It is widely recognized that the 2006 Massachusetts health reforms served as a blueprint for national reform under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). As such, there is interest in using the Massachusetts experience to understand how insurance premiums might change under the ACA. In this paper, we analyze changes in private insurance premiums in Massachusetts between 2002 and 2010. In contrast to earlier estimates from Massachusetts (Cogan, Hubbard and Kessler 2010), we find no statistical evidence of changes in group premiums. By contrast, we find large reductions in non-group premiums in Massachusetts relative to the rest of the U.S.


Despite the potential of PhET Interactive Simulations to foster engagement and participation in science education, they are currently inaccessible for many students with disabilities. This is due to the reliance on predominantly visual representations of concepts and interfaces that rely on dexterity with a mouse or touchscreen device. In 2014, the PhET project began an initiative to increase the accessibility of PhET's HTML5 simulations for students with and without disabilities, using inclusive design approaches. Since then, we have overcome technical challenges, started a (growing) accessible simulation design community, published the first keyboard and screen reader accessible PhET simulation, and engaged in research of inclusive features with students with diverse needs. Here, we share our progress, challenges, and the potential of creating accessible – and inclusive – educational resources for physics classrooms.


Spin liquid, or featureless Mott-Insulator, is a theoretical state of matter firstly motivated from study on High-Tc superconductor. The most striking property of spin liquids is that they do not break any physical symmetry, yet there are many types of them, meaning a phase transition is necessary from one spin liquid to another. It was a long debate about whether these exotic states can serve as the ground states in real materials or even models. In this thesis I firstly discuss a large-N model, where we show the spin liquid states can be the ground states. Because the spin liquid phases cannot be characterized by symmetry breaking, the phase transitions associated with them are naturally beyond the traditional Laudau's paradigm. I discuss a few scenarios of these exotic phase transitions to show a general picture about what can happen for such exotic transitions. Those exotic phase transitions can actually serve as a way to detect these exotic phases. Then I move to a much more realistic model: spin-1/2 Kagome lattice, where we propose a U(1)-Dirac spin liquid as the ground state. The implications on the recent material ZnCu 3(OH)6C12 are discussed. Finally, I come back to the high-Tc problem. A doped spin liquid can naturally be superconducting whose many properties have already been confirmed by experiments. Here I particularly study one experimental puzzle: the nodal-antinodal dichotomy in underdoped High-Tc material. This used to be one difficulty of the doped spin liquid theory. We show that a doped spin liquid can naturally has nodal-antinodal dichotomy due to further neighbor hoppings (t' and t"). Thesis Supervisor: Xiao-Gang Wen Title: Cecil and Ida Green Professor of physics


A general theory concerning a least possible order d of a linear dynamic feedback for stabilization of linear SIMO systems is presented (d<v0-1, where v0 is the observability index of a given system). The method applies to controllable and observable systems of an arbitrary order. A computationally attractive design procedure which provides the output feedback in a form suitable for direct realization and an illustrative example are given.


This issue of Clinical Investigation has an excellent review of the inherent difficulties in performing clinical trials in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) [1]. The low number of suitable patients, need for a prolonged follow-up, and search for outcomes other than liver transplantation or death offer important challenges to investigators. These difficulties are seemingly insurmountable, but with more epidemiologic insights into the natural history of disease, these obstacles could be overcome. PSC is a chronic inflammatory disease of the bile ducts and is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease. The median time from diagnosis to progression to cirrhosis is between 10 and 15 years. Many patients do not progress to cirrhosis; they can be followed expectantly for their lifetime, but do not ever require therapy. Alternatively, patients who have already developed cirrhosis are not likely to benefit from innovative treatment. The ideal PSC patient to be entered into a clinical trial is one who is early in the course of their disease, but one who is likely to progress to cirrhosis. How can we identify such 'progressors'? Histologic abnormality is a likely candidate for identifying patients. Histologic staging for PSC patients is listed in Table 1 in the artcle by Imam et al. [1]. By the time stage 3 or 4 disease is detected, it is not likely that an anti-inflammatory medication will help – these patients should be excluded from clinical trials. Patients with stage 1 disease may not be progressors and should be followed expectantly outside of a clinical trial. Stage 2 patients are ones who have progressed but are early on in the progression process. These patients may be the best candidates to be included in a clinical trial. Of course, limiting entry to only stage 2 patients limits the sample size dramatically and makes multicenter trials a necessity. Interestingly, liver biopsies are not routinely undertaken on PSC patients, may suffer from sampling error (leading to misclassification of staging), and are not included in the Mayo PSC Risk Score. While appealing, histologic staging may not be an ideal candidate to identify the appropriate patient for a clinical trial. The Mayo PSC Risk Score uses five variables (age, bilirubin, albumin, AST and variceal bleeding) to estimate survival in PSC patients [1]. Perhaps, progressors can be identified by documenting a change in Mayo PSC Risk Score over a defined period of time. Such a strategy seems very reasonable in designing trials. Are there certain populations of PSC patients that have a particularly high proportion that progress rapidly to cirrhosis? A better understanding of the natural history of the disease is needed in patients with: "The ideal PSC patient to be entered into a clinical trial is one who is early in the course of their disease, but one who is likely to progress to cirrhosis. How can we identify such 'progressors'?"


This study develops a model for measuring the service quality of e-banks. Our model's seven factors are very consistent with the four core factors of the generic e-SERVQUAL model, but less consistent with its three non-core factors. Appearances and staff qualities, being new factors identified in this study, should be useful to e-bank management because they are factors uniquely relevant for e-bank customers. The seven factors emerged from a content analysis of comments made by consumers about their e-banking experiences.


1. Laozi's Unspeakable Dao 2. The Dao of Abduction: Hartama-Heinonen on Peirce on Translation 2.1 Peirce and his Followers among Semiotic Translation Scholars 2.2 Hartama-Heinonen vs. Robinson 2.3 Exclusive Abduction 2.3.1 Translation as wuwei 2.3.2 + Reasoning 2.3.3 Foreclosing on Secondness and Thirdness 2.4 Guessing as Divining: Peirce on the Mystery 3. The Dao of Empathy: Mengzi's Social Ecologies of Feeling 3.1 On Reading with Empathy 3.2 Mengzi's Ecological Dao 3.3 Habit in Laozi 3.4 Mengzi on Inclinations and Disposition as Habit 3.5 Mengzi on li 3.6 Mengzi on ren: Translation as Transfeeling 3.7 The Chinese Roots of Romantic/Idealist Thought 3.8 Conclusion: "Chinese" Peirce and Saussure? 4. The Dao of Habit: Peirce (and Hartama-Heinonen) on the Tensions between Habit and Surprise 4.1 Peirce on Habit 4.2 Hartama-Heinonen on Habit 4.3 Creativity in the Zhongyong 4.4 Conclusion 5. The Dao of the "Potential for Rules": Saussure on the Structuring Force in/of Language 5.1 Linguistic Entities Have No Objective Existence 5.2 Linguitic Entities are Human Constructs 5.3 Confusions Between the Language System and its Evolution 5.4 The Chaos of the "Potential for Rules" 5.5 Linguistic Entities and Social Values 5.6 Language is Social 5.7 The Intergenerational Transmission of a Preconscious Intensity of Experiential Thought 5.8 A Somatics of Language 5.9 Linguistic Habits and Socioaffective Ecologies 5.10 Translation as Dao 6. The Dao of Habitus 1: Bourdieu (and Damasio) on Body Automatisms 6.1 Socio-ecological Stabilizations of Words 6.2 Habit 6.3 The Collective Organization of Habit 6.4 Habitus 6.5 The "Habitual" Openness of the Social Field 6.6 Somatic Markers 1: Habitus Minus Self 6.7 Somatic Markers 2: Reason Minus Habitus 6.8 Somatic Markers 3: Habitus as a Preparatory Component of Reason 6.9 The Habitus and the Field 6.10 The Affective Transmission of Habitus 7. The Dao of Habitus 2: Simeoni on the Submissive Translator 7.1 Precipitation and Propensity 7.2 Somatic Habituses 7.3 Who is Suited to be a Translator? 7.4 The Submissive Translator 8. Conclusion: D(a)oing Translation


Cloud computing today is the one of the most booming area of research and development in present scenario. The proliferation of computer usage and their interconnections through network have increased the need of protection of information stored against viruses, hackers, eavesdroppers, and electronic data deception. Although these threats require a variety of countermeasure, encryption process is a primary method of protecting valuable electronic information. The encryption process also needs to be dynamic in order to face new technique and more advance methods used by cryptanalysis. Substitution box (S-box) is keystone of modern symmetric cryptosystem. They bring nonlinearity to cryptosystem and strengthen their cryptographic security. In this project RC4 algorithm which is well known stream cipher is used to generate S-box for advance encryption standard (AES). The generated S-boxes are more dynamic and key dependant which will increase the complexity and also make the differential and linear cryptanalysis (DC&LC) more difficult. Various randomness tests would be applied to the customized AES (AES-RC4) algorithm and the results will be shown that the new design pass all tests which proven its security


This article is drawing out major approaches to the study of political role of social media. In a nearest future such researches could be one of the main hot topics of political analysis. However, common theoretical base for this field of study is still absent. An attempt to clarify terminology, picture out major approaches to the role of social media in politics, formulate major trends in this sphere of public life is made in this article.


LEAVES OF CERTAIN ferns are commonly cited as "primitive" on the general theory that they have retained dichotomy of the major vascular axes of the leaf from ancient psilophyte ancestors (Zimmermann, in Verdoorn, 1938; Lam, 1948). The present study suggests a re-interpretation to be based on comparisons with ordinary fern leaves, "pinnate" in the arrangement of their main veins. The term "foliar dichotomy" will be used here to refer not only to dichotomously lobed or divided leaves, but also to those with blades that are simple or nearly so, in which dichotomous organization is indicated by over-all vein pattern. The term is thus used for the basic patterns of major veins or vascular strands, without particular reference to degrees of laminar dissection, which is known to be highly variable among closely related ferns. Fern leaves with dichotomous vascular architecture fall into four distinctive categories which have not previously been clearly distinguished. Each category has been named for the feature of the leaf which accounts for its peculiar organization. These categories are named as follows: (A) leaves with midribless blades-"Midribless-blade Type," (B) leaves in which the morphological blade midrib has become displaced-"Displaced-midrib Type," (C) leaves with crested blades-"Crested-blade Type," and (D) leaves with non-dichotomous blades, in which the petioles are once or repeatedly branched -"Forked-petiole Type." Each type will be discussed and the known examples of each listed. A. MIDRIBLESS-BLADE TYPE.-The foliar dichotomy of midribless leaves is the commonest type, with the following peculiarities: (1) forking of the main veins of the blade is regular and symmetrical, (2) the basal pinnae or segments, or veins representing them, are formed, but the central portion and the midrib of the blade are absent or fail to Iorm," and (3) blades of this type are horizontally


This article is also accessible online at: http://BioMedNet.com/karger Dear Sir, Besides abnormal urinary rhythm [1], polyuric episodes of 5–8 liters/day occasionally occur after renal transplantation. In most cases diuresis decreases within a few days to normal levels without therapeutic intervention. Such events seem clinically harmless, in the literature no data concerning the frequency or treatment of polyuria in patients after renal transplantation are available. However, we present a patient who developed excessive polyuria of 30–40 liters/ day within 48 h after transplantation. According to her medical history, physical condition, the immunologic circumstances and the uncomplicated surgical treatment, a routine course after renal transplantation was expected in this 57-year-old female patient. After exclusion of extrarenal causes of polyuria (e.g. primary psychogenic polydipsia and polyuria, polyuria by alcohol intake, diabetes mellitus, hypercalcemia, or drug-related interferences, diabetes insipidus centralis), intrarenal defects due to an ischemic lesion were suggested. Urinary analysis revealed complex damage to the proximal and distal parts of the tubular apparatus [2] reducing the effect of endogenous vasopressin, which was adequately elevated in our patient (12.5 pg/ml, RIA) [3], as well as exogenous vasopressin [4, 5] resulting in excessive polyuria with salt-wasting syndrome and tubular proteinuria. Concerned by the clinical complications of this excessive polyuria and its substitution therapy as reviewed recently (e.g. cerebral edema, angina pectoris, shunt occlusion, Staphylococci sepsis) [6] which threatened the success of renal transplantation, pharmacologic intervention to decrease diuresis was started by a stepwise combination of vasopressin, captopril and indomethacin (fig. 1). Fig. 1. Successful drug therapy of polyuria following renal transplantation due to diabetes insipidus renalis accompanied by salt-wasting syndrome. The reduction in daily diuresis (P) as well as FENa (o) after transplantation is shown in relation to a stepwise combination of vasopressin (Pitressin® 20 IU/day or Minirin® 2–10 pumps/day), captopril (Lopirin® 2 ! 25 mg/day) and indomethacin (Amuno® 50–100 mg/day). Stable diuresis within the normal range was achieved. Withdrawal of vasopressin and indomethacin was possible, and the patient was released from hospital care (arrow). ▲


A series of 2,6-bis(imino)pyridyl-based V-shaped compounds bearing various para-substituents on the terminal aromatic rings [C5H3N(CHN–C6H4R)2; R = OMe, iPr, Me, H, Cl, F, and CF3] have been prepared and investigated for their reversible binding with the dumbbell-shaped cations NH2+–{CH2–C6H3(OMe-3,5)2}2 and 9-anthryl–CH2–NH2+–CH2–C6H3(OMe-3,5)2. Three crystalline V-shaped compounds and a dumbbell hexafluorophosphate were characterised in the solid state by X-ray structural analysis. The binding mode of the 1 : 1 V-shaped molecule·dumbbell complexes was evaluated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The binding constants (90–400 M−1 in dichloromethane) and stoichiometries of the complexes were determined using the Method of Continuous Variations and the Rose-Drago Method based on 1H NMR spectroscopic data. In a series of V-shaped compounds, the binding strength with both dumbbell cations diminishes with the decreasing electron-donating ability of the R substituents. Specifically, one of the diimine V-shaped compounds shows a stronger binding with the symmetrical dumbbell than with the unsymmetrical anthracene-containing dumbbell. Fluorescence measurements of equimolar mixtures of the V-shaped compounds and the unsymmetrical dumbbell have revealed a reduced anthracene emission which is approximately 50% that of the original intensity. Rapid and complete dissociation (<5 min) of the V-shaped compounds from the dumbbells was realised using an excess of acid or base, whereas only partial dissociation of the complexes was achieved with a large excess of water (<1 h).


A boundaryless career model can offer more advantages to the youth as they can interact, have teams or work with people from other organisations as compared to the traditional career. The boundaryless career model helps one to venture into international business despite, their gender. The youths being exposed to diverse culture, new experiences, skills, etc., the boundaryless career model can be regarded as the career of choice by the youth. This paper focuses on how the attitude of youth, gender, lack of experience and organisational mobility influences the boundaryless career. Data was collected from 200 students through a self-administered questionnaire. The results signify that the youths are bound to be inclined towards the boundaryless career based on their attitude. Younger people show higher physical career mobility due to lack of experience. Organisation mobility is related to boundaryless career. The moderating effect of gender did not have a significant impact. The main contribution of the study are that it aids human resources professionals to be aware of contemporary career theories, such as the boundaryless career theory so that they can encourage the future workforce to develop competencies needed to have successful careers.


Galluim-Nitride(GaN) power devises have a potential to achieve higher efficiency operation than Silicon(Si) ones such as MOS FETs and IGBTs. However, the characteristic of GaN FETs is different from MOS FETs, and thus, there is the possibility that GaN-based power electronics circuits shows more losses than Si-based ones. To resolve this problem, some of the gate drive circuits for GaN FETs are proposed and one of them is called capacitor-less gate drive circuit. This paper presents drive losses analysis of the capacitor-less gate drive circuit. Furthermore, the drive losses of the capacitor-less gate drive circuit are compared with capacitor-type gate drive circuit experimentally.


The functions and characters of residential district floor built on stilts were described briefly,this paper analysed its present situation and existing problems,it discussed about the principle of greening design,plant collection,plant collocation and greening and other scenery factors arrangement of residential district floor built on stilts.


A lattice type model is employed to simulate the shear deformation and failure of uniform and non-uniform materials. Uniform materials are modeled as assembleges of a number of unit cells, which undergo bifurcation buckling to express the local softening behavior of materials. Nonuniform materials are represented with the use of the image-based geometry modeling with the consideration of micro-macro scale model to simulate the formation of a cross shear band.


— Dental agenesis is one of the most common anomalies in numbers, affecting mainly women, occurs in both primary and permanent teeth, but more frequently in permanent teeth. Can be classified as hypodontia is the absence of one or more teeth, oligodontics of six or more teeth and anadontia total absence of tooth development. Its diagnosis can be made through radiographs and clinical examination, when performed early, they can assist in a broad treatment plan with the aim of solving this problem. Among the main treatment options that can be performed such as prostheses, implants and orthodontics depending on each case. The treatment plan of choice obtained with the patient was the osseointegrated implant with the aid of orthodontic treatment to open the ideal space. Thus, the objective of this review article is to examine the etiology, clinical properties and treatment of dental agenesis using an osseointegrable implant. This literature review sought a sample in the literature in the PubMed and Science Direct databases. The inclusion criteria were articles published between 2015 and 2020 in Portuguese and English. The following query terms were used: agenesis, oligondotia, hypodontia, agenesis, oligondotia and hypodontia. The results show that dental agenesis is one of the most common genetic abnormalities among humans. In most of the study results that in the case of agenesis, the osseointegrated implant approach has proven to be a reliable and predictable treatment for restoring function and aesthetics.


Reduction of emissions, which are currently generated by global shipping, makes the shipping operators to search for new innovative solutions. One concept that is being promoted by a number of ports is so-called "cold ironing", when electricity, which is necessary for covering the vessel's own electricity demand, including its "hotel" and cargo handling requirements, is supplied via an electric connection to the conventional electricity distribution network in the given harbour of call. Considering the steady increasing of price for petroleum products, the cold ironing may become a cost-efficient alternative for many shipowners in the close future.


In this manuscript, we define the generalized fractional derivative on ACγ [a,b], the space of functions defined on [a,b] such that γn−1f ∈ AC[a,b], where γ = x1−ρ d dx . We present some of the properties of generalized fractional derivatives of these functions and then we define their Caputo version. c ©2017 All rights reserved.


Bean plants grown in almost all regions of Brazil, have irrigation as an essential technique when seeding is performed in the winter, so the crop coefficient (Kc) to be used for irrigation management can be obtained by means of an adjusted model through distribution versus time their average values. The purpose of this study is to determine Kc values in a protected environment and compare two water replacement intervals in Ilha Solteira region, SP. The experiment conducted in pots; treatments consisted of two different water replacement intervals with four replications. The crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was determined by the difference between the daily weighing of the pots, the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated by the Penman-Monteith method, and the Kc was determined by the ratio between ETc and ETo. Kc values were presented different at different stages of culture, they differed between treatments and presented characteristic curve of Kc. We conclude that treatment without daily replacement of water showed higher precision, accuracy and tendency when compared to treatment with daily addition of water, and the Kc values differ from those proposed by Doorenbos and Kassam emphasizing the need for determination of regional Kc values.


Social media networks provide rich and diverse information, making opinion analysis and network volume analysis a new method to investigate and understand the market. Sentiment analysis aims to determine the emotional category in a given text. Since there might be several targets being commented on in the text, Aspect-base sentiment analysis (ABSA) has been proposed to explore the sentiment categories of a target in different aspects. In this paper, we explore the idea of ABSA for sentiment analysis of singers on social networks. We utilize The 32nd Conference on Computational Linguistics and Speech Processing (ROCLING 2020) The Association for Computational Linguistics and Chinese Language Processing


The invention is concerned with the big power LED luminous element that is with surface liquid cooling heat dissipation, it is: sets the whole LED element that loads by the metal plaque in the transparent cover; sets the entrance and exit of the cooling liquid cycle on the transparent cover that connect the liquid cooling heat sink. The invention can use cooling liquid cycle to absorb heat of the heat dissipation of the LED element surface, which not only dissipate the heat but also the using life.


The complexation between a charged polymer and an oppositely charged spherical particle is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Electrostatic interactions are described in the Debye–Huckel approximation. The influence of particle size and ionic concentration on the adsorption/desorption limit, interfacial structure of the adsorbed layer, amount of adsorbed polymer, and the overcharging issue is investigated. Attention is focused on polyelectrolyte adsorption on small spherical particles whose surface curvature effects are expected to limit the amount of adsorbed monomers, large particles that allow the polyelectrolyte to spread to the same extent as on a flat surface, and particles whose radius is close to the polyelectrolyte radius of gyration so that the chain can completely wrap around it. The formation of a polyelectrolyte/particle complex and the conformations of the adsorbed polyelectrolyte are found to result from two competing effects: the electrostatic repulsions between the chain monomers...


The work area is located in the Li(county)-Min(county)metallogenic belt where the layer system developed completely,the Lithology combination mostly interblended sandstone and slate which in favor of the migration and preservation of gold mineralization,additionally,folds and faults controlled the spatial orientation and distribution of ore deposits.There is a close relationship between activities granite and Au metallogenic,as well as dikes and veins in the areas.At the same time,the gold mineralization and hydrothermal activities also have a close relationship.The various types of hydrothermal alteration is very well developed,and the hydrothermal alteration which closely related to the Au variable is mainly alkali metasomatism,pyritization,silicification,carbonation, limonitization etc.Anglicizing the stratum,structure,magmatic and metamorphic conditions and combined with the research results of the mineral deposit,the geochemical and the remote sensing in the region,3 mineralization targets(Taerli,Biekungou,and Beimengou)were predicted.


In April, Costa Rican Vice President Epsy Campbell shared photos of herself alongside immigration officials armed with assault rifles at multiple points along the Nicaraguan border. "What we are do...


The abnormal growth of tissues inside the brain is known as brain tumors and they are considered as a life threatening disease. According to the cell types containing in a tumor they can be classified into two groups as Benign and malignant. Benign tumors are considered to be non-cancerous and they have a primitive shape and size. At the same time malignant tumors are considered to be cancerous and do not have clearly defined edges. Modern technology has introduced several types of imaging techniques for internal body evaluation and analysis. Among them Magnetic Resource Imaging techniques are used to analyze many diseases as they have high resolution and better quality compared to others. Using conventional methods to identify brain tumors using MRI and extracting their features are difficult as the brain is complex. Therefor image processing techniques can be used to detect brain tumors and extract features automatically and effectively. This study presents a method to detect and extract features of the brain tumors which consist of five steps: preprocessing, skull stripping, detecting tumors in axial, coronal and sagittal planes, identifying tumor location and extracting features. The outcomes of the research study will help the doctors or the medical technicians to identify the brain tumor and its features in an effective manner.


Abstract. Digital surface models can be efficiently generated with automatic image matching from optical stereo images. The Working Group 4 of Commission I on "Geometric and Radiometric Modelling of Optical Spaceborne Sensors" provides a matching benchmark dataset with several stereo data sets from high and very high resolution space borne stereo sensors at http://www.commission1.isprs.org/wg4/ . The selected regions are in Catalonia, Spain, and include three test areas, covering city areas, rural areas and forests in flat and medium undulated terrain as well as steep mountainous terrain. In this paper, digital surface models (DSM) are derived from the Cartosat-1 and Worldview-1 datasets using Semiglobal Matching. The resulting DSM are evaluated against the first pulse returns of the LIDAR reference dataset provided by the Institut Cartogr`afic de Catalunya (ICC), using robust accuracy measures.


The title compound, [N(CH3)4]4[Rh13H(CO)24]·3C5H9NO, crystallises in the triclinic space group P with unit-cell dimensions a= 22.596(11), b= 14.263(7), c= 14.512(8)A, α= 65.56(3), β= 107.58(4), γ= 100.86(5)°, and Z= 2. The structure has been solved by conventional Patterson and Fourier methods from single-crystal X-ray counter data and refined by least-squares methods to R 0.061 for 3 680 significant reflections. The anion, of idealised Cs symmetry, containing a centred twinned-cuboctahedron of metal atoms, is similar to that of the other members of the family [Rh13H5–n(CO)24]n– already studied. The mean value of the Rh–Rh bond lengths, ranging from 2.718(3) to 2.894(3)A, is 2.782 A. The Rh–C and C–O interactions for the 12 terminal and for the 12 edge-bridging CO groups have mean values of 1.80, 1.18, and 1.97, 1.21 A, respectively. The hydride atom has been located in a semi-octahedral cavity, i.e. on a square face of the cluster, bisected by the ideal mirror plane.


The paper seeks to vindicate the value of the study of the history of economic thought (HET). It argues against the complaint that the study is antiquarian. It contends that, although HET does not confer operational and objective skills, it does provide insight into economic ideas, and sharpens our acumen in responding to them.


Learning hijaiyah letters is an initial step to reading the Al-Qur'an. Because the Al-Qur'an is written in Arabic using hijaiyah letters with special punctuation. Currently, learning hijaiyah letters still uses simple media in the form of books, posters, display boards, etc. so it is less interesting. The rapid development of technology allows mobile devices to become smartphones that can be used as learning media. Therefore, mobile devices can be used for learning hijaiyah letters to make them more attractive. One technology that can be utilized is Augmented Reality which can combine the virtual world with the real world in the form of 3D through applications accessed on mobile devices. This research developed the introduction of hijaiyah letters equipped with punctuation and pronunciation using marker based augmented reality. The development of mobile application applies the Mobile Application Development Lifecycle (MADLC) method. The development of augmented reality applications utilizing Blender, Vuforia and Unity 3D Game Engine. The results of the Black box testing show that all functional requirements have been met and are running well.


We will discuss teaching publishing practices and different forms of student participation in three open access journals hosted by Helsinki University Library's Editori-service, two of which are from a field of neurosciences. As a theoretical framework, we will distinguish between classroom journals (with students providing the content and teacher acting as an editor), student-led journals (students acting in both roles) and mock journals (which are like classroom journals, but the journal remains unpublished). Our discussion is founded on interviews of journal editors and analysis of student roles in the journals. In addition, we will mention one previous experiment of a mock journal in Editori-service, related to a Doctoral School working seminar in Humanities and Social Sciences.


ABSTRACT Rat is one of the pests is quite disturbing, especially in warehouses to store food or items that are favored by the mice. Automatic rat trap is designed so that it can be used to catch mice with more than one rat. This tool uses Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR) to detect the presence of rats. Automation tool is controlled by a microcontroller Atmega 16, which receives inputs from sensors Passive Infrared (PIR). Based on input from the PIR sensor, then the microcontroller will move the entrance to the trap through the DC motor. The design of the tool is expected to be one of the solutions to reduce the rat population that is in the food storage warehouse or other goods. From the results of the experiment, mice didapatka that the tool is very effective for catching rats with the number more than one, depending on the area reservoir trap . Keywords : Automatic Mouse Trap, Microcontroller, Passive Infrared (PIR).


Background/Aims: Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) has a less favorable effect on lipids compared to TDF (Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) in clinical trials. However, data regarding these outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are scarce. Methods: This study is to evaluate the effects of TAF on the lipids of 237 CHB patients, compared with TDF, inactive CHB, and non-HBV infected control groups, using propensity score-matching


Strategies to build the village can not be separated from efforts to address the underlying problems experienced by rural communities including poverty and lack of access to capital. To that end, the importance of the role of financial institutions raise indigenous communities in rural areas such as Village Credit Institutions (LPD) in the province of Bali. Anchored theory and empirical facts, this study aims to answer how the direct effect of social capital on Public Participation, the direct influence of Social Capital on the Performance of the LPD, the direct influence of Social Capital on Rural Development, the direct effect of Community Participation on the Performance of LPD and the direct influence of Performance LPD against Rural development. The study also reveals how Performance LPD role in mediating the Social Capital and Community Participation to realize the success of Rural Development and Public Participation in mediating the Social Capital to increase LPD performance. By surveying 229 credit customers LPD in 113 villages, as well as with data analysis techniques guided by software Smart PLS 3.0, find: direct Social Capital a significant effect on Public Participation, directly Social Capital and Participation communities significant effect on performance LPD, directly Social capital is not a significant effect on Rural Development, and live performance LPD significant effect on Rural Development. Mediated by Community participation, social capital LPD significant effect on performance. With Performance mediated by LPD, Public Participation significant effect on Rural Development. Mediated by LPD Performance and Participation, Social Capital significant effect on Rural Development. In this case, the LPD Performance and Participation perfectly capable of mediating the effect of social capital on rural development, so the LPD performance is recognized as a key mediator in realizing the success of Rural Development in Bali Province. Keywords: performance, social capital, community participation, rural development


An approach for timing simulation of bipolar ECL (emitter-coupled-logic) digital circuits is described. The approach is based on the development of a switch-level model of the transistor and on the representation of the circuit by a switch graph. The circuit is partitioned into subcircuits, and symbolic logic expressions are generated which represent the logic states of the nodes in terms of subcircuit inputs and initial conditions. Timing information is computed using an analytical delay model which relates outputs of a subcircuit to its input waveforms. The model includes the effects of the transistor SPICE parameter model as well as the circuit parameters. The combination of the switch-level graph model and the delay model provides fast and accurate timing simulation of ECL circuits. In addition, the switch-graph model provides a unified way for simulating BIMOS circuits.<<ETX>>


A physiological index of anxiety would be of considerable value if it could evaluate objectively the diminution in anxiety which follows drug treatment, psychotherapy, deconditioning and prefrontal leucotomy. Anxiety is an unpleasant subjective experience of tension, apprehension or anticipation imposed by the expectation of danger or distress or the need for a special effort. The components of the accompanying physiological response lend themselves to objective measurement and are worthy of study since they reflect the emotional changes which defy direct measurement.


The reduction of NO by biomass pyrolysis gas and its contented species were analyzed and numerical simulated with the detailed chemical kinetic model by plug-flow reactor (PFR) model of Chemkin4.1 code.The characteristics of NO reduction and the main reaction routines were obtained for biomass pyrolysis gas and its contents such as CH4,CO,H2.From calculation,CH4 showed the highest NO reduction efficiency compared with other contented gases and its most appropriate reacting temperature range was also obtained.The other contented species (CO,H2) showed low reduction capacities.At suitable reacting conditions,biomass pyrolysis gas of corn straw demostrated higher NOx reduction efficiency than rice husk for higher volatile yields and higher CH4 content.High inlet oxygen concentration of flue gas greatly reduced NO reduction efficiency,because of high oxidization rates of chemical active species in flue gas.Simulation results also show that,compared with other contented species (CO,H2),CH4 has the most important effects on reducing NO in biomass pyrolysis gas reburning process.With sensitivity analysis method,O and OH are the main free radicals inducing the reactions in the reburning process of biomass pyrolysis gas.CHi+NO and HCCO+NO are the main routines of NO reduction.


This chapter explores the debate over merely possible objects, clarifies the distinction between actualism and possibility, and reconciles actualism with the reality of possibilities and nonexistents. Focusing on late work by Derek Parfit, Warmke proposes and defends an "ostrich actualism" that permits even actualists to quantify over mere possibilities.


ABSTRACT Field experiments were conducted in farmyard manure (FYM) and maize-residue (MR) blocks during 1984–2011 with the objective of identifying a superior treatment for attaining maximum finger millet yield and soil fertility at Bangalore. The treatments tested in the FYM block were Control; FYM@10tha−1; FYM@10tha−1 + 50% nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK); FYM@10tha−1 + 100%NPK; 100%NPK; and in the MR block, Control; MR@5tha−1; MR@5t ha−1 + 50%NPK; MR@5tha−1 + 100%NPK; 100%NPK. FYM@10t/ha + 100%NPK gave a maximum mean yield of 3207 kg/ha in the FYM block, while MR@5t/ha + 100%NPK gave 2548 kg/ha in the MR block. Regression and principal component (PC) models of yield were developed through soil fertility and rainfall variables to assess the treatments. Maximum yield predictability of 60% and 65% under regression, and 76% and 75% under the PC model were observed for the FYM and MR blocks, respectively. FYM@10t/ha + 50%NPK was superior, with maximum gross returns of Rs.41286/ha and benefit–cost ratio (BCR) of 2.27 in the FYM block compared to MR@5t/ha + 100%NPK (gross returns of Rs.34530/ha and BCR of 2.09) in the MR block with maximum soil fertility, and are recommended for adoption under semi-arid Alfisols.


A novel transfer material is disclosed. The transfer material comprises, at least, a support, and, thereon, an optically uniaxial or biaxial anisotropic layer and a photosensitive polymer layer. A novel process for producing a liquid crystal cell substrate is also disclosed. The process comprises, at least, [1] laminating a transfer material as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 11 on a substrate; [2] removing the support from the transfer material laminated on the substrate; and [3] exposing the photosensitive polymer layer disposed on the substrate to light.


Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord—Duisburg, Germany Latz + Partners For two centuries, urban parks have been perceived and understood as public green spaces. Naturalistic or formal in appearance, they provided for recreational activity, and often featured attractive or romantic scenery. Located in the heart of Germany's densely populated Ruhr District, Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord (North Duisburg Landscape Park) makes a clear break with this history. A milestone in landscape design, it epitomizes an innovative approach to the urban cultural landscape, one characterized by acceptance of its industrial heritage and dramatically altered natural conditions. On the site of a former industrial blast furnace, Latz + Partners have created a place of great beauty that will per- petuate the story of these industrial facilities for succeed- ing generations. At the same time, through a concerted program of bioremediation and on-site materials recycling, the design manages to neutralize or reverse much of the ecological damage done by those facilities. To complete the conversion of the site, the design also introduces a program of public activities which will allow it to develop new relevance in people's lives. The jury praised the project as exemplary of the emer- gence of a new era of postindustrial parks, a trend that is currently more in evidence in Europe than in the United States. In the U.S., there have been many studies of dev- astated landscapes—including Alan Berger's Reclaiming the American West, a previous EDRA/Places award winner (Places, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 14-17). But the ability to move from research to planning and design has too often been hampered by a lack of political will and government funding. IBA Emscherpark Duisburg Nord park cannot be understood apart from the larger reclamation effort of which it is a part. Until the early 1970s, Germany's Ruhr area, particularly the Emscher District, was one of Europe's largest coal-mining and steel-manufacturing centers. The decline of these heavy industries, however, precipitated an economic and ecological crisis as well as social change and a loss of cul- tural significance in the region. Left behind was a bizarre landscape of rail beds, smokestacks, slag heaps, polluted soils, industrial ruins, and reengineered waterways. Inspired by a series of earlier "International Building Exhibitions" (IBA) in other parts of Germany, a partner- ship between the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, local municipalities, and private companies was formed. This commission proposed the IBA Emscherpark, a ten-year effort from 1989 to 1999 to revitalize the area. The goal was to develop a program of renewal for the densely popu- lated region along the Emscher River, stretching from Duisburg on the Rhine in the west to Dortmund in the east, and including approximately 115 square miles and many important cities in between. The "exposition" pro- posed to accomplish its goal by catalyzing structural, eco- nomic and social reform through a number of exemplary and innovative integrated design projects. From 1989 on, the IBA Emscherpark authority staged a series of competitions and issued a number of calls for pro- posals for carefully selected sites within the region. These ranged from cutting-edge residential developments to cultural and educational facilities, art projects, and open- space systems. In one way or another, all have attempted to address the ecological and economic regeneration of former industrial land. Over the course of ten years, the IBA sponsored approximately one hundred projects at various scales. At Duisburg Nord, the land development authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by a real estate fund, purchased the grounds of the former Thyssen Steelworks manufacturing plant. Subsequently, the City of Duisburg changed its zoning to allow its conversion into a public park. It was in this context that landscape designer Peter Latz developed a plan that reflects many of IBA's overall goals and objectives, and that has become the basis for one of IBA's key projects. The steel plant as an active industrial site in 1952. Photo courtesy of the Thyssen Krupp Corporate Archives. Latz + Partners / Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord


pavimentos país, dimensionamento bases solo-cimento realização carregamento repetido. sentido, presente propõe-se verificar efeito teor e tipo cimento no módulo resiliência (MR) de misturas solo-cimento, empregando resultados para obtenção de constantes de regressão em diversos modelos. Para composição das misturas foi empregado solo areno-siltoso e os cimentos CP II Z-32 e CP V-ARI, nos teores de 6 e 10 %, período cura 28 dias. maneira geral, aumento teor de cimento CP V-ARI resultou incrementos no MR, tendência contrária a observada o cimento CP II Z-32. resiliência ABSTRACT: In view of the new method of pavements design in force in the country, the design of soil-cement bases currently requires repeated loading tests. In this sense, the present study aims to verify the effect of content and type of cement on the resilient modulus of soil-cement mixtures, using the results to obtain regression constants in several models. For the mixture's composition, sandy-silty soil and Type I and Type III cements were used, in the contents of 6 and 10 %, with a curing period of 28 days. In general, the increase in Type III cement content resulted in increments in the module, a trend contrary to that observed for the Type I cement. For both stabilizing agents and contents, decreases in resilient modulus values were observed due to the increase in the confining and deviant stresses applied to the first two stages of confining (0.020 and 0.035 MPa), from which there was a change in trend. The most representative model was the compound, however, for all tested models, deficient correlations were obtained (R² < 0.6), which may be related to possible moisture gain and/or limitations of the models tested for stabilized soils. Most of the results, regardless of the experimental condition, were in the range between 5,000 and 7,000 MPa, which can assist in pavement design preliminary projects based on the empirical-mechanistic methodology.


We use the convergent series in order to represent analytically the Moser invariant curves in the chaotic domain around unstable periodic orbits of multiplicity 1 in the case of the hyperbolic Hénon map. We apply our method to the main unstable periodic orbit O at the origin ( x = y = 0 ?> ) and to another unstable periodic orbit S of multiplicity 1. We find that chaotic orbits with initial conditions inside the region of convergence around O remain always inside this region. On the other hand orbits with initial conditions outside this region have successive iterations closer and closer to the limit of the convergence region but can never enter inside it. We also find the asymptotic and invariant curves around the unstable orbit S and the region of convergence around it. This region is completely inside the convergence region around O. Orbits starting in this region of convergence (around S ) remain always inside it, while orbits starting outside this region never enter inside it. Similar results apply to the convergence regions around every unstable periodic orbit inside the main convergence region around O. Thus the various convergence regions partly overlap. Finally, we derive analytically the homoclonic and heterolinic points of the asymptotic curves of the periodic orbits O and S and find good agreement with the points computed numerically from the map. Our results can be generalized for higher order unstable periodic orbits and thus we are able to describe in detail the structure of chaos in dynamical systems.


In the theory of differential equations,although the majority of differential equations can not be solved the exact analytical expression,we can estimate the solution of the differential equations by using integral inequality technique.This paper discusses three new retarded integral inequalities with two variables, which contain a integral term with a variable,a integral term with two variables,and nonconstant term. Under certain conditions',using integrated amplification,substitution method,temporarily fixed a variable, the monotonicity and submultiplicative of function,we give the estimations of unknown function of the retarded integral inequalities respectively.


Luminescence of new irregular Ce3+-related centers: the unperturbed and perturbed Ce3+ ions located in Al3+ sites and the Ce3+ Lu ions perturbed by Lu3+ Al ions was found. The systematic study of these centers by means of the ESR and luminescence methods and their influence on scintillation characteristics was performed. The structure and symmetry of the irregular Ce3+ centers was established and their spectral characteristics were explained.


To be fully equipped with knowledge and understanding about the basic concept of financial literacy is important. It gives individuals an advantage on carefully and properly managing their financial budget. The present study used mixed method, particularly convergent parallel mixed method. In this method, the researchers combined both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. In the survey, respondents answered questions through interviews and questionnaires. Focus group discussion sessions also contributed in gathering the data. For the instruments to be both reliable and valid, questions were constructed and validated by experts. The collected data analyzed the financial understanding of the public-school teachers. It particularly revolved around the financial literacy status of public-school teachers. There are two major concerns that public school teachers face about their current financial status and challenges. First, they are not satisfied with their current financial income and most of them are struggling financially. They are looking forward for a higher salary increase. Second, there is too much on their plate with regards to their financial responsibilities and this basically implies that there are many expenses. Most of the teachers are heads or breadwinners of the family and a huge challenge exists especially on the allocation of budget.


Sexual dimorphism in body size measurements of 65 stone martens was investigated in winter periods (10.12.- 01.03) 2013 to 2017. There was found sexual dimorphism in body size of Stone Marten from Central Bulgaria: males were larger than females. The tail length (with or without hairs) did not depend on sex. The sexual dimorphism in the most variable linear parameters of the species varied from 2.76% to 10.63%. Male stone martens were 23.37% heavier than females.


Objective To Study the mental health of fresh persons of postgraduates and its relationship to the personality, and to provide the basis for their mental health education. Methods Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF)were adopted to survey 373 fresh postgraduates in one agricultural university in South China.Results 22.93% of them had total score over 160 in SCL-90.There was no significant difference between males and females but significant correlation between SCL-90 and most factors of 16PF. Conclusion The mental health of fresh postgraduates should be strengthened and can be improved through the cultivation of personality.


PURPOSE: A laptop computer with a high frequency signal transmitting sheet is provided to eliminate a process for bonding an antenna with a high frequency line, thereby increasing a high frequency receiving rate. CONSTITUTION: A body unit includes a main board which receives input signals from input keys. An edge frame(40) is connected to one end of the body unit and surrounds an image window which displays an image to the outside. A high frequency signal transmitting sheet(10) is inserted into a cover unit, is connected to the main board, and is made of flexible materials. The high frequency signal transmitting sheet includes a main sheet unit(100), a connection sheet unit(200), and high frequency line patterns(20). Antenna pattern units(50) are arranged on the edge frame and connected to the end of the high frequency line patterns.


According to epistemological disjunctivism (ED), in paradigmatic cases of perceptual knowledge, a subject, S , has perceptual knowledge that p in virtue of being in possession of reasons for her belief that p which are both factive and reflectively accessible to S . It has been argued that ED is better placed than both knowledge internalism and knowledge externalism to undercut underdetermination-based skepticism. I identify several principles that must be true if ED is to be uniquely placed to attain this goal. After that, I use those principles to formulate a diachronic skeptical argument. This argument yields the counterintuitive conclusion that understanding a global skeptical hypothesis is all it takes for a rational subject to lose all her perceptual knowledge of the world. Next, I show that a popular Austinian move must reject one or another of the principles that underlie ED. I close by delineating a novel strategy that can block the diachronic skeptical argument while preserving all the principles. The key idea is that perceptual knowledge is grounded in primitive, perceptual and recognitional abilities. This view sheds new light on some puzzling features of global skepticism that have been noted by Descartes and Hume, among others.


Objective To establish fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(FQ-PCR) to detect the gene expression levels of cytokeratin 19(CK19),C-erbB2 and c-myc,and to evaluate the clinical value of combined detection of three breast cancer related genes in diagnosis and therapeutic effect monitoring of breast cancer.Methods With β2-microglobulin(β2-MG) as the internal control,FQ-PCR assay was applied to detecting the peripheral blood gene expression levels of CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc in 15 healthy women(healthy control group),30 patients with benign breast disease(BBD group) and 81 patients with breast cancer(breast cancer group).Results There were no significant difference in the expression levels of CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc between healthy control group and BBD group(P0.05).Compared with those in healthy control group and BBD group,the expression levels of CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc in breast cancer group were markedly elevated(P0.05),but there was no significant difference in the expression level of β2-MG among the above three groups(P0.05).The sensitivity of combined detection of CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc was higher than that single gene detection.Conclusion FQ-PCR is a rapid,sensitive and specific method for quantitating CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc.Combined detection of CK19,C-erbB2 and c-myc can effectively increase the sensitivity of diagnosis in breast cancer.


The occurrence and development of research operations on a problem of automatizaton of engineering calculations in Gas Institute of National Academy of Science of Ukraine are stated. The area of thermodynamics and technology of field treatment of natural gas is considered. Methodical and methodological approaches to solution of this problem and the received results are described.


We investigate the evolution of the states of a system of infinitely many anharmonic oscillators via a hierarchy of equations similar to the BBGKY one. We prove an existence theorem for the solutions in the L1 sense for a large class of initial data.


The smart home is the development direction of the informatization life in the feature.It can also improve the quality to of life.The integration of the smart home takeing the advantage of the integrated wiring technology,network communication technology,security technology,automatic control technology and audio and video technology,integrates the home equipment.However,when facing the modern and intelligent solutions in home life,it often encounters difficulties in updating equipment.Now,home appliances with IR remote control function highlight the advantages of convenience,quickness and low-cost security of learning IR module.


The dissociative adsorption of water molecules on Si(001) was studied up to 850 K by scanning tunneling microscopy. Water molecules dissociate into OH and H fragments to form on-dimer (OD) and interdimer (ID) configurations, and the population ratio nID/nOD is measured to change from ∼5 at room temperature to the saturation value of ∼0.6 above 500 K, contradicting to the prediction from the static transition-state theory. The sticking coefficient also shows an abnormal temperature dependence. The temperature dependence in the H dissociation and in the molecular adsorption can be elucidated only by taking into account the flip-flop motion of Si dimers.


A method for the manufacture of a 2-hydrocarbyl-3,3-bis(hydroxyaryl)phthalimidine composition comprises: reacting a phthalimide of formula (2) with a phenol of formula (3) I (2) I (3) in the presence of a catalyst and optionally a solvent at an elevated temperature to form the 2- hydrocarbyl-3,3-bis(hydroxyaryl)phthalimidine composition, wherein the 2-hydrocarbyl-3,3- bis(hydroxyaryl)phthalimidine composition comprises a 2-hydrocarbyl-3,3- bis(hydroxyaryl)phthalimidine of formula (1) I (1) wherein in formulas (1), (2) and (3), R1 is hydrogen, C1-6 alkyl, C1-6 alkoxy, or phenyl optionally substituted with 1 to 5 C 1-6 alkyls, each occurrence of R2 and R3 is independently a C1-6 alkyl, and p and q are independently 0 to 4.


An experiment was conducted at the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University during the period from August 2016 to April 2017 to standardize the protocol for in vitro propagation of banana. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with four replications. Three to four months aged field grown rhizome attached shoots were used as explants and cultured on MS medium with different concentrations and combinations of BAP (6-benzylamino purine), BAP + KIN (Kinetin) + NAA (Naphthalene Acetic Acid) and IBA (Indole-3- Butyric Acid) + IAA (Indole-3- Acetic Acid) to observe their efficacy on single shoot initiation, shoot multiplication and root formation respectively. Minimum number of days required for shoot initiation (9.07) with highest shoot initiation percentage (91.14) and the longest shoot (2.23 cm) was found in MS medium supplemented with 5.0 mg/L BAP. On the other hand, highest shoot multiplication percentage (80.99) with maximum number of shoots per explant (4.47), the highest length of shoots (4.17 cm) and maximum number of leaves (4.04)was observed in MS medium supplemented with 4.0 mg/L BAP + 2.0 mg/L KIN + 2.0 mg/L NAA. In case of root regeneration, the best results on days required for root initiation (9 . 00), the highest root initiation percentage (85.05), maximum number of roots per plantlet (5.83) and the highest length of roots (4.17 cm) was obtained in MS medium supplemented with1.5 mg/L IBA + 0.5 mg/L IAA. After 5-7 days of hardening in room temperature, established plantlets were ready for planting J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(1): 27-30, April 2018


The hot carrier dynamics and its effect on the device performance of GaAs solar cell and InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) was investigated. At first, the fundamental operation feature of conventional hot carrier solar cell was simulated based on the detailed balance thermodynamic model. Then we investigated the hot carrier dynamics in the normal junction based solar cell using hydrodynamic/energy Boltzmann transportation model (HETM) where the two temperature (carrier temperature and lattice temperature are treated separately. For the first time, we report an inherent quasi-equivalence between the detailed balance model and HETM model. The inter-link revealed here addresses the energy conservation law used in the detailed balance model from different angle and it paves a way toward an alternative approach to curtail the selective contact constraints used in the conventional hot carrier solar cell. In simulation, a specially designed InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cell was used in the simulation. By varying the hot carrier energy relaxation time , an increase in the open circuit voltage was clearly found with the increase of . Detailed analysis was presented regarding the spatial distribution of hot carrier temperature and its interplay with electric field and three hot carrier recombination processes (Auger, SRH and radiative)


The present invention relates to methods of screening for new cancer preventive or therapeutic agent using a glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GRS) and cadherin. More particularly, it relates to GRS and CDH, particularly screening method of preventive or therapeutic agent for cancer screening test formulations that alter the binding levels with CDH. The present invention is a novel use of GRS and CDH, provides a screening method for cancer prevention and treatment agents. The method of the present invention can be utilized usefully in the development of new therapeutic agents of various cancer diseases.


Current computer architecture research relies heavily on architectural simulation to obtain insight into the cycle-level behavior of modern microarchitectures. Unfortunately, such architectural simulations are extremely time-consuming. Sampling is an often-used technique to reduce the total simulation time. This is achieved by selecting a limited number of samples from a complete benchmark execution. One important issue with sampling, however, is the unknown hardware state at the beginning of each sample. Several approaches have been proposed to address this problem by warming up the hardware state before each sample. This paper presents the boundary line reuse latency (BLRL) which is an accurate and efficient warmup strategy. BLRL considers reuse latencies (between memory references to the same memory location) that cross the boundary line between the pre-sample and the sample to compute the warmup that is required for each sample. This guarantees a nearly perfect warmup state at the beginning of a sample. Our experimental results obtained using detailed processor simulation of SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks show that BLRL significantly outperforms the previously proposed memory reference reuse latency (MRRL) warmup strategy. BLRL achieves a warmup that is only half the warmup for MRRL on average for the same level of accuracy.


Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has a well-known association with increased body mass index (BMI). However, studies on BMI in HS patients were performed after an average disease duration of 13.8–15.5 years [1–3]. It remains unclear to what extent increased BMI predisposes to development of HS. Increased BMI could potentially be a result of HS-related symptoms such as depression [4]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to retrospectively investigate the BMI of HS patients at the onset of the disease and to compare this to age-matched Dutch population data. All consecutive HS patients attending the HS clinic of a tertiary center in the Netherlands between May and September 2017 were included. Patients retrospectively selected a silhouette from the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale corresponding with their body size at the age of the first HS symptoms. These figures were converted into underweight and normal weight, overweight, or obesity according to previous publications [5, 6]. Patient characteristics were collected from medical records. General population data was collected through the open-access database (StatLine) of Statistics Netherlands [7]. Categorical BMI data in this database is available stratified per age group (for example, 16–20 years) from 1981 up to now, obtained through yearly questionnaires send to a random sample of the Dutch population. To create agematched groups, patients were categorized into the StatLine age groups according to the age of HS onset. The average year of onset within these groups was used for comparison with population data. Groups with < 15 patients were excluded from the analyses. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics (IBM, version 24), with P-values ≤ 0.05 considered significant. Under Dutch law this study is exempt from medical ethical committee approval. At the time of inclusion 70.7 % of the 239 included patients were overweight/obese with a mean BMI of 28.98 ± 6.11 (Table 1). Seven patients could not recall the age of onset and were excluded from analysis. At the age of HS onset 40.5 % of patients were overweight or obese. Groups with an age of onset under 16 years (n = 6), between 40–50 years (n = 12) and between 50–65 years (n = 9) were excluded from the analysis. Patients with a disease onset between 12–16 years, 16–20 years, and 20–30 years were significantly more often overweight/obese compared with their age-matched Clinical Letter Table 1 Patient characteristics.


We compared the thermomechanical properties, morphologies, gas permeabilities, and electrical conductivities of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposite films containing two types of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (functionalized MWNTs). Both 2-hydroxyethyl triphenyl phosphonium-MWNT (Ph3P-MWNT) and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-phenyl-2-propanol-MWNT (CF3-MWNT) were used as reinforcing fillers in the fabrication of UHMWPE hybrid films. UHMWPE nanocomposites with various functionalized MWNT contents were solution-cast to produce the films. The thermomechanical properties and morphologies of the UHMWPE hybrid films were then characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, electron microscopy, and mechanical tensile analysis. Transmission electron microscopy studies showed that some of the MWNT particles were dispersed homogeneously within the polymer matrix (on the nanoscale), whereas others were agglomerated. We also found that the addition of only a small amount of functionalized MWNTs was sufficient to improve the thermomechanical properties and the gas barrier of the UHMWPE hybrid films. Even, those hybrid films with low functionalized MWNT contents (i.e., <1 wt%) were found to exhibit much better thermomechanical properties than the pure UHMWPE films. On the other hand, the values of the electrical conductivity remained constant, regardless of the amount of functionalized MWNTs. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers


This paper is an attempt to give a precise content to the notion of potential competition in a natural monopoly market. Competition is described as a two stage game in which a set of firms announce first a price, then a level of output. Contingent demands for each firm are obtained from a general class of rationing schemes. A complete characterization of the two types of equilibria of this game is given.


PurposeThis study explores the critical success factors (CSFs) in humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM) by focussing on flood disaster management (FDM) in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth semi-structured interview and questionnaire surveys in a sequential data collection approach were used to collect data from definitive stakeholders of humanitarian organisations. The data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factors analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques.FindingsSeventy-four factors were identified as success factors of HSCM of flood disaster management. However, 41 of these factors were statistically significant and considered as critical. In descending order, these factors relate to management practices, education and training, stakeholder involvement and cooperation, infrastructure, innovation and technology, materials and resources, administrative practices, socio-cultural and economic. Whilst some factors are internal to the humanitarian organisations, others are external factors that are beyond the control of humanitarian organisations.Research limitations/implicationsEven though this study offers empirical results that could guide policymakers in their decision-making about humanitarian operations, care needs to be taken since the data is within one country and within a specific disaster context – hence, policymakers need to consider the local contextual dynamics. Future studies could look at different disasters context to make a comparative analysis of various types of disaster operations.Practical implicationsInstitutions such as World Health Organization, Red Cross organisations and UN seeking to curbs global-warming-related disasters and the reduction of the effects of flood disaster can use findings as a guide during the formulation of HSCM policies and strategies.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies of humanitarian operations that focussed extensively on theoretical expositions, simulations, conceptual frameworks and models, this present study offers empirical evidence of humanitarian operations in the context of SCM. Further, by highlighting on the HSCM CSFs, this study contributes to disaster reduction and their effects on humanity in the context of FDM. This research could be used as guide by governments and FDM organisations to make informed decisions on SCM areas to focus the most during FDM.


Extensive radioactive contamination (about 63,000 PBq) has been discharged to the environment of the West Siberian Basin. The former Soviet Union (FSU) nuclear program has been operating for the last 50 years; most of its facilities are located in the West Siberian Basin. These nuclear facilities include three sites for reprocessing spent fuel from the FSU's production reactors: Mayak, Tomsk-7, and Krasnoyarsk-26 (Fig. 1). These are believed to be responsible for the majority of the radioactive contamination that is in the major river systems, the Ob and Yenisei, which feed into the Arctic Ocean through the Kara Sea. Extensive radioactive contamination has been reported in surface water reservoirs, and large amounts of radioactive contamination have been discharged to injection sites that are adjacent to tributaries of the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. A massive release of radionuclide contaminants could result if floods, reservoir failures, or containment failures were to occur (Foley, 1991; Bradley, 1991, 1992a, 1992b; Bradley and Schneider, 1990).


Background Results of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aloHSCT) depend on many patient-, donor- and procedure-related factors. In recent years, in a setting of AML we demonstrated that also socio-economic status of a country and center experience may influence outcome. The goal of the current analysis, focused on patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), was to evaluate specific effects on non-relapse mortality (NRM) related to health care expenditure (HCE) of a country as well as distribution of transplant centers in addition to previously studied human development index (HDI) and center activity.

Patients and methods Results of myeloablative alloHSCT from HLA-identical siblings performed between 2004-2008 for adults with ALL in CR1 were analyzed. Among 983 individuals treated in 27 European countries the median age was 35 (18-55) years and the interval from diagnosis to alloHSCT – 158 (42-831) days. TBI was used for conditioning in 820 (83%) cases and peripheral blood was a source of stem cells in 656 (67%) cases. The following factors were studied for their impact on outcome: current HCE, HCE as % of gross domestic product, public HCE, private HCE, no. of teams per country area and population, HDI and center activity (no. of alloHSCT for ALL in a study period). All variables were categorized by medians. The median follow-up was 34 months.

Results In a univariate analysis the probability of day 100 NRM was increased for countries with lower current HCE (p=0.06), lower HDI (p=0.02) and for centers with lower experience (p=0.04). Also overall NRM was affected by current HCE (p=0.09), HDI (p=0.03) and center activity (p=0.07). In a multivariate model adjusted for recipient age, interval from diagnosis to HSCT, source of stem cells, type of conditioning, and donor/recipient gender, the variables of interest were included separately due to strong internal correlations. The best predictive model for day 100 NRM included HDI < median (HR = 2.38, 95%CI = 1.3-4.35, p=0.005). The overall NRM was most strongly predicted by current HCE < median (HR = 2.56, 95%CI = 1.41-4.76, p=0.002). In a univariate analysis lower values of HDI and current HCE were also associated with decreased probability of the overall survival (p=0.004 and p=0.006, respectively).

Conclusion Both macroeconomic factors and the socio-economic status of a country influence strongly non-relapse mortality and overall survival after alloHSCT for adults with ALL. Our findings should be considered in interpretation of clinical studies in the field of alloHSCT.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This paper investigates how neighborhood cultural context shapes academic achievement. Drawing on contemporary conceptualization of culture and recent evidence of the importance of neighborhood cultural context, I hypothesize that students from disadvantaged neighborhoods will display more cultural heterogeneity, or variability in cultural orientations, operationalized here as self-efficacy. In addition, I hypothesize that neighborhood cultural heterogeneity will have negative effects on academic achievement, particularly for those students with high individual self-efficacy. Results from multilevel models using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) support my hypotheses. Results indicate that students exposed to greater cultural heterogeneity are less able to translate high self-efficacy into better achievement, and suggest that exposure to increased cultural heterogeneity is one reason why students residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods underperform in education.


Perceived support has been related to lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the speci fi c functional components of support responsible for such links. We tested if emotional, informational, tangible, and belonging support predicted ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and interpersonal interactions (e.g., responsiveness), and if such links were moderated by gender. In this study, 94 married couples underwent 12 h of ABP monitoring during daily life which included a night at home with their spouse. They completed a short-form of the interpersonal support evaluation list that provides information on total (global) support, as well as speci fi c dimensions of support. Results revealed that global support scores did not predict ABP during daily life. However, separating out distinct support components revealed that emotional support was a signi fi cant predictor of lower ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure, primarily for women. Finally, emotional support predicted greater partner responsiveness and self-disclosure, along with less perceived partner negativity although these results were not moderated by gender. These data are discussed in terms of the importance of considering speci fi c support components and the contextual processes that might in fl uence such links.


We present a new ray bending method, referred to as Eigenray tracing, for solving two-point boundary-value ray tracing problems in 3D heterogeneous velocity media. We apply a non-linear spectral element scheme to find the ray path between two endpoints, satisfying Fermat's principle of least traveltime. In order to capture all arrivals between the endpoints, we suggest starting with the conventional iterative initial-value shooting method, and using the proposed method only for cases where it fails.


1 Watershed Resources Program, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Abstract—Pinyon-juniper woodlands are not normally considered a high water-yielding type largely because of the low precipitation amounts and high evapotranspiration rates encountered. Nevertheless, a recommendation was made in the 1950s to evaluate the effectiveness of increasing water yields by converting pinyon-juniper overstories to herbaceous covers. A series of process and plot studies and watershed-level experiments were carried out in acting upon this recommendation. It was concluded, however, that the potentials for increasing water yields through conversion treatments is "poor" in the region. A summary of these research findings is presented in this paper.


To date the field of ecological stoichiometry has focused mainly on aquatic systems concentrating on macro-elements. We investigated terrestrial systems and included microelements to study the elemental transfer in the detritivorous food web. We compared food webs of six sites differing in the type and degree of metal pollution along two forest transects contaminated with copper or zinc. We measured 11 elements in litter, herbivores, detritivores, predators and omnivores. Based on elemental concentrations of elements differences between trophic groups were visualized using PCA. At all sites litter C:N, C:P, C:K and C:Na ratios were higher than in animals. Invertebrate trophic groups were significantly different from each other in C:Cu, C:Zn and C:Ca ratios. The calculated resource:consumer N:P ratio suggests that invertebrates in studied forests are N limited and not P limited. Similar patterns at all sites suggests that metal pollution at the studied intensity slightly affects the transfer of elements in the terrestrial macro-invertebrate food web.


As SQL Server 2000 database system widely used in Hydrologic Telemetering and Hydropower Operation Automation System,it becomes increasingly important that how to respond to various threats for database security,so that to ensure the system operation stable and reliable.Based on the analysis of security needs of SQL Server 2000,a detailed analysis of access database security mechanisms in Hydrologic Telemetering and Hydropower Operation Automation System is given in the paper.


Leukemia is the most common cancer in children which causes death despite the high survival rate. Therefore, new methods are required to find a suitable therapy. A small RNA called microRNAs (miRNAs) is used as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and early prognostic evaluation. Expression levels of three miRNAs from the 3' arm (miR-142-3p, miR-223-3p and miR-146-3p) were detected in serum samples from 30 acute leukemic children and from 30 healthy individuals by using qPCR. The miR-142-3p and miR-146-3p profiles were significantly downregulated (P=0.0010 and 0.0012, respectively), while miR-223 was found to be significantly upregulated (P= 0.0044) in the pateints. Serum level of C/EBP-β (CCAATenhancer-binding protein) was also determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and showed a significantly higher level in the patients (p≤0.0001). However, this higher enhancer level is probably not the reason for the abovementioned differences in miRNAs expression, as indicated by the weak correlation values with the three miRNA molecules (0.5737, 0.6625 and 0.7769, respectively). In conclusion, the fold change of miR-142-3p, miR-223-3p and miR146-3p in serum could be potentially used as an early indicator of the occurrence of acute leukemia in children.


Reaction of aminocyanoacetamide with bromomethylpyruvaldoxime provided 3-amino-6-bromomethyl-2-carbamoylpyrazine 4-oxide (7), which was converted to a pyrazine analogue (3) of methotrexate by subsequent condensation with diethyl N-[4-(methylamino)benzoyl]-L-glutamate, deoxygenation, and hydrolysis. The methotrexate analogue 3 was a poor inhibitor (I50 > 150 μM) of bacterial or mammalian dihydrofolate reductase.


5 Abstract: Adolescence of a woman is a transitional period between puberty and legal adulthood. At thi s milestone diagnosis of the etiology of primary amenorrhoea and managing the problem is a difficult task to a gynaecologist. A total of 31 adolescent girls aged 13-19 years with primary amenorrhoea was studied and followed up in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at IPGME and R, Kolkata, India. The detail history was obtained and physical examination with special importance to the development of secondary sexual characters was performed. All patients had been meticulously evaluated and treated with both medical and surgical approach. Results revealed that the mean (SD) age and height was 15.9±1.69 years and 1.34 ±0.08 m. Of the 31 primary amenorrhoea cases, 48.39 and 29.03% were due to anatomical defects and chromosomal disorders. While, 19.35% due to HPO axis defects and one case had Tuberculosis endometritis. It was noted that 89% patients with chromosomal disorder were of low height (<1.40m.). More importantly, one every third patients with anatomical defects started regular period (without hormone), 33.33% of patients with chromosomal defects started period but only with hormone therapy. In conclusion, a meticulous clinical evaluation followed by proper investigations can identify the etiology of maximum cases. Timely hormonal supplementation helps both to gain height to some extent and to develop secondary sexual characters. Regarding outcome as already mentioned, more scientific developments and their easy availability can improve the prospect in future. What is more important is the timely management and counseling regarding the options available.


SUMMARY Studies have been conducted on the formation of polymerised wood resin in model compounds and in lipophilic extracts of aspen. Our studies indicate that polymerization of wood resin components occurs during seasoning of aspen wood. The polymerization probably occurs via oxidation of fatty acids, especially the unsaturated ones, and glyceride components. It results in formation of products that are difficult to dissolve in normal solvents, depending on the extent of the polymerization. Also, the polymerization seems to result in the formation of sterols, compounds that are typically associated with "aspen wax". This implies that the seasoning practices used in aspen mills can result in the formation of polymerized wood resin that will be difficult to remove if present in pulp and paper products. On the other hand, these problems may be minor compared to using unseasoned wood.


A method of digital image watermarking with the Fractional Fourier Transform(FRFT) domain based on Arnold scrambling was proposed in this paper.Be different with FFT,FRFT was with characteristics of both spatial and frequency domain,the paper chose to make the watermark information embedded in the amplitude spectrum after the FRFT transform.In addition,Arnold scrambling was performed before the significant gray image watermark was embed.The best scrambling times was chosen to be as the key of second encryption in the watermark extraction.The experiment results indicated that the algorithm could fight against the common image attacks,such as JPEG compression,noise,cropping,and filtering,which ensured the invisibility,security and robustness of the watermark.


For all the concrete structures in marine environment, the durability of concrete structures is focus of the concern for the serious corrosion of reinforcement in concrete caused by chloride penetration. The core issues of chloride penetration are chloride transportation mechanics in marine concrete. So it is important to study chloride transportation mechanics in marine concrete under coupling action of multi-mechanistic. The variational principle of coupling dynamics of chloride transportation is established by work and energy transfer principle and energy conservation law. Complete basic equations are obtained by deriving stationary value conditions of variational principle of coupling dynamics of chloride transportation. It is shown in this paper that it is a suitable way to study coupling dynamics of chloride transportation by variational principles.


To evaluate excellent students is an important task in management,and it is also a vital method to stimulate backward students.With construction of new socialist economic system and higher education development,the evaluation method is facing a new and severe challenge. Based on the characteristics of our students,most of whom came from rural area,finding out a new evaluation model is very significant.


The CyCab is a new generation of modular electric vehicles, with advanced features such as automatic motions and safety reflexes (real-time distributed control including robotics algorithms), a user-friendly MMI (Man Machine Interface) which is Internet compatible through wireless Ethernet communications. The main use of this new generation of vehicles is for automatic or assisted transport of goods and people in car-free areas (e.g. university campus, historical city centers, exposition-theme park, etc...). The article will describe the strategy adopted to asses the whole CyCab control.


The peritrophic membrane(PM) is an invertebrate-unique semi-permeable structure secreted from midgut epitheliums.As a barrier to infection and mechanical damage,it plays an important role in protecting the midgut epithelium from pathogens,toxins,and other damaging factors.The disruptive effects of Fluorescent Brightener 28(FB28) and Helicoverpa armigera granulovirus enhancin(En-Ha) on the peritrophic membrane of Hyphantria cunea larvae as well as their enhancing effects on the toxicity of H.cunea nucleopolyhedrovirus(HcNPV) were studied.The result of bioassay showed that FB28 and En-Ha could disrupt the structure of PM and enhance the vitality of HcNPV.The LC50 value decreased to 1.91×103 and 7.70×103 PIBs/mL,and the synergism rate were 58.12 and 14.42,respectively,after feeding diets containing FB28+HcNPV and En-Ha +HcNPV.The results of SDS-PAGE indicated that after the larvae were reared with diets containing FB28,the protein with molecular weight 60 ku disappeared and some with molecular weight 37 ku appeared;after the larvae were reared with diets containing En-Ha,the protein with molecular weight 75 ku disappeared and some with molecular weight 44.3 ku appeared.However,the disappeared protein bands recovered again after 10-24 hours,suggesting the effects of FB28 and En-Ha on PMs of H.cunea was temporary and reversible.


 Planning and implementing activities which will support the summer students  Participating in the interviewing process of the summer students  Communicating with each student's work place supervisor  Submitting weekly reports/bi-weekly timesheets  Designing notices and newsletters  Planning/Preparing & Participating in the Youth Development Camp  Any other duties as assigned


The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of children growing up with a sibling with a chronic and/or life-threatening disease by interviewing the healthy children and health care professionals. The object of the study was to understand the healthy children's view on the level of support given to them during the course of the disease of their siblings. It was also aimed towards understanding how health care professionals, for example counsellors, work to include the healthy children in a family where one child has an illness. The effect of neglecting the healthy children could result in that they later in life may suffer from anxiety and depression. Three healthy children, now over the age of 18 have been interviewed together with five health care professionals. The data resulting from the interviews was analysed and interpreted by Cullbergs crisis theory and Antonovsky's KASAM. The result of the study shows that the healthy children experience lack of support during the course of the disease of their siblings. The health care professionals experience lack of support as one factor towards why the healthy siblings are often secluded when working with sick children. The study highlights the importance of working with the entire family when a child becomes ill, not only focusing on the sick child and the child's parents. The study also shows the importance of remembering the healthy children and through the study it can be established that a close social network surrounding the healthy children is of high importance for their well-being. (Less)


This paper describes our participation at the LifeCLEF Fish task 2015. The task is about video-based fish identification. Firstly, we applied foreground detection method with selective search to extract candidate fish object window. Then deep convolutional neural network is used to classify fish species per win- dow. Classification results are post-processed to produce final identification out- put. Experimental results showed effective performance in spite of challenging task condition. Our approach achieved best performance in this task.


The present study investigated the impacts of mating age of gilts (A1, < 230 days; A2, 230 249 days and A3, 250 ≤ days) on reproductive performance and litter size of sows at farrowing to weaning. A total of 102 crossbred gilts (Yorkshire × Landrace; average days old, 90 days) were purchased from a commercial breeding company. After identification of third estrus, the gilts were artificially inseminated using semen of Duroc boars. Pregnant pigs were allotted to one of three groups including A1, A2, and A3. Experimental diets and water were fed ad libitum during each experimental period which included the first, second, and third parities. Backfat thickness (BFT) of sows was higher in A3 at farrowing in the first parity than in others. At weaning time in the second parity, sows in A3 group showed a numerically higher BFT than those in A1. There was no effect of mating age on the total number of piglets born and total weaned piglets. There was a tendency to decrease the wean-to estrus-interval in the first parity as age increased at mating. Results obtained in the present study indicate that the first mating age does not affect the subsequent parites' reproductive performance; however, weaned to estrus interval tended to decrease in A2 at the first parity.


We report that In1.97W0.03O3 (IWO) transparent conductive oxide films grown on quartz glass substrates by laser ablation show good polycrystalline properties, with a preferential orientation of (2 2 2), and excellent optical transmittance in the visible range, with a direct allowed band gap of 4.2 eV. A laser-induced damage study is carried out at 1064 nm with a 15 ns laser pulse in one-on-one mode. It is revealed that IWO films not only possess good electronic conductivity with a low resistivity of 7.85 × 10−4 Ω cm, but also have a laser-induced damage threshold of more than 2.2 J cm−2 which is 2.4 times more than that of a In1.8Sn0.2O3 film deposited by laser ablation with approximately the same resistivity. Weak laser absorption due to low carrier density and low free-electron excitation in the near-infrared region are the primary reasons for the high laser damage resistance of the IWO films.


Increasingly, ground-based and airborne geophys- ical data sets are used to inform groundwater models. Re- cent research focuses on establishing coupling relationships between geophysical and groundwater parameters. To fully exploit such information, this paper presents and compares different hydrogeophysical inversion approaches to inform a field-scale groundwater model with time domain electromag- netic (TDEM) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. In a sequential hydrogeophysical inversion (SHI) a groundwater model is calibrated with geophysical data by coupling groundwater model parameters with the inverted geophysical models. We subsequently compare the SHI with a joint hydrogeophysical inversion (JHI). In the JHI, a geo- physical model is simultaneously inverted with a groundwa- ter model by coupling the groundwater and geophysical pa- rameters to explicitly account for an established petrophysi- cal relationship and its accuracy. Simulations for a synthetic groundwater model and TDEM data showed improved esti- mates for groundwater model parameters that were coupled to relatively well-resolved geophysical parameters when em- ploying a high-quality petrophysical relationship. Compared to a SHI these improvements were insignificant and geophys- ical parameter estimates became slightly worse. When em- ploying a low-quality petrophysical relationship, groundwa- ter model parameters improved less for both the SHI and JHI, where the SHI performed relatively better. When comparing a SHI and JHI for a real-world groundwater model and ERT data, differences in parameter estimates were small. For both


The first guide identifies all the relevant documents in the National Archives. It begins with an extensive bibliography: the primary and secondary publications in general, followed by the titles for the five different regions. Next comes the so-called archival guide, listing all documents related to South Asia, generally with brief descriptions. The order is the same as for the bibliography. The scope is wide. Not only are the VOC's papers described but so are those of related institutions, mostly dealing with the aftermath from 1798 to 1825. Personal and family papers have also been scrutinized. One of the appendices provides information on those sources written in Indian languages, but the vast majority of the documents are of course in Dutch. The second guide is very special, for the editor has investigated relevant material in the collections of institutions in the Netherlands other than the National Archives. He discovered 400 repositories, ranging from government archives, universities, ecclesiastical organizations, museums, companies and private organizations to individuals. The order in the guide is the same. An extensive supplement to the first guide (bibliography and sources) completes this laudable publication. Reference can also be found to old maps. The range and variety of topics is very wide. There is of course much more than just the material on the Angria "pirates." The VOC's documents, for instance, contain annual shipping lists from the 1680s onwards. These usually mention the arrival and departure ofDutch, British, French and Portuguese vessels, but often they contain evidence of ships belonging to Indian communities as well. Consider another example: there are several references to the naval officer Jacob Pieter van Braam, who commanded a Dutch naval squadron in Asian waters around 1785 and who stayed in Ceylon. Commodities such as silk and silver are regularly mentioned, as are ship's logs in the second guide. A map of Bombay in 1803-1804 is identified as being in the Scheepvaart Museum at Amsterdam. A list of addresses and information on the 400 repositories is another asset. In short, these two volumes are the place to begin for anyone undertaking research into Dutch activities in South Asia between 1600 and 1825.


Objective:To investigate the effect of progesterone(P4) on Mycoplasma geniatlium-induced proinflammation production. Methods:Human monocytes(THP-1 cells) were treated with P4 and then stimulated with heat-killed Mycoplasma geniatlium.Cytokine concentrations in the conditioned medium were then measured by ELISA and relative viability of the cells was assessed colorimetrically. Results:Mycoplasma geniatlium increased IL-1β,TNF-α and IL-8 production.P4 enhanced the production of IL-1β and IL-8,but inhibited TNF-α production. Conclusion:P4 modulates cytokine production by Mycoplasma geniatlium-stimulated monocytes and is not strictly immunosuppressive.This suggests that P4 does not prevent preterm birth by simply suppressing bacteria-stimulated cytokine production.


The contamination flashover resistant performance of an insulator is due to the hydrophobicity on its surface. So measuring the hydrophobicity of insulators is an important way to evaluate their performance. This research proposes a method to auto-detect insulatorpsilas contact angles with image processing and curve fitting. According to the characteristic of water drop on insulatorpsilas surface, the median filter and the gray stretch are adopted to preprocess the water drop image. The edge detection algorithm with the Robert operator and the iterative arithmetic on optimized threshold for region partition are deployed to implement image segmentation. The proposed method combines iterative arithmetic for sketch extraction and the neighborhood arithmetic for outline tracking to find the corresponding water drop contour. Then, the polynomial fitting is deployed to fit the discrete points on the drop contour and the contact angles can be calculated by derivation from the polynomial deduced from the polynomial fitting. Experiments show that the method is feasible for detecting the accurate contact angles and the root mean square error is below 2%.


We consider a bottom-up Markovian copula model of portfolio credit risk where dependence among credit names mainly stems from the possibility of simultaneous defaults. Due to the Markovian copula nature of the model, calibration of marginals and dependence parameters can be performed separately using a two-steps procedure, much like in a standard static copula set-up. In addition, the model admits a common shocks interpretation, which is a very important feature as, thanks to it, efficient convolution recursion procedures are available for pricing and hedging CDO tranches, conditionally on any given state of the underlying multivariate Markov process. As a result this model allows us to dynamically hedge CDO tranches using single-name CDSs in a theoretically sound and practically convenient way. To illustrate this we calibrate the model against market data on CDO tranches and the underlying single-name CDSs. We then study the loss distributions as well as the min-variance hedging strategies in the calibrated portfolios.