T ourism is a  fast  growing  industry  around  the  globe,  including  in  Indonesia. Report  published  by  UNWTO  in  2015,  shows  that  the  industry  contributes  9 percent of the world GDP. Recently, Indonesia is taking more serious action in developing tourism industry in the country. Tourism has been set up as the biggest money spinner for Indonesian foreign revenue in the future. The goal of the Indonesian government is to achieve more than 20 million foreign tourists by 2019. Many Indonesian cities transform themselves to be a place of doing business as well as a place to visit. As the second biggest city in Indonesia, Surabaya plays important role as the hub of development for eastern part of the country. Surabaya has grown from manufacture based city into service and trade city. Tourism destination development becomes one of the important issues in Surabaya. Since 2005, the use of city branding "Sparkling Surabaya", has made the city become one of tourist destinations in East Java region. Destination development needs constant and effective support by the stakeholders. The local government has an important role in destination development. This study aims to identify the role of the government in the process of developing the destination in Surabaya. This study is done qualitatively by using in depth interview with the executives body that represented by Surabaya Tourism Office, as the primary data. The strategy and the action plan of the government are also explored in the study. The result shows that Surabaya  government  has  an  important  role  in  destination  development;  by working closely with other stakeholders, such as private business and local community. This study can be used by the government as the reflection of their strategy in developing the destination. Moreover, all of the executives of Surabaya government need to have the same objectives and perspective in developing Surabaya as tourist destination in Indonesia.


We argue that work on norms provides a way to move beyond debates between proponents of individualist and structuralist approaches to bias, oppression, and injustice. We briefly map out the geography of that debate before presenting Charlotte Witt's view, showing how her position, and the normative ascriptivism at its heart, seamlessly connects individuals to the social reality they inhabit. We then describe recent empirical work on the psychology of norms and locate the notions of informal institutions and soft structures with respect to it. Finally, we argue that the empirical resources enrich Witt's ascriptivism, and that the resulting picture shows theorists need not, indeed should not, choose between either the individualist or structuralist


The aim of this work was to study the effectiveness of two post-fire emergence rehabilitation techniques (seeding and mulching) for reducing soil erosion as well as their effects on the soil quality; therefore in the field, experimental plots of unburnt soil, burnt soil, burnt soil plus seeding and burnt soil plus mulching were established. Soil samples were collected from the A horizon and a wide range of physical, chemical and biological soil properties were analyzed to evaluate soil quality. The effect of fire on the vegetation cover was observed after one year and changes in soil properties persisted even after four years. The phospholipid fatty acids pattern showed that in the medium-term (8-48 months after the fire), the fire may modify the soil microbial communities by altering the plant community via plant-induced changes in the soil environment. No effect of seeding or mulching on the vegetation cover was observed. The mean efficiency in preventing soil erosion between 8 and 12 months after the fire and the application of the treatments was 11% for seeding and 65% for mulching. These stabilization treatments had a minor influence on the post-fire soil quality in the medium-term (48 months); therefore, taking into account its effectiveness for reducing soil erosion, the mulching treatment is recommended as the best post-fire stabilization technique.


Compressed Sensing(CS) is a recently proposed theory that enables the exact reconstruction of signal sampled via sub-Nyquist sampling rate.The theory has been applying for simplifying the traditional sampling hardware,reducing sampling time consumption and decreasing storage space of data.Benefiting from the superiority of CS technique for speech signal transmission,we propose an adaptive inter-frame speech compressed sensing method.Under the assumption that speech signal is sparse in Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT) domain and according to the statistical behavior of speech signal frames,our proposed method takes into account both intra-frame energy and inter-frame consecution of location in our adaptive compressed sensing algorithm.Experimental results show that,the method of intra-frame energy adaption can promote the speech recovery quality apparently and the method of location adaption can reduce the speech recovery time obviously.Namely,the proposed adaptive compressed sensing algorithm in this letter can achieve higher speech reconstruction performance with less time consuming.


Background Ischemic strokes (ISs) can appear even in non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA scores 0~1 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We explored the determinants associated with IS development among the patients with non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA score 0~1 AF. Methods and Results In this single-center retrospective registry data for AF catheter ablation (AFCA), we included 1,353 patients with AF (24.7% female, median age 56 years, and paroxysmal AF 72.6%) who had non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA score 0~1, normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function, and available H2FPEF score. Among those patients, 113 experienced IS despite a non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA score of 0~1. All included patients underwent AFCA, and we evaluated the associated factors with IS in non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA score 0~1 AF. Patients with ISs in this study had a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (p < 0.001) and LV ejection fraction (LVEF; p = 0.017), larger LA diameter (p < 0.001), reduced LA appendage peak velocity (p < 0.001), and a higher baseline H2FPEF score (p = 0.018) relative to those without ISs. Age [odds ratio (OR) 1.11 (1.07–1.17), p < 0.001, Model 1] and H2FPEF score as continuous [OR 1.31 (1.03–1.67), p = 0.028, Model 2] variable were independently associated with ISs by multivariate analysis. Moreover, the eGFR was independently associated with IS at low CHA2DS2-VA scores in both Models 1 and 2. AF recurrence was significantly higher in patients with IS (log-rank p < 0.001) but not in those with high H2FPEF scores (log-rank p = 0.079), respectively. Conclusions Among the patients with normal LVEF and non-gender-related CHA2DS2-VA score 0~1 AF, the high H2FPEF score, and increasing age were independently associated with IS development (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02138695).


To study the effects of fuel-injection timing adjustment of biodiesel engine,the performance tests, including combustion characteristics and emissions, are conducted on a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel-diesel blend. The results indicate that pressure of combustion, rate of heat release and combustion temperature are prior to the original timing and decreasing 3 ° CA when fuel injection advance angle increasing 3 ° CA ;NO emission increases when increasing the fuel injection advance angle and vice versa in any condition. Smoke intensity with the adjustment of fuel injection advance angle. Adjustment of fuel injection advance angle in ± 3 ° CA hardly affect the value of HC and CO emission,but HC and CO emission become bad in ± 6 ° CA. Test results indicate that fuel injection advance angle decreasing 3 ° CA is better , and there are imperceptible changes in HC and CO emission, NO emission decreases.


In view of the need of a boundary condition to obtain the unique solution for the steady-state constraints of permanent magnet synchronous generators(PMSGs)that are a set of indeterminate equations with the reactive power output of the machine-side converter unfixed,steady-state solutions based on the stator current/voltage orientations are proposed.Because of inconsistency with the reactive power balance of the machine-side-converter,the solutions under two orientations are different.Further consideration of the power dispatch by adjusting the rotor speed or the pitch angle,steady-state solutions to PMSG are proposed.The numerical results show that:(1)the stator current orientation yields less active loss and higher efficiency,but absorbs more reactive power;(2)with increased wind speed,the PMSG absorbs more reactive power,the efficiency decreases with stator current orientation,but increases with stator voltage orientation;(3)active power dispatch may be realized by changing the rotor speed or the pitch angle,while the efficiency is different,and adjusting the pitch angle yields better convergence than adjusting the rotor speed.


The past 40 years have witnessed quantum environmental changes, which have driven business organisations to constantly adopt and change so as to attain sustainability over time. The quest for survival entails the effort of every business organization to strike a delicate balance between environmental and organizational imperatives. These deep and continuous and many of times chaotic changes have propagated a number of novel organizational forms. The terms "network organization" have been used by researchers in some variety and without a clear consensus as to what they mean. Most of the scholarly research has focused on the dyadic relations on a network with a number of notable exceptions analyzing the network as a whole integrated entity and not its constituting organization. This paper analyzes the network organization on the network level and not on the organizational level. Consequently, and because of the lack of any formal mechanisms of coordination and control in a such entity, which conversely exists on the organizational level of analysis, the issue of network governance becomes very prevalent. In that respect, a number of different forms of governance are conveyed along with their differentiating characteristics and the extent to which a given network organization is governed by the participant organizations in the network collectively, by a participant in the network organization on the basis of its power, legitimacy etc in a highly centralized manner or by an external to the network organization entity established exactly for the specific purpose of governing the network. The successful adoption of a particular form of governance is founded on four key structural and relational presuppositions: trust, number of the organizations comprising the network, goal consensus and the nature of the task which determines the competence level required. A basic postulation is that when focusing on network – level analysis and outcomes, the governance form adopted is critical for explaining network effectiveness. Salient items in the research agenda may be the validation of the different forms of governance in conjunction with the contextual framework of operations, the determination and the relationship of the governance form selection criteria and the power symmetry among the participant organizations in the network. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of I-DASInstitute for the Dissemination of Arts and Science.


The data sparsity problem has attracted significant attention in collaborative filtering-based recommender systems. To alleviate data sparsity, several previous efforts employed hybrid approaches that incorporate auxiliary data sources into recommendation techniques, like content, context, or social relationships. However, due to privacy and security concerns, it is generally difficult to collect such auxiliary information. In this article, we focus on the pure collaborative filtering methods without relying on any auxiliary data source. We propose an improved memory-based collaborative filtering approach enhanced by a novel similarity reinforcement mechanism. It can discover potential similarity relationships between users or items by making better use of known but limited user-item interactions, thus to extract plentiful historical rating information from similar neighbors to make more reliable and accurate rating predictions. This approach integrates user similarity reinforcement and item similarity reinforcement into a comprehensive framework and lets them enhance each other. Comprehensive experiments conducted on several public datasets demonstrate that, in the face of data sparsity, our approach achieves a significant improvement in prediction accuracy when compared with the state-of-the-art memory-based and model-based collaborative filtering algorithms.


We consider the 2D hyperviscosity equations on T×R . We show that if the initial data of 2D hyperviscosity equations are ϵ‐close to the shear flows (U(y),0), which are sufficiently small perturbations of Couette flow (y,0), then the solution will stay ϵ‐close to (e−νt∂y4U(y),0) for all t>0, where ϵ≪ν12 and ν denotes the kinematic viscosity coefficient. What is more, by the mixing‐enhanced effect, the solutions converge to decaying shear flows for t≫ν−15 , which is faster than the heat‐equation timescale. Hence, we conclude that the stability threshold of 2D hyperviscosity equations with initial data (U(y),0) is not worse than ν12 .


Objective To explore the treatment of pregnancy-induced hypertension and its clinical value by observing the clinical efficacy of different treatment. Methods 150 patients with the pregnancy-induced hypertension were randomly divided into A group,B group and C group,each of 50 cases. A group was given with phentolamine combined with magnesium sulfate,B group was treated with magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine,C group was only given with magnesium. After treatment,observed the hematocrit,blood viscosity,urine protein,RI and S / D value. Compared the clinical efficacy of three groups. Results After treatment,the hematocrit,blood viscosity,urine protein,RI and S / D value of A group and B group were significantly lower than C group,the reduce degree was more obvious than C group,the differences were statistically significant( P 0. 05). The total effective rate of A group and B group were significantly higher than C group,differences were statistically significant( P 0. 05). Conclusion The combination of phentolamine or nifedipine with magnesium can significantly improve the therapeutic effect of pregnancy-induced hypertension,worthy of promotion.


Based on a brief analysis and reflection of the current state of English teaching in higher vocational colleges,the present writer suggests that English teaching should serve the targets of talent cultivation.Therefore,English teaching should be made more individualized and specific to satisfy the needs of higher vocational education.


The use of Box-Jenkins technique is still very limited due to the high level of knowledge required in comprehending the technique and the cumbersome iterative procedure which requires a large amount of cost and time. This paper proposes a method of automating the univariate Box-Jekins modelling to overcome the limitations of subjective identification in iterative procedure by using Variate Difference method, D-statistic and Pattern Recognition algorithm combined with Akaike's Information Criterion. The results of the application to real data show that the average performance of automatic modelling procedure is better or not worse, at least, than those of the existing models which have been manually set up and reported in the literature.


Up to now thermoelectric materials used in commercial energy conversion devices like infrared sensors, Peltier-coolers or thermogenerators do not take advantage of the enormous potentials provided by low-dimensional structures. The scope of this presentation is the experimental verification of the predicted increase of the thermoelectric figure of merit (FOM) ZT in low-dimensional systems above values of bulk materials. Concepts for the realization of devices using low dimensional structures based on the classical thermoelectric materials (V-VI-compounds for temperatures around 300 K and IV-VI-materials for temperatures up to 600 K, silicides for high temperature applications) were made. We will present briefly the preparation and thermoelectric properties of IV-VI and V-VI superlattice (SL) structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy as well as on Si-Ge SL structures grown by magnetron sputter epitaxy. An important part is the theoretical modeling of these new thin film devices. The results were used to determine the best suited geometrical dimensions and to compare the calculated device performance with the experimental results. Further more, the results will be discussed with respect to the rising industrial interest in high performance thermoelectric thin and thick film devices.


Soil amendment may enhance soil quality as well as reduce plant-parasitic nematode. Despite the many applications already undertaken using castor meal, its efficiency in controlling root-knot nematodes (RKN, Meloidogyne incognita) when applied to melon (Cucumis melo) is still not clear. Three different amounts of castor meal (Ricinus communis) applied were evaluated in microplots planted with melon either with or without RKN. The impact of castor meal on soil free-living nematode communities was also determined. Total nematode genera richness was estimated as 37 for the entire set of microplots sampled across both sampling dates. Rarefaction analysis resulted in 12 collector's curves out of the total of 30 that reached the horizontal asymptote. Univariate ANOVA with two factors yielded differences (p < 0.05) only with regard to the time factor. Simpson, Shannon, Evenness and Equitability indices showed a trend toward moderate increases by the end of the experiment, while the other indices were higher for tomato in pre-transplant sampling compared to harvest. Nematode community and diversity changed during the course of the experiment, although there was substantial confounding heterogeneity within and between the factorial combinations from the beginning. Root knot population was not reduced by the castor meal but increased throughout the period, regardless of treatment. RKN reduced melon yield, number and weight of melon.


Dr. Rothman of Haverhill, MA questioned the short duration of antimicrobial treatment and use of oral route for the patient with osteomyelitis presented by Bennett in PIR 1:153, November 1979. He noted that the traditional regimen for osteomyelitis calls for six weeks of intravenous antimicrobial therapy.
 Dr. Bennett quotes from Telzlaff et al (J Pediatr 92:485, 1978). In this report good results were found when antimicrobial regimens for patients with osteomyelitis and suppurative arthritis consisted of a brief initial period of parenteral therapy of only one to seven days followed by oral antimicrobial therapy begun when there was a definitive decrease in clinical signs of inflammation and continued for three weeks or longer. It is important to note that surgical drainage of pus was carried out, that antimicrobial blood levels were obtained after initiation of oral therapy to ensure adequate levels, that therapy was continued until all signs and symptoms had subsided, that there was no evidence of cortical destruction or sequestrum formation on roentgenogram, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was less than 20 mg/hr. When these conditions are met it is clear that oral therapy can be an adequate substitute for prolonged intravenous therapy for osteomyelitis in children.


1Lyson, Thomas A. 2002. "What does a school mean to a community? Assessing the social and economic benefits of schools to rural villages in New York. Journal of Research in Rural Education 17:131-137. What is the issue? Schools play multiple roles in communities of all sizes. Schools not only meet a community's educational needs, but they provide employment, social, cultural, and recreational opportunities for residents1. In the smallest and most remote communities, schools are often considered the civic institution and quite possibly the only economically viable institution in town. However, with the current budget crisis in New York State, school districts particularly smaller districts in rural areas face increased pressure to achieve cost savings through shared services and consolidation. Such constraints may affect the ability of these schools to serve their multiple roles and important functions in their local communities. Conversely, there may be opportunities for smaller school districts to weather the storm if those roles and the interests of local residents are better understood in cost/benefit calculations. Are New Yorkers satisfied with the public education in their communities? How can local schools best help their community? What additional services could schools offer to help their local community? To better understand these issues, we analyze data from 1,100 respondents to the 2009 Empire State Poll and CaRDI Rural Survey, telephone surveys conducted by the Survey Research Institute at Cornell University. We examine responses to a series of questions about public schools in New York State communities, comparing answers among downstate urban, upstate urban, and rural New York State respondents.


We present a joint theoretical and experimental characterization of thermo-refractive noise in high quality factor ($Q$), small mode volume ($V$) optical microcavities. Analogous to well-studied stability limits imposed by Brownian motion in macroscopic Fabry-Perot resonators, microcavity thermo-refractive noise gives rise to a mode volume-dependent maximum effective quality factor. State-of-the-art fabricated microcavities are found to be within one order of magnitude of this bound. We confirm the assumptions of our theory by measuring the noise spectrum of high-$Q/V$ silicon photonic crystal cavities and apply our results to estimate the optimal performance of proposed room temperature, all-optical qubits using cavity-enhanced bulk material nonlinearities.


The present invention discloses a simple and feasible method for synthesis of modified starch microspheres in a microemulsion system. According to the method, potato starch is prepared into a suspension liquid with a potato starch content of 4-20% by a NaOH solution with a pH value of 9 at a temperature from the room temperature to 50 DEG C, wherein the swelling time of the starch is 0-20 minutes; the prepared suspension liquid is added to microemulsion (oil:an emulsifying agent), wherein the oil phase temperature is 40-70 DEG C, the rotation speed is 100-600 rpm, the emulsifying temperature is 37-50 DEG C, the microemulsion is prepared by adding the clarified and transparent surfactant solution to the single oil phase system; a mixed solution comprising acetic ether and absolute alcohol is added to carry out extraction; the drying treatment is performed again, and finally the detection treatment is performed. With the method of the present invention, various requirements of various systems are met; purposes of convenient material taking, convenient use and cheap price are achieved; the physical and chemical properties of the microspheres can be controlled in the synthesis process.


Given that many cancer cells overexpress somatostatin (SMS) receptors on their membrane, several SMS analogs labeled with radionuclides have been developed aiming at the scintigraphic diagnosis and/or radiotherapy of SMS-positive neoplasms. Thus, a synthetic analog of the peptide hormone somatostatin (SMS) labeled with 111In (OctreoScan® 111) is routinely used for the in vivo localization of SMS-positive tumors in the clinic. Given that 99mTc remains the gold standard in Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine, we have synthesized two metabolically stabilized SMS analogs, N4-Bzl-Glyc-Tyr3-octreotide, 1, and N4-Bzl-Suc-octreotide, 2, by covalent coupling of a N4 bifunctional ligand to the N-terminal of the peptide backbone. The two analogs can be easily labeled with 99mTc under mild conditions leading to a single radiolabeled product in high yields and high specific activities. Both analogs significantly retain their ability to bind to the SMS receptor, as shown by proper competition binding experiments. After their administration in healthy mice both radiolabeled analogs were rapidly excreted from the body into the urine through the kidneys. The accumulation of the radioactivity in the SMS receptor rich organs, like pancreas and adrenals, was found specific by in vivo blocking tests.


Acacia tortilis (AT) was extracted and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor for aluminum matrix composites was investigated in 1.0M HCl at 30-60 °C. The concentration of the inhibitor and time were varied in the range of 0 – 10 % v/v and 24-144 h. The inhibition studies were carried out using gravimetric method and potentiodynamic polarization. The surface morphology of the coupons was characterized by SEM/EDS techniques. The GC-MS revealed some elements/compounds (NCS, C-H, N or O). The inhibition efficiency increased with concentration and decreased with increase in temperature. The optimum inhibition efficiency of 89.60% was obtained at concentration of 8% v/v at 30 °C. Potentiodynamic polarization confirmed that the inhibitor acts as mixed types inhibitor. Activation energy ( E a ) with inhibitor was higher than without inhibitor and proved to be physisorption. The thermodynamic parameters (standard free energy ΔG ° ), standard enthalpy ( ΔH ads ) and standard entropy ( ΔS ) of the adsorption Metall. Mater. Eng. Vol 23 (2) 2017 p. 153-166


Objective To study the effect of low-dose aspirin on the pre-eclamptic mouse model,and explore the lowest dose and best time for using aspirin to prevent preeclampsia.Methods To establish the pre-eclamptic mouse model,mice were injected with phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylcholine microvesicles in tail veins from days 5 to 16 of pregnancy.From days 5 to 16(groups M0,M1,M2 and M3)or days 10 to 16(groups m0,m1,m2 and m3),mice were given saline(M0 and m0),or aspirin at 0.13mg/d(M1 and m1),0.27mg/d(M2 and m2) and 0.53mg/d(M3 and m3).Systolic blood pressure(SBP) and 24h proteinuria were measured.The weights of the placenta and fetus,and the number of fetuses were evaluated.The placental fibrin deposition area was detected using immunohistochemistry.Results ①Compared with the controls,the mice given saline(M0 or m0) showed a significant elevation in SBP,a decrease in proteinuria and a more diffuse fibrin deposition area(P0.05).②In all above markers,M2 and M3 had significant differences compared with M0(P0.05),while there was no significant difference between M2 and M3(P0.05).③There was no significant difference among the mice given aspirin from days 10 to 16 of pregnancy(m1,m2 and m3)(P0.05).Conclusion Using aspirin at 0.27mg/d(about 100mg/d for human) from day 5 of pregnancy can improve placental blood circulation in the pre-eclamptic mouse model,decrease the formation of microthrombus,and benefit the mother and fetus.


Actual and future developments of the automotive market (e.g. the AUTOSAR project or car2car communication systems) will increase the need for a suitable cryptographic infrastructure in modern vehicles. A core component for such a generic cryptographic core is a secure cryptographic hash function, because these functions are the base for a lot of applications like challenge-reponse authentication systems and digital signature schemes. In the present paper we evaluate the SHA-3 candidate Grostl with respect to area requirements, which play a very important role for cost-sensitive markets. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has started a competition for a new secure hash standard. In this context third party implementations of all proposed hash functions are regarded as an important part of the competition. We chose to implement the Grostl hash function for FPGAs, for its resemblance to AES. More precisely we developed two optimized versions, one optimized for throughput, the other one for area. Both implementations improve the results and estimates presented in the original submission to the competition. The performance of both implementations may be improved further, thus Grostl seems to be a good candidate for implementations on medium sized FPGAs. Besides that, it is shown that Grostl needs a significant amount of resources, which will hinder its use for automotive applications.


In this paper we present an approach to minimize the actuarial risk for the optimal choice of a form of reinsurance, and this is intended to be through a choice of treated parameters that minimize the risk using the Conditional Tail Expectation and the Conditional Tail Variance risk measures. The minimization procedure is based on the Augmented Lagrangian and a genetic algorithm with technical benefit as a constraint. This approach can be seen as a decision support tool that can be used by managers to minimize the actuarial risk in the insurance company.


A highly sensitive and selective method for specific DNA sequence detection is developed using a non-labeled molecular beacon( MB) and a nucleic acid dye Hoechst 33258. It is demonstrated by a specific DNA sequence of wild-type HBV as a model system. In this strategy,the stem of MB is completely designed as C /G base pairs. In the absence of target DNA,the interaction between Hoechst 33258 and the MBs is very weak,and the fluorescence signals of Hoechst 33258 is very low. In the presence of target DNA,the MBs hybridize with the target DNA and form double-stranded structure. Hoechst 33258 binds to dsDNA,and the fluorescence intensity is significantly enhanced. Under the optimum conditions,the fluorescence intensity of Hoechst 33258 exhibits good linear dependence on target DNA concentration in the range of 2 × 10-10- 2×10-8mol /L. The fitted regression equation is ΔI = 3. 3439C( 10-10mol /L) +18. 6949( R2= 0. 9982) with a correlation coefficient of 0. 9982( R2),and the detection limit is 9 × 10-11mol /L( 3σ). The proposed method has good precision,simple operation,fast detection speed,low detection limit,high accuracy and high sensitivity.


Developing high-efficiency photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction is one of the potential solutions to address both energy and pollutions issues. In this study, α-Fe2O3 modified La2Ti2O7 was successfully synthesized with intimate...


This paper considers the factors militating against the ready adoption of cloud services by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. The paper recognizes that the major challenges affecting the adoption of cloud services in Nigeria include infrastructural issues such as lack of adequate and affordable Internet network facilities and unstable power supply. Other factors include lack of proper awareness of the benefits of cloud services, high cost of bandwidth, and high cost of supporting cloud services among others. To mitigate these problems it is suggested that private organizations should make more investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Nigeria and government on its part should create the enabling environment for this to be achieved. Private and public institutions alike should increase effort to encourage SMEs to understand the benefits of adopting cloud services to their bottom-line. Other ways the adoption of cloud services can be improved include the establishment of more focused research in the area of cloud computing; private organizations and possibly government can sponsor such researches. Furthermore, regulation including enforcement of data protection laws and all other intellectual property rights protection regime should be adequately enforced. If all these challenges are resolved cloud computing has the potential to be the next big thing in Nigeria and revolutionize the profitability of SMEs.


The climate system of the Earth undergoes dramatic changes over the past few millennia and information about these changes can best be obtained from the study of a spectrum of climate dependent natural processes that are measurable using geological archives. Such measurements of climate parameters using proxies in geological archives are now being used widely to refine climate predictive models deduced from limited instrumental measurements. Although several archives are used to measure climate parameters using proxy evidences, the potentials of soils are rarely being used in paleo-climate studies. Here, we examine records of climate changes in a few soil profiles in the forestlands of the Southern Western Ghats, SW India. The altitudinal height of the studied locations ranges from 150 m to 2000 m above msl. Clay, sandy clay and sandy clay loam are the dominant soil types of the area. Among the different forest categories of the study area, tropical montane forests sequester higher organic carbon and nitrogen in the soils. Radiocarbon dates of the organic rich samples of the soil profiles vary from 3150 ± 90 yrs BP to Modern age. The study reveals that the soil of the study area is developed in high rain fall events punctuated by a dry event at 1500-1000 yrs BP.


We combine new accurate calculations, asymptotic relations, and available experimental data to construct an H− photodetachment cross section reliable for a large range of photon energies.


In this work we present a theoretical study on the possible use of quasicrystals as potential thermoelectric materials. By considering a suitable model for the spectral conductivity we show that high values of the thermoelectric figure of merit, beyond the practical upper limit ZT=1, may be expected for certain quasicrystalline alloys. We also study their performance at different working temperature ranges, favoring low temperature thermoelectric applications for these materials. By comparing our analytical results with available experimental data on the transport coefficients of different quasicrystalline families, we suggest the icosahedral Cd-Yb and the dodecagonal Ta-Te binary phases as two promising candidates for further research.


A dimensional analysis of the classical partition function for ionic molecules leads to simple universal relations for the calculation of nonelectronic entropies and free energy functions. The model is tested for a large number of species with different stoichiometries and degrees of ionicity (MX, MX2, M2X2, and ions MX±1). The success of these tests demonstrates the validity and usefulness of the model. Since the only quantities required for the calculation are the interatomic distance and atomic masses, this procedure can greatly simplify the calculation of these thermodynamic functions for an unknown species. As an illustration, calculated thermodynamic data are presented for the seven alkali halide dimers for which data are not available.


The bedrock of patient and doctor trust is under threat. Government moves to centralise patient records are putting the security of medical records at risk, which in turn is jeopardising patient confidentiality. This is being felt most among those with sensitive medical records such as substance users, young people and those with mental health problems. In a scathing article, Ross Anderson exposes the government's rush to create an unwieldy database at the expense of security. He reveals a deliberate avoidance to seek patient consent and uncovers a worrying exposure of our most intimate details to exploitation by commerce, police and criminals.


With the opening and reform and the deepening of political democracy,various social trends never cease to emerge.Colleges and universities are a platform to assemble new ideological trend collection.With active minds and changeable complicated values,college students are most vulnerable to the impact of various ideologies.To prevent college students from eroding and poisoning by adverse thoughts,and to help them to have correct world outlook,outlook on life and values,it is indispensable to guide the campus thoughts with socialism core value system and secure a healthy development of the campus thoughts.


Objective To investigate the expression variation of kidney OATP-3 in rats relating to rocuronium metabolism in anhepatic phase and to primarily explain the reason of extrahepatic metabolism characters of rocuronium. Methods Twelve rats were distributed to 2 groups randomly with 6 in each: Group A (control group) and Group B in which the hepatic portal devascularization was performed for 60 min. Kidney tissues of the rats were taken. oatp-3 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR and OATP-3 protein by Western blotting. Results The expression levels of kidney OATP-3 mRNA and protein in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A(P0.01). Conclusion Kidney OATP-3 and its gene expression levels are increased in rats during anhepatic phase than before hepatic portal dissociation, which is presumably due to the enhanced extrahepatic metabolism of rocuronium in anhepatic phase.


With a view towards eliminating the existing dichotomy between illness and health, the concept of health-within-illness appeared in nursing research on health in persons living with chronic disease. Presently, research on this phenomenon is mainly centred on the experience of wellness not revealing that of illness. At the same time, few studies have been aimed at understanding the coexistence of the experience of wellness and illness involved in the daily lives of persons with chronic disease. Furthermore, none have addressed a population living with systemic sclerosis. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to describe and understand the experience of systemic sclerosis as well as that of heath-within-illness in adults living with this chronic disease. The disciplinary perspective of the researcher, in this case, Watson's human caring philosophy (1979, 1988, 2006, 2008), supported the research process. In accordance with this author, van Manen's (1984, 1987, 2002) hermeneutic existential phenomenological method was chosen as the basis of the research process. Data was mainly collected from the experience of adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis, through 34 in-depth interviews with 17 participants (14 women and three men). The results allowed the identification of four themes that describe, on the one hand, the essence of the experience of systemic sclerosis, that is: (a) endless suffering of a diseased body; (b) the inner and relational disharmony of the self; (c) the process of adjustment and (d) adjustment heuristics. On the other hand, the following two themes emerged showing the essence of the experience of health-within-illness: (a) empowerment of a new self and (b) harmony with life. The two essences were interrelated in order to develop a conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-


Background: Nephrotic syndrome is a significant cause of chronic renal disease in children. The objective of the study was to analyze demographic profile, response to steroids and associated complications, in children with Nephrotic syndrome.Methods: A retrospective study of all patients referred to Renal diseases clinic at GMERS Medical College Gotri Vadodara was done. Period of study was from year 2014 to June 2017. Variables assessed were sex distribution, age at presentation for first attack, occurrence of complications, steroid responsiveness and use of steroid sparing agents. Study was done from special clinic cards used for documentation of visits of patients in Nephrotic disease special clinic.Results: 59 patients were studied. Mean age at presentation of was 4.08 years. Sex distribution ratio was 1.18:1. 88% of cases were infrequent relapsers. Steroid dependence was observed in 8.4% of cases. Complications were noted in 38% children. UTI was the commonest complication 13.5%. Associated renal conditions were present in 5% of children.Conclusions: In the present study clinical profile of children with Nephrotic syndrome was concordant with typical nephrotic syndrome in children. Pattern of nephrotic syndrome and response to treatment did not differ significantly from other studies.


The paper describes the georeferencing part of an airborne hyperspectral imaging system based on pushbroom scanning. Using ray-tracing methods from computer graphics and a highly efficient representation of the digital elevation model (DEM), georeferencing of high resolution pushbroom images runs in real time by a large margin. By adapting the georeferencing to match the DEM resolution, the camera field of view and the flight altitude, the method has potential to provide real time georeferencing, even for HD video on a high resolution DEM when a graphics processing unit (GPU) is used for processing.


The methodology of structure determination from X-ray diffraction data has been employed as a tool able to define the configurational and conformational aspects of the new bioactive compounds, which are directly related to the biological activity. In this work, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) was used to carry out the crystal structure determination of LASSBio-1733, which was initially obtained as part of a project of synthesis of novel anti-inflammatory and analgesic leads with a N-acylhydrazone scaffold. The measurements were performed at room temperature on a Stoe STADI-P powder diffractometer in transmission geometry by using a CuKα 1 (λ = 1.54056 A) wavelength. LASSBio-1733 crystallizes in an orthorhombic crystal system, space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with unit-cell dimensions a = 25.2049(13) A, b = 10.2952(6) A, c = 5.2333(3) A, α = β = γ = 90 °, V = 1357.99(13) A 3 . The structure was energy-minimised with dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D). 1 Additionally, other experimental techniques were employed in characterization of this compound.


lyophilised powder, which has to be dissolved separately for each examination. The second generation of low osmolar radiological contrast media (iohexol, iopamidol, ioxaglate) have been introduced into clinical practice within the last two years and they have substantial advantages over metrizamide.' They are about one sixth of its cost (but still three to five times the cost of conventional ionic radiological contrast media); they are autoclavable in solution and are therefore supplied in sterile ampouled solutions; and their low osmolality and intravascular toxicity are similar to those of metrizamide. Low osmolar products have very substantial advantages for intravascular use. Firstly, all varieties of arteriography (including aortography and cerebral, femoral, and brachial arteriography) are rendered virtually painless.' The new products convert what used often to be very uncomfortable arteriography into a painless procedure, readily acceptable to the patient with the minimum or no premedication. Indeed, general anaesthesia is no longer needed for radiological vascular studies except in some special clinical circumstances (such as the investigation of subarachnoid haemorrhage). With general anaesthesia no longer needed, the overall cost of radiological procedures is reduced-so is the time spent in hospital. Among the less obvious advantages are less cardiac depression during coronary angiography and left ventriculography,4 a smaller increase in the blood volume, probably slightly lower renal toxicity, and a probable reduction in those severe reactions of unknown mechanism generally called "anaphylactoid. "5 Very high doses of radiological contrast media are known to cause deterioration of renal function (manifested by oliguria, anuria, and azotaemia) in some patients with pre-existing renal impairment, especially diabetics.6 The new low osmolar radiological contrast media seem unlikely to have substantially less renal toxicity, and a dose of 200 ml radiological contrast medium for a single study should be exceeded only after careful consideration of the clinical circumstances, particularly if renal function is already impaired. The death rate from intravenous urography is probably between one in 20 000 and one in 40 000 examinations.7 The rate of these reactions seems lower with low osmolar radiological contrast media; the evidence suggests that the death rate has been reduced to about one in 40 000 to 80 000 intravenous urograms. Replacing all conventional ionic radiological contrast media by the newer more physiological products has no disadvantages other than the cost-and the lesser distension of the urinary tract on intravenous urography owing to the reduced osmotic diuresis. The cost of radiological contrast media in Britain was about £4 million in 1983, of which £2 5 million was spent on conventional ionic radiological contrast media. Some half a million to one million intravenous urograms, enhanced CT scans, and arteriograms are performed in Britain each year, with about 25 deaths from adverse reactions. If deaths might be reduced to, say, 10 to 15 a year by substituting low osmolar radiological contrast media, the additional cost would be £6 million to £9 million. This suggests that the cost of preventing one death might be £500 000. For comparison, the estimated annual cost for renal dialysis is £10 000, which saves that patient's life for one year. If, as seems likely, NHS finances are thought too limited at present to replace all conventional ionic radiological contrast media, then some guidelines might be considered indicating those patients with a priority claim to the less toxic but more expensive low osmolar radiological contrast media. The priority groups should probably include (a) all patients undergoing painful and uncomfortable arteriograms and (b) all patients at increased risk-those who have had a previous severe adverse reaction to radiological contrast medium; those known to be allergic; those with asthma or diabetes; infants; patients with renal or cardiac impairment, myelomatosis, or sickle cell anaemia; and those who are very anxious.578 Both clinical and experimental evidence suggests that giving steroids by mouth (for example, 4 mg dexamethasone) 12 and again two hours before injection substantially reduces the risk of an anaphylactoid reaction to conventional ionic radiological contrast media.5 9 If the cost of low osmolar radiological contrast media precludes their being given to all patients at increased risk, then administration of steroids should be carefully considered in asthmatic, allergic, or previous reactor patients if they are to be injected with conventional high osmolar radiological contrast media.


In this paper, we propose an improved filter employing measured characteristics of diaphragm displacement for compensating nonlinear distortions in loudspeaker systems. Loudspeaker systems generate nonlinear distortions that degrade the sound quality because of complicated structure of loudspeaker systems. Therefore, we set out to improve the sound quality by employing Mirror filter which compensates nonlinear distortions in electro-dynamic transducer. Mirror filter calculates linear instantaneous displacement of diaphragm from the linear differential equation of the electro-dynamic transducer and generates compensation signals based on the nonlinear differential equation of the electro-dynamic transducer and the calculated displacement of diaphragm. Hence, the compensation performance with Mirror filter is determined by the accuracy of the calculated linear and nonlinear motion based on the differential equations. However the calculated motion of the diaphragm does not agree with the actual motion perfec...


Poster: "2014 CSM / R-0287 / Seven-year diagnostic radiology audit results at a principle referral and regional trauma centre" by: "J. Freebody, K. Marripudi, M. Baillie; GOSFORD/AU"


An important issue in the design of a mobile computing system is how to manage the location information of mobile clients. In the existing commercial cellular mobile computing systems, a two-tier architecture is adopted. However, the architecture is not scalable. In literatures, a hierarchical database structure is proposed in which the location information of mobile clients within a cell is managed by the location database responsible for the cell. The location databases of different cells are organized into a tree-like structure to facilitate the search of mobile clients. This architecture can distribute the workload amongst the location databases in the system. The location database organization has much impact on the total location management cost.In this paper, considering the mobility patterns of mobile clients in different cells, we give a heuristic algorithm to cluster the location databases with the objective to reduce the location management cost. A set of experiments are designed to evaluate the performance. The comparison shows that our location database clustering method can result in location update cost reduction.


Revisiting the poetry, fiction, and social criticism of the author, dramatist, activist and therapist Paul Goodman, this essay suggests that his work–and in particular the concept of the "unfinished situation"–has something to contribute to queer theoretical interests in extended adolescence, amateurish performances, and punk feelings.


Thus (4.3), (4.7) and (5.3) are the equations in tensor form which give as first approximation the equations which Einstein proposes as a substitute for Maxwell's equations of empty space. To these must be added also equations (4.4) and (4.9). When (pi; are identified as the electric and magnetic intensities, they are not the components of the curl of a vector as in the classical theory, unless an additional condition is added. 1 Berlin Sitzungsberichte, 22, 1925, 414-420.


Hidden Markov models can be modified in several ways to form a rich class of flexible models that are useful in many environmental applications. One of the issues that come up very often when basic hidden Markov models are used to model environmental data is about their ability to accommodate sufficient dependence between observations. We consider some class of hidden Markov models that incorporate additional dependence among observations to model daily rainfall time series. The focus of the study is on models that introduce additional dependence between the state level and the observation level of the process and also on models that incorporate dependence at observation level. Construction of the likelihood function of the models is described along with the usual second order properties of the process. Maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the parameters of the models. Application of the proposed class of models is illustrated in an analysis of regional daily rainfall time series from South East England during 1931 to 2010.


This paper identifies a novel secure content distribution framework based on wavelet decomposition and social network. The motivation is to facilitate trace illegally distributed content by using mapping between hierarchical community of social network and wavelet tree. Firstly, the host signal is encrypted, then the encrypted contents are delivered to users according to social network analysis, at last, the contents are fingerprinted with decryption on the receiving side to get many different copies. Fingerprints which are constructed with social network analysis are embedded in wavelet domain. The use of fingerprinting along with encryption can provide a double-layer of protection to digital media. Theory analysis proves that the proposed framework has significantly better performance than traditional content distribution mode. Experimental results prove that the proposed technique is not only resilient to collusion attacks, but also consume much less CPU time to trace colluders.


In the planning stage of extremely large telescopes, site testing and study of high performance adaptive optics systems plays very important roles. Site testing is a very time consuming task, therefore, we have built a fully automatic device - the CUTE SCIDAR instrument with a user-friendly interface and real time processing. This instrument is already in operation and now has been installed in the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory at La Palma for periodical turbulence profiling. A second version with an additional phase sensor bench contains a motorized field stop, a field lens, a collimator lens, and a Shack-Hartmann sensor. This instrument measures the turbulence from both amplitude and phase variations of the same distorted wave at high frequency bandwidth, with a high resolution and dynamic range. On the one hand, this will solve the calibration problem between different turbulence sensors. On the other hand, it allows investigating the performance of multi-conjugated wavefront sensing using real time information from SCIDAR data and proving validity of the near field assumption. From preliminary Shack-Hartmann measurements we conclude that the instrument should be flexible to change optical layout and detection parameters according to the turbulence conditions. Therefore, the phase sensor branch includes automatically controlled moveable devices, and in the future, fast communication facilities between control computers of both SCIDAR and wavefront sensing are previewed. In this paper, we will present our objectives of building such an instrument, give a detailed state of art design, and considerate the preparation of first observational campaigns, that are the first scientific tasks to do.


In recent years the Government of India has adopted a 'watershed development approach' as an effort to reverse the removal of degraded land and thereby increases productivity and provides wage employment. Woman is the molder and builder of any nation's destiny. Like women of other communities women among the tribal population also play a pivotal role in agriculture development and management of natural resources. The study reported that tribal women of Kundam block of Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh are actively participated in different activities i.e. soil-water conservation, crop production practices, practices for fuel, fodder and vegetable production. They also engaged in small-scale industries, self help groups, saving schemes and other practices. The watershed programmes in all the villages became means to harness their resources and realize their felt needs. It also helped them to develop a sense of unity, power, dignity and self-reliance. The watershed programme became a tool for the tribal women to take control of their social milieu, which affected their lives. The process provided them with an opportunity to empower themselves.


Just as the developing process of China,the language-using situation of Chinese ethnic groups is also a multiplex-integrated construction.Focusing on cultural symbol and communication tool of languages,the essay tries to discuss the significance of maintaining multiplex-integrated language-using construction.


The present invention relates to an electromechanically actuable parking brake for motor vehicles, which is designed as a drum brake of the type "duo-servo" operable with a disposed of on a wheel carrier electromechanical actuator floating expanding lock that is substantially through a threaded nut-spindle arrangement whose nut is driven by the electromechanical actuator, and two pressure pieces is formed. The invention provides to arrange at least one spring element in the force flow between the threaded nut-spindle assembly and at least one of the pressure pieces. This measure Zuspannkraftverluste be compensated and the set clamping force is reliably maintained.


Identifying significant mutations in cancer is a key point in Cancer Genomics, and it is one of the biggest challenges in the area. Computational methods for identifying significant mutations have been developed in recent years. In this work, we present a proposal of a flexible computational method with an extensive biological base for ranking significant set of related genes in cancer. Our method considers data about mutations, type of mutations, gene interaction networks and mutual exclusivity pattern.


We address a new depolarization sensing modality suited to polarimetric remote sensing through optical fibers. We also present the first experimental validation of this technique paving way for high sensitivity and real-time depolarization endoscopic imaging.


A connection device, on the n bus bar fixed to the cables, n is a natural number, the connecting means comprising a bus across the n and surrounding metal spring clip strip for forming a package by a bus connection means wrapping the first plate and the second plate surface of the lower surface of the bus bar defining a first jaw is punched into n of 2n branches on both sides of the spring plate portion and a spring piece in the longitudinal direction of the busbar, each of the spring plate comprising: by the spring piece portion connected with the jumper busbar plate is bent away from the direction of the surface to form a main spring portion; spring sheet portion other than the main spring toward the upper surface of the bus bar is folded to form a tongue sheet portion; gripper edge, formed by the free end region of the spring plate; each limb portion comprises: a fixing member connected with the jumper plate; by bending the free end of the arm portion toward the upper surface of the bus bar off to form on the side near the free end of the leg portion of the slot member.


Background: The splenic hilar lymph node (No. 10 LN) dissection is still controversial for patients with advanced proximal gastric cancer (APGC) not invading the greater curvature. The present study aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes of laparoscopic spleen-preserving No. 10 lymphadenectomy (LSPL) for APGC not invading the greater curvature and the characteristic of No. 10 LN metastasis.

Methods: This single-center, open-label, randomized, phase III clinical trial was done in the Department of Gastric Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital (FMUUH). Individuals aged 18 to 75 years who had histologically proven gastric adenocarcinoma in proximal stomach with clinical stage cT2-4a/N0-3/M0 not invading the greater curvature were enrolled and randomized (1:1) to receive laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy with either D2 lymphadenectomy (D2 group) or D2 lymphadenectomy without No. 10 LN dissection (D2- group). The main outcomes were morbidity and mortality within 30 days after surgery, number of retrieved LNs, and the metastasis rate of No. 10 LN. Analysis was based on modified intention-to-treat.

Findings: From Jan 5, 2015, to Dec 10, 2018, 268 participants were randomly assigned to the D2 and D2- groups respectively. The full analysis set consisted of 263 participants in the D2 and D2- groups respectively. There were no significant differences in the intraoperative and postoperative morbidity between the D2 and D2- groups (all P>0.05). And there was no mortality in either group. There were more retrieved LNs in the D2 group than in the D2- group (45.1 vs 40.6, P=0.001). The metastasis rate of the No. 10 LN was 13.3% (35/263): 4.9% (2/41) in the early stage, and 14.9% (18/223) in the advanced stage. Pathological T (pT) stage and pN stage were related to No. 10 LN metastasis. The metastasis rates of No. 10 LN in T3-4a tumors located in the lesser curvature, posterior wall or multiple parts were all higher than 10%.

Interpretation: Experienced surgeons can safely perform LSPL for APGC with more retrieved LNs. For APGC located in the lesser curvature, posterior wall or multiple parts with a clinical stage cT3-4a, dissection of the No.10 LN is necessary.

Trial Registration: The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02333721; the trial has ended and this report represents the final analysis.

Funding Statement: This study was supported by Scientific and Technological Innovation Joint Capital Projects of Fujian Province (2016Y9031; 2017Y9011). Construction Project of Fujian Province Minimally Invasive Medical Center (No. [2017]171). Fujian Science and Technology Innovation Joint Fund Project (2017Y9004). Joint Funds for the Innovation of Science and Technology of Fujian Province (2018Y9041). Special Fund for Clinical Research of Wu Jieping Medical Foundation (No: 320.6750.17511).

Declaration of Interests: There are no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose from any authors.

Ethics Approval Statement: The trial protocol was approved by the FMUUH Ethics Committee, and all participants provided written informed consent.


Thirty patients suffering from dysthymic disorder participated in a 6‐week double‐blind trial comparing ritanserin 10 mg and placebo. After a single blind placebo wash‐out period of one week, the test medication was administered during 5 weeks on a double‐blind basis. Twenty‐three patients completed the study. At the end of the trial, ritanserin was significantly superior to placebo in its effect as manifested on the 19‐item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory X‐1 and X‐2. At the end of the study, the therapeutic effect was rated marked or moderate in 75% of the ritanserin‐treated patients, but only in 18% of the controls. These data are consistent with the hypothesis of serotonin abnormalities in dysthymic disorder and suggest a therapeutic role of 5‐HT2 antagonists. Ritanserin treatment was very well tolerated; no serious adverse experiences were reported.


Increased mortality and morbidity with intracellular pathogens has been reported in females with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) as their most recent vaccination. Within a randomised trial, we investigated the effect of DTP on Chlamydia pneumoniaeserology. Eighteen-month-old children were randomised to DTP booster and oral polio vaccine (OPV) or OPV only. Blood samples collected from 523 children at baseline and six months later were analysed for C. pneumoniae antibodies. The C. pneumoniae IgG seroprevalence was high, with 12% positive at 18 months of age. Loss of IgG positivity was common during follow-up (25/65 (38%)), and was associated with lower weight-for-age. DTP did not affect the incidence of IgG seroconversion or IgM positivity. Among normal-weight children, DTP vaccination was associated with an increase in C. pneumoniae infection for females, whereas the trend was the opposite among males (p = 0.05, test of interaction between sex and DTP). Among DTP-vaccinated children, the male-female risk ratio was 2.23 (95% CI = 0.88 - 5.66) for IgG seroconversion and 0.0 (95% CI = 0.0 - 0.77) for IgM positivity. The overall C. pneumoniae seroprevalence in young children was high even though loss of IgG positivity was common. We found sex differences in IgG seroconversion and in IgM positivity among DTP-vaccinated children.

 Key words: Chlamydia pneumoniae, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, serology, child, low-income countries, prevalence, non-specific effects, vaccinations.


used editors and writers, rather than algorithms, to select, rewrite, and reformat stories. Managers confirmed that because site content, which was updated every 2 hours, was dictated by user metrics monitored every 15 minutes, T-Online avoided reports on some serious but unpopular issues, such as AIDS. Like journalists at AP-DD, however, T-Online editors felt the stress of a news cycle that lacked endpoints and created 'a temporality of continuous anticipation' (p. 69). One assistant managing editor admitted that he found himself 'basically going through my work process in my private life ... 'Aha, that's what Spiegel has! That's what Stern has! ... I find I have to protect myself from myself' (p. 70). Online newswork was less the focus at mdr info, a radio broadcaster serving portions of the former East Germany, because an interstate broadcasting agreement severely limited its online activities. There was nevertheless a sense of constant news-making, with journalists focused on 'quarter-hour time' – the spots at the top of the hour and 15, 30, and 45 minutes later, when breaking news was aired. Boyer's account of mdr info journalists furiously trying to determine the nationality of a Nobel Prize laureate while watching the clock would be an instructive example for undergraduates. Boyer writes that he envisioned The Life Informatic as 'short, accessible, and above all "teachable,"' and it is all those things. Any of the ethnographic chapters could be used in a graduate or advanced undergraduate course without the instructor feeling that he or she needed to assign the entire book. Undergraduates might be put off by heavy use of German journalistic terms, although such use of the language of the studied field is consistent with anthropological practice. Students also would need to be reminded of the curse of 21st-century newsroom studies: the rapid evolution of digital newswork. Boyer did most of his observation and interviews between 2008 and 2010, making it unlikely that newsroom practices have not changed at least somewhat. (For example, as Boyer notes, AP-DD was sold in 2009, after his visits, to a competing German news agency, Deutscher Depeschendienst, ddp, and the two were merged into a new entity, DADP.) The broad trends that Boyer describes in the final chapter, 'The News Informatic', seem likely, however, to endure for some time. He views journalists as increasingly screenworkers (rather than shoe-leather information-gatherers), whose 21st-century practices – performed in an environment of increasing neoliberalism – lead to homogenous content and feelings of automaticity. He is not completely pessimistic, however, suggesting that news organizations will eventually develop new routines that play to the strength of mobile media and that an equilibrium will develop between one-to-many and lateral peer-messaging media modes. When and if those developments occur, they will deserve another book of ethnographic work like The Life Informatic.


How is sensory information encoded by the patterns of action potentials emitted by ensembles of neurons? Computational methods have recently been applied to this fundamental question and have found, both in the somatosensory and visual system, that the basic unit of information transmission is the timing of individual spikes. In systems studied to date, the neuronal population codes appear to be simple ones that do not rely on complex patterns of correlated spikes.


Diagnoses, descriptions, illustrations, and natural history data are presented for two new species of Nesticus spiders: N. nasicus from epigean habitats in southwestern North Carolina, and N. gertschi from a cave in eastern Tennessee. Nesticus nasicus appears to be the sister species of Nesticus brimleyi Gertsch, a cave- dwelling species. In his pioneering revision of North and Central American nesticids, Gertsch (1984) predicted that, as greater attention was focused on these secretive cave- and litter-dwelling spiders, many new species would be added to the already large, apparently monophyletic, clade of 24 southern Appalachian species of Nesticus. We describe here a new epigean species, Nesticus nasicus, and a new cave-dwelling species, Nesticus gertschi, both of which, like the majority of the known southern Appalachian species, have restricted ranges, are allopatric, and live in eastern Tennessee and/or western North Carolina (Map 1). RELATIONSHIPS


From the Publisher:
Solving with C++ became the leading book for the CS1 in C++ course. Since then, the number of schools using the book has increased every semester. Now, Professor Savitch is revising the book to include the most current C++ developments and to make it an even more effective teaching tool for you.
New to the Second Edition
Integrates recent C++ developments like the new type bool for writing logical expressions. Features a new chapter on inheritance. Includes coverage of the Standard Template Library string class. Contains new self-test exercises and programming projects as well as other improvements based on classroom experience.


For a pair $(E,P)$ of an elliptic curve $E/\mathbb{Q}$ and a nontorsion point $P\in E(\mathbb{Q})$, the sequence of \emph{elliptic Fermat numbers} is defined by taking quotients of terms in the corresponding elliptic divisibility sequence $(D_{n})_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ with index powers of two, i.e. $D_{1}$, $D_{2}/D_{1}$, $D_{4}/D_{2}$, etc. Elliptic Fermat numbers share many properties with the classical Fermat numbers, $F_{k}=2^{2^k}+1$. In the present paper, we show that for magnified elliptic Fermat sequences, only finitely many terms are prime. We also define \emph{generalized elliptic Fermat numbers} by taking quotients of terms in elliptic divisibility sequences that correspond to powers of any integer $m$, and show that many of the classical Fermat properties, including coprimality, order universality and compositeness, still hold.


Abstmct - A frequency planning method is proposed which is based on regular latices derived from factorial rhombic numbers. It is theoretically shown that the spectrum eflciency can be improved by about 30% in comparison to existing broadcast networks. ibis implies less stringent constraints for frequency multiplexing at the transmitter sites. A frequency plan and model calculations of the network coverage are given for a test area. It is shown that the capacity of the WF spectrum is suficient to introduce DAB, yet still brdast the same amom of presently existing FMprograms. It is also shown that the transition from the aisting analog FM system to DAB can be accomplished gradually.


The statistical analysis of the power cable faults between 2005 and 2007 indicated that the power cable faults consist,mainly,of low resistance fault,high resistance and flashover.The application of the cable fault location techniques and equipment used in recent years indicated that it is necessary to select proper fault location equipment and use the advanced location techniques to quicken power cable fault location.


This report begins by reviewing data showing that the effects of acute exposure to stressful situations can grow with the passage of time (time‐dependent sensitization; TDS) and then proceeds to suggest that the clinical syndromes of panic, delayed post‐traumatic stress disorder, and bulemia represent instances of stressor‐induced sensitization to subsequent stressors. Finally, it discusses data demonstrating that a host of pharmacological agents—including antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anxiolytics—also show TDS after a single or brief period of treatment and proposes that induction of this phenomenon is due to the foreign/stressful properties of drugs. The report concludes with the suggestion that the very widespread ability of drugs to trigger effects that then grow with the passage of time—independent of repeated treatment—can form the basis of a new and revolutionary approach to pharmacotherapy.


Abstract This paper presents an efficient signature recognition method by using the hybrid similarity criterion, which is in inverse proportion to distance and in proportion to correlation between the images. The distance is applied to express the spacial property of image, and the correlation is also applied to express the statistical property. The proposed criterion provides the robust recognition to both the geometric al variations such as position, size, and rotation and the shape variation. The normalized cross-correlation(NCC), which i s calculated by considering 4 directions based on the histogram of binary image, is applied to express rapidly and ac curately the similarity between the images. The proposed method has been applied to the problem for recognizing the 20 truck images of 288*288 pixels and the 105(3 persons * 35 images) signature images of 256*256 pixels, respectively. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a superior recognition performance that app ears the image characters well. Especially, the hybrid criterion of NCC and ordinal distance has a superior recognition performance to the hybrid criterion using city-block or Euclidean distance.Key Words : Signature recognition, Similarity criterion, Distance, Normali zed cross-correlation, Histogram of binary image


The library has undergone several evolutions in its development. Libraries will nevertheless continue to play a very important role as a source of lifelong knowledge. The impact of the 4.0 industry has integrated the advanced technology in a library. In addition, the user can work to analyze information independently. Today's libraries are about engagement, collaboration, communication and partnerships. The librarian is there to solve the problem of the user in searching for information. Physical and digital technologies can be combined so as to provide complete information to make decisions and answer the needs of the user. The key to dealing with disruption is innovation and continuing to improve competence with technology. Keywords: disruptive 4.0, industrial revolution, innovation, collaboration.


ABSTRACT This study evaluated the physiological responses of subadult yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle, Podocnemis unifilis, to incremental crude protein levels (29%, 32%, 35%, and 39% CP) as extruded commercial feeds. The hematological and plasma biochemical parameters of P. unifilis were analyzed at 60, 120, and 180 days of the feeding trial. The increase in total thrombocyte, leukocyte, lymphocyte, heterophil, and eosinophil numbers, besides high respiratory burst activity showed an improvement in animal immune defense response to incremental protein in diets, acting together to maintain the integrity of the tissues against antigens and infectious agents. Elevated subadult P. unifilis plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels observed after increasing the feeding time (until 180 days) with incremented protein levels in artificial diets during captivity are a nutritional warning, related to the condition of being less physically active. Based on these results, periodic physiological evaluations are particularly important to ensure the healthy and adequate nutritional conditions of captive-bred animals, such as maintaining lower stocking densities of animals to avoid stress and, if possible, providing them with fresh food in addition to extruded artificial feed.


Since outriggers play an important role in the structure system, the outrigger truss core tube joint is surely a key point which has a significant effect on the seismic performance of tall buildings. This paper presents experimental study on the seismic behavior of K-style steel outrigger truss to concrete core tube wall joints. Two specimens with different details of the joint, including joint with outside steel plate and encased steel plate, were tested under cyclic vertical loads on column ends. Several indexes that could reflect the seismic performance of the composite joint, such as the strength degradation, the rigidity degradation, ductility and the energy dissipation capacity were analyzed. It was found that the composite joints could transfer the load reliably and exhibited favorable seismic performance. It was also concluded that the joint with outside steel plate was better than that with encased steel plate with more construction convenience, higher buckling load and less concrete cracks.


Radiographer's ability to execute their jobs well and provide high-quality care to patients may be impacted by stress. Effective interventions to lessen the effects of occupational stress can only be adopted if the stressors and coping mechanisms have been identified. The study aimed to investigate the occupational stress and coping strategies adopted by radiographers in a university teaching hospital. A cross-sectional survey using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to the respondents. Majority of the radiographers admitted to feeling moderately stressed (73%). Physical exercises and engaging in other activities to divert attention were frequently used to reduce stress.


The subjects of this paper are the mobility calculations conducted during the study "Smooth Traffic in the Randstad" of the project group Mobility Scenario Randstad. After the forecast for 1995, prepared using the national model of the Transportation and Traffic Engineering Division of Rijkswaterstaat, the "bottleneck model" is presented. This is used to evaluate the effects of policy measures in the field of public transport, fuel price increase, congestion charges, parking, and new road construction. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 811092. (Author/TRRL)


As part of the effort towards reduction of community-wide resource consumption, partnerships will become an increasingly valuable tool to enhance funding of resource conservation programs and ensure that the most valuable programs are being implemented. Partnerships in the water-energy field can lead to additional funding for existing, multi-beneficial programs currently funded by one water or energy utility, but which have benefits to more than one. In 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ordered the four largest energy investor owned utilities (IOUs) to partner with water agencies in developing one-year pilot proposals to investigate how best to take advantage of the water energy nexus. This process of developing the pilots led to questions about program funding, avoided costs, impact measurement, and agency behavior. This paper suggests a series of steps partner agencies can use to determine what level of program co-funding is appropriate, how benefits should be calculated for each agency, and the nature of partnerships most likely to succeed. Using the CPUC Embedded Energy in Water Pilots as a case study, this paper also makes suggestions about the cost-effectiveness calculations currently being used. Entrenched in the cost-effectiveness issues is the fundamental concept of water savings vs. water efficiency, how and where possible savings may occur, and the avoided costs associated with each of these possibilities.


Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the protective effects of Vitex negundo (VN) extracts against ultraviolet (UV) light C-induced oxidative stress in human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) in vitro.
Methods: The VN extracts were checked for their antioxidant activities by biochemical tests. The preliminary phytochemical analysis was done to check the presence of secondary metabolites. To trigger oxidative stress, the HCEC were exposed to UVC irradiation (200 J/m2). Then, different concentration of VN extracts was administered after 1 h of UVC irradiation. The effects of UVC irradiation and the extracts on the HCEC viability, morphology, cell migration by scratch assay, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by dichlorofluorescein diacetate method were measured.
Results: VN ethanol (VNE) extract showed the highest antioxidant activity than the aqueous extract. Phytochemical screening shows the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, proteins, phenolics, and tannins. The extracts showed no cytotoxicity on the HCEC and also the VNE extract did not alter the morphology of the cells. Results suggest that the VNE extract enhanced the proliferation and migration of HCEC. The VNE extract significantly decreased UVC-induced oxidative toxicity by inhibiting the intracellular ROS production and maintained cell viability.
Conclusion: VN extracts with its strong antioxidant potential protects HCEC from UVC-induced oxidative stress. The results suggest that these extracts can be used as prophylactic agents or as a therapeutic agent in overcoming UV light-induced damage in various ocular surface diseases such as pterygium and photokeratitis.


Financial exclusion and over-indebtedness are two issues that the European Commission has recently decided to address at a European level. At individual country levels, the scientific interest in those two subjects is also quite recent like in Belgium, France, Germany or Italy, except for the UK who offered the first analysis of over-indebtedness in the late 80's and of financial exclusion in the mid 90's.


Objective: Health workers are generally the group at highest risk of contagion in pandemics, which result in physical and mental burnout in them. Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physicians are at severe risk both as patients presenting to ENT clinics are potential carriers of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and because of procedures producing aerosols during upper airway examination. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety, stress, and insomnia in ENT physicians. Methods: A hundred and three ENT physicians working in various provinces of Turkey were included in the study. The study data were collected using an online questionnaire. In addition to questions involving participants' demographic characteristics, the questionnaire also contained the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results: Anxiety, stress, and insomnia scores were statistically significantly higher in female physicians than in men. No statistically significant variation was observed in terms of physicians' age groups, possession of children, or presence of chronic disease. Significantly higher anxiety was determined in physicians working for 16-25 years than in those working for one to five years. The physicians' anxiety levels also highly correlated with insomnia and stress levels. No significant association was observed between insomnia and stress levels. Conclusion: The physicians' mean scores indicated mild anxiety, clinically insignificant insomnia, and moderate levels of stress. In addition, in agreement with the previous literature, anxiety, insomnia, and stress levels were significantly higher in women than in men.


Two ryanodine receptor (RyR), sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channels, α and β, co-exist in chicken skeletal muscles. To investigate a two-RyR Ca2+ release system, we compared electrically evoked Ca2+ transients in Crooked Neck Dwarf (cn/cn) cultured muscle cells, which do not make αRyR, and normal (+/?) cells. At day 3 in culture, Ca2+ release in +/? cells required extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+o), and Ca2+ transients had slow kinetics. At day 5, Ca2+ release was Ca2+o-independent in 40% of the cells, and transients were more rapid. By day 7, all +/? cells had Ca2+o-independent Ca2+ release. Contractions were observed in +/? cells on all days. Ca2+ transients were observed in cn/cn cells on days 3, 5, and 7, but in each case they were Ca2+o-dependent and exhibited slow kinetics. Localized vesiculations, not contractions, occurred in cn/cn cells. By day 10, Ca2+ transients were no longer observed in cn/cn cells even in Ca2+o. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ was not depleted, as caffeine induced Ca2+ transients. Thus, in the absence of αRyR there is a failure to develop Ca2+o-independent Ca2+ release and contractions and to sustain Ca2+o-dependent release. Moreover, contributions by the αRyR cannot be duplicated by the βRyR alone.


The number of domestic and cross border bank mergers and acquisitions (MA (ii) the effect on in the financial performance of both acquirers and (iii) the M&A impact on dividend policy on banks after bank M&A. Two strands of the literature were reviewed focusing on M&A and dividend policy. The event study methodology was used to calculate the abnormal returns of both the domestic and cross border acquirers which were standardised. A long window of 61 days was applied to capture a satisfactory length of pre- and post-merger events that could capture the behaviour of the abnormal returns and consequent effect on dividend policy. The hierarchical regression model was used to estimate the impact of the variables on the profitability and dividend policy of the acquirer banks. In comparison with the domestic acquirers, the cross border abnormal returns showed a trend of significant negative results following the M&A announcement. The domestic acquirers showed no significance but, on average have higher cumulative total standardised abnormal returns (CTSAR) than the cross border acquired banks. The result of the financial performance showed that CTSAR of the cross border acquirers is significantly affected by the profitability of the banks but insignificant with domestic acquirers. However, the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) significantly affects the performance of both bank acquirers. CIR and RISK (measured by the ratio of the loan provision to net interest revenue of the banks) highly correlated with profitability of both the domestic and cross border acquirers. The management of costs and loans risks were found to be significant variables in the achievement of profitability among domestic acquirers.The dividend policy hypothesis result indicated that CTSAR has a weak correlation and insignificant effect on the dividend policy variables. In fact, the Causality test result confirmed that the CTSAR does not Granger cause dividend policy. However, the study provides strong support to previous studies that beta, liquidity, taxes, and the finance structure of the acquirers are significant variables in the formulation of the dividend policy of the merged banks. The beta, which a proxy for risk, is the most significant factor affecting the dividend policy of the merged banks.


The etch rates of plasma-deposited silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride films in condensed water were studied as a function of water temperature, pH of the solution, and film composition. The etch rates for all films at water temperatures between 50 and 125 o C were between 0.2 and 10.0 nm/h. The activation energies were between 0.6 and 1.0 eV. Where water condensation on devices is possible, water etching of the passivation should be considered as a potential failure mode


The concept of using joint error norms adaptive algorithm and the resulting least mean switched error (LMSE) algorithm in the adaptation process of the DFE receiver's structures of asynchronous QPSK (DS-CDMA) is investigated. The performance measure is in-terms of bit error rate (BER) and mean square error (MSE) and for various step-sizes, over AWGN and Gaussian mixture type impulsive channels. The proposed algorithm consists of applying the Least Mean Fourth (LMF) algorithm and switching to the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm when the absolute value of error is greater than one. The MSE and BER performances of using the LMSE show that the optimum step-size for the LMF algorithm is 1×10-6 while for the NLMS is kept constant at 0.01. Also the performance of the proposed algorithm was examined against the standard NLMS algorithm and it provides fast convergence rate, lower ground noise floor, and similar BER.


The present invention discloses a kind of one-way mixed production method of the knitted fabric, comprising the following steps:: a first layer of 0 ° prepared warp; Step Two: Layer 0 ° prepared warp 0 ° layer N yarn ~ was; N is a natural number, ≧ 2; step three: preparation auxiliary layer weft yarns; step four: preparation wire bundle; step five: the material of step to step placement were prepared four, one-way mixed to obtain mixed braid; step six: cutting, rolling . 0 ° longitude present invention employs two or more layers of different unidirectional fiber laid, then finally mixed together, can be achieved in the laying of two or more of two different materials, each of the regions to ensure that the fabric mixed consistency and uniform distribution of thickness in the fibers, g 0 ° warp yarns of different fiber layers in the weight can be adjusted within the 30-3000 g / m range, in order to achieve performance and cost composites designability.


Commercialization and market creation of an innovation is known to be a very demanding task. However, a network may help a firm in the commercialization efforts. The s tudy analyses how network is applied to the commercialization of innovations. The study contributes to both innovati on management and network research. The study describes and analyses with two cases, how the network approach can be applied to commercialization of a radical inn ovation and how such nets can be formed. Theoretical background of the study stems from network and innovation literat ure, referring to studies on industrial networks, strategic networks and innovation networks. Results indicate that commercialization nets could considered as strategic nets, marketing nets, innovation nets, issue-based nets and new business nets. The dissimilarity of network actors and the multidimens ional structure of the network help in creating a m arket for a radical innovation. Trust, clear goal and agenda and commit ment to the issue indicate successfulness of such n etwork. Furthermore the study shows that the actors in the R&D network and the relations of these actors can b e very important also later in the commercialization stage.


Purpose – To characterise the high temperature oxide scales for some plasma sprayed NiCrAlY coated Ni‐ and Fe‐based superalloys.Design/methodology/approach – Ni‐22Cr‐10Al‐1Y metallic coatings were deposited on two Ni‐based superalloys; Superni 601 and Superni 718 and one Fe‐based superalloy; Superfer 800H by the shrouded plasma spray process. Oxidation studies were conducted on uncoated as well as plasma spray coated superalloys in air at 900°C under cyclic conditions for 50 cycles. Each cycle consisted of 1 h heating followed by 20 min of cooling in air. The thermogravimetric technique was used to approximate the kinetics of oxidation. X‐ray diffraction, SEM/EDAX and EPMA techniques were used to analyse the oxide scales.Findings – All of the coated, as well as the uncoated, superalloys followed an alnost‐parabolic rate of oxidation. The NiCrAlY coating was found to be successful in maintaining its continuous contact with the superalloy substrates in all the cases. The oxide scales formed on the exposed N...


We have developed the muon monitor for the T2K experiment. The muon monitor measures the profile of muons produced with neutrinos and provides real-time information of the neutrino beam. The monitor system consists of arrays of ionization chambers and solid state pad detectors. We conducted a beam test with an electron beam and a long term test at the NuMI beam line in FNAL. The prototype detectors worked stably for more than a half year in a "real" neutrino beam line. Based on the results, we finalized the design and produced the real muon monitor system.


Continuous measurement of road surface temperature using an infrared camera throughout the summer season was conducted to clarify the duration of surface temperature decrease due to roadway watering according to weather conditions and watering time. Watering during sunny daytime conditions resulted in a maximum reduction in surface temperature of about 10 °C and an average reduction of about 6 °C. The duration of the surface temperature decrease was short (less than 30 min) for sunny days and long (more than 30 min) for cloudy days. On sunny days, if the evaporation rate was faster and the surface temperature decrease was larger, then the duration of the evaporation was shorter. Effective roadway watering plans were investigated according to the street configurations by simulating the thermal environment considering the solar radiation shielding condition of pedestrians on sidewalks. Simulation results in the downtown area of Kobe city indicated that watering the nearby roadways resulted in only 20% and 39% comfort for the northern sidewalks on the east–west road at 10:00 and 16:00, but about 70% comfort for the southern sidewalks and 60–90% comfort for the eastern and western sidewalks. Guiding pedestrians to a shaded sidewalk and then watering the nearby roadway to lower the surface temperature in the sun improves the thermal environment for pedestrians.


Ball is a unique composition of the surface of machine parts. This paper analyzes several new types of balls to the structure and properties of machine tools in the application.


Iron deficiency anemia is a leading cause of maternal morbidity, mortality and poor birth outcomes in developing countries. Iron Deficiency Anemia is the most common nutrition deficiency worldwide. It causes reduced work capacity in adults and impacts motor and mental development in children and adolescents and women.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
1. to identify the women with iron deficiency anemia at
selected community area.
2. to administer drumstick leaves extract to group I and ragi porridge for group II.
3. to evaluate the hemoglobin level for both groups after
intervention among women with iron deficiency anemia.
METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH APPROACH
Research approach is an essential element of the research design which is
the framework or guide used for the planning, implementation, and analysis of the
study. It helps to decide about the presence or absence as well as manipulation and control over the variables. It the overall plan to test the hypothesis. This study was designed as comparative study to assess the effectiveness of ragi porridge Vs drumstick leaves extract among women with iron deficiency anemia through shali's test.
RESEARCH DESIGN:
Research design in an overall plan for addressing a research question, including specifications for enhancing the study's integrity. It directs selection of population, sampling procedure, method of measurement and plan for data collection and analysis. It maximizes control over factors that could interfere with the validity of findings. The research design guides the research in planning and implementing the study in a way that is most likely to achieve the intended goal.
The research design adopted for the study was quasi experimental research design.
SETTINGS:
The research was conducted in Orathy and Kadamalaiputhur villages at
kanchipuram district. The villages were situated 12kms distance from the college
campus.
POPULATION:
The population comprises of reproductive age group women at the age
group between 15 – 45yrs, in Acharappakam community area at Kanchipuram
district.
SAMPLE:
The study sample selected for the present study comprises of reproductive age group women with iron deficiency anemia residing in Orathy and
Kadamalaiputhur in Acharappakam community area, at Kanchipuram district.
SAMPLE SIZE:
The sample size of the present study has 60. In that Group I – 30, Group II–30.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:
The sampling technique used was non probability purposive sampling
technique for the study
INCLUSIVE CRITERIA:


Porcine interleukin-18 mature protein gene was amplified from porcine spleen cells by RT-PCR.PCR product was cloned into the T vector pGEM-T for sequencing.The result showed that the nucleotide sequence of this gene was 474 bp,which encodes 157 amino acids.It was subcloned into the prokaryotic expressing plasmid vectors pQE30,pET-28a,pGEX6P-1,and transformed into host E.coli strain JM109 or BL21 for expression.The expression of pIL-18 mature protein gene was identified by SDS-PAGE.The result revealed that the expression products were fusion protein with relative molecular mass of 19 000,21 000,45 000,respectively,and the percentage of expression protein in E.coil protein was 17%,28%,27% respectively.


ABSTRACT

Recent literature suggests that particle toxicity increases with decreasing particle diameter and increasing total particle surface area. Most inexpensive particle monitors are based upon light scattering and tend to lose sensitivity for particles with diameters less than about 0.3–0.35 µm. This raises the question of whether the measurement of PM2.5 "misses" the potential impact of very small particles (e.g., below 0.3 µm) due to lack of sensitivity and/or the low mass concentrations that these particles contribute to the total PM2.5. On the other hand, measuring only ultrafine particles (e.g., below 0.1 µm) would exclude significant numbers of still very small particles. The focus of simulating a novel particle monitor in this study, is to address limitations in current inexpensive particle monitors, and to realize a particle monitor that may be more relevant to adverse health outcomes by measuring both PM0.3 and PM2.5. The monitor uses optical scattering techniques, measuring light scattering by the particles at two forward angles, to determine PM0.3 and PM2.5. Experimental data from particle monitor prototypes that were developed show good agreement with simulation results. Such a monitor, that is low-cost and easy to use, can provide information directly to the users so that they can be driven to action. In particular, low-income communities that are often impacted by poor air quality will be able to more affordably determine real-time ambient conditions and drive positive change by helping to identify pollution sources and appropriate mitigation measures.


Purpose This paper examines the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the extent of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure among companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Design/methodology/approach A content analysis approach was used. The association between the dependent and independent variables was examined using a multiple regression analysis. Findings The results suggest that corporate governance mechanisms strongly influence the quantity of IC information disclosed in the annual reports of KSE-listed companies. Specifically, companies with larger boards, a higher proportion of external directors, and higher blockholder ownership are associated with higher levels of IC disclosure. Practical implications The findings highlight the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms in promoting IC disclosure. They are a useful guideline for regulators, company management, and shareholders regarding the corporate governance mechanisms that influence the extent of IC disclosure. Given ...


This study used ABAQUS numerical simulation to investigate the variations of axial stress and maximum principal strain in shafts with different sizes of protective pillars in pit shafts at various filling ratios. The simulations were performed in the context of solid backfill mining of residual pillar of the industrial square at Baishan coal mine. The results suggested that reasonable pillar sizes for the filling ratios of 0, 50%, 80%, and 90% were 220 m, 176 m, 154 m, and 132 m, respectively. The results were roughly consistent with the sizes calculated using the Kowarzik theory, and proved to be more effective in ensuring safety. When the filling ratio of the solid backfill mining was over 80% based on a coal pillar calculation of the mine shaft with a left radius of 154 m, the coal under the industrial square at less than that could be safely recovered with a coal resource of 2.193 million tonnes.