The effects of several electrolytes, including sodium perchlorate, thiocyanate, acetate, and halides, upon the rate and products of solvolysis of benzyl tosylate in 1 : 1 (v/v) aqueous trifluoroethanol at 25 °C have been investigated. In the absence of any electrolyte, the ratio of benzyl alcohol to benzyl trifluoroethyl ether is only marginally greater than the molar ratio of water to trifluoroethanol in the reaction medium. Sodium perchlorate gives rise to a kinetic salt effect but no detectable perturbation of the product ratio. Thiocyanate, iodide, and bromide lead to second-order rate terms and the formation of substitution products. Thiocyanate, the most effective nucleophile used, does not affect the internal ratio of the solvent-derived products. We find no evidence of nucleophilic capture of carbonium ion intermediates formed in prior rate-determining steps. Chloride, acetate, and hydroxide are very weak nucleophiles in this medium and do not lead to overall rate enhancements. Replacing a small proportion of the trifluoroethanol by ethanol leads to the formation of a low yield of benzyl ethyl ether. There is no evidence of benzyl tosylate reacting other than by SN2 mechanisms, either uncoupled in reactions with solvent and hard nucleophilic solutes, or coupled with soft nucleophiles such as iodide and thiocyanate.


Data were collected among 159 consecutive new patients in a walk-in clinic. Patients were given an appointment for a subsequent visit after the initial clinical diagnostic interview, and 61% completed their referral. A long waiting list and a diagnosis of depressive neurosis were significantly associated with drop-out. Possible forms of follow-up are suggested. The demand for readily available psychiatric services is increasing, and psychiatric walk- in clinics are a major step in that direction; they are a fairly recent phenomenon in India, however, in contrast to the West. These clinics have encouraged early therapeutic interven tion, by abolishing the waiting list and providing easy accessibility of treatment. A patient, in our set-up, after immediate consultation and treatment advice, is called back for detailed evaluation on an appointed day. But the acceptance of this subsequent visit varies, and many do not turn up. Previous researchers have made several attempts to look into the problem of drop-out from psychiatric clinics; the percentage has varied between 64%2, 26%4, 58%5, 63%6, 30%7, 30%-45%10, 57%11 and 42%12. Among educated and upper social class patients, the rate was only 6% in one psychotherapeutic clinic.8 Patients who drop out probably have different expectations from those of the clinic, and gained little from their first visit. Previous studies have identified some of the factors associated with drop-out, such as long waiting lists,3,7 elaborate intake procedures,9 and par ticular characteristics of the patients themselves. 1,5,8,9,10,12 The present paper reports a prospec tive study which looked into some of these problems.


The chiral discrimination abilities of various permethylated oligosaccharides were evaluated toward ammonium ions of esters of amino acids using the fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry (MS)/enantiomer labeled (EL) guest method. The complexation properties of the selected permethylated oligosaccharides were examined by other spectroscopic methods such as 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance, and the structures of their complexes were discussed. The artificial chiral hosts were synthesized on the basis of the obtained information, and then one of them was applied to evaluation of optical purity of chiral ammonium salts using FAB mass spectrometry.


In this paper,starting from the third shortcoming of Zadeh's fuzzy set theory pointed out by [1],which is using fuzzy operator that lack of unified theory guidance,the correctness of fuzzy operator and its application scope is given using probability theory.Furthermore,the rationality of coverage coefficient is obtained and we get the next research contents.


The regiochemistry of copper-catalyzed reactions between Grignard reagents and allylic substrates has been studied. A dual regiocontrol was obtained in the Li 2 CuCl 4 -catalyzed Grignard reaction with primary allylic acetates. Reaction conditions that favor formation of an intermediate dialkylcuprate (fast addition of Grignard reagent, low temperature, low concentration of catalyst) gave α-substitution, whereas reaction conditions favoring formation of a monoalkylcopper intermediate (slow addition of Grignard reagent, increased concentration of catalyst) led to a γ-substitution. A remarkable solvent effect was observed for CuCN-catalyzed Grignard coupling with primary allylic acetates. In ether a highly γ-selective reaction took place, but in THF α-substitution predominated. Other allylic substrates such as allylic sulfones and allylic chlorides were also studied. The latter substrates showed a preference for γ-substitution, which is explained by their high reactivity


Psychology and Sexual Orientation: Coming to Terms Janis ... Psychology and Sexual Orientation strives to "come to terms" with lesbian, gay and bisexual life and with the controversial scientific and sociocultural theories and arguments on the origin and meaning of homosexuality and queer life in the US. Janis M. Bohan disrupts conventional psychological perspectives on queer life and identity and animates the ongoing debate between essentialism and constructionism.


The most recent volcanic activity in the Carpatho-Pannonian Region occurred in the Central Slovakian volcanic Field (Putikov vrsok alkali-basaltic volcano, 130-140 Ka) and at the southeastern end of the Carpathian volcanic arc (Persani Mts. alkalibasaltic field, 1.2-0.6 Ma, and Ciomadul volcano). The last eruption of Ciomadul volcano took place ca. 35-42 Ka ago. Geological and geophysical evidence suggest possible volcanic hazard in this area.


I. The degree of electrotonic coupling between a given synapse located on a dendrite and the spike trigger zone is a major determinant of the relative influence of that synapse on neuronal firing. The degree of electrotonic coupling between a synapse and the recording site also influences the measurement of the biophysical properties of that synapse. We present theoretical justification for a practical method for determining the electrotonic coupling between any given remote synaptic input and the site of intracellular measurements. We also derive useful equations for the electrophysiological characterization of that synaptic input. The approach is independent of many of the assumptions of the equivalent cable model (39). 2. The neuron is depicted as a linear twoport electrical network, with the site of potential recording and current injection representing one port and the synaptic input the other. Derivations are presented for three parameters of the network: k12, k2], and k2. 3. k12 is the electrotonic coupling coefficient between the recording site (usually the soma) and the subsynaptic membrane. It defines the degree of steady-state voltage decay from soma to synapse. It also defines the charge transfer from synapse to soma and the steady-state current decay from synapse to soma when a voltage clamp is applied to the soma. k12 can be determined empirically by measuring the change in the reversal potential as a function of ionic manipulations in the extracellular medium. Given k12, the true synaptic equilibrium potential and


Realization of the precision modelling method of involute straight bevel gear has been studied.Proceed from the principle;the precision tooth shape of gear was generated by the use of involute equation.On the basis of discussing systematically the influences of factors of rim thickness,effective circumferential directional teeth number,load position,overlap ratio,load distribution of contact position,transition curve of dedendum etc.on the tooth root stress,the precision finite element model for computing the bending strength of dedendum was established.And using the flexibility matrix method to determine load distribution on the contact line and the tooth root stress analysis was carried out.The result of computation tallies with the conclusion educed according to the ISO algorithm,and the correctness of model was testified.


Much has been written about the difficulties students have with producing traditional dissertations. This includes both native English speakers (L1) and students with English as a second language (L2). The main emphasis of these papers has been on the structure of the dissertation, but in all cases, even when electronic versions are discussed, the dissertation is still in what most would regard as a traditional written form. Master of Science Degrees in computing disciplines require students to gain technical proficiency and apply their knowledge to a range of scenarios. The basis of this paper is that if a dissertation is a means of showing that such a student has met the criteria for a pass, which should be based on the learning outcomes of the dissertation module, does meeting those outcomes require a student to demonstrate their skills in a solely text based form, particularly in a highly technical research project? Could it be possible for a student to produce a series of related artifacts which form a cohesive package that meets the learning out comes of the dissertation?


When a client requests a set of data items at once, it is crucial to reduce the total time elapsed till the client receives all data items requested. This paper describes a data broadcasting technique that reduces access time for multiple data accesses from clients. The impact of the relative position of each data item in a broadcast schedule is dependent on the degree of data replication between data requests from clients. The relative broadcast frequencies for data items are affected by the degree of access skewness from clients. This paper proposes a technique for generation of a hierarchical data broadcast schedule, which can support multiple data accesses effectively by considering the data sharing among client requests and data access skewness together. Simulation results show that the proposed technique consistently performs better than the previous research results in various environments.


Abstract In this paper, we study an implicit sequential fractional order differential equation with non-instantaneous impulses and multi-point boundary conditions. The article comprehensively elaborate four different types of Ulam's stability in the lights of generalized Diaz Margolis's fixed point theorem. Moreover, some sufficient conditions are constructed to observe the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the proposed model. The proposed model contains both the integer order and fractional order derivatives. Thus, the exponential function appearers in the solution of the proposed model which will lead researchers to study fractional differential equations with well known methods of integer order differential equations. In the last, few examples are provided to show the applicability of our main results.


The association of inflammatory myopathies with malignancy and interstitial lung disease has been well accepted. Polymyositis can be associated with interstitial lung disease or malignancy, although it is rare for all three entities to occur simultaneously at the initial presentation. We report a patient who was found to have concurrent polymyositis, interstitial lung disease, with anti-Jo-1 antibody, and renal cell carcinoma.


tag=1 data=Clerk of the Senate outlines the constitutional law on which legal challenges can be made on the eligibility of MP's; by-election Wills.

tag=2 data=Goward, Pru

tag=3 data=on Daybreak,

tag=6 data=27 November 1992

tag=7 data=5p.

tag=8 data=CONSTITUTION%LAW%MPS-FEDERAL

tag=9 data=DUAL CITIZENSHIP

tag=10 data=Transcript: Harry Evans, Clerk of the Senate, explains the three conditions which can cause a Member's eligibility to be challenged? Provided by MICAH, Canberra.

tag=11 data=1993/5/1

tag=12 data=93/0021

tag=13 data=CAB

tag=32 data=EVANS, HARRY


We analyze the resolution of imaging functionals that migrate the cross-correlation matrices of passive sensor arrays. These matrices are obtained by cross-correlating signals emitted by ambient noise sources and recorded by the passive sensor array. They contain information about reflectors in the surrounding medium. Therefore, travel time or Kirchhoff migration of the cross-correlations can, under favorable circumstances, produce images of such reflectors. However, migration should be carried out appropriately depending on the type of illumination provided by the ambient noise sources. We present here a detailed resolution analysis of these functionals in a homogeneous medium. Resolution depends on the sensor array diameter, the distance from the array to the reflector and the central frequency, as is the case in active array imaging. When imaging with passive sensor arrays and ambient noise, resolution also depends on the space and time coherence of the noise sources because it determines an effective noise bandwidth.


CRISPR has vastly simplified the ability to edit DNA, but there9s one thing this new technology is not particularly good at: fixing what are known as point mutations, the cause of many human genetic diseases. Now, two new papers, one in Science and the other in Nature , describe a tool called base editing that borrows heavily from CRISPR and excels at correcting the point mutations. CRISPR, adopted from a primitive immune system used by bacteria, cuts the DNA double helix, which is made up of the bases known in shorthand as A, C, T, and G. The cell repair process can then introduce errors that cripple genes. Researchers can also add DNA to CRISPR to, say, change one base to another. But CRISPR doesn9t do this efficiently. Enter base pair editors, which chemically alter one base into another one without cutting the double helix. In the Science study, researchers describe a base editor for RNA that effectively changes A to G and the Nature paper reports how a DNA base editor does the same swap. About half of the point mutations associated with human diseases are linked to mutant As. The two new base editors add powerful additions to the first DNA base editor that was reported in 2016, which changed Cs in DNA to Ts.


Abstract : In 1977 the military began a continuously expanding war to prevent drugs from crossing our nation's borders. Each year, the military has become a more willing partner in this war. This study begins with the history of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) involvement in the drug interdiction war. The goal of DOD's drug interdiction program is to deter drug smuggling by intercepting and seizing illegal drug shipments. Each national drug control strategy has required DOD to commit more personnel and equipment to drug operations. 1989 marked a significant turning point in the drug interdiction war. DOD designated several CINC's specific new drug related duties and provided additional resources to fight the war on drugs. Three new Joint Task Force Headquarters were established to help coordinate this complex war.


BACKGROUND Transitional cell carcinoma also known as urothelial carcinoma accounts for more than 90 % of all primary tumours of urinary bladder. It is the 4 th most common cancer in men and 8 th most common cancer in women in the western world. Nearly 80 % of patients initially present with bladder tumours confined to mucosa or submucosa. Not grading but detection of infiltration is of much value when dealing with invasive urothelial malignancy. When it invades muscle, it dictates more aggressive treatment. This study was undertaken to correlate the clinical, radiological, and pathological findings in the grading and staging of carcinoma bladder. METHODS This prospective study was conducted in the Department of Pathology for a period of two years. 55 patients with clinical features suggestive of carcinoma bladder were included in the study. Radiological and cystoscopic findings were combined to obtain a clinical staging. Materials included were H&E stained sections of biopsies, TURBT and Cystectomy. Special stains were done in indicated cases. Grading was done using WHO / ISUP grading system and staging using AJCC / UICC staging system. RESULTS 55 cases were studied. Most common age group was 60 - 69 years (40 %) with male preponderance (94.5 %). 100 % of patients presented with haematuria. Cystoscopically most common appearance was fronds (69.1 %) involving right lateral wall (40 %). Of the clinically invasive cases 29 (52.7 %), 19 (65.50 %) were pathologically invasive, 3 (10.3 %) were pathologically noninvasive, 7 (24.10) were insufficient for opinion. Of the clinically noninvasive cases (26), 5 (19.20 %) were pathologically invasive 13 (50 %) were noninvasive and rest were insufficient for opinion. CONCLUSIONS Bladder carcinomas are more common in elderly males. All patients presented with haematuria. Most common site of involvement was lateral walls. Clinicopathological correlation was more in highly advanced cases. KEYWORDS Urothelial Carcinoma, Grading, Staging


What is the problem and what is known about it so far? People with asthma develop intermittent contraction of the muscle in the walls of the tubes (airways, or bronchi) that bring air to the lungs. Breathing becomes difficult when the airways contract. Some people with asthma have infrequent symptoms, others have severe symptoms on most days, and most are somewhere in between. Triggers of asthma symptoms include smoke, infection, allergic reactions, cold weather, and exercise. In some people, the triggers are unclear. Fortunately, there is effective treatment for asthma. Asthma drugs fall into 2 categories: drugs that control asthma over the long term, making attacks less frequent, and drugs that help during asthma attacks by relaxing the airways. Beta2-agonists are inhaled drugs that help during asthma attacks by relaxing the airways. Beta2-agonists may also have benefits related to the airway inflammation that occurs in asthma. Although beta2-agonists can improve symptoms during an asthma attack, there is concern that people who use them regularly develop tolerance to them. Tolerance means that the beta2-agonists lose some of their effectiveness. Why did the researchers do this particular study? To summarize what previous studies have shown about the development of tolerance in people with asthma who use beta2-agonists regularly. Who was studied? The authors combined data from 22 previous studies that included a total of 323 patients with asthma. How was the study done? The researchers examined data from 22 previous studies that had people take either beta2-agonists or placebo regularly for at least 1 week. Placebo was an inhaled drug that appeared identical to the beta2-agonists but contained no active ingredients. The studies then measured the responses of both groups to subsequent doses of beta2-agonists by looking at a variety of measures of beta2-agonist effectiveness. What did the researchers find? The researchers found that patients who used beta2-agonists regularly for at least 1 week were less responsive to the effects of subsequent doses of beta2-agonists than were patients who took placebo. Regular users developed tolerance to the effects of beta2-agonist on both bronchial relaxation and inflammation. In fact, regular users demonstrated more airway inflammation than those who took placebo. What were the limitations of the study? The studies did not measure actual patient outcomes such as number or severity of asthma attacks and did not include a group of patients who used the drugs only as needed. For these reasons, this analysis cannot assess whether taking beta2-agonists as needed is worse than not taking any beta2-agonist at all. What are the implications of the study? Doctors and patients should consider using beta2-agonists to treat asthma only during asthma attacks.


Abstract Objective: To discover the anatomist who first identified the upper oesophageal sphincter. Method: The authors searched dozens of antique anatomy textbooks kept in the old section of the 'Vincenzo Pinali' Medical Library of Padua University, looking for descriptions of the upper oesophageal sphincter. Results: The oesophageal sphincter was drawn correctly only in 1601, by Julius Casserius, in the book De vocis auditusque organis historia anatomica… (which translates as 'An Anatomical History on the Organs of Voice and Hearing …'), and was properly described by Antonio Maria Valsalva in 1704 in the book De aure humana tractatus… ('Treatise on the Human Ear …'). Conclusion: Anatomists Casserius and Valsalva can be considered the discoverers of the 'oesophageal sphincter'.


"The teacher has to have the energy of the hottest volcano, the memory of an elephant, and the diplomacy of an ambassador" (p. 47). Jaime Escalante, termed "The Best Teacher in America" by Mathews (1988), coined this description of a teacher from his personal experiences and successes. Escalante earned this recognition through a series of controversies regarding the success of a group of Hispanic calculus students on the national Advanced Placement examination. Having Hispanic students do well on such a test is nothing special in and of itself. Escalante received recognition primarily because of his ability to transform underprivileged students in a troubled school into some of the highest achieving high school calculus students in the country. Such a feat is extraordinary and quite intriguing to many teachers. If a skilled teacher in a poor, inner city, primarily Hispanic school in Los Angeles can help his students reach "the highest possible degree of personal development" (Meek, 1989, p. 47), then it seems that other teachers across the country should also be able to achieve similar results. The key, according to Escalante, is motivation: "My skills are really to motivate these kids, to make them learn, to give them ganas the desire to do somethingto make them believe they can learn" (Meek, 1989, p. 47). It sounds easy. There are volumes of information on motivation from psychological motivation to intrinsic and external motivation to ganas. The problem is that motivating students is not a simple, one-step process. Implementation of motivation strategies is very personal and depends on the teacher's personality and style. It involves a wide variety of learning experiences for the student. It is also dependent on the structure and routine of the class period. Since motivation seems to play an important role in teaching, it is important for teachers to become familiar with various aspects of motivation.


We present an approximate solution of the Einstein equations for the metric outside a monopole resulting from the breaking of a global O(3) symmetry. The monopole exerts practically no gravitational force on nonrelativistic matter, but the space around it has a deficit solid angle, and all light rays are deflected by the same angle, independent of the impact parameter.


A new many-electron crystal field formalism for the fN-configuration in lanthanide and actinide ions is presented. An effective crystal field Hamiltonian is obtained by projecting the original electronic Hamiltonian of an f-cluster (fN-ion + ligand environment) on the subspace of [J, M] > functions of the fN-configuration of the central ion. On the basis of this formalism a semiempirical many-electron method is developed that allows for a practical ab initio calculation of crystal field energies in fN-systems. The important role of many-electron crystal field effects in fN-systems with significant covalent contributions is discussed.

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There are different interpretations about what technological transfer represents. While some authors understand it as a unidirectional flow of knowledge that is transmitted systematically, others highlight the complexity of a phenomenon that includes problems of adoption, learning and appropriation, transcending the mere act of buying and selling an equipment or a technological package. Adhering to this last position, we consider that it is important to understand the processes, beyond the results, and the incorporation of qualitative research methods that allow us to address the particularities present in these processes. In this sense, the present work seeks to highlight the importance of the research method based on case studies for the analysis of technology transfer processes. On the one hand, by the possibility of Divulgatio. Perfiles académicos de posgrado, Vol. 4, Número 11, 2020, 15-26 obtaining information directly from the primary sources involved, which allows knowing details that would not be possible to access through literature or databases. And, on the other hand, because it enables a greater internalization in the subject, using both direct observation and interviews with key informants. It seeks to account for a type of methodology that allows us to explore the uniqueness of a particular case to understand the complexity of the more general phenomenon.


A new discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Time Domain (SETD) method for Maxwell's Equations is proposed. It can suppress spurious modes using basis functions with the same order of interpolation for electric field intensity and magnetic flux density (i.e. the EB scheme). Compared to SETD based on the EH scheme, which requires different order of interpolation polynomials for electric and magnetic field intensities, the EB scheme SETD reduces the number of unknowns and computation cost. The discontinuous Galerkin method is employed to implement domain decomposition for the EB scheme to allow large-scale computation.


Laser-induced surface modification of various polymers is presented as a suitable pretreatment of surfaces in a two-step metallization process. Materials such as polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), acrylbutadienestyrene (ABS), styreneacrylnitril (SAN), polybutadieneterphtalate (PBT), and polyoxymethylen (POM) were treated by excimer laser radiation ((lambda) equals 248 nm) in air. The aim of this study is to investigate different processing regimes of surface modification. Therefore the laser processing variables fluence F, repetition rate v and pulse number N are varied and the absorption coefficient, optical penetration depth, ablation depth and ablation threshold are determined. The surface morphology and surface roughness are studied by optical surface profilometry and secondary electron microscopy (SEM). The influence of laser treatment on chemical composition of modified and ablated surfaces is analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Depending on the processing parameters and materials properties different microstructures and values of surface roughness are generated on the micrometer length scale. Pretreatment for the subsequent metallization is performed with laser radiation, wet chemical and plasma etching. The metallization of polymers is investigated for different surface morphologies. The used metallization processes are electroplating and physical vapor deposition (PVD). Adhesion of the deposited films, measured with scratch and tape test methods, is used as a criterion for determining regimes of suitable surface modification for subsequent metallization.


Background: As extra-cranial metastasis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is rare, it may create a diagnostic dilemma especially during interpretation of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cytology.


A Personal Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Potency of Community Power Chapter 3 Community Development Corporations and the Resurgence of Organizing Chapter 4 The Small Community Chapter 5 Community Organizing: Principal Tool for Change and Reform Chapter 6 Participation: Lifeblood of Renewal Chapter 7 Aliquippa: A Small Community on the Front Line Chapter 8 Forging an Organizational Plan Chapter 9 Unity in Creating a Comprehensive Community Plan Chapter 10 Maximizing Social Strength Chapter 11 Tapping Essential Resources Chapter 12 Capital Formation: Building Community Financial Assets Chapter 13 Neighborhood Preservation Through Affordable Housing Chapter 14 Business District Renewal: Transforming Your Shopping Area Chapter 15 Workforce Development: Strengthening the Economic Base of the Small Community Chapter 16 Organizing for Community Controlled Development and the Promise of Coalition Politics Index About the Authors


Objective:To determine the content of total flavones in the different kinds of buckwheat,different parts of buckwheat and buckwheat goods. Method:UV spectrophotometry for determination of total flavonoids was used. Using Na (NO 3 ) -Al (NO 3 ) 3 to detect the absorbance of samples and then count the total flavonoids. Results:The linear range of rutin was 0.003006~0.1503mg/mL (R 2 =0.9999) with average recovery of 97.9% (RSD 1.95% ). Conclusion:In different cultivated species of buckwheat,the concentration of total flavonoids of Fagopyrum tataricum(L.) Gaerth was 13.67~21.56mg/g,and that of F. esculentum Moench was 5.79~7.23mg/g. In different parts of buckwheat,the concentration of total flavonoids of leaves was the highest,up to 68.30mg/g. For buckwheat tea,the concentration of total flavonoids was 6.96~16.78mg/g,but they were lower than that of buckwheat seeds. This method was simple,accurate and reproducible for determination of total flavonoids of buckwheat and buckwheat goods.


The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Port State Control in the Caribbean Region is the fourth in a series commencing in 1982 with the Paris Memorandum (Europe). The other two cover the Latin American (1992) and Asia Pacific (1993) regions, and further regional developments are in the offing. These documents represent an innovative exercise by port states at the regional level to guard against accidents and pollution caused by vessels that do not conform with generally accepted international rules and standards. Following the practice of the Paris MOU, most also ensure conformity with international standards for seafarers to ensure acceptable living and working conditions on board ships. Each MOU identifies the relevant rules by reference to specific conventions adopted under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).


The inconsistency of empirical findings on the performance of microfinance continues to puzzle development experts and scholars. The burgeoning empirical studies in microfinance which tend to be outcome-centric have contributed little to the understanding of why some micro entrepreneurs succeed while others fail. The underlying dynamics of doing business as a micro entrepreneur can be complex, exposing the enterpreneur to a myriad of critical decision-making events. The ramifications of bad business decisions could severely affect the micro entrepreneurs' livelihood and further entrap them in poverty, and is a reality that should not be ignored. While microfinance may be seen as one facilitating factor providing the financial needs of the business, it is the ability to face the daily business challenges to have an earnings stream to repay the loan that finally matters. Thus, this interpretive phenomenology study attempts to examine and interpret the lived experiences of the micro entrepreneurs focusing on their business decision-making experience. The informants for this study were selected from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), the pioneer microfinance institution in Malaysia. A total of seven informants were chosen for this study as the data saturation is reached at the seventh informant. The analysis of data revealed that Islamic faith played a pivotal role in influencing the business decision-making experience of the micro entrepreneurs. Last but not least, the findings of this study hope to offer a novel contribution to the fields of microfinance and entrepreneurship by addressing the lived experiences of entrepreneurs living in poverty settings


Magnetotactic bacteria produce nano-scale, intracellular magnetic minerals. The study of such minerals is of interest because it can shed light on biogenic mineral-forming processes, and on the potential contribution of biomagnets to the magnetic signal of sediments and rocks. We collected sediment and water samples from several Hungarian lakes and streams. Magnetotactic bacteria were present in all studied environments; in some samples they occurred in such large numbers that their mineral inclusions likely represent a major source for sediment magnetism. After magnetic enrichment of magnetotactic species, we characterized distinct morphological types using a light microscope. Our systematic study showed that a few bacterium types are widespread in most of the studied freshwater environments. Using transmission electron microscopy, we studied the composition, microstructure, sizes and habits of magnetite particles from a helicoid magnetotactic bacterium from Gyongyos stream, Szombathely. Size and shape distributions of the intracellular crystals show some distinct features that may be used for distinguishing bacterial from nonbiogenic magnetite and for identifying possible mechanisms of crystal growth. In particular, the crystal size distribution (CSD) curve is highly asymmetric, consistently with previous observations on magnetite from magnetotactic bacteria. The asymmetry and our new observation of two maxima in the CSD suggest that Ostwald ripening and crystal agglomeration played important roles in the formation of the nanoscale magnetite particles.


Background and Aims Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) still carries a high risk for a sustained decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) even with the optimal medical therapy. Currently, there is no effective tool to stratify these patients according to their recovery potential. We tested the hypothesis that uric acid (UA) could predict recovery of LVEF and prognosis of HFrEF patients and attempted to explore mechanistic relationship between hyperuricemia and HFrEF. Methods HFrEF patients with hyperuricemia were selected from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2016–2018 database and our Xianyang prospective cohort study. Demographics, cardiac risk factors, and cardiovascular events were identified. Network-based analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between recovery of LVEF and hyperuricemia, and we further elucidated the underlying mechanisms for the impact of hyperuricemia on HFrEF. Results After adjusting confounding factors by propensity score matching, hyperuricemia was a determinant of HFrEF [OR 1.247 (1.172–1.328); P < 0.001] of NIS dataset. In Xianyang prospective cohort study, hyperuricemia is a significant and independent risk factor for all-cause death (adjusted HR 2.387, 95% CI 1.141–4.993; P = 0.021), heart failure readmission (adjusted HR 1.848, 95% CI 1.048–3.259; P = 0.034), and composite events (adjusted HR 1.706, 95% CI 1.001–2.906; P = 0.049) in HFrEF patients. UA value at baseline was negatively correlated to LVEF of follow-ups (r = −0.19; P = 0.046). Cutoff UA value of 312.5 μmmol/L at baseline can work as a predictor of LVEF recovery during follow-up, with the sensitivity of 66.7%, the specificity of 35.1%, and the accuracy of 0.668 (95% CI, 0.561–0.775; P = 0.006). Moreover, gene overlap analysis and network proximity analysis demonstrated a strong correlation between HFrEF and Hyperuricemia. Conclusion Lower baseline UA value predicted the LVEF recovery and less long-term adverse events in HFrEF patients. Our results provide new insights into underlying mechanistic relationship between hyperuricemia and HFrEF.


Cellulose is an almost inexhaustible source of raw material for the increasing demand for biodegradable products, and its solvent is a key for the research and developments. This chapter summarizes the aqueous cellulose solvents, such as NaOH aqueous, NaOH/urea aqueous, NaOH/thiourea aqueous and LiON/urea aqueous systems with cooling. The dissolution mechanism, solution behaviors, preparation and modifications of the various cellulose materials, as well as their properties and applications were described. The dissolution of cellulose in pre-cooled aqueous solution deals with the formation of new hydrogen-bonded networks between cellulose and solvent molecules, which is at a highly stable state at low temperatures. The aqueous cellulose solvents are simple and low cost, and the preparation method of the cellulose products from the cellulose solution are short production cycle and "green" process. The potential applications of the cellulose fibers, films, hydrogels, microspheres and functional composite materials created from the aqueous cellulose solution were also discussed in this section.


This article aims to present differents positions regarding the encounter of Schopenhauer with Indian thought. The issue of the influence and legitimacy of this encounter has been a matter of debate between indologists and Schopenhauer interpreters for over a century, which is far from being resolved by a single answer.


Introduction Children's prosthetic needs are complex due to their small size, constant growth, and psychosocial development. Family finances play a crucial role in the prescription of prosthetics for their children, especially when private insurance and public funding are insufficient. For these reasons, prosthetic devices are not accessible to children from low income, uninsured families, or to children from developing countries. Advancements in computer-aided design (CAD) programs and additive manufacturing (3D printing) offer the possibility of designing and printing prosthetic hands at a very low cost. Creighton University has developed a low cost, …


A method for manufacturing a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet is provided to reduce a core loss of the steel sheet by simultaneously performing carbonization and nitrification processes. A method for manufacturing a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet comprises the steps of reheating and hot-rolling a slab while adjusting contents of nitrogen and sulfur contained in impurities such that the slab is completely mixed with AlN and MnS, and cold-rolling the slab after performing an annealing process or without performing the annealing process. Then, after performing the decarburization and nitrification annealing process, the slab is subject to a recrystallization annealing process.


Objective To study effect of probucol on non ionic contrast agent causing the impairment of renal function in coronary artery intervention diagnosis and treatment.Methods Patients who were undergoing coronary artery interventional procedures(coronary angiography and/or coronary artery stent implantation)were randomly divided into four groups:control group(n=160);hydration treatment group(n=160):preoperatively 6 hours to 6 hours postoperatively to 0.9% physiological sodium chloride(1 ml·kg-1·h-1);probucol treatment group(n=160):preoperative and postoperative 3 day taking probucol 500 mg,2/d;hydration plus probucol treatment group(n=160):preoperative and postoperative 3 day taking probucol 500 mg,2/d,and 6 hours before surgery to 6 hours postoperatively to 0.9% physiological sodium chloride(1 ml·kg-1·h-1).Respectively,serum creatinine(Scr),Cystatin C(CysC)reflect the function of the kidneys were detected before and after the application of contrast agents used in 8 hours,12 hours,24 hours,48 hours,72 hours,1 week.The Scr and CysC maximum value is Scr and CysC peak,peak and the baseline value difference is Scr and CysC elevated values(△Scr,△CysC),comparing with the four groups at different time Scr and CysC as well as changes in Scr and CysC peak and△Scr,△CysC.Results After the contrast agent application,Scr 12 h started to rise,reaching a peak of 48 h,72 h decreased significantly,after 1 weeks of basic return to baseline level;and CysC started to rise 8 h after contrast media application,reaching a peak of 24 h,48 h decreased significantly,after 1 weeks returned to baseline levels;Compared with the control group,the other three groups of Scr and CysC in each time period increased slowly(P0.05),especially the hydration plus probucol group than in hydration and probucol group further decreased(P0.05).Moreover,compared with the control group,the other three groups of Scr and CysC increased and recovered fast(P0.05),especially the hydration plus probucol group recovered faster(P0.05),the contrast agent application after 1 weeks returned to normal,while in the control group after 1 weeks and remained elevated significantly(P0.05).Further analysis found that,compared with the control group,the other three groups Scr,CysC peak and△Scr,△CysC were significantly lower(P0.05),especially the hydration plus probucol treatment group decreased more obviously(P0.05).Conclusions The results suggested that application of probucol and hydration therapy can also reduce the contrast agent on renal damage in the coronary artery interventional treatment,and combined with probucol and hydration are more obvious.


Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic renal cyst decortication in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kindny disease.Methods: Data of 16 cases of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease that were treated with laparoscopic renal cyst decortication from June 2006 to February 2010 were reviewed and evaluated.Results: All 16 patients were treated successfully,follow up were conducted for an average of 11.2 months ranging from 3 to 47 months.No severe complications wre observed,symptoms and blood pressure were improved in all cases.Some patients showed improvements in renal function.Conclusions: Laparoscopic renal cyst decortication is a safe and effectivein patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with less complications and satisfactory efficacy.


The last decade has seen a surge of interest in the research of image quality assessment (IQA). Many successful quality metrics, such as structural similarity index (SSIM) are reportedly to achieve very high accuracy for various kinds of image distortions. However, in practice, multiple image distortions tend to occur together and this leads difficulty to previous works of IQA including SSIM and variations. This problem is even more difficult for no-reference or blind quality assessment. To answer this challenge, this paper proposes a new FIve-Step BLInd Metric (FISBLIM) for quality assessment of multiply distorted images. The algorithm is built upon several common image processing blocks to simulate the image perceiving process of the human visual system (HVS). The FISBLIM method is not training based and the performance is robust and not database-dependent. Experimental results on the newly released LIVE multiply distorted image quality database demonstrate the effectiveness of FISBLIM as compared with mainstream full-reference and no-reference image quality metrics.


Today's demand in pavement design for a calculation method to evaluate rutting (permanent deformations) is wide and global. The new procurement methods together with functional requirements are underlining this rutting evaluation demand in different pavement materials and layers. Permanent deformation research has become more general during the last decade. VTT (the Technical Research Centre of Finland) has researched many different aspects of permanent deformations with accelerated pavement tests. Accelerated pavement tests have been conducted with the Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS-Nordic). The HVS tests have been completed with a wide triaxial test programme in laboratory. The HVS tests have shown that it is difficult to predict in advance where in the pavement rutting happens: in the subgrade or in the structural layers. A new material model based on the laboratory and HVS tests has been developed in VTT. The objective was to develop a material model for unbound materials, which is an analytical, nonlinear elasto-plastic model. The stress distribution studies of traffic load have shown that it was very important to calculate stresses in pavements with an elasto-plastic material model to avoid tensile stresses in unbound materials, especially when the asphalt layers were thin. The new material deformation model can take into account the number of the passes, the capacityof the material and its stress state. The deformations in each layer are calculated and then summed together to obtain the total rutting on the surface of the structure.


Background: Transient receptor potential melastatin 2 is a Ca2+-permeable cation channel abundantly expressed in macrophages. Trpm2−/− mice showed exacerbated infection and mortality during polymicrobial sepsis, which is associated with inefficient bacterial killing in macrophages. However, the mechanism of transient receptor potential melastatin 2 regulating bacterial killing remains unknown. Methods: Trpm2−/− mice were intraperitoneally injected with Escherichia coli. The survival rate (n = 21) and bacterial burden (n = 5) were assessed. The processes of phagosome maturation and phagosome–lysosome fusion in peritoneal macrophages were extensively studied. The impact of increasing intracellular Ca2+ concentration on bacterial clearance in macrophages (n = 3) and on survival rate of Trpm2−/− mice infected with E. coli (n = 21) was investigated. Results: Trpm2−/− mice exhibited increased mortality (85% vs. 54%; P < 0.01) and aggravated bacterial burden during E. coli sepsis. Trpm2−/− peritoneal macrophages infected with E. coli showed dampened recruitment of lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 and impaired phagosome maturation evidenced by a decrease in the accumulation of early endosome antigen 1, whereas a normal acquisition of Ras-related protein in brain 5. Increasing the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in Trpm2−/− peritoneal macrophages via ionomycin treatment facilitated early endosome antigen 1 recruitment to Ras-related protein in brain 5 and phagosomal localization of lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 and consequently enhanced bactericidal activity. Adoptive transfer of ionomycin-treated Trpm2−/− peritoneal macrophages improved bacterial clearance and survival (67% vs. 29%; P < 0.01) in Trpm2−/− mice challenged with E. coli. Conclusions: Transient receptor potential melastatin 2 plays a critical role in host defense against invading bacteria via promoting phagosome maturation through facilitation of early endosome antigen 1 recruitment.


Across the world, a multitude of efforts are being undertaken to steer the food environment towards facilitating healthier dietary choices. This paper utilizes public procurement as a powerful policy tool for the promotion of healthier food choices. In the European Union (EU), for example, Member States have developed a framework for initiatives on selected nutrients — mainly salt, sugars and fat — and, together with several food business operators and nongovernmental organizations, have committed to a roadmap for action on food product improvement. We argue that the public procurement of food and food services can further incentivize food reformulation and encourage those involved in the procurement process to consider health alongside economic, social and environmental aspects. Given the number of recipients of food and food services procured, from school children to public service employees to food bank clients, the benefits are likely to be far-reaching. EU public procurement directives offer substantial scope for health considerations while stimulating innovation. Building appropriate monitoring and evaluation efforts into the process will allow for the demonstration of widespread benefits and value for money of successful public procurement of food for health. It is time to use the power of the public purse to innovate our food environment for better health for all.


Abstract Highly ordered titania nanotube arrays were synthesised on titanium metal foil through electrochemical anodisation. The annealed samples were characterised through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The electrochemical characterisations of the arrays were done through cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses. The titania nanotube arrays exhibited a specific capacitance of 6.8 mF cm–2 at 5 mV s–1 scan rate, which is very much higher than that reported earlier. Pseudocapacitive metal oxides were deposited on these arrays forming composite supercapacitor electrodes and their supercapacitor properties were compared with same deposited on bare titanium foil substrates. Pseudocapacitive metal oxides deposited on these titania nanotube array substrates exhibited improved supercapacitor performance and stability over the same deposited on titanium foil substrates.


Regression testing is a part of the software testing activity, which is an important activity of the software development life cycle and the maintenance process. It is carried out to ensure that changes made in the fixes or any enhancement changes are not influencing the previously working functionality. Regression testing is mostly done by re-running existing test cases against the modified code to determine whether the changes affect anything. This requires a lot of cost and time, which increases as the size and the complexity of the software increases. Instead of re-running all the test cases, a number of different approaches were studied to solve regression-testing problems. There has been an explosion in the use of data mining techniques in the exploration and analysis of large quantities of data in order to discover meaningful patterns and rules. Data mining models were introduced for software testing to design a minimal set of regression tests. This helps solving regression testing problems with large-scale systems that are usually accompanied by thousands set of test cases, where it is considered impossible to re-run all of them each time a system update is applied. Therefore, data mining is investigated to handle such cases. In this paper, we investigate the different techniques proposed to solve the regression testing problems, where a comprehensive study is conducted for analysis and evaluation. We also discuss the tools presented in market for the regression testing. Finally, we present our proposed approach for regression testing using data mining techniques. The main advantage of this new approach is that it can be applied on large-scale systems having thousands of test cases. The proposed regression-testing algorithm considers time and cost constraints with no human intervention.


Two separate electrical system designs for a solar-powered vehicle built for a race across Australia in November 1987 are described. A third system for a second race in November 1990 is also described. The design of motors, motor controllers, DC-DC power converters, and maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) under a specialized set of criteria is discussed.<<ETX>>


Cattin [Cattin, P. Comment on designing scientific journals. Management Sci.25 3 295--296.] makes an interesting point in that the unstandardized comparisons made in King, Kilmann and Sochats [King, W. R., Kilmann, R. H., Sochats, K. 1978. Designing scientific journals: issues and survey results. Management Sci.24 7, March 774--784.] do not account for possible response bias or for the fact, as pointed out in the original paper, that the three respondent groups were asked somewhat different questions. We have performed the standardized data analysis that he suggests.


Background: Hypothyroidism is one of the most common causes of preventable intellectual disability and is common in preterm infants. Some studies have reported that developmental delay is still high in these patients despite appropriate treatment. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the short-term neurodevelopmental outcome of preterm infants with thyroid dysfunction. Methods: This cohort study included 50 preterm infants with thyroid dysfunction requiring levothyroxine treatment (case group) and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy preterm infants with normal thyroid tests (control group). The patients were followed, and Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) (including five domains) were filled out at 6 and 12 months to evaluate the short-term neurodevelopmental outcome. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in gestational age, sex, and birth weight between the two groups (P-values = 0.648, 0.756, and 0.866, respectively). A total number of 4 (8%) and 7 (14%) of the case group and 1 (2.85%) and 2 (5.71%) of the control group had a possible neurodevelopmental delay based on the low score in at least one domain of ASQ at 6 and 12 months of age (P-values = 0.321 and 0.222, respectively). Treated hypothyroidism was not significantly associated with higher impaired neurodevelopmental outcomes (P-value = 0.236, Odd Ratio: 2.686, 95%CI: 0.523 - 13.787). Conclusions: In this study, the risk of neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants with hypothyroidism was similar to that of healthy preterm infants. Thus, these findings may confirm the adequacy of levothyroxine replacement therapy in preventing neurodevelopmental delay.


The objective of this paper is to describe a new data reduction method for measurement of aspheric surface shape with complementary annular subaperture interferometric method. The approach begins with applying least-square method to estimate the misalignments of each subaperture measurement in the local coordinates and then subtracts the nominal aspheric prescription with the analytical formula. Each subaperture data removed misalignments and nominal surface is represented with the corresponding function defined at discrete points. According to the complementary of the adjacent subapertures, each normalized subaperture data is properly scaled and shifted into the global coordinates. The combination data is further analyzed by the local interpolation and the global Zernike fitting. The experiment results show that the performance on the reconstruction accuracy, computational efficiency and characterizing the higher spatialfrequency information of the new reduction method is better than that of the previously reported reconstruction algorithm with Zernike annular polynomials and matrix method.


During anoxia the mammalian brain undergoes hyper‐excitability and cell death while the common goldfish (Carassius auratus) is anoxia tolerant and by suppressing electrical activity of the brain, prevents excitotoxic cell death. This mechanism in goldfish is not fully understood however they may rely on neurotransmitters and neuromodulators to suppress energy consumption during anoxia. In our experiment we investigated the possible roles of γ‐amino butyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, in goldfish telencephalon neurons during anoxia. Utilizing whole‐cell and perforated patch clamp recording techniques, we found that with anoxia, membrane potential in inhibitory stellate neurons and excitatory pyramidal neurons increased; however, stellate cells became more depolarized and generated action potentials while the pyramidal neurons showed suppressed electrical activity. To further investigate the importance of GABA in anoxic survival, we blocked the GABAA receptors during anoxia using an antagonist (gabazine, 25μM). Gabazine significantly suppresses neuronal activity in stellate neurons and increased action potential firing in the pyramidal cells, suppressing the anoxic response in these neurons. Since membrane potential depolarized with anoxia, we applied GABA (5mM) to both cell types during normoxia and measured changes in membrane potential. We calculated the GABA reversal potential (EGABA) and observed that with anoxia, membrane potential shifts towards a depolarizing EGABA. We were able to conclude that GABA release during anoxia significantly suppresses neuronal activity and increases anoxic survival. This is an example of natural adaptive mechanism in goldfish which could also be investigated in mammalian brain as a protective mechanism against anoxic injuries.


Preliminary material part having optical fiber means is composed of a capillary and fiber length, the length of capillary tube made of glass or crystallized glass, fixing the optical fiber length within the bore of the capillary tube with an adhesive. Full-length material was several times more than the preliminary light device part. Making a plurality of short fibers by cutting the capillary tube with the prepared material. Then, by polishing both end faces each having a capillary of the optical fiber, to obtain an optical device component.


The charge transfer reaction between Amikacin and alizarin red in water solution was investigated by spectrophotometry.At room temperature,Amikacin could react with alizarin red to form a 1:1 complex in the presence of water,and its maximum absorption wavelength is at 520 nm.The apparent molar absorptivity of complex is 1.44×103 L·mol-1·cm-1 at 520 nm.The Beer's Law is obeyed in the range of 5×10-5 mol/L~6×10-4 mol/L of Amikacin.The linear regression equation is A=0.23+1439.5c (mol/L) with a linear correlation coefficient 0f 0.9992 and the RSD of six determination is 0.31%.The recovery is 97.6 %~101.6 %.The proposed method with simple and rapid has been applied to the determination of Amikacin in sample with satisfactory results.


Automatic assembly in the small world presents many challenges. In order to fulfill precise measurement with limitation of vision field, diversity and severe surface condition of miniature parts, a two-layered architecture with operator interaction is proposed. These two layers specify for user and developer of the assembly application respectively. Based on part's feature, the former adjusts vision parameters with the interface of dynamic illumination control and the later develops reasonable feature extraction strategy for measurement of part's position and orientation with an image processing tool. With general image processing algorithms, it can not only be applied by itself, but also be integrated into an assembly system to facilitate developer to adjust image processing strategy. This operator interaction function can improve the accuracy of recognizing and locating part, promote the success ratio of product assembly and shorter the period of software development as well.


Joseph Pivato's and Giulia de Gasperi's 2018 collection is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in a field largely dominated by American theorists and schools of thought. Consisting of various contributions mostly from and about Canada, Comparative Literature for the New Century brings new voices and perspectives on the many theoretical, methodological, and critical debates that animate our discipline today. Although the collection is not exclusively concerned with Canadian matters, both de Gasperi's introduction and Pivato's review of the field in his own chapter make it clear that their aim as editors was to put forward a Canadian approach to Comparative Literature, one that most importantly distances itself from "American Agendas" (De Gasperi 4). The book implicitly argues that, in light of their experiences of official multiculturalism and institutional bilingualism, Canadian scholars are more attuned to questions of language, translation, belonging, and identity. In contradistinction to America's "unilingual focus on theory" (Pivato 47) and in response to globalization


Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of death, stroke/systemic embolism and heart failure (HF). Plasma natriuretic peptide (NP) level is an important prognostic marker in HF patients. However, little is known regarding the prognostic significance of plasma NP level in AF patients without HF.

 The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between plasma NP level and clinical outcomes such as all-cause death, stroke/systemic embolism and HF hospitalization during follow-up period in AF patients without HF.

 The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective survey of AF patients in our city. The inclusion criterion of the registry is the documentation of AF at 12-lead electrocardiogram or Holter monitoring at any time, and there are no exclusion criteria. We started to enroll patients from March 2011, and follow-up data were available for 4,466 patients by the end of November 2019. From the registry, we excluded 1,220 patients without a pre-existing HF (defined as having one of the following; prior hospitalization for HF, New York Heart Association class ≥2, or left ventricular ejection fraction <40%). Among 3,246 AF patients without HF, we investigated 1,189 patients with the data of plasma BNP (n=401) or N-terminal pro-BNP (n=788) level at the enrollment. We divided the patients according to the quartile of each plasma BNP or NT-pro BNP level and compared the backgrounds and outcomes between these 4 groups stratified by plasma NP level.

 Of 1,189 patients, the mean age was 72.1±10.2 years, 454 (38%) were female and 684 (58%) were paroxysmal AF. The mean CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc score were 1.6±1.1 and 2.9±1.5, respectively. Oral anticoagulants were prescribed in 671 (56%) at baseline. The median (interquartile range) BNP and N-terminal pro-BNP level were 84 (38, 176) and 500 (155, 984) pg/ml, respectively. Patients with high plasma NP level were older, and demonstrated lower prevalence of paroxysmal AF, higher CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores and higher prevalence of chronic kidney disease and oral anticoagulants prescription (all P<0.01). A total of 165 all-cause death, 114 stroke/systemic embolism and 103 HF hospitalization occurred during the median follow-up period of 5.0 years. Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that higher plasma NP level was significantly associated with the incidences of all-cause death, stroke/systemic embolism and HF hospitalization in AF patients without HF (Figure 1A). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that plasma NP level could stratify the risk of clinical outcomes even after adjustment by type of AF, CHA2DS2-VASc score, chronic kidney disease and oral anticoagulant prescription (Figure 1B).

 Plasma NP level is a significant prognostic marker for all-cause death, stroke/systemic embolism and HF hospitalization in AF patients without HF, suggesting the importance of measuring plasma NP level in AF patients even without HF.
 Figure 1

 Type of funding source: None


Titanium dioxide exists in three different crystal lattices, anatase, rutile, and brookite. Normally, a stochastic distribution of two titanium-oxides (rutile and anatase) is present on the surface of the titanium, and this is responsible for the properties of the material. The anatase coating releases, under UV irradiation, free radicals such asOH, O2-, HO2-, and H2O2. This potent oxidizing power characteristically results in the lysis of bacteria and other organic substances. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bone response to implants made of titanium alloy or coated with a new combination of anatase and Bactercline® product. This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy. A total of 47 implants with 2 different surfaces (an acid-etched and sandblasted surface-Control; and an acid-etched and sandblasted surface coated with an anatase-Bactercline® solution-Test) (Blasted Wrinkled Surface - BWS) (Dental Tech, Misinto, Italy) were used. In the period between July 2009 and June 2010, 23 patients (8 females and 15 males, median age 51 ±13 years, min 27 max 72 years) were operated and 47 implants were inserted. The mean follow-up was 7 ± 3 months, min 3 max 15 months. Lost fixtures and peri-implant bone resorption were considered as predictors of clinical outcomes. Pearson Chi-square text was used. No implant was lost. The average bone resorption around implant was 0.34 mm (0.341xx mm for 23 standard and 0.338 mm for 24 Bactercline® coated implants), and no statistical difference was detected (p value =0.295).These preliminary results shown that no adverse effects on osseointegration were present and no statistically significant differences Test and Control implants after a mean of 7 months follow-up.


Patent trolling is a serious legal problem. In addressing patent trolling, disclosure requirements and periodic reporting standards will be critical to minimizing the costs of this controversial practice. Patent trolling, at its most problematic, generally refers to patent infringement allegations made by non-practicing entities (NPEs) which produce essentially no products or services except in connection with the buying and selling of patent rights. The targets of these patent "trolls" often lack basic information that is relevant to their evaluation of the claims against them, and policymakers know too little about specialized patent assertion entities and their impact on innovation and technology. For these reasons, both are hindered in their ability to chart an intelligent course in response to NPE infringement allegations. However, if NPEs were held responsible for frivolous litigation by implementation of stricter disclosure requirements, and if a mandatory registration and reporting regime for NPEs were imposed, the costs associated with trolling might be reduced.


There's a great opportunity of studying some underutilized forage in the natural pasture which had therapeutic properties. When comparing the pasture's species list with African medicinal plants list, we had five forage, which have strong therapeutic properties. The leafy stems and leaves of Boerhavia diffusa are cut as a fodder for sheep and also used as medicinal plant in Asia and in Africa. Bridelia ferruginea is well known for its pharmacological properties. It's also used as forage for sheep. In many parts of Africa and Asia the medicinal properties of Chamaecrista absus are used. In the Sahel and in Nigeria it is well liked by livestock, used to make silage and favor growth. In veterinary medicine Detarium microcarpum's leaves and roots are used to treat diarrhea in cattle in southern Mali, and in Benin to treat constipation and fever in Niger. Khaya senegalensis is used in veterinary medicine. Its leaves were also used as fodder with low nutritional value. This article have choose to present those five forages, their use and their properties in the goal to offer a strategy to completely solve the problem of poor feeding and health management of ruminant livestock.


An all DPLL (All-Digital Phase Locked Loop) based on fuzzy PI control algorithm is proposed in this paper. On analyzing system performance of a second-order PI control based PLL (Phase Locked Loop), the relationship between noise bandwidth with PI control parameters is derived, and fuzzy controller of the system is designed. Under the Matlab/Simulink® environment, system-level PLL is directly modeled by using DSP Builder®, and then is represented by using VHDL. Software simulation confirms the correctness of the design. The PLL can automatically adjust noise bandwidth according its working state, and it is characteristic of its fast lock speed, small phase jitter, outstanding anti-interference performance and prone to integration and so on.


About 40–70% of the applied urea fertilizer is lost to the environment, causing serious pollution. Controlled-release technology is useful in increasing the efficiency of fertilizer urea as well as in checking environment pollution. Four laboratory-level controlled-release urea fertilizers were formulated based on polymers which are soil conditioners and then evaluated for their slow-release property. Urea was coated with the copolymer of acrylamide and divinylbenzene/N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide /tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate or pentaerythritol triacrylate and sealant materials (wax and polystyrene). Urea coated with co-polymer of acrylamide-tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate was found to be having a better slow-release property among the systems prepared. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


1. The applicability of equation (1), obtained by the author, to the diffusion of many disperse dyes in the aqueous dyeing of polyester rolled film was investigated using the data published in literature.where aT, D and T are shift factors, diffusion coefficient and absolute temperature, respectively. The subscript s indicates the values at a refference temperature. The square of the diffusion layer, l, was used in place of the diffusion coefficient. It was found that eq. (1) is applicable to the diffusion of many dyes practically used, and that log ls2 decreases with the increase in the molecular size of the dyes.2. Eq. (1) was also found to be applicable to the dyeing of polyester in tetrachloroethylene (TCE) as it was in aqueous dyeing. The increase in the diffusion coefficient and the smaller dependence on temperature in the TCE dyeing than in the aqueous dyeing were explained by the lowering of Ts due to the lowering of the glass transition point of the polyester in TCE.


ABSTRACT The PYD has emerged as the predominant Kurdish political party in Syria soon after the outbreak of the civil war. Why and how did the PYD, established only in 2003, eclipse other Kurdish groups? This article addresses this historical puzzle and argues that conventional arguments that explain the rise of the PYD primarily as a function of its coercive practices with the complicity of the Assad regime are incomplete. Deriving insights from studies focusing on transnational dynamics of civil wars, this article argues that PYD's transborder linkages that provided the organization with crucial advantages over its co-ethnic rival organizations were central to its success. The empirical research involves several original empirical data sources including (a) biographical information of more than a thousand Syrians who joined the PKK since the late 1970s, and (b) biographical information of 785 individuals from Turkey who fought with the PYD since 2013.


We study surface waves in a circular channel placed on a rotating table. The tank can rotate with constant velocity and/or can oscillate. For a glycerin‐water‐solution with high viscosity, oscillation amplitudes about 20 cm and frequencies of 0.5 Hz, we observe surface patterns generated by a parametric instability. The circular geometry of the channel assures in a natural way the periodic lateral boundary conditions often used in the numerical simulations. Up to our knowledge this is the first experiment which evidences the horizontal Faraday instability in a container without walls blocking the flow in the oscillation direction. Experimental and numerical results are compared and discussed.


RS code is a kind of linear block code. Due to its characteristics such as high capability in error correction, easy realization and so on, RS code has been widely applied in wireless communication systems. In this paper, the algorithms of RS encoding and decoding are introduced firstly, then they are applied to CCK(Complementary Code Keying) modulation system which based on 802.11b standard. The simulation results demonstrate that the applications of RS code can effectively reduce the error probability of CCK system over Gaussian white noise channel.


The first operation of a slotted third-harmonic gyrotron traveling-wave amplifier is reported. The low-magnetic-field moderate-voltage gyrotron amplifier's 62-keV 2.5-A /spl upsi//sub /spl perp////spl upsi//sub /spl par//=1.2 axis-encircling electron beam was supplied by a gyroresonant RF accelerator. The 10-GHz 1.3-kG single-section slotted third-harmonic amplifier is stable and yielded 12.5 dB of small signal gain with a bandwidth of 2.5%. The experiment was performed as a scaled proof-of-principle test of the 95-GHz multisection slotted amplifier under development at CPI (formerly Varian).


In this article is shown the purification method for oily wastewaters such as storm run-off, chemical wastewaters, oily water-emulsion layer, filtrate from landfills of solid domestic and industrial wastes, using dolomitic powder.


Semantic net `sholva' contains more than 150 000 records for which there was sufficient agreement among annotators. Indvidual words are labeled in the following categories:
person, person / individual, event and substance.


Transition from centralized to market economy has led to deep restructuring of urban land use. It is particularly important for the shift between the two trends: deindustrialization of the 1990s and economic tertiarization of the 2000s. Post-communist built-up space dynamics has manifested in two phases: a) before 2000, with industrial destructuring and insular appearance of commercial spaces within big residential zones; b) after 2000, with extending residential areas on city's periphery and in suburbs, as well as with logistic and commercial facilities in sub-and peri-urban areas. Dynamics of built-up space has been evaluated using spectral mixture analysis of remotely sensed data, extracted from two Landsat5TM images (acquired in 1988 and 2010). Comparative analysis of the results has led to identification of the areas with increasing and decreasing density of built-up spaces. This analysis was realized in order to verify the hypothesis, according to which peri-central areas are more preferable for new buildings, even when there is enough free space in central area. These results, reflecting the dynamics of built-up spaces in Bucharest city, are the effect of certain processes, frequently chaotic, reflected on the urban landscape.


This paper discusses a theoretical discussion about the different development models adopted by South Korea and Chile during the twentieth century, and their long-term results in the contemporary moment. To this end, different theoretical analyzes regarding economic development models will be exposed, as well as the contexts and policies adopted by both countries and their current results. To give a more scientific character to the comparison, the Multicriteria Methods of Support for Edge Decision Making and Copeland will be applied. The criteria adopted in applying the methods will be the HDI, the balance of trade, the percentage of industry's share in GDP and the number of patent applications / applications by residents of both countries. From this analysis and its scientific basis, it is intended to contribute to the literature on the theme of economic development. It aims to enable a new approach to the subject, which may be discussed and studied by other researchers of the subject.


Aiming at the problem of original signal reconstruction based on one-dimensional (1D) compressive sensing (CS), a gradient descent sparse adaptive matching pursuit (GDSAMP) algorithm is proposed for 1D sparse signal. By setting the augmented lagrange function, the process of signal reconstruction is transformed to the unconstrained optimization problem. The iteration procedure of algorithm includes three steps: the gradient descent searching based on total deviations of one-order and two-order, the adaptive cutting on sparse coefficients and the improvement of least square projection. Based on the above steps, an algorithm framework is designed for recognizing and locating sub-pattern signal on large signal sets. Experimental results show that the GDSAMP algorithm has better efficiency on reconstructing original signal. At the same time, it can quickly locate the matching interval of sub-pattern signal on large signal sets. The researching results can be used in signal retrieval, voice recognition, image recognition and computer vision, … etc.


ALTHOUGH phenylmercapturic acid has not been isolated there are indications that benzene is excreted partly in that form in dogs [Callow & Hele, 1926]. Bourne & Young [1934] have isolated oc-naphthylmercapturic acid from the urine of rabbits and Stekol [1935] from the urine of dogs fed on naphthalene. It has been shown that anthracene is excreted as different stereoisomerides of dihydroxydihydroanthracene [Boyland & Levi, 1935] and it was stated at that time that there were indications of anthrylmercapturic acid in the urine of rats and rabbits fed on anthracene. We have now isolated this mercapturic acid and determined its properties and structure.


In this paper a new image denoising algorithm is presented based on independent component analysis(ICA) and nonsubsampled contourlet transform(NSCT), taking full advantage of NSCT's strong points of translation-invariant, multidirection-selectivity and ICA's strong point of higher order statistical property, then a noisy image is denoised by maximum likelihood estimation of the noisy version of the ICA model. The simulation results have shown that the performance of the above method is superior both in signal to noise ratio(SNR) and edge preservation. This algorithm is suitable for defects monitoring systems in tube-type bottle.


Objective: To assess the effectiveness and durability of resin infiltration (ICON, DMG, Hamburg, Germany) in the management of post orthodontic white spot lesions. Material & Methods: A clinical trial was conducted among 30 children who had undergone fixed orthodontic therapy presented with white spot lesions (WSLs) on maxillary or mandibular incisors and canines after debonding. Identification of WSLs was done with International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) II criteria. The clinical photographs recorded were used to measure the size of lesion. The color assessment of the lesion and sound adjacent enamel was recorded by using spectrophotometer. Area of the lesion was calculated using Image analyzing software. The selected samples were treated with Resin infiltration- Icon, DMG, Germany, The WSLs were evaluated immediately following resin infiltration, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Results: There was significant reduction in lesion area, and improvement in color of white spot lesions treated with resin infiltration. Conclusion: Resin Infiltration have desired and durable esthetic improvement in terms of reduction in the area as well as color of post orthodontic white spot lesions.


Human activities and health are significantly influenced by solar activity. The sunspot number is one of the most commonly used measures of solar activity. The solar cycle's quasi-periodic nature makes it an excellent choice for time series forecasting. Four models include three singular models, consisting of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), and Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), as well as a hybrid model were implemented to forecast maximum sunspot number of cycles 25 and 26. The hyperparameters of the singular models were optimized using Bayesian optimization. The LSTM-ARIMA hybrid model was able to achieve the best performance. The outstanding results of the LSTM-ARIMA model shows the potential of hybrid methods in improving the overall performance. Moreover, the LSTM model was able to outperform the ARIMA model, which demonstrates the ability of LSTM networks in learning from time-series data. The final model forecasts a peak sunspot number of 137.04 for Solar Cycle 25 in September 2024 and 164.3 for Solar Cycle 26 in December 2034, which is comparable to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) prediction of 134.4 in October 2024 and 161.2 in December 2034.


The invention discloses a pixel driving circuit of an organic light-emitting diode, which comprises a first switch, a first capacitor, a first transistor, a second switch, a second capacitor and an organic light-emitting diode. The operation of the pixel driving circuit is implemented by steps of reconfiguration, clinic voltage compensation, data writing and light emission driving. The pixel driving circuit can compensate the transistors for clinic voltages, so the driving current of the organic light-emitting diode is only associated with a data voltage and a reference voltage.


Abstract The direct esterification, thioesterification and amidation of cyclic phosphinic acids, such as 1-hydroxy-3-phospholene 1-oxides, 1-hydroxy-phospholane 1-oxides and a 1-hydroxy-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexahydrophosphinine 1-oxide, which do not take place on conventional heating, were carried out under MW conditions in excess of the alcohol, thioalcohol and amine, respectively. The cyclic phosphinates were also prepared by MW-assisted alkylating esterification of the corresponding phosphinic acids in solid–liquid phase. Using alkyl halides of normal reactivity, the application of a phase transfer catalyst was also beneficial. In addition, MW-assisted Diels–Alder reactions, so-called inverse Wittig-type reactions furnishing β-oxophosphoranes, a few kinds of phospha-Michael additions leading to precursors of bidentate P-ligands, and a few Kabachnik–Fields condensations affording α-aminophosphonates and α-aminophosphine oxides are discussed. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


or weak, rich or poor--can afford to overlook its geographical location while determining its foreign policy. In fact, of all the factors conditioning a country's foreign policy its geographical position is the most important, because it is the most permanent and least variable. It is primarily geography that determines a state's war potential, influences its defence and alliance systems, distinguishes its likely friends from its potential enemies, and finally determines its role in international


Rehabilitation Counseling Implications Almost by definition, individuals with learning disabilities (LD) have experienced a history of difficulty achieving at a level consistent with their potential in such areas as academics, receptive and/or expressive language, memory, and social and vocational adjustment (Geist & McGrath, 1983; Fafard & Haubrich, 1981; Cox, 1977). A history of struggling to achieve and frequent failure almost inevitably impacts on the self-image of adults with learning disabilities, and rehabilitation professionals are often faced with the cumulative effects of this history (Quinn, 1984). Even if adults with LD can adequately perform required job tasks, they must still be able to function adequately in a personal, social, and emotional context both on and off the job or failure may be inevitable (RSA, 1990). Often individuals with LD develop both overt and covert maladaptive ways of coping with the stresses encountered during their life. Conversely, others with similar stressors appear to cope without significant difficulty. Consequently, an understanding of variables that may influence coping and adjustment in individuals with LD would be useful to rehabilitation professionals providing services to this population. There is a need to develop a better understanding of "the relationship between learning disabilities and adult psychosocial maladjustments, including substance abuse, depression, and suicides" (National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, p. 174, 1987). Relatively few studies appear in the literature which focus on personality and adjustment in adult populations with learning disabilities (Spreen, 1987). Since such research has dealt primarily with adolescent and childhood populations (Glosser & Koppell, 1987; Weintraub & Mesulam, 1983), the findings may be of limited usefulness in understanding adult populations with LD (Polloway, Smith, & Patton, 1984; Patton & Polloway, 1982). Lack of information about the adult psychosocial adjustment of these clients exacerbate the rehabilitation counselor's problem in ensuring appropriate planning and subsequent placement. Porter and Rourke (1985) discuss several major problems with previous research in the area of learning disabilities, including variability in the operational definition of LD, failure to consider potentially confounding developmental issues as well as variability in the assessment of adjustment. They also discuss research limitations in terms of the "Homogeneity Hypothesis" (Porter & Rourke, p. 261, 1985), in which undifferentiated groups of subjects with LD are compared with a non LD sample. Within group differences are often obscured with such an approach and there is also the concomitant risk of developing overgeneralized assumptions about the relationship between learning disabilities and the parameter in question. Additionally, the predominant focus in research studies has been on psychopathology (Bigler, 1989; Livingston, 1985; Rourke, Young, & Leenars, 1989; Spreen, 1988) of persons with LD often being drawn from clinical settings. Typically the instrument of choice in measuring personality has been the Minnesota Personality Inventory (MMPI) which is primarily a measure of psychopathology (Ackerman, McGrew, & Dykman, 1987). Often research studies on personality lack sufficient external validation or demonstration to document that the maladaptive behaviors actually exist. Very few studies have focused on "normal" personality traits in a LD sample. Normal personality traits may be more useful in describing how such an individual perceives oneself, how others view the individual, and how the person copes with everyday situations. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model for considering the role of personality in providing rehabilitation services to adults with learning disabilities. Supportive data for this model are reported from a study that evaluates (1) the "homogeneity hypotheses" in terms of a single LD personality type, and (2) the relation between personality types and self-rated problems of adjustment. …


Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted as an important tool to assess the value of travel time (VOT). During the past decades Prospect Theory was developed. This behavioral-economic theory is largely based on findings from cognitive psychology. Heuristic judgment is presumed to play a crucial role in the valuation of attributes of choice options but may lead to biases when appropriate information is relatively inaccessible. Prospect Theory in a broad, extended sense, including findings from the related heuristics-and-biases literature, might offer an improved understanding of the outcomes of stated preference surveys aimed at the valuation of travel time. This paper reexamines some stated preference surveys of travel time-cost tradeoffs, evaluates potential biases that might be caused by the experimental designs and shows that the outcomes are consistent with the premises of Prospect Theory.


A metrical study of 91 human hyoid bones constituting 51 male and 40 female hyoid bones obtained from medicolegal postmortems as well as dissected cadavers from the department of Anatomy was conducted. In our study we have tried to evaluate some of the tested metrical parameters in sexing the hyoid bones.


This paper characterises the use of activity trackers as "lived informatics". This characterisation is contrasted with other discussions of personal informatics and the quantified self. The paper reports an interview study with activity tracker users. The study found: people do not logically organise, but interweave various activity trackers, sometimes with ostensibly the same functionality; that tracking is often social and collaborative rather than personal; that there are different styles of tracking, including goal driven tracking and documentary tracking; and that tracking information is often used and interpreted with reference to daily or short term goals and decision making. We suggest there will be difficulties in personal informatics if we ignore the way that personal tracking is enmeshed with everyday life and people's outlook on their future.


Background and Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Serbia has faced devastating losses related to increased mortality rates among men and women of all ages. With 14 registered cases of maternal death in 2021, it became obvious that pregnant women are faced with a serious threat that jeopardises their life as well as the life of their unborn child. Studying the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal outcomes is vivifying and stimulating for many professionals and decision-makers, and knowing the contextual characteristics can facilitate the application of literature findings in practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to present findings of maternal mortality in Serbia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infected and critically ill pregnant women. Methods: Clinical status and pregnancy-related features were analysed for a series of 192 critically ill pregnant women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to the treatment outcome, pregnant women were divided in two study groups: a group of survivors and a group of deceased patients. Results: A lethal outcome was recorded in seven cases. Pregnant women in the deceased group were presenting at admission more commonly with X-ray–confirmed pneumonia, a body temperature of >38 °C, cough, dyspnea, and fatigue. They were more likely to have a progression of the disease, to be admitted to intensive care unit, and be dependent from mechanical ventilation, as well as to have nosocomial infection, pulmonary embolism, and postpartum haemorrhage. On average, they were in their early third trimester of pregnancy, presenting more commonly with gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. Conclusions: Initial clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as dyspnea, cough, fatigue, and fever, could be a potent factors in risk stratification and outcome prediction. Prolonged hospitalization, ICU admission, and associated risk of hospital-acquired infections require strict microbiological surveillance and should be a constant reminder of rational antibiotics use. Understanding and identification of risk factors associated with poor maternal outcomes among pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 should warn medical professionals of potentially unwanted outcomes and can be used for organising an individualised treatment for a pregnant patient's specific needs, including a guide to necessary consultations with medical specialists in various fields.


These files contain the sending messages behavior.The columns of the files show row numbers, message sender's user id (uid1), message recipient's user id (uid2), the number of characters (cv), and date index (i).Each row shows each day data of the combination of uid1 and uid2.uid1 was determined based on the different rules of uid2. Please cite the following paper when using the dataset. - Takano M and Fukuda I (2017) Limitations of time resources in human relationships determine social structures. Palgrave Communications. 3:17014 doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2017.14.


Emissivity is a crucial parameter for a quantitative thermography measurement. It influences measured temperature using an infrared camera. Typically, the emissivity is handled by infrared camera software but often for more complex tasks—e.g., setting and controlling the emissivity of individual pixels—a custom-made solution must be created. This can be especially beneficial for active thermography measurement and dynamic building inspection by infrared thermography as many surfaces of interest with different emissivity occur in thermographic data. In literature, one technique for suppressing emissivity occurs most often—the technique used by infrared camera manufacturers. Nonetheless, two other techniques are marginally mentioned. The most complex technique is the one used by infrared camera manufacturers, which allows many parameters to be set, but it is difficult to incorporate it into own solution. In contrast, the second one can be adapted easily, and it uses the relationship between emissivity and the fourth power of temperatures. The third one is a scarcely used technique that occurs for some active thermography measurements, in which a thermographic sequence in counts is divided by a frame when temperature equilibrium is reached. The main goal of this article is to compare these individual techniques from the point of view of the accuracy and possibility of use. The experiment showed that all three methods can be successfully used for the suppression of emissivity influence.


The Laffite Study Group ("LSG") was founded in 1975 "to bring together those people interested in Jean Laffite's role in American history, folklore, and literature" and "to encourage original research and facilitate greater communication among researchers."


Considering treatment modality , timing and surgeons for the obliteration of unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCA), there seems to be a wide variety of treatment options available in modern neurosurgery . UCA them − selves are not a single pathological entity, but rather they are complex vascular lesions that range from small , inci − dentally fbund asymptomatic aneurysms to giant thrombosed lesions  presenting life threatening brainstem compression . Treatment strategies for UCA should be determined epending on individual pathological factors such as aneurismal characteristics and patient background and their philosophy for lif 合harbouring UCA . In this article, the authors focused on the surgical treatment fdr small asymptomatic UCA and discussed their current status and hlture perspective . Especially f6r incidentally found small asymptomatic UCA not suitable f6r interven − tional treatment , current state − of −the−art surgical techniques and supporting devices such as intraoperative


This paper briefly introduces deep seismic sounding results from strong earthquake regions and volcanic regions of Northeast China,North China,East China and South China.It reveals main crustal deep tectonic background in these regions.The analysis shows that several structural feature: deep fault in crust,the low velocity layer in the middle and lower crust,discrepancy of velocity structure,anomaly of velocity ratio,differ of Poisson ratio and lithology,top of upper mantle upheaval,larger fluctuation of Moho interface,complex crust-mantle transitional belt,detachment structure and deep magmation,are closely related with the formation and occurrence of strong earthquake in Eastern China.


The matter of this diploma work is a palliative care about seniors. The work consists of theoretical part and practical part. The theoretical part is focused on characteristics and description of age, palliative care and quality of life. The practical part contains qualitative research which deals with analysis of quality of life of seniors who are palliativly looked after. The research was realized by getting empirical data from questioned people, seniors. The method used for getting data was an interview.


We design and implement a novel embedded software engine, called EUI, to understand user intents from usage data within mobile devices. By developing the EUI engine in mobile devices, we expect to move towards "proactive" devices for mobile personalized services. To this end, we seek to embed the Open Directory Project (ODP) into mobile devices, and build a robust classifier with the embedded ODP. Thus, the EUI engine classifies the usage data within mobile devices into some ODP categories. Our implementation handles some challenging issues in embedding the ODP and building a robust classifier. The demonstration shows that our implementation understands the semantics of the usage data effectively.


System of a draw-out shaft (220) and a roller blind (100) for covering a surface with a contour, wherein the blind (100) comprising: - extract material (110) having a first end (110-E1) and the first end is preferably opposite second end (110-E2); - a winding shaft (120) for winding and unwinding the extract material (110), wherein the winding shaft is secured to the first end of the extract material; and - an elastically formed extract rod (130), which is attached to the second end of the extraction material (110); wherein the pull rod (130) in on the winding shaft (120) wound extract material (110) is disposed in the draw-out shaft (220); wherein the pull rod (130) is formed so elastic that it di- given suitable force and at least partially unwound extract material (110) corresponding to the contour of the extract material ranges from dessem second end (110-E2) or three-dimensionally deformed, wherein the draw-out shaft (220) is straight, and wherein the ...


By building on theories of inclusive teaching and on cultural critic Richard Dyer's (1997) observation that many of us in Western Europe and the United States are "coloured white" and therefore "people of color," this project sought to determine how teachers should communicate with their heterosexual white male students to avoid ostracizing them as oppressive political forces. Three focusgroup sessions of these students, aged 18 to 33, centered on their perspectives of the amount of diversity education covered in their classes, the presentation of the material, and its impact on their lives. Afterwards, they critically analyzed five poems critiquing masculinity, sexuality, race, and gender. With this data, I consider how teachers might discuss texts that explore the similarities and differences among these constructs in a heterogeneous classroom. This research relies on the philosophy that inclusive teaching includes all populations and serves to validate the lives, cultures, and experiences of diverse groups, including straight white men.