Complexes of vinylene-bridged bis- and tris(octaethylporphyrin)s (bis(OEP)–M and tris(OEP)–M) with d8 transition-metal ions (M = Ni(II), Pd(II), and Pt(II)) were synthesized. Metalation of (E)-bis(OEP)–H2 was carried out under the same conditions as for the corresponding octaethylporphyrin complex (OEP–M), to afford a mixture of complexes bearing the vinylene-linkages with (E)- and (Z)-configurations. On the other hand, metalation of tris(OEP)–H2 afforded the single product of which two vinylene-linkages remained holding the same (E,E)-configuration as that in the free-base. 1H NMR spectra varied more drastically for (Z)-bis(OEP)–M, with respect to those of OEP–M, while electronic absorption spectra did more drastically for the (E)-isomers. Their electronic properties at the ground state were examined, proving that the interaction between the constituent OEP rings through the vinylene-linkages is more intensive for tris(OEP)–M than for bis(OEP)–M and more intensive for the Ni complex than for the Pd and P...


Using a recently developed perturbation formalism based on curvature quantities, we investigate the linear stability of black holes and solitons with Yang-Mills hair and a negative cosmological constant. We show that those solutions which have no linear instabilities under odd- and even-parity spherically symmetric perturbations remain stable under odd-parity, linear, non-spherically symmetric perturbations.


The antenna device (10, 40, 60) comprising: - a first antenna assembly (11, 41, 62) configured to receive first radio frequency signals polarized in a first polarization; - a second set of antenna (12, 42, 65) configured to receive second radio frequency signals polarized in a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization; and - a set of signal processing coupled radiofrequency antenna assemblies first (11, 41, 62) and second (12, 42, 65), and configured to treat the first radio frequency signals separately received the second signals RF received, wherein the first antenna assembly (62) comprises a plurality of directional printed antenna (63), and wherein the second antenna assembly (65) comprises a plurality of printed antenna omnidirectional metamaterial (66).


In Marr v Collie (Bahamas) [2017] UKPC 17, a Board of the Privy Council comprising Lord Neuberger, Lady Hale, and Lords Kerr, Wilson, and Sumption has interpreted Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17; [2007] 2 A.C. 432 in a way that many may find surprising. However, on close examination Marr is a clear and correct interpretation of Stack, dispelling misunderstandings by returning to its ratio.


N-glycolylated (NeuGc) gangliosides are not naturally expressed in normal human tissues but are overexpressed in several tumors and have immunosuppressive capacity, contributing to cancer progression. The present work shows the existence of a natural antibody response against NeuGcGM3 in healthy donors. These antibodies specifically recognized NeuGcGM3 and killed tumor cells expressing the antigen by a complement mediated mechanism. Interestingly, even after complement inactivation 17% of the positive sera showed a direct cytotoxic effect over the tumor cells. This cytotoxicity was dependent on the presence of the antigen on the tumor cell and resembles an oncotic necrosis kind of cell death. The levels of anti-NeuGcGM3 antibodies in the sera of healthy donors and the percentage of donors with this natural immunity decreases with age. Furthermore we could not detect this reactivity in the sera of 51 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients that matched in sex and age the assessed healthy donors. Interestingly the level of sera IgM, but not IgG, was significantly lower in cancer patients in comparison with healthy donors. Also, the capacity of patients B1 cells to spontaneously secrete IgM and to respond to DAMPs, like CpG, seems to be affected. Defects in the natural surveillance against tumor antigens could increase the risk of elderly donors to develop cancer and affect the capacity of cancer patients to effectively fight against them.


Gracilidris pombero Wild & Cuezzo, 2006 is an ant that remains poorly studied. Endemic from South America, its geographical distribution is known from few and scattered collection points. In this study, we present new occurrence records of G. pombero obtained through extensive collections along the Cerrado biome and the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil. Based on the new and existing occurrence records we produced a model of the geographic distribution of G. pombero. Modelling method was chosen based on maximization of model performance after evaluating a series of modelling approaches, including different parametrizations of the Maxent algorithm and distinct runs of the GARP algorithm. We found a total of 43 new records of G. pombero in Brazil, including the first records of this species in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Piauí, Sergipe and Tocantins. Based on our model, the areas of highest suitability of occurrence of G. pombero are located in two main zones in South America: one ranging from midwestern Brazil to southeastern Bolivia and Paraguay; and the other spanning the South of Brazil and Uruguay.


Dedication For my mother, whose love and compassion have inspired this project. family and friends, whose encouragement and love has meant so much in these past years in Texas. Finally, thank you to my participants in Japan and in the United States whose stories have inspired me and made this project possible. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, established in 1955, remains the primary site for recuperating and transforming memories of the atomic bombing into a message for global peace. Within the museum's transcendental politics, American and European visitors are a key presence, evident in the site's 1994 renovation adding historical context for the bombings, its design as a bilingual space using both Japanese and English, and in its refusal to criticize the United States for their use of the bomb. However, what remains excluded from this global view is a discussion of race, a critical dimension of U.S.-Japanese relations and Pacific Rim colonialism during and after World War II. This thesis utilizes scholarship on cultural memory and cultural trauma to interrogate how the museum has been constructed as a site of post-racial politics. In examining the mechanics of this space, this thesis focuses on the " objects " that the museum describes as " material vii witnesses, " to interrogate the historical links between Orientalism and cultural trauma. Through a theoretical development of my fieldwork in Hiroshima in 2011, analysis of the space, and relevant literature, I argue that the gaze of Western tourism is fundamental in the construction of Hiroshima as a global, peaceful, and post-racial experience for museum visitors.


We report a patient diagnosed as grade I tetanus that rapidly progressed to grade III and was treated successfully with magnesium sulphate for 19 days without sedation with benzodiazepines.


Aim: To compare the antibacterial activity of ethyl acetate fractions of Trichoderma viride against Drug-resistant bacteria. Materials and method: The ethanolic extract was made from fully grown mycelia and Trichoderma was isolated from the soil sample. Four Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains were examined with the ethyl acetate extract (MRSA). The sample size was calculated using Clincalc.com, which revealed that the alpha error-threshold 0.05, the confidence interval 95%, the g-power 80%, and the enrollment ratio was 1. Groups 1 and 2 with sample size 12 each which represented drug-resistant bacteria and ethyl acetate fractions respectively. Result: The statistical Independent Sample T-Test analysis showed significant antibacterial activity against MRSA for the Trichoderma ethanolic extract with the statistical significance (p<0.05) when compared to the Susceptible bacterial strains. Conclusion: The tested ethyl acetate extract showed the MRSA at 100 μg/ml.


A simple polarisation-independent optical circulator has been developed. The circulator consists of a 45°Y3Fe5O12 rotator and a quartz rotator and two polarising beam-splitting cubes. Measured insertion loss was about 1.3 dB at 1.32 ?m wavelength. The circulator was connected to graded-index multimode fibres using rod lenses.


Fault-tolerant H∞ control against actuator failures and/or sensor failures for a class of descriptor linear systems via dynamical compensators is investigated. Based on H∞ theory in descriptor linear systems, sufficient conditions for the existence of dynamical compensators with parameters are derived. The dynamical compensator guarantees that the resulting closed-loop descriptor system is admissible and maintains a certain H∞ norm performance in the normal condition as well as in the event of actuator failures or/and sensor failures. Moreover, the closed-loop system performance can be optimized by choosing free parameters in designed dynamical compensators. A numerical example shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Current information on the web about the cancer is numerous and complex. Cancer patients is difficult to find the information they need quickly. To help cancer patients to access relevant information effective, thus building this anticancer communication platform. The platform can allow cancer patients to understand the pathological sense of a cancer disease better. And help cancer patients to treat actively. The anti-cancer communication platform using ASP.NET, Visual Studio.NET 2010 as a development tool, SQL2008 database. Specifically including cancer exchange forum, common cancers pages, anticancer knowledge forum, Healthy Living Forum and other platform management section. Keywords—Cancer; communication platform;Preventive treatment;Asp.net


The development of radar and television has caused considerable use of wide-band amplifiers which often employ transformer coupling. In many of these applications, the single-layer configuration with no space between windings is practicable. To eliminate trial and error in the design of these transformers this chart has been prepared.


The RLGC model, and its variations, is one of the most common techniques to simulate Transmission Lines. The RLGC model uses circuit network elements consisting of Resistance R, Inductance L, Conductance G and Capacitance C (per unit length) to represent a small segment of the Transmission Line, and then cascades multiple segments to simulate the Transmission Line of arbitrary length. Typically the parameters in RLGC model are extracted from the propagation constant and characteristic impedance of the transmission line, which are found using numerical simulation methods. These resulting RLGC parameters for multi-GHz signaling are usually frequency-dependent. This paper introduces an analytical approach to extract RLGC parameters to simulate transmission line, which results in a different model, the RLGC(p) model.


As part of the EnMAP preparation activities this study aims at estimating the uncertainty in the EnMAP L2A ground reflectance product using the simulated scene of Barrax, Spain. This dataset is generated using the EnMAP End-to-End Simulation tool, providing a realistic scene for a well-known test area. Focus is set on the influence of the expected radiometric calibration stability and the spectral calibration stability. Using a Monte-Carlo approach for uncertainty analysis, a larger number of realisations for the radiometric and spectral calibration are generated. Next, the ATCOR atmospheric correction is conducted for the test scene for each realisation. The subsequent analysis of the generated ground reflectance products is carried out independently for the radiometric and the spectral case. Findings are that the uncertainty in the L2A product is wavelength-dependent, and, due to the coupling with the estimation of atmospheric parameters, also spatially variable over the scene. To further illustrate the impact on subsequent data analysis, the influence on two vegetation indices is briefly analysed. Results show that the radiometric and spectral stability both have a high impact on the uncertainty of the narrow-band Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), and also the broad-band Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is affected.


Although voice coil actuators can present high-quality vibrations, it is challenging to present low-frequency vibrations and continuous skin stretch due to the vibration generated by the reaction force of the reciprocating motion of the weight in the housing. This study proposes a method that can present strong vibration and skin stretch using a DC motor with both the housing and rotor fixed to the skin. In this paper, we describe two experiments. First, to investigate the vibration presentation characteristics of the proposed method, we measured the frequency response and time response. The results showed that the proposed method has the same frequency response and time response as the existing methods. Next, we evaluated the subjective stimulus intensity to compare the performances of the proposed method and existing methods. The results indicate that the proposed method can present the same intensity of stimuli as the existing methods with less power consumption at all frequencies.


In relevance feedback, active learning is often used to alleviate the burden of labeling by selecting only the most informative data. Traditional data selection strategies often choose the data closest to the current classification boundary to label, which are in fact not informative enough. In this paper, we propose the moving virtual boundary (MVB) strategy, which is proved to be a more effective way for data selection. The co-SVM algorithm is another powerful method used in relevance feedback. Unfortunately, its basic assumption that each view of the data be sufficient is often untenable in image retrieval. We present our weighted co-SVM as an extension of co-SVM by attaching weight to each view, and thus relax the view sufficiency assumption. The experimental results show that the weighted co-SVM algorithm outperforms co-SVM obviously, especially with the help of MVB data selection strategy.


Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) has been identified as a key technology of mitigating interference and improving spectral efficiency of cell edge users in long term evolution (LTE) release 11 and beyond systems. As CoMP operates mostly in a closed-loop transmission fashion, one of the most critical implementation challenges in CoMP systems is the feedback generation. In this letter, a novel, low-complexity method for the feedback generation in CoMP systems is proposed. The key idea of the proposed scheme is to iteratively align received signals from different transmission points by the precoder feedback. The analytical and numerical results show that the proposed scheme is capable of attaining almost optimal gain in signal to noise ratio (SNR), achieving a good performance-complexity trade-off and being robust against the non-ideal system environment when compared to conventional schemes.


Summary Predicting real-time movement trace of remote objects or the control points of objects when delay-jitter occurs is a critical and challenging issue in most Internet-based collaborative graphics editing systems. This paper presents two novel algorithms: Machine Learning algorithm and Changeable Scale algorithm. Related experiments were carried out to test the effectiveness of the algorithms. Results show that the algorithms can improve the accuracy to restore the remote motion smoothly and the usability of the system can be greatly enhanced.


An overview of the concepts, development and progress for the advanced simulation virtual experiment technology is given. Research emphasis and key technology for virtual instrument and virtual experiment are analyzed and discussed. The prospective for the application of this technology in physics experiment is also presented.


Dimension and form of a train wheel tread contour are the key controlled parameters in manufacturing and running process. Projecting laser light line to the tread contour, the left image and the right one of the light line in the measured countour are caught by using two CCD cameras. After calibrating the two images and other processing, the two images are pieced together to form a free-form curve. Measuring and data processing are completed in two steps as using "Bi-measurement Evaluation Test", the first step is modeling and the second is testing. Comparing the real coordinate values of Testing points with their theoretical ones reconstructed from the form model, the problem whether the model expresses the contour features enough can be resolved. If the answer is yes, the number and position distribution of sampling points are rational, then we can estimate the standard deviation (σ) of noise in the measuring sequence made up of coordinate values of sampling points. The fact that the standard deviation (σ) of noise in the real measuring sequence is about 0.1600mm is estimated by real measuring and data analysis.


A service providing method is disclosed. The service providing method includes a step where a user terminal, which is connected to a display device loaded on a moving body, displays a stored address book; and a route guide step where, when an address is selected from the personal information listed in the displayed address book, a screen to guide a route to the selected address is displayed on the display device. By doing so, various services can be provided based on the personal information.


For several decades at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, large underground storage tanks have been used to contain highly radioactive waste. This waste must be now transported out of the tanks to be processed into a more suitable long-term storage medium. In addition, the emptied tanks must be cleaned in adherence to both state and federal requirements before being permanently closed. Unfortunately, transfer of the waste by pump leaves behind several types of waste forms away from pump suction: highly alkaline and radioactive sludge, rock-like solid masses called clinkers, or large, solidified salt formations known as tank heels. These waste forms must be dissolved and moved on the tank bottom to pump locations prior to being removed from the tank.


Previous field and laboratory studies conducted by the Sorensen laboratory and funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) have established that larval sea lamprey release a potent migratory pheromone that attracts migratory adults into streams for the purpose of spawning. These studies have found that this pheromone is comprised of the unique bile acid petromyzonol sulfate ('PS') and at least one other unidentified component with a molecular weight of 704 daltons ('704'). Our most recent (2003-2004) contract sought to characterize 704, determine its biological potency, and develop means to isolate it in bulk for field tests. We have good progress on all fronts. Several forms of mass spectrometry have succeeded in demonstrating that 704 has a mass of 704.3739 and two sulfates, suggesting a molecular formula of C34H60N2O9S2. Preliminary analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance also suggests that this compound has a few aromatic or vinylic protons, several methine and or methylene protons, and several methyl groups. Efforts to identify this cue are progressing based on this information. Additionally, behavioral and electrophysiological studies have shown that 704 is active (P<0.05) by itself at concentrations ranging down to 10 Molar (approximately one gram in 100 billion liters of water). These experiments also elucidated the presence of a third previously unknown pheromonal compound with a molecular weight of 590 daltons ('590') which together with PS and 704 appear to account for the majority of the pheromonal activity of larval water. We are now in the process of identifying this cue. Lastly, XAD7HP resin has been found to quickly and easily extract PS, 704, and 590 from larval holding water with a high level of efficiency. This procedure has been developed and partially optimized for mass extraction so that extraction for field tests have been able to proceed. Project Description and Objectives (paraphrased from the contract): Field and laboratory studies have now clearly established that larval sea lamprey release a potent migratory pheromone which attracts migratory adults into streams for the purpose of spawning. Larval lampreys release this pheromone at a rate such that a single animal can activate at least 300 liters of river water in an hour. Further, a combination of behavioral, physiological, and biochemical studies have demonstrated that the pheromone is comprised of the unique bile acid petromyzonol sulfate ('PS') and at least one other unidentified component which the Sorensen laboratory isolated in 2002 and found to have a molecular weight of 704 daltons ('704'). The1-year contract (2003-2004) we report on here was designed to provide critical information and technologies needed to identify the pheromone and implement it in sea lamprey control. It had three objectives: 1. To characterize and identify a key unknown component ('704') in the larval lamprey migratory pheromone. 2. To determine the potency and role of 704 in the pheromone 3. To develop a method to extract large quantities of the entire pheromone from larval holding water at low cost. Significant progress has been made addressing all three objectives and is discussed below. Objective #1: To characterize and identify a key unknown component ('704') in the larval lamprey migratory pheromone. Approximately 5,000 liters of larval holding water was collected from tanks of larval sea lamprey held at the Hammond Bay Biological Station (HBBS), extracted using XAD7HP resin (as described in Objective 3), and purified via two fractionation steps using two different methanol: water gradients by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as described in the contract proposal. This process yielded approximately a milligram of partially pure 704 which was chemically characterized using 5 types of mass spectrometry (MS) as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Briefly, these analyses, which are discussed in greater detail below, have shown that 704 has two sulfurs, a steroid-like structure and likely two nitrogen atoms. These findings are now being employed in ongoing structural analysis. We summarize a few of the key results from analyses conducted as part of our 2003-2004 contract below: 1) Negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI-MS). The negative ion ESI-MS of 704 yielded ions at 351, 703, and 725 m/z (Fig. 1). The isotope distribution peaks (at half mass intervals) for the first revealed that 351 is doubly charged, indicating that 703 is the [M-H] ion. Careful analysis of the isotopomer ratios (especially of the M+2 intensity) further suggested that the compound contains two sulfur atoms. The presence of the 725 ion is consistent with an anion containing one sodium salt of a sulfate while the negative ion ESIMS of PS (a model monosulfate) does not show an analogous [M+22-H] ion. Together, these results suggest that 704 is a bis-sulfate or -sulfonate (Fig. 1)


The embodiment of the invention discloses a RSSI configuration method based on unlicensed frequency spectrum. The method comprises the following steps that: a base station configures a measurement configuration message of several cells on carrier frequency, wherein the measurement configuration message carries configuration information of RSSI measurement period, measurement granularity, measurement times and measurement object identity; the base station transmits the measurement configuration message to user equipment, wherein the measurement configuration message is used for indicating the user equipment to perform RSSI measurement for the several cells on the carrier frequency according to the configuration information of RSSI measurement period, the measurement granularity, the measurement times and the measurement object identity, and report measurement result. The embodiment of the invention also discloses a RSSI measurement method and related devices. By the methods and devices provided by the invention, RSSI on the unlicensed frequency spectrum can be measured accurately.


that the addition of 2,3-dimethylbutadiene to a solution of 4-aza-6-nitrobenzofuroxan 1 in CDCl 3 gives the product 3a 1 and 3'a 1 .The auteurs carry out another experience, under similar conditions, but with a longer reaction time this reaction did not allow the isolation of 3a 1 and 3'a 1 , but in adding advantage water in the solution, he obtained the hydrate 4, likes pale yellow solid, resulting from the reaction of 3a 1 . The structure of 4 was determined by X-ray crystallography, which confirm that the addition of H 2 O has taken place at the C 10 =N 9 double bond¹.


Farmers and insurance companies are the two large behavioral actors in the agricultural insurance(AI) market.Their respective behavior characteristic decides that AI must take the policy-based operational measure.Premium,that is insurance prices,are the core of dynamic game between farmers and insurance companies.But insurance company's cost budget is also the major factor that decides the interests of both the size of game.So it is necessary to analyze the cost structure of operating agricultural insurance of insurance companies,then effective policy agricultural insurance system can be formed.


This chapter contains sections titled: 7.1 The Algorithm, 7.2 The Analysis, 7.3 An Example, 7.4 A Two-Qubit Example, 7.5 Phil Measures Up, 7.6 Quantum Mazes versus Circuits versus Matrices, 7.7 Problems, 7.8 Summary and Notes


Introduction. Minimally invasive techniques of transpedicular fusion have become very common and seem to displace classical open techniques. Pedicle screws fusion is the procedure of choice in unstable traumatic lumbar and thoracic spine fractures of.Aim. The aim of the study was to answer whether open techniques are still used in injuries or whether they have been completely replaced by MISS.Material and Methods. The manuscript presents an analysis of patients treated in 2017–2021 in the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurotraumatology and Pediatric Neurosurgery of Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University.Results. Based on the analysis of medical documentation, it was found that every case of traumatic thoracolumbar spine fracture in 2017–2021 was treated using minimally invasive techniques. According to the documentation, the last case of using open surgical technique in the case of trauma was in 2016. It was noted that percutaneous techniques dominated the surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spine fractures and replaced the classic techniques in our department, which are used only, in some cases, in treatment of non-traumatic spondylolisthesis.Conclusions. Therefore, percutaneous techniques are currently the procedure of choice in spine injuries fusion in our hospital. The use of percutaneous techniques reduces the surgical traumatization of tissues (it is important to avoid additional traumatization and blood loss in traumatic patients). It has been pointed out that these procedures are performed by neurosurgeons who, in teaching process, used percutaneous techniques often and now prefer this method. The use of percutaneous techniques has important aspect in the field of neurosurgical nursing, because care of the operated area consists in observing few (4–16) smaller wounds, not one long wound (as in classic techniques), and these wounds are located directly above the titanium screw tips, which must under neurosurgical nurse care. (JNNN 2022;11(1):3–7)


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Immigrants to North America receive more interventions at end of life.The reasons for this are not entirely clear but may potentially be due to knowledge gaps. The primary objective of this study was to measure and describe levels of perceived knowledge about palliative care among immigrants to the US compared to those born in the US. Our secondary objective was to identify trusted sources for seeking information about palliative care among immigrants and compare these trusted sources with those born in the US. We hypothesized that immigrants would have less knowledge of palliative care than those born in US and would trust different sources for information about palliative care. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We analyzed data from the nationally representative 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, cycle 2). Questionnaires were administered via mail between January and May 2018 to a population-based sample of adults. The primary outcome of interest was assessed using the item "How would you describe your level of knowledge about palliative care?" The secondary outcome of interest was determined using the item "Imagine you had a strong need to get information about palliative care, which of the following would you most trust as a source of information about palliative care?" All analyses were complete case analyses and conducted with survey commands using SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC, USA). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and bivariate analyses run between the outcomes of interest and sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, nativity, English language proficiency). Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to assess the role of nativity, controlling for statistically significant and relevant sociodemographic variables. Jackknife weighting was used to generate population-level estimates. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The response rate was 33% (n=3384) and included 2846 (85.3% weighted) born in the US and 492 (14.7% weighted) not born in the USA. About 70% of those born in the US and 77% of immigrants (weighted) responded that they had "never heard of palliative care." Trusted sources of palliative care were very similar between the groups (all p > 0.05). Both groups' preferred trusted source of palliative care knowledge was "health care provider," with over 80% of respondents in each group selecting this option. Printed materials and social media were the least popular trusted sources among both groups. After adjusting for relevant sociodemographic characteristics, we found no association between poor knowledge of palliative care and nativity (p=0.22). Female respondents had 2.5-fold increased odds of reporting low levels of perceived knowledge of palliative care (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.76-3.78; p<0.001). Education was an important predictor of perceived knowledge of palliative care; as education level increased, so did perceived knowledge of palliative care (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Perceived knowledge of palliative care is poor generally, regardless of birthplace. Trusted sources for palliative care are similar between immigrants and those born in the US. Education is important and is a strong predictor of perceived knowledge of palliative care. Women perceive they have lower levels of knowledge of PC than men. Differences in end of life care between immigrants and non-immigrants cannot be explained by knowledge differences. Further research is needed to examine the potential factors including suboptimal communication between providers and immigrant patients to understand why these differences are noted. Future strategies for improving knowledge of palliative care should target health care providers as the key trusted source of information to help address deficits noted in this study.


Grief and bereavement support are crucial to good palliative and end-of-life care. Support models differ between and within services. In addition, while patient and family needs vary based on risk and resilience factors, acute or unexpected death is associated with complicated grief. Our study was a retrospective review of 159 patients who died within 72 hours of hospital admission. We found a high proportion of unexpected and traumatic deaths and low grief and bereavement support rates. Further work is needed to streamline policies to optimize patient and family-centred grief and bereavement support in the acute hospital setting.


A catalyst-free chemoselective trimerization reaction of readily available isocyanides is described. This domino reaction provides facile access to a wide range of 2-(indol-2-yl)-quinolines and 2-(indol-2-yl)-pyridines in moderate to excellent yields. A "head to head" heterodimerization of two isocyanides is proposed as the key step of this reaction.


In modern society, service-related activities are growing in importance. Software is playing a preponderant role. More and more, organizations depend on data-processing processes and on the abilities of highly skilled and scarce personnel. They have been named knowledge workers and this kind of organization is named knowledge intensive firms (Alvesson, 2004, p.5ss) or postmodern organizations. Software organizations are a paradigmatic case of intensive-knowledge AbstrAct


Productivity is at a maximum when the principles of chemistry and genetics allow it to proceed no further, even under ideal environmental conditions. It is often limited by current knowledge, which could be improved through research, by the antagonism between selection criteria, or by economic considerations that make additional productivity unrealistic. Emphasis on increased productivity per se should give way to or at least accommodate improved efficiency of production. Some of the areas of constraint and potential improvement as they relate to the nutritional and reproductive physiology and genetics of ruminants are discussed. For the most part, advances in the level of production will continue to be made in small increments. Radical changes in performance brought about by new technology must be tested thoroughly under practical conditions to assure that long-term deleterious effects on the ruminant population do not exceed the apparent productivity benefits in the short term. Key words: Biological con...


The relationships between coaching, sports psychology, psychotherapy, and philosophy outlined by Simon Jenkins in his keynote article highlight a central issue in the social sciences, that is, the need to explicate the link between theory and practice. The article reflects a dilemma in the whole of the applied social sciences; the self-conscious need to look scientific while being inquisitive of people as social beings. Philosophy has long engaged with this problem and, as Jenkins suggests, does provide some meta-frameworks from which to make sense of the dilemma. The psychotherapy integration movement is an example of a discipline trying to forge an understanding of how it can merge hard science with social science. However, this is a task designed for trouble as it requires a rapprochement between different ontologies. Kuhn provided a strong argument to support the view that different worldviews are difficult although not impossible to compare because they do not use the same language or measuring tools, that is, the same ontological assumptions. Philosophers like Kuhn [1], Feyerabend [2], and Pepper [3] argued that the lack of common ontological assumptions between worldviews or the "incommensurability of paradigms" also makes it difficult to compare theories arising from different worldviews.


The utility model relates to a quick charging valve for a core shooter with a cold core box, which structurally comprises a base, a vertical column, a crossbeam, a hopper, a pressing cylinder, a pressure head component, a sand shooting tube, an air bag, a mould base component and a core receiving trolley. The sand shooting tube is hung on the crossbeam through a roller hanging mechanism, the vertical column is supported and connected onto the base through a guide rail, a vertical column moving mechanism and a quick lock mechanism are disposed on the base, a travelling oil cylinder is fixed onto the vertical column, and a piston rod of the travelling oil cylinder is connected with the roller hanging mechanism. Multidirectional moving and adjusting of head components can be realized, centering operation of the head components is facilitated, and sand shooting quality and operation efficiency are both improved.


Environment has become a serious problem in China and there are more legal disputes about the environment with improved people's consciousness of environment and law.Some problems in the environmental legislation makes the disputes unsettled for a long time,the legal environmental rights not be protected.And these promote the conflicts and have a great influence on the social stability and economic development.Therefore,it is necessary in reality to study how to form the idea of environmental rights and set up the environmental tort liability.


The effects of changing from traditional tendering methods to an alternative form of quote evaluation were tested in a case study within the southern Swedish construction market. The project studied replacing the outer surface of the roof of a multiple‐dwelling building 2000m2 in area. Procurement was carried out in two steps. The first step consisted of traditional tendering methods in which quotations were obtained by asking different contractors to bid. In the second step, formal tender documents were sent by mail to the same contractors. These documents included an alternative form of quote evaluation requiring that references to be provided for similar work, as well as for issues of environmental control, working environment, quality control and the material's life cycle. This second step was found to create additional value for the client and to improve competition. It was also observed that although there was a communication threshold to overcome, this segment of the construction market appeared ready to accept alternative methods for evaluating quotes. It was regarded as important to make the criteria readily understandable and measurable and strive towards a standardized template form of quote evaluation to reflect the goals of both the project and the clients.


Ovine brucellosis is a contagious disease caused by Brucella ovis, characterized by clinical marked as epididymitis, abortion and lambs neonatal mortality, leading to reduction in reproductive efficiency of livestock and causing great economic damage. Considering the lack of seroepidemiologic data about B. Ovis in the State of Bahia and the importance of this disease in the economic sphere of sheep rearing, the design of this study aimed to achieve serum inquiry to investigate toe occurrence of anti-Brucella ovis in sheep in the Reconcavo Baiano. 183 serum samples were submited to the test of agar gel immunodiffusion (AGIO) using soluble antigens produced by the Veterinary Research Center Oesiderio Finamor (CPVOF) in Rio Grande do Sul. Six (3.27%) showed serological evidence of infection by B. Ovis Of 183 sera from sheep investigated by the AGIO to search for evidence of anti-Brucella ovis, with no significant difference between age and sex (p = 2.0 and p = 0.60, respectively) of animais with the proportion of sheep seropositives. The results obtained by serological survey have been lead to accept that the infection by B. Ovis it is present in commercial herds of sheep in the state of Bahia, and requiring more extensive studies in sheep population, adoption of sanitary measures of prevention and control to prevent the spread of the disease.


This paper expounds the close relationship between sentiment and human recognition process and physical health, analyzes the causes of negative sentiment of the college students and finally provides psychological nursing countermeasures for preventing emotion barrier.


In this paper, we demonstrate a security approach for the class of highly-programmable analog Integrated Circuits (ICs) that can be used as a countermeasure for unauthorized chip use and piracy. The approach relies on functionality locking, i.e. a lock mechanism is introduced into the design such that unless the correct key is provided the functionality breaks. We show that for highly-programmable analog ICs the programmable fabric can naturally be used as the lock mechanism. We demonstrate the approach on a multi-standard RF receiver with configuration settings of 64-bit words.


This paper argues that the Twelfth Amendment represents far more than a mechanical adjustment of the electoral college. Rather, it is the constitutional text that gives us the political presidency that we know today. The Twelfth Amendment worked a major structural change in the relationship between the legislative and executive branches and for that reason bears directly on the debate over the unitary executive and the meaning of "executive power." Specifically, presidential removal power is best justified not by the original Article II, but by the constitutional structure the Twelfth Amendment created. And the scope and definition of executive power more broadly is best fixed by reference to the political character of the presidency the Twelfth Amendment constitutionalized. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the executive designed at Philadelphia was not a political office, but rather an apolitical administrator standing above partisan conflict. The office was not designed as a political policymaker or representative of the people. The Twelfth Amendment changed this. It quite deliberately converted the electoral college into a form of public election and in so doing, linked the presidency to popular majorities. The Amendment facilitated political competition for the office, unified the executive branch internally, and distanced it politically from Congress. The result was to give the executive a democratic warrant to take political action. This in turn changed the available scope, and perhaps the meaning, of the President's "executive powers." The new constitutional structure the Twelfth Amendment created indicates the President must have political control over the policymaking apparatus of the executive branch, and thus the power to remove principal officers, including heads of independent agencies. This structure also justifies significant presidential involvement in agency rulemaking, and may help more generally to fix the bounds of the President's "executive powers."


From the first, let me nail my colours firmly to the mast by quoting Beethoven's eventual dedication of the "Eroica" Symphony. For this particular Lanchester Lecture we are "to celebrate the memory of a great man". My meaning here, I hasten to add, has none of that bitter intention of the Republican Beethoven who, so the story goes, having ripped out his earlier dedication to Bonaparte then substituted those words to commemorate the man once revered but who had recently proclaimed himself Emperor of the French. My intention is that we celebrate the memory of a man whose thinking remains as alive, as vital, as the day he set pen to paper. Each day of our lives we see his vision made manifest reality in the vapour trails of the Big Jets high overhead. And to borrow such a dedication seems appropriate since, not only was Lanchester a great admirer of Beethoven's music, but also Lanchester's largeness of spirit, his grandness of vision, his capacity for unremitting sheer hard labour put him in the heroic mould.


MANETs (Mobile Ad hoc Networks) is the self configuring network formed by mobile nodes which are connected by wireless links. Due to the mobility and independent topology, there occur many routing attacks which corrupt the topology of the network. Among several attacks, the Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and Resource Consumption attacks are the harmful attacks in the MANETs since these attacks interrupt the network resource unavailable to its user and resource consumption attack wastes the resources of a specific node. Example for DoS attacks are Black hole and worm hole attack. In Black hole attack, the malicious node sends a forged Route Reply (RREP) packet to a source node that initiates the route discovery in order to pretend to be a destination node and the Wormhole attack is otherwise known as Tunneling attack. The attacker forwards packets through a high quality out of bond link and reply these packets at another location in the network. In this paper, a new method is proposed to detect the anomalies by using the threshold values. Based on these values, the normal nodes could be detected and differentiated from the anomaly nodes. The packets are then made to send through the normal nodes excluding the anomaly nodes. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method which detects the DoS attacks and malicious flooding attack.


The present disclosure describes a process for dynamically using a variable refresh rate of the LCD display of the consumer electronic device, a consumer electronic device such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone or music player device. In some configurations, the consumer electronic device may comprise: a host system or part of a plurality of processors, and having a timing controller, a buffer circuit, a display driver and a display portion of the panel system. The image display system may control data received from the host system's GPU receives image data and image control data, to determine a reduced refresh rate evaluation (RRR) of the display panel to the use, and then at any time possible to transition to RRR save power. In some cases, the transition to transition from RRR may LRR 50 Hz or higher to 40 Hz or less RRR.


Objective: to evaluate the efficiency and safety of different therapy regimens for depression in relation to the clinical type of bipolar affective disorders (BAD) and to choose optimal treatment regimens for depression in BAD type I (BADI) and BAD type II (BADII). Patients and methods. A total of 65 depressive patients, including 25 with BADI and 37 with BADII, were examined. 212 depressive episodes were analyzed in BAD patients, of them there were 74 with BADI and 138 with BADII. The patients with BADI took a combination of an antidepressant (AD) and a normothymic (NT), NT and a neuroleptic (NL), AD, NT and NL. Those with BADII received monotherapy with AD or NL, a combination of AD + NT, AD + NL. The patients' status was clinically evaluated using a specially designed questionnaire and the MADRS and CGI psychometric scales at baseline and then at the end of 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks of therapy. Results. The AD-containing regimens used to treat patients with BADI proved to be more effective; this therapy led to a more marked reduction in depressive symptoms (55.73% in the AD + NT-treated patients; 54.07% in the AD + NT + NL group versus 33.64% in the NT + NL-treated patients), a higher response to therapy, and a larger number of remissions by the end of the investigation (80.0, 72.7, and 33.3%, respectively). Moreover, the incidence of transient hypomanic symptoms did not significantly differ in these groups (20.0, 27.3, and 8.3%, respectively). The depressive patients with BADII generally responded better to different therapy regimens (the reduction in depressive symptoms was 52.08, 58.82, 58.40, and 53.98% in the AD, NL, AD + NT, and AD + NL groups; the remission index by the end of the investigation was 60.6, 92.9, 77.8, and 69.2%, respectively); these patients were seen to have less frequently symptoms of an antipole during their treatment (18.2, 7.1, 0.0, and 15.4%, respectively). Conclusion. The incorporation of AD into a therapy regimen in BAD patients accelerates emergence from any depression severity and considerably enhances the efficiency of treatment. According to the clinical picture of depression, both AD monotherapy (BADII) and a combination of AD + NT and/or NL (BADI, BADII) may be used. The incorporation of AD into a therapy regimen does not significantly increase a risk for developing an inverse phase.


In a data carrier with a data processing device in which there is provided an external as well as an internal power supply, it is proposed to provide at least one switching means which is accommodated in the data carrier in order to realize temporary decoupling of the external power supply, thus making the retrieval of sensitive data impossible.


Organic farming is one of sustainable farming systems. The purposive in organic agriculture in the form of improved production quality and productivity, independence as well as farmers produce high quality food. This research head for analyze the factors that have an effect on the level of technical efficiency; analyze technical efficiency levels and analyzing the influential factors of technical inefficiency. Base on the results of the study of factors that affect technical efficiency in the form of land area, seeds, manure and organic pesticides. The averages level of technical efficiency of the area of ninety three comma three percent. The meantime of influential factors that in technical inefficiency positive level of age and number of families.


The scheme of evaluation the unfair competition rate on market was developed. Main factors which influence on unfair competition rate was defined and ranged according to their weight and meaning: market informational openness, current acting legislation and it's practical use, the rate of government interference in market process, meaning and main points of marketing activity, company price policy, the quantity of companies which locates and located on this market in short and medium-term retrospective.


In a direct-current CF4 glow-discharge, two modes of waves were spontaneously excited in the pressure range 0.2–0.5 Torr and current range 4–10 mA. One was of the order of kHz and the other of the order of MHz. Both waves were observed to grow in the region E/P<46.5 V cm-1 Torr-1 in which electron attachment dominates.


Human offshore activities are increasingly threatening waterbird conservation interests. The impacts of disturbance by high-speed ferries on Common Eiders Somateria mollissima and Common Scoters Melanitta nigra were studied at a wintering site in the Kattegat Sea, Denmark. Spatial patterns of winter site use, close-range distribution patterns relative to ferry passages and escape distances were examined using aerial surveys and ferry-based observations. For Common Eiders, there was a suggestion of major disturbance impacts, i.e. birds displacing in response to the passage of ferries, within 500–1,000 m of the ferry route: a considerable proportion of flocks (> 10%) located within 400 m took flight in response to a passing ferry, and distributional impacts, including birds responding by swimming, were occasionally suggested within a distance of 500–1,000 m. Although distributional impacts could not be demonstrated with statistical significance within the Hjelm area (partly because of an apparently limited food supply in the area around the ferry route), it is concluded that highspeed ferry disturbance, had the potential to reduce significantly habitat use within 500 m of the ferry route. Common Scoters tended to take flight further from the ferry route than Common Eiders, however, data were limited and no conclusions could be made on displacement distances or possible impacts on habitat use. The results show that high-speed ferries may be an important source of disturbance that should be given due attention when the cumulative effects of offshore activities on site use by sea ducks are considered.


This thesis documentation is the second part of the dissertation titled "Sentiment analysis of instant messages on android application using Google Cloud Messaging technologies and Data Mining" and the continuation of Paraskakis Ioannis' work. In this paper, having set the theoretical background of the Thesis Platform, we present the different components of the aforementioned platform and their interconnections and communication protocols.


Reluctance machines with DC field coil in stator are a competitive candidate for starter generation application, due to the elimination of rare-earth permanent magnet (PM), robust structures, and controllable excitation. However, due to the poor excitation ability of DC field coils, the torque density is disadvantageous. Moreover, with the increase in the DC field current, it is exposed to the risk of extra DC saturation in stator teeth. As a consequence, the torque density and efficiency are both constrained. To solve the aforementioned problems, based on the comprehensive consideration of production cost and torque performance, this study proposed a novel type of hybrid reluctance machine with dual-ferrite–assisted in stator slots. The inner-layer ferrite PM is magnetized tangentially, which can effectively achieve the DC-saturation–relieving effect, while the outer-layer ferrite PM is magnetized radially to increase the machine torque density through the flux modulation effect. Based on finite element analysis, the machine torque density and efficiency can be improved by 20 and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, to simplify the excitation system of the DC terminal, a two-stage excitation method is proposed by splitting some turns of armature winding to feed DC field winding with passive rectifier. No power switching devices are needed for the excitation system in this way, making the system highly robust. The effectiveness of the proposed design is verified by time-stepping finite element analysis.


The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has undertaken a demonstration project in which the existing roadway lighting system was replaced with embedded roadway lighting during the sea turtle nesting season (May-October). The purpose was to determine if innovative lighting techniques could illuminate pavement markings but not impact sea turtles on adjacent beaches. A contractor performed the design and installation of the embedded lighting system. The project consisted of approximately 0.65 mi of SR A1A in Boca Raton, Florida. This scenic stretch of roadway is popular and receives significant vehicle, bike and pedestrian traffic. The primary objective of this research project was to assess the existing and new lighting systems in terms of lighting sufficiency and determine public acceptance of this type of project. The primary tasks were: measuring illumination levels and lighting distribution on the roadway and adjacent beach areas for the existing and alternative lighting systems; obtaining and analyzing motorist, bicyclist, and pedestrian responses to a survey about the alternative lighting system; and analyzing past and present crash statistics for the affected roadway segment. The findings were as follows: (1) Area lighting levels and uniformity were reduced, but pedestrian security became problematic. Visibility in the travel lanes and bikeways was adequate. (2) The opinion survey found that older persons were less supportive of the new lighting system than younger persons, and women were more supportive of the new system than men. Overall, roadway users were very supportive of this alternative lighting system for the benefit of sea turtle nesting safety. (3) From the limited accident data and general lack of nighttime accidents along SR A1A in both pre- and post-low level lighting system installation, no conclusion could be drawn on the issue of nighttime roadway safety.


We have polished some CVD polycrystalline diamond films of diameter 15 mm using the vibrational thermochemical polishing technique. The surface morphology of the films were measured by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy before and after polishing. The initial roughness of the as-grown films as determined by stylus profilometry was in the neighborhood of 25 /spl mu/m for the growth side and 7 /spl mu/m for the substrate side. Polishing for several hours at temperatures between 900/spl deg/C and 750/spl deg/C thinned the surface roughness down to 2.2 nm. Confocal Raman spectroscopy was used to optically characterize the films at various stages of polishing. Non-diamond carbon bands were located at 1205 cm and a split band at 1353 cm/sup -1/ and 1453 cm/sup -1/ after initial polishing. The microcrystalline graphite band at 1580 cm/sup -1/ appeared at intermediate stages of polishing, These bands vanished with persistent polishing, leaving the surface entirely diamond-like after the final fine polishing at 750/spl deg/C. Photoluminescence of defect centers revealed that the only detectable impurities in the samples were nitrogen with zero-phonon lines at 2.156 eV and 1.945 eV and silicon with a zero-phonon line at 1.681. eV, accompanied by their respective phonon replicas. The defect centers are virtually uniformly distributed throughout the films.


The authors present the case of a patient with a 46, XX ovotesticular disorder of sex development diagnosed only in adulthood. 1 Cases like this one always result in a challenge for the treating team, as all treatment needs to be individualized.


................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... III PUBLICATIONS RESULTING FROM THIS WORK ............................................. V PRESENTATIONS RESULTING FROM THIS WORK ......................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ VII


Shows examples of libguides boxes and how they might be used. Also give design suggestions. Presentation by Alice Wilson, MCC and Jennifer Little, The College at Brockport


All polities struggle with establishing the correct balance between family autonomy and state intervention. In a liberal world, the family is often seen as being in some ways analogous to the individual, possessed of a zone of freedom in which it is inappropriate for the State to intervene. However, the family is obviously different from an individual insofar as it comprises several individuals – a parent or parents and a child or children. Deference to family autonomy, therefore, amounts to deference to those who are powerful within the family, allowing parents to make decisions on behalf of their children. Nevertheless, there remain good reasons to allow parents make decisions on behalf of their children. At least in the case of young children, they do not have the capacity to make decisions on their own behalf. Most people would accept that – in general – parents are better placed than the State to make decisions for their children. Conversely, most people would also accept that parents' authority over their children cannot be absolute. The State retains a residual concern for children who are abused, neglected or failed by their parents, whether through misconduct or personal inadequacy. The difficult question lies in establishing the threshold for state intervention.


According to the World Health Organization, the last decades have recorded a constant increase of oncological diseases, the illness afflicting increasingly larger populations - in 1990 there were 199.44 cancer patients per 100,000 inhabitants, while the incidence rate in 2005 was 240.66 per 100,000 inhabitants (Degi, 2010). Cancer-related diseases have a long history. As Mukherjee (2010) notes, humanity has always been struggling against cancer; Egyptian papyri mentioning that "there is no" cure for the disease, and, unfortunately, only after a good while -from the mid-20th century onwards- did science start to discover and adopt various oncological therapies. Beside the already existing medical interventions, during the 1980s, the practice of psychosocial oncology took shape, emphasizing that along with increasing survival rates, it becomes a necessity to investigate and enhance quality of life, adaptive coping mechanisms, as well as the assessment and treatment of psychosocial problems. At the same time, the implementation of the knowledge bases and methods specific to oncology, psychology, psychiatry, and sociology, the main focus of psychosocial oncology became the investigation of the factors that accompany and contribute to cancer, as well as the consequences of the disease (Rohanszky, Kegye, Molnar, Boda, & Kapitany, 2014).The diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases may have an impact similar to a highly stressful, traumatic event, affecting patients at all levels of their functioning (e.g., biological, psychosocial, and spiritual alike). Traumatic events often exceed human adaptability when life itself or physical and psychological integrity is at risk (Herman, 2011). One of the most critical moments in the trajectory of cancer-related diseases is the moment of the communication of the cancer diagnosis. The integration of this information demands the activation of various coping mechanisms that facilitate adaptation to significantly changed life-conditions (Rohanszky et al., 2014). Degi (2010), Kallay, Pintea, and Degi (in press) highlight the importance of patient-centered information delivery, a type of communication that is tailored individually, according to each patient's personal characteristics. Degi's (2010) investigation indicates that 16.9% of the patients in Romania are not aware of their diagnosis, and points out that this unawareness of diagnosis is associated with higher levels of distress as compared to cases where the diagnosis is known. Oncological treatments that follow diagnosis are also very stressful; the side effects of surgical intervention, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy may cause suffering on both the physical and psychological level. Frequently associated symptoms are: anxiety, depression, fatigue, weakness, reduced energy, self-image-, memory- and attention-related problems, emotional disorders attached to sexuality and reproduction, despair, and doubt (Mateescu, Balaceanu, Ciochinaru, Vlad, & Livadaru, 2010). Starting treatment causes anxiety and fear, while misconceptions regarding different forms of treatment are also very common. After the cessation of treatment, there is a need for support due to fear of relapse, difficulties in reintegration, progression of the disease, deterioration of physical condition, and dying, as it is hard to maintain emotional and mental balance under the precarious conditions brought about by the helplessness around the recurrence of the disease (Rohanszky et al., 2014). Jimmie Holland, working at an oncological ward, could observe patients' reactions, and her team of experts considers these cancer-associated psychological phenomena (e.g., distress) as natural reactions. Furthermore, Holland also contributed to the elaboration of the screening tools (Distress Thermometer with problem list) that help in identifying these phenomena (Rohanszky et al., 2014). These screening methods are also available in Romania, within the framework of APSCO research project (Assessment of Psycho-Social and Communication needs in Oncology) - the Distress Thermometer was validated based on Jimmy Holland's elaboration and the Emotion Thermometers tool was based on dr. …


The mortality rate due to breast cancer has decreased in the USA, probably as a result of the spread of mammography screening. The incidence of breast cancer has also shown a further decrease recently, probably due to the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In contrast, both the mortality and incidence of breast cancer in Japan are increasing. Although the incidence rates of breast cancer in postmenopausal women are much lower than those in the USA or western countries, they have been increasing among postmenopausal Japanese immigrants in the USA. Therefore, it seems that potentially modifiable environmental and lifestyle risk factors, as well as female reproductive factors, have an important relationship to the incidence of breast cancer. On the basis of global evaluation, there is convincing evidence that alcoholic drinks are a cause of breast cancer and that lactation has a protective effect against breast cancer. Greater body fatness probably protects against premenopausal breast cancer, while it is convincing to be a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer. Physical activity probably protects against postmenopausal breast cancer, but its relationship to premenopausal breast cancer still requires further study. In Japan, there may be little impact of body fatness on breast cancer because of the very low prevalence rate of obesity. As only a very small proportion of Japanese women drink alcohol daily, the potential of alcohol as a risk factor for breast cancer is difficult to evaluate. Although there is little doubt that physical activity is good for health, there is limited evidence that it protects against breast cancer. It is possible that isoflavone, which is consumed regularly as part of the diet in Japan throughout life, protects against breast cancer especially in postmenopausal women. Also, there is some evidence that not only passive smoking, but also smoking, is a cause of breast cancer especially among premenopausal Japanese women.


The creep damage behavior of rocks is very important for evaluating the stability and safety of key rock engineering. Based on the Lianhua Tunnel Project in China, this paper aims to study the creep damage mechanics, the influencing factors and the creep constitutive models of sandy shale. In order to achieve these goals, a uniaxial compressive strength test and a creep test under different moisture contents and load levels were carried out. According to the test results, the creep parameters (elastic coefficients E1 and E2 and viscosity coefficients η1 and η2) of the Burgers Model were achieved, and the relationship between the creep parameters and moisture content, ω, was established accordingly (E1 = f(ω), E2 = f(ω), η1 = f(ω), η2 = f(ω)). A fully weathered sandy-shale creep constitutive model considering moisture content was finally obtained. Test results showed that creep deformation increases with any increase in load level or moisture content, and the influence of moisture content is more significant. For instance, creep deformation increased by 35% when the load increased by 50%, and creep deformation increased by 82% when the moisture content increased by 45%. In addition, the creep rate in the steady stage and the duration of the primary creep stage increased with any increase in moisture content or load level. The higher the moisture content, the greater the influence of creep deformation on the total deformation. The creep model of fully weathered sandy shale showed that the elastic coefficients (E1, E2) and the viscosity coefficients (η1, η2) are negatively correlated to moisture content; E1 is negatively correlated to load level; and E2, η1 and η2 are positively correlated to load level. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of fully weathered sandy shale can improve the existing research of creep properties and is expected to provide theoretical support for treatment of large deformation disasters in the fully weathered sandy-shale stratum.


Motion planning and control algorithms for autonomous vehicles need to be safe, and consider future movements of other road users to ensure collision-free trajectories. In this letter, we present a control scheme based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) with robust constraint satisfaction where the constraint uncertainty, stemming from the road users' behavior, is multimodal. The method combines ideas from tube-based and scenario-based MPC strategies in order to approximate the expected cost and to guarantee robust state and input constraint satisfaction. In particular, we design a feedback policy that is a function of the disturbance mode and allows the controller to take less conservative actions. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through two numerical simulations, where we compare it against a standard robust MPC formulation.


More than 1,200 pieces of prints have been created by farmers in the village of A'e of Maguan county since the 1970s,and they are known in the province or the country for its own features.The author probes into the development of prints and their relation with local ethnic culture from the perspective of national culure.


The invention discloses a method preventing the bank card to be stolen and a system to realize the method. The method preventing the bank card to be stolen firstly picks the face pictures of the bank card user or authorized person; the second step, the picture information is sent to the face identifier; the third step, the face identifier processes the picture information; the fourth step, the pictures in face identifier is written in the bank card by the read-write equipment of bank card; the fifth step, when the holder uses the bank card and makes operation, the face picture information is read by the read-write equipment, and the face picture information is transmitted to the face identifier; the sixth step, picks the face pictures of the bank card user on the spot, and the face picture information is sent to the face identifier; the seventh step, the face identifier processes the picture information at the sixth step; the eighth step, compares the picture information of fifth step with the seventh step; finally, the compared result is input to the finance payment terminal and judges the operation is continued or not. The invention is fit for the method to protect the security of bank card.


The study of the evolution of the mass of a liquid droplet and its average temperature in the case of collision between a solid surface and liquid droplet can be carried out using the Volume of fluid method VOF. The dynamics of the drops will be investigated at the moment of impact on a heated plane wall until a steady state is reached. During this transition period, the average temperature of the drop vaporization process is estimated. The lifetime of a drop of liquid is determined from a static point of view, upon contact with a hot surface. The equations applied are Navier-Stokes energy and vapor transport.


The recent observation of two hidden-charm pentaquark states by LHCb collaborations prompted us to investigate the exotic states close to the $\bar{D}\Lambda_{\rm c}$, $\bar{D}^{\ast}\Lambda_{\rm c}$, $\bar{D}\Sigma_{\rm c}$, $\bar{D}\Sigma^{\ast}_{\rm c}$, $\bar{D}^{\ast}\Sigma_{\rm c}$ and $\bar{D}^{\ast}\Sigma^{\ast}_{\rm c}$ thresholds. We therefore studied the hadronic molecules that form the coupled-channel system of $\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Lambda_{\rm c}$ and
$\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Sigma^{(\ast)}_{\rm c}$. As the heavy quark spin symmetry manifests the mass degenerations of $\bar{D}$ and $\bar{D}^\ast$ mesons, and of $\Sigma_{\rm c}$ and $\Sigma^\ast_{\rm c}$ baryons, the coupled channels of $\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Sigma^{(\ast)}_{\rm c}$ are important in these molecules. In addition, we consider the coupling to the $\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Lambda_{\rm c}$ channel whose thresholds are near the $\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Sigma^{(\ast)}_{\rm c}$ thresholds, and the coupling to the state with nonzero orbital angular momentum mixed by the tensor force. This full coupled channel analysis of $\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Lambda_{\rm c}-\bar{D}^{(\ast)}\Sigma^{(\ast)}_{\rm c}$ with larger orbital angular momentum has never been performed before. By solving the coupled-channel Schr\"odinger equations with the one meson exchange potentials that respected to the heavy quark spin and chiral symmetries, we studied the hidden-charm hadronic molecules with $I(J^P)=1/2(3/2^\pm)$ and $1/2(5/2^\pm)$. We conclude that the $J^P$ assignment of the observed pentaquarks is $3/2^+$ for $P^+_{\rm c}(4380)$ and $5/2^-$ for $P^+_{\rm c}(4450)$, which is agreement with the results of the LHCb analysis. In addition, we give predictions for other $J^P=3/2^\pm$ states at 4136.0, 4307.9 and 4348.7 MeV in $J^P=3/2^-$, and 4206.7 MeV in $J^P=3/2^+$, which can be further investigated by means of experiment.


"Creep" is the name applied to the slow deformation of solids under small loads acting over long periods of time. Two types of apparatus have been developed for the purpose of investigating the creep of rocks in response to stresses below the "elastic limit," as ordinarily defined. The present paper describes results obtained with these instruments during runs of various duration, up to 550 days. It is found that in many cases there is measurable flow at stresses below the "elastic limit." An empirical law has been derived which resolves this deformation into two types of flow, termed "elastic flow" and "pseudoviscous flow." The creep characteristics of several materials at room temperature and atmospheric confining pressure are described. Preliminary experiments on creep at high pressure and on creep by recrystallization are reported.


This paper discuss how  total relationship apporoach highlights the importance and the role of workforces at any organisation. Psychology is the understanding of people, their motivation, and their ...


In order to study microtubule organization during pollen germination and pollen tube growth in Olea europaea, we applied immunofluorescence microscopy using mouse monoclonal antibody against α-tubulin as primary antibody and FITC-conjugated goat antimouse IgG as secondary antibody. DAPI enabled observation of the vegetative nucleus entering the emerging pollen tube before the generative cell. The latter then overtakes the vegetative nucleus once both are inside the pollen tube. The generative cell remains ahead of the vegetative nucleus until it is finally divided into two gametes. This cell division occurs when the generative cell is close to the tip of the pollen tube. Possible connections between microtubules and nuclear migration in the pollen tube are discussed.


The Kangding-Luding metamorphosed intrusions are distributed in northwestern margin of the Yang-tze block.On the basis of the field geological characteristics,petrography,mineralogy and geochemistry,we demonstrate that rock types include gabbro,quartzdiorite,tonalite,granodiorite,adamellite,syenogranite,in which intermediate acid rocks are majority;The rocks are dominantly moderate-K calc-alkaline series;Components of plagioclase include albite,oligoclase and andesine,hornblende and biotite exist extensively;The intrusions have calc-alkaline differential trend in major element compositions.Their trace elements show typical geochemical characteristics of island arc setting;REE patterns are of slightly right-inclined type;On the diagram of tectonic settings,they are mainly located at the range of VAG.Above mentioned characteristics suggest that the Kangding-Luding metamorphosed intrusions were formed at the magmatic arc setting.


The locomotor activity rhythm of three supralittoral crustacean species, Tylos europaeus (terrestrial isopod) and Britorchestia brito and Talitrus saltator (amphipod, Talitridea), was investigated in Barkoukech Beach. The rhythm was monitored in individual animals in spring under continuous darkness and constant temperature. Results revealed that whatever the species, actograms and mean activity curves showed that specimens of T. europaeus and T. saltator concentrated their activity during the subjective night; whereas, B. brito concentrated its activity during the subjective day. The three species exhibited a circadian locomotor rhythm with mean circadian period, respectively, equal to 24h41′ ± 0h44′, 24h46′ ± 0h55′ and 25h21′ ± 1h16′. The most stable locomotor rhythm was found in T. saltator (0.444 ± 0.246). Furthermore, individuals of T. europaeus were significantly more active (10h47′ ± 2h52′) than the two amphipods. Differences in the activity patterns of the three species will be discussed as an adaptative strategy to respond to interspecific competitive interactions.


—We have developed a device with a haptic interface that enables blind persons to perceive the environment. The device, which we call the Future Body-Finger (FB-F), measures the distance between a person and an object using an infrared sensor and transmits distance information to the user's haptic sense by the angular motions of a link. In this report on the FB-F, we (1) outline its concept, (2) describe its mechanism, and (3) demonstrate its usability by comparing it to commercially available products.


In prospect projects of the lunar information and navigation support system, the using of a satellite range finder for solving the problem of ballistic support of near-moon spacecrafts is considered. In this paper we consider a mathematical model for calculating the radio line of a satellite rangefinder with passive retro reflection of the requested radio signal from selenodetic points. The model allows the calculation of the signal-to-noise ratio in the reflected radio signal and the standard deviation of the determination of the distance from the spacecraft to the passive radio retroreflector under various conditions. The calculations take into account both the reflection of the signal from the radio retroreflector and from the surrounding surface lunar soil. Various types of radio retroreflectors in the form of combinations of corner reflectors and in the form of a Luneburg lens are considered. The calculations of the radio line using the indicated types of retro radio reflectors for different values of the orbit height, signal frequency and other parameters are performed. It is shown that, at certain values of the parameters of the radio line, the standard deviation of the determination of the range of the order of units of meters and less is achieved both for the Luneburg lens and the combined angular reflector. The final choice should be made taking into account their mass, as well as the possibilities of transforming the radio retroreflector from transportation to working condition.


In this study were examined the effect of argumentation applications on the "Matter and Exchange" unit achievement of secondary school fifth grade students and the changes occurred in the student at the end of this process. The re-search model consists of a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test with control groups. The study was conducted with two different fifth grade students of a second-ary school in the 2016-2017 academic year. One of the classes was determined randomly before the study as the experi-mental group and the other as the control group. In the con-trol group, science lessons were carried out by using with frequently methods such as direct instruction, question-answer and display experiments. In the experiment group, lessons were conducted based on with research and inquiry argumentation activities. The application lasted total of five weeks. As data collection tool in the study, unit-based achievement test consisting of multiple choice and open ended questions and semi-structured interview questions were used. Success test were applied to the students after the completion of the applications, interviews were conducted with a total of 12 students, six from the experimental and control groups. The quantitative data were analyzed by using independent samples t-test and one way ANCOVA analysis while qualita-tive data were evaluated by thematic analysis. As a result, it was determined that differ significantly in favor of the exper-imental group students participating in the argumentation activities the multiple choice, open-ended questions and test total scores in the test. In addition, the students in the exper-imental group stated learned better at the end of the process that the information they learned was permanent, they liked science lesson and their self-confidence increased.


Dilute GaAs/sub 1-x/N/sub x/ (x/spl les/4/spl times/10/sup -4/) alloys were fabricated by impinging N ion beam (N/sup +/ and N/sub 2//sup +/) during molecular beam epitaxy of GaAs. "x" was controlled by varying the GaAs growth rate in the range of 0.33-1.0 /spl mu/m/h, while keeping the ion beam current density constant at 60-75 nA/cm. All samples were grown at the substrate temperature of 550/spl deg/C. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed that N atoms distributed uniformly in dilute GaAsN layers. In low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of the samples furnace-annealed at 750/spl deg/C, peak-energy shift of band-to-carbon (C) acceptor emission, (e, C) towards lower energy region (red shift) was observed as x increases from zero. This is in evidence on the formation of GaAsN alloys since the red-shift was theoretically predicted owing to a large optical bowing parameter relevant to the GaAsN system.


Implementation of using a robot to catch a moving object is one of the leading-edge research goals in the field of intelligent robot. It has showed a splendid future in some fields like industry, aviation and entertainment. The development of this direction depends on that of many different disciplines. This paper, as a roadmap, presents an introduction of relative researchs in the world. It includes the state of the art of research and the experiment in this field. Meanwhile, an anlysis and of potential problems and the development trend are also presented.


A WO3/Fe-Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was prepared using the solid state ion exchange method (SSIE) and its performance for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH3 (NH3-SCR of NO) was investigated. The study shows that the tungsten addition can slightly improve the high temperature catalytic activity of Fe-Cu-ZSM-5. The influence of hydrothermal aging at 850 °C for 5 h on the structural and textural properties of WO3/Fe-Cu-ZSM-5 was also studied in this paper. The XRD and FE-SEM measurements did not indicate a breakdown of the zeolite structure upon steam treatment for both aged catalysts. The aged W-base catalyst demonstrates a lower deactivation and better catalytic activity for NO reduction than the bimetallic catalyst after hydrothermal aging despite the lower acidic properties as shown by FTIR-Pyr spectroscopy owing to the presence of tungsten oxide crystallites. The "severe" stage of aging occurring in the absence of W led to the formation of copper oxide agglomerates detected using STEM and H2-TPR techniques being responsible for the deterioration of SCR activity of the aged Fe-Cu-ZSM-5.


Three potential Bacillus sp. strain, KRG, KRT, and LDR from cocopeat was known to have antagonistic activity against fungal pathogen. The antagonistic activity represented the potency of three isolates as biocontrol agent. In this study, the growth and extracellular enzyme of three isolates will be characterized and also the selected bacterium was identified based on 16S rRNA. The growth of Bacillus sp. strains were characterized in Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB) with various pH medium and temperature incubation. The three isolates can growth at 30–45 °C, meanwhile KRG can grew up to 50 °C. The optimum temperature growth of LDR was 30–45 °C. All of isolates can grow in medium with pH 5–8 with optimal growth for LDR in pH 7–8. Extracellular enzyme assay showed all isolates can produce amylase, lipase, protease, and gelatinase. Molecular identification showed that selected strain LDR is closed to Bacillus siamensis and has 99.52 % similarity with Bacillus siamensis KCTC 13613 strain PD-A10.


OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Evaluate effectiveness of participant recruitment service to improve study enrollment through customer feedback surveys and recruitment data obtained by research teams utilizing services. Use survey information to conduct gap analysis of additional support needed for participant recruitment. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Participant enrollment is often cited as one of the most challenging aspects of clinical research. In 2021, the Indiana CTSI used project management techniques to design and pilot a Team Science approach for providing participant recruitment support to clinical research teams. This service called the Indiana CTSI Recruitment Concierge Service (RCS) is comprised of recruitment, community engagement, social media, communications, and project management expertise. Additional experts are chosen to participate based on the study needs (regulatory, population insight, informatics, clinical services, etc.) RCS customers are comprised of study teams from a variety of areas and research experience. These customers are sent surveys to evaluate the support they received and provide suggestions for improvement. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The RCS assisted 72 study teams in 2021 and 85 (as of November) in 2022. These studies were referred via word of mouth as no advertising of the service had been done to date. All customers were provided a study specific consultation with recommendations of services and resources that would assist their study. Some services recommended were: local study listing and volunteer registry (All IN for Health), digital marketing support, materials design expertise, community engagement and healthcare patient recruitment guidance. The overall feedback from RCS customers has been positive with most teams indicating the support improved their study recruitment and/or engagement plan. RCS will use information obtained to develop a strategy for prioritizing services due to the overwhelming number of requests received. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Using project management techniques and a Team Science approach, the Indiana CTSI was able to develop a comprehensive participant recruitment service that integrates clinical research operations, community engagement, and informatics expertise to design study specific recruitment plans and coordination of services.


Identifying causal relationships between drugs and rare but serious/irreversible adverse events is an increasingly important issue in postmarketing studies. The observational cohort study is among the most rigorous and appropriate class of designs when it is unfeasible to conduct prospective, randomized clinical trials. A new class of hybrid designs is described in this article; this class uses external data such as established databases or pre-NDA (New Drug Application) data. These designs are intended to achieve the ideal of detecting associations between the drug and rare adverse events and have a moderate sample size requirement to reach safety decisions more quickly. A new sample size formula based on the Poisson distribution is developed for a design in which the incidence of adverse events for subjects treated with the compound is compared to an external control cohort not receiving the compound under study. The results provide direct evidence for a reduction in sample size with the incorporation of external controls.


If you've ever worked with teen volunteers at your library, you know it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. That said, it has its share of stresses as well. But overall, it's an experience we likely couldn't survive the summer without at Brown County Central Library in Green Bay, Wisconsin.


Cyclic-reservation multiple-access (CRMA) is an access scheme for high-speed local and metropolitan area networks based on a dual-bus configuration. In CRMA, the headend generates the reserve commands periodically. It is proved that the problem of finding a shortest cycle for a CRMA reservation (called a cycle compression problem) is NP-complete by showing that it is equivalent to the interval coloring problem. An O(n/sup 2/) approximation algorithm is proposed to solve this problem, where n is the number of stations in the network.<<ETX>>


NR-g-(GMA-co-St) was prepared by melt grafting using glycidyl methacrylate(GMA) as grafting monomer,styrene(St) as grafting co-monomer,dicumyl peroxide(DCP) as radical initiator in single-screw extruder.The effects of the content of GMA,St and DCP and the grafting temperature on the grafting degree of NR and the mechanical properties of NR-g-(GMA-co-St) were studied.The results showed that,the grafting degree was the highest and NR-g-(GMA-co-St) had the best mechanical properties when the GMA/St/DCP was 8/4/0.3 and the grafting temperature was 160 ℃.The addition of St using as co-monomer significantly accelerated GMA grafting onto NR,furthermore,could effectively control the decomposition of NR.NR-g-(GMA-co-St) of FTIR proved that GMA grafted onto the NR molecular chain.


Ultrasonic generator (100) for generating ultrasound, in particular for a hand-held device (400) for attaching a body (402) to a base (404) by ultrasonic welding, wherein the ultrasound generator (100) includes a power amplifier (102) for amplifying a electrical supply signal (104), a pulse generator (106) for generating a pulsed control signal to the pulse controlling the power amplifier (102) such that the power amplifier (102) is generated as an amplified electric supply signal is a pulsed drive signal for driving an ultrasonic transducer (108) the ultrasonic transducer (108) for generating the ultrasound in providing the drive signal to the ultrasonic transducer, and between the power amplifier (102) and the ultrasonic transducer (108) Interconnected low-pass filter for filtering out high-frequency components, in particular for filtering of harmonics, has from the drive signal.


Transformation of progesterone by various microorganisms such as actinomycetes, yeast and mould fungi of different 53 strains had been studied. 19 different strains was able to oxygenate progesterone at C11. The transformation products, other than 11α-hydroxyprogesterone, which were formed by these active strains had been identified. These studies proved that the active organisms were capable of introduction of oxygen function at different positions other than position 11 of progesterone e.g. positions 17 and 21. Side chain degradation reaction with and without lactone formation of ring D of progesterone had been also found to be performed by some of these organisms.


Abstract I present the latest results from our group about the multiple stellar populations in the old Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) and in the young systems both in the Magellanic Clouds and in the Milky Way. For the ancient GCs in our Galaxy I summarize the chemical properties of the stellar populations as observed on the chromosome map. Both Type I and Type II GCs are discussed. For the youngest clusters I will briefly report our latest spectroscopic analysis on the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 1818 and the Galactic open cluster M 11, which supports the co-existence of stellar populations with different rotation rates.


Chapter Preview. This chapter illustrates the applications of various predictive modeling strategies for determining pure premiums in property-casualty insurance. Consistent with standard predictive modeling practice, we focus on methodologies capable of harnessing risk-level information in the ratemaking process. The use of such micro-level data yields statistical models capable of making finer-grained distinctions between risks, thereby enabling more accurate predictions. This chapter will compare multiple analytical approaches for determining risk-level pure premium. A database of personal automobile risks will be used to illustrate the various approaches. A distinctive feature of our approach is the comparison of two broad classes of modeling frameworks: univariate and multivariate. The univariate approach, most commonly used in industry, specifies a separate model for each outcome variable. The multivariate approach specifies a single model for a vector of outcome variables. Comparing the performance of different models reveals that there is no unique solution, and each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. Introduction Ratemaking, the estimation of policy- or risk-level pure premium for the purpose of pricing insurance contracts, is one of the classical problems of general insurance (aka "nonlife," aka "property-casualty") actuarial science. For most of the 20th century, ratemaking practice was largely restricted to the one-way analyses of various rating dimensions (such as risk class, prior claims, geographical territory, and so on) with pure premium. Insurers would occasionally employ Bailey-Simonminimum bias methods to account for dependencies amongst rating dimensions. However, the multivariate approach to ratemaking was typically more honored in the breach than the observance due to the information technology limitations of the time and the difficulty of running the iterative Bailey-Simon computational routines. Neither the one-way nor the Bailey-Simon approach was founded in mainstream statistical modeling concepts. This state of affairs began to change rapidly starting in the mid-1990s thanks partly to increasing availability of computing technology, and partly to the recognition that generalized linear models (GLM) offers practitioners a rigorous, mainstream statistical framework within which Bailey-Simon type calculations, and much else, can be performed (see, e.g., Mildenhall, 1999). GLM methodology offers the ability to move beyond fairly rudimentary analyses of low-dimensional aggregated data to the creation of sophisticated statistical models, containing numerous predictive variables, that estimate expected pure premium at the risk rather than class level.


Trees in insulators have been investigated using fractal geometry. The complexity of the tree is estimated by only one number of the fractal dimension. In some cases that the local shape of the branches of the trees is different in another branches, it is not useful to analyze whole tree. Tree should be multifractal. Therefore multifractal analysis is done and then a global spectrum is obtained. It is, however, difficult to understand the curve of the global spectrum (Global dimension and singularity) because both numbers mean dimension. We sometimes need a local information on the tree. Multifractal, however, does not tell us it because the local information is lost when it is calculated. We suggested new numerical method for trees; local fractal dimension. Fractal dimension at each point on the tree is calculated. The correlation function is used for estimating local fractal dimension. We furthermore suggest wavelet analysis instead of correlation function. For the correlation function, the area calculated is determined by someone. In the case of wavelet function, the area is, however, automatically determined, because the wavelet function changes their supported region automatically. It is easy to point out the change of the tree and it is useful to estimate the development of the tree using these methods.


There is an ongoing movement in the career development counseling field that focuses on narrative-based approaches. The purposes of this article are to analyze the factors that led to a turn to narrative career counseling, to examine the strengths of narrative, and to outline potential limitations. The literature review examined scholarly work in the career development field. Contributions from other disciplines (e.g., medicine) were integrated to provide complementary perspectives. The author contends that there is an appropriate place for narrative in career and employment counseling. Suggestions for addressing limitations and applications for career and employment counselors are highlighted.


Nurse educators frequently deal with nursing students' discomfort in learning to care for drying patients. However, teaching students how to care for dying patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presents unique and interesting challenges. The authors describe the influence and AIDS diagnostic has on students' comfort levels in touching and talking to dying patients. Recommendations and teaching strategies to assist nurse educators are provided.


In this work, we demonstrate that the permeability of a SiNx thin film (prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition) to water and oxygen is closely related to the deposition pressure. By dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry, we confirmed that water penetration occurs into the SiNx film only in the oxidized layer. Furthermore, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy indicated that a SiNx film with a lower deposition pressure provides a smaller pore (free volume hole) radius, which is more effective in terms of blocking ambient molecular diffusion or penetration. The SiNx films were also applied as an encapsulation layer for organic light-emitting diodes; SiNx films with a lower deposition pressure exhibited higher encapsulation properties.


Dixie (Distributed Internet Execution Environment) provides a base for sending programs called Dixie applications to Internet sites for execution. It provides the features generally found in operating systems, such as a file system, multiprocessing, interprocess communications, etc., and in addition capabilities to permit Dixie applications to interact with resources at the local site. Security is of first importance; it must not be possible for a Dixie application to have an undesired effect on the local system. This paper explains the Dixie concept and discusses language and execution issues. The languages understood by Dixie, at least initially, will fall in the class of Very High Level Languages, not the least because these languages will support the security requirements of Dixie, as well as the command language requirements. Dixie complements these languages, and provides uniform platform independent of the local hardware and operating systems to support Dixie application programs.


High-power Free-Electron Lasers were made possible by advances in superconducting linac operated in an energy-recovery mode. In order to get to much higher power levels, say a fraction of a megawatt average power, many technological barriers are yet to be broken. We describe work on CW, high-current and high-brightness electron beams. This will include a description of a superconducting, laser-photocathode RF gun employing a new secondary-emission multiplying cathode, an accelerator cavity, both capable of producing of the order of one ampere average current and plans for an ERL based on these units.


Green Chemistry can be defined as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. This review, relating to environmental aspects, concentrates on green chemical design, rather than process chemistry. Such design is already possible, however very few organisations possess sufficient in-house expertise. At the simplest level it is possible to advise chemists on how to design for lower bioaccumulation potential and higher biodegradability. At the most complex level, modern molecular modelling techniques can enable the simultaneous prediction of all desired properties of a substance, including its performance and its environmental acceptability. The benefits for companies and the environment are potentially huge; companies adopting green chemistry principles already report considerable savings in their compliance costs.