The main literary sources of the Wife of Bath's Prologue, especially those that draw upon the clerical tradition of antifeminism catalogued by Francis Lee Utley,1 have long been established, and one specific aspect of Alice's personality?the frank enjoyment she takes in the natural pleasures of sex?has commonly been traced to Jean de Meun. Charles Muscatine thought it owed something to the character of La Vielle (whose "theoretic championship of animal nature is entwined with her personal recollection of animal pleasure"),2 whereas for Winthrop Wetherbee Chaucer had been more influenced by de Meun's portrait of Nature ("like Nature in her long plea for procreation, the Wyf displays a prodigious imaginative and intellectual energy in affirming her sexual role").3 While I have no interest in evaluating or challenging these assessments, I wish to supplement them here with a rather different kind of evidence. I will try to show that throughout the late Middle Ages, moralists attributed to popular opinion precisely the kind of views expressed by Alice of Bath, and in particular I will cite an extended passage from the English Dominican John Bromyard on this topic?a passage that reads almost as if it were a considered rebuttal of many of the ideas floated in the Wife of Bath's Prologue. As befits a woman who favors experience over authority, Alice of Bath is evidently speaking for a great many of her contemporaries when she defends sex as a natural instinct and mocks the church's censorious atti


Abstract The purpose of this study was to survey the relationship between the endorsement of famous athletes with brand loyalty in customers of non-sporting goods. this descriptive study was a correlational and purposeful type. The statistical population of the study is buyers of sporting and non-sport products endorsed by Ali Daei (including Karmikhan Office). Given the uncertainty in the size of the population, the sample size was determined by the Cochran formula of 207 people. The data gathering tool was Brian Stein and Zhang (2005), and consumer literacy standard questionnaire. Brandy (2006). To analyze the findings, descriptive statistics indices such as frequency, mean and for inferential statistics of the Kolomograf Smirnov test to determine the natural distribution of the scores and to assess the relationship between the variables under Pearson correlation coefficient were used for SPSS software. Amos software was also used to design the research communication model. Pearson correlation test results showed, there was a positive correlation between the ability to be a star, a loving personality, a source of Attractiveness and professional honesty ("Ali Daei") and loyalty to the brand of products (p ≤ 0.01). But there was no correlation between the confirmation personality type (Ali Daei) and the loyalty to the brand of products (p≤ 0.01).


From a traditional perspective, science and religion are considered incompatible and people involved in one or other group are confronted by a different and even antagonistic view of the world. While recognizing that there have been conflicts between them in the history, specialized researchers reject these interpretations that are not suited to all cases, showing that certain people built their careers in these two areas. Certainly, this has been the case of


Financial aid and education in colleges and universities are specific
presentations of precision poverty alleviation. Currently,
the college financial support has the problem of inaccurate support object,
unevenly distributed financial sources and ineffective aid and education. By
researching the main problems and connotation of the college poverty
alleviation, and analyzing the application value of the blockchain in the
college precision financial aid, the evaluation system of financial monitoring
and effectiveness and college financial model in the view of blockchain are
proposed creatively. The standardized, shared and differentiated and dynamic
innovation development of college precision financial support can be created,
leading to the progress of aid and education of colleges and universities.


During the experimental and statistical research the experiment was planned for the three most important factors influencing the residual loadbearing capacity of damaged stone columns rectangular cross section, namely, the depth of damage, the angle of the front damage on one of the main sections of soy and eccentricity. Numerical modeling of work of the eccentrically compressed rectangular cross section damaged during the operation of stone pillars was carried out in the LIRA-SAPR software package in a non-linear environment. The results of experimental statistical modeling made it possible to determine the influence on the throughput of each of the selected factors, as well as the mutual influence of the factors. Based on the obtained values of the destructive force for 15 column marks, in accordance with the experimental design, a three-factor experimental-statistical model of the second order was constructed. This model is adequate to the experimental error of 0.45, with 7 statistically significant factors. The analysis of the above method of calculating the damaged stone pillar in PC LIRA allows us to conclude that this method completely takes into account the actual work of the material. The difference between the calculation results and the experimental research of stone structures is within 5%.


Submitted for the DFD05 Meeting of The American Physical Society The scouring of granular beds by jet-driven turbulent cauldrons FABIÁN BOMBARDELLI, University of California at Davis, GUSTAVO GIOIA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — We study a sustained, jet-driven, cylindrical or axisymmetric turbulent cauldron that scours a cohesionless granular bed to form a pothole. We focus on the energetics of the turbulent cauldron and use dimensional analysis and similarity methods to derive (up to a multiplicative constant) a formula for the equilibrium depth of the pothole. The formula contains a single similarity exponent, which we show can be determined via the phenomenological theory of turbulence. Our derivation affords insight into how a state of dynamic equilibrium is attained between a granular bed and a localized turbulent flow. Our method of analysis may prove useful in developing a theoretical understanding of mine burial, bridge pier-induced erosion, and other applications in which a localized turbulent flow interacts with a granular bed. Gustavo Gioia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Date submitted: 12 Aug 2005 Electronic form version 1.4


Lavelle's metaphysic may be presented as a theological aesthetic, that is to say, a philosophy which makes of beauty, in the experience even of art, a transcendental that may be said of god himself, all the while avoiding the pitfalls of indulgence of the senses and well-mannered immanence, in order to turn our gaze from the god who reveals or gives himself in the experience of the beautiful. The aesthetic mediation, which realizes a true critique of the of representation and permits the discernment of the dignity of appearances, leads to a metaphysic of the artist that recognizes the density of the living body and ends up in the savoring of worldly things which it intends to transfigure and not abolish. The subtle connections that art and religion maintain in the spiritual life show how the metaphysic of the artist takes place, in the thought of Lavelle, in a metaphysic of charity. In being and conscience There is thus a double mediation, that of the beautiful (artistic), and that of love (religious). Beauty is the figure of being, which saves and confirms appearances, but which must be saved in its turn, or rather is already saved in basking in the light of love. To be sure, Lavelle's philosophy is a metaphysic of the act of being and a philosophy of spirit, yet it is realized as a metaphysic of the artist filled with wonder at the religious meaning of creation and constitutes, in its turn, a true act of gratitude for the free gift of being, which arouses the praise of the artist, the tenderness of the saint and the wonder of the philosopher.


Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) type A and B are lysosomal storage disorders (LSD) due to the lack of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) activity (Schuchman et al., 2001). The enzyme defect results in a pathological accumulation of sphingomyelin (SM) within lysosomes. In many LSD, an accumulation of undegraded substrates in lysosomes due to deficiency of specific lysosomal enzymes impairs the autophagic process (Settembre et al., 2008), but an imbalance of the of autophagic process in NPB cells has never been shown. The purpose of this study is to examine the autophagic response in NPB B lymphocytes by means of flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and western blot techniques. EBV-transformed B Lymphocytes from patients with Niemann-Pick type B were treated with nocodazole (NZ) and wortmannin (WM), two autophagy inhibitors, and rapamicyn (RM), an autophagic inductor. Furthermore we starved cells using a serum-free medium to activate the autophagic process. NPD lymphocytes treated by NZ and RM showed an opposite trend than the expected results for normal cells, in Acridine Orange, Lysotracker Green and CD63 staining, clearly suggesting an impairment of this cellular pathway. Instead, starved cells highlighted a normal behaviour for these markers, indicating a residual ability to enter the process. In conclusion such results suggest the involvement of autophagy and the impairment of lysosomal network before and during NPB cells response to the above-mentioned stimuli. These scenario characterize an imbalance between formation and degradation of autophagic vacuoles (autophagic stress).


This article traces the connection between William James's writings in The Varieties of Religious Experience and Jean Piaget's work on moral development through Piagets early work on religious experience. James characterises religious experience as unlocking deep personal power that can sustain a "strenuous mood". These ideas impacted the early work of Piaget on religious experience through the influence of Henri Bergson and The´odore Flournoy, both friends of James. The shared depth-psychology approach to religious experience of James and Piaget is important to current debates on spiritual and moral education.


Studies confirm that food allergies affect as much as 2.5% of the adult population. Emerging knowledge of the mechanisms is opening avenues for specific immunologic interventions, some of which have now entered clinical trials. At present, physicians can help patients to avoid allergens and can address the risk of anaphylaxis.


Today we live in a global world, where English has become easily accessible through theinternet. Pupils encounter English in an out-of-school context and playing digital games is acommon activity. ...


Spectroscopic observations of extended off-nuclear broad H-alpha emission (FWZI = about 4000 km/s) are reported for NGC 4388, a galaxy often classified as a type 2 Seyfert. These features are interpreted as scattered radiation from a Seyfert 1 nucleus that is obscured along the line of sight, possibly by the normal interstellar medium in this galaxy. NGC 4388 strongly resembles NGC 1068, another object with a hidden broad-line region, and may be useful for understanding the relationship between Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies. A scattering origin for the off-nuclear broad emission may be tested by spectropolarimetric observations. 18 references.


This paper presents the development of an on-line version of a new auto-tuning algorithm for proportional-integral - derivative (PID) controllers based on the successive approximation method. The new auto tuner causes only minor perturbation on the normal operation of the process, needs little a prior information, and is robust to noise. The performance and design for automatic selection of the PID constants are also discussed. The accuracy and performance of this new auto-tuning method have been substantiated by extensive lab works.


This study was designed to assess the acute oral toxicity of Ivy-Thyme syrup in rats. The tested product was administered at a dose level of 3, 6 and 12 mL/kg. All animals were examined for clinical signs of ill-health or mortality at 1, 2, 4 and 8 hours after oral administration, and twice daily thereafter for 14 days. At the end of the study, all rats were alive with normal appearance and showed body weight gain during the study. The kidneys and livers of the sacrificed animals appeared normal.
Ivy-Thyme syrup having 0.75% Ivy leaf dry extract and 5% thyme fluid extract was found to be non-toxic by the oral route at a dose level of 3, 6 and 12 ml/kg in female rats under the conditions of this study.


May 2, 2008 (51) Int. Cl. HOIL 2L/304 (2006.01) HOIL 2L/306 (2006.01) (52) U.S. Cl. ........... 438/691; 257/E21.237; 257/E21.224 (57) ABSTRACT The present invention provides a surface grinding method for a semiconductor wafer, which performs surface grinding with respect to a semiconductor wafer sliced into a thin plate shape, wherein at least a cleaning process for removing a heavy metal is performed before carrying out Surface grind ing of the semiconductor wafer, and a Surface grinding pro cess is carried out after performing the cleaning process. As a result, there are provided the Surface grinding method and a manufacturing method for a semiconductor wafer, which can effectively reduce a contaminant, which has adhered to a Surface of the semiconductor wafer, e.g., a heavy metal Such as Cu.


Abstract Peel adhesive strengths of multi-layered laminates composed of two polypropylene (PP) sheets and an inserted polyethylene (PE) layer (the middle layer) between the PP layers were evaluated. PE-glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) copolymers and a maleic-anhydride grafted PP (MAPP) were compared to the PE homopolymer and the PP homopolymer. The peel adhesive strength of PE-GMA/MAPP laminates was much higher than that of PE homopolymer/PP homopolymer laminates. Meanwhile, the blends composed of the PE-GMA and three types of PE homopolymer (PE-GMA+LDPE, PE-GMA+MDPE, PE-GMA+HDPE) were formulated as the PE middle layer of the multi-layered laminates. The PE blends had the same amount of glycidyl groups, and the deformation capacity was different in each. Namely, the PE blend of LDPE had higher elongation to break than the PE blend of HDPE. The peel adhesive strength of the multi-layered laminates with the middle layer of the LDPE blend was highest among the three types of laminates with the middle layer of the PE blends. Scanning electron microscopy on the fractured surfaces revealed that the large plastic deformation of the LDPE blended middle layer was responsible for the high energy absorption, and resulted in the high peel strength.


ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the development and growth cycle of hair follicles (HFs). The molecular mechanism by which miRNAs determine the development of HFs in the sheep foetus remains elusive. In this study, the expression profiles of miRNAs at 11 development periods (45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135 and 145 d) in sheep foetus skin were analysed by high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. A total of 72 conserved miRNAs, 44 novel miRNAs and 32 known miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed. qRT-PCR results for 18 miRNAs were consistent with the sequencing data. 85 d of foetal development was the starting point for secondary hair follicle (SF) development according to tissue morphology and cluster analysis. In SF development, the prolactin signalling pathway and platelet activation played important roles, and 10 miRNAs were potential candidate miRNAs in SF initiation. Graphical abstract During 85d fetal development, 19 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 18 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in initiation of secondary hair follicle growth


The analysis of near-field distribution of unmanned checkout channel (UCC) plays a guiding role on the design of the channel and the antenna inside it. However, limited by computer resources, it is difficult for traditional algorithms to achieve accurate simulation of such large-scale targets. With the development of the multi-core technology and the cluster technology, the parallel higher-order method of moments (HO-MoM) can be utilized to solve this problem. In this paper, the correctness of the algorithm is verified by comparing the far-field patterns of an antenna array with that computed by the finite-element method (FEM), and then the near-field distribution of the whole UCC is simulated, and the result is in good agreement with the actual measurement. It demonstrates the efficiency and accuracy of HO-MoM, and shows its capability in solving practical engineering problems.


The pragmatic issues in this paper are varied. The topics cover the users of human factors measures, various ways of how we report human factors findings, and a suggested approach for assessing the operator's contribution to system performance.


SUMMARY The QIBB quality initiative was specifically developed for the vocational training system in Austria. The quality system is distinctive in that it includes both objectives and survey instruments designed to address the specific concerns of vocational training. There are general quality concepts and instruments that are common to all schools and others that are differentiated according to the type of school. The various school types within the vocational training system use QIBB first of all to conduct system-related surveys, for example to test common quality objectives in connection with national priorities. QIBB also enables schools to conduct internal evaluations. Survey instruments and an automatic evaluation are available from an online database. The test power of the survey instruments made available in QIBB are also verified in empirical analyses. Initial studies indicate that the test power of almost all survey instruments examined is satisfactory. Definition of school quality If a group of people is asked what they understand by 'school quality', there will probably be as many answers as there are people. In fact, the question cannot be answered with reference to a single indicator and, depending on the approach, different indicators will be arrived


At present,the characteristic of highway traffic is developing gradually to the multi-axis,heavy axle-load,high pressure,with the result that the road structure is easier to produce shear failure.Foam asphalt mixture as a new type of environmentally friendly flexible base materials,its shear performance is researched very little currently.In this paper,we research the shear strength by uniaxial penetration test,focusing on the five factors including aggregate gradation,cement content,asphalt content,curing conditions and temperature changes.The study finds that,different aggregate gradation matches different effect of the shear strength of asphalt mixture;cement can increase the early strength of asphalt mixture,but will also increase the stiffness of the road base;in the appropriate range,the less asphalt the more shear strength;curing process of asphalt mixture is the strength growth process;foam asphalt mixture has high temperature sensitivity,with the temperature rise,its shear strength decreased significantly.


A rapid perusal of the rheumatologic and orthopedic literature will reveal many articles about various hand problems. Much less has been written about the foot, in particular the forefoot. In this lengthy monograph, Dr. Kelikian, a Chicago orthopedist, attempts to remedy this lack. Being an orthopedist, he naturally spends much time on operative repair of foot problems. But his sections on functional anatomy, clinical features, and related problems, as well as his definition of the somewhat confusing terminology can be read with interest by all physicians, particularly those especially interested in arthritis and other affections of the musculoskeletal system. Not only does the reader obtain a clearer understanding of the all too common problems of the forefoot, but he will be in a better position intelligently to advise the patient. With much justification, Kelikian attacks modern styles of footwear as a major cause, or at least aggravator, of hallux valgus


To the Editor: We have followed with interest the recent literature that advocates the use of fumurate hydratase (FH) immunohistochemistry in cutaneous leiomyomas to aid in the detection of patients with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma syndrome (HLRCC).1,2 HLRCC (also known as Reed syndrome) is characterized by multiple leiomyomas, both cutaneous and uterine, with an increased risk for the development of renal cell carcinoma.3,4 The syndrome is associated with heterogenous germline mutations in the FH gene on chromosome 1, resulting in absent or reduced activity of the enzyme.5,6 As with any inherited cancer syndrome, early identification can guide potentially beneficial management, including regular screening investigations. This is particularly desirable in HLRCC, as the carcinomas which develop show an aggressive clinical course.3 The ability of FH immunohistochemistry (ie, the absence of FH staining) to identify tumours associated with this syndrome has been demonstrated by several groups,1,2,7 and routine use of FH immunohistochemistry as a triage tool to screen cutaneous leiomyomas and to identify patients who should be referred for additional follow-up has been proposed.1,2 While on the surface this approach seems attractive, we are not convinced that the currently available data support it and would like to offer a contrary view. We have tabulated some of the reported data from the aforementioned studies in Table 1. Lack of immunohistochemical positivity for FH certainly is associated with HLRCC-related lesions, with a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 98% in the data reported by Carter et al2 and a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 76% in the data reported by Llamas-Velasco et al.7 However, to truly justify its routine application, it should be additive to simple clinical correlation. The retrospective and in some cases selective methodologies used in the available studies render direct comparison and evaluation difficult. However, in the study by Carter et al., 6 of 7 cases of confirmed HLRCC presented with multiple cutaneous leiomyomas (a sensitivity of 86%),2 whereas Llamas-Velasco et al7 reported that all of their confirmed and suspected cases had multiple cutaneous lesions. A similar picture emerges when examining the data of Buelow et al.1 A key point in the latter study is that the authors reported lesional FH mutations, without data regarding germline mutations. It is reasonable to assume that detection of FH mutation in a tumor is sensitive, but not necessarily specific, in the identification of patients with germline mutations, as the rate of somatic mutations in cutaneous leiomyomas is not well established. On this basis, that study would suggest that the presence of multiple lesions has a sensitivity of 85% for germline mutations, compared with a sensitivity of 50% for FH immunohistochemistry (Table 1), with the specificity for germline mutation being unestablished. Carter et al note that "it could be argued that the presence of multiple cutaneous leiomyomata is sensitive enough to proceed directly to genetic testing."2 They point out, quite correctly, that the history of multiple lesions is often not provided, and indeed the significance of this finding could easily be missed by a clinician without experience in this relatively rare condition. However, we would argue that a phone call to the referring clinician (or note in the pathology report) would allow the relevant clinical information to be obtained, as well as affording an


The effect of the polymeric crosslink density on the thermal conductivity of an epoxy nanocomposite was investigated by adding two different diamine-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (diamine-MWNTs) to the epoxy resin as co-curing agents and conducting fillers. Tetramethylenediamine (TMDA)-MWNTs resulted in an epoxy nanocomposite with a higher crosslink density than octamethylenediamine (OMDA)-MWNTs. Interestingly, epoxy/TMDA-MWNT nanocomposites under 1.5 wt % nanotube concentration, showed a higher thermal conductivity than an epoxy/OMDA-MWNT nanocomposite with the same concentration of nanotubes. In contrast, for higher diamine-MWNT concentrations (over 2.0 wt %), the thermal conductivity of the epoxy/OMDA-MWNT nanocomposite was higher than that with TMDA-MWNTs. We observed that for low MWNT concentrations, where a percolating network was not formed, a high crosslink density enhanced the thermal conductivity via phonon transport. However, for high MWNT concentrations, a high crosslink density hinders the formation of a percolating network and lowers the thermal conductivity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44253.


Based on a three-level competitive supply chain network with multi-commodity flow, we analyze the independent decisions of the manufactures, retailers and demand markets as well as the effect of their interaction, and then each level's equilibrium model and the network equilibrium model are developed by variational inequality. The equilibrium conditions are derived and economic interpretations are given. At last a numerical example is given and solved.


6354 Background and Objectives: Learning analytics is a new and promising field of study in education that seeks to capture, analyze and report data about learners and their learning environment for the purpose of optimizing learning and its environment. Data and analytics are the two main keywords for learning analytics, where data is the feeder of analytics to provide evidence-based insights about teaching and learning. Although learning analytics has been of interest to many scholars during the last decade, little research has been done to provide a comprehensive framework of learning analytics. This study aimed at identifying learning analytics components in education to provide a conceptual framework for optimizing learning. Methods: This is a qualitative study in which the design of the study is content analysis. The thematic analysis which is the research method suggested by Braun and Clarke was used in the following six steps: (1) familiarizing with collected data, (2) generating the initial codes, (3) searching for the themes and components, (4) reviewing the potential themes and components, (5) defining and naming the themes and components, and (6) reporting the results. In this study, 14 experts in the field of learning analytics were interviewed. Purposeful sampling method was used to select the participants. Moreover, the strategy for selecting these experts was based on the relationship between their theoretical and research activities. The reason why 14 experts were interviewed is the theoretical saturation which means data collection process continues until no new data is collected. That is to say that the theoretical saturation method was used to determine the sample size. To collect data, unstructured interview was performed. Data analysis was performed in three stages including open coding (line by line coding), axial coding (combining codes and developing a category of more general concepts) and selective coding the process


Indomethacin (IM), a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug, has the capacity to induce hepatic and renal injuries when administrated systemically. The aim of this study is to assess the IM absorption from complexed forms when orally administered to rats, by means of a comparative evaluation of its capacity to induce hepatic and renal injury in different forms, namely IM acid, IM sodium salt or IM complexed with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD), using freeze‐ and spray‐drying methods.


Deep learning has been the mainstream technique in the natural language processing (NLP) area. However, deep learning requires many labeled data and is less generalizable across domains. Meta-learning is an arising field in machine learning. It studies approaches to learning better learning algorithms and aims to improve algorithms in various aspects, including data efficiency and generalizability. The efficacy of meta-learning has been shown in many NLP tasks, but there is no systematic survey of these approaches in NLP, which hinders more researchers from joining the field. Our goal with this survey paper is to offer researchers pointers to relevant meta-learning works in NLP and attract more attention from the NLP community to drive future innovation. This paper first introduces the general concepts of meta-learning and the common approaches. Then we summarize task construction settings, applications of meta-learning for various NLP problems and review the development of meta-learning in the NLP community.


with the advent of digital multimedia, a lot of digital content such as conference, movies, and video lecturers, news, shows and sports events is widely available. Also, due to the advances in digital content distribution (direct-to-home satellite reception) and digital video recorders, this digital content can be easily recorded. However, the user may NOT have sufficient time to watch the entire video (Ex. User may want to watch just the highlights of an occurrence) or the whole of video content may not be of interest to the user(Ex. Soccer or cricket match video). In such cases, the user may just want to view the summary of the video instead of watching the whole video. In this paper video summarization is based frame extraction in which whole video is convert into the shots (segmentation) and then select frames which is part of video summary and this will be done by taking different parameters like entropy change, histogram level, audio level etc. and then select frames for make summary which is call key frames. This key frames is dives the main information of the whole video. After select key frames filtering is used for over duplication and make good video summary.


ABSTRACT The dipeptide L -seryl- L -methionine is elucidated structurally by means of solid-state linear dichroic infrared spectroscopy of oriented samples as a colloidal suspension in nematic liquid crystal as a part of our systematic study of OH-containing small peptides. Vibrational analysis supports the experimental data as well. Quantum chemical ab initio calculations are performed in order to obtain the electronic structure and vibrational characteristics of the system studied, where a cisoide-configuration of the C=O–NH amide fragment is predicted.


High levels of unemployment could have devastating economic and social costs. High unemployment means that resources that should be engaged in production of goods and services are lying idle, hence it causes a waste of scarce resources and dampens the long run growth potential of an economy. It is also associated with low real income and spending as well as high levels of poverty and income inequality. That is why unemployment reduction is stated as a national priority for Lesotho in both the National Vision 2020 and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Lesotho.


Tracheal collapse is a condition that has been infrequently reported in cattle but has been well recognized in horses and in coy breeds of dogs. Animals affected with this condition have a tracheal lumen which is reduced in diameter because of a change in the normal architecture in the tracheal rings. Three cases of tracheal collapse were observed at Kansas State University ranging in age from two weeks to four months with the following breeds being involved: Simmental, Limousine, and Maine-Anjou Shorthorn Cross. All calves hadexhibited clinical signs of respirarory difficulty shortly following birth, and the condition was unresponsive co antibiotic therapy, other respirarory supportive drugs, and a tracheoromy.


Abstract The design, advantages and applications of automatic electron diffractometers are discussed with reference to an improved system. The power to measure electron scattering profiles from which loss electrons are virtually eliminated is the fundamental difference between the new instruments and traditional photography of electron diffraction patterns. The basic limitations of the diffractometers are discussed. A new treatment of the electron gun is given, based on angular distributions of current which prove to be Gaussian. The treatment is necessary when maximum signal intensity is required. A number of improvements in electronic circuitry are described which include servostabilization of the gun emission; automatic two-dimensional scanning, and control of CRT display brightness or of xy writing rate in accordance with the intensity of the peaks. The fields of application where the now diffractometers have advantages are when accurate, that is filtered, intensities must be determined, and when grow...


Abstract Historical thinking skills is very important for students because it can improve critical thinking skills for students. Critical thinking skills are the characteristics of global citizens, multicultural, and democratic societies that will equip students to be prepared and aware of future academic, civil and social challenges. Through the development of historical thinking skills in learning it is hoped that later students will have the skills to review their environment more critically and determine their own future and influence decisions relating to their destiny.


The implementation of industrial condominiums in Brazil's automotive industry introduced a new standard for the relationship between automakers and auto parts suppliers. High levels of outsourcing, long-term contracts, integrative agreements, coproduction of components, exchanges of specific resources, and intensive interchange of information characterize the automaker's relationship with suppliers in these new arrangements. This paper analyzes the relationship between an automaker, constituted in the form of an industrial condominium, and a systemist supplier operating inside the automaker's plant, exploring the impacts and innovations in the way production is organized and in how the supplier's performance is measured. The findings reveal the transfer of added value from the automaker to the systemist supplier and a high degree of integration of logistics and production between companies


This study documents relationships between plant nutrient content and rhizome carbohydrate content of a widely distributed seagrass species, Thalassia testudinum, in Florida. Five distinct seagrass beds were sampled for leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus, and rhizome carbohydrate content from 1997 to 1999. All variables displayed marked intraand interregional variation. Elemental ratios (mean N:P ± S.E.) were lowest for Charlotte Harbor (9.9 ± 0.2) and highest for Florida Bay (53.5 ± 0.9), indicating regional shifts in the nutrient content of plant material. Rhizome carbohydrate content (mean ± S.E.) was lowest for Anclote Keys (21.8 ± 1.6 mg g−1 FM), and highest for Homosassa Bay (40.7 ± 1.7 mg g−1 FM). Within each region, significant negative correlations between plant nutrient and rhizome carbohydrate content were detected; thus, nutrient-replete plants displayed low carbohydrate content, while nutrient-deplete plants hizome sugars eagrasses displayed high carbohydrate content. Spearman's rank correlations between nutrient and carbohydrate content varied from a minimum in Tampa Bay ( = −0.2) to a maximum in Charlotte Harbor ( = −0.73). Linear regressions on log-transformed data revealed similar trends. This consistent trend across five distinct regions suggests that nutrient supply may play an important role in the regulation of carbon storage within seagrasses. Here we present a new hypothesis for studies which aim to explain the carbohydrate dynamics of benthic plants.


An electronic imaging device having a concentration measuring apparatus for measuring the concentration delivered from the mixing vessel developer to the developing device, comprising: a variable thickness member, mounted between the mixing container and the developing device, the developing solution for changing the channel the thickness of a light-transmissive; a predetermined distance from the light emitting device mounted in the variable thickness from one side of the body and the light emitting impose photosensitive element, is mounted at a predetermined distance from the other side of the variable thickness of the body, for detecting the light emitted from the light emitting device and the concentration of the developer is measured according to the amount of received light.


This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that the 'cultural and spiritual significance of nature' is among the most compelling drivers of people's motivations to engage with, protect, and conserve the natural environment. It presents a legal framework for 'spiritual governance' and examines its implications for the management and governance of protected and conserved areas. The book also argues that the 'cultural and spiritual significance of nature' is part of a deeply seated bond that can exist between individuals, groups, and communities and their special places. It examines the concept of 'authenticity' as a device through which to explore the challenges of working within systems typically segregated between nature and culture and between natural and cultural heritage management. The book provides much optimism for the future of cross-cultural and cross-collaborative work.


According to Kuhn's argument science progresses by 'paradigm shifts' (Kuhn, 1962), an expression now so accepted that it has become entrenched in the lexicon of multiple disciplines. Kuhn's classic examples included the shift from the Ptolemaic geocentric view of the planetary system to the Copernican heliocentric notion. On the horizon for the treatment of schizophrenia are non-dopaminergic acting agents which, if primary pharmacological actions mean anything at all, sit uncomfortably within the prevailing dopamine paradigm of antipsychotic drug action. Does the advent of such agents herald a Kuhnian 'revolution' in the understanding of antipsychotic drug action with an attendant 'paradigm shift' from the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia? When introduced into clinical practice seven decades ago, chlorpromazine was rightly considered a breakthrough treatment for schizophrenia. It enabled many patients, who would otherwise have been confined long-term to mental hospitals, to be discharged to the community. While there were significant therapeutic benefits, these were offset by the associated neurological side effects (Stroup et al., 2000). The intervening years have resulted, arguably, in little in the way of improved efficacy with respect to the pharmacological treatment of the positive and negative symptoms, but current medications have a somewhat more benign neurological side effect profile (Stroup et al., 2000). Nevertheless, like the prototypical phenothiazine antipsychotic medications, current drugs are believed to derive their therapeutic benefits, at least in part, by antagonism/partial agonism at the dopamine D2 class of receptors (this includes D2-Short, D2-Long, D3 and D4 receptors) (Ginovart and Kapur, 2012). Recognition of the pharmacological actions of medications contributed significantly to an initial formulation of a dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. A more sophisticated iteration of the hypothesis focussed on the activity of dopamine within specific neuronal circuits. Overactivity of dopamine within the mesolimbic pathway is postulated to be responsible for positive symptoms of the disorder, while underactivity in meso-cortical pathways is posited to be responsible for negative and cognitive symptoms (Stahl, 2004). Within this framework of the modified hypothesis, alterations of the activity of other neurotransmitter systems (most notably a hypoactive glutamatergic system) have been accommodated. Although the hypothesis has been criticised as too reliant on the inference from drug effects to underlying disease process (Moncrieff, 2009), it nevertheless remains a plausible explanation of some symptoms of the disorder. The hypothesis has formed a useful drug discovery paradigm to the extent that all currently approved treatments can be considered to conform to a dopaminergic view of schizophrenia/antipsychotic drug action. Pre-clinical and early phase studies indicate that molecules without a primary dopamine D2-antagonist/partial agonist effect may be effective for the treatment of schizophrenia. At face value, the efficacy of such compounds questions the continuing utility of the dopamine hypothesis. A case in point is that of ulotaront (SEP-363856), which is in the preliminary stages of clinical evaluation. Ulotaront is a trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR-1) and 5HT1A agonist. In pre-clinical studies the molecule blocked phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperactivity, pre-pulse inhibition and PCP-induced deficits in social interaction and cognition, widely used mouse phenotypes for antipsychotic drug discovery (Dedic et al., 2019). A short-term (4-week) double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showed superiority for the active compound in treating relapse of schizophrenia (Koblan et al., 2020). In the open label continuation phase of this study ulotaront maintained efficacy over 6 months (Correll et al., 2021). Clearly, further clinical evaluations are necessary to robustly establish clinical efficacy. Nevertheless, taken together the two parts of this study offer preliminary validation of non-dopaminergic mechanisms as A challenge to the dopamine orthodoxy in schizophrenia?


The applying scope of the mistake institute in German civil law includes mistakes in declaration and mistakes in intent formation,so this institute has clear two-layer character. It also prescribes the conditions when the mistaken party can have remedies. The defects of German mistake institute are mainly:the conditions for rescission when mistakes in declaration happen are lenient and it does not fully consider the situations of the other pary.The mistake institue in our civil law has many problerns. In the future, we can design reasonable mistake institute by drawing the advantages of German mistake institue and avoiding its defects.


Both Conconi and Palier Tests can be used in evaluating the football players maximal aerobic capacity. Comparatively,the same subject with Palier Test has higher heart rate and movement distance than with Conconi Test,which proves to be relevant to different designs of the tests. That increase during incremental Conconi Test is sharper than that of Palier may determine the different physiological responses of the subject.


Abstract (1. publication)
Purpose
The aim of this work was to investigate cardiorespiratory fitness in breast cancer patients at different time points of anti-cancer treatment.
Patients and Methods
Non-metastatic breast cancer patients (n=222, mean age 55 years) were categorized into four subgroups according to their treatment status. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was used to measure patients' cardiorespiratory fitness, including oxygen delivery and metabolic muscle function. Testing was performed by bicycle ergometry, and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was measured. Heart rate during exercise at 50 watts (HR50) was assessed as a cardiocirculatory parameter and ventilatory threshold (VT) was used as an indicator of the O2 supply to muscle. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate the impact of different cancer treatments on cardiorespiratory fitness with adjustment for clinical factors.
Results
Submaximal measures were successfully assessed in 220 (99%) and 200 (90%) patients for HR50 and VT, while criteria for maximal exercise testing were met by 176 patients (79%), respectively. The mean VO2peak was 20.6±6.7 ml/kg/min, mean VT 10.7±2.9 ml/min/kg and mean HR50 112±16 beats/min. Chemotherapy was significantly associated with decreased VO2peak, with significantly lower adjusted mean VO2peak among patients post adjuvant chemotherapy compared to patients with no chemotherapy or those who just started chemotherapy regime (all p<0.01). Patients post adjuvant chemotherapy reached only 63% of the VO2peak level expected for their age- and BMI-category (mean VO2peak 15.5±4.8 ml/kg/min). Similarly, HR50 was significantly associated with treatment. However, VT was not associated with treatment.
Conclusion
Breast cancer patients have marked and significantly impaired cardiopulmonary function during and after chemotherapy. Hereby, chemotherapy appears to impair cardiorespiratory fitness by influencing the oxygen delivery system rather than impacting metabolic muscle function. Our findings underline the need of exercise training in breast cancer patients to counteract the loss of cardiorespiratory fitness during the anti-cancer treatment.

Abstract (2. publication)
Aim
Muscle strength has been associated with a decreased mortality risk and reduced side-effects in oncologic patients. However, little is known about how muscle strength is affected by cancer therapy. We investigated muscle strength in breast cancer patients during treatment and also compared it with healthy individuals.
Methods
Breast cancer patients (N=255), staged 0-III, aged 54.4±9.4 years, were categorized into four groups according to their treatment status. Their muscle function was assessed with gold standard method by maximal isokinetic peak torque (MIPT) (60°/s, 180°/s) and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) tests in lower and upper extremity muscle groups. Additionally, muscular fatigue index (FI%) and shoulder flexibility was evaluated. Healthy women (N=26), aged 53.3±9.8 were tested using the same method. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate the impact of different cancer treatments on muscle function with adjustment for various clinical and socio-demographic factors.
Results
Consistently lower muscle strength and higher FI% was measured in knee strength in patients after chemotherapy. On average, patients had up to 25% lower strength in lower extremities and 12-16% in upper extremities in MVIC and MIPT during cancer treatment compared to healthy women. No substantial difference between patient groups in shoulder strength, but significantly lower shoulder flexibility in patients with radical mastectomy was measured. No serious adverse events were reported.
Conclusions
Patients showed markedly impaired muscle strength after adjuvant therapy. The clinically relevant decrease underlines the need of exercise therapy as early as possible in order to prevent or counteract the loss of muscle function.

Abstract (3. publication)
Purpose
Cancer survivors are recommended to perform 150 min/week of moderate or 75 min/week of vigorous aerobic exercise, but it remains unclear how moderate and vigorous intensities can be prescribed. Therefore, it was investigated whether and how intensity prescriptions for healthy adults by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) need to be adapted for breast cancer survivors.
Methods
52 breast cancer survivors (stage 0-III, age 52±9 years, BMI 25.4±3.5 kg/m2) performed cardiopulmonary exercise tests at the end of primary-therapy. Intensity classes defined as percentages of maximal heart rate (HRmax), heart rate reserve (HRR), and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) were compared to the ACSM's intensity classes using oxygen uptake reserve as reference.
Results
The prescriptions for moderate and vigorous exercise intensities were significantly different between breast cancer survivors and healthy adults when using VO2max (moderate 50–66 vs. 46–63 and vigorous 67–91 vs. 64–90 %VO2max) or HRR (moderate 26–50 vs. 40–59 and vigorous 51–88 vs. 60–89 %HRR), but not when using HRmax (moderate 65–76 vs. 64–76 and vigorous 77–94 vs. 77–95 %HRmax).
Conclusions
In breast cancer survivors, intensity prescriptions for healthy adults result in considerably too intense training if HRR is used as guiding factor. Prescriptions using VO2max result in a slightly too low exercise intensity, whereas recommendations in percentages of HRmax appear valid.

Abstract (4. publication)
Background
Exercise has been reported to decrease cancer-related fatigue and to increase quality of life (QoL) in various breast cancer populations. However, studies investigating exercise during radiotherapy or resistance training are scarce. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (BEST study) to assess the efficacy of 12-week resistance training on fatigue beyond possible psychosocial effects of a group-based intervention.
Patients and methods
One-hundred-sixty patients with breast cancer stage 0-III were randomly assigned to a 12-week progressive resistance training (2 times/week) or a 12-week relaxation control (2 times/week). Both interventions were group-based. The primary endpoint fatigue was assessed with a 20-item multidimensional questionnaire, QoL with EORTC questionnaires. Statistical analyses were based on analysis of covariance models for the individual changes from baseline to week 13.
Results
Adherence to the intervention program as well as the completion rate (97%) for the primary outcome variable fatigue were high. In intention-to-treat analyses for the N=155 patients, significant between-group mean differences (MD) favoring the exercise group were observed for general fatigue (P=0.044), especially for the subscale physical fatigue (MD= -0.8; 95% confidence interval = (-1.5, -0.2), P=0.013), but not for affective (P=0.91) or cognitive fatigue (P=0.65). For QoL, significantly larger improvements regarding the role function (P=0.035) and pain (P=0.040) were noted among exercisers compared to relaxation controls. Future perspective improved significantly stronger in the relaxation control group compared to the exercise group (P=0.047).
Conclusions
The 12-week resistance training program was a safe, feasible and efficacious strategy to improve cancer-related fatigue and components of QoL in breast cancer patients during adjuvant radiotherapy. As exercise was compared to another group-based intervention, results indicate that resistance training effects on fatigue and QoL go beyond psychosocial benefits, and that the clinically relevant overall benefit of resistance exercise compared to usual care can be assumed to be higher.


The objective of the study was to evaluated the birth (BW) and weaning
weights (WW) of Blackbelly (BB) lambs and its Katahdin crosses (KK) x
BB (KB) in a fl ock kept under grazing conditions and supplementation
from Huasteca Potosina. The work was carried out in the
"Barrancon" farm located at Tanlajas, San Luis Potosi,
Mexico. The climate is classified as warm sub-humid with an average
precipitation and annual temperature of 1,678.5 mm and 24.5°C,
respectively. The farm has padlock of Cynodon dactylon and Cynodon
nlemfuensis . One hundred BB ewes were used, with an average weight of
23 kg, with two KK and two BB males. They were assigned to a 2
(feeding) by 2 (parental breed) factorial arrangements. The feeding
types were single grazing, and grazing plus 250 grams of protein
supplementation, and the parental breeds were BB and KK. The lambs were
weighed at born and weaning in a roman scale. Analysis of variance was
carried out by least square methods. The averages at BW and WW were
2.74 ± 0.74 and 11.4 ± 0.4 kg, respectively. The breed
affected only the birth weight (P<0.01) with the lambs sired by KK
weighting 11.2% more than the BB's ones. The lambs that received
supplementation weighed 16.4% more at weaning, while the KB sired lambs
were 1.4% heavier than BB's at weaning (P>0.05). It is
concluded that BB produce heavier lambs at birth, but further analysis
need to be carried out to study the economic and sheep production
system implication under the conditions of the present trail.


Neutron diffraction (ND) was used to investigate the crystallographic preferential orientation (CPO, texture) and structure parameters of four samples of metagabro mylonite collected from the eastern part of the metagabbro sheet at the Stare Mesto belt, Bohemia Massif, Czech Republic. The samples were selected to form a deformation-ordered series with the microstructure varying from non-deformed metagabbro protolith to strongly sheared ultramylonite and amphibole-rich ulramylonite. The specimens used in ND measurements were polished in form of an exact sphere with diameter 50 ± 0.1 mm. The obtained ND patterns were corrected for non-linear background and then evaluated using the Rietveld method implemented in the software package GSAS. Data recorded from powder preparded by milling material from the sampled rocks were used to refine the structure parameters of plagioclase (labradorite structure, triclinic space group C-1) and amphibole (monoclinic space group C2/m). The experiments were performed on the KSN-2 neutron diffractometer situated at the research reactor LVR-15 of the Nuclear Research Institute, plc. Rez, Czech Republic. The data sets of ND patterns measured on each of the four spherical specimens consisted of 90 diagrams collected for different diffraction vectors covering uniformly one orientation hemisphere of the specimen. Based on the collected data, the orientation distribution function (ODF) of crystalline grains was determined by Rietveld harmonic method (coefficients C(l,m,n) of the spherical harmonics expansion determined up to the order L = 8) for the two principal mineral phases - amphibole and plagioclase. The ODF was used to reconstruct (001), (020), (021), (110), (111) (plagioclase) and (001), (11-1), (020), (110), (200) (amphibole) pole figures (PFs). Direct method of ODF calculation implemented in ResMat software package was then used to calculate inverted pole figures (IPFs) of the plagioclase phase. CPO of the amphibole and plagioclase is then discussed in terms of the obtained texture indices and calculated PFs and IPFs and compared with data measured by other methods or available in literature.


This paper gives the Performance Analysis and Mitigation of Power Quality Issues with Hybrid B–STATCOM in 140 Bus Distribution System Connected To SCIG Wind Turbine. It is an important task to maintain the power quality within the system operating limits and facilities in a distributed power grid. In the developed 140 bus system a hybrid battery energy storage system and STATCOM (BSTATCOM) with hysteresis current control strategy is proposed for an inverter to improve power quality with an exchange of current and voltage simultaneously. The operation mode switches a flawless transfer of the operation mode from grid-connected to stand-alone or vice versa. The outside of an islanded bus voltage loop and inside B – STATCOM inverter current loop, controllers are designed using h current control strategy with three phase and four wire system. The injected currents are clean, balanced and free from harmonics. The islanded bus relives from the main power supply and the demand of reactive power supplied from the squirrel cage induction generator and B – STATCOM follows the rules of grid operation as per IEC 61400 – 21. The control scheme of 140 bus distribution power grid connected SCIG wind energy system verified using simulation MATLAB/ SIMULINK power system block sets.


We study how the inelastic structural response predicted via synthetic seismograms is affected by the selection of site response models in ground motion simulations. We first generate synthetics for multiple scenarios and site conditions in Southern California using attenuation relations, site specific linear, vis-coelastic and nonlinear analyses, and estimate the ground motion variability that results from the soil model selection. We next use bilinear single degree-of-freedom oscillators to demonstrate how this variability propagates to the inelastic structural response predictions. Results show high bias and scatter of the inelastic displacement ratio predicted using the empirical and linear elastic site response models relative to the nonlinear, for periods close to the fundamental period of the site. For the synthetic motions and sites used, we derive empirical correlations between the amount of bias and period range where it manifests, and selected input motion and site parameters.


This is an abridged version of a tutorial on the (older) experimental literature on the acoustic correlates of, and their contribution to, human stress perception, mainly on the basis of research on English and Dutch. The emphasis is on esta-blishing the relative importance of correlates amd cues. The conclusion is that a reliable acoustic correlate (e.g. peak intensity) is not necessarily a strong perceptual cue. Converse-ly, the strongest perceptual cue (i.e. pitch change) is acoustically an unreliable correlate. The full tutorial will be access-ible at https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/search?query=heuven.


A 7-year-old castrated, domestic shorthair cat was presented with a 2-year history of chronic nasal discharge and sneezing. Upon presentation, bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge and stertorous respiration were marked. Physical examination revealed a tachypnea. Oral examination was unremarkable and chest radiology was normal. Findings of nasal cytology and skull radiology were not specific and further imaging technique, endoscopic examination and histopathology was performed for a definite diagnosis. Fluid, and/or soft tissue opacity was found in bilateral nasal cavity, nasopharyngeal regions and right side tympanic bulla through the CT scan. No evidence of neoplasia was revealed. A rigid rhinoscopy, flexible bronchoscopy and otoscopy was used for the visualization of the lesions and tissue biopsy biopsy was performed for histopathology. On histopathological examination, the nasal mass consisted mainly of large numbers of plasma cells and lymphocytes. And the final diagnosis was lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis based on histopathologic examination. Long term management with oral cyclosporine (5 mg/kg, BID) was safe and successful in this cat. This is the first case report described clinical and diagnostic characteristic features of feline lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis and its clinical outcome using oral cyclosporine in Korea.


We study the differential equation [ϕ(x)] = f (t, x, x) ,t ∈ R, showing that in some conditions for the functions ϕ and f, its solution is almost periodic.


A documentary history of Canada's Species At Risk Act (SARA) to February 28, 2018. This paper was included as part of A Symposium on Environment in the Courtroom: Enforcement Issues in Canadian Wildlife Protection, held March 2 & 3, 2018 at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law by the Canadian Institute of Resources Law, with the financial support of Environment and Climate Change Canada.


Objective: Discuss curative effect of purpuric nephropathy Zidianshen Ⅰ number decoction on henoch-schonlein purpura nephritis( HSPN) and influence to clotting mechanism and blood rheology. Method: Ninety children with HSPN were randomly divided into control group( 45 cases) and observation group( 45 cases) by random number table. Both groups' patients received conventional western therapy and received dipyridamole,tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside and prednisone refer to different clinical feature. Based on control group,in observation group in the control group on basis of Zidianshen Ⅰ number decoction,1 dose / day. Course of treatment in two groups were 12 weeks. Hematuresis and proteinuria were monitored,and urine protein quantitation,blood rheology,fibrinogen( FIB),D-dimer( D-D) and fibrin degradation products( FDP) were detected at 24 hours before and after treatment. Result: The total effective rate of disease curative effect in the observation group was 95. 6% superior to 80% in the control group( P 0. 05). After treatment,the level of red blood cell in urine and 24 hours urinary albumin in the observation group were lower than those in the control group( P 0. 01). And negative conversion ratio of red blood cell in urine of the observation group was 88. 2% superior to 61. 7% of the control group,negative conversion ratio of urinary albumin was 82. 9% superior to 54. 1% in control group( P 0. 05). the level of FIB,FDP and D-D in observation group were all lower than those in control group( P 0. 01). The amelioration of whole blood viscosity( low or high shearing), whole blood reduced viscosity( low or high shearing),platelet aggregation rate and plasma viscosity of blood rheology index in observation group were superior to the control group( P 0. 01). Conclusion: Based on conventional western therapy,Zidianshen Ⅰ number decoction can reduce red blood cell in urine and white blood cell in urine of children with HSPN and promote the negative conversion of red blood cell in urine cell and white blood cell in urine,the mechanism of action may be related to ameliorating clotting and blood rheology index and reducing high clotting condition.


Enteric fever continues to be a common and serious problem worldwide, and the need for reliable and cheap alternatives to culture methods for diagnosis remains. Epidemics of different strains may coexist in the same geographical area and the rapid emergence of resistance to fluroquinolones, independent of plasmid mediated multidrug resistance, means that alternative drugs for chemotherapy are also needed.


During the past half-century life expectancy has gone up and fertility has gone down in nearly every country of the world. Social modernization economic development and dramatic breakthroughs in health and family planning technology have been the fundamental forces driving this "demographic transition." Several studies have documented how the transition from high to low mortality and fertility provides favorable conditions for economic growth But how are the benefits of the demographic transition distributed? A number of studies in this area have focused on trends in the United States. A large international data set now makes it possible to extend this re- search to the global level. A recent analysis--covering income- inequality data from 92 countries over four decades--suggests that inequality tends to increase at early stages of economic development and fall at later stages. The most important determinant of inequality is not economic growth however but rather changes in population age structure that occur in the course of the demographic transition. Policies that favor economic globalization do not seem to have a strong impact on income inequality This issue of Asia-Pacific Population & Policy summarizes the results of this analysis of global income inequality. It is based on a paper by the same authors published in the December 2002 issue of Southeast Asian Studies. (excerpt)


A 256/spl times/256 passive pixel imager has been implemented in a CMOS 0.6-/spl mu/m technology. A column-parallel differential architecture with a correlated double-sampling output circuit removes the smear-like effects of a parasitic current that plagues passive pixels, 0.1% pixel-to-pixel and 0.4% column-to-column fixed-pattern noise are achieved.


In wireless electric vehicle charging, the relative position of the primary and secondary coils has a significant impact on the transfer power and efficiency. In this paper, a magnetic coupling positioning method using simultaneous power and data transfer is proposed. The proposed positioning method employs four auxiliary coils placed on the primary coil to position the secondary coil. The positioning process is presented, which can be conducted both online and offline. The optimum locations of auxiliary coils are analyzed and simulated. A prototype is built up to verify the proposed method, and the experimental results are presented and discussed.


Thank you very much for reading group design and leadership strategies for creating successful common theme groups. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look numerous times for their chosen novels like this group design and leadership strategies for creating successful common theme groups, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some infectious virus inside their computer.


This article presents a decentralized algorithm that generates continuous-time trajectory online for a swarm of robots based upon model predictive control. To generate collision-free trajectory, temporally distinct safe regions are formed such that the robots are confined to move within these safe regions to avoid collisions with one another. The distinct safe regions are temporally linked by generating a B-spline. Additionally, to ensure that collisions are avoided, collision-regions that the robots have to stay outside are also generated distinctly. A non linear program (NLP) with an objective to make the robots stay outside the collision-regions and stay within the safe regions is formulated. The algorithm was tested in simulations on Gazebo with aerial robots. The simulated results suggest that the proposed algorithm is computationally efficient and can be used for online planning in moderate sized multi-robot systems.


The thesis discussed the characteristic of developmental process of mass sport organizations in the small town of southern Jiangsu province in the context of economic and social change since the policy of opening and reform. The authors also explored the status and role of the organizations in the mass sport activities and forecasted the developmental trend of the organizations in the future. Finally the authors tried to establish the management system of mass sport organizations in the small town.


Rearing techniques for producing large numbers of parasitoids efficiently were developed based on established host-rearing techniques that utilized multicellular rearing containers. Previously, individual diet cups were used; methods were tedious and resulted in multiple handling of both host and parasitoid material. Using the newer techniques, time required to harvest parasitoid pupae was cut in half. Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) cocoons could be stored at 10.0°C for up to 2 wk with no increase in mortality. Simultaneous release of nearly 17,000 wasps was possible using low-temperature storage. Several species of parasitoids of noctuid larvae are being reared using adaptations of the method developed for M. croceipes. Advantages of using multicellular rearing techniques for parasitoids include production of large numbers of parasitoids with minimal cannibalism, minimal exposure to pathogens and injury due to handling, and tremendous savings in time and materials.


Objectives Endoscopic microlaryngeal laser surgery performed with general anesthesia through a laryngoscope speculum generates heat that accumulates at the distal lumen, creating an "oven" effect and potentially causing bystander thermal damage to nontarget tissue such as the contralateral vocal fold. We report the effects of cooling on air and tissue temperatures that occurred during simulated laryngeal laser surgery with KTP and thulium lasers in an ex vivo calf model. Methods Ten fresh excised calf larynges were studied at room temperature. Laser energy was applied to one vocal fold for 2 minutes, with or without cooling, while temperatures were monitored with sensors placed within the glottal lumen or inserted superficially into the contralateral vocal fold. A pulsed KTP laser (525 mJ) was used for 5 larynges, and a thulium laser (7 W, continuous) was used for the other 5 larynges. Results Heating was slightly greater for the KTP laser than for the thulium laser with use of these parameters. The lumen temperatures for both lasers increased an average of 13.2°C without cooling, but only 6.7°C with cooling (p < 0.05). The contralateral vocal fold (subepithelial space) temperature increased an average of 6.8°C without cooling, but only 4.2°C with cooling (p > 0.05). Conclusions Cooling with room-temperature air during laryngeal laser surgery reduces luminal air and contralateral vocal fold temperatures. This effect is believed to be due to elimination of the plume of steam and smoke that significantly heats surrounding structures.


Communication over low-SNR environments faces various challenges and data detection designing can be arduous. An aggregative sampling technique with TCP feedback is proposed to transmit in low-SNR channels. The proposed scheme overcomes intrinsic losses by having a physical-transport crosslayer interaction. Samples are aggregated to make a single bit decision. As the quantity of aggregated samples is increased, the bit error rate (BER) is reduced. The transport-layer loss information is fed back to the physical layer to dynamically control the amount of redundancy, therefore, reducing intrinsic loss. Results show that with an SNR of 0 dB the system is able to reach over 10Mbps with a BER of near 10-9. It is demonstrated that by implementing the proposed technique it is feasible to reduce the BER by a factor of 109 by reducing the effective throughput by a factor of 3. For SNR environments of over -10 dB a BER of 10-8 is achieved. Performance improvement of 11 dB or more is obtained compared to the analyzed techniques.


Objective To research and explore the impact of nursing interventions on improvement of the quality of life of patients with enterostomy. Methods 40 cases of rectal carcinoma patients with enterostomy were divided into experimental and control groups randomly. The experimental group was received a follow-up nursing intervention by telephone interview when 1month and 3 month after discharge from hospital. The patients in control group were conducted routine nursing care. Both groups were asked to complete a questionare of EORTC QLQ-C30 during their recertification in outpatient clinic. The EORTC QLQ-C30 (Chinese version) can be used to measure quality of life of cancer patients for its good reliability, validity and responsiveness. Data was collected and analyzed by statistics. Results The EORTC QLQ-C30 and the intervention group had statistically significant difference (P 0.05) between before and after the implementation of the entire nursing intervention on. Conclusion Nursing intervention can effectively improve the quality of life of patients with enterostomy.


legal education and ideological & political education are important constituent parts of ideological education, and they have differences and connections. Ideological and political education involves legal education more or less. We can also say legal education is an essential education content in ideological and political education. Both have their own defects and limitations, and they have certain complementary effect. It is necessary to deeply analyze and explore the complementary relationship between the two, strive to combine legal education and ideological & political education in practical education process and make up for respective limitations, which is very important for promoting the development of ideological and political education, and improving education pertinence and effectiveness.


In 1983 Thomas Kuhn introduced the distinction between interpretation and translation, with the purpose of strengthening the incommensurability thesis and responding to objections made by Donald Davidson and Hilary Putnam. Departing from this debate, this paper examines the Kuhnian distinction, with the aim of exploring the connections which can be established between rival theories and the scientific communities which have adopted them. In order to do this, I will examine the role of translation, interpretation and communication in theoretical change, with the purpose of widening Kuhn's distinction and delving into some consequences not considered in his original stance. I will conclude by stating that the distinction between these linguistic domains is fundamental for understanding and evaluating the scope of the divergences generated in cases of incommensurability.


Novel two pseudo-decahedral hydrogen-bond networks with different topology are constructed with triphenylmethylammonium phosphonates. Phosphonate anions show four different hydrogen-bond manners, w...


This paper examines the presence of non-linear mechanism in the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) to CPI inflation for 12 euro area (EA) countries. Using smooth transition regression (STR) model, we explore the existence of non-linearities with respect to the inflation environment. We find strong evidence that pass-through respond non-linearly to inflation level for 8 out of 12 EA countries, that is, the transmission of exchange rate is higher when inflation rate surpass some threshold. Our results provide a broad support to the hypothesis suggested by Taylor (2000) that ERPT is decreasing in a lower and more stable inflation environment.


A study was conducted to determine the distribution and nutritional potential of four indigenous wetland Termitomyces mushrooms of Musoma, Northern Tanzania. The species were Termitomyces letestui, T. aurantiacus, T. eurrhizus and Termitomyces sp. The study concludes that Termitomyces mushrooms could be found on range of micro habitat sites. When their nutrition was assessed, there were some significant (p<0.05) differences but generally the nutritional potential is reasonably good. Mushrooms have shown to be good sources of carbohydrates with total carbohydrate concentrations of 0.049g/l to 0.054g/l. They could also be good sources of protein with 34% to 37%. They could also be good sources of minerals such as phosphorus with concentrations of 1229㎎/100g to 1360㎎/100g; potassium 6603㎎/100g to 6894㎎/100g and Magnesium 261㎎/100g to 304㎎/100g although were low both in crude lipids with 0.5 to 1.3% and vitamin A with 0.006g/100ml to 0.0098g/l00ml. The fibre content was low and therefore adequate for the body health. The study also concludes that Termitomyces mushrooms are very nutritious and should be utilized sustainably.


ABSTRACT IMPACT: A robust and collaborative network of expertise and services is essential for successful research commercialization, including timely and scalable educational support for CTSA institutions and individual faculty investigators with biomedical innovations. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Leverage expertise at the University of Michigan (UM) by creating collaborative and scalable interactive online courses to instruct and prepare internal and external faculty to navigate critical stages of life science academic research commercialization. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: UM's Fast Forward Medical Innovation created two online courses with the UM Office of Technology Transfer and the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR). Collaborative planning committees, with content and educational experts, set course goals and learning objectives based on audience needs (e.g. preparation for consultations, commercialization concepts, etc.). Draft content was developed, peer reviewed, and revised before Articulate Storyline was used to convert didactic content to active learning content (e.g. interactive slides, scenarios, quizzes, and forms). Pilot testing was conducted prior to the launch to faculty investigators throughout the UM network. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Intellectual Property in the Academic Setting launched via the FFMI website and newsletter in July 2020 and has had 66 learners to date. Medical Device Regulations launched in October 2020 and has 22 learners. OTT and MICHR have successfully integrated the courses into their consultation process by requesting review from faculty investigators. We suspect that this will lead to more in-depth and meaningful conversation. Additionally, these courses have been integrated into an FFMI commercialization course to instruct on critical concepts. Evaluation and refinement for both use cases will ensue, as well as inform future collaborative courses. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Early results suggest that the courses are advantageous and can serve as a model for future collaborations. The opportunity to disseminate the courses across the CTSA network, as well as collaborate with other institutions, to scale localized expertise to a broader network is promising.


ABSTRACT This study explores whether academic selection criterion should be imposed on students wishing to participate in work-integrated learning (WIL) during their degree studies. Its conceptual framework addresses the limitations of human capital theory and draws on theories about social and cultural capital to understand the role of WIL in developing individual employability. It explores whether WIL should be open to all students, particularly given those who perform less well academically may be of lower socio-economic status with fewer networks and less developed cultural capital. The relationship between academic course average and workplace performance during WIL was examined, rated by 2012 undergraduates and their workplace supervisors. The more academically successful students displayed greater confidence in their workplace performance yet there was no relationship between academic achievement and workplace performance from the supervisor perspective. The removal of academic selection criterion is recommended and more equitable strategies for recruiting suitable students are discussed.


The c (4×4) super-lattice structure of Sn/Si (001) system has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (CAICISS). After heating at 1200°C, the clean Si (001) 2×1 surface is confirmed by using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and STM. After Sn deposition of 0.5 monolayer (ML), successively annealed it at 600°C, a c (4×4) super-lattice structure is formed. We obtain three kinds of protrusions in high-resolution STM images of Si (001) c (4×4) -Sn structure. One of them is very similar to that of recently reported c (4×4) -Si reconstruction. Others are new protrusions in c (4×4) -Sn, so it seems that these are ascribed to Sn dimer. We analyzed CAICISS spectra scattered from Sn atoms, compared with simulated results. As a result, Sn dimer is found to be buckled. Thus, we proposed the mixed ad-dimer model for c (4×4) -Sn structure.


In this study the establishment and operation features of the Hermes NtripCaster which has located at the Department of Geodesy and Surveying are described. The NtripCaster streams RTCM data, in various formats, via Internet using a network of permanent GNSS stations covering a big part of Northern Greece. The effectives of using the internet and mobile phone as a medium to transport data streams was clearly pointed. In addition several field tests focusing mainly on the improvement of positional accuracy were performed applying proper comparisons using the broadcast data streams.


Honeydew excreted by the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) feeding upon upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was isolated from cotton lint and fractionated into various oligosaccharides using a charcoal column eluted with aqueous isopropyl alcohol. Two oligosaccharide fractions from the charcoal column, enriched in tetra- and pentasaccharides, were further fractionated on a Bio-Gel P2 column. A fraction from the later column was separated into individual oligosaccharides using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography. One of the sugars isolated in this procedure was found to be novel pentasaccharide. Analysis of this oligosaccharide by NMR showed it to contain sucrose and melezitose moieties. The results of these analyses are consistent with a pentasaccharide of the following structure:  O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-O-β-d-fructofuranosyl-(2↔1)-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(4←1)-α-d-glucopyranoside. A tetrasaccharide, maltosucrose [O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(...


A cable (1), especially a balanced (symmetrical) data transmission cable has the following: at least four stranded individual cores (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B), the individual cores (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B) in each case having one conductor (4) and insulation (5) which encloses the respective conductor (4) in the longitudinal direction, an intermediate sheath (7) which surrounds the individual cores (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B) jointly, a screen (8, 9) which surrounds the intermediate sheath (7), as well as an outer sheath (10) which encloses the screen all round. In this case, the intermediate sheath (7) is designed in the manner of embedding means which stabilise and insulate the position of the individual cores (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B).


Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been identified as important pollutants in the environment Researches on the pollution situation of PAHs in soils have been carried out extensively in many countries In comparison, few large scale researches have been seen in China In this paper, the contents and pollution level of sixteen PAH compounds in surface soils in different types of soil utilization in Tianjin area were studied Results show that the highest contents of PAHs could be found in soils in urban areas The contents of a few compounds in soils irrigated with wastewater were also relatively high, but most compounds show similar contents compared with other types of soils such as the general cropland and unused land The ratio of low circle PAHs / high circle PAHs and the ratio of pyrene / benzo\pyrene have been used to identify the sources of PAHs pollution Among the six kinds of soils, the ratios of low circle PAHs / high circle PAHs for five kinds of soils were lower than 1, except for urban soils This has demonstrated that the PAHs pollution in Tianjin soils were mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels The ratio of pyrene / benzo\pyrene shows that the high contents of PAHs in urban soils were mainly caused by pollution of transportation A Dutch Soil Remediation Standard was applied for assessing the pollution situation of the soils in Tianjin area Results show that all surface soils have been polluted in a certain extent by some compounds of PAHs Among the different soil types, the urban soils suffered the most serious pollution


Background: A rate of traffic accidents by elderly drivers increased by 70% between 2011 and 2015 in Korea. Elderly drivers with cognitive impairment are more susceptible to be involved traffic accidents than cognitively normal individuals. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of driving-related cognition and cognitive impairment in drivers over the age of 60 using the standardized program developed by the Road Traffic Authority (RTA). Methods: Current drivers older than 60 years were recruited for the study. All participants were tested using the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT)-copy, and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) for cognitive function assessments. The driving aptitude test (DAT) for the elderly developed by RTA consists of 4 different tasks including speed and distance driving tests (SD), visuospatial memory driving tests (VM), sustained attention driving tests (SA), and divided attention driving tests (DA). The participants were divided into two groups by their MMSE score (normal cognition, CN; cognitive impairment, CI). Results: One hundred fourteen participants were enrolled in the study and 57 of them were assigned to the CI group. In comparison, drivers in CI showed worse scores at DSST, SD, VM, and DA than those in CN. DSST and DA were worsened with increasing age. DSST was the best predictive assessment to be the risk or caution grade in DAT. Conclusions: We could find a correlation between DAT and cognitive function in drivers over the age 60. These results could be used as the basis of investigating optimal tools for decreasing driving risks in the cognitive impaired elderly. J Korean Neurol Assoc 36(2):74-80, 2018


The combination of informal learning and mobile outdoor games can be seen as a relevant arena for conducting novel learning activities that involve children in different tasks including physical motion, problem solving, inquiry and collaboration. These are activities that support different cognitive and social aspects of learning. Co-design and human centric design practices have been the focus of current research efforts in the field of educational technologies but not as prevalent in mobile games to support learning. In our current research we are exploring which design methods are appropriate for developing innovative ways of learning supported by mobile games. This paper presents all those aspects related to the design and implementation of a mobile game called Skattjakt (Treasure Hunt in Swedish). The outcome of our activities has provided us with valuable results that can help additionally to integrate outside informal learning with more formal classroom activities. Moreover, we believe that involvi...


Some years ago we proposed that the frog skin potential arises as the resultant of an active inward transport of sodium and the shunting effect of passively diffusing ions like chloride (Ussing, 1949: Ussing & Zerahn, 195 1 ) . An anatomical localization of the "sodium pump" was not attempted but it was assumed that a single cell layer in the stratum germinativum was responsible for the active sodium transport (compare also Koefoed-Johnsen & Ussing, 1958). Recently it has turned out, however, that the more distal cells of the epithelium are also involved in the transport (for a detailed discussion, see Ussing, 196%). Thus Koefoed-Johnsen (1966) has shown that even the outermost living cells of the epithelium readily exchange their potassium with the inside bathing solution but not with that on the outside, indicating that the barrier which permits sodium to enter, but stops potassium must be located near the outer surface of the skin. Measurements of the intracellular potentials with microelectrodes also showed that the first potential step is recorded when the tip passes from the outer bathing solution into the first living cell layer and then increases stepwise until the full skin potential is reached as the tip pierces the basement membrane (Ussing & Windhager, 1964). The electric responses to short-circuiting of the intracellular potentials show that the cells of adjacent layers are electrically connected. Based on these and other pieces of evidence the following hypothesis was advanced (Ussing & Windhager, 1964; Ussing, 1965a) : Sodium enters the outermost layer of living cells by passive diffusion through a sodium-selective membrane. From the first cell layer, sodium can be either actively transported into the interspaces or pass on to the next layer of cells through intercellular bridges until all the sodium ions have undergone active transport into the interspaces. From there, they diffuse onward through the basement membrane via gaps between the basal cells. This model in many respects agrees with one which was proposed independently by Farquhar and Palade ( 1964) based upon electron-microscopic observations. The shunt path for passive ions might be either through the cells, or through the interspaces, or both pathways might contribute to the shunt. According to Farquhar and Palade (1964), the interspaces seem to be closed towards the outside solution by tight seals. This observation clearly is in favor of a cellular shunt, but, on the other hand, if just a small fraction of the seals were faulty, it might suffice for a considerable extracellular leak. Now, the shunt can be drastically but reversibly increased by making the outside hypertonic (Ussing & Andersen, 1955; Ussing & Windhager, 1964). It was therefore decided to do a careful study of the active and passive transports through the skin with solutions on the outside which were made hypertonic by addition of urea in order to find out whether an extracellular shunt path really exists, at least under these conditions. The first approach was based on the following argument: According to Farquhar and Palate (1964) the ATPase of the epithelium cells is located at the cell membranes facing the interspaces and not at the basal end of the stratum


We propose a new method for QT interval measurement which first detects the morphology of the T-wave and then finds the T-end according to the detected morphology. The proposed method has more emphasis on detection of the T-wave morphology which helps more accurate detection of the T-end and better lead selection for QT interval measurement. Six types of T-wave morphologies (normal, invert, biphase +-, biphase -+, only upward and only downward) have been considered and a rule-based algorithm employed to detect the T-wave morphology by examining the primitive components. Followed by the detection of the morphology, the T-end is determined as the point on the signal that has maximum distance to the line representing the last segment of the T-wave. The proposed method has been tested against the QT database available on Physionet. The mean difference between the T-end in the reference annotation and the calculated one by our method is 0.9 ms and the standard deviation is 18.9 ms.


Abstract : The data in this report describe a positive relationship between military migration and civilian migration in communities surrounding Army installations. This relationship is determined by the size of the military labor force in relation to the size of the civilian labor force. The number of civilian migrants into or out of a county between 1965 and 1970 can be estimated from data reflecting the size of the military labor force and the number of military migrants involved. The data used in this research are too outdated to be of real significance to accurate population projections for Army-induced migration, but they do support the contention that civilian migration is directly related to military migration and that the relationship in many areas in the United States is quite strong.


A commonly used tool for flood hydrograph estimation in Australia is RORB. One limitation often encountered with catchment modelling tools of this kind is collating the spatial data for use within the model, which can be a repetitive, time consuming task. In addition, this can involve duplication of effort, for example where catchment boundaries are defined with spatial software, and again in the model. To address this issue, a spatial tool 'MiRORB' has been developed which allows catchment boundaries, flow paths, and storages to be drawn using the spatial software MapInfo. The tool collates this data automatically and prepares a working catchment data file for use in RORB. This provides a range of benefits, including a significant reduction in the time required to prepare a RORB model, and reduced risk of errors occurring due to manual data entry.


The Brazilian transfer pricing system is unique in that Brazil has developed an objective method that allows the taxpayer to mathematically determine and prove its pricing benchmark without having to go through a search for comparables. By not requiring a comparables search—which is the basis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's T ransfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations—the Brazilian transfer pricing rules provide a viable alternative to the OECD guidelines. The search for comparables is one of the main concerns of developing countries, which do not have wide and open markets providing accessible information and reports about competing companies commercializing comparable or similar products. Sometimes, a company might be the only producer of a specific type of product, making the search for comparables impracticable if not impossible.


AbstractTo improve the clinical utility of amphotericin B, we have developed a novel formulation of amphotericin B, Amphocil® (also known as Amphotericin B Colloidal Dispersion, or ABCD). Amphocil is a uniform disc-shaped complex of amphotericin B and sodium cholesteryl sulfate in a molar ratio of 1:1. The complex has a mean hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 115 nm and is thermodynamically stable. In an extensive series of pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies, Amphocil was found to be less toxic than conventional amphotericin B (Fungizone®), providing a four- to five-fold improvement in safety, while remaining effective in treating a variety of fungal infections. Plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue disposition of amphotericin B differ in several respects after administration of Amphocil and conventional amphotericin B, due to a rapid uptake of Amphocil by liver. Animals receiving Amphocil demonstrated reduced peak levels in plasma, prolonged residence time and lowered levels of amph...


We introduce and analyze a new technique Linear Progmmming Based Restn"ction (LP Restriction) for solving translational containment and enclosure problems. The ~ontainment task is to translate k m-gons into a n-gon container. The enclosure task is to translate k m-gons into a minimum area n-gon which is convex with fixed orientation edges. All running times are based on an assumption of fixed k and are asymptotic in m and n. Lower bounds are roved for confk tainment in a nonconvex container: Q((mn) ) for nonconvex polygons and Cl(nk ) for convex polygons. LP restriction ac.Meves upper bound O ( (m2 + rnn)2k log n) for nonconvex polygons and O((mn)k log n) for convex polygons. The former almost matches the lower bound, and the latter does also for constant m. For arbitrary m and k >3, the latter is faster than any other known algorithm for translational containment of convex polygons. A proof is given that the area function for fixed-angle convex polygons is Lorentzian. Enclosure algorithms based on thk result have running times 0((m2 + n)2k-2 (n+ log m)) for nonconvex polygons and O((m + n)2k(n + logm)) or 0(mk-l(n2~+1 + logm)) for convex polygons. We are not aware of any previous running times for k-polygon minimum area enclosure. Other containment and enclosure results are given. LP restriction demonstrates a useful combination of mathematical programming and computational geometry which may be a paradigm for solving other tasks. We show that the containment and enclosure algorithms are useful in industry. Software based on LP restriction has been licensed to industry, and it is the fastest available solution to translational containment and enclosure for nonconvex polygons. ● University of Miami, Department of Math and Computer Science. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. This research was funded by the Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation from funds awarded to them by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, by NSF grant CCR-91-157993, and by a subcontract of a National Textile Center grant to Auburn University, Department of Consumer Affairs. permission to make dlgitalihard copies of ail or pafi of thh material fOr personal or classroom uee is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage, the copyright notice, the titie of the publication and ita date appear, and notice is given that copyright is by permission of the ACM, Ine. To copy otherwise, to republish, to poet on servers or to redktributc to tiats, requires specific permission and/or f+. STOC'96, Philadelphia PA, USA Q 1996 ACM 0-89791-785-5/96/05. .$3.50


The end-to-end packet delay is important for the application of wireless sensor networks. Reducing unnecessary and redundant handshake frame is considered as a promising way to minimize the end-to-end delay. Here, a protocol named compressed handshake media access control (CH-MAC) is p-resented by control frame compression with implicit RTS to improve delay performance. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol outperforms SMAC protocol.


Objective:To study the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA) on expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 2(MRP2) in alpha-naphthylisothiocyanare(ANIT) induced cholestatic hepatitis.Methods:Rats were treated 5 days with normal saline,dexamethasone,UDCA respectively after administration of ANIT.The liver function were examined.The expression level of MRP2 on gene and protein were detected by real-time RT-PCR and Western-blot.Results:Compared to the normal saline,dexamethasone and UDCA could significantly decrease the TBil and DBil(P0.01),while markedly increasing the expression of mRNA and protein of MRP2(P0.01).Conclusion:The dexamethasone and UDCA can decrease bilirubin by increasing the expression of MRP2.


Objective: The objective of this study was to determine frequency of active HCV infection among confirmed anti-HCV positive subjects of KPK in order to help the infected subjects decide about anti-viral treatment options. Methods: Blood samples (3075 samples) were collected from patients in selected districts of KPK and were transported to Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, Diagnostic laboratory, University of Peshawar. These patients were already screened for anti-HCV by ICT (Immuno Chromatographic Technique) and ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay) in the local laboratories of the concern districts. Subsequently, viral RNA was isolated from serum sample and subjected to Real-time PCR. The frequency of the results was calculated for the HCV-RNA positive and negative samples. Results: Out of 3075 confirmed anti-HCV samples, HCV-RNA positive and negative samples were 2055 (66.6%) and 1020 (33.3%) respectively. The frequency of male and female HCV-RNA positive samples was 57.6% and 42.4% respectively. Rate of false anti-HCV positivity was 33.3%. Moreover, rate of active HCV infection was found more in district Bunir followed by districts Dir and Mardan. Comparatively less positive percent frequency of active HCV infection was found in districts Swabi, Peshawar and Kohat, respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that viremia is present in more than 50% of confirmed anti-HCV positive patients. Anti-HCV positive, but HCV-RNA negative samples represent either false- positivity of anti-HCV or a spontaneous clearance of HCV. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2013;3(4): 199-202