Abstract— Irradiation of the skin with ultraviolet‐B (UVB) radiation causes a local and systemic suppression of T‐cell‐medi‐ated immune responses. Recently, N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) was found to protect against UVB‐induced immunosuppression and several other types of UV damage. The protective effects appeared to be based on the ability of NAC to increase glutathione (GSH) levels by promoting GSH synthesis. In this study, it was investigated whether topical application of NAC was still effective against UVB‐induced suppression of contact hypersensitivity if GSH synthesis was blocked. Mice were pretreated with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, which succeeded in blocking the increase in epidermal GSH after topical application of NAC. Whereas the non‐BSO‐treated animals showed an increase to around 155% of the control GSH level for all NAC doses tested, only a slight (nonsignificant) increase in epidermal GSH was observed in the BSO‐treated animals. Surprisingly, the protective efficacy of NAC against UVB‐induced immunosuppression was not affected by the BSO pretreatment. No significant difference between the protective efficacy of NAC in the two groups was observed. Apparently, the antioxidant effect of NAC itself was sufficient to provide protection against UVB‐immunosuppression, independent of GSH synthesis.


Through an analysis of the performance of the 5 teams taking part in 2005 International Women's Volleyball Master Competition(China),the author concludes that the Chinese team has the comparable advantages over the other teams in scoring.While the Chinese team performed much the same with other teams in the first attack,they showed better capabilities for scoring during the defenses and counter attacks.The author also notices the obvious shortcomings on the part of the Chinese team for blocking,as revealed by the frequent net-touching and outing.The Chinese team enjoyed better scoring rates during the service and countering the service,however,they also lost much scores for fault performance in ball-service.


The article is based on the characteristics of the ecological environment in Qinghai plateau,expounds in details the fragile nature and the coming crises in ecological environment in the region,analysizes the harm and the cause of its ecological unbalances,points out the objective reflection revealed by the basic contraditions between man and earth on the ecological environment,thus comes to a conclusion that the worsening of the ecological environment is resulted from the man's unreasonable developing and using of the resources of this region,and seeks a way in which,under the new circumstances of marketing economy,man should protect the resources and keep the increment balanced when developing and using them.The author puts forward elementary measures of creating a system for steadily developing the ecological agriculture to harmonize the relationship between man and earth,for making every effort to permanently use agricultural resources and to remain a favourable circulation of ecology,and in the end reach an aim of effectively combining together the ecological,economic and social results.


Abstract Yersinia species are Gram-negative coccobacilli consisting of three pathogenic species, Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, and five nonpathogenic species, Y. kristensenii, Y. frederiksenii, Y. intermedia, Y. rohdei, and Y. aldovae. The former three species are primary pathogens of wild and domestic animals and birds. In the human, Y. pestis causes plague, or black death, while Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica produce milder forms of disease varying from diarrhea and abdominal pain to more systemic symptoms such as fever, scarlatiniform skin rash, conjunctivitis, erythema nodosum, and lymphadenopathy (1–3). Complications of reactive arthritis, acute uveitis, coronary aneurysms, and acute renal failure are not infrequently reported after the latter two Yersinia infections (4–8). The mechanisms by which these organisms mediate these complicated symptoms are poorly understood. However, the preferential avidity for lymphoid tissues seen in these species and the characteris...


Numerous scholars have unravelled the complexities and underlying uncertainties of coupled human and water systems in various fields and disciplines. These complexities, however, are not always reflected in the way in which the dynamics of human-water systems are modelled. One reason is the lack of social data times series, that may be provided by longitudinal surveys. Here, we show the value of collecting longitudinal survey data to enrich sociohydrological modelling of flood risk. To illustrate, we compare and contrast two different approaches (repeated crosssectional and panel) for collecting longitudinal data, and explore changes in flood risk awareness and preparedness in a municipality hit by a flash flood in 2018. We found that risk awareness has not changed significantly in the timeframe under study (one year). Perceived preparedness also did not change, but we observed differences related to damage severity. More precisely, preparedness increased only among those respondents who suffered low damages during the flood event. We also found gender differences across both approaches for most of the variables explored. Lastly, we argue that results that are consistent across the two approaches constitute robust data that can be used for the parametrisation of sociohydrological models. Moreover, we posit that there is a need to improve socio-demographic heterogeneity in modelling human-water systems in order to better support risk management.


The student disengagement is closely related to early school dropout and its educational, social and labour consequences. The measures and programs aiming to counteract this problem are diverse. This paper offers an overview of those good practices that are documented in the research literature. To do so, it has been made a literature revision of research from the last decade about programs and measures to relieve the school dropout. The results shown cultivating a respectful and caring atmosphere, a relevant and meaningful curriculum, student-centered teaching practices, a close relationship with other organizations in the community, the professional coordination a collaboration as well as program, timetables, spaces and organizational flexibility are, among others, some promising practices for working with disengaged and at-risk students. Knowledge about quality features of reengagement programs that are documented by the research as successful at favoring the persistence and preventing school dropout are a reference to analyze the current programs and their implementation, and to suggest improvements aimed to modify established routines that lie at the root of school disengagement.


A couple of enzymes, MTSase and MTHase, capable of converting partially hydrolyzed starch into trehalose, were obtained from a strain sample Micrococcus luteus preserved in our laboratory. The research revealed that MTSase and MTHase were scacely accumulated in the cell during the course of the cells rapid growth, however the content of the two enzymes increased quickly by culturing the cells for 12 h after the cells almost stopped growing. The optimum conditions for the biosynthesis were: pH 6.5, 40℃ and 15%( w/v) of the starch hydrolysate(DE value 11.6).


Trees provide multiple ecosystem services (ES) and are generally considered an important natural-based approach for climate change adaptation and mitigation. In urban areas, proper pruning practices can help enhance ES provided by trees, but in areas with issues of typhoons or storms, routinely intensive pruning may reduce ES. Therefore, it is critical to determine proper pruning intensity in balancing the ES provision and life/property protection. With the aim of promoting sustainable urban forestry management, we applied the i-Tree Eco to quantify ES and ES values of air pollution removal and runoff avoidance provided by a total of 87,014 Taipei street trees and developed an analytical method to estimate the potential loss caused by different pruning intensities. Based on the i-Tree Eco estimates, the Taipei street trees on average provide ES values of air pollution removal and runoff avoidance at $2.31 and $1.87 USD/tree/y, respectively. By changing the ratio of crown missing as a surrogate for different pruning intensities, we found that with a less than 25% pruning intensity, the decline ratio of ES values was relatively constant, and the potential loss was estimated at $0.47 USD/tree/y at the 25% pruning intensity. As such, in general maintenance situations, we recommend a less than 25% pruning intensity. However, during typhoon or monsoon seasons, a less than 45% pruning intensity is suggested to balance the ES provision and public safety with an estimated loss at $0.96 USD/tree/y. We also suggest creating visualization maps incorporating the potential ES and the local in situ environmental and tree conditions at a community level to support decision making for a more comprehensive management plan. Based on the framework and method developed in this study, the science-based information can be used to assist maintenance practices and highlight the potential ES values to be enhanced by choosing proper pruning intensity for a more sustainable future.


Based on stress-algebraic model,anisotropic turbulent buoyant jet with variable density is studied.A simple expression for buoyancy coefficient is proposed. Numerical results for jet axis with density difference show better agreement with experimental ones.By using finite volume method,2-D vertical jet′s flow field with different jet angle is studied.Through analyzing the relation between vortex center,the position of separation point and jet angles,conclusions are drawn that the circumfluence field is the largest when jet angle is 90°.The concept of area turbulent kinetic energy is proposed and by using this concept,the relationship between mixing intensity and jet angles is analyzed.The analytical results show that 90° jet angle is the most favorite condition for jet water mixing with environment water.


"Cotton quality" is defined as the natural or inherent length distribution of cotton fibers as they grow on their seeds. Quality control is simply maintaining this distribution throughout processing in a cotton gin. Quality control methods are described and analyzed. Specifically, moisture control devices (which prevent the fiber from becoming brittle and breaking) are discussed. These include a system which measures the resistance of a cotton mass to determine its moisture content and to control the drying process. Another system measures cotton temperature drops between various points in the ginning process and adjusts dryer temperatures accordingly. Progress in quality control research at the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Cotton Ginning Research Laboratories is described, including systems for moisture detection and for process control.


In the study of the relation between textual and literary criticism in the book of Joshua, the Old Greek or Septuagint version of that book takes a prominent place. Apart from the recently discovered manuscript Schoyen 2648 that probably dates from the beginning of the third century AD and contains the Septuagint (LXX) text of Josh. 9:27-11:3, and a small papyrus fragment that contains only remains of LXX-Josh. 4:23-5: 1, the oldest complete manuscript of Joshua in Greek is the fourth-century CE Codex Vaticanus (B). The text of Joshua of this witness has remained relatively free from the Hexaplaric and Lucianic revisions and has served as the basis of most of the editions of the Septuagint. J. Hollenberg has offered a very well-balanced and exhaustive study of the differences between the Hebrew and Greek texts of the book of Joshua.Keywords: book of Joshua; Codex Vaticanus (B); Greek texts; Hebrew manuscripts; J. Hollenberg; Septuagint (LXX) text


3. Objectives The design of a chemical process is a creative, ill-defined and very complex task, which is poorly understood. One long-term goal of this project is to get a better understanding of the design process and to make this knowledge available in the form of a computer-support tool. The elaboration of a model of the design process itself should be the first step towards the development of any computer environment able to support synthesis and design activities. In consequence, the proposal of a design process model is the main goal of the present project. To attain this goal, two prerequisites have to be fulfilled. First the knowledge about design processes has to be acquired, secondly a modeling language has to be developed which is capable of formalizing all relevant aspects. These two tasks are being addressed in this project as well. A chemical process running in a plant is a combination of physical, chemical, biological, and information-processing procedures that are performed to change materials in their chemical composition and properties to get a specified product. The goal of the process design activity is to synthesize the draft of a new or the modification of an existing chemical process and to achieve its realization in a plant. The initial problem specification for the design of a chemical process usually consists of one or two pages of information whereas the outcome comprises several ring binders. This range shows how much information has to be generated, considered, evaluated and eventually


T‐cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM‐3) is an Ig‐superfamily member expressed on IFN‐γ‐secreting Th1 and Tc1 cells and was identified as a negative regulator of immune tolerance. TIM‐3 is expressed by a subset of activated CD4+ T cells, and anti‐CD3/anti‐CD28 stimulation increases both the level of expression and the number of TIM‐3+ T cells. In mice, TIM‐3 is constitutively expressed on natural regulatory T (Treg) cells and has been identified as a regulatory molecule of alloimmunity through its ability to modulate CD4+ T‐cell differentiation. Here, we examined TIM‐3 expression on human Treg cells to determine its role in T‐cell suppression. In contrast to mice, TIM‐3 is not expressed on Treg cells ex vivo but is upregulated after activation. While TIM‐3+ Treg cells with increased gene expression of LAG3, CTLA4, and FOXP3 are highly efficient suppressors of effector T (Teff) cells, TIM‐3− Treg cells poorly suppressed Th17 cells as compared with their suppression of Th1 cells; this decreased suppression ability was associated with decreased STAT‐3 expression and phosphorylation and reduced gene expression of IL10, EBI3, GZMB, PRF1, IL1Rα, and CCR6. Thus, our results suggest that TIM‐3 expression on Treg cells identifies a population highly effective in inhibiting pathogenic Th1‐ and Th17‐cell responses.


In recent years,the research of the English version of Lin Yutang's Fu Sheng Liu Ji has been done from microcosmic.To deepen the research of his translation,we should stick to the combination of domestic with abroad,theory with practice,Chinese-English with English-Chinese,linguistics with poetics,culture,and subject with object etc.


In the paper the key aspects of epistolary genre are explained, its genre peculiarities, features and essential markers are defined. The scientific theories of a letter are analyzed, and typological categories of genre-forms in epistolary are singled out. In increasing frequency epistolary genre become an object of research in contemporary study of literature, and realization the significance of writers' epistolary heritage stimulated an activation of promulgation and translation of both separate letters and total massive of them. In the article in shorten way the history of epistolary development from Antiquity to nowadays is presented, the genre transformations of a letter, that were noticed in XX century, are determined. Also an evolution in scientific approaches to epistolary – from understanding it as accessory materials in analysis of writer's creative works to study it as separate genre, which shows the whole spectrum of literary changes – is outlined.


This research aims to study the impact of changing the exchange rate on the retail prices of the most important vegetable crops in Egypt ( onions , garlic , tomatoes , peas , green zucchini , green beans , potatoes , cucumbers ) , by calculating the impact of the change in the exchange rate on the evolution of retail prices of the most important vegetable crops under study ( the effect of scrolling ) , and develop a model (VAR) standard is structured to measure the impact of the change in the exchange rate on the retail prices of the most important vegetable crops in question . the correlation between the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the U.S. dollar and retail prices has been calculated of the most important vegetable crops in Egypt during the period from (January 2010 until December 2014) through the study of the effect of scrolling of the exchange rate on the prices of those crops , and the results showed the existence of a correlation between the exchange rate and the prices of those crops at the level of significance 0.01, which means that the change in the exchange rate of the dollar against the pound offset change extrusive in the prices of the most important vegetable crops amounted to about (4.4 , 11.6 , 3.6 , 2.7 , 0.4, 4.3, 1.4 , 1.13 ) for onions , garlic , tomatoes , green peas , zucchini , green beans , potatoes , cucumbers , respectively. The study has been using selfregression model (VAR) to analyze of the relationship between the exchange rate and prices of the most important vegetable crops in Egypt, where the results found the clarity and strength of the relationship between the exchange rate and prices of the most important vegetable crops in Egypt. Have used the function to respond to shocks to identify the extent of the impact of prices of major food commodities in Egypt during the period (January 2010 until December 2014) shocks , which can be exposed to the exchange rate , it was found that any shock in the exchange rate were the effects incremental retail prices for all crops studied , and this is what explains the impact of the global financial crisis on the continuing rise in world food prices and the impact on food prices in the Egyptian market , particularly retail prices for vegetable crops in the Egyptian market . Authors Name/Reyad Ismaeil Moustafa (Author) line1: Agricultural College / Suez Canal University line2: Egypt Authors Name/ Mamdouh Elbadry Mohamed (Author) line1: Institute of Agricultural Economic Research / Agricultural Research Center line2: Egypt In the light of study results, the research recommends the following: (1) Expansion in the production of crops in Egypt , so that it can rise at rates self-sufficiency in order to avoid the adverse effects of exchange rate changes on domestic prices rise . ( 2) Find foreign markets for vegetable crops (onions , garlic , tomatoes , peas , green zucchini , green beans , potatoes , cucumbers) , specially that Egypt enjoys some comparative advantages in the production of these crops , and to benefit from the increase in the price of the dollar and then increase the outcome of the state of foreign exchange . (3) The need to follow monetary policies aimed at reducing the high exchange rate, especially with the prices of vegetable crops affected by the subject of the study to increase the exchange rate. Keywords— Pass Through Effect ,Vector Auto Regression, Granger Causality, Akaike Information Criterion, Schwarz Bayesian Criterion, Augmented Dickey,Fuller, Lag Structure, Lag Exclusion, Cross Correlation, Impulse Response .


During red blood cell development, differentiation and cell cycle progression are intimately and uniquely linked through interdependent mechanisms involving the erythroid transcriptional suppressor PU.1 and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p57KIP2.


Question

Niche differentiation may promote species co-existence because it precludes competitive exclusion. However, in stressful environments, facilitation may predominate, and large niche overlaps may result from niche widening and positive spatial associations. We analysed the niche structure of a species-rich system over a soil depth gradient (a niche axis positively correlated with water availability) and tested for various patterns expected from competition or facilitation.

Location

Semi-arid grassland, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Methods

We recorded species abundance and soil depth in 1200 0.1 × 0.1 m quadrats from four sites. Community structure was described through correspondence analysis and correlated with soil depth. We measured niche breadth (Levine's index), position (mean depth) and overlap (Hurlbert's index). We used a null model to estimate the expected overlap if interactions play no role in determining community structure. We tested whether overlap changed along the depth gradient. We also analysed if niches become narrow with higher competition.

Results

Data supported three predictions derived from competition: most species' niches were relatively narrow and differed in their position along the gradient, a pattern reflected in a changing community structure; realized niches became narrower where competition was stronger; and niche overlap was smaller than expected by chance. Facilitation had no support: large niche overlaps expected from stress amelioration were as frequent as predicted by chance. Overlap increased in the most stressful (shallow) soils, as expected if facilitation predominates there, but also in the deepest ones where evidence for competition was strong, suggesting an artifact at the extremes of the gradient.

Conclusions

In this grassland, competition seems to restrict species distribution, abating richness in the deepest soils and relegating poor competitors (succulent and poikilohydric species) to the shallow soils. There, drought tolerance rather than facilitation determined community composition and richness. Our results support the idea that hydrological niches play an important role in maintaining plant diversity because (1) differentiation in hydrological requirements (small niche overlaps over the water-use axis) reduces competition, and (2) spatial heterogeneity and stress create competition-free patches. Our results also support the hypothesis that facilitation is rare when stress is caused by resource (in this case, water) scarcity.


This paper presents an Acoustic Emission (AE) to detect pitting corrosion in stainless steel. The AE signals were analyzed to reveal the correlation between AE parameters and severity levels of pitting corrosion in austenitic stainless steel 304 (SS304). In this work, the corrosion severity is graded roughly into five levels based on the depth of corrosion. Relationships between a number of time-domain AE parameters and the corrosion severity were first studied and key parameters identified. The corrosion severity was also categorized into three stages: initial, propagation and final stages based on the source mechanisms of the AE signals. We identified these stages from the frequency-domain characteristic of the AE signal and the visual characteristic of the corroded pits in each level of corrosion severity. A number of measures were employed to quantify such characteristics and the source mechanisms hypothesized. To demonstrate the usefulness of such parameters, a feed-forward neural network was used to classify the corrosion severity. Preprocessing and verification techniques were provided to facilitate and to maintain the generalization capability of the network. The classification performance is excellent and demonstrates that the AE technique and a neural network can be efficiently used to detect and monitor the occurrence of corrosion as well as to classify the corrosion severity.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The Western Australian Threatened Species Scientific Committee was formed in 1997 following the disbanding of separate flora and fauna committees. Its role is to advise the Minister for the Environment on the listing of threatened and specially protected flora and fauna under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, and to advise the Minister on the ranking of threatened flora and fauna according to internationally accepted (IUCN) guidelines. The current committee comprises nine members, two of whom are invertebrate biologists.Thirty-three invertebrate species are currently listed as "rare or likely to become extinct", and one is listed as "presumed extinct" (CALM 1998). A further five taxa are listed as "protected fauna" under the provisions of a close season notice (CALM 1994) which restricts collecting, except under licence. This paper reviews some of the procedures that are followed when considering organisms for listing. It focuses on those invertebrates that have been considered for listing and highlights trends in the procedures, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the system.


Speech recognition improves efficiency and accuracy of score collecting and logging,and it also provides data aid support for the overal examination paper analysis.The present paper introduced the design and the practice of the score colleting and logging system based on the technology of speech recogintion and probed into the critical technology and the problems relevant to the issue.


In this study, a rapid and simple method based on reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a photodiode array detector (PDA) for the simultaneous analysis of five pollutants including aniline and its degradation products, para-aminophenol, meta-aminophenol, ortho-aminophenol and phenol, was developed. The retention and selectivity of these pollutants were investigated by testing three different columns (C18, C8 and C4) and changing several experimental parameters such as the organic modifier nature and content, buffer concentration, pH value and column temperature. The best chromatographic results were obtained using the C4 column and a mobile phase composed of MeOH/acetate buffer (10 mM, pH 5) (60:40, v/v), with λ = 270 nm and a flow rate of 1 mL min−1. The influence of the temperature was also investigated in the range of 10–50 °C; the results indicated the dependence of the enthalpies of transfer of the analytes on the mobile phase and the nature of the stationary phase, and a good linear correlation of lnk vs. 1/T was observed for all the tested columns. The linearity of the method ranged from 2.0 to 60 μg mL−1 for all compounds, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.9987 to 0.9999. Recoveries of aniline and its degradation products in water ranged from 87.51% to 101.35% while the relative standard deviations varied between 0.31% and 1.62% (n = 6). The limits of quantification of the method ranged from 0.0778 to 0.2073 μg mL−1. The results show that the method we developed is fast, low cost and can meet the requirements for the determination of aniline and its degradation products in waste or natural waters.


According to the various uncertain factors in the architectural projects,the paper introduces the concept and types of the architectural engineering risks,mainly indicates the risk identification,the evaluation and the prevention,so as to reduce the damages by the risks,realize the maximum of the interests of the enterprises and create better economic benefits.


The atmospheric attenuation of laser beam due to the scattering by the atmospheric particle such as fog, mist, and haze or dust has been calculated as a function of visibility (visual range).the theoretical results show that the laser wavelength in the near infrared region 1.8μm have attenuation more than middle infrared regions, 3.11 μm and far infrared region 8.5μm although these wavelengths have transmittance windows, also these result show that, in fog condition where visibility is less than 0.5km, the atmospheric attenuation of laser beam is independence of laser wavelength . These results are obtained for horizontal path and confirmed by comparison with published data. يف اذه تاميسجب اهت راطتسا ةجيتن رزيملا ةمزحل يوجلا نيهوتلا باسح مت ثحبلا م وجلا ث ةيحوضومل ةلادك ةيوجلا ةبرتلأاو فيفخلا و فيثكلا بابضلا ل ( رلا ىدم ايؤ .) لا جئاتن نلا ةيرظ ترهظأ نإ ةعقاولا ةيرزيملا لاوطلأا يف ءا رمحلا تحت ةقطنملا ةبيرقلا .8.1μm كممت ت يوج نيهو رثكأ لاوطلأا نم ةعقاولا ةيرزيملا يف تحت ةقطنملا طسوتملا ءا رمحلا ه 3.11 μm ةديعبلاو 8.5 μm كمتمت لاوطلأا هذه نا نم مغرلا ىمع ةيوج ذفاون . كلا بابضلا ةلاح نا نيبت كلاذك ث ا ةيحوضولا نوكت ثيح ادج في ق ،نم ل 0.5km عي لا يوجلا نيهوتلا ناف ت لب ىجوملأ لوطلا ىمع دم مزلاي دمتعم ةتباث ميق بسح جئاتنلا هذه طقف ةيحوضولا ىمع ت تا راسممل ةيقفلأا ترهظأ دقو ةيرزيملا ةمزحمل ةروشنملا جناتنلاو تانايبلا عم قفاوت جئاتنلا هذه . Diala, Jour, Volume, 37, 2009 378 1-introduction Knowledge on propagation infrared laser beam in the atmosphere is required for many purposes such as optical communication, earth resources remote sensing, laser guidance weapons and laser range tinder. The transmission of electromagnetic wave through the atmosphere is governed by the attenuation due to both scattering and absorption by all the atmospheric species present in the path of propagation. The atmospheric path is categorized to horizontal path (constant pressure) and(change pressure) (1.5) the absorption occurs by water vapor, slant path carbon dioxide, ozone. nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and oxygen, while the scattering is produced by gas molecules, dust, smoke, fog and rain (2.5) .The earth's atmosphere is surrounded by number of layers, each layer is characterized by (pressure, density, and temperature) and these properties of layers are variable with time and location .The transparency of the atmosphere for laser radiation is one of the most important parameters in the calculation of the attenuation. This is depending on the weather and the path length (range) . 2-Theoretical model The attenuation of laser beam through the atmosphere is described By exponential Lambert law {2,3,6,7} . τR = PR / P0 = e -αR ............(1) Where τR = Transmittance at ranger (R) PR = Laser power at range (R) P0= Laser power at the sources α = Total attenuation coefficient per unit length The total attenuation coefficient is given by: α= s +k ....(2) Where k = absorption coefficient S = scattering coefficient Diala, Jour, Volume, 37, 2009 379 The contribution of absorption coefficient to The total attenuation is very small special for infrared laser beam, therefore the effects of scattering dominate the total attenuation coefficient {6,7} The type of scattering is determined by the size of the atmospheric particle with respect to the laser wavelength. The size of the atmospheric particle described by a dimensionless number called size parameter(a) {3} α = 2πr / λ .......(3) Where r = radius of scattering particle λ = Laser wavelength The general relation between wavelength and scattering coefficient is {3,6,11} Sλ = dλ -q ........(4) Where: d = constant parameter q = a parameter whose value depends on type of scattering There are three type of scattering occurs in the atmosphere, Rayleigh , Mie and Non-selective or Geometrical scattering Rayleigh scattering occurs when wavelength is much Larger than the particle size (λ>>r)in this kind of scattering (q) is Equal to 4 such scattering would be present even in completely clear atmosphere, because the gas molecules themselves would scatter the radiation. the effect of Rayleigh scattering on the total attenuation is very small, so it can be neglected {3,6,10} . As the particle size approaches laser wavelength (λ≈r), scattering of radiation off the larger particles becomes more dominate in the forward direction as opposed to the backward direction. this type of scattering, where the size parameter (a) varies between (0.1, 50) such as fog, smoke, haze and dust is called Mie scattering , where the value of q varies from (0 to 1.6) {3,6} The third generalized scattering occurs when the atmospheric particles are much larger than laser wavelength (r >> λ) size parameter grater than 50, the scattering is called Geometrical or Nom-selective scattering, the Diala, Jour, Volume, 37, 2009 380 scattering particles are larger enough so that the angular distribution of scattered radiation can be described by geometric optics .the Rain drops ,snow, hail, cloud droplets and heavy fogs are caused Geometrical or Nom-selective scattering of laser wavelength . the scattering is called Nom-selective because there is no dependence of the attenuation coefficient on laser wavelength ,where the value of (q) equal Zero {3,6} . 3Methods of calculation According to general equation (4) an empirical relation often used to calculate the atmospheric attenuation in term of visibility (visual range) and wavelength this relation is {2,3,4,6} . S = 3.92 / ν ( λ / 0.55 ) -q .........(5) Where : λ =wavelength in micrometer (μm) ν = visibility (visual range) in kilometer (Km) . S = atmospheric attenuation caused by scattering(l/km). q = the size distribution of the scattering particles q =1.6 for high visibility (v > 50km). ........ .... (5a). q =1 .3 for average visibility (6km< v <50km)... (5b). q =0.585 3 √v 3 for low visibility (v < 6km)...........(5c). The visibility (v) is defined as the path length at which transmission at 0.55μm wavelength (where the sensitivity for the light adapted human eye peak). is 2%, this is intended to correspond to the distance at which a block object can just be discerned against the horizon sky, therefore for R = ν we have τ = 0.02 According to equations (4 and 5) the value of (q) is very important because it determines the wavelength dependence of the the type of scattering {5,6,7} A search in literature agrees with equation (5) but the value of (q) at 1aW visibility equation (5-c) might in error. in fact there is strong empirical data which suggests for the value of (q) when the visibility is less than (6km).Eldridge denied three generalized types of zonesof shorter visibility as range , weather fog for visibility less than ( 0.5 km) , haze for visibilities greater thane (l km ) and Diala, Jour, Volume, 37, 2009 381 transitional zone called mist for visibilities between (0.5 km and l km).these zones are based on changes in observed particle size distributions and changes in the wavelength selectivity of measured attenuation coefficients which have mentioned previously. Then the expression for (q) in equation (5-c) is {3,4}. q = 0 for fog (v < 0.5 km) ......(6-a) q = v 0.5 for mist (0.5 km < v <1km)........ (6-b) q = 0.16 v + 0.34 for haze (l km < v < 6km)....... (6-c) Where (v) is the visibility in km. Aldridge indicates that haze is primarily made of microscopic fine dust or salt or small water dropt on the order of a few tenths of a micron. fog occurs during very high relative humidity when water droplets of a few microns to a few tens of microns from over the haze particle. Mist occurs during the transition from haze to fog as the humidity increases to saturation {3,4} The unit that is used in this research to measure the attenuation is Decibel per unit length, from equation (1) the Decibel unit (dB) is defined as {9} τR = 10 Log10 PR/P0 = (10Log10e)αR = 4.34αR = 4.34τR To make the attenuation in Decibel per unit Length multiply equation (5) by factor (4.34) {2} Theoretically by using (VISUALBASIC) Program figure (1) the atmospheric attenuation of laser beam has been calculated. 4-lkesults and discussion The decibel loss per kilometer for different visibility condition in Table ( 1) derived from the attenuation coefficient calculated using Equation (5) From figure (1) It can be noted that the energy loosing from bathe laser beam through the atmosphere decreases with Increasing the visibility, where the visibility represents the weather conditions, this means there is a visual range which is related to weather condition specially related to radius and Diala, Jour, Volume, 37, 2009 382 distribution of the atmospheric particles the weather condition that is considered for calculation the atmospheric attenuation is general not limited to a geographic location and the beam propagate horizontally with one layer In the atmosphere ,where this layer have same optical properties (refraction index) all wavelength also have other properties such as pressure temperature It can be concluded from table (1) that the atmospheric attenuation at a given visibility value decreases with increasing the wavelength, for example at visual range (1km) the attenuation for (1.8μm) wavelength is (9.38dB/km) While for (8.5μm ) is (4.31 dB/km ). These results can be gained according to Plank law {8,10,11} . E = h ν = h c / λ .........(7) Where E = energy of photon v = frequency of phonon c = velocity of light According to equation (7) the energy that is carrying by the wavelength (8.5μm) is essentially less than the energy that is carrying by the wavelength (1.8μm), therefore the attenuation for near infrared regions 1.8μm is more than middle infrared regions 3.11 μm and far infrared region 8.5μm although these wavelengths have transmittance windows. These results also agree with Plank law. Also from figure (2) it can be seen that, in fog condition where the visibility is less than (0.5 Km) the atmospheric attenuation take the same value for different laser wavelength because the value of (q) parameter equa


The cognitive domain deals with the process of evaluating individual thinking abilities or problem solving abilities. There are 9 characteristics of cognitive development, which can understand the concept of opposite meanings such as empty-full, light-heavy, top-bottom, and so on. Can match geometric shapes (circles, squares and triangles) with real objects or through visualization of images, Can stack blocks or rings according to their size in sequence. Can group objects that have the same color, shape, and size. Can mention pairs of objects, able to understand cause and effect. Can arrange daily activities and show when each activity is carried out. Retell 3 main ideas from a story. Recognize and read writing through images that are often seen at home or at school. Recognize and mention numbers 1-10. This cognitive domain assessment technique uses rating scales, check lists and anecdocate notes.


The Existing studies have already revealed that the information on the web is increasing rapidly. Ambiguous queries and user's ability to express their intention through queries have been one of the key challenges in retrieving the accurate search results from the search engine. This paper in response explored different methodologies proposed during 2005-2019 by the eminent researchers for recommending better search results. Some of these methodologies are based on the users' geographical location while others rely on re- rank the web results and refinement of user's query. Fellow researchers can use this literature, to define the fundamental literature for their own work. Further a brief case study of major search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. along with the techniques used by these search engines for personalization are also discussed. Finally, the paper discusses some current issues and challenges related to the personalization which further lays the future research directions.


The invention discloses a microscale four-high mill with static stability, which comprises a frame (1), an upper support roller set (2), an upper operating roller set (3), a lower operating roller set (6), a lower support roller set (7), and a pressing mechanism. The microscale four-high mill is characterized by the four-high mill further comprises a positioning mechanism for making axial lines of operating rollers and support rollers parallel, a dual-spherical pad mechanism (5) for an upper operating roller bearing seat and a lower operating roller bearing seat, and a fixed cushion bar (9) for reducing uneven loading of the axial force of the operating rollers. The microscale four-high mill can keep mechanism equivalent static conditions under an alternate running state of idle load during rolling intervals and high load during rolling, and prevents the dynamic microscale intersection of the two rollers of a bearing pair with side clearance, so as to control the axial force to be at a minimum value, resist the interference from the secondary moment of an universal spindle, ensure self-alignment swinging of the bearing seat with the inclination of roll neck due to flexural deformation of the rollers, and have uniform distribution of radial load of each row of rollers of wide short-cylinder rolling bearings, thereby prolong the service life of the rolling bearings. The microscale four-high mill can safely and stably operate under heavy-load and high-speed operating conditions, and provides a platform for a plate shape and thickness control device to stably operate, so as to ensure rolling precision and rolling quality of products.


Sixteen different soil samples in and around Bhilai- Durg region of Chhattisgarh were screened for alkaline thermostable xylanolytic bacteria. Isolation and screening of potent indigenous isolates were done in three distinct stages. All the sixty five bacterial isolates obtained through primary screening by enrichment technique were subjected to plate assay. Twenty four isolates showed clear zone around them thus proving to be xylanolytic in nature. The maximum zone diameter was measured to be around 2.1cm. Ten isolates which showed clear zone diameter greater than 1.0cm were subjected to final screening procedures wherein isolate ISL 3 proved to be the most potent and efficient xylanase producer with an enzyme activity of 23.33 IU/ml. The optimum pH and temperature for maximum xylanase production by ISL 3 was 9.0 and 50oC respectively. Xylanase production was substantially enhanced when a combination of wheat bran (1%) and xylan (0.5%) were provided in the medium. Yeast extract and peptone combined together at a concentration of 0.5% each proved to be efficient nitrogen sources.


Vaissière proposes that the fundamental intonational shapes across languages are motivated by biology, psychology and ethology so that there is one basic, archetypal prosodic configuration a rise followed by a fall and all other patterns are derived from this one shape. At the same time, Donegan and Stampe argue that the general intonational type of a language rising or falling is the result of the intimate interaction of the global typological characteristics of that language. In this paper, we compare the typologies of English, Finnish and French and conclude that the two views of the origins of the intonational universals are based on the fact that intonation may express two different kinds of information simultaneously, one superposed on the other.


Context Mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) of the pancreas concern usually female patients and are characterized by an ovarian-type stroma. Case report A 65-year-old man was admitted to our Institute for the incidental finding, at ultrasonography, of a cystic mass of the body-tail of the pancreas. Laboratory tests, including tumor markers (CEA and CA 19-9), were within normal range. A CT scan confirmed the mass, hypodense, unilocular, 45 mm in diameter, regular shaped and without neither contrast enhancement nor signs of infiltration of adjacent structures. A CWRM showed a well-shaped pancreatic gland with a 49 mm in diameter fluid mass of the body, without septa or endoluminal solid nodules, without a clear communication with the main pancreatic duct. Contrast enhanced-US confirmed a strict connection with the splenic vessels, without infiltration, and revealed the absence of contrast-enhancement as well as the presence of communication with the pancreatic duct. These features suggested an IPMN branch duct type larger than 3 cm. The patient underwent a subtotal pancreatectomy with spleen resection. Pathological examination showed a cystic lesion measuring 40 mm in diameter, with unilocular pattern, smooth and white inner walls, containing viscous whitish mucin and without communication with the main pancreatic duct. Microscopically, the lesion showed two components: a mucinous epithelial layer and a low-grade dysplasia ovarian-type stroma. Tumor cells displayed diffuse positivity for estrogen, progesteron and calretinin. Lymph-nodes (n=6) were negative and surgical margins were tumor-free. A final diagnosis of MCN was performed. Postoperative course was complicated by a pancreatic fistula, grade B, treated with a CT-guided abdominal drainage. The patient was discharged in postoperative day 14 with a minimal residual drainage output and he is alive, disease-free at 6 months after surgery. Conclusion Only 9 cases of MCN have been reported in male patients in literature. Thus, the occurrence of MCN in male patients is very rare and its possible pathogenesis could be referred to embryological abnormalities.


By the remarkable improvement of physical performance of networks (such as speed, capacity, etc) which consist of Internet and the diffusion of high-end terminals such as smart-phones, voice over IP (VoIP) is becoming one of the major communication technologies. However current packet networks still can not provide a stable transmission quality and it can cause VoIP call quality degradation. Especially, the main factor affecting VoIP quality is congestion across a network. Multi-homing can be a good solution to avoid points of congestion in the network. We therefore propose Real Time & Multi-path Transmission Protocol (RTMTP), a transport layer protocol in which multiple path real-time transport and effective congestion control are available. Our protocol uses the explicit congestion notification (ECN) mechanism to detect network congestion level and to control transmission rate of VoIP traffic at the sender side. To maximize network bandwidth efficiency of multiple paths, the RTMTP shifts traffic among those paths. Our simulation results show that RTMTP improves VoIP data transmission throughput by effectively utilizing multi-path without voice call quality degradation, and helps users to use more inexpensive access network as much as possible while maintaining an acceptable voice quality.


A D2Q9 thermal lattice Boltzmann model is applied to investigate the flow in a differentially heated cavity. The paper is intended to analysis the physics of heat and mass transfer in a closure cavity filled with air. For three Rayleigh numbers Ra, the aspect ratio K are varied from 1 to 10. Results of validation indicate this algorithm is reliable and easy for implementation. It can be found that the circulation rate of heat driven flow get lower when the K get higher. Also, the Nusselt number Nu tends to be approximated to 1 when K is higher than a critical value, which is depended on the value of Ra.


This report brings together findings from the case studies in Berlin and Rostock on how entrepreneurship support is organised, the activities in entrepreneurship education and start-up support, and the strategy behind. In addition, the report provides in its "fishing ideas from international good practice" section 13 short descriptions of how places and universities collaborate elsewhere in mobilising their talents for entrepreneurial action. These short case studies are intended to provide inspiration for both policy and local action on the key issues in making places conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation, in entrepreneurship education, and in making university entrepreneurship support systems work.


The study tries to clarify middle and high school students' reading interests in recreational, informative, inspirational, and aesthetic reading areas 1,260 students' reading cards from 7 schools are divided into economically high, middle, and low groups, each of which is subdivided into reading objectives. The writer finds no close relationship between the students' economic status and their reading preferences. However, the study indicates that recreational books are read in the order of higher, middle, and lower economic groups and informative and inspirational books in the reversed order. The writer also finds different preferences between individuals more evident than those between groups, and recommends individualized reading guidance for students.


This paper introduces the research concept of the Swiss Leading House on Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour and Training Policies.


The band structures and effective masses of III-V semiconductors InP, InAs, InSb, GaAs, and GaSb are calculated using the GW method, the Heyd, Scuseria, and Ernzerhof hybrid functional, and modified BeckeJohnson combined with the local-density approximation MBJLDA —a local potential optimized for the description of the fundamental band gaps F. Tran and P. Blaha, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 226401 2009 . We find that MBJLDA yields an excellent description of the band gaps at high-symmetry points, on par with the hybrid functional and GW. However, the effective masses are generally overestimated by 20–30 % using the MBJLDA local multiplicative potential. We believe this to be related to incorrect nearest-neighbor hopping elements, which are little affected by the choice of the local potential. Despite these shortcomings, the MBJLDA method might be a suitable approach for predicting or interpolating the full band dispersion, if only limited experimental data are available. Furthermore, the method is applicable to systems containing several thousand atoms where accurate quasiparticle methods are not applicable.


In this study, a new high-level remote sensing image product is generated by exploiting Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) measurements collected by the TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) mission. This product consists of normalized radar cross-section (NRCS) measurements arranged in a gridded format. The product is obtained reconstructing NRCSs from actual TDS-1 delay Doppler maps (DDMs) using a deconvolution method based on the two-dimensional (2-D) truncated singular-value decomposition (TSVD). The proposed method is here tested, for the first time, on actual DDMs that include nonhomogeneous areas related to land/sea transition. Experimental results demonstrate that: 1) the gridded product can be successfully reconstructed from actual DDMs; 2) this product is suitable for imaging remote sensing purposes since it exhibits a uniform spatial resolution of 8 × 30 km within an area of around 40 × 40 km; 3) land/sea transitions, which can be hardly recognized in the DDM, can be well located in the gridded product.


V455 And is a dwarf nova with a short orbital period, close to the orbital period minimum. The object underwent its first detected outburst in 2007, brightening from around V = 16.5 all the way to magnitude 8. Outbursts of such amplitude occur exclusively in dwarf novae with short periods (typically P orb ≲ 90 minutes) and are called superoutbursts. The recurrence time of superoutbursts is long (decades), hence only very few have been studied in detail. We succeeded in observing the entire superoutburst of V455 And spectroscopically from the rise to the decline with unprecedented detail. While the light curve of the object throughout the outburst does not seem to differ much from other dwarf novae, its spectroscopic behavior is strikingly different during the transition stage from the absorption-dominated lines to the strong emission one during the rise. We interpret the emergence of the strong emission lines with little radial velocity variations during the superoutburst as evidence of wind from the evaporating disk in this high-inclination system. The evolution of the line profiles from wide to narrow peak separation during the rise, and back at the decline, matches models showing that the peak separation is a function of optical depth in the lines.


The United States Air Force's 45 th Weather Squadron (45WS) is responsible for providing weather forecast guidance to America's space program at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB). This complex is located along the eastern coast of Florida's peninsula which is vulnerable to warm season thunderstorms. The greatest cloud-toground (CG) flash densities in the U.S. occur along the Florida peninsula during the warm season. This region, known as "lightning alley", receives 5 to 15 CG lightning strikes per square kilometer per year (Rudlosky, 2010). Lightning advisories are the most frequently issued weather advisory at CCAFS/KSC, making them a major concern for the daily operations of the complex since many ground-based activities must be suspended until the lightning threat has passed. Weather is responsible for 37% of launch delays and 47% of launch scrubs (McNamara, 2009).


Recommender systems provide insurance enterprises with insights on customer behaviors and demands, thereby serving as an important source of revenue generation. Key success factors for a recommender include incorporation of multi-dimensional data from diverse media, clear and interpretable presentation of analytical results, and accurate recommendation of insurance products. However, most existing methods in the industry produce merely a list of recommendations without effectively visualizing them, and meanwhile are based on correlation-driven algorithms that can omit significant causal patterns in both customer and product data. In this paper, we propose a causation-driven visualization system that fundamentally transforms cross-media insurance data into network diagrams and performs recommendation reasoning. The system leverages data retrieved from both local insurance service providers and resources across the Web, and utilizes a multi-valued confounder balancing algorithm to compute the causal effect between customer and products, aiming to explore the reasons behind customers' purchasing behaviors and make appropriate recommendations accordingly. Furthermore, we conduct domain expert studies to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge discovery by our causation-driven visualization system and correlation-driven tools currently adopted in the insurance industry. Results show that our system considerably outperforms others in terms of all evaluation metrics, and can potentially help insurers devise practical decision-making strategies.


Electrophoretic deposition is now recognized as a versatile method of coating single articles with a powder. The Elphal process extends the use of this technique to the continuous coating of metal strip. The powder is applied, compacted and sintered, if necessary, in an inline plant. The Elphal process for coating steel strip with aluminium is described in some detail together with some of the properties of the material. Coatings of metals other than aluminium may be applied to steel or to other metal strip. The Elphal process is particularly useful for depositing alloys which are difficult to apply by other methods. A large range of coating thicknesses is possible, the lower limit being set by the particle size of the powder available. Generally speaking, the method is ideal for coating up to about 40 microns.


In the context of the abolition of internal border controls, Romania has taken steps to implement this new vision, which is the creation of the International Police Cooperation Centre (IPCC). CCPI is the national central authority in international police cooperation specialized in sharing intelligence to combat international crime. Internationally, in recent years, this body has proven efficiency through many missions that were organized and made in cooperation with other authorities in the Member States, the purpose being to identify and arrest a large number of criminals.


A one-pot four-component synthesis of bis-tetrazolopiperazines in moderate to high yields is described. The reaction consists of condensation of aldehydes or cyclic ketones with piperazine, trimethylsilyl azide, and isocyanides. High reaction efficiency, short reaction time, mild reaction condition, use of simple experimental procedure, and prompt isolation of the products are some advantages of this protocol.


In order to reduce avoidable consultations but also avoidable self-referrals to hospital outpatient departments, the Austrian authorities agreed to establish a voluntary telephone-based triage system in the course of the health reform 2013. Three regions piloted the system in early 2017.

 An economic evaluation aimed to assess the impact on health service demand after having consulted the telephone-based system. For analysing the impact, we used the conceptual model of "shift cases" from one particular service setting such as outpatient clinic to another (e.g. GP office) and calculated savings realised through patient shifts. Based on potential savings in private and public costs and running costs of the service, we identified threshold values for cost-effective operation.

 In total, approximately 45,000 completed telephone consultations were registered in the pilot phase. 2,500 persons were advised to conduct self-care whereas more than 40,000 were recommended to contact a health service provider with differing levels of priority. Adherence to the initial recommendation of the provider setting was 70%, the level of priority was met in 90%. With regard to the economic impact, public savings of shift cases range from €31 (self-care instead of GP consultation) to €198 (GP/specialist instead of hospital outpatient clinic). Public costs ranged between €10 and €50 depending on the degree of capacity utilisation, contingency costs and duration of calls. Therefore, economic net gains can be realized if approximately 15% to 25% of callers choose a lower care setting due to the consultation service.

 The tele-triage service has shown to be a potentially cost effective tool but largely depends on user uptake, patient adherence and local maintaining costs. In order to exploit the full potential of the system, policy makers are advised to promote the use of the system in general and to evaluate the used algorithm.

 Telephone-based triage systems are a potentially cost-effective strategy in order to reduce avoidable encounters both on a primary care level but also at hospital outpatient clinics. The public savings of a shift in the provider setting vary substantially depending on the level of service delivery with diminishing savings for shifts in lower levels.


This study describes some actions carried out in the Lleida fruit sector regarding the concentration of supply and the creation of second level co-operatives. Following this the study analyses the actions adopted by a second level co-operative in the province, the entity which has managed to gather the greatest number of co-operatives. Then a comparative analysis is carried out to determine the degree of technical and economic efficiency shown by the co-operatives associated to the second level entity versus co-operatives which have chosen not to associate. In the period analysed no great differences appear between the efficiency levels obtained by the two groups.


Power factor is a significant element in power systems which is defined as the angle difference between voltages and currents that produces power fluctuation between sources and loads. Since, 40-50% of consumption of electrical power in industry is induction machines which are inductive loads, monitoring of the power factor is necessary in order to protect systems. To monitor the power factor on induction machines, it would require both voltage and current waveforms measurement in order to apply the displacement method which require equipments. In this paper, we present a mathematical method using Kriging to determine the operating power factor for an induction machine. Estimation of the operating power factor would be effectively implemented for under load detection and compensation for improving the power quality. Experimental results will be indicated to substantiate the feasibility of the proposed methods.


The injuries caused by freshwater stingrays are common among fishermen. The raya Potamotrygon motoro en the features a stinger with a sharp edge and serrated tips spread bilaterally, the stingers have toxins that promote vasoconstriction, causing immediate pain and ischemia. These accidents extensive and could keep victims unable to work from weeks to months. Considering the impact the injuries in riparian fishing communities' livelihoods, this study aimed to analyze reports of envenomation caused by the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon motoro in two municipalities localizate in the Eastern Amazon biome territory (Baixada Maranhense Ramsar site) in the municipality of Penalva and Viana. The methodology consisted in analyses descriptive and transversal, troght of the application of 40 semi-structured questionnaire in artisanal fishermen in order to obtain clinical and epidemiological data related to the accidents caused for P. motoro in fissherman artisanal. Forty fishers injured by freshwater stingrays were interviewed. Pain and edema were the symptoms common to all fishermen, followed by skin necrosis (70%). Victims often adopt unusual self-treatments, based on traditional and cultural knowledge, such as the use of urine, herbs, smoke of burlap bags and human feces. The number of injuries in each fisherman varied from 2 to 4 times (50%) to up to 10 times (12.5%). The results show that injuries caused by P. motoro are frequent in Penalva and Viana, reinforcing the need for public health agencies to establish preventive educational actions and provide better qualification for health professionals to perform the appropriate treatment for the injuries.
Keywords: Animals poisonous. Fish. Occupational health. Environmental health.


The formulas of the output displacement and coupling error of single parallel four-bar flexure hinge mechanism was established.The different influence on the output displacement and coupling error of the main parameters of the mechanism was analyzed with finite element method. A conclusion that the coupling error had impacted on the positioning accuracy and resolution of the nanometer stage was obtained.


Abstract A simple method to evaluate the performance of transparent optical networks (TON) that takes into account the incoherent homodyne crosstalk, signal distortion, inter-symbol interference (ISI), amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise, and arbitrary optical and electrical filters is proposed. This method combines the effect of the incoherent homodyne crosstalk with an exhaustive Gaussian approximation for the influence of ASE noise, signal distortion, and ISI. It is shown that the incoherent homodyne crosstalk penalty depends on the ASE noise accumulated in the TON, ISI, and extinction ratio. The proposed method estimates are compared with experimental results published by other authors. Good agreement is observed for one, two, and four incoherent homodyne crosstalk signals, revealing that the proposed method provides accurate estimates even when the methods based on a Gaussian approximation for the incoherent homodyne crosstalk fail. The proposed method is used to assess the performance of a TON composed by optical add-drop multiplexers based on arrayed waveguide gratings. Results reveal that incoherent homodyne crosstalk, ASE noise, and ISI impair the TON performance and, therefore, none can be neglected in the TON design.


An inexpensive automated fluorometric technique for blood galactose determination has been modified to use dried blood spots available through phenylketonuria screening programs. The method is more efficient because of its high capacity (≃85,000 tests a year), low cost (≃$3,000 a year in reagents), and high specificity (enzymatic method).


It is possible that SMP‐797 will be administered frequently in combination with statins to hyperlipidemic patients. OATP1B1 is thought to be the major transporter that mediates the hepatic uptake of statins. This study investigated whether SMP‐797 interacts with statins via OATP1B1 by two approaches. Firstly, the effects of SMP‐797 on OATP1B1‐mediated uptake of estrone‐3‐sulfate (ES) by human hepatocytes and by oocytes expressing OATP1B1 were examined. Since OATP1B1‐mediated uptake of ES is known to be biphasic (high‐ and low‐affinity sites), concentrations of [3H]ES were set lower than the respective Km values. Two representative statins were used to assure that statins share OATP1B1 with [3H]ES in this in vitro system. Rosuvastatin inhibited OATP1B1‐mediated uptake of [3H]ES through both sites and pravastatin inhibited a high‐affinity site. The inhibition by the positive control (cyclosporin A) was significant. Thus, it is considered that this system was applicable to examine drug–drug interaction with statins on OATP1B1‐mediated uptake. In this condition, no apparent inhibition to each site by SMP‐797 was observed up to a concentration 3000‐fold higher than the clinical level. Secondly, the uptake of [14C]SMP‐797 by oocytes expressing OATP1B1 was examined and the activity was negligible. In conclusion, these data suggest that SMP‐797 has little potential to interact with statins on OATP1B1. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Third-year medical students' grades are a combination of faculty observations, National Board of Medical Examiners examinations, and other departmental specific course requirements. Faculty evaluations include assessment of students' clinical skills, and a global rating for potential as house officer. We wished to better understand the 'potential as house officer' and to understand if these competencies were shared across the third year or unique to a given discipline. We then examined the relationship between house officer potential and performance on traditional measures of success. We analyzed the narrative comments from faculty evaluations of third-year students who faculty rated as 'Outstanding' in the house officer potential category. The low correlations found between house officer potential and traditional measures of academic success indicate that items beyond the stated learning objectives are influencing faculty evaluation of clinical students. Our data suggest that the awarding of 'potential for house officer' reflects the student's ability to work as part of a health care team. Although there appear to be common elements among the house officer comments, we also observed discipline specific differences. Given the importance placed on house officer potential, more conversation is needed to develop a common language across the third-year courses.


A terminal guidance law for side jet control missile based on adaptive fuzzy variable structure control(AFVSC) is proposed.Although the performance of missile including the maneuvering ability and rapid response ability is greatly improved because of using side jet control,the guidance system is strong coupling nonlinear and the system parameter is uncertain.The universal approximation ability of adaptive fuzzy system is used to approximate the nonlinear function to any degree of accuracy which is unknown in the missile guidance system so as to overcome the influence of model uncertainty and external disturbance.And by adaptively adjusting maximum acceleration of maneuvering target,the gain of the variable term in this law can be changed with maneuver magnitude,so this law can be adapt to all kinds of maneuvering targets.The simulation results show that this law has stronger robustness to high maneuvering target and higher guidance precision while intercepting all kinds of maneuvering targets.


The main objective of this paper is to describe and simulate an adaptive interference cancelling technique named amplitude domain processing (ADP). The ADP filter will improve the GPS receiver's robustness against all types of interference (coherent CW pulsed or continuous, chirp interference, etc). The ADP filter is designed in Matlab (Simulink) to show its performance and how it can be applied as an adaptive interference canceller to estimate and remove GPS jammers in a real time basis.


Throughput modelling evaluates the performance and behaviour of the production systems. This study examined the potential application of Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) for modelling throughput under production uncertainties. Five significant factors were considered as the main uncertainties of production: scrap, setup time, break time, demand and lead time of manufacturing. Observations on the production uncertainties had been performed for 104 weeks in a tile manufacturing industry. The results of ANFIS model had been compared with Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model. The results showed that ANFIS model was capable of providing adjusted R-squared of 98%, which was higher than the MLR model.


The article deals with the actual problem of the formation of educational independence of younger schoolchildren using the means of mathematics, the approaches of various Russian scientists to the organization of this process are revealed. The author gives a description of the concept of "learning independence", gives examples of tasks that contribute to the development of all components of the independence of first grade students.


Mr. Martin Tourigian of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania donated a copy of the painting Baltimore Orioles and a score for the song Tango Guam. A letter from John D. Morvant states that the score was forwarded to the Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC) as agreed between the University of Guam and Mr. Tourigian. A proposal to donate the painting to the Isla Center for Arts was made as the painting was better suited to the Isla Center's mission than that of MARC.


If one adds the pirates themselves and the navies from a capturing state, the list easily extends to six states that are involved, which makes the practical prosecution of maritime piracy highly challenging. But it is not only states' interests that are affected. Other stakeholders such as private shipping companies, insurance companies, prospective recipients of food aid, or the individual seafarer suffer from piracy attacks. Given this broad number of actors – both public and private – that have an interest in suppressing and governing the negative consequences of piracy, this topic is worth examining from a global governance perspective.


According to the characteristics of high level training in dragon boat in Guangxi University for Nationalities,by the research object of hign-level woman dragon boat team in Guangxi University for Nationalities,the test of eight different special quality are made.With SPSS for descriptive statistics,Understanding the basic situation,it uses the K-Mean clustering Analysis to analyze the high level quality level of dragon boat team,and the characteristics of different pulp level are discussed.According to the high level of special quality level of dragon boat team members,reasonable explanation are made for the arrangement of pulp level.


Objective: To prepare β-CD inclusion compounds and PEG-6000 solid dispersions of silymarin in order to improve its dissolution and optimize the formula of solid dispersions.Methods:Silymarin solid dispersions and its β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Compound were prepared.In vitro dissolution tests were carried out using CP2005 paddle(apparatusⅡ) method,with PH6.8 phosphate buffer as dissolution medium.Results:The dissolution rates of silymarin were apparently improved in Silymarin-β-cyclodextrin inclusion compounds and PEG-6000 solid dispersions.Conclusion:Solid dispersion and inclusion technology can significantly increase the silymarin dissolution.


HIV associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and with the support of anti-retroviral treatment, more people are able to remain in the workplace. However, the potential for HAND to affect the individual health and safety of employees is substantial. Formal assessment of HAND is resource intensive, and often outside the capability of smaller organisations which offers occupational health support. This paper describes a protocol for a brief neurocognitive assessment for HAND in low resourced occupational health settings. The paper firstly describes the development – following seven guidelines – of a relatively inexpensive and relatively brief protocol to assess for the presence of HAND, in a South African low resourced occupational health setting. The resultant Brief Neurocognitive Assessment (BNCA) is then described in detail, as well as the larger process within which it is administered. Further, neuropsychological data from the first 60 completed assessments are presented, together with a discussion of its adherence to the guidelines set out prior to its development. A number of neuropsychological markers appeared to differentiate between the normal and mild impairment groups, suggesting that the BNCA may be useful in identifying individuals with potential problematic neurocognitive functioning. A brief assessment such as the BNCA could provide meaningful recommendations regarding both clinical management and workplace utilisation to employers. It would be important that proper processes (e.g. conditions for assessments, appropriate follow up procedures, confidentiality, and so forth) are imposed and maintained. Finally, this paper invite discussion for improved management of HAND assessment in the workplace.


The culture of giving fairy tales to children has an important role in the development oftheir thinking patterns. This culture is starting to be abandoned and wants to be preserved againby the Bali Storytelling community. The community regularly holds or fills an event withstorytelling activities. This study designs and builds an android-based mobile application for thestorytelling community in managing community information such as managing information onstorytelling activities, managing activity participants, managing fairy tale content, recruitingcommunity members, and managing collaboration invitations aimed at the storytellingcommunity. The application is built with the Flutter framework as the application frontend andthe Laravel framework as a REST API which acts as an intermediary for data flow betweenapplication and database. The results of the black box test show that the application can run allfunctionality well and the results of the System Usability Scale test, the application gets a scoreof 73,375 which indicates the application is classified as good and can be accepted by the user.


The effector cells in antibody‐dependent lymphocyte‐mediated cytotoxicity (ADLMC) have been studied. The cells do not adhere to glass and bear Fc receptors independent of surface Ig and complement receptors. Whereas monocytes have IgG1 and IgG3 Fc receptors, these Fc receptor lymphocytes appear to have receptors for aggregates of all four IgG subclasses.


Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB) remains a major public health problem worldwide, and emergence of drug-resistant TB has become a significant obstacle to effective TB control. However, the rate of MTB and rifampicin resistant-MTB (RR-MTB) in the Nepalese setting has not been studied extensively. Therefore, the present study aims to assess the rate of MTB and RR-MTB and further determine the factors associated with it. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study, among national representative data of 990 consecutive presumptive TB resister of patients subjected to the GeneXpert test that presented to the tuberculosis referral hospital, was conducted over a one year period from February 2018 to January 2019. Significance for the difference for categorical data was performed by Chi-square test and factors associated with MTB and RR-MTB were assessed using binary logistic regression yielding OR with 95%CI. Results Of total 990 presumptive tuberculosis analyzed cases, median ages of the patients were 39±19.09 years and two-thirds of the patients were male 653 (66.0%). The estimated prevalence of MTB in presumptive TB patients was 13.8% (95%CI: 11.88%–16.16%), and risk for MTB was significantly associated with previously treated patients: OR: 10.4 (P<0.001). The estimated prevalence of RR-MTB in MTB confirmed patients was 10.2% (4.97%–15.1%). Our study confirmed no association of RR-TB with age, sex, ethnicity, geographical diversity and previous history of treatment failure (P>0.05). Conclusion The overall prevalence of MTB and RR-MTB was high in Nepalese study population, and that being previously treated with anti-TB drug remained significant predictors for MTB; proactive measures are urgently needed to address the challenge of prompt diagnosis, early management and improved monitoring of treatment to limit the emergence drug-resistant MTB strains in the community.


The structure and coverage of the proposed MIL-H-8501B specification for helicopter handling qualities are reviewed. The specification prescibes the desired vehicle command response as a function of the mission task and the usable visual cues. It takes into account failures and flight envelopes, and it prescribes a set of flight demonstration maneuvers. Helicopter performance requirements with degraded visual cues are proposed, in addition to specific longitudinal and lateral dynamics requirements.


We generalize our recent results for the hard-wall boundary and interface charges in one-dimensional single-channel continuum [S. Miles et al. , Phys. Rev. B 104 , 155409 (2021)] and multichannel tight-binding [N. Müller et al. , Phys. Rev. B 104 , 125447 (2021)] models to the realm of the multichannel continuum systems. Using the technique of boundary Green's functions, we give a rigorous proof that the change in boundary charge upon the shift of the system towards the boundary by the distance x ϕ ∈ [0 , L ] (where L is a potential periodicity) is given by a perfectly linear function of x ϕ plus an integer-valued topological invariant I , the so-called boundary invariant. We provide two equivalent representations for I ( x ϕ ): the winding-number representation and the bound-state representation. The winding-number representation allows one to write I as a winding index of a particular functional of bulk Green's function. The corresponding integration contour is chosen in the complex frequency plane to encircle the occupied part of the spectrum residing on the real axis. In turn, in the bound-state representation, I is expressed through the sum of the winding number of the boundary Green's function and the number of bound states supported by the cavity of size x ϕ below the chemical potential. We observe that during a single cycle in the variation of x ϕ , the boundary invariant exhibits exactly ν downward jumps, each by a unit of electron charge, whenever ν energy bands are completely filled leading to the value I ( L ) = − ν . Additionally, for translationally invariant models interrupted by a localized impurity we derive the winding-number expression for the excess charge accumulated on the said impurity. We observe that the charge accumulated on a single repulsive impurity is restricted to the values − N c ,..., 0, where N c is the number of channels (spin or orbital components) in the system. For systems with weak potential amplitudes, we additionally develop Green's-function-based low-energy theory, allowing one to analytically access the physics of multichannel continuum systems in the low-energy approximation.


(57) Abstract: The present invention provides a method for preventing rejection of immunological tolerance induction method and allograft. In both methods, a composition comprising a non-depleting anti-CD4 antibody is administered to a subject primate. Composition comprising a non-depleting antibody and finally the donor marrow is further disclosed.


receptor-mediated responses in cultured urothelial cells from rat. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol F971–F981, receptors (mAChRs) have been identified in the urothelium, a tissue that may be involved in bladder sensory mechanisms. This study investigates the expression and function of mAChRs using cultured urothelial cells from the rat. RT-PCR established the expression of all five mAChR subtypes. transient repeatable increases in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca 2 (cid:1) ] i ) in (cid:3) 50% of cells. the (10 (cid:2) of 2 (cid:1) ] i influx from external milieu in 63% of cells and influx from external milieu plus release from internal stores in 27% of cells. The use of specific agonists and antagonists (cid:2) M M 1 agonist McN-A-343; 10 (cid:2) M M 2 , M 3 antagonists AF-DX 116, 4-DAMP) revealed that M 1 , M 2 , M 3 subtypes were involved in [Ca 2 (cid:1) ] i changes. The PLC inhibitor U-73122 (10 (cid:2) M) abolished OxoM-elicited Ca 2 (cid:1) responses in the presence of the M 2 antagonist AF-DX 116, suggesting that M 1 , M 3 , or M 5 mediates [Ca 2 (cid:1) ] i increases via PLC pathway. ACh (0.1 (cid:2) M), Musc (10 (cid:2) M), oxotremorine sesquifumarate (20 (cid:2) M), and McN-A-343 (1 (cid:2) M) acting on M 1 , M 2 , and M 3 mAChR subtypes stimulated ATP release from cultured urothelial cells. In summary, cultured urothelial cells express functional M 1 , M 2 , and M 3 mAChR subtypes whose activation results in ATP release, possibly through mechanisms involving [Ca 2 (cid:1) ] i changes. Ca 2 (cid:1) levels and trigger release of ATP. These data provide support for the proposed role of urothelial mAChRs in bladder function and for interactions between urothelium (via urothe-lium-derived factors), efferent and afferent nerves, that together can


Review of Dutta et al "The postmonsoon carbon biogeochemistry of estuaries under different levels of anthropogenic impact". Submitted to Biogeosciences. This study presents data from a single cruise in 2 Indian estuaries to try and decipher differences in carbon cycling between a 2 Indian estuaries with differing levels of anthropogenic influence. After reading and rereading this paper several times, it is unclear what the purpose of this study is. There is no defined hypothesis to be tested, and while the title suggests there will be some kind of comparative analysis to look at anthropogenic impact on carbon cycling (an interesting and important topic), I am left a little underwhelmed with the analysis undertaken. The entire manuscript is based single sampling campaigns, which while not ideal is not the main issue. The main area of concern is the


Potential of neem seed kernel products for the control of the cockchafers Melolontha hippocastani F. and M. melolontha L. (Col., Scarabaeidae)


Several abnormal driving behaviors in violation of traffic rules can be observed on the road network in Kuwait. These behaviors would likely hinder traffic flow and can worsen traffic congestion. These behaviors may also cause simulation model outputs to deviate from actual traffic conditions. Such aberrant behaviors have not been addressed in the literature, either in terms of the rate of occurrence or in terms of the factors influencing drivers' engagement in these behaviors. This study sheds light on drivers' tendencies to engage in five maneuvers that fall into the category of behaviors that violate traffic rules and could have detrimental effects on traffic conditions in Kuwait. The tendencies of drivers to engage in such behaviors were elicited through selfreport questionnaires. The study found that a significant number of drivers in Kuwait display these driving behaviors. The effects of driver gender, driver age, and annual driving distance on the tendency of drivers to engage in such behaviors were investigated.


A combination of on-line electrochemical mass spectrometry (OLEMS) and chronoamperometry (CA) was employed to extract kinetic information of the industrially relevant chlorine evolution reaction (CER) under well-defined electrochemical conditions and variable temperatures. Since the CER occurs concomitant to the undesirable O2 evolution (OER), OLEMS measurements were performed in order to follow selectivity. The experiments were conducted at two pH regimes in order to study selectivity of competitive O2/Cl2 evolution. Ultrathin single crystalline RuO2(110) films epitaxially grown on Ru(0001) were employed as model electrodes. The apparent free activation energy of the CER over RuO2(110) was determined to be 89 kJ/mol based on the temperature-dependent OLEMS-CA dataset measured at high HCl concentration (10–2 M). This value is in a good agreement with the theoretical value of 76 kJ/mol. The same experiment carried out at less acidic electrolyte (CHCl = 10–5 M) allowed to study simultaneous CER and OER. Direct detection of the trace amounts of O2 produced under simultaneous CER in the highly saturated NaCl electrolyte was found to be difficult due to diffusion limitations, and Cl2 purging of the electrolyte near WE surface caused by difference in solubilities of Cl2 and O2. Moreover, corrosiveness of Cl2 should also be considered to have an effect on overall sensitivity of the mass spectrometer caused by a filament corrosion under extended Cl2 exposure. The temperature dependent onset potentials of OER were estimated to be EOER = +1.382 ± 0.010 V (25 °C) and EOER = +1.366 ± 0.005 V (35 °C) based on analysis of the combined OLEMS-CA dataset. Chapter 3 3.


TPS9114Background: Nivolumab is one of the standard therapies for pretreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A correlation between PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and antitumor effects...


Paying attention to the national tour photography from the perspective of semiotics embodies the vital cultural significance of photography in ethnic tour activities. Through the discussion of the symbolic significance of travel photography and the process deconstruction of the symbolic meaning from intra-action and interactive this paper interprets the connotation of national travel photography. A rich symbolic world is presented in the analysis and elaboration of the intra-action of the tourists as well as the interaction between travelers and various elements in national context.


What happens when a firm does not want to be vertically integrated? Within a buyer-supplier relationship, and in a context of specific investments, we analyze firm interactions when they decide to cooperate instead of becoming vertically integrated. We develop a model that presents an alternative to vertical integration with firms that cooperate with each other under incomplete contracts. The contribution of our approach is twofold: first, a mathematical component, where we show how to apply the maximin to compute the characteristic functions of the model; and second, an economic element, where we reconsider the upstream-downstream relationship under a cooperative framework and no integration. We find that the total generated value is Pareto optimum if firms cooperate and distribute the benefits following the Shapley value solution. Finally, the Shapley value measures the power that each firm has in the bargaining process.


Objective To evaluate the volumetric and the dosimetric change of target volumes and organs at risk( OARs) during the course of intensity-modulated radiation therapy( IMRT) for cervical cancer. Methods 33 cases of cervical cancer( stage ⅠB ~ ⅢB) treated by concurrent chemotherapy and IMRT were included. CT and MR images were acquired for each patient before treatment and at 30 Gy during treatment. All treatment plans were prescribed to deliver 50. 4 Gy to the planning tumor volume( PTV) for seven-field( 7f-IMRT) using 6MV X-Ray. The target volumes and OARs were contoured based on the fused CT-MRI images by comparing the original plan and the second plan. Results 2 plans were good prescribed dose covering the target area. 96. 7% of the PTV accept the prescribed dose on average. PTV average dose was( 5024 ± 65. 8) cGy;( 4993 ±111. 5) cGy respectively. The tumor volume shrunk on average( 30. 1 ± 8. 9) % of the initial volume after treatment,tumor target volume( GTV) were( 77. 39 ± 36. 82) cm3;( 52.01 ±30.6) cm3; CTV respectively was303.2 ~718.9 cm3;301.3 ~630.74 cm3,volume shrank( 7. 7 ± 1. 1) %. 35 Gy average volume of small intestine was( 35. 0 ± 15. 0) %;( 31. 0 ± 12. 2) %. Average volume of 40 Gy of small intestine was( 27. 0 ± 12. 0) %;( 24. 0 ± 11. 0) % respectively. The difference was significant. 40 Gy average volume of Rectum and bladder were( 71. 0 ± 13. 0) %;( 74. 0 ± 11. 0) % respectively and compared to( 70. 0 ± 11. 0) %;( 69.0 ±9.0) % respectively. There were no significant dosimetric differences in OARS. Conclusion Cervical cancer patients with intensity modulated radiotherapy technology can produce the ideal target area dose distribution,phased program helps to improve the target form degrees,reduce the volume of irradiated normal tissue and dose.


Psychographic concepts were developed of attitudes toward media responsibility, news involvement and social alienation to learn more about two groups within the public who are the most critical of newspapers. One group, termed "sophisticated skeptics," may be of special interest to newspapers because of its high interest in news and newspapers but potentially low loyalty to specific newspapers. This group is the most vocal and active of the two, and members are likely to hold a world view very different from that of many newspaper journalists. This difference may contribute to lack of trust in newspapers.


PURPOSE: A method for manufacturing sausage of low-fat is provided to replace a part of animal addition and to improve functionality of the sausage. CONSTITUTION: A method for manufacturing sausage of low-fat comprises: a step of pulverizing back fat of pig with a chopper; a step of adding sub-materials and grape seed oil; a step of mixing for 5-10 minutes; a step of putting mixed meat to a silent cutter and adding rice bran dietary fiber to emulsify; a step of filing mixed meat into cellulose casing; a step of heating at 50-60°C for 30 minutes; a step of heating at 70-80°C for 20 minutes; and a step of cooling.


thorough explanations for important historical phenomena on which there could then be a (temporary) critical consensus, but a lot with providing thought scenarios and images, in which these phenomena appear in a usefully different light—differently to different readers. She took from history and historiography what she needed for her arguments as she developed them at different times and in different social and political contexts. Vowinckel quotes Hans Mommsen's shrewd comment on Arendt's historical-analytical approach in his foreword to the German edition to the Eichmann book: she "basically had no method but with impressionistic, empathetic power of association she gathered a variety of subjects into a composite perspective (Gesamtsicht) shaped by ontological categories." In her view, Mommsen's perspective results in a diagnosis of "a total methodological and hermeneutic chaos"; in my view, it does not do that at all but is indeed a good assessment of Arendt's "mixed" method. Mommsen is not interested in a general Arendtian Geschichtsdenken, certainly not in her non-existent "concept of history," but describes what he sees as her particular historical-political-analytical practice. For Vowinckel, Arendt's "diagnosis of the Traditionsbruch" is her "essential historiographical achievement" (p. 70), the center of her Geschichtsdenken which she constructs out of some of Arendt's texts and then expands too easily to cover all her texts. In conclusion, she presents Arendt's approach as a Benjaminian collection of innumerable individual histories, though she points out the (I would say essential) difference that Benjamin is seeking one truth behind the manifold objects of his collecting and Arendt's goal is to "demonstrate the diversity of tradition, the plurality of truth" (pp. 327ff). Vowinckel's "method" has obscured rather than clarified how Arendt achieved this "demonstration." She states that Arendt's usefulness for historical research is hard to prove because she did not have an articulated historical method and her work is forbiddingly chaotic as regards the organization of her materials (p. 330). But it is rather her own study with its too rigid surface organization that has this problem: she has diligently collected a lot of materials that, in order to be useful, need to be more intelligently and intelligibly organized. Dagmar Barnouw German and Comparative Literature Department University of Southern California


Authoritative consumer health information from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine is available from any Internet-accessible computer. These two government agencies jointly sponsor the website MedlinePlus at MedlinePlus.gov. Launched in 1998, the site's information is updated daily and covers more than 700 diseases and conditions. In addition to these health topics, a section on drugs and supplements gives extensive information on brand-name and generic prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, herbs, and supplements. Medline-Plus also includes a medical encyclopedia of over 4000 articles, a medical dictionary, health news organized by topic and date, multiple directories, and much more. The website can be toggled to Spanish or back to English with one click of the mouse.

Health topics can be located in the database by choosing suggestions in an A to Z list, browsing topics in broad health subject groups, or entering a search term. Once a topic has been selected, results are grouped according to types of information, making it easy for the consumer to locate the precise information sought. For example, a searcher looking for information on arrhythmia would have 18 categories of information to choose from, ranging from disease management to genetics (Figure). Using the encyclopedia from this link or directly from the home page, the entry on arrhythmia provides illustrations of the heart and electrocar diogram tracings. It summarizes the diseases in 2 or 3 pages, covering causes, incidence, and risk factors; symptoms; signs and tests; treatment; and other useful information. The date on which the information was updated and the source of the information are provided.

Figure

A screen shot of information links for arrhythmia from MedlinePlus as of February 2006. Sources for each piece are indicated, and users also have access to local information and interactive tutorials on the right-hand side of the screen. More than 75 ...

A link from the MedlinePlus home page offers over 165 interactive tutorials using animated graphics. Consumers can view the slide show and read the text or choose to listen to an audio file of the text being read. Again, there are Spanish and English versions of these helpful lessons. In addition to addressing diseases, the tutorials cover tests and procedures such as amniocentesis, colonoscopy, and coronary angiogram that can help prepare the patients for these procedures. Viewing these lessons helps dispel anxiety by providing needed information on pre and posttest preparation and expectations. Tutorials on operations such as colostomy and coronary artery bypass grafting are also included.

For patients seeking more detailed information on operations, MedlinePlus also provides a collection of prerecorded webcasts of surgical procedures. These 1-hour edited videos are actual operations performed at US medical centers since 2004. The surgeries cover a wide range of areas: bones, joints, and muscles; brain and nervous system; cancers; child and teen health; digestive system; ear, nose, and throat; endocrine system; eyes and vision; heart and circulation; kidneys and urinary system; lungs and breathing; men's health; metabolic disorders; pregnancy and reproduction; skin, hair, and nails; transplantation and donation; and women's health.

MedlinePlus provides a link to the NIH database of clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov). Prospective participants can search for current clinical trials in their geographic location that are relevant to their health condition. A link is also provided from MedlinePlus to the NIH-sponsored website for senior adults (nihSeniorHealth.gov).

Under the "Other Resources" tab on the MedlinePlus home page, consumers can use the libraries link to locate consumer health libraries that provide services to local residents either in their own geographic area or near the location of a friend or relative. The libraries link is a great referral tool for those who are not comfortable using electronic resources or would like additional assistance from an information professional.

As an added bonus for physicians, the National Library of Medicine has created the Information Rx project to offer tools health care providers can use in their practice to refer patients to reliable, authoritative, current, commercial-free health information on the Internet. These materials can be obtained free from http://www.informationrx.org/. Materials include an information prescription pad that the health care provider can use to write the diagnosis or drug the patient will look up, as well as bookmarks and business cards that contain the MedlinePlus logo and URL. Upon leaving the physician's office with their Information Rx, patients can search MedlinePlus from a home computer or access information from a public or consumer health library computer. The Information Rx project enables practicing physicians to connect their patients to a wealth of reliable health information and empowers patients to seek needed information at their convenience with confidence.

Quality guidelines MedlinePlus uses for evaluating links to web pages are listed on their website at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/criteria.html. A bibliography of scholarly articles about the history and use of MedlinePlus can be viewed at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bibliography.html


The phenomenon of Chinglish expressions has become a problem which deserves attention. This paper ana-lyzes the differences between English and Chinese from the angle of the essence of their expressions, points out the reasons and puts forward some countermeasures to decrease and eliminate the phenomenon.


Objective [WT5"BZ]To search for a new radical mastectomy for breast cancer and evaluate its effect. [WT5"HZ]Methods[WT5"BZ] At the time of saving the pectoris major and the pectoris minor,a small hole was made at the junction of clavicular and aternal portion of the pectoris major,to scaveng the lymph nodes at the top of the axilla and the adjacent fat tissues.The possible remaining lymph nodes behind the P.minor could be removed at the same time through the small hole. [WT5"HZ]Results [WT5"BZ]90 cases suffering from mamary cancer of 1-3 stage received the operation.Among them,14 had top axilla lymph nodes metastasis,accounting for 31.8%(14/44) of axilla lymph metastasis and 15.6%(14/90) of all the patients.75 patients were followed for 1-6 years and 89 of them had no local reccurrence or remote metastasis except for 1 case who died of remote metastasis.No Pectoratioatrophy could be seen.The result was satisfactory. [WT5"HZ]Conclusion [WT5"BZ]Hole style imitating radical mastectomy for breast cancer is a new operative apporach and is more reasonable than that of Patey style or Auchincloss style,especially for those who have metastasis at the top axilla.