The correlations between saturation magnetization Ms. effective magnetic anisotropy k and the temperature T(Ms - T, k - Tcurves) for the Fe_(83)Nb_6B_(11) amorphous alloys annealed at 0~580℃ were investigated. The results show that the effective magnetic anisotropy of as-quenched amorphous ribbons decreases very quickly with increasing temperature. The reason is mainly due to the stress-induced anisotropy, which decrease with temperature very quick. The values of k and Ms of annealed samples increase with increasing annealing temperature, indicating that the volume fraction of the crystallized phase (α-Fe) increases and the values of k and Ms are mainly determined by the nanocrystalline phase. The experimental results of the k - T curves of crystalline samples were explained using the theory of exchange interaction among α-Fe grains.


F or biomedical scientists to better grasp the com plexities of human disease processes, they must study human subjects. No substitute satisfies all research criteria. Animal and tissue models come close to duplicating some human disease processes, but since these models cannot duplicate our physiology, they fall short of completely replacing human subjects. Then again, some human maladies cannot be modeled; they occur only in people. General hospital wards cannot cope with the complex care and treatment demanded in research involving humans. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the late 1950s recognized the need for specialized clinical research facilities to transfer basic research results to the bedside. This pressing need for discrete research units— where controlled environment, specially trained staff, and sophisticated analyses could be undertaken— prompted the NIH to initiate the General Clinical Research Centers (GCRC) Program almost 30 years ago. The first eight Clinical Research Centers were estab lished in 1960 after congressional approval and a $3 mil lion appropriation. The objectives were clear: to make clinical research available to medical science on a wider scale while also increasing the number of trained clinical investigators. As resources for clinical investigation, the centers provide the facilities and environment to:


Plants for medicinal purposes are considered as the main source of health care for the majority of the world population. In order to promote medicinal plants in Algeria, the present work aimed to assess the physico-chemical characterization, hemolytic, and antioxidant activities of Ammodaucus leucotrichus essential oil of an endemic plant from south-west of Algeria. The plant was harvested from the region of Bechar (south-west of Algeria). The oil was obtained by hydrodistillation method using Clevenger apparatus. The antioxidant activity of the oil was carried out using DPPH scavenging assay, and its effect on erythrocyte cells was evaluated by measuring the hemolytic degree. The obtained results showed that this oil presented a low antioxidant activity compared to positive control (ascorbic acid). The hemolytic activity was very low since the oil diluted to 1/10, while it was low in the pure state. This fact proves the safety of A. leucotrichus oil, which can explain its use without risk by the indigenous population.
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Abstract A toughness-improved type of F82H steel called F82H mod3 has been developed, and the material properties and irradiation behavior have been examined. The significant modification of the chemical composition is the reduction of Ti (<10 ppm) and N (<20 ppm) as impurities and the increase of Ta (0.1%) as an alloying element. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) is improved to -90°C from -45°C for F82H IEA without change in strength. However, the creep rupture time of F82H mod3 was 1/10 of F82H IEA. Another feature of the F82H mod3 is the stability of the material properties. Higher temperature normalization (1080°C) degrades the DBTT only to -80°C due to grain coarsening without large change in strength. It is quite important for large-scale production of the material in high quality. Preliminary neutron irradiation experiments up to 17 dpa showed better irradiation resistance to changes in fracture toughness than F82H IEA.


The packing chromatic number χ_{p}(G) of a graph G = (V,E) is the smallest integer k such that the vertex set V(G) can be partitioned into disjoint classes V1 ,V2 ,...,Vk , where vertices in Vi have pairwise distance greater than i. In this paper, we compute the packing chromatic number of circulant graphs with different jump sizes._{}


Abstract Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of mortality in the first year of life. Prevalence of CHD worldwide is found to range from 1.0 to 50.89 per 1000 livebirths including India. The association of these defects with chromosomal anomalies varies between 4 to 12%. In the present investigation, we report two different cases of pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 [inv(9)(p11-q13)], associated with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC) and Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). In one of the cases (TOF), the mother had similar inversion without CHD. We predict here that, the genes responsible for the normal heart development could be present on chromosome 9 around p11-q13 region, which might have been defective during the process of inversion and thereby resulted in CHD. To our knowledge, this is the maiden report of association of inversion with CHD from South India.


The relative emission cross section for He 31P exchange excitation in He+ Ne collisions has been measured in the low-energy range (30 eV-2 keV). When the data, including data obtained with a linear polariser, are plotted as a function of inverse impact velocity, a system of at least four different series of Rosenthal-type oscillations is observed. Their origin is discussed within the framework of the diabatic correlation diagram for the (He-Ne)+ system.


Bandgap renormalization (BGR), or bandgap narrowing effect, is one of the many-body effects predicted by many-body theory in semiconductor physics. However, pure BGR effect has never been observed experimentally although the mixed effect of BGR with lattice-heating induced bandgap narrowing was reported in GaAs and CdTe semiconductors. PbTe has a positive temperature coefficient of bandgap. Its lattice-heating induced bandgap narrowing can be eliminated so that the pure BGR effect is possibly observed. However, that has never been reported so far because the BGR effect is weak in PbTe due to its huge dielectric screening. We study the ultrafast dynamics of photo-excited carriers in PbTe films using near-infrared femtosecond-resolved transient differential transmission (TDT) spectroscopy. A complex oscillation-like damped decay dynamics is observed. A negative dip, a fingerprint signature of BGR effect, occurs immediately after the thermalization process of the photo-excited carriers. As such, we have observed a pure BGR effect in PbTe for the first time, strongly supporting the many-body theory. Meanwhile, we have also observed a dynamic transition from a transient absorption enhancement to absorption saturation, revealing the emergence of a slow lattice-heating induced bandgap widening via carrier-phonon couplings. Based on a two-temperature model, a simulation computation is carried out, supporting the lattice-heating induced bandgap widening leads to the dynamic transition. A phenomenological dynamic model is developed, including three dynamic components: the thermalization of the photo-excited carriers, recombination of the thermalized carriers and lattice-heating induced bandgap widening, and used to best fit the excitation-power dependent TDT dynamics. Time constants and strengths of the three dynamic components are obtained for different excitation powers. Time constant variation with the excitation power reveals different roles of the carrier–carrier and carrier-phonon scattering in the thermalizing process, as well as of free carrier and exciton recombination in the decaying process of hot carriers.


The best surface testing of large optical components frequently requires large auxiliary test optics which are expensive. One example is the testing of a large primary mirror in autocollimation. A method has been developed which allows the testing of large optics using subaperture interferometric testing. Sufficient subaperture profiles are obtained to cover the entire surface. Then these subaperture profiles are combined into a unified profile of the mirror's surface.


Telemedicine, which is the use of technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance, can be insufficient in some cases where there is a need for medical instruments. This implies the need for supplementary services that would provide to overcome some of the deficiencies. Thus, many techniques were proposed, one of them is to dispatch the so-called Mobile Hospital (MH). This study centers around dispatching and scheduling of dispatched MHs. We aim at allocation and scheduling of MHs to serve patients at their locations given that every patient has its priority in receiving services and the provided service for each patient needs an a priori known time slot. In this study, we propose a hyper-heuristic solution method, which includes several low-level heuristics categorized as constructive, improvement, perturbation etc. coordinated via an artificial intelligent method. Our computational results confirm the efficiency of our solution in terms of solution quality and time.


In this work, a topology optimization procedure is proposed and applied to the TEAM 25 problem, i.e., a model of a die press with an electromagnet for orientation of magnetic powder. The shape of the press is described as a free discretized profile, and its relation to the flux density in the cavity is simulated by finite element analysis (FEA) and learned by a deep neural network (DNN) model. The DNN is used as a surrogate model for optimization, aiming to obtain a desired flux density distribution in the cavity. Results are promising, as better accuracy is obtained with respect to the full FEA-based optimization approach with the reduced time cost. Once trained, the surrogate model can be used to efficiently solve a whole family of problems where a different target field distribution is defined.


The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc basin related with the plate subduction since the late Miocene (9 to 6 Ma), and its depositional evolution can be divided into 3 stages, stage Ⅰ from the late Miocene (9 to 6 Ma) to the late Pliocene (2 Ma), stage Ⅱ from the late Pliocene (2 Ma) to the late Pleistocene (130 ka) and stage Ⅲ from the Pleistocene to the present. It is shown from the study results that the northern OT developed earlier in the late Miocence and has a low degree of depositional evolution, then the middle OT developed and has a high degree of depositional evolution, and the southern OT developed later in the late Pliocene and has a high degree of deposional evolution. At the present stage, the northern OT is in a decline phase, and the middle and southern OT is in a broadening phase. The tectonic activities play a leading role in the basin evolution because these activities built up the initial depositional framework of the basin in a geologic period of considerable length and provided some sediments (volcanic and hydrothermal materials) to the basin. During the intense tectonic activity period, the effect of crust extension on sedimentary sequence was greater than that of sedimentation, and during the weak tectonic activity period, the relative sea level changes controlled the variations in internal depositional structure of the basin.


Strategic alliances are critical to generate competitive advantage in organizations. One type of such alliances is knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer goes beyond transfer between enterprises, involves appropriating and adapting to organizational environment and characteristics, using resources of its own resources and form strategic allied. Beyond a simple organizational benchmarking, knowledge transfer will strengthen existing knowledge and generate new knowledge within organization partnerships, complementing learning in organizations. This paper presents a guide to transfer knowledge between private education institutions and its application to transfer a teaching programming methodology, the CUPI2 project, between Universidad de los Andes -UNIANDES and Corporacion Universitaria Minuto de Dios -UNIMINUTO, both located in Bogota, Colombia. To achieve our objective we present, as foundation, knowledge management applied to education environments and participants in the CUPI2 transfer process. We present the guide, its current state of application, how we plan to continue it, and the main conclusions we have attained.


Green hydrogen production involves the use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or wave power to produce hydrogen. As the demand for large quantities of hydrogen continues to increase, it is necessary to scale up green hydrogen plant designs to the gigawatt scale. One of the main advantages of offshore green hydrogen production is the availability of more consistent and stronger wind resources, which can be directly connected to hydrogen production in the area. Unlike onshore production, offshore production does not require expensive infrastructure such as offshore HVDC substations or large volume of subsea cables to collect and transport electrical energy to shore. Additionally, offshore production can help to reduce the visual impact of renewable energy infrastructure on land and can provide opportunities for co-location with other offshore activities such as aquaculture or shipping. Due to the inability of the existing electrical grid in West Europe to support numerous hydrogen projects, offshore production near renewable wind energy sources will become necessary for countries in that region, such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark (NSWPH, 2022).
 However, offshore green hydrogen production also presents some challenges. The cost of building and maintaining offshore infrastructure can be higher than onshore, and the harsh marine environment can increase maintenance costs and reduce the lifespan of equipment. Additionally, the transportation of hydrogen from offshore production sites to onshore markets can be more complex and expensive.
 Currently, there are no large-scale green hydrogen installations operating offshore. However, there are several projects under development, including the recently announced plan of the European Commission to develop the North Sea as a green power plant for Europe, targeting offshore wind power generation of at least 65 GW by 2030 and 150 GW by 2050. This will contribute to large-scale offshore production of green hydrogen, where the target is to reach 20 GW production capacity already by 2030 (NSWPH, 2022).
 Given the growing demand for green hydrogen, industry recognizes the need for innovative solutions that address the challenge of scaling up production while minimizing environmental impact. To achieve this, we are exploring in details an offshore green hydrogen production installation at large-scale.
 In this study we combined McDermott's significant experience in onshore green hydrogen production and offshore complex process platform engineering designs. The concept for Offshore Green Hydrogen Production is developed by McDermott's Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from various engineering disciplines and based on commercially available Electrolyser Package information. The concept offers a total electrolysis capacity of 480 MW. Moreover, AI-based technology has been assessed to ensure efficient and autonomous process control of the plant in the long run.


The server structure is modular with a central processor running switching and speech message transfer modules and with interface modules.


The authors of the comment first argue that 'the definition of a 'seismic period' (Pinet et al. 2010) is not accurate enough and thus the relationship between seismic activity and calling behaviour is not clearly demonstrated nor is it supported'. The data and the evidence presented in our paper emphatically refute this argument. The definition of a 'seismic period' was defined to be very simple so as to eliminate the very reasons that the authors of the comment try to use to argue their case. On days and during times when seismic sparker pulses were present, as detected on data from all five seafloor recorders in the area where blue whales were closely observed and monitored, the rates of audible calling increased relative to periods when seismic sparker pulses were not present (Di Iorio & Clark 2010). The authors of the comment present four items of contention.


This study revealed the readers' use of top-down and bottom-up strategies in EFL learning context in Taiwan. The participants, 111 undergraduates EFL learners, were classified into good and poor readers. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire and interviews. The results showed that almost no difference was confirmed between good and poor readers in bottom-up and total strategy use, whereas it was found that good readers tended to use more top-down strategies than poor readers. It is suggested that both groups of readers use bottom-up strategies to a similar degree; however, the use of top-down strategies has helped good readers advance their level of reading comprehension. Article visualizations:


J.J. Rocca 1,3, B.E. Schmidt2, H. Wang1, Y. Wang1, T. Tarkil1, H. Chi1, C.S. Menoni1,3 1. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 2. few-cycle Inc., Montreal 3. XUV Lasers Inc., Fort Collin, CO Motivation and goals Laser driven plasmas can generate accelerating gradients that are several orders of magnitude greater than conventional accelerators based on RF technology. This makes laser-plasma accelerators an attractive candidate technology for future colliders as well as for many shorter term accelerator applications that include compact bright x-ray and gamma ray sources. However, the laser parameters required significantly surpass the state-of-the-art of ultrashort pulse lasers. A DoE workshop on Laser Technology for Accelerators [1], and a more recent workshop on Laser Technology for k-BELLA and beyond [2] defined the necessary laser parameters for advanced acceleration for different applications. In particular, for laser wakefield electron acceleration to multi-GeV energies, femtosecond pulses with multi-Joule level energy are necessary. A femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser producing 0.85 PW pulses has been used to demonstrate 8 GeV electron beams [3]. However, the driving laser in this demonstration experiment was limited to 1 Hz repetition rate. To date, the highest repetition rate petawattclass lasers have operated at repetition rates of several Hz [4-7]. The majority of the applications require repetition rates and average powers that that are 1,000 times higher, and beyond. For example, a "Type II" [1] femtosecond laser delivering 3 J pulses of < 100 fs at 1 kHz repetition rate is needed to drive a 1 GeV laser plasma accelerator testbed as the next step in the development of practical laser plasma accelerators. In the medium term (10-15 years) a 30 kW femtosecond laser will be needed for a prototype collider module and for high average power radiation sources, with additional increases in average power in the long term. A realistic approach to efficient direct generation of Joule sub-100 fs lasers operating at multi-kHz repetition rate relies on diode pumped cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG as the amplifier gain medium. Its small quantum defect and high heat conductivity are the basis for effective thermal management and high wall plug efficiency. The technology main downside, the intrinsically narrow amplifier bandwidth, can be overcome by subsequent spectral broadening and compression in long, large ID hollow-core fibers followed by dispersion control.


Goddard J. (1968) Multivariate analysis of office location patterns in the city centre: A London example, Reg. Studies 2, 69–85. This paper considers the problem of defining the linkages that bind firms together in close spatial cohesion in the city centre. It suggests that these linkages constitute a definable activity system and attempts to specify the present state of this system by analysing the spatial relationship between employment in eighty different types of offices in the City of London. After discussing various techniques used in other studies, an 80 × 80 correlation matrix is described and analysed within the framework of factor and cluster analysis in order to define sets of spatially linked activities. The organization of city centre space is then analysed by defining types of office areas (non-contiguous) and office regions (contiguous), using scores on the underlying factors that have been extracted, and generalized distance as the measures of similarity.


The content of the article 49 of The Consumer Protection Law breaks through the regulations on compensatory damages stipulated in Chinese traditional continental law system.It has developed a positive role in protecting the consumers' rights,making the operators observe the rules of competition and building the orderly market economy.But the concrete stipulation of the punitive damages needs more legislative work.


This essay has benefited enormously from presentations of earlier drafts given at the Workshop on the Material Text, University of Pennsylvania, the Institute for Advanced Study at the Hebrew University; the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania; and the University of Toronto. I also wish to thank the anonymous readers for JQR and the many colleagues who read earlier drafts and offered valuable corrections and suggestions, including Haggai Ben-Shammai, Jacob Elbaum, Andrew Elfenbein, Renata Holod, Katrin Kogman-Appel, James Kugel, Stefan Reif, Moshe Rosman, and Maria Subtelny. 1. The enumeration of codices and their description throughout this essay are based upon the comprehensive and definitive study, Codices Hebraicis Litteris Exarati Quo Tempore Scripti Fuerint Exhibentes (Monumenta Paleographica Medii Aevi, Series Hebraica), ed. M. Beit-Arié, C. Sirat, M. Glatzer (Paris, Jerusalem), vol. 1 (1997), vol. 2 (1999), vol. 3 (2002). Hereafter referred to as CHL with volume number. The earliest Jewish codex of any kind is probably the Cambridge Codex (T-S 6 H 9-H21, eighth c.?), a liturgical text from the Cairo Geniza written on papyrus described by Colette Sirat in Les Papyrus en Caracteres Hebraiques Trouves en Egypte (Paris, 1985): 69–80. Among the masoretic codices, the dated MS with the earliest colophon is that of the Prophets preserved in the Karaite synagogue Moussa Dar'i in Old Cairo, with a colophon stating that the MS was written by Moshe Ben Asher in 894/5, possibly in Tiberias, but it is now widely accepted that this colophon was actually copied from an earlier colophon; according to Beit-Arié, the MS was copied before 1129/30 (CHL 1:28). Aside from this codex, fourteen other Bible MSS were copied between 903/904 and 1008 (as described in CHL 1); five others between 1020 and 1044 (CHL 2); and one additional MS in 1122 (CHL 3). All these MSS are masoretic codices. With the exception of the Moussa Dar'i codex mentioned above; the Aleppo Codex today displayed in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum; the fragments of codices rescued from the Cairo Geniza and currently preserved mainly at the Cambridge University Library; and two other codices in a private collection, nearly all the codices and


Direct frequency‐modulated operation of ridge‐guided linear grating‐surface‐emitting laser arrays is reported. Simultaneous far‐field and spectral measurements of these devices at 1 GHz modulation rates show that both single longitudinal mode and single spatial mode operation are maintained.


Scholars and judges have long assumed that the Equal Protection Clause 1 is concerned only with state action that has the effect of singling out certain persons or groups of persons for special benefits or burdens. Under the traditional doctrinal framework, state action that has this purpose and effect bears a certain burden of justification under the clause, a burden whose stringency varies, depending on the criteria used to define the class being singled out for special treatment and the importance of the interest affected. 2 But state action that lacks such a "discriminatory effect" is not, on the traditional understanding, subject to equal protection challenge at all; if its rationality is to be challenged, it must be under the Due Process Clause instead. 3


The natural history of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) involves two phases. The first, or pathological phase of BPH, involves two stages, termed microscopic and macroscopic BPH, neither of which produces symptomatic clinical dysuria. Nearly all men throughout the world will eventually develop microscopic BPH if they live long enough. In only about one‐half of the men with microscopic BPH, however, will microscopic BPH grow to produce a macroscopic enlargement of the gland (i. e., macroscopic BPH), suggesting that additional factors are required for the progression of microscopic to macroscopic BPH. Several theories have been proposed to explain the etiology of the pathological phase of BPH. The major theories include the hypotheses that pathological BPH is due to 1) a shift in prostatic androgen metabolism that occurs with aging, which leads to an abnormal accumulation of dihydrotestosterone, thus producing the enlarged prostate (i. e., DHT hypothesis), 2) a change in the prostatic stromal‐epithelial interact that occurs with aging, which leads to an inductive effect on prostatic growth (i. e., embryonic reawakening theory), or 3) an increase in the total prostatic stem cell number and/or an increase in the clonal expanding of the stem cells into amplifying and transit cells that occurs with aging (i. e., stem cell theory).


T he previous article in this series introduced Bayesian statistics at a conceptual level. 1 To recapitulate the main points very briefly, the statistics we are most used to, which are based on the frequentist approach, treat each study as an independent event: we look at its results and, depending on the frequency or magnitude of the outcomes in the various groups, decide whether or not we can reject the null hypothesis that they are the same in all. On the other hand, a Bayesian approach would interpret the findings in light of prior beliefs or probabilities, based (ideally) on previous research or (much less ideally) on ill-formed biases or prejudices. As an example of the former, I used the example of a re-examination of a negative trial of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which used a range of prior probabilities and concluded that ECMOmay in fact be useful. Examples of the latter are, sadly, much easier to find, and include beliefs that the MMR vaccine results in autism; that the earth is flat; and that global climate change is a myth. I also mentioned that we dealt with Bayesian statistics in an earlier article, discussing the interpretation of diagnostic tests, albeit without explicitly stating the fact. This articlewill delve a bit more deeply into diagnostic tests, looking at situations where we have more than 1 cut-point. In the article about diagnostic tests, we calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) by first drawing a 2 2 table and looking at the ratios of various cell frequencies, as in Table 1, where the PPV is A/(A+B) and the NPV is D/(C+D). We then varied the prevalence (A/N) and saw its effect on the PPVand NPV. A more direct way would be to use the formula for Bayes' Theorem, which is:


Background: The manufacturers of Perfalgan®, a formulation of intravenous paracetamol, recommend that each ampoule be used once only. This is most likely due to concerns regarding degradation of paracetamol or other ingredients in the solution, and sterility issues. However, in South Africa, where the expense of this drug limits use, some centres use one ampoule for multiple paediatric cases over the course of 12–24 hours. No obvious clinical adverse effects have been reported. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine this practice by assessing drug bioavailability as well as the in vitro stability of the paracetamol and excipients in Perfalgan® on exposure to air and specific stressors over time. Methodology: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPCL-UV) was used to determine the concentration of paracetamol and the presence of degradation products in samples taken at set time intervals following exposure of Perfalgan® to air and stressors. Since changes in other components, or excipients, may impact efficacy, these were measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). The octanol:water partition coefficient was used as an indicator of bioavailability. Ultraviolet spectroscopy was used to calculate the penetration of paracetamol in Perfalgan® into the lipid layer. Results: The paracetamol in Perfalgan® did not degrade on exposure to air over 24 hours. Neither did it degrade on exposure to acid, alkali, oxidative or heat stress. 1H NMR revealed no change in the formulation of Perfalgan® except for the conversion of the oxygen scavenger cysteine to cystine. The octanol:water partition coefficient likewise stayed constant and was in agreement with the value of 0.46–0.49 quoted in the literature. Conclusion: Paracetamol and the excipients in Perfalgan® did not degrade on exposure to air and other stressors over 24 hours. The drug retained its lipid permeability over this period.


This study examines the function of the Rushdiye School in Milas. It discusses in detail the establishment of the school, its staff and students and the physical state of classrooms and buildings. In this context, we also survey the Greek and Jewish community schools apart from the primary schools (sibyan/ibtidâi) and madrasas of Milas. The Milas Boys' Rushdiye School was established in 1874. It functioned uninterruptedly in the period from 1874 to 1908 without facing serious problems in attaining students. Using the Milas Boys' Rushdiye School as an example and based on provincial yearbooks and archival material, this study aims to shed light on Hamidian changes in education and their impact on the history of education in the Ottoman provinces. Key words: Education, Milas district, Rushdiye school, Abdulhamid II.


We calculate the self-energy of the Δ(1232) resonance in a finite volume, using chiral effective field theory with explicit spin-3/2 fields. The calculations are performed up-to-and-including fourth order in the small scale expansion and yield an explicit para\-meterization of the energy spectrum of the interacting pion-nucleon pair in a finite box in terms of both the quark mass and the box size L. It is shown that finite-volume corrections can be sizeable at small quark masses.


Covid-19 proved a pandemic that has affected the whole world on a large scale. Every walk of life got disturbed by this pandemic. Educational institutions not only in Pakistan but all over the globe remain close, which causes a loss of study for the students of all Grades, notably Higher education (Postgraduate Level), which directly affected education, learners,  and teachers in terms of learning, time, and economically. Virtual Teaching (VT) is proving an emerging method of teaching in the field of education all over the world. Developed countries have opted for this method of teaching much before. In Pakistan, universities under the directions of HEC started Virtual Teaching VT (Online Teaching) for the students, which was an attempt to cover the loss on an experimental basis. This study is conducted to know the impact of VT on ESL students' behavior. For this purpose among 100 students of KFUEIT, RYK University distributed a questionnaire to measure their behavior level. Students' participation was inspiriting, and their response found positive in this new field of Teaching.


Six non-poroid resupinate homobasidiomycete species, collected within the borders of Paleskaya Physiographic Province, or Polesia (Belarus), are described and illustrated: Crustodontia chrysocreas, Hyphoderma cryptocallimon, H. transiens, Oliveonia citrispora, Trechispora caucasica, T. minuta. According to the known distributional data, these taxa are rare or exceptionally rare in Belarus and other European countries; they are, except H. transiens, reported from Belarus for the first time. Distinctive characters and morphological differences from similar-looking species are discussed.


An experimental study has been carried out to assess the capability of injecting vaporized fuel into the exhaust gas of a diesel engine to achieve elevated outlet temperatures from an oxidation catalyst for the thermal regeneration of particulate filters. Termed catalytic combustion and passive in nature, controlled experiments have proved the concept with the limitation on catalyst outlet temperature being dictated by the material limits of the exhaust system and the availability of oxygen.


Background: Road traffic accidents are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Benin Republic, in other words, a serious public health problem here. Consumption of alcoholic drinks is known as an important risk factor for road accidents. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine alcohol ingestion and its relationship with victims of road traffic accidents in Cotonou City, Benin. Methods: It is a descriptive and analytic study which carried out during January-June 2016. In this study, ethanol concentration was measured in the victims of traffic accidents' blood. Information related to the injured people, their social characteristics, circumstances of accident occurrence, and the outcomes were also collected. Results: In this study, 80 victims of road accidents were included. Most of the victims were men (64%), youth under 40 years (70%), and motorcyclists (83%). The overall prevalence of ethanol ingestion was 55% (64% in motorcyclists and 25% in motorists). Approximately, 16% of them were involved in fatal accidents. There was no association between ethanol ingestion frequency and factors such as the age of the injured, condition of the injured at the time of the accident, time of accident, and road condition on which the accident happened. Conclusion: This study indicated that a lot of traffic accident victims had consumed alcoholic drinks shortly before the accident in Benin.


Dear Editor: Proteins belonging to the S-100 family are calcium-binding, EFhand type molecules, widely distributed in different tissues. Among the various functions that have been described for these proteins, specifically for S-100~, are the following: modulation of other proteins in a calcium-dependent manner, promotion of neurite extension, mitogenesis, and thus proliferation of glial cells. The regulation of S-100 levels may be very complex. Increased levels of S-100 have been related to abnormal cellular growth in some cellular tumors such as melanoma, myelocyte leukemia, and thyroid carcinoma. On the other hand, it has been reported that astrocytes and skeletal muscle cells increase the expression of S-100 during differentiation (Zimmer et al., 1995). S-100 protein has been widely used as a Schwann cell marker both in vivo and in vitro (Spreca et al., 1989; Bolin et al., 1992; De Deyne et al., 1994; Gu et al., 1995). Many in vitro studies regarding Schwann cells have been developed using different cellular sources. These cells are extracted from sensorial ganglia and peripheral nerves of animals from different species and ages (embryos, newborns, and adults) by tissue dissociation or explants and cultured under different conditions such as differential adhesion, differential growth, mitogens, antimitogenic agents, and complements (Armati et al., 1990; Morgan et al., 1991; Morrissey et al., 1991; Bolin et al., 1992; Rutkowski et al., 1992; Chi et al., 1993; De Deyne et al., 1994; Haynes et al., 1994; Peulve et al., 1994; Zhang et al., 1994; Ansselin et al., 1995). An immunocytochemical technique for the detection of S-100 was used in our study during the standarization of the in vitro culture of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) Schwann cells from adult mice, in order to identify glial ceils. However, regarding S-100 protein, two different subpopuiations are present in these cultures according to the results shown below. Schwann cell cuhures were established from DRG of adult albino mice, strain ICR, ranging from 8 to 10 wk old, and weighing approximately 30 g. The mice were maintained at the animal facility of the Instituto Nacional de Salud in Bogotzl. The methodology applied in this study included procedures previously reported (Manthorpe and Varon, 1989; Morgan et al., 1991; Rutkowski et al., 1992; Carroll et al., 1993; Morrissey et al., 1995). Animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Ganglia were dissected under sterile conditions, and their remaining root nerves were eliminated. The ganglia were then digested with 128 U/ml of collagenase incubated in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium (DMEM) for 1 h at 37 ~ C. Enzymatic digestion of tissue was followed by mechanical dissociation using a narrow-end Pasteur pipette. The resulting cellular suspension was centrifuged, and the cell pellet was resuspended in complete medium (DMEM + 10% FBS + 0.1 ~g/ml cholera toxin + 2 ~M forskolin) and antibiotics (100 U/ml penicillin and 100 ~g/ml streptomycin) and cultured in 25 cm 2 bottles previously treated with 10 mg/ml type I collagen. Prior to incubation, cellular viability was determined by the trypan blue dye exclusion method (Freshney, 1988). The medium was changed every other day until about 15 d later, when the cultures reached confluency. Cells were subcuhured using 560 U/ml trypsine in two 25cm 2 culture bottles as described earlier (first passage). The second and third passages were carried out using the same procedure as well, and cells obtained from each passage were used for immunocytochemical evaluation. Cells obtained from the third passage were detached and seeded (20,000 cells/well) onto 24-well plates containing round coverslips previously treated with collagen. Plates were incubated for 24 h in complete medium, washed with sernm-free medium and with buffer, fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and processed for immunocytochemistry. Anti-S-100 antibodies recognizing both alpha and beta isoforms (Dako, ICN, Lipsaw) were used for a first series of experiments (Table 1), and four wells were processed for GFAP immunodetection. In a second series of experiments (follow-up), the procedure was the same as the one described earlier, except for a slight variation of using a parallel 24-well plate in order to evaluate the immunocytochemical activity (using Dako antibody) for each cultured age, as shown in Table 2. The following alternatives for each step of the procedure were tested in order to determine the best choice: (1) buffers (phosphate buffer pH 7.4, PBS pH 7.3, and Tris-Triton pH 8.6), (2) endogenous peroxidase inactivators (0.3% H202 in PBS, in buffer Tris-Triton, and in methanol), (3) primary anti-S100 polyclonal antibodies (Dako) at 1/250 and 1/500 dilutions; Lipsaw, at a predetermined dilution; and ICN, at 1/300 and 1/500 dilutions, according to each manufacturer's recommendations, and (4) incubation periods (1 h at 37 ~ C or overnight at 4 ~ C). In general terms, the cultures were washed in buffer and permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 in buffer (except when buffer Tris-Triton containing 0.5% Triton X-100 was used). The endogenous peroxidase was inactivated with 0.3% H202 and the specific sites were blocked with 3% horse serum. Cultures were then incubated with the primary antibody prepared in the blocking solution; ceils were washed and incubated with the biotinylated secondary antibody (1:200 in buffer) for 30 min at 37 ~ C. Again, cells were washed and incubated with the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC Vectastain kit) for 45 min. The reaction was developed with a 1:1 0.02% H202 solution in distilled water and 0.01% diaminobenzidine in Tris pH 7.3, or Tris-imidazol pH 7.6. The development of the reaction was followed up using a light microscope. After development, cultures were washed with distilled water and stained with Meyer Hemalun, dehydrated, and mounted in Permount. Wells processed without the addition of primary antibodies


Since biomass is the only carbon-based renewable fuel, its application becomes more and more important for climate protection. Among the thermochemical conversion technologies (i.e., combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis), combustion is the only proven technology for heat and power production. Biomass combustion systems are available in the size range from a few kW up to more than 100 MW. The efficiency for heat production is considerably high and heat from biomass is economically feasible. Commercial power production is based on steam cycles. The specific cost and efficiency of steam plants is interesting at large scale applications. Hence co-combustion of biomass with coal is promising, as it combines high efficiency with reasonable transport distances for the biomass. However, biomass combustion is related to significant pollutant formation and hence needs to be improved. To develop measures for emission reduction, the specific fuel properties need to be considered. It is shown that pollutant formati...


An adaptive fuzzy tracking control is investigated for a category of multiple-input multiple-output switched uncertain nonlinear systems in strict-feedback form. The unknown nonlinear function and switching signals with average dwell time are contained in the systems. The control method is designed by generalized fuzzy hyperbolic model and backstepping technique. Through adding a first-order filter into conventional backstepping method, the phenomenon of "explosion of complexity" is eliminated. In the controller design process of each subsystem, only one adaptive parameter is needed to adjust online. Compared with other existing control methods, the proposed control design is more simple and calculated amount is greatly decreased. It is guaranteed that the whole closed-loop system is stable by using Lyapunov function and average dwell-time methods. The effectiveness of the proposed control method can be demonstrated in the simulation part.


The shortage of water resource severely affect the sustainability of the agricultural systems in the arid regions of China. Enhancing water use efficiency of irrigated agriculture is a high priority for agricultural improvement in China. Alternate Partial Root-zone Furrow irrigation (AFI) has been proved to be an effective water-saving irrigation method in the oasis field of northwest China, whereas the responses of soil temperature to AFI was seldomly studied. In this study, the field experiment was carried out in 2007 at Xuebai Experimental Station of Minqin Agricultural Extension Center of Gansu to study the changes of soil temperature as well as physiological responses of cotton to different irrigation regimes, i.e. alternate partial root-zone furrow irrigation (AFI, neighboring two furrows alternatively watered) and conventional furrow irrigation (CFI, all furrows watered) under plastic film mulching with the same irrigation level (24 mm for each irrigation). Results indicated that the differences of soil temperature of two neighboring furrows in AFI were significant (P<0.05), the values of the drying furrow always being higher than those of the irrigated ones. The data also showed that when approaching the next irrigation cycle, both the two furrows in AFI had similar soil temperature at the depth of 0-25cm. Soil temperature difference between the irrigated and the drying furrows reached as high as 4°C after irrigation, and decreased to almost 0°C at the end of the irrigation cycle. The difference of daily average soil temperature of ridge between AFI and CFI during the growing season was not apparent in the first and second irrigation cycle, whereas in the third and fourth irrigation cycle (approximately after the budding stage), the differences between them become significant(P<0.05); there were significant positive linear relationships between Tn/Ts (the ratio of average soil temperature of north furrows and south furrows) and SWCw/SWCd (the ratio of average SWC of irrigated furrows and the drying ones) (R2=0.703, P<0.01); The WUE-A/WUE-C(the ratios of WUE of AFI and CFI) were more than 1.0 in the first few days after irrigation, whereas at the end of the irrigation cycle, the value declined to be the lowest (0.75); There was no significant difference for the seed cotton yield of AFI and CFI, whereas the percentages of pre-frost seed cotton of AFI was significant higher than that of CFI (P<0.05). This study could provide valuable data for the implement of AFI in the oasis field of northwest China.


Jianci and Heyinci are two concepts we frequently come across in ancient Chinese,however,there has been some disagreement on the explanation and analysis of specific words.Because of this reason we made a research on the definitions of these two groups of words,the relationship between them and grapheme origins,hoping that it can give us some guidance in the language practice.


The interaction between morphodynamics and floodplain vegetation is an important component of the functionality of riparian ecosystems. The knowledge of disturbance and disruption processes as well as spatiotemporal occurrences of riparian vegetation on wetlands is essential in the practice of river restoration. As stated by the 2000 Water Framework Directive (WFD), rehabilitation and reactivation of riparian zones as well as the preservation and restoration of the good ecological status of rivers in Europe are vital objectives to be pursued. To accomplish these goals, it is important to gain knowledge about the physically parameters describing the interaction between morphodynamic processes and floodplain vegetation. The goal of the presented project is to summarize existing approaches describing the interaction between morphodynamics and establishment of pioneer vegetation and compare all relevant parameters involved in these processes. The objectives are fulfilled by a hydraulic modelling and the comparison with the vegetation based on recently collected data within the framework of a vegetation mapping at the river Schwechat in Austria.


Over the last two decades, horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) measurements from microtremor recordings have gained popularity for seismic microzonation and assessment of earthquake site characteristics such as fundamental frequency (or period). More recently, procedures have been described where empirical relationships are developed between the fundamental frequency and sediment thickness at regional sites where shear wave velocity depth functions are well understood and a simple 2-layer-model is a good approximation of the subsurface structure. In contrast however, in complex glacial stratigraphy, sediment types commonly vary drastically from very soft glaciomarine clay to overconsolidated till. We observe that these changes can lead to strong impedance contrasts and hence, resonating horizons well above bedrock can be resolved. Without a-priori knowledge, sediment thickness could be significantly under-estimated. We examine the frequency spectra of microtremor recordings in both simple and complex sedimentary settings at locations along high-resolution shear wave seismic reflection profiles and at continuously cored boreholes with shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles. Vs range from 80 – 2000 m/s within the unconsolidated sediment overburden. Our results indicate that resonator topography can have a significant impact on peak shape and amplitude. In relatively simple 2-layer cases, peak frequencies decrease and broaden over dipping resonators and even disappear over very steep resonator slopes, indicating that twoand three-dimensional subsurface resonator topography is highly influential on peak shape. Additionally, we present examples where sharp increases in shear wave velocity within the sediment column form strong resonating horizons, producing a high amplitude peak which does not necessarily correlate with the bedrock surface. Our results suggest that resonator topography and velocity structure need to be well understood by a practitioner before interpreting geological conditions


Inference engines (IEs) based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) are memory intensive and computationally complex. The IEs require optimum data format for representing kernel weights and feature maps (FMs) to reduce the computational complexity of the convolution operator (CO). The proposed CO implements multiplications in floating-point and additions in fixed-point, considering the implementation aspects and loss-of-precision. Here, the optimal data format is decided through MATLAB-based range and precision analysis. To accomplish this image-based models such as AlexNet, VGG-16, and VGG-19 are considered with single-precision floating-point representation (SPFP) as reference representation. Analysis reveals that half-precision floating-point (HPFP) and 16-bit fixed-point (10-bit integer, 6-bit fraction) representations are required for kernel weights and feature maps respectively. A 16-bit Fix/Float 2×1 CO is designed. A trade-off analysis of the CO with proposed data format, 16-bit fixed-point, SPFP, and HPFP is performed. This CO has worst-case accuracy as close as 97 percent with SPFP. The proposed 2×1 CO is implemented with a multiplication operation processing unit (MOPU) in place of the shifter/barrel-shifter unit. ASIC implementation of CO requires a 22 percent lesser area, 17.98 percent lesser power than HPFP with 250MHz clock. Also, the speed of 750MOPS and hardware efficiency of 24.22TOPS/W are achieved.


d-Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate: NADP oxidoreductasc (phosphorylating), EC 1.2. 1.13, is formed in excised roots of wheat and pea grown in blue light, but not in red light or darkness. The nonphosphorylating d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate: NADP oxidoreductase, EC 188.8.131.52, if present at all, constitutes only a minor fraction of the total activity. In wheat roots the time-course for increase in enzyme activity agrees completely with the time course for increase in chlorophyll content, with a lag phase of 3 days for both. The results for pea roots are similar, but less clear-cut due to interfering enzymes. The results are discussed with reference to a previously published scheme for chloroplast development.


This paper designs a platform which is used for material pose alignment of complex curved surface parts laser processing. The parallel platform is based on a hybrid mechanism with five spatial degrees of freedom. The mechanism is built up by three parallel vertical chains {(P-R-C), (C-R-C-R), (P-H)} and two series single opened chains {(P), (P)}. This processing platform is an ideal hybrid platform with 2R-3T, and it has the advantages of both the parallel mechanism and the series mechanism. The DOF (degree of freedom) of the parallel mechanism is calculated and the positions of the moving platform are analyzed. The results of the position-equations are simulated by using ADAMS software. It is shown that the processing platform is able to meet the requirements of any angle positions of various materials processing, and realize material special machining.


The cover of the ericaceous shrub Kalmiaangustifolia L. in a jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) forest was reduced after repeated fertilization with N or N–P–K, or a single application of straw. Kalmia reductions were greatest in plots that received the highest total N loading (1344 kg N•ha−1), but were also apparent in plots that received 672 kg N•ha−1. The reductions could not be attributed to shading, since tree volume response was small in the plots that received the highest N loading. There was an overall reduction in the amount of ground vegetation in the fertilized plots, so the decline could not be attributed to increased competition from invading species. There was a general negative relationship between the abundance of Kalmia and N availability in the forest floor, in fertilized and straw-amended plots. The reductions in Kalmia cover were still apparent 14 years after the last fertilization and 24 years after the straw application, as was higher N availability. Treatments such as repeated N ferti...


A mechanical computer aided design and engineering system can be used to reduce the design-to-manufacture cycle time in metal forming process. Such a system could be built upon a solid modeling geometry engine and an efficient finite element (FE) solver. The maintenance of a high-quality mesh throughout the analysis is an essential feature of an efficient finite element simulation of large strain metal forming problems. In this paper, a mesh adaptation technique employing the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation (ALE) is applied to some industrial metal forming problems. An ACIS boundary representation of the solid model is employed. This type of representation provides the necessary data for adaptive meshing techniques. To take care of large deformations, the Lagrangian types of mesh adaptation zones are used. The new mesh, which is updated at a given frequency, is found by iterating on the adaptation zones. During this process, mesh nodes are moved to new positions in order to have a more regular mesh size distribution. There are, however, cases where the ALE method needs an initial spatial mesh pattern to be able to complete the analysis. The required initial mesh depends on the plastic flow pattern of material. Examples of large strain metal forming problems illustrate the effectiveness of the method in industrial environment.


An electromechanical elasticity solution is presented to evaluate the response of a piezoelectric linear motor at cryogenic temperatures. This model incorporates the pronounced coupling which occurs in these materials between temperature and piezoelectric strain coefficients. Results from experimental tests are presented for ceramic piezoelectric flat specimens to determine the linear and nonlinear properties required in the model; including thermal expansion coefficients, coupling terms, and piezoelectric strain coefficient functionally dependent upon electric and thermal fields. Test results indicate that depoling and saturation effects in this ceramic piezoelectric material are strain dependent and electric field independent. These results suggest that piezoelectric materials can operate as effectively at cryogenic temperatures as they do at room temperatures. Comparison between the analytical model and experimental results for a cylindrical material system yields reasonable correlation. Conclusions include that a linear motor can be designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures.


High-performance sport is a big business, with nations such as Australia and New Zealand dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of facilities and in creating sporting centres of excellence. Historically, high-performance sport and elite athlete programmes (EAPs) were regulated to an extra-curricular space in schools or local communities, but over the last couple of decades, schools in Australia and New Zealand have introduced EAPs into health and physical education (PE). Recent work has begun to explore the rationale for these programmes and their educational priorities, but little research has explored how the elite athlete body is being constructed within this curriculum space. In this paper, I consider two interrelated problems. The first concerns the conflicting discourses of winning in high-performance sport versus getting everyone healthy and active in health and PE. The second involves an explanation of how the elite athlete body is being constructed in these programmes. I argue the juxtaposition of the elite athlete body as disciplined, attractive and healthy to other bodies as lazy, unattractive and unhealthy renders the other bodies as pathological or resistant to disciplinary institutions of the school. In particular, I focus on the ways in which young people's bodies are conceptualised within EAPs in relation to recreation, health, PE and other curriculum spaces. Throughout this paper, I provide examples to illustrate how EAPs may perpetuate normative ways of thinking that legitimatise elitism in schools. I propose that under radical reform, EAPs may have the potential to provide educational value and opportunities to students. I conclude by offering the cultural studies curriculum model that retains sport and desirable educational outcomes for health and PE as an alternative to elite athlete or talent development models.


1. Water enters etherized muscle less rapidly than normal muscle, but this does not necessarily imply a change in the properties of the plasma membrane following etherization.2. Ether does not lower the permeability of sea-urchin eggs to water.3. Dilute ether solutions cause a very sharp decrease in the viscosity of sea-urchin egg protoplasm, both in fertilized and unfertilized eggs. Rough quantitative measurements of this decrease are given.4. Slightly more concentrated solutions of ether produce a coagulation which is irreversible.5. The divergent results of Chambers find a simple explanation.


Three wavelet algorithms and JPEG compression were applied to two adult PA chest radiographs for visual evaluation and study by three board-certified radiologists. The major factors that we found to affect image compression, when employed for interpretation of projection radiographs, were compression signal space, luminance range, presentation method and viewing distance. Image type, luminance noise and CRT MTF are also major factors in compression,but this preliminary study did not explore their effects in detail.


We write this editorial in early summer 2020, in the midst of massive social upheaval and uncertainty. COVID-19 continues to rage across many countries. In the United States and Canada where we liv...


We have developed a Motion Vector (MV) Synthesis algorithm for an MPEG2-to-MPEG4 transcoder. MPEG2 bitstream parameters are utilized to adaptively scale and refine the MPEG2 MVs to synthesize MPEG4 MVs. The simulation results show that our MV Synthesis algorithm produces results that are equivalent to VM Full Search in both coding efficiency and subjective image quality, with significant reduction in complexity.


Pore development during exfoliation of natural graphite was studied using residue compounds with sulfuric acid. Pore structure of exfoliated graphite was characterized with an aid of image analysis technique, as functions of exfoliation conditions, temperature, residence time and intercalate content. Pore development during exfoliation as a function of exfoliation temperature was found to proceed in three steps, below 650°C, between 650 and 800°C, and above 800°C. In order to obtain well-developed pores among the worm-like particles and those inside the particle, it was necessary to exfoliate at a high temperature near 1000°C for certain time.


Background: Heart Failure self-care becomes exceedingly difficult to perform as the disease progresses. Social support greatly facilitates self-care behavior, which is vital in managing heart failure. Woman with heart failure represent a significant and growing vulnerable population because they experience more adverse psychosocial factors affecting self-care and greater psychosocial adversity than do men. Objectives: This pilot study sought to gain a deeper understanding about how sources of social support influence heart failure self-care behavior in women. Methods: A cross-sectional, concurrent, mixed method, embedded quantitative dominant design with a follow-up variant was used in this pilot study. A total of 16 female study participants were recruited from two different generational cohorts, those born from 1925 to 1942 and those born from 1943 to 1960. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavioral Scale – 9 (EHFScBS-9), the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), the Standardized Mini Mental State Exam (SMMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF), and the Self-Assessed New York Heart Association Functional Class Questionnaire (SA-NYHAFCQ) instruments were used along with a semi-structured interview which sought to elaborate instrument findings. Findings: Significant differences were found between cohorts for the MSPSS


Mercuric Iodide (HgI2) is a semiconductor candidate for the construction of X- and gamma-ray detectors for digital medical imaging due to its high atomic number (ZHg = 80, ZI = 53). Also, HgI2 has a wide optical band-gap (2.13 eV) and high photon absorption coefficient for high-energy radiation. Different structures can lead to varying electrical and optical properties of the final material. In this work, HgI2 crystals were produced by the solvent evaporation technique. The solvents used were ethanol (solubility around 20 mg/ml at 25oC), ether (solubility around 3.5 mg/ml at 25oC) and acetone (solubility around 24mg/ml at 25oC). The evaporation conditions were varied in order to produce different final crystals. The Bernard cells are responsible for crystallites formation due to the Bernard-Maragoni convection in the liquid. Millimeter-sized crystals can be obtained as seen by Scanning Electron Microscopy.


In order to know the disinfection efficacy of Multifunctional Electron Sterilization Lamp, plate sedimentation method was used to observe its efficacy in killing the natural bacteria in the indoor air. The results showed that at room temperature and 70% relative humidity, 84 Disinfectant Solution containing available chlorine 250 mg / L was used to clean the floor and table before disinfection, then the Electron Sterilization Lamp was started. After irradiation for 30 min (ozone content 20 mg/ m3), the natural bacteria in the indoor air decreased by 89.61% in average. The results indicated that MJ-5A-Type Multifunctional Electron Sterilization Lamp has certain efficacy in killing the natural bacteria in indoor air and can be used for disinfection of indoor air of related environment in hospital.


Experimental, pharmacological and clinical data are presented suggesting that neurotransmitters, neurohormones and adenohypophyseal hormones have effects respectively on aterior pituitary and on the CNS. The related functional hypothesis are proposed and discussed.


In unreflected reactors, the probability of detecting chain-related counts is given by the well known Rossi-{alpha} expression. Using this the author derives an expression for the effective delayed neutron fraction, {beta}. He demonstrates that this expression for {beta} is equally applicable for a reflected systems in which two alphas are experimentally observed.


We propose a spectral technique for analysing intermediate feature space of multiple classifier decisions, which enables a separable subset of patterns to be extracted. The method is applied to finding a set of patterns that are inconsistently classified, a random subset of which is left out of the training set of each expert in a multiple classifier framework.


Objective To compare the hyoid bone position in patients with clefts of lip, alveolus, and palate with orthodontic patients with no cleft. Design Retrospective cephalometric long-term study. Patients Lateral cephalograms of 23 patients with a complete unilateral cleft were compared with those of 24 orthodontic patients with no cleft with an Angle class 1 occlusion. Twenty-five of the patients were girls, and 22 were boys. The age of the patients with cleft at the beginning of the study was 8.1 ± 0.7 years and at the end 14.8 ± 0.6 years. The patients without cleft were 8.4 ± 0.8 years old at the beginning and 14.4 ± 0.6 years at the end of the study. Main Outcome Measures Cephalometric analysis was used to determine the skull growth pattern as well as the positions of the head and hyoid bone twice in all 47 persons. Results With increasing age of the patients, the skull growth pattern changed from vertical to horizontal growth, but no significant differences were found between patients with and without cleft. Head position did not differ significantly between patients with and without cleft. However, hyoid bone position differed significantly. The hyoid in patients with cleft was located more caudally and more anteriorly than in patients without cleft. Conclusion The hyoid bone in a subset of north German adolescents with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate was found to be caudal and anterior, compared with a control group.


The main methods used in the study were complex analysis, generalization and systematization of the ap-plied approaches, justification of the necessary structural components and the relationship between them. The main result of the study is to clarify the definition of the concept of intellectual potential of the enter-prise, as well as the justification of its structure in relation to modern conditions of industrial activity. In addi-tion, the article substantiates the need to include new components in the structure of the intellectual potential of the enterprise, which can be considered as modern innovations in the analysis of the concept under study.


This study was carried out on some domestic and foreign late blooming varieties and their genotypes obtained as a result of hybridization in the almond collection parcel of Harran University Faculty of Agriculture in Sanliurfa/Turkiye in the summer period of 2020. In the research, 5 different cultivars and 6 hybrids were examined in the orchard. In the study, 3 trees of each variety and 9 leaves from 2 directions of each tree were taken. North and South directions were taken into account when taking leaf samples. According to the findings, when the leaf characteristics were examined in general, the highest values in terms of leaf width, leaf length, petiole length and leaf area were found in 'Type-7' hybrids among cultivars and hybrids. As a result of stoma analysis on the lower surface of the leaves, the highest overall average (196.47 unitsmm-²) was determined in Type-3, while the lowest (127.10 units/mm²) was found in 'Ferragnes' variety. As a result of the analysis, when all the average values were taken into account, it was determined that the leaf area was 16.74 cm², the average stomata density was 153.51/mm² and the leaf area was 256975.74/leaf stomata. It is thought that the study will be descriptive for almond varieties and hybrids grown in the same ecology.


An analytical model of two‐dimensional collisionless reconnection in an X‐type magnetic geometry is presented. The conversion of magnetic energy to the kinetic energy of accelerated ions takes place in the vicinity of the neutral line. The structure of this dissipation region and the magnetic energy release rate have been investigated both for linear and nonlinear regimes of collisionless reconnection. A simple model of global reconnection flow has been constructed, assuming an incompressible ideal magnetohydrodynamics approximation outside the dissipation region. The corresponding scaling for the external Mach number (Me) is found, which predicts a maximum reconnection rate Me=1/2Rm −1/2, where Rm≊(Le/λi)2≫1 is the effective magnetic Reynolds number for collisionless reconnection (Le is the global size of the system and λi is the ion inertial skin depth).


In this paper,the authars apply SOM and Hopfield neural network to cluster and predict the target of mergers and acquisitions(MA).Financial characteristics of six sorts of targets are shown with low profitability,bad operation and good solvency very evidently by clustering of SOM.After calculating the means of variables of every sort,we build Hopfield network to predict the sort of targets and non-targets according to the means.Demonstration indicates Hopfield network can be used as prediction although accuracy of target selection is 80.69%,and non-target is 61.33% on the average.Financial index should be combined with other index to improve prediction of the model.


This note clarifies the roles played by the wealth and precautionary effects in determining the socially efficient discount rate for public investment projects and how the rate should vary over time. We first give a general characterization of the effects of stochastic shifts in the consumption growth rate on the magnitude of the socially efficient discount rate. We then show that increasing uncertainty in the consumption growth rate provides a natural and compelling rationale for discounting more distant future consumption at a lower rate.


HBr and H/sub 2/S gases were used together with a 172 nm excimer lamp and a deep UV-lamp for photochemical etching and surface passivation of the InGaAs/InAlAs material system. Schottky diodes were fabricated on n-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As by electron beam evaporation of Mo/Ti/Pt/Au with the consequent alloying. AES and XPS measurements of the passivated InAlAs surface reveal that the photochemically generated S*-radicals are capable of removing In-O and As-O bonds from the surface and replacing them with In-S and As-S bonds. The reverse bias leakage current of the surface passivated diodes were reduced by 3 orders of magnitude compared to diodes with an unpassivated surface. We obtained an effective barrier height of 0.79 eV and an ideality factor of 1.03, for the fabricated diodes after surface passivation.


General notions of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes are used to study membrane potentials in the presence of external electric fields. A formula for the Nernst concentration potential is derived giving the dependence of membrane potential not only on ion concentrations and external fields, but also on the electrodynamic characteristics on both sides of membranes. The calculation of the electrodiffusive distribution of ion concentrations under the action of an external electric field and the derivatives of permittivity with respect to the concentration allows us to estimate the numerical values of membrane potentials in the presence of external electric fields.


Drilling operations in the southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi declined from 786 wells in 1969 to 668 wells in 1970, a decrease of 15%. The decrease is due primarily to the subnormal number of wells drilled in the Wilcox area of Mississippi. Of the total completions, 311 were exploratory tests which resulted in 42 discoveries. Development drilling during 1970 included 357 completions netting 204 oil wells and 17 gas wells. Deep drilling in the Jurassic trend of Mississippi and Alabama continues to highlight the drilling activity and registered a 20.4% success in exploratory drilling and 68.8% success in development drilling. Probably the most significant discovery during 1970 was the Smackover oil discovery at Jay field in Santa Rosa County, Florida, thus establishing the first Jurassic oil production in Florida. The discovery of Cotton Valley and Hosston oil production in Leflore County, Mississippi, extended production from these formations 47 mi north. Drilling in the Eocene Wilcox trend of southwestern Mississippi declined from 468 wells in 1969 to 263 wells in 1970. An increase in geophysical activity was registered in 1970 resulting largely from an increase in seismic work in Mississippi and Florida. Exploration is expected to continue at an active pace in the southeastern states in 1971 with the greatest emphasis in the Jurassic trend.


UNiversity of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. October 2008. Major: Educational Policy and Administration. Advisor: Nicola A. Alexander. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 329 pages; appendix pages 328-329.


Extradition — Extraditable Offences — Political Offences — Grant of Extradition in Respect of Robbery — Refusal of Extradition in Respect of Carrying Arms without Licence.


disorders on migration-related specific mental health challenges in South Asians in with assessment of lifetime prevalence, predictors of psychiatric distress, and challenges to diagnosis and treatment. This review synthesizes on the prevalence of determinants of By we to and to targeted into to best meet their


When a certain input-output mapping is memorized, the neural dynamics provide a prescribed neural activity output that depends on the external input. Without such an input, neural states do not provide mem- orized output. Only upon input, memory is recalled as an attractor, while neural activity without an input need not fall on such attractor but can fall on another attractor distinct from the evoked one. With this background, we propose that memory recall occurs as a bifurcation from the spontaneous attractor to the corresponding attractor matching the requested target output, as the strength of the external input is increased. We introduce a neural network model that enables the learning of such memories as bifurcations. After the learning process is complete, the neural dynamics are shaped to generate a prescribed target in the presence of each input. We find that the capacity of such memory depends on the timescales for the neural activity and synaptic plasticity. The maximal memory capacity is achieved at a certain relationship between the timescales, where the residence time at previous learned targets during the learning process is minimized.


Copyright © 2010 American Heart Association. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: 0009-7330. Online TX 72514 Circulation Research is published by the American Heart Association. 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.109.211946 2010;106;1129-1133; originally published online Feb 18, 2010; Circ. Res. Chefd'Hotel, Peter Kellman and Robert S. Balaban James L. Schroeder, Merav Luger-Hamer, Randall Pursley, Tom Pohida, Chris Invasive Microscopy, In Vivo: Evidence for Oxygen Gradients in Resting Muscle Short Communication: Subcellular Motion Compensation for Minimally http://circres.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/CIRCRESAHA.109.211946/DC1 Data Supplement (unedited) at: http://circres.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/106/6/1129 located on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is


Heat treatment of milk is a well-known and widely-adopted device for improving the storage life of milk either as such or before souring it. While in the West scalding or the more recent high-temperature short-time method of pasteurization is practised, boiling of milk is the time-honoured custom in India. Srinivasan and Banerjee (private communication) have shown that boiling for 10 minutes is more efficient than pasteurization in bringing down the bacterial count from over 100,000 to less than 100 per c.c. Anantakrishnan and co-


This paper is on the efficient solution of linear systems arising in discretizations of second order elliptic PDEs by a generalized finite element method (GFEM). Our results apply for GFEM equations on unstructured simplicial grids in 2 and 3 spatial dimensions. We propose an efficient preconditioner by using auxiliary (fictitious) space techniques and an additive preconditioner for the auxiliary space problems. We also prove that the condition number of the preconditioned system is uniformly bounded with respect to the mesh parameters.


Introduction:
 Patients with Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT) may experience life-threatening arrhythmic events (LAE) despite standard-of-care treatment with beta-blockers (BB), but risk stratification is not well defined.

 Hypothesis:
 Both clinical and genetic risk factors predispose to BB failure, including the class of BBs (β1-selective vs. non-selective).

 Methods:
 LAE was defined as the composite of sudden cardiac death, aborted cardiac arrest, or hemodynamically non-tolerated ventricular tachycardia. We fitted a Cox proportional hazards regression model with multiple events during BB treatment only with the following explanatory covariates: 1) LAE before diagnosis, 2) unexplained syncope before diagnosis, 3) genotype, and 4) type of BB (as time-dependent variable).

 Results:
 We included n=238 CPVT patients: n=135 (57%) probands, n=134 (56%) females, n=216 (91%) RYR2, n=10 (4%) CASQ2, n=5 (2%) RYR2-Loss-of-Function, n=4 (2%) TRDN and n=3 (1%) TECRL. Before the diagnosis, 48/238 (20%) patients experienced an LAE, while 110/238 (46%) patients experienced an unexplained syncope. During a mean follow-up of 9.7±7.6 years of treatment with BB only, 35/238 (15%) patients experienced one or more LAEs (annual rate 4.0%, 95% CI: 3.1%-5.0%), with a mean of 2.1±2.4 LAEs per patient. Multivariable analysis with multiple events at follow-up showed that LAE before diagnosis (HR 3.9; 95%CI: 2.3-6.8; p<0.001), syncope before diagnosis (HR 2.7; 95%CI: 1.5-5.0; p=0.001), TRDN mutations (HR 10.9; 95%CI: 4.2-28.0; p<0.001) and use of β1-selective BBs (HR 3.0; 95%CI: 1.7-5.3; p<0.001) were significantly associated with the occurrence of LAE (Figure).

 Conclusions:
 In patients with CPVT, history of LAE and/or unexplained syncope before diagnosis, TRDN mutations and the use of selective BBs are independent risk factors for the occurrence of multiple LAEs at follow-up during BB treatment.


Results for b-quark production at hadron colliders, both current and proposed , are presented. Distributions in p t are presented for the TeVatron and SSC. Confirmation of agreement between the O(α 3 S) calculations and UA1 data is presented, and the discrepancy between the O(α 3 S) calculations and the CDF results is updated with the most recent data.


The cosmic distance ladder is the succession of techniques by which it is possible to determine distances to astronomical objects. Here, we present a new method to build the cosmic distance ladder, going from local astrophysical measurements to the CMB. Instead of relying on high-redshift cosmography in order to model the luminosity-distance relation and calibrate supernovae with BAO, we exploit directly the distance-duality relation $d_L = (1+z)^2 d_A$---valid if photon number is conserved and gravity is described by a metric theory. The advantage is that the results will not depend on the parametrization of the luminosity-distance relation at $z>0.15$: no model is adopted in order to calibrate BAO with supernovae. This method yields local measurements of the Hubble constant and deceleration parameter. Furthermore, it can directly assess the impact of BAO observations on the strong 4--5$\sigma$ tension between local and global $H_0$. Using the latest supernova, BAO and CMB observations, we found a consistently low value of $q_0$ and strong inconsistency between angular-only BAO constraints and anisotropic BAO measurements, which are, or not, in agreement with CMB depending on the kind of analysis (see Table~$4$). We conclude that, in order to understand the reasons behind the $H_0$ crisis, a first step should be clarifying the tension between angular and perpendicular anisotropic BAO as this will help understanding if new physics is required at the pre-recombination epoch or/and during the dark energy era.


A NOTABLE PUBLICATION, Better Learning through Current Materials,' prepared by the California Council on Improvement of Instruction, was announced in August, 1949, by Stanford University. This book was outstanding on two counts: because, first, "written for teachers by teachers, the book grew out of three years of experimentation in the use of current materials by a large group of teachers in high schools throughout California";' and, second, in the writing of the book, the council developed a procedure for group journalism that was effective in its results and profitable to the participants.


In this work, we introduce a new space-time variational formulation of the secondorder wave equation, where integration by parts is also applied with respect to the time variable, and a modified Hilbert transformation is used. For this resulting variational setting, ansatz and test spaces are equal. Thus, conforming finite element discretizations lead to Galerkin–Bubnov schemes. We consider a conforming tensor-product approach with piecewise polynomial, continuous basis functions, which results in an unconditionally stable method, i.e., no CFL condition is required. We give numerical examples for a oneand a two-dimensional spatial domain, where the unconditional stability and optimal convergence rates in space-time norms are illustrated.


After 6 years devoted to research on image processing of road traffic scenes, an inventory is made of the issues, methods and subjects dealt with. Two main methods of motion processing were studied and developed. One called TITAN locates and tracks vehicles on front and rear views. Precise spatial, dynamic and behavioural measurements can be made. Another method called URBI locates only moving areas. Information in terms of presence/absence is given at each time step. There have been several applications which are based on these two main methods. These are the measurement and detection of incidents on motorways (TITAN), and the measurement and detection of incidents in urban areas (URBI). A mixture of the two methods was used for an operational application of measuring queue lengths at a toll gate. (A) For the French abstract see IRRD 125469.


The reduction of differences in the living standards of the urban and rural population is an important factor in achieving the social objectives set by the USSR Food Program. Economic prerequisites for establishing equal working and living conditions in town and country, for making incomes correspond to the needs of the rural population with due regard to the specific features of the rural life style and the improvement of distribution relations must be examined.


ABSTRACT Although a major contributor to environmental degradation and global climate change, most city administrators, policymakers and regulators do not hold restaurants accountable for their adverse impacts. New policies with incentives are urgently needed that leverage existing drivers of sustainable innovation. Using innovation adoption and planned behavior theories, a path analysis model is developed to evaluate the current level of sustainability in the restaurant industry and reveal the predictors of future sustainability behavioral intention. The results show that three predictors ‒ past experience, perceived behavioral control, and perceived innovation characteristics ‒ largely determine whether restaurants engage in sustainable innovation in the future.


Despite the extensive body of evidence demonstrating the risks of tobacco, many people continue to smoke. Medical science has not yet found a 'cure' for this. Instead, healthcare professionals (HCPs) have access to a range of strategies, including pharmacological and psychological interventions, to help support smoking cessation. Yet giving up is not easy and not everyone succeeds. The reasons why are as varied as they are complex, ranging from physical addiction to an emotional dependence on the habit. Barriers include a lack of adequate support from smoking cessation services or HCPs, withdrawal symptoms, and psychosocial factors such as the challenges of adapting to behaviour change. For those people who are unable or unwilling to quit, harm reduction strategies can help reduce the risks associated with smoking, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. While the evidence base is still relatively immature, some studies have shown that products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco systems can deliver the addictive nicotine with significantly fewer toxicants and carcinogens than cigarettes. In this interview, Krzysztof Filipiak, past President of the Polish Society of Hypertension (PTNT) and former Deputy Rector Magnificus and Dean for Science at the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, and Nadjib Bouayed, President of the Algerian Association of Vascular Surgery of the University Hospital of Oran, Algeria, share their views on the pragmatic approach. They explain how finding the best intervention for each patient is of utmost importance and why harm reduction strategies have a place in smoking cessation services. They also review the current literature on products such as heat-not-burn (HnB) systems and identify gaps in the evidence base.


The St. Croix River Crossing project on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border has been in the process of planning and public debate for two decades, with several changes in alignment. During the course of the earlier planning process in 1995, a drilled shaft load test was performed to obtain preliminary design information. There were some difficulties in maintaining stability within the weak sandstone bearing formation, and the measured axial resistance was relatively low. Subsequent experience by the Minnesota Department of Transportation with similar weak sandstones on the I-35W project suggests that improved construction techniques using modern drilling fluids may offer opportunities for improved performance. During final design in 2012 a second load test program was performed of a full scale test shaft constructed using polymer drilling fluids. The stability of the socket excavation in the weak sandstone appeared to be greatly improved and the measured axial resistance significantly higher.


To the Editor: Serotonin syndrome (SS) is a potentially life-threatening condition associated with increased serotonergic activity in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It is often described as a clinical triad of mental status changes, neuromuscular abnormalities, and autonomic dysfunction. This triad is thought to be caused by excessive stimulation of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors. Although the symptomsmay not all be present in the patient at the same time, there is actually a spectrum of clinical findings, ranging from benign to lethal, which can develop within hours after drug administration. Serotonin syndrome is a clinical diagnosis in accordance with the Hunter Toxicity Criteria decision rules. To fulfill the Hunter Toxicity Criteria, the patient must have taken a serotonergic agent and must have one of the following symptoms: (1) spontaneous clonus, (2) inducible clonus plus agitation, (3) ocular clonus plus agitation or diaphoresis, (4) tremor and hyperreflexia, and (5) hypertonia and a temperature higher than 38 °C plus ocular clonus or inducible clonus. No laboratory tests can confirm the SS diagnosis. The serum serotonin concentration does not correlate with the severity of SS. Serotonin syndrome in children and adolescents may be misdiagnosed because it is mostly reported in adults, and clinical manifestations are often nonspecific. In recent years, the use of newer antidepressant agents, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and, more recently, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, have increased among children and adolescents. Therefore, the incidence of this condition has increased, and it is important to recognize the clinical manifestations. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing an adolescent with SS resulting from the use of sertraline and methylphenidate.


What Do We Know about Climate Change?: H. Grassl: The Schience and Impacts of Climate Change - Conclusions from the Second IPCC Assessment Report.- Economic Aspects of Climate Change: G. Pillet: Decision-Making Frameworks for Addressing Climate Change G. Chichilnisky: What is Sustainable Development? K. Rennings, O. Hohmeyer: Linking Weak and Strong Sustainability Indicators: The Case of Global Warning A. Rabl: Discounting of Long-Term Costs: What Would Future Generations Prefer Us to Do? P. Hennicke, R. Becker: Is Adaption Cheaper Than Prevention? The Applicability of Cost-Benefit Analysis to Global Warning E. Jochem: Some Critical Remarks on Today's Bottom-up Energy Models K. Conrad, T.F.N. Schmidt: Double Dividend of Climate Protection and the Role of International Policy Coordination in the EU - An Applied General Equilibrium Analysis with the GEM-E3 Model.- Policy Options: H.-M. Groscurth, S. Weinreich: Possible Contributions of Renewable Energies to the Solution of the Global Climate Problem N. Eyre: What Hope for a Sustainable Energy System? H. Rentz: Comment on: Potentials of Joint Implementation Measures K. Rennings, K.L. Brockmann, H. Bergmann: Assessment of Voluntary Agreements in Environmental Policy - A Neoliberal Perspective M. Grubb: The Political Context for Emissions Trading in the Climate Change Negotiations A. Meyer: The Kyoto Protocol and the Emergence of 'Contraction and Convergence' as a Framework for an International Political Solution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Abatement.


Dynamic frequency management is considered to be beneficial for the uncoordinated self-deployment of Home eNB (HeNB) in LTE-A heterogeneous networks. In this paper, a new autonomous component carrier (CC) selection scheme is proposed that dynamically selects the CC with efficient inter-cell signaling design. The CC selection criterion is to minimize the interference contribution composed of the incoming and outgoing interference. Additionally, power control and weighted proportional fair (PF) scheduling are used to further improve the cell-edge performance. The proposed inter-cell signaling between HeNBs is independent of CC number, user number and CC allocation results in HeNB network, thus the inter-cell signaling overhead can be greatly reduced. Simulation results show that the proposed CC selection scheme can autonomously achieve high cell-average and cell-edge throughput. This distributed and adaptive scheme performed locally at each HeNB is suitable for the uncoordinated HeNB deployment without centralized control unit.