This article examines the controversies and struggles surrounding the Uruguayan workers confederation march from Montevideo to the exclusive resort city of Punta del Este in 2002. At stake were competing visions of the present and future direction of Uruguay. Punta del Este is central to the government's project of a "new" Uruguay: a service-oriented, outward-looking, and high-tech regional financial and economic center. The city presents a socially and spatially exclusive setting to showcase this new image, an exclusivity necessary in the face of the contrasting vision the protestors sought to highlight: an Uruguay of growing poverty, inequality and a questionable future.


Globalization is a major causal agent for the introduction of exotic species into new territories. In this regard, it is well known that air traffic is an ideal route for the arrival of mosquitoes to new countries and even new continents. In order to evaluate the possible arrival of allochthonous vectors to the Iberian Peninsula, a mosquito's surveillance system was established in the airport of L'Altet (Alicante, Southeastern Spain). This airport was selected due to its abundant fly connections with Europe and North Africa. In addition, the study area has a high average temperature (about 18 degrees Celsius), which maximizes the chances of a hypothetical establishment of tropical vector tropical. Moreover, it is important to note that an exotic vector, Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito), has been recently detected in surrounding areas. Samplings were carried out with the use of BG-Sentinel ® traps (to catch adults) and oviposition traps (to catch eggs and larvae) properly located in the most suitable places to ensure the captures. All the information about the species collected during 2010 and 2011, as well as the effectiveness of different catching strategies, will be deeply discussed. The ultimate goal is to lay the groundwork for the creation of an entomological surveillance network at airports statewide.


T he last decades of the 20th century have been marked by a growing awareness of the di€ erence of perspective that individuals, groups or cultures bring to the world, its people and their predicaments. Curriculum studies, and educational research in general, have accommodated this social and cultural development of multiple perspectives. This issue of the ® rst 21st century volume of JCS carries examples of the diverse perspectives of scholars and teachers at what Madeleine Grumet and Lynda Stone describe as the `millenial moment' . Such a moment invites both a looking back and a looking forward, and those two vantage points are each represented, broadly, by half the papers. T ogether, they represent how we, as scholars, currently understand curriculum in particular and the practice of education in general. No paper is written as a review of the ® eld ; but each one illustrates a style, genre, emphasis and/or approach now characteristic of curriculum studies. In this moment, the topics all seem important: liberal education, accountability and testing, feminism and curriculum, the doctrine of child-centredness, the generational con ̄ ict in the study of curriculum, race, technology, democratic education, caring, curriculum studies in a global environment, the lessons those who study the curriculum might take from the 20th century and the visions that might be realized. JCS is proud to present this heterogenous collection of papers ± their individual characteristics, quality, and diversity, will be a stimulus to educational thought and educational practice. Hugh Soc ke tt J. CURRICULUM STUDIES, 2000, VOL. 32, NO. 2, 141


Accuracy in the estimation of software Effort/Cost is one of the desirable criteria for any software cost estimation model. The estimation of effort or cost before the actual development of any software is the most crucial task of the present day software development project managers. Software project attributes are often measured in terms of linguistic values such as very low, low, Average, high and very high. The imprecise nature of such attributes constitutes uncertainty and vagueness in their subsequent interpretation. In this paper we propose a Fuzzy logic based model for software effort prediction. We feel that fuzzy Software cost estimation Model should be able to deal with imprecision and uncertainty associated with various parameter values. Fuzzy analogy model has been developed and validated upon student data.


While Neil Young has never quite cracked the ceiling of Rock and Roll celebrity to become a superstar, he has achieved nearly universal respect among his peers and audiences for his artistic integrity and general consistency. That said, this documentary makes it clear that he has never been one to value consistency at the expense of development and setting personal challenges for himself. Born in Toronto in 1945, Young spent the early part of his life in rural Canada and turned chiefly to music as a personal outlet following the breakup of his parents' marriage during his teen years. He was initially attracted to early Rock and Rhythm and Blues, but showed an early predilection towards eclecticism, listening to folk, country and pop music of the 1950's. This variety of musical influences was a vital component of his emerging musical style and is well represented by this documentary, which includes a number of interviews with friends from those early Canadian years. While barnstorming during this period Young met a number of later associates including Joni Mitchell, Rick James and Stephen Stills. In 1965 Young relocated to Los Angeles and teamed up with Stills in the influential country rock band Buffalo Springfield which lasted for less than two years and produced a few albums that began to showcase Young as both a singer and songwriter. While the eclecticism of his early listening habits clearly informed his songwriting, its influence on his vocal style was one of the most compelling parts of this documentary. Interspersing talking head experts with concert footage of Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and some lesser known folk artists, the DVD presents a remarkably clear picture of where Young's distinctive vocal style came from. I found the case that Orbison was a vital early influence to be surprising yet convincing and extremely important to an understanding of Young's work even to the present day. The development of his guitar style from an even more complex set of influences is explored in detail as well. Following the breakup of Buffalo Spring field, Young toured with Crazy Horse—a Neil Young. The Road Goes On Forever-50 Years of Inspiration. DVD. Directed by Jon Storey. [United States]: Pride, 2015. PG2DVD177. $26.95. way of contemporaneous music on the soundtrack, it is difficult to get a good sense of what the music under discussion really sounds like. In fact, so much time is devoted to the excesses and indulgences of the period—not just the drug use, or the wanton sex, but the turn towards tacky costumes and gimmicky pyrotechnics and light shows, all of which helped bands to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market—that one gets the impression of a genre in which the music itself is something of an afterthought. There is something rather sad about Inside Metal. While the musicians who are interviewed offer sentimental reflections upon a "magical" time, a short-lived "glory days" period that served as a potent mixing pot giving rise to a new generation of metal and rock superstars, it is also clear that this period was undermined by its own excesses and inattention to music. These early metal-rock bands were not "serious," at least not in the way that emerging new wave bands were; they also weren't angry, like punk or thrash bands. These pioneers of metal lacked intellectual and emotional gravitas; largely ignored by major record labels, the one-time "kings of the Strip" eventually faded into obscurity. Inside Metal documents an interesting period, but what it mainly lacks is a sense of how the music itself served as a "blueprint" for the metal and hard rock of the later 1980s. What we get instead is a litany of often salacious anecdotes from the leftovers of a by–gone era. The disc may be of some interest to students and scholars of metal and hard rock, and to cultural historians. Inside Metal include some special features, but they are largely superfluous: promotional trailers for the DVD, a photo gallery, some deleted scenes, and a recap of the film's premier in L.A.


After liberation,the scholastic circles denominate this crop of common vegetable-fruit as Doushu in Chinese language.However,farmers,civilians and intellectuals in productive regions never speak nor write it as Doushu,and they even don't know that Doushu is its(official) name,thus resulting in inconsistency and inconvenience.The best solution seems to take Digua,one of its bynames,as the official name while descending Doushu as its nickname,the used name or special term.This paper summarizes the four weak points of the word Doushu and eight strong points of the name Digua,and puts forward the concrete course of revising dictionaries and adjusting vocabulary entries.


WITH reference to the article on the "New Transformed Wing Sections," by Piercy, Piper and Whitehead, (P) in the November, 1938, number of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, it is of interest to note a very simple approximate formula for the symmetrical type of section. This formula is:


Apathy is a common neuropsychiatric feature of both Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (Aarsland, et al., 2001). Early neuropathology in the locus coeruleus (LC) and consequent noradrenergic deficiency are proposed to be key contributors to the pathogenesis of apathy (Passamonti et al., 2018). Here we test the hypothesis that in vivo LC integrity measured by ultra‐high field 7T‐MRI is predictive of apathy in Parkinson's disease and PSP.


A total of 125 HyLine White (W) and 125 HyLine Brown (B) hens were kept from 18 to 57 weeks of age in cages or on litter to evaluate production traits and egg quality traits over 4-week periods. Feather picking and cannibalism occurred in hens kept on litter, which contributed significantly to poor health and lower productivity in hens. In the litter system, mortality was 14% for W hens and 35% for B hens, while in the cage system, mortality did not exceed 6% for either hen breed. Mean body weight ranged from 1896 g (litter) to 1850 g (cage) for B hens, and from 1621 g to 1623 g for W hens, with large differences between brownand white-feathered layers within a housing system. The mean egg weight increased with increasing hen body weight. The correlation between these two traits was highly significant (r=0.864 for B hens and r=0.847) for W hens in the cage system, compared to r=0.522 and r=0.737, respectively, in the litter system. No significant differences were found in egg quality traits between the groups of hens kept on litter or in cages except in shell density and thickness between the group B hens only. Litter B hens, whose laying rate was <30%, laid eggs that were 3.7 g heavier compared to caged hens. Caged hens laid more eggs that were lighter and had poorer shell quality parameters and a less intense yolk colour. ___________________________________________________________________________


STUDY QUESTION
Do uterine arteries Doppler studies show different pulsatility index (UtA-PI) measurements in IVF/ICSI pregnancies with oocyte donation (OD) as compared to natural conceptions?

SUMMARY ANSWER
In IVF/ICSI pregnancies with OD, UtA-PI is reduced by an average of about 40% as compared to pregnancies with natural conception.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
OD pregnancies present worse pregnancy outcomes as compared to natural conception, particularly for increased incidence of pre-eclampsia (PE). Recent evidence shows that IVF/ICSI pregnancies with frozen blastocyst transfer also present higher prevalence of PE and 15% lower UtA-PI as compared to pregnancies after fresh blastocyst transfers.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
Prospective, longitudinal matched cohort study performed in the Fetal Medicine and Obstetric Departments of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, between 2013 and 2018. The analysis is based on 584 Doppler observations collected from 296 women with different method of conception (OD n = 122; natural conception n = 174).

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
IVF/ICSI viable singleton pregnancies with OD and natural conception control pregnancies matched for BMI and smoking, performing repeated UtA-PI measurements at 11-34 weeks. Miscarriages, abnormalities, twins, significant maternal diseases and other types of ARTs were excluded. Log mean left-right UtA-PI was used for analysis with linear mixed model (LMM) and correction for significant confounders. Pregnancy outcome was also analyzed.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Participants after OD were older and more frequently nulliparous (mean age: OD 43.4, 95% CI from 42.3 to 44.6; natural conception 35.1, 95% CI from 34.5 to 35.7; P-value < 0.001; nulliparous: OD 96.6%; natural conception 56.2%; P-value < 0.001). Mean pulsatility index was lower in OD (UtA-PI: natural conception 1.22; 95% CI from 1.11 to 1.28; OD 1.04; 95% CI from 0.96 to 1.12; P-value < 0.001). A significant effect of parity, gestational age (GA) modeled with a cubic polynomial and BMI was described in the LMM. The mean Log UtA-PI was on average 37% lower in OD as compared to natural conception pregnancies at LMM (P-value < 0.001). We also found a significant interaction between longitudinal UtA-PI Doppler and GA. Therefore, at 11 weeks' gestation the Log UtA-PI was 42% lower and, at 34 weeks, the differences reduced to 32%. GA at delivery and birth weight were statistically lower in OD group; however, birthweight centile was not statistically different. Preeclampsia was 11-fold more common in the OD group (0.6% and 6.6%, P-value = 0.003). No other significant difference in pregnancy outcome was shown in the study groups (gestational diabetes mellitus, small or large for GA).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
It was not possible to properly match for maternal age and to blind the assessment given the major differences between cohorts; however, we did not find significant within-groups effects related to maternal age. Future research is needed to reassess outcomes and correct them for maternal characteristics (e.g. cardiovascular function).

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
This finding reproduces our previous discovery of lower UtA-PI in frozen as compared to fresh blastocyst transfer. The vast majority of OD is obtained by the use of cryopreservation. We speculate that increased uterine perfusion may be the physiological response to compensate dysfunctions both in the mother and in the placenta.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
This is a non-funded study. The authors do not declare competing interest.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A.


It is important for industry and NASA to assess the status of acoustic design technology for predicting and controlling helicopter external noise in order for a meaningful research program to be formulated which will address this problem. The prediction methodologies available to the designer and the acoustic engineer are three-fold. First is what has been described as a first principle analysis. This analysis approach attempts to remove any empiricism from the analysis process and deals with a theoretical mechanism approach to predicting the noise. The second approach attempts to combine first principle methodology (when available) with empirical data to formulate source predictors which can be combined to predict vehicle levels. The third is an empirical analysis, which attempts to generalize measured trends into a vehicle noise prediction method. This paper will briefly address each.


Several chromosomal regions are found to be consistently amplified in human breast cancers. For two of these regions, 8p 12 and 10q26, we previously reported the amplification of genes encoding FGF receptors, FGFR1/FLG and FGFR2/BEK, in about 12% of breast tumors. The PLAT gene, encoding the tissue‐type plasminogen activator, is also located close to or within the 8p 12 region. In the present study, we show that both FGFR1 and PLAT can be amplified in breast as well as ovarian carcinomas. FGFR1 amplification was detected in 14.5% of breast and 7.8% of ovarian tumors, whereas PLAT was found to be amplified in 15.6% and 19.4% of the tumors, respectively. Each gene could be amplified independently of the other. These data raised the question of which gene is selected for amplification at 8p 12. In most cases, the levels of expression of FGFR1 and PLAT in breast tumors were comparable to their level of expression in normal mammary tissue. However, FGFR1 was expressed above the normal level in a certain number of cases. This gene could be a good candidate as "driver" of the 8p 12 amplification, but it cannot account for all complex molecular events taking place in this region. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The (un)reality of open/porous borders is starkly represented/manifested in the experiences of immigrant women in lifelong learning contexts. While globalization effectively destroys some borders, it simultaneously creates new ones. State institutions respond to global reconfigurations of borders at local levels by establishing policies that exclude women from working in their fields unless they participate in re‐education programs. At the same time the global competition among states within the discourses of the knowledge economy for attracting 'the best and the brightest' entice women to leave (or the effects of Western imperialism force them to flee) their homes with the promise of economic wellbeing or physical safety. Within this environment, lifelong learning can (dangerously) serve to privilege some forms of learning, knowledge and citizenship while devaluing others. This paper draws on research conducted between 2004 and 2006 in two immigrant service organizations. We explore possibilities for developing policies and practices that redress symbolic and cultural injustices with respect to immigrant women in Canada.


Human emotions play a key role in making decisions and solving problems in various situations in our daily lives. Poor mental health can reduce our body's immune power paving the way to mental health issues like depression, anxiety and stress. A healthy amount of stress may be motivating and useful, but excessive, continuing stress or a strong reaction to stress can cause obesity, heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, stomach pains, body aches, menstrual cycle disruption, meningitis, and other health problems. Due to this reason, it has become essential to perform periodic research on both the identification and prediction of emotional states. Wearables and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies for monitoring mental health might totally replace or supplement psychologists as technology advances. This study aims to predict valence and arousal in emotional dimensions space using different physiological biomarkers collected in K-EmoCon dataset through wearable sensors and compare the outcomes of several prediction models using supervised machine learning techniques. Two emotional dimensions were considered namely valence and arousal in predicting emotions on a continuous scale using various regression algorithms like Decision tree, Random Forest, Multi-Linear, polynomial, XG boost, Ridge, and lasso model. These models are used to find the relevance of biomarkers and their contribution to predict different emotional states through different metrics like R2 score, Mean square error (MSE), Mean absolute error (MAE), and Root mean squared error (RMSE). According to experimental outcomes, Random Forest regressor outperforms the other algorithms with an R2 score of 0.84 and MSE of 0.27 respectively.


The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN requires many systems to work closely together to allow reliable operation and at the same time ensure the correct functioning of the protection systems required when operating with large energies stored in magnet systems and particle beams. The systems for magnet powering and beam operation are qualified during dedicated commissioning periods and retested after corrective or regular maintenance. Based on the experience acquired with the initial commissioning campaigns of the LHC magnet powering system, a framework was developed to orchestrate the thousands of tests for electrical circuits and other systems of the LHC. The framework was carefully designed to be extendable. Currently, work is on-going to prepare and extend the framework for the re-commissioning of the machine protection systems at the end of 2014 after the LHC Long Shutdown. This paper describes the concept, current functionality and vision of this framework to cope with the required dependability of test execution and analysis. The tests structure • Tests: The core block is a test which represents certain actions taken by hardware or software. • Test phases: Each test belongs to exactly one test phase. The test phases group the tests together and depend on each other. • Test steps: Each test has three test steps: – Execution: the moment where something is actually done on the device. – Analysis: the analysis of the results (the signals of the monitored system). – Signing: some tests need the validation of one or more experts. A centralized framework The AccTesting server plays a fondamental role in the framework, managing the schedule of all the tests required by all the users in parallel, ensuring the proper order of the steps and avoiding priority errors between them. Overview


Players' Responses to and Primary Caregivers' Perceptions of Authoritarian and Authoritative Coaching in the Inner-City Reneé Brown An abundance of research in sport-based positive youth development (PYD) indicates that coaches should be positive, promote autonomy-supportive and authoritative coaching styles, and caution the use of authoritarian leadership, while too often ignoring elements of authoritarian leadership such as discipline and structure. However, most of the studies conducted targeted middle-upper socioeconomic status (SES) suburban, White populations, with little emphasis on the inner-city underserved context. Parenting and teaching literature provides strong support for authoritarian styles in the underserved setting (Hartman & Manfa, 2015; Smetana, 2011). Similarly, the few studies conducted in the underserved sport settings show support of authoritarian styles (Brown et al., in preparation; Cowan et al., 2012; Flett et al., 2012; Flett et al., 2013; Richardson, 2012). The purpose of this study is to extend the previous year's season-long qualitative study of a single girl's basketball team (Brown et al., in preparation) to include perspectives from parents of that team and quantitative surveys from players across the league. Participants included five head coaches with 14.2 years of experience and 80 players from the five teams in the league. The study incorporated interviews with six parental/primary caregivers from Team C; and quantitative surveys for players in the league. An abductive approach was used to develop thematic categories from the interview data (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). Quantitative results revealed that players are improving life skill development over time. Additionally, in order for coaches to have the biggest impact, they must use authoritative coaching styles and foster a caring and mastery climate. More importantly, results indicated that authoritarian coaching was a unique predictor of life skills development, however, it did not affect life skill development in a negative or positive manner. Qualitative results revealed that parents/primary caregivers relied on the coach as a unique source of support and guidance to supplement, complement or compensate their adolescent's home life. Additionally, parents/primary caregivers strongly preferred authoritarian coaching combined with authoritative components to instill values and positively influence life skill development.


The motility and fertility of the Japanese eel testicular spermatozoa, which had acquired motility during an incubation with K30 solution (consisting of 30mM KCI, 134.5mM NaCl, 1.3mM CaC12, 1.6 mM MgCl2, 20mM NaHCO3, and buffered with 20mM TAPS-NaOH at pH 8.1), were compared with those of the milt spermatozoa obtained from the genital pore of a Japanese eel. The motility percen tages of milt spermatozoa and testicular milt spermatozoa, were 84.7•}4.1% and 2.6•}1.9%, respec tively. The percent motility of incubated testicular milt spermatozoa was 63.3•}2.2%. The fertility and hatchability of the milt and incubated testicular milt were significantly higher than those of testicular milt. There were no significant differences found between the fertility and hatchability of the milt and those of the incubated testicular milt. To examine the toxicity of the high potassium concentration in the K30 solution on egg fertility, we compared the fertility and hatchability of milt spermatozoa diluted with K30 solution or K15 solution. No significant differences in the fertility or hatchability were found between the K30 and the K15 solutions. These results indicate that the testicular spermatozoa which ac


Stachys is one of the most widely distributed genera of the Lamiaceae family. Species of this genus are known for their biological activities and ethnomedical uses. In this study, the total phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant (ABTS, DPPH) and enzyme inhibition activities (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, butyrylcholinesterase and acetylcholinesterase) of the extracts of the aerial parts of Stachys macrantha obtained with different solvents (ethanol, methanol and ethyl acetate) were investigated by spectrophotometric methods. In addition, phenolic component analysis was analyzed by HPLC. According to the findings, the biological activities of the methanol extract were found to be remarkable compared to other extracts. Total phenolic (45.57 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (54.48 mg QE/g extract) content, antioxidant properties [ABTS (49.99 mg TE/g extract),


6080 Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is comprised of two subtypes: human papilloma virus (HPV)- and carcinogenic-associated (HPV-negative), both linked to inactivation of ...


Leading environmental organizations recognize intact forest landscapes as priority areas for conserving forests. A quarter of global intact forest landscapes (IFL), are found in Russia, and since 2000, the country has lost over 7,5% (or 21 million ha) of its IFLs due to logging, forest fires and road construction. With the projected logging rates Russia's IFLs will completely disappear in 150 years, and IFLs that are "rich" in timber will do so in 50 years. Protection of IFLs is the serious challenge, not only due to associated biodiversity loss, but also due to outstanding carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation role of IFLs. The objective of this research is to define the key drivers and factors and to examine how government and market-driven approaches contribute to the preservation of intact forest landscapes in Russia. A further objective is to assess the merits of consumers restriction measures, such as phase-out of IFL product purchases, as proposed by some environmentalists.  According to our research, voluntary forest certification (market-driven approach) was the main tool for IFL protection in Russia until recently. A market-driven FSC voluntary certification scheme includes moratoria agreements to preserve almost 3 million ha of IFLs. Additionally, between 2010 and 2020 more than 770 thousand ha of IFLs were established in two national parks and three nature reserves in North-West Russia with the primary goal to protect IFLs, mainly in former FSC "no logging" zones. Market-driven approach is currently the main tool used to protect IFLs in Russia.


I sit here a prisoner, an inmate, property of the state, a number. I live in a cell with a number and a letter above my door. A picture of my cellie and a picture of me, both stuck to the door with Velcro. These are the only things that signify we live there. Many of us inmates like to call this place "Camp Cupcake." This facility is comparable to a girl's school. It is safe here, but there is no rehabilitation. If we don't work hard on our own to grow, it can be a place where women's bodies go to be stored, almost like a morgue. Everything in here is the same. The same doors, same pictures, same cinder-block walls, same bunks, same guards, same orange uniforms. It never changes, but I don't feel the same.Anyone who knows me could tell you about me. I'm that transparent, that predictable. Strange, here I am telling you what others see in me. Really, I don't care about that anymore. I'm going to tell you what I think. Dysfunction is a trait I own. It can be debilitating. My beliefs and opinions are something I am firm in. I can be so opinionated it can come off as rough or cruel. Simply, I speak what is real to me. Good and evil are both very real things. I accept that. I love that I am unique. For a long time, I fought by living in a fantasy, this fight, my ambition to find what I longed for. An identity is all I ever wanted. Through my fantasy I did not gain an identity, I just became an extension of other people. I was empty. Nothing destroys life like emptiness.My life started as many of ours do, full of joy, playfulness, curiosity, creativity, imagination, and wonder. Most importantly there was love - or what I saw as a loving family. When I was fourteen, my mother died. She suffered a long sickness and was blessed with a quick death. Her passing taught me that nothing in life is permanent. My father was disabled by grief and alcoholism, just as he had been for as long I'd known him. The rest of the family was grief-stricken and unwilling to be burdened with an unruly teenager; they left me to my own devices. Her death should have been a time of grief, but my teenage self avoided any and all pain. I transformed my grief into a delusion of freedom and an ability to live life any way I decided. I spent the remainder of my adolescence avoiding responsibility and getting intoxicated. This was the birth of my reign of chaos.This blur of drunkenness, this constant high, was a way of life for me these four years. My father was completely absent. He was there physically but gone mentally and emotionally. My drinking was a cure for the pain: a hangover or maybe the memory of my mother. Time not spent drinking was spent entangled in the arms of muscular "statues." These "mannequins," usually much older men, were used as playthings, and they gave me a feeling of belonging. No one who cared was there to help me embrace my pain. My family had left me alone.My rescue came in the form of My Hero, a businessman who was eight years older than I was. My Hero's financial stability sparked my sense of intrigue. I knew I would stop at nothing to have him. I made sure to chase other girls away, girls that may have been better for him. My more desperate side just wanted to belong to someone or something. We moved in together within a week. Three months later, I was pregnant. I was sure at that point we would live happily ever after. Within five years, we had three children, two boys and a girl, all blue-eyed and blonde. The third person in our relationship, his business, was a rival to us and over time our arguments about the business dominated our relationship. We worked constantly. Selling tobacco, pipes, fireworks, gems, coins, rolling papers, cars, sex toys - you name it, we sold it, and we managed three websites on top of that. It was too much. I loved him in the only way I knew how. But our relationship and our family was not enough. Each day was the same old thing: accusations of cheating fueled by jealousy, never ending commercial activity, screaming children and the demands that came with parenthood. …


We present an intrusive evaluation of three different peripheral display systems on the same financial data set. Our results indicate there is a significant difference on a primary task performance and a peripheral comprehension task between large and small displays. Furthermore, we have found that distraction may be composed by display-distraction and self-interruption, and that animation may only influence the display-distraction. In addition, this paper proposes a measurement of efficiency derived from cognitive science. Finally, we propose three guidelines for peripheral display design.


Ion irradiations of β boron, displacing each atom of the crystal about 30 times in average, result in no detectable permanent damage, even when performed at 80 K. This behaviour is attributed to the peculiar structure of boron‐rich solids based on icosahedra. Boron is the first covalent solid which is not amorphized by ion iradiations.


The advent of ultrafast ultrasound imaging proved beneficial for capturing transient flow patterns which was never readily achievable before. Velocity estimation methods based on 2D block-matching outperform Doppler based methods by offering higher frame rate with the cost of increased uncertainty in presence of out-of-plane motion as a result of turbulent flow.


This paper proposes a methodology for run-time safety management in Smart Work Environments (SWE), based on a semantic assessment of the risks, based on defined indicators. To assess SWE safety, we define a novel ontological model for representing its characteristics and introduce a metric for run-time evaluation of the SWE safety level. A description logic reasoner is used to automatically check the consistency of the proposed ontology. The novelty of the approach lies in treating safety at run-time.


Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are the critical driving forces of change in atmospheric, climatic and ecological systems. The purposes of this study are thus aiming to understand the relationship between land cover changes and thermal properties of urban heat island effects using Landsat images spanning from 1991 to 2007. On basis of the images of 17 years, the temperature differences between urban and rural of Hsinchu had been raised from 2–3 degrees to 4–5 degrees. Moreover, local hot spots showed up in downtown, Nan-Liao fishing port, and the traffic arteries surrounding residential area. It shows that urban expansion and heat discharged by traffic vehicles are major reasons for the temperature anomaly in the study area. Further study is required for understanding the sources of these features.


PURPOSE: A sewage recycling purification apparatus for circulation washing type portable toilet is provided to be able to purify sewage effectively and easily by shattering waste water flowed into a collection tank into pieces and passing a filtration membrane processing board to separate foreign substances and moisture, and to activate sewage being purified by gradually aerobic process and anaerobic decomposition by repetitively supplying oxygen with an air diffuser. CONSTITUTION: A sewage recycling purification apparatus comprises a water collection tank(10), an air diffuser purification part(20), a first microorganism and antibacterial filter part(30), a second microorganism and antibacterial filter part(40), a first air diffuser(50), a second air diffuser(60), a complete filtration part(70), a lateral filtration part(80), a purified water sterilization collecting basin(90), and a purified water tentative storage(100). The water collection tank shatters, stirs and filters sewage discharged from the toilet and washbowl, and supplies oxygen. The air diffuser purification part separates sediments by filtering sewage supplied from the water collection tank with a strainer and an adsorption filter, and supplies oxygen to accelerate the aerobic process and decomposition of sewage. The sewage processed with aerobic process and decomposition passes an adsorption filter and is discharged. The first air diffuser supplies oxygen to purified water discharged from the microorganism and antibacterial filter part to accelerate the aerobic process and decomposition, and discharges the purified water. The second air diffuser supplies oxygen to the purified water discharged from the first air diffuser to accelerate the aerobic process and decomposition, filters the purified water with a turbidity filtering part to reduce turbidity, and discharges the purified water. In the complete filtration part, the purified water passes through the activated carbon filter comprising activated carbon and filtering fibers to be purified. The purified water sterilization collecting basin supplies oxygen continuously to the purified water passed through the lateral filtration part and sterilize the purified water with an ultraviolet sterilization lamp.


In order to design digital signal processor with own property right,one kind of pipeline structure of floating point digital signal processor based on VelociTI architecture is studied and a new processing method for pipeline exception is proposed.Abnormal things affecting pipeline are classified reasonably.Pipeline registers' clock signals of pipeline registers are controlled for memory blocking,many execute packets,many cycles NOP instructions.Some instructions should be disabled when interruption occurs,this work is done by controlling execute condition of these instructions.The correctness can be confirmed by simulation results.


This research is based on the assumption that the campus security officer is a profession that is often overlooked. Even though they have arduous tasks, sometimes they show unsatisfactory commitment toward their profession. The objective of this study is to analyze whether professional commitment can be predicted by emotional intelligence. Subjects of this research are 100 security officers who work at one of the state university in Yogyakarta. Instruments used in this research are professional commitment scale and emotional intelligence. Regression analysis is used for analyzing the data. This research found that emotional intelligence have positive correlation in predicting professional commitment with significance level of 0.003 (p<0.005).


We present a phase-sensitive ac-dc Hall magnetometry method which allows a clear and reliable separation of real and parasitic magnetic signals of a very small magnitude. High-sensitivity semiconductor-based Hall crosses are generally accepted as a preferential solution for non-invasive detection of superparamagnetic nanobeads used in molecular biology, nanomedicine, and nanochemistry. However, detection of such small beads is often hindered by inductive pick-up and other spurious signals. The present work demonstrates an unambiguous experimental route for detection of small magnetic moments and provides a simple theoretical background for it. The reliability of the method has been tested for a variety of InSb Hall sensors in the range 600 nm–5 μm. Complete characterization of empty devices, involving Hall coefficients and noise measurements, has been performed and detection of a single FePt bead with diameter of 140 nm and magnetic moment of μ≈108 μB has been achieved with a 600 nm-wide sensor.


This paper gives a brief account of the three forms of running schools,the three modes of development and the three ways of raising funds in our non-governmental institutions of higher learning,pointing out that the standard administration of the institutions can be implemented at the macroscopic,mediate and microscopic levels.


Objective To investigate the clinical resuhs of subtalar ioint distraetion arthrodesis plus "double-wedge bone block grafting"for the treatment of complex post-traumatic calcaneal malunion.Methods From April 2004 to December 2007.26 patients with Stephen type-Ⅲ post-traumatic calcaneal malunions were treated with subtalar joint arthrodesis plus"double-wedge grafting".Of them,22 were hindfoot vanls malalignment.We preformed lateral exostectomy and a pemneal tenolysis,a subtalar joint debridement and fusion with a tri-cortical iliac autograft(with a nargow-anterior,wide-posterior,narrow-lateral and wide-medial configuration)to correct hindfoot deformity.Stabilization was done with 2 to 3 titanium cannulated lag screws.The patients were evaluated by American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society(AOFAS) and Ankle-Hindfoot scale.Radiographs were used to evaluate the talar-calcaneal angle and talar-1st metatarsal angle.Results Follow-ups of an average of 18.2 months(12 to 29 months)revealed that the hindfoot malalignment was corrected significantly in 23 patients,pain was relieved significantly in 22 patients.All the fusion sites were united.Complications included wound dehiscence in 3 cases which healed after short termdressing changes.The average AOFAS ankle hindfoot scale improved from 34.8±8.2 pre-operatively to 83.9 ±7.0 post-operatively.The average pain score improved from 7.8 ±0.7 pre-operatively to 2.1 ±1.5post-operatively.The talar-1 st metatarsal angle also improved from 17.4°±2.9°pre-operatively to 6.1°±1.6°post-operatively. Conclusion Since the subtalar joint arthrodesis plus"doublewedge grafting"can correct calcaneal malalignment and reduce pain,avoiding complex displacement calcaneal osteotomy,it is a good alternative for the treatment of post-traumatic calcaneal malunion.

Key words:
Calcaneus;  ArthrodeBis;  Abnormalities


The effect of cerium addition on wear behaviour of ascast Al-4Si-4Mg alloys has been studied. Dry sliding wear tests were performed against a hardened carbon steel (Fe-2.3%Cr-0.9%C) using a pin-on-disc configuration with fixed sliding speed of 1 m/s and a range of load 10 N, 30 N and 50 N at room temperature (25 o C). Morphologies of both worn surfaces and collected debris were characterised by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). It was revealed that 1 - 5 wt% of cerium addition resulted in the formation of intermetallic phase Al-Ce and Al-Si-Ce. The increase of cerium content in the alloy led to higher wear resistance behaviour for ascast alloys. Formation of craters and localised plastic deformation were observed on the worn surface of the alloys, resulting fine particulate and sheet-like wear debris. The change in morphology of the wear debris was also found consistent with the change in worn surface appearance.


FCA is a mathematical formalism having many applications in data mining and knowledge discovery. Originally it deals with binary data tables. However, there is a number of extensions that enrich standard FCA. In this paper we consider two important extensions: fuzzy FCA and pattern structures, and discuss the relation between them. In particular we introduce a scaling procedure that enables representing a fuzzy context as a pattern structure. Studying the relation between different extensions of FCA is of high importance, since it allows migrating methods from one extension to another. Moreover, it allows for more simple implementation of different extensions within a software.


The invention relates to a method and a system for secure transmission of media information. The method comprises the following steps: encrypting media information using a key by a sender to obtain a first encrypted message, encrypting the key to obtain a second encrypted message, sending the first and the second encrypted messages; generating information corresponding to the media information by an intermediate device, decrypting the second encrypted message using a private key of the intermediate device to obtain the key, encrypting the information using the key to obtain a third encrypted message, encrypting the key to obtain the fourth encrypted message, and sending the third and the fourth encrypted messages; and decrypting the fourth encrypted message by a receiver using a private key of the receiver to obtain the second key, decrypting the third encrypted message using the second key to obtain the information, accessing the intermediate device according to the information to obtain the first encrypted message and the second encrypted message, decrypting the second encrypted message using the private key to obtain the first key, and decrypting the first encrypted message using the first key to obtain the media information. The method and the system can prevent information leakage of the sender.


Phytoplankton quantitative and qualitative parameters in "Yerevanyan Lich" Reservoir and the Hrazdan River were investigated in April and June–August 2015. The results of the study showed that algal bloom registered in "Yerevanyan Lich" Reservoir in summer 2015 created new environmental conditions which led to significant changes in reservoir's phytoplankton dominant complex, affecting also phytoplankton composition in the Hrazdan River sites located downstream from the reservoir.


Since plasma exchange (PE) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) have been widely used in treatment for Guillain-Barresyndrome (GBS), early relapse and treatment-related fluctuation have been a potential problem, but little is known about the mechanism of relapse and fluctuation. We describe a patient who had GBS with treatment-related fluctuation. A 37-year-old Japanese man exhibited acute distal- dominant weakness in upper limbs after upper respiratory infection. His cranial nerve system was normal and muscle weakness was limited to upper limbs. Anti-GT1a IgG was strongly positive and anti-GQ1b IgG was also detected in his serum. Muscle weakness responded well to double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) followed by IVIg, but relapsed 45 days after the initial treatment. Although repeated treatments were effective, the patient showed additional minor deterioration twice. Motor nerve conduction velocities (MCVs) corresponded to the muscle weakness, but elevated level of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein remained and anti-ganglioside antibody titers steadily decreased throughout the clinical course. These findings indicate that the clinical fluctuation was not due to changes in the production of anti-ganglioside antibodies but presumably to the transient beneficial effects of DFPP/IVIg and the outlasting inflammatory response in peripheral nerves. D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


The inhibition of alcohol to cell was represented on inhibiting growth rate, saccharidase, membrance potential energy, and breaking down membrance lecithoid. This paper mainly discussed the permeate preasure and temperature to the ethanol tolerance of alcohol yeast.


In this paper, we present a novel technique for optical 3-D surface reconstruction by using line-scan cameras and structured light in combination. The approach generating structured light is customized to the special demands of line-scan image capturing. Owing to the distributed generation of light and the absence of shading elements, we obtain a light intensity that is comparable with conventional line lights. Thus, we achieve short integration times which is a necessary condition in most line-scan applications. Furthermore, with our approach we can generate different pattern sequences, which allows us to implement coded light methods such as time correlation or phase shifting. The light patterns can be switched synchronously with the captured lines of the camera. Thus, we are able to measure continuously whereby a single surface scan is sufficient to calculate a high-quality 3-D reconstruction.


This thesis investigates the nitrogen nutrition of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta (Dougl.) ex. Loud.) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) seedlings, two ecologically and economically important conifers of western North America. Sitka spruce is generally restricted to moist, nutrient rich sites, while lodgepole pine is able to tolerate soils of low fertility. The contrasting habitats of these two species beg the questions: Is one species more efficient at N uptake and N use? To what extent do growth characteristics such as growth rates, biomass allocation, morphology, and rates of photosynthesis and respiration differ between the two species? How plastic are these nutritional characteristics? These questions were addressed by conducting growth analyses, allometric analyses, and measuring NH4', NO3and H' ion fluxes across the surface of individual roots of seedlings grown at high (free access to nutrients, FA) and low (4% relative addition rate, 4% RAR) levels of N supply. To enable quantitative comparisons between species, all seedlings were grown in Biotronic units using relative nutrient addition rate techniques. Both lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce seedlings showed distinct growth responses to the nutrient environment. At FA, relative growth rates (RGR's) for both species were approximately 0.08 g g-' day-', while at 4% RAR they were approximately 0.04 g g-l day-'. Seedlings of both species grown with free access to nutrients allocated a relatively greater proportion of biomass to leaves and shoots, while seedlings grown under conditions of 4% RAR nutrient stress allocated a relatively greater proportion of biomass to roots, regardless of whether comparisons were made at a common harvest or at a common plant size. RGR's were positively correlated with whole plant nitrogen concentrations (wpN), and the N concentrations of all plant components were lower in the 4% RAR nutrient than the FA nutrient treatment. A wpN target that maximizes nitrogen productivity (NP) for lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce seedling production is -0.02 g N g-l whole plant biomass. Lodgepole pine seedlings with more fully extended secondary needles had a higher rate of increase in total plant biomass per unit leaf area (unit leaf rate, ULR) at a lower rate of photosynthesis. This suggests that secondary needles are more photosynthetically efficient. Both species had higher wpN's, photosynthetic rates and growth rates in the FA as opposed to the 4% RAR nutrient treatments. RGR, wpN, NP, NUR (nutrient uptake rate), ULR (unit leaf rate) and photosynthetic rates were all positively correlated. When overall seedling carbon balance was represented as the balance between net photosynthesis and root respiration (R), expressed as a R:A ratio, RGR and R:A were not significantly correlated. RGR was also not significantly correlated with SLA nor specific root length (SRL). Lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce seedlings showed distinct differences in parameters such as the plasticity of SRL, NUR and ULR in response to the nutrient environment, but minimal differences in biomass allocation. While lodgepole pine seedlings exhibited greater plasticity in SRL and had greater rates of net photosynthesis relative to root respiration in the 4% RAR treatment than Sitka spruce seedlings, the two species did not differ significantly in overall growth responses to high and low N environments. The microelectrode ion flux measurement (MIFE) system showed a high degree of individual tree variability in the fluxes of NH~', NO3and H' simultaneously measured across the roots of lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce seedlings. NH4' fluxes were the least variable, but neither species showed a significant preference for NH~' over NO3-. Seedlings grown with high available N had higher N H ~ + fluxes than seedlings grown under conditions of nutrient stress. Both lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce may have relatively plastic nutrient transport mechanisms, rendering previous N nutrition an important determinant of ion flux characteristics.


Barber, B., and Bowsher, D. 2000: The Eastern Cemetery of Roman London. Excavations 1983-1990, MoLAS Monograph 4, London Clarke, A., and Fulford, M. 1998: Silchester Roman Town. The Insula IX 'Town Life' Project. Interim Report on the 1998 Season, University of Reading Davies, B., Richardson, B., and Tomber, R. 1994: A Dated Corpus of Early Roman Pottery from the City of London, The Archaeology of Roman London vol. 5, CBA Research Rep. 98, York Fox, G.E., and St John Hope, W.H. 1901: 'Excavations on the site of the Roman city at Silchester, Hants, in 1900', Archaeologia 57, 229-56 Fulford, M., Handley, M., and Clarke, A. 2000: 'A new date for ogham: the Silchester ogham stone rehabilitated', Medieval Archaeology 44, 1-23 Fulford, M., and Timby, J. 2000: Late Iron Age and Roman Silchester: Excavations on the Site of the Forum-Basilica 1977, 1980-86, Britannia Monograph 15, London Geertz, C. 1975: The Interpretation of Cultures, London Holbrook, N., and Bidwell, P.T. 1991: Roman Finds from Exeter, Exeter Arch. Rep. 4, Exeter Jashemski, W. 1979: The Gardens of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Villas Destroyed by Vesuvius, New York May, T. 1916: The Pottery Found at Silchester, Reading Milne, G. 1985: The Port of Roman London, London Renfrew, J. 1985: Food and Cooking in Roman Britain. History & Recipes, London St John Hope, W.H. 1902: 'Excavations, on the site of the Roman city at Silchester, Hants, in 1901', Archaeologia 58, 17-36 Stead, I.M., and Rigby, V. 1989: Verulamium: the King Harry Lane Site, English Heritage Arch. Rep. 12, London Thompson, H.A., and Wycherley, R.E. 1972: The Athenian Agora. Vol. XIV. The Agora of Athens. The History, Shape and Uses of an Ancient City Center, Princeton, NJ Timby, J. 2000: 'The Pottery', in Fulford and Timby 2000, 180-312 Whiting, W., Hawley, W., and May, T. 1931: Report on the Excavation of the Roman Cemetery at Ospringe, Kent, Rep. Res. Cttee Soc. Antiq. London 8, Oxford Wilmott, T. 1982: 'Excavations at Queen Street, City of London, 1953 and 1960, and Roman timber-lined wells in London', Trans. London & Middlesex Arch. Soc. 33, 1-78


A new technique for a continuous, mass production of high-quality multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), based on fluidized bed pyrolysis of polymers (virgin or recycled polyolefins and recycled polyethylene terephtalate), is described in detail. The study investigates the role of interactions between the bed material and the polymer particles injected into the reactor as well as that of the reactor temperature. Results are reported in terms of yield and quality of obtained MWCNTs, all characterized by thermogravimetrical analysis and SEM microscopy. The production of MWCNTs, in a relatively large quantity and at a low cost, is demonstrated as technically feasible.


Furthermore, many of them are relational in nature, in that they provide Information about how scmathing is to be interpreted with respect to scmething eise (in the evoked state of affairs, or in the speech Situation, for exaitple). Both of these factors, especially when ccmbined, have the consequence that the concrete, actual Interpretation of a manifestation of a linguistic category always depends on other factors than meaning äs well, scme of which may be non-linguistic. That is to say, meaning never stnctly determines a concrete Interpretation, so that such an Interpretation can never 'falsify' a hypothesis about meaning. The same 252 7.2: ON LINGUISTICS is true about such general hypotheses äs that presenting a state of affairs äs involving more than one participant effects a certain Opposition between their roles ('transitivity), or that ordering effects a differentiation in terms of independent perceivability, since here too the actual interpretations are always also dependent on other factors, possibly non-linguistic. Furthermore, Speakers use lexical and grammatical signs, äs well äs word Order, for certain purposes and since there is no way to predict purposes, nor a way to predict what Instruments a Speaker will choose to effect his purposes on a particular occasion, there is no principled limit to the combination of different 'Instruments' in one message. There is thus no principled reason to assign a different Status to 'regulär' and 'irregulär' cases, i.e. there is no reason to suppose that in so-called 'irregulär cases, Speakers and hearers make use of essentially other means than in so-called 'regulär' cases say, knowledge of the language in one case and also Imagination, a 'Performance' factor, in the other (when producing an 'ungrammatical' sentence, for exartple). Instead, both 'regulär' and 'irregulär' cases are to be viewed äs essentially ad hoc combinations of a number of different linguistic means, whose analysis is to be undertaken in precisely the same terms, not by presenting a description of the latter in terms of the former, äs 'deviations' from a 'norm'. In that way, the linguist would run the risk of blocking the prospect for a deeper understanding, because the assumed general character of the 'regulär' cases is simply identified with 'meamng', and 'irregulär' cases are labelled äs deviations, which are thereby in effect declared irrelevant for an analysis and in fact not really comprehensible at all. From the point of view defended here, so-called 'exceptions' to general tendencies are rather considered äs crucial evidence for an analysis that Claims some depth of understanding. The search for an analysis of 'exceptions' to alleged 'general rules' that is an essential part of the research strategy of this study is the practical parallel of the conviction that Speakers are essentially free to use the Instruments available to them in their language, and not bound by constraints that forbid the use of certain combinations of elements äs just unpossible combinations. These points are essentially the same äs those formulated by Garcia (1983) at the end of her discussion of a number of occurrences of the so-called 7.2: ON LINGUISTICS 253 reflexive pronoun in Spanish that do not 'conform to the 'regulär'


This paper provides the overview of T-50/A-50 air data system, the overall air data calibration methods, and the calibration results. The distributed air data system is adopted to T-50/A-50 as the main air data system instead of a traditional centralized air data system. The major components of the distributed air data system of T-50/A50 are three conical integrated multi-function probes. The conventional noseboom also has been used to get an accurate reference air data during the full scale development. Lots of wind tunnel tests and flight tests were conducted to calibrate the distributed air data system. The conical shape of the integrated air data sensor has produced the very interesting aerodynamic phenomena during full scale development. This paper introduces how to modify the sensor to improve the air data system accuracy considering the aerodynamic characteristics of the conical shape air data sensor. The new requirement was developed for the air data system of T50/A-50.


We are approaching the end of the first term since the full roll out of 30-hour 'free' childcare and sadly, as predicted, not only is the sector feeling the strain, the minister really is not one for listening.


The effects of tea fungus on polyphenol oxidase activity,L* value,vitamin C content and issue hardness during the ripening process of fresh-cut potato stored at 4 ℃ for 5 days were investigated.The results indicated that the tea fungus could significantly inhibit the polyphenol oxidase activity of potato,and positively keep the content of vitamin C and issue hardness of potato,but has little effects on the L*-value.In conclusion,tea fungus can prevent the browning of fresh-cut potato,which may be due to the fermentation of black tea soup by tea fungus.


Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a system and method using the push-type grain cup or cartridge (PUCC) is generally embodiment. The system includes a top compartment and a bottom, the top and bottom of the compartment accommodating at least one liquid and at least one food. Device allows food consumption mixture of liquid and without the use of any apparatus, such as cereals and milk.


Large boulders are prominent features in many geomorphic systems and are frequently targeted for cosmogenic exposure dating. Presently, there are little data or theory predicting exposure age, erosion rate, and mobilization frequency of boulders in environments such as channels, talus slopes, or moraines. Here we explore the potential for cosmogenic isotope analysis to constrain the transport and erosion history of boulders. Through a series of numerical experiments, we model the statistical evolution of nuclide concentrations around the surface of boulders. Stable boulders have distinctive radial distributions of surface concentration in comparison to those that are periodically mobile, and this can be used to establish boulder stability. Mean nuclide accumulation rates around the surface of an eroding boulder increase when the radius is smaller than approximately 1.5 e‐folding lengths (~1.2 m) of neutron flux intensity, whereupon nuclide accumulation on the underside of the boulder becomes non‐negligible (~10%). Model results for cases of no cosmogenic inheritance and uniform erosion indicate the normalized standard deviation of nuclide surface concentration systematically decreases with increasing number of boulder mobilization events. This may be used to constrain the minimum number of times a boulder has moved for up to approximately four events, or distinguish between rarely and frequently mobilized boulders. Using non‐dimensional scaling relations between surface concentration statistics, boulder size, and time, we propose methods to estimate the minimum age, frequency of movement, and erosion rate of mobile boulders with application to a range of geomorphic problems.


"Open-market repurchase programs do not allow for precise estimates of share buy-back intensity to measure liquidity effects. To circumvent the uncertainty surrounding the quantity and timing of shares truly acquired in repurchase programs and to measure their long-term impact, we examine Dutch auctions and fixed-price tender offers. We investigate both the temporary and permanent liquidity effects of share repurchase programs and find that the improvement in liquidity is transitory and limited to the tender period when the firm's offer to repurchase shares is outstanding. Improvements in liquidity over longer intervals appear to be the result of an overall price improvement and a reduction in volatility rather than the result of structural change in market dynamics." Copyright (c) 2008 Financial Management Association International..


This research uses item response theory for the investigation of differential item functioning (DlF) and examines the advantages of using a multivariate external criterion to match examinees from the various subpopulations. An attempt was made to select a set of unbiased items to comprise the matching criterion. Expected course grades provided by the students' teachers were examined and found to function similarly across sex and race subgroups and were incorporated into the matching criterion. The inclusion of teachers' grades provides additional information in the extreme proficiency ranges and has the potential to enhance the validity of subgroup comparisons and ihferences of possible item bias. The use of an external matching criterion allows test developers to embed the same short, designated anchor in multiple test forms, thereby avoiding the circularity inherent to conventional DIF analyses and permitting comparison of DIF statistics across test forms.


This paper presents the results of a theoretical and experimental investigation of the potential of enhanced groove geometries to increase the bearing clearance of a HGJB supported rotor. The theoretical study investigates various groove geometries of different complexity and their effect on the stability threshold of a particular rotor geometry. The theoretical results obtained from a rigid-body rotordynamic model suggest an increase of more than 300% in instability onset speed when enhanced groove geometries are used compared to a classical, helically grooved rotor featuring the same radial bearing clearance. As part of the experimental investigation, one rotor shaft with classical grooves, representing the baseline rotor, and four rotors of identical diameter and clearance, but featuring enhanced grooves of varying degrees of complexity, were manufactured and experimentally tested. Good agreement between the experimentally determined speed of instability onset and the prediction was found for the investigated enhanced groove patterns. Experimental results of the classical rotor suggest the onset of instability to occur at a rotational speed of 56 krpm, whereas a speed of 180 krpm was achieved when enhanced groove geometries were applied to the rotor, which agrees very well with the theoretically predicted results and confirms the potential of enhanced groove geometries to stabilize HGJBs. Furthermore, the rotor featuring only a varying groove angle along the rotor axis was found to perform similarly to fully enhanced grooves of varying groove width, depth and angle, hence representing a good trade-off between performance increase and design cost.


Abstract Aiming at the problem of poor processing performance and difficult processing in the process of aluminum-based diamond composites for electronic packaging, this paper uses electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) grinding technology to grind the aluminum-based diamond composites. The quadratic orthogonal rotation combination method was used to investigate the influence law and degree of grinding depth, grinding wheel linear velocity, duty cycle and electrolysis current on surface roughness. The ELID grinding optimization process parameters of aluminum-based diamond composites obtained by LINGO software are: grinding depth 9.3μm, grinding wheel linear speed 36m/s, duty cycle 63.7%, electrolysis current 11.5A. The surface of the aluminum-based diamond composite with a surface roughness of 125 nm was machined by this optimized process parameter combination.


According to the complex conditions of deep excavation in Nantong mine, FLAC program are carried out for strata movement, ground pressure and surface displacement due to coal extraction. Based on the analysis of Nantong mine, the basic features of strata movement, the fundamental behavior of ground pressure and the related parameters of surface displacement are obtained. The results are of referential value for mining, supporting and preventing of surface displacement.


This letter was referred to Dr. Erkut, who replies in this manner:

I have read the letter, "A Third Treatment Option for Entrapped Thrombus in Patent Foramen Ovale" by Karabay and colleagues. They suggest the use of heparin as a third therapy for entrapped cardiac thrombi. I congratulate them on their successful application of this treatment.

Alternative treatment methods must be considered individually in patients with entrapped thrombi, in accordance with the situation of the patient and the thrombi. When surgical removal seems too hazardous or inconvenient—especially in elderly patients—the use of heparin and oral anticoagulants with echocardiographic follow-up may be the best choice.

Anticoagulation and thrombolytic therapy during medical treatment can lead to secondary complications such as embolization, that can threaten the life of the patient; however, there is no report of such a complication after surgery.

In brief, I agree that heparin therapy should be given to high-risk elderly surgical patients and to those for whom thrombolytic therapy would not be suitable.

Bilgehan Erkut, MD

Medical Faculty of Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey


Comparative urbanism has been a core feature of IJURR's editorial agenda since its founding. This virtual issue comprises 30 articles reflecting IJURR's contribution to comparative urbanism, reinforced by the growing postcolonial insistence on a more global scope for urban studies widely aired in this journal. This introductory article discusses the contemporary potential of comparative urbanism to contribute to a more global urban studies and considers some of the key insights for this project which can be gleaned from early contributions to the journal, including comparing across cities jointly shaped by the uneven development of the world-economy, thinking across socialist and capitalist cities, and the important role of world cities approaches in shaping the scope of urban comparisons. The articles in the section on the 'tactics and terms' of comparison reflect on the methodological, analytical and political challenges involved in building a more global urban studies. In the 'composing comparisons' section there are examples of classic and more recent variation-finding comparisons, and innovative analyses which consider variations amongst cities within and across regions, including comparisons which challenge or bypass Northern or Western reference points. More experimental comparative methods associated with tracing connections across cities are reflected in the third section, beginning with the seminal world cities analyses and building on more recent interest in policy mobilities. The final section draws together a series of articles which demonstrate the scope for building analyses from specific contexts for wider theoretical interrogation: 'launching and engaging concepts'. These articles reflect the best traditions of IJURR's editorial practices which have encouraged contributions from authors around the globe whose work disrupts and extends prominent analyses but who are also eager to initiate new theorizations through attending to the specificity of their case studies and situations. Here we see, for example, the concept of 'informality' emerging in studies of cities in Africa, to be put to work in the final contribution to the issue, in the USA.


The effective Lagrangian for the heterotic superstring theory of Gross et al. contains higher-derivative gravitational terms , n ≥ 2, which become important at large curvatures. This leads to a natural realization of the limiting-curvature hypothesis of Frolov et al., which was formulated to describe the interior of black holes. Assuming a purely geometrical, four-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole, for which all matter fields are zero, this interior consists of two regions: a shell of effective energy-density ρ immediately beyond the event horizon at r+ = 2M, due to the back reaction of the on the Schwarzschild metric, extending inward to a transition radius r0 ≈ M⅓, where the shell signature (- + - -) reverts to the exterior Lorentzian form (+ - - -), and an innermost core tending asymptotically to anti-de Sitter space as r → 0. The total mass-energy content of the hole M can be expressed in terms of the effective energy–momentum tensor Sij as the Nordstrom mass , since the space–time is static and free of physical singularities. The conjecture that ρN(r) is positive in the shell, which is necessary for the contribution to MN to be positive, is shown to be true for the term , due to the unrenormalized . The corresponding "potential" energy–momentum tensor calculated in the Schwarzschild background is isotropic in the region r0 ≪ r ≪ r+, where , while the dominant "kinetic" contribution is , so that .


When dealing with malware infections, one of the first tasks is to find the processes that were involved in the attack. We introduce Malfor, a system that isolates those processes automatically. In contrast to other methods that help analyze attacks, Malfor works by experiments: first, we record the interaction of the system under attack; after the intrusion has been detected, we replay the recorded events in slightly different configurations to see which processes were relevant for the intrusion. This approach has three advantages over deductive approaches: first, the processes that are thus found have been experimentally shown to be relevant for the attack; second, the amount of evidence that must then be analyzed to find the attack vector is greatly reduced; and third, Malfor itself cannot make wrong deductions. In a first experiment, Malfor was able to extract the three processes responsible for an attack from 32 candidates in about six minutes.


The provisions of IS 456:2000 help practical engineers to decide the acceptance of concrete based on the test data of four samples, using the principles of statistics considering the compressive strength as a 'random variable' representable by 'Normal Distribution Curve'. This technical note is prepared to understand the use of the Codal provisions to decide whether the given test data on samples is indicative of acceptable concrete using the criterion related to 'Individual Test Result'. A quick mathematical analysis suggests that the probability of occurrence of strength lower than that corresponding to 'Individual Test Result' criterion is not uniform for same grade of concrete with different standard deviations. This is in contrast to the characteristic strength, fck , where the probability of occurrence of strength lower than that corresponding to fck is always 5% (or 1 in 20) and this value is independent of standard deviation.


The increasingly complex nature of healthcare results in postgraduate teaching requirements that are challenging and sophisticated. Simulation has much to offer  in facing challenges of postgraduate medical education. A range of higher level competencies expected by a postgraduate trainee could be trained and achieved through simulation. The uses of simulation range from simple to sophisticated and from  low-fidelity to high-fidelity and highly realistic. The research evidence shows low-fidelity options can be as effective high-fidelity simulators with regards to educational impact. However, simulation is not a panacea to solve all  challenges within postgraduate medical education. The high cost, implementation issues, possiblities of negative learning and false confidence are serious concerns. There is a need for seamless integration with the system, a robust evidence-base and cost effectiveness .


AMONG the more significant features of nineteenth-century British science was the emergence of social and professional networks which helped to shape or influence the course of scientific activity. By and large, the most conspicuous arbiters of scientific values were the learned societies, the British Association and the universities. These formal bodies, however, almost always reflected the attitudes and assumptions of small, informal, often obscure and sometimes anonymous, clusters or networks of individuals. Until recently, most of these groups have been overlooked or neglected (i), but growing interest in the social history of science has stimulated fresh research into the history of scientific societies generally, and into scientific élites in particular. The 'X-Club', recalled by the contemporary American historian, John Fiske, as 'the most powerful and influential scientific coterie in England' (2), was one of the most important and instructive of these groups. The following pages will inquire into the origins, the development, and the probable significance of this 'coterie' in the social climate of late-Victorian science.


A universal equivalent circuit for lossy and dispersive transmission lines is presented. Existing CAD (computer-aided design) packages, such as SPICE, can be used for its implementation. The starting points for obtaining the models are the analog filters which approximate the forward impulse response and characteristic impedance. The equivalent circuit is used to simulate the effects of pulse propagation on microstrip transmission lines. An examination of the validity of the model is carried out, analyzing the response for an example case in the time and frequency domains.<<ETX>>


With the development of architecture, the society brings forward further new requirements of buildings ,such as the amenity of buildings and environment, quant:tative evaluation of buildings.By introducing system engineering theory and integrating buildings with environment, the paper preliminarily discusses various natural and cultural factors that affect buildings utilization ,and then establishes the quality assessment system of building ecological environment by seleeting the dominant elements. 


Carbon-nitrogen films were deposited by ECRCVD from Ar/N2/CH4 gas mixtures. CH 4 was supplied downstream the discharge zone. CH 4 partial pressure was kept always constant, varying either nitrogen (in s eries 1) or argon (in series 2) pressure. Profilometry (Dekt ak 3030) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) (Rontec 501) have been used for thickness and composition measurements and Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) for plasma analys is (EG&G Princeton).


May-Thurner syndrome (also known as Cockett's syndrome or Iliac vein compression syndrome) is a venous anomaly featuring mechanical compression of the left common iliac vein by the right common iliac artery, with increased risk of development of deep vein thrombosis of the left lower limb. Phlegmasia caerulea dolens usually occurs, follow by massive venous thrombosis. May-Thurner syndrome as a cause of phlegmasia cerulea dolens is rare. We report a case of May-Thurner syndrome with deep vein thrombosis and rapid development of phlegmasia caerulea dolens, successfully treated by emergency thrombectomy, endovascular angioplasty, stenting, and systemic


Th great role of investment and savings in the economic development of the country has been well recognized by the economist since the time of Adam Smith. The investment and savings of private individual forms on the basis of wealth accumulated by the society. Th savings in financial asssts as grat rrelevance in a developing country lik India from th fact that savings can be mobilised for investment in priority areas in conformity with the planning strategies. Th savings and investment of individual affect to a great extent the national economic growth and national income. All though some people consider the terms savings and investments synonimous, they are not similar. Though they are different they are like the two sides of the coin, which are inseparable. There is a link between saving and investments and vice versa. Savings may be thought as a way of getting return on the savings in the form of interest, dividend, profit or other things.


Abstract The authors have constructed a large-size sturdy liquid crystal cell whose glass plates completely adhere to photoresist barriers aligned parallel to each other. Temperature gradient-cooling of ferro- or antiferroelectric liquid crystals confined to rectilinear space was found most effective for the complete elimination of zigzag defects with consequent superior initial orientation.


The aim of this thesis is to examine the role of public opinion on the formulation of British and French foreign policy between the Munich Agreement of September 1938 and the outbreak of the Second World War. More specifically, it analyses how public opinion was perceived by the respective policymaking elites, and thus influenced the course of foreign policy. Therefore, rather than offering an analysis of public opinion per se, it shall examine how certain dominant tendencies of public opinion carried more weight, pervading the corridors of power, and thus assuming significance as an historical actor, contributing to the policymaking process. In so doing, a considerable gap in the existing literature will be filled. Within the abundant historiography of this period, the subject of public opinion remains relatively under-explored. More pertinently, those studies that purport to analyse public opinion rarely seek to examine the specific link between public opinion and the policymaking process. Utilising a notion of `representations', this thesis seeks to ascertain how certain dominant tendencies of opinion assumed greater potency than others, and thus had a greater impact on the policymaking elites. Differentiating between `residual' and `reactive' representations of opinion, it illustrates how elite perceptions of public opinion evolved in the crucial period between the Munich Agreement and the outbreak of war in September 1939.


Schlieren method is an effective method for studying the sound field in transparent medium which called phase objects. The method is used to research the acoustic field by analyzing the refractive index changes induced by the acoustic wave. Calculations of the sound pressure distribution radiated by the line-focus ultrasonic transducer are implemented, and the acoustic field in the focal spot area is obtained. Then the diffraction light intensity on the Fourier transform plane in a Schlieren system is calculated with two-dimensional Fourier transformation when the phase object is the ultrasonic wave. Because the light intensity of the different diffraction spots on the back focal plane of the transform lens depends on the sound pressure, the sound pressure in the focal spot area can be determined using Schlieren technique. A Schlieren system is set up. The images of the line-focus ultrasonic field are obtained and the sound pressure in its focal point area is measured non-invasively by measuring and compa...


The measurement and modeling of Ultra Wide Band(UWB)signal are the key issues in UWB area. The time-domain and frequency-domain characteristics of UWB signal are obtained in this paper By applying the time-domain measurement.At the same time the property of UWB signals penetration is analyzed.The measurements and analysis can be used in indoor localization and communication with UWB technology.The IEEE P802.15.4a channel model is verified with the measurements in this paper.


A 750 fs transform-limited pulse train at 10 GHz has been directly generated for the first time from a regeneratively mode-locked fibre laser which has two synchronised amplitude modulations at 10 and 20 GHz.


In this work we have developed a new scheme that allows increasing channel density and relaxing the filter bandwidth requirements in a radio-over-fibre wavelength interleaved distribution network, by introducing highly birefringent fibre Bragg gratings.


In spite of the conflicting evidence of global warming due to greenhouse gas emission, PanCanadian accepts the reduction of greenhouse gas as both a political and environmental reality. While PanCanadian is committed to participate in the government and industry sponsored voluntary climate change challenge, we are also acutely aware of its potential impact on our competitiveness considering our status as a hydrocarbon producer and exporter. This paper describes a multi-discipline team approach to the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas. This includes identification of all greenhouse gas emission sources, listing the opportunities and relative impact of each remedial solution, and estimated cost associated with the reduction. Both immediate solutions and long term strategies are explored. This includes energy conservation, improving process efficiency and promoting environmental training and awareness programs. A number of important issues become evident in greenhouse gas reduction related to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons: depleting pressure and water encroachment in reservoirs; energy required for producing oil as opposed to producing gas; and public perception of flaring as compared with venting. A cost and benefit study of greenhouse gas reduction opportunities in terms of net present values is discussed. This paper describes a process that can be adaptedmore » by other producers in managing air emissions.« less


Dear Sir,

Blood transfusions provide life-saving oxygen-delivery capability to those with anaemia, whether due to trauma or surgery, following ablation of haematopoietic cells by cancer treatment, or as a result of other circumstances. As with any intervention, however, complications can arise. Reducing plasma and removing white blood cells from packed red blood cells decreases the immune-mediated complications which can occur with blood transfusions1. However, residual plasma in packed red blood cells can trigger transfusion side effects in some cases1. Non-immune-mediated transfusion complications may result from the accumulation, over time, of cell-turnover by-products (e.g. potassium, microparticles/vesicles, cell-free haemoglobin [CFHb] and iron)2,3.

Removal of potentially harmful by-products through washing has shown clinical benefits in selected patients4. However, washing has drawbacks since it requires equipment, time, and foresight, which are not always available. Thus, a method to rinse away aforementioned haemolysate and residual donor antibodies rapidly at the point of care (POC) is needed.

The aim of this research was to use principles of free-flow electrophoresis (FFE) to remove haemolysate rapidly from donor red blood cells. FFE is a method for separating objects within flowing liquid based on differences in size and charge resulting in differing electrokinetic mobilities, and can be used on relatively fragile cells, such as plasmodium-parasitized red blood cells5.

To provide proof-of-concept, a FFE "rinsing" device was made from 1 μm porous stainless steel tubes (United Filtration Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA) fitted into 60 mL syringes (BD Biosciences, San Jose, California, USA). The porous tube was secured inside the syringe with rubber stoppers at each end with holes for blood inlet/outlets. Two 16-gauge needles (rinse inlet/outlet) penetrated the space between the tube and the syringe. Expired (more than 43 days old) leucocyte-reduced red blood cell units with additive solution-1 were donated by the Blood Center of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI, USA). The filter was angled at 20–25° so red blood cells had to climb the filter/tube to reach the outlet. Excess normal saline (>5x blood volume) was rinsed over the inner filter tube while leucocyte-reduced red blood cells were gravity-fed from 0.75–1 meter above through the filter. The filter tube was charged with a standard nine-volt battery, confirmed by a digital multimeter, as red blood cells appeared to cross the filter more readily when uncharged.

For comparison, cells were washed in a three-step procedure: (i) addition of an equal volume of saline to the leuococyte-reduced red blood cell sample; (ii) centrifugation at roughly 325 g for 10 minutes; (iii) removal of the upper four-fifths of the liquid component. The three steps were repeated again and then an equal volume of saline was added and the cells resuspended. CFHb was isolated from the "rinsed" and "washed" supernatants by centrifugation, as described above, after correcting for haematocrit. Haematocrit was determined using an automated complete blood count machine (Heska, Loveland, CO, USA). CFHb concentrations were measured using UV-visible spectroscopy. The percentage CFHb removal was compared using a two-tailed Student's t-test with an alpha of 0.05 for statistical significance.

Figure 1A shows the nominal sizes of various components within red blood cell units, while Figure 1B illustrates the FFE principles used to "rinse" red blood cells from smaller by-products. Figure 1C is a diagram of the POC FFE instrument, while Figure 1D is a photograph of the prototype.

Figure 1

Using free-flow electrophoresis to clean blood rapidly.

Haemoglobin was measured as a surrogate marker of filtration efficacy. Figure 2A shows representative UV-visual haemoglobin spectra of supernatants from control (unfiltered/unwashed), single-washed and double-washed leucoreduced red blood cell units, and the device-filtered blood, with characteristic oxy-haemoglobin absorbance peaks at 415, 541, and 577 nm wavelength. Figure 2B shows that the device reduced CFHb by 55%, which was comparable to the 71% CFHb removal by washing twice (p>0.05). Washing by centrifugation took nearly 30 minutes, while filtration through the device consistently took less than 1 minute per 50 mL of blood.

Figure 2

Comparison of the results of filtration of aged blood with the new device or gentle washing.

While this is only an introductory report showing that rapid "rinsing" of blood is possible, some key limitations should be kept in mind. As a proof-of-concept study, variable amounts of saline (greater than 5x the blood volume) were used to rinse the cells, and the seemingly-scant red blood cells lost into the waste were neither collected nor examined. To rule out the possibility that results were from dilution alone, all CFHb measurements were taken after normalising to haematocrit. Anecdotally, a charge seemed to prevent red blood cells from crossing the filter; however, how much of the CFHb removal was the result of purely mechanical dialysis and how much was due to electromotive repulsion remains unknown. Further work on optimising the pore size, flow rate, temperature, geometries, pressure gradients, and electrical potential may improve filtration efficacy. Lastly, since only CFHb was examined as a measure of the haemolysate, it was not confirmed that potassium, residual antibodies, or microparticles were removed.

Despite the limitations of this proof-of-concept study, the device successfully removed CFHb to a degree comparable to that achieved by washing, but in considerably less time. Further studies are warranted to bring the clinical benefits of removing haemolysate to more transfusion recipients.


of on isolated rat aorta smooth muscle cells using whole-cell patch clamp tech-nique. the basic component of outward K + current in rat smooth muscle cells is a large conductance Ca 2+ -activated K + current (BK Ca, ). BK Ca currents in smooth muscle cells obtained from irradiated animals on the th and 30 th days post-irradiation significant Ca of


The space systems (SS) of remote sensing of the Earth (RSE) consist of different on a principle of operation and physico-technical nature subsystems, which, interacting among themselves, will derivate multilevel (hierarchical) frame. In this connection SS RSE it is possible to relate to composite systems, for which research the methods of the systems analysis will be utilized. In the given report the methodical fundamentals of SS RSE system researches are considered which allow evenly to analyze relationships of cause and effect in a system and to receive numerical evaluations of efficiency of operation as separate subsystems, and SS as a whole. Thus as an effectiveness criterion the estimations of probability of the solution of RSE theme problems will be utilized.


Through the systematic analysis of ring anode baking process, a mathematical model was developed. Several simulation runs were then made. The simulated results indicate that the maximal temperature gradient is focus on the top of anodes. In order to preserve the uniformity and stability of the baking temperature in anodes, some relevant measures to reduce this heat loss should be taken. It is also found that the fuel consumption increases with the decrease of firing cycle time, and cutting down the air infiltration will be helpful for saving fuel.


E-mails are a rapidly growing medium to establish communications between customers and companies. They are processed in a large centralised system termed Mail Center. One important feature of those systems is their capacity to suggest relevant answers to reply to an incoming e-mail. This paper describes a new approach, based on two separate document bases and text classiication algorithms.


Resilient packet ring( RPR) is a new technology for metropolitan area networks. Assuming a possible RPR network architecture and analyzing RPR'fairness problems, automatic logical node reordering technique, a cost- effective way was proposed. Finally, an example of the logic node recording technique was analyzed.


The wave response to the effect of terrain over the coastal region is explored in the linear context using an idealized linear model and associated diagnostic computations. The calculation discusses three effects of the terrain on the disturbance flow, i.e., the additional interior wave generation due to the elevated heating gradients along the terrain slopes; boundary wave generation due to the disturbance flow passing over the sloped boundary; and wave-wave interactions between the linear sea-breeze response and the background mountain wave. These results are then extended to the nonlinear problem using idealized nonlinear model runs. The nonlinear results show that fronts appear with increasing heating amplitude. The character of the land-sea breeze front is examined by varying the heating amplitude and the plateau height.


Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease ofunknown cause that may affect any tissue in the body. In the head and neck the most common signs, together with widespread systemic disease, are cervical lymphadenopathy and swelling ofthe parotid glands. ' Gingival symptoms at any stage are rare,2 and patients who have them usually present with other clinical features ofthe disease23 or with gross gingival hyperplasia.45 We describe a patient whose sole presenting complaint was persistent soreness and ulceration ofthe gums and who was subsequently found to have systemic sarcoidosis.


The craving for city life reveals a collective experience over time, creating humanist structures for the emergence of aesthetic and political values. In these days of information technologies, the city coexists with its virtual doubles, which promote several possibilities of images about itself. These images allow for the construction of opinions with distinct meanings which atomize their commonly accepted sense, repositioning the encounter with the artistic object into a broader condition of aesthetic experiences.


Speech recognition applications are becoming more and more useful nowadays. In automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems, hidden Markov models (HMMs) have been widely used for modeling the temporal speech signal. Iterative algorithms such as Forward Backward or Baum-Welch are commonly used to locally optimize HMM parameters (i.e., observation and transition probabilities). In this paper we propose a general approach based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to evolve HMM with Gaussian mixture densities. The problem appears when experts assign probability values for HMM, they use only some limited inputs. The assigned probability values might not be accurate to serve in other cases related to the same domain. We introduce an approach based on GAs to find out the suitable probability values for the HMM to be mostly correct in more cases than what have been used to assign the probability values. For this purpose, a sample database containing speech files of Algerian speakers is used. Key-Words: Automatic speech recognition Acoustic information Genetic algorithm (GA) GA/HMM Gaussian mixture densities Baum-Welch.


With the use of an external magnetic field and magnetic microbeads, the microfluidic magnetic fluidized bed system enables fluidization phenomena at the microscale. This results in flow-through operations at low driving pressures with intimate liquid/solid contact and a continuous beads recirculation, interesting for efficient biological target preconcentration applications. The physical system has been characterized, showing the importance of chamber angle of aperture and height confinement as well as magnetic field distribution parameters, to obtain fluidization and further enhance mixing and maximize beads density. Further, the potential of the fluidized bed as a platform for analytical bioassays has been successfully explored with a series of biologically relevant applications: (1) the preconcentration of rare Alzheimer's biomarkers together with their in situ fluorescence labeling for future enhanced detection with hyphenated techniques; (2) the label-free sensitive detection of bacteria in liquid food samples through the specific immunocapture and on-chip culture of these microorganisms and the resulting physical changes induced in the fluidized support; (3) the gene-specific extraction of DNA and its subsequent enzymatic amplification on the surface of the beads, coupled to a microarray detection system for a multiplexed detection of cancer-inducing mutations. These results show that the applications of the magnetic fluidized bed go beyond its initial conception as a dynamical affinity-based concentrator, serving as an efficient platform for molecular biology protocols and even making use of its inherent auto-regulating properties as a detection mechanism.


by red blood ceRls. The a pearance was that of a uniform benign hype,plasia of the thymus. Sections of the affected muscles s owed small perivascular ac- cumulations of lymphocytes. The small nodule pro-jecting into the fourth ventricle was an astrocytoma. The cause of death was not determined.


Objective To study the significance of sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB) with methylene blue in breast cancer.Methods During the axillary lymph node dissection(ALND) operation,2 ml 1% methylene blue was injected around the lumen.All stained lymph nodes were considered as SLN.All the acquired lymph nodes,including SLN or NSLN,underwent phathological examination.Results SLN were identified in 95 of 108 patients(87.9%).Histologic status of the SLNs accurately predicted axiliary nodes status with an accuracy rate of 95.7%(91/95).The false negative rate is 6.5%.and false positive was 0.4 false negative cases were skip metastasis.The positive and negative metastasis rates were 34.6% and 65.3% for SLN,39.8% and 60.2% for axillary lymph nodes,not showing a significant difference between them(P0.05).Conclusion SLN could accurately predict the axillary node status in patients with breast cancer.


The PCR-RFLP method was applied to study the genetic poly morphism of Bola-DRB3 exon 2on MHCⅡof Dechang cattle.The results showed that there were 7 genotypes in HaeⅢ,ie AA,AB,AD,BC,AC,BFand BB,controlled by 5 allelic genes,A,B,C,D and F;among which AA had the highest frequency,and as a sesult,it was the pre ponderant gene type,and A was the preponderant gene.There were 3 genotypes in RsaⅠ,ie GH,GG,HH,controlled by G and H genes;in which GG had the highest frequency,and was the preponderant gene type,and G was the pre ponderant gene,This shows that Dechang cattle has rich polymoprphism on Bola-DRB3 exon 2.On the restricion enzyme cutting site of RsaI,Dechang cattle reached Hardy-Weiberg balance,indicating the influences of such factors as selection,gene mutation,close breeding and genetic drift,which is unfavorable to breed keeping and should be attached importance to.The author thinks that crossbreed improvement and breed keeping area should be strictly defined so as to make full use of the prons of crossbreed and improve their productive performance,thus effectively keeping the genetic vesources of Dechang cattle and making good use of it.