The management of pain in dentistry encompasses a number of procedural issues, including the delivery of anesthetic and the management of postprocedural pain, as well as pain diagnosis, management strategies for orofacial conditions that cause pain in the face and head, and the management of pain in special populations. Given the extensive nature of the topic, this article reviews pain definitions and mechanisms, acute versus chronic pain, and focuses on management strategies related to anesthetic delivery and the control of pain following dental procedures.


The subway passengers are usually alert to the current location of the train in order not to miss the destination or transfer stations. The Global Positioning System (GPS), although expensive, can give an alarm if properly programmed, but cannot receive the satellite signals, underground. Therefore, a novel approach to context-aware location-based subway information system is motivated. The passengers, who are equipped with mobile devices such as laptop, PDA, and mobile phone as clients of the Personal Area Network (PAN), request the Bluetooth connection to the server which is installed in each car of the train. While the server broadcasts the location-based information including the previous station, the current velocity of the train, the distance and time to the next station, the clients provide additional services based on the recognized context of the information, and what the passengers individually want. The services are spontaneous and autonomous rather than passive. The services include not only the information on the nearby stations, exit numbers, connection buses but also the location-based alarms which can be set specific to various personal requests, and sounded by the location of the train rather than time. Whereas the arrival time may not he accurate due to the delays of the train, the location can be accurately traced and broadcast by the server. Also, the clients do not need any expensive systems like GPS. Towards validating the proposed approach, we implemented a Bluetooth PAN including a PC server, two PDA clients and a laptop client. We modeled a train on the Incheon Subway Line #1 and a train on the Seoul-to-Incheon Line on the server, simulated the virtual trains together with the real clients. and verified that all the services were successfully provided.


The utility model relates to an improved structure of an electric rear-view mirror, in particular to a rear-view mirror with functions of blind spot removal and vehicle sensing and warning. The rear-view mirror comprises a rear-view mirror main body which is provided with a mirror lens inside; a driving motor arranged in the rear-view mirror main body, connected with the mirror lens and used for controlling the angle of the mirror lens; a sensor arranged in the rear-view mirror main body and used for detecting the peripheral adjacent objects; a controlling chip set arranged inside the rear-view mirror main body and respectively connected with the sensor and the driving motor. Signals are sensed by the sensor, the signals are transmitted to the controlling chip set, the driving motor is controlled, the mirror can achieve an angle which is most suitable for the driver; therefore the driving security of the driver can be more enhanced.


The authors evaluated the blood volume of foetal blood remaining in the placenta after giving birth with the foetal distress and after a physiological delivery While the amount of blood collected did non differ between groups, the number of CD34 cells was grater in the physiological may be the foetal distress during labour leads to a shift of blood from the placenta to the foetal circulation compartment.


Abstract We report on a 3-year study of the infestation rates of the sea louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, on wild juvenile pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha and chum salmon O. keta in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. In 2002, the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food ordered farm fallowing (i.e., the removal of farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from net-cages) along the presumed migration route of wild juvenile Pacific salmon in this area. The goal was to protect wild juvenile fish from sea louse infestation. We assessed the effectiveness of this decision by comparing sea louse infestation rates on wild juvenile salmon near three Atlantic salmon farm sites prior to, during, and after fallowing. Overall, L. salmonis levels were significantly reduced (P < 0.0001) at the study sites during fallowing but returned to the original level after fallowing. The decline was age specific. While the abundance of the earliest attached sea louse phase (the copepodid stage) declined b...


In order to enhance students' capability of computer,it is important to improve the construction and management of computer laboratory.This paper introduced the policy to enhance the computer teaching quality in chemistry specialty.


The full exploration of the cultural resources of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area to develop cultural and tourism industry is conducive to the raising of the living standard of the local emigrants and the ecological environment of the reservoir area.However,to construct a new Three Gorges Area of rich culture,the cultural development laws must be followed and everything must be done within the laws,which includes building a new cultural ecology,constructing a medium-and-long-term cultural management system,and avoiding "cultural leap" and being trapped by "cultural GDP".


Some basic theoretical aspects have been postulated to determine the optimal physical condition of adolescents to prevent their misbehavior in various typological groups. An experimental basis has been provided.


The article considers the main methods of diagnosis and treatment of pain syndrome (BS) in accordance with traditional Chinese medicine, which are used in a lecture course theme usovershenstvoniya in reflexology. Mechanisms of development of the BS associated with the failure of "vital substances" forms premorbid background for the development of BS. Excessive emotions depressive and negative also create additional conditions for the development of BS. This article describes the clinical features of the BS manifestations and treatment tactics depending on the depth of localization of lesions and the BS. Recommended special acupuncture technique for pain relief can extend the theme of the lecture course at the Department of  Neurology and Reflexology, Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education based on the analysis of data in the literature and practical experience in acupuncture.


The dynamic behavior of multibody systems containing structural elements undergoing large overall rotation and translation as well as small elastic deformations is considered. A systematic procedure, using assumed mode functions and von Kármán-type strain measures, is developed in order to properly account for motion-induced structural stiffness variations during arbitrary overall motion. The procedure is compared in terms of accuracy and efficiency with recently developed imbedded geometric constraint methods involving linear strain-displacement relationships and with more conventional multibody techniques. A numerical example involving a simply supported plate attached to a rigid body (floating frame) undergoing a prescribed large-displacement motion is presented. Extensions to complex multibody systems containing various element types will be discussed.


State regulations play an important role to guarantee an appropriate building energy performance. As for the Spanish regulation, the limitation of energy consumption should be analyzed with simulation tools by using operational profiles. The profile of operational conditions of HVAC systems in residential buildings limits the use of heating and cooling systems. This paper studied the limitations of the residential profile in energy assessment processes through simulation tools. A case study was analyzed with three operational approaches and was placed in 8131 Spanish cities. The results showed that the use limitations of cooling systems lead to ignorance of an important percentage contribution in the cooling energy demand in some months of the year. The use of an operational profile with an extended calendar for cooling systems for the entire year would imply a more appropriate knowledge of the building energy performance in order to know the fulfilment of the state regulation and its correct energy classification.


We present results from analysis and comparison of 2000 and 2003 Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the population of X-ray binaries in the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1399. A number of variable low-mass X-ray binaries are identified, including some candidate transient sources. Evidence for the presence of black hole binaries in NGC 1399 is strong, and the case most compelling for the globular cluster sources. The most luminous source declined from 5 × 1039 erg s-1 to 2 × 1039 erg s-1 while maintaining a soft spectrum. Such behavior is seen in (high state) black hole binaries; however, none of these are found in Milky Way globular clusters.


Graphite‐MoS2‐Fe2O3 (Fe3O4) nano‐composite lubricating coatings were prepared on the surfaces of non‐copper coated solid wires by a mechanical coating technique. The tribological behaviours of graphite‐MoS2‐Fe2O3 (Fe3O4) coatings at the rubbing interfaces of welding wires against the contact tube were investigated. The results demonstrate that the lubricating properties of graphite‐Fe3O4 coatings outperform the lubricating properties of graphite‐Fe2O3 coatings. The anti‐wear performance of the contact tube is strengthened with increasing nano‐MoS2 contents. Layers of protective tribofilms are formed at the rubbing interfaces of welding wires against a contact tube by tribochemical reaction among lubricants. The tribofilms are composed of FeO, MoO3 and FeMoO4 with excellent lubricating properties. They can avoid direct contact of welding wires against the contact tube, thus decreasing contact tube wear. With the transition of the contact tube wear from mild to severe, the dominant wear mechanisms of contact tube change from fatigue peeling and oxidative wear to abrasive wear and arc ablation.


Since Smart Grids, Smart Cities and IoT are in a very active expansion phase, we investigate some of the possibilities of integration between different network technologies to expand the options for the use of Smart End Devices. This work presents a series of improvements made on the communication of LoRaWAN Gateways and their Network Servers that allow these technologies to be installed over Low-Rate Wireless Networks communication channels, such as Wi-SUN Smart Grid Networks. The proposed improvements were validated on a network proto-type assembled in a Lactec laboratory. Our results, in addition to supporting the viability of the integration, show that the protocol modifications can yield a reduction of up to 99% in the number of control messages sent through the Wi-SUN network.


UV curable polyurethane for iron sheet coating was synsthesized by using nonyellowing polyisocyanates. The effect was investigated of the chemical structrue of the Polyisocyanates and hydroxyacrylates, and the compositions of the prepolymer or diluent on the properies of the UV curable polyurethane acrylates.


The utility model provides a seal structure of a piston damper. The seal structure of the piston damper can be used for pressing an oil seal towards the side of a piston rod through a rib which is arranged on a lining in order to keep the thickness of an oil film of the surface of the piston rod stable, and therefore oil leakage can be reduced. The seal structure of the piston damper comprises a cylinder shell body with one end opened, a piston rod which can be used for inserting the cylinder shell body through in a sliding mode, a cover which seals the opened end of the cylinder shell body and guides the piston rod, an oil seal which is arranged inside the cover in a matched mode, inserted through by the piston rod and seals liquid sealed inside the cylinder shell body, the lining which is arranged inside the cylinder shell body and arranged around the piston rod near the oil seal in a matched mode, and a flange part. A rib portion formed on the end portion of the lining is used for pressing the flange part where the oil seal and the piston rod are connected in an abutting mode. According to the structure, oil leakage can be effectively reduced.


2002 REVIEWS Struggling with Jazz DeVeaux, Scott The author engages Ken Burn's documentary "Jazz" from a personal and passionate viewpoint as a jazz musicologist. The author believes Burns and his colleagues are highly skilled and indefatigable at what they do, the art of film. However the problem he perceives is that any sense of gratitude is nearly impossible to separate from frustration, exasperation, and outright anger. One musician involved with the production privately summed up his feelings about Jazz to him as "a horribly flawed film with some truly great and beautiful things about it." Subjects Music


Software as a Service (SaaS) is an online delivery of software to customers as a service. The interest in adopting SaaS has been rapidly increasing due to the advantages of SaaS. Current SaaS vendors such as Salesforce.com charge their customers based on the type of the edition and on the number of users. Many customers are not satisfied with the current pricing model and are requesting to pay according to the actual usage of the SaaS application. SaaS vendors are looking to implement a metering solution that measures the computational resources such as the CPU, memory and transactional usage as well as the utilized features of each SaaS user. This paper focuses on implementing a crucial element of the metering system which is measuring the SaaS applications based on the features utilized by each user. This is also called the Feature-


Proton beams with energies of 10 and 200 MeV were irradiated onto the light emitting surfaces of InGaAsP lasers. Threshold current damage factors K were estimated from the experimental results. These were compared with previously reported hardness of neutron- and electron- irradiated InGaAsP lasers.


To determine whether there are quantifiable structural or functional differences that can distinguish between high‐tension glaucoma (HTG; intraocular pressure [IOP] > 21 mm Hg) and low‐tension glaucoma (LTG; IOP ≤ 21 mm Hg) at diagnosis.


WAR ECONOMIES are resilient to small-scale, narrowly defined projects, their transformation requiring concerted and simultaneous engagement by and through a variety of actors, reforms and processes. This range of programmes, broadly referred to in this book as the transformation agenda, has been developed and is implemented by a diverse network of actors, the Development-Security Industry (DSI) who work at multiple levels in an attempt to not only sever links between economic opportunities and political violence, but also to create more just, transparent and equitable modes of political-economic relationships within conflict-affected societies. However, even when the DSI attempts to transform politicaleconomic relationships using a multi-faceted approach, war economies remain resistant to change. The explanations for such resistance in a diversity of cases, from central Asia to the Balkans to Latin America, are not to be found in the minutiae of individual project evaluations but rather a more comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of the actors which engage in transformation. Such analyses, undertaken in the previous three chapters on reform processes, allow for the creation of a detailed and systematic framework through which the collision between the DSI's transformation agenda and war economies can be understood. Although drawing from a single case, the findings presented are applicable to other scenarios, as it is not in the final outcomes or specificities of reform in Kosovo that one finds the answers to the problems of transformation, but in understanding the processes and the everyday technologies of aid on which the reform agenda relies. Building upon already existing understandings of how development and security institutions engage with complex social, economic and political dilemmas, the findings from previous chapters can be used to develop a


PURPOSE: To provide a workable and electrically conductive polymer blend comprising an intrinsically conductive polymer and an insulating thermoplastic material. CONSTITUTION: This polymer blend is obtained by blending (A) 1-50 pts.wt. of an intrinsically conductive polymer (dope polyaniline), (B) 99-50 pts.wt. of a thermoplastic material consisting of B 1 : 99-1% of a thermoplastic polymer (example: polyvinyl chloride, a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, etc.), and B 2 : 1-99% of an impact controlling agent, (C) 0-66 pts.wt. of a non-ester plasticizer (example: sulfonamide), and as required (D) 0-20%, based on A, of an acidic surfactant. The obtained polymer blend has conductivity of approximately 10 -9 S/cm or more. COPYRIGHT: (C)1992,JPO


* The United States Association of Philippine Anthropologists was founded on December 1, 1979, in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a nonpolitical and nonsectarian organization of scholars in Philippine anthropology and related disciplines. Its fundamental aim is to enhance scholarship on the Philippines and promote communication among its members. Its executive board for 1980-81 consists of Mario D. Zamora (chairman), James P. Hardy, David Potter, Enya Flores-Meiser, Charles P. Warren, Amparo B. Ojoda, Edwin Almirol, Robert Lawless, and Karl Hutterer. A newsletter will be published three times a year; the first issue has already appeared. Mario D. Zamora is editor, with David Potter as managing editor and James P. Hardy and Enya Flores-Meiser as associate editors. On editorial and other matters, please write Mario D. Zamora, Department of Anthropology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. 23185, U.S.A. For membership and subscription to the newsletter, at U.S. $4 a year, please write Adeline Ngo, USAPAN Treasurer, at the same address.


The genus Manihot Mill. contains about 120 species of which about 104 occur in Brazil. We tested the cross-amplification of ten microsatellite markers developed for Manihot esculenta in 15 species of Manihot endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado. We also evaluated the genetic diversity of Manihot irwinii, M. orbicularis, and M. purpureocostata. Ten pairs of primers were amplified among 14 species of Manihot. The percentage of polymorphic loci per species varied from 70 to 100 %. Nine markers showed amplification and polymorphism when evaluated on polyacrylamide gel. The markers were combined to form three sets for multiplex genotyping for genetic diversity analysis, and showed 51, 75, and 75 alleles in M. irwinii, M. orbicularis, and M. purpureocostata, respectively. The levels of genetic diversity for the transferred markers were high for the three species and proved to be useful for population genetics studies of species of Manihot endemic to the Cerrado. The results of this study will help to better understand the genetic diversity, taxonomy and relationships among species Manihot, and to develop conservation programs for the genus.


Abstract: the data on leaf blotch miner moth Acrocercops brongniardella are given, based on articles describing observations of these particular species on the territory of Russia, and on the basis of monitoring the city of St. Petersburg. For all the sites described, the miner is an invasive species, which makes studying the dynamics of its population characteristics interesting. Various results of its introduction into new habitats were noted, for example, in some territories the species gives outbreaks of mass reproduction, being one of the main pests of oaks, in others, after settling, it remains underrepresented and is extremely rare.


The Impact of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis is an authoritative, insiders perspective on key strategies for representing and advising financially distressed clients affected by the recent crisis. Featuring partners from some of the nations leading law firms, these experts guide the reader through the evolution of prior market bubbles and recoveries, and offer insight as to how this crisis compares to previous economic downturns. These top lawyers reveal their thoughts on how we arrived at this recession, how the subprime mortgage crisis has changed bankruptcy practice, the importance of understanding your clients source of funding, and how to interpret emerging responses and solutions to the crisis. From discussing pending and decided cases impacted by the subprime mortgage crisis to identifying rule changes, these authors offer tips on navigating the current bankruptcy law environment, including what information and organizational resources can be helpful along the way. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great legal minds of today, as these experienced lawyers offer up their thoughts around the keys to practicing bankruptcy law in todays economic environment.


recognize it more as an interesting hybrid of biopic and historical costume drama in which the female protagonist, Empress Carlotta (Bette Davis), represents an advanced political intelligence. Robé maintains that Left film criticism "steadfastly resisted a reevaluation of its problematic gender assumptions" (228) as it turned its attention in the 1940s to war films, boxing films, and film noir. This reactionary entrenchment followed the collapse of the Popular Front in the late 1930s and the split of the far Left between Trotskyites and Stalinists. In his conclusion, Robé adumbrates some of the lines of reconfigured Left film theory and criticism during and after World War Two in a context of the growing national conservatism of the time. He calls for future scholarship to take up the complex history of U.S. Left film theory and criticism from where his book leaves off at the end of the 1930s. His study seeks neither to "glamorize" nor "demonize" the radical theory and criticism of that decade but to "represent a moment of contact between past and present theoretical and political concerns," a project he accepts as necessarily "filtered through my own psyche and the ideological constraints of the present moment" (235). To have opened up the misunderstood politics and aesthetics of the period under study in such a meticulous and perceptive manner—and to have done so in the light of many present critical concerns—suggests that Robé, in his first book, is already a film historian to be reckoned with.


In accordance with a recent rise in the design contents field that develops convergence contents based on responsive web and software, users came to be put in multi-platform environment of diverse smart devices. This change in responsive web environment gives new blessed effect to user and presents pleasure of experiencing new media. But a demand for convenience and unity in the use experience was created. Hence, the application of design minimalism is emerging now as an alternative plan for producing responsive web environment. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to understand about design minimalism in convergence IT environment that was combined online, offline and mobile, and to examine about the influence of the expressive characteristics according to it upon the affordance in users" cognitive aspect. To do this, it evaluated and analyzed the usability of influencing user"s cognitive affordance in design minimalism according to a responsive web type through questionnaire survey and in-depth interview by using the responsive web with the reflection of design minimalism and the general web without its reflection as the experimental tool. As a result of the analysis, the users were feeling affordance, functional prediction, convenient usability, and convenience according to visual effect in the cognitive aspect while using responsive web with the application of design minimalism. In conclusion, this study aimed to verify necessity and efficiency on design minimalism with the application of responsive web, which has positive influence upon user"s cognitive affordance in the multi- platform environment of various smart devices, and furthermore to emphasize importance of offering user"s cognitive affordance.


This paper describes a method to implement externally linear internally non-linear (ELIN) current amplifiers. Two novel schemes of ELIN current amplifier circuits are proposed, including hyperbolic sine (SINH) and hyperbolic tangent (TANH) circuits. The obtained linear input-current ranges of SINH and TANH circuits are 400 µAp-p with total harmonic distortion (THD) less than 2% and 140 µAp–p with THD less than 0.2%, respectively, both at the input frequency 1 kHz. Also, the current gains of the proposed circuits can be varied either in positive or negative region by adjusting the dc bias currents. Their current gains are tunable in the range of −10 A/A to 10 A/A and insensitive to temperature. Simulation results show that the performance of the circuits are as good as expected.


A family of star-shaped conjugated oligofluorene molecules based around a central benzene core is studied with the aim of identifying how changes in molecular structure can affect the laser performance of organic materials. As the oligofluorene arm length increases the optical transitions are found to move to longer wavelength, there is an increase in photoluminescence quantum yield and a corresponding reduction in the excitation density for amplified spontaneous emission. Distributed-feedback lasers based on these materials are tunable across 402–462 nm with lasing thresholds as low as 1.1 kW cm−2 and efficiencies as high as 6.6%. The laser performance is compared with that of family of star-shaped molecules with different core structure. This shows that a reduction in intermolecular interactions is very important to achieving high performance lasing in organic semiconductors.


The results are presented of artificial aging of linen canvas in natural daylight, including the effects of filters and canvas treatments with antioxidants and buffers. Accelerated thermal aging test in air and nitrogen were also performed. The effects of prior aging both in the light and in the dark, and the application of antioxidants, buffers and acids are discussed. Most notable of the results is that neutral and alkaline buffers were found to protect the canvas from thermal aging. See also AATA 18-1397 and 19-1622.


The popularization of legal terminology is an important way in the evolution of the Chinese word meaning system.This paper takes some examples to analyze metaphor style and amplification style,the two main approaches of the popularization of the legal terminology,clarifies their characteristics in semantics,syntax and pragmatics,and discusses the internal and external causes which promote changes in legal terminology.


Abstract The influence of ocean–atmosphere interaction on the wintertime Arctic oscillation (AO) is investigated using a hierarchy of experiments made with two general circulation models (GCMs), ranging from climatologically forced atmospheric to fully coupled ocean–atmosphere GCMs with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Both GCMs reproduce well the AO spatial pattern, defined by the leading hemispheric mode of monthly sea level pressure or daily 700-hPa geopotential height, although the North Pacific pole is more pronounced as compared with observations. Coupling is not found to influence this spatial pattern. Power spectra are examined for evidence of ocean–atmosphere interaction in the form of spectral reddening or significant spectral peaks. No measurable influence is found. On interannual timescales, all the model AO spectra are approximately "white," with no clear evidence of any statistically significant spectral peaks in the coupled experiments. Greenhouse gas–induced changes in sea level p...


Solar twins are key in different areas of astrophysics, however only just over a hundred were identified and well-studied in the last two decades. In this work, we take advantage of the very precise Gaia (DR2/EDR3), Tycho and 2MASS photometric systems to create the Inti survey of new solar twins in the Northern Hemisphere. The spectra of our targets were initially obtained with spectrographs of moderate resolution (ARCES and Goodman spectrographs with R = 31500 and 11930, respectively) to find the best solar twin candidates and then observed at McDonald Observatory with higher resolving power (TS23, R = 60000) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR ∼ 300-500). The stellar parameters were estimated through the differential spectroscopic equilibrium relative to the Sun, which allow us to achieve a high internal precision (σ(Teff) = 15 K, σ(log g) = 0.03 dex, σ([Fe/H]) = 0.01 dex, and σ(vt ) = 0.03 km s−1). We propose a new class of stars with evolution similar to the Sun: solar proxy, which is useful to perform studies related to the evolution of the Sun, such as its rotational and magnetic evolution. Its definition is based on metallicity (−0.15 dex ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ +0.15 dex) and mass (0.95M ≤M ≤ 1.05M ) constraints, thus assuring that the star follows a similar evolutionary path as the Sun along the main sequence. Based on this new definition, we report 70 newly identified solar proxies, 46 solar analogs and 13 solar-type stars. In addition, we identified 9 close solar twins whose stellar parameters are the most similar to those of the Sun.


Little is known about the structure-function relationships in the Fc portion of the IgG molecule, even though it mediates a number of physiological effector functions. This study is focused on the characterization of the lysine residues because of their potential involvement in Fc effector interactions. The Fc fragments were reductively /sup 13/C-methylated and /sup 13/C NMR was used to characterize the dimethylamino groups. Dimethylamino groups have properties generally representative of native amino groups. In addition, the chemical shifts of the /sup 13/C NMR resonances are quite sensitive to the local environment of the dimethylamino moiety. All of the lysyl amino groups of the Fc fragments were modified as indicated by the relative areas of the dimethyllysyl and the N-terminal dimethylamino /sup 13/C NMR resonances. The pH dependences of the fragments were determined and seven unique titration curves were resolved for Fc-Cohn while eight curves were obtained for Fc-Tu. The calculated pKa values from these titration curves fell in the range of 9.6 to 10.3 for both fragments. Several of the titrating resonances are from single lysyl residues. Current efforts are directed toward assignment of the /sup 13/C NMR resonances to specific lysyl residues and toward further characterization of their thermodynamicmore » properties.« less


In this article the using of thermosiphon solar collectors for system air heating of premises of passive houses was examined. The research determination the air velocity and air temperature in the space of experimental module were conducted. According to the research the field of temperature and air velocity in the space of the experimental module for different output of thermal solar radiation were built. The main factors that affect the value of speed and temperature of the internal air were identified. It was established that the presence of spiral turbo baffles increases the thermal output of thermosiphon collector to 15%, and the rate of heated flow to 17%


Different concepts of quality in health care have implications for nature, structure and composition of health service systems. Issues of access, cost and quality of care are intricately linked; for recipients, providers as well as for policy-makers. Quality in health care is a complex construct because it is linked not just with the quality of services provided at the institution and systemic level but has several tangible and intangible dimensions including individual patient's interests and larger societal concerns about improvement in health status. Quality is an important consideration for choosing the services for recipients, accreditation of hospitals for care providers, and for policy-makers while making decisions regarding health service system models. This article traces the way the issue has been dealt with at the policy and planning level so far, including the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) as well as in the proposed models for Universal Health Care by the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) and 12th Plan Steering committee reports.


Due to the increasing number of wireless mobile devices, the possibility of mobile communications without infrastructure becomes a reality. The Decentralized Mobile Social Network (DMSN) is a paradigm where nodes can move freely and organize themselves arbitrarily. Routing in these environments is difficult for the reason of the rapid changes of the social relationship graph's topology. Meanwhile, the social ties among nodes change overtime. Therefore, an efficient data forwarding mechanism should be considered over the temporal weighted relationship graph. In this paper, an Advanced routing Protocol based on Parameters Optimization in the Weighted mobile social network (APPOW) is proposed to improve the delivery success ratio and reduce the cost of exchanging information. APPOW combines the normalized relative weights of three local social metrics, i.e., LinkRank, similarity and contact strength, to select the next relay node. The weights of the three metrics are derived by pair-wise learning algorithm. The result shows that APPOW outperforms the state-ofthe- art SimBet Routing in delivering message and significantly reduces the average hops. Additionally, the delivery performance of APPOW is close to Epidemic Routing but without message duplications.


The adsorption of a large organic molecule, named Lander, has been studied on a Cu(110) substrate by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At low temperatures three different conformations of the molecule are observed on the flat surface terraces. At room temperature the Lander molecules are highly mobile and anchor preferentially to step edges. There the molecules cause a rearrangement of the Cu step atoms leading to the formation of Cu nanostructures that are adapted to the dimension of the molecule, as revealed directly by STM manipulation experiments. Upon annealing to 500 K the molecules order at higher coverages partially into small domains. In all cases the exact adsorption conformation of the molecules was identified through an interplay with elastic scattering quantum chemistry calculations.


Objective To explore the reasonable and individual treatment plan in osteosarcoma by determining serum methotrexate(MTX)concentration in patients receiving high-dose MTX therapy(HDMTX)of osteosarcoma by fluorescence polarization immunity analytical method(FPIA)and clinical manifestation.Methods Dosage regimen:AP-HD-MTX-IFO.Different time blood samples from 15 patients receiving HDMTX(14 g/m2 were determined by FPIA,concentration-time data were analysed by DAS 2.1.1.Adjusted the dosage regimen of calcium folinate by clinical data and manifestation.Results The security and rationality of dosage regimen was determined by the serum concentration data and clinical manifestation.ConclusionThe determination of serum methotrexate(MTX)is convenient and exact at FPIA.The dosage regimen adjusting by clinical data and manifestation is rationality.


Objective To retrospectively analyse a series of 157 patients treated for anterior communicating artery(ACoA) aneurysms in our hospital from January 1990 to December 2004.Methods Operations were carried out in all patients under general anesthesia.Two basic microsurgical approaches (pterional and interhemispheric) were used.The pterional approach was performed in 152 cases and interhemispheric approach in 5 cases.Aneurysms clipping were performed in 154 patients,and aneurysms were wrapped in 3 patients with small or fusiform aneurysms.For the 136 patients with SAH,35 patients were operated within 3 days after later subarachnoid hemorrhage,68 during 3~21 days and the others 3 weeks or later.Results The overall postoperative recovery results,according to GOS,were as follows: 140 cases(89.2%) with good recovery,5 cases(3.2%) with moderate disability,4 cases(2.5%) with severe disability and 8 cases(5.1%) death.7 of 8 dead cases were in grade IV and V.The other case was dead of rebleeding after aneurysm wrapping.All the 4 poor cases were in grade IV and V.Conclusion Exploration is recommended for the severe patients who are in the early few hours of bleeding and have characteristic appearances of ACoA aneurysms on CT.Actively surgery may obtain satisfactory postoperative result even in some patients subject to grade IV and V in the early stage of hemorrhage.


The optical limiting performances for β-octa-octyloxy phthalocyanines with initial linear transmission To = 88% to approximately 92% at 532 nm in a 5 mm spectroscopic cell in toluene have been measured with 35 ps pulses, in which β-octa-octyloxy phthalocyanine free-base exhibits the strongest optical limiting ability through a reverse saturable absorption from S1 → Sn excited singlet states with σs1 = 4.0 x 10-17 cm2. The optical limiting thresholds are 50, 130 and 140 mJ/cm2 at T/To = 0.5 for phthalocyanine free base, nickel phthalocyanine, and lead phthalocyanine respectively. The throughput of the phthalocyanine free base is clamped down to 70 mJ/cm2 with the limiting nonlinear transmittance Tlim = 18% as the incident fluence reaching to 400 mJ/cm2. The solubility, aggregation behavior and photo-stability for β-octa-octyloxy phthalocyanines have been studied. The solubility of the β-octa-octyloxy phthalocyanines has an obvious improving, which dissolve in non-polar solvent more easily than in polar solvent. The aggregation equilibrium constant k = 5.6 x 103 in toluene for phthalocyanine free base is lager that in mixed solvent (k' = 1.4 x 103), which means that the β-octa-octyloxy phthalocyanines aggregate more easily in non-polar solvent than in polar solvent through the π-π interaction. The β-octa-octyloxy lead phthalocyanine appeared a lower photo-stability among them.


A NYONE INTERESTED IN A STRUCTURAL APPROACH to Moby-Dick is likely to be puzzled when he turns to the established theories concerning how the novel is blocked out and how various units and sequences of units are related to a larger framework. We are told either that no overall structure is discernible in a work whose growth was "organic" and spontaneous or that analogies with plays and epic poems can answer our questions about fundamental structure.' Somehow, with what we know about the professional novelist working with the familiar problems of length, proportion, emphasis, unity, all this rings false. We want the methods of fiction to explain the structure of fiction, and we search the novel for signs that they are there.


We study the problem of one-way video communication in a single-source, multiple-destination scenario over the lossy Internet. Forward error correction (FEC) coding is commonly adopted for data protection in implementing loss-resilient video transmission systems. However, the burst packet losses over the Internet frequently degrade FEC performance and induce video quality deteriorations. To address the challenging problem, we propose a novel transmission scheme dubbed trading delay for distortion (TELFORD) that includes three components: 1) adaptive multidestination status estimation; 2) delay-constrained transmission rate assignment; and 3) differentiated FEC packet spreading. We analytically formulate and solve the problem of FEC packet allocation and scheduling to minimize the end-to-end video distortion. The proposed TELFORD is able to cope with multiple-destination scheduling separately. We conduct performance evaluation through semiphysical emulations in Exata using real-time H.264 video streaming. Experimental results show that TELFORD outperforms existing error control transmission schemes in improving the video peak signal-to-noise ratio and mitigating packet transmission impairments.


Resilience, i.e., the ability to withstand and recover from disruption, is a fundamental requirement for mission-critical automation systems. Interconnection among systems makes the analytical determination of resilience zones harder than in isolated systems, because the failure of a system usually has an impact on those connected to it. In this paper we propose an algorithm to determine resilience zones of interconnected systems based on the computation of piecewise linear Lyapunov functions. The algorithm is based on a model introduced previously that abstracts from specific system dynamics and enables analysis in the space of performances. Experiments with an interconnected system inspired to a real wastewater treatment facility show the feasibility and the accountability of our approach.


where X, , βββ , x h vary independently and each side of the equalities needs not contain all of letters αc. 9 ... f OC«, but letters appearing in both sides are χ v , ..., x^ for example ̂ fι(x,»> = χy , g,(x,j)~x . Then T is called a semigroup with monomial conditions f λ -g\ , λeJV Of course a one-element semigroup {x} is one of this kind. In this short note, we shall prove the existence of greatest decomposition of a semigroup & to a semigroup T with "ίx = Sx 9 ̂ 6 A $ which turns out to be an expansion of the theorem in the previous paper [1] »


This qualitative study explored frontline service providers' perceptions of the nature of food insecurity in Scotland in 2015 to inform national policy and the provision of locally-based support for 'at risk' groups. A country-wide in-depth interview study was undertaken with informants from 25 health, social care, and third sector organisations. The study investigated informants' perspectives associated with how food insecurity was manifesting itself locally, and what was happening at the local level in response to the existence of food insecurity. Data analysis revealed three key themes. First, the multiple faces and factors of food insecurity involving not only increased concern for previously recognised 'at risk of food insecurity' groups, but also similar concern held about newly food insecure groups including working families, young people and women. Secondly, respondents witnessed stoicism and struggle, but also resistance amongst some food insecure individuals to external offers of help. The final theme identified community participation yet pessimism associated with addressing current and future needs of food insecure groups. These findings have important implications for the design and delivery of health and social policy in Scotland and other countries facing similar challenges.


In wind energy conversion system the wind turbine captures the kinetic energy associate with the wind for the production of electricity with the help of generator. Performance of a wind turbine is dependent upon its operating conditions such as wind speed as well as its design parameters such as blade radius, blade pitch angle, weight etc. In the present paper, authors have made an attempt to develop a MATLAB/SIMULINK model of wind turbine. Model as developed is suitable to investigate its performance under constant as well as variable speed mode. Simulated results as obtained are found to be useful to predict the effect of wind speed and blade pitch on the performance of wind turbine under two operating modes.


Considerable attention has been devoted to the development of feature selection algorithms for various applications in the last decade. Most of them concentrate to the single attributes. In contrast, limited research work has been devoted to determine correlated and pairwise attributes or features due to the difficulty of the problem. We present a novel feature selection algorithm for strongly correlated attributes using the two-dimensional discriminant rules. We discover a subset of pairwise attributes whose target class is influenced not only by a single cause in numeric-based datasets, both categorical and continuous target classes. Our algorithm uses x-monotone optimization for determination of optimal region within datasets. For selection strategy, the region evaluation has been applied using skewness and kurtosis metric. The results are then compared to other numeric based attribute selection algorithms. The result shows a unique capability to reveal the importance of pairwise strongly correlated attributes that conventional methods missed to explore. Keyword strongly correlated attributes, two-dimensional discriminant rules approach


The 21st century is an era of the coexistence of opportunities and challenges. Domestic higher education and modern science and technology have obtained unprecedented development, making people more clearly understand the vital role of mathematics, which is both pressure and power for college mathematics teaching. In addition, due attention should be taken on the problems in mathematics teaching. This paper dwells on the problems and opportunities of mathematics education in colleges and universities, hoping to find and solve the root causes of problems in the teaching process from three aspects of teachers, schools and students, so as to improve the quality and efficiency of mathematics teaching.


Time in less-structured activities is associated with children's developing executive function, but it is unclear why. Prior research suggests less-structured time specifically benefits self-directed executive function, by allowing children to practice making choices. We tested another hypothesis: that less-structured time also benefits externally-cued executive function, which develops earlier than self-directed executive function, theorizing that less-structured time can provide children with opportunities to acquire knowledge that supports emerging control skills. Caregivers of 93 3- to 5-year-olds reported their child's activities on a typical day at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and children completed a widely-used cued executive function task, the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Time and variety in less-structured activities predicted successful switching on the card sort, controlling for age, family income, caregiver education, and verbal knowledge. Caregivers were more involved in less-structured versus structured activities. Children's temperament, as rated by caregivers, predicted how they spent their time. Findings provide a more nuanced picture of how less-structured time and executive function are related, consistent with less-structured time affording opportunities for children, particularly those higher in effortful control, to acquire diverse knowledge that supports engaging control in various ways.


An efficient plant regeneration system through direct adventitious bud formation is established using leaf segments of asepsis seedlings of chicory(Cichorium intybus L.).After 5~7d of culture,adventitious buds appeared directly from explants without any intervening callus on Murashige and Skoog(MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of N-6-benzyladenine(BA) alone or together with 0.5mg/L α-naphthaleneacetic acid(NAA).According to histological observations,adventitious buds were originated from thin wall cell of vascular bundle of the leafs,and the vascular bundle systems of adventitious buds are closely connected with that of leaf explant.6-BA was necessary for direct adventitious bud formation.The frequency and number of adventitious bud formation were strongly influenced by the development stage of explants and sucrose concentration.After 15 days culture,the 100% frequency of bud formation as well as an average of 36~38 adventitious buds per explant were obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2.0mg/L 6-BA,0.5mg/L NAA,100mg/L Vc,100mg/L V_(B1),300mg/L proline and 40 g/L sucrose using 20-day-old leaves.When transplanted and cultured for about 10d on the 1/2 MS medium added 0.5mg/L indole-3-butyric acid(IBA), 97.58% rooting frequency was obtained.Plantlets grew well and appeared normal with no mortality after transfer to soil.


Let Q be a quadrilateral and let Γ be the family of rectifiable closed curves in Q that touch each side of Q. Then the extremal length λ(Γ) is derived from Beurling criterion.Let Ω be a Jordan region, z1 and z2 are two interior points of Ω. Let Γ be the family of rectifiable closed curves in Ω that touch the boundary and enclose z1, z2. Then the extremal length λ(Γ) is also obtained.


ABSTRACT Clinicians are increasingly confronted with treating the dramatically growing numbers of methamphetamine (MA) abusers. However, scant research documents the internal experience of MA abuse. This study uses data from ethnographic interviews to describe the development of MA abuse across users' lives. Results show drug initiation emerging from abuse during childhood and parental drug abuse. Respondents entered drug-using peer groups that paradoxically offer both protection from and vulnerability to violence and other problems. Consequences of MA abuse include economic instability and concern with only the acquisition and use of MA, instead of MA-related problems. Understandings of "problematic" drug use emerge as respondents stigmatize users who lack basic resources and hurt others for the sake of money or drugs, and parents whose use interferes with parenting. Respondents describe barriers and alternatives to treatment. Results provide insight into the experience of MA abuse. Theoretical considerations and implications are discussed.


A few years ago, I was walking through the hallway of a middle school when Danielle stopped me. "You're the lady who gave that presentation last week, aren't you?" she asked me. Sitting on the floor of the school hallway, Danielle looked at me with knowing brown eyes. Her school uniform had an end-of-the day rumple to it, and her ash-blonde hair was pulled back loosely in a ponytail. It was a couple of weeks into the school year. I had given a presentation on back-to-school wellness to her and her middle school classmates the week before and had returned to give a corresponding talk to parents that evening.


The concept of maritime security deals with a range of security issues, which include national security, economic development, human security, the marine environment, and so forth. Maritime security is one of the most important aspects of national security and international politics in the present day. Countries that have large coastal areas face serious maritime challenges and threats. Those countries need to invest large amounts of their budget, energy, and time in strengthening maritime security. India is also one of them that has been facing the challenges of maritime security. Multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, exposed a lack of strong maritime security resources and infrastructure. The 26/11 terror attack is also considered a paradigm shift in India's Maritime Security management. Therefore, to resolve the problems and counter maritime challenges and threats, India started giving more attention to maritime security. This paper examines how India's maritime security discourse evolved, what the fundamental maritime security challenges India is facing presently are, what security policies and programs India has adopted and executed to counter those challenges, and what challenges still need to be addressed.


Computer simulation is a vital means for the examination of expressways and urban lanes and streets. Transportation experts concentrate on the arrangement and dissemination of traffic jams on roadways. The objective of this study is to calculate and analyses the travel time, delay time, degree of saturation, and level of service and travel speed in Jordan intersection in Baghdad, Iraq using Sidra software. The number of vehicles passing Jordan intersection was recorded by the author of this work from 7am to 3pm for four days. A simulation model has been used to assess the performance of the current intersection. Results demonstrated that the level of service (LOS) for Jordan intersection is D with (35 sec/veh) average delay and degree of saturation (0.996 v/c). It was concluded that Jordan intersection needs further developments like using intelligent transportation system application (ITS) to regulate traffic signals, whereby reducing traffic jam, using closed circuit TV (CCTV) might assist traffic office in identifying jam point to reduce traffic jam.


Summary

Dendritic cells are mainly recognized for their potential to induce primary immune responses to foreign antigens. In allergic asthma, airway dendritic cells are at the very heart of the sensitization process, leading to stable Th2 immunity to commonly inhaled aeroallergens. Recently however, a role for dendritic cells beyond sensitization has been suggested. These studies show that airway DCs control the secondary immune response typical of late asthmatic reactions by recruiting and activating primed Th2 cells locally in the airways.


In 2020, Latin America experienced its deepest economic and social crisis in several decades. The most significant event to affect Latin American economies was the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this article is to analyze the main economic trends, which occurred in the Latin American countries and became noticeable in 2020, as well as to indicate forecasts for 2021.


Abstract This work considers the application of Wilson and NRTL equations in the multicomponent VLE prediction. We emphasize the critical comparison of partially miscible solution treatment by these two equations. Results revealed NRTL equation performed slightly better than the Wilson equation in data credibility so far as the systems examined are concerned. Estimation of optimum NRTL parameters requires further exploration. Optimization methods of pattern search, gradient search and golden section were employed in this study. All of the computations were performed on an IBM 1130 digital computer.


Background: Forty years ago, G.C. Williams predicted that reproductive effort should be inversely related to the average adult life span across species. Aim: Use allometric life-history theory to refine that prediction. Result: Reproductive effort should be inversely proportional to average adult life span, a −1 scaling rule.


Thus far, matrix converter topology has not reached industrial use. Reasons for this have been complex control schemes, inefficient solutions for overvoltage protection, questionable robustness of the bi-directional switch commutation at disturbed supply voltages, and missing power semiconductor modules. Recent research results concerning these problems have led to innovative solutions and, from a technical point of view, industrial use seems to be reasonable now.


Face Anti-spoofing gains increased attentions recently in both academic and industrial fields. With the emergence of various CNN based solutions, the multi-modal(RGB, depth and IR) methods based CNN showed better performance than single modal classifiers. However, there is a need for improving the performance and reducing the complexity. Therefore, an extreme light network architecture(FeatherNet A/B) is proposed with a streaming module which fixes the weakness of Global Average Pooling and uses less parameters. Our single FeatherNet trained by depth image only, provides a higher baseline with 0.00168 ACER, 0.35M parameters and 83M FLOPS. Furthermore, a novel fusion procedure with "ensemble + cascade" structure is presented to satisfy the performance preferred use cases. Meanwhile, the MMFD dataset is collected to provide more attacks and diversity to gain better generalization. We use the fusion method in the Face Anti-spoofing Attack Detection Challenge@CVPR2019 and got the result of 0.0013(ACER), 0.999(TPR@FPR=10e-2), 0.998(TPR@FPR=10e-3) and 0.9814(TPR@FPR=10e-4).


The paper analyses the historic background of the strategy of "running the country with morals" put forward by Jiang Zemin and explains its creativeness and great practical significance.


A new ornamented species of the Glomeromycetes found in Pinar del Rio and Moa, western and east Cuba, respectively, is proposed here as Glomus crenatum. The fungus differs from previously described species by the darkly pigmented spore walls that possess a hemispherical dome-like surface ornamentation.


This thesis aimed to assess availability and utilisation of mainly three sexual reproductive health services, incliding: HIV counselling and testing, STI screening and treatment and family planning among adolescents in boarding secondary schools


Incontestably, stress affects every facet of life and lately there is a growing concern about increased stress amongst higher education students. This descriptive study aimed to establish prevalent student stressors and their predictors. To ascertain stressors' incidence and overall difficulty, two hundred thirteen undergraduate respondents were asked to accomplish a prepared questionnaire of highly hypothesized stressors and were asked to identify items that causes them stress and its level of difficulty. Subsequently, educated profile variables were considered to find out significant stressor predictor. Findings revealed that usual student stressors were exceedingly academic-related which are apparently accentuated by the next-level quality assurance advocacy in higher education, with significant group differences across school and academic year and school as a considerable contributing factor. This suggests that a newly rationalized schoolif not program-based and not largely institutional-based student stress management program may mitigate primarily the expected academic-related stress but more importantly overall student stress in general for a more satisfying university career.


To the Editor. —The article by Dr Hoffman and colleagues 1 details the enormous cost our nation pays for chronic health conditions. It would be easy to bemoan the huge burden of these conditions in terms of higher taxes and health insurance costs, but there is a far larger tragedy that the authors failed to mention: a large proportion of the morbidity, mortality, and costs from chronic conditions is preventable. The major risk factors that cause most chronic diseases have been identified. For example, heart disease is largely attributable to unhealthy diet, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, smoking, and physical inactivity. 2 Cancer is caused largely by unhealthy diet and smoking. 3 Stroke is caused largely by elevated blood pressure. 4 Modifiable risk factors have been delineated for most of the other leading chronic conditions, and research also has identified effective techniques for controlling these risk factors and preventing


A patient with basilar impression, underdevelopment of the vertebrae and the hands is described. This association of malformations has not been described in the current literature


The ecological landfill technique is uppermost disposal measure of the domestic refuse in our country, and the most pivotal part is seepage control system in the landfill site. The article use HAS soil solidifing agent solidify the silt soil in ChangJiang river, the result indicate that the produced seepage control material would hold well capability, twopenny price, and disappearing a definite store of industrial residue, using all sorts of solid wastes stock place and roadbed materials ect.


The production of reducing sugars by acid and
enzymatic hydrolysis of Kikuyu grass was performed
in order to study reducing sugar production. The
study involved hydrolysis of treated grass by
immersed in water at environmental temperatures.
Acid hydrolysis was carried out through reflux
boiling with different concentrations of diluted
sulphuric acid (2%, 4%, 6% v/v) with in a liquid/
solid ratio of 30/1, while enzymatic hydrolysis
was carried out with stirring in a water/enzyme
(celluclast 1,5 LFG) solution. Both procedures
were developed to different reaction times (2, 4
and 6 hrs). Reducing sugars concentrations were
determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry using
the 3,5 dinitrosalisilic acid (DNS) method. Also,
Benedict qualitative test confirmed reducing sugars
presence in the samples. The greatest reducing
sugars concentration was 2.5 g/l when using grass
with aqueous treatment, with a 4 % sulfuric acid
solution and 6 hours of reaction time. In general,
results showed that greatest reducing sugars
concentration were to high acid concentrations and
reaction times.


Metacognitive development grows with age. It is from being controlled to self-controlled, from non-consciousness to consciousness, from part to of the overall. The improvement of students' metacognitive skills depends on arousing students' metacognitive awareness, strengthening metacognitive instruction and strengthening metacognitive skills training.


Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries have been a matter of concern for some years in China. Achieving efficient degradation of chlorobenzene (CB) in waste gas is difficult because of its high volatility and molecular stability. A DBD (dielectric barrier discharge) biological method was proposed to treat chlorobenzene, aiming to control high operating costs and prevent secondary pollution. In this investigation, a DBD biological method was introduced to deal with chlorobenzene by optimization of process parameters. The results showed that the degradation efficiency of chlorobenzene was close to 80% at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 85 s when the inlet concentration was 700 mg·m−3 for the biological method. The degradation efficiency of chlorobenzene reached 80% under a discharge voltage of 7 kV, an inlet concentration of 700 mg·m−3 and an HRT of 5.5 s. The degradation efficiency of an integrated system can be increased by 15–20% compared with that of a single biological system. Therefore, this method can be used as a new way to address chlorobenzene pollution in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.


Anotace: We are entering a new era of human-machine interaction and it is essential to underestimate the importance of people in the digital factory. Digital factories require a new way of working, this has several implications. The composition of the workforce wants to change, and companies want to be adequately employed and retain employees accordingly. It is equally important to work with people before and during the implementation of new technologies. The paper addresses the potential that the integration of digital and human labour can offer.


Nicotiniamide adenine dintucleotide plhosphate-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase was extracted from etiolated pea (Pisurn satirum L.) seedlings and was purified 65-fold. The puirified enzyme exhibits one predoniinant protein band by pol acrylamide gel electrophoresis, w-hich corresponds to tiie dehy-drogenase activity as imieasuired by the nitro bluie tetrazolium technique. The reaction is readily reversible, the pH optima for the forward (nicotinamide adenine dinuticleotide phosphate reductiotn) and reverse reactions being 8.4 and 6.0, respectively. T'he enzyme has different cofactor and inhibitor characteristics in the two directions. iManganese ions can be used as a cofactor for the reaction inl each direction but magnesium ions only act as a cofactor inl the forward reaction. Zinc ions, and to a lesser extent calcium ions, inhibit the enzyme at low concentrations wlhen magnesiunm but niot manganese is the metal activator. It is suggested that there is a fundamental difference between magnesiumli and nmanganese in the activation of the enzmnie. The enzvme slhows normal kinetics anid the MNichaelis contant for eachi suibstrate was deternmined. The inhibition by nucleotides, inujcleosides, reactionproducts, and related compounds was stuidied. The enzy-nle slhows a linear response to the nmole fraction of reduced nicotiniamide adenine dintucleotide phosphlate wlhen total niicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plhosphate (nicotinaniide adenine dinucleotide phosphate plus reduced nicotintamllide adenine dinucleotide phosph-ate) is kept constant. Isocitrate in the presence of divalent metal ions will protect thte enzyme from inactivationi by p-chloromercuribenzoate. P'rotection is also afforded by mllanganese ions alone but not by magnesiuim ions alone There is a con-certed inhibition of the enzyme by oxalacetate anld glyoxylate. The NAD+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase (threo-D,-isocitrate:NAD+ oxidoreductase [decarboxylating] EC 1 .1 .1 .41) from higher plant mitochondria has been studied (4-7, 9-11) and has properties consistent with a role in regulating the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The enzyme shows complex kinetics with respect to the substrate isocitrate and appears to require both free and magnesium complexed isocitrate (11). It has been sug1 This work was supported by grant no. A5051 from the National Research Council of Canada. gested that the principal regulation of the enzyme is by the ratio ofNADH to NAD+ (5,9, 10). In contrast, the NADP+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase (threo-D,-isocitrate: NADP+ oxidoreductase [decarboxylating], EC 1 .1 .1.42) from higher plants has received little attention although it has been reported to be present in swede storage tissue (23). The enzyme from bacterial (14, 18, 19), protozoan (15-17) and pig heart sources (2, 3) has recently been studied and in all cases has shown to have normal kinetics with respect to the substrates. In contrast to the NAD+-specific enzyme it readily catalyzes the reactions both in the forward direction (NADP+ reduction) and in the reverse direction. The enzyme also shows activity with respect to oxalosuccinic acid (20, 21), a postulated intermediate in the reaction. It has been suggested that the NADP+-specific enzyme is regulated by the concentration of ATP in the cell (14, 16). There are also indications that there is a concerted inhibition when glyoxylate and oxalacetate are added together (15, 17-19). The importance of these findings when considering metabolic regulation is difficult to assess since the function of the enzyme in the cell of eucaryotic organisms which also possess the NAD+-specific enzyme is not known. It is possible that the NADP+-specific enzyme functions to supply NADPH for biosynthetic purposes or to provide NADH via a transhydrogenase reaction (22). In these cases it might be expected that the enzyme would be regulated by the NADPH:NADP+ ratio rather than by the ATP concentration. In view of these results it was decided to study the NADP+specific enzyme from etiolated pea stems and compare its properties with the properties of the NAD+-specific enzyme from the same source which have already been presented (4-7, 9-11). As with the NAD+-specific enzyme (4) there appears to be a considerable difference between the activation of the enzyme by Mn2+ and Mg2+, the latter only acting as cofactor in the forward direction. In the forward reaction the enzyme has a much lower Km for Mn2+ than Mg2+ and the maximal velocity is also considerably higher. In the reverse reaction, only Mn2+ will activate. Unlike the NAD+-specific enzyme the NADP+-specific enzyme is not greatly affected by the mole fraction of reduced pyridine nucleotide when total pyridine nucleotide (NADP+ + NADPH) is kept constant. It is also much more sensitive to Zn2+ inhibition than the NAD+-specific enzyme when Mg2+ but not Mn2+ is the metal activator. Ca + behaves in a similar manner to Zn2+. The enzyme is inhibited by certain nucleosides and nucleotides; part of the inhibition is due to metal complexing. The enzyme is sensitive to p-chloromercuribenzoate but can be protected by isocitrate in the presence of metal ions or by Mn + alone but not by Mg2+ alone. There is also an apparently concerted inhibition by glyoxylate and oxalacetate.


Transactional systems are an alternative process improvement for any industrial sector; however, due to the rapid growth of the plastics industry worldwide, this industry requires the automation of production with agile systems. This document presents a procedure to implement transactional tools of the Master Production Schedule (MPS) and Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) for the automation and control of the operations area processes in an organization. These processes are part of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools that use connections to mobile devices and are often compatible with different customer support systems, allowing the integration of all business units to interact with the manufacturing control and purchasing. The method used in the research have a quantitative cut in which 15 companies were studied in the plastics sector in Mexico and was divided in three phases, these focused on the revision of the business processes and the analysis of the substantive processes of the organization that allowed the subsequent establishment of proposals for improvement. In the final proposal of implementation of the tool tansaccional included: the functional analysis of the systems, the planning and their evaluation.


Objectives: Preliminary calculations indicated that carbonate radical may participate in organic compound removal during AOP application, and that in some cases, this participation might be further enhanced by relatively minor adjustments to the water chemistry, during a pretreatment step. The objectives of this project were to investigate those effects, develop a model for prediction of the effects on organic compound removal efficiency under drinking water treatment conditions, determine changes in by-product formation that could be expected under conditions of high alkalinity, and to determine the significance of these effects in drinking water treatment.


Multispectral imaging is highly demanded for precise color reproduction and for various computer vision applications. Recently, a single-camera one-shot multispectral imaging (SCOS) system that uses a single image sensor equipped with a multispectral filter array (MSFA) has been proposed. In this paper, we develop optimal spectral sensitivity functions (SSFs) for the SCOS system, in which multispectral image quality depends strongly on the performance of multispectral demosaicking. First, we propose a simple optimization algorithm that can incorporate a high-performance multispectral demosaicking algorithm. Then, we experimentally demonstrate that the optimized SSFs by our proposed algorithm improve the performance of spectral reflectance estimation and the accuracy of color reproduction.


A novel strategy of using an antifungal cilofungin to alter the algal metabolics for increased production of biomass, fat, protein and other metabolites were inferred. The effect of varying concentrations of cilofungin (0.02% to 0.1%) on unialgal cultures of Spirulina sp. and Chlorella sp. isolated from ennore estuary, Chennai, an highly polluted coastal ecosystem in India was investigated. Various parameters like cellular growth, dry mass, carbohydrates, proteins, fatty acids, chlorophyll and carotenoids were assessed with respect to time. At a given cilofungin concentration of 0.08% in Spirulina sp and 0.06% in Chlorella sp, an increase in protein content from 421mg/g to 655mg/g and 430mg/g to 646 mg/g of biomass, an increase in fat content from 57mg/g to 74 mg/g and 75 mg/g to 90mg/g of biomass was obtained in comparison to their mother cultures with a simultaneous increase in their biomass concentration from 1.09g/l to 1.5g/l and 1 g/l to 1.23g/l respectively, whereas the carbohydrates were gradually decreased in cilofungin treated cultures. This study thus analyse the effect of cilofungin in algae, inhibiting the glucan production and inducing the alternate metabolic pathways in Spirulina sp and Chlorella sp. for lipid and protein accumulation.


The osteoblastic activity of carcinoma is restricted in osteoblastic metastasis, common in the patients with prostate cancer, whereas its mechanism and the factors involved are unknown. Here, we present a case of central adenocarcinoma showing the osteoblastic activity in the mandible of the 80-year-old Korean male who had suffered from the paresthesia of lower lip during four mouths. Clinically the overlying oral epithelium was intact, but the radiologic images revealed the ill-defined radiolucent intraosseous lesions in left ascending ramus. Microscopically, the mandibular lesion was composed with carcinoma of ductal or glandular differentiation but lack typical features of any epithelial salivary gland malignancies. Intriguingly abundant new bone formation was found in the stroma, but the tumor cells expressed no reactivity for prostate-specific antigen(PSA). The patient had low ionized calcium level, normal serum alkaline phosphatase and PSA level. Positron emission tomography-computed tomopraphy scan revealed the benign prostatic hyperplasia, but failed to trace the primary site of tumor other than mandible. Therefore, pathologically diagnosis for the lesion was informed as adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified(NOS). Because occult primary tumor associated with osteoblastic metastasis cannot be completely ruled out, periodic and careful check-ups for the patient should be performed.


This paper investigates the nature of the contract between a risk-neutral downstream firm (principal) and a risk-averse upstream firm (agent) within a bilateral monopoly model in which the problems of risk sharing, private information, moral hazard, and backward integration are simultaneously present. The findings of this paper indicate that (1) it is never optimal for the principal to design the cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) contract for the agent and (2) it is never optimal for the principal to hold full backward integration or to hold no backward integration.


T HE strong fluorescence that is seen in the nuclei of the cells of liver, kidneys, adrenals, and connective tissue after injection of 2-hydroxystilbamidine has already been described.3 T h e presence of large amounts of 2-hydroxystilbamidine in different organs can be demonstrated not only by these photographic methods but also by chemical analysis. After stilbamidine injections, the fluorescence of cells and nuclei when examined with the fluorescent microscope is much less intense. Nevertheless, considerable amounts of stilbamidine are found by chemical analysis in different organs.


The environmental evaluation of the sorption-enhanced water–gas shift (SEWGS) process to be used for the decarbonization of an integrated steel mill through life cycle assessment (LCA) is the subject of the present paper. This work is carried out within the STEPWISE H2020 project (grant agreement No. 640769). LCA calculations were based on material and energy balances derived from experimental activities, modeling activities, and literature data. Wide system boundaries containing various upstream and downstream processes as well as the main integrated steel mill are drawn for the system under study. The environmental indicators of the SEWGS process are compared to another carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology applied to the iron and steel industry (e.g., gas–liquid absorption using MEA). The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for SEWGS technology is about 40%. For the other impact indicators, there is an increase in the SEWGS technology (in the range of 7.23% to 72.77%), which is mainly due to the sorbent production and transportation processes. Nevertheless, when compared with the post-combustion capture technology, based on gas–liquid absorption, from an environmental point of view, SEWGS performs significantly better, having impact factor values closer to the no-capture integrated steel mill.


A study was carried out on the field at the University of Agriculture Abeokuta to examine the growth and yield performance of indeterminate (Ibadan Local) and determinate (UC 82-B) tomato varieties as influenced by a nutrient supplement (Megagreen) as foliar application. Megagreen is an activated calcite of a worldwide granularity. It is an ecological foil fertilizer with a strong impact on plant resistance, it improves the fertility and health of plants resulting in an improvement of yield and plant quality. Application was made at four different rates (1.0, 2.0, 3.0kg/ha and control) and three different number of times of application (2, 3 and 4times). The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design with three replications. Variety was allotted to the main plot, number of times of application to sub plots and rate of application to sub-sub plots. Plant growth and yield variables were observed and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was done for all parameters measured. Means separation was done using Least Significant Difference (LSD). Results showed that the two varieties were significantly different in all the growth a:1d yield parameters except for the leaf area at 8WAT and the unit fruit weight. There was a significant difference in the effect of number of times of application of Megagreen on plant height (at 2WAT), number of leaves at 6 and 8WAT, number of branches (except at 6WAT), leaf area, days to flower, days to maturity, number of flowers (except at 6 and 8WAT), and fruit yield. Rate of application was significantly influenced on plant height (except at 2 & 8WAT), number of leaves (except at 6WAT), number of branches at 2WAT, leaf area, days to flower, days to maturity, number of flowers and fruit yield. Three times application of Megareen at the rate of 3.0 kg/ha is recommended for fruit yield enhancement in tomato.


In this paper, we propose closed-form analytic approximations for the minimum number of driver nodes needed to fully control networks, where links are removed according to both random and targeted attacks. Our approximations rely on the concept of critical links. A link is called critical if its removal increases the required number of driver nodes. We validate our approximation on both realworld and synthetic networks. For random attacks, the approximation is always very good, as long as the fraction of removed links is smaller than the fraction of critical links. For some cases, the approximation is still accurate for larger fractions of removed links. The approximation for an attack, where first the critical links are removed, is also accurate, as long as the fraction of removed links is sufficiently small. Finally, we show that the critical link attack is the most effective among 4 considered attacks, as long as the fraction of removed links is smaller than the fraction of critical links.


This report is based on a study of documents produced in the South East of England as part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) process and examines the extent to which housing needs are covered within the JSNAs produced during 2008. The report includes key themes relating to housing needs and suggests ways to increase housing coverage, which we believe local areas may find helpful in future development of the JSNA.


The vision of the surrounding and people that are within eyeshot influences the human well-being and safety. The rationale of system development that allows recognizing faces from difficult perspectives online and informing timely about approaching people is undisputed. The manuscript describes the methods of automatic detection of equilibrium face points in the bitmap image and methods of forming 3D face model. The optimal search algorithm for equilibrium points has been chosen. The method of forming 3D face model basing on a single bitmap image and building up the face image rotated to the preset angle has been proposed. The algorithm for estimating the angle and algorithm of the face image rotation have been implemented. The manuscript also reviews the existing methods of forming 3D face model. The algorithm for the formation of 3D face model from a single bitmap image and a set of individual 3D models have been proposed as well as the algorithm for forming different face angles with the calculated 3D face model aimed to create biometric vectors cluster. Operation results of the algorithm for face images formation from different angles have been presented. © 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk


ABSTRACT The acute shortage of electric power in South Asia has severely hampered regional economic growth. Cross-border electricity trade – supported by appropriate policies, institutions and grid interconnections – can be a powerful tool for improving people's livelihoods in its Bangladesh–Bhutan–India–Nepal (BBIN) region. This paper reviews four cases of regional power trade and cooperation from four different continents – Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe – and identifies six key elements that will be necessary for success in cross-border electricity trade in the BBIN region. It assesses the current status of these key elements in the BBIN countries and suggests areas for immediate intervention. Cooperation in the electricity sector in the region could be the building block for a larger regional cooperation in South Asia – and ultimately for regional economic integration.


The present studies were undertaken to characterize the discriminative‐stimulus (SD) effects of (+)‐epibatidine (EPI)–an α4β2 selective nicotinic agonist that is pharmacologically similar and structurally distinct from nicotine (NIC). Using a standard two‐lever drug discrimination procedure, squirrel monkeys (n=4) were trained to discriminate i.m. injections of 0.001 mg/kg (+)‐epibatidine (EPI) from saline on a 10‐response fixed‐ratio schedule of stimulus‐termination. Results show that high efficacy nicotinic agonists [(+)‐EPI, (−)‐EPI, NIC] substituted fully for (+)‐EPI, whereas the highest doses of other nicotinic agonists produced intermediate levels of (+)‐EPI‐like SD effects [varenicline (VAR), cytisine (CYT), isoarecolone (ISO)] or did not substitute for (+)‐EPI (lobeline). Drugs from other pharmacological classes (methamphetamine, atropine, citalopram, arecoline) did not generalize for (+)‐EPI's stimulus effects. Pretreatment studies with nicotinic antagonists show that: a) mecamylamine (non‐selective) insurmountably antagonized (+)‐EPI's effects; b) dihydro‐β‐erthroidine (α4β2‐selective) surmountably (>3‐fold rightward shift) blocked (+)‐EPI's effects; and c) methyllycaconitine (α7 selective) failed to modify the SD effects of (+)‐EPI. Interestingly, the peripherally‐restricted nicotinic antagonist hexamethonium also appeared to block (+)‐EPI's SD effects (approximately 3‐fold rightward shift) suggesting that a peripheral component may also play a role in 0.001 mg/kg (+)‐EPI's discriminable effects. In further studies, pretreatment with the partial nicotinic agonists VAR and CYT did not block the SD effects of (+)‐EPI, and in fact, CYT pretreatment shifted the (+)‐EPI dose‐effect curve to the left (>3‐10‐fold). These results suggest that the discriminative‐stimulus effects of (+)‐EPI are mediated through α4β2 nicotinic receptor subtypes at which the partial agonists VAR and CYT do not exert partial antagonist actions.


One component of the EPRI's research on Envirorunental Behavior of Organic Substances (EBOS) consists of developing information and models to predict releases of monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs and PAHs) to groundwater from coal tars and contaminated soils at MGP sites. The results of this report focus primarily on release of PAHs from coal tars. There are at least two approaches to predicting the release of organic chemicals from coal tar to water. The simplest method to estimate aqueous concentrations is to assume that water solubility of a PAH compound released from the tar can be defined by equilibrium precipitation-dissolution reactions. Application of Raoult's law is another method to predict aqueous concentrations, which requires the assumption of ideal'' behavior for partitioning of PAHs between the tar and water phases. To evaluate the applicability of these two methods for predicting PAH releases, laboratory experiments were conducted with eight coal tar samples from former MGP sites across the country. Migration of chemicals in the environment and resulting contaminant plumes in groundwater are determined by leachate concentrations of the chemicals. The use of equilibrium precipitation-dissolution reactions will usually result in an overestimation of PAH concentrations in the leachate from a coal tarmore » source, and thus the resulting PAH concentrations in groundwater. Raoult's law appears to be a more accurate approach to predicting the release of several PAHs from coal tars. Furthermore, if nonequilibrium conditions prevail, aqueous-phase PAH concentrations will be even lower than those predicted using Raoult's law.« less


Housing in the EU contributes approximately with 25% regarding all C02 emissions; therefore, it is imperative that we find robust methodologies to reduce it. This paper intents to be a contribution to valuable savings in root energy consumption without unduly compromising comfort and convenience. The developed prototype is a Plug and Play Instrumentation Kit, as part of a HOMe energy advisER system (HOMER). This system acts as a packaged Energy Assessment Instrumentation "kit" to be made available to homeowners, landlords and tenants in order to help them reducing their energy bill through real accounts of energy usage and links with lifestyle patterns. This is essential for countries to meet the national, European and world targets for energy reduction (and renewable sources). The all system is wireless based so that it can be easily installed and uninstalled in every home.


We report thermoelectric and electrical transport properties of Bi1.8Sb0.2Te3-ySey by tuning y. In contrast to the reported p-type conductivity of the end compounds with y = 0 and 3, a dominant n-type conduction mechanism is observed for y = 1.5 from the Hall measurement. Intriguingly, the magneto-Seebeck consequence is enhanced up to ∼ 20 times for y = 1.5 compared to the end members. The reasonable value of magnetoresistance with an anisotropic character with respect to the direction of the magnetic field is observed at low temperature, which decreases with increasing temperature. The density of state at the Fermi level near room temperature correlates high Seebeck coefficient as well as magneto-Seebeck effect. High magneto-Seebeck effect at room temperature is promising for the application.


Natasha Periyan's excellent study joins the work of Lara Feigel, Benjamin Kohlmann, Matthew Taunton and others, in undertaking a widespread reassessment of 1930s literary culture. A difficult decade to place, the thirties feel caught between a high watermark of literary modernism and the rending interruption of the Second World War. In this decade VirginiaWoolf and T. S. Eliot moved further into mainstream cultural commentary, while new voices populated the literary field: Auden and his titular generation (Hynes, 1976); Holtby, Brittain and the feminine middlebrow; Orwell, Greenwood and novelists of the working classes. The characterization of the period is as tricky as this variety implies. Periyan's approach is well-suited to meet this challenge: her five chapters tie together these and other authors around a common interest in education, which is the volume's key theme, and deserving of greater prominence in the title. This means that, as she neatly puts it, 'to those perennial symbols of the decade —the gramophone and the loudspeaker—should be added the textbook and the blackboard' (2). Whether they were teachers such as Auden, campaigners like Holtby, autodidacts like Woolf, or simply former pupils, education and its reform was an animating intellectual preoccupation for a wide range of writers. Its importance can be found, Periyan shows, both in specialist texts —speeches, essays, editorials—and in more widely known literary works. The book is superbly grounded in textual and archival evidence. At every opportunity Periyan moves from close attention to the fabric of the text in question to larger concerns with identity, gender and schooling. Especially engaging is her third chapter, which is grouped around a 1934 collection, The Old School, edited by Grahame Greene, in which diverse essayists recall their education in order to make, more or less explicitly, political and social critique. For all of Greene's desire to create a polyvocal denunciation of the public school system, the volume is much more diverse, and therefore more thought-provoking than this suggests. Some agreed with Greene, others demurred, such as L. P. Hartley and W. H. Auden, while others again spoke to altogether different educational backgrounds, such as Antonia White and Walter Greenwood. In this limited but revealing diversity, The Old School anthology comes to resemble nothing so much Natasha Periyan, The Politics of 1930s British Literature: Education, Class, Gender, Bloomsbury, 2018, Historicizing Modernism Series, £76.50 hardback 9781350019843


Nippon Steel, Yawata Works has developed a process for economically producing on a large scale steels which are almost pure iron in terms of carbon content (a few ppm carbon in the cast slab). These steels have excellent formability, namely more than 55 % in elongation and 2.5 in Lankford value. The key technologies on which this process is based are the development of an innovative degasser and the improvement of the continuous casting process.


Forest land resources in Da Qaidam was analyzed in terms of its current status,characteristics and problems existed.Improvement and protection of woodland is suggested from the aspects of ecological arrangement,protection gradation and measures in protection and development.


The construction of the new Norwegian E39 highway comprises the excavation of extended tunnelling systems, which lead to a tremendous amount of blasted rocks. Among others, a sustainable cost-benefit application of these resources is represented by their local use as construction material in the unbound layers of the roads. Two types of nontraditional additives are investigated to improve the mechanical properties of aggregates; this is particularly useful for those rocks that do not fulfil the design requirements in their natural status. This work focuses on the field application of two innovative stabilizing technologies based on organosilane and lignosulfonate. The performance of these additive agents is characterized by considering three typical road base layer sections built on purpose according to real practice and added with water (no treatment), organosilane, and lignosulfonate. The test sections are subjected to climatic actions only as neither traffic nor surface courses are applied. With the investigation covering two years, the layers' stiffness, deformation, and resistance to penetration are evaluated by employing a light-weight deflectometer and dynamic cone penetrometer. Both organosilane and lignosulfonate significantly enhance the mechanical properties of the treated base layers.


For the introduction of the electricity of the special design and supervision system to Protect the faulty-workmanship of the electricity equipment and to reserve the electricity safety, last 1995 "Electricity Technology Management Act" were carried out enactment. March 2002, we introduced the pre-Qualification system that is selected the competent company about the electricity design and supervision service over so much capacity which is ordered by the Public institution such as the nation, local autonomous entity, government investment institute and so on. December 2005, the electricity equipment over so much capacity was taken the housing construction plan's approval by the housing act in case, the municipal or district governor with the authority to approve who selected the electricity supervision company according to the pre-Qualification system. Due to the introduction of the system, we could expect the rights and interests increase of the consumer by eradicating dumping of the close relationship between supervision company and the builder, reduction and concurrent position of the supervisor, according to confirm the quality of the electricity equipment and electricity safety. In spite of introducing of the system, the problems occured as reducing the electricity designer's task range compared with different field, modifing the supervisor's rank system rationally, because of researching about the electricity design and supervision technique lacks. Also, KEEA(Korea Electric Engineers Association) manage the carrer of the electricity design and supervisor(company or people), but the problems occured as opening to the public about the carrer management, introducing automatic bidding system and We need the solution plan about this. Consequently, we consider the present situation of the domestic and outside and problem about the electricity design and supervision system in this paper, try to present rational operation plan through this.


Background and Objectives We aimed to compare the efficacy of a novel powered irrigation system with that of the manual bottle-squeeze method for postoperative healing after endoscopic sinonasal surgery (ESS).Subjects and Method In this prospective randomized clinical trial, 29 patients were enrolled for nasal irrigation (NI) with either NOSSHA® (Womens Care Co., Ltd.) powered irrigation system (NOSSHA® group, n=14) or manual irrigation (control group, n=15). Objective findings were evaluated using the modified Lund-Kennedy scores. Subjective outcomes were assessed using the total nasal endoscopic score (TNES), total nasal symptom score (TNSS), visual analog scale (VAS), and quality of life (QOL) questionnaires in each group at baseline, and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after ESS. We compared the postoperative changes between both groups.Results The mean TNES of patients were significantly higher in the NOSSHA® group than in the control group (p=0.015); however, the improvement in TNES was achieved 2 weeks earlier in the NOSSHA® group. The improvement in TNES (p<0.001) and TNSS (p<0.001) was statistically significant in both groups. The improvement in QOL was statistically significant in the NOSSHA® (p<0.001) and control group (p=0.007). The improvement in the TNSS and QOL was earlier in the NOSSHA® group by 4 and 7 weeks, respectively; no early improvement occurred in the NOSSHA® group for the VAS score.Conclusion We validated the usefulness of postoperative NI using a powered device, which may be useful for patients who cannot tolerate manual NI.


This paper aims at improving serialist students' learning effect by concept mapping. It discusses concept mapping as a learning strategy and its effects in either an accommodatory or a compensatory strategy of the student's style. In order to exam the effects, an Autonomous Learning Concept Mapping (ALCM) course containing Globalistic Concept Mapping (GCM) and Specialistic Concept Mapping (SCM), is designed and implemented in the study. The learning effect of ALCM on serialists is evaluated by exam and questionnaire. The paper concludes that serialists improve their learning achievements when they use CM accommodatory strategy properly. Concept mapping improves serialists' learning effects when it is used in a special approach.


Plant ecologists have debated the mechanisms used by plants to cope with the impact of herbivore damage for more than a century. During that time, plant resistance mechanisms, which reduce the amount of herbivore damage before and during herbivory, have received most of the attention, while plant tolerance mechanisms, which may minimize the impacts of damage after herbivory, have been less studied. The aim of this presentation is to bring the topic of plant compensatory responses, especially compensatory growth, to the front of research in plant ecology and plant-herbivore interactions. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to evaluate how carbon sink-source relationships and compensatory plant growth operate under different intensities and frequencies of simulated defoliation of aspen seedlings, with or without N-enriched media. We found large variations in plant responses, ranging from undercompensatory to overcompensatory growth, depending on the resource availability and defoliation intensity and frequency. We developed a new predictive model, the Frequency and Intensity of Herbivory and Resource Availability (FIRA), based on carbon sink-source relationships. Our model incorporates the interactions between frequency and intensity of herbivory and resource availability as modulators of plant compensatory responses. We concluded by discussing the results of this and earlier studies in the context of the FIRA model, and elaborated the intricate relationship between resource availability and compensatory growth following herbivory.


ABSTRACT Current design practice is usually to produce a safety system which meets a target level of performance that is deemed acceptable by the regulators. Safety systems are designed to prevent or alleviate the consequences of potentially hazardous events. In many modern industries the failure of such systems can lead to whole system breakdown. In reliability analysis of complex systems involving multiple components, it is assumed that the components have different failure rates with certain probabilities. This leads into extensive computational efforts involved in using the commonly employed generating function (GF) and the recursive algorithm to obtain reliability of systems consisting of a large number of components. Moreover, when the system failure results in fatalities it is desirable for the system to achieve an optimal rather than adequate level of performance given the limitations placed on available resources. This paper concerns with developing a modified branching process joint with generating function to handle reliability evaluation of a multi-robot complex system. The availability of the system is modeled to compute the failure probability of the whole system as a performance measure. The results help decision-makers in maintenance departments to analyze critical components of the system in different time periods to prevent system breakdowns.