This paper showcases two complementary approaches for the design and implementation of smart sensor systems. They are (a) Hardware-in-the loop approach (b) Using a single field programmable gate array (FPGA) to construct an entire intelligent instrumentation system. The first example presents a mechatronic approach, which is a blend of mechanical, electrical and software elements along with smart sensors. The major elements of the hardware in the loop approach are (1) Use of a language-neutral approach to code development, created using visual object oriented simulation. (2) Design of the smart sensor that composes of sensors, DSP unit, data acquisition and PC. (3) Use of system dynamics and computer simulation in the system development. These basic principles have helped to develop the hardware-in-theloop simulation concept and at the same time, assist in rapid prototyping. For the second approach the paper showcases a new computer engineering paradigm, use of a single field programmable gate array (FPGA) to construct an entire mechatronic intelligent instrumentation system, which is uniquely tailored to the application. Apart from the FPGA itself, this research is based on classical computer engineering principles, where a processor uses a bus to access peripherals. The elements of the FPGA based system approach are: (1) Software tools such as the Xilinx embedded developers kit (EDK) are used to implement an entire microprocessor system using FPGA and an analog adapter board. (2) The operating system is selected and required libraries and device driver software is written. (3) The application software is written and tested. While such a processor system is described using a hardware description language such as VHDL, the resulting description is not considered software but rather is used to configure the hardware. Once configured, writing the libraries, drivers, and application involves conventional software development tools. In contrasting the approaches, the mechatronic approach is more abstract, simulation based, and eventually produces a PC based system. The second approach involves details of an FPGA based microprocessor system. The measurement and smart sensing example chosen here is a new non-contact, in-process surface roughness inspection probe that is portable, low cost and accurate. Rather than using a contact method such as a contact stylus that could scratch the sample surface, this new probe was developed by the author's and it uses a precision laser and measures the surface scatter to evaluate roughness. The paper highlights the results of sensor application and provides a comparative evaluation of two instruments. This new paradigm also provides opportunities for research in combining the two approaches.


An ecofriendly and economical adsorbent was studied as an alternative substitution of activated carbon for removal of synthetic dye from wastewater. Date palm leaf fibers were utilized as a biodegradable adsorbent to remove methylene blue dye from aqueous solution by adsorption. Several experiments were conducted to study the effect of adsorbent dosage, pH and dye concentration with time and we revealed that the adsorption percentage of methylene blue dye varied with these changes. The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by using Freundlich and Temkin isotherms and adsorption was found to well-fit into these two models. The equilibrium adsorption capacity (qe) increases with increasing the initial concentration of the dye and decreases with the adsorbent dosage and pH. The pseudo-second order kinetic model fits very well with the dynamic behavior of the adsorption of methylene blue dye on date palm leaf fibers under different adsorbent dosage, and dye concentrations. Based on the linearized correlation coefficient, the Freundlich equation is the best fit equilibrium isotherm for the sorption of methylene blue dye onto date palm leaf fibers. We can expect that in the future, date palm leaf fibers could be effectively used as an alternative to expensive adsorbents in the treatment of industrial wastewater containing synthetic dyes.


: The research proposes a new model for evaluating the impact of social media influence on climate change awareness and attitudes toward sustainable consumption, as well as the impact of climate change awareness on attitudes toward sustainable consumption, and how climate change awareness mediates the relationship between social media influence and attitudes toward sustainable consumption. 384 usable responses were gathered from higher education students in Egypt, using a convenience sampling approach. Cronbach"s alpha, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and the process are used to analyze the data. Findings concluded that social media influence has a significant impact on climate change awareness and attitudes toward sustainable consumption. Further, climate change awareness has a significant impact on attitudes toward sustainable consumption, and it mediates the relationship between social media influence and attitudes toward sustainable


The scattering of polarized electrons from a polarized proton target provides a means for studying the internal spin structure of the proton. The CLAS (CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer) EG1b experiment in Hall-B at Jefferson Laboratory measured double-spin inclusive and exclusive electron-nucleon scattering asymmetries using longitudinally polarized frozen NH3 and ND3 targets and a longitudinally polarized electron beam at 4 different energies (1.6, 2.5, 4.2, 5.6 GeV). Extraction of the virtual photon asymmetry Ap1 (for 0.05 GeV2 < Q2 < 5.0 GeV2)provides precision measurements of the polarized proton spin-structure function gp1 in and above the resonance region. Linear regression of data between the varying energies yields new constraints on the virtual photon asymmetry Ap2 (and thus the structure function gp 2) in the resonance region (for 0.3 GeV2 < Q2 < 1.0GeV2). Measurements of these structure functions and their moments allows testing of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (p


The article tends to selectively present some ceramics types - Attic bowls and kantharoi - able to offer chronological elements for the settlement in Albesti. 6 bowls with inwards turned (or echinus bowl), one piece with outturned rim and a bolsal fragment are analyzed. The kantharoi shapes belong to the categories with a low cup, set directly above the foot, and the one with a tall cup and cylindrical foot. By typology, spreading area and archaeological context the vessels belong to the Hellenistic ceramics category, common for the 4 t h - 3 r d centuries B.C. The frequency of echinus type bowl and of the kantharoi pieces with tall cylindrical foot can be recognized as a common feature for the Pontic colonies. The mentioned archaeological context traces their dating to the 3 r d cent B.C. Some types (bolsal and some kantharoi pieces with a low foot) can be placed into the second half and towards the end of the 4 t h cent. B.C. The suggested datings are matching the stamped amphora materials, present in the same context.


Most retrieval models estimate the relevance of each document to a query and rank the documents accordingly. However, such an approach ignores the uncertainty associated with the estimates of relevancy. If a high estimate of relevancy also has a high uncertainty, then the document may be very relevant or not relevant at all. Another document may have a slightly lower estimate of relevancy but the corresponding uncertainty may be much less. In such a circumstance, should the retrieval engine risk ranking the first document highest, or should it choose a more conservative (safer) strategy that gives preference to the second document? There is no definitive answer to this question, as it depends on the risk preferences of the user and the information retrieval system. In this paper we present a general framework for modeling uncertainty and introduce an asymmetric loss function with a single parameter that can model the level of risk the system is willing to accept. By adjusting the risk preference parameter, our approach can effectively adapt to users' different retrieval strategies. We apply this asymmetric loss function to a language modeling framework and a practical risk-aware document scoring function is obtained. Our experiments on several TREC collections show that our "risk-averse" approach significantly improves the Jelinek-Mercer smoothing language model, and a combination of our "risk-averse" approach and the Jelinek-Mercer smoothing method generally outperforms the Dirichlet smoothing method. Experimental results also show that the "risk-averse" approach, even without smoothing from the collection statistics, performs as well as three commonly-adopted retrieval models, namely, the Jelinek-Mercer and Dirichlet smoothing methods, and BM25 model.


There is an inevitable possibility of an LSP forming loops in MPLS networks,and the application of MPLS's loop control mechanisms is restricted by the ATM technological traits.The paper studied different kinds of loop control mechanisms of MPLS networks applied on ATM,including the ATM TTL field survival mechanism,loop detection mechanisms,and two kinds of loop prevention algorithms designed for establishing loop-free state-merging LSPs.These mechanisms were compared in various aspects by theoretical analysis and partial simulation,and obtained some significative conclusions.


One hundred sixty adolescents and young adults from divorced and intact families completed a packet of questionnaires and inventories including the Personal Data Sheet, Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire, Goal Instability and Superiority Scales, The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales-Revised, and The Attributional Style Questionnaire to address the impact of divorce on the process of adolescent psychological separation from their parents. Results indicated that adolescents from the Divorced Group were just as adjusted to college life as their Intact counterparts and more separated from their families than the Intact Group, as was expected.


The reaction of toluene diisocyanate with polyester, dimethylol propionic acid, metal-complex dye and other additives to form the structure of metal-complex dye polyurethane ionomer molecule has been proven by FT-IR spectra. In aqueous solution, the surface tension of metal-complex dye polyurethane ionomer molecule is seen to slightly increase with increasing concentrtion of metal-complex dye and neopentyl glycol, respectively. This is because the adsorption of hydrophobics of ionomer molecules at the surface of aqueous solution becomes even more order. Under the same experimental condition, the surface tension of metal-complex dye polyurethane ionomer molecule in aqueous solution appears to slightly decrease with increasing NCO/OH ratio, as a result of increased hydrophobics of ionomer molecule adsorbed at the surface of aqueous solution.


The representation of women in management positions in the private sector in Zimbabwe is low. There are a number of leadership and gender challenges that form a "glass ceiling impinging on women's advancement to senior positions. This study is based on qualitative research carried out in the hospitality and financial services sectors in Zimbabwe where women have traditionally been found in supportive low level positions. The methodologies used by the study include in-depth case studies, focus group discussions and a questionnaire. Using multiple sources of data enabled triangulation, cross referencing and validation of information. The research identified a number of challenges which related to gender role expectations as wife and parenting. The study established that women managers in the hospitality and financial services sectors in Zimbabwe face challenges of balancing work and life due to culture and gender role expectations placed upon them and the pressures of full time employment. The challenges make it difficult for women to break


A recent development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based structural composite materials is to grow CNTs radially on micro-fibres and to use these hybrid fibres to develop superior 3D composites. Due to the extremely high tensile strength and stiffness of CNTs and the increased interfacial areas, it is expected that the fracture toughness of the new composites will be increased substantially. To evaluate the bridging effect of this new hybrid fibre, a finite element model was developed to simulate the pullout of a carbon fibre with radially grown carbon nanotubes. The physical multi-length scale problem is treated at the single macroscopic scale by using equivalent spring elements to simulate the bridging effect from CNTs. The nonlinear properties of the spring elements are obtained from the finite element simulation of a single CNT pullout, where the CNT is simulated by using membrane elements. The bonding and debonding behaviours between the carbon fibre-matrix interface and CNT-matrix interface are described by cohesive laws. The cohesive law for the carbon fibre-matrix interface was calibrated from macroscopic single fibre pullout experimental curves. The cohesive law for the CNT-matrix interface was calibrated from published experimental data on single CNT pullout. The numerical results indicate that the effect of growth CNTs on the carbon fibre is significant. The pullout force of the hybrid fibre has a significant increase at the elastic stage before interfacial debonding, which leads to a higher specific pullout energy.


The article describes the contribution of the "Radoslaw" Group's soldiers in the socalled second conspiration after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising in September 1945 and also the efforts of Jan Mazurkiewicz "Radoslaw" and his soldiers in returning to civilian life after the end of World War II. The analysis of the subject was based on available literature and archival records. For many of the Radoslaw Group soldiers, the struggle for independence of Poland didn't end with the fall of the Warsaw Uprising. They took part in recreating the Directorate for Diversion and later served in the Organization "Nie" and the Armed Forces Delegation for Poland until the dismantling of the Home Army. Due to the political situation in Poland and shortage of supply, their actions were limited (especially the combat activity). After the amnesty in 1945 and subsequent actions, former Radoslaw Group soldiers turned to social and veteran activities focused around selfhelp and maintaining the tradition of the Home Army. This later become a reason for the Communist authorities to accuse, repress, and imprison after 1949.


In this paper we consider the k-clustering problem for a set $S$ of $n$ points in the d-dimensional space with minsum sum of squared errors as clustering criteria, which is motivated from a problem, called color quantization problem, of computing a color lookup table for frame buffer display. Using the technique of computational geometry and random sampling, we present an efficient randomized algorithm which, roughly speaking, finds an $\epsilon$-approximate 2-clustering in $O(n(1/\epsilon)^{d})$ time.


In a dynamic society, focused on knowledge, knowledge management is linked with the leadership concept and the open source platform concept. Leadership is more intense and comprehensive thanks to knowledge, innovation and the ability of managers to use these platforms in their work. Complementary solution to classic learning, open source platforms are characterized by accessibility, ease of use and effective communication. The courses designed as modules are accessible anytime, anywhere, and the assessment of each student's performance is visible. Thus, economic considerations and the development of Web technologies justify the adoption of open source platforms in the knowledge management process.


The relationship between the exchange rate and the consumer price index (CPI) has been extensively covered. However, aggregated approaches hinder the possibility of identifying specific features of this effect over different sectors of the economy, particularly regarding changes in relative prices. This paper aims to examine the dynamics of the rental housing market at a given shift in the exchange rate. We evaluate the case of the real estate market of Buenos Aires, due to its peculiar configuration: the coexistence of a highly dollarized sales segment and a market of housing rentals in EFECTO TRANSFERENCIA DEL TIPO DE CAMBIO A PRECIOS DE ALQUILER DE VIVIENDA. EVIDENCIA DEL MERCADO SEMIDOLARIZADO DE BUENOS AIRES


Attenuation in the skeletal muscle microvascular response to insulin plays a critical role in type 2 diabetes and obesity-induced insulin resistance. The goal of the project detailed in this paper was to evaluate the use of super-resolution ultrasound (SR-US) imaging for performing a quantitative analysis of insulin-mediated microvascular changes in skeletal muscle. An Acuson Sequoia 512 ultrasound (US) scanner equipped with a 15L8-S linear array transducer was used in a nonlinear imaging mode. C57BL/6J male mice fed standard chow and studied at age 13–16 wk comprised the lean group (N = 5), and 24–31 wk-old mice who received a high-fat diet provided the obese group (N = 5). After administration of a microbubble (MB) contrast agent, the proximal hindlimb adductor muscle of each animal was imaged (dynamic contrast-enhanced US, DCE-US) for 10 min at baseline and again at 1 h and towards the end of a 2 h hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. The SR-US image processing technique was developed using custom Matlab software. After collecting a stack of DCE-US images and applying a singular value decomposition (SVD)-based spatiotemporal filter, individual MBs were localized and subsequently a SR-US image was generated by mapping the cumulative MB localizations. The insulin-induced skeletal muscle microvascular recruitment resulting from the clamp procedure was evaluated for the lean and obese animals. Lean animals exhibited a considerably greater increase in microvascular recruitment in skeletal muscle during the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure compared to the obese animals. These results clearly indicate insulin-induced microvascular recruitment in normal skeletal muscle and an impaired microvascular response to insulin in older obese animals.


Endo -1,4-mannanases ( -mannanases, EC 126.96.36.199), belonging to CAZy GH5 and GH26 families, catalyze the hydrolysis of structurally different mannans. In this study, the mannanase encoding gene of Aspergillus aculeatus VN was expressed in Aspergillus niger D15#26 using pAN 52-4 vector, under the control of PgpdA promoter and TtrpC terminator. In order to improve the hydrolytic capacity of this GH5 on lignocellulosic substrate, the family 1 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM1) of Aspergillus niger cellobiohydrolase B was artificially fused at the C-terminal end of this enzyme with a natural linker.


Following an investigation of the football clubs using hypoxic air machines, the Australian Football League (AFL) has decided not to ban the machines. This seems, however, to be a reluctant decision since it appears that some AFL officials still feel there is something undesirable about the use of the machines. Use of the machines raises questions about performance enhancement and the role of technology. It prompts consideration of the grounds for banning performance enhancing devices or substances and raises questions about what constitutes a drug

A machine being used by Australian footballers, which is designed to imitate the effects of high altitude training and enhance performance has prompted an investigation by the Australian Football League (AFL) and sparked debate in the media. The AFL decided not to ban the machine but a sense of unease about its use remains and there seems to be some difficulty in articulating the cause of that unease. The league's medical officers say the hypoxicators do not contravene their antidoping code or the league's rules,1,2 but according to at least one AFL official, the use of the machines is "sending the wrong message …


Skeletal muscle is capable of robust self-repair following mild trauma, yet in cases of traumatic volumetric muscle loss (VML), where more than 20% of a muscle's mass is lost, this capacity is overwhelmed. Current autogenic whole muscle transfer techniques are imperfect, which has motivated the exploration of implantable scaffolding strategies. In this study, the use of an allogeneic decellularized skeletal muscle (DSM) scaffold with and without the addition of minced muscle (MM) autograft tissue was explored as a repair strategy using a lower-limb VML injury model (n = 8/sample group). We found that the repair of VML injuries using DSM + MM scaffolds significantly increased recovery of peak contractile force (81 ± 3% of normal contralateral muscle) compared to unrepaired VML controls (62 ± 4%). Similar significant improvements were measured for restoration of muscle mass (88 ± 3%) in response to DSM + MM repair compared to unrepaired VML controls (79 ± 3%). Histological findings revealed a marked decreas...


A double-stub adjusting procedure is used to obtain quasi-identical input impedances and radiation patterns at both resonances of a dual-frequency microstrip antenna. In addition, the cavity method is adapted so as to be applied for the evaluation of radiation pattern as well as the input impedance of the above-mentioned antenna.


The invention provides a red tangerine extract preparation method and an application thereof. Red tangerine peel is taken as the raw material, after being cleaned and dried, the red tangerine peel is crushed, cellulase, neutral protease, endo protease and exo-protease are employed for complex fermentation to generate fragrance, then by combining solvent extraction with the macroporous resin refining technology, macromolecule substance such as protein, cellulose, polysaccharide and the like are removed, the red tangerine extract is prepared and is applied to reconstituted tobacco, and therefore the appearance color of the reconstituted tobacco is more natural and uniform, the red tangerine extract coordinates with smoke gas, the fragrance is enriched, irritation and offensive odor are reduced, and the smoking flavor is improved; the red tangerine extract is applied to a fogging agent for electrically-heated novel tobacco products, the fragrance is enriched, the cigarette flavor is improved, and the throat comfortableness is improved.


Effective planning is an important part of meeting the learning needs of students through all years of schooling. Yet, planning is inherently complex. Teachers have to bring curriculum, pedagogy and assessment together, while considering short- and longterm goals, the diverse needs of students, and relevant contextual factors. This chapter builds on the foundations for planning discussed in Chapter 2, then uses an inquiry project focused on three learning areas— the Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, and English— to demonstrate aspects of planning. These include backward mapping, resource selection and planning at the macro and micro levels. Chapter foci • planning for literacies learning • backward design • inquiry projects • metalanguage • macro or big picture planning • micro planning • deconstructing texts • scaffolded instruction


Chia (Salvia sp) seeds were investtgated as a source of natural lipid antioxidants. Methanolic and aqueous extracts of defatted chia seeds possessed potent antioxidant activity. Analysis of 2 batches of cbia-seed oils demonstrated marked difference in the fatty acid composition of the oils, In both batches, the oils had high concentrations of polyunsauarated fatty acids. The major antioxidant activity in the nonhydrolyzed extract was caused by flavonol glycosides, chlorogenic acid (7.1 X 10 -4 mol/kg of seed) and caffeic acid (6.6 X 10 -3 m/kg). Major antioxidants of the hydrolyzed extracts were flavonol aglycones/kaempferol (1.1 X 10 -3 m/kg), quercetin (2.0 X 104 m/kg) and myricetin (3.1 X 103 m/kg); and caffeic acid (t.35 X 10 -2 m/kg). Two methods were used to measure antioxidant activities, Both were based on measuring bleaching of B-carotene in the coupled oxidation of/3-carotene and linoleic acid in the presence of added antioxidant~


If you can think of each of your tests as an experiment with a hypothesis, a test methodology, and a test result, it should all fall into place rather than falling through the cracks.


SUMMARY A new version of a numerical algorithm for the Lagrangian treatment of incompressible fluid flows with free surfaces is developed. The novel features of the present method are the adoptions of the Lagrangian finite element method and the velocity correction technique. The use of the velocity correction approach makes the computational scheme extremely simple in algorithmic structure. Hence, the present method is particularly attractive for large-scale problems. The techniques discussed here are applied to some two-dimensional sloshing problems, which may indicate the versatility and effectiveness of the present method. This paper deals in detail with a new finite element technique for the numerical solution of fluid flow problems involving free surfaces, and with the numerical analysis of two-dimensional sloshing problems. The analysis of sloshing phenomena is a very important problem of engineering significance, as exemplified by oil oscillations in large storage tanks and water oscillations in reservoirs due to earthquakes. Many theoretical and numerical analyses of sloshing problems have been carried out by many Most of them, however, are based on the potential flow theories, and cannot be applied to oil oscillations with strong viscous effects. To overcome this difficulty the present paper deals with transient motions of incompressible viscous fluid in containers. The numerical analysis of viscous fluid flow problems involving free surfaces is very complicated. There are two reasons for this. First, the position of the free surface varies with time in a manner not known a priori, and this fact prevents the analysis from being completely straightforward. Hence, there must be some means of tracking the position of the free surface. Secondly, the accurate free surface boundary condition must be imposed. In solving such difficult problems the finite element method combined with the Lagrangian description can be applied effectively. Two basic viewpoints are generally considered in discretizing a fluid by a finite difference or finite element method. The first is the Eulerian description, which treats the mesh as a fixed reference frame through which the fluid moves. The second is known as the Lagrangian description, in which the mesh of grid points is embedded in the fluid and moves with it. In the numerical analysis of fluid flows with free surface, a method in which the fluid is described by an Eulerian representation and the free surface is described by a Lagrangian representation is widely employed.'-" In such methods it is difficult to solve problems involving complicated free surface structure. Furthermore, it is necessary to discretize the fluid domain at each time step according to the profile of the free


Superficial mycosis is a frequent cause of consultation in Dermatology and General Medicine. The microbiological studies of this fungal condition are important not only to do the differential diagnosis, but also to establish the causing agent of the disease as well as its epidemiological aspects and the treatment. In this study 265 skin and nail samples have been collected from individuals at the Laboratory of Medical Mycology of School of Microbiology, Costa Rica University. Nail diseases represent 67,5% of the total cases studied. Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequent isolated fungus; also, other dermatophytes and Candida sp. were isolated from nail and skin. Fusarium sp., a filamentous non-dermatophyte fungus, was isolated from both finger and toe nails. This finding is of relevant, since Fusarium sp., an emergent etiological agent of onychomycosis, does not respond well to treatment based on fluconazol.


A method that combines TextBox and ComboBox controls in Grid control of Visual FoxPro to make a dynamic ComboBox is proposed. The items listed in the ComboBox control can be filtered by the keywords of multi-fields , so as to overcome the shortage of law velocity caused by too many items listed in the ComboBox.


The signing of the administrative contract presupposes voluntary performance of the obligations assumed by it. In case of non-performance, there is coercive enforcement. This article examines the questions concerning the legal mechanisms of how this should be done; how the legislator regulates the performance of administrative contracts in the Bulgarian Code of Administrative Procedure and in special laws, and addresses the issue of jurisdiction over disputes about performance; and why the provision of Art. 128, item 3 of the Code governs requests for the performance of administrative contracts in the existence of а coercive enforcement procedure under the Code. The article justifies the assumption that, even in the field of administrative contract enforcement, the administrative authority is not an equal partner in finding solutions to satisfy the public interest, but remains a counterparty in a dominant position.


A firm has a limited number of bulk storage tanks available for intermediate storage. A joint decision as to the assignment of products to tanks and the inventory stocking and replenishing policy for each product has to be made. It is shown that for a given inventory policy the minimization of the total cost expression can be transformed into a nested optimization problem involving three phases. These can be optimized sequentially starting with the innermost phase. The last phase turns out to be a transportation problem. The solution for an example involving 18 products and 10 tanks is presented and discussed.


The background of this research is in the easy measurement of the difference of elevation of the surface of the earth in the developing countries. The leveling is being measured by generally using the level and GPS now. However, there are times when the measured range is wide-ranging and in the urban area and the mountain where the electric wave does not reach easily, are difficult in the level and GPS. Then, if the difference of elevation can be measured by installing the inertia l device in the vehicle, the leveling of the large area easily becomes possible. Because a inexpensive gyro had the fault with low accuracy in a past inertial survey, the method of not using the gyro was examined. Then, this study developed the method of obtaining the difference of elevation by using the accelerometer and the vehicle speed sensor.


How to deal with cardiovascular risk factors for physical activity and implement the PA recommendations in the rheumatologic practice? Nowadays, physical activity is increasingly advocated not only for the general population but also for patients with inflammatory arthritis as well as osteoarthritis. Generally, physical activity has favourable effects on cardiovascular risk factors. A recent systematic review revealed moderate , statistically significant improvements in blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol , and total cholesterol levels after about one year (additional) physical activity. Also the BMI improved and the effects appear to be a dose-related but not with all cardiovascular risk factors.Nevertheless, these favourable modest effects on cardiovascular risk factors could result in a clinically relevant reduction of cardiovascular events, provided that the physical activity remains enhanced albeit that thus far the evidence towards a reduction of cardiovascular events is not equivocal. It is important to realise that this review generally comprised persons without cardiovascular disease or risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It's well known that (very) high intensity exercise results in a small absolute increase of myocardial infarction in comparison to those who have less strenuous physical exertion. The risk is the highest in those who exercised less than one time per week. Therefore, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) developed an exercise preparticipation health screening process to mitigate these risks. Recommendations were developed for those 1) who should receive medical permission before starting a physical exercise program 2) with clinically significant disease(s) who may benefit from physical activity under medical supervision and 3) with medical conditions that excludes them from participation in physical activity programs. The health screening advices of the ASCM are based on an health screening logic model for aerobic exercise participation that takes the current level of physical activity, 2) presence of signs or symptoms and/or known cardiovascular disease/risk factors and 3) desired physical activity into account. However, the ASCM guidelines do not apply for patients with inflammatory joint disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is associated with increased overall mortality compared to the general population, with cardiovascular diseases as one of the main causes. The optimisation of management of cardiovascular risk in RA patients is an important aim in the treatment. Active counselling is indispensable, including also attention to exercise, particularly in RA patients with a high CV risk, defined as a 10 year CV risk of 20% or higher. Physical exercise for these patients is necessary and challenging since professionals should take multiple factors into account, such as comorbid conditions related to CV risk (e.g. hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity). However, the effects of exercise therapy on CV risk in RA patients are unknown and the required intensity is also unknown. Therefore, we are currently developing a tailor-made exercise therapy program for these complex patients that will evaluate the effects of exercise therapy on cardiorespiratory fitness and several secondary outcomes. References [1] Patnode, et al. Behavioral counseling to promote a healthful diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease prevention in adults without known cardiovascular disease risk factors: updated systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US)2017July. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK476368/ [2] Mittleman MA, et al. Triggering of acute myocardial infarction by heavy physical exertion: Protection against triggering by regular exertion. Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study Investigators. N Engl J Med1993;329(23):1677–83. [3] Dutch Trial Register: Exercise in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cardiovascular risks.http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=6726 Disclosure of Interest None declared


SIR: I read with interest the paper by Professor Morice (Cognitive inflexibility and pre-frontal dys function in schizophrenia and mania Journal, July 1990, 157, 50—54). To enable assessment ofthe gener alisability of these results to other schizophrenic and manic groups, it would be of interest to know how the subjects in each group were chosen (e.g. randomly? every nth patient presenting? on some representational basis? etc.). I commend the attempt to select a "¿ control g up with a mean IQ lower than that usually obtained for control groups in psychiatric research―,although this endeavour was unsuccessful in this instance! This is a problem that recurs throughout the literature pertaining to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in my opinion. Although a significant correlation between WCST results and IQ or educational level has not been reported, the trend seems always to be in the expected direction. That is, the putatively deficient group (viz. focal frontal, schizophrenic, etc.), in almost every case has a lower mean IQ or fewer years of education than the control group to which it is compared. Thus, for example, Heaton (1981) pro vides the following data: focal frontal only —¿ IQ 95.5, focal non-frontal only —¿ IQ 101.5, and normals —¿ IQ 114.0; Weinberger et al(l986): schizophrenics —¿ 12.5 years of education; controls —¿ 16.8 years, and more recently, Miller et a! (Journal, January 1991, 158, 76—82) with late life psychosis (LLP) patients: LLP —¿


The Chinese medicinal herb, Aristolochia tuberosa C. F. Liang et S. M. Huang(Aristolochiaceae), has been used for the treatment of sore throat, venomous snake bites and tuberculosis in folk medicine. Two new 4, 5-dioxoaporphine alkaloids,tuberosinone and tuberosinone-N-β-D-glucoside, isolated from the tubers of the plant were established as 3 and 4 by means of chemical and spectral analyses.


This paper presents a data estimation scheme for wide band multichannel charge sampling filter bank receivers together with a complete system calibration algorithm based on the least mean squared (LMS) algorithm. A unified model has been defined for the receiver containing all first order mismatches, offsets, imperfections, and the LMS algorithm is employed to track these errors. The performance of this technique under noisy channel conditions has been verified. Moreover, a detailed complexity analysis of the calibration algorithm is provided which shows that sinc filter banks have much lower complexity than traditional continuous-time filter banks.


Value creation in the new economy powered by the Internet and globalization is characterized by relationship management, knowledge exchange and real-time connectivity. Enterprise relationship management is a business strategy that optimizes the relationships between a firm and its customers, channel partners, suppliers and other alliance partners, to maximize opportunities. This paper examines the characteristics of enterprise relationship management and its ecosystems in operations, analytics and collaboration enabled by technologies in ebusiness and knowledge management. An integrated architecture for enterprise relationship management is developed using the enterprise model framework.


The three-dimensional (3-D) modelling of water systems involving double-diffusive processes is challenging due to the large computation times required to solve the flow and transport of constituents. In systems that approach axisymmetry around a central location, computation times can be reduced by applying a quasi 3-D axisymmetric model setup. This article applies the Navier-Stokes equations described in cylindrical coordinates, and integrates them to guarantee mass and momentum conservation. The discretized equations are presented in a way that a Cartesian finite volume model can be easily extended to this quasi 3-D framework, which is demonstrated by the implementation into a non-hydrostatic free-surface flow model. This model employs temperature and salinity dependent densities, molecular diffusivities, and kinematic viscosity. Four qualitative case studies demonstrate a good behaviour with respect to expected density and diffusivity driven flow and stratification in shallow water bodies. A fifth case study involves a new validation method that quantifies the radial expansion of a dense water layer developing from a central inflow at the bottom of a shallow water body.


The synthesis of efavirenz (DMP 266) involves a highly enantioselective asymmetric reaction of ketone 2a with lithium cyclopropylacetylide 3a in the presence of (1R,2S)-pyrrolidinylnorephedrine (PNE) 4b as the chiral mediator to produce 6b, a key advance intermediate bearing a tetrasubstituted chiral carbon. The major drawback of this reaction is that it requires at least 2 mol of cyclopropylacetylene (CPA) 3b, 2 mol of the chiral mediator 4b, and 4 mol of an n-alkyllithium base to generate a 1 mol of addition product 6b. In a program to improve the cost-effectiveness of the process, we have studied this asymmetric addition reaction to reduce the stoichiometry of the chiral moderator and CPA nucleophile. The initial experimental designs to improve the stoichiometry were based on the assumption that the second equivalent of lithium cyclopropylacetylide simply acted as a base to deprotonate the N−H of ketones 2a or 2b, leaving 1 equiv of unlithiated and presumably unreactive CPA. It was reasoned that if we ...


Primary adrenocortical insufficiency (Addison's disease) is a rare disorder in which there is destruction of the adrenal cortex, thus reducing the production of glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, and sex steroids.1 2 Most cases are now due to autoimmune disease3 and occur more often in patients with an HLA-DR3 and HLA-B8 tissue type. The disease may be associated with other immune disorders, including thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, pernicious anaemia, hypoparathyroidism, and ovarian failure. We report two fatal cases of autoimmune Addison's disease that were diagnosed only at necropsy.

A 26 year old man was admitted to hospital with a history of two to three days of nausea and vomiting and increasingly frequent watery stools. He had also complained of a sore throat for two to three days, for which his family doctor had prescribed pivampicillin. He had not travelled overseas nor had he eaten any food outside his own home. He worked as a security officer near the Thames but never swam there. He had no previous history of weight loss, abdominal pain, or cardiovascular symptoms nor any important past medical history.

Initial examination showed him to be dehydrated with a temperature of 37.5°C, a pulse rate of 120 beats a minute, and blood pressure of 85/60 mm Hg (with no postural drop). No hyperpigmentation of skin creases or mucous membranes was noted. His tonsillar bed was inflamed. Examination of his abdomen was unremarkable. Haematological investigations gave normal results, in particular sodium 135 mmol/l (normal range 135-150 mmol/l), potassium 5.9 mmol/l (normal range 3.5-5.3 mmol/l), creatinine 233 µmol/l, urea 15.4 mmol/l, and glucose 3.9 mmol/l (normal range 3.0-8.0 mmol/l).

His electrocardiogram showed a sinus tachycardia with a normal axis, voltage, and T waves. A chest x ray picture revealed a normal heart with normal lung fields. Urine analysis and microscopy were …


Abstract Water deficit is one of the most important factors in reducing medicinal plants' yield. Origanum majorana L. grows in the some regions of world and it is cultivated for consumption and pharmaceutical purposes. In order to study the effects of methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA) on O. majorana L. under limited irrigation conditions, a factorial experiment was performed as a complete randomized design with three replications. Experimental factors including different limited irrigation conditions such as keeping the pots at field capacity during the experiment (control), irrigation pots in 75 % field capacity (mild limited irrigation), and irrigation plants in 50 % field capacity (moderate limited irrigation), and spraying treatments include 100 μM MeJA and control with water. At flowering stage, fresh weight, dry weight, and essential oil percentage (EO %) and yield, and essential oil composition were measured. Results indicated that moderate limited irrigation decreased plant weight and essential oil yield compared to the control. However, both mild and moderate limited irrigations increased EO % compared to the control. Foliar spray of MeJA improved growth parameters such as O. majorana L. fresh and dry weight just under mild limited irrigation conditions, while under moderate limited irrigation application of MeJA could not significantly change these parameters. Under mild limited irrigation conditions, MeJA causes significant reductions of 16.9 and 12.0 % in EO % and yield, respectively. Although limited irrigation did not have a significant effect on all of the O. majorana L. essential oil components, MeJA application changed O. majorana L. essential oil composition. With an increase in the limited irrigation level, MeJA application diminished the content of monoterpene hydrocarbons components from 20.56 to 18.21 % and increased oxygenated monoterpenes from 62.73 to 65.44 %. Results of this study revealed that MeJA could alleviate drought stress damages by stimulating oxygenated monoterpenes production and, therefore, could improve essential oil production under water stress conditions.


Objective:To investigate the clinical effects,security and the recently follow-up outcomes of transcatheter occlusion of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm(RSVA).Methods:Seven patients including six with the rupture of the right coronary sinus of Valsalva and one with the rupture of the nonecoronary sinus of Valsalva shunting into the right atrial were involved in the study and had been undergone transcatheter interventional occlusion.Observvation on echocardiography,electrocardiography,blood and ruine routine test,liver and kidney function test were performed instantly and on the follow-up 1,7 days after operation,and also echocardiography,electrocardiography,X-rays on the follow-up 30,90,180 days.Results:The width size of ruptured basic/top of RSVA of seven patients' was(9.286±1.604/5.914±1.078)mm on ehocardiography,and(10.286±1.496/6.5±1.384)mm on assending aorta angiography.The seven patients were all accepted PDA occluder.And the diameter of occluders' was(12±1.623)mm.Five patients han been undergone successful transcatheter closure without residual shunt.There were no hemolysis and aortic regurgitation postoperatively.Left ventricular diameter had been decreased significaterly at 7,30,90,180 days after operation than before.The occluder had no influence on the aneurysm,the ostil of the coronary artery,aortic valve.Conclusion:Transcatheter closure with PDA occluder is feassible,safe and effective for RSVA.


AbstractA geotextile mattress with sloping curtain (GMSC) was introduced to protect underwater pipelines from scour in steady currents. GMSC is a newly developed countermeasure against river and es...


For the novel passive detecting radar system,an algorithm based on the existing algorithm of Doppler changing rate is presented to improve the locating accuracy and convergence rate.The Doppler frequency is adopted as the observed quantity,at the same time the EKF algorithm is introduced to process the initial locating results.The computer simulation proves that the modified algorithm meets the requirements of the novel passive detecting radar system.


This research were aimed at determining water and sediment quality and screening for high Cd tolerance fungi from the Mae Tao creek in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. The study results revealed that mostly the surface water quality of the Mae Tao creek was suitable for people to consume and industrial purposes under sanitary controlled process and agriculture. The concentrations of Cd in water were low compared to the surface water quality standards of Thailand, but Cd levels in the sediment were found to exceed the UK Health Protection Agency standard of soil and sediment. Totally five isolates (Humicola sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp. 1, Aspergillus sp. 2 and Alternaria sp.) could grow on potato dextrose agar containing 1 mg l Cd. Altogether, Humicola sp. could grow in the presence of high concentration Cd and was considered as high Cd resistance fungi, which makes it an attractive potential candidate for further investigation regarding its ability to remove Cd from polluted water. 30 Tinnapan Netpae, Sawitree Suckley and Chitchol Phalaraksh


We report measurements of the superconducting gap in Al–Al2O3–Al tunnel junctions as a function of aluminium film thickness. Films of thickness 5, 7, 10 and 30 nm were used to form the small-area superconductor–insulator–superconductor tunnel junctions. In agreement with previous measurements we have observed an increase in the superconducting energy gap of aluminium with a decrease in film thickness. In addition, we find grain size in small-area films with thickness ≥10 nm has no appreciable effect on the energy gap. Finally, we utilize 7 and 30 nm films in a single Cooper-pair transistor and observe the modification of the finite bias transport processes due to the engineered gap profile.


Background:
 Primary hypertension (HTN) in pediatrics is a significant public health concern with increasing prevalence. The risk for adult HTN and end-organ damage begins in childhood. Therefore, evidence-based guidelines were developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2017 with detailed recommendations on screening and diagnosis. Ongoing follow-up is essential for diagnosis (at least 3 follow-up visits are needed to diagnose HTN if BP is high). However, gaps in care(GIC) exist in detecting and diagnosing HTN in clinical practice with barriers to accurate HTN detection at the patient, provider, and health system levels. Patient factors such as social determinants of health (SDoH), including the Childhood Opportunity Index (COI), leading to GIC with recommended follow-up needed for HTN diagnosis at primary care visits are poorly understood.

 Methods:
 A total of 69,960 patients aged 6-22 years seen at Nemours Children's Health in DE and PA between August 2017- March 2019 formed the cohort. SDoH, including language, race, ethnicity, and COI, were explored. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

 Results:
 Only 596 patients(0.9%) had HTN or were recognized as having a high BP. 73%(432) patients had over a 1-year GIC. GIC was associated with insurance type(P=0.05) and having 2 or fewer caregivers(P=0.004). GIC was not associated with race, ethnicity, language, interpreter use, or COI.

 Conclusions:
 Despite evidence-based guidelines, HTN detection remains poor. Patient factors, including insurance and the number of caregivers, likely lead to GIC with follow-up for HTN in pediatric patients. However, GIC for routine HTN follow-up are not broadly associated with SDoH. Other barriers likely exist at the provider and health system level leading to GIC and poor HTN detection.


Gall bladder motility after endoscopic sphincterotomy EDITOR,—We read with interest the article by Sugiyama and Atomi (Gut 1996;39:856–9) on the eVect of endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) on gall bladder motility. These authors have proved conclusively that ES causes a significant improvement in gall bladder mo-tility in humans. We have assessed gall bladder motility in patients who underwent ES for common bile duct (CBD) stones and compared these with patients with gall bladder calculi but without CBD stones. We found significantly lower fasting and residual gall bladder volumes in the patients who had undergone ES, indicating reduced filling after ES. 1 However, the ejection fraction and the rate constant of gall bladder emptying in these patients was increased significantly, suggesting increased gall bladder emptying. In another study 2 we found a significant decrease in fasting volume after ES, suggesting decreased stasis and increased gall bladder emptying. In Sugiyama and Atomi's this study, all patients in whom gall bladder motility was assessed before ES had CBD stones; all stones were extracted before the motility studies were repeated. The major problem in this study is in diVerentiating between the eVects of the CBD stones and the sphincter-otomy itself. Fasting and residual volumes and maximum contraction were significantly diVerent before and after ES. However, when one looks at these parameters in normal controls , it is clear that abnormal values before ES tend to normalise after ES, especially in patients with primary CBD stones. This strongly suggests that CBD stones adversely aVect gall bladder motility. Common bile duct stones hinder gall bladder emptying by obstructing the lower CBD. In our study the patients had dilated CBD and some had multiple/large CBD stones, indicating significant obstruction. We circumvented this problem by including patients without significant CBD obstruction as reflected by normal serum bilirubin, a normal CBD diameter on cholangiography, and single/small CBD stones. 3 Therefore, we believe that in this study improvement in gall bladder motility could be due to both ES and removal of the stones. In Sugiyama and Atomi's study healthy volunteers were used as controls rather than patients with gallstones but without CBD stones. If gall bladder volumes and maximum contraction in patients with CBD stones were the same as in those with gallstones but without CBD stones, then one could conclude that the presence of CBD stones did not aVect gall bladder emptying. Patients with gallstones have small, contracted gall bladders because …


The use of the human hand as a natural interface device serves as a motivating force for research in the modeling, analysis and capture of the motion of an articulated hand. Model-based hand motion capture can be formulated as a large nonlinear programming problem, but this approach is plagued by local minima. An alternative way is to use analysis-by-synthesis by searching a huge space, but the results are rough and the computation expensive. In this paper, articulated hand motion is decoupled, a new two-step iterative model-based algorithm is proposed to capture articulated human hand motion, and a proof of convergence of this iterative algorithm is also given. In our proposed work, the decoupled global hand motion and local finger motion are parameterized by the 3D hand pose and the state of the hand respectively. Hand pose determination is formulated as a least-median-of-squares (LMS) problem rather than the nonrobust least-squares (LS) problem, so that 3D hand pose can be reliably calculated even if there are outliers. Local finger motion is formulated as an inverse kinematics problem. A genetic algorithm-based method is proposed to find a sub-optimal solution of the inverse kinematics effectively. Our algorithm and the LS-based algorithm are compared in several experiments. Both algorithms converge when local finger motion between consecutive frames is small. When large finger motion is present, the LS-based method fails, but our algorithm can still estimate the global and local finger motion well.


Financial investors base their activity on the expectation that their investment will increase over time, leading to an increase in wealth. Over a fixed time period, the investor seeks to maximise the return on the investment, that is, the increase in asset value as a proportion of the initial investment. The final values of most assets (other than loans at a fixed rate of interest) are uncertain, so that the returns on these investments need to be expressed in terms of random variables. To estimate the return on such an asset by a single number it is natural to use the expected value of the return, which averages the returns over all possible outcomes. Our uncertainty about future market behaviour finds expression in the second key concept in finance: risk. Assets such as stocks, forward contracts and options are risky because we cannot predict their future values with certainty. Assets whose possible final values are more 'widely spread' are naturally seen as entailing greater risk. Thus our initial attempt to measure the riskiness of a random variable will measure the spread of the return, which rational investors will seek to minimise while maximising their return. In brief, return reflects the efficiency of an investment, risk is concerned with uncertainty. The balance between these two is at the heart of portfolio theory, which seeks to find optimal allocations of the investor's initial wealth among the available assets: maximising return at a given level of risk and minimising risk at a given level of expected return.


Chronopotentiometry is used for detecting damage to scDNA. The technique offers useful detection of DNA strand break at a supercoiled DNA modified mercury electrode.


For an ensemble of iso‐contours in multi‐dimensional scalar fields, we present new methods to a) visualize their dominant spatial patterns of variability, and b) to compute the conditional probability of the occurrence of a contour at one location given the occurrence at some other location. We first show how to derive a statistical model describing the contour variability, by representing the contours implicitly via signed distance functions and clustering similar functions in a reduced order space. We show that the spatial patterns of the ensemble can then be derived by analytically transforming the boundaries of a confidence interval computed from each cluster into the spatial domain. Furthermore, we introduce a mathematical basis for computing correlations between the occurrences of iso‐contours at different locations. We show that the computation of these correlations can be posed in the reduced order space as an integration problem over a region bounded by four hyper‐planes. To visualize the derived statistical properties we employ a variant of variability plots for streamlines, now including the color coding of probabilities of joint contour occurrences. We demonstrate the use of the proposed techniques for ensemble exploration in a number of 2D and 3D examples, using artificial and meteorological data sets.


In this paper, recognising the speaker in the multilingual context is demonstrated. Multilingual speaker recognition is useful in countries like India, Canada and South Africa where multiple languages are used for communication. In such countries, use of the monolingual speaker recognition system may not yield the expected level of performance. This is because a speaker may change his training and test languages whenever it is necessary. As a result, the system yields poor performance due to variation in language parameters. Therefore, developing a robust multilingual speaker recognition system is an issue in many countries. Researchers in the field of speaker recognition have made a few attempts to identify the speaker in a multilingual context. This paper gives an overview of various techniques developed for monolingual, cross-lingual and multilingual speaker recognition systems.


A sociologist who has to confront him/herself with social change cannot avoid running into subjectivity, which is seen as a clear indicator of the most recent tendencies that are going through contemporary society. The demand for subjectivity, generically considered as self-consciousness and the need for self-fulfilment, is undoubtedly a distinguishing feature of our age. The central role this concept has gained within recent sociological literature, however, coincides with the rise of a postmodern sociology, which tends to put forward a precise image of subjectivity that I would call "minimalist." Through its call for subjectivity, postmodern sociology intends to celebrate indeed a radical freeing from the ethical, social, and relational constraints that would have oppressed human beings during modernity, which was characterized by a high degree of sociocentrism. Although I share all the contentions that aim at underlining the positive achievements of subjectivity over the constrictions and the de-personalizing forces that distressed the so-called homo sociologicus, I think we need nonetheless to distance ourselves from this new reductionism, which levels out subjectivity to its postmodern conception, and to underline instead the existence of a dual aspect in contemporary subjectivity. As a matter of fact, along with its minimalist and disengaged aspect, conceptualized in the homo psychologicus, another possible expression, called "significant subjectivity" is emerging, which is a typical feature of the kind of human I propose to define civicus, a human who distinguishes him/herself because of the ability to become the bearer of an authentic form of responsible freedom. Consequently, we can identify two different aspects, at least, in contemporary subjectivity, notably a minimalist and a significant aspect.


Aim. The paper will revisit nature of symbolization in depressive position with respect to its realization in external reality. Base for the analysis will be Hanna Segal paper Delusions and artistic creativity: some reflections on reading "The Spire" by William Golding (Segal, 1974/1988), enriched with findings she presented in her later paper Acting on phantasy and acting on desire (Segal, 1992/2007), context for the analysis will be provided by Kleinian psychoanalytic framework.
Methods. Psychoanalysis core interest is thinking and thought formation. In the paper I will try to move this emphasis on examining pure thinking into exploration of mixture that thought and action create. I will therefore analyse on what tokens mind content can be put into action, and conversely how action is being incorporated into thought. I will perform the study using Hanna Segal interpretation of The Spire by William Golding, which she issued on 1974. I will also reach out to her other papers to broaden the interpretation, including the paper she wrote almost twenty years later on Festschrift for her colleague, philosopher Richard Wollheim (Segal, 1992/2007), that actually proposes the solid linkage between thinking and its expressions in the world. The study will be performed with reference to Kleinian psychoanalytic framework, it will be centred around object relation and anxieties the object arouses (paranoid schizoid and depressive positions), with respect to their impact on thought formation (symbolization, sublimation).
Results and conclusions. Analysis of relationship between symbolisation and action enhances understanding of two main responses to depressive position: sublimation and maniac defences, for it explores the extent to which ego benefits/refuses to benefit from internal and external reality. While the rereading Segal interpretation of The Spire allows to spot how creative act enables capturing most difficult internal and external truths, it also  reveals – when put in context of Wollheim's concept of acting on phantasy and acting on desire- that maniac response is less a form of protection and more a direct attack on receptivity and penetrating exploration for their associations to primary scene.
Cognitive value. Studying depressive symbolization as a vehicle for acting on either phantasy or desire reveals, that employment of behavioural component forces to revisit maniac defences in light of their actual aftermath in external world. Such refined view onto depressive defences further contributes to improved differentiation of symbolization in depressive position, for it puts under scrutiny relation between ego and performed action. It allows to recognize that in addition to symbol proper (formed by anxiety for object) and symbolic equation (defined by anxiety of object), there is also partly malformed form of symbol shaped by maniac defences (and so by absence of anxiety for object), which disfiguration is best examinable in changes to external reality it makes.


The 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 \ensuremath{\pi}-bonded chain reconstruction of cleaved Si(111) is observed on sputtered and annealed Si(111) surfaces after thermal quenching. Several terraces of 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 comprising all three principle domains are seen in a region \ensuremath{\sim}2000\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}700 A${\mathrm{\r{}}}^{2}$, noncontiguous with domains of 7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}7 reconstruction that surround the 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 area. Phase boundaries between 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 domains are observed both on terraces (intraterrace) and between terraces (interterrace) at double-layer step transitions. I-V characteristics acquired over the 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 terraces show good overall agreement with previous work, but differ by 0.1\char21{}0.4 V in the energy position of features in the normalized differential conductivity. This may be due to the variability in electronic structure for typical high-resolution tunneling tips, bringing into question the use of such tips for electronic-structure analysis. The presence of this phase on an otherwise 7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}7 surface is interpreted in terms of thermal-stress cleavage of the sample during the quench.


It is sometimes assumed that the poetry of the Crusader period was part of a concerted propaganda effort to rouse Muslims to fight and to legitimate Muslim rulers in the eyes of other Muslims by portraying them as ascetic, Sunni revivalists focused on Jihad. Based on samples from the Ḫarīdat al-qaṣr wa-ǧarīdat ahl al-ʿaṣr, a massive 6th/12th-century adab anthology by ʿImād al-Dīn al-Iṣfahānī, this article argues for a different understanding of both the content and the circulation of this period's poetry. I show that poetry was not addressed to a "public," but rather was a form of elite communication in which social identity was performed, negotiated, and consolidated. Furthermore, ʿImād al-Dīn's anthology does not marginalize Shiʿite voices or insist on portraying rulers as ascetics. I trace the origins of these assumptions and show that levity, licentiousness, and Shiʿites were all celebrated in the poetic discourses of the 6th/12th century.


The frequency of the occurrence of migraine in women as compared with men is a matter of interest because of the relation of this disproportionate sex ratio to the inheritance of migraine. 1 Present knowledge of this sex ratio is derived from the reports of clinical cases, as shown in table 1, and shows a preponderance of women over men. On the other hand, Gowers 2 said, "The preponderance of females has been greatly exaggerated," and Crookshank 3 has more recently said that "Perhaps men suffer more frequently from true migraine than do women." This preponderance of women in clinical reports led Jens Smith, 4 while concluding that migraine was inherited directly as a dominant trait, at the same time to conclude that it must in some way be sex-linked. He offered as evidence the statement that migraine most frequently descends from mother to daughter, next in frequency from mother


This paper focuses on issues related to the distinction between contract clauses that give third parties the right to fill out the parties' agreement and arbitration clauses in the context of purchase price adjustment clauses, the latter which can be found in contracts for business transfers.

At a transfer of an undertaking, the price of the target company is derived from the financial conditions that existed on the date of signing. A business transfer can be accomplished either by a transfer of shares or by an asset transfer. Purchase price adjustment clauses are relevant in both cases. Due to the uncertainty, in the one or two month period, between signing and closing, the signing contract usually stipulates a preliminary purchase price. The price is then adjusted, taking into account any changes in value that have occurred in the target company from the latest annual report to the date of closing. The contract normally includes a purchase adjustment clause if the parties cannot agree on a closing access, which stipulates that an independent auditor is to determine the final purchase price of the target company.

A question that arises is whether a valuation is to be considered an arbitration award or if the valuation should only be given a civil effect. A related question is whether the parties with a purchase price adjustment clause can create procedural effects in the sense that a valuation can be addressed only at a formal basis even if the clause is not perceived as an arbitration agreement.

The essay begins with a description of the valuation clauses and their function as pricing mechanisms. In the same section purchase price adjustment clauses are exemplified and their development is discussed (Chapter 2). The subsequent section introduces the question whether or not the parties through the design of a civil law provision can achieve procedural effects to the extent that an executed valuation can be questioned exclusively on a formal basis (Chapter 3). This is followed by a section on contractual interpretation, which seeks to illustrate how the demarcation problem of arbitration clauses occur (Chapter 4). After that the current policies of the delineation are described (Chapter 5) and their consequences (Chapter 6). The thesis ends with an analysis and conclusions (Chapter 7).


GRB 980519 had the most rapidly fading of the well-documented GRB afterglows, consistent with t(sup -2.05 +/- 0.04) in BVRI as well as in X-rays during the two days in which observations were made. We report VRI observations from the MDM 1.3m and WIYN 3.5m telescopes, and we synthesize an optical spectrum from all of the available photometry. The optical spectrum alone is well fitted by a power law of the form nu(sup - 1.20 +/- 0.25), with some of the uncertainty due to the significant Galactic reddening in this direction. The optical and X-ray spectra together are adequately fitted by a single power law nu(sup 1.05 +/- 0.10). This combination of steep temporal decay and flat broad-band spectrum places a severe strain on the simplest afterglow models involving spherical blast waves in a homogeneous medium. Instead, the rapid observed temporal decay is more consistent with 2 models of expansion into a medium of density n(r) proportional to r(sup -2), or with predictions of the evolution of a jet after it slows down and spreads laterally. The jet model would relax the energy requirements on some of the more extreme GRBs, of which GRB 980519 is likely to be an example because of its large gamma-ray fluence and faint host galaxy.


Discussion centred around four topics relevant to the eukaryotic S phase: (i) the control of initiation of S, (ii) the prevention of reinitiation in the cell cycle, (iii) origins of replication, (iv) replicon organization and fork movement. The Chairman (D. H. Williamson) suggested that the initiation of S-phase replication was probably set in train on the completion of interlocking "cascades" of events bringing about a number of necessary but individually insufficient preconditions. Transcriptional analysis of yeast cdc genes had shown that a number of genes coding for DNA metabolism enzymes were transiently transcribed towards the end of GI , distinctly earlier than the histone genes. The precise synchrony of their activation argues strongly for their coordinate regulation as part of a "preinitiation cascade," and molecular dissection of the underlying mechanism might offer a means of breaking in to this cascade. R. K. Storms reviewed this area. Genes already known to be involved in the late G1 burst of transcription included those coding for DNA ligase, DNA polymerase, thymidylate synthase, thymidylate kinase, and (a recent addition) DNA primase I. The HO endonuclease and ribonucleotide reductase were also transcribed late in GI , but the precise timings were not clear. The only commonly found sequence element identified in the upstream regions of these genes was the small palindrome, ACGCGT, but its role in transcription had yet to be determined. L. H. Johnston has shown that a hexanucleotide sequence ACGATT, which was repeated six times in the upstream region of the yeast DNA ligase gene, was analogous to a UAS, but worked only in one orientation. A minimum of one of these repeats was essential for transcription, but they did not seem to be involved in periodic regulation and were not common to all the genes of the group. The chairman reported that L. H. Johnston had isolated mutants in which low-level constitutive expression of all the DNA synthesis genes occurred throughout the cell cycle (and even in nongrowing cells), but ,the normal periodic regulation was still apparent. The histone genes were unaffected. L. H. Johnston had also identified a cell cycle mutant which was transiently expressed earlier than the other DNA synthesis genes, and which therefore might be an earlier member of a cascade. On the problem of reinitiation prevention, J. Blow summarized his work with a Xenopus early embryo lysate system. This had led to the hypothesis that intranuclear "licensing" factors were required for initiation of replication, but were then inactivated, a new supply being acquired only when the nuclear membrane dispersed during mitosis. This interesting hypothesis is strongly supported by the fact that reinitiation does occur when the model nuclei of the system arc treated with membrane-active agents. However, other possibilities cannot be ruled out. A most exciting recent development has been the virtual proof that yeast chromosomal ARS elements in situ do act as origins of replication, and new findings were summarized by M. Linskens. Using the novel techniques developed in Huberman's and Fangman's laboratories, the Huberman group has recently mapped the only replication origin in a 22.5-kilobase (kb) stretch of yeast chromosome I11 to within a few hundred base pairs of an ARS. Similar correlations had now been made by both laboratories for a few other origins. There were signs that particular origins might not be used by all the cells in a population, or in every cell cycle. Selective usage of origins was particularly clear in the yeast r3NA cluster. M. Linskens had found that initiation occurs near the weak ARS in the spacer region of the ribosomal repeat but, in confirmation of earlier work by others, only a few of the ARSs of the cluster are utilized. Replication is bidirectional, but the left-hand replication fork halts at about the point where the major transcript of the adjacent cistron terminates. However, the right-hand fork moves along 3 10 repeat units before it meets a stalled left-hand fork. Essentially identical results had been reported by Fangman's laboratory. The frequency of initiation is both strainand conditiondependent, and the block to left-hand fork movement might reflect the presence of a specific replicon termination signal. The way cells avoid conflict between replication and transcription was discussed. Raman outlined the relationship between timing of replication of chromosomal regions in the mammalian S phase and their transcriptional activity, euchromatic transcriptionally active genes generally were replicated early in S. However, in experiments involving alteration of the expression status of the X-linked HPRT gene, no clear correlation was observed.


paper gives a brief review of few common path tracking techniques used in the design of autonomous vehicles. Technique such as pure-pursuit, vector pursuit as well as CF- pursuit which are all based on the pure-pursuit techniques were discussed and a detailed comparism was made between these geometric techniques. Also this review work discusses areas were little research has been done. Areas such as tracking of an implicit part of a mobile robot and proposes an area where feature research can be done such as tracking of both implicit and explicit path for a non-holonomic mobile robot.


Premature infants, especially those with very low birth weights (VLBW), have a high risk of developing hearing impairment. Early diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems plays an important role in speech development and academic and occupational performance later in life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of hearing impairment in VLBW infants and their associated developmental outcome subsequent to early diagnosis followed by early treatment. From January 1998 through to July 2003, 215 VLBW infants (M:F=113:102) were enrolled. Potential risk factors for hearing impairment were recorded. All infants underwent assessment of brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) at a corrected age of 6 months. If an abnormal test result (>40 decibels dB) was noted, additional testing was done at the corrected ages of 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. In this study, we found significant associations between hearing impairment and birth body weight, gestational age, duration of mechanical ventilator usage, duration of hospitalization, respiratory distress syndrome, surfactant treatment, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, periventricular leucomalacia, cerebral palsy, necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis but there was no significant relationship with Vancomycin and gentamycin use. Two hundred and eight (96.7%) of the 215 infants passed the initial auditory test. Of the seven (3.3%) with abnormal hearing test results, one had a mixed type hearing impairment, one had a severe bilateral peripheral type and the others had mild peripheral type of impairment. All of these infants were provided with hearing aids immediately after diagnosis and no associated speech commencement delay was noted. We conclude that high risk infants must be assessed early for hearing impairment.


The dust storm and fly ash which happened from the tarim Basin(on may 13~14th in 1999) and the Beijing area (on April 6~7th in 2000) are analyzed with the data from FY 1C Meteorological Satellite launched Recently in china .The above illustrates that the FY 1C Meteorological Satellite can exert the best function at the aspect of environment monitor.


As pointed out by Fan et al., endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) can be performed using a variety of techniques in patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) anatomy. However, we believe each technique has substantial limitations. ERCP performed after laparoscopic [1] or radiologic [2] access to the gastric remnant requires schedule coordination, which may further delay a needed procedure. We do acknowledge that ERCP with laparoscopic assistance may be feasible in centers where surgeons also perform ERCP. It should be noted that our technique does not require gastrostomy tract maturation, as gastropexy is performed prior to gastrostomy creation. This allows immediate use of the gastrostomy tract. In our experience, ERCP performed using balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) can be successful but in many cases is time consuming and produces inconsistent results. Fan et al. poignantly state that limb length may be the only limiting factor to successful ERCP using BAE [3]. Regardless of limb length, certain clinical scenarios (i. e. sphincter of Oddi dysfunction) demand maximal sphincterotomy, which is difficult to achieve with a forward-viewing endoscope due to lack of an en face view of the papilla and lack of an elevator [4]. Thus, we believe our technique is superior in this setting. We believe that the percutaneous-assisted transprosthetic endoscopic therapy (PATENT) technique [5] has several additional advantages over previously identified techniques. The technique has the benefit of direct visualization during gastrostomy creation, allowing us to choose an optimal site for subsequent ERCP. In contrast to laparoscopic-assisted ERCP, the gastrostomy tract allows access following initial ERCP. This allows the second duodenum to be reached easily using either a forward-viewing gastroscope or a side-viewing duodenoscope in the event of post-sphincterotomy bleeding and/or the need to remove a retained prophylactic pancreatic duct stent. Not all endoscopists are trained in deep enteroscopy techniques and thus enteroscopy-trained endoscopists may not be readily available should adverse events related to the sphincterotomy arise. In summary, we believe that the PATENT technique is a viable option for any indication in patients with RYGB anatomy and is superior to ERCP after laparoscopic or radiologic access. We acknowledge that ERCP using BAE may be successful in patients with certain noncomplex clinical scenarios (i. e. choledocholithiasis, malignant biliary obstruction); however, the PATENT technique should be strongly considered in complex cases (i. e. malignant hilar obstruction, primary sclerosing cholangitis, sphincter of Oddi dysfunction). Competing interests: None


This article presents a study of a between-subjects design experiment on the comprehension of telicity in simple telic predicates (e.g., John filled the bucket) and locatum predicates (e.g., the water filled the bucket) in L1 Spanish. Weist, Wysocka, and Lyytinen (1991) for English and Finnish, and Van Hout (1997, 1998b) for English and Dutch have shown that children up to age 6;06 allow simple telic predicates to have both telic and atelic interpretations. The main objective of this article is to show that children aged 3;09 allow locatum structures to be interpreted as telic, like adults, but allow simple telic predicates to have telic and atelic interpretations. The central claim is that in simple telic predicates, telicity is checked by covert movement, while in locatum predicates, telicity is checked by overt movement. Children misinterpret simple telic predicates because covert movement is an operation that takes place after the branching off to the PF component, but perform like adults when overt movement is involved.


Plants produce sugar and oxygen in a process called photosynthesis, by using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. This is an important process on Earth, since it removes carbon dioxide from the air and provides food for us. Photosynthesis happens in small compartments within the plant cells, called chloroplasts. In a two-step process, plants obtain chemical energy from sunlight. The collected energy is used in a second reaction to produce the sugar glucose. Glucose is combined with fructose, which is fruit sugar, to create sucrose, our well-known table sugar. Sugar beets take ~7 months to grow and provide ~32% of the world's table sugar production. As they grow, they must be protected from weeds and diseases. Once they have grown sufficiently, the sugar beets can be harvested and processed in a sugar factory to obtain table sugar.


On October 6, 1995, a unique public/private partnership of local, state, federal, and corporate stakeholders started construction of the world`s first wastewater-to-electricity system in Lake County, California. A rare example of a genuinely {open_quotes}sustainable{close_quotes} energy system, three Lake County communities will recycle their wastewater effluent through the Geysers geothermal steamfield to produce enough power to meet their electricity needs for decades to come. Known as the Southeast Geysers Effluent Pipeline Project, this $45 million effort has become a national model of geothermal resource management distinguished by the following accomplishments: (1) Turning the rhetoric of sustainability into functional infrastructure that sustains electric generation with a combination of community wastes and geothermal energy. (2) Creating an inclusive partnership of eleven public and private stakeholders to undertake the project. (3) Integrating the project`s environmental review with its engineering design to avoid rather than mitigate impacts. (4) Using consensus decision-making among stakeholders during project development to insure eventual support for implementation. When construction is completed in 1997, the project will begin an expected 25-year operating life that will provide the Lake County communities with not only all of their electricity needs, but also sufficient wastewater disposal capacity to accommodate regional growth to 2022.


The composite photocatalyst was produced by loading nano-TiO2 on the film of natural polymer material(loofah sponge).The loofah sponge and nano-TiO2 were graft-modified,and then the glutaraldehyde was used as the intermediate reactant to conduct the crosslinking reaction of the loofah and the nano-TiO2,and finaly led to the nano-TiO2 film forming on the surface of loofah.The infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to characterize the structure and morphology of loofah sponge samples.Results showed that the nano-TiO2 was well loaded on the surface of the loofah sponge by the connection of KH550.Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange solution was conducted at room temperature with UV-light(365nm)as light source and the produced composite photocatalyst as photocatalyst.The results showed that the degradation rate of methyl orange reached to 32.21%,and the sustainable photodegradation capability of composite photocatalyst was perfect.


A self-adjuvanting vaccine candidate comprising four copies of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), a galactose carrier/core and lipoamino acid based adjuvant was synthesized in 21% yield by a solid phase peptide synthesis, carbohydrate and Boc-chemistry methods.


Objective To construct the retroviral (RV) vector with report gene enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and to explore the gene transfection efficiency of RV on SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. Methods By the technique of genetic recombination, the recombinant RV/EGFP viruses had been constructed. The concentration of diluted RV virus solution was determined by counting the NIH3T3 cells with fluorescent expression. Then the RV/EGFP virus was used to transfer SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. The transfection efficiency in SK-NSH cell was measured by flow cytometer. Results The gene transfer vector RV/EGFP had been successfully constructed. We obtained the recombinant RV/EGFP with a concentration of 8.3 × 106 viruses/mL. The PV/EGFP had been stably transferred and effectively expressed in SK-N-SH cell. The transfection and expression efficiency of RV was above 30% in SK-N-SH cells determined by observing EGFP expression. Conclusion The SK-N-SH cells can be transferred effectively by recombinant RV vector. In transgenetic cells, the expression of transgene was stable, and moreover, RV vector had better genetically transfected efficiency than other methods.


This paper studies the Capacitance-Frequency of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film-based interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) for ss-DNA immobilization. TiO2 thin film was deposited on P-type silicon dioxide (SiO2) (1 0 0) substrates using monoethanolamine (MEA) sol-gel route by spin-coating method. Titanium butoxide was used as a precursor source while ethanol and MEA were used as a disperser and stabilizer respectively. Metal IDEs of aluminium (Al) was deposited on the synthesized films for the electrical characterization. From the electrical data, it proves that the synthesized TiO2 thin film is effective and can be used for the synthesis of TiO2 thin films with biomedical application.


Slot-entry bearings are compared with conventional hydrodynamic bearings and also with recessed hydrostatic bearings. Whereas recessed bearings are not ideal for hybrid operation, improvements in load capacity can be achieved by the use of non-return valves in the supply lines. However, it is shown that a much improved performance may be obtained from slot-entry bearings. Slot-entry bearings have additional advantages of manufacturing simplicity and compactness when compared with other hybrid bearings.Experimental results for recessed bearings and for slot-entry bearings justify computer solutions at moderate values of eccentricity ratio and speed parameters.


The nonlinear double-diffusive convection in a Boussinesq fluid with stable constant vertical solute gradient, and bound by two differentially heated rigid inclined parallel plates is considered. The analysis was carried out by a Galerkin method for the cases when the angle of inclination was 0°, −45° and +45° (positive angle denotes heating from below, and negative angle denotes heating from above). The counter-rotating cells predicted by the linear theory merge into single cells with the same sense of rotation within a very short period of time even under slightly supercritical conditions. This is consistent with the experimental observations. Furthermore, as observed in the experiments, the evolution of instability is more rapid when heating is from above than when heating is from below. Our results for a salt-heat system are in excellent agreement with those based on the limiting case of Lewis number → 0 and Schmidt number → ∞.


There are ample numbers of surveillance systems which can provide only 2D environment representation using video or images as output. However, if we can utilise the available technology of 3D point cloud generation to represent the surrounding in 3D it could create more accurate representation and depth perception of the surrounding. We are using Kinect/stereo cameras for input as well as ultrasonic rangefinders for collision avoidance. A point cloud is a set of data points in some coordinate system. In a three-dimensional coordinate system, these points are usually defined by X, Y, and Z co-ordinates, and often are intended to represent the external surface of an object. 3D scanners may create point clouds. These devices measure a large number of points on an object's surface, and often output a point cloud as a data file. The point cloud represents the set of points that the device has measured. As the result of a 3D scanning process point clouds are used for many purposes, including to create 3D CAD models for manufactured parts, metrology/quality inspection, and a multitude of visualization, animation, rendering and mass customization applications. Rangefinders for collision avoidance. A point cloud is a set of data points in some coordinate system. In a three-dimensional coordinate system, these points are usually defined by X, Y, and Z co-ordinates, and often are intended to represent the external surface of an object. 3D scanners may create point clouds. These devices measure a large number of points on an object's surface and often output a point cloud as a data file. The point cloud represents the set of points that the device has measured. As the result of a 3D scanning process point clouds are used for many purposes, including to create 3D CAD models for manufactured parts, metrology/quality inspection, and a multitude of visualization, animation, rendering and mass customization applications.


SINCE 1975, a number of investigators have studied the usefulness of surgery, particularly temporal lobectomy, as a treatment for epilepsy during childhood and adolescence. Davidson and Falconer (1975) reviewed the outcome of temporal lobectomy as a means of managing temporal lobe epilepsy in 40 children. Surgically, all patients underwent en-bloc resection of temporal lobe with portions of mesial structures. In this series, 58% of nonmass lesion patients (mesial temporal sclerosis) became seizure-free over the long term. These were the best results among patients who also had tumors, hamartomas, and other mass lesions. In 1978, Goldring described his technique of extraoperative epidural electrocorticography specifically with application to children. Seventeen of 46 patients discussed were children. He records that 70% of the group benefited from surgery (i.e., no seizures, or a significant reduction in incidence of seizures.) Green analyzed 28 children who underwent temporal lobectomy between 1949 and 1973. Nine patients had permanent morbidity: one had left hemiparesis, four had upper quadratic hemianopsia, three had nondisabling homonymosus hemianopsia, and one had partial Kluver-Bucy syndrome. Green's study is significant in that it specifically details morbidity. The Mayo Clinic review done by Meyer et al in 1986 is perhaps one of the most complete syntheses of results from temporal lobectomy to date. These investigators reviewed 50 patients from their Mayo Clinic


Objective To evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of gynecological malignance.Methods Neoadjuvent chemotherapy with paclitaxel and cisplatin or carboplatin were carried out in 28 patients with locally advanced cervical cancinoma and 16 patients with advanced ovarian cancer with massive ascites.The efficacy was analyzed.Results In 28 patients of cervical cancinoma,4 cases were CR,18 cases were PR,the total effective rate was 78.6%.The ascites of 16 patients with ovarian cancer was diminished maekedly after chemotherapy.ConclusionPreoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy is effective and safe in the treatment of gynecological malignance.


The experimental residues of organic phosphorus pesticides in leafy vegetables were determined.Regularityze and study the decay period.Collect commercially available vogrtables with high pesticide residues for oxample,the cabbage,rape,lettuce,spinach for analysis.Make of organic phosphorus pesticide standard working curve,as a quantitative standard.Study on the effect of the different place and processing methods for attenuation.Decay cycle of pick vegetables organophosphorus pesticides were measured to be four to five days.The natural plant attenuation period is about three days.After the comparative test,we found that there was less amount of pesticide residues in vegetables washed than normal temperature drop.


Medical practitioners are aware of the need to obtain consent for interventions or procedures but the concept of informed consent has placed an additional onus on physicians to explore alternative procedures and detail all risks and benefits. This may involve an explanation of relatively rare complications or side effects previously considered too infrequent to mention. However, practitioners are still uncertain as to how much information should be provided to patients and how to balance cultural intricacies with standard consent requirements. The legality of consent now places a very significant responsibility on the doctor to have explained risks, benefits and alternate treatments.


The SAR image simulation has been developed in the time domain to investigate a SAR imaging mechanism for moving ocean surfaces. In the previous paper [2], the simulation had carried out for ocean waves to confirm image displacements caused by moving surfaces. The results of the previous paper showed that the wave pattern of the azimuth wave is not displayed in the simulated SAR image. We had concluded that it is caused by velocity bunching. However, in this paper, the SAR imaging mechanism of ocean waves is reconsidered that it is affected not only by motion induced modulation but also by scattering intensity. To examine the SAR imaging mechanism, azimuth signals from moving and stationary waves are simulated. The results show that the velocity bunching might not occur in accordance with the conventional theories. It is suggested that when backscattering intensities from ocean surfaces that have radial velocities are weak, their modulations are also minor components in SAR signals. A possible explanation about diminishing wave patterns of azimuth waves in SAR images is discussed in terms of local incident angles that are angles between SAR and ocean surface.


The invention discloses an exposing method, comprising the steps of: A. according to the set exposure time, exposing photosensitive cell; B. if determining photosensitive quantity of the photosensitive cell does not reach the threshold value, executing the step A and otherwise locking the state of the photosensitive cell. And the invention makes better retains all details in the regions of different brightness. And the invention also discloses an exposing device, and a method and device of reconstructing the original images.


Concentration of family-based ownership and recent development of private equity companies in Continental Europe suggest that the motivations and results of public-to-private (PTP) deals may differ from well-studied cases in the USA and the UK. We overview the PTP market and measure the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of 106 PTP deals concluded in Continental Europe from 2000 to 2005, introducing a model to explain the abnormal returns. Our results partially confirm findings of previous studies, namely, that undervalued and smaller firms register higher CARs. We additionally find that deals promoted by family owners register higher abnormal returns, whereas financial investors and private operating firms show no impact.


23Background: Some studies suggest anastomotic leakage (AL) may adversely affect long-term survival in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy (RG) for gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, we assume that common risk evaluation system for short-term and long-term prognosis can be devised in patients with GC that have undergone RG. Methods: Five hundred and twenty patients undergone RG against GC during May 2012 to March 2017 were enrolled. Patients' characteristics, preoperative laboratory data, operative information and pathological factors were analyzed. Also AL with Clavien-Dindo classification Grade≥III (AL≥III), disease free survival (DFS) and disease specific survival (DSS) were examined. Results: By bringing patients under classification of "with or without relapse" and "with or without AL≥III", we identified preoperative body weight (BW), serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin (Alb) level were independent risk factors of both relapse and AL≥III. Stratifying patients with recurrence, we obtained crud...


Back in March I made a note to myself to write a paper — or, more likely, a blog post — presenting a taxonomy of behavioural interventions. I had gotten tired of everything being called a 'nudge' and with debates about whether nudges are ethical [1]. I even bought a copy of Nudge so that I could use it to populate the taxonomy with examples [2]. Thankfully, someone else was already working on this and has beaten me to it – producing almost exactly what I had in mind. Mira Fischer from the University of Cologne and Sebastian Lotz from Stanford have written a working paper titled 'Is soft paternalism ethically legitimate? – the relevance of psychological processes for the assessment of nudge-based policies' [3]. They differentiate between 4 types of behavioural intervention — or 'nudge' — and discuss the ethical implications associated with each by considering the psychological processes at play. It's far better than any blog post I could have written, and I recommend reading it.


Here it is suggested that one interesting but not well-studied property of consciousness is its continuity – the fact that my experience is stable in time despite the myriads of changes in the underlying neural activity. It is proposed that there are specific mechanisms that maintain the continuity of consciousness by preventing certain transitions in the environment from entering conscious experience. These mechanisms are the key reason why we do not perceive the involuntary eye-blinks or why our own moving limbs do not capture our attention. I will describe some studies we have conducted with virtual reality to demonstrate that one mechanism supporting the continuity of consciousness seems to be the withdrawal of attention from the specific predictable sensory activity. It is described how the active inference theory can explain this set of findings. It seems that (for now) the active inference theory is the only theory that can account for the continuity of consciousness. Next, we explore the neural mechanisms of how the motor cortex conveys specific predictions to the sensory cortices and inhibit the predicted sensory consequences of own movement. Although not much is learned from this piece about the mechanisms of continuity, it is concluded that the topic is worth to be explored more thoroughly.