: In this study, we isolated aromatic compounds (lignin polymers) utilizing bacteria in humus layer of oak forest and investigated phylogenetic characteristics and correlation with major bacterial populations in the humus layer by pyrosequencing. Forty-two isolates using aromatic compounds such as p -anisic acid, benzoic acid, ferulic acid and p -coumaric acid were isolated and phylogentic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolates belonged to the genus Rhizobium , Sphingomonas , Burkhorlderia , and Pseudomonas . Among these, Burkhorlderia species which belong to Betaproteobacteria class occupied 83% among the isolates. The bacterial populations in humus layer of oak forest were characterized by next generation pyrosequencing based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. The humus sample produced 7,862 reads, 1,821 OTUs and 6.76 variability index with 97% of significance level, respectively. Bacterial populations consist of 22 phyla and Betaproteobacteria were the major phylum consisting of 15 genera including Burkholderia , Polaromonas , Ralstoria , Zoogloea , and Variovorax . Approximately fifty percentage of them was Burkholderia . Burkholderia as the majority of population in the humus was considered to play a role in degrading lignin in humus layer of oak forest.


Plasmonic shifts Adopting strategies previously used to shape RF wavefronts, the researchers sought to create a metasurface from plasmonic antennas, which scatter light with an amplitude and phase delay that depend on the antennas' resonance properties. (See the article by Lukas Novotny, PHYSICS TODAY, July 2011, page 47.) However, the simplest plasmonic antenna—a straight rod—offers limited control over phase; its phase delay can range only from 0 to π, and the scattering amplitude is appreciable over just half that range. Coauthor Zeno Gaburro provided a crucial insight—a V-shaped antenna, with its two orthogonally oriented resonance modes, can be designed to scatter light with a phase delay anywhere in the 0 to 2π range. Applying Maxwell's equations, he and his colleagues identified four shapes of V antennas that, along with their mirror images, yield phase delays spanning 0 to 2π in π/4 increments. Arrayed in the repeating pattern shown in figure 2, those antennas constitute a discrete approximation to the phase-shifting surface Capasso and company had envisioned with their generalization of Snell's law. The gradient in the phase shift, dΦ/dx, could be adjusted by simply altering the spacing of the antennas. As long as the inter antenna distance and the antennas themselves are smaller than the wavelength of light, the phase grating behaves like an effective medium. In a proof-of-principle experiment, the researchers aimed a mid-IR quantum cascade laser at various angles of incidence to their phase-grated wafer. For normal incidence, Snell's law predicts that the angle of refraction should be zero. Indeed, portions of a normally oriented beam passed straight through the wafer, but the portion scattered by the plasmonic antennas refracted with an angle of 40°, in near-perfect agreement with the group's theory. The metasurface proved to be broadband, deflecting light with wavelengths from 5 to 10 μm. Subwavelength optics Capasso and his coworkers are already busy dreaming up ways to put their new ideas about reflection and refraction to work. "We have a treasure trove of things to explore—low-aberration lenses, birefringent polarizers, phase plates, you name it," says Gaburro. Among that trove is the phase grating shown in figure 3a, which the researchers created by arranging V-shaped antennas in order of clockwise-increasing phase delay. The subwavelength-thin plate successfully converted a plane wave of IR light into the vortex beam shown in figure 3b. Nader Engheta of the University of Pennsylvania thinks the work bodes well for low-profile optical devices. "The ability to control the phase of light at will, to shape simple beams into very complex beams, all over subwavelength distances, is a big breakthrough," he says. "It's extremely elegant and beautiful work." Ashley G. Smart


December 3 is celebrated as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, with a series of events and activities that aim to draw continuous attention to improving the status and quality of life of persons with disabilities, as well as to equalizing the opportunities for this particularly vulnerable population group. Croatia pays great attention to the rights of the persons with disabilities, which is shown by the fact that it was the fourth country to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (1) and that continuous efforts are being taken to improve the well-being of persons with disabilities and to foster open communication and partnership between representatives of non governmental organizations for persons with disabilities and experts of different profiles in the area.

One of the segments presently worked intensively on is the modification of the forensic system for persons with disabilities, in line with the National Strategy of Equalization of Possibilities for Persons with Disabilities (2). To carry this modification successfully out, in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) had to be translated into Croatian and introduced. It is currently in the final phase of publication. This classification belongs to a family of WHO classifications and ensures a unified and standardized language, as well as a framework for describing the health and health status of the individual. ICF elaborates the individual's areas of functioning and activity, bodily structure, and environmental factors requiring assessment to give a comprehensive insight into the functioning and health condition of that person (3). According to the WHO recommendation, the ICF should be used complementarily with the International Classification of Diseases – tenth revision, where the latter gives an etiological frame, whereas the former allows insight into the functioning of an individual (3). In 1993, the ICF was adopted by the United Nations as a social classification that refers to and is incorporated in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (3). Based on the same document, as well as the fact that Croatia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, whose definition of disability presumes also the importance of environmental interaction of the person with disability (1), experts in the disability area and representatives of associations of persons with disabilities have decided to use the above classification in Croatia as a measuring instrument in appraising the inclusive needs of persons with disabilities and an additional instrument in disability assessment within the scope of the reformed expertise system, all in line with the National Strategy of Equalization of Possibilities for Persons with Disabilities (2). The basic changes in the expertise system would, as a result of the Strategy, imply a disability assessment of a person which, in addition to diagnosing the cause of disability, would also take into consideration the functioning of this person and their interaction with the environment. This interaction can either be a barrier or facilitator for the monitored person.

To create a model of assessing a person with disability which would take into consideration both the cause of disability and the individual's interaction with their environment (3), a unified list of impairments had to be prepared as the basis for establishing the causes of disability, ie, the medical model of disability, while functions, activities, and environmental factors had to be listed as the basis for preparing the previously elaborated social model. One should stress here that the latter model was developed by people with disabilities themselves, taking into consideration the functions, activities, and environmental factors important for each disability group, as described by the ICF (3). To realize and apply this model in disability assessment, an individual's impairments and functioning have to be appraised. This assessment of impairments was achieved by attributing impairment shares to each entity on the unified list. The assessment of functioning and person-environment interaction, however, encountered difficulties, as the they result from a series of previously listed functions, activities, and environmental factors, which need to be assessed as instructed by the ICF: 0-4, where 0 means no impairment, 1 mild impairment, 2 moderate impairment, 3 severe impairment, and 4 complete impairment (3). To provide the basis for a standardized assessment of the functioning and environmental interaction, each individual function, activity, and environmental factor requires specification for total absence of impairment, mild, moderate, severe, and complete impairment. An example of walking activity will be used to illustrate what needs to be done for each activity, function, and environmental factor.

When assessing a person's walking activity, one can state that they have no impairment, ie, they walk normally, if they can walk a continuity of 5 km without pain or fatigue. Complete impairment would imply paraplegia or tetraplegia, which render walking activity impossible. A problem arises when considering mild, moderate, and severe impairment. To achieve complete assessment, all previously discussed impairment scale points should be made attributable.

And, finally, here is the basic motivation behind this appeal to the Croatian and international scientific public. We are hereby inviting all interested experts of all profiles (physicians of different specialties, psychologists, special education teachers, social workers, etc) to give their proposals for solving the problem of standardization and developing a national disability model based on the socio-medical model and in line with WHO recommendations.


Why did 50 million people die from the influenza pandemic of 1918? Why did the governments and the medical profession fail to control and defeat this disease, which suffocated some victims and turned them blue and caused many to hemorrhage from their eyes and ears? John Barry, a well-known


The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesises an inverse U-shaped relationship between a measure of environmental pollution and per capita income levels. In this study, we apply non-parametric estimation of local polynomial regression (local quadratic fitting) to allow more flexibility in local estimation. This study uses a larger and globally representative sample of many local and global pollutants and natural resources including Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) emission, CO2 emission, CO2 damage, energy use, energy depletion, mineral depletion, improved water source, PM10, particulate emission damage, forest area and net forest depletion.


The system has been developed for initiating and quenching the arc discharges by means of moving apart the initially closed electrodes at a variable speed. The experimental studies of the extensive high-current electric arc discharges were performed in the atmospheric air. By means of optimizing the process of moving apart the electrodes and matching their sizes and shapes, it is possible to increase up to ten times the length of the stably burning high-current arc without using the external magnetic field for its stabilization.


The invention discloses an interferometer system based secondary surveillance radar response signal direction-finding method, which relates to the technical field of radio monitoring. The method comprises the following steps that: a 4-array-element direction-finding antenna array with a receiving sidelobe suppression antenna unit receives secondary radar response signals, and four receiving channels respectively carry out digital measuring on frequency, amplitude and phase parameters; then, an operation of controlling the receiving sidelobe suppression of an instantaneous direction-finding range and an operation of exhaustion based long-short baseline resolving phase ambiguity are performed; and finally, the orientation resolving is completed through phase orientation mapping. A secondary radar response signal direction-finding system using the method disclosed by the invention has the advantages of high direction-finding precision, rapid direction-finding speed, large instantaneous direction-finding range, low power consumption, low cost, capability of carrying out passive direction-finding, and the like, and has a good application prospect and economic benefits in promoting the air surveillance range in the field of air management and monitoring.


Potassium-ion electrets, which are key elements in vibration-powered microelectromechanical generators, can store negative charge almost permanently. However, our experiments show that the charge storing capability of potassium ion electrets is severely degraded when a SiC plate instead of the usual SiO2 plate is used in the fabrication process, indicating the negative influence of carbon incorporation. We theoretically studied the atomic and electronic structures of amorphous silica (a-SiO2) with and without potassium and carbon atoms using first-principles molecular-dynamics calculations. Our calculations show that negative charge accumulates in fivefold-coordinated Si atoms without carbon contamination. However, carbon contamination of the potassium-ion electret causes oxygen deficiencies in SiO2, hindering the formation of fivefold-coordinated Si atoms. As a result, carbon contamination causes degradation of the negative charge storing capability of potassium-ion electrets.


Defeated Flesh is a compelling study of the French defeat of 1870 and the socialist uprising of the Commune of Paris, a crucial turning point in the making of modern France. By examining the history of the body and medicine, Taithe shows how the French mobilized for the war effort and how their ultimate defeat had devastating cultural and social consequences that led to the fin de si_cle spirit.


Based on the principle of high frequency(HF)DFH,this paper preliminarily proposed the classification of parameters for the first time,which DFH network make-up needed,studied its network make-up method,extended implication of synchronous frequency hopping network make-up,and paid emphases on the derivation of the theoretical characteristics of the network making-up asynchronously by taking the method of statistics,discussed the relationships between the multiple-access interfere probability and the numbers in a asynchronous DFH network,as well as with the corresponding relationships between the efficiency and the multiple-access interfere probability,then obtained some good conclusions finally.


High Resolution (HR) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors are now available and new information are then retrievable by SAR images. In case of urban areas, the adoption of sound scattering models is crucial for developing reliable feature extractions algorithms in the inverse problem. In this paper, new proper models for the backscattering of urban structures, including features whose dimensions are comparable to the resolution of HR SAR, are introduced and then discussed with emphasis on their use in algorithms for building height retrieval from double reflection contribution to the radar cross section.


The absolute concentration of atomic oxygen in atmospheric pressure hydrogen/air flame has been measured using Intracavity Laser Spectroscopy based on a dye laser pumped by an argon-ion laser. Absorptions at the highly forbidden transitions at 630.030 and 636.380 nm were observed at an equivalent optical length of up to 10 km. The relatively low intensity of the dye laser avoids photochemical interferences that are inherent to some other methods for detecting atomic oxygen. Detection sensitivity is about 6 X 1014 atom/cm3 and can be improved with better flame and laser stabilization.


A girl with a large intramuscular hemangioma of the thigh was examined by use of various imaging techniques. Two relatively new modalities, magnetic resonance angiog raphy and "radionuclide hemangiography," were also performed to discern the vascular communications of the lesion. Their relevance in deciding therapeutic options for intra muscular angiomatosis is discussed.


We demonstrate compressive measurement of sparse radio frequency signals using multimode silicon photonic microcavities as pseudorandom filters. A compression ratio of 8% is achieved for 24 filter patterns.


We present the results of a study of 15 z > 4.2 QSOs that extend statistical studies of Lyman-limit absorption line systems [N(H I) ≥ 1.6 x 10^(17) cm^(- 2)] to the highest redshifts currently possible. This data set has been combined with homogeneous data sets of low-redshift Hubble Space Telescope observations and intermediate-redshift ground-based observations.

Assuming a power law of the form N(z) = N 0(1 + z)^γ for the number density, we find γ = 1.55 and N_0 = 0.27, with N = 3.27 per unit redshift at z = 4. The >99.7% confidence limits for y are 2.37 and 0.82. For the first time this indicates intrinsic evolution of these absorbers for an Q = 1 universe (γ = 1/2 for no evolution). This result is marginally consistent with no evolution for n = 0 (γ = 1 for no evolution). These results differ significantly from those of Sargent, Steidel, & Boksenberg (1989) who found no intrinsic evolution in Lyman-limit systems up to z = 3.5, and Lanzetta (1991) who found much stronger evolution for z > 2.5.

For z ≾ 2 the space density of Lyman limit systems [N(1.5) ≈ 1.1] and Mg II absorbers with rest equivalent width W_0 > 0.3 A [N(1.5) ≈ 1.0] is almost identical. This supports the picture that Lyman-limit and Mg II absorbers are drawn from the same population.


This paper introduced the filling gravel construction technology,graded gravel pavement base construction technology,asphalt pavement base construction technology three kinds of pavement base construction methods,and analyzed the encountered problems of each sub-grade construction method in construction,put forward corresponding solving measures.


BACKGROUND
Breast augmentation is a commonly performed cosmetic procedure. We set out to determine whether there is any effect on breastfeeding in women after breast implants.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current evidence on breastfeeding outcome and complications in women with breast augmentation.

METHODS
A systematic review was performed in MEDLINE (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD), EMBASE (Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands), and all evidence-based medicine reviews from their respective inception dates to November 7th, 2022, to assess outcomes of breastfeeding in women with breast implants (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022357909). This review is in accordance with both the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Review of Interventions and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

RESULTS
Eleven studies (4 prospective and 7 retrospective) in total were included in the review. A total of 8197 out of 9965 (82.25%) patients were successfully able to breastfeed after breast implants. Of five studies that included a control group, 343,793 of 388,695 (88.45%) successfully breastfed. A meta-analysis of 5 comparative studies showed a significant reduction of breastfeeding in women with breast implants, n=393,686, pooled odds ratio = 0.45, 95% confidence interval [0.38,0.53]. Complications described included pain, mastitis, insufficient or excessive lactation, and nipple inversion.

CONCLUSIONS
There may be impairment in ability to breastfeed for women who receive breast implants compared to those without. Additional studies on the topic are needed to further clarify the relationship.


In the Cu metallization process, it is important to prevent corrosion and recession of metal lines resulting from chemical reactions during the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In this paper, 5-aminotetrazole (ATRA) is investigated as a corrosion inhibitor for Cu CMP. In the wet etch test, it was found that the etch rate of ATRA decreased with concentration. The potentio-dynamic polarization test and chronoamperometry test results revealed that ATRA could inhibit the Cu surface against corrosion more effectively than benzotriazole (BTA) below 0.01 M. Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet-visible analysis clearly demonstrated that ATRA dissociated more easily in all pH ranges and could be polymerized faster and more effectively than BTA. Therefore, both corrosion and recession could be considerably reduced after CMP by using slurry containing ATRA. Furthermore, from the results of defect review after CMP, it was found that defects such as slurry residue, pit corrosion, and particles were effectively prevented due to small molecular size and high solubility of ATRA.


From a general point of view, a search of a graph, or a digraph, is an algorithm which makes it possible to search the arcs of the graph and to visit its vertices with a special purpose in mind. This chapter presents one of the most classic of these searches, called a depth-first search (often abbreviated dfs). This type of tree-search will be completed in Chapter 6 by another classic tree-search, the breadth-first search. In applications which are modeled by an arborescence, this search technique is called backtracking, and can be used to solve a wide variety of problems in operations research and artificial intelligence. From an algorithmic viewpoint, the recursive form is the most natural and most efficient to express this search. The following procedure expresses the depth-first search of the subarborescence of arborescence T , of root v. We designate as children(v) the set of the children of vertex parameter v.


We consider a 5-dimensional SU(2) gauge theory with fermions in the bulk and with additional SU(2) and U(1) kinetic terms on the branes. The electroweak breaking is obtained by boundary conditions. After deconstruction, fermions in the bulk are eliminated by using their equations of motion. In this way, standard model fermion mass terms and direct couplings to the internal gauge bosons of the moose are generated. The presence of these new couplings gives a new contribution to the {epsilon}{sub 3} parameter in addition to the gauge boson term. This allows the possibility of a cancellation between the two contributions, which can be local (site by site) or global. Going back to the continuum, we show that the implementation of local cancellation in any generic warped metric leaves massless fermions. This is due to the presence of one horizon on the infrared brane. However, we can require a global cancellation of the new physics contributions to the {epsilon}{sub 3} parameter. This fixes relations among the warp factor and the parameters of the fermion and gauge sectors. It turns out that the warping of the metric does not substantially modify the results obtained in the flat case.


Understanding groundwater flow in fractured consolidated media has long been important when undertaking engineering tasks such as dam construction, mine development, the abstraction of petroleum, slope stabilization, and the construction of foundations. To study groundwater flow in support of these tasks, the focus of most hydrogeological investigations has been on the characterization of the hydraulic properties of the higherpermeability fractures in the rock mass. Taiwan is situated on the edge of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plate. Plate tectonics have created numerous fault lines that crisscross the island. As a result of high density of faults, rock core data with fractures, soft and cohesive gouges, and various lithologies are extensive in boreholes. In general, the permeability of clay-rich gouges has extremely low values. On the contrary, the fractures often have higher permeability. The hydraulic properties of fractured rocks in Taiwan, therefore, vary with highly disturbed geological structures and lithology. To obtain hydraulic properties of fractured rocks in Taiwan, the investigation of vertical variation of the fractures in a borehole is of importance. This study utilized a highresolution BoreHole acoustic TeleViewer (BHTV, Williams and Johnson, 2004) to scan images of the borehole. The information gathered from BHTV was used to characterize lithology and fractures for the borehole and was essential to conduct a proper measurement of rock mass hydraulic conductivity. The double packer systems were then used to determine the hydraulic conductivity in a portion of borehole using two inflatable packers. Although this type of test can directly measure the hydraulic parameter, costs of the testing are fairly high. Several studies (Black, 1987; Carlson and Olsson,1977; Louis, 1974; Burgess, 1977; Wei et al., 1995, Zhao, 1998) have proposed the estimation of rock mass hydraulic conductivity using different empirical equations. These empirical equations provide a great feature for characterizing rock mass hydraulic properties quickly and easily. However, the applicability of these equations in highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan is very limited. This study proposed the establishment of an empirical HC model for estimating rock mass hydraulic conductivity of highly disturbed clastic sedimentary rocks in Taiwan using the BHTV and the double packer hydraulic tests. Four geological parameters including rock quality designation (RQD), depth index (DI), gouge content designation (GCD), and


Presents the basic design and the simulation of a low level multi-layer vision processor that emulates to some degree the functional behavior of a human retina. This retina-like multi-layer processor is the lower part of an autonomous self-organized vision system, called Kydon, which could be used on visually impaired people with a damaged visual cerebral cortex. The retina-like processor consists of four major layers, where each is an array processor that performs a certain set of low level vision tasks, such as smoothing and light adaptation, edge detection, segmentation, line recognition and region-graph generation. At each layer the array processor is a 2-D array of kxm hexagonal identical autonomous cells that simultaneously execute certain tasks. Thus, in this paper the hardware design and the entire simulation of the retina-like processor with illustrative examples are provided.


Abstract. Field evidence of finger formation and reformation during Successive rain events over an eight months' observation period from June 1994 until January 1995 is presented. Fingered flow pathways were monitored in a no-tilled, grass-covered water repellent sandy field soil using an automated, stand-alone TDR device. Within a 2 m long and 0.7 m deep transect, 98 three-wire probes were installed horizontally at depths of 4, 12, 20, 30, 40, 55, and 70 cm. The horizontal distance between two adjacent probes was IS cm. Finger formation occurred during distinct rainy periods and was most pronounced under heavy rainfall with initially wet topsoil conditions. The percentage of water infiltrated and transported preferentially through the fingers to the deep subsoil varied between 0 and 80%, depending on the wetting history of the soil and the rainfall characteristics.


Examining the context within which metropolitan institutions operate assists in understanding the unique role they play in American higher education.


Overlay Concept and Structure for Sustainability Section I: Sustainability Sustainability Definitions and Concepts Sustainable Development Rules and Sustaining the Commons Section II: Population Overview: Population and Demographics Overlay Introduction to Demographics World Population United States Population World Age Distribution and Sustainability Population Policies and Dilemmas: Sustainability of the Population Section III: Climate Change Climate Change: Introduction and Definitions History and Background of the Science Greenhouse Effect Climate Change Overlays Mitigation Planning for a Warmer Future Section IV: Energy Resources Energy Constraint Overlay Section IV-A: Nonrenewable Energy Source Overlays Non-Renewable Energy: Coal Non-Renewable Energy: Liquid Fuels Non-Renewable Energy: Natural Gas Section IV-B: Nuclear Energy Source Overlays Nuclear Energy and Sustainability Section IV-C: Renewable Energy Source Overlays Renewable Energy Sources: Introduction Solar Power Wind Energy Geothermal Energy Biomass Energy Hydropower Systems Section V: Planning for Sustainability Pathways toward a Sustainable System Sustainability Policies Glossary Bibliography Index


This paper aims at providing measures of inequality in personal well-being in the 26 European countries covered by the EU SILC database in 2006, using a multidimensional approach. This entails addressing various crucial questions, which introduce unavoidable levels of arbitrariness, regarding the dimensions of well-being, their degre e of substitutability and their relative importance. In addition, considering inequality in well-being also entails the choice of how to measure inequality. We use here a normative approac h based on the now classical Atkinson (1970) approach, in which the social welfare functi on (SWF) is defined choosing the size of parameter of aversion to well-being inequality ( ε). The major distinctive contribution of this paper is to consider differences in aversion to inequalit y among 26 European countries: we estimate this heterogeneity using observed tax data and assuming that the principle of absolute equal sacrifice inspires the country specific tax structure The emp irical outcomes show that the assumptions at the basis of the model can be considered plausible for the 26 countries considered. These parameters are then used to estimate inequality in multidimensional well-being, approximated by three crucial dimension of human life: health, inco me and education. Results show that the usual assumption of homogeneous inequality aversion acros s countries may be quite misleading in describing absolute and relative inequality levels. Sensitivity analyses to changes in the assumptions of the degree of substitutability of th e attributes and their relative importance provide expected results.


This paper proposes a theoretical method to account for historical episodes of growth disparity. A numerical computation shows that the properties of the local dynamics of the proposed model are consistent with the facts indicated by selected episodes.


AIM
Sol-gel is a suitable and advantageous method to synthesize mixed oxide nanomaterials with unique physicochemical and biological properties.

MATERIALS & METHODS
In this work, TiO2-SiO2 nanopowders cogeled with platinum acetylacetonate were developed and studied in the perspective of nanomedicine. The physicochemical properties of the Pt/TiO2-SiO2 nanopowders, named NanoRa2-Pt, were evaluated in detail by means of complementary spectroscopic and microscopic tools. The nanopowder's biocatalytic efficiency in wound healing was evaluated in a Type I diabetes animal model.

RESULTS
These are TiO2-SiO2 submicron mesoporous particles with variable size and shape containing ultra-small platinum nanoparticles with catalytic properties.

CONCLUSION
The use of NanoRa2-Pt catalyzes the natural healing processes with a faster remodeling stage. These sols, which we call nanobiocatalysts, belong to an emerging and very promising research field known as catalytic nanomedicine.


The U.S. Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is an accelerator-based, pulsed neutron-scattering facility currently in the process of ramping up neutron production. To meet present and future beam current and reliability requirements we are developing an RF-driven, H- ion source based on a ceramic aluminium nitride (AlN) plasma chamber surrounded by an external RF antenna. This report recounts the design of the prototype source, describes the Cs collar variations tested, enumerates recent modifications made to the source to prepare a production version, and summarizes the results of runs on the SNS test stand and Front End (FE) of the SNS accelerator. Up to ~100 mA unanalyzed beam currents (60Hz, 1ms) have been measured on the SNS ion source test stand, and up to 42mA have been successfully accelerated by the RFQ on the SNS front-end at lower RF power.


Anisotropic gravitational radiation from a coalescing black hole (BH) binary is known to impart recoil velocities of up to ∼1000 km s -1 to the remnant BH. In this context, we study the motion of a recoiling BH inside a galaxy modelled as a Hernquist sphere, and the signature that the hole imprints on the hot gas, using N-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Ejection of the BH results in a sudden expansion of the gas ending with the formation of a gaseous core, similarly to what is seen for the stars. A cometary tail of particles bound to the BH is initially released along its trail. As the BH moves on a return orbit, a nearly spherical swarm of hot gaseous particles forms at every apocentre: this feature can live up to ≈10 8 years. If the recoil velocity exceeds the sound speed initially, the BH shocks the gas in the form of a Mach cone in density near each supersonic pericentric passage. We find that the X-ray fingerprint of a recoiling BH can be detected in Chandra X-ray maps out to a distance of Virgo. For exceptionally massive BHs, the Mach cone and the wakes can be observed out to a few hundred of milliparsec. The detection of the Mach cone is of twofold importance as it can be a probe of high-velocity recoils, and an assessment of the scatter of the M BH - M buige relation at large BH masses.


The paper presents new theorems about characteristic curves on the surface used as a shape smoothness diagnosis tool. First, general principles of examination of characteristic curves, treated as c...


Abstract A new absorption spectrum of the BCl radical is obtained using the well known flash discharge technique in the vacuum UV region 1400-1700 A. Four new electronic states, three Rydberg and one valence, are established. The vibrational and partial rotational analyses are carried out. The first experimental estimate of the dissociation energy of BCl is given. The new states have been assigned to electron configurations. From the observed Rydberg series, the first IP value of BCl is obtained.


DNA is a very important component in a cell, which is located in the nucleus. DNA contains lot of information. For DNA sequence to transcript and form RNA which copies the required information, we need a promoter. So promoter plays a vital role in DNA transcription. It is defined as "the sequence in the region of the upstream of the transcriptional start site (TSS)". If we identify the promoter region we can extract information regarding gene expression patterns, cell specificity and development. So we propose a novel fast multiple attractor cellular automata (MACA) with modified Clonal classifier for promoter prediction in eukaryotes. We have used three important features like TATA box, GC box and CAAT box for developing this classifier. We have also used context future 6-mer for predicting the same. The proposed classifier is trained and tested with datasets from DBTSS, EID, UTRdb datasets . In training phase of the classifier 100% specificity was obtained. In testing phase 84.5% sensitivity and 92.7% specificity was achieved in an average. The time taken to predict the promoter region of length 252 in an average is 4 micro seconds.


Predicting the behavior of RC shear walls under bending moment without existence of interaction of any other kind of loadings like shear or axial load is simple and can be conducted with good accuracy. But what is a great concern, is predicting their behavior under the interaction of shear, axial and flexural loadings. In this research, there is an effort to investigate the behavior of RC shear walls under this condition of loading with a novel approach. A general but simple macro model is proposed that can include flexural and shear behavior of the wall by considering the effects of pull put and slippage of reinforcing bars as well as concrete tension softening, stiffening and confinement. This simple model is applicable to different wall shapes with different reinforcement ratios and its prediction has good agreement with experimental results. The predicted behavior of the walls is compared with some available experimental results to show the accuracy of the proposed method.


Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of chitosan solution used as a final rinse after root canal treatment on the shear bond strength of composite resin to enamel and coronary dentin. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four enamel/dentin fragments were taken from the cervical-third of bovine teeth. The specimens were randomly divided into four groups according to the irrigation protocol (0.2% chitosan, 0.5% chitosan, 1% chitosan, and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid [EDTA]-control) and in two subgroups according to the substrate (enamel or dentin). Each specimen was fixed in a metallic clamping device and composite resin (Single Bond/z350) was inserted in two increments and polymerized for 20s. The microshear bond strength was performed, and the adhesive interface was analyzed by three-dimensional laser confocal scanning microscopy. The data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (α = 5%). Results: For the irrigation protocol, bond strength was significantly higher for all chitosan solutions compared to the 17% EDTA-control solution. All chitosan solutions, 0.2%, 0.5% and 1.0%, were statistically similar to each other (P > 0.05). For the substrate, enamel showed greater bond strength and was significantly different from dentin (P < 0.05). For interaction factor, 1% chitosan solution presented bond strength values statistically superior to the 17% EDTA control solution (P < 0.05) in dentin. The adhesive fracture was the most prevalent for all groups. Conclusion: The irrigation protocol on the root canal treatment does not affect the enamel bond strength and 1% chitosan solution improved dentin bond strength. Bond strength was higher for enamel than for coronary dentin.


Gregory W. Courtney1, Thomas Pape2, Jeffrey H. Skevington3, and Bradley J. Sinclair4 1 Department of Entomology, 432 Science II, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 USA 2 Natural History Museum of Denmark, Zoological Museum, Universitetsparken 15, DK – 2100 Copenhagen Denmark 3 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 Canada 4 Entomology – Ontario Plant Laboratories, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 Canada


This study seeks to determine the adequacy of a prominent Information Technology (IT) governance framework in the adoption of IT in health settings. Given the relatively slow adoption rates within the healthcare industry in general, and among rural health providers more specifically, we present local knowledge [7]. In doing so, we provide an additional perspective for those seeking to construct theoretical bases for the formulation of health policy intended to promote the adoption of IT as a means of improving healthcare in the rural United States.


The effect of soil temperature, soil moisture content, and soil bulk density on the diffusion of atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine], propachlor (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide), and diazinon [O,O-diethyl O-(2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl) phosphorothioate] in Ida silt loam soil was studied in the laboratory. Diffusion coefficients of 1.90, 1.36, and 0.63 mm2/day at 27 C for propachlor, atrazine, and diazinon, respectively, show in a relative way the expected movement of these chemicals in Ida silt loam soil. The greatest amount of movement occurred with high temperatures and high moisture contents. Soil moisture had more effect on atrazine movement than on propachlor movement, and very little effect on diazinon movement. Movement for all chemicals decreased with an increase in bulk density.


For a long time, it has been believed that it is possible to leave our emotions at the threshold of the workplace. This excessively simplifies the complexity and heterogeneity of work, leading to an underestimation of the effects of work on health. Our objective is to understand one particular form of the expression of workers' emotions: crying at work, which may be linked to an excess of emotional labour or to the impossibility of its achievement. Thus, differences between male and female crying, at least at work, may be explained not only by a gendered socialisation of individuals, but also by the sexual division of emotional labour. This imposes an emotional overload on women, since a more intensive management of emotions is demanded of them at work. Nous avons cru pendant longtemps qu'il etait possible de laisser nos emotions a la porte des organisations. Cela simplifie excessivement la complexite et l'heterogeneite du travail et, par consequent, on finit par sous-estimer les effets du travail sur la sante. Notre objectif est de comprendre une forme particuliere de l'expression des emotions des travailleuses et travailleurs : les larmes au travail qui peuvent etre associees, soit a une surcharge de travail emotionnel, soit a l'impossibilite de son accomplissement. Ainsi, les differences entre les larmes des femmes et des hommes, au moins au travail, peuvent etre expliquees, non seulement par les differences sexuees dans la socialisation des individus, mais aussi par la division sexuelle du travail emotionnel et des emotions qui impose une surcharge emotive plus prononcee aux femmes en demandant une gestion plus intensive de leurs emotions au travail.


A decade ago, Linda Dalton (1986) posed a puzzle: Planning academics and practitioners have both recognized that planning decisions do not follow the rational model, and yet they continue to espouse it. Why? Dalton (1986) offered several explanations. In seeking professional status, planners follow American norms for professionalism by emphasizing specialized scientific knowledge-in their case, expertise in applying rationality to urban problems (see Baum 1983; Freidson 1970; Larson 1977). Planning academics, because they work in and are


Identifying the influential users on social network is a critical problem for advertising, promotion, public opinion analysis and network security. A few empirical studies have verified that some users could lead to wider spreading and promote the information diffusion prominently. However, the existing studies limited by a single layer analysis for information diffusion, there is still lack of a multifaceted analysis method for identifying influential nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel method for identifying the influential users in the topology of information diffusion, which contains a three-tier analytical mechanism: information-level analysis, relationship-level analysis and community-level analysis. This three-tier analytical mechanism can upgrade information-level to relationship-level, and finally identifying the influential nodes in relationship-level. The experiments on Sina Weibo demonstrate that 0.3% of users who span structural holes control 28% of the information diffusion in each event and can cause the secondary-wave of information diffusion. When the information diffuses to users with higher pagerank, more users will participate in the information diffusion. KEYWORD: Social network; Influential nodes; Structural holes International Conference on Industrial Technology and Management Science (ITMS 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 733


Aim:  Anti‐Müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by foetal Sertoli cells at the time of sexual differentiation and is responsible for the regression of the Müllerian ducts in the male foetus. AMH is a testis‐specific marker of diagnostic value in infants with ambiguous genitalia or with bilateral cryptorchidism. However, little is known about AMH in boys and adult men with normal or abnormal gonadal function. We therefore aimed at determining circulating AMH concentrations in patients with 47,XXY Klinefelter syndrome (KS) with or without cryptorchidism.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the dynamic changes in right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) output during positive airway pressure inspiratory hold maneuvers so as to characterize the interaction of processes in creating steady-state cardiac output during positive pressure ventilation. Materials and Methods: We examined the disparity of RV and LV outputs at 5 seconds (early) and 20 seconds (late) into a 25-second inspiratory hold maneuver in 14 subjects in the intensive care unit immediately following coronary artery bypass surgery. RV output was measured by the thermodilution technique, whereas LV output was measured by the arterial pulse contour method. RV and LV volumes were also measured by thermal and radionuclide ejection fraction techniques, respectively. Results: As P,, was progressively increased from 0 to 20 cm Hz0 in sequential inspiratory hold maneuvers, both RV and LV outputs changed differently both at 5 seconds and 20 seconds into the inspiratory hold maneuvers. When expressed as change in cardiac output (L/mitt) for every cm Hz0 P,, increase relative to end-expiratory values, RV output increased at 5


As a result of an online survey to establish current training and education, a need to provide career and professional development guidance for practitioners working in the area of fertility care emerged. This framework has been developed in consultation with experts (nursing, education, research and sonography) to ensure the vision for fertility nursing in the 21st century can be met across the UK.


We consider a two‐dimensional thin domain with order of thickness ϵ that presents oscillations of amplitude also ϵ on both boundaries, top and bottom, but the period of the oscillations are of different order at the top and at the bottom. We study the behavior of the Laplace operator with Neumann boundary condition and obtain its asymptotic homogenized limit as ϵ → 0. We are interested in understanding how this different oscillatory behavior at the boundary, influences the limit problem. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Note: Proc. 7th IAEA Techn. Comm. Meeting on Energetic Particles in Magnetic Confinement Systems, 8-11 October 2001, Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden, Oral contribution No. 26 Reference CRPP-CONF-2001-047 Record created on 2008-05-13, modified on 2017-05-12


e20517 Background: Bendamustine is a bifunctional alkylating agent, with low toxicity, proved to be effective in relapsed, refractory and in new diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (MM). In this retrospective study, It has been evaluated efficacy and tolerance of Bendamustine, in combination with bortezomib-dexamethasone (BVD) in patients with relapsed and refractory MM (rrMM), whose prognosis is particularly severe. A retrospective real-life analysis of patients with rrMM who had been treated with BVD as salvage therapy has been performed. Methods: 56 patients (31 M/25 F), with rrMM, median age at diagnosis 57.3 years (r. 36-82), median age at start of treatment 61.8 years (r.37-83) treated with several lines of treatments (median 6, r. 2-11), every refractory to all the drugs previously received (also Bortezomib), received BVD (B 90 mg/sqm days 1,2; V 1.3 mg/sqm days 1,4,8,11, D 20 mg days 1,2,4,5,8,9,11,12, Pegfilgrastim day +4) every 28 days, until progression. All patients had previously been treated with schedule containing bortezomib and IMIDs, and 30% had also received radiotherapy. 67%of them had undergone at least to a single auSCT. All patients were relapsed and refractory to last therapies received before BVD. Results: Bendamustine was well tolerated, with grade 3 transfusion-dependent anemia in 41% of patients, and 37% grade 3 neutropenia (no ospedalization was required, no septic shocks were observed). No severe extrahematologic toxicity was observed, only grade 1 gastrointestinal side effect (nausea), treated by common antiemetic drugs. According to IMWG, after a median follow-up of 14 months (r.2-36), ORR was 64% (36/56: 4 CR, 7 VGPR, 16 PR, 9 MR) with 8 PD and 12 patients in SD, which can be considered as an impressive result in this subset of rrMM patients. In particular, for 11 patients, BVD was, after having achieved at least a PR, a bridge to second auSCT, and for two patients a bridge to alloSCT. Three patients have shown a notable PR after failure of novel agents (i.e. Carfilzomib and Pomalidomide). Median time to response was 1.2 months (r.1-3), median OS from diagnosis was 62.7 months (r.6-151), median OS from start of Bendamustine was 9.8 months (r.2-36). Conclusions: The triplet Bendamustine-Bortezomib-Dexamethasone has shown significant efficacy in a particularly severe setting of patients, relapsed and refractory to all available therapeutic resources, and, in particular cases, it could be considered as a bridge to a second autologous or allogenic SCT.


A majority of Americans now have a favorable view of the ACA's provision that employers with at least 50 employees provide healthcare coverage. But a great deal of misinformation about the ACA remains.


This paper presents the work on terminology extraction from comparable corpora for Latvian. In the first section we introduce our work; the second section briefly describes the concept of the project and the implemented general terminology processing chain; the following two sections focus on terminology extraction workflow for Latvian and evaluation of results, respectively.


Business intelligence (BI) refers to technologies, tools, and practices for collecting, integrating, analyzing, and presenting large volumes of information to enable improved decision-making. A modern BI architecture typically consists of a data warehouse made up of one or more data marts that consolidate data from several operational databases. BI further incorporates a combination of analytics, data management, and reporting tools, together with associated methodologies for managing and analyzing data. An important goal of BI initiatives is to improve business decision-making for organizations to increase revenue, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage. In this article, we analyze qualitatively various prominent business intelligence (BI) frameworks in the literature and develop a comprehensive BI framework from these. Through the technique of qualitative propositions, we identify the properties, respective advantages, and possible disadvantages of the said BI frameworks to develop a comprehensive framework aimed mainly at data management, incorporating the advantages and eliminating the disadvantages of the individual frameworks. The BI landscape is vast, so as a limitation, we note that the new framework is conceptual; hence, no implementation or any quantitative measurement is performed at this stage. That said, our work exhibits originality since it combines numerous BI frameworks into a comprehensive framework, thereby contributing to conceptual BI framework development. As part of future work, the new framework will be formally specified, followed by a practical phase, namely, conducting case studies in the industry to assist companies in their BI applications.


Abstract Some oscillation theorems are established for the second-order linear neutral differential equations of mixed type Several examples are also provided to illustrate the main results.


The GALS methodology has been discussed for many years, but only a few relevant implementations in silicon have been done. This chapter describes the implementation and test of the Moonrake Chip – complex GALS demonstrator implemented in 40 nm CMOS technology. Two novel types of GALS interface circuits are validated: point-to-point pausible clocking GALS interfaces and GALS NoC interconnects. Point-to-point GALS interfaces are integrated within a complex OFDM baseband transmitter block, and for NoC switches special test structures are defined. This chapter discloses the full structure of the respective interfaces, the complete GALS system, as well as the design flow utilized to implement them on the chip. Moreover, the full set of measurement results are presented, including area, power, and EMI results. Significant benefits and robustness of our applied GALS methodology are shown. Finally, some outlook and vision of the future role of GALS are outlined. Milos Krstic IHP, Germany Xin Fan IHP, Germany Eckhard Grass IHP, Germany Luca Benini University of Bologna, Italy M. R. Kakoee University of Bologna, Italy Christoph Heer Intel Mobile Communications, Germany Birgit Sanders Intel Mobile Communications, Germany Alessandro Strano Intel Mobile Communications, Germany Gabriele Miorandi University of Ferrara, Italy Alberto Ghiribaldi University of Ferrara, Italy Davide Bertozzi University of Ferrara, Italy DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6034-2.ch017


This written document raises the problem related to the fact that there is little reading material for children that covers topics in which transcendental information is detailed in terms of fundamental elements around the Ecuadorian cosmovision, whether in its fauna, flora, food, culture, tradition, language, etc. "Magical creatures" is the illustrated childrens book, specifically addressed to students of basic education, which meets the demand to meet this need and at the same time was the result of the research generated in this writing. The project is based on existing hummingbirds in Ecuadorian territory and in some cases also throughout the American continent. In addition, after approaching the subject, it was concluded that it is necessary to strengthen the ornithological and symbolic knowledge of this bird through visible and tangible material that emphasizes the problem raised. To support the project, support was sought from bibliographical sources, documents and veridical articles of the internet, so the information collected efficiently contributed to the requirements of this work and resulted in the final production of illustrated childrens book.


Amid the chaos over applications for medical training posts in the UK, everyone is asking: how could the government have got its numbers so wrong? Lynn Eaton reports


The Higgs not only induces the masses of all SM particles, the Higgs, given its special mass value, is the natural candidate for the inflaton and in fact is ruling the evolution of the early universe, by providing the necessary dark energy which remains the dominant energy density. SM running couplings not only allow us to extrapolate SM physics up to the Planck scale, but equally important they are triggering the Higgs mechanism. This is possible by the fact that the bare mass term in the Higgs potential changes sign at about mu_0 = 1.4x10^16 GeV and in the symmetric phase is enhanced by quadratic terms in the Planck mass. Such a huge Higgs mass term is able to play a key role in triggering inflation in the early universe. In this article we extend our previous investigation by working out the details of a Higgs inflation scenario. We show how different terms contributing to the Higgs Lagrangian are affecting inflation. Given the SM and its extrapolation to scales mu>mu_0 we find a calculable cosmological constant V(0) which is weakly scale dependent and actually remains large during inflation. This is different to the Higgs fluctuation field dependent Delta V(phi), which decays exponentially during inflation, and actually would not provide a sufficient amount of inflation. The fluctuation field has a different effective mass which shifts the bare Higgs transition point to a lower value mu'_0 = 7.7x10^14 GeV. The vacuum energy V(0) being proportional to M_Pl^4 has a coefficient which vanishes near the Higgs transition point, such that the bare and the renormalized cosmological constant match at this point. The role of the Higgs in reheating and baryogenesis is emphasized.


In 2015, Nigeria formulated its Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP) to promote the development of renewable-energy systems in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. With that as inspiration, we examined the effectiveness and macroeconomic impacts of Nigeria's renewable-energy policy using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. We calibrated the PEP-1-1 CGE model on Nigeria's updated social accounting matrix (SAM) and ascertained the effects on key energy, economic, and environmental variables. We found that a production subsidy was effective in developing the renewable-electricity sector and encouraging the use of renewable electricity, regardless of how the subsidy was financed. The fiscal incentive for the renewable electricity sector had positive impacts on such key macroeconomic and welfare variables as employment, real GDP, household income, and welfare if the subsidy was financed by government deficit. Macroeconomic impacts were unfavourable, however, if the subsidy was financed by adjustments in government expenditures.


A high-detectivity infrared photodiode grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is discussed. It consisted of a p-'i'-n device embedded in an InAs/sub 0.15/Sb/sub 0.85//InSb strained-layer superlattice (SLS) with equal 150 AA-thick layers. The SLS was grown on top of a thick, composition-graded In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/Sb (x=1.0-0.9) strain-relief buffer on an InSb substrate. The p- and n-type dopants were Be and Se, respectively. The doping level in the 'i' region represents the background doping level in the MBE system. The surface passivated device exhibited detectivities >or=1*10/sup 10/ cm square root Hz/W at wavelengths <or=10 mu m. This device demonstrates the feasibility of a long-wavelength, photovoltaic infrared detector technology based on InAsSb SLSs.<<ETX>>


Teenage pregnancy is a major public health problem showing poor socio-demographic consequences while poor socioeconomic status shows the effects of weak national and local economies on health outcomes and limitation of resources which may reduce the availability of good-quality health services, including obstetric and neonatal care. The main objective of the study is to examine the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with young maternal age and poor socio-economic status of women in India. Third round of National Family Health Survey (2005-06) data has used and the eligible adolescent women were included in the analysis. Cross tabulation, chi-square test and binary logistic regression were performed to fulfil the study objective. Preliminary result shows that a young and poor woman reports more complications during pregnancy and lesser use of any health care services. Young mothers develop more perinatal complications like preterm delivery (34.5%), low weight at birth baby (27.4%), small size at birth baby (25.9%) as compared to adult mothers. There is a significant correlation found between having any complication during pregnancy and adverse birth outcome among adolescent women. Teenage pregnancy is still high privileged in India showing various health complication during pregnancy and adverse birth outcome. It is a serious matter of concern for the mother and child which need an effort to aware women about the health consequences of teenage pregnancy.


In this chapter, we present a general methodology for simulating the life and behavior of creatures and their reaction to their environment. In a larger sense, we can attribute a behavior to each object. Dead objects, like balls, stones, ... move (behave) in their environment according to physical laws. Plants, as all other living creatures, obey also Newton's laws (gravitation, wind, ..), but besides, they grow, reproduce themselves and react to their environment (light, temperature, ...). The behavior of animals is in addition influenced by emotional and instinctive components. Males and females are attracted by each other, or as an other example, a predator is attracted by his victim, which on the other hand is repelled by the predator. For most of the humans and a lot of animals their behavior is strongly determined by their vision, which is a very important channel, by which the environment is perceived. Finally, the highest level of behavior includes intelligence, which is only attributed to humans. Our approach is based on L-systems, force fields and synthetic vision. With this approach, high level physical and behavioral animation is possible. Vision based actors find their way without collisions in a L-system environment to given destinations. Dynamically created objects, moving in complex 3D vector force fields can interact with each other and branched structures, simulating behavior of herds, flocks, schools or some physical effects. Production systems and L-grammars, as introduced by Prusinkiewicz and Lindenmayer (1990) are very powerful tools for creating images. From a user-defined axiom and a set of production rules, the computer creates images with a complexity dependent only on the number of times the productions are applied. The theory of L-systems has been mainly used for the visualization of the development and growth of living organisms like plants, trees and cells. In a previous paper (Noser et al. 1992), we presented the software package LMobject which realizes a timed and parametric L-system with conditional and pseudo stochastic productions for animation purposes. With this software package a user may create realistic or abstract shapes, play with various tree structures and generate a variety of concepts of growth and life development in the resulting animation. To extend the possibilities for more realism in the pictures, we added external forces, which interact with the L-structures and allow a certain physical modeling. External forces can also have an important impact in the evolution of objects. Prusinkiewicz and …


Objective To investigate the relationship of plasma homocysteine(HCY),the gene polymorphism of N5,N10-methy-lentetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR) and methionine synthase reductase(MTRR) with Neural Tube Defects(NTD).Methods The plasma HCY was measured by means of SMT,the polymorphism of C677T,A1298C of MTHFR and A66G of MTRR genes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP);the plasma total homocysteine levels were measure-using technology of Small Molecular Trapping.Results The plasma HCY in 63 cases was significantly higher than that in controls.The plasma level of HCY was markedly higher in the subjects with homozygous allele than that in the subjects with common allele.There are significant differences of the allele frequencies of MTHFR 677TT between control and cases,while MTHFRA 1298C and MTRRA 66G have no significant differences of the allele frequencies.Conclusion The high level of HCY is a probable a risky factor of NTDs.MTHFRC 677T may associat with the increase of HCY,which might be the main relevant factor of NTDs.MTHFRA 1298C and MTRRA 66G gene may affect the level of HCY,but can' t increase the risk of NTDs.


The voltage level of the system changes when there is change in load and the drop in the load voltage leads to an increased demand for the reactive power that, if not met by the power system leads to a further decline in the bus voltage. This decline eventually leads to a progressive rapid decline of voltage at that location, which may have a cascading effect on neighboring regions that causes voltage collapse. In this paper, FACTS controllers such as Static VAr Compensators (SVC) and Thyristor Controlled Voltage Regulators (TCVR) are used to maintain the voltage with in the limits. SVC will either supply the reactive power or extract the reactive power and the TCVR will inject series voltage at the load end so as to avoid voltage collapse. Smooth variation of reactive power is possible by controlling the firing angle of the thyristors. SVC and TCVR models are developed and tested in IEEE test system, and the outputs are given.


PurposeThis study investigates the impact of total health expenditure on life expectancy in a panel of 43 African countries from 2000 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method developed by Arellano and Bond (1991) is used in this study. This approach generates estimates that are heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent, as well as controls for unobserved time-invariant country-specific effects and eliminates any endogeneity in the panel model.FindingsThe results reveal that health expenditure on its own has a positive significant influence on life expectancy. However, health expenditure via the moderating effect of government effectiveness reduces life expectancy. The authors also observe that school enrollment and the level of economic activity significantly drive life expectancy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to 43 out of 54 African countries, and it covers a period of 18 years: 2000 to 2018.Practical implicationsThe authors argue that larger health expenditure will aid in improving the life expectancy rate in Africa. However, in practice, this would be difficult given the needs of other priority sectors.Social implicationsSince most developing countries' health expenditures are small, a policy option is that healthcare services should be subsidized such that the poorest people can also access them.Originality/valueThe study differs from the previous attempts, and with this, the authors contribute significantly to the literature. First, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the authors are unaware of any study considering the role of government effectiveness as a moderating factor in investigating the effect of health expenditure on life expectancy in the African context. Thus, the authors fill a yawning gap in the literature. Second, the authors employ a recent dataset with larger sample size. Finally, to address the problem of endogeneity and simultaneity bias, the authors use the system GMM technique.


We demonstrate that the contextual approach to Kolmogorov probability model gives the possibility to unify this conventional model of probability with the quantum (Hilbert space) probability model. In fact, the Kolmogorov model can exhibit all distinguishing features of the quantum probability model. In particular, by using the contextual (interference) formula of total probability one can construct complex amplitudes of Kolmogorov probabilities. There exists a natural Hilbert space structure on the space of those complex amplitudes. Classical (Kolmogorovian) random variables are represented by in general noncommutative operators in the Hilbert space of complex amplitudes. The existence of such a contextual representation of the Kolmogorovian model looks very surprising in the view of the orthodox quantum tradition. ∗Supported by EU-network "Quantum Probability and Applications".


Abstract Several recent studies have identified inverted-U relationships between pollution and economic development. We investigate this question using a cross-national panel of data on emissions of four important air pollutants: suspended particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon monoxide. We find that per capita emissions of all four pollutants exhibit inverted-U relationships with per capita GDP. While this suggests that emissions will decrease in the very long run, we forecast continued rapid growth in global emissions over the next several decades.


A two-stage global motion estimation method based on the random sampling strategy was proposed to estimate the global motion parameters effectively.In the first stage,each group of motion vectors was sampled randomly based on the rule of the minimum matrix condition number.Then the initial transform parameter was computed by using the least squares method.The final transform parameter was achieved by utilizing the histogram method.In the second stage,the motion vector field was compensated by the transform motion firstly.Based on a group of motion vectors sampled randomly from the compensated motion vector field,the final translational parameter was estimated by using the histogram method.Experimental results on four affine global motion models and the real video sequences show that compared with the estimation method based on the fixed sampling pattern,the proposed method can decrease the computational time markedly while achieving higher estimation accuracy.


We investigate the Robinson--Schensted--Knuth algorithm (RSK) and Schutzenberger's jeu de taquin in the infinite setup. We show that the recording tableau in RSK defines an isomorphism of the following two dynamical systems: (i) a sequence of independent and identically distributed random letters equipped with Bernoulli shift, and (ii) a random infinite Young tableau (with the distribution given by Vershik--Kerov measure, corresponding to some Thoma character of the infinite symmetric group) equipped with jeu de taquin transformation. As a special case we recover the results on noncolliding random walks and multidimensional Pitman transform.


Elsa Pooley is to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of KwaZulu-Natal for her 'tremendous contribution to conservation by bringing sound environmental science to a wide audience'.


Real algebraic varieties embedded into a complex space carry a restrictive notion of hermitian positivity, dened by weighted sums of hermitian square certicates. Tarskis elimination of quantiers method still yields in this case a powerful, abstract Positivstellensatz, as only recently it was revealed. The lecture will place the new Hermitian Positivstellensatz into a rich histori- cal context, marked by Riesz-Fej er type factorizations, an early discovery of Quillen and rigidity phenomena in complex geometry. A necessary quantization procedure will bring into discussion non-commutative algebras and duality techniques. A series of applications will be briey presented: a new invariant in Cauchy-Riemann geometry, a hyperbolicity stability criterion for systems of dierential equations with delay in the argument, a study of the hermitian structure of the Unitary


A 49-year-old Spanish woman presented immediately on return to Spain from a 2-week visit to Tanzania with malaise, fatigue, arthralgia, and high fever (39°C). She had a medical history of dengue 4 years ago. Physical examination revealed signs of an arthropod bite on the neck with an evident chancre. Hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy were absent. Blood analysis showed leukopenia (2.3 3 10/L) and thrombocytopenia (55 3 10/L), low prothrombin index expressed as a percentage (66%), increased lactate dehydrogenase (622 IU/L; normal, 250-450 IU/L), and hepatic transaminase values (aspartate aminotransferase: 159 IU/L; normal, 5-40 IU/L; alanine aminotransferase: 207 IU/L; normal, 5-40 IU/L). The peripheral blood film was diagnostic for trypanosome infection, showing the presence of extracellular flagellated parasites (see panels A and B). The same parasites were seen in the material obtained from the trypanosomal chancre. Cerebrospinal analysis and an abdominal computed tomography scan were normal. She recovered after treatment with suramine administered intravenously. The patient was diagnosed with human African trypanosomiasis in the early stage caused by Trypanosoma rhodesiense.


This article examines anarchist feminism, a tendency within the nineteenth-century Anarchist movement in Argentina, through a study of the content and social context of the newspaper La Voz de la Mujer. There are two main reasons for examining this phenomenon. The first is one familiar to feminist historians-that of making visible what, in Sheila Rowbotham's phrase (1974), has been &dquo;hidden from history.&dquo; The history of anarchist-feminism in Argentina has never been written; nor has it been acknowledged as a distinct tendency within the Anarchist movement or the Latin American women's movements. The major historians of Argentine Anarchism-Max Nettlau, Diego Abad de Santillan, and Iaacov Oved-do little more than note the existence of La J.Vz, leaving its content unanalyzed and its significance unexplored. A second reason concerns the political implications of such phenomena within feminist debate, especially in the Third World context. La Voz de la Mujer was a paper written by women for women, and the editors claimed that it was the first of its kind in Latin America. Although they


Abstract Making a transition to a long-term care facility (LTCF) is often difficult for older adults. This study's intent was to explore ways in which life experiences and culture of older persons facilitate a successful transition to a LTCF. Eighteen participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide to understand significant life events and personal factors impacting their lives. Interview data were analyzed using NVivo software to organize and manage emerging themes. The analysis revealed three related themes: person, current environments, and lifelong occupations. Within each major theme, subthemes were identified providing greater detail of how adaptive strategies are utilized to make such transitions positive. Participants were enabled to reflect upon their strengths and strategies available to adapt to these new residential settings. These perspectives are beneficial for healthcare practitioners to understand so as to personalize care and individualize the person's adjustment to a 'new' home.


Globally cephalopods are an important fishery
resource and many species are taken in directed and
bycatch fisheries around the world. Cephalopods make
up only a small proportion (nearly 3 %) of the world
capture fisheries landings , but there hav e been
substantial increases during the last three decades.


The logging industry belongs to one of the industrial processing branches with the greatest risk of accidents at work. Unfortunately, such situations often result in serious injuries and even the deaths of employees. In most cases, the casualties are people who are badly trained and inexperienced, with a short employment history. One solution to avoid these tragedies is to support workers employed in this industry with training applications. This paper presents a description of a research and training platform for operating portable chainsaws using virtual reality (VR) technology. The platform simulates phenomena occurring while working with a chainsaw, such as falling tree parts, the occurrence of chips and characteristic sound effects. The study used the HTC Vive Pro set and a dummy chainsaw with an electric module, thanks to which the application lets you control a virtual chainsaw using a real life device tracked by a system for mapping objects in space. For the purpose of this work, a series of 32 tests were conducted with 16 subjects and conclusions were drawn on the basis of test reports and surveys, in which the subjects expressed their opinions about the course of events in the platform application.


The influence of atmosphere on the groundwater level surveying quality is great. The inverse funnel means which can eliminate the disturbance of atmosphere is introduced in this paper, and it is considered to be a valid means to enhance the surveying precision of groundwater level.


The results are presented on studying persimmon plants at different geographical areas outside the subtropical zone of the Krasnodar region. The data are shown on productivity and winter resistance of persimmon cultivars in connection with growing area. This culture demonstrates the adaptive flexibility that indicates on economical and ecological reasonability of production of persimmon fruits.


Oxygen is necessary for the nutrition of living cells in a human body, and a low oxygen supply can damage the human tissues and cause hypoxia and loss of consciousness. Moreover, oxygen deficiency in the brain can directly damage the nervous system, resulting in memory loss and unconsciousness if the deficiency persists. Therefore, the determination of oxygen saturation (SpO2) in the human body in a short time is crucial for clinical diagnosis and treatment. In response to this need, we developed a no-contact skin oxygen-saturation imaging (SOSI) system to determine SpO2 in the human body. The measuring method uses the reflected image of shallow tissue skin to create a SpO2 distribution map of the entire measuring region, which then can be used to evaluate heart rate (HR) and blood flow velocity (BFV). It facilitates the determination of the status of patients' cardiovascular systems.


This paper proposes a method which combines the controllability and autonomy of the motion control for the crowd animation.This method uses the global path planning to find a best path for the autonomous motion of the group,and complete the controllability by changing the motion curve which the group move on,and it uses the vector field of the guide sub-vector and the range keeping sub-vector,and their superposition with the attraction/repulsion sub-vector of the individuals to complete the individuals motion,achieves the real-time interaction by changing the consistency sub-vector.The experiment result shows that this method simulates the autonomous motion really,and fulfills the requirement of the real-time interaction control,has a good controllability.


Robotic applications are widely used in various domains (e.g. healthcare, agriculture). However, provisioning them in a cost-efficient manner remains an uphill task. Cloud computing is a new paradigm with three key facets: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Rapid application development/deployment, pay-per-use and efficient use of resources are among the expected benefits. Cloud computing is a promising technology for application provisioning and can bring robotic application provisioning to the next level. This paper identifies the shortcomings of the state of the art in cloud-based architectures for robotic applications provisioning. It sketches an overall business model to tackle the identified shortcomings. It proposes an overlay-based architecture to handle the cloud interactions aspects of the proposed business model. The implementation aspects of the overlay-based architecture are discussed. Research directions are also identified.


The fluorescence spectra of the two electronic systems (3) 1Πu→X 1∑g appearing in the visible range and (3) 1Πu→(2) 1∑g in the near infrared has been observed using an argon ion laser to excite Cs2 molecules. Fluorescence lines were accurately measured with a high resolution Fourier transform interferometer. Accurate molecular constants and potential energy curves have been determined for the (3) 1Πu electronic state. The main constants are as follows: Te(cm−1) =20 684.669; we(cm−1) =30.398; Be(cm−1) =0.009 12; Re(A) =5.2735. Possible correlation with the atomic limit 7 2P1/2+6 2S1/2 yields a dissociation energy De=4730±1 cm−1.


Mr.Cao Cao lived in the end of the Han dynasty which is a special period for the dog fighting among the warlords.In this special period,he turned a blind mind to the blame from the others and undertook the historical responsibility——remove the warlords and reunited the emperor.For many years,he controlled the emperor so as to order the other warlords.In this way,he united the north of China and made great contribution to end this warlords' dog fighting.His consciousness of historical responsibility in his documents,is,dare to fight against the traditional and orthodox.As to the language in his documents,it's a kind of strong language.


.......................................................................................................................... vii PREFACE .............................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. xvi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1. NEW CONSTRAINTS ON BURIED TRIASSIC BASINS FROM THE SEISDATA6 SEISMIC PROFILE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST GEPRGIA COASTAL PLAIN .................. 1 1.1. Overview .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Objectives......................................................................................................... 7 1.4. Methods of Study ............................................................................................. 8 1.5. Results and Discussion ................................................................................... 17 1.6. Regional Implications ..................................................................................... 28 1.7. Conclusions .................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 2. PETROPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE South Georgia RIFT BASIN FOR SUPERCRITICAL CO2 STORAGE ................................................................................... 34


The article deals with the issue of defining substantial conceptual information within the texts of the mass media political discourse and puts forward a pattern for the analysis of this information.


Summary Aberrant thyroid follicles have been found in the thymi of female Sprague-Dawley rats. The accumulation of I131 by such follicles, shown autoradiographically, indicated their functional nature.


This paper examines public expenditure incidence at small-area level in cities. The motivations for such research are briefly reviewed. The article reports on an attempt at measuring public expenditure across the majority of programmes down to the level of Census wards and the actual results obtained for three urban local authorities in England. The relationship between spending, income and deprivation is examined overall and for particular spending programmes, using a number of approaches including regression-based expenditure models. The conclusions suggest that spending is indeed targetted on poorer areas but raise questions about both the strength of this relationship and how best to measure deprivation and the need to spend.


In the decades prior to Stonewall, homophobia was as prevalent in the art establishment as in other facets of American society. Most gay artists were closeted, and they seldom visualized gay subjects openly and directly. Because the idealized male nude had long been a venerable subject in western art, subtly erotic images of men could be displayed publicly; but for most of the period, sexually explicit gay works could be created only for a restricted audience. Thus, wealthy patrons played a major role in encouraging the production of gay works.


CNC machines have been becoming popular in manufacturing sector for the last four decades. It still costs a lot of money to afford some aspects related to the operations of these machines, such as the hardware, the software and the brainware. One important aspect is the programming stage where this activity requires a skillful programmer and an appropriate programming media. To hire a good programmer is not a cheap and the best solution while having a commercial programming media is also not affordable for Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Indonesia. This research was focusing on the design and development of a kind of program checker to see whether the program for a CNC turning machine is correct and ready to be fed to the machine. At once, this program was also capable of displaying cutting simulation of how the product to be cut in the machine. Therefore this program will help a small manufacturing company to avoid hiring an expensive expert or buying a special programming media. This program was specifically developed for a CNC Okuma Howa ACT 3 turning machine but it can be extended to other machine types. Some results were showed that the program can easily point out error location if there is a logical or syntax error in the NC program. Moreover, the simulation can be executed only if all errors have been corrected. This feature ensured that the simulation can run properly. To run the simulation, one has to set up some variables such as workpiece dimension, tool position with respect to the machine, cutter dimension and so on.


The shipment of high-level nuclear waste to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository would have varying effects on Indian Tribes across the nation. Indian Tribes would likely play a significant role in the shipment of nuclear material because of their unique legal standing. This paper develops basic measures of potential impacts of Yucca Mountain shipments on each identified tribe.


Four types of strategic change were examined within government organizations: services, structure, culture, and technology. There are many stereotypes about the ability of the federal government ability to actually implement change. This study shows which types of agencies are more able to change than others. The purpose of the research was to determine if some categories of government organizations are more able to change than are others. The study specifically looked at differences in hierarchy level of agencies, purposes for the agencies, military and civilian agencies, and various sizes based on employment levels. A survey instrument was administered to top agency leaders to sample change activity that occurs within their organization. Three models were developed to test for a positive relationship between organization hierarchy and roles and their respective strategic change actions. The differences between the categories was found to be most significant in the area of restructuring and risk taking.


Sad about #instacast beeing discontinued. Are there any other competitors than @pocketcasts? @OvercastFM is no choice as it doesnt support chapter marks.


Abstract : Ground-based airglow measurements at 557.7 nm were conducted during the SECEDE II barium cloud releases to gather information on a proposed coupling between the ion clouds and the E-layer through charge transport. The twilight background signal at release time was found to be too large for the measuring the small effect with the available equipment. After the tests the field data were used in an instrument performance study. The results of this study will be useful in designing equipment for future measurements of this type.


515 Background: Biological progression of ER+ breast cancer accelerates clinical progression and resistance to treatments. Methods: One laboratory used Affymetrix U133A gene expression microarrays ...


The large-scale artificial breeding technology of yellow cartfish includes breeding parent fish, determining induced spawning time, setting up brick fish nest with egg attaching baskets, injecting spawning inducing agent, hatching, fry raising, timely throwing in the pond, domestication, pond management and preventing diseases. The spawning inducing agent for each Kg of fish includes HCG 3000-4000 IU, LHRH-42 10 micrograms and DOM 5-10 mg. Fish egg before hatching is twice treated with malachite green solution of 7-8 mg/L concentration for 10-15 min and the dissolved oxygen content in water is higher than 4 mg/L during hatching.


This method comprises: - the reception by a mobile terminal (118) a stream of scrambled television conveying at least one television channel; - decrypting by the mobile terminal (118) of the television stream; - transmission by the mobile terminal (118) of at least one television channel of the television stream to a display device (136) for presenting each transmitted TV channel to a user.


In this paper, we propose a structured linear interference alignment scheme that can achieve 2 degrees of freedom in the 3-cell downlink network with arbitrary time-invariant channels using only local feedback. The scheme employs a finite number of channel extensions and results in an equivalent channel matrix that is 2-level decomposable. The linear precoders at the transmitters are constructed from the Kronecker products of 2 matrices of specific dimensions. This structured precoding scheme enables inter-cell interference cancellation and the achievement of the degrees of freedom of the network using only "in-cell" channel state information, without the need for any information exchange between base stations. Simulation results validate the proposed scheme.


In this study, we investigated the sorption–desorption behavior of imazamox (IMZ) and 2,4-DB (DB) in two typical acidic Mediterranean agricultural soils and the impact of these herbicides on culturable soil bacterial populations, enzyme activities and functional diversity when applied at concentrations higher than recommended doses (10×, 50×, 500×). Herbicide sorption was similar in both soils and IMZ was less retained compared to DB (~0.5 vs. 40 µg g−1 soil, respectively). IMZ desorption was remarkable (70–100%) while that of DB was more limited, i.e., ~40%. Three days after spiking (DAS), IMZ and DB significantly increased the number of soil-culturable heterotrophic bacteria, actinomycetes and Pseudomonas spp., soil respiration and the potential catabolic capacity of soil microbial communities. Soil dehydrogenase activity increased by ~56–70% in IMZ-treated soils while being reduced by ~33–41% in DB-treated ones. β-glucosidase activity showed a soil-dependent behavior, while the pattern of C source utilization suggested a change of soil microbial community structure after herbicide (especially DB) spiking. At 30 DAS, the herbicides' impact on soil microorganisms, enzyme activity and functional diversity was still visible. Moreover, a toxic effect of DB (at 50× and 500×), but not IMZ, was recorded vs. Rhizobium sullae, the bacterial symbiont of Hedysarum coronarium. The obtained results indicated that IMZ and DB are poorly sorbed and highly desorbed by both soils. Moreover, at the tested concentrations, IMZ and DB can have short- and medium-term impacts on the microbial component and the related activity of the investigated soils, likely affecting a range of ecosystem services provided by soil microorganisms.


The current epidemiological transition creates news issues to address (NCD as oncology, cardiovascular, diabetes, road accidents...) and causes an important increase of skills transfer needs in resource-poor/intermediate countries. Hospital cooperation is an efficient way to help the partner country/city adapt and increase their quality of care.

 The aims were multiple: set up transfer skills programs, but also understand both obstacles and success factors of such projects over the long term. AP-HP's (Greater Paris University Hospitals) Department of International Relations, has developed 3 year-long projects (financed in majority by public funders) which link one or more hospitals of our group to a southern hospital, on a precise topic. Our multidisciplinary teams then support the local professionals either by training them or assessing their current situation and proposing an action plan.

 Over those last 4 years, we built more than 50 cooperations, most of them being successful and still active today. 20 of our hospitals have been involved in at least one project. In 2018, we were working with more than 30 different countries. We noticed a growing interest both from our teams and new partners, over the years. In 2018, around 150 healthcare professionals from AP-HP took part in at least one mission abroad and more than 3 000 foreign professionals have been trained in various ways (from conferences to technical surgical skill transfer), including about 50 trained on site in Paris. These trainings are intended not only to physicians but also for midwives, nurses and managers.

 Those projects have a good efficiency in a short term. Therefore, the risk of unsustainability is quite important. For the programs to be effective in the long run, there needs to be a collective involvement both from institutions and healthcare teams in the project on both sides.

 European hospitals should develop a strong international cooperation policy. AP-HP intends to intensify its work, being an efficient way of contributing to reach both SDG 3 and 9.


Work on continual learning (CL) has largely focused on the problems arising from the dynamically-changing data distribution. However, CL can be decomposed into two sub-problems: (a) shifts in the data distribution, and (b) dealing with the fact that the data is split into chunks and so only a part of the data is available to be trained on at any point in time. In this work, we look at the latter sub-problem -- the chunking of data -- and note that previous analysis of chunking in the CL literature is sparse. We show that chunking is an important part of CL, accounting for around half of the performance drop from offline learning in our experiments. Furthermore, our results reveal that current CL algorithms do not address the chunking sub-problem, only performing as well as plain SGD training when there is no shift in the data distribution. We analyse why performance drops when learning occurs on chunks of data, and find that forgetting, which is often seen to be a problem due to distribution shift, still arises and is a significant problem. Motivated by an analysis of the linear case, we show that per-chunk weight averaging improves performance in the chunking setting and that this performance transfers to the full CL setting. Hence, we argue that work on chunking can help advance CL in general.


This study examines the mission statements of select colleges and universities in the United States in comparison to the mission statements of entrepreneurship centers at their respective institutions. A mission statement is important because the strategic direction, goals and objectives of the organization flow directly from it. It is a public proclamation of the values and mores of the organization. The mission statement is particularly important to an entrepreneurship center because the statement explains the role of the center in the overall mission of the governing institution. The mission statement of an entrepreneurship center works in concert with, and is derived from, the mission statement of its governing institution which follows Chandler's strategy and structure hypothesis. This study explored the mission statements of entrepreneurship centers at Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and their relationship to their governing institutions' mission statement and business schools' mission through thematic analysis. It was found that there was little, if any, relationship between them. Future research is discussed.


Reliability is one of the most challenging problems in the context of three-dimensional network-on-chip (3D NoC) systems. Reliability analysis is prominent for early stages of the manufacturing process in order to prevent costly redesigns of a target system. This article classifies the potential physical faults of a baseline TSV-based 3D NoC architecture by targeting two-dimensional (2D) NoC components and their inter-die connections. In this paper, through-silicon via (TSV) issues, thermal concerns, and single event effect (SEE) are investigated and categorized, in orderto propose evaluation metrics for inspecting the resiliency of 3D NoC designs. A reliability analysis for major source of faults is reported in this article separately based on their mean time to failure (MTTF). TSV failure probability induced by inductive and capacitive coupling is also discussed. Finally, the paper provides a formal reliability analysis on the aggregated faults that affect TSV. This formal analysis is critical for estimating the resiliency of different components in order to mitigate the redundancy cost of fault-tolerant design or to examine the efficiency of any proposed fault-tolerant methods for 3D NoC architectures.


Problems of the Urinary Tract are one of the most widespread infectious diseases, if left uncontrolled; it could really result in serious complications that can cause acute and chronic urinary tract failure. Objective: To assess the Urinary Tract Problems using Ultrasound Imaging.
Methods: It is cross-sectional research conducted at the Radiology Department of District Health Quarter Hospital, Gujranwala, Pakistan from 1, August 2022 to 30, November 2022. Abdominal Ultrasound Techniques was performed in a supine position. A sample size of 102 patients has been calculated via a convenient sampling technique. The patients under the age of 10 years were not included. The data was collected, calculated, and analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. Results: Most of the patients complaining Urinary Tract Problems were between the age of 40 to 80 years 59(57.8%). It was more common in males 54(52.9%). Most of the patients came for Ultrasound had the past history of UTI. Most of the patients came with pain and burning while urination 36(35.3%). The most common cause of Urinary Tract Problems was hydronephrosis 74(72.5%). Conclusion: Urinary Tract Problems were developed in any age group and most common in males. The major cause of Urinary Tract Problem was Hydronephrosis.


Worldwide drug research budgets for diseases of poverty (e.g. malaria, African sleeping sickness) will likely double by 2010. The question is how best to spend this money. This paper analyzes the possible strategies in terms of two new categories. End-to-End (" E2E ") proposals try to mimic the patent system by using a single reward to elicit innovation throughout the entire drug discovery pipeline. However, E2E strategies have generic drawbacks. Because sponsors have very little information about the rewards needed to elicit R&D, they are likely to overpay by twenty to thirty percent on average. Companies may also demand extra compensation to cover the risk that sponsors will renege over the very long periods (12 – 15 years) needed to develop new drugs. Pay-as-You-Go (" PaYG ") strategies avoid these penalties by dividing incentives into small incremental rewards that are paid out at multiple points along the drug discovery pipeline. Sponsors are likely to find PaYG schemes less expensive than E2E strategies unless commercial pharmaceutical companies are substantially better at " picking winners " than non-profit entities. 3