Abstract We define a family of generalizations of the two-variable quandle polynomial. These polynomial invariants generalize in a natural way to eight-variable polynomial invariants of finite biquandles. We use these polynomials to define a family of link invariants that further generalize the quandle counting invariant.


Hybrid machining techniques are becoming more and more popular for machining of difficult-to-cut materials. This paper presents an approach for the optimisation of electric discharge diamond cut-off grinding of Inconel 718 with multiple performance characteristics based on the Taguchi orthogonal array with grey relational analysis. In this study, the machining parameters namely, wheel speed, current, pulse-on-time, and duty factor are optimised for performance characteristics, i.e., material removal rate and surface roughness. The optimal machining parameters are determined by the Grey relational grade as the performance index. The research result identifies significant machining parameters and their effects on process performance. The confirmation experiments have been conducted to verify the optimal process conditions. Experimental results show that the performance of process improved effectively through this approach.


To elucidate the biological characteristics of the junctional epithelium (JE) in rats, ultrastructural and morphometric studies of the gingiva in the maxillary molar regions were carried out. Morphometric analysis of three different regions of the JE and the oral epithelium (OE) led to the following results. In the apical JE, intercellular space accounted for about 23% of the total epithelial tissue. At the connective tissue interface, the space accounted for 17% of total epithelial tissue. At the enamel interface, the space accounted for 35% of total JE tissue. A large number of leukocytes were detected in the enlarged intercellular spaces. In the OE, the space accounted for about 11%. In the apical region of the JE. desmosomes occupied approximately 5% of the plasma membrane perimeter; in both the enamel and connective tissue, about 3%; and in the OE, about 5%. However, desmosome densities were approximately 14/100 μm2 in the JE. while being approximately 66/100 μm2 in the OE. From these results, it is suggested that: (a) the volume of intercellular space relative to the entire JE coincides with a dynamic migration of the epithelium; (b) enlargement of the intercellular spaces in the JE causes a low incidence of desmosomes: (c) there is no physiological permeability barrier in the JE; and (d) abundant leukocytes in the intercellular spaces may play an important role in obstructing the passage of external bacteria and toxins into the tissue.


Objective
To investigate the effects of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and / or normobaric hyperoxia on brain development of neonatal rat and the possible mechanisms.

Methods
One hundred and twenty postnatal day 2 (P2) SD rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups: air group, LPS group, hyperoxia group, LPS + hyperoxia group.General condition and body weight of the rats in each group were observed and recorded every day.The expression of active Caspase-3 and nuclear factor-κappaB P65(NF-κB P65) in the brain were detected by immunohistochemistry staining on P7, and the level of IL-6 and 8-iso-PGF2α in the brain homogenate were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) in the brain was detected by immunohistochemistry staining on P12.

Results
The expressions of Caspase-3 and NF-κB P65 had the same trends: the number of positive cells from high to low was in LPS+ hyperoxia group, LPS group/hyperoxia group, air group.There were significant differences between the first three groups and air group(all P<0.05). There were also significant differences between LPS+ hyperoxia group and LPS group or hyperoxia group(all P<0.01). MBP in the brain had the completely reverse expression: from high to low order was in air group, hyperoxia group, LPS group, LPS+ hyperoxia group.There were significant differences between the last three groups and air group(all P<0.05). There were also significant differences between LPS+ hyperoxia group and LPS group or hyperoxia group(all P<0.01). The level of IL-6 in the brain from high to low order respectively was in LPS+ hyperoxia group, LPS group, hyperoxia group, air group; and 8-iso-PGF2α was also in LPS+ hyperoxia group, hyperoxia group, LPS group, air group, Significant differences were found among the four groups(all P<0.05).

Conclusions
Both postnatal infection and normobaric hyperoxia may induce premature rat brain injury, and increase the number of apoptosis cell and reduce the expression of MBP.The combination of infection and normobaric hyperoxia may aggravate the degree of brain damage of neonatal rat.NF-κB pathway mediated by Toll-like receptor may be involved in inflammation and oxidative stress, and may mediate Caspase-3 related apoptosis of nerve cell and white matter injury.

Key words:
Lipopolysaccharide; Normobaric hyperoxia; 8-iso-PGF2α; Nuclear factor-κ appaB P65; Myelin basic protein


Ten-year survival and growth of seedlings from 77 parent trees from throughout the Black Hills were compared, using a cluster-analysis technique. Five clusters were identified that account for most of the variability in survival and growth of the open-pollinated families. One cluster, containing 6 families, exhibited exceptional survival and growth. Another, containing 12 families, exhibited poor survival and growth. The performance of families in these two groups appears to be related to location and elevation of parent rees. West. J. Appl. For. 1:79-83, July 1986. The Black Hills region ofwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming forms an ecologically unique forested island on the Great Plains. Formed by a domal uplift of the earth's surface millions of years ago, the Black Hills consist of Precambrian granite and schists surrounded by a series of inward-facing limestone and sandstone cuestas that are progressively younger away from the central dome (Hunt 1967). The Bear Lodge Mountains of northeastern Wyoming are geomorphologically and ecologically similar to the Black Hills, and in this paper the two areas are referred to collectively as the Black Hills. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum Engelm.) predominates on all geologic landforms in the Black Hills, of which the central crystalline and limestone areas are the most productive (Boldt and Van Deusen 1974). Ponderosa pine occurs mainly as a climax species here and is usually found in pure stands that readily regenerate from seed. Even-aged management utilizing the shelterwood method is the silvicultural technique most commonly used in these forests (Shepperd et al. 1983); but, planting is necessary where fire or tornadoes resuit in inadequate regeneration (Boldt and Van Deusen 1974). Seed zones have been established that include the Black Hills (Cunningham 1975), but they encompass relatively large areas. Other than the testing by Read (1983) of several Black Hills provenances for adaptation on the Great Plains, there has been no comparative testing of Black Hills seed sources. We report here the results of a study on and near the Black Hills National Forest begun in 1967 by James Van Deusen and Charles Boldt, formerly WJAF 1(3)1986 79 This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. sc•enhsts at the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Their objectives were to determine the extent of genetic variation in silviculrurally important traits of ponderosa pine growing on different parent materials; and to identify superior genotypes for use in local tree improvement programs. The study is limited to open-pollinated progenies of Black Hills parents, which were planted at a central location within the Hills.


Are Build-Transfer-Operate Regimes Justified? In recent years, the introduction of a build-transfer (BT) regime is one of the regulatory reforms that has emerged in some developing countries, for example, Indonesia, Lithuania and Thailand. The BT regime has been modified into several forms, for example a build-transferoperate (BTO), a build-operate-transfer (BOT) and a build-lease-transfer (BLT). The main objective of this paper is to examine whether this approach is justified. Because telecommunications in Thailand is regarded as a leader in the use of BTO arrangements, it therefore has been chosen as a case study in this paper. It is found that the structure of telecommunications market is unlikely a natural monopoly, which implies that BTO regimes do not provide cost saving.


Faculty and student access to library course reserve materials through Ares. Instructions for Faculty for using Ares Course Reserves through Blackboard


The authors report three cases of extrinsic bilateral ureteric stenoses in which standard double J ureteric stents did not allow medium-term improvement of renal function or resolution of pyelocaliceal cavity dilatation on ultrasonography. A favourable course was observed after insertion of cloverleaf double J ureteric stents.


The update process in an IP router after a failure is detected, is a complex process involving more than just recalculating shortest paths. When statistics related to forwarded traffic are not taken into account, which is generally the case, we show that packet loss can be significantly higher than is strictly needed. In this paper we present a combined control and traffic-driven routing table update scheme which minimizes the packet loss during the switchover, based on an efficient use and planning of the central router process quantum. We discuss the parameters of the algorithm and show its value in a simulation environment.


For over twenty years, the International Atomic Energy Agency has played a major role in furthering the exchange of information on the thermodynamics of nuclear materials between scientists all over the world. The methodology used by the Agency to achieve this exchange has been to convene five international symposia on the thermodynamics of nuclear materials (1962, 1965, 1967, 1974 and 1979). These symposia not only served as a means for scientific exchange of experimental results, but also provided a mechanism whereby various scientists could collaborate on pertinent topics. Under the sponsorship of the Agency, several panels have been held resulting in the publication of several technical reports specifically related to thermochemical assessment, e.g. UC and PuC (1962), UO/sub 2/ (1964), and PuO/sub 2/ and UPuO/sub 2/ (1964). On a broader front, publication of two series of monographs on thermodynamic assessment has recently been undertaken; one consists of a special series of the Atomic Energy Review and the other is a series on The Chemical Thermodynamics of Actinide Elements and Compounds. During the past three years, the Agency has also sponsored a coordinated research programme between Member States. It deals with thermodynamic and transport properties of nuclear materials.


Extinction and species introduction are two major biodiversity crises of the current millennium. A species may become endangered and eventually extinct when death rate exceeds birth for a prolonged duration. The reasons may be natural or anthropogenic. Anthropogenic activities are now-a-days prominent and causing extinction of many plant species of ecological and economic significance. Many species are facing tremendous pressure and are on the verge of extinction in Northeast India, one of the global biodiversity hotspots in the world. In the present communication, we present the population status and conservation requirement of three rare/endangered and endemic plant species of the region viz. Aquilaria malaccensis, Gleditsia assamica and Gymnocladus assamicus. Natural populations of A. malaccensis have been depleted due to over-harvesting of mature trees for its precious 'agarwood'. However, plantations have been established in home-gardens of upper Assam and serving as a means of ex-situ of conservation of the species. The G. assamica and G. assamicus populations are also very poor in nature which culminates with poor natural regeneration. Therefore, a similar way of ex-situ conservation in plantations as practiced in A. malaccensis is suggested for effective conservation of the species.


A technique for getting Euclidean reconstruction from two images of the same scene taken by a single moving camera, which undergoes a pure translation, is presented. Euclidean reconstruction of the scene up to three scale factors can be obtained by using this special but still realistic motion when the skew factor of the camera is zero; otherwise Euclidean reconstruction of the depth up to one scale factor can be achieved. The only assumption is that the camera intrinsic parameters are constant. Using this special but still realistic motion to do the reconstruction has the advantage that no projective reconstruction is needed and the Euclidean reconstruction is computed directly from the point correspondences in the two images.


Each year at the AAPT summer meeting there is an apparatus competition in which members of the physics community can share ideas for new or improved apparatus to aid in the teaching of physics. The 2006 competition at the summer meeting in Syracuse, NY, was the largest competition in quite a while and continued an upward trend in the number of entries. Entries ranged in complexity, cost, and target audience, from a $20 apparatus for experimenting with standing waves on the surface of water, to an open design of an atomic force microscope (Fig. 1), which was also relatively low in cost (as far as AFMs go) at around $15,000.


A number of 235 strains of Staphylococcus aureus previously isolated from small or medium (SME) meatand cheese-processing plants, were genotypically characterized by analysis of VNTR and 4 strains of Listeria monocytogenes were typisate by PFGE analysis. Sub-species genotyping of microbial contaminants in food-processing factories may facilitate identification of transient and persistent contaminants, which may help to properly manage the process hygiene.


P 091 Patient satisfaction in awake craniotomy Dr. Khalifah*, I. Herricky, A. Parrenty, J. Megyesiy, R. Craeny *King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; yLondon Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada Background and objective: Awake craniotomy using local anaesthesia and monitored conscious sedation is widely used for the excision of intracranial tumours or vascular abnormalities or for the management of refractory seizures. Propofol combined with remifentanil represents a popular technique for the provision of conscious sedation during these procedures. This study evaluated patient satisfaction following awake craniotomy performed under propofol-remifentanil sedation. The study also assessed the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications associated with this technique. Methods and materials: This prospective study evaluated the satisfaction of 25 adult patients undergoing awake craniotomy under propofol-remifentanil sedation. Evaluation involved interviewing patients at 1 h, 24 h and 6 weeks postoperatively. Postoperative recall of pain, anxiety and discomfort were assessed at 1 h, 24 h and 6 weeks postoperatively. Surgeon and anaesthesiologist satisfaction was also evaluated at the end of each procedure. Results: At 1 h postoperative assessment, 24 patients (96%) were satisfied with the anaesthetic technique. Patient satisfaction scores were similar at 1 h, 24 h and 6 weeks postoperatively. Twenty-one of the 24 patients (84%) stated that they would choose the same anaesthetic technique if they were to undergo the same procedure again. Surgeons and anaesthesiologists were satisfied in 23 cases (92%). Conclusion: This study confirms that monitored conscious sedation with propofol-remifentanil is a useful alternative technique for awake craniotomy with a high patient, surgeon and anaesthetist satisfaction.


Summary
In Britain, the hexaploid perennial grass Koeleria vallesiana (Honck.) Bertol. is confined to the western end of the Mendip Hills but is widespread in western Europe. Comparisons of the marginal British populations with continental populations from France indicate that there are no differences in breeding behaviour or genetic variability. There are, however, greater geneti differences in morphological characters between British and French material than between British populations. In addition, the Mendip populations, which are topographically isolated, show significant differences in morphology which are genetic in origin.

Comparisons of floret fertility under different systems of mating indicate that K. vallesiana is a self-incompatible outbreeder. Florets collected from the wild show low fertility (c. 5%) in common with other outbreeding perennial grasses.


This paper presents a wide-band CMOS passive mixer with 8 dB double side band (DSB) noise figure (NF) and 24 dB voltage gain with +60 dBm of uncalibrated IIP2 and +9 dBm of IIP3 at 2 GHz. The linearity is maintained for a wide frequency offset range to ensure interferer performance for in-band jammers. A source degeneration method to improve NF and linearity is introduced and analyzed. Gm boosting methods, such as input cross-coupling, current reuse, complementary input, and back gate connection, are used. The Mixer consumes only 10 mW from a 2V power supply for I and Q both channels including trans-impedance amplifier stages (TIA).


In this work, we introduce the idea and concept of –polynomial –harmonic exponential type convex functions. In addition, we elaborate the newly introduced idea by examples and some interesting algebraic properties. As a result, several new integral inequalities are established. Finally, we investigate some applications for means. The amazing techniques and wonderful ideas of this work may excite and motivate for further activities and research in the different areas of science.


ECDSA is the research hotspot of information security and cryptography at present. This paper implemented the full scheme of ECDSA, and optimized it based on the ECC theory.This paper introduced the full design scheme implemented by Verilog HDL, and gave the key emulated result.


ABSTRACT The study provides an insight into how teachers may facilitate students' group learning in science with digital technology, which was examined when Norwegian lower secondary school students engaged in learning concepts of mitosis and meiosis. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the teacher's assistance draw on Galperin's conceptualisation of learning. Findings reveal patterns in the teacher's guidance: the teacher fulfilled the orienting, executive and controlling functions while assisting students in identifying the key features of mitosis and meiosis and solving the compare and contrast task. The teacher relied on and interplayed with the available mediational resources: compare and contrast task, digital animations, and collaborating peers. However, it was the compare and contrast task that demonstrated an approach to study scientific concepts which may have contributed to the development of learners' understanding about to engage in learning in science. By adopting such an approach, learning activity has the potential to not only help students to achieve learning outcomes but it acquires a functional significance, becoming a tool in the learning process aimed at the development of students' as learners. The digital animations, in turn, demonstrated scientific processes that were otherwise invisible for students and triggered group discussions. The study, therefore, raises questions about the need for practitioners' awareness of the type of support the technology and other resources provide to assist both conceptual learning and enhancing students' agency in learning to learn.


In this article, we define a scheduling/packing problem called the Job Splitting Problem, motivated by the practices in the printing industry. There are n types of items to be produced on an m‐slot machine. A particular assignment of the types to the slots is called a "run" configuration and requires a setup cost. Once a run begins, the production continues according to that configuration and the "length" of the run represents the quantity produced in each slot during that run. For each unit of production in excess of demand, there is a waste cost. Our goal is to construct a production plan, i.e., a set of runs, such that the total setup and waste cost is minimized. We show that the problem is strongly NP‐hard and propose two integer programming formulations, several preprocessing steps, and two heuristics. We also provide a worst‐case bound for one of the heuristics. Extensive tests on real‐world and randomly generated instances show that the heuristics are both fast and effective, finding near‐optimal solutions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010


This paper describes a new modulation technique known as frequency domain reciprocal modulation (FDRM) that has a characteristic of high immunity to dynamic multipath distortion. FDRM is a multicarrier transmission technology that is related to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). FDRM uses frequency domain reciprocal harmonic carriers to allow automatic cancellation of all linear distortion, random noise reduction, and improved channel characterization. Holtzman also proposes a dynamic mix of FDRM harmonic carrier pairs with OFDM harmonic carriers to allow the PHY standard to adapt to changing channel conditions. Purpose For Consideration as a physical layer technology for inclusion in the proposed 802.16.4 standard Notice This document has been prepared to assist IEEE 802.16. It is offered as a basis for discussion and is not binding on the contributing individual(s) or organization(s). The material in this document is subject to change in form and content after further study. The contributor(s) reserve(s) the right to add, amend or withdraw material contained herein. Release The contributor grants a free, irrevocable license to the IEEE to incorporate text contained in this contribution, and any modifications thereof, in the creation of an IEEE Standards publication; to copyright in the IEEE's name any IEEE Standards publication even though it may include portions of this contribution; and at the IEEE's sole discretion to permit others to reproduce in whole or in part the resulting IEEE Standards publication. The contributor also acknowledges and accepts that this contribution may be made public by IEEE 802.16. Patent Policy and Procedures The contributor is familiar with the IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and Procedures (Version 1.0) <http://ieee802.org/16/ipr/patents/policy.html>, including the statement "IEEE standards may include the known use of patent(s), including patent applications, if there is technical justification in the opinion of the standardsdeveloping committee and provided the IEEE receives assurance from the patent holder that it will license applicants under reasonable terms and conditions for the purpose of implementing the standard." Early disclosure to the Working Group of patent information that might be relevant to the standard is essential to reduce the possibility for delays in the development process and increase the likelihood that the draft publication will be approved for publication. Please notify the Chair <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> as early as possible, in written or electronic form, of any patents (granted or under application) that may cover technology that is under consideration by or has been approved by IEEE 802.16. The Chair will disclose this notification via the IEEE 802.16 web site <http://ieee802.org/16/ipr/patents/notices>. 2001-01-14 IEEE 802.16.4c-01/09 1 Frequency Domain Reciprocal Modulation for Channels with Dynamic Multipath Thomas H. Williams Holtzman Inc. Longmont, CO Introduction Single frequency carrier transmission systems, such as QPSK and 8-VSB, typically perform poorly in channels with severe dynamic multipath distortion for a couple of reasons. First, for single frequency carrier transmission systems to perform without intersymbol interference (ISI) the channels must be accurately equalized or "flattened". Adaptive equalizers can usually perform the necessary equalization, but the channel's frequency response must first be accurately characterized to determine the correct coefficients for the adaptive equalizers, and the adaptive equalizers must then be rapidly re-programmed. However, when the multipath is highly dynamic, single frequency carrier transmission systems fail because the channel can not be characterized fast enough to yield an accurate solution for the channel condition. This problem is greatly aggravated by the presence of random noise in the channel. Second, in the case of multipath with deep spectral fades, there may be no practical equalizer solution that results in low ISI. For example, if the channel fades to near zero at some frequency the equalizer must provide a huge gain at that same frequency. If there is random noise present in the channel, the noise at that frequency will also receive a huge amplification, creating ISI. Multicarrier transmission systems, such as OFDM, are block transmission systems that can solve these transmission problems. Multicarrier transmission systems transform blocks of high speed time-domain symbols into blocks of slow-speed frequency-domain harmonically-related carriers (HCs). If a guard interval (or cyclic extension) is formed on the block transmission, and if the guard interval is longer than the longest echo in the channel, all ISI between HCs can be eliminated. If there is a deep fade at some frequency, a few of the HCs may be lost, but forward error correcting codes (FEC) can be used to correct the errors caused by a small number of lost HCs. Although the ISI between HCs is eliminated, each HC must be multiplied by a single magnitude and phase correction coefficient to restore the HC's magnitude and phase to the correct values. Typically an interleaved subset of HCs are made into static pilots that are incorporated into the transmitted block to assist in the determination of the magnitude and phase correction factors that each HC should use. If the channel's frequency response changes relatively slowly in frequency between pilot HCs, the pilot's values can be interpolated for the correction factors. OFDM is an excellent transmission system, but there are a few weaknesses with this system. First, if the channel is noisy, random noise will contaminate each HC as well as the pilot HC. The noise on the pilot HC will result in an incorrect correction coefficient for all of the HCs that rely on the accuracy of its value. Thus, if the pilot is at the same level as the HCs, there is a 3 dB random noise penalty on each HC because the pilot HCs is also affected by random noise. Second, use of a pilot represents lost bandwidth. Third, the guard interval also represents lost bandwidth. Fourth, relative to single frequency carrier systems, OFDM transmissions produce large voltage spikes that clip active devices. OFDM has a peak to average power ratio that is higher than equivalent single frequency carrier systems. Frequency domain reciprocal modulation (FDRM) is a new multicarrier transmission system. FDRM is an OFDMlike technique that offers an advantage in microwave frequency channels afflicted with dynamic multipath. In a first implementation, a single block transmission is used. The odd-numbered HCs are unique symbols, and the evennumbered HCs are made into frequency-domain reciprocals of their adjacent odd-numbered HCs. This new modulation technique essentially employs correlated data on adjacent HCs to cancel the effects of all linear distortion. Cancellation of all linear distortion is an intrinsic property of this new modulation technique. The effects of rapid fades are also canceled automatically by FDRM. Additionally, FDRM is useful for transmission of bursty data packets because a demodulation process is simplified by using two blocks of data. In a second two-block transmission implementation, a first block of data is immediately followed by a second block which is a reciprocal of the first block in the frequency domain. The first block may be viewed as simply a special type of OFDM, and the second block may be described as having all HCs that are reciprocals in the frequency domain of the corresponding-frequency HCs in the first block. By sending the blocks sequentially, approximately the same set of echoes are applied to both blocks and the echoes are canceled when the two blocks are processed together. FDRM offers several advantages in point to multipoint wireless services, but its strongest assets are its adaptability to rapidly changing channel conditions, a 3 dB improvement in noise performance over OFDM, and its suitability to infrequent bursty transmissions. References [1]-[4] are other publications on FDRM. 2001-01-14 IEEE 802.16.4c-01/09 2 OFDM Primer Befor e describi ng FDRM it is useful to explai n orthogon al frequen cy divisio n multiple xing (OFDM ) which is a simil ar technol ogy. If y ou are fam iliar with OFDM, you may want to read th is section because i t leads in to to a discu ssion of F DRM. Altho ugh OFDM w as invente d in the l ate 60' s, it has bee n made a p ractical t ransmissio n method w ith the co ming of th e digital signal pro cessor (DS P) which c an perform a discret e FFT oper ation very quickly. OFDM is a block trans mission me thod that is in wide use for a variety o f services , such as digital te rrestrial television and audio broad casting in Europe, c oaxial cab le telepho ny systems , and high speed tel ephone mod ems. The O FDM signal may be tr ansmitted as a baseb and signal through a baseband channel su ch as tele phone line s. Alter nately, th e OFDM sig nal may be modulated onto a ra dio freque ncy (RF) c arrier usi ng single, double, o r vesti gial sideb and modula tion for t ransmissio n over a R F or micro wave chann el. When using doub le sideban d modul ation, the real comp onents are used to m odulate th e inphase channel an d the imag inary comp onents are used to modulat e the quad rature cha nnel. Thi s allows d ifferent i nformation to be car ried in th e upper an d lower sideb ands. A tra nsmitted d ata block is made up of many h armonic ca rriers (HC s) at diff erent freq uencies th at can be accur ately dist inguished from each other at t he receive site beca use the HC s are orth ogonal to each other . Ortho gonality i s achieved because t he individ ual HCs (w hich are c osine wave s) compris ing the co mposite si gnal are i nteger mul tiples of a fundamen tal freque ncy. Infor mation is conveyed b y assignin g differen t discrete values to th e magnitud es and pha ses of the individua l HCs. Fo r example, if E(t) is an O


Using the polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD and ISSR), the genetic structure was examined and the viability of 26 populations of the terrestrial gastropod Bradybaena (Fruticicola) fruticum Mull., most of which lives in the south of the Central Russian Upland, was estimated. Samples from Romania, the Urals and Vyatka regions for comparison were taken. In total, 1153 individuals were examined. The level of expected heterozygosity averaged He = 0.208 ± 0.028, the Shannon index Ish = 0.320 ± 0.039. The lowered level of variability, both actual and theoretically expected (estimated by the methods of Chao1-bc and 1st order jackknife) in groups of anthropogenically disturbed biotopes inhabiting the zones of industrial enterprises is noted. The indices of the genetic disunity of the populations were Fst = 0.298, Gst = 0.254, and the level of the gene flow Nm = 0.708. The cluster analysis and the Mantel correlation coefficient Rm = –0.024 showed the absence of a reliable relationship between the geographic and genetic distance between populations, which indicates the violation of the isolation model by distance and confirms the thesis advanced earlier that the urbanized forest-steppe landscape disrupts the natural migration processes, leads to the strong isolation and of the genetic drift in populations of snails. At the same time, the observed phenomenon of increasing the degree of subdivision of populations against the background of a decrease in the allelic diversity noted by us in many groups of bush snail can be regarded as the shift of genetic equilibrium toward increasing interpopopulation diversity (according to Wright's model). The calculation of the effective population size with the help of the Slatkin model turned out to be the lowest of the background mollusks in the study area (Ne = 0.39-0.83). However, the level of the effective population size calculated with the subdivision index (Fst and Gst) was equal to 6.2 and 7.3, respectively, which is comparable with other species of mollusks.


This paper analyses the characters involvde in "Semar Guga Play" in relation to the plot of the story. Thus, the analysis of character (s) in a drama text (script) cannot be separated from the analysis of the element of plot of the story. In other words both elements – characters and plot – support each other. The research method is qualitative design in which data is analyzed inductive and descriptively. Furthermore, the analysis of setting is also inseparable with the elementsof plot and character. In conclusion "Semar Gugat" does not only criticize phenomena of social condition, but also deconstructs the Javanese's view towards Semar and Arjuna" wayang. Keywords: drama or theater, drama script, characterization, plot and value


: In many regions in China, energy shortages (e.g. coal, oil, gas and electricity) are common. There are signs that regional energy security remains an important issue in the development of China and cannot be ignored. Here, we construct a corresponding index system of regional energy security from four aspects: regional energy supply, use, economic and environmental safety in China. The weight of the index is determined by the entropy method, overcoming the subjectivity of the traditional weighting method, and the TOPSIS evaluation method is used to quantitatively evaluate energy security of provinces. The results show that China ' s regional energy security is generally low. The energy security value is higher than the national average for only Shanxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and six other provinces, accounting for 30% of provinces. The remaining 21 provinces have lower than average energy security. Energy security in China shows a gradual decrease from the northwest to southeast. In northwest provinces, energy reserves are abundant and energy consumption is relatively low, resulting in high energy security. Energy savings in the eastern and central provinces are scarce and energy consumption is huge, leading to low energy security. Several policy recommendations are discussed, including optimizing energy structure and increasing diversification of energy to improve supply stability, increasing research investment and improving energy efficiency, reducing and diversifying energy consumption, paying attention to environmental protection investment and lessening environmental pollution.


The paper puts forward the concept of composite blowing technology of electric arc furnace steelmaking.Combining with the EAF production,technical unit integration of electric arc furnace steelmaking are studied which include the burden structure,oxygen and power supply and bottom blowing stirring and so on,to achieve the development of electric furnace steelmaking process and improve the smelting rhythm,reduce the raw and auxiliary materials consumption.


The knowledge grid, based on the Semantic Web, aims at providing the new platform for effectively sharing and managing versatile Web resources including information, knowledge and services. This paper is mainly concerned with the implementation of innovation-oriented knowledge query based on knowledge grid. The architecture of a knowledge query platform based on Ontology is proposed at first. Then we analyze the key techniques: knowledge ontology building, ontology reasoning, semantic register, and semantic parser. At last, a working scenario is employed to illustrate the process of knowledge query on the platform.


Objective: To evaluate the sleep period, the nutritional state and the lifestyle habits of truck drivers from Veranopolis/RS. Materials and Methods: The study is cross-sectional, retrospective, with secondary data from a convenience sample of 100 truck drivers between 21 and 60 years old. Socio-demographic variables, lifestyle habits, history of chronic non-communicable disease (CNCD), use of sleeping medication or other treatment of health issues, questions about dietary and anthropometric parameters were studied. The data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics through the program SPSS with a significance level of 5%. Results: The average age of truck drivers was 38.5±10.2 years old. Most of them sleep 6.0±1.4 hours/day, present overweight and obesity (82%) and risk for developing cardiovascular disease (69%). The sleep period was associated with total cholesterol and diabetes mellitus. The average number of meals eaten per day was 3.4±0.9, prevailing breakfast, lunch and dinner. Truck drivers who sleep the whole week at home usually have breakfast, lunch and dinner at their homes, while those who sleep 1-5 days away from home have lunch and dinner in restaurants. There was a significant association between age (p=0.044), alcohol consumption (p=0.020) and afternoon snack (p=0.013) with sleep after lunch, and between obesity and hypertension (p=0.035). Conclusions: Overweight and obesity characterized the nutritional status of the truck drivers. The sleep was associated with CNCDs. The biggest part of the truck drivers has three daily meals, does not practice exercises and does not smoke, however, has the habit of drinking alcohol.


[Background] Compared with single microbial agent, microbial compound agent is more efficient and stable to promote crop growth. [Objective] To develop a microbial compound agent that can significantly promote the growth of rice, and build a mathematical model for the construction of microbial 赵思崎等: 微生物复合菌剂的制备 1493 Tel: 010-64807511; E-mail: email@example.com; http://journals.im.ac.cn/wswxtbcn compound agent. [Methods] Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FH-1 was mixed with one of the seven plant growth promoting bacteria, in a biomass ratio of 1:1. The high-efficiency compound microbial agent was screened by rice pot experiment. Biochemical methods were used to determine the growth promoting characteristics of compound agent. Based on the analysis of the correlation between the plant characteristics and the growth promoting characteristics of the strains, a mathematical model for the construction of microbial compound agent was established by using the general linear equation. [Results] Compared with the control, microbial compound agent FN (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FH-1 and Brevundimonas sp. NYM-3) significantly increased the rice shoot length, root length and fresh weight of rice by 20.79%, 26.67%, and 74.84% (P<0.05), respectively. The microbial compound agent FN was the best microbial compound agent among the seven microbial compound agents. Partial correlation analysis showed that the abilities to dissolve inorganic phosphorus, to produce siderophore and to secret ACC deaminase might play more important roles in promoting plant growth. According to the results of partial correlation between the plant growth promoting characteristics of microbial agents and the characteristics of plants, the mathematical model for the preparation of microbial compound agent was constructed and the prediction accuracy was over 97%. [Conclusion] We have successful developed a high-efficient microbial compound agent to promote rice growth, and constructed a mathematical model for the construction of microbial compound agent, which could provide scientific guidance for the development of the microbial compound agent.


1 INTRODUCTION Many different approaches to teaching introductory courses in computer science have been explored in the last few years. Of these, most aim to resolve the conundrum of how to teach abstraction skills in the face of student difficulties with learning to write programs. CS 1 courses often carry the added burden of trying to present a more accurate account of what computer science is like. To this end, special emphasis is now placed on topics such as code reuse. Even more new problems arise when an object-oriented approach is adopted for use in introductory classes. What are the appropriate abstractions to teach? What are the best vehicles for teaching them? This paper advocates an approach to teaching object-oriented (00) introductory computer science courses that is based on programming patterns. Section 2 examines the problem of abstraction versus detail in introductory courses and motivates the use of patterns. In Section 3, the pattern approach is described. That section outlines the approach as it has evolved over three years of procedural programming instruction and begins to develop the idea of patterns for teaching 00-based courses. Section 4 relates this approach to other work on teaching introductory courses. Finally, Section 5 presents future plans for developing and refining the approach. The goals for most first courses in computing are difficult to achieve. Traditionally, CS 1 aimed to teach the programming skills necessary to complete a program in computer science. Increasingly, this course is also being used to introduce students to other topics such as:. '<breadth " issues of computing as a discipline. software engineering issues such as reuse In most cases, these new goals create a demand for teaching at a higher level of abstraction in CS 1. This demand is significant in its own right, but it is made even more problematic by the desire to still have students develop a reasonable level of programming skdl. The conflict between abstractions and the details of programming are present even in courses that focus only on teaching programming skills. Such courses have typically presented a top-down approach to program development. Yet Rist [15] found that students still tended to reason backward from the program goal through program code tlo a solution plan. This tendency arose because they Iaclked appropriate high-level schema for solving the problem. However, when students did have relevant schema available, Rist found that students could and did reason forward …


This symposium acknowledges the founders of W112 Reproductive Performance in Domestic Ruminants. The contributions they made laid foundation collaborative efforts that continued over the next half century. The W112 really began in 1969 as a rewritten project involving several Agricultural Experiment Stations. That original project was W-49, that had been in existence at least as early as 1958. Upon approval of the project renewal in early 1970, the project was renamed W112 Reproductive Performance in Domestic Ruminants. The list of names of participants is like a who's who of reproductive physiologists, too long to enumerate here. Increasing knowledge of physiology and endocrinology were paramount during the early years. Development, improvement, and sharing of analytical techniques improved accuracy of results, safety of procedures, and knowledge to be gained from the research. Concurrently, mechanistic basic and applied studies involving oocyte development, ovulation, sperm development, fertilization, pregnancy, and parturition all brought new understanding of the reproductive biology of domestic species. A good deal of what we currently know of the reproductive biology of ruminant animals finds some basis in laboratories involved in W112 collaborations. The unique nature of these scientists resulted from their mutual respect. Many young scientists found mentors in W112 that assisted us in developing our own research programs. And the support has not ended with research collaboration. It has been common for project participants to share teaching resources and serve on graduate student committees for each other's students, fostering future involvement in the project. The W112 began slightly more than 50 years ago. Those of us who have been part of this group share a hope that the multistate project named Reproductive Performance in Domestic Ruminants will still be meeting the same goals of collaboration and support among scientists working to further animal agriculture for another 50 years and more.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the multitude of new synthetic absorbable sutures (both monofilament and multifilament) in comparison with older materials with regard to capillarity and bacterial transport.

METHODS
Sutures of United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) 4-0 thickness were arranged in a three-chamber system under sterile conditions. Either a colorant (liquid transport evaluation) or bacteria (bacterial transport evaluation) were added to the contamination chamber, and movement of colorant or bacteria was evaluated for as long as 30 days.

RESULTS
None of the monofilament sutures transported colorant or bacteria. Colorant transport was found on the pseudomonofilament and multifilament sutures between the first and the fifth day. Escherichia coli were transported on the majority of the multifilament sutures, although no transport was found on silk or polyester sutures. Bacterial transport was most often evident in tests using the motile Proteus mirabilis.

CONCLUSIONS
All multifilament and pseudomonofilament suture designs allowed transport of colorants and bacteria to some degree. The movement of fluids and bacteria did not depend on the absorptive capacity of the sutures, coating, or the presence of an open suture end.


Nowadays, the use of MULTIX detectors which provide imaging of many channels once has been so popular in some applications such as security. On the other hand, the reconstruction of energy channels can be time consuming. In this paper, we will try to reduce the number of energy beams so that we do not lose a lot of information. The results shows that we can get nearly the same result with dimensional reduction as without. It can speed up the process of reconstruction to great extend.


Hereditary angioedema is a rare genetic disorder resulting from an inherited deficiency or dysfunction of the C1‐esterase inhibitor of the classic complement pathway. It is characterised by recurrent episodes of angioedema, without urticaria or pruritus, most often affecting the skin or the mucosal tissues of the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. We describe the peri‐operative care of a woman with hereditary angioedema undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy with emphasis on the role of anaesthetists as peri‐operative physicians.


Rayleigh-Benard convection in rotating nanofluids layer with feedback control and double-diffusive coefficients heated from below is examined. The model for nanofluid includes the mechanism of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The system is considered for three types of lower-upper boundary conditions, free-free, rigid-free and rigid-rigid. Linear stability analysis based on normal mode technique is employed, the eigenvalue solution is obtained by Galerkin technique and solved by using Maple software. The effects of rotation, feedback control, double-diffusive cofficients and nanofluids parameters have significant impact to the system. Based on the observation, the effect of increasing the value of rotation, feedback control, Dufour parameter and solutal Rayleigh number are observed to stabilize the system. Meanwhile, the effect of increasing the value of Soret parameter, nanofluids Lewis number, nanoparticles concentration Rayleigh number and modified diffusivity ratio are found to destabilize the system. The effect of modified particles density increment in the system is very small and can be neglected. The effects of the parameters in the system are discussed and presented graphically.


This study sought to develop and validate two methods of quality assessment, one for Class I cavity preparation and another for composite resin restoration. This was an experimental laboratory study. The methods are named Class I Cavity Preparation Assessment – COCA and Class I Cavity Restoration Assessment – COCRA. During the development of the methods, 5 items were elaborated for COCA and 10 items for COCRA. Each item should be classified as appropriate, partially appropriate, or inappropriate. For each method, after evaluation, all item values should be added with a maximum possible score of ten points. The reliability of the COCA and COCRA was estimated through intra-observer reproducibility. For the methods application, 80 Class I cavity preparation and restoration in first molars were evaluated. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed, and the intra-observer concordance was estimated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ρ). As a result, it was possible to observe that the reproducibility for COCA of evaluator 1 (ρ=0.76) and evaluator 2 (ρ=1.00) was classified as good and excellent, Original Research Article Wajngarten et al.; JAMMR, 33(11): 18-23, 2021; Article no.JAMMR.67964 19 respectively. The reproducibility for COCRA of evaluator 1 (ρ=0.99) and evaluator 2 (ρ=0.77) was classified as excellent and good, respectively. It was concluded that COCA and COCRA were valid and reliable for the assessment of quality of Class I cavity preparation and restoration.


We performed a statistical analysis of the concentration of mineral elements, by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), in different varieties of garlic from Spain, Tunisia, and Italy. Nubia Red Garlic (Sicily) is one of the most known Italian varieties that belongs to traditional Italian food products (P.A.T.) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. The obtained results suggest that the concentrations of the considered elements may serve as geographical indicators for the discrimination of the origin of the different samples. In particular, we found a relatively high content of Selenium in the garlic variety known as Nubia red garlic, and, indeed, it could be used as an anticarcinogenic agent.


This article expands upon Terry Clark's (1990) integrative theory proposal for international marketing and national culture. A theory of direct and indirect influences of national and micro cultures on buying behavior is tested empirically for one focal brand: the buying of consumer services and products by overseas tourists visiting Australia. The empirical study employs a research design that controls several potential confounding variables that may affect the reported measures of the dependent variables. The empirical report includes findings from face-to-face interviews of travelers from 14 Asian, European, and North American countries (n = 3,651 useable surveys); the surveys were conducted in six different languages including English, German, Indonesian/Malay, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. Data analysis includes applying a quasi-experimental design that tests the study's central hypothesis: the theoretically predicted impacts of dimensions of national culture occur for aspects of overseas visitors' behaviors related to their holiday trips to Australia. The study supports core tenants of the integrative theory (i.e., a specific phenomenon in the buying process occurs substantially more (less) often for unique dimensions of national cultural. The study supports the propositions that (1) single and complex cultural causal expressions affect international travel behavior and (2) cultural distance indexes are useful for explaining international travel behavior.


Electrochemical reactions occurring at a SiOx electrode were investigated to gain insight about the effects of film-forming additives, such as vinylene carbonate (VC), ethylene sulfite (ES) and 1,3-propane sultone (PS), on the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the SiOx electrode. The SEI formed in the presence of PS was found to have the smallest resistance, resulting in low irreversible capacity and good cycle performance.


Of 173 skates and 157 sharks examined from the Magdalen Islands region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 91 and 30, respectively, were infected with helminth parasites. The parasites found are recorded.


Type of funding sources: None.

 Although endogenous sex hormones influence both left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) structure in peri-menopausal women, no study has ever evaluated the interaction between sex hormones levels and the left atrioventricular coupling.

  This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of a left atrioventricular coupling index (LACI) in pre- and post-menopausal women without history of CVD at baseline.

 In all women participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) with baseline cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) study, LACI was measured as the ratio of the LA end-diastolic volume divided by the LV end-diastolic volume. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between LACI and the outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), coronary heart disease (CHD) death, and hard CVD defined by myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, stroke, or CHD death. In multivariable analyses, the associations between LACI and the time-to-event were evaluated, adjusting for demographics, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, menopausal status and sex hormone levels.

 Among the 2,087 women (61.2 ± 10.1 years), 485 cardiovascular events were observed during mean follow-up period of 13.2 ± 3.3 years. Greater LACI was independently associated with AF (HR 1.70; 95% CI [1.51-1.90]), HF (HR 1.62; 95% CI [1.33-1.97]), CHD death (HR 1.36; 95% CI [1.10-1.68]), and hard CVD (1.30; 95% CI [1.13-1.51], all p < 0.001). Adjusted models with LACI showed significant improvement in model discrimination and reclassification compared to currently used standard models to predict the incidences of AF (C-statistic: 0.82 vs. 0.79; NRI = 0.325; IDI = 0.036), HF (C-statistic: 0.84 vs. 0.81; NRI = 0.571; IDI = 0.023), CHD death (C-statistic: 0.87 vs. 0.85; NRI = 0.506; IDI = 0.012), and hard CVD (C-statistic: 0.78 vs. 0.76; NRI = 0.229; IDI = 0.012). The prognostic value of LACI was homogeneous in both pre- and post-menopausal women with a better discrimination and reclassification compared to individual LA or LV parameters.

 In a multi-ethnic population of pre- and post-menopausal women, LACI is an independent predictor of HF, AF, CHD death and hard CVD. In both pre- and post-menopausal women, LACI has an incremental prognostic value to predict cardiovascular events over traditional risk factors and sex hormone levels.
 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00005487 Abstract Figure. Kaplan-Meier curves by LACI terciles  Abstract Figure. Kaplan-Meier curves by LACI and Menop.


This paper introduces a dual problem to study a continuous-time consumption and investment problem with incomplete markets and stochastic differential utility. For Epstein-Zin utility, duality between the primal and dual problems is established. Consequently the optimal strategy of the consumption and investment problem is identified without assuming several technical conditions on market model, utility specification, and agent's admissible strategy. Meanwhile the minimizer of the dual problem is identified as the utility gradient of the primal value and is economically interpreted as the"least favorable"completion of the market.


Background: different methods like clipping, ligation and cauterization were used to control the cystic artery during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages in this prospective study we focused on the use of monopolar diathermy to control the cystic artery. Patient and methods: prospective study of 142 case of laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to gall stones non of them was complicated, done by 2 surgeons in Al-Imamain Al-Kadhumien medical city basically we tried to control the cystic artery by monopolar diathermy of its small branches adjacent to the wall of gall bladder without need to dissection of calot's triangle to control the main cystic artery. Results :the cystic artery (all varieties)and its branches was found in calot's triangle , effective control of the artery by the cautery alone was possible in 103 cases while classical clipping needed in 39 cases. Conclusion :careful use of diathermy is a safe and efficient method to control the cystic artery during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.


It is well known that the communist ideology, which served the interests of the dictatorial regime, and the methodological, theoretical, and ideological foundations of Soviet historiography, which were under its pressure, did not allow to shed light on true history, they were not subject to the history of the people, but to the propagation of the ideas of the class struggle and the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism. However, this article deals with the history of the Turkestan national liberation movement.


The development of a statistical model which describes the radar backscatter characteristics of a point target, subject to multipath fading and non-Rayleigh, correlated sea clutter is presented. The model is based on the analysis of experimental observations of both forward and back scattering from the sea surface and hence has the attractive feature of being directly related to the physical mechanisms governing the scattering process.


The issue on data processing speedup is considered in the article. The process main steps are emphasized; the algorithms that allow to develop the multiplemachine pipelined plans are considered.


Vertebrate jaws and dentitions fit and function together, yet the genetic processes that coordinate cranial and dental morphogenesis and evolution remain poorly understood. Teeth but not jaws fail to form in the edentate p63−/− mouse mutant, which we used here to identify genes important to odontogenesis, but not jaw morphogenesis, and that may allow dentitions to change during development and evolution without necessarily affecting the jaw skeleton. With the working hypothesis that tooth and jaw development are autonomously controlled by discreet gene regulatory networks, using gene expression microarray assays validated by quantitative reverse‐transcription PCR we contrasted expression in mandibular prominences at embryonic days (E) 10–13 of mice with normal lower jaw development but either normal (p63+/−, p63+/+) or arrested (p63−/−) tooth development. The p63−/− mice showed significantly different expression (fold change ≥2, ≤−2; P ≤ 0.05) of several genes. Some of these are known to help regulate odontogenesis (e.g., p63, Osr2, Cldn3/4) and/or to be targets of p63 (e.g., Jag1/2, Fgfr2); other genes have no previously reported roles in odontogenesis or the p63 pathway (e.g., Fermt1, Cbln1, Pltp, Krt8). As expected, from E10 to E13, few genes known to regulate mandible morphogenesis differed in expression between mouse strains. This study newly links several genes to odontogenesis and/or to the p63 signaling network. We propose that these genes act in a novel odontogenic network that is exclusive of lower jaw morphogenesis, and posit that this network evolved in oral, not pharyngeal, teeth.


The criminal justice system in Charlottesville/Albemarle, VA, is a national leader in promoting Evidence Based Decision Making (EBDM)-relying on data to support decisions and evaluate policies and practices rather than on anecdotes or judgment alone. To implement EBDM more effectively, local criminal justice authorities-police, jail, pre- and post-trial services, and courts-are working together to use and share data across legacy systems better. One important facet of this effort is to design improved methods for data visualization, analysis, and interpretation. In this effort, we demonstrate how data and analytics are used to assess how well criminal justice system objectives are met and how analysis results can be presented using an advanced data visualization tool. The visualizations displayed using Tableau® contain charts, graphs, and dashboards, that allow an analyst to evaluate EBDM performance measures. These reports were developed using historical data to illustrate how an integrated database can be used to produce reports once the database is implemented. With this in mind, reports are general while envisioning what the new database structure will be. Decision makers within the Charlottesville system now have dashboards that they can use to evaluate program efficiency, and determine how well initiatives are working. Our work also consisted of helping with overall data organization, both in ensuring clean data and efficient data entry. We explored the implementation of 2D barcode scanners to read data electronically in different areas throughout the system. Electronic data entry improves data consistency and efficiency in entering data into the system. Ultimately, correct data entry and clean data will lead to more trustworthy analysis of Charlottesville's criminal justice system.


In this paper, the effect of activation energy, Soret, and Dufour on non-isothermal heat transfer via the non-linear wall of the steady convective flow of micropolar nanofluid magnetohydrodynamics is investigated. Variations in thermophoresis, Brownian motion, couple stress, and Hall current are also considered. Transformations are used to simplify and then solve the governing equations using the optimal homotopy analysis method and are numerically visualized for results. The behavior was examined and explained in all profile graphs. Tables are presented to illustrate the effect of dimensionless parameters on skin friction coefficients, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers. The concentration reduces via the chemical reaction rate, a temperature relative parameter, and increases with an increase in the activation energy and Soret number. It was found that the local skin-friction coefficient at the generator increases with an increase in the Hall current parameter, solutal Grashof number, and couple stress parameter on the x-axis, the local heat rate decreases through the Dufour number and Brownian motion parameter, and the mass transfer rate increases with an increase in the activation energy parameter and Schmitz and Reynolds numbers.


Examining how faith-based organizations engage with local communities during mega-sporting events offer unique opportunities for positive social initiatives different from ordinary outreach. Our investigation of the 2012 London Olympic Games reveals how, consistent with ecumenical aims, this mega-sporting event provided outreach opportunities for local religious and para-church organizations to meet their community's needs through relational meetings, consistent with the virtue of hospitality. Our findings detail that while mega-sporting events are fraught with moral and social issues, often disrupting the infrastructure of the host city had the event not happened, these outreach efforts also would not have occurred. Our findings and discussion reveal how faith-based organizations can provide communities with vital resources and positive social support through relational meetings before, during, and after the Games come to town.


Reaction of 3-amino-5-hydroxy-4- phenylazo-1H-pyrazole (1) with phencylbromide, aceticacid anhydride, benzoylchloride, aromatic aldhydes gave the corresponding compounds 2-6, respectively . While, the ring closure for compound 2 in acetic anhydride afforded pyrazolopyrimidine 3 (Scheme1).  Pyrazolopyrimidine derivatives 7,8,9,10 and 12 were obtained by the reaction of 1 with acetylacetone, ethylacetoacetate, ethylcyanoacetate, diethylmalonate and ninhydrine.  Reaction of active methylene group of 10 with aryldiazonium salt gave phenylhydrazinopyrazolopyrimidine 11 (Scheme2). Moreover, reaction of 1 with POcL 3 , P 2 S 5 , phthalic anhydride, chloroacetylchloride, aroylthiocyanate and ammonium thiocyanate gave the corresponding 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively, as mercapto, chloro and N-substituted.  While, hydrazenolysis of 13 in presence of hydrazine hydrate afforded 14 (Scheme3). pyrazolotriazole 20 and pyrazolothiadiazole 21 were obtained by the reaction of 19 with bromine in different solvent (Scheme4). The newly synthesiszed compounds are elucidated by IR, 1 H-NMR and elemental analysis .


Three basic types of subject indexes, the alphabetic subject index, the hierarchically classified index and the coordinate index, were examined for similarities and differences. Differences dependent upon type of index were determined to be: (1) number of steps required to get at identifications of potentially pertinent documents, and (2) specificity of access point and number of concepts in a search heading. These differences were used to formulate types of searches best answered by a particular type of index. Index requirements of an internal reports collection were then determined by translating 142 subject searches of this collection into types of searches best answered by each of the three types of indexes.


In the proposed design of the spectrometer provision has been made to measure the reflectivity, transmittance and scattering factor of laser mirrors and their glass blanks before actual coating. The spectrometer is in the form of a double beam ratio recording system and works on the principle of modulation radiometry. The design is expected to provide lower value of uncertainty, on the order of 5 part in 10000 in the measurements, because of use of integrating sphere, solid state signal processing electronics and single photodetector. The remarkable features of this design are: ambient light does not affect the measurements and care has been taken to reduce the effects of source fluctuations and polarization due to presence of optical components.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of standard-setting bodies and rating agencies which compete for authority in Islamic finance. It does so through a consideration of a recent debate over the permissibility of sukuk financing. Design/methodology/approach – The methods used are a combination of archival and bibliographic research, coupled with the author's previous research on Islamic banking and finance. Findings – While the debate over sukuk hinged onwhether the structures are shari'a compliant in form only, not in substance, the role of sukuk in neoliberal reform and the privatization of state resources reveal a deeper potential conflict between Islamic standard-setting bodies and global neoliberal projects more broadly. Research limitations/implications – The implications are significant for other Islamic finance contractual forms and modes of finance. They are also significant in light of the global financial crisis, and the recent debt crisis in Dubai. The research limitations have to do with the fact that this is a fast-moving field and the global financial crisis has destabilized many institutions – both conventional and Islamic – in structured finance. Originality/value – Few scholars have considered sukuk's legitimacy, or the competition between Islamic standard-setting bodies and non-Islamic global rating agencies.


This article addresses the issue of public higher education institutions funding and its relation to the quality of teaching and academic research in Poland. In order to check whether the acquisition of more financial resources is positively correlated with quality, the paper takes financial data from university reports and juxtaposes them with, 1) their evaluation scores of universities given to them by the Polish Accreditation Committee, 2) research category grades given to Polish universities by the Polish Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Units, and 3) the individual positions of universities in world quality rankings. The paper applies also the Data Envelopment Analysis' scores and it is one of the first studies implementing this type of analysis to HEIs in Poland, and the only one with variables reflecting data of teaching quality and research activity. Through the analysis we find that HEIs with higher average teaching quality simultaneously have higher average scientific categories. There is also a substantial relationship between the revenue per student and revenue per teacher and variables describing quality. Lastly, we find that universities with greater teaching quality measures are more financially efficient, while better scientific position of universities coincides with a deterioration of financial efficiency.


In this research, by using the principle of transmissive liquid crystals in interferometry, simultaneous measurement of multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF) motion is realized in a single measurement system. Therefore, by using it in combination with a polarizer to arbitrarily switch the light path of the interferometer between transmission and block during measurement, it is possible to perform multiple motion measurements simultaneously. In this research, multiple ball lenses (BL) are used as target mirrors, and since BLs have the property of retroreflecting incident light, light enters the photodetector if the laser beam enters the BLs, regardless of the movement of the target. By switching between light transmission and block, multi-degree-of-freedom measurement becomes possible. In this paper, one-DOF measurement of horizontal translational motion perpendicular to the optical axis direction was performed.


Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is an increasingly popular technique; however, the significance of groundwater flow dynamics is rarely examined in detail regarding MAR systems. In general, a high hydraulic gradient is not favoured for MAR implementation, as it causes higher water loss and mixing of recharge water with native groundwater. However, during groundwater-dependent ecosystem (GDE) rehabilitation, these hydraulic gradient-driven flow processes can be taken advantage of. The aim of this research is to test this hypothesis by evaluating the effect of groundwater table inclination, topography, and other local characteristics on MAR efficiency from the perspective of GDE restoration. MAR efficiency was examined from recharge to discharge area in a simple half-basin based on theoretical flow simulations, using GeoStudio SEEP/W software. Different scenarios were compared to analyse the groundwater level increase and the infiltrated water volumes and to assess the efficiency of MAR based on these parameters in each scenario. The theoretical results were applied to a close-to-real situation of Lake Kondor, a GDE of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve (Hungary), which dried up in the past decades due to groundwater decline in the area. Based on the results, initial hydraulic head difference, model length, and hydraulic conductivity are the most critical parameters regarding water level increase at the discharge area. The water amount needed for increasing the water table is mainly influenced by the thickness of the unsaturated zone and the material properties of the aquifer. The findings can help better understand MAR efficiency in light of local groundwater flow processes and contribute to optimising MAR systems. The results of the study suggest that, if water is infiltrated at the local recharge area, the water table will also increase at the corresponding discharge area, which positively effects the connected GDEs. This approach can serve as a nature-based solution (NBS) to sustain sensitive ecosystems in changing climatic conditions.


【Objective】Effects of metal resistant plant growth promoting bacteria( PGPB) on corn growth and Zn accumulation were studied to provide a fundamental groundwork for mitigating the stress of heavy metal on crop growth and decreasing heavy metal uptake. 【Method】A pot experiment was carried out to study the effects of inoculation with two Zn resistant PGPB,Ⅱ2R3and Ⅳ8R3on corn plant growth and Zn uptake from Zn contaminated soils( 0,200,400 and 800 mg·kg-1Zn addition). 【Result and conclusion】The strains Ⅱ2R3and Ⅳ8R3not only grew well with different concentrations of Zn,but also absorbed or accumulated much higher Zn from the growing medium. Individual inoculation of strain Ⅳ8R3to the soil with 200 or 400 mg·kg-1Zn addition both promoted the corn growth. For the soils with 800mg·kg-1Zn addition,simultaneous inoculation with strains Ⅱ2R3and Ⅳ8R3promoted the corn growth.Individual or simultaneous inoculation with strains Ⅱ2R3and Ⅳ8R3to the soils at three Zn pollution levels( 200,400 and 800 mg·kg-1Zn addition) decreased the soil bioavailable Zn concentration. For the soil with a high Zn pollution level( 800 mg·kg-1Zn addition),the inoculation of strains Ⅱ2R3orⅡ2R3+Ⅳ8R3decreased Zn uptake and transportation in corn. However,all of three inoculation treatments had no significant effects on Zn uptake of corn when strains Ⅱ2R3,Ⅳ8R3,Ⅱ2R3+ Ⅳ8R3were inoculated to the soils with 200 or 400 mg·kg-1Zn addition. The results indicate that inoculation with metal resistantPGPB to high Zn-contaminated soil can promote the corn growth and inhibite the uptake and transportation of Zn in corn. Inoculation with strains Ⅱ2R3or Ⅳ8R3to high Zn-contaminated soils can inhibite the uptake and transportation of Zn in corn. The effects of inoculation with strains Ⅱ2R3or Ⅳ8R3on corn growth are related to the different levels of Zn pollution and characterization of the strains.


The Mexican prairie dog lives in a small (500-600 km2) area of northeastern Mexico. The species is listed as endangered due to habitat fragmentation from recent large-scale agricultural development in the northern part of its limited geographical range and from shrub encroachment in the south. In this work we aim to study the role of Mexican prairie dog in the ecology of grasslands in the southern Chihuahuan Desert. Most of the species' colonies, particularly in the far south of its range, occur today in short grasslands that grow on low productivity, gypsum-derived soils where the rate of such shrub encroachment is reduced. A survey of the region surrounding these southern colonies indicated that this has not always been the case as evidence of the species' occurrence on more productive alluvial soils in the past is apparent. Biomass production and seasonal prairie dog densities were measured on these low productivity soils in the south of its range and on richer and deeper alluvial soils to the north. Total biomass production was seven times greater and densities were three-and-one-half times greater on the deeper alluvial soils. Adult seasonal densities were not significantly different within a soil type during the period monitored while juvenile densities increased significantly in the summer censuses due to the birth of young. The similar seasonal densities at each site suggest that the Mexican prairie dog is resource limited. An inferential study of the development of one isolated colony on the more productive alluvial soils in the north of the species' range showed lower prairie dog densities in the center of the colony and at the edge of the colony in the zone of recent expansion than in the area peripheral to the center. Vegetation coverage was too scarce in the center of the colony to quantify. The areas peripheral to the center and in the zone of expansion were reduced in coverage of grasses and sedges in comparison to the unutilized surrounding grassland while the palatable grass, Bouteloua gracilis, was absent in the center and periphery of the colony and increased significantly in coverage from the zone of expansion to the adjoining grassland. Such low productivity grasslands may have served as refuges for the species during previous episodes of shrub encroachment in the Holocene. In addition, the natural fragmentation of such grasslands suggested that the Mexican prairie dog might function as a metapopulation. Colonizations and extinctions were recorded at monitored areas on each soil type. The major difference between the two complexes was due to the greater productivity of the alluvial soils in the north. Consequently, three times as many young per hectare are produced on these soils, greatly increasing the probability of the species maintaining an extant colony or successfully founding new colonies there. The probability of extinction of the Mexican prairie dog is higher in the south of its range due to these lower densities and conservation of the species there should involve the systematic transplantation of individuals from colonies on the richer alluvial soils to the north.


Well-defined dendrimer-like star block copolymers up to 24 arm were successfully achieved by combination of living ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on the basis of poly(aryl ether) dendrimers (CMGn-OH, n = 1−3, with functionality of 6, 12, and 24, respectively). Star polylactides (CMGn-PLLA) were synthesized by bulk polymerization of l-lactide with multifunctional dendrimer initiators and stannous octoate catalyst. The molecular weights of CMGn-PLLA increased linearly with increasing monomer conversion, with molecular weight distributions remaining below 1.15, indicating the living nature of polymerization. CMGn-PLLA was converted into a macroinitiator CMGn-PLLABr via esterification with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide. ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) using the CMGn-PLLABr/CuBr/pentamethyldiethylenetriamine initiating system afforded star block copolymers with predetermined molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions (1.05 < Mw/...


Chaotic signals are ideal nominees as carriers in secure communication systems. The present work proposes an interesting application of a Chaotic signal using an iterative map. By use of experiment, it was discovered that an ecient use of the nonlinearity in the semionductor device such as BFU725F/N1 NPN microwave bipolar junction transistor, can be used to generate a chaotic signal. Frequency Spectrum analysis for both Gunn Source and the chaotic signal is done to ascertain the nonlinearity contributed by the transistor alone. The effect of coupling of two transistors on the output waveform is observed using simulation. The waveform thus obtained is observed to be negatively chirped or down chirped. The characterization of the signal obtained with parameters mentioned above to know its nature is also done. Possible application of the above circuitry in the communication by checking the robustness of signal in a noisy environment is done using MATLAB. Chirping phenomenon is observed to be chaotic also.


A degree of seed dormancy (SD) is required for malting barley varieties in Uruguay, and many other parts of the world, in order to prevent pre-harvest sprouting. Water sensitivity (WS) (a decrease in germination under excess water) is a related trait that can create problems at the malthouse. Both traits are affected by environmental conditions during grain filling. We used a population of 100 doubled haploid lines derived from the cross BCD47 × Baronesse to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting SD, WS, and malting quality traits. Preliminary experiments revealed that BCD47 has low SD and Baronesse has high SD. WS for these accessions was not known before this research. A major SD QTL – detected in four experiments – is on chromosome 5H, with BCD47 contributing the low dormancy allele. Four other regions with QTL effects for SD were mapped, but these QTL were significant in data from only one or two environments. Four regions were detected with QTL effects for WS, but only two – in 5H coincident with the SD QTL, and 3H – were significant in more than one environment. SD and WS were affected by the average temperature at the end of the grain-filling period, with higher temperatures associated with lower values for SD. At the same region on 5H where SD and WS QTL were detected, we found significant QTL for malt extract, α-amylase activity, β-glucans, FAN, Kolbach index, wort turbidity and protein content, with BCD47 contributing favourable alleles for all traits. These results underscore the importance of environmental effects on both SD and WS as well as the difficulties of combining good malting quality with adequate levels of SD and WS.


Since the early 1960's Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) and Forest Pest Management (FPM) have worked in partnership developing technology to support forest health and silviculture. Traditionally this partnership has included cooperators from other agencies, States, foreign governments, academia, industry, and individual landowners. The FPM sponsored projects have focused on engineering development of delivery systems and methods to mitigate environmental impact, protect personnel, and reduce costs while meeting resource manager forest health objectives. This paper summarizes program accomplishments, takes a look how the accomplishments were realized, and references the current 5-Year Forest Pest Management/Missoula Technology and Development Genter Plan-Supporting Forest Health.


Two main types of species distribution models are used to project species range shifts in future climatic conditions: correlative and process‐based models. Although there is some continuity between these two types of models, they are fundamentally different in their hypotheses (statistical relationships vs. mechanistic relationships) and their calibration methods (SDMs tend to be occurrence data driven while PBMs tend to be prior driven). One of the limitations to the use of process‐based models is the difficulty to parameterize them for a large number of species compared to correlative SDMs. We investigated the feasibility of using an evolutionary algorithm (called covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy, CMA‐ES) to calibrate process‐based models using species distribution data. This method is well established in some fields (robotics, aerodynamics, etc.), but has never been used, to our knowledge, in ecology, despite its ability to deal with very large space dimensions. Using tree species occurrence data across Europe, we adapted the CMA‐ES algorithm to find appropriate values of model parameters. We estimated simultaneously 27–77 parameters of two process‐based models simulating forest tree's ecophysiology for three species with varying range sizes and geographical distributions. CMA‐ES provided parameter estimates leading to better prediction of species distribution than parameter estimates based on expert knowledge. Our results also revealed that some model parameters and processes were strongly dependent, and different parameter combinations could therefore lead to high model accuracy. We conclude that CMA‐ES is an efficient state‐of‐the‐art method to calibrate process‐based models with a large number of parameters using species occurrence data. Inverse modelling using CMA‐ES is a powerful method to calibrate process‐based parameters which can hardly be measured. However, the method does not warranty that parameter estimates are correct because of several sources of bias, similarly to correlative models, and expert knowledge is required to validate results.


A Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) incorporating zinc-oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles-based saturable absorber (SA) is proposed and demonstrated. To form the SA, the ZnO nanoparticles, which are originally in the powder form, are first dissolved in ethanol and subsequently deposited onto the surface of fiber ferrule by using the adhesion effect with the evaporation technique. By integrating the ZnO nanoparticle-based SA into a laser cavity of an EDFL, a self-started and stable Q-switching is achieved at a low threshold power of 20.24 mW. As the pump power is increased, the pulse repetition rate is tunable from 10.34 kHz to 25.59 kHz while pulse duration decreases from 21.39 μ s to 3.65 μ s . Additionally, this Q-switched laser has a maximum energy per pulse of 19.34 nJ and an average output power of 0.46 mW. These results indicate the feasibility and functionality of the ZnO nanoparticles-based SA for Q-switched generation, which offers the flexibility and easy integration of the SA into a ring laser cavity.


SUMMARY: A county may levy an additional 1 3/4 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the sole purpose of funding maintenance and operation of real property that is owned in fee simple or less than fee simple and is either acquired or eligible to be acquired as conservation futures. These funds may be placed in a locally established conservation futures fund and may be used only for maintenance


Some crucial problems related to scientific or academic ethics have been accomodated in Copy Rights Law which provides criminals anactions against the breaker. However, the law could not reach oranticipate all kinds of academic ethicviolations, because some of which had been very difficult to prove juridically


The free trade agreement signed in 1996 between Israel and Turkey significantly increased the trade volume between two countries. This paper investigates if there is a deviation in some sectors from inter-industry trade to intra-industry trade. The result is that intra-industry trade is intensified in nine subcategories of the chemicals, textile, machinery, and transport equipments sectors. This intensification in intra-industry trade is supported with the increase in the volume of trade for 6 subcategories in question.


This paper reviews the network distance education teaching mode, Using the computer education as an example, the analysis of the computer aided teaching method the results in the application of quantitative and qualitative analysis method. Make a certain university 2005 freshmen do level test, according to the principle of no significant difference will be divided into a whole new N. Randomly selected two whole (62) for the test group to participate in university computer teaching reform. At the same time, select the other two whole (62) as the reference object for regular teaching. Period, and the two groups of students in four tests, and the four scores on the quantitative analysis; The network distance education in computer aided teaching experience of teachers and students class separately carried on the interview, At the same time, to student's online autonomous learning time and content monitoring and statistics, and student test scores were compared.


of Shakespeare's affinity with Italian philosopher and heretic Giordano Bruno. Despite its titular claim to present investigations of his contemporaries, this volume does little to broaden the focus of early modern dramatic studies beyond Shakespeare. In Part Three, Vanna Gentili's discussion of national idiom touches on Spenser, Sidney, and Daniel, but her most substantial examples are from Shakespeare. Viola Papetti's "From Shakespeare to Dryden: Three Dramatic Incipits" does raise some valuable questions about dramatic adaptation, but only Franco Marenco's brief analysis of audience expectation in Jacobean tragedy opens out into a fuller discussion of early modern drama as he considers Webster's and Middleton's Italianate tragedies as paradigmatic of a baroque episteme. Essays by Roberta Mullini and Michele Marrapodi round out this last section of the collection. Mullini finds in King John evidence of the instability of monarchical authority in the indeterminacy of the signs with which John's questionable royalty is associated, while Marrapodi, as contributor now rather than editor, argues that the symbolic dimensions of Othello are best understood if Desdemona—rather than her husband—is recognized as Iago's antagonist. The editors of this volume keep firmly in mind their laudable goal of familiarizing scholars beyond Italy's borders with a body of work otherwise unavailable to them, and work hard to provide some immediate context for this sometimes variable collection of essays. Marrapodi's introduction sketches out some of the important developments in Italian literary scholarship since the mid-1960s. The helpful bibliography at the volume's close points the uninitiated toward a half-dozen major Italian-language journals and to several pages of recent books and collections of essays of potential value to scholars. This editorial frame makes the volume more than simply a collection of representative essays and turns it instead into a useful research tool for readers committed to pursuing the Italian connection in Shakespeare studies.


The items in this book are perhaps the most divers e all those included in the Waddesdon catalogue series. Venetian, Venetian-style and German-Bohemi an glassmaking is strongly represented.


Introduction. Modern Ukraine is experiencing a complex and responsible stage of its development. It is conditioned by the emergence of new threats and challenges to the national security of our country, which require resolute answers. In this context, science occupies an important place. It is obliged to clearly define the status of Ukrainian society, to substantiate the main directions of its modernization, which will promote social progress. Purpose. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to determine the status of Ukrainian society, to clarify the content of a number of concepts concerning the newly independent states, to justify the ways and directions of modernization of Ukraine. Methods. The application of general scientific and special methods during the study of Ukraine is conditioned by the specifics of post-colonial states as a complex social phenomenon. Results. We have found that after the achievement of political independence, the metropolitan traits (for Ukraine – Soviet, communist, socialist, totalitarian, etc.) cannot automatically move to the characteristics of the newly created countries. At the forefront should come signs that adequately reflect the status of the state, both before and after the proclamation of independence. Therefore, Ukraine is a typical post-colonial state. Originality. The real status of Ukraine as a post-colonial state is determined for the first time in the national scientific tradition. Views on the genesis of post-colonial states have gained further development, drawing on the historical practice of Ukrainian state building. A number of concepts related to these states are specified. Conclusion. It is proved that modern Ukraine needs a holistic concept of modernization of all spheres of society's life. First of all, it needs the deep reformation of education and science in the interests of defense. The core of reform should be the military sphere. As a result of military reform, a "new model of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" should appear; new approaches to the Russian-Ukrainian war should emerge. This requires further scientific research of problems related to the modernization of Ukrainian society in general and the reform of the educational and scientific space of Ukraine in particular.


There is an increasing trend towards personalization of services and interaction. The use of computational models for learning to predict user emotional preferences is of significant importance towards system personalization. Preference learning is a machine learning research area that aids in the process of exploiting a set of specific features of an individual in an attempt to predict her preferences. This paper outlines the use of preference learning for modeling emotional preferences and shows the methodology's promise for constructing accurate computational models of affect.


This article focuses on milieu treatment concepts and the utilization of treatment groups in a residential treatment center. In order to understand the concepts used, the agency's philosophy and setting, the individual and group goals established for boys under its care, and the involvement of differential staff in treatment will be reviewed.


The ability to safely and effectively neutralize anticoagulant activity is of particular importance in the case of long acting drugs. While antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) benefit from their slow clearance rate from liver (t 1/2 approx 10 days in mice) which permits infrequent dosing, the potential necessity to reverse ASO drug activity presents a challenge. ISIS 401025 is a second generation ASO targeting prothrombin RNA that has previously been shown to reduce thrombin generation and prolong PT and aPTT as a result of depleting prothrombin mRNA levels in mice. To explore the possibility of developing an "antidote" strategy for ASO-mediated anticoagulation, we designed a sense oligonucleotide, ISIS 405277, complementary to the ISIS 401025 sequence and examined its ability to reverse the effects of prior treatment with ISIS 401025 in mice. A PT-INR of 3.0 was established after 3 weeks of treatment with ISIS 401025 at a weekly dose of 60 mg/kg, corresponding to a reduction of prothrombin mRNA transcript levels of 96%. A single injection of the sense oligonucleotide, ISIS 405277, resulted in a dose-dependent reversal of INR to 1.6, 1.1, and 0.9 three days after injection of 30, 60, and 90 mg/kg, respectively. Corresponding prothrombin transcript levels in liver tissue were returned to 18.4%, 27.8%, and 38.9% of normal levels, respectively. Results from a study designed to determine the kinetics of reversal of anticoagulation indicated that a 50% reduction of PT-INR 4.3, established following 3 weeks of treatment with ISIS 401025, required 11 days in the absence of subsequent treatment, while the reduction was achieved in 2.2 days following a single administration of 90 mg/kg of sense oligonucleotide. When mice were pretreated with an ASO targeting prothrombin that was not complementary to the sense oligonucleotide (ISIS 40527), sense oligonucleotide treatment was unable to reverse either target depletion or anticoagulation, indicating a sequence-specific antidote effect. These results demonstrate for the first time that subsequent administration of a sense strand oligonucleotide can neutralize ASO mediated target RNA degradation in animals, and demonstrates its potential utility in reversing ASO-based activity for anticoagulation.


Abstract In this study, a new one step paired electrochemical method is developed for simultaneous synthesis of iron and iron oxide nanoparticles. iron and iron oxide are prepared as cathodic and anodic products from iron (ii) sulfate aqueous solution in a membrane divided electrolytic cell by the pulsed current electrosynthesis. Because of organic solvent-free and electrochemical nature of the synthesis, the process could be considered as green and environmentally friendly. The reduction of energy consumption and low cost are the other significant advantages of this new method that would have a great application potential in the chemical industry. The nanostructure of prepared samples was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometer (VsM).


Objective: This study aimed to investigate the changes in inflammatory cytokines and infection factors in patients with intracranial infection after intracranial tumor operation. Methods: Patients with meningioma admitted to our hospital from May 2015 to June 2018 were enrolled. Based on postoperative infection, the patients were divided into the infection group (n=309) and non-infection group (n=305). The levels of related inflammatory cytokines after operation were measured and the risk factors were determined by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Differences in the levels of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were not obvious between the two groups of patients on the 1st day after operation (P>0.05). From the 3rd d after operation, the levels were remarkably higher than those in patients of the non-infection group, and differences in the levels of serum CRP, PCT, IL-6 and TNF-α between the two groups of patients became more obvious on the 7th and 14th d after operation (P<0.05). The multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that age, diabetes mellitus, operation time, posterior fossa operation and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage were independent risk factors for patients with intracranial infection after intracranial tumor operation (P<0.05). Conclusion: Infection inflammatory cytokines, CRP, PCT, IL-6 and TNF-α, along with other infection factors, function as important indicators after Intracranial Tumor Operation, which provide new leads for the countermeasures of intracranial infection in clinical practice.


Conventional and saturation transfer (electron spin resonance) techniques are used to study the motional properties of several spin labels introduced in three proteins: lysozyme, sperm whale myoglobin and human hemoglobin. The mobilities of a maleimide spin label which binds covalently to the proteins, as well as of two small probes TEMPO and PD-TEMPOL were monitored in the temperature range from –−10 to −150 °C for samples in the dry and solution states. The three proteins show a similar temperature dependence as indicated by the parameters 2Azz and ΔH. A small linear increase in 2Azz with decrease in temperature is observed for the dry samples. For the proteins in solution, on the other hand, the 2Azztemperature dependence shows a change of behaviour around −60 °C that is related to the freezing of the water molecules in the hydration shell. The changes observed for the parameter ΔH are such that at temperatures below −60 °C ΔH is greater for the solution sample, while at temperatures above −60 °C ΔH is...