This research was conducted to find the effect of fresh cow milk and dextrin concentration on quality instant chocolate drink. This research had been perform using factorial completely randomized design with 2 factors, i.e. fresh cow milk concentration (S): 15%, 25%, 35% and 45% and dextrin concentration (D) : 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Parameters analyzed were moisture content, solubility, fat content, protein content, orgnoleptic value of colour, flavor and taste.This research showed that freshcow milk concentration had highly significant effect on moisture content, solubility, fat content, protein content, organoleptic of value, flavor and taste. Dextrin concentration also had highly significant effect on moisture content, solubility, organoleptic value of colour, flavor and taste, and had significant effect on fat content and protein content. Fresh cow milk concentration of 45% and dextrin concentration of 8% produced best quality of instant chocolate drink.


Linker H1 histone is one of the five main histone proteins (H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4), which are components of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Here we have analyzed the patterns of DNA recognition by free H1 histone using a stepwise increase of the ligand complexity method; the affinity of H1 histone for various single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides (d(pN)n; n = 1–20) was evaluated using their competition with 12-mer [32P]labeled oligonucleotide and protein–oligonucleotide complex delaying on nitrocellulose membrane filters. It was shown that minimal ligands of H1 histone (like other DNA-dependent proteins and enzymes) are different mononucleotides (dNMPs; Kd = (1.30 ± 0.2) × 10−2 M). An increase in the length of single-stranded (ss) homo- and hetero-oligonucleotides (d(pA)n, d(pT)n, d(pC)n, and d(pN)n with different bases) by one nucleotide link regardless of their bases, leads to a monotonic increase in their affinity by a factor of f = 3.0 ± 0.2. This factor f corresponds to the Kd value = 1/f characterizing the affinity of one nucleotide of different ss d(pN)n for H1 at n = 2–6 (which are covered by this protein globule) is approximately 0.33 ± 0.02 M. The affinity of five out of six DNA nucleotide units is approximately 25 times lower than for one of the links. The affinity of duplexes of complementary homo- and hetero-d(pN)20 is only 1.3–3.3-fold higher in comparison with corresponding ss oligonucleotides. H1 histone forms mainly weak additive contacts with internucleoside phosphate groups of ssDNAs and one chain of double-stranded DNAs, but not with the bases.


Prominence of social media such as Twitter and Facebook led to a huge collection of data over which event detection provides useful results. An important dimension of event detection is location estimation for detected events. Social media provides a variety of clues for location, such as geographical annotation from smart devices, location field in the user profile and the content of the message. Among these clues, message content needs more effort for processing, yet it is generally more informative. In this paper, we focus on extraction of location names, i.e., toponym recognition, from social media messages. We propose a a hybrid system, which uses both rule based and machine learning based techniques to extract toponyms from tweets. Conditional Random Fields (CRF) is used as the machine learning tool and features such as Part-of-Speech tags and conjunction window are defined in order to construct a CRF model for toponym recognition. In the rule based part, regular expressions are used in order to define some of the toponym recognition patterns as well as to provide a simple level of normalization in order to handle the informality in the text. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher toponym recognition ratio in comparison to the previous studies.


Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT) of paranasal sinuses (PNS) in detecting fungal sinusitis keeping fungal culture as the gold standard.
Study Design: Cross-sectional validation study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jun 2018 to Jun 2019.
Methodology: A total of 323 patients of either gender were included in the study (aged from 10-70 years). All the patients underwent plain CT scans of paranasal sinuses, and the CT scan findings were reported and recorded on pre-designed proforma. Results were then compared with the culture report of each patient respectively.
Results: Among all the patients undergoing CT scans, paranasal sinuses 177 were True Positives, while 07 were False Positives. Out of a total of 139 CT scan-negative patients, 6 (False Negative) had fungal sinusitis on culture, whereas 133 (True Negative) had no fungal sinusitis on culture (p=0.001). Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of CT scan Paranasal sinuses were 96.72%, 95.0%, 96.20%, 95.68% and 95.98%,respectively.
Conclusion: CT scan of paranasal sinuses is a highly sensitive and accurate non-invasive investigation in detecting fungal sinusitis.


The main aim in forest mapping and monitoring is to produce accurate information for forest managers with the use of efficient methodologies. For example, it is important to locate harvesting sites and stands where forest operations should be carried out as well as to provide updates regarding forest growth, among other changes in forest structure. In recent years, remote sensing (RS) has taken a significant technological leap forward. It has become possible to acquire three-dimensional (3D), spatially accurate information from forest resources using active RS methods. In practical applications, mainly 3D information produced by airborne laser scanning (ALS) has opened up groundbreaking potential in natural resource mapping and monitoring. In addition to ALS, new satellite radars are also capable of acquiring spatially accurate 3D information. The main objectives of the present study were to develop 3D RS methodologies for large-area forest mapping and monitoring applications. In substudy I, we aim to map harvesting sites, while in substudy II, we monitor changes in the forest canopy structure. In studies III-V, efficient mapping and monitoring applications were developed and tested. In substudy I, we predicted plot-level thinning maturity within the next 10-year planning period. Stands requiring immediate thinning were located with an overall accuracy of 83%-86% depending on the prediction method applied. The respective prediction accuracy for stands reaching thinning maturity within the next 10 years was 70%-79%. Substudy II addressed natural disturbance monitoring that could be linked to forest management planning when an ALS time series is available. The accuracy of the damaged canopy cover area estimate varied between -16.4% to 5.4%. Substudy II showed that changes in the forest canopy structure can be monitored with a rather straightforward method by contrasting bi-temporal canopy height models. In substudy III, we developed a RS-based forest inventory method where single-tree RS is used to acquire modelling data needed in area-based predictions. The method uses ALS data and is capable of producing accurate stand variable estimates even at the sub-compartment level. The developed method could be applied in areas with sparse road networks or when the costs of fieldwork must be minimized. The method is especially suitable for largearea biomass or stem volume mapping. Based on substudy IV, the use of stereo synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data in the prediction of plotlevel forest variables appears to be promising for large-area applications. In the best case, the plot-level stem volume (VOL) was predicted with a relative error (RMSE%) of 34.9%. Typically, such a high level of prediction accuracy cannot be obtained using spaceborne RS data. Then, in substudy V, we compared the aboveground biomass and VOL estimates derived by radargrammetry to the ALS estimates. The difference between the estimation accuracy of ALS–based and TerraSAR X–based features was smaller than in any previous study in which ALS and different kinds of SAR materials have been compared. In this thesis, forest mapping and monitoring applications using active 3D RS were developed. Spatially accurate 3D RS enables the mapping of harvesting sites, the monitoring of changes in the canopy structure and even the making of a fully RS-based forest inventory. ALS is carried out at relatively low altitudes, which makes it relatively expensive per area unit, and other RS materials are still needed. Spaceborne stereo radargrammetry proved to be a promising technique to acquire additional 3D RS data efficiently as long as an accurate digital terrain model is available as a ground-surface reference.


BACKGROUND
The esthetic characteristics of face and nose are commonly evaluated before rhinoplasty using a completely subjective method, due to the lack of validated and reliable methods for quantifying facial esthetics and for accurate nose treatment planning. The aim of the study was to review the literature to determine and evaluate the points, distances, and angles commonly used in the treatment planning for rhinoplasty.

METHODS
Research based on anthropometric studies of the face and nose, published from 1987 to 2018 was included. Finally, 138 papers were selected after a statistical analysis through a simple random and non-random sample selection, and all papers were evaluated in their entirety.

RESULTS
According to the frequency of citation, 198 points, 336 distances, and 199 angles were listed. The first quartile of each distribution was eliminated, and frequency of more than 25% was selected. A group of 49 points, 77 distances, and 11 angles, were classified according to their anatomical region, that is, bone and soft tissues, was obtained.

CONCLUSIONS
An enormous inhomogeneity and lack of standardized anthropometric measurement system, specifically of the nose, was evident, as the studies were conducted by authors of different origins. According to universally accepted parameters, the importance of a reliable method for nose surgery planning is highlighted.


Background: Many patients are treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care but have never received COPD treatment in secondary care. They are seldom included in COPD cost studies but may account for a substantial proportion of the total costs.Objective: To estimate and specify the total healthcare costs of patients treated for COPD in Denmark comparing those who have- and have not had COPD treatment in secondary care.Setting: Denmark, population 5.7 million citizens.Methods: Via national registers, we specified the total healthcare costs of all +30-years-old current users of respiratory pharmaceuticals. We then compared those with at least one episode of hospital treatment for COPD (=secondary-care) to those with no hospital treatment for COPD but who redeem prescriptions specifically for COPD (=primary-care-only).Results: Among totally 329,428 users of respiratory drugs, we identified 46,084 with secondary-care- and 68,471 with primary-care-only COPD. Primary-care-only accounted for 40% of the two groups' total healthcare costs. The age- and gender-adjusted coefficient relating the individual total costs secondary-care versus primary-care-only was 2.19. The individual costs ranged widely and overlapped considerably (p25-75: secondary-care 2,175€ - 12,625€, primary-care-only 1,110€ - 4,350€). Hospital treatment accounted for most of the total cost (secondary-care 78%, primary-care-only 62%; coefficient 2.81), pharmaceuticals (secondary-care 16%, primary-care-only 27%; coefficient 1.28), and primary care costs (secondary-care 6%, primary-care-only 11%; coefficient 1.13).Conclusion: Healthcare cost estimators and planners should consider the substantial volume of patients who are treated for COPD in primary care, but do not appear in hospital statistics.


Abstract In this study, we investigated Turkish EFL teachers' level of recognition of English accent varieties and their attitudes regarding three common domains, status (e.g. educatedness, intelligence), solidarity (friendliness, kindness), and dynamism (confidence, talkativeness). We also explored the English teachers' choices of English accents in various language-using contexts. Through the verbal-guise technique, we were able to evaluate the teachers' language attitudes towards accents, yet we also integrated a questionnaire to further examine the issue for teacher attitudes and ideologies concerning language education. The findings revealed that recognition of English accent varieties was greater with American English and the local accented English. The ratings of status, solidarity, and dynamism showed that speakers' accents had a strong effect on how the language teachers treated them. Few teachers reported to include various English accents in language courses due to the teachers' strong preference for L1 accent varieties in the class. Similarly, the L1 accents were ranked significantly higher in the formal contexts, the teaching model in particular. In sum, the accent matter remains to be a meaningful variable for the production of normative language ideologies in the language education market. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1965153 .


Functional tricuspid regurgitation is a complex valvular lesion. Its optimal management remains controversial in the current era as the result of uncertainties regarding accurate diagnosis, surgical indication, the appropriate surgical procedure, and the late results of surgical treatment. It is no longer regarded a benign problem and does not resolve spontaneously after correction of left-sided heart valve lesions as once believed. It carries a significant morbidity and has an adverse impact on survival. Current techniques to repair functional tricuspid regurgitation are associated with a significant degree of residual or recurrent regurgitation mainly because of failure to address all the components of this challenging entity. This review article highlights emerging concepts and advances that provide an insight into the understanding of this perplexing lesion and attempts to define the basis of intervention on functional tricuspid regurgitation.


A method for treatment of retinal detachments caused by macular holes or by holes at the posterior pole of the eye is presented. A simple silver clasp is sutured on the sclera. The silver clasp usually is well tolerated for many month and has remained on several eyes for more than 4 years, nevertheless removal of the instrument 6 months after the primary operation is advised. Lasting indentation by the clasp is provided by an additional encircling silicon band. In 10 out of 11 cases of a total or subtotal retinal detachment caused by a hole at the posterior pole, the retina could be reattached; in one case of massive pre-retinal retraction the puckering focus was successfully tamponed. The method is especially suited for the treatment of detachments in globes with posterior staphylomas.


We present an algorithm that checks behavioral consistency between an ANSI-C program and a circuit given in Verilog using Bounded Model Checking. Both the circuit and the program are unwound and translated into a formula that represents behavioral consistency. The formula is then checked using a SAT solver. We are able to translate C programs that include side effects, pointers, dynamic memory allocation, and loops with conditions that cannot be evaluated statically. We describe experimental results on various reactive circuits and programs, including a small processor given in Verilog and its Instruction Set Architecture given in ANSI-C.


Since the devastating effect of HEMP on electronics in the military field has been known for a long time, all military systems are equipped with efficient protection against the impact of HEMP. However, HEMP is equally dangerous for all civil electronics used in almost every section of today's most important infrastructure of any country, for instance the power industry. These days, the protection of power system electronics against HEMP that is capable of disturbing its normal operation or even to completely disable it, becomes extremely important. This article explains special aspects related to testing power system electronics resilience to HEMP and discusses the selection of a proper target, methods, and test pulse parameters.


In order to ensure the accuracy of POCT devices and reagents, it is necessary to appropriately manage and store them. There are various points to be considered for these items, such as management before and environments when using them; it is more complex than when using conventional analysis apparatuses in clinical laboratories. In addition, staff using such devices should be provided with opportunities to obtain sufficient knowledge and skills. These approaches are indispensable to ensure POCT accuracy and provide reliable data, and, in this respect, support for staff with expertise in clinical examination is crucial.


Gymnema sylvestre R. Br., one of the most important medicinal plants of the Asclepiadaceae family, is a herb distributed throughout the World, predominantly in tropical countries. The plant, widely used for the treatment of diabetes and as a diuretic in Indian proprietary medicines, possesses beneficial digestive, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and anti-helmentic effects. Furthermore, it is believed to be useful in the treatment of dyspepsia, constipation, jaundice, hemorrhoids, cardiopathy, asthma, bronchitis and leucoderma. A literature survey revealed that some other notable pharmacological activities of the plant such as anti-obesity, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial, free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory properties have been proven too. This paper aims to summarize the chemical and pharmacological reports on a large group of C-4 gem-dimethylated pentacyclic triterpenoids from Gymnema sylvestre.


The present study has been aimed to develop a tablet containing paracetamol in which ginger is incorporated to prevent the side effect of paracetamol like nausea and vomiting. In addition ginger contains starch, which acts as disintegrant. Granules were prepared by inclusion of ginger extract in A and B formulation and while ginger powder is present in C and D formulations. Granules were evaluated for particle volume, density and flow properties. Granules were compressed and tablets were evaluated for thickness, hardness, friability, and disintegration studies. The tablet hardness were generally higher with the ginger starch, an indication that lower concentration of ginger could be used to achieve the same level of binding. Tablets were further tested for dissolution studies, which showed better release of drug and drug content. Formulation C was found to be most effective as it decreases the concentration of starch, talc and magnesium stearate requirements.


Significant progress can be made in the part of elementary school education that relies on intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), if the role of a referee and a peer advisor will be performed by a pedagogical agent that is a computer implementation of a cognitive architecture modeling the process of learning. Recent studies in cognitive architectures funded by the DARPA IPTO BICA Program have identified the key potential of feasible today artificial intelligence as bootstrapped cognitive growth (i.e., gradual acquisition of knowledge and skills using previously acquired knowledge and skills), up to a human level of intelligence in a selected domain. This approach is not limited to laboratory settings and short-term paradigms, it is intended for a long-term, open-ended learning scenario in real-world settings. Several cognitive architectures were designed for this purpose, among which is GMU BICA, a self-aware biologically inspired cognitive architecture. Here we describe a computational model of student learning based on GMU BICA and its use as an ITS called Cognitive Constructor, which has two components called a Science Microworld and a Pedagogical Agent (GMU BICA agent). Results of our analysis show that the system will be useful in elementary school education.


A new cloud detection method based on color model and undecimated wavelet transform was proposed for the basic properties of the cloud area on remote sensing images and band features. First of all, modified HSI Color model transformation was applied to original images combined with the band information in order to extract approximate boundary of cloud area. Secondly, as in binary sampling process of wavelet decomposition, there was losing spectral information and texture information problems. In order to solve this, we used undecimated wavelet transform and the normalized double threshold value method to determine the exact boundary of cloud area. At last, our results were assessed using False Recognition Rate and Accuracy. The assessment was compared with cloud detection methods based on wavelet transform and single threshold. The Result means that proposed algorithm has high detection precision.


Critical dynamics, characterized by scale-free neuronal avalanches, is thought to underlie optimal function in the sensory cortices by maximizing information transmission, capacity, and dynamic range. In contrast, deviations from criticality have not yet been considered to support any cognitive processes. Nonetheless, neocortical areas related to working memory and decision-making seem to rely on long-lasting periods of ignition-like persistent firing. Such firing patterns are reminiscent of supercritical states where runaway excitation dominates the circuit dynamics. In addition, a macroscopic gradient of the relative density of Somatostatin (SST+) and Parvalbumin (PV+) inhibitory interneurons throughout the cortical hierarchy has been suggested to determine the functional specialization of low- versus high-order cortex. These observations thus raise the question of whether persistent activity in high-order areas results from the intrinsic features of the neocortical circuitry. We used an attractor model of the canonical cortical circuit performing a perceptual decision-making task to address this question. Our model reproduces the known saddle-node bifurcation where persistent activity emerges, merely by increasing the SST+/PV+ ratio while keeping the input and recurrent excitation constant. The regime beyond such a phase transition renders the circuit increasingly sensitive to random fluctuations of the inputs—i.e., chaotic—, defining an optimal SST+/PV+ ratio around the edge-of-chaos. Further, we show that both the optimal SST+/PV+ ratio and the region of the phase transition decrease monotonically with increasing input noise. This suggests that cortical circuits regulate their intrinsic dynamics via inhibitory interneurons to attain optimal sensitivity in the face of varying uncertainty. Hence, on the one hand, we link the emergence of supercritical dynamics at the edge-of-chaos to the gradient of the SST+/PV+ ratio along the cortical hierarchy, and, on the other hand, explain the behavioral effects of the differential regulation of SST+ and PV+ interneurons by acetylcholine in the presence of input uncertainty.


Martijn Kleppe What is this a picture of? Possibilities and problems when creating a photo database Creating a photo database for research purposes offers many opportunities: find specific photos within a large set of images, link photos to other relevant pictures within the database or find similar photos. This article discusses the possibilities and difficulties when creating a research photo database, focusing on the process of describing photos. Which words can and should be used to describe a photo? Which thesaurus is suitable to describe visual resources and do different people describe the same photo in the same manner? These questions are addressed in the context of the development of a photo database for a research project on Dutch iconic photographs. By showing the difference in the assigned keywords of a photo of a Dutch politician in three archives, the article shows there will always be a difference in the connotation process of images when applying words to describe visual sources. Therefore, the author pleads to investigate the possibilities of image recognition software for describing photos.


ABSTRACT: As value chains become longer with increases in outsourcing and subcontracting, the challenges of fixing responsibility become more difficult. Using concepts from the literature on social networks, this paper considers issues of diffusion of responsibility and plausible deniability in such relationships. Specifically, this paper isolates three sources of denial of – or defense against – attributions of responsibility: connection, control and knowledge. It goes on to consider the effects on network density and actor centrality as third parties (tertius illuminans) alter the structure of these networks. Finally, preliminary conclusions are considered including suggestions for addressing these new challenges as well as the potential for conceptual cross-fertilization between network analysis and organizational ethics.


Our present ability to explore, develop, and monitor geothermal energy resources is hindered by the complexity of the geologic systems that house these resources. In order to improve decision making about where to drill geothermal wells, we apply a novel approach called Bayesian Evidential Learning to quantify uncertainty of temperature predictions for a prospective well using data from a nearby well. In this method, the relationship between data and prediction variables is learned by generating a training set of data using Monte Carlo simulation of a numerical model, which is then used to sample posterior temperature predictions without any explicit model inversion. We present results for different locations of the prospective temperature well, illustrating the spatial extent that the observed data reduces uncertainty on the prediction. This methodology is both practical and broadly applicable to other problems requiring full uncertainty quantification using spatially complex numerical models.


Background With timely integration of palliative care alongside oncology management, needs of patients are met in a more coherent approach challenging the misperception that there is transition point to palliative care. Therefore the project aimed to understand the timing of radiotherapy in relation to death and inform the clinical decision making regarding the appropriateness of radiotherapy for these patients. Methods Retrospective case-note review of patient records over a 1 year period (January 2017 to January 2018) who had received radiotherapy with a diagnosis of a lung cancer. Results 86 patient were identified and the majority had a diagnosis of lung cancer(97%) with the patients having radiotherapy to their primary lung lesion (35%), bone metastases (35%), for malignant spinal cord compression(14%) and brain metastases(9%) mainly. 36% of patients had a performance status (PS) of between 0–1, 44% having a PS of 2 and then 12% having PS3-4. Interestingly 10% of patient had no PS recorded. 32% of patients had one fraction of treatment with 67% having a fractionated regimen ranging from 3–12 treatments. 16% of patients died within 30 days having had their treatment and a further 15% within 59 days with 55% of those patients having had fractionated regimens (Range 5–12). Conclusions This project highlights that PS is not always recorded for patient but still a key indicator on the appropriateness of radiotherapy. Given the debate about timing and then effectiveness of radiotherapy and proximity to death, a considerable proportion of patients are having a fractionated regimen before gaining optimal effect of the their treatment. Therefore PS coupled with some understanding of prognosis may help in deciding whether a single high dose fraction maybe more advantageous for the patient than a prolonged fractionation regimen in supporting their symptoms.


OBJECTIVE
To assess and compare clinical symptoms and psychometric analysis of adult patients with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) with those with anorexia nervosa (AN).

METHOD
We completed a retrospective review of adult patients with a feeding and eating disorder assessed between 1990 and 2005 that qualified for a diagnosis of ARFID. Patients with ARFID were compared with those with AN, with respect to the demographics, clinical symptoms and psychometric analysis.

RESULTS
Using the criteria of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 95 (9.2%) of 1029 patients with a feeding and eating disorder met the criteria for ARFID. All patients with ARFID were women. The ARFID group had a significantly shorter duration of illness, lower rates of hospital admission history and less severe psychopathology than the AN group.

CONCLUSIONS
Adult patients with ARFID in this study were clinically distinct from those with AN and somewhat different from paediatric patients with ARFID in previous studies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.


The Palaeozoic is regarded as a period in which it is difficult to recognize climate signals in land plants because they have few or no close extant relatives. In addition early, predominantly axial, representatives lack the features, e.g. leaf laminae, secondary growth, used later as qualitative and quantitive measures of past climates. Exceptions are stomata, and the preliminary results of a case study of a single taxon present throughout the Devonian, and analysis of stomatal complex anatomy attempt to disentangle evolutionary, taxonomic, habitat and atmospheric effects on stomatal frequencies. Ordovician–Silurian vegetation is represented mainly by spores whose widespread global distribution on palaeocontinental reconstructions with inferred climates suggest that the producers were independent of major climate variables, probably employing the physiology and behavioural strategies of extant bryophytes, further characterized by small size. Growth–ring studies, first possible on Mid–Devonian plants, have proved most informative in elucidating the climate at high palaeolatitudes in Late Permian Gondwana. Changes in the composition of Carboniferous–Permian low–latitude wetland vegetation are discussed in relation to tectonic activity and glaciation, with most confidence placed on the conclusion that major extinctions at the Westphalian–Stephanian boundary in Euramerica resulted from increased seasonality created by changes in circulation patterns at low latitudes imposed by the decrease of glaciations in most parts of Gondwana.


The paper describes a programme which has been prepared for a high-speed digital computer for calculating speed/time curves, energy consumption and motor heating for a train with given characteristics travelling on a given route. The analysis prior to the preparation of the programme is given in some detail to illustrate the preliminary work necessary before a problem can be solved on one of these machines. The results of a sample calculation of the performance of d.c. 4-motor-coach trains on the Liverpool Street-Shenfield line of the Eastern Region of British Railways are given and compared with actual performance. The possibility of using digital machines in connection with a number of other traction problems is also discussed. These problems are fuel-economy studies, the design of overhead structures, weight-transference calculations, the spacing and loading of substations, the study of rectifier harmonics, the compilation of timetables and traffic cost studies.


CASE PRESENTATION
A 50-year-old male with a history of multiple sclerosis with dizziness and nystagmus presented to the emergency department. On physical exam, nystagmus was noted. Computed tomography of the head without contrast was obtained showing a low density in the left frontal lobe. During admission, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were consistent with Balò's concentric sclerosis.

DISCUSSION
Balò's concentric sclerosis is a rare, inflammatory demyelinating disease, often considered to be an infrequent variant of multiple sclerosis with alternating rings of healthy myelin and demyelination leading to pathognomonic findings of concentric lamella on T2 or contrast-enhanced T1 MRI imaging.


OBJECTIVE
To optimize extraction process of Fufang Bajitian Shenggu Particles by central composite design and response surface method.

METHODS
The preparation of Fufang Bajitian Shenggu Particles was designed according to the test. With the overall desirability (OD) of Icariin content and the dry extract yield in medicinal materials extract concentrate as examining indexes, immersion time, material liquid ratio, extraction time and stress concentration temperature were investigated. Based on the single factor tests, material liquid ratio, extraction time and stress concentration temperature which impacted response values significantly were investigated by three factors and five levels of central composite design.

RESULTS
Optimum extraction technology of Fufang Bajitian Shenggu Particles were as follows: material liquid ratio was 1:11.33, extraction time was 39 min, and stress concentration temperature was 66 °C. Bias of the lcariin content and the dry extract yield between observed and predicted values were 1.60% and 1.55% ,respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Using central composite design and response surface method to optimize extraction of Fufang Bajitian Shenggu particles has a good prediction.


Concrete construction industry is one of the major sector utilizing natural resources to produce concrete for building constructions. The rapid increase in building
constructions and the demand for natural aggregates has resulted in depletion natural resources at an alarming rate. Uncontrolled mining activity worsens the situation. Thus serious awareness has been taken into consideration, has to be identified as a potential river sand substitution for fine aggregates replacement in concrete. For this review, utilizing recycled material are described as a fine aggregate replacement to river sand, particularly recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles. Recycled PET Bottles are categorized as nonbiodegradable waste materials which are injurious to health. Recycled PET bottles in concrete are economical and help in reducing disposal problems. Recycled PET bottles are pondered as the best eco-friendly alternative not only for resolving the problem of disposal but as a new construction material for concrete.


Abstract Tumor heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) occurs at different levels. On conventional imaging modalities, the spectrum of tumor heterogeneity is evident in the dynamic enhancement pattern, where the characteristic wash-in and wash-out is present in only 60% of small HCCs. In larger HCCs, heterogeneity within the tumor, known as the mosaic pattern, can reflect the presence of different grades of HCC differentiation. The advent of functional imaging techniques has not improved the diagnostic sensitivity of imaging techniques for the diagnosis of HCC. However, the combination of conventional and functional imaging techniques potentially allows the identification of heterogeneity in tumor vascularity, cellularity, and molecular expression.


ABSTRACT

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF THE QUALITY OF SERVICES
AT THE GRAHA HUSADA HOSPITAL IN BANDAR LAMPUNG

By
PUTRI ARFIANI

This study aims to determine the level of interest and perception of inpatient and outpatient care on performance of the Graha Husada hospital in providing services to patients. The type of study is a quantitative descriptive. With a population of inpatients and outpatients of the Graha Husada Hospital. It uses the retrieval technique of sampling with Stratified random sampling on the likert scale. As said before Tecnic date in quesioner study dokument and intervew sample from 100 responden, Analysis tools used in this study are Importance-Performance Analysis of frequency tables and cartesian diagrams.

Based on the calculation results with the Importance-Performance Analysis of the obtained results where quality of service of the Graha Husada Hospital in Bandar Lampung has a good compatibility between the interests and the performance expected by consumers. with the average of the interest and overall performance is quite in accordance with the overall performance of the patients received. it can be concluded that the services received from the Graha Husada Hospital in Bandar Lampung need to make improvements in performance on several dimensions of quality of service that has not been sufficient compliance and not meet the interests and fixing elements of the quadrant that included into the main priority namely the Hospital gives a quick response when dealing with complaints of the patients, a quick response of the paramedics in control the changes of the patient

Keyword: quality of services


The question of formulation of a social planner criterion for an imperfect economy is examined using an example of a polluting economy negatively a ected by growing temperature. Imperfection of the economy is expressed here in deviations from the optimal initial state. It is shown that a criterion not linked to a specific initial state almost always implies either unsustainable or ine cient paths in the economy. In this paper, I link the constant-utility criterion to the initial amount of the resource reserve. This criterion implies e cient resource use and the paths of utility asymptotically approaching some constants, which depend on the parameters of the temperature function. The criterion can be formulated for the cases when the reserve estimate changes over time and when the high level of temperature can cause extinction. JEL Classification: O13; Q32; Q38


BACKGROUND
Apart from smaller native coronary arteries a lower number of anastomoses and a lower ITA incidence have been suggested as being responsible for the increased mortality in female patients compared to males. The aim of this study was to clarify whether the outcome of females might be a consequence of a different regimen in anastomosis and ITA frequency.

METHODS
We evaluated operative data and early outcome of 6906 patients with isolated CABG operated between 1/96 - 7/03 3064 out of 5381 males received bilateral ITA (BITA) vs. 750 of 1525 females. Single ITA (SITA) was performed in 2126 males and 704 females.

RESULTS
Demographic and operative data: average age for male patients was 64.0 +/- 9.2 years, for females 68.5 +/- 8.6 years ( p < 0.05). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was significantly higher in females (34.6 % vs. 27.4 %, p < 0.01). Body mass index (BMI, 26.6 vs. 27.4 mean), incidence of main stem stenosis (23.0 % vs. 23.5 %), ejection fraction < 40 % (7.8 % vs. 10.1 %), urgent or emergent operations (13.1 % vs. 11.3 %) and number of performed anastomoses (3.2 vs. 3.5 mean) showed no significant difference between males and females. Total ITA frequency did not differ (95.3 % vs. 96.5 %), but BITA frequency was significantly higher (56.9 % vs. 49.2 %, p < 0.01) in male patients. Overall 30-day mortality was 2.8 % for males vs. 4.1 % ( p < 0.05) for females. Cardiac-related mortality was significantly higher in female patients (2.6 % vs. 1.1 %, p < 0.01). Non-cardiac-related mortality did not differ significantly. Graft-related mortality for males and females revealed 2.7 % in the BITA, 3.3 % in the SITA group and 6.9 % for patients without ITAs and reached statistical significance ( p < 0.01) for SITA or BITA vs. the no-ITA group, but not for BITA vs. SITA grafting. Nevertheless cardiac-related mortality in male and female patients without an ITA graft was more than two-fold higher compared to these with single ITAs and more than three-fold higher compared to those with BITA grafting.

CONCLUSIONS
Female gender, frequently associated with diabetes mellitus, presents a predictor for increased mortality in CABG. A discrimination of women with respect to a restriction of ITA grafting could be confirmed only for bilateral ITAs. The superior results of bilateral ITA grafts are independent of gender.


Motion picture images have influenced the American mind since the earliest days of film, and many thoughtful people are becoming ever more concerned about that influence, as about the pervasive influence of television. In eras of economic instability and international conflict, the film industry has not hesitated to use motion pictures for definite propaganda purposes. During less troubled times, the American citizen's ability to deal with political and social issues has been enhanced or thwarted by images absorbed in the nation's theatres. "Hollywood As Historian" tracks the interaction of Americans with important motion picture productions. Considered are such topics as racial and sexual stereotyping, censorship of films, comedy as a tool for social criticism, the influence of great men and their screen images, and the use of film to interpret history. Opportunities for future study are suggested for those who wish to conduct their own examinations of American film in a cultural context. "Hollywood As Historian" benefits from a variety of approaches. Literary and historical influences are carefully related to "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and "Apocalypse Now" (1979), two highly tendentious epics of war and cultural change. How political beliefs of filmmakers affected cinematic styles is illuminated in a short survey of documentary films made during the Great Depression. Historical distance has helped analysts to decode messages unintended by filmmakers in the study of "The Snake Pit" (1948) and "Dr. Strangelove" (1964). While pluralism of approach has been encouraged, balance has also been a goal: a concern for institutional and thematic considerations never obscures matters of film aesthetics. In twelve chapters dealing with more than sixteen films, "Hollywood As Historian" offers a versatile text for classes in popular culture, American studies, film history, or film as history. The visual awareness promoted by this text has immediate application, in that students can begin to consider the impact of motion pictures (and television) on their own lives.The films considered: "The Birth of a Nation" (1915), "The Plow that Broke the Plains" (1936), "The River" (1937), "March of Time" (1935-1953), "City Lights" (1931), "Modern Times" (1936), "The Great Dictator" (1940), "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940), "Native Land" (1942), "Wilson" (1944), "The Negro Soldier" (1944), "The Snake Pit" (1948), "On the Waterfront" (1954), "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), and "Apocalypse Now" (1979).


: The rapid spread of HIV and AIDS made the government of Kenya to focus on Mechanisms and strategies of preventing the spread, mitigating its consequences and providing care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA). In this regard education was identified as the critical means of achieving behaviour change in and out of the classroom. This study sought to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of the methods used to implement HIV and AIDS curriculum integration. The study population constituted all class eight pupils, teachers, head teachers, teacher counsellors, quality assurance and standards officers of the Ministry of Education. Both multi – stage cluster sampling and purposive sampling procedures were used to select the sample. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires, interview schedule, observation checklist and Focus Group Discussion. Secondary data was collected from documented information on HIV and AIDS curriculum integration programme. The study established that 72% pupils were of the view that the methods used for teaching HIV and AIDS were good while 28.0% said that the methods were not good. In addition, the pupils admitted that HIV and AIDS education enabled them to change their sexual behaviour. The study recommends that teachers should be encouraged to attend HIV and AIDS training, so as to embrace HIV and AIDS education irrespective of their teaching subjects.


Neuropeptide receptors were visualized in homografts of fetal cortex (E14) into adult rat cortex (immediate or 7 day delay) and spinal cord using in vitro autoradiographic techniques to explore the expression of peptide receptors in the same graft tissue in different central nervous system implantation sites. Receptors for bombesin (BN)-like peptides developed in the grafts by 3 weeks postimplantation regardless of location or age of implantation pocket in host. After 4 weeks, the density of BN receptors was confined to the graft. In grafts to spinal cord, however, high densities of BN-like receptors were not confined to the graft but were distributed throughout the spinal cord. In contrast, the density of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) receptors was moderate and low to undetectable in the fetal grafts. The development of the peptide receptors studied was graft donor tissue specific since they were not altered by central nervous system implantation site.


This report presents a framework for assessing regional development options in which alternative futures for northeast Minnesota are first delineated. Regional development goals, objectives, and options emerge from an economic strategy process in which the regional implications of individual development options are derived with the help of a new computer-based capability for simulating alternative regional futures. A tourism/recreation development option is selected, finally, for evaluation of its regional economic impact.


Environment in which carbonate reservoir rocks are deposited was studied by visiting and collecting rock samples from a carbonate reservoir analog located at Jabal Fuwairit in the Northeastern coast of Qatar. The primary objective of this study is to develop methods to characterize carbonate reservoirs.The experimental procedure included collecting samples based on geology, mapping the location and altitudes of the samples using a high-resolution Global Positioning System (GPS) with an altimeter, permeability measurements at selected locations, conducting petrophysical measurements on the samples, Conventional and Micro-X-ray Computed Tomography Scanning (CT Scanning), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging.It is observed that the permeability measurements show an alternating pattern as a function of height above sea level. The cyclicity is probably representative of repeating sequences of sea level changes over geological time. CT Scanner and Micro-CT Scanner measurements were employed to obtain vital information about the flow pathways in the rock, thus assisting in calculating the porosity to compare with values measured in the lab. SEM results gave direct visualization of the pore network and information about grain size (500 microns) and intergranular porosity, mineralogy, compared with the EDS results, and lithotype. EDS results showed that reservoir rocks directly exposed to environment had significant alteration due to weathering. However, it is encouraging to learn that samples even few inches away from the surface had minimal environmental influence.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


BACKGROUND: In low-income countries where malnutrition and preventable infectious diseases are common, mental disorders, which are regarded as non-life threatening, problems are not given due attention. It is well known fact that mental illness leads to poverty, malnutrition and disability consequently to the increased risk for mortality. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of mental distress and related sociodemographic and other risk factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in Jimma town, south west of Ethiopia, between January 8 and February 1, 2002. The study utilized self reporting questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) which was designed by WHO, and by multistage sampling, 1006 individuals were included in the study. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 7.5. RESULTS: Using a cut-off level of at least 6 out of 20 items categorized, 22.7% of the study population had mental distress. Women had statistically significant increased risk of having mental distress than men: OR(95%CI)=1.90 (1.22,2.94). There was also a significant increased risk with illiteracy than those having tertiary education: OR(95% CI) =2.93 (1.23-6.96). Unemployed individuals had shown increased risk of having mental illness than professionals: OR(95%CI)=2.72 (1.44,5.13). Family history of mental illness was positively associated with Risk: OR (95%CI) =2.22 (1.24-3.98). Age, marital status, Religion, family income and size were not significantly associated with risk of mental distress. CONCULSION: Based on the result mental distress is fairly common in Jimma town and the decentralization of mental health service and its integration with primary health care and use of community health agents in creating awareness among the community members is recommended. Ethiop J Health Sci . Vol. 13, No. 1 January 2003


This research aims to know students error category of meaning in translating
tembang macapat dhandanggula and how the effect of error in transferring meaning from
source language to the target language ,not just to know error and enrich vocabulary but
researcher want to reintroduce tembang macapat dhandangggula that almost lost.
This research was implemented in the PGRI University of Yogyakarta in eight
semester students of English Education Study Program .the method use in this research is
Descriptive Qualitative method with data collection : content analysis , interview , and
documentation.
The kinds of error meaning in translating tembang macapat dhandanggula by eight
semester students can be categorized such as followings :Error of referential meaning ,error
of connotative meaning and error in elements of meaning . Error of referential meaning is
divided into two sub categories namely syntacmatic and semotac.Error of connotative
meaning is divided into three csub categories namely relation between word and
speaker,condition of speaker,and linguistic factor.Error in element of meaning is divided into
four sub categories namely plural system,amny alternative word ,grammatical marker and no
equivalence word.The result of analysis researcher find that from 100gatra there are 63
errorthat divide into 9 sub category and the most errors in sub category no equivalence word
with 27 error 42,9% ,and for meaning 55% meaning changed and 45% meaning not
changed.From 10 students,the most error translate by respondent 6 with 11 errors and the
best translate by respondent 4 with 2 errors.


Abstract: Vermitechnology is widely being used as an organic solid waste management strategy. The research work deals with harvesting of organic rich compost called vermicompost from municipal solid waste by utilizing Perionyx excavates . During vermicomposting Perionyx excavates ingest the solid organic waste and after bioconversion process it is expelled as vermicast which is called as vermicompost. These vermicompost are odourless, dark brown in colour and have a rich nutrients of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, manganese , copper, Zinc and iron . Study of growth parameters shows that the indegineous species Perionyx excavates have high growth parameter and biomass production. Increase in C,N,P,K,Mn,Cu,Zn,and Fe  content in vermicompost was observed.  Thus, in the present agricultural scenario vermicomposting plays a very important role in organic farming. Keywords: Vermitechnology, Municipal solid waste, Perionyx excavates, Vermicompost.


Security against eavesdropping is one of the key concerns in the design of any communication system. Many common considerations of the security of a wireless communication channel rely on comparing the signal level measured by Bob (the intended receiver) to that accessible to Eve (an eavesdropper). Frameworks such as Wyner's wiretap model ensure the security of a link, in an average sense, when Bob's signal-to-noise ratio exceeds Eve's. Unfortunately, because these guarantees rely on statistical assumptions about noise, Eve can still occasionally succeed in decoding information. The goal of achieving exactly zero probability of intercept over an engineered region of the broadcast sector, which we term absolute security, remains elusive. Here, we describe the first architecture for a wireless link which provides absolute security. Our approach relies on the inherent properties of broadband and high-gain antennas, and is therefore ideally suited for implementation in millimeter-wave and terahertz wireless systems, where such antennas will generally be employed. We exploit spatial minima of the antenna pattern at different frequencies, the union of which defines a wide region where Eve is guaranteed to fail regardless of her computational capabilities, and regardless of the noise in the channels. Unlike conventional zero-forcing beam forming methods, we show that, for realistic assumptions about the antenna configuration and power budget, this absolute security guarantee can be achieved over most possible eavesdropper locations. Since we use relatively simple frequency-multiplexed coding, together with the underlying physics of a diffracting aperture, this idea is broadly applicable in many contexts.


A 6 months old infant, diagnosed with a rare mutation causing severe hemophilia A, presented with spinal epidural hematoma. Parents later admitted the infant had glass cupping therapy performed within 2 weeks of the onset of symptoms. The rare mutation, rare bleeding complication, and the eventual course of therapy applied in this case will be discussed in our case report.


A series of 1,3,5-trithianes 1-3 having diarylmethylene units were designed as novel electron donors giving highly colored cationic species upon oxidation. They were prepared along with the dithiane and dithiazine derivatives 4-6 by the reactions of lithiated heterocycles with diaryl ketones followed by dehydration. Voltammetric analyses indicate that a large structural change and/or transannular bonding are induced during their electrochemical oxidation. Mono(diarylmethylene) derivative 1a exhibits electrochromism with vivid change in color from faintly yellow to deep blue with concomitant rotation around the exocyclic bond. Both of the strongly colored salts obtained upon oxidation of 2,4-bis- and 2,4,6-tris(diarylmethylene)-1,3,5-trithianes (2aa and 3) consist of the dications with a 1,2,4-trithiane ring, suggesting the easy skeletal rearrangement of the transannular dications with a trithiabicylo[3.1.0]hexane ring. Upon reduction of these salts were obtained bright yellow 12 and 13, respectively, with high electron-donating properties due to the tetraarylbutadiene-type conjugation, thus giving another class of electrochromic compounds.


Male exposure to cigarette smoke is associated with seminal defects and with congenital anomalies and childhood cancers in offspring. In mice, paternal exposure to cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) causes molecular defects in germ cells and phenotypic effects in their offspring. Here we used an ex vivo testicular explant model and in vivo exposure to determine the concentration at which CSC impairs spermatogenesis and offspring development. We explanted testis tissue at postnatal day (P)5.5 and cultured it until P11.5. Assessment of growth parameters by analyzing expression of cell‐specific markers revealed that the explant system maintained structural and functional integrity. We exposed the P5.5 to ‐11.5 explants to various concentrations (40‐160 μg/ml) of CSC and confirmed that nicotine in the CSC was metabolized to cotinine. We assessed various growth and differentiation parameters, as well as testosterone production, and observed that many spermatogenesis features were impaired at 160 μg/ml CSC. The same parameters were impaired by a similar CSC concentration in vivo. Finally, females mated to males that were exposed to 160 μg/ml CSC neonatally had increased rates of pup resorption. We conclude that male exposure to CSC impairs offspring development and that the concentration at which CSC impairs spermatogenesis is similar in vivo and ex vivo. Given that the concentrations of CSC we used contained similar doses of nicotine as human smokers are exposed to, we argue that our model mimics human male reproductive effects of smoking.—Esakky, P., Hansen, D. A., Drury, A. M., Felder, P., Cusumano, A., Moley, K. H. Testicular cells exhibit similar molecular responses to cigarette smoke condensate ex vivo and in vivo. FASEB J. 32, 63‐72 (2018). www.fasebj.org


For women with ductal carcinoma in situ, no residual disease after breast conserving surgery is one of the most important factors associated with local recurrence. Surgeons can rely on the pathologic examination of the margin and measure of margins width to indicate complete excision. Surgeon and pathologist have to do well and together to make margin can be assessed. Margin status is a prognostic factor for predicting residual disease. Margin width > 2 mm is associated with very few residual diseases. Margin status is also a prognostic factor for local recurrence. Local recurrence after margin width > 2-3 mm followed by radiotherapy is nearly equivalent to local recurrence after mastectomy. An evaluation based on margin status and other risk factors of recurrence (grade, necrosis, size and age like the Van Nuys Prognostic Index) can help clinicians to stratify patients into low-risk, intermediate risk and high-risk group of local recurrence. The validity of such index must be confirmed and margin width must be studied more precisely. Currently, breast conserving surgery with histological margin width > 2 mm followed by radiation therapy is necessary to obtain satisfactory local control. Such margin status with good aesthetic outcomes is not so easy to obtain with classic lumpectomy and oncologic breast surgery is a helpful technique.


Sediment samples often contain appreciable amounts of mica, a complex group of alumino-silicate minerals with varying chemical composition which have a strong cleavage that results in their platy structure (Klein and Hurlbut, 1993). Muscovite and biotite are usually the most common forms found in detrital sediments. Standard laboratory treatments (Aitken, 1985) to obtain pure quartz or feldspar for luminescence dating do not seem to reject mica minerals. A few studies have described the luminescence properties of mica (e.g. Kristianpoller et al., 1988; Clark and Sanderson, 1994). Not much is known about whether mica is actually a contaminant in luminescence dating studies, in the sense of whether it contributes significantly to the luminescence signals measured from quartz or feldspar. Excess mica can be removed by spreading the sample over statically charged surfaces (e.g. plastic envelopes or beaker surfaces) on which mica particles tend to stick. This, however, has the disadvantage that a considerable amount of quartz is also lost, especially when small grain sizes are used. We describe an effective and simple procedure to remove mica from etched quartz samples using a detergent solution in an ultrasonic bath.


CASE REPORT
A 65-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital in somnolent state. During physical examination, she had an increase in blood pressure and a positive bilateral Babinski's sign. Laboratory findings showed elevated liver enzymes, metabolic alkalosis and slightly elevated kidney values. 3 h hours later she lapsed into a hepatic coma (ammonia > 400 micrograms/dl). Subsequently, indirect anamnesis revealed the following affections: ureterosigmoidostomy in 1942, cystectomy in 1943, and right-sided nephrectomy in 1950.

DISCUSSION
This case presents with an uncommon origin of the hepatic encephalopathy: in the operated colon, bacterial overgrowth (bacteriogenic ureapoiesis) developed, which led to a hyperammonemia. Furthermore, in mild alcoholic liver disease--as in this case--ammonia cannot be metabolized to urea and leads to hepatic encephalopathy. We considered making this part of the colon poor in bacteria (by consequent administration of antibiotics), thus reducing the formation of ammonia.


Background: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel and cisplatin against advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a second-line chemotherapy. Subjects and Methods: Twenty-five patients were enrolled. The patients received 200 paclitaxel as a 3-hour intravenous infusion and 60 cisplatin as 2D-minute intravenous infusion with vigorous hydration on day 1 every 28 days. The response was assessed every 2 cycles. Results: All 25 patients were assessed for their response and toxicity. Partial responses were observed in 5 patients. The overall response rate was 20%(95% confidence interval, 4%-36%) and the median response duration was 4.5(range, 2-11) months. The median time to progression was 3.3(range, 0-14) months. The median overall survival of all patients was 7.4(range, 1.3-39) months. The hematologic toxicities were minor and easily controlled. Conclusion: The combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel and cisplatin as a second-line treatment has a moderate efficacy with an acceptable toxicity in patients with advanced NSCLC.


The Schulze ring shear tester allows measurement of yield loci for bulk granular solids and of the friction between the solids and the container wall material. These measurements are required inputs in a systematic design method for hoppers. The measurements are subject to test‐to‐test variations caused by the combined effects of several factors, such as cell filling technique, sampling technique, particle size and shape distribution of the loaded sample and cell size relative to the particle size. One difficulty for the experimenter is to decide which factors are most important in the shear test outcome. In this paper, we validate Discrete Element Model (DEM) simulation parameters with physical measurements of the JSC‐1A lunar soil simulant, and inform about the relative impact of the various parameters to the shear test outcome. Specific tests will include sensitivity studies using DEM simulations that probe the effects of particle‐to‐cell size ratio, particle size distribution, particle shape, shear mo...


Phosphatidic acid (PA), generated by phospholipase D activation, has been linked to the activation of the neutrophil respiratory burst enzyme, NADPH oxidase; however, the intracellular enzyme targets for PA remain unclear. We have recently shown (McPhail, L. C., Qualliotine-Mann, D., and Waite, K. A. (1995)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 92, 7931–7935) that a PA-activated protein kinase is involved in the activation of NADPH oxidase in a cell-free system. This protein kinase phosphorylates numerous endogenous proteins, including p47-phox, a component of the NADPH oxidase complex. Phospholipids other than PA were less effective at inducing endogenous protein phosphorylation. Several of these endogenous substrates were also phosphorylated during stimulation of intact cells by opsonized zymosan, an agonist that induces phospholipase D activation. We sought to identify the PA-activated protein kinase that phosphorylates p47-phox. The PA-dependent protein kinase was shown to be cytosolic.cis-Unsaturated fatty acids were poor inducers of protein kinase activity, suggesting that the PA-activated protein kinase is not a fatty acid-regulated protein kinase (e.g. protein kinase N). Chromatographic techniques separated the PA-activated protein kinase from a number of other protein kinases known to be activated by PA or to phosphorylate p47-phox. These included isoforms of protein kinase C, p21 (Cdc42/Rac)-activated protein kinase, and mitogen-activated protein kinase. Gel filtration chromatography indicated that the protein kinase has an apparent molecular size of 125 kDa. Screening of cytosolic fractions from several cell types and rat brain suggested the enzyme has widespread cell and tissue distribution. The partially purified protein kinase was sensitive to the same protein kinase inhibitors that diminished NADPH oxidase activation and was independent of guanosine 5′-3-O-(thio)triphosphate and Ca2+. Phosphoamino acid analysis showed that serine and tyrosine residues were phosphorylated on p47-phox by this kinase(s). These data indicate that one or more potentially novel protein kinases are targets for PA in neutrophils and other cell types. Furthermore, a PA-activated protein kinase is likely to be an important regulator of the neutrophil respiratory burst by phosphorylation of the NADPH oxidase component p47-phox.


The goal of this project is to define a basic statistical measure of vowel harmony over an arbitrary corpus, such that this measure can be used to meaningfully compare the relative harmony between any languages, corpora, or phonological features. For example, we might want to know whether Finnish is more harmonic for backness than Hungarian is, or whether Tuvan is more harmonic for backness than for roundness, or whether Turkish is more harmonic for backness in literary writing than in academic writing. With such a measure of vowel harmony applied to the appropriate temporally spaced corpora, we could even determine the quantitative trajectory of a language's harmony over time: when and how fast it increased or decreased.


For distribution networks with a high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems, overvoltage is a common and major issue that needs be addressed to not only assure reliable and secure system operation, but also to fully utilize PV generation capacity. A new real power capping method is proposed in this paper to prevent overvoltages by adaptively setting the power caps for PV inverters in real time. The proposed method can maintain voltage profiles below a preset upper limit while maximizing the PV generation and fairly distributing the real power curtailments among all the PV systems in the network. As a result, each of the PV systems in the network has equal opportunity to generate electricity and shares the responsibility of voltage regulation. The method does not require global information and can be implemented either under a centralized supervisory control scheme or in a distributed way via consensus control. Both steady state and dynamic simulation studies under various scenarios have been carried out on a 33-bus distribution system and the IEEE 13-bus test feeder to verify the effectiveness of the method.


The order of the uninhibited pyrolysis of ethyl bromide in the gas phase has been confirmed as 1.5. Mixed pyrolyses of ethyl chloride and ethyl bromide, both in the absence and presence of cyclohexene, are consistent with the ethyl chloride and the maximally inhibited ethyl bromide decompositions being molecular. The decomposition of ethyl chloride has been re-investigated. The rate equation over the temperature range 419.4-499.1° was log10k1= 13.46–56,620/2.303 RT(sec–1).


: A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2017-2018 at the Center of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Al-Tuwaitha Research Station (30 km south east of Baghdad) to evaluate the performance of two bread wheat genotypes at the 3 rd backcross generation with their parents, cv. Furait, Barka and Iraq under saline field condition (12dSm -1 ). The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of different backcrosses and its parents in targeted field condition, on grain yield and its components of bread wheat. Results showed that the two generations of (Furait x Baraka) and (Furait x Iraq) were significantly exceeded their parents and gave the highest values of spikes m -2 (207.0, 196.3), grain spike -1 (37.0, 39.0), 1000 seed weight (34.3, 33.3g) and grain yield m -2 (244.4, 242.7g), respectively. Phenotypic variation and the percentage of broad sense heritability for plant height, tillers m -2 , grains spike -1 , 1000 seed weight and grain yield m -2 were the highest compared with the value of environmental variation, and emphasized the important of genotypic variation and the ability to improve the desirable quantitative traits and reflects the high percentage of heritability.


MEDICINA VETERINÁRIA The aim of the present study was to characterize the follicular dynamics during early pregnancy in murrah heifers. Ten heifers were submitted to daily ultra-sound examination (use), from the 18th to 60th day of pregnancy. Three animals presented follicular waves of 9.67±0.58 days in duration and the dominant and largest subordinate follicles measured, respectively, 11.9±1.3 mm and 7.0±1.0 mm. The growth plateau was 6.00±1.00 days in duration. The remaining seven heifers presented an irregular follicular development with three different patterns as follow: the first irregular observed pattern, characterized by waves of 7.40±1.26 days in duration, with the dominant follicle and the largest subordinated follicle reaching maximum diameter of 11.4±1.1 and 7.0±1.6 mm, respectively. The deviation on this pattern happened on day 3.57±0.53 and the plateau had an average duration of 4.67±1.37 days. The second irregular observed pattern presented waves lasting 6.44±1.81 days, with the dominant follicle and the largest subordinated follicle reaching maximum diameter of 9.0±0.6 and 6.8±0.4 mm, respectively. The deviation happened on day 4.00±1.41 after the wave detection. The third irregular pattern observed was characterized by periods of subsequent follicular growth without defined phases as described for the first and second patterns. In conclusion, from the 18th to 60th day of pregnancy, the follicular development is characterized by waves of different patterns in buffalo. Key WOrds: follicle, ovary, pregnancy, ultrasound.


We show that the spatio-temporal electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force production in surface alternative current-dielectric barrier discharge (AC-DBD) actuators is strongly influenced by both the streamer regime during the positive phase and the micro-discharge regime during the negative phase. Focusing on the spatial EHD force profiles, we demonstrate that the ionic wind spatial distribution can only be explained by the positive contribution of the streamer regime. The location of maximum ionic wind is found to be directly linked with the maximum elongation of the streamers at several millimeters from the exposed electrode. In both positive and negative phases of the AC-DBD operation, residual volumetric and surface charges once again linked to the streamer formation and afterburn, result to a variety of positive EHD force zones which, when time-averaged in one AC period, contribute to the generation of the experimentally observed induced thin wall jet. Through a thorough elaboration of our numerical results, we provide an illustrative explanation of the EHD force spatio-temporal evolution, showcase the importance of streamers and retrieve a correct representation of the ionic wind spatial profiles when compared to experiments.


We are entering a transformational period in clinical science, as customary research systems join with huge figuring influence and an abundance of new information Just as of late, Google reported that it has built up a computerized reasoning (AI) framework equipped for beating human radiologists in recognizing bosom malignant growth What's more, that is just the most recent case of how AI and enormous information are prompting new clinical diagnostics, medications and revelations To understand AI's gigantic potential, in any case, we should build up a businesslike and all around concurred way to deal with overseeing the assortment and utilization of genuine information True information incorporates any data that can assist with controlling new clinical research Some of it has been around for a long time Malignant growth specialists have since a long time ago utilized anonymized wellbeing records to choose conscious competitors who are destined to react well to novel and trial medicines In any case, different sorts of information have opened up as of late, alongside the innovation for investigating them at scale © 2020 SERSC


Depending on the initiating stimulus, cancer cell death can be immunogenic or nonimmunogenic. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) involves changes in the composition of the cell surface as well as the release of soluble mediators, occurring in a defined temporal sequence. Such signals operate on a series of receptors expressed by dendritic cells to stimulate the presentation of tumor antigens to T cells. We postulate that ICD constitutes a prominent pathway for the activation of the immune system against cancer, which in turn determines the long-term success of anticancer therapies. Hence, suboptimal regimens (failing to induce ICD), selective alterations in cancer cells (preventing the emission of immunogenic signals during ICD), or defects in immune effectors (abolishing the perception of ICD by the immune system) can all contribute to therapeutic failure. We surmise that ICD and its subversion by pathogens also play major roles in antiviral immune responses.


Compact planar hairpin bandpass filters on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) substrate with a low insertion loss and large tunable range are designed, fabricated and characterised. The magnetic field tunable permeability of the YIG substrate led to a large tunable frequency range of 26% from 3.72 to 2.74 GHz when the magnetic field was varied from 0 to 800 Oe, corresponding to a large magnetically tunable frequency range of 325% of the %3dB bandwidth. In the meantime, the high permeability of the YIG substrate led to a good impedance match and a low insertion loss between 0.01%1.4 dB for the tunable bandpass filter. The operating frequency of the bandpass filter showed a non-monotonic dependence on the bias magnetic fields, which was caused by a non-linear bias field dependence of the permeability spectra. The bandpass filter showed a high insertion loss of up to 7dB within the bias field range of 200%600 Oe, which was due to the negative permeability of the YIG substrate that prohibited wave propagation.


The Quantum Zoo. A Tourist's Guide to the Neverending Universe. Marcus Chown. Joseph Henry Press (National Academies Press), Washington, DC, 2006. 212 pp. $24.95, C$27.95. ISBN 0-309-09622-7. Writing for a broad, popular audience, Chown offers an entertaining description of two key strands of modern physics: quantum mechanics and relativity.


The aim of the present article is to describe a policy of the Polish state towards national minorities and ethnic and religious groups inhabiting the Eastern Border Land of the Second Polish Republic. The educational policy towards national minorities and religious groups was determinated by national and foreign policy of the state taking into account the field of national security. There was no the only one policy towards all minorities, but the policy was diversified depending on a region and a cultural characteristic of a minority. According to the level of national consciousness, population, and national aspirations, the educational policy towards different minorities and ethnic groups was diversified too. The main danger was seen in Slavonic minorities (Belorussian, Ukrainian), which could be dangerous to the state integrity and could influence to weaken Polish eastern borders. The Jewish minority, which was an economic base of the Second Polish Republic, obtained much more autonomy in the field of education. The biggest opportunity of cultural and educational development there had small minorities, which had assimilated for a long time and did not have national aspirations (among them: Tatars, Karaims). The educational policy made by the state had the opposite effect to the plans, because every closure of schools and disturbing in educational activity by state authorities caused an aversion of minorities to the Polish state. On the other hand, the main aim of the state was to preserve national security and every decentralizing activities were noticed as dangers. Education system was a basic means of preservation of national home security and order in the country. Owing educational means let the authorities create consciousness of young generations and keep balance between their activities and national security.


Applications Discrete random variables may be used i~ 2biotite Carlo procedures not only directly, as binomi~d, Poisso~L geometric , etc., but by way of generating continuous random , z' " *'V variables-exponential, normal, etc. A~tr'ae~.~ e met.hods for generating a continuous variable y may be based on the representation y = x + v, where x is discrete and v uniform on some small intervM. The procedure amounts to replacing the distribution function of y by a continuous pieeewise-linear distribution. For ' a exanap,e, fast attd accurate method for generating an exponential variable in a decimal computer is obtained by the representation y = x + v, where x takes values 0, .1, .2, .3, ..-, 4.6 and v is uniform on [0,.1]. An outline of a program requiring 570 storage locations is-Store v(n) in location n, n = 0,569. Let u = .&d~da ... be a uniform [0, 1] random variable. Then 1) if 0 6 d~d~ < 79, put y = v(d~d~) 4-.Od~dTds "" ; 2) if 790 =< dtd~da < 969, put y = v(d~d~da-711) 4-.Od~dvds • • • ; 3) if 9690 =< dtd~dad4 < 9888, put y = v(d~d~dad4-9432) + .Od~dTds"" ; 4) :if 98880 ~ d~d~da&d5 < 98994, put y = v(d~d~dad4d~-98424) + .Od~d:ds... ; 5) if 98994 =< d~d~dad~d~, put y =-ln(u-.98994). The method is fast, accurate, and easy to program. Details are in [2]. A general procedure for generating a continuous random variable using the above ideas will appear elsewhere [3]. A general method for generating random variables in a computer. In preparation. Sponsored by the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) 38 Communications of the ACM GAMMA was successfully run on FACIT EDB using FaclT. ALGOL 1, which is a realization of ALGOL 60 for FACIT El)B. No changes in the program were :necessary. The relative error was as stated in the comment of GAMMA about 10-s. INVERT cannot be recommended since it does not search for pivot and therefore will give poor accuracy. This is confirmed by the figures quoted by Knapp and Shaman in their certification [Comm. ACM 4 (Nov. 1961), 4981. The results obtained by them using 30 significant bits for the fraction may be compared directly with those obtained using INVERSION II (Algorithm 120) and gjr with the Gn, m ALGOL system (see certification below). Inverting the 4 X 4 segment of tim Hilbert matrix, the …


Abstract The surface strain on a rubbing rubber surface was examined in the course of pattern abrasion. Rubbing experiments between the outermost surface of a rotating isoprene rubber wheel and a cylindrical lens were conducted. Observations of the contact area were made through the lens. Markers were put on the rubbing rubber surface to measure strain. The maximum strains at the inclined rubber surface between the ridges were from around 40% to 100%. In order to measure the strain at the crack‐propagating area, a marker was put on the lower front part of the ridge. It was found that the strain necessary for crack propagation underneath the ridge was 750%, which was almost equivalent to its breaking strain, irrespective of the applied load. At that moment, newly generated crack surface was confirmed. However, no visible crack was observed through an optical microscope when the strain was measure at 200% to 400%.


Skin ulcers secondary to necrosis post-dermolipectomy occur infrequently. Despite their rarity and because of their complex pathopathophysiological nature, their resolution is a major challenge for plastic surgeons. This study is to recognise the safety and efficiency of use of CD34 stem cells (SC), obtained from the patient's bone marrow, within a solid autologous fibrin scaffold in the case of female patient with an ulcer with torpid evolution as a result of an abdominal dermolipectomy. The concept was to regenerate the affected tissue, and to induce and promote the formation of granulation tissue that is compact enough to stimulate repair by secondary intention or facilitating surgical closure. We applied a technique under specific protocols to obtain the stem cells. The healing technique-the application of CD34 stem cells without any surgical intervention-was applied at two ambulatory sessions. There were no complications or concomitant infections, and recovery was complete within five weeks via secondary intention healing, achieving a significant and satisfactory healing response in the patient, improving both her physical and mental health. In this case study, CD34 stem cells were used successfully in the treatment of a hard-to-heal ulcer. It is necessary to carry out further investigations with a greater number of patients to substantiate the use of this intervention in patients with hard-to-heal wounds.


We deal with the problem of finding the optimal time scale of the truncated Laguerre series using numerical search techniques. We develop a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) to search the nonlinear, multimodal squared-error function that results from least-squares approximations of the impulse response of causal linear time-invariant stable systems. The hybrid GA incorporates a Newton-Raphson (NR) local optimizer for fast convergence to the global minimum point. The proposed method competes favorably with the pure GA in solution accuracy (the number of function evaluations being the same) and with an established gradient-directed optimization algorithm in number of function evaluations (the solution accuracy being the same).


The thickness of anodic oxide films on chemically polished tantalum was determined from the wavelengths of the minima in the specular reflectivity using a value of the refractive index of 2·20±0·02 at 5900 Ǻ which was measured on detached flakes of the oxide by the immersion method. An auxiliary measure of increments of thickness was required for the analysis of the spectrophotometric measurements. This was provided by the quantity (Q∆( 1/C))½, where Q was the charge which was required to form the increment of thickness, and ∆(1/C) was the corresponding increase in the reciprocal capacity. This measure of thickness, like that provided by the colours, is independent of the area. The analysis gives the refractive index between 2800 and 6000 Ǻ, the net phase change in the two reflexions (with certain assumptions), and a value of ϵ/ρ, where ϵ is the effective dielectric constant under the conditions used, and ρ is the density, ρ was determined by weighing specimens in air and water. The value obtained was 7·93 ± 3%, which gives ϵ = 27·6±5%, at 1 kc/s. The effective surface area was then calculated, and was found to be very little different from the apparent area. The field strength during the formation of oxide at 9·55 mA/cm2 and 25·8° C was found to be 6·61 x 106 V/cm and to be constant within experimental error, independent of thickness.


School safety is one of the most important aspects in the management of a school. The responsibility of this management is entrusted to the Headmaster. As such, the Headmaster's obligation to manage the safety of the primary school effectively. However, many issues that threaten the safety of students are often the case. Thus, this study was conducted to measure the level of primary security management by the Headmaster. This quantitative study was conducted in Kuala Selangor District which involved 34 schools and 306 teachers as respondents. The schools selected as this sample consist of vernacular schools namely Tamil National Type Schools (SJKT) and Chinese National Type Schools (SJKC). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 to obtain the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation data for descriptive analysis. For inferential analysis, independent T min tests and Hedges g tests are carried out. The findings showed that the level of primary safety management by the SJKT and SJKC Headmasters were at a high level. However, to the significant difference between the level of primary safety management by the SJKT Headmaster and Kuala Selangor District SJKC. Average mean shows the level of primary safety management by the SJKT Headmaster is lower than the level of primary safety management by SJKC Headmaster. As a conclusion, the proposed research proposal is also proposed.


The geometrical theory of diffraction has been applied to analysis of the backscattered fields of a cube in the plane normal to four edges of the cube. The results of this diffraction analysis are used to calculate the backscattered fields at harmonically related frequencies, which are then combined with experimental data and transformed to obtain impulse, step, and ramp responses in the time domain. The inclusion of the calculated high-frequency data results in a more precise determination of the time-response waveforms than is possible with only low-frequency measured data. As an example of the results, the impulse, step, and ramp responses for vertical and horizontal polarization are presented for θ = 0° (specular direction), 30°.


The two most important drivers of today's telecommunication market are the development of mobile services and cloud computing. These two trends converge in cloud mobile services what is called cloud gaming. The challenges of delivering mobile cloud applications are not only on the technical side, they also concern the implementation of the accurate business model. The Kusanagi project is an end-to-end infrastructure to deliver Gaming as a Service (GaaS). This paper proposes the construction of a Business Model based on the presentation of a Cloud gaming project intended to evolve with the maturation of the technology and its market.


The numerical simulation of lateral impact on composite beams is a LS-DYNA and ANSYS simulation of a FEM of a composite beam being impacted by a steel ball. The increasing use of composites requires a broader understanding of their behaviour especially under different loading conditions. The behaviour of a material under dynamic loading (impact) is a crucial element of using that material in a product (such as car, plane or building) to ensure the safety of the occupants. The simulations are of a clamped composite beam using two different materials – SE-84 GFRP and T300/934 CFRP – being impacted by a steel ball. The simulations modelled previous analytical and experimental data accurately. The simulation was studying the low velocity impact of the composite material and used 3 m/s in this case. The CFRP beam had a maximum displacement of 16.2mm and an impact force of 250N compared to the GFRP beam which had a maximum displacement of 15.5mm and an impact force of 177.3N. The T300/934 CFRRP beam simulation matched the maximum displacement within 10% and the impact force within 10.7% of the comparison analytical and experimental data.


Road-killed animals are a readily available but often overlooked source of specimens and data. Determining the sex of road-killed possums is often difficult due to the severe damage carcasses sustain on impact with vehicles. Consequently, valuable information is lost. To assess the potential application of genetic techniques to address this problem, tissue biopsies (n = 47) taken from road-killed possums were sexed via PCR, through the simultaneous use of W- (G6PD) and Y-linked (SRY) primers. Comparisons with animals of known sex were used to validate the accuracy of this method, with 100% (n = 19) of samples correctly identified in a blind test. This methodology can provide researchers with valuable, additional data for road-kill studies where assigning sex in the field is not possible.


Abstract Intestinal injury is the primary toxicity of radiotherapy for pelvic and abdominal tumors, and it is also one of the common acute complications of radiotherapy. At present, there are no effective drugs to prevent intestinal injury in the clinic. Zingerone is a natural product with radioprotective effects. In this study, a novel compound (thiazolidine hydrochloride, TZC01) was synthesized by structural modification of zingerone. The effects of TZC01 on preventing intestinal injury from radiation were further investigated in this study. C57BL/6N mice were exposed to a lethal dose of abdominal irradiation (ABI) with and without TZC01 treatments. The morphological changes of the intestine and various makers of intestinal crypt cells were investigated. Treatment with TZC01 improved the survival rate of mice exposed to 12 Gy ABI. Moreover, TZC01 protected the intestinal morphology of mice, decreased the apoptotic rate of intestinal crypt cells, maintained cell regeneration and promoted crypt cell proliferation and differentiation. This study suggests that TZC01 has preventive and therapeutic effects on radiation enteritis by promoting the proliferation and differentiation of crypt cells to protect the small intestine from the toxic effects of ionizing radiation. Furthermore, the study of TCZ01 lays a strong foundation for developing novel radioprotectors with multiple properties.


.. Introduction: The palatogingival groove (PGG) is an anomaly which considered as a developmental defect. In 1908, this anomaly was first of all described by Black. According to him this palatogingival groove starts just beneath the cingulum and travels towards the apex from cementoenamel junction. Palatogingival groove presents variation in depth and length along the root. Objectives: To determine frequency of palatogingival groove in maxillary lateral incisors, as early diagnosis can prevent the development of caries and periodontitis. Study Design: Cross sectional study Setting: Department, Ibn-e-Sina Hospital Multan. Period: Six months from Jan to June 2017. Material & Method: In patients oral cavity both right and left side were inspected and the groove extension was assorted into, coronal grooves (coronal to cement enamel junction), and apical grooves (extended to the root, beyond the cement enamel junction). Results: The PGG prevalence rate in the population has been reported to be between 2.8% and 8.5%. Conclusion: The frequency of palatogingival groove was 9%. Bilateralism of the PGGs was calculated and was found to be 62.2%. 30% caries was present in all cases. Palatogingival groove can cause marginal periodontitis, pulpal necrosis and apical periodontitis. Early diagnosis can prevent the development of caries and periodontitis.


We present a novel rocket-borne ion mass spectrometer named ROMARA (ROcket-borne MAss spectrometer for Research in the Atmosphere) for measuring atmospheric positive and negative ions (atomic, molecular and cluster ions) and positively and negatively charged meteor smoke particles. Our ROMARA instrument has, compared to previous rocket-borne ion mass spectrometers, a markedly larger mass range of up to m/z 2000 and a larger sensitivity, particularly for meteor smoke particle detection. The major objectives of this first ROMARA flight included the following: a functional test of the ROMARA instrument, measurements between 55 and 121 km in the mass range of atmospheric positive and negative ions, a first attempt to conduct mass spectrometric measurements in the mass range of meteor smoke particles with mass-to-charge ratios up to m/z 2000, and measurements inside a polar mesospheric winter echo layer as detected by ground-based radar. Our ROMARA measurements took place on the Arctic island of Andøya, Norway, at around noon in April 2018 and represented an integral part of the polar mesospheric winter radar echo (PMWE) rocket campaign. During the rocket flight, ROMARA was operated in a measurement mode, offering maximum sensitivity and the ability to qualitatively detect total ion signatures even beyond its mass-resolving mass range. On this first ROMARA flight we were able to meet all of our objectives. We detected atmospheric species including positive atomic, molecular and cluster ions along with negative molecular ions up to about m/z 100. Above m/z 2000, ROMARA measured strong negative-ion signatures, which are likely due to negatively charged meteor smoke particles.


The effect of thermal treatment and impregnation of woods on the stability of wood colour was investigated. Impregnation was performed by extractives obtained from the same thermally treated species or different ones. Treated and untreated samples were exposed to an accelerating ageing by solar radiation during 1000 h. Resuts showed that thermal treatments improved mainly the colour stability of softwood (pine and white fir) samples. Analysis of chromatic coordinates after 1000 hours of accelerated ageing showed that, thermally treated pine and white fir woods were the least affected samples with E* 1000 = 8.66 and 13.31 respectively. Impregnation increases the component b* causing an intense darkening of all analysed wood samples. Moreover, impregnation stabilised the colour of poplar and fir woods subjected 1000 hours of accelerated ageing whereas, beech woods showed high variations in colour. Thus, thermal treatment and impregnation could stabilise the surface aspect of woods that have an unstable natural colour. The efficiency of impregnation depends on the nature and physicochemical properties of the extractable substances and thus on wood species.


Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is a metamodel- based optimization method. Its strategy is to explore small subregions of the parameter space in succession instead of attempting to explore the entire parameter space directly. This method has been widely used in simulation optimization. However, RSM has two significant shortcomings: Firstly, it is not automated. Human involvements are usually required in the search process. Secondly, RSM is heuristic without convergence guarantee. This paper proposes Stochastic Trust Region Gradient-Free Method (STRONG) for simulation optimization with continuous decision variables to solve these two problems. STRONG combines the traditional RSM framework with the trust region method for deterministic optimization to achieve convergence property and eliminate the requirement of human involvement. Combined with appropriate experimental designs and specifically efficient screening experiments, STRONG has the potential of solving high-dimensional problems efficiently.


The half-blood - half Indian, half white - is a frequent figure in the popular fiction of nineteenth-century America, for he (or sometimes she) served to symbolize many of the conflicting cultural values with which American society was then wrestling. In literature, as in real life the half-blood was a product of the frontier, embodying the conflict between wilderness and civilization that haunted and stirred the American imagination. What was his identity? Was he indeed "half Indian, half white, and half devil" - or a bright link between the races from which would emerge a new American prototype? In this important first study of the fictional half-blood, William J. Scheick examines works ranging from the enormously popular "dime novels" and the short fiction of such writers as Bret Harte to the more sophisticated works of Irving, Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, and others. He discovers that ambivalence characterized nearly all who wrote of the half-blood. Some writers found racial mixing abhorrent, while others saw more benign possibilities. The use of a "half-blood in spirit" - a character of untainted blood who joined the virtues of the two races in his manner of life - was one ingenious literary strategy adopted by a number of writers, Mr. Scheick also compares the literary portrayal of the half-blood with the nineteenth-century view of the mulatto. This pioneering examination of an important symbol in popular literature of the last century opens up a previously unexplored repository of attitudes toward American civilization. An important book for all those concerned with the course of American culture and literature.


ABSTRACT
It has long been acknowledged that personal competencies are required for success in medical school, residency training, and medical practice. Over the last decade, medical schools have begun to introduce standardized assessments of personal competencies, but many still rely on interviews to assess these competencies, which occur after about half of the applicant pool has already been screened out. In this article, the authors discuss the development, evaluation, and launch of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) situational judgment test (SJT) for use in medical school admissions. The AAMC SJT is designed to assess an examinee's understanding of effective and ineffective behaviors related to the core competencies for entering medical students, including service orientation, social skills, cultural competence, teamwork, ethical responsibility to self and others, reliability and dependability, resilience and adaptability, and capacity for improvement. The authors evaluate the evidence for the need for SJTs in medical school admissions by exploring common derailers in medical school, gaps in the admissions process regarding information about personal competencies, and the challenge of conducting holistic review in a high-volume context. They summarize existing research from the employment, international medical education, and residency selection contexts suggesting that SJT scores are positively associated with subsequent performance and may add value to the admissions process. The authors discuss 5 goals that were the foundation for developing the AAMC SJT: (1) assess the preprofessional competencies needed for success in medical school using a proven method, (2) enable holistic review in a high-volume admissions context, (3) create and share a program of research to support the appropriate use of SJT scores, (4) signal the need for preparation in professionalism to learners, and (5) balance the need for a new assessment with minimizing the burden and risk for applicants.


This article studies the influence of the fineness of cement, fly ash ( FA), its com-posite admixture and the amount and way mixed with superplasticizer on the rheological prop-erties of micro-fine cement (MC). By means of modern instruments and technologies ( such as XRD, SEM, laser granulometer and superficial-potential apparatus etc. ), the article stud-ies the mineral compositions, the appearance character of grains, particle size distribution and superficial potential of FA and its composite materials. And through that, the reducing mechanism of FA is thoroughly analyzed. The study shows that FA and its composite admix-ture are excellent components which can effectively improve the rheological properties of mi-cro-fine cement, and that the superplasticizer has a saturation point and the mixing way of it has a great influence on the rheological properties.