This paper reviews the fiscal activities that governments in a sample of 26 developing countries have obliged their central banks to undertake. In the main, these activities fall under five categories: (1) collecting seigniorage; (2) imposing financial restriction; (3) implementing selective credit policies; (4) undertaking foreign exchange operations at nonmarket-clearing prices; and (5) providing implicit or explicit deposit insurance at subsidized rates and recapitalizing insolvent financial institutions. Not all central banks engage in all these activities, but some central banks perform additional fiscal activities such as collecting taxes and running food procurement programs.


ABSTRACT
 I emphasize how The Return of Work in Critical Theory: Self, Society, Politics deals with details on labor problems ordinarily not handled by modern day critical theory, whereas Experience: New Foundations for the Human Sciences to a large extent justifies the use of a phenomenological approach to psychology with applications for theory building in general, and Authoritarianism: Three Inquiries in Critical Theory provides commentary on the concept of authoritarianism that has ramifications for use of critical theory for understanding political problems. I emphasize the distinction between naturalism of the sort practiced in the physical sciences and neo-Kantian historicism that reflects religious ideals of morality even if in secular form. Thus, I distinguish between motive (can be driven by psychological impulse, but often comes originally from the acceptance of cultural meaning), and mechanism that has explanatory value because of acceptance of the reality of physical causality, usually the result of social structure acting as a controlling mechanism. Similar distinctions are made by Scott Lash, for the purpose of distinguishing between deductive and inductive reasoning. The book on authoritarianism is discussed with emphasis on how their conceptualization fits neither deductive nor inductive conceptualizations entirely. I conclude with a commonsense discussion of these same topics.


In order to ascertain the susceptibility and the potential danger of WSSV to the cultured Portunus trituberculatus, the healthy crabs were inoculated with WSSV by intramuscular injection and feeding. The results showed that the crabs in the group of intramuscular injection all became diseased and died at 10 to 16 days after being inoculated; the mortality of the group of feeding was 33%, and that of the control group was 0. Real-time PCR assay was developed in this study for quantitative analysis of WSSV in muscle and hepatopancreas. Detectable rates of WSSV from intramuscular, feeding and control groups were 100%, 50% and 0 respectively. Histopathological observation showed that the nucleus of target cells in the hepatopancreas, atrial muscle, and gill became swollen and distorted, servere vacuolation and necrosis of epithelial cells of hepatopancreas and gill, as well as the atrial muscle fibres were obviously observed. Under electron microscope,virus particles with the same size and morphological features as WSSV were seen in the abnormal tissue cells. In conclusion, the WSSV can infect Portunus trituberculatus and cause obvious histopathological changes in the crab tissues, and additionally, the degree of the infection of WSSV was closely related to the amount of virus, as well as the crab's health and environment conditions.


Glioblastoma multiforme: the challenge of the 21st century Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a grade IV high-grade glioma (HGG) and the most frequent brain tumor in adults. GBM belongs to the category of orphan diseases, with a yearly incidence of about three to four per 100,000 adults and two per million children. The standard treatment consists of neurosurgery, radiochemotherapy and maintenance chemotherapy. However, prognosis remains poor, with a median overall survival (OS) of 15 months [1]. Relapse is universal and is due to therapyresistant glioma cancer stem cells and the extensive spread of tumor cells into surrounding regions of the brain. At the time of relapse, 100% mortality is observed within 18 months [2]. In spite of its low incidence, the worse prognosis of GBM causes the highest community burden among all cancers, reflected by the highest number of years of loss of life, and the highest disability and need for care [3]. New and more effective therapies are needed. Most chemotherapeutic strategies fail because of the blood–brain barrier. Therefore, novel approaches such as immunotherapy are being explored [4,5].


Individuals with monoallelic pathogenic variants in BRCA1/BRCA2 genes are at an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. The results of genetic tests may present a stressor related to the fear associated with the impact of the diagnosis on an individual's future.The aim of the study was to verify the level of depression, anxiety, and stress in individuals waiting for the results of BRCA genetic tests. How personality traits, stress coping strategies and social support influence the level of mental discomfort was examined.82 consecutive individuals completed an anonymous online survey consisting of basic information and five questionnaires: the Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (Mini-COPE), the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), Polish adaptation of the Ten Item Personality Inventory test (TIPI-PL), and the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS).Participants obtained the highest scores in Mini-COPE strategies: active coping, planning, positive reframing, acceptance, and seeking emotional support. The results of DASS-21 and GAD-7 indicate the level of depression, anxiety, and stress mainly in the normal range. The highest scores in the TIPI-PL test were obtained on the conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion scales. Participants, who have already obtained the results had higher scores on the Need for Support Scale (BSSS).In general, the situation of BRCA genetic testing is not causing significant negative mental discomfort. Nonetheless, the results indicate a significant role of social support in coping with stress in individuals who have already obtained the results of their genetic test.

http://www.paom.pl/pdf-151573-89345?filename=The role of social.pdf


Map shows late eighteenth century Massachusetts counties, roads, cities, towns, and notable physical features. Relief shown pictorially. Scale [ca. 1:675,840].


Abstract— Photosensitized oxygenation of tryptophol (1) at –70°C gives the corresponding 3‐hydroperoxyindoline 2 as a primary product. Chemical and photochemical behaviors of the hydroperoxide (2) have been investigated. Photolysis and redox reactions of 2 with ferrous ion give a C2—C3 ring cleavage product 5 together with 3‐hydroxyindoline 3. A mechanism involving O—O homolysis of the hydroperoxide has been proposed. Thermal decomposition of 2 leading to 3 and 5 is also suggested to proceed via the O—O homolysis.


Small intestinal absorptive function can be disturbed in iron deficiency. We examined the permeability behavior of the small intestinal mucosa toward lactulose and rhamnose in 26 otherwise healthy children with iron deficiency. Their (mean ± SD) age was 21 ± 8.6 months; hemoglobin 7.9 ±0.9 g/dl, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 60.1 ± 3.4 fl, serum iron 2.72 ± 0.66 μmol/L, serum ferritin 7.3 ± 1.6 μg/L. After an isotonic oral load of both sugars, their 5-h urinary excretion was measured by gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The ratio of the percentage of urinary recovery of the sugars [lactulose/rhamnose(%)] was determined as the permeability index. The tests were repeated in the same subjects after 3 months of iron supplementation, and achievement of an iron sufficient state. In the iron-deficient state, the permeability index was significantly higher than the standard normal value (0.15 ± 0.05 versus <0.07; p < 0.01), but was not different from normal when the children had attained a normal iron status. The major factor for the alteration of the permeability index in the children with iron deficiency was a significantly lower urinary recovery of rhamnose (which passes the small intestinal epithelium by a transcellular route); the recovery of lactulose (which passes through a paracellular route) was not affected by iron deficiency. Our study indicates that iron deficiency in infants and young children can alter permeability characteristics of the small intestinal mucosa. Iron status should therefore be considered when interpreting permeability tests in the young.


Spectroscopic studies of the UV emission from surface-discharge sparks across Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, BN, ZnO, ZrO/sub 2/, BaTiO/sub 3/, ZnO.Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, and Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3/.Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ substrates have been performed in He, N/sub 2/, CO/sub 2/, Ar, SF/sub 6/, and Ar + i-C/sub 3/F/sub 7/I gases at pressures of 1 to 10 atm. Considerable differences were found in the performance of the various substrates; the best result obtained was with a 2-cm gap Cr/sub 2/O/sub 3/.Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ substrate which gave 6.20 +- 0.78 J of UV radiated in the 2500 to 2900-A iodine-laser pumpband for a stored electrical energy of 66.2 J and circuit parameters C = 82.8 nF and V/L approximately equal to 9.1 x 10/sup 10/ Volts/Henry. Neglecting circuit losses and reciprocity failure of the spectroscopic plates, this gives 9.4 +- 1.1 percent efficiency. Enhancement of the UV output was again noted with the addition of small concentrations of i-C/sub 3/F/sub 7/I to Ar at high pressures. The best result for UV energy density is 2.5 J/cm/sup 2/ for the same substrate. The degree of channel spreading across the surface is a function of the ease of substrate vaporization, and source performance is not relatedmore » to the UV diffuse reflectivity of the ceramic substrate since surface metallization occurs during the discharge. Additional improvements can be realized with long-path discharges driven by a Marx bank.« less


The efficiency is calculated for the 8Be detection method of Wozniak, Jelley and Cerny1 involving position detectors. A development of the technique is proposed which considerably increases the detection efficiency.


The petrofabric patterns of olivine for various ultramafic masses and specimens are correlated with their conditions of crystallization as inferred from the compositions of associated clinopyroxenes. It is suggested that, besides orientations formed during purely magmatic crystallization, there are high temperature and lower temperature orientation patterns for olivine, probably produced by recrystallization. The observed seismic anisotropy of the mantle near midocean ridges may be due to recrystallization under lower temperature conditions.


Abstract The relations between geodetic measurements of the surface level variations Δh and net budget measurements by stakes arc discussed. In 1961, 24 yr. after Finsterwalder's survey, Tunsbergdalsbreen, the largest and most regular of the 26 outlet glaciers of Jostedalsbreen, was re-surveyed. The variations in the length, area, ice thickness, and volume of its tongue are shown. The lake Brimkjelen was 99 m. deep in 1937; it disappeared in 1949. From 1900–40 the whole Jostedalsbre lost 0.4 m./yr., about the same amount as the glaciers of the eastern Alps. The ice thickness of the Tunsbergdalsbre tongue diminished by −Δh A = 0.46+0.0022 (1500−A) m./yr. from 1937–61; for the eastern Alps from 1920–50 −Δh A ≈ 0.53+0.0021 (2850−A) m./yr. where A is the altitude. The change of Δh with altitude is much the same. The amounts of the retreat of the Alpine glaciers, of Tunsbergdalshreen, and at Werenskioldbreen, Vestspitsbergen, were the greater the higher the latitude. The numerical relations between Δh, net budget, and ice movement are shown. The temporary velocity transverse profile of 1937 served as a prototype for the streaming mode of flow, but in 1961 the glacier partially showed Blockschollen movement, although the velocity had decreased by more than 30 per cent. The article is accompanied by a map showing ice surface contours in 1937 and 1961.


Treating oncologic patients remains a challenge for surgeons aiming to provide patients with safe margins of resection while maintaining the highest possible quality of life. The latter, in the case of malignancies, requires using sophisticated methods of reconstruction. Thus, we present a case of a 75-year-old patient treated in our department with a rare neoplasm in the region of the temporomandibular joint—a myxofibrosarcoma that was mimicking an inflammatory lesion. The patient underwent two surgeries—firstly alloplasty of the TMJ due to the suspicion of an inflammatory lesion, lately extended to the resection of glenoid fossa and subtemporal fossa contents when the mandible was reconstructed using UHMW-PE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene). The patient was also referred for adjuvant radiotherapy and has remained disease-free for over 96 months with very good aesthetics and function of the mandible. The presented case highlights not only the need for increased oncologic awareness but also the possible use of UHMW-PE as a reconstruction material in the broad resection of the maxillofacial region.


Since the early 1980s, Uganda has been in the spotlight of global concerns about the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has almost brought the country to its knees. Consequently, a number of social epidemiologists and researchers from different social science fields have, over the past two and half decades, focused their attention on Uganda, attempting to identify the risk factors that expose people to HIV infection in order to inform intervention policy. Although studies coming out of this effort have provided important insights into risks of HIV infection, they have been criticized for almost entirely focusing on individual behavioral factors, such as prostitution and inconsistent condom use, as the primary causal factors of HIV infection, without comprehending the contextual background in which HIV infection takes place. Using the 2000/01 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey and employing multilevel logistic regression methods, I address this concern by investigating the influence of contextual factors on three behaviors related to the risk of HIV infection (HIV testing, multiple sexual partnering, and inconsistent condom use). Analyses reveal that educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and


Objective To explore male spouses' experience of caring for breast cancer patients with different duration of caring,so as to provide the basis for the development of intervention strategies on the quality of life(QOL).Methods The data of 20 male spouses were selected by face-to-face interviews and analyzed by phenomenological procedures.Results Male caregivers experienced various degrees of emotional and cognitive reactions,physiology reaction,family role change,life style change,psychological reaction and financial burden.Their common features were the poor utilization of social supports and difficulty in expressing emotions.Conclusion As a special population,more focus should be attached to male caregivers.Their gender and duration of caring must be taken into consideration when nursing staff plan the appropriate intervention to enhance their QOL and care ability.


A day-long roundtable discussion was held on 17 February 2012 jointly hosted by the Seoul-based Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) and the NZIIA. The function was not a routine affair. It was the first in a programme of events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and New Zealand. Appropriately in that anniversary context, the theme of the roundtable was 'Beyond 50 years of Friendship; Towards an even Stronger Partnership'.


The paper examines Albanian progressive forms and their distribution in comparison with the English progressive in order to find out the similarities and differences between the Albanian progressive and the progressive in English. The theoretical part presents a survey and a description of the forms of the progressive in each language. The research part first offers an analysis of progressive forms in an Albanian-English translation and then examines the progressive forms occurring in a text translated from English into Albanian. The results of the study qualify the observation made in the literature on the Albanian progressive in one important respect, viz. that of the two available structures the po-construction (in spite of its restriction to the present and the imperfect) rather than jam+duke forms is by
far the more common as a means of expressing progressiveness in Albanian. It is thus the po particle construction that appears to be the prevailing Albanian progressive form whereas the role of the jam+duke construction is negligible. However, there is an asymmetry between the po-construction and the English progressive in the examined texts. While the English progressive translates 2/3 (and possibly more) of the Albanian po-constructions, only 1/3 of the English progressive forms are translated into Albanian by po-constructions. This, and the surprisingly low incidence of progressive constructions in the Albanian text, shows that the status of the Albanian progressive construction is indeed different from that of the
English progressive.


The leucocyte adhesion molecule intercellular adhesion molecule–1 is induced on bile ducts in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis and may be involved in targeting immune damage to these structures. It has recently been reported that, when activated, in vitro lymphocytes release a soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule–1 that can also be detected in human serum. Because it is functionally active, this circulating intercellular adhesion molecule–1 might play a role in regulating inflammation by blocking adhesion. We used an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to detect circulating intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 in the serum of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Levels of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule–1 were markedly elevated in primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis when compared with other chronic liver diseases. Circulating intercellular adhesion molecule–1 is probably derived from activated lymphocytes rather than from bile ducts because biliary epithelial cells from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis did not release circulating intercellular adhesion molecule–1 when stimulated to express the membrane‐bound molecule in vitro. These studies are the first to demonstrate circulating intercellular adhesion molecule–1 in chronic inflammatory diseases that are characterized by strong tissue expression of intercellular adhesion molecule–1 and as such suggest a potential immunoregulatory role for circulating adhesion molecules. The very high levels detected in primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis probably reflect lymphocyte activation, which is further evidence of immune pathogeneses for these diseases. (HEPATOLOGY 1992;16:810–814.)


Complex clinical-laboratory investigation of children with congestive heart failure (CHF) developed on the basis of dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been carried out. The development of CHF in children with cardiomyopathy was accompanied by changes of blood serum lactate, MB isoform of creatine phosphokinase, TNF-6, interleukin-6 (IL-6) (but not IL-2), and soluble receptors for IL-2 and IL-6.


"Michael" is unique among Wordsworth's famous poems Some of the rejected drafts printed by Ernest de Selin because it was written to occupy a position in a volume of court exemplify the difficulty Wordsworth had adhering to the poems, which, for the most part, had already been printed program of the Preface to Lyrical Ballads. There he had ex when Wordsworth began to write it. The decision made on plained that he chose rustic life because the "essential passions October 6, 1800, to omit "Christabel" as the concluding poem of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their in the second volume of Lyrical Ballads (1800) created a space maturity" and "speak a plainer and more emphatic language." that had to be filled. Since the end of July, copy for the second Those passions "exist in a state of greater simplicity" and are volume had been sent to the printer, and the final sheets of the "more accurately contemplated and more forcibly communi Preface had been sent on October 2. Consequently, Wordscated." Furthermore, those passions "are incorporated with worth was faced, not simply with the task of writing a poem the beautiful and permanent forms of nature. " Since those long enough to complete the volume, but of writing a poem passions grow in rustic soil, they are expressed "in simple and whose context in the volume was already established by the unelaborated expressions" and result in a "more permanent Preface and the poems that would precede it. As his drafts for and a far more philosophical language"1 than that of the cur "Michael" demonstrate, it was not a process of writing to rently fashionable language of poetry. Yet when Wordsworth which he was accustomed. His writing in the previous two sketched Michael's character, he was uncertain exactly how years proceeded in an entirely different way. His work on The articulate rustics were and unsure precisely how their "essen Prelude began with lyric effusions, and Wordsworth saw the tial passions" resulted in a "far more philosophical language." labor of composition as the job of providing a context for the Michael appears as a mute, inglorious dalesman: lyric moments, which required a context to have meaning. With "Michael" the context preceded the contents. Both the No doubt if you in terms direct had ask'd drafts of "Michael," which Wordsworth began in earnest by Whether he lov'd the mountains, true it is October 11, and the finished poem, amply illustrate the diffiThat with blunt repetition of your words culties he had in composition and the ways in which he wrote He might have stared at you, and said that they' the poem to stand as the concluding poem in the 1800 volume. Were frightful to behold .... 2


Doping is defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency as the occurrence of an anti-doping rule violation. These violations are mainly materialised by the content of the Prohibited List International St...


Many professionals in asset management assume that the notion of life cycle cost is well understood by other professionals and by decision-makers. The author's experience is that this is not the case and it needs to be addressed at three levels if implementation of strategic asset management is to be successful.


Chromium doped gamma ferrite nanopowders (16.91 nm to 25.61 nm) of the composition (Fe 2- x Cr x O 3 for x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.10) were successfully synthesized by a modified solution combustion method using citric acid as fuel at a temperature as low as 150 °C. The so prepared samples were examined by powder XRD for phase identification and crystallite size determination. The dimensions of particle size as calculated from XRD are in good agreement with those evaluated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis was carried out to identify the various chemical bonds present in the system. Magnetic examinations were performed in terms of magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis plots. A decrease in the blocking temperature with the increase of dopant concentration was observed which is explained on the basis of Neel's relaxation theory. A simple model has been suggested to explain the behaviour of hysteresis trends as the function of dopant concentration.


Keywords: Semiotics, Logo, Sign, Connotation, Icon, Index, Symbol. Cafe is very popular in Malang and it usually has a logo to show the characteristics of the cafe and all identities or all aspects of the cafe. In this research, the researcher chooses three logos of cafes in Malang. Then, to get the meaning of the logos, the researcher analyzes them by using semiotic study. This research has three problems of the study to be answered: (1) What typology of signs are found on the logos of three cafes in Malang? (2) What are the connotations of the logos of three cafes in Malang?, and (3) What are the relationships between the sign connotation of the logos of cafes and the history, concept and goals of the cafes? Descriptive qualitative research with content or document analysis is applied in this research. The data analysis is conducted by applying Pierce's theory (1931 in Chandler 2007) that is typology of sign. In order to interpret the meaning of the signs found, connotation theory offered by Chandler (2007) and Fiske (2012) are also used. Purposive sampling is used in this research to select the objects. In this research, the researcher selected Uno cafe, Mochi Maco cafe, and Omah Coffee Cafe. The result of this research discovers that the icon, index, and symbol are found in the logos. The iconic signs are mostly applied and the symbolic signs are used more than the indexical one. The meaning of signs combination found in the logos is interpreted through connotation theory. In accordance with the analysis, the three cafes represent their characteristics through their logos and the three logos of cafes show relationships between the signs connotation and the history, concept, and goals of the cafes. Moreover, the three logos represent characteristics and relation between the sign connotation of the logo and the history, concept, and goal of the cafe through their symbolic signs in their names. The researcher finally suggests the next researchers analyze other objects as the data source conducting a research related to semiotics study such as posters, novel covers, posters and different logos of cafes in areas other than Malang.


An environmental blackening agent at room temperature for steel was developed by orthogonal experiment.The blackening film showed fairly good corrosion resistance,compactness,strong adhensive force and fairly good brightness.The AFM figure of film indicated that the film had fine and close texture.


The gender perspective in the study of the health is recent, promoted for the Law of Effective Equality between women and men. Though this gender perspective or it is not AG OR A DE SALU T I ISSN: 2443-9827. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6035/AgoraSalut.2015.1.48 pp. 585-590 586 AGORA DE SALUT. VOL. I. ISSN: 2443-9827. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.6035/AgoraSalut.2015.1.48 pp. 585-590 universally adopted in the Spanish context, it exist a series of researchers and /or research groups in the area of the health that have begun to incorporate it. For it, the aim of this study is to analyze the main existing Spanish research related to psychosocial health and gender in general, and in occupational health psychosocial in particular. To do it, we have carried out an analysis of the publications performed by these teams from different databases observing on which aspects they focus, and the collaborations between different research teams. The results show the existence of at least 6 research teams in Spain, though only 1 focuses on the work context. This study means the first step towards the beginning of this line of research (gender and occupational health) in the Universitat Jaume I.


A new methamidophos-specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized based on non-covalent interaction. The complexes formed between MAP and MAA were evaluated by 1H NMR, FTIR and UV spectrometry. The MAP-MAA complexes of 1 : 2 mole ratio were obtained by cooperative hydrogen bonding and the complexes possessed better stabilization (K = 2.894 x 10(6) L2 x mol(-2). The Infrared spectrometry differences of the MIPs before and after saturated with MAP further indicated that there were carboxyl functional groups in the MIP, which could interact with the template by cooperative hydrogen bonding specifically.


Speed sensing applications have been widely known in the automotive industry as, most of the gadgets require speed sensing system to control the desirable output. This experimental project is expected to be applied in the automotive field, especially in the mode of luxurious and speeding cars. One of the applications projected is to control the body lifting of a car. The vertical linear motion of a car body will be controlled by the car speed, which is also proportional to the engine speed. The car body will be lowered to balance to its center of gravity (C.G), hence stabilize the car when it is driven at high speed. Likewise, when the rpm of the engine decreases, the body of the car will tend to resume to normal position. With this system, there will be less diagonal pitching and constant ride height base on conditions. The regression model also developed in this work to bring the design to its near-net design more economically.


Abstract The differences in the clinical features and outcomes of respiratory adenovirus infection (RAI) between immunocompetent and immunocompromised adult patients remain unclear. Thirty-nine adult RAI patients, including 28 (71.8%) immunocompetent patients and 11 (28.2%) immunocompromised patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, laboratory tests, radiographic findings, therapies and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. We found fever (94.9%), cough (66.7%) and sputum production (56.4%) were the most frequent symptoms. Compared with immunocompetent RAI patients, the immunocompromised RAI patients were more likely to experience anaemia (g/l; 90.8 ± 24.0 vs 134.3 ± 14.6, P < 0.001), thrombocytopaenia ( × 109/l; 116.9 ± 92.7 vs 178.4 ± 74.6, P = 0.037), hypoalbuminaemia (g/l; 29.6 ± 5.5 vs 36.9 ± 5.2, P < 0.001), hyponatraemia (mmol/l; 134.8 ± 5.6 vs 138.5 ± 3.9, P = 0.026) and low levels of cholinesterase (U/l; 2650.5 ± 1467.4 vs 5892.8 ± 1875.1, P < 0.001). Chest computed tomography (CT) scans indicated that lung infiltrate was the most common finding (64.1%). Immunocompromised patients had a higher likelihood of bilateral lung involvement (72.7%) and lower lobe involvement (81.8%) of both lungs. The hospitalized mortality rate was 27.3% in immunocompromised RAI patients, but no death occurred among immunocompetent RAI patients (P = 0.018). Our data suggested immunocompromised RAI patients had worse laboratory test results, more bilateral lung and lower lobe involvement and higher in-hospital mortality compared with immunocompetent RAI patients.


We demonstrate a gelator-doped nematic liquid-crystal (LC) phase grating, which can be operated in both the multistable mode and the dynamic mode. Thermoreversible association and dissociation of the gelator molecules can vary and fix the multistable diffraction efficiencies of the gratings. A voltage (V) can also be applied to modulate dynamically the diffraction efficiencies of the grating, which behaves as a conventional LC grating. Experimental results show that the variations of the diffraction efficiencies in the multistable and dynamic modes are similar. The maximum diffraction efficiency is approximately 30% at V = 2 V.


FIELD: chemistry. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a method of gas-phase polymerisation of one or more alpha-olefins in the presence of a catalyst system. The method involves: a) bringing one or more of the said alpha-olefins into continuous contact with the said catalyst system in a pre-polymerisation reactor, in which reaction takes place in a liquid medium at temperature ranging from 23° to 50°C; b) continuous feeding of a pre-polymer, obtained from stage a), into a gas-phase reactor which has interconnected polymerisation zones, in which growing polymer particles flow upstream through the first ascending polymerisation zone in conditions of stable fluidisation or transportation, come out of the said ascending polymerisation zone and enter the second descending polymerisation zone, through which they flow downstream under gravitational force, come out of the said descending polymerisation zone and then enter the said ascending polymerisation zone again; in which the pre-polymer, obtained at stage a), continuously enter the ascending polymerisation zone, characterised by speed of upward-flowing gases of over 3.0 m/s. EFFECT: use of the invention improves size distribution of polyolefin particles. 13 cl, 1 dwg, 1 tbl, 6 ex


Measured heat flow at Cajon Pass is consistent with predictions based on local site conditions and regional heat flow. With observations now ranging to a depth of 3½ km, there is still no evidence for significant frictional heating anywhere on the San Andreas fault. The result supports the view, long suggested from heat flow studies, that the fault is weak in spite of estimates based on Byerlee's law, isotropic strength, and hydrostatic fluid pressure that suggest a strength several times larger. Recent evidence (Zoback et al., 1987; Mount and Suppe, 1987) that the maximum principal stress might be almost normal to the San Andreas fault would support the weak-fault model and add constraints over and above those imposed by heat flow; e.g., local friction coefficients μ ≲ 0.1 or fluid pressures along the fault greater than lithostatic (λ > 1), compared to μ ≲ 0.2 or fluid pressure greater than twice hydrostatic (λ > 0.74) for the heat flow constraint alone. These constraints are a challenge to existing models of faulting, and they are stimulating promising new points of view. The balance of plate boundary forces around a weak fault depends on the basal traction coupling the seismic layer to the rest of the system; heat flow limits the coupling force across the fault to an insignificant ∼ 1011 N/m. The weak fault also precludes significant near-field basal driving tractions, but it permits a large basal drag force which could result in a highly stressed seismic layer offering appreciable resistance to plate motion through its base. Such tractions could develop progressively if the fault surface weakens as it evolves; if they exist, they should cause an observable reduction in shear stress resolved in the fault direction and a rotation of principal axes as the fault is approached; if they do not exist, the seismic layer rides passively on the lower crust. Heat flow measurements should detect whether such basal tractions might be associated with basal decoupling and flow. Coupling at the base of the seismic layer is controlled by the rheological profile, the usual representation of which raises three questions in applications to the San Andreas fault zone. First, the linear frictional portion through the seismic layer implies a resisting force on the fault much greater than the heat flow limit permits. Second, the large stresses implied for the temperature-sensitive ductile layer might be unsustainable; they could lead to shear heating and weakening at plate boundary strain rates. Third, in the ductile layer the stress is sensitive to whether deformation is concentrated in narrow vertical mylonite zones, as sometimes assumed in models of the earthquake cycle, or more broadly distributed by bulk flow in a deep-crustal "asthenosphere." Horizontal basal shear stresses are of the same order as vertical strike-slip stresses near the base of the seismic layer; they could result in bulk flow or horizontal detachment leading to a different pattern of long-term stress, strain rate, and dissipation and a requirement for decoupling and basal drag on the seismic layer in the near field. Results from the San Andreas fault taken with long-standing speculation about the orthogonal relation between oceanic transform faults and extensional spreading centers suggest that strike-slip transform faults might be anomalously weak in both continental and oceanic settings.


Vergence eye movements were recorded from three different populations: healthy young (ages 18-35 years), adaptive presbyopic and non-adaptive presbyopic(the presbyopic groups aged above 45 years) to determine how the variability of the eye movements made by the populations differs. The variability was determined using Shannon Entropy calculations of Wavelet transform coefficients, to yield a non-linear analysis of the vergence movement variability. The data were then fed through a k-means clustering algorithm to classify each subject, with no a priori knowledge of true subject classification. The results indicate a highly significant difference in the total entropy values between the three groups, indicating a difference in the level of information content, and thus hypothetically the oculomotor adaptability, between the three groups.Further, the frequency distribution of the entropy varied across groups.


Biometric signcryption, which enables a user using his biometric information as the identity to fulfills both the functions of encryption and digital signature simultaneously, and it provides better overall security and performance. However, almost all biometric signcryption schemes that have been proposed in the literature do not satisfy forward secrecy, known session-specific temporary information security and public verifiability with confidentiality, also have the certificate management complexity or key escrow issues which are inherent in traditional public key and identity-based cryptography respectively. In order to solve these problems, a novel biometric signcryption using certificateless public key cryptography is introduced, the formal definition and security notion of the biometric certificateless signcryption (BCSC) are presented, and a concrete BCSC scheme is also proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme eliminates the above security shortcomings and it does not have the certificate management complexity and key escrow issue by exploiting the certificateless public key cryptography. Moreover, the proposed scheme only requires one bilinear pairing operation, which makes it applicable to the resource-constrained communication devices and the communication networks with high security requirements.


Vehicular emission is the major contributor to the air pollution problem because of the increased vehicle population. A technology is needed to control autoexhaust pollution problem so as to meet the emission standards set up by government legislation and the upcoming more stringent emission norms. The catalytic converter is successf ully utiliz ed to control air pollution from vehicular emissions. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI ) has devel oped a non-noble metal based catalytic converter considering present and future emission standards. These non-noble metal based converters can also be fitted to old, on-road vehicles, which shares major part of total vehicular emissions, and thus a large market is rea dily available. Financial analysis reveals that the technology is cost-effective and has wide commercial application.


The paper separately treats the optimization model of cutting variables on which the manufacturing costs should be reduced to the lowest possible value. By taking into account all input variables meaning technological limitations the optimization strategy takes place in two steps. First, the tool geometric variables are changed with selected cutting variables; in this way the smallest cutting force variables are determined. Geometric variables in case of smallest cutting force serve for the second optimization step in which the cutting variables are changed. Optimization of the cutting variables is tested practically in workshop conditions. In this way very important information about the quality of values optimized is obtained. If there are very significant differences between the values, they must be corrected (correction of cutting variables). As studying of cutting processes requires very much experimental and theoretical work and as it applies a very great number of data, we organized an information center for cutting conditions (INCERP). When forming the information center for cutting condition it was not possible to avoid the requirement that the technological data base must be actively included in the computer-supported integrated manufacture (CIM).


The mechanical and thermal properties of a partially A-site-substituted relaxor dielectric ceramic, (Pb0.875Ba0.125)A[(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.5(Zn1/3Nb2/3)0.3Ti0.2]BO3, were investigated for specimens with A/B ratios ranging from 0.95 to 1.05. Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, and three-point bending strength altered significantly at an A/B value between 1.00 and 1.01; this was accompanied by a change in the fracture mode from transgranular for A/B# 1.00 to intergranular for 1.01 $A/B. The three-point bending strength of the relaxor was twice the thermal stress predicted by a simulation of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCs) subjected to heat-cycle tests. However, the tensile strength in the direction normal to the internal electrode layers was much less than the simulated thermal stress. This indicated that mechanical strength was not a critical problem as regarded the MLC dielectric material but, rather, that it was critical to improve the adhesion between dielectric layers and internal electrode layers. Results also showed that it was important to improve the termination structure and solder wettability at the termination.


This paper presents a solution to reformulate, further improve and enhance usefulness of the existing cadastral system and title registration of multi-layer properties in order to facilitate a modern Malaysian Cadastral and Land Administration Systems. As concluded in the first International Workshop on 3D cadastres in Delft, the concept of property mainly depends on the national legal system, where each such system has its own instruments for multiple use of land (Registration of Properties in Strata, 2002). A common definition thus does not seem to exist. Researchers dealing with this term choose their own stipulated definition or description. The introduction of the concept of 3D property establishes a strong link between the real world and legal cadastral entities. Different from on-surface properties with no gaps or overlaps in their boundaries, 3D property can be located above or below one another. In this paper, field 3D property and its rights as well as the categorisation of 3D property issues relating to rights are looked into. Besides, an introduction of 3D cadastre, the importance of 3D cadastre and the practical solution are also given. Later, 3D property types in Malaysia are presented with an explanation on land legislation framework, cadastral survey and registration. This paper also discusses some literatures on good governance, e-government and intergovernmental coordination. Furthermore, discussions on ways towards 3D property formation and the criteria associated with the establishment of Malaysian 3D cadastre for 3D property rights are included with some approaches to achieve its implementation


Two different techniques based on metamaterials for mitigating both the differential and common-mode propagation in differential signaling are addressed. The proposed filters are implemented by means of complementary split ring and spiral resonators applied to coupled parallel microstrip lines. Frequency response, signal integrity and radiation emission are analyzed.


Cryosurgery using liquid nitrogen is a surgical resource to treat several types of benign, pre-malignant and malignant skin lesions. It promotes the destruction of tissues and changes the immune response. The authors identify several uses of cryosurgery in treating skin disorders, particularly viral warts, chromoblastomycosis and leishmaniasis. The results of primary and adjuvant treatments are also discussed. The article focuses on precautions when using surgical instruments during treatment of infectious diseases.


Despite the hyperproliferative environment marked by activation of β-catenin and overexpression of c-myc, the epidermis surrounding chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) is clinically hypertrophic and nonmigratory yet does not undergo malignant transformation. We identified miR193b-3p as a master regulator that contributes to this unique cellular phenotype. We determined that induction of tumor suppressor miR193b-3p is a unique feature of DFUs that is not found in venous leg ulcers, acute wounds, or cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Genomic analyses of DFUs identified suppression of the miR193b-3p target gene network that orchestrates cell motility. Inhibition of migration and wound closure was further confirmed by overexpression of miR193b-3p in human organotypic and murine in vivo wound models, whereas miR193b-3p knockdown accelerated wound reepithelialization in human ex vivo and diabetic murine wounds in vivo. The dominant negative effect of miR193b-3p on keratinocyte migration was maintained in the presence of promigratory miR31-5p and miR15b-5p, which were also overexpressed in DFUs. miR193b-3p mediated antimigratory activity by disrupting stress fiber formation and by decreasing activity of GTPase RhoA. Conversely, miR193b-3p targets that typically participate in malignant transformation were found to be differentially regulated between DFUs and SCC, including the proto-oncogenes KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral proto-oncogene) and KIT (KIT proto-oncogene). Although miR193b-3p acts as a tumor suppressor contributing to low tumor incidence in DFUs, it also acts as a master inhibitor of cellular migration and epithelialization in DFUs. Thus, miR193b-3p may represent a target for wound healing induction, cancer therapeutics, and diagnostics. Description miR193b-3p suppresses keratinocyte migration, impairs wound healing, and inhibits tumor formation in diabetic foot ulcers. A microRNA with multiple roles Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are poorly healing wounds characterized by a hyperproliferative microenvironment with overexpression of c-myc and activation of the β-catenin signaling pathway. However, despite these cancer-like features, DFUs rarely undergo malignant transformation. Here, Marjanovic and colleagues identified the tumor suppressor miR193b-3p as being overexpressed in DFUs but not acute wounds, venous leg ulcers, or cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. In addition to suppressing drivers of tumor formation, miR193b-3p was found to inhibit keratinocyte migration and wound reepithelialization, even in the presence of promigratory microRNAs. These findings may explain why DFUs heal poorly but do not undergo malignant transformation and suggest that fine-tuning of miR193b-3p abundance may help promote healing of DFUs.


The invention provides a nucleoside polypeptide composition as well as a preparation method thereof and a purpose thereof. According to the invention, the method comprises the following steps of: after pretreating milts, a beer yeast and sea cucumbers, directly hydrolyzing a pretreated product by using a protease so as to prepare an active polypeptide; further adding a malt root extract, which is rich in phosphodiesterase and phosphomonoesterase, to the polypeptide according to characteristics of phosphodiester bonds and phosphomonoester bonds of DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid) and RNA (Ribose Nucleic Acid); and enzymatically hydrolyzing the DNA and the RNA in one reaction system at the same time so as to prepare micromolecular ribonucleoside and deoxyribonucleoside; therefore, the nucleoside polypeptide composition is prepared in one system. The whole preparation process of the composition is simple and convenient, the process time is greatly reduced (generally, the RNA and the DNA are singly hydrolyzed by an enzyme), and industrial production cost is reduced. The category of nucleosides in a prepared product is complete, and the nucleosides contain the ribonucleoside, which forms RNA of a human body, and also contains the deoxyribonucleoside, which forms DNA of the human body; meanwhile, the nucleosides are rich in a plurality of active polypeptides. Due to the presence of the active polypeptides from the milts, the beer yeast and the sea cucumbers, the absorption and distribution of a composition nucleoside are also enhanced; and the nucleoside coordinates with the polypeptide, so that a healthcare effect of the nucleoside polypeptide composition is enhanced.


With the development of electrode materials and noise reduction algorithms, the wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring equipment has been widely applied in our daily life. Since these monitoring devices are usually used in sport scenarios, the collected ECG signal is easily contaminated by different kinds of noises and artifacts, especially motion artifacts, and thus the noise reduction has become an urgent problem to be solved for the subsequent clinical application. In this paper, a motion artifact removal method of dynamic ECG is proposed based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and adaptive filter, which fully explores the correlation property of the acceleration signal and motion artifacts. From experimental results we find that our proposed approach can effectively suppress the motion artifacts in the dynamic ECG signals.


We study an $M$-$p$-spin spin glass model with $p=3$ and $M=3$ in three dimensions using the Migdal-Kadanoff renormalization group approximation (MKA). In this version of the $p$-spin model, there are three ($M=3$) Ising spins on each site. At mean-field level, this model is known to have two transitions; a dynamical transition and a thermodynamic one at a lower temperature. The dynamical transition is similar to the mode-coupling transition in glasses, while the thermodynamic transition possibly describes what happens at the Kauzmann temperature. We find that all the coupling constants in the model flow under the MKA to the high-temperature sink, implying that the mean-field features disappear in three dimensions and that there is no transition in this model. The behavior of the coupling constant flow is qualitatively similar to that of the model with $p=3$ and $M=2$, for which only a single transition is predicted at the mean-field level. We conclude that for $p$-spin models in three dimensions, fluctuation effects completely remove all traces of their mean-field behavior.


Banal and sublime. Dumb and smart. Ordinary things are acquired in great quantity and obsessively assembled. The extreme tedium of producing each piece is positively breathtaking. On first impression, the work seems so easy and obvious, until a surprising intricacy of issues slowly emerges, revealing the many paradoxes that animate Devorah Sperber's current practice.


Arabic language and literature has influenced Urdu language and literature in terms of fonts, grammar as well as orthography .linguists have different opinions about orthography of Arabic words in Urdu. Some of them hold favorable opinion, some have opined against it, while some of the linguists have maintained a balance point of view in terms of orthography. The holy Qur'an is Arabic and perhaps that is the reason Muslims have spiritual affinity with Arabic. But language also sacred the way religion is? Can we relate languages with religion? Moreover, sociolinguistics cannot be ignored and that linguists provides concrete notions based on based on scientific study of languages.in this article, the author has analyzed and discussed the contradictory debates of different academic and applied in Urdu orthography of Arabic words in Urdu.


This paper describes the field testing of an underwater acoustic (UWA) modem in three distinct underwater environments: in the 5-7 m depth waters off the Goleta Pier in California, in the shallow 2-5 m depth waters of Viapahu Lagoon of Moorea, French Polynesia, and in a coral bommies field in Viapahu Lagoon. The modem employs M-ary direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) signaling, with joint detection and channel estimation performed by the matching pursuit (MP) algorithm. Our programmable DSP implementation of MP is shown to effectively estimate sparse multipath in real time. The current design employs a 24 kHz carrier and 7.8 kHz bandwidth to achieve a 161 bps data rate. Field tests show bit error-rates (BERs) les 10-2 are achievable in varied underwater environments at up to 440 m range with multipath spreads on the order of 9 msec.


An elastinolytic activity on soluble and insoluble elastin has been demonstrated in the culture medium of human and monkey alveolar macrophages. This activity is potentiated by latex particles in the medium. An enzyme resembling some other elastases was partially purified and characterised. It differs from other elastases in its affinity for elastin and a synthetic substrate, its susceptibility to various kinds of inhibitors and by its metal ion requirement.


This paper shows that commodity portfolios that capture the backwardation and contango phases exhibit in-sample and out-of-sample predictive power for the first two moments of the distribution of long-horizon aggregate equity market returns, and for the business cycle. It also demonstrates that a pricing model based on the corresponding backwardation and contango risk factors explains relatively well a wide cross-section of equity portfolios. The cross-sectional "hedging" risk prices are economically consistent with the direction of long-horizon predictability. Backwardation and contango thus act as plausible investment opportunity state variables in the context of Merton's (1973) intertemporal CAPM.


According to the Lexical Restructuring Model (Metsala & Walley, 1998), children move from holistic representations of words, to syllabic representations, and finally to phonemic representations through a restructuring process driven by their developing lexical base. In contrast, the psycholinguistic grain size theory put forth by Ziegler and Goswami (2005) suggests that the awareness of individual phonemes is not possible without direct literacy instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine whether semantic knowledge and/or knowledge of grapheme/phoneme correspondences influenced the acquisition of word-blending skills by a sample of children with a reading disability. Participants were 211 second-grade and third-grade students from public elementary schools who were assigned to a reading intervention. Hierarchical Linear Modeling techniques were used to model individual growth curves of word-blending skills. Overall, findings support the psycholinguistic grain size theory of reading and suggest that instruction in the relationship between orthographic patterns and their corresponding sounds is necessary for the development of phonological awareness.


Given any sequence z = (zn) n>1 of positive real numbers and any set E of complex sequences, we write Ez for the set of all sequences y = (yn) n\geq 1 such that y/z = (y_n/z_n) n\geq 1 \in E; in particular, c_z denotes the set of all sequences y such that y/z converges. We denote by w_\infty the set of all sequences y such that sup_{n\geq 1} (n^{-1}\sum_{k=1}^{n}|y_k|) 0 we deal with the solvability of the (SSE) (Er)_{\Delta} + F_x = F_u, where E, F \in {c_0; c; \ell_\infty} and on the (SSE) (Wr) + cx = cu. For instance the solvability of the (SSE) (Wr)_{\Delta} + c_x = c_u consists in determining the set of all positive sequences x, for which the next statement holds. The condition y_n/u^n \to \ell_1 holds if and only if there are two sequences and with y = + for which sup_{n\geq 1} (n^{-1}\sum_{k=1}^{n}|\Delta_k\alpha|)r^_-k} < \infty and \beta_n/x_n \to \ell_2 (n\to \infty) for all sequences y and for some scalars l\ell_1 and \ell_2.


Low cycle fatigue mechanism of a single crystal nickel-base superalloy,DD6,has been investigated at 760℃ and 980℃.It was found that there were two kinds of sites where crack initiates,one being the surface of the specimens and the other being the sub-surface.Microcracks and oxide layer on the specimen surface are potential crack initiation sites in this superalloy.Secondary crack,reared ridge, and microcrack in the front of the main crack tip can all hinder crack propagation during low cycle fatigue.


This paper describes a comparison of overvoltage propagation in transformer windings. Expanding and evolving electrical networks comprise various classes of transient waveforms, related to network reconfigurations, failure stages and switching phenomena, including new sources based on power electronics devices. In particular, the integration of renewable energy sources—mainly solar and wind—as well as expanding charging and energy storage infrastructure for electric cars in smart cities results in network flexibility manifested by switching phenomena and transients propagation, both impulse and oscillating. Those external transients, having a magnitude below the applied protection level may have still a considerable effect on winding electrical insulation in transformers, mainly due to internal resonance phenomena, which have been the root cause of many transformer failures. Such cases might occur if the frequency content of the incoming waveform matches the resonance zones of the winding frequency characteristic. Due to this coincidence, the measurements were performed both in time and frequency domain, applying various classes of transients, representing impulse, chopped (time to chopping from 1 µs to 50 µs) and oscillating overvoltages. An additional novelty was a superposition of a full lighting impulse with an oscillating component in the form of a modulated wavelet. The comparison of propagation of those waveforms along the winding length as well as a transfer case between high and low voltage windings were analyzed. The presented mapping of overvoltage prone zones along the winding length can contribute to transformer design optimization, development of novel diagnostic methodology, improved protection concepts and the proper design of modern networks.


Background: Post-operative wound infection may occur after routine abdominal surgery.
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to see the distribution and determinants of post-operative wound infection among the patients underwent routine abdominal surgery.
Methodology: This non-randomized clinical trial was conducted in the different surgical units of the Department of Surgery at Sir Sallimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during January 2001 to December 2002 for a period of two (02) years. In the operation theatre, after anaesthesia skin was cleaned with Povidone iodine USP 5% w/w or Spirit (70% methylated spirit in water) or Chlorhexidine. During post-operative period dressing were left undisturbed unless it was felt necessary. Unusual pain in and around the wound was considered to be an indication of infection. A swab was taken from any discharge and was sent for bacteriological examination.
Result: In this study, 50 patients were admitted as routine cases and undergone routine abdominal operations in general operation theatre. Out of 50 patients undergone routine abdominal surgery, 5 developed wound infection post operatively. Overall infection rate was 10.0%. In routine abdominal operations, infection was 9.09% in upper midline or extended midline incision, 33.33% in lower midline, 6.25% right subcostal/Kocher's. In routine abdominal operations, the rate of infection in clean contaminated wound was 11.11%, contaminated wound was 33.33%. Wound infection rate was 20.0% cases in patients with malnutrition, 14.28% cases in obesity and 16.66% cases in diabetes mellitus.
Conclusion: In conclusion post-operative wound infection is common in routine surgical operation.
Bangladesh Journal of Infectious Diseases, June 2019;6(1):16-21


Abstract Rate of loss of the Floy anchor tag (FD-68C) was estimated as part of a study of the population dynamics of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Lake Michigan. Estimated tag loss increased from 11.1% for fish at large for 1 year to 20.5 and 18.9% for those at large for 2 and 3 years, respectively. Possible causes of tag loss were commercial gill nets, growth of a filamentous algae on tags, insecure attachment because of rough seas during tagging, and unfamiliarity with the tagging system. A correction for tag-loss rate in estimates of mortality and yield increased the estimated exploitation and fishing mortality rates by 17% and yield per recruit by 40%.


The typical plant cell wall is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and protein. Cellulose is a polymer of 1,4βglucan and found as microfibrils in the cell wall. Callose, a specialized polysaccharide, is also one of the cell wall components in plants, and it appears in some cells or in some cases. It is a 1,3βglucan polymer with some 1,6 branches, and it differs from cellulose. Callose and cellulose are synthesized by callose synthase and cellulose synthase located on the plasma membrane, respectively. Callose synthase locates vectorially in the plasma membrane with substrate being supplied from the cytoplasmic side, and the products are deposited on the cell surface [1].


Butler matrices represent a popular class of feeding networks for antenna arrays. Large dimensions and the lack of flexibility in terms of achievable output phase difference make conventional Butler structures of limited use for modern communication devices. In this work, a compact planar 4 × 4 matrix with non-standard relative phase shifts of –30º, 150º, –120º, and 60º has been proposed. The structure is designed to operate at the centre frequency of 2.45 GHz. Small dimensions of 31.3 mm × 22.9 mm make it useful for Internet of Things applications. The structure operates from 2.35 GHz to 2.55 GHz which covers the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bandwidth. At the centre frequency, the measured amplitude and phase imbalance are 1.65 dB and ±4.3º, respectively. The proposed circuit has been compared to the state-of-the-art structures from the literature. this work, a compact 4 × 4 Butler matrix for IoT applications has been presented. The structure provides a non-standard relative phase shifts between output ports of –30º, 150º, –120º, 60º, respectively. Circuit's electrical dimensions are 0.44 λ g × 0.32 λ g mm, with overall footprint of only 720 mm 2 . The small size has been achieved using folded couplers and miniaturized crossovers. Simulation results indicate that the proposed BM offers reflection below –13 dB within the frequency range from 2.35 GHz to 2.55 GHz. Furthermore, at 2.45 GHz measured magnitude and phase errors of the BM are below 1.7 dB and ±4.5º, respectively. The structure outperforms state-of-the-art circuits in terms of size while maintaining competitive performance.


Introduction Psychological vitality has a significant relationship with self-realization, mental health, positive emotions and self-motivation, life satisfaction, and optimism. Additionally, it reduces the possibility of exposure to anxiety, depression and stress. In the same line, work pressures drive teachers to suffer from some negative emotions such as anger and lack of motivation, which in turn influence their vitality, social relations with colleagues. Objectives The present study designed a motivational counseling-based program to improve psychological vitality among teachers in Dhofar region schools Methods Participants were 60 teachers obtained the lowest degrees on the psychological vitality questionnaire. They were divided randomly into two groups: experimental and control. Qusai-experimental method with two groups design was adopted. The given program consists of 18 counseling sessions at the rate of 3 sessions per week ranging from 60 to 75 minutes. Results indicated that statistically significant differences at 0.01 level were found between mean scores of both groups groups on the posttest of psychological vitality favoring the experimental group. Also, statistically significant differences at 0.01 level were detected between the pre-test and post-test (experimental group) mean scores favoring the post-test. Taken together those findings confirm the effectiveness of the counseling program in improving psychological vitality Posttest and follow up test did not significantly differ which prove the continuity of program effectiveness. Conclusions To conclude, motivational counseling plays an important role in enhancing psychological vitality of teachers. Further research might use the program in alleviating other psychological disorders. Disclosure No significant relationships.


The constant development of science and technology, mobile simulation robot become one of the people of tea after a meal, want the simulation robot to human operation level, premise condition clearly understand the principle of the simulation robot, and the mobile robot simulation system the required functionality, and after understanding we should how to realize the function of them. In this paper, the principle, function and realization of the mobile robot simulation system are designed.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between external ear malformation and middle ear abnormality, and also the results of surgical treatment.

METHOD
Fifty-two cases with external ear malformation (62 ears) was dividied into two groups:the minor group and severe group. All the patients received surgical treatment, 48 ears by transmastoid approach and 14 ears by "direct entrance" approach.

RESULT
The middle ear abnormality was minor in minor group,and severe in the patients with severe external ear malformation. In 93.5% cases the hearing threshold improved more than 15 dB in 3 months after operation, and reduce to 85.5% in 3 years follow up.

CONCLUSION
The middle ear malformation is corresponding to external ear malformation. The effect of surgical treatment is different according to the degree of malformation and surgical complication.


The essence of the concept of «economic mechanism of natural resources use» is considered; its tasks, principles and structure are summarized; features of its elements are considered. The role and influence of the economic mechanism on the management of the process of natural resources use is investigated and analyzed


This paper demonstrates theoretically and experimentally that in first-price auctions overbidding with respect to the risk neutral Nash equilibrium might be driven from anticipated loser regret (felt when bidders lose at an affordable price). Different information structures are created to elicit regret: bidders know they will learn the winning bid if they lose (loser regret condition); or the second-highest bid if they win (winner regret condition); or they will receive no feedback regarding the other bids. Bidders in loser regret condition anticipated regret and significantly overbid. However, bidders in the winner regret condition did not anticipate regret. (JEL D44)


The human auditory system relies strongly on differences in time and intensity between the two ears to localize correctly a sound source. Bilateral or independent hearing aids distort this information. Van den Bogaert, et al. (2005) showed that, in an anechoic environment, sound localization is better without hearing aids than with. In this study, we investigated how hearing aids modify our localization ability in realistic conditions. With the idea in mind of extending the test situations to arbitrary acoustical environments, virtual acoustics were used as a tool for reproducing sound. The first experiment presented in this paper evaluates sound localization in noise and compares external playback through loudspeakers with the simulations. In a second experiment, we extended our system for virtual acoustics by simulating actual hearing aid algorithms as well. The algorithms implemented are a static beamformer, a monaural noise canceller and the omnidirectional situation, in which the microphone signal is fed directly to the system. The same test conditions as in experiment 1 were reproduced and hearing aid localization was compared to the unaided condition. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-46016 Originally published at: Müller, M F; Kegel, A; Schimmel, S M; Dillier, N (2010). Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? In: 13. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie, Frankfurt, 17 March 2010 20 March 2010, 1-4. 13. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? Seite 1 Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? Martin F. Müller, Andrea Kegel, Steven Schimmel and Norbert Dillier Laboratory for Experimental Audiology, University Hospital Zürich Introduction The human auditory system relies strongly on differences in time and intensity between the two ears to localize correctly a sound source. Bilateral or independent hearing aids distort this information. Van den Bogaert, et al. (2005) showed that, in an anechoic environment, sound localization is better without hearing aids than with. In this study, we investigated how hearing aids modify our localization ability in realistic conditions. With the idea in mind of extending the test situations to arbitrary acoustical environments, virtual acoustics were used as a tool for reproducing sound. The first experiment presented in this paper evaluates sound localization in noise and compares external playback through loudspeakers with the simulations. In a second experiment, we extended our system for virtual acoustics by simulating actual hearing aid algorithms as well. The algorithms implemented are a static beamformer, a monaural noise canceller and the omnidirectional situation, in which the microphone signal is fed directly to the system. The same test conditions as in experiment 1 were reproduced and hearing aid localization was compared to the unaided condition. Methods To simulate perceptually convincing virtual environments, we combined individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) with room simulations (Schimmel et al., 2009). HRTFs model the acoustic path from the precise position of the source to the left and right ears in an anechoic environment. Reflections on the shoulders, the effects of the pinna, head shadow and travelling delay are all described by the HRTFs. Figure 1: Open CIC prototype For the measurement of the HRTFs and the reproduction of sound, we developed individual open completelyin-the canal (CIC) shells. We placed a microphone and a speaker in the empty shell, close to the eardrum. The CIC prototypes are shown in Fig. 1. 13. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? Seite 2 Figure 2: Target signals of the four scenes We implemented four realistic noisy scenarios: a crowded cafeteria, a busy office, a noisy street and a windy and noisy forest. In each of the scenes the test subjects were asked to localize a target sound source (a male speaker, a telephone, an ambulance, a bird) in the scene-dependent noise (babble noise, office machine and babble noise, street noise, wind and river noise). The target signals are shown in Fig 2. The interfering signals were real recordings of ambient noises. They were played incoherently over 12 positions in the horizontal plane (30° spacing), producing a highly diffuse sound field. The target signals were played at 60 dB. The SNR was set to 5 dB, as determined via the measured rms values of the signals. In the first experiment, the quality of the simulation was verified by comparing localization performance between full loudspeaker playback and virtual simulation. In a second experiment, we compared a static beamformer, a noise canceller and the omnidirectional condition, in which no processing was applied to the behind-the-ear (BTE) microphone signals. Twelve normal hearing subjects took part in the experiment. The test subjects completed the tasks in six sessions of two hours each. In both experiments, the target sound was presented four times from random positions around the listener after an initial training phase. No feedback was provided during the test and no loudness roving was applied between positions. The training phase consisted of an initial orientation sequence in which each position was played once starting from the front and moving around the listener counter clockwise. This was followed by a training run, in which every position was played once in random order and feedback was given to the test subject. Results and Discussion The accuracy of localization was measured using the angular root-mean square (rms) error and the amount of front/back confusions. Front/back confusions occur when a sound presented in the front is heard in the back and vice-versa. These two phenomena are different types of errors and therefore were analyzed separately. The standard angular rms error is particularly sensitive to front/back confusions. To remove this effect, we resolved the front-back confusions prior to measuring the directional error (Langendijk et. al, 2001). We define the rms error as: ( ) ( ) ( )2 , 1 mean asin sin asin sin N i i rms x y θ θ θ =   = −       ∑ (1.1) where xθ is the position played at angle θ and ,i yθ the response given by the test subject at test iteration i . N is the total number of repetitions. 13. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? Seite 3 Experiment 1: virtual sound localization The results show that the localization ability constantly varied over the scenes, depending on the set of cues available in the target sound. The average results are shown in Table I. A similar directional error wss obtained between external and internal presentation. No statistically significant difference could be found between both presentation methods, due to the large standard deviations and the limited number of test subjects (see Fig. 3). cafeteria office Street forest loudsp. simulation loudsp. simulation loudsp. simulation loudsp. Simulatio n rms [°] 2.2 3.9 4.7 7.2 7.1 8.0 10.5 11.7 f-b [%] 1.0 7.5 11.7 10.8 6.5 13.1 10.4 10.4 Table I: Mean results of the first localization test, for the four scenes. Front-back confusions were however larger for the simulations for the cafeteria and the street scenes only. Statistical significance was found for the cafeteria condition only. Figure 3: Angular rms errors in [°] for every presentation angle for the three conditions and the four scenes. Experiment 2: localization with behind-the-ear hearing aids Results of the second experiment showed that the hearing aid algorithms alter spatial auditory perception differently. Table II summarizes the results. cafeteria office Street forest omni beam NC omni beam NC omni Beam NC omni beam NC rms [°] 7.9 10.3 8.7 8.2 7.0 8.3 11.2 12.7 11.8 15.4 16.2 16.1 f-b [%] 39.0 1.9 39.2 40.8 1.0 37.1 45.4 3.8 48.3 47.3 1.5 43.3 Table II: Mean results for the BTE localization test. "omni" stands for omnidirectional, "beam" for beamformer and "NC" for noise canceller. Compared to the reference condition, localization with the hearing aid algorithms was significantly worse, for all the scenes tested. The results are shown in Fig. 4, on the left. For the omnidirectional and the noise canceller conditions, the number of front-back confusions appeared to be at chance level (between the blue lines). The attenuation effect of the beamformer (sounds presented at the back are softer) apparently helped the subjects to differentiate sounds played at the back from those played at the front. By analyzing the rms errors separately in the front and in the back (Fig. 4, right), the attenuation effect of the beamformer is clearly visible. For all the 13. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie Localization of virtual sound sources in realistic and complex scenes: how much do hearing aids alter localization? Seite 4 scenes except the cafeteria, performance in the front was close to the reference condition. In the back, however, the rms error increased significantly, due to a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Figure 4: Localization performance for the omnidirectional, noise canceller, beamformer and the reference simulation (sim) conditions (left). On the right, front and back rms errors are shown separately. Conclusions<lb>Our results show that virtual acoustics can be used reliably to evaluate the spatial quality of bilateral hearing<lb>aids. For all implemented scenes, localization performance with our vi


Computerized automatic recognition of brain tumors in magnetic resonance images (MRI) is a challenging task. Tumors are available at different location, size, shape, and texture of these lesions. Due to intensity similarities between brain lesions and normal tissues, the challenges for the researcher remain for developing progressive more algorithms in the tumor detection. Selection of single spectral or multispectral images is dependent on constraints like time, cost and some other difficulties. The proposed approach can identify tumor tissues using a single-spectral structural MR image. This paper presents an automatic system, which is able to detect slices which include tumor and features are extracted from that slice to delineate the tumor area.


The objective of this chapter was to understand how a "hybrid organization" (two automobile manufacturers Renault and Nissan within a strategic alliance) uses social networking and Web 2.0 tools to collaborate not only inside traditional organizational boundaries and within the alliance structure but also across geographical frontiers. Nissan has gradually lost its historic status as keiretsu as a result of its strategic alliance with the Renault. This alliance has had numerous consequences for the organizational structure of Nissan, even though both companies have maintained their identity by maintaining the two brands internationally. KM practices have evolved since the beginning of the strategic alliance. Two phases can be considered. During the first three years of the alliance, the two car manufacturers relied mainly on their own specific KM practices and processes. The second phase started in 2004 with the development of KM 2.0 and Web 2.0 tools. The adoption of these tools by Renault has led to increased collaboration between the two manufacturers. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-195-5.ch010


SUMMARY

Should adopted children be placed with adoptive parents who are matched to them on physical or behavioral characteristics? This question has been informally debated for many years, yet there is very little theoretical or empirical work on the topic. The purpose of this article is to review what is known of the extent of selective placement from previous studies, to examine data concerning the effects of selective placement and to explore some theoretical implications of selective placement. The article addresses the questions of the extent of selective placement and the effect of selective placement on adopted children. It is suggested that even where substantial selective placement occurs, it may not always be producing the desired effect.


Infrared spectra (300—4000 cm-1) have been measured on the octacyanide complexes K4Mo (CN)8·2H2O and K4W (CN)8·2 H2O in aqueous solution, in the solid dihydrates, and in the solid anhydrous compounds. Comparison with relevent Raman data, particularly in the 2100 cm-1 region, provides conclusive evidence for the effective molecular symmetry of the M (CN)84- group in the different surroundings. In aqueous solution, the ions [Mo (CN)8]4- and [W (CN) 8] 4- assume the symmetry of an Archimedean antiprism, D4d . In the dihydrate crystals, the groups Mo (CN)84- and W (CN)84- approach the full D2d symmetry of a dodecahedron with triangular faces, possibly slightly distorted by packing effects. In the anhydrous compounds, the symmetry of these groups is considerably lower, very likely C8. Reasonable assignments for all normal frequencies in the 2100 cm-1 region are proposed, both in D4d and D2d symmetry.


Objective To investigate the role of solanine in human androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line LNCaP and androgen-independent prostate cancer cell Du145.Methods The influence on the proliferation of LNCaP and Du145 cells were evaluated by MTT assay.Cell cycle and cell apoptosis of LNCaP and Du145 were assessed by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscope.The protein of expressions of Bcl-2,Bax,and Caspase-3 were determined by Western blot.Results Solanine could significantly inhibit the proliferation of the two cells in time-and dose-dependent manners(P0.05);also induced S-phase arrest of LNCaP and Du145 cells.The apoptosis ratio in treatment groups were significantly higher than that in 0 μg/mL group,with early apoptosis.Significant down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 was induced by solanine,with no effect on Bax protein.Conclusion Solanine provides anti-prostate cancer effect by inhibiting cell proliferation,S-phase arresting,and inducing apoptosis.


Bilateral prefrontal lobotomy was performed on 10 chronically disturbed schizophrenics and one mentally deficient patient. Insignificant amelioration of symptoms was noted in two and no improvement in all the other patients. One patient became decidedly worse and developed convulsive seizures two months following the operation. On the basis of our experience, therefore, frontal leucotomy is not recommended as a therapeutic procedure in chronic schizophrenia.


In the recent years music therapy is becoming popular even though it is known from ages that music has an impact on our physical and physiological conditions. Soothing and rhythmic music has an impact on physical and physiological conditions of living organisms plants, animals, especially human plays his flute with melodies music, birds, animals, humans all are drawn towards the music as a magnetic attraction. Our aim was to find out which of the selected Indian classical raga: Sindhu Bhairavi. Kapi, Desh, played through instrument and vocal exhibit an impact on the growth rate and protein production in the common herbs like Palak ( ), Wheat ( ), Paddy ( ), Soya ( ), Horse gram ( ). If positive effects are shown by any of the raga that can be used to increase the plants Productivity and medicinal values.


Objective To study the relationship of rpoB gene mutation and rifampin resistance in L-forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Methods Sensitivity test to rifampin in 76 clinical isolated strains from L-forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis patients was made,and the rpoB genes and sequence analysis were detected by PCR and PCR-DS methods.Results 28 clinical isolated strains from L-forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were resistant to rifampin,and the rpoB gene of 20 strains had mutation.Conclusion The rpoB genes mutation in L-forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the main mechanism of rifampin resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.


Vibrational spectroscopy, supplemented with other techniques, is providing a comprehensive picture of the structure and reactivity of soot. Reactions such as soot-NO2/N2O4, soot-O3, and soot-SO2, at atmospheric and subatmospheric pressures and at different temperatures, have been studied. Determination of the kinetics and mechanisms of the formation of CO and CO2 during the soot-O3 reaction, and the effect of temperatures and the concentrations of soot and ozone on this reaction, have led to further insights about the soot structure. Examination of the identity and role of linkages bonding carbon layers together is underway. Application of the Elovich equation to determine initial rates for the formation of surface species in these reactions indicates that the soot-O3 reaction is faster than the rapid soot-NO2/ N2O4 reaction which, in turn, is faster than that of soot-SO2. Oxidation of SO2 to ionic sulfate, confirmed by isotopic substitution, occurs in the presence of soot, water vapor, and oxygen. The pr...


THE THEME of this conference is economic forecasting in a dynamic, global environment. I'm sure that many of the other speakers are going to touch on a number of the changes that have affected our ability as economists to make forecasts. And the changes are legion. There's the dramatic advance in technology that has revolutionized U.S. financial markets. There's the equally dramatic surge in international trade as countries all over the world


The authors describe the synthesis and properties of 2-phosphadamantane derivatives. For the synthesis of 2-phosphaadamantane derivatives they decided to use the methodology of the synthesis of 2-thiaadamantane. The IR spectra were determined on CHCl/sub 3/ solutions with a Specord 711R spectrometer, the PMR spectra were determined on Tesla BS-467 (60 MHz) and Bruker WP-200 (200 MHz) spectrometers, external standard hexamethyldisiloxane, the /sup 31/P NMR spectra were determined on Tesla BS-487 C (30 MHz) and Bruker WP-200 (81 MHz) spectrometers, external standard 85% phosphoric acid, and the mass spectra were determined on an MS-1302 spectrometer.


The well Long-17 is an important pre-exploratory well in Jiulongshan structure,jointly drilled by CNPC Sichuan-changqing Drilling Exploration Corporation and PetroChina Southwest Oil Gasfield Company,with a designed well depth of 5850 m.To solve the severe lost circulation problem occurred before cementing with φ177.8 mm casing,the cementing program and procedures are deeply studied,it is determined to use the preflush system developed by Southwest Petroleum University which is highly effective in preventing contamination and improving cement bond quality.The application results have showed that this preflush is effective in improving bond quality and ensuring good isolation between layers of formations.It is helpful not only for successful cementing operation,but also for avoiding poor logging quality resulted from poor displacement and poor bond quality and thus avoiding potential oil/gas/water channeling.


Progressive stages in the development of RSR convergence zones were shown in the previous paper ["A Quantitative Definition of Depth Excess—How Much Is Enough?," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 65, S15 (1979)] to form a convenient set of criteria for defining depth excess. This present paper uses both parabolic approximation and ray diagnostic codes to explore general properties of simple and composite convergence zones and to show how changes in the arrival structure of waterborne paths give rise to corresponding changes in sound transmission with range. The role of the surface grazing ray, retrograde‐range smooth "caustic" ray, and recursive ray in determining RSR zone width and intensity are described. Similar ray analogs are developed for RR convergence zones with cusped caustics and for composite RR‐RSR convergence zones. The effect of source/receiver geometry on zone structure asymmetry and zone width are demonstrated for shallow and deep sources with receivers at source depth and reciprocal (conjugate...


__-__-_-__--__-__-_J_---_----__-_____-_____-_-_____-_. 35 Introduction. _____ .... ___-_------_----_---_______--_________________ 36 Location and accessibility.--------_____________________________ 36 Topographic setting and culture_--_------.__________-____________ 36 History, ownership, and production._____________________________ 38 Methods of mining and milling__--____.___________________________ 41 Field work__...______.__.__-__._-_...____._.___..____.__..__ 42 Acknowledgments. __--__---__-_-_-__-_-__________-____________ 43 Geology.__-__.__.------------_-----_---.--_------_-_-_-_____-_.__ 43 Sedimentary rocks_-__-_____---_-_-___-_____________._________. 43 Lower formation._-_____----_-___-__._.___________________ 43 Middle formation_______----__--___________________________ 44 Upper formation.____-_-----_---_--__-_-_-___-__--________ 45 Igneous rocks,.....--_---------_-----_---------__--_--------___ 48 Amygdaloidal basalt._-_-_-_-_-__._-._.____..__.__.__._____ 48 Andesite(?) _-_---------------------_----------..-------_-48 Structure.--.------------.--------------..--------------------49 Folds----------------.----------------------------------. 49 Faults___._.__-__.__..----_-___-__.-__.__._._._._.___._. 50 Ore deposits-_-_--------.-----------------------.----------------51 Restricted distribution of the ore___-_-_-____-__-___-_____.______ 51 Influence of faults and fractures---_---_-------------_-______ 51 Influence of character of sedimentary rocks_____--__-____-____ . 52 Influence of folds.-----------.----.---______________________ 53 Miner^J.ogy of the ore._____------_-___-_--__--____--__-_____-__ 53 Antimony minerals.____-_--__-__-_____-______________-__-_ 53 Cinnabar.________________________________________________ 54 Chalcedony and quartz_____________________________________ 55 Clay minerals._____J.___-_--_-________-____________________ 56 Alunite____._____-____--------_-_-.-_-.-.__--__-_.--__-57 Gypsum_ _ _.______..__----_-________._-__-___-____._-__-_ 57 Variscite.--_------------------------------------------.-57 Calcite---------.----------------------------------------58 Origin of the antimony deposits_________________________________ 58 The mines.___________-_____-__-__----_l_-_-_-----_-_---_____----59 San Antonio mine._____-___--_--_-___-__-____---_-_-_-_---__-59 San Joaqufn mine_-__---_---------------------_-_---_--------61 Clavo Negro mine___-----------------------------------------61 New tunnel.__-_-_-____-__.--.--_---_----------__-_._--------62 San Mateo mine____.-__.____---________-_-_________-_l-.__-_ 62 San Luis mine_:___-__--_-.--.------_--_--_---.------_-_--__-63 Santo Domingo mine_____.--_------_-_-_---__--_-_-_-_.-_.-_63 La Pefia mine-.---------.-------------------.----------------64 Santiago mine_______________________________________________ 64 La Blanca mine______-______-----._____-_---______-__-__-.____ 64 El Puerto mine_____.___-__-____-_-_-_---_______-___--_______ 64 El Crest6n mine___-_-____------_--__-_---_-_----___-_-_.-_-65


Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasound and contrast enhanced computed tomography scan in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) and subject all patients clinically suspected of AA to both ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) whole Abdomen.
Methods: It was a prospective and observational study carried on 50 patients with clinical diagnosis of AA, presenting to the surgery emergency ward and referred to Department of Radiodiagnosis, Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.
Results and Conclusions: CT scan has more diagnostic accuracy than ultrasonography. The ultrasound (US) accuracy was 84%, sensitivity was 89.13% and specificity was 75%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 97%, and negative predictive values (NPV) was 37%. Comparing US to CT imaging, this study showed better performance for CT imaging which was 90% accurate, 97.83 sensitive and 100% specific, with PPV of 100% and NPV of 80%.


For eliminating the process of illegal driver's license we have innovated a unique approach for granting a license to who actually deserve. This approach can be implemented with the help of wireless sensor network (WSN) using Bayesian logic classificat ion algorithm along with the help of multi sensor fusion based detection approach. In this approach global positioning system (GPS) is being used for the purpose of comparing test data through map management system. For communication purpose Z IGBEE is used as a gateway. The proposed system is the elimination process of existing scenario to issue Indian driv ing license. For the test the applicant will be provided with a vehicle which is embedded with various sensors such as gyro sensor and RPM ( Revolutions per minute) sensor. Result analysis is done by comparing standard data with the applicants received data.


Objective To investigate the effect of mesenchymal stem cell(MSC) on the balance of Th1/ Th2 with different stimulations.Methods To inoculate MSC in 24-well tissue culture plates.after 3 days, added T lymphocytes co-stimulated by PMA and Ionomycin,or the MSC were added to the two-way mixed lymphocyte culture according to different proportion.The subsets and cytokines of T lymphocytes were analyzed by flow cytomety.Results Differentiation into Th1 of T lymphocytes activated by co-stimulation can be inhibited MSC;In MLC,CD8~+T cell subsets and Th1 were evidently decreased.But Th2 cells were slightly increased.Conclusion MSC can significantly suppress CD8~(+)T cell,Th1,increase Th2.MSC has potentialities of alleviating acute graft-versus-host disease(aGVHD) and maintaining graft versus leukemia(GVL).


Abstract Emulsion polymerization processes are characterized by exothermic reactions with complicated nonlinear dynamics. A very precise temperature control is necessary in order to ensure that the end product satisfies the quality demands. In industry, this issue is addressed by adopting a conservative monomer feed policy such that a robust operation is guaranteed under various disturbing influences. A combination of a monomer feed controller based on jacket temperature constraint and a monomer feed controller based on droplet phase avoidance constraint that optimizes the batch time is analysed in terms of robustness and performance. The simulation results show that the scheme reduces the batch time without harming the quality of the temperature control.


Synopsis Tunnel Lighting and Control System (TLCS) is one of the most critical systems of a road tunnel to ensure safety and to provide visual comfort for the motorists. Aberdeen Tunnel, a 1.9 km long two-tube road tunnel, linking the north and the south of Hong Kong Island, was commissioned in 1982. The existing TLCS has been put in service for over 30 years. Its failure in any aspects will cause inconvenience to tunnel users and adversely affect the traffic to the Southern District or even the whole Hong Kong Island. To enhance reliability and efficiency, the TLCS will be replaced in order to meet current energy efficiency requirements, to provide better lighting control and to be in compliance with the latest design standards. The project will involve the replacement of about 3,600 sets of tunnel luminaires, a lighting control system, and modification of the power supply with dual supply sources.


Background: Child neglect remains a challenge for professionals and the general public to identify and effectively respond to. This thesis provides a broad investigation into professionals and the public's ability to identify and respond to child neglect. In particular exploring how different facets of child neglect impact on identification/taking action.

Aims and Objectives: The main aims of this thesis was to explore and expand the current understanding of factors that impact on professionals and the public identifying and responding to child neglect. The four questions were;
1. What is the current literature on factors that impact on professionals' reporting/responding to child neglect? (Chapter two).
2. What factors impact on family support workers, primary school teachers, and public's ability to identify and respond to child neglect and are they any differences dependent on participant group? (Chapter three).
3. What are the experiences and difficulties of working with child neglect identified by family support workers and primary school teachers? (Chapter four).
4. Is the Family Star (Early Years) (Burns, MacKeith and Greaves, 2015) a suitable tool to support family support workers in identifying and responding to child neglect? (Chapter five).

Method: To answer the first research question a systematic review was completed to explore current literature on what factors impact on professionals' reporting of child neglect (Chapter two). An empirical research study using quantitative measures was used to explore and compare the general public, family support workers and primary school teacher's identification and reporting/taking action when presented with child neglect vignettes (Chapter three). An empirical research study using qualitative measures was used to explore family support workers and primary school teachers' experiences and attitudes towards reporting or taking action when neglect is identified (Chapter four). When professionals have concerns about neglect a framework for assessment can be used to help identify neglect and support them in the most appropriate response. A methodological critique was therefore conducted to explore the psychometric properties of the Family Star (Early Years), a tool commonly used by family support workers to help identify child neglect and signpost where appropriate intervention is necessary (Chapter five).

Overall findings: The systematic review (Chapter two) identified both positive and negative factors that influenced reporting tendencies. Perceived seriousness, correct identification of neglect, and correct knowledge and understanding of mandatory reporting laws have consistently been found to improve reporting tendencies. Negative factors affecting reporting were a lack of knowledge about child neglect, or perceived lack of evidence to report. Results were however inconsistent across papers (e.g. training impacting on reporting tendencies).

The results from the quantitative primary study (Chapter three) showed that overall professionals were significantly more likely to report than the general public, physical neglect was seen as significantly more serious and likely to be reported by all participants compare to emotional neglect. Factors that increased the likelihood of reporting were perceived seriousness and how worrying the vignette was.

The results from the qualitative primary study (Chapter four) showed that early intervention when child neglect was identified was not common practice. Emotional neglect was often deemed 'not serious enough' to report, professionals struggled with policies/funding and multi-agency working that made it difficult for them to respond in every case of child neglect.

The methodological critique of the Family Star (Early Years) identified theoretical support for the outcomes used to identify areas of child neglect, however there remains very little evidence to support its validity and reliability.

Conclusion: Professionals and the general public continue to find child neglect, in particular emotional neglect, difficult to identify and are less likely to respond when it is identified. A better understanding into the serious consequences of emotional neglect, as well as better support for professionals to be able to respond effectively are needed to ensure the continuing protection of children vulnerable to neglect.


Integral expressions for the gate leakage current in a MOSFET are derived on the basis of Schottky emission across the gate insulator and on the internal self-heating due to device power dissipation. Computer evaluation of these integrals yields gate leakage current curves that exhibit the same characteristics observed experimentally.