The protective effect ofa low molecular weight protein antigen (LMWPAg) and crude somatic antigen (CSA) was observed in 12 Barbari goats between 6 and 9 months ofage. The goats were divided in 3 groups having 4 animals each. Groups Aand B were vaccinated with LMWPAg and CSA, respectively, on 0, 14 and 21 days of the experiments and group C remained as a non-vaccinated control. All 3 groups were challenged with 5000 L3 Haemonchus contortus larvae on day 24 ofthe experiment. The observations on pre-patent period, faecal egg count, abomasal worm count, worm length and weight measurement, haematological parameters like total erythrocyte count (TEC), differential leukocyte count, haemoglobin, biochemical profile of enzymes and proteins along with serological response were recorded. The observations revealed a significant increase in the pre-patent period with a simultaneous decrease in faecal egg, worm count, mean worm length and weight in vaccinated groups. Haemograms of 3 groups revealed significant rise in total erythrocyte and lymphocyte and fall in neutrophil counts in vaccinated groups. pev, haemoglobin, and globulin-albumin ratio were also observed significantly higher in vaccinated than that in control group. Serum alkaline phosphatase, however, remained similar in all groups.


Proof of Lemma 1: Suppose b has distinct right inverses a1, a2,..., aN. Then a1 a,, a2 a1,. . ., aN a1 are N distinct solutions of bx = 0. We will show that the set {1 a1b, 1 a2b, ...,1 aNb} contains at least one additional solution of bx = O. Clearly all of the elements of this set are solutions. If there were not a new solution in this set, then for each j there is a k so that 1 ajb = ak a1. However, 1 ajb cannot equal a1 a1 = 0, because then a1 would be a left inverse for b, and in this case it is easy to see that b has only one right inverse, a contradiction. Thus, since there are N (1 ajb)'s (the pigeons) and only (N 1) acceptable (ak al)'s (the pigeon-holes), by the pigeon-hole principle we must have that for some m = n, 1 amb = 1anb. But then amb = anb, and multiplying this on the right by a1, we get am = an, a contradiction.


My paper will focus on several basic features concerning blended learning, and it will build on the properties of digital technologies. In our contemporary world, students in general, and working students in particular, feel the need to use their digital skills to be successful in both the study and work environment. This means that our courses should be upgraded by resorting to the new technologies in the field of teaching and assessment. By doing so, the advantages would be multiple, starting with accessibility, affordability, flexibility and ending with inclusivity, selfempowerment and resource management. An example of such a 'fortunate' mixture between on-site classroom interaction and on-line activities is the case of flipped classrooms, where, as it is going to be discussed, student-time is increased and so is the quality of the interaction between the teacher and the learners.


The invention relates to a process for producing a strengthened fiber assembly containing cellulosic fibers with the cellulose being present in the crystalline structure of cellulose II, by contacting the fiber assembly with an aqueous solution of N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) at elevated temperature and subsequently washing the fiber assembly, characterized in that contacting is effected in a manner that from the relation-947+0.30xlog(10)t+0.046xT-3.53xC +645xlog(10)Cwherein t indicates the time in minutes during which the fiber assembly is contacted with the aqueous NMMO solution, T indicates the temperature of the aqueous NMMO solution in DEG C. and C is the concentration of NMMO in % by mass, based on the aqueous NMMO solution, a number in the range of 0.30 to 1.70 results with the proviso that the temperature T is smaller than 130 DEG C. and the concentration C ranges between 70 and 84 % by mass.


The present invention relates to an electrode paste composition for the rear surfaces of solar cells, and comprises (a) a conductive powder of spherical or planar particles with an average particle size (D50) of 0.3 to 1.5 ㎛; (b) Bi 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -B 2 O 3 -Sr O glass frit; and (c) an organic vehicle.


In a cross-sectional study of 93 adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), Hanson et al. (1) showed in a multiple regression analysis that the level of diabetic control, as measured by hemoglobin A1c, was significantly predicted by measures of adherence and stress. The investigators then went on to show that their measure of adherence to the diabetic regimen was significantly predicted by knowledge about IDDM, family relations, and adolescent age. Investigators then developed a model of association between psychosocial variables and health outcomes in adolescent diabetic patients. Unfortunately, the investigators in the study did not perform a multiple regression analysis looking for psychosocial predictors of stress. One psychosocial variable that the investigators measured, family relations, seems particularly relevant to the prediction of stress in diabetic patients. The investigators' own univariant analysis showed that negative family relations were significantly correlated with their measure of chronic stress (r = .33 , P < .001). This correlation coefficient was actually the largest coefficient the investigators found in their univariant analysis. Research by Minuchin et al. (2,3) has shown that diabetic adolescents from enmeshed families exhibited a hyperreactive stress response leading to frequent attacks of diabetic ketoacidosis. Thus, analyses by Hanson et al. and Minuchin et al. support the hypothesis that family relations may be a contributor to chronic stress in adolescent diabetic patients. Therefore, the addition of an arrow between family relations and stress in Hanson et al.'s model seems warranted.


This paper introduces the main methods of the subsidence monitoring for tall and large building such as precision leveling of short-sightline,liquid static force leveling,triangulated height and GPS-RTK.It puts forward applying methods regarding to different conditions and analyzes the subsidence monitoring period and precision.On the base of theory and method about monitoring of building subsidence,the building subsidence monitoring system is developed.


The energy transition by means of the decarbonisation of the power system poses several technological challenges. For instance, system strength is directly affected by the decommissioning of traditional synchronous generator units in favour of renewable energy units. While synchronous units provide inertia to the system, renewable units are effectively decoupled from the grid via power electronics. This transition unequivocally leads to a decrease in system stability. Particularly, isolated systems are more exposed to these problems as they tend to be smaller and have faster dynamics. Therefore, it is important to know the system inertia constant after a sudden disturbance as it may help to predict the possible nadir frequency. Obtaining the inertia constant is a hard task due to the many parameters that have to be monitored. Hence, inertia estimation methods based on disturbance measurements have been used for a while. In this study, a comparison between different approaches is analysed. In the meantime, this paper aims to give a more practical approach to the selected method. This will highlight the technical difficulties when estimation methods based on disturbances are used. Here we show how the size of the power disturbance together with the system rate of change of frequency is crucial for accurate results.


This article discusses the importance attributed by the residents of Caiana dos Crioulos (Alagoa Grande-PB) to some traditional cultural practices of this community, as the ciranda, coco de roda and pife. Initially, the uses of some categories such as 'rescue' and 'culture' by the residents themselves, especially those linked to cultural groups, as one of the groups of ciranda dancers are problematized. Then, it is presented the modification of some of these practices throughout the history of Caiana dos Crioulos, allowing the understanding of the current configuration of the ciranda, coco de roda and pife. Finally, it is analyzed how the local leaders are linked to a tradition that relates the prominent role in the community to the action ahead of cultural groups and how this has been re-signified in a context of affirming a quilombola identity. To do so, we sought an approximation between History and Anthropology, where we found an oral methodology with the ethnographies produced in field research on the community, analyzing the boundaries with other sources, such as: magazines; bibliographic productions; audio musical records; audiovisual records.


This book offers a bold reconsideration of the meaning of 1960s San Francisco counterculture."Counterculture Kaleidoscope" explores the traditions represented in the cultural and musical practices of the late Sixties San Francisco counterculture. Dismantling the notion that the movement was all about rebellion and opposition, the book dislodges two myths: first, that the counterculture was an organized socio political movement consisting of progressive people (dubbed "hippies") with a shared agenda who opposed the mainstream, and second, that the counterculture was a pure and innocent entity co-opted by commercialism and transformed over time into an agent of so-called "hip consumerism."As several recent books on the concept of hipness illustrate, counterculture has become synonymous with rebellion and opposition. Movement-based Sixties histories, nostalgic accounts of the great "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll" era, and conservative polemics stigmatizing counter cultural radicalism have reinforced this equation. As an alternative, this book examines primary source material (including music, artwork, popular literature, personal narratives, and first-hand historical accounts) to demonstrate that the San Francisco counterculture in 1966-67 displayed no interest in commitment to a cause and made no association with divisive issues - embracing everything in general, but nothing in particular.


The distinctions between undergraduate and higher vocational education mainly lies in target and orientation of training talents.Higher vocational education is to cultivate qualified talents with applied techniques for the forefront production、construction、management and service,while undergraduate education is to bring up talents of high quality,solid foundation,broad knowledge background,high ability and high quality.It determinates that there are difference between undergraduate and higher vocational education in curriculum design,depth and width of course content and teaching methods.This paper is to embody their different methods of teachings through teaching the definition of "Tourism Resources" in the course of Brief Introduction of Tourism.


The hierarchical Bayesian estimation of failure rate often relies on completed integral,so it's difficult to calculate.In this paper,the expected Bayesian estimation was defined,which is based on the Bayesian estimation.The failure rate is estimated after the prior distribution of super parameters was given.The formulas of the expected Bayesian estimation and the hierarchical Bayesian estimation of failure rate were given in condition of the certain super parameters,which indicates that the expected Bayesian estimation can effectively avoid the completed integral of the hierarchical Bayesian estimation,and the expected Bayesian estimation is more concise and more convenience to calculate.Finally,calculation is performed regarding to practical problem,which shows that the expected Bayesian estimation and the hierarchical Bayesian estimation are not only both steady but also approximate.As a conclusion,we get that the expected Bayesian estimation method is feasible and easier to operate.


The developing history of screw presses has been summarized with compar ison of different kinds of screw presses.The current situation and develop trends of screw presses have been introduced, pointing out that the development of he avy friction screw presses should be limited and the screw presses with clutches and the new AC servo driving should be paid much attention.


nation in Francophone Subsaharan Africa. Fola Soremekun discloses crucial political and economic dynamics of one of Africa's socialist states, Angola. His discussion on the transformation from a previously semi-capitalist colonial state into a Marxist-Seminist oriented socialist state signifies the poignancy of a world systems analysis of the political economy. David Johns' treatment of Tanzania and Marcia Burdette's of Zambia both illustrate how previously nonaligned African countries are being increasingly pulled into a dependent relationship with western capitalist countries. Olatunde Ojo reveals Nigeria's consistent policies, despite a secession of civilian and military regimes, towards incorporation into the global economy; he provides a critical discussion on the state's control of Nigeria's wealth and the struggle of a rising national bourgeoisie to control the state apparatus. Particular practical and theoretical significance derive from the writers' attempts to deal with distinguishing features of African countries as resource endowment, political boundaries, geographic location (e.g., landlocked versus non-landlocked countries), ideological orientation ie.g., socialistic versus state capitalist systems), and regional dominance and dependence (e.g., semi-periphery and periphery states). These differentiating features serve to clarify much of the ambiguity in African foreign policy. It is disappointing that Shaw's conclusion should end in such a pessimistic view. Many scholars and laymen will question his view that only a few African states and statesmen are relevant to world politics and economics. This reservation notwithstanding, the book should provide profitable reading on African foreign policy.


Teaching professional behaviors in health professions education programs can be challenging, especially when learning activities are often housed in non-clinical courses. This report describes a clinically-focused professional behavior learning activity delivered collaboratively between two concurrent Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) courses. Subjects: Forty-one first-year DPT students concurrently enrolled in Clinical Decision Making I and Examination Techniques courses. Methods: Students participated in three self-assessment surveys regarding perceived strengths and weaknesses (1) in preparing for a midterm practical examination, (2) reflecting on their actual practical performance, and (3) after individual video review of that performance. A survey design and thematic content analysis were used to describe the most important issues identified by students. Results: A total of nine themes related to perceived strengths and weaknesses emerged after analysis. Of these, only one, self-efficacy, was not directly or indirectly described by previously published models of professional behaviors. Discussion and Conclusion: This paper describes a teaching and learning process that occurred in a clinically-oriented course that resulted in an active and integrative professional behavior learning activity.


In the new economy, based on knowledge and innovation, the concept of human capital is becoming an increasingly important factor of growth (and development) not only for urban, but also for rural areas. The studies dealing with the analysis of the available human capital at the local level have highlighted its significant presence in rural areas characterised by a "specific environmental quality", defined in the literature as rural outdoor amenities. Highly educated individuals who live and work with their families in these areas are responsible for the successful transformation of the local economy, employment growth, the improvement of living standard, development of entrepreneurship, and achievement of high rates of economic growth. This paper is aimed at analysing the relevance of the concept of human capital for rural development, with special emphasis on the rural development of Serbia. The paper presents the results of anempirical study of the model of economic growth of rural areas in Serbia,based on the panel data analysis, during a five-year period. According tothe results, human capital and entrepreneurship have a significant impacton economic growth. Additionally, there are significant differences inthe rate of economic growth between the rural areas with high and lowoutdoor amenities in Serbia. Human capital and entrepreneurship arerepresented in the models of rural economy growth as determinants of thedevelopment mechanism through which rural economies grow.


We focus on various countries' approaches to pollination in order to boost agricultural output. We looked at the state of both natural and artificial pollination, and their correlation. We discovered that, for the covered countries, there is a certain path most of these countries are following as the ratio of natural and artificial pollination changes over time due to numerous factors such as deforestation, climate change, and heavy use of pesticides. Based on the analysis and best practices of several countries, we recommend to take necessary steps in order to ensure further development of agriculture in Uzbekistan by introducing modern methods of pollination.


The dependent of DIC development on lysosomal apparatus neutrophils activity was founded. The most severe changes in hemostasis system were registered in the period of maximum acid phosphatus activity.


The PHENIX experiment at RHIC measured $\omega$, $\eta$ and $K_{S}^{0}$-meson production at high $p_{T}$ in $p+p$, $d+Au$ and $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ $GeV$. Measurements performed in different hadronic decay channels give consistent results. The measured ratios of all three mesons to $\pi^{0}$ are found to be flat as a function of $p_{T}$ in $p+p$ collisions and equal to $\omega/\pi^{0}=0.81\pm0.02\pm0.07$, $\eta/\pi^{0}=0.48\pm0.02\pm0.02$ and $K_{S}^{0}/\pi^{0}=0.45\pm0.01\pm0.05$. Nuclear modification factor measured for $\omega$-mesons in central Au+Au collisions is $R_{AA}=0.4\pm0.15$.


In this paper, we made research on the radiation characteristics of IRA with analytical and simulation methods. According to the research results, IRAs exhibit excellent characteristic, as small VSWR at low frequency range, short oscillation time of radiation waveform, narrow main beam, high gain and ultra wide-band. Typical radiation pulse of IRA consists of two parts, namely, the pre-pulse, which share the same shape as the excitation voltage source and is generated by the backward radiation of feed arms, and the main pulse, whose time-domain shape is the differentiation of the excitation voltage. As the volume of IRA decreases, the amplitude of pre-pulse remains the same, while that of the main pluse decreases by the same proportion.


Simple Summary Wild canids may be captured for a variety of purposes, including, for example, scientific research, conservation or relocation to new sites. The use of conventional live-capture traps (also referred to as cage traps), which involve safe trapping techniques, may be limited by the age of the target animal, landscape structure, proximity to areas intensively used by people and regulations at the national or regional level. Live-trapping with cage traps is the only legal method for capturing juvenile red foxes in Poland. However, little is known about the factors that can affect capture efficiency of these trapping devices. In this research, we developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the capture of fox cubs using cage traps and camera traps. We also identified factors that may facilitate or hamper the success of cage traps. The selectivity (total number of trapped red fox cubs per total number of trapped animals) of live-capture traps (91.4%) and the probability of capturing one cub per night (70.2%) were high. In the vicinity of human settlements, fewer cubs explored and entered cage traps. Capture efficiency was also affected by the weather, i.e., it increased in poor weather conditions (e.g., during rain, thunderstorms or ground frost). None of the trapped animals were injured. Live-trapping with cage traps can be an effective and safe alternative to other devices used to trap juvenile foxes. However, capture-efficiency is affected by trappers' experience and a range of factors including weather conditions and distance to human settlements. Abstract Safe and efficient techniques for the live capture of carnivores are limited. In this study, we identified some of the factors that could affect the success of capturing red fox cubs with live capture traps (also known as cage traps). During a three-year period, we analysed 32 captures of 25 fox cubs (1.3 captures/fox). We assessed the impact of the following factors: sex of animals, month of trapping, weather conditions recorded for each trap-night, the willingness of cubs to explore and enter cage traps, the researchers' activity around den complexes before trapping and distances to the nearest village or farm. The overall trap rate (32 captures, including recaptured cubs) and the trap rate for individual cubs (25 captures) was 11.2 cubs/100 trap-nights and 8.7/100 trap-nights, respectively. Animals other than foxes were captured only three times, thus the selectivity of the cage-trapping method was high (32/35 = 91.4%). The probability of capturing one cub per night was 70.2% (32 cubs/47 nights). Cubs inhabiting dens in the vicinity of human settlements were less likely to explore and enter traps. Vixens were more likely to relocate their litters if the activity of the staff setting the traps was intense at the trapping site. The success of trapping was higher during poor weather as, for example, during rain or thunderstorms. None of the trapped animals suffered any injuries. Whereas cage trapping can be an effective and safe capture method for juvenile foxes, capture efficiency is affected by the experience of the trappers and a range of other factors including weather and distance to human settlements.


Language is one of the intelligent categories of cognitive function comprised grammar, syntax, formation, composition of phrases and sentences. Syntactic language processing with Wh-related questions are more complicated sentence pattern where difficulties might appear in specific groups to comprehend. However, we have investigated the neural correlates of syntactic Malay language processing among a group of women where the subjects would respond by pressing buttons in order to match the several binary visual pictorial stimuli with Wh-questions. There were simply two types of Wh-questions in this study, who subjects questions and which object questions. A high dense EEG sensor net was used to record the Event Related Potentials (ERP). N400 ERP component was extracted and analysed. Higher amplitude of N400 component was found significantly in the right hemisphere of the temporal - parietal region during which object question response indicating lateralized integrated semantic information and memory processing in the brain. To extend and compare this outcome, further work in the specific language impairment group and in the pregnancy group is our future plan.


A new type of rare and scattered rhenium ionic liquid which is stable both in air and humidity enviroment was synthesized from AgReO4.1HNMR,Raman spectrum and DSC were used to investigate the composition and structure of the IL.The water content of the IL was less than 0.7% with high purity.


0 Good X B The slope of the production possibility curve is the Marginal Rate of Transformation (MRT) which indicates the rate at which one good is being transformed into another, not physically, but by transferring resources from one good to another good. As we move along the production possibility curve through points P and Q downwards, slope or steepness of each tangent through these points increases. Thus, the production possibility curve takes a concave shape, indicating increasing opportunity cost, that is, the economy is willing to give up more Y for an additional unit of X. There is increasing opportunity cost because of diminishing returns. Note: slope of PPC = MRTYX = change in Y = opportunity cost of producing an additional unit of X in change in X terms of Y.


Motivated by nonparallel hyperplanes support vector machine (NHSVM), a new regression method of data, named as nonparallel hyperplanes support vector regression (NHSVR), is proposed in this paper. The advantages of NHSVR have two aspects, one is considering the minimization of structure risk by introducing a regularization term in objective function, and another is finding two nonparallel hyperplanes by solving a combined quadratic programming problem. In order to verify the effectiveness of the propose method, a series of comparative experiments are performed with TSVR, LTSVR, and TSVR e on five evaluation indexes. The experiment results show that the proposed NHSVR is an effective and efficient algorithm for regression of data.


The paper elaborates different ground deformation caused by underground mining on the harm of buildings,and discusses anti-deformation design and protective measures of buildings in mining subsidence area.The suggestion of the future work and research on building protection in mining subsidence area is put forward,which will open up the mind of research of building protection in mining subsidence areas.


There exist several ways to model population growth at present time, which are mainly based on mathematics. However we present a new model based on fuzzy cellular theory. An interval type-2 fuzzy logic system (IT2-FLS) is designed to evaluate the population growth parameters based on the environment resources stochasticity, in time and space. Interval type-2 fuzzy sets are used to measure the uncertainties of the environment resources. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate how the IT2-FLS integrated into a population growth model can make a suitable evaluation of the parameters required to make that the population size reach a stable equilibrium level on which it fluctuates into a time interval and after that, population size goes down as consequence of insufficient resources. This behaviour is the fundamental basis of the majority of the mathematical models made through the years in Ecology to study the population dynamics.


An adaptive teaching strategy can be defined as an optimal instruction that effectively meets the individual needs and is conveyed toward a student's different aptitude i.e., intellectual abilities, personalities, and cognitive styles of learning. It is widely adopted in teaching students with disabilities. The adaptive teaching pedagogy exploits interactions between learners and educator and is one of the best strategies to meet the different learning styles of individual student. The adaptive teaching creates a teaching and learning environment that improves the learning efficiency. This paper presents an online adaptive tutoring system (ATS) that is aimed at alleviating some of the problems that are faced by large class teaching. The ATS represents a knowledge domain as a concept structure and models the student with Bayesian networks. Based on the Bayesian student model, the tutoring system provides individualized tutoring and instant feedback to each student. The system has been applied in teaching digital circuit design in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of National University of Singapore. The survey conducted indicates the effectiveness of the proposed ATS-based teaching strategy.


This study examines the use of absorption chiller systems in a designated industrial facility having waste heat by conducting energy, exergy and economic analyses. The absorption chiller systems namely single-effect, double-effect series, double-effect parallel and double-effect reverse parallel were analysed to determine the best alternative for the wood pencil factory. The results indicated that the COP of the single-effect absorption chiller systems is changed from 0.758 to 0.763 when the temperature of the generator was increased from 89 ºC to 125 ºC. However, the exergetic performance of the single-effect absorption chiller system decreased by 40% in the same generator temperature range. On the other hand, COP of all double-effect absorption chiller systems increased about 8 % when the generator temperature was changed from 116 ºC to 155 ºC while the exergetic performance of all double absorption chiller systems decreased by around 14% for the same generator temperature range. The COP and exergetic efficiency values of the double-effect parallel system were found to be higher than other absorption systems at all generator temperature values. Overall, this study recommends that the double-effect parallel absorption chiller systems can be preferred for the factories having waste heat source wood chips. The average payback period of the system was also found to be 1.4 years. Furthermore, this study shows that double-effect parallel absorption chiller systems can be proposed for the facilities having wood chips waste sources instead of double-effect reverse parallel absorption chiller systems since they are easy to operate and have lower maintenance costs.


Neurologically isolated ocular motor (third, fourth, and sixth) nerve palsies present frequently to neuroophthalmologists. In older patients, microvascular ischemia is a common cause, and most patients recover spontaneously within several months. However, some patients have a more serious cause, including lifeand vision-threatening conditions, such as expanding aneurysm, pituitary tumor and apoplexy, and brainstem stroke. The issue of whether to obtain neuroimaging in these patients (subjecting them to added time, expense, and risk of intravenous contrast) or following them over time without scanning (with the risk of missing a potentially treatable disease) is a dilemma faced by every physician, compounded by the increased attention paid to resource allocation and rising health care costs. Two experts weigh in on this topic in this Point Counter Point, using the available evidence to support their point of view.


Inaccurate machine dynamics characterization is thought to be one of the main sources of errors in current cutting stability models. For this reason, traditional dynamic characterization procedures have been called into question. A new method for frequency response function (FRF) estimation using the real milling force as the input excitation is proposed. It consists of exciting the structure through several cutting tests at increasing or decreasing spindle speed while measuring its response. This sweep milling force excitation (SMFE) procedure allows obtaining the FRF under real cutting conditions. The results obtained have improved stability prediction with respect to conventional impact tests. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the International Scientific Committee of 7th HPC 2016 in the person of the Conference Chair Prof. Matthias Putz.


Put forward a new method for long-span bridge buffeting analysis which using quasi-steady aerodynamic stiffness and unsteady aerodynamic damping based directly on wind tunnel test. The wind tunnel test of bridge Segment model shows that the new aerodynamic model can describe the aerodynamic stiffness and damping properties of bridge structure more accurately. As an example, both the numerical results of the new model and traditional flutter-buffeting model were presented and compared for East Sea Bridge under wind loads. The computed results and wind tunnel test results show that the new model gives accurate outcomes and has explicit physical meanings.


Existing tensor completion methods all require some hyperparameters. However, these hyperparameters determine the performance of each method, and it is difficult to tune them. In this paper, we propose a novel nonparametric tensor completion method, which formulates tensor completion as an unconstrained optimization problem and designs an efficient iterative method to solve it. In each iteration, we not only calculate the missing entries by the aid of data correlation, but consider the low-rank of tensor and the convergence speed of iteration. Our iteration is based on the gradient descent method, and approximates the gradient descent direction with tensor matricization and singular value decomposition. Considering the symmetry of every dimension of a tensor, the optimal unfolding direction in each iteration may be different. So we select the optimal unfolding direction by scaled latent nuclear norm in each iteration. Moreover, we design formula for the iteration step-size based on the nonconvex penalty. During the iterative process, we store the tensor in sparsity and adopt the power method to compute the maximum singular value quickly. The experiments of image inpainting and link prediction show that our method is competitive with six state-of-the-art methods.


Wireless Sensor Networks,a novel technology about acquiring and processing information,have been proposed for a multitude of diverse applications.Range-based localization must measure distances between neighboring nodes.Received signal strength indication(RSSI),featuring low communication overhead and low complexity,is our basis of localization on the energy constrained sensor nodes.We first analyze the theory of distance measurement based on RSSI,and then validate that RSSI behavior is reproducible and suffers moderate but well-defined variations as a consequence of dynamic factors.Therefore,it can be concluded that RSSI is applicable,if we only take some measurements such as weight and mean value to eliminate the dynamic factors.The experiments show that measurement error is 2 meters within 15 meter.


Propofol is the most widely used intravenous anesthetic agent for surgery and outpatient procedures. We sought to test the hypothesis that CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and UGT1A9 pharmacogenes predicts prolonged Propofol Mean Residence Times (MRT), a pharmacokinetic parameter, or normal Propofol MRTs. The importance of this study will help further understanding of the pharmacogenomics of Propofol anesthesia to clinically selectively identify patients who would be at risk of delayed emergence or complications from Propofol.


Thesis of Master's Degree Graduation Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil EVALUATION OF IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY OF NEW MONO AND DISELENIDE COMPOUNDS AUTHOR: SÍLVIO TERRA STEFANELLO ADVISOR: FÉLIX ALEXANDRE ANTUNES SOARES Place and Date of the presentation: Santa Maria, July 26, 2013 The antioxidant action of organic selenium compounds, as well as ebselen and diphenyl diselenide (DPDS), is closely connected to its ability of generating the selenol group. (In) this study it was evaluated the in vitro antioxidant effect of new mono and diselenide compounds, where it was compared whether the formation of p-methylselenol from compounds 1-phenyl-3-(p-tolylselanyl)propan-2-amine (C1) and 1,2-diptolyldiselenide (C4) and o-methoxy-selenol from compounds 1-(2methoxyphenylselanyl)-3-phenylpropan-2-amine (C2) and 1,2-bis(2-methoxyphenyl) diselenide (C3) may be involved with their antioxidant effects. The mono and diselenide compounds were tested in their Fe(II) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain and liver homogenates and also in their antioxidant ability in phosphomolybdenum test-reductionand and DPPH radical. Besides, the effects of the compounds in the antioxidant enzymes thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were quantified. The new compounds' oxidant effects were investigated through the thiol oxidase assay and the cellular viability of isolated leukocytes. The results demonstrated that the compounds obtained a significant reduce on the lipid peroxidation induced by different pro-oxidants, as well as an antioxidant effect similarly when compared to ascorbic acid equivalents. In the same manner, the compounds did not present thiol oxidase activity. Furthermore, they did not preset any decrease on the cellular viability of leucocytes. The compounds C1 and C2 did not show mimetic activity of GPx enzyme or had a substrate effect on TrxR enzyme, probably due the amino group presence on their chemical structures which must have inhibited the selenol formation. However, DPDS' analog-compounds presented a mimetic activity of GPx, as well as they showed an increase in the TrxR activity, presumably due the formation of the selenol groups (p-methyl-selenol and o-methoxy-selenol).


The purpose of the article is to develop and approbate a methodical approach to analyzing the financial security of priority sectors of the national economy. The article emphasizes the relevance of considering the issues of economic and, in particular, financial security at the level of the sectoral economic system. The authors' own methodology of analysis is developed and the weighting factors of indicators of financial security of agriculture, industry, construction and transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities of Ukraine are evaluated. The structure of financial security of priority sectors of the national economy, i. e., the investment, credit, debt, monetary, production and economic, system-structural components is determined and the weighting factors of indicators are evaluated according to these security components. This approach made it possible to identify the indicators with a lesser extent along with the indicators with a greater extent of an impact they have on the general condition of subindexes, and therefore determine the overall level of financial-economic security of priority sectors of the national economy of Ukraine. The integral values of financial security of priority sectors of the national economy of Ukraine for 2010-2020 were computed. The results of the assessment allowed to identify, firstly, the state of financial security of the analyzed industries; secondly, the dynamic characteristics of changes in the level of financial security of priority sectors of the national economy; thirdly, the measure of differentiation in the state of financial security among the analyzed types of economic activity; fourthly, to form conclusions regarding the factors influencing the parameters of financial security of priority sectors of the national economy of Ukraine; fifthly, to determine the strategic directions and develop a set of the State policy instruments focused on strengthening financial security, taking into account the existing specifics for agriculture, industry, construction and transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities of Ukraine. Prospects for further scientific research in the analyzed sphere relate to the formation of recommendations regarding the linking of the results of the accomplished analysis with the formation of actions in the field of strengthening the financial-economic security of priority sectors of the Ukrainian economy.


With cohesive made by improved mixture of hydrated organic silicone and inorganic sodium silicate solution as basic material,using contract aluminum phosphate as condensate,via adding functional spackle such as hollow pottery micro-bead and metal aluminium powder,heat insulating and preserving coatings can be produced,which is prominent at tolerating high temperature up to 600 ℃.


Davies shows that a sociology of gender is indispensable to an adequate history of this particular area. The two concluding articles are concerned with the incomes and social standing of English physicians in the late medieval period, and (idiosyncratically ?) with Goya's paintings of asylums and their inmates. The former of these by the formidable Ms Rawcliffe is careful and systematic, and adds to our knowledge of the structure and effects of patronage control in medicine. The latter, by the art historian Jane Kromm, compares Goya's representation of 'the mad' and their institutionalization with other work, and shows how Goya was able to challenge social and pictorial conventions with respect to the insane. The most obvious flaw in Kromm's paper, ironically, is a visual one but not of her


The aim of this research is to explore the relationship of brand image and advertisement towards decision to become a customer on Bank BNI Batam Branch. A hundred respondents of people who have become a customer on Bank BNI Batam Branch have been chosen in the field of research in Batam, Indonesia. The methode instrument was using questionnaires and made up of five variables. The questionnaires distributed were made up of three variables, where two were independent variables and one was dependent variable. By using multiple regression analysis, it is found that each independent variable has strong correlation with the single variable. it can be concluded that the brand image and advertisement have a positive relationship.


The notion of Echelon spaces was introduced by Köthe [2] as a means of constructing sequence spaces by taking the intersection of multiples of I1 (see below for definitions). The definition was extended by Dieudonné and Gomes [l] to include lp for \^p< °o. It is the purpose of this note to consider the case, p = co. AH of the terminology defined below is due to Köthe. A sequence of complex numbers whose tth coordinate is Xi will be denoted by x or (xi). A sequence of sequences such that the ¿th coordinate of the &th sequence is xf will be denoted by (xw). If x, y are sequences and a is a complex number, we denote the pointwise sum, pointwise product and pointwise scalar product by x+y, xy, ax respectively. If each yi is different from zero, we define the pointwise quotient, x/y. If A is a set of sequences, then xA = {xy \ y EA }. We define an ordering which is compatible with these arithmetic operations by taking as positive cone, P = {x\ x.-^O for all i and x<^0 for at least one i}. The symbol, X, will denote a set of sequences which is a vector space under the above operations. Given X, we define its a-dual, Xx= {u |xGX=>£<11 \xiUi\ < «J}. The relation, (x, u) — £41i xíUí places X, Xx in duality. For example, if lúpúTM and we let l" = {x I £<-i I *»'| "< °° } Of P = °° i the sum is replaced by the sup), then if \ = lp, \x = l" where l/p+l/q = l. The vector space, X, is said to be perfect if X =XXX. It is easy to see that Xx is always perfect. If A is a set of sequences, we define the normal hull An={x\ ByEA3\xi\ á|y<| for alii}. If A=An, then A is said to be normal. Since X, Xx are in duality, we may speak of simply bounded subsets of X. Now Xx is clearly normal and from this it follows that the normal hull of a simply bounded set is simply bounded (as a subset of Xxx perhaps, if X is not normal). Let (aw) be a sequence of sequences such that af>0 for all i, k and a(i) ^a(*+1). If 1 ̂ p^ », we define the Echelon space of order p corresponding to (ak) to be,


By estimating the weight function,a new Hilbert-type integral inequality with homogeneous kernel of real number degree is given.The equivalent inequality and the reverse forms are considered.


Diabetes during infancy is uncommon and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) is the recommended treatment with such young children. However, this form of treatment has not been investiga ...


A 1.8 V 1 mW single-loop third-order delta sigma modulator is presented for audio applications, which achieves 85.1 dB SNDR in 20 kHz signal bandwidth with a sampling frequency of 5.12 MHz. The modulator is implemented by using the fully differential switched-capacitor circuit to compose a discrete-time system. The cascade of integrators with feedforward summation architecture is used to reduce the performance of the amplifier, so the amplifier is enabled to decrease the power dissipation. By considering the characteristics of the modulator, an operational amplifier is designed with low-quiescent current. The chip is implemented in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process with the area of 0.24-mm2.


The purpose of this research was to examine college students' conceptions of learning computer science and approaches to learning computer science and to examine the relationships among these two important constructs and possible moderating factors. Student data (N = 193) were collected using the conceptions of learning computer science and the approaches to learning computer science surveys at one public research institution in the southeastern United States. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis models, internal consistency reliability, Pearson correlations, stepwise multiple regression models, and Multivariate Analysis of Variance models. The results suggest that college students most favorably employ a deep strategy approach for learning computer science in which prior knowledge is activated and meaningful learning strategies are used. College students appear to be more extrinsically motivated to learn computer science than intrinsically. Higher level learning conceptions are associated with a deep strategy approach to learning (e.g., Seeing in a new way) whereas low-level conceptions are associated with a surface strategy (e.g., Memorizing) approach to learning. Male college students have slightly higher conceptions of programming than their female counterparts. The findings are discussed and both limitations and delimitations of the study are enumerated.


This paper discusses a new structured light technique sing multi-valued pseudo-random color encoded grid atterns. This encoding completely solves the point dentification problem allowing for an absolute dentification of both the lineand column-index of any ndividual grid node projected on a surface. The use of ulti-valued sequences instead of binary sequences has he notable advantage of a more compact encoding which ventually leads to higher measurement precision.


Introduction 1. From Walking Wombs to Test--Tube Babies: Ann Oakley Thomas Coram Research Unit. 2. New Techniq ues and Old Controversies (the focus of public concern over AID and IVF): Naomi Pfeffer University of Essex. 3. Infertility and Health Care for Women: Lesley Doyal North London Polytechnic. 4. Surrogacy: Juliette Zipper University of Amsterdam and Selma Sevenhuijsen University of Amsterdam. 5. Fetal Image s: Ultrasound and Reproductive Consciousness: Rosalind Petchesky Bryn Mawr College. 6. Paternity a nd Maternity: Carol Smart University of Warwick. 7. Embryo Righ ts and Reproductive Rights: Janet Gallagher Hampshire College. 8. Deconstruct ion of Motherhood: Michelle Stanworth, Cambridge College of Arts and Technology. 9. Victorian V alues in the Test--Tube: Science and Womena s Subordination: Hilary Rose University of Bradford.


Neural networks have been shown capable of learning arbitrary input-output mappings. However, like most machines learning algorithms, neural networks are adversely affected by sparse training sets, especially with respect to generalization performance. Several approaches to improve generalization performance when only sparse training data are available have been suggested. These include adding noise to training data or to weight updates. One method by Karystinos and Pados first clusters the training data and then generates new training data using a probability density function estimated from the clusters. This paper investigates this method further, especially with respect to the sensitivity of the method to the clustering procedure. We investigate the sensitivity to the number of clusters used by the clustering method, the sensitivity to the clustering method (K-means) itself, and also the use of the minimum differential entropy as an indicator for good cluster choice.


Abstract: All laboratories needs temperature measurement and monitoring system. Instead of noting down every reading using an analog device, the implementation of digital data logging is a better and in-situ way. The temperature data is read from the sensor and it is been logged into an Excel file. In our lab this setup provides very good alternative for existing analog thermometers. The Raspberry Pi Temperature sensor kit provides low cost, and consistent temperature measuring solution.


This article examines the protection of personal data in the side of the Contract and the management of personal data divided into the collection,...


We develop a model for random-phase matching which takes into account effects of random crystal orientation and grain size fluctuations and show that for ultrafast interactions, random-phase matching can be as efficient as quasi-phase matching. © 2019 The Author(s)


Objective:To understand the status and demand of subsistence and health care of floating children in Fengtai District, provide a scientific basis for the management of health care service for the floating children and carrying out the service such as the resident children.Methods:A survey was conducted on the 950 parents of floating children aged 0~6 years old face to face by a questionnaire.Results:The most of the parents' education level and the income level were lower. The proportion of floating family with month income 2 500 yuan was 70.30%. 70.39% of the floating children received the health examination,but only 36.43% of them received systemic health care.The proportions of the parents considered that health examination was necessary and hoped to understand the knowledge of the health care of children were 81.20 % and 93.62%. The accepted health care service cost for floating children was 37 yuan.Conclusion:There is significant difference in current situation of health care between the floating children and the resident children,but the floating children have the requirement of consummate health care service. The health care service cost for floating children should be reduced, appropriate health service and further management of health care of floating children should be enforced.


In an earlier communication in this series (l), it was shown t.hst, when desoxycorticosterone is incubated with surviving rat liver slices, rapid loss of the conjugated unsaturat,ed system (the 3-keto-A4 structure) occurs. As evidence that this loss is reductive, we briefly indicated that, following the large scale incubat.ion of this st,eroid with rat liver slices, allopregnane3p,21-diol-20-one was isolated ilr approximately 24 per cent yield. The purpose of the present report is to describe this experiment in detail. In addition to the reduction product noted above, three other allopregnane metabolites were obtained. These are allopregnane-21-ol-3,20-dione, allopregnane-30,20,21-triol, and the new steroid, allopregnane-3cy, 21-diol-20one.


quality of Shumaker's dry advocacy, the book could have provided a clearer sense of the superintendent's fussy and insistent lobbying techniques (characteristics that sometimes even irritated Shumaker's national AntiSaloon League colleagues) to better explain the personal bitterness often expressed by Shumaker's frustrated opponents. That shortcoming, however, is overcome by Lantzer's analytical insight into the Gilliom–Shumaker controversy. The dispute was not simply fueled by personal pique, but rather represented "the splintering of dry culture" (154). By the late 1920s, the inadequacies of national prohibition were apparent. "Hard-line drys, such as Shumaker, were becoming more rigid about enforcement and frustrated at the failure of full compliance and prosecution of the law," Lantzer observes. "Moderate drys, such as Gilliom, were seeking to modify existing laws in order to subvert wet calls for repeal or nullification" (154). In short, the quest for a dry majority had broken apart in ways that reflected the pluralistic nature of modern American society and politics. "Prohibition Is Here to Stay" is more successful as a study of statelevel dry activism (and its religious moorings) than it is as an examination of national prohibition, but Lantzer confirms the value of detailed local history in reconstructing the larger historical landscape.


Introduction: Echocardiography is often used in the evaluation of pediatric chest pain but incidence of uncovered cardiac pathology is low. In 2014, the American College of Cardiology published app...


Abstract Background: Previous clinical trials indicated that duloxetine may be effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) pain. This meta-analysis is conducted to evaluate short term analgesic effect and safety of duloxetine in the treatment of OA. Methods: Electronic databases were searched in February 2019, including PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science. All eligible studies should be randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing duloxetine treatment group to placebo about OA pain relief and safety outcomes. Results: Five RCTs with 2059 patients were involved in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Compared to placebo, duloxetine treatment showed significant better result, with higher reduction pain intensity (mean difference [MD] = –0.77, P < .00001), higher rates of both 30% and 50% reduction in pain severity (risk ratio [RR] = 1.42, P < .00001; RR = 1.62, P < .00001), lower mean Patient Global Improvement-Inventory (PGI-I) score (MD = –0.48, P < .00001). The results of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) score change from baseline to endpoint also favored duloxetine treatment group in all four categories, including total (MD = –5.43, P < .00001), pain (MD = –1.63, P = .001), physical function (MD = –4.22, P < .00001), and stiffness score (MD = –0.58, P < .00001). There were higher rates of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) (RR = 1.32, P < .00001) and discontinuation (RR = 1.88, P < .00001) in duloxetine group. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of severe adverse events (SAEs) between these 2 groups (RR = 0.84, P = .68). Conclusion: Duloxetine was an effective and safe choice to improve pain and functional outcome in OA patients. However, further studies are still needed to find out the optimal dosage for OA and examine its long-term efficacy and safety. Trial registration number: CRD42019128862


Through reviewing literature and logic analysis,this paper explores the reason for national martial arts replacing martial arts,discusses its connotation and value during the period of the Republic of China,finding that national martial arts results from the evolution of the modern spirit of advocating martial arts.The traditional name thought provides national martial arts with the ideological basis.National martial arts,focusing on the word of national,improves the social status of martial arts,which is not only the summary of the traditional martial arts,but also puts forward new requirements of martial arts in that social context.National martial arts combines the features of martial arts and the nationalism thoughts advocating self-improving and defending motherland,strengthening all peoples and country.It makes martial arts beyond its own value and become the symbol of national spirit.The new thought of national martial arts steers martial arts towards body building and science,extends the development space of martial arts,speeds up the martial arts communication.


We modify the algebraic structure of a Poisson bialgebra by considering the deformed coproduct and deformations of an algebra e(2). These modifications lead to the quantum groups and provide new classes of completely integrable Hamiltonian systems.


Nanocellulose crystal (NCC) was prepared from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) by hydrolysis with sulfuric acid.The effect of the sulfuric acid concentration,reaction temperature and hydrolysis time on the yield of NCC was analyzed.On the other hand,the optimized test parameters were achieved by conducting orthogonal experiment.The morphology and size distribution of microcrystalline cellulose and nanocellulose crystal were characterized by field emission gun environment scanning electron microscopes (ESEM-FEG) and field emission transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM).The results showed that with the sulfuric acid concentration 56%,reaction temperature 40 ℃ and the hydrolysis time 90 min,the yied of NCC is the highest,up to 55.40%,and the nanocellulose crystal observed by means of ESEM-PEG turns out to be rod-like.Moreover,the size of NCC decreases signficantly,compared with MCC.The diameter of NCC is about 2-24 nm,with the length of 50-450 nm.


Sales nowadays is mostly done on credit, so companies need to implement an outstanding credit sales accounting system that can provide information needs by the company. Accounting system is needed to help controlled it. If there are no controls in credit sales accounting system, doubtful accounts will be increasing, and that will be a threat for a company. PT. TAB branch of Cirebon have a problems in doubtful accounts. From the results of this research, it happened because of PT. TAB Cirebon branch does not have credit sales accounting information systems are inadequate because there is no credit functions and billing functions are very important for credit sales procedure. The author suggest a development of accounting information system with several changes in its system and procedures so a loss on doubtful account can be minimized.


Language is binary opposition of the dominant and the latent which is the inexorable law of language existence and development.Abbreviation,as a language phenomenon,of course,bears such an inexorable law.This paper analyses the phenomenon by means of theories of the dominant and the latent.


We discuss a realization of the non-abelian group O(2) as a family symmetry for the lepton sector. The reflection contained in O(2) acts as a μ-τ interchange symmetry, enforcing—at tree level—maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing and a vanishing mixing angle θ13. The small ratio mμ/mτ (muon over tau mass) gives rise to a suppression factor in the mass of one of the pseudoscalars of the model. We argue that such a light pseudoscalar does not violate any experimental constraint.


Objective
To study the repair effect of medial patellar ligament under arthroscopy in the treatment of traumatic patellar instability.

Methods
Twenty patients with traumatic patellar instability treated in our hospital from October, 2017 to October, 2018 were selected as the observation objects. Arthroscopy was performed on the patients during the operation, and the relationship between patella trajectory and joint dynamic matching was evaluated. The sites of the patients' injury were determine and repaired. After the operation, the knee joint function was evaluated by Laresn score after regular rehabilitation and two years' follow up.

Results
The patellar suitable angle and lateral patellar angle were (6.75±2.84)° and (12.5±2.11)° after the operation, which were significantly better than those before the operation (both P<0.05). The Larsen score was (86.85±4.52) after the operation, which was higher than that before the operation (P<0.05). No patella dislocation occurred during the follow-up.

Conclusion
Repair of medial patellar ligament is effective in the treatment of traumatic patellar instability, and there is no patellar redislocation. Arthroscopy plays an important auxiliary role in the process of operation.

Key words:
Arthroscopy; Medial patellar ligament; Traumatic patellar instability; Repair effect


Developers need to put lots of time and effort to reuse the code snippets retrieved by the existing code search engines. The reason is that these engines do not provide self-executable, functionally correct and easily understandable code snippets as search results. Developers manually resolve all the dependencies to make the code snippets executable in their development contexts. They have to write and execute the same test cases many times to check the correctness of the code fragments. In this paper, a technique has been proposed that converts each method in a code base into self-executable method (i.e., program slice) by resolving method calls, data and library dependencies. To ensure that the methods are functionally correct, automatic test scripts are generated and executed for each self-executable method based on the branch, statement, and path coverage. The understandability of the code fragments is increased by replacing irrelevant textual keywords with relevant words. All the self-executable code fragments are indexed using traditional Information Retrieval approach. So, when a user query is submitted, the technique will retrieve self-executable and functionally correct code snippets.


Risk investment is of great significance to overcome the fund insufficiency of high and new technology industry, accelerate the conversion of high and new technology achievements to the physical productivity, cultivate the industry groups of high and new technology, and promote the development of science and technology zones. To quicken the development of risk investment in China, the first order of things is to create a better market economy environment, secondly, to build a diversity of systems for risk investment and fund raising, lastly, to establish and perfect a motivation mechanism for risk investment development and guide the social fund to flow into the risk investment.


In summary, artificial intelligence and ML algorithms are changing our lives. These technologies will have significant impact on healthcare in the next decade. Although these algorithms may not replace physicians and researchers, it will definitely aid them in providing better care/research that can improve patient lives. As Oren Harari once said: "The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles." If we really want to have a significant impact on healthcare in the future, we need to start embracing the impact of these technologies and learn how to use and integrate them into our daily workflow.


The amount of video content available on the Web is constantly growing, especially due to the increasing popularity of Video on Demand (VoD) platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Youtube. This has made it harder for viewers to discover the right visual content for them. Recommender systems are being offered by VoD services in order to automatically suggest potentially interesting videos to users. However, recommendations are typically based on: (i) limited video metadata fields, such as genre, title and actors; (ii) the content that other users liked; (iii) private or isolated data repositories. In this paper we describe our approach leveraging the richness of semantic technologies to enrich movie metadata, and create meaningful semantically-enriched descriptions of movie scenes using video and audio processing techniques. This approach allows for the creation of a structured and interoperable Knowledge Graph (KG) describing movies and their content. This KG can be easily interlinked with existing Linked Data datasets available on the Web, resulting in a more comprehensive representation of the movies. Our approach enables seamless integration with existing data sources and fine-grained data analysis of movie content at Web scale.


15000 Background: We compared upfront surgery to upfront chemotherapy in patients with advanced EOC (stage IIIC and IV (pleural effusion only). Factors- optimum debulking (residual disease ≤1cm) rate, surgical morbidity, chemotherapy toxicity, survival and quality of life (QOL) were analyzed.

METHODS
Between Oct.2001 and Oct. 2005, 90 newly diagnosed patients with advanced EOC have been randomized to upfront surgery followed by six cycles of paclitaxel + carboplatin (TC) (Arm A) or upfront chemotherapy - 3 cycles (TC) followed by surgery then 3 more cycles of TC. Eligibility criteria included- age 18 to 65 years, biopsy or cytological proven diagnosis of EOC and adequate hematological, renal, liver and cardiac functions. Upper and lower GI endoscopy and serum CEA was done in all patients to rule out GIT primary. QOL was assessed using FACT-O questionnaire at baseline, postop, post 3 cycles and post 6 cycles chemotherapy.

RESULTS
78 of 90 patients have completed the treatment. Among 74 evaluable patients, optimal debulking rate was higher in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy arm (83% vs 13%, p < .001). Blood loss during surgery (340 ml vs.485 ml, p < . 008), mean operating time (69 minutes vs. 77 minutes, p = 0.22), post op infection rate (3% vs 17.5%, p < .07), & hospital stay (9 days vs. 12.4 days, P = 0.04) were lower in the chemotherapy arm. Operative mortality was higher in upfront surgery arm (7.7% vs 3.3%, p = .38). QOL score was higher post 3 cycles and post 6 cycles in the upfront chemotherapy arm (p < . 0001). Grade III-IV GI toxicity (4.5% vs 3.8%) and myelo-suppression (7% vs 9%) was similar in two arms. At a median follow up of 33 months, Overall (41 vs 42 months) & progression-free survival (35.3 vs 29 months,p = ns) are not significantly different in upfront chemotherapy vs upfront surgery arms, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Upfront chemotherapy in advanced EOC results in significantly higher optimum debulking rate with reduced surgical morbidity and mortality, Quality of life score was also higher. Present study favors role of "upfront chemotherapy" in patients likely to have residual disease >1cm and higher morbidity with upfront surgery. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


Antioxidant peptides are widely used in many fields due to their biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-induction and anti-aging. However, little information is available concerning the peptides production by enzymatic hydrolysis of casein from goat milk. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the conditions of the hydrolysis of goat milk casein by proteases (alcalase in combination with papain) to increase the antioxidant activity of the peptides. The results showed that the optimal hydrolysis conditions were as follows: temperature of 61°C, enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S) of 5.6%, and protease ratio (papain: alcalase) of 1.8:1. Under the optimal conditions, the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity significantly increased (1.17 folds compared to un-optimized conditions). Furthermore, Fe2+ chelating ability and superoxide radical scavenging activity increased 1.02 folds and 1.14 folds, respectively. The antioxidant activity was significantly improved after optimization and provided a basis for the study of the antioxidant effects of hydrolysed goat milk casein.


The invention has for its object to improve a floor for rail vehicles such that a leveled, step-free reference plane for the floor structure by a simple, easy to mount tolerance compensation of the shell deviations in the longitudinal and transverse direction and in the height as a pure form-fitting connection between the floor plate and the car body floor panel is made possible. DOLLAR A This object is achieved in that the retaining profile (6) is designed as a profile, in which is arranged a recess (13) for receiving a connecting element (14) and at least one blind bore (7) is provided, in which an elastic pressingly engages spacer (8) with a plug-in extension (10) to compensate for existing differences in level between the floor plate and the bottom profile plate form-locking, whereby the positive fit between the blind hole arranged (7) and the plug-in extension (10) perpendicular to the form-locking between the profile strip (4) and the retaining profile (6) is.


The effect of a flow obstruction was experimentally investigated on the minimum thickness of a water film formed on the outer surface of the inner tube of concentric double tubes, through an annular cross section of which air-water two-phase mixture flows vertically upward. The flow patterns concerned are slug, froth and annular flows. Two kinds of obstructions were used in this experiment ; one is a ring type obstruction and the other is a thin circular tube type spacer. The liquid film thickness is drastically decreased by the existence of a flow obstruction, i.e., to about 40 μm. The film thinning process and the dependency of film thickness upon flow patterns are found to be quite similar to those on the inner wall of a single circular tube with an obstruction . Furthermore, an increase in minimum film thickness near an obstruction is observed resulting from the existence of an upstream obstruction.


Ballen quartz is a spherical aggregate that is typical for impactites. Previous studies of ballen quartz in different impact structures have revealed the presence of Fe, K, Al, Mg, and Ca in the contact zone between individual ballen only. In the present study, we describe ballen quartz found in a sample from a Jänisjärvi impact structure with a high concentration of Al2O3 (up to 4.56 wt.%), FeO (6.43 wt.%), and MgO (2.12 wt.%) in individual ballen. Microbeam methods: EPMA (Electron Probe Microanalysis), EDS (Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy), BSE (Back-scattered Electrons), EBSD (Electron Backscatter Diffraction), CL (Cathodoluminescence), and Raman spectroscopy were used to understand the atypical compositions of ballen quartz and its formation processes. Ballen quartz in our sample consists of unaltered quartz (domain A), which was formed as a result of shock heating, and hydrothermally altered quartz (domain B). The abundance of Fe, Mg, and Al in domain B is associated with submicron-sized inclusions of chlorite or other Fe-Mg minerals. Misorientations in subgrains in ballen quartz type A and B reach 1° and 7°, respectively. The micrometer-sized orientational inhomogeneity in ballen quartz type B is comparable in size to the micrometer-sized blocks separated by the grid of microfractures. The new data obtained expand the diversity of the ballen quartz studied and could be used for an understanding the mechanisms of their formation.


In an attempt to simulate aging tritides, samples of Er3H1.8 were implanted with 4He shortly after being loaded with tritium. Two implant schedules were used which were designed to give uniform implants of 0.13 4He/Er and 0.20 4He/Er. After approximately 150 days, the 3He from the decayed tritium and the 4He were desorbed by thermal ramping from room temperature to 1200 K. The concentration of 3He before desorption was 0.044 3He/Er. The results are compared with similar experiments performed on aged erbium tritides in which the 3He/Er was ? 0.31. In the case of the ion‐implanted samples, more than 99% of the desorbed helium is contained in a peak at 1130 K, whereas for the aged samples, two large desorption peaks are seen at 400 and 1100 K.


This study describes the effects of a program designed to train Dutch primary school teachers in skills needed to coach and act as mentors for beginning teachers. The study investigated whether mentors who participated in the training program would implement the target coaching skills and whether the beginning teachers coached by the mentors would perceive a change in mentors' coaching skills. An experimental group included 15 trained mentors and their beginning teachers. A control group included seven untrained mentors and their beginning teachers. The training involved a comprehensive manual and a 2-day workshop. Participants received the manual to study before the workshop. Prior to the training, each mentor conducted an audiotaped coaching conference with a beginning teacher. After the training, trained and untrained mentors again conducted audiotaped coaching conferences with the same beginning teachers. Coaching skills of trained and untrained mentors were rated by expert judges and by the beginning teachers. Beginning teachers also estimated the effects of the coaching on their own practice. Analysis of the judges' observations indicated there was a significant treatment effect for the coaching skills related to the development of autonomy, feedback, and encouragement of self-reflection. Preand post-training ratings from the beginning teachers showed no significant treatment effects, as the beginning teachers rated their mentors' coaching skills very favorably at pretest. (Contains 27 references.) (SM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************************************


Lasing characteristics of InP/InGaAsP DFB-BH LDs, which show a two longitudinal mode operation on both sides of the stop band in as-fabricated state, have been remarkably improved and made into a single longitudinal mode operation by shifting the light phase about π/4 at the facet. The light phase was shifted by changing the relative position of the cleaved facet and the grating. Ion beam etching and dielectric film coating were successfully applied for this purpose.


Jungho Kim,1 Sunghoon Jung,2 M. S. Park,3 Sung-Ik Lee,3 H. D. Drew,4 H. Cheong,5 K. H. Kim,1 and E. J. Choi2,* 1School of Physics, Center for Strongly Correlated Materials Research, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea 2Department of Physics, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743, Republic of Korea 3National Creative Research Initiative Center for Superconductivity and Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea 4Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA 5Department of Physics, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Republic of Korea Received 23 April 2006; revised manuscript received 28 June 2006; published 29 August 2006


Abstract This essay draws on Marxist thinking to argue that equity is essential to the social reproduction of finance capital. Equitable doctrines can be seen as assemblages that define and reproduce the way in which money, people and property relate to each other. Assemblages of equity/capital are ideological complexes – ways of being, thinking and acting that effectively legitimize a particular mode of production. The role that equity plays in the functioning of a regime of profit making is effectively concealed from the student of the subject. Feminist scholars have perhaps been the most successful in drawing attention to the "hidden" patriarchal logic of the subject. However, unless feminist insights are linked to an understanding of the social reproduction of capital, we cannot appreciate how modes of capital accumulation operate under cover of the legitimizing effects of equitable doctrines.


under lab conditions , studied the atmosphere CO2 effect of elevated concentrations on the filtration function of the lowest-equal multicellular animal sponge . in mock atmosphere CO2 Elevated concentrations of ecosystems , review CO2 concentration for 387, , 750, 1000 mg/l under the environment , Lush film Sponge Hy-meniacidonperlevis Stop sterilization of total organic carbon in seawater ( TOC) Capabilities . results show : in impersonation CO 2 concentration is 387 , , 750, 1000 mg/l under the condition of , Lush film sponge in H Clear seawater inside TOC The efficiency of IS 8% ,67.6% , 50.0% and 15.4%, in the 24h to TOC The average drag retention rate for is (1.90±0.20 , ( 2.13±0.06 , ( 1.69±0.08 , ( 0.43± 0.11 mgkh-g Sponge ), The average purge rate is ( 0.025±0.002 , ( 0.033±0.001 , ( 0.019±0.001 , ( 0.004± 0.001 mlkh.g sponge ), See , Atmosphere CO2 concentration from approximately 387 mg/l elevated to mg/l , promotes lush film sponges prevent seawater from being in the sea TOC Ability , When the concentration is elevated to 750 mg/l , suppresses the lush membrane sponge to stay TOC Capabilities , When the concentration is further elevation to 1000 mg/l , The causes the lush membrane sponge to almost lose its resistance to the seawater. TOC Capabilities . This study can be used for atmospheric 匚 ㊀: concentration The elevation of the effect of the sponge filtration function of intertidal zone and its possible ecological problems in nearshore waters .


The invention discloses an SOI (silicon on insulator) device for restraining the current leakage of a back gate arising from radiation and a preparation method thereof. The SOI device disclosed by the invention comprises a semiconductor substrate, a buried oxide layer, a semiconductor body area, a gate area, a source area, a drain area, a gate-side wall and an LDD (laser detector diode) area, wherein two insulating and protecting layers for preventing the generation of leakage paths are introduced in the semiconductor body area, and the insulating and protecting layers are positioned right above the buried oxide layer in the semiconductor body area and respectively tightly adjacent to the source area and the drain area. Because the band gap of each insulating and protecting layer in the invention is far greater than that of a silicon material, the movement of an inversion electron between the source area and the drain area needs to overcome a great barrier height, and an inversion conductive channel of the back gate is hard to form, thereby restraining the occurrence of current leakage of the back gate in the process of radiation. According to the invention, based on a conventional process for SOI devices, the preparation method is simple, and no photolithography mask is required to be introduced; and meanwhile, because the insulating and protecting layers do not extend to a whole back gate channel, the influence on the threshold voltage of a front gate is reduced.


Hieroglyphus nigrorepletus, a common Indian acridid, is one of the serious pests of Andropogon sorghum, Pennisetum typhoideum, and Saccharum officinale. In view of the fact that some work has already been done on the breeding habits of this grasshopper, by Roonwal (1945), only copulatory and egg-laying habits have been dealt with in detail in this paper.


25 Background: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between socioeconomic factors and gastric cancer (GC) outcome in a cohort of patients in Michigan. Methods: We reviewed data for patients enrolled in the Michigan Cancer Surveillance Program, with diagnosis between 1990 and 2014 and follow up through 2016. Data extracted were age and stage at diagnosis, gender, race, zip code (as a proxy for family income), receipt of treatments, and survival status at last follow up. The poverty level (PL) was defined as average income by zip code < $24,600. Statistical comparisons were assessed by chi-square tests in contingency tables, by the log-rank test for survival, and Poisson regression for incidence rate comparisons. Results: We identified 10,828 GC patients (22.39% below PL, 64.64% between PL and 200% PL, 12.98% above 200% PL) with complete data for analysis. By race/ethnicity, 68.12% non-Hispanic blacks, 21.05% American Indian/Alaska Natives, 8.59% Asian/Pacific Islanders, 23.83% Hispanics, and 12.63% non-Hispanic whites lived in areas with average income below PL. The socioeconomic status by race among GC patients was significantly different (p < 0.0001). There was significant association of socioeconomic status and receipt of treatments. Patients living in areas below PL tended to have less information available about treatment received: unknown compared to no radiation (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.30-1.63), unknown compared to no chemotherapy (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.23-1.57), unknown compared to no surgery (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.32-1.69). There was no significant relationship between stage at diagnosis and socioeconomic status (p = 0.153). The Poisson regression results showed that as average income increased in $10,000 increments in the area, incidence of gastric cancer is expected to decrease by 0.0642 (p < 0.0001). As income in the area increases by $10,000, risk of death is expected to decrease (HR 0.977, p = 0.0025). Conclusions: In Michigan, socioeconomic factors are associated with race, incidence of GC, receipt of treatments, and survival, but not stage at diagnosis.


The article examines the different approaches of scientists to determine the essence of the interdisciplinary approach to the professional training of future teachers. Features of its realization in methodical preparation of the future teacher of labor training and technologies are revealed. It is determined that the application of the interdisciplinary approach in the methodological training of future teachers of labor education and technology can increase students' motivation to study disciplines of methodological direction, to thoroughly understand the laws, patterns and principles of teaching, application of knowledge in practice; provide an opportunity to present already known educational material in another way; to increase the level of creativity and independence of future teachers of labor education and technology to increase their level of education; to ensure the integration of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities into one whole and the perception of the acquired, throughout the training, material in inseparable unity; to provide cooperation between teachers of disciplines of pedagogical and methodical cycles during preparation of new subjects, helps to consider their various aspects avoiding duplication of educational material; teachers of disciplines of pedagogical and methodical cycles to update their content; to ensure the selection of educational material for the formation of students' methodological competence; qualitatively prepare classes aimed at developing creative potential and stimulating professional growth of teachers. It is pointed out that the advantage of interdisciplinary approach in methodological training is more effective implementation of certain principles of organization of educational process in higher education, which include both general didactic principles and principles that reflect the specifics of methodological training of teachers of labor training and technology. It is noted that the specifics of the interdisciplinary approach is reflected in the methods and forms of organizing methodological training of future teachers of education «Technology». It is emphasized that the methodological training of future teachers of labor education and technology in the context of an interdisciplinary approach, deepens the understanding of higher education students the specifics of their future professional activities. Key words: teacher of labor education and technologies, interdisciplinary approach, applicant for higher education, methodological competence, methodological training, principles of teaching.


ABSTRACT. The major challenges in road infrastructure studies are related to the evaluation of the road pavement quality in a practical, non-destructive, and low-cost way. Information about the thickness of the layers is fundamental to pavement repairing. In this study, the applicability of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) method in the delimitation of the pavement layer is tested at the Shallow Geophysical Test Site Applied to Engineering of Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG). The ground penetrating radar presents satisfactory results, identifying the top and bottom of the first five layers by the 270, 400, and 900 MHz antennas. The 2 GHz antenna was able to only delimit the top and bottom of the Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA). The geomembrane with geotextile set and the concrete layer were not identified in the radargrams. The resolution of each antenna is 9.8 cm for 270 MHz; 6.0 cm for 400 MHz; 2.9 for 900 MHz; and 1.6 cm for 1600 MHz. Concerning layer thickness estimates, the antennas had an efficiency percentage of 83 % (270 and 1600 MHz), 83.29 % (400 MHz), and 84.40 % (900 MHz). Layer thickness estimates obtained by GPR antennas were compared with true thickness using a paired t-test (α= 0.05). No significant differences in layer thickness were observed for the GPR antennas versus the actual pavement thickness.Keywords: GPR; geosynthetics; road investigation; shallow geophysical test site; non-destructive testing.


Background : An essential part of a nursing curriculum is an accurate clinical assessment of nursing students' skills. The objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is the modified version of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) used for a summative assessment of practical knowledge and skills in nursing education. Aim: The current study was undertaken to evaluate the performance and feedback of undergraduate nursing students about OSPE. Methods : A cross sectional study design was carried out on the students who participated in the OSPE, which was done at the Faculty of Nursing, Tanta University, Egypt. The study included students enrolled in fundamental, medical surgical, critical care nursing, obstetric, and pediatric nursing course. 100 students from each branch were asked to fill structured questionnaire after OSPE. Results : Overall there were no significant differences in the mean score of students' opinion in relation to the structure and format of examination, conduct of examination, and evaluation of examination compared with the four departments (pediatric, obstetric, fundamental, medical surgical and critical care nursing) ( p = 1.000). Conclusions : Students in pediatric, obstetric, fundamental, medical surgical and critical care nursing departments preferred OSPE for evaluating clinical skills and perceived it as more organized, objective, structure, valid, and less anxious. Student's feedback was invaluable regarding need more time at each station. Also, students argued several suggestions for enhancing quality of OSPE in assessing process.


The Workshop on the Archaen mantle considers and discusses evidence for the nature of earth's Archaen mantle, including its composition, age and structure, influence on the origin and evolution of earth's crust, and relationship to mantle and crustal evolution of the other terrestrial planets. The summaries of presentations and discussions are based on recordings made during the workshop and on notes taken by those who agreed to serve as summarizers.


This article looks at the institutionalized and dependent patient in a day hospital setting. It suggests characteristics which may be observed in such patients and ways in which the environment and routine may have contributed to encouraging set patterns of behaviour with detrimental effect. The programme used at Purley Day Hospital shows how the individual needs of patients are taken into consideration to encourage self-confidence and independence.


With regard to carcinoma of the cervix: How effective is our present treatment? How many women today discovered to have this disease may hope to live ten years? How can we salvage a greater proportion of the 16,000 comparatively young women dying in this country every year of cervical cancer? Is the detection of carcinoma in situ the key to greater salvage? And last, what is carcinoma in situ? Is it an early manifestation of cancer or a reversible non-cancerous lesion?


Background. Acne is one of the most common chronic dermatoses, which occurs in almost 8590% of the population. The disease manifests itself as polymorphic eruptions and is characterized by a recurrent and torpid course. Acne treatment is constantly improving, requires an integrated approach and long courses of therapy.
Aims. To increase the effectiveness of acne therapy using new opportunities and promising methodological approaches using a combination of the therapeutic effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and topical bacteriophage therapy.
Materials and methods. The study included 30 patients with papulopustular acne of mild and moderate severity. Patients with mild acne were treated with PRP procedures as monotherapy. For moderate acne, PRP therapy was combined with regular applications of a staphylococcal bacteriophage (NPO Microgen, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). The treatment was carried out on an outpatient basis: at least 3 procedures with an interval of 12 weeks (up to a maximum of 6 procedures within one year). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the parametric Student's t-test. Data processing was carried out using the Biostat software. The value of the level of statistical significance of differences was taken as p 0.05.
Results. Evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment was carried out on the basis of an analysis of the immediate outcomes of the disease, the dynamics of clinical symptoms and the severity of acne: regression of inflammatory elements of acne, a decrease in the phenomenon of seborrhea, improvement of the skin relief. As a result of the therapy, a transition to remission was noted in 16.6% of patients, an improvement in their condition 36.7%, a significant improvement 46.7%.
Conclusions. An integrated approach combining PRP procedures and bacteriophage therapy can serve as a pathogenetically substantiated strategy for treating acne. A promising direction for further research is the development of new regimens and combinations of alternative therapeutic strategies using bacteriophages.


This paper proposes the method to develop domain ontology's DB, based on the ontology's DB, utilizes ontology's to annotate unstructured information and translate unstructured information into structured information, so that facilitates the retrieval of unstructured information. The experiment results show that rule-based retrieval has better recall and shorter retrieval time than fact-based retrieval and relationship -based retrieval.


With the allowance for a density dependent Coulomb logarithm the solution, for the two temperature soft photon comptonized disc with pairs becomes double-valued. Keeping the electronic temperature constant and varying α, a critical electronic temperature is obtained, below which pair equilibrium is possible.


The aim of the present study was to develop formulation of Furosemide to maintain constant therapeutic levels of the drug for over 12 hrs. Initially analytical method development was done for the drug molecule. Absorption maxima was determined based on that calibration curve was developed by using different concentrations. Then the formulation was developed by using different concentrations of polymers of various grades of HPMC and Guar gum. Gastroretentive floating beads of Furosemide were prepared with an aim to provide the drug for prolonged period of time in the stomach. All the formulations were passed various physicochemical evaluation parameters and they were found to be within limits Among all the formulations the formulations prepared by using Guar gum were in the concentration of 120mg (F4) showed maximum drug release 99.76% in 12 hours. Hence F4 formulation is optimized. It followed zero order release kinetics mechanism.


The authors use three duration models to estimate the effects of disability benefits on the hazard of returning to work and on the expected duration of work absences. The results show that disincentives exist even when disability benefits are not conditioned on the recipient remaining out of work. In addition, blacks and women are found to be absent longer than white men. Durations of work absences are also influenced by available wages, the type and severity of injury, the physical demands of the jobs for which the worker is qualified, and the willingness of employers to help the worker return to work. Copyright 1990 by MIT Press.


Atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to study in situ the change in slip bands during stress corrosion of brass in the ammonia solution prior to initiation of stress corrosion crack. The result showed that additive slip bands appeared ahead of a loaded notch tip during stress corrosion prior to initiation of stress corrosion crack after the constant deflection specimen was precrept for 48 h and then polished. The average height and spacing of slip bands generated during stress corrosion were about three times less or larger, respectively, than those during loading in air.


Totally preperitoneal laparoscopic hernioplasty has become more popular recently and will possibly replace the transabdominal preperitoneal procedure. This procedure, however, is more demanding for the surgeon, especially in large indirect hernias. We describe an alternative technique derived from Darzi's anterior endoscopic approach. To date, it has been used in 15 patients, all with good success. The technique results in a shorter operative time and is easier for the surgeon.


Many legumes have been trialled for establishment, persistence and productivity in the tussock grassland region of the South Island, New Zealand. This paper presents information on long-term persistence and growth based on a survey of surviving legume species from 45 previous plant accession trials, established over a range of sites and environments (predominantly dryland) throughout Otago and Canterbury. Sites were visited in January/February 2003 and identified plants were visually scored for several growth-related parameters. Most sites were open to stock grazing and all were affected by drought during the current growing season. Of the legume species that seed is not commercially available for in New Zealand, the most persistent and vigorous were: Lupinus polyphyllus, Trifolium medium, Coronilla varia, Dorycnium hirsutum, Melilotus alba and M. officinalis, Astragalus falcatus, T. canescens, D. pentaphyllum, and A. cicer. These plants may usefully supplement tussock grassland vegetation under environmental and management conditions including periodic drought and the moderate to light grazing experienced at most of the trial sites visited. This paper reviews growth and survival of those legumes, and provides a guide to species with potential for revegetation in dryland and semi-arid environments that warrant further research into site x management interactions and possibly commercial development.


A set of experiments has been undertaken to resolve questions about the cryoprotection factor afforded by cooling specimens in the electron microscope. Two specimens, an n‐alkane (paraffin) and bacterial purple membrane, were prepared and distributed to several laboratories. Radiation damage studies were carried out at these laboratories independently, but following a standard protocol as closely as possible. While it was not possible to make all measurements at all of the laboratories, sufficient data have been obtained to establish a general reproducibility in the overall features of the cryoprotection effect from room temperature to near 4.2 K.


Nampak Bevcan, Nampak's beverage can making division, is aiming to raise Nampak's current Corporate Social Investment (CSI for education) to R10 million this year through beverage can sales, reports Alex Bouwer, sales and marketing manager, NP Bevcan.


Objective: A multitude of factors promotes inflammation in the reproductive tract leading to preterm birth. Macrophages peak in the cervix prior to birth and their numbers are increased by the cytokine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). We hypothesize GM-CSF is produced from multiple sites in the genital tract and is a key mediator in preterm birth. Study Design: Ectocervical, endocervical, and amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the concentration and expression of GM-CSF was measured. Pregnant CD-1 mice on gestational day 17 received LPS and an intravenous injection of either anti-mouse GM-CSF or control antibody. After 6 hours, the preterm birth rate was recorded. Results: Treatment with LPS increased the GM-CSF concentration and messenger RNA expression after 24 hours in all 3 cell lines (P < .01). Mice treated with LPS and the GM-CSF antibody had a preterm birth rate of 25%, compared to a 66.7% preterm birth rate in controls, within 6 hours (P < .05, χ2). Treatment with the anti-mouse GM-CSF antibody decreased the concentration of GM-CSF in the mouse serum (P < .01) but did not alter the number of macrophages or collagen content in the cervix. Conclusion: These studies demonstrate that GM-CSF is produced from multiple sites in the genital tract and that treatment with an antibody to GM-CSF prevents preterm birth. Curiously, the anti-mouse GM-CSF antibody did not decrease the number of macrophages in the cervix. Further research is needed to determine whether antibodies to GM-CSF can be utilized as a therapeutic agent to prevent preterm birth.


Students need good visualisation skills to perform well in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). However, two preliminary studies conducted with six teachers and fifty (50) Year 4 students at a local school showed that most of them are facing difficulties in visualizing 3D objects. From these findings and review of literature, we proposed a conceptual model called 3D Spatial Visual Skills Training (3D SVST) model. The 3D SVST model was applied as a basis to develop an application to improve 3D visualisation skills among elementary school students using a floating image technology known as hologram pyramid. In this paper, we report the findings from evaluation of students' performance in visualisation skills test using 3D SVST application. Fifty (50) Year 4 students from a local school in the state of Selangor participated in the study. Two types of tests were conducted on students; 3D visualisation skills test using paper and 3D visualisation skills test using hologram pyramid. The tests include Paper Folding Task (PFT), Mental Rotating Task (MRT) and Virtual Building Component (VBC). The results show that students' visualisation skills improved when using the hologram pyramid application.  The study also found that students performed better in PFT but lower in MRT and VBC. From the findings, we can conclude that hologram pyramid has a positive impact on visualisation skills of students. Therefore, it has the potential to be used in classroom to complement other teaching and learning materials


Abstract Over a century and a half after the establishment of the first state educational institution dedicated to music in Iaşi – the School of Music and Declamation (1860) – the distinctive features of music education and the social and cultural phenomena involved can be perceived and analyzed. This study provides arguments to support the following features: 1. the openness to assimilate a variety of pedagogic and cultural influences, both from Europe and from Romania; 2. the role played by leading personalities, musicians – professors, in rising performance levels and in perpetuating the project; 3. valorizing Romanian music traditions - liturgical songs of Byzantine origin and regional folklore - through education (specializations, courses, creative activities and music performance); 4. the constant involvement of music education in concerts and musical performances in Iaşi.