Abstract True splenic artery aneurysms (SAA) are a rare, but potentially fatal, pathology. They are the third most common type of abdominal aneurysm, after aneurysms of the aorta and of the iliac artery, and account for almost the all aneurysms of visceral arteries. True aneurysms account for 60% of SAA and affect four times as many women as men, generally related to increased incidental or symptomatic findings that coincide with use of ultrasonography in pregnancy. Among pregnant patients, mortality after rupture is 65-75%, with fetal mortality exceeding 90%. There are multiple etiologies and it is believed that hormonal influences and changes in portal flow during gestation play an important role in development of SAA. This review discusses their history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis and current treatment techniques.


A theory previously proposed is refined to include a more realistic and molecular-based accounting of important polymer-penetrant interactions. The general diffusion equation has been appropriately modified to include an explicit activation energy for diffusion. Plasticizer-in-PVC intermolecular energies were calculated for a series of dialkyl phthalate plasticizers and were then employed in the modified diffusion equation to predict diffusion coefficients (D). The results show a remarkable improvement over previous calculations


Particles in glow discharges are charged negatively and are therefore often suspended electrostatically since the plasma potential is usually more positive than the potential of surfaces bounding the plasma. However, in addition to responding to electrostatic and gravitational forces, particles are sensitive to forces associated with gradients in neutral gas temperature. A series of experiments were performed varying the temperature of water circulated through planar, parallel electrodes. When particles are present and are suspended in the discharge, they move away from a heated electrode and towards a cooled electrode. In the absence of particles, the discharge optical emission spatial profile and electrical characteristics did not change significantly for any combination of electrode heating or cooling. Particles remaining in the interelectrode gap after the discharge is extinguished appear to be uncharged. With particles present, the discharge electrical properties and time‐ and space‐resolved optical ...


A recently developed method for fitting a Monte Carlo computer simulation model to observed single-crystal diffuse X-ray scattering has been applied to (hk0) scattering data obtained for the guest–host system (inclusion compound) cyclohexane–perhydrotriphenylene (cyclohexane–PHTP), C6H12/C18H30, at 295 K. A simple two-dimensional model representing the projection of the structure down c was used, which allowed refinement of short-range order parameters describing the mutual orientation of guest molecules within neighbouring channels, together with a parameter describing the coupling of these orientations to distortions of the host framework. Since the guest site still appears very disordered in projection, only a crude model for the shape of the guest molecule was used. The resulting calculated diffraction patterns showed good qualitative agreement with the observed pattern, but quantitatively the achieved agreement factor (R ≃ 38%) was considerably higher than that achieved in comparable studies of a different system. Calculations of the contribution to the diffraction pattern of the guest alone and the host alone clearly indicate that the host framework distortion is modelled well, but the guest is not so well described. The lattice distortion revealed by the study indicates a tendency for the hexagonal network to distort towards local monoclinicity. This is consistent with the observation that at ~273 K, the compound undergoes a reversible phase transition to a micro-twinned monoclinic phase.


INTRODUCTION In genetic evaluation, both clinical mastitis (CM) and female fertility are often treated as binary traits. For mastitis, the binary variable takes value 1 if a cow has at least one CM case within a given time interval, and 0 otherwise. Likewise, the fertility trait non-return rate takes value 0 if a cow has a second insemination within, e.g., 56 d after a first one, and 1 otherwise. With these definitions, cows with one or more cases of mastitis are treated as equally liable to the disease, whereas cows with one or multiple returns after insemination are scored as equally fertile. An alternative is to use number of CM cases (NCM) and number of services to conception (STC) as response variables. There are few studies on genetic associations between health and fertility in dairy cattle, and estimates of the genetic correlation between NCM and STC are not available in the literature. A reason why these traits are not used more widely is the problem of censoring, as cows with mastitis and/or fertility problems are more likely to be culled than healthy, fertile, cows. The risk of culling increases as NCM or STC increase.


Lanthanum hexaboride electrodes in 1700 K cesium diodes may triple power outputs compared with those demonstrated for nuclear thermionic space applications. Still greater relative gains seem possible for emitters below 1700 K. Further improvements in cesium diode performance should result from the lower collector temperatures allowed for earth and low power space duties. Decreased temperatures will lessen thermal transport losses that attend thermionic conversion mechanisms. Such advantages will add to those from collector Carnot and electrode effects. If plasma ignition difficulties impede diode temperature reductions, recycling small fractions of the output power could provide ionization. So high efficiency, low temperature cesium diodes with lanthanum hexaboride electrodes appear feasible.


Replication means that you create an environment where you can distribute several copies of the same amount of information to several databases in different locations. The distribution could be mad ...


The relevance of the development of hybrid electric vehicle technology in the automotive industry lies in its diversity. Various degrees of hybridization allow you to get bonuses for both conventional cars with an internal combustion engine and pure electric vehicles, while controlling the level of electrification of your cars, from soft hybrids close to cars with only an internal combustion engine to plug-in hybrids more similar to pure electric vehicles. Depending on the policy of the automaker and the requirements of the market, it is possible to use various designs, including those based on existing developments. The article analyzes the modern automotive market in Russia and the share of cars with hybrid technology in it. A comparison of the development of hybrid technology in modern automotive construction of Russian and foreign automakers is made. The specificity of designing scenarios for the development of hybrid technologies in the Russian and foreign automotive industries is reflected in the very process of using hybrid technology in the models of foreign automakers. Thus, the use of mild hybrid technology is mainly used by automakers with the aim of a smooth transition to more electrified versions, the design and implementation of mild hybrid technology is used by automakers to improve the environmental parameters of their cars while maintaining dynamic performance or to increase the latter. Full hybridization technology can also be used as a transitional for full electrification of models, however, it is mainly used in electric vehicles aimed at a hybrid device. Sequential hybridization technology has not been widely used in passenger cars.


In MEG studies, head movement during data recording often causes problems in event-related averaging as well as source localization accuracy. We propose in this work a stabilized linear model which can solve this head movement problem by conceptually increasing the sensor number, under the condition that the head movement is known. This method is particularly beneficial for MEG studies in which head movement commonly occurs, such as those studies requiring long experimental duration or those when patients/children are involved. Phantom studies and studies of somatosensory evoked field clearly show the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.


When critical cracks are detected, the choice of one or a combination of repair techniques to be used depends on many factors, such as crack conditions, expected precision, type of material, availability of tools and experience required. One method is to make Stop-Drilled Hole (SDH) at the ends of the crack. This research examines crack growth arrest in the form of Stop-Drilled Hole. Variation was given the initial stress (Pre-Stress) with a combination of variations in the size of the SDH. This combination has a varied effect on the average critical load that can be held before cracking propagates. In this study, it was found that the greater the dimensions of the SDH, the average critical load needed to re-propagate the crack also increases. It was also found that the initial stress applied to the SDH would raise the average value of the critical load.


Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are able to provide hardware accelerators still maintaining the required programmability. However, the advantages of using FPGAs still depend on the expertise of developers and their knowledge of Hardware Description Languages (HDLs). Although High-level Synthesis (HLS) tools have been developed in order to minimize this problem, they commonly present solutions considered many times inefficient when compared to the ones achieved by a specialized hardware designer. Domain-specific languages (DSLs) can provide alternative solutions to program FPGAs. They can provide higher abstraction levels than HDLs and they may allow the programmer to tune implementations whenever HLS tools are unable to generate efficient designs. In this paper we compare a DSL, named LALP (Language for Aggressive Loop Pipelining), with two typical HLS approaches and show the experimental results achieved in each case. The results show that the use of LALP provides superior performance than the achieved by the HLS tools in most cases.


Correspondece to: Dr. Rashmi Sharma, Sr. Demonstrator, P.G Deptt. of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Govt. Medical College, Jammu. Introduction The glaucomas are a family of "silent diseases" at least until the later stages and if not treated, invariably result in irreversible blindness. The early detection and adequate treatment minimizes the visual morbidity from these conditions. The current management of glaucoma is directed to lower IOP (intraocular pressure) and the medical therapy is always the first line treatment for the management of primary open angle glaucoma. The most frequently used medical treatment in lowering IOP is a topical ß-blocker. The introduction of timolol in 1978, was a milestone in ocular pharmacology as it has several advantages over cholinergic and adrenergic agonists (1). However, continued clinical experience with it has disclosed various potentially serious systemic effects with its topical use. These potential cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic systemic effects limited its usefulness in some patients (2). Moreover, the patients of glaucoma may have to continue ocular ß–blockers during several decades of adult life and are thereby exposed to the systemic and metabolic effects of the therapy for many years. The wide range of these adverse reactions may result from the nonselective inhibition of both ß1&ß2 adrenergic receptors (3). Till date, timolol maleate remains the most widely prescribed drug for elevated IOP (4). The continued search for relatively safer compounds led to the introduction of many new compounds like betaxolol and levobunolol. Betaxolol is a Abstract In this prospective randomized parallel study we compared the effects of topical timolol maleate, levobunolol hydrochloride and betaxolol hydrochloride on intraocular pressure (IOP) in the patients of primary open angle glaucoma after 16 weeks of instillation as 1 drop 12 hourly in 0.5% concentration. 23 eyes of 16, 19 eyes of 12 and 20 eyes of 12 patients were included in timolol, levobunolol and betaxolol groups respectively. Timolol, levobunolol and betaxolol lowered IOPby 13.05 ± 1.53, 14.05 ±1.47 and 7.58 ± 0.90 mm of Hg respectively after 6weeks and by16.12±1.67,16.28 ±1.85 and 8.535 ± 0.983 mm of Hg respectively after 16 weeks (P<0.001). Both levobunolol and timolol produced greater reduction in IOP than betaxolol (P<0.001). The results of our study indicated that betaxolol is less efficacious in lowering IOP in Indian patients and could only be preferred over timolol in glaucoma patients with associated chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchial asthma. However, Levobunolol could be a better alternative to timolol , as being a longer acting agent with IOP control for 24 hrs after single instillation and can be used as once a day instillation with better safety profile.


In this paper, the effect of user cooperation on network performance is investigated in terms of throughput and stability region for CDMA random access networks where a large number of users randomly access an access point (AP). The network considered consists of two classes of users depending on the received power at the AP. A cooperation strategy with very low overheads is proposed, and the network performance gain obtained by adopting this strategy is characterized in closed-form formulas. The validity of our analysis is confirmed by simulation results.


IR photodetectors based on GaAs/Al0.25Ga0.75As multiquantum wells (QWIP) grown by molec- ular beam epitaxy (MBE) are studied. The envelop function formalism is used to determine the theoretical intersubband transition energies. The electronic states are calculated in both parabolic and non parabolic cases. IR spectroscopy transmission is used as the experimental technique to evaluate the optical absorp- tion. The measures are made at 77 K for incidence at both 45 ◦ and Brewster angles geometries. The last experimental results compare well with the theoretical ones and correspond to 10-12 μ mo perating wavelength. PACS. 78.67.De Quantum wells


Young people, transitioning to adulthood, are challenged to adapt and embrace increasing societal expectations of greater community engagement via employment, higher education, and community participation. This process is especially complex for youth with disabilities, often resulting in lower rates of employment and higher rates of dependency as adults (Osgood, Foster, Flanagan, & Ruth, 2005). This is of prime concern; work provides in-roads to fuller societal integration, political power, and relationship development skills--building human/social capital for greater community functioning (Schur, 2002). Many young people, including those with disabilities, wish to live away from their parents following their exit from high school, which in large part depends on their ability to obtain and retain a stable source of income through employment. The benefits associated with employment contribute substantially to an overall quality of life, leading to increased independence, self-determination, and political strength. (Benz, Lindstrom & Yavanoff, 2000). Thus, increasing employment outcomes for youth with disabilities is key to their successful transition to adulthood, building upon their social capital for effective community functioning. In the recent National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS-2), 57% of youth with disabilities were employed for pay, compared to 66% percent of similarly aged youth in the general population, one to four years after graduation. A little less than one quarter of youth with disabilities was enrolled in post-secondary education compared to 41% of the general population (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). Although trends in overall community engagement (i.e., engagement in work, education, preparation for work) for youth with disabilities remained comparable across the two versions of the decade-long NLTS studies, there were some notable improvements: (a) an increase in the percentage of young people engaged in both employment and postsecondary education [6% in NLTS and 22% in NLTS-2], and (b) an increase in the percentage of young people with paid employment as their only mode of engagement [34% in NLTS and 44% in NLTS-2]. Though these numbers indicate progress made in the areas of improving work engagement for young people with disabilities, disparities continue to exist when these rates are compared to their peers with no disability classification. With schools playing a central role in preparing youth with disabilities as they transition to adult lives, several strategies/models have emerged over the past decades. Most of these were centered on building a coalition between schools and community-based service providers to complement services provided within the confines of the special education system. The state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency has been consistently identified as a key partner in improving employment and related community engagement for students with disabilities (Benz, Lindstrom & Latta, 1999; Will, 1984). The VR agency provides vocational and rehabilitation-related supports for individuals with disabilities to enhance their employability. To support school-VR collaborative programs toward better employment outcomes, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act Amendments (Rehab Act) of 1992 established a common definition for secondary transition services for youth with disabilities. The Rehab Act especially addresses the collaboration between VR and schools by requiring the VR agency to: (a) coordinate service provision with the state education agency through establishment of formal interagency agreements [section 101 (a)(11)(d)]; (b) utilize the information submitted by education agency personnel to determine eligibility of students with disabilities for rehabilitation services and develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) [section 102(a)(4)]; (c) determine eligibility of referred students before they exit their high school program and coordinate with the state education agency to provide transition-related services for youth with disabilities [34 CFR 361. …


Many of the commonly used methods in model‐order reduction do not guarantee stability of the reduced‐order model. This article extends the eigenvalue reassignment method of stabilization of linear time‐invariant ROMs, to the more general case of linear time‐varying systems. Through a postprocessing step, the ROM is controlled to ensure the stability while enhancing/maintaining its accuracy using a constrained nonlinear lease‐square minimization problem. The controller and the input signals are defined at the algebraic level, using left and right singular vectors of the reduced system matrices. The choice provides a control on the upper bound of the growth of the energy of the reduced system. The optimization problem is applied to several time‐invariant, time‐periodic, and time‐varying problems, and the reproductive and predictive capabilities of the proposed method, with respect to novel inputs and the system parameters, are evaluated.


The utility model relates to a device and a system which utilize image color information to conduct image comparison. According to the optimum embodiment of the device, consecutive images are first collected by an image collection unit and stored in a temporary memory, and an image processing program is then executed by a processing unit. Reference images and subsequent images are chosen from the consecutive images, color space conversion is conducted by an image processing module, and in particular, the reference images and the subsequent images are converted into a HSI (hue, saturation and intensity) color space from the original color space. The color features of specific objects are collected, matching operation is conducted and used as the reference for judging objects, and results are sent back to the processing unit.


The synthesis of a new tailed porphyrin compound 5 p [4 ( m pyridyloxy) butoxy] phenyl 10,15,20 trimethoxyphenyl, porphyrin, and its iron(Ⅲ) coordination compound was reported. The structure was characterized by elemental analysis, ultraviolet and visible spectrascopy, infrared spectrascopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrascopy.


The Ba_(0.7)St_(0.3)TiO_3 green body is prepared by the combination of gelcasting and cold isostatic press (CIP).The process is similar to the conventional gelcasting method except for adopting CIP on the dried green body. The effect of CIP pressure on the sintered density is studied.The optimal CIP pressure is 100MPa.The green body exhibits the high bending strength as high as 32.8MPa and the density of sintered body is 98.2%theoretically,respectively. The microstructure of the sample is more homogeneous and compact than that prepared by gelcasting and CIP solely.The combination of gelcasting and CIP can effectively prepare high density functional ceramics.


This paper aims at measuring the level of both monetary poverty and multidimensional poverty of the tea garden labour community of the Dibrugarh district of Assam. The paper also aims at comparing the monetary poverty and multidimensional poverty of the tea garden labour community of the Dibrugarh district of Assam. The present study is mainly a primary survey based study. Monetary poverty is measured on the basis of the official state specific rural poverty line and using Foster-Greer-Thorbecke class of poverty indices. Multidimensional poverty is measured using Alkaire-Foster methodology. Then for comparing monetary and multidimensional poverty the study used the simple cross tables. The findings of the study show that monetary poverty headcount ratio of the sample tea garden labour community is 48.89 percent. The value of the multidimensional poverty index declines with higher multidimensional poverty cutoffs. The comparison of the monetary and multidimensional poverty shows that for all the three multidimensional poverty cutoffs the similarity between the two poverty measures is higher than the mismatch between them


Purpose: postoperative delirium assessment tool (below, tool) for the needs related to, it is to clear by clinical experience life. Methods: the subject nurse 725 people at the National University Hospital 19 Hospital ward work nationwide. Data analysis methods are divided by years of experience into five groups, the need for tools, use hope, number of items, for the required time, I was a one-way analysis of variance. Results: recovery number 364 parts, was valid responses number 337 copies. Tools required percentage of respondents is 85.5%, the proportion of use desired shows 82.5%, subject the entire tool item average number of 10.4 item, most group of more than years of experience in '20 and an average of 21 items than by Experience It was. The average of the tools required time was 4.8 minutes. The need for years of experience another tool, use hope, there is no significant difference in the multiple comparison between the five groups related to the time required, compared in the comparison between groups of the number of items, years of experience more than 20 years a group of all of the other four groups significant difference was caused by (P <.001). Conclusions: 20 years group, it can be considered about twice as many results as compared to other Experience group has many observation viewpoint based on


Input-queued switch architecture has become attractive in the context of high performance networking because the switching fabric and the buffer need not run at a multiple (speedup) of the external link's rate. With the expanding of network applications, the networks should provide QoS guarantees and QoS control is becoming a major issue in 1the design of high-performance switches. The scheduling in input-queued switches should give attention to the efficiency and fairness of resource allocation. In this paper, we put forward an iterative matching algorithm (P-FQ) and evaluate its performance by simulations. The simulation results show that P-FQ supports fair bandwidth distribution among the flows and can achieve asymptotically 100 percent throughput.


In 1821 (Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. 2, p. i69) the great naturalist, Thomas Say, described a large pond snail giving its habitat and locality as Canandaigua Lake. Indefiniteness of ecological station was characteristic of the early naturalists who deemed the name of the nearest town or body of water sufficient for location of a species. Such habitat names as Cayuga Lake, lakes Erie and Superior, Lake Champlain, and 'Lakes of Maine' are common in the older writings. It is obvious that a pondor swamp-inhabiting snail would not live in the waters of a large lake like Canandaigua and its exact ecological station must necessarily be sought in a normal habitat near the lake. No specimen of elodes has ever been found living in the lake. Many years ago the north end of the lake, where the outlet discharges its surplus waters, was an extensive swamp or marsh inhabited by elodes and other mollusks. This area has now been drained for building purposes. The southern end of the lake is also marshy. It is probable that the specimens from which Say drew up his original description came from the north end of the lake, either in the marshy tract bordering the outlet, or from a beach pool or pond bordering the upper end of the lake. A few years ago, while exploring the east side of the lake, a large beach pond was discovered in which were living many large pond snails of the form known as elodes. These shells are exactly like Say's types deposited in the museum of the Philadelphia Academy and like his figures in the American Conchology. It is quite likely that the original shells came from a beach pond near the northern end of Canandaigua Lake, because the shores of both the west and a large part of the east side are very precipitous and do not afford space for beach pools of any description. The beach pond in question may therefore be taken as typical of the original locality. This beach pond (fig. i) is situated about three miles south of the City of Canandaigua on the east side of the lake, near a group of summer cottages erected on higher ground southward. The pool and the surrounding vegetation cover about five acres of which about three acres are included in the pool itself.


PurposeThe study investigates the co-movements amongst real estate investments trust (REITs). This study examines the co-movements between the world and individual countries' REITs and the co-movements amongst country-pair REITs. This study explores the responsiveness of the REITs markets' co-movements to the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC), the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the Russian–Ukraine conflict.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a wavelet coherency technique and relies on data from six REITs markets over the 1995–2022 period. FindingsThe evidence shows a generally high level of coherency between the global and the country's REITs. The findings further indicate higher co-movements between some country pairs and a lower co-movement for others. The results suggest that the REITs markets increased in co-movements around the 2008 GFC, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukraine conflict. These increased co-movements mostly lasted for a short period suggesting REITs markets contagion around these global events. The results generally suggest interdependence between the global and the country's REITs. Additionally, interdependence is observed for some of the country-pair REITs.Originality/valueThe evidence indicates that REITs markets respond to global events. Thus, the increasing co-movement amongst REITs observed in this study may expose domestic REITs to global crisis. However, this study provides opportunities for minimising the cost of capital for real estate projects. Also, REITs provide limited diversification gains around crisis times. Therefore, countries need to open the REITs markets to global investors whilst pursuing policies to ensure the resilience of the REITs markets to global events. Investors should also take note of the declining geographic diversification gains from some country-pair REITs portfolios.


The present invention provides an image pickup device, an image pickup apparatus and a method for driving the image pickup device which are capable of improving the quality of the image. The image pickup device can include a semiconductor substrate with a photoelectric conversion element and a charge-conversion element. A sensor can further include a capacitance switch. A charge accumulation element is located adjacent the photoelectric conversion element. At least a portion of the charge accumulation element overlaps a charge accumulation region of the photoelectric conversion element. The charge accumulation element is selectively connected to the charge-voltage conversion element by the capacitance switch.


SUMMARY:The article reviews the recurrent cycles of wholesale modernization of Kazakh culture over the last century to argue the futility of policies based on complete eradication of the previous cultural code. Putting the main focus on the sphere of education, particularly at university level, the authors compare the situation at the turn of the twentieth century, during the Early Soviet period, and after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The ruthless criticism of the traditional cleric culture by Muslim reformers (the Jadids), the subsequent assault on them as not modern and radical enough by Soviet educators, and the dismissive attitude to Soviet cultural and educational standards by government managers in modern Kazakhstan have had profound structural parallels. Their radicalism notwithstanding, these reforms were securing Kazakhstan's role as a periphery of some external center of "true knowledge", and thus its essentially colonial status. The logic of modernization understood as embracing some complete cultural sphere from elsewhere made any local knowledge (including national identity) synonymous to backwardness. This started a vicious circle: any successful intellectual had to refute any national cultural legacy, thus making national culture incompatible with modernity by definition. The authors discover the persistence of cultural practices behind the fiery rhetoric of all cultural revolutions in modern Kazakh history, which they call the "quiet nationalism of academic practices". They use the case of Soviet academy to demonstrate the effect of hybridization of the nationalist discourse within the Soviet institutions, and thus the reality of accommodating tradition within modern culture. They conclude that local culture, despite being pushed to the "backyard of modernity," has shown a remarkable capacity to reproduce itself and influence the parameters and the direction of the modernization project at all periods. Therefore, rather than fighting the "quiet nationalism of academic practices", a truly postcolonial modernizing project should explicitly embrace them.


The geometric properties of cylindrical structures are complex as compared with plate-like structures. Structural health monitoring of such structures is thus more complicated. Even though many efforts have been carried out on the detection of cracks in cylindrical structures, the crack sizes and orientations have not received enough attention. Recently, a method to correlate the root-mean-square deviation change of torsional wave pack of signal with axial crack growth has been developed. In this article, based on the same principle and experimental setup, the detection of crack size and orientation is studied. Macro-fiber composite transducers are used as either an actuator or a sensor. First, a crack of finite size is induced in a laboratory specimen. Later, the size is gradually increased along various orientations. The effects of the crack size and transmitted waves, captured by the sensor, are correlated with the root-mean-square deviation values of the torsional wave packs and the longitudinal wave packs. The results show that both size and orientation of the crack can be evaluated based on the proposed method. The system developed in this article is easy to setup, cost-effective, and able to achieve automatic continuous online monitoring with good results.


The primary point of this research was to develop the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the determination of nifedipine in situ gel. The method development was done using different solvents, mobile phase composition, flow rate, and column. The developed technique was approved according to the ICH guideline Q2R1. Chromatographic separation of nifedipine from gel was achieved on Primesil C-8, dimension: 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μ, i.e. a stainless steel column 250 mm long, 4.6 mm id loaded with octadecyl silane chemically bonded to permeable silica particles of 5 μm diameter maintained column oven temperature at 25°C. Acetonitrile:methanol:water in the ratio of 9:36:55 (v/v/v) was selected, as it gave symmetrical peak of nifedipine with minimal tailing. The chromatograph were recorded with UV vis detector at 235 nm wavelength and flow rate was 1 ml/min. The accuracy and precision of the methods were determined and validated statistically. Every method demonstrated great reproducibility and observed to be fast, exact, precise, and accurate with percent relative standard deviation <2. The method was observed to be simple, rapid, accurate, and precise. These methods can be effectively connected for the routine investigation of standard preparation and sample preparations.


Routing is a crucial issue in the design of a MANET. In this paper, we specifically examine the
multipath routing issue since it is typically proposed in order to increase fault tolerance and to provide trafficload
and energy-consumption balancing. In fact, unbalanced traffic may lead to more delay, packet's dropping
and packet delivery rate decreasing. Unbalanced energy consumption leads to node failure, network
partitioning and decreases its lifetime. Accordingly, this paper proposes a new multipath routing protocol LPRAOMDV
(Lifetime Prediction Routing based on the well known Ad hoc On-demand Multipath Distance
Vector). The idea behind this, is to exploit the multipath mechanism in AOMDV to select the best routes
according to a cost metric that we define. For this reason, we introduce a new routing technique called Lifetime
Prediction Routing (LPR) which is an on demand source routing protocol that uses energy lifetime prediction.
This protocol favors the path whose lifetime is the highest one. Simulation results show the good performances
of LPR-AOMDV protocol using various metrics such as overhead, energy consumption and packet-delivery
rate.


Dry skin (N…erosis cutis) is a common problem a`ecting people art di`erent age and of di`erent skin types. he reasons for dry skin can be natural (physiological), pathological, or related to the inquence of unfavourable environmental factors. he purpose of the paper is to elaborate an algorithm for diagnosis and management of patients with dry skin of various etiology. A retrospective search in the following data-bases was carried out: MEDLINE (PubMed) of the National Library of Medicine (USA), Consilium-Medicum (Russia) and Russkij meditsinskij zhurnal (Russia). When the diagnosis of dry skin is made, usually, one takes into consideration the disturbance of the hydratation of the corneal layer (10%) only. his parameter can be considered as a screening tool only and should not be the only criterion for choice of therapy. he pathophysiological changes are assocaited with disturbace of the epidermal barrier, incerase of the transepidermal water loss and pH alterations of stratum corneum. he basic diagnostic criteria are the following: transepidermal water loss and fatty secretion level (i.e., normal, low or high). hese parameters should be born in mind in the selection of treatment and can be assessed through the application of rapid real-time invivo methods such as TEWL-metry and sebumetry. he recent research achievements demonstrate that natural moisturizing factor, ceramides and aquaporins are the key factors for skin hydratation. he chouice of therapy in patienst with dry skin is a great challenge. It is strictly individualized. Treatment errors could lead to patient`s status worsening.


Processed cheese spreads was manufactured by using natural additives (garlic, white pepper,pickled olive slices and black pepper) which added at a levels of 3.5% w/w of garlic and pickled olive slices and 0.75 % w/w both white and black pepper. In all treatments the cheese base are the same, the only different in all treatments was the addition of different tested natural additives to determine thier effect on the quality of processed cheese spreads. The processed cheese spreads were chemically, microbiologically and sensory evaluated. all experiments and each analysis were carried out in triplicates and average values were tabulated and statistically analyzed (pr≤ 0.05).The resultant cheese spreads packed and stored at 10  ̊C for 60 days. Results cleared that processed cheese spreads analogues with garlic, black and white pepper additives can be manufactured without any chemical preservatives, this might be due to the presence of bacteriostatic and aroma compounds in the tested natural additives, which improves falvour of the resultant cheese.


Questions we care about. In this study we are interested to explore the intersection between entrepreneurial learning (EL) and problem solving in mathematics in a primary school setting in Sweden. EL is part of the Swedish school system curricula where it is about developing entrepreneurial competences such as initiative, responsibility, creativity and ability to collaborate – competences that lay the foundation for an active life and life-long learning. The level of mathematics ability has according to PISA-tests deteriorated in the Swedish school system. Therefore, we wanted to explore if using ideas from EL applied to problem solving in mathematics could be fruitful in both developing mathematical ability and entrepreneurial competences among the students. Approach. This study uses a participative action research (PAR) approach, implying that we brought in teachers (and to some extent students) as participators in the research project already from the start. While the overall research question (How can EL support problem solving in mathematics and vice versa?) was stated by the researchers, the work to operationalize this in each school setting is done with the teachers. Eight schools in three municipalities participate, comprising students from preschool to grade 6. The overall research guidelines are same for all schools, but the local approach differs based on local contextual factors. The researchers come from two universities some 1300 km from each other, which introduces some coordination challenges. Results. Working with a PAR approach and involving two universities far away from each other has been a challenge, but we see now positive results in terms of engaged teachers and valuable cross-university exchanges. There seem to be a good fit between EL and problem solving in mathematics based on the first empirical "try-outs". It is too early to draw any conclusions, but the early results support that there is synergetic potential in this mix. Implications. Based on our initial efforts, the approach (PAR), the setting (Primary schools) and the research focus (interaction between EL and mathematics) provide fruitful results. Value/Originality. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study entrepreneurial learning in relation to mathematics in a primary school setting.


By using time series analysis B—J method,shopping traffic ARMA prediction model is established.Based on the prediction model,the mall traffic is predicted.Through the forecast and actual traffic data,this paper tests the applicability and validity of the model.


In Reply.— Several comments in response to Drs Rifkin and Quitkin's letter are in order. Their statement that "only one of the four (patients) whose conditions did not improve received drugs" is not an accurate representation of the clinical data we presented. We stated that the medication of one of the four patients whose condition demonstrated no change at follow-up was stopped as part of our study. In total, the conditions of none of the ten patients included in our study were treated with tricyclic antidepressants during the patients' baseline hospitalization; the remaining patient's condition was treated with lithium. As described in our report, the medication of four patients was stopped during the course of the protocol. We did not assign patients to "responder" and "nonresponder" groups, since we were not evaluating outcome of a specific treatment regimen. The MHPG excretion data for the baseline and follow-up periods in our study


For many years clinicians have remarked that in intrapartum and postpart.um hemorrhage the shed blood occasionally fails to clot. On the basis of present evidence, the clotting defect appears to be due chiefly to a reduction in t.he plasma fibrinogen concentration. Although other factors of blood clotting may be decreased, especially platelets, A(: globulin, and prothrombin activity, the reduction in these componeiits never reaches a hemorrhagic level. In the majority of instances the fibrinogen value is somewhat less than 100 mg./100 ml., although in the rare case no fibrinogen may be detected in the blood. A fibrinogen concentration below 150 mg./100 ml. in the pregnant patient now is generally regarded as abnormal.' I t has been demonstrated that hypofibrinogenemia, a more acceptable term than afibrinogenemia, may develop in the more severe form of abruptio placentae, long-standing fetal death in utero, and amniotic fluid embolism.1-4


Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents are widely used drugs for cardiovascular prevention and reducing the risk of thromboembolic events. Gastrointestinal bleeding represents a serious complication of their use. Gastrointestinal endoscopy is related to bleeding risk – there is bleeding risk stratification according to endoscopic procedures (high- and low-risk ones). Treatment with antithrombotic drugs in the periprocedural endoscopic period is based on balancing the bleeding risk against the thromboembolic risk. Antithrombotic agents in endoscopic procedures with lower bleeding risk are not needed to be withheld. It is recommended temporary discontinuation of antithrombotic treatment in high-risk endoscopic procedures and to consider the use of "bridging" therapy with LWMH for patients on Vitamin K antagonists who are at high thrombotic risk. Evaluating cardiovascular risk and management of antithrombotic therapy could be a challenge for gastrointestinal endoscopists, therefore, collaboration with a cardiologist is of great importance, at least for some patients.


The uterine weight and ovulation responses of immature intact and hypophysectomized mice from two lighting regimes have been studied after injection ofgonadotrophin. The results indicate diurnal variation in ovarian response: the response to gonadotrophin was greater when it was administered during the second halfof the light phase of the daily light cycle than at any other time. Pregnant mice were fasted for 36to 48-hr periods beginning at 06.00 hours or 18.00 hours on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th day after mating. Diurnal variation in the proportion of pregnancies failing was demonstrated. The effect was not attributable to differences in loss of body weight during fasting, and could be prevented by injections of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hcg). The numbers of eggs ovulated by adult di-oestrous mice treated with


As a major plasma protein, albumin has a distinct advantage compared with other materials for
nanoparticle preparation. It is cheap and easily available. The present work aimed to prepare bovine
albumin nanoparticles (BAN) with a simple coacervation method and to test their hemocompatibility.
The albumin nanoparticles obtained by this method had a range of sizes from 250 - 350
nm at pH = 7.4. In vitro hemocompatibility tests of the prepared (BAN) were conducted after the
incubation of BAN with normal blood for 2 h at 37&degC. Hemocompatibility tests showed that the reduction
in the hemolysis percentage of erythrocytes was due to exposure to BAN. The other blood
parameters such as hemoglobin (HG), mean corpuscle hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscle
hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were in the normal range. The prothrombin time (PT) and
erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) decreased as the concentration of BAN increased. The results
obtained in this study demonstrated that BAN could be used safely and without abnormal effect
when interacted with blood through many biomedical applications.


The article discusses the creation of a local department in Moscow of the Society of Zealots of Russian Historical Enlightenment in memory of Emperor Alexander III. For the first time, the materials of personal correspondence of the chairman of the Society, Count S.D. Sheremetev and I.F. Tyutchev, who was to form a local department, were involved. The Moscow department was given paramount importance. The initiative was supported at the level of the Moscow administration. However, to implement this initiative promptly it didn't work out.


Summary Porcine Pegivirus (PPgV) and Atypical Porcine Pestivirus (APPV) are two recently identified porcine viruses. In this study, the identification of two viruses by metagenomic sequencing, and a duplex semi‐quantitative RT‐PCR was developed to detect these pathogens simultaneously. The PPgV strain Minnesota‐1/2016 had a 95.5%–96.3% nucleotide identity and clustered with the recently identified US PPgV strains, which is a distant clade from the German PPgV strains. The APPV strain Minnesota‐1/2016 shared an 87.3%–92.0% nucleotide identity with the other global APPV strains identity but only shared an 82.8%–83.0% nucleotide identity with clade II consisting of strain identified in China. Detection of both PPgV and APPV was 9.0% of the diagnostic cases. Co‐infection of PPgV and APPV was identified in 7.5% of the diagnostic cases. The occurrence and genetic characterization of PPgV and APPV further enhance our knowledge regarding these new pathogens in the United States.


It is not easy for people to consistently take care of their health without motivation. Existing smartphone apps have assisted with people managing their health, but there still remain questions about whether target users' needs were addressed to support the users. We report on each stage of a design thinking process for redesigning experiences of people who are in their 20s to 40s for managing their health. Especially, we were able to empathize with our target users by making the empathy map. This helped us to identify real users' needs. Outcomes from each stage of the design thinking process show that the process is applicable to other domains when people create a smartphone app to address the needs of their target users effectively.


Objective
To know the psychological experience and the demand for psychological health services of secondary vocational nursing students, and explore the measures of improving their psychological health and provide psychological health services and strategies.

Methods
Phenomenological methods of qualitative research was used in this study, and nine secondary vocational nursing students were selected and investigated by in-depth personal interview. The data were analyzed by the thematic framework.

Results
Four themes were extracted from the data analysis: suffering from multiple pressures, common bad behaviors, weak psychological support system, look forward to psychological health services.

Conclusions
Secondary vocational nursing students have many psychological and behavioral problems. Families, schools and the society should work together to provide personalized and modern mental health services for them and reduce the psychological and behavioral problems.

Key words:
Nursing; Secondary vocation; Psychological health; Qualitative research


(57) ABSTRACT In one embodiment, a method includes displaying by a mobile computing device of a first user a notification of an incoming call. The notification identifies a second user asso ciated with a source of the incoming call. The method further includes detecting by the mobile computing device user input provided during the display of the notification of the incom ing call. In response to the user input, one or more previous communications between the first and second users is deter mined by the mobile computing device. The method further includes displaying by the mobile computing device the one or more previous communications.


Several R-2 somaclonal families were derived from plants regenerated from a salt-resistant callus of the salt-sensitive rice cultivar 'I Kong Pao' (IKP). The family R-2-1-23, in the presence of NaCl exhibited higher yield performances than the initial cultivar. This improvement in salinity resistance, however, was not transmitted to following generations, despite a higher number of spikelets per plant, family R-3-1-23 did not perform better than the initial cultivar because of a very low seed set. This somaclonal family, its initial being the cultivar IKP, the breeding line lR31785 (extremely salt-sensitive) and the cultivar 'Aiwu' (moderately salt-resistant), were used as parents for production of hybrids. Four crosses, IKP x R-3-1-23, IR31785 x R-3-1-23, IR31785 x IKP and IKP x 'Aiwu', were performed. Most of the F-1 hybrids cultivated in the absence of salt exhibited increased performances compared with the mid-parent. suggesting an heterosis effect for yield-related parameters. F-2 populations were screened for salinity resistance and a clear improvement for yield in stress conditions was recorded for populations derived from IKP x R-3-1-23, IR31785 x R-3-1-23 and IR31785 x IKP, although the mean level of increase over the mid-parent (RIMP) varied depending on the population, the presence or absence of stress, and the quantified parameters. The results are discussed in relation to the usefulness of in vitro selection for obtaining interesting somaclonal variants useful to be integrated in classical breeding programmes for salinity resistance in rice.


Examination of 15 patients with tumors of the brain in whom the presence of subdural hematomas could not be excluded and of 27 patients with chronic subdural hematomas revealed that displacement of the M-echo was 8 +/- 0.43 mm on the average in chronic subdural hematomas and 5.6 +/- 0.43 mm in tumors. EEG abnormalities were observed in 100% of cases with tumors and were mostly of a coarse character. In chronic subdural hematomas EEG abnormalities were relatively rare (18.5%) and were less manifested than those in tumors. The statistical significance of the differences evidently allows the sign of the dissociation of the EEG and Echo-EG data in chronic subdural hematomas to be used for the differentiation of the disease from tumors.


Abstract Recently, a new field of developmental cognitive/socio-affective neuroscience has emerged at the crossroads of Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience, linked to new advances in neuroimaging and electrophysiological measures. This paper presents arguments and evidence from a variety of research areas to illustrate the potential strength of the neuroscience approach to the study of developmental phenomena. In particular, it is argued that adding neurological data to our theorisation of change may produce several beneficial effects: a) bringing new light to old topics; b) refining complex psychological constructs, and c) developing research areas that contemplate several levels of analysis, from genes to contextual influences. Finally, some reflections are presented on the challenges involved in adapting to new technologies and building new theoretical proposals. It is concluded that these challenges are worthwhile because they could potentially bring an end to the polarisation in our discipline between cognitive and sociocultural approaches by encompassing both within a more comprehensive view of developmental processes.


Cultural Heritage institutions are nowadays using social media to communicate with citizens and tourists. However, providing actual effective communication is not an easy task, as every day millions of messages are posted through social media. Thus, getting visibility is not trivial. In this paper we present the architecture of a dashboard, accessible by mobile Android devices, to support museum social media managers in composing effective tweets by providing suggestions to improve message drafts. At this aim, the application exploits machine learning techniques over data related to tweets posted by museums in the past.


Reading-to-write (RTW) tasks are becoming increasingly popular and have already been used in several high-stakes English proficiency exams, either replacing or complementing a prompt-based essay test. However, it is still not clear that what accounts for successful or unsuccessful performance on an integrated reading–writing task is owing to the hybrid nature of reading and writing skills and to potential rater effects on test score variability. Thus, in this study, data-driven analytic rubrics for the RTW task were developed first. Then, the analytic subscores of 83 college ESL students' responses to the RTW task were obtained. Correlational analyses were first used for the data to explore the relationship of the writing and reading skills engaged in different aspects of the RTW task. A multivariate G-study was also applied to examine the degree of variability attributable to test takers and raters on analytic subscores. The results indicate that a RTW task may tap into both reading and writing abilities given relatively high correlations observed among composite of and separate analytic subscores, and independent reading and writing scores. The multivariate G-study results also show that each analytic rating domain could capture the difference in variability of test takers' proficiency utilized in the RTW task, and raters assigned scores neither too harshly nor too leniently across each analytic rating domain. However, the results also reveal that person and rater facets contributed to score variability differently in certain analytic categories. This study provides valuable insights into the nature of RTW tasks and has implications for rating rubric development for integrated tasks.


This thesis deals with the production, characterization and analysis of Fe and Co based nanocrystalline and amorphous soft-ferromagnetic alloys, alloys showing ferromagnetic hysteresis cycles with low energy losses, produced by the mechanical alloying (MA) and the melt spinning (MS) techniques. The study focus firstly on nanocrystalline alloys produced by MA from commercially available pure elements in powder form and later with alloys produced by milling of amorphous alloys previously produced in ribbon by the MS. The respective structural and magnetical properties are compared, including also an study of the anisotropy induced by the presence of an external magnetic field during the cooling process in the MS cases.


In modern society,because of the non permanance and non profession of shareholders,the board seizes the initiative in corporate governance,and even because of the indifference of shareholders on corporate governance,sometimes it can results in the board controling the company completely.The board diluted shareholder equity by means of intent and decide important matters without authorization.In this paper the anthor begins from the States United States events and then provides an idea for entrepreneurs,especially for the private entrepreneurs in order to avoid such a situation occuring and at the same time give full play to the role of constitution and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.


During chest imaging, more specifically, between the tomosynthesis imaging, a system and method for reducing X-ray scattering. In one embodiment, an anti-scatter grid having a plurality of partition walls, each partition wall of the plurality of partition walls, during the imaging of the object using the X-ray imaging device, along the coronal plane of the subject in a direction substantially parallel to as extend, it may be configured to be positioned with respect to the X-ray imaging device. X-ray imaging device, for imaging the breast of the subject is operable in tomosynthesis mode obtained may include anti-scatter grid disposed between the chest platform and X-ray detector. Anti-scatter grid during the tomosynthesis imaging, can be configured to move to the sagittal plane of the target and substantially parallel.


In the past 5 years, few topics in biology and medicine have attracted as much interest as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This has resulted in a rapidly increasing body of information regarding the aetiology of the disease which eventually may serve as a basis for a rational drug therapy against AD. Today, AD should not be considered an idiopathic dementia but instead an amyloidosis that specifically affects the brain parenchyma and cerebromeningeal blood vessels, leading to neurodegeneration and loss of neuronal function. The neuropathological hallmarks of AD are the neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) present in the brains of individuals suffering from the disease. Neuritic plaques consist of a core of amyloid surrounded by dead or dying neural cells and cell processes whereas NFT are interneuronal depositions of abnormal cytoskeletal proteins. However, neither of these structures are completely specific for AD as they also can be found in brains of non-demented


A vast empirical evidence in experimental psychology on time discounting has documented various behavioral anomalies which cast doubts on the empirical support for exponential discounting, to date the most widely used assumption on time preference in economic theory. The most important of such anomalies, called ''reversal of preferences,'' has been interpreted to suggest that agents have a preference, a bias in fact, for present consumption which cannot be rationalized by preferences with exponential discounting. Psychologists (e.g., Herrnstein, 1961, de Villiers-Herrnstein, 1976, Ainsle-Herrnstein, 1981; see also Ainsle, 1992, 2001) and, most recently, behavioral economists (e.g., Elster, 1979, Laibson, 1996, O'Donoghue-Rabin, 1999) have noted that the evidence is consistent with a declining rate of time preference, and have suggested various specification of discounting which give rise to declining discount rates over time, hyperbolic discounting, and quasi-hyperbolic discounting. Such specifications of discounting would introduce a fundamental paradigm change in economic theory: preferences with hyperbolic (or quasi-hyperbolic) discounting in fact, as opposed to preferences with exponential discounting, lack time-consistency. While experimental psychologists have collected an impressive amount of data on time preference in support of declining discount rates, in fact, most of this data is not without problems: often experiments have been conducted with hypothetical rewards, or with "points" redeemable at the end of the experiments (thereby eliminating any rationale for time preference); often the design of the experiments gives rise to issues of strategic manipulability, or of framing effects. Rarely have the data been analyzed with proper econometric instruments; in particular, the hypothesis of hyperbolic discounting has never been tested statistically against the alternative of exponential discounting. This is the objective of the present paper.


This article presents the results of our recent work on the synthesis of novel, optically active odor compounds from chirons isolated from some plant materials. The chirons used were as follows : (+)-limonene, (+)-α-pinene, (+)-3-carene, (+)-longifolene and (+) ricinoleic acid. Their were converted to more useful intermediates by the introduction of oxygene functions


The article covers a comparative and cognitive review of English proverbs about friends and enemies including their etymological aspects and the historical viewpoint. The aim was to determine the way a proverb fulfils its function as a country-specific element within historical and cultural context and reflects kinds and stages of cognition. The cognitive analysis of friend- and enemy-related paroemias' implications as well as the association test based on friend and enemy stimulus words were carried out. Based on the research findings, a proverb is seen as a condensed wise saying having potential to actualize a fragment of worldview in a semantically accurate non-ambiguous way in the given context, but having a wider range of implications and interpretations at its core. The association test with friend and enemy stimulus words demonstrates a more limited list of reactions predominantly based on personal experience and basic associations, thus resulting in positive reactions to a friend stimulus word and negative ones to an enemy counterpart. It can be concluded that the proverbs' etymological aspect turns out to be an essential ground to understand the roots and dynamics of cognitive processes and the worldview as its fundamental component of a particular nation or society. A comparative analysis of proverbs with the given key notions in different languages helps to find evidence of the universal core elements of cognition as well as country-related variations. A cognitive review of friend- and enemy-related proverbs results in a wide scope of implications tending to embody relatively polar interpretations.


Objective To investigate the prevalence of HIV/Syphilis/HCV infection and the related knowledge and behaviors among men who have sex with men( MSM) in Qinhuangdao for the effective intervention measure and control strategies. Methods Questionnaire with serological testing was conducted by voluntary recruitment and snowball sampling in 2009- 2012. Results The average age was( 26. 9 ± 7. 160) years-old in1 043 participants,and the unmarried participants accounted for 75. 65%. 84. 75% of the respondents were high school and above of education level,and 72. 58% lived in local city more than two years. The proportion of participants knowing correct HIV / AIDS knowledge was 88. 11%. Of all participants studied,86. 10% of respondents ever had anal sex with male in the last six months,and the proportion of condom using with male partners was 69. 38% in the last time. The proportion of consistent condom using was 42. 76%,and the respondents never used condoms were mainly unmarried college youth. 9. 02% of the respondents ever had commercial sexual behavior and 29. 82% reported ever having sex with woman. The respondents never used condoms in Heterosexual sexual behavior,marriage and cohabitation accounted for 69. 70%,6. 81% of the respondents reported a history of sexually transmitted diseases. A total of them were detected in the informed consent,with HIV infection rate of 5. 75% and syphilis infection rate of 7. 19% and HCV infection rate of0. 19%. Conclusion HIV / AIDS related knowledge should be promoted among MSM population in Qinhuangdao. At the same time,the prevention and control of syphilis and hepatitis C should be paid attention and early detection and effective treatment for syphilis in order to reduce the spread of HIV.


Foreword The Insect Pest Control sub-programme of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has worked for many years on developing the sterile insect technique (SIT) for tsetse fly control. A standard rearing system was developed twenty years ago that allowed the rearing of sufficient flies for research, development and small field operations, such as the BICOT project in Nigeria in the 1980's and the successful eradication of Glossina austeni from Unguja Island, Zanzibar in 1997. The research and development work of the Entomology Unit of the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria and a number of collaborators through six previous and current Coordinated Research Projects has focused on tackling a number of issues critical to furthering the widespread application of SIT. These include using radiation and isotopes to develop diets for mass rearing haematophagous insects for sterile insect release and to study disease transmission by these vectors; improved attractants for enhancing the efficiency of tsetse fly suppression operations and barrier systems used in tsetse control/eradication campaigns; and genetic applications to improve the SIT for tsetse control/eradication including population genetics. It has become clear though that if the SIT is to be adopted more widely for tsetse control more efficient rearing techniques will be needed. The IAEA and FAO established a Coordinated Research Project in 1995 to address this issue and six scientists and engineers from five countries participated. Four Research Coordination Meetings were held in which the research programme was established and the results discussed.


While the fully automated vehicle (AV) has been the future of the automotive industry, there is uncertainty regarding how the vehicle will be operating. This study aims to investigate the feeling of comfort in terms of experienced motion sickness for the AV passengers when exposed to two different automated test rides. Two sessions were performed on the real road using an instrumented vehicle. The first session was a defensive automated test ride (DATR) with relatively low acceleration forces. The second session was an assertive automated test ride (AATR) with stronger acceleration forces. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and self-rating questionnaires were used to investigate the relation between them when given forces variation. Statistically significant ( p <0.05) increases were found when comparing the before and after self-rating motion sickness score for the AATR, whereas no statistically significant ( p <0.05) increases were found for the DATR. For the discomfort rating, the level of perceived comfort remained almost constant throughout DATR. Whereas for the AATR, an approximately linear increase in the feeling of discomfort was found. The physiological variations (ECG) could not accurately predict the subjective comfort based on the statistical analysis results. The linear regressions suggest that forces resulted from driving should be kept as low as possible to improve the AV riding experience.


As probabilistic computation plays an increasing role in diverse fields in computer science, researchers have designed new languages to facilitate the development of probabilistic programs. In this...


BaMnF4, pyroelectric at room temperature and paramagnetic above 30°K, crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with space group A21am and lattice constants a = 5.9845 ± 0.0003, b = 15.098 ± 0.002, and c = 4.2216 ± 0.0003 A at 298°K. The integrated intensities of 5085 reflections within a reciprocal lattice hemisphere of radius (sinθ) / λ = 1.02 A−1 were measured using pexrad. The crystal structure has been solved and refined by a combination of Patterson and Fourier series and the method of least squares, using 455 independent and significantly nonzero F(meas). The final agreement factor R, for atoms with anisotropic temperature coefficients, is 0.0466. The structure consists of MnF6 octahedra sharing corners to form puckered sheets parallel to (010). These sheets are linked by Ba2+ ions only, giving rise to excellent (010) cleavage. Within the sheets there are nearly linear –Mn–F–Mn–F– chains parallel to c. Parallel to a there is a second set of planar zigzag –Mn–F–Mn–F– chains, formed by adjacent shared ...


ABSTRACT This article explores uses in English Key Stage 4 History teaching (ages 14–16) of The Jäger Report. It discusses how the report can be used to illustrate the initial phase of the Holocaust in Lithuania, following the German invasion of The Soviet Union. It also considers the ethical complexities of using this source in teaching, including the risks of data reductionism, and steps that can be taken to mitigate this risk. Finally, it considers how the source can be used in dialogue with the words of witnesses and survivors to challenge the voices of the perpetrators.


The research aimed to identify and analyze the socio-economic characteristics of Sahl El Tina selected farmers, to determine the status of selected improved agricultural practices adoption by selected farmers within their farming systems, and to estimate the factors that affect farm households' decisions to adopt selected improved agricultural practices. The research employed surveyed data of 150 farmers, The analytical tools were used statistical treatments such as percentages, means, and logistic regression analysis were applied to the data, The results of a logistic regression analysis showed that age of household head, education of household head, farmer 'owns' plots with any recommended practice, Household income, Farmer heard of improved practices, households' access to public extension services, households' access to Sahl El Tina extension services, farmer training, perception on improved practices influence on improved practices adoption at the 1% level, the number of information sources was significant at the 5% level .


Exaggerated erythropoiesis and megakaryocytopoiesis are present at a variable extent in polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET). With the recent discovery of the V617F mutation in the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) tyrosine kinase in almost all cases of PV and in a subset of patients with ET, studies are now pending to assess the role of this mutation in the hematopoietic cell activation process and/or in the occurrence of thromboses in ET and PV. The JAK2 V617F point mutation makes the normal hematopoietic progenitor cells hypersensitive to thrombopoietin, erythropoietin, and myeloid progenitor cells, leading to trilinear hematopoietic myeloproliferation. This will have three main clinical consequences during long-term follow-up. First, spontaneous growth of enlarged mature megakaryocytes in ET/PV with overproduction of hypersensitive platelets results in a broad spectrum of platelet-mediated micro-vascular circulatory disturbances, which are very sensitive to low-dose aspirin. Second, spontaneous growth of erythropoiesis with the overproduction of erythrocytes leads to classic PV with increased hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red cell mass. This is associated with a high frequency of major arterial and venous thrombotic complications in addition to platelet-mediated microvascular circulatory disturbances of thrombocythemia. Third, the slowly progressive myeloid (granulocytic) metaplasia in bone marrow and spleen is complicated by secondary myelofibrosis caused by a megakaryocytic


The identification of contact points is a priority in planning grasps. This paper proposes a criterion for the determination of optimal grip points to secure contact stability. The criterion is generally valid, that is, it applies to grasps with any number of contact points on objects having a generic shape (polygonal or curved), and does not require that the external force acting on the object be known. A grasp-quality index, fmin, obtained by minimizing the friction coefficient needed to ensure contact stability in the presence of a generic disturbing external action, has been introduced. The criterion leads to the formulation of an optimization problem with nonlinear constraints that is easy to implement. Finally, some examples are provided which compare the results reported in the literature with the results obtained by applying the criterion proposed in this paper.


This study was to investigate the effects of combined exercise-induced weight loss on metabolic syndrome markers, health-related fitness and hip joint range of motion (ROM). The combined exercise program were provided at a frequency of 3 sessions in circuit weight training and 5 sessions in aerobic exercise training, per for a duration of 12 weeks on 44 obese women. Then, the subjects were classified into either those whose weight loss belonged to low 25% (n=11), moderate 50% (n=22) and high 25% (n=11) based on the amount of weight loss induced by the combined exercise training. To analyze of test results, two-way repeated measures ANOVA was carried out by each variable. In results, the metabolic syndrome markers as waist circumference (p<.001), total cholesterol (p=.015), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (p=.013) and hip joint ROM variables as flexion (left: p=.019, right: p=.019), extension (left: p=.042), adduction (left: p=.016, right: p=.020) were showed significant interaction between measured time and group, but, health-related fitness was showed no significant interaction. In conclusion, large amounts of weight loss by combined exercise reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, and chronic low back pain can be prevented on obese women.


This study aims to provide photovoltaic module selection with better performance in the shading condition for improving production efficiency and reducing photovoltaic system investment cost through the symmetry concept, combining both solar energy mathematical and engineering principles. The study builds a symmetrical photovoltaic model and uses the series-parallel circuit theory, piecewise function and Matlab simulation. The voltage and current output characteristics of commercial photovoltaic modules made of different materials and structures are analyzed and their shading effects are evaluated. The results show that for each photovoltaic module, the output power is directly proportional to the irradiance. The output voltage of the photovoltaic module slightly increases and the output current greatly decreases from no shading to shading. The rate of output power reduction varies for each photovoltaic module type when the irradiance changes. The thin film modules show a lower output power reduction rate than crystalline photovoltaic modules from no shading to shading and they have good adaptability to shading. The use of thin film photovoltaic modules is recommended when the shading condition cannot be avoided.


This article is a survey of the specificity of the process of adopting William Blake's 'illuminated book' The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790) by the Norwegian (heavy-)metal band Ulver. The illuminated plates of Blake inspired and also structured an album highly praised for its originality, that must be analyzed in the context of metal music and word/music adaptation. The paper also sketches, as Robert Walser suggested in 1993 (Running with the Devil), a view of metal music as discourse, by analyzing the signifying practices the album Themes from William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998) is based on. The album initiated a new direction for Ulver, not only as ideological or lyrical perspective, but also musically. The avant-garde electronic and progressive metal with clean vocal style supported Blake's idea that the sensual world can lead to the spiritual, and that the repression of desire destroys the spirit. As adaptation studies are now central to intermedia studies, it is necessary to take into account the adaptation issue as broad as possible. Michael J. Meyer emphasizes in Literature and Musical Adaptation the idea that every reading of the text is necessarily a misreading, and that our readings are made in the direction of our own interests. If so, then we could easily affirm that the reading that pop music does today is the reading that opera, for example, has done in the past, when Verdi or Berlioz read Shakespeare, as David Francis Urrows affirms. Influenced by Theodor W. Adorno's critique of popular music, my point is that Ulver's version of Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell is not a mere adaptation, but a transposition, with specific meanings, as Alison Stone argues, and can be an alternative musical discourse as opposed to pop music.


Active filters are known as the best tools for harmonic mitigation as well as reactive power compensation, load balancing, voltage regulation, and voltage flicker regulation on the power lines.


In this paper, aimed at minimizing the whole strain energy of thin shell structure, the model of shape optimization and the topology optimization were built up. The feasible solutions to shape optimization and topology optimization have been found. Finally a real case of modeling the optimal design of thin shell roof was analyzed.


Nanofocusing of light is localization of electromagnetic energy in regions with dimensions that are significantly smaller than the wavelength of visible light (of the order of one nanometer). This is one of the central problems of modern near-field optical microscopy that takes the resolution of optical imaging beyond the Raleigh's diffraction limit for common optical instruments [Zayats (2003), Pohl (1984), Novotny (1994), Bouhelier (2003), Keilmann (1999), Frey (2002), Stockman (2004), Kawata (2001), Naber (2002), Babadjanyan (2000), Nerkararyan (2006), Novotny (1995), Mehtani (2006), Anderson (2006)]. It is also important for the development of new optical sensors and delivery of strongly localized photons to tested molecules and atoms (for local spectroscopic measurements [Mehtani (2006), Anderson (2006), Kneipp (1997), Pettinger (2004), Ichimura (2004), Nie (1997), Hillenbrand (2002)]). Nanofocusing is also one of the major tools for efficient delivery of light energy into subwavelength waveguides, interconnectors, and nanooptical devices [Gramotnev (2005)]. There are two phenomena of exceptional importance which make it possible nanofocusing. The first is the phenomenon of propagation with small attenuation of electromagnetic energy of light along metal-vacuum or metal-dielectric boundaries. This propagation exists in the form of strictly localized electromagnetic wave which rapidly decreases in the directions perpendicular to the boundary. Remembering the quantum character of the surface wave they say about surface plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) as quasi-particles associated with the wave. The dispersion of the surface wave has the following important feature [Economou (1969), Barnes (2006)]: the wavelength tends to zero when the frequency of the SPPs tends to some critical (cut off) frequency above which the SPPs cannot propagate. For SPPs propagating along metal-vacuum plane boundary this critical frequency is equal to 2 p ω (we use Drude model without absorption in metal). For spherical boundary this critical frequency [Bohren, Huffman (1983)] is equal to 3 p ω . So, the SPP critical frequency depends on the form of the boundary. By changing the frequency of SPPs it is possible to decrease the wavelength of the SPPs to the values substantially


2 Offender classification and assessment are two related but distinct processes in the operation of the prison system and community corrections. Both processes permeate the correctional processes from admission to the correctional system and incarceration through sentence completion, release, and postincarceration supervision (Austin, 2003). Classification and assessment are typically performed by correctional counselors who have three goals in mind: (1) the public' s need for protection and community safety; (2) the identification and matching of offender needs for treatment and management with correctional resources; and (3) the improvement of correctional operation and performance while reducing costs and re-cidivism (Lauren, 1997). Classification in the prison systems refers to the procedure of placing prisoners in one of several custody levels (e.g., maximum, close, medium, and minimum) to match offender needs with correctional resources (e.g., the type of facility to which they will be assigned, and the level of supervision they will receive once they are there). Prison classification systems are intended to differentiate among prisoners who pose different security risks and/or have various management is


Force constants and dipole moment derivatives have been computed for the molecules CH3 X(X=F, Cl, Br, I) using MO wavefunctions with pseudo-potentials for the interaction between the inner shell and valence electrons. The values obtained at the SCF approximation level from a set of gaussian valence orbitals contracted in double-zeta form and enriched with polarization functions compare well with experimental assignments of force and interaction constants, as well as integrated intensities from infrared data. The transferability of atomic force fields and polar tensors (second derivatives of total energies and first derivatives of dipole moments with respect to atomic displacements in cartesian coordinates) is discussed.


In Venezuela, common dolphin (Delphinus sp.) is considered the cetacean with the highest incidence. Studies in the region indicate a possible isolated coastal population so called Venezuelan stock   settled mainly in the northeast of the country.  . The objective of this study is to describe the habitat use of common dolphin in the Mochima National Park (MNP), a protected area with a high and growing anthropic pressure. Seventy surveys were carried out, with predefined survey route, from September 2009 to August 2010. Each group sighted was monitored while possible to a maximum of 30min.. During this time we registered location (Latitude-longitude), behaviour, group size and composition every 5min. Additionally, environmental variables were assessed from the sight location in a nautical chart. The study area was divided into a grid (cell: 500 x 500m) and the Coefficient of Area Use (CAU) was calculated for each cell. The proportion of the total observation time where the common dolphin displayed behaviours into the areas being used was estimated. A logistic regression model was applied to identify the variables that better explained usage pattern. In 55h of observation, 111 groups were recorded. The common dolphin used the habitat differentially, showing preferences for shallow areas  near to the coast. Areas of greatest intensity of use were Tigrillo inlet and the northeast of the Caracas Islands. The probability of presence of dolphins decreased with depth and distance to the coast. Common dolphin invested more time in feeding and socializing activities. Behaviours were significantly dependent of season, group size, composition, depth and distance to the coast. Finally, these data on habitat use and behaviour allow the identification of priority habitats. Throughout the year, the MNP provided areas for refuge, feeding and resting. , It is therefore imperative to promote management and conservation policies that prevent the negative impacts of the increasing   tourism and fishing activities we observed in this Park.


The advantage of division of focal plane imaging polarimeters is their ability to obtain temporally synchronized intensity measurements across a scene; however, they sacrifice spatial resolution in doing so due to their spatially modulated arrangement of the pixel-to-pixel polarizers and often result in aliased imagery. Here, we propose a super-resolution method based upon two previously trained extreme learning machines (ELM) that attempt to recover missing high frequency and low frequency content beyond the spatial resolution of the sensor. This method yields a computationally fast and simple way of recovering lost high and low frequency content from demosaicing raw microgrid polarimetric imagery. The proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art single-image super-resolution algorithms in terms of structural similarity and peak signal-to-noise ratio.


Objective:To compare the difference of effective component paeonia between fried free particles and its pieces.Methods:To test with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),Erie C18 column,with methanol-water(50:50) as mobile phase,velocity:1.0 mL/min,wavelength:274.Results:The content of polyphenol was 4.65 mg/g in fried free particles,24.23 mg/g in pieces.The polyphenol was linear relationship in range 55~275 μg,the average recovery was 97.10%,RSD for 0.7%,respectively.Conclusion: It was remarkable difference of content of polyphenol between fried free particles and its pieces.


Amylases are highly prevalent in environment and perform an imperative role in the field of biotechnology, as they share around 25% of global enzyme market. This enzyme induces the hydrolysis of internal alpha 1,4-glycosidic bonds of starch to produce glucose. The wide range of the applications of amylases in the various processes of industries like fermentation, textile, food, paper, detergent and in pharmaceutical industries has impelled the exploration of the unique and extreme regions to isolate the amylase-producing bacteria. The current study focusses on isolating the extremophilic amylase-producing bacteria from the crop fields of Pathankot region. After isolation, the isolated amylase producing strain was optimized, for which optimal activity at 90C and pH 5.0. Additionally, the metal ion like MnCl2 and CoCl2 were found to be positive co-factor for enhancing enzyme activity, whereas, ZnCl2 and CaCl2 showed the inhibiting effect on the enzyme. Further, the bacteria showing the optimum activity was found to be gram negative and rod-shaped (phenotype similar with Bacillus).


The statistics of primordial curvature fluctuations are our window into the period of inflation, where these fluctuations were generated. To date, the cosmic microwave background has been the dominant source of information about these perturbations. Large scale structure is however from where drastic improvements should originate. In this paper, we explain the theoretical motivations for pursuing such measurements and the challenges that lie ahead. In particular, we discuss and identify theoretical targets regarding the measurement of primordial non-Gaussianity. We argue that when quantified in terms of the local (equilateral) template amplitude $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc}$ ($f_{\rm NL}^{\rm eq}$), natural target levels of sensitivity are $\Delta f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc, eq.} \simeq 1$. We highlight that such levels are within reach of future surveys by measuring 2-, 3- and 4-point statistics of the galaxy spatial distribution. This paper summarizes a workshop held at CITA (University of Toronto) on October 23-24, 2014.


Reexamination of the type of Palaeocreusia devonica Clarke has shown that it is not an ancestor of a specialized type of barnacle (Creusia) as originally thought. It is probably the remnant of an acmaeid or patellid limpet that became lodged on the surface of a coral and was overgrown.


Responses of L-type external horizontal cells(LHCs)of the cyprinid retinadeveloped an initial on-transient during the course of light adaptation.Theon-transient is wavelength-dependent,being much more prominent to blue andgreen lights than to red light.From its spectral properties,the on-transient wasthought to be related with input from green-sensitive cones.Unlike the on-transientreported in other species,such as turtle and pikeperch,the on-transitnt of cyprinidaecould not be eliminated by decreasing the retinal area illuminated.Furthermore,compared to responses to either 502 nm or 706 nm flash alone,response to a mixedflash of both wavelengths exhibited a more prominent on-transient,suggesting thatinteraction between inputs from red-sensitive and green-sensitive cones may bepartly responsible for the generation of the on-transient.


Reading epilepsy (RE) is an idiopathic reflex epilepsy syndrome characterized by perioral myoclonic jerks (PMJs) during reading associated with left‐dominant frontotemporal spike‐wave discharges (SWDs). To better understand the pathophysiology of this syndrome, we studied a 45‐year‐old patient using magnetic source imaging (MSI). The patient underwent two whole‐head magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings (Elekta Neuromag Oy) within 2 months while reading aloud. Forty‐two SWDs associated with PMJs were recorded and averaged with respect to SWDs peak power. Epileptic discharges were then reconstructed using conventional equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) modeling, distributed sources sLORETA modeling, and beamformer approach. These methods identified two brain sources located in the left supplementary motor cortex (SMC) and the left primary sensorimotor face area (PSMFA). The spatiotemporal pattern of the sources was characterized by a cross‐talk between these two brain regions, with an initial source in the left SMC. This MSI investigation suggests that RE‐PMJs are associated with reading‐induced activation of hyperexcitable neurons in the left SMC, followed by secondary propagation to the left PSMFA producing the myoclonus.


DURI NG THE GREAT DEPRESSI ON OF THE THI RTI ES, a gr oup of wr i t er s and assi st ant s under auspi ces of t he f eder al gover nment engaged i n t he i nt er est i ng pr oj ect of gat her i ng mat er i al f or a f i ve vol ume Amer i can gui de. Accor di ng t o The Amer i can Gui de Manual of 1935 pr epar ed by Henr y G. Al sber g, di r ect or of t he Feder al Wr i t er s ' Pr oj ect , t he pur pose of t he pr oj ect was t o gi ve i nf or mat i on about t he var i ous st at es not r eadi l y avai l abl e, " an under st andi ng of t he nat i ve and f ol k backgr ounds of r ur al l ocal i t i es, " and a compact ser i es of r ef er ence books f or t our s of var i ous st at es. The Amer i can Gui de was never publ i shed, but t he i nf or mat i on gat her ed by t he gr oup was t ur ned over t o t he st at es and muni c i pal i t i es f or var i ous publ i cat i ons such as t he Amer i can Gui de Ser i es.


FIELD: machine building. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to gear box system. Gearbox (10) consists of first gear (20), having outer toothed rim, row of drive gears (80), engaged with first gear (20) outer toothed rim, second gear (30), row of third gears (40), where each of third gears (40) is coaxially connected with fourth gear (50) having external toothed rim, and fifth gear (60). Each drive gear, connected to electric machine (90), is designed to perform engine or generator functions. Second gear (30) is coaxially connected with first gear (20) and has outer toothed rim. Third row of gears (40) is engaged with second gear (30) and have outer toothed rim. Each of third gears (40) is coaxially connected with fourth gear (50) and has external toothed rim. Fifth gear (60) is engaged with fourth gear (50) connected with drive or secondary shaft (70) and having coaxially connected outer toothed rim, said first gear (20) and drive or secondary shaft (70). EFFECT: compact design. 5 cl, 1 dwg


The effects of inherent material quality, notches, stress gradient, specimen size, flaw type and crack growth data (i.e., large and small crack behavior) on equivalent initial flaw sizes (EIFSs) are studied. EIFSs are determined by back-extrapolating ALCOA fatigue test results for 7050-T7451 Al plate to time zero using linear elastic fracture mechanics principles. An analysis methodology is presented for establishing the EIFS distribution at different critical locations. The statistical size effect of EIFS is studied for smooth unnotched, open-hole and double-edge notched specimens. Predicted EIFS cumulative distributions correlated well with experiment-based results. (Author)


Aiming at the evaluation of multi-attribute in complex system,a multi-attribute evaluation method based on cloud focus theory and unascertained measurement was proposed.The method integrates the cloud focus theory into multi-attribute evaluation,and adopts the focus-vector of cloud to describe the status of complex system,then employs the weighted degree of deviation to describe the deviation degree of the system status relative to each grade status,finally,it has the cloud generator employed to define security levels of the system that can effectively reduce the workload of uniform dimension;meanwhile,integrating unascertained measurement into weight calculation was implemented.Some examples prove feasibility of this method and both objectiveness and accuracy of the evaluation results.


The ever increasing use of enzyme determinations as aids to clinical diagnosis has led to the accumulation of a large number of results of widely different value and significance. The stated purposes of Wilkinson's book are to critically review the available information and to offer to the clinician a guide in choosing those determinations which, in the present status of our knowledge, seem to be most appropriate to a given clinical condition. In the reviewer's opinion, these aims have been quite successfully attained. The general concepts of the structure, mode of action, terminology, and classification of enzymes are first presented in clear, concise language. Next, the author briefly outlines the mechanisms through which changes in the enzymatic activities of body fluids occur in disease, and points out how and to what extent such changes may supply useful diagnostic information. Further considerations and some plausible speculations concerning the source, mechanisms of


In 4H-SiC, 3C stacking fault (SF) behaves like a finite thickness type II quantum well. As a consequence, it can bind two excitons per well. We show in this work that, as the SF thickness increases, the relative intensity of the two transitions changes. This comes from a change in the wave functions overlap between the electron trapped in the well and the holes trapped neighbouring parts of the 4H-SiC matrix.


There has been considerable research in the field of automated mental health analysis. Studies based on patient-therapist interviews usually treat the dyadic discourse as a sequence of sentences, thus ignoring individual sentence types (question or answer). To avoid this situation, we design a multi-view architecture that retains the symmetric discourse structure by dividing the transcripts into patient and therapist views. Experiments on the DAIC-WOZ dataset for depression level rating show performance improvements over baselines and state-of-the-art models.


Abstract Water temperature is one of the most important factors of environment. High temperature (32-33℃) has been proven to reduce the mortality in WSSV infected shrimps, but the mechanism still remains unclear. In previous researches, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis revealed two proteins, NAD-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) and proteasome alpha 4 subunit that were markedly up-regulated after WSSV infected shrimps at 32℃. Moreover, as referring to heat treatments, it has to be mentioned the heat shock protein family. Heat shock protein family has been considered as one of the most important indicators for heat shock treatments. We then used gene-specific (aldh, proteasome, and heat shock protein 70) dsRNA to silence these genes and found that the high temperature-induced suppression of WSSV was prevented when aldh and hsp70 were silenced. Our results therefore suggest that HSP70 and ALDH might be critical for the suppression of WSSV replication at 32℃.


Wildlife hunting, for meat and skins, is an important component of the rural economy in Argentinian Patagonia. Every year thousands of fur-bearing mammals are killed and the impact of this on their populations is unknown. This paper reports on the results of a preliminary investigation into the sustainability of the harvest of culpeo foxes Dusicyon culpaeus in a 1000-sq-km area of Neuquen Province. Monitoring of fox densities and harvest rates over 5 years on six ranches revealed that, despite intense hunting, the numbers of foxes remained little changed. On the other hand, life-table analysis suggested that the levels of hunting pressure on four ranches were too high to allow fox populations to persist unless they were boosted by immigration. The findings have applications for wildlife managers in establishing sustainable harvest rates and optimal spatial distribution of those rates.


Extensive research has examined the effectiveness of listening strategies on language learners' listening comprehension performance. This article discusses current issues in listening strategy instruction research that affect teachers and learners of second or foreign languages. These issues include: listening processes, differences between more and less effective listeners, listening strategy instruction, assessment of listening strategies, and students' perceptions of strategy instruction. These issues are examined through a discussion of existing literature on listening strategies and strategy instruction. Suggestions are presented for future research on issues that have not yet been thoroughly explored.


On August 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in United States v. Hoskins rejected the government's broad reading of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and ruled that a foreign national without ties to US entities cannot be tried as a conspirator or accomplice under the FCPA for bribery crimes that occur outside of the United States.1 This decision limits the prosecutorial reach of the most significant US law affecting foreign corporations and individuals.


Disclosed are a flexible display device and a deflection sensing method. The present invention comprises a flexible display unit which displays an image; a flexible touch screen unit which is arranged on the flexible display unit; and an insulating film which is arranged between the flexible display unit and the flexible touch screen unit. A spacer which maintains intervals is installed between the flexible touch screen unit and the insulating film. A conductive layer which selectively touches the flexible touch screen unit is formed on the insulating film. The flexible display device is provided measure a deflection degree, thereby utilizing the deflection degree to various deflection events of the flexible display device.


Abstract: The introduction of computerized recording and measurement of archaeological ceramic vessels opens new channels of research, some of which we introduce and discuss in the present contribution. In particular, we show that the accurate measurements of wheel produced pottery provide information on the deviations from the ideal cylindrical symmetry which are due to faults in various stages of the production process. We present a systematic method to quantify two kinds of deviations from perfect symmetry: the uniformity of the profiles of cross-sections and the deformations of horizontal sections. We propose that they may be considered as indicators of the technological skill of the producers, in a way which was not possible hitherto in archaeological research.