Energy storage systems are lauded solutions for integrating the ever-increasing amounts of renewable energy sources in distribution networks. Electrochemical batteries, principally lithium-ion based, are among the most promising storage technologies for these applications due their high energy densities, capacities, and efficiencies. The operation of these energy storage resources must be optimized since every charge/discharge cycle wears the battery and reduces its lifespan. This paper presents a stochastic second-order cone programming model, that considers the AC power flow equations, for optimizing the operation of battery storage systems in distribution networks, taking into account their degradation characteristics explicitly. A 33-node distribution network is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results also demonstrate the importance of including the degradation characteristics in the model, in order to attain solutions that strike a balance between operating costs and the benefits of prolonging the lifespan of the batteries.


The invention discloses a transfer method of text information in communication by a visual telephone, which is favorable for the user to input indication information to carry text information, and the text information is displayed on the calling interface of a terminal. The invention improves the information interaction of the telephone and is suitable for realizing the sending and the receiving of the text information in the communication by the visual telephone with a 3G network. The user can directly input characters on the calling interface to the calling receiving party, and the input text information can be directly displayed on the calling interface of the user after selecting to send.


Wet scrubbing experiences at a variety of steel mill applications including sinter plant, blast furnace, open hearth, and industrial boiler installations are discussed. A number of case studies are examined. For each, the process, emission characteristics, and wet scrubber system design are described. Actual performance is compared with design values, and particular emphasis is placed on water chemistry control and related problems.


. The research devoted to a comprehensive study of market factors, that affect the improvement of HEIs efficiency and the possibility of solving the problems of universities management, is important for the practical implementation of the fundamental principles of enhancing the Russian universities competitiveness. Such studies are of particular importance in relation to regional universities, which are in difficult conditions: they need to strive for global competitiveness and meet the local territories requirements. The objects of the external environment having connections with universities are identified. Their internal potentials can influence the future university resulting indicators. The originality of this work lies in the proposed system of indicators for solving the problems of university management based on its development potential assessment, taking into account the influence of the external environment potentials of the personnel training market. These indicators have not been sufficiently reflected in the methodology for monitoring the efficiency improvement of universities' activities, developed and implemented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The study results can serve as an information and analytical basis for making management decisions in the field of organizing university scientific and educational activities, taking into account its promising development potential.


A rescue excavation at an early medieval Welsh cemetery has revealed rare evidence of an achondroplastic infant dwarf. The osteological examination revealed that the infant exhibited many characteristic features of dysplasia including proportionately short limbs, the early development of coxa vara and bowing tibia, whilst exhibiting normal trunk development. The exceptional preservation of such a good example of an achondroplastic infant will greatly contribute to the palaeopathological knowledge of this hereditary disease. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity amongst 12 Saccharum clones from 3 species using 19 SSR markers and capillary electrophoresis(CE). A total of 229 DNA bands were generated showing a size range between 100 and 260 bp. Based on the SSR data,the Jaccard's genetic similarity coefficients ranged from a minimum of 0.09 between CP72-1210(cultivar)and In81-142(S.spontaneum)to a maximum 0.65 between GX87(S.spontaneum)to GX86(S.spontaneum). In the dendrogram using UPGMA method,the 12 Saccharum clones were clustered into two groups. The three S.spontaneum clones formed a single group,while the three S.officinarum clones clustered with the six cultivars,which demonstrated that S.officinarum had a closer genetic relationship with cultivars than S.spontaneum. The SSR markers data generated based on capillary electrophoresis are more accurate,simpler and automatic as compared to other molecular markers or electrophoresis.


Abstract : Because uncertainty often enters into economic transactions when payment is deferred, it may be advantageous to make the amount of payment depend on the occurrence of uncertain events. This general method of accomplishing risk-sharing is studied and its relevance is discussed in two cases: (1) uncertainty over the rate of inflation and cost-of-living escalators; (2) uncertainty over the exchange rate and foreign currency payment plans.


We calculate the practical limit of performance enhancement due to the radiative coupling effect for multi-junction solar cells (MJSCs) under a wide range of atmospheric conditions encountered in potential sites for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems. MJSCs with both optimal and sub-optimal band gap combinations with respect to the AM1.5D spectrum were considered. Under realistic atmospheric conditions the relative enhancement to power due to radiative coupling is found to be less than 1% for current matched triple-junction solar cells, whereas enhancement of up to 21% can be expected for non-current matched quad-junction devices. The energy yield improvement over an annual period is calculated.


In some buildings, classroom doors lack locks and exterior doors are old. Other buildings have public announcement systems that don't work well throughout a school building or that lack speakers in restrooms. Still others have classrooms without telephones or main offices that are not centrally located, allowing visitors to enter without being detected, according to Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, which provides safety consulting to districts. Fortified facilities and equipment play a big role in security, Trump says, but being alert and informed is most important. "The first and best line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert and informed staff and student body," Trump says. "We over rely on physical security and we forget the human element."


Much is made of the principle of equal pay for equal work. But the major job-related problems of women are not caused by the fact that women do the same work as men and get paid less for it. Some do, of course, but the major issue is that they do not do the same kinds of work as men, that they are prohibited from doing so de facto or, less likely now, by law. As a result, women workers are grouped in a few occupations, often in jobs that are low skilled and pay poorly. Other jobs in which women are concentrated pay poorly simply because they are identified as "women's work." In spite of being given a lower value they are frequently overcrowded. Economist Barbara Bergmann has found that occupational segregation is more intense by sex than by race.1 Her findings pertain to the American job market, but the grouping of women in some occupations and men in others is not peculiar to America. It takes place in all countries, although the nature of "women's jobs" varies from country to country and from one historical period to another. In Sweden, for example, crane operators are usually women, and it is claimed that women are innately more skilled than men in this occupation. It is unfair to restrict women occupationally, and it is psychologically


To address the problems of edge blurring and detail preservation in the filtering, a novel high-dimensional filtering using gradient minimized Mumford-Shah model is proposed, which applies the minimization of L0 and L1 regularization terms to achieve edge-preserving and texture-smoothing. For 2D images, the L0 norm describes the number of non-smooth pixels in the image, which is minimized to obtain the local flat region, that is, to make the filtered output as smooth as possible in Mumford-Shah model. The L1 norm (total variation term) describes the length of all level-sets in the image, which is minimized to control the sharpness of the edges, that is the length constraint in Mumford-Shah model. Due to the robustness of Mumford-Shah model in edge-preserving and texture-smoothing, a sound component separation would be obtained in high-dimensional signal decomposition. In the experiments, we demonstrate our proposed high-dimensional filter can achieve both properties of edge-preserving and texture-smoothing. The characteristic is helpful for obtaining the perfect structure-texture separation, and optimizing the results in some specific visual applications.


The present invention, on the porous support, using an amine aqueous solution containing a fluorine compound and an amine compound having an epoxy group at the terminal, forming an aqueous amine solution layer, an acyl halide organic solution to the aqueous amine solution layer forming a polyamide film containing the contacted with the fluorine compound, a method for manufacturing and water treatment separation membrane prepared by using the same chlorine resistance and high permeability of water treatment separation membrane comprising a. .The


The teaching feedback reporters from the studenst,who have many effects,such as the monitor,the com munication and the ligament in the courses of promoting the educational reformation and improving the educational quality,are the important part of educationd managtment.This article explores the important effects,the formation and its management of the teaching feedback reporthers from the students,with its validity and necessity.


The application of a single movable mass to generate control torques for the attitude control of space vehicles is discussed. The feasibility of a movable mass control in stabilizing a cable-connected, artificial gravity configuration is proposed. A dynamic model for cable-connected configurations to account for the aggregate motion of the space station and relative torsional motion between the crew quarters and counter weight is developed.


Playcentre is a parent cooperative early childhood service where parents are trained and supported as the educators in the service. Once considered a 'mainstream' service, policy has increasingly marginalised Playcentres in favour of supporting teacher-led services. This article gives a background of parent cooperative services, and then reviews policies of the fifth National government from 2008, with an emphasis on how these policies have accommodated or excluded Playcentre. This review is presented as an argument for maintaining diversity in the early childhood education and care sector by developing policy which accommodates parent cooperative services.


The article reviews the Phase 1 of California's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) universal fare card system that was launched in February. This initial phase of the program is the seed of a larger plan to eventually link all 21 transit providers in the Bay area. 4,300 phase I cards, issued to volunteers who frequently use public transit, link routes and stations on six of the region's largest transit providers. MTC is planning further testing of the initial six systems and is looking forward to implementing phase II of the program and beyond. Despite the TransLink system's array of high technology bells and whistles, MTC sees the program as a customer service project primarily, and not a technology program.


The subject of this paper was the presentation of a holistic, fully-temperature-coupled FE model of inertia friction welding based on the modified friction law, which divided the friction welding process into beginning friction stage and steady equilibrium friction stage. At each of the stage Coulomb friction model and shear friction model were adopted respectively. The present FE model predicted the temperature of the welding joint as well as variation of friction torque and relative rotating velocity of the work-piece during the welding process. The evolution of friction torque and rotating velocity were compared with the experimental measurement. They showed a good agreement between them.


S-Box (Substitution-Box) is an important part of cryptographic algorithms such as AES, DES, Blowfish etc. This paper focuses on an efficient FPGA-based, reconfigurable AES S-Box design. This is the first S-Box architecture which uses hybrid search method (Z-TCAM), which enables to use the same design for encryption and decryption. The proposed S-Box architectures can be reconfigured using hardware or software based on the user's requirement which makes this unique compared to others. These S-Box designs can be made to work as a normal AES S-Box or a dynamic S-Box which is capable of modifying its contents on the go. Hardware-software communication was enabled by packaging the logic as an IP with AXI4 Lite interface. This IP works equally well for DES, Blowfish, and other similar algorithms. IP parameters can be changed to select the required S-Box type. The design offers low power consumption and high throughput compared to others.


One of the main missions of the EAA is to provide high-quality education in clinical andrology to young physicians and to promote research in basic and translational aspects of andrology and (patho)biology of male reproduction. These goals have been largely carried out by the EAA Training Centres. All these centres have been certified after fulfilling pre-defined criteria and following a site-visit by experienced Academicians, appointed by the EAAAccreditationCommittee and the ExecutiveCouncil.While all aspects of clinical andrology are addressed


Due to the noise that is present in remote sensing data, a robust method to retrieve information is needed. In this study, the active learning method (ALM) is applied to spectral remote sensing reflectance data to retrieve in‐water pigment. The heart of the ALM is a fuzzy interpolation method that is called the ink drop spread (IDS). Three datasets (SeaBAM, synthetic and NOMAD) are used for the evaluation of the selected ALM approach. Comparison of the ALM with the ocean colour 4 (OC4) algorithm and the artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm demonstrated the robustness of the ALM approach in retrieval of in‐water constituents from remote sensing reflectance data. In addition, the ALM identified and ranked the most relevant wavelengths for chlorophyll and pigment retrieval.


Following the success of the First International Timetabling Competition in 2002, the timetabling research community is organising a new competition on this problem (opening August 1st). This new competition will be on three different timetabling problems, and one of the tracks concerns the course timetabling formulation that applies to Italian universities (called Curriculum-based Course Timetabling). The dataset is composed by real-world instances provided by the University of Udine. In this work, we overview the general rules of the competition and we describe in details the problem formulation and the instances proposed for this track.


The dorsal striatum, which contains the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS), is known to be involved in the performance of discrimination learning. The dorsal striatum regulates the basal ganglia circuitry through direct and indirect pathways. However the mechanism by which the striatopallidal pathway regulates the learning processes of discriminative actions remains unclear. To induce selective elimination of the striatopallidal pathway by injecting the recombinant immunotoxin into the DLS or DMS, we used transgenic rats that expressed human interleukin-2 receptor alpha-subunit under the control of dopamine D2 receptor gene promoter. Intrastriatal immunotoxin treatment induced a selective elimination of the striatopallidal neurons while persisting normally the number of other striatal neuronal types. Ablation of the DLS- or DMS-derived striatopallidal pathway transiently impaired the performance of conditional discrimination, showing a marked reduction in the selection accuracy of learned motor responses. In addition, the probability of perseverative errors was significantly increased in the animals lacking the striatopallidal pathway from the DMS, but not from the DLS. Although there is a distinct role in modulating perseverative behavior between the DLS- and DMS-derived striatopallidal pathways, these two pathways are necessary for controlling the accuracy of response selection.


Cycle-based communication system (1) for transmitting user data between subscribers (2) of the communication system (1) comprising a data bus and the connected user (2), wherein the data transmission within cyclically recurring time frames (11) having at least two time slots (13, 15) takes place each time slot (13, 15) for transmitting a message is usable, a message containing at least a part of the user data and each message is associated with an identifier, wherein the identifier is stored as part of the message in this and each message timeslot (13, 15) in question and. the identifier removable time information is associated, wherein the cyclically repetitive time frame (11) are combined to cyclically repeating application frame (12) and in each of the time frames (11) at least part of the time slots (13, 15) is permanently assigned to the subscribers (2), wherein at least one of permanently assigned time slots (13, 15) in different time frames (11) of the application cycle different subscribers (2) is assigned to transmitting useful data, characterized, in that each participant (2) in each time frame (11) at least one time slot (13, 15) is assigned.


Abstract Background The association between disease activity and erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is inconsistent, although IBD, including ulcerative colitis (UC), is reported as a risk factor for ED. Aim The purpose of this study was to explore this association in Japanese patients with UC. Methods In this study, we enrolled 165 Japanese male patients with UC. Information regarding the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) score, medication, and severity of UC was obtained from medical records, self-administered questionnaires, and reports from physicians. The definition of ED and severe ED is a SHIM score <17 and <8, respectively. Outcomes No association between severity of UC and ED was found in Japanese patients. Aging is independently positively associated with ED in patients with UC. Results The prevalence of severe ED and ED was 47.9% and 64.9%, respectively. In this study, mucosal healing, clinical remission, duration of UC, disease extent, and medication were not associated with the prevalence of ED. Older age (≥63 years of age) was independently positively associated with ED (adjusted odds ratio, 12.93; 95% CI: 4.51-43.00) and severe ED (adjusted odds ratio, 9.02; 95% CI: 3.66-23.91). Clinical Implications Disease severity of UC might not be associated with the prevalence of ED in patients with UC. Strengths and Limitations This is the first study to investigate the association between several factors regarding UC activity and ED. The limitation of this study is the definition of ED based on SHIM scores. Conclusion No association between severity of UC and ED was found in Japanese patients. As expected, aging may be independently positively associated with ED in patients with UC.


Closed barrier and semi-closed barrier are presented in the paper, the adaptive research is performed. Reducing effect of noise barrier with closed and semi-closed structure was studied by noise simulating program—RAYNOISE. The applied range of the closed and semi-closed noise barrier is confirmed. Simulating results showed that noise reduction of closed-shaped structure has good reducing effect at higher area of the shadow area. The noise reduction is 6dB(A) at the receiving point 22.2m height and 60m far behind the noise barrier, which is 1dB(A) higher than the semi-closed noise barrier. So it is suitable for higher receiving point. Semi-closed-shaped noise barrier has a good reducing noise effect at the area lower than 3m.


The present invention provides a fingerprint identification module, a terminal device and an assembling method, and relates to the design field of the fingerprint module of the terminal device. The invention aims to solve the stack design problem of the structure of the terminal device due to the fact that the internal structural space of the terminal device is occupied by one part of the fingerprint identification module in the prior art. The fingerprint identification module comprises a fingerprint chip, a fingerprint cover plate, a flexible circuit board, a reinforcing plate and a decorative ring arranged at the periphery of the fingerprint chip. The first connection part of the decorative ring is connected with the first end of the fingerprint chip and is also in contact connection with the fingerprint cover plate. The second connection part of the decorative ring is connected with the second end of the fingerprint chip and is also in contact connection with the fingerprint cover plate. Meanwhile, the second connection part of the decorative ring is fixedly connected with the reinforcing plate. The present invention also provides a terminal device and an assembling method. According to the technical scheme of the invention, the second connection part of the decorative ring is fixedly connected with the reinforcing plate. Therefore, fingerprint identification module becomes thinner in thickness. The internal structural space of the terminal device is saved when the fingerprint identification module is installed through being matched with the terminal device.


Pristine, atomically-cooled haloes may be the sites of primordial quasar formation because atomic cooling triggers rapid baryon collapse that can create 104–105 M⊙ black hole seeds. However, no numerical simulation has ever followed the collapse of these haloes for the times required to form supermassive stars and direct-collapse black holes (DCBHs). We have now modeled baryon collapse in atomically-cooled haloes with a wide range of spin parameters and assembly histories for times that are sufficient for DCBH formation. Fragmentation of accretion disks after ∼500 kyr is nearly ubiquitous in these haloes and in most cases leads to the formation of binary or multiple supermassive stellar systems. They also confirm that rapid baryon collapse proceeds for the times required for these stars to form DCBHs. Our simulations suggest that binary or even multiple DCBH formation was the rule rather than the exception in the primordial Universe.


On the Moon, the low‐density crust exerts a strong filter to magma ascent. Many lunar craters are filled with mare, and evidence of pyroclastic activity and shallow magmatism is often located within craters called floor‐fractured craters (FFCs). Interpreting quantitative observations on mare‐filled craters and FFCs based on mechanical models, we show that a surface unloading caused by an impact crater provides a driving overpressure to the magma stalling at depth. This overpressure counterbalances the melt negative buoyancy, favoring its ascent through the crust. Providing a large unloading and a thin crust, magma can ascend up to the crater floor. FFC characteristics are consistent with a magma denser than the crust by 200–300 kg/m3 and an elastic lithosphere thickness larger than 70 km. Our study suggests that small impact cratering likely induced magmatism and thereby crustal evolution in the early times of terrestrial planets.


Equilibrium isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies of the adsorption of erythrosine dye onto activation carbon from coconut fire was carried out. The coconut fibre obtain from Elele, Rivers State Nigeria, was washed, dried, carbonized at 400oC, crushed, sieved and activated at 800oC, before it was washed and dried at 110oC. Variable influencing factors, such as contact time, temperature and initial concentration were studied through single-factor experiment, while other factors are kept constant (at 30min, 30oC and 50mg/L) in each adsorption experiment. The Freundlich isotherm fits adsorption compare to others used, the adsorption kinetic followed pseudo-second order reaction, while the thermodynamic parameters, (∆H) = 28.73KJ/mol, (∆G) = 94.45J/mol.K and (∆S) = -0.10, -0.27, -0.82, -1.05, -1.77, -2.49KJ/mol. From the results obtained, activated carbon from coconut fibre, will be an excellent low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Erythrosine from industrial waste water.


SLP is a client-based health profession set up as part of a multidisciplinary team. AHP's acknowledgment of the role of another professional in the team results in quintessential referral among the professionals that can thoroughly benefit clients to receive finer quality services/care. This research focuses on surveying the insight and misconceptions of AHPs regarding SLP responsibilities. One central discussion was conducted among 20 AHP on the basis of a descriptive survey. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to explore the perception of AHP's role in SLP. We examined the extent of AHP's knowledge of the speech-language pathology field. In research 20 AHP (P.T, O.T) were selected through convenient sampling techniques because of suitability for both. The study found mixed results, AHPs (0%) were in the category "No to Little Knowledge", and AHPs 25% required further updated knowledge and education on best speech therapy requirements/treatment practices. AHPs are merely aware of the existence of this field, they do not know what sort of cases are dealt with by the professionals. AHPs30% are classified under "reasonable knowledge" for being aware of the patient's basic speech therapy requirements, but will not refer to SLP, or AHPs, and 45% have expert-level knowledge, a clear concept regarding SLP requirements and practices. The study results showed that in Pakistan, AHPs' apprehension regarding clients' speech needs and SLPs' role still remain deficient. SLP needs to be promoted constantly for the client's peak benefit and for the overall field's progression as it is still a very new profession in Pakistan.


Introduction In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic there were numerous stories of health equity work being put "on hold" as public health staff were deployed to the many urgent tasks of responding to the emergency. Losing track of health equity work is not new and relates in part to the need to transfer tacit knowledge to explicit articulation of an organization's commitment to health equity, by encoding the commitment and making it visible and sustainable in policy documents, protocols and processes. Methods We adopted a Theory of Change framework to develop training for public health personnel to articulate where and how health equity is or can be embedded in their emergency preparedness processes and documents. Results Over four sessions, participants reviewed how well their understanding of disadvantaged populations were represented in emergency preparedness, response and mitigation protocols. Using equity prompts, participants developed a heat map depicting where more work was needed to explicitly involve community partners in a sustained manner. Participants were challenged at times by questions of scope and authority, but it became clear that the explicit health equity prompts facilitated conversations that moved beyond the idea of health equity to something that could be codified and later measured. Over four sessions, participants reviewed how well their understanding of disadvantaged populations were represented in emergency preparedness, response and mitigation protocols. Using equity prompts, participants developed a heat map depicting where more work was needed to explicitly involve community partners in a sustained manner. Participants were challenged at times by questions of scope and authority, but it became clear that the explicit health equity prompts facilitated conversations that moved beyond the idea of health equity to something that could be codified and later measured. Discussion Using the indicators and prompts enabled the leadership and staff to articulate what they do and do not know about their community partners, including how to sustain their involvement, and where there was need for action. Saying out loud where there is – and is not – sustained commitment to achieving health equity can help public health organizations move from theory to true preparedness and resilience.


. Thirteen sampling cruises were conducted at weekly intervals in the inner part of the Gulf of Naples in the summer of 1983 to investigate the effects of excess nutrient inputs on phytoplankton communities. High surface phytoplankton concentrations (up to 1.15 ×108 cells 1-1) were recorded, particularly near Naples harbour and along the eastern coast, two locations that receive most of the area's sewage and industrial discharge. Phytoplankton populations were generally dominated by small species, mainly diatoms, which were associated with small phytoflagcllatcs. Species diversity values were relatively high (H′≤ 3.62) in most samples. Throughout the sampling period a high spatial and temporal variability for phytoplankton abundances and species composition was observed.


Magnetization reversal mechanisms and depth-dependent magnetic profile have been investigated in Co/Pd thin films magnetron-sputtered under continuously varying pressure with opposite deposition orders. For samples grown under increasing pressure, magnetization reversal is dominated by domain nucleation, propagation, and annihilation; an anisotropy gradient is effectively established, along with a pronounced depth-dependent magnetization profile. However, in films grown under decreasing pressure, disorders propagate vertically from the bottom high-pressure region into the top low-pressure region, impeding domain wall motion and forcing magnetization reversal via rotation; depth-dependent magnetization varies in an inverted order, but the spread is much suppressed.


Sustainable development of green building as a building,is in the construction of the full life cycle,the maximum to conserve resources,protect the environment and reduce pollution,for people to provide health,adaptation and efficient space,with nature harmoniously coexist.It is our area of the building from the traditional high consumption-based development model to the development of efficient ecological model of an inevitable trend.If we establish new green building modern view and build corresponding supporting environment,it will promote green architecture development.


The selection of an appropriate seed source for a given geographic region is critical to ensuring prosperous southern pine plantations. The observed variation between eastern and western loblolly pine seed sources has shown differences in economically advantageous traits such as drought tolerance, growth rates, and disease resistance. Understanding what drives these local adaptations is of interest, given that current forecasted climate modeling suggests there will be increased temperatures and changes to precipitation by the year 2050. The objectives of this experiment were to 1) identify differentially expressed transcripts between eastern and western loblolly pine sources; 2) link these transcripts to Arabidopsis orthologs; 3) compare GO categories of differentially-expressed transcripts. The findings highlighted include interesting pathways and genes that are related to the known differences among eastern and western seed provenances. Additionally, they represent fundamental differences in the beginning of seedling development without any treatment or disease pressure applied, showing that there are detectable differences between these two provenances at a young age. Overall, this experiment contributes to the body of literature on fundamental differences between loblolly pine seed sources.


Hypovirus/ Cryphonectria parasitica is an excellent experimental system to study the regulation of fungal virulence and virus-host interaction.Although considerable progress in molecular genetics of C.parasitica has been made during the past years,there is still an urgent need for efficient selectable new markers for multiple gene knockouts.In this study,we developed a new Neo expression cassette under the control of the Aspergillus nidulans trpC promoter and that serve as a dominant drug-resistance marker for C.parasitica.


In OFDM-based space division multiple access (SDMA) systems, multiple users are served by a multiantenna base station simultaneously on the same frequency resources. In the uplink, each user's signal may be distorted by an independent carrier frequency offset (CFO), which impairs the orthogonality of the subcarrier signals and, if not properly compensated, results in performance degradations. We analyze the influence of multiusers' CFOs on the signal transmission in the OFDM-SDMA uplink and derive suitable bounds for the achievable signal-to-interference conditions. By modifying the signal model suitably, we develop a simple scheme for partial compensation of the CFO distortions. It allows to maintain the subcarrier-wise channel equalization and thus is well suited to be applied for a real-time system implementation. However, as CFOs impair the cyclic structure of the OFDM symbols, our scheme is not able to compensate for the entire distortion. The remaining interference is treated as additional noise, which limits the supported size of the CFOs.


The design method of combline bandpass filter (BPF) with quarter-wave (λ/4) resonators is proposed in this report. The method allows us to provide a wide stopband while maintaining a uniform ripple level of a given value. The scientific basis of this method lies in the features of the trajectories of the antiresonance frequencies of combline resonators when changing the connection coordinates to them. The method is illustrated by the example of five-order BPF with inductive couplings. The simulation of frequency characteristics is presented.


Sirosporium diffusum is the causal agent of the brown leaf spot disease on pecan trees that seriously damages the foliage of adult plants and seedlings. This fungal species is difficult to grow satisfactorily in a culture medium. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different physical conditions on the development of S. diffusum. In the first assay, eight culture media and five light regimes were combined, while in the second, the three treatments that promoted highest sporulation were combined with three temperatures. The trials were conducted in a two-factorial arrangement in a fully randomized design with six replicates. V8, V8CaCO3, and CA media under a 24-h photoperiod produced the highest respective sporulations: 29 × 104, 35 × 104, and 41 × 104 conidia ml-1. The best temperature for sporulation was 20±1 °C for all culture media, especially V8CaCO3 and CA. The best artificial conditions for obtaining good mycelial growth and sporulation consisted of a photoperiod of 24 h, temperature of 20±1 °C and V8CaCO3 or CA culture medium.


Hematological malignancies represent the largest class of cancers in pediatric patients. Despite successes in treating primary diseases, patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have significantly lower survival outcomes. This has led to the use of immunotherapies, notably chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, to treat relapse. Unfortunately, only 50% respond to CAR-T therapy, with relapse common in less than a year.

 Given that obesity is associated with poorer survival outcomes in pediatric patients with B-cell malignancies and promotes a loss of immune homeostasis, we hypothesize that obesity compromises the function of endogenous and engineered T-cells in B-cell malignancies.

 Using in vitro models of adiposity and diet-induced obesity mouse models to study the impact of obesity on primary T-cell function, we observe defects in proliferation, cytokine production, and the upregulation of cytolytic mediators when cultured in adipocyte but not in bone marrow cell or unconditioned media. The introduction of CD19-direct CARs did not overcome adipocyte-induced defects in T-cell function, which resulted in increased PD-1 surface expression, compromised cytokine production, and defective killing of human CD19-expressing B-ALL cells. Interestingly, human B-ALL cells cultured in adipocyte-secreted factors downregulated CD19, suggesting that adipocytes promote B-ALL pathogenesis by compromising T-cell function and reducing the surface expression of antigens on target cells.

 Our studies are the first to demonstrate the inhibitory impact of the adipocyte secretome on CAR T-cell function in models of B-ALL.


We investigated theregulation ofribosome synthesis inSaccharomyces cerevisiae growing atdifferent ratesandinresponse toa growth stimulus. The ribosome content andtherates ofsynthesis ofribosomal ribonucleic acidandof ribosomal proteins werecompared incultures growing inminimal mediumwith either glucose orethanol asacarbon source. Theresults demonstrated that ribosome content isproportional togrowth rate. Moreover, these steady-state concentrations areregulated atthelevel ofsynthesis ofribosomal precursor ribonucleic acidandofribosomal proteins. Whencultures growing onethanol wereenriched withglucose, therateofribosomal ribonucleic acidsynthesis, measured bypulsing cells with[methyl-3H]methionine, increased by40%within 5min,doubled within 15min,andreached asteady state characteristic ofthe newgrowth mediumby30min.Labeling with[3H]leucine revealed acoordinate increase intherateofsynthesis of30ormoreribosomal proteins ascompared withthatoftotal cellular proteins. Their synthesis wasstimulated approximately 2.5-fold within 15minandnearly 4-fold within 60min.Thedatasuggest thatS. cerevisiae responds toa growth stimulus bypreferential stimulation ofthe synthesis ofribosomal ribonucleic acidandribosomal proteins.


An icosahedral phase is obtained in rapidly cooled Al8.8Fe3.7Ce alloy. The authors do not find the decagonal phase found in samples of this alloy prepared by conventional metallurgical methods. Adding the rare earth Ce to the Al-Fe system appears to stabilise the icosahedral phase, which is not usually present in this system.


The failure of most repairs in concrete structures is mainly manifested in the form of cracking and/or debonding of the repair layer. These two repair mechanisms could lead to the continuous corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete. Cracking and debonding have been attributed to the high differential shrinkage that exists between the concrete substrate and repair layer as well as the lack of adherence, which commonly results from poor workmanship. It is crucial that restrained shrinkage mechanisms of patch repairs be understood so that the abovementioned effects can be prevented. The performance of patch repairs can be improved through the optimization of their mix design. Thus, it is common to use admixtures, non-cementitious compounds and polymers. However, promising technologies such as expansive admixtures that counteract shrinkage have found little application to date. Polymers do not chemically react with the cementitious matrix. They, however, have been reported to modify the microstructure in cementitious materials, consequently, resulting in improved properties with respect to mechanical, chemical and durability aspects. They increase chemical interactions with mineral phases, which improves the bond between the mortar and the substrate. Besides this, expansive cements are types of cement whose volume increases, unlike plain Portland cement where the volume typically decreases with time. This property relates to the use of expansive admixtures like quicklime, which exhibits an enormous volume increase upon hydration. This property leads to the reduction of the shrinkage, which is increased by the combination of the quicklime to a shrinkage-reducing admixtures (SRA). Using polymer technology and expansive admixtures, it is possible to develop a new approach for the mix design of repair mortars that combines the positive effects of polymer latex (increasing of bond strength) and expansive admixture (reducing the shrinkage) properties to reduce cracking and debonding failures in patch repairs.


No person should have to be immersed in solid waste for their livelihood, yet every day hundreds of thousands of informal waste pickers in India and across the developing world scrabble through rubbish heaps in the streets, dumping grounds and landfills to recover recyclables in order to earn a living. Their continuing presence reminds us of the socio-economic inequalities that must be addressed and corrected by governments, as well as common residents. In 1978, Birkbeck remarked that the Cali landfill in Columbia was like an informal factory. He observed that waste pickers had "organised themselves to defend their right to work, but for a number of reasons are unlikely to press for improvements in their working conditions" (Birkbeck 1978: 1173). Even those who recognize the value of the recycling work carried out by waste pickers are often sceptical that this activity has the potential to become "decent work."


For many years, supply performance of goods to demand sites has been analysed, designed and improved by various ways such as Heijunka concept and methodology. Basic structure of this approach is, in general, to adapt demand speed and fluctuation by managing work-in-progress. This research, taking electricity supply operations on the smart-grid platform as the objective system, examines its performance for identifying the way to stable supply. Performance analysis is examined by simulation experiments with the proposed model and obtained results suggest that Heijunka of power supply is realised in time-domain by storage batteries. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 27th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing.


Sediment cores were collected from nine high-altitude lakes located in three different cirques of the Rila Mts, Southwest Bulgaria, as a part of a broader Pan-European study of mountain lakes. Diatoms were analyzed from the top (present-day) and bottom (pre-industrial) sediment samples. A total of 213 diatom taxa were recorded. The total number of species found in the different cirques ranges between 115 and 183. Alkalinity, pH and conductivity were the main chemical characteristics which determined the distribution of diatom taxa in this data set of the studied lakes. In the group of lakes located in the Musalenski Cirque pH changes were detected over the last 150 years.


Not designed to be used as a stand-alone formulary, reference formulary systems offer a baseline for employers to use to compare their current formulary with one optimized to achieve maximum cost savings and to maintain quality.


Black women have historically informed educational theory and practice. As Black women who have been nurtured and sustained by Black women's educational leadership both inside and outside the home, and who mother and "othermother" Black children, we seek to recognize and honor the labor of Black women. Motherwork, a term coined by Patricia Hill Collins, refers to the "reproductive labor" that women of color engage in to ensure the survival of family, community, and self. Black women center their motherwork on Black children by asserting their knowledge and experiences as related to teaching and learning. In this paper, we explore Black mothering as culturally sustaining pedagogy. We also reimagine and dream about our Black children's possibilities for learning. Through this work, we seek to center Black mothers as knowledge bearers and guides for building and sustaining Black children's brilliance and culture. We contend that Black mothering should be of foremost consideration in developing culturally sustaining pedagogy.


Based on extensive analysis of functions and structures in general practices and the resulting definitions of needs and possibilities for a computer support; six installations of dedicated computer systems in offices of private physicians were evaluated. The installations involved practices for gynecology, ENT, ophthalmology, and general medicine. The study comprised detailed analyses of the functional characteristics of each office before, during and after the computer installation, especially in regard to work load and work distribution, cost, time performance and motivation. The results of computer support vary in regard to the different types of practices and the pre-test organizational structure of the offices. An increased systematization of recording and claim processing could be achieved. Time gam could only be seen in the registration of new patients or >repeaters< with extensive updates. Retrieval of administrative data was slightly longer in normal >repeaters< than in the manual process. The frequency of diagnoses, recorded procedures and the measurements of various time parameters are reported. The actual set of codes used is manageable in regard to volume and differentiation in the individual office. Evaluation by the physicians themselves reveals different emphasis on priorities of the administrative area, of medical documentation, tune gain or quality. The results of cost analysis vary depending upon the type of practice. In some offices time gain and shift in work load led to an economic gain. The calculations were based on a monthly rental of DM 2,000. However, system architecture and hardware of the experimental system were not yet optimal. Cost/effectiveness and motivational satisfaction relate to the classification of the practices under scrutiny by methods developed in earlier studies. General aspects of the experiment and resulting design criteria for a possible product for the doctor's office are discussed.


The composition of Japanese teacher education and constituents and goal of teacher training curriculum are presented.The amendment of the Educational Personnel Certification Law,the two basic principles in teacher education,and the basic requirements of educational personnel certification are explored with the hope of offering some reference for China's teacher education.


Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic phenomena in the universe. To elucidate the radiation mechanism of GRBs, we are developing a Compton-scattering-type polarimeter using a plastic scintillator and CsI(Tl) scintillator attached to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). We constructed a small test model and investigated the basic performance. Moreover, irradiating the SiPM with protons, the radiation hardness has been also investigated. From these experiments, we have recognized that the Compton-scattering-type polarimeter will obtain the sensitivity to the energy above approximately 30 keV if the radiation damage to the SiPM is not serious. On the other hand, the dark current of the SiPM becomes several thousand times higher for a few krad of irradiation and can be accumulated in the space environment in a few years. This means that the polarimeter will work well in balloon-borne experiments for a few weeks.


Abstract : The current world of information is changing rapidly. The more advanced the day, the faster. Positive impact for progress is certainly. But the negative excesses also need to be anticipated. One is the easy and fast news is not true or hoax spread. His excesses are noise, discomfort. Security becomes disrupted. Steps that can be taken include through legal steps. The legislation of the Republic of Indonesia has actually regulated it through UU ITE number 11 of 2008 amended by Act No. 19 of 2016. Article 28 juncto article 45 provides that anyone who disseminates misleading and SARA-related information is threatened with a six-year jail sentence and a fine maximum of one billion. The spread of false news in fiqh jinayah pertained as jarimah ta'zir which arrangement fully become the authority of ulil amri. Crime categories of hoax and sanctions have been aligned with the essence of Fiqh Jinayah . Keywords : Hoax, false news, ta'zir


The paper presents the results of the inventory of the habitats on the Black Sea Romanian littoral with an European significance, achieved by a team from NIMRD Constanta. The proceedings were carried out during the year 2006, in the context of Romania's integration in the European Union.


A method of creating an improved hydrodynamic fluid bearing is provided which is relatively insensitive to shock vibration changes in load and rotational speed. The hydrodynamic bearing motor in which the bearing is open at both the upper and lower ends, and in which the balance of fluid flow within the bearings is maintained. The assembly of the hydrodynamic bearing is more easily assembled, and the gaps are easily adjusted. In the design of the hydrodynamic bearing, the tolerances for assembly of the various components is minimized; that is, the critical nature of many of the gaps is diminished.


Abdominal obesity is a major component of metabolic syndrome (MS) considered to be the key factor contributing to the development of testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism) in men. Bearing in mind the etiopathogenetic relationship between MS and urolithiasis (UL), the present study was undertaken for the purpose of elucidating the role of the main biochemical risk factors of metabolic syndrome in men, evaluating the influence of correction of hypogonadism on these factors, and optimization of the treatment and prevention of MS in these patients. The study included 90 men presenting with hypogonadism in whom the serum levels and renal excretion of the main lithogenic substances (uric acid, calcium, phosphates, magnesium) and urine pH were measured. At the first stage of the study, the patients were allocated to two groups. Group 1 was comprised of 52 patients with UL, group 2 consisted of 38 patients without UL. The patients of group 1 were found to suffer hyperuricemia (the serum uric acid levels 430 mcmol/l and higher). The patients of both groups exhibited hyperuricosuria (daily uric acid excretion over 4.13 mmol/24 hr) with the urine pH value of 5.5 and lower. The serum uric acid concentration was shown to positively correlate with the insulin and C-peptide levels. At the second stage of the study, 65 randomly selected patients were divided into two groups in one of which (n=40) they were given testosterone therapy. Compensation of hypogonadism in these patients was associated with a significant reduction of the serum uric acid levels and its daily excretion, an increase and normalization of urine pH, and a rise in the serum magnesium concentration, Similar significant changes of the same parameters were absent in the control subjects (n=25). Moreover, testosterone therapy improved characteristics of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, caused reduction in the body weight, BMI, and the severity of insulin resistance.


The paper covers the general trends and latest developments of power system telecommunication in China, strategic issues under the new structure of Chinese power industry, network and information security, network planning, and new technologies.


In 2015, humanity made the first detection of gravitational waves from the violent collision of two black holes. As Einstein predicted, this collision sent waves through the fabric of space-time, but nearly 100 years passed between Einstein's prediction and the first measurement of these waves by the advanced LIGO detectors. The detection was made possible by many advances in the precision measurement. I will describe the detectors and one of the key technologies, the vibration isolation for the optics; at 10 Hz, the motion of the LIGO mirrors is at least 1,000,000,000 times less than the motion of the ground. By creating one of the quietest places on Earth, we have created a new way to "listen" to the stars.In 2015, humanity made the first detection of gravitational waves from the violent collision of two black holes. As Einstein predicted, this collision sent waves through the fabric of space-time, but nearly 100 years passed between Einstein's prediction and the first measurement of these waves by the advanced LIGO detectors. The detection was made possible by many advances in the precision measurement. I will describe the detectors and one of the key technologies, the vibration isolation for the optics; at 10 Hz, the motion of the LIGO mirrors is at least 1,000,000,000 times less than the motion of the ground. By creating one of the quietest places on Earth, we have created a new way to "listen" to the stars.


Over the last decade there has been a great deal of research on the definition of the sustainable city. There is also an ongoing debate on city shape and on the optimum distribution of activities. The dominant theory, often to be found in political documents, favours the compact city. Its main principles are the mix of land uses and the increase of density. It also promotes improvement of public transport and of environmentally friendly means of transport, such as cycling and walking. In this paper, we offer an estimate for a critical threshold of density for the case of Athens. This threshold reflects the density required in order for significant changes in travel behaviour to appear. It results from a statistical analysis of data concerning urban and transport characteristics. This threshold is much higher than those identified in other cities around the world. We then discuss the policy implications of such a threshold.


Using the daily precipitation data at 51 stations over China Loess Plateau in recent 40 years,with REOF,wavelet and fractal imension methods,the spatial and temporal characteristic of regional rainstorm in the region are analyzed.The results showed the events of regional rainstorm decreased,process rainfall increased,it had remarkable 2 phases and a jump-point.Ones variation period occurred abrupt change that contacted with the longitudinal positions of SH(the longitude of west end of SH based on the contour of 5860 gpm),the Qinghai-Xizang high(the longitude of east end of Qinghai-Xizang high based on the contour of 16760 gpm).Six divisions were identified.The fractal dimension of anomalous rainfall of rainstorm was 0.8378~0.9242.Minimum fractal dimension was in the southeast of the China Loess Plateau,maximum fractal dimension was in the hinterland of the plateau.


Abstract This paper investigates the accuracy of the typical experimental practices that estimate the unsteady pressure in the flame region of an unstable combustor from pressure measurements along the combustor walls. This measurement, along with that of the unsteady heat release, is often used to determine information about the flame's driving characteristics. These wall pressure measurements are only meaningful, however, if the unsteady pressure is nearly one-dimensional in the combustor; that is, if the transverse gradient of the pressure in the flame region is small. This paper presents computational results of the interior acoustic field in a combuslor undergoing longitudinal oscillations in order to quantify the difference between the acoustic pressures at the wall (where they are typically measured) and the flame. These results show that the duct pressure at the flame and the wall typically differ in magnitude by five to twenty five percent, and in phase by ten to twenty degrees. It is concluded from these results that wall pressure measurements provide qualitative information about the fluctuating pressure at the flame and can, in some cases, be used in conjunction with heat release measurements to characterize the flame driving.


Part of the difficulty in developing physically based models of shock initiation which have genuine predictive capability is that insufficient constraints are often imposed: models are most often applied to very limited data sets which encompass very narrow parameter ranges. Therefore, it seems to be of considerable value to examine the rather large existing shock initiation database to identify trends, similarities, and differences, which predictive models must describe, if they are to be of genuinely utility. In this paper, existing open-literature data for shock initiation of detonation of heterogeneous explosives in one-dimensional geometries have been examined. The intent was to identify -- and where possible, isolate -- physically measurable and controllable parameter effects. Plastic bonded explosives with a variety of different binders and binder concentrations were examined. Data for different pressed explosive particulate materials and particle size distributions were reviewed. Effects of porosity were examined in both binderless and particle-matrix compositions. Effects of inert and reactive binders, and inert and reactive particle fills were examined. In several instances, the calculated data used by the original authors in their analysis was recalculated to correct for discrepancies and errors in the original analysis.


I have been asked for a brief and informal account of an art historian's impressions during a short visit to Holland, A.D. 1947.For the traveler who arrives at Rotterdam harbor from vertical, compact New York, the first impression is apt to be a lasting one: a flat, empty city center. When I left Holland for Switzerland two weeks later, the train, departing from Rotterdam, relentlessly curved around the same desolate spot, with a close-up of the gutted shell of the Groote Kerk thrown in for good measure. After a few hours, the same train performed a similarly relentless curve around Cologne, which is wrecked in its entirety and literally beyond recognition. No words are needed on the lessons of this near-juxtaposition.


Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the α2/α1-, α/β-, and γ/β-mRNA ratios in subjects with β -thalassemia (β-thal), hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH), and normal adults. The α- and β -globin gene mutations were characterized with gene mapping, PCR, and DNA sequencing. The average α2/α1-mRNA ratio was the same in normal adults and β-thal heterozygotes with four α-globin genes (2.61-2.63) or with an α-thal-2 trait (1.48-1.55). The average α/β -mRNA ratios were 4.47 and 3.84 in normal adults with four α-globin genes and with α-thal-2 trait (-α/αα), respectively. There was an increase of ∼ 50% in ιs β -thal heterozygotes with transcriptional mutants [-88 (C→T) and -29 (A→G)] with lower alues (∼ 25%) in those with α-thal-2 trait (-α/αα). High α/β ratios were also observed for heterozygotes for nonsense or frameshift mutants located in exon 1 or exon 2. Increases of -150-165% were seen in subjects with RNA processing defects; an exception was the IVS-I-110 (G→ A) mutation with a normal value in the heterozygote. The increases were also less pronounced in heterozygotes for the codon (CD) 121 (G→T) mutation and the CDs 134-137 insertion/deletion. Normal α/(γ+β) values were seen in 3 heterozygotes each with a different deletion involving part of the β -globin gene. The presence of the silent β -thal allele, -101 (C→T), in trans to a CD 8 (-AA) allele has a minor effect on the α/β-mRNA ratio. The α/β -mRNA ratio in HPFH heterozygotes was ∼ 145% of normal, but with a γ-mRNA level of 35.4-44.7% the calculated α/(γ+β) ratio became as in normal adults. The RT-PCR methodology appears useful in expression studies in β -thal (and HPFH) and values of mRNA appear to correspond to the type of prevailing mutation(S) and concomitant α-thal.


A method and a system for providing a search result are provided to offer the search result reflecting user intention by setting a level to each collection based on click count and click order among the collections, and providing the search result for a keyword based on a divided level. A level setting unit(810) sets a level of a collection related to a keyword by using click information. A collection list storing part generates and stores a list arranging the collections in level order by linking with the keyword. A search result provider(830) provides a search result for the keyword to a user terminal by arranging the search result according to the order of the collection list. The level setting unit includes a search result page provider(811) providing a search result page for the collection, a clicked collection level setting unit(812) setting the level to the clicked collection, a reserved collection level setting unit(813) setting the level to the reserved collection, and a skipped collection level setting unit(814) setting the level to the skipped collector.


In this paper we describe our recent experiments on coherent manipulation of electron spin states formed in a highly tunable GaAs/AlGaAs triple quantum dot device. The coherent evolution of spin states is achieved by using fast pulses from an initialization point in the (201) charge configuration region of the stability diagram. We demonstrate the versatility of the triple dot system capable of tuning to different regimes controlled by the width of the (111) region and pulse parameters. In particular we observe Δ'1/2-Q3/2 (analogue of S-T+ in a double dot) and Δ'1/2-Δ1/2 exchange driven oscillations from both sides of the stability diagram involving all three spins. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


THE PUBLICATION of Dr. Owen Chadwick's From Bossuet to Newman: The Idea of Doctrinal Development, is timely at a moment when a remarkable awakening of Protestant interest in tradition is surpassed in enthusiasm only by the Catholic biblical revival. As we shall have occasion to disagree rather profoundly with some of the main contentions of this distinguished Cambridge scholar, let us first pay a due meed of praise. Tasteful, even chastely luxurious in style and format, From Bossuet to Newman makes delightful, often exhilarating, reading. Learned and in intention fair, the Master of Selwyn has done a great deal of research round and about his subject. There are excellent passages on the rise of the age of pure scholarship, on W. G. Ward, and on the seventeenth-century Spanish theologians. The author has studied unpublished notes of Newman at the Edgbaston Oratory and appears even to have penetrated into the Scots' College, Rome. The book's title sufficiently proclaims its intention, namely, to establish a contrast, even a contradiction, between Newman's theory of doctrinal growth and Bossuet's insistence on unchanging tradition, the immutable nature of the revelation once made, the identity of the gospel preached in every age. The history of Christian dogma, it is implied, incontestably shows the emergence of new and strange doctrines side by side with the primitive revelation, and the Catholic Church, guiltily conscious of teaching doctrines unknown to the Apostles, clutched gratefully at the theoretical justification of her practice offered by Newman's Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. Undoubtedly Bossuet (1627-1704), "the last of the Fathers of the Church" and one of the greatest of Christian orators, was of the school of St. Vincent of Lérins, who in the fifth century laid down the famous canon of Christian truth: "quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omni-


The survival outcomes of gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastases are still dismal, even with recent advances in chemotherapy. Paclitaxel is an antineoplastic agent with high molecular weight and hydrophobic fea-tures. It has a pharmacokinetic advantage for the control of peritoneal lesions. After intraperitoneal delivery using an implantable peritoneal access port, it slowly exits the peritoneal cavity, resulting in reduced systemic uptake and toxicity, as well as sustained high concentrations in the peritoneal cavity. Intraperitoneal paclitaxel plus S-1 and intravenous paclitaxel therapy was developed, and phase II trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal disease. Although two trials showed promising results, a subsequent phase III trial failed to show statistical superiority over S-1 plus cisplatin doublet systemic chemotherapy. I reviewed the historical background of this therapy and discussed its pros and cons.


This paper presents a methodology for testing a logic program containing function symbols and built-in predicates forsafetyandeffective computability. Safety is the property that the set of answers for a given query is finite. A related issue is whether the evaluation strategy can effectively compute all answers and terminate. We consider these problems under the assumption that queries are evaluated using a fair bottom-up fixpoint computation. We also model the use of function symbols, to construct complex terms such as lists, and arithmetic operators, by considerating Datalog programs with infinite base relations over whichfiniteness constraintsandmonotonicity constraintsare imposed. One of the main results of this paper is a recursive algorithm,check?clique, to test the safety and effective computability of predicates in arbitrarily complex cliques in the predicate connection graph. This algorithm takes certain procedures as parameters, and its applicability can be strengthened by making these procedures more sophisticated. We specify the properties required of these procedures precisely, and present a formal proof of correctness for the algorithmcheck?clique. This work can be seen as providing a framework for testing safety and effective computability of recursive programs, in some ways analogous to thecapture rulesframework of Ullman. A second important contribution is a framework for analyzing programs that are produced by theMagic Setstransformation utilizingcheck?cliqueto analyze recursive cliques. The transformed program unfortunately often has a clique structure that combines several cliques of the original program. Given the complexity of algorithmcheck?clique, it is important to keep cliques as small as possible. We deal with this problem by considering cliques in an intermediate program, called theadorned program, produced by the Magic Sets transformation. The clique structure of the adorned program is similar to that of the original program, and by showing how to analyze the transformed program in terms of the cliques in the adorned program, we avoid the potentially expensive analysis of the cliques in the transformed program.


are absent, the pictures have no captions, and in some cases Beattie provides erroneous information. Maria Theresa could not have visited the Hungarian settlement of Vác in 1784, four years after her death (147), and historians have long ago proven that the thirteenth-century Hungarian state was far from being "thoroughly Christianized" (154). Even though Beattie targets a larger audience than just academics, he should not dismiss his readers as easily entertained and should reduce the number of exaggerated statements. Writing that "Germany was once a patchwork of states ruled over by squabbling potentates who sprinkled the country with castles and palaces" (3) and characterizing Empress Maria Theresa as a "palace builder and Danube straightener" (159) might make for a nice turn of phrase but does not do justice to the complexity of history. Despite this book's shortcomings, and even though I disagree with Beattie's Eurocentric assertion that "no other river in the world can match the Danube for the sheer historical richness of the cities and landscapes through which it passes" (ix), this remains an enjoyable book that encourages tourists to travel down the historic and contemporary Danube.


The effect of the numerical spatial resolution in models of the solar corona and corona/chromosphere interface is examined for impulsive heating over a range of magnitudes using one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. It is demonstrated that the principal effect of inadequate resolution is on the coronal density. An underresolved loop typically has a peak density of at least a factor of two lower than a resolved loop subject to the same heating, with larger discrepancies in the decay phase. The temperature for underresolved loops is also lower indicating that lack of resolution does not "bottle up" the heat flux in the corona. Energy is conserved in the models to under 1% in all cases, indicating that this is not responsible for the low density. Instead, we argue that in underresolved loops the heat flux "jumps across" the transition region to the dense chromosphere from which it is radiated rather than heating and ablating transition region plasma. This emphasizes the point that the interaction between corona and chromosphere occurs only through the medium of the transition region. Implications for three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic coronal models are discussed.


In order to study the behaviour of the inverted Caldirola-Kanai Hamiltonian in the quantum tunnelling effect, the authors consider a wavepacket as the initial state and they calculate exactly the probability density. They also obtain the transmission and reflection probability, the expectation value of the particle's energy and the sojourn time which appears to be an increasing function of the dissipation parameter gamma . A similar result is also obtained by considering a normalized plane wave as the initial state.


SodsBC is an efficient, quantum-safe, and asynchronous blockchain. SodsBC uses only quantum-safe cryptographic tools and copes with at most f malicious (aka Byzantine) participants, where the number of all participants n = 3f + 1. Our blockchain architecture follows the asynchronous secure multi-party computation (ASMPC) paradigm where honest participants agree on a consistent union of several block parts. Every participant proposes a block part, encrypted by a symmetric scheme, utilizing an efficient reliable broadcast protocol. The encryption key is distributed in the form of secret shares, and reconstructed after blockchain consensus. All broadcast instances are finalized by independent binary Byzantine agreement consuming continuously produced common random coins. SodsBC continuously produces a stream of distributed secrets by asynchronous weak secret sharing batches accompanied by Merkle tree branches for future verification in the secret reconstruction. The finished secret shares are ordered in the same ASMPC architecture and combined to form random coins. Interestingly, SodsBC achieves the blockchain consensus, while the blockchain simultaneously offers an agreement on available new coins. Fresh distributed secrets also provide SodsBC with forward secrecy. Secret leakage does not affect future blocks. The SodsBC cloud prototype outperforms centralized payment systems (e.g., VISA) and state of the art asynchronous blockchains. The SodsBC extension to a permissionless blockchain is also sketched.


Summary 1. The number of individuals involved in an invasion event, or 'propagule size', has a strong theoretical basis for influencing invasion success. However, rarely has propagule size been experimentally manipulated to examine changes in invader behaviour, and propagule longevity and success. 2. We manipulated propagule size of the invasive Argentine ant Linepithema humile in laboratory and field studies. Laboratory experiments involved L. humile propagules containing two queens and 10, 100, 200 or 1000 workers. Propagules were introduced into arenas containing colonies of queens and 200 workers of the competing native ant Monomorium antarcticum . The effects of food availability were investigated via treatments of only one central resource, or 10 separated resources. Field studies used similar colony sizes of L. humile , which were introduced into novel environments near an invasion front. 3. In laboratory studies, small propagules of L. humile were quickly annihilated. Only the larger propagule size survived and killed the native ant colony in some replicates. Aggression was largely independent of food availability, but the behaviour of L. humile changed substantially with propagule size. In larger propagules, aggressive behaviour was significantly more frequent, while L. humile were much more likely to avoid conflict in smaller propagules. 4. In field studies, however, propagule size did not influence colony persistence. Linepithema humile colonies persisted for up to 2 months, even in small propagules of 10 workers. Factors such as temperature or competitor abundance had no effect, although some colonies were decimated by M. antarcticum . 5. Synthesis and applications. Although propagule size has been correlated with invasion success in a wide variety of taxa, our results indicate that it will have limited predictive power with species displaying behavioural plasticity. We recommend that aspects of animal behaviour be given much more consideration in attempts to model invasion success. Secondly, areas of high biodiversity are thought to offer biotic resistance to invasion via the abundance of predators and competitors. Invasive pests such as L. humile appear to modify their behaviour according to local conditions, and establishment was not related to resource availability. We cannot necessarily rely on high levels of native biodiversity to repel invasions.


Aqueous extraction and alkaline (NaOH) hydrolysis method were comparatively studied in polysaccharides extraction from submerged-cultured Agaricus blazei mycelia. The results show that the polysaccharide content and the total extract rate from alkaline extraction method were obviously higher than those from the aqueous extraction method. Optimization results by the orthogonal matrix method on polysaccharide extraction from A. blazei show that the optimum alkaline concentration was 1.0 mol/L, hydrolysis temperature 60℃, hydrolysis time 1 hour, and liquid: solid ratio 15. With the optimized condition, the polysaccharide extraction rate reached 11.93 ±± 0.68 %. The mycelial polysaccharide obtained with alkaline hydrolysis method was fractionated by the DEAE column chromatography. Five APS fractions were isolated in the polysaccharide sample with APS-1 as the main component


Using the ideas and methods of big data, this paper systematically summarizes the existing problems in traditional regional logistics and freightage. These problems include block segmentation in the management system, outdated data collection technology and processing methods, and troubles in data resources sharing. These problems result in the inefficient operation and unfit layout of regional logistics and freightage. This paper integrates the results from traditional regional logistics and freight transportation development research to study how to establish an optimization model for modern regional logistics and freight transportation using big data methods which have the characteristics of Volume, Velocity, Variety and Value. This research intends to make the layout of the regional logistics and freight transportation more reasonable and management more efficient. Additionally, support for the theory and methods to improve the development of regional logistics and freight transportation are provided.


Background: The 15th Midwifery Service Standard states that the Midwife provide services during the postpartum period through home visits. Most Midwives Private Practices (BPS) in the Tuban area have made at least 3 home visits times during the puerperium. In the care of newborns, almost 80% of postpartum mothers do not bathe the baby herself but the midwife bathes her until the umbilical cord falls off with the reason that the mother has not dared to bathe her baby for fear of the umbilical cord still wet, the baby is still too small and the mother's lack of knowledge in bathe the baby. The purpose of doing this community service is so that postpartum mothers understand how to care for newborns and are able to independently bathe the baby and care for the umbilical cord properly. Method: In This community service uses a pre-experimental type (Static-group comparison designs). The population of all postpartum mothers is 33 people. Taking sample by consecutive sampling. The sample size is 24 people, namely 12 people the treatment group and 12 people in the control group. The test used is Test MC Nemar has a Chi Square distribution (c 2 ). Result: The results obtained a change that significant difference between before and after being given health education in the group treatment, namely c2 count (4.50) is greater than table c2 (3.481) then HI is rejected, which shows that there is an influence between the provision of education, how early neonate bathing and how to care for the umbilical cord in postpartum mothers. Conclusion: The attitude of the postpartum mother in bathing the baby and caring for the umbilical cord can be affected by providing health education. Midwives are expected in postpartum visits too teach postpartum mothers about how to bathe babies and care for the umbilical cord.


A pulsed transmission line linear accelerator, RADLAC-II, composed of an injector plus six post-accelerating gaps was built and successfully operated. A 3 to 4 MV foilless diode injector was used and an annular 30 to 40 kA. Relativistic electron beam was produced and further accelerated through the post-accelerating gaps. The final beam energy was close to the sum of injector and gap voltages and equal to approx.16 MeV. The pulsed power drivers, the accelerator, and the beam transport system are described. Experimental results are presented and discussed.


This work concerns monitoring of thermal patterns on the sea surface in a marginal sea. Some timely variations of the thermal pattern can be well detected by using the NOAA's APT (Automatic Picture Transform) imageries. Special reference is an eddy tracking in the Japan Sea as a marginal sea. The evolution of the eddy suggests a dynamical process in the sea where effects of the ocean can be seen. Geographic and bathymetric effects must be contribute to this process.


In this paper, we develop a new dynamic model for a robotic fish propelled by a flexible tail actuated at the base. The tail is modeled by multiple rigid segments connected in series through rotational springs and dampers, and the hydrodynamic force on each segment is evaluated using Lighthill's large-amplitude elongated-body theory. For comparison, we also construct a model using linear beam theory to capture the beam dynamics. To assess the accuracy of the models, we conducted experiments with a free-swimming robotic fish. The results show that the two models have almost identical predictions when the tail undergoes small deformation, but only the proposed multisegment model matches the experimental measurement closely for all tail motions, demonstrating its promise in the optimization and control of tail-actuated robotic fish. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4028056]


Twenty-one day trial was conducted to determine the nutritive value of baobab seed meal
processed by soaking in cold water for twenty-four hours. Four diets were formulated.
Diet I contain 0% baobab seed meal and diet 2 - 4 contain baobab seed meal at 33.33%,
66.67%and 100% replacement levels for soybean meal. Sixteen albino rats were used in
the study in which four rats were alloted to each dietary treatments. Performance
characteristics and haematological parameters were used as criteria of response. The
results showed that the diets have significant effect (P 0.05) on the haematological
parameters however rats fed diet 2 have higher values for Hb, RBC, total protein,
albumin and urea. The results indicated that soybean meal could be replaced with baobab
seed meal at 33.33% level of replacement without any deleterious effect on the
performance characteristics and haematological parameters of albino rats.


A novel theory of time discounting is proposed in which future consumption is less valuable than present consumption because of waiting costs. Waiting is intermittent as individuals' attention is periodically distracted away from future gratifications. The more individuals expect to pay attention to the reward, the more they are impatient. The model revisits the fundamental link between short and long-term impatience and solves two behavioral anomalies: impatience over short durations and sub-additive discounting.


The key signal of the Embedded Model Control (EMC) is the model error, measured minus model output, which is used by Internal Model Control and in a more efficient way by Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC). EMC extends ADRC along four lines: a generic disturbance dynamics, design of the noise layout (where uncertainty enters the model), dynamic uncertainty estimation, a design degree of freedom similar to Youla parameterization. The latter freedom is shown to favor separation between control and estimation under uncertainty, a principle hidden in ADRC. As a result, control law can be practically designed model-based, only limited by command saturation. The main theorems are developed in some detail starting from two model classes (design and embedded model), that are essential to define uncertainty. The paper extends part of previous results from SISO to MIMO systems, but some theorems and the free feedback dynamics are original. Theory is accompanied by a study case.


: An amazing digital multimedia revolution marked the end of the 20th century. In this revolution, images are extremely important to communicate in the present era of multimedia. When a person transfers images over an unsecured communication network, maintaining image confidentially is a difficult task. [1] In this paper, the Rubik's cube algorithm's principle is applied to the image pixel value of Color,greyscale and text picture images. The XNOR operation is then performed on the scrambled image using two secret keys. Secret keys are generated using a random number and can also be manually selected. Decrypting images requires both keys and the number of iterations performed by the algorithm. Finally, the experimental results and security analysis show how important keys are in encryption or decryption. Whenever it comes to attacks, images are highly secure.


Third generation of low-density aluminium-lithium alloys includes 1424 (2.54 g/sm3) and V-1461 (2.63 g/sm3) alloys. Their fracture toughness and crack growth resistance are higher than for the previously developed alloys 1420 and 1460. Despite of the good prospects of using of these materials in aeronautical and space applications there are no any data about their behaviour under dynamic loading. In this work, mechanical behaviour of specimens made of rolled V-1461 aluminiumlithium alloy plates with thickness 1.9 mm under static, dynamic and impact loading conditions was studied. Static strength tests were performed to obtain mechanical properties and stress-strain curves at low strain rates. It is found that tensile strength and yield stress in rolling direction are higher by 8–10 % than the properties in the perpendicular direction. Dynamic tensile tests were carried out with a CEAST 9350 Drop Tower system and special build-in-home equipment. The results of dynamic tests show that scaling static stress curve with sufficient accuracy describes the material behaviour under dynamic loading. When the strain rate of 200 s–1 material strength properties increased by ~ 20%. Through-thickness material anisotropy that lead to spall formation on backside of the plate was observed during ballistic tests. Finite element model based on bilinear kinematic  hardening approximation of scaling stress-strain curve was developed. Results of numerical modeling are in a good agreement with experiments (ballistic limit and full ballistic curve) in case of normal impact. This confirmed the limited strengthening ability of V-1461 alloy at high strain rates.


With concern of robotics application in educational field, robot assisted language learning (RALL) has become of interest to second language learning researchers. This study aims to examine the effect of RALL compared to existing computer assisted language learning (CALL) on students' affective states and engagement towards English conversation class. For the field study, non-equivalent-groups quasi-experiment was employed with 66 Korean middle school students between CALL class and RALL class. The result revealed that there was marginally significant difference in the motivation; there was significant difference both in the participation and in the satisfaction between implementing robot and using computer in English conversation class. This result corresponds both with previous theoretical studies in SLA and with empirical studies in HRI. This study suggests that robot acts as a facilitator in language conversation class.


In experiments on cats Jarisch and Richter (1939) and Jones (1953) had difficulty in locating the afferent pathway for the Bezold reflex. Even on the right side, which was the simpler, the distribution was not easy to follow. Several difficulties were encountered in these experiments, among which was the doubt that existed in any given cat as to whether a particular dose of the veratrum alkaloids was causing a fall of blood pressure and heart rate by the Bezold reflex or by a central action. In the dog it is comparatively easy to cannulate the main branches of the left coronary artery, and hence to localize the site of action more certainly. This paper describes experiments which have identified the afferent pathway on the left side in dogs, and also describes the nature of some afferent fibres from these nerves, but probably not those responsible for the Bezold reflex.


Scolytid wood-boring beetles, especially Xyleborus spp., are among the most harmful cacao (Theobroma cacao) pests in Venezuela because of their mutualistic association with a fungus (Ceratocystis cacaofunesta) that causes cacao wilt. The Criollo varieties of cacao are very susceptible to pests and diseases. We tested the effectiveness of two kinds of trap for collecting scolytids: bottle traps with windows (situated at 1 m and 3 m above ground level) and funnel traps, placed in a cacao farm south of Maracaibo Lake, Mérida state. Funnel traps collected significantly more individuals than bottle traps. The scolytid assemblages collected by each kind of trap were dissimilar, having only 60% of species in common.


We report growth of high-quality Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2 O_ z single crystals with dimensions 2 × 1 × 0.03 mm^3 with a melt and growth technique. The composition of this crystal is homogeneous and very close to the stoichiometric composition. Structure characterization of a single crystal was realized by measuring the (001) x-ray diffraction. The lattice parameters of a typical crystal are a = 5.414(2) Å, b = 5.413(2) A, and c = 30.823(10) Å. The superconducting temperature T _c = 95 K with a sharp transition width (10–90% level) between 6 and 10 K was determined from resistivity and dc susceptibility. We have measured the magnetization of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_ z single crystal under magnetic field applied along the c -axis. The anomalous second peak effect appeared between 20 and 30 K. We discuss the qualities of these crystals.


This study introduces the transformation process of a company's non-market strategy from corporate social responsibility to creating shared value (CSV). The proposed framework depicts supplier relationship management (SRM) activity, through the case of a Korean bakery franchise, using non-market strategies as a tool for SRM. The analysis explains the backgrounds of the transformation and the ramifications of the changes on SRM actions, such as mutual firm foundations, long-term contracts, and temporal relations. A mutual firm is suggested as the representative form of CSV activity within a triple helix innovation that would create business and social value, ultimately achieving regional resilience.


One unique feature has been demonstrated in the antisymmetric nonlinear coupler composed of one self-focusing core and one self-defocusing core, that is, power transfer does occur when it is excited by two input beams with in-phase and equal amplitudes. Optical limiting application of the antisymmetric nonlinear coupler is proposed. The limiting threshold and the limiting output is tunable.


Modeling the wear rate is a complex process. The several possibilities of chemical, physical and mechanical changes at the interface are the most probable reasons for this [1]. In this manner, it is reasonable to consider the wear rate as a stochastic process [2, 3], and indeed this approach was taken into account by Archard [4], when he formulated his well-known model. Since then, the majority of available models are based on his proposition, independent on the characteristics of mechanical system. Considering a sharp contact, both Torrance [5] and YiLing & Zi-Shan [6] for sliding and rolling abrasion, respectively, modified Archard's equation based on elastic effects, and the ratio of the hardness (H) to the Young's modulus (E) was the main parameter of the models. In a tribological system with dissimilar materials, for example a ceramic abrading a metal, one material can experience the yielding and the other the brittle failure. This difference in the mechanical behaviors can be decisive for the final performance to wear.


The impact of population size and its rate of growth on levels of living in general and on the demand and/or supply of a basic necessity such as food has long attracted the attention of economists ·and economic demographers. This paper reviews some recent models of the world food economy in the context of a rapidly growing population in the developing countries. The models range from population carrying capacity exercises devoid of any economics to dynamic general equilibrium models. It would appear from the projections of various models that the demand for food likely to arise from anticipated income and population growth during the next two to three decades or even longer can be met. Yet for an analysis of the long term interaction between population growth and economic development these models are inadequate, for the reason that the behavioural response of households, producers, investors and inventors to anticipated imbalances between supply and demand in terms of changes in fertility behaviour, in the rate and character of technical change, in the rates of saving investment in physical and human capital, etc. are not adequately modeled. At any rate, contrary to the widespread impression, it is not rapid population growth but inappropriate public policies towards agriculture that seem to account for the failure of _many developing countries to assure an adequate level of food consumption for their citizens.


This paper describes the theory, design and implementation of an optical tuneable filter, controlled by LabView through an USB connection. The tuneable filter system is based on a piezoelectric actuator which works by compressing the fiber Bragg grating. A high-voltage amplifier was also developed for driving the actuator. The optical filter is suitable for channel demultiplexing within WDM systems.


This research concentrates on the realm of television studies as an institution, to find out how the strategy of the iNews Siang news program is in maintaining news broadcast programs ahead of ASO 2022. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative research. The object of this research study is the iNEWS Afternoon program ahead of the Migration policy of Analog TV broadcasts to Digital TV broadcasts or Analog Switch Off (ASO). The problems in this study are dissected by analyzing how the strategy of the iNews Siang news program is in maintaining the news broadcast program ahead of ASO 2022, data collection techniques are applied to support information by conducting observations, interviews, and documents. The purpose of this research is to find out the strategy for the INEWS Siang news program in maintaining the news broadcast program ahead of ASO 2022, through the pre-production, production and postproduction stages observed as one unit in a series of program strategies. Participatory observation methods, interviews and literature on the news department, Morrisan's program strategy theory were built as a framework for the approach. The results obtained are iNews TV station programming strategy, especially in the iNews Afternoon Towards ASO 2022 program in broadcasting television broadcast programs to digital so that they can reach all audiences throughout Indonesia. Therefore, there are programs broadcast by the iNews Siang program in preparation for or ahead of ASO 2022. ASO stands for Analog Switch Off. The policy of discontinuing Analog TV broadcasts to be subsequently transferred to digital TV broadcasts is known as Analog Switch Off (ASO).
Keywords: ASO, iNEWSTV, digital broadcast, programming strategy, television journalist


Photoacoustic Remote Sensing (PARS™), an all-optical, non-contact, reflection-mode, label-free biomedical imaging modality, is sensitive to optical absorption in biological tissues. Images are formed by scanning across tissue, collecting time-domain signals at each point which represent the initial pressures generated through induced thermoelastic expansion. Previously, when obtaining pixel intensity, the rich temporal and spectral content of the time-domain signals has largely been ignored. In this exploratory work, meaningful features are intelligently extracted from the time-domain signals. Based on these extracted features, attributes relevant to pixel intensity can be used to form images of improved contrast and greater detail.


The quality and progress of installation of tubular-shaped foundation for turbine generators are closely related to the installation quality and progress of turbine and generator.The installation characteristics of tubular-shaped foundation of bulb turbine units for Dadingzishan Navigation-Power Junction engineering are expounded.


Most general aviation (GA) aircraft are designed for safe-life based upon a crack initiation type failure mechanism, e.g., Miner's rule. However, newer GA aircraft have fatigue crack growth as a design option. In addition, it may be necessary to evaluate a field event such as a cracked structure to ascertain the remaining life. Therefore, a risk based probabilistic damage tolerance analysis (PDTA) program is needed in several aerospace situations. A comprehensive probabilistic damage tolerance method requires a combination of deterministic crack growth, inspection methods, probabilistic methods, and random variable modeling to provide a single probability-of-failure, cumulative probability-of-failure, and hazard rate with and without inspection. In this work, a general methodology to conduct probabilistic crack growth based damage tolerance methodology for small airplanes will be developed and incorporated in a computer software. Random variables can be included in the model using Monte Carlo Sampling (MCS) and efficient numerical integration algorithms. Probabilistic damage tolerance analysis involves mathematically complex models and computational expensive simulations, which makes these analyses very inefficient. In this work the computational weight will be reduced using an error based adaptive surrogate model; the surrogate model will include the most influential random variables. The surrogate model will be used as a temporary substitution for the original crack growth model. An example problem will be presented to demonstrate the methodology.


A series of near-rapid solidification experiments were performed to investigate the structure evolution in Fe-(6, 11, 13, 17, 21) wt.% Mn and Fe-11wt.%Mn-(0.1, 0.5,1.4) wt.% C strips. The α'-martensite of body-centered cubic structures were observed in all Fe-Mn alloy strips. The ε-martensite phase appeared when the manganese content was up to 13wt.% and its amount gradually increased with the increasing of manganese content. The austenitic phase began to appear in Fe-21wt.%Mnstrip. As for the solidified structure analysis, the Fe-13wt.%Mn strip had a quite large equiaxed grain zone, while other Fe-Mn strips mainly consisted of columnar grains grew from the surfaces. The addition of 0.1wt.%C was helpful for the formation of ε-martensite in Fe-11wt.%Mn strip, but the addition of 0.5 and 1.4wt.%C promoted the transformation of ε-martensite to austenite phase. And addition of 0.5wt.% carbon could increase the area ratio of equiaxed grains formation.


Subclinical thyroid dysfunction, including both subclinical hyperthyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism is biochemically defined as an abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level and thyroid hormone level within its reference range. The prevalence of this condition varies according to the reference range for TSH and geographic or demographic factors, but is common in the elderly and in women. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction has various causes. Thus, careful clinical assessment is needed. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction can be likely to progress to overt thyroid disease and be associated with various health outcomes. However, to date, supporting data are lacking and levels of evidence for the associations are different. Although the management of subclinical thyroid dysfunction is controversial, recommendations are based on the degree to which TSH levels have deviated from normal, age, symptoms, and underlying comorbidities. Further studies are needed to inform how to best care for the elderly with subclinical thyroid dysfunction.