Objective To study the perfusion time for hepatic scan w it h multi-slice spiral CT. Methods In total 45 volunteers with no history of liv er disease were divided into three groups, candidates in group A recieved a volu me of 30ml contrast medium at a injection rate of 2ml/sec,respectively, in group B a volume of 30ml contrast medium was given individually at a injection rate o f 4ml/sec and for group C a volume of 60ml contrast medium at a injection rate o f 4ml/sec was utilized. Axial 8-slice CT scans through the hepatic portal was performed in 10 seconds after the injection was started. The scan duration was 0 .5s and the scan interval was 2s. Total dynamic scan took 120s. CT numbers at ab dominal aorta, hepatic artery, portal vein and hepatic parenchyma were measured before and after the contrast material administration .The time-density curves were constructed, and time to peak (Tpeak) , time to equilibration (Teq) were o btained. Results The mean Tpeak of aorta, hepatic artery, portal vein, hepatic p arenchyma were 22.5s,25s,37.5s,45s in group A and C, and 20s,22.5s,30s,35s in gr oup B. The mean Teq were 60s, 40s, and 60s in A-C group respectively. Meanwhil e, with increasing rate or the volume of injection, the intensity of the enhance ment increased. Conclusions At the same volume of contrast medium, with a increa sed rate of injection, the time to peak enhancement and equilibration will be ad vanced, Meanwhile, the intensity of the enhancement follows the volume of contra st medium proportionally. At a 4ml/sec injection, the recommended delay time of liver scan was 25s, 40s, 65s for arterial, portal vein and hepatic parenchyma phase respectively.


Background: Due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), applying telehealth and telemedicine to prevent the spread of the disease is inevitable. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the application of telehealth and telemedicine in the human coronavirus epidemic. Methods: The systematic search was conducted using Medline (through PubMed), Scopus, and ISI Web of Science to identify relevant studies published until June 10, 2020. The inclusion criteria were the usage of telemedicine and telehealth as healthcare services during COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), or Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemics. This review was performed according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Results: In total, 598 articles were identified after the removal of the duplicates. After the systematic screening, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. The analysis showed that only one study was related to SARS, and the rest were on COVID-19 disease. Teleconsultation and televisit were more prevalent (55.6%) than the other types of telemedicine services. The most mentioned obstacles were access to suitable technologies and lack of assessment or follow-up to achieve outcomes. Conclusion: The results indicated that telehealth and telemedicine could have advantages, such as prevention of the spread of COVID-19, reduction of the healthcare burden, and maintenance of appropriate patient care. In addition to these benefits, several limitations and obstacles, including organizational, technological, and patient-related barriers, may be encountered. Hence, it is better to consider the necessary arrangements before implementing telemedicine.


Chronic subdural hematomas (CSDHs) are one of the most prevalent head trauma-related conditions. The middle meningeal artery (MMA) may participate in the pathophysiology of CSDHs. The aim of this study was to determine whether CSDHs are associated with large MMAs. Patients referred for CSDH embolization and having undergone a computed tomography angiography (CTA) before embolization were retrospectively included. For each CSDH patient, two age and sex-matched controls with a CTA performed during the study period were selected. Size comparisons of the MMA were performed between MMAs ipsilateral to CSDHs, on the contralateral side and in controls. Comparison was also made with angiographic measurements from CSDH embolization procedures. Seventy-five CSDH patients with available CTAs prior to embolization were enrolled and 146 MMAs were measured. One hundred and fifty controls were included and 288 MMAs were measured. The median diameter of the 94 MMAs ipsilateral to a CSDH (1.5 mm; interquartile range (IQR) [1.3-1.7]) was significantly larger than control MMAs (1.28 mm; IQR [1.15-1.4]) (p < 0.001). The median diameter of 52 MMAs on the side of a unilateral CSDH (1.6 mm; IQR [1.4-1.8]) was larger than the 52 contralateral MMAs (1.4 mm; IQR [1.25-1.6]) (p < 0.001). Among CSDH patients' characteristics, multiple surgeries were associated with significantly larger MMAs (> 1.7 mm; p=0.01). MMAs ipsilateral to CSDHs appear to be significantly larger as compared to contralateral MMAs and MMAs in a control population, suggesting the involvement of the MMA in the pathophysiology of CSDH.


Although researchers have vigorously studied organizational risk-taking for over 35 years, few efforts have been made to theoretically differentiate the unique relationships between different risk-...


In this study, an experiment was conducted to innovate a new design of interlocking concrete blocks (ICBs) containing recycled aggregates (RAs) by reducing the consumed time and cost in construction using an environmental approach. Accordingly, the designed ICBs were produced manually using RAs, and wallettes were easily built with a mortarless mechanism by stacking the blocks without any mortar layers. In the experiments, besides the individual compression tests of the two types of ICB with natural and recycled aggregates, the wallette samples that were produced using ICBs, containing either 100% natural aggregates or 100% Ras, were tested under axial compressive loading. The experimental results were assessed considering the compressive strength, displacement, and failure mode. In the obtained results, we noticed that the average compressive strengths of the wallettes that were produced with natural or recycled aggregate ICBs were large enough to meet the standards of Syrian regulations, which are considered an example reference. The resulting displacement values were acceptable and could be negligible in some wallette specimens. It was concluded that the innovative ICBs with both normal or recycled aggregates could be a good alternative to traditional blocks, especially in post-disaster or post-war areas.


To investigate the effects of dutasteride 0.5 mg once daily for 12 months on lower urinary tract symptoms in treatment‐naïve patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.


This paper deals with establishing basic biographical information about the Serbian prince and king Milan Obrenović, (1854–1901), which has been very arbitrarily cited in popular and academic publications. The aim is to direct the public to first-rate historical sources that provide information about where he was born, his childhood and education, and the people he encountered before he ascended Serbian throne in 1868. He is an important modern Serbian monarch whose views and actions have become controversial, so it is thus of the utmost importance to ascertain the circumstances surrounding his upbringing and coming-of-age. This is compounded by an ongoing tendency to create myths around his early life based on the content of numerous pamphlets published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Subtitle: Far from just rolling refrigerators, today's reefer trailers and units pack state-of-the-art technology to protect all types of perishable loads.


There is a paucity of literature on the topic of banked donor breastmilk use for healthy newborns. Herein, we describe two cases demonstrating the day-to-day medically indicated use of pasteurized, banked donor breastmilk in the University of Iowa Children's Hospital newborn nursery. These cases may inform scientific opinion about the role of banked donor milk for healthy newborns and may also facilitate research on the use of banked donor milk for this population.


objective To explore the approach and skill of surgery for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods 56 cases of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage operated on with small craniectomy and microinjurous surgery in our hospital during a period from January 1997 to April 2002 were analyzed retrospectively. Results With 8 months follow-up study after surgery and according to Glasgow Outcome Score(GOS), the cases of good recovery(GR), moderate disability(MD), severe disability(SD), persistent vegetative state(PVS) and dead (D) were 8 cases (14.3%), 32 cases (57.4%), 9 cases (16.1%), zero and 7 cases (12.5%) respectively. Among the dead cases ,3 cases with late cerebral herniation died of complications, while the rest died of intracerebral re-bleeding in several days after surgery. Conclusion Small craniectomy and microinjurous surgery for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage is a surgical method with advantages of slight trauma to brain tissue, complete evacuation of clot, stoping bleeding properly ,and improved effect.


PURPOSE: To provide the compsn. for treating pimples, etc., which contains eicosapentaenoic acid and α-linolenic acid, is useful for treating pimples and has no side effects, such as a skin allergy, and with which the fundamental treatment from the cause is expected. CONSTITUTION: This pimple treating agent compsn. which is useful for treating the pimples and does not induce the side effects, such as skin allergy, and with which the fundamental treatment from the cause is expected and which has an effect of skin beauty making as well by mixing fish oil contg. 18% eicosapentaenoic acid and 57.6% α-linolenic acid, mixing Perilla ocymoides oil of Perilla frutescens (L)., Baritos var, japonica (hassk). Hara species in a range of 0.1 to 1:20 by weight and further, compounding vitamin E as an antioxidant and a suitable amt. of a sweetening agent therewith.


This work presents a framework for the optimization of certain aspects of a British Experimental Rotor Programme-like rotor blade in hover and forward flight so that maximum performance can be obtained from the blade. The proposed method employs a high-fidelity, efficient computational fluid dynamics technique that uses the harmonic balance method in conjunction with artificial neural networks as metamodels, and genetic algorithms for optimization. The approach has been previously demonstrated for the optimization of blade twist in hover and the optimization of rotor sections in forward flight, transonic aerofoils design, wing and rotor tip planforms. In this paper, a parameterization technique was devised for the British Experimental Rotor Programme-like rotor tip and its parameters were optimized for a forward flight case. A specific objective function was created using the initial computational fluid dynamics data and the metamodel was used for evaluating the objective function during the optimization ...


The Bounded Retransmission Protocol(BRP) is an industrial protocol designed for the transfer of large data files over unreliable communication lines.The protocol relies on specific assumptions on the timed behaviours of its components.This paper describes our experiences with specifying and verifying BRP using TLA+.First,we give an informal natural-language description about the main principles and requirements of BRP.Then a model is built based on this.Using TLA+,we specify the untimed BRP first,and then complete the whole specification by adding real-time constraints.Finally,the properties of BRP are verified by the model checker TLC.


Researchers need to look at the current needs to ensure the relevance and validity of a study. The present study applies a model proposed by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) to investigate the current needs in the field of Malay language education; aspects of reading skills, particularly, reading comprehension. In addition, the researchers also intend to examine the suitability of this model in working with information in the current situation so that the research to be conducted is rich in information. This study uses a qualitative approach that involves semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Semi-structured interviews involved seven field experts and 321 documents of non-native Malay speakers. The results of the thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti 22 software found that this model is very suitable for working on the current needs to be used as a guideline by any researcher in obtaining information related to the research. Application of the Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) can assist researchers in planning and developing models or modules, products, instruments, and so on to suit current issues or needs in the world of education.


In the days of doing more with less and public outcries for accountability, higher education organizations are constantly assessing and evaluating how to meet the demands of both internal and external stakeholders. There is a technology-based solution that is gaining momentum within higher education that appears to have possibilities in helping colleges and universities evaluate and assess student learning. I attended the 2011 WCET (WICHE--Cooperative for Educational Technologies) conference held in Denver, Colo., where there was a buzz in the air about analytics. Being a first-time conference attendee, it did not take long for me to recognize that WCET is one of the think tanks for emerging technologies and distance learning in the U.S. Analytics in higher education are commonly referred to as academic analytics or learning analytics. The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SOLAR) distinguishes between the two types of analytics. SOLAR defines academic analytics as "the improvement or organizational processes, work flows, resource allocation, and institutional measurement through the use of learner, academic, and institutional data. Academic analytics, akin to business analytics, are concerned with improving organizational effectiveness" (2011, p. 4). They define learning analytics as "the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. Learning analytics are largely concerned with improving learner success" (2011, p. 4). The 2011 Horizon Report defines learning analytics as, "the interpretation of a wide range of data produced by and gathered on behalf of students in order to assess academic progress, predict future performance, and spot potential issues" 0ohnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 27). The report goes on to say that, "the goal of learning analytics is to enable teachers and schools to tailor educational opportunities to each student's level of need and ability" (para. 27). In the following discussion, I will emphasize learning analytics, with its focus on learning. The premise behind learning analytics is that colleges and universities collect large amounts of data and information within individual college courses and academic programs as a whole, but do not always have the capabilities to analyze the data collected in a manner that produces useful information for data-driven decision-making. Learning analytics applications have the capabilities to mine data, analyze it through statistical analysis, and produce reports that show patterns, trends, and exceptions (EDUCAUSE, 2010). Some touted benefits of analytics for colleges and universities are that it can be used to provide institutions with "predictive views of upcoming challenges, both for the institution and for students" and "resulting data-driven decisions can support optimal use of both economic and pedagogical resources while offering a structure for improved educational opportunities" (EDUCAUSE, 2010, para. 4). An example discussed in the EDUCAUSE report reflected on the critical first year of college, when students are making the transition from high school to college. Learning analytics can be used to determine when and where students falter during this critical time and help institutions determine where to best invest resources to ensure student success. Technology-based solutions such as learning analytics generate concerns for organizations. The downside of learning analytics is that there is some concern of the legality and ethics surrounding the data collected and analyzed, in the areas of privacy, security, and ownership. Another concern is how conclusions are drawn from the information provided. Some are concerned that the analysis provided could allude to student profiling. EDUCAUSE has addressed this concern by reflecting on an institution's irresponsibility of not taking action based on the useful information available. …


An analogy has been drawn between black hole physics and thermodynamics. In this paper the analogy is mathematically broadened. Equations similar to the standard partial differential relations of thermodynamics are found for black holes. The results can be used to supplement an undergraduate thermodynamics course.


The use of multi-parameter analysis of acoustic emission signals allows identifying destructive processes not only in prestressed concrete elements but also in classical concrete and reinforced concrete members. The analysis is not based on single descriptors but on destructive processes, which may be used to evaluate structural integrity of the elements. Therefore the key question is the minimum number of parameters needed to develop a database of reference signals. To determine the effect of particular descriptors on the correctness of the database being created, the authors applied dendograms and three statistical criteria, Wilks' Lambda, Rij and Tou criteria.


The invention relates to a dispensing device and fluid content storage in a bottle with external gas cartridge, a sealing system of adapting to different types of necks and having two positions. It consists of a body (4) for dispensing the liquid contained in the bottle with a control valve (5), a body (6) with a fast connection to an external gas circuit opening into the bottle, a nonreturn valve integrated into the body preventing the discharge of gas once the disconnected quick connection. These two bodies are pivoted on one another and in their continuity through a tight sealing system of the neck of the bottle (2). The device according to the invention is particularly intended for the distribution of wine by the glass.


: This manuscript is about individuals diagnosed with a mental illness. The question is: What would be the effects of a psychopathological diagnosis on the individual's happiness and on their social relationships? Faced with the problematizations regarding the theme, in view of the possible repercussions of the psychopathological diagnosis, scientific articles on psychopathological diagnosis were identified, verifying possible correlations regarding the happiness of individuals and their social relationships. For this purpose, the CAPES platform, the Psychology Electronic Journal Portal (PePSIC) and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) were used, with the descriptors "happiness" AND "mental disease" and/or "happiness" AND "mental health" AND "diagnosis" in scientific articles published from 2000 to 2020. Aspects around relation losses and impairment in quality of life were investigated, understanding that the perception of unhappiness before the diagnosis occurs. A misguided diagnostic result can negatively affect the happiness of individuals who receive ir and their surroundings. RESUMEN : Este manuscrito personas diagnosticadas con una enfermedad mental. La pregunta es: ¿Cuáles serían los efectos de un diagnóstico psicopatológico en la felicidad del individuo y en sus relaciones sociales? Frente a las problematizaciones en al ante las posibles repercusiones, se identificaron artículos la


This paper presents an approach for numerical optimization design of blade stacking line for fan/compressor blade. In the present method, the linear interpolation method and Constant-Volume Tetrahedron approach are developed to exchange data between a Navier–Stokes equation solver which is adopted to evaluate the aerodynamic performance and a commercial software which is used to attain the structural characteristics. Both of those two data exchange method have been demonstrates. A simple Genetic Algorithm as a robust design optimization tool is employed to achieve the multi-objective optimization. The proposed approach is then used to optimized a fan rotor blade with different optimization goals to verify the feasibility of the reliability. The results show that, the single objective optimization design can improve the aerodynamic performance or structural characteristics remarkably, but might not promote both of those performances. On the contrary, the multi-objective and multidisciplinary design can improve the aerodynamic performance and structural strength at the same time. So, it can attain higher aerodynamic performance while satisfying the blade strength requirements.


The main objective of this research is investigation of the effect of underload and overload combinations on the optimal overload ratio that facilitates life extension of precracked aircraft structural panels. Most of the preceding studies focused on effects from overload injections in a uniformly loaded structural component for mitigating crack propagation. Unfortunately, these studies did not fully consider the effect of combining underload with the injected overload on the optimal overload value. One of the goals of the current research is to shed light on the significance of the underload effect on optimal overload values. A further goal is to determine if it is preferable to inject underload before or after the overload application and what length of delay till another irregular injection should be applied for maximum life extension. The current investigation is based on computational studies using an analytical model simulating the crack growth and effects of irregular load injection on the propagation rate.


Based on the collage digital library project.The knowledge that is concerned with digital library,the metadata and Dublin core metadata,was analyzed at length.The general ideas that are about information retrieval system of digital library and retrieval model of integrating resource were put forward.Finally,the design of metadata base and the system of the digital resource retrieval based on the metadata were developed.


Title Study on frictional properties of zwitterionic hydrogels [an abstract of dissertation and a summary of dissertation review] Author(s) AHMED, Jamil Citation 北海道大学. 博士(生命科学) 甲第11552号 Issue Date 2014-09-25 Doc URL http://hdl.handle.net/2115/57274 Rights(URL) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.1/jp/ Type theses (doctoral abstract and summary of review) Additional Information There are other files related to this item in HUSCAP. Check the above URL. File Information Jamil_Ahmed_review.pdf (審査の要旨)


Innervation of Voluntary Muscle, Double, by J. I. HunterFig. I.: Motor Plate (Type I.) of Python .. . 582 Fig. II.: Plate of Type II. (Python) 582 Fig. III.: Double Innervation of Striate Muscle .. .. 582 Figs. IV. and V.; Tracings of Muscle Contraction in Cat After Division of Afferent Nerve Fibres and Control .. 583 Fig. VI.; Frog After Section of Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Rami Communicantes 584 Fig. VII.: Fowl After Division of Cervical SympatheticCord 585 Fig. VIII.: Same Bird Four Hours After Operation .. 586 Fig. IX.: Flaccid Paralysis of Left Wing of Fowl 587 Fig. X.: SameBird as in Figs. VII. and VIII. .. .. 588 Page. Endocervicitis,by H. H. SchlinkContinued. Fig. II.: TransverseSection of


The delivery of topical pressures at subatmospheric levels to heal acute and chronic wounds has been widely reported. This article reviews the role of this therapeutic modality to treat wounds of the lower extremity. Recent literature is re-viewed, and mechanisms of action of this process are also discussed.


Three devices based on tapered optical fibres are used to determine the presence of pollutants in water, through the measure of their spectral transmittance. Tapered optical silica fibres, coated (or not) with metallic and dielectric layers (Al or Cu and TiO2) are employed. It is found that, with our experimental arrangement, the presence of products derived from gasoline spills can be determined when we use the coated tapers. A complete characterization of the three different tapers is made in a wide spectral range (1300-1650 nm) and the wavelengths most suitable to detect and discern the hydrocarbons measured are identified. The results obtained show that these devices can be used for the early detection of oil spills in seawater in an industrial environment as simple and versatile sensors that can be self-cleaned with the movement of seawater.


Two central questions lead the development of this article.  What does it mean to study Latin America today?  How fruitful has interdisciplinarity been in latin american studies?  For the author the first question seeks to find the current meaning of latin american studies in the light of past experiences and the second seeks to evaluate the acquired knowledge in its historical trajectory.


It is remarkable to consider that the successful treatment of osteoporosis is a recent phenomenon. Despite the earlier availability of etidronate, bisphosphonates only became firmly established as the treatment of choice after the publication in 1996 of the Fracture Intervention (FIT) alendronate trial. Now the treatment options available are mainly with antiresorptive agents that prevent bone breakdown. Most studies with these agents show good antifracture efficacy with regard to the spine, whereas the more potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates also show a reduction in nonvertebral fractures. For patients with previous fractures, treatment with an anabolic agent that enhances bone formation may be desirable, and this is now possible since the introduction of 1-34 recombinant PTH. However, the use of PTH is limited by its high cost and the fact that it is given by subcutaneous self-injection. Recently, a new agent, strontium ranelate, has been licensed in Europe for the treatment of osteoporosis. Whereas the mechanism of action of strontium ranelate is not yet fully understood, compared with other treatments, it seems to have the unique effect of both inhibiting bone resorption and stimulating bone formation. Two recent trials, the Spinal Osteoporosis Therapeutic Intervention (SOTI) and Treatment of Peripheral Osteoporosis (TROPOS) studies, have shown its efficacy at preventing vertebral and nonvertebral fractures, respectively. In a subset of high-risk women, strontium ranelate was also shown to prevent hip fractures. In this editorial, we discuss the unusual effect of strontium treatment on BMD, and in particular, the likely persistence of this effect once treatment has stopped. Strontium ranelate is composed of two atoms of stable strontium combined with organic ranelic acid. Ranelic acid is a carrier that makes the treatment more palatable, whereas strontium is the active component with regard to the skeleton. As an alkaline earth element, strontium is similar to calcium in its absorption in the gut, incorporation in bone, and elimination from the body through the kidneys. Strontium is naturally present in trace amounts, with around 100 g in every gram of bone, so treatment with strontium ranelate is simply making more strontium available for incorporation into bone. In the short term, the strontium atoms are adsorbed onto the surface of hydroxyapatite crystals, whereas in the longer term, some strontium will exchange with calcium in the bone mineral and remain bound in the skeleton. A great deal of information about the long-term retention of strontium in the skeleton is available from early radionuclide tracer studies. In particular, a task group set up by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) published a report on alkaline earth metabolism in adult humans that included a detailed model of the whole body kinetics of strontium. The ICRP model predicts that at 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years after a single oral dose of strontium, the skeleton retains 20%, 15%, and 11%, respectively, of the strontium absorbed by the gut. Three-year treatment with strontium ranelate at 2 g/day corresponds to a total strontium intake of 750 g. Assuming 25% absorption by the gut and using the ICRP model to calculate the average long-term retention, we find that after a 3-year treatment, there is ∼30 g of strontium in the skeleton. Expressed as a molar fraction of the total calcium content in bone, this is about 1% (i.e., after 3 years of treatment with strontium ranelate, there is ∼1 strontium atom for every 100 calcium atoms in bone tissue). There is always interest in the size of the BMD changes for any therapeutic agent used to treat osteoporosis. Figure 1A shows results for raloxifene, risedronate, alendronate, and PTH. In the SOTI trial, there were impressive BMD increases in the spine (12.7%) and total hip (8.6%) (Fig. 1B), with the spine curve similar to that for PTH (Fig. 1A). However, some caution is necessary in interpreting these results because much of this effect is caused by the higher atomic number of strontium (Z 38) compared with calcium (Z 20). When BMD is measured by DXA, strontium atoms in bone attenuate X-rays more strongly than calcium atoms. However, when the DXA scanner software calculates BMD from the measured X-ray transmission factors, the increased attenuation caused by bone strontium content (BSC) is interpreted as increased calcium content and will cause an artifactual increase in BMD. This effect was studied by Pors Nielsen et al., who constructed a set of phantoms containing mixtures of calcium and strontium hydroxyapatite with varying molar fractions of strontium that were scanned on several different models of a DXA bone densitometer. They concluded that the same adjustment factor (a 1% molar fraction of strontium causing a 10% overestimation of BMD) applied to all makes of densitometer studied. Taken with the estimate of a 1% molar fraction of strontium in bone after the 3-year treatment given above, this figure is clearly compatible with the SOTI trial BMD data. The correction of the BMD changes found in the stronGuy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. The authors have no conflict of interest. JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH Volume 20, Number 11, 2005 Published online on August 8, 2005; doi: 10.1359/JBMR.050810 © 2005 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research


Motion vector estimation is an important parameter for video segmentation. Effective video compression can be achieved by choosing a correct approach for the calculation of motion vector. Here in this paper we propose an optical flow motion vector estimation through iterative Lucas-Kanade Pyramidal implementation for both large & small motion In image pyramid representation a group of pixel information is gradually reduced to a value of one pixel information for both current & reference frame. The velocity & displacement at each pixel is obtained by using Lucas-Kanade equations. The original image is recovered by warping reference frame towards current frame using flow vectors i.e. velocity & displacement by using image warping techniques. The process is repeated until convergence. An iterative implementation is shown which successfully computes the optical flow for a number of synthetic image sequences.


Grand culture of summer resort centers on the culture of summer resort,extending to the outskirts surrounding Chengde,in which it is formed the second national center of politics and culture in the Qing.Its nature is the quasi-palace culture,symbolic of opening and progress of the earlier prime stage of Kangxi and Qianlong emperors.


This study investigated the effectiveness of English-mediated courses with engineering students at a university in Seoul. Quantitative methods(i.e., exploratory factor analysis, paired t-test, and regression analysis) were employed to compare engineering students' overall satisfaction of English-mediated courses(EMC) with that of Korean-mediated courses(KMC) over three points in time as reflected on the end of semester course evaluations. In addition, to understand engineering students' perceptions of the usefulness of EMC in-depth, interviews with 16 undergraduate and four engineering graduate students were conducted over two occasions. Students were more satisfied with EMC than with KMC, even after controlling for the effects of class size, average course grade, and student characteristics based on enrollment experience(year of study). Course satisfaction was negatively associated with freshmen ratos(%) compared to seniors' over all three occasions. The engineering freshmen felt more difficulty in learning basic subject courses due to English, but they perceived that their experiences with EMC were useful. The students' interview results also supported the findings obtained using the quantitative methods. Most juniors and seniors mentioned that an individual's content background knowledge mattered more in understanding engineering courses than their linguistic knowledge or language competency. Since engineering terminology is mostly from English, students thought that the use of English helped in learning the course. Thirteen out of 16 students perceived that their experience with the EMC were beneficial in terms of the development of their conceptual knowledge, terminology, and motivation. The EMC instructors' various teaching methods and helpful roles were also associated with students' understanding of the courses. However, cautions were needed for the university in implementing EMC with freshmen and sophomores, especially when their background knowledge was weak.


The dwarf-male-sterile wheat is unique to China and has been improved by introducing good germplasm. In order to clear the subunits background of Dwarf-Male-Sterile wheat, sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to detect the high and low molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS and LMW-GS) compositions in BC1F1, F2 and F3 generations from Dwarf-Male-Sterile wheat. Twenty-five alleles and 49 HMW-GS compositions at the Glu-1 loci were detected in different generations. Null and subunit 1 were mainly existed at Glu-A1 , and 7 + 8 and 7 + 9 were primarily detected at Glu-B1 in different generations. Subunit combination 5 + 10 mainly appeared in BC1F1, while 2 + 12 major presented in F2 and F3 generations. HMW-GS compositions null, 7 + 8, 5 + 10 and null, 7 + 9, 5 + 10 showed higher frequencies than other banding patterns, followed by null, 14 + 15, 5 + 10 and null, 7 + 9, 2 + 12 combinations. In addition, some rare subunit combinations such as 14 + 15, 13 + 16, 17 + 1...


In this paper we first establish the mathematical model of parity progressive population. Next, we study the spectrum of parity progressive population operator in the Hilbert space L2N+1[0,M] and prove that it generates a positive co-semigroup. Finally, we discuss the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the equation of dynamics of parity progressive population and its asymptotic properties.


After hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination, patients should be followed up due to risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a cytokine induced by mitochondrial dysfunction or oxidative stress.


Hydrogels are widely utilized for articular cartilage regeneration. However, traditional hydrogels with nano‐sized pores lead to poor cell and tissue infiltration. Furthermore, hydrogels that can stimulate each phase of cartilage regeneration to enhance cartilage repair are highly demanded. Herein, a macro‐porous hydrogel is fabricated by crosslinking mixed sodium alginate (SA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) solution into SA/HA micro‐fibers (µ‐fibers) first and subsequently crosslinking the µ‐fibers into hydrogel blocks. Besides, exosomes derived from NR8383 cells activated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and stimulated with bioglass (BG) ion extracts (LPS/BG‐exo) are incorporated into the hydrogel as they exhibit a strong ability to regulate inflammation homeostasis and recruit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs). Meanwhile, poly (lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres containing kartogenin (KGN) (PLGAKGN) are encapsulated within the hydrogel for inducing the chondrogenic differentiation of recruited BMMSCs when KGN is released after the LPS/BG‐exo. Thus, the obtained macro‐porous SA/HAexo‐PLGAKGN hydrogel can not only significantly improve the infiltration of tissues into the hydrogel but also sequentially deliver LPS/BG‐exo and KGN to enhance the cartilage regeneration in a rat cartilage defect model. Prospectively speaking, the SA/HAexo‐PLGAKGN hydrogel is a potential candidate for other tissue regeneration as the bioactive substances can be adjusted according to different purposes.


Introduction. The use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (PMR) in patients with breast cancer is debatable, with little agreement on its usefulness above routine scans. The goal of this study was to assess comparative studies of individuals with non-advanced breast cancer who were treated with or without PMR. Methods. A search was conducted in MEDLINE/PUBMED, LILACS, and SCIELO for medical literature published between January 1, 2000 and March 31, 2021, and publications that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included. Results. There were 3,828 publications, 53 of which matched the inclusion requirements; the papers were examined, and the findings were summarized in tables. There were 46 single or multicenter retrospective and comparative investigations, three prospective, randomized, controlled trials, and four meta-analyses including patients with infiltrating ductal or lobular carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ. The comparative results were antagonistic and debatable; however, in the most relevant studies, it was demonstrated that PMR delays surgery; increases mastectomies and additional biopsies; increases detection of ipsilateral/contralateral disease that is not necessarily malignant; and no significant difference in the rate of loco-regional or distant recurrence was established. Conclusion. Conclusions. PMR in non-advanced breast cancer has debatable outcomes in terms of surgery type, reoperations, and progression-free survival, and it is still being studied.


This paper presents a new design and development of a low cost GPS (Global Positioning System)-aided INS (Inertial Navigation System) using Micro-ElectroMechanical-System (MEMS) inertial sensor. A typical MEMS type inertial sensor consists of three orthogonally aligned accelerometers and three orthogonally aligned gyroscopes confined in a very small chip. In this paper, the intensive preprocessing and modeling techniques of MEMS inertial sensor's primitive, noisy motion data are outlined. These techniques transform the erroneous motion data into usable motion indicators illustrated in three-dimensional position, three-dimensional velocity, and three-dimensional orientation. GPS serves as an aiding device to tune the MEMS inertial sensor's measurements through Kalman filter, while extra sensory feedbacks from magnetometers are employed to improve the system performance. Experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the GPS-aided INS by installing it into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for motion sensing. Lastly, the experiment results are evaluated and verified using the motion data generated from a commercial navigation system.


Detailed studies of the energy and water cycles require accurate estimation of the turbulent fluxes of moisture and heat across the atmosphere-ocean interface at regional to basin scale. Providing estimates of these latent and sensible heat fluxes over the global ocean necessitates the use of satellite or reanalysis-based estimates of near surface variables. Recent studies have shown that errors in the surface (10 meter)estimates of humidity and temperature are currently the largest sources of uncertainty in the production of turbulent fluxes from satellite observations. Therefore, emphasis has been placed on reducing the systematic errors in the retrieval of these parameters from microwave radiometers. This study discusses recent improvements in the retrieval of air temperature and humidity through improvements in the choice of algorithms (linear vs. nonlinear) and the choice of microwave sensors. Particular focus is placed on improvements using a neural network approach with a single sensor (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) and the use of combined sensors from the NASA AQUA satellite platform. The latter algorithm utilizes the unique sampling available on AQUA from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A). Current estimates of uncertainty in the near-surface humidity and temperature from single and multi-sensor approaches are discussed and used to estimate errors in the turbulent fluxes.


The adsorption studies of 4-chloro-2,5-dimethoxy nitrobenzene (CDNB) from aqueous solution on pyrolytic char activated by ammonium dihydrogen phosphate from pine sawdust have been performed. Several experimental parameters like initial pH, NaCl concentration, contact time solution temperature were evaluated. Solution pH within 2-7 is favor of adsorption and it is advantage of adsorption at higher temperature. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models were used to fit the experimental data and Temkin model was better. The adsorption capacity was up to 33.8 mg·g1 at 323 K. The process is spontaneous and endothermic and physical action is major mechanism.


Alisa Howlett is putting the I(nformation) into aviation. Didn't think aviation was a career possibility for information professionals? Think again. I stumbled upon my first library opportunity last year as a Technical Librarian for a regional airline. Surviving a steep learning curve, I have since moved on to a similar position at Virgin Australia. I've been asked what it is I actually do in aviation, so it's time I shed some light on this ever-changing industry I have come to appreciate and to which I have become (almost) addicted.


The cost of creating new customers is five times higher than that of maintaining old ones, so strategically maintaining the ones already captivated is far more meaningful than creating new ones. When travelers are satisfied with their trips, the possibility of revisiting is higher. But not all satisfied travelers revisit the destination or recommend it to others. Tourism are regarded as a behavior that consumers pay for pleasant experiences and ultimately acquire pleasant memories. Therefore, the most important thing for tourism behavior is to get relevant memories of valuable travel experiences. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between memory storage which is influenced by travel experience and tourists'' satisfaction and loyalty. The results of this study are as follow: Firstly, travel experience has an impact on memory storage, in which life vitality, knowledge and sensory experience has an impact on both in short-term memory and long-term memory. Secondly, short-term memory has an impact on satisfaction while long-term memory does not have an impact on tourists'' satisfaction. Thirdly, long-term memory has a great impact on loyalty. Lastly, tourist satisfaction has a positive impact on loyalty.


M. Suresh Babu, D. Madhusudana Reddy,Dr.Y. Madhusudhana Reddy Assistant Professor, Santhiram Enigneering College, Nandyal,Andhra Pradesh, India. firstname.lastname@example.com Assitant professor, Sri Venkateswara Institute of Technology, Ananthapuramu,Andhra Pradesh, India. email@example.com Associate Professor,Sri Venkateswara Degree Colleg, Anantapuramu, Andhra Pradesh, India.. firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract: The Petri Nets are more powerful models as compared to the PERT/CPM charts. The Petri Nets show the same type of scheduling constraints as the PERT/CPM charts does. We can easily convert a PERT/CPM networks to a Petri Net model.This work shows how to use Petri net's for modeling and verifying project management networks. Software for a functional analysis of a Petri Net model is developed. The developed software enables analyzing of a system for its various properties irrespective of time. The software analysis is based on some approaches used to determine the various properties of PN model: livens, safeness, reach-ability and conservativeness. This paper proposes a PN based modeling approach to provide a formal way to verify that all the activities are well connected in the project network. This PN model can then be analyzed through (PN based) scheduling techniques, used to find the critical path, used as a basis to develop algorithms for resourceconstrained project management, and used for other decisions related to project management. The proposed PN based approach enables the project manager to consider not only resources but also all different types of variables/constraints related to a project, e.g. costs of activities.


A kairomone from adult Cydia pomonella L. scales is an important factor in the host recognition and searching behaviour process of Trichogramma cacoeciae Mar-chal and Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura. The Trichogramma spp. used the chemicals from the host eggs for orientation to host and increased their parasitism. The females of T. cacoeciae*, T. dendrolimi** and T. dendrolimi*** contacted the unwashed host eggs significantly longer than the washed eggs. Washing the codling moth eggs with hexan significantly reduced the parasitism of all the tested Tricho-gramma strains compared to unwashed eggs. The treated apple trees with wing scales of C. pomonella had significant influence on the parasitism compared to un-treated trees. The percentage parasitism of codling moth eggs on the treated trees (31.6%) was significantly higher than on the untreated trees (19.3%).


We care! This is a slogan commonly uttered by a health care provider. However, following are some book reviews reflecting upon the literary contributions by eminent sociologists and anthropologists who seem to bring a shift in existing health care systems by expanding the meaning of care today. The books under consideration are Culture and Cancer Care: Anthropological Insights in Oncology (2006), Nursing Stories: Life and Death in a German Hospice (2007), Caring for Patients from Different Cultures: Case Studies from American Hospitals (1997), Many Voices: Towards Caring Culture in Healthcare and Healing (2004), Embodying Health Identities (2007), and Ordered to Care: The Dilemma of American Nursing, 1845–1945 (1987). All six books were found to revolve around the same theme of cultural differences and the notion of well being. Thus, in a very comprehensive manner this critique has been aimed to bring forward here. Culture and Cancer Care: Anthropological Insights in Oncology is a research-based cross-cultural analysis on cancer care and its therapeutic regimen by S. Dein (2006). Being a senior lecturer in anthropology and medicine in the Centre for Behavioural and Social Sciences in Medicine at University College London, Dein presents the importance and need of an anthropological approach while dealing with cancer patients from different ethnicities and value belief systems. Also, his work provides a wider outlook to sensitize cancer patients not just as physiological malfunctioned objects but as active bodies who were found being effected by the nature of caring discourse. And, by presenting several case studies from different socio-cultural backgrounds, the author seems to justify his argument for intercultural therapeutics. Not only that, but Geri-Ann Galanti (1997) in Caring for Patients from Different Cultures: Case Studies from American Hospitals also seems to highlight the same cultural issues associated with ineffective health care regimens.


This paper aims at examining the effectiveness of four medical bilingual English-Arabic dictionaries for translational purposes. This is done by investigating the provided information used in the presentation of a number of medical words in the examined dictionaries. The results reveal an inconsistency in the presentation of the selected words in the dictionaries; which might be correlated to the lack of provision policies given by the compilers of the dictionaries. Moreover, an inadequacy in the provision of semantic, pragmatic, and encyclopedic information was noticed which would be inadequate for translational purposes. However, it was found that the Unified Medical dictionary covered more types of information like the provision of encyclopedic illustrations and pictorial illustration.


In a normed space of finite dimension, a discrete game problem with fixed duration is considered. The terminal set is determined by the condition that the norm of the phase vector belongs to a segment with positive ends. In this paper, a set defined by this condition is called a ring. At each moment, the vectogram of the first player's controls is a certain ring. The controls of the second player at each moment are taken from balls with given radii. The goal of the first player is to lead a phase vector to the terminal set at a fixed time. The goal of the second player is the opposite. In this paper, necessary and sufficient termination conditions are found, and optimal controls of the players are constructed.


Degradation of Clindamycin phosphate (CMP) was studied in aqueous solutions by an anodic oxidation process under galvanostatic conditions. The electrolysis cell consisted of a Ti/SnO2-Sb anode, prepared by dip-coating technique, and a 316 stainless steel cathode, both of which had a surface area of 6 cm2. The effects of critical factors, including CMP concentration, current density, initial pH, and the supporting electrolyte were evaluated. The electrochemical oxidation of CMP was controlled by mass transport within the studied range. The kinetic analysis indicated that the degradation reactions followed pseudo-first-order equation. The rate of CMP decay, as well as that of COD removal, decreased with increasing initial concentrations. Better Instantaneous Current Efficiency (ICE) values were obtained at higher organic concentrations, due mainly to the increased mass transfer flux towards non-active anode surface. Increasing current density and initial pH led to the faster removal of CMP, primarily because of enhanced electrogenerated hydroxyl radicals (�OH) on the anode surface. However, COD reduction was found to be pH independent. The removal rates of CMP and COD were also discussed with respect to the supporting electrolyte in different types and concentrations. The GC-MS analysis indicated that tert-butyl compounds were the major organic intermediates for the electrochemical degradation of Clindamycin. © 2018, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania. All rights reserved.


thesis is based on bringing small-molecule reactants in close proximity through DNA conjugation and hybridization, and thereby increasing the effective molarity, which significantly A rates of chemical reactions. Several applications of this approach, including compound discovery from synthetic libraries, reaction discovery, and nucleic-acid sensing, have been described. [1] All of the depicted approaches have in common the fact that the two reactants or a reactant and a catalyst are covalently linked to two DNA or PNA strands and are subsequently brought to react by self hybridization or aligned through hybridization. Roelfes and Feringa reported a Diels– Alder reaction mediated by a catalyst intercalated into a DNA duplex. Binding to the duplex resulted in good enantioselectivity of the reaction. [2] Poulin-Kerstien and Dervan employed binding of two polyamides to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) to promote a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition; this resulted in linked polyamides. [2] Previously, we found that proline-modified DNA acts as a catalyst in the aldol reaction between a complementary DNA-tethered aldehyde and various nontethered ketones. [3] The formation of a Watson–Crick duplex between the


This article examines the reports on the status of the Irkutsk, Yenisei and Trans-Baikal dioceses as a source for studying the clergy ethos, which is defined as the correlation of normative values with their practical activities and everyday behavior. The author reconstructs the normative model of behavior of the white clergy and its transformation in connection with the change in the objective conditions of its activities. The author analyzes the ideas of the diocesan leadership about the differences between "what is" and "what is proper" in the clergy pastoral activities, causes, consequences and measures to overcome these differences. The content of the reports allows us to conclude that in the late 19 – early 20 centuries there was a certain "worldliness" (Great Apostasy) of the clergy ethos, since the normative behavior model implies an increase in the responsibility of the parish clergy not only for pastoral, but also for public service.


From Summary: "The exhaust of a 6-inch-diameter ram-jet engine mounted in the Lewis 1- by 1-foot, Mach 3.1 supersonic tunnel was scavenged successfully with a 6.6-inch-diameter scoop. Limiting values of exhaust-to-stream static-pressure ratios and scavenge-system total-pressure ratios were determined for complete scavenging of the products of combustion. The scavenge-system operation influenced the engine exhaust-nozzle pressures under conditions of unstable scavenge flow."


Apart from the Gospels themselves, there is perhaps no Christian writing which has enjoyed an influence and an authority at the same time so far flung and so profound as the so-called Gospel of Nicodemus. Yet, outside the studies made by Maury in 1850 and Lipsius in 1871, hardly anything has been done toward a proper assay of this most important of the multitudinous New Testament apocrypha. For that reason, most of the recent articles concerning it, in the standard works of reference, still repeat the erroneous concepts of a century and more ago.


The most common method to teach foreign languages is the use of course books. However, the 21st century serves other possibilities to use during learning, such as multimedia tools. The use of Internet, newspapers, the radio, or TV might be an alternative to typical language teaching methods.
Multimedia can be defined as the exciting combination of computer hardware and software that allows you to integrate video, animation, audio, graphics, and test resources to develop effective presentations on an affordable desktop computer. The method of teaching a foreign language through Multimedia has been used wider and wider and it has contributed a lot to higher teaching quality. Chalk-and-Talk teaching method is not enough to teach a foreign language effectively. We should change our teaching ideas and recognize their impersonal attribute as one kind of teaching method. Thus we can utilize modern education technology reasonably to fulfill the target of language teaching. We live in times where multimedia tools accompany almost everyone in their daily activities, e.g. one can get ready to leave home with the rhythm of the music on the radio, while another person cannot imagine breakfast without reading a newspaper. This illustrates the media's enormous impact on people. It seems to be more enjoyable when knowledge is gained through multimedia tools: entertainment, language authenticity, and encouragement to learn more are provided. Consequently, boredom, which sometimes accompanies working with a course book during lessons, might be avoided. Of course, everything depends on the teacher's attitude and preparation. What is more convincing, is the fact that all the skills may be taught with the use of multimedia tools. Moreover, they may satisfy all types of learners, which is not always possible during teaching with a course book.


Nonsaponifiable fraction of Hula peat revealed the presence of friedelin, friedelan-3β-ol and a mixture of β-sitosterol and β-sitostanol.

Peats, lignites and coals of other countries yield in addition to the above mentioned compounds the following triterpenoids: α-amyrin, allobetulin, allobetulone, betulin, friedelan-3α-ol, oxyallobetulin, oxyallobetulone, taraxerol and taraxerone.

The appearance of these compounds, the age of which is estimated to be millions of years, reflects the composition of the ancient plants and gives an idea on the coalification process. It might also be useful for the classification of different types of coal.


I really enjoyed @RogueOne and am glad @jamesearljones was THE voice again. but his speech tempo seemed really fast compared to EP IV-VI.


Background: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of surgical Apgar score (SAS) in predicting morbidity and 30 day mortality in general surgical procedures and also to compare the predictability of the score in elective and emergency surgeries for outcome thereafter.Methods: 120 patients undergoing general surgical procedures in JSS Hospital, Mysuru from November 2016 to April 2018 were included in the study. Necessary data was collected. Surgical Apgar score was calculated for each patient and analysis done.Results: 75% of the patients included in the study were in the age group of over 40 years. Around 23% of the patients belong to age group>60 years. 18.25% of patients in the age group >60 years had a low Apgar score of <4. Whereas surgical Apgar score 9-10 was highest in the age group <40 years. Diabetes, hypertension, smoking were significantly associated with post-operative complications. 74.25% of the surgeries involved in the study were elective in nature. Amongst the 35 patients with an Apgar score of <4, major complications occurred in 33% and a 30-day mortality rate of 23% was observed. Morbidity was higher in emergency surgeries as compared to elective surgical procedures.Conclusions: Surgical Apgar score is a simple and useful method of predicting the morbidity and the 30 day mortality of patients undergoing general surgical procedures. It is more sensitive in predicting the outcome in emergency cases as compared to the elective cases.


The design of typefaces is founded upon principles from the days of metal type, when creating individual fonts was a laborious process and constrained by physical requirements. Most digital type design follows those same conventions, even though fonts are now drawn with vectors and pixels. Fonts are still largely based on historical references and are created in the context of publishing.


Building working groups is the basis for efficient operation of modern organizations. Mining companies are increasingly introducing project management or building working groups that carry out specific tasks in production and processing of coal. The competences of their members are crucial for the success of these activities. The author proposes in her publication her own method of selecting employees for groups using competence profiles. The proposed method can be successfully used both for universal and professional competences. The publication was summed up with a summary and conclusions from the research.


Abstract 'Client focus' seems like a counter-intuitive notion for regulatory agencies, whose job is to compel people to comply with government requirements. Yet it is becoming the catchphrase for many regulatory authorities. This article puts forward an argument, based on social exchange and regulatory theory, that a client-focused approach is not only compatible with a regulatory role, but also actually facilitates it. It recognizes that most people's propensity to comply is a function of factors other than the fear of punishment, such as their intrinsic or normative motivations and their ability to do what is required. It also assists in delineation and understanding of the proportion of regulatees who opportunistically avoid their obligations. The article advances a broader model of social exchange between regulators and regulatees.


As more and more people are interacting through online spaces, questions emerge as to how these computer-mediated interactions impact people's social connections and ability to form communities. Some of the online spaces that are exceedingly popular are virtual worlds designed specifically for children. This study, using participant-observations and content analysis, explored how users communicate, form connections, and develop community in children's virtual worlds. This 3-year study found that users find creative ways to bypass design features to share personal information, establish group membership, and build connections both in the virtual worlds and on their accompanying fan sites. These findings provide valuable insight into the social affordances of popular online spaces for children, as well as expand modern-day conceptualizations of social connection and community.


Human behavior, social networks, and the civil infrastruc tures are closely intertwined. Understanding their co-evolution is critical for designing publ ic policies and decision support for disaster planning. For example, human behaviors and day to day activities of ind ividuals create dense social interactions that are characteristic of modern urban societies. These dense soci al networks provide a perfect fabric for fast, uncontrolled disease propagation. Conversely, people's behavi or in response to public policies and their perception of how the crisis is unfolding as a result of disease outbreak can dramatically alter the normally stable social interactions. Effective planning and response strategies must take these complicated interactions into account. In this paper, we describe a computer simulation based appro ch to study these issues using public health and computational epidemiology as an illustrative example.


Purpose: To create awareness about glaucoma through a novel exhibition and also to assess the impact of the same among the participants. Materials and Methods: An innovative three-dimensional click art exhibition was designed to create awareness about glaucoma among general public at Puducherry beach, during the World Glaucoma Week, 2019. The exhibition was also used to screen visitors for glaucoma, and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to assess the impact of exhibition in creating glaucoma awareness. Results: Twenty thousand people visited the exhibition. A total of 2198 people were screened for glaucoma, of which 106 (4.8%) were found to be glaucoma suspects and were referred to the base hospital. Twenty-two out of 106 (20.75%) glaucoma suspects presented to the hospital during March 2019, of which 12 (54.5%) were confirmed to have glaucoma. A total of 531 people took up the 10-point questionnaire out of which 273 (50.1%) people answered eight or more questions correctly. Conclusion: Innovative approaches to create awareness about glaucoma can significantly aid in increasing the awareness and knowledge about glaucoma in general population.


Lattice structures possess a huge potential for energy absorbing applications, and the postinitial collapse region should be analyzed with respect to design principles in such cases. This paper presents an analytical method to calculate the ultimate yield surfaces of statically indeterminate planar lattice structures, based on the assessment of static equilibrium of the unit cell before and after initial yielding. The material of the unit cell wall is assumed to be elastic, perfectly plastic. Three statically indeterminate planar lattice structures: the diamond cross cell, the statically-indeterminate square cell (SI-square cell), the new Kagome cell (N-Kagome), are analyzed. The parametric studies reveal the roles of various geometrical parameters on the performance of each structure. The SI-square cell is utilized as an example to demonstrate the evolution of structural yielding, thus providing an insight into the collapse mode of lattice structures. Furthermore, the stress-strain relationships of the SI-square and N-Kagome cells are also calculated, and the effective constitutive relations of both lattices are found to be linearly hardening, which is validated by finite element (FE) simulations.


In this paper, we established fixed point theorems for two and three self-maps of a complete fuzzy 2-metric space. The contractive definition is a generalization of Hardy-Rogers and the commuting condition of Jungck is replaced by the concept of weakly commuting. The notion of relative asymptotic regularity of a sequence in a fuzzy 2-metric space is introduced and fixed point theorems for two and three selfmappings of a complete fuzzy 2-metric space is proved. Further, a result for a pair of weakly commuting mappings and relative asymptotically regular sequence is presented in complete fuzzy 2-metric space.


This chapter examines why Origen focuses closely on Christ and what it means for understanding prophecy. It argues that Origen's focus on Christ can be understood as a response to the challenges of Marcionism. Earlier chapters examined somatic prophecy: that is to say, predictions of the future. Early Christian writers interpreted Old Testament prophecies as predictions of Christ, and doing so was an important anti-Marcionite strategy. However, christological prophecies were not only read in a somatic sense, that is, as predictions of Christ's incarnate life. Many verses in the Bible were also read as pneumatic prophecies of Christ not as an incarnate human in time, but as the second person of the Trinity, outside time. As Origen claims, prophecies of this kind can 'teach much theology', functioning as pneumatic revelations of Christ as Logos and of God's triune being. In answering the Marcionites' claims that Old Testament prophecies were unreliable, Origen had to formulate positions on scripture's epistemological status and also on how scripture relates to knowledge of God. This chapter therefore examines both Origen's explicit response to the Marcionites, but also his notions of time, inspiration, and revelation, and examines a case study of John the Baptist as a prophet who unites the three senses of prophecy. It concludes that Christ is at the centre of Origen's thought about prophecy, as the ultimate content of all somatic, psychic, and pneumatic prophecy.


0191-8869/$ see front matter Published by Elsevier doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.041 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: VISN 17 Center o Returning War Veterans, Central Texas Veterans Healt Drive (151C), Waco, TX 76711, United States. Tel.: +1 2 3752. E-mail address: email@example.com (N.A. Kim The goal of the present research was to test the hypothesis that cognitive biases for negative and threatening social information mediate the effects of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity on social anxiety. Participants completed self-report measures of BIS and BAS and then underwent a social-threat induction procedure in which they were told they would have to perform a speech. A battery of cognitive bias measures was then administered, followed by a battery of state anxiety measures. Audience members also rated participants' anxiety during the speech. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. As predicted, the fully-mediated model showed the best fit to the data, and higher BIS and lower BAS were found to have significant indirect effects on social anxiety via cognitive bias. Published by Elsevier Ltd.


Microservices are small, independent, loosely coupled components which provide flexibility, agility, and scalability to an application. While these are aimed for scalability, achieving it needs judicious trade-offs between size, number and cost of provisioning. In this architecture, sizing in both homogeneous and heterogeneous resources plays a key role to balance application performance and resource requirement, as workload demand varies. This paper provides insights where the importance of considering workload characterization to decide a homogeneous or heterogeneous scaling strategy for a microservice is discussed. The work exploits the correlation of workload characterization, predicted workload demand and selection of right-sized microservice to minimize resource costs. Size of microservice is referred with respect to the amount of resources allocated to the microservice. This work also evaluates trade-offs between considering the entire predicted workload demand for resource cost optimization against algorithmic computational complexity and designs a heuristic to reduce such complexity. Evaluation of results demonstrate two important outcomes. Firstly, workload characterization helps to choose between homogeneous or heterogeneous sizing for different microservices. And secondly, by considering workload demand prediction beyond the current scheduling interval, allows to make scaling decision in the current cycle keeping in view whether the demand is going to increase or decrease. The paper also details on how to use the insights of application characterization and workload trend for choosing an appropriate scaling strategy.


The development of adequate energy sources to satisfy the ever increasing energy demand in the world has led to the deployment of several offshore energy installations. Offshore Oil & Gas and renewable energy installations have had a lot of growth in recent years; this growth has led to an increase in the accompanying risks and challenges faced by these industries especially regarding policy implementation. Words: Sasaenia P. Oluwabunmi, Kayode E. Oluwabunmi & Athanasios J. Kolios


The improved pozzolanic efficiency of sugarcane biomass ash (SCBA) after selective milling is presented. The samples were prepared by milling the as-received SCBA in a vibrating cup mill for four d...


The teaching system with "one mainline, two platforms, three levels and four modes" is the connotation of three- dimensional graduation project teaching system with engineering characteristics. Its three-dimensional characteristic is manifested by collecting diversified topics and organically integrating theories, methods or thoughts of different discipline by depending on the university-enterprise collaboration platform. Students can achieve different levels of ability enhancement through staged training, thus laying foundations for innovation and entrepreneurship.


ABSTRACT Over the past decade, corporations such as Microsoft and IBM have become increasingly involved in open source software projects and development platforms. In this study, we examine motivations behind contributions in OSS platforms that have increasingly come under commercial influence. Empirical analysis of 2017 GitHub Open Source Survey data of over 5,500 randomly selected OSS developers indicated that carrots (tangible motivations) and rainbows (value-based factors) play their role. However, carrots are relatively more important.


A numerical method based on Laplace transform and a modified decomposition technique is introduced for the approximate solution of Troesch's problem. The underlying idea of the scheme is to assume an infinite series solution and operate with Laplace transform integral operator to both sides of the differential equation. The nonlinear term is then decomposed, and an iterative algorithm is constructed for the determination of the terms of the infinite series solution. Two special cases of the problem are illustrated and the results show that the method is very accurate and converges rapidly.


: We report our density functional theory (DFT) calculation on FeO in order to describe its electronic properties. FeO exhibits an antiferromagnetic at the ground state with cubic structure and N´eel temperature T N = 198 K. The DFT calculation is as powerful tool to describe electronic properties but known to be failed to describe the electronic properties of system with strong on-site Coulomb interaction such as FeO. Here, we introduce the Hubbard correction, U , in order to take into account the on-site Coulomb interaction of d -electron at Fe ion. Hybridization of 3 d -electron of Fe and 2 p -electron of O splits the energy level to become upper Hubbard band (UHB) and low Hubbard band (LHB). Based on the DFT+U calculation, the band structure of FeO shows an insulator feature with the band gap of 1.65 eV, and its density of state (DOS) implies that this gap arise from splitting 3 d -electron of Fe.


This paper describes the model of acceptance of decision, considering the large amount of factors, affecting the decision. In the given model, the decision, accepted by individual, expands as some combination of sub-decisions, or an element of the human personal strategy in the problem solving field. Also the goal of this work is revealing the strategies of human decision making and determines the hidden relations between those strategies and personal characteristics of individual and environment properties. This work illustrates the approach to individual acceptance of decision modeling, with a further forecast of his action. Approach uses the formalizing characteristics of the human person, environment and decisions. Also approach uses cluster analysis methods, for a data arrays processing, obtained in a result of the sociological interview. The forecast, produced by the model, appear to be satisfactory for an individual, as a medium representative of the class, formed as a result of the data processing.


I would like to thank the referee for these comments, which made me realize that I should have explained the model better. In a revised version of the paper, I have completely re-written the model description in a way that I believe is much easier to follow. In particular, I placed more emphasis on the use of dimensionless variables, as the nature of uptake compensation then becomes much clearer. My responses to the individual points raised follow:


The author discusses the definition and the classification parameters for weapons. The article reviews the provisions regulating the legitimate arms trade, as well as theoretical studies and practice in the legal system.


Artificial neural networks (ANN) have gained popularity in microwave modeling, design and simulations. This article is devoted to designing efficient antenna to achieve high gain and optimal impedance matching in addition to employing ANN to model the microstrip antenna. The proposed elliptical patch antenna operates at 2.4 GHz used for wireless applications. The ANN is fed with data set derived by CST EM simulator to train and test the NN model. The feed-forward back-propagation ANN is used along with Levenberg-Marquart (LM) learning algorithm to model the antenna. Extensive analyses has been carried out to provide an efficient ANN model by the aid of statistical measures as mean square error (MSE), mean error and standard deviation error. Moreover, the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. A high agreement between simulated and measured antenna return loss is illustrated.


The goal of the working group was to define and realize a pre-feasibility study of an Antarctic interferometer dedicated to the characterization of exozodis with the sensitivity required (30 zodis 5 σ detection) to discriminate sources suitable for future exoearth spectroscopic analysis. The engineering study was carried out at AMOS, based on a concept by Thales Alenia Space derived from the GENIE instrument studied for ESA. Particular emphasis was put on the compatibility with Concordia logistic and operational constraints, for which input was provided by IPEV through long visits by a system engineer student, Xavier Daudigeos. The preliminary results are encouraging enough so that we recommend to move forward with a proposal for full industrial feasibility study that could be submitted to FP7 and/or to ESA.


Background:T follicular helper CD4 T cells are located within the germinal centers (GC) of lymph nodes (LN). They are a source of residual viral replication during antiretroviral therapy and a contributor to the latent reservoir. Bispecific antibodies that target HIV Env and CD3 are being developed to purge the latent reservoir by activating HIV from CD4 T cells and inducing killing of those cells by CD8 T cells. We characterized the localization, frequency, and function of CD8 T cells in GCs to determine if they were present and capable of killing HIV-expressing cells in the context of HIV Env/CD3-targeting bispecific antibodies. Methods:We analyzed the phenotype, localization and function of CD8 T cells in tonsils and LNs from non-infected and HIV-infected viremic individuals. Polychromatic flow cytometry was used for phenotypic analysis and confocal imaging for spacial localization. Function (IFN&ggr;, TNF, MIP-1&agr;, and GzB production) was assessed by intracellular staining after 5 hour anti-CD3 stimulation. In vitro cytolytic activity of sorted CD8 T cell populations was tested in a killing assay using an anti-HIV Env/anti-CD3 bispecific-antibody. Results:Phenotypic analysis of tonsillar cells revealed a memory population of CD8 T cells expressing a CCR7lowCXCR5high profile compatible with follicular localization, while confocal imaging confirmed the presence of a small population of CD8 T cells within the GC. These GC CD8 T cells were expanded in HIV-infected LNs compared to non-infected tonsils. Functional activity in response to TCR stimulation occurred almost exclusively in CD8 T cells localized to the GC (defined by CXCR5 expression and loss of CCR7). Production of MIP-1&agr; and GzB predominated over IFN&ggr; and TNF production in GC CD8 T cells. Of all tissue CD8 T cell populations tested, GC localized CD8 T cells had the greatest ability to mediate killing of HIV-infected target cells after cross-linking with an anti-HIV Env/anti-CD3 bispecific antibody. Conclusions:HIV infection is characterized by accumulation of CD8 T cells within LN follicles. These CD8 T cells are functionally capable of mediating bispecific antibody-mediated killing of HIV-infected CD4 T cells. These data add credence to the use of bispecific antibody therapy to purge the LN reservoir.


Scholarly publishing is pivotal for the advancement of science, innovation and national development. In particular, scholarly journals are key to (i) the exploration of scientific and technological frontiers of human knowledge (ii) the dissemination of new scientific and technological knowledge, and (ii) the development and evaluation of qualified human resources. However, for developing countries to continue and improve their institutional capacities for scientific development, they need to have access to high quality and current scientific knowledge, as well as appropriate venues for publishing research that is relevant to national and regional communities. In this regard, Open Access (OA) and its impact on the ecosystem of scientific production may turn out to have a strong effect on development.


: A five-year study was conducted to identify the effects of road salt intrusion on the water chemistry of Pinhook Bog following operation of an uncovered salt storage pile adjacent to the bog for ten years. A distinct pattern of elevated salt concentrations was observed in the interstitial waters of the surface peat that corresponded to observed alterations in the bog vegetation. Yearly mean salt concentrations as high as 468 mg/l sodium and 1215 mg/l chloride were recorded in the plant root zone of the peat mat. The salt concentrations decreased significantly each year from 1979 to 1981 throughout the impacted area. Some increases of a lesser magnitude occurred in 1982 and 1983. Analysis of salt movements suggested that vertical transport by water movement was responsible for concentration changes. The major declines in salt levels occurred in the spring following snowmelt and heavy precipitation events. Evapotranspiration during periods of drought resulted in the gradual increases in surface peat salt concentrations. Diverted highway runoff was shown to be the major continuing source of sodium chloride contamination and was the likely source of the elevated calcium, magnesium, potassium, bicarbonate, and pH levels also observed in the impacted area.


It is shown that robot manipulator control can be accomplished using simple decentralized linear time invariant time-delayed joint controllers instead of the complicated computed torque control scheme. This means that all the online computational problems associated with computing robot inverse dynamics can be avoided, and the robot control problem is essentially reduced to that of computing n linear proportional-derivation controls for n joint subsystems. The proposed control technique employs a time-delayed control with a specially designed constant diagonal gain matrix to decouple and linearize the robot joint dynamics so that linear centralized joint control can be achieved. It is shown that the proposed controller is stable, and the value of the special gain matrix can be selected based on a sufficient condition of stability presently developed. However, the establishment of this sufficient condition requires knowledge of the inertial matrix of the robot. It is also shown that the controller is robust in the presence of payload uncertainty. A two-link planar robot is presented to illustrate the controller design procedures and the performance of the controller.<<ETX>>


In this paper we describe our experiments in High-level feature extraction (HLF) and Search tasks of the 2009 TRECVid evaluation. This year, we have concentrated mainly on the local (affine covariant) image features and their transformation into a searchable form, especially using the indexing techniques. In brief, we have submitted the following runs: 1. HLF: We have used training method based on support vector machine (SVM) using five types of global and local image features. Results were submitted in the BRNO_HLF_SI run. 2. Search: We have performed a fully automatic experiment based on the transformed local image features together with face detection and global features – color layout and texture features in the BrnoUT_visual.2 run.


It is dawn in Patagonia.3 Pinks and light blues begin to rise in the sky. The line of the horizon is barely discernable. Nearly black landscape blends with dark sky. Far in the distance, the tiny silhouette of a solitary road sign pokes out of the ground. But there is no path, no road, no apparent direction. Within this dark, quiet and empty space, a lone human figure shuffles toward the horizon. Don Justo is an old man who carries a cane. He wears a wool hat, a heavy scarf, and an overcoat. Over his shoulder he has slung his leather matera. And on his feet: a pair of incongruously new hiking boots. Don Justo is sneaking out of the house that he shares with his son and daughter-in-law. He has stolen petty cash from a music box in a cabinet behind the counter of the small general store they


M. Rothschild, M17; Lexington, MA. The future success of excimer laser photolithography is critically dependent on the development of suitable resist materials. The properties of these new photoresists should match the characteristics of the excimer laser output, including its short wavelength and pulsed nature. In this paper new approaches towards developing such photoresists will be presented. 'Thisworkwassponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencyand by the Department of the Air Force, in part underaspecific program supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.


Clomiphene citrate(CC) has been shown to be effective in ovulation induction.However,the high ovulation rate and low pregnancy rate during CC treatment have not been resolved for a long time.As more and more drugs have been explored for induction of ovulation,it is questioned about its first line drug in the treatment of anovulation.In this paper we reviewed the use of CC for ovulation induction.Data about use of other drugs for induction of ovulation were also introduced here.In conclusion,CC is still the first choice for ovulation induction for its effectiveness,safety and low price.


In the wake of Enron and the other financial scandals that so recently consumed so much of our national attention, the controversy which had surrounded the adoption of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was revived. PSLRA's opponents charged that because PSLRA had made it more difficult to bring class actions under Rule 10b-5 most notably by imposing heightened pleading standards for scienter and by failing to restore aiding and abetting liability, the deterrent effect of the antifraud rules was weakened and victims were deprived of the opportunity to recover their losses.


The southeastern USA has the potential to be a significant producer of bio‐based products; however, research is still needed to demonstrate the most cost‐effective feedstock delivery system for this region. A logistic system that has shown promise is one utilizing a network of supply depots. This study calculated the cost to produce a stream of size‐reduced herbaceous biomass (i.e., switchgrass) for five theoretical depots in the Piedmont province. Three depots were located in south central Virginia and two in north central North Carolina. A logistics system with a 20‐bale handling unit was used for load‐out operations at 199 theoretical satellite storage locations (SSLs) within a 48 km radius of each depot location. The distribution of potential production fields and the transportation distance from SSLs to the depots were determined with spatial and network analyses. Based on an analysis of potential land cover available for feedstock production, the annual capacity per depot ranged from 80 839 to 170 830 Mg, resulting in a total annual capacity of 555 195 Mg for all five depots. Cost to deliver feedstock for 24/7 operation, 48 weeks per year ranged from 46.03 to 62.86 USD Mg−1 annual capacity. At the low end, these costs were: SSL operation (22%), truck (29%), receiving facility (26%), and debaling‐size‐reduction (23%). The principle economy‐of‐scale factors were the receiving facility and debaling‐size‐reduction costs. To minimize per‐Mg cost, depot capacity should be chosen such that equipment can be operated as close to 80% of design capacity as possible.


We study a class of h-local integral domains, whose nonzero noninvertible ideals can be written as JP 1…P k with J invertible ideal, and P 1,…, P k distinct ideals, which are maximal among the nonzero noninvertible ideals.


Being able to forecast time series accurately has been quite a popular subject for researchers both in the past and at present. Aiming at the problem of predicting time series of casualties of strong earthquakes erupting in high population density areas, considering the characteristics of time series of casualties from these emergencies disaster systems, on the basis of existing research results on grey forecasting models, this paper proposes a novel grey forecasting model. The accuracies of different grey models such as GM (1, 1) model, DGM (1, 1) model, novel grey model using casualties time series is investigated. The performances of the different grey models are compared. The simulation results show the novel grey model has the highest performances on model forecasting.


(57) Abstract: discloses an improved antibody detection methods. This method, (a) sample and, step mixing a diluent containing superoxide dismutase, and (b) diluted sample, at least one recombinant was expressed as a fusion protein with superoxide dismutase comprising contacting the antigen.


cystitis, and of pregnancy, have had obvious explanations. The nocturia of chronic glomerulonephritis has been explained by the inability of the kidney to perform its finer regulatory functions, thus producing a urine of essentially constant composition, varying in quantity chiefly in relation to changes in the filtration rate. Recently, the nocturia of cardiac failure has been studied by Brod and Fejfar (1) who report that inulin and PAH clearances show an increase in the renal plasma flow after the patient retires, followed by a fall in the filtration fraction and an increase in the filtration rate. These findings were further confirmed by Baldwin, Sirota and Villarreal (2), who also demonstrated by means of both creatinine and inulin clearances that the glomerular filtration rate increases at night when there is nocturia. The latter (3) caution, however, that fluctuations in the clearance of creatinine cannot be determined accurately by variations in the amount of creatinine in the urine, since there are unpredictable fluctuations in the serum creatinine. On the basis of these data they propose a simple explanation for the increase in the nocturnal flow of urine in patients with cardiac failure. In such patients an inadequate cardiac output is somewhat improved by


This work investigates the assembly and the effect of the air gap distance to the torque and inductance vs rotor position curves of a modular stator, segmented rotor, switched reluctance motor (MSSR-SRM). Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the significance to the average torque output given various MSSR-SRM dimensions and air gap distances. A comparison of the simulated torque output and actual measurements from the prototype suggest that the air gap of the physical machine deviates from the ideal design value of 0. 3mm. Simulations however agree well with the observed quantities when the distance is modified, indicating an actual air gap width that varies between 0.50-0.60mm. Direct air gap measurements also support this result. It was shown that air gap distance has a major effect on MSSR-SRM output behavior. The experiences with the assembly, characterization, and RSM provide insight on further MSSR-SRMs design processes.


Abstract The problem of predicting an arbitrary sequence x 1 x 2 x 3 · · · is considered with x t + 1 being predicted from an analysis of the word x 1 x 2 · · · x t . There are no presumptions concerning the probability structure on this process. The relation between prediction effectiveness and Kolmogorov complexity is established. Then the Hausdorff dimension of sets of sequences for which effective methods of prediction exist is estimated. The prediction method which is asymptotically superior to other arbitrary ones realized by finite automata is constructed.


Many techniques have been proposed to solve the load flow problem probabilistically. The great majority have only accounted for load and generation data uncertainties, and therefore, the network configuration has been considered fixed. So far, the effects of the configuration uncertainties due to the probabilistic nature of the network have not been deeply analysed. The paper presents a new method for obtaining a probabilistic load flow solution when network outages are modelled as a random variable. The proposed technique is applied to a typical power system and the results discussed.


Project-based industries seem ignored in the quality management literature. These industries have some peculiarities that warrant attention, and the purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the critical aspects of project-based industries concerning quality management and particularly Quality 4.0.,The approach is based on reviewing the literature and then developing the paper using basic definitions, literature, logic and experience. It should be noted that the type of literature review is so-called "integrative" due to the fact that the topic of this paper is new. Furthermore, for this paper, as for integrative literature reviews in general, the purpose is to create initial and preliminary conceptualizations and theoretical models, rather than review old models. Creative collection of data is therefore key to combine perspectives and insights from different sources. This paper is therefore more a discussion piece rather than a paper presenting results per se. The relevant literature is only a starting point from which the argument is developed.,The paper demonstrates that quality management in project-based industries is outdated, driven by adversarial and legalistic interpretations of contracts, which results in manual work and reactive quality management. Initially, this can be a stumbling block for Quality 4.0. However, the greater credibility and transparency of Quality 4.0 technologies can enable relational contracting such as partnering. This will subsequently result in major improvements in total quality.,The research was initially triggered by industry experience over years. The empirical aspect of the paper is therefore related to the construction, shipbuilding and the oil and gas industry. Because contracting regimes are similar across these industries, the findings are arguably applicable to other project-based industries. However, this is not demonstrated. Furthermore, as the topic is new to both literature and practice it is likely that the paper has not covered all relevant aspects that will emerge as the ideas are implemented.,The paper supports the argument for developing the contracting into a relational approach away from the adversarial and legalistic approach of today. It is illustrated how Quality 4.0 technologies can help in this transition. Therefore, the practical implications can become substantial in how industry works and the research about it.,If the ideas were implemented, they could change contract management in project-based industries from the adversarial approach of today to genuine cooperation. It would therefore be relevant for teaching future contract managers. The project outcomes would also result in improved quality and reduce the loss to society.,The combination of Quality 4.0, new contracting regimes and project-based industries is according to the knowledge of this author, an original contribution that can help people improve the management of quality in project-based industries. With these industries constituting a large and growing share of an economy, the value can also become significant once practical issues concerning implementation are sorted out.


Shortwave-infrared (IR) detectors are critical for several applications, including remote sensing and optical communications. Several detectors are commercially available for this wavelength range, but they lack sufficient gain that limits their detectivity. The characterization results of AlGaAsSb/InGaAsSb phototransistors for shortwave-IR application are reported. The phototransistors are grown using molecular beam epitaxy technique. Spectral-response measurements showed a uniform responsivity between 1.2- and 2.4- region with a mean value of 1000 A/W. A maximum detectivity of was obtained at 2 at and 1.3 V.


Drawing on research in marketing strategy and industrial organization economics, the authors develop a model to describe the impact of strategies for introducing a new brand, aspects of the competitive environment, and firm characteristics on the performance of new brands. They test the model for 68 new brands in the pharmaceutical industry using a nested error component model. The results indicate which factors affect brand introduction strategies in marketing.


Single crystals of CdF2 containing either V3+ or V2+ ions have been prepared and studied by optical, EPR, and ENDOR techniques. As expected, the properties of V3+ in the eight‐coordinated (cubal) environment closely resemble those of Ni2+ in octahedral sites. The ENDOR data show that Ms = ± 1, confirming the identification of the ion as V3+. The V2+ ions, produced by heating samples containing V3+ in Cd vapor, exhibit evidence for a large trigonal Jahn–Teller distortion of the cubal site. On the basis of the EPR and optical data it is suggested that the environment about the V2+ ions may be more nearly octahedral than cubal, thus reflecting the presence of a static trigonal field comparable in magnitude to the (undistorted) cubic field. Some optical and EPR data are presented for isoelectronic Cr3+ ions, which also display a strong Jahn–Teller effect.


The paper analyses the factors which influence minimal features of detected adjacent defects during the use of traditional die-to-database method of inspection of reticles and also during the use of new Parametric Models of Pattern Features Comparison method (PMoPFC method). The analysis of influence of a set of factors, describing an instrumental error of the automatic reticle inspection system, and of a set of factors, describing a reticle patterning process, on various types of adjacent defects is made. Some relations are given, describing interrelation of the size of the minimal adjacent defect and the pixel size of the automatic reticle inspection system. A concept of the optimum and preset sizes of the minimal detected defect is introduced. The analysis of dependence of the number of false defects on the size of the preset minimal detected adjacent defect is made, as well as a criterion to choose an optimum capability of detection of adjacent defects is given. In conclusion, parameters of automatic reticle inspection systems developed at "KBTEM-OMO" of Planar Concern are given, specifying the adjacent defects detection capability. Also the parameters of the systems designed for 0.35 μm, 0.18 μm and 65 nm processes are described.


Rep Mike Honda submitted H.Res.121 to the United States House of Representatives on January 31,2007, which sought to express the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of Japan should formally apologize in a clear and unequivocal way on the "comfort women" issue. Then the House of Representatives held the first hearing in the history of the United States Congress that three surviving "comfort women" testified for the record. Finally, H.Res.121 was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on July 30. Due to H.Res.121, not only the "comfort women" issue was quickly drawn worldwide attention to, but also the discussion of the "comfort women" issue, by the House of Representatives and from the U.S.-Japan alliance's perspective, will profoundly influence the trend of the "comfort women" issue.