2 , explore how often those constraints are violated in an example clinical data set, propose a simple way in which those constraints can be imposed and, using simulations, compare the proposed solution to a conventional approach. We show that the proposed approach provides constrained parameter estimates that are more accurate and precise. Eqn. 1 shows the extended Tofts model, which is parameterised in terms of the bulk transfer coefficient K trrans (min -1 ), the relative extravascular extracellular volume ve, and the relative plasma volume vp; Cp(t) is the concentration of contrast agent in the arterial blood plasma at time t (in min), and Ct(t) is the measured contrast agent concentration at time t. The model is subject to the following constraints: K trans ≥ 0, and 0 ≤ ve + vp ≤1 (the total relative volume of a voxel is unity, and the model does not parameterise the intracellular space, vi). Fig. 1 shows the latter constraint: parameter values outside the shaded area are non-physiological. Most fitting software, e.g., Matlab's lsqcurvefit, allows constraints like 0 ≤ ve ≤ 1 and 0 ≤ vp ≤ 1 to be enforced, but not inter-variable constraints. th time point (of N), Ct(ti), and the sum of the model's prediction of those contrast agent concentrations, Ct(ti; Θ'), and the penalty term. The penalty term is a piecewise function that is zero for physiological parameters, and a sigmoid when they are not. The sigmoid has three parameters, c1, c2, & c3 that control its shape; we set these to 500, 7,600, & 6.4, respectively, but have not systematically identified optimal values. The sigmoid was chosen so that the loss function changes smoothly at the boundary of the physiological and non-physiological spaces. (The conventional SSD loss function is identical to Eqn. 2 except it lacks the piecewise term.) We evaluated the modified loss function's ability to enforce the constraint at the boundary by: choosing known parameters (K trans =0.9 min -1 , ve=½, vp=½); generating 1000 corresponding contrast agent concentration time series (using a population averaged 3 Cp(t)); adding noise to the resulting time series; and then estimating the model parameters using the conventional SSD loss function and the method described above. The accuracy and precision of the two methods were compared by computing 95% confidence intervals on the mean and variance of the absolute difference between the estimated and known values of ve and vp. Finally, the mean time required to estimate parameters for a single time series was calculated for each method. All work was performed using Mathematica v7 (Wolfram Research Inc., Champaign, IL). Fig. 2 The topology of the conventional (a) and penalised (b) SSD loss function: see text. Estimated values of ve and vp for the conventional (c) and penalised (d) SSD loss functions. Histograms of ve+vp for the conventional (e) and penalised (f) loss functions. RESULTS Of the ~38,000 vowels studied, ~550 had non-physiological parameter estimates. Figs. 2(a) & 2(b) show the topologies of the conventional SSD and penalised loss functions, respectively, in the absence of noise: optimal values of ve and vp correspond to the functions' minima; Fig. 2(b) illustrates the smooth penalisation of non-physiological estimates. Figs. 2(c) & 2(d) show the results of the evaluation. Fig. 2(c) shows unconstrained fitting results: the variation around the true parameter values is the result of the noise added to the simulated contrast agent concentration time series. Fig. 2(d) demonstrates that the penalty term eliminates non-physiological estimates. Figs. 2(e) & 2(f) show histograms of the quantity ve + vp for the two methods, demonstrating the elimination of non-physiological estimates and the improved accuracy and precision of the constrained fitting method. The table below presents the 95% confidence intervals on the accuracy and precision for the two methods for the parameter ve: the constrained fitting method gave parameter estimates that were both more accurate and precise; results for vp were similar. The mean time required to estimate parameters for one time series was 4.6 s for the unconstrained method and 8.5 s for the constrained method. Accuracy (95% Confidence Intervals) Precision (95% Confidence Intervals) Unconstrained


Neck of femur (NOF) fractures cause significant morbidity and mortality. Many require off site rehabilitation and it can lead to a new functional baseline with increased care needs. The objective of this study was to explore this impact on patients with NOF fractures in a university teaching hospital.

 This retrospective observational study was performed on admitted patients with NOF fractures in 2019. Using a structured proforma, data was collected from the patients' electronic record and from follow up telephone consultations at one year. Frailty and functional capacity was assessed at one year using the Clinical Frailty Scale and the Barthel Index.

 123 patients had a NOF fracture from January to December 2019. The female to men ratio was 2:1 and the average age was 79 years. The majority of patients were admitted from home (86%). At baseline, 58% mobilised independently without aids. On discharge, 39% were transferred to offsite rehab, 41% discharged home and 13% were discharged to a nursing home.
 At one year, the mortality rate was 26% which is comparable with other studies [1]. 30% had a new home care package and 19.4% were in a nursing home. 75% were readmitted with a third due to falls. On average, patients were classified as mild to moderately frail (CFS of 4.84) with moderate dependency (Barthel Index of 76.5).

 Hip fractures have a high mortality rate and have a significant impact on patient's function with a third requiring extra support at home and a fifth requiring a nursing home admission. Frailty tools may be useful to help predict outcomes in the future.

 1. Schell et al., The 1-Year Mortality of Patients Treated in a Hip Fracture Program for Elders, Geriatr Orthop Surg Rehabil. 2010 Sep; 1(1): 6–14.


ABSTRACT This study examined the influence of personality information on perceptions of the physical attractiveness of a range of female body sizes. A sample of 2,157 male university students were randomly assigned to one of 10 groups in which they received personality information about women they were rating, or a control group in which they received no personality information. Controlling for participants' age and body mass index, results showed no significant between-group differences in the body size that participants found most attractive. However, participants provided with positive personality information perceived a wider range of body sizes as physically attractive compared with the control group, whereas participants provided with negative personality information perceived a narrower range of body sizes as attractive. Correlations showed that participants' own Extraversion was associated with their body size ratings. These results suggest that non-physical cues have an influence on the perception of physical beauty.


Use good media mass media as well as electronic media increases over time, especially with the presence of new media that is able to collect, process, and exchange information quickly. Research literacy competency media beorientasi life skills aims to describe the media literacy competency-oriented life skills which belonged to the high school teacher in the city of Bandung. Research methods using a descriptive qualitative approach method. The expected results are: (1) the discovery of the level and type of media literacy and competency (2) discovery of quality, factor endowments, and restricting the media literacy competency-oriented life skills teachers HIGH SCHOOL in Bandung. The results of the analysis of the data shows that the competence-based media literacy-oriented life skills teacher HIGH SCHOOL city of Bandung were still on secondary media literacy.


One of the leading places among inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract of children belongs to pyelonephritis, the course of which presents in most cases as a severe infectious disease threatening the patient's life, which is the main reason for development of chronic kidney failure. This study was conducted to compare apoptosis stages in peripheral blood of children of different age categories with pyelonephritis depending on etiological factor and complications. The problem of mechanisms underlying immune system misregulation, especially functional activity of leukocytes in children with pyelonephritis, have not been explored in recent years. Assessment of leukocytes (neutrophils) apoptosis stages in peripheral blood of children of different age categories with pyelonephritis depending on complications and etiological factor was the aim of present study. The children's peripheral blood samples were analysed and assessed using a flow cytofluorimeter. The present study demonstrates an increase of the level of apoptotic cells at an early stage of apoptosis in children of all age categories with chronic pyelonephritis, which can be explained by associations of a wide range of pathogens and the presence of sequelae. An increase in the number of apoptotic cells in the late stage of apoptosis is observed in children aged 1 month – 8 years, in children 8–18 years, the amount of apoptotic cells is reduced by 1.5 times. The study of apoptosis stages allows complete characterization of the dynamics of the apoptotic process and supplementation of the pathogenesis of pyelonephritis in children. Such studies will make it possible to affect apoptosis modulation to regulate or correct it and encourage the finding of innovative solutions in the treatment related to influence on the immune response. We conclude that enhancement of peripheral blood leukocyte apoptosis in chronic form of pyelonephritis especially in young children is due to the polyetiology of this form of pyelonephritis and the development of complications.


We have performed a tight-binding calculation of the energy bands of a 29-layer (110) ferromagnetic iron thin film. The matrix parameters were obtained by fitting a bulk calculation of Tawil and Callaway with the diagonal surface matrix elements shifted by a constant amount to obtain surface charge neutrality. The energy bands were calculated at 117 points in the irreducible (one fourth) two-dimensional Brillouin zone. The planar and total densities of states are also reported and compared to previous results. A discussion of the surface states and energy bands is given and the structure of the energy bands is correlated to structure seen in the planar density of states and the effects of $s\ensuremath{-}d$ hybridization.


Disclosed in some examples are systems, methods, and machine readable mediums which allow for the deployment of advanced radios which are capable of simultaneous transmission and reception on the same frequency in existing wireless networks, while maintaining backward compatibility with older devices.


The distinction between Pseudacteon fennicus Schmitz 1927 and P. lundbecki Schmitz 1924 is clarified, and a neotype designated for the latter species. Following this P. lusitanus Schmitz 1938 is synonymised with P. fennicus. P. charnayensis n. sp. is described from France. A revised key to the European species of Pseudacteon is provided.


Phagocytic clearance of dying cells is found in many phagocytes. It has been shown that dying cells can be phagocytosed by other phagocytic cells through autophagic or apoptotic cellular death. To date, whether cancer cells have such phagocytic activity has not been studied. In this study, our data shows that RC-RNase can trigger cell death in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells through the apoptotic pathway. Interestingly, when treated with cytotoxic protein, the remaining MCF-7 cells can phagocytose the dying MCF-7 cells via autophagocytic activity, demonstrated directly by real-time image observation and electron microscopy analysis. To sum up, this study demonstrates for the first time that RC-RNase can trigger apoptosis and autophagocytosis in MCF-7 cancer cells.


Objective:To investigate the relationship between prevalence of coagulation abnormalities and severity in sepsis.Method:124 sepsis patients in our ICU and emergency ward from Mar 2009 to Aug 2009 were divided into three groups according to various concentration of D-dimer.They were D-dimmer256 μg/L group,256≤D-dimer1000 μg/L group,D-dimer≥1 000 μg/L group.D-dimer,PLT and complete coagulation test on day1,day7 and day14 were measured.All the patients received APACHE II and SOFA tests at the 1st day.Result:The ratio of coagulation abnormalities at day1,day7 and day14 were 38.7%,41.1%,45.9%,respectively.D-dimmer increased significantly in coagulation abnormalities groups compared with that in non-coagulation abnormalities groups.With the increase of D-dimmer,the scores of SOFA and APACHE II were up-regulated.Conclusion:Nearly half of the sepsis patients had coagulation abnormalities.D-dimer was more sensitive to test early coagulation abnormalities and had a rational relationship with severity of sepsis.


Gear rating is decided by tooth strength, surface durability and scoring resistance of gear pair. In Japan, in order to prevent gear-tooth breakage induced by end tooth bearing, gears are often crowned heavily.The stress calculation method for this heavily crowned gear is already proposed by one of the authors, but this calculation method is very troublesome. So, it is desirable that a simple and easy stress calculation method for crowned gear be established.For this reason, the authors proposed a simple and easy calculation method for maximum longitudinal tooth stress of crowned gear using the infinite length cantilever plate theory applied with moment-image method introduced Wellauer, E. J. and Seireg, A.. This simple and easy calculation method is a method by which the maximum gear-tooth stress is obtained as the stress of uniformly loaded spur gear divided by the crowning factor. The crowned gear tooth stress is estimated for the gear-tooth load distribution which is obtained by solving the contact problem about two elastic ellipsoids substituted for meshing gear-tooth.The authors demonstrated by experiments that this crowned gear-teeth stress calculation method is quite proper. Moreover, they proposed the stress calculation method for a special state of end tooth bearing of crowned gear, and proved the practicability of this method by experiments.


Engels) Although in the last couple of years the number of scientific studies regarding giftedness has increased, important underlying factors that may explain the socio-emotional development of intellectually gifted children remain understudied. This study examined whether the degree of perceived social acceptance can be predicted by social cognitions, type of education and perceived social skills. Thirty-six intellectually gifted children participated in this study. Each participant filled out several questionnaires and took part in a short social-cognition test. Results show that social cognitions do not serve as a predictor for experienced social acceptance. Both type of education and perceived social skills significantly predict children"s experienced social acceptance, with perceived social skills being the strongest predictor. In this paper these findings and implications for future research are discussed.


This article attempts to find out the understanding and benefits of ablution contained in the Prophet Muhammad hadith. The writers used a method of documentation, for instance, finding data on things or variables such as notes, books of hadith, fiqh books, books on health through ablution, and other books that are related to the research title. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding about ablution ( wudu ), obligation for wudu before prayer, the benefit of ablution for Muslims' health, as well as ablution is the prevention of various diseases. The results showed that; (1) The definition of ablution has been studied in depth approach to the science of fiqh, hadith, and medical; (2) It has been argued the benefits of ablution are in worship, cleanliness, and for the health of Muslims; (3) It has islamic laws of ablution in worship, especially the obligatory prayers and the prayers recommended by the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. The implications of this study are; (1) understanding the meaning of the ablution properly; (2) understanding that an ablution used as a cleaning tool that can wash the dirt, filth, and, both large and small impurity; (3) ablution can prevent all kinds of skin diseases or cancer, moreover, it can be more understood about the legal position of ablution in worship to Allah.


In a beam-gas experiment, an unseeded supersonic sodium beams was made to collide with SF/sub 6/ gas. The ionic products of single collisions of NA/sub 6/ are examined. (AIP)


Compression, lateral, and opposite woods in a branch of Pinus parviflora S. et Z. were described and compared in the qualitative anatomical aspects through light and scanning electron microscopy. Tracheid transition from earlywood to latewood in the compression wood appeared to be relatively more gradual than in the opposite or lateral wood. Growth ring width and proportion of latewood were thought to be greater in the compression wood than in the lateral or opposite wood. The latewood tracheids of compression wood in transverse surface were mostly round, differently from those of lateral and opposite woods with square to angular shapes. Also, intercellular spaces, helical cavities and checks, and slit-like pit apertures were observed only in the compression wood tracheids. Cross-field pitting in the compression wood appeared not to be used as diagnostic guide because of their severe alteration from normal fenestriform or window-like type to cupressoid to taxodioid types. In tangential surface, fusiform rays in the compression wood were wider but lower than those in the lateral wood or opposite wood. In conclusion, compression wood was different from lateral and opposite woods but lateral and opposite woods were almost identical in qualitative anatomical features.


These abstracts are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License. Go to http://iovs.arvojournals.org/ to access the versions of record. Program Number: 805 Poster Board Number: C0094 Presentation Time: 1:30 PM–3:15 PM Lack of association between primary angle-closure glaucoma susceptibility loci and the phenotypes axial length to lens thickness ratio and lens thickness to axial length factor Rene Hoehn1, 2, Aslihan Gerhold-Ay3, Stefan Nickels2, Thomas Muenzel4, Karl J. Lackner5, Manfred Beutel6, Tanja Zeller7, 8, Philipp S. Wild9, 10, Norbert Pfeiffer2, Harald Binder3. 1Ophthalmology, Inselspital Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 2Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 3Institute for Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 4Center for Cardiology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 5Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 6Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 7Department of General and Interventional Cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; 8German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, Hamburg, Germany; 9Preventive Cardiology and Preventive Medicine / Center for Cardiology and Center of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; 10German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner site RhineMain, Mainz, Germany. Purpose: The genetic background in the development of primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) is still inconsistent and little is known in European populations. This study investigated the genetic overlap between the biometric risk predictors of PACG axial length to lens thickness ratio (ALR) or the lens thickness to axial length factor (LAF) and known genetic variants associated with PACG. Methods: Within the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), a genome-wide association study for ALR and LAF was conducted in two cohorts (GHS 1, n = 1725 and GHS 2, n = 832) of Caucasian individuals (age range, 40 79) with a subsequent meta-analysis of both cohorts. The GHS is a population-based prospective, observational single center study in the Rhine-Main-Region in mid-western Germany. Axial length (AL) and lens thickness (LT) were measured using optical low-coherence reflectometry (Lenstar LS 900). Any pseudophakic or aphakic eye was excluded from analysis. The ALR was calculated by dividing AL by LT and the LAF by dividing LT by AL x 10. The average of both eyes or the value of the remaining eye were used for association analysis. Genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 and genotyped data were imputed with MACH/Minimac to the 1000 Genomes reference panel (phase 1, March 2012). Genome-wide association was tested by a linear regression model, adjusting for age and sex (ProbABEL 0.4.5 software). Finally, a meta-analysis based on the effect and standard error of both single analyzed cohorts (GHS 1 and GHS 2) was performed using the METAL software. Results: None of the known SNPs to be associated with PACG (rs1015213, rs3753841, rs11024102, rs1401999, rs4656461, rs1900004, rs17576 or rs2250880) showed an association with ALR or LAF (p>0.05 for all listed SNPs). However, we identified novel SNPs of borderline significance associated with ALR and LAF. Results of the ALR exhibited systematically lower p-values than for the LAF. Conclusions: While ALR and LAF are clinical useful risk predictors for PACG, they showed no strong genetic overlap with genetic variants previously associated with PACG, but these clinical-based endophenotype might help to improve our genetic insight. However, our results emphasize that the knowledge of the genetic background of PACG is still limited. Commercial Relationships: Rene Hoehn, None; Aslihan Gerhold-Ay, None; Stefan Nickels, None; Thomas Muenzel, None; Karl J. Lackner, None; Manfred Beutel, None; Tanja Zeller, None; Philipp S. Wild, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF 01EO1503) (F); Norbert Pfeiffer, None; Harald Binder, None


To train students to master the theoretical knowledge of the digital circuit and fundamental analysis methods in or-der to cultivate applied innovative talents,teaching reform of digital circuits is essential.Three major aspects are discussed in the paper:the reform of teaching content,experimental teaching,curriculum design.It is summed up in the paper about the successful experience and implementation methods of the past two years under the education reform,the new mode can training ability of independent design and innovation,can meet the need of training applied innovative talents.


Little-known architectural and archaeological objects studied during the rescue archaeological research on the Cathedral Square in Lviv in 2006: remains of ancient wooden roads, a stone-brick building, and a brick fence of the temple area have been introduced into scientific circulation. Based on stratigraphic and historical-architectural analyses, the dating of the relics was justified, their functional interpretation was carried out, as well as the historical-cartographic identification of some of them.
In the first cultural layers formed on a part of the area, complexes of finds from the Early Iron Age
(VII–VI centuries BC) and Middle Ages (XI–XIII centuries) were discovered. Until the period of the locational city of the ХІV–ХVІ centuries two tiers of wooden roads were assigned, the discovered fragments of which have reached our days in a good condition of preservation. It was established that their construction consisted of transverse depressions, longitudinal timbers, and transverse boardwalks secured with wooden joints. It is noted that the found fragments of contours and directions of ancient roads indicate a freer planning structure of the Lviv city center in the Gothic period.
An unknown stone-brick building located in the corner of the church area is recognized as one of the most mysterious. It was established that its deep pit cuts through a layer of stone paving on yellow sand, which covers a complex of wooden streets and can be dated back to the second quarter of the ХVІ century. Taking into account the Gothic style of brickwork preserved on the third tier of the interior, as well as the stratification of the internal filling, the construction is dated back to the third quarter of the ХVІ century and it was interpreted as the family tomb of one of the richest residents of the city. The unconventional spatial orientation of this type of building is associated with the possible contour of the fence of the area of the church cemetery, which in the plan had a corresponding break in the corner, and the later brick fence of the cathedral area appears in the ХVІІ – the first half of the ХVІІІ century when the burial construction was no longer functioning.
It has been established that the cartographic analysis of the situation gives grounds to assume that in the 1760s the tomb was completely leveled, and in its place, there was a corner gate. It is noted that in 10 years, cartographers will record the appearance of a right angle of the fence at the corner of the plot, as well as the making of a new gate, limited by thickened pillars. It is indicated that the foundation of one of them was identified and recorded during archaeological research. As a result of rescue excavations, some architectural and archaeological relics were identified in the modern environment of the square to emphasize the importance of these objects of cultural heritage in the history of Lviv.
Key words: Lviv, architectural archaeology, Gothic construction, stone fence, wooden streets, cultural heritage.


Background. Clinical diagnosis of vascular anomalies is often dif ficult. The informative of dif ferent instrumental evaluations isn't the same in terms of visualization of vascular anomalies. Purpose: to establish the diagnostic value and informative of different visualization's methods of vascular anomalies in children. Methods. The study included 194 patients with vascular anomalies in age from 1 month to 16 years. According to the updated ISSVA classification 2014, vascular anomalies divided into vascular tumors and vascular malformations (VMs). Vascular tumors are diagnosed in 95 patients, in particular, infantile hemangiomas (IHs) of soft tissues (80.0%), liver hemangiomas (5.3%), airways IHs (5.3%), IHs as a part of PHACE syndrome (2.1%). Rare vascular tumors were in 7 (7.3%) patients. In 99 patients VMs diagnosed: lymphatic malformations (LM) in 86.8%, venous malformations in 8.1%, and combined VMs in 5.1% of children. Results. Ultrasound examinations performed as a primary method and follow-up studies. The activity of His was determined by the ratio of small diameter vessels and solid tissue. CT with contrast enhanced and MRI performed in 5.3% patients with IHs of soft tissue with atypical clinical presentations and in patients with airway His (9.3%). To confirm the diagnosis of the liver hemangiomas the CT with contrast enhanced performed. In 4.4% patients with well localized cystic LM performed ultrasound only, all other patients underwent MRI. CT scans performed in 10.2% children with LM of head and neck and symptoms of airway compression as emergency diagnostic procedure. The peculiarity of VM is phleboliths formation. It can be detected as ultrasound, so X-ray examination but to determine the distribution of process is the most informative is MRI. Arteriovenous malformation in CDS scale has the same characteristic as the IHs in proliferative phase. So if these features are revealed in older children CT with contrast enhanced is necessary . Conclusions. For the diagnosis of vascular anomalies the primary investigation is ultrasound examination. The "gold standard" for diagnosis of slow-flow VM is the MRI. For the diagnosis of high flow VM informative is the CT scan with contrast enhanced.


The invention discloses an extraction system and method for specific information of a video frequency program and a mobile terminal. The system comprises an identification region extraction module, an identification region enhancing module, and an identification region recognition module, wherein the identification region extraction module is used for extracting a specific identification region in a video frequency frame of the video frequency program; the identification region enhancing module is connected with the identification region extraction module, and is used for carrying out image enhancement processing on the specific identification region to filter out the video frequency background noise of the specific identification region; and the identification region recognition module is connected with the identification region enhancing module, and is used for carrying out identification extraction on the noise-filtered specific identification region. According to the invention, the extraction of the specific information of the video frequency program of the mobile terminal (such as a mobile telephone) is realized.


The present invention discloses a kind of electric propelling vehicle, a tractor belongs to the field of solving the prior art, a differential propelling vehicle performance technical problem, the present invention provides an electric vehicle includes a shift rack, running gear, steering handle and a drive mechanism includes a frame, a steering handle and a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism includes a drive and clutch, and the clutch actuator are located on the side of the rack, the clutch having an input terminal connected to a driver, and an output for transmission of the driving roller, a steering handle and transfer rack, the steering handle can be propelling vehicle is traveling on both sides of the direction of deflection toward an electric.


With the development of marketing economy,tertiary education has become gradually a tendency towards socialization and industrialization.This paper surveys and analyses the non-gratuitous service of P.E.resources of ten colleges in Jilin Province in order to put forward developing measures,thus pushing forward university P.E.reforms,and finally enhancing the harmonious development of the society and universities.


Dam-dam-an is a traditional game played by two players using a board with the size of 8x8 as a media. Each player gets 16 pieces that can be moved one step forward or leaped over opponent"s piece. The goal of this game is to eliminate all of our pieces as soon as possible. It is exciting to have a challenging opponent, yet it is difficult to find a skillful one. A way to solve this problem is using intelligent computer. This paper presents the result of our research about the computer utilization as balanced opponent in dam-dam-an game using Alpha-Beta Pruning. Alpha-Beta Pruning is a best-step searching algorithm which works by considering and assessing every possibility while excluding the less useful steps. The implementation is developed using C# programming language based on Windows Runtime. Some features were added to make this game more exciting, particularly intelligence level selection (easy, medium, and hard), human or computer opponent selection, undo function, pausing menu, save-load the game, and setting the turning time. This game was validated by twenty respondents which were categorized based on their skill. Each respondent played against the computer thrice and the results were recorded. The results showed that the number of winning between the computer and each player are almost the same. It shows that the computer opponent may prove itself to be a challenging opponent for human player.


Introduction: Cardiac tumors can be divided to primary and secondary and to benign and malignant tumors. One of the benign tumors of the heart is cardiac fibroma. More than 80% of this tumor occurs in children; however its occurrence in neonates is very rare. Fewer than 100 cases have been reported. Case Presentation: Our patient is a 10 day's girl neonate with severe dyspnea, mild cyanosis, tachycardia (heart rate = 170- 180/min) and obstruction of right ventricle (RV) outlet with very large tumor. Conclusion: Cardiac tumors in neonate population must be considered in the diagnosis of arrhythmias, cardiac insufficiency, valvular disease, cardiomegaly or presence of murmurs. Early diagnosis before birth should be appropriate and accurate imaging devices must be used in detecting these tumors.


In this paper a summary of our novel research results are presented about advances in producing functional electronic devices on environmentally friendly Printed Circuit Boards. The process of production and selected examples are shown for functional electronics (different RFID cards, with Mifare 1K IC and a functional MP3 player). Avoiding traditional epoxy-based FR4 substrates in production may help in the reduction of harmful e-waste materials. The prototyping and production steps are focused on traditional PCB technologies to obtain cost-effective processes. Manufacturing steps are described; the obtained technology investigation results and functional results of FR4, cellulose-acetate (CA) and novel bioepoxy based circuits are presented. Evaluation tests show proper functionality on the environmental friendly substrates. Further weaknesses are highlighted for future improvements of reliability and durability for actual commercial use.


A compact high-current nanosecond accelerator has been designed and tested for experiments concerned with removal of toxic organic impurities from air. This accelerator provides the electron energy up to 400 keV, the beam current of 0.25 to 1.1 kA, the pulse length from 30 to 40 ns, the pulse repetition rate of 200 Hz continuously and up to 1 kHz in 30-second burst mode. The accelerator is based on a SM-3N nanosecond generator that has an all-solid-state switching system with an inductive storage and a semiconductor opening switch (SOS). The vacuum chamber houses an extended metal-ceramic explosion- emission cathode 5-mm wide and 750-mm long. The outlet window is 80 mm wide and 850 mm long.


The thermal conductivity of fin material, its geometrical profile and the mode of heat transfer etc, are the key factors which generally affects the heat transfer from fins. The present research deals with the improvement in heat transfer characteristics and the investigation of fin performance efficiency by using fins of varying geometrical profiles in pin fin apparatus. In this study the heat transfer characteristics inside a rectangular duct with circular, square and aerofoil geometrical profiles of fins were analyzed experimentally. The intention of the present work is to evaluate the heat transfer coefficient, Reynolds number, Nusselt number, pressure drop and efficiency of fin with circular, square and aerofoil geometrical profiles and all the results obtained will be compared with those from a circular fin of same material surface. In the present study, experimental results of the heat transfer characteristics of all the three geometrical profiles of fins under constant heat flux conditions are presented. Experiments are performed at various Reynolds numbers in the range of 1000–9000 and heat fluxes in the range of 0.91–3.64 kW/m2 . The predicted results are validated by comparing with measured data. The predicted results are in reasonable agreement with the experiments. It is found that with increase in Reynolds number, the Nusselt number and thermal performance increases, for a fin having aerofoil profile as compared with a fin with square and circular profile. These are because of delayed separation of air and increase in contact time for a fin having aerofoil profile as compared with a fin with square and circular profile.


This article is related to women of Syria there living conditions and the violence happens against them. There are different kinds of violence happens against women in Syria. Population of women in Syria is 49.4% of total population they are active participants in social to mistake and political life . There are 13% womens in Parliament 40% in second education 16.4%. There are also 13% women in Parliament and 13% in the labour force . Syria has developed their secular features personal status law is based upon Shariat and applied by Shariat Court.


BACKGROUND
The facial nerve (CN VII) is an anatomically intricate structure with its branches serving several physiological functions. CN VII innervates the muscles of facial expression which are crucial for eye protection, oral competence, and social interaction. The temporal branch, clinically referred to as the frontotemporal branch (FTB), is the most superior of the five branches and is at risk during cutaneous surgery in the temporal region and of the parotid gland. Several methods for delineating the FTB trajectory exist, the most widely known being Pitanguy's Line; defined as running from 0.5 cm below the tragus to 1.5 cm above the lateral eyebrow. However, variations in eyebrow location, often affected by modern day cosmetic trends, complicate the accuracy of Pitanguy's Line.

OBJECTIVE
We aim to develop a surgical landmark that can be used to identify the FTB location without the use of soft tissue structures.

METHODS
To minimize variation, we chose landmarks that were both consistent and easy to locate on patients using simple surface anatomy. Twenty-one cadaver hemifaces were dissected in order to locate the FTB in relation to the inferior border of the zygomatic arch and the apex of the tragus.

RESULTS
We found that the average distance from the apex of the tragus to the point where the FTB crossed the inferior border of the zygomatic arch was 3.21 cm ± 0.05 cm.

CONCLUSION
With this measurement, we aim to avoid the pitfalls of previous techniques, and maintain a widely applicable clinical tool using landmarks easily found on any patient.


In this paper, compact high temperature superconducting (HTS) multiplexers are presented for satellite communication applications. The first multiplexer consists of an input coupling node and three high-order bandpass filters, which is named triplexer. The node is realized by a loop microstrip line instead of conventional T-junction to eliminate the redundant susceptance due to combination of three filters. There are two eight-pole band-pass filters and one ten-pole band-pass filter with cascaded quadruplet structure for realizing high isolation. Moreover, the triplexer is extended to a multiplexer with six channels so as to verify the expansibility of the suggested approach. The triplexer is fabricated using double-sided YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on a 38 × 25 mm2 LaAlO3 substrate. The experimental results, when compared with those ones from the T-junction multiplexer, show that our multiplexer has lower insertion loss, smaller sizes and higher isolation between any two channels. Also, good agreement has been achieved between simulations and measurements, which illustrate the effectiveness of our methods for the design of high performance HTS multiplexers.


I. Description Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS), is a noninvasive method of delivering electrical stimulation to the brain. It uses a specifically designed magnetic coil that is placed in contact with the scalp to generate rapidly alternating magnetic fields and produces electrical stimulation of cortical neurons. The procedure takes approximately 20-40 minutes and is generally administered daily over a four to seven week period. TMS can be performed in an office setting as it does not require anesthesia and does not induce a convulsion.


Close examination of one first-year composition student's portfolio of process materials for an advertisement analysis assignment reveals that an early attachment to an idea and a poor understanding of audience can prevent students from developing as writers. I reflect on how greater attention to rhetorical genre theory can provide new directions for prewriting activities and strategies that may help students move beyond thinking only from the perspective of the school essay.


TING WANG: Oxygen Isotope Evidence for Paleoclimate Change during the Vandal Minimum Climate Episode from Ariopsis felis Otoliths and Mercenaria campechiensis Shells, Southwest Florida (Under the direction of Donna M. Surge) The Vandal Minimum climate episode (500-800 AD) was first documented in European proxy records as cold and dry with increased frequency of severe weather. Archaeological evidence from coastal southwest Florida suggests this region and its local inhabitants, the Calusa, were affected by the Vandal Minimum climate. Drought and cooling may have been responsible for the Calusa people's abandonment of coastal southwest Florida by 750 AD. To provide a paleoclimate context during this time, we reconstructed the Vandal Minimum climate using high-resolution oxygen isotope records from otoliths (ear bones) of the hardhead catfish, Ariopsis felis, and shells from the southern hard clam, Mercenaria campechiensis. Four otoliths and eight shells from Calusa archaeological deposits dating between 450 and 750 AD were selected and microsampled for isotopic analysis. Climate reconstruction based on the isotopic ratios of archaeological otoliths and shells is in good agreement with archaeological evidence and climate conditions documented in Europe.


Introduction: Valve therapy in emphysema patients is performed since 2003. The VENT in 2010 showed statistically significant but not clinically relevant benefit. In the last years, patient selection was optimized increasing efficacy of valve therapy. Objective: Exploratory data analysis of patients receiving valve therapy. Methods: Evaluation of valve therapy by analysis of lung function, exercise capacity and radiological outcome from 2009-2013. Results: From 01/2009-12/2013, 382 patients underwent valve therapy. Overall, patients had statistically significant but clinically less relevant benefit (ΔVC 110ml, ΔFEV1 72ml, ΔRV -334ml, Δ6-MWT 37m, all p≤0.001) 3 months after valve therapy. During long-term follow-up, 58% had neither complete lobar atelectasis as maximum result nor pneumothorax as complication. A lobar atelectasis without pneumothorax was confirmed in 21% with increasing prevalence over the years. These patients had an excellent outcome (ΔVC 374ml, ΔFEV1 163ml, ΔRV -799ml, Δ6-MWT 52m, all p Conclusion: Today, valve therapy seems to induce clinically relevant benefit in a remarkable portion of treated patients most likely due to optimized patient selection.


We report results from experiments performed to measure and characterize the intense K‐shell radiation from aluminum x‐pinch plasmas at peak driving currents ranging from 280 kA to 1.0 MA. Single pulse aluminum K‐shell (predominantly line radiation at 1.6–2 keV) x‐ray yields ranged from 7.6 J at 290 kA to 240 J at 1.0 MA. In the range from 280 to 470 kA, the yield scales with current to the power of 3.6, whereas nonoptimized K‐shell yields at 800 kA and 1.0 MA indicate a power of about 3 or higher.


Microfinance Institutions have the potential to alleviate poverty across the world. However, they face many challenges before they can grow to meet set objectives. The use of information technology holds promise to enable such growth. There are some key challenges that must be addressed by microfinance institutions before the full potential of IT can be realized. This paper articulates five key challenges that microfinance institutions face, particularly those operating in rural undeveloped areas in the developing world. This paper also discusses how some of these challenges are being overcome by these institutions. Finally, the authors lay out a framework for building and operating effective information systems.


Damage to the stomach due to blunt chest or abdominal trauma is rare. Gastric mucosal laceration from blunt chest trauma is reported. The patient, a 52-year-old man, injured his chest with a square piece of lumber, and was admitted for fracture of the 7th rib. Four hours after the trauma, he vomited blood. A gastric mucosal laceration was diagnosed by endoscopy and emergency surgery was carried out. As gastric injury occurs rarely in blunt abdominal trauma, gastric examinations are apt to be forgotten. We must be more careful in cases of sudden onset of gastric injury. In the Japanese literature, this patient is the third case of gastric mucosal laceration and is the first one with the onset of hematemesis.


In the field of communication system and internet, the information security is playing a crucial role. At the present time, communication through Internet is becoming popular and it should be accurate and secure. To make it reality, cryptography is very useful tool to protect the content of confidential data in many research areas. Another one, steganography is also commonly used to hide the existence of data into cover media known as text, image, audio and video. In this work, it is considered that the two most popular techniques (Cryptography and Steganography) should be combined to develop the strong and robust security system. At first, confidentiality and message authentication requirements are fulfilled with the help of Byte-Rotation Encryption Algorithm (BREA) and Secure Hash Algorithm-512(SHA-512). On the other hand, a new data hiding approach based on the optimization of Pixel Mapping Method (OPMM) also provides the system the higher embedding capacity with minimum degradation of stego image quality. To analyze the performance of the proposed OPMM, the comparison is also presented in terms of embedding capacity and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) values.


Calcium (Ca2+) plays a critical role in the regulation of growth and development and environmental stress responses in plants. The membrane-associated Ca2+ transport proteins are required to mediate Ca2+ signaling and maintain Ca2+ homeostasis. Ca2+ channels, pumps (ATPases), and antiporters are three major classes of Ca2+ transporters. Although the genome-wide analysis of Ca2+ transporters in model plants Arabidopsis and rice have been well documented, the identification, classification, phylogenesis, expression profiles, and physiological functions of Ca2+ transport proteins in soybean are largely unknown. In this study, a comprehensive in silico analysis of gene families associated with Ca2+ transport was conducted, and a total of 207 putative Ca2+ transporter genes have been identified in soybean. These genes belong to nine different families, such as Ca2+-ATPase, Ca2+/cation antiporter, cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (CNGC), and hyperosmolality induced cytosolic Ca2+ concentration channel (OSCA). Detailed analysis of these identified genes was performed, including their classification, phylogenesis, protein domains, chromosomal distribution, and gene duplication. Expression profiling of these genes was conducted in different tissues and developmental stages, as well as under stresses using publicly available RNA-seq data. Some genes were found to be predominantly expressed in specific tissues like flowers and nodules, and some genes were found to be expressed strongly during seed development. Seventy-four genes were found to be significantly and differentially expressed under abiotic and biotic stresses, such as salt, phosphorus deficiency, and fungal pathogen inoculation. In addition, hormonal signaling- and stress response-related cis-elements and potential microRNA target sites were analyzed. This study suggests the potential roles of soybean Ca2+ transporters in stress responses and growth regulation, and provides a basis for further functional characterization of putative Ca2+ transporters in soybean.


An eCDAL was established from Japanese lamprey CDA1-like 4 to achieve a high editing frequency in a broad region as a C-terminal cytosine base editors (CT-CBE). Then, a novel plant dual-base editors DuBE (pDuBE1) was developed by integrating TadA-8e into eCDAL. The editing efficiency of pDuBE1 could reach to 87.6%, with frequencies of concurrent A-to-G and C-to-T conversions as high as 49.7% in stably transformed plant cells. Our results showed that pDuBE1 could mediate robust dual editing in plant genome, providing a powerful manipulation tool for precise crop breeding and screening platforms for in planta direct evolution. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


For the current issue of the Journal, we asked Drs Niraj Mistry and Alan Hudak to comment on and put into context the Cochrane Review on combining and alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen for treating fever in children (1).

Background
Health care professionals frequently recommend fever treatment regimens for children that either combine acetaminophen and ibuprofen or alternate them. However, there is uncertainty about whether these regimens are better than the use of single agents, and about the adverse-effect profile of combination regimens.

Methods
Search strategy:
In September 2013, the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (2009–2011) were searched.

Selection criteria:
Randomized controlled trials comparing alternating or combined acetaminophen and ibuprofen regimens with monotherapy in children with fever were included.

Data analysis:
One review author and two assistants independently screened the searches and applied inclusion criteria. Two authors assessed risk of bias and graded the evidence independently. Separate analyses were conducted for different comparison groups (combined therapy versus monotherapy, alternating therapy versus monotherapy and combined therapy versus alternating therapy).

Results
Six studies, enrolling 915 participants, were included.

Compared with giving a single antipyretic alone, giving combined acetaminophen and ibuprofen to febrile children resulted in a lower mean temperature at 1 h after treatment (mean difference [MD] −0.27°C [95% CI −0.45 to −0.08]; two trials, 163 participants, moderate-quality evidence). If no additional antipyretics are given, combined treatment likely also results in a lower mean temperature at 4 h (MD −0.70°C [95% CI −1.05 to −0.35]; two trials, 196 participants, moderate-quality evidence), and in fewer children remaining or becoming febrile for at least 4 h after treatment (RR 0.08 [95% CI 0.02 to 0.42]; two trials, 196 participants, moderate-quality evidence). Only one trial assessed a measure of child discomfort (fever-associated symptoms at 24 h and 48 h), but did not find a significant difference in this measure between the treatment regimens (one trial, 156 participants, evidence quality not graded).

In practice, caregivers are often advised to initially give a single agent (acetaminophen or ibuprofen), and then give a further dose of the alternative if the child's fever fails to resolve or recurs. Giving alternating treatment in this way may result in a lower mean temperature 1 h after the second dose (MD −0.60°C [95% CI −0.94 to −0.26]; two trials, 78 participants, low-quality evidence) and may also result in fewer children remaining or becoming febrile for up to 3 h after it is given (RR 0.25 [95% CI 0.11 to 0.55]; two trials, 109 participants, low-quality evidence). One trial assessed child discomfort (mean pain scores at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h) and found that mean scores were lower with alternating therapy, despite fewer doses of antipyretic being given overall (one trial, 480 participants, low-quality evidence).

Only one small trial compared alternating therapy with combined therapy. No statistically significant differences were observed in mean temperature or the number of febrile children at 1 h, 4 h or 6 h (one trial, 40 participants, very low-quality evidence).

There were no serious adverse events in the trials that were directly attributed to the medications used.

Conclusions
There is some evidence that both alternating and combined antipyretic therapy may be more effective at reducing temperatures than monotherapy alone. However, the evidence for improvements in measures of child discomfort remains inconclusive. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether combined or alternating therapy may be more beneficial. Future research needs to measure child discomfort using standardized tools, and assess the safety of combined and alternating antipyretic therapy.

The full text of the Cochrane Review is available in The Cochrane Library (1).


Vanilla has a potential to be developed through tissue culture techniques to anticipate the limitations of the parent plant as a source of planting material. The in vitro propagation ability of vanilla shoots needs to be controlled with the regulation of Kinetin and Benzyl Amino Purines. The interests of this study are 1) analysis of the response of vanilla explants at several Kinetin concentrations; 2) analysis of the response of vanilla explants at several concentrations of BAP and 3) analysis of the interaction of Kinetin and BAP on the response of vanilla explants to form shoot multiplication. The research was conducted at the Tissue Culture Laboratory Politeknik Negeri Jember from June to December 2020 using a factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Factor 1 was the Kinetin concentration of 0.0, 1.0, 2.0 mg.L-1 and the second factor was the concentration of BAP 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 mg.L-1. The results proved that the fastest shoot multiplication occurred on MS medium + Kinetin 2 mg.L-1 with a mean of 8.7 days after inoculation. The mean number of shoots was 7.6 shoots/explant with the highest average wet weight of 0.9 grams/explant at the addition of BAP 1.5 mg. L-1 at measurement 70 days after inoculation.


P. WORINGER (Journ. Med. de Lyon, December 5th, 1928, p. 707) believes that the study and treatment of the exanthemata have been retarded by the fact that attention has been conicentrated hitherto tupon bacteriology to the exclusion of the consideration of other factors, such as seasonal variations, which have an important effect on human beings. Statistics of infectious diseases in temperate climates show that almost all conformn to a type, either hiberno-vernal with a maximum prevalence in March, or aestivo-autumnal having a maximum incidence in September. To the first group belong pneumococcal, meningococcal, and streptococcal infections, tuberculosis, and epidemic encephalitis; in the second group are enteric fever, dysentery, cholera, and poliomyelitis. The only exception is diphtheria, which has a definitely hibernal incidence. Woringer believes that these seasonal variations are not due to changes in bacterial type, but to alterations in the patient's systemic resistance under changing meteorological conditions. In hiberno-vernal infections deficiency of sunlight has prepared the soil for infection, while sunlight reinforces celliular resistance. Woriuger terms hiberno-vernal infections which are inhibited by sunlight " lieliophobic," and aestivo-autumnal diseases which are not thus inlhibited "theliophilic." The action of sunlight on heliophobicinfections appears to be due to immiunization throulgh the slkin. termed


The question of state-level trade performance has assumed significance in India with subnational economies increasingly becoming responsible to deliver growth. Although several state governments have been implementing various schemes to promote exports, the central government launched a new scheme in 2002 known as Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities, the working of which is critically based on information pertaining to a state's export performance. A major handicap faced while analysing trade performance of states is the availability of data. Attempts have been made to construct state-wise exports using data of Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), captured from shipping bills filed by exporters. However, state-wise import data are not provided by DGCI&S. The schedule of Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) administered by the Central Statistics Office for collecting industrial statistics at the factory level has Block I by which it attempts to capture material inputs directly imported. Using the available information from ASI, this paper provides aggregate estimates of manufactured exports and intermediate imports at the state level. While doing so, this paper works out trade orientation of states by examining import and export intensities. The paper also reports the ratio of net merchandise export earnings to state domestic product across states and over the years. Finally, we undertake an econometric analysis of the determinants of state-level imports of intermediate inputs.


Approved in April 2004, the Directive 2004/39/EC (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID) radically innovates the community legislative framework on the offer of investment services. Notwithstanding the complexity and variety of the issues addressed, the objectives of MiFID are clear: a) stimulate competition, repealing regulated market trading concentration obligations and facilitating the offer of cross-border investment services; b) strengthen market integrity, efficiency, and transparency by setting out detailed rules on trade execution; c) ensure investor protection and set uniform rules of conduct in the relations between investment firms and their clients; d) introduce minimum organizational requirements for investment firms. MiFID has been transposed into Italian legislation in 2007, adding a number of significant amendments to the Consolidated Law on Financial Intermediation (Testo Unico della Finanza, or TUF) and related Regulations.


This paper deals with developing an efficient Robust Design Optimization (RDO) framework. The goal is to obtain an aerodynamic shape that is less sensitive to small random geometry perturbations and to uncertain operational conditions. The initial shape is the RAE2822 airfoil which is parameterized with 10 design variables. The robust design formulation used is based on an expectation measure. The goal was to minimize the sum of the mean and standard deviation of the drag coefficient of the RAE 2822 airfoil for a given nominal lift coefficient. Here, we focus on improving the methods used for computing the statistics of the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil in every optimization cycle. A relatively small number of samples is evaluated with CFD and used to construct surrogate models based on Kriging and gradient-enhanced Kriging. The aerodynamic performance statistics, which are used to evaluate the robust objective function, are estimated by using quasi Monte Carlo (QMC) sampling with many samples evaluated on the surrogate models. A large number of geometrical uncertainties is parameterized by using a truncated Karhunen-Loeve expansion, which enables a significant reduction of the dimensionality of the problem and thus of the surrogate models. By varying the number of samples used to build the surrogate model and by comparing the two types of surrogate modeling methods, it is confirmed that the robust objective function can be evaluated accurately with at most 30 CFD computations and corresponding adjoint computations.


A program that yields the spectral signature of a digital radio, based on given parameters, such as the digital modulation scheme, bit rate, filtering parameters, transverse equalizer's structure, multiple path delay and type, clock-recovery circuit, and reference symbol error ratio, is presented. The sampled impulse response of the disturbed channel, which takes into account the effect of transverse equalizer, is used to compute the characteristic function associated with the error density probability function. Theoretical results are presented using various sets of the above parameters. These results show the efficiency of direct transverse equalizers, compared with the recursive ones, as well as the effect of tap length.<<ETX>>


Chalcones belong to the flavonoids family and are natural compounds which show promising larvicidal property against Aedes aegypti larvae. Aiming to obtain a synthetic chalcone derivative with high larvicidal activity, herein, a bromochalcone derivative, namely (E)-3-(4-butylphenyl)-1-(4-bromophenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one (BBP), was designed, synthesized and extensively characterized by 1H- and 13C- nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction. Further, the quantum mechanics calculations implemented at the B3LYP/6–311+G(d)* level of the theory indicate that the supramolecular arrangement was stabilized by C–H⋯O and edge-to-face C–H⋯π interactions. The EGAP calculated (3.97 eV) indicates a good reactivity value compared with other similar chalcone derivatives. Furthermore, the synthesized bromochalcone derivative shows promising larvicidal activity (mortality up to 80% at 57.6 mg·L−1) against Ae. aegypti larvae.


Creativity and innovation are rudiments for an improvement in both new processes and ideas in an organisation. These attributes emanate from good management, a culture that encourages creativity and innovation, and recruiting creative individuals to enhance competitiveness. SMEs that are determined to compete with larger organisations are expected to be more innovative and creative than these organisations are. Many SMEs do not perceive that the promising future of SMEs is illustrated by the aptness to implant creativity and innovation in their organisational culture which has the tendency to develop the human capital as well as the total performance of the organisation.  This paper is aimed at guiding SMEs on how to espouse creativity and innovation culture in their operations, and also prompt an agenda for researchers to attain a more definitive affirmation about the application of creativity and innovation as a culture to gain a sustainable competitive edge over larger organisations. This paper also points out innovation and creativity opportunities in common SMEs like fashion SMEs, e-commerce businesses and agricultural SMEs, etc. It makes use of secondary sources of data collection from libraries, journal publications, and internet sources. It recommends that Innovation and creativity should be co-created alongside stakeholders with the support of the government as well. This can provide valuable information that may eventually result into a value-creating idea and give the enterprise competitive advantage and in the long-run boost the economy. Barriers identified include financial base, managerial issues and technological issues. Thorough attention should be paid to these issues to foster creative and innovative practices in SMEs


We have used spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine the complex dielectric function of a series of ternary Zn1-xBexTe thin films in the far-infrared spectral range. A rotating analyzer based, variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometer was used to obtain spectra between 2,000nm and 40,000nm. The data obtained from ellipsometer was modeled in terms of oscillators, representing longitudinal (LO) and transverse (TO) optical phonons associated with the Zn1-xBexTe lattice. The phonon spectra obtained from ellipsometer are consistent with Raman results. In addition, we were able to juxtapose these far-infrared dielectric functions with our earlier UV-VIS results. This gives us the dielectric function between 200nm to 40,000nm, covering both electronic as well as phononic transition in Zn1-xBexTe alloys. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS All the Zn1-xBexTe thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). After preparing the semi-insulating epiready (001) InP substrates, an ~100nm thick, lattice matched InGaAs buffer layer was grown prior to the Zn1-xBexTe layer. During the growth of Zn1-xBexTe, the temperature was maintained around 270oC and the rate was approximately 0.5 m/h. The thicknesses of Zn1-xBexTe layers were around 0.5-1.5 m while the Be concentrations (x) ranged from x = 0 to x = 0.516. The alloy concentrations of Zn1-xBexTe thin flms were determined using single crystal x-ray diffraction, assuming a linear dependence between the lattice parameter and the alloy composition (i.e., Vegard's law).[7] Spectroscopic ellipsometry was performed using a J.A. Woollam IR-ellipsometer, covering a spectral range from 2000 nm to 40,000 nm, and with a spectral resolution of 2 cm-1. Exploiting the variable angle feature in the ellipsometer, for each Zn1-xBexTe sample, data were taken at three angles of incidence (i.e., 65, 70, and 75 degrees). Fig. 3: The real (e1) and imaginary (e2) components of the dielectric function of a representative sample of Zn0.806Be0.194Te. For completeness, we also show our previous results (i.e., the data below l = 1600nm).[5] INTRODUCTION The incorporation of beryllium into traditional II-VI semiconductors such as ZnSe and ZnTe has allowed one to address some of the problems associated with these materials that culminate in reducing life times in devices based on them. It is believed that beryllium incorporated II-VI films rectify some of these conventional problems because they form high degree covalent bonds, resulting in greater lattice hardening and lower degradation rates.[1] In addition, Zn1-xBexTe can be p-doped to a level of 10 19 cm-3 and also can be lattice matched to InP substrates.[2] Due to these properties, researchers have successfully fabricated laser diodes and photodetectors using beryllium incorporated II-VI alloys. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a powerful , non destructive technique for determining the complex dielectric function, e=e 1 +ie 2 , of thin films.[3] Using e from ellipsometry, one could easily obtain the index of refraction and the absorption of thin film, two parameters that are essential in designing optical devices using these materials. The information derived from structure of e provides insights on the underlying transitions associated with the crystal. Depending on the spectral range, e will convey information related to transition associated with electrons or phonons.[4] In our previous study we mapped out the electronic transitions in Zn1-xBexTe ternary films by examining e in the UV-VIS spectral range. [5] In this study, we extend the ellipsometric measurements into the far-infrared. By examining the structure of e determined in the IR region, we are able to uncover the phonon transitions related to these alloys. Since the phononic structure reveals the mechanical and the thermodynamics propertied of the underlying alloy system, there are several advantages in studying this behavior. Nirajan Mandal and Frank C. Peiris, Department of Physics, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022 O. Maksimov and M. C. Tamargo, Department of Chemistry, City College and Graduate Center of CUNY, NY 10031 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS For a particular sample, at each wavelength, ellipsometry measures two parameters, y and D, which are related to the ratio of reflection coefficients by: Where Rp is the complex reflection coefficient for light polarized parallel to the plane of incidence, and Rs is the coefficient for reflection for light polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence. Since y and D depend on the optical properties for the entire semiconductor, a four layer model (i.e., InP substrate, InGaAs buffer, Zn1-xBexTe layer, and surface-rough layer) was constructed for each sample to determine the optical properties of the Zn1-xBexTe layer. In order to obtain the comprehensive characteristics of the phonons from e, we model the farIR e in the following product-representation, allowing Lorentzian-type oscillators to signify the multiple phonon branches typical of semiconductor alloys; Where e ¥ corresponds to the high frequency dielectric function, and wLO, gLO, wTO , and gTO represent the LO, TO phonon-mode frequency and broadening parameters. The experimental and the modeled y and D for a representative sample of Zn1-xBexTe is shown in Fig. 1 and the corresponding dielectric function for the sample is shown in Fig. 3. The comparison of the dielectric function for different alloy concentration is shown in Fig. 2. The features of the dielectric function change progressively as a function of alloy concentration. As shown in Fig. 4, the LO and TO phonon-mode frequencies found using the above model are consistent with ref. [6]. REFERENCES [1] G. Landwehr, F. Fischer, T. Baron, T. Litz, A. Waag, K. SchÄull, H. Lugauer, T. Gerhard, M. Keim, and U. Lunz, Phys. Status Solidi B 202, 645 (1997). [2] S.B. Che, I. Nomura, W. Shinozaki, A. Kikuchi, K. Shimomura, and K. Kishino, J. Cryst. Growth 214, 321 (2000). [3] P. Lautenschlager, M. Garriga, L. Vina, and M. Cardona, Phys. Rev. B 36, 4821 (1987). [4] M. Schubert, T. E. Tiwald, and C.M. Herzinger, Phys. Rev. B 61, 8187 (2000). [5] M.R. Buckley, F. C. Peiris, O. Maksimov, M. Munoz, M.C. Tamargo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 5156 (2002). [6] O. Pagés and T. Tile, Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 3081 (2002). [7] O. Maksimov and M.C. Tamargo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 79, 782 (2001). CONCLUSION We have determined the complex dielectric function of a series of Zn1-xBexTe ternary films using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The dielectric functions obtained from ellipsometry were further analyzed to obtain the phonon characteristics of Zn1-xBexTe. We found that both LO and TO phonon frequencies blue shift as a function of Be concentration. Fig. 4: LO and TO phonon-mode frequencies for different concentration in Zn1-xBexTe. Fig. 2: Comparison of real (e1) and imaginary (e2) component of the dielectric function for different concentration in Zn1-xBexTe. Fig. 1: y and D spectra of Zn0.806Be0.194Te measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry at an angle of incidence of 75 degrees. Dielectric function of Zn0.806Be0.194Te


Volume Controls (VC) have been important to hearing instrument wearers for as long as hearing instruments have been available (Cox and Alexander, 1991). But often, " louder " does not necessarily always mean " clearer ". With the innovative FlexControl Phonak allows the user to personalize the automatic performance of SoundFlow. SoundFlow continuously analyzes the current listening environment and adjusts the hearing instrument parameters accordingly. FlexControl adjustments made by the wearer teach SoundFlow his personal preferences in each situation and with User Preference Learning, these preferred adjustments are automatically applied when a similar listening environment is encountered. Nine experienced hearing instrument wearers with a moderate to moderately-severe hearing loss participated in a validation study and 9 test subjects participated in an independent study to evaluate the benefits of FlexControl in different listening situations and while listening to music. Results show that FlexControl performs better in all sounds conditions compared to a conventional VC.


This paper considers the dynamics stability of a slender, flexible, cantilevered pipe transporting water flow from the free end to the clamped end. In the experimental, a cantilevered pipe of about 4 meters long was partially immersed in water. The vibration frequency and amplitude of the pipe were measured for various pipe internal flow velocity. For the analytical approach, the linear pipe vibration equation is briefly discussed and then solved by the harmonic differential quadrature (HDQ) method in order to determine its stability characteristics. The experimental results found that the internal flow velocity have a significant effect on the pipe vibration. The cantilevered pipe will become unstable due to flutter beyond a critical velocity. The increasing of flow velocity will increase the pipe motion amplitude. In addition, it has been observed that the pipe shows a complex motion consisting of two alternating phases: an approximately flutter motion and a vibration similar to noise with a small amplitude.


The waveform relaxation method has been shown by Chang to have substantial advantages in computation terms when applied to transmission line problems. It is shown in the present paper that the algorithm can break down if d.c. components are present in the signal, and an improved algorithm is presented. Computational results are presented and compared with the HSPICE solution. >


USWATUN KHASANAH. Phenolic Extraction Optimization Temu Ireng Rhizome (Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb.) As antibacterials in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Supervised by MARIA BINTANG and WARAS NURCHOLIS. Temu ireng (Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb). Is widely used as herbal medicinal plant because it is containing various bioactive compounds. This study aims to obtain optimum extraction conditions metebolit phenolic rhizome temu ireng that affect the content of total flavonoids and antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Extraction is done by considering the influence of several independent factors, namely pH, solvent concentration, time, temperature, and the ratio between liquids and solids. Research shows that the concentration of ethanol significant effect (p <0.05) in the levels of total flavonoids with the highest niali 33.36 mg QE/g extract. Staphylococcus aureus antibacterial activity was higher than the antibacterial activity on Escherichia coli. Optimization results show that the extraction conditions with 4,49 pH, concentration of 80% ethanol, 30 o C, incubation time of 30.09 minutes, and the ratio of liquid to solid of 100 mL/g extract is recommended as the optimum solution treatment combined with value desirability of 0512.


The existence of such Internal Media Media Semarang. In line with the scope of the Function Media Semarang in Semarang City Government is as a medium of communication, as well as convey information about the agency or organization to a whole range of Semarang City Government, and to provide information about the development of the city of Semarang in general, as well as the range of activities undertaken Semarang city government. As according to Ruslan Rosady function of internal media is media relations internal and external communication in achieving the company's message to the owners (shareholders), public agencies (stakeholders) about the activities of the company, the benefits of your products and services. With the above background, the study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the media in fulfilling the information needs of Semarang City Government employees Semarang.
The method taken in this research is descriptive method of analysis, the conclusion of a study that was eventually taken by the grouping and sorting problems by collecting data through tables. In this research, questionnaire is used to collect the data. Respondents who selected the Semarang City Government employees with purposive sampling techniques, namely the intentional sampling, meaning researchers determine their own samples to be taken due to certain considerations. The results of this study illustrate that the internal media in Semarang City Government is capable of being a means of spreading Mesem extensive information from the central city of Semarang to the ranks - ranks below it. Where the presence of Mesem able to provide benefits in meeting the information needs of Semarang City Government employees.


Levodopa is the drug of choice in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder with no direct fatal outcome. However, peripheral metabolism and poor brain delivery when given alone is a setback of levodopa in PD management. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) is an inorganic nanocomposite that harbors drug between its two layered sheets. It has sustained, continuous and slow release ability, proven to be biocompatible and less toxic in most cases than conventional drug systems. Here, an organic–inorganic nanocomposite material containing levodopa was synthesized to evaluate for a sustain release and decrease toxicity potential. The resulting nanocomposite was composed of the organic moiety, levodopa, sandwiched between Zn/Al-LDH inorganic interlayers. The basal spacing of resulting nanocomposite was 10.9 A. Estimated loading of levodopa in the nanocomposite was approximately 16% (w/w). A Fourier transform infrared study showed that the absorption bands of the nanocomposite were characteristic of both levodopa and Zn/Al-LDH, and that the intercalated organic moiety in the nanocomposite was more thermally stable than free levodopa. The resulting nanocomposite showed sustained-release properties, caused better viability of fibroblast (3T3) cells than pure levodopa after 72h of exposure. Further coating of Tween-80 of the levodopa-LDH nanocomposite was achieved through the oxygen of C=O group of Tween-80 with the layered of levodopa-LDH nanocomposite. The X-ray diffraction technique indicates that the Tween-levodopa-LDH nanocomposite was an aggregated structure. From the thermogravimetric analysis data, the loading of Tween-80 coating on the surface of levodopa-LDH nanocomposite was 5.4%. The release of levodopa from Tween-levodopa-LDH nanocomposite was slower compared to that from levodopa-LDH nanocomposite,presumably due to the retarding and shielding effect. A dopaminergic cell line (PC12) showed improved viability with Tween-80 coated levodopa-LDH nanocomposite treatment by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Levodopa-LDH nanocomposite demonstrated lesser dose and time-dependent toxicity on a dopaminergic cell (PC12) compared to pristine levodopa. The cytoskeletal structure of PC 12 was preserved at the IC50 concentration of the nanocomposite 178.67±2.6 μg/mL and pure levodopa 49.37±1.2 μg/mL. Metabolism of the nanocomposite was shown via levodopa metabolite (HVA) release from the treated neuronal cell (PC12). Acute oral toxicity study of nanocomposite on Sprague Dawley rats at a dose of 2000 mg/kg produced neither mortality nor toxicity after 14 days of treatment. Animal treated with nanocomposite gained weight (p<0.05). Biochemical analysis of renal and liver functions showed no significant difference between rats treated with nanocomposite and the controls. There was neither any gross lesion nor histopathological change observed in various organs. Repeated dose study with nanocomposite at 5 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg for 28 days showed no sign or symptom of toxicity. Body weight gain, feeding, water intake,general survival, and organosomatic index were not significantly different between control and treatment groups. The differences in AST/ALT of 500 mg/kg levodopananocomposite (0.32±0.12) and 500 mg/kg LDH-nanocomposite treated rats (0.34±0.12) were statistically significant (p<0.05) compared to the control (0.51±0.07). The histology of liver, spleen and brain were found to be of similar in morphology in both control and experimental groups. The kidneys of 500 mg/kg treated rats treated with 500 mg/kg body weight of levodopa-nanocomposite or LDH- nanocomposite were found to have slight inflammatory changes, notably leukocyte infiltration around the glomeruli. The ultra-structure of the neurons from the substantia nigra of nanocomposite-treated rats was similar to those receiving only normal saline. An anti-Parkinsonian drug (levodopa) was successfully intercalated into the interlayers of zinc aluminium nanodelivery system via co-precipitation method. The nanocomposite was shown to be safe in animal at single 2000 mg/kg dose taken orally, but some changes were noted in the kidney and liver after repeated dose treatment with 500 mg/kg body weight of the nanocomposites. Further assessment through chronic toxicity study is needed to determine the safety profile of long term treatment with the nanocomposite.


It is common to study the asymptotic properties of log-linear stochastic systems by analyzing the behaviour of their linear counterparts. In this paper a formal justification for analysis by log-linearization is given. As an application, a new existence, uniqueness and stability condition is derived for equilibria in a standard class of multisector growth models with stochastic production. The condition can be seen as a generalization of existing equilibrium conditions for this class of models.


This study aimed to explore teachers' perceptions and practices in professional development (PD) activities and the impact of PD on their professional growth. A descriptive mixed-method design was utilized, and the study sample of seven hundred (700) respondents from four primary schools was selected randomly. The results indicate that the program is charming and perfectly designed for the professional development of Zambian teachers; however, there are many flaws in the various steps of the program's implementation, which seem to fail PD activities in teacher training, as the transfer of exercise was found to be very ineffective. The results show that teachers perceived PD as being significant because it improves the teacher's pedagogical knowledge, teaching skills, and updating content knowledge. The results show that the predominant PD practices in schools were workshops, in-service training, and continuing learning. This study argues that PD enhances teachers' pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, and career growth.


Mr S. is a 46-year-old East-Indian male with typical manifestations of the cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome of insulin resistance (type II diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). His medications include ramipril, simvastatin, enteric-coated aspirin, metformin, and glyburide. He has no symptoms of cardiac ischemia or congestive heart failure and has preserved left ventricular function. Over the past few months his glycemic control has been inadequate, and a decision to initiate an insulin sensitizer (glitazone) is made. Treatment is initiated with rosiglitazone 4 mg twice daily, with marked improvement in glycemic control and other components of the cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome. Approximately 6 months after initiation of therapy, your junior resident receives a phone call from Mr S, who is extremely anxious and distraught about the possibility of developing heart failure on glitazone therapy. The resident and the patient request your expert opinion about the effects of glitazones on cardiac function and associated hemodynamics.

Insulin resistance has been increasingly recognized as a central metabolic disturbance predisposing a patient to hypertension, hyperlipidemia, premature atherosclerosis, left ventricular hypertrophy, and endothelial dysfunction.1 In addition to being a powerful risk marker for the development of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance is also closely related to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure.2 Thiazolidinediones (TZD; glitazones) are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists that specifically augment insulin sensitivity and counter insulin resistance in patients with the cardiovascular dysmetabolic syndrome. Currently, there are 2 commercially available glitazones, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. Troglitazone was withdrawn from the market because of hepatic side effects. The PPAR family is composed of 3 subtypes. TZDs bind with high affinity to the PPARγ isoform. The PPARγ isoform is found in the heart,3–6 endothelium, vascular smooth muscle (including atherosclerotic lesions and neointima formed after angioplasty), liver, skeletal muscle, monocytes/macrophages, and many other …


Aim.To study the state of oxidative phosphorylation in a model of chronic enteral insufficiency in the growing rats and to assess the effectiveness of ecdystene in their correction. Materials and methods. Laboratory white mongrel rats were used in the experiments. The animals were divided into 3 groups. 1 group - healthy animals (control). Group 2 - animals on a diet poor in protein (chronic malnutrition), group 3 - animals that received as a corrective drug ecdysthene. Mitochondria were isolated from the liver of 40-day-old rats by differential centrifugation. The parameters of oxidative phosphorylation, respiration rate of isolated mitochondria in the metabolic state V4 and V3, as well as the values of respiratory control and ADP / O were determined. Results. Treatment of rats with protein deficiency for 10 days with the drug ecdystene resulted in a significant increase in the body weight of the rats - an average of 45.5% - and by the 10th day of treatment this value was 71% of the values in the control group (P <0.01). In the group of animals that were on a diet poor in proteins, the oxidative phosphorylation parameters were significantly reduced. The rate of oxygen consumption by the mitochondrial suspension in the functional state of V3 and V4 in sick animals was almost half that in control animals. Respiratory control, in the group of sick animals was reduced by 20%. The ratio of ADP / O was also reduced and was 2.5 vs 2.8 in the control group. When using a corrective ecdystene preparation as a quality, the V3 state was 93.72, V4 was 15.62, and Vdnf was 109.34 ng at O / min / mg protein (P <0.001). The value of the respiratory control was also close to the control and was 6, and the ratio of ADP / O even slightly exceeded the control value and was 3.03 (P <0.05). Сonclusion. We detected a pronounced disconnection of the respiratory chain in the mitochondrial suspension when the animals were kept on a diet poor in proteins and also had a bright corrective effect in the ecdystene. The therapeutic effect of ecdysten revealed its pronounced ability to correct manifestations of chronic enteric insufficiency in growing rats.


'who are of East Asian origin, most of them permanent residents of this country'. The editor makes a valid point in suggesting that the attempt to intellectualise New Zealand's engagement in Asia 'will not only help us to understand the past and the present of this crucial relationship but also our search for its future'. It is encouraging that the Asia 2000 Foundation and the New Zealand Asia Institute as well as the Political Studies Department of Auckland University and a body called Trans-Tasman Associates are supporting the publication of this volume and one hopes that there will be further contributions to the series. But it is a trifle disappointing that in the first publication greater care has not been given to a more general discussion of the significance of the developments under review and to ensuring the coherence


This study is designed to determine whether micro-lesson design can become a typical learning activity of learning technology by design. In this study, the professional development course Educational Technology Application took by 80 pre-service mathematics teachers was studied, a systematic design of 12-week micro-lesson learning activity was made, Likert scale was developed to measure their views on the matching of micro-lesson design and TPACK, as well as their intention of improving the ability of integrating technology in instruction through micro-lesson design and their behavior. The results indicates that the majority of pre-service mathematics teachers believe that micro-lesson design incorporates technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and subject content knowledge, they have positive intention to develop the ability of integrating technology in instruction through micro-lesson design, and are making efforts to achieve the goal.


The aim of in-patient psychiatric units is to care for adolescents in psychiatric crisis, even if they do not wish to receive treatment. These units face a specific dynamic in groups for teens: strong loyalty


Scenario describing the future include many disruptive innovations, which implies that traditional models calibrated on historical data are not always applicable for quantification of these scenarios. This paper describes disruptive changes to be expected which will influence the reliability of forecasting approaches used for road transport assessments and which changes to these approaches can be recommended. Also adaptions to the forecasting framework are proposed and the key modelling issues to be improved are indicated. Some aspects will remain hard to predict and in these cases additional pro-active mitigation actions are recommended, such as flexibilization of the infrastructure and location policy for economic activities.


Very few studies have been made on the Black Woodpecker's Dryocopus martius feeding on deciduous trees in Scandinavia, especially at winter. This pilot study on the Black Woodpecker's feeding in grey alder Alnus incana showed that the grey alder is a significant feeding tree during the winter months. The woodpeckers seem to prefer feeding in the southerly sector of grey alder trunks with a diameter of 13.5–15.4 centimetres, in their first dying stages. This study indicates that litter of a significant size, that is found beneath trees penetrated by woodpeckers, are from carvings made by the Black Woodpecker. Litter surveying may hence be an alternative investigational method to radio tracking for nutritional studies on the Black Woodpecker. This paper also discusses the role of a potential prey found in grey alders, the alder wood-wasp Xiphydria camelus, as a complementary food source at winter in different parts of Sweden, compared to the more well-described carpenter ants Camponotus herculeanus found in Norway spruce Picea abies.


ANSWER: The model approach is based on the assumption that the time required to establish chemical equilibrium is very short compared to the time required to establish isotopic equilibrium. The latter is fulfilled for the oxygen isotopes, but not for the carbon and B-isotopes. As described in the ms, the chemical equilibrium in the carbon dioxide system is obtained after several seconds (approx. 15 s at seawater pH = 8.2 and 25◦C, (Zeebe et al., 1999), which is negligible compared with the 1.4 h (calculated using data in Langer et al., 2006) required for the formation of one coccolith. The time to establish δ18O equilibrium, on the other hand, is one order of magnitude higher than the time required for coccolith formation (see table 3.3.9 of (Zeebe and Wolf-Gladrow, 2001)). The time to establish carbon isotopic equilibrium is 17.5 s (Zeebe et al., 1999). Hence, there is only a small difference in the time to establish chemical and isotopic equilibrium for 12C and 13C. The same is true for the boric acid-borate system (95 μs vs. 125 μs, (Zeebe et al., 2001)). Consequently, the model approach presented in this manuscript


The continual drive for faster interconnects in integrated circuits requires the development of new interlayer dielectric materials with k values less than 2.2. Porous SiLK semiconductor dielectric resin was developed to achieve this low dielectric constant by introducing nanometer‐sized pores into the SiLK matrix. The development of metrology to characterize the pores in porous SiLK dielectric films is critical for successful adoption of the material in the industry, both to ensure the film attains the desired dielectric properties and to monitor pore characteristics that may impact the integration process. Due to the complex nature of the porous structure, multiple on‐wafer methods were investigated to quantify the porosity in porous SiLK dielectric films. The use of ellipsometry, small angle X‐ray scattering and atomic force microscopy to measure void fraction, pore size, size distribution, pore morphology and their uniformity across a porous SiLK film are described. Advances in these techniques and co...


2 Research Physiologist, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, 7601 East Imperial Highway, Downey, Calif. 90242. 3 Research Electronics Engineer. 4 Principal Investigator. Present address: School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Calif. 5 Medical Director. Since the appearance of the "Russian hand" about ten years ago (3), an increasing number of externally powered prostheses controlled by electrical signals from muscles have been developed. Most of these are built as entire systems, including electrodes, circuitry, motor, and battery. A basic requirement of such systems has been that the user must have two essentially normal muscles in order to operate the motor bidirectionally and so control prehension and release, or elbow flexion and extension. Because of our concern in fitting patients having greatly reduced muscular function, we have developed circuitry using as control signals the minute electrical activity generated in severely paralyzed muscles. In addition, because of the disabilities of our patients, we have not only circuitry for control from two muscles, but also circuitry which permits bidirectional control from a single muscle site, as does that of Dorcas and Scott (2). In the latter case, when the muscle is relaxed, the motor controlling the orthotic device holds its position. With a small effort, the motor is turned on and the device moves in one direction; a moderate effort operates the motor in the reverse direction. Until recently, all our fittings had been for patients with orthotic devices. The present report describes our first fitting using a prosthesis. Mrs. S. S. had a traumatic complete avulsion of her right forearm from the elbow. We first saw her nine months post injury, when she was using a prosthesis with two cables, for control of the elbow and the terminal device. The prosthesis was not entirely comfortable, and it required enough force in operation to be rather fatiguing. We decided to fit her with power at one joint; the elbow was selected because it was believed that the sensory feedback of cable control would be more valuable in operating the terminal device than the elbow. Because there was some remaining musculature in the upper arm, it was hoped that electrical signals from the biceps and triceps muscles could be used to control the powered elbow.


Procedures for the rapid determination of BHT, BHA, Dowtherm and Neo-SK-oil in fatty oil were presented by authors. Fatty oils containing antioxidants or heat transfer medium are directly injected into precolumn which is attached to gas chromatograph to protect the main column from contamination with the unvolatiles. Each analysis takes only 20min. at maximum. Gas chromatograph-mass spectroscopy system was found useful for the final identification of the antioxidant peaks. Investigation of the change of BHT and BHA contents in heated oils by the precolumn method showed the monotonical decrease of the contents under the effective stirring at 180210°C.


The amount of time devoted to housewolt( was measured for both fathers and mothers residing in a southwestern community within the United States during 1989 and 1994. A scientific random sample was used and respondents were interviewed by telephone. The findings were compared to measures and results from studies dating back to the 1920s. The contention that today's fathers are taking on more family duties than their predecessors and that wives' employment is a primary causal factor were assessed. Compared to earlier studies, the findings show that today' a couples devote less time to housework. Within this declining trend a contradictory pattern emerged for fathers. While their proportional contributions to housewolt( consistently increased, simultaneous the amount of tine fathers spent has varied very little. This pattern suggests a trend toward parity with mothers. Exception was south western fathers whose wives were employed. They spent less time doing housewolt( than fathers who were the sole earners in the family. The most important factor contributing to parents doing an equal amount of housework was the reductions in time spend by mothers.


This groundbreaking book is the first of its kind to present methods for analyzing multiway data by applying multiway component techniques. Multiway analysis is a specialized branch of the larger field of multivariate statistics that extends the standard methods for two-way data, such as component analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, correspondence analysis, and multidimensional scaling to multiway data. Applied Multiway Data Analysis presents a unique, thorough, and authoritative treatment of this relatively new and emerging approach to data analysis that is applicable across a range of fields, from the social and behavioral sciences to agriculture, environmental sciences, and chemistry.


The sixth annual air pollution medical research conference was sponsored by the California State Department of Public Health, and was held in San Francisco during January 1963. Participants were scientists involved in research on air pollution and officials who are concerned with air pollution control and public health. The main topics of the meetings were: trends in air pollution and its effects; the body burden of pollutants; and laboratory and epidemiological relationships of respiratory disease and pollutant exposures.


This chapter explains the implication of South Africa's transport fuel 2% blending. Using dry grain sorghum as feedstock with guaranteed food security has lower emission of 24.93kg/ha with emerging farmers who constituted 30% of the suppliers with a 3-year payback period. Using irrigated sorghum with food security as a priority has a relatively lower emission level of 11.47kg/ha from emerging farmers with a 9-year payback period. Using sugar beet has lower emission level of 0.12kg/ ha with emerging farmers and a 3-year payback period. Soil organic content has significant influence on emissions from land use practices. Commercial sugar beet ethanol production caused high emission (4.84kg/ha) but has a short payback period of only 2 years which enhanced household food consumption by 12.5% and 31.50% Biofuel Production and Its Implications in a Transitive Low Carbon Development Country: The Case of South Africa