Introduction: Mistreatment by healthcare providers disproportionately affects people of color in the United States (US). The goal of this study is to adapt the global Person-Centered Maternity Care (PCMC) scale to the experiences of people of color in the US using a community-engaged approach. Methods: We conducted expert reviews to improve content validity and cognitive interviews with potential respondents were conducted to assess relevance, comprehension, and comprehensiveness. Surveys of 297 postpartum people, 82% of whom identified as Black, were used for psychometric analysis in which we assessed construct and criterion validity and reliability. The University of California, San Francisco, California Preterm Birth Initiative Community Advisory Board (CAB), which consists of community members, community-based health workers, and social service providers in Northern California, provided input during all stages of the project. Results: Through an iterative process of factor analysis, discussions with the CAB, and a prioritization survey, we eliminated items that performed poorly in psychometric analysis, yielding a 35-item PCMC-US scale with sub-scales for dignity and respect, communication and autonomy, and responsive and supportive care. The Cronbach alpha for the full scale is 0.95 and for the sub-scales is 0.87. Standardized summative scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher PCMC. Correlations with related measures indicated high criterion validity. Conclusions: The 35-item PCMC-US scale and its sub-scales have high validity and reliability in a sample of predominantly Black women. This scale provides a tool to support efforts to reduce the disparities in birth outcomes among people of color.


Smoke filling characteristics are discussed using the zone model, and some experiments were conducted in the Large Space Fire Experimental Hall co constructed between USTC and PolyU, HK. The comparison between experimental results and numerical calculation shows that the development of smoke layers in atria can still be calculated with the zone model. The velocity of smoke filling in a 27m high atriium is about 0.2 m/s at the beginning stage of fire; and the smoke will fill of the whole atrium in about 8 minutes.


The purpose of the Sulfate Regional Experiment (SURE) is to develop an understanding of the relationships between sulfur oxide emissions and ambient air quality. In this context, air quality is measured in terms of the concentrations of sulfur dioxide and the water soluble sulfates suspended in the ambient air. This report presents the data and reviews the analytical procedures which support design of the SURE. The design itself is Volume 2 of this report.


150 words) A growing literature documents the importance of physical attractiveness in romantic, marital, and sexual relationships, but little is known about how attractiveness functions in intimate relationships in later life. We use over 50 years of data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to examine the connections between adolescent physical attractiveness and intimate relationships in later life. We find that adolescent attractiveness facilitates sexual activity by increasing the probability of having access to potential sexual partners, but attractiveness is not related to sexual activity among those with partners. In addition, we find some evidence of higher payoffs to attractiveness for women than men. These findings highlight the importance of relationship context and gender for later life sexual activity and begin to explicate the social pathways through which factors across the life course influence sexual activity in later life. ***PRELIMINARY RESULTS*** ***PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE OR CITE WITHOUT AUTHORS' PERMISSION*** Introduction A frequently-made claim is that we live in a society that is obsessed with looks. Beyond the emphasis on beauty recurrent in popular culture, a variety of research has established that favorable physical characteristics are rewarded in a variety of ways, such as via a wage premium (e.g., Fikkan and Rothblum 2012; Hamermesh and Biddle 1994; Scholz and Sicinski 2013). The role of attractiveness generates perhaps the greatest personal consternation when we consider how it matters to our capacity to establish intimate relationships, including sexual activity and marriage. Indeed, several recent studies have examined the implications of measures of attractiveness for intimate relationships (e.g., McClintock 2014; Weitzman and Conley 2014) and document a "love premium" for beauty as well. While intriguing, these studies generate additional questions, particularly how sustained the advantages of attractiveness are. Does attractiveness early in life have an ongoing effect decades later? Or do these physical benefits erode and lose significance to our prospects for intimate relationships as we age? Is our face truly our fortune? To address these questions, we use data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. This data allows us to track if physical attractiveness at adolescence, based on ratings of high school yearbook photos, is associated with marital status and sexual activity later in life, as the cohort enter their sixties and seventies. The richness of the data allows us to control for and model many potential covariates, such as socio-economic status and health status. The results suggest that attractiveness early in the life course has a meaningful and ongoing effect on intimate relationships even decades later. Those who were rated more attractive as adolescents were more likely to have access to sexual partners later in life. These effects are at least partly conditioned by gender, with early-life attractiveness mattering more for women. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings, and further research opportunities. Background Attractiveness and Intimate Relationships A large and growing literature documents the importance of physical traits in romantic, marital, and sexual heterosexual relationships, hereafter jointly referred to as intimate relationships. Dimensions of physical attractiveness such as facial attractiveness (McClintock 2014), height (Weitzman and Conley 2014), and weight (Fikkan and Rothblum 2012) are all associated with intimate relationships. Attractiveness is positively associated with dating (Cawley, Joyner, and Sobal 2006; Luo and Zhang 2009), cohabitation (Mukhopadhyay 2008), and marriage (Harper 2000; Weitzman and Conley 2014). Prior work also finds that dimensions of physical attractiveness are more directly linked to sexual behavior. For example, Brody (2004) found that slimness was associated with greater vaginal intercourse frequency. Attractiveness is also positively associated with number of sexual partners among young men (Bogaert and Fisher 1995; McClintock 2011). In addition, attractiveness appears to have an impact on relationships beyond their formation. Margolin and White (1987) found that perceptions of declining attractiveness of one's spouse was associated with declines in sexual interest, happiness in the sexual relationship, and increases in unfaithfulness, especially for husbands. Physical attractiveness is a salient factor for intimate relationships for a number of reasons. First, the importance of attractiveness in intimate relationships is presumably at least partially attributable to the importance of sexual activity within intimate relationships, evidenced by the positive association between attractiveness and sexual activity (Bogaert and Fisher 1995; Margolin and White 1987; McClintock 2011). In addition, biological evolutionary theories argue that traits that are traditionally considered "attractive" signal reproductive and genetic fitness as well as general good health (Buss and Schmitt 1993). Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), Jokela (2009) found that men and women who were more attractive as adolescents had more children than their less attractive counterparts, though the functional form of this association varied by gender. Interestingly, the author found that this relationship was only partially accounted for by the higher probabilities of marriage of more attractive people. However, the fact that contemporary beauty standards favor extreme thinness, which is actually linked to reduced reproductive fitness (McClintock 2011), raise questions as to the relative importance of biological versus social explanations for the importance of attractiveness in intimate relationships. A further complication of this literature is that the evidence on attractiveness and health is mixed. Using WLS data, Reither and colleagues (2009) found that a measure of adolescent facial mass was predictive of mortality in late mid-life. Another study also using WLS examined a measure of adolescent facial attractiveness independent of body mass and did not find an association with mortality (Scholz and Sicinski 2013). These mixed findings suggest variation in the relationship between attractiveness and health depending on the particular measure of attractiveness. Attractiveness ratings themselves are frequently influenced by factors such as socioeconomic background (Scholz and Sicinski 2013). Finally, as interesting as what is correlated with attractiveness is what is not. For example, attractiveness is not associated with intelligence (Feingold 1992; Scholz and Sicinski 2013), which further suggests the importance of social factors. Besides attractiveness' association with sexual attraction and its role as a signal of reproductive fitness, attractiveness may matter in intimate relationships via social pathways. A large number of studies, for example, document a wage premium for attractiveness, a wage penalty for unattractiveness—such as obesity, or both (Fikkan and Rothblum 2012; Hamermesh and Biddle 1994; Scholz and Sicinski 2013). In addition, attractiveness also has important implications for socialization and development. Attractive children and adults are evaluated more favorably than their unattractive counterparts along a variety of measures, including interpersonal competence, adjustment, and social appeal (Langlois et al. 2000). These more favorable assessments of attractive people translate into more favorable treatment, including factors such as positive interaction and help-giving (Langlois et al. 2000). Perhaps in part because of this better treatment, attractive people are less socially-anxious and socially skilled (Feingold 1992). While these psychological/noncognitive correlates of attractiveness may also play an important role in individuals' abilities to establish intimate relationships with others, the literature has largely ignored these potential pathways. This makes it difficult to assess the degree to which personality characteristics such as extraversion predict the establishment of intimate relationships independent of attractiveness, or are themselves at least partly a function of attractiveness. How Does Gender Matter in the Relationship between Attractiveness and Intimate Relationships across the Life Course? While attractiveness is valued by both men and women, biological and social theories both predict that greater emphasis will be placed on women's attractiveness than men's. A variety of empirical studies document the heightened importance of dimensions of attractiveness for women in domains such as dating relationships (Alterovitz and Medelsohn 2009), marriage (Elder 1969), and labor market outcomes (Fikkan and Rothblum 2012). Evolutionary theory posits that to the extent that attractiveness signals reproductive fitness, and women have a more limited reproductive lifespan than men, women's attractiveness will be valued more highly than men's (Buss and Schmitt 1993). Classic economic theory (Becker 1973) has also suggested that given men's traditionally-held comparative advantage in the labor market relative to women, attractiveness will be a more important commodity for women than men. Economic theories have generally assumed that attractiveness is traded for other commodities such as labor market characteristics, but the observed positive correlation between attractiveness and other desired characteristics (McClintock 2014; Scholz and Sicinski 201) questions the validity of these theories of exchange. An additional and largely unanswered question is how the gendered relationship between attractiveness and intimate relationships varies across the life course. Some prior work has suggested that attractiveness remains important for relationships as individuals age, but is more valued by men in their potential female partner (Alterovitz and Medelsohn 2009; McWilliams and Barrett 2014). In a


Although there has been a considerable amount of empirical research on peer rejection, providing useful descriptive, assessment, and intervention strategies, most has been too technical to be appreciated and utilized outside of the academic and professional communities. Peer Rejection: Developmental Processes and Intervention Strategies by Karen L. Bierman successfully breaks this barrier and provides useful information not only for scholars and practitioners, but also for parents, educators, and other concerned readers. Bierman accomplishes this difficult task through her review of empirical research, delivered in clear and friendly language with a range of concrete examples to illustrate her discussion. This multichapter book consists of three sections with distinct foci: (a) description of problematic peer relations, (b) assessment of social competence and peer relations, and (c) intervention strategies.


Abstract : The stability of cylindrical shells with a filler under axial compression is examined, and for the filler three-dimensional linearized equations at small subcritical deformations are used. With the aid of a computer the influence of the geometric parameters and rigidity of the shell and filler on the magnitude of critical stress is investigated. a comparison with results obtained on the basis of simplified calculations is given. in the study of stability it is considered that the filler absorbs part of the compressive load and is rigidly fastened to the envelope. Used for the shell are equations of the stability of thin-walled cylindrical shells, and for the filler three-dimensional linearized equations of stability are used. (Author)


Semiconductor is still one of the major contributors in terms of Singapore's GDP. Wafer sort or probe is one of semiconductor test methodology. In spite of the growth and success in wafer sort industry, same with other, Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WRMSD) problem is yet being experience among workers. Even though, processes are highly automated, some manual handling by workers is still existed in the process. Data was collected from 21 male participants via disseminating a survey using Google forms. The survey is consisting of participant demographic data together with Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires (CMDQ). CMDQ is used to calculate the musculoskeletal discomfort. In addition to CMDQ, workers posture analysis was also evaluated using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The intention of this research was to identify the type of work-related musculoskeletal disorders experience by workers in semiconductor industry in Singapore. Four activities were identified that required prolonged standing among workers. These are 1) Attending to machine 2) Inspection through microscope 3) Inspection through naked eye and 4) Carrying and packing. To provide an analysis of summary of factors collected from data gathering descriptive measures were used. The RULA and REBA result to medium risk that postulates the need of further evaluation for proper ergonomics interventions to minimize risk of WRMSD. CMDQ results pointed to 4 body parts that exhibit discomfort, these are neck, lower back, left lower leg and right lower leg. Age and Hour are the most common factors that correlate the discomfort experienced by the workers. The discomfort from these body parts can be reduce by break period between standing and sitting, walking around, wear comfortable and supportive shoes, replacing hard floor with rubber, hamstring and calf stretching.


The study of the structure design of image picture is the basis of the creation of a new visual language and the key of the flourishing and quick development of the visual culture;its study remains now still in its infancy stage.Its basic forms are miscellaneous and can extend to many sections e.g.bright structure design,blur structure design,moving structure design,color structure design,same structure design,different structure design,reversal structure design,point structure design,frame structure design,edge structure design,line structure design,standing structure design,print structure design,somber structure design,nature structure design,word structure design,white structure design,dark structure design,collective structure design,multiple structure design etc.


This study was designed to study the mycoflora and aflatoxin content of dry raisins in Yemen Republic. Thirty six raisin samples collected from different shops and markets in Sana'a city were analyzed mycologically for the presence of fungi. A total of forty eight species belonging to 20 genera were recovered from the analyzed raisins samples on three cultural media. Aspergillus was the most dominant genera on the three type of media, of which A. niger was the most common species. A. flavus was isolated in moderate, low and rare frequency on 1% and 20% sucrose Czapek's and Sabouraud dextrose agar media. Penicillium was isolated in moderate frequency on 1 and 20% sucrose Czapek's agar media, but in low frequency on Sabouraud dextrose agar medium. The raisin samples were analyzed for the presence of total aflatoxin using ELISA technique. The results revealed that 3 out of 7 samples of raisins analyzed were contaminated with total aflatoxin at levels ranged from 2678.66 to 11556.88 ppt (ng Kg -1 ).


The main glycoalkaloids of a commercial potato cultivar, -chaconine and -solanine, were extracted from sprouts of Solanum tuberosum cv. Pompadour by a mixture of MeOH/H2O/CH3COOH (400/100/50, v/v/v). In these conditions, 2.8 ± 0.62 g of crude extract were obtained from 50 g of fresh sprouts and the total glycoalkaloid content was determined by analytical HPLC at 216.5 mg/100 g. -Chaconine and -solanine were separated in a preparative scale using centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC). In eywords:


Introduction: The Classical View T HE flow over delta wings at an angle of attack is dominated by two large bound vortices that result from the flow separation at the leading edge. The classical view of these vortices is sketched in Fig. la and has been discussed by Hoerner and Borst among others. With a sharp leading edge at an angle of attack a, the flow is separated along the entire leading edge forming a strong shear layer. The shear layer is wrapped up in a spiral fashion, resulting in the large bound vortex as sketched. These vortices appear on the suction surface and increase in intensity downstream. The low pressure associated with the vortices produces an additional lift on the wing, often called nonlinear or vortex lift, which is particularly important at large angles of attack. As sketched in Fig. la, small secondary vortices also appear on the wing near the points of reattachment as a result of the strong lateral flow toward the leading edge.


Protonated 3d transition‐metal oxides often display low electronic conduction, which hampers their application in electric, magnetic, thermoelectric, and catalytic fields. Electronic conduction can be enhanced by co‐inserting oxygen acceptors simultaneously. However, the currently used redox approaches hinder protons and oxygen ions co‐insertion due to the selective switching issues. Here, a thermal hydration strategy for systematically exploring the synthesis of conductive protonated oxides from 3d transition‐metal oxides is introduced. This strategy is illustrated by synthesizing a novel layered‐oxide SrCoO3H from the brownmillerite SrCoO2.5. Compared to the insulating SrCoO2.5, SrCoO3H exhibits an unprecedented high electronic conductivity above room temperature, water uptake at 250 °C, and a thermoelectric power factor of up to 1.2 mW K−2 m−1 at 300 K. These findings open up opportunities for creating high‐conductive protonated layered oxides by protons and oxygen ions co‐doping.


This paper proposed an opportunity to utilize the revolutionary electrical power system in reference to information and communication technologies. Common sources for generation of power are utilized consisting of a solar panel and a wind turbine. Shifting generated energy in time as well as smoothing output of renewable energy is supported by energy storage devices. Hence energy generated will be stored in storage device in DC form. As when required, this energy is utilized by passing through an inverter to convert into AC. It can be connected to grid for continuous power supply.


Extended follow-up from the CheckMate 238 trial confirmed the superior efficacy of nivolumab vs ipilimumab in patients with stage III and IV resected melanoma.


Topside Antenna System Integration is one of the most important technology challenges for future Navy ship designs. This is due to dual mission requirements of increasing capability while reducing the overall signatures of a ship. Often these two goals are in conflict. Because of these conflicting design issues, new and innovative techniques are required. In order to maximize performance, accurate numerical modeling and simulation are required. By using modeling and simulation tools a thorough investigation of system performance can be obtained. This information can then be used to make informed design decisions. This paper describes the design procedure and engineering tools used for Navy topside antenna system integration. The approach is an iterative process by which topside designs and antenna system architectures can be analyzed and performance assessed.


Fast and accurate measurement is a highly desirable, if not vital, feature of quantum computing architectures. In this work we investigate the usefulness of adaptive measurements in improving the speed and accuracy of qubit measurement. We examine a particular class of quantum computing architectures, ones based on qubits coupled to well-controlled harmonic oscillator modes (reminiscent of cavity QED), where adaptive schemes for measurement are particularly appropriate. In such architectures, qubit measurement is equivalent to phase discrimination for a mode of the electromagnetic field, and we examine adaptive techniques for doing this. In the final section we present a concrete example of applying adaptive measurement to the particularly well-developed circuit-QED architecture.


OBJECTIVE To study the related factors and prevention measures for the myasthenia gravis patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia(VAP)so as to reduce the incidence of VAP.METHODS Twelve myasthenia gravis patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia in our hospital during the period from Oct 2009to Oct 2012 were researched the related pathogenic factors and prevention measures,and the clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS The incidence of complicated VAP was 10.0%.This incidence was elevated with the extension of time of application of ventilator or the adrenal corticosteroids.The incidence of complicated VAP was the lowest(6.0%)when two antibiotics were preventively applied.The pathogens culture results showed that the pseudomonas were predominant(45.5%).CONCLUSIONFor the related factors,the prevention measures such as the good ward disinfection,ventilator management,timing airway humidification and the complications prevention,strict aseptic technique,correct suction,and prevention of cross-infection can effectively prevent VAP in the myasthenia gravis patients.


According to the research of city residential building energy conservation planning, design and technology application, this paper considers the influence of climate and energy saving design, determine the corresponding from the city planning, shape, envelope, Using the project management method, studies on the application of design energy-saving construction theory in the high-rise residential buildings and application of building energy saving technology in the architecture. How to strengthen the building energy-saving project quality supervision, to ensure the construction quality and construction process in the use of the premise of indoor thermal environment quality, make the high-rise residential energy-saving to 65% residential building standards; Through the research, the research of can provide technology guidance and decision-making reference for the construction of energy-saving work more extensive development, progress. Application of energy saving technology implementation, architecture in the architecture and how to strengthen the building energy-saving project quality supervision, to ensure the construction quality and construction process in the use of room


The policy of Taiwanese Strait in America not only express upon the fuzzy One-China with vacillating but also it contact with Taiwan and China by the way of oscillating. This paper study it with "strategic obscurity" and "strategic lucidness". Next, in the beginning of 21 century, the international community discoursed the theme of American-hegemony-decline after the 911- incident. Thus, this paper intend to research the period of Clinton to Bush which are a crucial time from a global superpower down to the sign of downfall in coming of the Soviet collapsed. Under this international circumstance, the states behaves along the principle of rationality and maximum interest that the Taiwan must change the traditional security concept of the Cold-War as to adopt the new security concept of 21 century that will be the most protection to maintain the security itself.


Through an agreement between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), use of the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Satellite Communications Facility (SCF) has been made available to support the Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon, namely its 18.3-m dish antenna resource. The SCF, using the 18.3-m dish, served as the primary Western hemisphere ground station for the mission, principally to support downlink of the spacecraft's science data at X-Band. Recent upgrades to the 18.3-m dish and ground station have been completed in order to meet the requirements of the mission, including an upgrade of the pointing system of the 18.3-m dish antenna. The historically observed accuracy of the dish's pointing capability was sufficient for S-Band operations but not for the newly installed X-Band downlink capability. A number of potential solutions were considered and ultimately a step-track enhancement to program-track was selected as the best option for efficiently improving the pointing accuracy of the dish while requiring minimal funding support. This paper will describe the steps taken to quantify the pointing accuracy of the 18.3-m dish and the implementation of the step-track algorithm in order to achieve the required improvement in pointing performance. 1 2


Background: Post-stroke gait is limited by compromised volitional joint control that results from muscle weakness, excessive tone, and poor synergist control. About one third of all patients are left with gait deficits after physical therapy and may benefit from assistance during gait. Peroneal nerve stimulators and ankle foot orthoses provide benefit for patients affected by dropfoot, but patients with more severe deficits require additional assistance. Therapeutic and neuroprosthetic effects of a fully implanted pulse generator (IPG) for multi-joint control to assist walking after stroke were evaluated in this case study. Methods: The participant was a 64 year old male who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke 2 years prior to inclusion in the study. His gait was limited by a combination of muscle weakness, limited independent joint movement, and mild hypertonia. He was a household ambulator with contact guard assistance, but used a wheelchair in the community. He was implanted with an 8-channel IPG and intramuscular electrodes targeting the following muscles: tensor fasciae latae, sartorius, gluteus maximus, short head of biceps femoris, quadriceps, and tibialis anterior (two electrodes). After implantation, a stimulation pattern was tuned to assist with hip, knee, and ankle control. A heel switch in the sole of the shoe on the affected side was used as a trigger to initiate swing and stance phase stimulation. He underwent home exercise with electrical stimulation and stimulation assisted gait training in the laboratory. Outcome measures included the 10m walk to assess gait speed, 6 minute timed walk to evaluate fatigue, and maximum walk to measure endurance. Assessments were repeated under three conditions: 1) volitional walking at baseline, 2) volitional walking after training, and 3) walking with stimulation after training. Comparisons include evaluating the 1) therapeutic effect (baseline volitional vs. volitional after training), 2) neuroprosthetic effect (volitional after training vs. stimulation after training), and 3) total effect (baseline volitional vs. stimulation after training). Results: After gait training with stimulation, the participant demonstrated both therapeutic and neuroprosthetic benefits. Therapeutic effects increased walking speed from 0.26m/s to 0.31m/s (p<0.05) while neuroprosthetic effects increased walking speed from 0.31m/s to 0.59m/s (p<0.05) and total effects increased walking speed from 0.26m/s to 0.59m/s (p<0.05). The neuroprosthetic and total effects had a clinically relevant effect size on walking speed of greater than 0.2m/s. Maximum walk distance after training increased from 301m without stimulation to 1418m with stimulation. Discussion: Multi-joint control by means of an IPG provides a clinically relevant neuroprosthetic effect on walking speed and distance. In addition, there was a trend in therapeutic benefits on walking speed and distance. These data provide proof of concept that a multi-joint IPG control can provide clinically relevant improvements in gait after stroke. O3: Changes in Synaptic Function and Excitability in Single Neurons Following Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation N A Matheson, J B H Shemmell, P W Brownjohn, J N J Reynolds University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, (rTMS) can non-invasively alter the activity of neural circuits for a time outlasting the stimulation XXX10.1177/1545968315625245Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair research-article2015 Abstracts from the 2015 Annual Meetings from the 2015 Annual Meeting 2 Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair period. This has been demonstrated in some studies examining changes in peripheral motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) following application of various rTMS protocols. These prolonged changes have been attributed to the induction of synaptic plasticity. At a single neuron level however, the effects of rTMS are not well understood and the induction of synaptic plasticity or prolonged changes in cellular excitability have not been demonstrated. Using a rat model we investigated the effects of TMS on activity characteristics of single pyramidal neurons. In vivo intracellular sharpelectrode electrophysiological recordings were made from single cortical neurons in urethane-anaesthetized Wistar rats, during the application of TMS. Spontaneous neuron activity was recorded in response to single pulse and rTMS. In addition, post-synaptic potentials (PSPs) elicited using electrical or magnetic stimulation of the ipsilateral hemisphere were investigated both pre and post rTMS. Action potentials and PSPs were reliably obtained following single pulse TMS, delivered at intensities much lower than those used in many clinical settings. During rTMS trains, spontaneous rhythmical neuronal activity was disrupted and in some cases, neuronal firing was induced. Following rTMS, neuronal excitability was altered as indicated by lasting changes in rheobase current and spontaneous activity. Furthermore, both long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD) were observed following particular combinations of rTMS protocols. These results provide the first indication of the effects that both single pulse and repetitive TMS have on cortical neuron excitability and synaptic plasticity. With a better understanding of these effects it is hoped rTMS protocols may be more effectively targeted to specific neural circuits, in order to optimize clinical treatment of neurological disorders. O4: Enhancing Cortical Representational Plasticity with Non-Invasive Direct Current Stimulation to Accelerate Upper Limb Recovery in Quadriplegia Kelsey Potter-Baker, Daniel Janini, Nicole Varnerin, David Cunningham, Vishwanath Sankarasubramanian, Ken Sakaie, Frederick Frost, Ela Plow Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA Current published work suggests that a minimum of 9 months of rehabilitation is required to elicit significant improvement in upper limb function following incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). With over 12,500 new cases and a prevalence of 337,000 in the U.S. alone, however, such extensive rehabilitation programs are impractical. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the brain and its residual descending pathways represent the most spared, and hence ideal, innovative targets for maximizing and accelerating upper limb recovery in iSCI. In particular, since loss of representation of weaker muscles in the motor cortex exaggerates muscle weakness and limits recovery following iSCI, we aimed to boost inherent adaptive plasticity of weak representations using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We hypothesized that tDCS would accelerate increases in weak muscle cortical representational plasticity while also enhancing excitability of their descending pathways to paretic limbs to ultimately maximize functional outcomes following rehabilitation. To test our hypothesis, eight patients with chronic iSCI received either upper limb rehabilitation with tDCS (2 mA anodal) to motor cortical representations of weak muscles or rehabilitation alone. Representational plasticity was measured using TMS before and after treatment and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) quantified sparing of descending tracts. Functional recovery and muscle strength was assessed before and after treatment. We found that patients who received tDCS plus rehabilitation demonstrated significant focal increases in the cortical representation of their weaker muscle, where its excitability increased by 60% (p<0.05). Representational plasticity changes were associated with gains in motor function and muscle strength. In addition, level of recovery was related to cortical tract integrity, wherein patients that demonstrated the most recovery had greatest tract sparing following their iSCI (r=0.97; p<0.0001). Our results suggest that long-term pairing with tDCS applied to the motor cortex could result in significant functional improvements by facilitating more permanent plasticity of weaker cortical representations. Further, descending tract integrity, as measured with DTI, may serve as a valuable prognostic marker of impairment and functional recovery potential. O5: Detection and Predictive Value of Fractional Anisotropy Abnormalities in the Acute Stroke Patients Jasmine Wang, Gottfried Schlaug Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston,


The utilization of multimedia technology has given positive contributions in the implementation of teaching listening. It provides the teachers with easier and more efficient ways to facilitate listening materials and practices in the form of audio as the main important sources. However, employing audio only is considered to be not enough to assist students to comprehend the information well. The use of audio-visual materials such as videos is proposed as a better means to acquire students' listening comprehension. The visualization of videos provides the students the ease to get better contexts, decrease the boredom, and stimulate the imagination to the more authentic situation. This paper employed causal comparative research to examine the use of audio and audiovisual materials in teaching listening, then to evaluate which one has a better result in obtaining students' listening comprehension as viewed from genders. Keywords : video, listening comprehension, gender


We evaluated the usefulness of atelo-collagen sponge (ACS)(TERUPLUG®, TERMO CORPORATION, Tokyo) as a carrier for Escherichia coli-derived recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (ErhBMP-2) as compared with that of atelo-peptide collagen (CL)(Cellmatrix LA, Nitta Gelatin Inc., Osaka, Japan), which we previously demonstrated to be useful for bone induction. Five micrograms of ErhBMP- 2 with either 3 mg of ACS (ACS group) or 3 mg of CL (CL group) was implanted into the calf muscle of 13 10-week-old Wistar rats. The implanted material was sampled on days 7, 14, and 21 after implantation (5 specimens each per time, group). Radiographic evaluation, histological analysis, and biochemical examinations were performed. On radiographic evaluation, no opaque shadows were observed 7 days after implantation in either group. Oval shadows were observed 14 days after implantation. Twentyone days after implantation, the area of the shadows had increased. On histological analysis, much new cartilage was observed 7 days after implantation in both groups, but immature endochondral ossification was observed in only the ACS group. Endochondral ossification was found on the outermost edge of the implant after 14 days in both groups. After 21 days, mature bone had formed. On biochemical examinations on days 7 to 14 after implantation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the calcium (Ca) content had increased markedly in both groups. On days 14 to 21 after implantation, ALP activity and Ca content increased gradually. These findings were similar in both groups.Our results suggest that, similar to CL, ACS is useful as a carrier for ErhBMP-2 designed to promote new bone formation.


Third‐order elastic coefficients can be determined from the velocity of small‐amplitude sound waves in statically stressed media. For this purpose, exact expressions are derived for the sound velocity, for the natural velocity (natural unstressed length divided by the transit time), and for their stress derivatives, evaluated at zero stress, in terms of second‐ and third‐order coefficients. Attention is given to the proper variation of propagation direction with static stress in order to maintain propagation normal to a given crystal face as in ultrasonic experiments, and to the proper identification of isothermal and isentropic coefficients. The most convenient form of the results employs the natural velocity, which is computed directly from experimental data with no need to correct the path length for the effect of stress. The formulas apply to arbitrary crystal symmetry and to arbitrary homogeneous stress systems depending on a single scalar variable. Special formulas for hydrostatic and uniaxial stress are given for several crystal classes and for isotropic materials.


Some viroids reduce citrus tree growth and may be used for tree size control aiming the establishment of orchards with close tree spacing that may provide higher productivity than conventional ones. To study the effects of citrus viroids inoculation on vegetative growth, yield and fruit quality of 'Marsh Seedless' grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) grafted on trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.), an experiment was set up in January 1991, in Bebedouro, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four treatments with two plants per plot: viroid isolates Citrus Exocortis Viroid (CEVd) + Hop stunt viroid (HSVd - CVd-II, a non cachexia variant) + Citrus III viroid (CVd-III) and Hop stunt viroid (HSVd - CVd-II, a non cachexia variant) + Citrus III viroid (CVd-III) and controls: two healthy buds (control), and no grafting (absolute control). Inoculation was done in the field, six months after planting by bud grafting. Both isolates reduced tree growth (trunk diameter, plant height, canopy diameter and volume). Trees not inoculated yielded better (average of eleven harvests) than inoculated ones but the productivity was the same after 150 months. Fruit quality was affected by viroids inoculation but not in a restrictive way. The use of such severe dwarfing isolates for high density plantings of grapefruit on trifoliate orange rootstock is not recommended.


During the "11 · 22" Sinopec group oil pipeline leak explosion accident in Qingdao, the Nursing Department immediately initiated the emergency response plan, set up the nursing rescue leadership team, and initiated the emergency team, dispatched nurses reasonably, and emphasized the first option assumes for overall responsibility.Moreover, psychological guidance followed the rescue. The Nursing Department played an important role during the medical rescue, and the routine nursing practice was maintained at the same time.


Introduction: Advances in cancer detection and treatment have substantially increased the survival rate for breast cancer patients. Chemotherapeutic drugs, particularly anthracyclines, have potentially toxic side effects in the brain- impacting memory, processing time and verbal fluency. More than 30% of patients undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer report cognitive deficits during and after treatment. Despite the high incidence and significant impact on quality of life, little is known about the cause of the cognitive deficits and no effective treatment currently exists. Our hypothesis is that chemotherapy-induced neuroinflammation impairs cognition. Methods: Adult female BALB/C mice were ovariectomized and then two weeks later injected intravenous (IV) with a single dose of chemotherapy (45 mg/m 2 doxorubicin + 450 mg/m 2 cyclophosphamide) or vehicle (n = 10–12/group). The mice were trained for three trials per day across six days in the Barnes Maze, a well-characterized spatial memory task. Results: Both the chemotherapy-treated and vehicle-treated mice were able to acquire the task by the final day of training. However, the vehicle-treated mice reached asymptotic performance after fewer training sessions than the chemotherapy-treated mice. Furthermore, the chemotherapy-treated mice took significantly longer to find the escape box than the vehicle-treated mice on training days 2–5 (p 0.05) In addition, chemotherapy increased proinflammatory cytokine expression (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in the hippocampus (p Conclusions: Together, these data suggest that the administration of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide in doses that are approximately 25% lower than the typical dose for women treated for breast cancer, produce neuroinflammation, including microglia activation, increased proinflammatory cytokine expression and concomitant cognitive deficits in female mice. Additional studies will establish whether a causal relationship exists between chemotherapy-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits. Identifying the mechanism through which chemotherapy induces cognitive deficits is the first step toward designing therapeutic interventions. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-11-04.


General geology and geophysical method, resisitivity have been used to investigate the slope stability on the hillslope failures along Sungai Sam — Dabong — Jeli (KM 20 — 30) Dabong, Kelantan. The study area is located at Kampung Bukit Pacat, Dabong with area of 25 km square. The aim of this study to produce geological map and to determine hillslope stability of failures in the area. The geological mapping was conducted to obtain general geology of the study area including lithostratigraphy, structural geology and stratigraphy. All the data obtained then will be used in ArcGlS to produce geological map. The electrical resistivity imaging method was run on some selected hillslope failure to determine the hillslope stability. Interpretation is made depending on 2D image of resistivity. The interpretation of resistivity profile show most the hillslope was unstable and can face failures again. The hilslope failure in study area could happen.


The purpose of this study was to learn about the frequency of sexual disorders in young males who later become substance abusers. We interviewed 228 men treated in 10 drug centers for substance abuse. The questionnaire that we used was designed to assess the onset of erectile dysfunction (ED) or of premature ejaculation (PE). Only those subjects who became substance users between the ages of 17 to 29 were taken into consideration. Of the 228 subjects recruited, only 130 met the inclusion criteria (mean age 33). These male patients had a prevalence of ED of 20.3% (cl 99% 12.3-31.2), whereas the prevalence of ED of age-matched males in the general population is 2.1% (cl 99% 0.36-5.46; p


The mechanical properties of a new laminated plate,made of Al,TiN and TiSiN,was researched by the finite element software ABAQUS.The transient dynamic analysis model was established by the ABAQUS,namely the punch impacted composite model.With different speed of punches,the maximal impact force,the maximal indentation of the punch and the residual velocity of the punch after impacting were got.By comparing the steel plates with different lamination,as well as the impactive results of steel plate,pure TiSiN plate and TiN plate,the superior mechanical properties of the laminated plates were verified,and the specific modulus was calculated by the rule of mixtures.The numerical examples show that the composite laminated plate is easy to absorb load with large specific modulus,in which the soft layers Al absorbs the high frequency load with light weight,the hard layers resist the low frequency load with heavy weight.


Tm3+-, Tb3+- and Eu3+-doped ZrO2 nanocrystals were prepared by a facile precipitation method with a hydrothermal process. Structural characterization showed a crystallite size ranging from 30 to 40 nm, and monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia phases were observed depending on the dopant concentration. The monoclinic phase was dominant for 0.5 mol% of Tb3+ and Eu3+, and the tetragonal phase was 100% stabilized for 2 mol% of Tm3+ and Tb3+. The structure of emission bands associated with Eu3+ confirms the substitution of Zr4+ located at C1 and D2h symmetry sites for the monoclinic and tetragonal phases. The emission of three primary colours, red, green and blue, was obtained from Eu3+, Tb3+ and Tm3+, respectively, which makes this nanophosphor an excellent candidate for use in photonics applications. The emitted signal was analysed as a function of ion concentration and the optimum concentration was determined.


The construction of this thesis is developed from different conceptual interlacing axis that created a networking weave through which the field of investigation was debated and defined and a project of collaborative citizenship with the goal of providing an improvement in the social environment from which the visual impairment through art was built. Firstly, we speak about the context in which, in a dialogic way, the identity of Ph. D. Rosa Gratacos Masanella has grown and developed. With the help of the narrative research and the life story methods we make an approach to the life time experience of the main character of our investigation, in order to understand her social, political and educational context, how it relates to her personal life, her work as a professor and her artistic career, and how all these different perspectives have points in common. We also approach those people who met our protagonist, those who were her referents or were important in the evolution of her identity. We point Ph. D. Rosa Gratacos pioneer investigation in the field of visual impairment and we finally explain the multisensory project of The Senses Labyrinth, a project that was born from the idea of universal accessibility from the perspective of blind people. Sensory education, game and art become the source of teaching and learning for the researcher and they are applied together to art education and artistic perception from blindness, through service and learning methodologies


An investigation of the photooxidation of 1,3-dichlorotetralfuoroacetone has been completed, and a manuscript describing the results has been submitted for publication. In this work, measurements of product quantum yields have led to a mechanism for the reaction of CF/sub 2/Cl radicals with O/sub 2/, and have given evidence for the reaction of CF/sub 2/ClO radicals with CO to produce CO/sub 2/. Work has continued on the flash photolysis of 1,3-dichlorotetrafluoroacetone, with emphasis placed on spectroscopic observations of the rate of formation of ClO. An investigation of the flash photolysis of ketene, with detection of products and transient species by time resolved mass spectrometry, is continuing. This investigation seeks information on the kinetics and mechansims CH/sub 2/(/sup 3/B/sub 1/) reactions. An experiment to detect luminescence from CH/sub 2/(/sup 1/B/sub 1/), where CH/sub 2/(/sup 1/B/sub 1/) is produced by pulsed laser photolysis of diazomethane, has been set up. An analysis of a photochemical smog mechanism by variational sensitivity analysis is being done. A preprint on photolysis of 1-iodopropane is included.


The purpose of the study was to analyze the results of the physical properties of the clay used and to analyze the effect of adding oil palm shell ash to the clay on the direct shear test. From the results of testing the physical properties of the soil, the soil samples came from Jalan Yusuf Bauty, District. Somba Opu, Gowa Regency is an organic clay soil with moderate plasticity, according to the USCS soil classification system, the soil is classified as fine-grained OH group (organic clay with moderate plasticity and according to the AASTHO system the soil sample includes A-7-5. Direct Shear Test) with the addition of oil palm shell ash from the three samples, it can be seen that oil palm shell ash is able to increase cohesion (c) at each percentage addition of oil palm shell ash, but at the shear angle there is an erratic addition at each percentage addition of shell ash. palm oil, this is because oil palm shell ash only has tensile stress as a binder. From the results of research conducted, the addition of oil palm shell ash has an effect on shear strength, this shows that oil palm shell ash can be used for stabilization,


Purpose
This study aims at characterizing and identifying the existing research on tourism business networks.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic mapping study to identify and analyze related literature. They identified 225 primary studies, dated from 1997-2016, and classified them with respect to research focus, types of research and contribution.

Findings
Seventy four studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on tourism business networks. "Business networks" with 27 articles is the dominant research focus and "Network configuration" with 22 articles is the next dominant one. Regarding the research type, "Solution proposal" is the most frequently used research type. "Interview" and "Case study", respectively, were the most used research methods. However, "Agent-based modeling", "Delphi study" and "Non-linear time series analysis" were used less often. "Philosophical paper" was the most common research type between 1997 and 2002, and after that "Solution proposal" was the dominant research paper type. Further, the number of publications has declined between 2012 and 2014.

Originality/value
This mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on tourism business networks research. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high quality studies.


In this research, airport managers and supervisory and operations personnel at several airports throughout the United States were surveyed to assess the knowledge and skill requirements necessary for airfield operations workers. Survey respondents were then asked to assess the degree to which recent college graduates of aviation programs or new hires met the desired requirements. The paper presents findings comparing the 2 assessments and discusses the differences between desired and actual knowledge of new hires. Results of the study have implications for university and college aviation programs that offer aviation or airport management curricula as well as for airport organizations.


ABSTRACT This article argues that fiction can operate as a critical feminist curriculum and discusses how this manifests itself in terms of content and teaching methodologies. It uses a close reading of Naomi Alderman's dystopian fiction The Power (2016) to explore this, complemented by an analysis of a discussion between Alderman and readers participating in a book club organised through the UK discussion forum Mumsnet. It concludes that fiction can stimulate learning and critical reflection, in this instance with respect to gender and power, thus functioning as critical feminist pedagogy.


Objective To evaluate the necessity of the routine application of MRCP(magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography) in patients with gallstone disease to diagnose common bile duct(CBD) stones.And to study the efficacy of a logistic regressive predict model for diagnosing CBD stones.MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed on 1 030 patients(the control group) with gallstones routinely underwent MRCP before cholecystectomy.And a prospective study was carried out in 366 patients(treatment group) with gallstones firstly hospitalization.ResultsThe positive incidence of CBD stones was 7.8%(80/1030),the false positive incidence was 0%(0/80),and the false negative incidence was 0.8%(8/950) in the control group.The predict model for CBD stones consists of 5 variables that are ultrasonographically showing CBD stones or bile duct dilation(BDD),aged above 65 years,fever,serum alkaline phosphatase level greater than 121 IU/L and serum amylase level above 100 U/L.The prediction entry threshold of the predict model was 6%(P0.05).In 174 patients who did not undergo the MRCP because of their prediction probability below the entry threshold,only one patient(1/174) suffered a postoperative right-upper abdominal colic and was diagnosed as CBD stone by MRCP.The positive rate of MRCP diagnosing CBD stones in the treatment group was obviously higher(P0.01).The mean hospitalization course in the control group was obviously longer than that in the treatment group,while the average total costs in hospital of the patients in treatment group was markedly lower(P0.01).ConclusionIt is unnecessary for every patient with gallstone disease to perform the routine MRCP.But for the patients with gallstone disease whose prediction probability for CBD stones is above the entry threshold,the MRCP is recommended to confirm the presence or absence of CBD stones.The application of the new predict model for CBD stones combined with MRCP can obviously reduce the hospitalization costs,shorten the inhospital course,at the same time,can avoid increasing the incidence of misdiagnosis of CBD stones.


Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of antibiotic sequential therapy and its impact on immune function in the treatment of elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP). Methods 70 elderly patients with CAP were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group. The control group was treated with levofloxacin intravenous infusion,and the treatment group was treated with antibiotic sequential therapy of levofloxacin intravenous infusion and oral application. The levels of peripheral blood T cell subsets( CD+3,CD+4,CD+8and CD+4/ CD+8) were detected before and after the treatment,and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after the treatment. Results The improvement of clinical symptoms was more pronounced in the treatment group than in the control group,and the effective rate was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group( P 0. 05). After the treatment,the levels of CD+3,CD+4and CD+4/ CDCD+8increased more obviously and the level of CD+8decreased more significantly in the treatment group than in the control group( P 0. 01). There was no serious adverse reactions in the two groups. Conclusion The antibiotic sequential therapy can significantly improve the clinical efficacy and regulate the immune function of elderly patients with CAP.


Recently, the people have concern about leisure with nature therefore the visitors of recreational forest(RF) are increasing. So this study survey the importance of national RF facilities classified by relations code. The study scope are 4 places national RF in North Gyeongbuk. As the result 1) Most visitors think that RF is not education facilities but just rest place or rest facilities. 2) The kind of RF facilities is classified 7 facilities by relations code and the most of RF facilities are convenience and sanitation facilities.


The invention of general anesthesia (GA) represents a significant advance in modern clinical practices. However, the exact mechanisms of GA are not entirely understood. Because of the multitude of similarities between GA and sleep, one intriguing hypothesis is that anesthesia may engage the sleep‐wake regulation circuits. Here, using fiber photometry and micro‐endoscopic imaging of Ca2+ signals at both population and single‐cell levels, it investigates how various anesthetics modulate the neural activity in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (vLPO), a brain region essential for the initiation of sleep. It is found that different anesthetics primarily induced suppression of neural activity and tended to recruit a similar group of vLPO neurons; however, each anesthetic caused comparable modulations of both wake‐active and sleep‐active neurons. These results demonstrate that anesthesia creates a different state of neural activity in the vLPO than during natural sleep, suggesting that anesthesia may not engage the same vLPO circuits for sleep generation.


In this study, we used data from LinkedIn networks to gain insight in how different groups network in terms of network size and gender composition among men and women. We have gathered categorical data from 751 LinkedIn networks to quantitatively analyze networking tendencies and network gender compositions in the categories gender, age, sector of work, fi?eld of work, level of education and area of residence. We have also determined networking "savviness" as a quantitative measure of social networking for comparing groups in the categories. The observations made regarding networking behavior among female and male LinkedIn users include that women on average had more female contacts than men in all categories. Female networks working in a non-technical fi?eld were found to have the most gender equal networks of all groups with an average of 42.5% female contacts. The data show further, that men and women in STEM and the private sector were savvier networkers and that users with a PhD had fewer female contacts on average than those without a PhD. Further, Scandinavian networks had signi?cantly more female contacts in their networks than networks from other European countries and North America had.


An exact formula was recently obtained for the spectral norms of the Lucas and Fibonacci Hankel matrices [1], and also for the Lucas and Fibonacci Toeplitz matrices [4]. These results put nishing touches on the works initiated in [2] and [3]. On another front, bounds were found for the spectral norms of k-Fibonacci and k-Lucas Toeplitz matrices [7]. In this paper, we present the exact value for the spectral norms of these Toeplitz matrices. We also obtain the non-trivial eigenvalues of any even dimensional Hankel matrix built with a sequence that satises si + ksi+1 = si+2; making it possible to calculate the spectral norm of any even dimensional Hankel or Toeplitz matrix built with such a sequence.


Although local anesthesia is ideal (or cosmetic facial surgery, it must be prepared and administered with at least as much care and attention to detail as with general anesthesia. Relegating the responsibility to ancillary help in both hospital and office operating rooms adds to the legal jeopardy to which the surgeon is exposed. The choice and dosage of local anesthetics and safety measures to be followed in their usage are discussed.


Objective This study investigates associations between cortical thickness and pain duration, and central sensitization as markers of pain progression in painful knee osteoarthritis. Methods Whole brain cortical thickness and pressure pain thresholds were assessed in 70 participants; 40 patients with chronic painful knee osteoarthritis (age = 66.1± 8.5 years, 21 females, mean duration of pain = 8.5 years), and 30 healthy controls (age = 62.7± 7.4, 17 females). Results Cortical thickness negatively correlated with pain duration mainly in fronto-temporal areas outside of classical pain processing areas (p<0.05, age-controlled, FDR corrected). Pain sensitivity was unrelated to cortical thickness. Patients showed lower cortical thickness in the right anterior insula (p<0.001, uncorrected) with no changes surviving multiple test correction. Conclusion With increasing number of years of suffering from chronic arthritis pain we found increasing cortical thinning in extended cerebral cortical regions beyond recognised pain-processing areas. While the mechanisms of cortical thinning remain to be elucidated, we show that pain progression indexed by central sensitization does not play a major role.


The dynamics of tests of express of diagnostics of the functional states of sportsmen of high class is presented in cycle of annual preparation. The sensitive terms for holding preventive provisions of expected fatigue and lowering of a level of a redundancy of acclimatization are defined. Regenerative provisions are carried out after the terminal of the autumn and spring competitive term, and preventive standards should be carried outafter the terminal of a stage of intromission in the sports form.


Most patients had bone malignancies 223 (86,7%) and 34 (13,2%) patients had benign bone lesions. Knee implants were made in 181 (70,4%), shoulder implants in 24 (9,3%), hip joint implants in 38 (14,8%), elbow implants in 4 (1,6%) cases. Total replacement of the upper arm was made in 1 (0,4%), total replacement of the thigh bone in 8 (3,1%) and replacement of the femoral diaphysis in 1 (0,4%) cases. Postoperative events included surgical complications (16, 6.2%), purulent inflammations 32 (12,5%), orthopedic complications 17 (6,6%). Local recurrence was detected in 25 (9,8%) cases.


Symbolic procedures for expressing the moments of bootstrap distributions in terms of multivariate version of symmetric polynomials in the observations and their moments with respect to population (i.e., moments of bootstrap moments) in terms of population moments, respectively, are proposed with theoretical discussion. Two examples of application of the procedures to the bootstrap distributions of the sample correlation coefficient and of the sample regression coefficient, demonstrate their practical utility.


This paper presents preliminary information concerning a methodology for applying Fuzzy Logic to a knowledge-based system based on learning by analogy for a process analysis task in a sewing shop in the Japanese apparel industry. Many Japanese sewing shops respond to an order by implementing a lot production system on the assembly line. A foreman analyzes the manufacturing process in the preparation stage after deciding to accept an order and then carries out a line balancing task based on the result of the process analysis task. When he/she carries out this task, he/she analyzes the process for a newly released order by comparing with the manufacturing process for a product that has similar design features, and clarifies the necessary constituent operations and linkages. There are two types of design features: explicit (crisp) and ambiguous (fuzzy). In this research, to support such process analysis of manufacturing tasks, we clarify the framework of a fuzzy knowledge-based system based on learning by analogy to generate a process analysis table for a newly ordered product semiautomatically. It is confirmed that the system can generate a real process analysis table by personal computer according to the result of experimentation with a prototype that we have constructed in this study.


To speak about Islam in such a big population will involve a very large range of problems, from the insufficiency of the materials, to the dispotes over subjects on which several researches have been done. The most important historicals are those related to its coming in this archipelago, to this day no one can tell exactly when it came here for the first time, why it was accepted by the majority of the people, who propagated it here etc.


The article presents a comprehensive analysis of legal relations in the field of human reproductive activity by studying international and national legal regulation and changes in legal standards caused by the coronavirus crisis. Genesis of the legal regulation of human rights to reproduction has been studied and axiological and value determinants of legal relations in the field of reproductive activity have been determined. Current international standards are positioned as legal standards that affect the ability to determine the number of children, the intervals between their births, the provision of reproductive and sexual health, as well as the relationship regarding the preservation of their own genetic material. It is motivated that international norms establish the autonomy of women for the right to perform abortion in particular and the right to individual determination of human reproductive function in general. In particular, it is substantiated that despite considerable scientific advances, especially in the molecular sphere, reproductive activity as a system requires multidimensional study, including its spatial and temporal definition. In addition, issues related to research in the field of stem cell biology, microfluidics, integration of unicellular transcriptomics, etc. are relevant today, which will help to determine the normal and healthy functioning of human reproductive function. In particular, it will allow studying external impacts and diseases, including endocrine disorders in the body and aging. The national legal norms concerning the right to abortion and other rights in this field are studied. The article is based on the materials of a survey based on author's questionnaires conducted to determine the level of realization of their reproductive rights by Ukrainian citizens during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It is proved that the legal policy of states on reproductive rights during pandemic threats has transformed the possibility of free exercise of reproductive law. Today there is a problem of access to reproductive procedures, in particular due to their postponement indefinitely as non-priority, due to the inaccessibility of health authorities, social distance and the ban on crossing the state border, requirement for testing.


A 77-year-old man presented to his general practitioner with a painful scalp rash (fig 1). This worsened over 9 weeks and he was referred to a dermatologist. The dermatologist presumed the lesions were healing vesicles from herpes zoster and prescribed topical acyclovir. One week later he presented to the ophthalmology department following a …


Abstract: Due to the depleting nature of the present energy sources as well as the increased pollution Renewable energy sources are increasingly used in many applications, solar energy is the best alternative to the conventional energy sources. This paper deals with the event of an easy , profit making, useful, reliable and fuel efficient water pumping system, a DC-DC converter fed to the brushless DC motor (BLDC drive) using the BLDC controller and Arduino which is energized by a photovoltaic array. The behavior of the proposed system is evaluated through a MATLAB/Simulink based simulation study.


Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry and prose were deeply influenced by his engagement with visual art. His early poetry has been compared to Jugendstil or art nouveau, the works of his middle period were greatly influenced by his connections to the artist colony in Worpswede and, most significantly, his engagement with the French artists, Auguste Rodin and Paul Cézanne. Rilke was also keenly interested in Vincent Van Gogh and Rilke's later works, including his masterpiece, the Duino Elegies (Duineser Elegien), have invited comparison to the development of abstraction in the visual arts. However, in a letter from 1924 he remarks that Cézanne had remained his supreme example (Rilke, Briefe 440). In other documents he criticises cubism, although he admired some of Pablo Picasso's works, and shows a sincere admiration for Paul Klee's paintings but not without certain hesitations (Über moderne Malerei). Moreover, there is a noticeable and telling absence of any mention of Wassily Kandinsky in Rilke's writings.


Guangxi's libraries in the Republic Period had experienced a time of evolving rise and fall in the forms of"slow development– rapid development– serious destruction – existence in name only".The development of library cause was driven into popularity in Guangxi by the joint forces of mechanical printing industry,new school popularity,attention of library cause and effective policy implementation by authorities,and the efforts form some part of cultural workers and the masses.


We track direct public interventions and public holdings in 1,114 financial institutions over the period 2007–17 in 37 countries based on publicly available information. We use aggregate official data to validate this new dataset and estimate the fiscal impact of interventions, including the value of asset holdings remaining in state hands at end-2017. Direct public support to financial institutions amounted to $1.6 trillion ($3.5 trillion including guarantees), with larger amounts allocated to lower capitalized and less profitable banks. As of end-2017, only a few countries had fully divested the initial support they provided during the crisis. Public holdings were divested faster in better capitalized, more profitable, and more liquid banks, and in countries where the economy recovered faster. In countries where the government stake remained high relative to the initial intervention, private investment and credit growth were slower, financial access, depth, efficiency, and competition were worse, and financial stability improved less.


The Correlated Hyperspherical Harmonic expansion method is used to calculate alpha-particle properties with a realistic hamiltonian consisting of the Argonne V14 two nucleon and Urbana model VIII three nucleon potentials. The calculated binding energy, mass radius and wave percentages are close to the corresponding quantities obtained with Green's Function Monte Carlo and Faddeev-Yakubovsky techniques.


Individuals and societies to proceed is the realization of individual value and social harmony and orderly development channels.from the organic combination of personal and social and political and ideological education to promote the personal and social causes and the organic combination of methods for discussion.


The study of Coulomb excitation of 11Be to the first excited state in intermediate energy collisions with heavy targets is presented. The existing experimental data are reanalised by including the probability of projectile survival into the calculation of Coulomb excitation cross sections. The survival probabilities are calculated using a recently developed global optical model potential tailored in line with the double folding model. The extracted B(E1) values for the transition 1/2+ --> 1/2- in 11Be are found to be slightly larger than those obtained so far using the b_0-recipe in Coulomb excitation theory.


In this paper, new measurements of frost nucleation time and growth rate on a small 0.3m by 0.3m microchannel heat exchanger are presented. During the data reduction, fin surface temperature, uniform air temperature distribution, air lift and drag effects, and air velocity distribution were carefully evaluated and taken into consideration. The microchannel fin surface temperature, entering air face velocity, relative humidity and the amount of water retained within the fins were varied in a parametric fashion in order to identify the predominant factors affecting the frosting performance. Results show that the water retention and air face velocity do not have a significant impact on the frosting cycle while surface temperature and air relative humidity affect the frosting time considerably. Digital videos of frost formation confirmed that frost does not nucleate from large water droplets within the fins but mainly from the leading edges at the front of the fins.


The occurrence of contingencies in power systems and their impacts are non-deterministic, justifying probabilistic approaches to power system security assessment. In this work, a probabilistic methodology to assess the security of electrical power systems is applied. The IEEE 39 and 118 bus systems are used as case studies. The distributions of security indices such as Expected Demand not Served are derived by performing nonsequential Monte Carlo simulations and by considering remedial actions such as load shedding and line tripping. In order to account for the uncertainty in the knowledge of their values, various failure probabilities for the individual elements of the power system are considered. Results are discussed in terms of evaluating both the method applied as well as the security of the examined systems.


This study empirically investigates how China's real output responds to the appreciation of Chinese exchange rate during the period 1980 to 2010. The aim is to explore whether the appreciation of yuan is expansionary or contractionary in China. Since similar empirical studies on the relationship between output and exchange rate are lacking, this empirical work contributes to serve as a guideline on possible directions of effects and future research and it provide several policy implications for China's policymakers. Cointegration technique and error correction models by using aggregate annual data are applied for empirical analysis. This study finds evidence that yuan appreciation has a negative impact on China's output in the long run, indicating currency appreciation is indeed contractionary in China which is consistent with theoretical expectation of current and previous studies. In addition, the empirical findings show that China's real output is positively associated with expansionary monetary policy, fiscal policy and the world output. Key-words: exchange rate, output's response, China, cointegration, error correction


This paper deals with a discrete diffusive predator–prey system involving two competing preys and one predator in a shifting habitat induced by the climate change. By applying Schauder's fixed‐point theorem on various invariant cones via constructing several pairs of generalized super‐ and subsolutions, we establish four different types of supercritical and critical forced extinction waves, which describe the conversion from the state of a saturated aboriginal prey with a pair of invading alien predator–prey, two competing aboriginal coexistent preys with an invading alien predator, a pair of aboriginal coexistent predator–prey and an invading alien prey, and the coexistence of three species to the extinction state, respectively. Meanwhile, the nonexistence of some subcritical forced waves is showed by contradiction. Furthermore, some numerical simulations are given to present and promote the theoretical results.


The issue of servants' acts is one of the most controversial issues in Islamic thought and helped to sharpen the characteristics and differences between theological schools, mainly due to its relation to taklīf and servants' responsibility. Therefore, understandings of this issue revealed differences in understandings of divine justice and wisdom, as well as in interpretations of fate and destiny.
One of the noteworthy theories is that of Ibn 'Arabī (d. 638/1240) and his followers, who attempted to establish responsibility and negate the determinism of servants through al-a'yān al-thābita (fixed entities) and ʻadam maj'ūliyat al-mahiya (un-createdness of quiddities). They also focused on the construction of fate and destiny in accordance with this theory and considered such construction to constitute "the secret of destiny" and "the absolute proof" of God over the peoples.
While studying the servants' acts and the extent of their freedom of choice, we must deal with the issue of fate and destiny, as nothing in this universe is beyond fate and destiny. Human beings and their voluntary acts are no more than a part of this fate. We, therefore, first set out to understand the meaning of fate and destiny as understood by Ibn Arabi in this article. Then, we clarify the meaning of al-a'yān al-thābita. Next, we detail the issue of createdness of quiddities; as the universal entities are no more than realities and quiddities, we then tackle the issue of preparedness of quiddity and its relation to the establishment of the servant's freedom and the negation of determinism. Finally, we explore criticisms of this theory and try to present an objective evaluation of opinions on the issue.


Objective To investigate the effects of insulin receptor substrate 1(IRS1) and activity of IRS1 serine phosphorylation on the development of insulin resistant. Methods 20 male C57BL/6 mice were divided into normal diet group(NC) and high fat diet group(HF) and all mice showed insulin resistance.The mice in HF were fed with high fat diet for 16 weeks.Serum insulin concentration was also evaluated by ELISA.RT-PCR,Western blot and immunofluorescence were performed to detect TSC2 and IRS1 mRNA and protein expression in skeletal muscle. Results As compared with NC group,HF group showed that fasting insulin value was increased(P0.01),OGTT was damaged,mRNA and protein expressions of TSC2 of skeletal muscle of mice were decreased(P0.05),and the expression of pIRS1Ser307 and pIRS1Ser636/639 was increased(P0.01).Conclusions High-fat diet possibly produces IR by inhibiting TSC2 mRNA and protein expression,and by increasing IRS1Ser307 and IRS1Ser636/639 phosphorylation levels in mice skeletal muscle.


Hydrocyclones can be used to fractionate fibres according to their papermaking potential. The obtained fractions typically differ in fibre wall thickness and/or degree of fibre treatment. Despite a ...


The purpose of this paper is to generalize the Brezis-Haraux theorem on the range of the sum of monotone operators from a Hilbert space to general Banach spaces. The result obtained provides that the range R(A + BT) is topologically almost equal to the sum R(A) + R(B) where r is a compatible topology in X** x X* as proposed by Gossez. To illustrate the main result we consider some basic properties of densely maximal monotone operators.


Constructing new homes or hardening existing homes, to increase their resistance to natural disasters, is a challenge. The cost to harden a home is not insignificant. It is an out-of pocket expense which the homeowner may be reluctant to pay, especially in times of economic challenge. In this report, the costs of building or remodeling a home for resilience were calculated in dollar terms. However, the actual benefit is a more abstract notion, making it more difficult for homeowners to justify that design and construction upgrades result in a favorable benefit/cost tradeoff. In order to make a clearer cost–benefit calculation, benefits associated with mitigation methods were defined and quantified. In this case, "benefit" has been defined as the damage avoided by incorporating resilient features, and "monetary value" as the avoided cost of damage. This methodology was then applied to two perils—wildfire and flooding. The final product provides value to homeowners by giving them a bottomline, dollars-and-cents method to evaluate the overall benefit of the available choices of buying a new house built to resilient standards, renovating their existing house to improve resilience against the disasters, or taking no action and leaving themselves exposed to potential disaster perils and expenses. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents. DESTROY THIS REPORT WHEN NO LONGER NEEDED. DO NOT RETURN IT TO THE ORIGINATOR. ERDC/CERL TR-13-10 iii


—In this paper we propose omnidirectional galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) to mitigate cybersickness in virtual reality applications. One of the most accepted theories indicates that Cybersickness is caused by the visually induced impression of ego motion while physically remaining at rest. As a result of this sensory mismatch, people associate negative symptoms with VR and sometimes avoid the technology altogether. To reconcile the two contradicting sensory perceptions, we investigate GVS to stimulate the vestibular canals behind our ears with low-current electrical signals that are specifically attuned to the visually displayed camera motion. We describe how to calibrate and generate the appropriate GVS signals in real-time for pre-recorded omnidirectional videos exhibiting ego-motion in all three spatial directions. For validation, we conduct an experiment presenting real-world 360° videos shot from a moving first-person perspective in a VR head-mounted display. Our findings indicate that GVS is able to significantly reduce discomfort for cybersickness-susceptible VR users, creating a deeper and more enjoyable immersive experience for many people. by galvanic stimulation of the vestibular system. In the experiment, the participants indicated all changes of their feeling of comfort via button presses, which allows us to derive a general progression of discomfort over the time of the experiment. Based on this data, a significantly higher feeling of comfort was achieved with the use of GVS. This substantial improvement was present during almost the entire scene with fast movements, but also in large portions of the walking scene.


Abstract Cervical spondylotic changes have been found in more than 80% of persons over the age of 55 years. Advanced spondylotic changes can narrow the vertebral and intervertebral foramina and restrict cervical mobility. This case report describes movement analysis and the clinical decision-making used prior to the application of translatoric mobilization to an 80-year-old male with severe movement restriction secondary to cervical spondylosis. Joint specific non-rotatory mobilization techniques were used to increase cervical range of motion. Left cervical rotation improved by 60°; right rotation by 30°; and backward bending by 22°. Medical literature regarding conservative treatment options for cervical spondylosis make no mention of referral to an orthopedic manual physical therapist for movement analysis or for manual intervention using translatoric mobilization techniques. This case demonstrates the potential effectiveness of non-rotational mobilization techniques in a patient with significant movement restriction due to severe cervical spondylosis. Translatoric mobilization was effective in reducing symptoms, increasing cervical ROM, and improving function in this patient.


We shall describe an approved experiment [1] at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Total and Differential Cross Sections and Polarization Effects in pp Elastic Scattering at RHIC, PP2PP experiment. By measuring single spin asymmetries such as AN, double spin correlation parameter ANN, and cross section difference ΔσT=σtot(↑,↓)−σtot(↑,↓), we will be able to determine the helicity amplitudes φi. Those amplitudes are not well known now, so their systematic study at RHIC will help to understand the spin structure of the nucleon and of the exchanged mediators of the force.


Objective To analyses the clinical features of extrapontine myelinolysis(EPM) cused by pituitrin.Methods The clinical data of a patient with EPM cused by pituitrin was retrospective analysis.Results The patient was psychiatric and behavior disorder 6 d after pituitrin intravenous drip for treated bronchiectasis and hemptysis.Meanwhile,her blood sodium was 109.0 mmol/L.After the hyponatremia was corrected within 2 d,her psychiatric symptom got more seriously,and disturbance of consciousness and seizures were successively appeared.Examination found that pharyngeal reflex was weakened,extremities muscle force and tension were reduced,and the pathological reflexes was positive.The level of blood sodium was 137.6 mmol/L.MRI was showed that there were symmetrical low signal on T1WI,high signal on T2WI,Flair and DWI in the bilateral caudate nucleus,lenticular nucleus and thalamic region.After the treatment with glucocorticoid and palliatively supporting therapy,the symptoms of the case were improved.Sixteen months later,she can make self-care partly.Conclusions Pituitrin can cause in hyponatremia secondary to EPM.It can aggravate brain damage if redressing hyponatremia too quickly.


Leaf springs are main part of the suspension system of any automobile. These are used in heavy commercial vehicles such as vans and trucks, Multiaxle vehicles. For heavy vehicles, they have the advantage of spreading the load more widely over the vehicle's chassis. Therefore, this type of suspension does not provide good riding comfort. The inter-leaf friction between the leaf springs affects the riding comfort. But still they are suited best for heavy duty commercial vehicles. It is a structural member and it absorbs the energy by its deflection and in current scenario, automobile industry is heading their way to lighten up their vehicle as much as they can without decrease in performance. This paper includes the study and comparison of existing leaf spring of heavy duty vehicles, considering recent as well as conventional materials.

The dimensions of existing conventional leaf spring of TATA LS3718 were taken and modelled in CATIA software and then FEA is performed in high optimization tool ANSYS. The objective is to compare load carrying capacity, stiffness and weight savings and to show the potential of composite against conventional steel. Theoretical and software based results are presented and compared for validation.


Objective To evaluate the effect of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system(LNG-IUS) on users' quality of life.Method Select 30 healthy productive women to use LNG-IUS voluntary.Assess them by quality of life satisfaction questionnaire 6 months after using LNG-IUS.Result Quality of sexual life score increases by 37 among 13 quality of life indexes.General quality of life satisfaction score for the past one week increases by 40.Compared to the score before using,P0.001.Compare the scores of emotion,family activity,work and insight of hobby before and after using the system,P0.05.Conclusion General quality of life for healthy productive women is improved after using LNG-IUS for 6 months.


We investigated the influence of nicotine on the release of ACh from rat striatal slices in the presence of domperidone to remove dopamine inhibition of ACh release. In medium facilitating glutamatergic transmission (with glycine and without Mg) nicotine increased the release of ACh evoked by mild potassium depolarization. This effect of nicotine was not present in resting conditions or when the tissue was fully depolarized. Enhancement of the release of ACh was prevented by tetrodotoxine, nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine, and glutamate NMDA antagonist MK 801. Our results suggest that nicotine increases ACh release indirectly by stimulation of nicotinic receptors on glutamatergic nerve terminals leading to the enhancement of glutamate release. Released glutamate in turn increases firing of cholinergic interneurons and ACh release. Nicotinic receptors on striatal glutamatergic nerve terminals perhaps play a role in the mechanism of striatal cholinergic hyperactivity observed in Parkinson's disease.

Acknowledgements: Supported by grants GACR 305/01/0283 and GAAV 5011206.


Yunzhai's story is the only contributed story collection by Sun Li in his old age.The author recapitulated his thinking about history and his understanding of life,so as to create a series of vivid stories.It clearly showed the power of realism.At the same time,the language of Yunzhai's story also reached a typical highest level.


This paper analyzes the structure of a new type of linear and rotary stepper motor. The paper establishes the motor's mathematical model of the linear part's thrust, concluding the thrust relationship of the special motor, which provides an effective theoretical basis for designing this motors. It simulates the motor's structure model through analysis and Ansoft software which is a finite element software. The result verifies the effectiveness of the theoretical calculation.


This paper deseribes an acid-based electroless Cu deposition system employing CuCl 2 -HNO 3 chemistry in a HF-NH 4 F buffer solution. With the help of nitric acid, Cu can he deposited on SiO /Ta/TaN substrate without the insertion of a Cu seed layer. The deposition rate is found to decrease with increasing [HNO 3 ] in the solution. The roles of [NO 3 ], [F], [Cl], [NH 4 ]. Si, and TaN in the system are identified based on split experiments. Si acts as the reducing agent while [F] and [Cl] ions form complexions with and transmit electrons to Cu 2+ . Overall, a deposition rate of 2700 A/min with a Cu resistivity of 2.35 μΩ cm can be achieved.


Clustering is widely used in data mining and machine learning. The possibilistic c-means clustering (PCM) method loosens the constraint of the fuzzy c-means clustering (FCM) method to solve the problem of noise sensitivity of FCM. But there is also a new problem: overlapping cluster centers are not suitable for clustering non-cluster distribution data. We propose a novel possibilistic c-means clustering method based on the nearest-neighbour isolation similarity in this paper. All samples are taken as the initial cluster centers in the proposed approach to obtain k sub-clusters iteratively. Then the first b samples farthest from the center of each sub-cluster are chosen to represent the sub-cluster. Afterward, sub-clusters are mapped to the distinguishable space by using these selected samples to calculate the nearest-neighbour isolation similarity of the sub-clusters. Then, adjacent sub-clusters can be merged according to the presented connecting strategy, and finally, C clusters are obtained. Our method proposed in this paper has been tested on 15 UCI benchmark datasets and a synthetic dataset. Experimental results show that our proposed method is suitable for clustering non-cluster distribution data, and the clustering results are better than those of the comparison methods with solid robustness.


Information sources a product or service will potentially affect a domestic guest's purchase decision. The characteristics of guest's influence the manner in which they search for, rate, and use information about tourism related product or services. The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of domestic guests' characteristic to Jakarta Star Hotels and information source importance ratings. It concludes that word-ofmouth information is rated most important on image analysis, followed by past experience and other media sources. Additionally, several relevant demographic and social psychological characteristic are related to rating of hotel information sources.


In the four operas of the Ring cycle, Wagner presents a world in crisis and undergoing change but a coherent, rule-governed world nonetheless. Using as his raw material the medieval saga of the Nibelungenlied,' Wagner works up a presentation of a world in which the central character, Wotan, ruler of this world, attempts to carry out a plan and is unsuccessful in doing so. Such a bare representation of the drama of the Ring is highly misleading because everything about Wotan is problematic: his statement of his plan, his will to carry out the statement, his action in relation to the statement, and his relationships to the other characters concerning the statement. In this essay I want to suggest that in the character of Wotan, Wagner's work explores the limits of the modern, patriarchal subject, and begins to move toward what has emerged as a feminist position. And if this is the case, the criticism of Wagner's work by his friend and later enemy, Friedrich Nietzsche, loses some of its force and needs to be reexamined.


The relevance of the problem under study stems from the fact that the practice of terrorism is one of the main challenges of contemporary world politics, affecting various regions of our planet. In this regard, the study of this phenomenon within a particular region deserves special attention, Northern Ireland in this case. The practice of terrorism there has been a destabilising challenge almost throughout the twentieth century and is associated with unresolved interethnic and interreligious problems. The aim of the paper is to identify factors in the emergence, spread and de-escalation of political violence in Northern Ireland in a historical retrospective. The main approaches to the study of the problem in question are historical and analytical methods. The study shows the main reasons for the emergence and escalation of political violence and terrorism in Northern Ireland and indicates the main measures to find compromise in a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic society, which may be a model for the resolution of similar conflicts in other regions of the modern world. The materials of the paper can help to study the specifics of regional terrorism, to identify the main factors that allow reducing the level of social conflict, and to understand similar phenomena in other regions (the Balkan Peninsula, the Middle East, etc.). Moreover, it reveals the needs to make the awareness of the educated class of the society.


Introduction The fact that the photoperiodicity as one of the external factors of the environment plays important role on the maturation of the gonad of Ayu has demonstrated by Nonaka (1957)*. Similar results have been obtained by several investigators, such as the staff of Gifu Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station (1959, 1960)*, Kobayashi and Matsumoto (1960)*, and Shiraishi and Takeda (1961). The prolonged day light upon the annual Ayu fish induces the delay of maturation of gametes and prolongation of the life span of the fish beyond the natural breeding season. On the contrary, the time of spawning is accelerated one or two months earlier than that of natural spawning after the treatment of short day light. What mechanism is related to the modification of the rate of maturity of gonad affected with artificial controlled photoperiodicity? In their excellent experiments in birds, for example, Benoit (and his collaborators) (1962) have suggested that the hypothalamo-hypophysial neurosecretory activity stimulated with light rhythm through cerebral cortex has intimate relation to the maturity of gonad. Therefore, the


Nanocrystalline silicon carbide (nc-SiC) is an interesting material for electronics applications, both in its own right and as a host matrix for silicon quantum dots. When synthesized by annealing of a-SiC:H on Si substrates, interdiffusion of dopants occurs if either the a-SiC:H or the Si substrate is doped. Annealing a-SiC:H on highly boron-doped substrates at 1100 °C leads to a fairly homogeneous doping level of ≥4 × 1019 cm−3 throughout the nc-SiC film. An unexpected anomaly in secondary ion mass spectroscopy quantification is observed and a method to circumvent it is shown. The nanostructure of the nc-SiC is only weakly affected as most of the diffusion occurs after the onset of crystallization. Annealing of doped a-SiC:H on Si substrates at 1100 °C leads to strong free carrier absorption at infrared wavelengths. This is demonstrated to originate from dopants that have diffused from the a-SiC:H to the Si substrate, and a method is developed to extract from it the doping profile in the Si substrate. T...