The human NKG2D killer lectin‐like receptor (KLR) is coupled by the DAP10 adapter to phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3 K) and specifically interacts with different stress‐inducible molecules (i.e. MICA, MICB, ULBP) displayed by some tumour and virus‐infected cells. This KLR is commonly expressed by human NK cells as well as TCRγδ+ and TCRαβ+CD8+ T lymphocytes, but it has been also detected in CD4+ T cells from rheumatoid arthritis and cancer patients. In the present study, we analysed NKG2D expression in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)‐specific CD4+ T lymphocytes. In vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy seropositive individuals with HCMV promoted variable expansion of CD4+NKG2D+ T lymphocytes that coexpressed perforin. NKG2D was detected in CD28– and CD28dull subsets and was not systematically associated with the expression of other NK cell receptors (i.e. KIR, CD94/NKG2 and ILT2). Engagement of NKG2D with specific mAb synergized with TCR‐dependent activation of CD4+ T cells, triggering proliferation and cytokine production (i.e. IFN‐γ and TNF‐α). Altogether, the data support the notion that NKG2D functions as a prototypic costimulatory receptor in a subset of HCMV‐specific CD4+ T lymphocytes and thus may have a role in the response against infected HLA class II+ cells displaying NKG2D ligands.


Management must be two people and more than collective activities.People occupy the particular factor in management,and people's individual character theory influences the quality in management practice,and management practice influences people's individual character theory to develop and restrict.The individual character theory and management practice influence each other,the mutual development is an important phenomenon in contemporary management,certainly in the realistic practice,the negative effect is like the shadow retinue too.So under contemporary terms of social development,the individual character theory and contemporary management practice can't be blocked along social trend and momentum of development.And it promotes the development,paying attention to human-oriented management must develop people's individual character theory.


b S Supporting Information T hin and ultrathin film solar cells are attractive candidates for low-cost replacement of thick, wafer-based devices. To achieve full absorption of the solar spectrum with ultrathin semiconductor volumes, light trapping is required over a broad spectral and angular range. To date, several light trapping geo-metries based on nanowires, nanocones, photonic crystals, nanoparticles, gratings, and random textures have been demonstrated. 1À18 While many researchers have demonstrated increased photocurrent due to scattering-mediated light trapping, the role of spatial correlations and surface topography of random or periodic arrangements of the scattering nanostructures has remained unclear. Here we identify the relation between these key parameters and the photocurrent spectrum for high efficiency , ultrathin (<100 nm thick absorber) film a-Si:H solar cells containing both integrated plasmonic and Mie scattering nanos-tructures. The nanostructure arrays described here are defined by their spatial coherence spectral density and are designed for broadband and isotropic response in ultrathin semiconductor volumes. Ultrathin film solar cells possess a number of advantages over their thicker counterparts. Ultrathin films are less expensive due to the reduced cost of raw materials. For technologies based on scarce elements, such as CdTe and CuIn x Ga 1-x Se 2 , a thickness reduction could expand scalability to the terawatt range. 7,19 For thin film Si cells, the use of ultrathin layers translates into faster manufacturing throughput, as overall cell production times are often limited by the chemical vapor deposition rate of the semiconductor film. For hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H) the use of ultrathin layers in addition strongly reduces the photodegradation that is commonly observed in thick cells due to the increased electric field across the ultrathin p-in junction. 20,21 Moreover, for semiconductors that are not surface recombination limited, a reduction in semiconductor thickness leads to higher open-circuit voltages due to decreased bulk recombination. 22 While all of the above factors indicate that reducing semiconductor layer thickness is advantageous for the fabrication of inexpensive, stable, thin-film solar cells with high open circuit voltage, the major opposing requirement that limits the thickness is light absorption: to harvest the full solar spectrum the cell needs to be " optically thick " for wavelengths up to the semiconductor bandgap. Light-trapping nanostructures allow for nanoscale control of the direction and absorption of light in ultrathin film solar cells, enabling new designs in which light is absorbed in semiconductor volumes much thinner than the optical absorption length. …


Natural antibodies to glucosaminyl dipeptide (GMDP), a component of bacterial cell-wall peptidoglycan, isolated from the serum of normal donors by thermal extraction, are capable of cross reaction with the determinant of the glycan chain: tetrasaccharide consisting of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. The intensity of the interaction of natural anti-GMDP antibodies with a specific ligand is considerably higher than with tetrasaccharide. Natural antibodies to tetrasaccharide possess the properties of heterologous antibodies, i.e. the intensity of their interaction with a specific ligand (GMDP) is considerably higher than with a homologous ligand. Suggestion is made that GMDP is the specific antigenic determinant of peptidoglycan to which antibodies are formed in process of natural immunization. These antibodies react with different intensity with homologous (GMDP) and related (tetrasaccharide) haptens.


This article aims confront a difficult discussion: the ideal of Human Rights across the globalization process. At first is necessary, make a general statement about the phenomenon of legal globalization, showing the main aspects of the Global Law, considering the political and economic implications, with which it related. Later, will be shown a fundamental questions about the ideal of Human Rights,


Figure I. Nomogram for determination of endogenous creatinine clearance: (I) draw a perpendicular line at the patient's weight (kg or Ib) until it crosses the line corresponding to the patient's age; (2) draw a horizontal line at the crossing until it intercepts the line corresponding to the patient's serum creatinine concentration; (3) draw a perpendicular line at the last crossing until it intersects the creatinine clearance axes; and (4) read the value at the intersection with the axis appropriate for the patient's sex.


In this paper, evaluation of HSPA radio technology is provided with the reference to IMT-Advanced requirements. Recent technological advancements are included to verify if HSPA is capable of meeting these requirements. Extensive system-level simulation campaigns are carried out, which shadow IMT-A performance evaluation guidelines and suggested test environments specifications. Respective results are analyzed in the context of spectral efficiency, VoIP capacity and high speed mobility of IMT-A requirements. The presented results indicate that although a single strongly interference-limited environment is unlikely to pass stringent IMT-A spectral efficiency criteria, overall all the IMT-A test requirements are passed.


This article covers important aspects of the role and professional responsibilities of radiographers, supplementary diagnostic radiographers, and student radiographers, to ensure that service delivery is in keeping with professional ethics as emphasized in national and international publications.


Little is known of children's knowledge of text search processes and the role of metacognition. This study examined middle school students' knowledge of text search strategies and the correlation between metacognitive awareness and search efficiency. Sixty-nine students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade were observed as they searched in an informational book for answers to six questions. For five questions, students could use a relatively simple locate strategy because the questions contained terms that were indexed in the book. The sixth question required students to generate a term that might be located in either the index or table of contents. Students also completed a survey assessing their awareness of the relative utility of text features for locating information. The survey asked students to list text features that they would use to locate an answer to a specific question and to rate the utility of 15 standard textbook features. Students also completed the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, a questionnaire designed to measure regulation and knowledge of cognition. The findings indicated that students were successful and fast at locating answers to the five questions containing indexed terms, but much less successful with a question that did not lead to an entry in the index. The strategies used to locate the information were rated on a scale comparing the students' search to that of an ideal strategy; students were more strategic with indexed questions than with the non-indexed question. The two scales of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory were correlated with search performance and strategy ratings and were predictive of search efficiency and strategy. (KB) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) NA This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Middle School Students' Information-Seeking Skills and Metacognitive Awareness Sonya Symons and P. Lee Reynolds


The widespread use of antibiotics both inside and outside of medicine is playing a significant role in the emergence of resistant bacteria. The study was aimed to determine the antibiotic sensitivity patterns of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolated from Urinary Tract Infected (UTI) patients. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the bacterial isolates were determined using modified Kirby Bauer method. The susceptibility of antibiotic against S. aureus showed that most of the isolates were resistant to more than 3 antibiotics. Most of the isolates were sensitive to gentamicin, ofloxacin, Septrin and Augmentin. However, the isolates were more resistant to streptomycin, Nalidixic acid and levofloxacin. The susceptibility pattern of S. aureus against the antibiotics showed that 14 out of the 20 isolates were multi drug resistant. For E. coli, result showed that most of the isolates were resistant to more than 3 antibiotics. Most of the isolates were sensitive to Levofloxacin, ofloxacin, Streptomycin and gentamicin. However, the isolates were more resistant to Ceporex, Augmentin and ampicillin and 14 out of the 20 isolates were multi drug resistant. It is concluded that the bacteria isolated from UTI patients are mostly resistance to some classes of antibiotics.

Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and antibiotics


Absorption line shape and spin-lattice relaxation-time measurements have been made on $^{13}\mathrm{C}$ nuclei (1.1% abundant) in a type-IIb single-crystal semiconducting diamond. The line shape measurements are consistent with theoretical predictions for a dilute spin system. Over the temperature range 295\char21{}375 K, the spin-lattice relaxation time is long (3\char21{}4 h) and shows a temperature dependence which may be explained by means of a model in which spin diffusion plays a role, and the paramagnetic acceptor centers relax via an Orbach-type process involving excited states near the valence band.


In 1959 man had not yet orbited the earth or walked the moon. The ladies could not take their eyes off Elvis, and gentlemen preferred blondes and the alluring charms of Marilyn Monroe. A "byte", however you spelled it, had to do with food, not information. That was the year the American Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASCN) was established. In September of this year we celebrate the beginning ofASCN's 35th year of existence. During the past 35 years the Society has made a difference! It has nurtured the increasing significance of nutrition in the promotion of health and general well-being during the total life cycle of the individual, and it has broadened awareness and increased the appreciation of the role of nutrition in health promotion and the treatment and prevention of disease. Improvements in preventive medicine, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic procedures have resulted in health care undreamed of just a few years ago. Many ofthese technological advances would not be realized without the advances in nutritional support of


Based on the information of coal resource geological exploration, combining field engineering geological investigation, in situ and laboratory testing results, the characteristics of the engineering geological conditions concerned with protected water resources during coal mining action in Yu Shen Fu Mine Area are analyzed and summarized. The studied area have been zoned according to the engineering geological condition differences.The possibility of protected water resources during coal mining action in the different engineering geological condition areas in the studied area is discussed preliminarily.


A novel complex [Sm2(tsglyO)6(H2O)4]·3H2O(1),has been prepared from the reaction of N-P-tosylglycine with a Sm(III) salt and was characterized by the single crystal X-ray diffraction.In the complex,the Sm(III) atoms(Sm1;Sm2) of the binuclear units were coordinated by oxygen atoms of N-P-tosylglycine and water molecules.N-P-tosylglycine adopt dimonodentate and chelating/bridging bidentate coordination mode link the binuclear units to a 1D chain,which was assembled to 3D supramolecular architecture through hydrogen bonds.


The study is based on the identified archival and published sources, field research of the author, which enable to reconstruct a more reasonably shaped, the material structure is lost in the nobility and merchant estates in the area of origin of horticulture and the natural border of Russia. The basis of the study is the study of topography and physical and geographical types of terrain characteristic of the Kursk region.
The scientific novelty of the research is associated with the author's expeditions to identify signs of the existence of manor objects – landscapes and parks, full-scale survey of a number of preserved manor com-plexes, which did not attract the attention of researchers to a sufficient extent.. Of particular importance is the identification of archival and printed sources that allow more reasonably reconstruct the figurative and material structure of the lost elements of noble and merchant estates.
The contribution to modern knowledge is systematic information about different types of management, their impact on the spatial structure of the estate and its natural environment, as well as about the features of garden and Park techniques that existed in the studied period of the history of the Kursk region.


To improve the reliability and extend the life for a wind-turbine gearbox, the gearbox needs to be monitored and analysed exactly. This study was conducted to analyze and detect the gearbox conditions when lubricating oil contaminated by wear particles was used. Characteristics of the gearbox failure by wear particles were monitored simultaneously by the on-line measurement sensor of vibration, oil condition and temperature. For the detail vibration analyses, frequency analysis(FFT) was performed. The results of the study were summarized as follows: Vibrational signal was found sensitive to abnormal changes of the gearbox conditions when lubricant was contaminated by wear particles. Also, using frequency analysis for the harmonics of gear mesh frequency(GMF), it is found that the failure of gearbox was caused by the damages of meshing gears. However, temperature and oil condition measuring signals were found not so effective to detect any gearbox failure by oil contamination.


With R.trigyna as material,influence of adventious bud differentiation and adventitious root induced that effect by different medium and auxin ratio were studied,to establish Reinwardtia trigyna(Roxb.) Planch.rapid propagation system.The results showed that the best condition for R.trigyna adventitious bud differentiation was MS+1.5 mg/L 6-BA+0.3 mg/L NAA,and the best culture conditions for adventitious roots induced was 1/2MS+1.5 mg/L NAA+0.5 mg/L VB1.


Macrobicylic polyethers with novel ring structures have been synthesized and found to complex with Na+ and K+ in accordance with the relative sizes of the cavity and the cation.


The demand for real-time data services has been increasing recently. Many e-commerce applications and web-based information services are becoming very sophisticated in their data needs. They span the spectrum from low level status data, e.g., stock prices, to high level aggregated data, e.g., recommended selling/buying point. In these applications, it is desired to process user requests within their deadlines using fresh data, which reflect the current market status. Current web-based data services are poor at processing user requests in a timely manner using fresh data. To address this problem, we present a framework for guaranteed real-time data services in unpredictable environments. We also introduce a possible application of our approach in the distributed environment.


ABSTRACT During the last restoration of the Fontana di Trevi -Rome (2014–2015), it has been performed a diagnostic investigation to characterize the materials used to build and obtain the colors of the surfaces of some architectural elements of this fountain. According to the restoration teamwork needs, we focussed our efforts on the dome over the central statue of Oceanus, on the bas-relieves on the sides of the dome, and on the cliff where the water flows. Several samples were collected from these elements and therefore, they were subjected to an analytical approach including infrared spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy. The achieved results indicated the use of red earth pigments on the dome. The same pigment has been revealed on the bas-relieves, although their colors have an additional contribution due to degraded layers. Samples taken from the cliff showed a complex stratigraphy, although a white scialbo has been identified as original layer, testifying the intentions of the authors in term of color rendering. This information was essential for the restores in order to choose the proper intervention procedure for each investigated surface. The research testified the importance of an integrated diagnostic analysis to preserve the original colours of monuments and building.


Because of the unavoidable small amounts of oxidising impurities present in helium, which is used as a coolant in an HTGR, corrosion of the core graphite can be expected. First of all we are dealing with an overall corrosion of the outer surface of the graphite fuel rods which will lead to dimensional changes of the coolant channels. In order to avoid appreciable changes of reactivity or changes of the heat transfer characteristics of the coolant channels no more corrosion can be allowed than equivalent to the removal of 0.5 mm. Apart from this we have to take into account possible corrosion of the interior of the graphite components of the core. Corrosion rates, research efforts and experimental results are reported.


The hemorrhagic fevers caused by the two genera of filoviruses, Ebola and Marburg, are among the most severe of human infections. Outbreaks occur sporadically and unpredictably in central Africa, sometimes numbering hundreds of cases, with high mortality rates. Because of their extreme virulence, laboratory research on filoviruses is restricted to a few secure facilities in the USA, Canada and some European countries. From 17–19 September 2006, a global symposium in Winnipeg, Canada, organized by the International Centre for Infectious Diseases in association with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), brought together researchers from those containment laboratories with a wide range of experts in human and animal health, members of epidemic response teams, scientists from Africa and representatives from the WHO, with the goal of bridging gaps in scientific understanding of filoviral infections and establishing paths toward effective diagnostic methods, vaccines and therapies. This report summarizes presentations at the conference that relate to the treatment of filoviral hemorrhagic fever. The therapy of human infections is currently limited to basic supportive measures, but considerable progress has been made over the past decade in elucidating underlying mechanisms of illness and developing treatments that are efficacious in laboratory animals [1–3]. After providing some background information on Ebola and Marburg virus, this article summarizes recent advances in experimental therapy reported at the meeting.


This paper deals with the following quadratic polynomial differential system$\frac{dx}{dt}=y^{2}-y-x,$ $\frac{dy}{dt}=x^{2}$ $-\,~\mu~x-y,$with parameter $\mu\in\mathbb{R}$, which is the key example for studying the pitchfork bifurcation of a singular point. We classify the global phase portraits in the Poincare disc of this system when $\mu$ varies.


A patient with scrub typhus was successfully treated with doxycycline following 'spot diagnosis' based on the presence of typical eschar in association with fever. The diagnosis was promptly suspected at the first referral consultation. Early diagnosis and treatment are important because this disease can be associated with considerable morbidity and simple effective treatment is easily available.


So far, all countries around the world have to deal with the Covid-19 challenge. As imperative, it includes providing food security subject to pandemic restrictions and consequences. The study purpose took focus on exploring price dynamics observed for basic crop and animal products. The research hypothesis supposed different volatility of their prices linked with a certain similarity across the considered Eastern European countries. The utilized methods involved candlestick charting and analysis of variance ANOVA to compare the food price indices and changes in times of the Covid-19 between February and December 2020 with regard to the corresponding preCovid-19 period. The research findings revealed stable pricing for bread and cheese with fluctuations below 4%. The study outcomes indicated the most disruptive Covid-19 impact on potato and pork. The latter largely associated with Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Prices for sugar and eggs in Ukraine gained by 46.2% to 30.4% and illuminated unhealthy shifts in dietary patterns. The basic research conclusions are as follows. Firstly, food chains in animal husbandry need special enhancements to face the Covid19 crisis. Secondly, the evidenced price volatility coupled with the decreasing purchasing power are the reasons to concern on providing balanced nutrition and healthy diets in Ukraine and the neighboring EU countries.


Health care economic science holds great potential for improving the quality of lower-limb prosthetic care. To realize this potential, health care providers need to adopt an outlook that economic analysis is not strictly limited to the scrutiny of cost, but includes a better understanding of the value generated in the provision of lower-limb prostheses. Health care providers in the United States currently have a negative perception of cost containment efforts implemented by regulators to rein in health care spending. The United States currently spends more on health care than any other developed country (17.9% of GDP; National Health Expenditure Projections 2017–2026. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 2017), whereas other countries have reduced cost and increased quality of care through health care economic science. The clinical outcome of restoring mobility and independence to a person with lower-limb amputation has an appreciable impact on quality of life. By measuring the quality improvement and comparing costs associated with available lower-limb prosthetic alternatives, health care economic science can improve decision making regarding the best use of resources and improve the overall value of care. Although limited economic evidence exists concerning lower-limb prostheses, a better understanding of the purpose of health care economic science can lead health care providers to contribute to the economic research that is needed. (J Prosthet Orthot. 2018;31:P43–P48)


Examines the effects of four factors (the bundle: pure or mixed, the price discount, the functional complementarity of bundle components, and the number of bundle components) on consumers' intentions to purchase product and service bundles. The findings were relatively consistent across product (automobile) and service (automotive service) contexts, and illustrate that pure bundles are preferred to mixed bundles, and a greater price discount is preferred to a lesser one. The results also indicate that five component bundles generate greater purchase intention than either three or seven component bundles, and that "very related" bundle components result in greater purchase intention than either moderately or not related components. Additionally, several interactions are present.


A substantial amount of spectral information is available from TM (as compared to MSS) data for a 14.25 square km area between Beltsville and Laurel, Maryland. Large buildings and street patterns were resolved in the TM imagery. While there was added information content in TM data for discriminating surburban/regional land cover, characteristics of MSS can improve land cover discrimination over TM when conventional classification procedures are used on digital data. The improved qualitization of TM is likely valuable in situations where there are spectral similarities between classes. The spatial resolution in TM decreased land cover discrimination as a result of increased within class variability. For many general digital evaluations, inclusion of four bands representing the four spectral regions can provide much useful land cover discrimination. Inclusion of TM 6 indicates an improvement in spectral class discrimination. Of primary spectral importance is the discrimination between water, vegetative surfaces, and impervious surfaces due to differences in thermal properties. Results from the principle component transformed data clearly indicates additional information content in TM over MSS.


It is well known that semilinear heat equation ut u + hu p = 0 in Q := R N (0;1); N 1; p > 1; with strongly positive continuos absorption potential h = h(x;t) h0 = const > 0 admit both large ( i.e. solutions u(x;t) 0 : u(x; 0) = 1 8x 2 R N ) and very singualar (i.e. solutions u(x;t) 0 : u(x; 0) = 0 8x2 R N nf0g, ku( ;t)kL1 ! 1 as t! 0) solutions. Such a property remains true for wide class of potentials h, degenerating on some manifolds Q : h(x;t) = 0 on . Essentially new phenomenon happens if potential h is very at near to . In this sit


The special characteristics of topography that the Andean cities present
certain problems in the design of works, for sewerage systems, with
simultaneous changes of level and direction of flow with free surface.
In cities like Quito, residential areas increasingly reach critical levels
location causing the dilemma of finding technical and economic solutions that
allow the conduction of waters, saving large differences with developments
minimum longitudinal of the work.
In these cases, the design recommendations suggest placing pending
minimum lengths in the conduction, which give rise to speeds below the
allowable to design special jump structures that allow the dissipation of the
potential energy due to unevenness. In a great majority of cases it is about heights
greater than 2.00 m.
The action of water on materials that can be exhausted through the correct
design of their structures.


A part from the well-established syndrome of motor paralysis, hypokalemia may present with atypical neurological manifestations, which are not well documented in literature. Methods: We treated 30 patients of hypokalemia whose neurological manifestations improved after corrections of hypokalemia. A retrospective chart review of the clinical profile was done with emphasis on the evolution of symptoms and occurrence of unusual manifestations. Results: Twenty-eight patients had subacute quadriparesis with duration of symptoms varying from 10hrs to 7 days and two had slowly progressive quadriparesis. Fifty percent of patients had more than one attack of paralysis. Early asymmetric weakness (11), stiffness and abnormal posture of hands (7), predominant bibrachial weakness (4), distal paresthesias (4), hemiparesthesia (1), hyperreflexia(4), early severe weakness of neck muscles (3), chorea (1), trismus (1),and, retention of urine (1) were the unusual features observed. The means level of serum potassium on admission was 2.1+0.6mEq/L.and the serum creatine kinase was elevated in 14 out of 17 patients. All patients except two had complete recovery.


Higher twisted $K$-theory is an extension of twisted $K$-theory introduced by Ulrich Pennig which captures all of the homotopy-theoretic twists of topological $K$-theory in a geometric way. We give an overview of his formulation and key results, and reformulate the definition from a topological perspective. We then investigate ways of producing explicit geometric representatives of the higher twists of $K$-theory viewed as cohomology classes in special cases using the clutching construction and when the class is decomposable. Atiyah-Hirzebruch and Serre spectral sequences are developed and information on their differentials is obtained, and these along with a Mayer-Vietoris sequence in higher twisted $K$-theory are applied in order to perform computations for a variety of spaces.


Tholin is a word coined to describe the entire class of complex organic solids produced in laboratory experiments where pre-biotic gaseous chemicals are subject to bombardment by high energy. The atomic composition of Titan tholin produced from 10 percent CH4 and 90 percent N2 in a simulation of Titan atmosphere irradiated by charged particles trapped in the magnetosphere of Saturn gave 67 percent C and 33 percent N. Hydrolysis of Titan tholin with 6N HCl produced a racemic mixture of biological and non-biological amino acids that was confirmed by GC/MS. Other tholins, that revealed the presence of amino acids, were UV tholin produced under possible primitive Earth conditions by irradiation of a mixture of gases (CH4, C2H6, NH3, H2S and liquid H2O) with long-wavelength ultraviolet light, representing the most abundant useful energy source for prebiological organic synthesis; Spark tholin in a crude simulation of Jupiter atmosphere using electrical discharge through a mixture of CH4, NH3, and H2O vapor. Pyrolytic GC/MS of Titan tholin produced more than one hundred organic compounds including saturated and unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, substituted polycyclic aromatics, nitriles, amines, pyrroles, pyrazines, pyridines, pyrimidines, and the purine, adenine. Similar rich pyrolytic products were obtained with UV as well as Spark tholins. A range of two to four ring PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in Spark as well as Titan tholins, some with one to four alkylation sites, were identified by two-step laser desorption/multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry and also confirmed by the synchronous fluorescence technique. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential for use of tholins as a source of carbon and energy by microbes. This paper describes studies that evaluate the potential for using different types of tholins as (a) a substrate for growing plants and (b) a source of carbon and nitrogen for plants. The data are interpreted in terms of the potential for using such tholins to grow plants for food in extraterrestrial habitats and also to speculate on the possibilities of abiotic evolution of plants.


Freshly collected Great Lakes waters were innoculated with radiolabelled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and, after equilibration, separated into particle bound, dissolved organic matter bound and freely dissolved phases. Solubility controls the constituent distribution between particle bound and freely dissolved but plays a much smaller role in mediating the binding to dissolved organic matter. The results of these experiments yield the same equilibrium particle distribution coefficients (Kd) as those using freshly collected sediment trap material as the substrate. The results for field measurement of sediment Kds in a core from Lake Erie and surface sediments from several lakes are generally significantly lower.


The effects of learning versus outcome distal goals in conjunction with proximal goals were investigated in a laboratory setting using a class-scheduling task. The participants (n = 96) needed to acquire knowledge in order to perform the task correctly. A 'do your best' outcome goal led to higher performance than the assignment of a specific, difficult outcome goal. However, the assignment of a specific, difficult learning goal led to higher performance than urging people to 'do their best.' Goal commitment was higher in the learning goal than in the outcome goal condition. The correlation between task-relevant strategies discovered and performance was positive and significant. The number of task-relevant strategies implemented by participants assigned a distal learning goal in conjunction with proximal goals was higher than in any other goal condition. Setting a distal outcome or learning goal that included proximal outcome goals, however, did not lead to higher performance than the setting of a distal outcome or learning goal alone. Self-efficacy correlated significantly with performance, and this effect was mediated through strategy development. Furthermore, the discovery of task-relevant strategies affected self-efficacy through an increase in performance. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The Task Analysis/Workload (TAWL) methodology was developed to predict operator workload using the information from a task analysis of the system. In addition, the TAWL Operator Simulation System (TOSS) was developed to perform all the data base management and model execution functions needed to use the methodology. A TAWL workload prediction model is developed in three stages: task/workload analysis, model construction, and model execution. The methodology assumes that demand on human attention (workload) can be approximated by modeling the separate cognitive, psychomotor, and sensory requirements of all tasks being performed by the operator. The model produces half-second time lines annotated by task names and workload estimates. The output of the models can be graphed or read by statistical software for further evaluation. TAWL models are useful to system designers as aids in task allocation between crewmembers, machine and crewmembers, and workload components, as well as across time. In addition, the information generated by the models can be used to evaluate the system's manning and training requirements. Currently, the Army is sponsoring the development of TAWL workload prediction models for modified versions of the AH-64A (Apache), CH-47 (Chinook), and UH-60A (Black Hawk) aircraft.


Normal hand gesture recognition methods using surface Electromyography (sEMG) signals require designers to use digital signal processing hardware or ensemble methods as tools to solve real time hand gesture classification. Some methods could also result in complicated computational models, complex circuit connection and lower online recognition ra


The Supreme Court is set to rule on the University of Michigan's admissions policies for its undergraduate College of Literature, Science and Art (Gratz v. Bollinger) and its law school (Grutter v. Bollinger).1 On January 15, 2003 President Bush conducted a press conference on these policies, stating, among other things: "I strongly support diversity of all kinds, including racial diversity in higher education. But the method used by the University of Michigan to achieve this important goal is fundamentally flawed." Shortly thereafter, Theodore Olson, the Solicitor General, issued Amicus Curiae briefs for both Gratz and Grutter articulating the administration's position. Excerpts from these briefs are presented by Sharf elsewhere in this issue of TIP.2 The key issue in both cases is whether the admissions policies, which grant special considerations for race and other factors, can pass the strict scrutiny analysis. To do so, the university will have to prove two things: (a) that racial diversity serves a compelling governmental interest, and (b) that the admission policies at issue are narrowly tailored to that interest. The key Supreme Court ruling on racial diversity remains Regents v. Bakke (1978). In recent years, several lower court judges have ruled that Bakke is not good law (see for example Hopwood v. Texas, 1996). In the October, 2002 issue of TIP, I suggested that the Grutter case compels a Supreme Court ruling on the status of Bakke. However, the administration's argument is (a) leave Bakke alone, (b) do not rule on racial diversity as a compelling interest, (c) reject both admissions policies because they are flawed, and (d) keep racial diversity as an important goal to be accomplished via race neutral methods. This is a cop-out. For reasons to be discussed below, regardless of whether the Michigan policies are supported or struck down, the


The impact of imperfect CSIT on the degrees of freedom (DoF) of a time correlated MISO Broadcast Channel has drawn a lot of attention recently. Maddah-Ali and Tse have shown that the completely stale CSIT still benefit the DoF. In very recent works, Yang et al. have extended the results by integrating the partial current CSIT for a two-user MISO broadcast channel. However, those researches so far focused on a symmetric case. In this contribution, we investigate a more general case where the transmitter has knowledge of current CSI of both users with unequal qualities. The essential ingredient in our work lies in the way to multicast the overheard interference to boost the DoF. The optimal DoF region is simply proved and its achievability is shown using a novel transmission scheme assuming an infinite number of channel uses.


It is commonly assumed that the distributions of surface density and radial-velocity dispersion in clusters of galaxies are sensitive tracers of the underlying distribution of any unseen mass. We have used N-body experiments to test this assumption. Calculations with equal-mass systems indicate that the effects of the underlying mass distribution cannot be detected by observations of the surface-density or radial-velocity distributions, and the existence of an extended binding mass in all well-studied clusters would be consistent with available observations.


The purpose of this article is to describe several conceptual areas that warrant attention by scholars and practitioners interested in improving access and opportunity to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in urban cities. Thinking conceptually about the urban context has been a part of intellectual traditions in the social sciences for decades. Like in other fields of study, for example, economics, sociology, and political science, the treatment of urban communities as unique geospatial organizations in terms of sites of intervention and policy reform has a history in STEM education, but the aligned research and development strategy is best characterized as nascent.


2457 Objectives Dual tracer single acquisition (DTSA) PET/CT scans utilizing 18F-NaF and 18F-FDG in oncology have been utilized to simultaneously image for skeletal and soft tissue metastases. The method involves the injection of 18F-NaF plus 18F-FDG in a single syringe followed by a single PET/CT acquisition. The FDG-to-NaF ratio can be subjective, based upon the clinical indication. What is not well known is the optimal FDG-to-NaF ratio in terms of visual analysis, and the effect of DTSA upon the reference background liver SUV. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients referred for clinical reasons for DTSA PET/CT imaging. Head-to-toe imaging utilizing a total dose of 10 mCi was used, with 3D acquisition at 2.5 min/bed after a 90-minute uptake time. Using a qualitative visual estimate of scan quality, we determined the optimum FDG-to-NaF ratio. The average and maximum liver SUV was obtained, calculated based upon the injected FDG dose. The DTSA liver SUV was compared to both an unmatched group and a group matched for age, uptake time, and body mass index of patients who had undergone FDG only PET/CT. Results There were 14 DTSA patients with FDG-to-NaF ratios ranging from 4.1:1 to 0.7:1. Visually, the optimum ratio was 3:1. The average liver SUV in DTSA patients was 1.85 +/- 0.31 versus 1.6 +/- 0.33 for the unmatched group (p Conclusions An FDG-to-NaF ratio of 3:1 was determined to be optimal for DTSA PET/CT. The reference background liver SUV appears to be slightly higher in DTSA compared to FDG-only scans


At the first World's Fair with it's own women's pavillion, chaired by a woman, designed by a woman, and decorated by a woman at a time when sewing was the predominate activitiy for women, why were no quilts in the Women's Pavillion Building? This article details the many interesting cultural changes that took place during the Gilded Age in Chicago that set the stage for high art and diminished the handmade craft of quilting. Show full item record


Phonological short-term memory capacity is generally measured with a word span task or a digit span task. Another way to measure it is to use a nonword repetition task. Gathercole and Adams (1993) claimed that this procedure can be used with children as young as two-years old. It seems that in normally developing children the quality of nonword repetition is influenced both by the nonwords length and by their degree of wordlikeness. Can individuals with Down's syndrome phonological short-term memory be assessed with a nonword repetition task ? In order to answer this question, we decided to replicate Gathercole and collaborators' experiments (1991,1993) but with individuals with Down's syndrome. The quality of nonword repetition in individuals with Down's syndrome is, as in normally developing children, influenced both by the nonwords' length and by their degree of wordlikeness. Furthermore, our results seem to confirm the hypothesis according to which nonwords are temporarily stored in the phonological shortterm memory system. As this system has a limited capacity, subjects (normally developing children and people with Down's syndrome) recall more short nonwords than long nonwords. In conclusion, nonword repetition is a reliable task allowing to assess phonological short-term memory in individuals with Down's syndrome as well as in normally developing children.


Domestic and foreign scholars did many thorough research works on using Fang Feng Tong Sheng San to treat obesity,and they made a lot of useful results.Consulting relevant literature reports of nearly 30 years,author reviewed and summarized its present situation from the literature reports basing on two aspects-animal experiment and clinical research.After reading and analyzing the documents,author found that:(1)there are a small number of the relevant documents;(2)the reports on animal experiment are more scale,and most of them are completed by overseas scholars;(3)the early clinical trials are not standardized;(4)Fang Feng Tong Sheng Shan is commonly used to treat obesity in Traditional Chinese Medicine;and it has precise effect and high security,so it is wroth being studied more deeply.


Writhe is a geometric quantity that describes the amount of "coiling" of a curve in three-dimensional space. In other word the writhe is the total number of positive crossings minus the total number of negative crossings of an oriented link diagram. For a closed or constrained curve, the total number of the writhe and twist (Linking number) is constant. It means, while deforming the curve in such a way that dose not change its topology, the linking number remains fix. In real world, when a hose or a rope or a rubber band or a biopolymer (such as DNA) is twisted it will coil. In order to describe this phenomenon, it is necessary to compute the writhe number. In this presentation, we will discuss about computation of the writhe in DNA supercoiling in Monte Carlo simulation. We will specially talk about the following paper:


Lead‐free chalcogenide SnTe has been demonstrated to be an efficient medium temperature thermoelectric (TE) material. However, high intrinsic Sn vacancies as well as high thermal conductivity devalue its performance. Here, β‐Zn4Sb3 is incorporated into the SnTe matrix to regulate the thermoelectric performance of SnTe. Sequential in situ reactions take place between the β‐Zn4Sb3 additive and SnTe matrix, and an interesting "core–shell" microstructure (Sb@ZnTe) is obtained; the composition of SnTe matrix is also tuned and thus Sn vacancies are compensated effectively. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of the in situ reactions, an ultralow κlat ≈0.48 W m−1 K−1 at 873 K is obtained and the carrier concentrations and electrical properties are also improved successfully. Finally, a maximum ZT ≈1.32, which increases by ≈220% over the pristine SnTe, is achieved in the SnTe‐1.5% β‐Zn4Sb3 sample at 873 K. This work provides a new strategy to regulate the TE performance of SnTe and also offers a new insight to other related thermoelectric materials.


While computational methods for the study of point defects in materials have received significant attention, methods for the investigation of grain boundaries require further development. In this study, we applied a genetic algorithm to find the atomic structure of grain boundaries in semiconductor materials with given Miller indices and investigated their electronic structure. Our study of the {\Sigma}3 (112) grain boundary in CdTe shows that the stability of grain boundaries can be greatly enhanced by breaking mirror symmetry, locally or globally. The resulting grain boundary can be electrically less harmful because the origin of the defect levels are removed from the middle of the band gap and the grain boundaries can serve as a channel for electron extraction.


Extended X-ray absorption fine structure studies at the Kabsorption edges of four complexes of cobalt(II) with salicylic acid have been carried out. The studies reveal that as the effective charge increases, there is a corresponding increase in the chemical shift values in the complexes. Further, the splitting of the principal absorption maximum in these fot:r complexes has been correlated with the splitting of the degenerated energy levels of absorbing atom. The data have been utilised to estimate the average metalligand bond distances in these samples.'


By the beginning of the l9th century, China had remained untouched by Western influence. The Ch'ing dynasty, which started the Manchu rule over China in 1644, was still in factual control. But, as history unfolded, the century proved to be one full of internal unrest, disasters and threats from without, leading ultimately to disintegration and finally to the revolution in 1911 which overthrew the Manchu imperial rule and established the Republic of China. In the course of the century, and before the total collapse of the empire, however, efforts were repeatedly made by various circles to effect change in many fields as a first step toward modernisation, in order to cope with the demands of the time confronting the nation. Yet changes were slow to come. Some changes, when finally introduced, became permanent and constituted the very seeds of modernisation: the establishment in 1861 of the TSllng-1i yamen (the office for the general administration of the affairs of the different nations, later to become the Foreign Office),' in 1868, the Kiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai' (for the manufacture of firearms and steamships), and the Foochow Dockyard in 1866. Other attempts in the field of education were less successful, such as the direct despatch of students to the United States to learn Western knowledge; as result of conservative opposition, the project initiated in 1871 and led by Yung Hung, who, after attending a missionary school was sent to the United States and graduated from Yale in 1854, ceased to continue after the departure of two groups of students.4 Although these initial attempts at the start of the second half of the century failed to produce an all-out modernisation process, these were the very beginning of the later government schools in China, modelled after the western system of education. In order to meet the need of the Tsung-Ii 'i,attieti, a language school, the Tiiiig-ii&dquo;eii kuan was established in Peking in 186 ~ for the purpose of training those selected in foreign languages; in 1863, the Kiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai set up a similar language school, the huau fang_nen kuan, and a technical school, followed in 1864 by the establishment of a language school in Canton; and attached to the


Object detection is a critical step in automated surveillance. A common approach to constructing object detectors consists of annotating large datasets and using them to train the detectors. However, due to inevitable limitations of a typical training data set, such supervised approach is unsuitable for building generic surveillance systems applicable to a wide variety of scenes and camera setups. In our previous work we proposed an unsupervised method for learning and detecting the dominant object class in a general dynamic scene observed by a static camera. In this paper, we investigate the possibilities to expand the applicability of this method to the problem of multiple dominant object classes. We propose an idea how to approach this expansion, and perform a proof-of-concept evaluation of this idea using a representative surveillance video sequence.


Objective: To analyze the association between dental equipment/supplies and primary health care units. Methods: Quantitative cross-sectional study carried out in health care centers (n=243) and Primary Health Care Units (PHU) (n=1101), in the 16 Regional Health Divisions of the state of Paraiba, Brazil, in 2012 and the first semester of 2013. Secondary data about dental equipment and supplies was collected in the health units. Data emerged from questions on oral health of the National Program for Access and Quality Improvement in Primary Care (PMAQ). The t-Student and chi-square tests (p=0.05) were applied. Results: A reduced number of dental equipment and supplies was found, such as autoclaves in proper conditions for use in only 27.2% (n=66) of the health care centers and 29.0% (n=319) of the PHU; and sealants in sufficient quantity only in 31.7% (n=77) of the health care centers and 30.7% (n=338) of the PHU. There are differences between the kinds of health facilities and the availability of materials and equipment, such as reflectors (p<0.05), and association with the regional health divisions was evidenced. Conclusion: In the primary care level, health units of the state of Paraiba feature reduced amount of dental equipment and supplies, with a significant difference between the type of health facility and the regional health divisions.


This experiment was conducted to determine germination ability, life cycle, regrowth ability of Portulaca oleracea L. The newly harvested seeds from P. oleracea flowered before July 15 were able to germinate, but percent germination decreased markedly as the flowering time was later than July 15, showing no germination of seed collected at Sept. 12 which were flowered at August 30, 76.5% of seeds can be germinated in the light as seed stored in room condition for 90 days, but in dark condition, it needed 2 years of seed storage for germination. Low temperature treatment at for 5 days enhanced seed germination of P. oleracea in both light and dark conditions. The maximum vagetative growth was observed at 30 to 75 days after seeding. The late seeding time such as July 1 shortened the period of vegetative growth. However, regardless of the seeding times, the first flowering was observed at about 40 days after seeding. Leaf numbers, shoot lengths, fresh and dry weights were greatly affected by the seeding dates, showing that the earlier seedings produced significantly higher shoot length, fresh and dry weight, leaf numbers and branch numbers than those of the late seedings. When all branches were removed on 68 days after seeding, their regrowth ability was 50.3% and cuttaged branches showed 78.1% regrowth as compared to intact plant.


Carrying out university students' entrepreneurship education is the requirement for the strategy of 'expanding employment by creating more businesses' put forward by the Eighteenth National Congress of the CPC.Its development can be traced back to the 1990s,although achievement has been made during the progress,the proportion of starting a business accounts only for 5% of the total amount of graduates.Problems exist in: lacking the social supportive system;lack of harmonious development environment in campus,lack of the synchronous development between cognition and ability among students.Combined efforts should be made from society,colleges and students to make the innovative undertaking spirit the students' way of thinking and behavior pattern.


Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) maintenance therapy is standard of care for frontline management of extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES SCLC). However, overall survival benefit of addition of ICI maintenance to frontline ES SCLC treatment is modest and further improvement is needed. We hypothesized that addition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition to ICI maintenance therapy for patients with platinum sensitive ES SCLC could improve antitumor efficacy of ICI.
 Methods: A single-arm, investigator-initiated phase II trial (NCT03958045) enrolled patients with platinum sensitive ES SCLC who received frontline maintenance nivolumab 480 mg IV every 4 weeks, and rucaparib, 600 mg PO twice a day after completion of 4-6 cycles of platinum doublet. The primary outcome was median progression free survival. Secondary endpoints included assessment of objective response and adverse effects (AEs) per CTCAE 5.0. Correlative studies included pretreatment and during-treatment immune assays and circulating tumor DNA TP53 mutation status.
 Results: A total of 42 patients were consented and 33 met eligibility criteria and were treated. All patients received 4-6 cycles of frontline platinum doublet and had at least a partial response by RECIST at the time of enrollment. In the 33 participants, the most common grade 3 and 4 AEs (at least possibly related) were hypokalemia (3%), hyponatremia (3%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (3%), neutropenia (3%) and leukocytopenia (3%). No grade 5 AE was noted. The median PFS (mPFS) was 3 months from time of enrollment on frontline maintenance (post platinum doublet). The mPFS was 11 months from cycle 1 of platinum doublet. Overall, 89.8% patients were alive at 12 months and 54.4 % patients were alive at 24 months from the start of platinum doublet. Currently 2 patients are on active treatment and other two have completed study treatment and are on observation with stable disease.
 Conclusions: Maintenance rucaparib combined with immune checkpoint inhibition was tolerable and showed promising activity after completion of frontline chemotherapy in platinum sensitive extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients.
 Citation Format: Aman Chauhan, Jill Kolesar, Donglin Yan, Zhonglin Hao, Ronald McGarry, John Villano, Ralph Zinner, Ashish Maskey, Jordan Miller, Timothy Mullett, Aman Khurana, Xitong Zhou, Garima Gupta, Daniel Flora, Colleen Darnell, Richard O'Neil, Charles Kunos, Mark B. Evers, Lowell Anthony, Susanne Arnold. Phase II of frontline maintenance rucaparib in combination with nivolumab in ES SCLC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 2 (Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Research); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(8_Suppl):Abstract nr CT221.


The village of Winterfeld in the former German Democratic Republic experienced two encounters with refugees: after the Second World War with Germans driven from their homes farther east, and again in 1990 with Jews from the Soviet Union. Interviews with over 100 of these refugees reveal the psychological and social reaction of the villagers who had to deal with the feelings of insecurity induced by decades of surveillance and control and their deep‐seated traditional fears of strangers and witches. This type of research raises important methodological questions.


Aviculture is conservation too! However, "conservationists" have opposed or ignored perhaps the only practical method of conservation left to them: captive breeding. They cling tenaciously to protection of habitat alone, relying on man's goodwill or on repression, both of which are too uncertain. Protection of habitat and maintenance in captivity doubles the chances of survival of species in danger of extinction. Rosemary Low has written her most important book to date; she has eloquently defined and described, with specific detail, aviculture and its purpose and value as a conservative tool on behalf of endangered parrots. Ms. Low states that according to her records, of the 314 parrot species at least 253 have been kept in captivity; of these at least 220 have reproduced and at least 141 species have reared young to second or multiple generations. It is worth noting that private aviculturists, rather than zoological associations, have been responsible for the majority (probably more than 90 % ) of the parrot species bred in captivity, and of those bred to more than one generation. To date, it is a private individual from Florida, Ramon Noegel, who has probably achieved the most success with a single endangered species and also with a single genus. The proof that a vi culture can be elevated to a valuable conservation tool is irrefutable; Ramon Noegel reared 81 Amazona leucocepbla (endangered races of the Cuban Amazons), while his friend and former President of AFA, Tom Ireland, raised 63 golden-capped conures (A rating a aurifrons) in one year. In New Zealand breeders started with 103 red-fronted kakarikis ( Cyanorampbus novaezlandiae) in 1958 and, within six years, had increased their numbers to 2500. Most parrot species live in the rain forest areas of the world where humans often live on a mere subsistence level. These people have a real need. We of the industrialized world are already using more than two thirds of the world's resources and we continue to demand more, thereby putting severe pressures on the parrot's habitat and environment. This combination of need and greed has placed many parrots on the brink of extinction. At least half of Ms. Low's well written book is devoted to describing the variety of circumstances affecting endemic parrots in various locations around the world. They range from the Caribbean Islands Amazon parrots whose habitats have been reduced to a few square miles, and the majestic macaws, endangered by the combined pressures of habitat destruction and trade, to possibly the most unique bird in existence, the kakapo from New Zealand, whose strange habits do not befit it for survival in the twentieth century. Other parrots highlighted include: yellow-eared conure, queen of Bavaria conure, thick-billed parrot, the echo parakeet and many other fascinating parrots the world over. ENDANGERED PARROTS also contains statements of a controversial nature, which should serve to promote serious discussions in avicultural circles about standards of ethical conduct and present practices. For instance, Rosemary Low says, "Large birds are generally more vulnerable to habitat alteration and predation by man than smaller species. Thus macaws, the largest and most spectacular of all parrots, have declined greatly as a result of man's interference in their environment. There can be no justification for taking the larger macaws from the wild; from those already in captivity the demand should be met. A more responsible attitude on the part of traders and aviculturists is essential if the future of macaws is to be safeguarded." In another part of the book, she also states that, "Further importation of most Amazons and cockatoos is totally unnecessary, as there are such large numbers in captivity. Some species, such as the eclectus parrot and grey parrots are not yet rare in the wild, yet mortality is so high among newly imported birds that if aviculturists had a conscience they would not permit their import. Breeders ought to be able to supply the demand for both species - and, in fact, are already doing so in the case of the eclectus parrots, which are rarely imported now.'' Ideally, those birds that are imported would be in much smaller numbers and would be done so by a central organization so that they would go only to responsible breeders not just to anyone prepared to pay the price. Rosemary Low also questions the practice of hand-rearing the majority of larger parrots with the result that they are being sold mostly as pets. Hopefully, a responsible breeder would try to pair offspring with young raised by another breeder. Unfortunately we are always in a hurry, and seem reluctant to invest in young pairs, which usually produce far less problems and are a better investment than recently imported adults. The author further advocates that serious aviculturists keep abreast of field studies so that species bred in captivity which are decreasing in their natural habitat, or what is left of it, can receive the full attention of their captive breeding efforts. "We must regularly participate in and review data produced on species bred in captivity from such sources as the registry of birds maintained by the American Federation of Aviculture, et. al. All aviculturists must contribute breeding results to central...


Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) is the important module in any digital system utilized in the current world applications. Adder plays major role in the construction of any ALU. Multipliers can also be designed with the help of continuous addition. The efficient design of adders is very much needed for the efficient ALU design. Parallel prefix adder has been chosen in this research because of its fastest computation and efficiency. Kogge Stone, Sklansky, Ladner Fischer, Brunt Kung, Han-Carlson and Knowles are the adders discussed in this research. Further, the combinations of any two adders have also been tested for the best efficiency in terms of power consumption and delay utilisation. From the many combinations, it is found that the proposed combination of Bruntkung and SKlansky (BSK) adder performs excellent with the power consumption of 25011.22 nW and delay of 1243 pS.


Non-tuberculous mycobacteria cause opportunistic infectious diseases in immunocompromised patients. Disseminated Mycobacterium avium infection occurs frequently in AIDS patients. Here, we describe a case of generalized aseptic pustulosis spread from palmoplantar pustules associated with disseminated M. avium infection in a non-AIDS patient.A 54-year-old Japanese woman visited a local hospital with a several-week history of non-pruritic eruptions. At presentation, there were multiple pustules on [...]


It is a kind of economic system to ensure the safety of the cars running in the low visibility environment. By the application of the ultrasonic sensors and CPU , the distance between cars or one car and barrier can be monitored and then compared with the assumed one. When beyond the safety range, the drivers will be warned by the alarming system.


Often heard at engineering educational conferences is the plea, "where's the proof that use of information technology really works?" No single study can produce convincing evidence because in learning-teaching experiments there exist many confounding factors even in the best-designed study. Only sifting through the great amount of information can one find the patterns. The authors' review summarizes the research findings on computer assisted instruction over the past fifteen years. Many of the studies are themselves reviews and meta-analyses, which cover hundreds of studies, over approximately 2180 studies either directly or indirectly. Their interest is to gather hard, statistical evidence about the use of information technology for better learning, time on tasks, costs and learner/teacher attitudes. Research strongly supports the use of technology as a catalyst for improving the learning environment. Educational technology has been shown to stimulate more interactive teaching, effective grouping of students, and cooperative learning. A few studies, which estimated the cost effectiveness, reported time saving of about 30%. At first, professors can be expected to struggle with the change brought about by technology. However, they will adopt adapt, and eventually learn to use technology effortlessly and creatively.


The measures of lowering the boulder yield by using mix-load vehicle are investigated in accordance with exploiting the rock materials for dam, and the technological modification and parameters adjustment are determined through the field experiments. It has a practical reference value in the similar engineering.


Abstract A new species group, the Protohermes differentialis group of the dobsonfly genus Protohermes, is recognised. Two species belonging to the new species group from China are described and illustrated, including one new species. Neurhermes differentialis is transferred to the genus Protohermes, and Neurhermes fangchengensis is a new synonym of P. differentialis.


Background Effective cancer treatment requires durable elimination of malignant cells. Cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer often show initial anti-tumor efficacy, but fail to produce long-term durable responses in patients. The elicitation of durable responses and improved survival in response to cytotoxic agents may be associated with the induction of innate and adaptive immune response to the cancer. For example, tumor cells undergoing apoptosis following exposure to some cytotoxic agents emit immunostimulatory damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), this form of cell death is termed immunogenic cell death (ICD). ICD can promote the recruitment and activation of both the innate and adaptive immune system, providing an additional mechanism to drive an anti-tumor response. Methods Vedotin-based antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) drive cytotoxicity in tumor cells by engaging tumor antigens on the cell surface, internalizing with the cell surface antigen, and delivering monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) payload. Following intracellular delivery, MMAE induces mitotic arrest, as well as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response resulting from microtubule disruption. Following tumor cell treatment, indicators of the ER stress response are observed with vedotin-based ADCs including induction of phospho-JNK and CHOP, This mechanism of MMAE induced ER stress results in emission of hallmark ICD DAMPs including cell-surface calreticulin, extracellular release of HMGB1 and ATP. In this presentation we highlight the ability of MMAE to induce the hallmarks of ICD in multiple cancers across different tissue origins using distinct valine-citrulline-MMAE (vedotin)-based ADCs. Results The culmination of these ICD hallmarks resulted in innate immune cell activation in vitro and in vivo in mouse xenograft models. Tumor bearing mice treated with vedotin-based ADCs resulted in the promotion of immune cell recruitment and activation in tumors. Analysis of immune activation by vedotin-based ADCs included production of innate cytokines and upregulation of HLA/MHC-Class I/II expression, which supports a role in activating both the innate and adaptive immune response. To further our understanding of the potent and broad ability of vedotin ADCs to induce ICD, we have also begun to examine the ICD potential of different classes of ADC payloads including other microtubule inhibitors (auristatins and maytansines), and DNA damaging agents (DNA alkylators or topoisomerase inhibitors). Initial data indicate differences in ICD induction by these agents. Conclusions These results help build the rationale for vedotin-based ADCs as preferred partners for immune checkpoint blockade agents. Ethics Approval Studies with human samples were performed according to institutional ethics standards. Animal studies were approved by and conducted in accordance with Seattle Genetics Institutional Care and Use Committee protocol #SGE-029.


The article is devoted to International students' adjustment common and distinguishing features in separate countries as well as contributive factors. The authors pay separate attention to the Indian students' adaptation abroad and in Poltava State medical university while mentioning its positive and negative moments, proposing possible ways and mechanisms to its improvement.


Last week, the Abbott government tried to blackmail the Labor opposition into supporting its suspended budget items in order to pay for Australia's participation in the new Middle East war, for which the Labor leadership had blindly offered bipartisan support.


Chlorophyll deficient mutants are appropriate model objects for a large number of investigations in the field of photosynthesis. In this study, we identified a state of Photosystem I (PSI) and Photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry and light responses of the sunflower yellow-green mutant line - en:chlorina-7, wherein mutations in chloroplast genes have been previously localized. The conducted research revealed low content of photo-oxidizable PSI and an impaired quantum yield of PSII photochemistry in the en:chlorina-7 line as compared with a wild type. Disturbances of PSI and PSII in yellow-green plastome mutant line of sunflower (en:chlorina-7) are associated with mutations in psaA and psbB, respectively.


Aims: This longitudinal study investigated the role of maternal mind- mindedness and maternal sensitivity on the child's emotion regulation abilities. Methods: 85 mother child-dyads were recruited through the University of Reading's Child Development Group database. Mother-child-interactions, child's reactivity and emotion regulation were videotaped and coded when the child was 15 (Time 1) and 24 (Time 2) months old, in a frustration-eliciting situation, the Attractive Toy Task (Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery, Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1991). At Time 1, maternal sensitivity was coded using the Global Rating Scale of Mother- Child Interaction (Gunning, Fiori-Cowley & Murray, 1999) and maternal-mindedness was coded using an adaptation of the Mind-Mindedness Coding Manual (Meins & Fernyhough, 2010). Results: As predicted, there was a relationship between maternal sensitivity and maternal mind-mindedness; however the association between maternal mind- mindedness and maternal sensitivity was confounded by maternal verbosity. Mind- mindedness and maternal sensitivity at 15 months did not have an impact on the child's emotion regulation ability at 15 or 24 months. No evidence was found of maternal sensitivity mediating the relationship between mind-mindedness and the child's emotion regulation ability. Conclusions: Overall, the present study found support for the concept that maternal mind-mindedness is linked to maternal sensitivity in emotionally challenging situations. Further research capturing the dynamic nature of emotion regulation by time synchronized and multi-temporal analysis is warranted so as to investigate the contribution of parental sensitivity and mind-mindedness in the child's emotional development.


Autism is a common children's extensive developmental disorder,the rehabilitation of children with autism has been a hot and difficult of autism research.Sports games as a suitable for the activities of the children's psychological characteristics provided a broad space for the rehabilitation of autistic children.Through the field survey of autism rehabilitation centers and access to large amounts of literature on autism,autistic children's problem behavior performance and sports games intervention to analyze the impact of the development of autistic children explore sports games intervention measures and the importance of rehabilitation of children with autism.


To compare the results of PSA,CA125,CA153 and CA199 measured by two determination methods,the serum PSA,CA125,CA153 and CA199 were determined by Radio Immunoassay and Micro particle Enzyme Immunoassay respectively and the results were analyzed based on EP9-A2 regulation.The results showed that the measurement results of PSA,CA125,CA153 and CA199 by two methods had a good linear correlation with the square of the correlation coefficient more than 0.95.The systemic error of PSA and CA153 were less than medical decision level,and the systemic error of CA125 and CA199 were more than medical decision level.The results indicate that the comparability of PSA and CA153 are clinical acceptable and the comparability of CA125 and CA199 are not accepted.


The corrosion inhibiting capacity of oligomeric gossypol derivatives has been studied. It is shown that oligomeric gossypol-based corrosion inhibitors with urea adducts effectively protect steel against corrosion in a saline medium, while in acidic media the gossypol derivatives with melamine exhibit effective protection.


More than 1500 exoplanets have been discovered around a large diversity of host stars (from M- to A- type stars). Tidal dissipation in their convective envelope is a key actor that shapes the orbital architecture of short-period systems and that still remains unknown. Using a simplified two-layer assumption and grids of stellar models, we compute analytically an equivalent modified tidal quality factor, which is proportional to the inverse of the frequency-averaged dissipation due to the viscous friction applied by turbulent convection on tidal waves. It leads the conversion of their kinetic energy into heat and tidal evolution of orbits and spin. During their Pre-Main-Sequence, all low-mass stars have a decrease of the equivalent modified tidal quality factor for a fixed angular velocity of their convective envelope. Next, it evolves on the Main Sequence to an asymptotic value that is minimum for 0:6M K-type stars and that increases by several orders of magnitude with increasing stellar mass. Finally, the rotational evolution of low-mass stars strengthens tidal dissipation during the Pre-Main-Sequence.


To more effectively meet the expectations of industry for entry-level IT employees, a case is made for the inclusion of writing throughout the Computer Information Systems (CIS) curriculum. Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) principles are explained, and it is opined that both Writing to Learn (WTL) and Writing in the Disciplines (WID) pedagogies are desirable for inclusion as part of the delivery of the CIS curriculum. Examples of both WTL and WID are provided from the author's Systems Analysis & Design (SAD) course. It is concluded that the use of WTL and WID techniques in the flipped SAD course has both (1) increase student engagement both in and out of the classroom, and (2) improved student writing and learning.


This paper addresses the construction of anisotropic metrics from higher-order interpolation error in 2 dimensions [2, 3] for mesh adaptation. Our approach is based on homogeneous polynomials that model a local interpolation error. Optimal orientation and ratios are found by using the Sylvester decomposition [4]. Then we apply a global calculus of variation to get the optimal metric field minimizing the L norm of the interpolation error. We illustrate this approach on a numerical example.


A new control strategy for static compensators (STATCOMs) operating under unbalanced voltages and currents is presented in this paper. The proposed strategy adopts a state observer (software sensor) to estimate ac voltages at the STATCOM connection point. This way, physical voltage sensors are not needed and the hardware gets simplified, among other advantages. Using the superposition principle, a controller is designed to independently control both positive and negative sequence currents, eliminating the risk of overcurrents during unbalanced conditions and improving the power quality at the STATCOM connection bus. Two operating modes are proposed for the computation of the reference currents, depending on whether the objective is to compensate unbalanced load currents or regulate bus voltages. The proposed observer allows positive and negative sequences to be estimated in a fraction of the fundamental cycle, avoiding the delay often introduced by filter-based methods. Overall, the STATCOM performance is improved under unbalanced conditions, according to simulation results presented in the paper.


This list includes mainly the results of datings done from 1967 to 1969. Methods are essentially the same as those described in Radiocarbon, 1966, v. 8, p. 46–53, 1967, v. 9, p. 38–42, and 1969, v. 11, p. 15–21. Samples synthesized to benzene and counted by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Age calculations are based on 95% of the activity of the NBS oxalic acid standard and computed from the Libby half-life of 5570 yr and reference A.D. 1950. The error listed is the one-sigma statistical counting error. Most samples were counted for 2000 to 3000 min. HCL and NaOH pretreatments were applied to samples as required.


Transmission lines are extremely flexible structures, which can suffer from galloping under extreme environmental conditions. A better understanding of the phenomena is therefore necessary to predict occurrence and extent of this phenomenon. In this study, an aero-elastic experiment has been performed on sectional model of four-conductor transmission line considering different structural configurations. The experiment is reproduced numerically using a nonlinear FEM code, in which aerodynamic force is estimated using quasi-steady and unsteady force model. Dependence of galloping on structural configuration and efficiency of aerodynamic force prediction models is investigated in light of experiment and simulation results.


This project was conducted as a feasibility study, in preparation for including this work in the forthcoming ''Instrumented Cell'' (IC) Strategic Initiative. The goal of the IC is to study individual cells; the goal of this feasibility study was to determine the best method for isolating large numbers of individual cells in a way that facilitates various types of environmental changes and intracellular measurements. We have the capability to do this with one cell, and sought to expand the number of cells that we could study simultaneously. Our specific goal for this feasibility study was to discover a way to isolate individual cells, and impale them on a nanopipette. This would enable samples to be introduced into and removed from a cell.


A study of mu meson scattering was performed by means of an apparatus capable of selecting only muons, their momenta being determined by a thick absorber and a delayed coincidence method within a narrow range of scattered muons was found to be in good agreement with the Coulomb scattering theory for extended nuclei obtained by Cooper and Rainwater. (W.D.M.)


SummaryFifteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis received 0.5 to 1.0 grams of ASA rectally in an Imhausen-W base. After 15 minutes, definite levels of ASA could be observed in the serum. Maximum serum levels were obtained in 2 to 3 hours, the mean values being 2.81 mg% with 0.5 gm., 3.42 mg% with 0.75 gm., and 3.5 mg% with 1.0 gm. Clinical effect was noted as an average in 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Subjective side effects occurred in two patients out of six who received 0.75 gm. of ASA twice daily for one week. Slight signs of irritation could be verified. Mucosal biopsies from the rectum were taken during endoscopy prior to and after the one-week course on ASA. No serious histological damages caused by ASA could be demonstrated. Benzidine and guaiac tests were followed during the whole time and were always negative. ASA can be given rectally to rheumatic patients, temporarily at least, if oral administration is contra-indicated.


Objective:To investigate the expression of MAD2 in human normal tissues and gastric carcinoma.Methods:Immunohistochemistry was performed to test 23 human normal tissues and 102 gastrict cancer specimens.Results:MAD2 was localized in both the nucleus and cytoplasm in normal tissues.In normal stomach,MAD2 was expressed mainly in cytoplasm,but it showed additional staining in the nucleus in majority of gastric cancers.The positive rates of MAD2 protein expression were 70.59% in gastric cancer tissue and 38.24% in normal gastric mucosa respectively.Significant difference of MAD2 protein expression was found between cancer tissue and normal mucosa(P0.001).MAD2 protein was in versely correlated with histological grade and lymph node metastasis(P0.001).Conclusion:MAD2 inside cells may play a role in mitotic checkpoint control and the subcellular localizations of this protein undergo a shift in the subcellular localization during malignant transformation.The change of MAD2 expression may be involved maily in gastric carcinogenesis and prognosis of gastric cancer.


Condition based maintenance of MV circuit breakers represents an effective way to improve the continuity of supply, reducing operation costs as well. For this reason Enel Distribuzione, the major Italian utility in electric power distribution, has recently started a series of experimental analyses on this type of equipments, with the aim at finding out a way to implement a self-consistent diagnostic system. The application of a preliminary Failure Mode Effect Analysis allowed to determine the critical elements of circuit breaker, related to the most frequent failure modes experienced in service. Experimental tests, carried out on pre-defined quantitative failure configurations, provided interesting results for the selection of most significant diagnostic parameters and their respective sensor system. Cost Benefit Analysis lead the technical considerations and choices throughout this work.


Originally published in 1954, this volume analyses the receipts of the English Exchequer between 1377 and 1485. The financial calendar is divided between Easter and Michaelmas periods, each period is analysed individually, and in chapters providing descriptions of broader historical phases. The text also contains an explanation of the techniques used for interpreting the receipts, together with a generous introduction, appendices, and a detailed index. This is a highly informative book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in medieval British history or economic history.


* Foreword by Laura Solomon, Ohio Public Library Information Network * Introduction by Walt Crawford, Author of Successful Social Networking in Public Libraries * "The Library in the Social Network: Twitter at the Vancouver Public Library" by Kay Cahill, Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver, Canada * "Beyond the Teen Space: Reaching Teens through Social Media" by Laura Horn, Farmington Public Libraries, Farmington, Connecticut * "Blogging for Readers" by Robin Hastings, Missouri River Regional Library, Jefferson City, Missouri * "Successful Blogging Strategy & Design" by Jason Paul Michel, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio * "Navigating the Virtual Horizon: Finding Our Way Using Social Media in Hospital Libraries" by Yongtao Lin and Kathryn M.E. Ranjit, Tom Baker Cancer Knowledge Centre, University of Calgary Libraries, Calgary, Canada * "Visualizing Information with Pinterest" by Cynthia Dudenhoffer, Smiley Library, Central Methodist University, Fayette, Missouri * "The United Nations Library is Seriously Social" by Angelinah C. Boniface, Dag Hammarskjold Library, The United Nations, New York * "Social Catalogs: Implementing an Online Social Community as an Extension to Our Physical Libraries" by Laurel Tarulli, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia


This study analyzes the experience developed in the course of Comunicacion Oral y Escrita in a virtual system of adult education at the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima (Peru) through a quasi-experimental pre-test and posttest study. This proposal is a revision of the virtual program in an andragogic environment, the design evaluation according to the position of various researchers, the main features of the products generated by students, the academic impact and the student's opinion. The result of this analysis shows that there is no significant difference in the development of language skills between physical classrooms and virtual systems; also reveals the possibility of incorporating the development of digital skills in the andragogic environment described above. Finally, these results suggest the possibility of a promising development of virtual education in the Peruvian university context.


This paper describes a method of structural estimation of firm - level investment costs, based on a dynamic investment model that incorporates fix and irreversibility costs of investment. These cost components are consistent with the stylized facts documented by the empirical literature over the past decade. Our approach is novel in two respects: ( 1) the model makes distinction between cheap (cost- free) replacement investment and costly new investment, and we also make such a distinction at the empirical level; (2) we estimate the structural cost parameters of the model with a modified version of the indirect inference method. To estimate the model, we use an unbalanced panel of US manufacturing firms between 1959-87. Our results indicate that fixed and irreversibility costs are indeed significant. In particular, we find strong evidence of partial irreversibility, which is of much higher extent than estimated previously.


5,5-Dimethyl-2,4-diisopropyl-1,3-dioxane was synthesized through isobutylaldehyde and 2,2,4-trimethy-1,3-pentanediol(TMPD) catalyzed by different zeolites.Finally,Hβ zeolite was chosen as the catalyst because of its preferable catalytic power.Furthermore,under this condition,the effects of different amounts of catalyst,different reaction time,different mole ratios of reactants and solvents on the product yield were investigated.The results indicated that the yield of 5,5-dimethyl-2,4-diisopropyl-1,3-dioxane reached 95.1% under optimum reaction condition(isobutyraldehyde concentration:30.0 mmol,TMPD concentration:10.0 mmol,Hβ zeolite dosage:0.20 g,using toluene as the solvent at,the reflux temperature for 2.0 h).The experimental results revealed that the catalyst could be recycled with high activity,and no obvious change in yield was observed for 6 recycling times.Moreover,The catalyst has been applied to catalyze the acetalization and ketalization reactions.The results showed that the catalyst was very efficient on the reaction process,and the yields of respective products were above 90%.


This paper analyses the reforms in the architecture of EMU since the eruption of the euro crisis in 2010. We describe major weaknesses in the original set-up of EMU, such as lack of fiscal discipline, diverging financial cycles and competitiveness positions, and a lack of crisis instruments. These weaknesses appeared against the background of a strong increase in financial integration and financial imbalances since the Maastricht treaty was signed. European policymakers have addressed all weaknesses in the EMU architecture in some way or the other, which is a major achievement. Yet, the effectiveness of the new framework will crucially depend on strict implementation. We discuss whether in the longer run the current balance between policy coordination and risk sharing can be improved upon.


The thesis interviews people who produce chipmusic - a music style that evolved in the 1980s from the use of computers and game consoles that featured primitive digital sounds. It has seen a renaissance in the past decade and is commonly understood as an act of nostalgia or a reappropriation of technology. The aim of the thesis is to achieve a deeper understanding of how and why people make chipmusic by interviewing ten active musicians. The purpose is to develop concepts that can explain how chipmusicians adapt to and move away from fundamental features of digital media, and what meanings they ascribe to it. The main topic of study is thefore how individuals talk about their music, but this is combined with in-depth studies of the media that they use, and the cultures that they work in. As such, it is a cross-disciplinary approach inbetween computer science and social science.
 The results show that chipmusicians describe their media in terms of limitations. They tend to talk about how software interfaces condition their work rather than hardware platforms. There is a common desire for individual transgression, mostly in relation to software interfaces and culture and not the underpinning platforms. The focus on interface contradicts the popular understanding of chipmusic as a consequence of hardware platforms. Four broader discourses are identified and described as anti-nostalgia, control, hacker aesthetics and digital economics.


Six Sigma is a popular approach to drive out variability from processes using powerful statistical tools and technique. Six Sigma permits only 3.4 defects per million opportunities. Six Sigma follows basics methodology to improve existing process, i.e. DMAIC. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. It is , scientific, systematic and fact based approach. This paper also includes various applications of DMAIC methodology in different business sector like Electronics sector, Chemical and Agriculture manufacturing sector etc.


This study was undertaken to compare care and cost outcomes of stroke patients who received home care with those who did not receive home care at St. Luke's Hospital Medical Center, New York, New York. Twenty-five home care stroke patients were matched by age and sex with 25 comparable stroke patients receiving no home care during 1971. After nine months' follow-up, stroke patients who received home care had shorter hospital stays (average, ten days less), overall costs greatly reduced (average, $3,450 for home care patients versus $8,300 for comparison group), fewer readmissions for recurring strokes, and fewer deaths (two versus nine). At the end of nine months, home care patients were located as follows: 20 at home, two on home care, one in a nursing home, and two were dead. The comparison group showed: eight at home, one at an extended-care facility, seven in nursing homes, and nine were dead. The differences in care and cost outcomes between these two groups have considerable implications for patients, hospitals, physicians, and third party payers.


Based on two theoretical models – the Flow Psychology, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and the tensive semiotics by Claude Zilberberg – this essay aims to analyze the values and the enunciative project of the platinum activity, which is precisely to complete all the challenges proposed by the game development team. The paper then focuses in understanding how the search for such strategy, of strong psychopolitical nature, impacts the enunciative project of the game itself, reducing the eff ect of the narrative proposal in the name of rewards that are outside the game, concerning the space of neoliberal values of the digital world. on willingly and even passionately. The making of the self as a work of art brings a beau� ful and decei� ul appearance that the neoliberal regime maintains in order to exploit it completely. The power technique of the neoliberal regime takes on a subtle form. It does not take over individuals directly. Instead, it ensures that individuals, voluntarily, act against themselves in a way that they reproduce and interiorize the context of domina� on, to then interpret it as freedom (Han, 2020, p. 44).


In this paper, we extend the Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) model to include a relativistic quantized center of mass (c.m.) for the detector, which traditionally has a classical c.m. and follows a classical trajectory. We develop a relativistic model of an inertial detector following two different approaches, starting from either a first- or second-quantized treatment, which enables us to compare the fundamental differences between the two schemes. In particular, we find that the notion of localization is different between the two models, and leads to distinct predictions, which we study by comparing the spontaneous emission rates for the UDW detector interacting with a massless scalar field. Furthermore, we consider the UDW system in both a vacuum and medium, and compare our results to existing models describing a classical or quantized c.m. at low energies. We find that the predictions of each model, including the two relativistic cases, can in principle be empirically distinguished, and our results can be further extended to find optimal detector states and processes to perform such experiments. This would clarify both the role of a quantized c.m. for interactions with an external field, and the differing localizations between the first- and second-quantized treatments.


Group IV vacancy color centers in diamond are promising spin-photon interfaces with strong potential for applications for photonic quantum technologies. Reliable methods for controlling and stabilizing their charge state are urgently needed for scaling to multi-qubit devices. Here, we manipulate the charge state of silicon vacancy (SiV) ensembles by combining luminescence and photo-current spectroscopy. We controllably convert the charge state between the optically active SiV$^-$ and dark SiV$^{2-}$ with MHz rates and 90% contrast by judiciously choosing the local potential applied to in-plane surface electrodes and the laser excitation wavelength. We observe intense SiV$^-$ photoluminescence under hole-capture, measure the intrinsic conversion time from the dark SiV$^{2-}$ to the bright SiV$^-$ to be 36.4(6.7)ms and demonstrate how it can be enhanced by a factor of $10^5$ via optical pumping. Moreover, we obtain new information on the defects that contribute to photo-conductivity, indicating the presence of substitutional nitrogen and divacancies.


Objective: Warts are benign epitheliomatous proliferations caused by human papilloma virus infection. IL-10 is an inhibitor cytokine which is mainly secreted from T helper 2 subtype lymphocytes. IL-10 shows its inhibitory effect by decreasing the cytokine secretion of T helper 1 lymphocytes and is important in limiting the inflammatory reaction. In this study, we decided to evaluate IL-10 levels of the patients with warts comparing with the healthy, age and sex matched volunteers. Material and Methods: 54 patients (31 female (57.4%) and 23 male (60.7%)) with warts who attended to Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, 1 Dermatology Clinic between 2004 and 2005 years are included in the study. 28 healthy volunteers (17 female (60.7%) and 11 male (39.3%)) were also taken into the study. IL-10 levels from the serum were measured with solid phase sandwich ELISA kit (Biosource International Inc, USA) and absorbance levels were recorded. The statistical analysis was performed using chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney using SPSS 11.5 packet programme. Results: IL-10 levels were higher in the patients group. This difference between the patients and controls groups was statistically significant (p< 0.01). Conclusion: IL-10 is an inhibitory cytokine that limits the inflammatory response in especially cellular immunity. In our study, we found an increased IL-10 levels in wart patients controlled with the healthy volunteers. This immunologic dysfunction may give additional data about the pathogenesis of the warts.


Nitrogen was implanted into the chemical vapor deposition(CVD) diamond films, and the electron fieldemission properties of the nitrogenated diamond films were investigated. Raman and xray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) measurement revealed that nitrogenimplantation damaged the structure of diamond film and promoted the formations of sp2 C—C and sp2 C—N bonding. By increasing the implantation dose, the threshold field of the emission of the diamond film could be lowered from 18V/μm to 4V/μm. The enhancement of field emission for nitrogenimplanted CVD diamond films was attributed to the increase of the fraction of sp2 C bonds and the formation of defect bands within the bulk diamond band gap induced by nitrogenimplantation, which could alter the work function and elevate the Feimi level. Consequently, the energy barrier on diamond surface for electron tunneling was reduced.