The 16thconference of our party has put forword the great purposes for us,that is,"to build a well-to-do society,quicken the socialism modernalization and struggle for creating a new aspect of Chinese socialism career.This is an important embody for carrying out "three representations"and implementing the demands of developing productive force and advanced culture and fulfilling the essential interest demands of the public.To build a well-to-do society completely must step the sustainable development road and achieve coordinated development of the population,economy,society,nature,regions and urban-county.


ABSTRACT Mungbean is an important food grain legume with high economic status. It has an excellent source of dietary protein and nutritional health benefits, particularly for the vegetarians. It increases soil fertility and also plays an imperative role in major cropping systems due to its short life span. Production of mungbean is still decreasing due to its susceptibility towards various environmental stress factors. Salt stress is one of the most prevailing abiotic stress imposing threats for agriculture food crops along with increasing world population and limited natural resources. Fewer efforts have been made to develop an improved variety of mungbean. The present review summarizes the adverse effects of salt stress and mungbean response at the physiological and molecular level. It covers recent studies on introgression of useful traits in mungbean for its better adaptability and survival under stressed conditions. Modern biotechnological approaches and traditional breeding methods may assist the development of salt-tolerant cultivars of mungbean for salinity-affected area in arid and semi-arid regions. Researchers involved in this area should keep this goal on priority for sustainable mungbean production. Availability of protein-rich food may help to reduce the problem of malnutrition in poor families and national food security issue for a continuous rising population.


Based on the integrated study of sediment cores in the South China Sea, the sedimentation rates feature during the Late Pleistocene has been shown.(1) On the whole, the rates of glacial stages is 1.3~1.6 times for the interglacials.(2)Trend analysis on the sedimentation rate is performed, which indicates that the rates of cores during δ 18 O Stage 1 were high in the northeastern and south western continental slope. The features resulted from trend analysis were the main controlling factors of the river distribution, monsoon and ocean current etc. The sedimentation rates of cores during δ 18 O Stage 2 and 3 were similar, which were different from that of during δ 18 O Stage 1, only that were high on the northeastern continental slope. So the sediment environment in the South China Sea was significantly modified after the δ 18 O Stage 2. Based on the study of sediment cores in the Eastern South China Sea, the constituents of the main matter and sedimentation fluxes feature were obtained.(1)From the last glacial stage, the sedimentation fluxes on the northern continental slope were higher than that of the deep basin.(2) The sedimentation fluxes of silicon organic substances during the glacial stage were higher than that of the interglacials.(3)From the last glacial stage, the terrigenous constituents were 44% above in the abyssal plains sediments.


Abstract The hydroisomerization of n -heptane to dibranched and tribranched products for producing high octane gasoline has been studied using unidirectional 12 Membered Ring (MR) zeolites with different pore diameters, and zeolites with other pore topologies including one with connected 12×10 MR pores and two tridirectional 12 MR zeolites. Besides the pore topology, the crystallite size of the zeolite was seen to be of paramount importance for improving activity and selectivity. In a second part of the work, a Light Straight Run naphtha including n -pentane and n -hexane and another feed containing n -pentane, n -hexane, and n -heptane have been successfully isomerized using a nanocrystalline Beta (BEA) zeolite. This can be a favourable alternative to the commercial zeolite catalyst based on mordenite (MOR), especially when n -heptane is present in the feed.


This article seeks to explore the novel phenomenon of retronymy in linguistics and accommodates it in Ndebele lexicography. Retronyms are a special class of compound nouns that is not catered for in the Isichazamazwi sesiNdebele (ISN). Retronymy becomes part of derivational morphology because nouns are derived by combining different parts of speech in retronymy. This process is a major contributor to Ndebele lexical expansion. The process enables the language to accommodate new concepts as it is influenced by other cultures and technology. Retro naming is an area in Ndebele morphology that has not had much attention from linguists compared to other noun derivatives. The Ndebele language now operates in a global village where many cultures meet and mix. This creates a situation whereby many concepts are borrowed from other cultures and some from technology; most of these are retro named. Ndebele dictionaries cannot afford to ignore retronyms in future. While the Isichazamazwi sesiNdebele is a breakthrough in Ndebele monolingual dictionary work, it leaves out a very important entry the retronym.


and amplify accomplishments and contributions of women in your practice or department. Speak up when you see implicit or overt gender bias. 6. Increase funding opportunities for women: Recent investigations reveal a gender disparity in the amount of NIH funding received by first time female and male principal investigators with a mean difference of $39,106. Consider targeted funding opportunities for women and formalized mentoring programs. Consider using nongendered terms in applications for funding.


Objective In order to provide the scientific foundation for the prevention and control of the hepatitis B and find the dangerous factors here, we studied the relation between the hepatitis B and the living habit of fisherman. Methods To analyze the relation between the infection of hepatitis B and the living habit, the uniform questionnaire was applied to investigate the living habit of fisherman, and then get determined by serological methods. Results The total infection rate of fisherman is 61.4%, in which the rate of positive results of HBsAg is 15.5%, anti-HBs is 32.5% , and anti-HBc is 45.6%. The infection rate in such people who have familial ancestors of the hepatitis B and drink raw water and rice wine frequently is higher, and lower in people who drink water through his own cup. Conclusions Through strengthening the healthy education to the fisherman, acquainting them the approach of infection of the hepatitis B viruses, changing their incorrect living habits, and strengthening self-protection mental consciousness, the dangerous factors of the hepatitis B infection can be reduced.


A new species of Dolops is described from Lake Surprise, Tasmania, where it has been found on a galaxiid fish. Hitherto the genus has been known only from freshwater in S. America and Africa. Taxonomic errors involving an alleged Asiatic member of the genus are rectified and recent gross mistreatment of the classification of the Branchiura is discussed. The genus Dolops is re-defined. Evidence bearing on the history and dispersal of Dolops and other organisms is reviewed, particular attention being directed to the freshwater bivalve molluscs formerly assigned to the Mutelidae. While the African and S. American muteloids belong to closely related families of the Muteloidea, the Australasian forms formerly thought of as representatives of this group have no place in this superfamily. They, and certain S. American bivalves, however, show unambiguous trans-Antarctic affinities as they belong to a common family, the Hyriidae. Taking into account recent work, both geological and biological, and in spite of powerful voices raised in objection, the disjunct distribution of several groups of animals in the Southern Hemisphere seems to be most plausibly explained as a result of continental drift, though no dogmatic claims are made.


Molecular dynamics and genetic algorithm simulations are used to identify the mechanisms by which oxygen is transported through the Sr 1 − 3 x/ 2 La x TiO 3 family of perovskites as a function of x . Across this compositional range the relative stability of ordered structures and random arrangements of A cation sublattice ions and vacancies is established. O and Ti Frenkel pair formation is then predicted. This shows that Ti defects are more favourable for all La-containing compositions, but have a larger defect volume than O defects for low x . Oxygen diffusion at high temperature is determined using Molecular Dynamics simulations. Two types of oxygen transport mechanisms are identified, that each contribute to oxygen diffusion in ordered structures. These mechanism involve transient O and Ti defects respectively, and provide means for O ions to swap positions. Depending on cation ordering, they can be correlated in space, which causes different diffusion patterns depending on composition.


It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of magnet wire for modern technology and our everyday life. This paper examines the development of insulating wire and the history of its manufacture in the USA.


thing like "The Chuo Line is where it happens most often." On pages 31—32 nan'how many' ( = iku-) is confused with nani'what. . . '. On p. 299 -ka 'days' should be marked "(J)" not "(Ch)," for it was not borrowed from Chinese. Describing the stem-final infinitive ending of yomi'read' as "a euphonic -/ [that is] inserted" is not just quaint but wrong, both historically and descriptively. The phonetic description is good, if somewhat inaccurate with respect to the long 6 and e, the usual version of ei, which is unmentioned on page 404 (but see pp. 407—8), as is the centralized unrounded version of/u/ (after s, ts, z). The geminate voiced sounds that some speakers use in MObbu 'mob' (vs. MOppu 'mop'), DAzzu 'Dad's [rootbeer]', and BAdji 'badge' deserve mention on page 409. There are few misprints. The author really means "debitive" (p. 297; see p. 315 for the meaning) and not "dubitative"; I have now added that technical term, together with "perlative" (a reference to what I call a "transversal object") to my passive vocabulary. Footnotes 17 and 18 (p. 285) have been incorporated into the text, and so are not really needed. In addition, I find about a half-dozen typos. This book is rich in information. Some of the vocabularies are probably too extensive for a work of this kind; the list of mimetic words ("ideophones"; pp. 4 2 8 43) is longer than most readers will appreciate. The purpose of the "Basic Vocabulary" (pp. 465-74) may puzzle the uninitiated. It is a "Swadesh list" used by anthropologists and linguists to compare related languages for the presumed time depth of their separation from a common ancestor, or to hypothesize genetic relationships from phonetic resemblances in semantically corresponding words. Readers may be put off by numerous passages such as "22.214.171.124.4.4.-5. UNBOUNDED REFERENCE AND PAUCALI There are no such categories in Japanese" (p. 254). And they may be dismayed by the overly detailed system of numbering sections and subsections. It should be borne in mind that these annoyances are intended to serve readers with other aims and are the product of the series format. More troublesome is the lack of an index, or at least a detailed guide to the contents. The contents themselves are of high quality, and I congratulate Hinds on producing a useful work that will provide insight and perspective to many different kinds of readers.


Direct ink writing (DIW) is an ambient temperature additive manufacturing (AM) method that accommodates many possible ink materials. Here, we demonstrate using a moisture-curable commercially available polyurethane (PU) sealant as an alternative ink for DIW. We discussed the fundamentals of PU chemistry and determined the best 3D printing parameters. Studies on rheological, thermogravimetric, spectroscopic characterization, and initial finite element analyses (FEA) showed properties expected from a performance sealant with high elongation and low modulus of a 3D-printed object. This affirms the flexibility of the DIW technique as an accessible AM method amenable for future materials development from commercial model formulations.


In order to ensure building energy management at an appropriate level continuously, it is necessary to define service work of energy management and to suggest evaluation index whether energy management in buildings is fit and improvement is needed or not. And evaluation index of energy management level in buildings is not suggested yet in Korea. So, the purpose of this paper is to suggest evaluation index of energy management level in buildings, investigate the present state of Korean buildings and evaluate energy management levels. As a result of surveys of evaluation index of energy management, it is found that portion of level 1, which is the best level, is higher than any other level, or, level 2, level 3. And, throughout analysis, it is found that as total floor area is larger, energy management level is better, and, in order to improve energy management level in view of maintenance personnel, it is necessary to change building users' understanding about energy saving in building and make a reform of national policy of energy management in buildings. And, because there is rich relationship between items among evaluation index of this study and evaluation index which is suggested in this study, evaluation index of energy management is available to evaluate energy management level in buildings.


The effects of different distillation patterns of fermented grains and alcohol concentration on the bottom of the steaming bucket on the extraction of microconstituents in liquor were studied. The results showed that the content of acetal and aldehyde and ethyl caproate in liquor by 600 W distillation were obviously higher than that by 800 W distillation, however, the content of ethyl lactate, butyric acid and caproic acid were obviously lower, the content of total acids was 0.10 g/L lower and alcohol degree was 5 %vol higher. With the increase of alcoholicity, the content of ethyl lactate decreased gradually, however, the content of ethyl caproate increased firstly and later decreased as alcoholicity reached 28 %vol. The content of ethyl caproate increased slightly with the increase of flowing tube height. The content of ethyl lactate decreased slightly with the increase of alcoholicity.


Adolescence is a dynamic and complex period in any society, but within the Aboriginal population this time is one of significant social pressures, critical decisions, and struggles to emerge healthy. The Positive Leadership, Legacy, Lifestyles, Attitudes, and Activities for Aboriginal Youth (PL 3 A 3 Y) project created youth and Elder teams to explore cultural practices that may inform the youth's paths to living well. Using a community-based participatory research approach, Elder–youth dyads developed and delivered five modules to 78 students at a local elementary school in response to the research question: What are the critical components of a "Living Well" healing initiative for Aboriginal youth? Through a 4-step process that included engagement, module creation, co-delivery, and knowledge sharing, the project's community-based research team innovatively and using culturally appropriate approaches brought forward critical topics of Leaders and Leadership, Legacy, Lifestyles, Attitudes, and Activities. Not only did the Elder–youth dyads develop a series of highly relevant, creative, useful products that were shared extensively with youth in the community, but the experience became a culturally appropriate leadership development opportunity for the youth researchers. The involvement of Elder–youth teams was a strength in linking past to present and in jointly envisioning a positive, healthier future for Aboriginal youth. With youth as co-researchers, the Elders as partners were highly effective in the development and delivery of culturally relevant teachings and knowledge that strengthened youth's ability to achieve holistic personal and community wellness.


Extraction of purified metals from extraterrestrial materials can be accomplished in several ways, such as beneficiation, hydrogen reduction, recovery of spent rockets, direct melting of iron meteorites, and plasma isotope separation. Presented here is a method for multiple simultaneous extraction of multiple metals and metalloids from regolith. Two patented approaches are described which can operate on a planetary surface, or in the microgravity environment of orbit. This approach to isotope separation applies to regolith fines but is advantageously applied to the effluent of a patented oxygen extraction method. In this way, a plurality of valuable raw materials can be obtained with a single system, suitable for operation on the Moon or at the surface of an asteroid. Silicon is of interest for studies of purity due to its importance in photovoltaics. A silicon-aluminum aerospace alloy can be produced directly, called Silumin, which has value in construction of habitats and space craft in space. Silicon can also be combined with carbon to form the wide-bandgap semiconductor SiC from which high-power and radiation-tolerant power transistors can be fabricated. Furthermore, this method lends itself to additive manufacturing whereby specific shapes of purified metals can be formed directly from the plasma extraction process.


Extensive field tests of four new introductory physics courses, in which the new models were compared with more traditional courses, have yielded many results. The most interesting of these are not directly related to how the new models fared, but instead to general features shared in common by many physics courses. The theme is simply that it is important to set concrete and well-defined goals, and to design every in- and out-of-class activity so that the students' time is devoted to achieving those goals.


Ts. Miteva ' Dr. L. Minkova ([E~) Institute of Polymers Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria Abstract Transesterification productscopolymers of semiflexible liquid crystalline polymer SBH 112 grafted to functionalized low molecular mass polyethylene (PEox) obtained by melt polycondensation or reactive blending procedures have been investigated by wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The x-ray diffraction patterns of PE-g-LCP copolymers obtained via both procedures consist of reflections typical for the orthorhombic crystalline lattice of PE and the single reflection of the solid LCP. The lack of dhk~ variations with respect to those of neat PEox and SBH indicates the absence of interactions in the crystalline phase or that of cocrystallization phenomena between the components of the PE-g-SBH copolymers. The analysis of the crystallinity degree and normalized amorphous and crystalline contributions to the diffraction patterns of the products suggests that both copolymer components are partly miscible in the amorphous phase. The extent of miscibility depends on the copolymer structure, namely on the length of PE segments and SBH grafts. PE segments in PE-g-SBH copolymers obtained by the reactive blending are longer and exhibit a higher crystallizability than those obtained via melt polycondensation. SBH grafts of the copolymers obtained by the reactive blending are also longer than those in the products obtained via melt polycondensation. The morphology of the samples has been interpreted as determined by the different structure of the copolymers obtained by both procedures.


This large loss of carbon results in a footprint of 1.24 tonnes of CO2 e per tonne of compost. Although this footprint appears small compared with synthesised nitrogen fertiliser, compost is less efficient in providing nitrogen to a crop. Therefore crops may require between 20 and 40 times the quantity of compost to supply the same amount of nitrogen, resulting in a far larger carbon footprint.


Originality: There has been significant research undertaken on gender inequality in the United Kingdom, however, this chapter is the first to explore the relationship between the requirements of CEDAW and the government initiative, the Northern Powerhouse.


Research in the field of tissue engineering is rapidly producing new types of cultured tissues, which may aid in repairing or replacing damaged soft tissues. It is critical to assess the mechanical properties of these engineered tissues to determine if the properties approach those of native tissues. Planar biaxial testing is an appropriate characterization method because thin, soft tissues are generally accepted to be incompressible. The objective of this project is to design and build a low cost, electromechanical testing system for planar biaxial stretching of soft connective tissues. The planar biaxial device designed in this paper has a four -axis control system as well as the four components of: a temperature-controlled testing chamber, a low friction sample attachment system, a stretching/force system, and a deformation analysis system. The device's design is unique and innovative due to its low force capability (<0.5N), low cost (<$15,000), sterilizable materials, and real time computer control.


After making an investigation of public signs of Hengyang City,one representative of middle-sized cities of China,we found that mistranslation of public signs in middle-sized cities is serious.Some general and special reasons brought about the mistranslations.In order to normalize the translation of public signs,we should adopt some measures.We'd better have the loan of relevant general rules of Beijing City and get the unitarity of public signs translation.We'd better keep to the translation principles and hold the correctness of the English version.The government should do somethings to propagandize the importance of public signs translation.The market order of translation should be rectified,otherwise it is difficult to get the normalization of public signs translation.


Short QT syndrome (SQTS) is an inheritable primary electric disease of the heart characterized by abnormally short QT intervals on the ECG and an increased propensity to develop atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias.1,–,3 It is a relatively recent addition to the list of inherited channelopathies responsible for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in individuals with structurally normal hearts. Cases of SQTS have been reported with presentation as early as in the first year of life, suggesting that it could be one of the etiologies underlying sudden infant death syndrome.4 SQTS was first described as a new clinical entity by Gussak et al in 2000.1 The familial nature and arrhythmic potential of the disease was further highlighted by Gaita et al.5 They described 6 patients of SQTS in 2 unrelated European families with strong family history of sudden death in association with short QT intervals on the ECG. Since its initial introduction in 2000, significant progress has been made in defining the clinical, genetic,6 and ionic basis of the disease as well as approaches to therapy. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available data concerning SQTS from bench to bedside.

The definition of a pathophysiologic long QT interval evolved over a period of several decades and it may take some time to define what constitutes a pathophysiologic short QT interval. Several large scale population studies have shown that the corrected QT interval (QTc, using the Bazett formula) of healthy individuals conforms to a gaussian normal distribution, that is, a bell-shaped curve.7,–,10 Based on this distribution, the "normal QTc" interval may be defined as values that fall within 2 standard deviations (SD) from the mean. This approach will categorize 95% of the population as having normal QTc …


Interiors of buildings are often represented as two-dimensional spaces with attributes attached to them. Examples can be found everywhere, from architectural design plans to maps showing evacuation routes in emergency cases. Most of the navigation programs use primarily 2D plans for visualization and communication. Some exceptions are historical buildings and museums, which do offer navigation through textured, detailed 3D indoor models. However, these models are not structured with respect to the functionality of the building but largely with respect to the navigation/visualisation route. Structuring the interior is not a straight forward task, as many concurrent decompositions of a building have to be accommodated (e.g., functional, according to building structure, accessibility-wise), which are very dependent on the application. Furthermore the semantic/terminology is still not unified and in many cases ambiguous. A very typical example are inner open-air courts, which are open-air but inside the building. In this paper we present a semantic model of interior spaces. The structuring aims at facilitating calculation of evacuation routes and therefore particular building characteristics related to exit possibilities such as available doors and windows are considered as leading in the followed approach. The classification concept is used to build a graph for one of the buildings in the campus area. The geometry of the building and corresponding graph are organised in a geo-database management system (geo-DBMS)


Abstract 'The study of language maintenance and shift is concerned with the relationship between change and stability in habitual use, on the one hand and ongoing psychological, social or cultural processes, on the other hand, when populations differing in language are in contact with each other' (Fishman et al. 1966, 424). This article reports on the initial stages of language shift on a micro level, in a study carried out on 15 Afrikaans speakers, all of whom were in the final stages of preparing to emigrate to New Zealand. The study explores the linguistic attitudes of the emigrants, both to their mother tongue (Afrikaans) and to English and their vision of what lies ahead, linguistically and offers a view on possible long-term linguistic outcomes for these families.


The technology for making nickel monoxide from wasted nickel catalyst was developed. The quality of product comes up to the standard of P.R.C. and the recovery ratio of nickel gets to 95%.The multiple use of wasted nickel catalyst is useful.


Currently, data mining is playing a significant role in the healthcare system. It helps to extract the hidden pattern from the clinical dataset for further analysis. Also, it can be used to build a tool to manage the medical management system. Among the life-threatening diseases, diabetes mellitus is treated as a serious disease worldwide. Due to its mortality rate, early prediction and diagnosis are very important. Several research works are going on the mentioned issues to reduce the complications caused by diabetes as well as the mortality rate. The medical science needs to analyze an enormous quantity of clinical data for diagnosis purposes using machine learning techniques. In recent approaches, the disease datasets may contain insignificant and digressive features causing less accurate results. The aim of this paper is to analyze the existing prediction systems and hence develop a hybrid disease prediction model using the Genetic Algorithm for Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree and Support Vector Machine classifiers for better accuracy. This proposed diabetes prediction model produces the accuracies of 0.8182, 0.8052, and 0.8312 when Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree, and Support Vector Machine classifiers are used respectively. From the experimental results, it can be demonstrated that for all cases Support Vector Machine provides higher accuracy comparing to the other classifiers. In the analysis, the Pima Indian diabetes dataset is used to construct the proposed model.


The rapid immigrant population growth has had a great impact on cultural institutions' educational role to immigrants. In recent years, cultural institutions have increased educational opportunity for immigrants and these programs encourage adult learners to participate in the community. In order to understand the current state of education for adult immigrants in the United States, this paper will investigate the educational services of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program for immigrants in cultural institutions. In this study, I will focus on the ESOL program offered for adult immigrants in cultural institutions such as library and museum in New York City. How does the ESOL program in cultural institutions refl ect the needs of diverse communities? How does the ESOL program encourage immigrants to participate in society? To answer these questions, I have conducted interviews to ESOL coordinators and teachers in two different cultural institutions in February, 2014. First interview group is one ESOL coordinator and three ESOL teachers in New York Public Library. Another interview was conducted to the founder of the Cultures and Literacies through Art for the 21 Century (CALTA21) which provides ESOL program in museums. These institutions, New York Public Analysis of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program in Cultural Institutions: Educational Opportunity for Adult Immigrants in New York City


This study explores lecturers' and students' perceptions of the
usefulness and their patterns of use of e-learning to supplement face to-
face instruction in Technical Communication subjects offered to
students at University Technical Malaysia, Melaka (UTeM). Using
My Tech Comm Lab as e-learning platform, its efficacy in delivering the
subjects was explored. Drawn from quantitative and qualitative data,
the findings revealed that although both lectures and students have
positive attitudes towards the potentials of web-based technology in
enhancing learning, My Tech Comm Lab (web-based technology) was
underutilized by lecturers as well as students. Among the inherent
features of My Tech Comm Lab, grammar resources were most
frequently used followed by writing process resources and research
procedures resources. Several factors have been identified on reasons
for the restrictive usage of My Tech Comm Lab. Among the reasons
identified were lacks of time and accessibility problems. It is
concluded that alignment between the use of technology, the syllabus
and assessment, and the lecturers' pedagogical belief and teaching
and learning approaches need to be considered to encourage the
widespread integration of technology in education.


An upgrade to the tune measurement has been developed and is in the process of being integrated into the routine operation of the SLS. The main features of this upgrade are the inclusion of a new method for evaluating the tune (using the NAFF method) and its implementation into the CORBA framework of the Beam Dynamics applications. This new method will provide a greater accuracy in the evaluation of the fractional part of the transversal tunes and provides a centralized evaluation. These features together with the introduction of the pinger magnets will be very useful in the understanding of the machine.


Aims. The random walk of energetic charged particles in turbulent magnetic fields is investigated. Special focus is placed on transport across the mean magnetic field, which had been found to be subdiffusive on many occasions. Therefore, a characterization using the concept of ergodicity is attempted by noting the connection to the time evolution of the mean-square displacement. Methods. Based on the test-particle approach, a numerical Monte-Carlo simulation code is used to integrate the equation of motion for particles that are scattered by magnetic turbulence. The turbulent fields are generated by superposing plane waves with a Kolmogorov-type power spectrum. The individual particle trajectories are then used to calculate a variety of statistical quantities. Results. The simulation results clearly demonstrate how the heterogeneity of the particle ensemble causes the system to be weakly non-ergodic. In addition, it is shown how the step length distribution varies with the particle energy. In conclusion, cross-field transport is non-Gaussian but still almost diffusive.


As a leading IT services organization, we have had several opportunities to design and develop software for Fortune 500 companies at the client site. Almost all the clients we worked with have used formal and mature procedures and tools for the development and deployment of software. These processes are normally oriented toward either sequential software development processes, such as the Waterfall model, or Agile software development processes, such as the Scrum model.


A study of the subjective reactiom of 551 monolingual English Speakers and bilingualSpanish/English Speakers acting äs mock Jurors reveals thatpoliteness plays an important role in the impressions that listeners form of testifying witnesses. Pretendingto be Jurors, half the sample heard the Spanish testimony of a witness being interpreted in English by a court Interpreter, in a rendition which included polite address terms. The remaining half of the sample heard the Spanish testimony being interpreted in English without politeness markers. Those who had heard the polite Interpretation found the Spanish speaking witness significantly more convincing, competent, intelligent, and trustworthy than did those who had heard the same witness when his testimony was interpreted without politeness markers. This study shows that politeness enhances listeners' perception o f testifying witnesses. Furthermore, it finds that men and women are equally affected by the presence or absence of politeness, and that bilinguals, too, are influenced by politeness marking in an Interpreter's rendition of testimony. Finally, the role ofthe court Interpreter can be seen to be pivotal in shaping the impressions that listeners form of witnesses.


Self-switching diodes have been fabricated within a single layer of indium-gallium zinc oxide (IGZO). Current-voltage (I-V) measurements show the nanometer-scale asymmetric device gave a diode-like response. Full current rectification was achieved using very narrow channel widths of 50nm, with a turn-on voltage, Von, of 2.2V. The device did not breakdown within the -10V bias range measured. This single diode produced a current of 0.1μA at 10V and a reverse current of less than 0.1nA at -10V. Also by adjusting the channel width for these devices, Von could be altered; however, the effectiveness of the rectification also changed.


Objective: It is a known fact that hypertensive patients (HP), best meet the medication when fewer tablets taken, however, little data exist on the effectiveness of the drug fixed-dose compared with the same drugs administered separately to treat high blood pressure (HTA). In the present study, we studied two groups of patients taking the same combination, but fixedly or separately. To assess the effectiveness in controlling blood pressures (BP) and adherence to treatment in patients with hypertension, who received a fixed combination of lercanidipine with enalapril (ler+enal) and another with the same combination but separately Design and method: MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 88 HP (38 women and 50 men, 67 ± 7 years old) who received ler+ enal fixed dose of 10/20 mg or 20/20 mg (Group I) required to maintain BP below 140/90 in outpatient office, and compared with 90 HP (40 women and 50 men, age 68 ± 5 years old) called Group II received the same medication but separately. We controlled them through self-measurement at home (20 times monthly) and at the end of the study, all underwent to a 24 hs, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, after 12 weeks of follow up. The percentage of adequate monitoring of the medication was 95% for group I and 83% for group II (p = 0.03). Results: The other results were compared in both groups and shown in the following table: Figure. No caption available. Conclusions: CONCLUSIONS: According to our study, we can say that the effectiveness of the drugs is significantly better when they are combined in fixed dose regard to the isolated drugs and this greater efficiency increases with time tracking. Furthermore, adequate treatment compliance is significantly higher in the group with fixed combination respect to the isolated one taking the same drugs, circumstances that should be taken into account when choosing the right treatment for our patients.


A shared buffer ATM switch with a single hot-spot destination port, which is loaded with bursty input traffic, is modeled by a discrete-time queuing system. An approximation method to analyze the queuing system under consideration is developed. We first propose an efficient aggregation algorithm for superposing all the individual input processes to the switch. Then, the shared buffer space of the switching system is partitioned into two destination parts: an address queue dedicated to the hot-spot and remaining address queues having balanced traffic loading. By using an approximation method for estimating the number of nonempty queues in the remaining address queues at an arbitrary time slot, we can obtain the steady-state probability distribution of the queuing system. From the obtained steady-state probabilities, some performance measures such as cell loss probability in the shared buffer and that in the address queue dedicated to the hot-spot can be derived. To eliminate the starvation effect of buffer hogging, we propose two traffic management policies: priority access and cell dropping strategy. Numerical examples of the proposed method are given, which are compared with simulation results.


Headquarters and local work units almost always approach change initiatives from different perspectives. This can create substantial challenges for organisation leaders, managers and workers. Principles of mass customisation, along with the latest science, can now be applied to these change initiatives, providing a direct and effective way to maintain the balance between headquarters and local requirements. Recent research and technology advances provide a scientific approach to organisational transformations based on mass customisation. Using this approach, almost any organisation can achieve rapid, repeatable transformational results.


We introduce some techniques for making a more global analysis of the existence of geodesics on a Seiberg-Witten Riemann surface with metric ds 2 = |λ SW | 2. Because the existence of such geodesics implies the existence of BPS states in N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, one can use these methods to study the BPS spectrum in various phases of the Yang-Mills theory. By way of illustration, we show how, using our new methods, one can easily recover the known results for the N = 2 supersymmetric SU (2) pure gauge theory, and we show in detail how it also works for the N = 2, SU (2) theory coupled to a massive adjoint matter multiplet.


Meningiomas make up a third of all CNS tumors. Despite this, the issues of their therapeutic treatment, clinical course, histological structure, etiology and risk factors remain poorly understood. In comparison, for example, with gliomas. In part, this may be due to the fact that 90% of diagnosed meningiomas are benign and have a small number of genomic aberrations. Unfortunately, a limited number of cancer registries register only malignant neoplasms. Available global annual incidence rates, standardized by gender and age, range from 2/100 000 to 8/100 000 cases. Over the past decade, the incidence of meningiomas in different countries has increased. It has been suggested that the increase in incidence is associated with an aging population. Although these factors are important, they cannot explain the increase in the incidence rate in most age groups. We carried out a clinical and morphological study of meningiomas, a total of 72 cases, with a study of the frequency of occurrence of various species in different age groups and gender. Among the sample, the incidence of meningiomas in women was 74% versus 26% in men. The number of diagnosed meningiomas in men increases linearly from younger age groups to older groups. In women, the frequency of occurrence of meningiomas is distributed unimodally with the largest number of diagnosed meningiomas in the range from 45 to 59 years. To date, it has been proven that the development factors are meningiomatic genetic diseases (type 2 NF2- neurofibromatosis) and ionizing radiation. Among other reasons - the development of endogenous factors, an imbalance of sex hormones. An imbalance of female sex hormones is likely to be involved in oncogenesis in women, especially in the postmenapausal period.


 Abstract — One of the challenges of developing flight control systems for liquid-propelled space vehicles is ensuring stability and performance in the presence of parasitic minimally damped slosh dynamics in the liquid propellants. This can be especially difficult when the fundamental frequencies of the slosh motions are in proximity to the frequency used for vehicle control. The challenge is partially alleviated since the energy dissipation and effective damping in the slosh modes increases with amplitude. However, traditional launch vehicle control design methodology is performed with linearized systems using a fixed slosh damping corresponding to a slosh motion amplitude based on heritage values. This papers presents a method for performing the control design and analysis using damping at slosh amplitudes chosen based on the resulting limit cycle amplitude of the vehicle thrust vector system due to a control-slosh interaction under degraded phase and gain margin conditions


Four new metal-organic polymers with SCN/N3 anion bridges and flexible long spacers L {L = bim [1,2-bis(imidazol-1yl)ethane] and bte [1,2-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethane]}, [Co(SCN)2(bim)] (1-Co), [Co(SCN)2(bte)] (2-Co), [Mn(N3)2(bte)] (3-Mn), and [Mn(N3)2(bim)] (4-Mn), were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies and their magnetic properties were investigated. Complex 1Co is a triple-bridging chain complex with double end-toend SCN– anions and single gauche-bim spacers as bridges. Complexes 2-Co and 3-Mn both contain 1D chains bridged by double end-to-end SCN– or N3 anions and these chains are further extended to 2D (4,4) layers by the anti-bte spacers. Complex 4-Mn has a topological 3D diamond structure


Teachers working with refugee families who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and receiving special education services often rely on cultural liaisons to provide interpreter and translator services during Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings. The purpose of this qualitative study was to interview nine cultural liaisons, who live in a refugee resettlement community, regarding their experiences and advice for teachers when conducting IEP and IFSP meetings with refugee families. Semistructured interviews resulted in themes or suggestions for teachers on how to prepare for the meetings, conduct the meetings, and communicate with families through the cultural liaison in addition to an appeal for teachers to learn about the cultures and consistently demonstrate respect. Implications for future research and teacher preparation are discussed.


The perturbing effects of solar radiation pressure on a satellite orbit are studied by examining a progression of simplified mathematical models. The first-order variation of radial distance is generated for each model to exhibit the basic phenomenon as well as seasonal and shadow effects. The technique used is adequate for the cases examined but rapidly becomes unwieldy if greater accuracy is required or if the models become significantly more complex. Surprisingly good agreement is noted with previous theoretical results (and hence with observation). Although unsuited for precision orbit computation, the methods employed yield fresh insight into the fundamental mechanics of this perturbation and illustrate, in a simple way, the major effects on earth satellite orbits.


IntroductionMental and behavioral disorders account for a complex network to involve into offensive actions. Be it anxiety, substance abuse, personality disorders (i.e., psychopathic personality), schizophrenia, mood disorders, and/or co-morbid cases. Several empirical evidences (e.g., Mateyoke-Scri, Webster, Hiller, Staton, & Eukefeld, 2003; Kinner, Dietze, Gouillou, & Alati, 2012) have shown that persons who pledge into crime more likely reported frequent medical history. However, over the past decade, reports have presented through scientific analysis on the presence of offensive actions, and mental illness among inmates, but there are scanty proofs on the growing nature of crimes and the status of psychopathological symptoms among them. Scholars indicate that there are diverse diagnostic estimates of persons with mental illness in jails (Fellner, 2006).For example, the findings showed that in America, 10 - 15 % (Oxelson, 2009), Great Britain over 90% (Birmingham, 2003) and South Africa 55.4% of inmates found to have some or other kind of mental illness (Naiddoo, M Wunsch, Nakamoto, Goswami, & Schnoll, 2007). These further showed that substance abuse is a deviant behavior that usually co-occurs with other psychiatric illness or crime tendencies among families (Nagalakshmi, Kasarabada, Anglin, Stark, & Paredes, 2000). Another study showed that offenders with a history of victimization (e.g., criminals who already were victim of sexual assault) were more likely to commit assaultive violence than offenders never victimized (Silver, Felson, & Vaneseltine, 2008). Furthermore, persons charged with a serious offence such as homicide are frequently found to be suffering from severe depressive disorder at the time of breaching violence (Prins, 2005).As can be understood from the above discussion points, crime, incarceration and mental disorders are directly related. That is, crime fallouts to incarceration, while incarceration induces behavioral disorders. For example, in South Africa, over 70% of all offenders are currently incarcerated because of violent crimes and possibly they experience psychosocial problems (Loots, & Louw, 2011). The epidemiological evidence drained from other studies show that prisoners have experienced and continue to experience worse health problems than the general population (De Viggiani, 2006; Fazel, & Baillargeon, 2010; Ogloff, Tye, Blaher, & Thomas, 2011; James, & Glaze, 2006; Kinsler, & Saxman, 2007). Moreover, studies show the presence of several associations between psychological symptoms (i.e., anxiety, insomnia and substance abuse) with physical health problems (i.e., skin, respiratory and circulatory) among inmates (Eytan, Haller, Wolff, Cerutti, Sebo, Bertrand & Niveau, 2010). The experiences of Eldoret correction center in Kenya help to understand African reality as well; that means, substance abuse was predominant (66.1%)followed by alcohol (65.1%), cigarette (32.7%), cannabis (21%), amphetamines (9.4%), volatile inhalants (9.1%), sedatives (3.8%), tranquillizers (2.3%), cocaine (2.3%), and heroine (1.3%) (Kinyanjui, & Atwoli, 2013). Supplementary evidences (e.g., Houser, Belenko,& Brennan, 2012; Solomon, Campero, Llamas, & Sweetser, 2012; Oxelson, 2009; Kubiak, Boyd, Slayden, & Young, 2005) show that the risk of misconduct was higher for inmates with mental illness shared with a drug dependence disorder than for inmates with particular disorders.In this study, an attempt has been made to see whether the rate of psychopathological symptoms show difference in terms of gender, age, educational status, term of sentence, and the weight and nature of crime. …


This paper aims to examine the characteristics of foreign direct investment in Uganda and its impacts on development. The paper will look at the current neoliberal paradigm in the international political economy and its role in the developing world. A practicum-based internship with the


PURPOSE: An apparatus of electron emission lithography and a lithography method thereof are provided to exactly control line-width and to improve a throughout by using a selectively grown carbon nanotube as an electron emission source of lithography. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of carbon nanotubes(11) are formed on a substrate(12). Electrons are emitted from the carbon nanotubes(11) by applying a desired voltage to the substrate(12) having carbon nanotubes(11) via a voltage supply part(16). The emitted electrons are reached to a sample(14) formed oppositely to the substrate(11) by applying a magnetic field to the emitted electrons. At this time, e-beam resists(15,15') are formed on the sample(14) by controlling the intensity of the magnetic field applied in accordance with the spaced distance between the e-beam resists(15,15') and the carbon nanotubes(11). The e-beam resists(15,15') are developed by lithography.


By representing transition systems as coalgebras, the three main ingredients of their theory: coalgebra, homomorphism, and bisimulation, can be seen to be in a precise correspondence to the basic notions of universal algebra: Sigma-algebra, homomorphism, and substitutive relation (or congruence). In this paper, some standard results from universal algebra (such as the three isomorphism theorems and facts on the lattices of subalgebras and congruences) are reformulated (using the afore mentioned correspondence) and proved for transition systems.


1 Profile of SINOPEC SINOPEC is the first Chinese company, which was listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai. The business portfolio of SINOPEC covers oil exploration and development,petroleum refining, petrochemical and oil products marketing,with a total sales revenue of 324.2 billion RMB and a net profit of 22 billion RMB. SINOPEC is the second largest oil and gas producer in China and is also the biggest oil refiner of China with its crude processing capacity ranked number five in the world. With 24,000 wholly controlled gas stations and 4,127 authorized gas stations, SINOPEC owns an extensive oil products marketing network. It is the largest in China oil products distributor and sales company, and is ranked the sixth largest company in the world.


Here we report the performance in ammonia detection of polystyrene-based hyper-cross-linked polymer (HCLP) synthesized with a new synthetic route. The resin loaded with PtRu nano-alloy covered by MoS2 nanosheets, prepared according to a "wet chemistry" approach, was broadly characterized: TEM images and XRD spectra showed the formation of nanoparticles with a few nanometers size partially covered by MoS2 layers. The sample was tested as an electrochemical sensor for the detection of small traces of NH3 in aqueous solutions with a limit of detection (LOD) of 4.5 µM. The sensor was tested also in simulated wastewater coming from the fertilizer industry, showing proper operation and excellent selectivity.


Background. Favipiravir is a broad-spectrum oral antiviral agent that shows in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2. Presently, data on the effectiveness and optimal dosage of favipiravir for treating COVID-19 is limited. Methods. We conducted a retrospective observational study of hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 at five tertiary care hospitals in Thailand. We reviewed patient charts to obtain all necessary data. Results. Among 247 COVID-19 patients, 63 (23.0%) received [≥]1 dose of favipiravir. Of these, 27.0% required an O2-nasal cannula, 9.5% required non-invasive ventilation and/or high-flow O2-therapy, and 6.4% required invasive mechanical ventilation and/or ECMO. The median baseline NEWS2 score was 5(0-16). The Day-7 clinical improvement rate [95%CI] was 66.7%[53.7-78.0%] in all patients, 92.5%[75.7%-99.1%] in patients who did not require O2-supplementation, and 47.2%[0.4%-64.5%] in patients who required O2-supplementation. No life-threatening adverse events were identified. The 28-day mortality rate was 4.8%. Multivariate analysis revealed three poor prognostic factors for Day-7 clinical improvement [odds ratio (95%CI); p-value]: older age [0.94 (0.89 to 0.99); p=0.04], higher baseline NEWS2 score [0.64 (0.47 to 0.88); p=0.006], and lower favipiravir loading dose ([≤]45 mg/kg/day) [0.04 (0.005 to 0.4); p=0.006]. Conclusions. Our study reports the promising effectiveness of favipiravir for treating COVID-19 patients. In addition to older age and a high baseline NEWS2 score, a low loading dose of favipiravir ([≥]45 mg/kg/day) was also identified as a poor prognostic factor for early clinical improvement. Further studies to explore the optimal dose and the optimal timing of drug initiation for favipiravir should be performed.


: The quick development in the electronics industry has allowed an increase in e-waste generation; which cannot be disposed of a traditional way due mainly to the content of hazardous and polluting elements. This has given rise to a social and environmental problem in terms of handling and end disposal. Further, these wastes have become a source of heavy metals, posing challenges for recovering them and development of efficient and environmentally responsible extraction methods. An extraction process to copper extraction from printed circuit boards has been proposed. This method consists on a size reduction, concentration by magnetic and electrostatic separation, leaching of copper in sulfuric acid solution with hydrogen peroxide and oxygen and electrowinning and copper oxychloride precipitation. Concentrates with up to 63% copper and 85% maximum recovery were obtained. Copper extraction over 95% in 100 mL of 2.3 M sulfuric acid solution with 18 mL of hydrogen peroxide during 60 min of process was achieved. Metallic copper with purity over 99% and copper oxychloride as a value-added product also were obtained. This process represents a viable alternative for the recovery of copper from e-waste, contributing to management and end disposal problems, closure of the metals cycle and global sustainable development.


While converging USN Services, a single physical infrastructure can be used in several services and in several physical infrastructures can make up a single service. Therefore the physical infrastructure and service have to manage separately for effective convergence of USN Services. However, established Identification Scheme is not suitable to distinguish various services that USN provides. This paper suggests USN Service Identification Scheme that can be separated and managed. Through USN Service Identification Scheme suggested, firstly, it is possible to obtain Service Identification Scheme utilizing various technology such as RFID TAG, QR Code, radio broadcasting, etc. because it is possible to process USN Service Identification Scheme. Secondly, it is easy to mange the service, develope the user application program and interlock with established USN Standard technique as view from service provider. Thirdly, it is possible to manage systematically USN Service. Fourthly, users can search USN Service easily, so it can contribute actively for invigoration of USN service. This thesis, firstly, has analyzed about standard related USN Service and USN Identification Scheme. Secondly, this has suggested brand-new USN Service Identification Scheme based on established USN Identification Scheme.


The use of chromium plated plastic for outside rearview mirror housings in the automotive industry is a relatively new concept. This paper discusses the engineering considerations necessary to successfully apply this technology to mirror applications, as well as some of the advantages of the technology in the areas of weight, ease of manufacturing, styling freedom, and cost.


Epidemics of infectious diseases, such as the one caused by the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have tested the world's more advanced health systems and have caused an enormous societal and economic damage. The mechanism of contagion is well understood. As people move around, over time, they regularly engage in social interactions. The spatiotemporal network representing these interactions constitutes the backbone on which an epidemic spreads, causing outbreaks. At the same time, advanced technological responses have claimed some success in controlling the epidemic based on digital contact tracing technologies . Motivated by these observations, we design, develop and evaluate a stochastic agent-based SEIR model of epidemic spreading in spatiotemporal networks informed by mobility data of individuals (trajectories). The model focuses on individual variation in mobility patterns that affects the degree of exposure to the disease. Understanding the role that individual nodes play in the process of disease spreading through network effects is fundamental as it allows to ( i ) assess the risk of infection of individuals, ( ii ) assess the size of a disease outbreak due to specific individuals, and ( iii ) assess targeted intervention strategies that aim to control the epidemic spreading. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the model employing COVID-19 as a use case. The results indicate that simple individual-based intervention strategies that exhibit significant network effects can effectively control the spread of an epidemic. We have also demonstrated that targeted interventions can outperform generic intervention strategies. Overall, our work provides an evidence-based data-driven model to support decision making and inform public policy regarding intervention strategies for containing or mitigating the epidemic spread


Over the last few years, a large number of applications have appeared generating data streams for which the exhaustive storage require high costs. It was, therefore, necessary to process these data in real-time without storing them. Real-time processing requires specifying the analysis tasks before the arrival of the data. Consequently, any future need will not be answered because all the received data are lost. That is why it is necessary to keep a data stream summary in order to provide an approximate answer to the future queries. This can be done using the sampling algorithms. This paper is a continuation of our previous work in which we studied the Chain sampling algorithm. In this paper, we discuss two other sampling techniques: Deterministic sampling and Simple Random sampling (SRS) and we compare their performance against that of Chain sampling. The results show that Chain sampling gives better results than SRS and Deterministic sampling in terms of execution time and sampling accuracy respectively.


This report summarizes the availability of the Magellan data sets archived by the Planetary Data System Geosciences Node and outlines the charter and duties of the Node. Additional notes will be published in Eos as data sets of wide interest are made available to the community through the Geosciences Node.

NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) is a distributed archive and distribution system in which planetary data and documentation are maintained in direct association with the science community [Lee, 1991]. PDS is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The PDS Geosciences Node serves the needs of investigators in the planetary geology and geophysics and extraterrestrial materials communities.


A distributed model of solid waste digestion in a 1‐D bioreactor with leachate recirculation and pH adjustment was developed to analyze the balance between the rates of polymer hydrolysis/acidogenesis and methanogenesis during the anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste (MSW). The model was calibrated on previously published experimental data generated in 2‐L reactors filled with shredded refuse and operated with leachate recirculation and neutralization. Based on model simulations, both waste degradation and methane production were stimulated when inhibition was prevented rapidly from the start, throughout the reactor volume, by leachate recirculation and neutralization. An optimal strategy to reduce the time needed for solid waste digestion is discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 81: 66–73, 2003.


The researches on a laboratory source of powerful soft x-ray radiation are considered. This project develops by cooperation from Kurchatov Institute, TRlNITI, Efremov Institute and VNIITF. The compression of fast liners is considered as the most perspective source for production of x-ray pulses at MJ range. The project is based on inductive stores of energy, which as a result of consecutive transformations generate an electrical pulse with parameters necessary for compression of liners.


Abstract Laban/Bartenieff and other body therapies revolve on the idea that movement is not mindless and that anyone can learn to be more coordinated.


This article attempts to think of thinking as the essence of critical education. While contemporary education tends to stress the conveying of knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the present-day information society, the present article turns to the work of Theodor W. Adorno to develop alternative thinking about education, thinking and the political significance of education for thinking.

Adorno touched upon educational questions throughout his writings, with growing interest in the last ten years of his life. Education, he argues following Kant, must enable students to think for themselves and to break free of the authority of teachers, parents and other adults. Nevertheless, in his discussions of education Adorno says little about the nature of thinking, and the secondary literature on his educational theory addresses this question only cursorily.

Important claims on the nature of thinking do appear elsewhere in Adorno's work. From his early writings up to Negative Dialectics, Adorno is preoccupied with thinking, sketching the outlines of critical-dialectical thought. Still, these reflections rarely touch upon educational questions, and the Adorno scholarship has yet to establish this link. Unlike studies which read Adorno's educational thought against the backdrop of the history of education and the German Bildung tradition, or in relation to art and aesthetics, the present article brings together Adorno's ideas on education and thinking in an attempt to contribute both to the Adorno scholarship and to the growing field of education for thinking.


Objective To clarify the role of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia in the pathogenesis of obesity-related hypertension. Design An open study comparing the effects of weight reduction by low-energy diet and treatment with troglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing agent. Setting A tertiary teaching hospital. Patients Thirty overweight hypertensive patients (15 men and 15 women, mean age 61 years, mean body mass index 29.1 kg/m2). Interventions Fifteen patients were assigned to a weight-reduction programme by low-energy diet (3360 kJ/day) for 3 weeks; the remaining 15 patients were treated with troglitazone (400 mg/day) for 8 weeks. Main outcome measures Casual and ambulatory blood pressures, glucose and lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity. Results The baseline values of body mass index, fasting and post-glucose plasma insulin, and casual and ambulatory blood pressures were comparable between the two groups. Weight reduction (4.1 ± 0.3 kg, mean ± SEM) was associated with significant decreases in plasma insulin, blood glucose, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) insulin resistance index, serum triglyceride, casual blood pressure (7.7 ± 2.3/3.9 ± 1.4 mmHg) and 24 h blood pressure (8.3 6 1.9/ 4.3 ± 1.1 mmHg). Treatment with troglitazone caused comparable decreases in the metabolic parameters and HOMA index, but did not change casual or 24 h blood pressure (0.8 ± 3.4/0.8 ± 2.1 and 1.5 ± 2.4/1.0 ± 1.9 mmHg, respectively). Conclusions Insulin resistance/hyperinsulinaemia may not have an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity-related hypertension. The antihypertensive effect of weight reduction seems to be mediated mainly by other mechanisms.


"Trust, but verify" is a Russian proverb popularized by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. The question becomes, "Is it really trust if one must verify?" When an individual investor places his or her finances under the direction of someone else, there is understandably some element of risk. When that investor does so without an appropriate level of due diligence, it is an act of trust. In rational choice theory, a utility maximizing investor calculates the expected return on an investment being offered by an advisor in whose trust those finances would be placed (given the appropriate risk and discount factors) and chooses that investment when it maximizes welfare. In reality, however, individual investors often have imperfect information about the investment and the advisor, insufficient financial knowledge to understand the information available and a reluctance to make decisions when faced with changing market conditions. Investors make assumptions about the integrity of the advisor and, in doing so, make trust an important element in the investment decision. Studies show that trust improves economic efficiency by reducing transactions costs (i.e., trusting the advisor to make informed decisions the investor cannot). However, every year a large number of investors are lured by promises of guaranteed above market returns and fail to take due diligence to insure that their finances are not being funneled into unregistered investments by unlicensed sellers. It is under these conditions that investors often misplace their trust in fraudsters who lure them with their finances, often their entire life savings, into illegal Ponzi schemes that climb into the millions, sometimes billions, of dollars. In an illegal Ponzi scheme, the investor will likely be deceived from the outset by the fraudster, yet even in elaborate schemes to build trust and recruit investors, we find that at any point in time an investor can choose to either trust the fraudster or verify the information being provided. Verification, when costly (i.e., significant resources are required to research the investment or the advisor), reduces the potential returns to investing; whereas, trust increases them. If at any one point, an investor verifies and unearths the fraud, the scheme ends. Given this information asymmetry, we examine why investors are willing to place such trust seemingly without due diligence with a friend or stranger who will ultimately defraud them.


In an attempt to facilitate the processing of meat which is a daily nutritional food requirement of man, a meat slicing machine has been developed. The machine consists of a cutting blade, a meat feeder, a meat tray, a meat clamp, the crank mechanism and a control unit. The machine was designed to enhance the hygienic slicing of meat for both domestic and commercial consumption and it can accommodate from one to six cutting blades which are spaced 6.5mm from each other to give a meat slice thickness of 5mm per slice. It takes an average of 4 seconds to cut a slice and one hour for 2.673 tonnes.


Practice has proved that the non-intelligence factor plays a decisive role in the students success, and campus culture can promote its cultivation imperceptibly. During this process, campus culture can cultivate emotion of mould, temper will, excite interest, develop imagination, train fine quality, rich perceptual experience and so on. Therefore, in order to activate the students' non-intelligence factors, people should develop the campus culture fully, standardize the students with system culture, edify the students with spiritual culture, and inspire the students with material culture.


Interleavers play a key role in interleave division multiple access (IDMA). In IDMA the separation of the information of different users is achieved by interleaving. Criteria for a good interleaver design for IDMA include low memory requirement, easy generation, low complexity, low correlation among interleavers, low overhead for synchronization between user and base station. In this paper we are giving a review of different interleavers.


One of the principal recent new developments for trade regulation practitioners is the increasing number of multistate antitrust and consumer protection investigations. These investigations often have been of broad scope, both in terms of the number of states involved and of the impact on a company's marketing activities, and have raised novel legal and practical concerns, including preemption and the imposition of substantial administrative costs as a condition of settlement.


of the vinylboronic esters of pinacol (alkenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-[1,3,2]-dioxaborolanes) with dimethylzinc, allows the nucleophilic addition of the vinyl group onto nitrones, producing allylic N -hydroxy-amines in excellent yields.


with ACE observations at the pre MC time (at the MC time) for all MC events analyzed here. However, the other two components B r and B t , the radial and tangential components of IMF in RTN coordinates, extracted from 1.4 R s (1.2 R s ) do not agree as well with ACE observations at the pre MC time (at the MC time). We conclude that B n observed by ACE at the pre MC time (at the MC time) is related to that at 1.4 R s (1.2 R s ) at the location of the sub-Earth point on the Sun. This result shows that we can infer the sign of B n at the MC time (pre MC time) from the value present at 1.2 R s (1.4 R s ) at the location of the sub-Earth point, and thus this is an important finding for space weather forecasts. Future work will extend this result to additional MC events.


Lead was a known toxin before the Roman Empire, yet exposure remains a public health concern today. Although there is no safe lead exposure level, a health-based drinking water standard has not been established. The Clean Water for Carolina Kids Study highlights the need for a health-based standard.


A discussion of a paper with the aforementioned title by L. Amleh and S. Mirza, published in this journal (Volume 96, Number 3, May-June 1999), is presented. The discussers raise 11 questions on the authors' works dealing with the strength of cement used in the experiments, concrete curing, the relation between electrochemical potentials and corrosion level or crack width, the corrosion removal process, weight loss, the width of longitudinal cracking, chloride profiles, nominal bond stress, average crack width, the measuring of corrosion pit depths, and experimental crack loads. Discussion is followed by closure from the authors.


To the Editor: A 43-year-old Japanese female patient suffering from CREST syndrome came to our clinic with a refractory cutaneous ulcer, 1 × 2 cm in size, on the left leg on February 1, 2001. The bacterial examination of the exudate from the ulcer revealed that MRSA had colonized on the ulcer. We thus tried to treat the patient with topical application of an ointment (white petrolatum with 15% hydrophilic petrolatum) containg 0.2% of Habekacin (arbekacin sulfate, MEIJI SEIKA KAISHA, LTD, Tokyo) (1), because this kind of ointment has been reported to be useful to dysinfection of MRSA from a cutaneous wound (2). The application of the ointment to the ulcer on the left leg was performed once a day. On the 3rd day after the beginning of the ointment application, a well defined erythematous eruption with infiltration appeared on the area where the ointment was applied topically (Fig. 1). As this condition was suggested to be contact dermatitis from the Habekacin ointment, we performed patch testing according to the ICDRG standards using the Habekacin ointment itself and white petrolatum as a contol. The patient showed a +? reaction at 48hr and a + reaction at 72hr readings to the Habekacin ointment, but negative reactions to white petrolatum after the removal of the patch test units (Fig. 2). We did the patch testing again using the ingredients of Habekacin ointment (Habekacin solution, hydrophilic petrolatum and white petrolatum), and two other aminoglycoside preparations, white petrolatum containing 20% Gentacin (gentamicin sulfate, SCHERING PLAU CO., Osaka) and "10% fradiomycin ointment" (white petrolatum containg 10% The Journal of Dermatology Vol. 29: 674–675, 2002


In certain tank gun technical conditions integrated testing line, we firstly realize on line test of tank gun under non disassembly situation by using data acquisition card ----4472B produced in American NI Company. It realizes multiple data concurrent acquisition and processing and ensures the integral correlation of each testing data. The system adopts PXI main control platform and actualizes the technical conditions integrated test system of breechblock and recoil system based on Virtual Instrument technology. Through practical use, the result proves that the system has prominent character of integrated testing, online testing, visual data and convenient operation.


In this paper a detailed analysis of Hewlett Packard's Dynamic Leadership program is undertaken. The characteristics of change and innovation at Hewlett Packard along with the application of the system and the challenges present are all taken into account. The effects of ethical leadership and its ramifications in the Dynamic Leadership change management program was seen as a key element by the author who also posits that the evident financial successes that the company have had with the program stems from its ease of use, high adaptability in cross-cultural settings, and cross-functionality


Project management for clinical trials farmed out to a contract research organization (CRO) requires a different system than that used for in-house projects. Covering both the views of the sponsor and the CRO, this article discusses the differences and provides suggestions on how to overcome some of the obstacles associated with CRO-based clinical studies.


The current article is designed to provide school counselors an understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The causes, characteristics, and treatment approaches are presented with examples focusing on school-related issues. The article concludes with a discussion about the role that the school counselor can take in helping the child with OCD to have a successful school experience. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 3 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the School Counselor School counselors play a very important role in the educational process. While specific duties may vary from school to school depending upon student age level and population need, their overall function in all settings is to facilitate the optimal growth of each child (U. S. Department of Education, 1991). Unfortunately, history has demonstrated that population-specific barriers have sometimes restricted the achievement of this goal for students. In fact, it was not until the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 that children with disabilities were insured access to appropriate education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004). Federal laws have been written with regulations that not only describe the obligations that teachers have in making reasonable accommodations for these children, but also provide implicit and explicit counselor responsibilities for helping to establish and maintain equal access in the educational system. For example, the regulations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 indicate that students with disabilities are "not [to be] counseled toward more restrictive career objectives than are nonhandicapped students with similar interests and abilities" (U.S. Office for Civil Rights, 2007, 34 C.F.R. Part 104.37). It is easy to see how this mandate can be implicitly expanded to include an advocacy role within the school system to help insure that students with disabilities are neither foreclosed from opportunities for which they are capable nor restricted from appropriate participation in the classroom. With these goals in mind, counselors might serve as consultants to teachers, support personnel for students, and sources of referral for parents. As members of child study teams, they might also find themselves in key Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 4 positions to give input about the directions to pursue with children in the general student body who are exhibiting difficulties. Informal classroom adaptations might be a sufficient way to handle a variety of challenges students and teachers confront. However, students with obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) would qualify for a legally protected educational plan under either Section 504 or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) when the OCD interferes with learning. The 504 plan is designed to provide reasonable accommodations for those students who do not need special education services (U.S. Office for Civil Rights, 2007). When OCD is so disabling as to necessitate special education and related services, a more detailed individualized education plan (IEP) would be developed through IDEA (Department of Education, 2006). Counselors might find themselves serving as members of multidisciplinary teams that create and implement either of these educational plans. In addition, they might be included in the IEP itself as providers of related services designed to assist the student in benefiting from special education. It is, consequently, clear that the counselors' input within the school life of children and adolescents with disabilities can be wide-ranging. However, carrying out some of these responsibilities may be quite challenging for some counselors given the inconsistent level of disability-related training that exists across school counselor preparation programs (Milsom, 2002; Wood Dunn & Baker, 2002). The dearth of articles concerning obsessive-compulsive disorder in education and school counseling journals is, perhaps, reflective of the paucity of such training for school personnel, in general. A survey of representatives from all Obsessive Compulsive Foundation affiliates across the country underlines the need in this area Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 5 (Wertlieb, 2006). Once considered to be very rare, researchers have recently found that the prevalence of OCD is quite significant, that being 1% among prepubescent children and up to 4% among adolescents (Carter & Pollock, 2000). The purpose of the current article is to provide the school counselor with a general overview of obsessivecompulsive disorder as well as its potential causes. There will be a discussion of the common characteristics with examples of how this disorder may manifest itself in relation to school. Treatment approaches will be discussed along with suggestions for the role that the school counselor can take in addressing the needs of the student with OCD. General Overview of OCD The person who is clinically diagnosed with OCD is characterized as having obsessions, compulsions or a combination of both. Nearly all children with OCD demonstrate the combination (McCracken, 2005). Obsessions involve intrusive thoughts, impulses, or images that persist to the degree of causing anxiety or distress. In contrast, compulsions are the repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing) or mental acts (e.g., counting to oneself, praying, silently repeating words) that are done to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress. Compulsions are generally impelled by the person's obsessions since the compulsive actions or thoughts ameliorate the intense anxiety. While adults typically realize that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational, children often do not have the same degree of insight (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), especially prior to adolescence (Geller et al., 2001). It is important to differentiate between developmentally normal rituals and those that are OCD-based. Ritualistic routines are a common occurrence among toddlers; and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 6 changes in such routines are difficult, especially in relation to bedtime, mealtime, and bathtime. In fact, it may not be until about age eight or nine that bedtime rituals disappear. Playtime is also characterized by rituals during the early years. It is not unusual, for example, for a preschooler to repeatedly line up trains or other toys in a specific manner. Such solitary play eventually transitions into a significant amount of ritually-based collective play. The elaborate rules and rhymes that young elementaryschool-aged children use as they engage in such games as jump rope and hopscotch resemble the behaviors that might be observed in someone with OCD. While the outward appearance is similar, their processes are quite distinct. Normal rituals are thought to help children learn to master anxiety and develop social skills. They do not create anxiety themselves. In contrast, rituals associated with OCD are distressing, time consuming, and interfere with normal functioning (Leonard, Goldberger, Rapoport, Cheslow, & Swedo, 1990). An individual with OCD might attempt the same ritual over and over again, getting more and more frustrated and distressed if he or she feels that it has not been done exactly as it should. Sometimes the person with OCD brings other people into the ritual to confirm that the acts were done 'just so.' Age of Onset and Duration of Illness OCD has been reported in children as young as two years of age (Carter & Pollock, 2000). However, the most likely time of onset is either between the ages of 8 and 11 or approximately age 21. There is a clear gender difference in incidence during the prepubescent years with boys outnumbering girls two to one. The distribution becomes approximately equal across gender after puberty (Farrell, Barrett, & Piacentini, 2006). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 7 Most researchers have concluded that youths who are diagnosed with OCD can expect their disorder to be chronic in nature. However, a recent meta-analysis of 22 longitudinal studies raises questions about this generalization. The researchers concluded that long-term persistence of OCD may be lower than initially believed. They found that less than half of the individuals taking part in the studies had fully symptomatic OCD upon follow-up. Age of onset was one of the factors found to be a good predictor of persistence level with earlier onset being more typical of greater OCD persistence. As might be expected, poorer initial treatment response was also found to be a predictor. The same effects seemed to be evident for both males and females. The authors caution, however, that additional studies need to be done to replicate these findings since ongoing treatment was not taken into account in the results and the time period for patient follow-up ranged from one to 15.6 years (Stewart et al., 2004). Causes of OCD OCD was once considered solely psychogenic in origin. However, there is increasing evidence that it is a neurobiological dysfunction with genetic underpinnings (Hemmings & Stein, 2006; Hudziak et al., 2004). Studies focusing on the inheritability of OCD have revealed that up to 18% of individuals affected have relatives with clinical or subclinical symptoms (Towbin & Riddle, 2002). Despite the recognition of this strong genetic component, the actual means of genetic transmission is complicated and has not yet been determined (Hemmings & Stein, 2006). In fact, the genetic mechanism behind OCD seems to vary between subgroups of individuals. Unlike the majority of children, there is a subset of youngsters who are thought to acquire OCD as a consequence of an autoimmune response to a streptococcal infection (Swedo, Leonard, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 8 & Rapoport, 2004; Towbin & Riddle, 2002). It is thought that this autoimmune response occurs due to a genetic predisposition (Arnold & Richter, 2001; Dale & Heyman, 2002). A genetic vulnerability may also relat


Viral nervous necrosis (VNN), also known as viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER), is an emerging disease affecting larvae and juveniles of many farmed marine fish species in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Mass mortality occurred in 14-day old larval sea bass Lates calcarifer at a hatchery in the Philippines associated with clinical signs such as abnormal swimming behavior and pale-gray discoloration of the body. Histological investigations in moribund fish revealed marked vacuolation in the retina and brain. Cytopathic effects (CPE) were observed in SSN-1 cells inoculated with the tissue filtrate of affected sea bass. A piscine nodavirus, the causative agent of VNN, was detected in the affected tissues and SSN-1 cells inoculated with the tissue filtrate of affected fish by RT-PCR. Electron microscopy revealed non-enveloped viral particles, 22-28 nm in diameter, in the cytoplasm of the brain and retina of affected fish and in the cytoplasm of VNN-infected SSN-1 cells after CPE appeared. These results indicate that mass mortality of sea bass larvae in the Philippines was caused by a piscine nodavirus.


............................................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the study .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement ............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Objective ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Main Research Question .................................................................................................... 2 Sub questions .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Significance of the study .................................................................................................... 2 1.6 Limitation(s) of the study .................................................................................................... 3 1.7 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................................ 3 1.8 Organization of the report .................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 4 2.1 Knowledge ......................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Knowledge on HIV transmission ........................................................................................ 4 2.2.1 Sexual transmission .................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Through blood and blood products .............................................................................. 5 2.2.3 From mother to child .................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Knowledge on HIV prevention ............................................................................................ 5 2.4 Knowledge of risk factor(s) on HIV/AIDS ............................................................................ 5 2.4.1 High level of poverty .................................................................................................... 6 2.4.2 High mobility ................................................................................................................ 6 2.4.3 Socio-cultural beliefs and practices ............................................................................. 7


Changes in arctic-alpine vegetation composition over 30 years in a successional sequence on the Storbreen glacier foreland, Southern Norway, and in the adjacent regional vegetation, are analysed. The study is based on a repeat survey of 410 permanent sites and 24 new sites (located on land exposed since 1970). Classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (Canonical Correspondence Analysis), diversity indices and transition probabilities, are used to identify changes at the species level, to examine successional dynamics at the community level and to assess the role of the environment in compositional change. Species population changes are extensive, cannot be explained solely in terms of successional change, and appear to be influenced by regional climatic change since 1970. Changing successional patterns are attributed to species-specific effects on performance. In the dense vegetation of the low altitude dwarf-shrub heath, this involves shifts in relative abundance. Some species are increasing in abundance at relatively high-altitude and on relatively young sites, where vegetation is relatively sparse. The study follows the dynamics of the successional sequence over 30 years using a spatio-temporal chronosequence approach to succession. Three spatially-determined successional trajectories are associated with the major landforms in the study area. These trajectories are tending towards: (1) a species-rich, dwarf-shrub heath at low-altitude and at higher altitude, north-facing sites; (2) a species-rich snowbed community at high-altitude, south-facing sites and at lower altitude, north-facing sites; and (3) a species-poor snowbed community at high-altitude, north-facing sites. Mesoscale gradients of altitude and aspect govern qualitative differentiation from an early pioneer stage. Subsequent increases in successional distance indicate divergence. Community-scale compositional changes are influenced by five complex environmental gradients reflecting development, topography, moisture/snowlie, disturbance and substrate. Within individual communities, environmental variables apparently govern the rate of successional development. The development of the successional sequence is influenced by environmental variables operating at several scales.


Combining with the practice in the construction bidding process of roads,the paper introduces the compilation methods for the bidding and pricing,and explores the adjustment strategies for the bidding and pricing according to the fact situation of the bidding in road projects,so as to achieve higher bidding ratio.


Observations of spacecraft radio signals give a unique opportunity to study the temporal and spatial behaviour of the signal's phase fluctuations caused by its propagation through the interplanetary plasma and the Earth's ionosphere. The phase scintillation of the telemetry signal of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Venus Express (VEX) and Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft was observed at X-band with a number of radio telescopes of the European VLBI Network (EVN) in the period 2008–2014. It was found that the phase scintillation spectra follow a Kolmogorov distribution with nearly constant spectral index of -2.42 for a full range of orbital phases. The scintillation index and Doppler noise along the orbit from superior conjunction to the greatest elongation is dominated by the solar wind plasma. Here, I will present the latest results of these observations, while Venus is approaching the inferior conjunction, and where the Earth ionosphere starts to dominate.


Multi-modal logistics chains are those transportation processes in which different modes of transportation are involved for the delivery of goods. These modes are adopted in consecutive legs, which have to be synchronized. An example scenario is the delivery of goods from a production center in New York, USA, to a plant in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The transportation chain consists of two legs: (i) an aicraft carries the goods from John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) to Schiphol (Amsterdam) and (ii) a truck sent by a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) transports the cargo from Dutch airport to Utrecht. The growth in international and inter-continental trade has led to a significant increase of multi-modal transports worldwide. Therefore, guaranteeing its efficiency is of crucial relevance for the successful completion of such transportation processes. In the example scenario, the goal of the LSP is to deliver the goods in time, in conformance with the Service Level Objectives (SLOs).


The genotypic differences in response to iron deficiency (-Fe) of winter wheat with different phosphorus efficiency were investigated in nutrient solution under controlled conditions. The genotypic differences existed in response to Fe deficiency, which decreased the shoot growth in P efficiency genotypes more significantly than in P inefficiency genotypes. Compared with supplying Fe treatment(+Fe), in -Fe treatment, the average biomass in shoot of three P efficiency genotypes, 81(85)-5-3-3-3、Xiaoyan54 and Taihe-5025 decreased by 55.2%, and that in three P inefficiency genotypes, Jinghe90-Jian-17、NC37 and Jing411 decreased by 33.0%. The different response to Fe deficiency also existed in chlorophyll content between P efficiency genotypes and P inefficiency genotypes. The average contents of three P efficiency genotypes in chlorophyll a、chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a+b decreased by 35.6%, 35.3% and 35.3%, respectively, more significantly than that in three P inefficiency ones by 16.8%, 7.7% and 11.9%. respectively.The Fe deficiency was not significant effect on root growth, P uptake in root and P utilization efficiency (dry matter production per unit of P uptake, g/mg), but decreased the root efficiency ratio (ratio of P uptake in shoot to dry matter, mg/g) and P uptake in shoot in P efficiency genotypes more significantly than in P inefficiency genotypes. The root efficiency ratio and P uptake in shoot in P efficiency genotypes and in P inefficiency genotypes decreased by 55.0%, 54.9% and 32.5%, 36.4% in Fe deficiency treatment respectively. The P accumulation in P efficiency genotypes is much more than that in P inefficiency which appears to be the causative factor of the P efficiency genotypes more sensitivity to Fe deficiency.


The last years have been marked by a disconstruction and reconstruction in the traditional ways of social and individual organization. The classic ideas regarding the future were substituted by ordinances for the end of "old" concepts as: the social-democracy, the welfare state, the end of history etc., making possible speculations besides on the end of the modernity. Though, some concepts stay current and request an analysis of his meaning. The objective of this paper is presents some considerations concerning the mass concepts and identity. For so much, we bring the author's contributions as: Ciampa, Bauman, Hall, Laclau, Negri & Hardt and Virno, that have been discussing, rebuilting and rethoughting these concepts. Finally, the text intends to present the possibility of work starting from the crowd concepts and identity as metamorphosis.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Anomalies of the corpus callosum are rare. Routine scanning in midtrimester of the pregnancy often fails to identify defective development. The purpose of the study was to identify the pericallosal artery and all its main branching arteries during early gestation from the first trimester onward, to measure the length of the pericallosal artery during its development, and to establish a normal vascular map for each week of development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a single-center prospective, longitudinal clinical study in 15 patients between 11 and 22 weeks of gestation. The origin and course of the different blood vessels were identified. RESULTS: There was a linear association among gestational age, the biparietal diameter, and the length of the pericallosal artery. The curvature of the developing pericallosal artery increases linearly with the gestational age and biparietal diameter, and 4 variations of branching of the callosomarginal artery were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The pericallosal artery and its branches can be identified and measured from 11 weeks on, and the pericallosal artery takes its characteristic course. A defective course or an abnormal biometry of the pericallosal artery could be an early sonographic marker of abnormal development of the corpus callosum.


Department of Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, College of Veterinary Sciences & A.H., R. K. Nagar, Tripura (W), India; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Sciences & A.H., R. K. Nagar, Tripura (W), India; Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Sciences & A.H., R. K. Nagar, Tripura (W), India; Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Sciences & A.H., R. K. Nagar, Tripura (W), India *Corresponding author: email@example.com


Due to their special peel tissue, comprising a dense flavedo (exocarp), a less dense albedo (mesocarp), and a thin endocarp, most citrus fruits can withstand the drop from a tree or high shrub (relatively) undamaged. While most citrus fruit peels share this basic morphological setup, they differ in various structural and mechanical properties. This study analyzes how various properties in citrus peels of the pomelo, citron, lemon, grapefruit, and orange affect their compression behavior. We compare the structural and biomechanical properties (e.g., density, stress, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio) of these peels and analyze which properties they share. Therefore, the peels were quasi-statically compressed to 50% compression and analyzed with manual and digital image correlation methods. Furthermore, local deformations were visualized, illustrating the inhomogeneous local strain patterns of the peels. The lateral strain of the peels was characterized by strain ratios and the Poisson's ratio, which were close to zero or slightly negative for nearly all tested peels. Our findings prove that—despite significant differences in stress, magnitude, distribution, and thickness - the tested peels share a low Poisson's ratio meaning that the general peel structures of citrus species offer a promising inspiration for the development of energy dissipating cellular structure that can be used for damage protection.


Scattering analysis of Lamb waves in perpendicularly bent plates with and without a crack is presented. Single cracks on the inner or outer surface of a bent part are considered. The scattering behaviors of Lamb waves in the bent plate with or without a crack are discussed in order to investigate the potential of Lamb wave ultrasonic method for characterizing cracks in a bent part. Experimental study is also carried out to verify the numerical results.