T HE amount of air passing through a window as leakage is dependent upon the pressure difference across the \t-indow, and the crack opening. At the present time, there is a considerable mass of data from laboratory research showing what the leakage is for various kinds of windows for any specified pressure difference; but there is little definitely known about what the pressure difference actually is or is likely to be in any given building. In the absence of knowledge regarding this quantity. i t is usual to assume a certain wind velocity appropriate to a given locality, and take the leakage as that corresponding thereto, ivllich is equivalent to assuming a certain pressure difference at the ~virtdow.~ Tables showing the relationsl-rip between chosen \\rind velocities and window leakage per foot of crack that may be expected to occur with pressure differences corresponding to those wind velocities. are given on pages 51 to 54 of THE GUIDE 1929 for various types of windows. The principal object in predetermining windo1.v leakage is to enable due allo~sance to be made in the amount of heating surface for the espected maximum infiltration. This maximum floes not mean the leakage that ivill occur ~ v i t h the highest momentary gust of wind, nor the highest rate for any one hour. 1)ilt s110uld rather 1)e consitlcr-ctl as that n-l~icl~ rnny occur (luring several 110ur.i of the I~eating sca.;c>n. It is stated in T r r ~ GCIDE that "the licnt allo\vance for infiltration through cracks must he baseci on the avcritge wind velocity for a given locality." It seems probable ttrat the nr117r.agrle ~ i l i ~ i d cclocity, ns the term is used there, does not mean the actual averngc for all the hours of the heating season. In the case o f transmission losses, T r r ~ GCIDE suggests 15 mph as an azacrrrge ireli~zd ~ .~~loci ty , and it is prnl)al)ly ir~iplied that a sirni1nr 1.-alue is intcntled to be used i t 1 t t ~ c calculation of infiltratioll losses, in the nhscnce of specific ctnta. It is also stated in TIIE (-;UIJ)IC t l ~ ; ~ t "a further nlTo~i.nncc ~iiust he made for the


Language plays a crucial role in the development of human society. It is the main means of communication between individuals, groups and countries. Nowadays, more and more people are learning English as a foreign or second language, and their key objective is to get expertise in English. The abrupt changes in the broad field of economy, business, science, technology and education have triggered the youth and coming generation to improve their communication skills. Language acquisition involves four modules of teaching that includes Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. The teachers have to be dynamic and updated to teach these language skills to the students. The researcher has interviewed the participants on various aspects involved in teaching-learning process to find out the root cause of the problems encountered by students studying at Jazan University to attain the speaking and the writing skills. The problems are further critically analysed, evaluated to derive at conclusions to suggest the most appropriate measures to be taken by the language teachers to overcome the problems of the students to enhance and expertise in their productive skills.


Objective
To investigate the relationship between testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DEHA) and cholelithiasis among women in climacteric transition period.

Methods
A total of 2 127 women aged 40~55 were included from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Individuals were divided into gallstone group (n=129) and control group (n=1 998). Serum testosterone, DEHA and other clinical indicators were measured. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the averages of continuous variables between groups. Logistic regression was used to analyse the associations between testosterone and DEHA and cholelithiasis.

Results
The gallstone group had higher testosterone, systolic blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, triglyceride, C-reactive protein, and lower DHEA, sex hormone binding globulin and high density lipoprotein (P<0.05). After fully adjusting the covariates, testosterone and DEHA levels were correlated with gallstone occurrence, OR (95% CI) were 1.010(1.005~1.015) and 0.994 (0.991~0.997), respectively. In multivariate logistic regression, testosterone may be independent risk factors for gallstones, OR (95% CI) were 1.012(1.007~1.016). DEHA may be independent protective factors for the end of gallbladder, OR (95%CI) were 0.994 (0.991~0.997).

Conclusion
Testosterone was positively correlated with gallstone risk and DEHA was negatively correlated with gallstone risk in transitional menopausal women.

Key words:
Testosterone; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Cholelithiasis; Menopause; Causality


A system has been developed for detecting and visualizing small amounts of oil leakage from a transformer. The system uses a method of detecting fluorescence emitted from oil when it is irradiated by black light. Image processing using the relationship between saturation and intensity in a hue-saturation-intensity color space is used to recognize the leaked oil. According to the saturation-intensity relationship, the intensity of a surface without oil adhesion linearly increases as saturation increases. The oil-adhered area on the surface showed higher intensity. An algorithm was constructed for automatically setting a threshold value line to recognize the oil. On the other hand, in order to recognize the specular reflection light noise, images obtained after black light irradiation from two directions were compared. The developed system using the algorithm can detect and visualize oil leakage from a transformer at an amount of less than 1 mL.


V O OTING IS sometimes conceived to be a good indicator of public opinion. There are, however, obvious differences between a referendum or a survey, on the one hand, and casting a ballot, on the other. The citizen is confronted with the one vote-many issues dilemma,' where his single ballot, called upon to say many things, is necessarily ambiguous. Moreover, the literature records the importance of influences other than a citizen's position on policy issues on his voting decision.2 In the Anglo-American system, under which each district elects one representative, the ballot indeed must convey many messages. Proponents of proportional representation have suggested that this electorial system, widely used in Europe, increases the sensitivity of the election results to the distribution of opinion in the polity. The proposition that proportional representation tends to lead to the existence of many independent, ideologically distinct and rigid parties3 supports their suggestion since, theoretically, the more parties, the wider the spectrum of opinion on any given issue.


This study examines the impact of firms-specific variables and macroeconomic variables on the deposit mobilization of private commercial banks in Bangladesh using panel data regression methodology. In this study, 14 conventional private commercial banks have been observed over ten years (2007-2016). The results of this study provide evidence that total deposit (as measured by company size) has significant negative impact on the deposit mobilization (as measured by banks deposit growth rate) and broad money supply growth rate has significant positive impact on the banks deposit growth rate whereas the rest of the selected variables i.e. number of banks branches, deposit interest rate, loan-to-deposit ratio, Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth rate, inflation rate have no significant impact on the banks deposit growth rate of the private commercial banks in Bangladesh. These results will obviously provide some noteworthy information to researchers, financial analysts, banking policy makers and supervisory authorities.


Urban sewage is one of the biggest polluters of water resources. For treatment, the usual conventional technologies (CT) are based on civil and hydraulic engineering; more recently, green technologies (GT) based on biology and ecology began to be developed. The aim of this study was to assess the economic aspects of these technologies using cost-benefit analysis. The economic benefits are derived from the sale of forest products and the environmental benefits of water decontamination, valued by the avoided cost method. The results of the study establish that GT have better commercial and economic performance than CT, and that the inclusion of environmental benefit significantly improves the results.


Tungstate sorption kinetics were determined in batch-wise experiments on a surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ), prepared by treatment of a clinoptilolite sample by HDTMA-Br (HDTMA being the hexadecyltrimethylammonium cation). The influence of various parameters was studied, namely pH, effect of temperature and initial Tungstate concentration with a maximal removal value at equilibrium of about 80% .


Tandem solar cells promise to overcome the theoretical single junction solar cell efficiency limit. Here we report an elegant approach to monolithically integrate perovskite and Si-heterojunction tandem solar cell by...


Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for nontherapeutic reasons and classified as type 1total or partial clitorectomy; type 2excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora; type 3excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/ narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation) and type 4 which includes pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and/or labia or cauterization without any excisional procedure (1). FGM is common in the Middle East and African regions and usually performed at age between 5 and 12 years and sometimes in adulthood (2). This procedure is performed with a knife, razor blade or sharp glass with or without local anesthesia by grappling girls by force.


Abstract This article combines contemporary work in social bibliography, translation theory and Buddhist studies to focus on two questions. First, what exactly does the act of "reading" sutras entail? And second, what is the precise relation between material sign and acoustic sound in Buddhist recitation? Answers to these questions are necessarily inextricably bound to local contexts and communities. The so-called 'pictorial Heart Sutras' (Jp: esetsu Shinkyō) of early modern Japan provide the particular aperture through which I pursue these queries. Following D. F. McKenzie, I understand the pictorial sutras "not simply as verbal constructs but as social products" (1999: 127) which may be examined to reveal patterns of textual engagement, practices of translation and particular techniques for associating the quotidian world of rice paddies and rounded bellies with the abiding realm of religious doctrine. In particular, I argue that the pictorial sutras develop a "visual vernacular" whose lexicon evinces an abiding interest in fecundity and a belief in the apotropaic value of sutra reading.


In this work photoplethysmography imaging (PPGI) technique was used to obtain blood flow changes in human skin under regional anesthesia (RA). PPGI was evaluated from video taken by video camera for 26 patients 2 minutes before and immediately after RA, using custom developed software. Results showed that blood flow obtained by PPGI increases immediately after RA effect and the amplitude of PPGI showed correlation with temperature changes in human skin (r=0.8±0.14, p<0.0001). We found that PPGI technique can be usable for non-contact monitoring of quality of RA.


In accordance with the applicable demands and features of warehouse,analyze and research has been done,then a new design proposal of warehouse management system is presented.The monitoring system was built based on ARM microprocessor Cortex-A8 and embedded Linux operating system,the warehouse control system was compiled by QT through using its various sources.The system realizes the smart management of warehouse.


[1] In this study, we develop a new code which uses a hybrid finite difference (HFD) method to solve a 2-D bounce-averaged energy-pitch angle diffusion equation in the outer radiation belts. We implement the numerical algorithm by adopting a split operator technique, an implicit scheme for dealing with diagonal diffusion coefficients, and an alternative direction implicit scheme for off-diagonal (or cross) diffusion coefficients. We show that our code HFD can successfully overcome the unstable problem when the large and rapidly varying cross diffusion coefficients are included. Particularly, we examine whether resonant interactions with obliquely propagated whistler mode chorus and hiss waves result in a net acceleration or loss of relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt L = 4.5. Numerical simulations show that chorus waves can yield significant acceleration of relativistic electrons, while hiss waves are primarily responsible for scattering equatorially mirroring electrons toward the loss cone.


For almost a decade now, "the outcomes question" has been driving reform in teacher education (Cochran-Smith, 2001). Spurred by sharp criticisms that teacher education programs have not been held accountable for results and that there is little evidence that higher education-based teacher preparation is a fiscally sound and effective educational policy, many new efforts to assess and/or enhance the impact of teacher education have emerged. Although these often rest on strikingly different assumptions about what teachers and pupils should know and be able to do and about what the larger purposes of American schooling should be, all of these efforts assume that a defining goal of teacher education is student learning. They also assume that there are certain measures that can be used to assess the degree to which this outcome is or is not being achieved by teachers, K-12 pupils, teacher educators, higher education institutions, alternative programs, local and state policies, and the education profession itself. This editorial provides a brief "assessment of assessment" in teacher education by outlining several recent efforts to analyze, document, or enhance the impact of collegiate teacher preparation on teaching, learning, and practice. To make the point that current assessment efforts are quite different from one another in form, content, and intention, I have included examples from the following three loosely defined groupings: empirical studies or reviews that assess the effectiveness of teacher education/ teacher certification as a broad educational policy; national initiatives to make teacher preparation more assessment-based and evidence-driven by spearheading and linking local efforts along these lines; and regional efforts to assess the impact on attitudes, learning, and practices of naturally occurring variations among program components, structures, and arrangements to influence local program decisions but also inform larger policy controversies. ASSESSING TEACHER EDUCATION/ TEACHER CERTIFICATION AS EDUCATIONAL POLICIES For some time now, there have been highly visible and highly contentious debates about whether or not there is an empirical warrant for collegiate teacher education and/or for state-regulated teacher certification as broad educational policies that add value to teaching quality and pupil learning outcomes. Two important studies have recently added to this debate. Darling-Hammond and Youngs's (2002) review of existing research on "highly qualified teachers" was written as a direct response to Secretary of Education Rod Paige's report on teaching quality (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). The Darling-Hammond and Youngs article rejects the conclusions of the Secretary's report, claiming that it fails to meet its own standards for the use of scientific research in formulating public policy. The bulk of the Darling-Hammond and Youngs article is a repudiation of Paige's major propositions based on a thorough analysis that takes into account age of the studies included, sample size, research methods, levels of aggregation, and teacher retention. Not surprisingly, Darling-Hammond and Youngs reach conclusions that are diametrically opposed to Paige's. They conclude the secretary's recommendations are not based on scientific evidence; there is evidence that teacher preparation contributes at least as much to effectiveness and retention as do verbal ability and content knowledge; and, although some of them are well designed, alternate entry paths that do not include the core aspects of teacher preparation lead to ineffective teachers who feel underprepared and leave teaching at high rates. Like the Darling-Hammond and Youngs review, Laczko-Kerr and Berliner's (2002) recent study of the impact of certified and "under-certified" elementary school teachers on pupils' academic achievement also adds fuel to the fiery debate about teacher certification as educational policy. …


With the deep study in this work, we introduce the concept of filters of a bitonic algebra A. We study some fundamental structures of such determined filters. We also focus on features of filters with respect to homomorphisms. With the help of the idea of upper sets, we investigate basic ideas of filters in a bitonic algebra, and we also state some important theorems related to them. We obtain some relations between filters of bitonic algebras and upper sets. We obtain an equivalent condition of the filters with the help of the notion of upper sets.


Level densities and primary E1 and M1 transition strengths recently obtained from extensive studies in fifteen light and medium odd-odd nuclei (20\ensuremath{\le}A\ensuremath{\le}80) are analyzed. The level densities are parametrized in terms of the constant temperature Fermi gas and the Bethe formulae; both models provide equally good fits to the experimental results. Empirical relationships between their parameters and simple expressions for the extension of level densities and \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray strength functions into the region of noncomplete level schemes are proposed. For nuclei with A\ensuremath{\gtrsim}46 the E1 strengths agree very well with the predictions of the electric giant dipole resonance model; for the lighter nuclei the E1 strengths are stronger than the giant dipole resonance prediction because of direct neutron capture. The observed mass and energy dependence of M1 strengths seems to indicate some influence of the magnetic giant dipole resonance; however, the M1 spectra are strongly structured by nonstatistical effects, in particular in the sd shell.


The purpose of the presented research is to analyze the prospects of piggyback in improving the efficiency of or-ganization of agricultural supply chains to the world market. Ukraine is characterized by a high level of logistical com-ponent in transportation of agricultural products, which actualizes the issue of managed transformations in this field.
The arguments and counterarguments on the viability of the strategy of using piggyback in the practice of build-ing a supply chain in the context of the agrarian market are analyzed. The basis of the formation of the author's vision is based on the criterion of economic feasibility. Attention was paid to the potential of piggyback in mitigating the situa-tion in the organization of agricultural supply chains by reducing: the need for storage capacities, expanding the range of exporting entities, smoothing the situation of shortages of hopper wagons. At the same time, the actual updating of the piggyback mechanism is connected with the change of the structure of Ukrainian agro-export, in the transition from the practice of raw material appendage to the strategy of creation of production chains with high added value. It is noted that the key feature of agro-logistics is the objective need to form highly specialized segments within it. Each group of a wide range of agricultural products requires an individual, non-uniform approach in the logistics of intermodal trans-portation. Piggyback is recognized as a promising direction for the development of the logistics services market in Ukraine. However, their implementation in the practice of organizing agricultural supply chains has objective limita-tions. The segment agricultural group where piggyback is economically viable includes high-value elite agricultural products with a small average export batch, as well as high value-added agro-industrial products.
Key words: world market, piggyback, supply chains, international logistics, agricultural products, exports.


Objective: To observe and analyze whether conventional added vitamin B complex can reduce the incidence of bed-ridden elderly patients with pressure sores.Method: 60 bed-ridden elderly patients were randomly divided into two groups,Primary diseases were given vitamin B complex group(treatment group,n=30),vitamin B complex tablets,2 tablets of three times per day;Primary diseases treatment group(control group,n=30),two groups treatment duration are all 6 months.Two groups were observed efficacy.Result: The incidence of pressure sores was 3.33% in treatment group,and 26.67% in control group;Two groups of comparisons,the treatment group than in control group,the difference was statistically significant(P 0.05).Conclusion: Give bedridden elderly patients routine supplementation of vitamin-B complex can reduce the incidence of pressure sores,drug is economic and reasonable,safe and non-toxic side effects,improving the bed-ridden elderly patients quality of life and extend elderly life.


We describe an immunoradiometric competitive inhibition assay of the serum levels of the 2----6 sialyl Lewisa antigen, using "SLA 2-6 Otsuka" kits. The assay required only duplicate 50-microliters samples, and the concentration of 2----6 sialyl Lewisa antigen in serum was determined by reference to a standard curve ranging from 0 to 160 arbitrary U/ml. The intra- and inter-assays reproducibilities were good and analytical recovery of antigen were excellent. The serum levels of the antigen were highly dependent on the Lewis blood types of the tested individuals; i.e., the levels of the antigen in the sera of the Lewisa-b- individuals were significantly lower than those of the antigen obtained with the Lewisa+b- and Lewisa-b+ individuals. The cut-off value (42 U/ml) was obtained as mean + 2SD, which was carefully calculated from the antigen levels in sera of the non-Lewisa-b- individuals.


Objective To observe the effect of methylseleninic acid (MSA) on proliferation and apoptosis of the prostatic cancer cells DU145 and approach the mechanism.Methods After DU145 cells were treated with 1.25,2.50 and 5.00 μmol·L-1MSA,the cell viability was examined by MTT test. The techniques of acridine orange staining and flow cytometry were used to analyze apoptotic cycle and calculate the apoptotic index. The expression of active caspase-3 was detected with immunocytochemistry. Results After DU145 cells were treated with 1.25,2.50 and 5.00 μmol·L-1MSA,the growth inhibitory rates of cell line were 16.35%,38.10% and 73.54 %,respectively,the inhibitory rate increased with the increasing of MSA concentration in a dose-dependent manner. There existed obvious differences between three groups(P0.01).Acridine orange staining results showed that the cells were apoptotic state when treated with 1.25,2.50 and 5.00 μmol·L-1MSA,the number of apoptotic cells increased with MSA dose increasing. Flow cytometry results showed that when the cells were treated with 1.25,2.50 and 5.00 μmol·L-1MSA for 48 h,the apoptotic rates were 5.34%,8.71% and 13.6%,respectively; there existed obvious differences between three groups (P0.05).The expression of active caspase-3 was upregulated with MSA dose increasing. Conclusion MSA can induce the apoptosis of prostatic cancer cells DU145 and has significant anti-tumor effect,its mechanism may be related to activate the pathway of caspase.


In order to conduct an effective management over the existing forest resources,the resin yield forecast models of Pinus elliottii and the data table were studied,taking,as the researching objects,Pinuselliottii forests with tree diameter of above13 cm in Sanfang forest station of Ji' an County,Forestry Science Research Institute of Ji' an County,Shuangcun forestry station of Jishui County,Luxiling foreststation and Forest Science Research Institute of Ji' an City. The results show thatthe models have good fitting effects with stability.


Method for operating a quantity-controlled internal combustion engine (1), with an intake (2) and an exhaust line (3), wherein in the intake tract (2) an expansion machine (4) is arranged in the flow direction of a combustion air before an intake valve of the internal combustion engine (1), whose output shaft (4 ') with an output shaft (1') of the internal combustion engine (1) is coupled, wherein a to the exhaust gas line (3) anordenbarer heat exchanger (5) is provided and wherein a combustion air before passing through the expansion machine (4) flows , in the heat exchanger (5) from an exhaust of the internal combustion engine (1) is heated. The inventive method leads to a significant improvement of the efficiency of an internal combustion engine with a quantity-regulated load control in part load.


Plioplys reported that only 10% (1 of 10) of children with autism responded to treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. These results are in contrast to those published by Gupta et al,2,3 who demonstrated improvement in a majority of children with autism following treatment with immunoglobulin. There are several problems with the study of Plioplys: (A) Patient population. Ten children with ages ranging from 4 years to 16 years were enrolled. There is no breakdown of ages for each subject; from the text, it appears that only three children were between the ages of 4 and 6 years and the remaining children were older. Therefore, the study population is very heterogenous with regard to duration of disease and clinical manifestations. To


In this paper, a reflector type unidirectional 3D antenna for biomedical microwave imaging has been presented. A reflector wall perpendicular to the ground plane has been introduced to achieve higher gain and directive radiation pattern. Bending technique is utilized to reduce the overall antenna size and to get resonance at a lower frequency. The proposed antenna obtained measured operating band at 2.37 GHz to 3.70 GHz. The dimension of the 3D radiating structure is 30 × 10 × 17 mm3. The antenna has a peak realized gain of 4.52 dB. Unidirectional radiation pattern and gain within lower microwave frequency, make the proposed antenna a potential candidate to be used in microwave imaging for biomedical diagnosis. The design and simulation process are performed in the CST Microwave Studio software. The antenna is fabricated from 0.2 mm thick copper sheets. PNA Network Analyzer (N5227A) and Satimo Nearfield Measurement system has been used to measure the performance of the fabricated prototype.


This paper presents the mechanical design for a new, four-fingered robot hand. The hand was developed in the context of a service robot project that aims to produce a robot that can handle tableware of various shapes to set and clear a table. This project required the development of a new hand that has a small number of motors but still a high level of adaptability so that it can handle the various shapes of tableware found in a place setting. We therefore developed a four-fingered robot hand which consists of four finger mechanisms and a mechanism capable of changing its direction of movement. The movement orientation of the four fingers can change, in a synchronized state, from a posture in which they are directly opposed to one in which they are diagonally opposed. This state transformation can be achieved with only one motor. Also, four fingers can perform synchronous opening and closing motions, and these motions can be achieved by only one motor. Only two motors are needed to drive the robot hand, and both are installed in the base of the hand. Consequently, the hand is a simple but very effective mechanism for stably handling tableware. Tests have shown that it can successfully grasp various kinds of tableware, and that the new mechanism operates effectively.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a coating medium, based on a polyisocyanate component and a component reactive with an isocyanate component, having a high solid content and useful as coats in coating automobiles and parts thereof. SOLUTION: This coating medium comprises (A) a hydroxyl-functional copolymer prepared by reacting 3-50wt.% glycidyl ester of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having a tertiary or a quaternary α-carbon atom with 97-50wt.% at least two olefinically unsaturated comonomers (in which at least either has COOH group so as to afford a copolymer having 15mgKOH/g acid value and at least other receives steric hindrance) with a radical polymerization initiator, (B) a secondary polyamine of the formula [X is a 4-20C n-valent organic group; R 1 and R 2 are each independently a 1-8C alkyl; (n) is an integer of ≥2], (C) a polyisocyanate containing an allophanate and (D) an extender containing 60-75wt.% Al(OH) 3 and CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 . COPYRIGHT: (C)1997,JPO


Open-space office/laboratory are quite common in Scandinavia and they are usually designed for multipurposework. There are office area where is possible to work standing up and in the same time to ...


: The birth of mobile robot can not only improve the production efficiency of automation industry and reduce the production cost, but also replace human beings to work in some dangerous environments or inaccessible areas, which greatly promotes the social development and progress. In order to improve the efficiency of the robot to complete the task, we hope that the robot can have the function of autonomous and safe pathfinding. Path planning is an important and indispensable part of the research field of robot navigation technology. The so-called robot path planning refers to finding a safe path from the starting point to the end point in an unknown environment. There are many branches of artificial intelligence research, among which the research of intelligent robot has been paid more and more attention with the continuous progress of technology. The method adopted in this paper is ant colony optimization neural network. The best weights found by ant colony algorithm are used as the initial weights of BP algorithm, and the error between the network output and the actual output is calculated to adjust the weights. The feasibility and high efficiency of this method are proved by the research in this paper.


The initial value problem for the defocusing cubic nonlinear Schrodinger equation on R 2 is locally well-posed in H s for s > 0. The L 2 -space norm is invariant under rescaling to the equation, then the critical regularity is s = 0. In this note, we prove the global well-posedness in H s for all s > 1/2. The proof uses the almost conservation approach by adding additional (non-resonant) correction terms to the original almost conserved energy.


From the recent analysis of the potential fluctuations in disordered semiconductors on the basis of optical and transport measurements [1] it was concluded that these two different kinds of phenomena evidence extremely different energy scales of the random potential in the same sample. We resolve this puzzle using for the analysis of experimental data the well-known theories of transport and optical absorption in a disordered system with long-range potential fluctuations, caused by charged impurities [2, 3]. The key point in our consideration is the essential difference between the density of states caused by the long-range fluctuations and the shape of the absorption coefficient. The latter is known to depend essentially not only on the fluctuation probability but also on the tunnelling efficiency of the optically excited electrons in the potential relief provided by the fluctuations [2]. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Thyroid nodules are commonly prevalent in human populations and have global concerns due to the high raped increase during the last decades. Some of them have malignant potential and cause life-threatening. The prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 104 persons with thyroid nodules (25 with thyroid cancer and 79 samples were benign lesions) in Basrah, Iraq, from November 2019 to April 2022. To investigate the association of insulin resistance, Glucose, insulin hormone and obesity on thyroid cancer, Results: the thyroid cancer samples have higher serum levels of metabolic parameters, insulin hormone, Glucose, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) than benign samples, the male samples have a significant difference in HOMA-IR than females in all samples (malignant and benign samples), No substantial difference has been observed in BMI between thyroid cancer and harmless subjects; Conclusions: the serum metabolic parameters, insulin hormone, Glucose, and HOMA-IR play a vital role in future as an indicator for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer (papillary carcinoma) due to their increased levels in thyroid cancer samples than benign samples, no clear association between obesity and thyroid cancer incidence.
Keywords: Metabolic parameters; Insulin resistance; Glucose; Insulin hormone; Thyroid cancer; Homa -IR


The nonstandard finite-difference time-domain (NS-FDTD) method, using a rectangular parallelepipeds structured grid, has been proposed to overcome the dispersion and anisotropic errors of the FDTD method. However, the numerical dispersion and the stability condition have not been examined. Furthermore, the method has been defined only in the isotropic grids. This paper investigates the numerical dispersion and the stability condition of the three-dimensional NS-FDTD method for isotropic and nonisotropic grids. The method is compared with the FDTD method. As a result, this method demonstrates highly accurate characteristics and high Courant stability condition.


The synthesis of a number of dialkylbenzilidene anilines is described. Mesomorphic phases are found at or below room temperature. An efficient method for the preparation of the 4-n-alkylanilines and their benzilidene derivatives is described.


AIMS
We have recently shown that urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) increases oxidative stress (OS), cholesterol biosynthesis, and paraoxonase 2 (PON2) expression in macrophages via binding to its receptor, the uPAR. Since PON2 is regulated by both OS and cholesterol content, we hypothesized that uPA elicits a cascade of signal transduction events shared by NADPH oxidase and cholesterol biosynthesis that culminates in PON2 gene expression. Here, we investigated the signalling pathway that leads to the expression of PON2 in macrophages in response to uPA.

METHODS AND RESULTS
The increase in macrophage PON2 mRNA levels in response to uPA was shown to depend on PON2 gene promoter activation and mRNA transcription. LDL abolished these effects, suggesting a possible role for a transcription factor involved in cellular cholesterogenesis. Indeed, uPA upregulated PON2 expression in a sterol regulatory binding protein-2 (SREBP-2)-dependent manner, since blocking SREBP-2 maturation by 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride abolished uPA-stimulation of PON2, whereas inhibition of SREBP-2 catabolism by N-acetyl-leucyl-norleucinal had an opposite effect. The upstream signalling mechanisms include uPA activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2), which was dependent on NADPH oxidase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activation, and these latter effects were mediated by the tyrosine kinase activity of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta.

CONCLUSION
These findings provide a framework linking interactions among cellular signalling pathways associated with reactive oxygen species production, macrophage cholesterol biosynthesis, and cellular PON2 expression in vascular pathophysiology.


The influence of an inverted flag's length-to-channel-width ratio (C* = L/W) on its oscillating behavior in a channel flow and the resultant vortex dynamics and heat transfer are determined experimentally. Three systems with C* values of 0.125, 0.250, and 0.375 were chosen for comparison. The interaction of highly unsteady flow with the inverted flag is measured with time-resolved particle image velocimetry. Variations in the underlying flow physics are discussed in terms of the statistical flow quantities, flag displacement, phase-averaged flow field, and vortex dynamics. The results show that the increase in C* shifts the occurrence of the flapping regime at high dimensionless bending stiffness. With the flag in the flapping region, three distinct vortex dynamics—the von Karman vortex street, the G mode, and the singular mode—are identified at C* values of 0.375, 0.250, and 0.125, respectively. Finally, the heat transfer enhancement from the self-oscillating inverted flag is measured to serve as complem...


Antiviral immunity against a pathogen is mounted upon recognition by the host of virally associated structures. One of these viral 'signatures', double‐stranded (ds) RNA, is a replication product of most viruses within infected cells and is sensed by Toll‐like receptor 3 (TLR3) and the recently identified cytosolic RNA helicases RIG‐I (retinoic acid inducible gene I, also known as Ddx58) and Mda5 (melanoma differentiation‐associated gene 5, also known as Ifih1 or Helicard 1.) Both helicases detect dsRNA, and through their protein‐interacting CARD domains, relay an undefined signal resulting in the activation of the transcription factors interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and NF‐κB. Here we describe Cardif, a new CARD‐containing adaptor protein that interacts with RIG‐I and recruits IKK‐α, IKK‐β and IKK‐ϵ kinases by means of its C‐terminal region, leading to the activation of NF‐κB and IRF3. Overexpression of Cardif results in interferon‐β and NF‐κB promoter activation, and knockdown of Cardif by short interfering RNA inhibits RIG‐I‐dependent antiviral responses. Cardif is targeted and inactivated by NS3‐4A, a serine protease from hepatitis C virus known to block interferon‐β production. Cardif thus functions as an adaptor, linking the cytoplasmic dsRNA receptor RIG‐I to the initiation of antiviral programmes.


The authors reviewed the research of planation surface in recent years and commented on the development of method and theory about the planation surface. Some aspects of research, such as the restrictive planation surface, the karst planation surface, the fossil planation surface, the dating of weathering crust, the research of weathering crust and environmental evolution, extremely enriched the method and theory of the planation surface. Besides, the authors pointed out that we must take further steps to study the following issues: the deformation of planation surface, the original height of planation surface, the recognition and contrast of the planation surface. The weathering crust and planation surface should be regarded as a whole, and it will still be a principal aspect in the future.


Ultra reliability and low latency communications (URLLC) are considered as one of the most important use cases for computation tasks in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) edge computing networks. To meet the task requirements in IoV networks, communication and computing resources are allocated in an effective and efficient way. Thus, this paper proposes a multi-objective reinforcement learning strategy, called intelligent communication and computation resource allocation (ICCRA), which combines communication and computing resource allocation to reduce the total system cost consisting of latency and reliability. Specifically, this strategy can be decomposed into three algorithms. The algorithm called joint computation offloading and collaboration is a general framework of the strategy, it first uses the K-nearest neighbor method to select offloading layers for computation tasks, such as cloud computing layer, mobile edge computing layer, and local computing layer. Then, when selecting the local computing layer to perform the task, the algorithm called collaborative vehicle selection is used to find the target vehicle to execute collaborative computing. The allocation of communication and computing resources is defined as two independent objectives, the algorithm called multi-objective resource allocation uses the reinforcement learning to achieve the optimal solution, at the mobile edge computing layer. Simulation results show that compared with local computing, edge computing, and random computing strategies, the proposed strategy reduces the total system cost effectively. For instance, compared with edge computing strategy, the total system cost of the proposed strategy can be reduced about 50% on average with the different number of vehicle tasks.


The cultivars of colored Zantedeschia hybrid: Ym035, Ym005, Ym088, Ym002,Ym064 and Zantedeschia aethiopica were used as the experimental materials. The setting rate of seeds was analyzed to find the best crossing combinations. Albino hybrids between Z. aethiopica and colored Z. hybrid were obtained by embryo rescue.Four different media were designed to explore the best one for embryo rescue. The results showed: the colored Z.hybrid was better as female parent than Z. aethiopica, and the best crossing combination was Ym002 × Z. aethiopic.Z. aethiopic planted in the ground was more vigorous than that planted in the pots. For the crossings in the Aestivae section, the combination of Ym005 × Ym035 had a higher affinity. MS+6-BA 1.0 mg/L+NAA 0.1 mg/L was the best media for embryo rescue of the albino hybrids from intersection hybridization.


The aspects of flight testing an aeroelastically tailored forward swept research wing on a BQM-34F drone vehicle are examined. The geometry of a forward swept wing, which is incorporated into the BQM-34F to maintain satisfactory flight performance, stability, and control is defined. A preliminary design of the aeroelastically tailored forward swept wing is presented.


Particulate matters having diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5) have been linked with life threatening health issues worldwide. Data centric approach to ascertain the patterns in the propagation of PM2.5 materials in the atmosphere of a region can help policy makers take informed decisions to take proper action. In this paper, we analyze and identify seasonal, hourly, and regional patterns of PM2.5 propagation in Bangladesh from 2017 to 2020 using the Berkeley Earth dataset. We observe that the concentration of PM2.5 particles has a nationwide median value of about 50 μgm-3, which is unhealthy for sensitive individuals. The concentration varies seasonally and diurnally. We observe that the concentrations of PM2.5 in the air is around five times more in winter than in summer. The mean PM2.5 concentration inside Dhaka is significantly worse around 70 μgm-3, which is 1.25 times than the average concentration throughout Bangladesh. We also observe average concentration dropped during the covid-19 pandemic due to lockdown. Using cross correlation analysis, we observed how spikes in PM2.5 concentration levels in one zone may correspond with peaked concentrations in a different zone a few hours later, indicating that air currents may cause the particles to move in certain directions. Our exploratory analysis serves as the first cross-country data centric study of the state and propagation patterns of PM2.5 particles within Bangladesh and our findings can serve as foundation for further research on the topic.


The present invention relates to a plasma etching apparatus and method, a plasma etching apparatus comprises a chamber integrated process; integrated process chamber comprises a turntable shaft, the lift chuck, the etch deposition reaction chamber and the reaction chamber; turntable a plurality of slots provided on the wafer, the wafer slot for placing the wafer; each deposition chamber or each of the reaction chambers respectively corresponding etch reactor an elevator chuck; turntable shaft drives the turret, respectively, a wafer in a wafer slot plurality alternately views the reaction chamber to the deposition and the etching reaction chamber, by lifting the chuck to promote the deposition reaction chamber and the etching reaction chamber, after repeated film deposition and etching. To improve the etching selectivity purposes.


The purpose of the study was to investigate the protective effect of the Curcuma longa L. extract (CLE) and its curcuminoids against blue light‐induced cytotoxicity in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells laded with A2E. A2E has been concerned in age‐related macular degeneration (AMD).


To develop good farmer sports activities,they must choose good farmer sports activity and content.The Settings of the 6th national Famer Games project reflects the rich flavor of life and work.It sents a signal to us that we develop rural sports activities should have not only popular forms of mass sports,but also have local flavor of traditional sports and the labor sports which is closely related to farmers' production and life.Such activities will deeply get farmers' love and help us to develop the rural sports activities.


Objective To generate recombinant adenovirus fused with type 5 and 35 adenovirus(Ad5F35),in which mutant human inhibitor-α of nuclear transcription factor κB(IκBα)cDNA was carried.Methods pDC-IκBαDN vector was constructed by cloning mutant human IκBα(IκBαDN)cDNA from the recombinant retroviral vector of pCLX-IκBαDN that contains the IκBαDN cDNA by DNA recombination technique.Subsequently,the recombinant chimeric Ad5F35 adenovirus carrying the IκBαDN cDNA was produced.After transferring HL-60 cells,IκBα mRNA expression was analyzed by real time PCR.Results IκBαDN cDNA was successfully cloned into the vector of pDC316 by DNA recombination technique.DNA sequencing result indicated that the recombinant vector of pDC-IκBαDN carried IκBαDN cDNA that contained correct reading-frame of IκBαDN cDNA,and no any other mutation.The expression of IκBα mRNA was increased in HL-60 cells 48 hours after transduction.Conclusion The recombinant chimeric Ad5F35 adenovirus carrying human IκBαDN cDNA was generated,and the IκBα mRNA was effectively expressed in HL-60 cells.


In this paper we introduce short range correlations in a relativistic approach to the description of nuclear matter for the first time. Although there are several procedures which may be used to introduce short range correlations into the model wave function, we work with the unitary operator method as proposed by Villars [1]. There are several advantages in using an unitary model operator. In particular, one automatically guarantees that the correlated state is normalized. The general idea of introducing short range correlations in systems with short range interactions exists for a long time [2, 3] but has not been pursued for the relativistic case. Nonrelativistic calculations based on realistic NN potentials predict equilibrium points that are not able to describe simultaneously the correct binding energy and saturation density; either the saturation density is correct but the binding energy is too small, or the correct binding energy is obtained at a too high density [4]. In order to solve this problem a repulsive potential or density-dependent repulsive mechanism [5] is included. Due to Lorentz covariance and self-consistency, relativistic mean field theories [6] include automatically contributions which are equivalent to n-body repulsive potentials in non-relativistic approaches. In non-relativistic models the interaction arises from the interplay between a long range attraction and a very strong short range repulsion and it is indispensable to take short range correlations into account. In relativistic mean field models, the parameters are phenomenological, fitted to the saturation properties of nuclear matter. Short range correlation effects may be included to some extent in the model parameters. However, we want to study the consequences of taking these effects into account explicitly [7]. We start with the effective Hamiltonian as


The unique advantages of EBW have led to widespread adoption of the process on the factory floor. The technique and its application are described


This paper reports the development of a carbon dioxide emissions matrix for the Oeiras municipality, one of the largest Portuguese municipalities, located in the metropolitan area of Lisbon. This matrix takes into account greenhouse gas emissions, caused by an increase of electricity demand in buildings as well as solid and liquid wastes treatment, from the domestic and services sectors. Using emission factors that were calculated from the relationship between the produced energy and amount of treated wastes, greenhouse gas emissions in the Oeiras municipality, were estimated for a time series of six years (1998 to 2003). The results obtained showed that the electricity sector accounts for about 75% of the municipal emissions in 2003. This study constitutes a tool to define sectors for appropriate action, including energy planning and also public information.


Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetically based developmental disorder resulting in a heterogeneous neuropsychological profile. Linguistic abilities are relatively spared whereas there are important deficits in the visuo-spatial domain. After a short description of WS persons' linguistic abilities, we focus on their visuo-constructive impairments. We describe the results obtained with the main experimental paradigms used in the field (drawing and block design tasks). Genetic, neurological and psychological interpretations of visuo- constructive problems are discussed. In the psychological domain, the role of factors such as perception, spatial analysis, short-term memory, mental imagery and executive functions are contrasted with the classical hypothesis of a general deficit in global processing and a new hypothesis is proposed : WS individuals have specific difficulties in disengaging from salient local parts when they have to reconstruct visual stimuli.


E-mail: email@example.com(Received January 31, 2011; Revised March 9, 2011; Accepted March 13, 2011)요약. 본 논문은288, 298, 308, 318 K에서 구성 요소의 전체 영역에서 이성분 혼합물과 그 특징을 발표하였다. 각각의다른 온도에서 초과유전상수, 초과 몰 부피, 초과 굴절률, 몰 굴절, 초과 몰 굴절은 실험적으로 측정된 이전의 파라미터 값으로부터 계산되었고 Redlich-Kister 식으로 확인했다. 초과 유전상수, 초과 몰 부피, 초과 몰 편광은 음수인 반면에 초과굴절률은 모든 온도에 대해 메틸 아세테이드의 전체 몰 분율에서 양수이다. 본 결과는 이성분 혼합물에서 발생하는 분자사이의 상호작용을 고려하여 논의 되었다. Redlich-Kister 다항식의 예측된 계수와 계수에 따른 표준오차 또한 보고되었다.주제어: 유전 상수, 밀도, 굴절률, 초과 특징ABSTRACT. The present paper reports the study of binary mixtures and their properties over the entire range of com-position at temperatures 288, 298, 308 and 318 K. Excess dielectric constant, excess molar volume, excess refractive index, molarrefraction and excess molar refraction at different temperatures have been computed from the experimentally measured val-ues of the aforesaid parameters and fitted to the Redlich-Kister equation. Excess dielectric constant, excess molar volumeexcess molar polarizations are negative whereas excess refractive indices are positive over entire mole fraction of methylacetate for all temperatures. The results are discussed in light of intermolecular interactions occurring in the binary mixture. Esti-mated coefficients of the Redlich-Kister polynomials and the standard error along the coefficients are also reported.Keywords: Dielectric constant, Density, Refractive index, Excess property


areas: a qualitative study. PhD thesis; Durham University, Durham 2015. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http:// etheses.dur.ac.uk/11144/. Accessed on 22/06/2015 11 Daly M, Perkins D, Kumar K, Roberts C, Moore M. What factors in rural and remote extended clinical placements may contribute to preparedness for practice from the perspective of students and clinicians? Med Teach 2013;35 (11): 900–7. 12 Couper I, Worley P, Strasser R. Rural longitudinal integrated clerkships: lessons from two programs on different continents. Rural Remote Health 2011;11:1665. 13 Hirsh D, Gaufberg E, Ogur B, Cohen P, Krupat E, Cox M, Pelletier S, Bor D. Educational outcomes of the Harvard Medical School-Cambridge integrated clerkship: a way forward for medical education. Acad Med 2012;87 (5):643–50. 14 Worley P, Silagy C, Prideaux D, Newble D, Jones A. The Parallel Rural Community Curriculum: an integrated clinical curriculum based in rural general practice. Med Educ 2000;34:558–65. 15 Gaufberg E, Hirsh D, Krupat E, Ogur B, Pelletier S, Reiff D, Bor D. Into the future: patient-centredness endures in longitudinal integrated clerkship graduates.Med Educ 2014;48:572–82. 16 Daly M, Roberts C, Kumar K, Perkins D. Longitudinal integrated rural placements: a social learning systems perspective. Med Educ 2013;47:352–61.


The acute toxicities of four recently developed pyrethroid insecticides (bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, lambda cyhalothrin and tralomethrin) were experimentally compared to the acute toxicity of a first generation pyrethroid (permethrin), in static-flow, 48-h bioassays with Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia. The four new generation pyrethroids exhibited greater toxicity, with LC50s ranging from 0.15 to 1.04 μg/L for D. magna and 0.07 to 0.30 μg/L for C. dubia, in comparison to permethrin with LC50s of 1.25 μg/L for D. magna and 0.55 μg/L for C. dubia. Tralomethrin and cyfluthrin were most toxic to D. magna, with LC50s of 0.15 and 0.17 μg/L, respectively. C. dubia exhibited the greatest sensitivity to the pyrethroids, with an LC50 of 0.07 μg/L for bifenthrin. C. dubia was equally or more sensitive than D. magna to all of the insecticides.


An experimental arrangement capable of monitoring temperature changes from 0.01 to 0.1K has been successfully tested for registering the temperature evolution occurring during the tetragonal to monoclinic transformation of an alumina/ceria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Al[sub 2]O[sub 3]/Ce-TZP). The arrangement is based on a very small thermistor. The data obtained have been used for evaluating the thermal diffusivity of the Al[sub 2]O[sub 3]/Ce-TZP composites.


In the month of Moharram, when Imām Hossein and his family were killed in Karbalā, from 1st to 8th in the evening around 7pm, men proceed in one group around the village, chanting and beating their chests. One man leads the chant and the others answer. They are led by a boy holding a flag (parcham-e 'āshurā). On 9th-10th everything in Iran is closed and they spend the whole day from morning to night in procession chanting and beating their chests. The women watch and cry.


For the past 10 years the City of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada, has used a Transportation Improvement Priority study process to determine the order of its major investments in transportation infrastructure. This paper outlines the public interaction in a transportation priority setting exercise and focuses on the use of surveys done to determine public perceptions of problems and priorities.


The rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence requires meticulous attention to the training and monitoring of large language models (LLMs). This paper offers a systematic analysis of existing metrics and introduces new ones, focusing on their theoretical underpinnings and practical implementations. We present empirical results and insights into the performance of selected metrics, elucidating the complex interplay of variables in the training process. Our comprehensive approach provides significant insights into LLM training, and promises to improve the dependability and efficiency of future models.


Capillary electrophoresis was applied for quantitative determination of sulfite, sulfate and thiosulfate in magnesium hase bisullite cooking liquor in the course of digestion. Separation was achieved based on the results of Gutleben with a buffer consisting of 5 mmol/L potassium chromate, pH 11.0, and 0.001 % hexadimethrine bromide (HDB). For samplling under conditions of up to 150 "C and 8 bar a water cooled six port valve was inserted into a bypass of the process stream. The samples were purged out with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and formaldehyde. Furthermore 0.01 % hexadimethrine bromide was atdded to the samples. This method was properly validated in terms of calibration, limit of quantification, repeatability, linearity, accuracy and Sample stability and was found to be suitable for general research purposes. Quantification was done by relation of the migration time corrected peak areas to an internal Standard (chloride). Application of this method to several laboratory magnesium bisulfite cooking experiments revealed sulfite con8centrations of 80 to 15 mg/mL showing a declrease during the cooking process and sulfate concentrations between 4 and 7 mg/mL showing a comparatively slight increase. Thi'osulfate, however, was below the limit of detection of 0.3 to 0.7 mg/mL under Standard conlditions.


A 57-year-old female with a past medical history of gastroesophageal reflux disease presented to the emergency department (ED) for evaluation of 2 weeks of sore throat and left neck pain. She described the pain as sharp and radiating under her mandible into the base of her neck. The patient stated her pain acutely worsened on the day of presentation, along with an associated diffuse, pressure-like headache with blurry vision and peripheral "flashing lights," prompting her to present to the ED for evaluation. She noted difficulty swallowing solids and liquids secondary to severity of pain. The patient also reported intermittent shortness of breath and subjective fevers. In the ED, the patient was afebrile with grossly normal vital signs. She was given intravenous ketorolac for pain. The diagnostic evaluation included CBC, comprehensive metabolic panel, mononucleosis heterophile antibody, respiratory pathogen panel, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Other than a mildly elevated ESR, the lab valueswere unremarkable. A computed tomography angiogram (CTA) of the head and neck showed circumferential thickening of the wall of the distal left carotid artery, including the left carotid bulb (Figures 1–4).


This paper discusses on the preparing mechanism of SCC,and through the proportioning test on SCC,analyzes on the performance of SCC.


During the six month period October 1, 1985--March 31, 1986, efforts on the Program Synthetic Metals from Intercalated Graphite were largely focused on studies of magnetic graphite intercalation compounds. Magnetoresistance measurements of the magnetic field-induced phase transitions at high magnetic fields in the model donor compound europium intercalation compound were interpreted using a Monte Carlo simulation to gain insight into magnetic interactions between the graphite pi electrons and the intercalant f-electrons.


We apply a methodology developed by Gomez (2007) to analyze the spatial organization of fractures along a scanline. Rather than giving a single value of average fracture spacing, this method compares the fracture set to an equivalent randomly-spaced fracture set to determine the length scale(s) at which it is significantly different from random. This analysis can also provide insight into whether a fracture set displays periodic, clustered or fractal characteristics (or some combination of these). We apply this methodology to a microseismic dataset acquired in a North American shale play to determine the spatial organization of two different fracture sets observed during stimulation of one hydraulic fracturing stage. The resulting information is used to assess the significance of different types of spatial organization in the growth of a stimulated fracture network during hydraulic fracturing treatments.


The relation of blood lead levels to cognitive and perceptual-performance functioning was determined for 80 black preschool children. Their lead levels were below the criteria set for lead poisoning, but a regression formula revealed that the relationship was significant and as lead level increased general cognitive, verbal, and perceptual abilities decreased. Lead levels were not related significantly to parental intelligence, birth order, birth weight, and number of siblings. Lead level was, however, related to the educational level of the parents. It was concluded that the criteria set for lead poisoning warrant re-examination.


In this paper, we propose a self-protected spanning tree (SST) construction algorithm and the corresponding single link switching mechanism (SLSM) for tree-based recovery schemes. Using SLSM, an SST can recover from any single link failure without the help of the other trees. When some link fails, SLSM transforms an SST into another spanning tree by only replacing the failed link in the tree with another normal link out of the tree. SLSM-based recovery mechanism is evaluated using the prevalent Ethernet technology, whose resilience issue is attracting much attention. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of SLSM in achieving fast recovery. Another feature of SLSM is that it provides a novel load balance mechanism by fast changing the topology of SST, which can not be implemented in the previously advocated tree-based schemes.


Extreme wave conditions are important factors in the design of offshore structures. Large scale, long term wave conditions in the region of interest can be obtained from numerical hindcast computations and satellite observations. Also, ocean wave buoys are available on an operational basis to monitor local wave conditions and evaluate the small scale, short term wave parameters at a particular site. For the statistical description of wave heights in random seas the Rayleigh distribution is widely used. Although theoretically only valid for Gaussian surface elevation and narrow band spectra, the applicability of the Rayleigh distribution is supported by considerable experimental evidence in both oceanography and ocean engineering science. However, in case of extreme wave heights during severe storm conditions, non-linear effects may be of importance, implying the Rayleigh distribution to be modified. Carefully designed measurements or experiments are required to verify these modifications. Quite often the emphasis in these verifications is on fitting distributions to experimental data, assuming the data to correspond to fixed point measurements in a stationary stochastic process. This paper demonstrates that for the interpretation and extrapolation of buoy measurements in directional seas, knowledge about the behaviour of ocean wave buoys is of importance, in particular in case of extreme (freak) wave situations.


The paper presents the analysis of the three-dimensional strain state for the cogging process of a forging (type: shaft) of the X6CrNiTi18-10 austenitic steel with the application of the finite element method. The results of the thermal-mechanical simulation of the hot cogging process on flat and shaped anvils, taking under consideration boundary conditions applied in industrial practice, are presented. In the research, a new method of forging, consisting in the introduction of the initial forging of the stock on anvils which have convex work surfaces, and further forging on shaped anvils, was applied. The results of the calculations make it possible to determine effective strain distribution, effective stress, mean stresses and temperature in the volume of a forging. The solution was supplemented by the addition of the model of microstructure development in the course of deformation. The conducted research constitutes the basis for determining the best possible technological process of the initial forging of a cast ingot, and provide the possibility of forecasting the deformations and parameters of the microstructure.


This work investigates capabilities and accuracy of metrological X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) in quantifying wear volumes and characterizing the geometry of prosthetic joint components. Advantages and limitations are determined in comparison with measurements by Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs). The work demonstrates that CT is advantageous especially for measuring polymeric prosthetic components.


. The Eurocode 2 for the design of concrete structures (EN1992-1-1:2004) is undergoing a revision that will lead to the publication of the second generation of this code to be used across all CEN member countries. Therefore, the impact of the code will reach hundreds of millions of people. Importantly, the Eurocode 2-revision will incorporate many significant changes, amongst which is the introduction of design provisions for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC). In this regard, one of the most important aspects for ultimate limit state (ULS) design will be the consideration of the shear strength of FRC members without shear reinforcement. Such a failure mode is associated with a number of uncer-tainties, as well as with a potentially-brittle failure response. However, so far, the design models proposed in the Eurocode 2-revision have not been accompanied by a robust reliability-based calibration of the FRC partial factor γ SF . Within this context, this paper presents the results of an investigation on the safety format and the partial factor γ SF for FRC members without shear reinforcement currently provisioned in the draft for the new Eurocode 2 (prEN1992-1-1:2021). Firstly, a database of experimental results on FRC beams is used to determine the model error. On that basis, a probabilistic analysis is performed using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM) to determine adequate values of γ SF for varying target reliability indices. The results of the study show how γ SF values need to up-dated in order to reach reliability indices typically considered for ULS design.


The invention relates to a method and system for conducting model-based optimizing plant planning and scheduling as well as creating schedules of process-specific or method-specific plant operations, particularly of a manufacturing or production operation in the processing industry. The invention involves the use of at least one data processing device (20) having an input and display unit that interacts with at least one data memory (22) and with the MES (manufacturing execution system) (30) of the plant operation. To this end, the data processing device (20) firstly conducts a dynamic modeling and, optionally, a simulation as well as an analysis of the plant operation. Afterwards, a schedule (27), which is optimally matched to the respective plant operation and to the existing order situation and provided for ensuring a technically and economically efficient plant operation is created based on a model while taking available resources and raw, auxiliary and production materials (36) into account. In the event of disruptions (32, 34) in the plant operation, which are reported to the data processing device (20), an optimized and dynamic adaptation of the schedule (27) is effected in an automated manner whereby creating an updated schedule (29). The respective schedule (27, 29) to be executed is, after its creation, transmitted to the MES for conversion or execution.


The reformation of Marxist philosophy teaching received tiny effects in more decades.Where is the key of reformation failing? After reflection,the author thinks that we must scan again the targets of higher education and the teaching objectives of Marxist philosophy.The fundamentality is the education of humanistic qualities in higher education,while,the essential objective of Marxist philosophy teaching is blaze students a way in philosophical thinking,correct world view,living view and,worth view.It can't do other than to go across a pretty pass of Marxist philosophy teaching.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to simultaneously and quantitatively assess the expression levels of 20 periodontal disease-related proteins in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from normal controls (NOR) and severe periodontitis (SP) patients with an antibody array.

METHODS
Antibodies against 20 periodontal disease-related proteins were spotted onto a glass slide to create a periodontal disease antibody array (PDD). The array was then incubated with GCF samples collected from 25 NOR and 25 SP patients. Differentially expressed proteins between NOR and SP patients were then used to build receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and compare five classification models, including Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, k Nearest Neighbor, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Classification and Regression Trees.

RESULTS
Seven proteins (CRP, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, MMP-13, Osteoprotegerin, Osteoactivin) were significantly upregulated in SP patients compared with NOR, while RANK was significantly downregulated. The highest diagnostic accuracy using a ROC curve was observed for IL-1β with an area under the curve of 0.984. Five of the proteins (IL-1β, IL-8, MMP-13, Osteoprotegerin, Osteoactivin) were identified as important features for classification. Linear Discriminant Analysis had the highest classification accuracy across the five classification models that were tested.

CONCLUSION
This study highlights the potential of antibody arrays to diagnose periodontal disease. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The invention discloses a method for inspecting minimal road test configuration and network equipment. The method comprises the following step of transmitting the minimal road test configuration information to a terminal when judging that the terminal can carry out the minimal road test measurement immediately after network-side equipment receives a minimal road test configuration request immediately. Minimization of drive test (MDT) can be immediately carried out by the scheme under the scene that core networks of a plurality of operators share an access network; the problem of an instant MDT error under a network sharing scene is solved; trigger error configuration can be avoided; and the network performance is improved.


The phenomenal growth of institutions of higher education is creating an acute traffic and parking problem on hundreds of campuses. When the volume of people converging on a campus at certain morning hours is great enough to obstruct orderly and peaceful movement of each person concerned, a traffic problem results. Since the rate of speed is rarely high the loss of life or limb is small. However the loss of time is great. Economic prosperity, population growth, and the democratization of higher education support more than twelve hundred colleges or universities - more than forty of them having at least ten thousand students. This article discusses how the automobile is changing the face of the campus and the character of the college town. Whether the student lives in a dormitory, a college, club, or a rooming house, he will, if permitted, have his car at the door; his environment ranging over perhaps one hundred and fifty miles.


Introduction: Prompt delivery of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) substantially improves the prognosis of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) victims. In spite of this, the rate of bystander-initiated resuscitation is appallingly low. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the general knowledge of basic life support in Hong Kong and to identify areas of improvement. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study (n=357) conducted in a standardized interview format via telephone using a structured and fixed-alternative (multiple-choice) questionnaire. The survey was designed to assess general knowledge under a proposed scenario, and experiences regarding CPR training in Hong Kong. Results: We found that (1) CPR knowledge in Hong Kong was poor with approximately 12% of the population having received any form of training; (2) CPR knowledge even among the previously trained is far from satisfactory; (3) knowledge with regard to circulatory maintenance in basic life support was weakest; (4) the commonest reason for not taking CPR training was due to a lack of spare time. Conclusions: The degree of citizen preparedness in initiating CPR is very poor. There is an urgent need to raise public awareness towards the importance of basic life support. In addition, intensified educational efforts and inves-tigations of new approaches to improve this first stage in the chain of survival are warranted. Background: Mutations of the genes encoding beta and gamma subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (SCNNIB and SCNNIG) has been found to cause increased or decreased channel function, which leads to rare, salt-dependent hypertension hypotension respectively. Both of these two on chromosome 16p12. Other DNA variants in or around these genes may contribute to the variation in blood pressure. The objective of the study to evaluate the genetic linkage between blood pressure and the epithelial sodium channel genes (SCNNIB and SCNNIG) in Southern Chinese. Methods: Sixty families were recruited from the general population of southern Chinese. Each family comprised of various numbers of siblings. All participants had their blood pressure measured and were genotyped at chromosome 16p12 by use of three highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. Sibling pairs with different allele-sharing assessed by identity-by-state (IBS) were grouped to compare their blood pressure difference. Results: The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure difference between all sibling pairs was 16.5 and 11.0 mmHg respectively. At the D16S420 locus, the difference in systolic blood pressure between siblings that shared two alleles according to IBS (n=38, 11.9 ± 10.6mmHg) was significantly lower than siblings that shared one allele according to IBS (n=70, 19.3 ± 18.0mmHg, p=0.02). Difference in systolic blood pressure in other two loci D16S403 and D16S417 were not significant. In all three loci, difference in diastolic blood pressure was not significant between the sibling pairs. Conclusion: The SCNNIB and SCNNIG genes and chromosome region 16p12 are implicated in the physiological variation of systolic blood pressure among southern Chinese. The findings may contribute to the understanding of salt-sensitive hypertension in Southern Chinese.


The present invention is generally in the field of neurological diseases and neurological disorders, in particular in the field of neurodegenerative diseases coating of myelin nerve is lost. To facilitate formation of embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocytes for the treatment of damage after neurodegenerative disease or neuronal trauma, IL6R / IL6 chimera used.


A recently suggested modified BCS (MBCS) model has been studied at finite temperature. We show that this approach does not allow the existence of the normal (non-superfluid) phase at any finite temperature. Other MBCS predictions such as a negative pairing gap, pairing induced by heating in closed-shell nuclei, and "superfluid – super-superfluid" phase transition are discussed also. The MBCS model is tested by comparing with exact solutions for the picket fence model. Here, severe violation of the internal symmetry of the problem is detected. The MBCS equations are found to be inconsistent. The limit of the MBCS applicability has been determined to be far below the "superfluid – normal" phase transition of the conventional FT-BCS, where the model performs worse than the FT-BCS.


A method for measuring the levels of an extended spatially non-correlated source is proposed for the case when it is located in the region of a given size in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the array. The algorithm of synthesis of weight coefficients providing an approximate constancy of the signal when a source is located in any position inside the region and, accordingly, the given accuracy of measurements with the maximum noise suppression, is considered. The method allows one to perform measurements of sound level of local or extended non-correlated noise sources when their precise localization is impossible. The results of numerical simulation and experimental testing of the method under sea conditions are demonstrated. 1. Introduction. An important task of applied acoustics is creation of effective remote methods of measuring sound levels (SL) of sound sources. We will define SL as the mean squared value of sound pressure in the far field of the source in the given angular direction referred to a standard distance. This definition is entirely equivalent to the one used in hydroacoustics where the term of SL is frequently used 1 [1].


The number of northern pintails (Anas acuta) in North America continues to be low despite substantially improved wetland habitat conditions as recorded by the May Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (May Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1998; Figure 1). In 1993-97, following extended drought during the 1980s and early 1990s, favorable precipitation patterns returned to the critical waterfowl nesting areas of the northern Great Plains of the United States (U.S.) and Canada (USFWS 1997), the area known as the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR, Bellrose 1980). Historically, when the number of wetlands (May ponds) counted on the May Survey increased in the PPR, pintail breeding populations (BPOP) also increased (e.g., Smith 1970). However, even though May ponds attained record high levels in


A USB connection to peripheral apparatus (3) for operation with a host system (1), which peripheral device comprises a driver required for operation with the host system (1), the driver being stored in a memory (4) of the USB connection to peripheral apparatus (3), and an automatic installation of the driver on the host system (1) being performed during commissioning of the peripheral apparatus (3) on the host system ( 1).


In this paper, we propose a deep learning based numerical scheme for strongly coupled FBSDEs, stemming from stochastic control. It is a modification of the deep BSDE method in which the initial value to the backward equation is not a free parameter, and with a new loss function being the weighted sum of the cost of the control problem, and a variance term which coincides with the mean squared error in the terminal condition. We show by a numerical example that a direct extension of the classical deep BSDE method to FBSDEs, fails for a simple linear-quadratic control problem, and motivate why the new method works. Under regularity and boundedness assumptions on the exact controls of time continuous and time discrete control problems, we provide an error analysis for our method. We show empirically that the method converges for three different problems, one being the one that failed for a direct extension of the deep BSDE method.


The tumor microenvironment is a complex tissue composed of various stromal cells including immune cells. Especially, tumor‐associated macrophages (TAM) are one of the major components of tumor tissues, and they play a pivotal role in prompting the various tumor growths by producing growth factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Previously, we have reported that TRPM2 channel, a ROS‐sensitive Ca2+ channel, is abundantly expressed in macrophages and is tuning gene expression via transcription factor NF‐κB. Here, we report the significance of TRPM2 channel in the regulation of pro‐inflammatory M1 and pro‐angiogenic M2 phenotype of TAM. In TRPM2 knockout mice, TAMs around s.c.‐injected B16F10 melanoma tumor showed strong expression of M2 phenotypic markers and pro‐angiogenic factor VEGF according to the enhanced activity of STAT3. Interestingly, blood vessels in TRPM2 knockout mice tumor were so‐called non‐productive, which is characterized by an increase in vascular density and decrease in tissue perfusion and thus the tumor progression was suppressed. We also found that the activation of TRPM2 channel induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) suppress the activity of STAT3 in HEK293 cells and macrophage‐like RAW 264.7 cells. Importantly, TRPM2 protein showed physical interaction with STAT3 protein, and their complex was degraded gradually in the presence of H2O2. Therefore, our data suggest that TRPM2‐STAT3 complex is critical for handling the phenotypes of macrophages depending on the environmental oxygen/redox conditions.


The technical progress in recent 4 years in equipment, process and operation management of shaft furnaces in Xing Steel are introduced, some improving measures proposed.


To the Editor:

We applaud Held et al1 for their efforts to link the effects of glycemic control and hospitalizations for congestive heart failure. Their study demonstrates that after adjustment for age and sex, a 1-mmol/L higher fasting plasma glucose was associated with a 1.10-fold increased risk of congestive heart failure hospitalization (95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.12, P <0.0001). The association persisted after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, previous myocardial infarction, hypertension, waist-to-hip ratio, creatinine, diabetes mellitus (DM), and use of aspirin, β-blockers, or statins …


The paper enriches the current studies on interaction with a domain where agents have original properties about the interaction. The agents interact with the external world and the agent-world interactions enable the model to recognise the approximate state of the agents. They interact between each other and the agent-agent interactions refine their state. This model has been implemented with success in Indigo, a Go playing program.


Abstract : Apparent viscosities of a composite propellant analogue were measured with both rotary and extrusion instruments. A Haake Viscometer in the Couette configuration was used with 2 gap widths and also with a profiled cup and rotor. An extrusion rheometer was fitted with a slit die and measurements were made at 2 slit thicknesses. The flow was found to be time dependent, and there was apparent slip at the wall. It is suggested that the cause of this behaviour is filler particle migration in the non-uniform stress fields. The filler migration is assumed to cause a layer of binder to develop at the walls confining the flow, and this layer would lubricate the flow of the bulk of the material causing an apparent slip. The effect of the slip is to reduce the apparent viscosity of the material, which also appears to be affected by ageing of the samples under ambient conditions for several days. Particle sizes of the solid ingredients were also measured. Particle size, Viscosity, Rheology of energetic materials, Flow curves.


The general economic functions of market information are familiar and can be logically related to the concepts of workable competition and the perfect market in space, form, and time. However, the importance of a formal market news service to the efficiency of performance of markets must be viewed within the context of the particular situation and the manner in which present information systems function. Wherever there is a market, an information network exists, even though (in some cases), slow, inaccurate, discriminatory in its availability to market participants or limited in the scope of information collected and diffused. Therefore, in assessing the need for introducing or expanding formal market news services, the adequacy of the present system, the cost of effecting improvements and the consequences that may be derived from them must be determined and evaluated.


The Muslim Struggle for Civil Rights in Spain: Promoting Democracy through Migrant Engagement, 1985–2010 Stuart Green To cite this article: Stuart Green (2014) The Muslim Struggle for Civil Rights in Spain: Promoting Democracy through Migrant Engagement, 1985–2010, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 22:4, 526-528, DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2014.975454 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2014.975454


In this paper, we derive a new achievable rate region for the two-way channel (TWC) with common output. The achievable rate region is based on two auxiliary directed graphs that represent the information that is used by each of the terminals. For any choice of the two auxiliary graphs, the achievable rate region is expressed with single-letter expressions. A degenerate choice of the auxiliary graphs, each with a single node, reduces the new achievable rate region to the Shannon's inner bound. We also show that the achievable rate region outperforms the Shannon's inner bound. This is shown with an explicit calculation of the achieved rate for the binary multiplying channel (BMC), using the inputs distribution from the Schalkwijk 82 scheme.


This study sought to explore teacher absenteeism and its impact on curriculum implementation in primary schools in Nyamagana District. The study employed a quantitative research approach and cross-sectional survey design. A sample of 3 head teachers, 1 Teachers Service Commission Officer, 30 teachers, and 56 pupils were involved in the study. A questionnaire was employed as a method of data collection with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of correction of 0.733, meaning that it was reliable. Descriptive statistics basically frequency and percentages, were used to analyse data with the aid of SPSS. The study found that teacher absenteeism is less experienced in the visited schools. The findings revealed that poor coverage of syllabi and indiscipline among pupils are some of the effects of teacher absenteeism which indicate that the tragedy accelerates poor curriculum implementation. Thus, the study recommends a suitable legal framework and incentives to improve teachers' welfare and hence limit teacher absenteeism.


The invention provides square acid derivate and pharmaceutical salt thereof. The square acid derivate has a structure shown as the formula (I). The square acid derivate can be taken as micro-molecular tubulin inhibitor, having the function of resisting microtubule and remarkable anti-tumor activity and the advantages of small molecular weight, simple synthesis and small toxic and side effects. The invention further provides a synthesis method of the square acid derivate and an anti-tumor medical composite taking the square acid derivate and the pharmaceutical salt thereof as active components.


Cerebral ischaemia causes activation of ornithine decarboxylase followed by accumulation of putrescine, and these biochemical phenomena have been thought to contribute to the development of neuronal damage. We have used a transgenic mouse line overexpressing the human ornithine decarboxylase gene in their neurons with constitutively high putrescine to study the possible role of putrescine in development of neuronal damage in forebrain ischaemia. An incomplete forebrain ischaemia model was developed in which common carotid arteries were bilaterally occluded and reduction of blood pressure caused by orthostatic reaction was used as a way of decreasing cerebral circulation. Cerebral high‐energy metabolites, intracellular pH and lactate were monitored by means of 31P and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy respectively. Incomplete ischaemia for 15 min resulted in severe energy failure, as indicated by an increase in the inorganic phosphate/phosphocreatine ratio, intracellular acidification from a pH of ∼7.1 to ∼6.5 and an increase in lactate concentration from <1 to ∼10 mmol/kg in both syngenic and transgenic mice. Following deocclusion, recovery of energy metabolites, intracellular pH and lactate were identical in both animal groups. Ornithine decarboxylase activity rose 9‐ and 3‐fold in syngenic and transgenic mice respectively 6 h after ischaemia. Activation of ornithine decarboxylase resulted in extensive accumulation of putrescine in the brains of transgenic animals 12–24 h after ischaemia, which was ∼50‐fold greater than the basal level in syngenic mice. In situ hybridization experiments revealed induction of transcription factors c‐Fos and zif‐268 in the hippocampus, throughout the cerebral cortex and striatum 1–3 h after ischaemia. Messenger RNA of heat shock protein 70 was induced in dentate gyrus and CA3 and CA4 subfields of the hippocampus 1 h after ischaemia. The distribution and extent of induced mRNAs were similar in syngenic and transgenic animals. Histological evaluation did not reveal any difference between the two animal groups despite large variation in their cerebral putrescine content. Neuronal necroses were observed in the CA4 layer of hippocampi in both syngenic and transgenic mice. These data suggest that ornithine decarboxylase activation and accumulation of endogenous putrescine are indicative of an ischaemic insult and that these changes reflect an adaptive response rather than acting as causative factors of neuronal damage.


Our energy efficiency analysis of various content dissemination strategies reveals that a change in network architecture from host-oriented to content-centric networking (CCN) can open new possibilities for energy-efficient content dissemination. In this paper, we consider energy-efficient CCN architecture and validate its energy efficiency via trace-based simulations. The results confirm that CCN is more energy efficient than conventional CDNs and P2P networks, even under incremental deployment of CCN-enabled routers.


Background: Gait dysfunction is a major sequalae of stroke which negatively affect stroke survivors'walking and community re-integration. Understanding the impairments that determine their communityfunctioning willassist in development of effective treatment strategies for them to overcome theirdisability.Aim: The aim of the study was to explore thespatiotemporal gait parameters and walking characteristicsin community-dwelling ambulatory stroke survivors and determined howthey differ across time ofcommencement of ambulation and duration of ambulation post-stroke.Method: This study involved 164 (83males) community-dwelling ambulatory stroke survivors inKano, Nigeria. The spatiotemporal gait parameters wereassessed along 12-meter distance walkingpath. Spatiotemporal symmetry was computed from the spatiotemporal parameters. Lower limb motorimpairment, lower extremity function, and functional ambulation were assessed using Fugyl-Meyerassessment scale, Lower Extremity Functional scale, and Modified Emory functional ambulatoryprofile respectively. Their physical mobility was assessed using Modified Rivermead mobility index,walking confidence using ambulatory self-confidence questionnaire while Berg balance scale was usedto measure balance. Functional mobility and walking endurance was assessed using the Time up andgo test and 6-minute walk test respectively.Walking status was assessed with functional ambulatorycategory.Results: The participants were aged30years and abovewith 61% above 50years. Most (59.8%)participants commenced ambulation within 1-month of stroke with 65.9% being independent infunctional ambulation. Their spatiotemporal, mobility and balance parameters as well as spatiotemporalsymmetry characteristics were severely affected and are significantly inversely related to their times ofcommencement of ambulation post-stroke.Conclusion: Spatiotemporal gait parameters, mobility parametersand balance performances areseverely abnormal in community-dwelling stroke survivors and negatively impact on their walkingability and community functioning.


The real time face detection and recognition is now a days a subject of interest in various daily applications like crowd identification, video conference, security measure, image analysis etc. This topic has brought attention of researchers because the human face is a dynamic object and has a high degree of variability in their appearances, which make face detection a difficult problem in computer vision. Many technique are being proposed, ranging from simple edge based algorithm to composite high level approaches utilizing advanced pattern recognition methods. The algorithms presented in this paper are Viola-Jones algorithm (Haar Cascade Classifier) and PCA (classified as either feature based and image based) and are discussed in terms of technical approach and performance. The objective of this paper is to find out a way to monitor student's presence in classroom using EmguCV (Computer vision Library and wrapper class of Open CV) and send important notification to parents to keep track of their child from remote location. This technology used to monitor their children and by this way teachers are trying to guard children's behaviors in order to reduce teachers' difficulties of classroom management, instead of helping children to learn effectively.


We propose a technique for setting up parallel (self-dual) stationary electromagnetic fields in the context of transformation optics. Several paradoxes that may appear in this regime are discussed. A particular type of communication based on stationary patterns through Aharonov-Bohm interferometry is also introduced as an alternative to a previous proposal by Putthof.


One of the main stimulation techniques to enhance gas production in low permeability reservoirs is acid fracturing. Controlling the leakoff of reactive fluids is the key to a successful acid fracturing. In this study, new chemicals and techniques have been developed to control the leakoff by increasing the viscosity of the fluid systems after the acid fracturing fluids were injected into formations. The initial viscosity of the acid fluids was low. The viscosity increased with the increase in the amount of acid injected. Experiments have been conducted in laboratory to prove the efficiency of leakoff control using the new chemicals. The experimental results showed that the new fluid systems reduced the leakoff significantly compared to the gelled and normal acids. The leakoff rate of the new fluid systems was close to that of non-reactive fluids. Because the targeted reservoirs had a high temperature, the thermal stability was also tested and the results showed that the new chemical fluids were stable at 120 o C. Because of the good experimental results, acid fracturing stimulations have been conducted using the new chemical fluid systems in 26 wells in Changqing gas field. The production performance has been evaluated after acid fracturing using the new chemicals. The field test results showed that the gas production was increased remarkably using the new chemical fluids and techniques, compared to the routine gelled acid fracturing. A plan has been embarked to apply the proposed techniques in Changqing gas field widely because of the satisfactory pilot field test results and the low cost of the chemicals.


569 students of 7 primary and middle schools of Chongqing were investigated by the questionnaire in order to examine the characteristics of migrant children's role identity and the relationship between their role identity and self-esteem.Results showed that:Migrant children's self-esteem is lower than the non-migrant children;The level of citizen-role identity of migrant children is lower than non-migrant children significantly.Development trend of the grade,changes were increased and then decreased,and the fifth grade is the highest point,while in behavioral tendencies,changes continued to rise;Migrant children's self-esteem was significantly related to the dimensions of role identity,perceived ability and behavioral tendencies which are two dimensions of role identity can significantly predict the self-esteem of migrant children.


The current study aimed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of Food Addiction (FA) in a cross-sectional sample of women. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 investigated whether FA in normal-weight women was characterised by the same clinical characteristics seen in overweight and obese women. 378 women who varied in weight and age were administered an online questionnaire which included measures utilised in previous studies investigating FA. These measures included the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and measures of depression, dysfunctional eating, and reward sensitivity. The results found 4.5% of normal weight women met criteria for FA. As found in previous studies, women with FA reported significantly more stress, depression, dysfunctional eating behaviours, and reward sensitivity. Study 2 aimed to explore the personality and neuropsychological correlates of FA. Specifically, the study investigated whether women with FA performed significantly worse on decision-making tasks and whether an anticipatory stressor moderated this relationship. 102 women were randomly assigned to a control or stress condition. All participants completed the same online questionnaire utilised in study 1 as well as a series of neuropsychological tasks including the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which is a measure of decision-making. Working memory and IQ were also assessed and controlled for. Before completing the IGT, the stress manipulation was given. IGT performance was analysed with the Expectancy-Valence learning model. There was limited support for the influence of FA on decision-making, with both women with and without FA performing similarly on the IGT overall. However, the introduction of an anticipatory stressor did lead to a rebalancing of attention to losses and gains in the FA group. The current study adds further support to the existence of FA by replicating previous findings on clinical characteristics in a normal weight sample as well as expanding understandings on the personality and cognitive traits which correlate with this type of eating pathology.


We prove that coloring a 3-uniform 2-colorable hypergraph with c colors is NP-hard for any constant c. The best known algorithm [20] colors such a graph using O(n1/5) colors. Our result immediately implies that for any constants k ≥ 3 and c2 > c1 > 1, coloring a k-uniform c1-colorable hypergraph with c2 colors is NP-hard; the case k = 2, however, remains wide open.This is the first hardness result for approximately-coloring a 3-uniform hypergraph that is colorable with a constant number of colors. For k ≥ 4 such a result has been shown by [14], who also discussed the inherent difference between the k = 3 case and k ≥ 4.Our proof presents a new connection between the Long-Code and the Kneser graph, and relies on the high chromatic numbers of the Kneser graph [19,22] and the Schrijver graph [26]. We prove a certain maximization variant of the Kneser conjecture, namely that any coloring of the Kneser graph by fewer colors than its chromatic number, has 'many' non-monochromatic edges.


This article summarizes the extensive debates that has been around multicultural art education since its start little over a decade ago. Numerous definitions of multicultural art education are discussed, as well as several assessments of the degree to which minority art and culture should be included. incorporated into and distinct from dominant culture; and, ultimately, rival concepts. On the importance of political involvement and aesthetics in multicultural art education detachment. Throughout the process, certain recommendations for future policy choices are made.