Objective To study the effect and mechanism of thrombospondin- 1 on the apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cell HCCLM3. Methods Detecting the role of TSP-1, CD36, CD47 on apoptosis rate of HCCLM3 by the flow cytometry and the change of cell ultractructure by transmission electron microscope,then detecting the influence of TSP-1, CD36, CD47 on the expression of Caspase-3 in HCCLM3. Results The apoptosis rate was respectively significantly higher in TSP-1 group [(12. 44 ±0. 72)%] than that in control group [(4. 31 ±0. 29)%] or CD47-blocked group[(4. 99 ±0. 12)%],P < 0. 01. The apoptosis rate was was respectively significantly higher in CD36 -blocked group [(9. 99 ±0. 57)%]than that in control group and CD47 -blocked group,was lower than in the TSP-1 group(P <0. 01). The morphological changes were: grow vigorously and many divided nuleus in control group and CD47- blocked group. Apoptosis cell increased in TSP- 1 group and CD36 -blocked group: less cellular module in cytoplasm, many nucleus pieces and concentrate. The expression of Caspase-3 were higher in TSP-1 group (0. 652 ± 0. 024) and CD36-blocked group (0. 615 ± 0. 020) than that in control group (0. 398 ±0. 033)and CD47-blocked group (0. 432 ± 0. 019) (P < 0. 01). Conclusions TSP-1 can induce apoptosis of HCCLM3 cell line through combined with CD47 which can increase the expression Caspase -3.

Key words:
Hepatocellur carcinoma ;  Thrombospondin-1 ;  HCCLM3 ;  Apoptosis ;  Caspase-3 ;


Product configuration design is the main technique in mass customization,which is widely used.This paper introduces the concept of product configuration.Various product configuration modeling methods are analyzed,and the key technique is discussed in detail and the advantage and disadvantage of each approach are classified.It provides method to construct product configuration model rapidly and to improve product configuration efficiency effectively.


Fatih Project, in education and training ensure equality of opportunity and our schools technology to improve information technology tools teaching-learning process more sensory organ to be addressed as courses for effective use; preschool, elementary and secondary level schools in our 570,000 classrooms laptop computer to the LCD panel, the interactive whiteboard and internet infrastructure will be provided. In this research, teachers and students who participate in Fatih project expectations from the project and perceptions of information technology usage has been investigated.It has been applied to 180 studens and 50 teachers. Results of the study, according to students opinion it is determined that the usage of e- contents(video, animation, e-book, cartoon films, gones) in education facilitate the learning


Transportation systems may become more intelligent in the years ahead but are government officials smart enough to solve issues involving standards, funding and integration. This article discusses the growth in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) with increases in advanced technologies and deployment.


The wastewater from pig farm with high strength organic pollutants and nutrients was treated by hybrid vertical flow constructed wetland,and the effect of enhanced treatment by recycling effluent was investigated.The result shows that the recycling effluent upgrades significantly the removal for BOD_5,COD,SS,and NH~+_4-N,and BOD_5 removal rate meets the Monod equation;most part of NH~+_4-N is nitrified and the removal rate of NH~+_4-N is linear with the surface loading rate.Along with the nitrification,alkalinity and pH was reduced.The recycling effluent can bring part of oxygen into wetland,thereby prolonging the contact time of pollutants with microbe attached on root system.


Abstract To determine the influence of particle size on the specific surface area of hypercrosslinked poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (PS) microspheres, two methods were chosen for preparation of particles, suspension and dispersion polymerization. While the former method produced hundred micrometer-sized PS-S microspheres, the latter yielded PS-D particles of ca. 1-μm size. Dispersion copolymerization of styrene (St) and divinylbenzene (DVB) in ethanol was stabilized by (hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC) and initiated with dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO). Monodisperse 1.4-μm PS-D microspheres were prepared only in the presence of 3.6 wt% HPC. All microspheres were chloromethylated with chloromethyl methyl ether (CMME), chloromethyl ethyl ether (CMEE) or chloromethyl octyl ether (CMOE) to investigate the effect of the chloromethylation agent on the specific surface area of microspheres. Chloromethylated microspheres were hypercrosslinked in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) in the presence of a Lewis acid (SnCl4). The effects of the crosslinker (DVB) and DCE/microsphere ratio on properties of the product were studied. The specific surface area, pore volume and pore size distribution of the microspheres were analyzed by dynamic desorption of nitrogen, cyclohexane regain and mercury porosimetry.


Confocal Raman microscopy was used to determine polymer conversion as a function of depth into electron-beam cured coating samples. Samples were irradiated in atmospheres with varying levels of oxygen. As expected, conversion near the surface increased as the level of oxygen was decreased. Samples were also irradiated under well-inerted conditions while varying the accelerating potential (voltage) of the electron beam. The results show low conversion near the sample bottom at the lower voltages. This lower conversion is consistent with inadequate energy penetration predicted by Monte Carlo simulations.


Workers who carry out manual rebar tying tasks are exposed to muscular-skeletal injuries associated with the use of manual tools and the movements associated with them (force, repetitiveness and awkward wrist postures). This paper presents a background on musculoskeletal injuries directly linked to manual and mechanical rebar tying method is conducted. The objective of this study is to compare the traditional manual rebar tying method to the innovative mechanical technique. The methodology carried out follows a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of both processes. Firstly, a qualitative analysis is performed by semi-structured interviews to workers. Secondly, a quantitative study is carried out in the region of Andalusia (Spain). This field study includes on-site measurements of lengths of time activities. According to the methodology developed by the International Labour Organization, the work timing is calculated and a comparison is given. Results state that the operators adapt without difficulty to the mechanical method and it could result in better performance, whilst reducing some of the risks deriving from the manual tying technique.


Abstract : There is a need for solid-state amplifiers capable of power outputs of 10 to 100 watts in the 225-400 MHz frequency range. Both wideband and tunable narrowband amplifiers are desired. A prime requirement of these amplifiers is that they generate minimal amounts of nonlinear harmonic and sum-difference products. Emphasis on this project was placed on determination of the distortion products generated by UHF solid-state power amplifiers, and the effect of this distortion on various types of communication signals. The work involved theoretical analysis and modeling of nonlinear devices, and included an extensive design and measurement program. (Author)


Chalkis regulations; and he complains that the issue has been neglected. This is true of such 'metics' in general, but the 1976 piece by Whitehead in ZPE, which H. cites, provoked a lively debate: I gave half a dozen items at pp. 157f. of the 3rd ed. of the Athenian Empire LACTOR sourcebook in 1984. H. dismisses (pp. 24f.) all attempts to argue from corn consumption. This will not please scholars like L. Gallo, cp. my review in CR 36 (1986), 328. The rest of the evidence, all of it familiar, is acutely and cautiously examined; the most important and probably controversial section is at pp. 5Iff., the evidence for the minimum number of citizens required to run the council of 500 in accordance with the rules. Here I doubt if H., who concludes that the running of the council required 25,000 or more likely 30,000, has had the last word. It is only incidental to H.'s immediate concerns, but the very interesting suggestion that councillors were abnormally rich, seems strengthened by H., pp. 58ff. The implications for our picture of the democracy are considerable, if it was not after all a cross-section economically and socially. The summary in the advertisement does not mention the appendixes. These are on (i) cleruchies in the fourth century; (ii) bastards as Athenian citizens; (iii) ephebic rosters and bouleutic quotas; (iv) the age of Athenian bouleutai, and (v) the so-called hoplite katalogos. H.'s views, like everything he has written, will be hard to disprove: any challenger will need staying-power as well as H.'s own formidable intelligence and mastery of the evidence and of the problem. He has beyond doubt disposed of a lot of rubbish which need no longer clutter the argument. Uncertainties will in my view remain in two areas, emigration and bouleutic service. The book as a whole is elegant, argued with unfailing lucidity, scrupulosity and vigour; it is the best and most important available discussion of a topic which cannot be ducked if we want to know how democratic, in the sense of participatory, 'democratic' Athens really was.


The continually and high-rate growth of China's economy has attracted more and more international investors. These investors have an urgent need of identifying patterns in Chinese information, which are potentially useful in making competitive decisions. The first step of deeply understanding and analyzing Chinese information is how to effectively search those likely relevant to a user query. However, queries provided by users are often incomplete and inappropriate to the information systems, especially for retrieving Chinese-crossed information. In this paper, we present a segmentation based on actionable Chinese term-association analysis for better understanding user queries so as to automatically generate Chinese-crossed-query expansions. The semantics behind the actionable term-association rules is thus studied. Experiments conducted have shown that our approach is efficient and promising.


The paper introduced the economic operation idea and test evaluation method of the mine main ventilator system and analyzed the factors affected to the economic operation of the mine main ventilator system. The paper provided the main problems existed in the ventilator system and the access to realize the economic operation which could have reference significances to guide the economic and safety operation of the mine main ventilators.


The adsorption of cefradine was carried out using biological adsorbents of powder and carbon prepared from orange peels, an agriculture by-product. The equilibrium was easily reached in less than 10 minutes, with adsorption rates of more than 98%. Cefradine showed a firm combination to the adsorbent, which could hardly be damaged or affected by pH values. After equilibrium was reached within 1 h, no desorption behavior was observed in the next 30 minutes. The adsorption process could be well fitted thermodynamically to both Freundlich and Langmuir equations. Similar results could also be obtained using ashes of orange peel, as well as carbon prepared from pistachio and peanut hull, indicating an attractive option to treat industrial wastewater.


Silvera F. Fixed drug eruption due to Bromhexine. Case Study Case Rep. 2019; 9(1): 7 - 9.

ABSTRACT

Drug is generally used in medical practice. The adverse reaction to drug use is a common adverse effect that has to be monitored. Drug allergy can occur in any patient. Here, the author presents a case report of fixed drug allergy due to Bromhexine. Bromhexine is the specific simple drug that is widely used in daily clinical practice. The allergic reaction to Bromhexine is possible but uncommon. Practitioner has to aware that there is a possibility for the severe allergic reaction to Bromhexine.

Full text available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TmLZ45110Wi4j1XfMu_hcoUR1Lbyx1BB/view


Base on the supervision and test for the thickness of protective coating of steel bar in engineering structure body, especially in cast-in-situ beam, several kinds of positions that adverse to testing are researched and analysed. On one hand, those in charge of testing should rationally avoid these positions and avoid the erroneous judgement that caused by the haphazard factor, in order to make the test representative. On the other hand, propose the solutions to these positions improving the install quality of steel bar and improving the structure requirement, make the thickness of protective coating conform to requirement so the adverse influence to structure can be reduced.


transient, lasting less than 24 h (41.2% of patients) but in 23.5% of patients their duration was more than 4 days. The following antiarrhythmics were used: beta-blockers (79.2%), amiodarone and digoxine (8.3%). Treatment was successful in 85.7% of patients. Logistic regression identified smoking status (OR 0.21), history of hypertension (OR 6.65), acid-base imbalance (OR 12.8), intraoperative hypoxia (OR 1.35) and abnormal pulmonary function tests (OR 1.88) as independent predictors of PA. The occurrence of other complications was significantly influenced by PA (p = 0.012). PA have shown a strong association with mortality (p = 0.009), although no influence on the length of ICU and hospital stay. Conclusion: PA affected nearly a third of patients after esophagectomy. Identification of patients at risk might help in choosing candidates suitable for preventive antiarrhythmic therapy.


Purpose This study summarizes the management and therapeutic options for treating dry eye disease. Goals of this review is to identify appropriate therapeutic methods for the management of dry eye disease and recommend a sequence or strategy for their application, based on evidence‐based review of the literature.


Abstract The author introduces a minimum cost maximum flows (MCMF) routing algorithm that allows the construction of a multicast tree that incorporates both static and dynamic nodes. The key idea of the algorithm is, first, finding the least delay path of the partial static tree (PST) from a source node to a set of static receivers, by using the ratio of "delay/number of flows" as cost function; and second, adding the dynamic nodes to the constructed PST, one by one, according to their arrival order, by minimizing the ratio "delay/number of flows." According to the presented simulation, this algorithm is superior to shortest path tree (SPT) technique and minimum delay maximum degree algorithm (MDMDA). This result is obtained according to certain simulation parameters and to the tool used to construct the graphs, regarding the total tree cost and the total tree flows criteria, when there is no delay constraint.


A group of four experienced mine rescuers, aged 25-35 years, were exposed to a workload on both a cyclo-ergometer (stages A and B) and a hand ergometer (stage E) in a climate chamber for work periods of 120 min divided into four intervals of 30 min each with 5 min breaks between. The load at the ergometer was selected to be in the range of 25-150 W, Tg = 20-40°C, RH = 40-80% and Va = 0.2-1.5 m.s-1. The thermal resistance of the clothes worn was 0.65 clo in stage A, 1.07 clo in stage B and 0.81 clo in stage E. A total of 200 experiments with 50 combinations of the work and climate load were made. Heart rate, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, body temperature, skin tem perature, water loss by sweating and perspiration, dry and wet bulb air temper ature, air velocity and globe temperature were measured during the experi ments. The expected production of sweat (sweat rate; SR) and the amount of accumulated heat in the body (Qmax) were calculated for each combination of the work-climate conditions. The experimental results showed a good agree ment between the predicted and actual measured values of temperature of the body core as an index of short-term tolerable climate load. The tolerated time of work in the short-term, for Qmax = 50 W.h.m -2, gave an increase in body core temperature of 0.8-1.0 K. Heart rate mostly did not exceed 140 min-1, although exceptionally rates over 150 min-1 were reached.The authors recom mend limiting long-term work-heat (climatic) load generated at a high meta bolic rate (M > 80 W.m-2 inclusive of the basal metabolic rate) by acclima tised males and females according to an SR of 270 g.h-1.m-2, and for non- acclimatised people by an SR of 206 g.h -1.m-2. Our proposed limit for long- term work at low metabolic rates (M ≤ 80 W.m -2) for non-acclimatised and acclimatised persons is an SR of 147 g.h -1.m-2. The short-term load which can be tolerated, because of heat storage in the body, for all categories of work ers is proposed as Qmax = 50 W.h.m-2.


In 2010 an advisory group was formed of City University London academics, renal service users and carers to create the Kidney Research and Education Initiative. The main aim of the initiative was for renal service user and carer participation in all aspects of the group as well as becoming a centre of excellence for kidney care, education and research, with a specific focus on patient participation in research and teaching. Service users and carers can provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to the training of student nurses.


Longitudinal stability of Wing in Ground Effect Craft (WIG) is still the main concern of WIG craft designers and solutions are being sorted out to reduce this effect. In this research, investigations were conducted to determine the effect of flat ground and end plate proximity on the aerodynamic characteristics and stability criteria of NACA 6409 rectangular wing. The investigation were performed using vortex lattice method and examining the effects of flat ground and endplate on the performance of a trimaran WIG for relative ground clearances of 0.06 < h/c < 0.3, ratio endplate he/c = 0.1 on angles of attack between 0 and 8°, aspect ratio 1< AR < 2 Data is presented for lift coefficient with or without endplate, and static stability margin (SSM) versus angle of attack, and ground clearance. The result of the computation shows that the SSM was significantly affected with changing ground clearances with or without endplate. The results were also compared with experimental & CFD data from another research work.


In this paper we present the main properties of the class of direct methods for solving linear equations proposed by Abaffy, Broyden and Spedicato in 1984 and called the ABS class.


We observed the young pulsar J1617−5055 with the Chandra ACIS detector for 60 ks. In addition to the pulsar, the X-ray images show a faint pulsar wind nebula (PWN) seen up to ∼1′ from the pulsar. Deconvolution and reconstruction of the image reveal a brighter compact PWN component of ∼1″ size. The total PWN luminosity in the 0.5–8 keV band, Lpwn = (3.2–3.7) × 1033 erg s−1 for d = 6.5 kpc, is a fraction of 2 × 10−4 of the pulsar's spin-down power and a fraction of 0.2 of the pulsar's X-ray luminosity, which is a factor of 20 lower than one would expect from an average empirical relation, Lpwn ∼ 4Lpsr. The pulsar's spectrum can be described by an absorbed power law with nH ≈ 3.5 × 1022 cm−2 and Γ ≈ 1.1, harder than any other pulsar spectrum reliably measured in the soft X-ray band. This nonthermal emission is ≈50% pulsed, with one peak per period. We have also investigated a possible connection between J1617 and the extended TeV source HESS J1616–508 whose center is located 10′ west of the pulsar. We find no preferential extension of the X-ray PWN toward the TeV source. Therefore, the Chandra data do not provide conclusive evidence for PSR J1617–5055 and HESS J1616–508 association. We have also analyzed archival X-ray, radio, and IR data on the HESS J1616–508 region and found traces of diffuse emission coinciding with the central part of HESS J1616–508. We speculate that the TeV source may be multiple, with most of the emission coming from an unknown supernova remnant or a star forming region, while some fraction of the TeV emission still may be attributed to the PWN around PSR J1617–5055.


The McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine's undergraduate medicine curriculum is a concepts‐based curriculum with anatomy sessions, lectures and small group tutorials. Curriculum review revealed a paucity of radiology and procedural skills in the pre‐clerkship training. An interdisciplinary program of anatomy, radiology, and procedural skills was developed. Method: A 3‐hour curriculum was developed that integrated chest anatomy taught by an anatomist, radiology related to the chest taught by a radiologist, and the procedural skill of placing a chest tube by a general surgeon. The session revolved around a case that was part of their regular small group tutorials. Students rated their knowledge of chest anatomy, knowledge of placing a chest tube and their comfort with placing a chest tube pre and post session using a 10‐point Likert rating scale. Students were also asked to rate the experience on a number of dimensions. Results: 23 students participated in this workshop. All completed the pre and post questionnaires. Students reported an increase in self‐rated knowledge of chest anatomy (4.3 vs 6.4), knowledge in placing a chest tube (1.8 vs 7.7), and in comfort with placing a chest tube (1.4 vs 6.3 post. These results were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed‐Rank Test and the differences were all statistically significant (p<0.001). The sessions were highly rated, with the mean value for organization/venue scale being 9.4 out of 10 (SD=0.6) and educational value scale (effective, appropriate) being 9.3 out of 10 (SD=0.07). Conclusion: RAP sessions are an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum integrating radiology, anatomy and procedural skills within the context of a concept based medical curriculum. Students reported an increase in knowledge and skills and highly rated the experience as a valuable teaching session for concept integration.


The following paper summarizes the findings of a bachelor thesis that analysed the role of normative orders in international mediation by examining the norms applied during the Colombian peace process. The objective of the investigation is defined by the research question, which lessons-learnt can be derived from the Havana Process for the categorization of normative orders in international peace mediation? For answering that question the author analyses the norms and principles applied during the Colombian peace process and thereby, shows the potential to enhance existing scientific models and log-frames for the analysis of norms in peace mediation. The paper provides a new model for classifying normative frameworks by integrating the stage of negotiation as another classifying dimension. Therefore, the model is called "Process-Oriented Model for Categorizing Norms in International Mediation". The research is built upon a qualitative research conducted in the Colombian cities Medellin and Bogota, where the author held interviews with scientific researchers, political decision-makers, and civil society organisations. The results of the research are complemented by a substantial review of existing academic literature about norms in international peace mediation and the Colombian peace process.


Protein synthesis in the cell is performed on ribosomes, large ribonucleoprotein particles, which in bacteria consist of three RNA molecules and over 50 proteins. This review summarizes recent progress in understanding the mechanisms of the elongation phase of protein synthesis. Results from rapid kinetic analysis of elongation reactions are discussed in the light of recent structural data.


Accuracy of the prediction of rill erodibility can be improved, in part, through an increased understanding of soil variables controlling particle detachment. To test the hypothesis that rill erodibility of clay-sand mixtures increases (i) as the dominant clay mineral changes from montmorillonite to illite to kaolinite, (ii) as total salt in the eroding fluid decreases, and (iii) when Ca is replaced by Na, concentrated flow erosion tests were conducted by mini-flume test procedures. Chelsea fine sand was mixed with 2 to 20% (w/w) Ca or Na forms of either kaolinite, illite, or montmorillonite, and water to a moisture potential of -490 Pa. Rill erodibility of Ca-montmorillonitesand mixtures was 4 to 40 times less than for Ca-illite-sand and Ca-kaolinite-sand mixtures. Na-montmorillonite-sand mixtures were one-half as erodible as Ca-montmorillonite, while Na-kaolinite and Na-illite were 3 to 25 times as erodible as their Ca forms. Decreasing salt concentration of the eroding fluid from 0.01 to 0.001 M in all cases decreased the critical shear stress value on average 0.8 Pa. Decreasing the salt concentration from 0.1 to 0.001 M had no effect on the erodibility of Ca-kaolinite and Na-montmorillonite, but increased the erodibility of Ca-illite and Ca-montmorillonite. The erodibility of clay-soil mixtures decreased from 9.6 to 0.04 ms m -1 as the water holding capacity of the clay in the mixture increased from 0.2 to 6.9 g g - and appears to be related to the effective surface area of the clay.


The measuring system integrated in series YRT combination thrust and radial bearings allows the non-contact, magnetoresistive recording of angles within the range of a few angular seconds. It consists of: ■ an INA combination thrust and radial bearing, series YRTM with a dimensional scale – the dimensional scale consists of several metallic layers. The layers are electo-plated onto the YRT-bearing shaft washer. ■ the MEKO electronic measuring system, consisting of two measuring heads and an electronic evaluation device – the measuring heads have magnetoresistive sensors and are diametrically integrated into the mounting structure – the electronic evaluation device uses vector addition to calculate the value of the effective angle from the two sensor signals and then converts this value to a 1 Vpp value


Part I: DIAGNOSIS AND GENERAL TREATMENT APPROACH Ch. 1: Diagnostic Testing Ch. 2: Case Analysis and Classification Ch. 3: General Treatment Modalities, Guidelines, and Prognosis Ch. 4: Primary Care of Binocular Vision, Accommodative and Eye Movement Disorders Part II: VISION THERAPY PROCEDURES AND INSTRUMENTATION Ch. 5: Introduction and General Concepts Ch. 6: Fusional Vergence, Voluntary Convergence, and Antisuppression Procedures Ch. 7: Accommodative Techniques Ch. 8: Ocular Motility Procedures Part III: MANAGEMENT Ch. 9: Low AC/A Conditions: Convergence Insufficiency and Divergence Insufficiency Ch. 10: High AC/A Conditions: Convergence Excess and Divergence Excess Ch. 11: Normal AC/A Conditions: Fusional Vergence Dysfunction, Basic Esophoria, and Basic Exophoria Ch. 12: Accommodative Dysfunction Ch. 13: Eye Movement Disorders Ch. 14: Cyclovertical Heterophoria Ch. 15: Fixation Disparity Part IV: ADVANCED DIAGNOSTIC AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES Ch. 16: Interactions Between Accommodation and Vergence Ch. 17: Refractive Amblyopia Ch. 18: Nystagmus Ch. 19: Aniseikonia Ch. 20: Binocular and Accommodative Problems Associated with Computer Use Ch. 21: Binocular and Accommodative Problems Associated with Acquired Brain Injury Ch. 22: Binocular and Accommodative Problems Associated with Learning Problems Ch. 23: Development and Management of Refractive Error: A Binocular Vision-Based Model Ch. 24: Binocular Vision Problems Associated with Refractive Surgery Part V: VISION THERAPY AND OPTOMETRIC PRACTICE Ch. 25: Patient and Practice Management Issues in Vision Therapy APPENDICES Index


Government of India (GOI) initialized financial inclusion campaign to quell exclusion. The campaign did not gain expected progress. Government employed technologies to speed up the process. Among banking technologies, mobile banking appeared as a possible solution for financial exclusion with wide mobile phone coverage. Inputs on rural people's intention toward technologies for effective financial inclusion were essential. Technology adoption factors, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, attitude, perceived risk, and behavioral intention (BI), were short listed after literature review. Factors were subjected to reliability, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), multiple regression, and interaction analysis. Rural provinces in Karnataka state were surveyed. We used mixed sampling technique to reach 959 samples. Multiple regression–interaction analysis revealed age and gender moderated attitude's path toward BI.


The emergence of campus big data not only provides support for personalized teaching and management, but also provides strong technical support. This article mainly discusses the application of big data technology in smart campus, and on the basis of analyzing the behavior of college students, proposes a big data analysis model for smart campus education. By mining and analyzing the data of each student's daily behavior habits and learning behavior characteristics, it provides data support for comprehensive campus governance, and builds a new campus governance model with scientific management, personalized services, and intelligent applications.


A LL STUDENTS OF THE POLITICAL HISTORY of Colombia in the second half of the nineteenth century must grapple with the dissension that occurred among leaders of the Liberal party of that country in the 1870s. As a result of the intra-party discord, the Liberals finally lost control of the federal government, which they had dominated since i86i, and the regime known as the "Regeneration" came into existence in 1885-1886. Although the members of the two wings into which the party was divided are usually designated correctly as "Radicals" and "Independents," all too often the issues that set them apart are imprecisely described. The Radicals are usually depicted as overzealous reformers who sought to convert Colombia into a utopian republic overnight and were, in particular, committed to policies of extreme anti-clericalism, federalism, and laissez-faire. The Independents, on the other hand, are described as moderates who realized that the Radical program was inappropriate for a country like Colombia and served only to retard its political and economic progress. According to the standard account, the Radicals, their quixotic projects having failed, were driven from power by the Independent Liberals under the leadership of Rafael Nunez, who first occupied the presidency in 188o. Subsequently Nuifiez formed a coalition of Independents and Conservatives which became the nucleus of a new National party that governed the republic during the Regeneration under the centralist and authoritarian constitution promulgated in i886. While this depiction of nineteenth-century Colombian politics is partially accurate, it fails to indicate shadows and nuances that significantly alter the final portrait. This essay represents an attempt to clarify the origins and nature of the differences among Colombian Liberals in the decade 1875-1885. * The author, Assistant Professor of History at Florida State University, Canal Zone, wrote this article while Assistant Professor of History at Indiana State University. Research for this article was made possible by grants from the Doherty Foundation and Indiana State University.


A preliminary qualitative investigation has been carried out into the dyeing properties of wool treated in solutions of sodium hypochlorite at various pH values. It has been confirmed that, when using selected equalising acid, neutral–dyeing acid, direct cotton, and chrome dyes, wool treated in acid solutions of hypochlorite absorbs more dye than untreated wool when samples of both are dyed togethor in the same solution, whereas when treated under neutral or alkaline conditions it absorbs less dye and a resist effect is obtained. Treatment in hypochlorite solutions at certain intermediate pH values yields material with dyeing properties similar to untreated wool. Using basic dyes, the chlorinated wool absorbs more dye than the unchlorinated material irrespective of the pH at which the treatment is carried out.


The Music Archive of the Franciscan Monastery in Dubrovnik holds a Gradual de sanctis (MS XII), containing short polyphonic compositions. Of particular interest is the two-part setting of the introit In medio ecclesie, written in black mensural notation during the first half of the fifteenth century. The manuscript also contains four-part Mass responses belonging to the current of simple polyphony, dating from the sixteenth century. The author puts forward arguments for the view that these entries were made in one of the Dominican monasteries in the territory of the Republic of Dubrovnik. The manuscript then found its way to the Franciscan monastery on the island of Badija near KorËula, and was moved to Dubrovnik after the Second World War.


The Hubbard model describes interacting electrons on a lattice,a situation which occurs in various solid state materials and devices. The aim of the present paper is to briefly discuss this model and its applications in the study of transport properties of Q1D and Q2D systems. Several examples are taken from materials and fields that have been intensively studied in recent years.


Population dynamics of Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw) and Tamiasciurus douglasii (Audubon and Bachman) were examined in commercially thinned and unthinned stands in British Columbia, Canada. We tested t...


This chapter treats the single-cell scenario of Section 2.2.1, where a base station uses an array of M antennas to communicate simultaneously with K active terminals. A great deal of Massive MIMO phenomenology surfaces in this scenario: the effects of noise, channel non-orthogonality, and channel estimation errors; the details of multiplexing and de-multiplexing; near/far effects; and the significance of power control. Throughout the chapter, we consider only zero-forcing and maximum-ratio processing. While there are somewhat better performing alternatives: MMSE on the uplink, and suitably optimized regularized zero-forcing on the downlink [30], there are no closed-form non-asymptotic expressions available for their performance. Moreover, zero-forcing and maximum-ratio themselves tend to be optimal under high- and low-SINR conditions respectively. Uplink Pilots and Channel Estimation Learning the channel at the base station is a critical operation. As we have seen, a wideband channel can be decomposed into coherence intervals of duration T c seconds and bandwidth B c Hz. Every such interval offers τ c = B c T c independent uses of a frequency-flat channel as modeled in Section 2.2.1. Figure 2.3(b) illustrates the three activities that occupy each coherence interval: uplink data transmission, uplink pilot transmission, and downlink data transmission. In every coherence interval, the terminals use τ p of the τ c available samples to transmit pilots that are known at both ends of the link, and from which the base station estimates the channels. Orthogonal Pilots Each coherence intervalmust host K pilot waveforms, and in order for them not to interfere, they have to be mutually orthogonal. Henceforth, we assume that the terminals are assigned mutually orthogonal pilot sequences of length τ p , where τ c ≥ τ p ≥ K . Any set of orthogonal pilots with the same energies yield the same performance. The significance of τ p is to quantify how much energy each terminal spends on pilots in each coherence interval. In principle, any τ p samples in the uplink part of the coherence interval can be used for pilots. In practice, transmitters are typically peak-power limited, so constant-modulus signals, such as orthogonal sinewaves, make ideal pilots.


We present the results of low‐temperature photoluminescence and stimulated emission experiments performed on a CdTe/Hg0.45Cd0.55Te/Hg0.67Cd0.33Te multiquantum well separate confinement heterostructure grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The photoluminescence results suggest that because of the growth conditions, there is a strong interdiffusion in the multiquantum well region. Pulsed stimulated emission was observed from this structure up to 77 K.


The main goal of this study is reviewing whether there is any relation between Tobin's qas the agent of fixed intangible assets with Return on Assets (ROA) and the Return on Equity (ROE) as the agents of profitability, or not? In order to achieve this goal, one of the simplest and meanwhile the most applicable statistical methods, is analyzing regression which is used in Enter method. This studying is conducted through testing the investigation hypothesis for accepted companies in Tehran stock exchange during time periods of 1386 to 1390. The results of the study show that there is no any relation between study variables in general and for more assurance, the relation between variables were reviewing yearly, which no relation has been seen in any year. While the results of our investigations have shown the positive relation between variables. So, as the fixed intangible assets are the ability of creating high competition advantages, the managers of these companies have paid more attention to them and also, in accordance with legal responsibility of Accounting Organization in editing the national standards of accounting, so it's suggested to these organization to consider the results of this study. In this regard, the results of the present investigation, is important because of it's related to uncovering the financial reporting and from the theoretical point of view, it's possible that the broad usage of mixing intangible assets in other non-current assets, may be is the base


The world over, in most countries, proportion of people who are 60 years of age or more, is growing much faster than that in any other age group. Old age is not a disease in itself, but the elderly are vulnerable to long term diseases of insidious onset. Therefore, the support system available to them at this juncture in life is very essential. This analytical study evaluated the quality of psychosocial support systems available for the aged in rural Punjab, India. This study was conducted in a rural area of district Moga in the state of Punjab, India. The demographic data and profile of the village population was studied and out of the total population of 9,456, individuals who were 60 years or older of age who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Out of the total of 1870 elderly population who met the inclusion criteria, 980 were females while the remainder 890 were men. 93% of the study population stated that the primary health care services provided in the village were not adapted to the needs of people of their age. 86% agreed that the infrastructure was not comfortable for them.There is a need to review the quality as well as the distribution of services offered to the elderly in rural Punjab, India, including the content of the services, especially where their mental


Abstract Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of platelet lysate (PL)/vancomycin/nano-hydroxyapatite sustained-release material on treating staphylococcus aureus-induced infectious bone defects. Methods 40 New Zealand white rabbits were inoculated with staphylococcus aureus to construct the chronic tibial infectious bone defect model. After incision, debridement and washing, control group 1 was not given any filling, control group 2 was filled with PL/nano-hydroxyapatite sustained release material, control group 3 was filled with vancomycin/ nano-hydroxyapatite sustained release material, and the treatment group was filled with PL/vancomycin/nano-hydroxyapatite sustained-release material. Afterwards, the drug release profiles were determined in vitro and in vivo. Then, X-rays and bone specimens were used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatments. Results TGF-β and PDGF were effectively released for 28 days in vitro. In addition, results of the inhibition zone experiment of the composite material proved that vancomycin had favorable antibacterial activity, which effectively suppressed bacteria for as long as 43 days, thus achieving the sustained-release antibacterial effect. The drug release profiles in vitro also demonstrated that the vancomycin concentration within the lesion region was the highest in composite material, and the infection in experimental rabbits was markedly alleviated. The original backbone deformity regained the normal shape, the normal bone marrow structure began to recover 6 weeks later, and the nano-hydroxyapatite transformed into the trabecula structure. By contrast, the inflammation in the control group still existed, with no obvious new bone formation. Conclusion The PL/vancomycin/nano-hydroxyapatite sustained-release material effectively treats chronic infectious bone defects.


The calculation of the ionization probability and of the ionization coefficients of the holes of the spin split-off valence band in Ga1-x Alx Sb has been made for various compositions 0<x<0.08. This range allows us to obtain the situations in which the ratio of spin orbit splitting Δ to the energy gap E g decreases from 1.05 to 0.89. It is shown that if the alloy disorder is neglected, the hole ionization coefficient k p exhibits a continuous variation with Δ/E g (or x); if not, k p is strongly increased and shows a maximum for x=0.02 in the composition range in which Δ≥E g (Δ/E g=1.006). The comparison with experimental results is presented and allows an estimation of the mean free path of the holes; the strong influence of this parameter on the k p values is discussed.


This study aims to describe intrinsic motivation and factors that influence student motivation in learning Arabic. This research is a case study developed using qualitative descriptive research methods. The sample in this study is students at the Faculty of Economics in Learning Arabic, Special Program for Arabic Language Development, Universitas Negeri of Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. The result shows that the intrinsic motivation of students to learn Arabic well is because Arabic is the language of the Moslems, Al-Qur'an language. Another motivation is the need to understand Islam and the hope of getting good grades and proficiency in Arabic. The results also show that the extrinsic motivation of students who liked learning Arabic was due to the excellent and pleasant environment in learning. Also, another extrinsic motivation is due to the fun activities in learning Arabic and the appreciation from lecturers or the Special Programs for Arabic Language Development. Diverse and fun teaching methods and the existence of learning activities outside the classroom and the reality of advice given by the instructor to students are also the factors that motivate students to learn Arabic


Undesired vibration force caused by harmonic current is a common problem in an active magnetic bearing(AMB)-rotor system. It poses a potential threat to system stability and performance degradation. In this work, phase-shift notch filter is adopted to maintain the system stability in the varying speed range. The scheme of AMB control system with multiple notch filters connected in series mode is proposed for harmonic current suppression. By performance comparison, the analyses show that there is almost no difference between series-mode and parallel-mode notch filters in terms of suppression effect. But parallel-mode notch filters provide a more efficient way of digital implementation. Simulation and experimental results for system stability and vibration control on a magnetically suspended flywheel validate the comparison conclusions.


From the literature it is evident that trichinosis occurs much more frequently than is generally supposed. It has been reported that on routine postmortem examination of several thousand diaphragms an incidence of trichinosis was found varying in different series from 13.6 per cent1to 17.5 per cent2and even as high as 28 per cent.3Some believe the explanation for these figures lies in the fact that from 3 to 6 per cent of hogs are infected with trichinae.4 Trichinella spiralis belongs to the family of Nemathelminthes or roundworms and enters the human body in raw or inadequately cooked pork. The gastric juices dissolve the protective capsule of the larvae and free the worm, allowing the latter to pass into the small intestine, where coitus occurs. The female then burrows under the surface of the intestinal mucosa and deposits viviparous young in the lymphatic and vascular


A liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a gate insulating film covering the gate line, a gate line including a gate line having a gate electrode, a semiconductor layer formed on the gate insulating film, it is formed on the semiconductor layer, and the data having a source electrode line, the gate electrode facing the source electrode on the upper and, respectively, and the drain electrode, is formed on the data line a protective film, it is formed over the protective film in which, is connected to the drain electrode, a thin film including a first pixel electrode having one incision It has a common electrode panel having a common electrode in the transistor panel and is disposed in a first cutting portion and the regular intervals of the pixel electrode, the second incision is formed. In this case, it has a domain regulating means in the first or second cut portion concave or convex notch can be reliably arranged in the liquid crystal molecules located in the domain boundary through it.


Purpose

This paper aims to address the issue of designing aerodynamically robust empennage. Aircraft design optimization often narrowed to analysis of cruise conditions does not take into account other flight phases (manoeuvres). These, especially in unmanned air vehicle sector, can be significant part of the whole flight. Empennage is a part of the aircraft, with crucial function for manoeuvres. It is important to consider robustness for highest performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Methodology for robust wing design is presented. Surrogate modelling using kriging is used to reduce the optimization cost for high-fidelity aerodynamic calculations. Analysis of varying flight conditions, angle of attack, is made to assess robustness of design for particular mission. Two cases are compared: global optimization of 11 parameters and optimization divided into two consecutive sub-optimizations.

Findings

Surrogate modelling proves its usefulness for cutting computational time. Optimum design found by splitting problem into sub-optimizations finds better design at lower computational cost.

Practical implications

It is demonstrated, how surrogate modelling can be used for analysis of robustness, and why it is important to consider it. Intuitive split of wing design into airfoil and planform sub-optimizations brings promising savings in the optimization cost.

Originality/value

Methodology presented in this paper can be used in various optimization problems, especially those involving expensive computations and requiring top quality design.


The effect of oral cimetidine or ranitidine on the pharmacokinetics of the R and S enantiomers of the nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug flurbiprofen and its major metabolite, 4′‐hydroxyflurbiprofen, was evaluated. Nine healthy volunteers participated in a randomized crossover design study with the following treatments: (A) flurbiprofen 200 mg; (B) flurbiprofen 200 mg plus ranitidine 150 mg bid for 7 days before and for 2 days after receiving flurbiprofen and (C) flurbiprofen 200 mg plus cimetidine 300 mg qid for 7 days before and for 2 days after receiving flurbiprofen. Blood and urine samples were collected at various intervals during a 48‐hour period. These samples were assayed stereospecifically for flurbiprofen and its metabolite.


This paper first compares the auditing quality standards,the service inspection mechanism and the service inspection system among the United Stated,Britain,China and Japan,and then puts forward some proposals to improve the auditing quality control mechanism of China.


Research on politicisation has stressed the role of specific social spaces on the development of political practices, or even of a political consciousness, among more dominated individuals. But the 'Maisons du peuple' have attracted little attention to date. This article examines the Maison du peuple organised by the socialist cooperative La Paix in Roubaix from 1885 to 1914. We study its role within social relationships. Analysing the politicisation of workers' traditional sociability, this article then examines the effects of politicisation on individuals and groups who attended La Paix. We emphasize the difficulty of accurately tracing individual trajectories of politicisation; however frequenting the Maison du peuple may have constituted the springboard for a political career and, more generally, fostered the formation of a local working-class consciousness.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate staff attitudes towards the merger of a primary health care facility and a general hospital in the Province of West Finland. The questionnaire was answered by 597 (68.8%) employees. The majority of the respondents are ready to carry the merger through, but the vision is not clear enough. T-test indicates significant differences between the staffs in the two organizations. However, the manager's responsibility in a change process is to focus on the dialogue between the staffs as well as to anchor the vision for the future possibilities of development.


Personalisation in product design refers to the ability for users to
alter or add features to products to best suit their needs and wants.
This can occur during different stages of the design process, but it
is better known to occur in the manufacture phase - a process
known as mass customisation. However, true personalisation in
mass customisation is often somewhat limited, restricted to a
palette of materials, colours and styles that can be mixed and
matched. In this paper, a case study of the Pop light will be used to explore
the possibilities of a higher level of user personalisation in a mass
manufactured product, than is currently offered in mass
customisation methods. The design of this product implements a
design methodology that the authors term user-completion. The
user-completion methodology defined by the authors comprises
two key elements - a 'design kit' and aspects of the product left
'open' for users to finish. The design kit delivered to users has the
potential to be mass manufactured. Providing users the opportunity
to personalise their mass manufactured products once they take
ownership of them, has the opportunity to arguably increase the
intangible value of the product. In addition to the case study discussion of the Pop light, the paper
will also briefly describe the development of the user-completion
approach through an earlier testing of the methodology in the 2012
Stitch light. The Pop light, and its predecessor the Stitch light, are
designed by bernabeifreeman, a leading Sydney based design
company, of whom one of the authors is co-director. Both the Stitch
and Pop lights were designed as a kind of 'real life' testing of the
user-completion approach. This paper and associated artefact builds on previous research by
the authors exploring design methodologies operating at the
intersection between mass manufacture, mass customisation and
craft.


The invention relates to an assembly (1) for electrically conductive connection of at least two stator windings of an electrical machine, having at least two electrically conductive contact elements (100) and at least one electrically conductive busbar (200) for electrically conductive connection of the at least two electrically conductive contact elements (100 ), wherein in each case one (of the at least two electrically conductive contact elements 100) is electrically conductively connected to a respective one of the at least two stator windings, wherein the at least one electrically conductive busbar (200) (with at least one of the at least two electrically conductive contact elements 100) is electrically conductively connected by a plug connection with a plug element and a socket element.


It is deduced theoretically that the critical method is sueeessfully used to judge the chemical equilibrium shifting direction in view of the teaching difficult point of judging chemical equilibrium shift direction under constant temperature and pressure,and its reliability is evidenced by means of living examples.The results show that when some reactant content is changed,the shifting direction of chemical equilibrium in the gaseous phase under constant temperature and pressure depends on the following factors: the initial equilibrium concentration of the designated constituent,the amount of substance of addition constituent,the type of reacton and the molar volume.


The aim of this study is to investigate the improvement of an artificial neural network (ANN) method for the prediction of bearing strength of two serial pinned/bolted E-glass reinforced epoxy composite joints. The experimental data from the previous study with different geometrical parameters without torque and various applied torque were used for developing the ANN model. Comparisons of ANN results with desired values showed that there is a good agreement between input and output variables of the experimental data. Therefore, ANN was illustrated to be a valid powerful tool for the prediction of bearing strength of two serial pinned/bolted composite joints.


Well-defined ruthenium carboxylate complexes enabled unprecedented ruthenium-catalyzed C(sp(2))-H hydroxylations on benzamides with PhI(OAc)(2) as the oxidant at a remarkably low catalyst loading of 1.0 mol %.


In reply We appreciate the comments of Dr Safran. Indeed, the work he cites may provide a scientific basis for one of our findings that we had not previously considered. The vision-related portion of our questionnaire was intended to assess (1) the limitations in activities requiring vision, (2) a self-evaluation of vision, and (3) visual symptoms in patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis. In designing this instrument, we assembled indicators of the commonly experienced range of each of these concepts. For visual symptoms, qualitative patient interviews suggested that blind spots and floaters were prevalent and bothersome and that each should be represented in our questionnaire. In a preliminary version, an item about "blind spots or blurry spots" was intended to assess scotomata and an item about "spots floating in front of your eyes" was intended to assess vitreous cells. Questionnaire items are valid if they measure what they purport to measure in


The present invention belongs to the field of biological fermentation engineering, which provided a method for the fermentative preparation of pentamethylenediamine, which comprises culturing a cell expressing lysine decarboxylase, is obtained comprising whole cell broth pentamethylenediamine; and, the extraction step (1) pentamethylenediamine whole cell broth obtained in which the carbon dioxide is removed prior to the addition of a strong base wherein the whole cell broth. The method of the present invention can significantly improve the yield pentamethylenediamine.


Stable carbon isotope techniques have been suggested as diagnostic tools for assessing hydrocarbons biodegradation. The objective of this study was to determine if isotope fractionation can be used as a reliable indicator of MTBE biodegradation, whether natural or engineered. The MTBE plume at Naval Base Ventura County (Port Hueneme, California, USA) offers a unique setting to study the fate of MTBE using stable carbon isotopes. Dramatic decreases in MTBE concentrations as a result of biodegradation have been well documented at this site. MTBE stable isotope fractionations were tracked along with MTBE concentrations. Laboratory-scale microcosms show 6‰ enrichment on MTBE-δ 13 C under aerobic conditions. However, limited fractionation was detected in field samples.


We show that ultrasharp spectral lines, with widths 2orders of magnitude below the natural width, may be produced in the resonance fluorescence of a V-type three-level atom excited by a single-mode laser field when the dipole moments are nearly parallel. The smaller the splitting of the excited doublet, the narrower the line. This effect is due to quantum interference between the two transition pathways. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}


An efficient procedure for the synthesis of 2-chloro-6-methoxy-9-alkylpurine compounds with better yield through alkylation,diazotization and oxyalkylation of 2-amino-6-chloropurine is reported.The target compounds were characterized by means of MS,1HNMR and elemental analysis.The effect of solvent,mole ratio of raw material,catalyst and reaction temperature on the alkylation reaction was discussed,and the yield of the target compounds was more than 76% under the following optimized conditions:n(2-amino-6-chloropurine)∶n(bromoalkane)=1∶3,n(bromoalkane)∶n(K2CO3)=1∶1.5,reaction temperature was 20 ℃ with DMF as solvent.


For different conditions of excitation of an inhomogeneously broadened NMR line, the dependence of a two-pulse echo intensity on the form of a nuclear-spin gain distribution function, F(η), has been numerically analyzed. The results have been used to determine the form of F(η) in an ordered Co 2 MnSi alloy


A focusing interferometer, wherein the focusing and orientation of the different mirrors of the interferometer have been successfully facilitated by combining the focusing mirror and the collimating mirror to provide a single spherical mirror surface and by reversing the paths of light that start from the beam splitter by assembly of mirrors which are arranged back-to-back to reflect to opposite directions such that their optical axes join, each of the mirrors including three flat mirror surfaces that are perpendicular to one another and are arranged to reflect to the direction of the point where the normals of the mirror surfaces intersect.


The Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH) is a validated tool measuring the duration, frequency, and intensity of physical activity. The modified version of the SQUASH (mSQUASH) has been developed, in collaboration between spondyloarthritis (SpA) experts and axial (ax)SpA patients, to better address the needs of these patients in the assessment physical activity (1).To translate and cross-cultural adapt the mSQUASH into Turkish as well as its cognitive debriefing to test the conceptual equivalence of the translated version among patients with axSpA.The mSQUASH was translated into Turkish by 2 bilingual translators, native speakers of Turkish one from medical (informed) and the other is without medical background (uninformed). The consensus on forward-translation was reached by the team included two rheumatologist (GA and LK) and the translators. Backward-translation into Dutch was performed by 2 bilingual translators, native speakers of Dutch and who were blinded to the original mSQUASH version. After the review of the Turkish version by an expert committee that included translators, two patients and the research team a pre-final version was prepared. This version was used in a field-test with cognitive debriefing and involved a sample of 10 axSpA patients (7 radiographic- and 3 non-radiographic axSpA patients) with variation in gender, age, disease duration, and educational background. The final Turkish mSQUASH version was reached after the patients were interviewed to check understandability, interpretation and cultural relevance of the translation. The whole process was performed according to the Beaton method (Figure 1) (2).Figure 1.Flow-chart of the translation and cross-cultural adaptation processAfter the forward-backward translation process, small incompatibilities were resolved during the expert committee meeting. For example: `Ander transport (heen en terug)` was translated as `Diğer hedeflere (gidip gelmek)`. The meaning in English is `Other transport (round trip)'. This item questions the way of going to other places and the discrepancy raised whether to use `transportation` or the `target` as the title. To make it culturally adaptable consensus reached to use a word equivalent to `the target` which is semantically equal to the Dutch version. A total of 10 patients with axSpA [7 females, mean (SD) age of 38 (10)] participated in the field test. Mean (SD) time to complete the mSQUASH was 6.1 (2.4) minutes. Cognitive debriefing showed that items of the mSQUASH are clear, relevant, understandable, and easy to complete. None of the patients indicate any important aspect of physical activity that is missing from the questionnaire items. During the cognitive debriefing, 2 patients suggested a change in the wording of one item to make it more suitable to the Turkish culture. This item inquires after sport activities and patients raised the concern that the example activities, ice-skating, tennis, handball are not culturally suitable. According to their comments these items were replaced by other examples such as football.The final Turkish version of the mSQUASH showed acceptable linguistic validity and can be used in both clinical practice and for research purposes. However, to implement the Turkish version of the mSQUASH, further assessment of its psychometric properties (validity and reliability) is needed.[1]Carbo MJ, et al. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2021 Aug;51(4):719-727.[2]Beaton DE, et al.. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2000 Dec 15;25(24):3186-91Gizem Ayan: None declared, Sofia Ramiro Speakers bureau: Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Sanofi, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Galapagos, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Fernando M Pimentel-Santos Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis, UCB, Tecnimed, Consultant of: AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Tecnimed, UCB, Grant/research support from: Abbvie, Janssen, Novartis, Anneke Spoorenberg Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Novartis Pharma, Pfizer, UCB Pharma, Lilly, Consultant of: AbbVie, Novartis Pharma, Pfizer, UCB Pharma, Lilly, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Novartis Pharma, Pfizer, Suzanne Arends: None declared, Levent Kiliç: None declared


I. INTRODUCTION In July 2001, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. fired Susan Hudock, an award-winning sales representative suffering from shingles.1 Angered and frustrated, Ms. Hudock retained an attorney and filed suit against her former employer, alleging that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make "reasonable accommodations" that would enable her to perform certain job-related functions.2 After incurring over $18,000 in legal fees over two years and with no end in sight, Ms. Hudock decided to take a drastic step: she fired her attorney and proceeded with her case pro se.3 Despite being warned by her former attorney that she would "never survive summary judgment," Ms. Hudock did just that, largely through the aid of legal resources she found on the Internet.4 When her trial finally began in June 2005, Ms. Hudock rose from the sole chair at the plaintiffs table and began her opening statement by telling the jury, "I have to tell you, I'm terrified."5 Nevertheless, she forged ahead with her case, struggling with evidentiary procedures, witness examination, and general trial strategy; her well-represented adversary had no such difficulties.6 Although the jury ultimately found for Aventis, Ms. Hudock remains undeterred.7 She plans to represent herself again on appeal.8 Ms. Hudock's experience has become increasingly common in recent years, with both state and federal courts seeing a marked increase in pro se civil litigation. In the federal district courts, nonprisoner pro se litigants filed over twenty thousand cases in a recent one-year period; the federal appellate courts saw a twentypercent increase in pro se appeals between 1993 and 2004.9 Though the trend shows no signs of abating,10 not all members of the legal community have welcomed it. Both scholarly and practical debates have centered on the appropriate balance between an individual's right to represent himself11 and the need for judicial efficiency.12 In response, courts, state bar associations, and other institutions have developed programs designed to help selfrepresented litigants navigate through their local court systems. For instance, many state courts sponsor programs and clinics that aid pro se litigants with their cases.13 Moreover, several state bars have adopted "unbundling" rules that allow lawyers and law firms to carry out discrete legal tasks, rather than provide full representation, for their clients.14 In recent years, the Internet has also played an increasingly significant role in providing pro se litigants with guidance and access to legal authorities; many jurisdictions, private organizations, and even individuals now make such resources available to anyone able to access the Internet.15 While others have commented on the pro se trend and these various assistance programs in isolation, this Comment presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of these various efforts on pro se civil litigants and on the civil judicial system as a whole.16 At the same time, it seeks to evaluate whether any of these resources, or some combination thereof, can reconcile the competing values of selfrepresentation and judicial economy. Part II provides background information and data on the right to self-representation as well as the growing popularity of and challenges associated with proceeding pro se. In Part III, the various approaches offered by courts, bar associations, and technological resources to assist pro se litigants will be presented, and the impact of these initiatives on both pro se litigants and the court systems in which they pursue their claims will be analyzed. Part IV proposes a framework for an integrated, Internet-based pro se assistance program and explains why such an approach is best positioned to balance the needs of pro se litigants with the principles of judicial economy and efficiency. Finally, Part V offers conclusions and recommendations on the practical application of pro se assistance programs and the future of pro se representation. …


A kaolinite-methanol intercalated complex with inter-spacing of 1.0 nm was synthesized by washing kaolinite with hydrazine monohydrate, 10 mol aqueous solution of urea, and pure methanol successively. The complex was unstable at the beginning and under ambient conditions for 72 hrs or the temperature of 105 OC for 2 min, the inter-spacing reduced to 0.85 nm, and further to 0.79 nm under the temperature of 200 OC. It remained unchanged even if the complex was put under the temperature of 300 OC for 24 hrs. The change in inter-spacing under heat treatment and the IR spectra of the resultant 0.85 nm and 0.79 nm intercalates clearly showed presence of methanol in the interspace of the complex. Judging from the expansion value and the minimum diameter of a methanol molecular, only a single layer of the organic molecules was intercalated with a considerable amount of bonds (lower inter-spacing of the intercalates indicating higher extent to which methanol molecules were inserted). It was deduced that methyls were possibly inserted into hexagonal rings of silica tetrahedrons and hydroxyls into octahedrons. Perturbation and shift of infrared absorption bands attributed to hydroxyls in kaolinite structure suggested that interaction between methanol molecule and kaolinite was stronger in 0.79 nm intercalate than in 0.85 nm intercalate.


Objective To evaluate the relationship between serum lipids,lipid peroxidatio and colorectal adenomas.Methods Analysis was based on data of 98 subjects with histologically confirmed adenoma and 40 adenoma-free control subjects,all of them had colonoscopy.The subjects were divided into two groups: those with no adenoma and those with adenoma.According to subsite of adenomas,the subjects with adenoma were divided into the group of distal adenoma and the group of proximal adenoma.According to histology of adenomas,the subjects with adenoma were divided into the group of villiform adenoma,the group of tubular and tubulovillous adenoma.Serum lipids and MDA were detected.Results Plasma total cholesterol and MDA levels in the group of adenomas were significantly higher than that in control group,but plasma HDL-cholesterol level was lower in the group of adenomas(P0.05).Plasma total cholesterol and MDA levels were positively related with distal and villiform adenomas(P0.05).Conclusion The findings suggest that altered lipid metabolism may be associated with colorectal adenomas.


BASIC MODEL EQUATION Numerical models for wave propagation that use the finite element method to solve the mild-slope equation, BERKHOFF (1972) are suitable for wave agitation and resonance studies in harbours, bays or coastal regions, in general. However, in order to comply with the condition relative to the minimum number of points per wavelength in the whole domain, their application leads to grids with a very large number of nodes and to very large system of equations. The computational effort and the storage required for the solution of such systems are so large that it may hamper the application of the models. So, in order tackle that problem, . (2001), developed an element-by-element model (E ., 1987) that solves the long wave equation (or shallow water equation) by using the finite element method. In this EBE formulation, there is no need to assemble the system's global matrix; the system is stored at element level, instead. Because of this storage at the element level, an important reduction of the storage requirements is achieved. In parallel with this formulation, an iterative Diagonally Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient Method, and (1952), is used for the solution of the system of equations. This model, which is called EBE_SWE model, is particularly useful for very large regions due to the reduced storage needed. However, an important limitation of this model is related to the fact that it is based on the long wave equation, and so, it is only valid for shallow waters. It is important to note that in the majority of wave propagation studies in harbours, the water depths vary from deep or intermediate water depths to shallow water depths. So, some modifications were made to the EBE_SWE model in order to solve the mild-slope equation, a more general equation that is valid for shallow, intermediate and deep waters. The element-by-element formulation is used to solve the mildslope equation. This modified model, named EBE_MSE, is valid for linear wave propagation over mild-slope bottoms, varying from deep to shallow waters. In order to enhance the model's performance, some alternative methods of preconditioning were also implemented. They differ in terms of storage requirements, number of iterations, number of matrix-vector operations and execution time. We address the problem of accelerating convergence and compare the results with those of a standard diagonal preconditioning. Also important is to monitor how the number of iterations grows with the problem size. In this paper, the EBE_MSE numerical model is described. First the basic equations are presented. Afterwards, the EBE formulation that uses the finite element model for the solution of the wave equation as well as the iterative conjugate gradient method is described. Several preconditioning techniques, which were tried to enhance the performance of the iterative method, are presented. The EBE_MSE model is used to study the wave agitation in two real test cases: St. Quay Portrieux harbour (France) and Lugar de Baixo marina (Madeira Island, Portugal). The EBE_MSE results are compared with another solution of the mild-slope equation obtained by a direct method (skyline variant of Doolittle's method) to solve the system of equations. The model's performance as well as the preconditioners efficiency is presented and discussed.


• The effects on health are likely to be dominated by exposure to particles in the long term. Using the health effects coefficients published by COMEAP (1998), estimates for the UK indicate that short-term exposure to the levels of PM10 prevalent in 2002 led to 6,500 deaths and 6,400 hospital admissions brought forward that year, although it is not possible to discern by what length of time the events were brought forward. Coefficients published by COMEAP (2001) also indicate that for each 1 μg m–3 decrease in PM2.5 over the lifetime of the current population of England and Wales between 0.2 and 0.5 million years of life will be gained (COMEAP, 2001), equivalent, on average, to 1.5–3.5 days per individual. These estimates assume both linearity in the relationship between particle concentration and health outcome and the absence of a threshold.


Much information has been acquired on the anatomy and function of the insula over the past two decades. The insula has a dynamic cytoarchitectonic arrangement throughout its length. The anterior insula is comprised of an agranular allocortical area which functionally is part of the paralimbic belt. Its cortical connections are predominantly with other allocortical areas. Sub cortical, limbic, and brain stem connections underscore the anterior insula s role in processing and integrating autonomic and visceral information. The posterior insula is comprised of a granular isocortical area which functionally is linked to somatomotor systems. Its cortical connections are predominantly with other neocortical areas. Insular cortical and sub cortical connections, especially with the thalamus and basal ganglia, underscore the posteriorinsula s role in somatosensory, vestibular, and motor integration. The dysgranular insula lying in between the anterior and posterior insula represents an anatomical and functional tr...


We estimate the $3$-colour bipartite Ramsey number for balanced bipartite graphs $H$ with small bandwidth and bounded maximum degree. More precisely, we show that the minimum value of $N$ such that in any $3$-edge colouring of $K_{N,N}$ there is a monochromatic copy of $H$ is at most $\big(3/2+o(1)\big)|V(H)|$. In particular, we determine asymptotically the $3$-colour bipartite Ramsey number for balanced grid graphs.


We combine magneto-optical imaging and a magnetic field pulse technique to study domain wall dynamics in a ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As layer with perpendicular easy axis. Contrary to ultrathin metallic layers, the depinning field is found to be smaller than the Walker field, thereby allowing for the observation of the steady and precessional flow regimes. The domain wall width and damping parameters are determined self-consistently. The damping, 30 times larger than the one deduced from ferromagnetic resonance, is shown to essentially originate from the non-conservation of the magnetization modulus. An unpredicted damping resonance and a dissipation regime associated with the existence of horizontal Bloch lines are also revealed.


The article focuses on the analysis of the axiological dimension of ecology-related vocabulary. The following concepts were used to analyze the diversified corpus: lexical-discursive profile, discursive designation and interdiscursive memory. The analyzes show that the concept of the so-called ecological responsibility is the main reference in creating two main axes: good, fair, beneficial vs bad, unfair, unfavorable for humans and the environment / the planet. It has also been observed that valuation begins at the level of definition of a lexical item in linguistic and thematic dictionaries.


Most of natural topaz is colorless; thus, methods of color enhancement are widely used for coloring this mineral. Currently, blue color is obtained by cobalt diffusion due to drawbacks in existing coloration methods. In this study, optimum conditions suitable for Cobalt diffusion in Sri Lankan colorless topaz were investigated and coloration mechanism was elucidated. The diffusion agent was prepared by mixing CoCO3 with Na2CO3, CaCO3 and carbon powder and diffusion was carried-out by varying the temperature and soaking time. Chemical analysis, UV-Vis absorption spectrum, infrared absorption spectra, and Raman peaks of diffused and non-diffused topaz were tested. The results clearly indicated that the optimum condition for Co diffusion in Sri Lankan topaz is 950℃ for 11 h. The EPMA analysis showed that the Co concentration in the diffused sample varied from 0.001 wt% to 0.027 wt% while colorless topaz showed <0.001 wt%. The UV-Vis spectrum of Co diffused blue topaz gave three absorption peaks at 556, 588, and 627 nm corresponding to three spin-allowed electronic transitions of Co2+ ion in teterahedaral coordination. In case of Co diffused topaz, one additional new broader IR absorption peak was noticed around 6640 cm-1 presumably arising by optical transitions of 4A2 → 4T1 in Co2+ (4F).  Our results lead to the conclusion that, blue color of the Co diffused topaz is arising by spin-allowed electronic transitions of Co2+ ions in tetrahedral site of topaz matrix through substitution of Si4+ ions.


Over 61% of farmers who sell agricultural products through farmers' markets are satisfied with the returns they generate. Producers who are 50 years of age or older and those who retail at least 70% of the dollar value of the products are more likely to be highly satisfied with their profit margin from farmers' markets. A strong positive relationship is documented between profit margin satisfaction and growers who offer organic produce for sale. Furthermore, the results suggest that producers with farmers' market businesses in the growing stage are more likely to be highly satisfied with profit margins.


There are 76 numbered experiments, many of which provide several choices of syntheses or reactions. Procedures are provided for both micro and semimicro scales.


Active caspase-3 is an effector cysteine protease crucial for apoptosis. T lymphocyte survival impinges on the ability of the cell to keep the levels of active caspase-3 in check. Previous studies have shown that despite IL-2 and IL-15 sharing γc and IL-2Rβ (CD122) receptor subunits and being capable of stimulating proliferation and activation of T cells, these cytokines differentially regulate the survival of T cells. Although IL-2 plays a crucial role in activation-induced cell death (AICD) of peripheral T cells whereas IL-15 extends survival of T cells by inhibiting AICD, the mechanism behind this difference in susceptibility to AICD is not well understood. In this study, we report that IL-2-cultured primary murine T cells manifest considerably higher levels of active caspase-3 compared to IL-15-cultured T cells. This was independent of initiator caspases, such as caspase-8 and -9. Furthermore, there was a very robust increase in caspase activity as well as cell death following α-CD3 restimulation of IL-2-cultured T cells, whereas the IL-15-cultured T cells manifested almost no increase in caspase activity or cell death. Taken together these data support the hypothesis that IL-15 can inhibit T cell apoptosis and therefore prolong T cell survival by maintaining low levels of active caspase-3.


The far-reaching method of the graphene oxide photoreduction has been developed for the robust production of graphene nanoflakes. We study the influence of photoreduction spectra on optical and electrical properties and the material surface wettability.


During the last ten years, the Chilean evangelical world has suffered a significant change in its religious space. The temple, as built as a structure, is no longer the main place for prayers and religious development activities, leading to the emergence of other forms of belief's expression, which are not necessarily ecclesiastical. On the one hand, evangelicals and Pentecostals who do not feel represented in the strict and limited world of the church, left it to practice their religion in a different way: participating in interfaith discussion groups, NGOs in social assistance or in centers of political studies. On the other hand, it has decreased the influence of formal religion, emerging extra space for different kind of expressions and ecclesiastical forms of "Christianity without religion". The concept of "temple" has changed the meaning, becoming anywhere a place of worship communication directly between the believer and God. This diversity of evangelical religious spaces has important implications for the relations between Christians and society, political world and university, as well as the evolution of the evangelical and Pentecostal identity.


The peasant workers have already become the main body of the industrial main force in China,but if the wide peasant workers want to become one new type of labor main force,they need an urgent demand for the organized various professional training courses.The text makes the analyses on the various problems existing in the training courses for the wide peasant workers,it puts forward the training mechanism combining the governmental guidance and market operation so as to realize the overall planning and the co-ordination supply and demand of the training courses for the wide peasant workers.


The aim of the present study was to provide an ultrastructural basis necessary for the full understanding of recent electroretinographic observations on normal sheep and on sheep where the retinal [unction was influenced by certain drugs and toxic substances. The ultrastructure of the inner nuclear layer, the ganglion cell layer and the plexiform layers of the sheep retina is described. The horizontal cells were rather few, and only one type was observed. Two types of bipolar cells were found. The number of amacrine cells was quite large, indicating well developed lateral connections in the inner plexiform layer. Few ganglion cells were seen. The synaptic contacts between the receptor cells, the horizontal cells and the bipolar cells as well as the synaptic contacts between the bipolar cells, the ganglion cells and the amacrine cells are discussed in relation to findings on other species.


A series of 9-phenylcarbazoles have been synthesized and characterized for their electrochemical as well as spectral properties. For 3,6-substituted carbazoles, the oxidation is reversible and the potential is affected by the substituents. For 3,6-unprotected carbazoles, on the other hand, the oxidized forms can undergo dimerization. Their corresponding dimers have been independently synthesized by chemical methods and have exhibited identical spectral properties. The para position of the 9-phenyl group is relatively insensitive for redox and chemical reactions. The amino derivatives are unstable in carbazole cation radical form compared with their triphenylamine counterparts.


Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions in healthcare systems and societies and exacerbated existing inequalities for women and girls across every sphere. Our study explores health systems responses to gender equality goals during the COVID-19 pandemic and which role these goals play in pandemic recovery policies. Methods We apply a qualitative comparative approach. Country case studies (expert information, secondary sources) were collected in March/April 2022. The sample comprised Australia, Brazil, Germany, United Kingdom and USA, reflecting conditions of high to upper-middle income countries with established public health systems, democratic political institutions and gender equality policies. Selected topics: maternity care/reproductive services, violence against women, and gender equality/female leadership. Results All countries tried to keep essential maternity and reproductive services open, but strong limitations applied especially for prevention and counselling services; at the same time, digitalisation/telemedicine supported service expansion. Violence against women and children strongly increased during the pandemic. Routine services were partly kept open and new helplines occasionally established, but no action was taken to scale-up mental health support and respond to new demand. A push-back of gender equality was observed across countries in all areas of health and social care, often coupled with strong increase in intersecting social inequalities; participation of women in decision-making bodies was generally weak and not monitored. Conclusions Across countries, gender equality policies cracked under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic; this is true for countries with male and female political leaders, and for different areas of SDG5 and health. There is an urgent need for more effective intersectional gender equality policies and improved participation of women in global health and in health system recovery plans. Key messages • Health systems failed to take action to protect SDG5 goals; gender and intersecting inequalities strongly increased during the pandemic. • Building back better after COVID-19 will only be possible with an intersectional gender equality programme and feminist policy approaches.


This book was written largely from the point of view of the relation between cosmology and the physics of microworld. It presents the results concerning a homogeneous isotropic Universe at the hot stage of its evolution and at subsequent cosmological stages. The main Sections consider the established concepts of the early and present-day Universe; these sections may serve as a modern introduction to this rapidly developing field of science. To facilitate the reading of the main sections, some necessary information from the General Relativity and the theory of elementary particles is presented in Appendices. Moreover, hypotheses are considered (often alternatives to each other) that refer to unsolved cosmological problems, such as dark matter, dark energy, the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, etc. The monograph has a continuation, Introduction to the Theory of the Early Universe: Cosmological Perturbations. Inflation Theory (Moscow: Izd-vo URSS, in press) presenting the results referring to the theory of the development of cosmological perturbations, inflation theory, and the theory of post-inflation heating. The book is intended for researchers, postgraduates, and undergraduate students specializing in elementary particle physics and cosmology. (Publishing group URSS: Nakhimovskii prospect 56, 117335 Moscow, Russian Federation; tel./fax: +7 (499) 724-25-45; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; URL: http:// urss.ru/)


A probabilistic framework is presented for evaluation of hurricane wave and surge risk with particular emphasis on real-time, automated estimation for hurricanes approaching landfall. The basis of this framework is the characterization of hurricane scenarios through five model parameters: the landfall location and heading, the central pressure, the forward speed, and the radius of maximum winds. Description of the uncertainty in these parameters, through appropriate probability models, leads then to quantification of hurricane risk through a probabilistic integral. Its assessment relies on the development a surrogate model for the rapid evaluation of hurricane waves, water levels, and runup. This surrogate model is established using a response surface methodology fed by information from hundreds of pre-computed, highresolution model runs. The surrogate model is able to evaluate the maximum wave height, water level, and runup for any storm at a cost that is more than seven orders of magnitude less than the high fidelity models and thus meet time constraints imposed by emergency managers. An illustrative example is presented that considers applications of these tools for hurricane risk estimation for Oahu. The development of standalone executables to facilitate this risk estimation is also discussed.


In the last decade, a consistent body of research has shown that the correct identification of task-relevant items can cause a transitory increase in human perceptual sensitivity. In the present work I report evidence of short- and long-term changes in perceptual processing triggered by the recognition of visual targets. This collection of studies suggests that targets recognition may trigger internal signals of reinforcement which, in turn, would foster cortical plasticity. Interestingly, such endogenous signals seem to be modulated by the presence of external reward and by intrinsic aspects of task performance.


We have successfully exploited multi-dimensional spaces of concentrations of the interstitial species, Si and Ge, geometries and compositions of the starting SiGe nano-pillar, and sources of Si interstitials (the Si3N4 and Si encapsulation layers) to create new classes of exciting optical and electronic devices such as single-electron tunneling devices, wavelength-tunable photodetectors, and MOSFETs.


Influence of operating temperature (T=25℃, 35℃, 45℃, 55℃) on the electrochemical performance of V-based solid solution type hydrogen storage alloy TiV_(2.1) Ni_(0.4) has been investigated systematically. XRD and SEM show that the alloy consists of a V-based solid solution main phase with bcc. structure and a TiNi-based secondary phase. Electrochemical measurements show that as the operating temperature rises, the activation process becomes faster, the maximum discharge capacity is noticeably improved, and the cycling stability drops sharply. ICP measurements show that the increase of Ti and V elements dissolved in the electrolyte at high temperature leads to a decline of cycling capacity. With increasing the operating temperature, the exchange current density I_o and limiting current density I_L increase, while the impedance decreases, so the high-rate-dischargeability is improved.


Unemployment among youths, most especially graduates has reached an alarming rate in most of the developing countries including Nigeria. This is aside the fact that world economy is witnessing a downward trend in terms of job creation. It is for this reason that this paper addresses the issue of youth empowerment by examining the prospects of entrepreneurship development towards youth's empowerment as a way of exposing Nigerian youths towards identifying entrepreneurial opportunities available to them most especially after completing University education. It is not an hidden fact that the available job opportunity is not enough for the continuously growing number of graduates from our tertiary institutions, hence the need to emphasise entrepreneurial skills serves as a better alternative forgone to get a sustainable job instead of chasing the shadow of applying for non-existing jobs. The paper therefore x-rayed the key elements that are crucial towards entrepreneurship drive for sustainable development especially in areas of youth empowerment. Doing this, the paper offers two way flow of exploring the prospective opportunities in Entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and creation as well as providing a model on how these entrepreneurial opportunities could be effectively and efficiently utilize for youth empowerment.


Basically, this research was to evaluate the learners respond about the teacher's communication skill role in their success of academic.  Hence, the goal of this research was to determine the extent of teacher's communication skill at STAIN Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra. To ensure effective teacher treatment, effective communication skill plays role important. To this purpose the extent to which a teacher practice the communication skill in teaching and learning process. This research was performed by using survey, the researcher distributed questionnaire to collect data needed to obtain the role of communication mastership in intensify teacher's pedagogy skill. The design was quantitative descriptive research. The population consists of 494 students of Islamic Education Department major, meanwhile the sample size of 32 students at the 6th semester was randomly selected. The instrument was questionnaires as data taker tool & weighted mean. To interpret the weighted mean for each indicators, the Likert-type scale and finding of this research was average shows effective


The thesis is focused on the measures to improve safety at railway crossings in the Czech Republic. The main attention is paid to collisions at railway crossings and with the relevant legislation. The author analyses the factors affecting the operational safety and proposes certain measures to reduce the number of the collisions.


Bolus chase 3‐dimensional MR angiography (3D MRA) is a recent development that extends the effective field of view for arterial imaging from the typical single 40–50 cm to over 100 cm. This technique is well suited for imaging long vascular territories such as the lower extremity. Bolus chase peripheral 3D MRA is achieved with overlapping 3D gradient‐echo scans during the arterial transit of a single intravenous injection of gadolinium‐chelate contrast media. This technique can depict the arteries from the infrarenal aorta to the ankles in less than 2 minutes. The initial experiences with bolus chase peripheral MRA using an automated algorithm that controls both table translation and 3D data acquisition are described. Suggestions for future refinements to the technique are also discussed. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:376–388. Published 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Artificial Intelligence can provide quite accurate predictions for critical applications (e.g., healthcare), but lacks the ability to explain its internal mechanism in most applications which require high interaction with humans. Even if many studies analyze machine learning models and their learning behavior and eventually provide an interpretation of the inner mechanics of these models, these studies often entail a simpler surrogate model, which generates explanations by producing a piece of interpretable information such as feature scores. The crucial caveat against these studies is the lack of human involvement in the design and evaluation of explanations, consequently giving rise to trust issues and lack of acceptance and understanding. To this end, we address this limitation by involving humans in the counterfactual explanation generation process which is enriched with user feedback, thus enhancing the automated explanations which are better aligned with user expectations. In this paper, we propose a user feedback based counterfactual explanation approach (FCE) for explainable Artificial Intelligence. In our work, we utilize feedback in two ways: first, to customize the explanations by providing the acceptable ranges in the feature space where to look for feasible counterfactuals, and second, to evaluate the generated explanations.


A zero voltage switching (ZVS) dual-switch forward converter with ripple current cancellation is presented. In the proposed converter, active clamp circuit is used to clamp the voltage stresses and to realise ZVS of all switching devices. Active clamp boost converter with power factor correction is used in the front stage of the proposed converter to draw a sinusoidal line current from the AC source and to maintain a constant voltage at the DC bus. The second stage of the proposed converter is a dual-switch forward converter with current doubler rectifier to obtain the isolated low output voltage. Active clamp circuit used in the DC/DC converter can recycle the energy stored in the leakage inductor and magnetising inductor so that the voltage stresses on the switches are limited and the ZVS feature is realised. The current doubler rectifier offers the ripple current cancellation at the output capacitor and reduces the current stress of the transformer secondary winding. The circuit configuration and principle of operation are analysed and discussed in detail. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype based on a 90–260 Vrms input and 12 V/30 A output were provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.


Marine organisms are well known to have associations with microorganisms and little is known about the specific nature of the microorganism host interactions. This study investigates the bacterial community composition in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; bacterial community composition was assessed for spatial variance. The results show that there was no significant variation within a location or between the locations. These results are concordant with previous studies and suggest that bacterial populations are stable in Anemonia viridis .


Provision of federally sponsored evaluation technical assistance (ETA) has become a common feature of large federal grant programs in the past decade. The goals of this focused TA are two-fold: (1) to help grantees produce high-quality evaluations that further build the evidence base in a particular area and (2) to increase evaluation capacity among grantees and their evaluators. The four articles of this special issue (Gothro et al., 2020; Knab & Cole, 2020; Zaid et al., 2021; Zandniapour & Hyde, 2020) demonstrate ETA's potential and its challenges. As the papers explain, ETA is delivered through a variety of formats that include one-on-one customized coaching, group/cohort webinars or calls, standardized templates, and other written resources to address cross-cutting issues. ETA is typically provided by a third-party contractor on behalf of the federal funder, though oftentimes federal staff play a role in ETA provision or coordination as well. Participation in ETA is sometimes required as a condition of funding and sometimes optional but strongly encouraged; the recipients may be grantees, grantees' evaluators, or both. Details vary, but across various efforts, ETA is delivered throughout the evaluation lifecycle and can help with strengthening an evaluation's design, executing evaluations, mitigating challenges that arise, and producing high-quality analysis, reporting, and dissemination. However, ETA is not a cure-all for all evaluation challenges, and it cannot retrospectively solve fundamental problems such as insufficient sample size and the lack of strong counterfactuals.