Prior research primarily examined differentially-private continual releases against data streams, where entries were immutable after insertion. However, most data is dynamic and housed in databases. Addressing this literature gap, this article presents a methodology for achieving differential privacy for continual releases in dynamic databases, where entries can be inserted, modified, and deleted. A dynamic database is represented as a changelog, allowing the application of differential privacy techniques for data streams to dynamic databases. To ensure differential privacy in continual releases, this article demonstrates the necessity of constraints on mutations in dynamic databases and proposes two common constraints. Additionally, it explores the differential privacy of two fundamental types of continual releases: Disjoint Continual Releases (DCR) and Sliding-window Continual Releases (SWCR). The article also highlights how DCR and SWCR can benefit from a hierarchical algorithm for better privacy budget utilization. Furthermore, it reveals that the changelog representation can be extended to dynamic entries, achieving local differential privacy for continual releases. Lastly, the article introduces a novel approach to implement continual release of randomized responses.


Application for abortion may be regarded as an openly demonstrated rejection of motherhood and a sign of poor female identification. An attempt was made to test this hypothesis by means of an inventory measuring psychological feminity-masculinity applied to a group of 96 Swedish abortion applicants and a group of 32 pregnant women intending to deliver. There were no significant differences between the groups in the different subscales and indices of the Attitude-Interest Schedule (Marke-Gottfries) except in the subscale "hobbies" in which the abortion group had a significantly higher median score supporting the hypothesis. In the abortion group there was a significant but low correlation with age in some subscales and indices older women tending to be more "feminine." (AUTHORS MODIFIED)


A 35‐year‐old female came with an anterior neck swelling since 5 years. The swelling was diffuse, measuring 3 cm � 3 cm, firm in consistency, and moved with deglutition. Eye signs were positive. Her thyroid profile tests were suggestive of a hyperplastic thyroid (T3, T4 raised and thyroid‐stimulating hormone reduced). Ultrasonography (USG) of the neck showed bilaterally enlarged thyroid lobes with a heterogenous echotexture and highly increased vascularity suggestive of either Hashimoto's thyroiditis or hypothyroid phase of Graves' disease. Thyroid scan showed increased trapping function with a cold area in the region of the isthmus. USG‐guided fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was carried out from the isthmus with a 24‐gauge needle and 10cc syringe. Smears prepared were stained with both Papanicolaou (PAP) and May‐Grunwald‐Giemsa (MGG) stains. Smears were cellular and showed benign thyroid follicular cells in clusters and isolated. Individual cells within the clusters had abundant lacy cytoplasm and many of the clusters showed the presence of fire flares on MGG stain suggestive of toxic goitre (Bethesda category II) [Figure 1].


Two expeditions (October 1989 and May 1992) were carried out to two points of the main Amazon River channel and four tributaries. The Solimões and Madeira rivers, taking their origin in the Andes, are whitewater rivers. The Negro River is a typical acid, blackwater river. The Trombetas River flows through bauxite‐rich areas, and is characterized by low concentrations of dissolved humic substances. The 238U, 234U, 232Th and 230Th activities were recorded from dissolved, suspended particulate phases and river bank sediments. The latter were analysed for their 226Ra, 228Ra and 210Pb contents, and also subjected to leaching with 0·2 M hydroxylamine–hydrochloride solution to determine the concentrations of radionuclides bound to amorphous Fe hydroxides and Mn oxides and hydroxides.


Retinoic Acid Binding consists of a biophysical interaction between retinoic acid (ligand) and a biological molecule, such as specific steroid receptor-like transcriptional regulator proteins containing an N-terminal modulating domain, a DNA-binding domain, and a C-terminal ligand-binding domain. The ligand-activated receptor complexes selectively bind as homodimers or heterodimers (with other steroid family receptors) to DNA response elements in target gene promoters, enhance transcriptional activity with coactivators, and mediate tissue growth and differentiation in embryogenesis, organogenesis, limb development, bone growth, and maintenance of normal epithelia.


Shallow levels with an ionization energy of 0.012 eV play an important role in the photoelectronic properties of p‐type ZnSe:Cu crystals. These levels exhibit the characteristics of the higher‐lying member of an imperfection pair involved in luminescence emission, as well as of a trap determining long‐time decay rates of luminescence and photoconductivity, and of a center causing low‐temperature reduction of free‐electron lifetime. The participation of the shallow level in low‐temperature pair emission is demonstrated by the thermal quenching of the emission at 50°K with an activation energy of 0.012 eV, whereas the acceptor forming the lower‐lying member of the pair lies 0.72 eV above the valence band, and by the shift in the position of the emission band below 50°K with changing excitation intensity. The energetics of the emission and the 10−20 cm2 electron cross section determined from decay suggest that the shallow level may be an acceptor rather than a donor.


Abstract This article is concerned with the selection of subsets of predictor variables in a linear regression model for the prediction of a dependent variable. It is based on a Bayesian approach, intended to be as objective as possible. A probability distribution is first assigned to the dependent variable through the specification of a family of prior distributions for the unknown parameters in the regression model. The method is not fully Bayesian, however, because the ultimate choice of prior distribution from this family is affected by the data. It is assumed that the predictors represent distinct observables; the corresponding regression coefficients are assigned independent prior distributions. For each regression coefficient subject to deletion from the model, the prior distribution is a mixture of a point mass at 0 and a diffuse uniform distribution elsewhere, that is, a "spike and slab" distribution. The random error component is assigned a normal distribution with mean 0 and standard deviation ...


As we know that the" health is wealth."In order to create a Healthy India or a "Swasthya Bharath" the Government of India introduced RashtriyaSwasthyaBima Yojana (RSBY) under National Rural Health Mission, to provide cashless and quality health care services for the poor especially for the BPL and other backward people in the society. This study is conducted to analyze the awareness and satisfaction level of beneficiaries in the scheme and also the problems perceived by them.


Physical activity has the potential to improve the health of patients with first‐episode psychosis (FEP), yet many patients with FEP remain inactive. Exploring the theoretical basis of the motivational processes linked to the adoption and maintenance of physical activity behaviours in FEP patients can assist with the design and delivery of physical activity interventions. Within the self‐determination theory and the transtheoretical model (stages of change) frameworks, we investigated motives for physical activity adoption and maintenance in FEP.


We suggest an object oriented modeling procedure and its language for business process modeling, OOBIS (Object Oriented Approach to Business Process Redesign and IS Requirement Analysis). OOBIS aims to provide a practical object-oriented procedure for business process redesign, which takes full advantages of existing useful modeling languages. We adopt many useful diagrams and concepts from many prior methodologies. One distinctive feature of OOBIS is that it is an incremental modeling by means of object classification. In OOBIS, objects are classified into three categories: active, static, and information system object. OOBIS also defines stages and activities for incremental modeling of objects. Three kinds of process maps are used as the main tool of OOBIS: active object process map (AO map), business object process map (BO map), an business object and information system object process map (BOIS map). At the first stage of analysis, active objects in the business process are captured using the AO map. Next, BO map is constructed with business objects, which includes both active and static objects. Finally, information system objects are defined and CO map emerges as the redesigned business process. We give an overview of OOBIS, summarize some baseline principles of OOBIS, give a brief definition of OOBIS terminology, and give the procedure for OOBIS.


Pechiney and Brush UOX BeO differ markedly in fabrication behavior, only Brush UOX being readily sinterable. A comparative study of the two powders has shown few outstanding differences in powder propenties. Both are of high purity but contain free and combined moisture to the extent of about 1.5%. Pechiney BeO has a larger mean crystallite size (0.2 to 0.3 mu ) than Brush UOX (0.l to 0.15 mu ) and a larger range of crystallite size, and both contain a small proportion of crystallites of size 1 mu and larger. The tap density of UOX is much lower than that of Pechiney, and its surface area is higher by a factor of two. UOX BeO can be hotpressed or cold-pressed and sintered to high densities at 1400 and 1500 deg C, respectively, which are approximately 300 deg C lower than those required for Pechiney. Grain size of fabricated material increases with fabrication temperature in both grades, and at the same temperatures is larger for UOX than Pechiney. However, at comparable densities grain sizes are also comparable for the two materials. The bend strength at room temperature of hot- pressed Pechiney BeO reaches a maximum of approximately 30,000 psi when pressedmore » at 1750 deg C. Above this temperature the strength falls because of increasing crystallite size. Cold-pressed and sintered Brush UOX appears weaker, possibly from weaker grain boundary cohesion. Cold-pressed and sintered BeO is considered worthy of most intensive study as an irradiation resistant material, and suggestions are given for improving its strength and homogeneity and decreasing its crystallite size. (auth)« less


Positive electrodes play a significant role in operation of lithium-ion batteries. The inactive constituents of the electrode coating, electrically conductive additive and binder, are key components for efficient operation of active material.Therefore, minimizing the toxicity of some and the synthesis or modification of others remain an urgent topic for increasing the energy intensity of lithium-ion batteries, which is the main goal of this work. The purpose: Synthesis and modification of nanostructured carbon electrically conductive additives and the study of their influence on the specific characteristics of the electrode in combination with water-soluble polymers. Results.During the research, the optimal compositions of the positive electrode were found: 1) using aqueous polymers, 2) with the addition of synthesized graphene oxide obtained by the Hummers method; 3) with the addition of modified carbon nanotubes obtained by the Hummers method. Conclusion. Graphene oxide synthesized by the Hummers method and carbon nanotubes reduced by the same method give a discharge specific capacity of more than 150 mAh/g and 140 mAh/g, respectively, with an active material theoretical capacity of 160-170 mAh/g, those using them instead of commercial conductive additives can significantly improve the specific characteristics of positive electrodes. This is due to an increase in the kinetics of lithium ion transfer inside the active material due to many structural defects due to synthesis, in addition, they are better dispersed in water, and it is also possible to obtain thick coating layers.


The authors analyzed cases of pulmonary non tuberculous mycobacterial infection observed in the Reunion Island between 1979 and 1986, before any reported case of AIDS in the Island. Isolation of non tuberculous mycobacteria from bronchopulmonary specimens was estimated at 21,4% among all positive cultures (n=971)


ABSTRACT This article considers the history of South African imperialism and claims over a white Southern Africa, throughout the period between 1910 and 1963, and how it affected colonial rule and practice in the Belgian Congo. The article thereby adds to our knowledge of South African claims in the wider Southern African region and calls for a better understanding of external, and trans-imperial, anxieties underlying colonial rule in the Belgian Congo, and particularly in the mining province Katanga. The central hypothesis is that the South African danger confronted colonial rule in a dual way: in its territorialism, but also in its utopia of a white controlled Southern Africa. Either could lead to a loss of empire. Focusing in particular on Katanga, the article argues that migration, labour, development and settlement policies increasingly aimed at preventing the creation of a 'white man's country' akin to South Africa. The immediate postwar years, 1918–1922, were a defining moment, when South African influences and trans-imperial white labour solidarity in Katanga were particularly strong. Ultimately, this article analyses two clashing models of empire in Africa – one of autonomous white settler rule against centralised European metropolitan interests – and their implications for racial relations and colonial practice.


1 Kopp T, Mastan P, Mothes N, Tzaneva S, Stingl G, Tanew A. Systemic allergic contact dermatitis due to consumption of raw shiitake mushroom. Clin Exp Dermatol 2009; 34: 910–913. 2 Mak RK, Wakelin SH. Shiitake dermatitis: the first case reported from a European country. Br J Dermatol 2006; 154: 800–801. 3 Nakamura T. Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) dermatitis. Contact Dermatitis 1992; 27: 65–70. 4 Wagner G, Sachse MM. Linear grouped erythema and papules on the upper trunk and d ecollet e. Shiitake dermatitis. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2011; 9: 555–557. 5 Lippert U, Martin V, Schwertfeger C, Junghans V, Ellinghaus B, Fuchs T. Shiitake dermatitis. Br J Dermatol 2003; 148: 178–179. 6 D ıaz-Corpas T, Mateu-Puchades A, Coll-Puigserver MN, Marquina-Vila A. Flagellate dermatitis after eating shiitake mushrooms. Actas Dermosifiliogr 2011; 102: 830–832. 7 Curnow P, Tam M. Contact dermatitis to Shiitake mushroom. Australas J Dermatol 2003; 44: 155–157. 8 Wang X, Xu X, Zhang L. Thermally induced conformation transition of triple-helical lentinan in NaCl aqueous solution. J Phys Chem B 2008; 112: 10343–10351. 9 Adler MJ, Larsen WG. Clinical variability of shiitake dermatitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 2012; 67: 140–141.


Investments in stock portfolios has higher volatility or uncertainty and a description of the risks of the investment itself Therefore we need a risk management process objectively to measure, monitor, control, reporting and decision making in setting the right investment. There are many risk factors in the investment portfolio of stocks but in general this is determined by Unsystematic Risk and Systematic Risk. The most prominent risk of financial risk above is Systematic Risk. Risk assessment of the investment portfolio of shares Value-at-Risk (VaR) available through various methods including: Delta-Normal Method, Historical Simulation Method and Monte Carlo Simulation Method. Each method has advantages and disadvantages of its own. Delta-Normal method has advantages when applied to the asset or the portfolio normally distributed, but this may be a weakness if applied to an asset or a portfolio of is non-normal distribution h is necessary to compare the VaR with a better method, even outside of the methods described in this paper (if any). Key words: Risk, Value at Risk, Delta Normal Method, Historical Simulation Method, Monte Carlo Simulation Method


The electrical and structural properties of a nanocomposite material based on silver nanoparticles and graphene oxide were investigated. Using electron and atomic force microscopy it was shown that the nanoparticles formed predominantly have sizes from 60 to 100 nm. Measurements of the current-voltage characteristics showed electrical conductivity values significantly exceeding the parameters of the initial graphene oxide. The prepared nanocomposites were used for scanning by electron microscopy (SEM) of blood samples of sick children with hematuria syndrome and patients of the radiological department of an oncologic dispensary diagnosed with cervical cancer. The formation of nanosize objects on the surface of erythrocytes is revealed. The size of these volumes is comparable to the size of the viruses. Results of these studies can indirectly confirm an assumption of authors about possible transportation of viruses by erythrocytes to various organs and viral etiology of renal diseases with the hematuria syndrome and cervical cancer.
Keywords: graphene, graphene oxide, silver nanoparticles, structural and electrical properties, nephropathy, diagnostics.


We present a status report of the Bonn Distributed FX (DiFX) correlator for the years 2019 and 2020. This software correlator is operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), the Institut für Geodäsie und Geoinformation der Universität Bonn (IGG), and the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (BKG) in Frankfurt, Germany. One of the most notable recent achievements was its contribution to the first picture of a black hole published in


In this paper, a dynamic model of six degrees of freedom microcopter equipped with a robotic arm has been formulated using Newton-Euler's method. This microcopter configuration wasn't covered in scientific papers before. The resulting model is a nonlinear, coupled, and underactuated dynamic model, which includes aerodynamic effects and disturbances because of equipping the microcopter with a robotic arm that affects its motion in the air. The disturbances were generated using two random algorithms. An accurate and detailed mathematical model of a microcopter type UAV was derived, and the problems of nonlinearity and coupling of parameters were studied. The disturbances were included by simulating a robotic arm connected to the microcopter. The derived complex mathematical model was implemented using LabVIEW. After analyzing the correlations for all parameters of motion equations, the controllers for stabilizing the altitude and attitude of the aircraft were designed and implemented.


Suppression of bony structures in chest radiographs is essential for many computer-aided diagnosis tasks. In this paper, we propose a Disentanglement AutoEncoder (DAE) for bone suppression. As the projection of 3D structures of bones and soft tissues overlap in 2D radiographs, their features are interwoven and need to be disentangled for effective bone suppression. Our DAE progressively separates the features of soft-tissues from that of the bony structure during the encoder phase and reconstructs the soft-tissue image based on the disentangled features of soft-tissue. Bone segmentation can be performed concurrently using the separated bony features through a separate multi-task branch. By training the model with multi-task supervision, we explicitly encourage the au-toencoder to pay more attention to the locations of bones in order to avoid loss of soft-tissue information. The proposed method is shown to be effective in suppressing bone structures from chest radiographs with very little visual artifacts.


Introduction: In Indonesia, data from the 2013 Basic Health Study showed the prevalence of heart failure was 0.3%, an estimated 530,068 people based on a doctor's diagnosis. Cardiovascular disease is a disease that interferes with the function of the heart and blood vessels, clinical symptoms in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) include dyspnea, orthopnea, dyspnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND), pulmonary edema, ascites, pitting edema, weight gain and even shock. cardiogenic. Method: The method used in this research is an experimental research method. The type of research used is quasi-experimental (quasi-experimental). Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of semi-Fowler and Fowler positions on increasing oxygen saturation in heart failure patients at Sumedang Hospital. Results and Discussion: The first output shows the difference in oxygen saturation of the rear half-fowler of 45 and 90, on the rear half-fowler an average of 94.25, the minimum and maximum values ??of 90-97, Then to catch the rear bird of 90 the average is 96.50 and min and max are 93-99. Conclusion: The effect of half fowler and fowler positions given by Sumedang Hospital to increase blood oxygen saturation in heart failure patients with a value of 90.50. For the second half of Fowler's 45?, get the values, min 90 and max 97 and mean 94.25.


WE have carried out a few experiments on the effects of insulin on the heat production of muscle, and although the results so far are merely of a negative character, it seemed to us to be worth while to put them on record since they help at least to restrict the possible methods by which insulin may act upon the system. For the first four experiments, the insulin used was of the "crude" type, very kindly supplied to us by Messrs Smith and Winter and prepared according to Dudley's method [1923] at the Biochemical Laboratory, Cambridge. Its strength may be taken as being about 5 mg. to the "unit." For the last two experiments, the insulin used was of the "A-B" Brand supplied by the British Drug Co. Its strength is 0-1 cc. to the "unit." The muscles employed were the sartorius ofRana temp., these being mounted on a thermopile, and the heat production after stimulation being observed by recording photographically the curves of deflection of the galvanometer in series with the thermopile, as fully explained elsewhere [1920, 1922]. The temperature was 140 to 150. In the present series of experiments, the better to maintain their condition, the muscles were always kept in a salt solution in the thermopile chamber. In this case the actual heat production cannot be calculated from the observed curves, since there is no possibility of making control observations under the same conditions. It is possible, however, by first taking the curves when the muscle is in ordinary Ringer's solution, and then taking another set of curves after insulin has been added, to make a fairly correct estimate of any change in the heat production which may be produced by the insulin. The strength of the insulin in the solution around the muscle was varied between wide limits, but even the weakest solution used would be considered strong if injected into a small animal to make the same concentration in its body. The chamber containing the muscle was 40 cc. in volume, of which the muscle occupied 0-25 cc. In Exp. 1 there was 1 mg. of freshly prepared crude insulin in the chamber. In Exp. 2 there were 4 mg. of crude insulin, which had been put into solution on the previous day. In the interval the preparation had been kept on ice.


Summary A NaI well scintillation counter and a beaker adapted to fit on and around the NaI well as well as a plastic well scintillation counter, were used to compare efficiency of Co56, Co58 and Co60 function of volume. The plastic well counter is as efficient for Co56 as the NaI well and more efficient for Co58 and Co60 than the NaI well for small volumes (1-4 ml). For intermediate volumes (4-250 ml) the plastic well is the more efficient and the efficiency is almost independent of sample volume from 10-100 ml. Mice or small rats up to about 75 g and tissue samples can be counted in the plastic well without correction for geometry. The efficiency of 250 ml in the plastic scintillation counter is 22.6, 11.6 and 18.3% for Co56, Co58 and Co60 respectively and 7.8, 3.5, and 3.8% respectively for 1000 ml using the beaker on the NaI well. The choice of instrument for counting large volumes is discussed.


so long ago, when I was a teacher of cultural and literary history and had not yet entered the editor's world of typographical gambits, printers' galleys, and authors' gazpacho, I found that my students were always delighted by the unpredictable and unexpected qualities of human behavior. For example, they might be fascinated by such facts as the following, recently brought to life again by Paul Steiner:1


By analyzing the feature of the six-high straightener and the old straightening way to find the reason of the low straightening degree,and the new straightening way is elaborated.The PLC program is also improved,and the straight-ening degree is raised by the way of reciprocating straightening too.


Abstract 188 BACKGROUND: Introduction of the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab has led to remarkable progress in the development of targeted therapies for CLL and other B-cell malignancies. Despite prolonging patient survival, therapies targeting CD20 have not been curative. In recent years, alternative targets for therapeutic antibodies have emerged. One of the most promising targets has been CD37, which is highly expressed on malignant B-cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin9s lymphoma. The recent interest in this target has led to the generation of novel anti-CD37 therapeutics that could benefit from more extensive preclinical evaluation. However, preclinical development of these agents has been limited by the absence of appropriate leukemia animal models that provide targets expressing human CD37 (hCD37). Here we describe the development and characterization of a transgenic mouse where CLL-like leukemic B-cells express hCD37 and aggressively transplant into syngenic hosts. We demonstrate the utility of this unique mouse model by evaluating the in vivo efficacy of IMGN529, a novel antibody-drug conjugate targeting hCD37 that consists of the CD37-targeting K7153A antibody linked to the maytansinoid DM1 via the thioether SMCC linker. METHODS: The hCD37 transgenic mouse (hCD37-Tg) founder lines were generated by conventional methodology at the OSU Transgenic Facility. B-cell specific expression of hCD37 is driven by immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter and Ig-μ enhancer elements. Founder lines were evaluated by RT-PCR and flow cytometry to confirm RNA and protein expression, respectively. These lines were then crossed with the EμTCL1 mouse model of CLL to generate hCD37xTCL1 mice that develop CD5+CD19+hCD37+ leukemia. For in vivo studies, splenocytes from a leukemic hCD37xTCL1 donor were injected i.v. into healthy hCD37-Tg mice. Mice were randomly assigned to the following treatment groups (n=8–10 per group): IMGN529 conjugate, its K7153A antibody component, or negative controls (isotype antibody-DM1 conjugate or trastuzumab). Upon diagnosis of leukemia, a 10 mg/kg dose was administered i.p. and repeat doses were given 2 times per week for 3 weeks (70 mg/kg total). Peripheral blood disease was monitored by flow cytometry, using counting beads to obtain the absolute number of leukemic CD5+CD19+ B-cells. CD37 expression levels were determined by quantitative flow cytometry. In vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated after 24 hour incubation by flow cytometry with Annexin V and propidium iodide staining. RESULTS: IMGN529 and its K7153A antibody component demonstrated comparable in vitro activity against freshly isolated human CLL cells even in the absence of cross-linking agents (mean IMGN529 cytotoxicity=50.04% vs. 48.85% for K7153A; p=0.175; n=9). Both compounds also demonstrated cytotoxicity against hCD37 Tg B-cells ex vivo in a cross-linking dependent manner, and while expression of hCD37 in hCD37-Tg animals was B-cell specific, the expression levels were substantially lower than those observed in human CLL cells. In vivo studies with transferred hCD37xTCL1 splenocytes demonstrated rapid and complete depletion of CD5+CD19+ leukemic B-cells in response to IMGN529 conjugate, but not K7153A antibody treatment. After 1 week of IMGN529 treatment, peripheral blood leukemia was nearly undetectable and previously detected massive splenomegaly was no longer palpable. In contrast, leukemic counts and spleen sizes continued to increase in control cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our group has generated a mouse model that develops a transplantable CD5+CD19+ leukemia expressing hCD37. We demonstrate the utility of this model for both in vitro and in vivo testing of therapeutics targeting hCD37. In addition, preclinical mouse studies expose the robust anti-leukemic effects of IMGN529 in this in vivo model of aggressive B-cell malignancy, despite the relatively low expression of hCD37 on the leukemic B-cells. Our engraftment model shows that IMGN529 is capable of eliminating widespread and highly proliferative mouse leukemia by a mechanism that is both CD37 antigen and conjugate dependent. Therefore, we propose that this novel therapeutic may also exhibit substantial efficacy in a wide range of human B-cell malignancies, even those with relatively low CD37 expression. [This work was supported by NIH (NM, JCB), LLS (NM, JCB) and Pelotonia (KAB)]. Disclosures: Deckert: ImmunoGen Inc.: Employment.


The high order homogenization techniques potentially generate the so-called infinite order homogenized equations. Since long ago, the coefficients at higher order derivatives in these equations have been calculated within various refined theories for both periodic composites and thin structures. However, it was not always clear, what is a well-posed mathematical formulation for such equations. In the present paper, we discuss two techniques for constructing a second-order homogenized equation. One of them is concerned with the projection of a weak formulation of the original problem on an 'ansatz subspace'. The second one corresponds to the traditional two scale asymptotic expansion using the representation of a second-order corrector via the solution of the classical (leading order) homogenized equation.


This study investigates inclined operational performance for a LHP that includes a fractal based evaporator design. The prototype Fractal Loop Heat Pipe was designed and manufactured by Mikros Manufacturing Inc. and validation tested at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Thermal Engineering Branch laboratory. Heat input to the FLHP was supplied via cartridge heaters mounted in a copper block. The copper heater block was placed in intimate contact with the evaporator. The evaporator had a circular cross-sectional area of 0.88 cm. Twice distilled, deionized water was used as the working fluid. Thermal performance data was obtained for five different inclinations (evaporator elevation ranging 30° above and below the condenser/subcooler bottom) using a single condenser/subcooler temperature combination (i.e., 10°C/5°C) under degassed conditions (Psat of 25.3 kPa at 22°C). The FLHP demonstrated successful start-ups in each of the test cases performed and had a maximum heat flux of 89 W/cm with the evaporator elevated 15° above the condenser bottom.


Salicylic acid (SA) is an important signal molecule modulating plant responses to stress. Recently,it has been reported that it induces multiple stress tolerance in plants including salinity.Adverse effects of salinity (3000 and 6000 mg/l) on growth, some physiological responses and yield quantity and quality of two cultivars (Sakha 2 and Amon) of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) plant were studied. Salt stress induced reduction in growth (length in cm, fresh and dry weight / plant in g of shoot and root) and indole acetic acid (IAA) content.While increased total phenol contents of plants of the two cultivars at 75 days old. Also, yield and yield components (technical and total shoot length in cm, and dry weight of shoot / plants in g) and fibre yield (fibre length (cm), fibre weight /plant (g), fibre % and straw yield /plant in g) were decreased except fibre % of Amon cultivar increased, as compared with those of control plants. In addition, cellulose % and cellulose/lignin % were decreased significantly meanwhile lignin % increased when compared with those of control plants. Foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) at 200 and 400 mg/l counteracted the adverse effect of salinity, this accompanied generally by significant increases in plant growth, IAA & phenol contents and yield components. Moreover, foliar treatment of salicylic acid(SA) resulted mostly in an increase in fibre yield when compared with those of the control plants and the corresponding salinity levels. In addition, cellulose% and cellulose/lignin% were increased significantly over control and the corresponding salinity levels plants meanwhile decreased lignin%.


Mrs JD, an 84-year-old woman, presented to the emergency department for abdominal pain and a 3-day history of rectal bleeding. For the previous four months she had been treated with dabigatran 110 mg twice daily for stroke prevention. Apart from atrial fibrillation, she had a history of hypertension, which had been well controlled on enalapril 20 mg/hydrochlorothiazide 6 mg once daily. She was also taking amiodarone 200 mg once daily for her AF. She weighed 40 kg and had a creatinine clearance of 32 mL per minute (her weight and renal function had not changed recently). She was diagnosed with a faecaloma (a faecal mass). Soon after digital evacuation, she developed massive rectal bleeding, experienced a cardiac arrest and died. Her plasma level of dabigatran was 5600 ng/mL (expected range, 31-225 ng/mL).


Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a spectrum of clinical presentations ranging from acute myocardial ischemia, with or without STsegment elevation, to unstable angina pectoris. Aim: The aim of the study was to make a management survey of patients with ACS at the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in Sombor, to objectively evaluate the activity of the Service over a 12-month period, to point out possible problems and recommend measures which would result in safer and more efficient diagnostics and treatment of the disease. Methods: A one-year retrospective study involved the period from 1 Jan 2008 to 1 Jan 2009, with data obtained from EMS in Sombor, Admission and Triage Service of the Intern Department of the General Hospital in Sombor, Coronary Care Unit of the General Hospital in Sombor, and patients' histories. Results: During the follow-up period at EMS in Sombor, 12,534 patients underwent treatment. One hundred seventy patients with the diagnosis of ACS were referred to the Intern Department of the General Hospital. Of these, 88 (51.8%) were admitted at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), 17 (10%) at the Intern Department and 12 (7.1%) at other hospital departments, while after initial checkup and examination at the Intern Department 53 (31.2%) patients were referred to a physician-of-choice. Of 88 patients admitted at CCU, acute myocardial infarction was confirmed in 59 (67.1%) patients, while the remaining 29 (32.9%) patients were discharged with the diagnosis of unstable angina pectoris. Of 53 patients referred to a physician-of-choice, 17 had ECG changes (ST depression and/or negative T-waves), 5 had STsegment elevations, 4 had a left branch block and 3 had no ECG changes. Twenty-seven patients with incomplete medical history were also referred to a physician-of-choice. Conclusion: As confirmed by the results, nearly 50% of the ACS patients were not admitted at CCU or Intern Department, indicating insufficient diagnostic specificity of clinical features and ECG recordings, which are the most important diagnostic parameters in ACS patient evaluation. It is obvious that there is a need for changes in the organization and management of patients with chest pain involving easy approach to patient medical data (network and formation of central data base)), possibility of observation and additional diagnostic procedures. The implementation of recommended measures could significantly reduce the burden of secondary healthcare, treatment costs and decrease the number of so called unclear cases referred for further treatment.


SME has been recognised as a major source of global economic growth and employment and women entrepreneurs have been acknowledged to play critical roles for bringing their ideas and capabilities towards successful achievement of the SME development in their countries. Prior literature indicated that capital, networks affiliation, education, training and counselling, and usage of ICT are important factors influencing the growth of women entrepreneurs in Malaysia. This paper not only helps the government to appropriately identify the appropriate target of women entrepreneurs, but also leads the Malaysian women entrepreneurs in developing sound skills and capabilities in doing businesses especially at the start-up phase, which might help them to create and sustain successful


The main idea of these methods is to replace the FEM interpolation by a local weighted least squares fitting. It is possible to disconnect the number of nodes from the number of approximation parameters because the least squares fitting replaces the standard FEM interpolation. The approximate function becomes smooth by using continuous weighting functions. To preserve the local character of the approximation is necessary to chose weighting functions that vanish at a certain distance from the point. In this communication a posteriori error indicator has been used to try of distributing the error uniformly all over the domain. This procedure allows us to isolate the domain areas with a worst behaviour and refine only the small areas in the domain. It is possible to eliminate the elements and to provide very easy preprocessing and very simple adaptativity and refinement mesh. Also a parametric study of weighting functions is included.


Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors are safe and effective, alone or in combination with alpha-blockers, against lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis.


Hexamethylbenzene (HMB) was difficult to be oxidized with alkaline potassium permanganate solution, since HMB was insoluble in an aqueous alkaline solution. But, when HMB was warmed with 50% nitric acid for an short time, and then treated with aqueous potassium permanganate, the reaction occurred readily and dimethylpyromellitic acid was obtained. When HMB was warmed with 50% nitric acid for 1-2 minutes, a yellow material was produced, which was soluble in hot aqueous potassium hydroxide, though free from carboxylic acids. It contained a little amount of bis-(nitromethyl) prehnitene and several unknown compounds.Further, the heat-stability of polyimide prepared by the reaction of tetramethyldimethylpyromellitate with 4, 4-diiaminodiphenylmethane turned out to be nearly equal to that of polyimide prepared from tetramethylpyromellitate.


The organisms which show potential to survive and work in acidic and alkaline environment play an important role in various industrial processes. This study was carried out to screen, isolate and characterize alkaliphilic bacteria from industrial wastes. For this purpose water and soil samples were collected from Chishtian and Quaid-e-Azam industrial area of Kott Lakh-Patt, Lahore. Screening of bacteria was carried out on LB agar plates at pH 8, 9 and 10. Out of 39 isolates, 20 were found to be alkaliphilic in nature. Glycerin stocks were prepared and they were characterized physically and biochemically for identification which revealed that they belong to genera Alcaligenes, Escherichia, Natronobacterium, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Marinococcus, Neisseria, Micrococcus, Sporosarcina, Pleisomonas and Cupriavidus. BCTL-147 isolate growing at pH 10, belonging to genus Alcaligenes was further characterized for optimum growth conditions (temperature and pH). The optimum pH was found to be 10 while optimum temperature for growth was 35°C. The growth curve of this isolate was prepared at optimum conditions. This high optimum pH bacterial isolate can further be tested for its biochemical potential and other significant properties.


This study was to investigate catalpol content and antioxidant activities in five cultivars (Kokang, Suwon 10, Suwon 11, Jiwhang 1 and Korea) of Rehmannia Radix. Catalpol content was analysed by HPLC using C₁? column (150×4.6 mm, 5 μm), 1% acetonitrile and a UV detector. The standard curve was found to be a linear regression of y=0.0483x-0.0841 (R²=0.999). The catalpol content ranged from 85.2 mg/g to 144.9 mg/g, of which the Korea was the highest among cultivars. The total phenol content in Rehmannia Radix was 0.358~0.459 mg/g, of which the Korea was the highest among cultivars. The antioxidant activities determined by DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities were the highest in Korea with IC?? of 205.8 mg/g for DPPH radical scavenging activity and IC?? of 38.8 mg/g for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Based on these results, the Korea among Rehmannia Radix cultivars was suggested to be a potent medicinal plant material for antioxidant activities.


Aspects of the disclosure are directed to communications between respective power domains (circuitry) that may operate in a stacked arrangement in which the each domain operates over a different voltage range. A first circuit provides differential outputs that vary between first and second voltage levels, based on transitions of an input signal received from a first one of the power domains. First and second driver circuits are respectively coupled to the first and second differential outputs. A third driver circuit operates with the first and second circuits to level-shift the input signal from the first power domain to an output signal on a second power domain by driving an output circuit at the second voltage level in response to the input signal being at the first voltage level, and driving the output circuit at a third voltage level in response to the input signal being at the second voltage level.


SPACE flight achievements by both the American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts have demonstrated that man, if appropriately selected, trained and protected, can leave his terrestrial environment and explore with safety the weightless and sub-gravity conditions of nearby space. Few, if any, achievements in all history have challenged human ingenuity to such an extent as have the requirement involved in manned lunar exploration and the establishment of an orbiting space laboratory. Such accomplishments have exposed the space pioneers to a complexity of factors the like of which has no counterpart in human experience and constitutes the challenge of discovery for which man, as always, will sometimes sacrifice his life. Accordingly, the science of Bioastronautics has been established, essentially to study the maintenance of life, as we know it, in space. It is not possible to discuss here all the medical problems encountered in space flight, only those of the neuro-physiological aspects pertaining to the non-auditory part of the inner ear. There are considerable problems associated with spatial orientation under conditions of sub-gravity and complete weightlessness. Normally we maintain orientation by means of vision, vestibular sense, and proprioception. In complete weightlessness, conditions are very different. Proprioception depends to a large extent on the force of gravity for the stimulus and the vestibular system, certainly as far as the otolithic receptors are concerned, depends also on the pull of gravity. The semicircular canals do function under conditions of weightlessness, but the control that the otolithic receptors have over their response is modified to a certain degree. Weightlessness occurs on the journey to the moon and gravity is cancelled out during earth orbit and during this time both American and Soviet experience has been that surrounding objects appear to float upwards. The astronauts have illusions of being in an inverted position. Soviet scientists claim that these oculo-gravic illusions result from otolithic stimulation. Proprioception must also be taken into consideration, however, plus its central connections with visual vestibular pathways and their interactions. Attempts to simulate weightlessness have been made by flying aircraft in a parabolic curve when the centrifugal force almost cancels out the effect of gravity and physiological measurements can be made. During these flights, this illusion of being upside down was reported, despite the eyes being open.


ABSTRACT
 We provide information on all birds known to date at Ypetĩ Private Nature Reserve and Estancia Golondrina. We reviewed all ornithological records from 1997 to 2017, totaling 348 bird species for the area. Habitat preferences and relative abundance for each species are detailed. The avifauna of Ypetĩ is composed of 58 Atlantic Forest endemics. At least 4 species are threatened and 9 are near-threatened, including Celeus galeatus, Amazona vinacea, and Pteroglossus bailloni. Brief comments are provided on the records of each of these species. The avifauna of the reserve is fourth in terms of species richness in the Atlantic Forest domain of Paraguay, and sixth in presence of endemics to this threatened biome.


ABSTRACT This article introduces the nine articles that comprise the 'Cities' issue of Studies in Australasian Cities. Established and emerging scholars explore cities in Australian and New Zealand film and television. Articles cover aspects of media production, reception and exhibition in particular cities, studies of various city characters and spaces, and analyses of the relationship between representations of a city on-screen and the 'real' city.


We present sodium abundances for a sample of nearby stars. All results have been derived from NLTE statistical equilibrium calculations. The influence of collisional interactions with electrons and hydrogen atoms is evaluated by comparison of the solar spectrum with very precise fits to the Na I line cores. The NLTE effects are more pronounced in metal-poor stars since the statistical equilibrium is dominated by collisions of which at least the electronic component is substantially reduced. The resulting influence on the determination of sodium abundances is in a direction opposite to that found previously for Mg and Al. The NLTE corrections are about −0.1 in thick-disk stars with (Fe/H) ∼− 0.6. Our (Na/Fe) abundance ratios are about solar for thick- and thin-disk stars. The increase in (Na/ Fe) as af unction of (Fe/H) for metal-rich stars found by Edvardsson et al. (1993) is confirmed. Our results suggest that sodium yields increase with the metallicity, and quite large amounts of sodium may be produced by AGB stars. We find that (Na/Fe) ratios, together with either (Mg/Fe) ratio, kinematic data or stellar evolutionary ages, make possible the individual discrimination between thin- and thick-disk membership.


This paper predominantly emphasizes on the resonant soft-switching topology which is advantageous in terms of switching losses as compared to hard-switching. A zero voltage switching (ZVS) interleaved DC-DC converter is implemented, acting as main interface between the photovoltaic (PV) panel and load. Acquiring maximum efficiency of the PV panel, a progressive methodology is implemented. Initial approach is done by introducing variable step incremental conductance (VSIC) maximum power-point tracking (MPPT) to the interleaved boost converter rather than conventional boost converter. Further to reduce the switching losses, interleaved boost converter is modeled for zero voltage switching that accomplishes switching during both turn-on and turn-off transitions of the switch employed in the converter. The feasibility and reliability of the entire system is verified by obtaining the results from the simulation model designed in MATLAB/SIMULINK.


ABSTRACT A 22-year-old woman, G3P0 at 31 weeks, 1 day gestational age, was admitted to the labor and delivery unit for induction of labor (IOL) due to preeclampsia with severe features. Her medical history included neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) and systemic lupus erythematosus with pericarditis and pericardial effusion. When labor analgesia was considered, the concern for an undiagnosed spinal neurofibroma and attendant sequelae was deliberated. After a multidisciplinary discussion, the IOL was halted during the cervical ripening phase to allow timely magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine. The MRI was negative for spinal lesions and the patient subsequently received labor analgesia via a combined spinal-epidural catheter.


This essay is based on the author's recent research about American studies in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Using various archival documents, personal papers, diaries, memoirs, contemporary periodicals, and more than 70 interviews, this essay explores how one year, 1968, changed the life of Nikolay N. Bolkhovitinov (1930–2008), a Soviet historian and the author of pioneering studies on Russo-American relations. During this year, Bolkhovitinov used funding from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to support his first research trip to the USA, where he intended not only to discover 'the real America' through various forms of cultural consumption, but also to build his international reputation as a historian of early America and an expert in Russo-American relations.


A way towards application of field-theoretical many-body and functional integral techniques in condensed matter problems can goes via Feynman diagrams in statistical mechanics and many-body problems. My first task in condensed matter was to understand the Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA) in describing the motion of an electron scattered on random lattice potential in terms of manybody Feynman diagrams. I succeeded to find a common functional-integral representation for the grand potential of disordered lattice electrons and free energy of classical spin (Heisenberg) models giving the CPA a more general meaning [1]. Further on, I was able to extend this functional-integral representation of CPA also to spin-glass and fully interacting quantum models [2]. This paper was later used as a possible understanding of the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory (DMFT) of correlated electrons. Most of my further methodological studies were connected with local approximations, the limit to high spatial dimensions. Important was an observation I made that the limit to high spatial dimensions (mean-field limit) is consistent only for the self-energy and one-particle functions. The two-particle functions cannot be consistently determined from one-particle ones via functional differentiation with only local perturbations [3]. This fact led me to shift the focus from one-particle to two-particle Green functions. I realized that the most appropriate way to treat two-particle vertices self-consistently is the parquet approach [4]. Soon after this I extended the parquet approach from interacting to disordered non-interacting electrons [5]. The parquet equations, being nonlinear integral equations, are not fully solvable. Simplifications thereof I introduced in specific physical situations are discussed below.


In this work we use the heavy-quark-light-diquark picture to study the semileptonic decay {lambda}{sub b}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}+l+{nu}{sub l} in the so-called hybrid scheme. Namely, we apply the heavy quark effective theory (HQET) for larger q{sup 2} (corresponding to small recoil), which is the invariant mass square of l+{nu}, whereas the perturbative QCD approach for smaller q{sup 2} to calculate the form factors. The turning point where we require the form factors derived in the two approaches to be connected, is chosen near {rho}{sub cut}=1.1. It is noted that the kinematic parameter {rho} which is usually adopted in the perturbative QCD approach, is in fact exactly the same as the recoil factor {omega}=v{center_dot}v{sup '} used in HQET where v, v{sup '} are the four velocities of {lambda}{sub b} and {lambda}{sub c} respectively. We find that the final result is not very sensitive to the choice, so that it is relatively reliable. Moreover, we apply a proper numerical program within a small range around {rho}{sub cut} to make the connection sufficiently smooth and we parametrize the form factor by fitting the curve gained in the hybrid scheme. The expression and involved parameters can be compared with the ones gained by fitting the experimentalmore » data. In this scheme the end-point singularities do not appear at all. The calculated value is satisfactorily consistent with the data which is recently measured by the DELPHI collaboration within 2 standard deviations.« less


Abstract It is fundamental for gene transformation and ecosystem hazard evaluation to study the pollen characteristics of transgenic plants. In this research, the characteristics of pollen from 7- or 8-year-old transgenic apple plants carrying an exogenous CpTI gene were analyzed. The results showed that there was no significant difference in terms of size, morphology, or exine ornamentation between the pollen of the transgenic plants and the non-transgenic control. However, the transgenic plants had more abnormal pollen grains. Of the 13 transgenic lines tested, 12 had a significantly lower amount of pollen and six exhibited a significantly lower germination rate when cultured in vitro. The pollen viability of three transgenic lines was determined, with two showing significantly lower viability than the control. The transgenic Gala apple pollen grains germinated normally via controlled pollination on Fuji apple stigmas. However, the pollen tubes extended relatively slowly during the middle and late development stages, and another 8 h were needed to reach the ovules compared with the control. The gibberellic acid concentration in transgenic Gala apple flowers was lower than in the non-transgenic control during all development stages tested. The abscisic acid concentration in the transgenic flowers was lower during the pink stage, and higher during the ball and fully open stages. Microscopic observation of the anther structure showed no difference. The tapetum of the pollen sac wall in transgenic plants decomposed late and affected pollen grain development, which could be one of the reasons for the lower number of pollen grains and poor viability in the transgenic plants.


This work explores the use of Clemson University's institutional repository and library catalog in promoting and providing access to the patents granted to its inventors. More specifically, the authors outline the project from generating metadata for patents and crosswalking it into a form that can be batch-uploaded to a bepress Digital Commons repository. They then explore the process of harvesting the records from the repository and using MarcEdit to crosswalk it into the library catalog. The process could easily be adapted to other nontraditional forms of scholarship.


Informal credit markets form an important part of the financial systems of Asian developing countries, constituting as much as half of rural credit and a significant part of urban credit in many of them. They play a particularly important role in channeling credit to small and poor borrowers in both urban and rural areas, serving to underpin the credit requirements of a large part of total employment, income and output. Moreover, they constitute a major source of working capital for enterprises of all sizes and serve generally to ameliorate inefficiencies in the allocation of credit from the formal sector. However, information about informal credit markets is fragmentary. Much of it is impressionistic, or based on stereotypes. Despite some excellent microeconomic studies, they do not provide us with an understanding at the macroeconomic level of the existing or potential role of informal credit markets in financial and overall development…


Glossostemon bruguieri named "ARAB QŌZI" or "MOGHAT", which is used in the traditional medicine for treatment various ailments, where no such study has been conducted so far. This investigations report for the first time the anatomical characters and identify the chemical constituents of methanolic extract for different parts of G. bruguieri by using modern sensitive gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy (GC-MS).The microscopic study showed the present of internal duct in all studied parts ,also present of oil drops in the cells of root ,cells with special bodies near the vascular bundle of leaves and its petioles and the present of (Stellate, dendroid and multicellular glandular) trichome in aerial parts of the plant. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of many compounds in different parts of G. bruguieri different between the parts in relation to the anatomical structure which reflex the importance of the aerial parts of the plant in addition to traditional use of root.


Introduction During the first year, infants are highly attuned to suprasegmental aspects of speech. This sensitivity may be exploited in the infant's segmentation of the speech stream into clausal units. Hirsh-Pasek, Kemler Nelson, Jusczyk, Wright Cassidy, Druss and Kennedy (1987) examined young infants' sensitivity to the pauses and other suprasegmental cues that coincided with clausal boundaries by inserting artificial pauses at clause boundaries or clause-internally. They found that when the infants were presented with passages that either had pauses inserted at clause boundaries and passages that had pauses inserted clause-internally they preferred the passages that had pauses coincident with clausal boundaries. This was true even in low-pass filtered speech (Jusczyk, 1989), making it clear that infants were sensitive to suprasegmental cues and not segmental cues. The following studies examine this finding in more detail. They ask whether the sensitivity to the prosodic properties of the clause is language general or not. The Headturn Preference Procedure is used to examine young infants' sensitivity to clausal units in languages with different prosodic and syntactic properties. The degree of tuning to the input language in the performance of these tasks is then assessed. In addition, infants' performance with non-language stimuli is also assessed in order to ascertain which aspects of performance are linguistic in origin and which are more general properties of learning about auditory stimuli.


We consider an idealized model of a ferromagnetic metal where the conduction electrons of the $s$ band interact via an exchange interaction with a system of spins represented by a Heisenberg Hamiltonian. Using double-time Green's functions, the effective mass and resistivity are evaluated to second order in the coupling of electrons to the spin system, while the spin magnetization is given by the self-consistent approximation of Bogoliubov and Tyablikov. The resistivity shows a sharp change in slope at the critical temperature that agrees qualitatively with the experimental results for gadolinium.


The aim is to study the role of energy in economic growth in two Nordic countries, Denmark and Norway. Both countries are welfare states with high living standards but with different energy supply structures. The overall research question is broken down in six hypothesis and the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is determined by Granger causality tests. The role of energy in economic growth seems to be different in Denmark and Norway, at least during the period 1990-2012. The development in Norway might be taken as evidence for the mainstream economic theory where energy only plays an intermediate role while the Danish development seems to be more in line with the ecological economic view where energy has a central role. The results for Denmark also support the fact that causal relationships may change over time. Possible explanations to the different development in Denmark and Norway might be differences in the energy supply structure and the different development of the structure of their economies. The relative scarcity of domestic energy endowments in Denmark compared to the more abundant access to energy, particular electricity, in Norway seems to have promoted growth of the industry sector with high energy intensity. (Less)


In the sequential explanatory mixed methods study reported on here we examined school-based factors contributing to the poor performance of Grade 12 accounting learners' the GCSE in the Lubombo and Manzini regions of Eswatini. The random sample for the quantitative phase comprised 400 accounting learners and 80 accounting teachers from 10 schools performing well, achieving good results, and 10 schools performing poorly, achieving low quality results. Purposive sampling was used for the qualitative phase to select 6 learners and 4 teachers from schools that performed well, and 6 learners and 4 teachers from schools that performed poorly. The data collection instruments were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Incongruities existed between learners' and teachers' perceptions of the school-based factors affecting Grade 12 accounting learners' performance in the GCSE in Eswatini. The quantitative results indicate the variables contributing to poor learner performance in accounting as lower period allocation; checking of learners' work; setting a minimum on the number of tests per term; timely delivery of textbooks; provision of study time; discussion of results, and motivation of teachers and learners. Teachers, on the other hand, felt that the variables affecting learners' performance were setting a minimum on the number of tests per term; awarding pupils for good performance; placing emphasis on science subjects; the provision of reference material; motivation of teachers and learners; checking of learners' work; subject combinations; lower period allocation; discussion of results, and timely delivery of textbooks. The qualitative results reveal that learners identified common school variables contributing to their poor performance as not receiving textbooks on time, their work not being checked, and a lack of parental involvement. Teachers identified delivery of textbooks, emphasis on science subjects, and teachers' poor motivation and administration as school variables contributing to learners' poor performance in accounting. The relationships between school variables and demographic variables were found to be low. This study offers insight into what secondary school accounting teachers in emerging economies may experience as variables that affect learners' performance in accounting, and the need to pursue pedagogical practices that can respond to these variables.


The article examines preventive defense measures of the Russian military command concerning a probable attack of Austrian Empire troops on the territory of Podillia and Bessarabia provinces in 1854-1856. It proves that the Russian autocracy did not have prepared tactical plans of border protection by the troops, and diplomatic discalculations and disregard of foreign policy in Eastern Europe and the Balkans almost brought Russia to the brink of destruction of its armed forces on the territory of Right-Bank Ukraine.


Objective
To analyze the seasonal trend features of different pathogenic dominant strains of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Yinzhou district, Ningbo.

Methods
Systematic cluster analysis and circular distribution were used to analyze the seasonal trend features of different pathogenic dominant strains of HFMD. The data were collected from National Notifiable Disease Reporting System and laboratory testing system of Yinzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2010 to 2014.

Results
From 2010 to 2014, the incidence of HFMD was increasing in Yinzhou district (χ2trend=6384.94, P<0.01) , and the positive rates of overall pathogens were different (χ2=175.495, P<0.01) . EV71 was the main pathogen of 2010 and the 2011 as one type, accounting for 60.30% with a pathogenetic characteristic of single peak. Other entericvirus was the main pathogens of 2012 and 2014 as one type, Which was accounting for 46.62% with a pathogenetic characteristic of primary and secondary double peak. Other entericvirus was the main pathogen of 2013 as one type, Which was accounting for 82.90% with a pathogenetic characteristic of double peak. The differences between years were statistically significant (χ2=264.035, P<0.01) . According to the circular distribution, the peak time of different types were June 22nd from 2010 to 2011, June 14th in 2012 and 2014, and July 24th in 2013, while r value of different types was 0.497, 0.358 and 0.276. The differences were statistically significant (Z=1 521.00, 1 919.29, 399.38, P<0.05) .

Conclusions
There are different seasonal trend features of different pathogenic dominant strains of HFMD in Yinzhou district, the preventive measures before the epidemic period should be based on different pathogenic dominant strains.

Key words:
Hand, foot and mouth disease; Seasonality; Clustering analysis; Circular distribution


Furfural is a promising renewable platform compound derived from lignocellulosic biomass that can be further converted to bio-based industrial chemicals. About 90% of what is used in Nigeria is imported, translating to hundreds of millions of Dollars in foreign exchange. Hence, this research aim was to optimize the production process of furfural from corncobs, a lignocellulosic biomass using a three steps methods which includes; pretreatment of raw materials, acid hydrolysis and distillation according to standard methods. The corncobs were grind to powdered form and then hydrolysed in a stirred reactor using p-toluene sulphonic acid (p-TsOH) by varying parameters which includes; temperature (60, 65 and 70 oC), reaction time (1, 2 and 3hrs) and concentration (30 ml, 40 ml and 50 ml). Analysis using FTIR was conducted to identify the functional group present in the furfural produced. The results showed yield of furfural increased from 23.66 % to 28 %, and the highest yield of furfural production was obtained using 50 ml p-TsOH at 70 oC for 3 h.


CTLA-4 blockade induces T cell repertoire turnover, but high-frequency clonotypes are maintained in patients with favorable outcomes. Cancer's Glass Jaw In the body's bout against cancer, antibodies that block CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen-4) induce the immune system to enter the ring. But precisely how these antibodies affect the broad tumor-restricted T cell response remains unclear. Now, Cha et al. use next-generation sequencing to show that blocking CTLA-4 in cancer sufferers drives turnover of the T cell repertoire. However, increasing T cell diversity is not the whole story—patients with more favorable clinical outcomes maintained certain high-frequency T cells with treatment, whereas patients who lost T cells prevalent before therapy had poorer prognosis. These data suggest that although CTLA-4 blockade induces T cell repertoire diversification, maintenance of high-frequency—and presumably high-avidity—clones may be relevant for the antitumor immune response. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) blockade can promote antitumor T cell immunity and clinical responses. The mechanism by which anti–CTLA-4 antibodies induces antitumor responses is controversial. To determine the effects of CTLA-4 blockade on the T cell repertoire, we used next-generation deep sequencing to measure the frequency of individual rearranged T cell receptor β (TCRβ) genes, thereby characterizing the diversity of rearrangements, known as T cell clonotypes. CTLA-4 blockade in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and metastatic melanoma resulted in both expansion and loss of T cell clonotypes, consistent with a global turnover of the T cell repertoire. Overall, this treatment increased TCR diversity as reflected in the number of unique TCR clonotypes. The repertoire of clonotypes continued to evolve over subsequent months of treatment. Whereas the number of clonotypes that increased with treatment was not associated with clinical outcome, improved overall survival was associated with maintenance of high-frequency clones at baseline. In contrast, the highest-frequency clonotypes fell with treatment in patients with short overall survival. Stably maintained clonotypes included T cells having high-avidity TCR such as virus-reactive T cells. Together, these results suggest that CTLA-4 blockade induces T cell repertoire evolution and diversification. Moreover, improved clinical outcomes are associated with less clonotype loss, consistent with the maintenance of high-frequency TCR clonotypes during treatment. These clones may represent the presence of preexisting high-avidity T cells that may be relevant in the antitumor response.


PURPOSE
This retrospective cohort study in an asymptomatic nonpatient population evaluated the prevalence of specific morphologic changes usually associated with the presence of degenerative joint diseases (DJD) using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and examined the associations between DJD and age, sex, and number of teeth present.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
CBCT images (268 TMJs) of 134 asymptomatic patients were studied. Patient data were obtained from clinical records, and calibrated examiners interpreted the CBCT images. The presence or absence of traditional radiographic signs of DJD (erosion, generalized sclerosis, osteophytes, and subchondral cysts) in the condyle and articular eminence of each TMJ were evaluated. The data were submitted to bivariate (chi-square and Fisher exact tests) and multivariate (Poisson regression) analyses (α = .05).

RESULTS
The sample was primarily composed of men (52.24%) and individuals aged ≥ 61 years (55.64%); 61.94% were partially edentulous with ≤ 12 teeth in the oral cavity. The most common DJD diagnoses were mandibular condyle osteophytes (30.22%) and erosion (12.69%), followed by articular eminence erosion (8.58%) and mandibular condyle subchondral cysts (7.09%). The bivariate analysis showed a statistically significant association between women and subchondral cysts (P = .007), between edentulous individuals and subchondral cysts (P = .008), and between individuals with ≤ 12 teeth and mandibular condyle erosion (P = .005). In the adjusted Poisson regression analysis, a significant association was found between DJD and gender (P = .015).

CONCLUSION
Despite the limitations of this study, the results show a high prevalence of morphologic changes usually associated with the presence of DJD in asymptomatic subjects. Osseous TMJ abnormalities were most present in women, individuals with a lower number of teeth, and older individuals.


There has been a growing trend of supporting domestic brands following the COVID‐19 pandemic, and some brands from emerging markets have accelerated their internationalisation over the past few years. This article investigates the influence of brand innovativeness on Chinese consumers' brand attitudes and purchase intentions towards domestic global brands in the digital device industry. A total of 220 undergraduate students from China took part in the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were used to test the hypotheses using structural equation modelling. The results showed that brand innovativeness stimulates purchase intentions through the mediation of  perceived brand globalness (PBG) and perceived brand localness (PBL). In addition, consumer ethnocentrism moderates the relationship between PBL and brand attitudes. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed herein.


[1] In this study, we investigate the shear wave splitting beneath 39 broadband seismic stations located over various tectonic units of the Indian shield using direct S waves from deep to intermediate depth earthquakes. The delay times between fast and slow axes of anisotropy do not reveal anomalous values that reflect contributions from midmantle or the mantle transition zone. The fast polarization azimuths are generally consistent with the results from SKS splitting that indicate a predominance of plate motion related strain in the Indian continent. Splitting results at station HYB, which was hitherto considered isotropic, indicate significant anisotropy, with a NE oriented fast axis. Although a general trend of SH leading SV is indicated by most of the measurements, invoking radial anisotropy to explain this phenomenon appears farfetched since the near vertical incidence of the S waves in the usable distance range of 40°–80° makes them more sensitive to azimuthal anisotropy underneath the station. Forward modeling of the dependence of the splitting parameters on incoming polarization assuming horizontal axis of symmetry brings out two layers of anisotropy beneath the Indian shield with fast axis azimuths oriented N15°E in the bottom layer and N60°E in the top layer. While stronger anisotropy (δt ≈ 1 s) in the bottom layer is related to asthenospheric flow, a weaker one (δt ≈ 0.4 s) in the upper layer could represent anisotropy frozen in the lithosphere.


Objective To explore the expression and significance of MTSS1 ( metastasis suppressor 1) in hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods MTSS1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in hepatocellular carcinoma, liver cirrhosis and normal liver tissues.Single-factor analysis was used to study the relationship with clinicopathological factor.Correlations between MTSS1 expression and TNM stage were analyzed with Spearman rank correlation analysis.Postoperative 5-year survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis.Results The expression of MTSS1 in hepatocellular carcinoma was higher than normal liver tissue ( U = 168.000, P < 0.05), and liver cirrhotic tissue ( U = 106.000, P < 0.05); MTSS1 expression was correlated with TNM stage of hepatocellular carcinoma patients, lymph vascular invasion and tumor capsule ( separately U = 259.000, 258.500, 202.000, all P < 0.05).MTSS1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma was not correlated with patients age, gender, tumor size, AFP level, and hepatitis B surface antigen.MTSS1 expression and TNM stage of liver cancer patients was negatively correlated ( rs = - 0.383 , P < 0.05 ).Postoperative 5-year survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with MTSS1 positive expression was significantly poorer than patients with negative and weakly positive expression (respectively 34.1% and 52.3% , x2 =6.386, P < 0.05).Conclusions MTSS1 high expression may play an important role in the early hepatocellular carcinoma progression, indicating a poor prognosis.

Key words:
Carcinoma, hepatocellular;  Gene expression;  Metastasis suppression 1;  Prognosis


After obtaining ethics approval, we formulated the questionnaire using the existing literature and after consulting senior clinicians. We studied the participants' perception in five domains: (a) adequacy of training (b) preparedness (c) adequacy of supervision and feedback by medical colleagues (d) ranking of training tools, and (e) 'real-life' resuscitation. A five-point Likert scale was used with the following response options: 'strongly agree', 'agree', 'unsure', 'disagree', and 'strongly disagree'.


An interesting discussion has been taking place in the Journal on the association between hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) and certain occupational exposures since the publication in 1987 by Aksoy of one case of hairy cell leukaemia associated with chronic exposure to benzene. Exposure to chemicals in general has also been reported to be a risk factor in other studies (Flandrin & Coiffier, 1988; Ng et al, 1987). Two other known risk factors are ionizing radiation and heritability. An impaired immuno function has been hypothesized to be involved in the induction of HCL, because multiple malignancies in the same individual are reported in a number of case reports (Bernstein et al, 1990). HCL is diagnosed most frequently in males, suggesting a link between occupation and the disease (Bernstein et al, 1990). In a recent study from England of 50 cases, raised odds ratios for occupational radiation exposures and exposure to organic solvents and fuels were found, but none reaching levels of statistical significance (Staines 81 Cartwright, 1993); nor could any significant associations with other occupational exposures be determined. The controls in this study were not randomly selected from the general population; instead, they were selected from patients admitted to hospital for non-malignant diseases (mostly for elective surgery). It is possible that the results were biased by the selection of the controls, further illustrated by the fact that smoking had a significant dose-response association for a protective effect against HCL, an unexpected finding not previously reported. The higher smoking prevalence in the controls might also be associated with a higher frequency of other risk factors. This could give a false negative result for different occupational exposures in the cases compared to these controls. HCL is such a rare disease (0.3 cases in 100000 inhabitants) that usually only a few patients are seen at each medical centre (Staines & Cartwright, 1993). As a result of a study on interferon treatment in HCL conducted in Uppsala, Sweden, a considerably larger number of HCL patients than usual were seen within a relatively short period of time. It was therefore possible to make observations on occupational risk factors. The diagnosis of HCL was made by trained pathologists on bone marrow biopsies. Information on occupation was collected from medical records. Between 1984 and 1992, 48 patients with HCL were trcated in Uppsala (Table I); there were 36 men and 12 women. The male to female ratio was 3.0; their mean age at diagnosis was 57 years (35-84) and 59 years (40-72), respectively. Most cases were diagnosed during the 1980s. There were two sisters in the material. It is possible to identify the most recent occupation for 35 of the men and 11 of the women (Table I). 31% (14 men and one woman) worked in farming or gardening. Of the men, 39% had this type of work, giving an OR of 7.5 (CI 4.2-1 3.2) compared with the expected number based on the general Swedish population in 1970. Six of the males had work in which they were exposed to wood dust: one of these worked in forestry and might also have been exposed to pesticides. In fact many of the farmers might also have been exposed to wood dust, because forest often forms part of farm estates in Sweden, especially in the region where the farmers in our study live. Five had different jobs in the metal industry. Apart from the elevated risk for male farmers, there were no significantly elevated risks for other occupational exposures. There were no painters or other workers with a definite exposure to organic solvents. Nor were there any persons working in health care with a potential exposure to radiation. Among the 12 women, one was a farmer's wife, four had jobs which involved contact with children (teacher, worker a t day-care centre, etc.) and three worked as cleaners. We are aware that this is a small dataset restricted to some regions of Sweden and that the results could be explained by chance. However, it is unlikely that farmers with HCL would have been referred selectively to Uppsala instead of to one of the other Swedish centres treating HCL during the same period. The exposure assessment is based only on job titles in the medical records and could have been more comprehensive. However, we do not think that it is worth trying to improve the exposure assessments because of the earlier already mentioned existing biases in the material. Nevertheless, we consider the high frequency of farmers in this pilot study remarkable and worth reporting. Our findings are supported by a French study to be published shortly (Clavel et al, 1994) as well as by an earlier study from Illinois (Oleske et al, 1985). There are many studies which have shown that farmers have an elevated risk for certain malignancies including lymphoproliferative disorders. Potentially hazar-


Multi-port dc-dc converter topologies have been reported as potential solutions for different applications, e.g., renewable integration, power sharing, and multi-source applications. This paper evaluates one such multi-port dc-dc converter topology known as integrated dual-dc boost converter (IDDBC), which can be used to interface two different dc sources into a common load. One of the major challenges related to IDDBC operation is the management of power flow between different ports of the topology. Current sensing and measurement are essential for realizing these control objectives. Conventional current sensors (e.g. sense resistors, Hall Sensors) are transducers that are invasive, expensive, and require associated conditioning circuits. This paper proposes a non-invasive digital current estimation technique for IDDBC topology. This approach requires terminal voltage measurements and analog comparators to estimate the inductor currents of the topology. The proposed method of current estimation has been demonstrated using a laboratory prototype of IDDBC using an FPGA-based controller.


In the direction of cram the monitoring systems and identifying parameters that can be monitored with or without encrypting the data. In order to do so, in an Adaptive Distributed System (ADS) which changes dynamically in the real time environment. These changes could be process or link failures, changes in communication patterns or frequency or application processes, changes in the user requirements. By knowing these parameters the system can work more effectively by doing the necessary changes. The two problems that are addressed here are monitoring a system and collecting data necessary for adaptation, may cause security problems. To make sure that the sensitive data monitored by the monitoring system is secure, if the monitoring system is taken over by an intruder and misused. There must be a limit level how much could the monitoring system can monitor, which is being implemented here as a tool.


........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................ xiv Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................


The relationship between muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) has been used to describe two mechanisms for arterial baroreflex control of MSNA (i.e. burst 'gating' and burst 'area'). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that whole‐body heating (WBH) alters these mechanisms. In ten subjects (age, 32±2yr), MSNA was measured using standard microneurographic techniques. Five‐minute periods of MSNA and DBP data were analyzed on a beat‐by‐beat basis during normothermia and WBH. MSNA responses were assessed within 3mmHg DBP intervals. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the slope of the relationship between sympathetic bursts/100 cardiac cycles and DBP ('gating'), as well as area/burst and DBP ('area') during normothermia and WBH. During normotheria, there was a moderate correlation between sympathetic bursts/100 cardiac cycles and DBP (slope = −2.5±0.4; r2 = 0.57±0.08), while area/burst and DBP exhibited little to no relationship (slope = −1.1±0.5; r2 = 0.27±0.09). During WBH, the slope of the relationship between sympathetic bursts/100 cardiac cycles and DBP increased (slope = −4.7±0.4; r2 = 0.72±0.05) compared to normothermia (P < 0.05), while the relationship between area/burst and DBP remained minimal (slope = −0.9±0.1; r2 = 0.22±0.07)(P = 0.50). In conclusion, WBH enhanced arterial baroreflex control of MSNA through increased sensitivity of a 'gating' mechanism, as indicated by an increase in the slope of the relationship between sympathetic bursts/100 cardiac cycles and DBP.


The present work uses large-eddy simulations to analyze the effectiveness of a noise reduction strategy on a military-style nozzle based on the GE F400-series engines. The nozzle has a design Mach ...


The growth of urban population is increasing quickly worldwide, especially in developing countries. This fact substantially affects the generation of waste, whether liquid, gaseous or solid, which are deposited in places commonly known as landfills. The organic matter in solid residues promotes methane production, which is a high impact greenhouse gas. Researches on uses of biogas from anaerobic fermentation's processes have been made; nevertheless most have focused on Biogas direct burning or on site generation of electricity, and a few on biofuel production for transportation purposes. Regardless of the development of technologies to use biogas as renewable energy source, there is not wide documentation of projects involving population growth and urban planning with sustainable power generation based on organic residues produced within cities. For the Latin American case the implementation of technologies for biogas utilization is poor and projects that allow the integration of methane production based on population growth with its energy needs would highly promote planning and implementation of policies for sustainable resources exploitation. Their impact in the short, medium and long term would be unprecedented at all levels. The model proposed here serves as analysis tool for developing sustainable energy policies based on urban growth prognostics leading to 100% utilization biogas emissions for both electrical and fuel power generation. In the methodology used is performed an identification and geographic location of the main emissions sources such as landfills and sewage plants. Main solid waste generation sources are identified and an estimation of organic residues amount is made. Based on organic residues and methane production models provided by EPA, it is possible to obtain a long-term estimate of landfill biogas generation according to demographic growth prognostics. The overall power generation provided by a purification and separation plant is obtained from past estimations. Electrical energy and pure methane are produced. Model is validated in Panama City, which authors analyze the implementation of a separation plant whose objective is the adaptation of biogas for automotive purposes covering all their energy demand with electrical energy generated from a percentage of collected biogas. It hopes to have a major impact on the public urban transport fleet of Panama and a future implementation of pipeline that will feed the energy requirements of the city.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The aim of the study was to investigate the antibacterial effects of essential oils isolated from different cultivars and morphological parts of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) in combination with the aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin. This in vitro study analyzed the effectiveness of the combinations of gentamicin and lavender essential oils against the following strains: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus aureus MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027. The effect of the combination of lavender oils with gentamicin was tested using the checkerboard method. A synergistic effect against S. aureus strain ATCC 25923 was found when gentamicin was combined with lavender essential oils isolated from flowers and leafy stalks (flowers: 'Blue River' FICI—0.192; 'Ellagance Purple' FICI—0.288; leafy stalks: 'Blue River' FICI—0.192; 'Ellagance Purple' FICI—0.320). A synergistic effect was also observed for the combination of gentamicin with lavender essential oils from flowers against the resistant strain of S. aureus (MRSA) ('Blue River' FICI—0,191; 'Ellagance Purple' FICI—0.263), as well as for the essential oils from leafy stalks ('Blue River' FICI—0.076; 'Ellagance Purple' FICI—0.089). No interaction was observed for the combination of studied essential oils with gentamicin against P. aeruginosa strain ATCC 9027 (FICI = 1.083–1.300).


Policy makers are especially concerned about persistently high dropout rates among U.S. Latinos, the largest minority population in the United States. This study used a national longitudinal database to show that the behavioral and social aspects of schooling are dynamically linked in the process of school completion and dropout among Mexican American and non-Latino white adolescents. In contrast to the tendency of academically disengaged students to develop street-oriented friendships, students who are involved in school tend to befriend others who also make schooling a priority. Thus, student engagement influences competing friendship networks in a manner that contributes to the completion of school. Furthermore, engagement behaviors and school-oriented friendship networks have the potential to reduce dropout rates. To their social and educational detriment, however, Mexican American students appear to be less engaged in unorganized academic endeavors and formally sponsored extracurricular activities than are white students. The results of this study support policies that combine targeted educational and social reforms to bolster school completion among Mexican origin youths.


The majority of the world is now urban. Cities are attracting people because they are centers for economic activity and can offer a higher quality of life: there are more jobs, more services available, transport options to move within the city, trade, knowledge exchange, and connections to other cities and countries. As a result, in 2050, two-thirds of the world population is expected to live in cities. Cities around the world are implementing innovative ideas to efficiently manage urbanization. They are facing challenges head on and placing themselves on a path toward sustainability. Increasingly, city governments are becoming empowered administratively and financially to be able to serve their growing populations, offering good public transport options, access to clean water, effective waste management, and other essential basic services. This booklet of case studies showcases cities in developing countries that are implementing bold ideas with the objective of achieving environmental, economic and social sustainability. In all the stories included, the World Bank Group has been able to work alongside the cities to help them meet their goals by offering a number of services. These case studies show what a wide variety of cities have achieved in this endeavor, with clear and measurable results. Cities have responded to the new challenges and opportunities of rapid urbanization by spurring innovation to improve services, create jobs, and enhance livability for future generations.


This study examines how individuals assess administrative burdens and how these views change over time within the context of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age five. Using interview data from the Baby's First Years: Mothers' Voices study (n = 80), we demonstrate how the circumstances of family life, shifting food needs and preferences, and the receipt of other resources shape how mothers perceive the costs and benefits of program participation. We find that mothers' perceptions of WIC's costs and benefits vary over time and contribute to program participation trajectories, so many eligible people do not participate; need alone does not drive participation decisions.


This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of measles‐protective antibody in HIV‐infected children with immune recovery after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).


The book offers an overview of a large spectrum of implementations for the computational intelligence based on neuro-fuzzy and artificial approaches. The clear and concise explanations help the reader to understand the hardware implementation aspects of the new computational intelligence paradigms.


—In this letter, we propose a model identifica- tion method via hyperparameter optimization (MIHO). Our method is able to identify the parameters of the paramet- ric models in a data-driven manner. We utilize MIHO for the dynamics parameters of the AV-21, the full-scaled au- tonomous race vehicle, and integrate them into our model-based planning and control systems. In experiments, the models with the optimized parameters demonstrate the generalization ability of the vehicle dynamics model. We further conduct extensive field tests to validate our model-based system. The tests show that our race systems lever- age the learned model dynamics well and successfully perform obstacle avoidance and high-speed driving over 200km / h at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The source code for MIHO and videos of the tests are available at https://github.com/hynkis/MIHO.


Daning pluton is composed of monzonitic granite,granodiorite and quartz monzodiorite.It's intrusive era is late silurian epoch(K-Ar method:407、445Ma).Through the research on the pluton's trace elements,REE,Isotope such as sulphur,lead,oxygen,and so on,it is believed that silver deposit and gold deposit's ore materials come from deep-seated magma,large quantity of dark inclusion is one of the main ore materials,under the influence of the deep rooted fracture dissection,ore materials enrich the deposit after several fracture movements.The most favorable spots where gold or sliver mineralizes are the lithofacies lines between granodiorite and quartz monzodiorite and the crossing ruptures between granitic diorite and its' wall rocks.


The annealing behaviour open-volume defects introduced in Si(l00) crystals during fluorine implantation and their role in the surface-oriented diffusion of F impurities were investigated by variable-energy positron beam depth profiling. The defects become mobile and undergo recovery at temperatures well below the onset of fluorine diffusion at 550{degree}C as seen by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The results suggests that after irradiation and annealing the F occupies substitutional sites to which positrons are insensitive. The anomalous F diffusion seen in SIMS has been explained through a two-step diffusion mechanism, in which the diffusion kinetics is determined by dissociation of the substitutional F into an interstitial F and a vacancy, followed by their rapid diffusion to the surface.


This article examines the generic treatment of the shoreline and sea within Waterworld (1995) and The Road (2009), two films representative of a recent body of post-apocalyptic science fiction films that depict recuperative coastward journeys centring on the figure of the child. Earlier representations and studies of the shoreline in science fiction cinema have focused upon larger physical transformations within the landscape. Conversely, this study examines the distinct ways in which Waterworld and The Road's travellers shape and negotiate coastward voyages, the beach and the sea in line with their own emotional desires, needs and attitudes. A close relationship is identified and assessed between the trajectories and intergenerational interactions developed within maritime and coastal spaces and the themes of communal rebirth and social recovery integral to post-apocalyptic fiction. The restrictive and unsustainable treatments of space and the journey demonstrated by Waterworld's Mariner and the Man in The Road are contrasted with the child's movements and actions upon beaches and boats. With reference to Victor Turner's conceptualizations of 'the liminal' and 'the liminoid', it is argued that the renegotiation of these shared spaces undertaken by Waterworld's Enola and the Boy in The Road embraces their marginality, investing them with a desire for open social interaction. This article observes that the child's contestation of spatial and social boundaries subsequently produces several receptive and nurturing exchanges between Waterworld and The Road's adult protagonists and their charges, but also notes that each man is ultimately not personally obliged to aid long-term social recovery.


Since its implementation in 2012, the Philippines mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) program has already generated issues that point to the seemingly inadequate preparation of the education bureau when it comes to teacher training and instructional materials production. However, one concern that is seldom mentioned in the literature is the learners attitude toward the languages they learn in the process. This is crucial because this attitude could reveal their learning motivations and formation of linguistic and sociocultural identity. Informed by the notion of language attitudes and construction of identity, this study explores the perception of trilingual children on their mother tongue and second languagesIlocano, Filipino, and English, vis--vis their identity construction. Results show that most of the learners hold a positive attitude toward the three languages. However, the identified negative attitudes of some learners as regards these languages may cause pedagogical concerns linking to language teaching and the discourse of culture, nationalism, and globalization.DOI: doi.org/10.24071/llt.2020.230107