Batik industry is one of the industries that produce high amount of waxes in their wastewater. Natural fiber has become apparently important as a source of absorbent. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core is one of the good absorbent to absorb the waxes due to its characteristic. The contact time, weight of kenaf and the different form of kenaf can affect its absorbency. The powder form of kenaf has been proven to have better performance in term of wax absorption. The most suitable contact time is 15 minutes in which it has the highest wax absorption. Moreover, 1.2g of fibrous kenaf and 0.8g till 1.2g of kenaf powder showed high wax absorption capacity. Introduction In Malaysia, textile industry is very famous especially in east Coast of Peninsular Malaysia which it's known as Batik Industries which is inherited in numbers of families in Malaysia. However, this industry produces wastewater which contributes to water pollution because there are a lot of chemicals involved in the process. In this industry, more concern has been focus on the wastewater produced from the industry itself. Textile processes produce multi component wastewater which can be difficult to treat. [1]. The chemical reagents used are very diverse in chemical composition, ranging from inorganic compounds to polymers and organic products. Generally, the wastewater from textile industry is characterized by high value of BOD, COD, pH, and color [2]. High value in BOD of untreated textile water can cause rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen if it is directly discharged into the surface water sources. Therefore the effluents with high COD level are toxic to biological life [3]. There are many alternatives used by textile industry, such as biological, coagulation and oxidation methods. However, these methods are not efficient in removing contaminants. For an example, biological processes are not effective for University Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 100, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia. firstname.lastname@example.com Remediation of industry wastewater effluent by using kenaf as waxes absorbent 291 treating dyestuff wastewater because many commercial dyestuffs are toxic to organisms. So, the textile industry is trying to use adsorbent such as activated carbon because of its high efficiency in removing contaminants. But, the disadvantage of activated carbon is that it is very expensive [4]. Natural sorbents are suitable absorbent due to the presence of surface waxes and can be used for both water and land oil spill cleanup. All these natural products had shown better performance or greater absorption and adsorption capacity than synthetic products such as polypropylene [5]. It has also been shown that it is possible for some natural sorbents to absorb significantly more oil than even polypropylene materials that are normally used commercially [6]. Natural sorbent material can be used as a substituent to commercial synthetic oil sorbent as it has higher efficiency in cleaning up oil spill and by incorporating other advantages such as biodegradability [7]. The example of natural sorbent are rice ash, wheat straw, kenaf and many more. Kenaf is one of the members of hibiscus family (Hibiscus cannabinus L.). The composition of kenaf is 40% bast fiber and 60% core fiber, the later being processed to become absorbent. However, the product made from core fiber is nonreusable after it is used to absorb oil [8]. Kenaf core has shorter fiber length and higher lignin content than the bast portion. Kenaf has become the choice in industry because this material is easily stored and stable in most condition. After spent kenaf fiber is being used in treatment of contaminants, it can be degraded onsite to eliminate all the contaminants. Thus, it is an effective way to reduce contaminants to the environment [9]. The main problem of batik industrial is wax effluent and associated water pollution. The purpose of this research was to study and analyzed the use of kenaf as waxes absorbent for industries wastewater effluent. Moreover, the properties of the absorbent were analyzed to help the industries in treating the wastewater effluent. The industry that was chosen was textile industry as it contains all kind of waxes. Furthermore, there should be more focus on the method to treat wastewater for this industry. The objectives of this study are to determined the absorbency of kenaf by using different form of kenaf, to determine the highest absorbency of kenaf by using different contact time of kenaf on wastewater and to determine the highest wax absorption by using different quantity of kenaf. 1. Experimental 1.1 Preparation of adsorbent. Kenaf was obtained from Lembaga Kenaf Negeri Kelantan, Malaysia. There are two types of kenaf used: powder (10 mesh) and fibrous kenaf (3mm). Y.C.Wong, S.H. Lim N.A. Atiqah 292 1.2 Preparations of wax effluent. A stock solution of wax will be taken directly from the source. 1.3 Wax absorption test. 100 ml of wastewater from the batik industry was prepared in a 250ml beaker. Kenaf was weighed and was packed into the muslin cloth and it was put into the wastewater. Shaking was carried out by water bath at 140 rpm at 85 ゚C. It was kept in the oven overnight at 50 ゚C until the weight became constant. The amount of wax absorbed by the absorbent was determined by subtracting initial absorbent weight from the total weight of the wetted absorbent. The wax absorb can be calculate by equations 2.1: Wax absorbed, g (E) = Weight of kenaf after drying, g (D)weight of petri dish, g (C)weight of magnet, g (B)-weight of kenaf, g (A) 2. Results and Discussion 2.1 Powder kenaf and fibrous kenaf. Figure 1 had shown that the highest wax adsorbent is powder kenaf. The kenaf core powder was proven to have the best performance in term of absorption if it was compared with different size of kenaf The efficiency of adsorbent depends on the surface area of adsorbent. The increases in the surface area of powder kenaf lead to increases in the efficiency of wax adsorption process. Then decreases in particle size of powder kenaf leads to pores being ruptured and some pores opening and breaking apart [10]. So, the van der Waals bonds between kenaf and wax were extremely soft in powder form. In addition, porosity of the fibrous bed decreases when it is subjected to comprehensive loads. The higher the porosity of absorbent materials, the higher the amount of wax can be absorbed on a sorbent material [11]. So, the porosity of powder kenaf also increased in comparison to the fibrous kenaf, leading to increased amount of effluent wax flow and trapped inside the porous structure of powder kenaf due to its arrangement. Natural product, a kenaf is composed of linked glucose residues and is highly hydrophilic in nature and permeable in water. Thus, generally increases the rates of wax sorption capacity by forming hyrogen bonding between wax and the hyroxyl group of cellulose, hemicellulose in the cell wall. In their native form, there are two intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the glucose residues, the intramolecular hydrogen bond need to be broken before the wax form chemical bonding with kenaf [12]. That explain the powder kenaf has a good absorbent than fibrous kenaf. The availibilty of free hyrogen bond on powder kenaf than fibrous kenaf. As availibility of free –OH groups on the surface of the kenaf, the number of hyrogen bonds between organic components and wax molecules also increased.,. Higher filler content resulted in higher voids entrapped leading higher wax accumulating Remediation of industry wastewater effluent by using kenaf as waxes absorbent 293 at the interface between the kenaf. The –OH group on surface of kenaf will attact the wax effluent by attraction forces and trap the wax on the porous of the kenaf. Absorption happened in which the wax was permeates from wastewater to the kenaf. Increased in the wax absorbed might due to the transport of wax into the kenaf [13]. Fig. 1: The graph shown the wax absorbed by using various of contact time and different types forms of kenaf Figure 1 also shown that the increases wax absorbed of kenaf which powder kenaf and fibrous kenaf, increases the contact time between wax effluent and absorbent. According the Figure 1, at the time of 15 minutes, large amount of wax might able to flow into pores of kenaf due to the first contact of wax with the surface of kenaf. After 15 minutes, the wax absorption were decreased.This might due to the lost of wax when the sample was taken out from the wastewater. A kenaf can release wax that was trapped in its pores when it was lifted out from the wastewater. The wax easily escapes from the pores of kenaf because the wax did not solidified at the temperature of higher than 75 ゚C. The temperature still remained at approximately 70 ゚C when the kenaf sample was taken out [14]. Increases contact time absorption process, the kenaf powder absorbed wax more than the fibrous kenaf. Because, micro-porous absorption in kenaf powder in which the tiny micro-pores in kenaf serve as trap zones for wax. As fibrous kenaf , the curve was looked like v-shaped. 2.2 Effect of weight of kenaf. Figure 2 shown that the increases weight of adsorbent (powder kenaf) from 0.2 g to 1.0 g, increases the wax absorption due to the increased the amount –OH group on surface of kenaf.The wax absorbed is affected by the hydroxyl (OH) groups. natural fiber contains three hydroxyl (OH) groups. These hydroxyl groups can form hydrogen bonds inside the macromolecule itself (intramolecular) and between other cellulose macromolecule (intermolecular) Y.C.Wong, S.H. Lim N.A. Atiqah 294 which is why all natural fibers are hydrophilic in nature. However, the kenaf has high oleophilicity in which it has strong affinity for wax. It absorbed the wax in the presence of water. Then, high porosity in the kenaf structure also contributes to higher initial uptake of wax [15]. A kenaf powder forms has short length and lignin higher than fibrous kenaf [9].


Ovarian cancer accounts for 5 % of all cancers among women. Cancer of ovarian origin represents approximately 23 % of gynecologic cancers, but accounts for 47 % of all deaths from cancer of the female genital tract. Unfortunately, no effective strategy ex


In patients with short-and -long term hemodialysis treatment several functional and structural neurological and vascular lesions are present that may be dependent on several factors: duration of hemodialysis treatment, age, blood pressure associated with ventricular hypertrophy, extensive vascular calcifications, arrythmias. Besides these all pa - tients were evaluated for several clinical data: survival, rehabilitation, nutritional status, anemia, blood pressure, mild-to-moderate ventricular hypertrophy, arrythmias, uremic polyneuropathy (UNP), extensive vascular calcifica - tions, hypoacusis from cochlear neurosensory, presence of carpal tunnel syndrome.


logical relatedness of populations) and the rate of technology adoption. The underlying motivation is the idea that populations that are more closely related genealogically will share a variety of traits and customs; similarity in those traits will make it easier to share technology and transmit ideas. The specifi c test is to see whether there is an econometrically robust link between genetic distance between populations— measured relative to the lead country—and distance to the technology frontier. The authors fi nd that this relationship exists and that genetic distance explains more of the variation in technological differences between countries than does a measure of geographical distance between countries. This is a tantalizing result: populations that are similar will fi nd it easier to share ideas and therefore will share similar technologies. Conversely, large differences across populations will pose a barrier to the transmission of technology. Like many tantalizing things, however, this result left me craving more. Following is a list of things I would have liked the paper to develop more fully:


The spontaneous fission yield has important implication in the nuclear engineering. This work used semi-empirical model to calculate its chain yield, the result shows good agreement with the measured data. There are only 3 sets of measured data, and only too gave the chain yields and cumulative yields, covering 17 chains. It is not enough to satisfy the requirement of users. So it is needed to use theoretical model to calculate the chain yield without measured data.


As a formal element of the antimonopoly law, the legislation model of anti-monopoly law is deeply rooted in specified material production life conditions, reliant on specified racial cognitive means and restricted to in "path dependence" of a given anti-monopoly legislation system. Meanwhile, it will influence even determine the efficiency and enforcement of China's forthcoming anti-monopoly law, which is considered as an essential element of antimonopoly law. Regardless of the legislation model of China's forthcoming anti-monopoly law, the interaction and the harmony of formal element and essential element should not be overlooked.


The first half of the 20th century in the history of Russian mathematics is striking with a combination of dramaticism, sometimes a tragedy, and outstanding achievements.
The paper is devoted to St. Petersburg-Leningrad Mathematical School. It is based on a chapter in the multi-author monograph "Mathematical Petersburg. History, science, sights" (SPb: Educational projects, 2018, 336 pp. in Russian).


The non-coding genomic regions harbor many regulatory sites and genes expressing functional RNAs without protein-coding features, the so-called non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Many ncRNAs have important roles in tissue development and homeostasis, and their deregulation has been increasingly associated with pathological conditions. Among the main classes of ncRNAs with regulatory functions, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) seem to stand out as those most investigated in the pathological context, followed by circular RNAs (circRNAs). Sequence and/or epigenetic status variations have been shown to influence ncRNA gene expression and/or secondary structure, consequently interfering with the expression, availability and/ or function of their molecular targets. This Research Topic aimed at stimulating knowledge production on this cutting edge field of investigation, and includes eight original and two review articles exploring the genetic aspects of ncRNAs in physiological states and pathological conditions. The first article published in this topic reported pioneer information on the levels of ncRNAs in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from anterior pituitary of Duroc swine model obtained by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. The authors identified 416 miRNAs, 16,232 lncRNAs, and 495 circRNAs expressed in swine anterior pituitary EVs, predicted signaling pathways and discussed their potential crosstalk with messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as in competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks (Xiong et al.). A second work also focusing on EVs aimed at revealing the profile and predicting the roles of circRNAs in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). To this end, researchers quantified the levels of circRNAs in exosomes obtained from the plasma of individuals after an AIS episode. Compared to controls, they detected differential levels of 198 circRNAs, out of which roughly half were predicted to possess a translational ability and impact focal OPEN ACCESS


The first paper, on Mickiewicz and Cieszkowski, is by far the most important, the richest in new findings, and the most controversial. I t opens our eyes to the hitherto neglected French inspiration of Cieszkowski's philosophy—a philosophy that Walicki characterizes as a kind of watered-down messianism, even though there is no place in it for a charismatic leader, a messiah. At one moment he speaks of Cieszkowski's philosophy as "an impersonal messianism embracing the whole of mankind" (p. 83). In such a context the term "messianism" is self-contradictory. If the whole of mankind becomes its own messiah, then that means it can do without one. Cieszkowski's philosophy—and this was its original feature—was a nonmessianic millenarianism. One could also contest Walicki's characterization of Mickiewicz's and Cieszkowski's attitudes toward the Catholic Church as, respectively, "a heterodoxy of a mystic and a prophet" and "a heterodoxy of a rationalistic type" (pp. 84-85). Such an opposition misses the main point. Mickiewicz could utter ideas shocking to orthodox Catholics, but he never considered these ideas incompatible with the teachings of the church, or himself as being outside the pale of the church. If he harshly criticized the "official" church, it was because he found it wanting in the task of assuming the spiritual leadership of the world. Cieszkowski, on the other hand, saw Catholicism as a religion that was becoming antiquated. In the new era—the millennium—he envisioned a new, syncretic religion (reminding one of Toynbee's speculations). No matter what his attitude was in private life, Cieszkowski as a thinker criticized the church—unlike Mickiewicz— from the outside. The book is provided with a good and fairly detailed French "resume."


This study investigated the influence of cadmium (Cd) on the pathogenesis of salt-induced hypertension in Dahl hypertension-sensitive (S) rats bred for susceptibility to the hypertensive effect of excess dietary salt (NaCl). Weanling female S rats were divided into two groups. The rats in the Cd group received 2 mg Cd/kg ip on week 3 (3 weeks of age) followed by 2nd and 3rd injections of 1 mg Cd/kg on weeks 6 and 23. The controls received the same volume of 0.9% aqueous NaCl ip. A high salt (4% NaCl) diet and tap water were available ad libitum. Cd enhanced the rate and the degree at which salt-induced hypertension developed (week 7), leading to an accelerated phase (week 24) associated with a mean systolic blood pressure of 245 mm Hg and drastically increased morbidity and mortality. Conversely, the hypertensive process in the controls averaging a blood pressure of 207 mm Hg was not heralded by other discernible toxic manifestations. Pathological lesions of periarteritis nodosa in the mesenteric arteries and nephrosclerosis occurred to the same extent in the Cd and control groups. This study demonstrated that Cd exacerbated the severity of salt-induced hypertension in S rats.


Correspondence to Dr Laëtitia Belgodère; laetitia. belgodere@ ansm. sante. fr © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Reuse permitted under CC BYNC. No commercial reuse. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. INTRODUCTION In France and Europe, medicine and healthcare products regulatory agencies have been proactively engaging in health democracy for the last decade. Since 2002, the French legislation has evolved to guarantee the rights of healthcare system's users. Thus, eligible patients and health system user organisations are systematically represented in French health agencies as in some other countries. Beyond the integration of their representatives as members of committees and as part of its transparency policy, the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) is striving to involve patients at the various stages of the assessment and decisionmaking processes, but also all people concerned with health products. These are members of the public having different profiles, such as patients, users of the health system, caregivers, victims, patient representatives, support organisations and patient partners. Regulatory agencies are responsible for the benefit–risk (BR) assessment associated with the use of health products throughout their life cycle, from clinical development to market approval and the continuous reassessment of the BR balance thereafter. The assessment processes are driven by patient risk management, enabling the Agency to make decisions in a public health policy. ANSM is particularly willing and attentive to health democracy following the crises it has had to face. The involvement of the public and patients in a scientific and medical approach raises questions about the necessary adaptation of the BR assessment processes. To improve the BR assessment according to the approach of health democracy, the ANSM's Scientific Advisory Board has formalised an approach to strengthen 'people concerned' involvement in the activities of regulatory agencies SUMMARY BOX


Understanding the time series dynamics of a multi-dimensional dependency structure is a challenging task. Multivariate covariance driven Gaussian or mixed normal time varying models have only a limited ability to capture important features of the data such as heavy tails, asymmetry, and nonlinear dependencies. The present paper tackles this problem by proposing and analyzing a hidden Markov model (HMM) for hierarchical Archimedean copulae (HAC). The HAC constitute a wide class of models for multi-dimensional dependencies, and HMM is a statistical technique for describing regime switching dynamics. HMM applied to HAC flexibly models multivariate dimensional non-Gaussian time series. We apply the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm for parameter estimation. Consistency results for both parameters and HAC structures are established in an HMM framework. The model is calibrated to exchange rate data with a VaR application. This example is motivated by a local adaptive analysis that yields a time varying HAC model. We compare its forecasting performance with that of other classical dynamic models. In another, second, application, we model a rainfall process. This task is of particular theoretical and practical interest because of the specific structure and required untypical treatment of precipitation data.


Some combinatorial generation problems can be broken into subproblems for which loopless algorithms already exist. This article discusses means by which loopless algorithms can be fused to produce a new loopless algorithm that solves the original problem. It demonstrates this method with two new loopless algorithms. The first generates well-formed parenthesis strings containing two different types of parentheses. The second generates multiset permutations in linear space using only arrays; it is simpler and more efficient than the recent algorithm of Korsh & LaFollette.


In open-pit mine planning, the design of the most profitable ultimate pit limit is a prerequisite to developing a feasible mining sequence. Currently, the design of an ultimate pit is achieved through a computer program in most mining companies. The extraction of minerals in open mining methods needs a lot of capital investment, which may take several decades. Before the extraction, the pit limit, which influences the stripping ratio, damp locations, ore processing site and access routes, should be designed. So far, a large number of algorithms have been developed to optimize the pit limits. These algorithms are categorized into two groups: heuristic and rigorous. In this paper, a new approach is presented to optimize the pit limit based on Dijkstra's algorithm which is based on mathematical relations. This algorithm was implemented on a 2D economic graph model and can find the true optimal solution. The results were compared with those from the dynamic programming (DP) algorithm. This algorithm showed to have less time complexity compared to the dynamic programming algorithm and to be easier to write dynamic computer programs.


The physical model is a tool for producing technically, environmentally, and economically optimal solutions for engineering problems. However, frequently it is not possible to avoid scale effects if the prototype fluid — normally water — is used in the model studies. In such cases, it is necessary to use process functions to determine the magnitude of the scale effects and to inform the adjustment of measured flow properties in the model to reflect the true value of the flow properties in the prototype. Such functions have been used in the past to evaluate scale effects in, for example, full-pipe flows and flume calibrations and are described by Keller. The present paper extends the use of process functions to annular flows, such as occur in vortex drop structures, and plunge pools. It is shown that the process functions cannot be used to evaluate scale effects directly, but, instead, must be used in conjunction with the model data to develop an analytical model for the prediction of corresponding prototype behavior. In the paper, the techniques are developed and their use illustrated through application to a large physical model study of a vortex drop and plunge pool in a municipal sewerage system. It is shown, further, that ignoring the insight gained from the developed process functions would lead to large errors in the prediction of prototype flow behavior from measured model results.


This article introduces a novel method to estimate oxygen saturation of the internal jugular vein blood (SjvO2) by using Near Infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The different positions of patients can affect the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the internal jugular vein (IJV), in other words, it causes the sectional change of the IJV blood volume. When lying position of patients, the CSA is larger than that keeping upper body 80 degree, and the CSA can compute quantitatively by the use of ultrasound and digital image processing methods. The entire method consist of constructing different position of patient (upper body rotation 0 and 80 degree), comparing the light absorption changes. SjvO2 has been determined from light absorption measurements in two wavelength, before and after the position changes. The method has been applied to the vertical area over the IJV of 11 patients who were placed a central venous catheter into a large vein in the neck for medical uses, using wavelength of 735 and 850 nm. At last, comparing the SjvO2NIRS which measured by NIRS noninvasively with SjvO2IJVBG which was quantified using a whole blood gas analyzer, we found there were some certain relativity. The results were influenced by vascular depth greatly.


We have investigated the electrical and light‐emitting characteristics of (001)‐oriented homoepitaxial diamond p–i–n junction diodes with the boron‐doped p‐type, non‐doped intrinsic, and phosphorus‐doped n‐type layers formed by applying an optimized homoepitaxial growth technique based on microwave plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition. High‐performance p–i–n junction characteristics were confirmed from current–voltage and capacitance–voltage properties. A strong ultraviolet light emission at around 240 nm due to free exciton recombination was observed at a forward current of over 6 mA, while the broad visible light emission from deep levels was significantly suppressed compared to that of reported electroluminescence in diamond p–n junctions. It was elucidated that the excitonic emission intensity increases superlinearly for the current dependence and is stable even at the high temperature of 200 °C. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Since Vygotsky's analyses of human cultural development, it has become broadly acknowledged that human development is not a natural or automatic process with predictable outcomes. Human development is promoted by interactions of children and youngsters with other human beings within a cultural-historically created context. As such it strongly depends on the educators' abilities, their ideals and values, and particularly on their understandings of human development. However, as Vygotsky (1991/1997, pp. 337–352) pointed out, educators cannot entirely rely on painstakingly applying knowledge of the laws of education. Education essentially implies a creative moment, according to Vygotsky. Consequently, educators are in the deepest sense responsible for the actual developmental trajectories of the younger generations they take care of. However, this is not to suggest that educators can do without theories. Theories of development, learning, thinking, curriculum, and so on, are cultural tools for guiding children's interactions and activities and for promoting the development of their cultural identities. It is important, though, that educators are aware of the necessity to use the theories creatively and critically, considering cultural, societal, and personal needs. Hence it is important that educational science keeps on producing and scrutinizing new and valid theories of human development and learning. Yuriy Karpov's (2005) book The Neo-Vygotskian Approach to Child Development can be seen as an attempt to provide educators with such a theory of child development. In this brief review I take a critical look at Karpov's book from a Vygotskian point of view.


In terms of its entirety and basic tendency nomocracy is a special social form in the city-state era of Ancient Greece. It is a model of certain system or social organization, but also a sensible spirit and cultural consciousness. Due to philosophers' continual study and the influences of their works ancient legal ideology was hereby created. Rul- ing by law, as an exterior objective form of ancient Greek society, is a body of systems. Its legal model also provides a systematic and detailed description for Ancient Creek lgeal ideology.


If there is a "long-run equilibrium" price relationship between gold and gold mining equities, then 1) the price of gold "suggests" that in the short-run the price of gold mining equities could rise 100% and 2) the price of gold mining equities "suggests" that in the short-run the price of gold could fall 50%. A popular ratio of the price of "gold miner equities" relative to the price of gold tells the same story. Though the long-run price of gold may be characterized as a "golden constant," in the long-run gold mining equities are seemingly a "wasting asset."


The utility model provides a hot air circulating oven which comprises an oven body, material racks, a jacket furnace and a circulating device, wherein cuboid grooves are symmetrically formed in the two sides of the interior of the oven body, one side of each cuboid groove is fixed to the inner wall of the oven body, the cuboid grooves are open towards the material racks, an air distributing plate is arranged at the position of the opening of each cuboid groove, a hot air pipe is arranged in each cuboid groove, a water inlet and a water outlet are formed in the jacket furnace, the water outlet is connected with an inlet of each hot air pipe through a water outlet pipeline, a water return port of each hot air pipe is connected with the water inlet of the jacket furnace through a water inlet pipeline, a circulating water pump is arranged on the water outlet pipeline, and at least one material rack is arranged in the oven body. The hot air circulating oven has the advantages that due to the adoption of the two symmetrically arranged hot air pipes, materials placed on the material racks can be dried evenly and quickly; due to the adoption of the circulating device, drying efficiency is higher, and the utilization rate of heat energy is higher.


This part of the appendix contains the formal restrictions on the players' strategy spaces to ensure that any combination of strategies leads to a unique and well-defined outcome. To this end, it is convenient to have an exogenous underlying stochastic process that governs the arrival of shocks and, given the agent's e↵ort, determines the state of compliance. Let (⌦,F , P ) be a probability space. Let the marked point process z = {zt}t 0 represent the arrival of random shocks, where zt = 0 except at isolated times t0 < t1 < . . . which arrive at constant rate > 0. At each random time tj with j 2 N, the value of the shock ztj is independently and uniformly distributed on [0, 1]. Let {Ft} be the natural filtration generated by z. The state of compliance {✓t}t 0 is constant between shocks, and immediately after the arrival of a shock at time tj , we have ✓tj = 1 if ↵⌘tj ztj , and ✓tj = 0 if ↵⌘tj < ztj . A history at time t is a collection of paths


All of collective concepts have three basic factors,which are the quantity,the quality and the structure.So the population,one of collective concept,must include these factors.This article takes the population structure as the object of study and inspects the situation of Hengyang population structure from the natural structure,the economic structure and the social structure.


The delivery of nutrients in human milk may depend upon the structure of the casein micelles and therefore on the structure of their major component, β-casein, a determination of which may be aided by studying genetically altered molecules. A cDNA encoding mature human β-casein was cloned into the baculovirus expression vector, pBlueBacHisB, and inserted into the genome of Autographic californien nuclear polyhedrosis virus by homologous recombination in transfected insect cells. The recombinant baculovirus was isolated by plaque assay methods and the presence of the β-casein cDNA was confirmed by PCR analysis. A high titer (> 10splaque forming units/ml) of the virus was obtained by successive rounds of amplification in insect cells. For Trichoplusia ni 368 cells in serumsupplemented media, expression of the gene was maximal at 48 hrs post infection (h.p.i.) and at 72 h.p.i. for High 5 cells (Invitrogen) in serum-free media. Studies of large scale expression are being carried out for purification and physicochemical characterization of the recombinant β-casein for comparison with native β-casein purified from human milk.


We discuss the design of general, flexible, consistent, reusable, and efficient interfaces to software libraries for the direct solution of systems of linear equations on both serial and distributed memory architectures. We introduce a set of abstract classes to access the linear system matrix elements and their distribution, access vector elements, and control the solution of the linear system.
 We describe a concrete implementation of the proposed interfaces, and report examples of applications and numerical results showing that the overhead induced by the object-oriented design is negligible under typical conditions of usage. We include examples of applications, and we comment on the advantages and limitations of the design.


This paper proposes a signal processing method suitable for a dipole array and a loop antenna in a borehole (DALAB) that enables estimation of the polarization states of a wave incident on the DALAB in directional borehole radar. In the processing, we pick complex amplitudes of both a dipole signal and a loop signal in the time domain, and calculate a ratio of the two amplitudes. The polarization state is estimated by comparing the theoretical and experimental ratios. We then applied the signal processing method to field experimental data. This experiment consists of a vertical conducting cylinder and inhomogeneity caused by an interface. We found an almost vertical and linearly polarized wave from the vertical conducting cylinder are estimated by the DALAB, whereas a rather elliptical and horizontally polarized wave are estimated from the inhomogeneity.


Based on ethnographic research, this article explores the temporal politics of 'electronic modernity' in one locale in the Global South, in particular Kinshasa, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A major experience of digital connectivity in Kinshasa is one of unexpected and undesired disconnection, that is, the involuntary logging off of the Internet due to political interference, lack of battery time, or credit time (phone credit). This undesired mode of being disconnected is only one, albeit very familiar, way in which people participate (or not) in electronic modernity. This material allows me to revisit the notion of 'global coevalness' in electronic modernity, i.e., the idea that people can live in a shared world by participating in the same temporality due to the sheer fact that they are electronically and digitally connected. I thus want to think through how various materialities of digital media – in particular mobile phone batteries, optic fiber networks, and software – interact with the urban experience in the Global South, and how these entanglements produce not only temporal sameness, simultaneity, and synchronicity but also temporal difference and disjuncture. Ultimately, I argue that technological synchronicity does not always lead to social synchronicity.


This paper analyzes how individuals resolve an exploration versus exploitation trade-off in a laboratory experiment. The experiment implements the single-agent exponential bandit model. We find that subjects respond in the predicted direction to changes in the prior belief, safe action, and discount factor. However, we find that subjects typically explore less than predicted. We estimate a structural model that incorporates risk preferences, base rate neglect/conservatism, and non-linear probability weighting. We find support for risk aversion, conservatism, and non-linear probability weighting. Our estimated structural model suggests that risk aversion is the predominant factor driving subjects' under-exploration in the experiment. JEL Codes: C91, D90, D83


A new filtering method for magnetic control submerged arc welding,second-order Butterworth low-pass filtering method was introduced,and its filtering effect was compared to the traditional filtering methods such as simple low-pass filter method and software median filtering method.The results show that second-order Butterworth low-pass filtering method not only can filter the useless noise signal,but also can keep the original signal features well,and its filtering effect is better than the two kinds of traditional filtering methods and can well meet the continuously improved welding quality requirements.


The present invention discloses a portunus indoor industrial farming methods, including ponds constructed, prepared breeding baskets, baskets resting culture, Crab stocking, aquaculture management and orientation mating step, provided with a horizontal shelf by breeding pool, aquaculture basket with the longitudinal slot of the housing, the plug has a partition plate within the slot, the left and right sides breeding baskets equipped with a partition sheet hidden chamber filled with sediment, the culture basket left and right sides of each male partition sheet monoculture crab-specific, post-growth shelling, shelling before reproduction, the partition sheet detached, so that the two trituberculatus breeding a male and a female housing of natural mating, the male mating completion immediately removed portunus culture housing; present The invention is a can avoid cannibalism, easy to control water quality, free from wind, wave disaster damage, high survival rate, good breeding efficiency portunus indoor industrial farming methods.


The ruling concept of the Communist Party of China is the guide to action and the core of the long-term strategic planning of the CPC.Since the Fourth Plenary Sessions of the Sixteenth Central Committee put forward clearly the ruling theory including the ruling concept,academic and theoretical circles made a lot of rational research on the CPC's ruling concept.This paper summarizes some important achievements.


The work surveys the Italian experience with reference to growth and public debt. It does not seek to test conflicting views, as the effects of some financial and policy innovations are too recent and some data is of poor quality. Rather, its more limited scope is to draw on past experience and, more importantly, assess future prospects in order to discuss some problems regarding both fiscal and monetary policy. The author examines debt formation with reference to borrowing requirements, their composition and their adjusted measure, before taking into consideration financing policies pursued by the authorities  and the changes in the composition, ownership and cost of debt. Finally, possible future developments and some connected policy problems are examined.


As our world is heading toward a more experience-orientated society, the reasons for studying other businesses and organisations increase. Museums, which are already a part of an experience economy ...


The longitudinal penetration of water into hardwoods was studied by continuously measuring swelling and uptake in a swelling cell apparatus. Mathematical equations were developed to relate swelling, bound moisture uptake, free moisture uptake, and time of penetration. The initial stages of bound moisture uptake and free moisture uptake were each shown to be linear when plotted against the square root of time. Bound and free moisture penetration constants were calculated from swelling and uptake data for different wood species at different temperatures. The transport of bound water by vapor and water diffusion became more important than transport by capillarity as temperature increased, or when wood species with obstructed vessels were used. The relative amount of water uptake distributed between bound moisture and free moisture was shown to change with increasing temperature.


The gradual decline of cooperation in surveys jeopardises the viability of this tool in the future, despite it being one of the most useful in gaining knowledge of society. Since the last decade of the 20th century, substantial, in-depth research has been conducted into this social phenomenon, whilst at the same time there has been further "transparency" in the data collection process, as documents are disseminated which describe in detail the "events" that occurred during field work. This paper analyses the lack of response in face-to-face surveys conducted in Spain, considering not only those selecting interviewees by using random route and quotas, but also those using administrative documents, such as the population census. It concludes by providing a number of proven, efficient strategies for counteracting the effects of non-response.


Recent developments in simultaneous multiple alignment methods of protein sequences allow prediction of structural similarity in related proteins. Alanine dehydrogenase and the N-terminal sequence of pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase were compared for their sequences. High similarities of sequences were observed especially in their NAD(H)-binding sites. These similarities suggest that antibodies which recognized the alanine dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can also be directed against the membrane bound pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase. If this is the case, the virulent property of this pathogen could be linked to its higher synthesis of NADPH necessary for its anabolism.


The utility model discloses an electronic transformer calibrator, which comprises a main control module and a standard signal sampling module. The standard signal sampling module is connected to the main control module. A digital signal network interface is arranged on the main control module. The digital signal network interface conforms to IEC61850-9-1, IEC61850 and IEC1588 standards. The calibrator of the utility model can realize calibration of the electronic transformer for outputting the digital signals.


Three blocks of birefringent calcite and two 6-V twisted nematic liquid-crystal cells have been used to make a 2 × 2 optical bypass switch for series-type fiber-optic networks. Optical cross-talk levels of −32 dB have been obtained in both states. The insertion loss was 3 dB in a nonoptimized switch.


With the increasing applications of natural language in geographical information science,resolution of geospatial information in natural language has become one of the hot issues.Geographical named entities are identifiers of geographical location information in natural language,which include a majority of popular geographical reference systems such as geographical names,addresses,postal codes,telephone numbers and other relative location descriptions.A complete classification scheme of geographical named entities may help implement resolution,storage,management,analysis and sharing of geographical information in natural language.Commonly-used classifications,i.e.classifications of geographical features,classifications of place names,and organization classifications are identified such disadvantages as over specificity of class items,without the consideration of the relationship of time and space,and the ability of representation of partial geographical entities in natural language.To overcome these problems,based on the annotation results of geographical named entities in Chinese documents,we design a classification scheme of geographical named entities(GNEC) with the consideration of their location,attributes,geographical features and temporal features.GNEC includes one main classification of geographical feature types and one subdivision classification of Chinese historical dynasties.Finally,the semantic compatibility between our proposed classification and GB/T 18521-2001,GB/T 13923-2006,Feature Type Classification for Chinese Historical Places of Harvard University and Feature Type Thesaurus of Alexandria Digital Library are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.It is noted that a unique geographical entity is usually described with diverse words in natural language,and sometimes it represents different physical location.Classification schemes aim to conceptualize geographical named entities.Undoubtedly,construction of ontologies based on classification schemes could solve this kind of problem(i.e.semantic ambiguity of geographical named entities) effectively.


ABSTRACT The role of international intergovernmental organisations (IIOs) in global and/or European adult education policymaking has received significant attention in the field of adult education (AE) in the twenty-first century. However, empirical AE studies examining the impact of different IIO policies on country-level AE policies and practices, and the implications of under- or overestimating of that influence, are still scarce. The present study analysed the influence of three selected IIOs – the European Union (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – on Slovenian AE policies, as a developed EU country, during the 1991–2018 period. We analysed historical and contemporary policies using documentary analysis and expert interviews, focusing on theoretical concepts of policy transfer and risk. Our findings indicated that the influence of IIOs on Slovenian AE policies has differed through time; policy transfer has come from multiple directions; IIOs have stimulated policy transfer through governance instruments; the contextual opportunities and risks Slovenia has faced – independence, EU membership, and the world economic crisis – have been supporting factors for IIOs' policy transfer; and IIOs have promoted policy transfer and presented themselves as risk experts, able to manage the risks Slovenia is or could be facing.


We study tidal disruption of white dwarfs in elliptic orbits with the eccenticity of $\sim 1/3$--$2/3$ by a non-spinning supermassive black hole of mass $M_{\rm BH}=10^5M_\odot$ in fully general relativistic simulations targeting the extreme mass-ratio inspiral leading eventually to tidal disruption. Numerical-relativity simulations are performed by employing a suitable formulation in which the weak self-gravity of white dwarfs is accurately solved. We reconfirm that tidal disruption occurs for white dwarfs of the typical mass of $\sim 0.6M_\odot$ and radius $\approx 1.2 \times 10^4$\,km near the marginally bound orbit around a non-spinning black hole with $M_{\rm BH}\alt 4\times 10^5M_\odot$.


The embodiment of the invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle outage cruising method, device and system. The method comprises: charging an energy storage device; controlling the discharging of the energy storage device during battery replacement, and supplying power to a flight controller. According to the embodiment of the invention, the energy storage device is charged, the energy storage device is controlled to discharge during the battery replacement, and the energy storage device supplies power to the flight controller, so that the continuity of the data in the flight is ensured during the battery replacement of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and therefore, the outage cruising of the unmanned aerial vehicle is realized.


Geographical isolation kept the lo- cal texas furniture-making industry alive lon- ger than in most other places in the united States. only in the 1880s, when railroads finally crossed the state, did factory-produced furni- ture from Grand rapids, michigan, and other midwestern towns, finally push the traditional makers out of business. the second volume tells of the arrival of texas furniture in the catalog of American art history. before 1975, that is, texas vernacular pieces were unstudied.


Wage-and-hour class actions are by far the most common type of class action claim filed in federal court, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all class action suits. 1 Employees bring wage-and-hour class actions to recover unpaid wages. The stakes are high. Employers pay out at least $1 billion annually in these cases. 2 Wal-Mart recently settled sixty-three wage-and-hour class action suits for an estimated $342 to $640 million and still has another twelve suits pending. 3 Even with this large volume of litigation, a fundamental question remains unanswered: does state or federal law determine the remedies available and the procedures used in these suits? 4


The mechanism of electrical conduction in polyethersulfone (PES) is investigated through the thermally stimulated current (TSC), dc conduction current, and space charge distribution. PES has two TSC peaks below the glass transition temperature of 225/spl deg/C. The peak temperature of the lower-temperature TSC, /spl beta/, increases with an increase in the poling temperature. Through the measurements of space charge distribution by the pulsed electroacoustic method done in combination with the TSC measurements, /spl beta/ peak is considered to be due to ions. Furthermore, the dc conduction current obeys the ionic hopping conduction model, suggesting that the dominant carriers are ions.


Abstract It has been shown earlier that formation of undesirable W2C phase during mechanochemical synthesis of WC–Al2O3 composites from WO3–Al–C mixture is due to high temperatures caused by the large heat release during the initial aluminothermic reduction of WO3. With the aim of preventing the formation of W2C, in this study, Al2O3 was added to lower the reaction temperature. Thermodynamic calculations showed that Al2O3 presence in WO3/2Al/C/xAl2O3 mixtures would lower the adiabatic temperature. Experimental findings revealed that with no Al2O3 addition, released heat in the mixture activates carbothermic reduction of WO3 and causes carbon deficiency, which results in W2C formation. When x = 0·6, although product consists of W2C phase, the coolant effect of alumina diminishes carbon deficiency phenomenon with a consequence of more WC formation. For the WO3/2Al/C/1·2Al2O3 mixture, carbothermic reduction reaction was prevented, which brings about complete conversion of W to WC after milling. The TEM observations showed that the produced WC–Al2O3 powder contains nanosize particles.


The first to point to this form was sclerosis disseminata. Under the influence of this report, the author, for his part, brings to attention a case that he observed of an undoubted sclerosis disseminata, where the process was localized in the lowest parts of the spinal cord - in the conus terminalis. Such process localization is very rare, as pointed out by Oppenheim and Mendel.


A novel replication technology for fabricating polymer optical waveguides has been developed. By utilizing this technology, optical coupler modules and a WDM module are successfully demonstrated with practical characteristics and high reliability for FTTH systems.


A brushless doubly-fed machine(BDFM) of salient poles rotor with deep slops was analyzed by Ansoft finite element analysis software for its characteristics of bad rotor magnetic coupling ability,high harmonic content and low efficiency.The space field effect figure and the space flux density distribution were obtained.The flux density of every harmonic quantity was gotten through Fourier decomposition,and the calculation results of the new salient poles rotor and the traditional salient poles rotor were compared.The results show that the new salient poles rotor with deep slots have better rotor magnetic field modulation effect and the salient poles rotor magnetic coupling ability is improved.


Family holding and proper sitting position are an alternative provision to make comfortable while treatment. This research proposed to determine the Impact of Family holding and Children Sitting Position to avoid distress while infusing. Type of quasi-experimental study with a simple of 30 preschoolers and school age. Sampling technique was purposive sampling. The results of this research shows that the averege distress score to the children who have family embrace and proper sitting position while infusion is 2,30 and the average distress score to the children who don'thave family holding and proper sitting position while infusion is 3,25. Examination statistic results shows there is effect of family holding and proper sitting position avoid the distress children during infusion (p: 0,025). Holding and proper sitting position of children during infusion is applicable as a nursing intervention to avoid distress preschoolers and school age. Keywords: Infusion, Family Holding, Sitting Position, Child distress


Introduction. According to T. Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions, there are tendencies in modern accounting normative knowledge that lead to the accumulation of contradictions between the achievements of information sciences and imperfect practice of obtaining information resources for business. This indicates the need to develop a new accounting paradigm for the needs of post-industrial society.Goal is to develop a new concept of accounting science, in which the central place should belong to the theoretical basis formed on the basis of laws of philosophy, sociology, information theory, management theory, psychology, systems theory, expanding methods of collecting and processing business facts past, present, future position of the enterprise in a rapidly changing environment and adaptation to change, which contributes to its long- term existence.Research methods. The article uses not only those methods that are traditionally inherent in accounting, but also those borrowed from other sciences in order to expand the methodological apparatus of research accounting problems - the laws of dialectics, logic, historical and systematic methods, analysis, synthesis and more. The choice of methods involves the creation of the concept of management accounting based on the disclosure of the category of «information field» of the enterprise, which helps employees understand the management system, what additional information they need to manage and can generate for them accounting information service.The results of the author's work are devoted to the problem of developing the structure of the concept of management accounting, as modern publications on this issue, in fact, are based on personal subjective ideas about management accounting models. Unfortunately, apart from general maxims regarding the organization and methods of accounting for costs and revenues in terms of structural units of the enterprise (cost centers), responsible persons (places or areas of responsibility), certain products and calculation methods, such publications do not provide any theoretical generalizations.It is time to develop, at least in the first version, the conceptual foundations of management accounting, given the typical structure of the information field, which can be adapted to the individual needs of specific enterprises.Perspectives for further research on the problems of management accounting are related to the definition of its boundaries and methods of regulation within the enterprise. This accounting should not be endowed with the prognostic function performed by strategic accounting in the controlling system. Its role is more modest - serving the information needs of managers of the operational level of management in real time.


Health Education Systems, Inc (HESI) is pleased to sponsor the second printing of the supplement to CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing and Nurse Educator, which contains published research articles focused on HESI testing. Two recently published, peer-reviewed research articles expand the selection of articles provided in the original supplement and offer additional support for the use of HESI examinations throughout the curriculum. The evidence-based research provided in these articles describe HESI examinations as psychometrically sound measures, useful in preparing students for the NCLEXRN, as well as evaluating student performance from program entry to exit in traditional and accelerated nursing curricula. The authors of these articles describe HESI examinations as reliable and valid measures for benchmarking program outcomes, measuring student achievement, and guiding remediation prior to licensure candidacy. The ongoing nature of such research exemplifies HESI's commitment to supporting excellence in nursing education and practice. That commitment was strengthened by the company's recent acquisition in January 2006 by Elsevier, a leading publisher of content and remediation resources for nursing. The full array of quality HESI testing products—custom, specialty, and exit examinations, now labeled as Evolve REACH powered by HESI—are enhanced by Elsevier's remediation resources. This combination of resources contributes to the goal of HESI and Elsevier—to provide excellent products for nursing education.


Stationary solutions in the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for spatially periodic flow with C4 symmetry (square lattice of bubbles and jets, lattice period=21r/k, k is the wave number) are investigated analytically. A one-parameter family of solutions S is found. The solutions are shown to converge on S as a function of the order of the approximation, and it is proved that the family S exists and is unique. We parametrize the solutions with the radius of curvature R at the stagnation point on a bubble. The ascent velocity v(R) of a bubble is found as a function of the parameter. Each point of S corresponds to an exact solution. The family has a termination point with kRc,-3.0 and v,,(Rc,) 0.99&3, where g is the acceleration of gravity. A solitary jet is another terminal point of S and is localized in the limit kR+m with v(R)--+4 &%JkR. A comparison is made to the case of a stationary two-dimensional flow. O 1995 American Institute of Physics.


The management of mobile communication network requires that the integrated network management executes real-time monitoring to crucial performances of special network management by network data collection.These collected data can be analysed in the angle of whole network.Here,starting from the Yiyang network management system,a data collection framework is established,the data collection method and procedure are presented in terms of control and realization of data collection.By using the message mechanism,data inspection process and OMC realtime communication,the data collection program can be triggered as soon as the data is completed,adding the realtime capability of data collection and raising the independence of performance and configuration information so as to improve the system's stability.


Currently, there is an active digital transformation of management practices and processes in the world, associated with the emergence of an ecosystem approach. The ecosystem approach is being actively implemented in all spheres of the economy and society. This phenomenon has not bypassed the education sphere. The article considers the priority tasks and trends in the development of education that meet the global challenges of the changing world economy, and aimed at developing a new paradigm of training throughout life. The purpose of the study is to analyze the factors influencing the creation of an educational ecosystem of the future, designed to form and develop a culture of lifelong learning, and, consequently, to the need for the introduction of network models based on elements of joint and voluntary learning. The research methods are comparative and causal analysis of management decisions. As a result of the study, the authors identify the elements of the educational and personnel ecosystems that affect the business processes of an organization in the context of digital transformation. It will significantly accelerate the possibilities of cooperation between the real sector of the economy, the educational ecosystem and the state within the framework of the above changes. The ecosystem transformation of education will allow to educate a new generation that will lead the transition to the effective and harmonious development of world civilization. The ecosystem approach will change the traditional ways of learning, discovering, acting on the principles of cooperation. These changes are aimed at dialogue in terms of business training in the conditions of digitalisation of the economy between the educational ecosystem and the business environment. Therefore, it is the personnel service for business processes that should be given increased attention to representatives of the real sector of the economy, the scientific community and educational institutions.


This article is based on a report written in February 2016 for the FRAME project. The FRAME project -'Fostering Human Rights Among European Policies' – is funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (Grant Agreement No 320000).


The learning of geospatial skills is essential as a transversal matter in many disciplines and as a fundamental skill in lifelong learning. Outdoor Learning offers a perfect scenario to teach such skills in a more active and efficient way. This paper presents the development of these issues with a group of postgraduate students from the University of Málaga (Spain) and Linköping (Sweden) by a set of activities specially created for such a goal. After some introductory classroom and field-trip sessions, practical activities were carried out in order to encourage the use of new technologies in geolocation in connection with historical heritage awareness. At the end of the experience it was conducted an analysis of results from questionnaires with the participant groups. The content of these questionnaires deals with important educational issues such as the opinion of students or the skills acquisition after the experience.


ABSTRACT This paper presents an asymmetrical H-bridge single-phase seven-level inverter topology with modified gating scheme for reducing the number of high-frequency switches. Due to shortcomings like steady-state error and problems in removing low-order harmonics associated with proportional integral controller, proportional resonant controller is used for grid-connected converter current control. A practical application of proportional resonant current controller is developed using a low-cost dsPIC33EP256MC202 microcontroller to keep the current injected in to the grid. The validity of proposed inverter and control scheme is verified through simulation and implemented for low-voltage laboratory prototype.


The contents of polyphenols of peel,pulp and seed fractions of apple,pomegranate,olive,mango,banana,pineapple,grape and longan and their total antioxidant activities were studied.After ultrasound-assisted extraction with 70% aqueous acetone at room temperature,polyphenols and tannins in the plant cells were separated and their contents were determined by Prussian blue assay.Antioxidant activities of the aqueous acetone extracts were evaluated by Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power(FRAP) assay.A positive linear correlation between antioxidant activities and phenolic contents was observed.The results showed that the fruit peel and seeds of pomegranate,olive,mango,grape and longan could be considered as potential sources of antioxidants rather than just discarded as waste.


Aim To investgate the mechnism through which ginkgolides affect learning and memory capabilities of the Alzheimers disease-like rats. Methods Okadaic acid(OA)was injected into the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus and the rats were gavaged with ginkgolides. The learning and memory abilities of the rats were assessed through Morris water maze behavioral test, and the expressions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and ChAT were observed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively.Results Compared with the control rats, the capabilities of learning and memory were lowered significantly(P0.01)and the expressions of both the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the ChAT positive neurons were decreased greatly in the model rats(P0.05). In the rats gavaged with ginkgolides, it was found that their learning and memory capabilities were improved significantly(P0.01) and that the expression of either nicotinic acetylcholine receptors or ChAT positive neurons was increased obviously(P0.05), as compared with the model rats.Conclusions Ginkgolides are able to enhance the learning and memory capabilities of the Alzheimer disease-like rats, possibly by improving function of the acetylcholine system in the brain.


Due to the size constraints of the CubeSat satellites and hence the limited capabilities in terms of battery power and solar panel's area, highly energy efficient transmission schemes are required. However, we can consider CubeSat satellites as a prospective tool for communication. In this case the effective transmission channels between CubeSats and a ground station should be optimized in terms of energy efficiency, robustness, Bit Error Ratio performance and capacity. One of the approaches to reduce the required energy consumption is to reduce the required Signal-to-Noise Ratio. We evaluate different coding schemes including LDPC and space-time codes. Due to the limited size of the CubeSat systems the use of cooperative schemes can be beneficial and shall be considered. Cooperative schemes in this context are schemes, in which several devices are virtually treated as to be a single one. Different system models for cooperative communication and basic results of the link budget calculation are presented in the introduction. A comparison of the Bit-Error- Ratio performance for different cases of using Alamouti codes as well as inter-satellite link budget calculations are shown in the main part of this paper.


The flow of non‐Newtonian fluids in open channels has great significance in many industrial settings from water treatment to mine waste disposal. The turbulent behaviour during transportation of these materials is of interest for many reasons, one of which is keeping settleable particles in suspension. The mechanism governing particle transport in turbulent flow has been studied in the past, but is not well understood. A better understanding of the mechanism operating in the turbulent flow of non‐Newtonian suspensions in open channel would lead to improved design of many of the systems used in the mining and mineral processing industries. The objective of this paper is to introduce our work on the Direct Numerical Simulation of turbulent flow of non‐Newtonian fluids in an open channel. The numerical method is based on spectral element/Fourier formulation. The flow simulation of a Herschel‐Bulkley fluid agrees qualitatively with experimental results. The simulation results over‐predict the flow velocity by approximately 15% for the cases considered, although the source of the discrepancy is difficult to ascertain. The effect of variation in yield stress and assumed flow depth are investigated and used to assess the sensitivity of the flow to these physical parameters. This methodology is seen to be useful in designing and optimising the transport of slurries in open channels.


Anodization is an electrochemical conversion process to form an oxide film on certain metals to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on metal surface parts. Most of the anodizing works are done by AC power supply at high voltages and current densities. We studied here the anodizing of zinc using DC power supply at low voltages and current densities. In this study, the work was conducted with galvanized steel (GS) sheet using three different baths containing varying concentrations of NaOH, Na2B2O7.10H2O, Na2Si2O3.9H2O, NaNO2 and NiSO4. Galvanized steel was anodized by applying 25 and 30 DC volts from each bath and 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3 A/cm current densities on each applied voltage. Galvanized steel could not be anodized from the bath containing NaOH, Na2Si2O3.9H2O and NaNO2 under the applied working conditions. However a uniform, adherent and bright anodized surface could be obtained from the borate solutions. The anodized samples thus obtained were characterized by corrosion test using immersion in a 5% NaCl solution, chemical composition analysis using Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), morphology study using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and microhardness measurement using Shimadzu microhardness tester. The corrosion resistance of the anodized zinc coatings was found much higher (about 6-15 times) than the galvanized steel without anodizing. The anodized coatings were composed mainly of Zn, O and Si. Microhardness of anodized zinc coatings increased with increasing applied current density. The application of low voltages eliminates the economic and risk objections of high voltage, high current zinc anodization.


Syarifuddin Hasyim The result of study shows that there is an overlapping arrangement on regional spatial. It is caused by no confirm authority between provinces and districts in regional, or more regulations on the same object such as location license and right on the land, license of nuisance act, and license of building on regional investment project. The act will be definitely confronted with regional town planning. As the result, deviation of land function cannot be avoided so that farm land will be changed to industrial land. It is caused by weakness of law enforcement and ineffective control of government as well as lack of people participation in arranging the regional town planning.


Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the most dangerous virus of the coronavirus family. This study aimed to evaluate demographic criteria in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the relationship between the Computerized Tomography scan (CT scan) and mortality. Methods: In this retrospective study, files of 212 patients with suspected COVID-19, admitted to the teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from February 20, 2009, to August 2020, were reviewed; also, CT images of patients were examined, and the frequency of abnormalities was determined. Results: The RT-PCR test was positive in 204 patients (99%). Consolidation was observed in all 206 patients. The highest lung involvement was observed in 69 patients (33.5%) with 90% lung involvement. Atoll sign was diagnosed in 121 cases (58.7%). Crazy-paving reticular lines, subpleural sparing, and bronchial distortion were observed in 129 (62.6%), 88 (42.7%), and 124 patients (60.2%), respectively. In addition, we found multi-segment in the CT scan results of 94.2% (194 cases), which was higher than the single segment seen in 5.8% (12 patients). Conclusion: CT scan is a relatively sensitive technique for diagnosing COVID-19, the relationship between CT scan and death was significant, and the disease severity was more accurate with this method. Keywords: CT scan; lung; COVID-19.


The publication is a translation of a Latin manuscript by N.L. Bidloo of 1710, the only copy of which is kept in the fundamental library of the Military Medical Academy. S. M. Kirov in Leningrad. The translation of the manuscript was done by Cand. philol. Sciences A. A. Sodomora and Dr. med. Sciences M.I.Dubovoy. The book is well illustrated. Images of surgical instruments belonging to Peter the Great were taken from the collection of the State Hermitage. Among the illustrations are stylized drawings of surgical operations, recreated on the basis of the text of the manuscript by Lviv artists - candidate med. Sciences AI Mendelai and associate professor GM Skubchenko. The book is superbly designed by the artist B.K.Krivitsky. In general, the publication is an example of the printing art.


Radiographic examination of the full-time fœtus at birth commonly shows the bones in the stage of ossification shown in Fig. 1. As a rule no ossified nuclei for epiphyses are present, except one for the epiphysis of the lower end of each femur, and sometimes a smaller one for the head of the tibia and the head of the humerus. The ossification of the diaphyses appears to be uniform throughout all the bones. The middle third of the shaft shows a compact cortex, which gradually thins out as it approaches the proximal and distal thirds, so that the expanded extremities appear to be composed throughout of a fine cancellous reticulum of uniform density: so fine that it may be detected on an unscreened film only, the grain of intensifying screens obliterating it. The nutrient foramen can be made out in the large long bones. In the femur it is seen as a foramen or distally directed breach of the cortex about 1 mm. in diameter just proximal to the midpoint of the shaft, and in the humerus a similar structure just ...


This article illustrates the main expressive medium of esthetics of technology in design of furniture,thus indicating that esthetics of technology is one of the relatively independent characteristics of aesthetics,which distinguishes beauties of nature and pure esthetics of art.Through the analysis of design of modern furniture which is effected by practicability,physical character,and aesthetics to structure,it demonstrates a tendency that modern furniture be made more and more accurate and elaborate and be presented as more deep-level and more multiplex with the new technology due to fast development of science.


Introduction. Dengue is disease with a wide spectrum of clinical presentation often with unpredictable clinical progression and outcome. It is often difficult to predict the subset of patients who will progress from nonsevere to severe disease. Case. A 12 year old female admitted to the hospital for her acute fever for four days. She complained headache, nausea, and vomitting. There was rash on her limbs and her gums bleed several hours ago. She looks ill, compos mentis, temperature 38.9°C, pulse 132/minute regular, respiration rate 24/minute. Bloodwork shows thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Dengue IgG and IgM showed positive result. She diagnosed as dengue haemorrhagic fever grade II and then she received intravenous fluid and acetaminophen. Conclusion. In DHF endemic area, acute fever should receive more attention. Since DHF is unpredictable, clinicians should pay more attention to symptoms and signs to get information of the severity of the disease. The most important treatment dor DHF patient is rehydration. [Medula Unila.2014;2(3):8-14]


The structure of a linear chain compound (CH 3 ) 3 NHCdCl 3 was investigated at 355 K using a four-circle diffractometer. The structure belongs to the orthorhombic system, space group Pbnm. Unit cell dimensions are a=17.123 A, b=15.256 A, c=6.731 A and Z=8. The structure was refined by a block-diagonal least squares method. The obtained result in general agrees with the model reported previously. The disorder state of the trimethyl ammonium ions with unequal occupation propabilities is discussed. The mechanism of the phase transition from the room temperature (\(1\times\sqrt{3}\)) phase to the high temperature (\(2\times\sqrt{3}\)) phase is also discussed.


We consider a set of ``simple'' polymer chains (linear, flexible, neutral, homogeneous) in the presence of a flat solid-liquid interface, where the surface is attractive and the chains adsorb reversibly. We show that the scaling approach recently proposed by Aubouy, Guiselin, and Rapha\"el (AGR) [Macromolecules 29, 7261 (1996)] to describe polymer layers theoretically is able to explain the major features of these interfaces: (i) The polymer chains build an interfacial layer with a well-defined structure. (ii) There is preferential adsorption of the longest chains in the dilute regime. (iii) There is preferential adsorption of the shortest chains in the concentrated regime. (iv) Ultrathin polymer films dewet surfaces that thick films would wet. We can thus (a) identify a single physical process responsible for all these different behaviors, namely: the competition between the entropy of the set of loops (which favors the ``dense states'' of the layer) and the repulsive loop-loop interactions (which favors the ``dilute states'' of the layer), and (b) show that the AGR approach may provide the basis of a powerful and wide-ranging theory of polymers at interfaces.


ABSTRACT Machine learning is extensively used in material research and development, including adhesion technology. However, it requires a large dataset to train the models for optimizing, developing, and designing new adhesives. This study proposes a novel testing machine that enables quick high-throughput measurements of the shear strength of adhesively bonded joints. A small cylindrical butt shear joint (BSJ) specimen placed in a holder was pushed by a metal specimen pusher until failure; during this process, the force and displacement were recorded. This testing machine can be used to quickly conduct the measurement by simply placing the specimen in a holder and pushing it. A comparison of the average shear strength measured by this method and that measured by single-lap shear tests, coupled with stress analysis using finite element simulation suggested that the proposed method can measure the shear strength more accurately, where a higher level of pure shear can be achieved in the adhesive layers with a lower degree of stress concentration and smaller peeling stress at the extremities of the adhesives. This indicates that the shear strength of adhesively bonded joints can be measured quickly using the proposed testing method, thereby facilitating the development of new adhesives using machine learning.


Slow adoption rates of innovation in rural settings are a source of frustration for technology advocates. Adoption decisions consume two valuable but limited resources: (1) time, and (2) capacity to integrate new information. We explore the structural sociological factors using a heterogeneous agent programming model (HAM) to understand the mechanics of socio-economic linkages of diffusion in rural settings. Diffusion constraints are introduced in the form of network-threshold values that reflect the cumulative effects of experience and observation of peers' experiences. We test a range of confounding factors and find that strong social pressures dramatically increase both innovation diffusion penetration and irregularity. Clustering is caused by strong social pressures and the aggregation of buyers near innovative firms which creates a pattern of buying explosions. As competition between innovators increases, the resulting diffusion process becomes more variable and irregular and is highly likely to result in innovation monopolies in rural areas.


The purpose of the article is to reveal the function of risks as a mechanism for effective identification, assessment and reduction of risks of different nature to an acceptable level, including financial, corruption, illegal money legalization, financing of terrorism and other offenses. The article explores the most common model of the approach to the interpretation of the concept of "risk" as an economic phenomenon of human relations, relating only to human activity. Within the framework of the developing scientific school, a theorem on the ratio and limits of uncertainty and risk of a complex economic system is formulated for the first time. The consequences following the proposed theorem, allowing to find new methods of risk management in order to ensure the effective functioning of organizations, are shown.


An interesting issue observed in some drugs is the "double peak phenomenon" (DPP). In DPP, the concentration-time (C-t) profile does not follow the usual shape but climbs to a peak and then begins to degrade before rising again to a second peak. Such a phenomenon is observed in the case of amisulpride, which is a second-generation antipsychotic. The aim of this study was to develop a model for the description of double peaks in amisulpride after oral administration. Amisulpride plasma C-t data were obtained from a 2 × 2 crossover bioequivalence study in 24 healthy adult subjects. A nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach was applied in order to perform the analysis. Participants' characteristics, such as demographics (e.g., body weight, gender, etc.), have also been investigated. A model for describing the double peak phenomenon was successfully developed. Simulations were run using this model to investigate the impact of significant covariates and recommend appropriate dosage regimens. For comparison purposes and to investigate the suitability of our developed model for describing the double peak phenomenon, modeling of previously published population pharmacokinetic models was also applied to the C-t data of this study.


With time, Science has proved to be the Best Solution for solving problems and making our work easier and effective. In the last year and a half, COVID-19 has completely transformed our lives. Technology has become more important and necessary than ever in order for us to lead a quality life and help us adjust to the new normal. If one thing that COVID-19 has shown us profoundly, then it is how machines and technology can perform certain tasks efficiently, sometimes better than humans. Be it delivering food and medicine or predicting the number of cases or telling us the probability of spread of the virus, technology has proven to be very efficient in these testing times. Especially with a virus-like COVID-19 which is highly contagious and spreads through human contact, humans were highly dependent on technology even for the simplest of tasks. Through this paper, we review and research how exactly important technological domains Robotics, Data Science, Data Analytics, Computer Vision, VR, and others have played a major role or can play a major role in the management of and study of COVID-19. We have done a thorough study on the various technologies used to combat COVID 19.


Background: Physical treatment is a unique calling with broad clinical applications in the rebuilding,support and advancement of ideal physical capacityAim of study: To assess the level of knowledge regarding the benefits of physiotherapy among PhysiotherapySpecialty students.Methodology: A cross sectional descriptive study included (54) Physiotherapy students of Medical TechnicalInstitute, Technical College of Health and Medicine/Baghdad, during November and December 2018.They were selected randomly and they were asked to answer a self-administered questionnaire in 3 maindomains (general benefits, woman's health, chronic disease management) of physiotherapy. The questionnairecovered different aspects regarding the knowledge of the benefits of physiotherapy. The percent score foreach question and overall mean score for each domain was assessed.Results: The total number of included students in the study was 54 distributed an 51.9%males 48.1%females, 64.81% from the Medical Technical Institute and 35.19%from the college of Technical Health andMedicine. Distribution of knowledge of students regarding the general benefits of physiotherapy was withoverall mean percent score=80, women's health with overall mean percent score=67% and for the benefitsof physiotherapy in chronic diseases with overall mean percent score=84%. The overall mean percent scoresfor all domains were 77.Conclusion: In general, satisfactory level of knowledge of included students regarding the benefits ofphysiotherapy


A new spectroscopic diagnostic on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [J. Spitzer, M. Ono, M. Peng, D. Bashore, T. Bigelow, A. Brooks, J. Chrzanowaki, H. M. Fan, P. Heitzenroeder, T. Jarboe et al., Fusion Technol2. 30, 1337 (1996)] measures the velocity distribution of ions in the plasma edge simultaneously along both poloidal and toroidal views. An anisotropic ion temperature is measured during high power high harmonic fast wave (HHFW) rf heating in helium plasmas, with the poloidal ion temperature roughly twice the toroidal ion temperature. Moreover, the measured spectral distribution suggests that two populations of ions are present and have temperatures of typically 500eV and 50eV with rotation velocities of −50km∕s and −10km∕s, respectively (predominantly perpendicular to the local magnetic field). This bimodal distribution is observed in both the toroidal and poloidal views (for both He+ and C2+ ions), and is well correlated with the period of rf power application to the plasma. The tempe...


We consider the problem of maintaining an approximate maximum integral matching in a dynamic graph $G$, while the adversary makes changes to the edges of the graph. The goal is to maintain a $(1+\epsilon)$-approximate maximum matching for constant $\epsilon>0$, while minimizing the update time. In the fully dynamic setting, where both edge insertion and deletions are allowed, Gupta and Peng (see \cite{GP13}) gave an algorithm for this problem with an update time of $O(\sqrt{m}/\epsilon^2)$. Motivated by the fact that the $O_{\epsilon}(\sqrt{m})$ barrier is hard to overcome (see Henzinger, Krinninger, Nanongkai, and Saranurak [HKNS15]); Kopelowitz, Pettie, and Porat [KPP16]), we study this problem in the \emph{decremental} model, where the adversary is only allowed to delete edges. Recently, Bernstein, Probst-Gutenberg, and Saranurak (see [BPT20]) gave an $O_{\epsilon}(1)$ update time decremental algorithm for this problem in \emph{bipartite graphs}. However, beating $O(\sqrt{m})$ update time remained an open problem for \emph{general graphs}. In this paper, we bridge the gap between bipartite and general graphs, by giving an $O_{\epsilon}(1)$ update time algorithm that maintains a $(1+\epsilon)$-approximate maximum integral matching under adversarial deletions. Our algorithm is randomized, but works against an adaptive adversary. Together with the work of Grandoni, Leonardi, Sankowski, Schwiegelshohn, and Solomon [GLSSS19] who give an $O_{\epsilon}(1)$ update time algorithm for general graphs in the \emph{incremental} (insertion-only) model, our result essentially completes the picture for partially dynamic matching.


In this paper, an efficient slotted WDMA protocol suitable for ring metropolitan area networks that employs a separate wavelength for control information exchange is proposed. Each access node is equipped with a pair of tunable transceivers for data communication and a pair of fixed tuned transceivers for control communication. An efficient access algorithm is applied to avoid both the data wavelengths and the receiver collisions. In our study, the serious scalability problems of many other WDMA protocols are effectively faced. This is achieved since each access node is capable of transmitting and receiving over any of the data wavelengths. Performance measures evaluation is provided via an analytic model and the results are validated by a discrete event simulation model that uses Pareto traffic sources, giving a more realistic study of modern networks traffic. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol manages efficient bandwidth utilization, especially under high load conditions. Comparative simulation results show that our protocol achieves essential performance improvement as compared with other WDMA protocols which restrict transmission over a dedicated data wavelength.


Nordic1 women's relatively high representation in po3 litics is a fairly recent historical development. As a matter of fact, Nordic women had to wait until the 1970s to make a breakthrough into parliamentary politics (meaning more than 10 per cent women of the MPs). Still, in all Nordic countries women had received suffrage by 1920. Finland was, however, an exception: Finnish women entered the formal political arena earlier than women in the other Nordic countries. Already in the first democratically elec3 ted parliament in Finland (1907), women constituted ten per cent of the elected assembly, which was an exception3 ally high starting level for women's political representation in a national parliament.2 Very few women were represen3 ted in national assemblies in the other Nordic countries be3 fore the second World War. In Sweden the 10% threshold was reached in 1953, in Denmark in 1966, in Norway in 1973, and in Iceland in 1983. Until the early 1970s, a hig3 her proportion of women participated in elective politics in Finland than elsewhere in Europe, although this gap bet3


Figure 1: Schematic illustration of fabrication process for the multidimensional array. We present a new multi-dimensional plasmonic array consisting of a metal-dielectric-metal interface. This array enhances plasmonic interactions between layers and exhibits tunneling effects dependent on dielectric thicknesses. Plasmon-driven growth is used to controllably fabricate the multi-layer nanogap structure. This multi-dimensional structure, which cannot be easily produced through conventional lithographic methods, takes advantage of plasmonic coupling effects and provides increased tunability of the optical resonance as well as greater enhancement of the near-field. In addition, we report high electric field focusing in the multidimensional plasmonic nanogap array, which confirms the enhancing nature of the structure and shows a potential for high sensitivity in detection applications. We demonstrate the uniformity and stability of the plasmonic structures through characterization of nanoparticle size and absorption spectra. Such a substrate can find uses in many areas, including optofluidic platforms for the detection of biological molecules such as proteins.


Numerical investigation was carried out to demonstrate the validity of a new concept for evaluating the crack closure values due to plasticity effect, following single overloads (SOL). The crack closure (or opening) stress was decomposed into two components, one that results under constant amplitude loads (CAL), and the other that is due to application of single overload. The model based on plasticity induced crack closure was developed and a computer code was framed for prediction of fatigue growth and crack closure stress. The fidelity of the program was tested by comparison of the results with the experimental data obtained from recent literature. Results from numerical method agreed well with the data. The numerical scheme presented is robust and can be used with confidence for design and analysis.


The invention discloses a medical rubber plug bottle. The medical rubber plug bottle comprises a bottle body and a bottle plug arranged on the bottle body and made of silica gel material, wherein the bottle plug comprises a plug column and a screw cap arranged on the top of the plug column, the screw cap and the plug column are of an integrated structure, a liquid storage cavity is formed in the bottle body, an opening is formed in the top of the bottle body, the plug column is inserted in the opening, an annular block is arranged on the outer circumferential face of the plug column, a clamping groove and a side groove are formed in the annular block in a staggered mode, a fixing hole and a positioning groove are formed in the end of the plug column, the fixing hole is formed in the positioning groove, protecting blocks are arranged on the bottle body and arranged on the two sides of the opening, a disinfection rod hole is formed in the side wall of the bottle body and corresponds to the fixing hole, a plurality of inserting holes are formed in the top face of the bottle body, and a clamping block is arranged on the inward face of the opening and connected in the clamping groove in a clamped mode. Due to the medical rubber plug bottle, disinfectant can be stored conveniently, a disinfection rod can be conveniently inserted and connected in the disinfection rod hole and is convenient for a doctor to use in a pluggable mode, and the medical rubber plug bottle is more convenient to use; surgical needles can be conveniently disinfected.


The use of charts to reduce the labor in solving problems involving high-frequency transmission lines and wave guides has increased considerably. This article presents details of the development and problems illustrating applications of the two most commonly used types of charts. It was written primarily for students and practicing engineers who use the charts without knowing the background.


Background There is no single model available to predict the long term survival for patients starting renal replacement therapy (RRT). The available models either predict survival on dialysis until transplantation, survival on the transplant waiting list, or survival after transplantation. The aim of this study was to develop a model that includes dialysis survival and survival after an eventual transplantation. Methods From the Dutch renal replacement registry, patients of 16 years of age or older were included if they started RRT between 1995 and 2005, still underwent RRT at baseline (90 days after the start of RRT) and were not registered at a non-renal organ transplant waiting list (N=13868). A prediction model of 10-year patient survival after baseline was developed through multivariate Cox regression analysis, in one half of the research group. Age at start, sex, primary renal disease (PRD) and therapy at baseline were included as possible predictors. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to determine whether listing on the transplant waiting list should be added. The predictive performance of the model was internally validated. Calibration and discrimination were computed in the other half of the research group. Another sensitivity analysis was to assess whether the outcomes differed if the model was developed and tested in two geographical regions, which were less similar than the original development and validation group . No external validation has been performed. Results Survival probabilities were influenced by age, sex, PRD and therapy at baseline (p<0.001). The calibration and discrimination both showed very reasonable results for the prediction model (C-index = 0.720 and calibration slope for the prognostic index = 1.025, for the 10 year survival). Adding registration on the waiting list for renal transplantation as a predictor did not improve the discriminative power of the model and was therefore not included in the model. Conclusions With the presented prediction model, it is possible to give a reasonably accurate estimation on the survival chances of patients who start with RRT, using a limited set of easily available data. BACKGROUND In the Netherlands, in recent years approximately 2000 new patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) start chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT) every year. Even though the kidney replacement programs already exist for more than forty years, it is still not possible to predict the long term survival chances for all RRT patients during the initial phase of their therapy, using one single model. Existing prediction models look at dialysis survival until transplantation[1], patient survival on the transplant waiting list[2-5], patient survival after transplantation[6,7], or focus on a specific patient group in which differences in treatment modality are less likely[8]. However, none of the available predication models focus on survival for the complete group of incident RRT patients, taking into account survival after dialysis combined with survival after a possible transplantation. As it is not clear at therapy initiation whether a patient will stay on dialysis, or will be listed in time and actually be transplanted, the available models cannot be used to predict survival for all patients at the start of RRT. To be able to give a survival prognosis in an early stage of the renal replacement therapy to every patient, we need a model that predicts patient survival chances based on characteristics that are known at that point in time. In the present study, based on national data from the renal replacement registry, a prediction model on the survival prognosis for incident RRT patients in the Netherlands was developed and validated. The objective of this study is to develop a prediction model that could be used by physicians to inform patients about their survival chances at the start of RRT, based on a few very easily obtainable variables.


This paper deals with the log-logistic distribution (β = 3) as a life time model. Moments of order statistics and an ordered sample are used to define a test statistic for the null hypothesis that the considered random variable has log-logistic distribution (β = 3). The percentiles of the test statistic are evaluated, Power's of the test with half-logistic distribution and Rayleigh distribution as alternatives are also evaluated.


Referring to palaeohydrological events reconstructed from sedimentological studies of a deep core in Lake Mondsee (Austria), the paper by Swierczynski et al. attempts to document the ongoing debate whether the abandonment of Late Neolithic lakedwellings at Lake Mondsee was caused by (1) unfavourable climatic conditioons, (2) a single catastrophic event linked to a tsumnami provoked by a rock fall, or (3) cultural factors. Taken as a whole, the paper presents an interesting contribution to the debate, and it is well structured. The chronology of the sediment sequence offers on a robust time scale based on both varve counting and radiocarbon dates, while sedimentological analyses offer a precise environmental context from sediment microfacies and XRF studies. The climatic conditions reconstructed from the Lake Mondsee deep core appear to be in general agreement with other palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic records established in the Alps for the time window 7000-4000 cal BP. C2987