from 0 to 45 dB.


Twitter is a social network that represents a power ful information channel with the potential to be a useful vector for disinformation. This pape r examines the structure of the Twitter social network and how this structure has facilitat ed the passing of disinformation both accidental and deliberate. Examples of the use of T witter as an information channel are examined from recent events. The possible effects o f Twitter disinformation on the information sphere are explored as well as the defe nsive responses users are developing to protect against tainted information.


This work presents the experimental investigation of heat fluxes through the walls of a reduced-scale rocket motor using hydrogen and oxygen as propellants. The engine is water cooled so that it ca...


This Black Walnut shutter features a stained white teak shutter in deep brown shade and is easy to wipe clean! Also, don't forget that measuring and fitting is


It is widely accepted that Bragg reflection from linearly chirped Bragg gratings (LCBGs) can compensate for a chromatic dispersion by reflecting different wavelengths at different location along the axis of the gratings for ultra-short pulses. In this paper, we studied the possibility of making use of such a dispersion-compensating property to construct a white light cavity (WLC). A pair of LCBGs is suggested as the reflectors of the cavity. The analytical and numerical analysis shows that the reflection by a LCBG does not solely occur at the position where Bragg condition is reached. The accumulated effect of multiple scatterings at different locations inside the LCBG produces a positive group delay, preventing the WLC to be realized with simple LCBG.


As the data storage density in cutting edge microelectronic devices continues to increase, the superparamagnetic effect poses a problem for magnetic data storage media. One strategy for overcoming this obstacle is the use of thermomechanical data storage technology. In this approach, data is written by a nanoscale mechanical probe as an indentation on a surface, read by a transducer built into the probe, and then erased by the application of heat. An example of such a device is the IBM millipede, which uses a polymer thin film as the data storage medium. It is also possible, however, to use other kinds of media for thermomechanical data storage, and in the following work, we explore the possibility of using thin film Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA). Previous work has shown that nanometer-scale indentations made in martensite phase Ni-Ti SMA thin films recover substantially upon heating. Issues such as repeated thermomechanical cycling of indentations, indent proximity, and film thickness impact the practicability of this technique. While there are still problems to be solved, the experimental evidence and theoretical predictions show SMA thin films are an appropriate medium for thermomechanical data storage.


1. The Dry Eye Assessment and Management Study Research Group. n−3 Fatty acid supplementation for the treatment of dry eye disease. N Engl J Med 2018; 378: 1681-90. 2. Rodriguez-Pacheco F, Gutierrez-Repiso C, Garcia-Serrano S, et al. The pro-/anti-inflammatory effects of different fatty acids on visceral adipocytes are partially mediated by GPR120. Eur J Nutr 2017; 56: 1743-52. 3. Montserrat-de la Paz S, Naranjo MC, Bermudez B, et al. Postprandial dietary fatty acids exert divergent inflammatory responses in retinal-pigmented epithelium cells. Food Funct 2016; 7: 1345-53. 4. George ES, Marshall S, Mayr HL, et al. The effect of highpolyphenol extra virgin olive oil on cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2018 April 30 (Epub ahead of print). 5. Hodge AM, Bassett JK, Dugué PA, et al. Dietary inflammatory index or Mediterranean diet score as risk factors for total and cardiovascular mortality. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2018; 28: 461-9.


This paper mainly studies the energy management optimization strategy of regional integrated energy including hydrogen storage under the condition of renewable energy access. In this paper, an energy management optimization strategy of integrated energy system for scenic hydrogen storage area is proposed. The strategy aims at minimizing the comprehensive electricity cost in the region within a certain period of time, and considers diversified distributed power sources and load types such as wind power generation, photovoltaic power generation, hydrogen power generation, hydrogen energy storage, battery energy storage, electric boiler and interruptible load. As a example the paper takes a regional renewable energy system to analyze, and the results show that the strategy can fully exploit the consumption space of renewable energy generation, maximize the local consumption of renewable energy generation, and minimize the power generation cost of integrated energy system, which has certain practical application significance.


Introduction This protocol designed a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and prognostic outcomes of modified tissue selecting technique (M-TST) combined with complete anal canal epithelial preservation (CACP) among patients with circumferential mixed haemorrhoids. Methods and analysis This study will be single-blinded, and recruit 348 patients who are admitted to the Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and fulfil the inclusion criteria from January 2022 to December 2022. Patients will be randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The statistician will be blinded for the allocation. The treatment group will receive M-TST combined with CACP (M-TST–CACP), while the control group will receive the procedure for prolapse and haemorrhoids. The two groups will receive the same preoperative and postoperative care. The primary outcome will be recurrence rate. The secondary outcomes will be operation time, intraoperative bleeding, incontinence, pain, postoperative complications (severe bleeding, perianal oedema, urinary retention, faecal urgency, skin tags and anal stenosis), prolapse, recovery time, quality of life, Haemorrhoid Severity Score, and Symptom Severity Score. Ethics and dissemination This protocol has been approved by the Clinical Ethics Committee of the Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (approval no. 202102001). Trial registration number ChiCTR2100042750.


The traditional activated sludge process was transformed into A2O process with fluidized carriers. This technology was applied in reconstruction project of sewage plant. There was no need of altering civil construction. The effluent COD removal reached 95%. NH4+-N removal reached 92.2%. TN of effluent was less than 15 mg/L and TP was less than 1 mg/L. The process run stable and the effluent quality after secondary treatment could reach design standard.


Action of morphine on the blood sugar level had previously been described in the voluminous literatures and the mechanism of hyperglycemic action had widely been known to be a central stimulation in the posterial hypothalamus, to increase adrenal epinephrine secretion (l-4). E. Larson (5) reported that methadone, dromoran and meperidine produced hyperglycemia in rabbits and rats. He, however, had mentioned in the same report that not a few rats, which were administered with 25-50 mg/kg of morphine in his experiment, died under hypoglycemia. The action mode of hypoglycemia produced by morphine had never been investigated, since the studies on this action was found very difficult on account of overlapping with hyperglycemic response in animals produced by morphine itself. It is consequent that the morphine-derivatives showing purely hypoglycemic effect without any hyperglycemic responses is expected to be synthetized as an experimental materials. 4-Dimethylamino-n-methyl-2, 2-diphenyl valeramide hydrochloride (U-6420), which's chemical structure was related with that of methadone, was reported as a hypoglycemic agent by Dulin et al. (6) and was recently found to have an additive effect on morphine-hypoglycemia (7). It seemed expectable that if the compound mentioned above would have the similar action-mechanism to the morphine's one, some active compounds might be discovered in the group of derivatives from methadone, since these reports told us that the toxic dose (respiration arrest) of U-6420 was near to its effective level. Present communication described the results of screening test for 3 and/or 4 substitutes of N-methyl piperidines and the actions of the derivatives of 3-aza bicyclo 3, 3, 1 nonane screened by our experiments.


This paper analyses the problems of using pumps in part-load range. The actual performance characteristics can deviate from the manufacturer's values. The precise characteristics have to be seen in the context of the plant itself


On April 4, 1949, twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty: the United States, Canada, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Italy, Norway, and Denmark. For the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty signaled a major shift in foreign policy. Gone was the traditional aversion to "entangling alliances," dating back to George Washington's farewell address. The United States had entered into a collective security arrangement designed to preserve peace in Europe.
 With the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States took on a clear leadership role on the European continent. Allied defense depended on US military power, most notably the nuclear umbrella. Reliance on the United States unsurprisingly created problems. Doubts about the strength of the transatlantic partnership and rumors of a NATO in shambles were (and are) commonplace, as were anxieties about the West's strength in comparison to NATO's Eastern counterpart, the Warsaw Pact. NATO, it turned out, was more than a Cold War institution. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Alliance remained vital to US foreign policy objectives. The only invocation of Article V, the North Atlantic Treaty's collective defense clause, came in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Over the last seven decades, NATO has symbolized both US power and its challenges.


Global era is coming and global trading automatically happens. There are a lot of players in the global market which come from many countries. Indonesia is still having economic crisis since few years ago and has not been recovered. In this condition, Indonesia is opening itself to the global and free trade era. The problem is whether Indonesian traders ready to face, take part in the competition and able to survive or not. The writer uses secondary data to predict the future of Indonesian traders. Trading is still have prospect in Indonesia. There are a lot of opportunities that the country has. Besides opportunities from external factors, the opportunities can be created from the trading companies themselves. The writer used PT. Kurnia as the model to get picture to predict the future condition. The writer evaluated the company based on the development of trading activity and income, the preparations that the company has to fight in the free era.


This study investigated how acoustic cues signal the different syntactic structures of ambiguous sentences in language production. Acoustic cues such as intensity, f0, pause and duration vary according to different syntactic boundaries. Intensity of post-boundary syllable, f0 reset range of syllables around the corresponding target boundary, pause, and final lengthening of preboundary syllable were compared. Results showed that the boundaries across higher branching syntactic structures are marked by larger cross boundary f0 reset range, the existence of pause, and longer pre-boundary final lengthening. Acoustic cues can facilitate top down information during nature language parsing to identify intended meanings.


Computer tomography can be used to reconstruct objects such as refractive index distributions in transparent media, if refraction is small enough that the probing optical rays are straight lines. Here we consider a ray-optical formulation of the corresponding problem, when refractive ray bending is significant. In the special case of axisymmetric objects the problem has an analytical solution, which is used in geophysical and atmospheric remote sensing. An iterative computational algorithm has been derived to effect reconstructions of strongly refracting objects and has been shown to work well in the case of relatively smooth distributions of refractive index.


Short term flicker severity, an important index of power quality in the standards of IEC, was theoretically studied. By analyzing the calculation process of this index, a new numerical method was presented to calculate instantaneous perceptibility and short term flicker severity , which may simplify the calculation process. This method has been successfully applied to practical design and got a satisfied result.


This paper describes one research line carried out by the Public University of Navarra in collaboration with the Spanish Red Cross with an interdisciplinary team of volunteers, students, technicians and lecturers whose main aim is to create low cost information systems, adaptive to irregular infrastructures and dispersed locations for emergency response purposes. The features of such systems require a consolidation of the information at several levels and some times among different organizations. They require as well other features like platform independence, low bandwidth information flow and feedback from the end users in order to optimize the process to acquire and display information. The final aim is to improve the data capture and the needed interpretation of such data in order to help within one Emergency response situation. One specific application has been implemented for the management of the incidences of the bull-running and has been used and tested during the "Fiestas of San Fermin" in Pamplona from the 7th to the 14th of


1. Introduction: romantic belongings 2. Domesticating the sublime: Ann Radcliffe and Gothic dissent 3. Forgotten sentiments: Helen Maria Williams's Letters from France 4. Exiles and emigres: the wanderings of Charlotte Smith 5. Mary Wollstonecraft and the national body 6. Patrician, populist and patriot: Hannah More's counter-revolutionary nationalism Afterword.


Objective:To evaluate the value of 16-slice spiral CT(SCT) with 3-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and multiplanar reformation(MPR)in the diagnosis of diseases of foot and wrist.Methods:Thirty-two patients with suspected diseases of foot and wrist underwent 16-slice SCT.Images obtained with postprocessing techniques including 3D reconstruction and MPR performed on a workstation for each case were reviewed.Results:SCT revealed 5 normal feet and 3 normal wrists,2 cases of hallux valgus,2 cases of chronic osteomyelitis with osteoporosis complicating comminuted fracture of calcaneus,5 cases of fractures of talus,1 case of carpal scaphoid and lunate fracture complicating lunate avascular necrosis,6 cases of tuberculosis of calcaneus,3 cases of chronic osteomyelitis complicated with osteoporosis of carpal bones,5 cases of comminuted fracture of calcancus.16-slice SCT with 3D reconstruction demonstrated stereoscopic morphology of normal and lesions clearly while MPR correctly demonstrated details and density,shape and size of lesions.Conclusion:Sixteen-slice SCT with 3D and MPR techniques can provide valuable spatial information of diseases in bones and joints of wrist and foot which correlated well with that of pathological anatomy.


Cl Introduction 1 Acknowledgments 2 Sample collection and analysis 2 Selection and preparation of wells 2 Field parameters 2 Major and minor elements 3 Dissolved gases 3 Stable and radioactive isotopes 4 Mineralogic analysis 5 Judith Basin study area 5 Physiography 5 Topography 5 Drainage 6 Climate 6 Geology 6 Structure 6 Stratigraphy 8 Mineralogy of the Kootenai Formation 8 Hydrology 10 Data presentation and interpretation 12 Major and minor elements 12 Dissolved gases 23 Isotopic composition 24 Geochemical computer modeling 27 Saturation indices 27 Reaction simulation 31 Carbon isotopic evolution 35 Powder River Basin study area 37 37 37 37 38 39 39 40 40 Physiography Topography ____ _ ___ Drainage Climate Geology Structure Stratigraphy Mineralogy of the Lance-Fox Hills aquifer Powder River Basin study area Continued Hydrology Data presentation and interpretation Major and minor elements Dissolved gases Isotopic composition Geochemical computer modeling Saturation indices Reaction simulation Carbon isotopic evolution Conclusions References cited Supplemental data Geochemical principles Solution-mineral equilibria Law of mass action Equilibrium constants Activities and activity coefficients Complex equilibria Saturation indices Phase diagrams Aqueous solubility of gases Oxidation-reduction Mineral dissolution and weathering Ion exchange Environmental isotopes Stable isotopes Oxygen and hydrogen Carbon Sulfur Radioactive isotopes Tritium Carbon-14 Geochemical computer models WATEQ2 PHREEQE Isotopic evolution equations Page C42 43 43 54 58 59 59 62 65 66 69 73 74 74 74 74 74 75 75 76 76 77 78 79 80 80 80 80 81 82 82 82 83 83 83 84


Ailbhe Goodbody investigates the current role of the EPCM contract in the mining industry, and how the model has changed with the times


Tresoar is Fryslân's historical and literary centre. It is a library, an archive, and a literary museum but, while it stimulates research, it is not a research institute.


This is the first in an occasional series of articles, to be drawn from a wide circle of prominent industrialists, academics, consultants and others, in which the authors are invited to discuss some of the broader issues currently of importance to the world of the measurement and control engineer.


Glucuronidation catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase(UGT) is often recognized as the main pathway of conjugative metabolism for a variety of endogenous substances and exogenous compounds.For the development of new drugs,the investigation of drug metabolism mediated by UGT and the evaluation of potential drug-drug interaction are essential.Drug-drug interactions have been extensively studied and attracted much attention from researchers worldwide.However,the area of drug-drug interaction mediated by UGTs has received less attention than CYPs.Therefore,it is important to enhance our understanding of the role UGTs play in metabolic drug interactions in light of the fact that many drugs and their metabolites undergo UGT-mediated conjugation reactions.This review summarizes latest studies of the drug-drug interaction mediated by UGT inhibition.


Antibiotic nose drops given to Israeli children and adults born with cystic fibrosis have reversed the effects of a defective gene that causes the disease in 60%of Ashkenazi (European) Jews who have cystic fibrosis and 5% of all cases worldwide.

The results of a two week pilot study, conducted on nine patients aged 12 to 42 by two researchers at …


Abstract: There is a time-dependent springback phenomenon seen during the process of the bending-straightening of slender shafts, which has a great influence on the evaluation of straightness after straightening, creating a risk of misjudgment [...]


Experiments were conducted to measure the space charge profiles in XLPE containing anti-oxidants to examine the origin of heterocharge creation. Negative heterocharge in the vicinity of positive electrode in XLPE containing PDP (Peroxide Decomposition Products) was discoverd to be greatly influenced by the kind of anti-oxidant in XLPE. It is concluded that the synergistic effect between PDP and some kinds of phenolic anti-oxidant is the cause of negative heterocharge creation in XLPE dielectrics. The effect of moisture on the heterocharge creation was also examined.


The combination of photovoltaic (PV) systems and heat pumps for heating and cooling of buildings is a promising solution to increase the share of renewable energy in the residential sector. The interaction between the system components is fundamental to assure a high performance of the system. The level of PV energy self-consumption is strictly dependent on the control strategy applied to the system. The solar source is intermittent and it does not always match the building loads for heating and cooling. the strongly in For these an efficient control system is essential to ensure the high performance. Several papers in the literature have proposed advanced control techniques based on the model predictive control (MPC). However, their in residential buildings is often limited due to high device This paper proposes a rule-based control strategy for a modulating air-source heat pump coupled with a PV plant, which provide space heating, space cooling and domestic hot water in a residential building. The proposed control strategy can be easily implemented in residential buildings by using low-cost board shields. The heat pump is modulated and optimized depending on the instantaneous PV production, to maximize the direct use of solar energy onsite. When an overproduction of PV energy occurs, the heat pump operates to store the solar energy as thermal energy, exploiting thermal storage tanks and the building thermal capacitance (aka virtual battery). The heat pump is controlled by varying its compressor rotational speed. The compressor is regulated to operate at the maximum capacity level compatible with the supplied PV power. The control strategy is evaluated in combination with a electric storage system. The efficacy of the control strategy is assessed by means of dynamic energy simulations. The simulations are run for the whole year. A parametric analysis is carried out by considering different PV and battery size, to understand the impact of the system component size on the results. The building system consists of an air-source HP, which provides SH, SC and DHW. Two water tanks are integrated in the system, one dedicated to space heating and space cooling, the other one for DHW. The tanks are filled with with a volume of 250 liters (SH/SC tank) and 150 liters (DHW tank). The tanks are subjected to thermal stratification. The HP is controlled to maintain the temperature in the tanks at the set-point level, with priority to the DHW tank. The set-point for the DHW tank is set to 50 °C, while the SH/SC tank set-point varies following a outside temperature reset (OTR) curve. In heating mode, the set-point varies from 40°C to 20°C in relation to the outdoor air temperature going from -5°C ad 20°C respectively. For cooling mode, the set-point goes from 12°C to 20°C with the external air temperature varying from 35°C to 26°C. A radiant floor system is connected to the SH/SC tank, and a regulation system controls the water flows for the 4 zones separately. The indoor air temperature is maintained in between 20°C and 26°C ±1 °C. A rooftop PV plant is installed on the building toward South, with a slope of 45°. The nominal power of the system is around 3.20 kW. The heat pump is modeled as a variable-speed compressor unit, based on a performance map that describes the operating behavior of the unit. The performance map was defined starting from detailed steady-state measurements supplied by the manufacturer for a new generation heat pump. The independent variable for the HP model are the inlet air temperature, the outlet water and the compressor speed (i.e. inverter frequency). The dependent variable are the heating rate capacity and the electric input of the The electric input (Y el ) is defined with a polynomial equation


This paper is to solve the problems of the new users' registration to PKG (Private Key Generator) and how PKG distribute private keys to the new users safely. After the research of current IBC system, we propose a solution to deal with the problems. We subjoin a user' private master key using authentication message, by which users can validate the registration information and use IBE to encrypt some message send in the process of key agreement to make sure the message will not be falsified. We prove the protocol proposed in this paper can prevent form KCI (Key Compromise Impersonation) and KRA (Key replicating Attack).


To the Editor: Cholinesterase inhibitors are widely accepted as established therapeutic intervention across the entire severity spectrum of Alzheimer's disease. However, fear of increased corrected QT interval (QTc) time is one of the main reasons for nonprescription of cholinergic drugs.1 While it is generally accepted that therapeutic efficacy of cholinergic therapy is dose dependent, a large number of patients are treated with a low dose for fear of dose-dependent increase of QTc time. Previous studies in small numbers of patients reported that treatment with a low and medium dose of donepezil2 and rivastigmine3 did not prolong QTc time, while treatment with galantamine was shown to be associated with some risk of QTc time prolongation.4 Since these data were obtained, higher doses of donepezil and rivastigmine have been licensed to be used in routine clinical practice. Appraisal of risk of QTc time prolongation with a high dose of any cholinergic drug is thus of great clinical importance to reduce potential undertreatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The objective of the current analysis was to determine whether high-dose rivastigmine patch induces prolongation of QTc time in patients with Alzheimer's disease.


Parboiling is a major processing factor affecting the quality of milled rice. In this study, a paddy rice parboiler was designed, fabricated and its performance evaluated. During the design and fabrication, of the parboiler considerations were given to the cost of fabrication, simplicity of operation by the local farmers, portability and easy mechanism of loading and offloading the paddy. Performance testing of the machine was carried out at three different levels of steeping temperature (60, 70 and 80°C) andat different steeping time of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5hrs respectively to determine the effects of steeping temperature and time on the parboiling efficiency and the milling quality of the parboiled rice grains. The optimum parboiling efficiency of 95% and corresponding milling quality of 91% was obtained at 70°C steeping temperature and at 3hrs of steeping time. The results of the statistical analysis of the data obtained from the performance evaluation of the machine revealed that both the steeping temperature and time has significant effects on the parboiling efficiency and the milling quality of the rice grains at 0.05 confidence limit. The production cost of the parboiler is $275.


Abstract : The theoretical basis is outlined for a quantitative relationship between two-dimensional bathymetry and free air gravity in stable ocean basins. The relationship, designed for use as an algorithm to predict gravity in areas where only bathymetry is known, is based on flexure theory for thin elastic plates and on the expected evolution with seafloor age of the isostatic response of oceanic lithosphere. The relationship is tested against bathymetric and gravity data in the central Pacific. (Author)


Our analysis focuses on the model of teacher training from Escolas Normais Superiores, particularly concerning the school belonging to the University of Coimbra. Inspired by the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, those institutions were marked by the pedagogy of the New School Movement, carrying innovative proposals. A key part of a wider educational project initiated by Republicans after October 1910, founded on the belief of regenerating homeland by education, the creation of a new citizen and the building of the Republican nation, these institutions constituted the first attempt to train teachers on all levels of education, except the general primary education. On an ideal and theoretical perspective, the legislation meant a significant milestone in our history of education (Gomes, 1990). However, the context and conditions, including materials, prevented the school from becoming the desired model. KeywordsEscola Normal Superior; Republic; Teacher training; University


The invention provides a method for preparing sulfide and mixed product of sodium sulfide and lithium sulfate by manganese-containing waste liquid, which comprises the steps of: leaching the manganese-containing waste liquid obtained by producing hydroquinone, and obtaining clear filtrate containing manganese sulfate, ammonium sulfate and sulfuric acid as well as a filter cake containing simple substance residue; leading the filter cake containing the simple substance residue to have reaction with the excess sulfuric acid, and obtaining solution containing calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, sodium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, cadmium sulfate and nickel sulfate; then, mixing the obtained solution and lithium sulfide solution for reaction, and obtaining mixed solution of the lithium sulfate and the sulfide containing calcium sulfide, magnesium sulfide, zinc sulfide, sodium sulfide, aluminium sulfide, cadmium sulfide and nickel sulfide; filtering the obtained mixed solution, and obtaining a mixed sulfide filter cake of the calcium sulfide, the magnesium sulfide, the zinc sulfide, the aluminium sulfide, the cadmium sulfide and the nickel sulfide as well as filtrate containing the sodium sulfide and the lithium sulfate; washing, drying, carrying out fractionation on the sulfide filter cake and grinding the sulfide filter cake, and obtaining the sulfide product; and finally, carrying out reduced pressure distillation and cooling crystallization on the filtrate containing the sodium sulfide and the lithium sulfate, and obtaining the mixed product of the sodium sulfide and the lithium sulfate.


The health crisis associated with COVID-19 has put governments and societies around the world to the test, unprecedented causing economic slowdown, unemployment, and concomitant  loss of income among the working class.  Relying on data released by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography's (INEGI) National Survey of Occupation and Employment  (ENOE), the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Companies Survey (ECOVID-IE)  and its COVID-19 and Labor Market Telephone Survey (ECOVID-ML), in conjunction with public data from the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), a picture of the impact of COVID-19 on employment in Mexico becomes clear, evidencing substantial recovery of labor occupation in the country once confinement measures were relaxed. Nonetheless, it is necessary to implement public policies aimed at mitigating the economic damage done to Mexican families because of the pandemic.


Treatment of 5q- myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with single agent lenalidomide therapy eliminates hematologic and cytogenetic abnormalities resulting in decreased transfusion requirements (NEJM2005; 352(6):549–557). We report the induction and maintenance of disease remission by lenalidomide in a 20 year old white female with 5q- AML that developed following extensive treatment of stage 2A nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL). Remission after initial HL therapy with COPP/ABV lasted 21 months. Following first relapse, she received gemcitabine and vinorelbine with local radiotherapy. HL recurred and progressed. Therefore, 36 months after initial diagnosis, she was given Dexa miniBEAM (BCNU, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) followed by BEAC and autologous PBSC transplant. With localized HL relapse 12 months after autologous PBSC transplant, her bone marrow showed mild dyspoiesis and multiple cytogenetic abnormalities including 5q−, 7q−, der17 and t(5:17). She was given three courses of RICE (rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) followed by reduced intensity busulfan, fludarabine, ATG conditioning and MUD PBSC transplant. Within 2 months of this second transplant, peripheral blood blasts were noted and bone marrow again showed the previously noted cytogenetic abnormalities with 13% blasts consistent with MDS. A second MUD PBSC transplant followed FLAG (fludarabine, cytarabine, G-CSF) conditioning. Early after transplant, there was 95% donor chimerism but low levels of the cytogenetically abnormal clone remained. Within 4 months of the third transplant, bone marrow was dyspoietic with 43% erythroid blasts morphologically consistent with erythroleukemia (AML-M6). Cytogenetic abnormalities persisted and VNTR analysis showed only 35% donor cells. Treatment was started with lenalidomide 5mg po daily for 3 weeks followed by a one week rest. During therapy, there was resolution of fatigue and generalized bone pain. Hgb increased and only mild thrombocytopenia and neutropenia were noted at the end of week 3, course 1. There was clearance of peripheral blood blasts. Lenalidomide 10mg po daily during course 2 was not tolerated due to severe nausea. With return to 5mg po daily on day 6, there were no further adverse reactions during course 2. Platelet count increased and there was no neutropenia. Lenalidomide 5mg po daily was again well tolerated during a third course. Hgb increased with stable to slightly decreased platelet and neutrophil counts. Bone marrow aspirate during week 2 of course 3, showed normal 46 XX karyotype and absence of 5q-abnormality by FISH. Flow cytometry did not reveal the abnormal leukemic phenotype. VNTR analysis showed 100% allogeneic MUD chimerism. Of interest was the development of persistent eosinophilia up to 54% (absolute eosinophil count 2408/ML) during course 2. In a previous report of Lenalidomide therapy for MDS, 2 of 3 patients with eosinophilia responded to the treatment (NEJM2005; 352(6):549–557). This case demonstrates the efficacy of low dose Lenalidomide for AML developing from therapy related MDS in a heavily treated HL patient. To our knowledge, this is the first such case reported for a pediatric patient.


The effects of periodic excitation on the evolution of a turbulent jet were studied experimentally. A short, wide-angle diffuser was attached to the jet exit and excitation was introduced at the junction between the jet exit and the diffuser inlet. The introduction of high amplitude periodic excitation at the jet exit enhances the mixing and promotes attachment of the jet shear-layer to the diffuser wall. Vecotring is achieved by applying the excitation over a fraction of the circumference of the circular jet, enhancing its spreading rate on the excited side and its tendency to reattach to that side. Static deflection studies demonstrate that the presence of the wide-angle diffuser increases the effectiveness of the added periodic momentum due to a favorable interaction between the excitation, the jet shear-layer and the diffuser wall. This point was further demonstrated by the evolution of a wave packet that was excited in the jet shear-layer. Strong amplification of the wave packet was measured with a diffuser attached to the jet exit. The turbulent jet responds quickly (10-20 msec) to step changes in the level of the excitation input. The response scales with the jet exit velocity and is independent of the Reynolds number. Jet deflection angles were found to be highly sensitive to the relative direction between the excitation and the jet flow and less sensitive to the excitation frequency. The higher jet deflection angles were obtained for a diffuser length of about two diameters and for diffusers with half-angles greater than 15 degrees.


PURPOSE: A thermoelectric module is provided to improve the heat conductivity efficiency by preventing the thermoelectric module form being heated by transferring the heat generated in the electrode to the outside. CONSTITUTION: A top substrate(110) and a bottom substrate(120) forming the top and the bottom emit or absorb the heat. An electrode(130) guides the flow of the supplied power as being provided between the top substrate and the bottom substrate. An insulation layer is provided between the top and bottom substrates to block the power supplied to the electrode from being transferred to the top and bottom electrodes.


Advertising has been used to sell a variety of products however it has not been used to promote the use of contraceptives. The efforts of Population Services Inc. (PSI) to use advertising in their program to promote contraceptive use are described. The major problems encountered in using this technique derive from the product itself: a lack of variety of outlets "psychological unavailability" - the inherent embarrassment in asking about contraceptives at a store the image of condoms as dirty or subversive the refusal of contraceptive ads by many magazines and the current antiseptic image which does not go with the reality of the sexual impulse. PSI appears to have been successful in overcoming these problems with their ads which strive to make contraception both exciting and erotic. They have also overcome some distribution problems by offering mail-order service.


Visual Abstract Background and objectives Bacterial infection–related GN occurs concurrent to or after known or unknown infections. It is important to understand the clinical implications of the bacterial isolates, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and effect of latency-based classification on kidney and patient outcomes. Design, setting, participants, & measurements In total, 501 consecutive adults diagnosed with bacterial infection–related GN between 2005 and 2017 were included from a biopsy registry of 15,545 patients at a single center in South India, and follow-up data were collected from electronic medical records until December 2019. Latency was defined as time between resolution of infection and onset of GN, which was classified as parainfectious, peri-infectious, or postinfectious GN. Longitudinal kidney and patient outcomes were studied. Results The mean age of the cohort was 40 (± 15) years, 6% were above 65 years, and 330 (66%) were men. Diabetes was present in 93 (19%) patients. Seventy percent (353 of 501) of patients had known infections, with the median latent period for parainfectious (115 of 353, 33%), peri-infectious (97 of 353, 27%), and postinfectious (141 of 353, 40%) GN being 0, 5 (4–7), and 15 (10–31) days, respectively. The most common predisposing organism was Streptococcus pyogenes (137 of 353, 39%). Drug-resistant nonstreptococcal bacteria were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (25%, four of 16), extended-spectrum β-lactamases (20%, 12 of 59), and carbapenem-resistant organisms (10%, six of 59). Twenty of 22 (91%) of the drug-resistant organisms were isolated from the parainfectious group. The most common site of infection was skin in peri- (23 of 97, 24%) and postinfectious GN (61 of 141, 43%), and urinary tract in parainfectious GN (35 of 115, 30%). Of 321 patients with >3 months of follow-up, 48 (15%) developed kidney failure over a median period of 10 (2–37) months and 14 (4%) died. Parainfectious GN, eGFR<30 ml/min per 1.73 m2, moderate-to-severe interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, and nontreatment with renin-angiotensin system blockers were significant risk factors for progression to kidney failure by a Cox proportional-hazards model. Conclusions Along with clinical and histologic predictors, parainfectious GN caused predominantly by nonstreptococcal and drug-resistant bacterial infections was associated with poor kidney prognosis.


Creation of two (2) websites with the use of Content Management System (CMS), Wordpress and Joomla and comparing them in terms of design, implementation and operation.
Specifically, the comparison includes:
• Τhe installation way of each CMS and the review of each website's database
• Presentation of each CMS with extensive reference in services and peculiarities
• Presentation of advantages and disadvantages of each CMS
• Presentation of conclusions from the comparison of WordPress and Jooml


The work is dedicated to experimental investigation of parameters of this SAR. A brief overview of SAR system is given; measurement set-up and estimation results of both accuracy and phase stability are described.


A post remedial action survey was conducted at the former Kellex Corporation Research Facility in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Kellex facility was involved in the Manhattan Project, particularly in the area of engineering research in gaseous diffusion for uranium enrichment. As a result of those operations, this site was included by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in their Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). During comprehensive radiological surveys conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the summer of 1979, ten areas were located with levels of radionuclides in soil in excess of DOE criteria. This report describes the results of radiological surveys conducted in seven of these locations (Areas 4 to 10) following remedial action. Results of these surveys indicate that remedial action was successful in reducing radioactive contamination in these areas to criteria values established by DOE. 7 references, 19 figures, 31 tables.


Objective: The main objective of this study was to explore the experiences of mothers parenting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with a view to formulate a conceptual model of parenting experiences based on the constructs identified. Design &Methods: The study used grounded theory methodology in order to derive a conceptual model for parenting a child with ASD. The participants were mothers between the age group of 24-50 years undergoing parent child training from Autism training Centre, Northern India. The study is based on in depth interviews with twelve mothers who were meeting the eligibility criteria. The interviews were digitally recorded with a voice recorder. The anonymity and confidentiality of the participants were assured. The translated data were coded and categorised using open code software Results: The qualitative data analysis revealed thirteen major categories and forty six sub categories and a core category was derived out of the concepts and formulated a conceptual model of coping with autism, Unique and differential parenting Mothers Journey towards adaptation. Conclusion: This qualitative study provides evidence for parenting experiences of Indian mothers of children with ASD. The findings would provide identification of problems, need based care and guidance for professionals. Practice Implications: The conceptual model formulated could be used as a basis to test the hypothesis in various aspects of the concepts discussed in relation to mothers experiences of a child with ASD and thus a substantive theory of parenting a child with ASD could be developed in future after comparing and concept analysis of the existing parenting theories .


Background: The provision of end-of-life care is receiving attention locally, provincially, and nationally in Canada. It is important to ensure that interprofessional standards and competencies are in place to provide quality end-of-life care that meets the needs of patients and their families. The purpose of this content review was to identify core standards and competencies essential to an interprofessional team providing end-of-life care. Methods: The researchers conducted a review of health professional associations and registration bodies that support professionals providing end-of-life care to identify existing standards and competencies. Key concepts were reviewed and organized using thematic analysis; relationships were developed; and core themes for interprofessional end-of-life care were identified. Results: Four themes essential to the provision of end-of-life care were common across all health professions: (1) access to care, (2) professional practice, (3) person-centered care, and (4) the process and delivery of care. Conclusions: Health professional associations need to ensure end-of-life care standards and competencies are in place for the provision of appropriate and holistic care. Aligning standards and competencies across professions improves the preparedness of health professionals to provide interprofessional end-of-life care.


The refurbishing of conventional medical network with the wireless medical sensor network has not only amplified the efficiency of the network but concurrently posed different security threats. Previously, Servati and Safkhani had suggested an Internet of Things (IoT) based authentication scheme for the healthcare environment promulgating a secure protocol in resistance to several attacks. However, the analysis demonstrates that the protocol could not withstand user, server, and gateway node impersonation attacks. Further, the protocol fails to resist offline password guessing, ephemeral secret leakage, and gateway-by-passing attacks. To address the security weaknesses, we furnish a lightweight three-factor authentication framework employing the fuzzy extractor technique to safeguard the user's biometric information. The Burrows-Abadi-Needham (BAN) logic, Real-or-Random (ROR) model, and Scyther simulation tool have been imposed as formal approaches for establishing the validity of the proposed work. The heuristic analysis stipulates that the proposed work is impenetrable to possible threats and offers several security peculiarities like forward secrecy and three-factor security. A thorough analysis of the preexisting works with the proposed ones corroborates the intensified security and efficiency with the reduced computational, communication, and security overheads.


The random response of nonlinear dynamic systems involving stochastic coefficients is examined. A non-Gaussian closure scheme is outlined and employed to resolve an observed contradiction of the results obtained by other techniques. The method is applied to a system possessing nonlinear damping. The stationary response is obtained by numerical integration of the closed differential equations of the moments (up to fourth order). An interesting feature of the numerical results reveals the existence of a jump in the response statistic functions. This new feature may be attributed to the fact that the non-Gaussian closure more adequately models the nonlinearity, and thus results in characteristics that are similar to those of deterministic nonlinear systems. The results are compared with solutions derived by the Gaussian closure and stochastic averaging method.


The well-known intelligence quotient (IQ) mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15 are characterizations of intelligence measurements of the population of adult human subjects, which, in this report, we will call the unselected population. The Greek letter μ (mu) is often used to denote the mean, and the Greek letter σ (sigma) is often used to denote standard deviation. Various high-IQ societies have entrance requirements that are at or near a certain number of standard deviations above the mean intelligence of the unselected population. For example, Mensa is sometimes called a 2σ society. Similarly, the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (ISPE), the One-in-a-Thousand Society (OATHS), and the Triple Nine Society (TNS) are sometimes called 3σ societies because their entrance criteria are close to, but a little above, 3σ. One prominent high-IQ society, Prometheus, requires from its members a demonstrated intellectual power of at least 4σ above the mean.


Some anatomical and morphometrical characteristics of the equine elbow oblique ligament were described in ten adult mongrel animals that did not present locomotor diseases. The oblique ligament arises dorsal to the radial fossa of the humerus, it crosses obliquely the elbow cranial surface and it becames separated in a long portion that attaches to the radial tuberosity and a short portion that joins to the long portion of medial collateral ligament. Measurements of the lenght and width were taken between origin and insertion of the oblique ligament, without differences (P>0.05) being observed when sexes and limbs were compared. The oblique ligament acts in the spring effect and in the stability maintenance of the equine elbow joint. By the particularity of its location cranial to the joint, the oblique ligament has a restrain action, hinding complete extension of the equine elbow.


This paper asks whether Canadian data is consistent with the predicted effects of political opportunism, partisanship, and political competition on real output growth since Confederation. Using annual data from 1870 to 2005 we find new support for an opportunistic electoral cycle in Canadian data but only if the actual election date used in most studies is replaced by an estimate of the incumbent governing party's subjectively held likelihood of an election arising. In our case the estimate is generated from a Cox-proportional hazard model. The paper explores in detail the issues raised by using a generated regressor to approximate a subjectively held expectation versus an observable proxy and argues that these conditions are met in our case. Finally we also find evidence consistent with partisan cycles in the data but much less evidence consistent with the hypothesis that changes in the degree of political competition have affected real output growth.


ABSTRACT This short essay introduces the Cultural Report dossier on martial arts celebrities, which comprises articles that examine high-profile performing artists Adam Cheng, Donnie Yen, and Wang Baoqiang.


We read with interest the editorial in TRANSFUSION by Brecher and Goodnough1 about the rise and fall of preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD) in the US. We would like to add a European perspective and make certain comments regarding the use of PABD in elective orthopedic surgery (EOS). We agree that, in terms of blood saving, the benefits of PABD in EOS are often comparable to those of acute normovolemic hemodilution. However, many anesthesiologists do not use acute normovolemic hemodilution because it delays surgical procedures. In our experience, PABD is easily programmable. It may also reduce the incidence of deep vein thrombosis after EOS, such as total hip arthroplasty,2 although this effect of PABD should be investigated further. Autologous blood wastage is a serious problem, but wastage can be reduced by adjusting the number of units collected to each hospital's transfusion experience or each surgical team's or patient's characteristics and not to general surgical blood-ordering schedules. This strategy, together with periodic audits of PABD use, should avoid over-collection, prevent excessively decreased postoperative Hcts, reduce administrative errors, and improve cost-effectiveness. Data from the Orthopaedic Surgery Transfusion Haemoglobin European Overview (OSTEO) study, a multinational survey conducted in Europe to assess current practices in blood management techniques in EOS, are promising as 90 percent of autologous units collected were transfused.3 If this trend applies also to the US experience, the data presented in Fig. 1 of the article by Brecher and Goodnough1 may well reflect an increase in the collection to transfusion ratio (0.55 in 1992-94 vs. 0.70 in 1997-99) due to improved patient selection, rather than a decline in interest in PABD. Moreover, the application of more restrictive transfusion criteria, with lower transfusion triggers, and the implementation of additional blood conservation methods (aprotinin, EPO, perioperative blood salvage, etc.) may also account for a relative decrease in PABD. Finally, we feel that the "pendulum movement" of PABD suggested by Brecher and Goodnough should not be applied universally. With respect to Europe concerns, although PABD is underused in most European Union (EU) countries, there are several reasons to believe that the use of PABD, as well as that of other blood-saving strategies, will rise in the near future. First, the progressively aging populations will reduce the number of volunteer donors, whereas there is increasing demand for blood to meet transfusion requirements of surgical procedures (e.g., orthopedic, cardiac, cancer). At the same time, travel to specific areas (e.g., UK, malarial areas), body piercing, and tattoos have also caused many young donors to be temporary or permanently deferred. Together, these factors may lead to a shortage of blood. Second, there is increasing migration from Africa and Latin America to EU countries, which may result in new infectious or parasitic diseases for which reliable screening methods are not yet available, possibly increasing the risk of blood-borne infections. Third, there is increasing evidence of a transfusion-related immunomodulatory effect of allogeneic blood. If there is at least a 10-percent higher rate of postoperative infection in transfused patients, with longer hospital stays, PABD could be highly cost-effective, especially in young people.4 Fourth, introduction of WBC-reduction by inline filtration after donation in most EU countries will increase transfusion costs more than 20 percent without clear benefit. If this added cost does not apply to autologous blood, the cost-effectiveness of autologous blood would be improved. Lastly, most EU countries have a National Health Service that covers medical care expenses, including transfusions, and also require, by law, that informed consent be obtained from each patient for each transfusion. Under these regulations, we must explain and offer PABD to all candidate patients, as in some states in the US. This requirement has been included in the Code of Ethics for Blood Donation and Transfusion by the ISBT and formally endorsed by the WHO; it is under review by the Council of Europe's Expert Committee.5 For all these reasons, we believe that the pendulum is still swinging upward in Europe, and it could return up again in the US if nonclinical determinants of transfusion practice are further investigated and modified.6 Manuel Muñoz, MD International Multidisciplinary Autotransfusion Study Group (GIEMSA) University of Málaga School of Medicine 29071 Málaga, Spain e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com José A. Garcı́a-Erce, MD Department of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine "Miguel Servet" University Hospital Zaragoza, Spain


estimates were used to evaluate likelihood of BCR-free survival after RP stratified by CAPRA scores. We performed Cox regression to examine the association between clinical CAPRA components and BCR risk and to determine whether stratifying clinical T1, T2, and T3a disease in CAPRA was independently associated with BCR risk on multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Of 1972 patients studied, 5% had upstaging in CAPRA risk group with imaging-based clinical stage. Life table estimates were comparable between DREand imaging-based CAPRA score with regard to likelihood of BCR-free survival. In separate unadjusted Cox regression models, DRE-based (HR 1.57; 95% CI 1.50-1.64) and imaging-based CAPRA (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.50-1.63) were both independently associated with risk of recurrence after RP and model fit did not differ significantly. On multivariable Cox regression adjusted for CAPRA component variables, clinical stage T2 on DRE (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.06-1.54) and T3a on imaging (HR 1.79; 95% CI 1.47-2.19) were independently associated with BCR risk. CONCLUSIONS: Both DREand imaging-based CAPRA nomograms are associated with BCR risk after RP for PCa. Each staging modality offers independent information on the risk assessment nomogram, which supports the continued use of DREbased clinical staging in PCa risk stratification and demonstrates the potential benefit imaging may add to models and staging standards.


Abstract : The effects of three variations of learner control and one instructor control condition were investigated. The three types of learner control chosen for investigation were: selection of media-device, and selection of information load; selection of repetition by branching; and selection of topic sequence. The results observed for learner control of sequence in this study, when considered in the light of other studies, strongly suggests that the amount of information presented to guide student decisions in sequencing may be a critical variable and one which should be investigated in more detail. (Author)


To observe the effects of RNAi-mediated survivin gene on silencing prostate cancer cell lines PC3. Methods: Three target gene fragments were cloned into pSilencerTM3. 1-H1 neo vector separately. Three recombinant eukaryotic expression vectors, pSilencer 3. 1-SVV1, pSilencer 3.1-SVV2 and pSilencer 3. 1-SVV3 were successfully constructed, then the recombinant vectors were transfected into prostate cancer cells PC3. After PC3 cells were transfected with recombinant vectors, the interference effects were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. The apoptosis index and cell cycle of PC3 cells were detected by Flow cytometry. The survival curve of PC3 cells treated with Platinol and the proliferation of PC3 cells were detected by MTT. Results: The results of RT-PCR and Western blot indicated that pSilencer 3. 1-SVV2 and pSilencer 3. 1-SVV3 vectors could knock down the transcription and expression of survivin gene. After PC3 cells were transfected with pSilencer 3. 1-SVV2 and pSilencer 3. 1-SVV3 vectors, the apoptosis index of PC3 cells increased by about 10% -15% , the proliferation of PC3 cells become slowly and the cells number decreased about 30% compared with control groups. The cell number during G1 phases increased 10% and during G2 and S phases the cells number decreased about 5 % . After PC3 cells treated with Platinol, the survival rate of PC3 cells transfected with pSilencer 3.1-SW2 and pSilencer 3. 1-SVV3 vectors decreased by about 35% -45% and apoptosis index increased by about 10% -14% contrast with control groups. Conclusion: The study provides basis for study the function of survivin gene, indicating the survivin may be a new target of gene therapy on prostate cancer.


ABSTRACT The article investigates the linkages between gender, development and utilisation of technological innovations in Ghana. The study adopted an exploratory design and used thematic content analysis for the qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews with rice scientists and farmers. The findings revealed that research institutions lack the requisite mandate, capacity and resources to mainstream gender issues in research activities. The findings also showed that the varietal preference of male rice farmers is marketability, whereas that of their female counterparts is early maturity, suggesting differences in gender needs and concerns. Broader investment in rice research for gender-inclusiveness and equity is recommended.


The trend of contemporary world economy is the development of "regionalism" together with "multilateralism". The development of regional economic integration causes the great challenge on WTO multilateral trading system. Facing the grim condition, WTO should make all-round reforms to bring the regional economic integration into its effective control, and then regional economic integration and WTO multilateral trading system will work together to accelerate the development of the world economy.


In this paper, we investigate the optimal strategy for a pension member in a defined contribution pension scheme under a market with inflation and minimum guarantee. We assume the contribution process includes the mandatory contribution and a supplementary contribution to amortize the pension fund which is assumed to be stochastic. Next, the management of the pension considers investments in cash, stock and inflation-linked bond to maximize the expected return of his member at the time of retirement. Using stochastic optimal control method, we derived an optimized problem from the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman (HJB) equation for the value function. Furthermore, we obtain the closed form solution of the optimal strategy for the three assets using constant absolute risk aversion (CARA) utility function and observed that the supplementary contributions has a direct effect on the inflation-linked bond and cash only. Keyword: DC Pension scheme, HJB, optimal investment strategy, inflation, supplementary contribution, minimum guarantee.


On the basis of analyzing construction features of capital construction,for construction unit how to combine the practice to implement the construction of underground security hedge "six systems",this paper put forward the principles and considerations which should be grasped,the difficult degree and applicable condition of every single system construction were definited scientifically.


This paper analyzes recent trends in merchandise trade, services, investments, and manpower flows between India and ASEAN, and assesses future prospects for economic cooperation. Since India's Look-East policy initiated in the early 1990s, there has been steady progress in economic cooperation and supporting institutional structures between India and ASEAN. There has also been a welcome diversification of India's trade with ASEAN both in terms of the share of individual members in total trade, and goods and services being traded. The analysis in the paper is consistent with the view that India's economic structure is largely complementary to ASEAN economies, and therefore there are significant opportunities for mutual gain. In Indian policy and business circles, ASEAN continues to be regarded as an economically important region. The paper however argues that a mindset change is needed among ASEAN policy makers and businesses before potential for mutual gains can be fully tapped. The paper concludes with specific suggestions for expanding cooperation between India and ASEAN countries. Introduction In the post-Cold War period, and particularly since the latter part of the 1990s, India's relations with all the major powers, especially the US, have shown considerable improvement. There is now greater mutual understanding of inter1 We would like to thank Anantha Nageswaran, Prema-chandra Athukorala, Kripa Sridharan and Sadhana Srivastava for useful comments and suggestions. Thanks are also due to Amarendy Nandy and Arathi Jayaram for excellent research assistance. The usual disclaimer applies. * Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com (corresponding author). ** Professor, Public Policy Programme, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore. E-mail: email@example.com. *** Visiting Freeman Scholar, Claremont McKenna College, California. Email: email@example.com. linkages between economic, security and strategic interests of India on the one hand and major powers on the other. There are also hopeful signs that economic imperatives are gradually becoming much more important in driving relations on the Indian sub-continent, including between India and Pakistan (Solomon, 2004). As India demonstrates its economic and technological capacities to compete in the 21 century, it is becoming an important player in shaping the future political and security environment in Asia. Resilience and stability of India's political and other institutions, and harmony between its decentralized economic and political arrangements also have the potential to contribute to India's competitive strength. Following the initiation of economic reforms in India in 1991, India's annual growth rate has averaged 5.9 per cent during the 1992-93 to 2002-03 period. Notwithstanding some concerns about the large fiscal deficit (especially in the states), India represents a compelling macroeconomic story, with potential to sustain high economic growth rates. Some analysts are perhaps over-optimistic in projecting the emergence of India as the third largest economy in 2003 dollars by the year 2050, only behind China and the US (Morgan Stanley, 2003; Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003). India needs to grow at a nominal rate of only 7.4 per cent (real rate of 3.4 percent assuming inflation rate of 4 percent per annum) to become a trillion dollar economy by the end of this decade. (Financial Times, 2004). As India's nominal GDP growth in recent years has been in the range of 9 per cent to 12 per cent, this should not pose a formidable challenge. India's domestic-led development is considered to be sustainable, spawning several globally competitive firms (Khanna and Huang, 2003). A consequence of India's liberalization and rapid growth is the growing involvement of Indian companies abroad (Goswami, 2003; Merchant, 2004; Ramakrishnan, 2004). This has expanded India's capacity to pursue its "Look East" Policy initiated in the early 1990s with vigour (Sridharan, 1996). The scope and density of relations between India and the ten-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been steadily rising. India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. The sectors were trade, investment, tourism and science and technology. Mutual interest in wider engagement led ASEAN to invite India to become a full dialogue partner of ASEAN during the Fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995 (ASEAN Secretariat, 1995) and a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in July 1996. An important milestone was achieved with the hosting of the first ASEANIndia summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2002. This came about through a confluence of factors. One, there were strong signals from Indian leaders of the desire to fortify relations with ASEAN via a series of bilateral visits by Indian leaders to many ASEAN members. Two, ASEAN leaders have recognized the need to actively engage India so as to develop a more balanced relationship with all of the major Asian economies, particularly as China is also pursuing an FDI-led, labour intensive manufacturing exports strategy (Goodman, 2004). Three, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that India's economic structure is largely complementary (service-oriented) to ASEAN economies (light manufacturing) with significant areas of mutual gain (Asher et al., 2003; Gaur, 2003; Kumar, 2002; Bhattacharya and Ariff, 2002). A framework agreement for the creation of a free trade area (FTA) with Thailand was signed in October 2003. Under this agreement, 84 items can be imported from Thailand from April 2004 at 50 per cent of the normal rate of duty prevailing in India. India has been engaged in negotiations to form a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Singapore. Sub-regional cooperation between India and some of the ASEAN members such as Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos has also accelerated (Gaur, 2003; Suryanarayana, 2003). These include the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and the BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation). India is also an active participant in Thailand's initiative, Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), which has representation from all parts of Asia. India has contributed US$ 1 billion to another initiative by Thailand on the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) (Rajan, 2004). India views the above groupings as consistent with strengthening its ties with ASEAN as a whole. India is considering FTAs with other entities as well. For instance, India and China are exploring the feasibility of an India-China bilateral FTA. India has also signed a framework agreement for a FTA with the Mercosur grouping, involving the Latin American countries (Sengupta, 2003). The recent bilateral and sub-regional efforts to strengthen economic relations are being complemented through an effort by India to intensify its economic relations with ASEAN as an overall regional grouping. Thus, a Framework


In addition to the ultrasonic power, force, time and temperature and other parameters, the gold wire ball bonding quality is also affected by the contact velocity between the free air ball and the chip pad, which will affect the initial deformation of ball and thus affect the bonding quality. So, contact velocity is also an important factor affecting the bonding quality. Through the analysis of the process of the free air ball formation, the capillary movement and the contact deformation of the ball, the influence of the contact velocity between the free air ball and the chip pad on the bonding quality of 1 mil diameter gold wire was studied. By changing the contact velocity during bonding, the effect of contact velocity on the mashed ball diameter, the bonding strength, and the breaking mode of the wire was studied. The research results show that for free air ball with the diameter of 1.8 mils, when the contact velocity increases within 0.2 mils/ms to 1.0 mils/ms, the mashed ball diameter can be increased, thereby, increasing the contact area between the gold ball and the chip pad, and the bonding strength increases first and then decreases. And the contact velocity has no effect on the wire breaking mode in the wire pull test.


Abstract Conceptualising feedback as dialogue places even greater importance on successful interpretation of the message as a crucial step leading to the uptake of feedback. This interpretation is not always straightforward as it takes place through a cultural and linguistic lens that international students bring to feedback conversations. This research explored the role that sociocultural competence plays in students' uptake of feedback, unpacking the broader role of language and culture in feedback. Interviews with 13 European science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) students uncover the variety of experiences and conceptualisations that influence their interpretation of feedback messages. At a theoretical level, the findings call for a greater consideration of the cultural dimension in feedback literacy discourse; at a practical level they call for a greater consideration for developing sociocultural competence for students transitioning to new cultural contexts.


A synthetic route was developed for the preparation of novel O-(3-aminopropyl) tethered phosphotriester analogs (5) of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5,)P2, or PIP2) and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3, or PIP3) using the coupling reagent 2-cyanoethyl N,N,N',N'-tetraisopropylphosphorodiamidite. The phosphotriester ligand design introduced a reactive aminopropyl group at the polar lipid head of the ring-phosphorylated phosphoinositides, allowing a reporter moiety to be positioned at the surface of the bilayer and in the vicinity of the phosphorylated inositol. Such reporter groups may interact with membrane-proximal regions of PIP2- and PIP3-binding proteins recruited to membrane sites by electrostatic interactions between the phosphates of the phospholipid and basic regions of the proteins. Following a convergent strategy, phosphitylation of an optically-pure 1,2-O-diacyl-sn-glycerol with 2-cyanoethyl N,N,N',N'-tetraisopropylphosphorodiamidite was followed by cou...


Neutral complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) have been synthesized from the Schiff bases derived from 3-nitrobenzylidene-4-aminoantipyrine and aniline (L1)/p-nitro aniline (L2)/p-methoxy aniline (L3) in the molar ratio 1 : 1. The structural features have been determined from microanalytical, IR, UV-Vis, 1H-NMR, mass, and ESR spectral data. The Cu(II) complexes are square planar, while Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) complexes are tetrahedral. Magnetic susceptibility measurements and molar conductance data provide evidence for the monomeric and neutral nature of the complexes. The X-band ESR spectrum of Cu(II) complexes at 300 and 77 K were recorded. The electrochemical behavior of the complexes in MeCN at 298 K was studied. The in vitro biological screening effects of the investigated compounds were tested against the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungal species Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer...


Combined with engineering of residential plot in Zhoukou, it evaluates condition on engineering of rock and earth, new idea on application combined with punning-expanding pile and pipe pile are introduced, and discussed design of foundation, project quality is security and economy which has been proved.


We report in this research work the values  of Specific energy losses which are the same as   radiative S Rad and collisional S Coll stopping power ,total  stopping power S Total in additional to the radiation length X 0 of positron's  ? + for Chromium by employing Bethe-Bloch  relativistic formula which are performed by writing all the  related equations by MathCad2012with using the ionization potential I value for Chromium in the energy range of 0.1MeV-10MeV ,the results showing a that the collisional stopping power dominate more than radiative  stopping power in the values of total stopping power which are in good agreement with Estar program  results especially at the energies greater than 1.5MeV with respect to S Coll . Keywords : positrons  Bethe-Bloch  ,stopping power, radiative ,collision, mean excitation  energy.


The cast-in-situ RC slope floor structure of the stands of National Swimming Center "Water Club" spanned two stories and formed a continuous and complicated spatial structure.The significant influence of cast-in-situ RC roof on the dynamical characteristics of the structure and member forces under earthquake action must not be neglected because of its large size and stiffness.There are no related specifications for aseismic design of this kind of structure in GB 50011—2001 "Code for Seismic Design of Bulidings".Based on the analyses of structures with and without cast-in-situ RC slope floor,this paper reveals the significant influence of slope floor on the dynamical characteristics of the structure and member forces under earthquake action.Finally,the related proposals for aseismic design of this kind of structure are presented.


The success rate of new product development (NPD) investments is a vital concern for companies that depend on new products in order to keep pace with the market and stay ahead of their competitors. Such companies need to be able to justify re-investment in NPD. A poor NPD success rate not only affects current business performance, it also makes it harder to attract further investment. A strong NPD success rate leads to growth and shareholder value. Organisations wishing to improve their NPD success rate through better market focus will benefit from an inbound marketing programme and management role. This is a challenging and subtle position that could add immeasurable value to a business over time - depending on whether the inbound marketing manager is able to outperform his or her counterparts from competing companies.


Lexical ambiguity in query-based image retrieval is an immemorial problem which has seemingly resisted all countermeasures. In this paper we introduce a methodology that expresses the users of a system and their navigational behaviour as the paramount resource for resolving query term ambiguity. Mass user consensus is modelled within a multi-dimensional feature space and evaluated through cluster analysis. This technique resolves query term ambiguity in a wholly democratic and dynamic fashion, in contrast to the brittle centralised models of contemporary word sense classification systems. The simple approach contained herein leads to several interesting emergent properties.


In Distributed generation (DG) entrenched on the non-conventional energy sources, the stability of the Grid-tied inverter is truly impacted by the ambiguity of the Grid at the point of common coupling (PCC). The delay caused due to presence of phase locked loop (PLL) and changes of equations from Clarke's to Park's and vice-versa can be dodged by using stationary frame based control techniques and evading PLL. This paper discusses about the mathematical modeling and performance analysis of two stationary reference frame control techniques Proportional resonant (PR) and Grid voltage modulated-direct power control (GVM-DPC) for DG interfaced power converters in AC microgrid. The comparison between the two control techniques for voltage sag, swell and frequency variations is presented and superiority of GVM-DPC is justified through the simulations in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.


Objective To monitor the periodontal status during the initial stage of orthodontic therapy in moderate to severe periodontal patients by detection of periodontal clinical parameters in the initial stage of orthodontic therapy and osteocalcin level in GCF after the first stress application.Methods 15 patients,with moderate to severe periodontitis,were selected as the experimental group.The PLI,BI and PD were examined by electrochemical luminescence at pre-treatment,1st month and 2nd month after the treatment respectively,while the OC level in GCF were examined before orthodontic treatment,1,24,48,and 168 hours after the first stress application.The indices of the control group,formed by 15 orthodontic patients who had healthy periodontal status,were compared.Results After the periodontal treatment,the periodontal clinical levels of the experimental group were lower than pre-treatment levels(P0.05),while those after orthodontic treatment were not significantly different from before(P0.05).The level of OC in the experimental group after the first stress application was significantly higher than that after the orthodontic treatment(P0.05),and peaked at 24th hour,but went down to pre-treatment level at 168th hour,which was the same as that of the control group.Conclusion Integrated orthodontic and periodontal treatment can improve the periodontal status in moderate to severe periodontal patients.Osteocalcin should be involved in bone remodeling in earlier orthodontic treatment.


ABSTRACT The volcanic plate made pillar cooler system is designed for outdoor spaces as a heat exchanging medium and reduces the outcoming air temperature which flows through the exhaust port. This paper proposes the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict inside air temperature of a pillar cooler. For this purpose, at first, three statistically significant factors (outside temperature, airing and watering) influencing the inside air temperature of the pillar cooler are identified as input parameters for predicting the output (inside air temperature) and then an ANN was employed to predict the output. In addition, 70%, 15% and 15% data was chosen from a previously obtained data set during the field trial of the pillar cooler for training, testing and validation, respectively, and then an ANN was employed to predict inside air temperature. The training (0.99918), testing (0.99799) and validation errors (0.99432) obtained from the model indicate that the artificial neural network model (NARX) may be used to predict inside air temperature of pillar cooler. This study reveals that, an ANN approach can be used successfully for predicting the performance of pillar cooler.


This study was conducted to compare the effect of ball stability exercises versus foam roller exercises on low back pain during pregnancy. Forty pregnant women in the second trimester of pregnancy complaining of low back pain participated in this study. They were selected randomly from the Physical Therapy department in Al Zahraa University Hospital in Cairo, Al Azhar University. The study was conducted from January 2019 to June 2019. They were primigravida and multigravida. They were divided into two groups equal in number; group A treated by ball stability exercises for twelve sessions, three times per week for four weeks and group B treated by foam roller exercises for twelve sessions, three times per week for four weeks. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess pain intensity and Pregnancy mobility index was used to evaluate functional disability for both groups A and B before and after treatment. The results of this study found that there was a statistically highly significant decrease (P


This chapter highlights the "Norman Conquest of $4.86," which has come to define how we understand the transformation of British monetary policy in the 1920s. Each element plays a crucial role in that canonical story. Beginning at the end, the key objective was to ensure a specific value of the pound in terms of the US dollar. This was both the goal and the measure of success: in the exchange rate market, one pound ought to be worth $4.86. Next, this was a conquest. It began with a struggle between contending claimants for England's throne, but it did not end until many of England's political, social, and economic institutions had been transformed. Finally, that struggle was won, totally and utterly, by Montagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England. Ultimately, the UK did return to the gold standard and Norman did transform — "Normanize" — the UK's monetary system.


The common law rules governing the termination of a contract of employment are unsatisfactory and obscure. Hitherto, the courts have purported to develop rules according to alternative well-known rival theories. The first of these is a modified version of the so-called "elective theory" derived from the ordinary law of contract. This, of course, determines that a contract should only end upon the election of the innocent party. The alternative approach favoured the so-called "automatic" theory, which is applicable only in the employment context. According to this latter theory, a repudiatory breach of an employment contract ipso facto ends it. There is no need for any acknowledgment of this by the innocent party who is also denied the opportunity to keep the contract alive.


【Objective】The characteristics of components and contents of soluble sugars in 98 cultivars of pear fruit were determined to reveal the differences and characteristics among different cultivars and species.【Method】The high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was used to detect the components and content of soluble sugar in mature pear fruits,and the data were analyzed by principal component analysis(PCs) and cluster analysis.【Result】(1) The major components of soluble sugars in mature pear fruits were fructose,glucose,sucrose and sorbitol,and the fructose content was the highest value,with a mean of 51.17 mg·g -1 FW.The contents of fructose and glucose were relatively stable among different cultivars,while the contents of sucrose and sorbitol varied greatly,the value ranged from 1.14-47.75 mg·g -1 FW and 4.46-47.29 mg·g -1 FW,respectively.(2) Among different species,the content of fructose was also the highest one,which accounted for 42.22%-57.02%of the value of total sugars,while the other three compoents of soluble sugars were highly different.The content of glucose was close to sorbitol in both P.bretschnrideriRehd.and P.sinkiangensis Yu.,and sucrose content was the lowest;the contents of fructose and sucrose were equal in both P. communis Linn.and P.ussuriensis Msxim.,however,the sorbitol content was high in P.communis Linn.,and P.ussuriensis Msxim. in reverse;the content of sucrose was equal to sorbitol in P.pyrifolia Burm Nakai.,and the glucose content was the lowest.(3) The distributive characteristics of soluble sugars in different species:P.bretschnrideri Rehd.mainly distributed in the high glucose and sorbitol area;P.pyrifolia Burm Nakai.mainly distributed in the high sucrose and sorbitol area;P.communis Linn.mainly distributed in high fructose and sorbitol area;P.ussuriensis Msxim.were mainly distributed in the high glucose and sucrose area;P. sinkiangensis Yu.mainly distributed in the high fructose and glucose area.【Conclusion】The major components of soluble sugars in pear fruits were fructose,glucose,sucrose and sorbitol,and the content of fructose was the highest one.The content of fructose and glucose kept stable among difference cultivars,while the content of sucrose and sorbitol showed high variability.Comparing different species,the content of fructose kept the highest value,while the other three components differ each other greatly.Based on the distribution of soluble sugars,P.bretschnrideri Rehd.classified as high glucose and sorbitol type,P.pyrifolia Burm Nakai. classified as high sucrose and sorbitol type,P.communis Linn.classified as high fructose and sorbitol type,P.ussuriensis Msxim. classified as high glucose and sucrose type,P.sinkiangensis Yuclassified as high fructose and glucose type.


This article provides an in-depth look at hadron high-energy scattering by using gravity dual descriptions of strongly coupled gauge theories. Just like deeply inelastic scattering (DIS) and deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) serve as clean experimental probes into nonperturbative internal structure of hadrons, elastic scattering amplitude of a hadron and a (virtual) photon in gravity dual can be exploited as a theoretical probe. Since the scattering amplitude at sufficiently high energy (small Bjorken x) is dominated by parton contributions (=Pomeron contributions) even in strong coupling regime, there is a chance to learn a lesson for generalized parton distribution (GPD) by using gravity dual models. We begin with refining derivation of the Brower-Polchinski-Strassler-Tan (BPST) Pomeron kernel in gravity dual, paying particular attention to the role played by the complex spin variable j. The BPST Pomeron on warped spacetime consists of a Kaluza-Klein tower of 4D Pomerons with nonlinear trajectories, and we clarify the relation between Pomeron couplings and the Pomeron form factor. We emphasize that the saddle-point value j* of the scattering amplitude in the complex j-plane representation is a very important concept in understanding qualitative behavior of the scattering amplitude. The total Pomeron contribution to the scattering is decomposed intomore » the saddle-point contribution and at most a finite number of pole contributions, and when the pole contributions are absent (which we call saddle-point phase), kinematical variable (q,x,t)-dependence of ln(1/q) evolution and ln(1/x) evolution parameters {gamma}{sub eff} and {lambda}{sub eff} in DIS and t-slope parameter B of DVCS in HERA experiment are all reproduced qualitatively in gravity dual. All of these observations shed a new light on modeling of GPD. Straightforward application of those results to other hadron high-energy scattering is also discussed.« less


A young woman presented with a history of poor vision both eyes after staring at the sun for approximately 5 minutes during a religious pilgrimage. Her vision was 6/12 at presentation. Fundoscopy revealed bilateral yellow spots on the macular. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans revealed bilateral Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) damage. The patient was managed conservatively with full recovery of vision in 8 months.


The main purpose of this article is to provide some practical insights into acid–base disorders interpretation, comparing the three most widespread diagnostic approaches. After a brief summary of the history of blood gas analysis and the shift from a purely chemical approach to more clinically useful applications, the pros and cons of the different methodologies are compared and discussed. Reviewing the most important publications in the field, the authors attempt to show that each diagnostic strategy is acceptable, although the one based on base-excess calculation perhaps seems too 'rough' to understand the mixed disorders, whereas the Stewart approach is attractive from a chemical point of view, but unsuitable for the emergency physician because of the cumbersome calculations needed. Finally, the anion gap and 'expected compensation' approach seems to be more comprehensive and feasible at the bedside.


This article examines some of the major transitions of aging and indicates possible ways counseling services can help older persons cope with the changes.


The purpose of this study was to explore the acute effects of doxorubicin (Dox) treatment on myogenic regulatory factor (MRF) expression and determine the impact that creatine monohydrate (Cr) feeding prior to Dox treatment has on the MRF response. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of three feeding groups: rodent chow supplemented with 2% Cr for four weeks (Cr1), rodent chow supplemented with 4% Cr for one week followed rodent chow supplemented with 2% Cr for three weeks (Cr2), or standard rodent chow for four weeks (Con). After four weeks, animals in each feeding intervention received a 15 mg/kg bolus Dox i.p. injection or a 0.9% bolus saline i.p. injection as a placebo (Sal). One day after injections, animals were anesthetized, and the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were excised. Expression of the primary MRFs Myf5 and MyoD and the secondary MRFs myogenin and Mrf4 were then quantified with Western blotting. Creatine feeding promoted an upregulation in Myf5 and MyoD (significant diet effect p=0.022 and p=0.017, respectively), and this upregulation was more profound with MyoD expression in Cr2. Significant diet effects were also observed with myogenin (p=0.0011) and Mrf4 (p<0.001) with Cr1 and Cr2 expressing higher levels of myogenin than Con+Sal (p<0.05) and Cr2 expressing higher levels of Mrf4 than Con+Sal and Con+Dox (p<0.05). In conclusion, Cr feeding prior to Dox treatment increased MRF expression suggesting that Cr may enhance signaling for skeletal muscle repair and regeneration following Dox treatment thereby attenuating muscle damage.


The present invention is an amount of the load characteristics of the pressure vibration cuff sphygmomanometer comprising a cuff, a pneumatic motor, a flow meter, a magnetic deflation valve, a pressure sensor and a microcontroller, the microcontroller the blood pressure calculation unit is provided, the cuff pressure during filling the flow meter with the measured flow rate value into a pressurized volume value, and a pressure sensor to detect the pressure within the recorded value of the cuff, the cuff construction of properties, through found characteristics over cuff systolic ratio adjustment parameter and diastolic ratio, found by calculating the systolic and diastolic blood pressure amplitude and amplitude, and the amplitude to find the occurrence time point the envelope curve based on the amplitude of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and at this point of time to find the corresponding pressure in the pressure cuff, is the arterial systolic and diastolic blood pressure.


As a new lateral resisting element,steel plate shear wall with vertical slits has favorable integrative benefits.A short summary of the research inside and outside of our country is presented here,including specimen situation,main conclusion and influence factor of behavior,on this basis,the behavior of the steel plate shear wall with slits is summarized.


Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) is an important pulse crop prized for its high protein content and is grown as a food source worldwide, including Ethiopia. However, the yield of chickpea is low due to low soil fertility and the ever-changing abiotic stresses. Therefore, this study aimed at isolation, characterization, and selection of chickpea rhizobia effective in their nitrogen fixation and abiotic stress tolerance potential. As a result, 150 nodule samples were collected from three districts of chickpea-producing areas in South Wollo. The nodules were crushed, and the rhizobia were isolated and characterized by using standard microbiological procedures. Based on the presumptive tests conducted, 103 (68.7%) of the rhizobial isolates were tentatively categorized as Rhizobium species. Regarding phosphate solubilization, only 48 (46.7%) solubilized phosphate with a solubilization index ranging from 2.1 to 2.7 mm. Twenty-four (50%) of the isolates were found to be hydrogen cyanide producers. Among the rhizobial isolates tested under greenhouse conditions, 37 (77.1%) of them induced nodulation on their host plant (chickpea). Their symbiotic effectiveness evaluation test confirmed that 16(47.1%), 6(17.6%), 26.47%, and 3(8.8%) were highly effective, effective, low effective, and ineffective, respectively. Of the authenticated rhizobial isolates, 12 (35.5%) of them, including WuCR-15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, and 48, accumulated higher shoot dry matter than the positive control. Isolates WuCR- 11, 17, and 36 showed resistance to low and high extreme abiotic stresses of pH, temperature, and salt. Consequently, rhizobial isolates, WuCR- 11, 17, and 36, which were effective and competent in all the tested parameters, were recommended as good rhizobial candidates for applications under greenhouse and field conditions.


The author examines induction log responses to a thinly laminated sand/shale sequence in a deviated borehole for arbitrary deviation (or dip) angle and sand/shale composition. He found that the induction log responses in a thinly laminated sand/shale sequence are the same as they would be if the tool is placed in a homogeneous but anisotropic formation with the horizontal and vertical conductivities given respectively by the parallel and the series conductivities of the sequence. Conversely, a thinly laminated sand/shale sequence can be identified as an anisotropic formation by induction logs. He discusses three methods to identify an anisotropic formation using induction-type logs alone.


Methods and Findings: This is a cross-sectional study, with a Donabedian theoretical reference. The sample was all the professionals of a Mobile Emergency Service and data collection performed by a previously validated quality assessment instrument. Some aspects of the service structure were evaluated negatively, and the process was evaluated in a positive way, in general. When comparing the evaluation of quality according to professional category and education, it was verified that the indicators of structure and process were considered appropriate by the professionals of average level and inadequate by the personnel of superior level.


One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures are of great importance due to their superior charge transport properties. Anchoring 1-D semiconductor nanomaterials on graphene offers potential advantages in photoelectrochemical and sensing applications. This paper presents a systematic investigation on the incorporation of WO3 nanorods and graphene for high-efficiency visible-light-driven photocatalysis and NO2 gas sensing. This novel composite shows remarkably enhanced performance compared to pure WO3 nanorods for these applications. The high photocatalytic activity of the WO3/graphene nanocomposite is found to be related to the increased adsorption toward chemical species, enhanced light absorption and efficient charge separation and transfer. Meanwhile, the improved conductivity, specific electron transfer and increased gas adsorption also contribute to their superior sensitivity and selectivity to NO2 gas.


The running state of gas turbine-steam combined cycle unit of the Heat Power Plant of Baotou Iron and Steel(Group) Co is introduced.The main factors to affect normal running of the gas turbine are summarized analyzed,which is favorable for maintenance and running of the gas turbine.


Abstract With the use of strain gauge pressure transducers, an improved constant volume apparatus has been constructed for measurement of isothermal permeabilities of gases from thermoosmosis experiments. Permeabilities are reproducible to about ±5% accuracy and compare favorably with those obtained by alternative techniques. Revised values are presented for permeability coefficients of the noble gases in rubber.