This report presents data on use by seals tracked from the Netherlands of a zone of the North Sea off the east coast of the UK, the East Anglia Zone, where it is proposed to develop offshore windfarms. For this report, three areas of interest are distinguished within the East Anglia Zone: East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm (East Anglia THREE); East Anglia FOUR Offshore Windfarm (East Anglia FOUR) and the combined cable corridor for both projects. In the Netherlands, seals have been tracked from two Natura2000 areas: the Wadden Sea to the north and the Delta region to the south. Approval was sought from current clients of IMARES to incorporate data from seal research they have sponsored. All clients supported sharing of the data. Of 273 harbour seals fitted with trackers in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2013, ten came within 20km of an East Anglia area of interest and seven of those entered an area of interest. Of 77 grey seals fitted with trackers in the Netherlands, six came within 20km of an East Anglia area of interest and four of those entered an area of interest. Of the seals that entered an East Anglia area of interest, all but one probably spent >2% of their time-at-sea within that area. The exception was a harbour seal tracked from the Dutch Delta region (Zeeland) in 2007, which spent at least 2% and up to 17% of its time-at-sea within an area of interest.


Abstract

Optimised methods, developed in this novel study, were utilised throughout the research. In environmental studies of Newfoundland and Ireland, interspecies and spatial variations in the total protein content and polyphenol levels of seaweeds were demonstrated. A positive correlation between total protein and temperature was
established. A downstream increase in polyphenol levels of seaweeds was observed and correlated with a downstream increase in seawater salinity. P. lanosa contained the
highest levels of all metals. Levels of Pb2+, Cr3+ and Cu2+ in seaweed were highest for sites in Waterford City. The highest proportions of Pb2+, As3+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Ni2+ and Al3+
were intracellular.

Baseline levels of total protein, extracted protein and polyphenols of four different seaweed species varied significantly. P. lanosa contained the highest total protein. F. vesiculosus and A. nodosum yielded the highest levels of polyphenols. Significant interspecies variations in total and intracellular metals were observed. Zn2+, As3+ and Mn2+ were dominant for all species. P. lanosa demonstrated the best overall metal bioaccumulation potential. Regression analysis demonstrated correlations between total protein and Pb2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+.

Seasonal variations in levels of Cd2+, total protein, extracted protein and polyphenols of P. lanosa were observed. The highest levels of total protein were yielded in May. February demonstrated the highest extracted protein and November the lowest polyphenols. Increases in protein concentration following Cd2+ exposure were observed
for P. lanosa sampled in February. Increases in polyphenol levels following Cd2+ exposure were observed in the November samples. Potentiometric titrations and FTIR
analysis demonstrated seasonal variations in the binding potential of P. lanosa. Gel filtration chromatography, HPLC analysis and SDS PAGE demonstrated changes to the molecular weights of protein derived from P. lanosa following heavy metal exposure.


The effects of extrinsic environmental factors that shape ecological systems are not only seen at the macroscopic level, but additionally
 influence and govern the host-associated microbial communities of their mammalian hosts. These microbial communities are susceptible to the
 fluctuation of abiotic and biotic factors which affect their host organisms. The surge in the research of microbiota–communities of archaea,
 bacteria, fungi, and viruses residing in various environmental systems–has shown that these communities can profoundly influence animal health.
 As such, monitoring microbiota has allowed for a new approach to study animal health and physiology. This is of particular benefit in the
 conservation of wildlife who face foraging restrictions, climate fluctuations, infectious disease, and habitat disturbances such as deforestation,
 pollution, and urbanization. Because gut microbes are influenced by external stressors and can predict internal physiological condition of the
 host, they may serve as biomarkers for both animal health and severity of environmental threats on species survival by mitigating their effects on the animal.
 One naturally occurring 'chess match' in wildlife systems involves mammalian herbivores and their plant food sources. Plants have developed a
 suite of secondary metabolites that are potentially toxic to herbivores when ingested. Herbivores must therefore make dietary choices that
 minimize the potentially harmful effects of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) but also maximize the uptake of available nutrients. To do
 this, herbivores have developed physiologic mechanisms to tolerate PSM ingestion (Kohl et al., 2014). Beyond their own mechanisms, Kohl et al.
 demonstrated that gut microbes are also crucial in allowing herbivores to consume toxic plants. While previous studies have highlighted the
 role of gut microbiota in plant digestion and toxin tolerance for the herbivore host, these studies have been limited to controlled, captive
 systems. Therefore, we used the large, wild vertebrate herbivore, moose (Alces alces) on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan as a case study
 to investigate if host-associated microbiota can vary by regional and temporal habitat differences and if diet variation can shift microbial
 communities in this large, free-range mammalian herbivore. This research contributes to the understanding of the impacts of spatial and temporal
 environmental variation on host-associated microbiota and the role of diet in shaping microbial communities as an initial step in unraveling
 identity relationships between host condition and external environmental variables.
 As the complexities of wildlife conservation change and evolve, so do the methods of management. Multifaceted approaches are required to
 monitor populations and increasing evidence suggests that metagenomic analysis offers valuable insight into the health and nutrition of wildlife.
 It is, therefore, beneficial for the next generation of biological researchers to be taught bioinformatics and particularly metagenomic analysis,
 as skills gained in this field can be of value for those in the business of wildlife conservation. Specifically, the use of metrics of individual
 and community bacterial diversity can allow the gut microbiome to serve as a biomarker for animal health status which is of particular value for
 monitoring difficult-to-manage wildlife species who face foraging restrictions, climate fluctuations, infectious disease, and habitat disturbances.


We propose to recover 3D shape structures from single RGB images, where structure refers to shape parts represented by cuboids and part relations encompassing connectivity and symmetry. Given a single 2D image with an object depicted, our goal is automatically recover a cuboid structure of the object parts as well as their mutual relations. We develop a convolutional-recursive auto-encoder comprised of structure parsing of a 2D image followed by structure recovering of a cuboid hierarchy. The encoder is achieved by a multi-scale convolutional network trained with the task of shape contour estimation, thereby learning to discern object structures in various forms and scales. The decoder fuses the features of the structure parsing network and the original image, and recursively decodes a hierarchy of cuboids. Since the decoder network is learned to recover part relations including connectivity and symmetry explicitly, the plausibility and generality of part structure recovery can be ensured. The two networks are jointly trained using the training data of contour-mask and cuboid-structure pairs. Such pairs are generated by rendering stock 3D CAD models coming with part segmentation. Our method achieves unprecedentedly faithful and detailed recovery of diverse 3D part structures from single-view 2D images. We demonstrate two applications of our method including structure-guided completion of 3D volumes reconstructed from single-view images and structure-aware interactive editing of 2D images.


In 2019 there will be a series of workshops to explore potential post-WTO scenarios. The workshops series is entitled "Paradise Lost or Found? The Post-WTO International "Legal" Order (Utopian and Dystopian Possibilities)". The workshops will be held at the University of Tokyo (9 – 10 Jan. 2019), The Fletcher School, Tufts University (26-27 July 2019) and at Kings College London (18-19 October 2019).

The workshops will employ the at-present fictional assumptions that the WTO either stagnates into the foreseeable future or falls apart completely. While neither is desirable, it must also be conceded that neither is inconceivable. There is, however, great value in IEL academics engaging in the thought exercises associated with these assumptions. Accordingly, more than sixty leading IEL academics from around the world that will be involved in this project exploring the many different possibilities – utopian and dystopian.

This concept paper will present some of the issues and approaches that could be considered by those and other scholars when imagining utopian and dystopian WTO successor regimes. Methodological, theoretical and structural approaches will be explored and presented as guidance for those scholars. After the workshops this concept paper will be further developed to reflect the methodological, theoretical and other approaches presented and explored at the three workshops.


Designing future capacity mixes with adequate flexibility requires capturing operating constraints through an embedded unit commitment approximation. Despite significant recent improvements, such simulations still require significant computation times. Here we propose a method, based on clustering units, for approximate unit commitment with dramatic improvements in solution time. This method speeds computation by aggregating similar but non-identical units. This replaces large numbers of binary commitment variables with fewer integers while still capturing individual unit decisions and constraints. We demonstrate the trade-off between accuracy and run-time for different levels of aggregation. A numeric example using an ERCOT-based 205-unit system illustrates that careful aggregation introduces errors of 0.05%-0.9% across several metrics while providing several orders of magnitude faster solution times (400 ×) compared to traditional binary formulations. Further aggregation increases errors slightly ( ~ 2×) with further speedup (2000 ×). We also compare other simplifications that can provide an additional order of magnitude speed-up for some problems.


Dear Sir: —Catheterization of the Eustachian tube, which occupies so prominent a place in diagnosis and treatment of the diseases of the ear, when attempted in the ordinary way, is not always as satisfactory as the simplicity of the maneuver would indicate. Recently, in the case of an adult who sought relief for distressing tinnitus with deafness, the deflection of the septum was such that the route by the floor of the nostril proved quite painful, and finally unsuccessful, from the fact that she felt the column of air arrested before it reached the middle ear. The use of the Politzer bag not furnishing better results, it occurred to me that with the aid of the rhiniscopic mirror and giving the catheter a sufficient curve, I could succeed by the direction of the fauces. The method proved satisfactory and is not painful. I found it also available on account


The Voltage-Power (V-P) relationship at the Point of Common Connection (PCC) of Distributed Generators (DG) identifies the overvoltage condition due to DG connections. However, overvoltages are not the only consideration. In the connection of DG in distribution and subtransmission feeders voltage fluctuation and instability are also important issues. This paper provides a systematic analysis of the voltage regulation issue, presents a practical and conservative approach to maximize the DG capacity of a Transformer Station (TS) and to minimize voltage fluctuation while keeping the feeder voltage within an acceptable range, with minimum modification to existing voltage regulating facilities. The approach not only takes into account voltage performance at the PCCs, but also at the TS bus, therefore the entire TS.


Abstract This article unravels how people construct belonging to places through languagecultural practices (Cornips et al. 2012). The tactics of intersubjectivity (Bucholtz and Hall 2004) serve as analytical tools to explain how people justify their belonging through languagecultural ideologies while challenging other people's belonging. Furthermore, the article scrutinises how nativeness and new speakerness (O'Rourke and Pujolar 2013) manifest themselves within daily practices. Rather than focusing on "old" and "new" speakers, this article perceives nativeness and new speakerness as constructs that can be given meaning by anyone. In this article, I analyse an interaction in a small supermarket that is illustrative of the construction of belonging to places and which in turn exemplifies the dynamicity of new speakerness.


This research was developed to evaluate the quality of particleboards manufactured from sawmill waste of nine tropical wood species of Amazonia. The following species were studied: Scleronema micranthum Ducke (Cardeiro), Ecclinusa guianensis Eyma (Caucho), Scleronema sp. (Castanha-de-paca), Copaifera multijuga Hayne (Copaiba), Ocotea sp. (Louro), Ocotea guianensis Aubl (Louro-espinho), Caryocar villosum Pers. (Piquiarana), Couratari oblongifolia (Tauari) e Virola surinamensis Rol. Warb (Virola). The experimental boards were manufactured with the nominal density of 0.75 g.cm-3, using the urea-formaldehyde resin in the proportion of 8% of solid content based on oven dried wood particles. The boards were pressed at the specific pressure of 40 kgf/cm², temperature of 160 oC and press time of eight minutes. The evaluations of test results obtained in this study indicate the potential use of the nine species from Amazon rainforest in the production of particleboard, highlighting Ecclinusa guianensis (Caucho) that, in general, showed better results of physical and mechanical properties.


This paper argues, posfeminist claims in post-1990 about the absence of oppression of women by patriarchal structures is not entirely true. They are still there. One indication is the emergence of a topless movement called Femen. in Ukraine. They protest against three things: dictatorship, religious institutions and the sex industry. The emergence of the Ukrainian Femen at least supported by two things, domestic and int ernational. Domestic factors consist of democratization and Barbie lifestyle emerging in Ukraine and international factors that include the globalization of information and the ratification of the International Convention CEDAW. These factors support the assumption about the emergence of Femen as postmodern, in a quadrant of the second wave of feminism. This movement has been falsely interpreted as the existence of oppression of female identity in the midst of patriarchal structure.


A field experiment was conducted on 'effect of INM practices on nutrient uptake and seed yield in safflower" to study the effect of organic manures in combination with inorganic nitrogen fertilizer on uptake of major nutrients (N, P, K) and seed yield on safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) during rabi season 2009-10 at Students' farm of College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad. The treatments consisted of 25 % and 50 % recommended dose of nitrogen fertilizer substituted by each of farm yard manure, poultry manure and vermicompost in combination with 50 % and 75 % N through inorganic fertilizer along with control (no N) and 100 N (100 per cent N through inorganic fertilizer). In total, there were eight treatments which were laid out in a randomized block design and replicated thrice. Safflower variety NARI-6 was used for the study. Among the different combinations, application of 50 % N through inorganic fertilizer + 50 % N through vermicompost (T7) resulted in higher uptakes of N, P and K by safflower at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest and seed yield (1239 kg ha-1) were observed


A comprehensive electrical study of low‐dose (1012−1013 cm−2) Si implants in both liquid‐encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) grown undoped and horizontal Bridgman grown Cr‐doped semi‐insulating GaAs has been made using Hall measurements. The optimum annealing temperature is 850 °C, and an apparent electrical activation efficiency of 90% has been achieved with room‐temperature implantation for both substrates. The carrier depth profiles are much broader and the peak concentrations are much lower than those expected according to the Lindhard–Scharff–Schiott (LSS) theory. Although the carrier profiles for both substrates agree with each other relatively well, the mobilities for the undoped substrates are significantly higher than those for the Cr‐doped substrates at all low doses.


A controller design is proposed for manipulators modeled with joint and link compliances. First, nonlinear feedforward and PID state feedback components are used in the controller, and manipulator dynamics are converted into error-driven system dynamic equations. Then, the error-driven dynamic equations are stabilized using the second method of Lyapunov. The special structure of the Lyapunov matrix equation is exploited, and an explicit solution to this equation is presented. The analysis shows that controller performance can be enhanced through the modulation of this solution. The controller was numerically implemented on the model of a six-degree-of-freedom Cincinnati Milacron T3-776: industrial manipulator that is modeled with three joint and four link flexibilities. The simulations show satisfactory path tracking and oscillation rejection properties.<<ETX>>


Kenya, once the glory and the hope of post-colonial Africa, is a country in sad decline. It is fractured and uneasy, ruled by a corrupt government and an intolerant president, and has only a divided and mealy-mouthed opposition as an alternative. In the darkness, there was one faint glimmer on the political horizon as Kenyans went to vote yesterday. That is Charity Ngilu, the first prominent woman, untainted by old-style politics, to emerge on the Kenyan scene. . . . Daniel arap Moi, now 74, and his KANU party have led Kenya on a 20 year downhill run from a civilized and prosperous British Colony to yet another African basket case of corruption, decay and poverty. (O'Dwyer 6, my emphasis)


Today's healthcare real estate strategies involve: assessing and prioritizing capital availability for building projects, carefully planning and implementing the process for the project Making beneficial decisions regarding facility management and maintenance.


Activity of the 20S proteasome, which performs much of the cytosolic and nuclear proteolysis in eukaryotic cells, is controlled by regulatory complexes that bind to one or both ends of the cylindrical proteasome. One of these complexes, the 11S regulator (REG), is a complex of 28 kDa subunits that is thought to activate proteasomes toward the production of antigenic peptides. REG, purified from red blood cells, is a complex of REG alpha and REG beta subunits. We have crystallized recombinant REG alpha (rREG alpha) and collected diffraction data to 3.0 A resolution. The self-rotation function indicates that rREG alpha forms a heptameric ring in the crystal. Equilibrium sedimentation demonstrates that rREG alpha is a heptamer in solution also.


At next-to-leading order, quantum chromodynamics predicts a tt̄ pair production asymmetry. The top quark is predicted to be emitted preferentially in the direction of the incoming quark, while the top antiquark in the direction of the incoming antiquark. The magnitude of the asymmetry has been computed to be around 9% for proton-antiproton collisions at Tevatron within the SM [1] including electroweak corrections. In 2011 results from CDF and D0 [2, 3] have driven a lot of attention because some of the measured asymmetries were significantly higher than the predictions based on the SM. In this note, we report a new measurement [4] accepted by PRD of the tt̄ asymmetry based on leptons produced in tt̄ events in the dilepton channel with the full dataset collected by the D0 Collaboration in Run II of the Tevatron corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.7 fb−1, and we compare our results with the most recent predictions based on the standard model [1]. We use the two observables q×η and ∆η, where q and η are the charge and pseudorapidity of the lepton, and ∆η = η`+ − η`− is the difference in lepton pseudorapidities. The pseudorapidity η is defined as a function of the polar angle θ with respect to the proton beam as η = − ln(tan θ2 ). Positive (negative) η corresponds to a particle produced in the direction of the incoming proton (antiproton). The single-lepton asymmetry AFB and dilepton asymmetry A `` are defined as AFB = N(q × η > 0)−N(q × η < 0) N(q × η > 0) +N(q × η < 0) , A `` = N(∆η > 0)−N(∆η < 0) N(∆η > 0) +N(∆η < 0) (1)


Deborah A. Dower A Study to Deternine the Effects of NILD Educational Therapy on Standardized Test Results and Classroom Performance 1997 Dr. S. Jay Kuder Master of Arts Degree The purpose of this study is to determine if the gains evidenced on standardized tests as a result of intensive intervention using the NILD educational therapy model are reflected in functional classroom performance. Twenty-two students who had been diagnosed as learning disabled and enrolled in the NILD educational therapy program participated in this study. Proand post-test measures on standardized tests were compared to determine progress of the students in the NILD program. Report cards were analyzed to determine progress in grade point averages in language and mathematics. In addition, information was gathered through initial test reports and anecdotal records in order to evaluate students' work habits prior to and during NILD educational therapy. Results of the study showed that, although students made improvements on standardized tests, grade point averages did not reflect this improvement. The students' work habits as measured by performance in the classroom: (i.e. consistency on homework and classwork, and ability to complete assignments) varied between subjects and from one marking period to another. Improvement was noted, however, in the students who needed modifications in their instructional programs prior to NILD educational therapy, By lhe completion of the NILD program, none of the students were relying on program modifications.


The main objective of this paper was to assess the suitability of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a rapid and simple screening method for the detection of neonicotinoid insecticide dinotefuran residues in various vegetable samples including carrot, cabbage, green pepper, leek, Japanese mustard spinach (komatsuna), and spinach. Simple dilution of crude sample extracts was effective to circumvent or reduce matrix interference derived from samples. Consequently, ELISA was useful to determine dinotefuran accurately and directly, only requiring methanol extraction and dilution with water. The theoretically estimated limit of detection of dinotefuran for tested samples ranged from 0.06 to 0.12 mg kg−1. The ELISA gave recovery values close to 100% for all samples except komatsuna, which contained lower concentration levels, and the results of the ELISA agreed well with those obtained with conventional HPLC (r > 0.99). Results show that the ELISA evaluated in this study is suitable for the rapid and simple screening method of dinotefuran residue in agricultural samples even without sample pre-treatment.


Parasite Niche Modeler (PaNic) is a free online software tool that suggests potential hosts for fish parasites. For a particular parasite species from the major helminth groups (Acanthocephala, Cestoda, Monogenea, Nematoda, Trematoda), PaNic takes data from known hosts (maximum body length, growth rate, life span, age at first maturity, trophic level, phylogeny, and biogeography) and hypothesizes similar fish species that might serve as hosts to that parasite. Users can give varying weights to host attributes and create custom models. In addition to suggesting plausible hosts (with varying degrees of confidence), the models indicate known host species that appear to be outliers in comparison to other known hosts. These unique features make PaNic an innovative tool for addressing both theoretical and applied questions in fish parasitology. PaNic can be accessed at http://purl.oclc.org/fishpest.


Prototype PALplus TV sets used programmable signal processing devices to demonstrate the decoder functions. In preparation for larger-scale production of PALplus sets, a co-desigddevelopment activity has been initiated between Philips Semiconductors and Philips Sound and Vision to implement the decoder function in two application specific submicron CMOS ICs,). The specification of these ICs satisfies the requirements of the PALplus system specification InterJacing to the existing architecture of a digital feature environment is provided. The chipset has a digital 110 allowing optimal picture quality for 100 Hz PALpIus TV sets (Fig. I). Samples are expected in mid 1995 to meet the target for the introduction of PALplus TV sets using the dedicated chipset during the 1995 Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA).


Mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) films can be applied in solid state electrochemical devices such as oxygen separation membranes for producing pure oxygen, gas sensors or as cathode in solid oxide fuel cells. The current interest in layered perovskite‐related phases, like Sr4Fe6O13 (SFO), arises from their significant oxygen permeability as predicted from theoretical studies. Nevertheless, before any practical application further fundamental study on this fairly unknown oxide is required mainly to assess the mechanisms affecting the transport properties. Epitaxial Sr4Fe6O12+δ (SFO) films of b‐axis orientation with different thicknesses have been prepared by the pulsed laser deposition technique onto different perovskite substrates: SrTiO3, NdGaO3 and LaAlO3. The strain accommodation has been found to vary as a function of film thickness as well as the substrate material causing different type of defects in the film microstructure, as well as variations in the oxygen anion content and ordering. Correspondingly, the total electrical conductivity of the films has been also found to vary significantly as a function of thickness and substrate type showing an unexpected enhancement for strained thin films. The variations in the transport properties are discussed in terms of the different strain accommodation mechanisms and the variation of the modulated structure observed for this compound.


Molybdenum carbide has been proposed as a possible alternative to platinum for catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Previous studies were limited to only one phase, β-Mo2C with an Fe2N structure. Here, four phases of Mo-C were synthesized and investigated for their electrocatalytic activity and stability for HER in acidic solution. All four phases were synthesized from a unique amine-metal oxide composite material including γ-MoC with a WC type structure which was stabilized for the first time as a phase pure nanomaterial. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and valence band studies were also used for the first time on γ-MoC. γ-MoC exhibits the second highest HER activity among all four phases of molybdenum carbide, and is exceedingly stable in acidic solution.


The use of assay methods with different test conditions for determination of anthracene derivatives in herbal substances and herbal medicinal products requires adjustment of the established limits for total anthracene derivatives content based on the test method used.The aimof the study was to compare different pharmacopoeial methods of quantitative determination of anthracene derivatives, and established limits for the active substance content, and to analyse the possibility of adjusting the limits based on the test method used.Materials and methods: the total content of anthracene derivatives was measured in the samples of frangula bark (fragmented bark and powder) and senna leaves (fragmented leaves and powder) using the test methods described in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation (XI and XIII editions), and the European Pharmacopoeia.Results:the analysis of Russian and foreign pharmacopoeial requirements for determination of anthracene derivatives in laxative herbal medicinal products demonstrated differences in extraction solvents, extraction conditions, and calculation methods used. The experiments showed that the optimal extraction solvent was 70 % alcohol solutions, and that an indirect cobaltic chloride reference standard should be replaced by specific absorbance of glucofrangulin A and sennoside B. It was shown that the limits for total anthracene derivatives content should be chosen based on the extraction conditions used.Conclusions:comparative theoretical research and experimental studies helped to determine optimal assay conditions and respective limits for total anthracene derivatives content to be used in quality control of herbal substances and herbal medicinal products.


Terahertz (THz), as an advanced spectral technology, has unique absorption characteristics for most biological macromolecules. In this work, the theoretical fundamentals for the application of THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) to molecular characterization and fingerprint peak detection of three plant growth regulators (PGRs), including 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), forchlorfenuron (CPPU) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were researched. Meanwhile, the effects of eight types of window functions on THz spectra were studied when converting time-domain spectra into frequency-domain spectra by Fourier transform. Based on the optimal window function, the THz absorption coefficient and refractive index of PGRs in frequencies of 0.2–3 THz were extracted. The molecule structure and vibration mode of three PGR samples were simulated by using density functional theory (DFT). The results showed that the three PGRs had different fingerprint peaks. Characteristic absorption and anomalous dispersion of 2,4-D were found at 1.35, 1.57 and 2.67 THz, those of CPPU were found at 1.77 and 2.44 THz, and the absorption peak of IAA was located at 2.5 THz. The absorption peaks obtained from THz spectra were identified according to the theoretical calculation results of DFT. These fingerprint peaks in THz spectra were generated by the interior stretching vibration and external deformation vibration of molecular groups. The experimental results revealed the feasibility of identifying PGRs species and detecting residues using THz-TDS.


Although latest trends indicate increasing demand for aesthetic improvement of buttocks, there is currently no alternative to injectable or surgical buttock augmentation. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of the High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic field (HIFEM) therapy for buttock shaping. 21 women received 4 HIFEM sessions (lasting 30 minutes) focused on gluteal muscles. Subjects were evaluated at baseline, after the last treatment, and at 1- month/3-month follow-ups. The evaluation comprised weight measurement, level of treatment comfort and satisfaction (Visual Analogue Scale, 0-10 range) questionnaire. Visual improvement in digital photographs was assessed by three independent evaluators using the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS). The average satisfaction score after the last treatment was 7.2 ± 1.84 and increased at 1-month (7.4 ± 1.79) and 3-month (7.8 ± 1.95) follow-ups. The comfort level after the last treatment was 8.3±1.9. Weight change was insignificant. None of the subjects reported discomfort. GAIS score for the after photos was 1.56 ± 0.68 and was maintained at 1-month (1.51 ± 0.65) and 3-month (1.53 ± 0.66) follow-up. Digital photographs showed aesthetic improvement in most patients through improved shape and volume of the treated area, overall buttock lifting and reduction in muscle laxity. We suggest the device is suitable for non-invasive buttock augmentation as an alternative to surgical procedures.


When DNA interacts with a protein, its structure often undergoes significant conformational adaptation. Perhaps the most common is the transition from canonical B-DNA towards the A-DNA form, which is not a two-state, but rather a continuous transition. The A- and B-forms differ mainly in sugar pucker P (north/south) and glycosidic torsion χ (high-anti/anti). The combination of A-like P and B-like χ (and vice versa) represents the nature of the intermediate states lying between the pure A- and B- forms. In this work, we study how the A/B equilibrium and in particular the A/B intermediate states, which are known to be over-represented at protein-DNA interfaces, are modeled by current AMBER force fields. Eight protein-DNA complexes and their naked (unbound) DNAs were simulated with OL15 and bsc1 force fields as well as an experimental combination OL15χOL3. We found that while the geometries of the A-like intermediate states in the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations agree well with the native X-ray geometries found in the protein-DNA complexes, their populations (stabilities) are significantly underestimated. Different force fields predict different propensities for A-like states growing in the order OL15 < bsc1 < OL15χOL3, but the overall populations of the A-like form are too low in all of them. Interestingly, the force fields seem to predict the correct sequence-dependent A-form propensity, as they predict larger populations of the A-like form in naked (unbound) DNA in those steps that acquire A-like conformations in protein-DNA complexes. The instability of A-like geometries in current force fields may significantly alter the geometry of the simulated protein-DNA complex, destabilize the binding motif, and reduce the binding energy, suggesting that refinement is needed to improve description of protein-DNA interactions in AMBER force fields.


The shortage of water resources is a key factor limiting the sustainable development of the economy and society in Beijing. This study analysed the spatiotemporal patterns of Beijing's water conservation services (WCS) based on the water balance equation at multiple scales, including city, main functional areas and key districts and counties, determined the differences in the water conservation amount among different land cover types and investigated the reasons for the spatiotemporal differences in the water conservation amount. The results indicated that: (1) compared to 2005, water conservation amount increased substantially in 2010. However, the overall water conservation capacity was low. (2) Among the various land cover types in Beijing, the average water conservation capacity decreased in the following order: wetland, forest, grassland, cropland, bare land and artificial surface. (3) The average water conservation amount in the main functional areas of Beijing varied substantially and was positive only in the ecological conservation area (ECA). (4) The water conservation capacity of each district and county varied substantially within ECA, among which the contribution of the forest in Miyun District, Huairou District and Pinggu District was the highest. The changes in the spatiotemporal patterns of Beijing's WCS were the synthetic effects of changes in the land covers and meteorological conditions. This study is helpful in achieving the sustainable utilization of water resources in Beijing.


The family of G‐protein‐coupled receptors can be defined by their similar structural and functional characteristics. Although their primary sequences are quite diverse, these proteins share several common structural features that reflect their common mechanism of action. Mutagenesis and biophysical analysis of several of these receptors indicate that small molecule agonists and antagonists bind to a hydrophobic pocket buried in the transmembrane core of the receptor. In contrast, peptide ligands bind to both the extracellular and transmembrane domains. The mechanisms by which these peptide and small molecule agonists cause receptor activation are being explored by various approaches, but are not yet well defined. A deeper understanding of structural basis for the functional activity of this large family of receptors will have important implications for drug design in a variety of therapeutic areas.—Strader, C. D., Fong, T. M., Graziano, M. P., Tota, M. R. The family of G‐protein‐coupled receptors. FASEB J. 9, 745‐754 (1995)


The paper discusses the development of the intracavity infrared-microwave (or radio-frequency) double-resonance method in which a microwave resonance of low-pressure gas placed inside a laser cavity is detected as a variation of laser power. Emphasis is laid on the very high sensitivity of this method and on the three phenomena observed by this method, i.e. (1) the transfer of saturation holes and spikes to other levels that are not directly pumped by the laser through weak intermolecular interactions without a change in velocity, (2) velocity-tuned multiphoton processes, which complicate the structure of saturation holes, and (3) the off-resonant 'double' resonance in which microwave pumping is detected through the dispersive response of the laser rather than absorption.


Due to its abilities to compensate disturbances and uncertainties, disturbance observer based control (DOBC) is regarded as one of the most promising approaches for disturbance-attenuation. One of the first books on DOBC, Disturbance Observer Based Control: Methods and Applications presents novel theory results as well as best practices for applications in motion and process control that have already benefited numerous organizations.Supplying authoritative guidance in the areas of disturbance estimation and compensation for practical engineering systems, the book includes coverage of theoretic methods and practical applications of disturbance estimation and compensation for control systems through a DOBC approach. It considers applications in flight control systems, motion control systems, and process control systems. Supplies an authoritative overview of disturbance observer based control approaches Reports on recent developments in disturbance estimation techniques Considers matched and mismatched disturbance/uncertainty attenuation for DOBC Illustrates applications of the methods covered with detailed engineering case studies Filled with valuable insights gathered over decades of research by the authors, this book provides time- and stress-saving guidance for anyone interested in the theory and method research of DOBC. Using typical engineering examples, the text provides readers with an understanding of recent developments in DOBC as well as the tools required to make the most of this promising approach to disturbance-attenuation.


Empirical research aimed at understanding how individuals interact and share their knowledge in a distributed software development environment has traditionally been very difficult because the source of knowledge, the code, has been a guarded secret and software developers and users were seldom in contact, thus making it difficult to study, in situ, all the individuals involved in the software development process. Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) projects presents renewed opportunities, as well as challenges, in understanding collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst software developers and users in distributed software development environments. In this paper, we discuss how developers and users share their knowledge and collaborate in the software development process. Knowledge sharing metrics, software repositories, and suitable methodologies for studying knowledge sharing are presented. The paper aims to stimulate discussion, present our current understanding, and empirical research opportunities and challenges in knowledge sharing in distributed collective practices  F/OSS projects.


The properties of DNA for 9B, 123, 788/8 phages lysing phytopathogenic Pseudomonas syringae bacteria have been analysed with results presented. It was ascertained that their genomes consist of GC-type two-chain DNA molecules having molecular weight 14-15 mDa. It was shown that sedimentation coefficient for all three phage DNA is identical and equals 26S. GC-base percentage was calculated for the phage genomes. Its value, according to results of sedimentation analysis and melting temperature, was the same for 9B (51%, 57%) and 123 (51%, 57%) and differed for 788/8 (53%, 60%). The molecular weight of DNA phages calculated from the sum of fragments, obtained after genome splitting with restriction endonucleases is in agreement with the data of sedimentation analysis. The distribution of phage DNA fragments if electrophoregrams suggests the presence of numerous common restriction sites in the phages' genomes.


Nano-sized ZnO powder was prepared by "solution-combustion method (SCM)." The ZnO powder using Zn(OH)2 and glycine as an oxidant and a fuel (F/O = 0.8), showed good powder characteristics, such as average grain size of 30 nm and the specific surface area of 120 m2/g. and it was used as a semiconductor photocatalyst to remove Cu ions from aqueous Cu-EDTA solution. The result was then compared with other semiconductor photocatalyst powders such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder (P25, Degussa) and TiO2 powder prepared by homogeneous precipitation process at low temperature (HPPLT). The SCM ZnO nanopowder showed excellent photocatalytic properties. The Cu++ ions were completely removed from the solution within 90 min. However, for the other two powders, no complete removal of the ions was observed within the reaction time of 180 min. The ZnO powder synthesized at the fuel/oxidant ratio of 0.8, showed higher PL intensity at UV region than the other photocatalytic powders. The superior photoreduction ability of SCM ZnO nanopowder might be due to its excellent UV absorption capacity.


This study is intended to trace the Romantic configuration of slavery, for understanding Romantic texts under the colonial processes contemporaneous with their imagined literary experience of colonized people. However, this study takes its bearings within the texts of Wordsworth and Blake. As the Romantic texts show the diverse concepts on slavery, more attention should be put on the comparison between the texts. For this purpose, this study is based on the assumption that Wordsworth's The Mad Mother and The Thorn, and Blake's The Little Black Boy are influenced by a fable, Inkle and Yarico, which was a well-known tale and became a touchstone for the literary works on slavery. In The Mad Mother and The Thorn, Wordsworth overlooks the tragic condition of slavery, turning dilemmas of slavery into stories of domestic affairs. His texts reveal the Romantics' material interests, ideological limitations and blind spots. As opposed and contrasted to Wordsworth, Blake hints us a possibility to overcome those problems, suggesting the view point of the repressed. The comparison between Wordsworth and Blake thus reaches the conclusion that the Romantic configuration of slavery reflects the imperial ideology and has a possibility to get over it.


A dynamic hashing scheme based on extendible hashing is proposed whose directory can grow into a multilevel directory. The scheme is compared to the extendible hashing and the extendible hashing tree schemes. The simulation results reveal that the proposed scheme is superior than the other two with respect to directory space utilization, especially for files with nonuniform record distribution. This scheme can be easily extended to multikey file systems and also has good performance. >


The localized properties of surface plasmons (SPs) and surface waves can be measured with a modified confocal microscope. An interference signal arises from a locally generated reference close to normal incidence and the beam that forms the surface wave. A spatial light modulator can impose different phase shifts on the part of the incident light to recover the properties of the SP. We report a Hilbert transform method to recover the wavenumber with a single shot. The method is faster and potentially less expensive than previous approaches. The signal-to-noise ratio is equivalent to the phase-stepping method. The signal processing necessary to condition the signal is described.


In this paper, a robust optimization method is developed to solve the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) trajectory design problem in the presence of uncertainties. Given these uncertainties in the actual SLV ascent trajectory, it is important to find an optimal trajectory that is resistant to these uncertainties, as it results in increased flight performance, reduced steering-control system workload and increased SLV reliability. For this purpose, the optimization problem is first considered by applying to maximize the payload mass criterion as an objective function and three-dimensional equations of motions as the governing constraints. Then by adding mean and standard deviation parameters of uncertainties, the robust optimizer model is developed and the genetic algorithm is used to execute the model. Monte Carlo simulation is also used to analyze the results of uncertainties and their continuous feedback to the optimizer model. Finally, an optimal trajectory is obtained that is robust to the uncertainties effects such as aerodynamic coefficients, dry mass, and thrust errors of the SLV. The results of the simulation show the validity of this claim.


Statistics show that young drivers have higher motor vehicle crash rates compared to other age groups. This study investigated characteristics, contributory causes, and factors which increase injury severity of young driver crashes in Kansas by comparing young drivers with more experienced drivers. Crash data were obtained from the Kansas Department of Transportation. Young drivers were divided into two groups: 15–19 years (teen) and 20–24 years (young adult) for a detailed investigation. Using data from 2006 to 2009, frequencies, percentages, and crash rates were calculated for each characteristic and contributory cause. Contingency table analysis and odds ratios (OR) analysis were carried out to identify overly represented factors of young-driver crashes as compared to experienced drivers. Young drivers were more likely to be involved in crashes due to failure to yield right-of-way, disregarding traffic signs/signals, turning, or lane changing when compared to experienced drivers. Ordered logistic regression models were developed to identify severity-affecting factors in young driver crashes. According to model results, factors that decreased injury severity of the driver were seat belt use, driving at low speeds, driving newer vehicles, and driving with an adult passenger. The models also showed that alcohol involvement, driving on high-posted-speed-limit roadways, ejection at the time of crash, and entrapment at the time of crash can increase young drivers' injury severity. Based on identified critical factors, countermeasure ideas were suggested to improve the safety of young drivers. It is important for teen drivers and parents/guardians to gain better understanding of critical factors that are helpful in preventing crashes and minimizing driving risk. Parents/guardians should consider high-risk conditions such as driving during dark, during weekends, on rural roads, on wet road surfaces, and on roadways with high speed limits when planning teen driving. Protective devices, crash-worthy cars, and safe road infrastructures such as rumble strips and forgiving roadsides, particularly reduce young drivers' risk. Predictable traffic situations and low complexity resulting from improved road infrastructure are beneficial to young drivers. The effectiveness of Kansas Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system needs to be investigated in the future.


Permalloy clad drawn wire, a new memory element for large-scale semipermanent memory, has been fabricated, and its pulse response measured. This wire is fabricated by a process in which a silver-copper alloy rod is put in a Permalloy tube, which is then drawn through dies. The Permalloy clad drawn wire described in this paper has a diameter of 0.1 mm and a Permalloy outer layer 3.5 microns thick. In the final annealing, which is the last step in fabrication of the wire, magnetic anisotropy caused by drawing in the longitudinal direction of the wire is erased. At the same time, a new anisotropy having its easy axis circumferential to the wire appears, if the Permalloy composition is chosen so that its magnetostriction is slightly negative. Permalloy clad drawn wire can be used in almost the same way as the magnet card twistor memory, except that the wire requires a small bias current. This bias current determines the direction of magnetization when the drive pulse is removed. For the wire described, a bias current of less than 30 mA is sufficient.


Object Naming Service (ONS) provides a connection between the middleware of Electronic Product Code (EPC) and EPC Information Services (EPCIS). The communication security of EPC network mainly depends on the queries of ONS. In the process of an ONS query, the local server sends DNS query messages in plaintext, which may result in the leakage of EPC information. In this paper, we propose a security query protocol for ONS which includes an extension protocol of DNS and a second generation onion routing protocol based on the certificateless public key cryptography (CL-PKC). In this protocol, multi-KGC center generates the part of private key for each user, users control the lengths of anonymous routing paths, and cross-domain users negotiate session keys. These features can not only meet the security needs of the ONS query process, but also improves system fault tolerance ability and anonymity. Moreover, the application of CL-PKC avoids the traditional complicated management of certificates, and then improves the efficiency of system.


NeurIPS 2020 requested that research paper submissions include impact statements on "potential nefarious uses and the consequences of failure." However, as researchers, practitioners and system designers, a key challenge to anticipating risks is overcoming what Clarke (1962) called 'failures of imagination.' The growing research on bias, fairness, and transparency in computational systems aims to illuminate and mitigate harms, and could thus help inform reflections on possible negative impacts of particular pieces of technical work. The prevalent notion of computational harms -- narrowly construed as either allocational or representational harms -- does not fully capture the open, context dependent, and unobservable nature of harms across the wide range of AI infused systems.The current literature focuses on a small range of examples of harms to motivate algorithmic fixes, overlooking the wider scope of probable harms and the way these harms might affect different stakeholders. The system affordances may also exacerbate harms in unpredictable ways, as they determine stakeholders' control(including of non-users) over how they use and interact with a system output. To effectively assist in anticipating harmful uses, we argue that frameworks of harms must be context-aware and consider a wider range of potential stakeholders, system affordances, as well as viable proxies for assessing harms in the widest sense.


Aim of this research was to investigate diagnostic value of discovering of antibody on A60 antigen in patients who were tested for presents of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in there biological samples. We tested a samples of sputum, gastric juice, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and punctate from group of 353 patients who were suspected for tuberculosis. In all patients we were looking for antibodies classes A60 antigen. We used immune chromatographic "Hexagon TB" test, Germane company "Human Geselschaft fur Biochemica und Diagnostica". From 353 patients we found 58 (16.43%) patients with positive BK, 79/22,38%) patients with positive Lowenstein culture and 122 (34,55%) patients with antibody in sera on A60 antigen. Patients who were BK and Lowenstein positive, have had antibody in 94,23% cases, Patients who were BK negative and Lowenstein positive have had antibodies in 70,37% cases and patients who were BK negative and Lowenstein negative have had antibody in 19,03% cases. Patients with BK positive and Lowenstein negative results have had antibody in 50,00% cases. Difference between results is significant (p<0,01). From 122 patients with positive antibodies, 52 were BK positive and 68 have had positive Lowenstein cultures. From 231 patients with no antibody, just 6 were BK positive and 11 Lowenstein positive. In 62 patients with positive antibodies, were BK and Lowenstein negative. We confirmed that antibody on A60 antigen in microbiological positive patients are more often then in microbiological negative patients (p<0,001).


The project of Saint Paul occupies Pasolini's imagination between 1966 and 1974. It originated with and connects to Pasolini's previous Franciscan project on the subversive hagiography, Bestemmia ("Blasphemy"), another (unshot) screenplay in verse about a rascal of twelfth-century Rome, transformed into a saint after a vision of the Passion in the midst of an orgy. Pasolini worked on Blasphemy from 1962 to 1967, and still later was referring to the project of Saint Paul with the same title of Blasphemy. The continuity, as well as the difference, between the two projects is relevant. I will investigate the roots of Pasolini's Pauline turn, after his Franciscan stage, and contextualize the project of Saint Paul within Pasolini's production and within the rise of European queer cinema. I will also put it into dialogue with contemporary political theology, for instance with the Franciscan turn of Agamben, or the emergence of new, multi-stable subjectivities within the Kippbilder model proposed by Luca Di Blasi in his interpretation of Pasolini's Saint Paul.


The 12 month period from May 1988 to July 1989 represents the first full year of our 18 month pilot program in nuclear structure research. In this period, research was initiated to develop a capability for radioactive secondary beams at Argonne National Laboratory using the Atlas and the new Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA), which is currently under construction. Two major new detector facilities are currently in the final stages of design and testing. The Large-Area, Scintillator Telescope (LAST) detector is fully operational and will be shipped to Argonne National Laboratory in August for fit-tests and in-beam calibrations. The first segments of a new sixteen-segment neutron multiplicity detector have been built and tested. The remaining segments are currently being constructed. Research was continued in the areas of (1) Coulomb excitation studies of rare earth and actinide nuclei; (2) In-beam, gamma-ray spectroscopy of nuclei in the mass 100 region, and (3) Advanced detector design. Several journal articles and abstracts were published or submitted for publication in the reporting period, and others are currently in preparation. Three graduate students participated in the program, one from the University of Florida and two from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.


The goal of the work described here is to limit the computation needed in unit selection Viterbi search for text-to-speech synthesis. The broader goal is to improve speech quality through the practical use of significantly larger databases. We focus in this paper on trying to reduce the number of concatenation cost calculations. By making certain weak assumptions about ƒ0 distributions we estimate that only a fraction of possible concatenations are relevant. A method for selecting the relevant concatenations by imposing an ordering constraint on candidate units is proposed. The ordering is based on unit ƒ0 value(s). Strengths and weaknesses of this approach are discussed and data is presented about calculation complexity compared with naive Viterbi search. A listening test was conducted to investigate the effect on synthesis quality under various configurations of algorithm and database.


The ability to graphically depict objects in two- and three-dimensional space is fundamental to engineering design practice. Historically, engineers have used pencil, paper, and erasers to draft preliminary sketches and to transform initial drafts into precise production drawings. With the proliferation of computer- aided design (CAD) software programs, instruction in descriptive geometry, and manual drawing has largely vanished from engineering education programs. This article describes the history of instruction in descriptive geometry and manual drawing. It also presents a case study that investigates the contribution of CAD instruction with and without supplemental instruction in descriptive geometry and drawing to the development of students' spatial abilities in an engineering design graphics class.


Jericho Metropolitan Hospital (JMH) is a major Australian teaching hospital which lacked a designated palliative care service at the time this study was conducted. A questionnaire addressing palliative care service needs, and educational and support needs of staff, was sent to 267 multi-disciplinary oncology staff at JMH. A response rate of 83% was achieved. Staff identified a number of palliative care needs that were being particularly poorly addressed by existing services. These included: spiritual support, cultural needs, grief and bereavement support, pleasant surroundings, adequate privacy and facilities for families. The majority of respondents identified the following issues as critical problems in palliative care provision: lack of a designated palliative care service, lack of palliative care education of staff, unmanageable caseloads and inadequate physical facilities for the provision of care. Only 24% of respondents reported having had any palliative care education, and 92% of respondents expressed a need for further education. The majority of respondents (79%) expressed a need for improved staff support. There was a significant association between perceived need for improved support and professional discipline (2 31.33, P 0.002), with medical staff being significantly less likely than other staff groups to report a need for improved support. Overall, the health providers surveyed identified major deficiencies in the provision of palliative care to cancer patients at JMH and in the palliative care education and support for staff caring for terminally ill cancer patients. The findings support the need for a designated palliative care service at JMH to improve the standard of care of dying cancer patients, and the need for improved palliative care education and support for staff.


In different epidemiological studies, an association between sedentary life style and incidence of cardiovascular diseases has been demonstrated. This study was carried out among 50 sedentary bank employees working at different nationalized banks within Calcutta City, India and 50 individuals with non-sedentary jobs matched for age group and sex for the control group. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), plasma level of glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglycerides (Tgs) were found to be significantly higher whereas high density lipoprotein (HDL) and reduced glutathione were found to be significantly lower among the bank employees as compared with the control subjects. Further, significant alteration in the activity of different enzymes (e.g., glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase, glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) involved in glutathione-mediated antioxidant scavenging systems and increases in lipid peroxidation were also observed in the bank employees. From the study, it appears that the relative risk for cardiovascular disease is increased among bank employees due to the sedentary nature of their jobs.


Response selection plays a vital role in building retrieval-based conversation systems. Recent works on enhancing response selection mainly focus on inventing new neural architectures for better modeling the relation between dialogue context and response candidates. In almost all these previous works, binary-labeled training data are assumed: Every response candidate is either positive (relevant) or negative (irrelevant). We propose to automatically build training data with grayscale labels. To make full use of the grayscale training data, we propose a multi-level ranking strategy. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets show that our new training strategy significantly improves performance over existing state-of-the-art matching models in terms of various evaluation metrics.


The qualitative social changes experiencing in this millennium are characterized primarily by globalization and the internationalization of economic processes. These changes require creating innovation approaches to corporate management to lead to companies' better economic results and thus provide them with a competitive advantage. Today, companies must respond quickly to the needs of the external and internal environment, be in close contact with customers, and support internal business activity. The paper aims to assess and evaluate selected companies' ethical credibility in Slovakia based on the research conducted at the Technical University in Zvolen. The results of the research evaluate the risks of ethical credibility in selected companies in Slovakia. The auhtors build the desired way of behaving and acting of all stakeholders. As a bearer of ethical-moral norms and principles, corporate culture comes to the fore as an indisputable factor in the success of a company in the competition, which acquires a global platform. The currently ongoing economic transformation process creates such conditions for companies' activities, which require a significant increase in their activities' efficiency and improved customer needs satisfaction, which causes the need for radical changes. The changes concern in particular, how business entities react to their internal or external environment. Risk is a term that refers to an uncertain outcome with a possible adverse condition. Risk means a threat, a potential problem, the possibility of failure, damage, loss or destruction. Risk expresses a certain degree of uncertainty, i.e. the probability of achieving a result different from the expected result. Examples of minimizing the risks arising from the unreliability and distrust to employees could improve work efficiency, interpersonal relationships and work ethic, and the work environment.


An experiment was carried out in the experimental laboratory of Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during January-February, 2016-2017 to study the effect of pulsing solutions on post-harvest life of lily flowers. Lily stems were harvested when the first flower bud showed full color. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design with 6 treatments and 2 pulsing duration (12 h and 24 h), replicated 3 times. The pulsing treatments were P0 (distilled water), P1 (10% sucrose), P2 (100 ppm AgNO3), P3 (10% sucrose+100 ppm AgNO3), P4 (50 ppm BA) and P5 (10% sucrose+50 ppm BA). After the treatments, each stem was maintained for postharvest evaluation in an individual 300 ml conical flask with 100 ml of 2% sucrose solution. Within each treatment, the number of buds per stem was kept constant as possible for ease of data recording. Pulsing of cut stems with 10% sucrose and 50 ppm BA (P5) for 24 h was observed to be best in terms of vase life (13.00 days), quality and biochemical parameters viz., uptake of pulsing solution (6.21 ml/stem), higher rate of vase solution uptake (15.48 g/stem), fresh weight (125.30%), flower diameter (17.67 cm), total chlorophyll content (1.17 mg/g FW), and total soluble solid (4.45⁰Brix). However flower stems were pulsed with 10% sucrose and 100 ppm AgNO3 for 24 h gave the maximum bud length (8.27 cm) & highest reducing sugar (5.18%) in tepals. Thus considering the positive effects on vase life of lily cut flowers, 10% sucrose and 50 ppm BA for 24 h could be considered as the best combination for pulsing solution.


In compliance with the request of Sir R. Murchison, I have examined the fossil Fox described and figured in Dr. Mantell's appendix to the 'Memoir on the Œningen Deposits,' in which formation was discovered that interesting and remarkably perfect specimen*. The number and kind of teeth in the fossil are there shown (loc. cit. p. 291) to agree with the dental formula of the Fox and the rest of the genus Canis of Linnæus. On comparing the well-preserved specimens of the teeth in the right ramus of the lower jaw, the inner surfaces of which are exposed in the right moiety of the skeleton, with the corresponding teeth of a Common Fox (Canis Vulpes, Linn.) of equal size with the fossil, the following well-marked differences are seen. The first premolar (fig. 1. p 1) is relatively smaller, the third (p 3) and fourth (p 4) relatively larger than in the Fox, and all the premolars are placed closer together, and occupy, therefore, less space in the fossil than in the Common Fox, the Arctic Fox, or the Italian Fox (Canis melanogaster*). The fossil Canis differs also from these and from every existing species of Dog, Wolf and Jackal with which I have been able to compare it, in the greater development of the anterior and posterior tubercles at the base of the crown of the third and fourth premolårs. The singular Hyænoid subgenus of Canis, represented by the South African species (Lycaö pictus), presents the above character of the fossil,


Considered a non-academic factor that is not necessarily measured by academic indicators of college and career readiness (e.g., grade point average, college admissions exams scores), critical thinking is an important aspect of 21st century learning and thus should be embedded into secondary school instruction and assessment. In this study, secondary students with and without disabilities were assessed with a critical thinking measure and compared. Findings show significant differences between groups and the relationship to grade point average and PSAT scores. Implications are addressed for high school personnel to consider the assessment of critical thinking as part of career planning in a data-based decision-making framework to provide equal access and support to all students in terms of college and career readiness.


Marine collagen (MC) has recently attracted more attention in tissue engineering as a biomaterial substitute due to its significant role in cellular signaling mechanisms, especially in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the actual signaling mechanism of MC in MSC growth, which is highly influenced by their molecular pattern, is poorly understood. Hence, we investigated the integrin receptors (α1β1, α2β1, α10β1, and α11β1) binding mechanism and proliferation of MCs (blacktip reef shark collagen (BSC) and blue shark collagen (SC)) compared to bovine collagen (BC) on MSCs behavior through functionalized collagen molecule probing for the first time. The results showed that BSC and SC had higher proliferation rates and accelerated scratch wound healing by increasing migratory rates of MSCs. Cell adhesion and spreading results demonstrated that MC had a better capacity to anchor MSCs and maintain cell morphology than controls. Living cell observations showed that BSC was gradually assembled by cells into the ECM network within 24 h. Interestingly, qRT-PCR and ELISA revealed that the proliferative effect of MC was triggered by interacting with specific integrin receptors such as α2β1, α10β1, and α11β1 of MSCs. Accordingly, BSC accelerated MSCs' growth, adhesion, shape, and spreading by interacting with specific integrin subunits (α2 and β1) and thereby triggering further signaling cascade mechanisms.


An emergent theoretic field in current business is the strategic theory of the firm, a result of the interests in unifying modern organization economics knowledge with the competitive advantages experience from strategy. Unification efforts comprise the quest for convergence between the key concepts that support the theory, out of which attention is drawn towards the agent of strategy: the entrepreneur. This article aims at identifying the main intersection and divergence points by relating classic economists (Say, Cantillon, Knight) with the most famous author in the theme (Schumpeter) and recent advances in strategic theory of the firm (Peter Klein), contextualizing historically the evolution of the concept. In order to do so, a bibliographic research was conducted by reviewing the literature around these main authors, highly considered in this theme, other than characterizing historically and socially each of the author's environments, providing a comparison and a critical analysis of key contributions.


Abstract Background: We describe our use of cognitive interviews in developing a measure of "preventive misconception" to demonstrate the importance of this approach to researchers developing surveys in empirical bioethics. The preventive misconception involves research participants' false beliefs about a prevention trial, including beliefs that the interventions being tested will certainly be effective. Methods: We developed and refined a measure of the preventive misconception using qualitative interviews that focused on cognitive testing of proposed survey items with HIV prevention trial participants. Results: Two main problems emerged during initial interviews. First, the phrase "reduce your risk," used to elicit beliefs about risk reduction from the use of study medications, was interpreted as relating to a reduction of risky behaviors. Second, the phrase "participating in this study," intended to elicit beliefs about trial group assignment, was interpreted as relating to personal behavior changes associated with study participation. Additional interviews using a revised measure were no longer problematic in these ways, and participants felt the response options were appropriate for conveying their answers. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of cognitive testing in developing surveys for empirical bioethics.


Formation of lymphocyte rosettes around unstimulated and/or LH/hCG-treated Leydig cells in culture as well as in suspension was investigated. The ability of Leydig cells to interact with lymphocytes was positively correlated with their steroidogenic activity, as measured by means of a histochemical test for delta (5)3 beta-HSD activity and by radioimmunoassay for androgen level in culture media. In order to rule out nonspecific binding of lymphocytes, rosette specificity tests were performed. Time-dependent dynamics of cell-cell interaction was also followed. A phenomenon resembling phagocytosis of the adhered lymphocytes was observed after 4 h of co-culture. Morphology of this interaction was examined under light microscope and transmission electron microscope.


In an era of ever increasing emphasis on cost-effectiveness of health care, and with the introduction of the internal market, there is now an urgent need for information on the costs and quality of palliative care. This paper highlights the complexities involved in acquiring and measuring such information and discusses methods which were tried out in an exploratory study. The study took the form of in-depth case studies in two hospices, one in the voluntary sector and one in the NHS.


In search of strategies to improve the switching speeds and fatigue resistances of photochromic molecular switches, we have analysed the kinetic behaviour of a series of photoactive azoderivatives which combine the strong electron withdrawing character of both thiazolium and benzothiazolium salts with the ability of azophenols to establish keto–enolic equilibrium. The excitation of these molecules with a green laser at 532 nm, a wavelength that is compatible with biological applications, induces trans-to-cis photoisomerisation in less than 5 ns. The photogenerated cis isomer reverts to the thermodynamically stable trans form with lifetimes as short as 55 ns in ethanol at room temperature. Thus, a full switching cycle can be completed on a nanosecond timescale. To the best of our knowledge, these are the fastest molecular photochromic switches found heretofore. Furthermore, all of the switches reported herein are able to tolerate thousands of switching cycles with no sign of decomposition, even in the presence of molecular oxygen, which is convenient for further technological applications. In addition, these molecules can be adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose thereby exhibiting a thermal isomerisation rate as fast as that observed in alcoholic solutions. This feature affords novel solid switchable materials which operate under similar conditions with nanosecond switching speeds.


We study the ionization dynamics of a model one-dimensional molecular ion as a function of the internuclear distance R, for different values of the laser intensity. The electron–nucleus potential is assumed to be a Poschl–Teller potential, whose parameters are chosen to have only two bare bound molecular states in the range of R considered. We describe three different theoretical approaches to study the dynamics of the system: an exact numerical, a semiperturbative and a phenomenological approach. All these approaches indicate the presence of a sharp ionization peak for a critical value of the internuclear distance, for which the energy difference between the two bound levels coincides with the laser photon energy. The results obtained are explained and a new model of molecular ionization in intense laser field is presented.


This article highlights some peculiarities and actual problems of Russian Labour Law, Russian Labour Code reform and the problems of codification of Russian labour legislation. First, the author draws attention to the fact that Russian labour legislation is organized as a completely independent autonomous branch of Russian law. The second peculiarity consists in heavy legislative regulation of relations arising at the conclusion of an employment contract. The overprotection of the worker has the effect of deterioration of its position. The third peculiarity consists in ascribing labour legislation to objects of joint legislation, to objects of joint jurisdiction of the Federation and its subjects. Thereby, both the Federation and its subjects are authorized to draw up labour legislation separately and independently. Serious work has to be done regarding the problem of delimitation of objects of jurisdiction between the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and the bodies of the RF subjects.


Hyperparathyroidism, both primary and secondary in chronic renal failure, leads to pathologic changes in the bones. Newly introduced markers of bone metabolism enable to biochemically detect and evaluate these changes. The aim of our studies was to perform determinations of serum osteocalcin as a marker of bone formation, and C-terminal telopeptide of collagen I (ICTP) as a marker of bone resorption in patients with excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Our studies comprised of 15 patients with primary and 24 patients with secondary hyperparathydroidism. In all patients serum PTH, osteocalcin and ICTP were detected by radioimmunoassay; the correlations between PTH and osteocalcin as well as between PTH and ICTP were also performed. Serum PTH was elevated in both, primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. In primary hyperparathyroidism serum osteocalcin was moderately or definitely elevated, similarly serum ICTP was high. Following surgical removal of a parathyroid adenoma, concomitantly with a drop in serum PTH there was a rapid normalization of serum osteocalcin and ICTP. Secondary hyperparathyroidism in uraemia was characterised by markedly elevated serum osteocalcin and ICTP which surpassed the concentration of these markers in primary hyperparathyroidism. There was a positive correlation between serum PTH and osteocalcin levels, and a lower correlation between PTH and ICTP. From our studies it is concluded that excessive secretion of PTH in primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism stimulates bone formation and to higher degree--bone resorption.


Mechanical ventilation often results in hyperoxia, a condition characterized by excess SpO2 levels (>96%). Hyperoxia results in changes in the physiological parameters, severe cardiac remodeling, arrhythmia development, and alteration of cardiac ion channels, all of which can point toward a gradual increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study extends the analysis of our prior work in young Akita mice, which demonstrated that exposure to hyperoxia worsens cardiac outcomes in a type 1 diabetic murine model as compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Age is an independent risk factor, and when present with a major comorbidity, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), it can further exacerbate cardiac outcomes. Thus, this research subjected aged T1D Akita mice to clinical hyperoxia and analyzed the cardiac outcomes. Overall, aged Akita mice (60 to 68 weeks) had preexisting cardiac challenges compared to young Akita mice. Aged mice were overweight, had an increased cardiac cross-sectional area, and showed prolonged QTc and JT intervals, which are proposed as major risk factors for CVD like intraventricular arrhythmias. Additionally, exposure to hyperoxia resulted in severe cardiac remodeling and a decrease in Kv 4.2 and KChIP2 cardiac potassium channels in these rodents. Based on sex-specific differences, aged male Akita mice had a higher risk of poor cardiac outcomes than aged females. Aged male Akita mice had prolonged RR, QTc, and JT intervals even at baseline normoxic exposure. Moreover, they were not protected against hyperoxic stress through adaptive cardiac hypertrophy, which, at least to some extent, is due to reduced cardiac androgen receptors. This study in aged Akita mice aims to draw attention to the clinically important yet understudied subject of the effect of hyperoxia on cardiac parameters in the presence of preexisting comorbidities. The findings would help revise the provision of care for older T1D patients admitted to ICUs.


Background: Data on the efficacy of particular therapeutic protocols of interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment for chronic hepatitis C in patients on hemodialysis (HD) vary. Aim: To compare the efficacy of two different therapeutic protocols for HD patients. Patients and Methods: 15 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients on chronic HD at two dialysis centers: 8 patients treated with IFN-α 3 × 3 MU/week s.c. for 6 months (group A), and 7 patients treated with IFN-α 3 × 5 MU/week for 3 months, then 1 × 5 MU/week for another 3 months (group B). End of treatment response (ETR) and sustained virologic response (SVR) were evaluated by HCV-RNA determination. There was no statistically significant difference between the two patient groups according to age, sex, duration of HD and HCV infection. Results: ETR was 87.5% (7/8) in group A and 28.5% (2/7) in group B, being statistically significant (p < 0.05). Although better SVR [50% (4/8) vs. 28.5% (2/7)] and lower drop-out rate [0% (0/8) vs. 28.5% (2/7)] were achieved in group A compared to group B, these differences did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Therapy with IFN-α 3 × 3 MU/week s.c. for 6 months seems to be more appropriate for treatment of hepatitis C in HD patients, mostly due to better tolerability, i.e. lower drop-out rate. These differences could be attributed to different pharmacokinetic properties of the particular therapy protocol.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Disseminated herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is the most fulminant type of neonatal HSV infection and has the highest mortality. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for patient survival. We describe the clinical presentation, laboratory characteristics, and outcomes of neonates with disseminated HSV infection at our institution.

METHODS
A retrospective review of electronic medical records from 2006 to 2013 was performed. Only neonates with disseminated HSV infection, confirmed by using polymerase chain reaction or viral culture results, were included.

RESULTS
Twenty-two cases were identified; the age range was 1 to 14 days. The majority of patients did not have a maternal history of HSV or a history of maternal fever at delivery. Eleven of the patients were delivered by cesarean delivery, and 3 of these patients did not have prolonged rupture of membranes. Neonatal fever, the most common historical characteristic, was present in only one-half of the patients. Pneumonia and respiratory distress were present in one-half of the patients. Serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels were elevated in most, but not all, patients. The blood HSV polymerase chain reaction was positive in all patients tested. Of the 22 study patients, 16 survived and 6 died. The majority of the patients who died had respiratory disease and a delay in the initiation of acyclovir therapy.

CONCLUSIONS
Disseminated HSV infection in neonates can be challenging to diagnose and is associated with high mortality. Clinicians must strongly consider this diagnosis, test the blood for HSV polymerase chain reaction, and initiate early treatment in the appropriate clinical scenarios.


The human body responds to neurocognitive stress in multiple ways through its autonomic nervous system. Increases in heart rate, salivary cortisol and skin conductance level are often observed accompanying high levels of stress. Stress can also take on different forms including emotional, cognitive and motivational. While a precise definition for stress is lacking, a pertinent issue is to quantify the state of psychological stress manifested in the nervous system. State-space models have previously been applied to estimate an unobserved neural state (e.g. learning, consciousness) from physiological signal measurements and data collected during behavioral experiments. In this paper, we relate stress to the probability that a phasic driver impulse occurs in skin conductance signals. We apply state-space modeling to extracted binary measures to continuously track a stress level across episodes of cognitive and emotional stress as well as relaxation. Results demonstrate a promising approach for tracking stress through wearable devices.


A simplified thermodilution technique for cardiac output measurement is compared with the Fick method in dogs, over a wide range of cardiac output values. The reproducibility of the method is satisfactory (differences less than 10 per cent for 95 per cent of the measurements). The overall correlation factor (r = 0.97) is highly significant for cardiac outputs ranging from 750 to 7,500 ml.mn(-1). The influence of hematocrit (when lower than 30%) and of the injection site of indicator are discussed. Present experiments confirm that the use of pre-set factors allow for the thermal loss inside the catheter does not obviate the accuracy of thermodilution method for cardiac output measurements. The slope of the regression line is very close to 1. Lack of fit to linearity is tested and is found not significant throughout the explored range. This technique should therefore have extensive clinical applications.


Shilajit, exuding from the rocks of mountains has been proved to be basically derived from the latex of cactus like Euphorbia species. Therefore, in the present communication, an attempt has been made to provide similar information from the ayurvedic literatures.


The nondirectional effect of the drive theory of social facilitation (Zajonc, 1965) was investigated in an impression formation task. Participants who were either alone or in a group were exposed to a positive or a negative experimenter and then rated that experimenter on a series of bipolar adjectives. The mere presence of others intensified the experimenter ratings such that positive experimenters were rated more positively and negative experimenters were rated more negatively in the group condition. These findings support the hypothesis that the mere presence of others influences impression formation and that this effect is moderated by cues in the social context.


The purpose of this research is to improve the surface roughness of cast-iron pipe porduced by the centrifugal casting. A twin-fluid atomizer of mold-wash slurry is designed for this project. New atomizer is equipped with the existing manufacturing facility to produce pipes. Cast-iron pipes (.cent.125*L3000mm) are produced and the surface roughnesses of those are analysed by UBM. The average surface roughness of new products is 6.7.mu.m while the old products of sand-resin coating method have 17.0.mu.m of average surface roughness. The surface roughness of cast-iron pipe is improved very much than before.


Transarterial chemoembolization and hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy are recommended for the treatment in patients with intermediate stage of hepatocellular carcinoma. Impaired liver function was sometime observed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after transarterial chemoembolization or hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. However, what kinds of factors deeply influence in impaired liver function are not clear. A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the risk factors of impaired liver function in cisplatin-naïve patients treated with these therapies using cisplatin. Prior to and 2 months after these therapies, we analyzed the liver function by Child-Pugh score in these patients. For assessing the severity of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, we utilized the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events ver. 4.0. In hepatocellular carcinoma patients received these therapies using cisplatin, the cancer stage and treatment without neurokinin-1 (NK1) antagonist were found to be independent risk factors of the impaired liver function. The treatment with NK1 antagonist was effective in reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and patients treated with NK1 antagonist kept their liver functions after cisplatin-used these therapies. The treatment with NK1 antagonist was effective in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and prevented the impaired liver function associated with cisplatin-used these therapies in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.


Anisotropic aberration correction is discussed on the basis of the extraordinary-ray ray-tracing method. Two closed analytical forms of anisotropic-aberration-free profiles are derived. The two profiles are referred to as pseudoelliptic and pseudohyperbolic, and a comparison is made between the two surfaces. The latter profiles are aberration-free in an isotropic medium. A design limit in the aperture angle is investigated. The relationship between the aperture and the energy reflection coefficient is investigated using the Fresnel formula. The pseudo-hyperbolic surface has a lower energy reflection coefficient in focusing and the pseudo-elliptic surface has a lower energy reflection coefficient in collimating. >


A frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising of a two dimensional array of slotted dipoles resonant at a single frequency is proposed. A computationally efficient method for analyzing this FSS is presented. The formulation is carried out in the spectral domain where the convolution form of the integral equation for the induced current reduces to an algebraic one and the Spectral-Galerkin technique is used to solve the resulting equation. Entire- domain basis function that satisfies the edge condition is introduced to expand the unknown induced current on the complimentary structure i.e. an array of metal printed dipoles. Using Babinet's principle for complementary screen, the transmitted electric field for the structure of slotted dipoles have been calculated. This theoretical result has been compared with the experimental data also. The theoretical and experimental data indicate that this structure can be used as a band pass filter.


Collective communications involving all processors are frequently used in the solution of demanding parallel problems and their time complexity has a dramatic impact on the performance. This paper deals with scheduling of collective communications in multiprocessor networks using the store-and-forward switching technique resulting in minimum number of communication steps. We designed novel technique of communication conflict prediction, which significantly increases the success rate of optimal communication schedule


This article focuses on the modus operandi of the sector education and training authorities (SETAs) in South Africa – seen by many critics of the training system as largely driven by the regulatory pressures of financial compliance imposed on public-sector organisations by the all-powerful Public Finance Management Act 29 of 1999 (PFMA). The article proposes an alternative modus operandi, one informed by the literature on 'intermediaries', where the main function of such intermediary organisations is not financial compliance but the strategic 'brokering' of training compacts. The article first outlines the role of the SETAs and the problems with a compliance mode of working. In explaining the alternative of intermediation, the discussion considers some best practices of intermediation in South Africa, but concludes that such practices are not fully diffused across the entire training system. Why diffusion is so poor is revealed through interviews with leaders in the training system.1 The analysis concludes on a positive note, arguing that the 'social compact' politics being emphasised by the new South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, could usher in a more conducive environment for brokering training and job compacts.


Abstract : This report describes the operational characteristics and measurement procedures associated with the Cathode Life Test Facility. The facility was designed to perform periodic emission testing on various types of thermionic cathode emitters operating under simulated life test conditions. Established calibration procedures are outlined and recently measurement and operating temperature determination techniques are discussed, as well as additional formats for data presentation and analysis. The software source code for the life test temperature is also provided. A method to facilitate recognition and differentiation between computer data files is described and comprehensive inventory documentation including pertinent data log sheets are presented.


Radical feminism and Liberal feminism are some of the approaches that have been employed to explain inequalities and oppression within societies. These are two opposing approaches in terms of how they advocate for change and reform. The Radical Feminists advocate for revolutionary means to tackle oppression which they believe is a result of the biological differences between men and women. On the other hand, Liberal Feminists advocate for a moderate approach to bringing about change. Such an approach involves the use of legislation and an incremental strategy to bring about change. Whilst the paper makes reference to the Radical Feminist theory, this is done to show the contrasts in approach between the Radical Feminist Theory and Liberal Feminist Theory, its major focus is on the Liberal Feminist Theory. The paper focuses on how the Liberal Feminist Approach has been applied in education, especially at the Early Childhood Development level in order to address issues of inequality in education. The paper observes that whilst there has been progress in addressing gender issues through legislation as advocated by Liberal Feminists, gender inequality remains prevalent in politics and other spheres of socio-economic development. The paper proposes that there may be need for a more radical approach that dismantles structures, as the moderate approach on gender issues as advocated by Liberal Feminism has its limitations when it comes to such areas as politics and development.


relative importance of product effort should vary directly with the strength of operational buying motives, the purchasing efforts and the knowledge of the buyer, and the technical nature of the product. The relative importance of sales effort should vary directly with the strength of socio-psychological buying motives, while varying inversely with the purchasing efforts and knowledge of the buyer and the technical nature of the product." Much of the book examines data concerning the marketing strategies for four groups of industrial goods: capital goods, industrial chemicals, fabricated parts and materials, and 'aerospace and defense. A similar examination treats the marketing strategies for five types of consumer goods: consumer durables (mainly appliances); petroleum products; food, liquor, and tobacco products; and other nondurables such as textiles, paper, and household supplies. The relationships of pricing strategy, company size, share of the market, and marketing costs are examined for each category. The book is short, easy to read, and clearly written. 121


The spin-polarized electron momentum distribution (magnetic Compton profile: MCP) of ferromagnetic CeRh3B2 has been measured using the magnetic Compton scattering technique at 10 K for the [110] direction. In this compound, the orbital moment dominates the magnetization. An analysis of the MCP reveals that the Ce 4f and Ce 5d spin moments are aligned parallel with a value of −0.68 ± 0.08 and 0.41 ± 0.04μB, respectively, while Rh 4d electrons do not carry any significant spin moment. The ratio of orbital to spin moments for Ce 4f electrons, which has been determined from comparison of the present data with recent polarized neutron diffraction data, is rather smaller than that for Ce3+ ions. This result implies strong hybridization of the Ce 4f orbital with the orbitals on the surrounding ions.


This paper is a retrospective on the design of Xunet 2, one of the earliest functional wide-area asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks. Work on Xunet 2 began in 1989 and the network, consisting of experimental ATM switches, IP routers, and 45 Mb/s transmission lines, has been operational since October 1991. The network serves as a "laboratory without walls" for eight research groups across the United States. While Xunet 2 has only a small number of nodes, it was designed as a prototype of a nationwide ATM network. This paper reviews some of the design decisions and lessons learned in the project and points out the research directions motivated by this work, focusing on the areas of traffic management, ATM switch design, network control, and the implementation of an IP router.


Robust streaming of video over 802.11 wireless LANs (WLANs) poses many challenges, including coping with transmission packet loss and packet data error. In order to reach that, it is very critical for network to identify each video frame and to know the decoding priorities for each video frame. In this paper, a new Cross-layer Design technique, Deep Packet Inspection(DPI) technique, is proposed to deal with this question, which penetrates into linker layer, network layer, transport layer, and closely exams the video stream and marks the video sequence information, video GOP information, video frame type and many other parameters. The simulation test also proved the availability of this technique.


The initial nursing assessment, the first step in the five steps of the nursing process, involves the systematic and continuous collection of data; sorting, analyzing, and organizing that data; and the documentation and communication of the data collected. Critical thinking skills applied during the nursing process provide a decision-making framework to develop and guide a plan of care for the patient incorporating evidence-based practice concepts. This concept of precision education to tailor care based on an individual's unique cultural, spiritual, and physical needs, rather than a trial by error, one size fits all approach results in a more favorable outcome.[1][2][3] The nursing assessment includes gathering information concerning the patient's individual physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual needs. It is the first step in the successful evaluation of a patient. Subjective and objective data collection are an integral part of this process. Part of the assessment includes data collection by obtaining vital signs such as temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and pain level using an age or condition appropriate pain scale. The assessment identifies current and future care needs of the patient by allowing the formation of a nursing diagnosis. The nurse recognizes normal and abnormal patient physiology and helps prioritize interventions and care.[4][5] Nursing Process: Assessment (gather subjective and objective data, family history, surgical history, medical history, medication history, psychosocial history). Analysis or diagnosis (formulate a nursing diagnosis by using clinical judgment; what is wrong with the patient). Planning (develop a care plan which incorporates goals, potential outcomes, interventions). Implementation (perform the task or intervention). Evaluation (was the intervention successful or unsuccessful).