Aim: This pilot case series examined feasibility of anterior radiofrequency approach under combined ultrasound and fluoroscopy guidance to control pain from avascular necrosis of the hip. Patients & methods: Data on 11 consecutive patients were collected on longevity of cooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA), pain relief and opioid use. Results: The average age was 56 (28-66), BMI 29.5 (16.5-34), in four women and three men. Their average opioid use was 92 mg MS04 equivalents (median 35 mg). The pain score decreased to 3.3 after the CRFA. Five patients claimed more than 50% of pain relief. The average time interval of greater than 50% of pain relief from the CRFA was 70-250 days. Conclusion: CRFA may be an effective treatment of chronic pain from avascular necrosis.


Exogenous cGMP can inhibit both basal and glucagon-stimulated production of glucose in liver slices from fed rats. Thus, cAMP and cGMP have opposite effects on the production of glucose in rat liver. Acetylcholine, an activator of guanylate cyclase (EC 126.96.36.199) in other systems, also inhibits the glucagon-stimulated production of glucose. No effect on glucose production was observed with secretin or exogenous GTP.


Mathematical self-concept (MS-C) is an important construct that prospective mathematics teachers must have in mathematics learning. The aim of the research was to analyze the increase of MS-C of prospective mathematics teachers. The research was quasi-experimental with the design of one group pretest-posttest. The results showed that for prospective teachers, MS-C increased in the medium category while the MS-C indicators achieved in the medium and low categories. The increase of MS-C is due to the effectiveness of collaborative mind mapping (CMM) learning strategy and the process of strengthening MS-C capacity of prospective teachers. The CMM facilitates prospective teachers to construct creative ideas through structured collective ideas that support the increase of MS-C among prospective teacher.


Early and effective malaria diagnosis is vital to control the disease spread and to prevent the emergence of severe cases and death. Currently, malaria diagnosis relies on optical microscopy and immuno-rapid tests; however, these require a drop of blood, are time-consuming, or are not specific and sensitive enough for reliable detection of low-level parasitaemia. Thus, there is an urge for simpler, prompt, and accurate alternative diagnostic methods. Particularly, hemozoin has been increasingly recognized as an attractive biomarker for malaria detection. As the disease proliferates, parasites digest host hemoglobin, in the process releasing toxic haem that is detoxified into an insoluble crystal, the hemozoin, which accumulates along with infection progression. Given its magnetic, optical, and acoustic unique features, hemozoin has been explored for new label-free diagnostic methods. Thereby, herein, we review the hemozoin-based malaria detection methods and critically discuss their challenges and potential for the development of an ideal diagnostic device.


Neogene sediments in the UK are ideally situated for understanding the early development of hydrological dynamics and atmospheric circulation that led to the modern oceanic climate of northwest Europe. Onshore Neogene fossiliferous deposits in the UK are limited to the solution pipe fills at Trwyn y Parc in Anglesey (Middle Miocene), the Brassington Formation of Derbyshire (Serravallian‐Tortonian), and the Coralline Crag Formation (latest Zanclean‐earliest Piacenzian) and Red Crag Formation (Piacenzian‐Gelasian) in southeast England. Palynoflora from these localities can be used to provide snapshots into the climate at the time of deposition, however, palaeobotanical‐based reconstructions are typically lacking in their poor estimation of error. Therefore, we present the first pre‐Quaternary application of two terrestrial climate reconstruction techniques: CREST (Climate Reconstruction SofTware) and CRACLE (Climate Reconstruction Analysis using Coexistence Likelihood Estimation), that use Bayesian and likelihood estimation probability respectively to generate a new palaeoclimate reconstruction, and compare this to Co‐existence Approach reconstructions from the UK and continental Europe. Our study shows how Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) declines by 3°–6°C, Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) declines by 480–600 mm and Precipitation Seasonality approximately halves throughout the Neogene. CREST and CRACLE reconstructions overlap with the Co‐exisence Approach and have the advantage of providing uncertainty, rather than ranges. The UK appears to have had a milder, wetter, and less seasonal climate than continental Europe. This is likely due to the buffering effects of the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea ameliorating the UK Neogene climate despite regional and global changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation.


Hospitals are always required in order to improve the quality of service in accordance with professional standards in accordance with their code of ethics. Therefore, health workers in hospitals, especially pharmacists, are required to continuously improve its service to the community. To improve health services to the community, then the pharmacist must interact and be accepted by other professional health personnel in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of viscosity of the pharmacist in the hospital organization, namely the impact of job embeddedness on innovative behavior and attachment to his work with self-efficacy as a mediator pharmacist. This study uses a quantitative measurement that is an observational using a sample of the population as an object of measurement by using a questionnaire instrument. The results measured by the number, the data can be any value, rank, and frequencies were analyzed by using statistics to answer the research question or hypothesis to predict that a particular variable affects another variable by using the software smartPLS. The results showed that a statistically significant effect of job embeddedness on work engagement and self efficacy, also self-efficacy (as mediator) have significant to the work engagement and the innovation behavior of pharmacists in hospitals. A pharmacist who has high job embeddedness will obviously have a high self-efficacy and influence on innovation behavior and the higher work engagement of the pharmacist in the hospital.


ABSTRACT The aims of this study were to examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the flywheel (FW)-squat test. Twenty male amateur team sports athletes (mean±SD: age 23±3 years) completed one familiarization session and two testing sessions including: FW-squat test with an inertial load of 0.061 kg.m2, standing long jump (SLJ), countermovement jump (CMJ) and 5-m change of direction (COD-5m) tests, and isokinetic strength assessments of the knee extensor and flexor muscles. Test-retest reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) of data collected. Construct validity was determined as the degree of relationships between the FW-squat test outputs and both athletic tests and isokinetic assessments scores computed with Pearson's correlation coefficients. Excellent relative (ICC=0.94–0.95) and acceptable absolute (CV=5.9%-6.8%) reliability scores were found for both concentric and eccentric power outputs collected during the FW-squat test. The same outputs showed moderate to large positive correlations with concentric and eccentric knee extensor and flexor muscle peak force values (r range: 0.465–0.566) measured during the isokinetic test. The FW-squat test is a valid and reliable test to assess lower limb performance given its correlation with isokinetic test, as well as its excellent relative and acceptable absolute reliability.


As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign unfolds as one of the most rapid and widespread in history, it is important to continuously assess the real world safety of the FDA-authorized vaccines. Curation from large-scale electronic health records (EHRs) allows for near real-time safety evaluations that were not previously possible. Here, we advance context- and sentiment-aware deep neural networks over the multi-state Mayo Clinic enterprise (Minnesota, Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin) for automatically curating the adverse effects mentioned by physicians in over 108,000 EHR clinical notes between December 1st 2020 to February 8th 2021. We retrospectively compared the clinical notes of 31,069 individuals who received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine to those of 31,069 unvaccinated individuals who were propensity matched by demographics, residential location, and history of prior SARS-CoV-2 testing. We find that vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals were seen in the the clinic at similar rates within 21 days of the first or second actual or assigned vaccination dose (first dose Odds Ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.09-1.16; second dose Odds Ratio = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.93). Further, the incidence rates of all surveyed adverse effects were similar or lower in vaccinated individuals compared to unvaccinated individuals after either vaccine dose. Finally, the most frequently documented adverse effects within 7 days of each vaccine dose were arthralgia (Dose 1: 0.59%; Dose 2: 0.39%), diarrhea (Dose 1: 0.58%; Dose 2: 0.33%), erythema (Dose 1: 0.51%; Dose 2: 0.31%), myalgia (Dose 1: 0.40%; Dose 2: 0.34%), and fever (Dose 1: 0.27%; Dose 2: 0.31%). These remarkably low frequencies of adverse effects recorded in EHRs versus those derived from active solicitation during clinical trials (arthralgia: 24-46%; erythema: 9.5-14.7%; myalgia: 38-62%; fever: 14.2-15.5%) emphasize the rarity of vaccine-associated adverse effects requiring clinical attention. This rapid and timely analysis of vaccine-related adverse effects from contextually rich EHR notes of 62,138 individuals, which was enabled through a large scale Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered platform, reaffirms the safety and tolerability of the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in practice.


The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria has been plagued with recurrent crisis emanating from perceived injustice, degradation and neglect of residents in such areas. For example, violent reactions from militant youths have become unpredictable and uncontrollable; a situation that has rendered the region volatile and stressful.This study investigated the influence of personal and social variables such as locus of control and social support on adjustment to stressful life event resulting from incessant crisis. A total of two hundred subjects drawn from a violence-ridden community participated in the quantitative study. The findings indicated that females perceived their experiences to be more stressful than males, those with internal locus of control reported less stressful experience than those with external locus of control, while residents who had stayed in such environments for a longer time experienced lower stress than those on shorter time. The findings of the study highlighted the importance of psychosocial factors in alleviating the impact of stress and programs to develop locus of control and strengthen the social support of people in crisis ridden environments. Key words: Stressful life events, locus of control, social support, depression and psychosocial factors.


The determination of a rate constant for the outflow of chromium-mordanted protein particles from the rumen of lactating dairy cattle. Lactating Friesian/Holstein cows were used for the determination of the outflow rate of protein particles from the rumen. Fishmeal was made non-degradable after treatment with sodium dichromate and was handmixed into the rumen. A total faecal collection was done over 6 days to study the excretion pattern of chromium in the faeces. Faecal marker excretion curves for rate of passage were analysed using the Grovum and Williams model. The outflow rate of protein ranged from 0,022/h to 0,064/h and there was a highly significant linear effect of feeding level on outflow rate (P < 0,01 and ~ = 0,97). The following conclusion was made: the level of feed intake is one of the most important factors affecting the outflow rate, if not the dominant factor, and from the literature it is clear that different outflow rates have to be calculated for different types of diets at varying levels of intake and this must be accommodated in feeding standards. S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci. 1986, 16: 72 76


Since early 1970's skirt suction foundations (skirted foundation / bucket foundation) have been used as support for large fixed substructures or anchors for floating structures in offshore hydrocarbon development projects. In recent years skirt suction foundations are recognized as one of the solutions in foundations applicable to bridge substructures installed in waters, because skirt foundations have a wide variety of functions such as control of settlement during service life, less impact to environments during operation at installation site. This paper introduces general features of skirt suction foundations, and then discusses design practice of them for the application to bridge substructures, with reference to experiments in both laboratory and field.


A study was conducted on the use of straight-run gasoline (SRG) as an extraction solvent for the leaching of palm kernel to produce palm kernel oil (PKO). SRG is an intermediate product fraction in the second fraction of crude petroleum oil fractionation that has not undergone any purification process. It is intended as a substitute for the favorable but costlier n-hexane, which is a universally accepted extraction solvent. The solvent was compared against n-hexane in terms of aromaticity (toxicity), extractability, solvent loss and other physical properties such as viscosity, flash point and density. The results indicate that while some of their physical properties are similar and their yield of PKO is comparatively close, the SRG-extracted PKO contains more aromatics (1.3972%) more than PKO extracted with n-hexane. In the course of bleaching the PKO the aromatic content is significantly reduced by 84.3215% for SRG-extracted PKO and 93.5461% for n-hexane-extracted PKO. A chromatographic analysis of refined, marketable, SRG-extracted PKO showed a residual aromatic content of 0.125%. Refined, marketable n-hexaneextracted PKO was not available for a similar analysis. Other leaching properties investigated showed that n-hexane was superior to SRG. Key words: Leaching, palm kernel oil, straight-run gasoline, n-hexane


We have used in vivo single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the dopamine transporter with 2 beta-carboxymethoxy-3 beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([123I] beta-CIT) to investigate striatal dopamine transporter loss in patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD). Striatal uptake of ([123I] beta-CIT was compared in eight early-PD patients with exclusively hemi-parkinsonism and eight age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. [123I] beta-CIT striatal uptake was reduced by approximately 53% contralateral and by 38% ipsilateral to the clinically symptomatic side in the hemi-PD patients, compared with the mean striatal uptake in age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. The relative reduction in [123I] beta-CIT uptake in the hemi-PD patients was greater in the putamen than in the caudate. These data demonstrate that SPECT imaging of the dopamine transporter with [123I] beta-CIT can identify patients with PD at the onset of motor symptoms and suggest that this technique also may be useful in identifying individuals with developing dopaminergic pathology before onset of motor symptoms.


The position of migrant workers is often seen as a weak party. To some extent, such migrant workers are regarded as similar to slaves. In Indonesia, the government has to protect all citizens, including those abroad who have the status of migrant workers. Migrant Workers' Protection Law 18/2017 was issued to protect citizens as migrant workers. However, several migrant workers remained legally unprotected abroad. This study used the normative approach that aimed to discuss the protection of Indonesian migrant workers from two-fold, juridical and fiqh siyasah dusturiyah perspectives. While the government protected migrant workers by issuing Law 18/2017, it has more specifically provided directions and objectives to protect migrant workers. This Law ensures human rights for migrant workers despite legal, economic, and social protection for them and their families. Then, the protection of migrant workers from fiqh siyasah dusturiyah should be under the four principles of the workforce in Islam: human independence, human dignity, justice, and the clarity of the contract and wage transaction.
KEYWORDS: Indonesian Migrant Workers, Right to Work, Islamic Law.


Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the effects of participation in sports on the structural deformities of the foot. Material: A total of 2013 athletes (1301 males, 712 females) who had regularly participated in sports for a minimum of three years were included in the study. Screening of the sole was performed using a podoscope as it is a reliable and practical device. The structure of the sole was evaluated with the highly valid Staheli index. Results: A significant relationship was detected between the ages of the athletes, years in sport, branch of sports variables and the prevalence of flat foot. However, no significant relationship was found between the athletes' gender and the prevalence of flat foot. Conclusions: It is thought that the training regimes, the floor on which the sports is performed and the shoes used in sports had effects on flat foot deformity. Based on our results, we assert that redesigning the competition shoes and using sports shoes with arch support during warm-ups, running and other sportive and educational drills outside the routine activities of the sports branch may be beneficial for foot health.


Background: India suffers from a huge burden of substance abuse and associated morbidity and mortality. Among all substance use, tobacco consumption is the most common and yet the most widely accepted one. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of tobacco consumption, to find out the type of tobacco products used and to assess the factors influencing tobacco consumption in the slums of Shillong city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based study was carried out in 330 respondents aged 15 and above. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions, and Student's t-test was used to compare groups for continuous variables. Results: The prevalence of current tobacco consumption was found to be 73.9%, and the rate of quitting was found to be 4.3%. The prevalence of tobacco consumption was observed to be higher in males (52.4%) compared to 21.5% in females. Highly significant statistical association was observed between tobacco consumption and age, gender, and occupation. The statistical association between tobacco consumption and religion and education was found to be statistically significant. Ever use of tobacco in any form as well as smokeless form peaked in 24–34 years, while smoking was more prevalent among 15–24 year olds. The prevalence of smokeless tobacco was higher (47.5%) as compared to the prevalence of smoking (28.2%), closely followed by dual use (24.3%). The most popular smoked and smokeless forms were found to be cigarettes and khaini, respectively. Conclusions: Tobacco consumption was found to be highly prevalent and was much higher than the national average hinting toward its association with higher incidence of various malignancies in the region and calling for immediate action toward propelling its prevention and control by all stakeholders.


The aim of the studies described in this thesis was to gain more insight in the complex molecular mechanisms underlying the RNA replication of the cowpea mosaic virus genome. Previously the replication of CPMV RNA has been examined extensively with crude membrane fractions prepared from CPMV infected cowpea leaves (Zabel, 1978; Dorssers, 1983). These studies resulted in the identification of a host-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (Mr 130K), with unknown biological function, and the virus-encoded replicase (Mr 110K). As integral constituent of a membrane bound replication complex (RCX) the viral replicase was only capable of elongating viral plus-sense RNA chains that have already been Initiated in vivo . Furthermore, the in vitro activity was not representative for the in vivo in situation in that no single-stranded (as) progeny RNA production was observed. To resolve the mechanism of initiation of CP14V RNA synthesis and to examine the role of different virus-encoded proteins and specific genomic RNA sequences in this process a replication system that also accepts exogenously added RNA templates is required. Despite exhaustive attempts it has not yet been possible to reconstitute polymerase activity after the removal of the tightly bound template RNA from crude replication complexes isolated from CPMV infected cowpea leaves. In chapter 2 we have explained that CPMV RNA replication probably requires a primer and a template for the Initiation of RNA synthesis. Based on this Idea we have tried to reconstitute polymerase activity with a variety of mixtures of primers and templates. Wildtype CPMV-RNA and plus or minus-stranded transcript RNAs were tested as exogenously added templates. The primers used in the assays were oligo(U) or a short RNA stretch corresponding with the first 94 nucleotides of the viral B-RNA. In addition a mixture of poly(A) and oligo(U) as used in the research on RNA replication of poliovirus, has been tested in our system. Since the viral replicase activities, isolated from CPMV infected cowpea tissue, were low, incomplete and overshadowed by the strong host-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity, the in vitro RNA replication experiments were difficult to perform and it was troublesome to interprete the results. In an attempt to overcome these problems the in vitro RNA replication assays and reconstitution experiments were extended to crude membrane fractions, prepared from another systemic host of CPMV, Chenopodium amaranticolor . Indeed the host-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity was less prominent In this plant and it was shown that due to the greater stability of the CPMV-RCX in this host, ss progeny RNA was produced. However, as a result of the more stable RCX too, It was very difficult to remove the endogenous RNA template and hence reconstitution of polymerase activity with exogenously added templates was not possible. As an alternative approach to analyse the function of viral proteins in the CPMV RNA replication, we have started to examine the possibility of reconstituting a system for viral RNA synthesis from CPMV encoded proteins produced in Escherichia coli . For that purpose fragments of cDNA clones containing the coding regions of the B-RNA encoded 87K putative core polymerase and the 110K viral replicase were used to produce sizable levels of these proteins in E. coli . Such an expression system may generate a template-dependent activity due to CPMV proteins which are not associated with membranes and hence could be more amenable to study the RNA replication process. This RNA synthetic activity has been demonstrated successfully for polioviral polymerase expressed in E. coli . Although the expected CPMV encoded proteins were synthesized, they did not show any polymerase activity, contrasting with the highly active polio polymerase, simultaneously obtained in the same way. Since poliovirus and CPMV have analogous features of the genomic RNA and their expression strategy and show a comparable functional organization In their polyproteins, it has been assumed that both viruses probably would have a similar RNA replication mechanism. The results however contradict this Idea and indicate that the analogy between CPMV and pollovirus can not be extended to homologous mechanistical aspects of the virus multiplication. This hypothesis Is strengthened by the differences In the expression mechanisms (Wellink, 1988). Probably as a result of the split genome of CPMV, whereas pollovirus has a genome consisting of a single RNA molecule, gene expression will be differently regulated. This makes sense since for the production of progeny virus a single RNA molecule provided with a single VPg is required versus 60 copies of each of the capsid proteins. The divided genome of CPMV enables a regulated production of these proteins, whereas for poliovirus such regulation is not possible. Since the expression of virus-encoded proteins Is needed for viral RNA replication, it is plausible to assume that differences in the regulation of gene expression may result In different RNA replication mechanisms for poliovirus and CPMV . Although the 87K and 110K B-RNA-encoded proteins produced in E. coli appear to be not capable or not sufficient for polymerase activity, the expression system has shown to be very useful for the production of separate virusencoded proteins, among which the active viral protease. Based on both the expression experiments and the inability to prepare a template-dependent replication system, it seems a plausible hypothesis that the processing products 87K and 110K, already folded in a certain way, are not able to (re)initiatie RNA replication on an added template, but that a larger precursor protein from which the polymerase is simultaneously cleaved and incorporated into an active RCX is needed. If this hypothesis Is true it would be impossible to observe complementation between two mutant B-RNA molecules, each encoding only a part of the open reading frame such that the two mutant RNA molecules together produce the complete set of B-RNA encoded proteins. These experiments still have to be performed. As polymerase activity is only expected upon binding of the proteins to a template and upon subsequent initiation of complementary RNA strand synthesis, it would be worthwhile to study these processes Independently. Firstly, one can examine the binding between specific polymerase proteins, which may be Isolated from the E. coli expression system, and templates, followed by reconstitution of a functional replication complex by the addition of suitable primers like specific oligonucleotides or VPg in various forms and membranes which can be isolated from plant or synthesized in vitro . For the examination of specific nueleotide sequences involved in the viral RNA replication Infectious transcripts produced from full-length DNA copies of B- and M-RNA have been exploited (Vos, 1987). Both the infection procedure and the specific infectivity of the transcripts were improved, resulting in a system suitable to introduce site specific mutations in the viral RNAs and to analyse the effects of such mutations on the RNA replication in vivo . The potential of the Infectious transcripts has been demonstrated by the analysis of genomic RNA sequences with putative RNA replication signals. By subtile modifications, a function In the RNA replication could be described to an homologous nucleotide-stretch which is present in the 3' region of both B- and M-RNA. The Importance of these nucleotides in the viral RNA multiplication was strengthened by the reversion of the mutated stretches to the wildtype sequence in this area during replication cycles in vivo . As the reversion was a stepwise process, the reversion probably occurs by the preferential multiplication of those RNA molecules which have advantageous point mutations in this nucleotide stretch. Alternatively, recombination with the homologous area in the wildtype M-RNA transcript could be the underlying mechanism for reversion. When Band M-RNA transcripts with identical mutations in this region will be used as inoculum, one can discriminate between these two possibilities. Whether the nucleotide stretch Indeed forms the supposed hairpin, which may protect the RNA against degradation or alternatively have a specific signal function In RNA replication or encapsidation, remains an interesting question to be solved. A major advantage for further studies on the RNA replication of CPMV Is that this virus has a genome consisting of two RNA molecules. B-RNA can replicate Independently and contains the genetic information needed for the RNA multiplication. M-RNA contains the information for the cell to cell transport of the virus and needs B-RNA encoded proteins for its multiplication. This dependency must be its multiplication. This dependency must be exploited In future experiments by modifying the M-RNA sequence at specific places while keeping the B-RNA encoded replication machinery intact. Such studies may considerably contribute to the fully understanding of the complex RNA replication mechanism of CPMV and related viruses.


The pediatric burn patient presents a particular challenge nutritionally. Nutritional reserves are limited, and excesses are often poorly tolerated. Ongoing monitoring is essential for discovering at an early stage the dynamic shifts in energy, protein, and other nutrients that may be occurring. Adequate enteral intake may be difficult to achieve as a result of repeated holding of feedings on surgery days and gastrointestinal tolerance problems such as poor gastric emptying and abdominal distention. This case report illustrates techniques, such as the nutritional assessment record and parenteral nutrition evaluation form, which may assist the clinician in optimizing the nutritional management of the patient.


In an Italian multicenter study, 296 patients (115 males, 181 females) affected with major depression diagnosed according to the criteria of the DSM III-R, were treated for 8 weeks with 20 mg/die fluoxetine (Fluoxeren-Menarini s.r.l.). At the end of the therapy the mean scores on the Hamilton Depression Scale had improved considerably, going down from 27.42 to 10.05. 69.6% of the patients had improved by at least in the 50% in the HAM-D scores (responders). At the CGI the overall improvement was evaluated with a mean score of 2.05 (marked improvement), while the patients assessed themselves at the end of treatment as being from "improved" to "greatly improved". No significant differences in efficacy were found to depend on age, type of depression or response to previous treatment, though younger patients (18-40 years), and those with single or recurring episodes, with atypical depression and good response to other antidepressants, showed a more marked improvement. The tolerability of the drug was found to be good. The laboratory tests, ECG and body weight stayed within normal limits.


One-dimensional (1D) hyperbranched heterostructures (HBHSs) with abundant interfaces are rendered with various interfacial phenomena and functionalities. However, the rational synthesis of 1D HBHSs with desired spatial architecture and specific interface remains a great challenge. Here, we report a seeded growth method for controlled synthesis of two extraordinary types of HBHSs, in which high-intensity of CdS branches selectively grow on 1D nanowire (NW) trunks with different growth behaviors. The composition of the HBHSs can be further tuned by combining with cation exchange method, which enriches the variety of the HBHSs. The optoelectronic devices based on a single HBHS were fabricated and exhibit a better photoresponse performance compared with that of a single NW trunk. This advance provides a strategy for the controlled synthesis HBHSs with complex morphology and offers a platform for exploring their applications for photo harvesting and conversion.


A novel approach to achieve concurrent error detection in finite-field multiplication over GF(2 m ) that uses multiple-bit interlaced parity codes is presented. These codes are implemented as a generic parity checker, which means they can be used with any multiplier architecture. Relative to the number of parity bits used, much improved delay and error-detection performance are achieved compared to previously reported results, yet for the examples considered the area overhead did not exceed 12%. The proposed work is particularly important for cryptography implementations employing GF(2 m ) multipliers and requiring reliability and protection against adversarial attacks that use fault induction.


Previous comparisons of relationship quality between individuals in couple-initiated and arranged marriage have yielded inconsistent findings. One factor which may help to explain this inconsistency is variability in the way in which arranged and couple-initiated marriages are practiced. To test this, we recruited 116 Bangladeshi women engaged to be married or within the first 3 years of couple-initiated and arranged marriages. We tested to see which of three models (type of marriage only, perceived influence over partner selection only, and a model that included both relationship type and influence over partner selection) best accounted for variance in self-reported intimacy, passion, commitment as well as positive and negative relationship quality. Results suggest that influence over partner selection is a better predictor of these outcomes than marriage type, with marriage type offering little if any information beyond that provided by perceived influence. Regardless of marriage type, women with greater influence over their partner selection reported higher levels of intimacy, passion, commitment and positive marital quality. Negative marital quality was unrelated. Future research may benefit from reconceptualising the arranged/couple-initiated marriage dichotomy as a continuum.


Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze labor resources in Bihor County and to highlight some of aspects that characterize the current condition of this population category. In this respect, the paper reveals that the population is found in a process of demographic aging, with negative implications upon the utilization of workforce. Based on analysis of statistical data provided by the statistical yearbook, the paper result show that the workforce renewal rate in Bihor County is in deficit, respectively 100 individuals turned inactive, are replaced by only 79 individuals, who come under the category of the active population. Furthermore, the fact that the active civilian population represents only 66,9 % of the overall potential active population, emphasizes a relatively feeble use of the workforce. Finally, the paper reveals a significant numeric decrease, during the past years, of the individuals activating within the healthcare and social work departments. Thus, this decrease has a negative consequence upon the health condition of the population


In this paper, sliding mode based control and synchronization scheme is proposed for a new four-dimensional chaotic system named as modified Lorenz-Stenflo (MLS) system. By selecting Proportional-Integral (PI) switching surface appropriately, a sliding mode controller is designed. This controller guarantees the occurrence of sliding motion and achieves synchronization of MLS chaotic systems in master- slave configuration. The approach provides an alternative way of designing controller for this system as proposed in [22]. Finally, Numerical simulations are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller.


The article aims to analyze recurrent actions and strategies, applied by public elementary schools with the stated purpose of improving the quality of basic education. Based on the results recorded by these schools in quality official translators, it highlights common traits between initiatives operated since the publication of the 2009 Ideb, results achieved and variations in official indexes and indicators of the period, signaling issues from the trends identified. It concludes showing no uniform correspondence between the actions taken and the achieving of better official rates, which confirms the need to look carefully at what the schools are electing as actions to drive quality.


This comparison seeks to determine if the three documents addressing information literacy skills and competence developed by professional library associations for postsecondary education in four predominantly English-speaking countries—the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand—have similar or varying conceptions of information literacy. In a globalized society, postsecondary institutions not only prepare students to live and work within local, regional, or national contexts but also equip them to function in a global society. If conceptions of information literacy vary between countries, then graduates might not be well prepared to function successfully within this global society.


This paper formulates the price-based unit commitment (PBUC) problem based on the mixed integer programming (MIP) method. The proposed PBUC solution is for a generating company (GENCO) with thermal, combined-cycle, cascaded-hydro, and pumped-storage units. The PBUC solution by utilizing MIP is compared with that of Lagrangian relaxation (LR) method. Test results on the modified IEEE 118-bus system show the efficiency of our MIP formulation and advantages of the MIP method for solving PBUC. It is also shown that MIP could be applied to solve hydro-subproblems including cascaded-hydro and pumped-storage units in the LR-based framework of hydro-thermal coordination. Numerical experiments on large systems show that the MIP-based computation time and memory requirement would represent the major obstacles for applying MIP to large UC problems. It is noted that the solution of large UC problems could be accomplished by improving the MIP formulation, the utilization of specific structure of UC problems, and the use of parallel processing.


In orthopedic patients, foreign body-associated infections, especially periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs), are a devastating complication of arthroplasty. Infection requires complex treatment, may result in long hospitalization and causes considerable costs. Multiple surgical revisions can be necessary in these patients, with a loss in function as well as in quality of life. The routine preoperative diagnostics include blood examination for C-reactive protein (CRP) and other biomarkers, as well as joint aspirate analysis for cell count, differentiation, and culture. Intraoperative specimens for histology and microbiology are also standard procedure. The microbiological examination of removed implants with sonication, in combination with the implementation of molecular biology techniques in microbiology, represent two novel techniques currently employed to enhance the differential diagnostics of PJI. We present here the step-wise procedure of analyzing joint aspirate and sonication fluid, using a cartridge-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system. Results were matched against conventional cultures and consensus criteria for PJI. Conventional microbiological cultures from tissue biopsies, joint aspirate and sonication fluid showed a sensitivity of 66.7%, 66.7%, and 88.9%, respectively, and a specificity of 82.3%, 54.6%, and 61.5%, respectively. The PCR diagnostic of the sonication fluid and the joint fluid showed a sensitivity of 50.0% and 55.6%, respectively, and both a specificity of 100.0%. Both PCR diagnostics combined had a sensitivity of 66.7% and a specificity of 100.0%. The multiplex PCR therefore presents a rapid diagnostic tool with moderate sensitivity but high specificity in diagnosing PJI.


Increasing the battery-recharge period of smartphones is becoming a challenge since their power consumption is increased as a result of enhanced functions that require sophisticated multimedia signal processing. An attractive solution is constituted by wireless charging, which is capable of replenishing the battery over the ether. Given this motivation, we present the fundamental physics and the related system structure of a promising wireless charging technique, i.e., distributed laser charging (DLC). Relying on DLC's unique features, we may be capable of transmitting approximately 2 W of power up to a distance of about 10 m. Following the comparison of the other three major wireless charging techniques, i.e., inductive coupling, magnetic resonance coupling, and microwave radiation, we demonstrate the benefits of DLC in the context of mobile applications. We then propose a pair of wireless charging network architectures, i.e., a DLC-aided, infrastructure-based network and a DLC-based ad-hoc network. These network architectures illustrate the potential of DLC in realizing the fully charged utopia for any device, anywhere, and anytime.


The purpose of this instrumental case study is to investigate mathematics and science teacher candidates' (TCs) beliefs about questioning and acquisition of questioning skills. Twentyeight seniors from a major university in northern Turkey volunteered for the study. We conducted one to one semi-structured interviews with 10 of the TCs, the remaining 18 TCs provided their answers via e-mail. We utilized the constant comparison method in analyzing the interview transcripts. The coding of 28 transcripts revealed five fundamental themes: roles of questioning techniques in education, development of questioning skills, roles of colleges in developing questioning skills, roles of internships in developing questioning skills, and factors preventing students from answering questions. Results indicated that even though questioning is seen as a critical skill by teacher candidates, the theories and practices about developing questioning skills during the teacher canditates' training in Turkey is inadequate and there is a need for more emphasis on questioning during college and student internship


The article briefly discusses the history of the creation and staging of the last unfinished play by Luigi Pirandello «Mountain Giants» (1936) in Italy. The main focus is on staging and interpretation of Pirandello's play in Russia, namely on the E. Kamenkovich and P. Agureeva 2014 production at the Moscow Theater «Workshop of Pyotr Fomenko», for which a new translation of the play into Russian was prepared. The comparative analysis of the text of Pirandello's play in Italian and the video record of the performance at the «Peter Fomenko's Workshop» was carried out, which aim is to identify peculiarities of this Russian translation and changes made by the producers while staging the Pirandello's play for the Russian-speaking audience, as well as to understand how the directors overcome the problem of the missing ending.


This Law and regulatory Decree No. 2017 of 12 October 1988 (Diario Oficial, No. 38531, 12 October 1988, pp. 1-7) establish new procedures for the distribution of rural land in Colombia. A major aspect of these laws is the incorporation of the National Council of Economic and Social Policy (CONPES) into the planning and control of the agriculture reform scheme. According to these regulations, the Colombian Institute for Agriculture Reform (INCORA) will be in charge of the creation of the Annual Plan of Activities which establishes the regions subject to a land distribution plan under the supervision of CONPES. Once the Annual Plan of Activities is formulated, the regulations authorize INCORA to negotiate directly with the owners of the lands covered by the regional plan. For this purpose, the land is subject to technical analysis consisting of an on-site visit during which the quality, improvement, and value of the machinery attached to the land are assessed. After the analysis is completed, an offer will be made to the owner, who has a period of 15 days to accept or reject it. If the offer is rejected, INCORA will initiate an expropriation proceeding. Payment will be made in government bonds, maturing in five years. The owners have a right to seek the exclusion of their lots from regional plans. A second major aspect of these laws is that their objectives include not only the redistribution of the land but also the creation of adequate infrastructure for the development of regions subject to agrarian reform. Projects for the construction of railroads or other means of transportation, public service facilities, and cultural centers will be carried out keeping in mind the principle that respect for environmental concerns be maintained.


Despite improvements over the last decade, survival rates for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain around 50% and variable. Recently, a subset of HNSCC has been shown to contain human papillomavirus (HPV) and the presence of HPV in tumors constitutes a prognostic marker of disease. HPV-DNA in these tumors (overwhelmingly genotype 16, a high-risk type also found in cervical cancer) is present at high copy numbers, frequently integrated, and often transcriptionally active. In comparison with HPV-negative tumors, however, HPV-positive HNSCCs are more likely to be located within the oral cavity/pharynx and diagnosed at a late stage. Based on the epidemiological evidence to date, it is reasonable to hypothesize that HPV-positive and -negative HNSCC represent different lineages formed through diverse, though overlapping, mechanisms of multistage tumorigenesis. The introduction of prophylactic and therapeutic HPV vaccines could have important implications for the prevention and control of a substantial fraction of HNSCC.


We introduce a patch to the commonly used public codes CAMB and CosmoMC that allows the user to implement a general modification of the equations describing the growth of cosmological perturbations, while preserving the covariant conservation of the energy-momentum. This patch replaces the previously publicly released code MGCAMB, while also extending it in several ways. The new version removes the limitation of late-time-only modifications to the perturbed Einstein equations, and includes several parametrizations introduced in the literature. To demonstrate the use of the patch, we obtain joint constraints on the neutrino mass and parameters of a scalar-tensor gravity model from CMB, SNe and ISW data as measured from the correlation of CMB with large scale structure.


In a study of coal-miners suffering from lung cancer two features of special interest are recorded. The difficulties in diagnosis are illustrated by case reports. The two-year survival rate after surgical removal of the tumour is significantly better in coal-miners than in non-miners. After operation 87% of coal-miners were alive two years later, compared with only 36% of other patients operated upon. It is suggested that the rate of spread of the tumour to the mediastinal structures, lymph glands, and blood vessels is retarded by the effects of pre-existing dust disease in the lungs. This factor explains the good results in a group of patients selected for surgery.


In this study, we conducted heat treatment on 14K, 18K yellow gold alloy at various temperature conditions for improving their hardness and moderating their surface defects. Also after the heat treatment we used EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analyzer), XRF (x-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy) for qualitative analysis and OM (optical microscope), SEM (scanning electron microscope) to investigate the changes of surface grain boundary. We used Vickers hardness tester to verify the changes of hardness. After the heat treatment, 14K, 18K gold alloys showed improved hardness and moderated surface defects at specific temperatures and duration.


In this paper an attempt has been made to study and analyse various designs of wick type solar stills used in domestic, commercial and industrial applications. Under various Indian climatic conditions, the floating wick type solar stills can produce higher output of 6.25 Litres per square metre of absorber plate area during the month of June. It is also observed that the productivity of the wick type solar stills can be improved to around 53% by integrating the solar stills with fins by enhancing the heat transfer coefficients. The daily yield of the distilled water can be increased by around 14% to 34% by using various inclination angles and reflectors in the solar stills. The average annual values of convective heat transfer coefficient for the passive and hybrid active solar stills were observed as 0.78 and 2.41 W/m2K.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Introduction and Objective: ETS Related Gene (ERG) is aberrantly expressed in more than two-third of prostate cancers (CaP) due to gene fusions. CaP specific TMPRSS2- ERG fusion is a promising biomarker and potential therapeutic target. Cancer associated expression of ERG have also been described in several cancers. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying ERG induced oncogenic process in specific cancers are not clearly understood. Identification and thorough characterization of downstream target genes may aid to design effective therapeutic strategies for ERG expressing cancers. In this study, we have identified cancer specific ERG target gene signature of ERG expressing cancer cells that may be utilized as therapeutic targets for the treatment of ERG expressing CaP patients.

Methods: Illumina BeadChips microarray analysis was performed to profile ERG specific RNA signature from ERG positive tumor cell lines and normal ERG expressing endothelial cells transfected with either ERG specific siRNA or non-targeting siRNA. Functional gene clustering and Venn diagram analysis was employed to show the overlap of the common and unique gene sets regulated by ERG in these cells. Gene expression was analyzed by Western blot, QRT-PCR, and immunofluorescence assays.

Results: Biological function based gene clustering analysis identified two distinct gene signatures (normal and cancer specific) regulated by ERG. Knockdown of ERG in malignant cells resulted in overexpression of differentiation markers such as MSMB, KLK3, SLC45A3, NKX3.1, and NOV4 in prostate cancer (VCaP cells), and APC, DCC, CTNNB1, and NKD1 in colon cancer (COLO320 cells). In contrast, knockdown of ERG in normal endothelial-derived HUVEC cells resulted in the repression of differentiation markers such as CDH5, ANGEL2, and TIE1.

Conclusions: We identified tumor specific ERG target gene signature using normal and various cancer cell lines. This study confirmed the cell context dependent role of ERG in tumor and in normal endothelial cells. These observations have the potential to enhance our understanding of ERG biological functions thereby facilitate the design of suitable therapeutic mechanism.

Citation Format: Ahmed Mohamed, Lakshmi Ravindranth, Shilpa Katta, Shyh-Han Tan, Yongmei Chen, Gyorgy Petrovics, Albert Dobi, Shiv Srivastava. Identification of cancer specific ERG target gene signatures. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3009. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3009


The postpartum period is characterized hormonally by elevated levels of PRL and low levels of gonadotropins and sex steroids. In breast feeding, this state of postpartum amenorrhea can persist for an extended period, even though PRL levels decrease slowly. Although the action of PRL on multiple target sites has frequently been suggested as the cause of this ovarian quiescence, a suckling-induced alteration in hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) production has also been hypothesized. To test this latter hypothesis, we provided a uniform pulsatile GnRH stimulus to eight exclusively breast-feeding women for an 8-week duration beginning at 4 weeks postpartum. Five women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea served as a comparison group. All women received GnRH administered at a dose of 200 ng/kg every 90 min sc via a portable infusion pump. Serial blood sampling for LH, FSH, and PRL was performed weekly for 5 h at 10-min intervals beginning immediately before initiation of GnRH, during the period of GnRH, and 1 week after the cessation of GnRH. The women collected daily urine aliquots for estrone-3-glucuronide, pregnanediol-3-glucuronide, and LH determinations. Serial transvaginal sonography was used to monitor follicular development. Before GnRH treatment the urinary steroid and serum gonadotropin levels of the two groups were low and similar. As expected, PRL levels were higher in the postpartum women (87 micrograms/mL vs. 4.25 micrograms/L, P < 0.05). After initiation of pulsatile GnRH, LH values increased and FSH values decreased in both groups. The LH increase with GnRH was significantly greater in the breast-feeding group than in the hypothalamic amenorrhea group (19.75 mIU/mL vs. 12.34 mIU/mL, P < 0.05). Analysis of pulse frequency and amplitude revealed a nearly complete 1:1 induction of LH pulses by the exogenous GnRH in both groups, with the breast-feeding group showing a greater amplitude (12.26 mIU/mL vs. 5.34 mIU/mL, P < 0.05). The cycle lengths, urinary steroids, and vaginal ultrasonography demonstrated a more rapid initial ovarian responsiveness in the breast-feeding group, as determined by the length of the first follicular phase. The breast-feeding group also showed a brisker ovarian response, as evidenced by a greater number of follicles that were 12 mm or greater (2.3 vs. 1.2, P < 0.05), and a greater luteal phase peak and integrated pregnanediol excretion, respectively (3.02 micrograms/L creatinine and 39.87 micrograms/L creatinine/cycle vs. 1.89 micrograms/L creatinine and 7.69 micrograms/L creatinine/cycle, P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


A new image encryption algorithm of double scrambling based on ASCII code of image matrix element is proposed in this paper. The new algorithm implements position scrambling and gray scrambling at the same time, and overcomes the shortcoming of traditional algorithm that single algorithm can only deal with position scrambling but not gray scrambling simultaneously. Finally, tests show that the new image encryption algorithm presented has better scrambling effect and can effectively ensure the security of protected image than traditional algorithm.


THIS is an interesting work about three little-known languages of the Teke type. Although, from the demographic point of view, none of the three is important, the book is a useful addition to our meagre documentation of the languages of Gabon and Moyen-Congo. The author, having lived among the people, obviously has an extensive practical knowledge of their speech, and so his examples are taken from everyday situations. It is all the more unfortunate, therefore, that he has not used a spelling that is really adequate for his purpose. In a work of this kind, one is not surprised that no mention is made of tone—an important factor in these languages—but it is regrettable that no clear distinction is indicated between the seven different vowel sounds that each language uses. In a composite grammar, where everything is presented in three parallel columns, there must of necessity be serious limitations in the arrangement of the material. Nevertheless, the author has succeeded in producing a quite usable work of reference, which enables the Bantuist to fill in a few more lacunae in the information available about the Bantu languages of the north-west. MALCOLM GUTHRIE


The radiation therapy specific Voxel Monte Carlo (VMC+ +) dose calculation algorithm achieves a dramatic improvement in MC dose calculation efficiency for radiation therapy treatment planning dose evaluation compared with other MC algorithms. This work aims to validate VMC+ + for radiation therapy photon beam planning. VMC++ was validated with respect to the well-benchmarked EGS-based DOSXYZnrc by comparing depth dose and lateral profiles for field sizes ranging from 1 X 1 to 40 x 40 cm(2) for 6 and 18 MV beams in a homogeneous water phantom and in a simulated bone-lung-bone phantom. Patient treatment plan dose distributions were compared for five prostate plans and five head-and-neck (H/N) plans, all using intensity-modulated radiotherapy beams. For all tests, the same incident particles were used in both codes to isolate differences due to modeling of the radiation source. Voxel-by-voxel observed differences were analyzed to distinguish between systematic and purely statistical differences. Dose-volume-histogram-derived dose indices were compared for the patient plans. For the homogeneous water phantom and the bone-lung-bone phantom, the depth dose curve predicted by VMC+ + agreed with that predicted by DOSXYZnrc within expected statistical uncertainty in all voxels except the surface voxel of the water phantom, where VMC+ + predicted a lower dose. When the electron cutoff parameter was decreased for both codes, the surface voxel agreed within expected statistical uncertainty. For prostate plans, the most severe difference between the codes resulted in 55% of the voxels showing a systematic difference of 0.32% of maximum dose. For H/N plans, the largest difference observed resulted in 2% of the voxels showing a systematic difference of 0.98% of maximum dose. For the prostate plans, the most severe difference in the planning target volume D95 was 0.4%, the rectum D35 was 0.2%, the rectum DI7 was 0.2%, the bladder D50 was 0.3% and the bladder D25 was 0.3%. For the H/N plans, the most severe difference in the gross tumor volume D98 was 0.4%, the clinical target volume D90 was 0.2%, the nodes D90 was 0.2%, the parotids D95 was 0.8%, and the cord D2 was 0.8%. All of these differences are clinically insignificant. VMC++ showed an average efficiency gain over DOSXYZnrc of at least an order of magnitude without introducing significant systematic bias. VMC + + can be used for photon beam MC patient dose computations without a clinically significant loss in accuracy.


A monte carlo experiment was used to evaluate four procedures for estimating the population squared cross-validity of a sample least squares re gression equation. Four levels of population squared multiple correlation (Rp 2) and three levels of number of predictors (n) were factorially crossed to produce 12 population covariance matrices. Ran dom samples at four levels of sample size (N) were drawn from each population. The levels of N, n, and RP 2 were carefully selected to ensure relevance of simulation results for much applied research. The least squares regression equation from each isample was applied in its respective population to obtain the actual population squared cross-validity (Rcv 2). Estimates of Rcv 2 were computed using three formula estimators and the double cross-validation procedure. The results of the experiment demon strate that two estimators which have previously been advocated in the literature were negatively biased and exhibited poor accuracy. The negative bias for these two estimators increased as Rp 2 de creased and as the ratio of N to n decreased. As a consequence, their biases were most evident in small samples where cross-validation is imperative. In contrast, the third estimator was quite accurate and virtually unbiased within the scope of this simulation. This third estimator is recommended for applied settings which are adequately approxi mated by the correlation model.


The cottontail rabbit herpesvirus is presently classified in subgroup A of the herpesviruses, whereas the virus is strongly cell associated and belongs in subgroup B.


This paper examines the effects of macro-financial vulnerabilities on economic downturns in North Africa and GCC countries based on a Financial Stress Index (FSI). The paper identifies episodes of financial turmoil according to FSI values, and proposes an analytical framework to assess the impact of financial stress on economic downturns by using two approaches: a Cost-sensitive learning neural network and a Markov-switching time-varying model. It concludes that episodes of financial stress can be identified clearly by the two methods in a cooperative but not competitive way.


Organic farming is becoming more and more important and is constantly expanding. This development is supported by the growing demand of consumers for organic agricultural products, who are becoming more aware and interested in health insurance through the consumption of products, to which are added the requirements of society for sustainable agricultural development and the multitude of favorable effects at the level of the farm and the environment. Organic farming is an agricultural method that aims to produce food using natural substances and processes. Therefore, it has a limited impact on the environment because it encourages: responsible use of energy and natural resources, conservation of biodiversity, conservation of regional ecological balances, increasing soil fertility, maintaining water quality.EU regulations on organic farming aim to provide a clear structure for the production of organic products throughout the EU. Călărași County has, according to specialists in the field, the most productive land in Bărăgan. The purpose of this paper was to present the situation of organic agriculture in relation to conventional agriculture in Calarasi County, in terms of cultivated areas and average production, as well as a brief analysis of data on access to European funds in the county


Grassland benchmarking was defined within the EIP-Agri Focus Group 'Permanent grassland' as an important subject because within Europe there are differences in grass production between countries and within countries. As yet there has not been clear benchmarking of national grass dry matter production within EU member states. For the grassland community to advance forward with knowledge of how to increase and improve grass dry matter (DM) production, benchmarking and understanding national levels of grass DM production and their differences will be an important first step. The objective of this work is to benchmark real grassland data based on local and regional site conditions, to establish the reasons for differences in grass output, differences in botanical composition, grazing season length, ratio of grazing to cutting and finally to establish a clear view of the level of grazing intensity in different member states. The secondary objective is to establish which grassland tools will work at farm level, to ensure grassland technology are available to improve farmers grassland knowledge and efficiency.


The oxidation reaction of CV+ by acidic chlorite exhibits an interesting linear phenomenon. The depletion of CV+ in presence of excess of chlorite (ClO2 –) and (H+) follows an exponential decay involving pseudo-first order kinetics. The catalysed oxidative reaction with Ru (III) also proceeds in the same way. Detailed kinetics has been studied by using spectrophotometric methods. The stoichiometry of the uncatalysed reaction is CV+ + 2 ClO2 –  P1 + P2 + 2Cl–. Increment in ionic strength by the addition of neutral salt resulted in decrease in rate constant, which indicates the participation of two neutral species in rate determining step. The effect of pH on oxidative mechanism has been reported. Reaction mechanism with reaction dynamics for both uncatalysed and catalysed reaction has been proposed. The catalytic range for Ru (III) was found to be 1. 0 x 10–7 mol dm–3. Role of acid has been found to be complex in nature.


The use of order statistics to discriminate and classify DNA ploidy patterns is proposed, especially for the classification of additional observations: whether a given sample is more likely to have come from a normal or an abnormal tissue, and with what probability, based on its ploidy pattern. The method involves the order of observations within each of several samples (e.g., euploid and aneuploid DNA patterns) and the use of subsets of the obtained order statistics as independent variables in a linear discriminant analysis. It thus replaces univariate observations by (some of) their order statistics, which are then used as the variables in the discriminant analysis. The procedure does not require normality of distributions or the transformation of nonnormal distributions, as do many discriminant functions; order statistics are usually distribution-free and thus are particularly useful for nonparametric inference. Preliminary simulation studies verified the potential usefulness of the order statistics discriminant function method as applied to DNA ploidy analysis. Its advantages as compared to the usual methods for hypothesis testing, e.g., the use of the chi-square or Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests to as certain "goodness-of-fit," is discussed. The proposed method is easy to implement and easy to interpret; it is also applicable to the study of distributions of other types of measurements.


Purpose: This research was done to study the tribological behavior of twist HS6-5-2 drills covered with Cr/ CrN/CrN+Cr2N/Cr(C, N) and Cr/CrN/ Cr(C, N) coatings as well as to obtain detailed information about microstructure and properties of investigated coatings. Design/methodology/approach: The coatings were deposited by the ARC-PVD process and examined revealing their microstructure: with the use of SEM and TEM microscopy and composition: chemical (EDS microanalysis) and phase (XRD). Also microhardness, Young's modulus and adhesion were measured using NHT CSEM hardness tester and scratch tester. Findings: The electron energy disspersive (EDS) analysis of coatings showed higher concentration of nitrogen (in the internal coating-zone) and carbon (in the external coating-zone). The X-ray diffractometry showed that coatings are mainly composed of CrN and Cr2N nitrides. The TEM analysis revealed that coating crystallization starts with nanometric Cr2N nitrides coherent with the ferrite matrix grains. The coatings turned out to improve the lifetime of the drills (much better than that of un-coated ones). Practical implications: The main aim of this work is to determine properties of multilayer and multicomponent coatings on basis of Cr, C and N, which are potential candidates for replacing TiN coatings in certain applications. Originality/value: The paper contributes to better understanding of microstructure and properties of the coatings (chemical and phase composition, microhardness, Young's modulus, adhesion), as well as lifetime of the coated drills.


This work focuses on the symmetric alpha stable processes with continuous time frequently used in modeling the signal with indefinitely growing variance when the spectral measure is mixed: sum of a continuous meseare and discrete measure. The objective of this paper is to estimate the spectral density of the continuous part from discrete observations of the signal. For that, we propose a method based on a sample of the signal at a periodic instant. The Jackson polynomial kernel is used for construct a periodogram. We smooth this periodogram by two spectral windows taking into account the width of the interval where the spectral density is nonzero. This technique allows to circumvent the phenomenon of aliasing often encountered in the estimation from the discrete observations of a process with a continuous time.


Multimedia data play an important role in our daily lives. The evolution of internet technologies means that multimedia data can easily participate amongst various users for specific purposes, in which multimedia data confidentiality and integrity have serious security issues. Chaos models play an important role in designing robust multimedia data cryptosystems. In this paper, a novel chaotic oscillator is presented. The oscillator has a particular property in which the chaotic dynamics are around pre-located manifolds. Various dynamics of the oscillator are studied. After analyzing the complex dynamics of the oscillator, it is applied to designing a new image cryptosystem, in which the results of the presented cryptosystem are tested from various viewpoints such as randomness, time encryption, correlation, plain image sensitivity, key-space, key sensitivity, histogram, entropy, resistance to classical types of attacks, and data loss analyses. The goal of the paper is proposing an applicable encryption method based on a novel chaotic oscillator with an attractor around a pre-located manifold. All the investigations confirm the reliability of using the presented cryptosystem for various IoT applications from image capture to use it.


The study aims to highlight the importance of the diversification policy in Arab banks in general, and Iraqi banks in particular, and its role in improving investment returns and achieving profits in light of providing a measure of protection against crises by reducing the risks that accompany banking work for the period 2010-2020 as one of the most important Serious and objective formulas to bring the banking sector to a level of stability capable of supporting other economic sectors and pushing forward growth rates and economic development. To achieve the foregoing, the study relied on the Balanced Panel Data analysis methods, which include estimating the model according to the aggregate regression methodology (PRM), the fixed effect (FEM), and the random effect (REM). The study reached a set of results, the most important of which are: the diversity of factors affecting the returns and risks of Iraqi commercial banks in terms of including the diversification policy as an independent variable and the controlling variables for the bank (bank size, income diversification, lending ratio, capital adequacy, efficiency of the bank's activity) and their varying effects According to the indicator adopted to express the bank returns, as well as the insignificance of the diversification variable in the models. Many important recommendations were made in this study. Iraqi banks reconsider their diversification policy in light of the harmonization between profitability and safety and in a manner that enhances the benefit of the bank's diversification advantages and in a manner that achieves satisfactory returns for them, in light of reaching a reasonable degree of risk. Also, directing Arab banks towards deepening the effective diversification policy and taking advantage of its advantages in raising their returns and reducing their risks.


Georgia's Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI) has been a proactive effort to restore and improve habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhite) on private lands across a 15 county area of Georgia's Upper Coastal Plain. Secondary objectives included improving habitat for certain songbirds, quail hunting and wildlife viewing. The BQI provided landowners/managers (Cooperators) with technical assistance, and through a competitive process, financial incentives for bobwhite habitat management. The Georgia General Assembly and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board initiated BQI in 1998 in response to hunter/constituent concern over declining bobwhite populations; and the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division began implementation in 1999. Funding for BQI was provided through state appropriations, including funds generated through the sale of BQI vehicle license plates. Habitat incentive payments and practice options were modified gradually to increase Cooperator participation and to better integrate bobwhite management with commercial agriculture and forestry. Research and monitoring indicated positive impacts of habitat practices on bobwhites and certain songbirds. The BQI generated many additional benefits including leveraged funding for management and research; youth quota quail hunts; and increased educational outreach regarding the bobwhite decline and effective restoration techniques. A Cooperator survey indicated high customer satisfaction and a strong perception that BQI practices have improved bobwhite and songbird populations, as well as the environmental condition on Cooperator farms. The BQI showed that: 1) bobwhite numbers can be increased on working farm and forestlands, and 2) adequate levels of economic incentives and qualified technical staff are essential for success.


This paper studies procedures for identifying the true answer to a binary question using the opinions of potentially-biased individuals. It's common and natural to side with the majority opinion, but the majority may make the wrong choice when the agents are biased. Taking majority rule as a baseline, I study peer-prediction decision rules, which ask agents to predict the opinions of others in addition to providing their own. This extra information enables us to potentially recognize the correct answer even when the majority is wrong. I first show that peer-prediction rules cannot be more accurate than the majority when we require them to satisfy the same symmetry conditions as majority rule and to be incentive-compatible for agents who intend to push the final decision towards their own opinion. Realistically though, not all agents distort their information strategically. I provide a simple decision rule based on the median agent's prediction that matches majority rule when all agents are strategic and makes more accurate decisions than majority rule when some agents are honest.


Genomic and biobank collaborative platforms hold significant promise for the development of new discoveries and therapies. This paper explores the complex technical, legal and business challenges arising from genomics and biobanks, and brings together ideas and best practices from major national and international platforms, and from a diverse range of experts. The global sharing of biological samples and genomic data has been critical for accelerating our understanding of the biology and spread of COVID-19, and for the development of vaccines and diagnostics. Although some of the policy challenges in the field are well known, they have been reconfigured by the digitalisation of health innovation combined with the increasing complexity and volume of data, the push for global collaboration, and the growing awareness of ethical, legal, and social implications.


Breakdown voltage and prebreakdown current between parallel plane copper electrodes in a vacuum were measured in the gap range from 0.002 to 0.2 mm using an impulse voltage of 550×5000 ¿s. Breakdown field strength, effective field enhancement factor, and field emission current just prior to breakdown were ascertained as a function of gap spacing. With a decrease in the gap spacing from 0.2 mm, the field emission current just prior to breakdown increased sharply and at about 0.04 mm, it was 10 or 20 times larger than that when the gapspacing is 0.2 mm. However, in the gap range from 0.04 mm to 0.002 mm, the field emission current was maintained at about a constant value. The gap spacing dependence of the field emission current could be explained by the introduction of two ideas, which are a space charge effect by emitted electrons, and a change in the breakdown mechanism.


Creoles represent an under-explored and marginalized group of languages, with few available resources for NLP research. While the genealogical ties between Creoles and other highly-resourced languages imply a significant potential for transfer learning, this potential is hampered due to this lack of annotated data. In this work we present CreoleVal, a collection of benchmark datasets spanning 8 different NLP tasks, covering up to 28 Creole languages; it is an aggregate of brand new development datasets for machine comprehension, relation classification, and machine translation for Creoles, in addition to a practical gateway to a handful of preexisting benchmarks. For each benchmark, we conduct baseline experiments in a zero-shot setting in order to further ascertain the capabilities and limitations of transfer learning for Creoles. Ultimately, the goal of CreoleVal is to empower research on Creoles in NLP and computational linguistics. We hope this resource will contribute to technological inclusion for Creole language users around the globe.


A session-based recommender system (SBRS) suggests the next item by modeling the dependencies between items in a session. Most of existing SBRSs assume the items inside a session are associated with one (implicit) purpose. However, this may not always be true in reality, and a session may often consist of multiple subsets of items for different purposes (e.g., breakfast and decoration). Specifically, items (e.g., bread and milk) in a subsethave strong purpose-specific dependencies whereas items (e.g., bread and vase) from different subsets have much weaker or even no dependencies due to the difference of purposes. Therefore, we propose a mixture-channel model to accommodate the multi-purpose item subsets for more precisely representing a session. Filling gaps in existing SBRSs, this model recommends more diverse items to satisfy different purposes. Accordingly, we design effective mixture-channel purpose routing networks (MCPRN) with a purpose routing network to detect the purposes of each item and assign it into the corresponding channels. Moreover, a purpose specific recurrent network is devised to model the dependencies between items within each channel for a specific purpose. The experimental results show the superiority of MCPRN over the state-of-the-art methods in terms of both recommendation accuracy and diversity.


Summary Right ventricular dominance was observed in 22 (6.6%) out of 332 patients with atrioventricular septal defects. Their mean age was 2.24 ± 2.73 months. Chromosomal anomalies were seen in only three patients (Down's syndrome in two and trisomy nine in one). Seventeen patients underwent surgical treatment. A pulmonary artery banding was performed in eight of them with one long-term survivor who underwent a successful staged orthoterminal repair. A Norwood-type of palliation was attempted in four without success. Biventricular repair was performed in four additional patients with two mid-term survivors, in one of whom the patch used for closure of the atrial septal defect was fenestrated. One patient underwent successful heart transplantation at seven months of age. Pathophysiological problems and surgical options are discussed.


Maize is a widely grown cereal after rice and wheat and contributes almost 5% to the global dietary supply. In the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) including India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, maize is an emerging cash crop, because of its high yield potentiality and also the favorable climatic conditions which allow maize production round the year. In Bangladesh, area and production of maize are escalating due to the increasing demand for poultry, livestock, and fish feed, and fodder for animals and starch industries in the region. Presently, more than 90% of maize is planted by manual dibbling following 5–6 intensive tillage, which increases the cost of cultivation. The conservation agricultural (CA)-based new agricultural practices could overcome those above challenges. CA is cost-effective and environmentally friendly; however, weeds are one of the key challenges in the system. The chapter described the uses of herbicides in different ways of combinations to make effective weed control in CA-based maize to achieve potential production and profits by reducing the intensive pressure of manual weeding. The efficient and right use of pre-plant/sowing, pre- and post-emergence herbicides and their combination may be the best way for effective control of weeds in maize production.


The solvent peak in the intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence spectra can be suppressed by either applying pulse field gradients or spinning sample along the magic angle direction ( = 54.7). However, these two methods also suppress the signals of the solute. We design two pulse sequences with only z-axis gradients to suppress the solvent peak without reducing the intensity of solute signals. Compared to the former pulse sequence, the latter pulse sequence is insensitive to the imperfection of pulse flip angles. When the flip angles of the second pulse sequence are purposely deviated 1/10 from the optimal values, the solvent peak is still weak. Theoretical expressions, experimental observations and computer simulations demonstrate that the two methods can be used to effectively suppress solvent peak in intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence spectra.


A deep well-mixed, dry adiabatic layer forms over the Sahara Desert and Shale regions of North Africa during the late spring, summer, and early fall. As this air mass advances westward and emerges from the northwest African coast, it is undercut by cool, moist low-level air and becomes the Saharan air layer (SAL). The SAL contains very dry air and substantial mineral dust lifted from the arid desert surface over North Africa, and is often associated with a midlevel easterly jet. A temperature inversion occurs at the base of the SAL where very warm Saharan air overlies relatively cooler air above the ocean surface. Recently developed multispectral Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) infrared imagery detects the SAL's entrained dust and dry air as it moves westward over the tropical Atlantic. This imagery reveals that when the SAL engulfs tropical waves, tropical disturbances, or preexisting tropical cyclones (TCs), its dry air, temperature inversion, and strong vertical wind shear (ass...


Three pipeline sections containing defects of interest were non-destructively tested in the field, cut out and shipped to a structural laboratory to undergo full-scale testing. The common objectives of the experiments were to determine (1) the leak initiation pressure and (2) the leak rate at various specified internal pressures. While two spools (Specimens A and B) contained through-wall cracks, the third (Specimen C) had a partial through-wall crack with similar characteristics. The capacity of through-wall defects to withstand a level of internal pressure without leaking is due to the resultant local, compressive hoop residual stresses. Specimen C underwent full-scale pressure cycling to further comprehend the crack propagation mechanism in order to correlate it to field operation and analytical fatigue life predictions.To enhance the understanding of the physical crack behaviour as a function of internal pressure, a comprehensive finite element analysis (FEA) model was built using SIMULIA's Abaqus software. The model inputs incorporated results from the above-mentioned laboratory tests, in addition to extensive radial, circumferential and axial residual stress measurements using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, obtained on three pipe spools cut out from the same line. The resulting crack opening parameters from FEA were input into a closed-form fluid mechanics (FM) model, which was calibrated against a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, to determine the corresponding leak initiation pressures and leak rates. These outcomes were then compared to experimental findings. The FEA and FM models were subsequently employed to carry out a parametric study for plausible combinations of feature geometries, material properties, operational pressures and residual stresses to replicate field conditions.The key outcome from this study is the experimental and analytical demonstration that, for given fluid properties and pressures, the leak threshold and leak rate for through-wall cracks are primarily dependent upon the crack geometry and local residual stress distributions.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Soft soldering is the primary joining technology used in electronics assembly and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. Component removal for rework and repair is traditionally achieved by remelting of the solder, but the exposure of the assembly or its component parts to repeated soldering/desoldering cycles may cause both immediate damage and create a significant long term reliability hazard. Rework is also currently labour intensive and requires skilled operators. Area array components, such as ball grid arrays (BGAs), further increase rework process complexity due to the number and inaccessibility of the solder joints and, for some devices, the necessity to remove and replace the solder balls before component replacement. There is also a growing requirement to recycle/reclaim electronic waste, creating the need for an effective process for dismantling of printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). This paper presents a brief review of alternative nonthermal techniques for rework or dismantling of conventional soldered assemblies, including both chemical etchants and mechanical techniques. Results are then presented on trials of chemical etchants, where solder removal rates consistent with realistic times for component removal have been readily achieved using commercially available tin-lead strippers. Electrochemical techniques are also shown to be usable in specific applications, i.e. where electrical contact can be readily made to the solder joints to be removed and have the advantage of reclaiming the removed solder directly from the electrolyte.


A simple and versatile strategy is presented for the localized on-chip synthesis of an ordered metal oxide hollow sphere array directly on a low power microheater platform to form a closely integrated miniaturized gas sensor. Selective microheater surface modification through fluorinated monolayer self-assembly and its subsequent microheater-induced thermal decomposition enables the position-controlled deposition of an ordered two-dimensional colloidal sphere array, which serves as a sacrificial template for metal oxide growth via homogeneous chemical precipitation; this strategy ensures control in both the morphology and placement of the sensing material on only the active heated area of the microheater platform, providing a major advantage over other methods of presynthesized nanomaterial integration via suspension coating or printing. A fabricated tin oxide hollow sphere-based sensor shows high sensitivity (6.5 ppb detection limit) and selectivity toward formaldehyde, and extremely fast response (1.8 s) and recovery (5.4 s) times. This flexible and scalable method can be used to fabricate high performance miniaturized gas sensors with a variety of hollow nanostructured metal oxides for a range of applications, including combining multiple metal oxides for superior sensitivity and tunable selectivity.


This revised and updated bible of neonatal care provides an excellent, comprehensive and evidence-based approach to caring for premature and sick neonates in the fast-changing environment of neonatal intensive care.


Reliability of systems used in space, avionic, and biomedical applications is highly critical. Such systems consist of an analog front-end to collect data, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to convert the collected data to digital form, and a digital unit to process it. Though a considerable amount of research has been performed to increase the reliability of digital blocks, the same cannot be claimed for mixed-signal blocks. The reliability enhancement that we employ begins with fault-sensitivity analysis followed by redesign. The data obtained from the sensitivity analysis is used to grade blocks based on their sensitivity to faults. The highly sensitive blocks can then be replaced by more reliable alternatives. The improvement gained by opting for more robust implementations might be limited due to the number of possible implementations. In these cases, alternative reliability enhancement techniques such as adding redundancy may provide further improvements. The steps involved in the reliability enhancement of ADCs are illustrated in this paper by first proposing a sensitivity analysis methodology for /spl alpha/-particle induced transients and then suggesting redesign techniques to improve the reliability of the ADC. A novel concept of node weights specific to /spl alpha/-particle transients is introduced, which improves the accuracy of the sensitivity analysis. The fault simulations show that, using techniques such as alternative robust implementations, adding redundancy, pattern detection, and transistor sizing, considerable improvements in reliability can be attained.


A TE011Ka-band tunable filter with a stable and continuous tuning performance is presented in this paper. Both bandwidth and center-frequency tunability are demonstrated by cascading six-pole pseudo-low-pass and pseudo-high-pass tunable filters. A novel mode-splitter resonator and coupling configuration enabling cross-coupled planar TE011 filter realization is introduced in this paper. The concept can be applied to back-to-back coupled TE011 resonators as well. The filter design is verified through fabrication of multiple tunable filters that demonstrates 500 MHz of tuning range with a stable RF tuning performance.


The purpose of this study is to approch closely to its original form of kang dang in So Su SEOWON by investigating the transformed details and document and inquiry, and is to grasp the reality of the early SEOWON architecture in the 16th century.


In this work, a phenomenological approach is proposed to analyze the electrical transport through an insulating barrier in insulating/metallic bilayer systems using conductive atomic force microscopy. The influence of the substrate in the electrical properties of ferroelectric/ferromagnetic bilayers was studied in the frame of this model. The substrate roughness was found to increase the barrier height distribution and increase the attenuation length in the material, reducing the barrier quality for the developing of multiferroic tunnel junctions.


Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 isolates the paradox that its protagonist, Oedipa Maas, is both inside the novel's semiotic structure, as part of its process of production, and outside, as a product of that process. Gravity's Rainbow ups the ante and increases the dilemma exponentially when binary distinctions are effectively flattened out by a rhizomatic growth of narrative lines. My approach to Gravity's Rainbow attempts to explore a social reading that functions in its excess or along its flights of digression. The introduction, through a reading of The Crying of Lot 49, explains the paradox. "Digression One" decenters the empty image of the rocket in order to unhinge the narrative structure of Gravity's Rainbow. "Digression Two" examines how the rhizome operates through a process of deterritorialization and reterritorialization of foundational images. "Digression Three" discusses politics along a number of intersecting interfaces that refuse absolute distinctions of inside and outside. For Heather and Brooklyn, your patience, your love "Fiction itselfproceeds by digression and cannot be predicted or dejned. Each novel is a unique definition, a dejnition of itself It follows that our criticism ofjction should make a progressive effort to de familiarize the novel, to de-define jction, as jction simultaneously creates and decreates itselj " ---Ronald Sukenick, In Form, Digressions on the Art of Fiction


The average length of time land‐borne compounds remain within an aquatic system is one of the key parameters controlling its biochemical processes. This study explores the magnitude and sources of daily, seasonal, and interannual variability of river water residence time in the Sau Reservoir, a prototypical example of a Mediterranean water supply. Daily estimates of residence time from 1998 to 2005 were obtained from a series of tracer experiments simulated with a one‐dimensional physical model, based on actual observations and synthetic scenarios. Results highlight that multiple in situ factors, both natural and managed by humans, affect the residence time in reservoirs. Simulated residence times varied on average ∼30% on a daily basis, as a result of natural meteorological (17%) and river inflow temperature (11%) variability. The management of withdrawal depths largely controlled the seasonal variations: The practice of withdrawing water from the shallowest outlet, which was close to the intrusion level of summer inflows, promoted shorter residence times in summers than winters. Interannual variability was primarily associated with the natural variability of inflow volume (25%), and secondarily with surface meteorology (8%). Excessive withdrawals prior to and during long dry periods, however, drastically reduced the reservoir storage capacity and withdrawal options, leading to shorter residence times in dry years. The flushing time, calculated as the ratio of storage volume and flow rates, captured the trends in annual mean residence times reasonably well but not daily and seasonal residence times.


A new Ag-Al nanopaste die-attach system for high-temperature use is introduced for the first time in this paper. The Ag-Al nanopaste with varying Al nanoparticle weight percent (wt%) is sintered at 380°C for 30 min. The effects of organic burn-off from the nanopaste in aiding solid-state fusion between the Ag and Al nanoparticles are investigated. The formation of Ag2Al and Ag3Al is detected in post-sintered nanopaste layers. Thermal and electrical conductivity measurements are also conducted to understand the properties of the post-sintered Ag-Al die-attach material in relation to increasing Al content. Thermal expansion analysis is performed to gauge the expansion of the post-sintered Ag-Al nanopaste against other high-temperature packaging components, as it is critical to avoid thermal stresses during device operation.


The product formed by heating FeCl2 in an oxygen stream has been examined in detail. The reaction processes of gaseous FeCl3 and FeOCl, formed during the reaction between FeCl2 and oxygen, with oxygen were also examined. The reaction process between FeCl2 and oxygen can be represented as follows: FeCl2 reacts with oxygen above about 250 °C to form FeOCl and gaseous FeCl3, 2FeCl2(s)+1/2O2(g)→FeOCl(s)+1/2Fe2Cl6(g). Subsequently, the resulting FeOCl reacts with oxygen to form α-Fe2O3 and chlorine, 2FeOCl(s)+1/2O2(g)→Fe2O3(s)+Cl2(g). Above about 320 °C, the decomposition of the FeOCl to α-Fe2O3 and gaseous FeCl3, 3FeOCl(s)→Fe2O3(s)+1/2Fe2Cl6(g), also occurs. Above about 370 °C, the reaction between gaseous FeCl3 formed and oxygen to form η-Fe2O3 and chlorine, Fe2Cl6(g)+3/2O2(g)→Fe2O3(s)+3Cl2(g), occurs in addition to the above reactions.


Domain-Specific Modeling has been widely and successfully used in software system modeling of specific domains. In spite of its general important, due to its informal definition, Domain-Specific Metamodeling Language (DSMML) cannot strictly represent its structural semantics, so its properties such as consistency cannot be systematically verified. In response, the paper proposes a formal representation of the structural semantics of DSMML named XMML based on first-order logic. Firstly, XMML is introduced, secondly, we illustrate our approach by formalization of attachment relationship and refinement relationship and typed constraints of XMML based on first-order logic, based on this, the approach of consistency verification of XMML itself and metamodels built based on XMML is presented, finally, the formalization automatic mapping engine for metamodels is introduced to show the application of formalization of XMML.


Hewitt and Todd (1939) occasionally noticed an obviously nonspecific increase in the antistreptolysin titer (AST) in sera that had been contaminated with certain bacteria. Independently, Lofgren (1944) has reported on the same phenomenon. In comprehensive AST studies on clinical material, Westergren several years ago paid attention to the common occurrence of unexpected rises in AST, often to exceedingly high levels, in sera from hepatitis patients. Kalbak (1947) has had similar experiences. Recently, Sievers (1947), as well as Westergren (1948), has compared the occurrence of these high titers with the results of various liver function tests. Systematic AST determinations in pleural exudates from patients treated at the Tuberculosis Department of St. G6ran's Hospital have shown a high rate of elevated titers, often above 1,000, and not infrequently above 10,000, units in patients whose serum titers were normal or only moderately increased. In most of these cases no definite connection with streptococcal infections could be demonstrated. When the conditions responsible for these apparently nonspecific AST reactions were studied, it was found that sera and exudates when treated with acid or alkali (and subsequently neutralized) showed striking increases in AST (tables 1 and 6). At the first glance it seemed very unlikely that, in these four instances of nonspecific antistreptolysin reactions-viz., (1) sera (exudates) contaminated with certain bacteria, (2) a great number of hepatitis sera, (3) pleural exudates, and (4) acidor alkali-treated sera (exudates)-there could possibly be a common causative factor. Yet from a biological point of view it would be far more logical if those findings were attributable to one and the same basic mechanism. In the present paper a report is given on a series of experiments conducted in order to arrive at a uniform explanation of the foregoing nonspecific increases in the antistreptolysin titer. For a better understanding of the problems involved an outline of the mechanism of the streptolysin 0 hemolysis will have to be drawn according to our


The actual lifetimes of many highways are lower than that expected based on the initial pavement design, which brings increasingly prohibitive costs of pavement maintenance and repair. Although many works have been done, the real service lifetimes are still disappointing, and the researchers are also trying their best to increase the projects' life span. In this study, to comprehensively predict the durability and lifetime of newly designed asphalt mixture structures, an asphalt pavement project consisting of three hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures were evaluated. The mixtures were constructed in the pavement project of the Weiwu expressway in Gansu Province. Pavement properties of the asphalt mixtures, rutting and temperature fatigue factors of the dynamic modulus are discussed. The fatigue resistance is supposed to improve on increasing the vehicles' speed below the freezing point, which may be more suitable for applications in expressways. Meanwhile, the lifetime is measured according to the number of fatigue axle loads calculated, which were corrected between the specimens in the lab and the field core samples. Durability analysis prediction can be obtained based on the fatigue lifetime predictive model accordingly, which can provide more information about the fatigue lifetime and the rehabilitation planning of existing pavements in the future accordingly.