Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration. By Michael Jacobson. New York: New York University Press, 2005. Pp. 292. $29.95 cloth. Reviewed by Candace Kruttschnitt, University of Minnesota The mass incarceration movement in this country has garnered substantial scholarly interest. In fact, it could easily be argued that this movement is responsible for a renewed academic interest in penology and the sociology of punishment. The scholarship in this area, with a few notable exceptions, has focused predominantly on how we can explain the phenomenon of the "get touch" or "penal harm" movement (Cullen et al. 2000). A political culture of intolerance, the bureaucratization of prisons, and even the rise of a postmodern penology are all thought to account for this development (Feeley & Simon 1992; Irwin & Austin 1994; Caplow & Simon 1999). Scholars who study the frontline of corrections have noted some of the limitation in this discourse, suggesting that the transformations in punishment are incomplete and often haphazardly realized (e.g., Lynch 1998). But, what has been largely missing from this body of work is a serious consideration of how we might go about changing an excessive reliance on incarceration that has swelled our prison populations to record national and international levels and has absorbed increasing proportions of most states' fiscal resources. Jacobson's Downsizing Prisons tackles this important question. The book is framed for both an academic and a policy audience, although it will probably hold more sway with the latter than the former. Academics will be familiar with many of the arguments he uses to frame his analysis of the current prison system: (1) it is racially and economically biased, (2) punishments are not proportional to the offenses and may not be a deterrent, (3) mass incarceration has substantial negative effects on some communities, (4) alternatives to imprisonment are underutilized, and (5) there is only a weak relationship between prison expansion and crime reduction. But they will not be familiar with his systematic consideration of how we might go about changing our prison system to make it both more socially and fiscally palatable. He employs case studies of both New York City and San Diego to show how different policing strategies both resulted in significant crime reductions and, as well, reductions in their respective prison and jail populations. In an effort to further hammer home the notion that incarceration rates are largely unrelated to drops in crime, Jacobson shows that the states with the largest increases in prison populations did not have the largest drops in crimes. …


The combination problem of complex event model is an important problem in complex event study. Aiming to solve the problem of no well reflecting the spatial-temporal characteristic in current comeplex even models, which are combined by atomic events based on time or space or time and space, a multi-tuple combination method of complex event model based on object, time, space, events and properties is proposed in this paper based on the analysis in existing complex event model.The basic idea of the method is to make use of intrinsic relation existing in multi tuple of event model to combine and express complex event. At a result, our supposed model not only can more comprehensively reflect the spatial-temporal characteristic of event, but also can reflect some dynamic change conditions occurred in the event. Smart home temperature and humidity detection as a case and experimental simulation are used to illustrate and prove the correctness and feasibility of the proposed complex event method based on multiple tuple.


Aesthetics in the Ming and Qing Dynasty was the last peak of Chinese classical aesthetics. The outstanding achievement at that period was the novel creation. The story of the stone was a literary strange flower at that time which was influenced by the plum in the golden vase in structure, while LI Yu's life aesthetics had made great effect on its aesthetic thought.


Infrared detectors for operation at intermediate cold temperatures (190°K to 270°K) are finding many applications in night sights, airborne tracking systems, shipboard trackers and night viewing devices. Detectors, such as lead sulfide, lead selenide, photoconductive mercury cadmium telluride, and photovoltaic mercury cadmium telluride in single-element or array configurations, are well suited to such systems, and thermoelectric coolers are one convenient method of producing the required operating temperatures for these detectors. Recent advances in coolers, packages, and detectors have brought this total technology to a point of high reliability, long vacuum life, and higher detector sensitivity. This paper shows some of the options and tradeoffs which are open to the system designer for thermoelectrically cooled infrared devices.


Background: There is limited data regarding COVID-19 and preterm birth. Most published studies do not exclude induced preterm deliveries or women at higher risk for preterm birth.

Objective (s): To determine the incidence of spontaneous preterm delivery in pregnancies complicated by maternal COVID-19 infection with no other independent risk factors for preterm birth.

Study design: This was an observational study of symptomatic women diagnosed with COVID-19 during the third trimester of pregnancy who delivered at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens, New York between March 1 and May 1, 2020. IRB approval was obtained. Charts of symptomatic women who were confirmed COVID-19 positive by RT-PCR in the third trimester were reviewed. Patient information collected included gestational age at diagnosis of COVID-19, obstetrical history, comorbidities, x-ray findings, and blood work. Women with a history of preterm birth, short cervix in current pregnancy, and multiple gestations were excluded. Statistical evaluation for normally distributed continuous variables was done using a student's t-test, and for dichotomous variables, a Chi-square analysis or Fisher's exact test was used. A multiple regression analysis model was used to correlate the relationship of clinical variables to the gestational age at delivery.

Results: 24 pregnant women met initial criteria, 17 of which delivered in the time period stated. Preterm delivery rate in our sample size was 29% (n=5). Our institution's preterm delivery rate for a similar time-period in 2019, using the same exclusion and inclusion criteria, was 2.7%. When comparing COVID-19 positive women that delivered preterm to COVID-19 positive women who delivered at term, the gestational age on admission was lower in the preterm cohort (weeks 34.1 ± 1.5 weeks versus 38.0 ± 1.7; p<0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed the following variables correlated with the gestational age at birth: gestational age on admission (Coefficient 0.95, (95% CI 0.86 - 1.03; p<0.001), white blood count (Coefficient 0.142, 95% CI 0.07 - 0.22; p=0.002), and lymphocyte percentage (Coefficient 0.038, 95% CI 0.01 - 0.06; p=0.008).

Conclusion (s): Symptomatic COVID-19 infection seems to be a significant risk factor for spontaneous preterm delivery, especially if the gestational age on admission is below 37 weeks, the white blood cell count is low, or the lymphocyte percentage is decreased.


We describe an improved and more sensitive laboratory bioassay that allows a faster evaluation of the flies' reaction to HMP treated fruit. Based on earlier experiments and stimulated by a new test method developed for the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella, we introduced as new methodological elements fresh host fruits and leaves as well as simultaneous direct observations of a small population of fruit fly females.


The article analyzes the state of research on the problem of finding ways to improve the psychophysical condition of women in the first period of mature age in the course of physical education and health classes. The purpose of the study is to scientifically substantiate the usage of TRX equipment in the process of conducting physical education and health training of women of the first period of mature age to improve their psychophysical condition. Research methodology: theoretical analysis and generalization of data from scientific and methodical literature; pedagogical testing; pedagogical experiment; psycho-diagnostic methods; anthropometric methods; index method; functional research methods; methods of mathematical statistics. The study was conducted on the basis of the sports club "Pride" in the city of Dnipro. 24 women aged 22 to 29, who are engaged in fitness and have no health disorders, took part in the study. During the study, changes in indicators of the psychophysical state of women in the first period of mature age such as the level of physical development, the level of physical and functional preparedness, mental state were analyzed. It has been proved that the usage of TRX equipment in the process of conducting physical education classes had a positive effect on the indicators changes of the psychophysical state of women in the first period of mature age.


To make mistakes is human. An accountant may do mistakes, too. Accountancy errors are defined and classsified by accounting regulations. These set what is the accountant treatment for correcting accountancy errors. However, even though one of the objectives in accounting normalization is made by the disconnection between accountancy and taxation, the accountancy errors influence especially tax reports. We will further point the impact of accountancy errors on financial and tax reports. We will also approach the accountancy principles that impose the rules described for correcting the errors.


Philadelphia has rarely figured centrally in histories of U.S. immigration; nevertheless the city has been a destination for immigrants for three centuries, and immigrants have played a central role in the region's development. Global Philadelphia explores how Philadelphia has affected immigrants' lives, and how they have in turn shaped Philadelphia. This collection of case studies, gleaned from two Bryn Mawr College conferences in 2005 and 2006, taps into several trends in recent immigration studies: a focus on the transnational, relationships within and between ethnic groups,and a comparative connection between contemporary and historical contexts.


The fish market is a meeting place between the seller and the buyer to make a deal or exchange in the form of fish as a media. The title of final report is Planning and Designing Fish Market At The Beach Jasri Karangasem with a ± 2.5 ha site. The purpose of this plan is to provide a place for fishermen who do not have adequate space to sell their fish. The basic concept and design theme are commercial and neo-vernacular. Design theme will be funded in form and building facade, and synergy with the local building culture, uses local materials. However, it has a modern twist to fit the vernacular sense of itself.


The applicability of electrochemical methods of investigation for the evaluation of the real chemical activity of solid combustible minerals in the process of autoxidation has been shown. Information is given on redox equivalents of caustobioliths.


In this work an efficient method for hiding a speech in audio is proposed. The features of secret speech is extracted with LPC (Linear Predictive Coding), and these parameters embedded in audio in chaotic order. Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is applied on audio frames to split the signal in high and low frequencies. The embedding parameters are embedded in high frequency. The stego audio is perceptually indistinguishable from the equivalent cover audio. The proposed method allows hiding a same duration of speech (secret) and audio (cover). The stego audio is subjected to objective tests such signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to noise ratio segmental (SNRseg), Segmental Spectral SNR, Log Likelihood Ratio (LLR) and Correlation (Rxy ) to determine the similarity with original audio .


The gravity and complexity of problems encountered in the management of patients bleeding severely from the upper gastrointestinal tract have prompted numerous studies of the factors involved.1-7Many diverse approaches toward the treatment of such patients have resulted. Since the criteria of "massive hemorrhage" and the indications for operative treatment have not been uniform, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from these reports. A few common factors have emerged. The patient who bleeds acutely, and who may present with a normal hemoglobin and hematocrit in the face of a 30% or greater reduction in blood volume, requires earlier and more aggressive therapy than one who bleeds slowly enough to permit some compensatory hemodilution. The patient who has serious concomitant disease is in far greater jeopardy from hemorrhage than an otherwise healthy person who suffers loss of blood to the same extent. Early surgical intervention appears helpful, especially when


The demand for flexibility regulation resources in the new power system is becoming increasingly urgent, with frequency regulation being particularly prominent. Energy storage has excellent frequency regulation performance and can be globally optimized and called upon by the control center as an independent entity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the method of independent energy storage frequency regulation capacity configuration. Firstly, this paper outlines the automatic generation control (AGC) frequency regulation model of the regional power grid, establishes an energy storage cost model based on the full life cycle of energy storage, and establishes an energy storage revenue model based on the rules of the frequency regulation auxiliary service market. Secondly, the area control error (ACE) is decomposed by the ensemble empirical mode decomposition and reconstructed based on the maximum adjustment rate of the winning unit in frequency regulation. Conventional units respond to low-frequency parts while energy storage systems respond to high-frequency parts. Then, based on maximizing net income as the goal and under constraints such as high-frequency signal deviation response requirements, power constraints, and energy constraints, a capacity configuration plan for energy storage participating in frequency regulation is established with set technical indicators for comparison purposes. Finally, combined with actual data and parameters from a certain location for calculation and analysis, results demonstrate the effectiveness of this paper's model and method.


The ternary Tb (III) ion complex, Tb(HDMPE)3.nphen was synthesized by adopting solution precipitation method. The synthesized complex was identified on the basis of various techniques like elemental analysis, H-NMR and FT-IR, We studied the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the ligand and complex Tb (HDMPE)3. nphen. The in vitro antibacterial activities were studied by using Grampositive bacteria: B.subtilis, S.aureus and gram-negative bacterium: Escherichia coli. The antifungal activities were studied by using fungi C. albicans and A.niger. The antibacterial activities of ligand is poor but better of Tb (III) ion complex Tb(HDMPE)3.nphen than standard drugs ciprofloxacin and fluconazole. The antioxidant activities of the synthesized complex were determined by using DPPH method. The Tb (III) ion complexes Tb (HDMPE)3.nphen have poor antioxidant activities.


The utility model discloses an intelligent operation external mounting type monitoring system of a bituminous pavement road roller. The intelligent operation external mounting monitoring system comprises a shell and a speed sensor, wherein the shell is provided with a compaction degree detector, a temperature sensor, a GPS (global position system), an information processing unit and an alarm device, the compaction degree detector comprises three probes which are positioned at the same level and used for measuring distance, the compaction degree detector is electrically connected with the signal input end of the information processing unit, the speed sensor is electrically connected with the signal input end of the information processing unit, the speed sensor is installed on the side surface of a tyre of the road roller, the temperature sensor is electrically connected with the signal input end of the information processing unit, the alarm device is electrically connected with the signal output end of the information processing unit, and the GPS position indicator is connected with the signal input end of the information processing unit. The intelligent operation external mounting monitoring system can be installed on a common road roller for use, thus being flexible in use manner; the intelligent operation external mounting monitoring system can be used for monitoring the degree of compaction and temperature of the pavement and the speed of the road roller, can remind a driver of the road roller, and guarantees the quality of the pavement.


Disorders in which colonic diverticula occur can be divided into three types.The most common is colonic diverticulosis, with symptomless diverticula. Acute diverticulitis is characterized by acute inflammation of a diverticulum and complications. The term "diverticular disease" is used for the complex of colicky pain, bowel disturbance, and subacute or acute intestinal obstruction without evidence of inflammation. In this last type, symptoms result from disturbance of the muscle wall of the colon rather than the diverticula themselves.


Funding: This work was partially financially supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the statutory research numbers FN14/ILT/2019. Abstract: The aim of the research presented in the paper was to evaluate the feasibility of using hydrophobic preparations based on organosilicon compounds for protection treatment on the lightweight concrete modified with sawdust. The experimental part of the work concerns the physical and mechanical properties of lightweight concrete and the influence of two hydrophobic agents on the contact angle of the material. Lightweight concrete contact angle (θw) was determined as a time function using one measuring liquid. Water repellent coatings in lightweight concrete structure with the coarse aggregate sawdust (CASD) using electron microscopy were presented. The effectiveness of hydrophobisation of porous lightweight concretes was determined on the basis of the research. For the hydrophobic surface, the contact angle decreased and it depended on the used agents. The lowest contact angle of 40.2° (t=0) was obtained for reference concrete before hydrophobisation and 112.2° after hydrophobisation with a methyl-silicone resin based on organic solvent. The results of scientific research confirm the possibility to produce lightweight concretes modified with CASD with adequate surface protection against external moisture.


Through the establishment of quarter vehicle model and the application of optimal control theory, a LQG (Linear Quadratic Gaussian) controller of automobile active suspension was designed . A system simulation model based on Matlab/Simulink environment was built and used for simulation.Simulation results was compared with passive suspension.The simulation results demonstrated that the active suspension with a LQG controller could improve automobile riding comfort performance enormously.


AlGaInAsSb-based multiple quantum well broad area lasers (BALs) with a monolithically integrated Fourier-optical 4f spatial-frequency-filter for transverse mode selection (TMS) are realized. Laser samples with filters for the selection of the fundamental transverse mode (no. 0; TMS0) and—for proof of principle-higher order modes, here exemplarily mode no. 8 (TMS8), are prepared; their emission characteristics are investigated. The concept of BAL and TMS integration within the active laser chip is verified.


Aim : to evaluated the presence and clinical relevance of a cluster of differentiation (CD)326+subset of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood samples of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein tumor thrombus and without portal vein tumor thrombosis , who had undergone curative or palliative intervention, in order to find a novel prognostic factor for patient management and follow-up. Method: In total, 47 HCC patients, along with 21 with PVTT and 26 without PVTT were included. The easily transferable methodology of flow cytometry, along with multiparametric antibody staining were used to selectively evaluate CD326+CTCs in the peripheral blood samples of HCC patients. The multiparametric selection allowed any enrichment methods to be avoided thus rendering the whole procedure suitable for clinical routine. Result: The presence of CD326+ cells was strongly correlated with poor survival and high metastasis rates in this novel patient population .as well as PVTT probability for CD 326 > or < 0.45 was 88.0%. Several factors independently correlated with CD326 using univariate multiple logistic regression of CD 326 with laboratory parameters Correlation was found between EPCAM activity and AST, ALT, AFP at P Value less than 0.01 In conclusion: CD326+ CTCs are an independent prognostic factor for tumor aggressiveness rate in multivariate analysis, suggesting that their evaluation could be an additional factor for liver cancer progression risk evaluation in patient management Egypt. J. of Appl. Sci., 35 (11) 2020 188-199


Rapid innovation and intense competition characterize the information technology (IT) industry. In order to survive, IT firms must develop software products quickly, productively, and with high quality. Of major concern are the inter-relationships, often viewed as trade-offs, between quality, cycle time and effort in the software development life cycle. The research today lacks significant empirical studies that rigorously measure these tradeoffs. We investigate empirically the relationships between software process maturity, quality, cycle time, development effort, and infrastructure costs for a major IT firm over a twelve-year period. We first confirm the positive relationship between software process maturity and software quality at all stages of the software life cycle. We find that improved process maturity has a cascading effect through the life cycle, magnifying quality benefits in later life cycle stages. We next perform a comprehensive analysis of the effect of process improvement and quality on all activities in the software development life cycle. We find that improved process and higher quality lead to shorter cycle time and reduce development effort. Next we examine the effect of process maturity and organizational inertia on infrastructure support costs. We find that improved process maturity significantly reduces infrastructure costs. We also quantify the cost of organizational inertia in responding to these savings, providing a measure for organizational redesign. Finally, we examine the effect of software process maturity and development quality on the nature of software defects. We find that higher process maturity reduces high severity catastrophic errors at a faster rate than low severity cosmetic errors. Process improvements that reduce catastrophic errors can have an immediate impact on reducing development time and costs. The benefits of process maturity propagate throughout the software life cycle, leading to substantial returns in quality, development costs, cycle time, and infrastructure costs.


ABSTRACT Objectives : This paper aimed to verify the applicability of mixed extract of Angelica gigas Nakai, Cnidium officinale Makino, Paeoniala ctiflora Pall, Rechmannia glutinosa Libosch, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which were prescribed for improving inflammation in Donguibogam, as t he materials for beauty food and functional medicinal herb cosmetics by manufacturing such mixed extract an d evaluating the biological activity of the extract.Methods : The mixed medicinal herb water extract(MMW) and ethanol extrac t(MME) were freeze-dried to be used as the specimen. We performed electron donating ability, lipid acidification inhibitory activity, anti-inflammatory activity against skin flora, MTT assay, NO inhibitory activity and the protein expression inhibitory activity of iNOS and COX-2.Results : For anti-oxidation experimentation, the electron donating abil ities of MMW and MME were above 60.0% and 90.0% at 500 µg/ml, respectively. In the inhibition rate of lipid peroxidation, MMW and MME showed 43.1% and 52.1% at 1,000 µg/ml, respectively. As a result of antimicrobial activity, both the MMW and MME showed significant clear zones for Propionibacterium acnes at 4 mg/disc, but did not indicated the clearzones for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Anti-inflammatory activity by NO assay showed LPS-induced NO was significantly inhibited i n a concentration-dependent manner. Also, the expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins were significantly inhibited following treatment with MMW and MME of 50 µg/ml. Conclusions : Accordingly, it can be concluded that mixed medicinal herb extract has the potential to beused as a functional food and cosmetic material.Key words : Electron donating ability, Antimicrobial activity, Anti-inflam matory, nitric oxide, iNOS, COX-2


DOI: 10.46998/IJCMCR.2021.13.000319 Abstract Endoscopic biliary stenting for biliary decompression is a well-established treatment for patients with obstructive jaundice due to biliary stricture. Few plastics biliary stents migrate (5–14%), but in some cases they can cause serious complications. Duodenal perforation is a rare but potentially fatal complication. Management remains controversial, but early diagnosis and treatment are key because a delay of 24 hours or more has a negative impact on survival and quality of life. Treatment options vary according to the situation: it can be used conservative antibiotic treatment, endoscopic treatment and in some cases, surgery is required. We present a case of an older female patient with a retroperitoneal perforation at the duodenum secondary to plastic biliary endoprostheses migration who required an emergency surgery.


The invention belongs to a pig breeding method and particularly relates to a green ecological pig breeding method which comprises an adult pig breeding method, wherein adult pig breeding is performed after porkets are bred for 65-70 days, adult pig breeding is performed in an ecological breeding farm in a highland region with a cave and comprises an adaptive phase, a growth phase and a pork pig phase. According to the breeding method of the technical scheme, during the whole pig breeding process, strict control is performed, and no feed containing hormone is adopted for feeding the pigs, so that no homone residual substance exists in the pigs, and no harm is caused to a human body; during the breading process, the pigs move in the breeding farm each day, and certain amount of exercise is ensured, so that the pigs are fine and smooth in meat quality and good in mouthfeel.


Magneto-optic readout process in frequency domain has been analyzed in this paper. A new method-real time frequency analysis method has been developed, which can conveniently measure the micro-beam parameters in magneto-optic storage system. The analysis of errors indicates that the method is simple and has high accuracy.


POLLUTION, the energy crisis, and the ever increasing incidence of coronary heart disease have together stimulated a greater community interest in physical activity in everyday life. There has been a rebirth of bicycle riding, both as a means of transport and also for sheer pleasure. Numerous jogging clubs and YMCAs are oversubscribed. The medical profession has been rather slow to respond to this changing community emphasis in both the prescription of exercise as a therapeutic measure, and the use of exercise testing as a diagnostic and assessment tool. The many patients who present to their family physicians complaining of a decreased effort tolerance are all too frequently examined only at rest. Rarely is an attempt made to evaluate the patients under the conditions which provoke their symptoms, i.e. during physical exercise. Furthermore, since the clinical symptoms may not appear until the underlying pathophysiology is quite advanced, it is very difficult to assess the degree of functional impairment simply by questioning the patient. In this article we shall attempt to define those areas in which exercise testing may be helpful to the clinician.


Postoperative pain after living donor hepatectomy is significant. Postoperative coagulopathy may limit the use of epidural analgesia, the gold standard for pain control in abdominal surgery. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a novel regional anesthesia technique that has been shown to provide effective analgesia in abdominal surgery. In this study, we examined the effect of continuous ESPB, administered via catheters, on perioperative opioid requirements after right living donor hepatectomies for liver transplantation.


One of the eye movements is the saccade, which has led to the introduction of the saccadic model. This study is based on the part of the saccadic model, which means the burst neurons and resettable integrator model. The principal limitation of the original model is the lack of differentiability at the equilibrium point. By using the Naka–Rushton function, we introduce a new model in place of the original one, so that the equilibrium point of the system becomes a differentiable point in the modified model. Our focus in this work is to investigate the fundamental properties of the discrete model of our novel system. We apply the forward Euler method to transform the new model to a discrete model. With the utilization of the center manifold theory, we describe some of its dynamical features, such as stability, instability, and bifurcation at a fixed point. Finally, both analytical and numerical simulations are used to continue investigating the period-doubling bifurcation according to the numerical parameters in the saccadic model.


Induction coils are considered the weakest link in an induction hardening system, so advanced designs and precise fabrication are paramount to ensure long life while producing high quality treated parts. This article describes material selection and fabrication techniques for conventional inductors and new breakthrough designs.


Moringa oleifera (Mo) and Gliricidia sepium (Gs) fodders and their mixtures were fed as protein supplements to basal diets of Panicum maximum (Pm) and cassava peels. Thirty two (32) yearling West African Dwarf (WAD) rams were divided into four groups of eight animals balanced for body weight and allocated to dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design for fifteen (15) weeks. Animals in group 1 consumed the basal diet only while animals from group 2, 3 and 4 were fed basal diets with supplements of Mo, Gs and their mixtures respectively. Voluntary feed intake (VFI), nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization of the animals were evaluated. Animals fed basal diet only had reduced VFI (252.36±22.0g day-1) while those on Mo and Gs mixtures had significantly higher (p<0.05) VFI value of 344.96±22.2g day-1. Voluntary feed intake of basal diet was increased significantly (p<0.05) for animals in group 2 and 4 (260.20±30.00 and 270.46±20.6g day-1 respectively). Higher but significantly different (p<0.05) dry matter digestibility values of 63.90±3.06, 62.72±3.02 and 68.50±4.32% were obtained for animals in group 2, 3 and 4 respectively while the animals in group 1 had the least value of 48.39±2.03%. Similar trend exist in crude protein and crude fibre digestibility with animals in group 4 having significantly higher (p<0.05) values of 60.62±5.24 and 68.63±3.22% respectively. The result of nitrogen utilization indicate significantly lowest (p<0.05) value of 3.56±0.16g day-1 of digested nitrogen for animals in group 1. Higher nitrogen retention value (p<0.05) of 65.81±4.20% was obtained in sheep on Mo and Gs fodder combinations. Those on separate Mo and Gs fodders were statistically similar (58.55±3.02% and 58.00±5.30% respectively) but higher (p<0.05) than those on basal diet (43.70±3.02%). Supplementation of Panicum maximum and cassava peels basal diet with Moringa oleifera or Gliricidia sepium fodders improved the intake of basal diet and enhanced better nutrient utilization of WAD sheep. Mixtures of the two fodders in the same ratio were superior to either supplementation.


Background Multi-drug resistant bacterial strains have been increasingly implicated in clinical infections worldwide and beta-lactamase production is one of the commonest mechanisms of resistance in these strains. This study investigated the prevalence of extended spectrum â-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolates and determined the temoneira (TEM) and sulfhydryl variable (SHV) types implicated in two military hospitals in South-South Nigeria. Methods Three-hundred and eighty (380) consecutive non-duplicate bacterial isolates (Gram negative bacilli) recovered from clinical samples were identified following standard techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed for each isolate following the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Bacterial isolates recovered which comprised Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Proteus spp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were screened for ESBL using a phenotypic method (double disc synergy test). All positive isolates were screened for TEM and SHV genes by PCR method. Results Sixty-five isolates (17.1%) were ESBL producing using phenotypic method, E. coli showed the highest ESBL prevalence (24.3%). One isolate was SHV positive (1.5%), 8 (12.3%) were TEM positive while 3 (4.6%) isolates harbored both SHV and TEM genes. Fluoroquinolone - ofloxacin showed marked activity against ESBL-producing isolates (90.8%) while the least active were ceftriaxone (9.2%), ceftazidime (3.1%) and ampicillin (1.5%). Conclusion This study demonstrated that 17.1% of Gram-negative bacilli were ESBL producers. Screening of clinical isolates for ESBL should be implemented. The findings of this study suggest the need for caution in the use of antimicrobial agents in order to curb the incidence of antimicrobial resistance.


The school teaching in Finland is traditionally divided into different subject lessons. Although several curricula for decades have stressed the importance of integrating subjects to each other, th ...


Recent neutron diffraction experiments, which exploit hydrogen isotope substitution techniques to extract the HH, OH and OO site - site radial distribution functions for water, indicate that as the temperature of water is raised above the critical point, the hydrogen-bonding network, as measured by the height of the first peak in the OH distribution function, collapses. Several computer simulations, however, dispute the accuracy of the experimentally determined distribution functions: they show that the measured data cannot be obtained from any physical arrangement of water molecules. By applying additional constraints on the small-radius behaviour of the radial distribution functions, and by repeating some of the experiments under different experimental conditions, the accuracy of the extracted radial distribution functions has now been improved. The new distribution functions, while not qualitatively different from what has already been published, satisfy the fundamental objection to the previous results, namely they can be simulated with physical assemblies of water molecules. These simulated distributions of molecules indicate a weak degree of hydrogen bonding in water at 673 K which is greatly reduced compared to that in the hydrogen-bond network of ambient water. The analysis is supported by a new computer simulation of water structure using an `empirical' water interaction potential, which contains none of the long-range features of traditional charge models, such as SPC/E. This short-range potential is able to reproduce most features of the experimental data to good accuracy, even under supercritical conditions.


Assuming the positive solution to the Cut-and-paste problem we prove that the motivic zeta function remains irrational after inverting L.


This paper explores how the design of creative clusters as a key strategy in promoting the urban creative economy has played out in Shanghai.

Creative Clusters in Europe and North America context have emerged 'organically'. They developed spontaneously in those cities which went through a period of post-industrial decline. Creative Industries grew up in these cities as part of a new urban economy in the wake of old manufacturing industries. Artists and creative entrepreneurs moved into vacant warehouses and factories and began the trend of 'creative clusters'. Such clusters facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge through informal learning, the efficient sourcing of skills and information, competition, collaboration and learning, inter-cluster trading and networking. This new urban phenomenon was soon targeted by local economic development policy in charge of re-generating and re-structuralizing industrial activities in cities.

Rising interest from real estate and local economic development has led to more and more planned creative clusters. In the aim of catching up with the world's creative cities, Shanghai has planned over 100 creative clusters since 2005. Along with these officially designed creative clusters, there are organically emerged creative clusters that are much smaller in scale and much more informal in terms of the management. And they emerged originally in old residential areas just outside the CBD and expand to include French concession the most sort after residential area at the edge of CBD. More recently, office buildings within CBD are made available for creative usages. From fringe to CBD, these organic creative clusters provide crucial evidences for the design of creative clusters.

This paper will be organized in 2 parts. In the first part, I will present a case study of 8 'official' clusters (title granted by local govenrment) in Shanghai through which I am hoping to develop some key indicators of the success/failure of creative clusters as well as link them with their physical, social and operational efficacies. In the second part, a variety of 'alternative' clusters (organicly formed clusters most of which are not recongnized by the government) supplies with us the possibilities of rethinking the so-called 'cluster development strategy' in terms of what kind of spaces are appropriate for use by clusters? Who should manage them and in what format? And ultimately what are their relationship with the rest of the city should be defined?


Image retrieval is a vital function for an active vision system recognizing vehicles in dynamic scenes. A pan-tilt-zoom camera provides a range of retrieval options, but is somewhat limited for algorithm development purposes in that if the conditions are not within a certain operative range (due to very bad weather, poor lighting conditions, etc.), retrieved images are not likely to be very useful. Therefore it becomes imperative to have an alternative source during development. This paper presents a dataset with an associated application programming interface (API) which seeks to be that alternative. In addition to simulating the actions and capabilities of pan-tilt-zoom cameras, this dataset and API provide access to template vehicle images as well as information on verified locations of targets which can be used for training and testing purposes.


ABSTRACT Introduction : TORCH infection in pregnancy in Indonesia shows a high prevalence, ranging from 5.5% to 84%. The results showed that from 100 samples of pregnant women who had an infection, one of TORCH was found to have 12% of children with congenital abnormalities, 70% had abortion and 18% had Intra Uterine Fetal Death (IUFD). TORCH infection has not received serious attention in pregnant women in Southeast Sulawesi. Methods : The design of this study used cross-sectional studies. The research was conducted in RS Ibu and Anak Permata Bunda and RS dr.Ismoyo Kendari from 2013-2016. Sample examination of TORCH infection include IgG Toxoplasma, IgG Rubella, and IgG Cytomegalovirus. The results of the examination are TORCH infection (IgG Toxo, IgG Rubella, IgG CMV) and observation of pregnant mother until newborn. Bivariate analysis was done to see the relationship between independent variable and dependent using statistical test odds ratio (OR) 2x2 contigency table with 95% confidence level (α = 0,05). Result: Subjects of this research were 33 people by  total technique Sampling. Results examination of TORCH infection are obtained: IgG Toxoplasma (+), IgG Rubella (+), IgG CMV (+), IgG Toxoplasma (+) IgG Rubella (+), IgG Toxoplasma (+) IgG CMV (+), IgG Rubella (+) IgG CMV (+), and IgG Toxoplasma (+) IgG Rubella (+) IgG CMV (+). The most frequent result of TORCH infection was IgG Toxoplasma (+) IgG Rubella (+) IgG CMV (+) of 11 samples (33.3%). Based on the obeservation of pregnant women to childbirth, there were 12 samples (36,4%), Abortus 8 samples (24,2%), congenital abnormalities 7 samples (21,2%), Intra Uterine Fetal Death (IUFD) 4 samples (12.1%), and Blighted Ovum (BO) of 2 samples (12.1%). Based on result of data analysis with Chi-Square statistical test to correlation of TORCH infection with congenital incidence in newborn p value was 0,092 (p> 0,05). These results suggest that TORCH infection is not associated with the incidence of congenital abnormalities in newborns. Conclusion: Based on this research, it was found that there was no correlation between TORCH infection in pregnancy with incidence of congenital abnormality (P = 0,092, p> 0,05). Some of the high yields of TORCH IgG titers have a baby aterm output. While the value of IgG titer that is not too high have abortus output, IUFD and congenital abnormalities. Keyword: TORCH, IgG, Congenital Disorders


Chinese and U.S. human resource management systems differ on a number of cultural dimensions. The most important of these are described with respect to fundamental organization and work‐related assumptions about people and performance, rewards, training and development, and educational background of human resource practitioners. An appreciation of and respect for these differences is a prime requirement for effecting a successful Sino‐American venture. This is especially important given that China is the world's largest market, and because U.S. companies are recently finding that joint ventures with China are paying off. This paper helps business people and academics understand the world's fastest growing economy and the growing influence of Confucian Dynamism that affects HRM practice in Chinese ventures. The individualism‐collectivism dimension and the psychological contract also helps managers understand cultural differences and apply appropriate management techniques.


It is not easy to understand why this work was written. It contains nothing that is new, either in pathology or treatment, and much that is controversial or erroneous, or antiquated in both. The author in the preface gives, as reasons for the writing of the book, the elucidation of the following points: 1. Cancer is a local disease. 2. There are several varieties of cancer, distinguishable by their microscopic character; but the degree of malignancy of a cancerous growth depends not merely upon its structure, but upon its anatomical site. 4. The occurrence of cancer may often be prevented; and complete extirpation may be considered curative. 5. Further investigation of the action of certain specific drugs?among other things?is still needed. Evidence which has been advanced in favour of some mineral and vegetable substances cannot be disregarded.


The scientific publications review about a high-frequency electromagnetic field influence on the conductivity, the acidity and the reaction constant of different compounds of water solutions was made. It is shown, that a high-frequency electromagnetic field influence decreases with the impurity concentration growth


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how school principals influenced or controlled leadership coaches working with assistant principals in urban secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach – This longitudinal qualitative case study drew upon semi-structured interviews and program documents obtained from participants in a university-based leadership coaching program across three academic years. The study included 22 total participants, including ten assistant principals, nine leadership coaches, and three program staff. Findings – A thematic analysis of the data produced three themes. First, principals controlled coaches' work with assistant principals both directly and indirectly. Second, the extent of principal control influenced how coaches developed a confidential relationship with the assistant principals and what strategies they used to preserve the confidential nature of the coaching relationship. Third, the focus of the coaching support evolved in response to the assignment of resp...


Introduction. The transport and logistics business has undergone significant changes while overcoming the challenges facing the transport industry. It requires new approaches to rational use, as well as the introduction of innovative technologies in the organisation of foreign trade transportation. This issue is especially relevant in the Far East region, where there is an imbalance of incoming freight flows and traffic capacity of the transport network, which leads to a decrease in the quality of transport services and the competitiveness of transport corridors running through Russia. The key elements of international transport corridors are transport hubs and border checkpoints; therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess the workload of a railway cargo terminal of the Pogranichny checkpoint within the Primorye-1 transport corridor. The object of study is the terminal and logistics complex of the Grodekovo border station.Materials and methods. In this study, methods of system analysis and information synthesis were used, as well as a programme for simulating the operation of technological zones of a border terminal and logistics centre.Results. The developed simulation programme made it possible to assess the workload of the warehouse terminal of the Grodekovo border station for processing foreign trade freight flow arriving by rail and road from Heilongjiang Province (PRC). The article presents the results of simulation modelling.Discussion and conclusion. Analysis of the results of simulation modelling showed the functioning of the cargo terminal of the Grodekovo border station with an increase in freight flow coming by road for reloading onto railway rolling stock, taking into account the duration of customs clearance, the limited capacity of the storage area and the cargo front, the number of handling equipment. Further research is aimed at creating a comprehensive programme that takes into account the traffic capacity of the entire system of ground checkpoints in the Far East region and the volume of the predicted freight flow.


Student satisfaction has become a crucial measure in massive open online course (MOOC) learning experience. Students with high satisfaction not only bring the long-term benefits to higher education, but also help to sustain MOOCs as a source of revenue. Thus, this study is aimed to examine the contributing factors of sustainability implementation model of MOOCs from the students' perceptions. A total of 763 undergraduate students in Malaysia participated MOOCs in this study. The proposed research model was evaluated via survey analysis and followed by the structural equation modelling analysis. The findings indicated that pedagogy and enrolment of MOOC are significant antecedents to predict students' perceived benefits and satisfaction. Moreover, students' perceived benefit is a vital mediator to their satisfaction on MOOC implementation. The implications of this study on MOOC implementation and its sustainability in higher education institutions are also discussed.


At the time of writing this commentary, we are just a few weeks away from the general election in May 2015. This is an important point in time for policing in England and Wales, as in years to come we may refer to this time as being pivotal in the history of policing this country. In years gone by, when running into a general election in this country, the topic of law, order and policing would have been one of the hot topics of debate between all of the participating parties. Deep and sometimes personal discussions concerning such topics as the total number of police officers, the level of crime and associated matters would have been hotly debated and reported as headlines in all of the national and local press. However, this election seems to be the exception. Whilst there are discussions and televised debates between most, if not all, of the major political parties, very little if anything is being discussed about policing and crime. Focus has been thrown upon immigration, the National Health Service and housing etc., but the matter of policing the country seems to have had very little serious 'hot' debate. Why should this be, when over the past few years we have seen a reduction in the number of police officers and staff throughout the country, to the point when Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners are warning of severe problems if stretched any further? Is it that the public are ill-informed or that people just don't care about policing any more? In truth, I do not believe that to be the case, but there still seems to be very little debate about policing and its future under whatever government is formed in May. Perhaps we could start to consider what the future holds when we look at some of the main political parties manifesto points with regards to policing. For the Conservative party, we already know that austerity will continue and that police forces will need to continue to tighten their belts, engaging in more collaborative efforts with other forces. In addition, the Conservatives plan to 'restore police and


A trial was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding low nutrient density diets with certain dietary agents on the egg production and nutrient metabolizability of layers (n=144). A practical type layer diet (BIS, 1992) served as control and test diets were prepared by replacing 10, 20 and 30 per cent of the control diet by a diluent feed ingredient i.e., sun-dried sugarcane press residue. Further, each diet was fortified with either lipid utilizing agents (lipase 100 units + lecithin 20 g/kg diet) or NSP degrading enzymes (xylanase 1000, β-glucanase 400, cellulose 200, pectinase 100 units/kg feed) or together to result in another set of three diets. Each diet was offered to triplicate groups of three laying hens (35 wks old, BV-300 birds) each for 56d. The results revealed a significant (P 0.05) among different groups. Further, the egg production, feed consumption, feed efficiency and egg qualities were similar (P>0.05) among the groups fed diets supplemented without or with lipid utilizing agents or NSP degrading enzymes or together. It was concluded that the diet dilution decreases the production performance of layers without affecting egg qualities.


Port site hernias are a recognized complication of laparoscopic surgery. There is an increasing trend towards laparoscopic colorectal resection. During such procedures a 10-12 mm port is often placed in the midclavicular line usually just below and lateral the level of umbilicus. If a port site hernia occurs through this site, it may be confused with a spigelian hernia which is a rare type of abdominal wall hernia. A case is presented where such a port site hernia was confused with a spigelian hernia when reporting a computerized tomography scan. The aim of this report is to create awareness among the health professionals who may encounter this situation in future.


Abstract Though the ancient Greek and Roman grammarians introduced some features of verbal aspect as components of the tense system, it was modern Indo-European grammarians, especially Russian, who formalized the aspectual functions of the verbal tenses which eventually became a generally accepted feature in the grammars of many languages. This article suggests that aspect is a notion expressed by lexical and contextual markers. The tense forms as such involve speech perspectives and do not signify aspectual distinctions.


An analysis of the Palestinian population living outside the borders of what was mandatory Palestine is presented. The primary focus is on the economic and social changes within this population that are associated with their current location. (ANNOTATION)


rheumatology has existed in Israel since theearly 1960s, with rheumatologists training abroad, itis only since 1987 that it has become recognized bythe authorities as a formal subspeciality of internalmedicine. During these last 10 yr, the profession hasexpanded dramatically and now there are > 70 trainedrheumatologists practising in some 15 units or servicesspread all over the country, serving a population of5 million.Since its formal recognition, training programmes inrheumatology have been started in Israel. A syllabuswas constructed consisting of two compulsory years oftraining in rheumatology, followed by 6 months ofelectives in either one of the following subjects: physicalmedicine and rehabilitation, orthopaedics, diagnosticradiology, clinical immunology and allergology. Thetrainee has to examine at least 1200 rheumatologicalpatients during his training period within theout-patient clinic and at least 300 hospitalized patients.Following the 2^yr of training, the trainee has tosuccessfully pass both a written and an oral boardexamination, in order to become a board-certifiedspecialist in rheumatology.Thus, rheumatology is now being taught both at anundergraduate level (in the four existing medicalschools in the country) and at the postgraduatelevel. Trainees in internal medicine now have theoption to elect 3 months of rheumatology as rotatingpostgraduate education. Rheumatology is also beingtaught at the school of continuing education forprimary care physicians throughout the country and atthe postgraduate degree medical school.The Israel Society of Rheumatology conducts, oneannual and in addition monthly medical meetings,which are attended by most practising rheumatologistsin the country. An Israeli-Hungarian and Israeli-French joint meetings were held a few years ago, withthe hope for future ones to come.The Israeli Arthritis Foundation (INBAR) is thenational patients' association. It was founded in 1985.Some 2000 members are enrolled in 10 branches spreadover the country.The society is composed of patients, physicians andvolunteers who seek the advancement of medicalservices for rheumatic patients. The society publishesa journal and various other publications for thebenefit of the patients. Specific support groups forscleroderma, Sjogren's syndrome and rheumatoid


A scaling model is developed for the growth rate of 2D, compressible turbulent mixing layers. The basis of the development is the use of a time scale for growth of a dominant wavelength that is obtained using a nonlinear saturation time relationship with a temporal amplification factor obtained from quasi-unsteady, linear theory. The analysis extends to compressible flows by combining an unsteady, linear, vortex sheet amplification factor and the same nonlinear theory. Results for compressible growth rates are in good agreement with experimental measurements and are expressed in convective Mach number. It is shown that the scaling analysis is general, and that numerically obtained linear growth rates may be used. The models provide closed form relationships of the basic length scale of a two-dimensional mixing layer containing a minimum of empirical information over a wide range of important Mach numbers, and offer convenient algebraic relationships for design purposes.


Monthly Memoranda.—7ce, employed as a Local. Anesthetic, has of late attracted considerable attention. The French Surgeons have used a mixture of powdered ice and salt, for the purpose of destroy ing the sensibility of a part upon which an operation was about to be performed. The ice is finely powdered and mixed with dry salt, en closed in a bag of oiled silk, and applied to the part. A few minutes of course suffice to render the part insensible to pain. From the very nature of the case, such an application would be suitable only to quite limited portions of the body, and to operations upon the fingers and toes: it would be peculiarly applicable in those exceedingly painful operations, the removal of the nails. Another advantage, in addition to the relief from pain, by such an application, might be the preven tion of excessive hemorrhage.


Antipatterns describe commonly occurring solutions to problems that generate negative consequences. By defining a vocabulary of terms for commonly occurring problematic processes and implementations within organisations, antipatterns help in the identification of poor design decisions and offer suggestions on how software can be refactored or improved. Seventeen years have passed since the first publication on Software Project Management (SPM) Antipatterns. Over this period of time a considerable amount of literature has been published on SPM Antipatterns and a significant amount of antipatterns has been listed and documented on Web pages. Despite the fact that a significant body of antipattern research focuses on the identification and documentation of new antipatterns, difficulties associated with SPM antipattern searches on research databases (i.e. the ACM Portal, IEEE Xplore, the Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar) are still being reported in the relevant literature. Furthermore, leveraging from the antipatterns that are listed on Web pages and consolidating them in a single knowledge base with open access remains an open issue. This paper presents a set of tools that transform SPM antipatterns to open SPM data in order to overcome the difficulties associated with detecting and using SPM antipatterns. The common characteristic of these tools is the open data architecture that is achieved with a combination of Semantic Web, Web Interface and Open Source technologies that allows open access to SPM antipattern data, collaborative development of antipatterns, as well as intelligent detection of antipatterns that exist in software projects. These tools have lead to the creation of good quality SPM antipattern data that can be easily accessed via the Web.


This paper describes a large scale experiment in which eight research institutions have tested their audio partitioning and labeling algorithms on the same data, a multi-lingual database of news broadcasts, using the same evaluation tools and protocols. The experiments have provide more insight in the cross-lingual robustness of the methods and they have demonstrated that by further collaborating in thedomains of speaker change detection and speaker clustering it should be possible to achieve further technological progress in the near future.


Online reviews are helpful for user to take appropriate decision while selecting a suitable product. However due the very long and irrelevant review content users face the problem to select the appropriate review. Now days Micro-Reviews are emerging as a new review concept in social media. Micro-Reviews are short (140-200 characters long) and highly focus on attributes and silent features of the product. Also these reviews can be posted by check-in services through mobile apps which make them more authentic and real time. This study proposes a novel mining problem which has used both the review sources (verbose review & Micro-Review) to select the small set of reviews which cover maximum attributes and silent feature of the product. This is two-step process: matching of review sentences with Micro-review and selection of small set of reviews that covers as many micro-reviews as possible. This problem is formulated by Integer Linear Programming and Greedy algorithm is used to obtain the optimal solution.


v 1 • Calculation of the Total Amount of Beam Energy Lost in a Foil . . 1 2. Cooling Methods 2 2.1. Radiation Cooling 2 2.2. Conduction Cooling 2 2.3. Convection Cooling 3 2.4. Combined Cooling 5 3. Beam Shape and Time Function 5 3.1. Uniform Beam Shape 5 3.2. Gaussian Beam Shape 6 3.3. Double-Gaussian Beam Shape 8 4. The Foil Temperature 9 4.1. Radiation Cooling Dominates 9 4.1.1. Uniform beam shape 10 4.1.2. Gaussian beam shape . 11 , 4.1.3. Double-Gaussian beam shape. . . . . . . 12 4.1.4. Calculation of the maximum temperature. . . 13 4.2. Conduction Cooling Dominates 13 4.2.1. Uniform beam shape. 14 4.2.2. Gaussian beam shape 17 4.2.3. Favorable beam shapes 18 4.3. Convection-Cooling Dominates 19 4.3.1. Water cooling 19 4.3.2. Gas cooling 20 5. Numerical Solution of the General Case 21 5.1. Combined Radiation and Conduction Cooling 22 Acknowledgment 23 References 24 Appendices 1. Input Data for HEAT v4ml 25 2. Program HEAT v4ml 31 3. Example of the Printout from Program HEAT v4ml . . . . 40 Tables 44 Figures 47 IAS mmuM OrSTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS UNL' THE TEMPERATURE OF THIN FOILS IN ION BEAMS


The present study has been conducted to compare botanical characters,quality and economic benefit of five flue-cured tobacco varieties(G80,K326,Hongda,Yunyan 202,and Yunyan 87) for optimizing distribution of flue-cured tobacco varieties in Fengjie base.The results showed that control variety Yunyan 87 grew faster after transplanting and had better earlier growth and development period.Variety Hongda had better botanical characters and the biggest area of middle leaves(length×width).All of these tobacco varieties had higher total sugar and reduced sugars,and had no sig-nificant difference in other indexes.The variety Yunyan 87 and Hongda had better smoke quality,and Yunyan 202,Hongda and Yunyan 87 had higher economic benefits.It was suggested that Yunyan 87 should be extended and planted in Fengjie base and growing area for variety Hongda should be increased.


A compact unidirectional slot antenna with front to back ratio (FBR) enhancement is proposed. The antenna consists of a novel compact slot driven antenna, a stepped reflector and a vertical balun from a microstrip to a parallel strip line. Better FBRs are obtained by optimizing the stepped reflector. Impedance bandwidths are enhanced by applying the balun and a pair of microstrip stub etched on the opposite side of the slot. Then, the antenna is manufactured and measured. Measured results show that the proposed antenna has a bandwidth of 76% (1.53-3.41 GHz) for VSWR ≤ 1.5. In addition, from 1.7 to 3.2 GHz, the antenna gains are higher than 8.6 dBi, and the FBRs are greater than 22 dB. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is obtained. All above indicates that the proposed antenna can be widely used in wireless communications.


GITR (glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related protein) is a member of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, expressed on many kinds of cells including T cells, attracting attention as a co-stimulatory immune checkpoint molecule. GITRL, the ligand of GITR is mainly expressed on antigen presenting cells. GITR/GITRL interaction plays an important role on the development of immune response, which can serve as promising anti-tumor target. While more than twenty anti-GITR antibodies are at clinical stages, combination treatments of GITR agonist and PD-1 inhibitor may be a better choice. Thus, there is a need for pre-clinical mouse model to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of humanized PD1/GITR antibodies. Gempharmatech established PD1/GITR double humanized mouse line on a BALB/c background, in which the extracellular domain of mGITR was replaced with its human counterparts while the trans-membrane and cytoplasmic domain kept intact, as well as the same strategy of PD1. BALB/c-hPD1/hGITR mouse could successfully express similar levels of hGITR and hPD1 compared with BALB/c wild type mice. Moreover, no immune or developmental abnormalities were observed in the humanized mouse. Anti-GITR combination with anti-PD1 presented greater tumor growth inhibition than anti-PD1 or anti-GITR monotherapies in PD1/GITR double humanized mouse bearing CT26 tumors. In summary, BALB/c-hPD1/hGITR are valuable models for the pre-cilincal evaluation of candidate humanized PD1/GITR combination treatment or bispecific antibody therapies.
 Citation Format: Dongdong Yuan, Dongdong zhang, Hongyan Sun, Mingkun Zhang, Liyou Dong, Cunxiang Ju, Shuai Li, Huiyi Wang, Jing Zhao, Xiang Gao. Preclinical evaluation of humanized PD1/GITR combination therapy using double humanized mouse [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5622.


urine, by an increase in the albumen, and in three of the four the retinal changes showed an increased activity. In three cases of very early nephritis with normal pressures, red blood cells appeared after two days of the high diet. In all but one of these seven cases the hematuria disappeared promptly after the reduction of the diet, showing conclusively that the appearance of the blood was related to the heavy protein intake. An additional point of interest was elicited in a series of four peirsons with absolutely normal kidneys. It was found that two meals each consisting of one and a half pounds of steak and given at a six-hour interval, produced a hematuria in every case. This blood promptly disappeared after the diet was stopped, none of these cases showed albuminuria at any time during the test period, and subjectively had no inconvenience, except a slight feeling of having overeaten. This appearance of blood in the normal urines ilobs the test of any value it might have as a means of identifying very early cases of kidney damage. While it is true, as some authorities claim, that there are dangers in a too rigid limitation of the protein intake, still such a diet is so difficult to enforce that one rarely meets with the picture of protein starlvation. On the other hand, instances of protein overfeeding are being met with constantly, and these papers serve to emphasize the need of moderation in the use of protein at all time, and especially in cases of renal damage. A further point of interest is the difference in the type of injury caused by the animal and vegetable proteins. The question of the relative "toxicity" of pr'oteins of diffei;ent origin has been only touched upon so far, and leaves a considerable field for future investigation.


Uncertainty processing is a core task in many applications of distributed systems. Typical distributed systems have local processing nodes to collect information, which usually contain uncertainties, and do computational work. The nodes can interact with each other, and they evolve with time. A promising way of modelling and processing uncertainties in these systems is to use graphical models to form beliefs about the required information. Dynamic probabilistic networks for distributed uncertainty processing are presented in this paper. Two approaches are given, and comparison shows that the model with the more state-of-art approach performs better. Since it is not possible to obtain enough knowledge to construct an exact model at the beginning, the model needs to adjust itself when evolving. Therefore we have developed a parameter update algorithm to make the model adapt to the changing environment. Experiments are presented to show the effectiveness of the models and the algorithms.


We present a case study for the use of generative adversarial neural networks as automatisms to stimulate (or augment) the imagination of human designers. We generate evocative visual prompts for chair designs that become the basis for a design process in which we create sketches, 3D models, and physical prototypes.


Background: Desmitis of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (ALDDFT) is a very common problem in different breeds of sport horses, with an inability to heal adequately after conservative therapy in many cases. However, the treatment of different kinds of tendon lesions with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), or even tenogenic induced MSCs have been reported with promising results. Methods: After MSC and PRP isolation of the peripheral blood (PB) of a donor horse, tenogenic induction of the MSCs (Tendo-Cell®) was confirmed, and samples were microbiologically tested and frozen. Adverse and clinical effects (macroscopic noticeable swelling, lameness and ultrasound imaging) of PRP (n=4), or Tendo-Cell® (n=4) were evaluated after a single intralesional injection in the ALDDFT in 8 horses. For each case, two independent veterinary practitioners were asked to give a score from 0-5, at approximately 6 weeks and 4 months after treatment (0=no ultrasonographic improvement and 5=90-100% improvement, or (nearly) no ultrasonographic abnormalities, the ligament has (almost) no hypo-echoic foci, and (nearly) the same fiber orientation as the contralateral ligament). Results: At approximately 6 weeks post injection, the ultrasound images of all 4 horses treated with PRP only slightly improved. Therefore, a score 2/5 was given by the two attending veterinarians to all 4 patients. In the Tendo- Cell® treated group, on the other hand, all 4 horses received a score 4/5 by the same veterinarians at 6 weeks after intralesional injection. This implicates that the lesions improved about 80% on the ultrasound images, which was much better than the 40% improvement in the PRP treated group. Conclusion: This study reports a positive clinical and ultrasonographical outcome after tenogenic induced MSC (Tendo-Cell®) treatment of desmitis of the equine ALDDFT, whereas no considerable improvements could be noticed after treatment with allogenic PRP.


In the city of Florencia (Caqueta, Colombia), intradermal tuberculosis skin tests (tuberculization) were performed on 20 specimens of adult primates of the s...


Warpage and cracks provide the terahertz wave detecting element that is suitably suppressed stably. Incident detectable terahertz wave detecting element spatial intensity distribution terahertz wave has found thick electro-optic crystal 1μm~10μm consisting electrooptic crystal the refractive index at the incident position of the terahertz wave is changed depending on the incident intensity a layer, a supporting substrate that supports the electro-optic crystal layer, and a resin layer thickness of 0.1μm~1μm bonding the electro-optic crystal layer and the support substrate, provided on the surface of the electro-optic crystal, the first a dielectric multilayer film total reflection layer thickness of more than 1μm consisting comprises occurs terahertz wave superposition irradiated probe light in the electro-optic crystal layer, generated in the electro-optic crystal layer by the incidence of the terahertz wave by detecting the spatial characteristics distribution corresponding to the spatial distribution of the refractive index that are being adapted to detect the spatial intensity distribution of the terahertz wave incident, the resin layer thickness / total reflection layer Having a thickness of 1/3 and below.


It was demonstrated in the previous work that various threat materials could be detected inside the sea going cargo container by measuring the three variables, carbon and oxygen concentration and density of investigated material. Density was determined by measuring transmitted neutrons, which is not always practical in terms of setting up the instrument geometry. In order to enable more geometry flexibility, we have investigated the possibility of using the scattered neutrons in cargo material identification. For that purpose, the densities of different materials were measured depending on the position of neutron detectors and neutron generator with respect to the target position. One neutron detector was put above the target, one behind and one in front of the target, above the neutron generator. It was shown that all three positions of neutron detectors can be successfully used to measure the target density, but only if the detected neutrons are successfully discriminated from the gamma rays. Although the associated alpha particle technique/associate particle imaging (API) was used to discriminate the neutrons from the gamma rays, it is believed that the same results would be obtained by using the pulse shape discrimination method. In that way API technique can be avoided and the neutron generator which produces much higher beam intensity than 108 n/s can be used.


A quality evaluating system for the welding parameter of an aluminum alloy spiral pipe belongs to the technical field of automatic welding. The quality evaluating system comprises a Hall current sensor and a Hall voltage sensor which are separately connected to a welding power supply, wherein the data output ends of the Hall current sensor and the Hall voltage sensor are connected to a computer control center through data acquisition cards. The quality evaluating system further comprises an industrial CCD video camera arranged corresponding to a welding seam, the data output end of the industrial CCD video camera is connected to the computer control center through an image acquisition card, and an output end of the computer control center is connected with a punching motor through a punch driving circuit. The work of the punching motor is driven through the punch driving circuit so as to realize intelligent positioning and automatic punching and help a welding robot subsequently follow and rapidly and specifically repair a welding seam region in which marks are made.


Two of the regular insect pests, Brevicoryne brassicae and Lipahis eyrsimi attack on the Brassica campestris varieties throughout the growing season at Multan, Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Effect of these aphid species were examined on photosynthesis Brassica campestris cultivars, B. campestris A, Toria selection A, B. campestris PARC and B. campestris local under three different insecticide treatments, under RCBD design following split plot experiment in 2012. Populations of both the aphid species imposed their attack up to the mid of March in unsprayed and one spray treated plots respectively. Aphid herbivory caused significant reduction in photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency. Aphid free and single application of insecticide at peak flowering stage resulted in significant increase in photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency. The necessary practice of insecticide should be performed at the critical stage (peak flowering) of plant to optimize the photosynthesis losses and overcome the hazardous use of insecticides with least effect on the natural ecosystem.


The notion of reverse derivation is studied and some properties are obtained. It is shown that in the class of semiprime rings, this notion coincides with the usual derivation when it maps a semiprime ring into its center. However, we provide some examples to show that it is not the case in general. Also it is shown that non-commutative prime rings do not admit a non-trivial skew commuting derivation. Mathematics Subject Classification: 16A70, 16N60, 16W25


Finite element analysis (FEA) is a common tool used within many areas of engineering to indicate the behavior of a component before production. However, results for most analyses only contemplate the nominal geometry, and do not take product variation during manufacturing and assembly into consideration. These differences can have a significant effect on the structural response and thus not reach the desired performance. To eliminate these doubts, it is possible to exchange the deterministic model for a robust design. Robust design is an analytical method of evaluating the range of product variation due to the uncertainties in the model. Based on a probabilistic characterization, this technique is helpful in determining product quality, predicting its behavior and deviation, not just when everything is in nominal case. It also indicates the design variables responsible for most of the result variations, important for achieving a particular probabilistic level. The present work deals with the case study of a discharge tube structural response, considering the variation of some dimensions. As a result, it will be apparent which dimensions have the greatest influence on the design specification and which tolerances can be increased in order to reduce manufacturing costs, while maintaining the balance between performance and cost.


In today's atmosphere of constrained defense spending and reduced research budgets, determining how to allocate resources for research and design has become a critical and challenging task. In the area of aircraft design, there are many promising technologies to be explored, yet limited funds with which to explore them. In addition, issues concerning the uncertainty in technology readiness, as well as the quantification of the impact of a technology (or combinations of technologies), are of key importance during the design process. This paper presents a methodology that details a comprehensive and structured process in which to quantitatively explore the effects of technology for a given baseline aircraft. This process, called technology impact forecasting, involves the creation of an assessment environment for use in conjunction with defined technology scenarios, and it will have a significant impact on the resource allocation strategies for defense acquisition. The advantages and limitations of the meth...


We have evaluated the linearity of commercial digital voltmeters (DVMs) using a programmable Josephson voltage standard (PJVS) system. The PJVS system is composed of a 524288-niobium nitride-based Josephson junction array that has the ability to generate arbitrary output voltages up to 17 V with a resolution of 12 bits. In our system, the junction array is operated in a 10-K compact cooler without a liquid-helium coolant. Up to now, we have succeeded in generating accurate dc voltage levels of up to approximately 13 V using this system. In this paper, we demonstrate our PJVS system as a tool for investigating the linearity characteristics of commercial DVMs, with an accuracy level of 0.1 μV/V or better, and discuss the uncertainty sources in these measurements.


ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Correction for "A global-level assessment of the effectiveness of protected areas at resisting anthropogenic pressures," by Jonas Geldmann, Andrea Manica, Neil D. Burgess, Lauren Coad, and Andrew Balmford, which was first published October 28, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1908221116 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 23209–23215). The authors note that for the European Union's Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie program, the grant number 676108 should instead appear as 706784. Published under the PNAS license. First published October 5, 2020. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2018968117


Objective To evaluate the clinical manifest and prognosis of 38 uterine sarcomas, in order to improve the effection of treatment.Methods To evaluate the uterine sarcoma's clinical behaving,pathological type, clinical stage and survival rate. Results The clinical symptom of uterine sarcoma is manifested with abnormal vaginal bleeding (68%), the second is palpable mass of lower abdomen (34.2%) and discomfort feeding (26.3%). Conclusion The clinical symptom of uterine sarcoma is mostly abnormal vaginal bleeding, but it not particularily. Prognosis is significantly associated with clinical stage ,pathological type.


An experiment was conducted at Regional Horticultural Research Station of Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari (Gujarat) to study an influence of growth retardants spray on flowering, fruiting and yield of mango cv. Kesar. They found that foliar application of cycocel (3000 ppm) beforeflower bud initiation controlled vegetative growth and induced early flowering as compared to other chemical treatments and control. The treatment cycocel (3000 ppm) also induced early maturity and increased the number of fruits and yield per tree. Maleic hydrazide also checked vegetative growth at higher concentration (1500 ppm) while ethrel (200 ppm) induced early flowering without growth suppression. There was no significant effect on quality in terms of TSS, titratable acidity, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, total sugars due to any of the growth retardants treatment.


This reasearch intends to problematize the subjective support of conformist psychosocial practices. In order to discuss about our case study, first we have to enter in the sociological field, trying to understand the the birthplace of the current organization of Labor. The emergence of the Toyotist model, the role of mobilizations of workers in the decades from 1950 to1970, in the socioeconomic and political life of people. Investigations made feasible the historicization of contemporary human subjectivity and the psychosocial suffering which people experience today. We could discuss the unconscious complicity of subjectivity under these painful processes, its adherence to forms of pseudo-individualization engendered by the culture industry. Finally, we analyzed the weakening of social ties in the face of competition and the process of internalisation of violent social orders, underpinned by feelings of guilt and its consequences in the current subjectivities.


Objective To investigate the surgical management of diabetic foot.Methods 22 cases of diabetic foot were analyzed restrospectively.Results Debridement was done in 11 cases,among those,8 cases were healed while 3 cases had no change;4 cases were operated by the amputation of necrosis digits.Arterial bypass were performed in 3 cases,then paitents' temperature of foot skin rised obviously,the dorsal artery beat of foot recovered in 2 cases.Amputation was done in 2 cases and the other 2 cases left the hospital without operation.Conclusion The surgical treatment is an active methods of avoiding amputation for diabetic foot.Combinated with medicine treatment,it can reduce amputation rate and improve the life quality of patients.


This paper presents a method for liquid crystal display characterization. It assumes a liquid crystal display can be considered as a polarization-changing device described by a Jones matrix plus a global phase. The Jones matrix parameters are found by a least squares minimization based on global optimization techniques. The present method avoids the need for assigning experimental values to theoretical expressions, and it is robust against intensity fluctuations, does not require arbitrarily fixing any sign of the parameters estimated, and only one quarter-wave plate is employed. A comparative analysis of the results obtained with this method and previous ones is performed. Having completely characterized a liquid crystal display, a phase-mostly configuration is obtained and experimentally verified.


One of the primary features of Christianity is that it accommodates the whole of the suffering of humankind, a suffering that is both moral and physical. Nonetheless the burden of suffering and salvation through suffering have often been confused together. Christ does not tell us either what or why he suffers. But he guides us in how he suffers. Closed in on oneself or open to the other: These are the two ways of living suffering, by which suffering becomes a manner of living rather just a condemnation of life.


Abstract.
 The generic name Reticulitermes Holmgren, 1913, for an economically important and universally known group of subterranean termites responsible for most economic damage in the Northern Hemisphere, was conserved by being given precedence over Maresa Giebel, 1856.


By nitration of s-triazolo [2, 3-α] pyrimidine derivatives, four kinds of 6-nitro derivatives (Va, VIa, VIIa, and VIIIa) were obtained. These nitro compounds were converted to the corresponding 6-amino derivatives by catalytic reaction and the nature of the amino group at 6-position was examined. 2-Acetamido-1, 3-dicarbonyl compounds were condensed with 5-amino-s-triazole (IX) into 6-acetamido-s-triazolo [2, 3-α] pyrimidines (VIc, VIIc, and VIIIc), which were converted into the corresponding 6-amino derivatives by hydrolysis.


Background: Hemoglobinopathy is inherited anemia characterized by abnormal structure of one of the globin chains of the hemoglobin molecule and has been known to be rare in Korea. However, hemoglobinopathy in children has been reported more frequently than in past with the recent advancement of molecular testing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and laboratory findings, prevalence and complications of hemoglobinopathy of children.


IT is already several years ago, when several cytometrists (including myself) announced the end of the innovative age of flow cytometry, stating that flow cytometry is now a fully mature technology. Technological advances that may be expected in the future will be only minute and only relevant for specialized technology aficionados. Innovations will come from other fields of quantitative single cell analysis such as image cytometry, proteomics or genomics. However, after the end of this year's CYTO conference, excellently organized and compiled by John P. Nolan, Larry A. Sklar and their team, I feel the need to correct my earlier notion admitting that my prediction was incorrect. Several innovations are now appearing on the horizon and numerous innovations, for which it was unclear initially if they would survive or would only be relevant in niche areas, have now matured and are starting to attract a global audience. As a good example, mass cytometry (MCM), which was initially presented about four years ago (1) and the first applications were developed at Garry Nolan's lab in Stanford (2), is becoming a common technology with groups all over the globe using it for their basic, applied or clinical work. This becomes clearly visible by the increasing numbers of papers presented at CYTO 2013 from a very diverse authorship using MCM relative to previous years. Not surprisingly, as a consequence of the great interest raised by MCM the Best Paper Award for Cytometry Part A, presented at CYTO 2013, was awarded to an excellent manuscript that opens MCM application up for the exploration of the cell cycle (3). Cell cycle analysis was one of the first clinical applications of flow cytometry way back in the late 1960's (4). The nomination of the Best Paper Award to manuscripts that were published in Cytometry Part A in the last 18 months prior to a CYTO conference is now a tradition since 2007, when the first paper was awarded. The award is officially presented to the winner(s) at the award ceremony following the business meeting of the ISAC CYTO conference. Best manuscripts are selected based on their innovative potential, quality of writing and presentation as well as on the overall interest of the scientific community measurable by usage and citation rates. The finalists are then evaluated and scored by the reviewing committee consisting of the Associate Editors of the journal. This year it was the unequivocal opinion of the committee that the 2012 publication by Gregory K. Behbehani, Sean C. Bendall, Matthew R. Clutter, Wendy J. Fantl, and Garry P. Nolan (3) was the clear winner of this competition. I wish to express my congratulations and thanks to the authors for publishing their outstanding work in Cytometry Part A. However, I also wish to emphasize that numerous other excellent scientific works with innovative biomedical applications and findings as well as novel or improved technologies for quantitative single cell analysis have been published in recent and earlier time periods in this journal. The mentioning of all innovative new scientific approaches that were presented at this year's CYTO conference would by far exceed the bearable length of an editorial. In addition, the selection would possibly be biased by my personal preferences. Potential views into the future of what will come next are the work of young investigators that were recognized by Outstanding


The present paper investigates the conditions and effects of the 'induced creaky tone', a kind of grammatical tonal alternation in modern standard Burmese. The 'induced creaky tone' involves a process in which word forms with inherent low or high tone on the last syllable change into forms with the creaky tone. These alternations have grammatical functions such as marking possessor and object. In both situations, the tonal change can occur either alternatively or together with a segmental particle. The current paper gives a comprehensive description of relevant phenomena related to the 'induced creaky tone', based on interviews with native speakers. The description will serve as a basis for a grammatical analysis that explores the possibilities of representing a tonal morpheme in the syntactic structure of a sentence. It provides a direct comparison of segmental morphemes and tonal morphemes with the same function in the same language. It may also shed light on other theoretical issues such as the interfaces between phonology and grammar, and between tonal morphology and tonal syntax. Overview of Burmese tones


According to new approaches to complex computer vision systems, vision should not be considered as a self-contained system, but as a system interacting with its environment through perception and action. In the past years some architectures (top-down, bottom-up, etc.) has been frequently used to control this c1ass of systerns. This paper briefly reviews these architectures and presents a heterarchic , multi-agem purposive architecture for the control of complex computer vision


This essay examines the political destiny and function in government of the civic institutions and elites of formerly independent urban polities once they had settled into the new political context of the Italian regional states in the fifteenth century. Research conducted from the 1970s onwards
has established the greater weakness of Padua's municipal institutions and elite in relation to Venice, as compared to the experience of many other cities of the Terraferma dominion. The essay focuses on the profile of issues connected with land in the Paduan civic council's activity in the later fifteenth century, also seeking to gauge the extent of its autonomy in policy-making and its perception of its role, especially in relation to the action of Venetian authority. The archival material used concerns both the activity of the Paduan council and the more general conduct of government in Venice and Padua.


Based on the recent photographs of microstructures of anacinus a novel 3D computational model for airflow and particle transport and deposition was developed. To model the entireacinar region simultaneously, an approach was proposed to reduce the computational space. The airflow was solved using numerical simulations for the cases of expanding and contracting the asinus wall. The volume change of the lung was imposed based on the normal breathing condition with 15% volumetric expansion ratio. Since the entire acinar region was modeled, realistic pressure type boundary conditions were used and the use of earlier unrealistic boundary conditions was avoided. The simulation results showed that the flow patterns in an acinus with moving walls were significantly different from those for the rigid wall case. Furthermore, due to the asymmetric configuration, the flow patterns were not quite symmetric. It was shown that the ratio of alveolar flow to ductal flow rate controlled the dominant flow regime in each generation. Ratios below 0.005led to recirculation regime where flow separation occurred, while values above this threshold led to flows with radial streamlines. In summary, while the flow in the primary generations was characterized by the formation of recirculation regions in the alveoli, the terminal generations were characterized by radial streamlines which move towards the alveolar wall. Both flow regimes had substantial effects on particle deposition in the acinus.


The objectives of the Secondary Road Asset Management Project for Georgia is to improve access to markets and services through the rehabilitation and sustainable maintenance of project secondary roads, and (ii) to progress towards maintenance sustainability of the secondary road network by using a sound road asset management system in planning and budgeting processes. Negative impacts include: air pollution, dust, waste management, water quality, cultural heritage, and asbestos management. Mitigation measures include: there will be no unregulated extraction of groundwater, nor uncontrolled discharge of process waters, cement slurries, or any other contaminated waters into the ground or adjacent streams or rivers; the Contractor will obtain all necessary licenses and permits for water extraction and regulated discharge into the public wastewater system; there will be proper storm water drainage systems installed and care taken not to silt, pollute, block or otherwise negatively impact natural streams, rivers, ponds and lakes by construction activities; construction noise will be limited to restricted times agreed to in the permit; during operations the engine covers of generators, air compressors and other powered mechanical equipment shall be closed, and equipment placed as far away from residential areas as possible; during excavation works dust control measures shall be employed, e.g. by spraying and moistening the ground; demolition debris, excavated soil and aggregates shall be kept in controlled area and sprayed with water mist to reduce debris dust; during pneumatic drilling or breaking of pavement and foundations dust shall be suppressed by ongoing water spraying and/or installing dust screen enclosures at site; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; construction waste will be collected and disposed properly by licensed collectors; the records of waste disposal will be maintained as proof for proper management as designed; and whenever feasible contractor will reuse and recycle appropriate and viable materials (except when containing asbestos).


There comes up a new requirement of scale? and? standardization of international student administration,with their ever- increasing scales in Chinese universities. Taking infromationized platforms of international student administration at Nanjing University of Science and Technology as a case in point,this paper analyzes the characteristics and difficulties in international student administration in China,focusing on the demand of informationized platforms. On the basis of traditional informationized international student administration systems,this new platform makes data analysis and integration in international student administration and achieves good results,by taking good advantage of mobile Internet,social network,and big data technology. This provides some new ideas for international student administration in China.


In recent years, vertical social communication among strangers characterized by anonymization and personalization is becoming a new approach to social communication in  mobile Internet era. This paper developed a map vertical social platform based on LBS technology and Retrofit network framework in an attempt to solve such problems as the slow shift from online to offline social activities and barriers to communication between strangers . The platform implements real-time map display by connecting to the Golden Map SDK, uses C/S three-tier structure as the system architecture, SQL Server database to store and manage data, MVVM as the backend framework, and constructs four modules of map social, social activities and recommendation, group chat and user center based on the social needs of young people, which effectively meets the anonymous social needs of strangers.


Recent studies have indicated that miRNA is an important element that regulates gene expression at the post transcriptional level.MiRNAs play important roles in development and progression of chronic disorders of many organs.This review summarizes the recent researches on the association of miRNA with chronic liver diseases.


The thesis presents a relationship of monetary policy reaction function and exchange rate regime in open economy of Taiwan and Japan using SVAR model. The economic variables of the model are including domestic interest rate, consumer price index, industrial index, nominal exchange rate, and foreign interest rate. The research uses 206 panel data, from 1989:05 to 2006:06 to examine the role of exchange rate as a shock-absorber or source of shocks. The results of the empirical research are summarized as follows: The shock between Taiwan and United States belongs to symmetric shock. The interest rates of United States and Taiwan respond in the same way to real shock, so foreign monetary policy shock has a great effect on domestic monetary policy. It is little need for the exchange rate to act as a shock-absorber to stabilizing economy. It is effective for Taiwan to join optimal currency area than use exchange rate policy or monetary policy to stabilizing economy. The shocks are idiosyncratic between Japan and United States,so the exchange rate can absorb such shocks. Exchange rate market disturbance resulted in exchange rate variation; the reactions of monetary policy to supply shock and demand shock are influential. For Japan, it is better to have independent of monetary policy and exchange rate policy as shock absorption to stabilize economy.


The purpose of the study was to therefore evaluate the factors affecting loaning of small businesses. The objectives of this study were to find out how interest rate fluctuations affect loaning of small businesses, to establish the extent to which financial literacy affect loaning of SMEs and to determine how collateral security affect loaning of small businesses. The study therefore recommends that: For commercial banks, with due regard to the ever-increasing desire to have credit empowerment for SMEs in Kenya, there is need to invest in proper credit access strategies so as to meet these expectations. This should be done in a manner in which all the stakeholders are happy. This therefore calls for embracing proper credit access strategies which are acceptable, accessible, ethically sound, have a positive perceived impact, relevant, appropriate, innovative, efficient, sustainable and replicable.