Blockchain-based Web 3.0, denoting the next-generation Internet, has attracted attention from academia and industry. However, the open-source application and the decentralized storage of users' interaction data break down the algorithm and data barriers, resulting in more fierce competition among service providers. To cope with the competition, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), the financial infrastructures of Web 3.0, adopt the transaction fee mining mechanism, which refunds the transaction fees to users in the form of governance tokens. However, the ratio of governance tokens a DEX decides to give to users would affect the enthusiasm of users to participate, which has not been discussed yet. In this paper, we establish the DEX market with transaction fee mining and formulate our model based on the Hotelling model. Besides, we propose a two-stage game to formulate the interaction between DEXs and users and derive the equilibriums under different conditions of two parameters: the transaction cost difference and users' stickiness. We show that though the service provider with a lower transaction cost can win the market, users' stickiness can offset the market advantage. Thus, incentivizing users with transaction fee mining has become a crucial strategy in the duopoly competition.


Jonne Rodenburg, Judith Both, Ignas M.A. Heitkonig, C.S.A. (Kris) Van Koppen,Brice Sinsin, Paul Van Mele & Paul Kiepe (2012): Land Use and Biodiversity in Unprotected Landscapes:The Case of Noncultivated Plant Use and Management by Rural Communities in Benin and Togo,Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal, 25:12, 1221-1240


A clinical study has confirmed that asymptomatic uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) persists into adulthood—often with continuing arthritis. Sight remains good overall despite some complications, but development of the condition in early adulthood in some patients suggests that routine eye examinations throughout adolescence are advisable.

Asymptomatic uveitis was …


OBJECTIVES
To determine the optimal sites of mini-implant placement in the palatal alveolar cortical bone by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
CBCT records of 60 patients were divided into 2 groups of equal sizes, based on age and sex. The images were analyzed using Planmeca Romexis Software (Version 4.1.2). The measurements were made in axial sections of the maxilla and mandible, at 2mm, 4mm, and 6mm from the CEJ. The optimal sites were defined in terms of (a) Palatal or lingual alveolar cortical bone thickness and (b) Mesiodistal palatal or lingual inter radicular width.

RESULTS
The optimal site for mini-implant insertion, anteriorly, was the canine-lateral incisor embrasure in both the jaws. Posteriorly, the inter-molar embrasure in the mandible and the molar-premolar embrasure in the maxilla were optimal sites. Females demonstrated significantly lesser bone widths in all areas of the maxilla (p<0.05) but greater bone thickness in the mandibular regions, as compared to males. The adolescent age group demonstrated a significantly lesser bone thickness but greater mesiodistal widths than the adult population in both the jaws (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The optimal sites for mini-implant insertion were the anterior canine-lateral incisor and posterior buccal inter-radicular embrasures, in both the jaws. Significant differences existed between age and gender groups, which need to be kept in mind while choosing the locations for placing mini-implants.


The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was established in the post Second World War society in Western Europe. Its emphasis was to resolve the problems regarding the agriculture and non-existing food supplies, by offering subsidies to vulnerable farmers. This was assumed to increase the farmer's production incentives.
Today, CAP constitutes almost half of the common EU-budget, still subsidizing farmers in order for them to maintain production efficiency and income-stability. But does CAP still has a clear reason to exist?
This thesis will present a comprehensive analysis of CAP, which questions whether or not it is a legitimate political system. This is partly investigated by addressing the opinions of Swedish farmers in the Skane region. By adopting legitimacy theory in relation to the opinions of the concerned farmers, this analysis has resulted in a conclusion which reads that CAP is not to be considered as a legitimate political system. In addition, if CAP is in fact not legitimate in its current form; could one question the legitimacy of the EU as a whole? This will be discussed yet remain unanswered, thus invoking further research to be executed on the matter.


case involving the abuse of heroin and pyrithyldione. A 28-year-old male heroin addict was discovered dead in his small appartment. At necropsy, needle marks were found around his right elbow. No other significant pathological findings were observed. The post-mortem specimens taken included blood, urine, bile, liver, kidney, testis, brain, stomach and intestinal contents. Gas chromatolography-mass spectroscopy


The object of this piece of work concerns the safeguards granted to the individual under the Italian administrative trial. More specifically the work is dedicated to the guarantees provided to the individuals by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and European Union law.
The ECHR and the EU law (the latter, in particular, through the Charter of Fundamental Rights) provide individuals with a series of procedural guarantees whose compliance is the basis for the "fair trial".
The administrative trial, however, presents some peculiarities that generate a number of doubts in the practical application of such guarantees.
The Public Administration (necessary part of this judgment) from the procedural stage is already bound to comply with certain principles (therefore much earlier than the commencement of any litigation). Such principles are imposed by the law, Constitution, ECHR and EU law in order to achieve a "fair administrative trial". By consequence, the administrative act should therefore be "legitimate" in itself.
Furthermore, while the claimant is pursuing its own (legitimate) individual interest, which may have been harmed by the contested measure or unlawful conduct adopted by the Public Administration, the aim pursued by the administration itself is only the overall interest of the community.
The administrative trial contains an internal asymmetry between the positions of the parties involved. Such asymmetry is originated by the presumption of legality of the administrative actions, as well as by the public interest on which it is linked. In fact, under Italian law, as well as in most European countries, Administrative trial has always been separated from the civil trial.
The question of the balance between the values at stake as a fundamental valuation criteria for the Constitutional Court, the Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice, is absolutely unique in this field. How much the procedural rights of the individuals shall be safeguarded when such protection inevitably collides with the overriding public interest that the Public Administration shall enforce (which in turn takes the form of defense of other fundamental values, also protected by the Constitution, the ECHR and Union law)?
In the development of this work the way in which the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice deal with this difficult balance will also be analyzed. The analysis will be focused in particular on the case law of the Italian administrative procedure law.

In addition, special attention will be paid to the way the Italian Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and the Trial Court deal with the jurisprudence of the European courts. The outcome is the finding of the existence of various levels of dialectical relationship between the jurisdictions which are characterized by moments of dialogue and other of breaking.
Therefore the target is finding an "European" concept of "administrative fair trial" and analyzing in which way it practically develops within the Italian law.
In this sense, no one can hardly overlook the objective efforts made by the legislator who, through the reform of article 111 of the Constitution and the entry into force of the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), has shown the intention of incorporating into our system the principles of fair trial as outlined (also) through an alignment of the levels of protection granted in the civil and in the administrative trial.
However, despite these efforts, in some fields of Italian procedural law, it still persists a situation of advantage in favour to the Public Administration.
The work is divided in three chapters.
In the first one, after an overview of the universal generic obligations suitable to affect the administrative process in Europe, we will try to determine which guarantees the ECHR and the EU law (and, particularly, the Bill of Rights) are applicable to the administrative trial.
In the second, the investigation focuses on the ways the Italian law suits the procedural guarantees of the ECHR and the EU law and on the possible intersections (both from the perspective of conflict and integration) between such guarantees or between them and the Constitution. This will be obtained by not forgetting the need for a coordination between the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights and Constitutional Court.
In the third chapter, after a brief presentation of the Italian system of split of jurisdiction, the investigation focuses on the manner in which the domestic, international and EU courts have organized the delicate balance that is studied in this work. This is done by outlining some problematic issues that arise in practice in the application of the principle of fair trial in the Italian administrative procedural system.
To do this, it will be indicated some possible solutions related to certain interpretative issues still unresolved in our domestic law, or about cases of clear incompatibility between Italian law and the principle of fair trial, through an interpretation of internal rules that guarantees the enforcement of human rights.
Upon completion of this work, based on the outcome outlined herein, the reader shall be able to understand if the process of development of the individuals' rights in the administrative process has arrived at a stable point of compromise between opposing interests, or rather should continue and overlaps to areas where the public administration still enjoys the typical privileges deriving from its particular status.


The mental environment of family refers to the family conditions involving human factors, including all family members' view of the world,temperament,morality,and family atmosphere. 46 primary school pupils were surveyed in the parents report method and Family Environments Scale Manual( Chinese version)( FES- CV) and the results are as follows: 1) scores of urban primary school students' intimacy,entertaining ability,organization tendency and controlling factors are significantly higher than those of the national norms while their success factor is significantly lower; 2) the education background and professions of their parents make significant difference to their effect on the family mental environments; 3) in the factor of intellectual- cultural orientation,parents having finished university achieve higher scores than those having finished college or high school only while mothers working as enterprise employees achieve significantly higher scores than those working as professionals and freelancer and those unemployed; 4) in the factor of expressiveness,fathers who are enterprise employee achieve higher scores than those working as professionals,civil servants and freelancer while mothers who are freelancer achieve significantly higher scores than those working as enterprise employees,civil servants, professionals or those who are unemployed; 5) there is significantly positive correlation between father' s education and the score of intellectual- cultural orientation but significantly negative correlation between the degree and the scores of moral- religious emphasis factor; and 6) there is significantly positive correlation between mothers' education background and the scores of control factor.


1. Aradus concinnus, Bergr.— Female: Fifth ventral segment as long in the middle as at the sides, with a transverse obtuse-angulated keel a little in front of the almost straight middle part of the apical margin, this keel at the ends coalescing with the apical margin, apial angles of the segment reaching a little beyond the slightly rounded apical margin of the middle part of the sixth ventral segment, which is broader than long, apical angles of this segment nearly reaching apex of second genital segment, which does not project behind apex of abdomen and is half as long as the transverse first genital segment, this more than twice as broad at base as at apex, apical gential segment, this more than twice as broad at base as at apex, apical genital lobes shortly prominent beyond apex of abdomen, somewhat distant interiorly, inner margin rounded, apical margin oblique, notched before the middle, dorsal gential segment broadly rounded at apex.


Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder, which is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) that is typically associated with cataplexy and other REM sleep phenomenon such as sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucination. Narcolepsy is distinguished into three different entities, narcolepsy with cataplexy, narcolepsy without cataplexy, and narcolepsy due to medical condition. Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) following overnight polysomnography is s standard method for evaluating EDS and plays essential role in the diagnosis of narcolepsy. However, to provide a valid assessment of sleepiness or narcolepsy, the MSLT should be performed under appropriate condition using a qualified recording procedure. In this article, current diagnostic criteria of narcolepsy and recommended recording methods for reliable MSLT will be summarized.


Japan's foreign direct investment (FDI) began in the early 1950s but was conducted only on a small scale until the beginning of the 1970s. Until the 1970s, Japan's FDI was mainly in the mining sector for resource development, the commercial sector, and the labor-intensive manufacturing sector, directed toward developing countries. With the 1980s came deregulation of the financial sector as well as increased import barriers by major countries in North America and Western Europe, leading to an unprecedented increase in Japan's FDI in the finance and manufacturing sectors of these countries. The latter half of the 1980s was another period of a sharp increase in Japan's FDI, resulting from the large appreciation of the yen. Japan emerged as one of the top investor countries of the world. Except for resource development, government policies have neither restrained nor promoted FDI directly but have instead aimed at creating a generally favorable business environment in which FDI could be conducted.


The aim of this paper is to analyze South American integration as a formal priority of Brazilian foreign policy. It provides evidence to  understand the goal of the Brazilian government, and sets out three criteria to assess the Brazilian priority of South American integration: cohesiveness of public policy, regional perception, and corporate structures in Latin America.


2 Introduction 4 Study objectives 5 Methodology 6 Study design and data collection 6 Assessment of complementary feeding indicators 6 Assessment of anthropometric measurements (linear child growth) 8 Association between complementary feeding indicators and linear child growth 8 Explanatory variables of inappropriate complementary feeding practices 9 Statistical analysis 9 Results 11 Baseline characteristics of the population 11 Complementary feeding indicators 14 Consumption of different food groups 16 Association between complementary feeding indicators and HAZ-scores / stunting 17 Most important determinants for inappropriate complementary feeding practices 17 Discussion 20 References 24 Appendix 26 Appendix I: Dataset construction 27 Appendix II: Missing value analysis 28 Appendix III: Formulas for WHO indicators 31 Appendix IV: Dietary diversity score (DDS-7) 33 Appendix V: Codebook for RDHS 2010 variables 34 Appendix VI: Results 43 Appendix VII: Protocol dose-to-mother doubly labeled water method 62 Appendix VIII: Patient Information Folder (PIF) of the BRINTA study 88


ABSTRACT. The variational method for data assimilation as implemented in the operational scheme at ECMWF is briefly presented. The performance of the variational scheme (3D-Var) with respect to tropical cyclones and the Asian summer monsoon is investigated and compared to the Optimum Interpolation scheme. It is found that the analysis of near-surface winds has improved significantly particularly in the vicinity of tropical storms and depressions. The better analyses have led to improvements in the short range forecasts (day 1 to day 3) of such systems.
The summer monsoon appears slightly stronger in the 3D-Var analyses, giving enhanced forecast precipitation over the Western Ghats and over large parts of northern India. Only in the latter of these two areas does this verify with observations. The forecasts for India of geopotential, wind and temperature have improved significantly at all forecast ranges, as verified against own analyses. These results are based on 28 cases in two separate 2-week periods.


Objective To study the influence of Cotinus Coggygria on animals' blood pressure and heart rate.Methods The cut crude drug of Cotinus Coggygria extracted by water and precipitated by alcohol,then,the liquid was made to be injection.Rabbits' and dogs' blood pressure were measured by direct manometry after the solution injected to their veins,at the same time,dogs' electrocardiogram was measured.Results To the research of blood pressure,from the data of self-comparing of blood pressure before and after administration of rabbit,we can see that water extraction of cotinus coggygria 0.15 and 0.3 g/kg could significant degraded rabbits' blood pressure(P0.05 or P0.01);from the data of self-comparing of blood pressure before and after administration of dog,we can see that water extraction of cotinus coggygria could significant degraded dogs' blood pressure(P0.05 or P0.01).The dosage-effect relationship(Y=48.15X +57.19,r=0.964 4) between logarithmic dosage(X) and blood pressure drop(Y) was obtained from data of self-comparing of blood pressure before and after administration of dogs.The liquid of Cotinus Coggygria extracted by water and precipitated by alcohol had decreasing trend on dogs' hearts rate,but had noevident difference compared with normal control(P0.05).Conclusion Cotinus Coggygria had evident effect of depressurization and it didn't affect the heart rate.


Bandgap tunability through ion substitution is a key feature of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHP-NCs). However, the low stability and low luminescent performance of CsPbCl3 hinder their full-color applications. In this work, quantum confinement effect (QCE) was utilized to control the bandgap of CsPbBr3 NCs instead of using unstable CsPbCl3, which possess much higher emission efficiency in blue spectra region. Studies of microstructures, optical spectra and carrier dynamics revealed that tuning the reaction temperature was an effective way of controlling the NC sizes as well as QCE. Furthermore, the obtained CsPbBr3 NCs were encapsulated in a PDMS matrix while maintaining their size distribution and quantum-confined optoelectronic properties. The encapsulated samples showed long-term air and water stability. These results provide valuable guidance for both applications of LHP-NCs and principal investigation related to the carrier transition in LHP-NCs.


The Constructivism Experimental Web-Based Learning model is an important constructive learning model that efficiently collaborate latest multi-media, on-line technology and also emphasis the importance of educator's instruction. This theory views student as proactive learning constructor and teacher's role is collecting, organizing external information, guiding student to explore, interact with designed environment and having student learn from it. This paper describes the implementation of constructivism Web-based leaning model on <<business negotiation>> class. Through special designed learning environment, student can learn the fundamental knowledge through playing different role in different business negotiation session, apply knowledge to real practice, develop proactive learning skills and enhance creativity and team collaboration.


AbstractAnumber of investigations have been made of the processes of drop formation in sprays, particularly those produced from flat and conical liquid sheels. Some of these studies have been concerned with relatIng the size of the drops to the properlles of the sheet, and measurements have been mode of Its veloCity and thickness in the region of disintegralian. In this paper, on account is given of the way in which interferometry has been utilized to determine the variation of thickness throughout a flat fan spray sheet.


In weak grids, an important problem with voltage stability and protections coordination of power plants exists. This problem appears because all the generation groups are connected to the same bus bar. As a result, if a fault occurs in any of the generation groups, or in the bus bar that connect them, the system voltage will have large oscillations. Hence, in weak grids the correct adjustment of AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) is critical. In this work an experimental study of differents AVR adjustments against fault in weak grids is described.


The full energy peaks always overlap each other when carrying out radioactive spectrum measurement. In this paper, combining GMM statistical clustering model with EM iterative algorithm, the overlapping peaks of nuclear spectrum with no background has been decomposed. No matter how many overlapping peaks we can use this decomposition method, and ensure that the statistical errors close to zero. It has great practical value for radionuclide with a quantitative or qualitative analysis.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Abstract : The purpose of this work was the determination of the effects of various immunization regimens on the capacities of lymphocytes to respond to specific and nonspecific stimuli by blastogenesis and interferon production. Healthy young adult volunteers were immunized with single or multiple vaccines, sequential blood samples were obtained and lymphocytes were cultured with and without stimuli. After appropriate incubation periods, uptake of tridiated thymidine was determined as an indication of blastogenesis and supernate fluids were harvested for interferon assays. Emphasis was necessarily placed upon standardization of test procedures, as the potency of the stimuli and the cellular immunity of the volunteers were unknown. Optimal stimulating dosages of phytohemagglutinin and of mumps and influenza antigens have been determined, and interferon assays are in progress. Since the studies to date are preliminary and the study group was small, no conclusions can be drawn but definitive investigations can now be undertaken. (Modified author abstract)


Sickness presenteeism, i.e. going to work while sick, can cause substantial productivity losses. Focusing on work‐related characteristics, we investigate the determinants of the annual duration of sickness presenteeism using representative European cross‐sectional data. We find work autonomy, workload, tenure, and the work environment to be the quantitatively most relevant determinants of sickness presenteeism days. Work autonomy (control over one's work, being supervisor), workload (weekly working hours, time pressure), and tenure are positively related to the number of sickness presenteeism days. In contrast, a good work environment (good working conditions and social support) comes along with fewer presenteeism days.


Gyroscope is a common inertial sensor for inertial navigation system (INS). Its accuracy is affected by various error sources and noises. Among them, the deterministic error can be eliminated by calibration. However, random error is difficult to be evaluated due to its uncertainty, so random error has a great negative impact on the accuracy of gyroscope. Therefore, in order to improve the precision of gyroscope, it is necessary to compensate the random error. This paper proposes a compensation method for random error of gyroscopes based on support vector machine (SVM) and beetle antennae search (BAS) algorithm. Firstly, the original time series data of random error is processed in groups by a slide window, and then the SVM model is trained by using the original data of random error. The two key parameters in SVM are optimized by BAS algorithm. Finally, The trained SVM model is used to predict the gyroscopes random error data, and the prediction results are used to complete the compensation of gyroscopes data. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, and the compensation accuracy is better than the traditional autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method.


Aim of study To determine the radiographic changes which can be regarded as indicative of probable eventual aseptic clinical loosening. Methods 150 TERs performed in 121 adult rheumatoid patients (95 female) with a mean age of 59 years (34–81) were followed up for a mean of 8 years. All X-rays until the final review or revision of each TER were independently reviewed by the principal author. The cement/bone interface around each component was divided into Zones and any radiolucencies were graded within each Zone. This data was then analysed to determine in which zones and at which grading of severity, radiolucencies are of importance in predicting aseptic loosening. Results Humeral Components Radiolucencies occurred quite frequently in Zones 1&5. Where they became active and progressive, the usual pattern was for them to extend into Zones 2 and 4 and eventually into Zone 3. The incidence of lucencies of all grades of severity in Zones 1&5 with standard humeral components was 55 and 53% respectively, in Zones 2&4 29 and 33%, and Zone 3 18%. The significance of the radiolucencies also varied markedly in the different Zones. In Zones 1&5, only 22% went on eventually to complete lines > Grade 3 severity in all Zones, 14% eventually requiring revision, while in Zones 2&4, the corresponding figures were 36% with 22% requiring revision, and in Zone 3 60%, with 22% revision. The results with the long-stemmed implants showed a very similar trend, the important Zones being 2B, 4B, and 3. Ulnar Components Lucencies in Zones 1&2 and in 3&8 occurred in 90 & 73% of elbows respectively but are probably of little significance as only 15&10% were later associated with the development of complete lines in other zones. The Zones of significance appear to be 5&7, and especially Zone 6. Although lucencies were found in these Zones in only 35, 43 and 28% respectively, 49, 40 and 51% of these went on to form complete lucencies in all Zones, the eventual revision rate being 51, 21, and 32%. Conclusions Many TERs demonstrate areas of lucency on follow-up radiographs but we would argue that it is only of importance in specific locations (humeral zone 3 for the standard implant and humeral Zones 2B, 4B and 3 for the long-stemmed implant and ulnar Zones 5&7 and especially 6) and when it is of Grade 3 severity or more. Such cases require to be monitored very regularly and carefully so as to carry out revision at the optimal time should this eventually be required.


Sixth-generation (6G) cellular systems will have an inherent vulnerability to physical (PHY)-layer attacks and privacy leakage, due to the large-scale heterogeneous networks with booming time-sensitive applications. Important wireless techniques including non-orthogonal multiple access, mobile edge computing, millimeter-wave, massive multiple-input and multiple-output, visible light communication, terahertz, and intelligent reflecting surface can improve the spectrum efficiency and quality-of-service but will raise challenges for the 6G PHY and cross-layer security and privacy protection. Existing optimization based PHY and cross-layer security and privacy protection schemes such as the convex optimization method have to rely on accurate attack patterns and strategies and thus suffer from performance degradation in 6G systems that have shorter communication latency, more devices and higher spectrum efficiency than 5G. Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms help wireless devices optimize their security policies to enhance the security performance in dynamic networks against smart attacks without depending on the attack model. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive survey on the RL based 6G PHY cross-layer security and privacy protection. In this article, we investigate the potential attacks in 6G systems and discuss the PHY cross-layer security solutions. A brief overview of reinforcement learning algorithms is provided. Afterward, we review the RL based PHY-layer security and privacy protection and discuss how to apply RL algorithms in 6G security scenarios, especially focusing on the game with jammers, eavesdroppers, spoofers and inference attackers. The RL based security solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cross-layer scenarios are also reviewed. The future research directions are identified and the corresponding RL based potential solutions are discussed for 6G.


Abstract One of the sustainable energy sources available everywhere is solar energy. Solar energy may be transformed into electrical energy using photovoltaic cells; it can also be utilized in various applications like domestic, agricultural, industries and traffic lights. The power produced from solar energy is at a minimum level. Hence, the tracking maximum power point and converters are employed to step up the power from solar. Most of the research works utilized the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) with modified methods of perturb and observe and Swarm intelligence algorithms. The converters like buck boost converter, cuk and cuk-sepic converter are utilized to step up the voltage and it suffers from the harmonic distortion. Hence, in this, the Hybrid GA based PSO used for MPPT and the Zeta converter used for reducing the harmonics and maintaining the quality of power in the output side. The total operation was performed in Island mode and it was realized in MATLAB Simulink under Windows 10 environment. Then, the performance is evaluated for MPPT and total harmonic distortion.


Elastic scattering of electrons by negative cluster ion is studied within the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation, local density approximation (LDA) and Dyson equation method (DEM). The diffraction peculiarities appear in the behavior of scattering phases, total and differential cross sections are discussed.


As editors of the newly launched journal "Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention (SOTRAP)" we are pleased to welcome you to our first issue and we would like at first to thank all colleagues who have and will further support this endeavor. SOTRAP is an international peer-reviewed journal open to all scientists, clinicians, and policymakers researching and preventing all forms of sexual violence. We welcome all contributions that enhance or illuminate relevant clinical practice, science, and policy about the etiology, prevention, (risk) assessment, treatment, and management of individ‐ uals who have committed sexual offenses or are at risk of doing so. Furthermore, aspects of legal, psychological, and somatic consequences of sexual offending are of interest for the readership of SOTRAP. SOTRAP is the official journal of the International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders (IATSO; for more information see www.iatso.org), which was foun‐ ded on March 24th, 1998 in Caracas, Venezuela during an international conference on the treatment of individuals who have committed sexually motivated offenses. IATSO is an international non-profit organization committed to the promotion of research of and treatment for individuals convicted of sexual offenses throughout the world by organizing biennial international conferences, disseminating new research findings and treatment methods, and by providing education and networking opportunities. The aspiration of IATSO is the advocacy of humane, dignified, comprehensive, ethical and Theory, Research, and Prevention Sexual Offending


The paper aims to study a plane system with bars, with certain symmetries. Such problems can be encountered frequently in industry and civil engineering. Considerations related to the economy of the design process, constructive simplicity, cost and logistics make the use of identical parts a frequent procedure. The paper aims to determine the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenmodes for transverse and torsional vibrations of a mechanical system where two of the three component bars are identical. The determination of these properties allows the calculus effort and the computation time and thus increases the accuracy of the results in such matters.The paper aims to study a plane system with bars, with certain symmetries. Such problems can be encountered frequently in industry and civil engineering. Considerations related to the economy of the design process, constructive simplicity, cost and logistics make the use of identical parts a frequent procedure. The paper aims to determine the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenmodes for transverse and torsional vibrations of a mechanical system where two of the three component bars are identical. The determination of these properties allows the calculus effort and the computation time and thus increases the accuracy of the results in such matters.


The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) receives gynecological samples from previously clinically screened high risk patients. In February 2012 the Microbiology Department at RPAH evaluated the APTIMA HPV (AHPV) assay on the fully automated PANTHER system. This assay is a target amplification nucleic acid probe test that utilises target capture for the qualitative detection of E6/E7 viral messenger RNA (mRNA) from 14 high-risk HPV types. The E6 and E7 genes from high-risk genotypes are known oncogenes. 201 ThinPrep specimens were tested in parallel using the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) HPV DNA assay and AHPV assay. The results from each assay were directly compared to each other. Cytological and/or histological findings were used to aid resolution of discordant results. The overall agreement between the assays was 92.4%. The sensitivity specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were as follows: for the AHPV assay, 97.1%, 96.9%, 94.3% and 98.4%; and for the HC2 assay, 91.2%, 97.7%, 95.4% and 95.5%. In this small sample size study of tertiary referral samples, the AHPV assay demonstrated good clinical performance. The PANTHER, which is a random access instrument capable of performing up to four different assays at one time, has very significant workflow advantages in comparison with the HC2 assay.


According to the report of the European Agency for Development in the Special Needs Education (2012) "Profile of inclusive teachers", the inclusive teaching approaches are relevant for supporting better the students with special learning needs. In education, inclusive teaching and learning means that everyone is supposed to possess the same opportunity, without boundaries such as ethnicity, gender or disability. All students should feel valued, be able to mix and participate with all members of the group, and be in a safe and positive environment. Currently, different pedagogical approaches are recognized as enhancers of social inclusion into the classroom, such as participated and collaborative methodology focused on the motivation improvement and emotional cognitive development through the use of different intelligences. In this context, this paper describes two inclusive teaching and learning approaches which exploit the creativity and potentiality of use of the Arts for the STEM skill development. The first one aims to introduce the art-works in a defined pedagogical approach which follow the Singapore's method structured into three phases (concrete, pictorial and abstract) for studying mathematics. It starts from a concrete phase in which students are called to make experience through the object manipulation up to reaching the abstract concept by recognizing and re-producing the mathematical formula studied through an art-work. In the second teaching approach the use of the art-works by the students is made through the development of mini-games settings and scenario. This last is a part of the project co-funded by European Commission under Erasmus Plus programme.


The Institute of Jet Propulsion of the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich is developing an effective stall control system with air injection onto the tip region of the compressor blades at its engine test facility. For this purpose a Larzac 04 twin-spool turbofan engine was equipped with an active stabilisation system comprising ten pivoted injection nozzles acting on the low pressure compressor. With this system it is possible to investigate the influence of air injecting onto the surge margin of the low pressure compressor as well as to perform parameter studies. This paper deals with a discussion of a non-axial injection in comparison with the axial injection. Using a non-axial injection of the air the distance between the injection nozzle and the fan inlet plane has to be considered because the injected air is strongly affected by the main mass flow. For this reason a parameter study has been performed to evaluate the key parameters characterising this application. Therefore different operating points, a variety of injection flow rates as well as different injection angles of the pivoted nozzles have been simulated and compared to experimental results. Additional comprehensive numerical simulations have been performed to investigate the interaction of the injection streams and their influence on the main flow inside the inlet duct. Prior to the development of a future air injection housing the numerical parameter studies complement the knowledge on the performance of this system. NOMENCLATURE


PURPOSE: An etching method of an upper and a lower layer is provided to reduce the analysis of H¬2O¬2, to control or maintain the temperature of the etching solution mixture and to minimize or reduce all of the re-evaporation of the Pb and the undercut of the whole metallizing stack. CONSTITUTION: The manufacturing method of a semiconductor is formed by the steps of: arraying an upper metal layer(502) made by soldering on a lower metal layer(201, 202) made up of titanium or tungsten; and selectively etching the lower metal layer(201, 202) to the upper metal layer(502) with an etching mixture(601) including an etching solution, an adding agent for controlling the temperature of the etching mixture(601) and other adding agent for reducing the re-evaporation of the upper layer(502).


This review seeks to provide an overview of various methods by which active ingredients of drugs can b e nanonized (converted into sizes ranging in the orde r of 1-100 nm) in order to improve their dissolutio n characteristics. It explores why drug dissolution i s important for their bioavailability and how parti cle size, in turn, can affect this process in accordance with th e NoyesWhitney equation. Various techniques invol ving both bottom-up and top-down approaches for the nanonizat ion of drugs are possible, however some methods pro ve better than others especially those of the bottom-u p type due to lesser energy requirement and time of operation. Though many novel methods for the nanonization of d rugs are being introduced for the purpose of improv ing dissolution of poorly-water soluble drugs, it canno t be substantiated for its use because such methods d not increase the saturation solubility of such drugs.


Among modern formations of religion, arisen within Christendom, there is no one that has changed its doctrine and attitude so much as Jehovah's Witnesses, so that the religious content in the three periods can be labelled as new, newer, the newest. Each period is connected with and dependent upon the three presidents Charles Taze Russel, born in 1852, president 1881-1916, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, born in 1869, president 1916-1942, and Nathan Homer Knorr, born in 1905, president from 1942. The purpose here is to clarify some important differences between the three periods.


The goal of an Open Space Technology meeting is to create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues of concern to them. The agenda is set by people with the power and desire to see it through. Typically, Open Space meetings result in transformative experiences for the individuals and groups involved. It is a simple and powerful way to catalyze effective working conversations and to truly invite organisations – to thrive in times of swirling change.


Introduction Topological challenges to the geometry of globalization and polarization Space-time crystals as fundamental to comprehension of global order Via sphere, torus and hyperbola to space-time crystals of governance? Comprehension of requisite complexity through game-ball design? Contrasting forms of coherence framed by positive and negative curvature Space-time crystals as space-time polyhedra fundamental to appropriate organization Imagining complementary images of the shape of civilization Logic of renormalization as enabling flying metaphorically understood? References


Background: The small molecule CCX559 is a novel, highly potent inhibitor of human PD-L1 being developed as an oral treatment for cancer patients. We have previously demonstrated that CCX559 has nanomolar potency and high selectivity for PD-L1; that it enhances primary T cell activation and has anti-tumor efficacy, including the ability to induce complete responses, using in vivo models1.
 Results: Safety pharmacology studies in preclinical animal species demonstrated pharmacokinetics and an acceptable safety profile for CCX559, which supported the initiation of human trials in patients with advanced tumors. Prior findings from toxicology studies were consistent with immune modulation, including consumptive coagulopathy, increased white blood cell counts, and changes in IL-6 plasma levels. A Phase 1, first in patient, multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation study was initiated, with a starting dose of once-daily (QD) oral dosing at 30 mg. The primary objectives are safety/tolerability, as well pharmacokinetic (PK) assessments aimed at determining a future phase 2 dose. Secondary objectives include pharmacodynamic (PD) assessments of immune cell activation in patient peripheral blood samples, as well as anti-tumor effects. For PK, intensive blood sampling is done on day 1 and day 21 of the first cycle of dosing; additional samples are collected on select days throughout the 21-day treatment cycles. PD analyses are done on selected blood draws as well. The first patient dosed (30 mg QD) showed that the drug was well tolerated with no adverse events reported. Preliminary PK results from this patient revealed CCX559 exposure levels consistent with preclinical predictions. Moreover, PD samples showed elevations in T cell proliferation and activation within the first 15 days, when compared to the predose sample. In conclusion, the preclinical data support clinical development of CCX559. CCX559 shows encouraging initial PK and PD results, and patient enrollment is ongoing in the trial (ACTRN12621001342808).
 References: 1Chris Li, et al. CCX559 is a potent orally-administered small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor that induces anti-tumor immunity. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1274.
 Citation Format: Kathleen M. Sullivan, Shichang Miao, Huibin Yue, Niky Zhao, Chris Li, Ezra Tai, Karen Ebsworth, Gonzalo Tapia Rico, Paul De Souza, Tom Schall, Penglie Zhang. CCX559, an orally administered small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor for the treatment of solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 4147.


This paper analyzes whether the superior performance of venture-backed firms is associated with the funding provided and/or to the value added by venture capitalists to their investee firms. Rooted on the agency and the resource-based view theories, both variables are analyzed according to the stage of development of the firm. The hypotheses are tested on a highly representative sample of Spanish venture-backed firms over the period 1993-2005. Our results show that funding is significant regardless of the stage of development of the investee firm at the time of the investment. The value added, however, is significant only for the subsample of firms at the expansion stage.


The main characteristic of a linear superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) is the stable levitation between the superconductor and the magnetic source, which is, in most cases, a permanent magnetic (PM) rail. A stable and passive levitation can be reached when the superconducting transition occurs in the presence of magnetic field (field cooling-FC). The cooling process is performed with the superconductor near to the PM rail in a certain cooling height (CH). This work aims to develop a technique, based on the critical state model, which calculates the magnetic forces of a SMB in the FC case when the superconductor bulk is displaced laterally in relation to the PM rail. This method consists in determining a macroscopic screening current density that the superconductor is supposed to carry. This algorithm has already shown satisfactory results when the vertical levitation force in zero field cooling and FC procedures were simulated. Here a study of the lateral force for different values of CH was performed considering the FC case. An experimental rig with a 6-axis transducer was used to measure the magnetic force. The simulated and measured force results presented the same behavior, showing a promising potential of this model for design of MagLev guideways.


The problem of calibration of measuring instruments for given conditions based on the correction function is considered as a measurement problem of structural-parametric identification of the calibration diagram. It is shown, that the correction function allows at the first stage to obtain a ratio for correcting the readings, and at the second stage to obtain a corrected measurement result, it is necessary to identify the probability distribution of possible deviations from it. An example of solving the measurement problem of calibration for given conditions is given. Negative aspects of the practice of calibration of measuring instruments are noted: carrying out calibration under normal conditions according to the methods of verification of measuring instruments; presentation of calibration results by tables of joint readings of measuring instruments and standards; the presence in the calculations of the calibration diagram of significant restrictions on the mathematical apparatus of the «Guidelines for the expression of measurement uncertainty», specified by ISO/IEC 31010:2019 "Risk management – Risk assessment techniques".


Turbulent entrainment and mixing is an important phenomenon in many geophysical flows. The study that we consider here is relevant to the deepening of the oceanic mixed layer due to the turbulent motions created and sustained by various external processes such as wind, convection due to surface cooling and heating, breaking waves and tides. Ekman transport is a phenomenon observed in the ocean [1], where the balance between the drag due to the surface winds and the coriolis force results in a net transport 90◦ to the direction of wind. The direction of transport i.e towards the coast or away from the coast depends on the direction of wind and the direction of coriolis force. Coastal upwelling occurs when Ekman transport moves surface waters away from the coast. Surface waters are replaced by cooler and denser water from below. Similarly when Ekman transport moves surface waters towards the coast, water piles up near the coast and sinks resulting in downwelling.


Han Fei inherited and developed the perspectives of reason and desire of Huan-Law Teachings. He took "life" and "rule" as the life-long pursuits and thus constructed his art of rule of law, statecraft, and authority. The emperors without desires embodied dao while the masses with desire followed reason. Thus a system of reason and desire perspectives with dao and law integrated naturally is developed, containing many revealing substance.


This is a research paper written by Richard Hewitt for an American History Class at Marfa High School on December 10, 1969. It includes stories about Indian attacks in west Texas, the location of petroglyphs, and descriptions of different arrowheads and their uses.


In the paper, aspects of selection of the most suitable image fusion method of infrared and vision images are discussed. Those studies are preceded by a short description of the theoretical background connected with image fusion methods as well as evaluation of fusion algorithms. The considered images were acquired during the author's research connected with the diagnostics of a welding process as well as the development of a fusion system for aiding the detection of flying objects. The discussion presented in the paper can be applied to many similar problems occurring in machine vision systems of industrial processes.


Objective:To investigate occupational stress of teachers in primary and secondary school.Methods:Occupational stress inventory revised edition(OSI-R) was used.According to occupational rules questionnaire(ORQ),the raw scores of occupational stress have been obtained in 60 items and then the evaluation of the occupational stress was carried out.Results:1)The scores both items role(RO) and physical environment(PE) in 1460 teachers were significantly higher than those in 319 non-teachers although there was no difference in the total scores of occupational stress between two groups.2)Male teacher's scores of occupational stress were significantly higher than those of females.3)Teacher's scores of occupational stress increased with age.4)The scores of occupational stress in teachers in secondary school were significantly higher than those of teachers in primary school.Conclusion:Stress of teachers in the primary and secondary school presented mainly in both RO and PE.The level of occupational stress of teachers in secondary school specially elder male teachers was significantly higher than those in teachers of primary school.


Halbach permanent magnet (PM) array has attracted tremendous research attention in the development of electromagnetic generators for its unique properties. This paper has proposed a generalized analytical model for linear generators. The slotted stator pole-shifting and implementation of Halbach array have been combined for the first time. Initially, the magnetization components of the Halbach array have been determined using Fourier decomposition. Then, based on the magnetic scalar potential method, the magnetic field distribution has been derived employing specially treated boundary conditions. FEM analysis has been conducted to verify the analytical model. A slotted linear PM generator with Halbach PM has been constructed to validate the model and further improved using piece-wise springs to trigger full range reciprocating motion. A dynamic model has been developed to characterize the dynamic behavior of the slider. This analytical method provides an effective tool in development and optimization of H...


Epitaxial Hg1−xCdxTe films were grown on (111)A CdTe substrates by the tellurium solvent, horizontal tube slider liquid phase epitaxy technique. Their microstructures were subsequently investigated by both planar and cross‐sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Planar TEM showed the top surface of the films to be precipitate free with a general dislocation density <106/cm2 except for localized regions containing high dislocation densities associated with linear surface features on the Hg1−xCdxTe. Cross‐sectional TEM showed the interface region to be nonplanar due to meltback during epilayer growth. A three‐dimensional dislocation structure was confined to a band in the interface region having a graded Hg composition.


The invention provides a data encrypting method, a data encrypting device, a data deciphering method and a data deciphering device. The data encrypting method comprises the following step of building a virtual disk, wherein the virtual disk receives a write request from a file system, encrypts data carried with the write request, and informs the file system to write the encrypted data into a corresponding physical disk, so that the file system writes the encrypted data into the corresponding physical disk after receiving the information from the virtual disk.


A coil form (1) with a low inter-winding capacitance is disclosed comprising a bobbin (4) formed from an electrically insulating material (5) and including a tube section shaped wall (6). A coil is mechanically supported by the bobbin (4) and includes a first plurality (11) of conductor windings on the outside of the wall (6) and a second plurality (13) of conductor windings on the inside of the wall (6).


AbstrcatThe relativity between various judging parameters of tobacco leaves and cigarettes is respectively studied. The results showed that there is close relation between various judging parameters of tobacco leaves or cigarettes. Compared with tobacco leaves, the relation of cigarette is closer. Ranking the conjugations according to their relative degree,that of the tobacco leaves is: offensive odor and after taste, quality of aroma and after taste, quality of aroma and offensive odor, quality and volume of aroma, offensive odor and irritancy, volume of aroma and offensive odor, quality of aroma and irritancy, volume of aroma and after taste, irritancy and after taste;that of the cigarettes is: aroma and after taste, offensive odor and after taste, aroma and irritancy, aroma and irritancy, irritancy and after taste, offensive odor and irritancy.


Biochars produced from sewage sludge show promise for use as soil amendments that could both enhance plant growth and sequester carbon. In a previous study, we showed that moist sewage sludge obtained from a rural, residential region of Oahu, Hawaii, could be carbonized, and the heavy-metal content of its biochar did not exceed United States EPA regulations limiting its use as a soil amendment. In this paper, we show that biochars produced from the nearby residential community of Hawaii Kai cannot be used as a soil amendment in Hawaii because their contents of Zn, Mo, and Cr exceed state regulations. Likewise, their contents of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn exceed Belgian regulations. These heavy metals are retained in the biochar during carbonization, whereas Hg and (to a lesser extent) As, Cd, and Se are released and thereby depleted in the biochar. Biochar within the carbonizer does not adsorb the heavy metals which are released during pyrolysis; consequently, these leave the carbonizer in its exhaust stream.


Preface and Acknowledgements. Herbert GRABES: Introduction: "Writing the Nation" in a Literal Sense. Stefanie RUCK: Patriotic Tendencies in Pamphleteering during the Reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Herbert GRABES: England or the Queen? Public Conflict of Opinion and National Identity under Mary Tudor. Claus UHLIG: National Historiography and Cultural Identity: The Example of the English Renaissance. Martina MITTAG: National Identity and the Sovereign in Anti-Spanish Pamphlets 1558-1625. Franz WIESELHUBER: Models of National Identity in Restoration Pamphlets. Philipp WOLF: The Emergence of National Identity in Early Modern England: Causes and Ideological Representations. Herbert GRABES: "Elect Nation": The Founding Myth of National Identity in Early Modern England. Works Cited.


Phase stability of the high-Tc oxide YBa2Cu3O6.9 (1-2-3 phase) has been studied under the pressure generated by canned HIP at various temperatures. Resistivity measurements in samples hipped at 930°C and 780°C show a degradation of electric properties, for example the broad transition at Tc and the rise in resistivity above Tc. The sample hipped at 830°C exhibits a sharp transition at a Tc of 80 K and low resistivity above Tc. X-ray analysis reveals that the original compound decomposes into the 2-1-1 phase in parts in the former, and into the 1-2-4 and 2-1-1 phases in the latter. This phase decomposition is explained by the rise in oxygen partial pressure during HIP.


Bismuth-doped luminescent materials have gained significant attention in the past years owing to their huge potential for the applications in telecommunications, biomedicine, and displays. However, the controlled synthesis of these materials, in particular for those luminescing in the near-infrared (NIR), remains a challenging subject of continuous research effort. Herein, we show that the low-temperature topotactic reduction by using Al metal powders as oxygen getters can be adopted as a powerful technique for the conversion of bismuth-doped red-emitting systems into NIR-emitting cousins as a result of the creation of unique crystalline networks. Thorough experimental characterization indicates that the framework oxygen of hosts can be topotactically extracted, thus producing unique metal-oxygen-metal networks in the reduced phases while preserving the crystalline structure of the precursor. We anticipate that this low-temperature topotactic reduction strategy can be applied to the development of more novel Bi-doped luminescent materials in various forms that can find a broad range of functional applications.


Feedback control strategies for continuous-time dynamic systems rely, on the one hand, on a mathematical system model given as a set of (ordinary) differential equations and, on the other hand, on knowledge about the current state variables and system parameters. However, most practical applications are characterized by the fact that not all state variables are directly measurable and that system parameters are either only imprecisely known or may change their values during system operation. This typically leads to the necessity to determine the before-mentioned non-measurable quantities by means of model-based online estimation procedures, for which a guaranteed asymptotically stable convergence to the true, however, unknown values has to be ensured. In this context, variable-structure state estimation procedures represent powerful approaches because candidates for Lyapunov functions are employed in an underlying manner to perform a proof of the required stability properties. In this paper, a novel interval-based variable-structure state and parameter estimation procedure is presented for which a systematic approach toward an optimal parameterization is presented. The parameterization aims at simultaneously attenuating the influence of (stochastic) noise and maximizing the regions in the state and parameter space for which stability can be proven.


This article initially outlines a procedure used to develop a written diagnostic instrument to identify grade-11 and -12 students' misconceptions and misunderstandings of the chemistry topic covalent bonding and structure. The content to be taught was carefully defined through a concept map and propositional statements. Following instruction, student understanding of the topic was identified from interviews, student-drawn concept maps, and free-response questions. These data were used to produce 15 two-tier multiple-choice items where the first tier examined content knowledge and the second examined understanding of that knowledge in six conceptual areas, namely, bond polarity, molecular shape, polarity of molecules, lattices, intermolecular forces, and the octet rule. The diagnostic instrument was administered to a total of 243 grade-11 and -12 chemistry students and has a Cronbach alpha reliability of 0.73. Item difficulties ranged from 0.13 to 0.60; discrimination values ranged from 0.32 to 0.65. Each item was analyzed to ascertain student understanding of and identify misconceptions related to the concepts and propositional statements underlying covalent bonding and structure.


The invention relates to an integrated driver early warning device based on vehicle-road cooperation, which comprises a vehicle state sensing module, an external environment sensing module, a master control module, a vehicular wireless communication module and a human-computer interaction module. Output signals of the vehicle state sensing module and the external environment sensing module are inputted into the master control module which is communicated with surrounding vehicles and equipment on the road through the wireless communication module, and the master control module sends out early warnings through the human-computer interaction module. The integrated driver early warning device is capable of acquiring driving intentions of surrounding vehicles by means of vehicle-vehicle communication, thereby recognizing and sending out early warnings of potential dangers. Meanwhile, vehicle-vehicle or vehicle-road communication can be realized, information about the vehicle can be sent to the surrounding vehicles and the roadside facilities, and auxiliary driving safety can be achieved through the vehicle-road cooperation.


A method for estimating the fundamental period of soil profiles is presented. The profile may have either stepped or continuous variation of soil properties along the depth. Vibration is assumed to be in shear mode. The profile is assumed to be divided into two segments. The stiffness matrix of a segment is obtained by recognising the soil layers in it to be in series and the mass matrix is obtained by assuming the mode shape to be linear within a segment. An eigenvalue problem of small size (2 x 2) results irrespective of the number of layers. A set of numerical examples are solved to demonstrate the accuracy of the method at minimal computational effort. (A)


Objective:To investigate the safety,feasibility and clinical effects of early enteral nutrition(EN)in postoperative patients with gastric cancer through liquid capsule jejunal tube.Methods:86 cases patients with gastric cancer were randomly divided into enteral(EN,n=46),parenteral(PN,n=40)groups postoperatively.The EN group was treated with EN after 24h postoperatively,and the PN group received normal TPN.The nutritional and immune parameters and clinical findings were observed.Results:The restoring time of prealbumin and transferin in serum in EN group was shorted as compared with PN group.There was statistical significance between EN and PN groups(P0.05).The level of IgA、IgG、IgM and CD3、CD4/CD8in EN group rised more swiftly than PN group. The difference was statistical significant(P0.05).Recovery time of intestinal function was earlier in EN group than that in PN group(P0.05).The mean postoperative hospital stay of the EN group was significantly shorter than that of the EN group.The complications were less and treatment fee was significantly lower than that in PN group.Conclusion:Using nutrition multifibre for early enteral nutrition through liquid capsule jejunal tube is safe and effective after gastric operation.It can promote gastrointestinal function recovery and improve nutritional metabolism.


In the past few years a lot of attention has been paid in the multigrid solution of multilevel structured (Toeplitz, circulants, Hartley, sine (τ class) and cosine algebras) linear systems, in which the coefficient matrix is banded in a multilevel sense and Hermitian positive definite. In the present paper we provide some theoretical results on the optimality of an existing multigrid procedure, when applied to a properly related algebraic problem. In particular, we propose a modification of previously devised multigrid procedures in order to handle Hermitian positive definite structured-plus-banded uniformly bounded linear systems, arising when an indefinite, and not necessarily structured, banded part is added to the original coefficient matrix. In this context we prove the Two-Grid method optimality. In such a way, several linear systems arising from the approximation of integro-differential equations with various boundary conditions can be efficiently solved in linear time (with respect to the size of the algebraic problem). Some numerical experiments are presented and discussed, both with respect to Two-Grid and multigrid procedures.


This chapter discusses how interlanguage variation and dialectal variation in the target language appear homophonic in Norwegian. We demonstrate that this may pose challenges for the interpretation of second-language data. In societies with a high degree of variation in spoken vernaculars (or written norms), second-language learners are likely to be exposed to a great deal of variation and possibly conflicting features. The Norwegian language situation is a case in point: dialects have a neutral or high status and most people speak their local dialect in a variety of settings, both formal and informal. In this chapter, we review empirical and theoretical studies on second-language acquisition, focusing on the predictions theymake for interlanguage variation.We then compare the findings of these studies to spontaneous speech data obtained from The Nordic Dialect Corpus and first-language studies of Norwegian. We demonstrate that it can be hard or impossible to distinguish between targetlike dialect variation and nontargetlike interlanguage variation. This has implications for the coding and interpretation of data. Our investigation seeks to raise awareness of the methodological issues related to differentiation between target-language variation and interlanguage variation and to stimulate further discussion on the topic.


This paper studied the optimum width of ridge and furrow for foxtail millet in semi-arid area of south Ningxia,which aimed at increasing water availability to crops and yield farther.In the experiment there were four stripshapes(that is 30 cm,45 cm,60 cm,and 75 cm),the ratio of ridge to furrow was 1.Results showed that different widths of ridges and furrows had significant effects on foxtail millet yields,water storage and WUE.The mean WUE of different treatments increased by 10.30 kg/(mm·hm2)(2004)and 6.76 kg/(mm·hm2)(2005)compared with those of CK,respectively,and water storage was obviously increased during foxtail millet growth.Although the yields are different because of precipitation difference in 2004 and 2005,yield increase has the same tendency.On the average the yields of different treatments increased by 108.48% in 2004 and 135.28% in 2005 compared with those of CK.By regression analysis,the optimum width of ridge and furrow was about 45 cm.


Many previous non–viral siRNA vector development efforts have yielded reagents effective for in vitro transfection but that have poor in vivo pharmacokinetics and bioactivity. The current work focuses on development of a siRNA nanocarrier optimized to overcome both cell–level barriers (uptake/endosomal escape) and systemic barriers following intravenous delivery (stability for long circulation time and small size for effective tissue penetration). To this end, a combinatorial library of ternary polyplexes was herein investigated to optimize formulations for siRNA delivery. The compositions tested build from our previous finding that balancing cationic and hydrophobic content in binary polyplexes can enhance both particle stability and endosome escape. Through this ternary complex/combinatorial approach, we were able to systematically study important structure–function characteristics such as polyplex surface PEGylation density, size, stability, and endosomolysis. Ternary polyplexes which were optimized to overcome multiple barriers to siRNA delivery achieved highest gene silencing and endosomolysis was identified as a crucial parameter for achieving siRNA silencing in vitro. Lead polyplexes were able to localize to tumors after intravenous administration and achieved target gene silencing of the model gene luciferase in vivo.


With using chitosan as the support,glutaraldehyde as the crosslinking agent and nitrilotriacetic acid as the chelating ligand,affinity adsorbent was prepared by immobilized copper ion.Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) was purified by chromatography with a recovery rate of 23.3% and purfication fold of the 3.1.The results show that the affinity chromatography has a high selectivity for the separation and purification of LDH.


The splitting or "cracked fruit" is a factor that determines the production of mandarin 'Nova' in the Northeastern Argentina. The objective was to evaluate the incidence of foliar fertilization with potassium, calcium and boron on splitting, nutrition, productivity and fruit quality.Six treatments T1: control, T2: Ca (NO3)2 at 2 %, T3: 0,2 % Ca-B, T4: Ca-B at 0,4 %, T5: Ca-B at 0,6 %, T6: 4 % KNO3, applied at three times, except the control, in a randomized complete block design with four replicates and four plants per replicate. Leaf samples were taken in March, September and December for each treatment in three consecutive seasons, with concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, boron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and manganese being determined. Before harvest, 20 fruits were sampled per experimental plot, and the following variables were evaluated: bark thickness (mm), equatorial diameter (mm), fresh mass (g), juice content, juice percentage, total soluble solids (°Brix), total acidity (expressed as % citric acid) and maturity index (MI). The addition of Ca and K was associated with increases of these nutrients in plant shell thickness, size, weight and fruit juice, as well as with the least amount of windfalls by splitting or cracked: the contribution of Ca and B to fruit quality variables related. Provide Ca, K and to a lesser extent, decreases the incidence of splitting or cracking in mandarin 'Nova'.


The article by Chang et al, entitled "Cerebral Abnormalities in Myotonic Dystrophy, " ratifies the observations made by others that patients with myotonic dystrophy (MD) suffer cognitive deficits. The authors present data supporting the notion that patients with maternally inherited MD manifest earlier and more severe cognitive defects than do patients with paternally inherited MD. Their single-photon emission computed tomography data show a variety of cerebral blood flow reductions that are likely secondary to the cerebral functional deficit, while the magnetic resonance imaging studies are inconclusive, perhaps because the studies were not longitudinal. The authors attempt to explain the cognitive changes in MD through linkage with the sleep apnea syndrome. They fail to consider that in most patients with MD, sleep apneas are relatively mild and, although contributory, they are likely not an important cause of cognitive change in these patients. Sleep apnea syndrome in MD may not even be a


Abstract A mixed-valence Cu(I)/Cu(II) coordination polymer, namely, [Cu2(L)(1,3-BDC)]n (1), has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions (HL = 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline and 1,3-H2BDC = 1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid). Its structure has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. The crystals are the monoclinic space group P21/c with a = 10.686(4), b = 17.376(8), c = 11.759(4) Å, β = 92.072(14)°, C27H14Cu2FN4O4, Mr = 604.50, V = 2182.1(15) Å3, Z = 4, Dcalcd. = 1.84 g cm–3, R = 0.0588 and wR = 0.1202 (all data). In complex 1, the mixed-valence Cu(I)/Cu(II) atoms are linked by L and 1,3-BDC to give a rare 3D (3,3,4)-connected (4.7.9)(7.8.9)(18.104.22.168) framework. The temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility of 1 was investigated in the temperature range of 2–300 K.


3D wafer packaging represents a significant component of the total wafer level processing cost. Replacement of the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process step with a corresponding dry etch can yield significant time and cost savings. Incorporating equipment already utilized in the 3D integrated wafer packaging process during the subsequent Through Silicon Via (TSV) reveal step, process efficiencies can be achieved, with overall die yields being maintained. Using dry etch technology to treat a 200nm rough back-ground silicon surface, a smooth surface with a peak to valley roughness of less than 6nm is demonstrated. This patented process differs from other dry etch smoothing techniques in that it aims to eliminate any visual grind marks rather than just reducing the surface roughness. The elimination of visible grind marks is critical in later optical inspection where they are falsely identified as defects. The quality of the surface is equivalent to that of a CMP processed wafer and as such, this process has been implemented in manufacturing replacing the CMP step. The novel process described combines a surface modification followed by a roughness reduction in an iterative manner to produce a smooth surface without visible grind marks post processing.


The present invention is a total fineness dtex fiber 67~350 air-impermeable coated fabric formed by applying the elastomeric film to at least one side of the cell made of the friction coefficient according to the tilt direction and the KES measurement in the weft direction of the fabric of the coated surface (MIU) is an oblique direction and the weft direction both from 0.01 to 0.3, and the difference between the tilt direction and the weft direction MIU MIU of coating the surface of 0.15 or less in absolute value-coated fabric. Since the sliding properties of the coated surface of the fabric is significantly improved, short development times, it is useful in the production of air bags that can be compactly housed in a lightweight uniformly deployed.


To Trespass an Individual: 1. The trespass notice must be served in person. Remember, only a staff member can trespass an individual from the property. 2. Use the official trespass notice authorized by the City of Plymouth. 3. Treat the individual with respect. 4. Fill out the trespass notice completely. a. Use the individual's proper first, middle, and last name and their date of birth. b. You must include the specific conduct that led to the trespassing. This conduct should have occurred within the past 30 days. i. Specific conduct would be: vandalism, harassment, narcotics, etc. c. Make sure you include all addresses associated with your property. d. The trespass notice can be in effect up to one year, not longer. e. You may fill out "Property Manager" under the section referencing who to contact with regards to modifying the notice. 5. Explain the trespass notice to the individual. 6. Have the individual check the box by "I acknowledge receipt of this notice" and then have them sign on the line. If the individual refuses to sign the notice, go to step #8. 7. Give the individual the top copy of the trespass notice. a. If the individual refused to sign, take the remaining 3 copies of the trespass notice to a notary public and sign in the area under the dashed lines "(If not served by a police officer) I verify that I personally handed...". The notary will then check the box and fill in the "Subscribed and sworn before me..." section. 8. Keep the yellow copy of the trespass notice for your records. a. Make sure you document reasons why the trespass was issued for your files. b. If the individual is visiting a resident, contact the resident and advise them why the individual was trespassed. If it is a lease violation to invite a trespassed individual back onto the property, make sure you inform the resident of this and document everything in writing. (Note: Check your lease and with your legal counsel for appropriate wording in your lease agreement that would make it a lease violation to invite a trespassed person back to the property.) 9. Mail the pink and gold copies of the trespass notice to the Police Department.


According to dynamic finite element method,the natural frequencies and the displacement responses for the exit pipe system of 2D12 compressor have been computed,its results have been compared with the experiment results,and the supporting rigidities of initial abutments have been simulated.The vibration damping design has been completed by changing the diameter of collecting pipe and adjusting the supporting rigidities and positions of abutments.As a result of the repeatedly computing and comparing,the best modified version of vibration damping has been given.


A mathematical proof of the analyticity of PLD was discussed. A new algorithm of the analysis of asynchronous PLD was also put out. The algorithm proved itself efficent through theoretical analysis and experimental result.


Detailed wind tunnel and flight investigations were performed on the F/A-18 configuration to explore the causes of many high-angle-of-attack phenomena and resulting disparities between wind tunnel and flight results at these conditions. Obtaining accurate predictions of full-scale flight aerodynamics from wind-tunnel tests is important and becomes a challenge at high-angle-of-attack conditions where large areas of vortical flow interact. The F/A-18 airplane was one of the first high-performance aircraft to have an unrestricted angle-of-attack envelope, and as such the configuration displayed many unanticipated characteristics. Results indicate that fixing forebody crossflow transition on models can result in a more accurate match of flow fields, and thus a more accurate prediction of aerodynamic characteristics of flight at high angles of attack. The wind tunnel results show that small geometry differences, specifically nosebooms and aft-end distortion, can have a pronounced effect at high angles of attack and must be modeled in sub-scale tests in order to obtain accurate correlations with flight.


Object: Master the situation of the college students' forgiveness level,study the relationship with the psychological health,in order to supply accordance for the college students' psychological health education.Method: Use the certain forms like SCL-90 to analyze the characters of forgiveness behaviors between the male and female students and between the art and science students,as well as the relationship with their psychological health.Result: All in all,it is a majority to be medium level of the college students' forgiveness level. There is no difference between art and science,and gender as well.The higher marks of the forgiveness are,the better their psychological health is.


The author improves on some previous work involving data transfer to find the location of disagreements between two or more large remote data files. Some procedures that permit a significant reduction in the number of back-and-forth interchanges are described, one of which significantly reduces the total amount of data transfer required. The older scheme could locate a disagreeing page with an extremely high degree of confidence more than one interchange. The new procedures require at most one back-and-forth interchange for each disagreeing page, often considerably less. >


A new flow injection spectrophotometric method for the determination of N-acetyl-l-cysteine ethyl ester (NACET) was developed and validated. The method is based on the reduction of Cu(II)-ligand complexes to chromophoric Cu(I)-ligand complexes with the analyte. The studied ligands were neocuproine (NCN), bicinchoninic acid (BCA) and bathocuproine disulfonic acid (BCS). The absorbance of the Cu(I)-ligand complex was measured at 458, 562 and 483 nm for the reactions of NACET with NCN, BCA and BCS, respectively. The method was validated in terms of linear dynamic range, limit of detection and quantitation, accuracy, selectivity, and precision. Experimental conditions were optimized by a univariate method, yielding linear calibration curves in a concentration range from 2.0 × 10−6 mol L−1 to 2.0 × 10−4 mol L−1 using NCN; 2.0 × 10−6 mol L−1 to 1.0 × 10−4 mol L−1 using BCA and 6.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 to 1.2 × 10−4 mol L−1 using BCS. The achieved analytical frequency was 90 h−1 for all three ligands. The method was successfully employed for NACET determination in pharmaceutical preparations, indicating that this FIA method fulfilled all the essential demands for the determination of NACET in quality control laboratories, as it combined low instrument and reagent costs with a high sampling rate.


The 15-year history of collaboration on Wikipedia offers insight into how peer production communities create knowledge. In this research, we combine disparate content and collaboration approaches through a social network analysis approach known as an affiliation network. It captures both how knowledge is transferred in a peer production network and also the underlying skills possessed by its contributors in a single methodological approach. We test this approach on the Wikipedia articles dedicated to medical information developed in a subcommunity known as a WikiProject. Overall, we find that the position of an article in the affiliation network is associated with the quality of the article. We further investigate information quality through additional qualitative and quantitative approaches including expert coders using medical students, crowdsourcing using Amazon Mechanical Turk, and visualization using network graphs. A review by fourth-year medical students indicates that the Wikipedia quality rating is a reliable measure of information quality. Amazon Mechanical Turk ratings, however, are a less reliable measure of information quality, reflecting observable content characteristics such as article length and the number of references.


Grating lobes in sparse arrays can be removed by using aperiodic element spacing, however, the traditional random sampling methods cluster some of the elements too close together, making fabrication impractical. We present a new constraint based design approach using guided random search. Numerical results are presented and we show that our approach is capable of removing the grating lobes and reducing the sidelobe level while keeping the elements from being too close together with an organized distribution within the aperture.


Abstract After a century or so of slow decline, major civic-ceremonial structures in the city of Teotihuacan were burned and desecrated, probably around a.d. 600/650, at least some residential structures were abandoned, and the Teotihuacan state collapsed. Few features of Teotihuacan material culture survive in the Basin of Mexico in the ensuing Epiclassic period, which lasted from approximately a.d. 600/650––800/850. Ceramic and other lines of evidence suggest a sizable in-migration of peoples from western Mexico. These newcomers may have arrived in time to add to internal stresses responsible for bringing about Teotihuacan's collapse, arrived later to take advantage of that collapse, or both. Whatever the case, interactions with Teotihuacan survivors were complex and still poorly understood. Descendants of Teotihuacanos probably soon adopted new cultural identities, making them untraceable in the archaeological record, except possibly by biological markers.


Taking full hydraulic double-drived single drum roller as an example,the characteristics of working conditions as well as typical structures of hydraulic travelling system are analyzed.In terms of the characteristics of working conditions and working principle,the causes of common failures of travelling system are analyzed,and specific measures of troubleshooting are put forward.


Significance The addition of the thiol side chain of Cys residues to dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine is a process that occurs in all domains of life and is catalyzed by LanC enzymes. In bacteria, this process is intramolecular resulting in macrocyclic structures called lanthipeptides that have antimicrobial, antiviral, morphogenetic, and virulence activities. In eukarya, the process is intermolecular and involves the addition of the thiol of glutathione to remove electrophilic structures from the proteome, thus preventing dysregulation of cellular processes. This work reports the cocrystal structures of the human LanCL1 enzyme and the glutathione adduct to a Dhb-containing peptide. The structure provides key insights into the mechanism of catalysis and may allow design of inhibitors as well as catalysts for synthetic biology.


The crystal structures of the two title compounds, cis-[CO(~~)~(NH~ )C~] C12, (I), and cis[C~(en)~(py)Cl] C12.H20, (2), have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods at 295 K, being refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques to residuals of 0.025 and 0.036 for 1744 and 3243 independent 'observed' reflections. Crystals of $1) and (2) are monoclinic, PZl/c, Z = 4. For (I), a 7.499(1), b ll.986(2), c 14.325(3) A, /3 111.45(1)"; for (2), a 7.617(2), b 12.866(3), c 16.561(5), P 97.33(2)". Both complexes are racemates with cation conformations A(6,A), (I), and A(A,A), (2). The structure determinations suggest that variations in the rate of base hydrolysis of these complexes and their imidazole analogue may be correlated with the degree of steric crowding associated with the introduction of the monodentate nitrogen base into the coordination sphere.


Mechanical ventilation is used to improve gas exchange and unload the respiratory muscles allowing for their rest and recovery, which require good synchronization between the patient and the ventilator. Spontaneous respiratory effort is generally preferred because it reduces atelectasis, improves oxygenation, and may prevent disuse diaphragm atrophy. Nevertheless, vigorous spontaneous effort can cause both lung injury and diaphragm injury (myotrauma). These injuries lead to prolonged ventilation, difficult weaning, and increased morbidity and mortality. Normal expiration is passive due to the recoil of the lungs and chest wall. In mechanical ventilation, during expiration the ventilator controls the pressure (ie, the target value is PEEP), therefore, we must look at the flow and volume waveforms to see the physiology and patient-ventilator interactions. In expiration the patient-ventilation interaction is not characterized by timing but by work. Expiratory effort (ie, negative Pmus) will deform the flow waveform in a negative direction (away from baseline). Keywords: synchronization, spontaneous effort, lung injury, myotrauma, expiratory effort


When it comes to new breeding in any crop, there is often a bit of adjustment in grower practices required. However, with Cherry Star this is not the case. Unlike last year's introduction of Blackberry Punch, which requires more sunlight and is a bit more sensitive to overwatering in the early season, Cherry Star is as easy to grow as any of the Superbells. The habit is slightly more upright rather than trailing, which makes it easier for small container production. The flowers are held on the outside of the canopy and the star pattern was tested for heat tolerance, so the gold star is stable all season long.


Both Su Shi in the Northern Song Dynasty and Xin Qiji in the Southern Song Dynasty wrote some country ci whose theme was the country,which enlarged the scope of ci.The differences between Su Shi and Xin Qiji's country ci embody as follows: Su Shi observed the country with a local official's visual angle while Xin Qiji got consolation from the country as a frustrated hero;Su Shi's country ci was outright and perceptual but Xin Qiji's was profound and rational;Xin Qiji's country ci contained more images than Su Shi's;Su Shi's country ci had lots of analogies while Xin Qiji had a simple,straightforward style of writing.In addition,Su Shi and Xin Qiji's country ci had something in common.


......................................................................................................................................... iii Summary ........................................................................................................................................ iv Foundation of Research ...................................................................................................................1 Summary of Literature Review ............................................................................................1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................4 Summary of Interview Technique .......................................................................................4 Summary of Surveys – Free Form Text and Multiple Choice(s) Approach ........................5 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 Key Findings ....................................................................................................................................9 Defining Data Science ...................................................................................................................15 Literature Review...............................................................................................................15 Practioner's Perspective .................................................................................................................25 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................26 Surveys – Free Form Text..................................................................................................28 Defining Data Scientist ..................................................................................................................31 Literature Review...............................................................................................................32 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................36 Data Scientist Skills .......................................................................................................................39 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................39 Surveys – Free Form Text..................................................................................................42 Surveys – Multiple Choice(s) ............................................................................................44 Related Skills and Topics...............................................................................................................46 Machine Learning ..........................................................................................................................48 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................48 Surveys – Multiple Choice(s) ............................................................................................48 Data Management ..........................................................................................................................49 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................49


Background: Early diagnosis of Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is crucial for timely access to specialist care and effective treatment. Objectives: To assess the current diagnostic delay in axSpA and identify the parameters associated with increased diagnostic delay in a European sample. Methods: Data from unselected patients participating in the European Map of Axial Spondyloarthritis (EMAS) study through an online survey (2017- 2018) across 13 countries were analysed. Mean differences in diagnostic delay were analysed using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, among sociodemographic and disease-related factors. A multivariate linear regression analysis was carried out to identify the relative weight of the associated parameters in determining diagnostic delay. Results: 2,846 patients participated in EMAS. Mean age was 43.9 years, 61.3% were female, 48.1% had a university degree, and 53.9% were employed. Of the 2846 participants, 2652 provided information for calculating diagnostic delay. Mean age at symptom onset was 26.6 ± 11.1, mean age at diagnosis was 33.7 ± 11.5, and mean diagnostic delay was 7.4 ± 8.4 (Fig. 1). The following variables were associated with longer diagnostic delay in the bivariate analysis: older age, female gender, being diagnosed by a rheumatologist (Table 1). In the multivariate regression analysis younger age at symptom onset, number of HCPs seen before were associated with diagnostic delay (Table 2). Conclusion: In this large sample of axSpA patients from 13 different European countries, the average diagnostic delay was more than seven years. The fact that one of the most strongly associated parameters to diagnostic delay was number of HCPs seen before diagnosis suggests the need for urgent action to reduce incorrect referrals to shorten the patient journey to diagnosis across Europe. Acknowledgments: Funded by Novartis Pharma AG Disclosure of Interests: Marco Garrido-Cumbrera: None declared, Victoria Navarro-Compan Consultant of: Abbvie, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, MSD, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Christine Bundy Grant/research support from: Has received unrelated honoraria from Abbvie, Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, and Pfizer., Raj Mahapatra: None declared, Souzi Makri: None declared, Jose Correa-Fernandez: None declared, Laura Christen: None declared, Carlos Jesus Delgado-Dominguez: None declared, Denis Poddubnyy Grant/research support from: AbbVie, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, Consultant of: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB


Teacher-family partnership are elements of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Nevertheless, the need for better understanding such partnerships and factors influencing it particularly for children under three is underlined. This study compares teachers' and mothers' reports regarding real and ideal partnership practices, exploring child, ECEC and family level predictors of partnership. Mothers and teachers of 90 infants answered the Real-Ideal Teacher-parents Partnership Scale (Gaspar, 1996). Classroom quality was observed with CLASS-Infants (Hamre et al., 2014); home environment with HOME (Caldwell & Bradley, 1984); child temperament with IBQ (Rothbart, 1981). Results show that both mothers and teachers report a medium-high number of implemented practices. Ideally, they would like a significantly higher number of practices to be implemented. Mothers and teachers report of real and ideal practices were significantly associated. Teachers tend to report more practices than mothers. Teacher qualification was uniquely and positively associated with real partnership practices reported both by teachers and mothers. Teacher qualification was the only statistically significant predictor of ideal practices reported by teachers; mothers' education predicted mothers' report on ideal partnerships. Results point to the relevance of teacher qualification for better partnerships, particularly considering the variability of legal requirements regarding teacher qualification in infant classrooms across Europe.


Pain is a symptom of many pathologic states and one of the major reasons to apply to the doctor. More than 70% of all known diseases manifest themselves by pain of various nature and of various degree of intensity and the chronic pain prevalence in the population varies from 2 to 49% [24]. That's why indication of radical analgesics is one of the major tasks of the medical specialist in the day-to-day clinical practice.


To the Editor:

We read with great interest the recent article by Dr Iglseder et al1 dealing with sex differences in early carotid atherosclerosis in the metabolic syndrome. The results of their study demonstrated that extent of plaques and cariotid artery intima-media thickness parameters were significantly higher in subjects with the metabolic syndrome. In addition, it was demonstrated that in women, blood glucose and triglyceride levels showed the strongest association with intima-media thickness of the carotid …


Recombinational repair is a well conserved DNA repair mechanism present in all living organisms. Repair by homologous recombination is generally accurate as it uses undamaged homologous DNA molecule as a repair template. In Escherichia coli homologous recombination repairs both the double-strand breaks and single-strand gaps in DNA. DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) can be induced upon exposure to exogenous sources such as ionizing radiation or endogenous DNA-damaging agents including reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as during natural biological processes like conjugation. However, the bulk of double strand breaks are formed during replication fork collapse encountering an unrepaired single strand gap in DNA. Under such circumstances DNA replication on the damaged template can be resumed only if supported by homologous recombination. This functional cooperation of homologous recombination with replication machinery enables successful completion of genome duplication and faithful transmission of genetic material to a daughter cell. In eukaryotes, homologous recombination is also involved in essential biological processes such as preservation of genome integrity, DNA damage checkpoint activation, DNA damage repair, DNA replication, mating type switching, transposition, immune system development and meiosis. When unregulated, recombination can lead to genome instability and carcinogenesis.