The idea for this special issue of Reformation arose at the panel "Teaching Reformed Belief: Music, Verse, and Lay Spiritual Formation in Sixteenth-Century England," which took place at the 2019 meeting of the Renaissance Society of America in Toronto. Organized by Anne Heminger, the panel brought together two musicologists (Heminger and Samantha Arten) and a literary scholar (Scott Lucas) to present new work on the music and verse of the enormously popular genre of mid-Tudor metrical scripture paraphrase. The panel proved to be a stimulating and thought-provoking success, as musicologists on the panel and in the audience gained new perspectives on the genre from the approaches of literary analysis, and literary scholars in attendance learned much about the important and often understudied musical contexts in which so many authors of vernacular biblical verse placed their scriptural paraphrase. Discussions of the subjects raised by the panelists lasted well beyond the session itself, and soon talk with Reformation editor Mark Rankin (who was in the audience for the panel) turned to the possibility of expanding the panel's approaches in a special issue of this journal. The timing was and remains auspicious for new interdisciplinary investigations into mid-Tudor scriptural verse paraphrase, since much excitement has been generated by the 2018 release of the long-awaited critical edition of the Elizabethan Whole Book of Psalmes (1562), the most important text of the entire English metrical scripture movement. This publication brought together in interdisciplinary collaboration literary scholar Beth Quitslund and musicologist Nicholas Temperley. Their meticulous and expert edition of verse (Quitslund) and music (Temperley; supplied both as text and as recorded performance) of this enormously popular and influential psalter offered new pathways of exploration of the Sternhold and Hopkins metrical psalter, particularly for the many scholars in various fields who tend to focus only on their own disciplines' specific practices and areas of interest. Of course, much excellent scholarship on the music and verse of mid-Tudor metrical scripture has already been published over previous decades, including Nicholas Temperley's The Music of the English Parish Church (1978) andHymn Tune Index (1998); Rivkah


The electrical and visual characteristics of a dc hollow cathode discharge with indirectly heated thermionic cathodes were obtained in argon at a few Torr. Two facing planar cathodes of variable separation form the hollow cathode geometry. A hollow cathode effect was observed in the ``ball‐of‐fire'' mode and in the ``low‐voltage arc'' mode. The results are explained in terms of cumulative ionization processes, diffusion losses, and mutual interactions of the glow regions.


Since recently, Vestas Northern Europe has been facing a buyers' market with more
demanding customers than before. In addition, a rapid growth and a restrictive risk
policy have caused inefficiency within the organization.
The purpose is to investigate how the efficiency in the sales phase can be increased in
advantage for additional projects to be handled. The efficiency is to be increased without
jeopardizing certain risk events. In addition, the new market with more demanding
customers is to be considered.
Specific problem areas that are slowing down the sales process are identified at Vestas
Northern Europe. Solutions to each problem are sought at other companies and through
theory. Conclusions are made and a recommendation package for increased efficiency is
presented.
It seems like much time and resources are wasted on performing unnecessary tasks. The
recommendation package gives ideas on how to overlap activities and thus increase
information exchange and remove waste. It is suggested that the restrictive risk policy
may be stretched sometimes to remove conflicts and negotiations. Also, methods for
emphasizing what is important at a certain time are presented.


Numerous applications in metrology, telecommunication, medicine and material processing require highly efficient and powerful yet reliable laser sources with excellent beam quality. In recent years, our group has focused on the development of rare earth doped glass fibre lasers pumped by commonly available near infrared laser diodes to provide laser sources meeting these requirements [1,2]. Any desired laser beam quality can be imposed by designing the waveguide structure of the fibre appropriately. Furthermore, using a double clad fibre design permits a power scaling almost exclusively limited by the output power of the available pump sources: the properties of an outer cladding are optimised in view of an efficient incoupling of the pump laser diode light.


The effects of glucose-insulin-potassium infusion (GIK) on atrial pacing-induced angina, ST depression, abnormal left ventricular end-diastolic pressure during pacing interruption (LVEDPi) and lactate metabolism (L), were studied in 18 patients: ten had angina during pacing = Ischemic group, and eight (5 normals and 3 with coronary artery disease) remained asymptomatic = Nonischemic group. The study consisted of 8–10 minute periods of control, pacing and recovery, before and after GIK. No untoward effects were observed. Comparison of the pacing responses (GIK vs pre-GIK states) showed that during GIK, angina occurred in only 4 patients, while significantly less severe changes were observed in ST depression (1.4 ± 0.5 vs 2.4 ± 0.4 mm) and LVEDPi (16 ± 3 vs 23 ± 3 mm Hg). Lactate extraction was also higher (8.1 ± 10.9 vs −5.2 ± 11.1%), but not significantly so, although L became normal in 4 subjects and improved in another. These results indicate that GIK infusion was well tolerated and had a beneficial effect on pacing-induced myocardial ischenia.


160 lines of maize comprising of inbreds and hybrids were evaluated for the drought toler ance. Observations on different morphological parameters including anthesis- silking interval (ASI), plant height, leaf senescence, leaf rolling, and grain yield were recorded by limiting irrigation at different crop growth stages i.e. (1) at knee height (2) at grain filling and (3) before flowering and (4) at both flowering and grain filling were compared with normal irrigated crop (control). Differ ent morphological traits were computed with yield accounting for the drought tolerating ability. Plant height was affected severely when irrigation was restricted at knee height stage. It was observed that in majority of the genotypes screened anthesis-silking-interval increases during stress and severe stress conditions. In general it was observed that hybrids were more tolerant as compared to inbreds. Hybrids 1334-3 x 645, 610-2 x 295 and 1352 x 1344 with shorter ASI could resist the moisture stress to some extent.


The presence or absence of a pleural leak in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax might be detectable at the time of manual aspiration by use of a marker gas.


This study focuses on the prediction of event‐based runoff coefficients (an important descriptor of flood events) for nested catchments up to an area of 50 km² in the Eastern Ore Mountains. The four main objectives of the study are (i) the prediction of runoff coefficients with the statistical method of generalized linear models, (ii) the comparison of the results of the linear models with estimates of a distributed conceptual model, (iii) the comparison of the dynamics of observed soil moisture and simulated saturation deficit of the hydrological model and (iv) the analysis of the relationship between runoff coefficient and observed and simulated wetness.


Scalable and cost-effective Storage Elements are essential components of Grid systems. Scaling the capacity and performance of the Grid storage infrastructure in an economical manner is an important research goal, due to an increasing number of data-intensive Grid applications and services. In this paper we present practical performance evaluation of two classes of storage systems: an aggressive commercial Fibre Chanel SATA disk matrix and a commoditybased research prototype – Violin. We use a block-level benchmark to examine the performance limits and scalability features of both classes of systems.


We establish a set of results showing that the vertices of any simply connected planar polygonal region can be reconstructed from a finite number of its complex moments. These results find applications in a variety of apparently disparate areas such as computerized tomography and inverse potential theory, where in the former, it is of interest to estimate the shape of an object from a finite number of its projections, whereas in the latter, the objective is to extract the shape of a gravitating body from measurements of its exterior logarithmic potentials at a finite number of points. We show that the problem of polygonal vertex reconstruction from moments can in fact be posed as an array processing problem, and taking advantage of this relationship, we derive and illustrate several new algorithms for the reconstruction of the vertices of simply connected polygons from moments. >


The problem of the robust fault estimation and robust fault-tolerant control, for a class of nonlinear time-delayed Markov jump systems (MJSs) with both actuator and sensor faults, was studied. Firstly, by extending the system state, the actuator fault state vector, the sensor fault state vector and the original system state vector were extended to auxiliary state variables, and the original system was extended to a generalized system. Then, for the singular system, a generalized observer was designed to achieve the simultaneous estimation of its actuator faults, sensor faults and original system state. In addition, based on the observer estimation, a state feedback fault-tolerant controller was designed to make the closed-loop system stable and meet certain performance indicators. By solving linear matrix inequality, sufficient conditions for the existence of generalized observer and fault-tolerant controller were given. Finally, a numerical example and a practical example were given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Based on optical refraction, a method for measuring the vibration frequency and the spread velocity of water wave with laser beam is introduced. In the experiment, laser and silicon photocell are used. The experimental principle and device are detailed. And the water wave brought about by the little object falling into water is investigated also.


Breeding ratios for clean near-thermal systems containing only U/sup 233/ and moderator were presented by Chernick and Moore. Pu/sup 239/ systems were also investigated and the results in both systems extended to take account of the effects of the higher isotopes and fission products. The extra absorption by these higher isotopes tended to depress the breeding ratio, but fission in U/sup 235/ or Pu/sup 241/ compensated for this, and the net effect was an increase in breeding ratio for plutonium-fueled systems. (auth)


Leventhal's commonsense model implies illness perceptions influence illness outcomes. This study examined illness perceptions among head and neck cancer survivors, and whether these predicted subsequent psychological distress.


The portfolio optimization problem is a basic problem of financial analysis. In the study, an optimization model for constructing an options portfolio with a certain payoff function has been proposed. The model is formulated as an integer linear programming problem and includes an objective payoff function and a system of constraints. In order to demonstrate the performance of the proposed model, we have constructed the portfolio on the European call and put options of Taiwan Futures Exchange. The optimum solution was obtained using the MATLAB software. Our approach is quite general and has the potential to design options portfolios on financial markets.


A 22-year-old woman and her 12 -year-old brother presented with tightly coiled, thin, brittle. dry, lustreless, sparse hairs all over the scalp with history of consanguinity in parents.


In the Western and Southern Cape the quality of wheat varies annually due to variable climatic conditions. This holds a commercial risk to the milling and baking industries in delivering the refined products to their respective clients. It is, therefore, important to classify cultivars and localities according to their ability to produce high quality bread wheat grain. In this study, similar production techniques were used to grow seven spring wheat cultivars at nine localities for the period 1992 to 1995. AMMI analyses were used to describe the effect of genotype, environment and their interaction on grain yield, kernel protein content and hectolitre mass. Environment was found to be by far the most important parameter of variance. No significant genotype × environment interaction was found for grain yield. Although cultivars differed in their yield potential, genotype as a main effect contributed only 1.3% to the variation in yield when compared to 90.7% for environment. Significant genotype × environme...


In the paper we consider a new method based on the genetic algorithm for finding the location and size of small holes in the domain, in which the coupled linear and nonlinear boundary value problems are defined. The linear and nonlinear components are connected by the transmission conditions on the interface boundary. The expansion with respect to small parameter of the shape functional for nonlinear component and the expansion of Steklov-Poincaré operator for linear component are derived in order to determine the form of topological derivative for shape functional defined for coupled model. Then the topological derivative is employed for evaluation of the probability density applied to generation of location of holes by the genetic algorithm.


Abstract Objectives The Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis (proposing negative repetitive thinking has detrimental effects on physical health), has been extended to include health behaviours. This study aimed to examine relationships between perseverative cognition, stress and health behaviours. Design Participants (n = 336) completed online surveys twice, 3 months apart. Main outcome measures Cross-sectional and prospective associations between perseverative cognition (worry, brooding and reflection), stress and health behaviours (sleep, diet, physical activity and alcohol). Results Analyses demonstrated associations between worry, brooding and reflection and health behaviours, cross-sectionally and prospectively, including sleep and unhealthy snacking. Adding perseverative cognition variables to models simultaneously, only two associations remained (brooding and unhealthy snacking, worry and poorer sleep quality). Controlling for stress, only the cross-sectional association between brooding and more unhealthy snacking remained significant and no significant interactions with stress were found. Conclusion This study evidences associations between components of perseverative cognition and health behaviours cross-sectionally and prospectively.


Sexing is a difficult task for most birds (especially ornamental birds) involving expensive, state-of-the-art equipment and experiments. An intelligent fowl sexing system was developed based on data mining methods to distinguish hen from cock hatchlings. The vocalization of one-day-old hatchlings was captured by a microphone and a sound card. To obtain more accurate information from the recordings, time-domain sound signals were converted into the frequency domain and the time-frequency domain using Fourier transform and discrete wavelet transform, respectively. During data-mining from signals of these three domains, 25 statistical features were extracted. The Improved Distance Evaluation (IDE) method was used to select the best features and also to reduce the classifier's input dimensions. Fowls' sound signals were classified by Support Vector Machine (SVM) with a Gaussian Radial Basis Function (GRBF). This classifier identified and classified cocks and hens based on the selected features from time, frequency and time-frequency domains. The highest accuracy of the SVM at time, frequency and time-frequency domains was 68.51, 70.37 and 90.74 percent, respectively. Results showed that the proposed system can successfully distinguish between Hen and Cock hatchlings. The results further suggest that signal processing and feature selection methods can maximize the classification accuracy.


This article examines the way in which the graphic novel Maus has represented the multiple dimensions and problems we encounter when representing a limit-event such as the Holocaust. To this purpose, some previous words on the possibilities of the comic to represent the past are needed. Then, we analyze the main resources of Art Spiegelman's work to represent the Shoah, by ending with some final reflections on the ability of the so-called postmodern historiographic experiments to narrate the suffering and experiences lived by the victims and their legatees, in relation to phenomena such as the Final Solution.


Significance Theta oscillations are a prominent rhythm of the brain occurring during active behavior and rapid eye movement sleep and thought to provide the temporal frame for the encoding of information. Acetylcholine modulation is a major player in hippocampal theta rhythm, as demonstrated by lesion and pharmacological manipulations of cholinergic receptors, yet the link between the activity of septal cholinergic neurons and the theta rhythm is not fully understood. We used specific optogenetic stimulation of the septo-hippocampal cholinergic neurons in the anesthetized and behaving mouse to decipher the effects of cholinergic stimulation on hippocampal network activity and show that in addition to promoting theta oscillations it suppresses sharp wave ripples and peri-theta band activity. Theta oscillations in the limbic system depend on the integrity of the medial septum. The different populations of medial septal neurons (cholinergic and GABAergic) are assumed to affect different aspects of theta oscillations. Using optogenetic stimulation of cholinergic neurons in ChAT-Cre mice, we investigated their effects on hippocampal local field potentials in both anesthetized and behaving mice. Cholinergic stimulation completely blocked sharp wave ripples and strongly suppressed the power of both slow oscillations (0.5–2 Hz in anesthetized, 0.5–4 Hz in behaving animals) and supratheta (6–10 Hz in anesthetized, 10–25 Hz in behaving animals) bands. The same stimulation robustly increased both the power and coherence of theta oscillations (2–6 Hz) in urethane-anesthetized mice. In behaving mice, cholinergic stimulation was less effective in the theta (4–10 Hz) band yet it also increased the ratio of theta/slow oscillation and theta coherence. The effects on gamma oscillations largely mirrored those of theta. These findings show that medial septal cholinergic activation can both enhance theta rhythm and suppress peri-theta frequency bands, allowing theta oscillations to dominate.


The development of a flywheel uninterruptible power supply incorporating electrolytic capacitorless inverters and converters, optocouplerless power device drive circuits, loss reduction of high-frequency insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) inverters, and high-response regeneration control of the induction motor is described. Results from experiments performed on a three-phase, 5 kVA uninterruptible power source show that the system provides over 15 years of life, 100% input power factor, a 1% output voltage distortion, and a 93.4% efficiency.<<ETX>>


Work reported here focused on the detection of contaminant ions that are present in photochromic material lattices using prompt-gamma neutron activation analysis (PGAA). The work includes two oxides, zinc oxide and hafnium oxide and one fluoride, calcium fluoride, three representative inorganic host materials that exhibit photochromism when doped with low levels of other metal ions. Analytical results are presented and compared to levels of host contaminants that were estimated prior to analyses. Elemental cross sections for various common metal ion dopants in thermochromic host materials are discussed. A detailed description of the PGAA technique is given, andthe results are discussed with respect to lattice conditions and mechanisms that affect the photochromic process. This work was supported by the Division of University and Science Education Programs under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098 from the U. S. Department of Energy and the U. S. Hungarian Joint Fund under Program No. 429.


The frequency limit of negative differential resistance (NDR) devices employing resonant tunneling in double barrier quantum well structures is analyzed. We show that the standard theoretical approach to resonant tunneling together with a unitarity bound leads to a lower bound on NDR which is in turn related to the maximum oscillator frequency. The bound on NDR can be achieved in devices with narrow width resonances. However, too narrow a width can cause Wigner–Eisenbud resonance time delay. These considerations indicate that devices of the type studied by T. C. L. G. Sollner, P. E. Tannenwald, D. D. Peck, and W. D. Goodhue [Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 1319 (1984)] could oscillate up to roughly 1 THz.


A modified technique was used to demonstrate lymphocytic acid α‐napth acetate esterase activity in frozen sections of mouse lymphoid tissue or smears. Positive, dot‐like reaction products were noticed in more than 94 % of the lymphocytes located in the diffuse cortical ("paracortical", "thymus‐dependent") area of mesenteric lymph nodes of young adult ICR mice. Almost identical values were found for lymphocytes in the cisterna chyli. In contrast, the follicular cortex, which is predominantly occupied by B cells, contained less than 7 esterase‐positive lymphocytes. In vitro, cytotoxic anti‐θ serum destroyed vast majority of esterase‐positive lymphocytes while esterase‐negative lymphocytes were resistent to this treatment. In mesenteric nodes of nude BALB/(nu/nu) mice, follicular cortex and paracortex together contained approximately 16 times less esterase‐positive lymphocytes than in the immunologically competen hybrid BALB/c (nu/+) animals. These findings indicate that non‐specific acid esterase activity may serve as a criterion to differentiate peripheral T B lymphocytes in lymphocytes in lymph node sections and smears of mice by light microscopy Possible implications of this enzyme activity in thymus‐derived lymphocytes are discussed.


The environmental crisis is an important problem to the world government;we should put some new ethics ideas into practice in order to coordinate the relationship between human and nature.The ecological ethics provides significant support and reference to the policy-decision,the paper expatiates on the cultivation and application of ecological ethics in public economic policy from the view of ecological ethics and economics.Furthermore,some advanced experiments in mining area which is one of the ecological fragile zones were discussed.It concludes that it is necessary to regard and follow the ecological ethics fully for the public economic policy in a new era.


AbstractThe following sections are included:IntroductionSome adjustment processes and their convergence propertiesBasic concepts and ideasClassical tatonnementA stability-information tradeoffDiscrete time adjustment processesSimplical algorithms'Random' adjustment processesThe return of 'special structure' on excess demandsIndividual characteristics and the law of demandStabilising income effectsStabilising aggregate substitution effectsStability via 'institutions': Rader (1996), the Hahn process and modern bankingAgent based price adjustment and experimental results on tatonnementConclusion


Given the popularity of factor investing, also known as rules-based, "smart beta", or simply quantitative portfolio management, a number of students and traditional equity analysts have asked for a primer to introduce basic terms, concepts, and calculation procedures. This guide to factor exposures and payoffs contains material from our journal publications over the last several years, compiled in a way that provides a quick start and somewhat self-contained guide to analysts that are new to factor investing. We include specific empirical results that can be replicated as an exercise in data collection, programming, reporting, and analysis.


Localization has been identified as one of key issues in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The widely used localization technique is range-free algorithm, especially DV-HOP (Distance Vector Hop) algorithm. But the traditional DV-HOP has the following drawback: the large communications overhead wastes the nodes' valuable energy, and limits the whole sensor network's lifetime and scalability. To solve the above problem, LHDV-HOP (DV-HOP of Limited Hops) is proposed in this paper, in which a hop threshold, N is set to limit the flooding range, and furthermore, three anchor nodes with the best precision for localization are chosen among all anchors within the N hops, as reference points. Simulation results show that LHDV-HOP can decrease the energy consumption, and meanwhile, improve the localization accuracy.


An apparatus for measuring fuel consumption of a vehicle and a method thereof are provided to measure fuel efficiency by considering a part stored into kinetic energy, potential energy or electrical energy among mechanical energy transformed in an engine. An apparatus for measuring fuel consumption of a vehicle comprises the followings: a memory(15); a distance curved computation portion(11) storing driving distance on the memory; an actual fuel consumption output portion(13) storing measured the amount of actually consumed fuel in an engine; a stored energy variation amount output portion(20) measuring the amount of changed energy; a consumed energy output portion(30); and a fuel efficiency measuring portion(40) measuring the fuel efficiency based on the stored driving distance, the amount of actually consumed fuel, the amount of changed energy, and the amount of consumed energy.


Abstract The NASA Classroom of the FutureTM sponsored a residential training course to help teachers learn to use computer-based educational tools and explore constructivist instructional approaches. We hypothesized that creating a living-and-learning environment for the training would foster rapid changes in teachers' epistemological beliefs. Pretest—posttest differences on an epistemology inventory indicated that teachers changed significantly on three of four factors related to constructivist teaching philosophies (Simple Knowledge, Quick Learning, and Certain Knowledge). The fourth factor (Fixed Ability) did not reveal significant changes. These findings have two implications: (1) constructivist approaches to training teachers may promote epistemological change, and (2) epistemology may be a less stable trait than was previously supposed.


In hemodynamics the concept of speed of pulse-wave propagation is important for determination of blood vessels elasticity. There are numerous investigations in this domain [1-5]. In [5] the pulse-wave propagation was considered taking into account the influence of ambient tissues. The simple relations were derived and the influence of ambient tissues on the speed of pulse-wave propagation was shown. The aim of presented paper is to investigate the influence of stress-strain state in artery (shell) on the speed of pulse-wave propagation.


Objectives: This study aimed to (1) review demographic and clinical data of children and adolescents with pulmonary TB managed in two local hospitals, and (2) evaluate the use of computed tomography (CT) thorax in its diagnosis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of paediatric patients (age on admission </=18 years old) with the discharge diagnosis of "Respiratory tuberculosis" or "Pulmonary tuberculosis" and were admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2012. Data on demography, clinical presentation, investigations and imaging results were captured. Further subgroup analysis was performed between younger children (age </=12 years old) and adolescents (age >12 years old). Results: One hundred and thirty-four patients (mean age (SD)=14.3 (3.5) years old, 71 males) with pulmonary TB were identified. Eighty-six of them (64.2%) were born in Hong Kong. The two commonest presentations were cough (80.6%, mean 4.1 weeks) and fever (61.9%, mean 11.6 days). Twenty-eight patients (20.9%) presented with pleural effusion. Thirty-nine patients (29.1%) had positive contact history with an individual diagnosed to have TB. One hundred and six subjects (79.1%) had positive Mantoux test (induration >/=10 mm). Respiratory samples (sputum, gastric aspirate or broncho-alveolar lavage) were obtained in 130 patients. Positive TB smear was found in 38 patients (29.2%) and mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated in 94 patients (72.3%). Older age (age>12 years old, 89.5% vs. 26.1%, p=0.05), prolonged cough (>/=2 weeks, 73.7% vs. 40.2%, p=0.001), night sweating (34.2% vs. 15.2%, p=0.03) and higher ESR (63.9 mm/hr. vs. 48.3 mm/hr., p=0.016) were found in significantly higher proportion of patients with positive smear result. One hundred thirty-two patients (98.5%) had abnormal chest X-ray (CXR); upper zones involvement was more likely to be present in smear positive group (71% vs. 46.7%, p=0.013). Computed tomography (CT) of thorax was performed in 50 patients (38.8%) and it was more likely to be performed in patients with negative TB smear (45.7% vs. 21.1%, p=0.01) and younger age (58.6% vs. 33.3%, p=0.018). Anti-TB treatment was started in 17 patients (13.1%) with negative TB smear basing on the CT thorax findings. In subgroup analysis comparing younger aged children with adolescents, latter were more likely to present with shorter duration of fever (10.1 days vs. 17.2 days, p=0.044), haemoptysis (33.3% vs. 10.3%, p=0.019) and malaise (13.3% vs. 0%, p=0.04). Adolescents with pulmonary TB were also more likely to have upper zones involvement on CXR (60% vs. 24.1%, p=0.001). Greater proportion of adolescents had positive TB smear and culture compared to subjects of a younger age (33.3% vs. 14.3%, p=0.05; 79.4% vs. 46.4%, p=0.001). Furthermore, adolescents were more likely to have tiny nodules, tree-in-bud appearance and cavitation present in their CT imaging (46.2% vs. 11.5%, p=0.034; 32.7% vs. 5.8%, p=0.035; 21.2% vs. 1.9%, p=0.044 respectively), resembling adult-type TB disease. Conclusion: We documented age difference in clinical presentation and imaging findings, with pulmonary TB in adolescents behaving like an adult disease. In cases of diagnosis dilemma, CT thorax might be helpful in guiding management.


During the period of Zhuhai Formation deposition in Huizhou depression,marine transgression from the southwest seaway entered the depression.The sediments supplied by Paleo-Pearl River Delta from the northwest in this area were transformed by tidal current and then offshore tidal deposits were formed.Tidal flat sedimentation was dominated in Block A of the study area.Using high-resolution sequence stratigraphy principle,medium-scale stratigraphic cycles which response to base-level cycles are recognized in Zhuhai Formation by the analysis of sedimentological and stratigraphic responses to A/S value changes based on cores and well logs.With the guidance of tidal deposition model,tidal reservoir sandstones are predicted in chronostratigraphic framework by using seismo-sedimentological analysis methods and stratigraphic slice technology,optimization of seismic attributes based on 3-D seismic data in the study area,which provides more evidences for oil and gas exploration and development in this Block.


Currently, the low number of women in science is noticed in several areas. This situation is very clear in courses related to Computing, where the gender imbalance is quite prominent. The result of this is the absence of the possibilities of contribution that the female vision can offer to the area. This work seeks to analyze the relationship between the lack of women in Computing and the existing misinformation about programs that encourage female presence in the area. High school students from the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte were interviewed in order to collect data on the knowledge of these programs and asked about their interest in pursuing a career in computing. The conclusion was that most of the students did not know about the incentive programs and that most of them did not intend to pursue a career in the area. This suggests that the lack of information in relation to these incentives may be influencing women's disinterest in the area, resulting in the scarce female presence in Computing.


Quality of public transport service can influence on urban modal shift significantly by promoting clean, efficient and sustainable transportation. Ways and conditions of providing public transport service differ and have resulted in various public transportation service patterns. Paper describes main types of public transportation service patterns and their influence on reduction of travel times and increase of capacity is analyzed. Main highlight is given to comparison of regular public transportation service and skip-stop service pattern. Additional modifications of skip- stop service patterns are described and modeled including prioritized stops and phase shifts patterns. This way travel time saving of 26, 5% are achieved.


The free amino acids, peptide-N, reducing sugars (the flavour precursors in cocoa) and pyrazine profiles of mix hybrid cocoa beans fermented in a rotary drum reactor were monitored over a period of 6 days. As fermentation progressed, the acidic free amino acid concentration decreased significantly (P<0·05) by 15%, whereas total, hydrophobic and other free amino acids increased significantly by 148, 280 and 127%, respectively. In terms of hydrophobic/acidic/other free amino acids ratio, the unfermented cocoa beans contained 30%:18%: 52%, whereas those of fermented beans contained 46%: 6%: 48%. Concentrations of peptide-N and total reducing sugars were significantly (P<0·05) increased by 55 and 208%, respectively during fermentation; however, those of sucrose and total sugars decreased significantly (P<0·05) by 89% and 75%, respectively. The unfermented cocoa beans contained no pyrazine; however during fermentation, the 2-methyl-, 2,5-dimethyl-, 2,6-dimethyl-, 2,3-dimethyl-, trimethyl- and tetramethylpyrazine were formed. The two principle pyrazines were tetramethyl- (2099·30 μg kg−1) and trimethylpyrazine (692·00 μg kg−1).


This study examined the phytoremediative potentials of Rhizophora racemosa in remediation of crude-oil contaminated mangrove soil ecosystem. Results revealed that hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial load increased substantially over the ninety days growth period. The highest increase (77.5%) was recorded in acute crude-oil contaminated soil with three R. racemosa seedlings and poultry manure and lowest increase was recorded in acute oil treatment without poultry manure. The total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and heavy metals levels decreased substantially at the end of period of growth. The highest percentage reduction in TPH of 96.16% was recorded in acute crude-oil contaminated soil containing three R racemosa seedlings and poultry manure. The lowest percentage reduction of 38.3% was recorded in acute crude-oil contaminated soil without poultry manure. Generally, mangrove seedlings with acute and chronic treatments showed potentials for phytoremediation of crude-oil contaminated soil, the former demonstrated greater phytoremediation than the later. Seedlings treated with poultry manure showed more remarkable potentials and promptness for phytoremediation of crude-oil contaminated soil than untreated ones. Equally, there was gradual reduction in pH during the ninety-day growth period. Results from this study also indicated that acute contamination of crude-oil has more adverse effect on the mangrove ecosystem than chronic contaminations. The stem height, stem girth (diameter), number of leaves and leaf area (length and width) of the mangrove seedlings, Rhizophora racemosa increased comparably fortnightly in the ninety days growth period. This study has shown that mangrove plants together with microbial actions are efficient and fast in phytoremediation of crude-oil in a mangrove ecosystem. Keyword : Phytoremediation, oil polluted mangrove soil, Rhizophora racemosa .


A nonlinear model predictive control based on successive linearization approach is developed. A nonlinear process model is linearized along its trajectory and an infinite-time horizon linear optimal regulator with integrator is implemented in a receding horizon fashion. Simulation examples for highly nonlinear chemical reactors which exhibit static input or output multiplicities are given to demonstrate the capability of the controller. The developed control algorithm has been successfully applied to a grade transition operation in an industrial polymerization reactor.


Taiwan photographer Shen Chao-Liang has dedicated to the documentation project about the Taiwanese vaudeville troupes since the end of 2005. In this process, he has worked on a documentary photography project TAIWANESE VAUDEVILLE TROUPES in black-and-white images. In his early field visits, he became absorbed in stage trucks which been used by the vaudeville troupes, so he created the STAGE series simultaneously. Another project SINGER & STAGES presented portrait of performers and stages. Accordingly photographer forming three subtopics which independent and different in form and visual style, social context and human factors associated with each other. This master's thesis studies STAGE (2011) photographic album which image created in 2006 to 2011, with regular shooting mode: STAGE series which all been captured by 4×5 color reversal films, view cameras, in the form of direct photography, set the universal time for shooting at the sunset evening. It will be analyzed how this documentary photography project escapes from the traditional genre of photography, in favor of contemporary international trends in photography and takes another path to innovation; images of gorgeous sceneries which contain the reality of the situation of the local entertainment industry. At the same time, the thesis will investigate archival issues which are inherent in this photography series and point out STAGE does not work entirely as archives.


This paper proposes an innovative, integrated design method for the design of practical and sophisticated compliant mechanisms. The approach consists of two optimisation methods, topology and shape optimisation, plus a scheme to implement designer input of ideas. In the first step, a designer explores the most fruitful design concepts for mechanisms that achieve the design specifications, by combining compliant mechanisms created by the topology optimisation with additional mechanisms prepared by the designer. In this first step, a support method based on the visualisation of the designer's thinking processes assists the designer in his or her exploration of new ideas and design concepts. In the second step, the shape optimisation yields a detailed optimal shape based on the design concept. The combination of compliant mechanisms with the additional mechanisms enables the creation of devices having increased capability or higher performance than would be possible using a single compliant mechanism designed by topology optimisation alone. Executing the shape optimisation after initial design concepts have been explored facilitates the determination of a detailed optimal shape, and also enables to consider non-linear analysis and stress concentration and to make accurate quantitative performance evaluations, which topology optimisation cannot provide.


MIMO-OFDM is a promising technique for broadband communications over mobile wireless channel. In this paper, we investigate the channel estimation problem for MIMO-OFDM systems. We proposed an EM-based framework to implement parameters estimation of channels described by various models. Since EM-based algorithm avoids the matrix inversion encountered in other channel estimation methods, it is of great advantage of computational complexity. We also demonstrate the performance of proposed framework for two types of channel models, Fourier-transform-based model and polynomial model, through computer simulation.


We propose a deterministic and faithful scheme for realizing the assisted clone of an unknown two-particle entangled state. The first stage of the protocol requires teleportation via maximal entanglement. In the second stage, a novel set of mutually orthogonal basis vectors is constructed. With the assistance of the preparer through a two-particle projective measurement under this basis, a perfect copy of an original state can be produced. Compared with the previous protocols which produce the unknown state and its orthogonal complement state at the site of the sender, our scheme generates the unknown state deterministically. On the other hand, we put forward another assisted clone scheme via nonmaximal entanglement as the quantum channel. A faithful copy of the unknown state can be obtained with a certain probability.


Chinese and Japanese people faced similar social reality during the 1840s and 1850s:domestic political ruling corruption,crises,foreign powers' desire for conquer.However,when the foreign powers open the two counties' gates,their fates began to be very different.Through the baptism of the Opium War,the Qing sued for peace humiliatly by ceding territory and paying indemnities and was reduced to Western colonialists' lamb step by step.By contrast,although our neighbor—Japan also suffered a lot,it rapidly changed its social navigation:soon after the Meiji Restoration it took to the road of self-reliance.There are many factors that impact the two countries' fates.This paper shows the author's own opinion that the ideologists as the social guide,their heigh social status and historic mission are very important for the nation's development.


Cystic lesions of the pancreas represent a heterogenous group of diseases that vary from benign to premalignant or true malignant neoplasms. The vast use of imaging modalities has led to the discovery of such incidental lesions in asymptomatic patients. Despite the advances in modern imaging, accurate differential diagnosis is not always feasible as much overlap exists. Ultrasound and specifically endoscopic ultrasound, CT and MRI are used for the evaluation of cystic pancreatic lesions, while analysis of the aspirated fluid through endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration is also a valuable adjunct in the diagnostic procedure. Many societies have published recommendations or guidelines on the management of incidentally discovered pancreatic 'cysts'. The decision on the selected treatment and the follow-up should be based on the probability of malignancy and the possible surgery risk.


On 29th August 2006 Benedict XVI wrote his spiritual testament which was published soon after his death, i.e. 31stDecember 2022. The Pope started his will with the expression of thankfulness to God. Immensely important, also in the context of the following article, seem to be his words: Do not be confused! Often it seems as if science - on the one hand, the natural sciences; on the other, historical research (especially the exegesis of the Holy Scriptures) - has irrefutable insights to offer that are contrary to the Catholic faith. I have witnessed from times long past the changes in natural science and have seen how apparent certainties against the faith vanished, proving themselves not to be science but philosophical interpretations only apparently belonging to science - just as, moreover, it is in dialogue with the natural sciences that faith has learned to understand the limits of the scope of its affirmations and thus its own specificity. (…) I have seen, and see, how, out of the tangle of hypotheses, the reasonableness of faith has emerged and is emerging anew. Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body[1].
It cannot be denied that on the 31st day of December 2022, at 9:34, when Pope Benedict XVI went to the House of the Father, the Church lost her Shepherd, faithful to God and to every man, extraordinary and inspiring person, great theologian and mystic of Christianity, defender of faith and morality, and a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard – as he used to call himself. The funeral service which took place on 5th  January 2023 in St. Peter's Square was attended by the author of these words who represented the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow, the university which had conferred upon Benedict XVI the honoris causa doctorate many years before. During the funeral liturgy His Holiness Pope Francis said the following, unforgettable words about his predecessor: Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever! These beautiful words certainly reflected the very essence of the mission of the deceased Pontiff.
This article presents the way of life and the achievements of Pope Benedict XVI, showing him as an outstanding theologian of liturgy and music. It was also important to reflect on his honoris causa doctorate granted to him by the Pontifical University in Cracow. The article finishes with Benedict XVI's spiritual testament and message of hope.
It was not easy to present in such a short form the immense scale of the achievements of this extraordinary man, so beneficial for the Church and for the whole world. The following text merely outlines the above, for the subject concerns a remarkable theologian, proficient liturgist and musician, defender of Catholic faith and her transparency, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard and the faithful friend of the Bridegroom – as recalled by his successor. And it seems certain that in the next years, even in the following decades we will still be reading his spiritual message, or maybe one day this great Pontiff shall be accorded the title of the Doctor of the Church, so well deserved.
[1] Benedict XVI, Mój testament duchowy [My Spiritual Testament] [in] L'Osservatore Romano, year XLII, Polish edition, no. 1(449) 2023, p. 8.


Purpose: During conventional radiotherapy the location of the patients' anatomy, particularly the tumor, while the treatment beam is on is of primary importance. This becomes especially relevant in treatment sites where large intra‐fraction motion has been observed (upper abdomen and thorax). We have already demonstrated a method for monitoring the target during irradiation with beam's‐eye‐view (BEV) imaging. In this work we use the intra‐fraction data to retrospectively calculate the delivered dose. This can be done in between each fraction and the cumulative treatmentdose updated daily. If discrepancies are seen between planned and delivered, the treatment may be altered such that the delivered distribution converges with the plan. Method and Materials: The radiotherapy target is visualized daily during radiotherapy by collecting the exit radiation with an electronic portal‐imaging device (EPID). In between each fraction, the location of the target in the treatmentimages is compared with the reference position from simulation. The in‐treatment target positions are introduced in the treatment planningsoftware as sub‐fields representing equal fractions of the original fields' monitor units. The dose distributions from each of the sub‐fields are summed to calculate the dose delivered each day. This distribution is updated daily to provide the cumulative delivered dose distribution. Results: The dose‐volume histograms (DVH) for the planned and delivered distributions have been calculated for several patients. Delivered doses to target and critical structures are generated for each fraction and cumulatively. Conclusion: The delivered dose can be calculated using the information contained in BEV images acquired during irradiation. By calculating the dose actually delivered to the target, we can assess our treatment procedures as well as more accurately report clinical results. Conflict of Interest: This work was partially supported by Varian Medical Systems, Inc.


The invention provides a method for preparing catalyst for vinyl chloride and a method for preparing vinyl chloride. The catalyst includes a carrier and a metal chloride on the carrier; the carrier contains the metal oxide MxLyAlzO shown in the formula (I), wherein M is alkali metal or alkaline earth; L is rare earth metal; 0.001<=x<=0.5; 0.001<=y<=0.5; and 0.1<=z<=0.9. When the catalyst is used to prepare vinyl chloride, one step for reaction can be performed in the low temperature environment and the production rate of the vinyl chloride can be improved.


Since 2009, Airbus DS in Friedrichshafen has been down-scaling the High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster (HEMPT) principle to the micro-Newton regime and as presented at the IEPC 2015, has developed a HEMPT, which can be operated towards 10 mN. Creating a new cusped field structure, a so-called Advanced Cusped Field Thruster (ACFT) has been developed. A first engineering model (EM) has been built and characterized including direct thrust and plasma diagnostic measurements. The performance data of the thruster operation with xenon are presented, showing thrust levels between 0.4mN and 10.2mN, specific impulse (Isp) above 2000 s and power-to-thrust-ratios (PTTR) down to less than 18W/mN. Since permanent magnets are prone to demagnetization by heat, a thermal model of the engineering model has been created. The thermal model indicates the thermal suitability of the thruster for three different low-earth orbit scenarios. Furthermore, the first test to operate the ACFT with an iodine feeding system has been successfully conducted.


In this paper, the causes of longitudinal crack of concrete pavement are analyzed on the basis of materials, climate conditions in autumn. Protective measures to control the longitudinal cracks are put forward.


CONTINUOUS MICROCELLULAR FOAMING OF POLYLACTIC ACID/NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITES By Carlos A. Diaz-Acosta Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable resources, stands out as a substitute to petroleum-based plastics. In spite of its excellent properties, commercial applications are limited because PLA is more expensive and more brittle than traditional petroleum-based resins. PLA can be blended with cellulosic fibers to reduce material cost. However, the lowered cost comes at the expense of flexibility and impact strength, which can be enhanced through the production of microcellular structures in the composite. Microcellular foaming uses inert gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) as physical blowing agents to make cellular structures with bubble sizes of less than 10 μm and cell-population densities (number of bubbles per unit volume) greater than 10 9 cells/cm 3 . These unique characteristics result in a significant increase in toughness and elongation at break (ductility) compared with unfoamed parts because the presence of small bubbles can blunt the crack-tips increasing the energy needed to propagate the crack. Microcellular foams have been produced through a two step batch process. First, large amounts of gas are dissolved in the solid plastic under high pressure (sorption process) to form a single-phase solution. Second, a thermodynamic instability (sudden drop in solubility) triggers cell nucleation and growth as the gas diffuses out of the plastic. Batch production of microcellular PLA has addressed some of the drawbacks of PLA. Unfortunately, the batch foaming process is not likely to be implemented in the industrial production of foams because it is not cost-effective. This study investigated the continuous microcellular foaming process of PLA and PLA/wood-fiber composites. The effects of the processing temperature and material compositions on the melt viscosity, pressure drop rate, and cell-population density were examined in order to understand the nucleation mechanisms in neat and filled PLA foams. The results indicated that the processing temperature had a strong effect of the rheology of the melt and cell morphology. Processing at a lower temperature significantly increased the cell nucleation rate of neat PLA (amorphous and semi-crystalline) because of the fact that a high melt viscosity induced a high pressure drop rate in the polymer/gas solution. The presence of nanoclay did not affect the homogeneous nucleation but increased the heterogeneous nucleation, allowing both nucleation mechanisms to occur during the foaming process. The effect of wood-flour (0-30 wt.%) and rheology modifier contents on the melt viscosity and cell morphology of microcellular foamed composites was investigated. The viscosity of the melt increased with wood-flour content and decreased with rheology modifier content, affecting the processing conditions (i.e., pressure drop and pressure drop rate) and foamability of the composites. Matching the viscosity of the composites with that of neat PLA resulted in the best cell morphologies. Physico-mechanical characterization of microcellular foamed PLA as a function of cell morphology was performed to establish process-morphology-property relationships. The processing variables, i.e., amount of gas injected, flow rate, and processing temperature affected the development of the cellular structure and mechanical properties of the foams. iv Dedicated to my parents Aurelio Diaz and Carmen J. Acosta


Based on the description of biodiversity in Niubeiliang natural reserve,some problems with it and corresponding measures for it were discussed.


Pursuing Justice in Africa, edited by Jessica Johnson and George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane, offers a refreshing perspective on the issue of justice in different African countries. Dissecting the concept of justice is not an easy task, but the editors have succeeded in taking this on by using an interdisciplinary approach that includes the fields of law, humanities, philosophy, and anthropology, among other disciplines. Part I of the book consists of four chapters that tackle this subject. Chapter One, "Competing Conceptions of Justice in Colonial Buganda" by Jonathon L. Earle, unpacks the concept of justice within colonial society by turning to a discussion that cuts through issues of morality, religion, and language. It also takes to task western concepts and their theories. Chapter Two, "Legal Pluralism and the Pursuit of a Just Life" by Felicitas Becker, examines the parallels that tie justice together while at the same time separating it from other concepts. Using Zanzibar's Muslim communities as an example, this chapter explores religion and its relationship to justice. Chapter Three, "Social Justice and Moral Space in Hospital Cancer Care in Kenya" by Benson A. Mulemi, exposes the tragic injustice of health care policies, focusing on the care of cancer patients who face treatment at government hospitals where international standards of oncology are not observed. Chapter Four, "Relational Justice andTransformation in Postapartheid South Africa" by Duncan Scott, argues that South Africa is riddled with problems within its governmental institutions that stem from corruption and increased crime rates. To combat this issue, Scott proposes that South Africans employ Ubuntu to meet the standards of relational justice. Part II deals with the concept of gender justice. Chapter Five, "Chilungamo and the Question of LGBTQ + Rights in Malawi" by Alan Msosa, offers an important voice that addresses the numerous persecutions of LGBTQ + individuals by using language as a means to highlight their plights. Chapter Six examines "Justice Intervention" (by Patrick Hoenig) in the context of mobile courts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.


To meet the demand of rapid, accurate and online inspection of precision parts' defects, the CCD camera is used to collect information of the inner hole. Since the obtained source image is a concentric annular image of 360 degrees with large image distortion, meanwhile the collected source images are not suitable to be processed directly with the image processing technology. So further processing is needed to be done for the rectangle unwrapping images. The method of Hough transform is adopted in this paper to find the center of a circle and the corresponding position used the center as a reference. On the basis of positioning the circle center, a kind of circular image unwrapping algorithm is designed by the transformational relation between Cartesian and polar coordinate. During unwrapping of the image, the bilinear interpolation algorithm is adopted to improve the image quality when the image unwrapping algorithm is used. The algorithm is verified by program and the result indicates that the algorithm to unwrap the image is efficient in locating the center by Hough transform combined with the coordinate's transformation and the bilinear interpolation. Furthermore, the algorithm can unfold the image accurately and quickly and ensure the quality of the image, which prepares the foundation for subsequent processing.


Freedom of speech is a human right that has been adopted by the constitution. But the ITE Act issued a silence on freedom of speech. This research takes the formulation of problems between the implementation of the principle of freedom of speech in Article 28 paragraph (3) of the ITE Law in terms of Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution, its legal forms, and the ideal legal construction for the freedom of speech of Indonesian citizens. The aim is to understand the normative implementation of the freedom of speech of the ITE Act that is contrary to the Constitution in Indonesia. Discussion of this issue using the Normative Juridical method. Primary data sources were obtained from leprosy research such as separate regulation, secondary data obtained from books and scientific papers related to the topic to be studied. The data sources are analyzed descriptively qualitative. Data collection is a documentary study of primary and secondary raw materials. Based on the results of research that freedom of speech is still polemic between the Law of ITE with the Constitution. Legal protection of freedom of speech in social media is clear in the Constitution, Human Rights Law, and Press Law. Better freedom of speech is not just limited to cultivate something positive, also must be in the case of a counter or negative. It is necessary to enforce strict bans in the details of decisions for human rights violators. Needed for defamation ceremony in article 27 paragraph (3) UU ITE.


When Don DeLillo was asked in a 1979 interview – the first he ever gave – why he shunned publicity and rarely spoke about his work, he replied, "Silence, exile, cunning, and so on." He was quoting James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), wherein protagonist Stephen Dedalus famously vows to use those three "arms" to defend his art from the intrusions of nationalism, religion, and domesticity. DeLillo's novels about artists – Great Jones Street (1973), Mao II (1991), and The Body Artist (2001) – sustain a dialogue with these modernist, "Dedalian" aesthetic principles. Each novel depicts the lure of silence and exile, as each artist figure coils inward in order to spring outward, often with a new work that redefines his or her artistic practice. This pattern indeed forms a link in an intertextual chain that leads back to the Greek myth from which Stephen takes his name. Daedalus was, of course, the artificer who built a nearly inescapable labyrinth for King Minos of Crete, where he kept the half-bull, half-human Minotaur and fed him human sacrifices. Taking one victim's place, the Athenian prince Theseus killed the Minotaur and escaped afterward using a thread given to him by Minos's daughter, Ariadne. Later, Daedalus himself was imprisoned in the labyrinth but, by fashioning wings from feathers and wax, escaped with his son, Icarus. Failing to heed his father's warnings, Icarus flew too close to the sun; his wax wings melted and he fell into the sea. Daedalus subsequently put aside his wings, but after enviously murdering his clever nephew Perdix, he was transformed by Athena into a bird.


The potential of single kernel properties of wheat (mean and standard deviation of hardness, size, and mass) and
roller mill's roll gap in modeling the size properties of first–break ground wheat was investigated. Full (seven variables) and
reduced models (six variables) for break release (BR in log scale, or L_BR) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) were
developed based on milling data from six wheat classes ground at five roll gaps. The models explained most of the variability
in the experimental data and relationships obtained were consistent with previous research and millers' experience. Roll gap
and single kernel hardness had the most significant effects on L_BR and GMD. Reduced models that used a variable
combining single kernel size and roll gap reduced some collinearities among single kernel properties and isolated the effect
of single kernel mass from that of single kernel size. The effect of single kernel mass became significant in the reduced models.
The models performed well in validation tests. Predictions using the L_BR model were better than an equation based only
on roll gap. L_BR was linearly related to GMD. Because the L_BR model was wheat class–specific, it has potential for online
roll gap control.


increased from 3 day to 7 day in RVM as compared with sham operated animals. However, the expression of GFAP (an astrocyte marker) was not change in mirror image animal as compared with sham control. Intra-RVM pretreatment of minocycline (microglia inhibitor) or lidocaine exclusively inhibited contralateral allodynia rather than ipsilateral allodynia. Moreover, same effective dose of minocycline or lidocaine at mirror image pain did not modify the mechanical allodynia in ipsilateral pain only animals. Conclusions: These results suggest that contralateral mechanical allodynia induced by SNL is associated with specific activation of neuron and glial cell in RVM.


Based on a lamb carcass classification and pricing exercise in the Paris wholesale market at Rungis, an equation was estimated which regresses prices on farm-based and factory-based quality aspects and on country of origin of the carcasses. The revenue foregone per car- cass by each supplying country, because of divergence from the optimal quality, is quantified and allocated to particular quality attributes. For all countries quality improvement would yield substantially increased revenue. Supplying countries other than France suffer a substantial country-of-origin discount which is not justified on quality considerations. Further research is necessary on this phenomenon. Copyright 1986 by Oxford University Press.


3 Abstract: Soil N is a major factor limiting crop production in maize-based agriculture in the tropics. In this study, soil N dynamics and efficiency of N use by maize was investigated in five cropping systems (CSs) over two annual cropping phases. The CSs comprised cereal-legume (CS1, CS2, CS3), cereal-cereal (CS4) and cereal-bare fallow (CS5) rotations with three rates of N fertiliser application to maize (0, 60 and 120 kg ha ). Legumes 1 (cowpea, field pea and lucerne) were either grown in rotation or intercropped with the cereals. All CSs with legumes in the rotation had greater soil total N and soil mineral N at planting of maize. Net and cumulative N mineralization during maize growth in both phases was always highest for CS1, where winter field pea was incorporated as a green manure. Soil total N and mineral N increased with application of inorganic N fertilizer, but the efficiency of N use by maize decreased with increasing N application rate. N use efficiency was highest where N was present in the form of legume residues. The estimated soil N balance after harvest showed significant N gains for CSs that had legumes in the rotation at all N fertilizer rates. In contrast, CSs without legumes had lower soil N gains and addition of N fertilizer at 120 kg N ha resulted in a net loss of N from the 1 soil profile. This study shows that the inclusion of legumes, supplemented by inorganic N fertilizer where the legume crop is removed, has the potential to maintain adequate crop production and soil N quality in maize- based cropping systems. Where legumes are absent from rotations and inorganic N fertilizer is the sole N source, soil N quality is likely to deteriorate over time.


of taste, virtue and judgment, both through the activity of sight-seeing and through the reflective performance of writing. Indeed, Sarah, dowager-duchess of Marlborough, reflected in 1727 'what a sad thing it is for men that had an opportunity of knowing everything that is valuable to be able to talk of nothing but hunting'. However, as Sweet valuably shows, in practice the Grand Tour was neither exclusively masculine nor confined to the aristocratic elite. The chapters on the individual cities helpfully note changes in cultural and intellectual sensibility, but this feature could have been improved by adopting a chronological approach for the book as a whole. For example, Sweet helpfully points out the impact on the perception of Rome of changes in British religious culture which became particularly marked towards the end of the eighteenth century, with the rise of evangelicalism and moral reform. As she notes, the cynicism of Conyers Middleton, the worldly tolerance of Hume and the scepticism of Gibbon were replaced by a piety that placed greater emphasis on accounts of the testimony offered by early Christians in Rome. She is spot on, but it would have been useful to have this change considered as part of a more general chapter on the closing decades of the period. Nevertheless, this is a valuable work that deserves attention. Jeremy Black University of Exeter


A study was carried out to assess the profitability of using ADP under smallholder farming conditions. The study reveals that most smallholder farmers in the study area use draught animals as the main source of farm power. To carry out the cost benefit analysis, six scenarios were considered. These were: the use of oxen for ploughing only; the use of oxen for ploughing and carting; the use of donkeys for ploughing; the use of donkeys for ploughing and carting; the use of horses for ploughing and the use of horses for ploughing and carting. For all scenarios, the benefit exceeds the cost and the net farm income is positive and significant. The study has confirmed that ADP is still a realistic and cost-effective option for improving smallholder farming systems. Since ADP is an alternative, complementary technology, the necessary support is required in terms of scientific research, education, training and to provide improved agricultural support services for rural communities in South Africa.


A method of charging a battery bank from a charging device (10) comprising a plurality of terminals (14) to recharge electrically fed from at least one source (11) for generating energy, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - estimation of future production of energy, the predicted energy E and the predicted power P (t) as a function of time t, during a reference period by at least one source of energy; Estimated needs energy Σ Ei (t) for recharging the batteries present in the charging device; - Calculation of a lower dummy power P or equal to the predicted power and responsive to all or part of this energy requirement in a separate dummy period or not of the reference period; - Battery recharges Planning present in the recharging device on this notional period.


Reliability-based design (RBD) ensures high reliability with a reduced cost. Most of the RBD methodologies do not account for maintenance and warranty actions. As a result, the RBD result may not be truly optimal in terms of lifecycle reliability. This work attempts to integrate reliability, maintenance, and warranty during RBD. Three RBD models are built. The total cost of production, maintenance, and warranty are minimized. The computational procedures for solving the RBD models are developed. As demonstrated by two examples, the proposed RBD models meet not only the initial reliability requirement but also the maintenance and warranty requirements with reduced costs.


We propose a framework for road-vanishing-point detection based on a new generalized Laplacian of Gaussian (gLoG) filter. In the first part, the gLoG filter can be applied to estimate the texture orientation at each pixel of an image, and the road vanishing point can be detected based on the estimated texture orientations. However, such a texture-based road-vanishing-point detection scheme suffers from high computational complexity. In the second part, an efficient gLoG-based road-vanishing-point detection method is proposed by only using the dominant texture orientations estimated at a sparse set of salient microblob road regions, where the gLoG filter is used to detect these salient microblob areas and simultaneously estimate their dominant texture orientations. Experimental results on 1003 general road images show that the efficient gLoG-based method is significantly faster than a Gabor-filter-based method, whereas the detection accuracy is comparable. The nonefficient gLoG-based method is more accurate in detecting the vanishing point than the Gabor-based approach.


In this issue of the JMIRO, Siva et al. report on their initial experience and quality assurance of a stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) programme for lung metastases. It includes a detailed description of technique and the quality assurance undertaken. Motion management with 4D computed tomography for planning and cone beam computed tomography for treatment set-up was used, with nine patients treated with a dose of 26 Gy in a single fraction. They report <1.7% difference between the planned and delivered dose and intra-fraction motion of <2 mm. The authors should be commended, as this is the first Australian report of SBRT. Considering there have been numerous published reports of technique, safety and efficacy of SBRT previously, the obvious question raised for the readers is why Australia and New Zealand have lagged so far behind in our adoption of this technology. The first Phase I lung studies in SBRT opened in Japan in 1994,1 in Europe in 19972 and in the United States in 2000.3 A multicentre study of 245 patients from Japan was published in 20044 and reported local control rates of 92% when the biological equivalent dose (BED) was >100 Gy, and extremely low side effects. This was despite inclusion of patients with central lesions in this protocol and multiple institutions enrolling patients. The dose escalation study from Indiana was reported in 20023 and then again in 2005.5 This protocol treated patients with up to 72 Gy in three fractions and was the basis for Phase II study,6 which used 60 Gy to 66 Gy in three fractions (revised to 54 Gy in three fractions, following as inhomogeneity correction). It was this Phase II study that highlighted the dangers of treating central lesions with extreme doses, with Grade 3–5 toxicity reported in approximately 27% of these patients. The trade-off between tumour control and morbidity regarding dose selection is still in equipoise, with moderate doses (8–12 Gy per fraction) and high doses (18 Gy per fraction) in use at differing institutions around the world. Even in the United States, it should be noted that 48 Gy to 50 Gy in four fractions remains the standard fractionation at many centres. The lung and liver are both ideal end organs to consider ultra-hypofractionation, due to the parallel arrangement of their functional cells. However, without care for adjacent organs such as the skin, chest wall, oesophagus and the main bronchi, these extreme doses can cause serious toxicity. There is very little evidence available to compare ablative doses either against each other or against standard fractionation for efficacy or toxicity. In Australia, the TROG study CHISEL is randomising patients with Stage I non-small cell lung cancer to either 60 Gy in 30 fractions or 54 Gy in three fractions. This study allows patients to receive the standard fractionation arm at a centre close to home, and the stereotactic treatment at a centralised centre if desired. The study by Siva et al. has included only metastatic patients and the dose selection is different. They have elected for a single fraction of 26 Gy as compared to the more common fractionated schedules, although it should be noted that the primary end point of their paper quality assurance will be identical for single fraction or multifraction SBRT. Introduction of an SBRT programme for lung or liver metastases creates an additional workflow in a radiotherapy department and this was alluded to as a potential rationale for the dose chosen. The first European report of SBRT in 1994 also used 26 Gy in a single fraction with encouraging results.2 It will be interesting to follow the outcomes of the current series with respect to local control, as some reports have inferred metastatic lesions may require a higher BED than primary lung cancer. One explanation for the limited uptake of SBRT in Australian and New Zealand is the lack of appropriate resource allocation. For example the Australian Medicare schedule has no acknowledgement of extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy as a technique, and reimbursement is therefore the same as any complex treatment, which is weighted in favour of large numbers of treatments. To successfully implement extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy within Australia and New Zealand, investment will need to be made at a planning and quality assurance level. It will be important to collect data to help identify which patients and which disease sites have a favourable cost–benefit ratio. One option will be to require all centres wishing to utilize SBRT to purchase the required quality assurance equipment bs_bs_banner Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology 56 (2012) 245–246


Tracking multi-target in clutter environment,because the distance between each target in target set may be less than the sensors resolution of explorer,the problems of bug-tracking,bait deceiving and clutter false alarm emerge.So a new filtering and tracking method named UKF-SOFNN is presented,in which the models of maneuvering targets are viewed as straight nonlinear system,and better capacity of the UKF-SOFNN for discriminating nonlinear parameters is insured by the models.The simulation shows that the new method is able to resolve the specific target in target set and track it feasibly.


[1] Physical and biogeochemical processes determining the distribution, transport, and fate of nutrients delivered by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya river basin (MARB) to the inner Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) were examined using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model and observations of hydrography, nutrients, and organic carbon collected during 12 cruises. Two aspects of nutrient transport and fate on the inner LCS (<50 m depth) were evaluated: (1) along-shelf and cross-shelf transports were calculated and (2) nutrient sinks and sources were inferred. On average, 47% of the lower Mississippi River freshwater traveled westward on the LCS, but this percentage was reduced during summer when currents reversed to a predominately upcoast direction. Changes from mainly inorganic to organic nutrients were observed at salinity between 20 and 30, and above 30, organic nutrients were the dominant forms. Westward transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) was about 25% of the combined DIN load from the MARB, whereas westward transport of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was 2.8-fold larger than the MARB DON load. Different from dissolved inorganic nutrients, for which the rivers were the primary source, the dominant source of organic nutrients was advection from offshore. Overall, the inner LCS was estimated to be a net sink for total nitrogen in the amount of −3.14 mmol N m−2 d−1 and a net sink for total phosphorus in the amount of −0.28 mmol P m−2 d−1. These sinks were approximately 33% and 59% of the total N and P sources, respectively, to the inner LCS.


Background
In 2001 a National Registry of Occupational Diseases was founded in Bulgaria which introduced a new system of reporting and recording Occupational illness into practice. In 2009 more than 400,000 people in Bulgaria were recorded with permanent disability, a lot of them representing victims of Occupational illness or injury. The intention of our present study was to analyze the frequency and type of different Occupational diseases over the last decade, and to determine which types of employment represent the greatest Occupational hazards to the employees' health and safety.


An image processing device and method, a recording medium, and a program. A simplified angle detection section (901) detects an angle of the steady state in the simple way by using correlation from the input image. A judgment section (902) connects a switch (903) to a terminal (903a) when the angle obtained in the simple way is near to the horizontal direction or the vertical direction and outputs the angle information detected in the simple way to a regression type angle detection section (904). The regression type angle detection section (904) detects and outputs the angle of the steady state in the regression way statistically. On the other hand, when the angle of the steady state obtained in the simple way is near 45 degrees, the judgment section (902) connects the switch (903) to a terminal (903b). Here, a slope type angle detection section (905) detects and outputs the direction of the steady state from the input image in the slope way. As a result, it is possible to detect the angle of the steady state more accurately.


The article examined the task of clarification of motion parameters of optical-electronic supervision spaces vehicles with the using a special purpose information. An algorithm by means of which it is possible to realize self-navigation of spaces vehicles is offered. The feature of algorithm is application of unlocal approach to minimization of a special purpose function on the basic of Nelder-Mideis method, that allows to extend the convergence region of algorithm and get more useful information about the sought minimum having the small volume of measuring information.


The pharmacokinetics of theophylline was studied in 6 normal, nonsmoking, adult male volunteers. A constant‐rate intravenous infusion of 3.84 to 4.98 mglkg oftheophylline (as the ethylenediamine salt, aminophylline} was administered over 40 min, Serum theophylline concentrations were measured for 24 hr by means of agas chromatographic method specific for theophylline . Within 30 min of an average intravenous dose of 4.4 mglkg oj theophylline, serum levels reached 10 uglml, The highest serum level at the end of the infusion was 17 ug/ml. The serum concentration‐time data were fitted to a two‐compartment open model and yielded a mean serum half‐life (1½) of 11.02 hr, a value longer than those previously reported. Dur results indicated that after the original loading dose of 4.4 mglkg was infused for 40 min, an immediate infusion rate of 1.40 mglkglhr (1 .65 mgIkgIhr aminophylline) would be necessary to maintain a serum level of 10 ug/ml.


Research aims: This study examines the effect of two leadership types, ethical leadership (EL) and servant leadership (SL), on whistleblowing intentions with three justice dimensions: distributive, interactional, and procedural, as mediators.Design/Methodology/Approach: This research involved local government organizations (LGO) employees in several regencies in Indonesia, including Purworejo, Sumbawa, Pelalawan Riau, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, and Surakarta. The hypotheses were tested using the SEM-PLS technique.Research findings: The results discovered that EL positively affected whistleblowing intention directly and through (mediated) procedural and interactional justice. Meanwhile, SL did not directly affect whistleblowing intention, yet it could affect it when mediated by procedural justice. Furthermore, distributive justice could not mediate the relationship between either SL or EL on whistleblowing.Theoretical contribution/Originality: The novelty of the research is to explore and comprehensively analyze how a leadership style can influence someone to do whistleblowing in the government sector by paying attention to the crucial role of the justice dimension. The results of this study provide valuable insights for the government to increase employee motivation in whistleblowing.Practitioner/Policy implication: Drawing from this insight, the leader of the LGOs must have the characteristic of EL since it can facilitate and motivate employees to blow the whistle when they find fraud in the organization. In addition, a leader with EL can create fairness in the organization. Thus, EL not only can affect employees to blow the whistle but also can raise the three-dimensionality of justice in the organization.Research limitation/Implication: The implementation of leadership, either SL or EL, in the context of the public sector, whose primary purpose is to enhance government accountability, particularly in emerging countries, is still lacking. Moreover, the process underlying how leadership affects whistleblowing still holds critical gaps, particularly issues related to leadership dynamics.


This paper aims to study the relationship between ijtihad and maslahah. The selection of maslahah compared to other arguments that play a role in the process of ijtihad is because it is an argument that is required to answer new questions that cannot be answered primarily through ijtihad within the scriptures range (ijtihad Bayani and ijtihad analogous). Without denying the ijtihad within the scriptures range, understanding of the maslahah itself is required. Despite that, this article explains its relationship only and subsequently presents a few examples of applications of maslahah in ijtihad as an exposure toward the reasonability of the usage in dealing with new issues today. Finally, it is expected that this article can be a guidance in determining the law to new arguments that have no direct explanation from the verses of alQuran and al-Hadith.


Purpose: To determine the optimal parameters of the collimation system of the gamma therapeutic apparatus. Material and methods: collimation system parameters Monte Carlo simulation in Geant4 Software Package. Results: Simulation in the Geant4 software package is a reliable tool for solving such problems The good agreement between calculated and experimental data was achieved. The proposed system of spherical beam collimation using a source similar to GIK-9-3(4) (manufactured by Mayak), with a value of SSD=1000 mm, is capable of providing the required characteristics of the radiation field over the entire range of its sizes. It seems appropriate to consider the reduction of radiation leakage with the help of a jagged shape of the contacting surfaces of the collimator jaws, since the dose is mainly due to leakage through poorly connected collimator jaws, reduced to a negative angle. Conclusion: The performed calculation of the collimation system makes it possible to use the obtained results for the design of radiation heads of gamma therapeutic devices without additional scientific research. The paper also provides a detailed description of the libraries of physical processes used in Geant4, which allows the reader, if necessary, to repeat the experiment for his/her own needs.


Acute diarrheal disease among children aged less than five years remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Severe infectious diarrhoea in children occurs most frequently under circumstances of poor environmental sanitation and hygiene, inadequate water supplies and poverty. In Kenya, the control of diarrhoea disease including the promotion of breastfeeding, oral rehydration therapy and specific health education is a part of national strategies aimed to improve the quality of life and reduce the burdens caused by diseases. In Kericho West Sub-County, diseases associated with contaminated water, sanitation and poor hygiene tend to affect more in rural households. Nearly half of the children under five years suffer from related diarrhoeal diseases, thereby causing major concern to the entire local population. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the factors that lead to diarrhoeal diseases, to investigate the hygienic condition and source of water supply in the area, to examine the practices of the breastfeeding mothers and to determine the measures the county government has put in place to improve the health situation of the children. The study was grounded on two theories proposed by self-efficacy theory by Bandura. The study was carried out using a structured questionnaire as a quantitative tool while the interview guide was the qualitative tool for data collection. The location of the study was in Kericho West sub-county. The study concluded that there was a relationship between childhood diarrhoea, water, sanitation and hygiene in the study area. The study also found that there was a substantial positive association between breastfeeding and diarrhoea in children aged less than five years. From the findings, 83% used water with soap, while 41.3% obtained food from street vendors. The study recommends that the government facilities and private facilities should start sensitizing the Kericho West sub-county residents on the importance of maintaining hygiene through the use of clean and treated water as well as washing their utensils with hot water and soap. The government health care workers at the government facilities should counsel all the mothers and educate them on all the waterborne diseases as this would be the best option to control the communicable diseases in the County.


In this paper, a small signal analysis of Negative Capacitance Junctionless Accumulation Mode FET is done in terms of S-parameters for high frequency RF applications. The results are compared with the existing Negative Capacitance Junctionless FET at various frequency range using TCAD ATLAS device simulator. Small signal parameters such as reflection coefficients (S11, S22), transmission coefficients (S12, S21), Gate Capacitance (CGG), cut-off frequency (fT), MTPG, and UPG have been analyzed. These parameters has been analysed by varying the ferroelectric thickness (tFE=12nm, 8nm, 5nm). It is found that the performance of NC-JAM-FET is better when compared to NC-JL-FET and hence it can be used for RF applications.


Abstract : The total velocity requirements, from a parking orbit, for launches into various orbits in cislunar space are determined. The parking orbit is a 100 n.mi. altitude circular orbit inclined 30 degrees to the equator. Three different situations are used: (1) A Hohmann transfer to a circular orbit at the same inclination; (2) A two burn optimal transfer to a circular equatorial orbit; (3) A three burn non-optimal transfer to an equatorial orbit. Also presented are the delta V requirements to transfer to a coplanar eccentric orbit of 300 n.m. at perigee and variable apogee. (Author)


This paper introduces the structure and work mechanism of the polishing equipment vibrating table, and expounds the technique method and result of polishing titanium alloys blade (TC4 ). It makes know that this means is much effective to process complex diverse model bent surface.


Corrosion is one of the biggest challenges facing the safe and reliable use of metals and alloys, especially under elevated temperatures. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms for surface oxidation is critical to unveil the mysteries of corrosion, and will also facilitate research in fields such as environmental stability, high-temperature corrosion, and catalytic reactions. The process of surface oxidation can be divided into three stages, namely oxygen chemisorption, oxide nucleation and growth, and bulk oxide growth. Despite numerous studies focusing on the initial stage of oxidation that commences with oxygen chemisorption on clean metal surfaces and ends with oxide nucleation and growth, this stage remains poorly understood due to the lack of experimental methods available for studying this stage. For example, surface science techniques such as Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and atomistic simulations have shown that after oxygen chemisorption, clean Cu(100) surfaces will undergo several surface reconstructions, demonstrating c (2×2) reconstruction and missing row reconstruction (MRR) structures[1]. However, characterization of the atomic mechanisms forming reconstructions, as well as determination of whether reconstruction is necessary for oxide nucleation, have not been conclusively investigated, given the lack of direct experimental observation. In this work, using state-of-the-art Environmental TEM (ETEM) (Hitachi H-9500 operating at 300 keV) and multiscale atomistic simulation, we explore the dynamic processes of the initial


Objective Heterogenous apoptosis of sino-atrial node and its peripheral atrial myocardial cells caused by ischemia-reperfusion of right coronary artery in rabbit.Methods The IR injury models of SAN were established by occluding or loosening the root of right coronary artery for ischemia-60 min and reperfusion-60 min respectively in 12 healthy adult rabbits.Distribution of the apoptosis of SAN and its peripheral atrial myocardial cells was detected by TUNEL staining and the changes of their structure were observed under the light and electron microscope.Results (1)The apoptosis was found in 8 rabbits(8/12 rabbits) in the center and peripheral region of SAN as well as peripheral atrial myocardium were found, and their apoptosis rates were 11.3%±3.7%,15.0%±4.5% and 24.4%±5.9% respectively.(2)In IR rabbits,indistinct margin,nucleus pycnic,enhanced eosinophilic staining and adeniform arranged cells wers found under microscope,and obvious apoptosis of aterial myocardium cells was observed under eledron microscope.Conclusion IR can induce inhomogenous apoptosis in SAN and its peripheral atrial myocardium,and the apoptosis rate of the SAN center is the lowest compared with the peripheral region and it's peripheral atrial myocardium.


Abstract : The characteristic time of far IR response of quantum Hall effect detector in GaA/AlGaAs has been investigated versus the magnetic field. The response time is shown to increase dramatically with the field due to the spatial separation of photoexcited electrons and holes captured by localized states formed by the disordered potential.


The relationships between refractive index and moisture content of honey and between viscosity and moisture content have been quantitatively investigated, and as a result it has been found possible to utilize each of these properties for the determination of the moisture content. The requisite tables have been drawn up and details of the methods given. The degree of accuracy attainable is equal to that of the standard A.O.A.C. method, while the procedure is in both cases simpler and more rapid.


Objective: To study the tone, content, and structure of in-office discussions between psychiatrists and adults with depression and possible comorbid attention-deficitlhyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Patients with a pre-existing diagnosis of depression, but not ADHD, and screening results indicating the possible presence of ADHD, were selected. Office visits were videotaped and analyzed for tone, content, and structure, using sociolinguistic techniques. Separate post-visit interviews were conducted with patients and psychiatrists. Results: The study sample comprised 14 patients and eight psychiatrists, although data on the possibility of ADHD were available for only 13 patients. The possibility of an ADHD diagnosis was not discussed in any office visit. Psychiatrist- or patient-driven language suggesting possible ADHD symptoms occurred during five (36%) visits. In post-visit interviews of 13 patients, nine (69%) felt they had or might ha ve ADHD. In contrast, psychiatrists felt that 12 patients (92%) did not have ADHD. Nine psychiatrist-patient pairs (69%) disagreed about the possibility of ADHD. Conclusion: Psychiatrists and their patients diagnosed with depression showed low levels of agreement regarding the possibility of comorbid ADHD. Psychiatrists frequently missed or misinterpreted patient cues regarding potential ADHD symptoms, suggesting psychiatrists may need to be more vigilant in screening for ADHD in this at-risk population.


In recent years, the global climate is becoming warmer and warmer. The discussion about the global warming effecting on is also more and more intensified. The paper analyzes change of air temperature and precipitation change occurred from last half century to the beginning of this century in the Qingyang region, Gansu Province, China. Considering the relation between El-nino, La-nina and drought disease, we want to find out the reason of drought disease under the global warming, and to contribute to the theory studying of relieving poverty. The analysis and concluding is that drought disease is worse and worse in the region, air temperature and precipitation is negative correlation obviously, the rising of air temperature is main reason of drought disease.


A category of oral biofilm which is still not well understood is the one coating the tongue, although various reports have associated its presence with halitosis in patients (1). The aim of the study was to visualize the three-dimensional bacteria distribution within the biofilm in order to better understand the ecological balance which regulates it. Tongue plaque samples from four halitosis-diagnosed patients and four healthy volunteers were analysed and compared. The biofilm was collected using a 0.1ml sterile inoculating loop. The visualization of the tongue dorsum biofilm was performed combining fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) (2). Eubacteria, Streptococcus spp. and Fusobacterium nucleatum were stained using specific fluorescent genetic probes. Morphological analysis by CLSM illustrated the different distribution of the species which were tracked: Streptococcus spp. appeared immerged within the samples, while F. nucleatum was found in the peripheral areas of the samples. Furthermore, F. nucleatum appeared to exist without the presence of the Streptococcus spp. in the halitosis group. This study showed the architecture of tongue dorsum biofilm by means of imaging techniques, highlighting the distribution of the tracked bacterial species within the biofilm sample of the plaque.The authors are grateful to Dr. A. Zurcher and to Mr. G. Heuzeroth, University of Basel, for their help in the recruiting and sampling procedures.


Nagasaki had been Japan's only open port for more than two centuries, but the scenes that greeted the foreigners' eyes gave little indication of the town's strategic or historic importance. The island of Dejima, connected to the town by a short bridge, was still the site of the famous Dutch Factory, but the only reminder of the Dutch presence there was a flag flying from a pole in the background and a few painted buildings hovering over the embankment walls. The suppression of Christianity in the Japanese community and the face-off between Japanese authorities and the foreign community would continue until 1873 when the ban was finally lifted. Although discussions related to the Nagasaki Foreign Settlement tend to focus on the activities of Europeans, people of Chinese origin predominated throughout the period, just as they had in the Edo Period.Keywords: Christianity; Dejima; Dutch Factory; Edo Period; foreign community; Japan; Nagasaki


The article considers the social problem of family violence. The data obtained by the author in the application of sociological methods are presented. Analysis of the data has proved the seriousness of the social problem under discussion and the inadequacy of measures taken by society to solve it. The conclusions about the factors determining the disadvantage of family relations are suggested.


This study focuses on the identification of medicinally important properties found in Thuja species. There are four main species of Thuja (Fam. Cupressaceae), occidentalis (Eastern white cedar), orientalis (Chinese arborvitae), plicata (Western red cedar) and standishii (Thuja japonica) (Banthorpe 1971). Thuja consists of dried young twigs with coniferous pyramidal, flattened branches, the twigs in one plane bearing small scales, each species containing a volatile oil, flavonoids, mucilage and an astringent. The composition of volatile oil shows a great variation within the species and there is seasonal variation of constituent compounds. Thuja species are traditionally used in medicine and reported to have anti-cancer, anti-haemorraghic, haemostatic, antimicrobialim and antiviral activity (Wren 1988). Thuja occidentalis has been used in the treatment of verruca pedis (Khan et a1 1984) and clinically evaluated in a controlled study of Thuja species in the treatment of verruca pedis (Khan 1997). The plant material from each species was dried, ground and soxhlet extracted with methanol. The crude extracts were evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure at 40°C using a rota-evaporator and the dried extracts dissolved in 70% methanol. The Rf value of each extract was compared on TLC silica gel 60F254 aluminium sheet using toluene and ethyl acetate as the solvent system (Wagner et a1 1984). The results of this study showed a significant difference in the Rf value of each species indicating variation in the chemical constituents of each Thuja species (Banthorpe 1971). It was also found in clinical studies that Thuju occidentalis was found to be more effective in the treatment of verruca pedis than Thuja orientalis, Thuja plicata and Thuja standishii (Khan 1997).