Abstract : In fiscal year 2010, the TA Program provided $531 million in tuition assistance to approximately 302,000 service members who elected to pursue off-duty postsecondary education. DOD offers these benefits to service members in order to help them fulfill their academic goals and enhance their professional development. Program oversight for voluntary education programs is the responsibility of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In addition, the military services are responsible for establishing, maintaining, operating, and implementing the programs at 350 education centers on military installations worldwide. Education centers are managed by an education services officer (ESO) and staff, such as education guidance counselors.


As an educational institution, Beijing Institute of Education has long been engaged in the training of administrators and teachers in the basic, vocational, and adult educational fields. While contributing to the modernization of Beijing's educational field, the Institute is facing new development opportunities and severe challenges as well from both inside and outside. Therefore, it is imperative for the Institute to be determined in promoting positive changes in terms of the staff's educational concepts, basic structure, operating strategies, the teaching and administrative quality, rules and regulations of the institute so as to enable the Institute to a be high-quality specialized training body.


This narrative study used individual interviews with seven gay Latinx men to understand how they used emotion regulation to navigate academic and personal obstacles as well as heterosexism and interpreted them using Gross's emotion regulation framework. The study's participants used all four types of emotion regulation described by Gross, including finding gay-affirming communities, modifying gay-adverse spaces, changing the subject, and positive reframing.


Trauma first refers to a physical injury or shock caused by violence or aggressive behavior, and second; to an experience that causes psychological damage or pain [1]. Professional rescue workers (e.g., police and firefighters) commonly serve as responders to disasters or emergencies, and they are routinely exposed to traumatic events during the course of their duties [2]. Firefighters are not only responsible for preventing and fighting fires but are also charged with various other important tasks, such as rescuing victims and providing emergency medical aid. Often, firefighters are the first to arrive at the scene of violent or tragic events; therefore, they frequently have to handle victims' gruesome injuries or witness victims' death or even the deaths of their colleagues. For this reason, firefighters suffer from injuries or threats, and experience trauma either directly or indirectly [3,4].


Data warehouse systems have several dependability aspects, which crosscut the whole system modules. That might cause difficulties while designing, reusing or maintaining the systems; therefore it may affect its performance. Aspect Oriented Method is a software development paradigm which supports an horizontal separation of concerns by providing mechanisms for encapsulating cross-cutting features using the aspects. In our Aspect Oriented Modeling (AOM) method, dependability attributes are modeled as aspects in Model Driven Architecture (MDA) approach then are composed with the functional model to form complete Data warehouse system. Concretely, we refine the Platform Independent Model (PIM) of aspects to Platform Specific Model (PSM). Then we weave it with the functional PSM of each Data Warehouse system layer in order to obtain an integral PSM.


Burial structures and the assemblages found inside them at the site of el-Detti, about 13 km downstream from Karima and 7 km upstream from el-Zuma, were explored in 2014 and 2015 by a joint team from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan. The aim was to enable comparison with the excavated burials at el-Zuma, a nearby tumuli field explored by the Early Makuria Research Project in recent years. Special attention was paid to metal artifacts from the tombs (studied in the appendix), which contribute to a better understanding of the local social and cultural traditions. The focus of the Early Makuria Research Project on examining the mortuary customs at el-Detti has helped to identify the burial practices of Early Makurian society and to trace the spread of Early Makurian society over time.


Introduction: Stimulation or inactivation of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) produces antinociception. Studies showed a role for the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the antinociception induced by LH chemical stimulation through the orexinergic receptors. In this study, we assessed the role of intra-VTA dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in antinociceptive effects of cholinergic agonist, carbachol, microinjected into the LH in the tail-flick test. Methods: Rats were unilaterally implanted with two separate cannulae into the VTA and LH. Intra-VTA infusions of selective D1 receptor antagonist SCH-23390 (0.125, 0.25, 1 and 4 μg/0.3 μl saline) and selective D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride (0.125, 0.25, 1 and 4 μg/0.3 μl DMSO) 2 min before microinjection of carbachol (125 nmol/rat; effective dose) into the LH was done. The antinociceptive effects of different doses of these antagonists were measured using a tail-flick analgesiometer, and represented as maximal possible effect (%MPE) at 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min after


The effect of touch-screen monitor placement on in-vehicle task performance and driving performance was examined in a driving simulator. Sixteen subjects drove behind a lead vehicle while interacting with a menu-based interface that required looking, planning, reaching, and touching. The vehicle dynamics of the simulator were adjusted to simulate two vehicles: a normal-weight car and a heavy-weight truck. The monitor was placed in one of four different positions that had varying levels of visual and physical difficulty. Two positions had a short reach distance and two had a long reach distance. For each monitor pair, one position had a shorter visual distance from the road ahead and one had a longer visual distance. Monitor positions that were at greater visual distances from the road ahead or that were farther physically from the subject resulted in longer in-vehicle task completion times. The average task time increased from 17.8 seconds for the closest monitor position to 35.1 seconds for the farthest. Although driving performance, as measured by the RMS error between the subject vehicle and the lead vehicle and delay in speed change, was adversely affected by performance of an in-vehicle task, it was relatively unaffected by monitor position.


Objective To investigate the immunophenotype characteristics of hyperleukocytic acute leukemia and to analyze its clinical feature.Methods Immunophenotyping was performed in 48 HLAL and 189 NHLAL patients by flow cytometry and its clinical feature has been analyzed.Results The results showed that as compared with NHLAL group,the clinical progress of HLAL was faster,the CR rate was lower(P0.05),the infiltration was obvious,the proliferation of bone marrow was more active(P﹤0.05).The cross expressing positive rate of different lineage associated antigens was higher in HLALL group.The positive rate of CD7 expression was same in 4 groups.The positive rate of CD33 and CD13 was higher in HLAML and NHLAML group.Conclusion As compared with NHLAL,the clinical progress of HLAL was faster,the proliferation of bone marrow was more active,the treatment was more difficult.HLALL has high heterogeneity.The positive expression of CD7 has not specificity.CD33 and CD13 is more reliable to be myeloid-specific antigen.


Slash pine, Chinese fir are coniferous timber trees planted widely in Southern China. Much research work has been done about them by scientists. This study aims at the stand productivity, stand biomass of the mixed forestry of Slash pine and Schima superba, Slash pine forestry and Chinese fir forestry and the evaluation of the synthetical stand efficiency.


The objective of this study was to determine patterns of pulmonary function abnormalities and to evaluate how adequately peak flow monitoring was correlated to other spirometric indices in childhood asthma. Ninety‐one children, aged 8‐15 years, with moderate‐to‐severe asthma were repeatedly tested in a summer camp. On‐site medical staff permitted 24‐hour‐a‐day supervision. Subjective and objective clinical evaluations of asthma status were made over 14 consecutive days. Detailed clinical history and clinical observations were made by an experienced staff, and a total of 2,663 pulmonary function tests were performed regularly three times daily and whenever a child sensed asthma symptoms. Patterns of obstruction were divided into large airway abnormalities and small airway abnormalities. There was a low concordance between standard large airway measures, such as the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) or the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (the FEV1), and measures of small airway obstruction, such as the forced expiratory flow rate 25‐75% (FEF25–75). Normal PEFR measurements do not always indicate that all other pulmonary function measures are normal. In fact, 18% of children with a normal PEFR had abnormal FEF25–75 values. Results demonstrated that the FEF25–75 was the most specific and sensitive measure of airway obstruction. PEFR is widely used to monitor asthma symptoms objectively because it is technically simple to perform, relatively inexpensive, and helpful in most cases. It is, therefore, appropriate for asthma education programs to recommend PEFR as an objective measure to guide in making therapeutic decisions. Our data and clinical observations support the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma" of the NIH Health Asthma Education Program that suggest that children have more complete pulmonary function testing along with frequent PEFR measures. Many children may appear asymptomatic, while recording normal PEFR measures, and still having significant asthma. Repeated pulmonary function testing and evaluation of the pattern of respiratory obstruction aids in managing this challenging group. We recommend that efforts be made to develop a simple and inexpensive method of measuring FEF25–75 that will allow this measurement to be made even at home. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1995; 20:372–379. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In foreign language instruction, students are often exposed to computer-mediated testing in international exams and language courses; however, regular classrooms are not equipped with computer labs to offer a lesson coherent with that testing procedure. To fill this gap, mobile-assisted language learning emerges as a portable option for computer-mediated learning and testing. Hence, this action research aims to study the implementation of mobile phones-assisted practice, combined with note-taking, as test-wise and test-management strategies, to tackle the needs of 218 participants who were taking an English as a foreign language program at a Colombian university. In the diagnostic stage, learners expressed that the most difficult computer-assessed skill was speaking, due to lack of confidence and suitable strategies. Findings revealed an improvement in students' oral performance, collaboration levels, and high acceptance of mobile phones-assisted practice as a test preparation tool that facilitates autonomy, metacognition, and peer-feedback.


Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that originates in the brain systems responsible for phonological processing, affecting the domain of language, the ability to symbolize, reading and writing. To date, studies point to dyslexia as a chronic disorder, however, when diagnosed early, multidisciplinary interventions capable of providing better cognitive and intellectual development and, consequently, improving the individual's quality of life can be carried out. Based on this assumption, the guiding question of this study is: what is the role of the teacher in the early diagnosis of dyslexia? Therefore, the objective was to address this deficiency and present how the teacher can contribute to the recognition and early diagnosis of dyslexic children. For this, a bibliographic research was carried out in the databases of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and SCIELO and in scientific education journals, scientific articles, books, among others, from which it was possible to conclude that, in order to overcome dyslexia in students, actions that promote early diagnosis and provide the support of qualified professionals must be carried out. For this, education professionals must have adequate training, as well as skills and abilities. Furthermore, it is up to the government to develop policies that encourage and contribute to the early diagnosis of dyslexia and to the continuing education of teachers.


This case study of the Chadds Ford area of Pennsylvania establishes the existence of a complex relationship between powerful figures in society, the natural environment, and art. The ways in which natural resources are utilized and controlled by the land owners establishes a relationship with the art of local painters and artists. A feedback system is established whereby patrons of the arts support those artists who are able to capture in imagery the local ideology. In the Brandywine it is Andrew Wyeth's images of the landscape that serve the ideology of an elite and stimulate participation, by the community, in the protection and preservation of natural resources which are valuable to downstream users associated with the Dupont family and firm.


Abstract Bat populations in China appear to have decreased considerably in the last 30 years. Four reasons may have been responsible: (1) Cave exploitation for tourism has changed the atmosphere and temperature in caves, disturbing bats directly. (2) Extensive pesticide use has resulted in bioaccumulation in bats, reducing their survival. (3) Many old buildings were demolished during urbanization, reducing the availability of suitable roost sites. (4) People often include bats in their diet, and bats are served in restaurants. We make recommendations for improving bat conservation in China. Education programmes about bat conservation should be provided for adults and schoolchildren, and laws for protecting bats need to be enacted and enforced. The roosting sites of bats should be protected comprehensively, and pesticide use should be regulated.


A review to comment the inter relationship between the consumtive causes and pathogenesis of mitochondrial energy defects in some important types of neurodegenerative diseases,such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and others. The crucial roles of permeability transition pores of mitochondrial membranes were emphasized and certain routes of therapeutic trials to reverse the mitochondrial defect were discussed.


This paper presents an assessment of the accuracy and applicability of the Time Domain Finite Element Method (TDFEM) for sound-field analysis of enclosed spaces. An outline of the method is displayed for the calculation of the impulse response of a reverberant room. Frequency response and cumulative spectral decay which are useful for the representation of spaces can be derived from the impulse response. Room impulse response of an actual room was first measured with the Maximum Length Sequence (MLS) technique and then calculated with the time domain finite element method in the low frequency range. Frequency response and cumulative spectral decay are extracted from the calculated impulse response and then compared with the measured ones. The computed parameters agree well with the measured ones. The time domain finite element method is a valuable technique for accurate prediction of the sound field of enclosed spaces.


Professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) represent an important link between the innate and adaptive immune system. Macrophages (MΦs) and dendritic cells (DCs) serve as sentinels in the periphery collecting samples from their environment and processing this information. These cells then present antigenic fragments to T cells in the context of self-MHC molecules. Although a clear role for both of these APCs in the stimulation of already activated or memory T cells has been established, the ability of MΦs to activate naive T cells is still unknown. In this thesis the ability of bone marrow-derived MΦs and DCs to prime naive CD8 + and CD4 + T cells was investigated. Using adoptively transferred transgenic CFSE-Iabeled P-14 T cells, specific for gp33 from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in the context of D b , we were able to demonstrate the ability of both MΦs and DCs to induce naive CD8 + T cells proliferation. Once primed by MΦs these T cells gained effector function as shown by interferon- γ (IFN-γ) production and in vivo cytolysis. In addition, immunization of wild type animals with gp33-pulsed MΦs, as well as DCs, led to greater than a 95% reduction in lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus titers. To rule out the role of cross-presentation in the observed priming, two models were used. In the first model, lethally irradiated F1 bxs chimeras reconstituted with either H-2 s or H-2 b bone marrow were used as host for the adoptive transfer experiments. Since the gp33 peptide binds to D b , the H-2 s reconstituted animals should be unable to cross-present the peptide to the P-14 T cells. Using this model, we were able to clearly demonstrate the ability of MΦs to activate naive P-14 T cells to undergo division. Additional experiments, demonstrated that these MΦ primed T cells went on to develop into effector cells. Finally, the ability of the MΦ primed T cells to develop into functional memory cells was demonstrated. To confirm the chimera results, these experiments were repeated using β2 microglobulin deficient animals (whose cells don't express MHC I) as host in adoptive experiments. MΦs were able to stimulate the naive P-14 T cells to divide and gain effector function as demonstrated by the ability to produce IFN-γ. In contrast to the CD8 system, MΦ were poor stimulators of D011.10 CD4 + T cell proliferation. Additionally, D011.10 T cells stimulated by DCs were able to produce interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, tumor necrosis factor and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor where as MΦ stimulated D011.10 T cells were only able to produce IL-2. In conclusion this body of work clearly demonstrates the in vivo ability of MΦ to stimulate CD8 + T cell proliferation, effector function, as well as the formation of functional CD8 + T cell memory. Whether or not the nature of the memory pools stimulated by the two APCs is exactly the same is still unknown and needs further investigation. The ability of APCs…


The normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of ocean surface is measured from three directions of illumination by an air-borne dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in the L- and X-bands, and the dependency of the NRCS and the polarization ratio on the relative wind direction is analyzed. In the X-band, the dependencies of the NRCSs in the parallel polarizations are different each other. The NRCS in the X-band HH polarization has difference between the up-and down-wind conditions, though that in the VV polarization the NRCSs for the up- and down-wind conditions are almost same. The dependency of the NRCS in the L-band is smaller than that of the X-band. The polarization ratio in the X-band shows the dependency on the wind direction with difference between the up- and down-wind conditions, though that in the L-band is not apparent. The results suggests the possibility of ocean wind measurement by the polarimetric SAR in the X-band.


The invention discloses a Ge-Si heterojunction transistor with an elevated external base and the preparation technique thereof, pertaining to the field of semiconductor devices and the preparation technology thereof. The heterojunction transistor comprises a collector formed with silicon substrate, a SiGe layer base and an external base, and a polysilicon emitter. A sidewall structure layer is equipped between the emitter and the base electrode, the external base is elevated, and the sidewall structure layer thereof prevents the emitter and the base electrode leaking. By using the technique of elevating the external base and the epitaxial growth technology of the external base, the invention overcomes the drawbacks that the prior injection technique of the external base in the Ge-Si heterojunction transistor technology leads to the serious Boron enhanced diffusion of the intrinsic base under the window of the emitting region, and thereby the invention makes the base wider and the doping changed, and reduces the fT and fmax parameters of devices. Therefore, the direct current and high frequency characteristics of devices are improved greatly.


Cika Ciki Snack Shop is one of the agents that sells a variety of snacks from various brands, but the store owner has problems promoting the products he sells, the longer it takes, the more competitors there are other snack agents, then Cika Ciki Snack Shop utilizes technology to market products. Therefore, the author created a website-based sales information system to develop a business in terms of sales. to make it easier for store owners to promote snacks and make it easier for customers to make purchases. This research was made using a Website-based information system with the waterfall method, and MySQL as the database, which is the data collection of anything snack along with the brand name provided by Cika Ciki Snack Store.


P Cella, L Vezzosi, A Miduri, C Signorelli, A Odone Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Contact: email@example.com Background Childhood vaccination rates in Italy are far below the targets set by the National Immunization Prevention Plan (PNPV): mandatory and MMR vaccines coverage has decreased by 3% and 5,9% since 2010. It is important to understand the risk factors of such trends. We conducted a survey to assess vaccine hesitancy determinants in the North of Italy. Methods We translated and adapted a survey on vaccine hesitancy published in the international scientific literature, and administered it to random sample of the general adult population by a face-to-face interview during a health promotion event supported by the University of Parma (Italy). The 14-item survey explored socio-demographic characteristics, knowledges, attitudes, behaviors and sources of information about childhood immunizations. Results 216 subjects agreed to participate in the study: average age was 41.2 years (DS 14.9), 88.7% of respondents were Italian with high-level education (90.7%). The majority of participants reported to trust vaccines (97.2%). However, 25.1% perceived a general mistrust towards vaccines within their community, 20% were hesitant and 13% declared refusal of selected vaccines, including rotavirus and flu. Rumors about adverse events and poor access to reliable information represent the major barriers to vaccine uptake. 77.4% were exposed to media messages discouraging immunization practice. Conclusions While immunization is recognized as one of the most effective prevention tool, an increasing share of the population do not vaccinate their children. An evidence-based communication could improve public confidence towards vaccination and vaccine uptake as recommended in the PNPV.


Wheel bearings on passenger and commercial cars are one component to important. A False brinell phenomenon observed on the wheel bearing of the vehicle represents the dent generated on a raceway due to balls and the corrosion during transportation on train. To verify the False brinell performance during the development process of wheel bearings most of a False brinell test is performed on test rigs prior to the vehicle test due to cost and time. But the different False brinell results are affected by diversities such as a structural concept, a loading system, and characteristics of test rigs itself. This paper shows the development of the instrumented device that can measure a strain on a wheel bearing and analyze a relation between a False brinell of the wheel bearing and a measured strain under the different loading condition on two test rigs. To verify the reliability of this study, a depth of the brinell is measured and compared. A bench test and a vehicle simulated test were carried out. The initial results of the test show the different False brinell performances and strains under test setups, but after the adjustment loading condition the results have a equivalent severity.


[Objective] To explore the mechanism of Huoxue Shenshi decoction(HSD)on liver fibrosis.[Methods] Liver fibrosis was successfully established in 50 rats by subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride(CCL 4).The model rats were divided into three groups randomly:control group,Fufang Biejia Ruangan tablet(FBRT) treatment group and HSD treatment group.Sodium


The extent to which participants hold similar notions of an idealized group member was expected to moderate the effect of information quantity on individual rates of participation. Participants responded privately in writing to the psychological profile and ideal group member tasks, then participated in discussion in groups of three. Individual responses to the psychological profile task were coded for information quantity, whereas data from the group member task was assessed for similarity within groups. Analysis revealed that similarity of the ideal group member moderated the effect of one's information resources on substantive (i.e., task relevant) and nonsubstantive participation. Discussion focuses on the conditions under which individuals are likely to participate actively in group interaction.


Abstract The aim of this paper is not to present the results of a qualitative study, but to share the experiences of a researcher engaged in this kind of research. The process of conducting the investigation in question raised a number of issues: the researcher's sensitivity and flexibility, ethical dilemmas, and the importance of a good 'research alliance' with participants. The implications of including participants as collaborators and co-researchers are discussed. Analysis of these issues highlights the impact of qualitative inquiry on the researcher and the nature of both the professional and personal learning generated by this form of inquiry.


© 2012 by University of Hawai'i Press oversimplification of a multidimensional and complex issue, and one which extends beyond the pale of this review. It is sufficient to note that comparativists continue to struggle with such problems, and are finding diverse ways of allowing Indian philosophy to speak with its own voice. Despite the concerns noted above, Gupta's defense of Advaita as a rational discourse of the highest order is well developed and poses some interesting challenges to these views, both scholarly and popular, which continue to emphasize the s piritual and alleged revelatory character of this intellectual achievement. In this connection, the book is a welcome contribution to contemporary dialogue between Western and Indian thought, and will thus be useful both to students of Indian philosophy and comparativists. Those trained in Western philosophy with a negligible understanding of the Indian intellectual tradition will likewise find the work a useful introduction to some of the central themes in Indian metaphysics and epistemology.


The invention relates to the technical field of petroleum drilling and running casing, and discloses an extensible slurry filling device for a running casing. The extensible slurry filling device comprises a drill joint, an external tube, a pressure release device, a central tube, a sealing rod and a middle joint, wherein the upper outer side of the outer tube and the lower inner side of the drill joint are fixedly arranged together; an inner annular groove is arranged inside the lower end of the drill joint; and the middle joint is fixedly arranged inside the upper part of the outer tube. The extensible slurry filling device is rational and compact in structure and convenient to use; a first compression spring, a second compression spring, a sealing tube and a sealing rod are matched, so that a sealing inner annular boss and the sealing rod are separated to lead the slurry to enter to a sleeve when pumping pressure reaches a set value, and the sealing inner annular boss and the sealing rod are closed to prevent the slurry from entering the sleeve when pumping pressure does not exist, thereby the sleeve is prevented from adhering to the mine wall to cause sticking in the casing process; moreover, the extensible slurry filling device has the characteristics of being simple in operation and high in safety, and improving the working efficiency and reducing the potential safety hazard.


Coastal agriculture in Orissa is predominantly rainfed and hence vulnerable owing to uncertain distribution of rainfall over time. Lack of irrigation support and salt stress affect crop growth and reduce yield as well. Good quality aquifer and low‐saline soil are available but vary spatially. Promoting potential use of spatially varied resources, precise assessment of soil and water quality at micro‐level is therefore imperative. In this study the soil salt stress, availability and quality of underground aquifers at different sites were evaluated in the neighbourhood area of Chilika, the largest brackish water lagoon of Asia. Integrating soil salinity, soil moisture content, aquifer availability and quality, various farming strategies specific to different sites were developed. These could trigger 1.59 to 2 times more production from its present level in that area. Where there is a diverse occurrence of resources, a precise estimation of those resources' potentials thus provides keys to develop cost‐effective options for improving production in an underproductive area. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Problematically, many analyses are based on static "snapshots-in-time," even though both mouse models and human patient studies have highlighted the dynamic nature of Foxp3 + T-cells in vivo , which can exhibit plasticity and time-dependent functional states. In this review, we discuss the role of Foxp3 dynamics in the control of T-cell responses in childhood arthritis, by reviewing evidence in humans and relevant mouse models of inflammatory disease. Whilst the cellular dynamics of Treg have been well evaluated—leading to standard data outputs such as frequency, quantity and quality (often assessed by in vitro suppressive capacity)—we discuss how recent insights into the molecular dynamics of Foxp3 transcription and its post-translational control may open up tantalizing new avenues for immunotherapies to treat autoimmune arthritis. approaches are giving fresh insight into the molecular control of Foxp3 and the dynamics of T-cell regulation. It is hoped that this approach may help human immunologists to disambiguate markers used to identify Treg [e.g., CD25 and CD127 expression (1)] and stimulate fresh thinking about Foxp3-mediated regulatory mechanisms in JIA.


The paper attempts to improve the overall power quality of an AC-DC conversion system through a fuzzy based mechanism. It extracts the reference wave for the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) strategy, with a view to eschew the multiple frequency components of the input current, minimize its THD and arrive at nearly unity power factor. The scheme exploits the inherent advantages of a three phase ac-dc converter, relies only on the absolute values of the input phase currents and is independent of the nature of the mains phase voltages. It involves the use of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) based prototype to articulate the simulation results and there from highlight the merits of the proposed methodology.


The paper analyzes the problems facing the informatization of small/medium-sized logistics enterprises, introduces the concept and solution of SaaS (Software as a Service), discusses the features of SaaS and the feasibility of SaaS mode in informatization of small/mediumsized logistics enteprises and finally discusses and analyzes the profit of SaaS mode for informatization of the small logistics enterprises.


A single-reservoir particle balance for the main plasma species hydrogen has been established for W7-X. This has enabled the quantitative characterization of the particle sources in the standard island divertor configuration for the first time. Findings from attached scenarios with two different island sizes with a boronized wall and turbo molecular pumping are presented. Fueling efficiencies, particle flows and source locations were measured and used to infer the total particle confinement time τ p. Perturbative gas injection experiments served to measure the effective particle confinement time τp* . Combining both confinement times provides access to the global recycling coefficient R¯ . Hydrogen particle inventories have been addressed and the knowledge of particle sources and sinks reveals the core fueling distribution and provides insight into the capability of the magnetic islands to control exhaust features. Measurements of hydrogen fueling efficiencies were sensitive to the precise fueling location and measured between 12% and 31% with the recycling fueling at the strike line modeled at only 6%, due to much higher densities. 15% of the total 5.2 × 1022 a/s recycling flow ionizes far away from the recycling surfaces in the main chamber. It was shown that 60% of recycled particles ionize above the horizontal and 18% above the vertical divertor target, while the remainder of the recycling flow ionizes above the baffle (7%). Combining these source terms with their individual fueling efficiencies resolves the core fueling distribution. Due to the higher fueling efficiency in the main chamber, up to 51% of the total 5.1 × 1021 s−1 core fueling particles are entering the confined plasma from the main chamber. τ p values in the range of 260 ms were extracted for these discharges. Together with τ p, the global recycling coefficient R¯ was resolved for every τp* measurement and a typical value close to unity was obtained. An increase of the island size, resulted in no change of τ p, but doubled τp* , indicating the feasibility of the control coils as an actuator to control exhaust features without affecting core confinement properties.


This paper describes a sizeable subgroup of the AIDS caseload that has not been widely studied, that is, men with histories of both male homosexual activity and intravenous drug use. In this paper we identify differences and similarities between gay intravenous drug users and gay men with different histories of drug use; examine the relationship between HIV seropositivity and different patterns of drug use; and estimate whether gay intravenous drug users are more likely than other gay men to be a source of continued HIV transmission.


Developing different resistant genes is the basis for the genetic improvement of crops durable resist⁃ ance. Two radish(Raphanus sativus L. ) inbred lines resistant to black rot(Xanthamonas campestris pv. campestris) (KB10Q⁃22,KB10Q⁃24)and one susceptible inbred line(KB10Q⁃33)were used to construct F2 populations. Black rot pathogen Xcc8004 was used to inoculate seedlings by leaf⁃cutting with spray method to identify the disease⁃resistance. The inheritance of resistance to black rot was studied with a mixed model of major genes plus poly⁃genes using P1,P2, F1,and F2populations. The results showed that the inheritance of the resistance of the above two resistant lines was different. The plants of F1 generation from KB10Q⁃22 expressed resistant. Its genetic model was mixed two major genes with additive⁃dominance⁃epistatic effects plus poly genes with additive⁃dominance⁃epistatic effects ( E_0 model),while the plants of F1 generation from KB10Q⁃24 expressed susceptible,and its genetic model was mixed one major gene with additive⁃dominance effects plus poly genes with additive⁃dominance⁃epistatic effects (D_0model). Major gene heritabili⁃ ties for the two crosses were 87􀆰 73% and 55􀆰 64%,respectively. The heritability was mainly dominated by major genes.


This study was concerned with the investigation of the self- transforming nature of becoming forgiving following victimizing situations, initially felt to be beyond one's ability to forgive. How did some individuals forgive that which was seemingly unforgivable? What facilitated, what inhibited, and what was the impact of this form of forgiveness (labeled in this study as "transformative forgiveness")? These research questions were explored in a qualitative heuristic design, mainly at the individual, intrapsychic level. The final sample consisted of 13 participants from various ethnic and spiritual backgrounds, who had forgiven seemingly unforgivable offenses and experienced significant transformation in the process.


We describe a sentiment classification method that is applicable when we do not have any labeled data for a target domain but have some labeled data for multiple other domains, designated as the source domains. We automatically create a sentiment sensitive thesaurus using both labeled and unlabeled data from multiple source domains to find the association between words that express similar sentiments in different domains. The created thesaurus is then used to expand feature vectors to train a binary classifier. Unlike previous cross-domain sentiment classification methods, our method can efficiently learn from multiple source domains. Our method significantly outperforms numerous baselines and returns results that are better than or comparable to previous cross-domain sentiment classification methods on a benchmark dataset containing Amazon user reviews for different types of products.


Subaerial and shallow subaqueous mafic hyalotuffs, lava flows, and flow breccias, felsic lava flows, and pyroclastic flows and falls form a 2 km thick succession beneath the Mattabi massive sulphid...


The solitary predatory wasp Cerceris fumipennis Say provisions its nests with beetles from the family Buprestidae. State and federal officials in New England, USA collected Buprestidae prey from C. fumipennis starting in 2009. At least 220 colonies of C. fumipennis were monitored as part of the cooperative survey. A total of 6,044 individual Buprestidae from 12 genera and 69 species were collected during surveys conducted during 2009–2011. In total, 56 new state records for 40 species are documented in New England through July 2018. Rarefaction analysis of data pooled by state suggested that more species potentially collected by C. fumipennis exist but were not sampled.


This paper details a technique where a nonresonant metallic surgical instrument – in this case a scalpel handle – can be modified to effectively incorporate UHF RFID functionality, where the instrument itself serves as the antenna. This is achieved by modification of the instrument with a longitudinal slot dimensioned such that an impedance match can be realized to the target RFID device. Aimed at the European UHF RFID band we demonstrate the technique both by simulation and measurement the modification of a commercially available scalpel handle resulting in an efficient UHF RFID far–field tag.


This paper is concerned with the collision dynamics of a water droplet impinging on a hot surface heated to above the Leidenfrost temp perature, focusing upon the case where the impingement side is rough (oxide-scaled) with an oxide film. The rough surface has beer artificially made by rapidly quenching as-rolled stainless steel by water spraying, after it has been heated to 1000 °C in a furnace. A se quence of photographs showing the progressive stages of droplet deformation have been taken on several Weber number conditions. It has been found that the droplet configuration is not axially symmetric around the initial impact point even at an early stage immediately after collision and that the irregularity of the droplet configuration is amplified as the droplet deformation proceeds. With increasing Webe number, the irregularity has been seen to be more remarkable in the later stage and finally the droplet breaks up into some parts. There fore, the critical Weber number to specify whether or not the droplet is disintegrated on the rough surface has been found to become smal compared with the smooth surface case.


The households become in the modern economic paradigm one of the most important business entities, while the personal finance is one of subjects to management. In this regard the article gives consideration to a concept of the households budget, determines a sequence of building a personal financial plan, substantiates that the role of financial awareness of general public increases under conditions of digital economy. At that, it has been revealed that the low level of financial awareness of general public jeopardizes not only the consumption of financial products, but hampers the growth of financial markets, and by the same hampers development of the country's economy as a whole. The article also gives a concept of digital economy and provides analysis of its volumes in Russia, as well as it makes a review and analysis of the main popular solutions used as financial instruments for personal finance management under conditions of digital economy, and the advantages and disadvantages thereof have been identified.


Piezoceramic materials provide a practical way to implement structural control systems needed on precision spacecraft such as remote sensing satellites and sensitive astronomical platforms. Perhaps the most attractive feature of these materials is their capacity to function simultaneously as actuator and sensor. This makes possible self-sensing actuators (SSAs) in which a single electromechanical device serves as both sensor and actuator. Self-sensing actuation has been developed to a promising level of maturity in laboratory studies; however some issues remain to be resolved before SSAs can be used confidently on space systems. The sensitivity and dynamic range of SSAs are limited by noise and nonlinearities in the associated circuitry. Variations of circuit component parameters and of piezoelectric and dielectric properties also affect SSA performance. One challenge is to design circuits which can exploit the mechanical and electrical properties of piezoceramic materials in the space environment. Another challenge is to accurately and practically model SSAs to account for interactions with the structure and circuit elements. This paper explores the needs of spacecraft requiring high levels of dynamic precision, how self-sensing actuators might meet them, and identifies development needs.


Based on the data from 1H nmr spectra, the structure and spatial conformation of the N3′-β-dimethyl and diethylaminoethyl derivatives from 3-alkyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-8-spiro-5′-hydantoins and 3-alkyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-9-spiro-5′-hydantoins are established. The monosubstitution on the imide nitrogen atom has also been confirmed.


The article reveals the problem of the formation of multicultural competences of older teenagers in the educational and educational environment of a children's music school. The author has proven that the effectiveness of the mentioned process will depend on the implementation of the following pedagogical conditions: the implementation of the methodology for the development of interpersonal interaction skills of teenagers in the multicultural environment of a children's music school; implementation of a tolerant approach in the process of forming multicultural competences of older teenagers in the educational environment of a children's music school. It is noted that the multicultural educational environment of the State Secondary School contributes to the formation of a system of knowledge about different cultures in students, the motivation for further familiarization and interaction with their speakers develops, a variety of emotions and feelings are revealed, a positive attitude towards different cultures is formed, interpersonal ties and relations are established in a multinational the student body. The second pedagogical condition is aimed at the readiness and ability of the participants of the educational process to hear and respect the opinion of others, based on the principles of respect and recognition of equality.


Based on analyzing the performance characteristic of belt conveyer, a method used UH MW- PE as material of conveyer component for increasing the ability of wear-resisting is discussed.It has realistic meaning in increasing the work life-span of conveyer and reducing the operation cost.


This paper examines the passage of academic staff in a faculty using an absorbing Markov chain. Two cases involving regardless of staff leaving intentions and staff unwillingness to leave are considered. Findings reveal that when the latter is the case, staff will look forward to staying perpetually in the system. On the case involving regardless of staff leaving intentions, expected waiting time for each grade in each department in the faculty is established while suggestions are made to prospective applicants. Keywords : Absorbing Markov Chain; Academic Staff; Career Pattern; Grade; Faculty.


The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) has an important function for stability and the movement of the knee joint even in arthroplasty. At first the design of the surface replacement type of total knee replacement (TKR), especially of the tibial plate, was considered most important for achieving stability. But recently biomechanical studies on knee replacement have indicated that lopsening of the prosthesis is increased by resectioning of the PCL. We studied the difference in the range of motion (ROM) between PCL-retention and PCLresection in our prosthesis (Okayama, MarkII) in 54 knees using the PCL-retention method, and in 74 knees using the PCL-resection method. In a follow-up of over 3 years, the ROM of the PCL retention TKR was 90.0•‹, and that of the PCL-resection was 79.8•‹. Although the results were largely influenced by limited preoperative movement of the knee joint, especially due to flexion contracture, there was no difference between the PCL-retention and PCL-resection groups. key words: posterior cruciate ligament, total knee replacement , PCL-retention, PCL-resection


COVID-19 forced online learning at all levels. It raised a problem for the teaching of engineering classes where laboratory work is essential for the learning process. To address this problem, we used the current capabilities of cell phones, visual processing software, and social networks to design a set of lab activities that could be reproduced at home by each student at a low cost. We developed an exploratory study where we implemented one of those lab activities in a physics course and investigated the impact of this activity on the learning gain of students. We implemented the activity in a large group of students (69) and compared with a control group of students (12) that did not participate in the activity in order to evaluate the knowledge gained by the participants. Results showed that students that carried out our proposed lab activity increased their learning gain (20%) and obtained better scores in their knowledge tests (76.98 ± 3.21 pre-test versus 92.56 ± 3.18 post-test).


Adversarial perturbation plays a significant role in the field of adversarial robustness, which solves a maximization problem over the input data. We show that the backward propagation of such optimization can accelerate $2\times$ (and thus the overall optimization including the forward propagation can accelerate $1.5\times$), without any utility drop, if we only compute the output gradient but not the parameter gradient during the backward propagation.


In this study, a perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) based on an indium antimonide temperature-sensitive material is designed and investigated in the terahertz region. We demonstrate that it is an ideal perfect narrow-band absorber with polarization-insensitive and wide-angle absorption properties. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed PMMA can be operated as a temperature sensor with a sensitivity of 21.9 GHz/K. A graphene layer was added to the PMMA structure to improve the sensitivity, and the temperature sensitivity was increased to 24.4 GHz/K. Owing to its excellent performance, the proposed PMMA can be applied in thermal sensing, detection, and switching.


Microembolic signal detection by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography may be considered a surrogate for cerebral events during invasive cardiac procedures. However, the impact of the microembolic signal count during pulmonary vein isolation on the clinical outcome is not well evaluated. We investigated the effect of the microembolic signal count on the occurrence of new silent cerebral embolism measured by diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI)‐magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), changes in neuropsychological testing, and the occurrence of clinical events during long‐term follow‐up after pulmonary vein isolation.


Genji-firefly has been one of the key symbols of rural environmental conservation. The species lives underwater as larvae, in the soil when they pupate, and emerges on the ground as adults. Because the habitat conditions of larvae and adults differ greatly, the habitat requirement of Genji-firefly must be clarified over a wide range from instream to the surrounding riparian environment. In this study, we developed a habitat suitability model for Genji-firefly by relating the number of individuals to local landscape features surveyed in a small river in an agricultural watershed. For habitat modelling, Random Forests, a well-known highly predictive machine learning method, was used to model species distributions and to extract quantitative information on their ecological characteristics. As a result, a good agreement was found between observed and modelled number of individuals, although some issues still remain for the test data. We were able to extract local landscape features that characterize the habitat suitability of adult firefly. In future, we plan to deepen our habitat suitability assessment by taking into account uncertainties such as noise originated from absent data.


Background: Tuberculous meningitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries especially in India. The mortality associated with tuberculous meningitis is very high if not detected early and meticulous treatment is not given. CSF analysis and imaging are the most commonly used tools for diagnosis of meningitis. But these are often inadequate in making a definitive diagnosis. CSF Adenosine Deaminase estimation (ADA) is useful in differentiation of tuberculous meningitis from non-tuberculous meningitis. Though few studies have proved efficacy of Adenosine Deaminase level for the diagnosis, studies to assess the sensitivity and specificity of ADA levels were limited. This study was conducted to assess its usefulness and to validate the sensitivity and specificity of ADA level in tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Methods: This was a prospective study conducted at Academy of Medical Sciences, Pariyaram for a period of 18 months from December 2013 to June 2015, Adenosine deaminase level was studied in the cerebrospinal fluid of 50 patients who got admitted with symptoms and signs of meningitis in the medical wards and intensive care units who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Results: In this study 50 patients were diagnosed clinically and with CSF analysis as meningitis. The mean cerebrospinal fluid adenosine deaminase activity was 23.08+17.5in Tuberculous meningitis 3.8 +1.92U/l in Bacterial meningitis and 4.8+2.3U/l in Viral meningitis. The adenosine deaminase activity in Tuberculous meningitis cases were significantly higher than non-tuberculous meningitis. The sensitivity and specificity of this test for diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis was 90% and 100% respectively with ADA value of more than 10U/L. Conclusions: This study found out that estimation of CSF Adenosine level is a very useful test for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis. The sensitivity and specificity attained in this study were comparable to other studies. This study also found out that ADA estimation is very useful in distinguishing tuberculous and viral meningitis. > 45 mg/dl.


This paper elaborates the necessaries of using high-tech means to monitor and early-warn significant hazards, introduces the main contents for monitoring and warning technologies, discusses the organization structure for monitoring and early-warning significant hazards system, proposes corresponding accident emergency prevention plans.


Re-texturing is an image editing method which changes the material appearance of an object. In this paper, a new method for re-texturing by extracting object interactively from an image is presented. Rather than relying on tedium of manual object selection, a new re-texturing strategy which combines image matting is proposed. Given images or photographs with object to be re-textured, only several scribbles which indicate the foreground object and the background image are needed. The alpha matte outlined the object is automatically produced by optimizing an improved cost function of image matting. According to the alpha matte, re-textured result can be obtained by selection of new texture. Comparing with related work, the method demonstrated in this paper requires considerably less manual effort and can obtain satisfied results.


A novel design of high-voltage-tolerant stimulator with adaptive loading consideration for electronic epilepsy prosthetic system-on-chip (SoC) in a 0.18-μm CMOS process was proposed. This design can deliver the required stimulus current within a specific range of loading impedance. Besides, this design in 0.18-μm low-voltage CMOS process can be operated at high voltage by using only low-voltage transistors. Without using high-voltage transistors, the process step can be reduced and the fabrication yield can be improved. The proposed design can be further integrated for the electronic epilepsy prosthetic SoC applications.


Covert communication has recently been recognized as a highly promising security technology that enables a transmitter Alice to reliably and covertly communicate with a receiver Bob without being detected by a malicious warden. Available works on covert communication mainly focus on scenarios with only one warden, while the fundamental limits of covert communication in more practical multi-warden scenarios remain largely unknown. This paper therefore investigates the fundamental limits of covert communication over an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel in the presence of multiple wardens. We first consider a scenario with two wardens and derive the maximum number of bits Alice can transmit to Bob over $n$ channel uses while ensuring a negligible detection probability at wardens. We then generalize this result to the multi-warden case and find that the minimal power of wardens has impacts on the scaling law of the performance limits of covert communication over AWGN channels.


The concept of a digital library, an electronic Alexandria, has been stimulated by recent advances in computing technology, particularly in the last half decade. These developments hold the promise of transforming libraries into interactive centers of learning and research by virtue of inexpensive digital storage, easy-to-use search engines, and powerful computing hardware. Even though much of lhis technology is available right now to make this transformation possible, there has been little real progress largely because of copyright. Much of the desirable information for any digital library is not in public domain. Architects of digital libraries, like creators of multimedia, are faced with the daunting task of negotiating with every copyright owner before making a work available electronically. Solulions to this dilemma are not on the immediate horizon, but eventually will include changes in the current copyright law and technological fixes to protect the interests of the owners of intellectual property....


The I-topology on *X was induced by the family of all ideals on X under the nonstandard enlarged model.Firstly,some properties of ideals and conditions of existence of the supreme and infium of a family of ideals on X were discussed.Then the I-topology on *X was defined,and some topological properties were shown.At last,some applications of I-topology in nonstandard topology were obtained.


Background & aim: Sexual function is an important part of the life of postmenopausal women and its changes, especially in menopause, can affect their health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on sexual function in postmenopausal women. Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and follow-up design with control group. The statistical population of the study included all postmenopausal women who referred to Zanjan Health Center in 2020 to receive services. First, 50 available postmenopausal women completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, which included 19 questions of 5-choice. Among them, 30 women (sample size was selected based on the minimum sample size in the experimental studies), which were at an unfavorable level according to the cut-off point criteria, were selected and randomly divided into two groups of 15 women including intervention and control groups. The intervention was performed based on acceptance and commitment therapy in 8 sessions of 2 hours and post-test was performed immediately after the end of treatment and follow-up three months later in both groups. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and analysis of variance with repeated measures in SPSS-24 software. Results: The mean scores of sexual functions in the intervention group were 21.66 in pre-test, 26.29 in post-test and 27.11 in follow-up, which their difference was considered statistically significant (p<0.05 and F=19.452). The mean score of sexual function in control group was 22.31 in pre-test, 23.28 in post-test and 22.70 in follow-up, which were not statistically significant. The mean scores of sexual functions were also changed significantly between the intervention and control groups (p<0.05 and F=12.115). This means that treatment based on acceptance and commitment had a significant effect on sexual function in postmenopausal women. Also, except for domains of lubrication and orgasm, it had a significant effect on other domains of sexual function (p<0.05). Conclusion: Acceptance and commitment therapy has improved sexual function in postmenopausal women.


Critically ill patients with COVID-19 may develop serious respiratory difficulties, causing a significant reduction in blood oxygen saturation pressure. Physical Ventilation of the lungs is one of the main methods to help critically ill patients through the acute phase of infection. During extreme situations when dysfunctional lungs are filled with sticky sputum in the alveolus or when there are simply not enough ventilators to match the need, the mortality rate can be dramatically increased. Here, we propose an intravenous injection method that may increase and maintain the blood oxygen pressure at normal levels. The intravenous (IV) infusion contains oxygen nanobubbles in physiological saline solution (ONPS), in which the dissolved oxygen content can be 2-6 times higher than the normal oxygen solubility in pure water. This makes it possible to oxygenate blood with a small limited volume of IV fluid without the risk of gaseous bubble formation in blood vessels.


Abstract The objective of this multicenter, randomized, controlled, parallel group trial was to evaluate the efficacy of levofloxacin 250 mg oral, once daily (LVFX), placebo one tablet oral once daily (Placebo [P] group) and ciprofloxacin (CPFX) 500 mg oral, twice daily (single blind), prophylaxis in preventing bacteriuria (≤103 CFU/ml) in post-surgical catheterized patients. In the modified intention-to-treat (M-ITT) population of the 82 enrolled patients, negative bacteriuria was observed in 92% of LVFX group, in 80% of P group and in 100% of CPFX group while in the per-protocol (PP) population figures were: 100%, 86.4% and 100% respectively. Only one symptomatic urinary tract infection and one surgical wound infection were observed in the P group. Both drugs were well tolerated, showing a safety profile comparable to placebo. The high frequency of negative bacteriuria in the placebo group sounds encouraging as it underlines that the adoption of closed urinary drainage system catheters in hospital setting may reduce the frequency of hospital-acquired infections.


Ag/AgCl reaction at the Ag bilayer, which was underpotentially prepared on a Au(111) surface, was investigated using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), surface X-ray scattering (SXS), and electrochemical techniques. When the potential was scanned positively from −200 mV, the Cl– ion was adsorbed on the Au(111) electrode surface around 0 mV, and then the phase transition of the adsorbed Cl– ion layer from random orientation to (√3 × √3) structure took place at around +130 mV. The Ag bilayer and Cl– ions were oxidatively reacted to form the AgCl monolayer with (√13 × √13)R13.9° structure around +200 mV, accompanied with the formation of AgCl monocrystalline clusters on the AgCl monolayer surface. The structure of the AgCl monolayer on the Au(111) surface was changed from (√13 × √13)R13.9° structure to (4 × 4) structure around +500 mV. When the potential was scanned back negatively, the AgCl monolayer was electrochemically reduced, and a Ag monolayer, not...


Abstract Much that has been written about "counter-culture" has been culture-specific to American culture. This article suggests criteria for a generic concept of counter-culture. First, counterculture is treated as a type of culture of the genus of a subculture. Secondly, the issue is raised: which value-conflicts are so wrenching to the culture and are so categorical in nature as to deserve being called counter-cultures? Several methodologies for defining the value-conflict are explored. Thirdly, counter-culture is reserved for intracultural conflicts. Fourthly, a counter-culture is expected to have a self-sufficient ideology, not a counter-dependent one. Finally, it appears that an expanded vocabulary is needed to describe the phenomena studied under the rubric "counter-culture." By using the axes of (1) self-sufficiency in the system of action and (2) extent of institutionalization, four types of counter-cultural phenomena are identified: the contraculture, the diffused counter-cultural movement, the ...


OBJECTIVES
Individuals with more education are at lower risk of developing multiple, different age-related diseases than their less educated peers. A reason for this might be that individuals with more education age slower. There are two complications in testing this hypothesis. First, there exists no definitive measure of biological aging. Second, shared genetic factors contribute towards both lower educational attainment and the development of age-related diseases. Here, we tested whether the protective effect of educational attainment was associated with the pace of aging after accounting for genetic factors.

METHODS
We examined data from five studies together totaling almost 17,000 individuals with European ancestry born in different countries during different historical periods, ranging in age from 16 to 98 years old. To assess the pace of aging, we used DunedinPACE, a DNA methylation algorithm that reflects an individual's rate of aging and predicts age-related decline and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD). To assess genetic factors related to education we created a polygenic score (PGS) based on results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment.

RESULTS
Across the five studies, and across the lifespan, higher educational attainment was associated with a slower pace of aging even after accounting for genetic factors (meta-analysis effect size=-0.20, 95%CI[-0.30- -0.10]; p-value = 0.006). Further, this effect persisted after taking into account tobacco smoking (meta-analysis effect size=-0.13, 95%CI[-0.21- -0.05]; p-value = 0.01).

DISCUSSION
These results indicate that higher levels of education have positive effects on the pace of aging, and that the benefits can be realized irrespective of individuals' genetics.


Coupled channels calculations for 24Mg+24Mg are performed. The employed coupling potential is expanded around a molecular pole-to-pole configuration of the two prolate 24Mg nuclei. The resulting Schrodinger equation is solved and the decay widths of the corresponding molecular eigenstates are calculated. A formalism for a coupled channel calculation which explicitly considers these molecular states is presented.


A value theory is developed for voting games in which a sizable fraction or the total vote is controlled by a few major players and the rest is distributed among a continuous infinity of individually insignificant minor players. The latter are referred to collectively as an "ocean," to suggest the total lack of order or cohesion that is assumed.


The city cluster of Yangtze River Delta has well-developed higher education and economy. It is essential both theoretically and practically to explore the coordination degree between the two aspects in this region. Using the dynamic time-series data from 2004 to 2008, this paper constructs comprehensive evaluation index and then makes empirical analysis on the coordination degree of higher education and economic level of the city cluster of Yangtze River Delta using factor analysis, cluster analysis, correlation analysis and other methods. The findings indicate that there is not an optimistic trend which continually pointed to the positive coordination between higher education and economic development in the Yangtze Delta. The coordination has changed in different years, the coordination degree rising in some cities while declining in other cities. The correlation coefficient has decreased to some extent year by year, although the relationship is positively interactive in the whole. In the end, this paper puts forward policy suggestions to achieve rapid development between higher education and economic development: a platform should be built in order to achieve sharing and win-win higher education resources; a higher education governance structure driven by four wheels should be constructed.


Several cases of facial nerve paralysis (FNP) post‐COVID‐19 infection have been reported with varying presentations and management. This study aims to identify FNP clinical characteristics and recovery outcomes among patients acutely infected with COVID‐19. We hypothesize that FNP is a potentially unique sequalae associated with COVID‐19 infections.


This thesis approaches a field in refugee law, which is rather untouched by the researching community so far. The specific procedure scrutinised is the procedure allowing for asylum applications to be submitted at EU Member States' diplomatic and consular representations abroad. In the thesis this procedure goes under the name externalised processing. The specific aspect focused on is the possibility to appeal asylum applications, when the initial application was submitted at a representation abroad. A legal analysis is undertaken in regard to whether persons in need of protection in fact have a legal right to apply for asylum at foreign diplomatic representations. Article 3 of the European Convention for Human Rights is accentuated as obliging states to issue entry visas for persons who otherwise would be tortured, as persons requesting an entry visa or asylum at an embassy is in fact subjected to the embassy state's jurisdiction. This conclusion may be drawn, as Article 1 obliges State Parties to grant everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms as defined in Section I of the Convention. Moreover, if Article 13 is read together with Article 1 and 3, the conclusion may be drawn that this combination obliges State Parties to provide for an effective remedy to an applicant who is refused an entry visa and as a consequence risks to be subjected to torture. The State Parties may, however, to a great extent use their margin of discretion to decide what constitutes an effective remedy. Therefore such a remedy does not have to be appeal, but could be e.g. reassessment of the application, provided that it is effective. Two models are outlined for externalised processing of asylum claims: the one-step model where the applicant will await the decision in the country where the application was submitted, and the two-step model where an initial visa decision will be taken, which if positive, allows the applicant to travel to the country of destination before the actual decision on her application has been taken. A number of pages with comparative material, comparing the appeal procedures for visa and territorial asylum appeals with appeals in externalised processing, allows for the conclusion that it is always possible to lodge an appeal against a negative decision on the actual asylum claim. However, four of the six states under scrutiny apply the two-step model, meaning that an initial decision will be made. For reaching a decision in the initial step the decision-taking authority will assess whether it is likely that the applicant will be granted asylum if she is admitted. Therefore, this initial phase has more in common with the territorial asylum procedure than with the visa procedure, but still all four countries apply rules similar to the visa procedure for appeals of this initial visa decision


Cerulenin, an inhibitor of protein acylation, has been used as a tool to study the potential role of protein acylation in a variety of activities in different cells, and in stimulus‐secretion coupling in pancreatic islets and clonal β‐cells.


A semiprime is a positive integer which is a product of two primes. In this paper we demonstrate the crucial role of Catalan numbers in semiprime factorization. Besides obtaining some useful results, we also establish how the Pythagorean tuples play a vital part in avoiding data theft in the process of placing proper encryption and authentication mechanism for transmitting and receiving messages in communication networks. We also raise some open problems.


Anti-amyloid antibodies are moving from clinical trials into patients to treat early clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. Anti-amyloid antibodies are moving from clinical trials into patients to treat early clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease.


In low shrinkage, to provide an adhesive having excellent epoxy resin adhesive. (A) an epoxy resin, (B) a curing agent and (C) the volume average particle diameter contains a polyolefin resin particles of 1 to 25 m, the a polyolefin-based resin particles is spherical, relative to the epoxy resin 100 parts by weight the polyolefin resin particles are contained from 1 to 50 parts by weight, epoxy resin adhesive.


A 61-year-old female patient was admitted to a neurology clinic with complaints of increased headache, gait disturbance, and weakness. There was a slight swelling in the occipital region of the patient. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass lesion in the occipital region and both intracranial and extracranial expansion. The lesion was isointense relative to the cerebral gray matter at T1-weighted, and hyperintense for T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery. The lesion was well defined and lobulated (Fig. 1). MR spectroscopy was performed to distinguish between bone and neuronal source. The MR spectroscopic examination revealed there was a reversed alanine peak and the presence of a significant choline peak. Peak values of the reverse double-alanine peak were observed around 1.47–1.48 ppm (Fig. 2). The available spectroscopy parameters supported meningioma. The rCBV and rCBF maps showed significant perfusion enhancement in the lesion (Fig. 3). Perfusion parameters also supported the diagnosis of meningioma. Meningioma was diagnosed via histopathology. Meningiomas are usually benign tumors and originate from the meninges. Intradiploic meningiomas constitute about 2% of all meningiomas and are classified as extradural meningiomas. Few cases have been reported in the literature. Intradiploic meningiomas can be confused with primary calvarial bone tumors. As intraosseous meningioma is rarely seen, intraosseous meningiomas are misdiagnosed because of insufficient preoperative evaluations. MR spectroscopy and perfusion MR imaging give important findings in the differential diagnosis. Perfusion increases in meningiomas at perfusion MRI. The significant increase in choline and the significant decrease in creatinine and NAA levels are important findings on MR spectroscopy. In addition, the increase


In this study, the authors present a new feature extraction method for handwritten Arabic/Persian language word recognition. This feature is based on the angle, number, location, and size of straight lines which represents geometric and quantitative attributes of a word. At first, word image is broken into an m × n window and straight lines are extracted from each window. Then, the proposed features are taken from these lines and combined together. Finally, the features of the images are used for training and testing support vector machine classifier. The proposed method is tested on three datasets: IBN-SINA and IFN/ENIT for Arabic words and Iran-cities for Persian words recognition. Recognition accuracy of the proposed method is about 67.47, 86.22 and 80.78% for the Iran-cities, IBN-SINA and IFN/ENIT Arabic dataset, respectively, which is better than state-of-the-art methods.


In this paper the pedagogical experience in the implementation of the learner-centred approach on the course unit Electrical Machines of the final year of an engineering degree is presented. The learning techniques, the learning and teaching activities developed and the evaluation method used are depicted, as well as some of the results of the surveys carried out on students for which a summary analysis is conducted and some of its consequences are presented. Moreover, the academic performance from the last four academic years is considered within the pedagogical methodologies applied.


Submitted for the MAR05 Meeting of The American Physical Society Quantitative measurement of adhesion of ink on plastic films with a Nano Indenter and a Scanning Probe Microscope1 WEIDIAN SHEN, BIN JIANG, Eastern Michigan University — Plastic film packaging is widely used these days, especially in the convenience food industry due to its flexibility, boilability, and microwavability. Almost every package is printed with ink. The adhesion of ink on plastic films merits increasing attention to ensure quality packaging. However, inks and plastic films are polymeric materials with complicated molecular structures. The thickness of the jelly-like ink is only 500nm or less, and the thickness of the soft and flexible film is no more than 50μm, which make the quantitative measurement of their adhesion very challenging. Up to now, no scientific quantitative measurement method for the adhesion of ink on plastic films has been documented. We have tried a technique, in which a Nano-Indenter and a Scanning Probe Microscope were used to evaluate the adhesion strength of ink deposited on plastic films, quantitatively, as well as examine the configurations of adhesion failure. It was helpful in better understanding the adhesion mechanism, thus giving direction as to how to improve the adhesion. 1This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Coatings at Eastern Michigan University (NSF I/U CRCC at EMU). Weidian Shen Eastern Michigan University Date submitted: 24 Nov 2004 Electronic form version 1.4


Among the numerous exegetical, philosophical and theological questions raised by the Biblical narrative of the Burning Bush, the question of the family resemblance between some aesthetic experiences and the experience of Revelation proper deserves a particular interest from a phenomenogical point of view. The present essay addresses this question in reference to the First Part of Jean-Luc Marion's monumental "Essay": D'ailleurs, la Révélation (2020).


ABSTRACT Consider k(≥ 2) independent exponential populations Π1, Π2, …, Π k , having the common unknown location parameter μ ∈ (−∞, ∞) (also called the guarantee time) and unknown scale parameters σ1, σ2, …σ k , respectively (also called the remaining mean lifetimes after the completion of guarantee times), σ i > 0, i = 1, 2, …, k. Assume that the correct ordering between σ1, σ2, …, σ k is not known apriori and let σ[i], i = 1, 2, …, k, denote the ith smallest of σ j s, so that σ[1] ≤ σ[2] ··· ≤ σ[k]. Then Θ i = μ + σ i is the mean lifetime of Π i , i = 1, 2, …, k. Let Θ[1] ≤ Θ[2] ··· ≤ Θ[k] denote the ranked values of the Θ j s, so that Θ[i] = μ + σ[i], i = 1, 2, …, k, and let Π(i) denote the unknown population associated with the ith smallest mean lifetime Θ[i] = μ + σ[i], i = 1, 2, …, k. Based on independent random samples from the k populations, we propose a selection procedure for the goal of selecting the population having the longest mean lifetime Θ[k] (called the "best" population), under the subset selection formulation. Tables for the implementation of the proposed selection procedure are provided. It is established that the proposed subset selection procedure is monotone for a general k (≥ 2). For k = 2, we consider the loss measured by the size of the selected subset and establish that the proposed subset selection procedure is minimax among selection procedures that satisfy a certain probability requirement (called the P*-condition) for the inclusion of the best population in the selected subset.


The Dictatorship Brazilian military, which took place between the years 1964 to 1985, created a state machine of repressive nature in order to monitor and repress those who considered dangerous to the maintenance of the regime. Such surveillance and enforcement activities had been based on the logic of mistrust and the National Security Doctrine. Within such apparatus are inserted the Order of Police Political and Social DOPS. These stations, although they were established in the Brazilian states during the 1920s and 1930s, had higher performance and representation during the military regime. With the democratization movements in Brazil such stations, indelible marks of the brutality of the regime, were gradually extinguished and their collections, from the 1990s, collected public archival institutions. The theoretical framework regarding three main topics called memory, truth and justice, organization and representation of information and evidence the character of the documents produced by the DOPS. In the first, after presenting the possibility to understand the files as places of memory, we pointed out the possibility of documents of DOPS be useful for the construction of various types of memories. The second presents the relevant concepts to Archival and Information Science to enable the understanding of intellectual access to collections of DOPS. We understand that the concepts used in Information Science and Archival converge, and the Information Science responsible for the study of any recorded information and Archivology the analysis, more specifically, the registered organic information. Finally in the section dedicated to the test of character of the discussion of the documents produced by DOPS we understand the documents the documents of DOPS as having the documentary proof character as legitimating discourses. This study aimed, in the light of theory and archival principles and Information Science, identify and analyze the means adopted by entities to promote intellectual access to collections of DOPS in a comparative perspective between the period of collection and the current period where it identifies a growing demand for access to these documents. The methodological approach was descriptive and applied, using bibliographical and documentary analysis, making use of the descriptions entered in the database Memories Revealed (BDMR) of 14 institutions that guard collections of DOPS, and questionnaires, which were answered by six of these institutions in the Brazilian states of Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Parana and Sao Paulo. The results pointed to different situations gatherings of collections by entities and a growing effort by state public archives and the National Archives, through the project Revealed Memories, to allow access to documents and information of these sets of documents. However, it is clear yet certain gap between archival principles and description of practices and access to documents and information.


This work presents the numerical simulations to study the filamentation of kinetic Alfven waves in solar plasmas. Using the modified nonlinear Schrodinger equation model, we study the effect of changing the initial perturbation on filament formation and their nonlinear dynamics. The spectral indices of the power spectrum are calculated with different initial conditions of the simulations. The relevance of the present investigation in coronal heating and solar wind acceleration/turbulence is also pointed out.


In spite of fusion at the early morula stage, tetraparental mouse chimaeras rarely reflect 50:50 mixtures of the two parental strain cell populations. Apart from this, changes are known to occur during life and on occasions this can result in the loss of one or other parental strain cell components. In spite of roughly 'balanced' mixed coat colour composition and distribution of the gametes, cytogenetic analysis recently revealed an overwhelming preponderance of AKR mitoses in a group of tetraparental AKR↔CBA/H-T6 mouse chimaeras. Cytogenetic analysisis necessarily restricted to cells in division and therefore it was conceivable that this phenomenon may have only represented excessive AKR cell division balanced by an increased rate of AKR cell death. This view now seems unlikely since analysis of both serum allotypes and the red cell isoenzyme glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) also showed a similar and overwhelming preponderance of AKR cell products. Factors responsible for excessive AKR cell proliferation remain to be determined. However, it should be noted that these were only effective after coat colour and differentiation of the gametes are established.


An adaptive method for processing a sequence of displaced digital frames is based on a simultaneous estimate of the variable displacements and a discrete spatial spectrum of the object brightness. The range of spatial frequencies in each coordinate is at least twice as high as the Nyquist frequency which allows the synthesis of the brightness estimate with the corresponding resolution enhancement. A recurrence-iterative algorithm for the spectral processing of a sequence of displaced digital frames is realized. The algorithm robustness is based on the regularization (as proposed by A. N. Tikhonov) of the solution of a system of nonlinear equations for the estimates of the maximum likelihood. The model tests under wide variation of the parameters showed that the algorithm provides frame displacement estimate with the accuracy no worse than one tenth of the decomposition element size and the estimates of the brightness featuring two-fold increase in the resolution in comparison with that of the initial images.


Introduction. Protecting Data and System Integrity. Ownership of Data. Rights of Data Subjects. Private and Public Investigatory Powers. Access to the Internet. Ownership of Domain Names. Surfing the Web. How Buyers and Sellers Find One Another. Online Contracts: Agreement, Content, Form. Online Consumer Law. Contract Enforcement and Dispute Resolution. Digital Signatures, Encryption and Identity Fraud. Electronic Money and Banking


Multiple layers of colloidal nanoparticles were used to make large area, visible blind and wavelength selective, ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors [1]. Polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) coated ZnO nanoparticles were created by a top-down wet-chemical means and deposited on quartz, glass, or GaN-based substrates [1–3]. The advantages of high sensitivity, low power consumption, and the ability of to filter out ambient light, are the result of layered nano-materials on substrates [4]. In separate experiments, these detectors were tested for both bio-fluorescence and alpha particle scintillator detection as a proof-of-concept.


Family attitude is a condition related to feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. To be able to reduce family attitudes, effective communication is needed, especially effective communication, this needs serious attention from nurses because therapeutic communication really helps reduce family attitudes in mobilizing stroke patients. The study aims to determine the relationship between the effectiveness of nurses' therapeutic communication and the decrease in the level of family behavior in mobilizing stroke patients at the Padang Bulan Health Center in 2022. The research method is a descriptive study with a cross sectional design. The population in this study was all mobilization of stroke patients who were young adults (18-30 years) and middle adults (30-65 years) in as many as 30 people. The data obtained from the results of interviews using questionnaires and data analysis was carried out using the chi square test. The research findings are presented in the tabulation table and chi-square test with a significance value of p <0.05. The results showed that the therapeutic communication of nurses carried out as a nursing intervention in the mobilization of stroke patients provides a significant relationship to the decrease in the level of family attitudes towards mobilizing stroke patients as evidenced by the obtained p value = 0.002. For this reason, the Padang Bulan Health Center and nurses further enhance therapeutic communication in preparing for stroke patient mobilization.


In this experiment, a flip-chip light-emitting diode with photonic crystal was fabricated at the interface of p-GaN and Ag reflector via nanospheres lithography technique. In this structure, photonic crystal could couple with the guide-light efficiently by reason of the little distance between photonic crystal and active region. The light output power of light emitting diode with embedded photonic crystal was 1.42 times larger than that of planar flip-chip light-emitting diode. Moreover, the embedded photonic crystal structure makes the far-field divergence angle decreased by 18° without spectra shift. The three-dimensional finite difference time domain simulation results show that photonic crystal could improve the light extraction, and enhance the light absorption caused by Ag reflector simultaneously, because of the roughed surface. The depth of photonic crystal is the key parameter affecting the light extraction and absorption. Light extraction efficiency increases with the depth photonic crystal structure rapidly, and reaches the maximum at the depth 80 nm, beyond which light extraction decrease drastically.


The study of smear of peripheral blood consists on specifying and informing the morphological alterations of blood elements; This is a simple, inexpensive, quick exam in reporting its results, but at the same time requires much care and experience, given the time and interest that is devoted to its learning, the quality of the extension and its staining. We present a literature review describing the variations of the peripheral lamina that can occur in diseases that most frequently affect the elderly, with the objective of offering a material for teaching residents of Hematology and Geriatrics.


The vegetation along a north-south transect across a valley in the Risdon Hills, Tasmania, varies from Eucalyptus globulus-E, viminalis-E. amyg- dalina open-forest with a dense understorey of broad-leaved shrubs toE. Risdonii open-scrub with a sparse understorey of sclerophyll shrubs and graminoids. The variation in vegetation along the transect is highly correlated with total annual solar radiation, calculated to include the effects of shading, cloud cover and the sky view factor. The distributions of a large proportion of the species found along the transect are most highly significantly correlated with the solar radi- ation received in one of the solstice months. However, the response of most species to variation in incident solar radiation is curvilinear rather than linear. The topographically driest site does not possess the most xeric vegetation. This deflection is probably a consequence of downslope movement of soil moisture and runoff. Also, the most xeric vegetation tends to occur on northwest rather than north-facing slopes, possibly a result of an evapotranspiration peak in late


Part I - Principles and Techniques Introduction to clinical equine dermatology The approach to the equine dermatological case Diagnostic/investigative tests Principles of dermatological therapeutics Part II - Syndromes in Equine Dermatology Syndromes in equine dermatology Part III - Disease Profiles Section A - Infections Diseases Viral diseases Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Protozoal diseases Metazoan/ parasitic diseases Section B - Noninfectious Diseases Congenital/ developmental diseases Immune-mediated/ allergic diseases Chemical and toxic dermatoses Endorcrine disorders Nutritional disorders Latrogenic and idiopathic disorders Physical and traumatic disorders Injuries and diseases of the hoof Neoplastic onditions References Index


Allozyme diversity was evaluated in four closely-related taxa of the Delphinium series Fissa distributed throughout the Western Mediterranean area. All are considered threatened plants. Delphinium bolosii and Delphinium mansanetianum are narrowly endemic to the Eastern Iberian Peninsula, whereas Delphinium fissum ssp. sordidum is found in a few populations across the Peninsula. Delphinium fissum ssp. fissum is more widely distributed but often in small and isolated populations. In this group, Delphinium bolosii is dysploid (2n = 18) whereas the other taxa are diploid (2n = 16). A total of 12 populations were surveyed, including all known locations for D. bolosii, D. mansanetianum, and D. fissum ssp. sordidum. Eleven enzyme systems were assayed and 15 loci were resolved. Markedly depauperate values for genetic diversity were obtained for D. mansanetianum (He = 0.013) and D. fissum ssp. sordidum (He = 0.044). The estimates for D. fissum ssp. fissum (He = 0.071) were below the values expected for widespread species. Small population size and marginal distribution have probably contributed to the low variability observed in this group. By contrast, D. bolosii exhibited comparatively larger populations and greater genetic diversity (He = 0.138). We suggest that, apart from population size and local adaptation, genetic diversity during speciation may have been promoted by dysploidy through genomic recombination. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 773–784.


Neoseiulus Hughes is one of the most diverse genus of Phytoseiidae, with approximately 400 described species. Among them, Neoseiulus tunus (De Leon) is very frequent and abundant in the Neotropical region. Although considerable amount of data about morphological variation of phytoseiid mites are available, the possible causes of intraspecific variations are still poorly understood, being diet and feeding habit usually reported as the main drivers. The present study investigated the influence of three different diets on morphological traits of taxonomic interest of N. tunus, aiming to verify whether diet is a determinant factor in the morphological pattern of this species and which structures are most affected by them. Our results show that based on the diet treatment, populations of N. tunus may be differentiated based on the size of morphological traits. All treatments differ from stock population and among them, except between populations feeding with Aculops lycopersici (Massee) (Eriophyidae) and Tetranychus urticae (Kock) (Tetranychidae). The widest range occurred on the dorsal setae, macrosetae of leg IV, width of the dorsal shield, distance between the bases of the genital's setae and posterior width of the ventrianal shield. Most of the dorsal setae responded to the treatment with significant variation, being the longest lengths observed when the A. lycopersici was offered as diet. Considering the other two diets, the variation does not present a clear increasing or reducing pattern.


Objective
To explore the clinical effectiveness of open incisional hernia repair vs. laparoscopic incisional hernia repair for geriatric abdominal wall incisional hernia.

Methods
The clinical data of 52 patients above 60 years old with abdominal wall incisional hernia were analyzed, including 24 cases in the open group and 28 cases in the laparoscopic group.

Results
No significant difference in operation time, wound infection, and seromas was observed. However, blood loss[(9±4) ml] was reduced, and hospital stay[(8±3) d] was shortened in the laparoscopic group as compared with the open group.Postoperative pain occurred in 7 cases(25. 01%)of laparoscopie group.There were no deaths in both two groups.During a follow-up period of 3 months to 2 years, there were 3 relapsed cases in the open group, and no recurrence occurred in the laparoscopic group

Conclusion
Both open and laparoscopic treatments are safe and effective, but laparoseopie incisional hernia repair has the less trauma, milder pain, more rapid recovery, and shorter hospital stays for geriatric abdominal wall incisional hernia.

Key words:
Incision hernia; Laparoscopy; Herniorrhaphy; Geriatric patient


Objectives: In neonatal intensive care unit infants referred for home-tube feeding methods, we evaluated the effect of an innovative diagnostic and management approach on feeding outcomes at discharge and 1 year, by comparing data from historical controls; we hypothesized that clinical and aerodigestive motility characteristics at evaluation were predictive of feeding outcomes at discharge; we assessed the economic impact of feeding outcomes. Patients and Methods: Patients (N = 100) who were referred for development of long-term feeding management strategy at 46.4 ± 13.1 weeks' postmenstrual age were compared with 50 historical controls that received routine care. The focused approach included swallow-integrated pharyngoesophageal manometry, individualized feeding strategy, and prospective follow-up. Feeding success was defined as ability to achieve oral feedings at discharge and 1 year. Motility characteristics were evaluated in relation to feeding success or failure at discharge. Results: Higher feeding success was achieved in the innovative feeding program (vs historical controls) at discharge (51% vs 10%, P < 0.0001) and at 1 year (84.3% vs 42.9%, P < 0.0001), at a reduced economic burden (P < 0.05). Contributing factors to the innovative program's feeding success (vs feeding failure) were earlier evaluation and discharge (both P < 0.05), greater peristaltic reflex-frequency to provocation (P < 0.05), normal pharyngeal manometry (P < 0.05), oral feeding challenge success (P < 0.05), and suck-swallow-breath-esophageal swallow sequence (P < 0.05). Probability of feeding success demonstrated a prediction rate of 79.6%. Conclusions: Short-term and long-term feeding outcomes in complex neonates can be significantly improved with innovative feeding strategies at a reduced cost. Clinical and aerodigestive motility characteristics were predictive of outcomes.


: The concept of environmental efficiency in equipments is increasingly in tariff with the unfolding of global warming, and, among the industrial equipments, the burners have a major impact in this discussion because it is an equipment of industrial combustion. Demand for environmentally more efficient burners, with the reduction of emissions is essential for the proper use of fossil fuels during the transition between this energy sources for alternatives energy, which can last more than fifty years. This study evaluates experimentally the technique of oxygen enhanced combustion – OEC – and its interaction with emission rates of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde – precursors for the production of tropospheric ozone and other atmospheric pollutants – in natural gas confined flames. In the experiment was used low enriched with oxygen, which does not require significant existing equipment changes. The emission rates were verified by analysis in liquid chromatography. With the use of oxidizer enrichment of 2 and 4%, the emission rates of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were reduced with the use of OEC in comparison with the use of atmospheric air as oxidant. The literature show that works with OEC has important points for improving the thermal efficiency of combustion and pollutants reduction. This technology can be an important tool for the adequacy of the industry in general, particularly in oil and gas, for the technological challenge of reducing global warming.


The sensible heat fluxes measured by Large Aperture Scintillometer(LAS) and Eddy Covariance system(EC) were compared.The data were collected at the Taklimakan desert atmospheric and environment OBSERVATION station located in the middle Taklimakan desert during the period of from June 20 to July 3,2009,which was supported by the Taklimakan deset Land-Atmospheric Interactive Experiment(TLAIE) project.The results show a similar variance trends and good agreement between sensible heat fluxes by LAS(HLAS) and EC(HEC),but HLAS tends to be slightly higher than HEC.The probability distribution function of HLAS and HEC can be as high as 79% if the permitted difference is in the range of-50~50 W/m2.Therefore,we have reached the conclusion that the large aperture scintillometer is a reliable system for measuring sensible heat flux of large quicksand area as the Taklimakan desert.