Common medical conditions are often associated with sleep abnormalities. Patients with medical disorders often suffer from poor sleep quality compared to healthy individuals, which in turn may worsen the symptoms of the disorder. Accurate detection of sleep/wake patterns is important in developing personalized digital markers, which can be used for objective measurements and efficient disease management. Big Data technologies and advanced analytics methods hold the promise to revolutionize clinical research processes, enabling the effective blending of digital data into clinical trials. Actigraphy, a non-invasive activity monitoring method is heavily used to detect and evaluate activities and movement disorders, and assess sleep/wake behavior. In order to study the connection between sleep/wake patterns and a cluster headache disorder, activity data was collected using a wearable device in the course of a clinical trial. This study presents two novel modeling schemes that utilize Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to identify sleep/wake states. The proposed methods are a sequential CNN, reminiscent of the bi-directional CNN for slot filling, and a Multi-Task Learning (MTL) based model. Furthermore, we expand standard "Sleep" and "Wake" activity states space by adding the "Falling asleep" and "Siesta" states. We show that the proposed methods provide promising results in accurate detection of the expanded sleep/wake states. Finally, we explore the relations between the detected sleep/wake patterns and onset of cluster headache attacks, and present preliminary observations.


The application of the network is now widely and deeply spreading.While the net brings convinence to us,it also has brought some problems which should not be ignored.This paper mainly discusses securities problems of the network and states the system structure of network security and its key technology.


Polarization relaxation was studied in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PZN-PT) single crystals that show fatigue anisotropy. To excite prepoled crystals, a modest dc voltage (<1/2 of the coercive field) was applied along the poling direction. Upon removal of the voltage, the polarization decay in the time domain was measured. Experimental data were modeled with a stretched exponential function. Stretching exponent (β〈hkl〉) and characteristic time (τ〈hkl〉) constants for polarization relaxation were determined from data over four decades in the time domain at different stages of bipolar cycling. β〈hkl〉 values after 101 cycles were 0.146±0.002 and 0.247±0.0004 in the 〈001〉 and 〈111〉 orientations, respectively. The β〈111〉 constant increased up to 0.453±0.104 after 105 cycles in 〈111〉 oriented crystals that show fatigue. However, much less change is observed in β〈001〉 as a function of cycling for 〈001〉 crystals. Characteristic time constants for relaxation (τ〈hkl〉) were calculated for 〈001〉 and 〈111〉 orientations as ...


The morphological properties of cat retinal ganglion cells projecting to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus were studied by using retrograde labeling, in vitro intracellular injection, confocal optical section, and computer three‐dimensional reconstruction techniques. A total of 218 stained cells were studied. Neither the dendritic fields nor soma diameters of SCN‐projecting cells varied with eccentricity. Approximately 50% of cells were concentrated not in the area centralis, but rather in the visual streak. SCN‐projecting cells showed large and symmetrical dendritic fields (596 ± 159 μm) and medium to small sized somas (17.2 ± 3.3 μm). The ramification patterns of SCN‐projecting cells were similar. Most cells primarily ramify in either sublamina A or B. Evidence from quantitatively analyzed cells (n = 39) suggests that these cells ramified more frequently in sublamina A (n = 17) than in sublamina B (n = 8). A large number of cells, on the other hand, showed diffuse ramification (n = 14) throughout the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The functional roles of these cells and the corresponding retinal neurocircuitry in circadian entrainment remain to be studied. J. Comp. Neurol. 414:267–274, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We report on picosecond laser-induced damage experiments that were carried out on a natural type-IIa diamond and a thick specimen of high-quality chemically vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond. In conjunction with earlier measurements performed elsewhere on an `optically thick' single crystal, it is shown that for spot sizes (2 (omega) ) ranging from 3 to 60 micrometers , the breakdown field strength (EBD) at the damage threshold of diamond obeys a pattern best described as follows: EBD approximately equals A/(root)2(omega) , where A equals 30.7 and 38.7 MV(mu) 1/2/cm at 532 and 1064 nm, respectively. The case of CVD diamond demonstrates that, if problems arising from localized high absorption at the deposition surface can be avoided, this material should be of much promise for contemplated high-power free-electron laser window applications. We show that corrections for self- focusing in laser damage experiments depend not only on the peak pulse power but also on the position of the diffraction prefocus and the length of the Rayleigh range.


Insect pathology has a long history dating back to the earliest studies in microbiology. A select few of the many known insect pathogens can be produced and used on an industrial scale as biopesticides and are championed for their low environmental impact. The commercial application of microbial insecticides has been limited competition with chemical insecticides. However, the advent of gene technology led to a multibillion dollar industry incorporating bacterial toxins into insect resistant transgenic crops, and in the development of expression vectors. Recent use of insect pathogens in Australia has demonstrated that these biopesticides can play a significant role in mainstream commercial agriculture for the management of multiple-insecticide resistant pests and maintenance and in integrated pest management.


Judge Lynn Ratushny's Self-Defence Review (SDR) of the cases of women convicted of homicide for killing violent male partners presents a significant opportunity for the integration of feminist activism and analysis into the legal understanding of self-defense, the legal system's complicity in male violence against women, and the violence of systemic racism. The author uses the objectives of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies to assess the work of the SDR, concluding that while the SDR accomplished some goals that could not have otherwise been achieved, the SDR was constrained by its political location and by the women's need for confidentiality such that many feminist aspirations were ultimately compromised.


Studies on systematics of genus Hynobius based on morphology,karyotype and molecular phylogeny of Hynobius are reviewed along with existing questions of this genus.The future potential reaserch project on Hynobius is perspectively outlined.


Direct studies of the levels of estradiol and progesterone in the uterine vein, uterus, and uterine tube as well as in the general circulation confirmed the existence of a mechanism of countercurrent transfer of hormones which is responsible for development of local uterine and tubal hyperhormonemia. This is of great importance in the physiology and pathology of the female reproductive system.


There are many compelling reasons for introducing foreign language study at the middle school level. Adolescents are initiating new and higher levels of cognitive processing, their curiosity is high, and they are concerned with intellectual, philosophical, biological, sociological, moral, and ethical issues. A survey of 82 middle school fore n language programs in Georgia investigated the characteristics of the schools, program teachers and administrators, program design and content, language enrollment as a percentage of overall enrollment, instructional materials, curriculum design and emphases, and grading practices. Analysis of survey responses by school principals and program teachers revealed the following: a high percentage of teachers had specialist degrees (unspecified); many teachers had substantial years of experience; the most common program design is exploratory instruction for 6 weeks; while many programs report using texts, these are most likely high school texts, which may be inappropriate; it appears that many teachers write the curricula themselves; and language learning expectations are high despite short time periods assigned to language study. Compiled responses are presented and the 21-item questionnaire is appended. (MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Foreign Language Study in Georgia Middle Schools Michael G. Allen & David Alley Introduction Global education is one of many current activities in public education today (Global Education, 1991). That our world is "smaller" due to the globalization of national economies and as the result of instant world-wide communication through the use of satellites and availability of real-time transmission of information is axiomatic. Global education is one response to such mind boggling realities. An important component of any educational effort to globalize American education is the integration of cross-cultural studies into the curriculum. And, an important aspect of such efforts is foreign language student. From 1986 to 1991 enrollments in foreign language study in Georgia's middle grades schools increased by almost 80% (Comparative Data, 1992). Nationwide, the growth in middle school foreign language programs has surpassed similar, impressive growth at the secondary level. Despite this increase in enrollments, little is known about the objectives, organization, and evaluation of these new middle school programs. In Georgia, like most states, more is known about how many students are enrolled in foreign language study, than about what it is they actually study. U s DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Oafee of EduCahonal Resealch and Im m proveent EDUCATIONAL REsouRCES INFORMATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) kt)\ j/Trua document nos been febtOduced as teoe(ood ftorn the oetson 0, 0,0amZIO.On ohg,hahng .t r Mnot changes nave been made to tmotove repf0dUCW3n Ctuah's Pomts of ..e. 0 ocmons stared .n UlmdOCu rnent do not necessanly reptesent off(LAt OF RI oos.00n or boi(cy 1 2 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES `4FORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Characteristics of the Age Group and Appropriateness of Foreign Language Study There are many compelling reasons for introducing foreign languages at the middle grades level. The intellectual development characteristics of early adolescence best describe why these youngsters are both interested in and capable of studying a foreign language successfully. Briefly, the intellectual nature of young adolescents is changing in fairly dramatic ways (This We Believe, 1992). Many youngsters are "initiating new and higher level(s) of cognitive process(ing) because of brain growth..." (This We Believe, p. 11). Thinking skills initiated earlier in the schooling process are refined, with or without instructional support, and usually result in "consolidation, refinement, and maturation of (those) thinking skills..." (This We Believe, p. 12). Early adolescents curiosity remains unbounded and they thoroughly enjoy both intellectual and manipulative activities in the classroom. They exhibit a strong preference for active involvement over passive recipiency. A singular lack of intellectual inhibition and need for learning related to immediate personal goals and interests also mark the age group. Finally, foreign language study is a worthy intellectual pursuit for early adolescents because "In their search for identity...(they) seek to understand the meaning (Believe, p. 12). And in spite of adult opinions and perceptions to the contrary these youngsters are "concerned with intellectual, philosophical, biological, sociological, moral, and ethical issues" (This We Believe, p. 12). The time period of early adolescence is ar excellent one for initiating foreign language study. Such efforts can reap great intellectual, social and cultural


In this paper, the authors have considered a coded cooperative based multi-relay Device to Device (D2D) system for underlay 5G cognitive radio networks. The Coded cooperation, a cooperative relaying technique is an attractive choice for bandwidth efficiency and better connectivity. The Outage Probability expression is derived for the proposed system considering the interference limit between the secondary D2D user system and the primary user system over the Nakagami-m fading channel. The effect of the channel parameter and number of relays (M) on the outage performance is also studied.


Men who have sex with men( MSM) have become one of the three major populations for infecting of HIV / AIDS in China. The definition of MSM,the prevalent status of HIV / AIDS and the challenges of their own factors and social factors in HIV / AIDS prevention of MSM in Inner Mongolia are summarized in this paper for offering reference to intervention and research work of MSM population in the future.


The invention provides a method for adjusting displaying brightness and electronic equipment. The method comprises: at least two brightness values of ambient light within preset time are obtained; according to the at least two brightness values, whether the ambient light is stable is determined; and when the ambient light is not stable, the display screen brightness is adjusted to at a first target value at a first speed; and when the ambient light is stable, the display screen brightness is adjusted to at a second target value at a second speed, wherein the first speed is lower than the second speed. Therefore, a phenomenon that the display screen brightness is switched rapidly under the circumstance that the ambient brightness changes quickly can be avoided, so that the power consumption can be reduced and a splash screen phenomenon can be prevented. The method has beneficial effects that the eyesight of the user can be protected and the user experience can be improved.


Deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by loss-of-function mutations in the ADA2 gene. DADA2 typically presents in childhood and is characterized by vasculopathy, stroke, inflammation, and immunodeficiency as well as hematologic manifestations, such as bone marrow failure and lymphoproliferation. The ADA2 protein is predominantly expressed in stimulated monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages. ADA2 increases in the setting of inflammation and/or infection conditions. ADA2 has been reported to have a critical role in maintaining the balance between M1 (pro-inflammatory) and M2 (anti-inflammatory) macrophages. Macrophages of DADA2 patients are polarized towards M1 subset., DADA2 pathogenesis is not well characterized. To elucidate molecular mechanisms in DADA2 deficiency, we analyzed a gene expression profile of CD14+ monocytes derived from peripheral blood using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).
 Blood was collected from DADA2 patients and age- and sex-matched healthy donors; all patients were studied in a registered research protocol (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00071045). Samples were obtained from 14 DADA2 patients and 6 healthy donors; median age of the DADA2 patients was 23 years old (range, 5 - 57 years). Among the 14 patients, 7 had hematological phenotypes: 5 lymphopenia, 3 neutropenia, 3 thrombocytopenia, and 2 with hypocellular bone marrow histology. Low serum immunoglobulins and cutaneous findings were frequent. Nine of the 14 patients had been treated with TNF inhibitors (etanercept and adalimumab). Mutations were distributed throughout the ADA2 gene; although two siblings had the same mutation, even they showed poor genotype-phenotype correlation. Monocytes were isolated by immunomagnetic positive selection with the EasySep™ positive CD14 selection kit Ⅱ, then subjected to scRNA-seq using Single Cell 3' Reagent Kits v2 (10X Genomics). Libraries for scRNA-seq were sequenced on the HiSeq-3000 instrument.
 Based on scRNA-seq data, we could classify monocytes into three populations by conventional flow cytometric criteria using cell surface protein expression imputed from scRNA-seq: CD14++CD16- classical, CD14++CD16+ intermediate, and CD14+CD16++ nonclassical monocytes (Figure A). CD16 expression was higher in DADA2 patients than in healthy donors (Figure B). A proportion of nonclassical monocytes among total monocytes were significantly higher in DADA2 patients compared to healthy donors (Figure C). On comparison of gene expression of each monocyte subtypes in DADA2 patients with that of healthy donors, there were 215, 237, and 267 differentially expressed upregulated genes in classical, intermediate, and nonclassical monocytes, respectively (at a threshold avg_logFC > 0.2). Approximately 35% of upregulated genes were overlapped among the three monocyte subtypes of DADA2 patients, including immune response genes such as IFITM1, IFITM2, IFITM3, and C3AR1 (Figure D). Common gene pathways were associated with immune function, such as interferon alpha/beta signaling and interferon gamma signaling. Specific genes to classical and intermediate monocytes were less than 10% of all the upregulated genes. Distinctively, the NF-κB pathway was upregulated in nonclassical monocytes, this might contribute to the pathogenesis of DADA2 as inflammatory disease. Overall, each monocyte subtype of DADA2 patients showed upregulation of immune response gene sets compared to controls. DADA2 patients have increased numbers of nonclassical monocytes which may contribute the immune dysregulation and increased inflammation observed in the disease.
 Figure

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Using the oxide of high melting-point and high stability to pin the grain boundaries is an effective method to improve the welding performance of the HSLA steel in this study. A kind of HSLA steel is designed in this experiment. The thermal stability second phase particles which would not be dissolved or aggregated at high temperature will be expected by means of adding calcium and magnesium simultaneously into the steel in the form of Si-Ca alloy and Mg-Zr alloy. The effect of calcium and magnesium addition on the cast microstructure and inclusions of HSLA steel were analyzed. The results show that the cast microstructure is mainly consist of lamellar and acicular ferrite, a small amount of pearlite and bainite. Compared with the original steel, there are bainites presenting in the experimental steel after adding 3 wt% Ca and 3 wt% Mg at the same time.


Surprisingly, a clean Diels—Alder reaction occurs between 2-furylmethanethiol (I) and maleic acid in Et2O furnishing exclusively the exo-adduct (III) in excellent yield.


The objectives of this review are to determine if the ADRS and the QIDS have sufficient measurement properties according to the COSMIN guidelines, to evaluate the quality of this evidence, and to determine whether these OMIs meet at least minimum COSMIN criteria to support their use in youth with MDD and consideration for inclusion in a COS for this population (i.e., sufficient content validity (any level) AND at least low quality evidence for sufficient internal consistency).


It is often done as a result of, for examples, despair, depression, mental disorders, bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence or drug abuse. The factors that also causes suicide include financial difficulties or problems in interpersonal relationship. Efforts to prevent suicide among other things are by limiting access to firearms, caring for mental illness and drug abuse, as well as improving economic conditions.


The microstructure effect on dry friction and wear of steel En 31 was evaluated by SEM, Rockwell C hardness, and dry sliding tests, using various heat treatments (full annealing, normalizing, water quenching, and spheroidizing). Full annealing resulted in max. wear loss whereas the martensitic structure had high wear resistance. A structure consisting of martensite, carbide, and retained austenite had the highest wear resistance. The dry wear in air was controlled by both oxidn. and wear mechanisms.


This research looks at trade between the eastern Mediterranean (Phoenician world) and the Aegean world. It provides a long-term-perspective, namely spanning the early Iron Age contacts to the end of the Persian period (late eleventh to late fourth century BC). It envisages these exchanges outside the contexts of conflict and ethnic opposition, and beyond the dividing line drawn between classical culture and Semitic cultures, elucidating the ongoing relationships that existed between Greece and the eastern world. Two key issues have been identified in this work. Firstly, if Greek fine pottery cannot be interpreted in terms of "international trade" and does not by itself justify the creation of a network, they can still be used as "archaeological markers of networks" because their marketing fits into established trade flows for basic products. We propose a new reconstruction of networks rooted in a periodization whose starting point is material culture and in which any significant change can be observed in terms of "economic performance". It reflects the overall political changes in these areas, trying to break away from the simple narrative history. On the other hand, the main series of imported ceramics have been identified and we provide new insights into the production centres, by comparing our results to the wider Mediterranean setting. Then, to understand the true meaning of the "marketing" of these ceramics, this research takes into account the contexts of reception by addressing consumer choice and reception of these products in the Phoenician cultural context.


Today, with the global boundaries diffusing, working with the team members across the globe is norm of the day and definitely working with people with different backgrounds, different cultures and opinions poses challenges of a different kind. We need to appreciate that soft skills have harder impact on the end results and dovetail their working styles by integrating leadership qualities. Furthermore, dynamic and uncertain environments call for a renewed approach for executing projects at a global level. Conventionally, project execution strategies have evolved around the project objectives of the performing organisation and the client. Today, Project Success transcends beyond evaluating the performance based on traditional Key Performance Indices (KPI) – Cost, Quality & Time and requires focusing on multifaceted stakeholder perspectives incl. their feelings & emotions. We need to recognize the fact that Stakeholders' feelings & emotions are at interplay and govern the projects outcome. Shift in the strategy and working with higher level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has led to emergence of "Project Leaders". Working with higher EI, integrating Change Leadership with project management processes & methodology and adopting traffic light approach: Pause  Reflect  Respond as against "Fight, Flight or Freeze" reaction have helped in effectively managing the operational challenges of executing multiple projects at a global level.


Significance
 This is not the first time Kenya has taken aim at the refugee camps it hosts; it has been pushing to close them since 2013.

 Impacts
 COVID-19-related movement restrictions have already complicated existing returns programmes and would hamper any new plans.
 Refugees contribute strongly to local economies and any viable returns plan will need to consider how to support former host communities.
 The threat of closure will create fear among refugee communities, as Kenya has the capacity to make their lives uncomfortable.


The term rank of a matrix A is the least number of lines (rows or columns) needed to include all the nonzero entries in A. In this paper, we obtain a characterization of linear transformations that preserve term ranks of matrices over antinegative semirings. That is, we show that a linear transformation T from a matrix space into another matrix space over antinegative semirings preserves term rank if and only if T preserves any two term ranks k and l.


Abstract The Yakataga Glacier occupies a steep-walled valley in the Robinson Mountains on the north coast of the Gulf of Alaska. The main trunk of the glacier descends from 1130 to 150 m. in a distance of 21 km. A rock fall at the head of the glacier formed a moraine of distinctive shape which advanced at an average rate of 114 m./yr. from 1938 to 1954. The surface velocity of the glacier at fifteen stations below the firn line was calculated from the displacement of the rock-fall moraine and other less conspicuous features that are shown in two sets of vertical aerial photographs, taken in 1948 and 1954. For this time interval the average surface velocity along the medial line of the glacier ranged from a maximum of about 90 m./yr. at a station 14 km. above the terminus to zero at a station 2.3 km. above the terminus. The technique of photogrammetric measurement of surface velocity by using natural features on the surface of a glacier has wide application in Alaska, where many glaciers have been rephotographed from the air after intervals of a few years to as many as thirty years.


A modified, phase commutated converter with an improved power factor is presented and is analyzed for both rectifying and inverting modes. The optimal power factor firing control is formulated while taking into account commutation overlaps. Different modes of converter operation are identified and are analyzed in terms of reactive power requirements, power factor and harmonic distortion on both AC and DC sides. The results are used to compare critically the new converter with a conventional 6-pulse bridge.


We conducted an engineering failure analysis of retrieved acetabular cups. From one centre, 37 properly-marked components were retrieved. The details of the patients were noted. Of the 37 components, 27 were brought to the laboratory for an engineering investigation of the cause of failure. A further 10 components were also taken to the biochemistry laboratory within an hour of retrieval, with tissue removed from the patients. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether any proteins were deposited inside the cups and to see whether there was wear debris on either the retrieved component or in the tissue surrounding the prosthesis. We used visual inspection, colour-dye penetrant, stereo-microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and mass-spectometric analysis to examine the cups. Debris was captured using 0.4-um filters. We found mechanical failure in vivo is mainly caused by plastic flow. Fretting is the second most likely cause of failure. Both of these are indicative of localised overheating between the acetabular component and the ceramic femoral head. The most likely cause of the overheating is lack of lubrication. With electrophoresis it became evident that at some time in their in-vivo service these cups had reached temperatures exceeding 60°C. These temperatures were confirmed on a five-poster hip simulator. We suggest that an in-depth study be undertaken to establish the method of in-vivo lubrication and the lubricity of the available lubricant.


Room temperature covalent bonds between bonded silicon oxide layers can be realized by forming surface and subsurface absorption layers followed by terminating outmost bonding surfaces with desired bonding groups prior to bonding. For example, by introducing fluorine into bonding oxide layers and NH2 groups onto surfaces of bonding oxide layers before bonding, bonding energy equivalent to silicon fracture energy (2500mJ∕m2) has been realized at room temperature after storage in air. Fluorine incorporation causes Si–O–Si ring breaking leading to fluorinated oxide formation with lower density, thus facilitating a higher diffusion rate of polymerization by-products and enhanced moisture absorptivity. Results indicate that by-products of the polymerization reaction between NH2 groups on mating surfaces appear to be more easily diffused and dispersed away from the bonding interface by the low density fluorinated oxide than are polymerization by-products of OH groups. This enhanced by-product removal results in...


It is well known that the aging process of bitumens differs based on their origin and composition. Due to a combination of traffic loading and life cycle aging, changes may occur in the bitumen properties and its fatigue resistance. The Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) method is a specific energy-based testing approach that has been successfully used for the fracture characterization of semi-ductile or ductile materials. The method identifies the essential work necessary for ductile fracture (we) and provides a way of measuring the strain tolerance of bitumens in the form of Critical Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD). Previous studies showed that the CTOD of the traditional laboratory aged bitumens and asphalts correlates well with fatigue performance in Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) lanes at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC). Dynamic shear testing of the bitumens extracted from in-situ ALF aged asphalts have indicated that bitumens suffer an embrittlement process that is usually more severe than that determined through traditional laboratory aging methods. This paper discusses the CTOD test results for the laboratory and in-situ aged bitumens used in the TFHRC ALF lanes and their relation with in service performance.


KRAS mutation is a common point mutation which occurs in ~30% of all human cancers. Early assessment of KRAS mutation status is critical for prediction of clinical treatment outcomes. However, current diagnostic methods are based on either polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) or next-generation-sequencing (NGS) analysis of biopsy samples, which are complex, time consuming, and lack portability. Here, we report a cost-effective smartphone-based fluorescence microscopy platform for detection of KRAS point mutations by imaging targeted DNA sequencing reactions in preserved tumor slides. Smartphone-based KRAS mutation detection was conducted in two steps: 1) in situ rolling-circle-amplification (RCA) combined with ligation chemistry to label wild type/mutant strains with different fluorescent colors, and 2) rapidly scanning the sample by a smartphone microscope to quantify mutant-to-wild type ratios. This smartphone microscope contains two laser diodes (532 and 638 nm) for dual-color fluorescence detection (Cy3 & Cy5) and an additional white LED for brightfield imaging. We first imaged and analyzed synthetic or extracted DNA from model cell lines captured and amplified on glass slides. The smartphone fluorescence microscope was able to detect as low as 1fM target DNA sequence, and demonstrated a high sequencing depth (1:1000 mutant:wild type ratio), comparable to the sensitivity of FDA-approved KRAS PCR-based tests. Furthermore, the device was applied for in situ mutation detection in cell lines and real patient tumor slices. A machine learning algorithm was also developed to improve the recognition of target signals against the nonspecific background. Overall, smartphone-based in situ mutation detection resulted in 100% concordance to clinical NGS analysis.


Languages evolve and change over time. Accordingly, texts that were written a hundred years ago may become incomprehensible, such as hundred-year-old Turkish texts. Additionally, making old written work accessible to today's generation requires qualified writers, who are responsible for the process of conversion. Unfortunately, that is costly in both time and resources. To work out this problem, we develop an automatic style conversion system. We formulate our problem as a machine translation problem and use the recently popularized Neural Machine Translation techniques. Furthermore, we introduce a data-driven approach to align source and target word vectors. Although we do not introduce new model components over the standard RNN encoder-decoder, the way we utilize monolingual data to pre-train our word vectors lead to significant improvements. Despite the simplicity of our approach, we outperform complex approaches. We achieve a BLEU score of 33.8 points, improving our baseline by 12 points.


Some antitumor activities of component (E), extracted from the root of Fagopynum Cymosum (Trev) Meisn (FCTM), have recently been discovered in vivo and in vitro. The component E (CE)'s pattern of action with tumor cellular DNA at the molecular pharmacological level was investigated by macromolecular synthesis experiment (MSE) and human DNA interaction system established in our laboratory. The experiments demonstrated that, in vitro, the agent could markedly inhibit the incorporation of 3H-TdR into the cellular DNA, and the IC50 in P388 leukemia cell and in SGC-7901 cell was 17.86 μg/ml and 110.4 μg/ml, respectively. The agent, at mg/ml level, could produce an intercalation reversion pattern with DNA within a short time (2 hours). But when the interval was prolonged for over 4 hours, the action changed to intercalation irreversible pattern. According to these observations, the authors infer that CE interacts with DNA in two ways - directly and indirectly. The indirect action, especially in low concentr


For a holomorphic proper map F from the ball B n + 1 into B N + 1 that is C 3 smooth up to the boundary, the image M = F(∂ B n ) is an immersed CR submanifold in the sphere ∂ B N + 1 on which some second fundamental forms II M and II CRM can be defined. It is shown that when 4 ≤ n + 1 < N + 1 ≤ 4 n − 3, F is linear fractional if and only if II M − II CRM ≡ 0.


In view of problems in the maintenance of a digital library system nowadays,the importance and some aspects of digital library maintenance are analysed in this paper,the characteristics and main measures for the maintenance of a digital library are analyzed.Further development and maintenance in future are discussed.


We have proposed the multi-frequency excitation method for eddy current testing to get much more information on crack profile (where they are, how large they are …etc). We have made clear the effectiveness of this method, however, the mechanism of the variation of spectrogram hasn't been revealed yet, so it is shown by using two-dimensional boundary element method and the crack shape identification has been done by reformulating the integral equation of boundary element method inversely.


The need for qualitative study of human factors in the field of thermal comfort is well established, particularly within the context of naturally ventilated buildings where adaptation plays a significant role in occupant comfort. It is argued that qualitative methods which adopt a view of comfort as a socio-cultural achievement, rather than an engineering problem, are better suited to identifying hidden issues which affect occupant comfort and satisfaction, and adding depth to known issues. This paper presents the results of a pilot study which aimed to test and refine a qualitative thermal comfort research methodology, particularly the use of semi-structured interviews. The pilot study building, a small office in a suburban, residential setting, was predominantly naturally ventilated and afforded a high level of adaptive opportunity to occupants. The results highlight the importance of cultural and contextual factors that facilitate, or limit, comfort-related adaptations, and the benefits of using interviews to draw out these understandings.


Lead and cadmium content of different brands and sizes (N=38) of dry cell batteries (zinc-carbon Leclanche systems) available in Nigeria were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry after acid digestion. The average Pb and Cd content of the dry cells are 1077.9±751.7mg/kg (Range 42-3170mg/kg) and 108.3±81.4mg/kg (Range 4.6-410mg/kg) respectively. The mean Pb and Cd contents of dry cells with metal outer cover were significantly lower (p Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10 (3) 2006: 37-41


Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumourous which occurs in childhood. The most important factors which influence possible cure of patients with a retinoblastoma are early detection of the disease, correct diagnosis and adequate therapy. In the submitted case-record the authors provide evidence of the importance of cytological examination of cerebrospinal fluid which is important in retinoblastoma in particular for the follow-up of treatment. Cytological examination of cerebrospinal fluid in this type of tumour is very reliable and can reveal infiltration of tumour cells into the CNS much sooner than imaging methods.


BACKGROUND
This study investigated the relationship between school connectedness and health risk behaviors, specifically, substance abuse, violence-related behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, and suicidal ideation among school-going adolescents. School connectedness was understood to encompass a range of aspects pertaining to a learner's sense of belonging to the school. We hypothesized that strong perceptions of school connectedness will more likely be associated with lower levels of risk behaviors among school-going adolescents.

METHODS
The study was conducted in 2 neighboring public co-educational schools in Durban, South Africa. Independent measures assessed school connectedness, substance abuse, violence-related behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, and suicidal ideation.

RESULTS
Strong negative correlations were found between adolescents' perceptions of school connectedness and the 4 health risk behaviors, particularly suicidal ideation. The relative importance of risk factors was also evidenced in the sample.

CONCLUSIONS
Adolescents with lower perceptions of school connectedness were more likely to engage in various risk behaviors, supporting the literature that a lack of school connectedness can act as a risk factor for adolescent involvement in clustering of risk behaviors. Further the relative weighting of individual risk factors, it is argued, was an effect of the sociocultural context of the study.


The pervasiveness of phishing signals the insufficiency of current measures. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we conducted an eye-tracking study on how and where users look when they have to classify an email as phishing or legitimate. Furthermore, we investigated whether there is a difference between expert and non-expert subjects. The study showed firstly, better performance in recognising phishing emails by experts. Secondly, eye movement data showed the use of different email inspection methods between experts and non-experts. This could open up scenarios in the area of the improvement of training courses and the development of more intuitive email client interfaces in the suggestion of important clues in the recognltion of phishing emails.


Rectangular mortise and tenon construction has been widely used in barns and other buildings in this and other countries, and there is a long history of its performance. Round mortise and tenon joints are essentially a modern variation of this construction. They are much easier to manufacture because 1) the tenons can be cut with hole saws; and 2) the mortises can be drilled rather than chiseled. As a result, this method of construction lends itself to mass production techniques. Using this construction, a variety of modular building frames can be constructed tinker toy style from a relatively small set of standardized parts. Potentially, this system provides an outlet for small-diameter tree stems that are presently of essentially no economic value, but more importantly, it provides the basis for solving numerous housing and other building shortages in underdeveloped regions at the cottage industry level. To obtain insights into the specific characteristics and peculiarities of round mortise and tenon joint building frame construction, a small building was designed and constructed utilizing this system. A description of the building and the lessons learned from its construction are given in this paper.


This study explores the relationship between tax-cut policy, accounting conservatism, and corporate tax burden stickiness in Chinese listed companies from 2008 to 2019. The primary objective is to identify the underlying reasons for continued high levels of corporate tax burdens despite the introduction of tax-cut policies. An econometric model was developed to analyze the transmission mechanism of these policies affecting corporate tax burden stickiness to achieve this goal. The tax burden stickiness refers to the mismatch between the objective and subjective tax burdens. Results reveal four primary findings: Firstly, macro tax-cut policies induced micro-enterprises to soften their accounting conservatism, leading to increased corporate tax burden stickiness. Secondly, the reduced quality of corporate accounting reports, influenced by tax-cut policies, contributes to corporate income tax burden stickiness. In contrast, the VAT tax burden remains unaffected. Thirdly, compared to state-owned enterprises, private enterprises responded more sensitively to tax reduction policies by significantly decreasing their accounting conservatism level and increasing corporate tax burden stickiness. Finally, high-tech manufacturing enterprises recorded the highest increase in corporate tax burden stickiness, suggesting that different robust accounting policies exist across various industries and may be critical factors determining corporate tax burden stickiness. In practical terms, this study provides important insights into improving businesses' understanding of tax burden patterns, enabling improved resource allocation of taxes accordingly. Additionally, it focuses on enhancing accounting conservatism to alleviate the pain of high tax burdens on such businesses. Ultimately, minimizing the stickiness of tax burdens will allow fiscal and taxation policies to better flex their regulatory muscles toward achieving effective and stable economic growth.


ABSTRACT The novel Balakrishnan skew-normal distribution introduced in 2008 has received considerable interest. Here, we derive stochastic representations for simulating order statistics of the novel Balakrishnan skew-normal distribution. The resulting algorithms are more efficient than the ordinary sorting algorithm.


Real-world experimentation facilities accelerate the development of Future Internet technologies and services, advance the market for smart infrastructures, and increase the effectiveness of business processes through the Internet. The federation of facilities fosters the experimentation and innovation with larger and more powerful environment, increases the number and variety of the offered services and brings forth possibilities for new experimentation scenarios. This paper introduces a management solution for cloud federation that automates service provisioning to the largest possible extent, relieves the developers from time-consuming configuration settings, and caters for real-time information of all information related to the whole lifecycle of the provisioned services. This is achieved by proposing solutions to achieve the seamless deployment of services across the federation and ability of services to span across different infrastructures of the federation, as well as monitoring of the resources and data which can be aggregated with a common structure, offered as an open ecosystem for innovation at the developers' disposal. This solution consists of several federation management tools and components that are part of the work on Cloud Federation conducted within XIFI project to build the federation of cloud infrastructures for the Future Internet Lab (FIWARE Lab). We present the design and implementation of the solution-concerned FIWARE Lab management tools and components that are deployed within a federation of 17 cloud infrastructures distributed across Europe.


Trospectomycin can be prepared in five steps from spectinomycin. The overall yield of the process is 13.3%. The synthesis involves a new oxidation of silyl enol ether 4 to enone 5 by use of an alkyl hydroperoxide. This reaction is mild and very selective, giving excellent yields. The synthesis also involves a γ-alkylation of enone 5 activated by a β-oxygen. This alkylation is unusual in that no alkylation is seen at the a (4') carbon


Abstract Quality of life (QOL) and sexual function are important variables in the general health of women of reproductive age. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and sexual function and QOL. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 482 women of reproductive age referring to women health centers in 2017. The WHO QOL questionnaire and the female sexual function index used as tools. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, post-hoc tests and Pearson correlation coefficient and p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. The mean age of the samples was 31.8 ± 7.64. The results showed that 162 (33.6%) of women had normal BMI, 200 (41.5%) of them were overweight and 120 (24.9%) were obese. Sexual desire (p < 0.001), sexual arousal (p = 0.001), lubrication (p = 0.001), orgasm (p < 0.001) and satisfaction (p = 0.008) decreased with increasing BMI and this reduction was statistically significant. On the other hand, there was a significant negative relationship between all aspects of QOL with BMI (p = 0.001). The present study showed that obesity and weight gain are negative factors for sexual function and women's QOL, as well as sexual desire, orgasm and marital satisfaction decrease with increasing BMI.


The effects of sulphur on a Pd( > 99.9 %) surface on the adsorption of CO and the adsorption and decomposition of NO were studied by combined use of Auger electron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. CO and NO were molecularly adsorbed on Pd at 298 K and the amount of adsorbed CO or NO decreased linearly as the amount of sulphur on the Pd surface increased. NO decomposed at 573 K to form nitrogen gas and adsorbed atomic oxygen was observed by u.p.s. with a binding energy of 6 eV. The decomposition of NO is inhibited by surface sulphur more sharply than the adsorption of CO and NO and is stopped when the surface sulphur reaches a coverage of 0.3. The poisoning effects of sulphur are discussed in terms of the electronic interaction between Pd and NO, CO or S.


The article describes the cluster of methodological approaches to the study of such a mass socio-historical phenomenon of the Great Patriotic War as servicewomen. The author suggests an original research strategy for this problem. The selection of methodological approaches is justified.


Plastic deformation with different levels was carried out by means of uniaxial tension tests at room temperature(25℃)for 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel.The relationship between plastic deformation and content ofα′- martensite phase was obtained by means of ferrmagnetometor.The corrosion behaviour of 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel with different levels of plastic deformation was studied by means of chemical immersion method and electrochemical method in acetic acid solution containing Br~-.The cold working deformation induced martensitic phase transformation,which resulted in increase in corrosion rate and decrease in pitting potential and pitting corrosion sensibility of deformed 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel in acetic acid containing Br~- ion. However,the corrosion resistance of 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel with 18%-27% plastic deformation was improved.


OBJECTIVE
To prepare antigen specific cytokine induced killer(CIK) cells.

METHODS
Soluble antigen was prepared from tumor cells by repetitive freeze-thaw method. Cell killing activity is measured by MTT.

RESULTS
Cytotoxic activity was compared among CIK cells derived under three different conditions. (1) CIK cells prepared in the presence of the same tumor antigen fed dendritic cells (DC); (2) CIK cells prepared in the presence of DC without feeding the same tumor antigen; (3) CIK cells derived in the absence of DC. Among the three groups tested, DC-A-CIK cells showed the highest cytotoxic activity.

CONCLUSION
Soluble target tumor antigen fed DC can significantly enhance the specificity and cytotoxicity of CIK cells to tumor target cells.


In the quantitative risk analysis (QRA) of O & G equipment, it is necessary to consider the application of cognitive models (in use in the nuclear industry), which can very effectively predict human performance. First generation Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods are used in O&G primarily in an emergency scenario QRA and second-generation methods for design and normal operation. These methods can be inefficient. First generation HRA models do not have a cognitive architecture capable of processing human information. Second-generation models consider mechanisms of cognitive errors. Most of third generation HRA models are dynamic simulations of cognitive tasks, coupled with an event/accident simulation code, often designed more for human-machine interface assessment than for human error analysis. There are also cognitive psychology models designed to assess human performance without the intention of serving as HRA tools. These models have a detailed understanding of the cognitive mechanisms of human error, which is the key to a complete HRA model. One of these models, ACT-R, contains adequate quantification to serve as an HRA model. This article discusses cognitive psychology models and their internal structures in human information processing to provide human error probabilities that arise from the architecture itself and are not dependent on Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs), which are quantified by HRA current methodologies.


Conserving habitats and ecosystem is the key to species conservation. Habitat is defined as the place where an organism lives and an ecosystem as the interaction or functioning between a community of organisms and their nonliving environment (Odum, 1963). Degradation of habitat and ecosystem leads to lowered population size and extirpation. Freshwaters and especially rivers and wetlands are amongst the most imperiled and worlds most severely impacted and have received many of the direct effects of human activities McAllister et al (2001). Humans mainly induce extinctions by causing habitat loss (Wilcove et al, 1998). The ecological changes brought about by river valley developmental programmes adversely affect both the migratory and non-migratory species of fishes. An analysis by Postel (1996) indicates that humans presently use 54% of the geographically and seasonally accessible runoff. Demands by the year 2025 may increase to more than 70% of accessible runoff. The existing and growing friction between countries over shared waterways shows that humans are already facing water shortages that are international in scope. Dams are a principal threat to freshwater diversity and that threat is largely mediated through loss of habitat frequently involving modifications to the natural flow regime and to blockage of migrations McAllister et al (2001). The 1996 IUCN Red List of threatened animals, list 617 freshwater fishes (including euryhaline species); about 6% of the known number of freshwater fishes. The red list has evaluated


We have fabricated and characterized the Nb/Al-AlO/sub x/-Nb/Al-AlO/sub x/-Nb three-terminal double junction Josephson device in which the phase difference across the whole device is controlled by the tunnel current flowing through one of the junctions. The device reveals current gain about 10 and has good isolation of the input and output circuits.<<ETX>>


The QUIC transport protocol has several features that are desirable in
a transport for HTTP/2, such as stream multiplexing, per-stream flow
control, and low-latency connection establishment. This document
describes a mapping of HTTP/2 semantics over QUIC. Specifically, this
document identifies HTTP/2 features that are subsumed by QUIC, and
describes how the other features can be implemented atop QUIC.


Objective: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) conveys temporal as well as anatomic information about brain infarction, and is therefore well suited to identify ischemic injury that has occurred simultaneously, or closely linked in time, with a transient ischemic attack (TIA). We aimed to determine the proportion and clinical characteristics of patients with TIA who harbor infarction(s) on DWI. Methods: Using T2-weighted imaging (T2-WI), fast fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and DWI, we studied 57 consecutive patients presenting with acute focal neurologic symptoms lasting less than 24 h. Results: A hyperintense DWI lesion was identified in a vascular territory appropriate to the symptoms in 27 patients (47%). Lesions judged to be clinically appropriate on T2-WI and FLAIR overlapped with a DWI lesion in 41 and 48% of patients, respectively. Independent predictors of infarction on DWI were previous nonstereotypic TIAs, presentation with motor symptoms, and identified stroke mechanism. Conclusion: DWI establishes that recent infarction occurs in almost half of patients with the clinical syndrome of TIA and this subgroup is more likely to harbor an underlying cardiac or cerebrovascular abnormality.


Linear discriminant analysis of multifrequency and multipolarization radar scatterometer data of lava flows and sedimentary rocks indicates that the lava flows can be separated by age and the sedimentary rocks can be discriminated from one another. The optimum wavelengths, polarizations and incidence angles among those available for these problems was determined by the discriminant analysis program. For separation of the lava flows, shorter wavelengths, smaller incidence angles and horizontal polarization are best. A SIR-C radar configuration could provide nearly complete discrimination of these lava flows. Conversely, the longer wavelengths, larger incidence angles and vertical polarization was preferred for sedimentary rocks, perhaps due to the slight vegetation cover. Satisfactory classification of sedimentary rocks requires more radar data than for the lavas. These results are potentially useful both for radar system configuration and for geological applications. The method developed here may provide a rationale for user specification of imaging system parameters.


Shortest and/or longest path analysis is a major analytical component of quantitative models used by transportation planners. The importance of shortest path analysis in all phases of transportation planning has given rise to intensive research and software development over the last three decades for solving shortest path problems. This paper presents a new hybrid solution algorithm called THRESH, which integrates the features of label setting and label correcting algorithms, yet appears to have performance characteristics that transcend both. Preliminary computational results indicate that it is substantially more efficient than the methods determined to be best by previous studies.


The extracellular product produced by the probiotic Bacillus coagulans LL1103,was used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity on the spoilage bacteria using the agar well diffusion system in the present study.For the evaluation,different initial incubation condition and treatment conditions such as temperature, pH value and enzyme were considered in vitro. The result indicated that the extracellular products produced by Bacillus coagulans LL1103 showed different degrees of antimicrobial activities on the E. coli, P. aeruginosa and Shewanella spp. The maximal antimicrobial activity was observed after48 h when incubated at 37 ℃ and pH 6.0. Moreover, the extracellular products showed relative stability at different high temperature. However, higher antimicrobial activity was found at acidic and neutral pH value. The antimicrobial activity decreased significantly at strong acid and strong alkali pH value. The extracellular product has the sensibility with protease K and trypsin. However, no sensibility was observed for pepsase. In addition, the results also showed that no significant decreased antimicrobial activity was obtained when treated with catalase.


The growth of the Internet and emerging application layer technologies causes numerous changes in network environments. Therefore, it becomes important to achieve adaptive methods of controlling networks in addition to optimizing their performance. To achieve an adaptive network control method, we focus on attractor selection, which models behaviors where biological systems adapt to unknown changes in their surrounding environments and recover their conditions. In this paper, we show the applicability of the attractor selection to the adaptive virtual network topology (VNT) control in IP over wavelength-routed WDM networks. The simulation results indicate that our VNT control method based on attractor selection quickly and adaptively responds to various changes in traffic demand.


As the analysis result indicates that while there is weak relevance between the growth of insurance industry and that of GDP, there is strong relevance between the growth of insurance industry and people's bank savings and their incomes. However, this strong relevance is influenced by the increase of money paid by the insurance company. Based on this situation, the insurance industry in China should correct some of its immature understandings to stimulate its healthy and stable development.


Phlebotomy is a central task for whole blood donation, yet there are no published standards regarding systematic donor vein assessment or the impact of vein quality on successful blood donation. Blood donation failures and related adverse events are highly predictive of donors not returning for future blood donation. A specific blood donation vein scoring tool was assessed to measure donor vein suitability for whole blood collection and investigate the correlation of the donor's veins with donation outcomes.


ABSTRACT This paper describes the application of ethical principles of social work to practice with groups. Inadequate attention has been given to the subject, as indicated by a review of relevant literature. Several interrelated ethical issues that have importance for effective group work are discussed. They include the fiduciary relationship, equal access to services, informed consent, confidentiality, self determination, appropriate termination, and professional competence.


The aim of this paper is presenting the recommendation module of the Mathematics Collaborative Learning Platform (PCMAT). PCMAT is an Adaptive Educational Hypermedia System (AEHS), with a constructivist approach, which presents contents and activities adapted to the characteristics and learning style of students of mathematics in basic schools. The recommendation module is responsible for choosing different learning resources for the platform, based on the user's characteristics and performance. Since the main purpose of an adaptive system is to provide the user with content and interface adaptation, the recommendation module is integral to PCMAT's adaptation model. Keywordsadaptive educational hypermedia; user model; adaptation model; learning objects; recommendation module


Some existence theorems for even homoclinic orbits have been obtained for a class of second-order nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems with symmetric potentials under a class of new superquadratic conditions by using the Mountain pass lemma.


Summary Sensitivity of pertussis-vaccinated mice to approximately one-half the LD 5030B for total body irradiation was markedly increased. Neither the sex of the mice, the type of pertussis vaccine, nor the daily administration of Neoantergan or Hydrocortisone seem to alter that increased sensitivity.


Background: Several studies have evaluated the performance of Baska Mask for various types of surgery and have reported a high first-attempt success rate. The present study compared baska mask LMA insertion conditions using Dexmedtomidine-propofol and Fentanyl-propofol. Materials and Methods: All 80 patients were randomly divided into groups, namely Group D and Group F, with 40 patients in each group. Group D received 1µg/kg dexmedetomidine diluted, and Group F received a fentanyl Injection of 2µg/kg diluted to 5 ml with 0.9% Normal Saline. Modified Mallampatti (MM) Class, Young's criteria, and Modified Scheme of Lund and Stovener of the patients among the group were evaluated. The side effects experienced by patients among both groups were also recorded. Results: Female predominance was reported in both groups of patients. The MM class 1 was observed in more patients in Group D (62.5%), whereas MM class 2 was found in higher patients in Group F (52.5%). Both groups reported most patients in Young's Criteria I (Group D: 95%; Group F: 87.5%). Both groups' modified Scheme of Lund and Stovener showed maximum patients in the excellent category (Group D: 62.5%; Group F: 65%). In Group D, the mean heart rate decreased after induction, whereas in Group F, it increased. In Group D, the side effect of bradycardia was reported in more patients. Conclusion: Pre-treating patients with either 1µg/kg of dexmedetomidine or 2µg/kg of fentanyl and propofol yielded satisfactory and comparable insertion conditions for the Baska mask.


Summary The development of typical atrophic lesions of the pancreas in the rat on a completely protein free diet is described. Supplementation of such a diet with 2% casein is without influence on the pancreas, while either 4% casein or 1% methionine have a marked beneficial effect. On a synthetic diet containing 7.5% casein the microscopic appearance of the pancreas is almost normal.


OBJECTIVE: To study long-term outcomes of glucocorticoid corticosteroid (GC) regimens in the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group Duchenne Natural History Study (CINRG-DNHS), focusing on the ambulatory phase of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
 BACKGROUND: Long-term efficacy of GCs in DMD is well established. However, there is variation in clinical practice, clinicians prescribing either deflazacort (DFZ) or prednisone/prednisolone (PRED) in different regimens.
 DESIGN/METHODS: We studied GC treatment in 340 CINRG-DNHS participants (methods and baseline data previously reported). Loss of independent ambulation (LoA) was defined as continuous wheelchair use and inability to walk 10m. Effects on LoA of PRED/DFZ, administration frequency, and dose were analyzed by time-varying Cox regression. Side effect frequency was compared between regimens by χ-squared test.
 RESULTS: Participants treated for 蠅1 year while ambulatory (n=252/340) showed a 3-year delay in median LoA (p<0.001). Fourteen different regimens were observed, non-daily regimens being common for PRED (37[percnt]) and rare for DFZ (3[percnt]). DFZ was associated with later LoA than PRED (HR 0.294±0.053 vs. 0.490±0.08, p=0.003; 2-year difference in median LoA with daily administration, p<0.001). Average dose was lower for daily PRED (0.56 mg/kg/day, 75[percnt] of recommended maximum) than daily DFZ (0.75 mg/kg/day, 83[percnt], p<0.001). DFZ showed more frequent growth delay (p<0.001), cushingoid appearance (p=0.002), and cataracts (p<0.001), but not weight gain.
 CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm that GCs delay LoA in DMD. GC regimens varied among CINRG sites. DFZ was associated with later LoA, although differences in standards of care, dosing, and possibly adherence complicate interpretation of this finding. Stratification by PRED or DFZ might be considered in future clinical trials that test new drugs in association with GCs. This observational study emphasizes the necessity of a randomized, blinded, longitudinal study of GC regimens in DMD.
 Study Supported by: NIH (#U54HD053177, #R24HD050846, #UL1RR031988, #UL1RR024992, #U54RR026139, #G12RR003051, #1R01AR061875, #RO1AR062380), DoE/NIDRR (#H133B031118, #H133B090001), DoD (#W81XWH-09-1-0592). Disclosure: Dr. Bello has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gordish-Dressman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Morgenroth has nothing to disclose. Dr. Henricson has received personal compensation for activities with PTC Therapeutics and Genzyme as a consultant. Dr. Duong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hoffman has received personal compensation for consultation activities with investment bankers. Dr. Cnaan has nothing to disclose. Dr. McDonald has received personal compensation for activities with PTC Therapeutics and Sarepta Therapeutics as an advisory board participant and/or consultant.


This paper examines and focuses mainly on identifying the expectation gap between the needed and current knowledge and skills for accounting education in SQU. The research model of this study consisted of Expected Skills and Knowledge (ESK) and Perceived Skills and Knowledge (PSK) as the independent variables, and Qualification of Accountancy (QoA) as the dependent variable. And it presents the results of a survey of the expectations gap between the knowledge and skills for accounting education as perceived by accounting practitioners and educators and students in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). Respondents generally agreed on several facets of knowledge and skills that are important for the training of accounting students, although some variations existed among the respondent groups regarding the perceived importance of those knowledge and skills facets.


The central limit theorem (CLT) can be ranked among the most important ones in probability theory and statistics and plays an essential role in several basic and applied disciplines, notably in statistical thermodynamics. We show that there exists a natural extension of the CLT from exponentials to so-called deformed exponentials (also denoted as q-Gaussians). Our proposal applies exactly in the usual conditions in which the classical CLT is used.


We synthesized about sixty metal organic materials. Only three were metal organic frameworks (MOFs). One of them was a porous molecular magnet (PMM). For the PMM synthesis Ni was the node, oxalic acid the organic linker and DMF the solvent and shaping molecule. This PMM was studied with DRIFTS, Raman spectrometry, TGA, XRD, adsorption and with a VSM. TGA and adsorption data indicated that a microporous material with a pore volume, W = 0.10 ± 0.01 cm 3 /g was obtained. The analysis of the XRD profile indicated that it is a layered compound. The DRIFTS, Raman and XRD data revealed that each layer is formed by nickel cations linked by bis-bidentate and bridging-bis-bidentate oxalate ligands and the DMF molecules are perpendicularly linked to the nickel cations to produce stacking. Additionally, the Raman data allowed us to propose that the nickel cations are located in octahedral and pentacoordinated sites as Ni 2+ and Ni 3+ . The Pawley fitting of the XRD profiles pointed out that the hydrated sample crystallizes in the P2/m space group. The cell parameters calculated are consistent with the proposed structure. Two different adsorption states showing different adsorption energies, in the physical adsorption range, were observed. The small amount estimated for the dispersive and quadrupole adsorption interaction energies was a confirmation of the proposed layered structure. The VSM study yielded an effective magnetic moment, eff. This figure is consistent with nickel located in octahedral and pentacoordinated sites as Ni 2+ and Ni 3+ . We had then obtained a new Ni-oxalic porous molecular magnet (Ni-Ox-PMM). The significance of this PMM is related to its porosity, that is, during degassing it release water turning into a porous stable structure, showing notable magnetic properties. In this case been porous, it means that the electronic structure of the nickel cations can be manipulated from outside with adsorbed molecules. Thereafter, the material could sense small molecules.


We developed the computer-controlled figuring system having controllability of removal depths with nanometer accuracy and spatial resolutions close to 0.1mm. In this system, Elastic Emission Machining (EEM) using nozzle-type EEM head and Microstitching Interferometry (MSI) are employed as a machining method and a figure measurement method. In EEM, very small stationary spot profiles ware obtained, selecting small circle nozzle aperture of a 0.15 mm diameter. Surface figuring is performed with controlling scanning speeds of sample stages, so that a measured profile turned into designed one. MSI, which was developed on the basis of interferometric stitching technologies, has reproducibility at subnanometer level and with spatial resolution of 0.03 mm. In this study, we demonstrated computer controlled figuring, focusing on removal of high frequency figurer errors. Figure accuracy of 0.2 nm (RMS) was achieved in a cross-section profile with a length of 90mm.


Based on comparison and analysis of the mostly used methods on digital microscope,this paper points out that the embedded platform is more favorable for digital microscope because of lower cost and better performance.With the use of XPLD and DDR SDRAM,we post a cost effective and high performance solution.And a detailed description is given for the two key points in the solution:integrated large size memory and high speed buffer with DDR controller.


Improved video coding techniques introduced in the H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard allow video encoders to achieve better compression efficiencies. On the other hand, the increased complexity requires a new design methodology able to face challenges associated with ever higher spatiotemporal resolutions. This paper presents a computationally scalable algorithm and its hardware architecture able to support intra encoding up to 2160p@30 frames/s resolution. The scalability allows a tradeoff between the throughput and the compression efficiency. In particular, the encoder is able to check a variable number of candidate modes. The rate estimation based on bin counting and the distortion estimation in the transform domain simplify the rate-distortion analysis and enable the evaluation of a great number of candidate intra modes. The encoder preselects candidate modes by the processing of 8 × 8 predictions computed from original samples. The preselection shares hardware resources used for the processing of predictions generated from reconstructed samples. To support intra 4×4 modes for the 2160p@30 frames/s resolution, the encoder incorporates a separate reconstruction loop. The processing of blocks with different sizes is interleaved to compensate for the delay of reconstruction loops. Implementation results show that the encoder utilizes 1086k gates and 52-kB on-chip memories for TSMC 90 nm. The main reconstruction loop can operate at 400 MHz, whereas the remaining modules work at 200 MHz. For 2160p@30 frames/s videos, the average BD-rate is 5.46% compared with that of the HM software.


The tea soils of Makinohara plateau, Shizuokaken were surveyed and were classified into three series as follows from their profiles.1. Kanayabara series◊◊ The surface soil or subsoil is characterized by abundance of humus and this series is widespread in the northern part of Makinohara plateau.2. Osawabara series…The surface soil is rich in humus and the subsoil is heavy clayey soil containing humus and this series is widespread in the central part of Makinohara plateau.3. Makinohara series…This series is belonged to the red-yellow soil and widespread in the southern part of Makinohara plateau.These soil series are classified into soil types as follows according to their productivity.1) Kanayabara series Makinohara series> Kanayabara-2 soil type.


With the extensive development of BIM technology in the construction industry, engineering management professional must reform teaching methods based on BIM technology in order to train personnel to adapt to modern social needs, to improve their employment rate. On the basis of the analysis of the existing problems in engineering management teaching, this paper has proposed teaching reform planning of engineering management professional and value of BIM technology drawing on the practice of BIM technology teaching cases at home and abroad to promote the good development of the college teaching of engineering management.


At the beginning of the 20th century, the trials undertaken by artists and Russian designers have changed the context of set design for Theater. The industrial backwardness felt in post-revolution Russia would make the technology did not accompany the creative work undertaken by the artistic avant-garde designers. In this sense, we are witnessing particularly unpublished experiences under the plastic and constructive point of view in the pedagogical context and scenic creation, namely the concepts developed by constructivists. In 1925, some of these projects would be exposed at the International Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts held in Paris, surprising the audience by their sense of modernity. Revolutionary plays and other illustrating daily life were staged up, narrowing the relationship between the public and the ideological message that was intended to be communicated. The aim of this article is to analyze at first, the main breaks over a past strongly influenced by the classic design of the Italian theater. Then we are interested in dissecting the meanings and principles present in the spatial composition of some ephemeral architectures representative of the action of the artistic avant-garde, particularly related to the utopia of a new theater for a new man.


Introduction. Costs in the extraperitoneal repair of ventral hernia by laparoscopy were analyzed from the perspective of the general health system of Colombia, in order to show the benefits of this approach and its economic impact, when compared with the most implemented technique, IPOM plus.
Methods. A cost-benefit economic analysis was performed from the perspective of the General Social Security System in Health (SGSSS) of Colombia, comparing the costs of ventral hernia repair with the extraperitoneal technique, TAPP or TEP, against IPOM plus. The reference costs were taken as established in the rate manual of the Social Security Institute. Data were analyzed with Stata v.15.
Results. Information from 109 procedures was collected and analyzed; 59 of the extraperitoneal group TAPP / TEP and 50 of IPOM plus group, carried out during the years 2015 to 2018, by the abdominal wall group of Clinica Colsanitas, identifying a saving of 69.8 % or cost-benefit results in favor of the extraperitoneal group.
Discussion. The extraperitoneal approach in ventral hernia repair was considered a high cost-benefit strategy for the health system, validated by the experience of the abdominal wall group of Clinica Colsanitas, when compared with the usual approach. Given that the inputs used for dissection do not change, the prosthesis used for each of the techniques represents an important cost to consider, both for the system and health institutions.


With the unique agility and flexibility, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely applied in various scenarios. Especially in the areas with disasters, UAVs can act as base stations (BSs) to provide wireless communication services for ground users. In order to reduce the costs, we prefer to use as few UAVs as possible. However, due to the coverage constraint, each UAV can only provide services for a certain number of ground users. Moreover, considering the acceptable receiving power, the coverage radius of UAV is limited. Combined with the above considerations, we present an efficient 3D placement algorithm of UAV-Mounted BSs to cover all of the ground users. In the horizontal direction, the Edge-Prior Placement Algorithm is proposed, which gives the preferential coverage to the outermost users. The complexity of the algorithm is O(n 2 log n). Then, the optimal height of each UAV is assigned. As a result, these UAVs fly at different heights and cover the ground users with different radii. Simulation results are provided to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. We demonstrate the impacts of the upper bound of coverage radius and capacity constraint on the number of UAVs that are used to cover the ground users, which could provide a guideline for the deployment of UAVs.


In this work we used the Wien2k code, within the framework of the Kohn-Sham Density Functional Theory (DFT), applying the Full-Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Wave method (FP-LAPW) and adopting the Generalized Gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation energy due to Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof, as well as the Local Density approximation (LDA) for the calculation of the Density of States and band structure of the Sr2HoNbO6 double perovskite. For calculations, we considered the Fmm (#225) space group, which was experimentally obtained from X-ray diffraction measurements and Rietveld refinement. The experimental lattice parameter was 8.018 A, which is 99.2% in agreement with the theoretical prediction from the minimization of energy through the Murnaghan state equation. From the measurements of magnetic susceptibility as a function of temperature and the adjustment with the Curie law, we obtained a value for the effective magnetic moment of 10.01 μB, which is close to the theoretical expected from Hund's Rule (10.60 μB). An energy gap of 3.3 eV between the valence band and the conduction band revealed the insulator character of the Sr2HoNbO6 complex perovskite for the spin up configuration, but a semiconductor feature was observed for the spin down polarization, with an energy gap of 0.77 eV. The thermodynamic properties were calculated from the state equation by using the Debye quasiharmonic model. A specific heat behavior of CV≈CP was found at temperatures below T = 500 K, with Dulong-Petit limit values doubling those reported for perovskite materials. © 2018. Acad. Colomb. Cienc. Ex. Fis. Nat.


A modification of the rotating crystal X-ray diffraction method was used for examining the structure of thin layers, such as e.g., PbTe layers produced by MBE. These examinations were used for comparing the structures of real and ideal crystals.


The method of forming polycrystalline table comprising a plurality of particles comprising a superabrasive material, a catalyst material comprising a substrate and a hard material in the mold. The plurality of particles are partially sintered in the presence of a catalyst material to form polycrystalline table attached to the half having a first base end portion of the permeability. The substrate is removed from the brown polycrystalline stage, and the catalyst material is removed from the brown polycrystalline table. The half is then fully sintered polycrystalline table, to form a reduced second polycrystalline table permeability. Intermediate structure is formed comprising a substantially fully leached brown polycrystalline table during the polycrystalline table attached to the substrate. The substantially fully leached brown polycrystalline table comprising a plurality of superabrasive material bonded to each of the grains.


To the Editor.— With respect to the article on coffee intake and elevated cholesterol levels, 1 the authors should be commended for attempting to rule out stress or stressful behavioral traits as a confounding factor. While the techniques used examine such common components of this conundrum as hostility, anxiety, depression, and coronary-prone behavior, with state-of-the-art approaches, it is still difficult to define stress to a scientist's satisfaction, much less quantify it. Association never proves causation. Hypertension and cigarette smoking are also linked with coronary heart disease, but removing these risk factors has no significant influence in preventing recurrent heart attacks, as evidenced by the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial and other studies. Hypertension, smoking, elevated cholesterol levels, eating rich foods, and coffee drinking may all be associated with stress or type A behavior. In contrast to the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial findings, reducing stressful type A coronary-prone behavior has


Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature , a peer-reviewed journal, invites empirical research studies, critical/theoretical essays, and interviews with authors for its fourth issue. Edited by Crag Hill, Leilya Pitre, and Steve Bickmore, Study and Scrutiny is an open access journal published twice a year by the University of Oklahoma.


and in which the Roman concept of the aurea aetas is clearly foreshadowed. Generally speaking a date for the Tazza Farnese which brings it close to the Augustan age is highly attractive, since it would then form an immediate antecedent to the allegorical and overtly political works of art (cameos, silverware and monumental sculptured reliefs) commissioned or inspired by Augustus and his successors. Indeed Dorothy Burr Thompson has gone a stage further, linking the Tazza with Augustus himself and claiming it as an allegory of the desertion of the old gods of Egypt to the victor of Actium (she has also, in a recent lecture, suggested that Triptolemus might be identified with Cornelius Gallus, the first Roman prefect of Egypt). But one may ask whether the search for historical 'occasions' is necessary at all. Ultimately La R.'s case rests on the supposedly royal fillet worn by Isis, and on the presumption that such a precious object as the Tazza can only have been a royal commission. But the facial features of the Tazza's Isis bear little resemblance to those of Cleopatra VII as attested by her coins; and who is to say that the work could not have been produced, say, as an offering to Sarapis and Isis? If so, the scene would merely be a hymn to the fruitfulness of Egypt under the protection of the Alexandrian deities. The question remains open, but it is the great service of La R. to have brought powerful new ideas into the arena and to have provided an unprecedentedly full review of the evidence.


A mathematical formulation is proposed in this study to find the optimal plan to distribute the external migrants between different population centers of a region. The objective is to maximize total economic productivity of the region, while environmental and social impacts are also managed via appropriate constraints in the model. This optimal distribution can be brought to reality by implementing effective policies and incentives. Fitting transportation investments might be a good example of possible ways to achieve this goal. The contribution of this paper to the literature is twofold. One is proposing a new framework, which makes the planning for regional development more simple and understandable. The other is to gather and combine quantitative and clear functions to adequately cover all aspects of sustainability in the proposed framework. Therefore, this study can pave the way for other research projects in this area, which are looking for an efficient framework to analyze regional development or just looking for appropriate measures to reflect different dimensions of sustainable development. To illustrate the application of the proposed model, a synthetic medium-sized region is also presented as the numerical example. Optimal distribution of migrants is found for this region and the sensitivity of total production to different resources is analyzed.


The study of characteristics of nanoscale structures and applications now has great interest of researchers from different areas. In this regard, lipid carriers can improve the bioavailability of drugs and the reduction of possible toxicological effects. Thus, the development of nanostructured systems for the agricultural sector, aimed at combating parasites may reduce extensive damage caused to livestock producers and animal health. This study aimed to prepare and characterize lipid carrier systems, such as Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLC), as well as evaluate the potential of cyto and genotoxicity of these systems in order to improve and produce alternatives to the use targeting these compounds in veterinary applications. Lipid nanoparticles had become spherical with an average size of 250 nm and remained stable over 120 days. The encapsulation efficiency was greater than 99% for both drugs and release tests showed a strong interaction between drugs and nanoparticles. Cyto- and genotoxicity tests show that nanoparticles made possible changes in cellular viability of the tested cells. Thus, the results showed that the nanoparticles had good colloidal characteristics without changes in its characteristics, enabling the development of carrier systems for these drugs , aiming veterinary applications.


The article reviews the book "Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence, and Sexuality in a Rio Shantytown," by Donna M. Goldstein.


The present invention, a plurality of transmission blocks including And a plurality of wireless power receiving apparatuses placed in the filling position, using a response signal from the primary coil corresponding to the filling position, and select a plurality of the primary coil corresponding to the wireless power receiving device, is selected the wireless power signal from a plurality of primary coils to the calling at the same time related to a wireless power transmission apparatus capable of simultaneous multi-charged to a transmission control unit for controlling the transport block.


Abstract Proper constitutive equations and transformation laws to describe short-fiber-reinforced composites have been reviewed. The mechanisms of load transfer between matrix and fibers have been presented. Micromechanics analyses were discussed in order to predict mechanical properties of the composite given those of the constituents. Such approaches have been used successfully for cord-rubber and particulate-filled elastomeric composites. The use of such methods for short-fiber reinforcement has been limited so far. The problem is more complex in this case, but the need for a reliable method is even stronger in order to evaluate the influence of a parameter change on the various mechanical properties. Elastomeric composites pose a greater change due to the large ratio of fiber-to-matrix moduli, and predictions may not always be accurate. However, the interest of micromechanics approaches is that they allow determination of the effect of a perturbation in the parameters about a given level. Areas for fu...


This paper positions the triple-Helix as a meso-level notion, an epicycle in a grander circle of technological change, institutional change, and psychological change. Because of the differing speeds of these several kinds of change, speed is proposed as a high-level system metric. This implies that what we commonly call bridging agencies or facilitators - lawyers, venture capitalists, incubators, etc. - are better called buffering agencies, as they help to engage entities changing at different speeds. They use human judgment as well as information technologies to choose feasible timing for these engagements. The paper highlights implications for thinking about innovation diffusion: The grand cycle of socio-technical change means we should, rather, think in terms of innovation reinforcement, or a circle of innovation.


Objective:To investigate the drug-resistance of clinical isolates from hospitalized patients.Methods:A total of 2 645 test samples of strains of nosocmial infection and distribution of pathogens during Jan.2005-Dec.2006 were statistically analyzed.Results:The pathogen strains of clinical isolates were Escherichia coli(17.5%),klebsiella pneumonia(16.2%),pseudomonas aeruginos(23.4%),acinetobacter baumanii(12.7%),Enterobacter(19.8%)and staphylococcus aureus(10.2%)respectively.GNB had some antibacterial activity against Piperacillin-Tazobactam,Imipenem and Meropenem,The drug-resistance rate against cephalosporin was 70.0%.The average detection rate of Staphylococcus aureus was 10.2% and it had high drug-resistance against 23 antibacterial drugs except Vancomycin,Linezoid,Quinupristin-Dalfopristin and Clindamycin,the drug-resistance rate of which was less than 10%.The detection rate of ESBLs was 41.3%.Bacteria producing ESBLs had much higher drug-resistance rate against antibiotics than bacteria not producing antibiotics(P0.05,P0.01)Conclusion:The gram-negative bacteria are the main hospital infecion pathogenic bacteria.ESBLs and MRSA show increasing drug resistance and even multiple drug resistance.Selection of effective antibaterials should be based on drug sensitivity results.It is an important guarantee to use antibaterials reasonably and effectively.


The metallicity in semiconductors with respect to energy gap along Γ→X is used to calculate bulk modulus and gives reasonable results in agreement to that of experimental and
Cohen results.


In this article mixed CuInP2(SxSe1−x)6 crystals were investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (20 Hz 3 GHz). The complete phase diagram has been obtained from these results. The phase diagram of investigated crystals is strongly asymmetric the decreasing of ferroelectric phase transition temperatures in CuInP2(SxSe1−x)6 is much more flat with small admixture of sulphur then with small admixture of selenium. In the middle part of the phase diagram (x=0.4-0.9) the dipolar glass phase has been observed. In boundary region between ferroelectric order and dipolar glass disorder with small amount of sulphur (x=0.2-0.25) at low temperatures the nonergodic relaxor phase appears. The phase diagram was discussed in terms of random bonds and random fields.


The highly variable phenotypes observed in patients with classic Bartter's syndrome (BS) remain unsatisfactorily explained. The wide spectrum of functional severity of CLCNKB mutations may contribute to the phenotypic variability, and the genotype–phenotype association has not been established. Low‐level expression of the human ClC‐Kb channel in mammalian cells impedes the functional study of CLCNKB mutations, and the underlying cause is still unclear. The human ClC‐Kb channel is highly degraded by proteasome in human embryonic kidney cells. The C‐terminal in‐frame green fluorescent protein fusion may slow down the proteasome‐mediated proteolysis. Barttin co‐expression necessarily improves the stability, membrane trafficking and gating of ClC‐Kb. CLCNKB mutations in barttin‐binding sites, dimer interface or selectivity filter often have severe functional consequences. The remaining chloride conductance of the ClC‐Kb mutant channel significantly correlates with the phenotypes, such as age at diagnosis, plasma chloride concentration, and the degree of calciuria in patients with classic BS.


The design of a distributed-compensation (DC) output feedback controller for discrete-time fuzzy systems with time-varying delay is proposed by the formulation of convex optimization problems, formulated as a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). At the exception of controller matrix D, all other are designed depending on the the submodes of the fuzzy system and assembled together by fuzzy inference rules. The novelty of this proposal is that the controller is composed by a classical part, feeding-back the system output, and another where the delayed output of the system is dynamically feedback, whenever the delay is known. Different from other approaches found in the literature, it is used a parameter dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii function candidate and extra matrices to reduce the conservatism of the proposed approach. Numerical experiments are presented showing the effectiveness of the proposal.


ABSTRACT The relative effectiveness of pentagastrin injection and calcium infusion as clinical stimulatory tests for the detection of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MCT) were compared. A specific radioimmunoassay for human thyrocalcitonin (TCT) was used to measure secretory responses. Tests were conducted with 38 patients having either surgically proven MCT or a positive family history of the disease. Base line plasma TCT levels were clearly elevated (1.4 to 455 ng/ml) in 7 patients and were undetectable (less than 0.24 ng/ml) in 31. Each patient was tested by giving, on separate days, a rapid intravenous injection of pentagastrin (0.5 μg/kg) and an intravenous infusion of calcium gluconate (15 mg Ca/kg/4 hr). All 7 patients with elevated base line levels of plasma TCT showed positive responses to both pentagastrin and calcium. In three patients the mean peak response to calcium occurred 30 min after the beginning of the infusion with mean plasma TCT rising approximately 5-fold above base line. The peak res...


The phonetic basis of Dengyun Jingyao is a controversial issue discussed in the academic circle.Comparing the merging of entering finals of Dang Jiang Zeng Geng Tong groups in Dengyun Jingyao with those recorded in the rhyme books like Midland Phonology and QingJiao Zazhu,and with the dialects of Middle Mandarin of Fenhe section and core area,we find that the merging of entering finals of 5 groups in Dengyun Jingyao is roughly as same as that of Middle Mandarin of Fenhe section today,but it is slightly different from that of Middle Mandarin of core area.From the merging of entering finals and vowel finals,it is concluded that the merging of entering finals of DengYun JingYao is similar to that of Middle Mandarin since Yuan Dynasty,but it is obviously different from that of Northern Mandarin.The phonetic basis of DengYun JingYao is close to that of Middle Mandarin of Fenhe section today.It may be the dialect of Linfen County of Pingyangfu in Qing Dynasty and its surrounding areas.


An all-optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) demultiplexer based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide technology is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Such an integrated structure performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) not only has the advantages of a smaller volume and better stability but can also handle more optical subcarriers by increasing the number of the cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) stages. An SOI-based eight-channel OFDM demultiplexer has been successfully fabricated with a free spectrum range (FSR) of approximately 64 GHz. Eight-subcarrier optical OFDM signals with non-return-to-zero (NRZ) formats are successfully detected by the proposed demultiplexer after a 30-km fiber-link transmission. The total modulation speed is 64 Gbaud, and the bit error rate (BER) performance of each subcarrier is also measured.


Based on the correlation of the Upper Cretaceous from Sunwu,Xunke and Baoxing-Paotaidian of Jiayin along the Heilongjiang River,with the Yuliangzi Formation(K2y)yielding dinosaur fossils from Wulaga and Longgushan of Jiayin,and on some clues of outcrops of dinosaur fossils,the author forecasts that the three areas including the northern Sunwu,southeastern Xunke and Baoxing-Paotaidian of Jiayin would be new larger-scale sites of dinosaur fossils. In view of the lacustrine-fluvial sedimentary facies of the Upper Cretaceous strata in the three areas,some associated fossils with the dinosaurs such as conchostraca,astrocods,fish,turtles,crocodiles,birds and flowering plants would be found out there also. Dinosaur fossils may be found in Taipinglinchang Formation(K2t)and Yong'ancun Formation(K2yn)underlying the Yuliangzi Formation.


In view of the fact that pre-service teachers" critical reflection through evaluating teaching activity of their peers is an important part of practicum activity, the current study aimed to analyze the recall and reflection journals written by pre-service teachers to identify and evaluate the discoursal features of their journals. To this end, a total of 272 recall and reflection journals written by pre-service teachers were analyzed on the basis of Hiebert, Morris, Berk, and Jansen's (2007) framework for analyzing their teaching practices. The findings indicated that the discourse of recall and reflection journals written by preservice teachers is affective and descriptive rather than critical. Pre-service teachers predominantly ignore learners in writing their reflection journals. The findings of this study pointed to the need for explicit instruction of the discoursal features of reflection in teacher education classes. Therefore, teacher educators should help pre-service teachers to develop effective reflective discourse in practicum courses.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for most of the deaths from non-communicable diseases, or 17.5 million people annually in Europe.1 The new 2016 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) European Guidelines on CVD prevention in clinical practice , (developed by the Sixth Joint Task Force of the ESC and nine other societies) emphasize, for the first time in an European Guidelines, not only an individual-based approach but also a population-based intervention, focusing on smoking cessation, a healthy diet, physical activity, alcohol abuse prevention, and a healthy environment promotion.2 Also new aspect of the 2016 Guidelines is the presentation of preventive measures targeted at specific groups (e.g. younger and older persons; women; ethnic minorities; patients with inflammatory diseases or under cancer therapy). In the present article, we summarize some of the interesting novel insights in the field of CVD prevention published in the year 2016.

A sedentary behaviour, such as prolonged sitting time viewing TV or a computer display, has been associated with increased risks for morbidity and mortality. A crucial question is if the individual is active enough, will this attenuate or even eliminate the detrimental association of daily sedentary habit with mortality? Some good news comes from a systematic review and meta-analysis which has documented that about 60–75 min per day of vigorous intensity physical activity (>35.5METs-h/week) seems to reduce the increased risk of death associated with high sitting time. However, this high activity level does not eliminate completely the increased risk associated with extremely high TV-viewing time (≥5 h/day).3 These results support the new ESC prevention Guidelines recommendation on the added benefit of high intensity physical activity, although prospective interventional studies are still missing.2

The importance of income and healthy behaviour in longer survival was confirmed in a large analysis that included all US individuals with a valid …