The experiment evaluated the stocking density of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerling in netcages for 43 days. Fifteen 180L netcages were used as experiment units, in a pond with 80% water renovation. The tested stocking densities were 700 fingerlings/m3; 1,000 fingerlings/m3 and 1,300 fingerlings/m3. The mean initial weight of the fingerlings was 4.77 ± 0.29 g. The following parameters were analyzed: mortality rate; final weight; final length; final biomass; feed conversion rate; weight gain; daily weight gain; protein efficiency rate; specific growth rate and condition factor. Variance analyzes and Tukey test at 5% were applied to compare the different treatments. Treatment with greater stocking density differed significantly from treatment with lower density regarding final weight, final biomass, weight gain, daily weight gain and specific growth rate. The other parameters did not present significant differences among the treatments (p>0.05). Under these experimental conditions, the best stocking densities for cages were 1,000 to 1,300 fingerlings/m3. KEYWORDS: Cages, growth performance, intensive system, Oreochromis niloticus.


The clamped intensity of a plasma-filament induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in one-atmospheric-pressure helium was measured. The measured electron density of ~7times1017cm-3 corresponds to a clamped intensity of about 7.8times1014W/cm2.


Multiple infectious low-molecular weight ribonucleic acids from Scopolia sinensis plants, infected with potato spindle tuber metavirus were isolated by Bio-Gel P-200 gel filtration columns and the slowest-moving form (infectious peak III) was eluted with bulk of 4 S-RNA.


Germination behaviour of Briza maxima L. seeds was studied in relation to different environmental parameters. The influence of harvesting time and after-ripening time of the seeds were also considered. Caryopses were collected at maturity at the beginning and end of June (harvest1 and harvest2) from wild populations located at the Orbetello Lagoon (Italy) and were germinated in deionized water or NaCl solutions at 10, 20 and 30°C, in the dark or under 12/12 h photoperiod. The results obtained showed that: (i) immediately after collection, germination rate was higher for harvest2 seeds, (ii) seed germination was not significatively affected by the light; (iii) optimum temperature was at 20°C, at which germination started earlier; (iv) germination percentages at 10 days of culture progressively increased during 6 months of after-ripening; (v) the presence of NaCl in the culture medium reduced the germination rates (above all of harvest1 seeds) and seedling growth, but did not induce damage (e. g. necrosis of the root tip).


The development of intermediate voltage transmission electron microscopes equipped with fieldemission sources, have made analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) a widely used tool in the characterization of fine microstructures. In the general area of metallography, however, TEM is often considered as a tool of last resort to characterize complex materials because of the difficulty associated with sample preparation and limited sampling of the microstructures. With access to new sample preparation tools such as the focused ion beam (FIB), metallographic analysis of samples by TEM is likely to become a routine tool to elucidate not only complex materials but also microstructural and chemical nature of materials subjected to environmental degradation. Specific regions in welded microstructures or areas showing preferential corrosion can be selected and analyzed at high spatial resolution. In this short abstract some examples illustrate the possibilities of identifying features in such complex microstructures that would not have been possible without making use of the high spatial resolution analysis available in analytical TEM. Previous work has shown the potential of TEM and FIB to identify the response of various phases to electrochemical noise tests in saline water.


Background: There is no clear consensus about whether laparoscopy or laparotomy is more beneficial in managing perforations of duodenal ulcers. Objective: The study was performed to compare between laparotomy and laparoscopic approaches in managing perforations of duodenal ulcers regarding operative time and early operative outcomes. Patient and methods: This randomized comparative prospective study included 84 cases diagnosed with perforated duodenal ulcer, they were divided into two equal groups: laparotomy and laparoscopic groups (42 cases for each). All cases were clinically and radiologically assessed. Operative time was our primary outcome, while secondary outcomes included post-operative pain, analgesic consumption, hospitalization time, and complications of both techniques. Results: No significance in differences were reported between the two groups regarding patient demography. Both smoking history and analgesic use were reported by most cases in both groups. The operative time (p = 0.082) was not significantly different between the two groups. The laparoscopic group showed less pain scores, less morphine needs, earlier oral fluid intake, and short hospitalization time in comparison to the laparotomy group. Also, the wound infection incidence was significantly higher in the laparotomy group. Conclusion: The laparoscopic approach appears to be more safe and efficacious in the surgical treatment of perforations of duodenal ulcers, as it is associated with less peri-operative complications and shorter hospitalization time with a comparable operation time in comparison to laparotomy.


Biogas production from a mix of easily fermentable and fibrous energy crops was evaluated and compared for two different process types. The processes were a batch two-stage leach bed combined with an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process and a semi-continuous one-stage continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) process The specific methane yields after a processing time of 29-30 days were 248 and 370 ml methane g -1 added volatile solids (VSadded) in the leach bed- UASB and the CSTR processes respectively. The average VS- removal rate of the leach bed-UASB system was initially faster, but when that process became limited by solids hydrolysis, the VS-removal rate dropped to less than half the initial rate, and the overall degradation was slower than for the CSTR. In conclusion, the biogas production was influenced significantly by the reactor configuration, but the effect of crop particle size and the influence of inoculum and microbial adaptation remain to be investigated.


The article describes the possibility of using the biographical method at students' preparation to the decision of people's social problems who turned out to be in a difficult vital situation. A research novelty consists of using the philosophical-anthropological approach as a methodological basis, that is oriented to understanding of client as a Person, whose vital problems are related to such unsteady forms of life as a risk, fear, trust, meeting, failure, crisis, life, history of life, fate, event, case. A research aim is a study of students' readiness to the practical using of the biographical method in the activities of a social worker. Basic methods for realization of this aim are working with basic concepts relevant to the using of the biographical method: pedagogical workshop, portrait of "Me", collage, reflection essay. The main results of the study were new topics of students' research works, made by using the biographical method. In practical part of researches students use the quality analysis of the personal (correspondence, photos, autobiographies) and official (descriptions, archived data) documents, survey methods (telling clients about their life, relatives' evidence about the stages of the client's life).


Motion Sickness surveys were administered to 77 male graduate students and 95 male and female members of an Air Force Reserve medical unit. Results of Survey 1 indicated significant and sizeable correlations between sons and their natural fathers for severity of motion sickness symptoms of fatigue, headache, and nausea. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that the father's nausea accounted for 59.4% of the total variance of their son's nausea during travel. Results of Survey 2 indicated sizeable and significant correlations between respondents and both natural parents for percentage of reported symptoms of fatigue and headache. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that both parents' reported percentage of fatigue (26.6%) and headache (33.6%) reliably predicted the respondents' percentage of fatigue and headache symptoms but not the nausea symptoms. In addition, there were no significant correlations between self-reported symptoms of fatigue, headache, and nausea. Findings suggest (1) hereditary factors may be a significant contributor to motion sickness, both in severity and frequency of symptoms, and (2) fatigue, headache, and nausea are largely independent of each other. Indications are that motion sickness be considered a syndrome rather than a unitary disorder.


Objectives: To determine whether there is a relationship between circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations and left ventricular mass (LVM) independent of co-morbidities. Methods: In 361 randomly selected participants from a community with a high prevalence of CRP concentrations considered to be high-risk (54.0%), but without cardiovascular or renal disease, the relationship between CRP and echocardiographically-determined LVM indexed to height2.7 (LVMI) and inappropriate LVM (LVMinappr) was evaluated. LVMinappr was determined from the % of actual/predicted LVM Results: Serum CRP concentrations were correlated with both LVMI and LVMinappr (p < 0.0001). With adjustments for a number of potential confounders including age, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference (or body mass index), and glucose control (glycated haemoglobin), the relationships between serum CRP concentrations and both LVMI and LVMinappr (partial r = 0.11, p < 0.05 for both) persisted. The independent relationship between CRP and LVMI or LVMinappr translated into a markedly higher multivariate-adjusted LVMI and LVMinappr values in the highest as compared to the lowest quartile of CRP (LVMI; highest quartile CRP = 48.8 ± 10.7, lowest quartile CRP = 45.0 ± 11.0, p < 0.05; LVMinappr; highest quartile CRP = 137 ± 28, lowest quartile CRP = 127 ± 24, p < 0.02). Conclusion: Previous studies found relationships between CRP and LVM or LVH, but those studies were conducted in select clinical populations or populations with a low prevalence of risk-related CRP concentrations and the relationships were not demonstrated to be independent of co-morbidities. However, in randomly selected participants from a population with a high prevalence of CRP, the CRP concentrations were associated with LVMI or LVMinappr independent of co-morbidities.


In a ZVS single full bridge inverter with dynamic load with THI PWM is employed. The THIPWM (Third Harmonic injection Pulse Width Modulation) generates more voltage as compared to traditional SPWM. The ZVS THIPWM is evolved from the double-frequency THIPWM by adding gate drive to the auxiliary switch. The ZVS condition is analyzed and the circulation loss of the resonant branch is optimized by adjusting the energy storage in the resonant inductor. The reverse recovery of the body-diode of MOSFET is relieved and ZVS is realized for both main and auxiliary switches. The filter inductors are significantly reduced with higher switching frequency. The design guideline of resonant parameters and the implementation of ZVS THIPWM with dynamic load in MATLAB software are given with graphical representation and reports.


Controller for adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) system, by independent ANC system gain from the secondary path extending from the transducer of the ANC system to the sensor of the ANC system to measure the ambient noise, a stable control response to simplify the design. Controller includes are coupled together, a fixed filter having a predetermined fixed response, and a variable filter. Variable response filter, as ANC gain is independent of the variations in the transfer function of the secondary path includes a path from the transducer at least ANC system to the sensor of the ANC system to compensate for variations in the transfer function of the secondary path .


The half generation of polyamidoamine dendrime was synthesized via Michael-additive action of alkylene diamine and methyl acrylate.By the method of one-factor experimental design,some correlative factors influenced the half generation of polyamidoamine dendrime were investigated,the appropriate action conditions were optimized as follows: reaction time 24 h;molar freed ratio n(Polyamidoamine Dendrime)∶n(methyl acrylate) =1∶6;reaction temperature 30 ℃.The polymer was characterized by IR,1H and 13C NMR.


A 30-year-old Caucasian woman with learning difficulties presented to an Accident and Emergency Department with drowsiness and a flu-like illness; she suffered a reversible cardiac arrest. Her serum potassium was 7Æ6 mmol ⁄ l, urea 77 mmol ⁄ l and creatinine 3120 lmol ⁄ l. Her full blood count showed haemoglobin concentration 6Æ5 g ⁄ dl, white cell count 9Æ2 · 10 ⁄ l, platelet count 208 · 10 ⁄ l. A computerized tomography scan of the abdomen revealed atrophic, heavily calcified kidneys. She was maintained on regular haemodialysis and the subsequent detection of leucoerythroblastic anaemia led to a bone marrow trephine biopsy. This showed heavy deposition of oxalate crystals arranged in a radial pattern around a central amorphous core, along with a variable number of multinucleated cells, including foreign body giant cells and moderate fibrosis (see images). The bone marrow aspirate did not show any calcium oxalate crystals. Oxalosis is a rare genetically determined metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme alanine glyoxalate amino transferase, located in the peroxisomes of the hepatocytes. Although patients maintained on haemodialysis have previously been noted to have oxalate deposition in the bone marrow, it is rare for the diagnosis of oxalosis to be made by bone marrow biopsy. Patients, unless given a combined liver and kidney transplantation, die of multiorgan failure.


This is to study the war between Joseon and Yan at the reign of King Zhao in the third century B.C. The Joseon in the war was Kija Joseon. Since Kija Joseon was a feudal state of Old Joseon, it is possible to say that the war against Yan was fought by Old Joseon as well. According to sources, the ruler of Yan dispatched Qin Kai to invade the 2000 li of the western territory of Old Joseon. In addition to Kija Joseon, Jinbeon is also said to have suffered the invasion at that time. Since Jinbeon was also a feudal state of Old Joseon, the central government of Old Joseon could not help but sending their troops to protect Jinbeon. It has been generally understood so far that Old Joseon lost their western territory of 2000 li and transformed into small state at that time. The border between Joseon and Yan after the war was Manbanhan which is believed to have been about 2000 li east from the original border. But these are wrong. Manbanhan was indeed located rather west from the original border. This leads me to suspect that, due to the counterattack by Old Joseon, Yan relinquished the territory they took to Old Joseon and eventually lost parts of their own territory. The war between Joseon and Yan was the first great war between the civilization in Northeast Asia (the powers in the Korean peninsula, Liaoxi, and Liaodong) and that of the Yellow River. If Yan really invaded the western territory of 2000 li, they occupied the entire Liaoxi or reached even Liaodong. The damages suffered in the regions from the war must have been very serious. The indigenous people in present-day Liaoxi (contemporary Liaodong) escaped from the war to Liaodong and neighboring regions including the Korean peninsula, continuing a series migration toward east. This led to a cultural mixture between the refugees and the local populations, giving birth to a new culture.


Nickel titanium oxide (NiTiO3) nanoparticles were synthesized at low temperature in non aqueous medium by modified Pechini method using ethylene glycol and citric acid as polymeric precursors. The structural and morphological characteristics of the products were studied by X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX). XRD patterns of powder revealed crystalline rhombohedral NiTiO3 obtained at 700 o C and this crystalinity increased with temperature. SEM images estimated that the grain sizes of NiTiO3 to be in the range 10–250 nm. DRS spectra reveal two peaks, one at around 440-450 nm and another one at around 740-750 nm. The band gap energy was calculated using Tauc plot and it was found to be 1.67 eV. In this study, photocatalytic properties of NiTiO3 on sulfamethoxazole drug degradation was investigated which has not been reported elsewhere and results shows that it is a prominent material for photodegradation of drug in the range of visible light.


We present the first absolute calibration for the yellow post-asymptotic-giant-branch (PAGB) stars in the g and r band based on time-series observations from the Zwicky Transient Facility. These absolute magnitudes were calibrated using four yellow PAGB stars (one nonvarying star and three Type II Cepheids) located in the globular clusters. We provide two calibrations of the gr-band absolute magnitudes for the yellow PAGB stars, by using an arithmetic mean and a linear regression. We demonstrate that the linear regression provides a better fit to the g-band absolute magnitudes for the yellow PAGB stars. These calibrated gr-band absolute magnitudes have a potential to be used as Population II distance indicators in the era of time-domain synoptic sky surveys.


Acoustic resonance spectroscopy was used to assess ripeness of bananas at various stages of maturity. Two distinctly different varieties of bananas were selected for the study. Bananas were also bruised, and an acoustic response spectrum was taken before and after bruising. A dynamic impact force was applied to the base over which the fruit was kept horizontally with the help of a coupling agent. The output response was picked up by a hydrophone coupled, in turn to the base to the top (vertically opposite) of the fruit coupled. The signal was analyzed using Fast Fourier Transform. Response resonance frequencies decreased while damping ratio increased as the fruit ripened. Bruising of fruits resulted in decreased resonance frequency due to tissue damage. The values of resonance frequency and damping ratio could be correlated to the color changes due to ripeness of fruits as a result of either increased rates of respiration or external damage of tissue from mechanical or temperature abuse.


The role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been identified as an important factor by the United Nations in achieving the millennium development goals (UNAPCICT, 2012)1. The potential for ICT has been identified as a means to reducing poverty, creating global communities by providing access to the internet and mobile networks to rural communities, improving education services, medical services, and information availability. As of today, significant amounts of funds have been invested by the governments and donor organizations in 'Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D)'projects by establishing telecenters, e-villages, e-health, electronic and mobile banking, and egovernment systems for citizens in general, and more specifically, rural communities to bridge the digital divide (Heeks & Molla, 2009).


Enhanced oil recovery from organic shale reservoirs has increasingly gained interest from oil and gas industry in recent years. The recovery factor of organic shale oil production depends on formation wettability and pore fluid trapping mechanisms. A combination of hydraulic fracturing and surfactant flooding can be used to reduce oil trapping and increase oil recovery by reducing the interfacial tension and decreasing oil wettability. A novel experimental workflow has been developed based on fluid flow monitoring and NMR characterization to study the effect of surfactant flooding on organic-rich shales in the lab. Two blends of surfactants (cationic and nonionic) were carefully selected from prior contact angle (CA) and interfacial tension (IFT) measurements for the surfactant flooding tests. Micro-CT screening was used to select fracture-free samples for these tests. Prior to flooding we acquired nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) T1-T2 measurements on as-received core samples to establish base-line water and oil saturations. Next, the core samples were pressure-saturated with crude oil at reservoir pressure and temperature, and we continued the aging process for a given time. Following aging, core samples were flooded using continuous crude oil injection from one end of the core sample whilst monitoring fluid flow rate, temperature, and pressure. Robust initial effective oil permeability was computed when the flow system reached steady state. Next, fracturing fluids -with and without surfactants- were injected from the opposite end of the core plugs to simulate the forced imbibition of fracturing fluid along with hydraulic fracturing in real field operations. Finally, the injection of crude oil was resumed from the original end of the core sample to establish the flowback effective oil permeability after hydraulic fracturing and surfactant flooding. We acquired NMR data after each fluid injection step to monitor fluid saturation and wettability changes in the core samples. Additionally, porosity and saturation measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), rock-eval pyrolysis and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) tests are performed to characterize fluid distribution, mineralogy and pore throat sizes of the rock samples.
 The results of fracturing fluid injection in all core samples clearly indicate that the water from the fracturing fluid does partially displace the crude oil in the core, effectively making this oil recoverable. Samples injected with the blend of cationic surfactants show less than 3% incremental recovery over samples with no surfactant injection. The flowback effective oil permeabilities of all core samples are much lower than the initial effective oil permeabilities prior to fracturing fluid injection. This observation is corroborated by the differences in MICP results before and after fracturing fluid injection, showing smaller pore throat sizes after fracturing fluid injection. Our novel workflow has successfully characterized the impact of surfactant flooding on organic-rich shale samples in lab-scale tests. and can be used for screening of surfactant enhanced oil recovery before running more expensive field trials.


Analogue neural networks of associative memory with continuous time dynamics are studied for nonmonotonic transfer functions using the method of self-consistent signal-to-noise analysis. The Hebb learning rule with unbiased random patterns is assumed for the synaptic couplings. A novel phenomenon is found to occur as a result of a phase transition concerning the property of the local field distribution. In retrieval states of the newly found phase which the authors refer to as the super retrieval phase, noise in the local field vanishes and the memory retrieval without errors ensures even for an extensive number of memory patterns stored under the local learning rule. The storage capacity is obtained as a function of the parameter representing the degree of nonmonotonicity of the transfer functions, with the result that an enhancement of the storage capacity can also occur.


This paper reports on the usefulness of data transformation in a proper application of the 'Taguchi method' for off-line quality control. With the joint aim of establishing a meaningful measure of performance variability and reducing the risk of incorrectly assuming no interactions in the performance model, a simple method of choosing appropriate data transformations is presented. This provides the basis for a suggested general procedure for carrying out Taguchi analyses. The technique is assessed by considering how it performs on data taken from previously published applications of the Taguchi method.


OBJECTIVE:
To report long-term efficacy and safety data from patients treated with teriflunomide for ≤12 years.
 BACKGROUND:
Teriflunomide is a once-daily oral immunomodulator for the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. In phase 2 and 3 studies, teriflunomide demonstrated consistent efficacy with positive effects on relapse rates, risk of disability progression, and magnetic resonance imaging outcomes, with a manageable safety and tolerability profile.
 DESIGN/METHODS:
In the core phase 2 study (NCT01487096), patients with relapsing MS (18-65 years; Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score ≤6; 蠅2 clinical relapses during the previous 3 years and 1 relapse in preceding year) were randomized (1:1:1) to teriflunomide 14mg or 7mg, or placebo. After completing the 36-week core study, patients could enter the long-term open-label extension (NCT00228163). In the extension, patients continued teriflunomide therapy and those previously treated with placebo were reallocated (1:1) to teriflunomide 14mg or 7mg. EDSS score was assessed every 24 weeks, and clinical relapses and safety reported throughout the study.
 RESULTS:
Of 179 patients originally randomized, 147 entered the extension. Including treatment in core and extension studies, patients received teriflunomide for ≤576 weeks, with a cumulative duration of teriflunomide exposure of >990 patient-years (both treatment groups). During the study, annualized relapse rates remained low (both groups), and percentage of patients free from relapse during the extension was greater in the 14-mg (51.5[percnt]) versus the 7-mg group (39.5[percnt]). Patients had minimal increases in EDSS score following up to 528 weeks of treatment. No new/unexpected adverse events were identified following long-term teriflunomide treatment, and the safety and tolerability profile was consistent with other clinical studies.
 CONCLUSIONS:
Relapse rates and change in EDSS score remained low in both groups following up to 12 years of teriflunomide treatment. No unexpected safety findings were associated with long-term teriflunomide treatment.
 Study Supported by:
Genzyme, a Sanofi company. Disclosure: Dr. Kremenchutzky has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec, Sanofi, Genzyme, Novartis, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp., Teva Neuroscience, and EMD Serono as a consultant. Dr. Kremenchutzky has received research support from Biogen Id Dr. Freedman has received personal compensation for activities with Bayer Healthcare, Biogen Idec, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, EMD Serono, Genzyme, Novartis, Sanofi, and Teva. Teva Neuroscience, Dr. Dukovic has received personal compensation for activities with Sanofi. Dr. Benamor has received personal compensation for activities with Sanofi as an employee. Dr. Truffinet has received personal compensation for activities with Genzyme Corporation as an employee. D. O9Connor has received personal compensation for activities with Teva Neuroscience, Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Novartis, Genentech, EMD Serono, Biogen Idec, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Actelion, and Genzyme.


SLICES of brain cortex upon incubation in a suitable medium accumulate amino acids against a concentration gradient. Such accumulation was found for all the amino acids investigated : L-glutamic acid (STERN, EGGLESTON, HEMS and KREBS, 1949). D-glutamic acid (TAKAGAKI, HIRANO and NAGATA, 1959), y-aminobutyric acid (ELLIOTT and VAN GELDER, 1958), glycine (LINDAN, QUASTEL and SVED, 1957, ABADOM and SCHOLEFIELD, 19624, the L-isomers of histidine, proline, arginine, lysine, ornithine, and methionine (NEAME 1961), and 5-hydroxytryptophan (SCHANBERG and GIARMAN, 1960). Not only the naturally-occurring amino acids but also amino acid analogues such as aminocyclopentane carboxylic acid (cycloleucine) and aminoisobutyric acid are concentrated against a gradient (LAJTHA, 1964); among foreign compounds, a number of heterocyclic drugs are concentrated (MCILWAIN and GRINYER, 1950). It seems likely from this evidence that brain slices can actively transport all the naturally-occurring amino acids and a number of related compounds. It is of interest that the degree of accumulation is greater in slices from brain than in those from most other tissues (NEAME, 1962a, b). As an attempt to investigate the mechanism and the properties of the transport processes in brain slices and the role these processes play in the living brain, the present paper reports some of the ionic requirements and the stereospecificity of amino acid uptake in slices of whole cerebrum from newborn and adult mice. Some of the ionic requirements of in uitro brain uptake have been studied with glutamic acid (STERN et af., 1949; TAKAGAKI et af., 1959) and with glycine (ABADOM and SCHOLEFIELD, 1962a, b). Subsequent papers of this series will report the effect of inhibitors and energy content on in uitro uptake and efflux.


We investigate the lateral-longitudinal mode dynamics of blue broad-area laser diodes in short pulses. With a streak camera and a lateral scanning mechanism, the spectral-spatial-temporal resolved dynamics can be observed. A high-resolution spectrometer allows measuring multiple longitudinal mode combs and the corresponding lateral modes.


We present an integrative model for simulating the migration of deformable virtual cells over an anisotropic substrate exhibiting an adhesion gradient. We implemented an original multi-agent based model, which enables to analyse the influence of cell-substrate mechanical interactions on cell motility. The deformations and displacements of the cells are determined both by the adhesion forces that come into play during migration and by the recruitment of transmembrane receptors. In agreement with experimental data, we specifically showed that cell migration speed varies nonlinearly with substrate bonds concentration. We furthermore analysed the influence of different regulation mechanisms of receptors clustering onto increased cell motility.


Climate change are causing a crisis in that multiple affect natural resources and the environment. But also produce an economic impact can not yet be quantified. Indeed, the company, for the first time confronted with a problem which may not be prepared. Moreover, the results of climate change on nature have consequences in social relations, population levels in the food supply, new diseases and expansion of some old shifts in environmental finally on topics that would hardly be the object of regulation. Is no longer allowed to classify all extreme weather events as mere "natural hazards", when you already know that your fruit is rather worsening human intervention in nature, implying an existential risk of catastrophic proportions, if not change the current situation of environmental degradation. And the law is the instrument for the regulation of social relationships able to adjust the behavior not only of private actors, but also the state standards ecologically sustainable and appropriate mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Therefore, the aim of this research was to contextualize climate change and identify what are their victims.


Borated water leakage through spent fuel pools (SFPs) at pressurized water reactors is a concern because it could cause corrosion of reinforcement steel in the concrete structure, compromise the integrity of the structure, or cause unmonitored releases of contaminated water to the environment. Experimental data indicate that pH is a critical parameter that determines the corrosion susceptibility of rebar in borated water and the degree of concrete degradation by boric acid leaching. In this study, reactive transport modeling of concrete leaching by borated water was performed to provide information on the solution pH in the concrete crack or matrix and the degree of concrete degradation at different locations of an SFP concrete structure exposed to borated water. Simulations up to 100 years were performed using different boric acid concentrations, crack apertures, and solution flow rates. Concrete cylinders were immersed in boric acid solutions for several months and the mineralogical changes and boric acid penetration in the concrete cylinder were evaluated as a function of time. The depths of concrete leaching by boric acid solution derived from the reactive transport simulations were compared with the measured boric acid penetration depth.


Performance monitoring systems are typically designed to assess the achievement of a single program or agency. In recent years, there have been efforts to integrate programs addressing a particular policy area (e.g., workforce development). The evolving systems incorporate multiple programs, agencies, funding streams, service providers, information systems, and goals. The design of integrated performance monitoring systems requires applying measures, standards, and comparisons to multiple levels of assessment. The author differentiates between traditional and integrated performance monitoring systems, identifies the levels that must be addressed by integrated systems and the obstacles that must be overcome in developing them, and discusses the benefits of integrated performance monitoring systems.


Tomato cultivation has been playing a vital role in improving the socio-economic conditions of its growers in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. Commercialization of tomatoes are found have made remarkable positive impact on various socio-economic variables like construction of buildings, education, bank deposits (saving), maintenance of tomato field and others. Moreover, tomato cultivation has made significant contribution in generating employment opportunities for the people of the study area in particular and for outsiders (i.e., daily wage earners, permanent workers of land owners etc.). The present study revealed that the number of working days in case of both male and female has been increasing year after years. However, males have been dominating over female counterpart both in terms of working days and numbers of workers in tomato cultivation. Commercial tomato cultivation may brings lot of smiles to its cultivators as the present study revealed that they have made highest investment on education to the extent of 31 percent of total earning made from it. With this background, the present study make an attempt to analyse investment made on various socio-economic variables from earning made from tomatoes in West Kameng district. Also, it endeavours to study the trend of average family members working in tomato field in the study area. In addition, the same has also examined status of working days spent by both male and female workers in tomato fields.


Classification is a data mining technique for a process of finding a model that explains or distinguishes a concept or class of data. The goal is to be able to estimate the class of an object whose class is unknown. Seeing the importance of education quality that must increase continuously, the study was conducted to evaluate the educational process in the department based on academic historical academic data which is used as input for which new and unknown classes of objects will be obtained. The level of competitiveness in entering a department in higher education is one of the things that becomes an assessment of department accreditation. Thus it is necessary to analyze how many students accepted into a department do not move to other department the following year. The analysis used C4.5 methods and in the process used Rapid miner software to make decision trees. The results obtained an accuracy rate of around 61.2% with confussion matrix.


Tuberculosis is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is still the most fatal infectious disease worldwide. It remains a therapeutic and diagnostic challenge because it mimics other pathological processes and yields inconsistent physical and laboratory findings. We present a case of tuberculous lymphadenitis presenting in the cervical lymph nodes of a young male.


A process for preparing an array of DRAM memory cells (2) having fin field-effect transistors as the selection transistors (4), in which - in a semiconductor substrate (1) in rows of cells (63) arranged and each of hole trenches (30) oriented trench capacitors (3) are formed, are provided in which the trench capacitors (3) of adjacent rows of cells (63) offset from one another, - (63) grave insulator structures (61 ') are placed between the cell rows, wherein between each two in a row of cells adjacent (63) trench capacitors (3) of the semiconductor substrate (1) semiconductor strips (43) of the fin field-effect transistors (4) formed are - a mask (8) is connected to a respective one of the perforated grooves (30) aligned mask portions (8 ', 8' ', 8' '') is provided, through the mask portions (8 ', 8' ', 8' '') 'covered and portions of the grave insulator structures (61 a respective at each hole trench (30) followed by a portion of the grave insulator structures (61)') on the respective hole trench (30) opposite side not cover the respective grave insulator structure (61 '), - using the mask (8) the gate trenches (67) introduced into the grave insulator structures (61 ') ...


The paper presents a machine learning approach to detect laminate gaps and to classify them as open or closed. Compared with the traditional detection methods, which suffer from low precision of point cloud segmentation and poor effect of gap extraction in traditional gap detection, this paper proposes a gap detection algorithm based on 3D Vision. First, an improved undirected graph point cloud segmentation algorithm is used to overcome the under-segmentation of the target region. Second, an adaptive vector for angle discriminant model is proposed to solve the problem of poor extraction effect of the gap edge points. Finally, the B-spline curve-fitting model is used to describe the 3D points on the lamination edges. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated in a visual quality detection platform for carbon fiber composite laminates. The results show that the proposed approach is able to accurately detect and classify laminate gaps in carbon fiber composite structures, providing a reliable tool for quality control in industrial manufacturing processes.


The possibility of using gas-thermal treatment of glass containers with a solution of ammonium salts to increase the water-resistance had shown. To avoid possible cracking of the glass surface, it had suggested using an alcohol suspension or multiple sulfur-containing organic solvents. This greatly improves the chemical resistance of the jar. Therefore on the surface of the treated bottle formed a touch of salt, which has easily washed off with water.


Emotions are essential when considering how we interact with others and process information. Occasionally, we forget how emotions affect students' learning process and the general experience of students and professors. Some previous studies show that positive environments stimulate and motivate students. The present study proposes a class methodology that facilitates a favorable experience for business undergraduate students. To accomplish this aim, the authors applied a survey to identify favorable and unfavorable emotions in the teaching-learning process. The survey evaluated the course content using a class methodology, the interactions among classmates, and students' relationships with their professors. The authors applied the survey to two groups of business undergraduate students, each averaging 33 students. Fifty percent of the students were interviewed to gather their favorable and unfavorable experiences. We intended this information to validate the results obtained from the survey. The results showed that students prefer playful learning, working in teams, and having courses with exciting content. Additionally, they experienced the following emotions in the classroom: happiness, anxiety, curiosity, and interest, among others. The research question guiding this study was: What situations trigger favorable and unfavorable emotions in the classroom?


The invention provides a demodulation method for a Gaussian spectrum half-width multiplex communication system, and relates to demodulation of a telecommunication system in which optical communication is used as a transmission path. The demodulation method comprises the following steps: synthesizing two beams of Gaussian spectrums, of which the central wavelengths are coincided, the maximum intensities are the same, and the half widths are different, into a multiplex spectrum; selecting two observation points in the synthesis multiplex spectrum; writing a characteristic equation of the standard deviation of Gaussian spectrums; determining the standard deviation of two beams of Gaussian spectrum meeting a relative mean error condition; and determining the half widths of the two beams of Gaussian spectrums so as to realize the demodulation of the Gaussian spectrum half-width multiplex communication system. The demodulation method overcomes the complexity that a nonlinear least squares LM (Levenberg-Marquard) algorithm establishes and looks for parameter equation relationship based on all data of a spectrum, and overcomes the defect that the method of dividing a peak searching threshold value coefficient and a light-intensity maximum product into a plurality of unimodalities and identifying locations of spectrum peaks through a variable filter cannot distinguish the coinciding of central wavelengths of the two beams of Gaussian spectrums. Meanwhile, the provided Gaussian spectrum half-width communication technology expands the field of wavelength division multiplexing.


scientific papers concerning peripheral nerve surgery of upper extre mity were presented at the5th Congress of the Asian Pacific Fed eration of Societies for Surgery of t he Hand.Adult brachial plexus injur y,ob-stetric brachial plexus palsy,other nerves injuries of upper extremity,and experimental research on perip heral nerve were explored.For nerve root avulsion in adult brachial plexus injury,MR myelography is an effective evaluation method,and the nerve transfers of extra-plexus or intra-plexus are majo r treatment techniques.Progress in clinical or basic research on peripheral nerve h as been made in the following:modified Oberlin' s procedure for the treatment of upper brachial plexus injury,contr alateral C7transfer and phrenic nerve transfer,double free muscle tran splantation(Dois procedure)for the reconstruction of prehensio n in total root avulsion,late functional reconstruction of OBPP,skeletal muscle recovery following microsurgical restoration of intra muscular innervation,and promotin g effect of im-munosuppressant FK506on periphera l nerve regeneration. [


Background: Macmillan Cancer Support has funded a local intervention whereby carers of people affected by cancer and other long-term conditions at end-of-life are offered a bespoke package of support.
Aim: The objectives of the study were (1) to explore the experiences of those in receipt of the intervention and (2) to inform the funders of particular strengths and weaknesses of their service.
Design: Qualitative study utilising individual interviews with informal carers (n=10). Data were analysed using framework analysis.
Results: The service appeared to be meeting a specific need, in that, it focused specifically on the needs of the carer, something not being met elsewhere. A positive outcome that has arisen from the carers' involvement is that they have felt reassured through having background support. All those interviewed reported that the personal attributes and specialist skills of those delivering the service had influenced their satisfaction. Participants also remarked on how they were signposted to a range of useful sources which helped to streamline communication between the carer and other health and social care services.
Conclusions: The intervention was successful within a social care setting. It is recommended that further evaluation be conducted once the service has become more fully established.


Empirical research on incumbent pricing responses to new entry has yielded mixed results. Some studies find that incumbents cut prices post entry, while others find that incumbents accommodate entry by leaving prices unchanged (or even raising prices). To better understand these findings, this study explores the conditions under which incumbents are more likely to cut prices when faced with entry. I argue that incumbents vary in their incentives to cut prices; incumbents with greater incentives are more likely to respond aggressively to entry. Using data on magazine subscription prices, I find that, on average, incumbent magazines do not reduce prices following entry. But, the results suggest that newer incumbents cut prices more than older incumbents, while incumbents that compete in fewer and in more competitive markets cut prices less following entry. These results help to explain inconsistent empirical results in the literature, and support a more general explanation of when firms respond aggressively to entry: incumbents respond to entry more aggressively when their incentives to do so are greater. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Samples were collected to study the age and growth of Labeo calbasu (Hamilton) from the river Ghaghra (Guptarghat centre, Faizabad). The scales of L. calbasu have been used for age and growth studies in present paper. Study of the marginal rings on the scales of L. calbasu indicates their annual nature. The fish attained growth in 1st 18.7 cm, 2nd 27.8 cm, 3rd 35.7 cm, 4th 41.8 cm, 5th 46.9 cm, 6th 54.9 cm and 7th 57.4 cm years of the life. The growth rate was observed 18.7, 9.1, 7.9, 6.7, 5.1, 8.0 and 2.5 cm for 1st to 7th age classes respectively. The age groups 1+ to 4+ constituted 91.17% of the total exploited population and 8.83% of remaining age groups (5+ to 7+). The maximum exploited population was observed in 2+ age group with 33.68%. Overall exploitation pattern was systematic and a good indicator for heavy recruitment.


The partial monopolization of the world oil market by the OPEC cartel has produced significant economic costs to the economies of the world. This paper reports estimates of the costs of monopolization of oil to the U.S. over the period 1972-1991. Two fundamental assumptions of the analysis are, (1) that OPEC has acted as a monopoly, albeit with limited control, knowledge, and ability to act and, (2) that the U.S. and other consuming nations could, through collective (social) action affect the cartel's ability to act as a monopoly. We measure total costs by comparing actual costs for the 1972-1991 period to a hypothetical ''more competitive'' world oil market scenario. By measuring past costs we avoid the enormous uncertainties about the future course of the world oil market and leave to the reader's judgment the issue of how much the future will be like the past. We note that total cost numbers cannot be used to determine the value of reducing U.S. oil use by one barrel. They are useful for describing the overall size of the petroleum problem and are one important factor in deciding how much effort should be devoted to solving it. Monopoly pricing of oil transfers wealthmore » from US. oil consumers to foreign oil producers and, by increasing the economic scarcity of oil, reduces the economy's potential to produce. The actions of the OPEC Cartel have also produced oil price shocks, both upward and downward, that generate additional costs because of the economy's inherent inability to adjust quickly to a large change in energy prices. Estimated total costs to the United States from these three sources for the 1972-1991 period are put at $4.1 trillion in 1990$ ($1.2 T wealth transfer, $0.8 T macroeconomic adjustment costs, $2.1 T potential GNP losses). The cost of the US's primary oil supply contingency program is small ($10 B) by comparison.« less


As there was no report on the degradation properties of poly(p-dioxanone)(PPDO)with molecular weight above 2.0×105,and most studies on PPDO were carried out using monofilament suture of poly(p-dioxanone)as model in previous reports,so it was interesting to study the behavior of PPDO with higher molecular weight in other solid form,such as plates and bars.The in vitro hydrolytic degradation of high molecular weight poly-(p-dioxanone),(M_ν=2.8×105)was studied by the changes of weight retention,water absorption,pH value,intrinsic viscosity,tensile strength,break elongation,thermal properties,crystalline structure and the morphology of PPDO bars in phosphate buffered saline(PBS)(pH 7.44)at 37℃ for 8 weeks.During 8 weeks degradation in PBS,the PPDO samples exhibit obvious changes in their morphology,thermal properties,mechanical properties and degradation behaviors.It was found that the weight loss and water absorption increased slightly,at the same time pH almost maintained original value while the significant decrease of molecular weight was observed.The surface micrographs of PPDO samples showed that microcracks grew with the hydrolytic degradation.The glass transition temperature(T_g)of samples decreased notably,while the degree of crystallinity(D_c)increased and the original crystalline structure substantially remained.The samples lost their tensile strengths and breaking elongation almost completely after 6 weeks of degradation.The results suggested that the PPDO bars with high molecular weight exhibited much smaller degradation rate in vitro hydrolytic degradation.


This study examines the relationship between architecture, conservation and tourism in representing a cultural character. This study specifically assesses building regulations which are the product of the Government's collaborative strategy between tourism planning and cultural conservation. The study of research directives focuses on approaches to tourism planning and regulation in maintaining cultural representation. The study uses the Jambi case study, evaluates legally binding guidelines in maintaining traditional architecture and investigates how local values are resistant to vernacular identities. This study shows that in Jambi there is a transformation towards the commercialization of local cultural products as a potential tourist attraction and the effect of modernity.TRANSLATE with x EnglishArabicHebrewPolishBulgarianHindiPortugueseCatalanHmong DawRomanianChinese SimplifiedHungarianRussianChinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovakCzechItalianSlovenianDanishJapaneseSpanishDutchKlingonSwedishEnglishKoreanThaiEstonianLatvianTurkishFinnishLithuanianUkrainianFrenchMalayUrduGermanMalteseVietnameseGreekNorwegianWelshHaitian CreolePersian //  TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster PortalBack//


With the increase of loading of long transmission line, transient stability of power system on the occurrence of a fault become one of the major concern for power engineers. Instability problem of power system on occurrence of the fault can be solved with the use of Static VAR Compensator (SVC) controller. Assessing the transient stability of a large inter connected power network very much nonlinear and tremendously complicated. To mitigate this complication and nonlinearity, a substantial research with SVC controller has been done in the power industry. To improve the system stability for dynamic and transient disturbances SVC plays a very important role, which is a shunt connected FACTS devices. In this work, genetic algorithm based optimal design of SVC controller to improve the transient performance of power system is proposed. The parameters of the damping controller by optimal selection of damping ratio of the critical eigenvalue employing genetic algorithm are tuned. The effectiveness of the developed optimal controller is investigated by simulating different abnormal conditions of a single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system using MATLAB based PST.


Identifying network anomaly detection is important since they may carry critical information in circumstances such as a burst of intrusions, privacy theft, system damage and fraudulent activities. In recent years, there are many detection methods for network anomalies are proposed, however, a single model always faces the problems of over or under-fitting, high bias and variance. An improved method is to comprehensively use the results of multiple models and then reform the final predictions. This paper introduces an ensemble model, which is a powerful technique to increase accuracy on network anomaly detection. By combining three base models Xgboost, LightGBM and Catboost into one anomaly detector, we successfully detect different DDOS-smurf and Probing activities. This ensemble model is verified on ZYELL-NCTU net traffic, which is a large-scale dataset for read-world network anomaly detection. All code are open source in Github and can be directly run on Colab Jupyter Notebook.


may be revised (and somewhat shortened if necessary), reducing the focus on the campaign activities and highlighting the results. For instance the campaign re-scheduling due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption should be kept (if needed) in the campaign description section. This is a valid point about focusing on the results. The revised abstract now reflects this. Re-scheduling of the campaign is important because this effectively splits the campaign into two phases, A and B. Introduction: Large part of the introduction deals with the description of the campaign and the related activities. This smears out the necessary synthesis of the current state of the art on the role of forest fires on atmospheric composition and why BORTAS brings (or is expected to) novel information. In particular it would desirable to have a status on the knowledge on the main (expected and already published) science foci presented in section 4. Discussion on VOC oxidation and RO production processes may be shortened and figure 1 skipped. We are fortunate that two papers have recently been published that summarize current thinking: Jaffe and Wigder (Atm Env, 2012) and Monks et al (Atm Env 2010) and decided for the sake of brevity to cite the first paper; we have now cited the second review of chemistry in this paper. We have placed more emphasis on the novel aspects of BORTAS in the revised manuscript. Meteorological data: It would be desirable to have also mean wind ïňĄelds with superposed the ïňĄre position and campaign locations and if relevant precipitation. Retroplumes (or more simply back-trajectories) from flight area may also be reported C2712 here as done in the following subsection for the PICO observatory. Concerning discussion of figure 3, a sentence on how representative BORTAS may be for mean July conditions would be useful. Why climatology is restricted to 1979-1995 ? Would it be useful to extend it to 2012 ? Here it would be useful to present retroplumes (or retro-trajectories) for the BORTAS flights and connect them to the ïňĄre spots. This section may also include the background information on the chemistry and emissions. So, discussion from line 7-26 page 4147 may goes very well here. Good suggestion. We have included a Figure showing the mean vector wind fields during BORTAS-B with accompanying text and included a Figure showing the mean daily precipitation during the same period, which helps us to link with two papers that investigate the role of precipitation in aerosol transport during the campaign. We have revised the geopotential height Figure to encompass 1981 to 2010. We have decided to discuss the meteorology separately from the chemistry and emissions but making links between the two; otherwise the text becomes difficult to read. Campaign description: First part of the introduction (lines 4-27) may be included here. The altitude sampling may be added to the flight path to fully assess the representativeness of the observations. This may also be the place to include the list of models given in 3.5 that are now slightly out of context. It is not clear where data from Pico observatory are used here. If worth, the information on how Canadian ïňĄres impact the free troposphere in the Atlantic may be discussed in more details with one plot in the last section. In general I suggest to reduce this section and try to report the discussion of results in a proper subsection (see below). Including the altitude sampling will not necessarily address the representativeness of the observations which is beyond the scope of this paper. The campaign description does not require information about any models until we discuss forecasting and C2713 deployment; modelling is only one activity within BORTAS. We have included a description of Pico and how these data have played a role in intercepting Canadian boreal fire plumes in previous years and state clearly it played a smaller role in 2011. Satellite data: Analysis of satellite data from IASI and ACE are presented as an example of what may be observed or how the comparison with aircraft data may looks like without fully exploiting the information that may come from it. The comparison with TES profile (for a single day) looks a bit out of context here. For instance it would have been desirable to provide mean ïňĄelds for the whole BORTAS period or for all the flight days than few single days. Is it possible to compare them to GEOS-5 fields that may have been introduced beforehand? We showed the satellite data to illustrate the initial products and to qualitatively put these data into context of the whole campaign. Substantial analysis is required to integrate these data in a quantitative sense, which is beyond the scope of the overview paper, which is now stated in the main text. FIrst results and science overview: This section should be clarified. I would add a couple of sentences presenting the results and clarifying that perspectives and on-going work are reported in the conclusions. I warmly suggest to break it in subsections. One natural division may be: 1 Identification of CO plumes 2 Emission ratios for organic compounds 3 Ozone photochemistry 4 Source attribution referring to the already published material at the beginning of each section. Good suggestion. We have broken up this section into subsections. Subsection 1 may be extended with one or more plot. It would desirable to see the C2714 data from flight B625 compared to the ones with interception of plumes to strengthen the discussion on the threshold used for plume identification. This is an important information to be given here. Despite the fact that the flight strategy was plume-hunting oriented, it would be useful to know which fraction of data are available for in-plume studies. The data from B625 is reported and discussed at length in Parrington et al. Different amounts of data are discarded depending on whether the constraint is CO, HCN or CH3CN. The CO constraint removes the largest amount of data (85 Subsection 2 may report a selected plot or at least the ER values from Lewis et al. 2013 and a more through discussion. Again, quantitive results from Purvis 2013 (that is not yet published in ACPD) may be anticipated here mentioning that there is a paper in preparation. We have provided a description of the Lewis work and refer the reader to the paper. The Purvis paper is described, but as discussed above we feel it is inappropriate to present key figures that form the basis of work being prepared for publication. Subsection 3 should include as well a plot for the L-shape O3-NO data. We remain unconvinced that reporting these data in one Figure will significantly improve the readability of this paper, and for the sake of brevity we prefer to direct the reader to Parrington et al. Discussion on source attributions in PM2.5 is incomplete. Table 4 is a list of observations and more robust comparison should be presented with a plot. I guess this may


[Objective]To establish a method for determination of inorganic disinfection byproducts( DBP) in swimming pools water by ion chromatography.[Methods]WanTong MIC ion chromatography was adopted for sample pretreatment to measure the inorganic DBP in swimming pools water.[Results]The detection limits of the inorganic DBP in swimming pools water were 14-18μg/L,the linear range was between 0-200. 0 μg / L,RSD was less than 4. 1%,and the recoveries were 97. 2%-100. 6%.[Conclusion]This method is sensitive,accurate,convenient to operate,with low limit of detection,less interference,and can meet the testing requirements of inorganic DBP in swimming pools water.


The present study was conducted to compare feedlot performance, carcass and non-carcass traits of a temperate rabbit breed, New Zealand white (NZW) versus a tropical local breed , Sudan baladi (SB). Thirteen individual of each breed were used. The results revealed that breeds significantly (P < 0.05) affected final live weight, and weight gain. The traits recorded 1.8 Vs. 1.4 kg and 17.4 Vs. 10.7 g/day for NZW and SB, respectively. For carcass traits, slaughter weight, hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight and one side carcass weight showed significant (P < 0.05) ) breed differences. They estimated 1672 Vs 1375g, 940 Vs. 749 g, 882 Vs 693 g and 413 Vs 324 g for the breeds, respectively. Meat bone ratio was significantly (P < 0.05) high in SB (5.5%) than in NZW (4.4%). Most of non carcass traits studied showed no significant breed differences. It is concluded that temperate breed was superior to local breed in meat yield and weight gain.


On the basis of analyzing the advantage and disadvantage of common transition mode, the article obtains reasonable mining area transition mode through analyzing and selecting technical and economic factors, such as capacity of different transition mode, transportation distance, transition time, stripping ratio of transition period, transition cost. The research methods and conclusions provide reference for similar open-pit mines.


The invention relates to a high-pressure refrigerant-driven refrigeration and purification integrated machine and a method, and belongs to the field of safety lifesaving. The machine is characterized by mainly comprising a high-pressure storage tank device, a cooling dehumidification device, an air purifying device and a water storage device. According to an air conditioning and purifying method of an non-electric air conditioning and purifying system, the method is characterized by comprising the following steps that: high-pressure liquefied gas in a high-pressure gas tank passes through a reducing valve, a primary evaporator, a hand valve, a pneumatic fan and a secondary evaporator to cyclically reduce temperature and dehumidify surrounding air. Due to the negative pressure effect of the pneumatic fan, air enters from an air inlet of the air purifying device, and then enters an air duct after being purified by an air purifying agent, a condensate water tray is used for collecting condensate water of the primary evaporator and the second evaporator, and the condensate water can flow into a collecting tank for use through a water purifier. Compared with a conventional mine escape capsule refrigeration and purification system, the high-pressure refrigerant-driven refrigeration and purification integrated machine has the outstanding advantages of strong heat transfer, excellent economic performance and simplicity in installation and maintenance.


This paper discusses the options available to a systems designer in producing a system that has requirements for high data integrity. Such requirements are often typical of transaction-oriented systems. Models are provided which will allow performance predictions to be made for particular examples.


Osseointegration of dental implants has become a routinely recommended procedure in the clinical practice of dentistry.1–4 Over the years, patients have begun to demand a shortened treatment time and that treatment be done in one visit, to the extent possible. This clinical case study will discuss and demonstrate the correct use of the Er:YAG laser (2,940nm) in immediate placement of implants (in one visit) at the infected site: extraction, degranulation, decontamination, placing the implant, and treating the bone defect (guided-bone regeneration—GBR). This technique using the Er:YAG laser presents several advantages compared with conventional treatment methods, and there are minimal post-operative complications coupled with a high success rate.


BACKGROUND
A variety of scholars deal with change agents' role within change processes and highlight their relevance as role models in an organisation, but there are shortcomings.

OBJECTIVE
This study aims to enhance our knowledge on the role of women as change agents in analysing their perceived self-efficacy during change and their job satisfaction as job-related dimension of wellbeing.

METHODS
We applied a mixed-method design, conducting two studies based on data from 71 specialists - change agents - working in the transport or mobility departments of seven local authorities participating in the H2020 CIVITAS SUITS project, from six different countries, Greece, Spain, Italy, Romania, United Kingdom, and Lithuania.

RESULTS
The first quantitative survey shows that female change agents may have to perceive higher levels of self-efficacy during organisational change to perceive similar levels of job satisfaction as men. The second qualitative study (focus groups) provides more in-depth explanations of these results. This allows us to derive managerial implications to prevent decreases in women's well-being and strengthen their resilience and health during change.

CONCLUSION
This mixed-method study highlights the role of women as change agents, driving organisational change within male-dominated transport departments of local authorities. Our results show that female change agents need extra support in managing change processes within male-dominated contexts as the transport and mobility field to avoid a decrease in their perceived job satisfaction, their well-being and herewith, their physical and mental health.


Di erent isohedral tilings of the Euclidian Space are studied in this paper. Using the Voronoi zone in various lattices, we derived toroidal shapes that interlink with each other to ll space completely. The tile of main interest was the 3-segment ring-tile, for which we found several linear approximations.


Breeding for higher grain yield in maize (Zea mays L.), utilizing increased selection densities, has produced varieties that are adapted to grow at higher population densities. While the effects of density on final grain yield and plant phenotypes are well known, how density affects the early-season growth of the plant has been less studied. The objective of this experiment was to examine the effects of high planting density on the growth of stalk, tassel, and ear shoots in unselected Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic (BSSS) and Iowa Synthetic Corn Borer No. 1 (BSCB1), and in populations that have been selected for high grain yield via a reciprocal recurrent selection program. The selected and unselected populations were planted at four densities ranging from 3.23 to 12.92 plants m in six environments near Ames, IA over three years. Increased planting density affected plant organ growth timing differently in BSSS and BSCB1. High density delayed stalk biomass accumulation in BSCB1 but not BSSS, and delayed ear shoot and tassel biomass accumulation in BSSS but not BSCB1. Differences in biomass accumulation and partitioning between unselected populations were generally not observed between selected populations suggesting that selection caused a convergence in growth patterns between the populations. Increased density lowered maximum growth rates for all plant organs, but reduction in growth rate due to density occurred at higher density in selected populations than unselected populations.


Purpose – This paper aims to examine how women perceive the assumption that they are receiving different and unequal treatment in appraisal in two British universities. The research literature has argued that men and women appear to have learned that women are different and not equal in organizations. The theorists have debated the issues of difference or sameness and equality at some length but as yet empirical investigation has not looked at what women themselves have learned and how they may, or may not, see themselves as different and not equal.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews from two universities were used.Findings – The findings show that, while the women do not necessarily see themselves as being seen to be different, men see them as having different and inferior qualities. Women are seen as "other" when measured against the standards and norms set by men.Originality/value – Linkages are made to the work of de Beauvoir, Foucault and Irigaray.


A shielded connector is provided which makes connection for shielding and sealing for waterproofing at the same time that the connector is directly mounted on a vehicle instrument such as a motor. A connector housing with a terminal fitting-accommodating hole formed therein is provided with a shielding metal shell, into which accommodating hole is fitted a terminal fitting attached to a shielded cable such that the shield of the shielded cable is connected with the metal shell via a connecting member fitted on the shield. The connector housing is further provided on its outer periphery with a flange for fixing the connector housing in a connector-mounting hole formed in the casing of the instrument and with a seal ring for sealing the mounting hole. The metal shell is extended to have a portion thereof exposed on the surface of the flange facing toward the casing.


Sample this: Dinesh Chand Jaiswal a young constable with the Central Reserve Police Force is proud holding a small trophy won on a debate on human rights. "I feel really good since Ive been participating in this debate in 2002 and this year I have won it" he says with a grin while his battalion mates crowd around listening to him. "Yes Ive learned that our operations conducted while pursuing terrorists and anti-social elements can be carried out by ensuring that human rights are not abused." Like what? "I know that innocent people who may happen to be there have to be protected at any cost and its compulsory to involve elders from the community when carrying out search operations ... and always take along a woman constable to deal with women in such operations" he adds. An eight-year-old girl has just found her way to the bustling community of "Prayas" (meaning the effort). Her mother earns 1300 rupees (some $28) per month and has three other daughters to look after in her little slum house on the outskirts of New Delhi. At the Prayas-run shelter for destitute children she will get an education regular meals and a hope to make something of her life--her amputated arm notwithstanding. In another part of Indias capital in a small ordinary office sits a small group of researchers pouring over media reports and meeting "sources" to collect data on torture and extrajudicial killings. While local media reports are agog with stark pictures of a baby born and dying outside one of Indias top hospitals photographers persuade the distraught mother to uncover the tiny bundle on her lap for their shoot for the "audience". (excerpt)


An experimental research and analysis of performance of three domestic house hold gas appliances was carried out. The objective of this work, based on the conducted analysis of the research data, was to improve the appliances' performance, prefer ably through relative simple modifications, in order to satisfy DIN 4702 emissions and efficiency standards when using different fuels, including natural gas, liquefied petroleum gases and lower quality natural gas. This report summarizes details of this work and how the objectives were achieved. .


Abstract : Two samples of chimney rubble totaling over 5,000 lb were obtained during the post-shot exploration at Piledriver. These samples of broken granite underwent screen analysis, a radioactivity distribution study, and cursory leaching tests to determine the solubility of specific nuclides. The chimney was 160 ft in radius and 890 ft high. An injection of radioactive melt was encountered at 300 ft from shot point. Radiochemical analyses determined that the yield of the Piledriver nuclear device was 61 +/- 10 kt. The two samples were screened into 25 different size-fractions. An average of the particle-size data from the samples showed that 17 percent of the material is between 20 mesh and 1 in.; 40 percent between 1 and 6 in.; and 30 percent between 6 in. and 3 ft. The amount of minus 100-mesh material is less than 1.5 percent. The distribution of radioactivity in different particle size-fractions is inversely proportional to particle size. Small-scale batch-leaching tests showed that 25 percent of the radioactivity could be removed in a few hours by a film- percolation leach using distilled water; 40 percent if dilute acid were used.


Abstract The purpose of the paper is to analyse and demonstrate the trends in the scope of data concerning the number of ISO 9001 certificates incorporated in companies around the world with consideration of market division into 39 sectors. The study utilised the desk research method for analysing the available sources of data for the studied problem, especially covering their compilation, mutual verification, processing and reasoning. Then, multi-dimensional comparative analyses were conducted for the obtained results within a time framework of 1998-2017. As result of the conducted analyses, leading sectors in particular countries in terms of the number of incorporated ISO 9001 series standards were established. This enabled identifying the tendencies and determining the further directions of change. The paper is original in that it is based on analysing data within an industry framework in the period of nine years, identifying existing trends and establishing specific cases (countries and industries) for which the ISO 9001 standards are common and for which they are a niche.


Reinventing the government was big in the early 1980s; post media presentation that echoed how inefficient the government has been. Ever since, the government went through different reorganization processes through the application of different modern management theories, endorsed by the politicians, such as the Hawthorne theory, the Gantt Theory, Mintzberg Management Theory, Theory X and Y, and the Agency Theory – all promise efficient government. However, Ghoshal argued that all these modern management theories are bad theories and they have destroyed the good management practice of a public institution. They were implemented as a trial and error – one fails try another. As a result, the management system is destroyed. Its administrative system is broken. The organization is becoming dysfunctional and it causes a badly divided government. This damaged system makes it easy for theft, fraud, corruption, bribery, grafts, sabotage, espionage, and all kinds of illegal practices. At the same time, the change causes the used to be a professional public institution to become an amateur corporation that is individually managed, personally ruled, and undemocratic governance. This paper discusses the theoretical foundation of the bureaucracy and its analysis, and once this theory is applied in the administrative system of government, it shows how this damage can be remedied theoretically and applicably.


The utility model relates to an ultrasonic emulsion breaking device for raw oil electric field dehydration. An ultrasonication region is connected with the front of an electric dehydrating tank, and an ultrasonic probe is arranged at the outer wall of the electric dehydrating tank and is connected with an ultrasonic generator via transmission cables. The utility model utilizes the blasting force produced when a great number of cavitation bubbles generated by cavitation effect of the ultrasonic wave in liquid crack as the power for demulsifying, and carries out emulsion breaking treatment on an oil and water mixed liquid and then the electric field dehydration, without any chemical demulsifier added. The utility model is suitable for dehydration treatment on the raw oil with high viscosity, high density, high wax content or impurities and the aging dirty oil.


Three studies tested whether witnessing incidents of racial discrimination targeting Black people may motivate White people to engage in collective action for racial justice. In studies of White Americans (Study 1) and self-identified White activist "allies" (Study 2), witnessing incidents of racial discrimination predicted greater willingness to participate in collective action for racial justice, through the pathway of enhanced awareness of racial privilege. Studies 1 and 2 showed that awareness of racial privilege uniquely predicted the link between witnessing incidents of racial discrimination and willingness to participate in collective action for racial justice; these effects were consistent both with and without controlling for Whites' sense of identification with their own racial group. Study 3 tested experimentally how witnessing incidents of racial discrimination may compel White people to become more motivated to engage in collective action for racial justice. Compared to those in a control condition, White participants who were randomly assigned to watch a brief video depicting recent discriminatory incidents targeting Black people (e.g., Starbucks incident in Philadelphia, housing incident at Yale University) tended to show greater motivation to engage in collective action for racial justice, an effect accounted for largely by enhanced awareness of racial privilege. How witnessing incidents of racial discrimination can transform views of privilege and willingness to stand up for racial justice among members of advantaged racial groups is discussed.


In this paper, we introduce and study a class of B-semipreinvex functions. Some properties of B-semipreinvex functions are obtained and a sufficient optimality condition is also obtained for a nonlinear programming problem involving B-semipreinvex functions.


ABSTRACT The traditional scheduling algorithm has the problems of reducing the success rate of data stream exchange, increasing the exchange time, and increasing the number of required priorities. Therefore, a multi-level CLOS data stream exchange algorithm based on smooth polling fair scheduling is proposed. A multi-level CLOS network data flow scheduling model based on dynamic priority is established, and the value attribute is used as the priority parameter. Design time attribute evaluation criteria to schedule data streams in the best order to ensure that most data streams can be exchanged within the optimal scheduling time. By adjusting the two parameters of data stream value and execution urgency, you can change the degree of influence on the priority of data stream exchange. A smooth cyclic fair scheduling algorithm is used to implement data flow exchange in a multi-stage Clos network system composed of periodic data flows. Experimental results show that the algorithm improves the success rate of data stream exchange, reduces the number of exchanges, reduces the number of exchanges, and reaches the number of priorities required by the system.


More recently, a significant growth is observed in the manufacture of composite materials. Intensively developed polymer composite materials (PCM) are used in different sectors of industry and technology. They are successfully replacing traditional construction materials and also permit the conditions that exclude use of metals. Basalt fiber is one of these materials, it have caught come into the spotlight due to their superior physical and chemical properties in which they only rank below expensive carbon and silicon carbide fibers. The suitability of raw material for basalt fiber production is mainly determined by the mineral composition and crystallization properties of basalt melts. In this article, we present the results of an integrated petrographic and mineralogical investigation of melanocratic basalts of the Kuluevskaya volcanic complex from the Southern Urals, in order to assess their suitability for the production of high quality basalt fiber. The low acidity and viscosity parameters indicate the possibility of producing brittle fibers with a poor chemical resistance. Moreover the redox state and content of iron in the basalt glasses determine high crystallization ability of basalt fibers, it limits their application temperature and leads to low productivity of the BCF production process, but keeping acceptable insulation properties, hence their significance in the construction industry is high. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.


Abstract Gender differences in perceptions of former partners regarding their breakup, as they relate to the quality of their coparenting relationship, were examined in a survey of 135 respondents (54 males, 81 females). No differences were found between men and women in perceived co-parenting quality or in 9 of 10 measures of past and present perceptions (women were more satisfied with their child custody arrangements). However, gender moderated the impact of two affective perceptions on quality coparenting (high support, low conflict). Women, but not men, who were higher in forgiveness, or perceived more remorsefulness in their expartner, had significantly higher scores on quality coparenting. These differences suggest gender-informed intervention strategies for facilitating coparenting quality among former partners.


We investigate the relationship between peers' organizational cynicism, focal employee's organizational cynicism, group tenure, and counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). Using a social informational processing perspective, we exam how peers' organizational cynicism influence focal employee's organizational cynicism and CWB, and how focal employee's group tenure affect such relationship. With a multisource longitudinal study from an international logistic company, we found that peers' organizational cynicism is positively related to focal employee's organizational cynicism and CWB, and such relationship is stronger when group tenure of focal employee is short.


Membrane vesicles isolated from E. coli generate a trans-membrane proton gradient of 2 pH units under appropriate conditions when assayed by flow dialysis. Using the distribution of weak acids to measure the proton gradient (deltapH) and the distribution of the lipophilic cation triphenyl-methylphosphonium to measure the electrical potential across the membrane (delta psi), the vesicles are shown to generate an electrochemical proton gradient (deltamuH+) of approximately-180 mV at pH 5.5 in the presence of ascorbate and phenazine methosulfate, the major component of which is a deltapH of about -110mV. As external pH is increased, deltapH decreases, reaching 0 at pH 7.5 and above, while delta psi remains at about-75 mV and internal pH remains at pH 7.5. Moreover, the ability of various electron donors to drive transport is correlated with their ability to generate deltamuH+. In addition, deltapH and delta psi can be varied reciprocally in the presence of valinomycin and nigericin. These data and others (manuscript in preparation) provide convincing support for the role of chemiosmotic phenomena in active transport.


Plane parallel birefringent plates as polarization interferometers. The interference patterns produced by the superposition of the ordinary and extraordinary waves emerging from a uniaxial birefringent plane parallel plate may be calculated, to first order, from the optical path difference of the two waves in the birefringent medium. In this work we propose a calculation method starting from the formation of geometrical images. The advantages of this method may be appreciated in the cas of an interferometer consisting of two superposed plane parallel plates


The standard practice for the collection of samples for plasma catecholamine assay is to collect the sample into a heparinised container and place immediately into iced water. The sample is then centrifuged as soon as possible at 4°C and the plasma is separated and frozen immediately. The samples are then stored at 20"C until assay. This procedure is based on the report by Carruthers I that catecholamines are rapidly degraded in whole blood at room temperature. 40% being lost in the first 30 min and 60% by 24 h. Carruthers I used a fluorimetric assay to measure the catecholamines. Recent studies have shown that catecholamines may be more stable than indicated by Carruthers.' Pettersen.f using a radioenzymatic assay reported that catecholamines were stable in inseparated blood for 22 h at 20"C and Weir using an HPLC method. reported that catecholamines are stable in whole blood at room temperature for at least 3 h. We determined the stability of catecholamines in whole blood over 48 h at room temperature using a radioenzymatic assay. In this study. 30 mL of venous blood was taken from eight volunteer laboratory workers from a forearm vein and placed into heparinised containers. The samples were not taken under basal conditions as the actual concentrations were not important. One of these containers was immediately centrifuged at 4°C and 1 mL of plasma was snap frozen and stored at 20"C. The remaining blood sample was allowed to stand at room temperature (2Q-25°C) for 48 h during which time 1 mL samples of plasma were withdrawn at timed intervals, immediately frozen and stored at -20"C. The catecholamine concentrations in the plasma samples were then determined within 2 weeks by a single isotope radioenzymatic assay based on the method of Da Prada and Zurcher" as modified by Ball et al.5 Samples were assayed in duplicate and all the samples from each individual subject were assayed in the same batch in order to prevent between assay imprecision affecting the results. The within assay precision (CV) for this method in our laboratory is 10·4% (adrenalin) and 10·3% (noradrenaline). The results of the analyses shown in Table 1 and illustrated in Fig. 1 indicate that adrenalin and noradrenaline are more stable than suggested by Carruthers! when measured by radioenzymatic assay-, Adrenalin appears to be stable for up to 7 h. The difference in mean values only becomes statistically significant (P <0·02) at 24 h (the difference at 7 h being not quite significant at the P=0·05 level). The mean value for noradrenaline is also significantly lower at 24 h than at 0 h (P <0·02) and the 7 h value again just fails to be significant at the P=0·05 level. The failure of the reduction in concentration at 7 h to achieve statistical significance is probably due to the small number of samples and the relatively high within batch imprecision (about 10%). In spite of the small number of subjects studied the results indicate that whole blood samples for adrenalin and noradrenaline


Purpose: To detect the transdifferentiation of keratocytes into myofibroblasts in human corneas with bullous keratopathy and to examine the relation of such transdifferentiation to the clinical course of the disease. Methods: Twenty patients with bullous keratopathy who underwent penetrating keratoplasty were enrolled in the study. Corneal buttons collected during surgery were examined for expression of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) by immunoblot analysis and by immunofluorescence analysis of whole-mount preparations. The course of bullous keratopathy was evaluated from clinical charts. Results: Immunoblot analysis revealed a marked increase in αSMA expression in some corneas affected by bullous keratopathy. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that αSMA was expressed in myofibroblastic cells in the stroma of 10 of the 20 corneas examined. Expression of αSMA was detected in subjects with a clinical history of corneal epithelial erosion from 12 months after the onset of clinical stromal edema. In contrast, in subjects without a clinical history of epithelial erosion, αSMA expression was not detected until at least 27 months after the onset of stromal edema. The incidence of αSMA expression in stromal cells was not significantly associated with topical steroid administration. Conclusions: Transdifferentiation of keratocytes into myofibroblasts was observed in human corneas affected by bullous keratopathy. Such transdifferentiation occurred earlier after the onset of stromal edema in patients with a clinical history of epithelial erosion than in those without such a history.


The invention relates to a method and device for coating substrates by means of bipolar pulse magnetron sputtering using three or more targets. The substrates are placed opposite the targets essentially in the range of a high plasma density, whereby at least two targets are connected to a potential-free bipolar power supply device and are sputtered for a predetermined period of time. The selection of the target respectively connected to the bipolar power supply device is altered during the course of the coating process according to a technologically predetermined program. The device is comprised of at least three magnetron sources (17, 17', 17'') provided with targets (18, 18', 18''), of a potential-free bipolar power supply device (21), and of a switching device (20) for switching the current electrical connection of selected targets with the bipolar power supply device (21) according to a technologically predetermined program.


This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, to use value- and equal-weighted portfolios of U.S. retail firms to examine the stock market reaction to strategic and nonliquidating store closure announcements. Using event study methodology for a sample of 174 hand-collected store closure announcements during the period 1980–2017, we find a negative and significant stock price reaction on the announcement date. Given the highly competitive nature of the retail industry, we further investigate the market reaction for the closest competitors using a matched sample of 157 competing firms. We report a positive, albeit less significant stock price reaction for competing retail firms on the announcement date. Finally, a cross-sectional analysis shows that the stock price reaction to store closure announcements is positively associated with firm size.


The author gives consideration to priority political tasks of Kazakhstan namely formation of effective national economics and rising role of agricultural sector.


This work concerns some novel aspects of the simple production of high power density matter in vacuum discharges [1,2] and related energy transport. We study the ensembles of cold grains - hot microplasmas created by an intense energy deposition into the cold solid density, low volume dust target collected in the interelectrode space (clusters, grains, microparticles of different size from anode material). Some effects of the high local power density were realised to allow production of the different ensembles of cold grains with fraction of hot microplasmas (T ∼ 1 KeV and n e ∼10 20 -10 22 cm -3 ). The hard x-ray yield registered and well reproduced in the vacuum discharges (just at ∼ 1 J of energy stored) is about 0.1 - 0.3%. Time of flight measurements show that hard x-ray production may be accompanied by energetic ions (∼ 0.1 -1 MeV) like those for irradiated clusters [3]. Thermal and suprathermal levels of x-ray emission, laser-like behaviour of potentially amplifying media of plasmas dust as well as x-ray trapping are discussed. The last phenomenon suggests a partial random walk of photons inside of x-ray ball due to the regulated level of multiple scattering and reflecting in disordered media of cold and hot grains of any sizes (x-ray random laser [4,5]). Single pass ASE [6] regime of x-ray lasing as particular case of x-ray yield is considered also.