Introduction The aim of this interdisciplinary study was to answer the question of whether active antioxidants as graphene oxide (GO), sodium ascorbate, and L-ascorbic acid modify at a molecular and supramolecular level the tissue of pathological amnion and the necrotic eschar degraded in thermal burn. We propose new solutions of modifiers based on GO that will become innovative ingredients to be used in transplants (amnion) and enhance regeneration of epidermis degraded in thermal burn. Methods A Nicolet 6700 spectrophotometer with Omnic software and the EasiDiff diffusion accessory were used in FTIR spectroscopic analysis. A Nicolet Magna-IR 860 spectrometer with an FT Raman accessory was used to record the Raman spectra of the samples. The surface of the samples was examined using a Phenom ProX scanning electron microscope with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy detector to diagnose and illustrate morphological effects on skin and amnion samples. SAXS measurements were carried out with a compact Kratky camera equipped with the SWAXS optical system. Results Characterisation of amide I–III regions, important for molecular structure, on both FTIR and FTR spectra revealed distinct shifts, testifying to organization of protein structure after GO modification. A wide lipid band associated with ester-group vibrations in phospholipids of cell membranes and vibrations of the carbonyl group of GO in the 1,790–1,720 cm−1 band were observed in the spectra of thermally degraded and GO-modified epidermis and pathological amnion. SAXS studies revealed that GO caused a significant change in the structure of the burnt skin, but its influence on the structure of the amnion was weak. Conclusion Modification of burn-damaged epidermis and pathological amnion by means of GO results in stabilization and regeneration of tissue at the level of molecular (FTIR, FTR) and supramolecular (SAXS) interactions.


Rolling is an undesirable motion for ships. Large amplitude rolling can easily lead to capsize which will cause the loss of life and property. This paper proposes a fuzzy-extension control strategy for ship roll damping and anti-capsizing system. Fuzzy control strategy is studied in the classical domain for rudder roll stabilization to solve uncertainties in quantitative change and gradual change resulting from the change of ship model parameters so as to improve control performance. Moreover, the real-time tuning algorithm is presented to tune the fuzzy rules. Extension control strategy is studied in extension domain to solve the uncertainties in non-gradual change arising from the wave so as to extend anti-capsizing control sphere. Every control strategy can realize effective control within the scope of control.The two intelligence control methods are combined to increase the level of intelligence of system. This paper carries out the simulation under various situations such as different navigation speed, sea conditions, encounter angle and ship parameter perturbation, to test the roll reduction and robustness of the roll controller designed.


— Image Segmentation based on K-means algorithm is presented in GUI (Graphical User Interface). The K-means algorithm and adaptive k-means clustering is used to obtain high performance and efficiency in image segmentation. In addition, it has a resolving capability of one image into different planes by selecting the number of clusters using datasets of image. And also the advance of K-means is adaptive K-means which will give the frame size and the absolute value between the means of an image. The iteration time on image segmentation is determined by using Adaptive k-means clustering. Adaptive k-means is used for better image segmentation that has been shown in MATLAB Simulation.


Context: Electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) could potentially be useful for patient setup verification and are also increasingly used for dosimetric verification. The accuracy of EPID for dose verification is dependent on the dose-response characteristics, and without a comprehensive evaluation of dose-response characteristics, EPIDs should not be used clinically. Aims: A scatter correction method is presented which is based on experimental data of a two-dimensional (2D) ion chamber array. An accurate algorithm for 2D dose reconstruction at midplane using portal images for in vivo dose verification has been developed. Subjects and Methods: The procedure of scatter correction and dose reconstruction was based on the application of several corrections for beam attenuation, and off-axis factors, measured using a 2D ion chamber array. 2D dose was reconstructed in slab phantom, OCTAVIUS 4D system, and patient, by back projection of transit dose map at EPID-sensitive layer using percentage depth dose data and inverse square. Verification of the developed algorithm was performed by comparing dose values reconstructed in OCTAVIUS 4D system and with that provided by a treatment planning system. Results: The gamma analysis for dose planes within the OCTAVIUS 4D system showed 98% ±1% passing rate, using a 3%/3 mm pass criteria. Applying the algorithm for dose reconstruction in patient pelvic plans showed gamma passing rate of 96% ±2% using the same pass criteria. Conclusions: An accurate empirical algorithm for 2D patient dose reconstruction has been developed. The algorithm was applied to phantom and patient data sets and is able to calculate dose in the midplane. Results indicate that the EPID dose reconstruction algorithm presented in this work is suitable for clinical implementation.


Insulin secretion and clearance in response to the administration of oral and intravenous glucose was investigated in nine normal men. C-peptide metabolic kinetics were calculated by analysis of individual C-peptide decay curves after the bolus injection of biosynthetic human C-peptide. Glucose was administered to the subjects on three occasions: as a 75-g oral dose, a 75-g i.v. infusion, and an intravenous glucose infusion at a variable rate adjusted to mimic the peripheral glucose levels obtained after the oral glucose load (matching experiment). Glucose, insulin, and C-peptide concentrations were measured for the subsequent 5 h. The glucose level after the oral glucose load (115.9 ± 2.6 mg/dl, mean ± SE) closely approximated that after the matching experiment (120.5 ± 2.5 mg/dl) but was significantly lower than after 75 g i.v. glucose (127.7 ± 3.4 mg/dl, P < .05). Analysis of the areas under the peripheral concentration curves (60-360 min) showed that the responses of both insulin (52.7 ± 5.6 and 46.5 ± 4.5 pmol · ml−1 300 min1) and C-peptide (252.7 ± 27.5 and 267.0 ± 21.6 pmol · ml−1 · 300 min1) were not significantly different after the oral and 75-g i.v. glucose studies, respectively, whereas in the matching experiment, both the insulin (26.1 ± 3.9 pmol · ml−1 · 300 min−1) and C-peptide (178.0 ± 18.9 pmol ml−1 300 min−1) responses were lower (P < .05) than in the other two studies. Insulin secretory rates were derived from peripheral C-peptide concentrations with an open two-compartment model and individually derived model parameters. The basal insulin secretion rate was 86.8 ± 2.9 pmol/min. The insulin secretory response over the 300 min was 66.2 ± 4.8 nmol after oral glucose. This was similar to that after 75 g i.v. glucose (72.4 ± 4 . 1 nmol), whereas that secreted in response to the matching experiment was lower (47.6 ± 4.1 nmol, P ± .05). As a measure of the clearance of endogenous insulin, the ratio between the area under the insulin secretory curve and the area under the peripheral insulin concentration curve was calculated. This ratio was similar (1906 ± 149 ml/min) during the baseline period and the matching glucose infusion (2042 ± 245 ml/min) but was significantly lower after oral glucose (1330 ±112 ml/min, P < .05). The incretin effect calculated based on the insulin secretion rate (25 ± 9.2%) appeared to be less than if the calculations were based on peripheral insulin levels. These data demonstrate that equivalent doses of glucose administered orally and intravenously elicit an equivalent insulin secretory response. However, when the arterialized plasma glucose curve after 75 g oral glucose is matched by an intravenous glucose infusion, only 35.6 ± 2.9 g glucose was infused, and the intravenous glucose resulted in a lower secretory response. Furthermore, after oral administration of 75 g glucose a significant reduction in insulin clearance resulted. These data provide evidence that the hyperinsulinemia seen after oral glucose is due both to enhanced insulin secretion and diminished insulin clearance.


We report a micelle-templated method to enhance the reactivity of DNA with highly hydrophobic molecules. Lipids, chromophores and polymers can be conjugated to DNA in high yield and under mild conditions. This method expands the range of DNA-templated reactions for DNA-encoded libraries, oligonucleotide and drug delivery, nanopore mimetics and DNA nanotechnology.


The Ω preprocessing was introduced to improve phase noise rejection by using a least square algorithm. The associated variance is the PVAR which is more efficient than MVAR to separate the different noise types. However, unlike AVAR and MVAR, the decimation of PVAR estimates for multi-τ analysis is not possible if each counter measurement is a single scalar. This paper gives a decimation rule based on two scalars, the processing blocks, for each measurement. For the Ω preprocessing, this implies the definition of an output standard as well as hardware requirements for performing high-speed computations of the blocks.


Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can originate from either the gas or vascular side of the alveolus. Although the portal for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inhalational, and alveolar infiltrates are commonly found on chest x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan, the respiratory distress appears to include an important vascular insult that potentially mandates a different treatment approach than customarily applied for ARDS. Indeed, the wide variation in mortality rates across different intensive care units raises the possibility that the approach to ventilatory management could be contributing to outcome.1-3 COVID-19 is a systemic disease that primarily injures the vascular endothelium. If not expertly and individually managed with consideration of the vasocentric features, a COVID-19 patient with ARDS ("CARDS") may eventually develop multiorgan failure, even when not of advanced age or predisposed by preexisting comorbidity.


Our country is vast in territory and the geological environment is complicated. The nature geology conditions that influence the development of geological hazards are complicated and diversified. China is one of the most serious earthquake disasters in the world. This paper mainly investigate the application that the geographic information system in assistance decision and emergency command, talk about how to use geographic information system to calculate disasters damage area after the earthquake, and combine GPS with RS, talk about the role of GIS in earthquakes. we use gis to establish buffer zone for disasters damage area to rational allocation of resources. This study demonstrate that we can save a lot of time in earthquake with GIS.


Objective: This meta-analysis determines the effect of Bio- Mos®, a mannan-oligosaccharide, supplementation to preweaned dairy source calves on average daily weight gain (ADG) pre-weaning. Methods: A literature search was performed and peerreviewed studies and abstract proceedings were included. Studies were included where Bio-Mos®- supplemented calves were compared to control calves and weights were measured pre-weaning. A random effect meta-analysis was performed for overall effect and also comparing the effect stratified on type of liquid feed that the calves received. Results: A total of 23 cohort studies performed in USA, United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, the Czech republic, India, Japan, Peru, Poland, Spain and Turkey between 1993 and 2012 were included in the meta-analysis. The Bio-Mos® supplementation ranged from 2-10 g per day, with an average inclusion of 3.8 g per day. Twenty-one studies reported an increased daily weight gain in calves fed Bio- Mos® in milk or milk replacer compared to control calves. The random effects meta-analysis model estimated that Bio-Mos®- supplemented calves gained 0.064 kg/day (95% CI 0.047-0.081 kg/day) more than unsupplemented control calves (P-value <0.01). When stratified on type of feed, the estimates were similar; for milk replacer calves a 0.055 kg/day increased weight gain, for milk feed calves a 0.071 kg/day weigh gain and for waste milk/milk replacer calves a 0.068 kg/day weight gain advantage in Bio-Mos®- supplemented calves compared to unsupplemented control calves. Funnel plots indicated no publication bias or reporting bias. Conclusion: The meta-analysis concludes that Bio-Mos® supplementation of milk or milk replacer can be expected to on average result in 64 g more weight gain per day in preweaned dairy calves, which would correspond to 3.8 kilo higher weights for calves weaned at 2 months of age.


In 1768, James Cook, on an epic sea journey that secured his place in history, discovered Australia. One hundred years later, countering cherished legends, George Collingridge dared to claim that the Portuguese had gotten to Australia first. Now VANESSA COLLINGRIDGE, his distant cousin, unravels the strange tale of history's most fascinating explorer and the man who sought to dethrone him. Collingridge charts Captain Cook's celebrated voyages: He mapped the Pacific islands, circumnavigated Antarctica, charted New Zealand, and discovered the New Hebrides and Australia, curing scurvy along the way. He was shipwrecked on the Great Barrier Reef, cruised with sails frozen amid two-hundred-foot-tall icebergs, struggled to keep his crew from losing battles with alcohol and Polynesian women, and somehow managed to stay one step ahead of competing French and Spanish explorers. Over his twenty-one years of adventure--until his murder on a beach in Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii in 1779--Cook changed the Western map of the world. Or so schoolchildren were taught. In 1883 British aristocrat George Collingridge sailed Down Under in search of adventure--and came across maps of Australia dated 1542 and 1546, drawn in northern France but based on Portuguese originals, suggesting that Cook was not the first to reach Australia. This proposal would prove Collingridge's undoing--and yet it is a controversy that lives on.


In a vector-controlled induction machine drive, accurate knowledge of the machine electrical parameters is required to ensure correct alignment of the stator current vector relative to the rotor flux vector, to decouple the fluxand torque-producing currents and to tune the current control loops. This paper presents a new method for online identification of the induction machine parameters required to tune a rotor-flux-oriented (RFO) vector control scheme. Accuracy of the slip frequency estimation required for RFO vector control is achieved by utilizing the parameter independent "flux pulse" rotor time constant estimation scheme, which utilizes short-duration pulses injected into the flux-producing current. The parameters required to tune the synchronous frame current control loops with a decoupling circuit are estimated using a recursive estimation scheme derived from the synchronous frame voltage equations. As the "flux pulse" scheme requires signal injection into the flux-producing current a new rotor time constant estimation scheme is presented, based on the sensitivity analysis of the recursive parameter estimation scheme. Simulation and experimental results are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the online parameter identification and control loop tuning technique.


Geomorphology is a dominant factor influencing vegetation distribution in the southern Appalachians, and quantifying landform characteristics is increasingly important for forest ecosystem classification. This study used slope gradient and two previously published geomorphic indices, terrain shape index and landform index that quantify landform shape and protection, to develop a field-based landform quantification system at four study areas in the southern Appalachians. Six major landform types (ridgetops, nose slopes, linear hillslopes, coves, stream ravines, and stream bottoms) exhibited quantitatively different characteristics, and these differences among landforms were not evident when using only categorical landform descriptions (e.g., convex, concave) that have been most common in southern Appalachian ecological research. Discriminant function resubstitution based on quantitative geomorphic variables distinguished 78% or more of categorical landform types, and misclassifications partly resulted from inadequacies of categorical data for capturing the continuum of landform characteristics. I applied the geomorphic quantification system by developing a classification tree model to predict the presence or absence of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) ecosystems in northwestern South Carolina. The quantitative model correctly identified 86% of sites actually supporting a hemlock ecosystem, substantially higher than a model using categorical landform data that correctly identified only 57% of hemlock sites.


This article uses world-systems analysis to examine the role that pirates and privateers played in the competition between European core states in the Atlantic and Caribbean frontier during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Piracy was an integral part of core-periphery interaction, as a force that nations could use against one another in the form of privateers, and as a reaction against increasing constraints on freedom of action by those same states, thus forming a semiperiphery. Although modern portrayals of pirates and privateers paint a distinct line between the two groups, historical records indicate that their actual status was rather fluid, with particular people moving back and forth between the two. As a result, the individuals were on a margin between legality and treason, often crossing from one to the other. In this study we discuss how pirates and privateers fit into the margins of society in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, also known as the Golden Age of Piracy, specifically using the example of Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard. The present analysis can contribute to our understanding not only of piracy, but also of the structure of peripheries and semiperipheries that in some ways reflect resistance to incorporation.


Acknowledgement that many children in Australia travel in restraints that do not offer them the best protection has led to recent changes in legislation such that the type of restraint for children under 7 years is now specified. This paper reports the results of two studies (observational; focus group/ survey) carried out in the state of Queensland to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes to the legislation. Observations suggested that almost all of the children estimated as aged 0–12 years were restrained (95%). Analysis of the type of restraint used for target-aged children (0–6 year olds) suggests that the proportion using an age-appropriate restraint has increased by an estimated 7% since enactment of the legislation. However, around 1 in 4 children estimated as aged under 7 years were using restraints too large for good fit. Results from the survey and focus group suggested parents were supportive of the changes in legislation. Non-Indigenous parents agreed that the changes had been necessary, were effective at getting children into the right restraints, and were easy to understand as well as making it clear what restraint to use with children. Moreover, they did not see the legislation as too complicated or too hard to comply with. Indigenous parents who participated in a focus group also regarded the legislation as improving children's safety. However, they identified the cost of restraints as an important barrier to compliance. In summary, the legislation appears to have had a positive effect on compliance levels and on raising parental awareness of the need to restrain children in child-specific restraints for longer. However, it would seem that an important minority of parents transition their children into larger restraints too early for optimal protection. Intervention efforts should aim to better inform these parents about appropriate ages for transition, especially from forward facing child seats. This could potentially be through use of other important transitions that occur at the same age, such as starting school. The small proportion of parents who do not restrain their children at all are also an important community sector to target. Finally, obtaining restraints presents a significant barrier to compliance for parents on limited incomes and interventions are needed to address this.


Introduction: Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing rapidly in developing countries like India. The commonly attributable modifiable risk factors of NCDs include raised blood pressure (13%), tobacco use (9%), physical inactivity (6%), and obesity (5%). This quasi-experimental study with a pre-post design was conducted with an objective to assess the effect of Participatory Health Promotion initiative (PHPI) on tobacco use among adolescents. PHPI included distribution of personalized health card, tobacco-tar experiment demonstration, use of body mapping technique to emphasize hazards of tobacco on different body organs, and sensitization in small groups. Methods: Baseline tobacco use and health risk assessment were conducted by adapting WHO ASSIST tool among 200 students who were randomly selected from a secondary high school. All students in the school were then exposed to the PHPI. The postmeasurement was done among another 200 randomly selected students after 3 months. Results: The number of current tobacco users reduced from 29 (14.5%) in the baseline to 9 (4.5%) in the postmeasurement with a P < 0.001. Participants with a moderate risk of health hazard due to tobacco use decreased from 21 (72.4%) in the baseline to 5 (55.6%) in the postmeasurement. Students with a higher risk of health hazard because of tobacco use decreased from 6 (20.7%) in the baseline to 1 at the postmeasurement (11.1%). Conclusion: The school-based PHPI was effective in reducing the number of tobacco users among the Indian adolescents.


Training Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) models typically requires large amounts of labeled data which often are line or page images with corresponding line-level ground truth (GT) transcriptions. Many digital collections have page-level transcriptions for each image, but the transcription is unformatted, i.e., line breaks are not annotated. Can we train lined-based HTR models using such data? In this work, we present a novel alignment technique for segmenting page-level GT text into text lines during HTR model training. This text segmentation problem is formulated as an optimization problem to minimize the cost of aligning predicted lines with the GT text. Using both simulated and HTR model predictions, we show that the alignment method identifies line breaks accurately, even when the predicted lines have high character error rates (CER). We removed the GT line breaks from the ICDAR-2017 READ dataset and trained a HTR model using the proposed alignment method to predict line breaks on-the-fly. This model achieves comparable CER w.r.t. to the same model trained with the GT line breaks. Additionally, we downloaded an online digital collection of 50K English journal pages (not curated for HTR research) whose transcriptions do not contain line breaks, and achieve 11% CER.


Interactive Narrative is a form of digital entertainment heavily based on AI techniques to support narrative generation and user interaction, significant progress arriving with the adoption of planning techniques. However, there is a lack of unified models that integrate generation, user responses and interaction.

This paper addresses this by revisiting existing Interactive Narrative paradigms, granting explicit status to users' disposition towards story characters as part of narrative generation as well as adding support for new forms of interaction. We demonstrate this with a novel Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) design, incorporating empathy for a main character derived from brain signals within filmic conceptions of narrative which drives generation using planning techniques.

Results from an experimental study with a fully-implemented system demonstrate the effectiveness of a EEG neurofeedback-based approach, showing that subjects can successfully modulate empathic support of a character in a medical drama. MRI analysis also shows activations in associated regions of the brain during expression of support.


My argument, simply put, is that if the study of the reception of the Bible and popular culture is going to offer insights into the function of scripture in contemporary consumer societies, then it must move beyond methodologies designed for the study of sacred literature; there must be meaningful engagement with the cultures of production and consumption of popular culture, and biblical scholars must be prepared to surrender their privileged interpretive position. I have argued elsewhere that in reception histories of biblical tropes in popular music, the typical approach is to identify a favored genre or artist, then utilize a similar methodology as found in approaches to the study of scripture that reception scholars critique or wish to move away from. The focus is on the production of culture through recourse to biographies and interviews, and the consumer of popular culture is the trained biblical scholar through the close reading of lyrics as text. In the case of popular music, then, reception studies of the Bible in contemporary popular culture are methodologically incapable of telling us as much about the current reception of the Bible as they would like to, since engagement with the world beyond biblical scholarship is limited to the production of popular culture. In the case of the study of biblical tropes in contemporary advertising, I think the methodological question is more pronounced. Without engaging the culture within which advertising is produced, in addition to engaging the culture within which advertising is consumed, advertisements might appear as fully formed ideological artifacts without the complexities that biblical scholars have recognized inform the production and reception of scripture.


Lateral–torsional buckling is a failure mode characterized by coupled lateral movement and twisting within an unbraced length of a steel member under flexure. The current Canadian steel design standard, CSA S16-14, prescribes unified design equations for predicting lateral–torsional buckling resistance that do not distinguish between rolled and welded sections. Results of recent numerical studies have shown that the current design equations to determine lateral–torsional buckling resistance may be unconservative for welded wide-flange steel girders. This is attributed to their welded nature, which produces residual stress distributions very different from rolled sections and may reduce their lateral–torsional buckling resistance. Furthermore, the design equations were developed based on studies using welding and fabrication methods that differ significantly from today's practices. Given the extensive use of wide-flange steel girders in building structures and bridges, there is an urgent need for better understanding and improvement of lateral–torsional buckling provisions in North American design standards. In this paper, S16's adequacy is examined by means of physical testing, with the aim of obtaining critical inelastic buckling moments. Test frames that allow out-of-plane movement (while maintaining continuous vertical load application) are implemented. Eleven large-scale specimens with laterally and torsionally pinned end conditions are tested to examine the effects of the cross-section geometry, residual stress distribution, and fabrication and welding procedures on the inelastic buckling resistance of welded wide-flange steel girders. The results of pre-test analyses aid in the design of test girders that are most affected by lateral–torsional buckling.


Understanding the microscopic mechanisms of electrochemical reaction and material degradation is crucial for the rational design of high‐performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). A novel nanobattery assembly and testing platform inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM) has been designed, which allows a direct study of the structural evolution of individual nanowire or nanoparticle electrodes with near‐atomic resolution in real time. In this review, recent progresses in the study of several important anode materials are summarized. The consistency between in situ and ex situ results is shown, thereby validating the new in situ testing paradigm. Comparisons between a variety of nanostructures lead to the conclusion that electrochemical reaction and mechanical degradation are material specific, size dependent, and geometrically and compositionally sensitive. For example, a highly anisotropic lithiation in Si is observed, in contrast to the nearly isotropic response in Ge. The Ge nanowires can develop a spongy network, a unique mechanism for mitigating the large volume changes during cycling. The Si nanoparticles show a critical size of ∼150 nm below which fracture is averted during lithiation, and above which surface cracking, rather than central cracking, is observed. In carbonaceous nanomaterials, the lithiated multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are drastically embrittled, while few‐layer graphene nanoribbons remain mechanically robust after lithiation. This distinct contrast manifests a strong 'geometrical embrittlement' effect as compared to a relatively weak 'chemical embrittlement' effect. In oxide nanowires, discrete cracks in ZnO nanowires are generated near the lithiation reaction front, leading to leapfrog cracking, while a mobile dislocation cloud at the reaction front is observed in SnO2 nanowires. This contrast is corroborated by ab initio calculations that indicate a strong chemical embrittlement of ZnO, but not of SnO2, after a small amount of lithium insertion. In metallic nanowires such as Al, delithiation causes pulverization, and the product nanoparticles are held in place by the surface Li‐Al‐O glass tube, suggesting possible strategies for improving electrode cyclability by coatings. In addition, a new in situ chemical lithiation method is introduced for fast screening of battery materials by conventional TEM. Evidently, in situ nanobattery experiments inside TEM are a powerful approach for advancing the fundamental understanding of electrochemical reactions and materials degradation and therefore pave the way toward rational design of high‐performance LIBs.


Concurrent mediastinal Germ Cell Tumors (mGCTs) and hematological malignancies in the same patient have been reported in 2-3% of extragonadal GCT cases. In most cases, the involved GCTs are non-seminomatous and mediastinal, while the Hematological Malignancies (HMs) are often acute megakaryoblastic leukemia. Isochromosome 12p has been frequently detected in both tumors. Recently, two cases of concurrent mGCT and acute myeloid leukemia harboring TP53 and PTEN mutations were reported. We published our research article about the case of a 37-years old male patient with concurrent GCT and acute megakaryoblastic leukemia. Similar to previous studies, TP53 and PTEN mutations were shared in both tumors, in addition to the other seven shared mutations. This suggests that the concurrent occurrence of GCTs and HMs are associated with a common founding clone with a characteristic coexistence of TP53 and PTEN mutations.


In this paper, we propose an approach for diagnostics and prognostics of damaged aircraft structures, by combing high-performance fatigue mechanics with filtering theories. Fast & accurate deterministic analyses of fatigue crack propagations are carried out, by using the Finite Element Alternating Method (FEAM) for computing SIFs, and by using the newly developed Moving Least Squares (MLS) law for computing fatigue crack growth rates. Such algorithms for simulating fatigue crack propagations are embedded in the computer program SafeFlaw, which is called upon as a subroutine within the probabilistic framework of filter theories. Both the extended Kalman as well as particle filters are applied in this study, to obtain the statistically optimal and semi-optimal estimates of crack lengths, from a series of noisy measurements of crack-lengths over time. For the specific problem, a simple modification to the particle filter, which can drastically reduce the computational burden, is also proposed. Based on the results of such diagnostic analyses, the prognostics of aerospace structures are thereafter achieved, to estimate the probabilistic distribution of the remaining useful life. By using a simple example of a single-crack near a fastener hole, we demonstrate the concept and effectiveness of the proposed framework. This paper thus forms the scientific foundation for the recently proposed concepts of VRAMS (Virtual Risk-Informed Agile Maneuver Sustainment) and Digital Twins of aerospace vehicles.


Many actors in agricultural research, development, and policy arenas require accurate information on the spatial extents of cropping and farming practices. While remote sensing provides ways for obtaining such information, it is often difficult to distinguish between different types of agricultural practices or identify particular farming systems. Stochastic system behavior or similarity in the spectral signatures of different system components can lead to misclassification. We addressed this challenge by using a probabilistic reasoning engine informed by expert knowledge and remote sensing data to map flood-based farming systems (FBFS) across Kisumu County in Kenya and the Tigray region in Ethiopia. Flood-based farming is an important form of agricultural production employed in regions with seasonal water surplus, which can be harvested and used to irrigate crops. Geographic settings for FBFS vary widely in terms of hydrology, vegetation, and local practices of agronomic flooding. Agronomic success is often difficult to anticipate, because the timing and amount of flooding usually cannot be precisely predicted. We generated a Bayesian network model to describe the FBFS settings of the study regions. We acquired three years (2014–2016) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra spectral data as eight-day composite time series and elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to compute 10 spatial data metrics corresponding to 10 of the 17 Bayesian network nodes. We used the spatial data metrics in a fully probabilistic framework to generate the 10 spatial data nodes. We then used these as inputs for the probabilistic model to generate prior and posterior spatial estimates for specific metrics along with their spatially explicit uncertainties. We show how such an approach can be used to predict plausible areas for FBFS based on several scenarios. We demonstrate how spatially explicit information can be derived from remote sensing data as fuzzy quantifiers for incorporating uncertainties when mapping complex systems. The approach achieved a remarkably accurate result in both study areas, where 84–90% of various FBFS fields sampled were correctly mapped as having a high chance of being suitable for the practice.


To enhance the efficiency of resource discovery and distribution, it is necessary to effectively estimate the network performance, in terms of metrics such as round-trip time and hop-count, between any peer-pair in a peer-to-peer application. Measurement in large scale network for peer-to-peer applications and services faces many challenges, such as scalability and quality of service (QoS) support. To address these issues, we present an architecture of a group-based performance measurement service (gMeasure), which disseminates and estimates network performance information for peer-to-peer applications. The key concept in gMeasure is Measurement Groups (MeGroups), in which hosts are self-organized to form a scalable hierarchical structure. A set of heuristic algorithms are proposed to optimize the group organization to reduce system cost and improve system measurement accuracy.


This paper presents the generation of digital signature along with message recovery based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and knapsack algorithm. In digital signature along with message recovery scheme, signature alone is sent and message is recovered from the signature (r, s). ECC provides greater security with less key size, when compared to integer factorization and discrete logarithm system. As the strength of knapsack algorithm depends on the selection of the series, the proposed algorithm uses modified Stern series which not only reduces the time complexity but also provides better security.


Abstract * This paper presents some characteristics of 34 equity international joint ventures (EIJVs) located in Hungary and their parent companies which contribute to EIJV effectiveness. Application of HRM practices of the host culture, dissimilarities of parent industries, differences in Hofstede's masculinity index, EIJV operation according to clearly stated objectives, parent satisfaction with equity distribution as well as EIJV age contribute to effectiveness, whereas resource dependence is negatively correlated with effectiveness. * The paper also presents a model suggesting how effectiveness can be enhanced. Key Results * Based on the research findings, suggested characteristics for the foreign parents, the host parents and the EIJVS in Hungary are presented. Even prior to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1989, the Hungarian government was one of the most economically market-oriented of all the countries in the Soviet Union. As Kaikati (1992, pp. 213-214) notes, Hungary "had adopted `Goulash communism' which permitted small-scale experiments in privatization in exchange for staying in the Warsaw Pact and following the Moscow line on foreign policy". Accordingly, "as a leader in restructuring, Hungary's experiences should be a precursor to what can be expected to occur in other centrally planned economies" (Lane 1995, p. 3). Economic reforms were implemented as early as 1968, when decentralized planning and control were introduced into state-owned Hungarian firms along with a profit incentive for workers (Csath/Naylor 1986, Tarafas 1991). The first EIJV in Hungary was formed in 1973 with a work force that was free from state control (Bangert/Poor 1995). The exact number of EIJVS currently operating in Hungary is not known due to the fact that wholly foreign-owned affiliates and organizations with some foreign ownership are also classified as joint ventures according to Hungarian reporting procedures (Toldy-Osz 1995). The IJVs are registered as Hungary companies and the JV agreement need not be reviewed by the Court of Registration (Rubin 1995). Both Bangert and Poor (1995) and Hamill and Hunt (1993) reported that in 1992, there were over 13,000 joint, partially- or wholly-owned foreign ventures in Hungary. The Executive President of the Hungarian Joint Venture Association reports that there are currently (Toldy-Osz, July 1995) approximately 24,000 companies with foreign participation in Hungary, of which 19,000 are estimated to be joint ventures. However, the breakdown within these 19,000 companies between partially foreign-owned organizations and contractual and equity IJVS is still unknown. There are several reasons for the dramatic increase in the number of EIJVs in Hungary. Kanter (1991, p. 153) describes Hungary as a cultural island, being "organizationally different from companies in other countries and very focused on economic regeneration." Healey (1994) notes that investments into Eastern Europe offer great opportunities for both resource- and market-seeking companies. These opportunities include skilled, low-cost labor, cheap physical capital, a supportive political environment, a potentially large market, good medium- and long-term growth potential, and a gradual easing of profit repatriation problems. Hungary exemplifies these characteristics. The country provides a well-educated work force at an average wage rate of $400 per month (Nemes 1995), well below that of Western Europe. As noted by Hamil and Hunt (1993), "Hungary is now fully committed to a market orientated, outward looking, export-driven economy. The attraction of inward foreign direct investment plays a crucial role in achieving these objectives and Hungary has been one of the most successful East European countries in this respect." Smith and Rebne (1992, p. 208) found that in Eastern Europe, while "the JV entry mode is perhaps more likely to arrive somewhat unilaterally and as a defensive measure against problems of foreignness . …


This article introduces a unique model for public theological conversation and discourse, which was developed by the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta (CBC). It was a model developed in response to the problems of poverty, homelessness, and the 'missing and murdered children' victimised in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America in the early 1980s. It was originally organised to respond to the economic, financial, spiritual, emotional, employment, housing and resource needs of the underserved poor. This unique practice is called forum-ing. The forum meets every Monday morning, except when there is a national holiday. It has operated 30 consecutive years. The forum has a series of presentations, including the opening prayer, self-introductions of each person, a report of the executive director, special presentations from selected community groups, reports, and then questions and answers. The end result is that those attending engage in a process of discourse that enables them to internalise new ideas, approaches, and activities for addressing poverty and injustice in the community. Key to forum-ing for the 21st century is that it is a form of public practical theology rooted and grounded in non-violence growing out of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. The overall purpose of this article is to contribute to the effort of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) to identify those variables that will assist religious leaders in South Africa to develop public conversational spaces to enhance democratic participation. This article presents one model from the African American community in Atlanta, Georgia. The hope is to lift up key variables that might assist in the practical and pastoral theological conversation taking place in South Africa at present.


Early detection and reliable diagnostics are keys to effectively design cancer therapies with better prognoses. The simultaneous detection of panels of biomarker proteins holds great promise as a general tool for reliable cancer diagnostics. A major challenge in designing such a panel is to decide upon a coherent group of biomarkers which have higher specificity for a given type of cancer. The second big challenge is to develop test devices to measure these biomarkers quantitatively with high sensitivity and specificity, such that there are no interferences from the complex serum or tissue matrices. Lastly, integrating all these tests into a technology that does not require exclusive training to operate, and can be used at point-of-care (POC) is another potential bottleneck in futuristic cancer diagnostics. In this article, we review electrochemistry-based tools and technologies developed and/or used in our laboratories to construct low-cost microfluidic protein arrays for the highly sensitive detection of a panel of cancer-specific biomarkers with high specificity which at the same time has the potential to be translated into POC applications.


Enjoying an "uneasy coexistence," the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods ("CISG") and the Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") converge in some details. Yet, regardless of their many similarities, CISG and the UCC are not wholly alike in certain key requirements and in their practical effect. Unfortunately, federal and state courts throughout the United States have only imperfectly and haphazardly heeded this basic verity. Over time, their occasional myopia has spawned an amorphous body of law characterized by more glaring omissions and errata than nuanced explication of international law's venerable commercial code. Broad in its scope, often encompassing even upon commercial relations with meager international connections, CISG nearly seethes, as a slew of contractual rights stand endangered by the judiciary's blithe indifference -- and await a most potent and inescapably lethal attack.

Slowly but surely, precisely due to the preeminent role of contracts in the determination of a debtor's liabilities in cases filed under the Bankruptcy Code ("Code"), the defects so endemic in CISG's jurisprudence have already arisen within a handful of bankruptcy courts. Some judges and less than a handful of lawyers have perceived this troubling fact; far more have barely cared or noticed. Indeed, if America's courts fail to apply CISG with the requisite rigor and instead adhere to its mangled precedent, few debtors will be able to enjoy a secure reprieve, and countless reorganizations, both unfinished and completed, will be haunted by a terminal uncertainty. In four substantive parts, this article seeks to head off this growing danger, laying out in precise detail when and where CISG, not the UCC, should govern a bankruptcy dispute and how it does so. In the simplest terms, a forward path is charted here so as to ensure a treaty and a code can fulfill their animating purposes.

For now, this article is the very first to consider the Code's and CISG's relationship, a fact noted with approval in such pieces as J. Lyn Enrikin, The Death of Common Law, 42 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 351 (2019).


The  present  paper  depicts that  dairying  is  one  of the vital  components  of  animal  husbandry and  has  become  an  important  secondary  source  of  income. India is one of the largest milk producers of the world since 1997. Now-a-days, dairy farming financed by microfinance and Self-Help  Groups  (SHG)  has  become  a  ladder  for  the  poor  to  break  out  from  the  state  of impoverishment and also give them a boost to feel secure, socially and psychologically. Even the  landless  labourers  and  households  can  rear  a  couple  of  animals  where  the  facilities  for collection  of  milk  as well  as  veterinary  facilities  are  available. For  the  villagers  today's diary  is  both  a  healthy  and  wealthy  occupation. Small  diary  of  two  high  yielding  cows has become  an  attractive  economic  proposition  for  the  SHG  members, particularly  women. Women with queuing in front of the society to supply milk in the early morning are a familiar scene in the rural areas today. The moment village women think about self-employment, the first business idea comes to her memory is a diary. Dairy farming is an ecofriendly business and  can  be  easily  ventured  into  and  is  capital  light  and  quick  yielding  also. Field  study experience  identified a few  of  the  successful  women  members  who  involved  completely  in SHG  movement  and  graduated  as  women  entrepreneurs  in  dairy  farming and  empowered both  economically  and  socially. In  a  male  dominated  society, women  have  always  been underestimated  and  discriminated  in  all  spheres  of  life.  The  paper  concludes  that  women development  and  empowerment  to  a  great  extent  depends  upon  the  economic  empowerment of  women  and  microfinance  through  dairy  farming  can  prove  to  be  a  very  powerful  self-employment venture for women empowerment in the times to come.


Increasingly complex metamaterial structures has revitalized the interest in homogenization and effective medium theories, with the intention of finding better ways to model and understand their electromagnetic complexity. This thesis describes an implementation of the plane wave expansion method in MATLAB, employed for simulating the electric field inside oneand twodimensional periodic metamaterial unit cells. The electric field is excited by an unlocalized plane wave source, and is used to determine the significance of higher order multipoles of the averaged microscopic polarization density through a scheme that employs two different source polarizations. The simulated electric fields in three different unit cells are discussed, and the significance of the simulated higher order terms is interpreted in context of this discussion. The simulations that have been performed in this thesis is used to argue that higher order terms are significant, and have been used in an article that was submitted to Phys. Rev. B in January 2017. The effective permeabilities obtained from two different homogenization formalisms are simulated for two unit cells and used to support the previous results suggesting that higher order terms are significant.


This paper is concerned with the global robust synchronization of multiple memristive neural networks (MMNNs) with nonidentical uncertain parameters. A coupling scheme is introduced, in a general topological structure described by a direct or undirect graph, with a linear diffusive term and a discontinuous sign term. First, a set of sufficient conditions are derived based on the Lyapunov stability theory for ascertaining global robust synchronization of coupled MMNNs. Second, a pinning adaptive coupling method is proposed to ensure global synchronization without knowing the bound of parameter uncertainties. Two illustrative examples are discussed to substantiate the theoretical results.


Treating shallow parsing as part-of-speech tagging yields results comparable with other, more elaborate approaches. Using the CoNLL 2000 training and testing material, our best model had an accuracy of 94.88%, with an overall FB1 score of 91.94%. The individual FB1 scores for NPs were 92.19%, VPs 92.70% and PPs 96.69%.


The normalized distance from the main sequence, denoted Dn, is a popular object-oriented metric introduced by Martin in 1994. While the metric has been designed for assessment of individual packages it has also been applied in practice to quality assessment of entire software architectures. This gap between the industrial practice and theoretical understanding has been recently addressed for Java open-source systems. Based on study of a benchmarks collection the authors proposed a statistical model characterizing (a) the average value of Dn, and (b) distribution of Dn. Contribution of the current work is twofold. First, we show feasibility of application of the Dn-based assessment above to commercial Java applications. Second, we validate the approach by showing that the results obtained are consistent with those obtained by means of a series of independent studies, such as layering, presence of cyclic dependencies and Chidamber's and Kemerer's metrics.


Uncertainties in prediction of ground effect along the path from noise sources to distant receptors may have serious implications on the recommended separation distance or the extent of other noise mitigation measures designed to ensure compliance. The results of noise impact assessment for a proposed noisy facility based on a procedure predicting unrealistically high values of ground attenuation may prompt an approval agency to recommend a relatively small separation distance between the facility and noise sensitive receptors which will lead to excessive sound levels and, consequently, to an adverse community reaction. Conversely, an assessment based on an assumption of very low ground absorption loss contribution may result in specification of a large buffer zone and, consequently, the sterilization of land available for development, or to excessive noise abatement recommendations directed at the source to ensure compliance


Current rechargeable battery cannot provide high energy density and the operational durations required. But linear engine/generators provide high energy density for portable power applications because fuel is more high density. In this paper, we suggest that basic design of powerpack using linear engine for assisting power output. Efficiency is relatively high because linear engine don't have crank mechanism compared with rotary engine. We made prototype engine and had experiments to know moving characteristic about the Linear Engine. It was possible to operate velocity at 50 ㎐ at the firing and pressure in cylinder was 16bar.


Objective: To examine the effects of change in glycaemic control on clinical outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. Research Design and Methods: Data were obtained from 9981 participants of the ADVANCE trial and ADVANCE-ON follow-up. Participants were categorized into 3 groups by glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) change from baseline to 6 months, >0.25% decrease, >0.25% increase and minimal change (±0.25%). Adjusted Cox and logistic regression analyses examined relationships between HbA1c change and all-cause mortality, macrovascular events, microvascular events and severe hypoglycaemia. Results: Mean (±SD) age was 65.8±6.4 years, diabetes duration 7.9±6.4 years and HbA1c 7.5±1.6% at baseline. In the first 6 months, 48%, 22% and 30% of participants had an HbA1c decrease, minimal change or increase respectively. Median (IQR) follow-up was 9.4 (5.1-10.4) years. Compared to those with minimal HbA1c change at 6 months, participants with an HbA1c increase at 6 months had greater risk of risk of all-cause mortality [1.26 (1.11-1.43)], macrovascular events [1.26 (1.10-1.44)] and microvascular disease [1.36 (1.09-1.70) whereas participants with an HbA1c decrease did not have greater risk of all-cause mortality [0.99 (0.87-1.12)], macrovascular events [1.06 (0.93-1.21)] or microvascular disease [0.97 (0.77-1.21)]. Neither HbA1c increase [1.05 (0.83-1.33)] or decrease [1.16 (0.91-1.47)] was associated with greater risk of severe hypoglycaemia. These effects were similar when HbA1c change at 3 months was considered and in subgroup analyses by age, gender, diabetes duration, or baseline HbA1c. Conclusions: Increased rather than decreased HbA1c at 6 months was associated with increased risks of death and vascular events in type 2 diabetes. Disclosure N. Nanayakkara: None. T. Ohkuma: None. M. Woodward: Consultant; Self; Amgen Inc., Kirin. J. Chalmers: Research Support; Self; Idorsia. S. Zoungas: None.


Purpose: The radiation dose received by patients from computed tomography(CT) scans has become a major public concern. A promising approach for individual CT dose determination is to use Monte Carlo(MC) simulations to calculate the dose to a patient based on their CTimages. To accurately calculate the organ dose in the prescribed scan region, a whole body image is needed to properly simulate scatter effects. However, whole body images are not typically acquired for clinical exams. To address this issue, image extrapolation beyond the scan region was used, and its impact on dose calculation accuracy was investigated. Methods: An EGSnrc‐based MC tool, GMctdospp, was used to perform dose calculations. Dose distributions within the scan region, based on images with and without the region beyond the scan region (scatter region), were calculated. A mathematical cylindrical water phantom and a Rando phantom were used to demonstrate the effects of the scatter. For the Rando phantom, whole body and chest DICOM images were used to perform dose calculations. The doses calculated for these two sets of images were compared. Linear, polynomial, and nearest neighbor extrapolations of the slices on the edge were performed to determine the size of extrapolation region needed to provide enough scatter. The calculated dose based on chest images with extrapolated images were compared against the calculated dose based on the whole body images.Results: Without the image extrapolation, an average of 10% dose underestimation was found on the edge of scan region for the water cylinder and up to 30% dose underestimation for the Rando phantom. With image extrapolation, the dose underestimation was negligible for these two cases. Conclusions: Extrapolation of the images on the edge of scan region provides an effective way to improve the accuracy of determining patient‐specific CT dose based on the CTimages.


Oversampled filter banks (OFBs) provide an overcomplete representation of their input signal. This paper describes how OFBs can be considered as error-correcting codes acting on real or complex sequences, very much like classical binary convolutional codes act on binary sequences. The structured redundancy introduced by OFBs in subband signals can be used to increase robustness to noise. In this paper, we define the notions of code subspace, syndrome, and parity-check polynomial matrix for OFBs. Furthermore, we derive generic expressions for projection-based decoding, suitable for the case when a simple second-order model completely characterizes the noise incurred by subband signals. We also develop a nonlinear hypotheses-test based decoding algorithm for the case when the noise in subbands is constituted by a Gaussian background noise and impulsive errors (a model that adequately describes the action of both quantization noise and transmission errors). Simulation results show that the algorithm effectively removes the effect of impulsive errors occurring with a probability of 10/sup -3/.


The body of this thesis (chapters 3,4 and 5) deals with the analysis and improvement of a specific class of voltage- or current controlled oscillators (VCO's respectively CCO's) called relaxation oscillators. Before going into detail on this particular class of oscillators, first the function and application of VCO's will be discussed. VCO's are oscillators whose frequency of oscillation is controllable over a wide range by means of a control voltage or current. VCO's are widely used in applications like phase-locked loops (PLL's), frequency modulators, frequency synthesisers and timing recovery circuits. As such, VCO's form an important building block in many data transmission- and processing systems. In these systems, the VCO's periodical output signal is used e.g. for frequency translation by means of multiplication or extracting data from an incoming modulated carrier signal or bitstream.


Objective Measurement of hearing aid outcomes is necessary for demonstration of treatment efficacy, third-party payment, and cost-benefit analysis. Outcomes are usually measured with hearing-related questionnaires and/or tests of speech recognition. However, results from these two types of test often conflict. In this paper, we provide data from a new test measure, known as the Performance-Perceptual Test (PPT), in which subjective and performance aspects of hearing in noise are measured using the same test materials and procedures. A Performance Speech Reception Threshold (SRTN) and a Perceptual SRTN are measured using the Hearing In Noise Test materials and adaptive procedure. A third variable, the discrepancy between these two SRTNs, is also computed. It measures the accuracy with which subjects assess their own hearing ability and is referred to as the Performance-Perceptual Discrepancy (PPDIS). Design One hundred seven subjects between 24 and 83 yr of age took part. Thirty-three subjects had normal hearing, while the remaining seventy-four had symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. Of the subjects with impaired hearing, 24 wore hearing aids and 50 did not. All subjects underwent routine audiological examination and completed the PPT and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly/Adults on two occasions, between 1 and 2 wk apart. The PPT was conducted for unaided listening with the masker level set to 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL. Results PPT data show that the subjects with normal hearing have significantly better Performance and Perceptual SRTNs at each test level than the subjects with impaired hearing but that PPDIS values do not differ between the groups. Test-retest reliability for the PPT is excellent (r-values > 0.93 for all conditions). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the Performance SRTN, the PPDIS, and age explain 40% of the variance in reported handicap (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly/Adults scores). More specifically, poorer performance, underestimation of hearing ability and younger age result in greater reported handicap, and vice versa. Conclusion Reported handicap consists of a performance component and a (mis)perception component, as measured by the Performance SRTN and the PPDIS respectively. The PPT should thus prove to be a valuable tool for better understanding why some individuals complain of hearing difficulties but have only a mild hearing loss or conversely report few difficulties in the presence of substantial impairment. The measure would thus seem to provide both an explanation and a counseling tool for patients for whom there is a mismatch between reported and measured hearing difficulties.


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This protocol paper describes how to assign a purity grade and to subsequently titrate extracellular vesicle (EV) solutions of a few microliters in volume by microplate COlorimetric NANoplasmonic (CONAN) assay. The CONAN assay consists of a solution of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into which the EV preparation is added. The solution turns blue if the EV preparation is pure, whereas it stays red if soluble exogenous single and aggregated proteins (SAPs; often referred to as protein contaminants) are present. The color change is visible by the naked eye or can be quantified by UV-Vis spectroscopy, providing an index of purity (a unique peculiarity to date). The assay specifically targets SAPs, and not the EV-related proteins, with a detection limit <50 ng/μl (an order of magnitude higher resolution than that of the Bradford protein assay). For pure solutions, the assay also allows for determining the EV number, as the color shift is linearly dependent on the AuNP/EV molar ratio. Instead, it automatically reports if the solution bears SAP contaminants, thus avoiding counting artifacts. The CONAN assay proves to be robust and reliable and displays very interesting performances in terms of cost (inexpensive reagents, run by standard microplate readers), working volumes (1–2 μl of sample required), and time (full procedure takes <1 h). The assay is applicable to all classes of natural and artificial lipid microvesicles and nanovesicles.


Many types of oxidative pollutants are dangerous chemicals and may pose a health risk, but an inexpensive and effective method for mitigating those risks would offer significant advantages. The objective of this study was, therefore, to investigate the potential for Fe-pillared montmorillonite to fill that gap. Surface mediated reduction reactions by ferrous species often play an important role in governing the transport, transformation, and fate of hazardous oxidative contaminants. Compared to the untreated montmorillonite (Mnt), the synthetic polyhydroxyl-Fe pillared montmorillonite (Fe-Mnt) was found to be somewhat similar to goethite in promoting the ability of specifically adsorbed Fe(II) to reductively transform 2-nitrophenol (2-NP). The 2-NP was efficiently removed within 30 min from solutions at the optimum neutral pH in a mixed reduction system of Fe(II)/Fe-Mnt under an anoxic atmosphere. This demonstrated that the specifically adsorbed Fe(II) of Fe-Mnt can enhance 2-NP reduction. The highly enhanced 2-NP reduction by Fe(II) through Fe-Mnt surface catalysis can, therefore, be ascribed to clearly increased amounts of an adsorbed Fe(II) species surface complex, which gave rise to enhanced Fe(II) reductive activity that enabled the rapid reduction of 2-NP. The reduction processes produced a faster transformation of 2-NP in a Fe-Mnt suspension than in a Mnt suspension. The transformation kinetics were described using pseudo-first-order rate equations. Moreover, in addition to the effects of mineral surface properties, the interactions were affected by the aqueous chemistry, and the removal rates of 2-NP were increased at pHs of 6.0–7.3. In the present study, the structure and surface reactivity of Fe-Mnt was characterized in depth. The polyhydroxyl-Fe added to Mnt and the pH were determined to be the two key controlling factors to mediate the reductive transformation of 2-NP in the presence of Fe-Mnt in comparison to goethite and Mnt. Finally, the catalysis mechanism responsible for the enhanced 2-NP reduction by Fe(II) was elucidated using cyclic voltammetry.


The main purpose of this descriptivecorrelative research was to study the effect of social capital on organizational performance of the Alborz Jihad-e-Agriculture organization. The study was a descriptivecorrelational survey research. The statistical population of the study consisted of 272 experts of the Alborz Agriculture Jihad Organization. According to the Krejcie and Morgan table, a sample size of 213 was selected using a stratified random sampling method. Standard questionnaires were used to collect the data. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. The construct validity and the composite reliability of the research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model and they were satisfied after making necessary corrections. Data were collected and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) multivariate technique. The results verified the hypothesis of the research in a way that social capital had positive and significant effect on dependent variable. All in all, social capital explained about 64 percent of the variances of organizational performance of the Alborz Agriculture Jihad Organization. Based on the findings, it could be concluded that reinforcing social capital directly results in improvement of organizational performance of the Agriculture Jihad Organizations.


Sunscreen preparations are evaluated according to their protection power against biological effects of ultraviolet radiation. UV-induced phenomena found on protected skin are compared with those on unprotected skin; thus the sunprotection factor is estimated. In order to assess the photoprotective power of sunscreens, only early UV-induced effects are decisive--such as erythema. PUVA erythema, pigmentation, activation of the ornithine decarboxylase, the influence on Langerhans cells, appearance of 'sunburn' cells, and changes of the DNA metabolism. We report on the various methods to obtain the specific sunprotection factors against UVB and UVA. Water-resistance, photostability, and pharmacokinetics depending on the vehicle are further criteria with regard to the evaluation of sunscreens. We rely on consumers information regarding the following properties of sunscreens: stickiness, oily shine, greasiness, discoloration, odor, and tolerance.


We present Marian, an efficient and self-contained Neural Machine Translation framework with an integrated automatic differentiation engine based on dynamic computation graphs. Marian is written entirely in C++. We describe the design of the encoder-decoder framework and demonstrate that a research-friendly toolkit can achieve high training and translation speed.


A method to determine the surface impedance of a planar boundary through the remote field measurements is addressed. The surface impedance is recovered from the boundary condition itself, which requires knowledge of the field distribution and its derivative on the surface. The measured data is analytically continued to the boundary to obtain the required field expressions.


Abstract. The regional disparities of online map user access volume (use 'user access volume' in this paper to indicate briefly) is a topic of growing interest with the increment of popularity in public users, which helps to target the construction of geographic information services for different areas. At first place we statistically analysed the online map user access logs and quantified these regional access disparities on different scales. The results show that the volume of user access is decreasing from east to the west in China as a whole, while East China produces the most access volume; these cities are also the crucial economic and transport centres. Then Principal Component Regression (PCR) is applied to explore the regional disparities of user access volume. A determining model for Online Map access volume is proposed afterwards, which indicates that area scale is the primary determining factor for regional disparities, followed by public transport development level and public service development level. Other factors like user quality index and financial index have very limited influence on the user access volume. According to the study of regional disparities in user access volume, map providers can reasonably dispatch and allocate the data resources and service resources in each area and improve the operational efficiency of the Online Map server cluster.


 Abstract — This paper presents Buck-Boost converter topology to maintain the input power factor by using the power factor stage control and regulation stage control. Suppose, if we are using the RL load the power factor will be reduced due to the presence of total harmonic distortion in the current wave. To improve the power factor the current waveform should follow the fundamental component of the voltage waveform. These can be achieved by using the high frequency power converter. Based on the resonant circuit the converter is able to perform the function of Buck, Boost, and buck-boost converter. Here ,we have used Buck-Boost converter, because, the buck-boost converter has more advantages than the boost converter. Here the switching action of the power converter can take place by using the external zero comparator PFC stage control. The power converter consisting of the resonant circuit which is used to control the output voltage gain of the converter. The power converter is operated at a very high switching frequency in the range of 400KHz in order to overcome the switching losses of the power converter. Due to presence of high switching frequency, the power factor will improve. Therefore, the total harmonics distortion present in the current waveform has also reduced. These results has generated in the form of simulation by using MATLAB/SIMULINK software. Similar to the Buck and Boost converters, the operation of the Buck-Boost has best understood, in terms of the inductor's "reluctance" for allowing rapid change in current, which also reduces the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in the input current waveform, which can improve the input Power factor, based on the type of load


The report contains first a brief description of Preference Semantics, a system of representation and analysis of the meaning structure of natural language. The analysis algorithm which transforms phrases into semantic items called templates has been considered in detail elsewhere, so this report concentrates on the second phase of analysis, which binds templates together into a higher level semantic block corresponding to an English paragraph, and which, in operation, interlocks with the French generation procedure. During this phase, the semantic relations between templates are extracted, pronouns are referred and those word disambiguations are done that require the context of a whole paragraph. These tasks require items called PARAPLATES which are attached to keywords such as prepositions, subjunctions and relative pronouns. The system chooses the representation which maximises a carefully defined "semantic density." A system for the generation of French sentences is then described, based on the recursive evaluation of procedural generation patterns called STEREOTYPES. The stereotypes are semantically context sensitive, are attached to each sense of English words and keywords and are carried into the representation by the analysis procedure. The representation of the meaning of words, and the versatility of the stereotype format, allow for fine meaning distinctions to appear in the French, and for the construction of French differing radically from the English original.


Seven cases of classical discoid lupus erythematosus of the face associated with hyperkeratotic, papulo‐nodular lesions on the arms and hands were studied. Clinically the hyperkeratotic lesions resembled keratoacanthomas or hypertrophic lichen planus. The clinical course was marked by chronicity, an absence of regression of the lesions, and resistance to treatment. Histopathologically, a lichenoid cellular reaction seemed to play a key role in the development of the hypertrophic lesions which resembled either keratoacanthomas or hypertrophic lichen planus. Elastic fibres were prominent in the upper dermis, the lower levels of the epidermis and in the hyperkeratotic horny layer. Immuno‐fluorescence of the papulo‐nodular lesions demonstrated the deposition of IgG and IgM in a globular pattern at the dermal‐epidermal junction. Discontinuous deposition of these antibodies was also seen at the basement membrane zone. On the basis of the immunofluorescence, histopathological and clinical studies, we suggest that the verrucous, hyperkeratotic lesions on the upper extremities represent an unusual, but distinct, form of discoid lupus erythematosus.


In the present paper are discussed the diagnostic problems in M.S., there has been difficulty in certain diagnostic on the first modest signs in a proportion perhaps as high as 20% and the absence of a specific and reliable laboratory test has long been felt. This study describes two specific laboratory tests in M.S. The MEM-LAD test (macrophage electrophoretic mobility linoleic acid depression) and the E-UFA test (erythrocyte-unsaturated fatty acid). It may be noted that whilst the E-UFA and MEM-LAD test will diagnose (or esclude) M.S. the former is simpler, but is limited to M.S., the latter on the other hand once mastered is applicable in the whole range of clinical immunology were lymphocyte sensitisation is to be measured.


Preparation of milligram amounts of purified ovalbumin mRNA was accomplished by a sequential combination of precise sizing techniques with the selective purification of the poly(A) containing RNA by either affinity chromatography or adsorption to nitrocellulose filters. Several new techniques were applied to the purification of ovalbumin mRNA including Sepharose 4B chromatography and agarose gel electrophoresis in the presence of 6 M urea at pH 3.5. All the procedures used were adapted on a preparative sacle to the fractionation of large quantities of RNA. The purity of the ovalbumin mRNA was assessed by several independent criteria. (1) Purified ovalbumin mRNA migrated as a single band during both agarose-urea and formamide-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 3.5 and 7.4, respectively. A single absorbance peak containing all of the ovalbumin mRNA activity was also found using linear formamide-sucrose gradients. (2) Determination of both total mRNA activity and ovalbumin mRNA activity in the wheat germ cell-free translation assay revealed that 92% of the total peptides synthesized were specifically immunoprecipitable with an ovalbumin antiserum. (3) Analysis of the total peptides synthesizied in the wheat germ assay by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of a single radioactive peak that corresponded exactly to a specifically immunoprecipitable ovalbumin standard. Thus, based on these observations ovalbumin mRNA appears to be greater than 95% pure. A preliminary estimation of the molecular weight of purified ovalbumin mRNA by formamide-containing sucrose gradients yielded a value of 520,000 or approximately 1600 nucleotides. This value was considerably less than the value of 900,000 obtained by gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Analysis of the poly(A) content by a hybridization assay with (3H)poly(U) revealed the presence of a poly(A) region containing approximately 70 adenosine residues. Thus, the size of the ovalbumin mRNA is considerably greater than that required to code for a protein of 387 amino acids. The availability of large quantities of purified ovalbumin mRNA should now permit a more thorough analysis of its physical and chemical properties.


This paper presents novel numerical approaches to finding the secrecy capacity of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wiretap channel subject to multiple linear transmit covariance constraints, including sum power constraint, per antenna power constraints and interference power constraint. An analytical solution to this problem is not known and existing numerical solutions suffer from slow convergence rate and/or high per-iteration complexity. Deriving computationally efficient solutions to the secrecy capacity problem is challenging since the secrecy rate is expressed as a difference of convex functions (DC) of the transmit covariance matrix, for which its convexity is only known for some special cases. In this paper we propose two low-complexity methods to compute the secrecy capacity along with a convex reformulation for degraded channels. In the first method we capitalize on the accelerated DC algorithm which requires solving a sequence of convex subproblems, for which we propose an efficient iterative algorithm where each iteration admits a closed-form solution. In the second method, we rely on the concave-convex equivalent reformulation of the secrecy capacity problem which allows us to derive the so-called partial best response algorithm to obtain an optimal solution. Notably, each iteration of the second method can also be done in closed form. The simulation results demonstrate a faster convergence rate of our methods compared to other known solutions. We carry out extensive numerical experiments to evaluate the impact of various parameters on the achieved secrecy capacity.


An operating 2 × 2 Nd:YAG digital scan laser containing a crossed array of LiNbO3electrooptic switches for mode selection is described. Ultimate output parameters for a complete system include a 1-watt power output to any of approximately 7 \times 10^{3} spots, with MHz switching speeds. The required mode-selection voltage is under 100 volts, permitting the use of fast transistorized driving circuitry.


Background: An estimation of about 1.4 billion people are suffering from allergic rhinitis worldwide. Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common debilitating disorder that can adversely affect the quality of life and the academic performance of school-age children and its prevalence has steadily increased during the last decades. Data on the prevalence of allergic rhinitis among secondary school students is scarce despite its reported impact on academic performance of students. The aim of this study was thus to determine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and its clinical presentation among secondary school students in Kinondoni District which is one of the largest districts in Dar es Salaam Region. Methods: A community based, cross-sectional prospective study was conducted in selected secondary schools in Kinondoni district, Dar-es-salaam Region from August 2016 to January 2017 using random sampling technique. Data was collected using pre-tested questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS program. Results: A point prevalence rate of 34.7% was reported with female predominance and 15-16 age group predilections were found in this study. Sneezing (65.9%) was the commonest nasal symptom and hypertrophied inferior turbinate (61.8%) the commonest physical finding. The commonest aeroallergen was the house dust mite (77.3%) and the least was dog fur (5.9%). Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis affects a significant proportion of the adolescent population with symptoms which have a negative impact on the lifestyle of these participants. The common aeroallergens are found within our immediate surroundings e.g. house dust mite, which can be controlled if participants are educated and proper clean environmental control measures are instituted.


Heat exchangers are widely used in industry, and analyses and optimizations of the performance of heat exchangers are important topics. In this paper, we define the concept of entropy resistance based on the entropy generation analyses of a one-dimensional heat transfer process. With this concept, a two-stream parallel flow heat exchanger with viscous heating is analyzed and discussed. It is found that the minimization of entropy resistance always leads to the maximum heat transfer rate for the discussed two-stream parallel flow heat exchanger, while the minimizations of entropy generation rate, entropy generation numbers, and revised entropy generation number do not always.


In times of financial distress, central banks provide unlimited liquidity to avoid fire sales. In response, banks raise their demand for collateral assets, and the short-term scarcity of collateral securities leads to higher prices, the Fire Buy premium. To avoid collateral scarcity, central banks increase the set of eligible collateral assets. However, if the risk-shifting channel is open for these newly eligible securities, banks prefer to pledge them and pay another premium, the Risk-Shifting premium. With the full fixed-income trading book of 26 German banks, I identify each trade of each bank and investigate how unlimited liquidity provision affects collateral prices. Also, I match banks' trades with their balance sheet and show how funding liquidity impacts premia payment. I quantify the Fire Buy premium to be 15.6 bps; and the Risk-Shifting premium on BBB-rated assets to be 65.6 bps.


Cubic-silicon carbide crystals have been grown from solution by using the traveling-zone method. In this technique a molten silicon zone heated by induction coils is held between two rods of polycrystalline silicon carbide. Due to the growth set-up and boundary conditions, different mass transfer mechanisms are operative : diffusion, buoyancy, Marangoni convection and forced convection. The growth experiments have been performed on various seed crystals. Cubic SiC crystals were grown with a [111] habit on the [0001] silicon faces of 4H SiC seeds. The polytype 3C-SiC was identified by Transmission Electron Microscopy. Micro Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence analyses showed good crystalline quality with few 6H inclusions.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to quantify beta for an online gambling portfolio in the UK and investigates whether it is time-varying. It also examines the dynamic correlations of the online gambling portfolio with both the market and socially responsible portfolios. In addition, this paper documents the effect of important UK gambling legislation on the betas and correlations of the online gambling portfolio.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses static and time-varying models (e.g. rolling regressions, multivariate GARCH models) to estimate betas and correlations for a portfolio of UK online gambling stocks.

Findings

This study finds that beta for the online gambling portfolio is less than 1, indicative of defensiveness toward the market, a result that is consistent with prior literature for sin stocks. In addition, the conditional correlation between the market and online gambling portfolio is small when compared to the correlation of the market and socially responsible portfolios. Findings suggest that the adoption of the Gambling Act 2005 increases the conditional correlation between the market and online gambling portfolio and it also increases the conditional betas for the online gambling portfolio.

Research limitations/implications

This paper serves as a starting point for future research on online gambling stocks. Going forward, studies can focus on the financial performance or accounting performance of online gambling stocks.

Originality/value

This empirical investigation provides insight into the risk characteristics of publicly listed online gambling companies in the UK.


Neonatology is a recently specialized area of medicine in which medical advances continue to save the lives of many ailing infants. However, like most areas of health care, it is not a perfect science, and hence not all infants can be saved, no matter how advanced the technology or how well-trained the physician. Inevitably, decisions regarding when to forego treatment must be made. It is essential to scrutinize the bases upon which these decisions are reached. This article examines the development of the scientific, legal and philosophical theories in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom in an attempt to delineate a nexus wherein these theories link together to found medical decisions in the neonatal intensive care unit. Legal rules of medical decision making are informed by standards set by the medical profession as well as by principles of moral philosophy. However, in the face of medical uncertainty regarding outcomes, the content of the 'best interests' of the child standard increasingly relies upon a normative conception of the 'sanctity of life'. Ironically, as science pushes at the bounds of the meaning of 'medical futility', the sanctity of life position gains strength and is relied upon more frequently by the judiciary. The author concludes that both subjective and objective factors must inform this decision making in order to protect the best interests of the child optimally.


Planets less massive than Saturn tend to rapidly migrate inward in protoplanetary disks. This is the so-called type I migration. Simulations attempting to reproduce the observed properties of exoplanets show that type I migration needs to be significantly reduced over a wide region of the disk for a long time. However, the mechanism capable of suppressing type I migration over a wide region has remained elusive. The recently found turbulence-driven disk winds offer new possibilities. We investigate the effects of disk winds on the disk profile and type I migration for a range of parameters that describe the strength of disk winds. We also examine the in situ formation of close-in super-Earths in disks that evolve through disk winds. The disk profile, which is regulated by viscous diffusion and disk winds, was derived by solving the diffusion equation. We carried out a number of simulations and plot here migration maps that indicate the type I migration rate. We also performed N-body simulations of the formation of close-in super-Earths from a population of planetesimals and planetary embryos. We define a key parameter, Kw, which determines the ratio of strengths between the viscous diffusion and disk winds. For a wide range of Kw, the type I migration rate is presented in migration maps. These maps show that type I migration is suppressed over the whole close-in region when the effects of disk winds are relatively strong (Kw < 100). From the results of N-body simulations, we see that type I migration is significantly slowed down assuming Kw = 40. We also show that the results of N-body simulations match statistical orbital distributions of close-in super-Earths.


We investigate the caustic structure of a lens com- posed by a discrete number of point-masses, having mutual distances smaller than the Einstein radius of the total mass of the system. Along with the main critical curve, it is known that the lens map is characterized by secondary critical curves pro- ducing small caustics far from the lens system. By exploiting perturbative methods, we derive the number, the position, the shape, the cusps and the area of these caustics for an arbitrary number of close multiple lenses. Very interesting geometries are created in some particular cases. Finally we review the binary lens case where our formulae assume a simple form.


Summary form only given. Scattering of electromagnetic waves by plasma torches is studied experimentally and theoretically in a rectangular waveguide. Up to three plasma torches are placed below an X band waveguide so that the plasma streams through a set of 1/4" holes in the bottom of the guide and out another set of 1/4" holes in the top. The plasma columns of the torch cross the path of propagation of microwaves (-15 dBm, 10 GHz) in the waveguide and cause absorption and scattering losses of the microwaves. The signal received at the other end of the waveguide is monitored with an HP8569B spectrum analyzer. By changing the number of torches (from 0 to 3) appearing in the waveguide, the dependence of the power loss of the wave on the plasma volume, is determined. The theory of the wave scattered by a dielectric post in the rectangular waveguide is extended to a lossy dielectric. Using the plasma density and volume as variable parameters, the attenuation of the wave by the plasma torches (1 to 3) are evaluated. By matching the numerical results with the corresponding experimental results, the plasma density and volume can be determined.


Heuristic DENDRAL is a computer program written to solve problems of inductive inference in organic chemistry. This paper will use the design of Heuristic DENDRAL and its performance on different problems for a discussion of the following topics: 1. the design for generality; 2. the performance problems attendant upon too much generality; 3. the coupling of expertise to the general problem solving processes; 4. the symbiotic relationship between generality and expertness, and the implications of this symbiosis for the study and design of problem solving systems. We conclude the paper with a view of the design for a general problem solver that is a variant of the "big switch" theory of generality.


In the wake of the one-child policy of 1979, China experienced an unprecedented rise in the sex ratio at birth (ratio of male to female births). In cohorts born between 1980 and 2000, there were 22 million more men than women. Some 10.4 percent of these additional men will fail to marry, based on simulations presented here that assess how different scenarios for the sex ratio at birth affect the probability of failure to marry in 21st century China. Three consequences of the high sex ratio and large numbers of unmarried men are discussed: the prevalence of prostitution and sexually transmitted infections, the economic and physical well-being of men who fail to marry, and China's ability to care for its elderly, with a particular focus on elderly males who fail to marry. Several policy options are suggested that could mitigate the negative consequences of the demographic squeeze.


Two formerly unrelated academic fields, prenatal science and mythological studies, are quietly merging under the heading of a new theory: mythobiogenesis. One need not be a philologist to tease out the meaning of the word: Myth has a biological genesis. According to this conceptual model, much of what we call mythology, fairy tales, and sacred scripture derives from a fundamental impulse to retell in culturally specific ways the universal intrauterine experience of life before birth. Plato himself has provided an example of such a narrative. His written record of his intrauterine experience is contained in one of his later dialogues, the Critias (1), a text which includes the famous story of Atlantis. The Atlantis myth, I shall argue, is pure embryology, recounting in symbolic language Plato's development from ovulation through fertilization, implantation, differentiation, organogenesis, and gestation. The idea that consciousness could be present at the level of a single cell is a stumbling block to the western science tradition which typically describes consciousness as no more than an emergent property of matter. And yet, many eastern spiritual traditions take non-local consciousness (a state of awareness independent of the body) for granted. The Yoga-Sūtra of Patañjali (2), a fourth century Sanskrit text, describes pure awareness as independent from the fundamental qualities of nature. Similarly, the Bardo Thodol (or Tibetan Book of the Dead) (3) follows the path of human psyche as it survives physical death reemerging with a new social identity attached to a reincarnated human being. East and West are not easily reconciled but there is movement in this direction. Some one hundred years ago, Otto Rank (4) faced outright hostility (particularly from his mentor, Freud) for suggesting that consciousness is very much present at birth with lifelong consequences arising from that primal trauma. Psychiatrists and psychologists who regress patients to birth and pre-birth times often report experiences that appear to go back even as far as conception lending credibility to S. Cosier's theoretical model in which consciousness resides in the cell nucleus (5). And researchers such as Jon RG and Troya GN Turner-Groot (6) direct us to look for prebirth memories arising before conception when an individual's consciousness is energetically attracted to that of the Mother-to-be. With this in mind, consider: Atlantis may not be a place at all, so best to stop looking for it. Instead, look to Plato who, though unaware of the theory of mythobiogenesis, is profoundly under its influence.


Firms' transformation from virtual to real means that firms allocate more capital from non-productive areas to productive areas, which is shown as the decrease of the level of firm financialization. The inefficient supply of traditional financial services is one of the factors that promotes firm financialization. In recent years, with the development and popularization of new technology, digital finance emerges at the historic moment. In essence, digital finance utilizes network technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and blockchain to not only expand the accessibility of financial services, but also solve the problems of high risk premium and high operating cost generated in traditional financial services. Therefore, in view of the development scale of China's internet economy and its leading position in the world's technical practice, and considering the huge effect of digital finance on traditional financial services, it is necessary to explore the effect mechanism of digital finance on firm financialization from the perspective of Fintech progress.Based on the annual data of A-share listed firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2011 to 2018, this paper examines the effect of digital finance development on firm financialization. The empirical study finds that the development of digital finance can reduce the level of firm financialization. The mechanism test finds that digital finance inhibits firm financialization mainly by weakening the precautionary motivation of firms. Further study finds that the inhibition of digital finance development on firm financialization only exists in the weak samples of the structural mismatch of traditional finance. In other words, the inhibitory effect of digital finance on firm financialization is more significant in private firms, manufacturing firms and growth-stage firms. Meanwhile, compared with short-term financial assets, long-term financial assets of firms are more significantly inhibited by the development of digital finance. With the standardization of the regulatory environment and the strengthening of supervision, the development of digital finance has a more significant inhibiting effect on firm financialization.The research contributions of this paper are mainly reflected in the following three aspects: Firstly, from the perspective of digital finance, it reveals the effect mechanism of Fintech progress on firm financialization, and clarifies the important role of Fintech progress in the interaction between real economy and virtual economy. Secondly, from the perspective of firm financialization, it empirically investigates the microeconomic consequences of digital finance, and supplements related literatures on the economic consequences of digital finance. Thirdly, the findings of this paper are conducive to understanding the positive role of digital finance in correcting financial mismatch. In terms of policy suggestions, on the one hand, for firms, digital finance can effectively alleviate the financial pressure and financing constraints. Especially for manufacturing firms, start-ups and private firms, digital finance can play a role of inclusive finance. On the other hand, for regulators, it is necessary to effectively regulate digital firms and the digital economy to avoid risks such as industry monopoly, data security and regulatory loopholes.