The work is devoted to the study of the effectiveness of the treatment of CHF in patients of the older age group taking into account the functional state of the kidneys.We examined 52 patients aged 62 to 86 years after a myocardial infarction complicated by the development of CHF. All patients received basic therapy of CHF.All patients included in the study at baseline, after 3 and 12 months, were clinically examined, the functional class of CHF was determined, echocardiography was performed, and the functional state of the kidneys and heart rate variability (HRV) were examined. Depending on the effect of treatment on the state of the kidney two groups of patients: group 1 (n=33) had no adverse effects on the kidneys (nephroprotective effect) according to the study glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and microalbuminuria (MA); group 2 (n=19) consisted of patients in whom the therapy of CHF led to the decline of GFR and initiated the emergence of or a buildup of MA (nephronegative effect).


Spectroscopic performance of 4 types of large detectors consisting of 3 different scintillators (LaBr3, NaI(Tl) and BGO) coupled to large MPPC array are presented. The measurements are made with S12642–1616PB-50(X) Hamamatsu TSV MPPC array having a 50x50 µm2 cell size and effective active area of 48x48 mm2 (16x16 channels). In all measurements the common readout of all channels is used. The results obtained with MPPC, such as energy resolution and linearity, are compared with measurements of the same crystals on classic photomultiplier. Also the possible optimization of data acquisition electronics is presented.


The lithium ion batteries are dominating rechargeable battery market with advantages of long cycle life, adaptability, and high energy density; however, disadvantages including lithium resource shortage, high processing cost arising from the other battery components (Co-based cathode and electrolyte), and safety concerns due to flammable organic electrolytes and highly reactive lithium species hinder further development to grid-scale batteries.
 The zinc ion batteries have been proposed as an alternative for lithium ion batteries owing to suitable electrochemical properties for grid-scale batteries of large specific capacity (820 mAh/g), high volumetric capacity (5854 mAh/cm3), and low redox potential (-0.76 V). Also, zinc's low cost, environmental abundance, inexpensive mass production, and superior safety due to usage of aqueous electrolyte make zinc ion battery extremely promising for future battery applications.
 Prior to the commercialization of zinc ion batteries, a detrimental issue remains with rapid degradation of battery performance mainly due to dendrite formation and additional side reactions during charging and discharging processes. The dendrite growth in association with the reduction of zinc ions during the discharging process causes lifespan shortening related to short circuit arising from separator piercing as well as a decrease of capacity via unceasing of water/electrolyte decomposition accompanied with fast electrolyte depletion. Also, parasitic side reactions between electrode and electrolyte produce hydrogen and zinc sulfate hydroxide while wasting both electrolyte and zinc electrode. These reactions involves electron consumption which severely reduce a Coulombic efficiency and prohibit us from reaching theoretically expected electrochemical performances. Several strategies have been proposed to suppress the dendrite growth and side reactions, such as interfacial electrode modification through an increase of the surface area of zinc anodes, insertion of electrolyte additive, manipulation of crystallographic orientation of electrode.
 Here, we propose an additional ferroelectric layer coating onto the zinc electrode for the compression of dendrite growth and the hindrance of the side reaction. Among the ferroelectric materials, we select composites consisting of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and barium titanate nanoparticles to take both advantages of P(VDF-TrFE) — cost-effective fabrication, compatibility with battery components, and non-toxicity and of barium titanate — lead-free inorganic ferroelectric materials with high ferroelectricity. The 800 nm-thick P(VDF-TrFE)/barium titanate nanocomposite ferroelectric layer is spin-coated onto a bare zinc electrode and works as an anode for battery operation.
 A coated ferroelectric layer serves as a physical barrier to block zinc corrosion and hydrogen reaction. Meanwhile, dendrite suppression achieved by ferroelectric layer resulting from the uniform electric field and additional ionic path can be attributed to longer cycle life. Therefore, we could observe about three times extended cycle life and a decrease of side reaction products (hydrogen, zinc sulfate hydroxide) to the half value or less than bare zinc electrode.


Gabriel Stolzenberg laments the many misreadings by scientists of works in the sociology of science. Certainly, many such misreadings occur. Part of the project embodied in The One Culture? (Labinger & Collins, 2001) was to work through a few of these. I think it is worthwhile to consider some of the many reasons for these misreadings. With the greatest respect for sociologists, I'd like to suggest that sometimes they enjoy being misread. The word 'social', over which much of the dispute surrounding the Strong Programme has been fought, is used in a way that seems designed to bait the unwary into a misreading. As Stolzenberg notes, it can't be used with its ordinary meaning and still allow the claims of the Strong Programme to make sense. 'Social', in this context, has to include all that scientists would think of as actual experimental evidence of the nature of the world, as soon as that evidence has entered human minds. What on the face of it is a baffling insistence by Bloor and his followers to ignore the obvious (as my fellow scientists might see it) fact that we learn about nature by interacting with it, is perhaps more profitably understood as a hegemonistic claim on the part of sociologists that it is their discipline (and not, say, the philosophy of science) that is the proper one for understanding how knowledge of Nature is acquired. The manifesto of the Strong Programme reduces any such subtle ideas to a few slogans written in code, not ordinary language. Thus framed, they beg to be misunderstood. And I think that some sociologists enjoy pretending to be saying something outrageous, even while they actually believe something that is merely interesting. But as Stolzenberg points out, the engagement of most scientists with the social studies of science is at just the superficial level at which misunderstandings are likely to multiply rather than to be cleared up. Why is this so? Partly, the reason is that we don't really care what sociologists think of us, especially those who eschew a deferential posture for one that pretends to be outrageous. Here we are, minding our own business and doing our work, when along come some guys who are going to explain it all to us.


Objective To explore the characteristics of gross motor development in 1~6-year-old children with cerebral palsy at different levels.Methods708 children(487 males and 221 females,age range:1~6 years,from 6 rehabilitation centers in Shanghai)with cerebral palsy(CP)were assessed with Chinese version of Gross Motor Function Classification System(GMFCS)and Gross Motor Function Measure(GMFM).Distributions of GMFM scores at different GMFCS levels in children with cerebral palsy were analyzed.ResultsThe GMFM-66 scores increased most in children with GMFCS Level Ⅰ,and more than 75% of them would be greater than 67 points in GMFM-66 score after the age of 48~50 months.The children with GMFCS Level Ⅱ~Ⅳ appeared similar increasing range of GMFM-66 scores in 1~6 years old.Less than 25% of the children at GMFCS Level Ⅱ would be greater than 67 points in GMFM-66 score before the age of 6 years,more than 50% of those at GMFCS Level Ⅲ would be less than 56 points,more than 75% of those at GMFCS Level Ⅳ couldn't exceed 46 points(except groups of 54~56 months and 66~68 months).Compared with the children with other GMFCS levels,the GMFM-66 scores were always at very low level in children with GMFCS Level V,and trended to decrease with time after 5 years old.ConclusionThe characteristics of gross motor development are different in children with cerebral palsy at different GMFCS levels.


 The bulk flow through the GVU is dominated by the azimuthal velocity exhibiting free-swirl flow in the disc part and solid body-like rotation near the central exhaust.  Radial jets appear near the two end-walls of the unit due to the imbalance between the centrifugal force and radial pressure gradient.  Swirl decay due to exhaust wall friction generates an adverse pressure gradient along the exhaust line resulting in an extended backflow.  Jet entrainment of the bulk gas in the disc part of the unit causes a second flow reversal resulting in the counterflow. Acknowledgements Future Work CFD Simulations


Purpose: This study examines the relationship between the financial behavior measurement models and evaluate the financial markets all sectors listed on Iraq Stock Exchange. The current study also to develop a quantitative model for measuring the financial behavior of investors in the financial markets, and thus knowing their behavior, therefore, determining the efficiency of the investment sectors that are being traded.

Theoretical framework: Quantitatively measuring the financial behavior of investors is one of the important issues that have occupied specialists in the financial field due to its close relationship with the level of market efficiency, as well its global indexes. Financial behavior among the behavioral concepts related to the general situation of the investor whether with the knowledge, he possesses or the social situation in which he is present.

Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the Quantitative and mathematical analysis. The sample data of this study includes the period from 2004, the date of the establishment of the Iraq Financial Market, until 2020.

Findings: The study reveals consistent results with the model. The results show that the proposed model can be applied in any of the financial markets to know investors' behavior and show efficiency for the sectors in the financial market, as well important findings of the study is the inefficiency of most sectors. In addition to that, some sectors in it with performance and efficiency are almost the same during the study period.

Research, Practical & Social implications: This study helps Investors and companies on determining the efficient sectors and therefore identifying profitable sectors and selecting them for trading.

Originality/value: The findings suggest several Important results for the fields Financial behavior, and efficiency evaluation in financial markets, It has been developed a quantitative model for measuring the financial behavior of investors in the financial markets, and thus knowing their behavior. The model has proven successful in identifying profitable and losing sectors in the Iraq Stock Exchange


But the title of this text might cause some to pause. There is some discussion of what the authors mean by 'communications' and it seems to be primarily the processes and products of contemporary public media. So it might have been less confusing to title this book 'Researching Media', even though it would be joining an increasingly crowded field. 'Communications' is such a vague term and can mean both replication of existing media practice (as in most business communication) and critical analysis and challenges to existing practice (as in the best of Media Studies). This text certainly steers towards the latter.


a poignant description of Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam in 1950, with all their beauty, gentleness, grandeur and intricate political balance intact - Restores this lost world, like a phoenix, from the ashes of the Vietnam war and its aftermath - shows the Vietnamese guerilla movement in its infancy, ranged against the French colonial powers, and the early affects of imported Western materialism - a best-seller when first published, and venerated by all the Saigon-based war correspondents in the '70s - inspired Graham Greene to go to Vietnam and write The Quiet American


Compatibilized poly(lactic acid)/starch modified blends were plasticized by PLA and starch,initiator and compatibilizer MAH,acetyl tributyl citrate(ATBC)as plasticizer through melt extrusion.The effects of ATBC amount on the properties of blends were studied.The results showed that the addition of ATBC contributed to decrease glass transition temperature and cold crystallization temperature,but weaken the compatibilization effect of ATBC at the same time.When the weight ratio of PLA to starch was fixed at 70/30,mechanical property changed shapely when the plasticizer was about 7.5%~10%.


We report high pulse energy generation from an Yb-doped fiber laser mode-locked or passively Q-switched by a graphene saturable absorber. In the case of mode-locked operation, a ring cavity was used. The average output power is 170 mW and the repetition rate is 1.04 MHz, corresponding to single pulse energy of 163 nJ. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest pulse energy reported for fiber lasers mode-locked with graphene saturable absorber. In the case of passively Q-switched operation, a linear cavity was used. The average output power is 12 mW and the repetition rate is 257 kHz, corresponding to single pulse energy of 46 nJ with pulse width of 70 ns. We believe we are among the first to report the stable passively Q-switched operation by graphene saturable absorber in a Yb-doped fiber laser as well. Graphene-based saturable absorber shows promising potential to replace SESAM as mode-locker or Q-switcher for pulsed lasers in the near future because of the good performance, easy fabrication, low cost and wide availability.


Corrosion behilvior of Ni-P alloy electrodeposit was studied by means of polarizationcurves and a.c. impedence in basic, neutral. acid media. Corrosion resistance of Ni-P deposit is muchbetter than that of nickel deposit.


Ramaswami's formula allows a numerically stable computation of the probability invariant vector of a stochastic matrix ofM/G/1 type. We observe that this formula consists in solving, by means of forward substitution, a block lower triangular block Toeplitz infinite system. By using the natural isomorphism between matrix polynomials and block Toeplitz matrices, we derive a new fast algorithm, based on the use of block FFT's, for the computation of Ramaswami's formula. The proposed algorithm is particularly effective when many block components of the probability invariant vector must be computed


One of the signature features of Raman's work was the love and exploitation of nuclear systematics as a tool to discern interesting structural phenomena and to understand better the evolution of structure with nucleon number. Such a tool, properly used, can be extremely powerful, especially when data are correlated with a physically meaningful variable that yields simple and compact trajectories. It can reveal trends that reflect basic elements of nucleonic interactions, it can reveal nuclei with special symmetries, or anomalous nuclei, and it can point to possibly incorrect measurements. We focus on several uses of correlations of nuclear data, illustrating the above ideas. Particular aspects are proton‐neutron interactions, quadrupole collectivity, the search for phase transitional behavior and critical point nuclei, and a new mapping of collective nuclear structure across large parts of the nuclear chart, leading to a discovery of an "arc of regularity" characterizing certain nuclei while others nearby...


Traditional factors of DNA damage and tumor cell kill, described by the "4 R's" of radiobiology (Reassortment, Reoxygenation, Repair, and Repopulation) fall short in explaining the role of immunity in hosts treated with radiotherapy. We propose a "5th R," (immune-mediated) Rejection, which recognizes the contribution of the immune system to the antineoplastic effects of radiotherapy.


We used regional as well as global Rayleigh wave signals (source-receiver distance: 5°-175°; M≥ 6, Depth ≤ 150 km) recorded at 12 broadband seismic stations in northwestern Himalaya to compute arrival angles of surface waves at each station, assuming orthogonality of the horizontal components, and error-free levelling of the instrument. The average of all measurements at a station with cross-correlation values > 0.8, between Hilbert transformed vertical and radial components, was interpreted as the degree of misalignment of the horizontal components in a geographic frame of reference.

Out of the 12 station data used in this analysis, 3 were found to have instrument misorientation errors between 5° and 10° w.r.t geographic north, 2 between 10° and 15° and the remaining 7 < 5°. The number of measurements at each of these stations ranged from 75 to 331, with 11 stations having more than 90 measurements, assuring high reliability. We also analysed data from two nearby broadband instruments located in Ladakh Himalaya. One of these (LEH) with 46 measurements showed a misorientation error of 14.87°±4.87° and the other (HNL) with 48 showed an error of 0.75°±3.48°. Since misorientation errors based on less than 90 data elements are considered to be unstable, these were not used for further analysis.

We evaluated the effect of seismograph misorientations on the inverted solutions for P-wave receiver functions (RFs) and core-refracted shear waves (SKS). The errors in Moho depths and those of other intra-crustal features were within ±2 km for instrument misorientations of up to ~15°, that is close to the resolution errors. But, the SKS results, notably the azimuths of the fast component, were, found to be quite sensitive to instrument misalignment. For example, a ~14° error in orientation was found to cause a shift of up to 20° in the calculated azimuth of the fast component. Corrections of misorientation errors in both cases showed reduction of variance in the inverted solutions.


Abstract Video recordings present many quirks not experienced when purchasing and processing books. We summarize the evaluative processes involved for choosing videos, choosing vendors, and cataloging videos. As these processes involve several units within the library, cross-unit collaboration exploits the expertise of all participants. Our selection policy is largely driven by the curriculum. While we order some feature films, our primary focus is on educational recordings. This presents special problems, as educational video recordings are not advertised or reviewed as widely as books or feature films, and it is therefore more difficult to know what is available. In addition, audiovisual materials present special cataloging and access problems.


Comparative Perspectives: Similarities and Differences in American Immigration History Resettlement: Making a New Life Homeland Ties and Transnational Activities Nativism: Fear of the Foreigner Work Family, Domestic Economy, and the Lives of Women Race: Becoming White Race: Becoming Black Identities and Ethnicities: The Formation of Groups Traditions and Invented Traditions Language Conflicts Melting Pots and Popular Culture


A scene matching algorithm based on MSA histogram is presented to solve the matching difficulties induced by complex background,distortion and occlusion of real-time images.Combining gray and its distribution,MSA histograms of object region and template and the matching degree between them are computed.Then pyramid searching method and stop-in-middle strategy are adopted to recognize and position the object.Experiments are done with cameramen image,face images and real scenes,the results show that our method is robust to affine transform,light projective transform,noise,occlusion and change of angle of view,and can accurately recognize and position object in real scenes.


The centrifugation of wine is a practice used by industrial wineries for rapid wine clarification. The effect of centrifugation on spontaneous malolactic fermentation (MLF) in red wine has been evaluated. Red wine was centrifuged after devatting, by using an industrial disc centrifuge, at flow rates of 3,500, 2,000, 1,500 and 1,000 L/h and at a constant rotational speed of 11,000 rpm. Centrifuged wines had a lower nitrogen and proanthocyanidin concentration than the control (not centrifuged) wine. Malic acid consumption was favoured in wine centrifuged at 3,500 L/h but was delayed at 1,500 and 1,000 L/h. Indigenous lactic acid bacteria decreased, at most, by 2 log 10 cfu/mL. Moreover, after MLF, the total content of biogenic amines decreased in centrifuged wines. Putrescine was the most abundant amine detected (4.84-7.34 mg/L), while low concentrations of histamine were found (0.82-1.05 mg/L).


Spectral beam combining (SBC) uses dispersive elements or dichroic elements to make multi-channel lasers of different wavelengths overlap in the near-field and far-field at the same time, so as to combine the laser beam  with  single  aperture  output.  It  is  one  of  the  technical  approaches  to  achieve  high  power  and  high  beam quality  laser  output,  which  has  attracted  great  attention  of  researchers.  Especially  in  the  past  decade,  with  the continuous  improvement  of  the  performance  of  grating  and  other  combining  components,  the  spectral  beam combining laser output with high power and high beam quality has played an important role in industry, national defense and other fields, and has a wide application prospect. The research progress of SBC was reviewed for the two  typical  laser  working  medias  of  semiconductor  laser  and  fiber  laser.  The  current  mainstream  scheme  and research status of high power SBC at home and abroad were summarized. In addition, combined with our research works on SBC, the development trend of SBC in recent years were shown, and the future development prospect of SBC technology was forecasted.


Numerous articles have been written regarding the application of TQM in the public sector. The purpose of this article is to delve into the roots of and to assess TQM, past and present, within the framework of public administration theory, and to highlight some of the issues that relate to the implementation of TQM in the public sector. Suggestions are made to address the concerns identified in the article.


In speech communication applications, the presence of noise (and reverberation) in the environment may render the captured speech unintelligible. Noise reduction algorithms are thus needed to improve the intelligibility. Recently, a multi-channel noise reduction technique, based on a Generalized Singular Value Decomposition (GSVD) has been proposed. The GSVD based filter minimizes the Mean Square Error (MSE) between the desired signal portion in the received signals and the sum of the filtered received microphone signals. In this paper, we propose a subband implementation of the GSVD based filter. It is shown that - in the case of coloured signals - the subband implementation improves intelligibility more than the fullband approach. In addition, a significant complexity reduction is achieved, allowing for low cost, real-time applications.


The use of galvanic cells employing nonaqueous electrolytes and operating at elevated temperatures is a relatively little known technique. Some of the details for the successful operation of such cells are described both for liquid and for solid alloys. The kind and the accuracy of the information obtained are discussed. Applications to the determination of phase diagrams are outlined, and the possibilities of obtaining surface free energies are discussed. A comprehensive bibliography of galvanic cell studies of metallic systems is presented.


Based on the component technology and concept,the water source and water quality information system for Huangshi City is developed and established with VB+MO.With this system,not only the basic functions such as data input,map-layer management,roaming display,ploting of specific map etc.are implemented,but the applicable functions of water resources data management,statistic reporting,assessment and analysis,water quality prediction etc.are also realized with the features of high-pressured module,friendly interface,easy extension and simple operation;which provides an effective means for the management of water source and water quality of drinking water in Huangshi City.


This study examines the relationship between home buyers' characteristics and selling prices. Using survey on home buyers and the 1990 Multiple Listing Service data on single-family housing transactions in the Reno-Sparks area in Nevada, this study finds that home buyers play a significant role on housing price determination. For a given type of house, higher income home buyers would pay higher prices than lower income home buyers and first-time home buyers would pay lower prices than repeat home buyers.


Microstructure was primarily determined by the composition ratio in Ag-sheathed Bi2Sr2Ca(1-x)Cu(2-x)Oy superconducting tape. The cation ratio of the raw powder was kept low in Ca and Cu compared to the stoichiometric Bi-2212 composition in order to suppress the second phase such as the coarse Sr-Ca-cuprate phase during the partial melting process. A highly aligned Bi-2212 phase with a small amount of Bi-2201 phase was obtained for the composition of x=0.36. No impurity phases were observed in the boundaries of the Bi-2212 phase by transmission electron microscopy. The best Jc of 1.67×105A/cm2 at 4.2K in zero magnetic field was obtained for the Ag-sheathed tape with the x=0.36 composition. The pancake coils were prepared by the wind-and-react technique. At liquid helium temperature, the sixteen-stacked pancake coils generated a magnetic field of 2.25 Tesla (T). The Ic of the magnet at temperatures from 4.2 to 30K coincided with the Ic of the short tape up to 6T. The evaluation of stability for the steadystate operational current was carried out using the quadruple pancake coil in various temperatures. The maximum stable operational current in a cryogenic atmosphere was a value between Ic defined as the criteria of 1μV/cm and 10-13Ω·m.


Methotrexate vs Placebo in Steroid Dependant Ulcerative Colitis) trial. We agree with the authors about the relevance of this study, because this is the first trial that evaluated an adequate dosage of methotrexate administered parenterally in ulcerative colitis (UC). Although several retrospective and prospective open-label studies suggested that 25 mg of parenteral methotrexate might be an effective therapy in UC, the only randomized, placebo-controlled trial of methotrexate in UC tested oral methotrexate at a suboptimal dosage of 12.5 mg weekly, giving negative results. We believe that the study was designed well overall. In particular, we appreciated the preestablished scheme of steroids tapering, which allowed a balanced reduction of their dosage. However, we would like to share our opinion on the interpretation of the results. As shown in Figure 1A and clearly stated by the authors, the primary endpoint—based on clinical and endoscopic features consisting of remission according to all items of the Mayo score and complete steroid withdrawal at week 16—was not attained. The same figure depicts 2 secondary endpoints: steroid-free clinical remission at week 16 (figure 2B)—a statistically significant result—and steroid-free endoscopic healing at week 16, whose result, however, was not significant. The other 8 secondary end points of the trial were all not significant; notably, the steroid-free clinical remission at week 24 was one of them. The investigators argued that the complete lack of positive results on endoscopic findings may be owing to the absence of central reading to score the study endoscopies and to the consequent potential poor sensitivity of the site reads, and to the inclusion of endoscopically inactive patients, an aspect that might have reduced the capacity of the trial to detect a difference in the primary outcome. Although all these issues sound reasonable, we believe it is equally appropriate to assume that, if the methotrexate had actually given a benefit on mucosal healing compared with placebo, the clinical response would not have lost so quickly passing from week 16 to week 24. Furthermore, the authors emphasized how there were significantly more patients with disease activity within the placebo arm than in the methotrexate arm, and that more patients who received placebo discontinued treatment owing to persistent disease activity than patients who received methotrexate. Anyway, we are doubtful whether this findingsmay be considered as "relevant indicator of clinical efficacy," because they arise from a post hoc analysis, and consequently they cannot be robust enough to draw any firm conclusion. Finally, nausea or vomiting were reported in 21.7% of the patients in the methotrexate arm, leading to treatment discontinuation in 2 of them. The use of antiemetics was allowed in the protocol, but their use was not recorded, so the real burden of nausea induced by methotrexate and the need for antiemetics remain elusive. In conclusion, the METEOR trial did not reach the primary endpoint or 9 of the 10 secondary endpoints. The only secondary endpoint to attain statistical significance was solely clinical, and it was lost passing from week 16 to week 24. We fear that these results may be sufficient to definitely conclude that methotrexate is not efficacious in patients with UC, and that probably no additional studies are needed. FABIO SALVATORE MACALUSO SARA RENNA MARIO COTTONE AMBROGIO ORLANDO Di.Bi.M.I.S. Division of Internal Medicine "Villa Sofia-Cervello" Hospital University of Palermo, Italy


This paper presents an alternative solution for the power-flow analysis of power systems with distributed generation provided by heterogeneous sources. The proposed simulation approach relies on a suitable interpretation of the power network in terms of a nonlinear circuit in the phasor domain. The above circuit interpretation can be solved directly in the frequency-domain via the combination of a standard tool for circuit analysis with an iterative numerical scheme, providing directly the steady-state solution of the power-flow of a generic distribution network. At each iteration, the resulting circuit turns out to be composed by two decoupled subnetworks, a large linear part and a set of smaller nonlinear pieces accounting for the load characteristics, with evident benefits in terms of the computational time. The feasibility and strength of the proposed simulation scheme have been verified on a large benchmark consisting of the IEEE 8500-node test feeder. Then it is applied to the statistical simulation of a power network accounting for the variability effects of renewable generators. According to the results, the proposed tool provides an effective alternative to the state-of-the-art approaches for power-flow analysis further highlighting the benefits of the application of well-established tools for circuit analysis to power-flow problems.


The Korean Criminal Law writes a 'deceit' as an activity of the fraud. It is generally admitted that one of the criterion deciding the crime...


The Sun's energy that drives the weather system might connect the Earth's climate changes for the period 1996st 2016. The Sun's activity could explain the global warming in the 21 century. The Sun-Earth connection has to influence thermosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere. The effects of the solar variability are evident in a variety of physical and chemical process in the upper atmosphere. In the present study, we have found a global surface o temperature anomalies change (a factor ~1.29 C) from 1996 to 2016. We have found a positive correlation between total solar irradiance (TSI) with Kp-Index, AEIndex and global surface Temperature anomalies (GTA) during solar cycles 23-24. We have found that the effect of these parameters in the Earth's climate is very minimal.


Most viral and bacterial diarrhoeas in older children and adults are mild or stop by themselves. They need no specific chemotherapy and can be adequately controlled with symptomatic treatment. If an attack of diarrhoea lasts more than a day, or if it is accompanied by blood or pus in the stool, treatment should be started promptly with fluids, electrolytes, and demulcent or opiate drugs, and an attempt made to identify the infecting organism.


Strengthening the cultivation of socialist core values for flying college students is not only a basic project to improve the quality of civil aviation pilot personnel training, but also an important part of helping China's socialist spiritual civilization. Through investigation, it is found that the current flying college students in China have a high degree of awareness of socialist core values, but "rational cognition" and educational approaches need to be expanded. The overall recognition of the core concept of socialism is high, but some aspects of "emotional "Identification" still needs to be further strengthened; the overall practice of the core values of socialism is better, but the problem of "different knowledge and action" still exists. Therefore, we should grasp the world situation and national conditions, build the normal mechanism of "rational cognition", based on the needs of students, expand the "diverse" educational approach, strengthen "emotional identification", carry out "all-round" implanted education, and promote "externalization" "Practice" and implement targeted "precision ideology" to strengthen the effectiveness of the cultivation of socialist core values.


Dynamic textures are sequences of images of moving scenes in time that are common in natural scenes and play an important role in video content analysis. This paper presents a new dynamic Bayesian framework for segmentation of dynamic textures. First, we formulate the problem in the Bayesian framework using mixture model theory. The major advantage of our approach is that it provides a natural way to cluster data based on the components of the mixture that generated it. Second, in order to model the distribution of observed data, only grayscale information is taken into consideration of the existing mixture models. In order to overcome this problem, a new distribution is presented in this paper. The advantage of the proposed distribution is that it has the flexibility to fit different kinds of observed data and is more reliable for changes of noise and contrast levels. Finally, expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is adopted to maximize the lower bound on the data log-likelihood and to optimize the parameters. The proposed model is successfully compared to the state of the arts dynamic texture segmentation approaches. Numerous experiments are presented where our model is tested on various simulated and natural real-world dynamic textures.


Most research on second language and culture concentrates on learning the target culture in order to better understand the second language. This survey study looks at culture from a different perspective i.e., from the learners' own culture point of view. It focuses on the relationship that exists between attachment to one's home culture and comprehending written texts in a foreign language. This study clarifies some of the hindering factors that are involved in miscomprehending or not comprehending the L2 written passages which can be noteworthy both for L2 teachers and L2 learners. In this study 228 homogeneous L2 learners participated. They took TOEFL reading tests and filled out a Home Culture Attachment questionnaire. This study found that among the underlying factors of the scale, Religious and Nationality attachments had negative relationships with the reading score of the learners. It can be inferred from the findings that being biased towards some beliefs may limit the flexibility of the mind in the process of comprehending L2 passages. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p383


Recently some interesting cytological and genetic investigations of the chromosome fragment were published, e. g. on Datura (BLAKESLEE, 1928), on Zea Mays (RANDOLPH. 1928), on Matthiola (M.M. LESLEY and FROST, 1928), on SolanUm, (J. W. LESLEY and M.M. LESLEY, 1929), on Nicotiana (CLAUSEN, 1930; GOODSPEED and AVERY, 1930), on Fritillaria (DARLINGTON, 1930), and on Rumex (TAKENAKA, 1931; KIHARA and YAMAMOTO, 1931) etc. The writer's aim is to make clear the mechanism of the formation of the chromosome fragment in natural conditions; for, if this attempt prove succesful, this investigation may throw some lights on the mechanism of the nuclear division, especially of the reduction division, and also on the process of the formation of new chromosomes or new plants.


A team of trained technicians in a specially equipped mobile van conducted a mass screening effort on the Navajo Reservation from 1978 to 1980 to detect and refer individuals with ear disease and hearing loss; 15,890 school children were examined. The prevalence data and correlations of hearing level with ear disease are presented: 4.0% of the children had TM perforations, 2.3% middle ear effusions, 1.9% TM atelectasis, and 0.4% had sensorineural hearing loss. Microtia was found in 1:935, with a cluster on the Western one‐fourth of the reservation. Cholesteatoma was rare. The patterns of ear disease are contrasted with other groups.


T EACHERS and doctors know that illness is often a handicap to learning. Many parents and teachers believe that, if a child is well enough to go out to play, he is well enough to attend school, unless he is suffering with heart trouble or a communicable disease. Many children attend school with undiscovered defects and diseases which impair their ability to profit by instruction. Others go to school when apparently but slightly ill or when incompletely recovered from a more serious illness. The overemphasis placed on regular attendance by many zealous teachers results in bringing children back to class before they have recovered sufficiently from debilitating illnesses and also brings into school children whose physical condition will not permit them to work at their peak efficiency or at any approximation of it. Still others come to school with illnesses which are apparently slight but which are communicable and which may produce more serious results in other children who may contract them. The common cold is to be classified in this group. It is especially important because a considerable number of infectious diseases begin like a cold and deceive both parents and teachers. Common among children who are not ill but who have defects or deficiencies which prevent school success are the constitutionally inferior. These children are physically below par; they often have multiple defects which may or may not be prominent, and they may react slowly and impress the teacher as being lazy. Others are poorly nourished. Parents not infrequently mistake quantity of food for suficiency and provide, lavishly perhaps, but without regard to the needs of the growing body. In such cases deficiencies in diet are soon followed by physical impairment of one sort or another, depending on the food factor that is missing from the diet. Some partially informed parents attempt to equalize dietary variations by feeding the children vitamins, but their selection of medication is often poor. Many of the proprietary vitamin preparations have low potency and do little good. Only a physician can advise intelligently concerning the use of such dietary adjuncts. Physical defects are often unrecognized, especially when they give no outward sign of trouble that a


Recently emerging evidence suggests important roles for inositol polyphosphates and inositol phospholipids in neuronal Ca2+ signalling, membrane vesicle trafficking and cytoskeletal rearrangement. A prerequisite for a detailed physiological characterization of the signalling of both potential second messengers inositol‐(1,3,4,5)‐tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) and phosphatidylinositol‐3,4,5‐trisphosphate (PtdlnsP3) in the nervous system is the precise cellular localization of their receptors. Based on the cDNA sequence of a recently cloned brain‐specific receptor with high affinity for both InsP4 and PtdlnsP3 (InsP4–PtdlnsP3R), p42IP4/centaurin‐α, we localized the mRNA and the protein in rat brain. In situ hybridization revealed a widespread expression of the InsP4–PtdlnsP3R with prominent labelling in cerebellum, hippocampus, cortex and thalamus, which moreover is developmentally regulated. Using peptide‐specific antibodies, the immunoreactivity was localized in the adult brain in the vast majority of neuronal cell types and probably also in some glial cells. Prominent immunoreactivity was found in axonal processes and in cell types characterized by extensive neurites. In the hypothalamus a subpopulation of parvocellular neurons in the peri‐ and paraventricular nuclei was most heavily labelled. This was confined by strong immunoreactivity in the lamina externa of the median eminence in close proximity to portal plexus blood vessels. Electron microscopy revealed that the InsP4‐PtdlnsP3R was frequently associated with presynaptic vesicular structures. Further studies should identify the role of the InsP4‐PtdlnsP3R in cellular neural processes.


This study aims to find out the increase in profitability and activity at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare Services. The research results collected are processed and analyzed in this section. The analysis used in this study includes descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing. The analytical method used in this research is quantitative and qualitative data. By using the method of profitability and activity ratio analysis. The object of the research is to use financial statements in the form of a balance sheet and profit and loss. For the profitability ratio from the calculation of gross profit margin (GPM) at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare's services for 2019, 2020, and 2021 are 35% each; 30%; and 26%. The gross profit margin in 2016 and 2017 is considered very good. Then the results of the calculation of the net profit margin (NPM) at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare services for 2019, 2020, and 2021 are 15% each; 16%; and 6%. Net profit margin in 2019 and 2020 is considered Good. And the results of the calculation of return on investment (ROI) at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare's services for 2019, 2020, and 2021 are 21% each; 28%; and 10%. Return on investment in 2016 and 2017 is considered good. 4) For the activity ratio of the calculation of receivable turnover at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare services for 2019, 2020, and 2021 for 4 times each; 6 times; and 7 times. receivable turnover for three years is considered very poor every year. Then the results of the calculation of total asset turnover at PT. Hendra Mandiri Parepare services for 2019, 2020, and 2021 for 1 time each; 2 times, and 2 times. total asset turnover in 2019 is categorized as poor.


OBJECTIVES:Guaiac fecal occult blood colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests (FOBT) are faulted for low sensitivity and nonspecificity for human hemoglobin (Hb). Automated-developed, immunochemical, human Hb FOBT (I-FOBT) is specific, eliminates diet restrictions, and Hb quantification allows selection of a threshold for colonoscopy. Aims were to determine 1) test reproducibility; 2) test stability; 3) intrapatient daily I-FOBT variation; 4) test sensitivity and specificity for neoplasia in 500 symptomatic/high-risk patients undergoing colonoscopy; and 5) to correlate fecal Hb measurements with findings.METHODS:The desktop instrument OC-Sensor (Eiken, Japan) automatically develops and quantitates 50 tests/h for Hb. Patients prepared three tests, which were quantified and then 1) repeatedly re-examined; 2) stored at 4°C or 20°C or 28°C and repeatedly examined; and 3) fecal Hb levels were correlated with colonoscopic findings.RESULTS:Five I-FOBTs re-examined five times in 1 day had no significant measurement changes. Thirty tests stored for 21 or more days had a decay/day of 0.3%± 0.4 at 4°C (NS), 2.2%± 1.7 at 20°C (NS), and 3.7%± 1.8 at 28°C (p < 0.05). There were intrapatient variations between the three daily I-FOBTs (NS). At the recommended 100 ng Hb/mL threshold, all six cases of CRCs and 20 out of 28 cases of advanced adenomas were detected; evaluated together their sensitivity and specificity were 76.5% and 95.3%.CONCLUSIONS:Desktop, automated-developed, quantitative I-FOBT is now available. Refrigerated OC-Sensor samples are stable for 21 days, easy to prepare and develop and, at the 100 ng Hb/mL threshold, have high sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive values for significant neoplasia. Suitability for population CRC screening awaits further evaluation.


Algorithm visualization is useful for program testing, debugging and evaluating, as well as visual aids in education. When teaching algorithms and data structures, showing exact behaviors by graphics or animation is more suitable than just explaining them. Current systems for algorithm animation are limited to a couple of specific applications and need a special environment. In the proposed system, programmer writes source program in C and animator embeds visualization scripts in the appropriate location of the program. Then user can get an animation code in form of SVG and see a graphical representation on the web browser. Generated SVG animation code is platform independent and can also interact with other XML applications or HTML.


To meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Vietnam's K-12 education has shifted from a content-based to a competency-based approach. Teacher education institutions are, therefore, required to make comprehensive curriculum reforms to align with the K-12 education innovation. This paper is concerned with the adoption of the CDIO (conceive-design-implement-operate) initiative for teacher training programs at Vinh University in Central Vietnam. It gives an account of the large-scale changes that involve significant shifts in the culture of management, teaching, learning and assessment, the revamp of the structure and contents of the curricula, along with enhancement of faculty teaching competence, personal and interpersonal skills, product, process, and system building skills, as well as disciplinary fundamentals. It also describes how the university has adapted the 12 CDIO standards for teacher training programs, and how teacher training spaces, outcome-based assessment and program evaluation have been adjusted in accordance with the CDIO principles. The qualitative research method was employed for an evaluation of the CDIO-based program implementation. The data were collected from interviews with faculty members and students, observations, documents related to the CDIO program implementation, reports of departments and AUN-QA accreditation agency that assessed the programs. It was found that the CDIO approach is highly applicable for teacher training programs; it fits the outcome-based teaching and assessment and the development of professional skills and competencies with which future teachers need to be equipped.


— This paper outlines the intersection of the Performing Arts and Engineering, and methods for successful inclusion of the arts in an engineering curriculum. Through a discussion of the classic ideas of Beauty and Art, parallels are drawn between the engineering design approach and the composition / creation approach common in the arts as a means to find common ground for engaging engineering students more fully into the arts as a life-long passion and possibly a career path.


This report discusses the financialization of urban governance and the built environment as an explicit state strategy, focusing on municipal finance and the use of financial products by the local state and (semi-)public sector. A number of lessons can be drawn regarding the temporality and spatiality of financializing 'the urban'. Firstly, the financial crisis that started in 2007 has not resulted in a definancialization of the city. Secondly, despite a number of common trends, the literature also highlights the diversity of experiences. Yet it would be too easy to conclude that the financialization of the land, housing and real estate is exclusively a Global North phenomenon, as it extends into the Global South. Finally, the literature notes an emerging gentrification-touristification-financialization nexus. The role of the state in all of this is variegated and often ambiguous.


Human consumption of Western diets (WD) has been strongly associated with increased central obesity, adipocyte hypertrophy, intestinal epithelial stemness/proliferation, dyslipidemia, and blood pressure. These changes reflect metabolic dysfunction and contribute to increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer. As comprehensive molecular/clinical comparisons have not been performed, the objective of this study was to evaluate diet-induced changes in dogs as a clinically-responsive model for human WD-related disease research. Methods: In a crossover design, 10 dogs were fed either a 1.) control diet (CON) formulated based on the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges and fiber recommendations for humans; or 2.) Western diet (WD) formulated based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dataset parameters. Diets were prepared cooked with the same ingredients and formulated to meet/exceed nutrient/energy requirements for both humans/dogs and fed isocalorically based on calculated metabolizable energy (ME). Following each period (~7–8 weeks), experimental parameters were measured. Results/Conclusions: Mean body weights were 8.83 and 9.28kg for CON and WD diets, respectively (P = 0.0018). Fasted (10-hour) blood samples differed significantly (P < 0.01) for mean fasting bile acids (CON=0.79, WD=8.94μmol/L), serum triglycerides (CON=45.70, WD=67.80mg/dL), and serum cholesterol (CON=140.10, WD=175.40mg/dL) demonstrating diet-dependent alterations in lipid profiles. Mean systolic blood pressures were 131.66 and 140.02mmHg for CON and WD, respectively (P < 0.0001). Histological analysis revealed diet-dependent changes in colonic epithelial villus height (CON=182, WD=207μm) and villus:crypt ratio (CON=2.61, WD=3.89). Preliminary RNA-ISH analysis (n = 3 dogs) showed increased LGR5+ expression (intestinal stem-cell marker) in WD compared to CON group (P = 0.0019) suggesting an increased "stemnness" of colonic epithelium. Further, mean adipocyte diameters were increased in omental fat biopsies (CON=58.6, WD=62.5μm; P < 0.0001) but not subcutaneous fat biopsies (P >0.05) following WD feeding, consistent with centralized obesity. Collectively, these results demonstrate effects of diet-induced changes in dogs as a clinically-responsive model for human WD-related disease research.


Provided is a coaxiality detector of an inner cylinder body. The coaxiality detector comprises a detecting device, a support device and a fixed device. The detecting device comprises a receiving target and a light blocking cylinder. The support device comprises a support plate and a support base plate. The fixed device is a magnet. The receiving target is in threaded connection with or welded to the light blocking cylinder. The support plate is provided with an opening in the same type of the light blocking cylinder. The opening is in threaded connection with the light blocking cylinder. The support plate is connected with the support base plate via an adjusting screw rod. A nut is arranged on the adjusting screw rod. The support base plate is connected with the magnet via a screw. According to the utility model, requirements on coaxiality detection for different cross sections of inner cylinder body can be achieved.


The invention discloses an amber egg sausage and a preparation method thereof. The amber egg sausage is prepared by taking preserved duck eggs, water and gelatine as main raw materials and matching with seasoning materials. The raw materials of the amber egg sausage comprise 74 to 100 parts of the preserved duck eggs, 10 to 87 parts of the water and 10 to 13 parts of the gelatine. The auxiliary seasoning materials in the raw materials of the amber egg sausage comprise the following components in parts by weight: 2.5 to 3.0 parts of NaCl, 2.5 to 3.0 parts of soy sauce, 2.0 to 3.0 parts of white granulated sugar and 0.5 to 1.0 part of monosodium glutamate. The preparation method comprises the following steps of: firstly cooking the preserved duck eggs thoroughly and husking, adding the raw material of gelatine to hot water, stirring and dissolving the gelatine into liquid, adding various auxiliary seasoning materials to the liquid and uniformly stirring, and adding the preserved duck eggs for stuffing sausages, sterilization, shaping and packing. The product has pure taste and contains 18 kinds of amino acids, wherein 7 kinds of the amino acids are essential to a human body. The invention is a snack food with balanceable nutrition.


Injuries cause serious disturbance of the form and function of the organ of vision due to the damage and accompanying or remote complications and therefore have a high proportion to the structure of low vision, blindness and disability. One of the complications of penetrating wounds of the eye is iris cysts. Iris cyst can increase and cause pupillary block, secondary glaucoma, uveitis, corneal dystrophy, and therefore it requires surgical intervention. The goal of surgical treatment of an iris cyst is to ensure complete removal of the cyst.Objective: to estimate the clinical and functional results of treatment in a posttraumatic iris cyst, posterior subcapsular cataract and myopic astigmatism patient.Patient and methods. Patient B., 49 years old with posttraumatic retention iris cyst, posterior subcapsular cataract, compound myopic high astigmatism was examined. To determine the tactics of surgical treatment of the patient, a complex of General ophthalmology was perfomed (visometry, IOP measurement, autorefractometry, biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy), as well as special (B-scanning, optical coherence tomography of the retina) research methods. The follow-up period was 1 year.Results and discussion. To improve visual functions and prevent the development of secondary glaucoma, the patient was offered surgery - excision of the iris cyst and cataract phacoemulsification with toric intraocular lens. Simultaneous carrying out of two stages of the operation reduced the risks of postoperative complications and shorten the rehabilitation period.Conclusion. Positive optical and therapeutic effects were achieved as a result of the surgical treatment 44 years after an open eye injury: the eye is calm, the iris cyst is not detected, visual acuity has increased. The postoperative period showed the saving the stable and high visual and functional result with no recurrence of the iris cyst.


On may 8, 1992, IPPF's Western Hemisphere Regional Office exhibited, at UN headquarters in New York City, 500,000 flowers representing the same number of women who die each year from pregnancy complications. Indeed 99% of these maternal deaths occurred in developing countries, especially Africa. 50 UN ambassadors and representatives attended this event which was endorsed by 40 health and development organizations. Film celebrity Lauren Hutton also attended to show her support. IPPF hoped this event would bring attention to the ongoing need to reduce unwanted pregnancy by providing family planning information and services. The Regional Director of IPPF noted that family planning is the most cost effective means to do so. The Regional Office's Programme Support Director also emphasized the need for trained birth attendants, emergency obstetric care, and proper nutrition. In 1990, the number of unwanted births was about 30 million. For each maternal death, 10-15 women are disabled during childbirth and 25 million pregnant women face serious childbirth complications. A World Bank study showed that if governments would invest just US$1.50/person/year to include prenatal care and family planning into primary health care programs, maternal deaths would fall considerably within 10 years. This amount had been invested during the last 15 years, IPPF would have only needed to display 167,000 flowers. If governments do not take action soon, IPPF will need to display 650,000 flowers in 2000. The Western Hemisphere Regional Office of IPPF has therefore established the Planned Motherhood Fund to expand and strengthen family planning and appropriate health services for women at highest risk of pregnancy-related death, especially teenagers and women in rural areas and urban slums.


This investigation has a propose to observe the effect of deforestation in the Santa Rita sector located in the Esperanza parish transect No 7 that corresponds to the forest.
It was realized a survey obtaining photographs of the sector, geographical coordinates with the use of GPS where the total area was divided into a hectare with coordinates: Length: 9888433, Latitude 708396, and Altitude of 669 msnm, also it was taken coordinates of 10 different points located at transect N° 7. It was realized 4 samples taken with each of the points that is to say each pickup was done 48h. The collection method used was the fall trap, It was placed plastic cup containers of 16 ozs half full with 3 parts of alcohol solution at 70%, buried at ground level, also it was added liquid soap without odor. To carry out identification and classification of the insects found it was used the Shannon-Wiener method which it was possible to identify and classified according to de other and family of quick form knowing the dominant species of specimens. The greater number of individuals found correspond to the Gryllacrididae family of the Orthoptera order with 67 individuals collected, followed by de Formicidae Family of the Hymenoptera order with 38 individuals collected. From obtained results at the investigation concludes that, the anthropogenic effects existing in the Esperanza humid forest entailing an imbalance an the biological cycle of insects found in the ground, due to deforestation by economic causes of the population, that has replaced native forest for silvopastoral practices.


The independent variables used in most calculations for EHL film thickness in ball bearings involve lubricant properties, contact elasticity, load, and bearing kinematics. The calculations are for steady state, and they give a time constant film thickness. Four distinct processes in starved ball bearings which are explained by assuming a time varying film thickness are shown. The four processes and another transient EHL effect which does not involve the thickness of the film are described. A simple model allows direct calculation of several of the thickness transients.


ABSTRACT Information on the patterns of movement of adult ladder snakes (Elaphe scalaris) in southwestern Spain is presented. Five adults were radio-equipped with force-fed transmitters. The length of the monitoring period averaged 17.6 ± 7 days. On average, the snakes were motionless almost 80% of the time. The percentage of mobile days varied with individuals, ranging from 10% to 23.5%. The mean overall length of the sedentary periods was 4.8 ± 3.4 days (n = 15). The average length of the movement periods was 1.23 ± 0.6 days (n = 13). There was no significant difference between individuals or sexes. The mean distance traveled by active day, was 132.8 ± 36.1 m/day. There was a significant linear relationship between the number of days since release and the distance from the initial to the final location on each monitoring day. Individual E. scalaris did not seem to move within a defined area and did not return to basking or shelter sites. Rather, they tended to wander randomly. Areas of activity (calcula...


For the purpose of moving-off anti-slip regulation (ASR) and/or assistance in moving-off (on hills) in a motor vehicle braking system having an anti-lock system comprising ABS multiple-way control valves (12a, 12b) connected between the wheel brake cylinders and the brake master cylinder (10), an accumulator chamber (14) and a sort priming return pump (18), there is connected an ASR solenoid valve (22), which is triggered for ASR operation, between the brake master cylinder (10) and the ABS control valves (12a, 12b) leading to the wheel brake cylinders, and which is arranged to connect the brake master cylinder (10) to the accumulator chamber (14) and the return pump (18) and simultaneously to break the master connecting line (21) leading to the ABS solenoid valves (12a, 12b). During ASR operation, the self-priming ABS return pump (18) removes pressure medium from the supply tank of the brake master cylinder and feeds it to the ABS control valves (12a, 12b) to generate ASR brake pressure modulation for the selective activation of the wheel brake cylinders.


The watermarking technique is an active subject in current research used as a solution for copyright protection in multimedia documents. In this paper, we propose the first hardware invisible robus...


To assess the presence and risk factors of intestinal carriage of extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL‐PE) among patients admitted to the University Teaching Hospital of Butare and among their attending caregivers, and to analyse the acquisition of ESBL‐PE carriage during hospital stay and associated factors.


We propose a new segmentation technique by integrating the active contour (snake) and the watershed algorithms. The two distinct techniques for image segmentation are combined in a manner which utilizes the strengths of both. Objects obtained by the watershed transform lack the smoothness of those obtained by contours. The accuracy of active contours, on the other hand, depends upon contour initialization around each object of interest. A new segmentation technique is proposed to eliminate the problems encountered by each method. The watershed-based segmentation on a down-sampled image is used to get the initial contours for the active contour models. The proposed integration incorporates control of smoothness in watershed, makes active contours unsupervised and prevents the snake from getting trapped in local minima.


Following the revision of the French dietary guidelines in 2017, the Programme National Nutrition Santé – guidelines score (PNNS-GS), built upon previous recommendations released in 2001, needed to be updated. This cross-sectional study thus aimed to develop and validate the PNNS-GS2, a predefined food-based dietary index based on the 2017-revised French nutritional guidelines. A total of 80 965 participants recruited among French adults ( ≥ 18 years old) in the NutriNet-Santé web-based prospective cohort were included. Collected data included repeated 24 h-dietary records over a 2-year period, sociodemographic and, for 16 938 subjects, clinical and biological data. Weighting and cut-offs of the PNNS-GS2 components were collegially arbitrated by nutrition experts who participated in the 2017 revision of the guidelines. Sociodemographic, nutritional and clinical and biological factors were investigated according to quintiles (Q) of PNNS-GS2 (theoretical ranging − 17 to þ 13 · 5). Mean PNNS-GS2 was 2 · 1 ( SD 3 · 1) in women and − 0 · 3 ( SD 3 · 6) in men. Higher PNNS-GS2 (higher adherence to 2017 dietary guidelines) was positively associated with (mean difference between Q5 and Q1 in women/men) age ( þ 8 · 4/ þ 4 · 7 years), education ( þ 3 · 9/ þ 7 · 4 % of university level), physical activity ( þ 13 · 3/ þ 3 · 5 % of ≥ 60 min/d) and non-smoking ( þ 9 · 7/ þ 13 · 7 %), and was negatively associated with mean blood pressure ( − 3 · 0/ − 2 · 8 mmHg), plasma LDL-cholesterol ( − 0 · 07/ − 0 · 06 g/l) and TAG ( − 0 · 10/ − 0 · 16 g/l) concentrations. Higher PNNS-GS2 was also associated with higher intake of favourable nutrients, e.g. n -3 PUFA ( þ 0 · 2/ þ 0 · 2 % of energy intake), fibres ( þ 8 · 7/ þ 10 · 7 g) and vitamin C ( þ 36 · 6/ þ 43 · 8 mg). Associations between PNNS-GS2 and sociodemographic and nutritional factors arguing for its validation are coherent. Further studies are needed to evaluate its association with mortality and morbidity.


Terpenes are essential oils of a plant. They are responsible for the way a plant smells and tastes. Lemons smell and taste like lemons because of terpenes. Rosemary smells and tastes like rosemary because of terpenes. Cannabis smells and tastes like cannabis because of terpenes. Plants make terpenes for practical reasons: to attract pollinators or ward off predators. Aside from the fact that terpenes give plants their smell and taste, cannabis terpenes may have health benefits that rival those of CBD and THC. Aromatherapy research has already aimed to explore this role of terpenes from plants at large. More studies are needed to confirm the potential benefits of terpenes (including from cannabis), but the information currently out there has been enough to influence how cannabis is grown.


for example, the incest theme is a staple of sentimental fiction and not necessarily an indication of actual abuse, as has been argued. The flaw in this clearly written and jargon-free analysis, however, is Hoeller's failure to tie the novels and stories she discusses to the rest of Wharton's fiction. Does Hoeller mean to suggest that the tension between economy and excess concerns Wharton only intermittently throughout her career? This failure to relate her analysis of realism and sentimental fiction weakens this otherwise strong and convincing study. Nevertheless, Hoeller's discussion of sentimental fiction will be of value to women's studies scholars insofar as she questions the realist bias that governs critical taste; indeed, she notes that even feminist criticism prefers the ''economy of literary realism'' (21). Hoeller thus rightly declares that to take sentimental literature seriously involves ''a reinvention . . . of our own critical standards and convictions and a redefinition of the canon that these critical beliefs create and uphold'' (4). In this respect, Hoeller's examination of Wharton's ''dialogue'' with realist economy and sentimental excess is both revolutionary and refreshing.


Bursts of the x-ray and electron cyclotron emission are observed in tokamaks during sawteeth and disruption instability. Analysis of the tangential view x-ray emissivity in the T-10 tokamak has indicated that the bursts are connected with the nonthermal electrons (ERA ∼ 15–150 keV) localized around the magnetic islands. Dynamics of the x-ray bursts are compared with the phenomenologically similar bursts of electron cyclotron emission observed in experiments in TCV (Klimanov I et al 2005 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76 093504) and DIII-D (Heidbrink W W et al 1999 Nucl. Fusion 39 1369). Analysis of the magnetic field evolution during a sawtooth crash has indicated that the nonthermal electrons can be connected with reconnection of the helical magnetic fluxes around the q = 1 surface. Localization of the bursts around X-points of the magnetic islands and growth of the bursts amplitude in plasma with increased reconnection rate indicated that nonthermal electrons can be connected with direct acceleration in strong electric fields induced during a sawtooth crash. The possible effect of the magnetic reconnection on the generation of the powerful runaway beams during major disruptions is discussed.


IP/WDM is a new development direction of networks,for it expands the capacity of net transport and gives more con-
venient services to IP affairs.But the voice,video and real-time multimedia applications should need more QoS support.Some
service models and mechanisms and the applications to IP/WDM were addressed,such as IntServ,DiffSery and MPLS,which
were proposed by IETF to meet the demand for QoS.


This paper summarizes, Mechatronics system design education oriented methodology, and focuses on role, classification and selection criteria of each subsystem, and it's integration in overall system design, the main design terminologies and concepts are introduced, discussed and integrated with overall design. The paper is intended to support engineering educators and help non experienced student or group of students to integrate multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, in various stages, in solving Mechatronics design integrated tasks.


Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs), known as the third generation of the neural network, are famous for their biological plausibility and brain-like characteristics. Recent efforts further demonstrate the potential of SNNs in high-speed inference by designing accelerators with the parallelism of temporal or spatial dimensions. However, with the limitation of hardware resources, the accelerator designs must utilize off-chip memory to store many intermediate data, which leads to both high power consumption and long latency. In this paper, we focus on the data flow between layers to improve arithmetic efficiency. Based on the spike discrete property, we design a convolution-pooling(CONVP) unit that fuses the processing of the convolutional layer and pooling layer to reduce latency and resource utilization. Furthermore, for the fully-connected layer, we apply intra-output parallelism and inter-output parallelism to accelerate network inference. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed hardware architecture by implementing different SNN models with the different datasets on a Zynq XA7Z020 FPGA. The experiments show that our accelerator can achieve about x28 inference speed up with a competitive power compared with FPGA implementation on MNIST dataset and a x15 inference speed up with low power compared with ASIC design on DVSGesture dataset.


Internal bending force is the important and difficult points in teaching and learning in mechanics of materials,the learning situation of the mechanics of materials course can directly affect understanding and grasp of the following courses.Based on the teaching experience,when the students begin to learn the parts of knowledge,they feel it is very difficult to master.Therefore,graphic method is introduced to explain the two basic concepts on the basis of the existing methods of sections,namely shear force and bending moment,the method can directly help the students master the concepts and calculation methods.From the view of teaching effect,the dull theory can be mastered more visually,which is important to improve the teaching quality and lay a foundation for the following courses.


Seamless service chains and information processes to support them was the main goal of Satakunta Macro Pilot project in 1999 - 2002. This paper describes the idea of customer centric seamless service chains within health and social care and requirements for the secure interorganizational information processes. The modeling of the information processes using use case methodology is presented. The results are the generic use cases which can be used in different service chains. The practical questions and solutions of the implementation are presented. The overall architecture of the Regional Information System and connections to source systems using HL7 CDA XML interfaces are described. Examples of specific use cases on the implemented information system are given. A conclusion of how well use case modeling solves collection of requirements for networked service chains is made.


Dear Dr. Alvares:

As per your invitation, we are providing a brief review of the history of the current attempt to add a dental therapist to the dental team in the United States, as well as report on the status of the effort.

In November 2000, Oral Health America sponsored a conference in Boca


In INS v. Chadha,' the Supreme Court invoked a strained theory of separation of powers to strike down Congress's use of a "legislative veto," a device used for a half century to control the executive branch. Through the use of the legislative veto, Congress delegated power to the executive branch on the condition that Congress could control executive decisions without having to pass another law. These legislative controls, short of a public law, included one-house vetoes, two-house vetoes, and even committee vetoes. Congressional actions by a legislative veto were not presented to the President for his signature or veto. It may appear that this procedure thrust Congress unfairly (or even unconstitutionally) into administrative decisions that should have been left to executive officials; the initiative for the legislative veto came from President Hoover, however, and executive officials tolerated the arrangement for decades because it was in their interest. By attaching the safeguard of a legislative veto, Congress was willing to delegate greater discretion and authority to the executive branch. If Congress failed to invoke the legislative veto, the executive branch could, in effect, "make law" without further congressional involvement. The experiment with the legislative veto lasted for five decades before it was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 1983. In response to Chadha, Congress eliminated the legislative veto from a number of statutes. The legislative veto continues to thrive, however, as a practical accommodation between executive agencies and congressional committees. More than two hundred new legislative vetoes have been enacted since Chadha. In addition, legislative vetoes of an informal and nonstatutory nature continue to define executive-legislative relations. The meaning of constitutional law in this area is evidently determined more by pragmatic agreements hammered out between the elected branches than by doctrines announced by the Supreme Court. The next part of this article explicates the Court's decision in Chadha. Part III discusses the origins of the legislative veto and its traditional place in the


Top quark physics continues to be an exciting and fast moving research area. The large statistics provided by the LHC are allowing us to measure processes never observed before and to develop new methods to improve the precision for the "bread-and-butter" measurements. Summarising more than thirty talks in a concise way is something of a challenge and hence this document is my own personal biased selection of the many interesting results that were discussed at the workshop.


Many years after the first description of central pancreatectomy (CP), this procedure remains sporadically used.1 As Goudard et al2 describe, CP is associated with a highmorbidity rate anda longpostoperativehospital stay3 comparedwith distal pancreatectomy, the real surgical alternative. Another consideration is that the long-term effects of CP on pancreatic exocrine function are controversial. Evaluation of exocrine function is often subjective, especially without any formal fecal analysis; moreover, with a pancreaticogastrostomy, the distal remnant after CP may not contribute much to exocrine function.4 It is possible that CP could preserve long-termexocrine functionbypreserving thedistal remnant, but no results from prospective randomized trials are available to answer this question. Also controversial are the indications for performing CP. In the current series, for example, patientswith symptomatic cystic lesions were not excluded from treatment with CP.2 Even in centers that perform CP, this may be considered a contraindication.5 Goudard et al2 report that themean diameter of the cystic lesions resected in their series was 20 mm, which is below the usual threshold for most centers.5 That wouldexplainwhy30%of intraductalpapillarymucinousneoplasms resected had only low-grade dysplasia at histologic analysis. In conclusion, I agree with Goudard et al2 that there is a role for CP in pancreatic surgery. To prevent undertreatment and overtreatment, the indications for the procedure should be carefully restricted. Only (biologically) young and fit patients with benign or premalignant lesions and clear indications for surgery should be considered for CP in the hope of decreasing long-term endocrine dysfunction. Although difficult to power, a prospective randomized clinical trial should be performed to clarify the potential advantages and disadvantages of CP compared with distal pancreatectomy. This would require the collaboration of multiple expert centers.


This study aims to predict the organic pollution produced from the presence of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and determination it's concentrations (μg/L , ppb) in Tigris river water by a collection twenty-seven water samples from a selected three stations with nine sampling sites and three depths of water (5 cm , 2 m and 4 m) each site for 4.6 km distance of a geographic studied area which is located between the ( Al-Senak and AL-Sarrafiah bridges ) at Baghdad city – Iraq on May, 2012. The geographic location was determined with a Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) software program. The concentrations of fourteen components (PAHs) were performed using the reverse phase of high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) technique. Samples were chemically treated using liquid-liquid extraction method , filtered , extracted , dried , evaporated and pre-concentrated in order to be ready for analysis . The determined concentrations of (PAHs) for the studied area did exceed the criteria values proposed by the International Environmental Organizations like American Environment Protection Agency (U.S-EPA) and British Health Agency (BHA) . The results were showed that the maximum values of the total concentrations (PAHs) were found to be 228 μg/L (5 cm depth , site F, Medicine city station , Al-Resafa bank) , 192.1 μg/L (2 m depth , site D , Medicine city station , Al-Karkh bank) and 80.1 μg/L (4 m depth , site D , Medicine city station , Al-Karkh bank) , while the minimum values were found to be be 51.2 μg/L (5 cm depth , site I, Al-Sarrafia bridge station , Al-Resafa bank) , 33.4 μg/L (2 m depth , site G , Al-Sarrafia bridge station , Al-Karkh bank) and 4.8 μg/L (4 m depth , site G , Al-Sarrafia bridge station , Al-Karkh bank) .


This thesis describes concepts of health and healthy lifestyle. The latter is explored further as are two factors of healthy lifestyle which are included in everyday life in kindergarten – healthy nutrition and regular physical activity. Notions of preschool ages and the profession of kindergarten teacher are also explored as they are specific in that healthy lifestyle of teachers is reflected in the attitude towards working with children. Healthy nutrition and regular physical activity is introduced in relation to the profession of kindergarten teachers and their role in this area. Satisfaction with life of kindergarten teachers is also described as an important component of subjective well-being.
Research part is comprised of results of a survey of 83 kindergarten teachers in of kindergarten Kekec Grosuplje. With it I demonstrate the status of kindergarten teachers with regard to nutrition, physical activity and satisfaction with life. This research should add to understanding of lifestyle of kindergarten teachers in general as I could not find any research like it. I have concluded that all kindergarten teachers are physically active and that most are active occasionally, unorganized, alone or in company. The driving motives behind the activity are improvement of health and well-being as well as better form. Seventy percent of kindergarten teachers have a healthy diet. They consume less fruit and vegetables as most Slovenians. Kindergarten teachers which have been employed 6 to 15 years, are least satisfaction with their lives, followed by those employed up to 5 years. Kindergarten teachers employed for more than 16 years, are the most satisfaction with their life.


Laymen’s awareness for the natural hazards and their perception of the associated risks at the local level have been acknowledged widely as key factor for the success of any risk mitigation initiative. It is therefore particularly beneficial to find out how people's risk perception is shaped in a multi-hazard environment, such as that of Eastern Mediterranean, and how it affects individual preparedness. To this end, we have conducted an online survey aimed at Greek citizens in order to better understand their risk perception among various hydro-meteorological hazards, including geophysical hazards for comparison, and to evaluate their coping capacity. The survey questionnaire received more than 2,300 responses from across Greece. The analysis of the questionnaire has been performed in the frame of the project “THESPIAN II – Development of synergistic and integrated methods and tools for monitoring, management and forecasting of Environmental parameters and pressures”.

Statistical results show that people consider hydro-meteorological hazards less worrying and dangerous than earthquakes. However, in contrast to earthquakes, it was found that increase in hydro-meteorological risks perception enhances preparedness i.e. the adoption of adequate protective measures, except of the private insurance coverage which was found to be purely a matter of economic criteria. Experience was found to have a significant impact on both risk perception and preparedness for all types of natural hazards. However, with respect to hydro-meteorological hazards, its effect decreases with time. Results also highlight the important role of a focused and coordinated effort by authorities and scientists to inform citizens and build a trustful relationship in motivating individual preparedness, as well as other interesting statistically significant relationships with participants demographics and other factors.


The remediation of surface water contaminated with domestic purpose kerosene (DPK) using Fenton's oxidation was investigated at ambient temperature for effectiveness at optimum conditions established. Results obtained from optimization studies for the Fenton's oxidation employed for the study were 250000 mg/L H2O2 and 300 mg/L FeSO4 at ambient temperature with pH of samples adjusted to 3.0. At the end of the chemical remediation, the Fenton's oxidation was found to be rapid with the reaction being exothermic and followed second order kinetics. About 44.4% of the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) as kerosene removal efficiency was achieved after 90 minutes. The reaction also followed a pseudo-first order kinetics with the rate constant of 3x102 mol-1cm3min-1.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the impacts and implications of health reform/renewal for rural women in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.

DESIGN
The study was a multiple case study approach using mixed methods of focus groups, individual interviews, and trends/utilization analysis.

SETTING
Three rural communities - two in Saskatchewan; one in Manitoba.

PARTICIPANTS
Rural women; non-health providers.

INTERVENTIONS
None.

OUTCOME MEASURES
None.

RESULTS
This paper presents a four phase Integrated Community Policy Uptake Model which is derived from the experiences of rural women during the operationalizing of health reform policy. The model depicts a four phase integration of the health reform or renewal policy; specifically, 'Taking In', 'Taking On', 'Taking Over', and 'Taking Beyond'. The Integrated Community Policy Uptake Model is firmly rooted in the perceptions and opinions of rural women, and is informed by their understanding of health policy.

CONCLUSION
The involvement of rural women in the policy process is necessary. The model proposed potentially encourages women to become more directly engaged in future health policy making and planning. There is also significant potential for this model to inform decision makers of the perceptions, needs, and solutions offered by stakeholders such as rural women.


Abs1racr. The aim of the study was to investigate whethcr or not exten�ive!y UVB-treated psoriatics ran a grcatcr risk of developing skin cancer than did controls. The 85 most extensively UVB-treated psoriasis patients <luring recent decades have been investigated with regard to pre malignant and malignant skin lesions and compared with a population matched for age, sex, and geographic region. The prevalence of persons who had or had had premalig nant/malignant skin lesions was 5.9% (11=85) in the psoriasis group, vs. 10.1 % in the control group (11=338). This difference is not statistically significant and the con fidence limits are such that it is unlikely that the psoriasis patients treated in the past have an increased prevalence of premalignant and malignant skin lesions. A multiple regression analysis has been conducted among the con trols, showing a correlation between premalignant/malig nam skin changes and advanced age and outdoor occupa tions. No such correlation was found for the factors: sex. skin type, or trave! to southern latitudes.


After the development of a method for macroscopic production of fullerenes, in particular the C60 molecule, a lot of attention has been given to the optical and collective properties of C60 in gas phase, solid and film. The more recent development in fullerene related research is the synthesis of coaxial carbon sheets, usually referred to as carbon tubes or nano tubes. Also spherical concentric graphitic shells called carbon onions have made the field still more exciting and opened the doorway to a new area of materials science. In this work we present how a model based on classical electrodynamics can be used to describe the collective dynamics of electrons in these systems and give insight into the most important physics. We demonstrate the existence of a rich spectrum of collective resonances for both carbon onions and carbon tubes. Evaluated polarizability, oscillator strength distributions, and the EELS loss function are compared to available experimental data and other theoretical studies for especially C60.


The development of high-power electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations (EVFCSs) that are directly tied to the medium-voltage (MV) grid is a promising solution to shorten the charging time for EVs. The cascaded-high-frequency-link (CHFL) system-based charging station provides an isolated power electronic interface between the low voltage (LV) DC bus (inside the station) and the three-phase MV AC power network. The CHFL system uses a high/medium frequency transformer to provide isolation and high stepping-up ratio. The main disadvantage of this system is the large number of active switches. In this paper, a new design for the CHFL system based on cascaded half-bridge direct matrix converters is proposed. The proposed design reduce the active switch count by more than 40% as compared with topologies recently proposed in the literature. A simplified multilevel hysteresis current controller (MLHCC) for the system is also presented. The proposed architecture for EVFCS is assisted by a photovoltaic (PV) system to decrease the dependency on the power grid. A bi-directional power flow controller is adopted to inject the excess in the generated PV power to the grid, and withdraw power from the grid when the PV power is less than the demand of the station. The results are validated through a number of simulations for a 5MW system.


Introduction: Bone tissue engineering is one of the important areas in the field of tissue engineering. Scaffolds should have adequate mechanical properties for proper tissue regeneration and for bearing the weight of the regenerating tissues. Many studies have been done for improving scaffolds mechanical properties. Objective: this study aimed to make and characterize nonoclay reinforced starch-polycaprolactone scaffolds. Material and Methods: Scaffolds based on starch/polycaprolactone blend containing montmorillonite nanoclays were prepared by solvent casting-salt leaching technique. The nanoclays were introduced to improve the mechanical properties of the scaffold. Results: The characteristics of scaffolds were analysis by FTIR, SEM, contact angel, MTT assay and compressive strength tests. FTIR showed some hydrogen bonds between starch and polycaprolactone in scaffolds. In addition, the prepared samples exhibited porosity greater than 70%. The compressive mechanical test showed the range of 3.3 to 5.8 MPa for the compressive elastic modulus of the scaffolds. The contact angle experiments exhibited that incorporation of nanoclays improved the hydrophilicity of SPCL from 136 to 122 degree.  Conclusion: FTIR showed that the nanoclays was successfully incorporated into the starch/polycaprolactone blend based scaffolds. Nanoclays influenced the microstructure of starch/polycaprolactone scaffolds. The MTT assay also indicated that the nanoclays did not a negative effect on the viability of osteoblast cells in scaffolds. The porosity of the scaffolds is appropriate for tissue engineering applications. Therefore, the starch/polycaprolactone -nanoclay scaffolds appear to satisfy some of the essential requirements of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.


Abstract The Black-footed Albatross Diomedea nigripes is an endangered seabird that is endemic to the North Pacific. The genetic structure of Black-footed Albatross populations on three of the Hawaiian Islands and on Izu-Torishima Island, Japan, has been studied previously, using the mitochondrial cytochrome b region. Hawaiian and Japanese breeding groups are genetically different, and the genetic diversity of the birds on Izu-Torishima is lower than that of birds in the Hawaiian Islands. We analyzed 50 Black-footed Albatrosses from the Bonin Islands, where a relatively stable population persisted throughout the twentieth century. Although albatrosses in the Bonin Islands do not differ significantly from those on Izu-Torishima in their cytochrome b region sequences, they do exhibit higher genetic diversity (as high as those from the Hawaiian colonies). A statistical parsimony network revealed two clades, one primarily in the western North Pacific colonies and the other primarily in eastern North Pacific colonies. The total network appears as a dumbbell-shaped phylogeny, suggesting recent population expansion in both populations, although the population breeding in the western North Pacific is only about 5% of the size of that in the eastern North Pacific. Our results suggest that Black-footed Albatrosses in the Bonin and the Hawaiian Islands differ genetically but are comparable natural biological units for conservation and management purposes.


PV generation is a key contributor to a carbon-neutral power system. With proper planning and operation, it has significant potential to improve system reliability as well. Nevertheless, solar availability is volatile which poses a challenge to ensure an uninterrupted grid-supporting performance. One critical factor leading to the loss of PV generation is PV inverter malfunctioning as it is the most frequent fault scenario in PV systems. Despite this, there is still inadequate study into PV inverter reliability, especially for online non-intrusive health monitoring methods. In addition, effective PV planning calls for quantitative study into PV impact on grid reliability. This paper is one of the first efforts to bridge this gap. We first reveal the significance of PV generation to grid reliability by studying its impact on grid transient performance in both DC and AC networks. It can work as an input to PV planning problems, for example, to determine the optimal siting and operation strategies. Then, we develop an online monitoring algorithm to provide situational awareness information into PV inverter health. At last, we develop fault-tolerant control strategies for PV inverters to enhance PV availability. A case study verifies the proposed work.


A comparison is made on four evaluation results of the surface water quality herein,in which the results from both the variable fuzzy assessment method and the identification index method are more consistent,but the evaluation result from the grey clustering method has a larger discrepancy with those from the two methods mentioned above.Based on the analysis of the discrepancy,it is considered that there are some inapplicabilities in both the determination of the clustering weight and the calculation of the whiteness function during the application of the grey clustering method,which leads to some distortions of the part of the indexes,and then results in the inconsequence of the evaluation result concerned.As only the poorest classification of water quality is considered in the method of single factor extreme value and the result is short of integrativity and scientificity,it is suggested that the method need no longer to be used.


Examination was made of the vocal fold mucosa of Reinke's edema immunohistochemically and electron microscopically, with special attention to blood vessels in Reinke's space (RS). Ten surgical specimens of Reinke's edema were used, and the results obtained are summarized as follows. 1) There were subepithelial vascularization and many dilated vessels in RS. 2) The vessels had thin endothelium with many fenestrae, many vesicles, and a thickened basement membrane. 3) Plasma exuded from the capillaries into surrounding tissue via fenestrae. 4) These findings demonstrate increased permeability of the vessels. 5) The vascular walls were thin, with few pericytes. 6) The pericytes were situated away from the endothelial cells. 7) Some endothelial cells and pericytes had degenerated, and vessel occlusion was apparent in some cases. 8) These findings indicate the vessels had become fragile. 9) Interstitial cells and/or inflammatory cells in RS showed stained cytoplasm with vascular endothelial growth factor. 10) This growth factor may possibly enhance capillary permeability and form fragile vessels in RS. Fragility and alteration in permeability of the vessels are presumed to cause edema of RS, which may progress to Reinke's edema.


An analysis is made of the principle of generating electricity by the conveying of charge by gas flow against an electric field. This method has been suggested before, for example by Voysey. Steutzer has undertaken a number of experimental and theoretical analyses of the principle and Bennett has carried out experiments on a multistage device. In the present work the optimum operating conditions of such a device are deduced and related to the aerodynamics of the system. It is shown that generators of this type are capable of very high power densities (e.g. 8.8 kw cm-3) and, moreover, that they are suitable for either power or high voltage generation. The problems involved in making working systems are discussed and various suggestions for their solution are put forward.


A small increase in the number of staff who wash their hands between patients can lead to a dramatic fall in the number of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).


An analysis of applications and replications of the work of Geert Hofstede was based on a collection of citations of published and unpublished material. Four types of usage were found: citations, reviews, empirical replications, and as a paradigm. The role of Hofstede's work is illustrated by the number of citations, the widespread usage of Hofstede's culture types beyond citation as well as con firmation of the results and validation of the dimensions by empirical research.


Using the neutron activation analysis method,the author studied the trace element characteristics of silicified and limonitized quartz sandstones,diabases,limestones and pyrite in the Laozhaiwan gold deposit,and analyzed the relationships between the elements.The results show that the accompanying elements of Au in the study area can be used to guide the ore-prospecting work.


Indonesia has greatly affected by COVID-19 outbreak. This study shows that health crisis during COVID-19 pandemic has caused the rise of new poor seen from the increase of poverty rates, both at the national, regional, and local levels. This article aims to map poverty conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia with a case study in the Java-Bali region. Using a descriptive analytical method, this study shows that the increase in poverty during the pandemic is associated with the rate of COVID-19 cases occurring in all provinces with varying increases. The Java-Bali region, which consists of six provinces, is the area with the highest number of positive cases of COVID-19 which causes the greatest change in poverty. Among the 128 regencies/cities, the six top highest increase in poverty are regencies/cities that located in small islands and coastal regions. The highest increase was experienced by Kepulauan Seribu by 2,78 percentage point of increase. This follows by increase in Sampang Regency (2,07 percentage point), North Jakarta (1,74 percentage point), Bangkalan Regency (1,66 percentage point), and Indramayu Regency (1,59 percentage point) respectively. Further research needs to be done to elaborate this finding to anticipate poverty in Indonesia in the future when the uncertainty of COVID-19 to this day.


One of the more challenging and yet unresolved issues which is paramount to the success of ATM networks is that of congestion control for available bit rate (ABR) traffic. Presented here is a new congestion control algorithm based on a well-understood adaptive controller, namely the minimum prediction error adaptive controller. As such, stability and convergence characteristics can be rigorously proved. In addition, the work presented here distinguishes itself from others in its direct estimation of key parameters and removal of constrained and thus unresponsive sources.


Radiation pattern, impedance characteristics, and gain of a probe-excited rectangular ring antenna are investigated by the Method of Moments with the Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG-MoM) basis functions. The analysis is carried out for difierent lengths and positions of the probe as well as various lengths, widths and heights of the ring. In addition, the distribution of the surface current is also illustrated. Consequently, the suitable parameters are determined. It is obvious that the proposed antenna ofiers a bidirectional pattern with the impedance bandwith (jS11j < i10dB) of 17%. Along the direction of the ring aperture, the gain is 5.28dBi. Furthermore, the prototype antenna was fabricated and measured to verify the validity of the numerical calculation. It is found that the numerical and measured results are reasonably in good agreement.


cial Education Program for the Visalia Unified School District, Visalia, California. program utilizing the existing classroom situation. Career education is not the private domain of any segment of education. Its success must be the result of flexibility and cooperation. The handicapped child has every right to become aware of the possibilities open to him, together with realistic mobility of careers in the future. For too long we have kept him in a classroom, sitting at a desk, doing little, and preparing for nothing.