ABSTRACT Delineation of flood hazard and risk on maps is useful as a means of public education and as a basis for measures aimed at lessening future flood damages. In many northern countries, rivers and streams are prone to ice-related flooding that often results in higher water levels and more extensive damages than open-water events. Procedures and standards for analysing ice-related flooding, however, are much less common than well-established standardized approaches for the open-water events. Nonetheless, the inherent flood hazard along many northern and mid-latitude rivers is not fully represented on flood-plain, flood-hazard, and flood-risk mapping if the possibility of ice-jam floods is ignored. Fortunately, the biophysical, past-flood, and flood-envelope approaches for flood hazard can be readily applied to ice-related floods, and hydrotechnical approaches based on an improved understanding of river-ice processes have been developed. In this paper, the nature and severity of ice-jam flooding, the present status of delineating ice-related flood events, and challenges to delineating ice-related floods are discussed.


Using a classical ensemble method, we revisit the topic of recollision and nonsequential double ionization with elliptically polarized laser fields. We focus on how the recollision mechanism transitions from short trajectories with linear polarization to long trajectories with elliptical polarization. We propose how this transition can be observed by meansuring the carrier-envelop-phase dependence of the correlated electron momentum spectra using currently available few-cycle laser pulses.


Pleistocene climates in the southern half of Africa are indicated by evidence of lakes in regions now dry, ancient soils for whose development the climate is now too dry or too wet, inactive wind-blown sand now covered by vegetation, and signs of former glaciation. Such features indicate climates different from those now prevailing. In addition, anomalies in the distribution of living organisms seem to support the assumption of climatic change. Most of the evidence indicates change in annual amount or seasonal distribution of rainfall, but some suggests former temperatures lower, possibly by as much as 5°C., than those of today. Few of the features discussed are well fixed stratigraphically, but most of them are probably late Pleistocene. The atmospheric-circulation pattern shows that annual amount and seasonal distribution of rainfall differ markedly in various regions in the subcontinent. The current literature contains a start toward a reconstruction of former patterns which are compatible with the geologic and biogeographic evidence, based on analogies with modern anomalies. Although probable, the theory that pluvial climates in Africa were contemporaneous with glacial climates in Europe remains unsupported by geologic evidence, mainly because data are very few.


In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced a heatwave that broke all previous records. Estimated return levels based on observations up to the year before the event suggested that reaching such high temperatures is not possible in today's climate. We here assess the suitability of the prevalent statistical approach by analyzing extreme temperature events in climate model large ensemble and synthetic extreme value data. We demonstrate that the method is subject to biases, as high return levels are generally underestimated and, correspondingly, the return period of low‐likelihood heatwave events is overestimated, if the underlying extreme value distribution is derived from a short historical record. These biases have even increased in recent decades due to the emergence of a pronounced climate change signal. Furthermore, if the analysis is triggered by an extreme event, the implicit selection bias affects the likelihood assessment depending on whether the event is included in the modeling.


Pulmonary dendritic cells (DC) are present in extremely small numbers, but they are the most potent antigen‐presenting cells in the lungs. Pure populations of DC can be isolated from the lung following collagen digestion, Percoll gradient centrifugation, removal of phagocytic cells and flow cytometric sorting for cells which exhibit high levels of surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Exogenous GM‐CSF enhances this immunostimulatory capacity of the pulmonary DC. Soluble factors produced by type II airway epithelial cells and interstitial macrophages also enhance the immunostimulating capacity of pulmonary DC while alveolar macrophages suppress it. Thus, the function of DC may be regulated by locally produced cytokines. Corticosteroids are widely used as immunosuppressive agents in pharmacotherapy. While these agents are known to inhibit T cell proliferation and macrophage activation, their effects on DC are not known. We found that dexamethasone (Dex) pretreatment resulted in about a 50% reduction in the immunostimulatory capacity of rat pulmonary DC. This was associated with downregulation of MHC class II (Ia) expression. Dex‐induced suppression of DC function could be restored with GM‐CSF. We conclude that corticosteroids downregulate antigen‐presenting capacity by direct suppression of pulmonary DC. This immunosuppressive effect of corticosteroids on DC may, however, be abrogated by exogenous GM‐CSF. Corticosteroids and GM‐CSF are therapeutic agents with potent direct immunomodulating effects on DC.


INS-Net, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's (NTT's) commercial integrated services digital network (ISDN) service, is described. There are two types of INS-Net service. INS-Net 64 provides basic rate interface service, and INS-Net 1500 provides primary rate interface service. The implementation of INS-Net and the promotion, application, and penetration of ISDN services are discussed. It is argued that as the number of useful applications grows, the number of subscribers will rise accordingly, particularly among business users. This increased volume of both applications and users will in turn lead to lower ISDN CPE costs, and will make ISDN an indispensable means to business activities in the 1990s.<<ETX>>


The research aimed to get the good jam from soursop fruit pulp mixing with red dragon fruit pulp. This experiment research used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five treatments as follows: SN1 (soursop fruit pulp 80% : red dragon fruit pulp 20%), SN2 (soursop fruit pulp 65% : red dragon fruit pulp 35%), SN3 (soursop fruit pulp 50% : red dragon fruit pulp 50%), SN4 (soursop fruit pulp 35% : red dragon fruit pulp 65%), SN5 (soursop fruit pulp 20% : red dragon fruit pulp 80%). The result of this research showed that the mixture soursop fruit pulp with red dragon fruit pulp significantly influenced the moisture content, total dissolved solids, fiber levels, levels of sucrose, the levels of pectin, descriptive tested (colours, aroma, flavor, and texture), hedonic tested (taste, texture and overall), but did not significantly affect the ash content, hedonic tested (colours and aroma). The treatmen SN1 (soursop fruit pulp 80% : 20% red dragon fruit pulp) produced a better jam. This jam had moisture content 21.40%, fiber level 3.59%, sucrose level 60.05%, pectin level 0.69% and hedonic tested liked by the panelists and descriptive test colours, aroma, sweetness and creamy texture more dominant.


Necessary and sufficient conditions are found for the invertibility of the nonlinear difference operator in the space of bounded two-sided number sequences. Here is a continuous function. Bibliography: 29 titles.


Influences of oxygen on the formation of hollow voids at the SiC/Si interface are studied by electric current heating of the Si substrate in the temperature range of 650°C to 1000°C. By changing the thickness of the SiC film and the concentration of residual oxygen in the Si substrate, we found that the formation of hollow voids depends on the concentration of residual oxygen, and the formation reaction of hollow voids is enhanced around the oxygen-related defects in the Si substrate.


In this work, we develop model predictive control (MPC) designs, which are capable of optimizing closed-loop performance with respect to general economic considerations for a broad class of nonlinear process systems. Specifically, in the proposed designs, the economic MPC optimizes a cost function, which is related directly to desired economic considerations and is not necessarily dependent on a steady-state—unlike conventional MPC designs. First, we consider nonlinear systems with synchronous measurement sampling and uncertain variables. The proposed economic MPC is designed via Lyapunovbased techniques and has two different operation modes. The first operation mode corresponds to the period in which the cost function should be optimized (e.g., normal production period); and in this operation mode, the MPC maintains the closed-loop system state within a predefined stability region and optimizes the cost function to its maximum extent. The second operation mode corresponds to operation in which the system is driven by the economic MPC to an appropriate steady-state. In this operation mode, suitable Lyapunov-based constraints are incorporated in the economic MPC design to guarantee that the closed-loop system state is always bounded in the predefined stability region and is ultimately bounded in a small region containing the origin. Subsequently, we extend the results to nonlinear systems subject to asynchronous and delayed measurements and uncertain variables. Under the assumptions that there exist an upper bound on the interval between two consecutive asynchronous measurements and an upper bound on the maximum measurement delay, an economic MPC design which takes explicitly into account asynchronous and delayed measurements and enforces closed-loop stability is proposed. All the proposed economic MPC designs are illustrated through a chemical process example and their performance and robustness are evaluated through simulations. V C 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 855–870, 2012


A multi-memory apparatus, configured only with identical memory units with access to the common system bus, provides secure data identity in the event of various errors by using synchronous as well as parallel operation. A memory unit in a multi-memory apparatus includes a refresh request circuit, a bus control circuit, a bus-response circuit as well as a control circuit. A master refresh request circuit issues a memory-refresh request by using the bus clock and a backup refresh request circuit issues a memory-refresh request by a trigger from the master memory. A master bus control circuit responds to the system bus and a backup bus control circuit prohibits the unit from responding. A master bus-response control circuit allows the bus control circuit to respond to the system bus and changes mode between memory units from master/backup to backup/master in the event of an error detected in the master memory unit.


Traffic noise estimation models are useful in evaluation of the noise pollution in current circumstances. They are helpful tools for design and planning new roads and highways. Measurement of average traffic noise level is possible when traffic speed and volume are known. The objective of this study was to devise a model for prediction of highway traffic noise levels based on current traffic variables in Iran. The design of this model was to take the impact of traffic congestion into consideration and to be field tested. This study is a library research augmented by field study conducted on Saeedi Highway located south west of Tehran. The period for the field study lasted 5 days from 7-12 February, 2013. This study examined liner and non-liner methods in formulation of its model. Liner method without a fixed coefficient was the best fit for the intended model. The proposed model can serve as a decision making tool to estimate the impact of key influential factors on sound pressure levels in urban areas in Iran.


Collections of butterflies from the Krakatau Islands made from 1982-85 are discussed. Twenty species new to the island group and many new records to particular islands imply that the butterfly fauna is far from equilibrium. The colonization trends are discussed in relation to the habitats available, and conservation measures are suggested.


Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has emerged as the primary cause of chronic kidney disease, posing a huge economic and social burden. Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen the prevention and treatment of DKD. However, due to the complex pathogenesis of DKD and the lack of specific and effective intervention targets, there is currently no breakthrough in treatment, thereby causing the continuous increase of end-stage DKD. This review examines several key nodes in the progress of DKD treatment, in order to standardize the clinical treatment, promote the research progress, and improve the prognosis of DKD.


This paper describes a new method for scanning the conductivity of a tissue or an organ using a multielectrode impedance probe placed at the center of the region of interest. The long-term objective of the study is the evaluation, using an urethral impedance probe, of the lesion produced by ultrasound ablathermy of localized prostate cancer. The probe consists of electrodes placed at the surface of an insulating cylinder. The injected current passes around the cylinder and spreads in the medium surrounding the probe. This paper presents the theoretical bases of this method, the calculated sensitivity distributions of electrode configurations involving a pair of diametrically opposed electrodes and an application in vitro. The experimental set-up consisted of a water tank and a 16-electrode prototype probe 50 mm in diameter. Data sets were collected in the presence of conductivity perturbations produced by small size insulators or conductors and a 7.5% constant perturbation model. The presented images, although reconstructed using a simple retro-projection algorithm, demonstrate the feasibility of the method. Improvements in data collection and image reconstruction are possible.


As an ecologically vulnerable region where atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere interact, the Yellow River Delta plays an important role both in economy and environment in China. The emergy theory is based on the theory and methods of the System Ecology. Forming 1J higher quality energy will need a large amount of lower quality energy. In other words, different forms of energy have different attributions. By dealing with the energy-value-process of ecosystem, the theory provides us with a new approach to the economic ecology. Based on emergy analysis, this article systematically analyzes energy, resource flowage and condition of eco-economy system in the Yellow River Delta. On the basis of the evaluation indicator system, resources-environment-economy system in the Yellow River Delta is assessed comprehensively. The results indicate that the total emergy consumption of the study region is about 1.76×1022 sej,or about US$ 8.42×109. The waste emerge evacuated from the study region reaches about 5.74×1021sej,or about US$ 2.74×109, which indicates that environment in the Yellow River Delta degenerates rapidly because of the industrialization and economic increasing. Finally, based on the calculation of the emergy sustainable indices (ESI), we find that economy increasing of the study region depends on resources consumption. Although the value of resource reserves in the Yellow River Delta reaches US$ 4.45×1012 (about 529 times larger than GDP), it is difficult to use it adequately because of technical limits. So enhancing the resources utilization efficiency and reducing waste are the primary tasks in the future in order to realize sustainable development in the Yellow River Delta.


We screened Escherichia coli (E. coli) from specimens submitted to the Showa University hospital clinical laboratory that showed an advanced resistance to third generation cephems (Cefotaxime or Ceftazidime), as candidate extended spectrum beta-lactamases(ESBLs) producing strains. Among the candidates, two strains showed the characteristics of class A ESBLs in their susceptibility to Cefmetazole, a second generation cephem, and their resistance was inhibited by the addition of clavulanic acid. Further, we detected the TEM-type gene in one of the two E. coli strains. By determining the nucleotide sequence of the whole coding region of the TEM gene, two nucleotide substitutions with amino acid substitutions 82Val-->Ile, and 182Ala-->Val were identified.


Following an arduous, 6-year policy-making process, Vermont is the first state implementing a unified, statewide all-payer integrated delivery system with value-based payment, along with aligned medical and social service reforms, for almost all residents and providers in a state. Commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid value-based payment for most Vermonters will be administered through a new statewide accountable care organization in 2018-2022. The purpose of this article is to describe the 10 conditions that increased Vermont's readiness to implement statewide system transformation. The authors reviewed documents, conducted internet searches of public information, interviewed key informants annually in 2014-2016, cross-validated factual and narrative interpretation, and performed content analyses to derive conditions that increased readiness and their implications for policy and practice. Four social conditions (leadership champions; a common vision; collaborative culture; social capital and collective efficacy) and 6 support conditions (money; statewide data; legal infrastructure; federal policy promoting payment reform; delivery system transformation aligned with payment reform; personnel skilled in system reform) increased Vermont's readiness for system transformation. Vermont's experience indicates that increasing statewide readiness for reform is slow, incremental, and exhausting to overcome the sheer inertia of large fee-based systems. The new payments may work because statewide, uniform population-based payment will affect the health care of almost all Vermonters, creating statewide, uniform provider incentives to reduce volume and making the current fee-based system less viable. The conditions for readiness and statewide system transformation may be more likely in states with regulated markets, like Vermont, than in states with highly competitive markets.


Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by maternal hypertension, proteinuria, oedema and, in 30% of cases, by intrauterine growth retardation. Causes are still unknown; however, epidemiological and clinical studies have suggested alterations in maternal calcium metabolism. We suggested that in PE, calcium transport by the syncytiotrophoblast (ST) is disturbed. From total placental tissues, we studied the expression of: calcium channels (TRPV5, TRPV6 [transient receptor potential vanilloid]), calcium binding proteins (CaBP‐9K, CaBP‐28K), plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA)1,2,3,4 pumps, ATP synthase, genes implicated in Ca2+ release [inositol‐1,4,5‐triphosphate receptor (IP3R)1,2,3; Ryanodine receptor (RyR)1,2,3] and replenishment (SERCA1,2,3 [sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPases]) from endoplasmic reticulum, channels implicated in mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation (VDAC1,2,3 [voltage‐dependent anion channels]) and a marker of oxidative stress (hOGG1 [Human 8‐oxoguanine‐DNA glycosylase 1]), as well as the influence of these variations on calcium transport in primary ST cultures. The mRNA and protein levels were thereby examined by real‐time PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively, in two different groups of pregnant women with similar gestational age: a normal group (n= 16) and a PE group (n= 8), diagnosed by a clinician. Our study showed a significant decrease in calcium transport by the ST cultured from preeclamptic placentas. We found a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in mRNA levels of TRPV5, TRPV6, CaBP‐9K, CaBP‐28K, PMCA1, PMCA4, ATP synthase, IP3R1, IP3R2, RyR1, RyR2 and RyR3 in PE group compared to normal one. We also noted a significant decrease in protein levels of TRPV5, TRPV6, CaBP‐9K, CaBP‐28K and PMCA1/4 in PE group. In contrast, SERCA1, SERCA2, SERCA3, VDAC3 and hOGG1 mRNA expressions were significantly increased in PE placentas. Calcium homeostasis and transport through placenta is compromised in preeclamptic pregnancies and it appears to be affected by a lack of ATP and an excess of oxidative stress.


Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm frequently complicated by transfusion dependent anemia. Both anemia and transfusion-dependence are associated with a poor outcome, at least in part because of toxic effects of iron overload (IOL). Iron-chelating therapy (ICT) is increasingly used in order to prevent IOL in this setting. Here, we describe the case of a 73-year-old man affected by PMF and severe transfusion-dependent anemia who experienced a dramatic erythroid response after being treated with deferasirox to prevent IOL.


Excentric posterior scleral ectasias are rarely recognized correctly. They can cause uncharacteristic visual disturbances and refractive scotomas, which may cause a mis-diagnosis of bitemporal hemianopia. In this report 10 such cases are shown. The diagnosis was verified by the ultrasonographic measurement of the meridional length of the eye. Posterior scleral ectasias of maximum 4.5 mm were found.


Nanostructured metal (Fe, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo) oxides were fabricated under microwave irradiation conditions in pure water without using any reducing or capping reagent. The metal oxides self-assembled into octahedra, spheres, triangular rods, pine, and hexagonal snowflake-like three-dimensional morphologies. Pine-structured nano-iron oxides were studied as a novel support for various catalytic organic transformations.


Whether glutathione, or cysteine, which contains the sulfhydryl radical, increased or inhibited tumor growth had not been determined in 1932, when we started some experiments with cysteine hydrochloride. Since then Reimann and Hammett and their associates (1) and Voegtlin (2) have published reports upon related substances. In general, Reimann and the Lankenau Hospital group report a retardation effect upon tumors, with greater differentiation of cells and longer life of treated animals. Voegtlin, using animals upon an inadequate amino acid diet, found that cystine and glutathione greatly stimulated the growth of tumors as well as the animals bearing them. Our experiments indicate that cysteine, while having a definite effect upon some tumors, is practically inert when applied to others.

Our reasons for beginning the experiments reported here were admittedly vague. Cystine, or methionine, is needed for normal tissue growth, and Voegtlin and Thompson (3) had reported that cystine and cysteine were not present in tumors studied by them. Perhaps a substance necessary for proper cell maturation is lacking in tumors and, since cysteine is so closely associated with cell growth, this would be the first chemical to investigate.

The following experiments were done over a period of years as different tumors became available in the laboratory.


Seeking cheap, sustainable protein sources greatly facilitates in alleviating the dependence upon expensive animal-based protein in many developing countries. Caragana korshinskii Kom. offers a good alternative feedstock because of its high-content of protein, low fertilizer and pesticide requirements, excellent stress (high salty and less water) tolerance, wide adaptability, etc. The functional properties of C. korshinskii Kom. protein isolates by three different extraction methods were investigated. The extraction processes greatly influenced the physiological characteristics of protein isolates. C. korshinskii Kom. protein isolate by traditional alkaline extraction (Al-CPI) exhibited good performance on emulsifying activity index, oil and water absorption capacity, and foaming property compared to A-CPI ( C. korshinskii Kom. protein isolate by the acetone precipitation method) and TCA-CPI ( C. korshinskii Kom. protein isolate by trichloroacetic acid-acetone precipitation). The water and oil adsorption capacities of Al-CPI were observed at 4.99 and 3.45 g/g, respectively, even much higher than those of soy protein isolate (SPI) (3.94 and 2.95 g/g, respectively). The highest foaming capacity was observed by Al-CPI at 185.0%, followed by A-CPI (177.5%), TCA-CPI (142.5%), and SPI (141.9%), respectively. It has to be noted that A-CPI showed good solubility at acidic pH and excellent in vitro digestibility. After sequential pepsin-trypsin digestion, the percentage of N release of A-CPI reached up to 83.7%, which was 1.63 times that of Al-CPI (51.2%), 1.19 times that of TCA-CPI (70.1%), and slightly higher than that of the commercial SPI (82.5%). These results indicate that C. korshinskii Kom. holds great potential for application in the animal feed and food additive industry.


As a country affected by the spread of the corona virus (COVID-19), Indonesia is experiencing an increase in cases every day. This raises the fear for the sake of public fear of this virus increasing. The practice of this fear has led to a negative stigma to discrimination against patients and sufferers of corona (COVID-19). This Study uses a qualitative method by taking data through documentation of several online news with data analysis using content analysis. This study will reveal the phenomenon of discrimination against sufferers of COVID-19 in the perspective of maqashid shari'ah. the findings in this research show that the attitude of giving a negative stigma and discrimination against corona sufferers (COVID-19) is an attitude that is opposed to the manifestation of maslahah which is an essential value of Islamic law, namely maqashid shari'ah.
Keywords: Negative Stigma, Discrimination, COVID-19, Maqashid Shari'ah.


SUMMARY: The round window serves to decompress acoustic energy that enters the cochlea via stapes movement against the oval window. Any inward motion of the oval window via stapes vibration leads to outward motion of the round window. Occlusion of the round window is a cause of conductive hearing loss because it increases the resistance to sound energy and consequently dampens energy propagation. Because the round window niche is not adequately evaluated by otoscopy and may be incompletely exposed during an operation, otologic surgeons may not always correctly identify associated pathology. Thus, radiologists play an essential role in the identification and classification of diseases affecting the round window. The purpose of this review is to highlight the developmental, acquired, neoplastic, and iatrogenic range of pathologies that can be encountered in round window dysfunction.


Objectives: The objectives of this study were to study the mentolabial sulcus in Nepalese, to compare the sulcus between male and female, and to classify the sulcus according to the angle. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 160 university students (65 males and 95 females) between April and September 2016. Photographs of all the students were taken using a digital camera. Mentolabial sulcus angles were measured from the lateral photographs using an angle instrument. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22. The comparison of sulcus between male and female was done using two-sample t-test at 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean mentolabial sulcus angle in Nepalese was 118.19° ±12.28° (male: 119.43° ± 9.99° and female: 117.61° ± 13.23°). There was no statistically significant difference of sulcus angle between males and females (P = 0.098). The sulcus was classified as deep, average, and shallow in males and females. In total students, the average was more predominant followed by deep and shallow. Conclusions: The mean mentolabial sulcus angle in Nepalese was 118.19° ± 12.28°, in male was 119.43° ± 9.99°, and in female was 117.61° ± 13.23°. The sulcus was classified as deep, average, and shallow. There was no statistically significant difference of sulcus angle between males and females. The average type of sulcus was more predominant in Nepalese.


The choice of activation function can have a large effect on the performance of a neural network. While there have been some attempts to hand-engineer novel activation functions, the Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) remains the most commonly-used in practice. This paper shows that evolutionary algorithms can discover novel activation functions that outperform ReLU. A tree-based search space of candidate activation functions is defined and explored with mutation, crossover, and exhaustive search. Experiments on training wide residual networks on the CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 image datasets show that this approach is effective. Replacing ReLU with evolved activation functions results in statistically significant increases in network accuracy. Optimal performance is achieved when evolution is allowed to customize activation functions to a particular task; however, these novel activation functions are shown to generalize, achieving high performance across tasks. Evolutionary optimization of activation functions is therefore a promising new dimension of metalearning in neural networks.


In this expansive history of South Carolina's commemoration of the Civil War era, Thomas Brown uses the lens of place to examine the ways that landmarks of Confederate memory have helped white southerners negotiate their shifting political, social, and economic positions. By looking at prominent sites such as Fort Sumter, Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery, and the South Carolina statehouse, Brown reveals a dynamic pattern of contestation and change. He highlights transformations of gender norms and establishes a fresh perspective on race in Civil War remembrance by emphasizing the fluidity of racial identity within the politics of white supremacy. Despite the conservative ideology that connects these sites, Brown argues that the Confederate canon of memory has adapted to address varied challenges of modernity from the war's end to the present, when enthusiasts turn to fantasy to renew a faded myth while children of the civil rights era look for a usable Confederate past. In surveying a rich, controversial, and sometimes even comical cultural landscape, Brown illuminates the workings of collective memory sustained by engagement with the particularity of place.


This research was conducted to find out the translation methods applied by the translator in translating figurative language in O. Henry's short stories. This descriptive analysis research took the data from nine short stories as the research documents. There were 19 data taken from those nine short stories. The data were collected by analysis of document. Based on the research findings, from nine short stories, seven simile, three metaphor, three hyperbole were literal translation, two simile were semantic translation, two hyperbole were communicative translation, one hyperbole was idiomatic translation, and one simile was translated free translation. In conclusion, the findings of the study indicated that the result of literal translation was significantly higher than others translation methods. The result is expected to be helpful to improve students' and readers references of translation method.


Renewable energy sources are widely used in microgrid. Output voltage of them is often low and varies widely. Because diodes in three-level legs in traditional three-level (TL) converter are substituted by MOSFETs, the push-pull forward (PPF) TL converter is very suitable for wide and low inputvoltage applications. It can operate at two-level and three-level modes. Modeling of the proposed converter is established. Control of the proposed converter is designed, which contains output voltage loop and current limit loop. In addition, control block diagrams of both modes can be simplified to one control diagram. By adding input voltage feedforward, influences of input voltage on output voltage and inductor current can be eliminated. The divider in the input voltage feedforward is simplified by two piecewise linear functions, which can be easily implemented by operational amplifiers. Therefore, cost can be reduced. Simulation results of a 1-kW PPF TL converter verify the theoretical analysis. Keywords—three-level converter; DC-DC converter; three-level mode; two-level mode; input voltage feedforward


On March 4, Malaysia declared North Korean ambassador Kang Chol persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the country. This article briefly explains the concept of persona non grata in the context of diplomatic relations in international law.

In international law, diplomatic relations are established by the mutual consent of two states: the sending state and receiving state. This is provided for under Article 2 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR). Diplomatic relations may, however, be broken unilaterally often as a mark of disapproval of an illegal or unfriendly act of one of the parties, or the receiving state may declare the head or any member of the diplomatic mission persona non grata if it wishes so.

When an envoy is declared persona non grata by the receiving state, he is no longer welcome in that state. The sending state has to recall the unwelcome envoy from the territory of the receiving state, otherwise, the receiving state may refuse to recognise the person concerned as a member of the mission and, thereafter, expel him from its territory without even giving reason or justification for its decision. This is what international law on diplomatic relations stipulates.

Article 9 of the VCDR provides the receiving state the right to notify the sending state that any member of the diplomatic staff is considered persona non grata at any time, including before arrival. After being notified, the sending state must either recall the unwelcome diplomat or terminate his or her functions. If the sending state refuses or fails within a reasonable period, the receiving state may consider the diplomat an ordinary person, thus depriving him of diplomatic immunities and privileges, and expel him.

The expulsion of a foreign diplomat can be in response to the abusive behaviour of the diplomat towards the host state, such as the intervention of the diplomat in the internal affairs of the host country or when the diplomat abuses his privileges and immunities by breaching the local laws, such as getting involved in minor or serious offences like drugs or human trafficking or spying the military, political or economic secrets of the host state.

Article 41 of the VCDR makes it a duty upon the foreign diplomats enjoying privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state. They also have a duty to not interfere in the internal affairs of that state. They should remember that diplomatic immunity is not a licence to breach the laws of the receiving state or to interfere in its internal affairs.

A foreign diplomat can also be expelled by the receiving state due to the action of the sending state, irrespective of the diplomat's behaviour. In this case, the expulsion of a diplomat is a sign of protest against the sending state policy vis-a-vis the receiving state. Recently, the United States expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian diplomatic compounds in its territory in response to Russia's "campaign of intimidation of American diplomats in Moscow and interference in the US election".

Normally, the sending state reciprocates by expelling the diplomat of the receiving state from its territory, which is known as a tit-for-tat exchange. In the case of the diplomatic row between the US and Russia, the latter did not resort to a tit-for-tat action.

Malaysia's decision to declare Kang Chol persona non grata and give him 48 hours to leave the country is its sovereign right. This is in accordance with the international legal regime relating to diplomatic immunity. In fact, Articles 9 and 41 of the VCDR enable Malaysia, as a receiving state, to protect itself against unacceptable behaviours of members of diplomatic missions and form an important counterweight to the immunities conferred elsewhere in the VCDR.

The North Korean ambassador's statement that "Malaysia's investigation into the murder of Kim Jong-nam could not be trusted" amounts to disrespect of local laws and regulations, and is also an interference in the internal matters of Malaysia and thus constitutes an abuse of his diplomatic privileges and immunities.

In spite of this, Malaysia rightly demanded an apology from him, but did not receive one and when he was summoned by Malaysia's Foreign Ministry to give an explanation, he failed to turn up. This means his insulting behaviour is the cause of his expulsion.

In any case, Malaysia, as a sovereign state, is under no obligation to explain its action.

PROF DR MOHAMMAD NAQIB ISHAN JAN, Civil Law Department, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws,
International Islamic University Malaysia, Selangor


The main goal of secondary school education in developed countries is to prepare students for higher education and the labor market. That demands high investments in study duration and specialized fields to meet rising skill requirements. However, these demands for more education are in opposition to calls for early entry to the labor market, to lengthen working lives to meet the rising costs associated with an aging population and to enable the intergenerational transfer of skills. One way to lengthen working lives is to shorten the duration of secondary school, an option recently implemented in Canada and Germany. The empirical evidence shows mixed effects.


A catalyst of 4.6% Cu supported on HZSM-5 with Si/Al of 38 [4.6% Cu/HZSM-5(38)] was prepared in this work. Pyridine bases including pyridine and 2- and 3-picoline, were obtained over this catalyst from glycerol and ammonia. The parameters influencing the catalyst performance were studied thoroughly. An optimized process for the reaction of glycerol with ammonia to form the pyridine bases was also obtained. Under the optimized conditions, which include a reaction temperature of 520 °C, atmospheric pressure with an ammonia/glycerol molar ratio of 7 : 1, and a GHSV of 300 h−1, the total carbon yield of the pyridine bases was nearly 42.8%. Characterization results from the IR of the adsorbed pyridine indicated that the doping of copper into HZSM-5(38) led to significant changes in the Lewis/Bronsted ratio. An appropriate proportion of the two types of acid sites is important to determine the total selectivity of pyridine bases. XRD analysis showed that copper was initially present in the CuO state and then converted into elemental Cu reduced by H2 generated in situ in the catalytic run. TEM and nitrogen adsorption–desorption characterization revealed that the catalyst deactivation was mainly caused by carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst. The catalyst can be regenerated online by blowing air into the reactor at 550 °C for 6 h. The slight decrease of the activity of the regenerated 4.6% Cu/HZSM-5(38) compared with that of the fresh one could be ascribed to the partial sintering of copper particles and dealumination of the catalyst in the catalytic run.


Middle to Upper Ordovician (Darriwilian to Bolindian) graptolite zones of the northern Canadian Cordillera comprise the following: Glyptograptus euglyphus Zone of late Darriwilian (Llandeilo) age, Nemagraptus gracilis Zone of early Gisbornian (late Llandeilo and earliest Caradoc) age, Climacograptus bicornis and Dicranograptus clingani? zones of early to mid-Gisbornian (early to mid-Caradoc) age, Orthograptus quadrimucronatus Zone of Eastonian (late Caradoc) age, and Dicellograptus ornatus zone of Bolindian (Ashgill) age.A prominent biostratigraphic break equivalent to the spiniferus to hians kirki zones (Eastonian) is shown to exist between the clingani? Zone and the overlying quadrimucronatus Zone.Thirty eight common and (or) important species are illustrated, of which one new species, Orthograptus expansus n. sp., is described and figured.


The keiretsu, or long-term stable business network that exists between Toyota and its suppliers, seems to demonstrate exceptional resilience in the face of natural disasters. Toyota shares production knowledge among the firms in its keiretsu through long-term kaizen-based inter-company learning activities (jishuken). In this regard, we have confirmed that (A) in times of normal operations, jishuken adopt a flat structure of interpersonal connections among firms that facilitates mutual trust. From case studies, we also found that (B) in times of disaster response, the structure "switches" to a hierarchical one with a clearly delineated leadership to bring knowledge and human resources into play.


We first present a parallel algorithm for finding the optimal implementations for the modules of a slicing floorplan that respects a given slicing tree. The algorithm runs in O(n) time and requires O(n) processors, where n is the number of modules. It is based on a new O(n2) sequential algorithm for solving the above problem. We then present a parallel algorithm for finding a set of optimal implementations for a slicing floorplan whose corresponding slicing tree has height O(logn). This algorithm runs in O(n) time using O(logn) processors. Our parallel algorithms do not need shared memory and can be implemented in a distributed system.


Background To explore the clinical efficacy of a new laparoscopic inguinal retrograde lymph node dissection (LND) in treating penile cancer and scrotal Paget's disease. Methods 12 patients with penile cancer and 1 with scrotal Paget's disease admitted and treated with laparoscopic retrograde inguinal LND in two medical centers from July 2018 to September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Thereafter, the basic clinical data, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, number of harvested lymph nodes and postoperative complications were evaluated. Results 13 patients were performed laparoscopic retrograde inguinal LND successfully under general anesthesia. Among them, 4 cases received pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) simultaneously through the same incision. The operation time was (220.00±33.73) min, and the intraoperative blood loss was (15.38±13.76) ml. (8.92士4.00) lymph nodes were harvested in the left groin, (8.54士5.04) lymph nodes were dissected in the right groin. Meanwhile, (5.00士1.00) lymph nodes were harvested in the left pelvic cavity, and (8.50± 6.46) lymph nodes were dissected in the right pelvic cavity. All the 13 cases were successfully operated without conversions to open surgery. One case developed mild blister in subcutaneous skin, two had mild lower limb swelling, and one had lymph leakage; all these patients recovered favorably after symptomatic treatment, with no other surgery-related complications. The drainage tube removal time lasted for (13.23士3.83) days. The postoperative follow-up time ranged from 2.5 to 19.5 months, and no primary lesion, inguinal or pelvic lymph node relapse or metastasis was reported. Conclusion Laparoscopic retrograde inguinal LND can be applied to treat penile cancer and scrotal Paget's disease, and it is safe and effective. Moreover, inguinal LND and PLND can be performed through the same incision, which is worthy of being promoted in clinic.


This project investigates bilateral fishing agreements between the European Union and developing states in order to assess the extent to which these agreements are as successful at implementing international law principles as European Union officials have claimed they are. Over the past two decades, European Union rhetoric has communicated an intent to take on a normative power role in advancing human rights and sustainable development approaches in the context of global fisheries policy. Officials have propagated an image of a "new Europe," conscientious of its colonizing heritage, committed to promoting good maritime governance, and ensuring responsible fishing worldwide as part of its global responsibility to sustainable development. These normative principles have at times been framed as an integral part of the European Union's legal and political identity. In practice, however, the bilateral agreements have often come short of European Union aspirations, facing criticism for hindering rather than aiding local development. This project explores the bilateral agreements from an international law perspective, engaging in grounded theory, discourse analysis, and a detailed case study on European Union-Senegal fishing relations. For the European Union, the study raises questions about conflicts between national and supranational fishing goals and about the challenges these conflicts present to its goal of normative leadership. More generally, the project suggests implications for enacting international law principles on the ground, as well as for the inherent power dynamics of post-colonial relations fifty years on.


Urbanised floodplains present significantly more complex hydraulic modelling challenges than those for rural floodplains. Urban areas require consideration of fences, highly varying land-use, buildings, narrow flow paths and underground stormwater drainage. The application of a 2D/1D hydraulic modelling approach to an urban flood study in Bristol, and a comparison of approaches benchmarked for the Thames Embayments Inundation study are presented. The Bristol study demonstrates the successful use of a 2D/1D system to model overland urban flows in 2D, whilst the river (open channel and long sprung arch culverts), stormwater sewer and narrow gaps are modelled as 1D elements. The Thames study is investigating the inundation risk from a breach or overtopping of the flood defence walls of 23 embayments along the River Thames, London. The findings from Stage 2a of the study provide an interesting comparison of four approaches, ISIS, LISFLOOD, TUFLOW and TELEMAC, when benchmarked to the Greenwich embayment.


In 1907, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío published the collection El canto errante [The Wandering Song], containing a poem entitled "La bailarina de los pies desnudos" ["The Barefoot Dancer"]. The title leads the reader to anticipate an aesthetic of lightness and simplicity, yet the poem is weighted down by its many cultural references: at least one per line, and barely harmonizing amongst themselves. Its space is heavily perfumed, thickly ornamented, animated by the movements of a dancer who invokes different cultural references and plastic forms with each extended limb, each trembling body part. At first sight sinuously seductive, this central figure unravels into a welter of fragments and contradictions: both animal and divine, eroticized and chaste, a lunar deity (Selene) and a literary character (Anactoria), a "constellation of examples and of objects" (constelada de casos y de cosas) whose body, as the line suggests, barely contains its referential chaos.


Sprout is our proprietary Maya-based tool for hand-dressing digital environments with large quantities of high-resolution assets like trees, plants and rocks. It was developed at Sony Picture Imageworks (SPI) to address the need for an interactive artist-friendly tool that was fully integrated into SPIfis existing pipeline. Prior to the development of Sprout, environment dressing at SPI was done primarily in Houdini or procedurally at render-time and was thus the province of FX TDs. In Sprout, artists can load any asset and quickly fipaintfi instances onto any other geometry using a brush paradigm familiar to anyone who has used Photoshop. Sophisticated lightweight OpenGL representations keep performance nimble, and all instances remain fully editable by the artist to allow for highly art-directed environment dressing. Sprout has made environment dressing at SPI available to a larger variety of artists, being leveraged most recently for photoreal jungle environments for an upcoming VFX motion picture as shown in Figure 1.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence debt policy. The factors tested in this study is the managerial ownership, institutional ownership, dividend policy, profitability, firm size and asset structure of the debt policy on companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Debt policy as a dependent variable in this study is measured by Debt Ratio. Research using purposive sampling method for taking samples. Based on the defined criteria, the sample obtained 30 companies of Manufacturing Firms listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2010 to 2012, therefore the number of data samples in this study is 90 samples. The results of research that profitability and firm size significantly influence debt policy at a significance level (alpha) 5 %. While the variables of managerial ownership, institutional ownership, dividend policy and asset structure do not significantly influence debt policy. The influence of independent variables on the dependent variable (debt ratio) which can be described by the equation by 10,3%. While 89,7% influenced by another factors not included on the regression model. KEYWORDS : Debt Policy, Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, Dividend Policy, Profitability, Firm Size and Asset Structure


We introduce a new adaptive clipping technique for training learning models with user-level differential privacy that removes the need for extensive parameter tuning. Previous approaches to this problem use the Federated Stochastic Gradient Descent or the Federated Averaging algorithm with noised updates, and compute a differential privacy guarantee using the Moments Accountant. These approaches rely on choosing a norm bound for each user's update to the model, which needs to be tuned carefully. The best value depends on the learning rate, model architecture, number of passes made over each user's data, and possibly various other parameters. We show that adaptively setting the clipping norm applied to each user's update, based on a differentially private estimate of a target quantile of the distribution of unclipped norms, is sufficient to remove the need for such extensive parameter tuning.


Work done on steroid- and antimitotic-induced lymphocytolysis since the fifties by Baserga and his coworkers is reviewed. It has led to a morphological description of the stages involved in the lysis of circulating cells, and the estabilishment of the cytological and histological patterns of atrophy caused by such drugs, with particular reference to the thymus. A search is now being made for steroid-specific lymphocyte receptors. Reference is also made to Baserga's view that the damage caused by these drugs to lymph cells and lymphatic vessels is a particular feature of "aregenerative disease" within the wider framework of cell dysplasia caused by cytostatics.


In 2016, Medicare's Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HAC-RP) will reduce hospital payments by $364 million. Although observers have questioned the validity of certain HAC-RP measures, less attention has been paid to the determination of low-performing hospitals (bottom quartile) and the assignment of penalties. This study investigated possible bias in the HAC-RP by simulating hospitals' likelihood of being in the worst-performing quartile for 8 patient safety measures, assuming identical expected complication rates across hospitals. Simulated likelihood of being a poor performer varied with hospital size. This relationship depended on the measure's complication rate. For 3 of 8 measures examined, the equal-quality simulation identified poor performers similarly to empirical data (c-statistic approximately 0.7 or higher) and explained most of the variation in empirical performance by size (Efron's R2 > 0.85). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could address potential bias in the HAC-RP by stratifying by hospital size or using a broader "all-harm" measure.


This paper presents a fully integrated one-stage three-stack Ka-band power amplifier (PA) with neutralization technique in 65-nm CMOS process for 5G applications. A transformer-based power combiner is adopted to combine two differential PA cells to increase the output power. Four small size stacked sets are combined together as one differential PA cell for increasing efficiency. A shunt feedback drain-source capacitor is utilized to divide the output voltage equally between drain and source of each individual transistor in three-stack PA. The proposed PA achieves the measured saturated output power (Psat) of 24.8 dBm with 24.3% peak power added efficiency (PAE), output 1-dB compression point (OP1dB) of 21.7 dBm and 17.5-dB power gain at 38 GHz. The chip size without pads is 0.146 mm2. To the author's best knowledge, this stacked PA demonstrates the best power performance compared with the reported CMOS PAs around 38 GHz.


Ruthenium nitrosyl complexes are fascinating photoactive compounds showing complex photoreactivity, such as N→O linkage photoisomerism and NO photorelease. This dual photochemical behavior has been the subject of many experimental studies in order to optimize these systems for applications as photoswitches or therapeutic agents for NO delivery. However, despite recent experimental and computational studies along this line, the underlying photochemical mechanisms still need to be elucidated for a more efficient design of these systems. Here, we present a theoretical contribution based on the calculations of excited-state potential energy profiles for NO dissociation in the prototype trans-[RuCl(NO)(py)4]2+ complex at the complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2). The results point to a sequential two-step photon absorption photorelease mechanism coupled to partial photoisomerization to a side-on intermediate, in agreement with previous density functional theory calculations.


INTRODUCTION
We characterized Twitter discussions focused on male infertility using #Male Infertility, the official Urology Ontology hashtag for the condition.

METHODS
Symplur, a Twitter analytics service, was used to analyze activity, users and tweet content for #MaleInfertility between August 2015 and November 2018. Activity was quantified by monthly tweets and yearly cumulative users. Users were classified based on geography, occupation and organizational affiliation. Content analysis was undertaken by analyzing retweets, links, media, mentions, replies, frequently used words and hashtags.

RESULTS
A total of 11,325 tweets and 3,241 users using #MaleInfertility were identified. Most tweets (73%) were sent with links. The average ± SD number of #MaleInfertility tweets per month increased from 152 ± 47 in 2015 to 439 ± 2,013 in 2018 (p <0.001). The number of users increased from 95 to 3,241 during this period. Linear regression revealed that the #MaleInfertility discussion increased by 8.7 tweets per month and 80 users per month across the study period (p <0.0001). Users tweeted from 22 countries and doctors comprised 39% of the top 100 influencers. Popular associated hashtags included #Infertility, #IVF and #Sperm. Tweet content codification revealed that tweets were mainly focused on providing online patient support.

CONCLUSIONS
Twitter discussions focused on male infertility are increasing in volume. Our analysis highlights that doctors and organizations associated with health care are the primary influencers of #MaleInfertility Twitter discussions. This increase in users and tweet volume highlights that Twitter is an emerging digital tool to disseminate information about male infertility online.


Object dataflow is a popular approach used in parallel rendering. The data representing the 3D scene is statically distributed among processors and objects are fetched and cached only on demand. Most previous object dataflow methods were implemented on shared memory architectures and exploited spatial coherency to reduce hardware cache misses. We propose an efficient model for object dataflow parallel volume rendering on message passing machines. The algorithm is introduced and its ray storage mechanism is used to support latency hiding by postponing computation on inactive rays. Memory usage is optimized by letting objects migrate and replicate at different processors rather than the common static assignments. Our cache only memory approach uses a distributed directory scheme to trace the location of objects at other nodes. A mechanism to minimize network congestion was implemented which optimizes channel utilization. Unlike previous methods, our approach can benefit from temporal coherence and effectively minimizes communication costs during animation on limited bandwidth multiprocessing environments. We report results of the algorithm's implementation on several platforms like Cray T3D, Convex SPP and DEC alpha cluster of workstations (COWs), and achieved higher efficiency and scalability than existing algorithms.


For the last 10 years, cyclocryotherapy has been performed on nearly 700 glaucomatous eyes using practically the same technique. The cyclocryotherapy was standardized: six applications in the lower half of the globe, 4 mm posterior to the limbus as measured from the center of the 2.5 mm diameter cryoprobe. Freezing lasted 60 s; the temperature of the cryoprobe in the air was -65 degrees C and about -55 degrees C during the application. The cryo-induced lesion was found macroscopically, as well as with the microscope, in the pars plana and both epithelial layers were destroyed. The ciliary processes were only slightly affected. Alterations were also seen in the posterior part of Schlemm's canal and in the trabecular meshwork. The trabecular meshwork showed wide intertrabecular spaces. The trabecular lamella were partially interrupted with destroyed cellular elements. Tonographic and fluorophotometric findings showed a transient reduction in the formation of the intraocular fluid in the early postoperative stage. During the same plan there was a considerable breakdown of the blood aqueous barrier. Clinically, one can see a reaction in the anterior chamber with or without fibrinoid exudation. In the late stage, the inflow of the intraocular fluid mostly reached the preoperative level, whereas the outflow improved significantly. Following cyclocryotherapy, a IOP reduction of about 40% was achieved. In 85% of the treated glaucomatous eyes, if was possible to bring the IOP under control. However, in half of these eyes medical therapy was also needed. Cyclocryotherapy represents an alternative to the filtering operation, and it is not necessary to enter the bulb with this procedure.


In this paper, we focus on a sub-problem of Arabic text error correction, namely Arabic Text Denormalization. Text Denormalization is considered an important post-processing step when performing machine translation into Arabic. We examine different approaches for denormalization via the use of language modeling, stemming, and sequence labeling. We show the effectiveness of different approaches and how they can be combined to attain better results. We perform intrinsic evaluation as well as extrinsic evaluation in the context of machine translation.


Psoriasis arthritis (PsA) is a systemic chronic inflammatory disease, which leads to irreversible destruction of the joints. Multiple factors drive the development of this heterogeneous disease including genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, and immunologic dysfunction. Even structural damage differs significantly between patients, with a subset of patients suffering from severe and rapid (rheumatoid arthritis-like) bone destruction (arthritis mutilans), while others experience only modest signs of bone damage, or develop new bone formation.[1]The study aims to identify potential predictors for radiographic such as clinical, radiographic, and laboratory parameters.In this retrospective data analysis 231 patients with PsA and at least two available x-rays were included. Radiographs were scored according to Sharp-van-der-Heijde-total Score (mSvdHTH) modified for PsA and a mean annual progression (MAP) rate was calculated by dividing the change in mSvdHTS between two x-rays number of years between them. For each patient, the median of the annual progression rates was calculated. Patients were grouped in no progressors (MAP ≤ 0.5), low progressors (MAP 0.5 < MAP ≤ 2.5) and high progressors (MAP > 2.5). Clinical data such as the clinical disease activity index (CDAI), radiographic data and laboratory data (CRP, ESR, C-terminal Telopeptide) were analysed for their predictive value of radiographic progression using parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis according to the distribution of data. For correlation analysis Spearman´s rank coefficient was used. For group analysis ANOVA was used. Dichotomous variables such as gender or nail involvement were analysed using χ2-test. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing radiographic progression.The mean baseline mSvdHTS in high progressors was 41.59 (43.53), 19.89 (34.93) in low progressors and 16.25 (26.77) in non-progressors. Baseline mSvdHTS was significantly correlated with MAP (ρ=0.27, p=0.002) rate. Group analysis comparing clinical and laboratory parameters in patients again showed significant difference baseline mSvdHTS. The high progression cohort also exhibits greater mean CRP, ESR, CDAI, median first year CDAI, TJC68, SJC66 and a higher percentage of nail involvement than low- or non-progressors but no statistically significant result was found. In a multiple linear regression analysis baseline SvdHS (β = 0.51, 95%CI 0.28-0.73, p=<0.001), median CDAI in the first year after baseline (β = 0.51, 95%CI 0.19-0.83, p=0.018) and CDAI at baseline (β = -0.62, 95%CI -1.05 – -0.19, p=0.043) were significantly associated with mean annual progression. No association was found between MAP and bone turnover markers.This study shows a clear association of Sharp-van-der-Heijde score at baseline with future radiographic progression. Moreover, the median CDAI in the first year after baseline was associated with radiographic progression.[1]FitzGerald O, Ogdie A, Chandran V, et al. Psoriatic arthritis. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021;7(1):59The authors thank Gabriela Supp and Susanna Mössmer for scoring the radiographs.None Declared.


Interest in organisational climate and its link with corporate performance is gaining momentum. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this discourse by examining the extent to which "above" and "below" average performing companies also exhibit different climate measurements. A survey was conducted on a sample of electronic component manufacturers, as a sunrise industry in a growth phase, and hosiery and knitwear manufacturers, as a sunset industry, in decline. In turn, sub‐samples of companies that performed above or below average for each of these sectors were selected. Climate dimension measurements collected from staff of the sample companies were analysed against corporate performance measurements. The results showed a consistent association between climate and performance. Independently of sector, companies performing above average showed higher values on climate dimensions than those performing below average. Although a link was shown to exist between climate and performance, it would be premature to conclude that this connection is causal and, if so, in which direction.


The study was conducted to assess the incidences of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus disease (RYMVD) in Kebbi State Nigeria, a field survey was conducted in four rice-growing areas of the State. Rice fields were selected randomly at 2 km interval, severity of the disease was assess using arbitrary five-point scale and disease incidence was assessed according to the proportion of the plants showing symptoms. Thirty plants were assessed in each field visited. Symptoms occurred in varying levels of incidence. The presence of RYMV in the collected samples was confirmed using Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Mottle/yellowing symptom was found more on the plants assessed (46%) followed by leaf curling (21%), leaf necrosis (09%), leaf deformation (11%) and irregular patches (13%). RYMVD was found highly distributed in the State with average incidence of 54.38%. The highest incidence was recorded in in Yauri (67.50%) followed by Argungu (55.00%), Bagudo (52.50%) and the lowest was recorded in Suru (42.50%). The average symptom severity across all the four Local Governments visited was 2.8, the highest was recorded in Yauri (3.2), followed by Argungu (2.9), Bagudo (2.7) and Suru 2.3. The information obtained in this study would assist rice breeding programs to develop durable RYMV rice resistant cultivars and guide in the identification of RYMVD hot spot locations for seed multiplication trials in Kebbi State.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Purpose Lazaroid U74389G (LAZ) is a 21-aminosteroid that has a radioprotective and antioxidant effects. It prevents the damage in the tissues after radiation by a selective action on vascular endothelium cells in normal tissues. The aim of this study is to develop liposomal formulations of LAZ with favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles for potential therapeutic merits in an animal model.

Methods Conventional (LipoB) and pegylated (LipoG) liposomes were prepared with various phosphatidylcholine: cholesterol ratios and lipid: LAZ ratio of 10:1. The liposomes were characterized with the size, charge and release profile. The PK study was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were randomized into 3 groups (n=4 each) prior to the dosing of the formulations (LAZ solution, LipoB and LipoG) at a dose of 1 mg/kg by injection through the cannula at jugular veins. At pre-determined time points, blood samples were collected from the tail vein. The LAZ concentrations in plasma were quantified by a validated UPLC/MS/MS assay using Daidazine as the internal standard, with a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 4 ng/ml for LAZ. The PK profiles were constructed by plotting the plasma concentration versus time and the PK parameters were derived using compartmental models of WinNonlin Ver 3.3 software.

Results The liposomal preparations with the least amount of cholesterol had the lowest Encapsulation Efficiency (EE=26%). However, an increase of cholesterol ratio up to 20% increased the EE up to 58%. The size of the liposomes was in the range of 90-118 nm. In in-vivo study, the plasma profile of the solution fits 1-compartment model while the liposomal formulations fit 2-compartment model. The solution group yielded a higher Cmax and faster clearance (4.27 μg/ml and 546 ml/hr) than those of LipoB and LipoG (0.97 and 2.03 μg/ml and 380 and 216 ml/hr, respectively). The t1/2's of LAZ from LipoB and LipoG were 5 folds of that from the solution (0.64 and 0.52 hr vs 0.10hr). The solution showed a significantly smaller AUC compared to those of LipoB and LipoG (0.56 μg.hr/ml vs. 0.79 and 1.42 μg.hr/ml, respectively). The volume of distribution was small for the solution compared to LipoB and LipoG (73 ml vs. 1173 and 589 ml, respectively). The half-lives of distribution and elimination, t1/2 α and t1/2 β, were comparable between LipoB and LipoG (0.22 vs. 0.16 hr and 3.17 vs. 2.55 hr, respectively).

Conclusion The liposomal formulations modified the pharmacokinetics of LAZ solution. The liposomal formulations resulted in a slower clearance and wider distribution of LAZ in-vivo compared to the solution. LAZ systemic exposures in rats after administration of LAZ liposomes were 1.4 −2.5 folds higher than that of solution.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2652.


A simple numerical algorithm for the reconstruction of micropore size distribution (MPSD) dealing with equilibrium adsorption isotherm data is presented. The mathematical model is based on the theory of volume filling of micropores (TVFMP) and the regularization method was used in the numerical algorithm for solving the TVFMP inverse problem. The two different approaches to inversion of the initial integral equation, namely, the MPSD reconstruction in terms of both micropore volume and micropore surface area, are analysed. The various exponent values in the local Dubinin-Astakhov isotherm and two types of smoothing functionals are analysed with the aim of studying their influence on the results of the MPSD reconstruction. On the basis of numerical experiments with the various model distributions, a simple scheme for choosing the regularization's optimal parameter is proposed. This scheme allows one to use observed data in calculations, obtained during only one experimental run, that essentially decrease the time of a cycle; for example an adsorption experiment - a MPSD reconstruction. The N2 adsorption isotherm for the properly characterized molecular sieve, carbon HGS-638, was used for testing the proposed technique. The results of MPSD reconstruction calculated in terms of the surface area model are in good agreement with the known data for this sample. The present technique can be applied to analysis of a wide class of micropore materials, such as zeolites, molecular sieves and carbon sorbents.


Background The timely and accurate diagnosis of infected nonunion is challenging, and there is a need for more efficient biomarkers. Previous studies have shown that fibrinogen plays an important role in mediating inflammation in bacterial infections and, therefore, could be a valuable biomarker for infected nonunion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the performance of plasma fibrinogen and other traditional blood markers for the diagnosis of infected nonunion. Materials and Methods We retrospectively studied 146 patients who underwent surgery for primary nonunion between January 2018 and January 2020. The patients were divided into those with infected nonunion (n = 55) and those with aseptic nonunion (n = 91). The preoperatively analyzed parameters were plasma fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and white blood cell (WBC) count. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the biomarkers, and Youden's index was calculated to determine their optimal cut-off values. Results The plasma fibrinogen values were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the patients with infected nonunion than in those with aseptic nonunion. ROC curve analysis showed that plasma fibrinogen had a high value of area under the curve (0.816), which indicated that it had good diagnostic ability. Further, at the optimal threshold value of 2.75 g/L, plasma fibrinogen had the highest sensitivity (78.2%; 95% CI = 64.6–87.8) and good specificity (82.4%; 95% CI, 72.7–89.3). Conclusion In comparison to the traditional markers of infection, plasma fibrinogen showed good diagnostic ability for the detection of infected nonunion. It may have potential as a practical and cost-efficient biomarker for the diagnosis of infected nonunion.


A study on the relationships between the physicochemical parameters and of the macroinvertebrates of the Lake Nokoue was carried out for the purpose of developing a biotic index of pollution. A total of 96 stations were prospected twice during the flooding and the dry seasons from September 2004 to February 2006. At each station, seven physicochemical parameters were measured and macroinvertebrates were collected. Canonical analyses of correspondence were used to show the relations between the parameters of the environment and the macroinvertebrates. A self-organizing map (SOM) of Kohonen allows the categorization of the studied stations into four groups according to different degrees of pollution. Rough scores were allotted to each taxon according to its abundance in the various groups of stations determined by the SOM for each campaign. A synthesis of the data obtained from the four field surveys allows the assignment of a score to each taxon according to its abundance in the different groups of stations. A biotic index was developed and used for the evaluation of the level of pollution of the stations studied. It then emerged that the borders of the lake present a «poor quality» of water; however, during the dry season there is slight improvement. © 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: Biotic index, pollution, invertebrates, lagoons, Benin, West Africa


A ruthenium containing polymer featuring a short carbonyl-amino-methylene linker has been prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The polymer was derived from ATRP of the N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) derivative of p-vinylbenzoic acid, followed by an amide coupling reaction of the NHS-polystyrene with Ru(II) complexes derivatized with aminomethyl groups (i.e., [Ru(bpy)2(CH3-bpy-CH2NH2)](2+) where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine, and CH3-bpy-CH2NH2 is 4-methyl-4'-aminomethyl-2,2'-bipyridine). The Ru-functionalized polymer structure was confirmed by using nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, and the results suggest that a high loading ratio of polypyridylruthenium chromophores on the polystyrene backbone was achieved. The photophysical properties of the polymer were characterized in solution and in rigid ethylene glycol glasses. In solution, emission quantum yield and lifetime studies reveal that the polymer's metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited states are quenched relative to a model Ru complex chromophore. In rigid media, the MLCT-ground state band gap and lifetime are both increased relative to solution with time-resolved emission measurements revealing fast energy transfer hopping within the polymer. Molecular dynamics studies of the polymer synthesized here as well as similar model systems with various spatial arrangements of the pendant Ru complex chromophores suggest that the carbonyl-amino-methylene linker probed in our target polymer provides shorter Ru-Ru nearest-neighbor distances leading to an increased Ru*-Ru energy hopping rate, compared to those with longer linkers in counterpart polymers.


Since his death in 1954, Alfred W. Lawson has gained renown as a notable American eccentric. This reputation is mainly due to his post-baseball career exploits as a commercial aviation pioneer, Depression-era populist social reformer, and writer of books detailing his all-encompassing folk philosophy of "Lawsonomy."1 Major league record keeping has long confirmed his three-game "cup of coffee" in the tumultuous National League season of 1890, but further details of his 23 years in baseball have been slow to emerge. Until recently, the primary resource for his sporting career has been a handful of selective highlights mentioned by Lawson himself in autobiographical sections of his books. The advent of digitized historical newspaper collections has revealed rich new insights into Lawson's career as player, manager, league organizer, and promoter. These reports reveal a prototypical 19th century ballplayer, as well as an adept innovator of baseball economics, promotion, and marketing.Like the majority of 19th century professional baseball players, Lawson came from a lower-class background. His family had emigrated from the East End of London and settled in Detroit, Michigan. As a child he contributed to the family economy as a bootblack and newspaper boy; he also worked in his father's rag carpet home factory. Lawson attended elementary and trade school (participating in student athletics), but his wanderlust led him to leave home at age 17 to seek his fortune. By his own account, in 1887 he arrived via freight train at Frankfort, Indiana, and successfully pitched a game for their independent club against a heavily favored league club. He was rewarded with a $40-per-month contract. That same summer, he moved from the Frankfort club to a team in South Bend.2In the late 1880s, the Upper Midwest region where Alfred Lawson started playing baseball supported early incarnations of regional minor leagues: the Western League (with cities as far-flung as Denver and Milwaukee); the Interstate League (Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana); the Michigan League; the Ohio League; and the International League (western New York, Ontario, northern Ohio). The composition of these regional leagues fluctuated from year to year-if they survived more than one season. Larger cities sup- ported multiple semipro local leagues. Chicago, for example, had a City League and a handful of company-sponsored leagues, including the Garden City League, the Market Street League, and the Wholesale Grocers League. The sports pages from cities with local leagues would often announce open dates as opportunities for unscheduled games, or announce the hastily arranged games themselves.Lawson played for eight different teams over the next two years (1888-1889), moving between towns in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The reasons for the jumps probably varied: better contract offers, league or club failures, or disagreements with management. The number of clubs he played for was probably not unusual for itinerant professional ballplayers. It is possible that injuries or poor performances might have caused him to be released from some teams, but the incomplete records that have been uncovered so far indicate that he was a pitcher whose talent was on the rise. His appearances for Sterling (Illinois) and Appleton (Wisconsin) in 1889 were phenomenal.3 It is likely that by the time Appleton's season ended at the end of September, Lawson had been advised to head south to play winter ball in Florida in order to hone his skills for the next season.One can not imagine a better year for a young ballplayer to hope to get his first major league contract than the year 1890. The revolt of the major league union, the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players, led to the formation of the Players League that year, which depleted the National League of more than 55 percent of its players and took a similar percentage from the American Association. Consequently, the NL and the AA were scouring the nation for young talent in the early months of 1890. …


Dynamics of solitons is considered in an extended nonlinear Schrödinger equation, including a pseudo-stimulated-Raman-scattering (pseudo-SRS) term (scattering on damping low-frequency waves, third-order dispersion (TOD) and inhomogeneity of the spatial second-order dispersion (SOD). It is shown that wave-number downshift by the pseudo-SRS may be compensated by upshift provided by spatially increasing SOD with taking into account TOD. The equilibrium state is stable for positive parameter of TOD and unstable for negative one. The analytical solutions are verified by comparison with numerical results


''We do not believe in the division between left and right. The true division is between those who want globalization and those who do not. We are a patriotic party,'' stated the party leader of Hungarian Jobbik (Movement for a better Hungary) (Phillips, 2010). This is an example of how popular radical right-wing parties propagate renewed national pride as a response to globalization. It is often theorized that nationalist attitudes are strengthened by globalization because processes of globalization would constitute a threat to national culture and interests (Norris, 2005). Alternatively, because globalization implies increased knowledge of and contact with other people, products, and cultures, it might also lead to less nationalist attitudes (Norris & Inglehart, 2009). In this contribution, we examine these two possibilities with a greater number of countries and a more extended period than previous research (Ariely, 2012; Evans & Kelley, 2002; Kunovich, 2009; Norris & Inglehart, 2009). Moreover, that research did not examine whether globalization differently affects the nationalist attitude of the higher and lower educated. This is a relevant question because the theoretical literature predicts different consequences of globalization for feelings of insecurity and related nationalist attitudes, depending on the level of education (Brown & Lauder, 1996; Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2006). We analyze nationalist attitudes of more than 400,000 respondents in 52 countries in the period 1981–2009. For those 52 countries we have the information at three or more time points, and therefore we are also able to study the relation between the level of globalization and support of nationalist attitudes within countries. We not only focus on the relationship between globalization and nationalist attitudes, but also on the differential influence of globalization for higher and lower educated. The central question is as follows: Does globalization affect people's nationalist attitudes positively or negatively and does this effect differ for educational levels?


Glutamate receptor ion channels such as the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor mediate the majority of fast excitatory neurotransmission in the vertebrate CNS. AMPA receptors canonically provide the fast, millisecond component of the synaptic current. However, we found that about two-thirds of principal cells in the mouse hippocampus express AMPA receptors that do not desensitize and stay active for up to half a second. These receptors are expressed at synapses with a sparse but flat spatial distribution. The resulting increase in charge transfer allows single connections to reliably trigger action potentials. Biophysical and pharmacological observations imply that slow AMPA receptors incorporate γ-8 and other auxiliary proteins, and their activation lengthens individual miniature synaptic currents. Synaptic connections harboring slow AMPARs should have unique roles in hippocampal function.


The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of inquiry-based learning in the frame of interdisciplinary teaching and learning on English class and the impact that it creates on the IB MYP Emergent and Capable Level students (Grade 5, 6, 7 and 8) in the selected IB continuum school, applying the IB MYP curriculum, in Turkey. Three levels of language proficiency are provided for language classes in IB MYP. The planning is established on the effective choice of a suitable level between Emergent, Capable, and Proficient levels. The set of objectives and each level's needs are used to determine the expectations and set goals for the learners. The study was conducted by using a mixed approach which uses data collected from194 middle school students and 8 IB MYP teachers. Each student completed the questionnaire on Inquiry-based Learning. There are 7 Focus Groups; 5 Focus Groups with a random sampling of middle school students and 2 Focus Groups of related subject area teachers. In line with the purpose of study, the selection of subject-area teachers is limited to English, Maths, and Science which use English as the language of instruction in the selected IB school. The data collected from each participant is analyzed with the help of SPSS 22. Under the light of this study, the answer to the question "How does inquiry-based learning affect the language learning process in the IB MYP Emergent and the IB MYP Capable levels?" is provided. The study is designed to be a comparative case study that focuses on the similarities and differences across the two IB MYP levels; Emergent and Capable and how they connect in terms of inquiry-based learning and language acquisition.It is understood that a student who can benefit from the interdisciplinary learning experience is enriched in terms of the experience of making connections to the real world and showing appreciation of inquiry based learning.


ABSTRACT This article explores whether and how word selection makes some proposals easier to resist than others. Fourteen cases (31 hours) of UK-based police crisis negotiation were analyzed exploring (a) how negotiators use the verbs talk or speak when proposing "dialogue," and (b) to what extent the strength of resistance of persons in crisis toward the proposals may be attributed to this word selection. We found that persons in crisis were more likely to overtly reject proposals formulated with talk compared to speak. And while negotiators used both talk/speak when proposing dialogue, negotiators and persons in crisis associated talk with more evaluative stances toward dialogue compared to speak. This article has implications for the study of word selection in interaction and for crisis negotiation and other professions where "talk" is promoted as the solution. Data in British English.


Recent observations show that a large number of Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs) at high redshift z >= 3 have unusually high Lya equivalent widths (EW > 400 angstrom). However, the origin of these high EWs is an open question. Here, we investigate the impacts of photon trapping on the Lya EW and other properties by tracking the Lya radiative transfer in spherical galactic clouds. We find that the delayed escape of the Lya photons can change the Lya properties significantly. During the transition phase from optically thick to optically thin where the Lya photons can escape simultaneously, the EW can be boosted to ~ 1000 angstrom, the Lya luminosity can be increased by a factor of a few, and the line profile can be significantly broadened. The boost factor appears to depend on the galaxy properties such as mass and star formation rate and timescale, therefore future investigation combing 3D Lya RT calculations with cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution is needed to fully understand the Lya properties of early star-forming galaxies.


Background —Horse riding is a hazardous pastime, with a number of studies docu-menting high rates of injury and death among horse riders in general. This study focuses on the injury experience of cross country event riders, a high risk subset of horse riders. Method —Injury data were collected at a series of 35 equestrian events in South Australia from 1990 to 1998. Results —Injury rates were found to be especially high among event riders, with frequent falls, injuries, and even deaths. The highest injury rates were among the riders competing at the highest levels. Conclusion —There is a need for skilled emergency medical services at equestrian events. ( Br J Sports Med 1999; 33 :46–48) trial event is a three phase compe- tition that as an all round test of military horsemanship. Phase one is the dressage test, an obedience test in which horse and rider complete a compul- sory set of movements at a relatively low speed in a defined arena. Phase two is the cross coun- try test, in which the horse and rider negotiate a series of solid obstacles while galloping across country (fig 1). Phase three is the show jumping test, a relatively easy final test in which the rider is asked to jump the horse over about a dozen lightweight obstacles, the intent being to show that the horse is still fit for service after the rig-ors of the cross country test. horse trials are a form of horse sports, with frequent rider falls, injuries, and even deaths. these injury


The idea of co-producing and self-organizing public services has penetrated the discourse of politicians and civil servants in all kinds of policy areas, such as energy, urban development and care. The reforms that have taken place in the Dutch care regime during the past four years provide an exemplary case to empirically examine how these discourses are shaped in the Netherlands, as this policy area is traditionally characterized by a strong presence of government. Due to an ageing population, the demand for care services is rising and the preservation of the welfare state in its current form is under pressure. In order to keep the system future proof and affordable, the national government has introduced a revision of the Social Support Act in 2015. In this reform national government emphasizes the shifting 'back' of responsibilities towards society. Governments want to utilize society's resources more fully. By transferring a part of former public service delivery to citizens, welfare delivery should become a more explicit and stronger form of co-production of care professionals and citizens.


ABSTRACT With population growth and the increasing human demand for crops, chemical insecticides have been used to reduce pests. Due to the adverse effects of these chemicals on the environment and health, several studies have investigated alternatives such as natural insecticides derived from essential oils or plant extracts. This review article was provided by using search engines such as Google scholar, Science Direct and PubMed. The compounds found in essential oils and plant extracts affect a wide range of insects. The most effective biologically active substances in these extracts are 1–8 cineole, thymol, eugenol, limonene, carvacrol, and terpenes such as limonene, pinene and myrcene. Furthermore, aromatic plants have the most remarkable impact on food pests owing to high concentrations of biologically active substances. Plant secretion of aldehydes could also remove insects although further studies are required. Overall, natural and safe insecticides could be produced by extracting bioactive materials from plants.


Abstract Several different methods have been used for the representation of orebody shapes in computer systems including serial-slice, gridded seam, regular block, mathematical functions, solid geometry, and boundary representation models. The accuracy and precison of such models are affected by factors such as errors associated with the original data used, natural variations, errors in data capture and processing, etc. In order to asses the relative importance of such factors it is necessary to quantify differences in accuracy and precision between different model structures. To meet this objective a new technique which relies on statistical study of a series of sample lines, intersecting two or more different orebody models, is proposed. Application of this technique on orebody models at the Neves-Corvo copper-tin deposits in southern Portugal suggested that in certain circumstances regular block models can give very poor estimates of the total volume of materials of different geological types. In addition it was shown quantitatively that shape interpretations close to the plane of drill-sections are better, in terms of accuracy and precision, than interpretations for zones falling between the drill-section planes.


How is energy conservation defined in a local renewal project of a multifamily housing area with 40 per cent immigrant population? Gender and ethnicity , life style and daily life frame the dis-cource of energy conservation. Governance relates to inclusion in networks and who represents whom? The depolitization of how the good everyday life create a space for technological experts to frame the ideas as if gender, class and etnicity did not exist. Will agents work with the social aspects of the renewal project and the question is if they manage to change the frame to include non-Swedish lifestyles.


The advent of ERM has spurred on the development of numerous technological software tools aimed at electronic control and the measurement of business ERM. Enterprise Risk looks at the various options available.


appointments fill various government roles. Although the book nimbly straddles historical footings while disregarding oft-reiterated reform ideas, the concept of 'governance' is slightly fumbled by focusing on a redesign of state governments. This sidelines the impact of the 'global', which is central to the modern problem-setting. Nonetheless, the subtleties and clever approach central to Intelligent Governance make it an enjoyable read for both academics and those keen on public policy. Perhaps the book's greatest contribution is that it triggers a new, creative debate about the possibilities for improving the management of global affairs.


To order the complete compilation report, use: ADA381871 The component part is provided here to allow users access to individually authored sections f proceedings, annals, symposia, ect. However, the component should be considered within he context of the overall compilation report and not as a stand-alone technical report. Summary aim is twofold: substantial savings with respect to new designs (also due to simpler The paper describes the prototype integration, procurement processes), and aircraft with new on the Italian Air Force AM-X aircraft, of the or greatly enhanced capabilities. However, the Thomson Convertible Laser Designation Pod. availability of standard-interfaced, off-the-The integration was conducted within the shelves sensors and the need of answering to Italian Air Force Official Test Centre, and the the evolution of threats and tasks, pose the air process adopted was devised to produce a forces with the problem to modify the mission quick, low-cost, and low-risk subsystem systems more frequently. In addition, the key integration. Software had the greatest part in role played by the software in nowadays the project, and software-engineering methods airborne systems offers new opportunities to have been used to support the effort. execute upgrades of the combat aircraft This integration is a good example of how a without having large industrial facilities like careful use of existing assets and experiences, those requested to modify or upgrade the together with the application of advanced airframes. software engineering techniques, can improve the effectiveness of an aircraft, keeping it up Development and In-Service Periods with the evolving needs. The integration is (years) now being used as baseline by the aircraft manufacturer, thus reducing costs and times 60 for the Italian Air Force.40


The real world signals are mostly analog in nature and hence, an analog to digital converter is needed to transmit effectively the analog signals to digital signals. This paper describes the comparator circuits used in most of the analog circuits now-adays. Comparators play a vital role in most of the analog circuits like Flash ADC's and the performance of these circuits is greatly influenced by the choice of comparators. In this paper, first a " Open loop comparator" is designed and its analysis is done followed by a "TIQ comparator", "Quantized Differential Comparator", "Two stage CMOS amplifier with an output inverter" and "CMOS-LTE Comparator" and all of these circuits are used for implementing a lot low power analog circuits. After implementing all the comparator circuits, power and delay analysis has been done on the basis of which Power-Delay-Product (PDP) has been calculated. All the above circuits are implemented using 180nm CMOS technology using a supply voltage of 1.8v. TANNER EDA environment is used for design and simulation of these circuits.


Maxillary lateral incisors classically has configuration of one root with one canal. However, variation in anatomy and morphology is not an exception. Radiographs from different angulations specially mesial and distal are critical in such cases of atypical root canal anatomy, although more precision can be expected with operating microscope and cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT). Meticulous knowledge and careful diagnosis of canal configurations, developmental anomalies and careful pretreatment assessment of radiographs is essential. This case report enlightens the need for consideration during endodontic management of maxillary lateral incisors.

Keywords: Maxillary lateral incisor, Two canals, Endodontic management.


This article aims to analyze the hotel units' operational practices in Inhambane, assesses their socio-economic impacts into the local community and proposes hotel operations qualitative measures to promote sustainable socio-economic development. Follow the Quivy and Campenhoudt methodological model for social sciences and has the hotel units and their workers as objects of study. Presents the following dimensions: hotel operations multiplier effect, the employability quality generated by them, their contribution to the welfare infrastructures and their environmental policies. Remarks that the implemented hotel development model is based on a neoliberal matrix, mostly in result of foreign or multinational investments, not guaranteeing a significant multiplier effect in the local economy, its job offer quality is often precarious, unable to have a significant contribution to the local "welfare" infrastructures improvement and sometimes producing undesirable environmental costs. Concludes that it is pressing to rethink the whole model of tourism development in Inhambane, retaining in its territory the economic benefits of the touristic activities and transforming the local community in its main beneficiary.


The effects of parenteral nitroglycerin after acute and continuous infusion were investigated in 12 patients with mitral and (or) aortic valvular disease (stage IV of the New York Heart Association) and severe therapy-resistant pulmonary congestion. Intravenous injection of 1 mg led to immediate and marked decrease of right atrial mean pressure, and pulmonary artery and pulmonary capillary mean pressures, whereas mean arterial blood pressure, stroke volume index, cardiac frequency, and cardiac index remained unchanged. With a dosage of 3-10 mg/h the pressure lowering of the right circulation could be sustained. Pressure lowering of the right circulation abolished pulmonary congestion and led to marked reduction of shortness of breath. The principle of venous pooling can thus not only be used successfully in cases of increased pulmonary capillary pressure due to primary myocardial insufficiency, but also in cases with pulmonary congestion due to decompensated valvular disease.


A 16-year-old Korean boy presented with acute onset vertigo, dysphagia and gait ataxia of 16 hours duration. He had history of headache and neck pain along with transient vertigo during a water slide ride 12 days before presentation. CT brain showed left cerebellar and left lateral medullary infarcts. CT angiography showed left vertebral dissection with occlusion of left posterior inferior cerebellar artery. A 52-year-old Indian man, presented with acute onset global aphasia and right hemiparesis within 3 hours of onset of symptoms. He received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) with partial improvement in his symptoms. He had headache and neck pain since 2 weeks, ever since he had a water slide ride. CT brain was normal, while the CT angiogram showed left carotid dissection. Cervical artery dissection has been reported with roller coaster rides and rarely with delayed presentations. Delayed presentation of cervical artery dissection after water rides have not been reported.