Abstract Objective: To determine whether placental ratio is influenced by maternal ethnic origin, obesity, hypertension, and haematological indices of iron deficiency anaemia. Design: Observational study. Setting: District general hospital in Birmingham. Subjects: 692 healthy nulliparous pregnant women, of whom 367 were European, 213 Asian, 99 Afro-Caribbean, and 13 of other or undocumented ethnic origin. Main outcome measures: Placental ratio and maternal body mass index, blood pressure, and haematological indices. Results: Though birth weight and placental weight were lower in Asian women than in other groups, mean placental ratio was similar in Asian (19.5% (SD 3.3%)), European (20.0% (4.0%)), and Afro-Caribbean women (20.4% (5.3%)). Gestational age at birth was the main predictor of placental ratio in the univariate analysis (r= -0.34, P<0.001) and multivariate analysis. The only other significant predictor of placental ratio in multivariate analysis was maternal body mass index, which was positively associated with placental ratio (r=0.1, P=0.01). Mean (SD) placental ratio was not significantly higher in women who developed gestational hypertension (20.4% (4.5%)) and pre-eclampsia (23.3% (7.3%)) than in normal women (19.8% (3.8%)). No evidence of a relation between placental ratio and first antenatal visit haemoglobin concentration or mean cell volume was detected, and placental ratio was not associated with change in mean cell volume during pregnancy or with third trimester serum ferritin concentration. Conclusions: These data do not support the proposed association between poor maternal nutrition and increased placental ratio. The association between high placental ratio and adult hypertension may be confounded by genetic and environmental factors associated with maternal obesity (and possibly maternal hypertension). Key messages Key messages Poor maternal nutrition has been suggested as a determinant of placental ratio, and an association with haematological indices of iron deficiency anaemia has been described In this study of European, Asian, and Afro-Caribbean pregnant women placental ratio was increased in the offspring of obese women Placental ratio was not significantly associated with first antenatal visit haemoglobin concentrations or mean cell volume, change in mean cell volume between the first antenatal visit and the third trimester, or third trimester serum ferritin concentration These findings do not support the hypothesis that raised placental ratio is a marker for poor maternal nutrition


Investigation osmoregulation of system of the Persian sturgeon released in the Gorgan Abstract: In this study, circumstances of osmoregulation system of the Persian sturgeon released in the Gorgan River in order to stock restoration have been investigated. Ten days old larvae sampled during 45 days from hatchery to the estuary. Samples taken form blood serum, gills and kidney tissues were collected from 12 May to 26 June, 2003. In the present study, Sampling sites were Shahid Marjani sturgeon hatchery, earthen pond, river water ( 2 sub samples ) and estuary. The blood serum osmotic pressure ( mOsm/L) , K + , Na +, Mg ++ ( mEqu/l) and Ca ++ (mg/dl) concentration were measured. In order to investigate the condition of osmoregulatory cells development, histological experiments of the specific tissues have been taken place accordingly.Regarding to figs. (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) , osmotic pressure of blood plasma was higher than the water ( the difference range is 14-196 mOsmol/l). Statistical results (test of one way t student ) show significant differences between the medium osmotic pressures ( P=0.99). In cases of ions, the concentration of Na + and K + were higher than those of the water. There is also significant difference between these ions concentration ( = 0.01).In contrast, the content of Mg ++ and Ca ++ were lower than the water. Regarding to these last two ions, there is also significant difference ( P= 0.99). Histological experiments confirm the results and show a relative development of the osmoregulatory cells in gills and kidney in accordance with fish ages.


For decades, the Druze community on the Golan Heights has waged a political struggle against Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, demonstrating its loyalty to Syria by refusing to accept Israeli citizenship, ostracizing (religiously and socially) anyone who does so, vetoing service in the idf, not teaching Hebrew in schools, celebrating Syrian national holidays, attending Syrian universities, etc. In the wake of the outbreak of the popular uprising in Syria in 2011, however, it has begun showing clear signs of cracks, most prominently amongst the younger generation. Due first and foremost to utilitarian factors. Characterised by a utilitarian wish to integrate into Israeli economy and society, this trend finds various expressions. Firstly, the number of Druze seeking Israeli citizenship has risen, albeit not dramatically, a clear correlation existing between this fact and the decline of the Ba'ath regime. Secondly, and at the same time, more young adults have begun applying to Israeli universities, the decade between 2011 and 2021 witnessing a significant rise in the number of Golan Druze students studying therein. Thirdly, in continuation of the same trend, the members of the Golan Druze community also began adopting an economic-focused orientation—which Israel met by launching an ambitious plan in 2014 for developing the 1052 Druze settlements in the Golan.


When an open type stove is used indoors, NO2 is generated by the combustion of the fuel, which can lead to respiratory diseases or allergic reactions. In addition, SO2 is also generated by the combustion of fossil fuels, which can cause asthma and bronchitis. In this paper, we propose a sensor, which uses a SAW device coated with Cu and Zn phthalocyanine films, for measuring the concentrations of NO2 and SO2. We have demonstrated that NO2 and SO2 concentrations in the 0.3-0.5 ppm range can be measured in a mixed gas containing a NO2 and SO2 by using sensors coated with 400 nm thick Cu phthalocyanine and 50 nm thick Zn phthalocyanine films, respectively. Furthermore, a multi sensor incorporating patterned Zn and Cu phthalocyanine films, capable of measuring the concentrations of both N02 and S02 has been demonstrated.


portrays an optimistic integration of a new, truer self rising from the remains of one's meltdown experience. Unfortunately, what constitutes this new transcendent self that is in touch with one's inner voice is never fully stated. How one reestablishes contact with God or a higher power is minimally explored. The book, which purports to point to spiritual wisdom, ranging from Native American, to the mindfulness of Buddha, to Christian kenosis, to the dynamics of cantering prayer, postulates that a reconstruction will happen. The authors, whose area of specialization is social work, attempt to present a plethora of religious resources and flounder by treating them with sparse insight and depth. However, true to its title, Ashes' forte penetrates the bleak hopelessness of the dark night experience. The work, which offers guideposts for personal reconstruction, challenges the survivor to opt for life and meaning. The McDonalds write in a style that is conversational, personal, and punctuated with convincing testimonies from people who have overcome their tragic nightmare. The phenomenological methodology of Ashes underscores the resurrection values found within spirituality and religious tradition. I recommend the book for its critical road markers offered during times of overwhelming tragedy. This is a beneficial resource, not only for those whose ministry work is primarily crisis related, but also for pastoral caregivers, hospital chaplains, those engaged in mental health, and Clinical Pastoral Education. -JOHN P. MaSSI, D.MIN.


The selection of observation of vegetation is the primary optimization objective of the thematic mapper. The following are aspects of plans for the thematic mapper: (1) to include an appropriately modified first generation MSS in the thematic mapper mission; (2) to provide assured coverage for a minimum of six years to give agencies and other users an opportunity to justify the necessary commitment of resources for the transition into a completely valid operational phase; (3) to provide for global, direct data read-out, without the necessity for on-board data storage or dependence on foreign receiving stations; (4) to recognize the operational character of the thematic mapper after successful completion of its experimental evaluation; and (5) to combine future experimental packages with compatible orbits as part of the operational LANDSAT follow-on payloads.


We have demonstrated that human plasma "prorenin", an inactive precursor of the blood pressure regulating enzyme renin, can be activated by cold, e.g. -4 to +4°C for 1-30 days (Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 51:705, 1973). Several workers have reported cold activation of the coagulation system. Suspecting a link between these two cold- activated enzyme systems, we established that in factor XII deficient plasma, the rate of cold activation of prorenin is halved (Lancet i, 1313, 1978). Trypsinization of plasma can mimic within 1 minute the effect of prolonged cold (Circ. Res. Suppl . 1, 41:171, 1977), and can overcome specific coagulation factor deficiencies in varying degrees. FXII, VII, V, and especially FX deficient plasmas, all have subnormal basal active renin levels, implying an impaired state of prorenin conversion in vivo. FXII deficientplasma activates least by cold, suggesting special importance of FXII for operation of cold activation. All the plasmas activate better with 0.5 mg trypsin/ml plasma than with cold, except FX, suggesting that it especially mediates tryptic activation. Increasing the trypsin concentration corrects for factor deficiencies in varying degrees, implying some non-specificity and interchangeability of factor requirements for prorenin activation. Our data point to a hierarchy of factor importance, and to a "cascade7#x201D; of prorenin activation, by which plasma renin content can be rapidly increased. Thus, plasma renin activity is a function of renal release of renin, plus renin formation from renal (and possibly extrarenal) prorenin by an activation process involving the coagulation system.


This research study examines the evolution of the digital economy in terms of its effect on business strategy. The focus will include an analysis of successful media organization strategies as well as steps that can be taken for traditional businesses to better embrace the shift to integrating information systems in conjunction with their business strategy as demonstrated in the Information System Strategic Triangle. Without making purposeful strides to integrate themselves into the digital economy, organizations will continue to suffer and lose what types of competitive advantage they had previously. This study addresses the need to determine what steps traditional business models can take in order to compete and remain relevant in the digital economy. This will be done by examining several digital and traditional media companies and identifying key moves that have contributed to either their success or failure. This paper will address the shift in the media industry due to changing economics, technology availability, and customer expectations. In addition, several areas that can allow traditional media organizations to adapt and survive in the economy will also be examined. iTunes and Netflix are prime examples of learning to pivot within the organization's business strategy to leverage new technology to better support their business. Traditional organizations such as movie production and satellite television must be willing to take concrete steps to also utilize these technologies or they risk becoming obsolete in the constantly changing digital business ecosystem. This research study is limited to a few specific streaming media companies and a broad scope of view of studio production companies. Further research should be conducted on studio production companies that have initiated redesign to incorporate technology and analytics into their business model (and processes) in order to compete in the current digital landscape. This topic needs to explore changes in dynamics of its organizational strategy and business strategy with its information strategy. Further research should include case studies on media companies to understand the framework of managerial decisions


The growing role of evaluation of academic activities in the Italian university system fosters a careful thought about the main lines of evolution of evaluation in European university systems. The analysis will be carried out through a comparative approach. It will help to understand the Italian experiences promoted by ANVUR with reference to the European context and to formulate suggestions for their development.


Dorfman and Steiner's theorem is trivial with respect to advertising because it deals with only one period. It simply says that a firm should stop with that volume of advertising at which an additional dollar of advertising just produces an additional dollar of net revenue. This note generalizes the theorem to the meaningful multi-period situation in which the effect of advertising is lagged. The optimizing decision rule is to advertise up to the point at which f′(At) = 1 - bd, where A stands for advertising, b for the customer-rentention factor, and d for the cost-of capital discount factor.


Elliptic Curve Cryptography appeared in 1985 and since became an increasingly important crypto-system in public-key cryptography. Numerous articles have come to improve the field. One of these milestones is Edwards Curves which appeared in 2007 and proposed advantageous properties against SPA attacks. This thesis proposes the design, implementation and comparison of several small co-processors in hardware acceleration work flow. We start from scratch the software implementation of a scalar multiplication of Edwards Curves defined over FP192 in projective coordinates. In a first phase, 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit multipliers interfaced on the parallel port of a 8051 are successively developed. Then, the system is improved again by the implementation of a memory mapped 192-bit broadcast multiplier including a modular reduction. These five hardware configurations combined to an assembly optimization finally furnish six versions which are compared on four axes : time, energy consumption, area and security. On the one hand the side-channel attack still exposes a SPA-weakness in the implementation of all the version. On the other hand, measures show the expected results that the 192-bit multiplier provides a faster and lower power system at the expense of multiplying the silicon area by three.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we establish an impact pattern scene application method based on a zone stain selection model. This model had been developed within previous research and found to be relevant for improving accuracy for calculating an area of origin estimate. This theoretical model was tested as a method of training bloodstain analysts on how to select stains, and those data were compared with our scene application method. Several impact patterns were created within a laboratory environment and individual stains were selected according to rules of the theoretical model for both methods. The method includes the use of an overlay template that is placed on a computerized image of the end view of the pattern. A statistical analysis established that there was no significant difference between the theoretical model and the scene application method, indicating this method can be applied in crime scene analysis.


Spectrum being a natural resource is always limited in availability. Its use needs to be intelligently managed for maximum benefits, hence the idea of Cognitive Radio. If the occupied or free status of spectrum band can be predicted or inferred from existing spectrum measurement data then this technique improves spectrum efficiency. This technique called Spectrum Inference/Prediction is a valuable tool to harness the spectrum effectively. This paper gives a recent survey of existing spectrum inference techniques for spectrum occupancy prediction with focus being on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based schemes. First the statistical spectrum occupancy modeling methods are compared with machine learning based methods and described briefly the various neural networks in the purview of ANNs. The recent trend towards the use of hybrid neural network models has been detailed by acknowledging the contribution of research in this area. The various algorithms have been weighed over performance measure metrics, dimensions, type of data and measurement set-up employed. Finally the significant research been directed towards the use of deep learning techniques proven its efficiency in this field are also noted.


Background: Acne can have important psychological repercussions. Objectives: We studied adolescents' perceptions of acne, in a nonmedical context. Methods: Between November 2004 and January 2005, a questionnaire was presented to adolescents calling a youth helpline. It focused on perceptions of acne and, among callers with personal experience of acne, its severity and treatment. Callers were divided into those with acne, those having had acne and those never having had acne. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 1,566 callers. It showed that 51% of respondents with acne did not seek medical help; acne has as big a psychological impact as some far severer diseases; many respondents with no history of acne said they were very worried that they would develop this skin disorder. Conclusions: This study underlines the major psychological impact of acne. Young people need to be informed that acne can be treated. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel Received: January 10, 2007 Accepted: May 1, 2007 Dr. Henry Pawin 11, chaussée de la Muette FR–75016 Paris (France) Tel. +33 1 42 88 00 88, Fax +33 1 42 88 00 31 E-Mail email@example.com © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–8665/07/2154–0308$23.50/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/drm The 7 authors compose a working group specializing in acne, called the Groupe Expert Acné (GEA). This group received funding from Galderma International for this study.


In this paper we examine 5 indexes (the two Yule's indexes, the chi square, the odds ratio and an elementary index) of a two-by-two table, which estimate the correlation coefficient ρ in a bivariate Bernoulli distribution. We will find the compact expression of the influence functions, which allow the quantification of the effect of an infinitesimal contamination of the probability of any pair of attributes of the bivariate random variable distributed according to the above-mentioned model. We prove that the only unbiased index is the chi square. In order to determine the indexes, which are less sensitive to contamination, we obtain the expressions of three synthetic measures of the influence function, which are the maximum contamination (gross sensitivity error), the mean square deviation and the variance. These results, even if don't allow a definitive assessment of the overall optimum properties of the five indexes, as not all of them are unbiased, nevertheless they allow to appreciating the synthetic entity of the effect of the contaminations in the estimation of the parameter ρ of the bivariate Bernoulli distribution.


The most robust prediction of inflation driven by a single field is the existence of a red tilt for the spectrum of curvature fluctuations that is experimentally of order 0.04. The tilt is derived solving the exact equation for quantum fluctuations in a quasi de Sitter background with first slow-roll parameter ϵ small but non vanishing. The experimental data selects among the different inflaton potentials. The origin of the lack of scale invariance associated with the tilt is however classical in essence and parametrized by the slow roll parameter of the inflaton potential. Here we present a purely quantum mechanical and model independent derivation of the tilt. This derivation is based on two basic observations: first, the correlator for the Mukhanov-Sasaki gauge invariant variables is related to the quantum Fisher function measuring the quantum dependence of the family of pure de Sitter vacua on the energy scale parameter; second, this quantum Fisher function has a non vanishing scale dependent red tilt that, at the energy scales of physical interest, fits the effective quasi de Sitter prediction as well as the experimental value. This is a result that is model independent and only based on the quantum features of the family of de Sitter vacua.


Photonic crystals are materials with regular periodicity of dielectric structures,which can create a range of forbidden frequencies called photonic bandgap.Photons with energies lying in the bandgap cannot propagate through the medium.Moreover,photonic crystals have the ability to manipulate,confine and control light,thus provide the opportunities to shape and mould the flow of light for photonic communication technology and photonic computer.In present,the preparation of photonic crystals,especially those in visible or near-infrared region,is the key to the development of photonic crystals.In this paper,the conception and characteristics of photonic crystal are described at first,and then the research in experiment and application are introduced respectively.In experiment research,fabrication method of photonic crystals is depicted.In application,single-mode light-emitting diode,optical waveguide device and microwave antenna are described.


Kidneys play a key role in maintaining systemic homeostasis by precisely regulating a wide variety of physiological substances in both the plasma and forming urine. To aid in this process, sensory G‐protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) act as specialized chemosensors to detect metabolites that often are effective 'signals' of abnormalities in essential physiological processes and metabolic pathways. Using a real‐time PCR screen, we previously identified several novel GPCRs that are expressed at high levels in murine whole kidney, but have not been previously examined in the kidney. In this study, we aim to uncover the functional role of Gprc5c, which we found to be highly expressed in the kidney (at a comparable level to the well‐studied and highly expressed Angiotensin receptor, AT1a; ΔCtAT1a: 6.25±0.24; ΔCtGprc5c: 7.0±0.16). Using immunohistochemistry, we found that Gprc5c is localized apically in the renal proximal tubules of wild‐type (WT) mice; this stain was absent in Gprc5c knockout (KO) mice. Because Gprc5c is an orphan receptor with no known ligand, we utilized an in vitro approach to screen potential ligands using a ligand‐induced GPCR internalization assay in transiently transfected HEK293T cells. We found that pH triggered Gprc5c activation and that the internalization is maximal in the alkaline range (pH>7.4). This pH range specifically induced internalization of Gprc5c, but not other transiently transfected GPCRs which served as controls. In addition, preliminary studies indicate that the plasma pH of Gprc5c knockout mice trends acidic compared to wild‐type littermates (KO: 7.17±0.09, n=5; WT: 7.45±0.08, n=3, p=0.07). Together, these results indicate that Gprc5c may act in the renal proximal tubule to aid in the regulation of acid‐base balance.


Copper-embedded low-density polyethyl- ene (LDPE) composites were fabricated using different cop- per concentrations in the polymer matrix. The copper parti- cles were spherical with a mean particle size between 200 and 300 nm. All the samples were compacted under pres- sure and melted. The LDPE matrix was analyzed using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and it did not evidence degradation of the LDPE matrix. The microstructure of the composites was examined with scanning electron micros- copy. The electrical conductivity was measured as a function of the copper content, and the composite fabricated with a 10 vol % copper presented a conductivity 15 orders of magni- tude higher than that of pure LDPE. The enhancement in conductivity can be explained by means of segregated per- colation path theory and the experimental results are in agreemen twit hth etheoretica llaw .


The evolution of the strong coupling constant αs from MZ to the GUT scale is presented, involving three-loop running and two-loop decoupling. Accordingly, the two-loop transition from the MS to the DR scheme is properly taken into account. We find that the three-loop effects are comparable to the experimental uncertainty for αs. PACS. 11.30.Pb Supersymmetry – 12.38.-t Quantum chromodynamics


Vegetation cover is considered one of the most important factors that affect weather, climate, and the environment. This paper aims to study the correlation between land surface temperature and the Vegetation Indices using Landsat data in Duhok Governorate, Iraq. Landsat-8 images were taken for December, April, July, and October in 2019. Geographic Information System ArcGIS 10.2 package has been used to calculate the results. The Normalized difference vegetation index NDVI, Green ratio vegetation index (GRVI), and land surface temperature (LST) have been computed. The results showed that were a strong positive relationship between vegetation indices during winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons. The correlation coefficient values ranged from (0.9) in winter, (0.96) in spring, (0.95) in summer and (0.89) in autumn seasons. Also, the results showed a strong inverse correlation among LST and NDVI, GRVI indices during winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons. The strongest correlation between land surface temperature and the Vegetation Indices was in the Spring Season. These correlations can be used to study vegetation health, drought.


After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Soviet television looked old-fashioned and seemed redundant, with the emerging post-Soviet televisual cultures turning their gazes to global sources of inspiration. The next decade affected Russia and Ukraine in very different ways. In Russia brief exposure to what was seen as "cheap mass-culture" left TV viewers and producers disillusioned. With the change of attitude towards Western TV, the ideas about Soviet TV changed, too. From a grey and unexciting model Soviet TV had become a shining example of "high quality" and nostalgia-driven content set in for the next few years. In Ukraine, where no domestic TV had existed as such prior to 1991 and where Soviet TV was rapidly fading into the past (and some-one else's past, too), a decade of experimenting with programming had left the TV producers much more open to global television formats and Western ideas, developing programmes very different than the Russian ones.


In this paper a formula for ''Gamma-Ray Dose Rate from a spherical radioactive source'' has been obtained at an external point. To simplify the problem, factors such as self-absorption and multiple scattering inside the source have not been taken into consideration. For facilitating measurements in particular cases the distance of the point of interest is taken from the surface of the source. Some uses of the formula have also been discussed in medical and other fields.


The comparative analysis of activities on the management of human resource management and work on personnel management. See the model of strategic human resource management. The ways of solving socio-psychological contradictions in the process of formation of a personnel reserve.


Opinions about item's aspects in user reviews may be a valuable source of information for improving Recommender Systems performance. Despite important advances in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning fields that allow the extraction of such information from texts written in English, there is still work to do in the case of texts in other languages. In this work, we adapt known unsupervised aspect extraction approaches to extract opinions from reviews written in Spanish. Our results show that the exploitation of aspects extracted automatically from reviews written in Spanish allow to improve considerably the top-k recommendation lists generated by Aspect-based Recommender Systems.


Summary Treatment of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)-infected human embryo lung cells with phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) at a concentration of 100 μg/ml did not inhibit the replication of HSV-2 over a 7-day period due to replication of low levels of PAA-resistant virus present in original virus stocks. Dose-response curves demonstrated that a minimum of 200 μg of PAA/ml was required to inhibit HSV-2 over this time interval. At twice the minimum concentration of PAA required, it was possible to induce a period during which infectious virus was un-detectable after reversal of drug treatment. This latent period was longer than that observed previously using cytosine arabinoside, and was extended by increasing the incubation temperature to 40° at the time of drug removal. The authors wish to thank Dr. Stephen St. Jeor for continuous provision of HEL cells.


The utilization rates of N,P,K fertilizer and the yield of garlic were studied,under the common compound fertilizer,conventional fertilization,formula fertilization treatments.The results showed that formula fertilizer could increase utilization rates of N,P,K fertilizer in garlic,and each of the fertilizers had a slight surplus.Meanwhile,formula fertilization could increase the yield of garlic,increasing the income of farmers and soil fertility.


This study examines how Winnifred Eaton, better known by her penname Onota Watanna, presented her image in published photographs and her purported...


Corynespora cassiicola was isolated from symptomatic kenaf plants, the pathogenic factors of kenaf inoculated with C. cassiicola were investigated under different temperatures and humidities. The results were as follows: the optimum temperature for infection was 28℃ and saturation humidity was beneficial to infection; the optimum suspension content was above 5.5×10^3 conidia•mL^(-1), the kenaf stems could be infected under this concentration, and the disease was more severe by increasing the concentrations; typical stem spot was spindle and suspended with sooty mold; conidia were solitary, obclavate, with 3-26 pseudosepta. The results also indicated that both hyphae and conidia could penetrate kenaf stems via stomata or wound. The young leaves were susceptible with the seedling age less than 10 days. The result of inoculation test showed that there was significant difference (P<0.05) among the length of spot and disease index in 7 kenaf accessions.


Background: Aim-The success of labor induction depends on the cervical status at the time of induction. Objective- For effective cervical ripening both foley catheter and a dinoprostone gel are used. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of the intracervical Foleys catheter and dinoprostone gel in cervical ripening for successful induction of labor.
Methods: It was a randomized controlled study conducted in the obstetrics department at SMS Medical College, Jaipur. 100 Women were enrolled with a bishops score <5with various indication for induction of labour. They intracervical Foleys catheter insertion and group B received Dinoprostone gel 0.5mg instilleted intracervical. Maximum of 2 doses dinoprostone gel could be administered 6 hours apart. Primary efficacy parameter was change in Bishops score as compared to baseline.
Results: The groups were comparable with respect to maternal age, gestation age, indication of induction and initial Bishop's score. Both the groups showed significant change in the Bishop's score  at 12 hr,8.02 ± 3.22 and 7.1 ± 4.48 in Foleys catheter and Dinoprostone gel, respectively, But p value was not statistically significant(0.242).
Conclusion- This study shows that both Foleys catheter and Dinoprostone are equally effective in cervical ripening.


This paper discussed and analyzed the effect of dust storms on urban air quality in both sand source and affected regions on the basis of statistical data of dust storm events from 2001 to 2006 and the air pollution index(API) data.Furthermore,the aerosol optical depth and angstrom exponent change characteristics were studied in dust-sand weather and non-dust-sand weather in Lanzhou and Beijing from 2005 to 2007.The research results show that the frequency of dust storms reduced slowly in recent years(it reduced at first,and then increased a bit),and the dust storms aggravated the atmospheric pollution.The influence of the dust storms on the source regions surpassed half of the regional background pollution levels.The average API in spring dust weather of Lanzhou,Yinchuan,Hohhot and Baotou increased 64%,53%,86% and 90%,respectively,while the API of Beijing,Tianjin,Taiyuan,Shijiazhuang,Shenyang,Jinan,Xi'an and Zhengzhou increased 85%,62%,49%,57%,29%,41%,27% and 45%,respectively.In addition,the aerosol optical depth increased and the angstrom exponent decreased obviously when dust storms occurred.


Soil nutrient and enzyme contents of natural secondary Pinus tabulaeformis forest land among 6 hill closed and afforested(H A) ages were analyzed.The results show that in the same H A,with depth of soil increasing,contents of organic matter(OM),NO-3-N,available phosphor(AP) and urease decreased respectively.During 30 years before H A,in the depth of 0 to 20 cm of soil,with the increase of H A,OM decreased continuously.Meanwhile,contents of NO3-N,NH+4-N and urease demonstrated a trend from increase to decrease.However,contents of available potassium(AK),AP and CAT indicated a reversed trend.Furthermore,30 years after H A,with the increase of H A,contents of OM and AK increased continuously.In the same time,contents of NO-3-N,NH+4-N,AP and CAT showed a trend increase to decrease.On the contrary,content of urease took on a reversed trend.Based on principle components analysis,values of soil comprehensive factor decreased.For the purpose to improve whole level of nutrient in Pinus tabulaeformis forest land,selective cut should be carried out 30 years after H A.


The proper approach in my view is to use statistics to illustrate the economic analysis and exploration of deeper processes, not the reverse, which I think provides fewer chances of unveiling the deeper, substantive relations. Nonetheless, I will try to analyse the tendencies in the figures and identify the main driving forces behind them. I will strive to reveal the main, decisive factors behind the medium-term tendencies in the world economy. This will be helped by looking back on earlier decades in the main tables. Long-term comparative examination will also be assisted by investigating the background to the changes since the turn of the millennium.


ABSTRACT Drug addicts are victims of drug abuse and is not a criminal, so we need to save drug addicts from drug addiction by way of rehabilitation . Agency authorized to make recommendations for rehabilitation is the National Narcotics Agency ( BNN ) . The formulation of the problem is ( 1 ) How is the role of the National Narcotics Agency ( BNN ) West Sumatra Province in providing recommendations to the rehabilitation of drug addicts ? ( 2 ) What problems were found by the National Narcotics Agency ( BNN ) West Sumatra Province in providing recommendations to the rehabilitation of drug addicts ? . This type of research is a socio-juridical legal research with the data source used is primary data and secondary data and data collection techniques are the interviews and document research . Conclusion of the study ( 1 ) The role of West Sumatra province BNN is instrumental in providing recommendations to the rehabilitation of drug addicts . This is evidenced by annually BNN West Sumatra province have recommended and sent 20 people to be rehabilitated drug addicts in Lido Sukabumi, West Java . In providing recommendations for rehabilitation , BNN West Sumatra province has cooperated with the Institute Recipient Obligation Report ( IPWL ) appointed by the Regional Government of Sumatra . ( 2 ) Constraints found by BNN is a lack of central Sumatra Province rehabilitai and lack of vertical institutions of BNN . Keywords : Roles , BNN , Rehabilitation , Narcotics .


Work supported in part by the Office of Water Resources Research, Department of Interior, under the provisions of Public Law 88-379 as Project No. A-015-KY.""


In this paper,the authors design MEMS Silicon-based patch array antenna element whose center frequency is 1.92 GHz.Because high dielectric constant of silicon degrades an antenna efficiency and excites surface waves especially at high frequency,so the authors give birth to an air cavity to reduce the equivalent permittivity.Because the antenna is large,so we use the technology of loading and mendering to reduce the size.Furthermore,2×2 dissymmetrical microstrip array antenna is designed with the element and simulated in HFSS.The antenna pattern and gain are both content.


A method to assess anti-oxidant activity quantitatively is presented. In this method, free radicals (OH·) were produced from the Fenton reaction. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) was then used to determine the effectiveness of five anti-oxidants to scavenge the free radicals. Anti-oxidant activity was assessed as the percentage reduction of the ESR signal intensity relative to that of a control after 10 min. The order of the potency of the antioxidants at 4.8 mM was: caffeic acid > o-coumarin > 6,7-dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin > catechin > scopoletin. In addition, pro-oxidant activity (a higher ESR signal intensity than that of the control) was observed for catechin and scopoletin at low concentrations (below 3.6 mM).

© 2000 Society of Chemical Industry


Abstract In the 1940s and 1950s the Department of the Interior's Film Unit made a number of films designed to win the support of a sceptical Australian public for the large-scale intake of migrants, including refugees, from Europe. Migrants, it was argued, addressed the most pressing shortage in Australia at the time, 'manpower'. Since then, there has remained an emphasis on the vitalizing effects of immigration upon Australian society, although this has broadened to include cultural richness as well as labour. The more recent films dealing with the children of migrants have, however, dramatized a concern that the migrant's experience delivered to them as their 'heritage' could no longer carry the weight of optimism that both migrant and host had invested in the enterprise.


To study the effects of resistance inducers used to control fusarium wilt in tomatoes due to the fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht f. sp. lycopersici, we evaluated the effects of ASM (acibenzolar-S-methyl), Agro-Mos, chitosan, Biopirol and neem oil on F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici mycelial growth and sporulation and systemic resistance in tomatoes. In vitro experiments comprised evaluations of the products' effects on the mycelial growth and sporulation of the PDA (potato dextrose agar) growth medium-cultured pathogen. In vivo experiments included product application to tomato plants of the Santa Cruz cultivar that were grown for 25 days on autoclaved soil, followed by determinations of disease severity and peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and Beta-1,3-glucanase enzyme activity levels, which are related to the process of resistance induction. Pathogen inoculation occurred after 5 days at a concentration of 106 conidia/mL. We evaluated the disease according to a rating scale. Enzymatic activity was determined according to specific protocols. Neem oil controlled pathogen mycelial growth and sporulation, while ASM influenced sporulation. The products reduced the severity of wilt in the plants. We highlight neem oil, Agro-Mos and Biopirol due to their ability to induce significant peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and Beta-1,3-glucanase expression, respectively.


This Legal Scholarship Symposia Articles is brought to you for free and open access by TU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Tulsa Law Review by an authorized editor of TU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact email@example.com. Recommended Citation D. T. Gochenour, Current Difficulties in Forming Policy and Attracting the Foreign Oil Industry to the Former Soviet Union, 27 Tulsa L. J. 705 (2013).


A hybird blind equalization technique is proposed based on CMA.The new algorithm modifies the CMA and brings in soft decision-directed theory.The theoretical analysis and computer simulations demonstrate significant improvement in the convergence rates and the residual error after convergence compared with CMA,the proposed algorithm(MCMA+SDD) has the better steady-state equalization performance and faster convergence speed than the concurrent CMA and SDD algorithm.


The relationship between changes in Arctic sea ice and the mid‐latitude climate has been receiving increasing attention. As the highest and largest topography in Asia, the possible link between the west Tibetan Plateau snow depth (WTPSD) and the Arctic sea ice was investigated based on observational data and model simulations. The results indicate that a consistent variation between the WTPSD and the seesaw sea ice pattern in the Barents‐Nordic Sea and Labrador Sea (BLSIC) exists during boreal winter, and both the WTPSD and BLSIC are negatively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. During the negative phases of the NAO, an anomalous Rossby wave train propagates from the North Atlantic to the north of the Arabian Sea, inducing cyclonic anomalies in the mid‐troposphere and enhancing water vapour transportation onto the TP, which is conducive to in situ snow accumulation. Furthermore, composite analysis and AGCM numerical experiments demonstrate that such an anomalous BLSIC pattern can in turn reinforce the negative phase of the NAO in strength, facilitating the propagation of the mid‐tropospheric Rossby waves to north of the Arabian Sea and hence an above normal WTPSD. Therefore, the variation in WTPSD is influenced by the direct effect of the NAO and additional feedback from BLSIC, which hints a potential cryospheric connection between the TP and the Arctic.


Silene fabaroides Hausskn. is added to the flora of Turkey with the specimens collected from European Turkey (A1 (E) Edirne). Description of the species with illustration is given. Key words: Flora of Turkey, Silene fabaroides.


The National Reporting System for Family Planning Services (NRSFPS) is a sample survey conducted on a continuous basis by the Division of Health Care Statistics National Center for Health Statistics. According to NRSFPS data about 3831000 people received medical family planning services in the U.S. in 1978. 99.6% were female compared to .4% males. The average age of the women was 20-24 years. 61.5% of patients were continuation or readmission cases. The proportion of new patients is about 53.5% for the 15-19 age group and drops to about 28.8% for the 25-29 age group. The proportion of continuation patients levels off to about 59% beginning with women age 30-34. There were at least 2 times as many white as black female patients in the 2 youngest age groups. 39.5% of the women had less than a high school education. 59.8% of the white women and 39.7% of the black women reported they had never had a live child however the proportion of patients with fetal deaths is the same for women of both races about 23%. About 58.3% of the women over 30 had 3 or more pregnancies. 79% of all female patients reported that some method of contraception was used prior to their visit. The pill is the most prevalent method used regularly prior to the family planning visit.


lars, scientists and artists. The author has provided an interesting description of the Chinese negotiating style. He points out that the combination of Sino-centric tradition and revolutionary experience have been the conditioning factors for Chinese policy-makers and that one can discern continuity in the Chinese negotiating stylo over the centuries. Their belief in the inevitability of victory and their sense of time lessness add unique flavour to the Chinese style. It is now well known that the Chinese try to predetermine the outcome of negotiations by insisting on certain phraseology for the items on the agenda. They argue on procedures and format as much as on substantive issues, The description of the Panmunjom talks, which, in the author's words, "institutionalised the diplomacy of stalemate", throws light on such rigidity, impersonality and hostility on the part of the Chinese negotiators. Even very small things are used by the Chinese to denote unfriendly atmosphere, such as the use of ash-trays on the negotiating table dividing the North and South Korea delegations.


The agricultural sector has been one major component of the Senegalese economy. The northern region, Saint-Louis, which benefits from the Senegal River has favorable environment for horticulture. However, producers are facing over surplus and marketing difficulties in the study area. In order to facilitate accessibility of decisive market information for rural farmers, a survey was conducted on tomato producers in Saint-Louis Region of Senegal. A total of 138 respondents were interviewed using structured questionnaire to assess their marketing patterns, information and communication technology (ICT) capacity and information needs. The results indicate that 78% of the respondents depended on a tomato processing factory as their regular outlet and 94% regarded rot or spoilage of products as their main marketing risk. To design a feasible ICT-based management system in the future, telephony may be used as technological tool, as mobile phone and tele-centre were widely used by 82% and 71% of the farmers respectively. Moreover, given that 70% of the producers were interested in wholesale prices, the accuracy and dissemination of the information obtained from wholesale markets will be crucial. In conclusion, the use of information communication and technology (ICT) information needs better policy and regulatory frame work by the Senegalese government to enhance the production and marketing of tomato in the country.


KATHERINE KELP-STEBBINS, associate professor of English at the University of Oregon, is the author of How Comics Travel: Publication, Translation, Radical Literacies (Ohio UP, 2022) and the curator of the touring museum exhibit The Art of the News: Comics Journalism. Her current book project examines the work of artists who use graphic narratives to document and address political violence and human rights abuses. In Rolling Blackouts, Sarah Glidden's graphic narrative account of traveling as a journalist to document refugees in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, the author depicts translations by means of overlapping speech balloons (fig. 1). The tail of the speaker's balloon indicates that their own spoken words—sometimes visible as fragments of Farsi or Arabic—are replaced by the words of the translator, whose balloon covers that of the speaker's. Jutting out and away from the speaker, the tail of the translator's balloon symbolically manifests both the translator's visibility and the site of translation. Through diverging, vectorized tails, Glidden marks how a translation takes place. The reader is aware that the words of the translator come to replace the words of the speaker. The reader encounters these words as a gesture toward erasure, one that only indicates itself as such through the visual presence of competing balloons, and the double illusion of depth in planar space and words contained within floating balloons. What can comics, as particular sites of reading, offer to translation studies? Glidden's example demonstrates how the visual grammar of comics might be drawn on, literally and figuratively, to foreground the labor, theory, and practice of translation. As a peculiar interstice between the world republic of letters and the domain of images, comics necessitate techniques and physical spaces for translation that, through their abrogation of the traditional order of things, might disturb certain assumptions about translation. Although "translation proper" (as Roman Jakobson glosses "interlingual translation" [233]) may appear to be a straightforward concept—even in comics—the differential relations among image, text, form, and format operating across graphic narratives engender ambiguities over how to conceptualize "the proper" for this medium (ReynsChikuma and Tarif 3; Rota 84). Glidden's overlapping speech balloons emplace intersemiotic translation in the dialogic space of


In order to discover genetic variation of gliadin composition of wheat varieties in Shanxi,A-PAGE method was used to analyze difference of gliadin composition and genetic diversity of 214 varieties including local bred,introduced and landraces wheat in recent 40 years.The results were as follows: number of gliadin band increased by 2.1 and 1.5 in bred and introduced wheat varieties compared to Shanxi landraces.In total 70 bands,the frequency of 26 bands detected from bred and introduced cultivars was up,23 down,21 no regular pattern compared to Shanxi landraces.In 4 gliadin zones,variation of types and frequency of gliadin band in ω zone was largest,γ was the second,β and α was smallest.Two band block of 16.5 and 19.1, and three band block of 12.9,15.7 and 17.8 were tested in ω zone,but they do not express in the same variety.Mean of genetic distance in Shanxi wheat landraces was larger than those in other two type wheat cultivars.The cluster analysis found that cultivars of landraces,bred or introduced were divided into the same group,which showed genetic difference of loci encoded gliadin in Shanxi wheat landraces was larger than the other two type wheat cultivars,namely,the level of genetic variation of gliadin in bred or introduced cultivars was not high in the last 40 years.


The use of self-tapping screws with continuous threads as a reinforcement to avoid splitting of members in connections with dowel-type fasteners was studied in two projects carried out at the Universities of Nottingham and Karlsruhe. The reinforced specimens showed a very ductile failure mode whereas the non-reinforced specimens failed in a brittle way. Although the reinforced specimens also showed small cracks in the wood directly under the dowels, a complete splitting of the whole specimen, as regularly observed in the tests with the non-reinforced connections, did not occur. A model for calculating the load in the reinforcing screws was developed and its use is shown in some examples.


targeted; thus, systemic herbicides offer one of the most effective tools in an integrated treatment approach. Cogongrass leaves grow directly from buds along rhizomes, without aboveground stems, and may reach 1.5 m in height (Holm et al. 1977, Bryson and Carter 1993). Because shoot meristems are below ground, cogongrass is tolerant of mowing and grazing. Cogongrass is fire tolerant, even though fires are intense during both the growing season and the winter, when the dry thatch remains standing (Dozier et al. 1998). Cogongrass rhizomes have buds at each node that are spaced 1–2 cm apart along the entire length of the rhizome. Rhizomes branch frequently, forming dense mats that can exclude most other vegetation (Ayeni 1985). Rhizome entanglements can fill the upper soil to more than 30 cm deep, they typically make up more than 60% of the total plant biomass, and they are allelopathic to some grass seeds (Sajise 1976, Koger and Bryson 2003). Rapid aboveground regrowth from the rhizomes is stimulated by mowing, disking, burning, or ineffective herbicide treatment (Sajise 1976, Willard et al. 1996, Lippincott 2000). Therefore, rhizomes must be completely killed, leaving no living segments, to achieve eradication. Difficulty in achieving eradication is thought to increase with infestation age as the rhizome mat density and depth increase, although this has not been fully tested. The influence of the soil seed bank on eradication is not a primary concern during local eradication efforts. Prolific numbers of wind-dispersed seeds are produced by cogongrass, but viability is highly variable and declines rapidly after 1 year (Shilling et al. 1997, Dozier et al. 1998). Therefore, seed longevity in the soil seed bank is not a primary concern with regrowth after treatment, whereas spread to nearby mineral soil is a concern. Repeated applications of herbicides, commonly applied in summer to early fall, are required for cogongrass control. Prescribed burning in late winter or early spring preceding treatment is common (Miller 2007b). However, the benefits of burning to eliminate winter thatch have been questioned. Although this approach may allow for more effective herbicide applications early in the spring, burning has been reported to stimulate rhizome initiation and branching, increasing plant density, flowering, and outward spread rates while killing constraining shrubs (Bryson and Carter 1993, Lippincott 2000, Yager et al. 2010). Burning can also produce bare areas favorable for cogongrass seed germination (Yager 2007). Research in Florida and Asia has identified glyphosate, imazapyr, and the combination of these herbicides as the most effective herbicides for controlling cogongrass, although to date, eradication has not been reported even with retreatments (Brook 1989, Willard et al. 1996, 1997). Both glyphosate and imazapyr are readily absorbed by the foliage and translocated to rhizomes (Townson and Butler 1990). Soil-active imazapyr is also absorbed through roots (Little and Shaner 1991), which may foster greater control, although the importance of imazapyr uptake though rhizomes has not been determined. When used alone, imazapyr has proven more effective than glyphosate (Willard et al. 1996, 1997, Ramsey et al. 2003). Willard et al. (1997) found combinations of glyphosate and imazapyr in various proportions equally effective compared with the highest rates tested for either glyphosate or imazapyr applied alone (3.4 kg acid equivalent (ae)/ha glyphosate or 1.1 kg ae/ha imazapyr). Shoot biomass was reduced only 70% and rhizome biomass only 39% in their study. Additional research in Florida has shown that the highest rates tested for glyphosate (up to 9 kg ae/ha) or imazapyr (up to 1.1 kg ae/ha) applied in early winter were the most effective (Shilling et al. 1997, Willard et al. 1997, Ramsey et al. 2003). However, complete control was not achieved, indicating the need for research using higher rates of these herbicides combined with repeated applications. Application timing and carrier volume can also influence herbicide efficacy. November or December applications of glyphosate or imazapyr proved most effective for cogongrass control in Florida (Shilling et al. 1997). However, cogongrass is typically dormant by this time of the year when growing further north, indicating the need for testing earlier application dates for use in areas with a shorter growing season. Few formal studies address the impact of application volume, although imazapyr was more effective at 234 L/ha than 47 L/ha, whereas glyphosate was not responsive to changes in application volume (Willard et al. 1997). Furthermore, information regarding the optimum application volume for use of glyphosate and imazapyr in combination is lacking. Our overall goal was to further refine recommendations for control of cogongrass infestations in states north of Florida. Specific objectives of our research were to (1) test a range of rates of glyphosate or imazapyr applied alone, including higher rates than previously tested, (2) refine late summer and early fall timing for the Gulf Coastal Plain by testing both September and October applications, (3) determine the optimum application volume for the commonly used combination of glyphosate and imazapyr, and (4) test the efficacy of retreating plots with the same treatment 1 year after initial application. Materials and Methods Study Areas Two experiments were installed in 1996 at locations near Bay Minette in Baldwin County, Alabama. These sites are located in the Middle Coastal Plain physiographic province, which contains most of the cogongrass infestations in the region. Bay Minette is approximately 100 km northeast of the first introduction of cogongrass into the southeastern United States in about 1911 (Dickens 1974). The area has a temperate climate, with an average high temperature of 25°C, average low temperature of 13°C, and average annual precipitation of 168 cm. Study locations were upland sites having slopes less than 3%. The initial cogongrass cover (96–100%) was similar between the two study sites, whereas age, dry biomass, and average foliage height differed between the sites. At one study location (30°43.732 N, 87°51.475 W), cogongrass completely covered the understory of a sparse 35-year-old slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) plantation. According to the landowner, the infestation was more than 20 years old (referred to as the old infestation). The site had historically been burned every other year and was broadcast burned in February 1996, approximately 6 months prior to our first herbicide applications, and again in February 1997, before retreatments. All understory pine seedlings and most shrubs within the study area were killed by these burns. Cogongrass height ranged from 0.3 to 1.3 m in September before the first treatment. Cogongrass foliar dry biomass, as determined by clipping nine randomly located 0.5-m plots and oven drying at 70°C for 72 hours, averaged 3,170 kg/ha (standard error, 139 kg/ha). Soils at this site are classified as Faceville fine sandy loam, very deep, well drained, moderately permeable, Thermic Typic Kandiudults (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 2010). The second experiment was established within relatively new cogongrass infestations (referred to as the new infestation) that developed after harvest and site preparation in two young loblolly pine 20 SOUTH. J. APPL. FOR. 36(1) 2012 (Pinus taeda L.) plantations approximately 31 km apart. Multiple circular infestations of various sizes occurred across these plantations. To accommodate each experimental block within a single infestation, one block was established in one plantation (30°32.537 N, 87°39.331 W), whereas the other two blocks were established in two infestations located within the second plantation (30°49.180 N, 87°41.944 W). Both plantations had been site prepared by chopping, followed by broadcast burning before planting, and they were 1 and 2 years old, respectively. Cogongrass height was considerably less than in the old infestation and ranged from 0.15 to 0.3 m. The cogongrass aboveground biomass, determined as described above with three 0.5-m plots per infestation, was 2,861 kg/ha (standard error, 307 kg/ha). Common associated shrub species, sparsely scattered across all blocks, were gallberry (Ilex glabra [L.] A. Gray.), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria Aiton), and waxmyrtle (Morella cerifera [L.] Small). Herbaceous ground cover was largely displaced by cogongrass. Soils within these two plantations are classified as Lakeland loamy fine sand, very deep, excessively drained, Thermic, coated Typic Quartzipsamments (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 2010). Treatments and Experimental Design Separate replicated studies were conducted at the new and old infestations. In both studies, the same treatments were assigned in a randomized complete block, split plot design with three replications. Within the new plantations, separate circular infestations were the blocks. Plots measured 6.1 12.2 m and were split lengthwise for testing retreatment. Plots were laid out contiguously within each block to hinder edge reinvasion during the study. An untreated check and 22 herbicide treatments were included in each block. Treatments were structured to provide three separate factorial arrangements of glyphosate [1] rate with application timing, imazapyr [2] rate with application timing, and tank mix spray volume with application timing. Individual glyphosate and imazapyr rates tested are expressed relative to the typical use rate ( ) for cogongrass management. Glyphosate alone was applied at 1.68 (0.5 ), 3.36 (1 ), 6.72 (2 ), and 13.44 kg ae/ha (4 ) in 93.5 L/ha water carrier. Applications of glyphosate with relatively low spray volumes such as this have been shown to improve efficacy on cogongrass (Arif et al. 1986) and other grasses (Ramsdale et al. 2003). Imazapyr alone was applied at 0.275 (0.5 ), 0.55 (1 ), 1


The paper introduced sound system's feature of Guangzhou Opera House,in several aspects of sound field design,network transmission control,mounting process,system debug and so forth.


Demonstrated that through a brief, didactic, demythologizing approach, college students' attitudes toward mental illness can be changed in a psychosocial or non-medical model direction. Furthermore, results indicate that such an approach effectively can change students' somewhat negative constructs of mental patients in a positive direction.


Chapter 1. Qualitative research in the rehabilitation context. Chapter 2. Why choose qualitative research in rehabilitation?. Chapter 3. Developing a research plan. Chapter 4. Using methodological theory in planning qualitative research. Chapter 5. Involving participants and data collection methods. Chapter 6. Managing qualitative data. Chapter 7. Analyzing qualitative data. Chapter 8. Writing and disseminating qualitative research. Chapter 9. Ensuring the quality of qualitative research. Chapter 10. Developments in qualitative research


Aimed at the characteristic of teaching in'Signals and Systems', such as abstract concept, complicated formulas and students' unclearness, the application of LabVIEW is discussed through examples. The examples include arbitrary signals generating, frequency spectrum analyzing and amplitude modulating and de-modulating. In this way, the students' comprehending of knowledge in this course can be promoted and their studying difficulty can be reduced.


Timing error jitter is a key performance for QAM receiver's synchronization.In this paper,two methods of reducing timing error jitter are discussed,which are the improvement of Gardner algorithm and the pre-filter.Through the researcher and comparison,both of them could reduce the timing error jitter of the loop.At the same time,there are some difference between the two methods on the performance and resources cost,so this method is chosen for the practice application based on the system requirement.


Schizosaccharomyces pombe NCYC 132, a haploid strain not previously observed to conjugate and sporulate, formed floes during stationary phase when grown aerobically in malt extract broth. Flocculat...


Australian tax reform generally follows a three stage process involving: policy formulation, legislation design and a post implementation review. This paper examines the legislation design stage of the tax reform processes associated with the 1999 Review of Business Taxation chaired by John Ralph, (herein after called the Ralph Review). The Ralph Review was charged with undertaking a thorough examination on the design of the Australian business tax system. Its report, A Tax System Redesigned made 280 recommendations and many of these reforms have passed into law. Given the breadth of the Ralph Review's recommendations this paper focuses on legislation design of the two of its key small business proposals, the non-commercial loss (NCL) rules and the former Simplified Tax System (STS). Importantly, these two reforms provide good examples of assessing legislation design. The NCL rules work as an integrity measure to restrict loss deductions and these rules have largely been retained to the current day. On the other hand the STS was a tax expenditure aimed to help small business but it proved to be very unpopular. The STS was subject to numerous amendments before being abolished as a system. The findings in this paper are highly relevant to the current 2009 tax review, Australia's Future Tax System chaired by Dr Ken Henry, (herein after known as the Henry Review) since both tax reviews attempt to cover voluminous areas of taxation law within relatively short periods of time. This paper initially provides a background to the Ralph Review and its NCL and STS proposals. The paper then examines the federal Government's legislation design of the NCL and STS rules with regard to the four generally accepted tax policy criteria: economic efficiency, equity, simplicity and fiscal adequacy. The paper finds that the rapid design of the Ralph Review's tax reform recommendations meant that a number of significant flaws emerged in the legislation. The federal government should have adopted a more critical analysis, as well as a transparent and consultative approach to ensure policy goals were met. Legislation design appears to loom as the key to the success of tax reform under the Henry Review.


This article presents an etymological interpretation of Slovak dial. driňica 'fence; fencedin place' (cf. the Dictionary of Slovak Dialects, s.v. drienica). In the author's opinion, the word may be traced back to *drynьnica 'fence made of wood', derived from Proto-Slavic dial. *drynъ, whose reconstruction was based solely on lexical evidence from East Slavic languages (Russian dial. dryn 'piece of wood; pale, stake, stick, log', etc.). It is not clear whether Russian dial. zadrypa 'fence, wall made of logs' also belongs here (an erroneous reading for *zadryna, derived from *zadryniti 'to fence in with logs, etc.'?).


Objective To investigate effects of loop electrosurgical excision procedure(LEEP)on the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasias(CIN)by vaginoscope observing pathological grade and transformation of patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasias.Methods From January 2006 to July 2009,loop electrosurgical excision procedure was conducted on the randomly chosen cervical intraepithelial neoplasias cases.The diagnosed criteria was cytological examination,cervix living specimen organization inspects,different pathological grades and transformation before and after loop electrosurgical excision procedure.The study protocol was approved by the Ethical Review Board of Investigation in Human Being of Tengzhou Maternal and Child Care Service Center.Informed consent was obtained from all participants.Results A total of 586 cases were diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasias according to the pathology results in the cervix living specimen organization inspects(CLSOI)by vaginoscope,of which 428 cases were treated by loop electrosurgical excision procedure.The rates of transferring to negative,degrade,grade stable and upgrade were 6.1%,10.7%,65.2% and 18.0%,respectively.The pathological grading coincidence rate was 65.2%.Conclusion Positive rate of the pathology results in cervix living specimen organization inspects by vaginoscope is satisfy,and the effect of loop electrosurgical excision procedure on treating cervical intraepithelial neoplasias is reliable.Thus,loop electrosurgical excision procedure is an effective method to get the intact pathological specimen,and of important clinical value in treating cervical intraepithelial neoplasias and diagnosing cervical carcinoma in situ(CIS)at an early stage.


In this paper, we propose an asymmetric adaptive modulation scheme for a heterogeneous two-way relay network (TWRN). In this scheme, due to the heterogeneity of the TWRN, different modulation schemes with different bit rates are assigned to the source nodes. Due to the mismatch between the bit rates of the two opposite traffic flows, the conventional XOR-based network coding is not applicable to this scheme. To cope with this heterogeneity at the relay node, we propose a network coding scheme in which the two data streams are combined at the level of symbol. We optimize the pair of modulation schemes and bit rates such that the instantaneous transmission rate is maximized under the constraint that a quality-of-service requirement in terms of the end-to-end BER is satisfied. To find the solution of this multi-dimensional problem, we propose a simple procedure with very low computational complexity by reducing the problem dimension to one. We analyze the system performance in terms of the average end-to-end BER, the average transmission rate, and the outage probability over Nakagami fading channel. Our analysis shows that this scheme not only achieves high spectral efficiency but also mitigates error propagation from the relay to the transceivers.


The two infrared (10µm) wavefronts of an interferometer (Michelson or Mach-Zehnder) interfere separately with a tilted reference beam on a dynamic recording medium consisting of a thin oil film on a glass substrate. Illumination of this twin hologram with a visible (HeNe) beam reconstructs simultaneously, in the same direction, two wavefronts characteristic of each arm of the interferometer. Practical realization and experimental constraints, such as air turbulence and mechanical vibrations, are easily satisfied with these long-wave-length interferometers. Experimental results include air wedge determination, homogeneity test of a NaCl plate, step deposit evaluation and afocal assembly analysis. The real-time aspect of our recording medium also permits the visual observation of transient phenomena.


Acceptability and operational suitability of a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for syphilis in high-risk populations of Manaus, Brazil M. Sabido, A.S. Benzaken, E.J. de Andrade, P. Mayaud 1 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK 2 Fundacao Alfredo da Matta, Manaus, Brazil Objectives The implementation of syphilis screening programmes may be hampered by operational and technical difficulties. We evaluated the acceptability and operational characteristics of a rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test for syphilis using fingerprick blood at a red-light district clinic in Manaus, Brazil. Methods This qualitative and quantitative study was undertaken within a larger field performance evaluation of a novel POC test for syphilis (VisiTect Syphilis, Omega Diagnostics, Alloa, Scotland). We interviewed all 12 staff involved in using the test and 60 patients (60% women) attending the clinic. We performed time flow analysis on a separate sub-sample of 84 consecutive patients who were not interviewed. Results Staff found the POC test easy to use and to interpret. Half had limited confidence in the test results since it does not differentiate between old and recent syphilis. Clinic accessibility, waiting time, and confidence in test results were not identified as obstacles for testing by patients. However, pain caused by fingerprick and patient's preferences for venous blood collection were listed as minor barriers. Table 1 shows patients' satisfaction with the services and testing provided and their syphilis knowledge. Excluding time spent on receiving treatment for 7 (8.3%) of patients, the average duration spent at the clinic was 51 minutes (standard deviation, 32). Questions Responses Number (%) Satisfaction with clinical attention [measured on a scale from 0 (totally unsatisfactory) to 5 (totally satisfactory)] 5 out of 5 56 (94) 4 out of 5 4 (6) Would recommend rapid test to friends /colleagues Yes 57 (95) No 2 (5) Information received from clinical staff Satisfactory 36 (60) Difficult to understand 8 (13) Did not receive information 16 (27) Syphilis knowledge (open question) Is a STI 12 (20) Explained some or all of its symptoms 12 (20) Explained some of its complications 5 (8) Syphilis transmission (open question) Unprotected sex 12 (20) Sex regardless of condom use 19 (32) Mother to child 6 (10) Contaminated blood 13 (22) Kisses 6 (10) Sitting in the same place 3 (5) Skin lesions 2 (3) Can syphilis be cured? Yes 53 (89) Don't know 6 (11) Conclusions The POC test was found acceptable and operationally suitable as a screening tool in high-risk groups, and it was performed within reasonable waiting time. It could considerably alleviate the burden of syphilis in hard-to-reach populations in the Amazon region of Brazil.


A review of some teaching methods and practice techniques useful for both the remedial and classroom teacher. The article includes suggestions for exercises to develop visual-motor skills; materials; varied alphabet forms; progressive writing practice, and the development of good work habits.


The microwave emission from a plasma in a magnetic field is calculated theoretically usihg Kirchhoff's radiation law for cases when characteristic waves do not couple within the plasma. Experimental observations of radiation temperatures and cyclotron radiation line breadth and shape are cited to illustrate applications of the theory to experiment. (auth)


Large scale grid integration of electric vehicles (EVs) is greatly dependent on electricity price, renewable energy and energy storage system (ESS). In this paper, EVs are charged and discharged according to the requirement of the user with an effective method of charge flow analysis from energy management system. It comprises of controlled operational method that works with the state of charge (SOC) of the EV. The operation is mainly focused on two modes, with each mode performing the task by the early detection of EV SOC. This would trigger the users to decide to charge using the automatically controlled technique, or the user control tab. Both methods ensure the proper load flow in a microgrid, when charging and discharging of EV occuring any time of the day. The proposed system is implemented and designed in OpenDSS to test the results in different scenarios.


Abstract DB2 for z/OS is the backbone of many transactional systems in the world. IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator (IDAA) is IBM's approach to enhance DB2 for z/OS with very fast processing of OLAP and analytical SQL workload. While IDAA was originally designed as an appliance to be connected directly to System z, the trend in the IT industry is towards cloud environments. That offers a broad range of tools for analytical data processing tasks. This article presents the architecture for offering a hybrid IDAA, which continues the seamless integration with DB2 for z/OS and now also runs as a specialty engine in cloud environments. Both approaches have their merit and will remain important for customers in the next years. The specific challenges for accelerating query processing for relational data in the cloud are highlighted. Specialized hardware options are not readily available, and that has a direct impact on the system architecture, the offered functionality and its implementation.


New fossil material suggests that the Manjra valley was occupied, in part, by Middle Palaeolithic man from late Pleistocene to terminal Pleistocene.


Stable oxaziridine diastereomers possessing a non-inverting nitrogen atom have been synthesised and photochemically interconverted. The relative stereochemistry of diastereomers has been deduced from spectral and chemical properties.


Although social-learning theory remains among the dominant perspectives in micro-level research concerning the causes of delinquency, research has yet to provide an adequate test of its social-reinforcement component using the methods required by the logic of operant psychology. The present article discusses the limits of existing attempts to test the social-reinforcement hypothesis, offers a new approach for testing it, and describes the use of panel data to provide such a test. In particular, the author examined (1) whether delinquency increases the amount of time a perpetrator's peers choose to spend with him or her, (2) whether such attention serves as a direct reinforcement prompting further delinquency from the perpetrator, and (3) whether such attention serves as a vicarious reinforcement prompting delinquency from audience members in proportion to their desire for informal socializing among peers. The results suggest support for vicarious, but not direct, social reinforcement.


We describe new results from the semiconductor-laser tracking frequency gauge, an instrument that can perform sub-picometer distance measurements and has applications in gravity research and in space-based astronomical instruments proposed for the study of light from extrasolar planets. Compared with previous results, we have improved incremental distance accuracy by a factor of two, to 0.9 pm in 80 s averaging time, and absolute distance accuracy by a factor of 20, to 0.17 μm in 1000 s. After an interruption of operation of a tracking frequency gauge used to control a distance, it is now possible, using a nonresonant measurement interferometer, to restore the distance to picometer accuracy by combining absolute and incremental distance measurements.


The invention provides a catalyst for decomposing hydrogen peroxide. The catalyst for decomposing hydrogen peroxide is characterized by being prepared from, by mass, 1%-30% of VI B-group metal oxide, 1%-20% of IV B-group metal oxide and 50%-98% of III A-group metal oxide. According to a method for decomposing hydrogen peroxide in a product of an epoxidation reaction of 3-chloropropene and hydrogen peroxide by adopting the catalyst, most residual hydrogen peroxide in the product of the reaction can be decomposed before distillation separation, potential hazards of the high hydrogen peroxide content in the product of the epoxidation reaction to the follow-up distillation separation process are effectively eliminated, and therefore the safety of producing epoxy chloropropane through the epoxidation reaction of 3-chloropropene and hydrogen peroxide is improved.


SUMMARY 21 PAC samples were evaluated in response to an enquiry for the supply of 1000 tons of PAC to remove taste and odour compounds in water abstracted from the Vaal Dam. Jar test methodology simulating the treatment process was used to evaluate the carbons. Carbons were rated according to cost effectiveness with a requirement of at least 70% geosmin removal at 20 mg/l=. The removal of MIB and microcystin-LR were also tested. Physical and physio-chemical Characterisation was performed to find an alternative evaluation method and to set specifications for future purchases. No correlation could be found between the surrogate parameters and geosmin removal. Treatment chemicals also markedly affected the adsorption processes.


Recently, general-purpose processors have made the transition from high-frequency single cores to multiple cores as a consequence of multi-core processors requiring less power. To further reduce power consumption, it is necessary for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to embed multi-core processors. In this paper, we design a multi core processor which processor is embedded into SAFHC cluster. As an electromagnetic simulation by FDTD, we propose a multi-core FPGA execution using ASIP (Application-Specific Instruction Set Processor). In the performance evaluations, we achieved a speed up with two cores of 41% over compared with a single core. The integral power consumption of two cores is 21% lower than that of a single core.


Highly reliable operation has been achieved for transverse-mode stabilized InGaP/InGaAlP multi-quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes with a selectively buried ridge waveguide structure emitting at 663 nm. These MQW laser diodes have been operating for more than 9,000 hours at an output power of 3 mW at 40°C. This achievement is attributed to the low threshold current and the excellent temperature characteristics (the maximum temperature for CW oscillation is 95°C) for such a short wavelength.


The conventional interpretation method for permeability was based on exponential relation,which neglected the difference of filtrate character among different flow units and lacked reliability.An integrated interpretation method for permeability of different flow units was proposed.The different expressions of permeability were established by the use of Kozeny-Carman equation.In consideration of log interpretation,the partition and distinguish of flow units were made by the statistical ways such as cluster analysis and regression analysis.The mathematical models for determining permeability were established.Two indexes for evaluating permeability were presented on the contrast of error between the new method and conventional method.The integrated interpretation method was successively applied in some districts of Daqing Oilfield.


With the continuous improvement of China's economic development level, the construction industry has developed significantly, and as urban high-rise buildings have become the mainstream of today's building forms. In high-rise buildings, the most important safety issue is fire prevention. The application of fire-resistant glass in the curtain wall of high-rise buildings has become the focus of attention. Fire-resistant glass can play a role in controlling fire, smoke and high temperature diffusion for a long time when a fire occurs. As well as the requirements for design materials, this article discusses the precautions for the design of curtain walls of high-rise buildings and the promotion and use of fire-resistant glass in China.


The Planck satellite has recently measured the CMB temperature anisotropies with unprecedented accuracy, and it has provided strong bounds on primordial non-gaussianity. Such bounds constrain models of inflation, and mechanisms that produce the primordial perturbations. We discuss the non-gaussian signatures from the interactions of the inflation φ with spin-1 fields. We study the two different cases in which the inflaton is (i) a pseudo-scalar field with a φfaFF interaction with a vector field, and (ii) a scalar field with a f (φ)F2 interaction. In the first case we obtain the strong limit fa ≳ 1016GeV on the decay constant. In the second case, specific choices of the function f (φ) can lead to a non-gaussianity with a characteristic shape not encountered in standard models of scalar field inflation, and which has also been constrained by Planck.


Aquifers are dug very deep in many areas. When they are near the sea or an island the sea water tends to seep to the aquifers. This ultimately leads the aquifers to be salty and hence they don't achieve the objective of providing fresh water to the community. This study was conducted in 2020 with a name of coming up with preventive measures of the sea water seepage to the aquifers. This paper is only a review paper of how far the impact can be felt as the data is being analyzed.


Background: For the past two decades, breast cancer survival has significantly improved. Surgical resection, combined with pre and/or post-operative radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy, is the primary therapy for breast cancer. Although overall breast cancer survival has improved, there is limited survival data from inner city patients treated at safety net community hospitals. The aim of this study is to assess post-surgery survival in a community hospital with a predominantly African American (AA) population Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from The Brooklyn Hospital Center9s cancer registry, from 1997 to 2010. Of the 1538 patients in the registry, 201 were excluded leaving 1337. Among the 1337 patients, 1055 are AA, 235 are white, and 57 are Asian (not included in the data analysis). The study is divided into two time periods 1997–2004 (Period A) and 2005–2010 (Period B). Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS and Epi info software. Kaplan–Meier survival probabilities are calculated and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were applied to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: There is no significant difference in age between subjects in period A and period B; the average age at diagnosis is 61.04 (SD± 13.99) and 59.95 (SD± 13.80) for periods A and B respectively. Significant differences were observed in the percentage of patients with high grade differential and advanced pathologies in period A as compared to period B with the latter group exhibiting a high percentage of low grade differential and early pathology stages (p Over the time periods, surgical techniques have evolved enormously and have gone from radical excisions of breast, skin, pectoral muscle, and auxiliary lymph nodes to breast-conserving lumpectomy followed by sentinel lymph node biopsy. These improvements combined with early detection have made surgery more acceptable to our inner city population indicating that improved survival rates can be obtained in this difficult patient population. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):A51.


Abstract: The cellular mechanisms underlying opioid action remain to be fully determined, although there is now growing indirect evidence that some opioid receptors may be coupled to phospholipase C. Using SH‐SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells (expressing both μ‐and δ‐opioid receptors), we demonstrated that fentanyl, a μ‐preferring opioid, caused a dose‐dependent (EC50= 16 nM) monophasic increase in inositol (1,4,5)trisphosphate mass formation that peaked at 15 s and returned to basal within 1–2 min. This response was of similar magnitude (25.4 ± 0.8 pmol/mg of protein for 0.1 μM fentanyl) to that found in the plateau phase (5 min) following stimulation with 1 mM carbachol (18.3 ± 1.4 pmol/mg of protein), and was naloxone‐, but not naltrindole‐(a δ antagonist), reversible. Further studies using [d‐Ala2, MePhe4, Gly(ol)5]enkephalin and [d‐Pen2,5]enkephalin confirmed that the response was specific for the μ receptor. Incubation with Ni2+ (2.5 mM) or in Ca2+‐free buffer abolished the response, as did pretreatment (100 ng/ml for 24 h) with pertussis toxin (control plus 0.1 μM fentanyl, 26.9 ± 1.5 pmol/mg of protein; pertussis‐treated plus 0.1 μM fentanyl, 5.1 ± 1.3 pmol/mg of protein). In summary, we have demonstrated a μ‐opioid receptor‐mediated activation of phospholipase C, via a pertussis toxin‐sensitive G protein, that is Ca2+‐dependent. This stimulatory effect of opioids on phospholipase C, and the potential inositol (1,4,5)trisphosphate‐mediated rises in intracellular Ca2+, could play a part in the cellular mechanisms of opioid action.


Background and Rationale: Considerable evidence suggests that S. hematobium infection plays an important role in the development of bladder cancer in Egypt. Understanding the molecular basis of the disease may explain the reported differences in the clinicopathologic and epidemiological features between bilharzial bladder cancer (BBC) and conventional transitional cell carcinoma (CTCC) of the western countries. Material and Methods: Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is a valuable procedure for whole-genome scanning to detect consistent chromosomal aberrations. CGH was used to screen for losses and gains of DNA sequences along all chromosome arms in 22 cases of BBC. The results of CGH were confirmed by flourescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Although most amplifications and deletions have been previously reported in CTCC such as loss at chromosomes 17 (86.36%), Y (54.4%), 9 (50%) and gain of chromosomes 1 (72.7%), 5 (31.8%) and 7 (27%) and gain of 13q (63.6%), we were able to detect intriguing and uncommon aberrations in BBC that were not reported before in CTCC, such as complete and partial loss of chromosome 19 (86.36%), 22q- (54.4%), 15q- and iso (4q+) (40.9% each). Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate genetic differences between BBC and CTCC of the western countries. If confirmed in an extended follow-up study, the observed differences, which might be attributed to the varied etiology, could explain the difference in course and clinical features between the two disease entities.


The parallel vectors operator is a prominent tool in visualization that has been used for line feature extraction in a variety of applications such as ridge and valley lines, separation and attachment lines, and vortex core lines. It yields all points in a 3D domain where two vector fields are parallel. We extend this concept to the space of tensor fields, by introducing the parallel eigenvectors (PEV) operator. It yields all points in 3D space where two tensor fields have real parallel eigenvectors. Similar to the parallel vectors operator, these points form structurally stable line structures. We present an algorithm for extracting these lines from piecewise linear tensor fields by finding and connecting all intersections with the cell faces of a data set. The core of the approach is a simultaneous recursive search both in space and on all possible eigenvector directions. We demonstrate the PEV operator on different analytic tensor fields and apply it to several data sets from structural mechanics simulations.


We investigate soliton mobility in the disordered Ablowitz-Ladik (AL) model and the standard nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) lattice with the help of an effective potential generalizing the PeierlsNabarro potential. This potential results from deviation from integrability, resulting of randomness for the AL model, and of both randomness and lattice discreteness for the NLS lattice. Statistical properties of such a potential are analyzed, and it is shown how the soliton mobility is affected by its size. The usefulness of this effective potential in studying soliton dynamics is demonstrated numerically. Further we propose two ways the soliton transport in presence of disorder can be enhanced: one is to use specific realizations of randomness, and the other one is to consider a specific soliton pair.


: Collisions between fast , fully stripped projectiles and atomic targets predominantly result intarget electrons being ejected to the continuum. For fast partially stripped projectiles which bring weakly bound electrons into the collision , projectile ionization can also contribute to the observed electron spectra. At lower impact velocities, electron capture by the projectile ion becomes important and higher order processes, often referred to as transfer ionization , can be a significant source of free electrons. In recent years , coincidence techniques have been used to evaluate the relative importance of electron capture and loss in free electron production , to separate the capture and loss contributions from those resulting from target ionization alone , and to provide more detailed information about electron capture and loss mechanisms than is available from total cross section measurements. A brief survey of these experiments will be presented.


This study establishes the feasibility of using computer-based EEG recognition system to monitor anesthetic depth during halothane anesthesia. Experiments were carried out on ten dogs, at different levels of halothane, recording four channels of EEG data. The anesthetic state of the patient was tested using a tail clamping stimulus. A tenth order autoregressive (AR) model was used to represent the spectral information contained in the EEG signals. The AR model parameters were used as input to a three layer perceptron feedforward neural network. The network was able to correctly classify the depth in 85% of the cases as compared to 65% when only hemodynamic parameters were used as input to the network. This shows that the AR parameters obtained from the EEG signals can be used for decision making during administration of general anesthesia.


Decellularization is a way to produce biological scaffolds with non-immunogenic and non-toxic properties for subsequent recellularization for creation of tissue-engineered constructions. Nonhuman primates' model is consistent with the tasks of preclinical studies to obtain biological scaffolds and transfer the results to the clinical scale. We have developed three protocols of nonhuman primates' lung decellularization using modified detergent-enzymatic method with different reagents' composition and duration of decellularizing agents exposure time. The period of preparation for decellularization was also different. The obtained scaffolds retain anatomical and morphological properties of native lung with preservation of the main components of the extracellular matrix. DNA quantification revealed significant reduction of cellular DNA after decellularization with a combination of ionic and nonionic detergents. The obtained protocol can be potentially used for nonhuman primates' lung stem cells recellularization toward the goal of pulmonary tissue regeneration.


The decision by European regulators to approve an antiobesity drug has been criticised by Prescrire, a Paris based healthcare watchdog, as a backward step for patient safety.

Mysimba, a combination of naltrexone and slow release bupropion, was recommended for authorisation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on 19 December. Both of the component parts of Mysimba are already approved for other indications, and it is licensed for use in the United States under the name Contrave.

Prescrire denounced the decision as "a major regression for European patients' safety," saying that it was inconsistent with earlier decisions by the EMA to withdraw several appetite suppressants with a similar mechanism of action, including sibutramine (Sibutral) in 2009 and benfluorex (Mediator) in 2010.

"Health authorities should learn from past public health disasters," Prescrire said in a press release. "A weight loss of a few kilograms achieved through drug therapy cannot in itself justify exposing obese or simply overweight people to a disproportionate risk of adverse drug reactions, especially since the weight lost is very often regained within months of discontinuing treatment."

Mysimba was developed by a small company …


In this paper, we investigate both theoretically and numerically the Forward-In-Time (FIT) and Backward-In-Time (BIT) dispersion of fluid and inertial particle-pairs in isotropic turbulence. Fluid particles are known to separate faster BIT than FIT in three-dimensional turbulence, and we find that inertial particles do the same. However, we find that the irreversibility in the inertial particle dispersion is in general much stronger than that for fluid particles. For example, the ratio of the BIT to FIT mean-square separation can be up to an order of magnitude larger for the inertial particles than for the fluid particles. We also find that for both the inertial and fluid particles, the irreversibility becomes stronger as the scale of their separation decreases. Regarding the physical mechanism for the irreversibility, we argue that whereas the irreversibility of fluid particle-pair dispersion can be understood in terms of a directional bias arising from the energy transfer process in turbulence, inertial...


Exploration of an efficient functional simulation methodology that has the capability to encounter conflicting conditions such as: maximizing hardware occupancy using efficient partitioning and mapping algorithms and minimizing inter hardware communication using optimized hardware dimensions, is very important. In this paper, we explore the design space of an execution-driven functional simulation methodology named EX-DRIVE. It performs functional simulation of a design under test (DUT) without the need for hardware synthesis and implementation of the DUT, offering significant improvement in functional simulation time. To realize this methodology we use a Network of Interconnected HyperCells (NIHC) as the meta platform. We explore the design space of EX-DRIVE for various dimensions of NIHC fabric and different partitioning and mapping algorithms. For this study we investigate six different hardware dimensions having a fixed hardware capacity and three partitioning and mapping algorithms: a Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization based algorithm (DPSO), a heuristic and a convex algorithm. We find that, for a fixed hardware capacity, the heuristic and convex algorithm proves to be more efficient for large and densely connected DUTs whereas the DPSO based algorithm proves to be more efficient for smaller and sparsely connected data flow graphs. The proposed algorithms are generic enough to be applied to any coarse grained re-configurable array assisted functional simulation platform.


Surgeons who introduce intraoperative neural monitoring (IONM) or a new IONM accessory, or related procedure in their practice should have completed relevant surgical training, possess operating privileges in the affected endocrine system, and be able to address anticipated complications. Surgeon responsibility in monitoring is dual component. First, technical component is using and setting up the IONM equipment correctly and understanding the inherent properties of the system to avoid an erroneous setup (e.g., no muscle relaxation, correct electrode placement, low impedance, etc.). Second, interpretive component is performing the monitoring able to distinguish between a true response versus an artifactual one. Organizations such as the International Neural Study Group and the Korean Intraoperative Neural Monitoring Society provide training courses for surgeon, as well as a means to certify levels of monitoring interpretative competence.


List of plates Preface Introduction 1. Topographical motifs of the other world 2. The inhabitants of the other world 3. The guide 4. The classification of sin 5. The mountain of Purgatory 6. The representation of Paradise Appendixes Bibliography Indices.


We agree that universal screening in healthcare settings for intimate partner violence is not warranted.1 However, we face a serious problem. One in three women globally experiences physical or sexual abuse from a partner; 38% of all murdered women are murdered by …


A multivariable closed-loop active flow control strategy to reduce the drag coefficient and yaw moment of a 3-dimensional bluff body is presented and applied in wind tunnel experiments. The relevant flow characteristics are investigated and discussed for several crosswind angles from 0 ◦ to 10 ◦ at Reynolds numbers from 300000 to 500000. Dynamic black-box models are identified from experimental data and a robust multivariable H∞-controller is synthesized using the mixed-sensitivity loop-shaping approach. The controller's capability to reduce the drag coefficient by more than 22 % corresponding t net power savings of about 15 % as well as its performance to suppress disturbances of the yaw moment during cross-wind gusts are demonstrated in experiments.