Renewable energy - wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass - provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health, and our economy. Each source of renewable energy has unique benefits. Generated electricity from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels offers significant public health benefits. Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity with no associated air pollution emissions and water. This statement is true when it comes to new construction. It should also take into account those buildings that are already built (often with many shortcomings). This paper deals with the assessment of the negative impacts of Small Hydropower Plant (SHPP) in eastern Slovakia, in the boundaries of the village Lukov. This is a SHPP built in the end 60's as one of the first three -once (built in the former Czechoslovakia). The disadvantage of its construction is bypass channel, which causes significant or total reduction of water level on biologically important areas. In terms of biodiversity, it's a serious concern mainly in the fish reproduction period. Dry river course is insurmountable obstacle for them. This results in their death caused by exhaustion and gradual extinction of natural reproduction in the area of interest. Paper contains a case study with variant solution of current situation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/enviro.2017.077


Selected Awards · Open Compute Project (OCP) Future Technologies Symposium, Best Paper Award, 2021 · IEEE ECCE Best Demonstration Award for Emerging Technology, 1st Place, 2021 · IEEE Power Electronics Society Transactions Prize Paper Award (2020), 2nd Place, 2021 · IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Highlighted Paper (April), 2021 · C3.ai DTI Research Award, 2021 · IEEE Workshop on Control and Modeling of Power Electronics (COMPEL), Best Paper Award, 2020 · Princeton Engineering Commendation List for Outstanding Teaching, 2020 · IEEE Senior Member, 2020 · NSF CAREER Award, 2019 · IEEE ECCE Best Demonstration Award for Emerging Technology, 1st Place, 2019 · Princeton Innovation Forum, 1st Place, 2019 · Princeton Engineering Commendation List for Outstanding Teaching, 2019 · Siebel Energy Institute Research Award, 2018


High pressure is an important development orientation in pneumatic field,since it can not only improve dynamic characteristics of pneumatic system but also decrease the size of components and mounting space.Due to the advantages of high energy density and high instant expansibility,high pressure gas has been widely used in many applications.However,systematic researches are lacked especially in pressure characteristics which are very important in pneumatic system at present.In a high pressure pneumatic system,the pressure of a fixed cavity with annular clearance needs to be controlled within a wide range,so a single stage proportional slide valve is proposed to satisfy the requirements of high pressure and low flow rate.First,working principle and structure of the pressure assembly and the slide valve are introduced.Then mathematical model of the high pressure pneumatic system is built up;controllable pressure range is simulated,and influence of uncertain factors,such as fit clearance of the pressure valve and the cavity on controllable pressure,is discussed.Finally,a test bench of the pressure assembly is built up,and the controllable pressure and step response experiments are carried out.Both simulation and experimental results show that the designed slide valve can satisfy the requirements well.The proposed clearance presumption method based on simulation and experimental results is valuable for indirect measurement of processing tolerance.


For supporting complicated public decision on network, discussed the potential and shortcoming of BBS, put forward the design of PFS(Public Forum System) for the support of public decision. The system contains two part of design of systematical transfer for public cognition from the level of information to wisdom. This design could be new approach for the combine of democracy and effectiveness in public decision.


Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br] is a food security crop for millions l iving in drylands of Africa and Asia. Its production on acid sandy soils of the Sahel is limited by erratic rainfall and poor soil fertility, especiall y ow-phosphorus (P) soils. We sought to elucidate the genetic variation in West and Central African landrace-derived inbred lines for grain yield under low-P conditions, to determine th ir performance as inbred lines per se and in hybrid combinations, and to determine quantitati ve-genetic parameters in order to derive an appropriate breeding strategy so as to enhance grai n yield under low-P conditions. We evaluated a total of 155 landrace-derived inbred li nes as well as their testcrosses in four locations over two years under two treatments, high -P (HP; with P fertilization) and low-P (LP; without P fertilization). Results revealed sig nificant effects for genotypes, P-level, genotype × P-level, as well as genotype × environme nt interactions. Grain yield reductions under LP treatment ranged from 7.9 to 35.5%, and 11 .2 to 60.9% for inbred lines and testcrosses respectively, with positive mid-parent heterosis averaging 43.5% under LP. We conclude that direct selection of testcrosses under LP is more effective and that indirect selection for testcross performance from inbred lin e performance is not desirable. Gemenet et al. 2015a, Field Crops Research 10 Gemenet D.C., Hash C.T., Sanogo M.D., Sy O., Zangre R.G., Leiser W.L. and Haussmann B.I.G. (2015a). Phosphorus uptake and utilization efficiency in West African pearl millet inbred lines. Field Crops Res. 171:54–66. Phosphorus Uptake and Utilization Efficiency in West African Pearl Millet Inbred Lines Dorcus C. Gemenet, C. Tom Hash, Moussa D Sanogo, Ou smane Sy, Roger G. Zangre, Willmar L. Leiser and Bettina I.G. Haussmann* The final publication is available from ScienceDire ct via doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2014.11.001 Abstract Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br] production on the acid sandy Sahelian soils in West Africa (WA) is severely limited by low plant-a v ilable phosphorus (P) in addition to erratic rainfall. We sought to examine the genetic variability for P-uptake and P-utilization efficiency in 180 WA pearl millet inbred lines or s ubsets thereof under low-(LP) and high-P (HP) conditions in one field and two pot experiment s, determine the relationships among the measured traits and grain yield under field conditi ons at three other independent WA sites, and identify potential secondary selection traits f or improving grain yield under LP. We observed genetic variation for P-uptake and utiliza on in both seedling and mature plants. Putilization efficiency increased under LP condition s. Total P-uptake was more important for grain production than P-utilization under LP field conditions (r = 0.57*** vs r = 0.30***). The estimated response to indirect selection was po itive for most of the measured morphological and P-efficiency parameters. We concl ude that both seedling and mature plant traits are potentially useful as secondary traits i n election of pearl millet for low-P adaptation. These results should be validated using heterozygou s pearl millet genetic materials. Ultimately, pearl millet breeding activities for lo w-P tolerance in WA should be integrated with other system-oriented research such as nutrien t cycling, intercropping or rotations with legumes, better crop-tree-livestock integration, an d modest applications of locally available rock phosphate.Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br] production on the acid sandy Sahelian soils in West Africa (WA) is severely limited by low plant-a v ilable phosphorus (P) in addition to erratic rainfall. We sought to examine the genetic variability for P-uptake and P-utilization efficiency in 180 WA pearl millet inbred lines or s ubsets thereof under low-(LP) and high-P (HP) conditions in one field and two pot experiment s, determine the relationships among the measured traits and grain yield under field conditi ons at three other independent WA sites, and identify potential secondary selection traits f or improving grain yield under LP. We observed genetic variation for P-uptake and utiliza on in both seedling and mature plants. Putilization efficiency increased under LP condition s. Total P-uptake was more important for grain production than P-utilization under LP field conditions (r = 0.57*** vs r = 0.30***). The estimated response to indirect selection was po itive for most of the measured morphological and P-efficiency parameters. We concl ude that both seedling and mature plant traits are potentially useful as secondary traits i n election of pearl millet for low-P adaptation. These results should be validated using heterozygou s pearl millet genetic materials. Ultimately, pearl millet breeding activities for lo w-P tolerance in WA should be integrated with other system-oriented research such as nutrien t cycling, intercropping or rotations with legumes, better crop-tree-livestock integration, an d modest applications of locally available rock phosphate. Gemenet et al. 2015b, Plant and Soil 11 Gemenet D.C., Beggi F., Hash C.T., Sy O., Sanogo M.D., Zangre R.G., Falalou H., Buerkert A. and Haussmann B.I.G. (2015b). Towards understanding the traits contributing to performance of pearl millet open-pollinated varieties in phosphorus-limited environments of West Africa. Plant Soil, DOI 10.1007/s11104-015-2636-9 Towards Understanding the Traits Contributing to Performance of Pearl Millet Openpollinated Varieties in Phosphorus-limited Environments of West Africa Dorcus C. Gemenet*, Francesca Beggi, C. Tom Hash, O usmane Sy, Mousa D. Sanogo, Roger G. Zangre, Hamidou Falalou, Andreas Buerkert and Be ttina I.G. Haussmann The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2636-9 Abstract Aims: Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] open-pollinated varieties, which are the predominant cultivars, have never been systematical ly evaluated for adaptation to low-soil phosphorus (P), a major constraint on pearl millet production in West Africa (WA). Methods: We evaluated grain yield (GY), flowering time (FLO ), harvest index (HI), and residual grain yields (RGY) of 102 open-pollinated varieties from WA under low-P (–P) and high-P (+P) field conditions in six environments of WA. In addition, PE-related traits of the varieties were evaluated at early growth stage in a pot experiment. Results: Significant genetic variation was observed for GY, FLO, HI and PE-related traits. Pefficient varieties had higher yield under –P condi tions. Varietal performance under –P varied across environments depending on FLO, relative flow ering delay under –P (FD) and RGY measured in the field. Low-P-susceptible varieties had higher FLO, lower HI than low-Ptolerant varieties. Response to direct selection un der –P field conditions was 20.1 g m , whereas indirect selection response under +P was 16 .3 g m. Conclusions: Selection under –P field conditions while taking i to account seasonal variations for FLO, FD and PE is expected to be important for improving GY specifically targeting –P environments in WA.Aims: Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] open-pollinated varieties, which are the predominant cultivars, have never been systematical ly evaluated for adaptation to low-soil phosphorus (P), a major constraint on pearl millet production in West Africa (WA). Methods: We evaluated grain yield (GY), flowering time (FLO ), harvest index (HI), and residual grain yields (RGY) of 102 open-pollinated varieties from WA under low-P (–P) and high-P (+P) field conditions in six environments of WA. In addition, PE-related traits of the varieties were evaluated at early growth stage in a pot experiment. Results: Significant genetic variation was observed for GY, FLO, HI and PE-related traits. Pefficient varieties had higher yield under –P condi tions. Varietal performance under –P varied across environments depending on FLO, relative flow ering delay under –P (FD) and RGY measured in the field. Low-P-susceptible varieties had higher FLO, lower HI than low-Ptolerant varieties. Response to direct selection un der –P field conditions was 20.1 g m , whereas indirect selection response under +P was 16 .3 g m. Conclusions: Selection under –P field conditions while taking i to account seasonal variations for FLO, FD and PE is expected to be important for improving GY specifically targeting –P environments in WA. Gemenet et al. 2015c, Molecular Breeding 12 Gemenet D.C., Leiser W.L., Zangre R.G., Angarawai I.I., Sanogo M.D., Sy O., Mahendar T., Hash C.T. and Haussmann B.I.G. (2015c). Association analysis of low-phosphorus tolerance in west african pearl millet using DArT markers. Molecular Breeding 35: 171. DOI 10.1007/s11032-015-0361-y Association Analysis of Low-Phosphorus Tolerance in West African Pearl Millet using DArT Markers Dorcus C. Gemenet, Willmar L. Leiser, Roger G. Zang re, Ignatius I. Angarawai, Moussa D. Sanogo, Ousmane Sy, Thudi Mahendar, C. Tom Hash and Bettina I.G. Haussmann* The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11032-015-0361-y Abstract Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a food security crop in the harshe t agricultural regions of the world. While low soil-p hosphorus (P) availability is a big constraint on its production, especially in West Af rica (WA), information on genomic regions responsible for low-P tolerance in pearl millet is generally lacking. We present the first report on genetic polymorphisms underlying several plant P -related parameters, flowering time (FLO) and grain yield (GY) under P-limiting conditi ons based on 285 diversity array technology (DArT) markers and 151 West African pear l millet inbred lines phenotyped in six environments in WA under both high-P and low-P cond itions. Nine markers were significantly associated with P-related traits, nin e markers with FLO w


For many practical problems it is useful to be able to sample conditioned diffusions on a computer (e.g. in filtering/ smoothing to sample from the conditioned distribution of the unknown signal given the known observations). We present a recently developed, SPDE-based method to tackle this problem. The method is an infinite-dimensional generalization of the Langevin sampling technique.


Pore size and pore size distribution of the Industrialized ceramic ultrafiltration membranes were measured by liquid-liquid displacement method. Effect of two permeate systems on the results was compared; The rejection action of different membranes were investigated by standard substances with known molecular weight; molecular weight cut off values of membranes were obtained. The association of pore size and rejection rate was analyzed; the results will guide development of industrialized ceramic ultrafiltration membranes.


To ensure the normal operation of the urban functions, the telecommunication network is one of the most important parts of support system. Modern urban functions have been changed from single to multiple, and the functions are continuous being optimized. How can we make telecom network construction and development more responsive to changes in today's urban functions become the focus of recent studies. From the perspective of complex adaptive systems theory (CAS), this paper established a telecommunication network complexity adaptive model, and analyzed the adaptive behavior of telecommunication network agents. The research can find out the mechanism that telecommunication networks adapt the needs of urban functions better.


Irrigation water use efficiency is an important index to evaluate agricultural water use efficiency of irrigation districts, and is a basic parameter of hydraulic engineering construction and water management. However, there are many problems in practical applications of the traditional irrigation water use efficiency which is based on sufficient irrigation theory. This paper puts forward a new concept and determination method of irrigation water use efficiency based on the theories of deficit irrigation. Finally, we discussed the connotations from the project characteristics, benefit characteristics, spatial scale and time scale characteristics.


The main purpose of this review is to understand the sensitivity of marine and water ecosystems to climatic changes, it is crucial to understand the impact and the consequences of these climate-induced shifts for ecosystem structure. The physical and chemical conditions present in different marine and freshwater regions are changing with ti me, and that climate and CO2 can have substantial effects on organism physiology, populations of individual species, and community composition and biodiversity. Somewhat less is known about the consequences of these climate -induced shifts for ecosystem str ucture and aggregated ecosystem functions, such as energy flow from primary production through to upper trophic levels, connections across habitats via dispersal and transport, sequestration of organic carbon, and biogeochemical cycling. Climate change is modifying the distribution and productivity of marine and freshwater species and is already affecting biological processes and altering food webs.


A brief discussion of the methods and guidelines associated with high frequency (>20 MHz) acoustic field characterization is given. Using these guidelines as a basis, a computer-controlled exposimetry system for measurement of acoustic fields above 15 MHz was built. The system incorporates five degrees-of-freedom for positioning both the ultrasound device and hydrophone. Overall system bandwidth can range over 100 MHz, and is limited by the type of hydrophone used. A calibrated needle-type polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hydrophone with a 0.04 mm spot size was used for most measurements. A 50 MHz spherically focused LiNbO/sub 3/ transducer was tested and intensity results are reported. A comparison with theoretical field simulations yielded some variance between the field patterns of pulse-average intensity, however, there is good agreement between empirical (8.6 mm) and designed (9.0 mm) focal points. The measured -3 dB beamwidth was 208 /spl mu/m, slightly larger than the calculated value of 128 /spl mu/m.


Improved photovoltaic module backsheets, and processes for making the same, are disclosed, including nylon resin films filled with mineral additives, for use in photovoltaic laminated modules. The present disclosure provides nylon-11 and/or nylon-1010 films and mineral additives for use as backsheet materials in photovoltaic modules having improved thermal and humidity performance.


In this study, a broadband planar multilayer monopulse antenna at the X-band for monopulse tracking applications is presented. A monopulse comparator has been designed using four hybrid ratrace for feeding the radiating elements of the antenna. Each radiating part of the monopulse antenna consists of 4 × 4 electromagnetically coupled microstrip antenna array. To achieve circular geometry as well as better side-lobe level (SLL), a hybrid feeding technique is used in radiating antenna array by adding a few elements in series at the end elements of the parasitic layer of a 4 × 4 corporate fed array. The prototype has been fabricated, tested and measured results are compared with simulated results. The simulated impedance bandwidth for |
 S
 11
| ≤ -10 dB is 21% (8.6-10.6 GHz). A measured peak sum beam gain of 24.4 dBi has been obtained. Measured SLL of <;-15 dB has been achieved in both elevation and azimuth planes along with a null depth of <;-35 dB for difference patterns in both the planes. The radiation pattern is symmetrical in both the planes with half-power beamwidth nearly equal to 9.0°.


This study aims to find out how the description of collateral assets and stock prices in the Basic and Chemical Industry companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2012-2016, and how the influence of collateral assets on stock prices in Basic and Chemical Industry companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange period 2012-2016. The factors tested in this study are collateral assets as independent variables, while stock prices as the dependent variable. The research method used in this research is descriptive and verification method. The population in this study are basic industrial and chemical companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2012 to 2016, totaling 70 companies. The sampling technique used in this study is nonprobability sampling with a purposive sampling method so that the number of samples is 41 companies. The data analysis used in this study is multiple linear regression analysis at a significance level of 5%. The program used in analyzing data using Eviews 9. The results showed that collateral assets tended to increase, but stock prices tended to decline. In addition, the results of the study also show that collateral assets affect stock prices. The magnitude of the influence of collateral assets in giving contributions to the effect of the stock price of 8.3%. Keywords— Collateral Asset and Stock Price


Objective:  Symptomatic, anatomic and urodynamic results of a composite transobturatory tension‐free sling with an absorbable middle part, in patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), were studied.


We have performed dynamical modeling of the fission process using the Langevin equations. Two types of the collective potential have been used: (i) the finite range model potential extensively used in the literature and (ii) the Lublin-Strasburg drop model potential appeared much later. Our calculations have shown that quantitatively both potentials result in the values of observables which are not in perfect agreement with experiment. Moreover in the calculations using the Lublin-Strasburg drop model the disagreement with the experimental data is significantly stronger.


The key cause of the slow development of the non-state pension provision (NPP) in Ukraine is a low level of public trust, which is characterized by unstable dynamics. In the article, an attempt was made to identify the determinants of the non-linear dynamics (cyclic recurrence) of public trust in the NPP system. As a formal measure of trust, the estimate of the pension activity, the absolute (the number of members of private pension funds (NPF)) and relative (the ratio of pension contributions to NPF to the disposable income) indicators were used by the author. An algorithm for the study of the cyclic dynamics of public trust in the NPP and testing the hypotheses about its determinants has been developed. Simultaneously, the study has empirically verified the traditional theories of the saving behavior and the postulates of the neoclassical analysis of the dynamics of savings according to the economic cycle phases in relation to the savings-and-investment behavior of the population of Ukraine in general and the retirement behavior in particular. Hodrick – Prescott filter was used to highlight the long-term trend and the cyclical component of the time series. The following statistical parameters of the cyclic dynamics of time series of the main determinants of public trust in the NPP have been estimated: volatility, persistence and synchronicity of changes. The study has shown that cyclic recurrence of public trust in the NPP depends on the economic cycles, in particular, the real GDP index and the real wage index are coincident indicators of trust, the consumer price index is the leading one. At the same time people's trust in the NPP in relation to the economic cycle (and, correspondingly, the retirement behavior) is a counter-cyclical indicator. The identified nature of the savings-and-investment retirement behavior contradicts the tenets of the neoclassical analysis of the dynamics of savings in the phases of the economic cycle and empirically confirms G. Katona' hypothesis about special understanding of savings by individuals. In addition, the study has found no statistically significant dependence of the dynamics of trust in the NPP and retirement behavior of the population in the phases of the economic cycle on gender and age


The priority principle of storage allocation rules of serial cascade reservoirs within an interbasin water supply can reduce water loss and reduce water supply times. Reasonable balancing curves for reservoirs in parallel are proposed, and the proportional distribution of water is determined to illustrate the optimal allocation rule for different reservoir scheduling periods. The mutation point and slope are used to describe the segmentation of reservoirs in parallel. Finally, the relative optimal water supply rule is obtained. Taking the reservoir groups in the lower reaches of the Luanhe River basin as the research object, the results show that the water supply obtained by the balancing curve is increased by approximately 4% compared with the compensation regulation, and wasted water is reduced by 10%. The results are close to the largest water supply, the annual average wasted water and the guarantee rate obtained by dynamic programming. The suggested method can achieve the operation goal effectively and improve the operation performance of the shared water demands for the reservoir water supply. This article highlights the superior results obtained compared with the current storage allocation rules to meet shared water demands.


Malaysia has introduced Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism in 2011. This is accordance with Renewable Energy Act 2011 and Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011. This mechanism is to promote the development and encouragement of renewable energy sector in Malaysia such as solar photovoltaic (PV), biomass, biogas, small hydro and geothermal. After 5 years of implementation in Malaysia, FiT mechanism has been know as an effective solution to make a monthly income from the energy produced from renewable sources. Hence, the residential area has started to install solar PV after the FiT was introduced. However, without taking any consideration the possibility of increament in electricity tariff, bank loan commitment, solar irradiation, increase in energy consumed and weather conditions, the existing FiT will not give an advantages to the customer. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to evaluate the FiT scheme for long term condition to residential area by using solar PV system as a renewable sources. This can be achieved by study the historical data of the electricity tariff, FiT rates, solar irradiation and energy consumption for residential house for 21 years. From the linear regression projection, it was projected that the electricity tariff will be increased around 140% from year 2015 to year 2035 for block tariff above 300kWh. In order to validate the data projection and analysis of the electricity tariff, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) projection is also been used. The ANN analysis shown the FiT for PV system in residential area can give negative impact in long term condition.


Background: This study addresses the problem of clustering of risky habits, i.e. the drinking and substance use habits of smokers and non-smokers. Methods: A sample survey of the general non-hospitalized, Norwegian population (>15 years), excluding abstainers from alcohol was used. We investigated differences in yearly consumption of beer, wine, liquor and total alcohol consumption and intake of sedatives, snuff, coffee and tea for a sample of daily smokers (n=763) and non-smokers (n=938) (mean age 38.7 years and SD 16.2 years). Results: Compared to non-smokers, male daily smokers drank significantly more beer, wine and liquor than non-smokers and used snuff more frequently than non-smokers. Female daily smokers drank more beer than non-smokers, but there were no significant differences for wine and liquor. For both genders, the total yearly intake of alcohol was approximately twice as high for daily smokers compared to non-smokers. Daily smokers also used marihuana more frequently and they drank significantly more coffee but less tea than non-smokers. There were no significant differences in use of sedatives. Conclusion: Increased drinking and several risky health habits are linked to daily smoking. Smoking cessation should be tried out as a preventive strategy for alcohol consumption as well.


The invention discloses a preparation method for disperse red 343:1 dye. The preparation method comprises the following steps: 1) diazotization, to be specific, adding water into a reaction kettle, cooling with cooling water, adding sulfuric acid, and then, dropwise adding nitrosyl sulfuric acid; after completing adding the nitrosyl sulfuric acid, adding 2-amino-5, 6-dichloro benzothiazole, stirring, and performing standing to obtain diazonium salt; 2) coupling, to be specific, adding water, glacial acetic acid, sulfamic acid and peregal into a coupling bucket, adding N-ethyl-N-benzoyloxy ethyl m-toluidine, adding ice for cooling, pressing-in the diazonium salt, and coupling; 3) after completing the coupling, and adding water for heating; 4) performing press-filtering, and washing, so as to obtain dye filter cakes; 5) mixing the dye filter cakes and an auxiliary agent, so as to obtain the disperse red 343:1 dye. According to the invention, the disperse red 343:1 dye serves as a substitute object of disperse red 343, the preparation technology is simple, only one-time coupling reaction is performed, the process route is shortened, the waste water discharge is greatly reduced, the yield is increased, the cyanation reaction adopting plenty of virulent cyanide is avoided, the possibility for harming human beings and the environment is reduced, and the finally prepared disperse red 343:1 dye is high in light fastness and can meet the use requirements of textiles on high-solarization dye.


The 17O-NMR. line widths of the enriched amino acids glycine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and, for comparative reasons, acetic acid were measured in aqueous solution between pH 1 and 14. The 17O-NMR. line-width maxima of glycine at pH≈11 and acetic acid at pH≈5 are shown to arise from traces of paramagnetic metal ions. The increase in line width in case of glycine on going from the zwitterion 10 the cataion is attributed to an increase in the 17O-quadrupole coupling constant. No evidence for an intermolecular or intramolecular association of glycine in the zwitterionic form was found. When the paramagnetic impurities were eliminated by addition of EDTA, both the longitudinal and transverse relaxation times remained unchanged on deprotonation of the amino group. The overlapping of the α, β- and α, γ-carboxyl resonances of aspartic and glutamic acid, respectively, created difficulties for their line-width analysis.


Use for promoting desquamation of a cosmetic composition comprising, as active ingredient, at least one association of a-galactosidase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase and N-acetyl-galactosaminidase favoring peeling, so that said composition comprises proteases.


Analytical goals for imprecision derived from data on intra-individual variation for total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3 and thyrotropin (TSH) are coefficients of variation (CV) ⩽ 2·5, 4·7, 5·2, 3·9 and 8·1%, respectively. If total T4 is used to monitor replacement therapy with thyroxine, a more stringent goal of CV ⩽ 1·;4% is appropriate. For those analytes for which biological variation data are not available, analytical goals may be derived either from reference intervals or from the 'state of the art' as judged from the performance of a stated proportion of laboratories participating in an interlaboratory quality assessment scheme. Analytical goals for imprecision for reverse T3 and thyroxine-binding globulin derived from reference values are CV ⩽ 10·;7 and 7·;2%, respectively. The goal for inaccuracy is that there should be none. Statements regarding the detection limit of an assay should be replaced with information about the range of concentrations over which specified goals for imprecision are met. If goals are not achieved at concentrations which are used for clinical decision making the 95% confidence limits of the extreme values of the 'working range' should be calculated using the relevant imprecision. Improved analytical performance will result in better between-laboratory comparability and eventually allow the use of universally applicable reference values.


Objective To refine the loss of heterozygosity(LOH) on chromosome 20q11-13 and identify the new tumor suppressor gene(s) in colorectal tumorigenesis. Methods From 1998 to 1999, 83 patients with colorectal cancer had been admitted to Shanghai First People's Hospital. Tumor tissues and adjacent normal mucosal tissues were collected. Ten polymorphic microsatellite markers were analyzed on chromosome 20 and another 10 markers were applied on chromosome 20q11-13 in 83 cases of colorectal and normal DNA by PCR. PCR products were eletrophoresed on an ABI 377 DNA sequencer. Genesean 3.1 and Genotyper 2.1 software were used for LOH scanning and analysis. Results We observed a distinct region of frequent allelic deletions on chromosome, another 10 polymorphric microsatellite markers were applied to 20q11-13 and 2 minimal regions of frequent LOH were established, that is to say 20q11.2, 20q12. Tumor suppressor genes E2F1, PMP24 and MAFB were found in the regions of 20q11.2 and 20q12. Conclusion Through our detailed deletion mapping studies, we have found 2 critical and precise regions, which must contain one or more unknown tumor suppressor gene (s) on colorectal cancer.

Key words:
Colonic neoplasms;  Rectal neoplasms;  Loss of heterozygosity;  Fine mapping


At the plasma membrane of mammalian cells, major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC-I) present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T cells. Following the loss of the peptide and the light chain beta-2 microglobulin (β2m), the resulting free heavy chains (FHCs) can associate into homotypic complexes in the plasma membrane. Here, we investigate the stoichiometry and dynamics of MHC-I FHCs assemblies by combining a micropattern assay with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and with single molecule co-tracking. We identify non-covalent MHC-I FHC dimers mediated by the α3 domain as the prevalent species at the plasma membrane, leading a moderate decrease in the diffusion coefficient. MHC-I FHC dimers show increased tendency to cluster into higher order oligomers as concluded from an increased immobile fraction with higher single molecule co-localization. In vitro studies with isolated proteins in conjunction with molecular docking and dynamics simulations suggest that in the complexes, the α3 domain of one FHC binds to another FHC in a manner similar to the β2m light chain. Significance Statement MHC class I molecules are cell surface transmembrane proteins with key functions in adaptive immunity against viral infections. The spatiotemporal organization of fully assembled MHC I at the cell surface and its function with respect to trans-interactions with T and NK cells has been studied in detail. By contrast, the consequences of peptide and β2m dissociation yielding to formation of free heavy chains (FHC) have remained unclear. We have discovered that class I free heavy chains form distinct non-covalent dimers at the cell surface rather than non-specific clustering, and we have identified a dimerization interface mediated by the α3 domain. We propose that these non-covalent dimers are the basis of distinct signaling and endocytic sorting of MHC I FHC. This is to be explored in further work.


11. SECTION ONE-THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE .............................................. 163 A. Self-Help and Fire Brigade Reactive Efforts ......................................... 165 B. Need for Proactive Curriculum for Would-Be Judges .......................... 167 C. Strengthening Judicial Education ......................................................... 170 1. Judicial Ethics Training .................................................................. 170 2. Computerization and Training ........................................................ 171 3. Electronic Court Recording Education .......................................... 171 D . C onclusion ............................................................................................. 172


Results of prior research indicate that central cities are likely to adopt progrowth policies, whereas suburbs have become increasingly "antigrowth." This research further examines the city and suburb differences in economic development priorities at the city-administrator level. By utilizing survey data that targeted administrators of cities with a population of at least 5,000 in the state of Texas, this study tests four hypotheses that are derived from previous theories. Results show that there is a high level of consensus among city and suburb administrators regarding the importance of economic development and job creation. However, central-city administrators accord a greater level of importance to job creation and to a regional economy than do administrators in suburbs. Furthermore, the administrators' perceptions of policy priorities are also conditioned by the structure of their local government.


It is proposed that applications software will be able to be executed properly on entire families of related but dissimilar in-vehicle systems if all software access to the hardware takes place through a defined set of software calls in the ROM BIOS. By allowing map data to be retrieved through a defined high-level retrieval service, application software can be written without requiring detailed familiarity with the data structures, and can be compatible with future map data retrieval services which, while providing the same interface, may provide improved performance. By providing pre-emptive multi-tasking in the vehicular computer environment, application software can be developed efficiently without requiring the developers to take responsibility for the unrelated real-time requirements of navigation, or other software that may also be executed. Unrelated vehicle information systems can use a common compact disk on which multiple versions of executable software are resident.<<ETX>>


This paper examines what affects the demand for five Swedish ethical funds between the years 1997-2007. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a relation between fund value and other v ...


Bayat Sub-district of Klaten Regency has been supplying batik to Yogyakarta and Surakarta since the 1960's. The role of Bayat as a batik provider is inseparable from Jarum village, which was officially established as a tourism village by the Government of Klaten Regency in 2014. Considering that batik is produced under Putting Out System (POS) which employs home workers, the industrial scale criteria applied to formal industry is less appropriate if it will be applied to batik home-industry as a micro-small scaled industry. This research was conducted to describe the profile of batik industry in Jarum village as well as arrange criteria used by Jarum people to determine the scale of batik industry. This qualitative research data was collected by interview, observation, documentation, and literature study. The results showed that there were 19 industries producing batik cloth, 10 industries producing batik woodcraft, 1 industry producing batik T-shirt, and 1 industry producing batik painting. Based on local perception, 7 industries were categorized as large, 13 industries were categorized as moderate, and 11 industries were categorized as small. The criteria used to establish the industrial scale were production scale, number of employees, and marketing reach. Only 5 industries found to apply natural colorants for batik clothes production, while synthetic dyes were applied broadly for batik clothes, batik T-shirt, batik woodcraft, and paintings. Natural colorants less desirable by batik Juragans who use synthetic dyes because the application of natural dyes will prolong the production, limits the scale of production, tend to shows uncontrolled quality, and more difficult to sell.


This research is oriented at explanation of sport performance by angle, speed, time and space char-acteristics of centre of gravity, positions of body, extremities and pole during approach, take-off and jump realization in female pole vault. Kinematic parameters were gained by two-dimension analyser Consport Motion Analysis System (CMAS). There are involved 19 female pole vault jumpers with sport performance 408.1–490.5 cm (average result 431.2 cm). From the point of biomechanical movement activity analyse we consider as a more objective performance criterion (dependent variable) maximal centre of gravity height that were reached at valid attempts by female pole vault jumpers. By two-dimension (2-D) analyse of group of female pole vault jumpers there were revealed 76 independent variables that entered into process of multiple correlation and regression analysis. On 1st sport structure performance factor level we isolated two complex parameters absolute grip and standing over by which we can explain dependent variable maximal centre of gravity height on 100%. With stated proceeding we could separate seven factors on 2nd level. Three of the parameters horizontal speed of centre of gravity at moment of take-off end, centre of gravity height at moment of take-off end and operating angle during take-off are bound with explanation of absolute grip variable. Four others parameters vertical speed of centre of gravity at the end of pull with turn, centre of gravity height at moment of end of lifting, time duration of take-off and climb angle explain standing over. 14 more factors are found on 3rd sport structure performance level. Thus we succeeded in this process to reduce number of decisive variables with their mutual relationships and hierarchy. Transparent and simplified model of female pole vault sport performance structure enables to coaches and jumpers improve technical training.


In this work' we will investigate the performance of different strategies when trying to schedule mixed traffic (video streaming with tight bounds on the delay jitter, and unconstrained delay data with a given throughput target) over a multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) air interface. In particular, a channel- and application- aware scheduling strategy is proposed and compared to a traditional maximum throughput algorithm. In our approach, fluctuations in the channel conditions of different users can be exploited via statistical multiplexing, while application-specific constraints (eg, on the delay of the relevant service) are also considered in the scheduling decision. Furthermore, we apply buffer management at the radio link layer to drop (possibly) outdated packets that are of less importance to the achievable quality. We will show that with clever choice of the parameters of our advanced algorithm we can support a larger number of satisfied video users at the expense of an increased average transmission delay for data users.


The failure modes of pneumatic directional control valves include leakage, wear of the spool seal, and sticking of the spool. Among them, the main failure mode of the valve is leakage. The leakage is caused by the wear of the spool seal. However, due to the characteristics of the seal material, the leakage rate is fluctuated a lot rather than constantly increased over time. If life analysis is performed using the first time data of leakage failure, predicted life cycles can be different from the real life cycles. This paper predicts life cycles of the pilot pneumatic directional control valve based on the three point moving average which considers the average of the fluctuating leakage rate.


On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of the stereo image pair obtained by the remote sensing mapping, considering the continual increment of data obtained by stereo mapping satellite on orbit and the trend of the hardware development, a joint compression algorithm for the stereo image pairs based on the classified characters is proposed. First, stereo image pairs are matched through SIFT feature matching; and then the images are classified adaptively by the features according to the matching results. For the region where the characteristics are flat, the predicted residual-error image is coded based on the coarse match and the fine match using the adaptive block in order to improve the accuracy of matching with the linear prediction for the radiation compensation. For the feature-rich region, according to the correlation of the images, individual compression or joint compression is selected. When the joint compression algorithm is selected, the match alignment of the left and right image pair is done by the affine model estimation and the linear prediction is adapted to the radiation compensation. Because different compression scheme is adopted for different characteristics regions, the results show that the PSNR and the geometric precision of the reconstructed images are improved effectively, especially when the images contain many characteristics of elevation information.


INTRODUCTION Fungi and Human Disease. —The first pathologic conditions ever shown to be caused by microbes in man, namely, thrush, 1 favus, 2 and ringworm, 3 were all fungus diseases. Notwithstanding this, the pioneer workers in medical microbiology centered their attention primarily and for many years on the pathogenic bacteria because these organisms, as a rule, are more aggressive than the fungi and they take a heavier toll on human life. In the course of time, however, a large proportion of the major problems created by the infecting bacteria have found satisfactory solution, and now the interest of microbiologists is being gradually moved toward the fungus infections. Many medical centers throughout the world have already organized well-equipped laboratories dedicated to research in this new field; the biology of the pathogenic fungi is being carefully studied, and during the last decades several hitherto unknown mycoses have


The peculiarities of Ukraine's socio-economic development are investigated and their problematic aspects are highlighted in the article, along with their systemic analysis. The need for state regulation to increase the transformation processes in the economy under crisis conditions is justified. The objective of the study is the further development of theoretical approaches, systematisation of the analysis results and definition of the main measures to improve the efficiency of the socio-economic processes management in Ukraine to ensure implementation of the economic growth model in the short term. The subject of the study is the state of socio-economic development of Ukraine. The object of study are the transformation processes taking place in the country's economy. The study uses methods of logical generalisation, graphical, analysis, evaluation. The originality of the article lies in the approach of the authors to the definition and justification of ways to solve complex socio-economic problems of Ukraine. The new trends in management efficiency improvement of socio-economic processes in Ukraine, which are to ensure implementation of the economic growth model in the short term, are developed. The role of economic development in the investment attractiveness of the economy is justified. IT has been identified as an important activity for increasing the country's income. It has been shown that structural restructuring of an enterprise, its transformation on the basis of technological renewal in connection with realisation of the potential of informatisation and technological innovations, implies a number of structural changes in the direction of innovative development. It is confirmed that intensification of processes of informatisation, digitisation will allow to unite business, capital, industrial, scientific and trading infrastructure in the direction of achievement of world standards of development. Ways to solve the outlined problems will accelerate the socio-economic development of Ukraine, ensure sustainable development of the country's industry in the globalised economic space. At the same time, the development of cluster systems, which allow to combine science, business and government to solve the problems of sustainable development of regions, countries and their associations, is of great importance. The study also emphasises the high potential of Ukraine in the development of information systems, their active introduction in various industries of the country.


Special economic zones (sez's) denote geographical area which enjoys special privileges as compared with nonsez area in country. The main motivation was force for a view to boost exports by attracting both India andforeign corporate to undertake investment in these areas. An approach of planning commission to the 11th fiveyear plan in (2006). wide explanation that the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been recognized as animportant mechanism for trade and investment promotion, creation of infrastructure, employment generation,promotion of regional development, increase in foreign exchange earnings, improving export competitivenessand transfer of skills and technology.Keywords: Special economic zones (sez's), employment generation, investment, Development


ABSTRACT Dissolved phosphorus fractions present in the surface waters of a eutrophic reservoir lake in northcentral Oklahoma were characterized by chemical, enzymatic, and chromatographic techniques. Simultaneous measurements of alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) were also conducted on each lakewater sample. An inverse biphasic linear relationship was found between soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations (SRP) and APA on a seasonal basis. Phosphomonoesters (PME) comprised from 0–65 percent of the soluble unreactive phosphorus (SUP) pool and an inverse linear relationship was found between PME concentrations and APA on a seasonal basis. Gel filtration chromatography of filtered lake water from the above system and a mesotrophic lake exhibiting high clay turbidity supported the view that the majority of complex phosphorus in these systems existed as low molecular weight phosphate esters.


The zero-temperature limit of the characteristic equation of the transfer matrix is derived for one-dimensional classical lattice systems with a finite one-point configuration space and finite-range interactions. In this way, the author obtains an explicit polynomial equation for the residual entropy, which only involves the counting of some specific periodic ground-state configurations. The formula is applied to some well known models and compared with similar calculations in the literature.


With improving technology, the idea of using energy dissipater equipment has been strengthened in order to control the structures response in dynamic loads such as wind and earthquake. In this research, we dealt with seismic performance of base isolated structures with lead-rubber bearing (LRB) using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). For this purpose, 3- and 9-story buildings have been utilized in the SAC project undergoing 22 earthquake records which were far-fault. Plotting the fragility curve for various states of design time period and isolator damping of LRB, it is observed that, by increasing damping, the isolator has not been activated in small spectrum acceleration, which shows that the annual exceedance probability is increased in immediate occupancy (IO) performance level and decreased in life safety (LS) performance level. The results show the reduction of determined failure probability in fragility curves for two levels of performance of uninterrupted use and lateral safety. Likewise obtained results show that, with increasing design time period of isolator, the amount of failure probability is decreased rather than the isolator with smaller design time period, for both LS and IO states. And the isolator illustrates better performance.


IN this discussion I hope to make it clear that Congress would be justified at this time in conferring upon a federal administrative agency the power to determine in advance whether any given agreement or combination violates the rule of the Sherman Law. Thus baldly stated the proposal may seem revolutionary. But it is not. It indicates nothing more than the next essential step in the evolution of federal legislation concerning the regulation of competition. Such proposed legislation and control will bring us only half way to the goal of ultimate desire long since attained in England where the rule of law is the same as in the United States, where no regulation is established to administer the law, where violations of the law do not constitute crimes, and where infrequent resort to the courts either by aggrieved persons or by the government conclusively proves that in practical application the law is in furtherance of and not in opposition to the public interest.


In this paper, we investigate whether the composition of experience-based knowledge accumulated by firms in urban and rural locations is reflected in the novelty content of their innovations. Looking at the manufacturing industry, and using Norwegian Linked Employer- Employee register data (LEED) merged with Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data, we find that unrelated experience variety within firms increases the probability of radical innovation, independently of firms' location, whereas related variety increases the probability of incremental innovation in large-city regions. These results demonstrate that innovation capacity cannot be understood from the single perspective of R&D efforts and strategy as it also depends on experiences accumulated in 'entire organizations' and the locations in which accumulation occurs. Moreover, they suggest that for manufacturing firms, urban locations are not hot spot for radical change. Instead, they support incremental innovative activities by facilitating effective sharing of knowledge between related sectors.


Objective To investigate that whether hyperthyroidism would be caused by the iodine nutrition whic was improved among iodine supplied population of low grade iodine deficiency area.Methods The cases of hyperthyroidism were contrasted in pro and post supplement of iodine.The environmental iodine value and iodine metabolism level of human were determined by iodine microanalysis.Results It showed that the quantity of daily iodine of the population increased from 70μg to 220~300μg since the iodine salt had been supplied.The cases of hyperthyroidism were more than before since the iodine nutrition of population had been improved.Most of the cases' age were 20~54 years old.Female was more than male.There were no difference between the hyperthyroids and the general population in urine iodine.It indicated even the iodine was supplied properly,the hyperthyroidism still would be attacked among some high risk populatin.Conclusions It suggested that the surveillance of hyperthyroidism should be carried out after supplying iodine to all population in lwo grade iodine deficiency area.So that it would provide a scienctific basis to IDD control measures. [


Many modern IoT applications rely on the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). Recently, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) proposed two novel protocols for securing it. These are: 1) Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (OSCORE) providing authenticated encryption for the CoAP's payload data and 2) Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman Over COSE (EDHOC) providing the symmetric session keys required for OSCORE. In this paper, we present the design of four firmware libraries for these protocols which are especially targeted for constrained microcontrollers and their detailed evaluation. More precisely, we present the design of uOSCORE and μEDHOC libraries for regular microcontrollers and μOSCORE-TEE and μEDHOC-TEE libraries for microcontrollers with a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), such as microcontrollers featuring ARM TrustZone-M. Our firmware design for the latter class of devices concerns the fact that attackers may exploit common software vulnerabilities, e.g., buffer overflows in the protocol logic, OS or application to compromise the protocol security. We present an evaluation of our implementations in terms of RAM/FLASH requirements and execution speed on a broad range of microcontrollers. Our implementations are available as open-source software.


The upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in terms of beam intensity and energy, implies an increasing risk of severe damage in particular in case of beam losses during fast failures. For this reason, efforts were put in developing simulation tools to allow studies of asynchronous dump accidents, including realistic additional failure scenarios. The scope of these studies is to understand realistic beam loads in different collimators, in order to improve the actual LHC collimation system design, to provide feedbacks on optics design and to elaborate different mitigation actions. Simulations were set up with a modified SixTrack collimation routine able to simulate erroneous firing of a single dump kicker or the simultaneous malfunction of all the 15 kickers. In such a context, results are evaluated from the whole LHC collimation system point of view.


Solar flares are generally believed to be caused by the magnetic reconnections at the sheared magnetic neutral lines. So, the study of magnetic field configuration near the flare sites would help us to understand the physics of solar flares. In a separate study, Wang & Ewell (1993) found that in NOAA region 6555, the photospheric shear in the neutral line in the δ spot was a mere 20° before the flare but increased by nearly 40° immediately after the X-9 flare on 1991 March 22. A new study of the evolution of spot and magnetic structure of the 1991 March 22 region reveals that a pair of new umbrae emerged suddenly on either side of the neutral line coinciding with the shear increase immediately after the flare


the fi fth (following those published in 9/1998, 6/2001 10/2004 and 12/2007) dedicated entirely to electrochemical noise in the context of corrosion. During the last twenty years, a series of workshops and colloquia on this topic have taken place at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany under the auspices of the German Society for Corrosion Protection (GfKORR). A large part of the results presented there have been documented in the abovementioned dedicated editions of Materials and Corrosion. Whereas earlier workshops emphasized fundamental possibilities to measure and evaluate electrochemical noise, the subsequent trend has been more and more towards actual applications in the laboratory and in pilot plant or operating systems, as well as in the direction of theoretical analysis of noise phenomena and their interpretation. As with corrosion processes in general, electrochemical noise depends upon the type of material, the medium to which it is exposed and the actual design and construction of the system concerned. Noise signals arise from transient fl uctuations in the charge at the phase boundary between the metal and the electrolyte. The origin of these is a temporary excess of electrons in the metal, e.g. through localised anodic dissolution, which is followed by a cathodic process in the liquid so as to consume these electrons. The amplitude, duration and shape of the noise transients always permit information to be gathered on the corrosion that is occurring. What is even better is that they allow the initiation processes relevant to the commencement of corrosion to be investigated, or also a change in the corrosion mechanism to be detected. This is of great value in corrosion testing, since it is no longer necessary either to accelerate this by using more aggressive conditions, or to wait for very long periods of time before corrosion damage becomes visible. As a result, not only can the test duration often be shortened drastically, but the risk of altering the corrosion mechanism itself can be avoided. Under certain circumstances, the existence of operating conditions leading to increased danger of corrosion in technical systems can be monitored with the aid of suitable noise sensors. Despite the above advantages, the worldwide use of electrochemical noise for the assessment of corrosion has still not achieved the acceptance which it deserves. This cannot be due to inadequacy of the measuring equipment. Over recent decades, well-known fi rms have developed a range of equipment that leaves behind the original problems that were experienced and whose functionality can be convincingly tested on suitable model systems. Similarly, a range of both proven and newer evaluation techniques is now available. The main obstacle to acceptance is lack of knowledge of the – admittedly complex – processes and infl uencing parameters involved in corrosion itself. Thus, fundamental examination of the type of corrosion involved and assessment of the aims in using the technique should always take place before measurements are attempted. E.g., it is necessary to ask what the sources of the noise signals are and how they can be captured in an optimal way. Subsequent interpretation will then be easier and real value can be derived from the measurements. The contributions in the present edition originate essentially from the 6th workshop on electrochemical noise held in Magdeburg. They involve investigations on the stability of passive fi lms, on the effectiveness of material-specifi c surface preparation and on bio-degradeable materials and protective coatings. Furthermore, the infl uence of different surface treatments on electrochemical noise is revealed. Experiments on the inititiation of stress corrosion cracking in high-temperature aqueous media illustrate that the technique can also be applied in quite diffi cult circumstances. The spectrum of contributions is rounded off by observations on the possible distortion of signals as a result of the amplifi cation methods applied. These contributions can only give a limited indication of the manifold possibilities for the investigation of corrosion offered by electrochemical noise. They are intended to stimulate the increased use of this novel technique.


The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between the polymorphism of candidate genes in the development of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as well as arterial hypertension and the appearance of manifestations of the disease, namely obesity and its accompanying metabolic syndrome, as well as manifestations of arterial hypertension. To determine the peculiarities of the dynamics of elastic properties of the arterial wall in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and morbid obesity (MO) under the influence of antihypertensive therapy, depending on the presence of bariatric intervention, 59 people with obesity I-III degree (39 of patients – the main group with bariatric treatment in the next, and 20 – control group without bariatric intervention (BI)), which was observed by the multidisciplinary team of employees of State Institution "Dnepropetrovsk Medical Academy of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine"and were monitored for 3 years or more after the operation. The main group included 18 (46,15%) women and 21 (53,85%) men from the AH I-ІІ stage, aged from 24 to 62 years old, with an average age of 43,7±3,11 years. The body mass index (BMI) was 47,30 (42,90; 56,10) kg/m2. The control group consisted of 20 patients with II stage hypertension with an average age of 43,6±1,74 years. The median BMI corresponded to 33,80 [31,40; 36,80] kg/m2 and was significantly lower than in the main group (p<0,05 according to Student and Mann-Whitney criteria). Subsequently, the group of dynamic observation included 25 patients with morbid obesity and hypertension, in which bariatric surgical treatment was performed. Individual consent was made to study 5 genetic variants of polymorphism: mutation of 1 b2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) (Gln27Glu) 5318 C> G, mutation of 2 b2-adrenoreceptor (ADRB2) (Arg16Gly) 46 A> G, mutation of b3-adrenoreceptor (ADRB3) (Trp64Arg) 190 T>C), mutation of the gamma receptor which is activated by the peroxisol proliferator PPARG-gamma2 (Pro12Ala) 34C>G and mutation of the fatty acid carrier FABP2 (Ala54Thr) 163 G>A, of which: 22 out of 25 patients with morbid obesity with further bariatric treatment (8 patients with biliopancreatic diversion 14 Sciences of Europe # 40, (2019) Hess-Marceau modification in the next and 14 with longitudinal resection the stomach) and 12 out of 20 obese patients of the I-III stages that were not operated and treated concurrently (comparison group). It has been proven that each of the key components of the metabolic syndrome – obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and high blood pressure – has a genetic predisposition for which it is necessary to identify the main candidate genes. Such a tendency can lead to or accelerate the development of metabolic syndrome. Ключові слова: морбідне ожиріння, генетична детермінованість, есенціальна гіпертензія, метаболічний синдром.


Abstract : Decision-quality support to assessment team in defining critical indicators, managing assessment data, determining operational effectiveness, visualizing/understanding complexity and uncertainty.


SIR: In the March 6, 1971, issue of the Journal, Carter and Fotheringham drew attention t.o the dangers of salt poisoning due to gastric lavage with hypertonic saline. The authors do not, however, discuss the significance of atropine (0'3 mg) given to the two fatal cases, aged 22 and 24 months, reported. The use of atropine after gastric lavage With hypertonic saline as in the two cases reported is highly dangerous.


In addressing environmental issues, the comparative advantage of economists has led them to emphasize efficiency issues, which yield more readily to economic calculus than do equity issues, which fall among the thickets of interpersonal comparisons and value systems. The difficulty in sorting out equity and efficiency issues is comounded in a hierarchical, pluralistic structure like that of the US with conflicting lines of authority at the federal, state, metropolitan, and local levels. Consequently, we have not developed a coherent national policy on certain critical problems, such as the siting of hazardous facilities and the establishment of property rights in environmental resources.


The design of a two's complement most-significant-bit-first add and shift serial multiplier is presented. In this multiplier, one of the multiplicands is represented in full length, whereas the second multiplicand is presented in a bit-serial fashion with the most significant bit (MSB) first.


In this paper we present the evaluation of two different approaches with the aim of tackling the task of Sexual Predator Identification of PAN 2012. The first approach uses a dictionary of sexual terms in order to identify those documents associated in some manner with a sexual predator behavior. In order to do so, we use the sexual terms of the dictionary as a query in an information retrieval system, thus, retrieving the documents that best match with the query introduced. The second approach uses the multinomial Naive Bayes classifier in order to detect sexual predators. The first approach performed better than the second one with low percentages of precision and high values of recall.


Objective: To investigate the nature of public preferences in the allocation of donor liver grafts for transplantation. Design: A qualitative study based upon the transcripts of four focus groups. Setting: Derby, Derbyshire, UK. Participants: Twenty-two members of the public in the Derby locality, recruited to one of four focus groups through local community groups. Main Outcome Measures: The views of focus group members as to the importance (or otherwise) of several potential discriminating factors which could be used in the prioritization of patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation were ascertained. The factors included were expected posttransplantation prognosis, the age of the patient, whether the patient was personally responsible for their illness, the time spent on the waiting list, re-transplantation or primary transplant and the social background of the patient. Results and Conclusions: Group members explored the criteria from a number of perspectives, and made some unexpected linkages between the criteria and wider moral principles. They did not come to firm conclusions about the relative desirability of the criteria, but their approach was notably flexible and thoughtful, with the exception of a few instances where they appeared to resort to arguments based on what is 'obvious' and 'natural'. The results of these discussions suggest that members of the public would be able and willing to respond positively to a more open and consultative system of donor liver prioritization than exists presently within the UK. (Health Expectations 2002;5:199-209.)


This paper presents new laboratory data on the generation of long waves by the shoaling and breaking of transient-focused short-wave groups. Direct offshore radiation of long waves from the breakpoint is shown experimentally for the first time. High spatial resolution enables identification of the relationship between the spatial gradients of the short-wave envelope and the long-wave surface. This relationship is consistent with radiation stress theory even well inside the surf zone and appears as a result of the strong nonlinear forcing associated with the transient group. In shallow water, the change in depth across the group leads to asymmetry in the forcing which generates significant dynamic setup in front of the group during shoaling. Strong amplification of the incident dynamic setup occurs after short-wave breaking. The data show the radiation of a transient long wave dominated by a pulse of positive elevation, preceded and followed by weaker trailing waves with negative elevation. The instantaneous cross-shore structure of the long wave shows the mechanics of the reflection process and the formation of a transient node in the inner surf zone. The wave run-up and relative amplitude of the radiated and incident long waves suggests significant modification of the incident bound wave in the inner surf zone and the dominance of long waves generated by the breaking process. It is proposed that these conditions occur when the primary short waves and bound wave are not shallow water waves at the breakpoint. A simple criterion is given to determine these conditions, which generally occur for the important case of storm waves.


In this paper, the linear feedback controlling of a novel chaotic system is discussed. The chaotic system is a new attractor which is similar to the Lorenz chaotic attractor, but it is not topological equivalent with the Lorenz chaotic system. This Letter proposes a novel approach for controlling this new attractor by linear feedback functions. The results obtained in this paper show that the trajectories of a new chaotic attractor can be controlled to any periodic target orbits or points. Furthermore, some numerical simulations show that the developed controller design method is effective and feasible. Therefore, the linear feedback controlling of new chaotic system may have good application prospects.


Face recognition is one of the interesting research topics in the field of computer vision. In recent years, deep learning methods, especially the Convolutional Neural Network, have progressed. One of the successes of CNN is in face recognition. Face recognition by computer is a technique done so that the computer can automatically recognize faces in an image. Various researchers have conducted related research on facial recognition. This survey presents researches related to face recognition based on Convolutional Neural Network that has been conducted. The studies used are studies that have been published in the last five years. It was performed to determine the renewal that emerged in face recognition based on Convolutional Neural Network. The basic theory of the Convolutional Neural Network, face recognition, and description of the database used in various researches are also discussed. Hopefully, this survey can provide additional knowledge regarding face recognition based on the Convolutional Neural Network.


Abstract Three enterprise modules have been developed by the White Rose CETL for cross-curricular and ad hoc delivery across the University of Leeds. These are supported by non-accredited enterprise activities. Student reflections on the modules suggest that while these are potentially GEES focused, they attract multidisciplinary cohorts who value the opportunity to work with colleagues across campus. This paper reports briefly on the development of the three enterprise modules and draws on student reflections. The teaching materials are available for anyone to adopt and adapt (Kneale, 2008).


There are problems currently in the treatment of audible noise at HVDC converter stations,such as hard work for the treatment,high cost and not enough good effect,as the treatment has been carried out after the converter stations were built up.Aiming at the problems,this paper discusses the early treatment of the noise,resulting in the following conclusions: to locate the converter stations away from residential areas and the other noise-sensitive areas;to reasonably distribute the main noise sources in a way such as to lay transformers with face to face,to put AC filters far from noise-sensitive spots or to reduce the height of filter capacitor stacks;to make precontrol of the noise of equipments such as with sound insulation cover for reactors,BOX-IN structure for converter transformers;to inhibit the noise propagation towards noise-sensitive areas as much as possible with the shielding effect of the equipments and constructions in the converter station.


The relation befween exploratory experiment and cultivation of high quality innovative talents was discussed. It described that exploratory experiment is an important approach for training high quality innovative talents. The implementary procedures of exploratory experiments were presented.


A configuration file editor has been created at the Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Institute for Aerospace Research. This program allows the clients and staff of the 2m x 3m wind tunnel to modify the files that control the data acquisition and reduction processes. Because modifications to the large quantity of "C" code that interacts with these files were deemed to be impractical, a solution has been devised that is compatible with the legacy file format, while providing the benefits of a web-based interface.


Ion beam diagnostics are routinely used for quantitative analysis of the surface composition of mixture materials up to a depth of a few m. Unfortunately , advantageous properties of the diagnostics, like high depth resolution in combination with a large penetration depth, no destruction of the surface, high sensitivity for large as well as for small atomic numbers, and high sensitivity are mutually exclusive. Among other things, this is due to the ill-conditioned inverse problem of reconstructing depth distributions of the composition elements. Robust results for depth distributions are obtained with adaptive methods in the framework of Bayesian probability theory. The method of adaptive kernels allows for distributions which contain only the signiicant information of the data while noise tting is avoided. This is achieved by adaptively reducing the degrees of freedom supporting the distribution. As applications for ion beam diagnostics Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and particle induced X-ray emission are shown.


In this article, we communicate the experiences of a bilingual/biracial Peruvian-Anglo European student teacher, Serina, enrolled in a 'teacher education for diversity' program. Although the majority of the 13 (mostly Anglo European) students in Serina's cohort expressed satisfaction with the social justice focus of the program, Serina was frustrated by the mixed messages she received about teacher professionalism as both teaching for social change and as deference to power. Serina was often vocal in her critique and, as a result, endured and negotiated cumulative microaggressions throughout her teacher education program. Despite these challenges, she drew on her community cultural capital to become a credentialed science teacher in an underserved urban middle school. Serina's experiences compel us to think about how teacher educators might better support pre-service Teachers of Color – particularly as we strive to more actively recruit Teachers of Color to our teacher education programs. Implications for 'becoming' more socially just teacher educators are also discussed.


The enantiomeric crystallization of polylactides has removed the limitations of innate poor thermal and mechanical properties of the homopolymers. The supercritical fluid technology is an emerging panoramic version of biomedical polymer synthesis and has proven to be a domineering substitute to toxic organic solvents. Herein, we report an intriguing, efficient and a novel polymerization process using supercritical dimethyl ether (sc-DME) for preparation of polylactides leading to the stereocomplex polylactide (s-PLA) nanoparticles. The process has generated high molecular weight homopolymers (Mn ≥ 200 000 g mol–1) starting from monomers which ultimately crystallized to a dry powder of s-PLA nanoparticles. The optimum processing parameters are d/l-lactide polymerization using sc-DME at 130 °C, 400 bar for 5 h with a 30% monomer concentration, keeping the ratio [monomer]:[tin(II)2-ethylhexanoate]:[1-dodecanol] as 3000:1:1 while the stereocomplexation as sc-DME at 70 °C, 350 bar for 2 h. We have investigated...


Poster: "ECR 2015 / C-2573 / The utility of ADC values in the risk stratification of prostate cancer using a 1.5T MRI without ERC" by: "J. Lopes Dias, J. Magalhaes Pina, N. Costa, S. Carmo, C. Leal, T. Bilhim, R. M. R. Mateus Marques, L. Campos Pinheiro; Lisbon/PT"


Bio-monitoring is conducted by employees of Czech Technical University (CVUT) in Prague based on requirements of Nuclear Power Plant Temelin. The year 2000 was designated as reference year before the start of the NPP operation and 2001 was the year of the initial operation. Research will continue in the following years. The bio monitoring consist of gamma spectrometric determination of contaminant Cs (detection limit 2 Bq/kg) in the area of interest up to distance of 20 km from NPP and trend analysis of the acquired data. Forest humus, surface of pine bark, Schreiber's moss, edible mushrooms and forest berries were used as bio-indicators. In total 203 samples in 2000, 222 samples in 2001 and 223 samples in 2002 were collected. The bio monitoring for year 2000 and 2002 included assessment dosimetry and spectrometry characteristic of photon-fields (that is the determination of reference background). With the exception of the identified Cs (from Chernobyl accident fallout) it was not possible to identify among the measured spectra any significant contribution of any other radionuclides. The trend analysis didn't establish any Cs concentration increase at the measurement points.


Three-dimensionally continuous ionic nanochannels have been developed by imidazolium-based ionic liquids and amphiphilic molecules having a diethanolamine moiety. Co-organisation of these two components into liquid–crystalline bicontinuous cubic phases leads to the formation of the 3D nanochannels. The induction of bicontinuous cubic phases is observed for the combination of an ionic liquid, 1-(2-methoxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide, and a diethanolamine derivative, N-{3-[N′, N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) aminopropyl]}-3,4-didodecyloxy benzoylamide. Compatibility enhanced by intermolecular interactions between the imidazoliums and the diethanolamine moiety plays an important role for the co-organisation of the two components. The three-dimensionally continuous ionic nanochannels function as efficient transportation pathways for ions. The material design using bicontinuous cubic liquid–crystalline structures will offer an opportunity for the development in the field of nanochannel material science.


Shock is a life-threatening state commonly encountered by the acute physician. As such those practicing and training in the specialty should strive to become true experts in this field by going beyond even the learning provided by generic life support courses when involved with identifying and managing the shocked state. This article explores the current evidence, where it exists and provides a framework for approaching such patients along with common pitfalls.


This article begins with an autobiographical section reporting on the author's intellectual trajectory as an ambivalent and developing casuist. Smith then goes on to discuss characterizations of the Anglican moral theology tradition of casuistry and the forms of casuistry popular today in practical ethics. In Smith's view this moral theology tradition is committed to initiating and sustaining conversation among persons about the liberties and demands of a Christian life-and to provoking that conversation within our own souls. He maintains that the pastoral orientation and willingness to listen to custom and diverse sources of moral insight that is characteristic of Anglican moral theology should enable the church to maintain a vital ethic in many different cultures and traditions. Smith advocates the use of a modern form of casuistry by Anglican moralists; his own version is based in the theology of H. R. Niebuhr and the writings of Kenneth E. Kirk. The essay draws on earlier writings about casuistry and Kirk by the author. For some reason I graduated from seminary thinking that the "moral theology" tradition was Episcopal Christian ethics. And I suspect that I was not alone among my peers. In my case there was no good excuse for this, as I had read F. D. Maurice as an undergraduate. Perhaps it was because the Anglo-Catholicism that supported the moral theology emphasis provided what I thought of as a rigorous philosophical and theological mooring in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. At any rate the moral theology tradition seemed to me to have a kind of prima facie intellectual credibility that other forms of Anglicanism lacked. That mattered, as I wanted to have intellectual credibility. I attended a nondenominational seminary and while there wrote papers on Maurice and Hooker, but the dominant and most intellectually vital tradition was Protestant, especially the Niebuhrs and Barth. The same focus on a rich mainline intellectual tradition of Christian thought was central to my doctoral training. When I was fortunate to be hired by Indiana University's new Department of Religious Studies in 1967, 1 did not teach or write about a single Anglican writer for years, but my students then (and since) have had a pretty heavy dose of Augustine, Aquinas, and the Niebuhrs. Two things happened, however, that altered my perspective. The first was an ongoing desire to relate my intellectual persona to the self that worshipped, pledged, and socialized with a university-town Episcopal parish. That was my form of the modem search for or discovery of identity and integrity. Somewhat to my amazement, I came to realize that the community within this parish was central to who I was. I knew that there was a "big picture" of diverse Anglicanism, but I knew only a little bit about one leg - or toenail - ofthat elephant. One thing that was clear to me was that there was an Anglican moral theology tradition, and if anything was really Anglican, that was. Perhaps I thought that strand in our tradition was most distinctively Anglican so I could use it to establish my own Anglican identity. Moreover, I had the impression that this strand in the tradition was not well known by many clergy of my generation. The second thing that happened to me as a young (just tenured) scholar concerned my intellectual trajectory. My thesis became a book that was read by about six people, including my mother.1 But I found myself thrashing around looking for another intellectual focus in the decreasingly counter-cultural world of the early 1970s. I found it in the emerging field of bioethics, began to be involved with some Hastings Center projects, and wrote something that a few people actually read. At many interdisciplinary meetings I sat at a large seminar table with the elder senior leaders of the new bioethics, and found myself - and sometimes my faith - provoked and challenged. It was provocation and challenge that I loved, however, partly because I was one of the many humanists who spent his early years in college as a pre-med. …


At present the disjoints between specialized basic art teaching and industrial technical designs is common phenomenon in some Colleges of engineering.It leads to the result that some students can't apply the basic art knowledge and skills to industrial technical designs.So they lack the ability of analyzing and solving questions correctly.In this article,I will make a systematic exposition about the ways of solving the problem on the basis of analyzing basic art teaching.


Contemporary society has been faced with some scientific issues. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is an example of such issues. For some people, these organisms have an added value. For others, they are taken as a threat. The existence of these two opposite reactions has led to a debate in which citizens should engage, as they are an interested party to it. However, to do so, citizens should be scientifically informed, responsible and active people. Science education can contribute to them developing such competences. The research carried out was focused on student's ideas regarding GMO. 175 students attending Portuguese schools answered to a questionnaire about their conceptions and opinions regarding to GMO. The results of the former study suggest that students hold some scientifically incorrect ideas on GMO, and that they do not completely reject GMO even though they show some doubts about the use of GMO.


The cause and location of chlorine corrosion in catalytic reforming process was discussed,and the corresponding feasible measures were put forward.Technique improvement measures included series connection of low-temperature adsorption dechlorination process and alkaline cleaning process and dechlorination column setting before feeding to depentanizer.Operation improvement measures included online water washing,controlling water content in recycle hydrogen,and preventing specific surface decrease of catalyst.The industrial results indicated that the measures could slow down the problems caused by chlorine corrosion efficiently.


/ wanted students to focus on statistics in mainstream news articles the basis of results from the sixth mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educa tional Progress (Kenney and Silver 1997), researchers have found that students need more experience analyzing and making sense of a variety of statistical displays. This article describes a proj ect developed for students in grades 9-12 that uses real-world statistical data presented in the print media. The activities take advantage of the variety of statistical representations found in newspapers. I originally devised the project for use by prospec tive high school mathematics teachers in a methods class that I taught at San Jose State University. As part of the initial assignment, students ana lyzed how statistics were depicted in the newspaper for several months and found recurring topics or themes in the content of the articles in which sta tistics were presented. In the second assignment, students made inferences from statistics and con fronted the ramifications of the data. I highlight the selection of a particular data set for further study because the data are relevant to students and may have consequences for them. To begin the project, collect a daily newspaper for an extended period of time. I collected my local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, every day from 1 February 1997 through 31 March 1997.1 retained only those articles that included visual representations of statistics. Many articles cited statistics in the text but failed to represent num bers by using such visual aids as charts, tables, or graphs. Those articles were not included for analy sis in my methods class. I did not investigate how statistics were presented in the business section of the newspaper because I wanted students to focus on the use of statistics in mainstream news articles. To be consistent, I did not include such other parts of the newspaper as the sports pages, weather fore cast, or classified advertisements. The main news pages and the sections titled, "Life," "California News," and "Local and State" were analyzed.


When acrylamide-methacrylamide mixed crystals are irradiated by ultraviolet (UV) rays, a copolymeric sample is obtained containing both monomeric constituents. For identification and quantitative analysis of these copolymers, a modified form of UV spectroscopy was used. The greatest advantage of UV spectroscopy for copolymer analysis lies in its rapid application. A comparison of the spectrum of the unknown compositions with spectra of known systems by using a calibration curve and the shifts in absorption maxima in different concentrations are valuable aids in establishing the composition. Electron spin resonance (ESR) provides a correlation between the obtained copolymer composition and the shape of the signal of the responsible radical. ESR spectra obtained for UV-irradiated acrylamide-methacrylamide mixed crystals reveal that during polymerization both radicals are present. As methacrylamide percentage increases in the mixture, the signal becomes similar to the 9-line spectrum of pure methacrylamide. When there is 90% methacrylamide present in the original mixture, a 5-line signal is observed, with even-numbered peaks in the methacrylamide signal appearing now as shoulders. When the methacrylamide percentage is about 16%, a characteristic 3-line signal of acrylamide is dominant. As the methacrylamide percentage increases in the original mixture of the copolymers, ESR signals indicate a decrease in the rate constant values for second-order decay at 60°C. The stability of the formed radicals was studied by admitting oxygen to the copolymeric samples as well as to the homopolymeric systems. Since the peroxidic radicals are more active in the hydrogen abstraction process, they decay more rapidly than the macro radical itself by a bimolecular termination reaction. As the methacrylamide percentage increases in the copolymeric mixtures, the peroxide radical formation becomes more difficult. This indicates that polymethacrylamide brings more stability in copolymerization reactions with acrylamide. The polymerization rate of both monomers and their mixed crystals were enhanced by adding chlorine gas before irradiation. Chlorine acts as an agent for slowing down the radical decay as well as accelerating the radical initiation reactions.


Correspondence Address: A laminate comprising a microporous thermoplastic poly Supervisor, Patent Prosecution Services mer layer Such as a microporous polypropylene layer and PPER RUDNICK LLP one or more fabric layers is provided. The laminate is both 1200 Nineteenth Street, N.W. waterproof and breathable. The laminate is also durable and Washington, DC 20036-2412 (US) can be made at low cost. The fabric can be a woven fabric or a knit fabric. Alternatively, a non woven fabric can be (21) Appl. No.: 10/144,845 used to make a disposable article. The laminate can be used in garments for Sports wear, protective clothing or medical (22) Filed: May 15, 2002 uniforms.


The invention discloses a method for selecting a CoMP downlink cell cooperation set in an LTE-A system, which mainly solves the balance problem between signaling and feedback overhead required for cooperation and performance gain of the system. The method comprises the following steps of: (1) calculating signal-interference-noise ratios (SINR) of all users in a cell, and screening a user set for CoMP according to the SINR threshold; (2) picking CoMP users i to be served according to a proportional fair algorithm, and recording the service cell of the users as j; (3) selecting a candidate set according to the positions of the users i in the service cell j; (4) determining types of the users i according to the reference signal receiving power of the users i; and (5) selecting different cooperation set selecting methods according to the types of the users i. The method can reduce the scheduling complexity at the same time of ensuring the throughput gain of the system, meanwhile, optimizes the performance of two modes by adopting the different cell cooperation set selecting methods for the users in the two modes of CoMP SU-MIMO and CoMP MU-MIMO respectively, and can be used for selecting mutually cooperative cells under cooperative multi-point transmission technology.


Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are often treated at home given the limited healthcare resources. Many patients may have sudden clinical worsening and may be already compromised at hospitalisation. We investigated the burden of lung involvement according to the time to hospitalisation.


Mangrove forests have unique ecosystem functions and services, yet the coastal mangroves in tropics are often disturbed by tropical cyclones. Hurricane Maria swept Puerto Rico and nearby Caribbean islands in September 2017 and caused tremendous damage to the coastal mangrove systems. Understanding the vulnerability and resistance of mangrove forests to disturbances is pivotal for future restoration and conservation. In this study, we used LiDAR point clouds to derive the canopy height of five major mangrove forests, including true mangroves and mangrove associates, along the coast of Puerto Rico before and after the hurricanes, which allowed us to detect the spatial variations of canopy height reduction. We then spatially regressed the pre-hurricane canopy height and the canopy height reduction on biophysical factors such as the elevation, the distance to rivers/canals within and nearby, the distance to coast, tree density, and canopy unevenness. The analyses resulted in the following findings. The pre-hurricane canopy height increased with elevation when elevation was low and moderate but decreased with elevation when elevation was high. The canopy height reduction increased quadratically with the pre-hurricane canopy height, but decreased with elevation for the four sites dominated by true mangroves. The site of Palma del Mar dominated by Pterocarpus, a mangrove associate, experienced the strongest wind, and the canopy height reduction increased with elevation. The canopy height reduction decreased with the distance to rivers/canals only for sites with low to moderate mean elevation of 0.36–0.39 m. In addition to the hurricane winds, the rainfall during hurricanes is an important factor causing canopy damage by inundating the aerial roots. In summary, the pre-hurricane canopy structures, physical environment, and external forces brought by hurricanes interplayed to affect the vulnerability of coastal mangroves to major hurricanes.


The concept of Kansei/Affective value creation is an essential tool for the decision making, for example, in the field of marketing. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the viewpoint of Kansei engineering on decision making. It is shown that the Kansei/Affective information provides an important role for the decision making. Some illustrative examples are shown to demonstrate the effect of Kansei information.


A substance may exist in several solid forms that differ with regard to the three dimensional structure and / or the number and type of components present. Solid forms may have different physical and chemical properties. Examples of crystalline solid forms are modifications and solvates. In case of modifications (mod.), the crystal lattices are built by molecules of the substance only while in case of solvates, the lattices additionally contain solvent molecules. If the solvent is water, the solvates will be named hydrates. As active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients present in a drug product may also exist in different solid forms which may have a considerable impact on efficacy, performance and safety of the drug product, it is necessary to control the solid forms of APIs and excipients. For this, the forms have to be known and characterised. One method to characterise solid forms is perfusion calorimetry in which the sample is subjected to a certain relative vapour pressure of solvent while measuring thermal activity. It allows the study of the interaction between solid forms and solvent vapours. Up to now, the potential of perfusion calorimetry in solid form analysis has barely been used. In this study, the solid forms of APIs were studied and the potential of perfusion calorimetry in solid form analysis was explored with the aim to contribute to the understanding of solid forms. The APIs investigated were toltrazuril for which a solid form screening was performed and emodepside whose solid forms I IV were characterised in order to analyse the state of water in the forms. The potential of perfusion calorimetry in the characterisation of both substances was examined. In order to be able to reliably perform perfusion calorimetry, a general method to test the perfusion systems used to control the relative vapour pressure of solvent during measurement was developed. In addition, the use of perfusion calorimetry in a new application field, the characterisation of solvates that retain their crystal structures upon desolvation (formation of isomorphic desolvates), was investigated. The solid form screening performed for toltrazuril resulted in the mod. B, C and D. Mod. D and C are both monotropically related to mod. B, while mod. D and C are enantiotropically related. Regarding emodepside, the characterisation of the solid forms I IV revealed that form I represents a modification while the forms II IV are hydrates forming isomorphic desolvates. A general method to test perfusion systems was successfully developed so that perfusion calorimetry could be reliably performed. In case of toltrazuril, perfusion calorimetry was helpful to determine the relative stabilities of the modifications. Regarding emodepside, perfusion calorimetry indicated the transition of the desolvates II IV into the isomorphic hydrates II IV. The investigation of further solvates forming isomorphic desolvates confirmed the general suitability of the method to indicate the presence of this type of solvate. The analysis of the solid forms of the APIs and the study of the potential of perfusion calorimetry successfully contributed to the understanding of solid forms, especially of solvates forming isomorphic desolvates.