Introduction: position Head up 30º is a position given to stroke patients to improve blood flow to the heart. brain and maximize cerebral tissue oxygenation. Objective: This study aims to determine the effect of head up 30º to decrease blood pressure in non-hemorrhagic stroke patients.  Methods: research quasi-experimental approach pre and post without control. The population is 32 people. The sample is 15 people using accidental sampling technique. The research site is in HIS Hospital. The instruments used are SOP, sphygmomanometer, and observation sheet. Collecting data obtained from primary data. Data were analyzed bivariately using paired sample t statistic test.  Results and Discussion: The results of the statistical test paired t sample p value are 0.000 <0.05, which means Ha is accepted that there is an effect of giving a head-up to the decrease in blood pressure of stroke patients in the inpatient room at Harapan Insan Sendawar Hospital.  Conclusion: There is an effect of giving a head up on the blood pressure of stroke patients at Harapan Insan Sendawar Hospital. It is recommended for the hospital to intervene in a head up in stroke patients


Determination of cell size is crucial in many biomedical applications. Here, we show how resistive-pulse sensing and artificial pores can be used to detect and measure cell size accurately. Cell size is determined by measuring the change in resistance when an individual cell passes through the pore. As a proof-of-principle, we show that we are able to measure the change in size when cells undergo apoptosis


Over seventy years apart, these statements by Ad Reinhardt and Paul Gauguin both combine a reluctance to put things into words with an awareness of the need (even compulsion) to do so. Reinhardt's phrase, although informed by a broader interest in the aesthetics of silence, powerfully expresses the predicament of the painter who is obliged to use words to defend the autonomy of the visual. Gauguin paradoxically employs language in order to reject a 'literary' identity, while proposing that there may be a mode of writing peculiarly suited to the visual artist. Although many scholars have remarked that the figure of the artist-writer in the modern period deserves further attention, there has been little sustained investigation of this phenomenon beyond particular decades, national contexts, or individual cases. So far, discussion has focused predominantly on the post-war period, especially 1960s North America, with a perceived surge in artists' writings being attributed to the increased use of text in (and as) art and to the significant contribution that artists made to criticism. My aim is to examine some of these debates regarding the function and definition of this hybrid activity, and to situate them in a longer history of artists' writings and word–image relations. An investigation of diverse types of texts by artists between the late nineteenth century and the present day reveals recurrent concerns, notably a resistance to the verbal imperialism of the critic or professional writer. Such resistance sometimes takes the form of assertions that art cannot or should not be described (if the artist must write, it is only in self-defence), or alternatively that, as a practitioner, the artist offers more genuine insights (and therefore should write in order to improve the standard of interpretation). This antagonism towards the critic means that, whether taking up the pen reluctantly or willingly, artists tend to define their own writing in terms that set it apart from conventional art criticism. As a result, another common trope that connects very different artists is the denial of any literary ambition: writing occurs 'by accident' (Mel Bochner, 2008) or takes the form of 'une simple causerie' (a simple chat) (Thomas Couture, 1867). Writing by artists (on art or other topics) frequently resists traditional narrative or exegetical modes in favour of anti-linear, informal or epigrammatic styles. Especially, though not only, when it also stresses the visual appearance or materiality of text, this writing may, deliberately, avoid categorisation as 'criticism' or 'literature' and instead declare its status as 'art'. However, artists' denials of literary expertise and ambition have too often been taken at face value, as though they represent the natural sentiments of those whose preferred mode of expression is visual rather than verbal. Thus we are told, with regard to the early twentieth century, that 'language is as much a craft as painting, and artists are not infrequently inept speakers', and, in reference to the post-war period, that 'most artists were not ambitious writers, then as now'. Sometimes, a distrust of critical explanations — combined with the inclination to write — is presented as the idiosyncratic stance of an individual artist, setting him or her apart from their peers. Alternatively, the resistance to language is identified as the natural correlative of those phases of art history that demonstrate a suspicion of 'literature' (i.e. figurative or narrative imagery), so that the 'avoidance of recognizable images' in the work of the abstract expressionists, for example, inevitably led to their 'refusal to explain, except in the most general terms, what the work ''meant'''. It is my contention that the simultaneous embrace and denial of the literary is a general condition of the category of artists' writings, beyond any individual case or historical period, not because of an innate resistance to the verbal, but because it recurs so widely. I do not mean that every text written by an artist exhibits self-consciously anti-literary tendencies, but that those that do constitute a tradition. In other words, this 'antiliterary rhetoric' needs to be understood not as an innocent expression of a personal attitude, nor as aligned to parallel tendencies in certain periods or art movements, but as motivated by a set of factors that remain constant for any artist who negotiates the borders between practice and interpretation. Indeed, this tension between image and word may be the very factor that enables us to group an otherwise diverse body of texts under the collective name of 'artists' writings'.


ABSTRACT Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of intercellular communication under both healthy and pathological conditions, including the induction of pro‐metastatic traits, but it is not yet known how and where functional cargoes of EVs are delivered to their targets in host cell compartments. We have described that after endocytosis, EVs reach Rab7+ late endosomes and a fraction of these enter the nucleoplasmic reticulum and transport EV biomaterials to the host cell nucleoplasm. Their entry therein and docking to outer nuclear membrane occur through a tripartite complex formed by the proteins VAP‐A, ORP3 and Rab7 (VOR complex). Here, we report that the antifungal compound itraconazole (ICZ), but not its main metabolite hydroxy‐ICZ or ketoconazole, disrupts the binding of Rab7 to ORP3–VAP‐A complexes, leading to inhibition of EV‐mediated pro‐metastatic morphological changes including cell migration behaviour of colon cancer cells. With novel, smaller chemical drugs, inhibition of the VOR complex was maintained, although the ICZ moieties responsible for antifungal activity and interference with intracellular cholesterol distribution were removed. Knowing that cancer cells hijack their microenvironment and that EVs derived from them determine the pre‐metastatic niche, small‐sized inhibitors of nuclear transfer of EV cargo into host cells could find cancer therapeutic applications, particularly in combination with direct targeting of cancer cells.


ABSTRACT The mechanical and physical properties of Mg-Ca alloys make them suitable for temporary orthopaedic implant applications. However, the rapid degradation of these alloys limits their use in the physiological environment. The effect of calcium phosphate (CaP) coating on biomineralization, biodegradation, and mechanical behaviour of the alloy in physiological environment is investigated in this work. Supersaturated calcification solution was used for developing CaP layer on the HNO3 pretreated substrate. The surface morphology and composition of phases present in the samples after immersion in supersaturated simulated body fluid were analysed using a scanning electron microscope fitted with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results show that the CaP coating improved biomineralization and reduced the degradation rate. The CaP coating also helped in controlling the reduction in mechanical properties in the physiological environment. Hence, the CaP coating can be used as a surface modification technique to tailor the degradation rate of Mg-Ca alloys.


He Kai is an important Yijing scholar during the period of late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, and his Gu zhouyi dinggu was highly evaluated by his contemporary Yijing scholars. This paper will to analyze He Kai's renovation of ancient Zhouyi. and his methods of errata and exegesis in his Gu zhouyi dinggu. Both Tian-He's and Fei-Zhi's methods are combined and complemented by He Kai. Therefore, on the one hand, He Kai edits separating Jing from Zhuan; and on the other hand, on exegesis, he adopts the way of using Zhuan to complement Jing. On chaptering his book, He Kai divides into three parts the first and second sections respectively. On exegesis, He Kai applies two back-to-ancients ways: First, he combines divinatory symbols, Yong jiu, Yong liu and the results of divination and prophecy. Second, he puts emphasis on the form, pronunciation, and meaning of ancient words. On the errata of the classical exegesis in Jing and Zhuan, He Kai synthesizes the advantages of former scholars and develops his own way of studying, which suggests his profound capabilities for learning Yi learning. Errata of the classical exegesis are not completely a back-to-ancients way.Instead, He Kai gives new meanings to ancient works and classical exegesis, and his effort is worth our respect.


A combination of rotary swaging and optimized precipitation hardening was applied to generate ultra fine grained (UFG) microstructures in low alloyed high performance Cu-based alloy CuNi3Si1Mg. As a result, ultrafine grained (UFG) microstructures with nanoscopically small Ni2Si-precipitates exhibiting high strength, ductility and electrical conductivity can be obtained. Grain boundary pinning by nano-precipitates enhances the thermal stability. Electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) and especially electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) are predestined to characterize the evolving microstructures due to excellent resolution and vast crystallographic information. The following study summarizes the microstructure after different processing steps and points out the consequences for the most important mechanical and physical properties such as strength, ductility and conductivity.


The lift and drag forces on a downstream cylinder are strongly affected by the wake of an upstream cylinder. However, the length over which the downstream cylinder lies in the wake of the upstream cylinder largely governs the magnitude of the motion of the downstream cylinder. Models have been proposed to account for the effect of the length of exposure. In practice, the lift and drag coefficients are modified over the exposed length: a linear relationship is assumed. So far, little experimental data support this assumption. A test campaign has been performed at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to validate this model at Reynolds number of about 80 000. The comparison between the model and the experimental results are presented to be reasonably correlated.


In examining the germ cells of several families of insects, those of some of the Locustidae (katydid) exhibited characteristics which seemed to make them most favorable for the study of cytoplasmic inclusions. The material used in this study was collected at Winona Lake, Indiana, during the summers of 1922 and 1923. My material for the most part was fixed in Flemming, Allen's modified Bouin, F'lemming without acetic, Champy 's fluid, and an equal mixture of Flemming and Bouin without the acetic acid. These fixations were followed by iron haematoxylin, safranin and licht grun, safranin and gentian violet, and Renda's alizarin and crystal violet. The material fixed in Flemming and stained in iron haematoxylin brought out everything that was brought out by the other methods, and in addition proved to be more reliable. Except for comparison, this technique was used exclusively.


Objective
To study the clinical nursing effect of bladder dysfunction after cervical cancer operation.

Methods
86 cases of cervical cancer treated in our hospital from January 2014 to February 2016 were selected, and divided into study group and control group according to the random number table, 43 cases in each group. The patients of control group received routine nursing intervention after operation, while the patients of study group received comprehensive nursing intervention. Nursing related indicators, nursing satisfaction, the rate of urinary retention were compared between two groups.

Results
Postoperative exhaust time, hospitalization time, the rate of urinary retention in study group were better than those in control group [(48.26±13.34)h vs.(60.47±15.62)h, (11.36±2.84)d vs.(15.13±3.18)d, 2.33% vs.25.58%], nursing satisfaction in study group was significantly higher than that in control group (93.02% vs.60.47%), with statistically significant differences between two groups (P<0.05).

Conclusion
Compared with the traditional nursing intervention, the comprehensive nursing intervention has the characteristics of short treatment, recovery period and high nursing efficiency, which is of clinical significance.

Key words:
After cervical cancer operation; Bladder dysfunction; Comprehensive nursing intervention


pendent newspaper was consistent with two other findings. Some 69% said they preferred to patronize a local independent supermarket instead of a national chain, and 67% said they favored a locally owned appliance store to a national chain. One has to question the genuineness of the expressed preference for locally owned newspapers , g r o c e r y m a r k e t s a n d appliance stores. It may not have been indicative of overt consumer behavior; it may have reflected the conventional wisdom that there is innate good in local ownership. It was suspected that the opposition to government interference with group ownership at both the national and state level might be linked t o Texas conservatism or a laissez faire or pro-business attitude. However, in response to two other items. 69% said that big business had too much power, and 40% agreed that the laws regulating business were not strict enough. The strongest associations in the study were between the two combined knowledge variables and the two combined attitude variables. The 12 correlations between the four variables were all positive and significant beyond the .OOl level and ranged from .41 to .63. Thus persons who were knowledgeable about their local newspaper ownership and about national trends in newspaper groups tended to favor local and independent ownership and tended to favor government limitations on group ownership at both the state and national level. Public awareness of this issue may result in public advocacy of government intervention.


Avian cytogenetic research has, until recently, lagged far behind efforts devoted to the cytogenetics of other vertebrate groups. Avian chromosomes are inherently difficult to study because most are minute and their morphology and number are obscure. Since 1966, improved methods of culturing avian cells have resulted in more comparative chromosome studies whose quality parallels those for mammals. Recent activity in comparative avian cytogenetics now allows us to assess such factors as the overall karyotypic variability in birds and to consider the role that chromosomal change plays in avian speciation. In the present study, chromosomal variability was assessed within and among species of the same genus and within orders of birds. Chromosomal differences among local populations appear to be associated either with mechanisms that support balanced polymorphism or fre- quency dependent selection and not with speciation. The data are discussed in light of current models of chromosome evolution proposed for vertebrates other than birds.


Yunnan minorities pay special attention to birth.They wish the birth of babies through various activities and congratulate it,and form colorful and featured culture of birth which reflect people's best wishes and ideas of healthy birth.


This article checked out ten errors in San Guo Zhi,which is very important to understand the text itself of San Guo Zhi.They are related with the official system,the law system and geography.


Background: Nurses are at high risk of several respiratory hazards comprising respiratory pathogens. So, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) are vital to protect nurses from novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. Purpose: The current study aimed to examine the knowledge level, practice and perceptions among nurses in a specialized cancer center using RPE. Methods: A descriptive study design was used. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Questionnaire was utilized to collect data. The data was collected from 387 nurses working at a specialized cancer center as a convenience sampling technique. Results: An overall number of 387 staff nurses participated in the study. The majority of nurses had moderate knowledge levels, where the mean total score of nurses' knowledge was 12.98, with a range between 4 and 20. Also, the majority of nurses had good perceptions regarding the use of RPE (Total mean= 30.44, SD= 3.62). Regarding practice, most of the nurses wash their hands after contact with the outer surface of the respirator (F= 357, 92.2%). Conclusion: The good nurses' knowledge and perceptions regarding RPE's use were sufficient to provide an adequate practice level. However, implementing the RPE policy in hospitals could be useful to enhance the nurses' and other healthcare workers' knowledge, perceptions and practice regarding RPE. Implications for Nursing: Good practices are a crucial element in respiratory safety and nurses' protection against their place of work respiratory hazards. Keywords: 2019-nCoV, Nurses, Knowledge, Perceptions, Practice, Respiratory protective equipment


In this paper the regulation of brushless drives is attained by developing a new technique called hysteretic comparator with desirable standard of power at supply mains. By this methodology the composite difference of output due to noises or undulation are avoided and the phase delay
 is recompensed. Fuzzy logic improves the robustness with enhancement in the consistent performance of the system. The proposed regulator operates in intermittent conduction mode which helps the accomplishment of power factor nearer unity at supply ends. Moreover absence of DBR framework offer
 minimized switching losses. The proposed system is developed using MATLAB 2013 and with an experiment model. Thus the harmonics are minimized and the compatible limits of various international standards like IEC 61000-3-2 and IEEE-519 standards are attained.


A giant low-frequency dielectric constant (∼105) has been observed in room temperature stabilized cubic zirconia nanocrystal of size range 4–8 nm. Dielectric constant strongly depends on the crystallite size. Electrical behaviour of nanocrystallites has been described by an equivalent circuit to obtain grain and grain boundary effects. Mixed valency of Zr (Zr4+, Zr3+) ions gives rise to electronic conduction. Giant dielectric constant has been explained by interfacial polarization because of Maxwell–Wagner type relaxation effect.


CONTEXT.—
Myocardial fibrosis underpins a number of cardiovascular conditions and is difficult to identify with standard histologic techniques. Challenges include imaging, defining an objective threshold for classifying fibrosis as mild or severe, as well as understanding the molecular basis for these changes.

OBJECTIVE.—
To develop a novel, rapid, label-free approach to accurately measure and quantify the extent of fibrosis in cardiac tissue using infrared spectroscopic imaging.

DESIGN.—
We performed infrared spectroscopic imaging and combined that with advanced machine learning-based algorithms to assess fibrosis in 15 samples from patients belonging to the following 3 classes: (1) nonpathologic (control) donor hearts; (2) patients receiving transplant; and (3) tissue from patients undergoing implantation of ventricular assist device.

RESULTS.—
Our results show excellent sensitivity and accuracy for detecting myocardial fibrosis as demonstrated by high area under the curve of 0.998 in the receiver-operating characteristic curve measured from infrared imaging. Fibrosis of various morphologic subtypes are then demonstrated with virtually generated picrosirius red images, which show good visual and quantitative agreement (correlation coefficient = 0.92, ρ = 7.76 × 10-15) with stained images of the same sections. Underlying molecular composition of the different subtypes were investigated with infrared spectra showing reproducible differences presumably arising from differences in collagen subtypes and/or crosslinking.

CONCLUSIONS.—
Infrared imaging can be a powerful tool in studying myocardial fibrosis and gleaning insights into the underlying chemical changes that accompany it. Emerging methods suggest that the proposed approach is compatible with conventional optical microscopy and its consistency makes it translatable to the clinical setting for real-time diagnoses as well as for objective and quantitative research.


The correlative study of variants' form and meaning in the Bible books shows that some types of variants; word-variants, phonetic-variants, grammatical variants, that give some idea about present linguistic reality from the synchronic point. The marginal components of word variants are words which have different manifestations of the form. Phonetic variants have been formed through sound- interchange. Grammatical variants are formed by different declensional forms.
The results of the investigation can serve as a means of comparison for both the interlinguistic and interlinguistic typological investigation. From the subject of the study, we can conclude that variant-units found in the Bible are a heritage from the prewritten period. They have been transferred to old Armenian with the lexical structure of prewritten Armenian and were reflected in the first Armenian translation manuscript- in the Bible.


A tannic substance named neocretanin was isolated from chestnut galls by chromatographic separation. The chemical structure of neocretanin was established as l-O-(2′,6′-dihydroxy-4′-formyl)-phenyl-6-O-gaIloyl-β-d-giucopyranose (I) on the basis of spectral analyses and enzymatic hydrolyses.


Analysis of the contraction and relaxation of pharyngeal musculature derives from measurements of electrical currents, termed electropharyngeograms (EPG). EPG of stylet protractor muscle activity of second stage juveniles (J2) of Globodera rostochiensis, in response to 0.1, 1.0 and 10 mg ml-1 concentrations of the neurotransmitter serotonin, have now been obtained and correlated with stylet protrusion and retraction using video analysis. The antagonist, gramine (10 mg ml-1), incorporated with 10 mg ml-1 serotonin, almost completely eliminated stylet thrusting by J2. Stylet movement can be determined accurately over extended periods with EPG and this approach has potential for investigating factors involved in activation and perturbation of stylet protrusion.


An analytical solution is deduced for a three-dimensional transversely isotropic axisymmetric multilayered circular plate made of piezoelectric (PE) and piezomagnetic (PM) under simply supported boundary condition. The state space vector, finite Hankel transform and propagation matrix methods are utilized together to obtain the full-field solutions for the multilayered circle plate. Numerical examples for five-layered PE/PM composites with dimensionless frequencies of the multilayered plate under simple-supported lateral boundary conditions are presented. The frequencies increase with the ratio of the thickness to radius.


An automatic card handling device (110), having a card handling device (130) that includes a controller, said card handling device configured for shuffling an input set of cards and delivering an output set of cards resulting from the shuffling; and a communication module (146) operably coupled to the controller, wherein the communication module is configured for sending and receiving information related to operation of the card handling device across a communication port (148) configured for operable coupling to a cellular network (136), wherein said information related to the operation of the automatic card handling device includes information about the use of said card handling device; and wherein a factor in a usage fee for said card handling device is said use of said card handling device.


A computer model of two-dimensional steady flow in a confined space is described in this paper. The simplest case of radial jet-forced flow within a circular cylinder with a single inlet and outlet is considered. The first stage in the numerical model consists of mapping the circular flow boundary onto a rectangle by means of a Schwarz-Christoffel transformation. As a result, two opposite sides of the rectangle represent the inlet and outlet. A potential uniform flow solution is then obtained for the flow in the rectangle and hence the cylinder. In the second stage of the flow simulation, discrete vortices are added at the inlet in order to model the inflow shear layers. Velocity components resulting from the discrete vortices and their images in the walls of the cylinder are superimposed on the potential uniform flow solution. The positions of the vortices are updated using a finite-difference time-stepping scheme. Thus, a qualitative simulation of the complete flow is built up. The results show reasonable agreement with experimental observations.


MEsHRAM PB & HOMKAR U. 2011. Effects of sowing date and biopesticide on density of white grub Holotrichia serrata in a teak nursery. White grub Holotrichia serrata is the most destructive pest in teak nurseries in Madhya Pradesh, India. The grubs feed on roots of seedlings and cause severe damage to the entire root system. Field trials were conducted in teak nursery at Kanchangaon, Madhya Pradesh, India. The effects of different dates of sowing of teak seeds and efficacy of biopesticides, viz. neem (Azadirachta indica), mahua (Madhuca indica), karanj (Pongamia pinnata) and jatropa (Jatropha curcas) were studied on white grubs in teak nursery. Significant difference existed between the population of grubs and per cent of damaged seedlings. Damage was minimum at sowing date 11 March 2007, followed by 7 April. The maximum number of healthy seedlings was obtained in the seedlings sown in March followed by April. Neem at 5 kg per bed (size 10 × 1 m), followed by jatropha cake was found to be statistically significant over untreated control, minimising seedling damage due to white grub. In the integrated pest management against white grub, early sowing of teak seeds and application of biopesticide cakes are recommended instead of toxic pesticides in teak nurseries.


It is interesting and encouraging that Krantz finds important similarities between dance therapy training and the embodied approach to analytic training advocated in my paper. Federici-Nebbiosi and Nebbiosi address important theoretical challenges in asking whether subjectivity should be considered bodies-based rather than body-based. In my reply I argue that the self could indeed be considered as bodies based or body based, depending on the analyst's perspective.


A new method for predicting the swirl speed in an engine cylinder has been presented. The air jet issuing from the inlet valve is presumed to contribute to swirl production after impinging upon the cylinder wall and piston top surface. By applying also a velocity profile of turbulent plane wall-jet, it is possible to predict approximately the swirl speed and its velocity profile in an engine cylinder.


Our recent reveal of ionic oligomers and their crosslinking implies a possibility to produce novel organic-inorganic composites by copolymerization. Using organic acrylamide monomers and inorganic calcium phosphate oligomers as precursors, we herein prepare a uniformly structured polyacrylamide (PAM)-calcium phosphate copolymer by an organic-inorganic copolymerization. Different from the previous PAM-based composites by mixing inorganic components into polymers, the copolymerized material has no interphase boundary due to the homogenous incorporation of the organic and inorganic units at molecular level, resulting in a complete and continuous hybrid network. The participation of ionic binding effect in the crosslinking process can substantially improve the mechanical strength and the copolymer can reach the ultima modulus and hardness of 35.14 ± 1.91 GPa and 1.34 ± 0.09 GPa, respectively, which are far superior to any other PAM-based composites. This great improvement demonstrates the unique advantage of the well-integrated organic-inorganic composite with homogeneous structure and more generally, follows a new concept of organic-inorganic copolymerization.


A substantial amount of information on the Brazilian estuarine fishes has been collected, but is still largely fragmented into different sources. This study presents a summary of the available knowledge on the biodiversity of estuarine fishes in Brazil, a brief analysis of the historical development of estuarine ichthyology and identifies current research gaps in the country. A total of 796 fish species were inventoried, representing about 2.3% of current valid fish species and about 17.6% of the Brazilian fish fauna. Data evidenced the existence of large coastal stretches inadequately sampled and a lack of human resources and infrastructure in parts of the coast. Large gaps in basic knowledge about the biology and ecology of the species were also detected. Reducing these deficiencies is of utmost importance for the study, documentation and conservation of the Brazilian biodiversity.


The aim of the study was to find out the effects of combination of assisted and resisted sprint training on anaerobic power among male soccer players. To achieve this purpose of the study, sixty college male soccer players from Udumalpet, Tirupur District, Tamilnadu, were selected at random as subjects. The age of the subjects was ranged from 18 to 23 years. The selected subjects were divided into four groups, Group - 1 those who underwent assisted sprint training (AST) Group - 2 those who underwent resisted sprint training (RST), Group - 3 those who underwent combined assisted sprint training (AST+RST) and Group - 4 was served as control participants. The anaerobic power was selected as dependent variable and it was measured by MargariaKalamen power test. All the subjects of four groups were tested on anaerobic power prior and immediately after the study period of nine weeks. ANCOVA was used to find out significant adjusted post test mean difference of four groups. The results of the study revealed that anaerobic power of the male soccer players significantly differ and found high in combination of assisted and resisted training than other groups, similarly comparison with control group also showed significant changes consequent to nine weeks of selected training programme. It is concluded that combination of assisted and resisted sprint training significantly improves the anaerobic power of male soccer players.


Introduction: Boat paddling requires the stability of trunk for force transmission to extremities effectively. Core muscles stabilizing exercise is an important component and necessary to create exercise program for dragon boat paddlers. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dynamic core stability exercise on physical performance in male dragon boat paddlers. Materials and Methods: Thirty-fifth male dragon boat paddlers aged 20.94±1.65 years old participated in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups; the control group was received regular training program while the experimental group was added dynamic core stability exercise for 8 weeks. Both groups were tested the speed of paddling using single paddler for distance 330 meters and the ability of trunk endurance muscles before and after training in 4th and 8th weeks. The ability of paddling and ability of trunk endurance muscles before and after training in 4th and 8th weeks between experimental and control groups were analyzed using two way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) (3 times x 2 groups) and post-hoc test using bonferroni at p <0.05. Results: The experimental group, with dynamic core stability exercise had significantly increased speed of paddling and significantly higher trunk muscle endurance (trunk flexor, extensor and lateral flexor muscles) than control after training at 4th and 8th weeks ( p <0.05). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that dynamic core stability exercise increased trunk muscles endurance result in better trunk control during paddling and improved performance of paddling. Thus, dynamic core stability training program could be suggest for improving the physical performance in dragon boat paddlers effectively. Bull Chiang Mai Assoc Med Sci 2016; 49(1): 153-161


The OTEC heat transfer simulation device, which was developed at CMU in order to investigate heat exchanger biofouling by monitoring heat transfer coefficients, has now been used in several experiments at Keahole Point, Hawaii. The field results have confirmed that the equipment works as expected with a precision in measuring heat transfer coefficients of about 1%. The results show that the biofouling growth is very slow during an initial transient period of about six weeks at which time the fouling resistance is R/sub f/ approximately equal to 20 x 10/sup -5/ hr ft/sup 2/ /sup 0/F/Btu. After this transient, the growth is essentially linear, rising at the rate of about 7 x 10/sup -5/ hr ft/sup 2/ /sup 0/F/Btu-week. These results are independent of material (titanium or aluminum) and flow velocity (6 or 3 feet per second). During the course of these same experiments a preliminary cleaning test was done with a M.A.N. brush. It was found that six passes of the brush reduced the fouling resistance from about 32 hr ft/sup 2/ /sup 0/F/Btu to zero.


Recently, the Ad Hoc networks have increased their popularity and kept the interest of the most important research groups all over the world due to their automatically and quickly self-organization. But the restricted energy of mobile hosts is the bottleneck of the network lift time. Based on the hierarchical Ad Hoc network, an adaptive mechanism for building network based on energy is proposed. This mechanism considers the influence of the energy of the whole network and mobile hosts adequately; it implements dynamically choosing cluster heads, balancing the burden of cluster heads, and also can improve the connectivity of links. The mathematical demonstration, simulation results based on the change of the total number of mobile hosts and the initial degrees, and the comparison with the algorithm of most link degrees show that this proposed mechanism possesses better degree distribution of cluster heads and can assign the energy of the whole network reasonably and prolong the lifetime of the network, and also improve the performance and communication efficiency partially.


Correspondence Ruth I. Connor firstname.lastname@example.com Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10016, USA Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA University of Rochester Medicine Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 689, Rochester, NY 14642, USA Center for AIDS Research, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA Tulane Regional Primate Research Center and Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Covington, LA 70433, USA Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 3550 General Atomics Court, San Diego, CA 92121, USA


Cyanobacterial populations in surface waters, including drinking water supplies and recreational waters, represent an ever present challenge for resource managers. As communities continuously respond to external and internal processes, dynamic profiles of composition, dominance, growth and toxigenicity emerge. In this study measures of size structure and biomass, quantified using light microscopy and fluorometry, were used to estimate microcystin concentrations through linear regression analysis. Toxigenic profiles using cyanobacterial biomass were developed for lakes dominated by Microcystis spp. and Dolichospermum spp., influenced by both genus-specific pigment concentrations as well as microcystin concentrations. Community composition (Log %MIC) and biomass were used to describe microcystin concentrations in mixed assemblages, where composition was the first input variable. The accessory photopigment phycocyanin was used to describe the linear relationship between the daily growth and net microcystin production rates in the bloom-forming Microcystis spp. samples, suggesting that this size-fractionated sample may provide indications of potential toxigenicity in the whole lake water sample. Future investigations using fluorometric evaluation of cyanobacterial populations could provide additional applications and metrics for use by resource managers to quantify risk association with elevated cyanotoxin concentrations.


...........................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................x INTRODUCTION......................................................................................1 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER: WHAT IS DIGITAL ECONOMY? REEVALUATING IB FRAMEWORKS IN A DIGITAL CONTEXT.......................7 ESSAY 1: THE CAGE AROUND CYBERSPACE? INTERNALIZING DEMAND-SIDE NETWORKS TO OVERCOME DISTANCE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD.........................................................................................................25 ESSAY 2: REVISITING LOCATION IN A DIGITAL AGE: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN LEAD MARKETS AND CAPABILITY DEPLOYMENT FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION OF DIGITAL INNOVATIONS....................................................................................67 ESSAY 3: THE CYBER NATIONS: MEASURING VIRTUAL DISTANCE AND VIRTUAL CLOUT IN A DIGITAL ARENA.............................................................................................116 REFERENCES....................................................................................166


In order to influence driver behaviour, traffic information must attract the drivers' attention and provide information that corresponds to their information needs. At the same time it should not distract drivers from their primary task of car driving. Irrelevant information should be avoided. Good knowledge about driver information needs, information processing capacities, and limitations is therefore a prerequisite for optimal design and presentation of traffic information.


Microelements normalizes metabolism, affect the vital organs and the General State of health. With minimal content in natural water, they activate critical biochemical processes in cells and tissues of the body. This article contains information on the contents of essential and toxic trace elements in drinking waters of Orenburg oblast. It has been established that the content of iron, copper, manganese, chromium and zinc does not exceed the maximum allowable concentration. But in all the analyzed samples of drinking water there is a hardness that may lead to the formation of stones in the gallbladder, kidneys, urinary bladder. Drinking water of the Orenburg region differ low zinc content, which can lead to increased accumulation of iron, copper and cadmium, frequent colds and reduce fertility. The inhabitants of these areas you must diversify your diet by eating food rich in fats, vitamins and microelements.


This article examines a number of issues prevalent in medium-sized academic libraries such as: serials resources; the role of the subject specialist; collection development and information services; scholarly communication and the researcher; and new technology as an agent for change. It discusses these issues within the limitations present in these kind of institutions and it offers ideas on how to better utilize available resources.


Subarachnoid hemorrhage is most often caused by aneurysmal rupture and afflicts up to 33,000 patients in the United States annually. Associated with a 51% case-fatality rate, 20% of patients die before reaching medical care and 30% do not recover from the initial hemorrhage. Treatment requires both surgical and medical intervention. Surgically, the ruptured aneurysm is secured via craniotomy or endovascular technique in order to prevent rebleeding. Optimal clinical recovery requires medical treatment in an intensive care setting, where nimodipine can be administered and the patient monitored for early recognition of intracranial hypertension, hydrocephalus, and cerebral vasospasm. In cases of vasospasm, institution of triple H therapy—i.e., hypertensive, hypervolemic, hemodilution—may be warranted. Infection, venous thrombosis, and malnutrition may also exacerbate recovery.1,2

Fever is also an important consideration in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Fever has long been associated with critical illness, especially if the brain is involved.3 Preclinical studies in animals provide evidence that elevated brain temperature causes an increase in cerebral metabolic demand, which exacerbates an already …


Human resources are the keys in the developing of the modern economy. There is a lot of similarity in a lot of aspects in Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces .So, strengthening human resources cooperation and development in the four provinces is an important measure in western economic development.


Sometimes I feel that Sorgner's ideas can foresee the questions I can ask about his philosophy. But I cannot claim that he is a prophet of Apollo. Instead, his latest work continues to embrace a Dionysian constant, showing the reaches of an ontology of per-manent becoming and putting into practice his own understanding of philosophy, namely an "Intellectual War of Values" (2017; 2022a, 43-49). Such a statement is Hera-clitean and, therefore, also Nietzschean. In this sense, Philosophy of Posthuman Art is not a work independent of the author's other works, but a necessary consequence of his global intellectual production.


Abstract Clinical guidelines irreparably characterize contemporary medicine. Referring to guidelines has become routine in both medical literature and daily clinical activity, with the risk of becoming the only—or at least the main—inspiring element of the physician's behaviour. This would lead to the mortification of clinical reasoning, a term that is synonymous with an individualized approach, focused on the single patient, and not on a population.


Social science computerized simulation is the subject both of great pessimism and great optimism. The case for each viewpoint is explored, emphasizing highlights of the past decade. In a concluding section, three forces that may further the diffusion of computerized simulation in social science are outlined: hypertext and hypermedia, graphical user interfaces and scientific visualization, and artificial intelligence and expert systems.


In industrial precision applications using dual-axis micro-positioning stages powered by piezoelectric actuators (PEA), the trajectory tracking and contour following performances are limited due to PEA's inherent hysteretic nonlinearity and time varying parameters. In order to cope with this problem, a position control scheme based on reinforcement learning cerebellar model articulation controller (RLCMAC) is developed in this paper. In the proposed control scheme, for each individual-axis, a CMAC-based feedforward controller with reinforcement learning scheme and a conventional proportionalintegral (PI) feedback controller are used. Moreover, in order to reduce contour errors, a CMAC-based cross-coupled controller (CMAC-CCC) is applied to improve the contouring accuracy of a dual-axis micro-positioning stage. Finally, an integrated control scheme is proposed to improve the tracking and contouring accuracy. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Analyzes the work state of a thermoelectric cooling device based on the performance of galvanic couple. A model of computer simulation is established. Then,a brief discussion about the performances at varied operating conditions and the range of working valtage and current is presented.


Well-dispersed bimetallic nanoparticles (BMNPs = PtPd/AuPd/AuPt) confined in mesoporous metal oxides (MMOs = TiO2/Al2O3/SiO2/ZrO2) are synthesized by a general and mild one-step sol–gel strategy. This approach allows facile control over the compositional parameter of the supported BMNPs and the MMOs. Moreover, we can also control the formation of the alloy by simply adjusting the loading content. The catalytic results of PtPd–MMO composites in the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene have shown that the performance is highly composition-dependent and support-dependent with Pt1Pd3–m-SiO2 showing the optimum activity.


BACKGROUND Patient support is frequently required during just one part of a procedure (eg the pelvis for the perineal portion of an abdominoperineal resection of the rectum). This is commonly achieved by placing a gel patient positioner underneath the pelvis. However, this positioner can remain in place for a long time and we had noticed that patients complained occasionally of back pain after the operation. It was thought that this might be attributable to the placement of the support under the pelvis.


The low energy limit of an axion field coupled to gauge fields is investigated through the behavior of the gauge fields propagator in a local vacuum angle background. The local (singular) part of the effective action for the axion field is calculated at one-loop level. In the case of a time-like, linearly growing axion field, representing a massive axion, we give an asymptotic expansion of the causal propagator and we solve nonlocally for the first coefficient. We show that, for a generic axionic background, short distance propagation of the gauge field is well defined.


This study examines how financial disclosures made with earnings announcements affect analysts' information about future earnings, focusing on disclosures of financial statements and management earnings forecasts. We find that disclosures of balance sheets and segment data are associated with an increase in the degree to which analysts' forecasts of upcoming quarterly earnings are based on private information. Further analyses show that balance sheet disclosures are associated with an increase in the precision of both analysts' common and private information, segment disclosures are associated with an increase in analysts' private information, and management earnings forecast disclosures are associated with an increase in analysts' common information. These results are consistent with analysts processing balance sheet and segment disclosures into new private information regarding near-term earnings. Additional analysis of conference calls shows that balance sheet, segment, and management earnings forecast disclosures are all associated with more discussion related to these items in the questions-and-answers section of conference calls, consistent with analysts playing an information interpretation role with respect to these disclosures.


In JET, lower hybrid (LH) and ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) wave absorption in the scrape-off layer can lead to enhanced heat fluxes on some plasma facing components (PFCs). Experiments have been carried out to characterize these heat loads in order to: (i) prepare JET operation with the Be wall which has a reduced power handling capability as compared with the carbon wall and (ii) better understand the physics driving these wave absorption phenomena and propose solutions for next generation systems to reduce them. When using ICRF, hot spots are observed on the antenna structures and on limiters close to the powered antennas and are explained by acceleration of ions in RF-rectified sheath potentials. High temperatures up to 800 °C can be reached on locations where a deposit has built up on tile surfaces. Modelling which takes into account the fast thermal response of surface layers can reproduce well the surface temperature measurements via infrared (IR) imaging, and allow evaluation of the heat fluxes local to active ICRF antennas. The flux scales linearly with the density at the antenna radius and with the antenna voltage. Strap phasing corresponding to wave spectra with lower k∥ values can lead to a significant increase in hot spot intensity in agreement with antenna modelling that predicts, in that case, an increase in RF sheath rectification. LH absorption in front of the antenna through electron Landau damping of the wave with high N∥ components generates hot spots precisely located on PFCs magnetically connected to the launcher. Analysis of the LH hot spot surface temperature from IR measurements allows a quantification of the power flux along the field lines: in the worst case scenario it is in the range 15–30 MW m−2. The main driving parameter is the LH power density along the horizontal rows of the launcher, the heat fluxes scaling roughly with the square of the LH power density. The local electron density in front of the grill increases with the LH launched power; this also enhances the intensity of the LH hot spots.


For centuries the superior courts have wielded a judicial big stick labelled 'jurisdictional error' in order to control and supervise the activities of administrators and inferior tribunals; moreover the stick has been brandished in the face of parliaments which have indicated fairly clearly that they intended the particular inferior body to be free of judicial interference.2 The doctrine of review for jurisdictional error is well established; but there is widespread criticism of its operation. The distinction between findings of inferior bodies which are ' collateral ' to the merits and thus reviewable and those which are not, a distinction which is basic to the doctrine, has been described as one of the' apparently meaningless categories' of legal reference.3 Particularly effective and persistent criticism has been mounted by D. M. Gordon. In his view the distinction between jurisdictional facts and other facts cannot be maintained. He is completely opposed to any acceptance of the idea that the courts should be free to manipulate jurisdictional error to control the activities of inferior bodies on policy grounds alone; arbitrariness and uncertainty have no place in the law of judicial review. 5


The properties of electron sensitive nuclear emulsion N-4 made by Institute of Modern Physics,Shanxi Normal University,is investigated and compared with that of Fuji nuclear emulsion made by Japan.It is found that the sensitivity and fog density of electron sensitive national nuclear emulsion N-4 is the same as the properties of Fuji nuclear emulsion at normal developing time and temperature.


The effect of iron gluconate on the mouse embryo was studied in early embryonic development before the chorioallantoic placenta was established. Iron gluconate is teratogenic to mouse embryos after intraperitoneal application to pregnant mice on the 8th and 9th days of gestation. The most pronounced defect is exencephaly. As seen with the electron microscopy, iron gluconate enters the cells of the yolk sac. The excessive uptake of iron gluconate in the cells of the yolk sac alters these cells for a short period. Iron gluconate is visible, neither in the cells of the head process nor in the cells of the neuroectoderm, but the neuroectodermal cells show necrotic degeneration. Two different types of necrosis can be found; these appear at a time (13-22 h after maternal treatment) when the yolk sac cells are normalized again.


By the mid-nineteenth century, British women had ample motivation for imagining forms of charity that did not require money. Property laws continued to deprive most married women of personal wealth and new statistics revealed a "surplus" of unmarried middle-class women lacking employment.1 Elizabeth Gaskell addressed these financial challenges by envisioning alternative forms of economic power for women. Her novella Cranford (185153) depicts a community of shabby-genteel women who support each other, in the virtual absence of men, through gift practices.2 Using principles of sympathetic and economic conservation, Cranford' s system of exchange reworks material limitations, turning these women's lack of private property to their advantage. Cranford is among a number of midcentury works that treat sympathetic exchange in a sustained manner and on an expanded scale, writing women's charity in terms of sympathy and sisterhood rather than coin. By doing so, it not only co-opts the traditional province of the upper class by pitting middleclass women's care-giving against unfeeling wealth,3 but also defines a sympathetic gift economy in opposition to the masculinized marketplace essential to such models of charity as that of Dickens's turkey-buying Scrooge.4 Noting Cranford's resemblance to Knutsford, where Gaskell spent much of her youth,5 critics overwhelmingly read this fictional town as its author's quaint and old-fashioned feminine Utopia. In contrast, the story's other fictional town is an acknowledged site of modern industry and finance. Drumble, whose very name echoes the dreary rumble of machinery, stands in for Manchester, home of Gaskell's adult life and source of her "industrial" novels Mary Barton and North and South.6 According to this distinction, Cranford may very well seem like the wrong place to posit economic power. But Manchester offered more to Gaskell's literary imagination than industry or factories. Home to the theories of political economist Friedrich Engels and scientific engineer James Prescott Joule, Gaskell's Manchester was, in the 1 840s, fertile ground for two important intellectual premises: one of capital, commodities, and circulation; the other of energy, conversions, and conservation. Cranford brings these theories together to offer a practical counterpart to Drumble's industrial development, an alternative economy that corresponds to new scientific models. Lacking factory engines but not nearly as old-fashioned as most accounts describe it to be, the feminized Cranford community is itself a tightly-knit system of sympathetic energy. In Cranford, where materials are scarce, streamlined processes of conservation and circulation replace consumption and


Objective: To identify genetic diversities of taro germplasms in Yunnan province,China.Methods: The amplified fragmeng length polymorphism(AFLP) fingerprinting technology was used to analyze nine cultivars and one wild taro sampled in Yunnan province and to screen AFLP polymorphic bands.Results: 60 AFLP polymorphic bands were screened through three pairs of AFLP primes among these taros varieties and the ratio of polymorphic loci was 96.77%.It showed rich genetic diversities in taro germplasms of Yunnan province.The UPGMA result showed that these taros can be divided into two main groups,genetic distance among the collected taros range from 0.101 to 0.908.Conclusion: AFLP fingerprinting is an effective method to isolate special genes within different taro varieties.In summary,our study provides the theoretical basis for identification of taro variety and their genetic relationship in Yunnan.


It is an interesting theme to understand the relations among the curvature, the topology and the function theorem on a Riemannian manifold. In the work of Li and Wang [L-W1] they proved a splitting type theorem for manifolds whose Ricci curvature is bounded from below by a negative multiple of the lower bound of the spectrum. In particular, their theorem generalized the work of Witten-Yau [W-Y], Cai-Galloway [C-G] and X. Wang [Wang] on conformally compact manifolds to arbitrary complete manifolds. On the other hand, Li and Wang also proved the following vanishing theorem for L integrable harmonic 1-forms on M in [L-W1].


Over the last ten years, assessing the performance of the NHS has become something of an industry. The Healthcare Commission, Monitor, the Audit Commission and a plethora of Department of Health reports now routinely provide league tables, check lists and composite scores.


GaAs-based high-power broad area (BA) diode lasers are the most efficient light source in converting electrical into optical energy. Their high power densities, small footprint and high reliability make them essential tools for industrial and scientific applications. In addition, their adjustable wavelength (by choice of semiconductor material) enables their use as optical pumps for a wide range of fibre, gas or solid-state lasers. Widespread integration of diode pumped solid-state lasers in worldwide increasing numbers of large high-energy class laser facilities is currently hindered by the cost of the diodes (in $/W) and cheaper flashlamps are often used in spite of their relatively low repetition rates, poor electro-optical efficiencies and short lifetimes. As the price for a diode laser (DL) is driven by the cost of the semiconductor chip, an increase in its output power will make the device more economically appealing. While lasers bars with an output power of a few hundred watt are already commercially available, research is being conducted to obtain kW-class DL bars. A promising approach to achieve a step size increase in output power and power conversion efficiency of DL bars is to decrease their operation temperature. Cryogenic cooling of the solid-state laser media is commonly used and the implementation of optical pumps into the cooling cycle would be feasible. Though studies have shown the benefit of cryogenic operation of BA lasers in single emitters at low powers, no extensive research has been performed to achieve high power, high efficient laser bars optimized for low temperature operation. This work focuses on the development of AlGaAs-based DL bars optimized for reaching highest powers and efficiencies at low operation temperatures. Specifically, the quasi continuous wave (QCW) pumping of cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG solid-state lasers is targeted, setting requirements on the wavelength (λ = 940 nm), the pulse conditions (pulse length τ = 1.2ms and frequency f = 10Hz) and the lowest DL operating temperature THS ∼ 200K consistent with economic cooling. High fill-factor bars for QCW operation are to reach high optical performance with optical output powers of P ≥ 1.5 kW and power conversion efficiencies of ηE ≥ 60% at these power levels. Understanding the efficiency-limiting factors and the behavior at lower temperatures is necessary to design these devices. After an initial assessment of existing high power single emitter DLs using established vertical epitaxial designs, optimizations are performed iteratively in three stages: first, vertical epitaxial designs are studied theoretically, adjusted to the targeted operation temperatures and specific laser parameters are extracted. Secondly, resulting vertical designs are processed into low power single emitters and their electro-optical behavior at low currents is experimentally assessed over a wide range of temperatures. The obtained laser parameters characteristic to the vertical design are then used to


The use of porous materials for the removal of traces of hydrogen sulphide from gas streams was investigated in this study. It was found that microporous carbons had the highest removal efficiency. This was due to the fact that carbons have extra potential for the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide while other sorbents remove the gas only by adsorption. The oxidative removal efficiency of microporous carbons was found to be a function of water vapour pressure, oxygen concentration and temperature. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed.


Gravitational deflection of light ray is one of the famous predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity. The deflection of light ray, as it passes around a gravitational mass, can be calculated by different methods such as null geodesics method and material medium approach. In this paper a comparative study will be done for gravitational deflection of light ray, calculated by different authors using different methods. In this study, different gravitating body such as static, rotating and charged body will be considered which are represented by Schwarzschild metric, Kerr metric, Reissner-Nordström metric and Janis-Newman-Winicour metric.


Feasibility of the precise measurement of the SM Higgs-boson production cross section ! h! bat the Photon Collider is studied in detail for Mh = 120-160 GeV. All relevant experimental and theoretical issues, which could affect the measurement, are taken into account. The study is based on the realistic -luminosity spectra simulation. The heavy-quark background ! Q ¯ Q(g) is estimated using the NLO QCD results. Other background processes, which were neglected in earlier analyses, are also studied: ! W + W , ! � + � and light-quark pair production ! q¯ q. The contribution from the so-called overlaying events, ! hadrons, is taken into account. The non- zero beam crossing angle and the finite size of colliding bunches are included in the event generation. The detector simulation and realistic b-tagging are used. Criteria of event selection are optimized separately for each considered Higgs-boson mass. In spite of the significant background contribution and deterioration of the invariant mass resolution due to overlaying events, precise measurement of the Higgs-boson production cross section is still possible. For the Standard-Model Higgs boson with mass of 120 to 160 GeV the corresponding partial width ( h! )BR(h! bb) can be measured with a statistical accuracy of 2.1-7.7% after one year of the Photon Collider running. The systematic uncertainties of the measurement are estimated to be of the order of 2%.


The health effects of using e-cigarette has not been fully understood. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of 5 min e-cigarette usage on respiratory and cardiovascular system, compared to cigarette smoking. 120 healthy adults (aged 21.7±2.1yo) were divided into 4 groups (n=30 each): control (C), smokers (S), e-smokers (E) and dual users (D). Heart rate, blood pressure, saturation, exhaled CO, exhaled NO, airway temperature, spirometry were assessed before and after (in 1 min and 30 min) 5 min of use of an e-cigarette (12mg/ml of nicotine) or cigarette. In C group measures was performed twice, before and after 5 min of simulation of e-cigarette usage (without e-liquid). E-cigarette and cigarette smoking causes decrease in exhaled NO (p=0.0001) after 1 min by 2.1ppb; 1.47ppb and 2.2ppb in S, E, and D groups respectively. After 30 minutes the concentration of NO increased, reaching a level comparable to the initial values. The use of e-cigarette did not affect the values of saturation and exhaled CO. Cigarette smoking increases (p=0.0001) exhaled CO (from 4.1 to 7.77 mean by 3.7ppm). Increase in airway temperature were observed in 1 (E: by 0.15°C, p=0.03; D: by 0.17°C, p=0.02) and 30 min (E: by 0.22°C, p=0.03; D: by 0.21°C, p=0.003) after e-cigarette use, and in 30 min (S: by 0.3°C, p=0.0001) after cigarette smoking. Among S and D, PEF and MEF75 decreased in 1 min after smoking. E-cigarette and cigarette smoking causes increase (p 0.05). E-cigarette and cigarette using cause acute effects of the respiratory and circulatory system


Frailty has been introduced as a group-wise random effect to describe the within-group dependence for correlated survival data. In this article, we propose a penalized joint likelihood method for nonparametric estimation of hazard func- tion. With the proposed method, the frailty variance component and the smoothing parameters become the tuning parameters that are selected to minimize a loss func- tion derived from the Kullback-Leibler distance through delete-one cross-validation. Confidence intervals for the hazard function are constructed using the Bayes model of the penalized likelihood. Combining the functional ANOVA decomposition and the Kullback-Leibler geometry, we also derive a model selection tool to assess the covariate effects. We establish that our estimate is consistent and its nonpara- metric part achieves the optimal convergence rate. We investigate finite sample performance of the proposed method with simulations and data analysis.


After the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), relevant enterprises and institutions have adopted the "emergency braking " method for epidemic prevention and control, which played a positive role in the control of the epidemic At present, enterprises and construction sites across the country have returned to work and production in an orderly manner Under the unified leadership of the Chinese government, medical and health institutions have actively assisted in the prevention and control of the epidemic in construction site and enterprises, ensuring that both the epidemic prevention and economic activities are not delayed This article summarizes the epidemiological knowledge of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 based on the literature, national laws, regulations, and regulatory documents At the same time, we propose hygiene measures and employee self-health management recommendations applicable to construction site and enterprises to provide reference for general practitioners and prevention and control personnel


This thesis is focused on the comparison of two Czech translations of the novel Mramorova socha (Das Marmorbild) by Joseph von Eichendorff. The theoretical part considers the translation of the artwork and its language. The practical part comprises the comparison of the translations regarding grammatical, lexical and stylistical apsects. On selected text passages different solutions are shown, which should demonstrate how far the authors translatios strayed from the original, and what consequences they had for the final text.


Ultrasonic velocities were measured on a stack of synthetic material (plexiglass plates), at low (90/120 kHz, long wavelength range: 12-23 mm) and high (431/480 kHz, short wavelength range: 1-6 mm) frequencies. The plexiglass plates were pressed together with uniaxial normal stress. The ultrasonic measurements were repeated under different uniaxial stresses with and without circular rubber inclusions between the plates. Ultrasonic velocity measurements in vertical and horizontal directions were used to calculate normal and tangential fracture compliances. C13 in all cases was computed using linear slip theory. For both experiments, fracture compliances (normal and tangential) decrease with increasing stress and frequency. In all cases, the tangential compliance was greater than the normal compliance. Stress affects the tangential compliance more than the normal compliance. For variations of normal to tangential compliance ratios with stress, two different general trends can be observed for cases with and without inclusions. For experiments without inclusions, the normal to tangential compliance ratios show an increasing trend with increasing normal stress. For experiments with inclusions, these ratios show a decreasing trend especially at higher frequency range.


Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is one of the major causes of thrombocytopenia in healthy newborns [1]. This is an incompatibility for human platelet antigens (HPAs) that ind...


Introduction During the past 20 years, Information Systems function has experienced a rapid growth in almost every organization resulting in the development of more complex and specialized jobs for software professionals (Hurang, 2001). Employment relationship has also undergone a dramatic shift wherein employees prefer to move across various organizations during the course of their working life without any commitment. For most of the software firms, retention of the organizational knowledge is closely linked with the ability to retain the employees. Approximately two thirds of the IT managers who participated in Longenecker & Scazzero (2003) study reported serious consideration about leaving the current organization. Turnover of Information System professionals has shown relationship with failed system projects and inadequate deployment of organization's resources (Igbaria & Guinmaraes, 1999). As one of the largest avoidable expenses, preventing employee turnover becomes an area of prime concern for most of the software firms. Organizational issues cause more turnover than technological issues among managers in software firms (Longenecker & Scazzero, 2003). It means majority of the factors driving software professionals' retention are controllable for most organizations. This study is an attempt in that direction and makes three important contributions to the related literature. An inverse relationship between Turnover Intention and Job Satisfaction has been established in the literature. As the first contribution, this paper treats Job Satisfaction as two components, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Satisfaction to identify the relative importance of both in the development of Turnover Intention. Second, we consider the influence of three Burnout dimensions on various Job Attitudes in combination with Work Environmental factors, represented by Organizational Politics and Distributive Justice. Third, Distributive Justice has got comparatively less attention within justice literature in comparison with other facets of justice. This study contributes more towards the literature on this understudied facet of Justice. Burnout among Software Professionals Burnout among software professionals has been examined only to a limited extent in literature. Salanova, Peiro & Schaufeli (2002) in their review on the relationship between the use of information technology and Burnout have identified just three empirical studies with complementary results. Software professionals are reported to suffer from either similar or higher stress than many of their colleagues (Hurang, 2001). Analysis of typical software professionals has provided evidence of work overload, role ambiguity, and role conflict. The three-dimensional conceptualization used by Maslach and her colleagues and its various modifications (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001) is still the most popular inventory to measure Burnout. Emotional Exhaustion is characterized by the lack of energy and a feeling that one's emotional resources are used up. It will usually coexist with feelings of frustration and tension. Depersonalization is characterized by the tendency of employees to treat people as objects. They start to display a detached and emotional callousness, and become more cynical towards coworkers and clients. Diminished Personal Accomplishment refers to the tendency to evaluate oneself negatively. Empirical evidence suggests that Burnout is a process that gradually develops over time resulting in various process models (Lieter & Maslach, 1988). We also propose relationship among the three dimensions, leading to the development of Burnout among software professionals. Depersonalization is considered a dysfunctional coping and those software professionals who are not able to balance the work stressors will exhibit a tendency to distance themselves from job. Decreasing involvement with work may result in reduced accomplishments and inability to achieve success, as in past, may lead to increasing Emotional Exhaustion. …


Aim: To detect the association between the susceptibility of COPD and polymorphism of 38A/G in Clara cells 16 kDa secretory protein(CC16) gene in southern Chinese population of Han nationality.Methods: The 332 subjects with and without COPD were selected from the epidemiologic survey participants with matched-pairs strictly in Guangzhou urban and Shaoguan rural.The genotypes of CC16 gene from the subjects were detected by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism(PCR-SSCP).Results: No significant differences were observed in the frequencies of polymorphic genotypes in site 38 in exon 1 of CC16 gene between COPD and non-COPD subjects(genotype frequency: AA: 17.5% vs 17.5%;GG: 34.9% vs 42.8%;AG: 47.6% vs 39.7%).The allele frequencies were also not significantly different between two groups(A allele frequency: 41.3% vs 37.3%;G allele frequency: 58.7% vs 62.7%).Conclusion: The genetic polymorphism of 38A/G in CC16 gene might be not associated with the susceptibility to COPD in southern Chinese population of Han nationality.


Several methods for predicting metal temperatures in a turbine engine are presented. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is used to determine the system modes from temperature data sets from an engine mission. The coefficients of the system POD modes are used to identify the system dynamics. The linear state space model in conjunction with a multi-layer feedforward neural network is shown to produce superior prediction values for untrained temperature data when compared to those values produced by the state space model alone.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is a life-threatening complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), that affects primarily small airways. BOS mortality is high and risk factors and pathophysiology have yet to be defined. Experimental data from BOS in heterotopic traecha transplant models suggest, that both bronchial epithelial cell (EC) integrity as well as an alloantigen-reactive T cell response are involved. We recently reported an association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the NOD2/CARD15 gene resulting in a diminished NF- κB response to bacterial cell wall products with increased acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) severity and transplant-related mortality. As NOD2/CARD15 is expressed not only in monocytes/macrophages and intestinal EC but also in bronchial EC, we hypothesized that NOD2/CARD15 variants contribute to changes in host defense and alloreaction leading to BOS. We analyzed the association of NOD2/CARD15 SNPs (SNP 8, 12, 13) with the occurrence of BOS within 244 donor/recipient (D/R) pairs of patients (pts) receiving allogeneic SCT. Follow-up was performed for a mean of 1243±172 days (range: 327–2149). BOS was diagnosed by pathology or by functional airway obstruction (FEV1 12 pts developed BOS with a mean time point of diagnosis at 678±112 days after SCT (range: 186–1407). Incidence of BOS rose from 1.7% (3/174) in D/R pairs without mutated SNPs to 10.0% (6/60) in pairs with mutated alleles in either donor or recipient (p=0.01) and to 25.0% (3/12) in pairs with mutated alleles in both donor and recipient (p=0.009). In addition, in D/R pairs developing BOS, NOD2/CARD15 variants were observed at higher frequencies (donor: 60.0% vs. 12.9%, p=0.001; recipient: 50.0% vs. 15.0%; p=0.007). 50% of pts with BOS died between day +327 and day +1582 (mean: 844±195), whereas 6 pts are still alive (mean follow-up: 1642±170 days). Survival did not differ between pts with BOS in relation to the presence/absence of NOD2/CARD15 mutations. Finally, we analyzed whether other transplant-related parameters contributed to the incidence of BOS. Conditioning regimen intensity, stem cell source, donor type (matched unrelated donor vs. HLA-identical sibling), recipient age, donor or recipient gender, and acute GVHD were not associated with BOS development, whereas chronic GVHD was confirmed as a risk factor for BOS (p=0.01). Interestingly, NOD2/CARD15 mutations did not associate with chronic GVHD (p=0.19). Our data indicate that NOD2/CARD15 mutations of donor or recipient increase the risk of developing BOS after allogeneic SCT, which may be due to impaired macrophage function, to impaired defence mechanisms of bronchial epithelial cells, or to other pathways still unknown. Further, future risk assessment before SCT using NOD2/CARD15 typing may help identifying patients at higher risk for BOS and improve clinical outcome after allogeneic SCT.


Many practical real-time systems must be able to sustain several reliability threats induced by their physical environments that cause short-term abnormal system behavior, such as transient faults. To cope with this change of system behavior, online adaptions, which may introduce a high computation overhead, are performed in many cases to ensure the timeliness of the more important tasks while no guarantees are provided for the less important tasks. In this work, we propose a system model which does not require any online adaption, but, according to the concept of dynamic real-time guarantees, provides full timing guarantees as well as limited timing guarantees, depending on the system behavior. For the normal system behavior, timeliness is guaranteed for all tasks; otherwise, timeliness is guaranteed only for the more important tasks while bounded tardiness is ensured for the less important tasks. Aiming to provide such dynamic timing guarantees, we propose a suitable system model and discuss, how this can be established by means of partitioned as well as semi-partitioned strategies. Moreover, we propose an approach for handling abnormal behavior with a longer duration, such as intermittent faults or overheating of processors, by performing task migration in order to compensate the affected system component and to increase the system's reliability. We show by comprehensive experiments that good acceptance ratios can be achieved under partitioned scheduling, which can be further improved under semi-partitioned strategies. In addition, we demonstrate that the proposed migration techniques lead to a reasonable trade-off between the decrease in schedulability and the gain in robustness of the system. The presented approaches can also be applied to mixed-criticality systems with two criticality levels.


The devastating illness known as Covid-19 has disrupted the lives of individuals all over the globe and left a trail of devastation in its wake. The fact that we are unable to determine the severity of illness (SOI) class of the patient during the early stages of infection is without a doubt the most challenging aspect of this disease. An accurate classifier model has to be constructed in order to ensure that patients diagnosed with Covid-19 get prompt and individualized therapy. Within the scope of this investigation, we propose a useful fuzzy clustering based model for categorizing Covid-19 patients according to their age and the severity of their early symptoms (fever, dry cough, breathing difficulties, headache, smell, and taste disturbance). This method is superior to previous hard clustering tactics in terms of reducing the number of deaths that occur among patients suffering from coronavirus and increasing the likelihood that they will recover fully.


This study examined predictors of self-reported general responsible environmental behavior (GREB) among recreational boaters in Maryland in 1992. Findings show a relationship between cognitive (professed knowledge of environmental issues), affective (environmental concern), and conative (verbal commitment) components of attitudes with pro-environmental behavior. Multiple regression results show that two attitudinal variables explained 23.8% of total variance in GREB. Verbal commitment was the strongest predictor, followed by professed knowledge of environmental issues. Environmental concern was moderately correlated with GREB but did not contribute significantly to the regression model. When sociodemographics were added to the model, stand on political issues added another .2% to the variance explained. A path diagram (AMOS 4.01) was used to reexamine the GREB framework. Results model those of the stepwise regression procedures (23% variance explained) in SPSS, and the path diagram simplifies interpretation of structural relationships among variables in a regression equation.


A new technology, gel solid-state reaction, for synthesis of SrTiO3 ceramic composite powders is described in the present paper. This process, valuable for a great number of composite powders, is of great simplicity and has a relative low synthetic temperature of powders. The calcined lumped powder is porous and easy to grind. XRD and d-spacing-component figures of the solid solution powder demonstrated that the compounds were mutually miscible in the solid solutions, and SEM showed that they were uniform and substantially spherical with an average size of 1.0 μm in diameter. The remarkable advantages of the method are high yields, solvent-free, and environmental benign.


Through the application of infrared methane sensor in gas extraction,this paper compares the application of high concentration sensor using thermal conductivity cell in extraction measures when testing gas,then it comes true that infrared methane sensor has increased significantly in the aspect of stability,accuracy and economy.


Some companies usually use harddisk protect cards to protect its system dada,and they also use ghost software to reserve harddisk data. You may meet some conflicts when you use both of them at the same time.In this paper,We will show how to resolve this conflicts through a instance in my units.


The view provided by Z theory, based on its quantum-relativistic operators, is an integrated picture of the micro and macro quantities relationships. The axiomatic formulation of the theory is presented in this paper. The theory starts with the existence of the wave function, the existence of three fundamental constants h, c and G as well as the physical quantity Rc (the radius of the space-time continuum) plus the definition of a general form for the quantum-relativistic functional operators. Using such starting point the relationships between relativity, quantum mechanics and cosmological quantities can be clarified.


An obstacle-avoidance navigation algorithm based on bug algorithm is proposed for the vehicle using non-360 range sensors and having minimum turning radius.Then the vehicle can bypass obstacle edge along a continuous and smooth path and complete the fixed-goal navigation task.This algorithm uses "virtual antenna" to intuitively represent passable state in the front.The "tentacle algorithm" is used to analyze turning state,and the minimum turning radius of the vehicle is changed according to the surrounding environment to correct the turning route in real time.The test result on a Pioneer 3-AT wheeled robot show that the robot using the proposed algorithm can reach the fixed goal in an unknown environment without collision,and the trajectory is continuous and smooth.The algorithm solve the problem that bug algorithm cannot be used in this kind of vehicles.


DC technology has gained considerable interest in the medium voltage applications due to the benefits over the AC counterpart. However, to utilize the full capacity of this development, the selection of a suitable power electronic converter topology is a key aspect. From the pool of voltage source converters (VSC's), it is unclear which topology is suitable for multi-megawatt applications at medium voltage dc (MVdc) levels. To address this, the paper proposes a selection guideline based on reliability and optimum redundancy levels of VSCs for MVdc applications. This will be combined with other functional factors such as operational efficiency and return-on-investment. Three candidate multi-level topologies namely three-level neutral point clamped converter (3L-NPC), modular multi-level converter (MMC) and cascaded 3L-NPC (which is being used for the first MVdc link in the U.K.) have been evaluated over two-level-VSC from <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula>10 kV to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula>50 kV. Results show that with the increase of MVdc voltage level MMC shows better performance whereas at low MVdc voltage levels 3L-NPC is the prominent topology.


Quality of life is a critical aspect in the therapeutic plan of any patient, especially those who suffer from chronic diseases, such as hemophilia. Thus, this study aimed to assess the quality of life in patients with hemophilia treated by the Blood Center of Alagoas and describe the demographic and socioeconomic profile. 50 individuals were enrolled in the study, being over 18 years old and with hemophilia treated by the Association and the Blood Center of Alagoas. Data collection was carried out through interviews using two questionnaires: one on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and the other on health-related quality of life (Haem-A-QoL). Of this total, 100% were male, most aged between 20 and 40 years (80%), single (62%), living in the interior of Alagoas (58%), retired (56%), beneficiaries of retirement due to hemophilia complications (60%), with personal income in the last month of up to one minimum wage (78%) and without a private health plan (86%). The mean of the total Haem-A-QoL score was 40.08 (ranging from 0-96.46), with the worst performance in the domains "sports and leisure" (mean of 55.52) and "physical health" (mean of 50.16), and the best performance in the domain "partnership and sexuality" (mean of 17.48). In general, the hemophiliacs in the center studied reported good health-related quality of life. The Brazilian version of Haem-A-QoL proved to be a reliable instrument, with good internal consistency, revealing some problems faced by hemophiliacs that impact on HRQoL. ABSTRACT


Principle of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) adapted to local conditions to increase productivity and environmentally friendly. The main component of SRI is single seedling per hill, young seedlings, wider spacing, intermittent irrigation, inter-cultivation, and organic fertilization. This study area of the System of Rice Intensification is in East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, which has typical areas like soil texture, bulk density, soil water content, and rainfall. The research aimed to know the effect of plant densities in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method on the water productivity of paddy fields. This research initially focused on transplanting very young rice seedlings of 14 days old in two treatments of plants. The densities are broad in a square pattern (30 x 30 cm) and a Jajar Legowo pattern (20 x 10 x 40 cm). The rice was not grown in flooded paddies but moist ground, with intermittent irrigation. When SRI was concerned at a different wider spacing, it discovered the effect on water productivity for paddy fields, especially in East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. So that it determined the best wider spacing of the System of Rice Intensification method can apply in the area. The results show that the Jajar Legowo pattern spacing (20 x 10 x 40 cm) has a higher water productivity value of 3,4% than the spacing treatment (30 x 30 cm). Jajar Legowo was 11.9% higher than the spacing treatment (30 x 30 cm).


Silver nanowires with sizes of ∼35 nm × 300 nm are synthesized in a lamellar liquid crystalline alignment of oleate vesicles via UV irradiation under ambient conditions. The passivation of oleate amphiphiles on the surface of silver nanoparticles is utilized for the nucleation and directional growth of silver nanowires. Increasing silver nanoparticle size leads to a strong red shifting of the surface plasmon absorption band from 395 to 500 nm. The proposed formation mechanism of silver nanowires and crosslinking processes are discussed.


The utility model provides a fixing device of a reversing radar detector, which is provided with an elastic buckle body, wherein the center of the elastic buckle body is provided with a through hole, and an ultrasonic transducer of the reversing radar detector is positioned in the inner wall around the through hole. Furthermore, the two sides of the through hole of the elastic buckle body are respectively provided with an arc basic part, and each arc basic part can be properly and correspondingly contacted with each arc part which is respectively arranged at the two sides of the ultrasonic transducer of the reversing radar detector, so that the angle can be adjusted; and the two ends of each arc basic part are respectively extended to be provided with an arc elastic arm, and each arc elastic arm can adjust the inclined angle according to the curvature of a vehicle bumper.


Bakers' yeast reduction of the β-oxo proline derivative 5 leads to the cis-hydroxy ester 6 and thence to (+)-cis-(2R, 3S)-3-hydroxyproline 7, with > 90% enantiomeric enrichment. Subsequent one-carbon homologation leads to the (–)-Geissman–Waiss lactone 8, a useful precursor of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.


The new round economic cycle witnessed an important entrance for the marco economic regulation and control under the social market economy. The economy of China in 2003 is featured by partial over surplus. Such surplus in certain industries will arise the price level partially and structurally, whilst a overall surplus is doomed to have a inflation. Hence, an appropriate marco regulation and control would be necessary to keep the steady but sustainable economic growth; and also is true for the establishment of emergency mechanism by enterprises.


Bruising of potatoes is the main problem in potato processing industry and is the major cause of consumer dissatisfaction in terms of economic loss. Potato quality is adversely affected by bruise damage. In general practice, when tubers are harvested, handled, packed and transported, it is impossible to prevent them from falling and damage. After falling, external symptoms sometimes are not visible but the damage may affect the nutritional quality. Sorting and grading contribute 0.98 kilograms per quintal giving a percentage of 16.50%. Packaging and storage yield 0.45 and 1.18 kilograms per quintal owing 7.49 and 19.79% respectively. Therefore, the aim of the experiment was to find out the effect of bruising on processing and nutritional quality of processing varieties viz. Kufri Chipsona-1, Kufri Chipsona-3, Kufri Frysona and table purpose varieties viz. Kufri Surya and Kufri Pukhraj by simulating different impacts (control, 30, 60 and 90 cm). Results revealed that all processing varieties resulted in deterioration of chip score due to an increase in reducing sugars concentration after impact (45 and 60 days of storage, ambient storage). Weight dropping to potato tubers from a height of 60 cm and 90 cm and their storage up to 60 DOS (days of storage) gave comparably high reducing sugars. Impact from a height of 30, 60 and 90 cm, irrespective of all the varieties reported having higher phenol content. Reduction in weight loss was directly proportional to the height of impact and quality deteriorated further during storage. Mechanical damage to cell walls, caused loss of quality through texture softening, followed by decreasing texture firmness of potato.


Based on the seasonal observations from Oct. 1998 to Aug. 1999, we made on analysis of the characteristics of the eco environment of the bay and its nutrient level. The results show that all of the basic parameters in this bay (temperature, salinity, pH, DO, SS) are suitable for the breeding and growth for all kinds of living beings in subtropical oceans. The DIP in this bay maves a feature of low phosphor content. DIN appears over abundant in spring and summer and is rather short in autumn and winter. The CHL A content is medial. The COD content is not up to the standard in spring , summer and autumn, especially in summer. An analysis of NQI and A shows that, both the eutrophication level and the pollution degree are relatively severe in spring, slightly better in summer, and better in autumn and winter. The relatively great runoff flow of the NanLiu River, the industrial and city waste water are the dominant cause of increasing pollution degree and eutrophication. DIN and COD are the main factors.


Bank profitability is of significant importance to economic growth since it determines banks' resilience and their ability to provide credit (Raddatz et al., 2020). However, high bank profitability (margins) as in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region can hurt economic growth through inefficient financial intermediation (Rahman et al., 2023). It is, therefore, imperative to examine the interplay between bank profitability and economic growth in SSA. This study investigates the contribution of banks' performance to economic growth in SSA by examining the impact of bank profitability on growth, as well as the mediating role of stability in this interplay. A panel dataset for 26 SSA economies that spans from 2000 to 2020 was collected and analyzed. System generalized method of moments (GMM) and structural equation model (SEM) were used for the analysis. Surprisingly, the study finds that bank profitability does not affect economic growth in SSA economies. This evidence is attributed to inefficient intermediation in the form of high bank margins and low lending volumes. However, a positive contribution of bank profitability to growth was noted in low-income economies, supporting the notion that banks dominate in economies with underdeveloped financial markets. The study also finds evidence of partial mediation of stability on the bank profitability-growth nexus in SSA.


The physical implementation of the Physical Agents (EMF) Directive has significant implications for medical MRI. There are a number of clinical situations where occupational exposure to low frequency time varying magnetic fields exceeds the relevant action values, and almost certainly also the exposure limits. Restrictions imposed by the Directive adversely affects current clinical activities and prevent the development of new techniques that could have a significant impact on medical practice and also bring health and safety benefits for both patients and staff. There is no scientific justification for these limits, which are based on cautious interpretation of limited data and overly inflexible incorporation of the resulting guidelines into law.


.......................................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF PLATES ....................................................................................................... xviii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .........................................................................................xx CHAPTER ONE : ..............................................................................................................


Background This in vitro comparative study aimed to compare the influence of two levels of deep margin elevation (2 and 3 mm) with either bulk-fill flowable composite or short fiber-reinforced flowable composite on the fracture resistance of maxillary first premolars restored with ceramic onlays. Material and Methods Fifty sound-extracted maxillary first premolar teeth were selected to prepare mesio-occluso-distal cavities with standardized dimensions. The cervical margins were extended 2 mm below the cemento-enamel junction on both mesial and distal sides. These teeth were randomly divided into five groups: Group I: no box elevation (control group). Group II: 2 mm marginal elevation with bulk-fill flowable composite. Group III: 2 mm marginal elevation with short fiber-reinforced flowable composite. Group IV: 3 mm marginal elevation with bulk-fill flowable composite. Group V: 3 mm marginal elevation with short fiber-reinforced flowable composite. After cementation, all teeth were subjected to a fracture resistance test using the universal testing machine, and the mode of failure was analyzed using a digital microscope at 20x magnification. Results The result showed a non-significant difference in the fracture resistance between 2 and 3 mm marginal elevation (p>0.05) with respect to each restorative material used for deep margin elevation. However, the fracture resistance of teeth elevated with short fiber-reinforced flowable composite was significantly higher than those elevated with bulk-fill flowable composite at both levels 2 and 3 mm, p=0.041 and 0.038 respectively. Conclusions The fracture resistance of premolars restored with a ceramic onlay was not influenced by the levels of deep margin elevation (2 or 3 mm). However, marginal elevation with short fiber-reinforced flowable composites provided higher fracture resistance than those elevated with bulk-fill flowable composites, and those without marginal elevation. Key words:Fracture Resistance, Short fiber reinforced flowable composite, Bulk-fill flowable composite, Ceramic onlay, Cervical margin elevation.


An annotated checklist of the Anopheles mosquitoes in Iran is provided. The list is based on data contained in Iranian manuals and reports and information published elsewhere. Supplementary information is provided for 24 species.


Dried squid is a product of Small and Medium Industries (SMI) but it is not developed and marketed as another product of SME. The scope of this study is about the design of new packaging and branding for the product dried squid. The main objective of this study was to investigate the weaknesses and shortcomings as well as the importance of the new design to help upgrade the packaging of the product, especially product from the Small and Medium Industeries (SME).