We propose to develop, prototype, test and deploy the first Grid-Enabled Collaboratory for Scientific Research (GECSR) on a global scale. A distinguishing feature of this proposal is the tight integration between the science of collaboratories, a globally scalable working environment built on the foundation of a powerful fully functional set of working collaborative tools, and an agent-based monitoring and decision-support system that will allow collaborating scientists to perform data intensive analysis tasks efficiently. Assessment of the methodology of scientific collaborations and the iterative evaluation of the tools by a team independent of the developers will be a critical element ensuring the success of the proposed work. The assessment will focus on the ability of the target communities (High Energy and Nuclear Physics, other sciences and eventually other fields of research) to collaborate one-on-one and in groups on a variety of scales across long distance networks; it will abstract requirements and barriers to effective communication and shared work; and it will aim to develop standardized, broadly applicable guidelines and tools for effective collaboration in a variety of working contexts. The initial targeted early-adopter community will be the major collaborations of experimental High Energy and Nuclear Physics (HENP), who face unprecedented challenges in accessing, processing, and sharing Petabyte-scale data, and who have successfully developed some of the most ambitious Grid systems[1,2,3,4] in cooperation with leading computer scientists in the US and Europe, as well as developing scalable videoconferencing tools and the early components of a Grid-enabled Analysis Environment (GAE[5]). Figure 1: Integrated cyberinfrastructure services to enable new knowledge environments [6] The recent report of the NSF Blue-Ribbon Advisor Panel on Cyberinfrastructure[6] identifies five key service categories that will provide a foundation for the comprehensive knowledge environments that will enable individuals, teams and organizations to revolutionize scientific practice (see Figure 1 above). The HENP community has addressed four of these services, based largely on common underlying middleware, in the widespread deployment of grid-enabled high performance computing resources, through a number of data grid projects that will facilitate management of data, information and knowledge[7], through instruments that can easily be monitored remotely through eLogs and other interfaces, and through the developing GAE[5]. The proposed Grid-Enabled Collaboratory for Scientific Research will provide the collaboration services cyberinfrastructure that is required for the HENP community to fully realize a functionally complete research environment that can revolutionize how and what physicists can do and who can participate


With greater awareness of the impacts of gasoline-powered nonhandheld equipment, such as lawn mowers, on atmospheric pollution, the consumer is encouraged today to choose alternative electric model...


The permutation flowshop scheduling problem (PFSP) is an important issue in the manufacturing industry. The objective of this study is to minimize the total completion time of scheduling for minimum makespan. Although the hybrid genetic algorithms are popular for resolving PFSP, their local search methods were compromised by the local optimum which has poorer solutions. This study proposed a new hybrid genetic algorithm for PFSP which makes use of the extensive neighborhood search method. For evaluating the performance, results of this study were compared against other state-of-the-art hybrid genetic algorithms. The comparisons showed that the proposed algorithm outperformed the other algorithms. A significant 50% test instances achieved the known optimal solutions. The proposed algorithm is simple and easy to implement. It can be extended easily to apply to similar combinatorial optimization problems.


Uterine incarceration is a rare complication that has been described in pregnancy. Its prevalence is estimated at 1 in 3000 to 10,000 pregnancies (Van beekhuizen et al. 2003). It generally occurs between 14 to 16weeks of pregnancy when the retroflexed uterus enlarges and becomes wedged under the sacral promontory, preventing the uterus from ascending out of the pelvis. Risk factors that have been associated with uterine incarceration in pregnancy include adhesions, leiomyoma, uterine malformation, and deep sacral concavity (Lettieri et al. 1994; Jacobsson and Wide-swensson 1999). Treatments for uterine incarceration in pregnancy include both conservative and surgical management by passive reduction with knee-chest position or manual reduction, and sigmoidoscopy or laparotomy respectively (Dierickx et al. 2011). Management of uterine incarceration has primarily been described in pregnant patients. Few case reports describe non-gravid uterine incarceration and its prevalence is unknown. One case report discusses surgical management of non-gravid incarcerated uterus with hysterectomy (Fahimuddin et al. 2019). Fahimuddin describes the case of a woman with multiple leiomyoma who presented with urinary retention. The diagnosis of uterine incarceration was confirmed with a pelvic MRI and opted for an abdominal hysterectomy given satisfied parity and concern for recurrence. Another case series of eight patients describes surgical management with myomectomy or hysterectomy (Yazdany et al. 2012). Out of the nine patients reported above, eight had posterior-fundal leiomyoma. The purpose of this report is to illustrate a case of a nongravid incarcerated uterus in a patient with an anterior fibroid, retroflexed uterus, and hematometra following a suction dilation and curettage (D and C).


► Tomic G, Morrissey E, Kozar S, et al. Phospho-regulation of ATOH1 is required for plasticity of Secretory Progenitors and tissue regeneration. Cell Stem Cell 2018; 23:436–443. Intestinal progenitor cells can be thought of as reserve stem cells which step up following tissue damage. They exhibit self-renewal and give rise to multilineage clones, thereby defining the properties of a stem cell, but are committed to intestinal lineages. It is known that transcription factor ATOH1 is upregulated in progenitors giving rise to secretory lineages, and this paper looked at the role of post-translational phosphorylation of ATOH1. An Atoh1-CreERT2 mouse model allowed lineage tracing and showed that Atoh1+ cells gave rise to Paneth, goblet cells and via an intermediate precursor, enteroendocrine cells. Radiation injury required Atoh1+ cells for cell regeneration. Atoh1 undergoes phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinases on multiple sites. A phosphomutant Atoh1 mouse was developed in which there was a lack of phosphorylation on all nine sites; this was phenotypically normal but showed a prosecretory shift with a reduced intestinal stem cell signature. There was impaired return of Atoh1+ cells to the stem cell compartment and thereby increased differentiation of secretory progenitors. Mathematical modelling inferred that Atoh1+ cells can repopulate the entire small bowel crypt in 1%–2% and the colonic crypt in 4%. This proportion significantly reduced in the phosphomutant mice because Atoh1+ cells were inhibited from reverting to a stem-like state. These mice exhibited reduced regeneration capacity following dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) chemical colitis, with more weight loss and slower recovery. Overall, progenitor plasticity allows an adequate response to tissue injury and ATOH1 phosphorylation is a vital step in the dynamic interplay between progenitors and stem cells.


Background and aimIt has been shown that the use of a cocktail of isotopes of different ranges of action leads to an increase in the effectiveness of metabolic radiotherapy. The purpose of the present study was to compare with a control group the effectiveness of three different treatments in rats bearing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), using (1) a mixture of lipiodol labelled with both 131I and 188Re, (2) lipiodol labelled with 131I alone and (3) lipiodol labelled with 188Re alone. Material and methodsFour groups were made up, each containing 14 rats with the N1-S1 tumour cell line. Group 1 received a mixture composed of 22 MBq of 188Re-SSS lipiodol and 7 MBq 131I-lipiodol. Group 2 received 14 MBq 131I-lipiodol. Group 3 received 44 MBq of 188Re-SSS lipiodol and group 4 acted as the control. The survival of the various groups was compared by a non-parametric test of log-rank, after a follow-up of 60, 180 and 273 days. ResultsCompared with the controls, the rats treated with a mixture of 188Re-SSS lipiodol and 131I-lipiodol show an increase in survival, but only from day 60 onwards (P=0.05 at day 60 and 0.13 at days 180 and 273). For the rats treated with 131I-lipiodol, there was a highly significant increase in survival compared with the controls at day 60, day 180 and day 273 (P=0.03, 0.04 and 0.04, respectively). There is no significant increase in survival for the rats treated with 188Re-SSS lipiodol, irrespective of the follow-up duration (P=0.53 at day 60, 0.48 at day 180, and 0.59 at day 273). ConclusionsIn this study, 131I-lipiodol is the most effective treatment in HCC-bearing rats, because this is the only method that leads to a prolonged improvement of survival. These results cannot necessarily be extrapolated to humans because of the relatively small size and unifocal nature of the lesions in this study. It appears necessary to carry out a study in humans with larger tumours in order to compare these three treatments, particularly with a view to replacing 131I-labelled lipiodol by 188Re-labelled lipiodol. However, this study clearly demonstrated that, for small tumours, as in an adjuvant setting for exemple, 131I-labelled lipiodol should be a better option than 188Re-labelled lipiodol.


Abs t r ac t -1 . The specific radioactivity of the total lipids isolated from different organs of the northern pike (Esox lucius L.) after injection of Na-1-14C-acetate showed the highest values in the liver and the gills. 2. In the liver, radioactivity was found mainly in the fatty acids, while in the gills the greater part was present in the unsaponifiable lipids. 3. The percentage incorporation of radioactivity in lipid classes did not change significantly from 2 to 24 hr after injection, but decreased in phospholipids and increased in triglycerides during shorter incubation times. 4. The number of fatty acids labeled as well as the amount of radioactivity incorporated increased rapidly after 1-1*C-acetate injection. Virtually all fatty acids were labeled after 2 hr injection.


In the face of technological advancements, growing demand for audiovisual content and changes in media consumption habits, production companies have the need to develop new and efficient platforms for their content distribution, seeking greater coverage, flexibility in delivery and therefore, quality of user experience. In this context, the broadcast industry needs to review its processes and reduce its operational costs in the content distribution stage to be competitive, in a global player market break paradigms has become fundamental. With the aim to find alternatives to solve the problem that the industry faces and to contribute to facilitate the decision making in the analysis of new technologies implementation, the use of multicriteria decision-making methods minimizes the possibility of errors, mitigating the risks and increasing effectiveness in the decision-making process. From the competitive dimensions based on the Operations Strategy, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied to determine the scenario that presents the best result according to the previously defined competitive variables. Once the best alternative was selected, the GUT matrix was applied to prioritize the actions, enabling and accelerating the implementation of it, as well as supporting the process improvement and effectiveness. For the research development, experts and stakeholders opinions were collected, deal with the novelty in the application of a new technology, conflicting stakeholders interests and different variables in the decision process are the challenges that must be overcome for the choice and success implementation of a new content distribution platform. Thus, with a structured mapping and a complete view of the process, two distinct implementation steps were adopted sequentially. As a result, a first solution was proposed with the reducing operational costs aim, as well as serving as the basis and structure for a second intervention, which seeks new models and business opportunities.


Necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) of the neck and chest wall resulting from neglected peritonsillar abscess is a relatively rare but highly lethal surgical condition which has received little attention in the literature. The case of a 54‐year‐old male patient affected by this unusual infection is reported. Our recent experience and literature data suggest that NSTI resulting from peritonsillar abscess is rapidly spreading and life threatening. High index of suspicion, early diagnosis, broad‐spectrum antibiotics and aggressive surgical debridement are essential to its successful treatment.


IntroductionThe introduction of the Stanmore Implants Savile Row mobile-bearing UKA procedure in July 2011 marked a world first – the use of a patient-specific knee implanted with robotic technology – the Sculptor Robotic Guidance Arm (RGA). This union gives a truly personalised solution by designing an implant for each patient based upon preoperative CT data and using Sculptor RGA to prepare the bone accurately so that the implant is correctly positioned as planned. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of Sculptor RGA both in-vitro and in-vivo. We report on the accuracy of our first clinical procedures.MethodsIn-vitro:CTs of plastic-bones were used to create plans for Sculptor RGA, establishing a relationship between the implant position and plastic-bone (planned-transform). Sculptor RGA was then used to prepare bones for 16 UKA implants mimicking the clinical set-up. The implants were placed in the prepared bones without cement. A coordinate-measuring-arm was used to register a)the bone...


The determinations of detailed stress states are of great importance for various environmental and engineering investigations, which makes numerical stress modeling a key issue in many fields. We developed a new stress modeling method governed by elastic wave equations using finite-difference scheme. By introducing an artificial damping factor to the particle velocity in wave modeling, the proposed method is able to solve both the dynamic stress evolution and the static stress state of equilibrium. We validate the proposed method both in body force and surface force benchmarks in different scales. With the proposed method, we are able to substantially improve the modeling accuracy of models in unbounded domain by using the perfectly matched layer as the artificial boundary conditions. A 3D concrete-faced rockfill dam model is further presented as a numerical example of practical investigation. The consistent results with the finite-element method further illustrate the proposed method's applicability. As a minor modification to wave modeling scheme, the proposed stress modeling method is not only accurate for geological models through different scales, but also physically reasonable and easy to implement for geophysicists.


SUMMARY The X exonuclease, an enzyme that has been implicated in genetic recombination, rapidly and processively degrades native DNA, starting at the 5' terminus. The enzyme will also degrade the 5'-terminated strand at a single-stranded branch. The experiments reported here reveal various inter- actions of the enzyme with single-stranded DNA. The rate of digestion is related inversely to the length of single strands. Chains of 100 nucleotides are digested at about 10% the rate of digestion of native DNA. Digestion of the single-stranded ends of X DNA does not appear to occur processively. The enzyme binds to circular as well as linear single strands and the affinity for single strands is also related inversely to the chain length. In an equimolar mix- ture of single- and double-stranded DNA the action of X exonuclease on the latter is about half-inhibited. At 20" the initiation of digestion at the 5' terminus of duplex DNA is blocked sterically when such DNA has 3'-terminal single strands that are longer than 100 nucleotides. Information about these properties is important for the practical use of X exonuclease as well as for reflections on the role of the enzyme in genetic recombination.


A model of undefected and defected amorphous SiO2 has been constructed from Rietveld Refinement to investigate the effect of defect structure to its properties. Atomic level study for both structure were carried out using plane-wave pseudo potential by density functional theory. A new electrons trapping energy level appears within the 5.853eV band gap of a-SiO2 for oxygen-excess defected structure. This defect energy level reduces as more number of excess oxygen atoms was added to the structure of a-SiO2. A spectral emission at 388nm from SiO2 glass excited with 350nm (200mW) laser demonstrates the existence of the defective states in the structure in trapping electron at 3.273eV energy level.


Abstract : The objective of this effort is to demonstrate the concept of an advanced computer-based environment of integrated software tools and methods which supports the Air Force computer-based system (i.e., software, firmware, and hardware) life cycle - short of actual hardware fabrication. The intent of the environment is to provide integrated, state of the art engineering and development capabilities throughout the complete system life cycle. System requirements/design and software requirements of the system engineering and development environment shall be developed and documented. Demonstrations of technologies which are critical to establishing a system engineering and development environment capability shall be provided.


This paper presents a new signature and Fourier descriptor based algorithm for recognizing a rotated object and its rotation angle. Fourier descriptor is used to represent an object using its frequence parameters which are not influenced by rotation. .once the object is recognized, the point with the largest auto-correlation coefficient which can be calculated from signature of the object is used to find angle of the object. The outstanding performance of the proposed algorithm has been tested with the test images where more than 10 2D objects arbitrarily located on a table.


It is an outstanding characteristic in " era of interpreting blueprints t"hat the image is suffused with melting.With wanting to explain this phenomenon deeply,it must analyze the whole course of image evolving,and the changes of human consciousness are the most crucial.The evolution orbit of artistic image can be divided into three stages viz "the mountain is the mountain," "the mountain is not the mountain "and "the mountain is only the mountain "on the whole,or name them as pre-artistic,traditional artistic and fashion art,and its phased background basis is the awakening of mankinds 'psychological consciousness and ripe course.


This paper introduces the open communication net NetLinx, the principle and method of useing PLC and Industry PC or server to realize high property/price comparson DCS base on NetLinx,and the successful application in a factory.


Dear Sir:

We read with interest the article in the November 2014 issue of the Journal by Sousa and others entitled: "Press Imprint Smear: A Rapid, Simple, and Cheap Method for the Diagnosis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis." We agree with those authors that direct diagnosis by microscopic visualization of amastigotes is the first choice for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. Advantages include speed, simple execution, and low operational cost, allowing use in poor endemic areas.1 The results obtained using a press imprint smear were very satisfactory, reaching a sensitivity of approximately 85%, while other direct diagnostic tests, such as traditional imprint, skin scraping, and slit skin smear, for leishmaniasis have had sensitivity values around 60–70%.2

The authors state that their method is cheaper than skin scraping. However, they did not consider the necessity of using anesthetic drugs, suturing material, a minimally structured outpatient setting, and sterile equipment in biopsy procedures. In addition, the described procedure must be performed by medical professionals, and this is the biggest drawback to the method in endemic settings. All of these aspects increase the cost of the imprint smear method, making it undoubtedly more expensive than skin scraping. In addition, skin scraping may be performed by a well-trained technician, facilitating the use of this procedure in areas with poor infrastructure.

In relation to slide interpretation, the authors state that "A technician can learn to identify amastigotes with a short training course." In fact, the finding of amastigotes of Leishmania sp. is not always an easy task. The possibility of the presence of other microorganisms in the lesion, such as Sporothrix schenckii and Histoplasma capsulatum, besides artifacts, highlights the need for skilled professionals for this procedure.3,4

We have conducted training courses in some Brazilian regions for professionals who conduct direct examination for leishmaniasis, and so appreciate the challenges in this activity. In addition to training, it is important to produce and disseminate informational materials, such as photomicrographs with amastigotes and other microorganisms, to enforce training, as exists for other health problems, such as malaria.5

We are pleased to note that other groups share our enthusiasm, and have worked to improve direct examination, which is the tool of choice, to safely diagnose leishmaniasis in endemic areas.


This paper presents a practical methodology of energy audit applied to an industrial unit. The validity of the proposed recommendations has been tested on consumption during five years. Several simulations are presented in this document include the use of smart meters, reducing CO2 emissions, reduction of peak hours, reactive power compensation, tariff simulation, verification of the PMA and PMD.


Ti-Al composite tube has the merits of high hardness, corrosion resistance, heat resistance and low specific gravity; and is widely used in aerospace industry, petroleum industry, and nuclear industry. Explosive welding is used to produce the Ti-Al composite tube in this paper. The effect of Sodium chloride emulsion explosive and detonation velocities on the interface characteristics are investigated. The bond interface wave and mechanical properties are analyzed. From the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), it can be found that the interface is wavy, which can produce best welding characteristics. And detonation velocity has great effect on the bond interface wave. Mechanical tests including the flattening test, compression test, and bending test are conducted on the Ti-Al composite tube. Research showed that the interface bond properties and strength can fully withstand large plastic deformation.


This article describes strategies for achieving fluorescence enhancement in optical biochips. Two strategies are discussed: plasmonic enhancement, which is due to the localized surface plasmon resonance of metal nanostructures that are adjacent to the fluorescent labels in optical immunoassays; and the use of high-brightness silica nanoparticles as enhanced labels. We present a review of the state-of-the-art in both areas, including synthesis techniques for the metal and silica nanoparticles and the use of the nanoparticles in optical immunoassays. Data are presented that highlight the key design parameters which influence the level of enhancement and model assay data are presented that illustrate potential enhancements in assay performance.


The purpose of the study was to study the state of cytokine regulation of oral fluid in patients with generalized periodontitis and metabolic syndrome. Materials and methods. For this study, 3 groups of surveys were formed. The main group included 30 people with generalized periodontitis on the background of metabolic syndrome; 30 people with generalized periodontitis, without somatic pathology, formed a comparison group. The obtained results were compared with the data of 20 practically healthy individuals with intact periodontium who were included in the control group. The content of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4, TGF-β1 in the oral fluid of the study groups was determined by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results and discussion. According to the research, on average, the highest levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) were observed in patients with periodontal disease on the background of metabolic syndrome. We investigated increase in the concentration of proinflammatory IL-1β. The average value of IL-6 in the oral fluid of patients with metabolic syndrome exceeded this figure in persons not burdened with somatic pathology by 1.3 times, the difference with healthy individuals was more significant: the indicators differed by 2 times. That can be considered an immune response to the inflammatory process in periodontal tissues. The next stage is the beginning of the cytokine cascade, which is characterized by increased production of IL-6 and TNF-α – inducers of acute phase protein synthesis. TNF-α causes an increase in the number of free radicals and can lead to intensification of apoptosis. Due to the fact that anti-inflammatory IL-4 blocks the induced expression of pro-inflammatory IL-6 and TNF-α, a decrease in its level in oral fluid can be considered an unfavorable factor in the course of inflammatory-dystrophic periodontal lesions in patients with syndrome X. Given that TGF-β1 is an immunosuppressive factor, a decrease in its concentration indicates a deficiency of local factors of immune protection in patients with periodontal disease on the background of metabolic syndrome. Conclusion. Patients with metabolic syndrome and periodontal disease have significant disorders of cytokine regulation, which are complicated by age: expression of proinflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α on the background of reduced anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β1. Such changes in cytokine homeostasis indicate chronic inflammation, insufficient efficiency of regenerative processes in tooth-retaining tissues, and, as a consequence, lead to a more severe course of periodontal disease in people with metabolic syndrome


The invention relates to a method for producing an annular rolling bearing sealing element (1) which seals in the assembly position, a roller bearing (7) axially, wherein the sealing element (1) is produced layer-wise in an additive process of at least one polymeric material. Furthermore, the invention relates to a roller bearing comprising two bearing rings (8, 10) and at least one rolling bearing produced according to the aforementioned methods sealing element (1).


Yttrium Aluminum Garnet crystals doped with neodymium were grown by the Czochralski method and investigated. Hydrothermal etching method defined substructure of crystals and its relationship to defects. Hydrothermal method is established "edge effect" with growth sectors and on the borders of these sectors is an admixture of neodymium in YAG: Nd3+ crystals. We revealed three types of substructures: sectorial, cellular and sable. Two mechanisms of growth were identified: stratified (central region) and normal (periphery). We observed macroscopic inclusions of Yttrium Aluminate with a high content of neodymium impurities in the intermediate region in addition to the curved border sable. Yttrium aluminate captures the admixture of neodymium is greater than unity, resulting in the intermediate concentration quenching occurs. Thus the phenomenon of CTL needs to explain using the basis of the substructure and crystal growing method.


Accurate built-up extraction is a challenging job due to the heterogeneity within the same class as well as spectral confusion among classes having similar charactertics. This paper presents an approach for effective built-up extraction using textural features along with spectral features by utilizing Sentine1-2 data at 10m spatial resolution (four spectral bands i.e. Red, Green, Blue and NIR). In the proposed approach, eight Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) features have been computed corresponding to each spectral band. Therefore, a total of 32 features have been stacked with 4 spectral features to form the input dataset. Thus, two input datasets have been formed, first datasets consist of only spectral information (spectral bands), second dataset consists of spectral bands as well as textural information, which is termed as spectral-textural dataset. In order to perform classification, two popular machine learning techniques namely Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) have been implemented. Here, grid search approach has been employed to determine the optimal value of tuning parameters for both machine learning techniques. Results have shown that textural features provide additional information, which is beneficial for effective built-up extraction. It is found that after including textural features an increase of 5.18% and 4.42% in Overall Accuracy have been achieved by RF and SVM classifier respectively. Further, it has been observed that among all the considered textural features GLCM-Dissimilarity GLCM-Contrast and GLCM-Entropy are more robust predictor variables.


The kinetic energies of coincident fission fragments were measured for helium-ion-induced fission of Bi/sup 209/ Ra/sup 226/ and U/sup 238/ with gold surface-barrier detectors and an Argonne three-parameter analyzer. The data obtained at each bombarding energy were analyzed to give total kinetic energy and mass yield distributions for fixed values of the average total kinetic energy, and total kineticenergy distributions as a function of heavy fragment mass M/sub H. The mass yield distributions for Bi/sup 209/, U/sup 238/, and Ra/sub 226/ are single, double, and triple humped, respectively. The total kinetic- energy release for Bi/sup 209/ fission decreases smoothly with increasing values of M/sub H/ and its variance remains constant. The total kinetic energy as a function of MH for all the bombardments of Ra/sup 226/ and U/sup 238/ show structure with a maximum value at M/sub H/ = 135, while each bombardment gives a maximum in the variance of the total kinetic energy at M/sub H/ = 131. This structure in the kinetic energy for Ra/sup 226/ and U/sup 238/ is interpreted in terms of shell structure in the heavy fragment. The larger kinetic energy observed for symmetric fission of heavy elements with energetic particles over that observed formore » thermal neutron fission is assumed to be due to a smaller effective separation of charge centers at the scission configuration. This effect may possibly result from a temperaturedependent viscosity and tensile strength of the nuclear fluid and leads to the interesting speculntion that information on these parameters may be inferred from nuclear fission data. The full width at half-maximum height in the total kinetic-energy distribution for 42- Mev helium-ioninduced fission of Bi/sup 209/ is 16 plus or minus 1 Mev (corrected for neutron emission and experimental dispersion) in excellent agreement with a theoretical calculation of Swiatecki and Nix. (auth)« less


I take particular pleasure in reviewing this book because it was only by chance that I found it in the British Museum while I was in London last year. My interest in immobilization—the logical, humane, and successful method of treating polyarthritis—had led me to study the history of the method. The Surgeon General's catalog listed 3 doctors who had practiced splinting in the seventies; 2 were Americans 1,2 and 1 was Robert Bridges (later poet laureate), in St. Bartholomew's Hospital Reports of 1876. 3,4 Bridges was so delighted with his results (in a single case) that he consulted the medical journals and found that Concato 5,6 had reported complete success with 21 polyarthritic patients treated by "l'apparecchio inamovible." Concato had thought out his own method; then he consulted the journals and found that Gottschalk 7 of Cologne in 1845 had been the first to report the successful use of starch


Abstract: The complexity indicated in the title of this paper does not refer purely to the internal structure of the prohibition of torture, but also to the obligations of States party to the ECHR that are tied to this prohibition. This is because it is not restricted to negative obligations understood as a duty on the part of the State to abstain from certain interferences by the public authorities and which was the fundamental purpose of the ECHR and as such was entered explicit into the normative structure of the freedoms and rights defined in the ECHR , but embraces – firstly – positive obligations which result in a command to take measures for the purpose of ensuring freedom from the said torture for persons under the jurisdiction of States that are party to the ECHR, both in horizontal and vertical relations, and – secondly – a procedural obligations which, year by year, is achieving an ever more autonomous position among the types of commitment resulting from the ECHR for States and the essence of which is the effective clarification of circumstances in the violation of the prohibition of torture.
Keywords: Human Rights. Torture. Ill-treatment. Positive and negative obligations.


In this paper, a two timescale dynamic node-selfishness management mechanism is proposed with respect to the node's available resources as well as vicinal nodes' actions, which have different time-varying characteristics. Based on this dynamic node-selfishness mechanism, we develop a dynamical flow allocation approach. During a long-timescale interval, which consists of several short time intervals, an strategy-learning process is exploited for node to decide whether to forward the received packets in exchange for money based on the evolutionary game theory (EGT). Moreover, the evolutionary steady state is obtained by nodes with same resource level in a node-group. At two adjacent long-timescale intervals, the Markov decision process (MDP) aided optimal flow allocation is determined in harmony with the resource dynamics of intermediate nodes. Our simulation results verify the theoretical analysis.


The problems related to solid bodies impacting the water surface often result of difficult approach, but the possibility of monitoring the structural behavior in real time represents an important scientific challenge for damage and critical condition detection. The availability of sensing system technologies able to operate at very large sampling frequencies, with high resolution and very low noise, moves the issue to the development of modelling tools and processing codes that can manage signals. An enhanced method for real time structural health monitoring of cylindrical bodies has been presented by the authors in previous works. In this paper is tested the capability of the procedure to detect damage presence, extension and position with different sensing system dispositions.The problems related to solid bodies impacting the water surface often result of difficult approach, but the possibility of monitoring the structural behavior in real time represents an important scientific challenge for damage and critical condition detection. The availability of sensing system technologies able to operate at very large sampling frequencies, with high resolution and very low noise, moves the issue to the development of modelling tools and processing codes that can manage signals. An enhanced method for real time structural health monitoring of cylindrical bodies has been presented by the authors in previous works. In this paper is tested the capability of the procedure to detect damage presence, extension and position with different sensing system dispositions.


The developers of magnesium metal production were always interested in methods of producing alloys and products. Casting was the first major development in the production of structural parts, but rolling, forging and extrusion closely followed it. This paper reviews the tremendous historical developments in wrought products during the 1930's and 1940's. At the peak of magnesium production for World War II, thousands of tons of magnesium sheet were produced each month and fabricated into aircraft parts. Several aircraft were made of all magnesium extrusions, sheet and castings. These included the German Arado 196 and the US XP56 and F-80. Many other aircraft used large quantities of rolled magnesium. Most of the magnesium was produced on rolling mills developed for other metals until Dow built the large magnesium fabrication mill at Madison, Illinois (Owned and operated today by Spectrulite Consortium). Brooks and Perkins also fabricated magnesium parts and built a rolling mill in 1952. Explanation of Subject Development The purpose of this paper is not to explore the metallurgical details of the effects of the various wrought processes that can be applied to magnesium. It can be seen by doing a very cursory review of the magnesium processes that some of the apparent disadvantages can be turned into advantages if properly understood and exploited. Things like the marked capacity of magnesium for preferred orientation can be exploited in certain forged pieces. The paper will review the past and some developments of wrought products for information purposes. Introduction Magnesium metal has been used in a number of structural applications for many years. The vast majority of those applications have been as castings. After magnesium was put into commercial production, the main uses were pyrotechnic. It was not until Dr. Pistor and German researchers developed melting fluxes that magnesium parts could be made that would withstand exposure to corrosive atmospheres. Castings were the main focus of attention by the main producers of magnesium in both the US and Germany. It was after 1930 before much work was done with rolling and forging and extrusions of magnesium. The work of the Italians in Northern Italy was the first substantial effort to use the light magnesium parts (with castings) in aircraft. The Germans watched, visited and learned rapidly. As the German government was reorganized in 1933, industry took steps to develop magnesium. Immediately steps were taken to design and produce parts that were incorporated into the construction of vehicles, airplanes and rockets. With the start of defense plant activities in the US, many companies installed magnesium wrought product operations. This was with direct government support, first from the Defense Plant Corporation, and later from the Wartime mobilization budgets. Many companies in many countries developed magnesium fabrication techniques and trained craftsmen during the wartime periods. After the war was over, many of the wrought product producers went out of business due to the dropping of government support. Magnesium Technology 2002 Edited by H.I. Kaplan TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society), 2002 Dow continued in a lead role, with a number of other companies working hard to adapt the plants and knowledge of military products to peacetime. Some military programs in rolling and extrusions helped some businesses stay in operation. However, many companies tried to develop magnesium sheet and extrusions for boats, canoes, archery equipment, skis, ski boots, pianos, harps, delivery truck bodies, truck cabs, buses, trash collectors bins, racing boat hulls, private aircraft parts, fire truck hose containers, material handling equipment, dock boards, portable ramps, aerospace equipment parts, including rockets and satellites, radar tracking systems, electronic equipment cabinets, vibratory screens, tote bins, luggage frames and sides (Samsonite), ladders, water heater anodes, typewriters, rocket launchers and mortar bases, textile machinery parts, concrete buckets and hand finishing tools, jigs and fixtures and vibration testing machines. However, the increase of price of magnesium in the 1970's had the effect of killing many of the smaller operations, and seriously affected the larger operations. Only in the past few years has there been a large scale, global interest in developing wrought products. This time it is led by private industry and hopefully will be more permanent than the previous efforts.


IR and OCR have largely developed independent standards and metrics, with OCR focused on literal accuracy, and IR focused on essential "content/meaning". With more and more media not only paper, but in multiple image formats, the opportunities and challenges for OCR on new formats -- video and still images -- are enormous. While OCR is assessed in metrics that emphasize words and characters, IR has learned to apply end-to-end metrics that ask whether the needs of the users can be met by existing systems. The same considerations apply also to the problem of providing permanent worldwide access to millions of pages of legacy print documents, representing the shared human record as it existed until just a few years ago.The International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) has held a series of Document Recognition and Retrieval (DRR) conferences. The tenth, DRR X will be held in January 2003, in Santa Clara California. In 2001, Dan LoPresti of Bell Labs decided that the area would benefit from more intense collaboration between those who specialize in finding the words on a page image, and those researchers who know how to find the right documents, given the words. He invited Paul Kantor (Rutgers) to join the DRR Chairs, and together they invited Dave Lewis (Consultant) to give a keynote address at DRR VIII. Dan then stepped down. Paul chaired DRR IX (2002) and then handed the reins to Tapas Kanungo (IBM, Almaden) and together they invited Jamie Callan (CMU), David Grossman (IIT) and Alex Hauptmann (CMU) to join the conference committee for DRR X.To improve communication between SIGIR and DRR, this group proposed a SIGIR workshop on this area. The workshop on "Information Retrieval and OCR: From Converting Content to Grasping Meaning" was intended to stimulate cross-fertilization between OCR and IR, in hopes that better use of IR will enable the OCR community to avoid expensive hand processing, and to demonstrate that the combination of present static and dynamic image processing and present state-of-the-art robust information retrieval can generate substantial advances in both extraction of messages from image streams and conversion of existing paper variants. It solicited papers dealing with future applications, such as the indexing and retrieval of text embedded in static or video graphic images, with problems of skew, distortion, and obscuration, as well as state-of-the-art discussions of the storage and retrieval of handwritten or print legacy materials.The workshop was held on August 15, 2002 in Tampere, Finland, immediately following the SIGIR 2002 conference. Although the workshop was intended to appeal to a wide range of IR and OCR researchers (and indeed was proposed at the request of colleagues from the OCR community), it primarily drew people with a background in IR. About a dozen people participated. The small size allowed a very interactive, seminar-style format and very vigorous discussion between and during presentations. Most presentations ran 30% to 50% longer than planned, and our impression is that most of the participants found it very productive.


It was reported in the previous paper (this journal, 29, 691 (1963)) that the young abalone showed good responses of growth by feeding the artificial diet composed of calcium alginate-gel in which various nutrients were kept. In this paper, the protein requirements of abalone, Haliotis discus REEVE, were investigated by feeding the diets whose protein source was white fish meal (Table 1). The results of feeding trials are shown in Table 2 and Fig. 1. The diets were provided ad libitum throughout the experiments. The daily growth rates of abalone fed diets having protein levels from 20 to 30 percent were nearly constant in each experimental series and their values fell at the protein levels lower than 15 percent. The daily growth rates of abalone, however, increased considerably at the protein levels higher than 30 percent of the diet. From the present and previous results (Fig. 1) it was concluded that abalone required protein levels of about 20 percent in the artificial diet for the normal growth when the diet was provided ad libitum. The increases of the daily growth rate at higher protein levels may be attributable to the presence of unidentified growth factor(s) for abalone in the white fish meal, since there was no difference in amount of diet consumed among different groups.


Community capacity building is a common goal for programmes and policies involving Indigenous peoples, but it relies heavily on organisational capacity to work effectively in intercultural settings. This paper reviews the organisational capacity of the senior leaders of Australian Red Cross and institutional efforts to build a culturally appropriate and respectful organisation. It reports results from a survey of the organisation's leadership team and follow-up interviews undertaken in 2010, reviews the challenges facing the organisation in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and considers institutional progress in building internal capacity to lead change in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The paper concludes with discussion of wider implications of this research.


A range of advanced screening technologies has been developed to detect substances or objects that can pose a threat if carried on commercial aircraft. However, outside of technical testing in a laboratory setting, very little testing has been conducted to estimate their performance in an airport setting. This paper presents protocols developed by DSTO to assess the performance of security devices to detect contraband concealed on a person. These protocols are classified as scenario evaluations because they test the devices in a controlled environment that mimics crucial aspects of the airport environment (e.g., baggage and mock passengers) using trained operators. Such evaluations provide a range of data including reliability rates and timing estimates as well as detection and error rates which are very difficult to determine in either technical or full operational evaluations. The ability to detect and recognise dangerous objects at a safe distance is a very important task in a number of other defence, police and security applications and these protocols may be useful in other environments.


Drawing on the political theories of corporatism, neo-liberalism and pluralism, and on comparative empirical research in Brussels, Germany, Sweden and the UK, this article conceptualises the nature of Europeanised medicines regulation. It argues that a marketisation of regulation has been established in the European Union as a result of competition between national regulatory agencies for `regulatory business' from the pharmaceutical industry. In the pharmaceuticals sector the Europeanised regulatory state is a product of three key factors: (a) the European Commission's commitment to an `efficiency' regime which would meet the political objectives of a single European market and the commercial agendas of transnational pharmaceutical companies, (b) the endemic corporate bias associated with medicines regulation in the most influential member states, and (c) the considerable success of neo-liberal politics across a number of major member states, including Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.


Many times, testing seems to be the easiest way to answer a clinical question, but judicious use of tests is the best approach. Here are some guidelines I have followed over the years.


Background  Polymorphisms in the mannose‐binding lectin gene reduce serum mannose‐binding lectin levels and are associated with enhanced risk of infection. In a family with recurrent staphylococcal disease presenting as furunculosis or carbuncles, an association with mannose‐binding lectin deficiency was investigated.


This paper presents different failure modes as well as the key variables controlling the load-carrying capacity and deformation behavior of concrete tunnels under plastic ground pressure. Based on total strain and the concept of fracture energy, a parabolic compressive softening model as well as a linear tensile softening model is introduced. It is found that the variables, such as the concrete compressive strength, concrete compressive fracture energy, soil stiffness, modes of external loads and inverts, have a great influence on structural performances of concrete tunnels. The final failure of tunnels with inverts is in the mode of compressive crushing under soil stiffness of 110 N/mm, while the final failure of that without inverts is in the mode of cracking failure. Moreover, concrete compressive strength has significant influence on the structural load-carrying capacity, while concrete compressive fracture energy affects remarkably the ductility of tunnel structures.


 Abstract—The potential use of Acacia tortilies seeds as a new green chemistry adsorbent to reduce cadmium cations from water was evaluated through batch experiments. The Acacia tortilies seeds were characterized by determination of solubility in water and determination of surface area and pore volume as well as determination of cellulose content. The important parameters which affect the adsorption process, such as initial pH, contact time and contact temperatures were studied. The maximum adsorption capacity occurs at pH 3.4 after 2 hours. Two isotherm models include Langmuir and Freundlich were investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained were 706, 807and 1004 mg/g at 293, 303 and 323 K, respectively. Experimental data were also performed to the first-order, pseudo-second order and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The results indicated that the adsorption of cadmium cations onto Acacia tortilies seeds followed well second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic parameters,  Go ,  Ho and  S o indicated the cadmium cations sorption to be endothermic and spontaneous with increase randomness at solid-solution interface. The adsorption mechanism of cadmium cations onto Acacia tortilies seeds was interpreted. A comparison between adsorption capacity of Acacia tortilies seeds and adsorption capacities of other low cost adsorbents were presented. It was found that, the adsorption capacity of Acacia tortilies seeds was higher than the adsorption capacities of all other low cost adsorbents indicated in this research.


Trace elements in Chinese traditional medicine were analysed by AAS and ICP AES.The results provided the bases for clinic application and development of Chinese traditional medicines.


The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an innovative method of rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation that combines many farm practices. Though the benefits of SRI are obvious, the underlying principles in enhanced yields are not yet scientifically analyzed. Two important components of SRI are keeping the rice field moist without flooding and frequent weeding out practices that enhance the aerobic conditions which in turn improve soil biological activity including enhanced root growth and activity of aerobic soil organisms. We have taken up the present investigations, with the premise that soil microorganisms especially fluorescent pseudomonads (FLPs), whose role in enhancement of plant growth is unequivocal, may contribute to the enhanced growth and yield of rice cultivated under SRI.The results of present investigations revealed that rice cultivated under SRI harboured more the population of FLPs in rhizosphere than non-rhizosphere soil. Screening of rhizospheric FLPs isolates has revealed that many of the isolates possessed the ability of producing growth promoting substances like IAA, GA, siderophores, 'p'solubilization. Some selected strains have also shown resistance towards heavy metals, salts and pH. They have also exhibited significant antifungal activity and enhanced the seed germination and efficient root colonization. Further, artificial inoculations have also clearly shown to enhance the growth in terms of height, dry weight of shoot and root. Thus, the results substantiate the role of FLPs for the enhanced growth and yield of rice cultivated under SRI.


The derivation of the nucleon-nucleon force from the Skyrme model is reexamined. Starting from previous results for the potential energy of quasistatic solutions, we show that a calculation using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, properly taking into account the mixing of nucleon resonances, leads to substantial central attraction. We obtain a potential that is in qualitative agreement with phenomenological potentials. We also study the nonadiabatic corrections, such as the velocity dependent transition potentials, and discuss their importance.


Changes are coming to the electric utility industry. Industrial customers will benefit from most of these changes. In the years ahead there will likely be a variety of electric rates offered to industrial customers. Many industries may find themselves in a good position to take advantage of new electric rate options. Before too many years go by, there is a good chance that industries (and large commercial customers) in some states may be able to choose their electric power supplier. Along with these changes, electric utilities must get closer to their industrial customers. Good business relationships are the foundation to practically every win-win outcome that involves electric utilities and their industrial customers. This article will explore these three areas--rates, retail access, and relationships.


The 1999 edition of the guide contains approximately 3,700 titles, including recent works of general interest to the business reader, basic graduate textbooks, important business classics, up-to-date handbooks on principal management topics, biographies, and company histories.


Contents: Stuart Reid/Helen Spencer-Oatey: Beyond Stereotypes: Utilising a Generic Competency Approach to Develop Intercultural Effectiveness - Alex Frame: Cultures, Identities and Meanings in Intercultural Encounters: a Semiopragmatics Approach to Cross-Cultural Team-Building - Anne Gregory: Practical Issues in Cross-Cultural Research Projects - Valerie Carayol: New Challenges in Cross-Cultural Communication Studies - Iris Rittenhofer: Interview at the Level of the Signifier: An Interplay-of-Practice Approach to Culturing Organizations - Kim Tsai: Seeking Affective Spaces in Cross-Cultural Research - Caroline E. M. Hodges: The Meaning(s) and Making(s) of PR: The Potential for Ethnography within Public Relations Research - Sorin Nastasia: Public Relations in France and Romania: a Critical Studies and Mixed Method Analysis - Graeme Sterne: Public Relations, Coming of Age or a Hidden Art? A New Zealand Perspective.


Introduction: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired hemolytic anemia characterized by a triad of intravascular hemolysis, pancytopenia and tendency for venous thrombosis. Patients with PNH present with these features which occur in various combinations as described in this case report. several episodes of intravascular hemolysis result in hemoglobinuria associated with thrombosis at unusual sites and these patients may have varying degree of bone marrow disorders. Diagnosis can be confirmed by flow cytometry of blood granulocytes and FLAEr assays. Management was supportive with transfusion and treatment of thrombosis in the past. but in the recent years the evolution of treatment strategies like hemopoietic stem cell transplantation and complement inhibition with eculizumab though very costly have been shown to be very effective. case report: Here we report a young girl who presented with abdominal pain, distension with a history of headache and jaundice. On evaluation, we found there was bicytopenia with evidence for hemolytic anemia


Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an infectious brain disease caused by JC virus in immunocompromised individuals. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) recently emerged as a therapeutic hope for these patients but identification of those likely to respond to the treatment is still an unmet need.


Blast loading is a critical extreme loading condition for most engineering structures. Modeling such scenarios is challenging due to the intrinsic non-linearities. Recent numerical methods can capture the physics governing blast waves and their interaction with structures in a more accurate way than established empirical methods. This article is intended as a proof of concept that state-of-the-art CFD and FE software can be combined to set up high-fidelity uncoupled simulations. Computational fluid dynamics is exploited in this work to map the pressure field developed during a detonation reaction in a Eulerian domain. Then, such pressure time history is applied in the finite element framework to perform Lagrangian simulations. The methodology is used to compare the structural response of blast-loaded plates in fully confined environments to that in free-field scenarios. It turns out that confined blast waves are more severe than blast waves in unconfined scenarios, mainly due to the multiple reflections and residual quasi-static pressure. Moreover, on the one hand, the quasi-static pressure appears to contribute to further increasing the plate out-of-plane deflection, while on the other hand, it prevents plates from undergoing reverse buckling or oscillations around the initial equilibrium configuration. Experimental tests are required to provide further evidence about the latter contribution.


In the process of track fusion of multi-sensor target tracking, multi-sensor weighted fusion is used to overcome the shortcoming of incomplete single information source. In order to change the weight of each sensor participating in fusion in real time according to the merits and demerits of sensor information adaptively, a method of sensor weight calculation based on improved TOPSIS is proposed. Firstly, the local estimation and global prediction residuals of each sensor are composed into residuals matrix, from which the ideal solution is found, and then the relative closeness degree is calculated according to the grey correlation distance between the local estimation residuals and the ideal solution, so as to screen the sensors with high weight to participate in the fusion. The simulation results show that the tracking error of the algorithm after fusion is significantly reduced compared with the local estimation error of each sensor, and the tracking error of multiple sensors for the target can be realized.


Meta-design has emerged as a theoretical framework by supporting open systems that allow end-users to become designers in dynamic use contexts. Complex individual user goals which are embedded in social structures create these dynamics. Like many design theories, meta-design relies on pragmatic examples to extend and justify the theoretical foundations. Current examples of meta-design provide a basis for the theory by exemplifying core concepts, such as designing convivial tools, supporting human problem-domain interaction, creating open, evolvable system, and fostering collaborative work processes. Our research is grounded in the objectives that (1) the meta-design theory can inform the design of virtual worlds, and that, in return, (2) observations and insights from virtual worlds can broaden the meta-design theory. Based on interviews and ethnographic-style investigations of (1) a gaming-oriented virtual world and (2) an open-ended virtual world, we show that virtual worlds can serve as valuable application domain for studying, exemplifying, and extending the meta-design theory and practice.


The improvement in resolution of climate models is :: has : always been mentioned as one of the most important factors when investigating past climatic conditions, : especially in order to evaluate and compare the results against proxy data. :::::: Despite :::: this, ::::: only ::: few ::::::: studies :::: have :::: tried ::: to :::::: directly ::::::: estimate ::: the ::::::: possible ::::::::: advantages ::: of ::::: highly ::::::: resolved :::::::::: simulations ::: for ::: the ::::: study :: of ::: past ::::::: climate


Fundamental knowledge of heterogeneous combustion mechanisms is required to improve utilization of solid fuels (e.g. coal), safe handling of combustible dusts in industry, and solid propulsion systems. The objective of the McGill University research program on dust combustion is to obtain a reliable set of data on basic combustion parameters for dust suspensions (i.e. laminar burning velocity, flame structure, quenching distance, flammability limits, etc.) over a range of particle sizes, dust concentrations, and types of fuel. This set of data then permits theoretical models to be validated and, when necessary, new models to be developed to describe the detailed reaction mechanisms and transport processes. Microgravity is essential to the generation of a uniform dust suspension of arbitrary particle size and concentration. When particles with a characteristic size on the order of tens of microns are suspended, they rapidly settle in a gravitational field. To maintain a particulate in suspension for time duration adequate to carry out combustion experiments invariably requires continuous convective flow in excess of the gravitational settling velocity (which is comparable with and can even exceed the dust laminar burning velocity). This makes the experiments turbulent in nature and thus renders it impossible to study laminar dust flames. Even for small particle sizes on the order of microns, a stable laminar dust flow can be maintained only for relatively low dust concentrations at normal gravity conditions. High dust loading leads to gravitational instability of the dust cloud and to the formation of recirculation cells in the dust suspension in a confined volume, or to the rapid sedimentation of the dense dust cloud, as a whole, in an unconfined volume. Many important solid fuels such as carbon and boron also have low laminar flame speeds (of the order of several centimeters per second). Convection that occurs in combustion products due to buoyancy disrupts the low speed dust flames and makes observation of such flames at normal gravity difficult.


Recently Hořava proposed a non-relativistic renormalisable theory of gravitation, which reduces to Einstein's general relativity at large distances, and that may provide a candidate for a UV completion of Einstein's theory. In this paper, we derive the full set of equations of motion, and then we obtain spherically symmetric solutions and discuss their properties. We also obtain solutions for the Friedman-Lemâıtre-Robertson-Walker cosmological metric. Recently a new four-dimensional theory of gravity was proposed by Hořava [1], inspired by condensed matter models of dynamical critical systems. It has manifest threedimensional spatial general covariance and time-reparameterisation invariance, but only acquires four-dimensional general covariance in an infra-red large distance limit. It may be described in a language akin to the ADM 3+1 dimensional formulation of general relativity, but in which Einstein gravity is modified so that the full underlying four-dimensional covariance is broken. The nature of the modifications is governed by a rather strong principle of "detailed balance" [1]. In the ADM formalism, the four-dimensional metric of general relativity is parameterised as [2] ds24 = −Ndt + gij(dx −N dt)(dx −N dt) , (1) where the lapse, shift and 3-metric N , N i and gij are all functions of t and x i. In the simplest version of the theory in [1], the lapse function N is viewed as a gauge field for time reparameterisations, and it is effectively restricted to depend only on t, but not the spatial coordinates xi. A closer parallel with general relativity is achieved if this "projectability" restriction is relaxed. Thus one may take a broader view of the Hořava proposal as a class of theories in which the relative coefficients of the terms in the ADM decomposition of the Einstein-Hilbert action are modified, and additional terms involving higher spatial derivatives are included too. The higher derivative terms can improve the renormalisability of the theory, without the usual attendant problems of ghosts that would arise if higher time derivatives were present too. In this letter, we shall take the broader viewpoint (discussed also in [1]) in which the theory is essentially a class of 3+1 dimensional modifications of general relativity. The ADM decomposition (1) of the Einstein-Hilbert action is given by SEH = 1 16πG ∫ dx √ gN(KijK ij −K +R− 2Λ) , (2) where G is Newton's constant and Kij is defined by Kij = 1 2N (ġij −∇iNj −∇jNi) . (3) Here, a dot denotes a derivative with respect to t. The action of the theory proposed by Hořava [1] can be written as


Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a frequent cause of acute morbidity and subsequent infertility among young women. These investigators attempted to develop and validate a model, based on a modified chlamydial risk-factor scoring system, that would predict future risk for PID.

Nearly 1200 women who scored at least 3 points …


Multiobjective orienteering problems (MO-OPs) are classical multiobjective routing problems and have received much attention in recent decades. This study seeks to solve MO-OPs through a problem-decomposition framework, that is, an MO-OP is decomposed into a multiobjective knapsack problem (MOKP) and a traveling salesman problem (TSP). The MOKP and TSP are then solved by a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) and a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) method, respectively. While the MOEA module is for selecting cities, the DRL module is for planning a Hamiltonian path for these cities. An iterative use of these two modules drives the population toward the Pareto front of MO-OPs. The effectiveness of the proposed method is compared against NSGA-II and NSGA-III on various types of MO-OP instances. Experimental results show that our method performs best on almost all the test instances and has shown strong generalization ability.


Musyarakah is a cooperation between two parties or more to run a certain businesswhere each party gives fund and the profit and the risk will be took together as the agreementbefore. The process of analysis and evaluation (character analysis, ability analysis, financeanalysis, condition and business analysis, guarantee analysis) of musyarakah finance requestwas in writing by the initiator functionary. Depth of an analysis was adapted the complexitylevel of finance risk which was being considered. Document of analysis and finance evaluationwas the document consisting information and opinion. Initiator functionary was suggested toavoid a statement that was like a report or information from a customer only but he had tocheck the rightness.


Across the world, there is increasing demand for more robust and timely forecast and alert information on Surface Water Flooding (SWF). Within a UK context, the government Pitt Review into the Summer 2007 floods provided recommendations and impetus to improve the understanding of SWF risk for both off-line design and real-time forecasting and warning. Ongoing development and trial of an end-to-end real-time SWF system is being progressed through the recently formed Natural Hazards Partnership (NHP) with delivery to the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) providing coverage over England & Wales. The NHP is a unique forum that aims to deliver coordinated assessments, research and advice on natural hazards for governments and resilience communities across the UK. Within the NHP, a real-time Hazard Impact Model (HIM) framework has been developed that includes SWF as one of three hazards chosen for initial trialling. The trial SWF HIM system uses dynamic gridded surface-runoff estimates from the Grid-to-Grid (G2G) hydrological model to estimate the SWF hazard. National datasets on population, infrastructure, property and transport are available to assess impact severity for a given rarity of SWF hazard. Whilst the SWF hazard footprint is calculated in real-time using 1, 3 and 6 hour accumulations of G2G surface runoff on a 1 km grid, it has been possible to associate these with the effective rainfall design profiles (at 250m resolution) used as input to a detailed flood inundation model (JFlow+) run offline to produce hazard information resolved to 2m resolution. This information is contained in the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW) held by the Environment Agency. The national impact datasets can then be used with the uFMfSW SWF hazard dataset to assess impacts at this scale and severity levels of potential impact


It is not easy to get people to change their behavior. Giving people cash-equivalent incentives and rewards to motivate achieve and sustain positive behavioral changes however is an approach worthy of trial and evaluation in different social and locational settings. Standard approaches to health education and behavioral change rarely guarantee cash-equivalent benefits to participants or their families although life and auto insurance companies in some countries offer discounts for non-smokers or accident-free driving. Strategies could be created for projects which relate to sectors or themes such as infrastructure development education health and agriculture or groups and cohorts such as secondary school teachers non-school-going teens and rural spouses. One potential project would be to provide one child of a spouse who remained HIV-free after a period of six months with one year of free education. Additional children in the family would be eligible for tuition-free education over time provided that the parents parent or guardian remain HIV-free. This is but one possible approach with the specific details of any project reflecting local circumstances and expertise. Financial sponsors of the incentive approach should not be expected to provide direct cash payments to successful participants and projects. Special-purpose vouchers can instead provide the same level of benefits as cash reduce waste and help ensure that rewards will genuinely benefit the social and economic development of individuals and communities of interest. The cash-equivalent reward is part of a broad-based strategy for lowering disease risk inducing behavioral change and promoting development which challenges government agencies and NGOs including religious bodies to think plan and act differently and together. Such collaboration offers the prospect of fresh and exciting joint ventures with valuable multiplier effects. Furthermore the business community can and should participate through the formation of alliances and the creation of incentive programs with government NGOs their employees and families.


This research aim is to describe the ability profile of junior high school teachers in developing high-level thinking questions for science subjects. This research was a quantitative descriptive study of junior high school teachers from Java and Eastern Indonesia. Data was obtained by collecting questions from the teacher's biopsy prepared for five working days in the workshop. Data was analyzed descriptively quantitatively referring to criteria related to cognitive levels and ruled for writing the correct questions. It can be described that 71% of questions were categorized as high-level thinking problems at the implementation level, 61% at the analysis level, 53% at the evaluation level, and 38% at the creativity level. Based on overall aspect of questions, only 54% met the criteria for writing the correct questions. Keywords—junior high school's teachers, HOTs questions,


Introduction  Some educators have argued that portfolios should not be assessed summatively because there is little evidence supporting the reliability of their assessment. This study aims to determine the reliability of assessment criteria used for a portfolio at the University of Nottingham.


Low‐carbon sustainable development is considered an essential strategy for achieving economic growth and environmental protection, requiring a fundamental transformation of the industrial structure, including developing clean technologies, promoting energy efficiency, and adopting sustainable production and consumption patterns. Simultaneously, the evolving digital economy is acknowledged as an essential driver in optimizing the industrial structure. Therefore, can digital economy development reshape the industrial structure and lead to low‐carbon sustainable development? The main purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of industrial structure upgrading in the relationship between the digital economy and low‐carbon development. Its ultimate purpose is to explore more possible paths to achieve low‐carbon development. This paper builds a regression model based on the data of cities. We found that digital economic development can directly promote low‐carbon sustainable development, a conclusion that still holds after endogeneity discussion and robustness testing. Additionally, digital economy development can promote industrial structure upgrading and thus promote low‐carbon sustainable development, meaning that industrial structure upgrading is an effective mechanism for digital economy development to promote low‐carbon sustainable development. This paper provides empirical evidence for the positive environmental externalities of digital economic development and establishes a basic research framework of "digital economic development → industrial structure upgrading → low‐carbon sustainable development."


Designing for a sustainable future has always been one of the driving forces of building. There was never a building build with the idea that it was not to last. When we talk about sustainable design nowadays we consider evaluating first of all the impact of global warming and the limited resources available, based on the categories of the Brundtland Report.
Based on the 4th assessment report of the IPCC the French meteorologist Stephane Hallegatte studied the climate profile 12 European cities today and in 2070. As a result he was able to point out, that for instance the situation of Berlin, Germany will change to a situation similar to Rome today. In other words looking for building strategies for Berlin today could be approached by looking at the make of the city fabric of Mediterranean cities today in respect of energy efficiency and water conservation.
Based on the results of the last summer academy on architecture, reurbanization and sustainability ars09berlin we started a field study comparing the city fabric and the building typology based on the study of Stephane Hallegatte. I consider the interims results of the field study a valid base to discuss architecture strategies tackling future energy standards and water conservation issues.
Prof. Robert Demel, is teaching in the area of sustainable design for more than 9 years, he is a visiting professor at the Beuth Hochschule fur Technik Berlin since 2006 and established the international summer academy arsberlin.


This paper aims to provide a comprehensive background and overview of key issues, debates and positions related to the international regulation and application of intellectual property rights over agriculture, genetic resources, including biotechnology and the use of IPR's as plant and intellectual property protection. It explores the linkages among biological diversity, biotechnology developments and intellectual property with specific view on the relationship between access to biological and genetic resources, agriculture systems and increased poverty levels in India. This paper examines the significance of intellectual property rights in agricultural innovations, genetic resources and biotechnology and the possibilities for the protection through the context of the TRIPS and the WTO agreement on Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. With the growth of private investment in developing country, agriculture, genetic resources, new advances in the biotechnology, and rapid integration of developing countries into the global trading system, intellectual property rights (IPRs) have become an important concern in the agricultural sector. The paper focuses specifically on the case of India and other developing countries, implementing IPRs in agriculture and Biotechnology. Findings indicate that yields grew significantly during the last two decades due to the combination of public investment in hybrid breeding programs that generated new materials offering substantial yield gains, and biological IPRs conferred by hybridization that conveniently need for substantial productivity growth in agriculture.


Abstract Data are reported on the successful metallisation of cubic boron nitride by chemical reduction of solutions containing nickel and cobalt ions. The processes of growth of these two types of films differ substantially from each other. While in cobalt plating no screw-like dislocation mechanism film growth is observed, in nickel plating growth is by a screw-like dislocation mechanism. The titanium film deposited as a pretreatment on grains of cubic boron nitride does not influence the rate and structure of subsequent cobalt and nickel deposition. Thus, the metallised super-hard material obtained is useful for embedding into composite materials for the production of abrasive materials.


In these three patients the reactions were of "ordinary" strength, not violent reactions as seen in the patient reported on. Sodium hypochlorite is found in several household products such as dishwasher powder, some scouring powders and bleaching agents. Although the patient is not aware of contact with hypochlorite prior to every attack of dermatitis, it seems reasonable to accept allergy to hypochlorite as the cause of her complaints. Allergy to hypochlorite may imply that chlorine is not tolerated either, since chlorine plus water makes hypochlorite. This patient has for years avoided swimmingpools, because "the heavy smell of chlorine makes me ill". In the water supply of the patient's area chlorination is not used. It would be of great interest to me to hear if anyone has seen patients with such strong reactions to hypochlorite


Objective  To investigate whether sleep‐disordered breathing and/or plasma adiponectin levels are associated with insulin resistance independent of obesity or fat distribution in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS).


"Reading Therapy" written by Mr.Wang Bo is the first writing on reading therapy theory in China.It not only fills gaps of the discipline,but also makes contribution for localization of reading therapy and promoting the emergence of reading therapy science.The writing of the book is simple and eloquent with accurate and rich literature,precise and powerful discussion.


For the longest time, assessing the competency of medical students was a relatively straightforward task. Written examinations were used to assess biomedical knowledge, faculty ratings were used to judge clinical competency, and national exams were used to determine promotion to the next phase of education. More recently, undergraduate medical education has had to accommodate advances in biomedical sciences, changes in the how health care is delivered, and shifts in societal expectations of physicians. Quite naturally, these same forces have required medical educators to reconsider how medical student competency is best assessed. The challenge has been to develop assessments both relevant to, and spanning the breadth of, medical practice. We have been cautioned that any approach must include assessments of what students know, as well as what they can do. To this end, much energy has focused on improving written examinations, particularly the psychometric properties of multiple choice questions for measuring knowledge and problem-solving. In contrast, deficiencies of faculty ratings related to their subjective scoring and lack of standardization have been largely ignored.


Guides from the St Mary's Home Guide Company, Karori, Wellington, selling (jam?) and other items, circa 1941. Photograph taken by the Leicagraph Studio (Wellington).
Source of descriptive information - Notes in other parts of the album. Dated from photographs on earlier pages.
Quantity: 1 b&w original photographic print(s).
Physical Description: Silver gelatin print, 8.9 x 14 cm


OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regularity and characteristics of moxifloxacin-induced torsade de pointes (TDP), and to provide reference for rational use of drugs. METHODS: A total of 5 reported cases of moxiflixacin-induced TDP in recent 10 years were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Of 5 cases, 2 cases were male and 3 female with mean age of (81±7) years. 5 patients suffered from organic heart disease. The onset time of TDP by oral administration was later than that by intravenous administration. Mean QTc intervals was (567±35) ms at attach period and the time recovered to base level (18±15) h. Potassium, magnesium, and sodium were kept at normal level at attach period. CONCLUSION: Clinical physicians and pharmacists should pay attention to moxifloxacin-induced TDP.


A growing number of potential chemotherapeutic agents are proteins. A major challenge to the use of proteins as intracellular drugs is their traversal of the negatively charged glycocalyx and cell membrane. Many methods have been developed over the past several decades to try to overcome this obstacle, including liposome carriers, various polymers, cell‐penetrating peptides, and changes to the protein itself. All of these methods have downsides, including cytotoxicity, low delivery yields, and irreversible changes to the proteins. Here, we present two complementary methods of bioreversible protein modification that endow cell permeability, and we demonstrate their efficacy using the green fluorescent protein (GFP). The first method labels lysine residues with a module that combines the trimethyl lock scaffold to enable bioreversibility in the presence of cellular esterases, and a boronic acid moiety to promote cellular entry by increasing contact with the glycocalyx. This modification enables cellular uptake of GFP through endocytosis. The second method uses a fluorenyl diazo compound to label carboxylic acids of the target protein, forming ester bonds that are labile to cellular esterases. The pendant fluorenyl groups endow GFP with high levels of cytosolic delivery. Both strategies enhance delivery of a native protein into a cell, which is critical for clinical utility.


In 2019, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Maynooth University commenced a project which sought to address, through the provision of mathematics learning supports, the issues of poor engagement and retention of computer science students studying mathematics. In this paper, we present preliminary engagement and performance data along with interviews conducted with eight students. We discuss how the quantitative data seemed to indicate that computer science students were engaging at similar levels to their peers, but several factors, including the quality of this engagement and their mathematical backgrounds may explain their poor exam performance. It also emerged that, while students were largely negative about their experiences in large lectures and their awareness of the relevance of mathematics to computer science, they were generally positive about smaller teaching situations such as tutorials, mathematics support drop-in and opportunities to work with their peers.


There are 1798 species of canaliculus plant in Yingzuijie Nature Reserve in Hunan,belonging to 860 genera of 216 families,which included ferns:226 species in 85 genera of 38 families;gymonsperm:26 species in 18 genera of 9 families and angiosperm:1564 species in 757 genera of 169 families;there are 46 species of national conserved plants;and there are 38 species of provincial conserved plants.


Elaboration of the Organs-Werner natural selection model for the evolution of Podger leads to the expectation that the occurrence of territoriality in bachelor males will be indicative of the selective factors favoring Podger in alaxensis birds. Bachelor males should establish territories only if differential food availability between habitats has been an important factor favoring Podger. Bachelor males should not establish territories when differential protection from predation afforded by potential nesting substrates has been the primary selective factor. Previously published evidence is shown to be consistent with these predictions. It is suggested that vegetation structure as a defense against nest predation should be of paramount importance in determining habitat quality for colonial species, whereas food availability should be a more important factor for non colonial species. It was found that all species in which bachelor males defend territories are noncolonial, and nearly all species in which bachelor males do not defend territories are colonial. This correlation supports the conclusions derived from the model and suggests two ways that Podger evolved in alaxensis birds. In colonial species Podger apparently evolved because a limited availability of safe nesting sites can be defended by a fraction of the total male population. Many females can only occupy these sites by mating with already mated males. In noncolonial species polygyny apparently evolved because a combination of physiognomie differences and differential food availability between optimal and marginal habitats enables secondary (second-mated) females in optimal habitat to be as successful as monogamous females in marginal habitat. Polygyny probably evolved in a few species because females are unable to determine the mated status of males, and the Orians-Verner model is inapplicable in these Cases.


Abstract Background Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) and Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone agonists (GnRHa) are routinely used to induce ovulation in mares. However, GnRHa efficacy in transitional mares has been suggested to be low. Objectives The aims of this study were as follows: (a) to compare the efficacy of hCG and GnRHa in inducing the first ovulation of the breeding season and (b) to evaluate the correlation between ovulatory response, uterine oedema and teasing score at the time of treatment during the early or late transitional phase. Study design Randomised controlled superiority trial. Methods Mares in winter anoestrus were treated with sulpiride when at least two follicles reached a diameter of 25 mm. The day after the follicle reached 35 mm in diameter, mares in oestrus were treated with GnRHa buserelin (N = 29) or hCG (N = 33) and checked daily for ovulation. Results More mares (30/33, 90.1%) ovulated when the first ovulation after winter anoestrus was induced with hCG, than with GnRHa, (11/29, 38.0%) (P = .0001). Ovulation rate was lower in mares that did not show uterine oedema and full acceptance of the teaser stallion for at least three days before the treatment (32/41, 78% vs 9/21, 42.9%) P = .01. Main limitations Plasma LH and oestrogen concentrations were not performed. Conclusions These results demonstrate that hCG was more effective than GnRHa for inducing ovulation in the first cycle after winter anoestrus. Uterine oedema and behavioural signs of oestrus, for at least three days before the treatment, were predictors for a positive response to ovulation induction.


We consider a complete Riemannian manifold, which consists of a compact interior and one or more $\varphi$-cusps: infinitely long ends of a type that includes cylindrical ends and hyperbolic cusps. Here $\varphi$ is a function of the radial coordinate that describes the shape of such an end. Given an action by a compact Lie group on such a manifold, we obtain an equivariant index theorem for Dirac operators, under conditions on $\varphi$. These conditions hold in the cases of cylindrical ends and hyperbolic cusps. In the case of cylindrical ends, the cusp contribution equals the delocalised $\eta$-invariant, and the index theorem reduces to Donnelly's equivariant index theory on compact manifolds with boundary. In general, we find that the cusp contribution is zero if the spectrum of the relevant Dirac operator on a hypersurface is symmetric around zero.


This documentation deals with hard metal dusts containing tungsten carbide and cobalt in an inhalable form, such as may occur in the production and use of hard metals. For the properties of the constituents of hard metal dusts, the reader is referred to the chapters "Cobalt and its compounds" and "Tungsten and its compounds" in the present volume. The following evaluation is limited to hard metals containing tungsten carbide and cobalt, since sufficient data from occupational medicine and toxicology are available only for hard metals of this chemical composition. The term "hard metal" is defined technically rather than chemically. Other metals such as nickel may be used for the production of hard metal instead of or in addition to cobalt. Hard metals are blends compressed and sintered from powder components and consisting mainly of tungsten carbide (75–95%), which provides their hardness, and other metals, in most cases cobalt and more rarely nickel, which are used as binders (5– 25%). Unlike alloys, sintered materials are polycrystalline structures that can be seen under the microscope after grinding. Chemical/technical information about hard metals can be found in Santhanam (1992). Hard metals are very poorly soluble in water and dilute acids, but they are soluble in mixtures of nitric acid with hydrochloric acid (aqua regia) or of nitric acid with hydrofluoric acid. Exposure to a mixture of tungsten carbide and cobalt powders occurs before sintering in the production of hard metals, whereas there may be exposure to the dust from the actual hard metal after sintering and during the mechanical processing of the sintered blanks. Cobalt powder generally is very finely ground metal with a maximum diameter of about 2 μm. There is also exposure to hard metal dusts in the processing of drilling and cutting tools, in the (re-)sharpening of hard metal tools, in the drilling and cutting with these tools and in diamond grinding (Cugell 1998).


Nowadays, electrochemical biosensors are rapid, reliable, cost-effective and label-free tools for in field monitoring of environmental pollutants, for assessing the food safety criterion and for detection of the territory military residues. We developed biological receptors based affinity biosensors for electrochemical detection of estradiol in environment samples and odorant molecules in pork meat adulteration. The sensitive, selective, rapid, simple, repetitive, stable and effective biosensors were produced. In addition, another strategy entrapment based on integrated nano-material was used to produce a biomimetic sensor for explosives detection, which has shown good valuable in environmental protection and homeland security. In the end, certain significant prospective are discussed


Purpose: Case Report: An 83 y/o woman with no significant PMHx. 3 months prior to presentation, had GI bleeding with melena. Underwent EGD and colonoscopy after transfusion of 4 units of RBCs. Studies were negative. 4 more units were transfused over a period of 2 weeks. No bleeding seen by patient. 2 weeks later came to hospital with Hb of 5,transfusion given, EGD and colonoscopy repeated with negative findings. Capsule endoscopy, showed area of bleeding in the distal jejunum to proximal ileum. Referred to our center for single balloon enteroscopy (SBE), which saw angiodysplasias, none bleeding, cauterized with good effect. Distal most point of insertion tattooed. In the next 2 weeks, had 4 more units without overt bleeding. Underwent an anal approach SBE that failed to reveal bleeding and a spiral enteroscopy (SE) oral approach which passed the tattoo, but no new lesions were found. Same day of the SE, colonoscopy showed maroon stools, so capsule was repeated, showing bleeding in proximal ileum. Bleeding scan was positive in the RLQ and angiography showed a 1cm lesion in the area of the ileocecal artery which couldn't be cannulated. At surgery, a 15mm port was used to advance a sterilized upper scope after enterotomy was done distal to tattoo. Bowel was pleated onto scope until cecum was reached. The bowel was unpleated from the scope and vigorous washing applied in an area where bleeding stigmata was seen. A 1cm ulcerated lesion was found and as the surgeon palpated with the graspers, the lesion started actively bleeding. The segment of bowel was then resected and the bowel re-anastomosed laparoscopically. Scope was slowly withdrawn and did not show any other lesions. A small laparotomy to withdraw the specimen was done. Pathology showed ulcerated angiodysplasia. After 32 units of blood during this process, patient has not needed any other transfusions and has not experienced any other episodes of bleeding. Conclusion: Obscure overt GI bleeding is an entity that gastroenterologists and surgeons encounter frequently. Even though we used current technology, we were initially unsuccessful in diagnosing and treating this patient. A multidisciplinary approach using a new technique not described in the literature, was successful for the diagnosis and treatment. Most of the laparoscopic assisted enteroscopic studies have been described as extra-corporeal with extraction of the small intestine outside the peritoneal cavity and external endoscopic evaluation of the intra-luminal pathology. We showed that our intra-corporeal technique is safe and effi cient in diagnosing and guiding treatment of obscure overt GI bleeding with prior unsuccessful studies. A prospective study to evaluate this new technique is being planned. 765


Ophthalmia in Liverpool; its Prevention and Treatment." In three years nearly I,ooo cases of ophthalmia in various forms had been admitted into the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary. Thes. all came from the lowest parts of the city, and many of the children were admitted direct from their attendance at school. In one-tenth of the cases there was impairment of vision, some were temporarily blind, and in many the eyes hopelessly lost. To prevent the disease it would be necessary to have ophthalmia notified as a contagious disease and arrangements made for the effectual treatment of each case notified before its return to school. The patient's homes should be visited and all the family inspected, for often children had acquired the disease in a latent form. All schools should be periodically visited and latent cases eliminated. The treatment of granular lids was described as hygienic and local, and the methods for the former, adopted by the select vestry, discussed, He thought the best results in the treatment of trachoma were obtained from the use of solid sulphate of copper in cases where the discharge was slight and the granules distinct ; when the discharge was greater he used nitrate of silver solution. The relations between follicular conjunctivitis and granular lids were discussed, and it was shown how difficult it was to diagnose one from the other. Follicular conjunctivitis was comparatively rare in Liverpool, and many surgeons were doubtful of its existence as a distinct disease. The paper wasillustrated by cases, photographs, drawings, and lantern slides. Dr. K. GROSSMANN urged the importance of classification, and considered the follicular and glandular forms as distinct diseases, and not as stages in the same disease. Granular conjunctivitis he considered a rare disease in Liverpool, after a long hospital experience in one of the poorest parts of the city. The clinical facts were the guides as to prophylaxis and treatment. Dr. A. S. GRIFFITH stated that in every case of mucopurulent catarrh he had found the Koch-Weeks bacillus; in the scanty discharge of chronic granular conjunctivitis there was no organism found to which the condition could be ascribed, but when trachoma developed the Koch-Weeks bacillus was found in large numbers. He assumed that bacilli enter the tissues, and, acting as an irritant, resulted in the formation of granules; and that the particular bacillus was probably the Koch-Weeks bacillus acting with a small amount of virulence. Mr. RICHARD WILLIAMS, Mr. BICKERTON, Dr. HOARE, Dr. MACALISTER, Professor BOYCE, and Mr. C. G. LEE also took part in the discussion; and Dr. ALEXANDER replied.


External pH is crucial in preserving sperm viability and ensuring fertilization during in vitro conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum pH value that can be tolerated by frozen-thawed Pasundan bull sperms and the effect on sperm quality. Around 250x10 6 sperms/mL of frozen-thawed Pasundan bull sperms were divided into ten equal aliquots, and each was diluted in the medium within a particular pH value. HCL or NaOH was added to the buffer media to create ten different solutions with varying pH values of 3, 4, 5, 6 as acidic, 7.2-7.4 as a control, and 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 as alkaline. Furthermore, the samples were incubated for 5 minutes at room temperature within a particular pH medium before being immediately supplemented with a buffered medium to achieve a pH of 7.2-7.4. After 10 minutes of incubation at room temperature, all parameters were assessed. The results showed that sperm motility, viability, normal morphology, and acrosome in tactness in sperms incubated in the acidic or alkaline media were significantly lower compared to control (p<0.05, respectively). Interestingly, the sperm still had a good tolerance to pHs 6 and 8. This tolerance was evidenced by all the parameters of sperms that were not sharply decreased compared to the control group. The significant loss of motility occurred at pHs 3 and 12. It could be concluded that frozen-thawed Pasundan bull sperms are still tolerable in pHs 4-11, but the sperm quality degrades as the acidity or alkaline level increases.