Any company run their business activities in the filed and related to the natural resoucers filed is required to conduct the environmental and social responsibility. Particulary the Natural resoucers explotations done by mining companies often causing the environment degradation and by not giving any attention to the social aspects at the surrounding of the company. This research is using the Law of Social Research Methods.Result and discussion. Social responsibility and environmenttal implementation will be applied properly if the government and the social and environmental responsibility program are done in synergies, and the funds can be an alternative for financing the program in support of the non budgeting financing. The conclusion is, government regulation no 47 year 2012 has been implemented in Kabupaten Karimun by using the concept of community development. Suggestion is to done the revision for the government regulation no 47 year 2012 to regulate and reinformce the provisions on the sanctions, establish regulations applicable in general, and to form the local government regulation or PERDA governing the social and environmental responsibility that suit to local needs at Kabupaten Karimun.


We calculate the height pairing between higher weight Heegner cycles associated to distinct imaginary quadratic fields. Under the positive definiteness hypothesis of the height pairing we prove a Gross-Kohnen-Zagier theorem for higher weight modular forms.


This paper looks at Italy's financial growth since 1950. We study the changes in household wealth, corporate indebtedness, the balance sheet structure of financial institutions, especially banks. At the end the paper summarises the main trends in the evolution of financial assets and liabilities in over fifty-five years.


We describe six cases of keratoconjunctivitis due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in adults. All strains tested were penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae (PPNG), and we conclude that the rising incidence of corneal involvement, a classic complication in the pre-antibiotic era, is due to ineffective treatment with penicillin. Indeed, the progression of the ocular lesions was stopped and microbiologic cure was obtained in all our patients after treatment with either spectinomycin or cefotaxime. These results demonstrate that early and effective treatment of adult gonococcal conjunctivitis is mandatory to avoid potentially blinding complications such as corneal ulceration and perforation of the eye.


The distribution of T cells, B cells and murine senile amyloid protein in Peyer's Patches was examined in senescence accelerated (SAM-P/1) and control (SAM-R/1) mice ranging in age from two to ten months. An immunohistochemical detection of lymphocyte surface antigens of T cells and B cells. A murine senile amyloid protein in Peyer's patches was detected by immunohistochemical staining with the specific antiserum. Congo red staining and electron microscopy. The T cell population increased and B cell population decreased slightly with age in SAM-P/1 mice, but little change was observed with age in SAM-R/1 mice. Murine senile amyloid protein positive spots were seen surrounding the vessels of the thymus-dependent area at 6 months of age, and were observed throughout the Peyer's patches at 10 months of age, but were not observed by 10 months of age in SAM-R/1 mice.


Our observational understanding of supernovae of all types , and core-collapse supernovae in particular, will soon experience a revolution due to the flood of new data from scanning (synoptic) sky surveys. In the coming decade, many such surveys wil l begin, including DES, PanSTARRS, LSST; indeed SDSS-II is already ongoing. We quantif y the discovery potential of the core-collapse supernovae of these surveys. The number and r edshift depth of the supernovae discovered strongly depend on the survey limiting magnitud e. With the limiting magnitude suggested by these surveys, from ∼ 103 to eventually∼ 105 supernovae will be discovered per year, out to redshift z∼ 1. This catalog will rapidly dwarf the present ∼ 4800 events in recorded history starting one millennium ago with SN1006. We will presen t detailed forecasts for the huge supernova harvest which will result from these surveys. We w ill go on to discuss the dramatic impact on supernova science as well as cosmology. Applicati ons include: (1) High statistics measurements of light curves for all supernova types sampled in an unbiased way across galaxy types, which will promise a better understanding of the observable properties of the core-collapse supernovae and their evolution with environment and redshift out t redshiftz ∼ 1. (2) A more precise estimate of the cosmic supernova rate and star formation rat e. (3) The use of core-collapse supernovae as distance indicators via the expanding photosphere m thod. The surveys will provide an independent cross-check on the distance measurements from Type Ia supernovae. (4) Calibrated predictions of the supernova neutrino background.


Localized driven current profile by electron cyclotron (EC) waves is measured on the JT-60U tokamak, considering transient inductive current. The inductive current is derived from temporal evolution of internal magnetic field, which is evaluated by reconstructions of MHD equilibria with a spline function of total current and with motional Stark effect polarimetry. The analysis clearly shows that the EC-driven current is in a thin layer of about 10% of the minor radius of the plasma. The determined EC-driven current agrees with the one calculated by ray tracing and Fokker-Planck codes. The analysis shows the change in driven current profile when the deposition location of EC waves is changed. The current drive efficiency is about 5×1018 A W-1 m-2 at an electron temperature of 7 keV.


Fatigue life and reliability of aero-engine blade are always of important significance to flight safety. The establishment of damage model is one of the key factors in blade fatigue research. Conventional linear Miner's sum method is not suitable for aero-engine because of its low accuracy. A back propagation neutral network (BPNN) based on the combination of Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) and finite element method (FEM) is used to describe process of nonlinear damage accumulation behavior in material and predict fatigue life of the blade. Fatigue tests of standard specimen made from TC4 are carried out to obtain material fatigue parameters and S-N curve. A nonlinear continuum damage model (CDM), based on the BPNN with one hidden layer and ten neurons, is built to investigate the nonlinear damage accumulation behavior, in which the results from the tests are used as training set. Comparing with linear models and previous nonlinear models, BPNN has the lowest calculation error in full load range. It has significant accuracy when the load is below 500 MPa. Especially, when the load is 350 MPa, the calculation error of the BPNN is only 0.4%. The accurate model of the blade is built by using 3D coordinate measurement technology. The loading cycle in fatigue analysis is defined from takeoff to cruise in 10 min, and the load history is obtained from finite element analysis (FEA). Then the fatigue life of the compressor blade is predicted by using the BPNN model. The final fatigue life of the aero-engine blade is 6.55×104 cycles (10 916 h) based on the BPNN model, which is effective for the virtual design of aero-engine blade.


We consider the problem of multi-task reasoning (MTR), where an agent can solve multiple tasks via (first-order) logic reasoning. This capability is essential for human-like intelligence due to its strong generalizability and simplicity for handling multiple tasks. However, a major challenge in developing effective MTR is the intrinsic conflict between reasoning capability and efficiency. An MTR-capable agent must master a large set of"skills"to tackle diverse tasks, but executing a particular task at the inference stage requires only a small subset of immediately relevant skills. How can we maintain broad reasoning capability and also efficient specific-task performance? To address this problem, we propose a Planner-Reasoner framework capable of state-of-the-art MTR capability and high efficiency. The Reasoner models shareable (first-order) logic deduction rules, from which the Planner selects a subset to compose into efficient reasoning paths. The entire model is trained in an end-to-end manner using deep reinforcement learning, and experimental studies over a variety of domains validate its effectiveness.


Turbo coded Quadrature Amplitude Modulated (QAM) systems have been adopted by standards such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 and Long Term Evolution (LTE) to achieve high data rates. Although several techniques have been developed to improve the performance of Turbo coded QAM systems, combinations of these techniques to produce hybrids with better performances, have not been fully exploited. This paper investigates the performance of LTE Turbo codes with Joint Source Channel Decoding (JSCD), adaptive Sign Division Ratio (SDR) based scaling and prioritised QAM constellation mapping. JSCD exploits a-priori source statistics at the decoder side and SDR based scaling provides a scale factor for the extrinsic information as well as a stopping criterion. Additionally, prioritised constellation mapping exploits the inherent Unequal Error Protection (UEP) characteristic of the QAM constellation and provides greater protection to the systematic bits of the Turbo encoder. Simulation results show that with 16-QAM at Bit Error Rates (BERs) above 10, the combination of these three techniques achieves an average gain of 1.7 dB over a conventional LTE Turbo coded 16-QAM system. For BERs below 10, the combination of prioritized constellation mapping, JSCD and SDR scaling provides an average gain of 0.6 dB. The proposed scheme with 64-QAM gives a performance gain of 3 dB on average over the conventional LTE Turbo coded 64-QAM system over the whole Eb/N0 range. KeywordsTurbo Code; QAM; JSCD; SDR; Priortised Mapping.


Ghana, the former British colony of the Gold Coast, is historically known for being the first country to the south of the Sahara to attain political independence from colonial rule. It is known for its exports of cocoa and a variety of minerals, especially gold, and it is now an oil exporting country. But Ghana's importance to the African continent is not only seen in its natural resources or its potential to expand its agricultural output. Rather the nation's political history of nationalism, the history of military engagement in politics, record of economic depression and the ability to rise from the ashes of political and economic decay is the most unique character of the country. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Ghana covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Ghana.


As the function of most bone mineral measuring machine is limited, either by single photon absorptiometry (SPA), dual photon absorptiometry (DPA), speed of sound (SOS), or dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), it is hard to evaluate the best place and index of postmenopausal bone loss at many positions by one machine at the same time. So we used QDR4500A, one of the best advanced DEXA which has a good repeatability, to search the best place and index for postmenopausal bone loss. The results showed that (1) bone mineral density (BMD) was better than bone mineral content (BMC) and Area to reflect this kind of bone loss; (2) lumber BMD was a better place than the forearm BMD, total spine BMD and other places; and (3) midlateral L3, 4 BMD was a best index for postmenopausal bone loss.


Agile practices are arguably improving the productivity of small, co-located software development teams. We describe an approach that tries to overcome the constraint of co-location by introducing a process-support environment (called MILOS) that helps software development teams to maintain adaptive practices in a distributed setting. MILOS supports project coordination, information routing, team communication, pair programming and experience management.


We propose to combine the Floquet formalism for systems in ac fields with the dynamical mean-field theory to study correlated electron systems periodically driven out of equilibrium by external fields such as intense laser light. This approach has a virtue that we can nonperturbatively include both the correlation effects and nonlinear effects due to the driving field, which is imperative in analyzing recent experiments for photoinduced phase transitions. In solving the problem, we exploit a general theorem that the Hamiltonian in a Floquet matrix form can be exactly diagonalized for single-band noninteracting systems. As a demonstration, we have applied the method to the Falicov-Kimball model in intense ac fields to calculate the spectral function. The result shows that photoinduced midgap states emerge from strong ac fields, triggering an insulator-metal transition.


Theoretical speculations and experimental data suggesting the possibility of observing disoriented chiral condensates at a Full Acceptance Detector are reviewed.


Congenital hypothyroidism is the most common endocrine disease in newborns and can be clinical or subclinical. It is the leading cause of treatable mental retardation and its prognosis is in the early screening and timely initiation of treatment; this is the reason why in Colombia the implementation of a neonatal screening with appropriate national coverage technique, comparable to those in other countries, is considered necessary. The aim of this article is to review and analyse the literature on congenital hypothyroidism focused on the definition, epidemiology, etiological factors, screening, diagnosis and treatment; by search in PubMed, EMBASE, REDALYC, OVID, MEDLINE, and CLINICAL KEY Dynamed data (access: May 2015). Besides reviewing the reports of the National Institute of Health in 2013 and 2014, the European guidelines for pediatric endocrinology society of 2014, Mexico's 2008 guide neonatal congenital hypothyroidism and Colombian consensus for the diagnosis and management of thyroid diseases. MÉD UIS. 2016;29(1):53-60.


In her attempt to write an apocalyptic fictional story, Ling Ma succeeds in creating an extraordinarily believable and engrossing anti-utopian image of the world. Her debut, Severance (2018), transcends the dystopian apocalyptic genre and becomes an impressive prophecy that partially comes true during the current Coronavirus crisis. It announces her as a talented author with its mix of humor, anger, terror and satire. Ma intends her book to be a critique of Capitalism. That is why she magnifies its harmful side effects through the lens of a destructive illness that starts with flu-like symptoms and develops into a pandemic. However, her book rings shocking and frighteningly true these days with the widespread of Covid-19. This research examines Ma's Severance from a dystopian pre/post-apocalyptic perspective and highlights the similarities between its events and what happens during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The analogy between both pandemics proves that dystopian apocalyptic works are not always science fictional. First, the research briefly traces the origin of dystopian apocalyptic literature. Then, it discusses the use of common characteristics of this genre in the novel. Among them are the loss of individualism, the spread of plagues and pandemics, totalitarianism, the regimented lives of citizens, using the 'defamiliarization' technique, and emphasis on the theme of survivorship.


Lectures that use probability or statistics often appear complex to students, sometimes because the underlying stochastic models are not explicited. Writing a stochastic simulation program is a common exercise in a performance evaluation course, and we can view a simulation program as an implementation of a stochastic model. Thus, students who took such a course are trained to fully specify stochastic models, and this can help them fully understand probabilistic statements. We give examples in the context of random graphs as well as in the interpretation of residual scores in machine learning. Last we observe that Palm calculus, which is at the heart of classical queuing theory, can be used to provide important insights into sampling problems encountered in data collection tasks.


Kuhn reminds us that although collaborating researchers in different disciplines may observe the same phenomena and use similar terms to describe it, their articulation of their findings can be radically dissimilar. Pointing out that what we see is largely dependent on what we have been trained to see, Kuhn cautions that individuals from two academic disciplines who work together will find themselves "always slightly at cross purposes." Consequently, even though consultants and clients may use the same word, the meaning of the word may be quite different. Such differences often affect the entire consultation process including the client's expectations, as well as, their willingness to accept the consultant's recommendations. This article is a case study of the authors' experiences when they were asked to engage in a cultural assessment of a student affairs department at a large Midwestern University.


In an attempt to construct detailed kinetic mechanisms for biodiesel fuels on the fly, high-pressure rate rules for the concerted HO2 elimination reaction class were derived using a comprehensive training reaction set of more than 60 reactions involving different alkyl methyl/ethyl ester peroxy radicals (RCOOR')-OO•. Using the composite electronic structure method CBS-QB3 in combination with classical statistical mechanics and the transition state theory (TST) rate model, high-pressure rate constants for the reactions in the training set as well as thermodynamic properties for the species involved were calculated. The corrections from Eckart tunneling and hindered internal rotation (HIR) treatments were also included in the calculations. The results reveal that the ester group (-COO-) selectively promotes the reaction when compared with the traditional hydrocarbon fuels; thus it is recommended that the seven derived rate rules for the title reaction class (including the thermodynamic data of the species involved in the NASA format) should be used for construction of detailed kinetic mechanisms for real biodiesel molecules.


Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been shown to restore normal hematopoiesis in patients with intermediate or high risk primary myelofibrosis (PMF) or myelofibrosis preceeded by polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia. However, in patients with PMF and extensive splenomegaly it is not clear whether transplant is associated with an unacceptable risk or if splenectomy should be performed prior to transplant. In this study, ten consecutive patients with myelofibrosis who were not splenectomized received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from related or unrelated donors and were periodically monitored by ultrasound or CT scan for 12 months after transplant to assess the kinetics of the reduction of splenomegaly. These findings were correlated with the time to resolution of marrow fibrosis, time to engraftment and clinical outcome. Over a 12 month period a progressive reduction in spleen size was observed in all the patients and paralleled the reduction in marrow fibrosis (Figure 1). Of 10 patients, 5 with a splenic longitudinal diameter >30 cm showed a more prolonged time to engraftment ANC> 0.5 × 109/L (d 19±5 vs 13±2, p=0.05) and platelet > 20 × 109/L (d 75±104 vs 11±2, p=0.06). However, of the 5 patients with more extensive splenomegaly only 2 experienced delayed engraftment of platelets (d 77 and 256, respectively). Full donor chimerism was observed in all patients within 60 days after transplantation regardless of the size of the spleen. At a median follow-up of 54 months (range: 2–80) all the patients are alive but 1 who died of a TTP like syndrome 2 months after transplant and had a small spleen at the time of transplant. A clinical CR has been documented in 7 patients and 2 have achieved clinical improvement as assessed by IWG response criteria. These findings suggest that allogeneic HSCT with RIC regimen can be safely performed in patients with extensive splenomegaly. Although in these patients the time to engraftment may be prolonged, the significant risk of morbidity and mortality associated with splenectomy may be avoided.


Considering screen translation as a transcoding process focused not merely on language  transfer but also, and primarily, on socio-cultural transfer, language use and translation processes in films prove to be important vehicles in defining sociolinguistic identities and in conveying them to the audience. From this perspective, it is interesting to notice that, especially in the last decades, the varied stock of non-standard language that can be identified by geographical region as well as by social class has been increasingly exploited by film industry (Taylor 1998), proving to be particularly well-represented in contemporary British films, realistically depicting a society where the social stratification of dialects is still crucially relevant in defining linguistic and cultural selves (Cronin 2006). Starting from these observations, this paper sets out to investigate the translation strategies relevant to Cockney and Cockney Rhyming Slang in the Italian dubbed version of Guy Ritchie's films Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000), verifying whether such non-standard varieties are either maintained, thus ascertaining that a certain degree of linguistic realism matches the target audience's expectations of standards of fluency (Baker 2004), or standardized and levelled out, thus overshadowing the importance Cockney and Cockney Rhyming Slang have as revealing indexes of the characters' socio-cultural identity.


This article examines the basic and dialogical models of neurotheology and suggests a third model based on the work of Aldous Huxley. In other words, this proposal is not limited to understanding this discipline as a mere pursuit of neural correlates or as a dialogue between neuroscience and theology. Instead, it is the search for an integrative understanding of religious experiences in which the study of neuronal correlates is only one of the multilevels to be integrated within the framework of a plural and conveniently articulated explanation of such phenomena. This model, which we call integrative neurotheology, hopes to achieve knowledge of religious experiences that includes a comprehensive range of disciplines. In order to update and give argumentative consistency to this model, we will use philosopher Sandra D. Mitchell's theory of integrative pluralism, which is a more epistemologically refined expression of Huxley's intuitions. We conclude that a comprehensive model is feasible although we are aware that this article cannot give answers to all the difficulties that this model possesses. Nevertheless, we expect to open up a new pathway in the studies of religious experience.


Even though the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been completed there are still many problems to be resolved. This paper will briefly reexamine the process by which normalization occurred, and then focus on some of the difficult issues which may arise in the future. Since the other articles deal with the PRC, this one will focus on matters relating to Taiwan. The approach adopted will not be that of an expert on Taiwan affairs, but rather of a lawyer trying to share some concerns about certain potentially disquieting developments on Taiwan.


Decreasing groundwater levels, increasing world population, and pollution of water resources by industries lead to the use of new technologies for augmenting the fresh water supply such as its desalination. Chitosan-modified zinc oxide (C-ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized and used for surface modification of polysulfone (PSf) in water desalination. PSf /C-ZnO membrane was fabricated through the phase inversion method and characterized by Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Braunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and contact angle. The nanoparticle effect on the membrane properties was investigated by measuring the pure water flux and solute rejection under two constant pressures, at 6 and 10 bar, and the salts concentration of MgSO4, MgCl2, NaCl, and CaCl2 at 1 gL-1. The results showed that nanoparticles increased the hydrophilicity of the pristine PSf membrane while slightly decreasing the water permeability. Moreover, the salt rejection increased with the nanoparticle addition up to 0.2 wt.% while it decreased with 0.5 wt.% nanoparticle due to changing the membrane finger-like pores sublayer structure.


As the five day work week system has been settled on and people are pursuing a better quality of life according to changes in the social environment, the amount of time for family leisure activity has been increasing. Thanks to the increased time for leisure activities, people have had more interest in diverse kinds of experience programs. In particular, food industry museums have gained good responses by providing diverse experience programs including exhibitions with historical and cultural data. This study classified the types of interaction into physical factors, direct experience factors and external environmental factors based on previous studies to analyse the characteristics of the interactions in order to provide better experiences. The subjects of the study were national and international food museums which were established before and after 2000 when experience factors were used as an important design factor of spatial composition with changes in the social environment. This study analysed the types of interaction the subjects had in each case through factors previously extracted. The results are presented as follows: First, direct experience programs shown in all the four cases caused different behavior in visitors. Second, the Ramen Museum in Japan did not have any physical factors, but it induced recognition through graphic panels and the use of media. Finally, external environmental factors were found to be strong in the Ramen Museum in Japan and stimulated the emotions of visitors through an environment where the past was reproduced.


ABSTRACT Studies have shown benefits to patients from improved interventions involving antimicrobial therapy. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate prospectively the impact of improved interventions by (i) the use of TheraTrac 2, a computer software program which electronically links susceptibility testing results immediately to the pharmacy and alerts pharmacists of potential interventions, and (ii) the education of pharmacists involving microbiologic topics. The study group had the new intervention program. The control group had interventions performed the way that they had previously been done by manually reviewing hard copies of susceptibility testing data. In a 5-month period, all inpatients whose last names began with A to K were the study group; inpatients whose last names began with L to Z were controls. Three analyses were done; one analysis (analysis A) involved only patients with interventions, one analysis (analysis B) involved all patients for whom antimicrobial testing was done and who were matched for diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), regardless of whether an intervention occurred, and one analysis (analysis C) involved these DRG-matched patients by using severity-adjusted data. In analysis A, the study group had a 4.8% decreased rate of mortality, an average of a 16.5-day decreased length of stay per patient, and $20,886 decreased variable direct costs per patient. None of these differences was statistically significant. In analysis B, the study patients had a 1.2% higher mortality rate (P = 0.741), an average of a 2.7-day decreased length of stay per patient (P = 0.035), and $2,626 decreased variable direct costs per patient (P = 0.008). In analysis C, the study patients had a 1.4% lower mortality rate, a 1.2-day decreased length of stay per patient, and $1,466 decreased variable direct costs per patient. In conclusion, the institution of this program caused substantial cost savings.


The cosparse analysis model for signals assumes that the signal of interest can be multiplied by an analysis dictionary , leading to a sparse outcome. This model stands as an interesting alternative to the more classical synthesis-based sparse representation model. In this paper, we propose a theoretical study of the performance guarantee of the thresholding algorithm for the pursuit problem in the presence of noise. Our analysis reveals two significant properties of Ω, which govern the pursuit performance: the first is the degree of linear dependencies between sets of rows in Ω, depicted by the cosparsity level. The second property, termed the restricted orthogonal projection property, is the level of independence between such dependent sets and other rows in Ω. We show how these dictionary properties are meaningful and useful, both in the theoretical bounds derived and in a series of experiments that are shown to align well with the theoretical prediction.


The elevated LH secretion in 8 patients with the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO) was promptly suppressed by the infusion of dopamine (DA; 4 microgram/kg.min for 4 h). Compared to normal women studied during the early follicular phase, the maximal LH suppression due to DA infusion was significantly greater in PCO patients when expressed as either the net or percent decrease. This enhanced LH sensitivity to DA inhibition in PCO patients with chronically elevated estrogens, suggests that the inappropriately elevated LH release and the exaggerated LH pulses may be causally related, in part, to a reduction of endogenous DA inhibition of LH secretory activity.


Background: Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to methicillin is an important nosocomial pathogen that often causes infections that are hard to treat. This is due to the fact that the pathogen is usually resistant to other commonly used antibiotics. The presence of drug resistant MRSA among patients has previously been documented in various parts of Uganda. However no reports have been documented for Kampala International University-Teaching hospital in western Uganda. This study was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of MRSA strains in the patients hospitalized in the surgical ward. Methods: Wound swabs were collected from both male and female patients hospitalized in the surgical ward. Samples were then cultured in suitable media. The Staphylococcus aureus colonies that were obtained were tested for resistance to oxacillin to determine the strains that were MRSA. Further antibiotic resistance of the MRSA isolates was determined by the disc diffusion method using various antibiotics. Results: Out of the one hundred and fourteen isolates from the clinical samples, only seventy five isolates were clearly identified as S. aureus with 85.3% coagulase positive and 13.3% coagulase negative. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus was prevalent at a rate of 56.1%. among the MRSA isolates, resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed to be the highest while resistance to ceftriaxone was observed to be the least. Conclusion: The high prevalence of MRSA amongst the surgical ward patients requires proper measures to be taken to prevent further spread of the pathogen. It is recommended that the source of this drug resistant strains of MRSA be determined so as to design appropriate interventions to prevent the future emergence of infections that are hard to treat.


Household food consumptionpatterns differ significantly among geographic regions in the United States. The variations in low-income household food expenditures are identified for major food categories in nine census regions. A multiple regression model is developed to estimate changes in food expenditure patterns associated with changes in income for low-income households. Our results have important implications for Federal programs such as the Food Stamp Program.


In Talmudic Transgressions, scholars offer new perspectives on rabbinic literature and related areas, in essays which respond to the work of Daniel Boyarin.


In this study, the adsorption of bovine serum albumin was studied using the activated carbon prepared from Elaeagnus stone with chemical activation. Elaeagnus stone activated carbon was characterized using the point of zero charge, Fourier transform infrared spectra, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller method, scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. The BET surface area of Elaeagnus stone activated carbon obtained by using 30% ZnCl 2 (w/w) was determined to be 1588 m 2 /g. The effects of adsorbent dosages, contact time, initial bovine serum albumin concentrations, temperature and pH on the adsorption were investigated. The optimum values of adsorbent dosage, pH, and contact time were determined to be 1 mg/mL, 5, and 160 min for 500 mg/L BSA concentration, respectively. Additionally, the studies of adsorption equilibrium and kinetics were performed. The best fitting model from the experimental data was determined to be Langmuir model and the adsorption follows a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. KEY WORDS : Elaeagnus stone, Bovine serum albumin, Adsorption, Activated carbon Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018 , 32(1), 53-63 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i1.5


Two new sesquiterpene cyclopentenones, dysidenones A and B (2, 3), and a new sesquiterpene aminoquinone, dysidine (4), all containing the same rearranged drimane skeleton, have been isolated from a Dysidea sp. sponge, along with bolinaquinone (1). The structures were established from 2D NMR data. Bolinaquinone (1), dysidine (4), and a 1:1 mixture of dysidenones A and B (2, 3) significantly inhibited human synovial phospholipase A2 (PLA2) at 10 microM. Compound 4, which shows an IC50 value of 2.0 microM, exerts a higher potency and selectivity toward this enzyme than the reference inhibitor manoalide. In addition, all of these compounds modulated at 10 microM other human leukocyte functions such as the degranulation process measured as elastase release and the superoxide production measured by chemiluminescence.


We introduce Content Addressable Resources for Education (CARE) as a method for addressing issues of scale, access, management and distribution that currently exist for open educational resources (OER) as they are currently developed in higher education. CARE is based on the concept of the distributed web (dweb) and, using (for example) the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) provides a means to distributed OER in such a way that they cannot be blocked or paywalled, can be associated with each other (for example, as links in a single site, or as newer versions of existing resources) creating what is essentially an open resource graph (ORG), and when accessed through applications such as Beaker Browser, can be cloned and edited by any user to create and share new resources.


The tilt angles of eutectic mixtures of cyano-biphenyl nematics on 5 degrees SiO films have been measured using a conoscopic optical technique. The results show that the tilt angle of a mixture may be calculated from the known tilt angle of the constituents and the composition. It is also shown that the nematic layers adjacent to the aligning surface retain the bulk composition.


Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles [(H)EVs] are harder for pedestrians to hear when moving at speeds below 20 kph. Laws require (H)EVs to emit additional exterior sounds to alert pedestrians of the vehicles' approach to prevent potential collisions. These sounds will also influence pedestrians' impression of the vehicle brand. Current methods for evaluating (H)EV exterior sounds focus on "pedestrians' safety" but overlook its influence on "vehicle brand", and do not balance experimental control, correct context along with external and ecological validity.

This research addresses the question: "How should (H)EV exterior sounds be evaluated?" The research proposes an experimental methodology for evaluating (H)EV exterior sounds that assesses pedestrians' safety and influence on the vehicle brand by measuring a listener's detection rate and sound quality evaluation of the (H)EV in a Virtual Environment (VE). This methodology was tested, improved and validated through three experimental studies based on their findings.

Study 1 examined the fidelity of the VE setup used for experiments. The VE was immersive with sufficient degree of involvement/control, naturalness, resolution, and interface quality. It also explored a new interactive way of evaluating (H)EV sounds where participants freely navigate the VE and interact with vehicles more naturally. This interactivity increased the experiments' ecological validity but reduced reliability and quadrupled the experiment duration compared to using a predefined scenario (non-interactive mode). Thus, a predefined scenario is preferred.

Study 2 tested the non-interactive mode of the proposed methodology. Manipulating the target vehicle's manoeuvre by varying factors, namely the vehicle's "arrival time", "approach direction" and "distance of travel", across the experiment conditions increased ecological validity. This allowed participants to think, respond and pay similar attention as a real world pedestrian. These factors are neglected by existing methodologies, but were found to affect the participants' detection rate and impression of the vehicle brand. Participants detected the vehicle more than once due to confusion with real world ambient sounds. In the real world, pedestrians continuously detect a vehicle in presence of non-vehicular ambient sounds. Therefore, recommendations to improve the representation of the real-world processes in the vehicle detection during listening experiments include an option to re-detect a vehicle and subjective evaluation of 'detectability' of the vehicle sounds.

The improved methodology adds 'detectability' and 'recognisability' of (H)EV sounds as measures and (H)EV's arrival time as an independent variable. External validity of VEs is a highly debated yet unanswered topic. Study 3 tested external validity of the improved methodology. The methodology accurately predicted participants' real world evaluations of the detectability of (H)EV sounds, ranked order of the recognisability of (H)EV sounds and their impressions about the vehicle brand. The vehicle's arrival time affected participants' detection rate and was reaffirmed as a key element in the methodologies for vehicle sounds' detection.

The final methodological guidelines can help transportation researchers, automotive engineers and legislators determine how pedestrians will respond to the new (H)EV sounds.


Generators are the backbone of all electricity generation. Since the wind energy represents one of the key energy sources of the future, generators in wind turbines are the focus of research in the last years. Unlike in the past, wind turbines are more often positioned in arctic as well as in desert like regions, and thereby exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Especially the temperature in those regions is a key factor that defines the design, choice of components and materials of the drive train. To optimize the design and health monitoring under varying temperatures, it is important to understand the thermal behavior dependent on environmental and machine parameters. This paper focuses on the thermal analysis of a 2 MW wind turbine generator. The goal is to estimate the stator winding temperature with a model as straightforward as possible. Boundary conditions are that no additional sensor than the ones already installed in the wind turbine should be used. In this paper, a thermal model for the temperature analysis is presented as well as a sensitivity analysis of the model parameters. The presented results are the base of future research of drive trains under harsh environmental conditions, and they can be used to improve the fault diagnosis and design of power systems.


Incubation of Escherichia coli with spectinomycin caused the disappearance of a major protein from the cytoplasmic membrane. This protein, called "I-19", was not a ribosomal protein. Its disappearance was not a result of the direct action of spectinomycin on the cytoplasmic membrane, but a result of its action on ribosomes. The disappearance was specifically induced by spectinomycin, and other antibiotics such as neomycin, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol had no effect. Although growth was not required for spectinomycin-induced disappearance of protein I-19 from the cytoplasmic membrane, the disappearance was not observed under conditions where protein synthesis was inhibited completely either by the addition of chloramphenicol or by cooling in ice. It is suggested that at least some ribosomes interact with the cytoplasmic membrane and that a modification of the mode of interaction through the action of spectinomycin on ribosomes caused the deletion of membrane protein I-19.


Agricultural residues, such as straw, offer an opportunity to produce biofuels and chemicals in biorefineries without compromising food production. The ideal "dual‐purpose cultivar" would have high yield of grain and straw. In addition, the straw should be easy to process in a biorefinery: It should have good degradability, high concentration of carbohydrates, and low concentration of ash. Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient important for plant growth, crop yield and grain quality. However, N production and application comes with a high cost and high environmental footprint. The N application should consequently be based on an economical optimum. Limited knowledge exists on how N application affects the potential of straw for biorefining, for example, straw yield and quality. This study, conducted over three cropping seasons, investigated the effect of N supply on the biorefining potential and included 14 wheat cultivars and one triticale cultivar. The N supply directly affected the yield of straw and grain. In addition, the protein concentration in grain and straw increased, but the composition of the straw with respect to carbohydrates and lignin was largely unaffected by N supply. The only significant change was a lower silicon concentration at increasing N application rate, which could be beneficial for lignin valorization in biorefineries. Likely due to the negligible changes in cell wall composition, the effect of N application rate on straw degradability was not significant. N application should therefore primarily be optimized with respect to grain quality and overall yield of grain and straw. Differences between cultivars were also minor with respect to their performance in a biorefinery process. From a breeding and agronomic perspective, focus should therefore be put on maximizing the biomass output from the field, that is, selecting the cultivar with highest grain and straw yield and optimizing the application of fertilizer to get optimum N use efficiency.


T This research aimed to identify the effectiveness of using (ice cream stick) strategy on concept acquisition in philosophy and psychology for fifth grade literary students and the using of experimental curriculum) experimental design with partial adjustment) (which contain two group experimental and post-test control) and the experiment was applied on random sample consisting of (80) sample from fourth grade literary students. The researcher conducts a parity process between two groups depended on the age of students in months and the general concept acquisition for all subjects at the first and second course in philosophy and psychology. This experiment  was include (40) student in the experimental  and (40) students in control group and all research standards were selected which includes selecting a study subject and behavioral purposes and daily teaching plans and select an achievement test which include (48) questions in the form of multiple choice question which contain four answers. Face validity and content validity for this test have been found and coefficient of difficulty and discriminatory power and reliability factors and T-test for two separated sample was used to show the results. Which amplify that there is a statistical difference for the experimental group which has been studied with this strategy. This show the effectiveness of this strategy in improving the acquisition for the fifth-grade literary students in philosophy and psychology this study give some of recommendations and suggestions.


The electronic structure and the thermoelectric properties of Mg2X (X = Si, Ge, and Sn) were studied using the density functional theory and the semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. The three compounds of Mg2X (X = Si, Ge, and Sn) were found to be indirect band-gap semiconductors with gap magnitudes of 0.66, 0.63, and 0.29 eV, respectively. By studying the carrier concentration dependence of the transport properties, we find that the p-type Mg2X exhibit superior thermoelectric performance originating from a large density-of-states effective mass due to the large valley degeneracy of valence bands. In particular, a maximum ZT value of 1.1 for p-type Mg2Sn can be achieved at 800 K with a carrier concentration of 9.8 × 1019 cm−3, which is higher than that of Mg2Si (0.8) and Mg2Ge (1.0). The high ZT of Mg2Sn is mainly attributed to its low lattice thermal conductivity that is a consequence of the low velocity of the optical modes caused by the large mass density. These findings suggest that Mg2Sn is a promising mid-temperature thermoelectric material.


The asymmetric total syntheses of the α-benzylidene-γ-butyrolactone natural products megacerotonic acid and shimobashiric acid A have been accomplished in nine and 11 steps, respectively, from simple, commercially available starting materials. The key step for each synthesis is the (arene)RuCl(monosulfonamide)-catalyzed dynamic kinetic resolution-asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (DKR-ATH) of racemic α,δ-diketo-β-aryl esters to establish the absolute stereochemistry. Intramolecular diastereoselective Dieckmann cyclization forms the lactone core, and ketone reduction/alcohol elimination installs the α-arylidene.


A novel 3D donor material (SF8TBT) based on spiro-fluorene has been developed. Compared with the corresponding 1D linear molecule, the OPVs of this 3D donor exhibited power conversion efficiencies of 4.82%, much higher than that of 1D small molecules (1.69%).


Walleye pollock (pollock hereafter) in Korean waters was one of the most important fishery species economically, and the majority of population located in North Korean waters. Catch records have been changed dramatically since commercial fisheries begun in the early 20th century: the highest catch in 1930s, sudden decrease during 1940s~1960s, another boom in 1970s~1980s, and a continuous decrease in 1990s until they collapsed completely in 2000s. Three plausible hypotheses were introduced for such collapse: overfishing on pollock in high biomass period, warming of seawater, and changes in ecosystem structure and function. Those hypotheses reviewed would give us clues how Korean pollock population survive in ecosystem, and such theoretical backgrounds should be the basis for the establishment of conservation measures with precautionary concept when pollock return to Korean waters again. Intensive interdisciplinary collaboration between South and North Korea is recommended for predicting their re-visiting and for better management under changing environment.


The evaluation of the efficiency of remediation processes (thermal desorption, ISCO, bioremediation…) of PAH polluted soil is generally based on the measurement of specific parameters (i.e. 16 PAH US-EPA). Such limited characterisations do not allow evaluating the potential formation of organic by-products (especially Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds-PAC). Different remediation treatments, most commonly used and that may be the most problematic regarding O-PAH production, have been applied to three representatives PAH contaminated soils (former gasworks, coke oven plants and wood preservation facilities soils). These treatments include chemical oxidation (hydroperoxyde oxidation (H 2 O 2), Fenton like oxidation using magnetite as catalyst and permanganate (MnO 4-)) and biological treatment. The experimental results with chemical treatment show that the polar oxy-PAHs were removed more slowly than the PAHs in all chemical treatments, indicating that O-PACs were simultaneous generated during the oxidation (especially for permanganate treatment). The effect was most obvious when considering the PAC contribution to the total Extractable Organic Matter (EOM). The microbiological treatment performed on these soils shows a removal of PAHs with a removal rates controlled by the availability of the pollution. Polar PACs remediation followed the same trends as the PAHs in the coke oven soils and the gasworks soil. However, in the wood preservation soil, the removal rates of the polar PACs were significantly lower than of the PAHs suggesting a simultaneous formation of polar PACs as a result of the extensive transformation of PAHs in this soil.


This study aims to discover hidden patterns and potential relationships in risk factors in freight truck crash data. Existing studies mainly used parametric models to analyze the causes of freight vehicle crashes. However, predetermined assumptions and underlying relationships between independent and dependent variables have been cited as its limitations. To overcome these limitations and provide a better understanding of factors that lead to truck crashes on the expressways, we applied the Association Rules Mining (ARM) technique, which is a nonparametric method. ARM quantifies the interrelationships between the antecedents and consequents of truck-involved crashes and provides researchers with the most influential set of factors that leads to crashes. We utilized a freight vehicle-involved crash data consisting of 19,038 crashes that occurred on the Korean expressways from 2008 to 2017 for this investigation. From the data, 90,951 association rules were generated through ARM employing the Apriori algorithm. The lift values estimated by the Apriori algorithm showed the strength of association between risk factors, and based on the estimated lift values, we identified key crash contributory factors that lead to truck-involved crashes at various segment types, under different weather conditions, considering the driver's age, crash type, driver's faults, vehicle size, and roadway geometry type. From the generated rules, we demonstrated that overspeeding with medium-weight trucks was highly associated with crashes during the rainy weather, whereas drowsy driving during the evening was correlated with crashes during fine weather. Segment-related crashes were mainly associated with driver's faults and roadway geometry. Our results present useful insights and suggestions that can be used by transport stakeholders, including policymakers and researchers, to create relevant policies that will help reduce freight truck crashes on the expressways.


A problem of optimal control of solutions of an elliptic equation with a small parameter at higher derivatives is considered in a rectangle with two sides parallel to the characteristic of the limit equation. The limit problem is found and asymptotic estimates for solutions of a problem that approximates the original problem are obtained.


BACKGROUND
Restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) constitutes a serious complication in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, but known risk factors do not fully account for the observed restenosis risk. Preliminary studies of infection or inflammation in restenosis report varied results. We tested whether C-reactive protein (CRP) or pathogen burden (seropositivity to 0, 1, 2, or 3 pathogens, of Chlamydia pneumoniae [Cpn], cytomegalovirus [CMV], or Helicobacter pylori [Hpy]) predict clinical restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS
Blood samples were collected from 415 patients undergoing PCI, and levels of plasma CRP and antibodies to Cpn, CMV, and Hpy were measured. The patient's medical history, demographics, and procedural data were recorded. Patient end points were determined for as long as 6 months as a means of evaluating the incidence of clinical restenosis and major adverse cardiac events.

RESULTS
The average patient age was 62 years, and 80% of patients were male. Fifty-eight patients (14%) experienced clinical restenosis, whereas 17 patients (4%) died or had an acute myocardial infarction. After adjusting for 19 possible predictors, we found the pathogen burden (P-trend =.04, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.5 per number of pathogens) and minimum luminal diameter (P =.003, OR 1.8 per mm decrease) to be significant predictors of clinical restenosis. Male sex was a nonsignificant predictor of restenosis (P =.06, OR 2.2), but CRP was not significant after adjustment (P-trend =.10, OR 0.73 per tertile).

CONCLUSION
Pathogen burden was associated with clinical coronary restenosis, an association that deserves further exploration and evaluation. CRP, a marker of inflammation, was not associated with an increased risk of restenosis.


Background :- Body fluid cell counts are a routine laboratory test that provides valuable information to clinicians for diagnosing and treating a wide variety of medical An Automated Analyser can screen large number of body fluids in less time, with more precision & the results should be comparable to manual hemcytometer counting method. Manual total WBC count & differential count were compared with the results obtained from Abotts CELL DYN RUBY & SYSMEX – XT 2000i. Methodology : - The Comparative analysis of body fluid sample by Manual method & Cell Dyn Ruby showed p value < 0.05 which is statistically significant & Sensitivity of Ruby= 95.4 % & Specificity= 96.4 %. Conclusion. Most of the laboratories are using Automated Analyzer for body fluid analysis as it is less time consuming. Abotts Cell Dyn Ruby can perform fluid analysis very precisely & with small quantity of fluid. It offers extra advantage by giving alert/ flag if malignant cells are present. It is safe to say that cell Dyn Ruby is the best among all Analyzers for body fluid analysis & it will completely replace manual method of counting cells in near future. We personally recommend that each fluid sample should be mandatorily run in Ruby to screen for WBC count & malignant cells.


BackgroundChronic pain is one of the most frequent physical symptoms worldwide and requires intervention on many levels. Complementary therapies in particular are becoming increasingly relevant and popular in the treatment of chronic pain. The present study evaluates the therapeutic effects of rhythmic embrocation with a lavender/peat extract [Solum Oil (German: Solum Öl)]. Materials and MethodsIn a prospective observational study 100 patients with chronic pain were treated three times (T1-T3) within 24 days by rhythmic embrocation with Solum Oil. Main active constituents per 10 g of Solum Oil: aqueous peat extract (1:5) 1.96 g, and Lavandulae aetheroleum 0.5 g. The Mood Scale (Bf-S) and Pain Perception Scale (sensory PPS, affective PPS) were measured before the first and after each of the 3 treatments. To measure the therapeutic effects, effect sizes were calculated. ResultsPatients were mainly female (89%), mean duration of chronic pain (low back pain): 8.8 years; 1 drop-out due to urticaria. Bf-S was reduced from 25.8 [95% confidence interval (CI); 22.8-28.1] before T1 to 13.3 (95% CI; 11.7-15.0) after T3; sensory PPS from 18.8 (95% CI; 17.7-19.8) to 15.2 (95% CI; 14.1-16.4), affective PPS from 29.8 (95% CI; 27.9-31.7) to 21.3 (95% CI; 19.4-23.0) (all P<0.01). Effect sizes (d): Bf-S: d=0.81; affective PPs: d=0.85; sensory PPS: d=0.55. ConclusionsThe high effect sizes indicate that repeated rhythmic embrocation with Solum Oil may improve mood, pain perception (sensory PPS), and the ability to cope with pain (affective PPS) in patients with chronic low back pain. To further assess the efficacy of this method, a randomized clinical trial is recommended.


The structure of a spanning forest that generalizes the minimal spanning tree is considered for infinite graphs with a value f(b) attached to each bond b. Of particular interest are stationary random graphs; examples include a lattice with iid uniform values f(b) and the Voronoi or complete graph on the sites of a Poisson process, with f(b) the length of b. The corresponding percolation models are Bernoulli bond percolation and the "lily pad" model of continuum percolation, respectively. It is shown that under a mild "simultaneous uniqueness" hypothesis, with at most one exception, each tree in the forest has one topological end, that is, has no doubly infinite paths. If there is a tree in the forest, necessarily unique, with two topological ends, it must contain all sites of an infinite cluster at the critical point in the corresponding percolation model. Trees with zero, or three or more, topological ends are not possible. Applications to invasion percolation are given. If all trees are one-ended, there is a unique optimal (locally minimax for f ) path to infinity from each site.


The high risk, uncertainty and complicated interface for division of work in the construction industry have resulted in endless engineering dispute issues. Submitting claims during the performance of construction contracts can be money wasting and time-consuming process. This paper summarizes dispute issues occur often on construction site, clarifies what responsibility each party should bear, identifies the compensable claim items in each dispute issue and lists suggestion estimation formulas for each claim item for quantifying. By using eEPC diagram to represent management process in General Construction Company (GC), the paper pioneers in discussing the proof evidence required by each construction claim and mapping among daily management records. According to the mapping, construction managers can efficiently clear up daily management records they need for testifying truth and calculating compensation amount. Finally, the study adopts object-oriented technique to develop a Construction Claim Decision Making System (CCDMS) for implementation. CCDMS displays entitlement and claims quantum for assisting claim presentation.


This essay tackles the problem of spatial imaginations, representations, and "mental maps." Its main point of reference is Larry Wolff's thesis that the division of Europe into an Eastern - backward and uncivilized - part, on the one hand, and a Western - modem and civilized - part, on the other, can be traced back to the late-eighteenth century. In the Enlightenment, according to Wolff, philosophers, writers, and above all travelers created this normative and value laden inner-European dichotomy. From the perspective of German travelogues on Poland and France published between roughly 1750 and 1850, Europe and its inner division appears in a completely different light. The perceptions, for instance, of travel infrastructure, rural life, and small provincial towns are widely identical. From the perspective of a bourgeois, educated, mostly Protestant traveier, originating from an urban background, the main dichotomy around 1800 was not the division between Eastern and Western Europe. The cleavages followed the division between urban and rural culture, bourgeois and peasant milieu, or between denominations, such as Protestantism and Catholicism.


Sir, The study on the effect of age on heart rate variability in normal subjects by O'Brien et al (1986;55: 34854)1 deserves comment. (a) The confidence limits obtained are lower than in previous studies. This is attributed to the larger number and more uniform age distribution of the subjects. Differences in selection criteria and test procedures are, however, another explanation. More information should, therefore, be provided on the subjects and test conditions such as values for resting heart rate, supine blood pressure, the time of the day the experiments were performed, and the intake of coffee and cigarettes before the experiments.1 (b) Information is not given on the period of supine rest before the patient stood up. This is an important omission since we have shown that the duration of rest before standing has a profound (20-40%) influence on the magnitude of the initial heart rate response induced by standing up.2 -4 (c) The instant at which the initial peak heart rate increase evoked by standing up was observed by O'Brien et al seems to have occurred earlier than we found in our studies.2 3 5 This is not surprising since the recording was not started at the onset of standing up,2 but at the moment the subject became erect. The latter procedure is not correct from a physiological point of view.3 (d) I agree that cardiovascular autonomic function should be assessed by a combination of tests and that the establishment of normal ranges in relation to age is also important. But ultimately an understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved is the most important factor.3 56 Unfortunately, O'Brien et al leave us with much numerical information, but little physiological interpretation.


To be able to statistically compare evolutions of image timeseries data requires a method to express these evolutions in a common coordinate system. This requires a mechanism to transport evolutions between coordinate systems: e.g., parallel transport has been used for largedisplacement diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM) approaches. A common purpose to study evolutions is to assess local tissue growth or decay as observed in the context of neurodevelopment or neurodegeneration. Hence, preserving this information under transport is important to allow for faithful statistical analysis in the common coordinate system. Most basically, we require scale invariance. Here, we show that a scale invariant metric does not exist in the LDDMM setting. We illustrate the impact of this non-invariance on parallel transport. We also propose a new class of Riemannian metrics on shapes which preserves the variation of a global indicator such as volume under parallel transport.


We describe the SNAD Viewer, a web portal for astronomers which presents a centralized view of individual objects from the Zwicky Transient Facility's (ZTF) data releases, including data gathered from multiple publicly available astronomical archives and data sources. Initially built to enable efficient expert feedback in the context of adaptive machine learning applications, it has evolved into a full-fledged community asset that centralizes public information and provides a multi-dimensional view of ZTF sources. For users, we provide detailed descriptions of the data sources and choices underlying the information displayed in the portal. For developers, we describe our architectural choices and their consequences such that our experience can help others engaged in similar endeavors or in adapting our publicly released code to their requirements. The infrastructure we describe here is scalable and flexible and can be personalized and used by other surveys and for other science goals. The Viewer has been instrumental in highlighting the crucial roles domain experts retain in the era of big data in astronomy. Given the arrival of the upcoming generation of large-scale surveys, we believe similar systems will be paramount in enabling an optimal exploitation of the scientific potential enclosed in current terabyte and future petabyte-scale data sets. The Viewer is publicly available online at https://ztf.snad.space.


This paper presents an in-depth analysis of signal slew and skew variations in coupled inductive lines for different switching patterns. It is revealed that variations of rise/fall time and skew alter the behavior of coupled inductive lines under different switching patterns. We observe that crosstalk noise reduces with increasing signal skew, and the impact of skew variation on crosstalk noise is more prominent for lines with strong capacitive coupling. A performance comparison is done between power supply and ground line as inductive shield, and it is found that ground lines work better than power lines in inductive crosstalk minimization. The 100%-delay measurement technique has been proposed as opposed to the conventional 50%-delay method, and we notice that the 50%-delay technique underestimates the propagation delay for an inductive dominant line with varying signal slew times. Closed-form equations for propagation delay in terms of signal slew time have been derived, which are within 9% of HSPICE-simulated results for a set of interconnect structures. These expressions are simple, and accuracy increases with growing number of interconnect lines.


Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer (PC), but its prognostic value in PC is still unclear. To elucidate this issue, we systematically reviewed the evidence concerning the association between diabetes status and PC. Methods Medline and EMBASE databases were searched to identify the eligible studies. Overall and subgroup analyses were performed to detect the discrepancy of prognosis according to diabetes status. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CI were used to estimate the effect size. Results Eighteen studies including 16,181 patients with sample size ranging from 113 to 4,658 were pooled in this meta-analysis. Results showed that patients with DM had worse survival (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.07–1.32). In view of the impact of diabetes duration and tumor stage on the outcomes, we classified the studies into different groups. The results indicated that DM was associated with survival in both long-standing diabetes (HR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.14–1.40) and recent-onset diabetes (HR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.09–1.51). Data regarding localized disease (HR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.00–2.46) and nonlocalized (locally advanced and metastatic) disease (HR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.16–1.73) verified that the prognostic value was independent of tumor stage. Conclusion Our results suggested that patients with DM were associated with worse survival than those without DM. Diabetes may be a predictive factor of survival in patients with PC. Surveillance of diabetes status and antidiabetes medication administration after the diagnosis of PC is of clinical importance.


Tropical floodplains are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. Studies on floodplain productivity have primarily focused on trees and macrophytes, rather than algae, due to their greater biomass. However, epiphyton—algae and bacteria attached to the submerged portion of aquatic macrophytes—is a major source of energy in many tropical floodplains. Epiphyton productivity rates are unknown for most tropical floodplain wetlands, and spatial variability is not well understood. In this study, we measured primary productivity of epiphyton in Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. We estimated the relative contribution of epiphyton to aquatic production (epiphyton, + phytoplankton + macrophytes). We sampled sites dominated by different macrophyte structural types: vertical emerging grasses, horizontal emerging grasses, submerged macrophytes, and macrophytes with floating leaves. Epiphyton productivity was highly influenced by the structural type of the macrophyte. Highest potential productivity per weight was measured from epiphyton growing on macrophytes with floating leaves and horizontal grasses (1.52 ± 0.53 and 1.82 ± 0.61 mgC/dw g epiphyton/h, respectively) and lowest in submerged macrophytes and vertical grasses (0.57 ± 0.26 and 0.66 ± 0.47 mgC/dw g epiphyton/h, respectively). When considering the areal biomass of the macrophyte and the amount of epiphyton attached, epiphyton on horizontal grasses and submerged macrophytes had productivity values approximately ten times higher (45–219 mgC/m2/d) compared to those on vertical grasses and macrophytes with floating leaves (2–18 mgC/m2/d). Epiphyton contributed between 2 to 13 percent to the aquatic production of these tropical floodplain wetlands.


We consider the classical problem of sequential detection of change in a distribution (from hypothesis 0 to hypothesis 1), where the fusion centre receives vectors of periodic measurements, with the measurements being i.i.d. over time and across the vector components, under each of the two hypotheses. In our problem, the sensor devices ("motes") that generate the measurements constitute an ad hoc wireless network. The motes contend using a random access protocol (such as CSMA/CA) to transmit their measurement packets to the fusion centre. The fusion centre waits for vectors of measurements to accumulate before taking decisions. We formulate the optimal detection problem, taking into account the network delay experienced by the vectors of measurements, and find that, under periodic sampling, the detection delay decouples into network delay and decision delay. We obtain a lower bound on the network delay, and propose a censoring scheme, where lagging sensors drop their delayed observations in order to mitigate network delay. We show that this scheme can achieve the lower bound. This approach is explored via simulation. We also use numerical evaluation and simulation to study issues such as: the optimal sampling rate for a given number of sensors, and the optimal number of sensors for a given measurement rate


The D(1)((2)A("))-D(0)((2)A(")) electronic transition of the resonance-stabilized 1-phenylpropargyl radical, produced in a jet-cooled discharge of 3-phenyl-1-propyne, has been investigated in detail by laser-induced fluorescence excitation and dispersed single vibronic level fluorescence (SVLF) spectroscopy.The transition is dominated by the origin band at 21,007 cm(-1), with weaker Franck-Condon activity observed in a(') fundamentals and even overtones and combinations of a(") symmetry. Ab initio and density functional theory calculations of the D(0) and D(1) geometries and frequencies were performed to support and guide the experimental assignments throughout. Analysis of SVLF spectra from 16 D(1) vibronic levels has led to the assignment of 15 fundamental frequencies in the excited state and 19 fundamental frequencies in the ground state; assignments for many more normal modes not probed directly by fluorescence spectroscopy are also suggested. Duschinsky mixing, in which the excited state normal modes are rotated with respect to the ground state modes, is prevalent throughout, in vibrations of both a(') and a(") symmetry.


This chapter describes the history of criteria and indicators work at CIFOR, as an introduction to the subsequent chapters in this book. It also outlines the conceptual framework used to place human well-being within the topic of sustainable forest management. This includes a definition of human well being that includes security and sufficiency of access to resources now and in the future; economic opportunity; decision making opportunity; heritage and identity; justice; and health and safety. The chapter also briefly describes the social science methods used to assess human well being; and provides a summary of CIFOR's social criteria and indicators.


Access to outer space is becoming more achievable by a wider array of state and non-state actors. This access is partly fuelled by the constant development of technology that brings down the cost of such access and makes actual space activities more varied and widespread. Associated with these developments is the correlative use of space by military forces, thus manifesting an enduring competition for strategic ascendancy. The combination of multiple actors, advancing technology and the ever-present reality of geopolitical contention in space has put pressure on the existing outer space treaty regime. This treaty regime was primarily drafted in a different era where the realities of contemporary civil–military space activity could only be imagined. This article surveys the development of technology and the nature of civil–military activity in space. It argues that while the outer space treaty regime provides a sound starting point for addressing technological development and military activity in space, there is a strong case for invoking other principles and rules of international law to tackle emerging issues. Presciently, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies ('Outer Space Treaty') actually envisages this application of general international law, but there has been a tendency to marginalise this invocation and assimilation. This article argues that the time has come to reconcile differing legal regimes to craft solutions for the current space realities. Moreover, creative thinking in merging 'soft' international law with 'hard' domestic law, reaching past the inertia that current international decision-making bodies seem to exhibit, and rethinking interpretations of some Outer Space Treaty provisions by having regard to actual state practice, are areas which need to be fully explored. More strategically, creating a new appreciation and legal mindset for tackling the exponential growth of technology and civil–military space activity is required if space exploration and use is to be sustainably undertaken.


Dent disease type 1 is caused by mutations in the CLCN5 gene that encodes CLC5, a 2Cl−/H+ exchanger. The CLC5 mutants that have been functionally analysed constitute three major classes based on protein expression, cellular localization and channel function. We tested two small molecules, 4‐phenylbutyrate (4PBA) and its analogue 2‐naphthoxyacetic acid (2‐NOAA), for their effect on mutant CLC5 function and expression by whole‐cell patch‐clamp and Western blot, respectively. The expression and function of non‐Class I CLC5 mutants that have reduced function could be restored by either treatment. Cell viability was reduced in cells treated with 2‐NOAA. 4PBA is a FDA‐approved drug for the treatment of urea cycle disorders and offers a potential therapy for Dent disease.


Circumstantial evidence implicates the putative cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 in the process of malignant transformation. Overexpression of cyclin D1 is observed in mammary carcinomas as a result of gene amplification and in parathyroid adenomas and centrocytic B-cell lymphomas as a consequence of chromosomal rearrangements and juxtaposition of the cyclin D1 gene to strong transcriptional control elements. These findings suggest that deregulation of cyclin D1 expression may contribute to malignant transformation in these tumours. To date, however, an oncogenic potential of cyclin D1 has not been demonstrated and the mechanism of its oncogenic activation remains obscure although overexpression of the wild-type protein is likely. We report here that the overexpression of cyclin D1 induces transformation in primary rat embryo fibroblasts in cooperation with activated Ha-ras. Cyclin D1/Ha-ras transformed cells are immortalized, show anchorage independence and give rise to fibrosarcomas in nude mice. Our data directly demonstrate that cyclin D1 is a proto-oncogene that can be activated by transcriptional deregulation. Its previously demonstrated ability to interact with putative cell cycle regulators suggests that cyclin D1 defines a new class of proto-oncogenes.


The DC microgrid has become a new trend for microgrid study with the advantages of high reliability, simple control and low losses. With regard to the drawbacks of the traditional droop control strategies, an improved DC droop control strategy based on integrator current-sharing is introduced. In the strategy, the principle of eliminating deviation through an integrator is used, constructing the current-sharing term in order to make the power-sharing between different distributed generation (DG) units uniform and reasonable, which can reduce the circulating current between DG units. Furthermore, at the system coordinated control level, a hierarchical/droop control strategy based on the DC bus voltage is proposed. In the strategy, the operation modes of the AC main network and micro-sources are determined through detecting the DC voltage variation, which can ensure the power balance of the DC microgrid under different operating conditions. Meanwhile, communication is not needed between different DG units, while each DG unit needs to sample the DC bus voltage, which retains the plug-and-play feature of the DC microgrid. The proposed control strategy is validated by simulation on a DC microgrid with permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind turbines, solar arrays and energy storage batteries, which can be applied to small commercial or residential buildings.


Mood boards are one method that can improve inspiration and communication during a design process. These mood boards are typically a collection of abstract media which the designer uses for personal inspiration and also to discuss and communicate with the client and possibly other stakeholders including users. The authors' experience as both designers and educators indicates that mood boards are a 'love it or hate it' issue. Some claim mood boards can inspire creativity and aid communication. Others dismiss them as of no value. The literature is curiously limited on the subject, possibly due to the subjective nature of the issue. This paper starts to explore the potential of mood boards as design research and support tools by looking at both practising and student industrial designers' attitudes to and use of mood boards. The authors conducted a scoping study that is discussed in this paper. The findings revealed that design practitioners valued mood boards as a tool for communication with non-designers and as an instrument to inspire lateral thinking. However, mood boards were undervalued and misunderstood by the sample group of industrial design undergraduate students.


The research aimed to determine the moderating effect of advertisement (ad) length on the relationships between ad content and the intention of skipping, as well as ad irritation. The research attempted to fill in the lacuna in the academic  literature on the said issue. In doing so, it examined consumers' responses towards the consumers' intention of adskipping and irritation. The experimental research utilized four video ads with varying durations and containing both entertaining and boring content, with long and short ad length. The research sample comprised 120 respondents spend at least more than 1 hour online. The research employed convenience sampling and the method of Univariate Analysis of Variance Linear Model. IBM SPSS Statistics was used for data analysis. The results reveal that the content and length of an online video ad have a direct effect on consumers' ad irritation and intention of skipping. The research concludes that the perceived entertainment of an online video ad significantly affects consumers' intention of skipping and ad irritation. Furthermore, the length of video ads has a major impact on their intention of skipping and ad irritation.


This thesis explores the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of national minorities. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of descriptive representation and justified the need for affirmative action measures such as reserved seats or a lower electoral threshold to achieve descriptive representation. However, this thesis differs in claiming that substantive representation of minority interests is equally, if not more, important than descriptive representation. It is argued throughout the thesis that an equal right to political representation consists of the right to be present (descriptive representation) and the right to representation of interests and perspectives (substantive representation). Although mere presence of minority representatives might have some symbolic benefits, members of minority groups primarily need the representatives to act in their interests and attempt to influence public policies. Hence, this thesis provides an answer to two important and yet insufficiently researched questions: is descriptive representation a sufficient condition for substantive and if not, in what conditions can descriptive representatives act as substantive?
In aim to understand in what conditions can descriptive representatives act as substantive, this research provides an empirical analysis of the behaviour of the representatives of minority parties in the VIII National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. More particularly, the analysis includes content analysis of all interventions in plenary parliamentary debates of the 12 national minority MPs in the period between June 2008 and May 2012. The research shows that the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation differs across minority parties. Two groups of MPs can be distinguished from the data: MPs elected on minority electoral lists creating parliamentary group of national minorities in parliament and those who were elected through pre-electoral arrangements with mainstream political parties. It is concluded that minority political parties are not a priori substantive representatives of national minorities and that descriptive representatives elected on minority electoral lists perform better as substantive representatives than descriptive representatives elected on electoral list of mainstream parties. Finally, some institutional changes are suggested which could enhance substantive representation of national minorities.


Three cases of a disease similar to going light syndrome in budgerigars in a flock of young laying hens in Turkey are reported. In all cases megabacteria in association with E. coli could be isolated. The causing agent appeared to be large, rod-shaped, gram-positive or gram-labil, and catalase test positive bacteria with cytochromoxydase activity. Subcultivation of these bacteria could not be achieved.


Thirty-six children in 4 cohorts of 0-1 week, 1-6 months, 1-2 years and 2-2 1/2 years of age were examined for the presence of black-pigmented Bacteroides species and some other bacteria suspected of being involved in the subsequent development of periodontal destruction. None of the sought-after bacteria were detected in the first week of life. Bacteroides intermedius and Bacteroides melaninogenicus were detected as early as 1 month after birth. Both of these bacteria were detected in 16-37% of children in the different cohorts. Bacteroides denticola was detected in one child. Other black-pigmented species including Bacteroides gingivalis and Bacteroides loescheii were not detected. Eikenella corrodens was detected in 62% of children under 6 months. Capnocytophaga spp. were detected in 12% and Fusobacterium nucleatum in 25% of children in this age group. With increasing age there was a trend towards an increase in the number of children with F. nucleatum but other bacteria were detected in similar numbers of children throughout the 3 older cohorts. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was not detected at any age.


In this letter we propose, in a preliminary way, a new Earth-based laboratory experiment aimed at the detection of the gravitomagnetic field of the Earth. It consists of the measurement of the difference between the circular frequencies of two rotators moving along identical circular paths, but in opposite directions, on a horizontal friction-free plane in a vacuum chamber placed at the South Pole. The accuracy to our knowledge of the Earth's rotation from VLBI and the possibility of measuring the rotators' periods over many revolutions should allow for the feasibility of the proposed experiment.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Two spiro-oxindole-based modulators -compounds A and B - of the MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction display suitable pharmacological properties and are currently under advanced preclinical development (1). In vitro, these compounds induce massive cell death in a subset of relevant tumor models such as MDM2-amplified SJSA-1, while they can significantly block cell proliferation without detectable cytotoxic effect in other human cell lines (e.g. HCT116). To better characterize in vivo the different tumor cell sensitivity of these novel MDM2 antagonists, quantitative and longitudinal pharmacodynamic effects have been determined in several preclinical settings: i) anti-tumor efficacy, ii) activation of p53-dependent molecular biomarkers such as p53 itself, p21, MDM2, PUMA, Noxa, Bax and MIC-1 and iii) downstream biological effects monitored by immuno-assays as well as by in vivo fluorescence tomography and PET imaging. The results obtained from these studies have revealed striking differences in the biological read-outs associated with the observed cytotoxic versus cytostatic effects and provide guidance for the use of certain biomarkers in the clinical development of this new generation of anti-cancer agents. 1. Wang S. et al., AACR, Orlando FL, 2011, Abstract LB-204

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4731. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4731


Background: Giant cell lesion of small bones (GCLSB), also known as giant cell reparative granuloma, is a rare tumor-like condition occurring in the small bones of the hands and feet. GCLSB lacks specific clinical, radiological, and histological manifestations. There are no standardized protocols for treatment. Case presentation: Here, we report a 16-year-old male with recurrent GCLSB in the proximal phalanx of the left thumb. The lesion was successfully resected with bone grafting. Conclusions: We summarized the characteristics of 33 reported cases of GCLSB from 1983 to date, including gender, age, lesion sites, recurrence, and treatment. We conclude that resection and reconstruction with curettage is the treatment of choice.


In this paper, we analyze a real-life application of virtualization: the Italtel Virtual Session Border Controller (VSBC). The measurements obtained in ad hoc loading experiments show that the VSBC performance is not linear with respect to variations in the call rate. Such a behavior is not in accordance with the theoretical results predicted by standard statistical tools based on queuing theory. As a consequence, particular attention must be paid to accurately assess the VSBC performance, because inaccurate estimates could lead to undue costs, or under-performing solutions. To overcome this problem, a novel approach to accurately predict the VSBC performance is proposed, which allows optimizing the system behavior and minimizing its costs. Keywords-Virtualization; Telephony; SBC; RTP; Erlang.


Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is an acute infection of ascites with the absence of surgically treatable cause and the gold standard method in its diagnosis is the presence of 250 polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) /mm3 or more by diagnostic paracentesis. Blood neutrophil/lymphocytic ratio (NLR) is an applicable, inexpensive, and simple test for inflammation. C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) is an inflammatory marker used for the diagnosis and followup of many diseases and morbidities. We aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of both blood NLR and CAR as applicable, simple and non-invasive tests for SBP follow-up. Patients and Methods: This study was done on 80 cirrhotic ascitic patients attending the Tropical Medicine Department of Tanta University Hospital. They were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, and ascitic fluid analysis. The patients were divided into two groups according to the results of diagnostic paracentesis into group I: 40 cirrhotic ascitic patients without spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and group II: 40 cirrhotic ascitic patients with Opinion Article Mustafa et al.; IJTDH, 42(7): 52-62, 2021; Article no.IJTDH.68279 53 spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and then SBP group were tested after treatment by thirdgeneration cephalosporin for five days for ascitic sample, NLR and CAR. Results: Both blood NLR and CAR were significantly higher in SBP patients. Also, a significant decrease in both ratios was observed post-treatment with significant positive correlations between both NLR and CAR with ascitic neutrophil count after SBP treatment. Conclusion: NLR and CAR can be used as quick, cheap, and applicable markers of the response of treatment in SBP patients.


The sffucture of vandendriesscheite, Z : 8, Pb,,7[(UOr),0O6(OH),,](HrO),,, orthorhombic, a: 14.1165(6), b : 41.3'78(2), c : 14.5347(6) A,V = 8490 Ar, space group Pbca, has been solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques to an agreement factor (R) of l2.l%o and a goodness-of-fit (S) of 1.28 using 4918 unique observed reflections (F'.l > 4oF) collected with MoKct X-radiation and a CCD (chargecoupled device) detector. The structure contains ten unique U6* positions, each of which is part of a nearly linear (UOr)'* uranyl ion that is further coordinated by five equatorial (O'z ,OH-) anions to form pentagonal bipyramidal polyhedra. There are two unique Pb positions; one is fully occupied, but site-scattering refinement gives an occupancy factor of 0.573(8) for the other. The Pb positions are coordinated by O atoms of the uranyl ions and by HrO groups. There are 11 unique HrO groups; five are bonded to Pb and the other six are held in the structure by hydrogen bonds only. The U polyhedra link by the sharing of equatorial edges to form sheets parallel to (001). The sheet of U polyhedra is not known from another structure and is the most complex yet observed in a uranyl oxide hydrate. The sheets are sffucturally intermediate to those in schoepite and becquerelite and are linked by bonds to the interlayer Pb cations and the HrO groups. The extensive network of hydrogen bonds that link adjacent sheets is derived on the basis of crystal-chemical constralnts. The high mobility of U6* in oxidizing fluids, as opposed to Pb'z*, causes the alteration products of Precambrian uraninite deposits to become progressively enriched in Pb relative to U. In the case of lead uranyl oxide hydrate minerals, there is a continuous sequence of crystal structures that involves a systematic modif,cation of the sheets of U polyhedra and that corresponds to increasing sheet charge and increasing Pb content. Thus, a clear relationship exists between the crystal structures of lead uranyl oxide hydrates and their paragenesis, and this is relevant to the disposal of spent nuclear fuel.


Marfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder that affects multiple organ systems, primarily the cardiovascular, ocular and skeletal. It is the most common inherited condition affecting the heart and the aorta, occurring in 1:5000–1:9800 people. There is no ethnic or gender predisposition; 20 to 35% of cases arise from de novo mutations.


[1] More observations of vertical mass transport in deep convection are needed to improve dynamical understanding of detrainment processes and for verification of transport models. A methodology for using radar reflectivity as a direct observation of vertical transport of mass from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere is investigated, and the "level of maximum detrainment" (LMD) is proposed. The case investigated is the 26 January 1999 squall line from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere field campaign. Echo top heights and dual-Doppler derived divergence profiles are used to define the mass detrainment range. Over 10% of anvil echo tops occurred above the sounding-derived level of neutral buoyancy of 15.4 km during the mature stage of the storm, and convective tops reached above 18 km. Anvil ice water content, with a simple correction for ice fall speed, is found to be a good proxy for both the LMD, which for the storm analyzed is 11.25 km, and for the detrainment range of 6 to 17 km. More cases need to be analyzed to confirm the strength of this methodology, but the case study presented shows a strong correlation between anvil properties determined from radar reflectivity and the mass detrainment profile. Thus, radar reflectivity can be used as an indicator of the LMD to test model convective and transport parameterizations.


Results were evaluated for 651 consecutive patients with invasive cancer of the intact uterine cervix. From 1963 through 1967 319 patients were treated primarily with the older Los Angeles County Hospital system of orthovoltage radiation and intracavitary radium therapy. Thereafter, 1968--1974, 332 patients were treated primarily with a newer modified M. D. Anderson Tumor Institute system of megavoltage radiation and afterloading intracavitary radium therapy. Age distribution and histology were similar for both groups, but clinical stage was slightly more advanced for patients treated earlier. Crude and net 5 year survival rates were 36% and 49% for the early group and 54% and 67% for the later group. Net 5 year survival rates for the earlier group by stage were: stage I, 74%; II, 62%; III, 23%; and IV, 6%. Survival rates for the later group were: I, 81%; II 76%; III, 50%; and IV, 15%. We believe this improvement can be attributed to more effective intracavitary radium therapy for handling local cancer and to delivery of cancericidal doses of radiation to regional nodes with the megavoltage radiation apparatus, as well as to the greater cooperative efforts put forth in the management of County Hospital patients.


Current enterprise systems are widely implemented using statically typed languages such as Java. One of the reasons are strong type checks at compile time that help prevent runtime errors. The static type checks are also well integrated into current development tools. One of the less explored area are, however, static type checks of binary software components. Since current software usually contains a large amount of third-party components, the compilers can no longer cover the static type checks of the final product, especially the inter-dependencies of the components are out of their reach. In this work, we propose an approach that analyses the byte-code of Java classes to reconstruct the mutual dependencies of respective components first. Then, the dependencies are examined to find any type inconsistencies. As a result, this approach detects dependency problems early in the development phase and prevents undesirable run time product failures caused by them.


Many long-span suspension bridges have been built around the world, and many of them carry both of rail and road traffic. Fatigue assessment shall be performed to ensure the safety and functionality of these bridges. This paper first briefly introduces the main procedure of fatigue assessment recommended by British Standard, and then it is applied to the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong. Vehicle spectrum of trains and road vehicles are investigated based on the measurement data of trains and road vehicles recorded by the Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS) installed on the bridge so that fatigue damage assessment will be more realistic and accurate. Stress influence lines corresponding to railway tracks and highway lanes are established based on a complex finite element bridge model so that an accurate vehicle-induced stress response can be estimated based on them. The fatigue-critical locations for different type of bridge components are identified in terms of the maximum stress range due to a standard train running over the bridge. Finally, the fatigue life at the fatigue-critical locations due to both trains and road vehicles are estimated, and the result indicates the bridge is in very good condition.


In the present work, two low-dimensional models are presented and used for vibration simulation of the linear and non-linear beam models. These models help to compute the dynamical responses of the beam with fast computation speed and under the effects of different conditions. Also the obtained results can be used in the conceptual and detailed design stages of an engineering system overall design. First, a finite element analysis based on Euler-Bernoulli beam elements with two primary variables (deflection and slope) at each node is used to find static and dynamic responses of the considered linear and non-linear beams. Responses to three different static load cases are obtained and applying them as initial conditions, the time responses of the beam are calculated by the Newmark's time approximation scheme. A low-dimensional POD model which was extracted from the ensemble under the effect of an arbitrary loading is reconstructed. To apply the model to simulate the response of beam under the effect of other loads, POD modal coefficients are updated due to change of initial condition. This modification is performed based on the recalculation of the eigenvalues due to a new initial condition. Also, another low-dimensional model is constructed which is developed based on an ensemble under the effect of several parameters. To apply the model to simulate the response of the beam under the effect of other loads and variations of beam thickness, POD-HOSVD modal coefficients are updated due to the change of desired parameters. The results obtained from the low-dimensional model are showing good agreement to the benchmark data and proving high level accuracy of the model.