Introduction: Adiponectin and ghrelin are hormones involved in obesity. In previous studies, anti-obesity effects of green tea consumption have been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of green tea and aerobic exercise on serum adiponectin and ghrelin.  Materials and Methods: Atotal of Twenty obese men volunteered and were divided randomly into case (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. Both groups performed aerobic training including slow running for 10 weeks. In addition to aerobic training, the experimental group drank one green tea bag containing two grams of â��â��tea, three times a day. Before and after the intervention, blood sampling was performed. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and ANCOVA. Results: Results showed that there was no significant difference in serum adiponectin and ghrelin levels between case and control groups. Furthermore, no significant difference was detected in body mass index, body weight, waist to hip ratio and body fat percent age between the groups, while the maximum oxygen uptake increased significantly in case participants. Conclusion: Green tea consumption and aerobic exercise for 10 weeks had no effect on serum adiponectin and ghrelin levels in men, but it could increase the maximum aerobic power.  Acknowledgment: This study was supported by Hakim Sabzevari University, further more there was not any conflict of interest in doing this research. Â


Mechanical properties of a Ti−46 mo1%AI alloy with full lamellae refined using a discontinuous coarsening reaction have been examined by a compression test in a range of RT〜1273 K and a tensile test at both 1〜Tand 1073K. Also, the effects of lame11ar grain size, Iamellar grain boundary and lamel王ar morphology on the defor− mation behavior have been investigated. The compression properties at 1〜:r were improved by refinement of the lamellar grain. Up to 1073 K, the strength was not decreased because the area of the serrated grain boundary which was considered to improve the high−temperature strength was increased by the refinement. The deformation mechanism of coarsely−spaced Iamellae was similar to that of finely−spaced lamellae.


This research was conducted to investigate the optimal supplemental level of chromium picolinate for heat-stressed Jian carp(Cyprinus carpio var.Jian).A total of 360 Jian carp with average initial weight of(32.88±0.17) g were randomly divided into 6 groups with 4 replicates per group and 15 fish per replicate.Fish in the 6 groups were fed with the basal diet supplemented with different levels of chromium picolinate,and the theoretical supplementation levels of Cr3+ in the 6 experimental diets were 0,300,600,900,1 200 and 1 500 μg/kg,respectively.The experiment was carried out in indoor facilities with water recycling system which has a temperature control unit.The acclimatization period lasted for 10 d(26 ℃) and the trial period lasted for 60 d('normal temperature-high temperature-normal temperature' stress model: 20 d,26 ℃;20 d,31 ℃;20 d,26 ℃).The results showed as follows: 1) supplementation of 600 and 900 μg/kg chromium picolinate(calculated as Cr3+,the same as below) in diet could significantly increase weight gain and protein efficiency,and decrease feed conversion for Jian carp(P0.05).Compared with the control group,weight gain rate of fish fed diets supplemented with 1 500 μg/kg chromium picolinate decreased by 3.4%(P0.05).With the increase of chromium picolinate supplementation,the hepatosomatic index of Jian carp was increased,and had a significantly(P0.05) higher when fish fed the diets supplemented with 900,1 200 and 1 500 μg/kg chromium picolinate.2) The contents of ether extract,ash and moisture in muscle and hepatopancreas ether extract were not significantly affected by chromium picolinate supplementation(P0.05),while the crude protein content in muscle and hepatopancreas in 300 and 600 μg/kg supplemental groups was significantly higher than that in control group(P0.05).3) Supplementation of 600 μg/kg chromium picolinate could significantly increase the serum albumin content(P0.05),while 1 500 μg/kg chromium picolinate could significantly decrease the contents of serum albumin and total protein(P0.05),600,900,1 200 and 1 500 μg/kg chromium picolinate could significantly decrease the serum cholesterol content(P0.05),and 900,1 200 and 1 500 μg/kg chromium picolinate could significantly decrease the serum triacyglycerol content(P0.05).It is concluded that the supplementation of 600 μg/kg chromium picolinate(measured value of Cr3+ is 912.94 μg/kg diet) has a better anti-heat stress effect,which can improve growth and increase muscle protein content of heat stressed Jian carp.


Objective To investigate the expression of proinsulin, insulin, C-peptide in insulinoma and normal pancreas and their roles. Methods Thirty-eight cases of insulinoma and 20 cases of normal pancreas from Sep. 2006 to Dec. 2009 in our hospital were selected. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expression of proinsulin, insulin, C-peptide. Results Proinsulin, insulin, C-peptide was expressed in insulinoma and normal pancreas. Proinsulin, C-peptide were strongly expressed in 100%insulinoma, while they were weekly expressed in 55% ~60% normal pancreas; insulin was expressed as + + +in 79% insulinoma, while it was expressed as + + + + in 85% normal pancreas. Proinsulin, C-peptide positive cell accounted for 80% ~ 100% of 38 insulinoma, and insulin positive cell accounted for 50% ~ 70%,the proinsulin/insulin ratio > 1 accounted for 78.9%; while the corresponding values were 20% ~ 80%, 60% ~90%, 10.0% in normal pancreas, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusions The proinsulin/insulin ratio > 1 is 78.9% in insulinoma, and detection of proinsulin may help to diagnose insulinoma.

Key words:
Pancreas;  Insulinoma;  Insulin;  Proinsulin;  C-peptide;  Immunohistochemistry


A biologic chip image has a larger noise signal, which is caused by factors, such as manufacture, hybridization and cleaning of a biological chip, pollution of dust in a testing process, interference of a testing sample and an instrument noise, hybridization non-specific reaction and the like. The invention provides a biologic chip image wavelet de-noising method based on the Bayesian estimation, which comprises the following steps of: firstly expanding the biologic chip image containing the noise into a wavelet coefficient through wavelet conversion; determining a Bayesian shrinkage threshold on the basis of estimating signal variance and noise variance; extracting an important wavelet coefficient by using the Bayesian shrinkage threshold to complete threshold processing and de-noising processing of the image; and finally enabling the de-noised wavelet coefficient to subject the wavelet reverse conversion to reconstruct the image and outputting the de-noised image. The invention has the advantages that the method has favorable effect of de-noising the biologic chip image, thereby the background noise is smoothened, and edge details of sample points are reserved so as to lay the foundation on further analyzing the chip data and ensuring the correctness of a detection result.


To the Editor.— I would like to point out an inconsistency in Dr Lokich's article, "The Management of Cerebral Metastasis" (234:748, 1975), and provide some additional input of my own. Dr Lokich writes that "surgery is employed almost exclusively for solitary lesions in accessible areas," and then proceeds, curiously enough, to describe one of two instances (case 2) in which radiotherapy had been used. We are told that the patient's symptoms were controlled, and that she eventually became asymptomatic, but we are not apprised as to the status of her papilledema. Indeed, even though the three-month followup brain scan seems to show less uptake than the initial study, it is still patently abnormal. I would like to suggest that there is considerable danger in assuming such a lesion to be metastatic, especially from a presumed primary that infrequently disseminates to the cerebrum, and that short of a histological diagnosis, the


Nurse practitioners in ambulatory care settings must begin using quality improvement strategies to enhance patient outcomes and to improve patient follow-up. The article highlights the development and beginning stages of implementation of one such quality improvement program and discusses the actions that were taken to increase timeliness of key patient processes. An example of a quality improvement educational program, outlines of the plan, and scope of services are also provided.


Moral education is an important and complicated issue facing the educational institutions, specifically in religious societies in the modern world .The existing flaws and shortcomings in moral education arise in the first place, from the lack of a precise definition for the concepts, processes, content, aims, principles and foundations of moral education and in the second place, is affected by changes and transformations that might induce in the elements enumerated above. In the modern world, be it in religious or irreligious societies, post-modern teachings, principles and foundations are in the process of development and spreading, bringing about contradictions with the specific religious teachings of a society. As a result, ambiguity in principles of moral education is one of the problems of moral education. This paper provides an explanation and critique of the principles of moral education from the post-modern point of view.


Abstract:  The abuse of antibiotic drugs during animal production remains a worldwide problem and the subsequent detection of the residues of various drugs present at low concentrations in complex biological matrices poses significant analytical challenges. The present study outlines a practical biochip assay system to identify antibiotic residues in different animal tissue extracts. The system uses a simple but efficient multiresidue sample extraction procedure to isolate the antibiotic residues which were then identified directly using high‐affinity monoclonal antibodies presented in a competitive immunoassay with conjugated antibiotic hapten‐chips. The hapten‐chip can analyze six samples each for eight antibiotics on a single chip within 3 h. The analytical results with both artificial positive standard samples and the incurred samples show that the antibody hapten‐chip system has a comparable accuracy and a similar sensitivity to a standard ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (MS)/MS assay. In conclusion, an effective analytical screening system based on antibody hapten‐chip was developed for detecting multiple antibiotic residues from multiple samples.


Key Points Question Is the use of a sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor for patients with type 2 diabetes associated with the incidence of gout? Findings In this Taiwan nationwide cohort study, there was a significant 11% risk reduction in the incidence of gout in 47 405 patients with type 2 diabetes who received an SGLT2 inhibitor compared with 47 405 propensity score–matched individuals receiving dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, particularly for patients using dapagliflozin. The benefits of SGLT2 inhibitor use in patients with type 2 diabetes for a lower gout risk were not different across subgroups. Meaning The findings of this study suggest that use of SGLT2 inhibitors may help to decrease the incidence of gout in patients with type 2 diabetes.


Electromagnetic Field Theory and Transmission LinesCuring Electromagnetic HypersensitivityElectromagnetic Fields (Theory and Problems)Finite Antenna Arrays and FSSElectric Machinery and TransformersElectromagnetic Field TheoryElectromagnetic Fields and EnergyElectrostatic Phenomena on Planetary SurfacesWave PropagationElectromagnetic Fields and RadiationEngineering ElectromagneticsElectromagnetic Fields and WavesElectromagnetic Field Theory FundamentalsFundamentals of Engineering ElectromagneticsElectromagnetic Field Theory and Transmission LinesHandbook of Engineering ElectromagneticsElectromagnetic Field Theories for EngineeringElectromagnetic Field TheoryElectromagnetic Field TheoryElectromagneticsElectromagnetic Field Theory FundamentalsElectric Fields of the BrainFoundations of electromagnetic theoryA Short History of Circuits and SystemsElectromagnetic Field Interaction with Transmission LinesELECTROMAGNETISMElectromagnetic Field TheoryInstructor's Manual for Electric Machinery and TransformersClassical ElectromagnetismNumerical Techniques in Electromagnetics, Second EditionElectromagnetic FieldsElectromagnetics, Volume 1 (BETA)Electromagnetic Field Theory FundamentalsField and Wave ElectromagneticsSolutions Manual to Accompany Electromagnetic Field Theory FundamentalsElectromagnetics for Electrical MachinesElectromagnetic Field Theory FundamentalsFundamentals of MagnetismBiomagnetic Healing with Your HandsRadio-Frequency Electronics


The COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than 214 countries across the world, disrupting the supply of essential commodities. As the pandemic has spread, humanitarian activities (HAs) have attempted to manage the various situation but appear ineffective due to lack of collaboration and information sharing, inability to respond towards disruption, etc. This study aims to determine and provide insights into the critical factors that may enhance the effectiveness of HAs during the pandemic. A systematic literature review was undertaken to explore critical factors and validated by experts using the fuzzy–Delphi method. These were further assessed to identify the cause-and-effect relationship by means of the fuzzy decision-making trial and laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The results show that building a blockchain-enabled digital humanitarian network (BT-DHN) is the most significant factor during the pandemic. The use of digital platforms for sharing real-time information enhances the effectiveness of HAs. This study offers stakeholders, policymakers, and decision-makers the opportunity to consider these factors in strategic planning to deal with pandemic disruption.


Nitrous oxide (N2O) has been an essential ingredient in pediatric anesthesia since its inception in 1844 and has been routinely used as an adjuvant to speed inhalational inductions with the volatile anesthetics. This practice is based on the second gas effect (1). However, the acceptance of sevoflurane as the induction agent of choice due to its inherent low blood/gas solubility questions the advantage of adding N2O for inhaled induction of general anesthesia. We believe it should remain so. The utility of N2O in current pediatric anesthesia practice has been recently debated in this journal (2). Nitrous oxide's longevity as an anesthetic is testimony to its favorable pharmacokinetics and dynamics, ease of use, lack of expense, absence of significant drug interactions, metabolism, cardiorespiratory, hepatic, and renal toxicities, and safety. Its detractors suggest that N2O has too many contraindications and complications, that it is bad for the environment, not a complete anesthetic, and poses a danger to adults undergoing major vascular surgery, the latter of no relevance to children. For those who follow these beliefs, we invite you to read this treatise, which debunks many of the falsehoods promulgated by those who wish to bury N2O prematurely. On balance, we believe the scales heavily favor the continued use of N2O during pediatric anesthesia, a position that we strongly support and argue convincingly below.


Founding workshop Gembloux January 1996. The aim of this workshop was to review the state of the art in the area of breeding for functional traits in cattle. Proceedings are available as : Groen, A.F., Soelkner, J., Strandberg, E. and Gengler, N. (Compilers), 1996. Proceedings International Workshop on Genetic Improvement of Functional Traits in cattle. INTERBULL bulletin no. 12, Uppsala, Sweden, 245 pp.


Based on generalized univex functions,V-ρ invex functions and type I functions, A class of functions named V-ρ univexity was defined,Optimality of semi-infinte multipleobjective Programming involving V-ρ univexity functions was discussed.Many important conclusions under weeker assumption were obtained.


Using genetic algorithms in dealing with nonlinear problems in measurement,the number of population size,the number of parameters of individual and the ranges of parameters will affect the efficiency of the algorithm.For the problems with simple genetic algorithm to deal with nonlinear cases,including easy to fall into local optimum,slow and small convergence zone and so on,this paper used a new crossover strategy,and made the steps of mutation operator adaptive change.Finally,an example proved that the improved genetic algorithm was more stable,higher accuracy,faster convergence,greater convergence interval than simple genetic algorithm.


This master thesis aims to develop an online e-learning application for the training and support of airline cabin crews through specific modern technologies. This is an application that can be accessed by each flight crew as cabin managers and cabin crew of the same airline as trainees - users. Essentially, implementation will help make their training better, streamline and end in a shorter period of time by improving its quality while offering multiple benefits to an airline such as reducing its operating costs. The benefits to cabin crew and to airline companies are further detailed below. The application can be used (if customized) in general by various companies to train their staff.
The following master thesis consists of seven sections. The first section provides a historical overview of the aviation industry and the second section introduces the reason why cabin crew are important with a brief reference to some of them. The science of Information Technology in the aviation industry is presented in Section 3. In the 4th module, e-learning in general is presented in the field of business and especially in the field of aviation industry. Future improvements are presented in Section 5 and section 6 refers to the technologies used. In Section 7, instructions are given for the application and its functions are presented.


the Institutes of 1559 without regard for the development of his thinking or the considerable quantity of material in the biblical Commentaries and other writings. This present study has the great merit of gathering together from various sources what Calvin said and thought about the crucial question of the knowledge of God as it pertains to the revelation in creation and the revelation in Jesus Christ. The author divides his analysis and discussion into five chapters: I. General Characteristics of the Knowledge of God, II . The Duplex Cognitio Domini, I I I . The Knowledge of God the Creator, IV. The Knowledge of God the Redeemer, and V. The Relation between the Knowledge of God the Creator and the Knowledge of God the Redeemer. In addition, there are four Appendices, a short Bibliography, an Index, and numerous footnotes throughout the text. There are two main points in the treatment of the theme : first, that Calvin understood the knowledge of God as Creator by way of anticipating the knowledge of God as Redeemer, and second, that no epistemological rationale or synthesis of the two was attempted by the reformer. Although the implications of this twofold knowledge has pertinent significance for contemporary theological discussions, the main concern is to expound and interpret Calvin's own views. Perhaps the most controversial piece of research in the book has to do with Calvin's conception of Scripture. Here the author has shown the value of correlating Calvin's Commentaries with the Institutes. Calvin is represented as holding a quite literal dictation theory of inspiration though due regard is given his critical and interpretative mind.


SUMMARY A life table study of the development of seeds of Pithecellobium ebano was conducted in North-Eastern Mexico. Two species of bruchid beetles were found. Merobruchus major infested 11% of the seeds and Stator beali 2.2%. Both bruchid species spend little time within dispersed seeds. M. major avoids seed dispersal by cementing the seeds it attacks to the inside of the pod valves while S. beali emerges within a week of seed dispersal. Reasons for this are discussed. S. beali does not attack seeds on the ground which confirms that, despite being a host specialist, it belongs to the mature fruit guild.


The goals of this PhD thesis are theoretical investigations of carrier scattering processes in semiconductor quantum dots on a quantum-kinetic basis. A consistent treatment of quasi-particle renormalizations and carrier kinetics for non-equilibrium conditions is presented, using the framework of non-equilibrium Green's functions. The focus of our investigations is the interaction of carriers with LO phonons. Starting from a detailed study of quantum-dot polarons, scattering and dephasing processes are studied. For the optical response of semiconductor quantum dots a consistent treatment of the carrier-LO-phonon and the carrier-carrier interaction is presented. Finally, the combination of an tight-binding description of the single-particle properties with a many-body theory is demonstrated for nitride quantum dots where intrinsic material properties are of central importance.


Abstract The customary teaching methodology for dance classes is for the teacher to demonstrate the simple or complex motor pattern on the right side and for the students to practice and perform it on the right side. Then, without practice, the students perform the movement on the left side. This experiment tested the effects of practice on the bilateral transfer of complex movement patterns by having subjects learn two complex dance movement sequences in eight treatment conditions (a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design using naive and experienced ability, side preference and transfer of one-trial learning versus practice). An ANOVA yielded significant main effects for transfer (practice) and for side preference (non-preferred to preferred side). The implication for dance is that, intuitively, teachers have been correct in expecting students to bilaterally transfer complex movements which they have learned. However, teachers should teach to the nonpreferred side (i.e., the left side) to maximize learning through b...


The horizontal de-MOS (LDMOS) transistor having a uniform channel distribution of the present invention, a first drift region of a conductivity type, arranged on the upper portion of the drift region, the body region of the second conductivity type having a channel region of the upper, the first and the source region of the conductivity type, a first impurity region of the first conductivity type disposed to surround the source region at the upper body region and the body region at the top of the drift region and a predetermined distance apart are disposed in the upper portion of the body region that includes a first conductivity type extended drain region, which are successively arranged in the above, a first drain region of conductivity type and a channel region disposed on an upper portion of the extended drain region a gate insulating film and the gate conductive film is disposed. The horizontal de-MOS, LDMOS transistor, the channel region, the impurity concentration distribution, the channel length


Schools are professional work groups requiring the application of professional knowledge to constantly shifting educational challenges as adults work to help students learn. This paper describes a theory of professional visualization through which principals can make their professional practice consistent with their knowledge, values, and intentions. Visualizing or professional theorizing (Schon 1983) provides a means for constructing situational maps that guide principals closer to superior professional achievement. It is a means for creating deliberate structures, theories, or maps for taking action. Four basic building blocks contribute to the quality of principals' expert thinking: professional values, knowledge, processes and behaviors, and intent. The paper begins with a discussion of these four building blocks, presents a framework for professional theorizing, and describes the steps for professional visualization. The framework is then applied to pressing, current issues in education to illustrate how knowledge can be applied through this process. The issues include choice, vouchers, and privatization; collaboration; parental involvement; cultural pluralism; and access and excellence. Six figures are included. (LMI) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** TOWARD A THEORY OF PROFESSIONAL VISUALIZATION Ann Weaver Hart, University' of Utah Paul V. Bredeson, University of Wisconsin-Madison


The measurement system based on torsion pendulum is presented to measure the moment of inertia considering the effect of air damping. With the introduction of air-hovered turntable, the influence of friction force is reduced. In order to increase the effect of the air damping, damping paddles are used to increase the area of test object. The pendulum motion of test object can be measured by the displacement sensor. The moment of inertia of test objects can be calculated by the damping ratio and oscillation period. The experimental results show that the relative measurement error of the moment of inertia of the test objects is less than 2%.


The aim of this thesis is to find the answers to the following questions what kind of op-portunities do we have in this field, why is the role of the family irreplaceable, what is the role of Church, should we regard it as an independent component of the education or as an interesting concern, what is the role of the state. The thesis indicates the possible influences of the educational system which are not used effectively. In this connection the thesis mentions the concept of the religious education in the czech countries during the historical epochs and also the importance of it at present.


Abstract In order to modulate the physical properties of K2Bi3(PO4)3O, various cationic substitutions, K++Bi3+–>2M2+, were undertaken with M=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb. In all cases K2-xBi3-xM2x(PO4)3O solid solutions were obtained. Increasing x lowers the transition temperatures. For M=Ba and Pb, three structural forms can be stabilized down to room temperature.


Objective To study the relationship between HLA-DRB1 genes and peptic ulcer (PU). Methods PCR-SSO was used to detect the HLA-DRB1 genes in 101 PU patients and 305 healthy blood donors, as control group. Results The allelie frequency of HLA-DRB1 * 09 was decreased more significantly in PU (F=0.0743,RR=0.539259) than in control group (F=0.01295,P<0.05). Conclusion HLA-DRB1 * 09 may act as suppressor gene to PU.

Key words:
peptic ulcer; HLA-DRB1; Gene frequency; PCR-SSO


Two novel Pseudomonas species associated with healthy plants and other habitats are described from the United States. They are Pseudomonas zeiradicis strain PI116 from corn in Missouri, compost from Massachusetts, urban soil from Iowa and water of Lake Erie; and Pseudomonas soyae strain JL117 from soybean in Indiana and Wisconsin, and soil in Wyoming. No plant pathogenic strains are known for any of the novel species based on genome comparisons to assemblies in GenBank.


A detailed analysis of optical coherent phase diversity single-filtered and dual-filtered frequency-shift keying (FSK) receivers corrupted by shot and phase noise is presented. With delay and cross-product detection, the effect of various parameters, including bandwidths of filters, delay time, frequency deviation and noises, are investigated. The tolerance of phase noise is quite large, when small time delay in the demodulator and appropriately large frequency deviation is selected. It is also shown that there exists an optimal bandwidth for the first filter in the dual-filtered FSK receiver. For a total linewidth equal to half of the bit rate, the power penalty incurred (at BER=10/sup -9/) is 1.92 dB when the modulation index is 4, provided that an optimal filter bandwidth and a frequency deviation-delay product of 0.25 are used. >


A convenient and efficient one-pot synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-oxadizoles is described. Various carboxylic acid hydrazides reacted efficiently with different carboxylic acid chlorides and 10-camphorsulfonic acid. This methodology was successfully applied to the synthesis of a series of 2H-chromene substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives in good to high yields.


As a part of pre-implementation of Electronic Health Record (EHR) as communicating tool, the study aims at investigating the awareness, perception, and usability of EHR among nurses working in 2032 bedded hospital in southern India. A cross sectional descriptive study with convenient sampling method of 296 nurses was used. The validated questionnaire contained questions related to perception of the nurses about the existing system of record keeping and their effect on patient care; Usefulness of EMR for their practice; relative important of features of EMR; acceptance level and training needs. For analysis SPSS 10.0 version was used. The results of this study are promising in terms of nurses' views for adoption of EHR. Also, suggests, nurses are beginning to perceive benefits in areas of quality in decision making; patient care and practice; enhance timely access to medical records; efficiency; productivity. Strategies are needed for improving the EHR knowledge among nurses who have a negative perception of and attitude towards it.


Features of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) differed depending on their types of cells. MCTS formed by 4000 human thyroid primary culture epithelial tumor cells displayed diameters between 0.31 and 0.33 mm within 2 days regardless of the stage of malignancy of the originating tumors. Their cellular composition reflected that of the originating tumor in regard to DNA content and the expression of cytokeratin, vimentin, as well as thyroglobulin. During the following 3 weeks, their sizes increased up to diameters of 0.42 mm when their cells had been derived from carcinomas, and MCTS originating from adenomas stopped growing within the next 2 days. After 8 days of incubation, proliferating cells were only found in carcinoma MCTS. The cells were randomly distributed over the total volume of the spheroids, which displayed irregular cell arrangements but not concentric cell layers and did not form necrotic centers.


Abstract : As the U.S. military continues to adjust to the post-Cold War era and prepares to protect and advance the nation's interests in the 21st century, it faces vexing choices on the programs, capabilities, and weapon systems it will develop. In his guidance to the panel conducting the Department of Defense's Quadrennial Defense Review, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the members of the panel ".. U.S. forces should have the capabilities and concepts to meet the uncertain challenges of the future." He also told the panel "New combinations of technologies, combined with innovative concepts of operations and organizational arrangements will serve as the multipliers of future U.S. forces, both active and Reserve." Among the new technologies is a class of weapons called non-lethal weapons. Non-lethal weapons are devices designed to thwart the efforts of opposition forces without a high risk of inflicting life-threatening injuries. Some non-lethal weapons achieve this result by temporarily incapacitating humans, some by immobilizing equipment, and some by emplacing barriers to movement. In order to dominate any opponent across the spectrum of conflict from peace monitoring to full-scale war, U.S. forces must take advantage of the capabilities provided by non-lethal weapons. As with any weaponry, the capabilities realized are dictated by the choices made during research, development, and acquisition. With the immature state of some of these technologies, there is a fleeting opportunity to influence the future of non-lethal weaponry. It behooves the well-rounded military expert to become conversant with those technologies and the employment potential they represent.


The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the secondary transition correlational literature to identify in-school predictors of improved postschool outcomes in the areas of education, employment, and/or independent living for students with disabilities. Based on results of this review, 16 evidence-based, in-school predictors of postschool outcomes were identified. Of the 16 predictors, 4 (25%) predicted improved outcomes in all three postschool outcome areas, 7 (43.8%) predicted improved outcomes for only postschool education and employment, and 5 (31.3%) predicted improved outcomes for employment only. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed.


T 00 frequently public relations suggest the relationship between persons ~ responsible for institutional or corporate purposes and the citizen not employed by the agency in question. Almost as important as the human equation is the effect of the physical facilities of a school upon the patrons, the taxpayer, and the citizen. The grooming of the school plant has much to do with the public response to the school. The public relations effect is continuous and cumulative. If the effect is positive, public support for the school is being favorably affected. The purpose of this writing is to indicate the matters pertaining to the school plant that involve grooming and to suggest some constructive practices that almost any school system can afford. The structure and arrangement of the plant affect public relations. Housekeeping standards and esthetic appeal govern pupil care and public respect for the education activity in the commu-


Lots of java store procedures are generated,which are based on store procedure template and replace variables of template with tables information.Generation template,register template and test template of update store procedure are discussed and the typical method of store procedure generation is implemented with VBA,and preparation of test data,test and test result affirmed method are also discussed.It is proved that the method can keep quality of software,reduce the period of development and improve the modifiability of software.


The present situation of coating equipment is introducedand its trend of development in the future is discussed. Short dwellcoating, free jet coating and film press coating reflect the trend anddirection of coating technique development.


Ant based clustering is a bio-inspired method for clustering. This method has some interesting characteristic that has prompted special attention form the researchers in the past few years. This technique has many parameters to tune, such as drop, pick, and radius of perception parameters that have crucial role in performance and convergence of the algorithm. These parameters are usually tuned with trial and error. In this paper we use CLA-PSO, which is a discrete version of PSO based on cellular learning automata, to tune parameters of ant clustering technique. To asses the performance of the proposed method, we compared the proposed method with the only reported method for automatic adaptation of ant clustering parameters which is based on genetic algorithm. Experimental result shows the superiority of the proposed method over the method based on genetic algorithm and k-means method.


Statistical expertise is available at the University of Adelaide to help novice researchers select designs for their projects, but resources are limited and so it is helpful if young scientists have other avenues to obtain the information they require. Using the framework of SMART, developed collaboratively by several institutions to provide timely and cost effective training to users of statistics, I am currently developing a suite of training modules in experimental design for delivery via the World Wide Web. In this paper I shall describe two training modules, one introductory and one advanced, that use the full multimedia capabilities of the Web, allowing user-interaction, video and photographic illustrations, dynamic demonstrations and links to public domain software.


We a core ontology an interoperability data mediation. article presents how such an ontology, the Clinical Data Integration Model, can be designed to support, in conjunction with appropriate terminologies, biomedical data federation within TRANSFoRm, an EU FP7 project that aims to develop the digital infrastructure for a learning healthcare system in European Primary Care. TRANSFoRm utilizes a unified structural/terminological interoperability framework, based on the local-as-view mediation paradigm. Such an approach mandates the global information model to describe the domain of interest independently of the data sources to be explored. Following a requirement analysis process, no ontology focusing on primary care research was identified and so we designed a realist ontology based on Basic Formal Ontology to support our framework in collaboration with various terminologies used in primary care.


Application of information technology in the management and service in libraries improves the level of management and service,meanwhile it does harm to readers' privacy.To handle it,laws on the protection of readers' privacy must be legislated.With a high level of feasibility,libraries'self-regulation is supplementary for the laws.Application of advanced technology to prevent somebody to reveal readers' privacy and enhancement of readers'self-protection awareness shouldn't be ignored.


The lipase-catalyzed selective transformation of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) into dicaprolactone (DCL: 1,8-dioxacyclotetradecane-2,9-dione) and the repolymerization of DCL in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) were carried out for the establishment of a sustainable green polymer chemistry for PCL. PCL with a number-average molecular weight of M n 110 000 was selectively transformed into repolymerizable cyclic DCL in 90% yield using immobilized Candida antarctica lipase (lipase CA) in scCO 2 fluid by compression to 18 MPa in the presence of a small amount of water at 40°C. The DCL obtained such was readily polymerized by lipase CA in scCO 2 to produce a PCL with an M n of 33 000 after 6 h.


Numerical simulations of dynamic evolution of the cluster consisting of 1000 galaxies, 6000 hypothetical «grains» of Dark Matter (DM) and Intra‐Cluster‐gas (IC‐gas) have been performed in the framework of N‐body problem to clarify roles of these components in formation of a cD‐galaxy. Analysis of simulation results shows the low efficiency of tidal braking produced by DM, the high efficiency of the IC‐gas ram pressure stripping internal galaxy's gas and importance of realistic gas model choice.


The article analyzes scientific achievements of the Perm State University Professor M. P. Kotyurova in the field of functional stylistics. It discusses the content of the concepts developed by her, such as the extra-linguistic basis of scientific text , the epistemic situation , categories of scientific text , the reference scientific text , culture of scientific writing , principles of editing scientific text , the individual style of a scientist's writing , etc. Special attention is paid to the holistic concept of extra-linguistic factors of scientific text related to the ontological, methodological and axiological components of scientific knowledge. M. P. Kotyurova proved that each of these components, being expressed in a scientific text, determines the stylistic specificity of its semantic structure. It is recognized that the concept of extra-linguistic factors of scientific text is of keynote importance for functional stylistics, since it allows explaining the underlying mechanisms of text-formation in scientific communication. It is argued that the results obtained by M. P. Kotyurova are based on the theory of functional styles by M. N. Kozhina and develop this theory based on the methodology of the transdisciplinary approach . It was this approach that allowed M. P. Kotyurova to identify and explain the structure of scientific text. The paper discusses contribution of M. P. Kotyurova to the development of a number of scientific text categories: integrity , accuracy , non-categorical nature , density , etc. It considers the concept of a scientist's individual writing style and emphasizes M. P. Kotyurova's innovation in establishing the connection between the individual style and the cognitive style. Furthermore, considered are M. P. Kotyurova's ideas in the field of the scientific writing culture , scientific text editing , as well as legal linguistics , in the framework of which the researcher has developed methods of functional-stylistic analysis for conflict texts. The merits of M. P. Kotyurova as the editor-in-chief of the series Stereotypes and Creativity in Texts , which united Russian and foreign researchers of text, are recognized. The breadth of M. P. Kotyurova's scientific interests and her great contribution to the development of functional stylistics are noted.


This article investigates new methods of textual studies within the field of digital humanities. Exemplified by a mark-up of the Platform sutra.


Many animal studies have reported an association between obesity and reduced iron storage. Systemic chronic inflammation induced by obesity and higher hepcidin levels has been suggested as a reason for the iron deficiency that occurs with obesity. Hepcidin is a master regulator of systemic iron homeostasis. Hepcidin is a peptide hormone, produced mainly from the liver. It inhibits intestinal iron absorption. The hepatic production of hepcidin is up-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. An exercise is an effective approach for controlling obesity. Several studies showed that exercise reduced body weight. So this study hypothesized that regular exercises may be used as an adjuvant line in treating iron deficiency associated with obesity via reducing serum hepcidin. Materials and methods: 75 young male albino rats were categorized into 5 groups. Obesity was induced by high-fat diet(HFD) for 3 months in Group II, III, IV, and V. After 12 weeks, Rats of GIII and GV were injected once every 2 days with iron-III poly-maltose 50 ml/kg for 2 weeks.,treadmill regular exercise was performed for 8 weeks for rats of GIV and GV. Measurement of body weight was done after 3 months of HFD and at the end of the experiment. Biochemical analysis was done for serum iron and serum hepcidin. Results: Measurement of body weight showed that exercise has a decreasing effect on body weight in obese rats. Exercise decreased serum hepcidin levels in obese rats and increased serum iron. Conclusion: Exercise decreases serum hepcidin level also improves the serum iron level in obese rats.


Abstract The effects of copoly (ethylene/octene) (EOM) on rheological, mechanical, and cure properties and on carbon black distribution in each phase of butadiene rubber–nitrile/butadiene rubber (BR–NBR) blends have been investigated. It was found that EOM added to the blends is able to function as a plasticising agent for BR and NBR, and the plasticising efficiency of EOM is more significant in NBR than BR. With increasing EOM content, the deviation of Mooney viscosity from the additive line (interpolated values) reduces markedly. In pure components (i.e. 100 : 0 and 0 : 100), cure rate reduces and cure time increases with addition of EOM. In contrast in the blend systems, cure rate increases and cure time decreases when EOM is added. The distribution of carbon black in each phase of the blends is strongly controlled by the viscosity of each phase in the blend. The lower the phase viscosity, the greater the residual carbon black. Accordingly, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis reveals a slight shift in the glass transition temperature of the BR phase to higher temperature, compared with the NBR phase, as EOM is added. From the results obtained, it is proposed that EOM exists in the interfacial area between the two phases. However, at higher amounts of EOM, saturation of EOM at the interfacial area occurs and the excess EOM starts to migrate to the BR phase. Further increase in EOM concentration leads to saturation of EOM in the BR phase and EOM then migrates to the NBR phase.


Low-concentration samples play an important role in the training of the electronic nose (E-nose), while low-concentration samples are difficult to obtain because of the limited accuracy of sensor detection, and the confect precision of low-concentration samples are hard to control. Traditionally, we can improve the accuracy of the sensors by improving their materials, but this method is costly and difficult to operate. We devised another efficient and convenient method by using algorithms, which can improve the recognition accuracy of low-concentration samples. In this paper, we put forward a novel technique that combines the global and local features, that is, the fusion of the features can reflect the characteristics of the data from comprehensive perspectives. We used this technique to explore whether there exists a situation that the recognition rate of E-nose trained by the samples with different concentration are the same or not. After that, we proposed a new evaluation index based on the dependence of low-concentration samples to judge kinds of feature extraction algorithms. The experimental results show that whether the algorithms of global features (PCA and ICA), the algorithms of local features (LPP and NPE) or the fusion, there are effective and alternative solutions, that is, we can use more high-concentration samples to replace the comparatively minor number of low-concentration samples in the training set. In addition, compared with other algorithms, the fusion of ICA and LPP based on weighted enumeration and EQPSO has the highest recognition rate with the least number of high-concentration samples.


It makes important sense to simulate EMI in army command and control communication.It makes simulation training run as in real battlefield,and improves battle effectiveness.Aiming at the EMI in army command and control communication,this paper classifies the EMI,and introduces some noise models.Then takes EMI between FM and AM signals as an example to discuss the EMI theory.Based on it,this paper introduces the EMI simulation method of how to produce discrete noise data by using MATLAB or sampling from actual noises,and how to PCM code sound by lowclass wave function,then how to plus the noise data and sound data.


In this era, there is a certain need of keeping all the details digital, with the increasing use of technology and need to compete with the outside world one should have some applications where he can store his data. With a great demand of medicines, one could not cope up with this fast world in keeping his data manually. This paper presents an application through python which helps us to record data about the medicine. Whenever a person needs, he can change the data, update it, or delete it which helps the person to get data about medicines. This application will help to keep a record of all the medicines in a good manner and any type of medicine can be searched easily with exact details about that item. It can help to easily update the stock of the medicines available. On seeing any prescription one can search the medicine easily that is it available or not.


Abstract : In this paper we present our new paradigm for dealing with the inference problem which arises from downgrading. Our new paradigm has two main parts: the application of decision tree analysis to the inference problem, and the concept of parsimonious downgrading. We also include a new thermodynamically motivated way of dealing with the deduction of inference rules from partial data.


Geospatial data is the digital carrier of geographic information. Spatial data and its manipulation or processing is related to cognitive ability, and the ability to understand the scale effect and behavior of spatial data would affect the accuracy of the acquired spatial knowledge. Scale is an important feature of spatial data, representing the depth and scope of people's cognition about spatial objects and spatial phenomena. The multi-manipulation and representation of spatial data are common techniques for spatial cognition and spatial analysis, and they much conform to our habits of inference. Urban planning data is a special kind of spatial data and it has a typical application feature of multi scale of spatial data. This paper analyses the major characteristics of urban planning spatial data, and it points out that the key elements to perform multi-scale visualization are to build a multi-resolution space and to determine its appropriate spatial data model. When researching on scale effect and scale transformation rules, we should take the attributes of urban planning spatial data into account at semantic level, as well as the changes of its spatial and temporal scale, when researching on scale effect and scale transformation rule. The generation of new dataset should be bidirectional; it not only could derive sketchy dataset at any scale from a more detailed spatial dataset, but also could carry out re-construction perfectively. Spatial accuracy and spatial features should be corresponded to its scale in the deriving process.


The anodic oxidation of 1,4-dichlorobenzene in acetonitrile-aqueous solution was investigated on a platinum electrode.The cyclic voltammetric(CV) profiles showed that the oxidation potential region of 1,4-dichlorobenzene was about 2.0—2.3 V(vs SCE).Moreover,the effect of different scan rates on CV curves implied that oxidation reaction of 1,4-dichlorobenzene was controlled by diffusion process.Additionally,the major intermediates detected by liquid chromatography(LC) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry(LC/MS) were parachlorophenol,1,4-benzoquinone and 2,5-dichloro-p -benzoquinone.The variation of the concentrations of related anions(oxalate,acetate,formate,maleate and chloride ion) during the reaction process was ascertained by ion chromatography(IC).On the basis of these findings,two tentative degradation pathways,hydroxyl radical attacking of the atom of carbon in benzene ring and dechlorination of 1,4-dichlorobenzene were described.


Recommendation systems (RSs) are an application of community detection, becoming more significant in our daily lives. They play a significant role in suggesting information to users such as products, services, friends and so on. A novel community driven collaborative recommendation system (CDCRS) has been proposed by the authors, in this particular paper. Furthermore, K means approach has been utilized to detect communities and extract the relationship among the users. The singular value decomposition method (SVD) is also applied. Issues of sparsity and scalability of the collaborative method are considered. Experiments were conducted on MovieLens datasets. Movie ratings were predicted and top-k recommendations for the user produced. The comparative study that was performed between the proposed as well as the collaborative filtering method dependent on SVD (CFSVD) as well as the results of experiments shows that CFSVD is outperformed by the proposed CDCRS method.


9 Pile caps are rigid reinforced concrete structures that transfer column loads, generally consisting of a 10 combination of an axial load and bending moments in one or two directions, to the piles. The design 11 formulations of pile caps for more than two piles were derived from the results of experimental tests under a 12 centered load. The practice of checking both punching and shear failure modes is common as described in 13 the literature review, even thoughdespite these formulations were developed for more slender elements. 14 Currently, Codes ACI 318-14 and EC2 allow designing pile caps with strut-and-tie models or sectional 15 approaches (shear, punching and flexural designs). 16 In this study, 21 full-scale pile caps with different shear span-depth ratios and reinforcement layouts 17 were studied to investigate the effect of eccentric loading on the strength and accuracy of the code 18 formulations. The results show that in eccentrically loaded pile caps, the ultimate load is reduced but the 19 maximum pile reaction increases and the secondary reinforcement proves effective to enhance the pile cap 20 strength. 21 Although the strut-and-tie models (STM) allow eccentric loads to be taken into consideration, they 22 predict a much lower peak load than that observed at the experimental results and do not adequately reflect 23 either the influence of slenderness or the failure mode.


We propose a low-complexity decoding message truncation technique for nonbinary LDPC decoders by exploiting the extended min-sum algorithm. The proposed technique dynamically adjusts the decoding message length according to channel conditions, thereby reducing the decoding complexity while conforming to the desired level of decoding performance. Utilizing the proposed technique, the decoding operations as well as the power consumption of the non-binary LDPC decoder can be greatly reduced. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed technique can achieve a better power-performance tradeoff over conventional techniques.


Opioids are commonly used for acute pain. Nonetheless, their associated risks have resulted in substantial increases in morbidity and mortality. The United States (US) specifically has experienced a steep increase in the rates and quantities of opioids prescribed in recent decades, with a peak in 2010.1,2 Although prescribing is declining, the amount of opioids prescribed in 2015 in the US remained fourfold higher than in Europe at the time, and three times as high as they were in the US just fifteen years prior.2 Additionally, recent evidence suggests that declines in opioid prescribing are uneven, and have remained high in surgical and procedural care.3 Importantly, the rise in prescribing has paralleled a sharp rise in opioid-related overdoses, and despite prescribing decreases in recent years, the rate of opioidrelated deaths has continued to rise.2


Fluid pressure is a crucial factor to tubular string strength and deformation in oil and gas wells, and it is the most difficult factor to deal with. When the string constrained by downhole tools, such as packers, action pattern of fluid on string is changed. Calculation methods of string stress and deformation given by engineering handbooks doesn't distinguish these issues in detail. So mistakes are often made when these methods are used. Tangled concepts lead to large calculation error. In this paper, the influence of fluid pressure on string axial force and deformation, buoyancy treatment in packed condition, are discussed roundly both in vertical wells and directional wells. Practical calculating method of string axial force through the hook load is presented, and element buoyancy in different borehole trajectory is given. It is found that the traditional simplified buoyancy coefficient method, which is used to calculate string axial force and axial extension, can only be used in vertical wells with tubular string suspended freely, because in this condition buoyancy acts on the bottom of string. If the string is constrained by downhole tools, such as packer or anchor, buoyancy could not be treated as usual. In directional well the buoyancy not only changes string axial force but induces shear stress in string cross section. When calculating the influence of fluid on string, operation sequence and constraints from borehole and downhole tools should be considered comprehensively.


The rate-of-rise (RoR) method determines flow by measuring the time rate of change of the amount of gas in a collection tank of known volume as it is filled via a flow meter under test. The mass of gas is calculated from time-stamped pressure and temperature data and accurate RoR measurements require reliable gas pressure and temperature values while the collection tank is filling with gas. We present a thermodynamic model and experimental measurements of gas temperature errors that are a function of a dimensionless ratio related to: {the heat transfer from the gas to its surroundings} / {the heat generated by flow work}. The uncertainty of RoR flow measurements made using the NIST 34 L collection tank is <0.12 % for flows between 1 sccm and 200 sccm. At lower and higher flows, the RoR uncertainty rises to approximately 1 % due to leaks and temperature errors induced by flow work.


Molecular biologists and biochemists often transfer proteins separated by gel electrophoresis to membranes, such as PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) and nitrocellulose, for further characterization. MALDI-MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry) can analyze proteins and peptides on a wide variety of surfaces. This review surveys the suitability of membranes and surfaces used by molecular biologists and biochemists as mass spectrometric surfaces. Matrix application considerations are reviewed. The identification of proteins by comparing the masses of peptides generated by on-membrane digestion of proteins with theoretical digestion of database proteins is discussed. The prospects for mass spectrometric sequencing of individual peptides on membranes are presented. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


In a recent letter, Dr. L Tylicki and Dr. B. Rutkowski expressed their appreciation of our review on ozone therapy. We, in turn, have been following the work of these enthusiastic Polish nephrologists with great interest, because ozone therapy, which is not sponsored by pharmaceutical industries or health authorities, can only progress with serious basic and clinical studies which depend on our initiative. It is unfortunate that ozone therapy has been discredited by quacks and is surrounded by scepticism and disinterest. Tylicki and Rutkowski observe that ozone therapy seems to be safe but ask if it is clinically effective. Fifteen years of laboratory and clinical work by V. Bocci and 10 years of the work done together, conceiving and developing Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation (EBOO), has never revealed any acute or chronic toxicity of ozone therapy, only positive and sometimes astonishing results. Needless to say, we are always careful to use ozone doses within a wellestablished therapeutic range, bearing in mind that "the more the better" is NOT true with ozone. A judicious dose of ozone is necessary to trigger biological and therapeutic responses. The acute oxidative stress induced temporarily reduces the body's antioxidant capacity to a limited extent. We are critical of the use of ozone in cosmetic medicine, as there have been no serious studies and direct injection of ozone under the skin is associated with r isk of embolism. The efficacy of ozone therapy is not yet demonstrated as results of the first controlled studies are only now appearing. We are currently testing the efficacy of EBOO for peripheral vasculopathy in controlled studies with rigorous protocols. We agree with the Italian Health Ministry that results of controlled clinical studies are necessary before the validity of ozone therapy can be judged. However, our experience convinces us that ozone therapy can be a valid approach in certain diseases, and we can demonstrate that it is extremely valid in vascular diseases (caused by atherosclerosis, diabetes, uremia etc.) and for healing chronic wounds, such as bed sores and leg ulcers. The combination of parenteral therapy and topical treatment with ozonated oil will be a medical revolution. It is difficult to say when it will happen, because our research proceeds at a snail's pace compared to official medicine. The same is true of our clinical studies compared to those recently published on statins and TNF inhibitors, which involve thousands of patients and experimenters supported by huge funding. In any case, we are fortunate to be able to work in peace and in a scientifically correct manner within the public health system, by virtue of recent provisions by the Health Ministry and the Director of our university hospital. The latter has been particularly attentive to the problem and has sustained us and supported our aims over the years. Our answer to our Polish colleagues is therefore a definite YES. We are convinced of the efficacy and innocuousness of ozone therapy, though many methods still need to be investigated in depth, and those already in an advanced state and considered safe need to be tested in controlled cl inical tr ials to obtain approval by government health authorities.


``Open‐shell'' calculations have been made for the He2+ molecule ion. Two different three‐parameter wave functions have been tried and the results are compared with ``closed‐shell'' calculations of other authors.


Handwritten tabular documents, such as census, birth, death and marriage records, contain a wealth of information vital to genealogical and related research. Much work has been done in segmenting freeform handwriting, however, segmentation of cursive handwriting in tabular documents is still an unsolved problem. Tabular documents present unique segmentation challenges caused by handwriting overlapping cell-boundaries and other words, both horizontally and vertically, as "ascenders" and "descenders" overlap into adjacent cells. This paper presents a method for segmenting handwriting in tabular documents using a min-cut/max-flow algorithm on a graph formed from a distance map and connected components of handwriting. Specifically, we focus on line, word and first letter segmentation. Additionally, we include the angles of strokes of the handwriting as a third dimension to our graph to enable the resulting segments to share pixels of overlapping letters. Word segmentation accuracy is 89.5% evaluating lines of the data set used in the ICDAR2013 Handwriting Segmentation Contest. Accuracy is 92.6% for a specific application of segmenting first and last names from noisy census records. Accuracy for segmenting lines of names from noisy census records is 80.7%. The 3D graph cutting shows promise in segmenting overlapping letters, although highly convoluted or overlapping handwriting remains an ongoing challenge.


To the Editor: Homozygous mutations in the ALS2 gene are causative for autosomal recessive, early-onset forms of upper motor neuron (UMN) diseases described as infantile-onset ascending hereditary spastic paralysis (IAHSP) and juvenile primary lateral sclerosis (JPLS) with overlapping phenotypes (1–7). They are also rarely associated with lower motor neuron (LMN) involvement in juvenile ALS, ALS2 (1, 2, 8). The homogeneous phenotype associated with ALS2 mutation includes onset of stiffness and spasticity in the lower limbs at the age of 1–2 years and progression to upper limbs weakness and dysarthria during childhood. Ultimately, individuals become tetraplegic with preserved intellect (5, 9–11). Here, we describe the first family of infantile ascending spastic paralysis with bulbar involvement with two affected siblings, both showing compound heterozygosity for two novel mutations in ALS2. The parents are non-consanguineous and healthy. The proband (II-1, Fig. 1a) was born at term after a normal pregnancy and delivery. Her development was normal until 10 months of age when stiffness of the lower limbs and tiptoeingwere noticed. Severe spasticity of the legs with hyperactive deep tendon reflexes (DTR), sustained clonus, positive Babinski sign and scissoring in the vertical positionwere observed. She was never able towalk without support. An ascending progression of motor difficulties was then observed, with spasticity becoming evident in the upper extremities after 2 years of age. By 5 years, she developed supranuclear bulbar palsy, with progressive dysarthria and dysphagia with drooling. Brain and spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was normal. Electromyography and nerve conduction studies did not reveal any LMN involvement. Electrophysiological studies including electroencephalography, electroretinography, visual evoked potentials, brainstem auditory evoked potentials and somatosensory evoked potentials were normal. Motor evoked potentials were attempted but could not be recorded. She underwent pharyngeal plastic surgery at 5 years of age and Achilles tenotomyat 6 years of age. She is now11 years old with preserved intellectual skills; hearing and vision are normal. Her face is expressionless with inability towrinkle the forehead and close the eyes. Severe dysphagia and dysarthria can be observed with spastic tongue. She is wheelchair bound with severe spastic tetraparesis. Sensation is intact. The affected sister (II-2, Fig. 1a) was born at term (birth weight 3250 g). Her gross motor development was severely delayed. She was never able to walk because of bilateral leg stiffness. Neurological examination at 5 years of age revealed mild dysarthria with preserved tongue movements, chewing and swallowing. The muscle tone and power were normal in the upper limbs; however, severe spastic paresis with brisk DTR and positive Babinski response were observed in the lower extremities. Her sensation was intact. Brain and spinal cord MRI was normal. Electrophysiological studies were not conducted because she presented the same signs and symptoms observed in the elder sister, and the parents refused any further investigation. She is now 6 year old and wheelchair bound. Sequencing analysis of theALS2 gene in the proband revealed the presence of two heterozygous mutations:a5bp insertion, c.1825_1826insCAGTG, and a nonsense mutation c.3529G.T (Fig. 1a), both leading to the creation of premature stop codons (p.E609fsX9, p.G1177X) within the regulator of chromatin condensation (RCC1) and the membrane occupation and recognition nexus motifs (MORN) domain of alsin, respectively (Fig. 1b). Both mutations were also detected in the proband sister, while the mother and the father were carriers of the insertion and of the nonsense mutation, respectively. All 12 mutations reported so far in the ALS2 gene are homozygous, and all but two are


Abstract : The main goals for this project were to develop automated information organization algorithms, and to integrate the information organization algorithms in a mobile agent platform. The main objective was to investigate and demonstrate the value of a paradigm of computation in heterogeneous distributed systems with non-permanent network connections, in which mobile agents bring the computation to the data. As a result, a system called D'Agents that supports mobile agents has been developed. D'Agents is especially suited to distributed information access experiments in a network of mobile computers, such as laptops, palmtops, and other wireless devices. In addition, this effort has developed, implemented, and evaluated an information organization algorithm called the star algorithm. The star algorithm gives an organization of collection into clusters. Results for this effort include: 1. Information overload is a serious problem and efficient automatic information organization algorithms are useful in addressing this problem. 2. The Star Clustering algorithms: a. is the best performing algorithm for large-scale information organization, b. can be used in an on-line or off-line fashion and has several scalable extensions, c. has been analyzed and this effort's large-scale experiments math the theory, d. can be used for filtering applications and for persistent queries. 3. By combining the Star clustering algorithm with the power of mobile agent system, we increase system performance dramatically.


A magnetic suspension and guidance system for a very high‐velocity (MACH 10) ground‐based rocket sled facility has been studied.1 These results have been extended and applied to the study of a high speed (300 mph or greater) passenger train using this system. Suspension and guidance forces are obtained through the interaction of the magnetic field of an on‐board superconducting magnet with eddy currents induced in a stationary metallic guideway. It was found that at high velocities the levitation force can be calculated as if the guideway had infinite conductivity. Thus, magnetic image methods can be used resulting in an image force Fi Fl=[μ0(ni)2πZ][2Z−(L2+Z2)1/2−(W2+Z2)1/2−(W2+Z2)1/2−(L2+W2+Z2)1/2W2+Z2(Z2)−(L2+Z2)1/2−(L2+W2+Z2)1/2L2+Z2(Z2)], where n is the number of turns, and i the current in a rectangular magnet of length 2l and width 2w at a suspension height z. At finite velocities, the resistivity of the guideway reduces the actual lift force Fl below Fi and produces a drag force Fd. Semiphenomenological expressions for these forces as a function of velocity and suspension height have been found for a magnet traversing a guideway of semi‐infinite thickness and infinite lateral extent Fl/Fi=exp{−ζ[1+2(z/2l)3/2]−1}Fd/Fi=12(1−exp{−ζ[1+3(z/2l)5/2]−1])exp{−ζ[1+2(z/2l)3/2]−1}, where ζ = (4π/μσvz)1/2, v is the velocity, and σ the conductivity of the guideway. Fl is approximately Fi when ζ 50 mph) decreases as v−1/2. (3) The suspension height is adjustable, 0.15 m seems reasonable. (4) Superconducting magnets of modest dimensions are practical and necessary for this application.A magnetic suspension and guidance system for a very high‐velocity (MACH 10) ground‐based rocket sled facility has been studied.1 These results have been extended and applied to the study of a high speed (300 mph or greater) passenger train using this system. Suspension and guidance forces are obtained through the interaction of the magnetic field of an on‐board superconducting magnet with eddy currents induced in a stationary metallic guideway. It was found that at high velocities the levitation force can be calculated as if the guideway had infinite conductivity. Thus, magnetic image methods can be used resulting in an image force Fi Fl=[μ0(ni)2πZ][2Z−(L2+Z2)1/2−(W2+Z2)1/2−(W2+Z2)1/2−(L2+W2+Z2)1/2W2+Z2(Z2)−(L2+Z2)1/2−(L2+W2+Z2)1/2L2+Z2(Z2)], where n is the number of turns, and i the current in a rectangular magnet of length 2l and width 2w at a suspension height z. At finite velocities, the resistivity of the guideway reduces the actual lift force Fl below Fi and produces a drag force Fd. Semiphenomenol...


The study aims to examine the effect of customer relationship management on marketing performance mediated by market orientation and organizational innovation. The data was obtained through a questionnaire distributed to 50 MSME respondents in Surabaya. Determination of respondents using the quota sampling method. The variables analyzed are customer relationship management, market orientation, organizational innovation, and marketing performance. The results of the study state that partially, customer relationship management has a significant and positive effect on market orientation, marketing performance, and work innovation; and that market orientation and organizational innovation have a significant and positive effect on marketing performance. Another result obtained is that organizational innovation is proven to be able to mediate the effect of customer relationship management on marketing performance. Market orientation is also proven to be able to mediate customer relationship management on marketing performance.


Organisations lose knowledge. Considering knowledge as a valuable asset, attention must be paid to the risk of losing it. The contribution of this paper is to propose a model - the Knowledge Critical Grid (KCG) - that aims at assessing the risk of knowledge loss. Applied within the Belgian TSO, this model focuses on community-of-practices and network issues. Grounded on five knowledge issues, the KCG intends to assess the knowledge volatility and vulnerability levels of an organisation and define the best relevant knowledge management actions.


Soy protein isolate (SPI) is the plant protein which contains 18 amino acids and polar functional groups like hydroxyl, amino and carbonyl groups. The popularity of soy protein has been increasing, mainly because of its health benefits [1]. It has been proven that soy protein can help to reduce the proliferation of cancer cells [2-6]. The recent trends in implantology point a great applications of composite material based on biocompatible and biodegradable polymers. In past few years, soy protein isolate is used as a substitute for nonbiodegradable plastics in the food and packaging industry especially for its biocompatibility, film forming properties and oxygen barrier abilities [7]. However, hydrophilicity and very low mechanical properties of soy protein isolate decreases its usage mainly in biomedical field [8]. Denaturation can be induced by varying its pH away from its isoelectric point (pH 4.5) makes the protein to unfold and increases its dispersion in water [9]. This will also increase the mechanical properties by exposing hydrophobic groups and reformation of disulphide bond, forming a new structural compound through strong hydrogen Synthesis and Characterization of Biomimetic Hydroxy Apatite-Silver Impregnated Soy Protein Isolate Nanocomposites for Dental Implantations


To present nine patients with an abnormal widened bony Eustachian tube running anteriorly in the skull base through the sphenoid bone.


Abstract Cogeneration is generally introduced to upgrade energy utilization efficiency, increase spinning reserve and relieve power shortages. In addition, it is also closely related to the planning of power generation and transmission. Therefore, a reasonable pricing for cogeneration should take both the promotion of cogeneration and the efficiency of power transmission into consideration. Based on avoided generation costs, this paper presents an assessment function to calculate a reasonable selling price for electricity generated by a cogeneration system connected to the electric grid. Unlike the profit functions appearing in the literature, the proposed evaluation scheme is developed from the point of view of a power system, including line losses and power flows on the transmission lines. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed criterion, computer simulations for a 30 MW cogeneration power connected to four different substations of an IEEE 9‐bus system are given and compared. The paper also evaluates the benefits arisen from line losses for transmission systems with and without capacitive reactances. The results obtained not only verify the analysis, but also provide a practical reference to facilitate the pricing of electricity and investment in cogeneration.


The conditional result we saw last time does much more than that. If we have a language in the uniform class E not in the non-uniform class SIZE(s(n)) then a PRG exists. I.e., there is a way to systematically replace random bits with pseudorandom bits such that no BPP algorithm will (substantially) notice the difference. Thus, not only it shows that all languages in BPP are in fact in P (or whatever deterministic class we get) but it also does that in an oblivious way. There is one recipe that is always good for replacing random bits used by BPP algorithms! One recipe to rule them all.


The Academy continues to be active with the American Medical Association (AMA), advocating for children, families and pediatricians. At this year's annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates June 6-11, the Academy was heard loud and clear on many issues.

![Figure][1]

Dr. Barone

The


Cognitive Radio (CR) technology is a promising enabler towards a more efficient and dynamic use of the frequency spectrum. The challenges related to using the vacant frequencies in an opportunistic manner put extra constraints on the system if it is going to provide reliable services to the end user. When, in addition, we want a system to provide managed quality of service (QoS) and mobility, the challenges are even more demanding. There are two major challenges for cognitive radio systems based on opportunistic spectrum access: the need to keep track of the spectrum; and the aim of providing managed QoS and mobility. Both these are external constraints generally not present for licensed wireless operation and they call for additional functionality and flexibility in the system as well as the need for additional interfaces to handle the new information. The EU-project QoSMOS has addressed this in defining the overall requirements for the system and we show how these responds to the challenges.


For a valid adjudication in a case, the court is to establish the objective truth based on the examination of available evidence. According to the adversarial ideology of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, it is the parties responsibility defence and prosecution to present evidence in court. However, the position of the court determined by the Criminal Procedure Code is not complete and, therefore, results in some difficulties when resolving a situation. If one of the parties (more often prosecution) does not present all the evidence, the court cannot make up for the missing one for sentencing as all the means necessary for it are not provided by law. Having analysed all opinions given in legal literature we suggest the following way out of the problem situation mentioned above. It is hardly possible to tend to establish a classical complete model of an adversarial procedure under the present conditions in Russia. A court cannot act as an arbitrator only. It should, as a subject being solely responsible for the content of the sentence, influence the formation of the evidential basis, but should not be fully dependant on the parties to the trial. It is necessary for the court to increase its activity in making up for evidence but not to lose its impartiality. The latter can be achieved by keeping away from the interests of the parties (Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation). That is why it is inadmissible for the court to gather evidence itself acting side by side with parties and by this fact be involved in their interests. The activity of the court should not be aimed at gathering on its own but at making the parties find the missing ones. It is possible to achieve it by granting the right to return a case for additional investigation to the court. This right of the court should not coincide with its duty to gather evidence on its own (as it was under the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR in 1960). And if we assume the possibility of gathering evidence by the court itself this can be done with the only purpose to check the evidence presented by the parties.


Optical Networks.- Optical Fibres.- Laser Components.- Ultrafast Semiconductor Laser Sources.- Widely Tuneable Laser Diodes.- Semiconductor-based Modulators.- Photodetectors.- Systems with Higher-order Modulation.- Wavelength Filters.- Passive Devices.- Fibre Amplifiers.- Linear Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers.- Optical Signal Processing for High-speed Data Transmission.- Silicon Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits.


The LAN access authentication method in this paper is a kind of software implementation, which prevents the potential fraud in the 10/100 Mbps LAN access without any additional investment on hardware scheme. The paper first introduces the problems in LAN access, and then proposes an authentication method to solve the problems. The paper focuses on the method implementation and the characteristics of the software.


Clustering data based on a measure of similarity (or dissimilarity) is a critical step in scientific data analysis and especially in current bioinformatics field. A typical example is, with the advent of DNA Microarrays, clustering analysis becomes a powerful way to explore the expression profiles of all genes in the genome. And many algorithms have been developed for this problem. Here, we aim to introduce a more robust clustering technique (neural gas algorithm) for this problem and hope it can be applied to other problems in bioinformatics. Clustering analysis of data based on a measure of similarity is a critical and basic step for many problems in the field of computational biology. The common approach is to use original data to learn a set of centers such that the sum of error residues between data points and their closest centers is as small as possible. A typical example in computational biology is clustering analysis of Microarray data which can provide a compact global view of the whole expression profiles of all genes in the genome. To analyze the large number of genes in the complicated biological systems, researchers usually group the genes with similar expression profiles. It has been observed that genes with the same function or involved in the same biological process are likely to be co-expressed, hence grouping genes' expression profiles provides a means for understanding gene function, gene regulation, and cellular processes (1).


H.R. 11315—The Revised State-Justice Bill on Foreign Sovereign Immunity: Time for Action Timothy Atkeson, Samuel Perkins, and Michael Wyatt 298 Notes and Comments Supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Recognized in International Law? Dieter Schroder 322 Could the Use of the Contentious Procedure of the International Court of Justice Have Any Significant Impact upon the Practice of the United Nations? Reply to Professor Louis B. Sohn Dan Ciobanu 328 Correspondence 338


Large surface arrays of current cosmic ray experiments measure the signals of electromagnetic or muonic components or their combination. The correction to the zenith angle (the attenuation curve) has to be taken into account before the signal is converted to the shower energy. Either Monte Carlo simulations or indirect estimation using collected data (Constant Intensity Cut method) can be used. However, the assumptions of composition or isotropy used for the determination of the attenuation curve can still influence the final physics results such as the energy spectrum, or modify anisotropy searches and composition analysis. Using simplified Toy Monte Carlo with an output from CORSIKA simulations we try to find several examples of what kind of effects can be caused by the methods of inferring the attenuation curve. Surface arrays of different sensitivities to electromagnetic and muonic components were considered.


Frank G. Dickey is Assistant Professor of Education, College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. T HIS past year one of the large corporations in the United States spent over two and one-half million dollars in keeping the public informed concerning one particular product. This same business firm has also realized the necessity for keeping all stockholders informed regarding the status of their investments; therefore, in addition to the usual annual financial


Over 20,000 line km of single-channel, high resolution seismic reflection profiles, coupled with vibracores and logs of platform borings, provided the data base for studying the late Quaternary facies and sea level history of the southwest Louisiana continental shelf. Regional unconformities, formed by subaerial exposure of the shelf during sea level falls and modified by shoreface erosion during ensuing transgression, serve as markers to identify the boundaries of depositional sequences. Unconformities are recognizable on seismic profiles by high amplitude reflectors as well as discordant relationships between sequences. Across much of the shelf, the subaerial unconformity and ravinement surface coincide, separating in areas of fluvial channel incision. Here, the base of channel scour forms the sequence boundary. The unconformities are usually, though not universally, marked by lithologic changes. Five depositional sequences related to glacio-eustatic fluctuations, tentatively correlated with Illinoian, Sangamonian, Wisconsinan, and Holocene glacial stages have been identified. The regressive phases are marked by subaerial exposure of the continental shelf, deltaic progradation, and extensive fluvial downcutting. Broad alluvial valleys up to 60 m deep and 50 km wide* containing individual fluvial channels greater than 30 m in depth and 1 km in width, cover close to 30% of the area. Drainage networks of the last two low stands were mapped, each containing a fluvial system interpreted as a former Mississippi River. Deltaic progradation during the glacio-eustatic falls occurred in two phases; a thin shelf phase deposited during falling sea level, and thicker deltas deposited at the shelf margin during lowstand.


Examines the resolution of rights to former expropriated owners of land and buildings in Hungary. Looks at social and economic implications of the choice between compen‐sation and restitution. Analyses the initial results of the Compensation Acts 1991‐92. Indicates that the social goals may now have been achieved but the land market remains largely dysfunctional. Analyses the results of the first Government auctions. Suggests that the resultant price structure is unreliable. Outlines what has been achieved in the transformation process. Concludes that the future is still uncertain and dependent on public policy and general economic conditions.


Trace gather sorting is very simple using the imaging method of three-dimensional three-component(3D3C) land reflection by common-midpoint(CMP) of PS-converted wave.But the result of processing actual data is usually very bad with the method.Especially,the quality of the image is poor when the reflection interface is three-dimensional dipping interface.We present three major points for the reason why the image quality is so poor: First,conversion-point is discrete on CMP gathers.We reach a conclusion by calculating some example data.The discreteness of the conversion-point is greater with the increasing of P-S wave velocity ratio,offset and dip angle.And it is different in different survey directions from the same dipping interface.Its value is greater with the increase of the absolute value of apparent angle.Second,the static of PS-converted wave is much greater on CMP gathers.The horizontal span of the receiver is large because of the CMP trace gather sorting.And the difference of the incident angle of the S wave to near surface is also larger when the reflection interface is three-dimensional dipping interface.So,the static is serious with the CMP gather of PS wave.Third,the complexity of NMO stacking is increased.The time-distance curve of PS wave on three dimensional dipping interface can be written as a hyperbolic form when the x is near.But both the vertex position of the hyperbolic and the NMO velocity change with the survey line directions.This makes it difficult to flatten the events of CMP gather and the process of NMO stack very complex.


Many applications for large solenoids and solenoidal arrays depend on the high precision of the axial field profile. In cases where requirements of ΔB/B for nonaxial fields are on the order of 10-4, the actual winding techniques of the solenoid need to be considered. Whereas an ideal solenoid consisting of current loops would generate no radial fields along the axis, in reality, the actual current-carrying conductors must follow spiral or helical paths. A straightforward method for determining the radial error fields generated by coils wound with actual techniques employed in magnet fabrication has been developed. The method devised uses a computer code which models a magnet by sending a single, current-carrying filament along the same path taken by the conductor during coil winding. Helical and spiral paths are simulated using small, straight-line current segments. This technique, whose results are presented in this paper, was used to predict radial field errors for the Elmo Bumpy Torus-Proof of Principle magnet. These results include effects due to various winding methods, not only spiral/helical and layer-to-layer transitions, but also the effects caused by worst-case tolerance conditions both from the conductor and the winding form (bobbin). Contributions made by extraneous circuitry (e.g., overhead buswork and incoming leads) are also mentioned.


This paper analyses the diffusion of unleaded petrol in the UK. Changes in the market share of unleaded fuel are the result of changes in the composition of the car stock and changes in the choice of fuel given the car stock. We find that fuel type choices have been mainly driven by changes in tastes and learning as opposed to changes in relative prices induced by fiscal incentives. However car stock composition effects dominate the diffusion process and we find that through this route regulatory changes have made major contributions to changes in the market share of unleaded fuel.


The task of putting volume 40 of the American Journal of Sports Medicine to bed has put me in a philosophical mood, prompting reflection upon the trends that have swept through the world of orthopaedic sports medicine during the journal's lifetime. One example is the assessment of the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which has evolved dramatically over the past 4 decades. These refinements have been overwhelmingly positive, although occasionally a single outcome measure has become so fashionable that the importance of other metrics has been marginalized. In each case, however, the pendulum has ultimately swung back towards a more balanced view. Last month, I focused on the importance of documenting athletes' capacity to return to play at their previous level following treatment for an ACL injury. Playing ability is a valuable metric because it is important to so many of our patients. Nevertheless, we know that the power of sheer determination can often enable an athlete with compromised knee function to resume competition, although the return may be quite transient and the skill level substantially reduced. Orthopaedic surgeons have recognized this for a long time and have sought other ways to assess an athlete's function and prognosis after ACL injury. When AJSM was young and frisky, a variety of new outcome scores began to appear. Keeping score is an inherent part of most sports, so assigning a numerical value to surgical outcomes made intuitive sense and potentially allowed comparison of results among different treatments and different investigators. Some authors divided their results into a small number of categories, some asked the patients to assign a percentage rating to their recovery, while still others developed a much more elaborate scoring system. In 1977, John Marshall introduced the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score, which reflected both a patient's symptoms and the surgeon's physical examination. Marshall constructed the score based upon his extensive personal experience caring for young athletes. This was a pioneering achievement, although its mingling of subjective and objective criteria may have impeded its reproducibility from one examiner to another. Nevertheless, this system achieved currency outside of the originating institution and is still sometimes reported today. In 1982, Lysholm and Gillquist published a scoring scale designed specifically for knee ligament injuries. Later, it was slightly modified so that it could be completed entirely from a patient's responses to a series of questions. Although the concept of psychometric validation of an outcome score was not current among orthopaedic surgeons at the time, the authors did demonstrate that the score had test-retest reproducibility, correlated with patients' opinions of their knees, and reflected the assessment of laxity from the physical examination. Subsequent studies have validated this measure more formally. The Lysholm score has enjoyed considerable popularity: To date, the original publication has been cited almost 2000 times. Because a patient's symptoms might vary with the demands placed upon the injured joint, Tegner and Lysholm soon introduced an activity rating scale and performance testing to complement the original subjective assessment. Performance tests have been found useful not just for reporting results but also for gauging an athlete's readiness to return to play. As much laboratory research during the '70s and '80s was directed at defining the precise contribution of each structure to knee stability and the ability of reconstructive techniques to reproduce normal biomechanical function, it was logical to search for ways to quantitate pathological laxity after injury. There was concern that simply documenting return to play or even tallying a patient's subjective complaints could overlook subtler but nevertheless important residual abnormalities. The KT-1000 arthrometer, formally introduced in 1985, quickly acquired widespread popularity and led to the creation of several alternative devices. The newfound ability to measure anterior knee laxity focused so much attention on this metric that, for a while, the sine qua non of a successful operation seemed to be a KT-1000 arthrometer reading equal to the uninjured knee. The formation of the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) produced a comprehensive evaluation system that reflected the input of not just one or two experts but a large international panel. One of the great virtues of this system is that a poor outcome in one category is carried forward to the overall score, so that a substantial or clinically important deficit is not masked by good results in other aspects of the evaluation. Unfortunately, dependence on the details of the physical examination has made it difficult to document the reproducibility of the IKDC objective assessment. The subsequently developed IKDC subjective evaluation form, although designed to complement the objective tool, has eclipsed it to some extent. The popularity of this and other subjective scales has stemmed from their successful validation for a number of conditions as well as a renewed emphasis on documenting the success of treatment from the patient's viewpoint. Just as ACL research had gone Editorial


All metastatic colorectal cancer cases are classified as stage IV by AJCC staging, yet cases differ widely as to prognosis. Criteria are needed to select patients for surgery, for adjuvant therapy, and for clinical trials. In this paper we review the various prognostic scoring systems proposed, including the most widely used clinical risk score. Validation and practical uses of these scoring systems are also discussed. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010;102:914–921. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The vaterite is synthesized by the templating method with anionic surfactants SDBS.The samples are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy(SEM).The rhombohedral calcite crystal is obtained in the absence of SDBS.As the SDBS concentration is increased to 0.5 mM,the sample consists of only vaterite stirred for 3 h,and the mixture of calcite and vaterite stirred for 10 h respectively.When the SDBS concentration is further increased to as high as 1 mM,the pure vaerite is obtained.The increasing of stirred time enhances the excellent dispersant.And as the SDBS concentration is increased to 5.0 mM,the stirred time has no effect on the crystal polymorph of the sample.The possible formation mechanism of vaterite is proposed based on the experimental results.


Understanding of reactions in lithium ion batteries LIB is important to enhance performances of LIB. We elucidated that interfacial Li transfer, especially de-solvation process, is the rate determining step in most of practical battery systems. However, Li transport through the solid phase is also expected to play an important role to enhance the LIB performance. Diffusion of Li is the major event in the solid phase of LIB materials. Phase transition accompanies the diffusion of Li because redox reactions take place, which cause the change of atomic distances in solid phase, namely, phase transition. Phase transition is usually very slow because a group of atoms must move to change atomic distances in crystallized solid phase. Diffusion and phase-front movement should be discussed separately. Diffusion is defined only in single phase. Graphite is selected as a sample of the active material and Li diffusion constant through graphite is examined in details. The phase-front movement is estimated under a simplified model considering phase transition caused by insertion and extraction of Li. Charge current changes during potential step across the potential of phase transition, 0.220 to 0.000 V was observed as shown in Fig. 1. Analyzing this current decay, the rate of phase-front movement was estimated using a simplified mode. As a result, when Li inserts into dilute stage 1 phase of graphite, interfacial reaction step, de-solvation step, is the rate determining at the initial stage of the Li insertion. Diffusion of Li through newly formed phase, stage 4, becomes the rate determining step after the progress of the new phase. Fig. 1 Li insertion current after potential step 0.220 to 0.200 V 20