Varying the cognitive complexity of a marketing message and its medium affects recall. Four studies introduce the notion of Task Difficulty Switching (TDS), demonstrate effects of greater recall in a TDS paradigm, and explore the underlying process of increased cognitive flexibility stemming from TDS.


This paper, which is derived from an MSc project, provides insight into the number of patients taking NOACs shortly after their introduction to clinical practice. It explains their mechanism and considerations for surgical management of patients taking them compared to, and contrasted with, warfarin. These aspects are applicable to all surgical disciplines that may have concerns over the management of the increasing numbers of patients on NOACs. Investigation into Patients treated in an Oral and Maxillofacial Unit between 2012 and 2014, who were taking the Novel Anticoagulants


ABSTRACT This study presents the results of a questionnaire-based survey, conducted in primary and secondary public schools of Zakynthos Island during 2013, referring to environmental awareness as well as pupils' perceptions and attitudes on specific environmental issues. The main aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and awareness that local pupils about the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and bird species that are migrants and/or endemic in the National Marine Park of the island. The study area was selected because the percentage of pupils not attending compulsory education is one of the highest in Greece.


The immunohistochemical changes in regional lymph nodes in the acute infectious inflammation and in the process of in- flammation chronicity, namely in the secondary chronic inflammation, primary chronic non-immune and primary chronic immune inflammation have been studied. The research was performed using 246 rats. Acute infectious inflammation was induced by introduction of Staphylococcus aureus daily culture containing 2 milliard microbial bodies in 1 ml of the iso- tonic solution of sodium chloride into the thigh. The secondary chronic inflammation was reproduced by subcutaneous introduction of 5ml of l-carageenen in 1 ml of the isotonic solution of sodium chloride into the thigh. The primary chronic granulomatous inflammation was induced by introduction of sephadex A-25 in the dose of 1 mg in 1 ml of the isotonic solu- tion of sodium chloride into the thigh. The chronic immune inflammation of the adjuvant arthritis type was reproduced by subplantar introduction of the total Freund adjuvant in the dose of 0.1 ml. Immune cells and immunoglobulins were differentiated with the help of rat monoclonal antibodies (MCA) labeled by FITC to CD3 antigens (general T-lymphocytes), CD4 (helper T-lymphocytes), CD8 (cytotoxic suppressor T-lymphocytes), CD45RA (B-lymphocytes), ED (macrophages) and IgE and IgG. It has been found that in the chronic inflammation the activation of regional lymph nodes is more expressed, longer and phasic than in the acute one. This is evident by increase of intensity of cellular immune responses and decrease of humoral responses, increase of the suppressor activity and reduction the helper activity, increase of the macrophagal reaction as compared with the control, increase of amount of lymphocytes - producers of IgG and IgE.


The ratio of cation to hydrogen-ion concentration is used as a basis for coordinating many observed varieties of silicate rock alteration. Low ratios drive alteration from feldspar through sericite, montmorillonite, or paragonite, toward kaolinite or pyrophyllite. Principal controls of ratio are reactions with wall rock, pressure-temperature changes, mixing of solutions, and oxidation of H 2 S; their interactions govern the assemblage attained.


The introduction of formal methods in the design and development departments of an industrial company has far reaching and long lasting consequences. In fact it changes the whole environment of methods, tools and skills that determine the design culture of that company. A decision to replace current design practice by formal methods, therefore, appears a vital one and is not lightly taken. The past has shown that efforts to introduce formal methods in industry has faced a lot of controversy and opposition at various hierarchical levels in companies, resulting in a marginal spread of such methods. This paper revisits the requirements for formal description techniques and identifies some critical success and inhibiting factors associated with the introduction of formal methods in the industrial practice. One of the inhibiting factors is the often encountered lack of appropriateness of the formal model to express and manipulate the design concerns that determine the world of the engineer. This factor motivated our research in the area of architectural and implementation design concepts. The last two sections of this paper report on some results of this research.


ABSTRACT In this pilot study, differences in inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity as well as demographic factors were investigated in a community sample of 8- through 11-year-olds, approximately half of whom had experienced child abuse or neglect. Parents completed the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Test, the SNAP-IV, the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey – Parent version, and additional questions. Abused children had more severe impulsivity and inattention, but not hyperactivity, symptoms. Abused boys and girls had a similar age of onset of symptoms, whereas nonabused girls had a much later age of onset than nonabused boys. ADHD is a significant problem among maltreated children. These data support large scale studies investigating possible differences in etiology, presentation, and treatment.


When a professional practitioner is faced with making a decision about what to do in a particular situation, do they base that decision on findings from research? This paper reports on qualitative and quantitative research which examined school principals' perceptions of barriers to the use of research. To facilitate a comparison the study was conducted simultaneously in two countries: England and Israel using interviews, focus groups and the Barriers Scale survey instrument (Funk et al., 1991). The results of tests indicated that factors associated with the research itself, (e.g. relevance and access), were significant barriers to research use for principals from both countries (compared with factors associated with: the setting; the presentation of research; and the individual). The paper concludes that multiple strategies would be required to address a number of issues related to the dissemination of research and ways of addressing the gap between the aims of researchers, and the needs and expectations of practitioners.


The development of compact diagnostic probes and instruments with an ability to direct access to organs and tissues and integration of these instruments into surgical workflows is an important task of modern physics and medicine. The need for such tools is essential for surgical oncology, where intraoperative visualization and demarcation of tumor margins define further prognosis and survival of patients. In this paper, the possible solution for this intraoperative imaging problem is proposed and its feasibility to detect tumorous tissue is studied experimentally.


Much research is currently going on about the processing of one or two-camera imagery, possibly combined with other sensors and actuators, in view of achieving attentive vision, i.e. processing selectively some parts of a scene possibly with another resolution. Attentive vision in turn is an element of active vision where the outcome of the image processing triggers changes in the image acquisition geometry and/or of the environment. Almost all this research is assuming classical imaging, scanning and conversion geometries, such as raster based scanning and processing of several digitized outputs on separate image processing units. A consortium of industrial companies comprising Digital Equipment Europe, Thomson CSF, and a few others, have taken a more radical view of this. To meet active vision requirements in industry, an intelligent camera is being designed and built, comprised of three basic elements: – a unique Thomson CSF CCD sensor architecture with random addressing – the DEC Alpha 21064 275MHz processor chip, sharing the same internal data bus as the digital sensor output – a generic library of basic image manipulation, control and image processing functions, executed right in the sensor-internal bus-processor unit, so that only higher level results or commands get exchanged with the processing environment. Extensions to color imaging (with lower spatial resolution), and to stereo imaging, are relatively straightforward. The basic sensor is 1024*1024 pixels with 2*10 bits addresses, and a 2.5 ms (400 frames/second) image data rate compatible with the Alpha bus and 64 bits addressing. For attentive vision, several connex fields of max 40 000 pixels, min 5*3 pixels, can be read and addressed within each 2.5 ms image frame. There is nondestructive readout, and the image processing addressing over 64 bits shall allow for 8 full pixel readouts in one single word. The main difficulties have been identified as the access and reading delays, the signal levels, and dimensioning of some buffer arrays in the processor. The commercial applications targeted initially will be in industrial inspection, traffic control and document imaging. In all of these fields, selective position dependent processing shall take place, followed by feature dependent processing. Very large savings are expected both in terms of solutions costs to the end users, development time, as well as major performance gains for the ultimate processes. The reader will appreciate that at this stage no further implementation details can be given.


Summary The biosynthetic transformation of progesterone to fecal androgen (androstenedione) in the bovine has been shown. The present study reports the biosynthetic transformation of pregnenolone and 17 α -hydroxyprogesterone to fecal androgen. Following the injection of pregnenolone into the male and female bovine, the chick comb response test demonstrated a significant formation of fecal androgens in the male and a significant increase in fecal androgens in the female. Following the injection of 17 α -hydroxyprogesterone into the female bovine, androgen biosynthesis was evidenced by the excretion of a significant amount of fecal androgens as measured by the chick comb response test. In vitro studies with various mammalian tissues have documented a pathway for androgen biosynthesis involving the following sequence: pregnenolone → progesterone → 17 α -hydroxyprogesterone → androstenedione. The cumulative results of the experiments on bovine androgenesis provide in vivo evidence indicating that androgen biosynthesis in the bovine, as in many other species, occurs via the same pathway. The experimental evidence demonstrates further the major importance of an hepatoenteric pathway for the elimination of the C 19 androgen metabolites of these C 21 hormones.


We derive a simple formula to compute implied volatility approximately, and give an estimate of its relative error, in the framework developed by Black-Scholes. In particular, our error estimate ensures that the relative error of our formula is converging to 0 under certain condition.


Urban transport megastructures: mutations and permanence - This article offers a definition of 'megastructure' that gives the term's more significant characteristics (flexibility, multifunctionality, generalised interconnection) borrowed from theorists in the 1950s and 1960s and from experimentation by Yona Friedman, Cedric Price, Fumihiko Maki and Peter Cook. Among the various types of megastructure that have supplanted each other over the years, the article examines large airports, interpreted here as both local and international transport hubs and as sites for many types of activity. This is what makes them contemporary urban megastructures, because they are complex 'objects' not unlike a small town or city with a strong impact on an area.


Three cases of acute histoplasmosis demonstrated, in addition to the usual serologic findings, strongly positive precipitins against farmer's lung antigens. Twelve additional serums from patients with acute histoplasmosis were subsequently studied. Forty percent of these patients demonstrated positive precipitins against organic dust antigens.


The state of charge (SOC) and the loss of active material of the electrodes of a Li ion cell under Low Earth Orbit condition (LEO) have been estimated using Kalman filtering methods, by means of the physics-based single particle (SP) model. Zero mean Gaussian noise was added to the charge-discharge curves obtained by the SP model to generate synthetic data. Afterwards, nonlinear Filtering approaches including Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) and Unscented Kalman Filtering (UKF) were applied to predict the true SOC and the electrodes' degradation, by minimizing the measurement residuals between the model prediction and the synthetic data. The results indicated that UKF is a far superior candidate than EKF for the SOC estimation for a Li-ion cell during the cycling. Moreover, the proposed method is able to predict the loss of active material for each electrode during the cell life.


From the defects-free self-assembled organic layers (SAMs) of CH3([Formula: see text]SH molecules with short chain lengths ([Formula: see text]) electrodeposited on the (111) surface of monocrystalline gold previously prepared, monitored defects (pinholes) were potential-induced from cyclic partial reduction of SAMs at an appropriate potential. Electrochemical impedance measurements were in-situ conducted and [Fe(CN)6][Formula: see text] ions were used as probes for mass and charge transfer. Interface evolution was modeled with an equivalent electrical circuit containing two distinct constant-phase elements (CPEs). One is a generalized semi-infinite Warburg element in series with a charge transfer resistance attributed to subdiffusion phenomenon through leaky sublayers at low frequencies; the other CPE is used for characterizing the interface heterogeneity at medium and high frequencies. At low frequencies, electrochemical impedance measurements show subdiffusion phenomenon, which depends on the remaining sublayer and its thickness. When the defect density increases, diffusion tends to be ordinary, obeying the Fick's law.


Source Citation The Beta-Blocker Evaluation of Survival Trial Investigators. A trial of the beta-blocker bucindolol in patients with advanced chronic heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 31;344:16...


Tumours composed of different kinds of tissue show different characteristics in rate of growth, infiltration of surrounding structures, frequency of complications such as necrosis and haemorrhage, and development of metastases. Thus the prognosis, either natural or following treatment, of various neoplasms, differs. This applies obviously to tumours of different organs or structures, but is true also of tumours of related tissues. It is desirable, therefore, that we should clearly differentiate tumours which, though different, are apparently similar in kind or origin. The recognition of the nature and, by inference, the origin of a tumour depends in ideal circumstances on a number of observations-the site of the primary growth, its relation to surrounding tissues, the gross features of the tumour mass and its histological characters. The last two go hand in hand but histological features provide the more important criteria. The differences in normal tissues (for example, in a limb) are due to' differences in the direction and degree of differentiation of their original cells, which may have given rise to fibrous tissue, bone, cartilage or synovial tissue amongst others. In the same way tumour cells may differentiate in different directions, and according to which preponderates so the tumour is named. A most important point here is that any conclusion as to the origin of a tumour is merely assumption, and that, though it is commonly stated in the literature that tumours have arisen from synovial membrane, it will be shown that such statements are unjustified and are liable to give rise to confusion. Synovial tumours are now easily recognised and their principal clinical and pathological features are known. They constitute a group different and distinct, both clinically and pathologically, from other connective tissue tumours. This paper is intended to be a general review of them and also to emphasise one particular topographical sub-group which has been given inadequate attention.


The effect of maintaining the fountain and the soil, azote fastness, breakwind and samd-fixation were introduced. The seabuckthorn's economic value of edible, officinal and timber using were also developed. An expectation of maintaining water and soil, reducing the desolate and boundless and advanced process was given.


5589Background: Use of combined adjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) in treatment of advanced stage endometrial cancer is increasing, but the survival benefit over chemotherapy (CT) or radiation therapy (...


Various kinds of incomes policies have been in operation in the UK over a substantial part of the post-war period, particularly since the mid-1960s. There is considerable uncertainty about the effects of incomes policy on the rate of change of wages, and in this paper we attempt to assess the effects of incomes policy using econometric equations of wage inflation.


In their article on the contrcl of morbidity due to schistosomiasis mansoni in subsaharan Africa I, Gryseels and Polderman make several interesting and valid points. However, some of their arguments and statements, although emphatically presented, are more controversial. From the perspective of schistosomiasis mansoni as it presents as a public health problem in Kenya, we would like to draw attention to several issues on which we would strongly disagree. Gryseels and Polderman ,-levelop the implicit argument that 'decompensated portal hypertension' (DPH) ~s not merely the most but rather the


Dr. Meyer has focused a clinical eye on social work practices as they exist today. She views her subject in the light of successes that have grown out of traditional development and of failures that have resulted from the precipitous collapse of accumulated knowledge into a jungle of massive economic pressures, violent revolts against the "establishment," and a maze of social legislation and poverty programs. "The 1960s," she states, "found the public welfare agencies in a serious squeeze between bureaucratic suffocation and extreme public pressure for the services they were mandated by law to provide." Social workers were faced with the problem of adjusting their skills to a changing ecology while yoked to rigid rules, regulations, and policies adhered to by the agencies in which they worked. Their fault lay in not working actively to change these policies, and they reaped the blame for the failures that inevitably resulted. Ironically, she points out, social workers have been damned by the obvious benefits of their own achievements.


In 2006, the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), utilising desktop research documentation prepared for this specific purpose by the CSIR, released the first ever "report card" of the state of engineering infrastructure in South Africa. This highlighted "the observations of the professionals responsible for the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of our nation's life-support system". It graded infrastructure (water, sanitation, solid waste, roads, airports, ports, rail, electricity and hospitals and clinics) on a scale from A+ through E-. Overall, it gave the nation's infrastructure a D+ grade. The importance of infrastructure for social and economic development is underestimated and consequently its maintenance is often neglected. The purpose of the report card was to draw the attention of government, and of the public at large, to the importance of maintenance, and to factors underlying the state of repair of infrastructure ‐ factors such as skills and finance, for example. The report card was a great success in that it received media coverage exceeding the highest expectations. SAICE last year approached CSIR Built Environment with a request to again prepare desktop research documentation, on the basis of which the different infrastructure sectors could be graded. Agreement was reached, and, at the time of writing (June 2010) the research documents for most of the sectors have been completed or are nearly completed. SAICE will thereafter, with the assistance of the CSIR, grade each infrastructure sector, prepare the final document, and launch it towards the end of the third quarter of 2010.


To realize the generalization and standardization of work safety supervision,system for work safety supervision must be constructed.According to the factors affecting work safety supervision,a logic tree for work safety supervision system is complied by use of fault tree analysis(FTA) and safety check list(SCL).The importance of financial guarantee,laws and regulations,organization construction,professional ability of supervisors and self-cultivation of supervisors is ranked according to their weight in the system.Then,the method of proportion calculation for importance is used to verify this result,the conclusion is the same.This indicates that the system tree is correct and can be a reference for the construction of safety supervision system.


In this paper the author examines some of the varieties of definitions of fact and formulation within contemporary psychoanalytic perspectives. A common thread running throughout various definitions of fact is the way in which fact is never theory-free. An attempt is made to compare and contrast the ways in which fact and formulation are contextually bound to theory. Questions are raised about the extent to which we can claim evidential status of propositions versus viewing formulations as useful illustrations of our work. Implicit in this paper is the current tension in psychoanalytic theory between psychoanalysis as a theory of motivation and meaning.


In this paper we study the linear quadratic Nash Game strategies for a singularly perturbed systems. In order to obtain the optimal closed loop strategies, we must solve the cross{coupled generalized algebraic Riccati equations with small parameter ". The main results in this paper is to propose a new recursive algorithm by making use of a Lyapunov iterations. Using a Lyapunov iterations and the recursive algorithm, we show that the solution of the cross{coupled generalized algebraic Riccati equations converges to a positive semi{de nite solutions with the rate of convergence of O(") where k is a iteration number of recursive algorithm. Furthermore, in order to show the e ectiveness of the proposed algorithms, numerical examples are included.


Abstract The author proposed an elaborate nonlinear model of the dynamics of a powered paraglider with eight degrees of freedom. This paper presents design of a flight control system with a linear model obtained from the nonlinear model. The controller is designed with MIMO PID control based on two-degree-of-freedom integral-type-optimal servomechanism. The design method is so efficient that one can design an effective controller with relatively small efforts, even for a complicated dynamic system such as the powered paraglider. Nonlinear simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the control system.


Wladyslaw Panas's article The secret of the seventh angel is a profound and precise analysis of one of the basic construction elements of Zbigniew Herbert's poem SiOdmy aniol (The Seventh Angel). His considerations are concentrated on a seemingly marginal question, e.i. the meanings of the angels' names that are mentioned in the poem. Panas shows, in a completely convincing way, that it is exactly within the vocabulary of the text that the "sense" and artistic "shape" of the poem are formed by means of subtle and at the same time very consistent measures. Without the author's findings concerning that primary level of the poem (its euphonic order and its semantic potential that is connected with it), every interpretation of SiOdmy aniot seems to be doomed to be a failure. Wladyslaw Panas's text reveals - which happens quite seldom in studies of Herbert's poetry, usually considered as using the simplest artistic means - that this poetry has a complicated form and is extraordinarily ingenious. The presented analysis shows how deeply erroneous the popular cliche is that describes Herbert as a poet of "thought" rather than of "words".


The invention relates to an interface (29) management information shared in real time and accessible via the Internet to all stakeholders in a supply chain. This interface is intended to automatically manage physical operations, goods tracking via a code (107) 2D bar and creation of documents (100, 102, 104) necessary for the management of the chain. These documents are accessible and sent to stakeholders according to their previously defined access profiles. The invention comprises an algorithm able to organize according to a predefined order the transmission of these documents to the stakeholders concerned. The invention also includes a consolidation algorithm capable of pooling the flow of goods both nationally and internationally in order to reduce the number of carriers / freight forwarders, the delivery frequencies, the environmental impacts and the cost of the chain of delivery. supply and distribution.


Recent developments in molecular genetics have had a profound influence on the diagnosis and classification of inherited movement disorders. Parkinson's disease occurs in familial aggregation and one gene has recently been mapped. Eight genes responsible for different inherited dystonia syndromes have been mapped, and two of them have been identified. Essential tremor also occurs in familial aggregation and a first gene has recently been mapped. Huntington's disease is caused by the expansion of an unstable trinucleotide repeat sequence. Molecular diagnosis can easily be performed, and the study of the effects of the repeat expansion on the function of the encoded protein will help in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease. Wilson's disease is caused by a large number of different mutations in a copper-binding ATPase gene. The genetic basis of Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome is still obscure. The available data indicate that movement disorders are in most cases genetically heterogeneous. Molecular genetics will provide new classifications for these rather common disorders.


A theory about scales in atmospheric optical turbulence vortex from the point view of spatial correlation function is described. Then an experiment is carried out to prove this theory by the fiber optical turbulence sensor array near the ground. Results show that the outer scale has a mean value of 0.62m and varies from 0.34m to 0.95m by doing a nonlinear fitting on spatial correlation functions. With this method, the value of the outer scale can be given directly without any hypothesis when the optical turbulence is well-developed. A question about how the trend of the spatial correlation function show when the displacement approaches the outer scale is solved. This research can be regarded as a progress about understanding the characters of spatial correlation function in optical turbulence.


A pump (100) for circulating a fluid comprising a motor (10) having a canned motor (18), a shaft (7) disposed within the rotor (18) and rotated by the rotor (18), a end (8) of the shaft (7) projecting from the motor (10) in an area (1) for fluid discharge, the end of the shaft having a surface (49) for contact with the fluid present in the delivery zone, and a wheel (20) integral with said end of the shaft and disposed within the fluid delivery zone, characterized in that the shaft (7) is made at least partially of a porous material.


The frequency of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) varies a great deal from one population to another. We have undertaken to compare the aspects of CLL in Maghreb and Europe through two series of com


The induction of hyperthermia into neoplastic tissues using electromagnetic radiation depends significantly upon the electrical properties of the tissues of interest. An in-vivo measurement probe based upon an antenna modelling theorem was designed and a measurement system that is capable of performing accurate in-vivo measurements has been developed and tested on several standard materials. This measurement probe and system were used to perform dielectric measurements on normal and neoplastic tissues from 0.01 to 2.0 GHz. The preliminary results of measurements performed on six malignant tumor types in mice are compared with results obtained on normal muscle tissue and on phantom modelling materials. The trends of the in-vivo measurements show differences that indicate the possibility of using such data and techniques in various types of future cancer research.


The Mekong River is the tenth largest river in the world in terms of water discharge, representing a substantial source of organic matter to the South China Sea. However, the composition and variat...


"All zoogles are boogles. You saw a boogle. Is it a zoogle?" Question in an SAT examination (Nassim Nicholas Taleb in "The Black Swan") "Not necessarily" is the resounding answer to this thought experiment, in analogy to the central argument in the debate on the clinical utility of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing in cervical cancer screening. Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by infections with oncogenic HPV types ( 1 ). However, does a positive HPV DNA test result indicate that cervical cancer or precancerous lesion is present or imminent for a woman attending routine screening? Although most cervical HPV infections, even those with oncogenic types, will be inconsequential, it is also true that a provider will be more likely to fi nd cervical cancers or their precursors if screening is with HPV DNA testing rather than with Papanicolaou cytology ( 2 , 3 ). This extra sensitivity exacts a penalty on the specifi city of HPV DNA testing, which (by design) detects the presence of viral DNA in cervical cells irrespective of whether or not the molecular changes are in the context of an infection that has already produced morphological abnormalities recognizable by cytology. In other words, HPV DNA testing brings the focus of screening "upstream" in the natural history of cervical neoplasia relative to the decades-old paradigm of Papanicolaou cytology. Returning to the above thought experiment, all cervical cancers arise from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), whose grade correlates with the extent of Papanicolaou abnormality. Although it is easier to fi nd a "zoogle" with the HPV DNA "boogle" identifi er than with the Papanicolaou "boogle" identifi er, the latter will have fewer false positives than the former. Recognition of the above-described test properties has not been the main rationale for how the scientifi c community has designed studies to collect evidence on the value of HPV DNA testing in cervical cancer screening and for how professional guidelines emerged in consequence. Although less specifi c than Papanicolaou cytology, the HPV DNA test was fi rst evaluated and approved to be used conditionally as a triage tool based on the Papanicolaou cytology result exclusively to identify women who need to undergo colposcopy because of an equivocal Papanicolaou diagnosis ( 4 , 5 ). Later, mounting evidence that HPV DNA testing could increase the sensitivity of screening when used in parallel with Papanicolaou cytology led to co-testing as an accepted practice that permitted screening intervals in the United States to be safely extended from annual to triennial ( 6 ). The impetus for Papanicolaou and HPV co-testing prompted the initiation of European randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the co-testing strategy with traditional cytology-only screening. The results from these trials have confi rmed that 1) more cervical precancerous lesions are detected by co-testing than by cytology ( 7 – 9 ) and 2) the extra detection is benefi cial because the excisional treatment given at the time of the discovery lowers the rate of such lesions in subsequent screening rounds, thus proving that many of them would likely persist or progress if left untreated ( 8 – 10 ).


In this article a new probabilistic information retrieval (IR) model, based on Bayesian networks (BNs), is proposed. We first consider a basic model, which represents only direct relationships between the documents in the collection and the terms or keywords used to index them. Next, we study two versions of an extended model, which also represents direct relationships between documents. In either case the BNs are used to compute efficiently, by means of a new and exact propagation algorithm, the posterior probabilities of relevance of the documents in the collection given a query. The performance of the proposed retrieval models is tested through a series of experiments with several standard document collections. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The measurement of thin film mechanical properties free from substrate influence remains one of the outstanding challenges in nanomechanics. Here, a technique based on indentation of a supported film with a flat punch whose diameter is many times the initial film thickness is introduced. This geometry generates a state of confined uniaxial strain for material beneath the punch, allowing direct access to intrinsic stress versus strain response. For simple elastic–plastic materials, this enables material parameters such as elastic modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson's ratio, and yield stress to be simultaneously determined from a single loading curve. The phenomenon of confined plastic yield has not been previously observed in thin films or homogeneous materials, which we demonstrate here for 170–470 nm thick polystyrene (PS), polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) and amorphous Selenium films on silicon. As well as performing full elastic-plastic parameter extraction for these materials at room temperature, we used the technique to study the variation of yield stress in PS to temperatures above the nominal glass transition of 100 °C.


The purpose of this research was to measure self
 efficacy, career outcomes and talent
 management and their relationship with students` motivation to


SUMMARY
The gritty material obtained by filtering commercial maple sirup was analyzed to determine its composition and to relate its composition to the amount of sugar sand deposited to determine the factors responsible for the formation of sugar sand. The samples, taken over a two-year period, contained calcium, malic acid, and undetermined material (probably silica) as the major constituents. The calcium, malic acid, and calcium malate content gave highly significant positive correlations with the amount of sugar sand formed, whereas the percentage of undetermined material gave a negative correlation. There was also evidence that the malic acid content was more critical in the formation of sugar sand than the calcium content. Highly significant negative correlations were obtained between the percent sugar sand deposited and the iron, copper, and boron content. Further, these constituents also gave highly significant negative correlations when compared with the calcium content of the sugar sand. The presence of potassium, magnesium, and molybdenum appeared to have little effect on the formation of sugar sand. The nonvolatile organic acids present in sugar sand were determined by paper chromatography. Results showed that sugar sand contains malic, citric, succinic, fumaric, and three unidentified organic acids.


A kinetic fluorimetric method was established for the determination of trace ascorbic acid.The proposed method is based on the inhibitory effect of ascorbic acid on the quenching reaction of CdTe quantum dots by nitroxyl free radical in alkalescenced media.Different influencing factors,including pH,quantum dots and concentration of sulfuric acid medium and reacting time,were studied.It is shown that the detection limit and linear range of the proposed method are 5×10-8 mol/L and 2×10-7~1.5×10-5 mol/L,respectively under the optimum experimental conditions.This method has been used to determine trace ascorbic acid in beverage samples,and the recoveries are 98%~103%.


Manufacturing companies in high-wage countries are facing rising challenges in a global market. Increasing customer demands for a higher degree of individualization result in smaller lot sizes and higher variety of products. In addition, competitors from low-wage countries in Asia and Eastern Europe have significantly improved their technical capabilities, resulting in a more competitive environment. The tool making industry provides its customers with the means to achieve excellence in production due to its unique position in the value chain between product development and the serial production of parts. A tool making company's ability to improve the efficiency of serial production and develop innovative product design is strongly dependent on its capability of integrating itself into the preceding and following customer processes. Over the last years, customer demands for global sourcing of tools have changed from low prices to the demands of extended tool operating life and high operational availability. European tool making companies have learned to take this development as a chance to differentiate themselves from global competitors and subsequently increase their range of services up- and downstream the value chain. As a result, new industrial product-service-systems (IPS²) for the European tool making industry need to be developed that address the demand of a higher degree of integration into the preceding and following customer processes. Within the German Government founded research project "Smart Tools", an industrial product-service-system (IPS²) for the tool making industry has been developed based on a modular service-oriented cyber-physical system. Core element of the cyber-physical system is the smart tool – an injection molding tool equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology to capture data on the condition of the tool during its operational use. Its intelligence derives from the condition based interpretation and data management of the collected process data which is also the basis for the design of customer specific services. Besides the successful integration of force and position sensors into the tool, experimental research has delivered important results on the application of solid borne sound sensors for online early detection of tool wear. An innovative concept for the distribution and interpretation of the process data incorporates the specific requirements of the customers. To cope with the demands of individual and small series production in the tool making industry, a modular sensor kit has been developed together with a diagnostic unit for data interpretation and storage of data in an electronic tool book. The developed modular service-oriented cyber-physical system delivers the means to extended tool operating life and improves the overall efficiency of serial production. Based on the results new business models can be developed for tool making companies to differentiate themselves from global competitors and overcome the challenges of production in high-wage countries.


Organizing an efficient and appropriate solid waste management system is one of the most difficult challenges facing municipalities. The author are about to cross over into a new millennium, yet author are using outdated methods for handling solid waste. The author must modernize systems, so that solid waste is not visible during its handling. Engineers should devise systems which are versatile and simple for indigenous use. The techniques should incorporate segregation at source. Education and raising sustained awareness of the public is needed through the involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), students, and ward committees. The author can expect success only if the system is enforced on a targeted and sustainable basis. Effective solid waste management is a concerted effort and a continuous process. The city of Calcutta appreciates the opportunity to participate in this Think Tank to demonstrate some of the initiatives that municipality has undertaken.


The seasonal and spatial distribution of the phytoplankton and their relationship with physicochemical parameters of Lake Poyrazlar, a mesotrophic lake located in Northwest Turkey, was studied monthly between April 2011 and March 2012. A total of 120 taxa in 7 divisions were identified during the study. The planktonic algae of Lake Poyrazlar was dominated by Cyanobacteria in the summer, Charophyta in the fall, diatoms and Cryptophyta in the winter, and Chlorophyta in the spring. The relationships between water temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, Secchi disk depth (transparency), Chl-a, nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N), total phosphorus (TP), orthophosphate (PO4-P), silica (Si), sulfate (SO4) concentrations, and the abundance of dominant species were explored using the statistical method of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). The CCA results showed that the most important factors affecting the distribution of phytoplankton were the concentrations of the main nutrients, water temperature, and underwater light.


This paper grows out of an attempt to evaluate the state of the art of computer simulation in behavioral science. I undertook the task of preparing a review article for a Russell Sage Foundation Conference in 1969. But once into the review process, I was struck by two facts, both of which tended to inhibit progress. First, I found three current and exhaustive bibliographic and review articles: Abelson (1968), Werner and Werner (1969), and Pitts (1970). And second, I discovered two more or less interrelated areas of confusion and ambiguity that run through the literature on simulation. One area of ambi-


High dielectric constant nitrided aluminum zirconium oxide films were successfully fabricated on silicon substrate via an oxidation process infused with different nitrogen gas flow rates at 800°C. The presence of nitrogen piling up at the interface could control the thickness of interfacial layer formation. An increase in the nitrogen gas flow rate might be effective in controlling the overall thickness of the films, yet the nitrogen piling up at the interface impeded the diffusion of oxygen to the interface. Consequently, the interface quality was affected, leading to degradation in the interface‐state density. In addition, the generation of oxygen vacancies in the films, as well as the presence of nitrogen at the interstitial sites, would create a lattice polarization, which decreased the k values. Corresponding effects were also discussed in corroboration with energy band gap, effective oxide charges, and slow trap density, as well as interface‐state density calculated from capacitance and conductance methods.


This paper reviews the deformable model in medical image analysis and its applications in registration, motion tracking, segmenting and shape modeling.


The impregnated copper on magnetite catalyst is a versatile system for the synthesis of imines starting from alcohols and amines. This catalyst does not require any type of expensive and difficult to handle organic ligand or typical transition metals, and provides excellent yields achievable under mild reaction conditions. Moreover, the catalyst is very easy to remove from the reaction medium by simply using a magnet. The one-pot process of dehydrogenation of alcohols in the presence of aniline followed by aqueous hydrolysis gave pure alcohols in excellent yields. In addition to amines, nitroarenes could be used as the nitrogen-containing reagent. In the case of primary amines the expected imines were successfully prepared under similar reaction conditions.


Dolomedes triton Walckenaer, a widespread and common fishing spider in North America, has a semivoltine life cycle in central Alberta, Canada. Juvenile spiders hibernate twice. According to evidence from laboratory rearings and patterns in field collections, the main overwintering stages are instars 3-5 and 9-11. After the second overwintering period, large juveniles moult once or twice to reach the reproductive adult stage. Juveniles grow rapidly between May and August but during overwintering between September and April, virtually no growth (measured as maximum carapace width of individuals) was observed in field populations. Dolomedes triton has a variable number of juvenile stages, ranging from 10 to 15 in males and from 9 to 15 in females. Both overwintering phases are facultative even though most individuals overwinter twice in central Alberta: at high temperatures (24-25°C) and under long-day conditions (either 18 h light : 6 h dark or 19 h light : 5 h dark) juveniles can develop directly to adults...


In this paper we present an ontological approach to build a knowledge-base on climate change related facts. Our knowledge space, developed in Ontology Web Language (OWL), enables knowledge within the Semantic Web. It allows a dynamic classification and a semantic characterization of the different events that can be related to each other, as well as to external sources of information. The resulting ontology is structured as a timeline which aims to describe the climate change story from multiple perspectives, including scientific, social, political and technological ones. We have created an instance of the ontology as an attempt to tell the climate change story so far. Such a population is based on the collection of factual information and critical literature review, with a focus on relevant theories, happenings, social and political initiatives. In this paper we present an ontological approach to build a knowledge-base on climate change related facts. Our knowledge space, developed in Ontology Web Language (OWL), enables knowledge within the Semantic Web. It allows a dynamic classification and a semantic characterization of the different events that can be related to each other, as well as to external sources of information. The resulting ontology is structured as a timeline which aims to describe the climate change story from multiple perspectives, including scientific, social, political and technological ones. We have created an instance of the ontology as an attempt to tell the climate change story so far. Such a population is based on the collection of factual information and critical literature review, with a focus on relevant theories, happenings, social and political initiatives.


batches of test were made in an 1.2L automatic controllable fermentor using Brevibacterium ammoniagenesmutant GMA-2802.The yield of inosine reached 20.4g/l and the fermentation cycle was 54h.The results showed that GMA-2802 was an excellent inosine-producing strain with many good characteristics


We have performed atomistic simulations for cylindrical multi-shell (CMS)-type Cu nanowires containing defects. Our investigation has revealed some physical properties that have not been detected in previous studies that have considered defect-free nanowires. Since the vacancy formation energy is lowest in the core of a CMS-type nanowire, a vacancy formed in the outer shell of a CMS-type nanowire naturally migrates toward the core. The maximum of the formation energy of an adhered atom on the surface of a CMS-type nanowire was modeled using a 16-11-6-1 nanowire. The formation energy of an adhered atom decreased when the diameter of the CMS-type nanowire was either above or below the diameter of the peak energy maximum. This investigation found three recombination mechanisms for the vacancy-adhered atom pairs: (i) by direct recombination, (ii) by a kick-in recombination, and (iii) by a ring recombination. Vacancy formation energy calculations show that an onion-like cluster with a hollow was formed, and molecular dynamics simulations for various CMS-type nanowires found that vacancies migrated towards the core. From these, we obtained basic information on the formation of hollow CMS-type metal nanowires (metal nanotubes) [Y. Oshima, et al., Phys. Rev. B 65, 121401 (2002)].


A pressure driven compressible gas flow through three-dimensional microchannel with bend of various angles is investigated using Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the first-order Maxwell slip boundary condition along with Smoluchowski temperature jump definition. A wide range of bend angles from 60° to 180° is considered. The details of the flow structures near the corner are analyzed, investigating the competing effects of rarefaction, compressibility and geometry on the channel performances. The bent results are compared to those from the equivalent straight micro-channel geometry in terms of mass flow rate and Poiseuille number. The analysis of the flow structure shows that the channel geometry is important in microfluidic applications. In particular, it is found that a micro-channel with bend angle less than 90 degrees produces an increase in mass flow with respect to the straight one, while obtuse angle bends produce a mass flux reduction. For the sharp angle the flow separation and recirculation occur in the corner of the bend and this becomes more critical as the bend angle decreases. The rarefaction alleviates the geometry effect, while compressibility enhances it.Copyright © 2016 by ASME


month of October in the year of the award. The competition for this prize shall be open to any British subject, whether lay or medical, who cares to compete, whether or not such persons be holders of or candidates for grants in aid of research. Grants in aid of research work in Otology may be made to any British subject, lay or medical, who may be recommended by the Committee of Award to receive such grants, whether or not such person be a holder of or a candidate for the Norman Gamble Prize. Moreover, such grants may be given either to persons who apply for a grant in order to carry out a specific piece of work, or to selected workers chosen by the Committee of Award to carry out certain specified work of its selection. Any person to whom a grant in aid of research is made from this Fund shall, within such time as may bo allowed by the Committee of Award, render a typewritten or printed report in the English language ?n the work which has been carried out under the grant, and the Committee of Award shall have the right to publish such Reports.


Feature-based technologies are widely researched for manufacturing automation. However, in current feature models, features once defined remain constant throughout the whole manufacturing lifecycle. This static feature model is inflexible to support adaptive machining when facing frequent changes to manufacturing resources. This paper presents a new machining feature concept that facilitates responsive changes to the dynamics of machining features in 2.5/3D machining. Basic geometry information for feature construction of complex parts with various intersecting features is represented as a set of meta machining features (MMF). Optimum feature definition is generated adaptively by choosing optimum merging strategies of MMFs according to the capabilities of the selected machine tool, cutter, and cutting parameters. A composite function block for dynamic machining feature modelling is designed with Basic Machining Feature Function Block, Meta Machining Feature Extraction Function Block and Feature Interpreter Function Block. Once changes of the selected machining resources occur, they are informed as input events and machining features are then updated automatically and adaptively based on the event-driven model of function blocks. An example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the developed methodology. Note to Practitioners-In this paper, an important problem in most feature-based machining systems is addressed: when the selected machine tool, cutters or cutting parameters are changed due to reasons like product changeover, urgent job insertion, and broken tools, the adjustment or optimization to the machining plan is carried out based on the existing feature model. Influences of the machining resources changes to the feature model are ignored. Thus, it is impossible to get the real optimal machining result. The proposed concept of dynamic machining feature integrates the feature definition of a part to the capabilities of the selected machining resources. By applying the event-driven model of function blocks, features can be generated adaptively and automatically during the whole dynamic manufacturing lifecycle.


Summary In this paper we follow researchers on ideology in that one way of dealing with this problem is by conceiving language as a common ground between the social and the psychological, and then we focus on Bakhtin's theory of discourse to show how language practices can be regarded as the locus of ideology. We will approach the Bakhtinian concepts of discourse and utterance, showing the ideological nature of language practices in three steps. First, because language practices consist of position-taking movements in a social field. Second, because these acts


Objectives Bioinformatics analysis revealed a potential interaction between long noncoding (lnc)RNA TUG1 (taurine-upregulated gene 1) and microRNA (miR)-27a. miR-27a can promote sepsis by upregulating tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Our objective was to study the roles of TUG1 in sepsis. Methods Plasma levels of TUG1 in patients with sepsis and in healthy controls were measured by quantitative PCR assay. The IntaRNA program was used to predict potential interactions between TUG1 mRNA and miR-27a. The interaction between TUG1 and miR-27a was further explored by transfecting TUG1 expression vector or miR-27a mimic into AC16 human cardiomyocytes, and apoptosis was evaluated by cell apoptosis assay. Results TUG1 was downregulated in patients with sepsis. TUG1 was able to directly interact with miR-27a, but overexpression of TUG1 or miR-27a failed to affect the expression of each other. In contrast, TUG1 overexpression led to decreased levels of TNF-α, whereas miR-27a overexpression increased TNF-α in cardiomyocytes. Cell apoptosis analysis showed that TNF-α and miR-27a overexpression promoted apoptosis of cardiomyocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide. TUG1 overexpression had the opposite effect and attenuated the effects of TNF-α and miR-27a overexpression. Conclusion We conclude that TUG1 is downregulated in sepsis and may act as a molecular "sponge" of miR-27a to downregulate TNF-α.


The force and deformation of wooden pallets under uniformly distributed load were analyzed.The mechanical models of bend stiffness and bend strength of the pallets' girder and deck were established.The qualification of pallet's bend strength and bend stiffness were put forward.The results of this study can provide academic rules for design and test of pallet under uniformly distributed load.


A two-season (2003 and 2004) greenhouse study conducted to study the effect of cotton seed treatment with the insecticide Gaucho on the efficiency of the fungicide Monceren in controlling seedling disease. Thus 4 treatments were evaluated on seven Egyptian cotton cultivars (Giza 80, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, and 90). The treatments were: seed treated with Monceren and Gaucho, seed treated with Monceren, seed treated with Gaucho, and untreated control. In 2003, cotton cultivar and treatment were highly sources of variation on pre-emergence damping-off, while their interaction was significant source of variation. Treatment was the only significant source of variation on the incidence of postemergence damping-off. Both cultivar and treatment were highly significant sources of variation on survival. All sources of variation were nonsignificant sources of variation on dry weight of seedlings. In 2004, cultivar and treatment were highly significant sources of variation on incidence of preemergence damping-off but their interaction was nonsignificant sources of variation. All source of variation were nonsignificant on postemergence damping-off. Cotton cultivar was a highly significant source of variation on survival and the treatment was significant source. The interaction between cultivar and treatment was nonsignificant. Regarding the dry weight, treatment was the only significant source of variation. In 2003, thirteen fungal genera were isolated from roots of seedlings of different treatments. These genera were: Fusarium, Alternaria, Stemphylium, Rhizopus, Chaetomium, unknown sterile isolate, unknown sporulated isolate , Helminthosporium, Trichoderma, and Cladosporium In 2004, nine fungal genera were isolated from seedlings of different treatments. These genera included: Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Penicillium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Nigrospora, Trichoderma, Chaetomium, and Phoma . In each year, effects of treatments on isolation frequency of fungi was evalulated. The correlation between isolation fraquancy of fungi and seedling disease variables was also evaluated.


This paper summarizes recent examples of measures to remediate the ecology of regulated and fragmented rivers in boreal and temperate regions. The catchment area is suggested as the most appropriate scale and framework for such measures. Suitable measures may include reinstatement of flooding and productivity levels, management of nuisance growth of aquatic macrophytes, rehabilitation of depauperate riparian zones, increased habitat diversity, stocking of fish and construction of bypass channels for fish migration. Finally, an overall approach to remedial measures is proposed in which they form part of an integrated catchment management for regulated rivers.


In 2019 the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) launched an initiative to switch inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients on the infliximab originator, Remicade, to biosimilars Inflectra or Renflexis. Evidence shows that such switches can be made without compromising efficacy or safety of treatment.

 We examined results in a large IBD practice, with the hypothesis that patients required to switch to a biosimilar would have similar remission rates to those who remained on Remicade.

 A total of 113 patients were included in this retrospective chart study. 80 of these were switched to biosimilars and were compared with 33 who remained on Remicade based on availability of private or compassionate coverage. Individual patient timelines were created, the start set as when the mandated switch was discussed. Data was collected retrospectively for 6 months. Outcomes included remission status, occurrence of flares, adverse events, hospitalizations, and necessity of dosage or drug change.

 Pre-switch, 49 of the 113 patients were in complete remission on Remicade (43.4%). 27% of the Remicade patients and 28.8% of the biosimilar patients remained in complete remission throughout follow up (p=0.87). Of the patients who began the study in complete remission, similar numbers of patients in the Remicade and biosimilar groups experienced flares (11.1% vs 27.5%; p=0.3); adverse events (33.3% vs 25%; p=0.61) and hospitalizations (0% vs 5.0%; p=0.49) respectively. 6.1% of patients beginning the trial in complete remission required a change in medication after the switch, all of which were in the biosimilar group (0% vs 7.5%; p=0.39). Among all 113 patients in the study, there was a numerical difference between the Remicade group and biosimilar group of patients who required a change in medication to another biologic. While clinically important, this was not statistically significant (0% vs 8.8%; p=0.08). Other clinical outcomes were similar between Remicade and biosimilar patients in the full group of 113 patients.

 IBD patients remaining on Remicade or switching to biosimilars demonstrated similar patient outcomes after a 6-month period.

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A new spectral domain method is proposed for the exact and efficient numerical full-wave analysis of planar multilayer and multiconductor optical and microwave waveguide structures. It includes a systematic procedure with very less analytical and computational effort. The propagation constants are calculated for some examples and compared to existing results.


Glass is a material which contains a large number of surface cracks that influence it's strength. In zones that are exposed to tension, cracks grow through time. This crack growth is called stress corrosion. Behavior of glass under loading is modeled using linear-elastic fracture mechanics, observing surface cracks. All current design models are based on such hypotheses which require a probabilistic approach and the use of the Weibull probability distribution. With this are associated phenomena such as the size effect of glass members, that make precise modeling og glass complex. This paper aims at presenting existing design models of structural glass members. The paper gives a presentation of the DELR model, in use in Europe, the American Glass Failure Prediction Model (GFPM) as well as of research on modeling stability problems of compressed structural glass members. .


Overbuilding, i.e. capping or decking, of roads assigned for the transportation of dangerous goods in major cities is being considered more often in Sweden. This type of facility introduces a number of risks and challenges related to rare events, such as dangerous goods accidents in tunnels, with a potential to cause substantial damage, e.g. collapse of buildings on the over site development. Many argue that the major problem associated with risk evaluation of such risks is the lack of commonly agreed acceptance criteria and regulations. Approaching the problem from a scientific perspective suggests that the root cause of this problem has not been adequately identified. However, there are strong indications that it is because the nature of the risk is not adequately addressed in risk analysis. In this study, we have structured the problem and propose ways of making progress in the evaluation of risk exposure and risk control. It is concluded that several challenges are inherent in the risk management of decking over routes for the transport of dangerous goods, and that these must be addressed in order to be able to control the risk. One of the complicating factors is that it is practically and economically impossible to construct the overbuilding so that it can withstand the maximum permissible explosion load. The main conclusions of this study are that overbuilding of dangerous goods routes has the potential to lead to catastrophic events, that the transport of dangerous goods in the future is associated with considerable intrinsic uncertainties, and that the possibility of supervising and controlling the transport of goods is limited once the route is in use.


present experiments but rather is the temperature at which the experimentally determined values begin to depart markedly from the predictions of the Arrhenius equation. It seems advisable to point out that the existence of two or more straight lines on an Arrhenius plot, intersecting at one or more "critical temperatures," would result in 'a rate-temperature curve which would show a marked cusp at the "critical temperature." None of the curves obtained with the mice studied here showed such a cusp, and an extensive search has failed to reveal any published rate-temperature curve which shows such a cusp. This makes the validity of the criticaltemperature concept very doubtful. In conclusion, it has been shown that the oxygen consumption of newborn mice does not follow the Arrhenius equation through any appreciable portion of the temperature range 00-35' C. Respiratory movements, in contrast, do appear to follow this equation from approximately 150 to 300 C. At temperatures below approximately 150 C. it is not possible, for various reasons, to obtain results which permit application of the Arrhenius equation. Therefore, the values obtained and conclusions drawn from the application of the Arrhenius equation in this temperature range are of no significance.


Rank-one updating of the spectrum of a matrix is fundamental in classical perturbation theory. In this paper, we suggest an updating method for a case where only partial spectrum is available. This scenario is ubiquitous in many modern applications that involve big matrices. One particular application is the extension of the top eigenvectors of the graph Laplacian to a new data sample. Each extension is then modeled as a perturbation problem and is solved by updating the leading eigenpairs. We provide a theoretical analysis of the error for such approximation approach, and back it up with empirical results that illustrate the advantages of our method.


Research is a word that intimidates many faculty and program directors and while the Review Committee for Family Medicine mandates the generation of scholarly output, we often shy away from research involving data collection and analysis. The lack of residency faculty-lead research contributes to the paucity of family medicine (FM) researchers and the diminishing FM research pipeline. The Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA) was designed to assist faculty in residency programs to conduct research. So, what is CERA? How does it benefit residency programs? What should we do next?


Calculations involving polarization propagation in dielectric media require the adoption of various, often unstated, conventions, an important one of which is the sign of the complex argument $\mathbf {\pm {i}(\boldsymbol{\omega } {t} - \boldsymbol{\beta } {z})}$. In this paper we show that the form of the dielectric tensor and, hence, the forms of both the Jones and Stokes representations of states, operators, and transformations depend on that sign choice. We show that, while physical observables cannot depend on the choice of convention, errors and ambiguities can occur if adherence to the various conventions is not followed consistently. By methodically developing polarization propagation in both sign conventions we provide a means for unambiguous comparison of results from analyses that employ different, sometimes mixed, conventions. We also include conventions such as assignment of Pauli matrices to Stokes axes and choice of chirality for circular polarizations.


One of the most recent fiscal councils to be formed is the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the UK. It is distinctive in two respects. First, it provides the macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts on which government fiscal decisions are based. Second, it is not allowed to consider anything other than current government policy. To understand why the OBR has this specialised remit, we begin by examining the circumstances that led to its creation. After outlining its tasks in more detail, we then consider issues related to forecasting, policy analysis and independence.


AI knowledge representation and reasoning methods consider actions to be blackboxes that abstract away from how they are executed. This abstract view does not suffice for the decision making capabilities required by robotic agents that are to accomplish manipulation tasks. Such robots have to reason about how to pour without spilling, where to grasp a pot, how to open different containers, and so on. To enable such reasoning it is necessary to consider how objects are perceived, how motions can be executed and parameterized, and how motion parameterization affects the physical effects of actions. To this end, we propose to complement and extend symbolic reasoning methods with KnowRobSIM, an additional reasoning infrastructure based on modern game engine technology, including the subsymbolic world modeling through data structures, action simulation based on physics engine, and world scene rendering. We demonstrate how KnowRobSIM can perform powerful reasoning, prediction, and learning tasks that are required for informed decision making in object manipulation.


In this historical note, we wish to highlight the crucial conceptual role played by the principle of virtual work of analytical mechanics, in working out the fundamental notion of parallel transport on a Riemannian manifold, which opened the way to the theory of connections and gauge theories. Moreover, after a detailed historical-technical reconstruction of the original Levi-Civita's argument, a further historiographical deepening and a related critical discussion of the question, are pursued.


Models of systems of mass service for the decision of problems of calculation of parameters of communication lines of information-operating systems are considered.


The depictions of dinosaurs and other ancient animals in the movies have, almost without exception, sacrificed scientific accuracy in order to create exotic images of huge, terrifying creatures. The public's misconceptions of dinosaurs as bloodthirsty, ponderous beasts that co-existed with humans have been gradually changing over the years. Recent discoveries by paleontologists have made people, especially children, more aware of the facts. Students, in the courses "Adventures in Earth History" and "Principles of Paleontology," were assigned to review a video that depicted prehistoric animals with the idea of evaluating their scientific accuracy. The students' reviews demonstrated that they were able to detect fallacies regarding dinosaur ecology and behavior and arrive at conclusions based on scientific evidence. Class discussions ranged from dinosaur functional morphology and ichnology to an overview of dinosaur ecology. The assignment may be adapted for advanced courses, such as vertebrate paleontology...


Generally, continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) schemes need random basischoice operations with homodyne detector to measure one of two quadratures, i.e., position and momentum quadratures. However, we find that the basis-choice oprations may become imperfect in practical applications due to the imperfections of the digital to analog convertor and the phase modulator. This imperfection will decrease the lower bound of secret key rate and leave security loopholes when the legitimate communicators do not aware the imperfection. Here we analyze the security of CVQKD system induced by the imperfection of the basis-choice operations and suggest possible countermeasures.


In the PDF, Figs 6 and 7 incorrectly appear as duplicates of Figs 10 and 11. The HTML version and figure legends are correct. The publisher apologizes for the error. Please see the correct versions of Figs 6 and 7 here. open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Properties of flotation tailing from one coal preparation plant analyzed;experiments taken on fine-grinding of coarse slime from such tailing and its separation by flocculation-flotation,giving a concentrate with ash content of 8.58%~9.04% at a yield of 70.44%~73.53%;denoted by calculation of production cost that deep processing of coarse slime being more beneficial than direct sale of the tailing as a whole.


The article deals with building up term explanatory from the discipline named "Personal Data Protection". The article is constructed on basis of Ukrainian legislation, the legislation of other states, international agreements as well as profile judicial literature. To fulfill the articles' goals, three terms were extracted from the notion compound


In September 1927 Aristide Briand, the French foreign minister, and Carl von Schubert, the state secretary at the Auswdrtiges Amt, the German foreign ministry, met in Geneva to discuss matters of mutual concern during sessions of the League of Nations Council. The conversation was cordial, as befitted that brief, glorious period after the conclusion of the Locarno security accords and the return of European economic prosperity in 1925-1926. For the French, at least some French, the Germans were no longer the hated Boches; in the fleeting "spirit of Locarno," Germany was a European power with whom it was possible and indeed desirable to conduct business of state. The talk between Briand and Schubert soon turned to Russia, often the subject of discussion after the Anglo-Soviet rupture of diplomatic relations in May 1927. Both men bemoaned the difficulty of "getting along with the Russians." Misery liked company, it seems, for they also discussed trade relations with the USSR and the difficulties and inconveniences of giving credit to the cash-poor Russians. Russia is "always in need of credit," said Schubert, and they are always trying to get more.' Herein lay an important objective of Soviet foreign policy and a serious problem for the Western powers in the 1920s.


R E S P O N S E S U R F A C E M E T H O D S (RSM) are a collection of mathematical and statistical methods that has been de veloped and used to aid in the solution of particular types of problems pertinent to engineering and scientific processes. The methods include experimental design, sta tistical inference, and mathematical opti mization techniques, which when com bined enable the experimenter to make an efficient empirical exploration of the pro cess on which interest is centered. Problems faced by investigators in the chemical industry led to the modern devel opment of these methods. In order to maximize yields of chemical products, the proper levels of input variables (tempera ture, pressure, heating time, etc) are re quired. When three or more variables require s imu l t aneous a d j u s t m e n t for optimization, the methods are effective. In recent years emphasis by practitioners has been placed not on finding opt imum


Atmospheric aerosols influence climate and human health on regional and global scales. In many environments organics are a major fraction of the aerosol influencing its properties such as hygroscopicity, optical properties, and toxicity. Typically only a small fraction of the hundreds of organic compounds can be measured by state of the art analytical methods. The complexity of the organic aerosol component often hinders source apportionment. A new approach for organic aerosol source characterization and atmospheric chemistry studies is the use of stable carbon isotope measurements (Huang et al., 2006; Goldstein and Shaw, 2003). Here we present results from a comparative study at two sites in Taiwan. The δC of the total carbon is presented together with organic speciation data and compound specific δC analysis. Aerosol samples were collected at two sites in Taiwan: an urban site (Taipei, 25° 02' 31.2" N, 121° 37' 0.3" E, 22 m asl) and a remote site in central Taiwan (Mt. Lulin, 23° 28' 07" N, 120° 52' 25" E, 2860 m asl). Collection of the PM2.5 samples was carried out with Ecotech Hi-vol air samplers with nominal flow rates of 1130 L/min. and typical collection times of 12 hours (Taipei) or 24 hours (Mt. Lulin). The stable carbon isotopic composition of the total carbon in the aerosol samples was analyzed using an elemental analyzer (Euro Vector, Germany) coupled to a GV-Optima isotope ratio mass spectrometer. As shown in figure 1 the isotopic composition of the total carbon was found to vary between -27 and -24 ‰ compared to VPDB standards for the Taipei sampling site. Generally the δC was larger the larger the total carbon mass concentration was. At Mt. Lulin the total carbon isotopic composition was observed to be less variable with an average δC of -24.1 ± 0.7 ‰. The data will be discussed with respect to seasonality and aerosol sources, making use of organic speciation data, including ambient anhydrosugar and polyol concentrations, obtained by high-performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC). Furthermore, selected results from compound specific δC analysis with a GC-IRMS system (Fisseha et al., 2009) will be presented. Figure 1. Comparison of the dependence of δC on the total carbon concentration per sample for Taipei (upper panel) and Mt. Lulin (lower panel).


In this work, the authors report the status of the implementation of a femtosecond frequency comb consisting of a homemade femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser whose spectrum is broadened by a microstructure fiber. This frequency comb is going to be initially used in a scheme to directly measure optical frequencies and in an optical clock based on the calcium intercombination transition at 457 THz.


A novel /spl delta/-doped InGaP/InGaAs/AlGaAs tunneling real-space transfer high-electron mobility transistor (TRST-HEMT) has been successfully fabricated by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD). Three-terminal N-shaped negative differential resistance (NDR) phenomenon due to the hot electrons real-space transfer (RST) at high electric field is observed. Two-terminal gate-to-drain breakdown voltage is more than 40 V with a leakage current as low as 0.27 mA/mm. High three-terminal on-state breakdown voltage as high as 19.2 V and broad plateau of current valley as high as 15 V are achieved. These characteristics are attributed to the use of high Schottky barrier height, high bandgap of InGaP Schottky layer, /spl delta/-doping, and GaAs subspacer layers. The measured maximum peak-to-valley ratio (PVR) value is 2.7.


ABSTRACT This paper forms part of a research project that aims to characterise best practices in highly effective schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country (ARBC). The aim is for the best practices identified to serve as points of reference when designing improvement plans to be implemented in all schools in the ARBC, with the advice and support of the education inspectorate. Highly effective schools are identified through the results of the Diagnostic Assessments carried out by the Basque Institute for Research and Evaluation in Education (ISEI-IVEI) of all primary and secondary schools in the ARBC. Multilevel statistical modelling and Hierarchical Linear Models were used to select 32 highly effective schools, with highly effective being taken to mean any school with higher-than-expected student results after adjusting for the effect of contextual factors. Eighty-three interviews were conducted with management teams, educational advisors and inspectors at each of the selected schools. This paper presents the results obtained in relation to how attention to diversity is organised. The practices identified included, among others, inclusive actions such as support teaching in ordinary classrooms, the splitting up of classroom groups, the formation of heterogeneous groups and the conceptualisation of the support provided as a shared teaching responsibility.


Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) surrogates are developed to eciently compute the aerodynamic heating and unsteady pressure loads for a structurally and thermally compliant skin panel in hypersonic ow. In order to minimize the computational overhead, the surrogates are constructed using steady-state CFD ow analysis. Unsteady terms in the aerodynamic pressure are incorporated using piston theory. The surrogates are compared to both analytical modeling (i.e., piston theory and Eckerts methods) and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes CFD predictions of the aerothermodynamic loads for representative panel responses. Results indicate that the surrogates accurately and eciently reproduce CFD predictions for the aerothermodynamic loads. Comparisons of the dynamic aerothermoelastic panel response using the surrogates with previous results using analytical approaches reveal dierences of over 100% in the onset time to utter, and signicantly altered post-utter responses. The CFD surrogates are found to enable a reasonably accurate, robust, and ecient method for incorporating CFD loads prediction, which would otherwise be impractical, into a long time-record aerothermoelastic analysis of structures for a complete hypersonic trajectory.


Barry Jenkins's Moonlight opens with this refrain from the 1973 Boris Gardiner hit "Every Nigger Is a Star,"1 as Juan (played by AcademyAwardwinning Mahershala Ali) rolls up in a 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom coupe. He is immediately met by two other Black men, one a drugdealing colleague and the other who is searching for a drug fix. The man asking for the drug hookup turns to Juan and compliments with conviction: "you know you my man, right Juan." To which Juan replies, "this nigga." (Every nigga is a star.) And this 1973 refrain and homage is not a coincidence, as 1973 marks a watershed moment where a record breaking four mayors in major cities were Black. And I highlight this moment not to romanticize the nature of politics as some space of administering Black people a "way in" or a way out of anti-Blackness, but rather to speak to the affective character of the moment of heightened Black ascendency. To envelope the story of Moonlight in this symbolic register is to position Juan, Paula, Little/ Black/Chiron, and every character as being as much stars in the rigorous living as Black, as those who live as stars in the spectacular sense. Jenkins's coloring of this Floridian landscape of stars, and McCraney's incorporation of "nigga" paints I N T R O D U C T I O N


The present invention is a low voltage of the selected control signals applied to the respective gate terminals of the switches according to the switch of the positive data voltage and a negative polarity data voltage applied to each of the source terminal included in the selection circuit on the display panel and the high voltage this may be by to vary, the positive polarity data voltage and preventing portion waste power consumption is generated by a constant setting at the low voltage and the high voltage of the selected control signal to the polarity of data voltage.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Institutional delivery in Nepal is increasing in the past decades and has been the priority program of the government of Nepal. However, due to the hidden costs related to institutional deliveries, the financial burden remains unacceptably high for poor households. The study aimed to find out the major out of pocket expenditure on health service delivery at a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital from December 2018 to May 2019. Ethical approval was taken from Nepal Health Research Council (ref. no. 2087) and permission was taken from the hospital. Informed consent was taken from the participants. Convenient sampling was done. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as a tool for the interview. Data was entered into Epidata and analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 23. Descriptive analysis was done using mean, median, standard deviation, interquartile range, frequency, and percentage. Results: The median out of pocket expenditure of the participants to maternal delivery was NRs. 11720 (7610-20263). The median expenditure was found highest for food and drinking NRs. 2500 (1500-5550) and transportation NRs. 2150 (1400-4543) respectively. Conclusions: Indirect expenditures were found to be higher than the direct medical expenditures. Accessibility of the birthing centers and health insurance may reduce the costs related to maternal deliveries.


The objective of this work is to study the interactions of an electrically conductive hydrogel composite with different clinically relevant cell lines. The composite is comprised of carbon nanobrushes embedded in a biocompatible poloxamer gel. This work assesses the ability of such composite gels to support the growth of fibroblasts and myoctes and eventually serve as a matrix to stimulate wound closure. In such a model, fibroblasts and myocytes are seeded separately on the composite hydrogel and bathed in culture medium. The experimental model assesses the ability of fibroblasts and myocytes to grow into and adhere to the gel containing carbon nanobrushes. The work demonstrates that carbon nanobrushes can be dispersed within poloxamer gels, and that fibroblasts and myoctyes can proliferate within a poloxamer gel containing homogenously dispersed carbon nanobrushes. Future work will additionally examine the effects of design parameters such as carbon nanobrush content and matrix structure on wound healing, as well as the growth of tendons and other cell lines within the hydrogel composites. This work has relevance for tissue engineering and tissue regeneration in clinical medicine.© 2012 ASME


Providing home horticulture information for the 14,000,000 citizens of Illinois is a formidable task which requires effective use of available resources, innovation, and cooperation. One innovation utilized by University of Illinois Extension horticultural specialists is tele-lectures delivered via a TeleNet system.


This study aimed to examine the influence of the governance structure which consists of the age of directors, educational background of directors, directors' gender, managerial ownership, and the existence of Independent Board of Commissioners on financial statement fraud. This research's populations are Manufacturing, Property, Real estate, and Construction Companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) period 2014-2018. The type of data used in research was secondary data and using a purposive sampling method to determine 475 companies for the samples. This research used a logistic regression analysis. The result of this research indicated that the age of directors, the gender of directors, and managerial ownership had a significant negative effect on financial statement fraud. However, the study did not find the advantage of the educational background of directors and the existence of the independent member of the Board of Commissioners on financial statement fraud.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the consequences of the implementation of the concept of market orientation on the Ukrainian market of passenger electric cars and to determine the impact of innovations on its development. It is also necessary to analyze the application of new constructive solutions in the field of road transport, which contribute to the wider introduction of electric vehicles. As of January 1, 2023, the total number of passenger electric cars registered in Ukraine is 46,830 cars. Thus, the share of electric vehicles in the total mass of vehicles in our country is about 0.5%. The main driver of the increase in the number of electric cars was economy and a higher level of environmental safety compared to diesel and gasoline cars. Ukraine prioritizes the transition to electric road transport by January 1, 2030. In 2017, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine developed a 15-year strategy for the development of electric transport in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, as of November 1, 2021, the Ukrainian charging network for electric vehicles included 3,244 stations with 7,661 terminals. Of them, high-speed (power over 22 kW) – 1,835 units, i.e. 24%. Other 5826 units. (76%) – ordinary terminals with a capacity of up to 22 kW. The main obstacles to the wider introduction of electric vehicles are their cost, underdeveloped recharging, service and repair infrastructure, as well as an insufficient number of maintenance and repair specialists. According to analytical data, the world electric car market is facing a serious transformation. Due to a number of factors such as a jump in electricity prices in Europe, the introduction of electric car taxation, the end of subsidies, problems with the development of global charging infrastructure, a sharp increase in the prices of raw materials, in particular, lithium and nickel. As a result, as noted, the rate of growth of sales of electric cars may slow down, and in some regions may even come to nothing. Electric cars give owners the opportunity to completely abandon traditional types of fuel and save their own money, and the state to localize the sphere of regulation of the level of environmental and man-made safety in the locations of power plants.


We present results for the quark mass function in Minkowski space calculated from an interaction kernel that consists of an effective one-gluon-exchange and a constant interaction. We analyze the gauge dependence of our results and compare them in the spacelike region to the available lattice QCD data


This article tries to approximate the academic discussions about the conception of culture and the practices of teaching History in the state of Parana. For that, on August 2010, was executed a research, in a quiz format, involving eight teachers from public schools from Curitiba and its metropolitan area. This research tried to recognize the ideas of culture in the teachers practices. With the results of the questionnaires, three categories were created to guide the work of the teacher: culture taken as a 'classic' that understands reality as harmonic, static, exterior, divided into themes such as art, music, food, etc, something that can be visited or ATOS DE PESQUISA EM EDUCACAO PPGE/ME FURB 493 ISSN 1809-0354 v. 6, n. 2, p. 492-509, mai./ago. 2011 transferred to the students; culture with enlightenment"s influence, understanding culture as a synonymous of knowledge, implying an idea of progress and cultural hierarchy; and culture taken from a multicultural perspective, where the concept of culture is claimed from a concern of a political character, or culture taught in the classroom should serve the social purpose of respecting differences.


Putative inhibitory effect of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma mali' 1/93 mild strain was tested under greenhouse conditions against the related ESFY and the distantly related STOL and AAY strains of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum', 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' and 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris', respectively, which are responsible for serious damages and yield losses in fruit orchards across Europe. A consequent decrease of the DNA amount of the virulent GSFY strain analysed by PCR and Real-Time PCR could be observed when the plants were preliminary immunised by 1/93 strain. The cross-protection phenomenon proved to be effective between closely related strains, but no inhibition occurred among distantly related strains due to preliminary infection. Our results support that immunization with a mild, antagonist strain can be of phytopathological relevance in phytoplasmal researches.


This critical review examines whether personality variables contribute to self-reported perceived hearing aid benefit of adults with hearing loss. Research supports that certain personality characteristics are associated with unique response patterns on self-assessment measures. However, these responses were found to explain only a small amount of the variance in self-report data. Overall, research does not provide sufficient evidence to change current clinical practice. The findings in this review should serve to alert clinicians and researchers to the possible effects of personality variables on outcome measures of hearing aid benefit.


Evaluation of the international reception of Lennart Ryden's edition of the Byzantine Life of St Andrew the Fool (2 vols., Uppsala 1995) in the two decades following its publication. Further elements concerning the attribution of the text to the 10th century (after Ryden) are produced.


This paper analyzes carefully the Depth-first Search Algorithm of the Graph that regarded the adjacency list as storage structure through particular examples,and also analyzes the whole program realized in vc++.At last,it produces some application based on this algorithm.


Recurrent medulloblastoma (MB) confers an abysmal prognosis with ~10% 5-year overall survival. Optimal treatment paradigms for relapsed disease are largely unknown. Conservation of molecular subgroup at relapse has been described and divergent clonal evolution implicated, yet multi-dimensional molecular characterization of larger cohorts are warranted to substantiate these findings and to disclose potential mechanisms underlying treatment failure and disease recurrence.

 A multi-institutional series of 85 patient-matched, primary MBs and their relapses was profiled by DNA methylation array (Illumina 450K/850K). Entity and molecular subgroup classifications were assigned using random forest tumor classifiers (Molecular Neuropathology v.11b4). Genome-wide copy-number aberrations were also inferred from these data while parallel next-generation (whole-exome or targeted panel) sequencing on the majority of the cohort facilitated inference of somatic driver mutations.

 Comprised of WNT (1%), SHH (41%), Group 3 (22%), Group 4 (35%), primary tumors largely retained subgroup affiliation at relapse with the notable exception of 14% of cases. The majority (8/12) of discrepant classifications were determined to be secondary glioblastomas, while three Group 4 primary tumors relapsed as Group 3. Amongst conserved pairs, copy-number analyses suggest somatic clonal divergence between primary MBs and their respective relapses with an average of 0.8 (range 0–5) primary-specific and 2.0 (range 0–11) relapse-specific cytogenetic alterations. Despite high global methylation correlations between primary/relapse pairs (median 0.95), epigenetic evolution at relapse is suggested by the lower degree of conservation amongst promoter-associated probes (median 0.83, p < 2.2e-16).

 Secondary malignancy, particularly glioblastoma, may masquerade as relapsed MB, highlighting the utility of molecular characterization for relapsed disease and necessity for vigilant clinical surveillance. By deciphering the evolution of MB from diagnosis to relapse, a fundamental understanding of disease pathogenesis may be garnered, motivating rational and targeted clinical interventions in early therapy and at the time of relapse.


A computational biochemistry laboratory, fitted for bioinformatics students, is presented. The molecular dynamics package GROMACS is used to prepare and simulate a solvated protein. Students analyze the trajectory with different available tools (GROMACS and VMD) to probe the structural stability of the protein during the simulation. Students are also required to make use of Python libraries and write their own code to probe non‐covalent interactions between the amino acid side chains. Based on these results, students characterize the system in a qualitatively approach but also assess the importance of each specific interaction through time. This work mobilizes biochemical concepts and programming skills, fostering critical thinking and group work and developing presenting skills.


Rational: Current studies which use the oxygen isotope composition from diatom silica (   O diatom ) as a palaeoclimate proxy assume that   O diatom reflects the isotopic composition of the water in which the diatom formed. However, diatoms dissolve post mortem, preferentially losing less silicified structures in the water column and during/after burial into sediments. The impact of dissolution on   O diatom and potential misinterpretation of the palaeoclimate record is evaluated. Methods: Diatom frustules covering a range of ages (6 samples from the Miocene to the Holocene), environments and species were exposed to a weak alkaline solution for 48 days at two temperatures (20ºC and 4ºC), mimicking natural dissolution post mucilage removal. Following treatment, dissolution was assessed using Scanning Electron Microscope images and a qualitative diatom dissolution index. Diatoms were subsequently analysed for   O using Step Wise Fluorination and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. Results: Variable levels of diatom dissolution were observed between the 6 samples, in all cases higher temperatures resulted in more frustule degradation. Dissolution was most evident in younger samples, likely as a result of the more porous nature of the silica. The degree of diatom dissolution does not directly equate to changes in isotope value;   O diatom was however lower after dissolution, but in only half the samples was this reduction outside the analytical error (2σ analytical error = 0.46‰). Conclusions: We show that dissolution can have a small negative impact on   O diatom causing reductions of up to 0.59‰ beyond analytical error (0.46‰) at natural environmental temperatures. These findings need to be considered in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using   O diatom , especially when interpreting variations in   O diatom of <1‰.


We hav€ investigated crystallographic structures and electrical properties at the interfaces of transition metals such as Ti, ?, Hf and V and 5(100), from the viewpoint of an application to ohmic contacts in future ULSI's with low contact rasistivity and high reliability. The silicidation reaction at z10G600oC brings about the fonnation of deep levels associated with vacancies or with metal atoms, related to the silicide formation process. Furthermore, an anomalous electrical characteristic observed for IIf/pSi contacts is na*edly improved by a H-termination treatment of Si surfaces.


Objective To study employees′ satisfaction degree to provide references for hospital management and decision making.Methods Using questionaire survey,informal discussion and interviewing,etc;Investigating nine aspects,including hospital intergration plan,hospital management and system,department management,individual salary and social benefits,hospital bonus distribution system,hospital working environment,hospital education training work,individual development prospect and hospital leadership.The content of informal discussion and interview mainly includes how to do well in public hospital performance examination.The scoring standand shuld be in accordance with related literature.Results 580 hospitals staffs,including 80% aloctors and nurses,20% the administrative support staffs,are investigated.46 staffs of different levels are selected to attend 3 informal discussion meetings.The investigation shows that the overall satisfaction degree is 86%.Satisfaction degree in 4 hospitals is above 90%,in 4 hospitals is 60%~90%,in 1 hospital is below 60%.The top three high satisfaction degree are department management,hospital intergration plan,hospital mangement and system.The last three satisfaction degree are individual salary and social benefit,hospital bonas distribution system and individual development prospect.The second level hospitals,doctors and undergraduate students have lower safisfaction.Conclusion Personnel distritbution system reform in the public hospital should be further promoted.The development of hospitals in the second level cities should be paid more attention to,especially to the staffs′ individual salary and social benefits,hospital bonus distribution system and individual development prospects.