【 Abstract 】 Objective: To explore the application and effect of narrative nursing on long-term intensive care patients. Methods : 50 sober long-term intensive care patients were selected as the research object, and randomly divided into the conventional group (25 cases) and the research group (25 cases). The conventional group received conventional nursing measures, and the research group added narrative nursing intervention on the basis of conventional nursing measures. The nursing satisfaction, nursing quality score and psychological state of the two groups were compared. Results : The nursing satisfaction of the patients in the study group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group (P<0.05), the nursing treatment score of the patients in the study group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group (P<0.05), and the psychological state of the patients in the study group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group (P<0.05). Conclusion : Narrative nursing intervention for long-term intensive care patients can effectively improve the clinical nursing satisfaction of patients' family members, and improve the nursing quality score and psychological state of patients. It is worth popularizing in clinic.


The sensible tuning of the structural, optical, and magnetic properties of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with suitable doping can enhance their applicability in diverse fields. In this study, we synthesized ZnO NPs with Er (0–4 at%) doping and their elemental, structural, optical, and magnetic properties were studied. Both field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies of the suspensions consist of hexagonal shaped NPs. All the prepared NPs exhibited hexagonal phase as demonstrated by powder x-ray diffraction studies. A blue shift was observed in the Er doped ZnO NPs compared to pure ZnO, indicating the increased optical bandgap. Vibrating sample magnetometer studies exhibited the pure ZnO NPs was typical diamagnetic feature whereas all the Er doped ZnO NPs were paramagnetic feature at 300 K. This is the first paramagnetic report on Er doped ZnO NPs.


The main objective of this study was to evaluate and determine the variation in brightness characteristics of chemimechanical papers, which were produced by Mazandaran Wood and Paper Company through treatment with some transitional metal ions in addition to relevant techniques to decrease it. The existing metal ions in chemi-mechanical pulps lose their brightness upon reaction of the paper fiber with lignin. Although some of their properties will be increased, including yellowness, the brightness of the pulps produced through mechanical or chemi-mechanical procedures are preferred according to investigations on the aging degree and other relevant brightness parameters. Some unbleached samples of paper were prepared at the factory and then, they were treated using following two chemical materials. Firstly, they were wetted using EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) as chelating agent, at various levels of concentration. The process neutralized available ions in the samples of CMP (chemi-mechanical papers) and also the existing metal ions, which can trigger aging and yellowness regimes. Secondly, after EDTA-wetted samples were dried, they were wetted again by solutions containing transitional element ions. The obtained results revealed that the most prevalent effect on brightness improvement was associated with Fe ions, while the least considerable one was related to ions of Al. Similar to a neutral ion, Al did not show a significant effect on decreasing the brightness. Besides, when the samples were wetted using different concentrations of EDTA, a significant decrease occurred in detrimental effects, reducing the brightness and increasing the yellowness degrees.


This note shows that, if a Bivariate Probit (BP) model is estimated on data arising from a Recursive Bivariate Probit (RBP) process, the resulting BP correlation parameter is a weighted average of the RBP correlation parameter and the parameter associated to the endogenous binary variable. Two corollaries follow this proposition: i) the interpretation of the correlation parameter in the RBP is not the same as in the BP —i.e. the RBP correlation parameter does not necessarily reflect the correlation between the binary variables under study; and ii) a zero correlation parameter in a BP model, usually interpreted as evidence of independence between the binary variables under study, may actually mask the presence of an RBP process.


This paper proposed a methodology to integrate spatial and social data to map to map maltreatment of children using an induction method. It utilises Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology as a spatial modelling and analysis tool to intelligently map the spatial distribution of these phenomena. The project uses administrative data, census data, and spatial analyses and map the rates and distribution of child abuse plus child neglect in three suburban localities. Particular attention is paid to how GIS technology can be used in conjunction with child maltreatment pattern analysis to explore relations between maltreatment as measured by mandatory notifications and the distribution of these unwanted phenomena over neighbourhoods. There has been some research on spatial crime analysis, educational planning, and other socio-economic application, and it is clear that the use of GIS for identifying and mapping of child maltreatment over neighbourhoods is a fertile area of research.


This article reports the findings of a Delphi study designed to examine the experiences of MFTs who secure nonclinical administrative or managerial positions after graduating from a COAMFTE accredited doctoral program. Delphi panelists, each selected for their experience in this realm, listed the unique challenges they faced and how they overcame these challenges. Results showed there was consensus among participants regarding six particularly difficult challenges they faced in this role. The identification of these challenges and the ways in which participants overcame them provides practical and useful information about the preparedness of MFTs for managerial and administrative positions following graduation from a COAMFTE accredited doctoral program.


Our project aims at helping and supporting stakeholders in refugee status adjudications, such as lawyers, judges, governing bodies, and claimants, in order to make better decisions through data-driven intelligence and increase the understanding and transparency of the refugee application process for all involved parties. This PhD project has two primary objectives: (1) to retrieve past cases, and (2) to analyze legal decision-making processes on a dataset of Canadian cases. In this paper, we present the current state of our work, which includes a completed experiment on part (1) and ongoing efforts related to part (2). We believe that NLP-based solutions are well-suited to address these challenges, and we investigate the feasibility of automating all steps involved. In addition, we introduce a novel benchmark for future NLP research in refugee law. Our methodology aims to be inclusive to all end-users and stakeholders, with expected benefits including reduced time-to-decision, fairer and more transparent outcomes, and improved decision quality.


We present a framework to decompose real multivariate polynomials while preserving invariance and positivity. This framework has been recently introduced for tensor decompositions, in particular for quantum many-body systems. Here we transfer results about decomposition structures, invariance under permutations of variables, positivity, rank inequalities and separations, approximations, and undecidability to real polynomials. Specifically, we define invariant decompositions of polynomials and characterize which polynomials admit such decompositions. We then include positivity: We define invariant separable and sum-of-squares decompositions, and characterize the polynomials similarly. We provide inequalities and separations between the ranks of the decompositions, and show that the separations are not robust with respect to approximations. For cyclically invariant decompositions, we show that it is undecidable whether the polynomial is nonnegative or sum-of-squares for all system sizes. Our work sheds new light on polynomials by putting them on an equal footing with tensors, and opens the door to extending this framework to other tensor product structures.


This study presents an optimisation technique, called krill herd algorithm (KHA), for the effectiveness and performance analysis of an interconnected automatic generation control (AGC) system. A two-area multi-unit hydro–hydro (HH–HH) power system equipped with classical I-controller and two other test systems: namely, thermal–thermal, thermal–hydro which are widely available in literature are considered for design and analysis purpose. Eigenvalues analysis assesses that HH–HH power system is highly unstable under small load perturbation. To stabilise this power system, different frequency stabilisers such as superconducting magnetic energy storage, thyristor control phase shifter, static synchronous series compensator etc. are proposed in AGC system. Optimum gains of the controller and frequency stabiliser are evaluated using KHA. Integral square error criterion is used to minimise the area control error, which is considered as an objective function. The superiority of the proposed algorithm is checked by means of an extensive comparative analysis with the results published in recent research algorithms such as craziness-based-particle swarm optimisation and real coded genetic algorithm etc. for the same test system.


For years now, Ammons criticism has in general followed Harold Bloom's reading of the poet out of the American transcendentalBloom's "Emersonian"tradition. Bloom's readings have been instructive, often exciting (and make for a compelling version of literary history); his work on Ammons and on other contemporary poets (Strand and Merwin come to mind) constitutes a fascinating thematics of what it is to be an American poet. In terms of poetics, however and here I mean how a given poet constitutes his subject Ammons needs to be examined in light of his highly ambivalent relationship with those writers who provided the poetic machinery for the transcendentalists in the first placeI refer, of course, to the English romantics.' Here, I will replace Bloom's "Emerson" with the Coleridgean "symbol" and the romantic notion of the organic though I hope to avoid what Frank Lentricchia has called the Bloomian "spirit of revenge.'"2 Rather, I want to argue that the romantic symbol must, for a poet like Ammons, be dealt with in the realm of poetics in much the same way that Emersonianism must be confronted as a kind of thematic bedrock for later American poets.3 The fact that Ammons's later poetry is highly discursive I mean this in relative terms, as compared with, say, the work of James Wright -makes this sort of


The synthesis and characterization of a family of well-defined liquid crystal−coil (LC−coil) diblock copolymers have been carried out. The block copolymers in this study have been designed to have nearly identical molecular weight azobenzene-containing LC blocks in order to eliminate possible variations in LC behavior caused by the differences in the LC block molecular weight. Quantitative hydroboration chemistry was used to convert the pendent double bonds of an isoprene block to hydroxyl groups to which the mesogenic groups were attached via acid chloride coupling. The LC homopolymer and the block copolymers (LC volume fraction from fLC = 0.82 to fLC = 0.20) all exhibited smectic mesophases with similar clearing transition temperatures. The clearing transition enthalpies strongly depend on the block composition ratio and decrease as the LC block volume fraction decreases. Solvent-casting of a lamellar LC−coil copolymer (SICN5-66/60) resulted in an oriented bulk film in which both the axes of the mesogen...


A prospective cohort study comparing peri‐ and postoperative outcomes for patients with predominantly anterior prostate cancer (APC) identified preoperatively against non‐anterior prostate cancer (NAPC) treated via robotic‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).


Against the background of the target of energy and raw material saving, in the context of the documented project one tried to develop a car tire which can be retreaded several times. For the first retreading, a distinct improvement compared with the previous retreading standard, was achieved by design and material technique measures in strength at high speeds and in the service life. The high speed performance corresponds to the new tire level. In spite of extensive design and material technique measures, th retreaded tires cannot reach the high standard of new tires in all properties (e.g. uniformity of tire, driving properties). Several retreading operations are no longer regarded as being sensible.


The present review discusses about imperative of unproductive cow. The cow does not feed to human and provide economic benefits to dairy farmers are called unproductive cow. The unproductive cow is leave alone on the road by rural, urban dairy farmer and landlords. The centre should establish sub centre of animal husbandry for unproductive cow into district of each state. This unproductive cow is applied into compost production, vermicompost production, biogas production, cow dung cake preparation, electricity generation, bio pesticide formulation, biofertilizer and drugs preparation. This initiation would promote organic agriculture, doubling of farmer income, improve standard of living and mitigates homeless cattle. The foreign country is maintained animal depository through electronic livestock inspection system. The animal depository provides information of cattle and owner. The owner should inform livestock inspector after leaving unproductive cattle. This provision is amend in USA, Finland, Netherland and Switzerland. The Conservation and Utilization of Strays cattle promotes rural, urban and education development, forbids violence & miscreant and forms harmony & peace in the society.


This study aims to determine whether there are differences in the level of spiritual intelligence of someone who actively participates in religious extracurricular activities LPPQ with those who are not active. This study uses indicators of spiritual intelligence that are not affiliated with Islam, namely the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24), which was initiated by David King. Hypothesis analysis of this study uses the Mann-Whitney U-test. The results showed that there were significant differences between the spiritual intelligence of LPPQ students member and spiritual intelligence of non-LPPQ members with a value of α = 0,000. Based on the dimensions, there are also significant differences in spiritual intelligence from the critical dimensions of existential thinking, personal meaning production, transcendental consciousness, and consciousness state expansion. The value of α for each category of spiritual intelligence dimensions is 0.001, 0,000, 0.003 and 0,005 respectively.


Chronic low back pain is a costly medical complaint in Canada and other industrialized nations. In most cases,the specific etiology of the problem cannot be clearly identified, and treatment success is variable. As such, aconsiderable proportion of patients with chronic low back pain turn to acupuncture as an alternative to conventionalmedical therapy. This review aims to synthesize current clinical evidence for acupuncture as a treatment for chroniclow back pain, by summarizing the 2005 Cochrane systematic review on acupuncture and low back pain, along withmore recent systematic reviews. The existing literature suggests that acupuncture is a useful therapy for chronic lowback pain patients, despite a currently incomplete understanding of its physiological basis.


ABSTRACT Using CO2 as an alternative working fluid to displace shale gas has been considered as a promising technology, which can not only enhance shale gas recovery but also geologically sequester CO2 in shale reservoirs. The adsorption behaviour of CH4 and CO2 in shale is the key to evaluate the efficiency of CH4 production and potential of CO2 sequestration. In the present work, the cylindrical and slit kerogen nanopores were constructed to represent the realistic organic nanopores existing in shale matrix. The adsorption behaviours of pure CH4 and CO2/CH4 mixture were investigated by employing the grand canonical Monte Carlo method. The results indicate that the adsorption capacities of CH4 in shale kerogen nanopores increase with the increment of pressure. However, temperature exhibits a negative impact on the gas adsorption capacity. The effects of pressure, temperature on competitive adsorption performances of CO2/CH4 mixture were discussed. It is found that the adsorption capacities of CO2 are significantly higher than that of CH4 at various pressure and temperature conditions. Both the adsorption capacity and selectivity should be taken into consideration to determine the proper conditions in the practical project.


High radial neuropathy refers to radial nerve lesions above the elbow, and possible causes are "Saturday night palsy," "Honeymooner's palsy," humeral fracture and/or its callus formation, the use of crutches, strenuous muscular effort of the triceps, a fibrous arc within the lateral head of the triceps, traumatic aneurysm of the radial collateral artery, a lipoma, and others. 1,2,5,7 This is a case report of a 57-year-old woman who had compression of the radial nerve at the triceps muscle level caused by a parosteal lipoma. CASE REPORT A 57-year-old right-handed female nursing assistant came to our service with sensory loss in the dorsum of the right hand associated with progressive weakness of extension of the wrist and fingers of several months' duration. There was no associated pain. She denied any trauma or other diseases. On physical examination, swelling was observed on the medial side of the arm, close to the axilla, which was more evident when the arm was elevated. On palpation of the area, a large, nontender mass that was firm, immobile, not fixed to the skin, pulseless, and without increase of local temperature was observed. When questioned about this tumoral mass, the patient stated that she thought it was a simple accumulation of fat tissue, since she had gained weight over the past years. There was no alteration of the peripheral perfusion in the right upper limb. The elbow function was normal, as was the flexor strength of the wrist and fingers; however, there was a decrease in the extension strength of the wrist and metacarpophalangeal joints of the fingers and thumb (grade 4 of Lovett and Martin). 8 The sensibility on the dorsum of the hand was decreased, as was the brachioradialis reflex. A plain radiograph of the right arm showed a large circumscribed radiolucent mass extending from the axilla to mid arm, and ultrasonography of that mass was compatible with a lipoma or rhabdomyosarcoma. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed for better evaluation of the tumor and its relation with the neighboring structures. This examination showed an extensive lipomatous lesion in the triceps muscle that measured 12.0 6.0 4.0 cm and was highly suggestive of a well-differentiated lipoma. It extended from the quadrilateral space to the lateral portion of the origin of the medial head of the triceps, approaching the lateral intermuscular septum, displacing the radial nerve posteriorly and displacing the axillary and proximal brachial arteries (Figure). Electromyography was not requested because surgical resection of the lipoma to decompress the nerve was indicated. Surgery was performed with the patient under general anesthesia in the supine position maintaining the upper limb abducted. The surgical approach was medial and longitudinal over the mass. The tumor extended from the axillary fossa to the middle third of the humerus, involving the medial, posterior, and lateral heads of the triceps muscle, following the course of the radial nerve through the spiral groove. It was firmly adherent to the cortical bone, displacing the nerve posteriorly and compressing it. After isolation of the nerve, the tumor was marginally resected and the nerve released. The other structures were inspected and were normal. The remaining dead space was closed, and suture was accomplished by planes without drainage. An analysis of the tumor confirmed it to be a benign lipoma of 105 g, measuring 9 7 4 cm and without central necrosis. In the early postoperative period the radial nerve recovered its function. A physiotherapy program was started 2 weeks after surgery for scar mobilization, muscle strengthening, and functional rehabilitation. The patient recovered well, and 4 weeks after surgery she resumed her activities at work.


"Confucian analects"casts on"the poet saint"Du Fu.Regardless of Du Fu's social ideal es- tablishment,the life manner choice,how or a poem volume of Du Fu can have so huge influence on the common people,all for Du Fu had accepted the spiritual essential meaning related'Confucian analects".We may say that"Confucian analects"casts on"the poet saint"Du Fu.Origins,"Confucian analects"as the Confucianist thought, has had the huge influence on China."Confucian analects"in molded Han nationality in the cultural psychology structure to play the role。Du Fu acccepted"Confucian analects"center spiritual essential meaning,not only general inheriting,moreover practice which personally set an example and has brought honor to the spiritual es- sential meaning of"Confucian analects".Du Fu melted himself with the common people of the world.Therefore it is why people are moved by"the poem saint"DuFu,and why Dufu's poems are still worthing reading until now.


The representation of sodomy in the Divine Comedy is fuller, more complicated, less consistent, more heterodox, profounder, and more important than the commentary has yet made known. Expositors as a rule devote minimal attention to the subject, and there are those who seek to explain some or most of it away. The result is a conspicuous exegetical deficiency, and here I propose to take some steps toward redressing it. Dante never uses the words sodomy (sodomia) or sodomite (sodomita). Instead he designates the sin with the name of Sodom (Soddoma), the city devastated by fire from on high in Genesis 19, this proper noun occurring three times in the Commedia: it is used once in Inferno, by Virgil at 11.50; and twice by suffering souls in Purgatorio, at 26.40, where it is coupled with Gomorrah, and at 26.79. The sin so designated is homosexuality-and while this is an inept Greek-Latinate coinage of nineteenth-century provenance, it has become the term of widest currency and is inevitably and properly employed in the scholarship. Although in the Middle Ages sodomy could denote a wider range of sins, and especially the variety of sexual practices thought to be "against nature," Dante's more specific usage follows that of St. Thomas Aquinas and his mentor St. Albert the Great.1 But whether homosexuality was or was not the sole vice signified by sodomy, the idea that it was contrary to nature was with Christianity from early on.2 Even though the same word signifies the same sin in each of the first two cantiche (or canticles) of the poem, and even though one and the same character, Virgil, explains and classifies that sin in each, the appraisal of sodomy does not remain the same but-when the "little bark of [Dante's] genius" sets sail "over better waters" at Purgatorio 1.1-2-suffers a sea change.3 A sin of violence in Inferno, sodomy becomes instead a sin of excessive love in the Purgatorio, and the difference is enormous. The sodomites in Hell are located in the deep seventh circle, far below the heterosexual sinners and beneath all of the incontinent; on the mountain they are among the incontinent and put above them all except for the heterosexual lustful, with whom they share the uppermost ledge. The differing moral judgments, divine and/or authorial, applied to sodomy in the two realms, along with the discrepancies in its treatment, become problematic.


Some new nonlinear discrete inequalities in n independent variables are established, which generalise some fundamental inequalities. The results obtained here are extensions of some results existed.


Measurements of methane flux from northern peatlands to the atmosphere are complicated by high spatial and temporal variability. We quantified the variability of methane flux from two subarctic fens near Schefferville, northern Quebec, using a static chamber technique. Within the seasonal pattern of increasing fluxes associated with the warming of the peat profile, episodic fluxes of methane were observed. One set of episodic events occurred during the spring thaw of the upper layers of the peat, which released methane stored in ice over the winter. The second set, generally of short duration (< 2 d), occurred in mid-summer and appeared to be related primarily to the lowering of the water table. In four of six subjectively-identified, episodic fluxes during the 1990 summer the flux during the episodic event was equal to or greater than the upper 95% confidence level of the three fluxes before and after the event (t-statistic probabilities ranged from < 0.001 to 0.038). Mechanisms to account for these epis...


Contents: Introduction, Christoph Rehmann-Sutter and Hansjakob MA ller Part 1 Setting the Scene: The right to know and the right not to know - 10 years on, Ruth Chadwick Genetic counseling: placing the room in context, Barbara Katz Rothman Genetic counselling: clinical settings and constraints, Hansjakob MA ller. Part 2 Cases and Issues: Prevention of harmful false diagnosis versus threat by disclosure of an inheritable disease - a medical case, David Winkler and Philippe Lyrer Communication yes, but how - and what? Commentary to the case presented by David Winkler and Philippe Lyrer, Christoph Rehmann-Sutter The need for an ethics of kinship: decision stories and patients' context, Rouven Porz Testing for susceptibility genes: a cautionary tale, Margaret Lock 'If only I had (not) known that': about risk-individualization, chance-specification and the loss of certainty of not-knowing, Tjeerd Tymstra The symbolic fallout of gene talk: replacing the person with manageable constructs, Silja Samerski Predictive genetic testing of adolescents at risk of inherited arrhythmic death, Jane Kaye, Michael Parker and Edward Blair. Part 3 Responsibilities: How legal frameworks construct patterns of liability in genetic counseling: an international perspective, Daniel Wied, Susanne Listl and Maximilian Seibl Responsibility towards relatives, Michael Steel Careful communication of 'bad news': the cancer experience, Wolf Langewitz The responsibility of the truth-teller, Thomas Cerny Practising informed choice. Decision making and prenatal risk assessment - the Danish experience, Nete Schwennesen, Lene Koch and Mette Nordahl Svendsen Receiving and interpreting information: a joint enterprise, Jackie Leach Scully Without disclosure, no informed choice, Peter Miny Allowing agency: an ethical model for communicating personal genetic information, Christoph Rehmann-Sutter Conclusions, Christoph Rehmann-Sutter and Hansjakob MA ller Index.


The article deals with the problem of the industrial complex of the Russian Federation in the conditions of sanctions restrictions and volatile business environment. Based on the analysis of theoretical material on the impact of sanctions on the economy, the research experience of the Soviet Union to overcome the economic blockades, as well as studying the work of Russian experts, focuses on the assessment of the current situation around Russia, concluded that the possibility of using sanctions as a means of stimulating the processes the development of domestic industry and import substitution. Propose additional measures to adapt existing instruments of industrial policy in a changing business environment.


Objective:To establish a spectrophotometric method for the determination of azithromycin crystal,based on color reaction.Method:Based on the protonation reaction of sulfuric acid and ketone group of azithromycin,the maximum Absorption value was obtained at 483 nm.The quantitative analysis of azithromycin was carried by spectrophotometric method,which was optimized by orthogonal design.Results:The linear equation was C (μg·mL-1)=-12.01+85.27A,relation coefficient was 0.9997 in the range of 18-72 μg·mL-1.The average recovery was 99.1%.Conclusion:The method is simple,sensitive,accurate,and suitable for the rapid determination of azithromycin crystal.


This is an account of the author's experience living among the poor inhabitants of the World Bank urban development projects in La Paz, Bolivia, and Guayaquil, Ecuador. By viewing slum upgrading and new housing through the eyes of the people who lived there, the author is able to explain some of the projects' failings and to identify some of their unexpected benefits. By sharing the lives of slum dwellers he came to understand the frustrations and hard economic reality of their existence and gained insight into needs that were not apparent to an outsider. The book testifies to the effectiveness with which anthropological techniques of participant observation can be applied in the context of economic development. It demonstrates how the evaluations of participant observers have enabled project managers to solve some problems they encountered and to adapt projects to the values and needs of the poor. The people thus become a guiding force in their own development - as they must for lasting change to occur. In addition, the book describes the application of the methodology elsewhere - housing projects in Thailand, fishing and artisanal ccoperatives in Brazil, and agricultural endeavors in Bolivia - using observers from the developing countries themselves. It also reports on the participant-observer evaluation method, its advantages and pitfalls, and its uses in the design and management of development projects.


Objective: To investigate the expression pattern of 2.2 kb melanoma inhibitory protein (MIA) promoter in vivo . Methods: 2.2 kb of MIA promoter was amplified by PCR and cloned into lacZ expression vector placF by recombinant techniques to generate MIA promoter lacZ construct (2.2lacZ). Purified DNA was microinjected into the pronuclei of fertilized eggs from B6SJL hybrid to produce transgenic mice. Founder mice were identified by PCR assays of the genomic DNA extracted from tails. Results: Eight transgenic founder mice carrying 2.2lacZ fusion gene were obtained. Whole mount staining with X gal demonstrated 2.2lacZ generated expression in cartilage and mammary glands in 3 transgenic mice. Conclusion: The 2.2 kb of the MIA promoter contains cis acting elements which can generate tissue specific expression in vivo .


Precise iris tracking is an important tool in assistive technology, and has many advanced applications such as in human-computer interactions and driver fatigue detection. Features such as shape, colour, and size of the iris enable specific position and centre of the iris to be tracked during its movement. The iris tracking system is divided into four stages: image acquisition, face detection, eye detection, and eye tracking. This study proposes a new method for iris tracking using a generalized particle filter. This approach utilizes a sample set of the tracked iris which is created at the beginning of the tracking process. The prior representation and position of the tracked iris are then predicted depending on the minimization of parameters of the proposed generalized probabilistic distribution. Results of the experiments show that the proposed method has high accuracy and can be used to efficiently track the at a shorter length of time. KeywordsIris tracking; Particle filter; β-Distribution; Biometrics; Fatigue detection


Tocopherols are natural antioxidants that increase the stability of fat-containing foods and are well known for their health benefits. To investigate the variation in seed tocopherol composition of soybeans from different origins, 493 soybean accessions from different countries (China, USA, Japan, and Russia) belonging to 7 maturity groups (MG 0–VI) were grown in 2 locations (Beijing and Hainan Provinces of China) for 2 years (2017 and 2018). The results showed that significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed among the accessions and origins for individual and total tocopherol contents. The total tocopherol content ranged from 118.92 μg g−1 to 344.02 μg g−1. Accessions from the USA had the highest average concentration of γ- and total tocopherols (152.92 and 238.21 μg g−1, respectively), whereas a higher level of α-tocopherol (12.82 μg g−1) was observed in the Russian accessions. The maturity group of the accession significantly (p < 0.001) influenced all tocopherol components, and higher levels of α-, γ-, and total tocopherols were observed in early maturing accessions, while late-maturing accessions exhibited higher levels of δ-tocopherol. The inclination of tocopherol concentrations with various MGs provided further evidence of the significance of MG in soybean breeding for seed tocopherol components. Furthermore, the correlation between the seed tocopherol components and geographical factors revealed that α-, γ-, and total tocopherols had significant positive correlations with latitude, while δ-tocopherol showed an opposite trend. The elite accessions with high and stable tocopherol concentrations determined could be used to develop functional foods, industrial materials, and breeding lines to improve tocopherol composition in soybean seeds.


This paper presents the stabilization method for polynomial fuzzy large-scale system by using output feedback controller. Each sub system of the large-scale system is transformed into polynomial fuzzy model, and then output feedback controller is designed to stabilize the large-scale system. Stabilization condition is derived as sum-of-square (SOS) condition by applying the polynomial Lyapunov function. This condition can be easily solved by SOSTOOLS which is the third party of the MATLAB. From these solutions, output feedback controller gain can be obtained by SOS condition. Finally, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness and the suitability of the proposed method.


In this paper, we did a systematic comparative study on the accuracy of two computational methods of elastic constants combined with the density functional theory (DFT), the stress-strain method and the energy-strain method. We took metal Ru as a prototype to compare its high-pressure elastic constants calculated by our present stress-strain method with the previous energy-strain results by others. Although the two methods yielded almost the same accuracy of high-pressure elastic constants for Ru, our stress-strain method directly based on the Hooke's law of elasticity theory is much straightforward and simple to implement. However, the energy-strain method needs complicated pressure corrections because of the pressure effects on the total energy. Various crystal systems have various pressure correction methods. Hence, the stress-strain method is preferred to calculate the high-pressure elastic constants of materials. Furthermore, we analyzed the variations of the elastic moduli, elastic anisotropy, sound velocities, Debye temperature of Ru with pressure.


The observed sign of a deviation from the e-µ universality in tau decays suggests family gauge bosons with an inverted mass hierarchy. Under the constraints from the observed K 0 - ¯ K 0 and D 0 - ¯ D 0 mixing, we investigate a possibility that a mass M33 of the lightest gauge boson A 3 which couples with only the third generation quarks and leptons is of the order of TeV. It is concluded that M33 ∼ 1 TeV is possible if we adopt a specific model phenomenologically.


A systematic study of abrasive wear resistance of Fe/Cr/Mn experimental steels has been carried out in two-body pin-on-disc abrasion tests. Silicon carbide, alumina, and quartz were used as abrasives. The relationships between microstructures, mechanical properties, and abrasive wear resistance for these experimental steels were studied. In addition, several commercial alloys were tested to provide a basis for comparison. Results show that dislocated lath martensite with continuous interlath film of retained austenite appears to be a desirable microstructure for good wear resistance. Grain refinement by double heat treatment was found to improve the toughness in the experimental steels but have little effect on the abrasive wear resistance. In general, superior tensile properties and wear resistance, without sacrifice in toughness, can be achieved by a lath martensitic microstructure. 8 figures.


Spectacular breakthroughs in numerical relativity now make it possible to compute spacetime dynamics in almost complete generality, allowing us to model the coalescence and merger of binary black holes with essentially no approximations. The primary limitation of these calculations is now computational. In particular, it is difficult to model systems with large mass ratio and large spins, since one must accurately resolve the multiple length scales that play a role in such systems. Perturbation theory can play an important role in extending the reach of computational modeling for binary systems. In this paper, we present first results of a code that allows us to model the gravitational waves generated by the inspiral, merger, and ringdown of a binary system in which one member of the binary is much more massive than the other. This allows us to accurately calibrate binary dynamics in the large mass ratio regime. We focus in this analysis on the recoil imparted to the merged remnant by these waves. We closely examine the ``antikick,'' an antiphase cancellation of the recoil arising from the plunge and ringdown waves, described in detail by Schnittman et al. We find that, for orbits aligned with the black hole spin, the antikick grows as a function of spin. The total recoil is smallest for prograde coalescence into a rapidly rotating black hole, and largest for retrograde coalescence. Amusingly, this completely reverses the predicted trend for kick versus spin from analyses that only include inspiral information.


It was generally considered that energy conversion efficiency of a thermoacoustic cooling system was improved by increasing proportion of a thermal boundary layer in the stack. Thinning down a channel radius of the stack is required to increase the thermal boundary layer per unit area. A ceramic stack is difficult to satisfy this requirement. To satisfy this requirement, we propose to use a lamination mesh which is formed by piled up a stainless mesh. Since the lamination mesh has complex channel, the effect of changing the mesh number on the cooling effect is obscure. The experiments were carried out by changing the mesh number and the insertion position of the stack using the straight acoustic tube to measure the cooling effect. From the experimental results, changing mesh number causes the distribution shift of the phase difference between pressure and particle velocity. The insertion position of the stack for which the maximum temperature decrease come close to center of the acoustic tube. This is corresponded to a result using the ceramic stack. It suggests that a same design method, which is used in case of applying the ceramic stack, can be adapted to the lamination mesh.


Open clusters are laboratories for testing theories of binary evolution and dynamics against detailed observations. As part of the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS), we are currently observing several open clusters spanning a wide range in age and metallicity, with primary goals of determining the binary frequencies and distributions of binary orbital parameters for their solar-type stars. Currently, the three WOCS clusters with the most complete data sets are M35 (0.15 Gyr), M67 (4 Gyr) and NGC 188 (7 Gyr). Despite the large differences in age, we find that all three of these rich clusters have remarkably similar solar-type binaries that are also consistent with comparable binaries in the Galactic field. These data have been critical for guiding our sophisticated open cluster N -body simulations, which enable us to investigate the dynamical evolution of rich binary populations and the production of exotic stars, like blue stragglers, within open clusters.


In this research, attempts are made to apply an unconventional draft system to improve the bulkiness of worsted yarn made wholly from wool. The general concept of this research is focused on an uneven length distribution of wool fibers and on the principle of the roller drafting system. Modification of the drafting system as well as various roller gauge adjustments provides an appropriate condition to produce a yarn with different physical specifications. A traditional ungrooved and smooth roller is used instead of the traditional grooved roller in the middle top roller of the drafting system and the distance between the front and middle roller pairs of different gauges are adjusted to produce the samples.The results of this research show that the yarn diameter and bulkiness strongly depend on the roller gauge of the drafting system. The yarn produced with the ungrooved roller as the middle top roller of the drafting system shrinks more after immersing in hot water by comparison with the same yarn produce...


The aim of this article is to explain the difference between regionalism and regional development concepts that are often used interchangeably, to investigate the fundamental aspects of two phenomena: regionalism in the sense of "new regionalism" and in the sense of "regional development" at the background of the globalized economy; to check a hypothesis that these two phenomena may be linked together and to study the impact of regionalism on regional integration. The article deepens the concept of "regional development." At the same time, peculiarities of the current stage of the world economy development under the conditions of globalization are considered. The paper is theoretical (verbal) rather than statistical analysis of the nature, diversity and fundamental aspects of regionalism and regional development in general. The article deals with the impact of regionalism on the location of production, and the growth of competition and market expansion systematizes the main effects of regionalism on market expansion and the location of production.


Singer in a white coat at a performance of Blue, Black, and Hot, part of the Dress Performance Theater Series.


Present a new Ultra-wideband(UWB) pulse design method based on Parks-McClellan algorithm,which renders the pulse design problem equivalent to a Chebyshev function approximation problem.The method is simple and flexible to meet varied request.Simulation illuminate that the resulting pulses not only meet the power spectral constraint of Federal Communications Commission(FCC) UWB mask but also optimally exploit the allowable bandwidth and power.


Spectral properties of the two-dimensional Schrödinger operator with a twoperiodic potential and a strong uniform magnetic field is studied with the help of semiclassical methods. The spectral asymptotics is described using the Reeb graph technique. In the case of the rational flux one constructs semiclassical magneto-Bloch functions and describes the asymptotics of the band spectrum on the physical level of proof.


The invention provides a kind of constant current stimulation circuit stimulated based on EMG feedback, comprise input circuit, constant-current source circuit, feedback network, impedance matching network and load, wherein, described input circuit is connected to described constant-current source circuit, described constant-current source circuit is connected to described load, the described constant-current source circuit connected successively, load and feedback network form feedback circuit, and described impedance matching network connects described constant-current source circuit, load and feedback network respectively.Constant current stimulation circuit provided by the invention, control when achieving the high-precision real to output boost pulse, substantially reduce the number of times of engineering staff's service equipment, improve reliability and the therapeutic effect of product, reduce human cost, the neuromuscular rehabilitation instrument stimulated based on EMG feedback can being applied to, thus making neuromuscular rehabilitation instrument export high-precision boost pulse, treating needing the muscle of rehabilitation.


Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) is one of the most important sulfurized carbon materials that can potentially be coupled with the carbonaceous anode to fabricate a safe and low cost "all carbon" lithium-ion battery. However, its chemical structure and electrochemical properties have been poorly understood. In this discussion, we analyze the previously published data in combination with our own results to propose a more reasonable chemical structure that consists of short –S x – chains covalently bonded onto cyclized, partially dehydrogenated, and ribbon-like polyacrylonitrile backbones. The proposed structure fits all previous structural characterizations and explains many unique electrochemical phenomena that were observed from the Li/SPAN cells but have not been understood clearly.


Fruits are excellent sources of natural antioxidant and vitamins, especially ascorbic acid or vitamin C and fruits having very rich vitamin C are known to have very strong antioxidant properties. Vitamin C was estimated by using 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenol reagent and antioxidant activity by DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). The wild fruits of Manipur on analysis reveal that Emblica officinalist (amla) has very high amount of vitamin C (379.7 mg/100g) and simultaneously its antioxidant activity was also maximum (IC 50 181μg/mL) from among the selected samples. The present work is a brief screening of these wild fruits to explore their significant values as nutrition for mankind. KEY WORDS Antioxidant Vitamin C Wild fruits


Using Schematic-Based and Cognitive Strategy Instruction to Improve Math Word Problem Solving for Students with Math Difficulties Lisa L. Morin Old Dominion University, 2014 Dissertation Chair: Dr. Silvana Watson For students with math difficulties (MD), math word problem solving is especially challenging. The purpose of this study was to examine a math word problem solving strategy, bar model drawing, to support students with MD. The study extended previous research that suggested that schematic-based instruction (SBI) training delivered within an explicit instruction framework can be effective in teaching various math skills related to word problem solving. As a more generic schema approach, bar model drawing may serve as an effective form of SBI that can be developed across word problems. Moreover, the bar model approach has the potential to enhance students' awareness o f cognitive strategies through paraphrasing, visualizing, hypothesizing about problem solutions, and checking work, all of which are explicitly taught through the use o f the bar-model drawing protocol. A multiple-baseline design replicated across groups was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention of bar model drawing on student performance on math world problem solving. Student performance was investigated in terms of increased accurate use of cognitive strategies and overall accuracy of math word problem solving. Both of these dependent variables increased and remained stable throughout intervention, and remained high during the maintenance phase of the research. Pre and posttesting results were also favorable. Participants reported high social validity for the intervention. However, the results of the research also yielded some surprises and raised some questions. Conclusions drawn from the data include a discussion o f the implications for action and recommendations for further research. Limitations of the study are also discussed. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Chapter one describes concerns related to student performance in mathematics, specifically in the area o f math word problem solving. Students who have mathematics difficulties (MD) especially struggle in math word problem solving. These difficulties may be attributed to cognitive and metacognitive deficits (Watson & Gable, 2013). Students with these deficits can be supported through the use o f schematic-based instruction (SBI) and cognitive strategy instruction (CSI; Jitendra et al., 1998; Xin, 2008; Montague & Applegate, 1993; Rosenzweig, Krawec, & Montague, 2011). However, there are gaps in the current literature supporting the use of SBI and CSI. The stated purpose and subsequent research questions address these gaps in the research. This chapter will provide an overview of the problem, along with gaps in the current research, a rationale for the study and statement o f the problem, research questions, and will include a glossary of key terms that are integral to the research. Problem Context Student performance in mathematics. America continues to lag behind many of its peers in mathematics and mathematics instruction. In 2008, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMAP) admonished that without improvement in this area, the United States' leadership role is in jeopardy. The Panel cited statistics demonstrating the gravity of the issue of mathematics literacy, pointing out that 27% o f eighth graders fail to accurately shade 1/3 of a rectangle. Furthermore, the


Introduction Pre-transplant risk assessment is a crucial issue to improve the HCT decision-making process. Several transplant-related models have been designed to optimize decision-making about suitable candidates for allogeneic HCT. The refined Disease Risk Index (DRI) was developed to stratify disease risk acrosshistologiesand HCT regimens. However, few recipients of haploidentical HCT were originally included in the DRI study cohorts. In 2015 a first large cohort of non-myeloablativehaploidentical HCT with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) confirmed the validity of DRI also in this setting. Beside this, in the past few years the novel composite end point of GVHD-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) after HCT spreads out. GRFS acknowledge that both survival and rates of grade 3-4 acute GVHD, chronic GVHD requiring systemic treatment, relapse, or death are clinically meaningful. GRFS therefore represents ideal recovery from HCT and a measure of cure without ongoing morbidity. Methods We analyzed risk-stratified GRFS according to the refined DRI in haploidentical HCT at our Center, where it was exploited - since 2006 - asirolimus-based,calcineurininhibitor-free prophylaxis of GvHD to allow the safe infusion of unmanipulated haploidentical HCT. We analyze data collected between 2006 and 2014 including 207 adult pts. Data were prospectively collected in Institutional database. A written consent was given by pts allowing the use of medical records for research in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All consecutive pts receiving a haplo HCT as 1st allogeneic transplantation were included - pts receiving haplo HCT as 2nd or 3rd HCT were excluded from the present analysis. Results Baseline characteristics of the 207 pts are outlined in table 1. With 4-year median follow-up, 4-year probabilities of transplant related mortality (TRM),relapse, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were 25,8%, 42,5%, 31,7%, and 34,4%, respectively. Day-100 cumulative incidence of grade II-IV and III-IV acute graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) were 30,1% and 15,5% respectively. The 4-year cumulative incidence of chronic GvHD was 33,5% (moderate-severe chronic GvHD 26,2%). Considering the composite end point of GRFS, for the entire population the 4-year GRFS was 17,8%. By refined DRI group, low-intermediate (n 69), high (n 105), and very high (n 33) risk groups had 4-year GRFS estimates of 31,1%, 13,7%, and 3,0% (p On a multivariable Cox model we considered as covariates age, host/donor sex mismatch, host/donor CMV status, stem cell source, conditioning intensity, GvHD prophylaxis ATG-based versusPTCy-based, DRI stratification, HCT Comorbidity Index Score (HCT-CI). On multivariable analyses, the DRI was statistically significantly associated with GRFS, OS, PFS, relapse, TRM and grade II to IV acute GvHD (ref table 2). HCT-CI was statistically significantly associated with GRFS, OS, PFS and TRM. Conditioning intensity was associated with PFS and relapse, while GvHD prophylaxis (PTCyvs ATG) was only associated with OS. Interestingly no risk factors were clearly emerging for chronic GvHD. Conclusions The combination of a refined DRI and GRFS provide a valid tool to improve the HCT decision-making process and will help optimize patient outcomes. Disclosures Ciceri:MolMed SpA: Consultancy.


The global health community has made tremendous progress in
the past years and decades in reducing the global burden of disease,
predominantly in the area of infectious diseases...


The reaction of PdAc2 and K2PtCl4 with the ligand 1-thia-4,7-diazacyclononan (C6H14N2S - L) yield crystals of [PdL2](PF6)2 (4) and [PtL2]Br2-H2O (5), respectively. The structures of 4 and 5 have been determined. Crystal data: 4, monoclinic, space group P21/c, a = 719.2(1), b = 1712.5(3), c = 936.8(2) pm. β = 99.15°, Z = 2; 1708 reflections, R = 0.029. 5, monoclinic, space group P21/c, a = 1682(2). b = 786(1), c = 1573(1) pm. β = 108.1(1)°, Z - 4; 1706 reflections, R = 0.070. 4 contains octahedrally coordinated Pd(II); in addition to the square planar PdN4 group (mean Pd -N bond length 206 pm) the S-donor atoms are weakly coordinated in the axial positions (Pd-S: 303.4(1) pm). In 5, however, Pt(II) is in a square planar ligand environment. The S-donor atoms are bent away from the axial positions of the central atom.


Professionals representing 14 community‐based organizations were trained at three different sites serving urban and rural families to implement an empirically supported parenting program for families of young children with challenging behaviors. Of the 44 practitioners trained, 23 successfully completed the program, which involved passing a knowledge test and facilitating the entire 10‐session program with a family. A total of 28, primarily low‐income families completed the program. The family outcomes obtained by the facilitators, based on multiple pre‐program and post‐program measures, were comparable with those reported previously in the literature for facilitators trained in university settings. The challenges inherent in efforts to increase the community's capacity to implement empirically supported programs are addressed.


Disclosed herein, without limitation, are activated carbon honeycomb catalyst beds for removing mercury and other toxic metals from flue gas of a coal combustion system. The activated carbon honeycomb can for example removal greater than 90% mercury from flue gas with a simple design and without adding material to the flue gas. Also disclosed herein, and without limitation, are methods for manufacturing the disclosed honeycomb catalyst beds.


s of the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 1263 Brief Oral Presentations may influence organizational effectiveness and job satisfaction to a greater extent than in public organizations. Therefore, organizations may need to deliberate the level of empowerment given to employees in light of the resulting effects on self-efficacy and the characteristics of the organizational structure.


In this paper, image processing in personal identification is presented. Basic biometry system includes three modules: image preprocessing, feature extraction, and recognition modules. We presented feature extraction algorithms for e.g. eye recognition.


An index for the estimation of synchronization in a microbial population is proposed and discussed. The index is equal to the fraction of cells that divide during a measured interval in excess of the fraction that would divide during random growth in the same interval.


This paper analyzes the influences of the types and use-levels of thickener on the construction performance and storage stability of latex paint from the angle of thickening mechanism.


An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for evaluating the life of the memory. With an information processing device having a dynamic random access memory, and a built-in diagnosis module including a dynamic random access memory and to cooperate with the processor for performing processing, life assessment device, and the life evaluation device, data is held in the memory and after lapse timed timer unit, it elapsed evaluation and a read control unit for the time the reading of data in the case reaches the predetermined value from the memory, on the basis of the presence or absence and the elapsed time of the error of the read data for evaluating the memory lifetime It was equipped with parts.


Submitted for the DFD07 Meeting of The American Physical Society Length scales in multi-resolution (hybrid) turbulence simulations SUNIL LAKSHMIPATHY, SHARATH S. GIRIMAJI, Texas A&M University — In direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulence, the smallest length scale in the flow is of the order of the Kolmogorov length scale η, which is determined from molecular viscosity and dissipation. The grid resolution should be of the order of η. In large eddy simulation (LES), the filter width determines the smallest scale of motion in the simulated field. But what is the smallest scale in hybrid or multiresolution turbulence computation schemes? In many of these schemes, the filter is implicit, rather than explicit and the filter width is not known. This renders grid resolution studies very difficult, if not impossible in hybrid methods. For such schemes, we propose that the computational Kolmogorov scale which is determined using eddy viscosity and dissipation is the smallest scale of motion. We study the length-scale distribution in severally multi-resolution Partially-averaged NavierStokes (PANS) calculations. It is found that the smallest scale is indeed of the order of computational Kolmogorov scale and the length-scale distribution is strikingly similar to that in DNS computations. This finding paves the way for efficient and optimal utility of grid in multi-scale resolution computations. (This work was funded by Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM ) Sharath Girimaji Texas A&M University Date submitted: 06 Aug 2007 Electronic form version 1.4


A series of bi(tetrathiafulvalenyl) derivatives has been prepared from iodo-TTF precursors by Ullmann coupling (copper in refluxing N,N-dimethylformamide) or by reaction with copper(I) thiophene-2-carboxylate (CuTC) in 1-methylpyrrolidin-2-one at 20 °C. Solution electrochemical and UV-VIS spectroscopic studies suggest that there is no significant through-bond interaction between the two TTF units in these systems. The X-ray crystal structures are reported for 4,5,5′,5′′,4′′′,5′′′-hexakis(methylsulfanyl)-4′,4′′-bitetrathiafulvalene 9 and a semiconducting 1∶1 perchlorate salt of 4,5:4′′′,5′′′-bis(ethylenedithio)-5′,5′′-dimethyl-4′,4′′-bitetrathiafulvalene 8+··ClO4−. The torsion angle around the central bond is 89° in 9 and 77° in 8+··ClO4−. The crystal packing of 8+··ClO4− is characterised by puckered layers, parallel to the (001) plane, of cations contacting via their sulfur atoms; the anions occupy infinite channels, parallel to the z-axis and running through the cation motif.


The scale of the existing convolutional neural network is getting larger and larger, resulting in too large amounts of parameters, and the structure is not light enough. Moreover, existing convolutional neural networks are difficult to recognize the subtle changes of facial expressions and cannot extract facial expression features accurately. Therefore, the performance of facial expression recognition needs to be improved. To solve the above problems, a new deep learning network model is proposed for facial expression recognition. Based on the deep residual network, the attention mechanism module (Convolutional Block Attention Module, CBAM) is added to the last layer of convolution and the first layer of convolution of the network. The spatial attention mechanism and channel attention mechanism are used to suppress the unimportant feature information and focus on the effective feature information. In the bottom layer, the influence of other factors is eliminated as much as possible, and more attention is paid to the extraction of facial expression features, which enriches the learning of facial expression features and improves the accuracy of facial expression recognition. The method proposed in this paper has been tested and verified on two public data sets FER2013 and CK+, and the results prove that the method has a high accuracy rate.


Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are small implantable axial or centrifugal pumps used to support chronically-ill heart disease patients. Due to unphysiological shear-stresses that the blood is exposed to, most VAD patients are suffering from partially damaged blood, leading to a high rate of adverse events. Even though the use of CFD significantly improved current VAD designs, the reliability of CFD models for hemolysis estimations is still not satisfying [1].


In this paper, we propose RadixBoost, a hardware acceleration structure for scalable 32-bit integer radix sort on GPU. The whole structure is integrated into a GPU microarchitecture as a special functional unit and can be started by new instructions. Our design enables a significantly faster sorting procedure for general purpose GPU computing. The RadixBoost architecture was validated by an FPGA prototype integrated in FPGA-based GPU microarchitecture simulator, Fastlanes. An ASIC evaluation of RadixBoost was also performed. Our results proved that RadixBoost outperformed its GPU software equivalent by a factor of over 6 with an 1% and 3% increase in area and power respectively in cutting-edge Fermi GPU.


Localized defects may be generated on rolling element bearing raceways and roller bodies as a result of damage. These defects can excite a tapered roller bearing into vibration. When defects exist on more than one roller, the relative locations and the phases of the rollers with defects can produce complex vibration signatures. Because gross bearing damage is more likely to affect multiple rollers than just a single roller, for rotary machine health monitoring and fault diagnosis it is important to understand the vibration characteristics created by multiple roller defects. In this paper, the vibration of a tapered roller bearing excited by localized defects on multiple rollers is studied using a 3D vibration model. The vibration characteristics exhibited in vibration waveforms and frequency spectra are analyzed both in the radial direction and in the axial direction with respect to the bearing geometry.


This paper presents the design and control of a two link lightweight robotic arm using a couple of antagonistic Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires as actuators. A nonlinear robust control law for accurate positioning of the end effector of the twolink SMA based robotic arm is developed to handle the hysteresis behavior present in the system. The model presented consists of two subsystems: firstly the SMA wires model and secondly the dynamics of the robotic arm itself. The control objective is to position the robotic arm's end effector in a given operational plane position. For this regulation problem a sliding mode control law is applied to the hysteretic system. Finally a Lyapunov analysis is applied to the closed-loop system demonstrating the stability of the system under given conditions. The simulation results demonstrate the accurate and fast response of the control law for position regulation. In addition, the stability of the closed-loop system can be corroborated.


The current economic crisis has stormed worldwide affecting and heavily punishing social strata or trade market structures and, as though it was a natural disaster, showing no mercy not even for the weakest ones, therefore now it is mandatory to check the quantity and the kind of every single damage caused as a result of this crisis. In this context, the European markets have unfortunately become easy aims for the regrettable financial situation we are undergoing and which is especially wreaking havoc in some members of the European Community. Today, Spain is leading the European ranking of job destruction, what can likely explain why the unemployment rate is the focus of a heated discussion where such rate has been identified as a critical point. This fact has prompted awful consequences in a weakened labour market, where precariousness, confusion and lack of legal protection and motivation freely rule. The high rates of youthful unemployment have strongly concerned the European Union for the last years and so, it has focused all its efforts to economically consolidate an Europe much more committed to provide a reliable labour future for its people. After several legal trials it has been at last approven an action plan against black economy, which has essentialy restricted any kind of social services, and partially because of these measures it has failed, since this plan has been unable to fight against its more dangerous threat, the fraud.


In this paper, we study the average edge order of triangulations of closed 3-manifolds and show in particular that the average edge order being less than 4.5 implies that triangulation is on the 3-sphere


This article summarises the extensive management changes, broadly and generically referred to as the New Public Management (NPM), or, the New Public Financial Management (NPFM) reforms as they are more accurately described, that have been occurring in the public services in the United Kingdom and other developed countries across the world. It demonstrates not only the diversity and increasing intensity of these NPFM changes but also the centrality of accounting, in its many different forms, to not only enable these changes but also to define and shape their nature. The article also demonstrates the power and significance of a range of qualitative and interpretive accounting research, which goes beyond seeing accounting as little more than a technology, to provide contextually-rich understandings of the central role of accounting in defining and enabling these NPFM changes.

Keywords:

public services accounting;
qualitative and interpretive research in accounting;
new public financial management


We read with interest the review by Hojsak et al on using probiotics for children with selected clinical conditions and from specific vulnerable groups (1). They suggested using specific strains of probiotics to prevent upper respiratory tract infections in children attending daycare centres and prevent nosocomial and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, acute gastroenteritis and infantile colic in breastfed infants. In contrast, probiotics were not recommended for preventing gastrointestinal infections in daycare centres, nosocomial respiratory tract infections, atopic diseases and infantile colic and treating functional abdominal pain. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


A model of situated analogy considered within the context of design is presented. It shows the impact of constructive knowledge representation on analogy making. The importance of a non-fixed but constructive representation is highlighted. It is suggested that a situated model of analogy fits the observed characteristics of design better than a non-situated one.


Abstract : Six students form a rough circle seated in a seminar room at the Defense Acquisition Universitys Fort Belvoir, Virginia, campus. They lean forward, engaged in animated give-and-take. The students are enrolled in the Program Managers Course (PMT 401),an intensive case-based, 10-week program aimed at improving leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills. Participants in this rigorous, in-residence program hail primarily from the military Services,defense agencies and the defense industry. Although most are program managers (PMs), their experience encompasses a wide a variety of acquisition communities including, engineering, logistics and testing. A trained coach is on hand to focus on the learning, and steers clear of direct involvement in the problem-solving discussion. The coach makes sure, among other things, that the questions broached are open-ended and that all students actively take part and are committed to arriving at a consensus. This maximizes opportunities for learning and development.


Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is a non-climacteric fruit subject to serious quality loss after harvest mainly due to water loss which cause stem browning and sensitivity to microbial decay. Rachis browning is the most important physiological disorder of table grapes poststorage while, the primary pathological spoilage problem is decay caused by Botrytis cinerea (Lichter, 2016). Usually, a green rachis is an indicator of freshness and hence International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 3 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


1. Introduction 2. Bosnia's Stateness Problem and the Challenge of International Intervention 3. Post-War Democracy Building 4. Elections and Electoral Engineering 5. The Limits and Virtues of Civil Society 6. The Antinomies of Refugee Return 7. From NATO to the EU 8. Conclusion


The valuation of time is one of the most important public policy issues in project cost-benefit analysis. This paper estimates the value of airport access time and time variability in developing countries with a case study of Nanjing, China. An international meta-analysis is being used to identify the factors that may affect heterogeneity in the value of travel time. Regression models are then established for the prediction of the value of travel time. The results provide some new insights into the impacts of survey region, traffic mode, and trip purpose on the value of travel time. Considering the significant influencing factors that were obtained, stated preference surveys are designed and used to collect data on preferred arrival time and decision choice under various hypothetical situations. A multivariate regression model is used with the data to explore the significant factors that influence the travelers' preferred arrival time. Mixed logit models are developed to estimate the value of airport access time, value of schedule delay early, and value of schedule delay late by incorporating the effects of travel delay variability on users' scheduling costs. The tax system is being used to illustrate the contribution of different income groups to social funds, which also calculates the social value of airport access time, social value of schedule delay early, and social value of schedule delay late. The results identify the significant factors that may affect the valuation of airport access time and provide reasonable estimates for these values. The findings also bring new enlightenment on the effects of the variation of airport access time.


Special fuel transportation scheduling is an important part of the space launch. Because of the lack of fuel transport train and limited production capacity of manufacturers having become the main limiting factors for special fuel transportation scheduling in space launch, it is very necessary to research the method of special fuel transportation scheduling. This paper has a description of transportation scheduling for special fuel of high frequency task in detail, establishes a mathematical model and an effective scheduling algorithm, which can satisfy the needs of special fuel transportation scheduling for special fuel of high frequency task.The strategy of transportation scheduling can make it possible to complete a large number of special fuel transportation scheduling tasks with less transport trains. At the same time, it meets the goal constraints in cost and task balance.


X irradiation of SrCl2 at 77 K produces VK centres and F centres; H centres are not produced in observable concentration. A study of the effects of polarized bleaching light on the optical and EPR spectra shows that a 2 Sigma -2 Sigma type transition of the VK centres occurs at 397 nm. The VK centres decay at 105 K with an activation energy of 0.251 eV. Some of the moving holes are trapped at lattice defect sites forming VKA centres. Only perturbed F centres are observed in appreciable concentration in the irradiated crystals. These centres have been investigated by EPR and magneto-optical methods. The F band shows partly resolved structure with peaks at 580 and 667 nm.


When I first agreed to write this col umn, my editor, Fenwick English, sug gested a short l ist of topics to get me started. One that he suggested, the story of the School Improvement Model that I have directed for many years, seemed too personal and per haps a l ittle too mundane for a major piece. As I kept pushing the topic for ward, I continued talking with other professors and writing about our three fold obligation of teaching, service, and research . Research seemed to be the area that most have questions about. What's it l ike to be a principal in vestigator? How do you survive on soft money? Is overhead really as bad as they say? How in the world can you keep one research thrust going for over twenty years don't you eventually run out of questions to ask? After thirty years on one topic, what do you know now that you didn't know then? Finally, I became convinced there is a story to be told and perhaps some useful ideas for professors starting their long and, it is hoped, exciting career in research . Although this col umn is about the School Improvement Model and what it has accomplished , it is also about how a professor grows and develops as a researcher. Ethnog raphers would call this approach "I-witnessing" (Geertz , 1989) or a "confessional tale" (Van Maanen, 1988) . Looking for Pa rtners


Based on the characteristics of electronic commercial system and shortcomings of the traditional business management information system, a functional framework of the electronic commercial MIS is proposed. The integrated problems of different parts of enterprise and of the safety protection of the system are discussed.


We are grateful for the opportunity to respond to Moran et al's letter regarding our article. We performed repeated measures of analysis of our longitudinal data with the mixed effects linear model, but we did not present the statistical output in our article because of the journal's word limit. The mixed linear model showed the results for the main effect and interaction test: the group factor (P 5 .013) and the time factor (P< .0001) were both statistically significant. The interaction between the group factor and the time factor showed a trend but did not reach statistical significance (P 5 .129). As we reported in our article in the Outcome Measures section, the primary endpoint of the trial occurred at the end of treatment (ie, week 4). Our analysis and Moran et al's analysis are consistent and indicate that the fatigue scores were statistically different between the 2 groups and favored true laser moxibustion. Cohen's d was 1.141, and this indicated a large and relevant clinical effect. As we reported in our article, in agreement with the design of a randomized controlled trial, the fatigue scores were similar at the baseline between the 2 groups (P 5 .407). Thus, our comparisons of the fatigue scores between the groups at weeks 2, 4, and 8 were appropriate. Evidence for a difference was weaker at week 2 than weeks 4 and 8; however, because laser moxibustion typically requires a full course of 4 weeks to be therapeutically effective, we did not expect the effect sizes to be similar across the time points. As in any clinical trial or prospective study, dropouts and missing data were inevitable. Our dropout rate (21.8%) was similar to what we anticipated (20%), and we have discussed this as a limitation in the Discussion section. However, the dropout rates and the reasons for the dropouts were balanced between the 2 groups. In summary, Moran et al's response to our article does not change the conclusion of our research: infraredlaser moxibustion has demonstrated preliminary safety and efficacy for improving cancer-related fatigue in a Chinese patient population. Larger studies in the future with long-term follow-up in more racially/ethnically diverse populations are needed to confirm the benefit of this noninvasive technique for the treatment of fatigue in patients with cancer.


This study aims to explore the legacy potential of the FIFA Women's World Cup (FWWC) 2015, for the host communities across Canada.,The mixed-methods study included a link to an online anonymous survey being sent to all volunteers at the FWWC that explored their prior volunteering experience, motivations for volunteering, perceived skill development and future volunteering intentions. Documents were reviewed, and key stakeholders were interviewed.,The results support previous research that mega-sport event (MSE) volunteers are typically older females with prior volunteering experience. Those most likely to indicate they wanted to volunteer more are younger volunteers without prior volunteering experience. While legacy was discussed as a desired outcome, this was not operationalised through strategic human resource strategies such as being imbedded in the position descriptions for the volunteer managers.,As this study was conducted in the real-world context of a sport event, the timing of the survey was determined by the organising committee.,Mega sport events typically draw upon existing host-city social and human capital. For future event organising committees planning for and delivering a volunteer legacy may require better strategic planning and leveraging relationships with existing host-city volunteer networks. In the context of a single sport, women's MSE, multi-venue, multi-province event, greater connection was required to proactively connect younger women for volunteers to their geographic sport and event volunteering infrastructure.,This is the first research of volunteers for the largest women's mega single-sport event. There are three theoretical contributions of the paper to: the socio-ecological lens, motivational theory of single event MSE and the contribution of social and human capital to understandings of legacy.


PURPOSE: Our aim is to compare the pulmonary rehabilitation outcomes of male and female patients diagnosed with COPD.
METHODS: Outpatient PR program, consisting of 16 sessions, two times a week for two months was applied to the patients with COPD (41 males, 41 females). arterial blood gas (ABG) analyzes and pulmonary function tests (PFT), 6-minute walking test (6MWT), dyspnea scale (mMRC), health-related quality of life (QoL) questionnaire (SF-36), disease-specific health status (SGRQ) were applied to all participants before and after PR.
RESULTS: There was no statistically significant differences between the two groups before PR in terms of age, BMI, PFT parameters, and ABG results. Cigarette consumption was higher in men(p=0.02). Quality of life survey results (SGRQ, SF36), HAD anxiety, mMRC were similar in both groups before PR(p>0.05 for all).After PR, both clinical and statistically significant improvements were detected in 6mWD in both groups (p


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture an article having improved low-temperature impact strength, especially a thin-walled article for use as a dual-ovenable tray. SOLUTION: This article is manufactured by thermoforming a polymer blend which comprises (a) 86-98 wt.% polyethylene terephthalate having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 0.7 dL/g, (b) 1-7 wt.% polyethylene ionomer and (c) 1-7 wt.% polyolefin having repeat units derived from 2-6C olefin monomer, wherein the polymer blend contains an effective amount of a heat stabilizer. The thermoforming of the polymer blend is carried out in a heated mold over a period of time sufficient to achieve a crystallinity of 10-40%. COPYRIGHT: (C)1996,JPO


China's anti-monopoly administrative law enforcement is highly certain, that is, most parties generally abandon the filing of administrative lawsuits after receiving the punishment decision made by the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency. "Certainty" is formed
 by the three factors: illegal acts generally lack actionable value; the parties lack reasonable expectations towards changing the punishment way and reducing the punishment amount; and there are abundant formal punishment and substantive reconciliation. In this context, it is necessary to
 build scientific law enforcement rules and flexible law enforcement mechanisms to reduce false interventions in "false positives". At the same time, we need perfect the anti-monopoly follow-up litigation to reinforce the link between anti-monopoly civil litigation and administrative
 law enforcement. However, in industries with monopoly license such as tobacco industry, it is also necessary to explore the establishment of a public interest litigation mechanism to protect the interests of market subjects at the same time of safeguarding social public interests.


Technical features, action mechanism and the way of use of a spark generator in dentistry are described. The results of medical treatment with a spark generators and benefits of its using are shown.


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Credit: ANNA ZIEMINSKI/GETTY

About 2000 doctors employed in the public and private sector marched through the streets of Cape Town when the …

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Summary

Alcoholism and alcohol related problems are endemic in Chile, and it has been said that they are the most important Public Health problem. Some data on epidemiology of drinking problems is given, and the links between grape growing and alcohol related problems are mentioned. Finally the alcohol control policies which have been attempted over the last decade are discussed, and it is concluded that the poor success of these policies in the country is probably due to the fact that they have been limited to education, and given no attention to the control of the availability of alcohol.


We present a co-registration technique which performs the alignment of two topographic data sets in the three-dimensional space. The method is conceived to operate with the pair of data constituted by laser altimetry profiles (LA) and gridded Digital Terrain Models (DTMs); the transformation is performed from the coordinates of the laser profile to the best matching position on the reference surface of the DTM. This technique has been implemented and previously been applied for the study of Mercury's rotation state (Stark et al., 2015). For Mars, the co-registration has been performed in the MC11 quadrangle. We use data of 1345 topographic tracks by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), which we co-register with the gridded DTM obtained from stereo images captured by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars EXpress (MEX). Given the 50 m resolution of the stereo DTM, the technique returned the alignment of the two data sets with sub-pixel positional accuracy and a final root mean square of the height residuals below 40 meters. The shifts of each profile are between (-50,+50) meters in latitude and longitude directions, with formal uncertainty up to 0.5 m, and between (-10,+10) m in radial direction, with an uncertainty lower than 1 m. In the polar regions of Mars, we aim at co-registering the time-dependent altimetry measurements of MOLA profiles to the DTM static representation in order to retrieve the variation of the spin axis' orientation over time. Here we report on the similarity of the method with the well-known procedure of the "cross-over analysis" (Neumann et al., 2001). The shifts obtained when co-registering the not-cross-over-corrected MOLA profiles to the HRSC DTM, has been compared with the corresponding corrections applied by the MOLA team on the laser profiles. The comparison shows each pair of corrections to be directly correlated. This suggests a potential application of the co-registration technique in corrections of the MOLA tracks for orbit and pointing errors, as well as in the study of planets' dynamics, as done by cross-over analysis. The altimetric offsets can give insights not only on the rotation, but also on the tidal deformation of the observed body. For instance, with the help of the co-registration technique one could be able to retrieve the h2 Love number (topographic deformation due to tidal effects) of Mercury, Moon or icy satellites. For Mars, the measurement of the seasonal changes in the snow depth at polar caps is another example for the application of this approach.


Until recently the genus Ctenium was not recorded for Bolivia (Renvoize 1998). However, following extensive plant exploration over the last ten years, especially in the eastern provinces, four new species records of this genus can now be added to the grass flora. Clenium has a unique spikelet structure consisting of a single bisexual floret which is preceded by two sterile or staminate florets and succeeded by 1 3(4) staminate, barren or vestigial florets. The genus comprises 22 species from Africa, Madagascar and the Neotropics. The African species were studied by Clayton (1963) and the American species by Smith (1896). In addition, there are accounts of the genus in local or regional floras by Beetle (1983), LonghiWagner (1990) and Longhi-Wagner et al. (2001). Renvo(ize (1998) recorded one unidentified specimen from Bolivia and provided a description of' the genus. In the course of preparing a world-wide revision of the genus, four species were newly recorded for Bolivia: C. chapadense and C. brevispicatum, which occur in similar vegetation types in Central and Southeastern Brazil, mainly in cerrado and campo rupestre; C. polystachyum, which extends to Brazil and Paraguay, and C. concissum which has a broader distribution in northern South America and Central America.


Many commentators welcomed the key sections of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which established Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), as representing a landmark shift in the way crime is governed in England and Wales. It appeared to represent a decisive shift towards an holistic preventive paradigm. Garland (2000: 1) described the unfolding 'preventive turn' as reflecting an 'epistemological break' with the past. Others proclaimed it as ushering in, and evidence of, a new era of 'networked governance' (Johnston and Shearing 2003).


Finding solutions to the seating problems of nursing home wheelchair users is challenging due to the lack of data regarding the pressure-relieving and comfort performance of wheelchair cushions for this population. This study's goal was to determine whether commercially available seat cushions provide better pressure relief and comfort than do traditionally provided or "makeshift" cushions or pads. Using a repeated measures design, 21 nursing home wheelchair users were enlisted to help evaluate two traditionally provided or "makeshift" cushions or pads and two selected commercially available seat cushions. The peak sitting pressures for 20 subjects were recorded using an Oxford pressure monitor. Twenty-one subjects were asked to score the test cushions' comfort. Due to the somewhat surprising results for the traditionally provided eggcrate cushion, the results fell short of supporting our initial hypothesis. Nevertheless, the study did identify three cushions, the eggcrate, the gel/foam, and the foam, whi...


Introduction Placement of a tracheostomy tube percutaneously is not a new idea; pictures of devices that appear to have been developed for this purpose date back to the Rigveda.1 A modern percutaneous tracheostomy (PCT) device was developed by Toye and Weinstein in 1969, and its use in 100 trauma patients was reported in 1986.2,3 The wireguided technique for percutaneous tracheostomy was developed and reported in the same year by the American surgeon, Ciaglia.4 Primary or secondary respiratory failure is common in the intensive care unit, especially in patients with multiorgan failure that results in prolonged ventilatory support. A consensus conference of the National Association of Medical Directors of Respiratory care recommended that tracheostomy should be performed when the ventilatory support is anticipated to be more than 21 days.5 Ever since the PCT has evolved, the resources required for a surgical tracheostomy (ST), the needs of operating room, and personnel are eliminated. This article reviews the indications, contraindications, equipments and procedure of percutaneous tracheostomy. The details of ST are not described as it is generally performed by the surgeons.


Risk assessment at the regional level requires quality resource information on critical factors for sustainable land‐use decisions. This paper describes a major community initiative underway in the Southland Region of New Zealand involving geographic information systems mapping of 850,000 ha at a 1:50,000 scale. At a southerly latitude of 46° in the southern part of the South Island of New Zealand, the critical factors affecting plant growth are soil quality and air temperature. Air temperature is being measured with a network of 900 automatic data loggers positioned to represent key features of the landscape and recording maximum and minimum temperatures every hour for a full year. Data are then differentially adjusted using the nearest long‐term weather station to the site to generate a 30‐year normal temperature record and consequent growing‐degree‐day value for each site. Isocontour maps are then generated to identify microclimates of interest within the landscape. Soils of the area are being mapped at the same time and to the same scale to allow integrated development of the critical information for sustainable land‐use decisions. Basic soil attributes will be interpreted to produce maps for crop suitability, vulnerability to structural degradation, and leaching risk. High‐class soils will also be identified. An Internet site and a bureau service will be established. This will provide technical support and interpretation of the data for clients to encourage wide use of the information produced by the project. The project is being supported and funded by the local community in the belief that the provision of high‐quality resource information will lead to significant employment opportunities in the region.


This descriptive study sought to examine the resiliency factors families developed when faced with the challenges of raising a child manifesting a severe disability. The study compares and contrasts how families managed the additional responsibility and stress of raising a child with special needs. The


Miran Pecenik is in charge of IT at Nuova Banca di Credito di Trieste. In the Eighties he supervised the creation of the internal IT network for the bank. In 1995 he has brought the bank on the Web, and devised more than 80 pages, among which the one on Italian on-line banks. In January 1996 he set the bank intranet with around a dozen internal services. As a speaker, he took part to numerous conferences and he has published a number of articles on Italian, Slovene and Canadian journals. In 1996 he also contributed actively to a statistical research on the use of the Web in Italy, receiving 1750 replies.


Introduction: Liver capsule haematomas and rupture are uncommon serious complications in pregnancy where it is often associated with HELLP syndrome (Haemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes and Low Platelets). Hepatic bleeding occurs in 5% of cases with HELLP syndrome with associated high mortality and morbidity to both mother and fetus. This report explores the management of a case of liver rupture in a patient in the 31+4 week of gestation, with maternal and fetal survival. Methods: A retrospective review of an unusual case of Liver rupture with underlying HELLP syndrome managed across two hospital sites. A Database search (PubMed and Embase) was performed for all cases of Liver rupture associated with pregnancy in the literature in English language for the time-period 2009-2020. Extraction and Analysis using the PRISMA tool. Results: 57 published articles were identified with a total of 94 patients identified. 10 cases of liver rupture in pregnancy secondary to underlying liver pathology, including cancer have been excluded. An overview indicates that the mean maternal age at presentation was 33 years with rupture, commoner in primiparous women. Average gestational age was 33 weeks. Right liver lobe was the most common site of rupture. 9 required liver transplantation, with 8 maternal mortalities and 15 fetal losses. Conclusions: An unusual case of Liver capsule rupture in pregnancy with a discussion of different management approaches (interventional radiology inclusive) and outcomes following a rapid review of available case series. The risk of significant maternal mortality and morbidity with fetal loss is recognised, often in cases of delayed diagnosis especially in primiparous women. As there is a close association between HELLP and liver rupture, a vigilant approach and high index of suspicion is required to recognize cases of atypical presentation of liver rupture in patients with severe PET which are often quiet and insidious.


Intuitive knowledge of the world involves knowing what kinds of things have which properties. We express this knowledge in generalities, such as "Ducks lay eggs." Intuitive knowledge contrasts with extensional knowledge about actual entities in the world, which we express in quantified statements, such as "All U.S. presidents are male." Reasoning based on this intuitive knowledge, while highly fluent and plausible, may in fact lead us into logical fallacy. Several lines of research have pointed to conceptual memory as the source of such logical failure. We represent concepts with prototypical properties, rather than with logical definitions, and we judge likelihood and argument strength on the basis of similarity between these prototypes instead of using correct notions of probability or logical inference. Evidence that our minds represent the world in this intuitive way can be seen in a range of phenomena, including people's interpretations of logical connectives applied to everyday concepts, the effects of creativity and emergent features in conceptual combination, and the logically inconsistent beliefs that people express in their everyday language.


Multiple sclerosis is the most common cause of disability in young patients with neurological problems, which makes it the most important medical, social, and economic problem. Analysis of the structure and dynamics of primary disability resulted from multiple sclerosis in the city of St. Petersburg was carried out from 2016 through 2018. The proportion of patients with multiple sclerosis, who were for the first time identified as disabled, was 1 in 166 (0.6%) examinations in 2016; 1 in 142 (0.7%) in 2017; and 1 in 135 (0.74%) in 2018. In the course of three years, 74.2% of patients were assigned to the third-degree disability group; 21.2% to the second-degree disability group; 3.2% to the first-degree disability group; and 1.4% of patients were deemed a "disabled child" status. Working age people (26–45 years old) prevailed among those first recognized as disabled, which accounted for 58.6%. Analysis of types of multiple sclerosis course carried out for the year 2017 showed the prevalence of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis accounting for 86% of cases. Main indicators associated with the disability were as follows: work-related limitations (98.7%), limited ability to move independently (93.4%), and limited ability to perform activities of daily living (19.9%). This study showed an increase in the number of people first recognized as disabled among patients with multiple sclerosis during this period, which probably results from multiple sclerosis incidence and prevalence growth. Patients of working age with third-degree disability, predominantly women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, prevail among patients with multiple sclerosis who were first recognized as disabled, which corresponds to the literature data. Leading indicators of disability are: work-related limitations, limited ability to move independently, and limited ability to perform activities of daily living. Data obtained indicated a high medical, social, and economical significance of multiple sclerosis, which confirm the need for earliest diagnosis and timely initiation of therapy in order to slow down the disability progression in patients of working age.