Rationale. The task of import substitution in health care and the development of normative legal acts in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community raises the questions of harmonization of national requirements with international ones, including the standardization of drugs. Thereby, the assessment of the quality of domestic recombinant human erythropoietin in accordance with European Pharmacopoeia requirements is very actual. The main indicator of drug quality is specific activity of drug (rhepo). In Russian Federation it is determined by the influence of the drug on erythropoiesis stimulation. This effect of erythropoietin is measured by counting the number of reticulocytes using the flow cytometry and light microscopy. The latter method of calculation is not included in European Pharmacopoeia. Adequate assessment of this indicator is required for the development of national requirements for quality control of drugs rhepo harmonized with European Pharmacopoeia. Purpose of the work. The study aimed the comparative evaluation of the accuracy of the specific erythropoietin activity determination method using the flow cytometry and light microscopy data to provide the harmonization of the draft General monograph with European Pharmacopoeia. Research methods. The erythropoietin specific activity was determined in vivo in normocythaemic mice using the flow cytometry in accordance with the European Pharmacopoeia and light microscopy. We have compared the effects of two independent dilution series of erythropoietin European Pharmacopoeia standard sample. Results. The results of specific erythropoietin activity determination obtained by two different methods of measurement differed in the offset from the reference value (certified value). In flow cytometry data, the offset varied between 1-8%, the results of light microscopy showed higher variability ranging from 4 to 31%. The estimation of intermediate precision showed twice lower dispersion of specific erythropoietin activity measurements obtained by flow cytometry in comparison with light immersion microscopy data. Conclusion. Specific erythropoietin drug activity determination with flow cytometry is characterized by high accuracy and meets the European Pharmacopoeia requirements. We have considered the possibility of light microscopy usage for the same task in the absence of a flow cytometer. The usage of light microscopy requires increasing its accuracy in order to harmonize the method with European Pharmacopoeia requirements.


Membrane distillation is a thermally driven mass transfer in which a porous hydrophobic membrane separates two liquid phases and a temperature difference is maintained as the driving force. In this study, the technique of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process, where the liquid phases are in direct contact with both sides of the membrane, has been investigated for the case of pure water production. Parametric sensitivity analysis and temperature polarization factor are used to study the sensitivity of the mass flux to the different parameters associated with DCMD for water production, and the effect of these parameters on the thermal efficiency of the DCMD process has been investigated. The results obtained show that the mass flux of pure water production is highly sensitive to the feed bulk temperature, and at low flow rates of hot and cold fluids, to the heat transfer coefficients. Results also show that increasing membrane thickness decreases the mass flux of pure water and decreases temperature polarization effect. In addition, results show that temperature polarization effect becomes significant as feed bulk temperature increases.


The assembly of aircraft is a labor-intensive process that exhibits a significant learning-curve effect and that requires long flow times and costly work-in-process inventories. This paper describes the production context, the cost of flow time in this context, and some of the causes for the long flow times. We then develop an argument for a firm to use improvements in labor productivity to reduce flow times. Boeing has implemented the recommendations from this research and has obtained significant benefits from reducing flow times. (FLOW-TIME REDUCTION; AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING) In this paper we report the results from an internship performed by the first co-author at The Boeing Company. The internship was conducted as part of MITS Leaders for Manufacturing program, and ran from June 1990 through December 1990 in the New Airplane Division (now known as the Boeing 777 Division). The charge for the internship was to study the final assembly process of another Boeing airplane to discover lessons from its manufacturing and to make specific recommendations for the 777 program. ' After learning about aircraft manufacturing the project quickly focused on manufacturing flow time and the questions of what does it cost, why is it so long, and what needs to happen to affect it. Doing things fast is a common theme in the best manufacturing practices and is advocated at length in the manufacturing literature, e.g., Dertouzos, Lester, and Solow ( 1989), Goldratt and Fox ( 1986), Hayes, Wheelwright, and Clark ( 1988), Schmenner ( 1988), and Stalk and Hout ( 1990). This research examines how these ideas apply to aircraft manufacturing and provides a case study for addressing flow-time issues. The main lessons from the research are (i) the importance of recognizing and quantifying the cost of flow time in aircraft manufacturing; (ii) the consideration of reducing flow times, rather than head count, to realize the productivity improvements from the learning curve; (iii) the differences in impact from how flow-time reductions are enacted, i.e., whether a reduction is pushed back or pulled through the production process; and (iv) the value from a data-driven examination of the impact of system variances on labor content and flow time. We believe this study is a good example of action-oriented research that considers real operations with real problems and attempts to develop, extend, and apply new concepts.


Background: In India cataract is the principal cause of blindness responsible for 62.6% as per national programme for control of blindness survey and as per our knowledge, very few systematically analysed data are available on the drug utilization study pattern of medical intervention for post cataract surgery in India. Hence, the present study was under taken to generate baseline drug use data and analyse various aspects of drug prescribing practices.Methods: This study was conducted in department of ophthalmology BIMS Belagavi. A total of 449 patients' prescription was analysed prospectively. The data was analysed statistically, and results were expressed as numbers and percentage.Results: A total of 2306 drugs were prescribed for 449 patients who underwent cataract surgery. All patients received topical eye drops includes bromfenac 0.1% eye drop and other one is a fixed drug combination of dexamathasone 0.1% plus ofloxacin 0.3% eye drop. Use of antibiotic in association with sex found to be significant (p- value <0.004). Average number of drugs per prescription was 5.1 and drugs which prescribed in generic name were 60.99% and overall percentage of drugs prescribed by brand name was 38.94% which includes 100% eye drops were prescribed by brand names. Fixed drug combination includes 19.50% and drugs from essential drug list used were 80.49%.Conclusions: Health care providers have to take initiative for rational prescribing keeping in mind that it is not only a matter of national policy but also to wellbeing of individual patient.


Over the last three decades or so public choice economists have raised a long list of reasons why governments fail. Thus, public choice theory can be seen as a theory of government failure. A recent addition to the long list launches off the adage: politics is the art of compromise. In a recent issue of this journal, Donald Boudreaux and Dwight Lee (1997) cast doubt on the conventional wisdom contained in the adage and claim that politics is instead ''the art of confined compromise.'' If that were interpreted as a positive statement, one might be inclined to accept Boudreaux and Lee's observation. But Boudreaux and Lee go beyond mere speculation about the empirical record:


Discovered more than 100 years ago, the bioactive sphingolipid metabolite sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) was long believed to act as an intracellular second messenger, modulating many biological processes, including calcium mobilization, cell growth, differentiation, survival, motility, and cytoskeleton organization (1). The discovery that a protein whose expression was upregulated during endothelial cell differentiation and angiogenesis was a highaffinity receptor for S1P significantly accelerated research on this lipid (2, 3). This receptor, initially termed endothelial differentiation gene-1 (EDG-1) belongs to the family of G protein-coupled receptors with seven transmembrane domains, and its identification has led to the discovery of four other receptors for S1P. In keeping with nomenclature recommendations of the International Union of Pharmacology, S1P receptors are now referred to as S1Pn, with n = 1–5 (4). The fact that the first receptor identified for S1P is highly expressed in the endothelium, taken together with the finding that blood plasma contains large amounts of S1P (5, 6), suggests that S1P is likely to play a major role in vascular functions. Indeed, a survey of PubMed-indexed articles shows that nearly a third of the S1P-related literature deals with the vasculature. After a section on S1P synthesis and release in the vasculature, this review will therefore examine the functions of S1P receptors in endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and their role in the regulation of angiogenesis, vascular permeability, inflammation, and tone. Because only three of the five S1P receptor subtypes (S1P1, S1P2, and S1P3), are expressed in vascular tissue, whereas expression of the S1P4 and S1P5 receptors are largely confined to cells of the immune and nervous systems, this chapter will mainly deal with the former three subtypes.


For the successful conduct of a modern battle, according to the views of modern military scientists, it is necessary, first of all, to know the enemy, his forces, means and nature of actions. In order to provide commanders and staffs of all levels with this data, there is the most important type of combat support for military operations - intelligence. The experience of conducting military operations shows that only where reconnaissance is conducted actively and purposefully, combat tasks are solved successfully and with the least losses. On the contrary, poorly organized intelligence has always been the main cause of unsuccessful military operations. Nowadays, the volume of tasks solved by intelligence has grown significantly. Instead, the terms of their implementation were significantly reduced. The requirements for the time of data transmission and the accuracy of determining the coordinates of enemy objects (targets) have increased. Analytical intelligence is a component of intelligence activity, consisting of detection, assessment, forecasting of various social processes, events, activities based on information, mainly obtained from open sources, as well as obtained by intelligence of other types (agency, technical, etc.). Analytical intelligence is divided into operational (which serves current needs) and strategic (which forms stable insights). Proactively investigates short-term phenomena (occurring, recent or soon expected) to ensure appropriate immediate action. Strategic reveals what is extremely unobvious, does not come soon, changes slowly, requires long-term, large-scale measures. Aspects of analytical intelligence: collection and comparison of various information in order to identify trends, contradictions, misinformation, misinterpretation, manipulative measures, implicit events, hidden activities, as well as the formation of general ideas about various significant subjects and phenomena; assessment of subjects, events, actions, intentions; forecasting events, actions, intentions; planning of activities, events. Information provision of specific open and secret operations; participation in the development of strategies for ensuring national security, national development, and global development. Wide implementation of modern information technologies has become an urgent issue today, according to scientists, it is an absolute requirement of modern warfare.


Abstract : Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) is a major challenge facing health care organizations in the United States today. Understanding the organization's culture or climate is an essential element in initiating any successful quality process. Cultural audits evaluate the current state of an organization, assessing a multitude of factors and can lead to fact-based, positive recommendations for improvement. The purpose of this research project was two-fold: identify the current cultural profile of Tripler Army Medical Center staff members to establish a baseline on the existing culture, and determine if any cultural differentiation exists among occupational categories. A quantitative and analytical methodology was used in evaluating the corporate culture. The data collecting instrument was a modified Litwin and Stringer Organization Climate Questionnaire which was distributed to a stratified random sample. Statistical analysis included both description and inferential methodologies. Tripler had a relatively positive cultural profile on seven of the ten construct variables. There was tremendous consensus between occupational categories on all variables. The lack of variation between groups indicates the climate described is strongly representative of the entire population. Benchmarking the current cultural blueprint against the desired cultural qualities is the basis for improvement programs.


Please cite this paper as: Functional skin adaptation in infancy – almost complete but not fully competent. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 483–492.


Benign skin lesions are often encountered in day-to-day general practice. The majority of lesions do not require treatment; however, occasionally patients will request the removal of lesions which are symptomatic or unsightly. It is important to make the correct diagnosis to avoid the inappropriate treatment of malignant lesions. Making the diagnosis of a benign skin lesion is often based on the history and then recognising the clinical appearance, but taking a biopsy is sometimes necessary in situations when uncertainty arises. It is also important to be aware that occasionally malignant lesions can appear within, or adjacent to, some benign lesions, and malignant lesions can mimic some benign lesions, i.e. keratoacanthomas. This article will attempt to highlight the common lesions seen in general practice and review the current treatment modalities used in treating these lesions.


A total of 294 fecal swabs from 294 wild birds in Switzerland were cultivated for antimicrobial resistant (AMR) Escherichia coli. Samples were also subcultivated to detect E. coli with extended‐spectrum β‐lactamases (ESBL), carbapenemases, and plasmid‐mediated aminoglycoside or colistin resistance, respectively. Samples from 17 (5.8%) of the birds contained 19 AMR E. coli, whereof 26.3% were multidrug resistant. Five (1.7%) ESBL‐producing E. coli were detected. The isolates harbored blaCTX‐M‐1 (two isolated from carrion crows and from one great spotted woodpecker, respectively), blaCTX‐M‐15 (originating from a grey heron), blaCTX‐M‐55 (from a carrion crow), and blaCTX‐M‐65 (from a common blackbird). Phylogenetic analysis assigned three isolates to commensal phylogroups A and B1, one to extraintestinal pathogenic group B2, and one to phylogroup F. Multilocus sequence typing identified sequence types (STs) that have been found previously in ESBL E. coli in wild birds (ST58, ST205, ST540). One isolate harboring blaCTX‐M‐55 was assigned to the recently emerged fluoroquinolone‐resistant, extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli clone ST1193. Wild birds have the potential to disperse AMR, including clinically important resistance genes, from anthropogenic‐influenced habitats to diverse areas, including vulnerable natural environments such as surface waters or mountain regions.


Objective To investigate the effect of intracarotid administration of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) on learning and memory abilities of vascular dementia (VD) rats and the variability of expressions of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S-100 protein in the serum.Methods BMNCs collected from clean juvenile male Wistar rat femur were isolated; after adherent culture,the 3-4th generation BMSCs were performed induced differentiation.Ninety Wistar rats (age:18 to 24 months old) were randomly divided into three groups:control group,model group and treatment group,and each group was further classified into three subgroups by means of survival times of 2,4 and 8 weeks,which means that every subgroup consisted often rats.All VD rats,which were modeled by modified Pulsinellis 4-vessel occlusion (4VO); and those in the treatment group were injected 0.5 mL 1.2×107/mL BMSCs into the internal carotid artery 24 after operation.The learning and memory abilities of each rat in all subgroups were analyzed by shuttle box testing and the NSE leves and S-100 protein in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).Results The mean active avoidance response (AAR) ratios of the rats in the three subgroups (survival time of 2,4,8 weeks) of the model group,were,respectively,lower than those of the control group (P<0.05),and those of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the model group (P<0.05).The serum levels of NSE in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the model group two weeks after operation (P<0.05),but it reversed 4 and 8 weeks after operation.The S-100 protein expressions in the treatment group was statistically lower than that in the model group (P<0.05),however,there is no significant difference between treatment group and control group (P>0.05).Conclusion Intracarotid administration of BMSCs obviously improves the learning and memory abilities of the VD rats,remarkably reduces the serum levels of NSE and S-100 protein,and efficiently relieves the injury degree of neurons and glial cells,which indicates that BMSCs therapy has effective protection on neural regeneration,neuronal proliferation and synaptic connectivity.

Key words:
Bone marrow stem cell;  Vascular dementia;  Neuron specific enolase;  S-100 protein


Reading in large classes can lead to many difficulties demanding for various teaching strategies to overcome any difficulties. This research aimed to find the difficulties found in large classes of reading and analyzed the strategies used to overcome them. It used a systematic analysis method that identifies existing literature available online. The data collection was carried out through systematic literature review stages: 1) framing questions for a review, 2) identifying relevant work, 3) assessing the quality of studies, 4) summarizing the evidence, and 5) interpreting the findings. The results show that students learning English in large classes particularly in secondary schools are always constrained in making inference, finding main idea, retention of detail information, understanding vocabulary, and locating reference. Concerning the strategies, junior and senior high school students must be involved in joyful and meaningful group fun activities forreading. However, at university level, the self and autonomous learning style must be implemented. The finding implies on the need for collaborative learning method and also group fun activities for reading. It can be also helped by utilizing the technology and digital platform to make the students have more experiences inlearning reading in large class.


This mini-track addresses modeling, interoperability, and middleware design to support distributed object and component-based software systems (DOCS). The mini-track chairs are grateful to the authors and referees for their participation in making this mini-track possible. Each of the 18 submissions was reviewed by 4-5 referees and 9 of these submissions appear here. In initial construction of DOCS, models and meta-models are created for various domains and components to be implemented for the domains. Current practice is to use UML (Unified Modeling Language). Roussev improves on the lack of seamless integration between different UML models by defining a process to generate formal specifications of the models in OCL (Object Constraint Language). Tan, Zaslavsky, Ewald, and Bond point out that to re-engineer legacy systems in a heterogeneous distributed environment, domainspecific meta-models are required which transcend the heterogeneity among different models. They present such meta-models with associated semantics and translation schemes to support automation of system integration. An additional aspect of distributed systems is Quality of Service (QoS), which includes non-functional issues such as timing and security. Ritter, Born, Unterschütz, and Weis present an approach to enable QoS modeling and realization for component-based middleware platforms. Their meta-model is integrated with both UML and the CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) Component Model. Chung and Lee apply modeling processes to web applications. Their approach is UML-based and shows the versatility of modeling across various web application software technologies. Heterogeneity of DOCS introduces many interoperability issues. Löhr identifies incompatible component interaction styles as a major problem in component interoperability. He proposes a language for describing various component interfaces in order to automatically produce code that mediates among components. Chiang is concerned with component design for reusability across various middleware architectures. He presents an adapter model which allows component interactions to be separated from components themselves and hence facilitates both reusability and component integration. Aleksy, Schader, and Schnell have researched interoperability in messaging between the CORBA Notification and Java Messaging Services. They have defined a bridge to enable message passing between these two services. Middleware is central to DOCS. Gokhale and Natarajan developed a middleware architecture for the Grid based upon CORBA, improving the software engineering of Grid applications by raising the level of abstraction while providing a high degree of portability and interoperability. Klefstad, Rao, and Schmidt are concerned with memory footprints of middleware implementations, especially problematic for distributed, real-time, and embedded applications. They have designed a dynamically configurable general inter-ORB protocol which minimizes the memory footprint of messaging protocols.


Corruption is a wide-spread phenomenon that attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. In the health care sector, informal payments are quite common. Especially in developing countries, patients offer bribes to medical personnel in order to facilitate access to health care. In this study vignettes and in-depth interviews are combined in order to assess whether informal payments and bribes are acceptable or unacceptable to Romanian health care consumers and medicine students. More specifically, the study investigated differences between asking and offering informal payments, and the nature of these payments (money, gift or favor/service). The main findings suggest that acceptability levels vary in relation to the initiation process. Surprisingly, these are no significant findings with regards to the type of informal payment exchanged between the consumers and the providers of health services.


During prolonged fasting, most tissues including the heart and skeletal muscle heavily rely on utilization of fatty acids (FA) released from adipose tissue, while glucose utilization is minimized. CD36 plays an important role in membrane transport of long chain fatty acid (FA) in the heart, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Previous studies showed that CD36 knockout (CD36KO) mice have reduced uptake of FA with a remarkable increase in glucose utilization in the heart and skeletal muscle, and lower levels of blood glucose during fasting. Here we show that CD36KO mice exhibit reduced endurance for exercise during prolong fasting. Running exercise was started at the speed of 10 meter/min for 5 min, and the speed was increased at a rate of 5 meter/5 min until mice were exhausted. Running distance of wild type (WT) and CD36KO mice was comparable in the fed state whereas that of CD36KO mice was significantly reduced after overnight fasting. Serum glucose levels were significantly reduced in CD36KO mice compared to WT during fasting, which was more enhanced in both mice by running exercise. Uptake of FA analogue 125 I-BMIPP was reduced in both glycolytic and oxidative muscles in CD36KO mice whereas uptake of glucose analogue 18 F-FDG was enhanced only in the fasted state in oxidative muscle, suggesting that compensatory uptake of glucose in skeletal muscle in CD36KO mice occurs only when energy supply and storage are very limited. Consistent with this, glycogen levels in quadriceps femoris muscle (consisting of more glycolytic muscle than oxidative) were significantly reduced in CD36KO mice, indicating more glycogen consumption than glucose uptake during fasting. Pyruvate challenge test revealed that gluconeogenesis in liver is also decreased in CD36KO mice. Levels of non-esterified FA and ketone body were comparable between WT and CD36KO mice. Given that carbohydrates and lipids are crucial energy substrates for skeletal muscles, our data suggest that depletion of energy storage in skeletal muscles and diminished supply of energy substrates to the tissues during fasting can cause reduced endurance for exercise in CD36KO mice. Our study underscores the importance of CD36 for nutrient homeostasis to maintain function of skeletal muscle when nutrient supply is limited.


The existence of Islamic law (fiqh) wich is able to improve the society condition and to solve many problems is such a fact. Contextualize needs to be done continuously and one of the guidance is goodness principal.


This junction by splicing two strips of material (1-2) is characterized in that the two strips of material to be joined at their ends (1a-2a) intended to be assembled, a plurality of projecting shapes of the type tongues (1b-2b) and cutouts (1c-2c) and in that situation assembly, said assembled parts are bonded together without the support of additional material deformation and material of entanglement in a junction area ,


Diaphragm spring clutch mechanism is used in testing the relative merits of eddy-current and hysteresis dampers. The dampers are alternately coupled to a single damping boom shaft. The floating clutch mechanism enables the inoperative damper to remain completely isolated from the damping boom shaft during test of the other damper.


Lately the socialpsychological training got wide distribution both in foreing and in domestic practice. Expedience and efficiency of application of trening's forms of work in a library process is grounded in the article


─ This program has been prepared with the programming language of "Visual Studio .Net C#. This Project is developed for the sound usage of web browser for the users. Recording of the web sites visited by the user is provided with a web browser. In addition, these web sites are opened with voice commands. Keywords─ Voice recognition, web browser, voice web browser.


Objective:To investigate the protective effects of lipoic acid on the damage induced by amyloid-β peptide1-42(Aβ1-42) in PC12 cells.Methods: PC12 cells were treated with Aβ1-42 and lipoic acid.The viability of PC12 cells was detected by MTT assay.The loss of membrane integrity and the cell lysis were measured by assaying the release of lactic dehydrogenase(LDH).The activity of caspase-3 in cells was measured by means of the cleavage of fluorogenic substrate Ac-DEVD-MCA.Results: Aβ1-42 induced apoptosis of PC12 cells and decreased cell viability.Lipoic acid improved the viability of PC12 cells,decreased LDH level in the culture media,and reduced the increase in caspase-3 activity.Conclusion: Lipoic acid can inhibit the cellular toxicity of Aβ;it may protect nerve cells.


The queuing system is a set of customers, services and a set of rules governing the arrival of its customers and services. Queue is a waiting phenomenon that is part of everyday human life. The queue is formed if the number of subscribers to be served exceeds the available service capacity. Queue phenomenon one of them seen in the queue nonpatas buses at Terminal Tirtonadi Surakarta. Nonpatas bus lanes studied include non-purpose buses Surabaya, Karanganyar, Wonogiri, Purwodadi and Pedesaan. The queue displant used is FIFO (First In First Out). For the five nonpatas bus lanes it meets steady state conditions because it has utility value less than 1. The selected model is a model that has the following 4 types of distributions: Erlang, Weibull, Gamma and Lognormal. The queue model generated for the five tracks (ERLA/ERLA/1):(GD/∞/∞) for Surabaya nonpatas buses, (ERLA/WEIB/1):(GD/∞/∞) for Karanganyar nonpatas buses, (GAMM/WEIB/1):(GD/∞/∞) for Wonogiri nonpatas buses, (ERLA/WEIB/1):(GD/∞/∞) for Purwodadi nonpatas buses, (WEIB/LOGN/1):(GD/∞/∞) for Pedesaan nonpatas buses. Based on the value of the system performance measure indicated that the five lines are queue system is good. Keywords: Beta, Erlang, FIFO, Gamma, Steady State Conditions, Lognormal, Queue Model, Queuing Systems, System Performance Measure, Weibull


Recent studies have suggested an association between alcoholism and DNA methylation, a mechanism that can mediate long-lastingchanges in gene transcription. Here, we examined the contribution of DNA methylation to the long-term behavioral and molecularchanges induced by a history of alcohol dependence. In search of mechanisms underlying persistent rather than acute dependence-induced neuroadaptations, we studied the role of DNA methylation regulating medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) gene expression andalcohol-related behaviors in rats 3 weeks into abstinence following alcohol dependence. Postdependent rats showed escalated alcoholintake, which was associated with increased DNA methylation as well as decreased expression of genes encoding synaptic proteinsinvolvedinneurotransmitterreleaseinthemPFC.InfusionoftheDNAmethyltransferaseinhibitorRG108preventedbothescalationofalcohol consumption and dependence-induced downregulation of 4 of the 7 transcripts modified in postdependent rats. Specifically,RG108treatmentdirectlyreversedbothdownregulationofsynaptotagmin2(


You asked if nurses should follow in the footsteps of the North West Ambulance Service by tweeting about their working lives (reflections March 28). Your four readers panellists were generally in favour, with the proviso that patient confidentiality be protected.


Background Species may respond to a warming climate by moving to higher latitudes or elevations. Shifts in geographic ranges are common responses in temperate regions. For the tropics, latitudinal temperature gradients are shallow; the only escape for species may be to move to higher elevations. There are few data to suggest that they do. Yet, the greatest loss of species from climate disruption may be for tropical montane species. Methodology/Principal Findings We repeat a historical transect in Peru and find an average upward shift of 49 m for 55 bird species over a 41 year interval. This shift is significantly upward, but also significantly smaller than the 152 m one expects from warming in the region. To estimate the expected shift in elevation we first determined the magnitude of warming in the locality from historical data. Then we used the temperature lapse rate to infer the required shift in altitude to compensate for warming. The range shifts in elevation were similar across different trophic guilds. Conclusions Endothermy may provide birds with some flexibility to temperature changes and allow them to move less than expected. Instead of being directly dependent on temperature, birds may be responding to gradual changes in the nature of the habitat or availability of food resources, and presence of competitors. If so, this has important implications for estimates of mountaintop extinctions from climate change.


Auscultatory percussion is a technique that is potentially useful to study the acoustic behaviour of the chest. However, finger percussion, as used in this technique, has not been previously assessed for consistency. Correspondence: S.S. Kraman We calculated the intrasubject variability and short-term reproducibility of this technique in 10 healthy subjects. We examined several indices of the output sound of two series of sterna! percussion manoeuvres performed one hour apart by the same examiner. The results were compared to those obtained during sterna! percussion performed by a mechanical thumper.


...................................................................................................... 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................. 12 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ........................... 14 ......................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 16 Methodology .................................................................................. 20 Corporate Archives ...................................................................... 22 Secondary Sources ...................................................................... 23 Primary Sources ........................................................................... 31 CHAPTER TWO: BRITISH GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES ON DEMAND OF ARTILLERY, 1900–1914 ......................................................................... 35 Introduction .................................................................................... 35 Bureaucratic and Political Foundations .................................... 37 Finance ........................................................................................... 39 Votes ............................................................................................... 40 Staff Issues .................................................................................... 43 Budgets .......................................................................................... 44 Bureaucracy .................................................................................. 47 Bidding ............................................................................................ 49 Policy .............................................................................................. 52 The Master General of Ordnance ............................................. 54 The Service Technical Chiefs and Staffs ................................. 57 The Financial Staffs ..................................................................... 59 Parliamentary Reporting ............................................................. 60 Challenges of Ordnance ............................................................. 62


In 1980s,when Latin American economy encountered economic crisis and debt crisis,the governmental regulation and trade protection became a main reason for many economists to criticize Latin America model.But since the Sub-prime loan crisis,there has been such governmental regulation and trade protection similar to Latin America in European and American countries.According to the evolution of Latin American model,governmental regulation and trade protection should be an important policy choice of Latin American model,and it is also a reasonable choice for the achievement of economic development in Latin American countries,and not the prime criminal of Latin American crisis criticized by liberalists.


The fossil priapulid worms Ottoia prolifica, Selkirkia willoughbyi n. sp., Selkirkia spencei, and Selkirkia sp. are illustrated from the Middle Cambrian of Utah. New records of O. pro ca from the Spence Shale and Marjum Formation represent notable geographic and stratigraphic extensions of its previously unique occurrence in the Stephen Formation of British Columbia. O. prolifica has a range through much of the Middle Cambrian (?15 Ma), during which time it shows minimal morphological change. New records of S. spencei augment previous finds in the Spence Shale. S. willoughbyi n. sp. occurs in the Marjum Formation and Wheeler Formation. It differs from the type species S. columbia in details of tube size and degree of tapering, although the poorly known soft parts appear to be broadly similar. These occurrences extend significantly the stratigraphie range of Selkirkia, and are augmented by the discovery of Selkirkia sp. in the Wheeler Formation. A unique specimen of the possible annelid worm Palaeoscolex, P. cf. P. ratcliffei, is described from the Middle Cambrian of Spain, thereby extending the geographic range from previously known occurrences in England, Utah, and South Australia. Papillate ornamentation of various species of Palaeoscolex is compared, and the new class Palaeoscolecida is erected. These descriptions of soft-bodied organisms provide further information on the diversity of Cambrian life. The possibility that present information on soft-bodied and lightly skeletized biotas is biased toward deeper water, possibly conservative, forms is discussed. Brief descriptions of possible soft-bodied worms and trace fossils (burrows and questionable coprolites) from Utah are also given. Manuscript received July 23, 1985. 2 The University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions—Paper 117 OF THE MANY BIASES that distort our perception of the fossil record, probably none is as significant as the almost total loss of the soft-bodied component of a fauna. As yet there is no clear indication of the relative change in this component through geologic time, and so it may be unwise to infer that a given percentage of softbodied animals is absent from a fossil fauna. Indeed, even were percentages of change known, it remains to be demonstrated whether taphonomic factors have themselves shown systematic changes through the Phanerozoic that might either favor or inhibit the chances of soft-part preservation. Trace fossils can at best hint at former levels of diversity, and rarely provide reliable estimates of a missing soft-bodied component. Accordingly, any information of actual soft-part preservation that helps to supplement our knowledge of this missing fraction of a fauna is of considerable significance. For the Middle Cambrian, the exemplar of a soft-bodied fauna is from the Burgess Shale. It has been suggested that the unusual character of this fauna lies in its favored history of preservation rather than the original biotic assemblage (Conway Morris, 1981; Conway Morris and Robison, 1982). If this is correct then such softbodied faunas may provide a guide to original diversity and paleoecologic insights more reliable than those provided by normal shelly assemblages, for which a substantial fraction of the fauna failed to fossilize. Recent discoveries of exceptionally preserved Middle Cambrian fossils in the immediate vicinity of the Burgess Shale (Collins, Briggs, and Conway Morris, 1983) and in similar open-shelf lithofacies of Idaho and Utah (Willoughby and Robison, 1979; Rigby, 1980, 1983; Gunther and Gunther, 1981; Robison and Richards, 1981; Conway Morris and Robison, 1982; Briggs and Robison, 1984; Robison, 1984b, 1985) support the notion that softbodied organisms comprised a significant proportion of these faunas. As information on softbodied and lightly skeletized taxa from Middle Cambrian localities in Utah and Idaho has accumulated in the last few years, it has become apparent that the great majority of soft-bodied genera so described are known also from the Burgess Shale or nearby sites in the Stephen Formation. Thus, of the approximately 40 genera of arthropods, sponges, priapulids, annelids, medusoids, incertae sedis, and algae known from these localities, almost 75 percent occur in the Burgess Shale [excluding the poorly known Dioxycaris argenta (see Briggs, 1976; Briggs and Robison, 1984) and assuming various questionable assignments to Perspicaris, Emeraldella, Leanchoilia, Sidneyia (Briggs and Robison, 1984), and Stephenoscolex (Conway Morris, 1979a) are correct]. Although new genera will no doubt continue to be described, the overall generic diversity of the soft-bodied component from moderately deepwater biofacies in the western Cordillera appears to be tolerably well documented. Brief descriptions follow for the priapulids Ottoia and Selkirkia from Utah and the possible annelid Palaeoscolex from Spain. This information extends known geographic and stratigraphic ranges. Mention is made also of other softbodied material and trace fossils. Although data are scanty, it appears that some lightly skeletized genera such as Anomalocaris (Briggs and Mount, 1982; Briggs and Robison, 1984) and the aberrant trilobite Naraoia (Robison, 1984b) have lengthy stratigraphic ranges with examples known from the upper Lower Cambrian (Bonnia-Olenellus Zone) to upper Middle Cambrian (Ptychagnostus punctuosus Zone). Robison (1984b) noted that the stratigraphic range of Naraoia exceeds that of most other Cambrian trilobite genera. A parallel exists, however, in the trilobite Ogygopsis, which has a similar stratigraphic range (reviewed in Conway Morris, 1985). Recently, there has been speculation on whether certain habitats promote generic and specific longevity (e.g., Jablonski and Valentine, 1981). Although some data are contradictory, in the context of Lower Paleozoic marine communities Fortey's (1980) documentation of many long ranging Lower Ordovician genera being confined to "deep-water sites with low oxygen concentration, and probably beneath the thermocline" could be directly relevant to explaining the longevity of such Cambrian forms as Ogygopsis, Anomalocaris, perhaps Naraoia, and by implication a number of other genera. In this context the occurrence of Ogygopsis is of particular interest. Several workers (Nelson, 1963; Palmer and Halley, 1979) have commented on the likelihood that the sporadic appearance of this trilobite in the rock record reflects the onset of a particular set of environmental conditions, specifically paleooceanographic factors involving access to the open ocean, or bathymetric changes, or both. One such possibility is occasional and Conway Morris & Robison—Middle Cambrian Fossils from Utah & Spain 3 nonperiodic incursions of deeper and presumably cooler waters into proximal regions of the open shelf. It is suggested that at least some of the soft-bodied taxa known from the Cambrian of the western Cordillera represent conservative forms inhabiting relatively deep water. It may be no coincidence that if their occurrences are linked to more poorly aerated water masses, then the proximity of anoxic conditions may be a major factor in promoting soft-part preservation. Our knowledge of Cambrian biotas with a relatively extensive soft-part component may be biased toward those deeper water faunas that, given certain oceanographic conditions, were able to migrate shoreward. Equally diverse assemblages may have flourished in shallower and more aerated water, but there the chances of extensive soft-part preservation were correspondingly reduced, making it less likely that paleontologists will be afforded the insights provided by the Burgess Shale and analogous deeper water deposits. Nevertheless, even if further evidence suggests the existence of relatively conservative deepwater Cambrian faunas, there is little reason to suppose they were biotically homogeneous. Thus, although Ogygopsis occurs in association with soft-part preservation, including Anomalocaris, in part of the Stephen Formation, elsewhere Anomalocaris and Naraoia occur inde-


An experimental study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of two methods of teaching utilized in teaching sessions for postmyocardial infarction patients e These two methods were developed following a study of operant conditioning and cognitive field learning studies« The two methods utilized a structured and an unstructured approach to teaching» Content for the teaching session was adapted from the booklet After a Coronary, published by the American Heart Association<> Measurement tools utilized in this study included a researcher-designed questionnaire and objective test which were administered to the patient following his dis missal from the hospitale The hypothesis that patients who received an un structured method of teaching will have a greater degree of behavior change and retention of knowledge was not supported <> Analysis of variance was performed on the questionnaire score and the objective test raw score. This did not reveal a significant difference at the ,05 level. Although the results in this study seem to reveal that the method of teaching is not as important as other factors in determining behavior change it is possible that the lack of significance was related to the small sample size, x


1. The growth of guayule in gravel cultures was controlled by supplying the plants with nutrient containing various concentrations of calcium and nitrogen ions. Some plants were made to grow vigorously during the entire summer growing season, the growth of others was checked during the entire season, others were made to grow vigorously during the first half of the season and then slowly, while still others grew slowly during the first part of the season and then vigorously during the latter part of the summer. All were subjected to the same light and temperature conditions during the winter dormancy period. 2. The amount of vegetative growth made during the summer season was not related to the plant's ability to synthesize rubber, as based on the percentage found in the stems and roots following the winter dormancy period. Small plants showing nitrogen deficiency symptoms were as efficient with respect to rubber storage as were relatively large plants grown with a much greater nitrogen supply. The total rubber production was directly related to the amount of growth made by the plants during the summer growing season. 3. Seeds of low quality with respect to percentage germination were produced during the warmest period of summer, irrespective of the amount of calcium or nitrogen supplied to the plants. Seeds collected during the spring and fall gave a relatively high percentage germination, and their number and quality were favored by adequate nutrient supply. 4. The relative area of bark of plants grown with varying but not deficient amounts of nitrogen was essentially constant when the inherent differences due to variation in the size of the stem were discounted. A slight increase occurred in the relative thickness of the bark in branches of plants 'supplied with relatively small amounts of calcium and nitrogen. This increase was not associated with an increase in the percentage rubber in the stems.


The features and properties of waste as a fuel for converting waste to energy (WTE) are analyzed considering various types of waste. Nonthermal treatments are also covered – for example, anaerobic digestion and microbial fuel cells. Benefits from best available and best applicable techniques (BREFs) developed with the support from the European Union are discussed.

Keywords:

waste-to-energy;
waste management;
emission reduction;
heat;
power;
and fuels production


The linearized GW density matrix ( γ GW ) is an efficient method to improve the static portion of the self-energy compared to ordinary G 0 W 0 while keeping the single-shot simplicity of the calculation. Previous work has shown that γ GW gives an improved Fock operator and total energy components that approach self-consistent GW quality. Here, we test γ GW for dimer dissociation for the first time by studying N 2 , LiH, and Be 2 . We also calculate a set of self-consistent GW results in identical basis sets for a direct and consistent comparison. γ GW approaches self-consistent GW total energies for a starting point based on a high amount of exact exchange. We also compare the accuracy of different total energy functionals, which differ when evaluated with a non-self-consistent density or density matrix. While the errors in total energies among different functionals and starting points are small, the individual energy components show noticeable errors when compared to reference data. The energy component errors of γ GW are smaller than functionals of the density and we suggest that the linearized GW density matrix is a route to improving total energy evaluations in the adiabatic connection framework.


The SARS‐COV‐2 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems. We assessed its impact on the presentation, care trajectories and outcomes of new pancreatic cancers (PCs) in the Paris area. We performed a retrospective multicenter cohort study on the data warehouse of Greater Paris University Hospitals (AP‐HP). We identified all patients newly referred with a PC between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021, and excluded endocrine tumors. Using claims data and health records, we analyzed the timeline of care trajectories, the initial tumor stage, the treatment categories: pancreatectomy, exclusive systemic therapy or exclusive best supportive care (BSC). We calculated patients' 1‐year overall survival (OS) and compared indicators in 2019 and 2020 to 2021. We included 2335 patients. Referral fell by 29% during the first lockdown. The median time from biopsy and from first MDM to treatment were 25 days (16‐50) and 21 days (11‐40), respectively. Between 2019 and 2020 to 2021, the rate of metastatic tumors (36% vs 33%, P = .39), the pTNM distribution of the 464 cases with upfront tumor resection (P = .80), and the proportion of treatment categories did not vary: tumor resection (32% vs 33%), exclusive systemic therapy (49% vs 49%), exclusive BSC (19% vs 19%). The 1‐year OS rates in 2019 vs 2020 to 2021 were 92% vs 89% (aHR = 1.42; 95% CI, 0.82‐2.48), 52% vs 56% (aHR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.73‐1.08), 13% vs 10% (aHR = 1.00; 95% CI, 0.78‐1.25), in the treatment categories, respectively. Despite an initial decrease in the number of new PCs, we did not observe any stage shift. OS did not vary significantly.


Oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes were produced by strong acid treatment with the aid of sonication. Short-length carbon nanotubes obtained by filtration of the oxidized carbon nanotubes were analyzed by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies, and scanning electron microscopy. Direct evidence of the modifications of the electronic properties of the carbon nanotubes was obtained by the valence band analysis. The oxidation induced by the acid treatment led to deep changes of the carbon nanotubes density of states. Analysis of the photoluminescence spectra showed that the short carbon nanotubes are luminescent in the visible range. Interestingly, the spectral intensities and lineshapes are strongly dependent on the pH of the CNT solution. This effect is explained by a modification of the local environment of the defects induced by the protonation/deprotonation of the carboxylic groups formed by the oxidation process.


ABSTRACT This research explored the role of social capital, particularly civic engagement and social trust, in community revitalization efforts in a primarily African American post-Katrina neighborhood (n = 153). Findings reveal high levels of participation in neighborhood and political activities but low levels of social trust. Eighty-four percent of this primarily African American sample reported that they do not trust people of other races as compared to 23 to 32% of African American respondents in the national study. Drawing from critical theoretical perspectives, we offer a critique of the limits of social capital theory as well as a discussion of the importance of building social and racial trust as central components of community development practice. Implications include emphasizing organizational capacity-building activities, community organizing training, and racial reconciliation efforts in post-disaster environments.


A continuous Deep Belief Network (cDBN) with two hidden layers is proposed in this paper, focusing on the problem of weak feature learning ability when dealing with continuous data. In cDBN, the input data is trained in an unsupervised way by using continuous version of transfer functions, the contrastive divergence is designed in hidden layer training process to raise convergence speed, an improved dropout strategy is then implemented in unsupervised training to realize features learning by de-cooperating between the units, and then the network is fine-tuned using back propagation algorithm. Finally, the experiments on CATS benchmark and waste water parameters forecasting show that cDBN has the advantage of higher accuracy, simpler structure and faster convergence speed than other methods.


The present application related to a rotating arm type permanent magnet motor, in particular to a permanent magnet motor that was actuated by the action of the magnetic forces of a permanent magnet stator of a stator module and two thin ring permanent magnets of a rotor module. The purpose of present permanent magnet motor was to provide the torque produced by a magnetic force of the magnetic energy of a stator to drive the rotation of the rotor. The rotating arm type permanent magnet motor comprised an external support frame base, a stator module and a rotor module. The external support frame base included an upper frame, a lower frame and two side frames. The stator module included an elastic metal plate cantilever arm and a permanent magnet stator. The rotor module included a rotating shaft, a double arc shaped rotating arms type support frame, and two thin ring permanent magnets. Magnet material N45H (sintered Nd–Fe–B) was used for the permanent magnets of stator and rotor. The values of magnetic forces (attraction force and exclusion force) were inverse proportional to the position distances of poles (N pole and S pole) above the top level of thin ring permanent magnets, e.g. c= 12mm. The greater value of magnetic forces got the faster rotation speed. The values of magnetic forces could produce the good enough torque for the thin ring permanent magnets to rotate the shaft when position b= 8mm better than that when position b= 17mm. In the future, with the help of using an external swing motion of electrical controlled swing-type device to produce complete rotation, the present permanent magnet motor might save electricity and power sources. Some preliminary rotation speed data of rotating shaft in a permanent magnet motor were obtained and presented with manually controlled.


Objective:To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and related factors of ureteroscope holmium laser lithotripsy for ureter calculus.Methods:150 patients(36 cases with polyps) with ureter calculus and treated by holmium laser lithotr were selected for analysis. The average size of the calculus was 1.0cm(0.6-1.5cm).Results:The single clearance rate of calculus was 95% and ureteral polyp removal rate was 100%. The average time of operation was 40 min(20-60 min). Length of stay after operation was 5d(4-8 d).Part of stone fragments moved up to pelvis in 8 cases whose calculus was all in the superior segment of ureter. They were then treated by ESWL. Routine assessment of stone clearance was done for all patients using USG or KUB 1-2 months after operation. No ureteral mucosal perforation,mucosal avulsion, fever and other complications were found.Conclusions:Holmium laser lithotripsy is safe and effective for ureteral calculus and can also achieve satisfactory therapeutic effect for casees with polyps.


Identifying the faces of familiar persons requires the ability to assign several different images of a face to a common identity. Previous research showed that the occipito‐temporal cortex, including the fusiform and the occipital face areas, is sensitive to personal identity. Still, the viewpoint, facial expression and image‐independence of this information are currently under heavy debate. Here we adapted a rapid serial visual stimulation paradigm Johnston et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2016.10.002) and presented highly variable ambient‐face images of famous persons to measure functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation. fMRI adaptation is considered as the neuroimaging manifestation of repetition suppression, a neural phenomenon currently explained as a correlate of reduced predictive error responses for expected stimuli. We revisited the question of image‐invariant identity‐specific encoding mechanisms of the occipito‐temporal cortex, using fMRI adaptation with a particular interest in predictive mechanisms. Participants were presented with trials containing eight different images of a famous person, images of eight different famous persons or seven different images of a particular famous person followed by an identity change to violate potential expectation effects about person identity. We found an image‐independent adaptation effect of identity for famous faces in the fusiform face area. However, in contrast to previous electrophysiological studies, using similar paradigms, no release of the adaptation effect was observed when identity‐specific expectations were violated. Our results support recent multivariate pattern analysis studies, showing image‐independent identity encoding in the core face‐processing areas of the occipito‐temporal cortex. These results are discussed in the frame of recent identity‐processing models and predictive mechanisms.


I joined the Corinthian surgery in Cheltenham (figure 1) as a general practitioner (GP) 19 years ago. The practice was located in a four-storey Georgian town house, called Weston House (figure 2). It did not quite fulfil the description laid out by Collings in his shocking description of general practice in the 1950s1 "An ill-adapted annex to a private house, the waiting room… small, cold and inhospitable and in peak hours overcrowded and trailing queues in gardens or streets. The consulting rooms a jumble of untidiness serving every imaginable purpose without regard for comfort or privacy." However, Weston House was showing signs of wear: the basement was damp, the stairs creaked alarmingly under the heavier patients and my desk was (occasionally) a jumble of untidiness. There was no disabled access and as a result, we sometimes gave car park consultations. In 1999, together with four other practices, we moved to purpose-built accommodation: The St Paul's Medical Centre (figure 3).

Figure 1
The author and his office 'a Jumble of Untidiness'.

Figure 2
Weston House, Pittville: 'Old Style' general practice.

Figure 3
The St. Paul's Medical Centre, Cheltenham. 'The Brave New World'.

UK general practice has changed dramatically since 19 years ago. At that time, information technology was a computer with a green screen that did little more than print prescriptions (if you were lucky). Now all patient records are stored, tests are ordered and results received electronically, we have a practice intranet with a plethora of guidelines and access to the internet. In 1994 we still did all our own on-call, covering our patients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It was a relief to give this up 9 years ago. However, the UK Department of Health's recent decision to review out-of-hours care suggests that the 24-hour commitment may be returning our way.2

Primary care was …


INTRODUCTION Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS) is defined by end-stage histological findings, strongly associated with limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). We aimed to characterize features of early HS to refine the understanding of its role within combined pathology. METHODS We studied 159 brain donations from the multimodal Vallecas Alzheimer's Center Study. A staging system (0 to IV) was developed to account for HS progression and analyzed in relation to pre-mortem cognitive and MRI data. RESULTS Our HS staging system displayed a significant correlation with disease duration, cognitive performance and combined neuropathologies, especially with LATE. Two-level assessment along the hippocampal longitudinal axis revealed an anterior-posterior gradient of HS severity. In vivo MRI showed focally reduced hippocampal grey matter density as a function of HS staging. DISCUSSION The association of this staging system with clinical progression and structural differences supports its utility in the characterization and potential in vivo monitoring of HS.


The invention relates to a thread for a screwed connection, in which a first part (3), which has a female thread (30), can be joined to a second part (2) having a male thread (20). This results in a thread screwed connection that, already due to its design, considerably reduces the risk of the aforementioned damages occurring. To this end, the first and second parts (2, 3) have, at least in the area of the thread turns (10, 11), different strengths, and the thread turns (10, 11) have a cross-sectional area (Q1, Q3) that differs from the cross-sectional area (Q2, Q4) of a gap (23, 24) between the thread turns (10, 11).


Several geophysical and geotechnical techniques were tested on an earth-filled canal dike in the framework of a French research program (labelled DOFEAS). The aim of this program was to test the ability of geophysical techniques, first, to image the body of the dike and to detect weak zones associated with known leakages and, second, to monitor the evolution of geophysical parameters (mainly electrical resistivity) with time in relation with the evolution of water circulation and internal erosion. The chosen site is an earth-filled dike (3 to 4m high) relying upon Jurassic marly limestones. The dike contains a permanent hydraulic head and exhibits 2 leakage zones in the study area. Repair works, conducted after the canal was emptied, allowed to visually identify the seepage entries (a few tens of cm each in diameter) within the canal. Drillings, in situ and laboratory tests allowed to build a hydrogeotechnical model of the site. Probes were installed in boreholes to monitor the water table variation over time. Active geophysical experiments including seismic refraction and tomography (P- and S-waves), surface wave inversion (SWI) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), were used to characterize the geometry of the sub-surface. Concerning the time-lapse ERT survey, 128 electrodes, spread each 1 m, were permanently installed on the dike crest. Measurements were conducted using a Wenner-Schlumberger protocol
(around 3600 measurements). 7 sequences were acquired during 2 months prior, during and after repair works. These works induced variations in the water level within the canal. The combined effects of the complex 3D geometry of the dike and of the varying water level were numerically determined to correct the geometric factor k. Compared to the analytical k, the geometric factor corrected from the topographic effects induced complex resistivity variations between 8 and 18%, depending on the electrode spacing but also on the water level into the canal. Furthermore, numerical simulations also showed that, depending on the water level into the canal, the electrical current density within the dike could also be affected by a factor of up to two. This indicates that a more or less important part of the measured resistivity carries information which originates from the water. However, a full 3D correction of the measured apparent resistivity would require to know the 3D resistivity distribution within the ground.The time-lapse inversion of the ERT data allowed to locate the main pipe within the dike, at a depth of around 3.4m, just above the interface between the bedrock and the dike body. This location was in agreement with the visual location of the seepage. Corrected resistivity were found to be more realistic than with the analytical k factor and allowed a better detection of the main pipe. However, the second and smaller pipe was not detected, probably because of a too low contrast. These results confirm the applicability of calibrated geophysical techniques for assessing earth dike geometry. They also suggest that the correction for the 3D to 4D effects provides a better detection of anomalies (i.e. seepage pipe) evolving with time.


Background: Evidence suggests that a raised level of cord serum IgE (CS-IgE) is a risk factor for allergic sensitisation. However, whether CS-IgE is a risk for asthma is controversial. A study was undertaken to investigate the association between CS-IgE levels and allergic sensitisation at 4 and 10 years of age and asthma at ages 1–2, 4 and 10. Methods: CS-IgE was available for 1358 of 1456 children born between 1989 and 1990. The cohort was evaluated for allergic diseases at ages 1, 2, 4 and 10 years. Skin prick tests for six allergens were performed on 981 children at age 4 and 1036 at age 10. Asthma was defined based on a physician's diagnosis. Using logistic regression analysis, the risk of asthma and allergic sensitisation for raised levels of CS-IgE (⩾0.5 kU/l) was estimated. Results: At ages 4 and 10 years 20.2% and 27.0% of children, respectively, had allergic sensitisation. The risk of allergic sensitisation was significantly associated with raised CS-IgE levels at ages 4 (OR 2.29) and 10 years (OR 1.73). The prevalence of asthma was 10.3% at age 1–2, 15.2% at age 4, and 12.8% at age 10. CS-IgE was not associated with asthma at age 1–2 and 4 but showed an increased relative risk at age 10 (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.62). The association was stronger in children who did not develop allergic sensitisation at age 4 or 10 (OR 3.35, 95% CI 1.41 to 7.93). Conclusions: Raised cord serum IgE is a risk factor for allergic sensitisation at ages 4 and 10 years. This is the second study suggesting that CS-IgE is also a risk factor for asthma at age 10, probably related to the late onset of asthma. This association is not necessarily mediated by allergic sensitisation.


Single photoionization cross-sections for Kr-like Rb+ ions are reported in the energy (wavelength) range from 22 (564 Å) to 46 eV (270 Å). Theoretical cross-section calculations for this trans-Fe element are compared with measurements from the ASTRID radiation facility in Aarhus, Denmark and from the dual laser plasma technique, at respectively 40 and 35 meV FWHM energy resolution. In the photon energy region 22–32 eV the spectrum is dominated by excitation auto-ionizing resonance states. Above 32 eV the cross-section exhibits classic Fano window resonances features, which are analysed and discussed. Large-scale theoretical photoionization cross-section calculations, performed using a Dirac Coulomb R-matrix approximation are benchmarked against these high-resolution experimental results. Comparison of the theoretical work with the experimental studies allowed the identification of resonance features and their parameters in the spectra in addition to contributions from excited metastable states of the Rb+ ions.


A review of the book, The Community College: Assessment (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2022), edited by Janet Pinkley (adjunct librarian, Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Library, Ventura College, and Head of Access Services, California State University, Channel Islands) and Kaela Casey (librarian, Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Library, Ventura College).


In his adaptation of Carlo Levi's Cristo si é fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli, 1979), Rosi continues to confront the problems of the South—emigration, cultural marginalization, poverty—while reclaiming its rich, forgotten culture. The film signals a shift of Rosi's style, later evident in the slow-paced Cronaca di una morte annunciata (Chronicle of a Death Foretold, 1987), an epic adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez' 1981 novel that, like Cristo, is structured as an archetypal journey back to the past. In Tre fratelli (Three Brothers, 1981), Italy's chronic political instability is reflected in the tale of a self-assured judge, an idealistic teacher, and an angry factory worker and labor organizer. Summoned home for their mother's funeral, the brothers revisit their peasant roots, confront their present, and imagine their future. The film's concluding wide shot, which unites two generations, indicates Rosi's return to ahistorical values.


The general expression of the conductivity σ(F) = f μ(E, T, F) f0,(E, T, F) g(E) dE is discussed, in which μ(E, T, F) is a generalized mobility which may depend on energy, field, and temperature. It is shown that constant activation energies result for sharply limited energy or mobility gaps and that a continuously temperature dependent activation energy may appear for a tailed‐type product μ(E) g(E). Expressions of the type σ ∼ exp (— B T−1/n) may be obtaincd even if the temperature dependence of the mobility is negligible.


This paper discusses the modalities and possibilities to apply the term gentrification in the context of Latin-American cities. For this purpose, it is crucial to develop a critical exercise that dissociates the term from the traditional debates arising from the Anglophone world. As a result of this dialectical process, we propose its application in two dimensions for which it appears to have a particular relevance: the gentrification by real estate agents and the interrelation between gentrification and neighbourhood struggles. These are the two aspects we consider appropriate to reveal the hidden consequences of contemporary urban policies and to re-politicise urban studies from a perspective that is related to the demands of citizens. Such critical reflection leads us to a conceptual proposition that is latter exemplified by the case of Santiago, Chile, a paradigmatic city for the application of neoliberal urban policies causing gentrification.


Capital expenditure is the expenditure of local governments in building fixed assets at public service and then can maximize the productivity of the economy. This study to investigate the effect of direct and indirect number of tourist, tax of hotel and restaurant, and local revenues through capital expenditure. This research was conducted in all districts / cities in Bali. Data collection is through the documents contained in the BPS Bali Province, Bali Government Local Revenue Office and Bali Government Tourism Office. This study used secondary data with path analysis path analysis to determine the direct effect as sobel test to determine the effect is not immediate. The analysis showed that the number of tourist, tax of hotel and restaurant significant direct effect on the local revenues. Number of tourist, tax of hotel and restaurant and local revenue significant direct effect on the capital expenditure. Number of tourist and tax of hotel through local revenues significant indirect effect on the capital expenditure. Local revenue mean spending an intervening variable of number of tourist and tax of hotel and restaurant.


Carbon fibers were obtained using hydrothermal carbonization of rice husk followed by further heat treatment at 1000 °C to increase the conductivity and removal of the silica fraction to increase the porosity. These carbon fibers show superior capacity retention and rate performance as anode in lithium ion batteries.


Abstract Most organic coatings, regardless of colour, are pigmented with titanium dioxide (TiO2) to increase their covering power. TiO2 in its anatase crystal form is highly photoactive under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Photo activation of TiO2 causes the formation of free radicals, which can interact with the organic matrix, causing accelerated degradation of the polymeric coating. This releases carbon dioxide (CO2) via a series of reactions initiated by surface bound hydroxyl radicals. To identify which type and concentration of coloured pigment provides the most photostable formulation of TiO2 containing organic coating, model coatings containing different coloured pigments and loadings have been assessed using a novel flat panel irradiation reactor. The rate of CO2 evolved by the irradiated sample, measured using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, has been used to quantify the degradation induced by individual pigment combinations. Yellow chromium titanate pigments are ineffective in stabilisation of the TiO2 driven oxidation largely owing to poor light absorption properties and carbon black pigments are only effective at higher loadings where light absorption outweighs charge percolation. Red organic pigments can potentially sensitise degradation while the blue and green pigments tested offer the best stabilisation of TiO2 driven degradation over the range 0·1–10% per hundred resin (PHR) owing to their superior absorption of near ultraviolet A (UVA) light (at 380 nm) which activates the TiO2.


We have investigated the transport properties of (Ga,Al)Sb–InAs heterostructures grown by molecular‐beam epitaxy with the Al composition in the range of 0.3–0.5 where the alloy serves as a potential barrier for electrons in InAs. Field effect capacitors using a thick (Ga,Al)Sb barrier demonstrate the modulation of carrier densities in InAs by the application of an electric field. In the region of thin (Ga,Al)Sb, where tunneling becomes dominant, a novel negative resistance appears in InAs/(Ga,Al)Sb/InAs single‐barrier structures due to the specific band alignment of this system. The results have been further elucidated under a magnetic field.


Abstract. Herein, the purpose is to present how a non linear extended Kalman filter and a Kalman filter based on the sigma point unscented transformation, aiming at real time satellite orbit determination using GPS measurements, were developed. If the dynamic system and the observation model are linear, the conventional Kalman filter may be used as the estimation algorithm. However, not rarely, the dynamic systems and the measurements equations are of non linear nature. For solving such a problem, convenient extensions of the Kalman filter have been sought. In particular, the unscented transformation was developed as a method to propagate mean and covariance information through non linear transformations. The Sigma Point Kalman filter (SPKF) appears as an emerging estimation algorithm applied to non linear system, without linearization steps. The SPKF will be compared with the extended Kalman filter (EKF) in three queries: accuracy, implementation, and order of complexity. Data from Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers will be used to determine the orbit of an artificial satellite using both the EKF and the SPKF as estimation techniques. The EKF implementation in orbit estimation, under inaccurate initial conditions and scattered measurements, can lead to unstable solutions. The determinist and the stochastic aspects must be taken into account, in order to improve the orbit determination processes and, at the same time, minimize the computational procedure cost. The first aspect encloses the system modeling and the problem formulation in order to adjust the system equations adopted to represent the orbit dynamic. In the second, the statistic estimation theory must be managed to make feasible its utilization. The orbit determination, in particular, presents a big additional inconvenience due to the non linear characteristics of both the dynamics of the motion and the GPS measurements model. In this work, analysis of a different technique to estimate the state vector that characterizes a satellite orbit model, found in non-linear Sigma Point filter, will be shown and compared to the EKF. The formulation of orbital motion differential equations and the GPS measurements equations will be placed in a suitable form. The development of the SPKF, initially in generic form, will be afterwards modified to the specific problem of the orbit determination using GPS measurements.


The effects of direct and indirect lightning strikes on the performance of electronic switching systems (ESS) are always a major concern to network operators. Protection against discharge events and their effects are employed in ESS in the form of surge protective devices (SPD) at the AC mains and primary protectors installed into each subscriber line at the main distributing frame. In many cases the topology and integrity of the grounding system permit discharges introduced into the ESS to be safely carried to earth. While SPDs and grounding systems provide a level of assurance that there will be minimal detrimental effects to switch performance in the presence of lightning, nevertheless, undetected potential problems can still occur. This paper presents the benefits and limitations of SPDs and industry accepted grounding systems topologies. It also presents and describes testing methods that uncover potential problems and to be made that preclude degradation of switch performance.


Based on ab initio density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that two carbon-doped boron nitride analog of α-graphyne structures, B3C2N3 and BC6N monolayers, are two-dimensional direct wide band gap semiconductors, and there are two inequivalent valleys in the vicinities of the vertices of their hexagonal Brillouin zones. Besides, B3C2N3 and BC6N monolayers exhibit relatively high carrier mobilities, and their direct band gap feature is robust against the biaxial strain. More importantly, the energetically most favorable B3C2N3 and BC6N bilayers also have direct wide band gaps, and valley polarization could be achieved by optical helicity. Finally, we show that BC6N monolayer might have high efficiency in photo-splitting reactions of water, and a vertical van der Waals heterostructure with a type-II energy band alignment could be designed using B3C2N3 and BC6N monolayers. All the above-mentioned characteristics make B3C2N3 and BC6N monolayers, bilayers, and their heterostructures recommendable candidates for applications in valleytronic devices, metal-free photocatalysts, and photovoltaic cells.


*,1Department of CSE, ABES Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad (U.P.), India. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Theoretical Cloud processing is on request as it offers dynamic adaptable asset distribution for reliable and positive administrations in pay-as-you-use way, to Cloud administration clients. For facilitating and conveying administrations over web it has developed as new worldview. Distributed computing pulls in entrepreneurs as it benefits ventures when there is ascend in administration request and disposes of the need of provisioning plan of proprietors. Distributed computing gives gigantic chances to IT industry. This paper is utilized to survey the distributed computing idea, their attributes, design, administration models, arrangement models and difficulties.


In order to reveal the quantumness of the Otto cycle and discuss the validity of the thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR) in the cycle, we study the quantum Otto cycle and its classical counterpart. In particular, we calculate exactly the mean values and fluctuations of numerous thermodynamic quantities. In the quasistatic limit, quantumness reduces the productivity and reliability of the Otto cycle compared to that in the absence of quantumness, while in the finite-time limit, it can increase the cycle's productivity and reliability. Interestingly, as the strength (heat conductance) between the system and the bath increases, the reliability of the quantum Otto cycle overtakes that of the classical one. In testing the conventional TUR, in the region where the entropy production is large enough, we find a tighter bound than that of the conventional TUR, and also that the TUR of the Otto cycle in the quasistatic limit is still valid. However, in the finite-time mode, both quantum and classical Otto cycles violate the conventional TUR. This implies that another modified TUR is required to cover the finite-time Otto cycle. Finally, we discuss the possible origin of this violation in terms of the uncertainty products of the thermodynamic quantities and the relative fluctuations near resonance conditions.


The aim of the present paper is to study the efficiency of a new configuration of a roll type electrostatic separator for sorting brominated flame retardants (BFR) polymers from BFR-free polymers. The main characteristic of this separator is that the standard grounded rotating roll electrode is coated with a thin film of Polyurethane (PU). A wire-type corona electrode connected to a DC high voltage supply and placed at distance of 35 mm of the surface of the roll was used to charge the PU film at a polarity opposite to that of the static high-voltage electrode. The study was conducted on a granular polymer mixture composed of equal quantities of Polyethylene (PE) containing 40000 ppm of brominated flame retardants (4.7%) and BFR-free PE. The granular mixture to be sorted was first tribocharged in a fluidized bed tribocharger, the walls of which are made of PE, and was then introduced in the corona charged insulating roll type electrostatic separator to be selectively sorted under the action of electrical and mechanical forces. The results show that the best separation results are obtained in the case where the high-voltage static electrode is connected to a positive DC power supply and the insulating roll charged with a negative corona discharge, with this configuration 70 % of BFR-free PE can be recovered with a purity of around 80 %.


Semantic representation has been studied independently in neuroscience and computer science. A deep understanding of human neural computations and the revolution to strong artificial intelligence appeal for a joint force in the language domain. We investigated comparable representational formats of lexical semantics between these two complex systems with fine temporal resolution neural recordings. We found semantic representations generated from computational models significantly correlated with EEG responses at an early stage of a typical semantic processing time window in a two-word semantic priming paradigm. Moreover, three representative computational models differentially predicted EEG responses along the dynamics of word processing. Our study provided a finer-grained understanding of the neural dynamics underlying semantic processing and developed an objective biomarker for assessing human-like computation in computational models. Our novel framework trailblazed a promising way to bridge across disciplines in the investigation of higher-order cognitive functions in human and artificial intelligence.


The blood serum protein composition of experimental animals for implantation of the biocompositional calcium-phosphate materials of different compound has been studied. It has been established that in case of using the implantation material, which includes organic bone matrix as a compound, the content of acute phase proteins increases, however, after 6 weeks of the experiment all the measures of blood protein composition return to normal values in all the experimental groups.


Elastic membrane contact problems and elasto-plastic torsion problems are typical variational inequality problems, and the accurate and efficient analyses of these problems, especially in a self-adaptive manner to satisfy the user-preset error tolerance, are still of great challenges. This paper reports a recently developed approach to the self-adaptive finite element(FE) analysis of one-dimensional(1D) variational inequality problems. To obtain the FE solution rapidly based on variational inequalities, the present paper proposed two techniques, i.e. bisection bounding and C-check technique, which greatly accelerate the convergence rate of the conventional relaxation iteration, and in average, it suffices to implement only 4 to 5 steps of linear FE analysis. With the converged FE solution obtained, the super-convergent solution by EEP(Element Energy Projection) method, also developed by the first author's research team, is calculated to estimate the errors and then to guide a mesh refinement with final results being virtually 'numerically exact', i.e. satisfying the error tolerance by the maximum norm. The numerical examples presented show that the proposed approach is efficient, accurate and reliable.


Transcatheter Aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a new therapeutic option for inoperable patients or patients at high risk (logistic EURO-Score>20%) for conventio-nal aortic valve replacement. The goal of


The polysilicon thin-film transistor with symmetric trenched body that manifests off-state leakage suppression without sacrificing on-state current and other electric performance is investigated. Depending on the carrier scattering effect through the polysilicon grain-boundary traps, the leakage path can be changed from the trenched body. This proposed symmetric trenched thin-film transistor can be easily carried out by trenching and backfilling the buried oxide without destroying channel film quality, and off-state leakage is calculated to be on average 50% smaller than that of the conventional thin-film transistor.


Mall management is a multifaceted and more complex business proposition. Mall culture is viewed as a significant change in the lifestyle of Indians. Malls have completely redefined the shopping experience. These malls have hoped to capitalize on teeming crowd, but it did not materialize, as per (Malls in India report, 2014) about 90% of the Malls are struggling to sustain. Today the deserted mall buildings e.g. Star City Mall, DLF Promenade are leased out to corporate offices and banquet halls owners. The purpose of this study is to analyse the behaviour of mall shoppers that will drive footfalls in the malls. Like any other business thorough understanding of consumer is must, it is important to understand the consumer and shoppers profile in the catchment area, before leasing out space to anchor tenants in Malls. Shopping Malls, as an industry is driven by real estate, not by retailing. Mall management has been identified as a critical factor for the success of mall. The study investigates the concept of mall management and indicates that success model of a mall does not depend on a single variable (retail brands) but a combination of multiple variables (real estate planning, zoning, anchor tenants, accessibility, connectivity).


The projects differed in their contexts and approaches yet successful models shared a number of fundamental elements: • Support should be provided at points in the service system where Aboriginal clients are vulnerable to becoming lost to follow-up. • A high proportion of clients with complex needs require services across a range of health and community services. • Identification of a consistent healthcare professional to facilitate, coordinate or manage care for Aboriginal clients. • A personal, supportive care relationship between client and staff member, rather than a relationship between the client and the organisation/institution. • Aboriginal and/or culturally competent healthcare staff.


In an attempt to provide an insight into detection of specific viruses in biological samples, we report on quantitation of influenza A virus (IAV) in samples containing large amounts of extraneous bovine serum albumin (BSA), foetal bovine serum (FBS) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine. Detection was carried out using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with an antibody-neutravidin-thiol architecture vailable online 22 July 2011


The invention provides a novel crystal form of cefuroxime sodium and a preparation method of cefuroxime sodium crystal. According to the novel crystal form crystal, the X-ray powder diffracting at the diffraction angles 2theta of 3.5+/-0.2, 10.6+/-0.2, 12.7+/-0.2, 18.6+/-0.2, 19.5+/-0.2 and 22.4+/-0.2 has characteristic peaks. The DSC graph has a characteristic peak at the angle of 235+/-2 degrees. The method for preparing the novel cefuroxime sodium crystal comprises the following steps: adding 2.5-5g of cefuroxime acid with the purity of 99 percent into 100mL of a solvent for stirring at the temperature of 20-25 DEG C, drilling 0.2-0.4g/mL of sodium lactate-methanol solution for reacting until the pH value of the solution is 6.0-6.5; adding a solventing-out agent for performing solvent-out crystallization; and filtering, washing and drying the crystal mush, thereby obtaining the cefuroxime sodium crystallization product with the crystal form.


The interaction of radiation and conduction was rigorously treated for one-dimensional heat transfer, both transient and steady-state. In this paper only some steady-state results are discussed. They show that the interaction of radiation and conduction affects temperature distributions and heat fluxes in a variety of ways, depending on physical properties and boundary conditions. The illustrations include a computer simulation of experiments to measure the thermal conductivity of glass and an attempt to predict the vertical temperature profile in a glassmelting tank.


Studies of twins provide insight into the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors in the causality of structural anomalies. Thirty-five affected twin pairs were identified from a group of 1114 patients with congenital craniofacial deformities evaluated from 1972 to 1989. Forty-three of these 70 twins exhibited one or more craniofacial anomalies; these were analyzed for dysmorphic characteristics, zygosity, concordance, and family history. The anomalies were categorized into two groups: malformations and deformations. The malformations (n = 36) included hemifacial microsomia (n = 10), cleft lip and palate (n = 8), cleft palate (n = 4)), rare facial cleft (n = 2), craniosynostosis (n = 2), Binder syndrome (n = 2), Treacher Collins syndrome (n = 2), craniopagus (n = 2), CHARGE association (n = 1), frontonasal dysplasia (n = 2), and constricted cars (n = 1). The deformations (n = 7) included plagiocephaly (n = 5), hemifacial hypoplasia (n = 1), and micrognathia (n = 1). Twenty-one monozygotic and 14 dizygotic twin pairs were identified. The concordance rate was 33 percent for monozygotic twins and 7 percent for dizygotic twins. We conclude that (1) structural deformities of the malformative type predominate in monozygotic as compared with dizygotic twins, (2) deformations also occur primarily in monozygotic twins, (3) concordance for craniofacial anomalies, both malformations and deformations, occurs primarily in monozygotic twins, (4) the low concordance rate underscores the importance of intrauterine environmental factors in the pathogenesis of these anomalies, both malformations and deformations, and (5) prenatal factors positively correlate with the development of craniofacial anomalies, namely, history of maternal illness for the malformative anomalies and early fetal descent for the deformational anomalies.


Six years after the UN Rio Conference on Environment and Development, an effort to give a new boost to its implementation in the field of science was made during the Sixth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD6, held in New York in April 1998). This paper recalls the context and content of Agenda 21, the main programme of actions for sustainable development adopted during the Rio Conference, which the CSD is assigned to implement. The CSD guides the progressive implementation of Agenda 21 in all countries and also provides, each year since Rio, an international forum to discuss and promote issues related to sustainable development. Science was on the agenda of CSD6.


In regions of the world where iodine is abundant, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as Hashimoto's disease or autoimmune thyroiditis, is the most prevalent cause of hypothyroidism. It is a chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland. It is characterized by autoimmune-mediated thyroid gland destruction, which results in progressive thyroid failure, either with or without goiter formation. In young to middle-aged women, Hashimoto's thyroiditis typically starts as a painless, diffuse, firm thyroid gland enlargement that progresses to hypothyroidism. Many people don't initially exhibit hypothyroidism, and some don't even have a goiter or may have an atrophic thyroid gland. Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), also known as chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, is an inflammatory condition that is characterized by parenchymal atrophy, fibrosis, and diffuse lymphocytic infiltration. being the main source of primary hypothyroidism in regions with adequate iodine. With the help of various criteria, such as physical examination, blood tests for thyroid hormone levels (TSH is low, T3 and T4 are tall, for example), serum cholesterol and triglycerides, blood glucose, and radioactive iodine uptake, it is possible to distinguish between infections and clutter. According to estimates from several thyroid disease studies, 42 million persons in India are estimated to have the ailment. The pathogenesis causes, risk factors and combination therapy linked to Hashimoto's thyroiditis are discussed in this review study.


To model the development of karst aquifers from primary fissures in limestone rock, a numerical model of solutional widening of such fractures by calcite agressive water is suggested. The geological setting determines relevant geometrical parameters, i.e., length of the fracture, its initial width and the hydraulic gradient driving water from the input to the output. To simulate the solutional widening as it proceeds in time, the solution rates must be known as a function of concentration c of dissolved calcite. They are given as a first-order kinetic rate law for $$c \leq k \cdot c_{eq}$$ as $$F^{(1)} = \alpha_{0}(c - c_{eq}$$. For $$c > k \cdot c_{eq}$$ close to equilibrium, a fourth-order rate law becomes dominant: $$F^{(4)} = \beta \cdot (c - c_{eq})^{4}$$. The parameters $$\alpha_{0}, \beta$$, and k depend on the chemistry of the carbonate system and rock chemistry. The saturation concentration, c_{eq}, with respect to calcite depends on the initial $$CO_{2}$$ concentration of the inflowing solution, thus reflecting the influence of climate. The value of k for natural limestone ranges between 0.5 and 0.9. The results of the model show that the concerted action of both fast first-order kinetics and slow fourth-order kinetics is necessary to create early karst channels of several cm width in geologically reasonable times. At the beginning of the process the solutional widening occurs by slow fourth-order kinetics along the entire length of the fracture, because water reaches sufficiently high concentrations less than 1 m from the input. This widens the fissure slowly. As a consequence, increasing water flow rate increases the distance where first-order kinetics are operative. This region propagates through the length of the fracture with accelerating speed until it reaches the outlet. At the moment of breakthrough the flow rate increases dramatically by several orders of magnitude. From then on, further solutional widening is essentially constant along the entire length of the fracture, on the order of about $$10^{-2}cm/yr$$. The breakthrough time is a significant measure in studies of karstification and has been calculated for a wide range of geometrical parameters. Expressions for its dependence on length, initial widths, and hydraulic gradient are derived, which allow ready calculation of breakthrough times for most realistic cases. Dependence of breakthrough times on chemical parameters reflects influences of lithology and climate. The lithologic parameters $$\alpha_{0}, \beta,$$, and k show only a small influence, which explains why karst features exist in so many different types of limestone. The dependence on $$c_{eq}$$ shows that karstification proceeds only at sufficiently high levels of $$CO_{2}$$ in the water entering the system. The model is applied to estimate evolution times of real karst aquifers in Germany, yielding results in agreement with geological observations. Depending on the geometrical parameters, especially length and hydraulic gradient, breakthrough times range from $$10^{4}$$ to several $$10^{6}$$ yr. The model is also applied to small-scale karst features, such as the evolution of solution dolines. In these cases fracture lengths are in the order of several tens of meters, and hydraulic gradients are high. This is also the case in land use projects where the groundwater table is lowered or artificial canals or dams are constructed. Karstification times of several tens to several hundred years are derived for these cases.