A matrix method is offered as a mechanism for solving four major problems inherent in the typical treatment of expectancy theory. The method combines the theoretical variables in a manner that is consistent with the traditional formulation and does not depend on unreasonable assumptions about the scale characteristics of questionnaire data.


In marigold, an F 2 segregation population of 167 plants was constructed from a cross of a line (M525A) carrying the male sterility trait x an inbred line (f53f). In line M525A, the male sterility trait was controlled by the recessive gene, Terns. The intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) techniques combined with bulked segregant analysis were used to develop markers linked to the trait. From a survey of the 38 ISSR primers and 170 SRAP primer combinations, only one SRAP marker that was closely linked to the target trait was identified and successfully converted into sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker that was located within 2.4 cM from Tems locus. The marker was validated with five other two-type lines and in each case the male fertile plants were reliably identified. This SCAR marker therefore permits the efficient marker-assisted selection of male sterile individuals in breeding programmes of marigold and will greatly facilitate the breeding of F 1 cultivars.


Abstract. Reproduction within a recently re-introduced resident flock of Whooping Cranes ( Grus americana) in Florida during 1992–2007 was poor compared to an established wild flock. Pairing and nesting increased with average age of the flock, but fertility, hatching and fledging were variable among years, suggestive of an environmental influence. For climatic variables measured during the incubation period, only maximum soil temperature was associated with the failure of late nests in dry years. However, pre-nesting winter precipitation and water elevation were positively correlated with an index of nesting effort. Winter precipitation was associated with fertility and hatchability, whereas winter marsh water levels were associated with earlier nesting dates and increased egg volume. Both winter precipitation (>8 cm mean monthly) and water elevation (>20.3 m above mean sea level or 68% of full marsh surface area or perimeter) greater than a threshold level appeared to be good predictors for successful reproduction in central Florida, but occurred together in only four of ten study period years. Pairs delayed nesting, had smaller eggs, and hatched and fledged fewer chicks in years with low winter water elevation. Low winter precipitation associated with decreased fertility of eggs may explain the failure of fully incubated nests to hatch in some years. Insufficient stimulation of the neuroendocrine system due to limited rainfall and poor physiological condition due to poor food resources in low water marshes are proposed mechanisms for low fertility and delayed nesting and egg size, respectively. Drought appears to encourage birds to use lake edges for nesting which have increased hazards. Thus, conservation of wetlands for cranes should include deep marshes and lake edges with controlled boat usage during the nesting season. Further investigation is recommended for pre-nesting and incubation behaviors, diseases of eggs, and egg volumes.


The study of interaction data and learning experiences in education has the potential to allow the analysis of why students pass or fail a course or where a course can be improved. In the special case of programming courses for beginners, analyzing the behaviour of students while coding, is essential but not always possible. To avoid the need to install and setup a programming environment by the students, a web-based environment like the open source JupyterLab can be used. This paper presents Juxl, an extension of this online programming environment, allowing a modular, performant and secure way of logging user interactions and learning experiences. The logs are generated as xAPI statements and stored in a Learning Record Store to be further analyzed.


with the exploitation of western China, the rapid progress in the constructions of mountain traffic lines result in the frequent occurrence of the disaster of debris flows. The characteristics, distributions and situations of debris flow in western China are discussed comprehensively and the problems of debris flows generally are summarized. Based on the comprehension for the nature of debris flows, the appropriate mitigation countermeasures are proposed for traffic lines which are constructed, under construction and planned. These countermeasures include both civil engineering and bioengineering works. Further, the problems resulted form the prevention engineering for debris flows in traffic lines in mountain are put forward to need to resolve ultimately. As a result, the research achievement of debris flow on traffic line construction in mountainous area would contribute to the reducing disasters, preventing disasters, and finally suggests a new reasonable exploration of research.


This study was conducted to collect data on the environmental factors in smart greenhouses, analyze the correlation between the factors, and provide basic data for smart farm environment management. Two smart greenhouses of cut roses were selected as a soil culture-type greenhouse OS located in Dalseong-gun, Daegu City, and a rock wool culture-type greenhouse KB located in Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. Collected data were divided into six categories and analyzed after organizing: daily maximum, daily minimum, daily average, daytime average, nighttime average, and daily difference for air and media temperatures, and relative humidity. When comparing the optimal environmental conditions with those of the two greenhouses, the daytime temperatures were maintained at the optimal levels (24 - 27°C) for 5 months at greenhouse OS and for 7 months at greenhouse KB. The nighttime temperatures were m aintained at t he o ptimal l evels (15 - 18°C ) for 2 months at both greenhouses. The daily temperature difference was close to the optimal level (about 10°C) for 6 months at greenhouse OS and 9 months at greenhouse KB. The media temperatures were maintained at the optimal levels (20 - 25°C) in greenhouse OS for 10 months for 5 months in greenhouse KB. In relative humidity, both greenhouses were kept within the proper range throughout the year. As a result of analyzing the correlation between air and media temperatures, OS greenhouse showed a clear correlation in the maximum, average, daytime, and nighttime temperatures, and a weak correlation in the minimum and daily difference, while KB greenhouse showed a very strong linear proportional correlation in all areas. In other words, the temperature of soil with high buffering capacity was less affected by air temperature than soilless culture using rock wool.


In this paper the authors introduce a new method to optimize RF to DC energy conversion in a COTS-based energy harvesting system. The system under investigation is composed by an RF envelope detector, cascaded with a commercial DCDC module. Being the latter characterized by a low impedance input stage, which is hardly modeled by a linear time-invariant resistance, this imposes stringent requirements to the energy conversion optimization. The paper shows how to approach this constraint by involving source-pull technique, and provides experimental validation and results discussion. The developed prototype operating at 5.8 GHz RF, with carrier power of -5dBm, results capable to drive devices, having supply requirements of Vdc =3.3V and Idc $\geq$5mA.


We have developed a self-contained instrument for the determination of bone mineral content by photon absorptometry. A high-resolution detection system allows measurements to be made at up to 16 photon energies. Control and arithmetic functions are performed by a microprocessor. Analysis capability and limitations are discussed.


Abstract. We present studies of the e+e− → K+K−γ reaction for the e+e− center-ofmass energies close to the φ(1020) meson mass. Different mechanisms leading to the final state are considered. The strong interaction amplitudes of the K+K− pairs in the S wave are taken into account. In addition, the photon emission in the initial state, the final state radiation effects and all the possible interference terms are included in the transition matrix elements. The K+K− effective mass distributions and the angular dependence of the reaction cross-section are calculated.


. The article studies the impact of flagship enterprises on the level of socio-eco-nomic development of territories, the inflow of human capital and the intensification of entrepreneurial activity on the example of municipalities of three subjects of the Siberian Federal district by constructing a regression model. The paper reveals the significant level of differentiation of socio-economic development indicators for municipalities located within the same region. The study determines the high influence of the growth of the population incomes in the absence of a significant increase in the population on the aggregate indicator of territorial development, the gross municipal product in municipalities with flagship enterprises. The authors have identified the average impact of the flagship enterprises, in terms of stimulating the development of entrepreneurial activity, as well as revenue growth of companies operating in these enterprises.


This paper is devoted to the statistical and numerical properties of the geometric median, and its applications to the problem of robust mean estimation via the median of means principle. Our main theoretical results include (a) an upper bound for the distance between the mean and the median for general absolutely continuous distributions in R^d, and examples of specific classes of distributions for which these bounds do not depend on the ambient dimension d; (b) exponential deviation inequalities for the distance between the sample and the population versions of the geometric median, which again depend only on the trace-type quantities and not on the ambient dimension. As a corollary, we deduce improved bounds for the (geometric) median of means estimator that hold for large classes of heavy-tailed distributions. Finally, we address the error of numerical approximation, which is an important practical aspect of any statistical estimation procedure. We demonstrate that the objective function minimized by the geometric median satisfies a"local quadratic growth"condition that allows one to translate suboptimality bounds for the objective function to the corresponding bounds for the numerical approximation to the median itself, and propose a simple stopping rule applicable to any optimization method which yields explicit error guarantees. We conclude with the numerical experiments including the application to estimation of mean values of log-returns for S&P 500 data.


This paper describes ICL's participation at NTCIR-9 RITE. We chose BC & MC subtask. Textual entailment is a problem to predict whether an entailment holds for a given test-hypothesis pair. We built an inference model to solve this problem by means of using dependency syntax analysis (by LTP), lexical knowledge base (e.g. CCD), web information (e.g. Baidupedia) and probability method. We used AUC indicator to evaluate the ranking ability of our system.


As work principle, piercing (P) and backward extrusion (BE) are similar deforming processes. However, working-load, strain and material flow are quiet different depending on real conditions. Since punch diameter d and workpiece diameter D are the defining parameters for both P and BE, there is a critical d/D ratio separating them as distinctive operations. To have a complete description of P and BE in terms of working load and yield pressure as function of d/D ratio, experimental tests and numerical predictions were conducted. Tridimensional finite element analysis (FEA) for different process designs (i.e. different d/D ratios) revealed distinctive evolutions of the material flow establishing the effective limits of P and BE respectively. Experimental and numerical results can be used in practice to provide estimates of working-load, critical yield pressure and tool dimensions for optimal P and BE in processing of cylindrical hollow parts.


Pilots and non-pilots were tested on simulator flying tasks after attaining a .04% blood alcohol concentration and after ingestion of placebo drinks. Half of the pilots and half of the non-pilots were blind with respect to the contents of their drinks while half were informed. Two turbulence conditions were employed, and subjects were instructed to scan for aircraft silhouette targets that appeared on monitors in front and to the sides of the subject. The subject's task was to maintain straight and level flight, with the pilots given an additional flight segment during which the simulator's instruments and external horizon display gradually indicated an unusual attitude, either a banked steep climb or banked steep descent, while the subject was performing other tasks such as copying weather information or changing radio settings. Head movements, control movements, time to detect targets, and simulator flight measures were digitized and computer recorded and analyzed. Alcohol affected the performance of pilots and non-pilots on several performance measures during straight and level flight. The performance of pilots during the divided attention unusual attitude flight segment was such that unsafe flight conditions would have resulted.


In the paper,progress in research of the hereditary basis and biotechnology in Pogostemon cablin(Blanco) Benth. were reviewed,and the breeding problems and key points in the future research were also discussed.


Ultra wide bandwidth (UWB) wireless technology plays a key role in future beyond third generation systems guaranteeing very high bit rates availability, low power consumption, low costs and location capabilities. The peaceful acceptance of the UWB technology worldwide is mainly related to coexistence issues with other existing (and future) narrowband and wideband systems sharing the spectrum with UWB. This led regulatory bodies to impose restrictions on UWB transmissions thus implicitly limiting the UWB system capacity intended as the number of users that can be served for a specified outage probability. In this work we provide a methodology to evaluate the UWB system capacity under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) constraints. UWB networks with power controlled UWB devices are considered. The concept of irreducible outage probability is introduced. Results can be used to analyze the performance of a given network topology and/or to provide useful design hints for an UWB indoor system with devices communicating in accordance to a clustered master-slave network topology.


OF THE DISCLOSURE Hydrated, soluble alkali metal silicate particles are ag glomerated by tumbling during the introduction of limited additional moisture and/or heat, forming granules of de sired larger size and having preferred density, dissolving, strength, and free-flowing characteristics for uses such as in detergent formulations.


A systematic approach to the scaling and merging of data from multiple crystals in macromolecular crystallography is introduced and explained.


We show that in accreting ultra low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, the CaII λ 8662 emission line flux correlates remarkably well with the mass accretion rate (), just as it does in higher mass classical T Tauri stars (CTTs). A straightforward measurement of the CaII flux thus provides an easier determination technique than detailed modeling of the Hα emission line profile (except at the very lowest accretion rates, where CaII does not appear to be in emission for ultra low-mass objects, and Hα modeling is required). Using optical high-resolution spectra, we infer from CaII emission for young ultra low-mass objects down to nearly the deuterium-burning (planetary-mass) limit. Our results, in combination with previous determinations of in CTTs, illustrate that the accretion rate declines steeply with mass, roughly as ∝ M*2 (albeit with considerable scatter). A similar relationship has been suggested by previous studies; we extend it down to nearly the planetary regime. The physical reason for this phenomenon is not yet clear; we discuss various possible mechanisms. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Because the prediction of thermal comfort is a complex, nonlinear process, which is not convenient for the application of real-time control of air conditioning, neural network can quickly establish the nonlinear mapping between the input and output of PMV index, which becomes a new research direction of PMV index solution. PSO is used to optimize GRNN parameters and build a prediction model, which can find the optimal smooth factor of GRNN network in the shortest time, so that the trained network can meet the requirements of both learning ability and learning speed. The results show that the generalized regression neural network inherits all the advantages of RBF network, and is superior in approximation ability and learning speed. From the experiment, when the SPREAD value is the same, the prediction accuracy of GRNN network is slightly better than that of RBF network. The prediction accuracy of GRNN network can also be improved obviously after PSO optimization.


Introduce an information-based research of village primary and junior high school in Guangxi education and practice a topic to choose a background,topic meaning,research target,topic research of main contents,study a method and study process,topic to obtain of main result,creative of place,exist the problem and research to prospect etc.


The widespread adoption and contextually sensitive nature of smartphone devices has increased concerns over smartphone malware. Machine learning classifiers are a current method for detecting malicious applications on smartphone systems. This paper presents the evaluation of a number of existing classifiers, using a dataset containing thousands of real (i.e. not synthetic) applications. We also present our STREAM framework, which was developed to enable rapid large-scale validation of mobile malware machine learning classifiers.


Designed for graphic designers who must tackle the problems of art-directing, selecting and using photography, this manual covers everything from briefing stylists and models to cropping and retouching photographs. The text explains photographic terms and techniques, special effects, and processing techniques. It also provides guidance on how to make the most of unsuitable photographs and advice on how designers in all fields can maximize the potential of photographic elements in their designs.


A methodology for using Landsat imagery for the identification and location of land irrigated by center-pivot irrigation systems is presented. The procedure involves the use of sets of Landsat band 5 imagery taken separated in time by about three weeks during the irrigation season, a zoom transfer scope and mylar base maps to record the locations of center pivots. Further computer processing of the data has been used to obtain plots of center-pivot irrigation systems and tables indicating the distribution and growth of systems by county for the state of Nebraska, and has been found to be in 95% agreement with current high-altitude IR photography. The information obtainable can be used for models of ground-water aquifers or resource planning.


Aim: This study aims to examine the change of smoking behavior and to examine the effect of tobacco control policies implementation among Taiwanese adults by socioeconomic status from 2004 to 2013. Methods: This study used 「adult smoking behavior telephone survey」, repeated cross-sectional from 2004 to 2013, for second hand data analysis which collected from Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare. This study (sample around16,500 per year) examine the trends in never smoking, former smoking and current smoking among 18 years old and above. Education level and home income level were used as indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) and results were reported separately for men and women. Using logistic regression to examine the relationship between smoking behaviors and SES, and the interaction between 'years' and education/income level, and between' tobacco control policies implementation' and education/income level.Using weighted and sex, age, and living area standardized according to the population of 2000 year of Taiwan. Results: The trends in never smoking, former smoking prevalence increased and current smoking decreased in Taiwanese adults from 2004 to 2013. Between 2004and 2013, the prevalence of current smoking decreased from 39.05% to 23.3% for men and from 3.97% to 2.64% for women. There were more current smokers for the 25~44years old in both men and women. Lower educated male respondents were significantly less likely to be never smokers , and more likely to be current smokers than higher educated male respondents, but not for female. During this 10 years, different SES in current smoking behavior didn't change for male, while it was enlarge for female. The tobacco control policies implementation had a limited impact in different SES in current smokers both male and female. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of smoking decreased and never smoking increased from 2004 to 2013, the inequalities in smoking behavior in different SES. This result suggested interventions specifically designed for those of lower SES and should be addressed in equity-oriented tobacco control policies.


During the crises period, the advertising budgets in the hotel's domain are considerable reducing. If, in the beggining, the hotels offer important sums to promote the brand's image, with the aim of going public, during the crises period they focuse on tactical and advertising campaignes. Realizing the place and the role of the hotels's industry like a part of the tourist activity, this paper wants to tap the responsible management problem of the financial-economical crises which affects the demand's size for the tourist services, generally, and for the hotels's ones, specially.


Due to current COVID-19 pandemic situation across the globe, various sectors have been experiencing tremendous changes in their market responses in both National and International markets. The result of restrictions laid down on Online retailing on one side and controlled operations of supply chain on the other side, have led to changes in business models across sectors. This gave rise to an opportunity for retailers to push their private label brands and fill the gaps in supply chain. This paper emphasizes on the impact of lockdown on consumer buying behavior with respect to essentials category of products.


The present study reports the development and in vitroevaluation of gastro retentive floating tablets of Famotidine. The formulations were developed using cellulose derivatives such as HPMC K4M, HPMC K15M and HPMC K100M in different ratios with gas generating agents and other excipients by wet granulation technique. The formulations were subjected to various evaluation parameters in vitro, viz ., hardness, friability, uniformity of drug content, in vitrofloating studies , in vitro dissolution studies, allthe formulations were good in appearance and showed better physical and mechanical properties. Formulation M15 containing HPMC K4M 80 mg, Sodium bicarbonate 40 mg, 30 mg citric acid and PVP K30 10mg was found to be the best formulation in terms of drug release and in vitrobuoyancy time and was subjected to st ability studies and IR spectroscopy .The results indicate that the formulation was stable and there was no chemical interaction between the polymer and the drug.


Moderate reduction in blood pressure by intravenous hexamethonium or pentamethonium was accompanied by a decrease in stroke volume, cardiac output, and left ventricular work, and no change or an increase in peripheral resistance. Renal blood flow, filtration rate, and potassium clearance fell promptly, but returned to the original levels within one to two hours despite continued reduction in blood pressure. Sodium clearance and urine flow were reduced to a greater extent and returned more slowly. Oral hexamethonium produced some reduction in renal blood flow, and improvement in the ballistocardiogram. Oral hydrazinophthalazine diminished the effect of hexamethonium on renal blood flow.


THE level of alcohol, tobacco, solvent and drug use by 1882 school children aged between 14 and 15 years within Pontefract Health District was examined by means of a questionnaire. Alcohol and tobacco use was relatively high, and comparable to similar studies elsewhere. The use of substances other than alcohol and tobacco was reported by a much lower percentage. Behavioural factors associated with sub stance use were examined, and implications for health education suggested.


1. Flexible packaging parallelepipedal shape designed for flat flexible objects superposed connected or not and forming a stack located on the axis XX, comprising a breakable portion (1) capable of forming an opening for dispensing of objects, is initially closed and bounded line fault (2), said portion (1) extends on three sides (3, 4, 5) of packing, characterized in that said frangible portion (1) is circular or nearly circular and has a diameter D, wherein the majority of said portion ( 1) focused on one of its sides, called the dispensing side (5) perpendicular to the axis XX packaged stack, while the other two parts of the frangible portion located on the other two sides (3, 4) packaging, parallel to the axis XX packed stack. ! 2. A package according to claim 1, characterized in that the size and location of said frangible portion (1) with respect to the package such that the diameter D corresponds to: D = L- (M1 + M2),! wherein M1 and M2 are between 5 mm and L / 3, where L - is the side length issuing perpendicular to the axis XX packaged stack! and M1 and M2 are the distances measured, respectively, along the length of side edges between the dispensing frangible portion and side edges. ! 3. A package according to claim 2, characterized in that M1 and M2 are between 10 and 15 mm. ! 4. A package according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the size and location of said frangible portion (1) with respect to the package such that the diameter D = P + O1 + O2! where F - dispensing side width (11)! O1 and O2 - distances, respectively, measured along the axis XX between an edge of the stack of packaged dispensing side (5) and the edge of the frangible portion (1)! while O1 and O2 of


%o types of tryptase are expressed in mast cells. P-Tkyptase is the principle enzyme in all mast cells and is released from the granules after stimulation. a-Tryptase is secreted as a proenzyme and remains in this state. The aim of this study was to evaluate tryptase concentrations using 2 different immunoassays one which recognises both recombinant aand P-tryptase (UniCAP) and another which measures primarily P-tryptase (RIACT). Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was obtained from 110 children presenting for elective surgery. Supernatant tryptase concentrations (pg/L) were determined using both assays (both Pharmacia Upjohn) and method comparison was performed using the method of Bland and Altman (Lancet 1986; i: 307). Mean values of tryptase were similar using the 2 assays (3.26f0.53 pg/ L RIACT, 3.28k0.52 pg/L UniCAP). There was a good correlation between methods (r=0.89, p<O.OOl). Method comparison revealed that the mean difference in tryptase levels was 0.026 pg/ L and the standard deviation (SD) of the differences between the assays was 2.461 pgA. In 7/110 samples values exceeded the limits of agreement ( f 2 SD). In 6/7 samples the UniCAP assay values were greater, suggesting higher concentrations of a-tryptase in these subjects. In 103 subjects there was reasonable agreement between the assays, suggesting that a-tryptase does not play an important role in paediatric BAL samples. Supported by: National Asthma Campaign, NI Chest Heart & Stroke Association, Phannacia Upjohn


Industrial soil is susceptible to acid or alkali pollution, but studies focused on the remediation of such soil are still limited. This manuscript investigated the neutralization effect of five agents (hydrochloric acid, citric acid, ferrous sulfate, calcium superphosphate and raw gypsum) to alkali polluted soil. The results showed that regarding the initial pH after the neutralizing agent addition, it was better to set it lower than the target, as the pH would rebound. None of the five agents caused an obvious increase in the heavy metal contents of the leachates, but they all caused an increase in electrical conductivity, which indicated an increase in soil salinity. The leachates showed a luminous gain to Vibrio fischeri. However, remediation with hydrochloric acid would cause significant inhibition of germination and root elongation of pakchoi. In addition, the addition of neutralizing agents reshaped the soil microbial community structure in different patterns. Soils treated with hydrochloric acid and ferrous sulfate seemed to improve the microbial richness. The neutralization might be favorable for the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which usually coexist in industrial contaminated soil. In general, the neutralization of alkaline industrial soils using ferrous sulfate, superphosphate and gypsum brought minimal environmental risk, among which ferrous sulfate was the first recommendation in industrial soil after a comprehensive comparison.


The autochthonous Jurassic of Lower Austria has been the focus for hydrocarbon exploration for more than 30 years. Though many attempts have been made, the biostratigraphic data remained poor due to the absence of useful markers in nannoplankton and foraminifera.


The work of this paper is dedicated to investigating a nondestructive testing technique for composite materials based on microwave time reversal algorithm. This is the preliminary detection results based on microwave time reversal algorithm. Microwave pulse has been used as source to radiate composites and the scattered electric fields are measured by receiving units. Based on microwave time reversal algorithm, the time reversed signals can adaptively focus on the targets. The time integrated energy of the time reversal fields are used to identify the location of the damage. The simulation based on two dimensional finite difference time domain(FDTD) algorithm is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the method.


In this document, the second part of the development of a continuous positive bi-pressure system as a respiratory support for patients with respiratory disorders while they sleep, such as sleep apnea-hypopnea, will be discussed. The focus is on the control strategy used and it corresponds to a gain-scheduling PID control by means of empirical modeling. The objective was to design a low cost equipment that could adjust to the requirements of a device for the treatment of Obstructive Apnea Syndrome. Although the final prototype has not been finished, it is considered that the imposed objective has been achieved.


The much debated question of the influence of the pagan basilica on the Christian basilica is concerned with architecture while the wall mosaic has never been included into this discussion. This is the issue that I would like to discuss in this paper. The elevation of the Early Christian basilicas of Rome is organized in an analogous way to the elevations of certain Roman basilicas in Asia Minor (Aphrodisias) and of Rome (Basilica Aemilia). The exclusion of statues and reliefs in the Christian basilica created a vacuum which perhaps favoured the choice of the mosaic and fresco.


Recently, emissions and the energy use of the building and construction sector globally increased. Therefore, energy retrofit processes and reducing the energy consumption of buildings are increasingly often discussed by the academic community, industry, and end-users. The application of high-performance technologies and highly insulating materials results in a low energy demand in newly constructed buildings. A crucial challenge is to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings. The article presents an energy analysis of the reconstruction of a historic building adapted to hotel functionality. Based on the available information on the design of the facility, and the annual demand for cooling and heating energy, simulations of the energy performance were carried out. The proposals to exchange the heat source and replace the existing systems were simulated and assessed. Three different retrofit options were analyzed, including the replacement of the air handling unit (variant 1—v1), bathroom fixtures (v2), and, in the last scenario analyzed (v3), the above-mentioned activities and the usage of tri-generation units. As the results show, such solutions allow for the reduction in final energy consumption of 20%, to 73% regarding the baseline variant.


Objective: To sum up the experience of dealing with spontaneous esophageal rupture and select the effective management.Methods: 13 cases of spontaneous esophageal rupture were treated with surgical and clinical data were analyzed retrospectively.Results: All cases were diagnosed by contrast examination.Exploratory thoracotomy was adopted in 6 cases,3 cases of which adopted debridement and closed drainage thoracic,3 cases of which adopted spontaneous neoplasty.Conservative treatment was adopted in other 7 cases,including membrane-covered memory alloy stent was used in 1case.2 cases got first intention,10 cases got delayed healing,1case died from sudden hematorrhea.Conclusions: Spontaneous esophageal rupture was often misdiagnosed,much more attention should be attached to it,esp.concurrent vomiting seriously.Water soluble contrast medium is much better than Barium,since Barium medium may pollute the wound.3.Early diagnosis and spontaneous repair can improve the rate of first intention.4.Jejunostomy should be used early in conservative treatment.5.Installment of memory alloy stent is not fit for esophageal rupture.


An infection of primary polycystic echinococcus was found in the liver of a gerbil,Meriones unguiculatus Milnc Edwards during a survey on the infection of alveolar echinococcus in rodents which was undertaken in 1999 at the Hulunbeier Pasture of northeastern Inner Mongolia,China Of 45 gerbil,one (2 22%) was found infected with primary polycystic echinococcus consisted of many exogenous vesicles on the whole surface of this metacestode The larval cestode situated superficially in a liver lobe of the gerbil,it was not completely surrounded by host liver tissue,it is therefore not difficult to be dissected out total without rupturing it The dissected primary polycystic echinococcus was a short conical body measuring about 7 5mm in length,3mm in width and 2 5mm in thickness Only its base portion with fibrous tissue was attached to gerbil liver tissue and closely surrounded by connective tissue of host The sections of the metacestode showed that all the exogenous vesicles have arisen directly from germinal tissue of the parasite,it happened prior to onset of exogenous proliferation The sizes of exogenous vesicles were 0 141~0 724×0 432~0 752 mm in cross section specimen The base portion of the metacestode consists of fibrous tissue,the exogenous vesicles were also found attaching to the lateral edges of the base portion From the sections of the base portion,many strong PAS positive mass were observed These germinal tissue masses were structurally similar to that observed in the alveolar metacestodes of Echinococcus sibiricensis Rausch and Schiller,1954 and Alveolaris hulunbeierensis Tang et al ,2001 (Tang et al ,2001;2002;etc ) Histochemistry study showed that the germinal tissue between exogenous vesicles and in the internal surface of exogenous vesicles walls had reticular appearances,and were filled with large number of PAS positive granules bodies measuring about 2 3μm in diameters Other spherical or conical buds of early stage endogenous vesicles with different sizes (6~16×6~8μm),and the buds enveloped by laminated membrane were also observed All the granules and small buds of early stage endogenous vesicle that either arose from or embeddedin in the internal surface of exogenous vesicles were found The general character of the polycystic echinococcus collected from the gerbil in Inner Mongolia is similar to that of Echinococcus vogeli which is the pathogen of polycystic hydatid disease and has only been reported in Central America and South America,but is distinguished from it by the structure and morphology of its primary exogenous vesicle,the primary exogenous vesicle of larval Echinococcus vogeli Rausch et Bernstein,1972 has a large plaque from which have arisen the flattened primary vesicles,prior to onset of exogenous proliferation (Rausch and D'Alessandro,1999) Since the life history of this new metacestode is not known,it is tentatively named Polycystia neimonguensis sp nov


An empirical, qualitative, interpretive and cross-sectional study was carried out in a hospital of custody and treatment (HCT) of a city in the southeast region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with 22 administrative, health e security workers, through an interview with a semi-structured instrument and non-participant observation. Data were submitted to Content Analysis and presented in the categories: the hospital of custody and treatment: therapeutic space, in fact?; the HCT as a place of segregation and punishment; and the in(ability) of the legal mental hospitals for resocialization.


BACKGROUND
Although epidemic, novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection rarely affects pediatric population. However, in the last months an increasing number of Italian pediatricians has reported the occurrence of erythema pernio-like in children following a flu-like syndrome, after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

OBJECTIVE
To report cutaneous manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 4 adolescents.

METHODS
Observational study reporting 4 adolescents with skin lesions, 2 weeks after the occurrence of a flu-like syndrome.

RESULTS
Fourteen days after a flu-like syndrome, adolescents exhibited skin lesions to toes and feet. These lesions were rounded, with blurred limits, with a 5-15 mm diameter, red-violaceous-bluish colored, sometimes resulting in bullous lesions in correspondence of the central or apical portion, which tended to be covered with blackish crusts after evolution. Lesions were also accompanied by pain of variable intensity and evolved within two or three weeks to self-resolution without particular sequelae. In two patients, pharyngeal and nasal swabs were negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection, at the presentation of skin lesions. After 2 months from clinical manifestations, patients were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

CONCLUSIONS
In pediatric and adolescent population, the occurrence of an erythema pernio-like after a flu-like syndrome could be associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection.


A high-performance CMOS fastbus slave interface ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) supporting all addressing and data transfer modes defined in the IEEE 960-1986 standard is presented. The Fastbus Slave Integrated Circuit (FASIC) is an interface between the asynchronous Fastbus and a clock synchronous processor/memory bus. It can work stand-alone or together with a 32-b microprocessor. The FASIC is a programmable device, enabling its direct use in many different applications. A set of programmable address mapping windows can map Fastbus addresses to convenient memory addresses and at the same time act as address decoding logic. Data rates of 100 Mbytes/s to Fastbus can be obtained using an internal FIFO (first in, first out) in the FASIC to buffer data between the two buses during block transfers. Message passing from Fastbus to a microprocessor on the slave module is supported. A compact (70 mm*170 mm) Fastbus slave piggyback subcard interface including level conversion between ECL (emitter coupled logic) and TTL (transistor transistor logic) signal levels has been implemented using surface mount components and the 208-pin FASIC chip.<<ETX>>


High altitude pulmonary edema is a severe disease of acute mountain sickness. Its onset is quick and its mortality is very high. This article reviews recent research into the mechanism, diagnosis, therapy and prevention of high altitude pulmonary edema.


This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of compensation and work discipline on employee performance at Dewi Sambi Batik Craft Center. This type of research is quantitative research, data were collected from 80 respondents who were all employees at Dewi Sambi Batik Craft Center, the sampling method was saturated sampling, where all members of the population became the research sample. Data was collected by observation and questionnaire methods. The data collected was analyzed using multiple regression analysis with SPSS version 26. The results showed that compensation partially affected the performance of the Dewi Sambi Batik Krajinan Center employees, work discipline partially affected the employee performance of the Dewi Sambi Batik Krajinan Center. Compensation and work discipline simultaneously affect the performance of the Dewi Sambi Batik Krajinan Center employees


In the circles of literature and history,it is common to quote oral historical materials and memoirs in those articles on modern figures.Due to insufficient verification,the phenomena of lacking fidelity are not rarely seen.Exemplified by the textual research on two instances of the communication between Su Xue-lin and Hu Shi,this article emphasizes that researchers should take the authenticity of the recollections into consideration while utilizing memoirs.Papers of academic research ought to be based on verified historical facts.


Canada. The museum is opening in stages; once completed, the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization (CMOHC) aims to draw over 300,000 visitors annually in conjunction with serving as an institution fostering international cultural exchange. The museum has at present no permanent collection, but is working to borrow from India, the USA and Canada. Producing traveling exhibitions is an important part of the museum's development plans. Additional project information may be accessed on their web-site at www.cmohc.ca.


Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements naturally available in the soil. This element performs an essential function in improving plant growth. This present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of Si nutrient application on the growth performance of chili (Capsicum annuum L.). Chili plant grown using a fertigation system was subjected to manual application of a silicon nutrient solution in varying concentrations (0 ppm, 108 ppm, 180 ppm, & 360 ppm) via root application. Each treatment was replicated five times, with five plants in each replicate, and all plants were grown in a shade house. The growth performance parameters measured were the number of leaves, stem diameter, plant height, plant biomass (dry weight), and Si accumulation in the stem, leave, and chili fruit. Results showed that Si nutrient application significantly affected the growth performances of chili plants. Application of T3 (360 ppm Si nutrient) was able to produce the highest stem diameter (8.92 mm), fresh weight (129.63 g), dry weight (67.23 g), as well as Si accumulation in stem (54 ppm), and chili fruit (24 ppm). On the other hand, applications with T2 (180 ppm Si nutrient) also demonstrated the highest plant height (20.98 cm), number of leave (27), and Si accumulation in leave (87 ppm). In conclusion, the application of silicon nutrients has the potential to enhance plant growth in numerous crops, making it a beneficial supplement to traditional agricultural practices.


Invasive fungal infections occur in 5-59% of solid organ transplant recipients. Among fungal infections, Cryptococcus remains a significant opportunistic infection in solid organ transplant recipients. The incidence of cryptococcal infection in solid organ recipients was about 2.8 per 100 transplant recipients. Mortality rates in organ transplant recipients with cryptococcosis range from 15% to 20%.The type of primary immunosuppressive agents used in solid organ transplant recipients influences the predominant clinical manifestations of cryptococcosis. Patients who are receiving tacrolimus were significantly less likely to have central nervous system involvement and more likely to have skin, soft tissue and osteoarticular involvement than patients receiving non tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive agents We report a case of cutaneous Cryptococcus neoformans infection in 59 years old renal transplant recipient who underwent renal transplantation ten years ago. He was on immunosuppressant drugs like tacrolimus. High clinical suspicion will help in early diagnosis and treatment. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2019; 9(4):164-166.


24 Background: Haeckel and Darwin, respectively, proposed heterochronic shifts during mid to 25 late stages of organismal development as key mechanisms generating phenotypic diversity. To 26 determine whether late heterochronic shifts underlie derived floral morphologies within 27 Jaltomata – a genus with extensive and recently evolved floral diversity – we compared floral 28 development of four diverse species (including an ambiguously ancestral or secondarily derived 29 rotate, two putatively independently evolved campanulate, and a tubular morph) to the ancestral 30 rotate floral form, as well as to an outgroup that shares this ancestral floral morphology. 31 32 Results: We determined that early floral development (<1 mm bud stage) is very similar among 33 all species, but that different mature floral forms are distinguishable by mid-development (3-4 34 mm stages) due to differential growth acceleration of corolla traits. Floral ontogeny among 35 similar mature forms remains comparable until late stages (>5 mm), followed by species-specific 36 heterochronic shifts in corolla traits. 37 38 Conclusions: Our data suggest shared floral patterning during early-stage development, 39 continued shared patterning or re-use of similar floral developmental pathways at mid-stage 40 development, and distinct heterochronic shifts during late-stage development. Heterochrony thus 41 appears to have been important in the rapid and repeated diversification of Jaltomata flowers. 42 43


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a reflection on the importance of individual environmental protection, which recognizes the right of every citizen to take action to obtain compensation for environmental damage, as a damage to his or her existential condition. One of the most discussed environmental issues in Italy today is the lack of personal protection because the European legislator has provided for a public protection of environmental damage.

Design/methodology/approach
Design/methodology/approach based on the analysis of a well-known environmental disaster, the case of ex Ilva, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of protection in environmental matters that contrasts with the consideration of the environment as a fundamental constitutional value of Italian and European law and the affirmation of the principle of sustainable development.

Findings
Findings the reconstruction of the environment as a common good aimed at realizing the fundamental needs of the person according to the theory of common goods and damage to the environment as an existential damage finds in the pronouncement of the European Court relevant confirmations. As a result of an individual legitimation alternative to the choice of the European legislator to confine the protection in the public sector.

Originality/value
This work will examine recent Italian cases concerning environmental disaster, the case of ex Ilva. This paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.


This paper discussed the distribution features of the fringes for the equal inclination interference(EII) and made the physical images of the EII more object and concrete,starting from the discussion on the concrete mathematical description of the linear radius of the fringe rings that come from the EII on the thin film of the optically denser medium(TFODM). the paper also found out the special fringe distribution characteristics of the EII on the thin film of the optically thinner medium(TFOTM),combining the physical essence of the TFOTM and using the mathematical description above. Finally, the possible applications of the EII on the TFOTM are mentioned.


This paper experimentally investigates the plausibility of a phase masking scheme for SPECTS O-CDMA security enhancement. Implementation of the phase mask is demonstrated with experimental results showing the improvement in security.


Having three copies of human chromosome 21, also known as Down syndrome (DS), results in gene dosage imbalances causing changes in brain morphology. There are few studies focused on how DS affects brain morphology in young children, as most are focused on adults who exhibit an Alzheimer's‐like dementia. Therefore, our project aims to fill this gap in the current knowledge of DS in children.


Networks-on-chip (NoCs) have been increasingly adopted in recent years due to the extensive integration of many components in modern multicore processors and system-on-chip designs. At the same time, transistor reliability is becoming a major concern due to the continuous scaling of silicon. As the sole medium of on-chip communication, it is critical for a NoC to be able to tolerate many permanent transistor failures. In this paper, we propose uDIREC, a unified framework for permanent fault diagnosis and subsequent reconfiguration in NoCs, which provides graceful performance degradation with an increasing number of faults. Upon in-field transistor failures, uDIREC leverages a fine-resolution diagnosis mechanism to disable faulty components very sparingly. At its core, uDIREC employs MOUNT, a novel routing algorithm to find reliable and deadlock-free routes that utilize all the still-functional links in the NoC. We implement uDIREC's reconfiguration as a truly-distributed hardware solution, still keeping the area overhead at a minimum. We also propose a software-implemented reconfiguration that provides greater integration with our software-based diagnosis scheme, at the cost of distributed nature of implementation. Regardless of the adopted implementation scheme, uDIREC places no restriction on topology, router architecture and number and location of faults. Experimental results show that uDIREC, implemented in a 64-node NoC, drops 3 $\times$  fewer nodes and provides greater than 25 percent throughput improvement (beyond 15 faults) when compared to other state-of-the-art fault-tolerance solutions. uDIREC's improvement over prior-art grows further with more faults, making it a effective NoC reliability solution for a wide range of fault rates.


Urban green and blue infrastructure (GBI) plays an extremely important role in regulating urban climate and assisting cities to cope with future climate change and enhance urban resilience. This paper presents a comprehensive review of urban green and blue infrastructure researches on cooling effect trends and hotspots, and the distribution of cooling effect studies in different climatic zones. Most studies focused on surface types and configurations, urban parks and water bodies, roof greening (building energy conservation), ecological benefits, thermal comfort, plant communities, etc. through remote sensing imagery, ground measurement, and comprehensive simulation. Most studies were influenced by the research field (perspective) and the research scale dependence of urban green and blue infrastructure cooling effect was extremely obvious. Based on the Köppen climate classification, the research methods, indicators and key issues are different at scale level. Through the analysis of cooling effect of green and blue infrastructure and its influencing factors from the landscape, patch (corridor) and community scale, we found that the cooling effect was mainly affected by the proportion of ecological land, landscape pattern (landscape scale); patch area, underlying surface type (patch scale); and plant configuration, single plant (community scale), etc. Meta⁃analysis was used to synthesize data on the cooling effect of parks and the results showed that, on average, a park was 1.39 °C cooler in temperate climate zone and 3.12 °C cooler in continental climate zone. On this basis, this paper summarizes three challenges in the future research on the cooling effect of urban green and


The symptoms and signs of Addison's disease appear when practically all the cortex of both adrenal glands has been destroyed by disease or has atrophied. Wells (1930) estimates that 90 per cent. of cases arise from tuberculous disease and that 10 per cent. occur from simple atrophy. Other causes of the condition are very rare, though metastatic carcinoma frequently affects the suprarenals.


The purpose of this study is to survey the wooden parts and structures of double-layered eaves in traditional Korean timber buildings, and to compare them with similar parts and structures refered in official architectural documents of Chinese dynasties, such as Yingzaofashi(營造法式) from Northern Song dynasty and Gongchengzuofazeli(工程做法則例) from Qing dynasty. Double layered eaves are a kind of architectural design constituents for high-grade buildings. They are eaves that have additional superimposed eaves at the tip of normal single-layered eaves. Double-layered eaves are composed of many parts like eaves rafters(cheomaseokkarae 처마서까래), additioanl rafters(buyeon 부연), eaves connectors(pyeonggodae 평고대), rafter-gap-blockers(buyeonchakko 부연착고), tile supporters(yeonham 연함), etc. There are some variation of their framing, and they can be clues for comparative studies on East Asian architecture.


Although rare in the United States, gallbladder cancer (GBCA) is a common cause of cancer death in some parts of the world. To investigate regional differences in pathogenesis and outcomes for GBCA, tumor mutations were analyzed from a sampling of specimens.


A Function Definition Language(FDL)is presented.Though designed for describing specifications.FDL is also a general-purpose functional programming language.It uses context-free language as data type,supports pattern matching definition of functions,offers several function definition forms,and is executable.It is shown that FDL has strong expressiveness,is easy to use and describes algorithms concisely and naturally.An interpreter of FDL is introduced.Experiments and discussion are included.


Local learning algorithms are a very general class of non-parametric lazy learners obtained by stitching together systems of locally weighted parametric models. For a system of locally-learned classifiers, there is currently no convenient method to find points on the decision surface. In this paper, we introduce a generic algorithm for finding the decision surface for systems of localized classifiers using arbitrary model families. The decision surface of a classifier is often useful for obtaining pseudo-probabilistic output from the orthogonal distance of a point to the decision surface. We therefore extend our method to find this orthogonal projection of an arbitrary point onto the decision surface for a broad class of classifier families. We specifically derive the necessary equations for computing the orthogonal projection onto the decision surface of systems of locally linear support vector machines. We demonstrate how this can be used for pseudo-probabilistic calibration, and by extension for multiclass classification strategies such as one-vs-rest or one-vs-one. Lastly, we demonstrate the efficacy of this method to obtain more accurate multi-class classifiers on popular datasets.


Introduction:
 microRNAs (miRNAs) profiles in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid change in relation to cerebrovascular diseases and may serve as biomarkers or therapeutic targets of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In this study, we examined the expression of novel and previously unreported miRNAs in ICH in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) identified from miRNA sequencing.

 Methods:
 Patients with acute spontaneous ICH (n=8) were consented and peripheral whole blood were collected within 48 hours of ICH onset and processed for plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). CSF was obtained from an external ventricular drain (EVD). Six novel miRNAs were selected from miR-Seq analysis and further validated for their expression in ICH plasma/CSF, PBMC RNA and normal control plasma/CSF. Total RNA was used for real-time PCR validation of novel miRNAs using custom locked-nucleic acid (LNA) assay. Demographic and clinical data were collected.

 Results:
 miRNA-seq comparison between ICH plasma and CSF identified 19 and 30 differentially expressed miRNA (p<0.05), of which 9 and 7 novel miRNAs were identified in plasma and CSF, respectively. PC-5p-218_26568 was identified in ICH CSF, ICH PBMC and weakly in ICH plasma and normal plasma, but not in normal CSF. PC-5p-585_8337 was identified in ICH CSF and plasma, but not in normal CSF, plasma or ICH PBMC. PC-3p-4244_570 was found in CSF and plasma ICH patients and normal controls, exhibiting a 4-fold and 11-fold higher in ICH CSF and plasma than normal controls. It was also identified in ICH PBMC. PC-5p-1115_3460 was detected in normal plasma but not in ICH plasma, whereas PC-5p-6497_338 was found in ICH plasma but not in normal plasma and CSF. Lastly, PC-3p-3144_857 was found in ICH plasma and ICH PBMC and not in CSF.

 Conclusion:
 We identified distinct differences in miRNAs expression in healthy and ICH plasma and CSF. Further studies are underway on the gene targets and utility of these miRNAs as therapeutic targets or biomarkers of ICH.


The invention discloses a built-in bone support device. In the built-in bone support device, the edge of a circular top disc is provided with a cylindrical side wall which is extended outward; and the middle part of the cylindrical side wall is provided with longitudinal grids which are distributed uniformly. The designed support device can be used for treating large-area osteonecrosis and bone collapses caused by the large-area osteonecrosis, and achieves the effects of easing pain, repairing the inner structure of a femoral head, and recovering the femoral head. The built-in bone support device can only be used for treating femoral head necrosis and can also be used for treating osteonecrosis of other parts.


This paper firstly presents the philosophical bases and development of Chomsky's generative theory,then comments the views in the article The Philosophical Foundations and Defects of Chomskyan Linguistics with different opinions.


Designing high-performing buildings has led the design process towards a multidisciplinary and integrated design approach, with energy design emerging as new expertise. Energy design is usually assisted by building simulation, which does not represent an absorbed knowledge. To this regard, this study aims to provide guidelines for the use of building simulation at the various stages of design process, by means of a recipes approach. Different steps for each design stages were defined. A case study modeled in EnergyPlus is also depicted as practical experience to extrapolate this approach. A building simulation recipe was created for each main stage of the design process


ABSTRACT The present work reports a method for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by reducing Ag ions from silver nitrate solution using alcoholic, aqueous and alcoholic-aqueous Stevia rebaudiana extracts. Depending on a particular extract different sizes of AgNPs could be observed – 40 nm in aqueous and aqueous-alcoholic extracts and significantly bigger 170 nm in case of alcoholic extract. Synthesis of AgNPs was analyzed within spectra range of 300–700 nm. The performed research provided information that aqueous and aqueous-alcoholic extracts are excellent sources for synthesis of AgNPs; however AgNPs were unstable in the case of alcoholic extract. The aqueous-alcoholic extract showed the best properties during studies. Antioxidant potential, antimicrobial properties and cytotoxicity were determined. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-triphenyl-hydrazyl) method showed that antioxidant activity of an extract containing AgNPs was higher compared to Stevia extract alone. Bacterial inhibition studies had shown substantial antibacterial properties of AgNPs, which was much higher than Stevia extract alone and silver nitrate.


Thin films of nitrogenated amorphous carbon (a-CNx) were deposited on Si(100) substrates by reactive radio frequency sputtering using a gas mixture of Ar and N2 at a total working pressure of 3 mTorr. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the films consisted of amorphous carbon (a-C) containing a β-C3N4-like phase with N atoms bonded to C atoms in tetrahedral coordination (sp3) and a graphite-like phase with N atoms bonded to C atoms in trigonal coordination (sp2). Analysis of the XPS spectra revealed a strong effect of the N2 partial pressure on the concentration and composition of each constituent. The thickness and nanohardness of the a-CNx films were in the ranges of 7–35 nm and 12.5–40 GPa, respectively, depending on the fraction of N2 in the sputtering gas. Conversely to the chemical composition, the growth rate (thickness), microstructure, and nanomechanical properties of the a-CNx films were found to depend on the total mass flow rate. While the N/C atomic ratio increased with the N2 ...


Medical co-morbidities are common in patients with Psychiatric Disorders. Thyroid disorders are one of the common medical disorders which have a strong association with Psychiatric disorders. They can not only be the cause of Psychiatric disorders but also play an important role in having an impact on management, course and prognosis. Screening for Thyroid disorders in patients with Psychiatric symptoms and disorder should be done for better management of such patients. This case report describes two such cases were Thyroid disorders and Psychiatric Disorders both play a prominent part and treatment of both has to go together for better management of the patient.


OBJECTIVE
To asses the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis in children of de Valencian Community (VC), Spain, and to describe the microbiologic characteristics.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Prospective surveillance system with paediatrician and microbiologist participation of all public hospitals of the VC. Cases are children less than 15 with clinical meningitis and with isolation of Hib, N. meningitidis or S. pneumoniae from CSF of blood.

RESULTS
From 1st December 1995 to 30th November 1996, 51 cases were declared, 33.3% were Hib, 49.0% N. meningitidis and 17.7% S. pneumoniae. The annual incidence of meningitis was 7.6 cases/100,000 < 15 years, 20.5/100,000 < 5 years and 56.2/100,000 < 1 year. 84.3% of the cases occurred in children younger than 5. S. pneumoniae had the highest mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Hib is a frequent cause of meningitis in spite of that one third of children are vaccinated. 43% of the N. meningitidis isolated in meningitis are serogroup C. S. pneumoniae meningitis are more frequent in children less than one, and has a high mortality rate.


Studies of real opportunities for physical skills of athletes sufficiently depend on their adaptive potential for increasing physical loads. Extreme physical and psychoemotional loads may lead to overwork and decreased physical ability in professional sportsmen. These adaptation processes are regulated by the main biochemical systems of the body. A special role belongs to the factors of humoral immunity, i.e., natural antibodies, which are a component of innate immunity. They circulate in blood of healthy persons in absence of obvious antigenic stimulation. Analytical techniques for measuring the level of natural antibodies that reflect the state of the system of endogenous bioregulators involved into the molecular mechanisms of adaptation process have been developed. An important role among them is played by the regulators of the opioid system β-endorphin and orphanin. The biochemical and immunological parameters were determined in 10 athletes active in figure skating (Master of Sports), whose average age was 16±0.4 years, and sport experience of 9±1 years. The duration of the study was divided into 5 stages and was 62 days. During the dynamic observations in the course of intensive training, no clear shifts in biochemical parameters were revealed towards adaptation stress and delayed recovery. The level of natural antibodies to orphanin and beta-endorphin was measured in the athletes blood serum by ELISA techique. It is found that each athlete is characterized by individual immune profile. At the initial stage of the examination, the level of antibodies to beta-endorphin was within normal ranges, except for its decrease in one athlete. The level of antibodies to orphanin in majority of cases was higher than normal, probably, due to inhibitory control of the pain signal. Further study in time dynamics revealed that the immunological parameters, natural antibodies to opioid peptides, change in accordance with the state of adaptation resources in the athletes. These indexes reflect psycho-emotional potential and pain tolerance threshold for athletes from the start of training and throughout the entire period. Therefore, from a prognostic point of view, it is important to monitor the content of natural antibodies to beta-endorphin and orphanin in athletes in the course of training. Such individual monitoring of the athlete's immunological indices allows us to select a more effective, personal training program.


This paper presents a novel Distributed Streaming Compressive Spectrum Sensing (DSCSS) algorithm for wide-band spectrum sensing under decentralized cognitive radio network (CRN) scenario. In contrary to traditional compressive sensing (CS) that only focuses on fixed-length signal's compressive sampling and reconstruction, DSCSS follows streaming CS framework, where Analog-to-Information Converter (AIC) is utilized to perform streaming signal acquisition below Nyquist sampling rate at individual cognitive radios (CR). Since the sparsity of wide-band spectrum is unavailable in practical situation, DSCSS alternatively estimates the sparsity and the true support set of the spectrum, and the estimated support set is marked and exchanged to the other CRs as a priori information, which are merged and utilized to obtain cooperative sensing gain. This process repeats to acquire performance promotion progressively until robust spectrum sensing results are achieved. Moreover, the low computational complexity makes DSCSS more suitable for on-line applications. Various simulations and comparisons are performed to show the efficiency of the proposed approach, the effectiveness of which is testified.


Three experiments were designed to evaluate the influence of increasing percentages of rubber (0, 10, 15, and 20% by weight of binder) and rubber type (passenger and industrial tires), pretreatment of rubber (none, tall oil pitch), and asphalt chemistry (Strategic Highway Research Program materials reference library asphalts AAD, AAG, AAF, and AAM) on asphalt-rubber interactions. Viscosity was measured by a Brookfield rotational viscometer; testing variability was also estimated. Untreated rubber was included to represent interaction characteristics representative of the wet process. Treated rubber was included as a way of stabilizing the rubber before use in the dry process. Results confirmed that rubber (either passenger or industrial tires) reacts more readily with a softer grade of asphalt from a given refinery. Pretreatment of passenger tire rubber with various percentages of tall oil pitch significantly reduces both the viscosity and the influence of aging. Pretreatment of industrial tire rubber appears to have a significant effect only when lighter grades of binder are used. The same rubber will react differently with various sources of the same grade of asphalt cement. This is a function of the molecular weight of the asphalt cement, which is related to solubility, and the viscosity of the binder at the storage temperature, which is related to the rate of penetration and swell.


Yet, in the fmal analysis, it is Kingsley's status as an amateur that makes his views 011 science still of interest today. For his assessment of science was that of a man who was well acquainted with more than one other area ofactivity. When, therefore, towards the end ofhis life he compared political and scientific endeavour, his words are worth noting: even if they are hardly congenial to some of our present-day thinking.


If the server room temperature is too hot it will cause damage to the existing hardware in the server room, whereas if the gas threshold is too high it will be able to indicate that a fire has occurred in the server room. One way to maintain the temperature level of 20-21oC / (68-71oF) and 350 ppm - 1000 ppm gas levels in the server room is to periodically monitor the temperature and gas content whether it is within the threshold that we specify ... So that if one day there is a deviation temperatures outside the tolerance range can be immediately taken responsive measures. Currently the server administrator must continue to monitor changes in temperature in the server room in stable condition and still manually. Temperature and gas monitoring systems and web-based control using DHT11 sensors and MQ-2 sensors can be one solution to monitor the temperature of the server room so that it is always in a conducive state, so as to minimize the occurrence of excess heat in devices in the server room . If there is a situation where changes in temperature and gas in the server room are detected, the system will send a notification to the user via SMS and automation of the additional air conditioning so that it can stabilize the room temperature again. Thus the temperature and gas of the server room will continue to be maintained and stable in full control by the server administrator without having to continue to be in the server room. The programming language used to create this system is the Arduino programming language whose syntax resembles the C language and for its visual appearance using the PHP programming language and MySQL database. From the observation of 23 days the application trial was able to run and give notification as much as 98% and system failure as much as 2%.


Democratic permeation is an important instrument in American external expansion and also a tool to ensure that U.S state interest will be realized.US external democratic permeation is varied and complicated,with various acts involved and flexible tools adopted to exercise democratic permeation.It is of realistic significance to struggle against U.S democratic strategy in China by combing through the mechanism,key fields,basic tools and feature of U.S external democratic permeation.


Photosynthetic and morphological characteristics of endophyte Neotyphodium starrii infected and free tall fescue plants were determinated in the study.The results show that: net photosynthetic rate(Pn),transpiration rate(Tr),water use efficiency(ρWUE),intercellular carbon dioxide concentration(Ci) and stomatal conductance(Gs) of Neotyphodium typhinum infected tall fescue plants were all higher than Neotyphodium typhinum free tall fescue plants;photosynthetic performance under high temperature and the ability to resist high temperatures of infected tall fescue plants were superior to Neotyphodium typhinum free tall fescue plants.Endophyte Infected and free tall fescue plants showed some morphological changes in regularity,endophyte infected ones showed thick leaves,tall plants,deep color,wide leaves;and endophyte free ones showed thin leaf,short plants,light color,narrow leaves.These conclusions provide a new idea for breeding of new turf grass species with good resistance and adaptability,and provide a new method to solve the problem for urban afforestation with water shortage,and for greenery of drought areas, semi-arid areas and special site conditions.


This is a comparative study on firm efficiency, a proxy for firm performance, between family-owned business (FOB) and non-family-owned business (non-FOB). This study aims to determine a firms' efficiency by comparing FOB and non-FOB in Southeast Asia countries. The efficiency ratios for five Southeast Asian countries were estimated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), before a two-sample T-test to determine the differences between FOBs and non-FOBs. Hence, secondary data research techniques from each country from 2007 to 2016 were used to conduct the comparison. The data were gathered from various sources. The findings did not archive any comparison in performance among FOBs and non-FOBs. This finding is fundamental for the Board of Director (BOD), senior management of the firms, researchers, policymakers, scholastics, and the overall population., Ceteris paribus, both FOB and non-FOB, ought to work at a similar efficiency even out and have the option to produce comparative returns for their shareholders. Subsequently, stakeholders can compare treatments to assist in alleviating the dependency on two unique treatments or strategies when managing FOB and non- FOB. In short, it could expand the BOD and management efficiency.


INTRODUCTION The view that insurance deters people from taking medical checkups and diagnostic tests has had widespread currency during the debate over health care reform. If a test revealed favorable results (e.g., HIV negative or the absence of the genetic defect causing Huntington's disease), the insurer would probably lower the premium, but unfavorable test results would result in a prohibitive premium or uninsurability. This classification lottery clearly is unattractive to risk averse consumers and might dissuade them from taking the test despite any medical or public health benefits. This view has been aired in the scientific and popular press and has entered policy analysis in Washington (Tabarrok, 1994).(1) We will show that markets will provide optimal incentives for consumers to take diagnostic tests if there are initially informed and uninformed consumers and an option for treatment, and if information status and the test results are confidential. We will show that the social value of information revealed by diagnostic tests is also positive. Consumers must anticipate how their private knowledge will affect the choices they exercise from policy menus offered by insurers in a competitive market. We will show that the information revealed by the test has positive private value, thus encouraging consumers to be tested. This positive value arises jointly from the ability of consumers to hide information status and the value of the contingent option for treatment. Thus, competitive markets will encourage consumers to make socially optimal choices. Formally, our study addresses adverse selection, moral hazard and the value of information. We will show that the hidden nature of information status adds an important second dimension to the standard Rothchild-Stiglitz model. Self selection screening models traditionally start with an assumption that one agent is uninformed of the risk type of the others, and the uninformed party offers a menu designed to induce sorting. We start with both informed and uninformed consumers but the latter can choose whether to acquire information. Uninformed consumers must decide whether to take a test which will reveal their propensity for death or ailment. Insurers who are uninformed as to who takes the test or the results, offer a menu of life (or health) insurance policies(2) designed to induce self selection according to information status and test results. Moreover, insurers must anticipate that those taking the test may receive options for treatment which can be exercised after insurance is chosen, thus introducing an element of moral hazard. In choosing whether to take the test, consumers anticipate how information revealed will affect their choice from the insurer's menu and how they will exercise the treatment option. Thus, we model a game in which insurers cannot tell whether a consumer possesses hidden knowledge, and some consumers are initially uninformed but may choose to acquire hidden knowledge, thereby changing the nature of the informational asymmetry from one in which the uninformed cannot be contracted with separately ex ante to one like the Rothchild-Stiglitz model wherein all consumers possess hidden knowledge. We will show that taking the test is the dominant strategy for the uninformed for the preliminary information game and that the Nash equilibrium requires that all consumers become informed. This article is related to a previous literature on the social value of information, insurance classification, adverse selection, medical decision making, etc. We will mention only some of the closer fits. The social value of information has been addressed by Hirshleifer (1971) and Arrow (1978) who, extending the work of Dreze (1960), showed that improved public information may make everyone worse off (by eliminating opportunities to reallocate risk through trade). Milgrom and Stokey (1982) and Marshall (1974) show that if parties negotiate ex ante efficient contracts, subsequently generated information does not expand allocative opportunities and has no social value. …


Background: High dependence of cancer cells on glycolysis is a good target for cancer therapy. Results: Tumor suppressor p53 represses the expression of key regulators of metabolic genes HIF1a and c-Myc and glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT12. Conclusion: Blocking ATP production network by pharmacologically activated p53 contributes to cancer cell death. Significance: Tumor-selective killing by reconstituted p53 might be in part due to inhibition of glycolysis. Unique sensitivity of tumor cells to the inhibition of glycolysis is a good target for anticancer therapy. Here, we demonstrate that the pharmacologically activated tumor suppressor p53 mediates the inhibition of glycolytic enzymes in cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We showed that p53 binds to the promoters of metabolic genes and represses their expression, including glucose transporters SLC2A12 (GLUT12) and SLC2A1 (GLUT1). Furthermore, p53-mediated repression of transcription factors c-Myc and HIF1α, key drivers of ATP-generating pathways in tumors, contributed to ATP production block. Inhibition of c-Myc by p53 mediated the ablation of several glycolytic genes in normoxia, whereas in hypoxia down-regulation of HIF1α contributed to this effect. We identified Sp1 as a transcription cofactor cooperating with p53 in the ablation of metabolic genes. Using different approaches, we demonstrated that glycolysis block contributes to the robust induction of apoptosis by p53 in cancer cells. Taken together, our data suggest that tumor-specific reinstatement of p53 function targets the "Achilles heel" of cancer cells (i.e. their dependence on glycolysis), which could contribute to the tumor-selective killing of cancer cells by pharmacologically activated p53.


PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of financial and technical education of chief executive officer (CEO) on investment–cash flow sensitivity (ICFS) of Indian manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the dynamic panel data model and more specifically, the system-generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to investigate the effect of CEOs' education on ICFS of Indian manufacturing firms during the period 1998–1999 to 2016–2017.FindingsThe study shows that financial (technical) education of CEOs does (not) affect ICFS. The results explain that the role of the CEO's education in ICFS is highly significant during the crisis period. The robustness test depicts that the influence of financial education on ICFS is less (more) for group-affiliated and large-sized firms (stand-alone and small-sized firms). Further, the CEO's education is significantly associated with corporate investment decisions.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the unavailability of the CEO's compensation data for the selected sample, future research could explore the impact of CEO's education with respect to CEO's compensation on ICFS.Practical implicationsFirst, the authors find that financially educated CEOs affect ICFS; therefore, firms should take care of CEO's education during recruitment of CEOs. Second, lending agencies should also consider the educational background of the CEO before approval of funding to make it safe. Third, investors should keep in mind the educational background of the CEO for the growth of their investment as it may be easier for financially educated CEOs to borrow from the market at the time of requirement.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence through analyzing the impact of a CEO's education on ICFS in the context of India. This study is very unique in itself as it uses the sample of manufacturing sectors of India, which are growing very fast and attracting global investors to create a global hub of manufacturing in India. This study also considers different types of education such as financial and technical education of CEOs in the context of a developing economy like India. This study made its findings robust across company characteristics and periods based on the financial crisis.


Millimetre-wave quasi-optical systems (i.e. systems in which signal beams propagate unguided between lenses or mirrors under diffraction-controlled conditions because the widths of the beams are not several orders of magnitude greater than the wavelength) are being used in astronomy, radiometry, communications and the characterisation of materials. Compared with wave-guided systems, the quasi-optical approach offers high throughput and wide instantaneous bandwidth. It brings a penalty of larger size but careful design can give surprisingly small sizes without loss of efficiency.


Ideological education is such an activity, which treats human being from an objective point of view. Nevertheless, along with progress of modem society and incomparable waking consciousness of human's subjectivity, the idea of viewing educational people as an object is obviously partial in nature. A subjective outlook constructed from subjective philosophy and subjective pedagogic thought indicates that both educator and the educated are subjects in the process of ideological education. The two sides are in a conforming relation developed by double subjects and based on educational data.


Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is a typical application of mobile Internet of Things (IoT), which aims to improve road conditions and enhance the driving experience. However, the issue of identity leakage has drawn a major privacy concern during the vehicle's authentication. It is impractical to apply traditional anonymous authentication methods directly to the IoV system due to their complex computation. To enhance the user's privacy and the service's efficiency, we propose a novel efficient anonymous authentication approach for the IoV based on the zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). We achieve the user's strong anonymity and authenticity based on the Fujisaki–Okamoto Commitment algorithm. In addition, the third trusted authority can effectively trace users by tracking users' verification keys. It holds the user's traceability when a violation occurs. Meanwhile, we design a fast reconnection procedure based on the security context from the last access, which can reduce the computation overhead effectively. Through the security analysis, it proves that our scheme provides the anonymity, mutual authenticity, unlinkability, traceability, forward security, and replay-attack resistance. The experimental results indicate that our scheme has a better performance compared with the classic protocols in the IoV.


Marianne Moore`s Poems on Poetics: Something "Genuine" Abstract Okhee Jeong (Kimpo College) Marianne Moore is a woman poet whose life and works have been compared to those of Christina Rossetti or Emily Dickinson by some critics. However, as a modernist, while possessing similar characteristics to those women poets, she uses far more advanced poetic techniques based on her scientific knowledge and close, minute observation of nature and its objects. Her poems are special and characteristic with ``frigid,`` unexpected poetic words, images and subjects. Yet, in spite of difficult, inexplicable surfaces of her poems, close analysis of her poems reveals her soft, warm, civil nature inside. Her messages or poetics are either directly or indirectly stated in her poems with certain consistency. She insists that something individual or "genuine" should exist in poems themselves and maintains that an artist can make works of art more precious and worthy by doing unconscious effort rather than by showing off his or her craftsmanship with pride. If we follow those poems about her poetics, we can find that she is more considerate towards others while being strict and exact about herself.


The spatial human interface (SHI) is a relatively new system that enables us to facilitate human activity in a working environment. The SHI stores human activity data as knowledge and activity history of human into the spatial memory in a working environment as three-dimensional space where one acts, and loads them with the spatial-knowledge-tags (SKT) by supporting the enhancement of human activity. To realize this, the SHI purpose is to construct a new relationship among human and distributed networks computers and sensors that is based on intuitive and simultaneous interactions. In this paper, the specified functions of SKT and the realization method of SKT are explained. The experimental results using SKT are shown.


We show that linear shape isomers of small even-even nuclei exist with nearly any internucleon interactions. The shapes of the linear isomers look like chains of alpha-particles, but single-particle spectrum reveals that alpha-particle interpretation is not needed. Indeed, the same shapes are obtained even with noninteracting particles in a rectangular cavity. Linear shape isomers are shown to exist also in metal clusters.


The invention relates to fan blade having a substantially aerofoil shaped profile, comprising a first blade zone having a first continuous differentiated geometric angle of attack over the length of the first zone and a second blade zone, having a second continuous differentiated geometric angle of attack over the length of the second zone, which second blade is located near the tip of the fan blade, whereby the derivative of the differentiated geometric angle of attack of the first and second zone comprises a discontinuity at the transition of the first and the second zone.


Background: Sacituzumab Govitecan (SG) is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Trop-2 and has been approved for use in breast and bladder cancers. Trop-2 has been shown to be overexpressed in multiple solid tumors including prostate cancer. Here we report an interim analysis of longitudinal liquid biopsies collected in a phase II clinical trial of SG to identify biomarkers of response and resistance. Methods: We collected longitudinal blood samples from 20 patients for circulating tumor cell (CTC) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis as part of an open label Phase II trial of SG in patients with mCRPC (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03725761). Eligibility criteria for the trial included rising PSA and radiographic progression on abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide in the mCRPC setting. Liquid biopsies were collected at baseline, C1D8, and then every 3 cycles until disease progression. cfDNA was sequenced using a custom 822 gene targeted capture panel (IDT). CTCs were isolated with antibodies to either EpCAM or Trop-2 followed by parallel enumeration, EpCAM and Trop-2 protein phenotyping and RNA extraction for AR/NEPC marker transcriptional profiling. Results: Although no PSA50 responses were observed, the 6-month rPFS rate was 45% (64% in chemotherapy naïve patients). For this analysis, these patients will be termed responding patients. The number of Trop-2-postive CTCs at baseline was significantly higher in responding (24.3 ±13.4 per 7.5 mL blood) than non-responding (10.0±3.8) patients. During treatment the number of Trop-2 positive CTCs in responders significantly decreased by C3D1 to 10.0 ±3.8. Interestingly, while the number of Trop-2 positive CTCs continued to decline to 2.8±1.99 cells/7.5 mL, EpCAM-positive CTCs increased from 12.5±10.52 cells/7.5 mL to 23.2±19.49 at end of trial. Gene expression analysis demonstrated high expression of genes specific to adenocarcinoma including AR-splice variants, TMPRSS2, KLK2 and KLK3 in the majority of patients, with conversion to AR-variant negative CTCs identified in responders. Preliminary cfDNA analysis identified one patient with a mutation acquired in the gene encoding topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) upon progression on SG, with additional analysis ongoing. Conclusions: Patients who responded to SG had a more Trop-2 positive CTCs with adenocarcinoma characteristics with expression of AR pathway genes. Longitudinal analysis of liquid biopsy biomarkers identified multiple mechanisms of acquired SG resistance. Decline in Trop2-CTC population with parallel expansion of EpCAM-CTC population in multiple patients suggests loss of Trop2 surface protein expression as resistance mechanism, while identification of a cfDNA TOP1 mutation in one patient at time of progression is consistent with acquired resistance to the topoisomerase inhibitor payload as has been reported in metastatic triple negative breast cancer.
 Citation Format: Jamie M. Sperger, Amy K. Taylor, Yue Shi, Charlotte N. Stahlfeld, Kyle Helzer, Matthew Bootsma, Katherine R. Kaufmann, Marina N. Sharifi, Christos E. Kyriakopoulos, Susan Slovin, Scott Tagawa, Scott Dehm, Shuang G. Zhao, Joshua M. Lang. Liquid biopsy biomarker analysis of a phase II trial of sacituzumab govitecan in castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2023 Mar 15-18; Denver, Colorado. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B016.


We forecast two different chaotic dynamics of the quasiperiodically forced logistic map using the well-known deep learning framework Long Short-Term Memory. We generate two data sets and use one in the training process and the other in the testing process. The predicted values are evaluated using the metric called Root Mean Square Error and visualized using the scatter plots. The robustness of the Long Short-Term Memory model is evaluated using the number of units in the layers of the model. We also make multi-step forecasting of the considered system. We show that the considered Long Short-Term Memory model performs well in predicting chaotic attractors upto three steps.


This study aims the strategy to increase the agricultural sector of Aceh. With analize the Aceh's  input output table, it seen that the agricultural sector has a multiplier effect 1.30 on Aceh's economic growth; 0.27 to increase household income; and 0.47 on employment. Based on the simulation results, if there is an increase in government spending by 5 percent to the agricultural sector, there will be an economic growth 0.00570 percent, an increase in household income  0,00018 percent, and an increase in employment absorption 0.00004 percent. However, if there is an increase in investment in the agricultural sector by 5 percent, an increase in output of economic growth will be seen by 0.08797 percent, additional household income 0.00271 percent, and an increase in employment 0,00035. This indicates that the APBD allocated to investment in the agricultural sector is key to Aceh's efficient economic growth and effective poverty reduction through employment. Therefore, if the government wants to increase the output of the agricultural sector, it can be done by investing in this sector in the form of improving technology through the distribution of agricultural equipment such as tractors, rice thresher machines and the construction of irrigation. Keywords : APBD, Investment, Economy, Output Input Table, Agriculture Sector.


To overcome the limitation that only stiffness nonlinearity can be estimated via jump frequencies, this work introduces jump amplitudes as a supplement condition in the estimation of both stiffness and damping nonlinearities. An estimation method is proposed for a single-degree-of-freedom system containing both stiffness and damping nonlinearities. The idea may be applied to other nonlinear systems. The method is based on the measurements of both jump frequencies and jump amplitudes of the system subject to swept-sine excitations respectively in frequency and in amplitude. The experimental data yield frequency response curves at a fixed excitation amplitude and amplitude response curves at a fixed frequency. Based on the measured jump frequencies and jump amplitudes of the displacements, the system parameters can be determined by the method of harmonic balance. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach and to check approximate explicit analytical expressions of the parameter estimation. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment is performed on a vibration isolator with strongly nonlinear stiffness and damping. The estimation results show that the proposed method can estimate the stiffness and the damping parameters of the system with strong nonlinearities. Hence exploiting the knowledge about nonlinear jump phenomena is a promising approach to parameter estimations.


Interest groups or "think tanks" influence how people and policymakers understand public policies in part by using impression management to enhance their credibility as information sources. Using immigration policy as a case study, this research examines the impression management tactics of one interest group (the Center for Immigration Studies), compares its coverage of immigration issues to that of large-circulation U.S. newspapers, and determines the extent to which it has spread its messages across various news outlets. Although the organization's positions on immigration represent a negative outlier in the debate, it has entered the dominant political discourse. The study offers a new methodological and conceptual framework for analyzing the behavior and impact of think tanks, as well as for studying impression management more generally.


An important objective of the International Society of Wetland Scientists is to foster wetland science as a distinct discipline by supporting student education and research. The Scholarship Committee provides partial support of wetland-related research conducted by qualified undergraduate and graduate students. Any student conducting undergraduate or graduate-level research in wetland science at an accredited college or university is eligible to apply for a Student Research Grant. The student does not need to be an SWS member. Applications will be considered for funding periods of one year. Previous awardees may not apply for additional support. Proposals and all application materials are due on 24 Feb 2007. A panel of SWS scientists will evaluate the proposals and make awards on a competitive basis. The maximum award is US $1,000. Proposal forms and instructions will be available shortly at the SWS home page (www.sws.org) under the "Student Research Grants" link or the "SWS Awards Program" link. Questions can be addressed to Dr. Rebecca Schneider at email@example.com.


Separation of the acromioclavicular joint in conjunction with a coracoid fracture is a rare injury. Treatment decisions are traditionally based on the level of the fracture, the status of the coracoclavicular ligament and the activity level of the patient. We present a novel coracoid fracture pattern treated nonoperatively in a young, active patient and a thorough review of the literature regarding this topic.


A series of glasses xPr6O11-(35-x) Ag2O-65B2O3 (x=0, 0.1 to 0.5 mol %) were synthesized by melt quenching technique. The absence of any crystalline peaks in the X-ray diffraction patterns of the present glass samples indicates the amorphous nature. Longitudinal and transverse ultrasonic velocities were measured at 5 MHz frequency and at room temperature. Elastic properties, Poisson's ratio, Debye temperature, micro hardness and glass transition temperature have been calculated from the measured density and ultrasonic velocity. The variations of these parameters have been discussed with respect to Praseodymium oxide concentration.


Food Packaging and Shelf Life Gordon L. Robertson Food Quality and Indices of Failure Gordon L. Robertson Shelf Life Testing Methodology and Data Analysis Michel Guillet and Natalie Rodrigue Packaging and the Microbial Shelf Life of Food Dong Sun Lee Packaging and the Shelf Life of Milk Michael G. Kontominas Packaging and the Shelf Life of Cheese Maria de Fatima Pocas and Manuela Pintado Packaging and the Shelf Life of Milk Powders Elmira Arab Tehrany and Kees Sonneveld Packaging and the Shelf Life of Yogurt Roger D. MacBean Packaging and the Shelf Life of Water and Carbonated Drinks Philip R. Ashurst Packaging and the Shelf Life of Orange Juice Antonio Lopez-Gomez, Maria Ros-Chumillas, and Yulissa Y. Belisario-Sanchez Packaging and the Shelf Life of Coffee Maria Cristina Nicoli, Lara Manzocco, and Sonia Calligaris Packaging and the Shelf Life of Beer Charles W. Bamforth and John M. Krochta Packaging and the Shelf Life of Wine Malcolm J. Reeves Packaging and the Shelf Life of Fresh Red and Poultry Meats Alex O. Gill and Colin O. Gill Packaging and the Shelf Life of Fish Steve Slattery Packaging and the Shelf Life of Fruits and Vegetables Nathalie Gontard and Carole Guillaume Packaging and the Shelf Life of Vegetable Oils Luciano Piergiovanni and Sara Limbo Packaging and the Shelf Life of Cereals and Snack Foods Sea C. Min, Young T. Kim, and Jung H. Han Shelf Life of Foods in Biobased Packaging Vibeke Kistrup Holm Active Packaging and the Shelf Life of Foods Kay Cooksey