Since the accession of the Achaemenids, the vast territories of the ancient Near East experienced the government of complex systems of elites and bureaucracies over multi-cultural and multi-ethnic populations. The dynasty of the Arsacids, continued a long-lasting tradition and, during their rule, long-distance trades benefited of this political organization, despite the many conflicts and wars against the growing power of Rome. This volume brings together the researches of several scholars on...


Review(s) of: Arthur in medieval welsh literature (Writers of Wales), by Padel, O. J., new edn, Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 2013, paperback, pp. 166, R.R.P. US$25.00, ISBN 9780708326251.


The success of insemination programme depends on the appropriate management of semen collection, storage and use. According to some reports, the highest numbers of successful AIs were done in Central Province (CP) and the lowest were recorded in Eastern Province and Northern Province. So far there are no studies related to semen quality of bull which belongs to AI centre at Thirunelvely. The semen of Jersey was collected by means of artificial vagina and stored at 4-8°C. General examination was evaluated to assess volume, colour, opacity and pH. Fresh semen (0 h) and stored semen (24 h to 72 h) were compared by progressive individual motility and sperm count. Sperm count was evaluated by hemocytometer. Viability was determined by using 1% eosin. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Dunnett's post test was performed using prism 5.04 to compare the viability of semen from 0 h to 72 h during storage. Viability decreased significantly (ANOVA P<0.05) in a time dependent manner from 0 h to 72 h during storage at 4-8°C. The percentage of viable sperms and sperm velocity gradually decreased when compared to control 0 h (93.17± 1.322%, 23.33 ± 1.419 μm/s), with 24 h (85.50 ± 0.8892 %, 13.33± 0.7698 μm/s), 48 h (79.22 ± 0.7731, 1.778 ± 0.2383 μm/s) and 72 h (69.17 ± 1.360 %, 0.817 ± 0.271μm/s). Our preliminary studies suggested that the fresh semen is better than the stored semen for higher successful rate of insemination in NP of Sri Lanka.


Four major storms ( in 1985, 1993, 1999 and 2000) associated with significant coastal impacts and representing a range of ice conditions are simulated to study wave generation in the nearshore region around the Mackenzie Delta of the southern Beaufort Sea. Simulations are performed using SWAN40.51 under its non-stationary and two-dimensional mode of a fine resolution domain nested with a coarse resolution domain. Wind forcing in the form of a hourly hindcast over the southern Beaufort Sea is provided from the Meteorological Service of Canada Beaufort (MSCB) 21-year wind reanalysis. Bathymetry for the coarse domain is from ETOPO2. A fine resolution bathymetry for the nested domain was generated based primarily on data from Canada Hydrographic Service charts and NRCan field measurements. Moving boundaries of the ice edges are considered in the simulations. Wave attenuation along several transects are examined. Severe eaves are found to be predominantly from the northwest direction. Fully developed seas in the northwest quadrant of the nested region reached maximum wave heights of 4.5 m, 4.6 m and 5.9 m during the storm cases in 1985, 1993 and 1999 respectively. The fetch duirng the 2000 storm was limited by the existence of ice cover and the maximum wave height was 3.1 m.


The invention provides an automatic high-efficiency power generation solar water heater, and belongs to the field of solar energy utilization. For improving the utilization rate of solar energy and heat energy, a widely used monofunctional solar water heater is improved to first ensure a certain amount of hot water for bathing, then automatically use heat energy for high-efficiency power generation without manual operation, and finally store power in a storage battery for heating the water in a water tank when the temperature of the water is low or at night as well as lighting domestically and supplying power to televisions, computers, and the like. Usually, the solar water heater can generate more than one kilowatt-hour of the power in summer, and is an unexpected gift for the floating herdsmen. An evacuated solar collector tube with or without water can be used; for improving the efficiency of thermo-electric generation, large temperature difference is required; the water tank is divided into a large part and a small part; a temperature memorizing alloy push rod pushes an isolating baffle to open or close a water pass between the two parts to allow the temperature of the small amount of water in the small part to rise quickly; and heat is led out by a Qu inorganic superconduct heating pipe. Given popularization across China, the solar water heater has the power generation potential far more than that of the Three Gorges Dam.


The thermal properties of mung bean (Vigna radiata) are essential for designing postharvest handling equipment for mung bean processing. The specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity of mung bean were determined as a function of moisture content and temperature. The specific heat and thermal conductivity were quantified using a specially built vacuum flask calorimeter and thermal conductivity probe, respectively. The specific heat was determined by mixing hot water with a sample maintained at lower temperature and incorporating graphical temperature-correction into the calculation. The thermal conductivity was determined by measuring the temperature response of the sample when heated with a line heat source. The thermal diffusivity was directly calculated from the specific heat and thermal conductivity data. The specific heat and thermal conductivity of mung bean increased linearly from 1.63 to 2.45 kJ kg-1 K-1 and from 0.092 to 0.141 W m-1 K-1, respectively, with the corresponding increase in moisture content from 9.9% to 18.3% w.b. and temperature from 10°C to 50°C. The thermal diffusivity of mung bean changed from 0.659 × 10-7 to 0.752 × 10-7 m2 s-1 with increase in moisture content and temperature. The thermal diffusivity increased with increase in moisture content and decreased with increase in temperature.


Dr. Thomas Szasz's recent proposal to legally recognize the concept of a "psychiatric will" in which individuals might exert control over future attempts to administer involuntary psychiatric treatment to them is defended as a rational means of satisfying both the supporters and opponents of involuntary psychiatry. Criticisms of the "psychiatric will" are analyzed and rejected as resting on misinterpretations of the proposal and its potential legality, and are seen instead to be further arguments in defense of the appropriateness of the social control function as well as the medical model for psychiatry.


Objective Focal brain ischemia followed by changes in gene expression as reflected by the mRNA levels. DNA microarrays analysis was used to survey thousands of genes for differential expression triggered by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion( pMCAO) in renovascular hypertensive rats(RHR). Methods Total RNA was extracted from the periinfarction cerebral cortex of in jured hemisphere at 12 hours after pMCAO for microarrays analysis using oligo-nucleotide arrays (5705 functional genes). Results In total, 129 genes were expressed differentially: 93 genes were up-regulated, 36 genes were down-regulated. The affected genes were distributed among 10 of functional categories(total 12 groups). Transcription regulator, Response to stress, Cell Adhesion, Apoptosis are all up-regulated. Conclusions The results may be used to infer mechanism of injury or recovery after brain ischemia that might lead to novel therapy.


Objective:To determinate the best cut off value of different exercise intensity in adolescents by ROC Curve and aim to elevate validly the daily physical octivity level in future.Methods:The rest and the 8 activities was synchronous monitor by portable gas analyzer(Cosmed K4b2) and triaxial accelerometer(ActiGraph GT3X) in 80 health Chinese children aged 11~14 years(40 boys and 40 girls).AUC(Area Under Curve) was to judge the diagnostic function of AC(Activity Count) for distinguishing the low,moderate or high exercise intensity.The maximum Youden value was used to determine the best cutoff point of different exercise intensity.Results:The vertical is predominant in various activities and the change trend of ACxis1,VM2 and VM3 is similar.The ROC curve can determine the best cut off point of ACxis1,VM2 and VM3 in diagnosis of exercise intensity(AUC∈[0.708,0.890],P0.001).The best cutoff point of 3 METs,6 METs and 9 METs was respectively ACxis1(2 151 counts/min,3 761 counts/min,3 783 counts/min),VM2(4 935 counts/min,6 009 counts/min,6 169 counts/min) and VM3(9 600 counts/min,9 900 counts/min and 10 296 counts/min).Conclusions:ACxis1,VM2 and VM3 can reflect effective human moving state and the best cut off value of them can diagnosis valid the exercise intensity in adolescents.The best cut off value of light physical activity was ACxis12 152 counts/min,VM23 761 counts/min,VM33 783 counts/min;moderate physical activity was 2 151 counts/min≤ACxis14 935 counts/min,3 761 counts/min≤VM26 009 counts/min,3 783 counts/min≤VM36 169 counts/min,large physical activity was 4 935 counts/min≤ACxis19 600 counts/min,6 009 counts/min≤VM29 900 counts/min,6 169 counts/min≤VM310 296 counts/min,and vigorous activity was ACxis1≥9 600 counts/min,VM2≥9 900 counts/min,VM3≥10 296 counts/min.


A total of 208 digesta samples from the stomach, small intestine, caecum and colon of 79 piglets killed between 1 and 9 weeks of age were analysed for volatile fatty acids (C1 – C5) and lactic acid.The total concentration of the acids in the large intestine ranged from 11 to 29 meq./100 ml. fluid which generally exceeded that in the stomach and small intestine. As the pigs aged, concentration tended to decrease in the upper sections and increase in the lower section of the tract. The addition of whey to a basal "creep" ration, fed from 3 weeks of age, had no apparent effect on the concentration of acids.Formic acid was found only in the small intestine. Increased proportions of acetic and propionic acids in the stomach of the 5-week-old pig indicated dietary effects due to the introduction of solid feed. Lactic acid proportions were from zero in the large intestine to 95 per cent in the stomach. The proportions of lactic acid in the stomach and small intestine of pigs at 9 weeks was markedly higher than a...


The city is a big city in north China,Qiligou basin is one of the three chief karst water supply resources,which guarantees more than 200 thousand people in the south city of the production and living water.This karst aquifer was found that has been polluted by carbon tetrachloride in November of 2000.Through analysis of the monitoring data in the studied area,conduced to establishing the hydro-geological conceptual model and the groundwater flow model that was computed by using FEFLOW(Finite Element subsurface Flow system) software,the solute transport simulation based on the current model,to simulate the groundwater pollution concentration of carbon tetrachloride,and forecast the future changes in the concentration field. The results indicated that the carbon tetrachloride contamination plume presented a degrading trend in the whole area,especially in the north and south part,but in the central part it is not obvious;in process of time,the attenuation extent of carbon tetrachloride plume is declining.These studies provided technical supports to the regional pollution treatment under the similar circumstances in the future.


Switching from pure electric driving to engine driving is one of state-switch modes in PHEV.To maintain the dynamic stability and the riding comfort of vehicle during state-switch process,the coordinative control for motor and engine has to be achieved.Aiming at keeping the total torque unchanged during stateswitch process,a state-switch coordinative control strategy is put forward,which can be expressed as torque optimization distribution between motor and engine after engine speed regulation.By building dynamic model for the PHEV powertrain system,and applying the quadratic optimal control algorithm to the state-switch control strategy on the basis of the maxmum principle,the state-switch controller is designed,in which the objective functional correlated with the driving smoothness is established.The simulation result show that the coordinative state-switch control algorithm can effectively control the torque ripple and ensure power transfer smoothly during state-switch processes in the hybrid power system.


Ferritic steels in steam turbines for the power industry operate without coatings in the temperature range of 590–600 °C. For higher operation temperatures the substrate has to be replaced or coated, otherwise the ferritic substrate at a temperature of 650 °C develops thick oxide scales that promote sudden turbine blade failure. The advantage of the use of coatings is that coated ferritic steels are much less expensive than austenitic stainless steels or nickel base superalloys. In order to go forward to coatings design, the Thermo‐Calc code was used as a base for the mass spectrometry (MS)‐data. Thermogravimetry (TG)–MS experiments were conducted in a closed steam loop in order to obtain information about the oxyhydroxides formation as reaction between coatings and steam. From those results the role of the different coating element could be established and optimized for the coating durability. An oxidation mechanism based on the TG–MS results is given.


Objective To understand the primary period pain menstrual conditions among female college students and to provide guidance for female college students on health education to provide basic material.Methods the random cluster sampling method was adopted and 394 students from the xi'an medical school of nursing were carried on the questionnaire survey.Results Among the students who were surveyed,age of menarche in 11 ~ 17 years old between,(mean age 13.62 + /-1.26 years old.309 the primary dysmenorrhea,accounting for 78.4%.Among them is the incidence of mild dysmenorrhea 49.5%;The moderate dysmenorrhea was 41.7%,and severe period pain is the incidence of 8.7%.Conclusion Although medical professional female college students is relatively note period health care,but still a high incidence dysmenorrhea,a common sexual frequently-occurring disease.Attention show symptoms of female college students,take effective measures the way,strengthen the propaganda of knowledge education menstrual health care,to improve female college students' individual health,improve the learning quality of life,and reduce the negative impact of women period has the vital significance.


Although the use of hypertext systems for learning complex knowledge has been attracting recent attention, there have been few discussions in the hypertext literature on issues related to the cognitive prerequisites for learning conceptually demanding material. A study was conducted to investigate a theory-based hypertext learning environment that provided instruction in a complex and ill-structured domain. Subjects were 34 firstand second-year university students who were paid for their participation in the study. The experimental treatment incorporated several features derived from recent cognitive learning theory, in particular a hypertext procedure that presented the instructional material in multiple contexts to highlight different facets of the knowledge. The main results of the study revealed that although the control treatment led to higher performance on the measures of "memory" for factual knowledge, the more hypertext-like treatment promoted superior knowledge "transfer." Overall, these findings suggest that hypertext learning environments that present the instructed knowledge by explicitly demonstrating critical interrelationships between abstract and case-specific knowledge components in multiple contexts would be better at preparing students to use knowledge in new ways and in new situations. (Five figures and seven tables are include; a list of 59 references is attached.) (Author/SR) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Technical Report No. 573 HYPERTEXT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY, AND THE TRANSFER OF COMPLEX KNOWLEDGE: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION Michael J. Jacobson Rand J. Spiro University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


one of electronic media such as radio. Because broadcast radio plays an important
role in both entertainment and educational information. One of Star Radio listeners
who have a goal at age 25 to 35 years, requiring an accuracy in presenting the show,
so listeners are not too bored.
To support this, the technique and the method of probability and its supporting tools
such as observation, interviews and questionnaires greatly affect the manufacturing
schedule. Because the probability method is very help user program director, in
determining the placement of a poet in accordance with the events provided to
listeners.
In order for event scheduling techniques can be used well, adding to the surveys
through NGOs and the probability method used microsoft access applications.
Because of the application, may minimize the problems in the manufacture of
schedule. So that the resulting work process faster and more improved quality of Star
Radio.


Absorptive gas purification is one good possibility to reduce the CO 2 output of a power station. This contribution presents the new absorbent GenosorbN, with the results of initial experimental series. The degree of elimination to be targeted for the future is discussed.


Dear Editor, I would like to compliment Drs. Cardoso and Rocha on their recent article 'Identification of factors associated with pathological root resorption in traumatized primary teeth' (Dental Traumatology 2008; 24:343–49). This is an important topic not only for pediatric dentists, but also for all dentists treating children for routine care and/or following traumatic injuries to the primary teeth. However, I would like for them to have included a more comprehensive review and discussion of a relevant entity atypical root resorption (ARR). They do briefly refer to this radiographic/clinical entity and reference two articles (Rubel I. Atypical root resorption of maxillary primary central incisors due to digital sucking: a report of 82 cases. ASDC J Dent Child 1986; 53:201–4 and Mortelliti and Needleman. Risk factors associated with atypical root resorption of the maxillary primary incisors. Pediatr Dent 1991; 13:273–7). In their article, they categorize resorption as being either inflammatory or replacement and do not discuss how this common entity of ARR fits into that classification. It may be that ARR starts out as an inflammatory process and eventually the prematurely resorbing root structure is 'replaced' with a 'healthy/normal' periodontal ligament. In our article (Pediatr Dent 1991; 13:273–7), we reported a 14.2% prevalence of ARR on random occlusal radiographs and found it associated with children who had a positive history of both trauma to the incisors and oral habits. In addition, 'as the number of risk factors (large overjet, documented trauma, and oral habits increased, the likelihood of developing ARR also increased...'. It has been our experience that no treatment of the primary incisors demonstrating ARR is necessary as it is rare for it to develop periapical pathology. However, these teeth are often lost early because of their diminished root structure.


Operating CMOS circuits at cryogenic temperatures offers advantages of higher mobility, higher ON-current, and better subthreshold characteristics, which can be leveraged to realize high-performance CMOS circuits. However, an ultra-low-voltage operation is necessary to minimize the power consumption and to offset the cooling cost overheads. The MOSFET threshold voltages (Vt) increase at cryogenic temperatures making it challenging to achieve high performance while operating at very low voltage. Ultra-thin body and buried oxide silicon-on-insulator (UTBB-SOI)-based MOSFETs can modulate the transistor threshold voltage using the back-gate bias, unlike conventional FinFETs. This unique UTBB-SOI technology attribute has been leveraged to realize compact pseudo-static storage circuits, namely, embedded dynamic random access memory (DRAM) bitcell and a flip-flop operating at 0.2 V and 77 K. This article presents UTBB-SOI device fabrication details and calibrate experimental device characteristics with BSIM compact models. SPICE simulations suggest the feasibility of three-transistor gain-cell embedded DRAM (eDRAM) capable of reliably storing three distinct voltage levels (1.5 bits/cell) and exhibiting retention time of the order of 104 s. Furthermore, a unique pseudo-static flip-flop design is presented, which can lower the clock power by 50%, transistor count by 20%, and static power consumption by 20%.


A t e s t program designed t o f u r t h e r s tudy t h e f l a r e d nozz le a b l a t i o n s i m u l a t i o n technique u t i l i z e d i n the 50 Megawatt f a c i l i t y o f the A i r Force F l i g h t Dynamics Laboratory (AFFDL) was conducted i n the AFFDi 20 Inch Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) and t h e AFFDL Mach 6 High Reynolds Number F a c i l i t y . The 20 Inch HWT was equipped w i t h a f l a r e d nozz le geomet r i ca l l y scaled from the nozz le i n s t a l l e d i n the AFFDL Re-Entry Nose T i p (RENT) Test Leg. A s i m i l a r l y sca led spherecone model was t e s t e d i n t h e f l o w f i e l d produced by t h i s nozz le. Pressure and heat t r a n s f e r r a t e d i s t r i b u t i o n s were measured and a b l a t i o n charact e r i s t i c s o f models f a b r i c a t e d o u t o f camphor were recorded on f i l m . A d u p l i c a t e t e s t program was conducted i n the p a r a l l e l f l o w f i e l d produced by the Mach 6 contoured nozz le. The r e s u l t s o f the two s e r i e s o f t e s t s s u b s t a n t i a t e t h a t a low supersonic f l a r e d nozz le f l o w can c l o s e l y d u p l i c a t e t h e hypersonic pressure and hea t t r a n s f e r d i s t r i b u t i o n s over t h e nose r e g i o n o f a b l u n t body.


The case of 89-years old man with acute renal failure (ARF), complicated by pneumonia, successfully treated with
dialysis is reported. Specificity of ARF pathogenesis and treatment in the elderly is reported, indications for the
initiation of renal replacement therapy are discussed. Generally: despite the complex etiology and predisposition
to complications, the prognosis of ARF in elderly patients is similar to that find in younger population, and old age
per se cannot be a contraindication to dialysis.


ABSTRACT Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous protein kinase implicated in proliferation and cell survival. Its regulatory β subunit, CK2β, which is encoded by a single gene in mammals, has been suspected of regulating other protein kinases. In this work, we show that knockout of the CK2β gene in mice leads to postimplantation lethality. Mutant embryos were reduced in size at embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5). They did not exhibit signs of apoptosis but did show reduced cell proliferation. Mutant embryos were resorbed at E7.5. In vitro, CK2β−/− morula development stopped after the blastocyst stage. Attempts to generate homozygous embryonic stem (ES) cells failed. By using a conditional knockout approach, we show that lack of CK2β is deleterious for mouse ES cells and primary embryonic fibroblasts. This is in contrast to what occurs with yeast cells, which can survive without functional CK2β. Thus, our study demonstrates that in mammals, CK2β is essential for viability at the cellular level, possibly because it acquired new functions during evolution.


The extent to which advertisers choose to make more or less use of "informative copy", or "copy points", as a communicative and persuasive technique, represents a model of how an advertisement will work. With changing media technology, changing popular culture, and changing advertising fashions, it might be expected that models of effective advertising would change over time. Such changes would be reflected in the use of "copy points" in advertisements. Using a variant on the methodology developed by Resnik and Stern, extends research on the information content of advertising copy through a study of magazine advertisements over a period of 40 years. The number of copy points contained in an advertisement rose steadily from 1953 until the late 1970s. In the 1980s this trend was reversed, with the number of copy points falling sharply to below the 1953 level. While the observed fall in copy point level in the 1980s was expected, the long prior period of increase was not and may go some way to explain why th...


We examine how economic downturns affect the value that market participants place on management earnings forecasts. We find that in downturns, news conveyed in management forecasts elicits larger stock price reactions and analyst forecast revisions, suggesting that analysts and investors place greater value on management forecasts during these times. Further, while investors value analyst forecasts more during downturns, they place even more value on management forecasts, which is consistent with investors perceiving managers as having a greater information advantage. We also document that management forecasts become even more accurate relative to analyst forecasts in downturns, implying that the higher value investors and analysts place on management forecasts during these times is justified. Overall, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that because downturns occur relatively infrequently and have unequal effects on firms, market participants increasingly struggle to forecast earnings during these times and find information provided by managers more valuable.


Purpose
To compare the diagnostic accuracy of differentiating polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) from exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), using color fundus photography (CFP), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) without using fluorescein angiography/ indocyanine green angiography (FA/ICGA).

Methods
Treatment-naïve eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that underwent CFP, OCT, SS-OCTA, and FA/ICGA imaging before treatment were identified. Images of each patient were categorized into 2 sets (Set A: CFP+OCT; Set B: CFP+ SS-OCTA). In Set B, both the en face and cross-sectional B-scans were analyzed. Each set was reviewed by two graders, and it was determined whether the presumed diagnosis was PCV. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of PCV were assessed for each set by comparing diagnoses that included ICGA. The number of polypoidal lesions in each set was calculated and compared to ICGA.

Results
A total of 94 study eyes from 94 patients with AMD were included in the study, of which 66.0% were male, and the mean age was 71.8±9.0 years. The PCV diagnosis rate using ICGA was 45.7%. Sensitivity of sets A, B: 0.88, 0.93; specificity: 0.94, 0.96; positive predictive value: 0.93, 0.95; negative predictive value: 0.91, 0.94, AUC: 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI]:0.83-0.97), 0.96 (95% CI:0.90-1.00). Set A detected polypoidal lesions 1.28±0.91, Set B detected polypoidal lesions 1.47±1.01, ICGA showed 1.51±0.86. In the interclass correlation coefficient analysis, the correlation between Set A and ICGA was ICC=0.76(95% CI:0.60-0.86, p<0.001), and the correlation between Set B and ICGA was ICC=0.84(95% CI:0.72-0.91, p<0.001).

Conclusion
This study highlights that, without using ICGA, both CFP combined with OCT and CFP combined with SS-OCTA demonstrate high sensitivity, specificity, and AUC in diagnosing PCV. It is evident that SS-OCTA contributes to enhancing sensitivity, specificity, and AUC for PCV diagnosis.


...............................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................................v Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Collective Memory and the Archivist ................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2: A Case Study in Documenting Tragedy at Northern Illinois University ........................... 33 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Works Cited ....................................................................................................................................... 57


Although not always resulting in catastrophic failures, vortex-induced vibration (VIV) response can seriously impact the fatigue life and functionality of bridges, especially for separate pairs of box girders in cable-stayed bridges. This study investigates the effects of three aerodynamic measures: grating, inclined web plate, and the baffles on separated box girders in the cable-stayed bridges. The experimental result indicates that the grating of different opening ratios can control the vortex-induced vibration effectively, and the optimized grating opening ratio set in this paper is 40%. Increasing the angle of inclined web plate has a great control on mitigation of the vortex-induced vibration. However, there is an optimum angle where the amplitude of vortex-induced vibration is the smallest at low wind speed. The amplitude of vortex-induced vibration becomes larger with the increase of the web inclined angle that exceeds the optimum angle. Comparatively, the baffles installed on both sides of the inclined webs are more effective to restrain the vortex-induced resonance. The Computational Fluent Dynamics (CFD) software is utilized to investigate the mechanism of the experimental results.


We present analytical methods for determining the distributions of planetary population parameters which would be detected from an assumed planetary population for a direct imaging instrument. We present detected distributions for projected separation, Δmag, semi-major axis, eccentricity, geometric albedo, and planetary radius. All of these distributions are validated against Monte Carlo simulation. For greater accuracy in Monte Carlo simulation, the number of sampled planets and computational cost must increase. Our analytical methods reduce the computational cost and more accurately determine these functions than Monte Carlo simulations.


The Leg 203 science program is part of a multidisciplinary project that primarily represents the interests of the National Science Foundation's component of the international Dynamics of Earth and Ocean Systems (DEOS) planning effort, and the International Ocean Network. We drilled a cased reentry hole (Hole 1243A) at 5°18.0541′N, 110°4.5798′W in the eastern equatorial Pacific, the location of a future DEOS multidisciplinary observatory. The drill site was located in 10to 12-Ma lithosphere at a water depth of 3882 m. The hole was drilled to a total depth of 224 m, which included 121 m of sediment and 103 m of basement penetration. We inserted casing to 212 meters below seafloor (mbsf) and cemented the casing in place, with the top of the cement at a depth of 199 mbsf. Subsequent logging showed that the casing was well bonded to basement in the lower 40 m and that the deviation of the hole never exceeded 1° from vertical. Casing complications obviated coring and scientific logging in this hole. Hole 1243A will subsequently be used to install an observatory-quality broadband threecomponent seismometer (0.001–5 Hz) as well as a high-frequency three-component seismometer (1–20 Hz) to ensure high-fidelity recording over the range of frequencies normally recorded by the terrestrial Global Seismic Network. The seismic system, as well as other instrumentation associated with the observatory, will be connected to a DEOS mooring, for both power and high-speed data telemetry, to a land station and the Internet. The equatorial site satisfies two scientific objectives of crustal drilling: (1) it is located in one of the high-priority regions for the Ocean Seismic Network and DEOS and (2) it is in oceanic crust created by fast seafloor spreading, providing a rare opportunity to examine crustal genesis, evolution, and crust/mantle interaction for a seafloor-spreading end-member responsible for generating the majority of the oceanic 1Examples of how to reference the whole or part of this volume. 2Shipboard Scientific Party addresses. Ms 203IR-101 SHIPBOARD SCIENTIFIC PARTY CHAPTER 1, LEG 203 SUMMARY 2 lithosphere. To satisfy the secondary objective, we drilled a second uncased hole (Hole 1243B; 5°18.0543′N, 110°4.2544′W) fitted with a reentry funnel 600 m east of Hole 1243A. Rotary coring alone was used in an effort to sample the sediment/basement interface as well as the uppermost fast-spreading lithosphere. Hole 1243B is characterized by 110 m of sediment and a total penetration of 195 m. Core recovery throughout basement averaged 25%, and the lower sediment and basement were logged. INTRODUCTION Dynamics of Earth and Ocean Systems The ocean and Earth sciences are on the threshold of a revolution involving new questions and requiring novel technologies. It is no longer sufficient to consider each constituent of the Earth-ocean-atmosphere system in isolation or to study the individual physical, chemical, and biological components of that system alone. To understand the present state of the planet and to determine, with increasing accuracy, environmental change in all of its aspects, we must observe the Earth's interior, its hydrosphere and biosphere on spatial and temporal scales appropriate to each component's pattern of heterogeneity, and multiple scales of interaction with other components. There is an increasing requirement for such observations to be made continuously rather than intermittently. Many natural processes within the Earth system take place on characteristic timescales spanning hours to decades, whereas others are punctuated by brief episodic outbursts of activity that rise above a less energetic continuum. Since Darwin's voyage on the Beagle, Earth and ocean scientists have used ships for expeditions of discovery. Much of our knowledge of the ocean basins comes from such discrete expeditionary visits. By the nature of such work, one can gain an understanding of the different regions of the oceans in the three dimensions of space. This approach does not afford knowledge of temporal variations, aside from episodic visits to stations previously surveyed or relatively brief continuous time-series observations from autonomously recording instrument packages deployed by ships and then subsequently recovered. This approach has provided society with a broad understanding of the fundamental principles that regulate the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes in the ocean. However, timely advances in our knowledge of the oceans and the Earth beneath are now limited by the lack of sustained observations over extended periods and over the range of spatial scales now required to address scientific issues of great importance; the complex network of interactions between ocean subsystems must be studied in depth. The study of change extends across many disciplines, including the dynamics of the lithosphere and mantle, climate, biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean, and the interrelationships between fluids and life in the crust. A successful observatory network must be, therefore, multidisciplinary in nature, providing physical, meteorological, chemical, biological, and geophysical time-series observations and enabling new understanding of the Earth system. Many processes are characterized by very low signal-to-noise ratios (e.g., seismology, geoelectromagnetic induction, or acoustic thermometry), and only long-term observations can be used to enhance these signals vis-à-vis noise SHIPBOARD SCIENTIFIC PARTY CHAPTER 1, LEG 203 SUMMARY 3 processes. An observatory network requires the establishment of a permanent presence in the oceans; Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 203 is a critical step in this direction. The Dynamics of Earth and Ocean Systems (DEOS) planning initiative in the United States and the United Kingdom, in coordination with partners in several member states of the European Union and Japan, represented by the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI)/International Ocean Network (ION) Consortium, has identified a network of sites for multidisciplinary observatories focused on the atmosphere, ocean, and the Earth beneath it. Whereas, for centuries observatories have been commonly used on land for many purposes, long-term continuous observations of natural phenomena in the oceans represent a new frontier for the sciences. A component of DEOS seeks to establish a global network of ocean observatories through the use of moorings (Fig. F1) for power supply and highbandwidth telemetry. In other locations, generally those closer to land, DEOS calls for the use of direct submarine cable connections to shore. The drilling and establishment of a cased legacy hole (Leg 203 Hole 1243A) at the remote equatorial Pacific ION multidisciplinary observatory site provides an ideal location for the initial installation of a moored observatory in the 2004–2005 time frame. The location of Site 1243 also provided a rare window into the petrology, geochemistry, and paleomagnetic history of fast-spreading 10to 12-Ma Pacific basement material. During Leg 203, 87 m of basement was cored and logged in Hole 1243B, one of only four Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP)/ODP sites in Pacific basement of that age, at which >80 m penetration through basement has been achieved. A full suite of shipboard analyses of basement rock cores is reported in the Leg 203 Initial Reports volume. GEOLOGIC AND OCEANOGRAPHIC SETTING Site 1243 in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. F2) is in a particularly interesting location for understanding the interplay between ocean chemistry, productivity, climate, and plate tectonics in a fast-spreading environment. The climatic implications were studied in detail with a series of 11 holes drilled during Leg 138. We returned to the immediate vicinity of Site 852 from that leg to develop a legacy hole for the purpose of supporting a long-term multidisciplinary observatory to be used for studies ranging from the seismic structure of the mantle to air-sea interaction in an environment of great scientific interest. The age of the lithosphere in this region, based on a full spreading rate of 141 mm/yr and an East Pacific Rise subsidence curve (e.g., Parker and Oldenburg, 1973), is in the range of 10–12 Ma (Figs. F2, F3); this age is also consistent with paleoceanographic results from Leg 138. The water depth at Hole 1243A (Ocean Seismic Network [OSN]-2) is 3882 m. Based on seismic profiles and drilling during Leg 138, the sediment at Site 852 is 116 m thick and overlies basement, which is quite smooth, with variability in relief probably much less than 100 m. Whereas sediment thicknesses of as much as 400 m could be found to the south, there is no particular advantage in deploying the borehole seismometer beneath the thicker sediment cover. A thicker sediment column will not attenuate seafloor noise, and an increased sediment thickness will only decrease the frequency of reverberations in the sediment column, which could begin to interfere with seismic observations. For example, A B F1. Artist's renderings of deepwater DEOS observatory, p. 15. 160°W 150° 140° 130° 120° 110° 100° 90° 80° 70° 10° S 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° N


Obstetric intervention originally consisted of extraction of the baby, usually by the breech, to save the mother's life in obstructed labour. Forceps, introduced in the 17th century, were later refined by men-midwives like William Smellie. In Victorian times, Simpson championed chloroform anaesthesia, Lister pioneered antisepsis, and caesarean section was introduced. In 1935, however, Britain's maternal mortality rate was still around 400/100 000. It fell dramatically after antibiotics appeared and is now 11.4. In the 1960s ultrasound and electronic fetal monitoring became widely used. In 2000 the British caesarean section rate reached 20%. Worldwide, childbirth still causes 600 000 maternal deaths a year.


Introduction: Many systems have been proposed to classify the degree of tumour response to therapy in post-neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT) breast cancers. The Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) developed by MD Anderson cancer hospital is an online tool for the quantification of residual disease that is easy to practice, reproducible, and the RCB score has been clinically validated as independent prognostic factor for long-term survival. Aim: To evaluate the methodology for grossing and microscopic examination for assessing pathologic response in postNACT breast cancer specimens using RCB system developed by MD Anderson cancer institute and its feasibility for routine practice. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute Hyderabad over a duration of three months from May 2018 to July 2018. Histologically proven breast carcinoma patients who were treated with both NACT and surgery were included in the study. Before surgery, these patients were treated with either anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimen with or without additional taxanes or targeted therapy with transtuzumab. RCB score and class were calculated to assess pathologic response to NACT. Analysis was performed individually by two senior pathologists, who has expertise in breast pathology and a junior pathologist. Consensus opinion was noted in case of discrepancies. Results: The study included 50 carcinoma breast specimens. All the cases werefemales. 49 cases were diagnosed as invasive carcinoma, No Special Type (NST) and one was lobular carcinoma. pCR (Pathological complete response) was seen in 9 (18%) and residual disease was seen in 41 (82%) patients. Conclusion: The present study highlights feasibility of application of RCB system in assessing pathological response following NACT in breast cancer. Incorporating RCB score and class in the reporting helps the surgical pathologist to overcome sampling errors caused by heterogeneously variable cellularity commonly encountered in these type of specimens.


Physical exertion is not now an essential part of many people's working existence and because hard physical labour was the lot of the "labouring classes" from which many people have tried to escape by getting more genteel occupations, the correlates of exertion, heavy breathing and sweating are considered "not nice" and associated with the lower orders. A gentleman no less than a lady does not perspire. A lady makes sure that she "glows" rather than sweats by spraying on a suitable poison to paralyse her sweat glands. The exercise boom is overturning this picture of genteel and leisurely leisure and the gentlemen and ladies (and now increasing numbers of the lower social classes) are now seen sweating and panting in profusion.


The paper provides some historical background on Australia's immigration policies and outlines Australia's current criteria-based immigration programme which allows for immigration under four categories: (1) family reunion (2) skills - persons with skills deemed to be needed in Australia (3) humanitarian entry - a special category to assist refugees and those subject to treatment considered to be a gross violation of human rights (4) New Zealand citizens - a special category. Total entry under the family reunion plus skills category is subject to an annual quota. Immigration has often been a contentious issue in Australia. The main issues raised about migration to Australia, especially economic issues, are reviewed and discussed. These include impacts of immigrants on unemployment, wages, and available skills, their labour force participation, effect on unemployment, dependence on public funds, their settlement in urban areas, and immigration in relation to direct investment, tourism and provision of educational services. Aspects of Australian immigration are given special attention: the different economic experiences of English and non-English-speaking immigrants from Asia, the labour force participation rates of different groups of Asian immigrants, their employment by industry-types, their occupations and their income levels compared to the Australian born. This paper should dispel some of the misconceptions about the economic position and role of Australian immigrants.


A comprehensive battery of perceptual tests was administered prior to and approximately 4 hr. after 7 days of perceptual deprivation. There were 8 non-deprived and 8 deprived male is. Completely negative results were obtained. Methodological considerations pertinent to the findings are discussed.


The modern society has faced the era of self-directed and continuous learning for lifetime to obtain knowledge as the most important capital and also to adapt to the rapidly changing society through the new technologies and education for self-realization, exceeding the existing viewpoint of getting educated for a certain period of time. By providing the opportunity of higher education to various types of learners, the chance of learning is given and also the manpower for high value-added industries is trained. As such changes of the times are connected to human"s aesthetic desires and interest, they are expressed as complex appearance management behaviors like make-up, body-shape care & hair, skin beauty, nail art, and hair care. This study classified the institutes with beauty-related departments for academic credit bank system, one of the lifelong education system into types such as lifelong education center affiliated with university, vocational school, and lifelong education facility for academic credit bank system, and then selected total seven institutes in Seoul and Gyeonggi region, posted on the homepage of academic credit bank system of National Institute for Lifelong Education. The objective of this study is to provide the basic data for the development of cosmetology curriculum for academic credit bank system, by comparatively analyzing the curriculum and courses through the homepage of the selected institutes.


A new radiation detector instrument system was conceived by one of us (R.M.) in 1962 to measure the spectra of energetic particles in space. A laboratory prototype of a flyable version of such an instrument system has now been constructed under contract to the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories. It has been designed to measure unidirectional proton spectra in six energy intervals between 21 Mev and 210 Mev. The system consists of a sealed, compact, six-channel spark-chamber of ceramic and metal construction and associated miniaturized circuits for coincidence triggering, high-voltage pulse generation and data readout. Geiger counter coincidence triggering detectors are arranged co-linearly with the spark chamber. The thicknesses of the plates in the spark chamber are designed so that the intervals in proton range give approximately equal spacings on a logarithmic scale of the proton energy. This spark chamber spectrometer instrument system has the following features: 1. It derives its energy determinations from range-energy relations which are fixed absolute constants for the measurement. 2. The experimental calibration constants such as the solid angle, the effective area, and the direction are common to all channels. 3. It provides digitized information directly in the form of large electrical pulses. 4. It has a detection efficiency of nearly 100 percent. 5. Power consumption is of the order of 1 watt. 6. It is compact and rugged in construction.


Distributional models assume that the contexts of a linguistic unit (such as a word, a multi-word expression, a phrase, a sentence, etc.) provide information about the meaning of the linguistic unit (Firth, 1957; Harris, 1968). They have been widely applied in data-intensive lexical semantics (among other areas), and proven successful in diverse research issues, such as the representation and disambiguation of word senses (Schütze, 1998; McCarthy et al., 2004; Springorum et al., 2013), selectional preference modelling (Herdagdelen and Baroni, 2009; Erk et al., 2010; Schulte im Walde, 2010), the compositionality of compounds and phrases (McCarthy et al., 2003; Reddy et al., 2011; Boleda et al., 2013), or as a general framework across semantic tasks ('distributional memory', cf. Baroni and Lenci, 2010; Pado and Utt, 2012), to name just a few examples. While it is clear that distributional knowledge does not cover all the cognitive knowledge humans possess with respect to word meaning (Marconi, 1997; Lenci, 2008), distributional models are very attractive, as the underlying parameters are accessible from even low-level annotated corpus data. We are thus interested in maximising the benefit of distributional information for lexical semantics, by exploring the meaning and the potential of comparatively simple distributional models. In this respect, this talk will present four case studies on semantic relatedness tasks that demonstrate the potential and the limits of distributional models.


Antimony chalcogenides have become a family of promising photoelectric materials for high‐efficiency solar cells. To date, single‐junction solar cells based on individual antimony selenide or sulfide are dominant and show limited photoelectric conversion efficiency. Therefore, great gaps remain for the multiple junction solar cells. Herein, triple‐junction antimony chalcogenides‐based solar cells are designed and optimized with a theoretical efficiency of 32.98% through band engineering strategies with Sb2S3/Sb2(S0.7Se0.3)3/Sb2Se3 stacking. The optimum Se content of the mid‐cell should be maintained low, i.e., 30% for achieving a low defect density in an absorber layer. Therefore, Sb2(S0.7Se0.3)3‐based mid solar cells have contributed to elevate the external quantum efficiency in triple‐junction devices by the full utilization of the solar spectrum. In a single‐junction solar cell, the bandgap gradient is regulated through the Se content gradient along the depth profile of Sb2(S1−xSex)3. Besides, an increasing Se content profile provides an additional built‐in electric field for boosting hole charge carrier collection. Thus, the high charge carrier generation rate leads to a 17.96% improvement in the conversion efficiency compared with a conventional cell. This work may pave the way to boost the conversion efficiency of antimony chalcogenides‐based solar cells to their theoretical limits.


The increasing implementation of fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) leads to a broad utilization of metal/FRP joints. The examination of adhesively bonded metal/FRP joints is focusing on the maximum joint strength and the surface pretreatment used to promote it. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind the correlation is lacking. Along with the chemical condition of the surface (free chemical bonds, polarity, etc.) the surface morphology plays an important role. This study addresses the connection between the surface morphology and joint strength. The investigation of the surface morphology of the metallic joining area and the fractured surface of both joining partners by means of imaging and tactile methods and the results are presented.


In this study the implementation of an iron oxy-hydroxide (FeOOH) as a surface catalyst for Cr(VI) reduction by inorganic sulfur reductants (ISRs) was investigated. Batch Cr(VI) removal tests, performed to evaluate and compare the efficiency of ISRs in the presence of FeOOH, qualified Na 2 S 2 O 4 as the optimum for drinking water treatment. Application of Na 2 S 2 O 4 in continuous flow Rapid Small Scale Column Tests, using a FeOOH adsorbent at pH 7 ± 0.1 and artificial (resembling natural) water matrix, verified the high potential for Cr(VI) removal at sub-ppb level. Indeed, a 15 mg S/L Na 2 S 2 O 4 dose diminished an initial Cr(VI) concentration of 100 μg/L below the method9s detection limit of 1.4 μg/L at least for 10 5 bed volumes. X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy revealed that Cr(VI) forms outer sphere complexes, while Cr(III) is involved in 2 E, 2 C and 1 V geometries with the surface Fe-oxyhydroxyl groups. It can, therefore, be concluded that FeOOH attracts Cr(VI) to its surface via physisorption, offering a solid surface that promotes the transfer of electrons through bridging ions. Thus, when Na 2 S 2 O 4 is added in the system Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III), which is subsequently chemisorbed onto the FeOOH surface.


The scenic spots in Mt.Hengshan are divided into hot spots and non-hot spots,based on development degree and tourist population.Insect specimens were collected using plot-sample method from March to May 2005 in Mt.Hengshan,the correlation of data were analyzed by Shannon wiener diversity index,Pielou evenness index and Simpson index.The results show that the diversity indexes and abundances at non-hot spots are higher than those at hot spots,and the diversity indexes are higher in May,tourism season than those in low season;the dominance indexes in May at hot spots are higher significantly than those at hot spots,but the difference is not significant in low season;the kinds of dominant insects are same in different months,but the number of most insects in May at single non-hot plot are more than those at single hot one.


The total scattering of the $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ radiation of molybdenum from powdered crystals of KCl, NaF, and MgO has been observed with an ionization chamber whose window subtended several degrees of angle at the scatterers. The scattering from NaF and MgO was found to be approximately the same as that neon. The scattering from KCl was found to be approximately the same as that from argon. The intensities of the diffracted portion of the scattered rays from the crystals have been calculated and found to be distributed along the $\frac{{F}^{2}}{Z}$ curves, thus agreeing with Jauncey's relation between gas and crystal scattering, ${S}_{g}={S}_{c}+\frac{{F}^{2}}{Z}$. The sums of the diffracted intensities plus diffuse intensities have been found to follow the gas scattering curves, in agreement with Compton's formula for the scattering from a monatomic gas, ${S}_{g}=(\frac{{f}^{2}}{Z})+\frac{(1\ensuremath{-}\frac{{f}^{2}}{{Z}^{2}})}{{R}^{3}}$. The method of measurement may be used to determine values of the structure factor for the atom at rest.


Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s underwent a profound and often violent process of social change. From the Cuban Revolution to the massive guerrilla movements in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, and most of Central America, to the democratic socialist experiment of Allende in Chile, to the increased popularity of socialist-oriented parties in Uruguay, or para-socialist movements, such as the Juventud Peronista in Argentina, the idea of social change was in the air. Although this topic has been explored from a political and social point of view, there is an aspect that has remained fairly unexplored. The cultural—and especially musical—dimension of this movement, so vital in order to comprehend the extent of its emotional appeal, has not been fully documented. Without an account of how music was pervasively used in the construction of the emotional components that always accompany political action, any explanation of what occurred in Latin America during that period will be always partial. This book is an initial attempt to overcome this deficit.


A mesostructured Pt/WO3 electrochemical catalyst has been prepared by a loading small amount of Pt (7.5 wt %) on mesoporous tungsten oxide, which was synthesized by a simple one-step casting method using mesoporous silica (KIT-6) as a hard template. The resultant mesostructured Pt/WO3 catalyst showed high electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen electrooxidation, and the mass activity (mA·mg-Pt−1, per mass of Pt) of it for hydrogen electrooxidation was more than three times of that of the commercial 20 wt % Pt/C catalyst (E-TEK). In addition, it exhibited much improved resistance to CO poisoning relative to the 20 wt % Pt/C catalyst. Since the catalyst is also stable in an electrochemical environment, it could serve as an alternative electrocatalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cells with high electrocatalytic activity and CO tolerance.


The yields of cotton have been lower and lower year after year, and not stable in Anhui Province. The cause resulting in this discrepancy has closely relation to the difference in climate condition, except for the artificial factors of the planting system, growth condition. From agro-meteorological angles, the effect of the climate condition in the growing of cotton is analyzed, and the forecast models of cotton yield are created in Anhui Province.


In the classical communication setting multiple senders having access to the same source of information and transmitting it over channel(s) to a receiver in general leads to a decrease in estimation error at the receiver as compared with the single sender case. However, if the objectives of the information providers are different from that of the estimator, this might result in interesting strategic interactions and outcomes. In this work, we consider a hierarchical signaling game between multiple senders (information designers) and a single receiver (decision maker) each having their own, possibly misaligned, objectives. The senders lead the game by committing to individual information disclosure policies simultaneously, within the framework of a non-cooperative Nash game among themselves. This is followed by the receiver's action decision. With Gaussian information structure and quadratic objectives (which depend on underlying state and receiver's action) for all the players, we show that in general the equilibrium is not unique. We hence identify a set of equilibria and further show that linear noiseless policies can achieve a minimal element of this set. Additionally, we show that competition among the senders is beneficial to the receiver, as compared with cooperation among the senders. Further, we extend our analysis to a dynamic signaling game of finite horizon with Markovian information evolution. We show that linear memoryless policies can achieve equilibrium in this dynamic game. We also consider an extension to a game with multiple receivers having coupled objectives. We provide algorithms to compute the equilibrium strategies in all these cases. Finally, via extensive simulations, we analyze the effects of multiple senders in varying degrees of alignment among their objectives.


The utility model relates to an integrated circuit transistor which is used for a compensation gap wall of an LDD ion cloth planting process. The compensation gap wall is formed by all sidedness deposition without light micro-shadow and a dry ecthing process, the compensation gap wall positioned on an LDD zone can prevent the silicon loss of a base and the pollution of doping in an ion cloth planting process, and the utility model has a densification characteristic and can improve the reliability of elements.


With the increasing of electric devices, the types of batteries are new and various. In order to help the consumers choose and buy appropriate batteries, the general knowledge of batteries was introduced. And the classification and marking for primary batteries were exposed. According to use occasion, some notices of buying batteries were introduced. The key of selecting batteries is to consider the operating current of electric devices. The principle to select primary battery or secondary battery was demonstrated briefly in this paper.


In this paper,four isolation programs was compared in time-history analysis by finite-element software SAP2000.The results proved that three kinds of isolation systems had obvious isolation effect and the isolation effect of composite isolation was located between rubber isolation system and sliding isolation system.Besides,composite isolation is a isolation system of good performance in reasonable isolation parameters.


Major depressive disorder is associated with increases in infectious disease risk as well as the incidence of inXammatory disorders. Declines of natural killer (NK) cell activity are reliably found in depression, whereas other studies report evidence of inXammation in depressed patients. The potential association between NK activity and circulating markers of immune activation has not been previously examined in the context of major depression. In this study, we measured levels of NK activity, circulating levels of interleukin6 (IL-6), soluble interleukin-2 receptor, and acute phase proteins in 25 male patients with current major depressive disorder and 25 age, gender, and body weight comparable controls. As compared to controls, patients with major depressive disorder showed lower NK activity (p D .05) and higher circulating levels of IL-6 (p < .05). Levels of NK activity were not correlated with IL-6 or with other markers of immune activation. The independent eVect of depression on inXammatory markers and natural killer immune responses has implications for understanding individual diVerences in the adverse health eVects of major depressive disorder.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


the child acute pancreatitis cause of disease and the adult have the obvious difference, and sees to the flesh wound and the growth unusual biliary duct roundworm and so on, but the child pancreatitis clinical manifestation is atypical, this needs us through the instrument and the clinical observation, is anxious when accurate gives diagnoses with the treatment.


100 city health and 51 school personnel were interviewed in 1975 to determine their knowledge and attitude toward breastfeeding. Most of the respondents were female with a median age of 28.5 and a mean parity of 0.8 children for nurses and a corresponding 37.4 years and 2.2 children for doctors. Almost all respondents stated that breastfeeding was better than bottlefeeding. However the majority of the respondents including doctors do not have adequate knowledge of the physiology of breastfeeding. As to the relationship between lactation and fertility control 35% doctors 36% nurses 27% midwives and 33% teachers were sure that contraceptive pills diminished lactation (this is correct for the combined estrogen/progesterone pill used in the Philippines). Breastfeeding in public was viewed favorably or indifferently by 52% of the respondents (72% doctors 45% nurses 32% midwives and 52% teachers). Median age recommended by respondents for stopping breastfeeding was 12.1 months for all groups nurses for whom it was 9.7 months. Maternal diet and breast preparation were viewed as exerting a favorable effect on milk supply. Implications of these findings are discussed.


Speaker system for providing a customized sound wavefront by controlling the vertical and horizontal pattern control and amplitude and phase are disclosed. System includes a first array 2 is at least the high-frequency driver segment 3 therein, the speaker housing 1 having a first second array 4 which is a low-frequency driver segments 5 arranged behind the array It said first array 2 between the driver segment 3, a sufficient space wavefront from the second array 4 by which it allows the sound transmission that can substantially pass through the first array a.


Objective: To examine the efficacy of transcervical resection (TCR) for subseptate uterus in patients with infertility or recurrent miscarriage. Design: Retrospective study. Patients: Twenty-five patients with infertility or recurrent miscarriage who underwent TCR for subseptate uterus in Nagasaki University Hospital between October 1996 and June 2014. Interventions: TCR and laparoscopic surveillance under general anesthesia. Main outcome: Pregnancy rate and live birth rate after TCR. Result: Pregnancy rates in primary infertility, secondary infertility, and recurrent miscarriage groups were 50% (4/8), 50% (2/4), and 100% (13/13), respectively. The live birth rates in the primary infertility, secondary infertility, and recurrent miscarriage groups were 83% (5/6), 100% (2/2) and 86% (18/21), respectively. Of 25 deliveries after TCR, 12 were performed by caesarean section. Although one caesarean section was performed for perioperative uterine perforation, the others were performed for obstetric indications: repeat caesarean section (5/12), breech presentation (3/12), placenta previa (1/12), placental abruption (1/12), and arrested labor (1/12). Conclusion: Pregnancy and live birth rates improved in patients with recurrent miscarriage after TCR for subseptate


Depicts the charge on Fort Wagner of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, a company composed of volunteer free African-Americans and former slaves.


This paper is an exercise in combining sociology of religion with sociology of knowledge. The central concern of our enquiry is: How does the dominant ideological framework to study the interaction between religion and society itself interact with a given socio-historical context? This question is discussed here primarily with reference to the present framework adopted by Indian sociology for linking Hindu tradition with India's modernity. Broadly this framework is based on the following line of argument. In the beginning there was a static traditional India with an ascriptive, hierarchical and non-egalitarian social structure. Then, in the intermediate phase, there was an encounter with Islam which only contributed to the further stagnation of Hindu society. This picture began to change with India's pre-modern response to the West which initiated the process of ideological and structural modernization. Today, Hindu tradition is gradually rationalizing itself by incorporating modern values and institutions. In the mainstream of Indian sociological tradition today, this framework has already produced a well-established ideology of Hinduism's built -in rationality. This ideology is false and fatal but to this assessment we will return later in this paper. We will begin by reconstructing that socio-historical setting which first gave birth to this ideology and then became its own prisoner. In order to do this, we will briefly restate the genesis and evolution of the idea of religion's rationality first in Europe, and then in one of its derivative forms in India. This will be followed by a critical reference to a recent crystallization of this idea in Yogendra Singh's Modernization of Indian Tradition (1973). In the next part, we will recapitulate Saran's paradigm as an alternative attempt to build a fully autonomous sociology of Hinduism. Finally, we will try to reformulate the problem of religion and social change in India by rearticulating the relevant questions which Indian sociology must try to answer. This is necessary for Indian sociology in order to


With incubation time ranging from 5 to 40 years, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a deadly condition caused by the accumulation of toxic forms of the prion protein in the brain. Between the 50 s and 80 s, hundreds of patients developed CJD after being treated with cadaveric human growth hormone (c-hGH) contaminated with prion protein. This has led several countries to develop cohorts in order to follow these patients and understand the burden of prion disease in their lives over time.

Multiple studies were published linking amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in the brain—a key feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD)—to prion disease patients that acquired it through several different sources (Watanabe and Duchen, 1993; Preusser et al., 2006; Tousseyn et al., 2015). In general, both Aβ deposits and prion protein deposits occurs by a nucleation-dependent polymerization process in which oligomeric "seed" proteins trigger the formation of an ordered nucleus that may rapidly grows into larger polymer fibrils (Harper and Lansbury, 1997). Recently, Jaunmuktane et al. (2015) performed an autopsy study providing evidence of a possible prion-like transmission of the amyloid-β protein in prion disease patients.

The work evaluated brain tissue from 8 patients that died between 36 and 51 years of age of iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) and found abnormal levels of Aβ protein in 7 of them. Such findings were intriguing since age-matched patients with different kinds of prion disease showed extremely rare occurrence of Aβ deposits, engaging researchers in a deeper investigation on the relationship between prion and Aβ proteins.

First, the authors excluded any genetic predisposition that these patients might have for several neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontal temporal dementia and Parkinson's disease, screening for variations in ApoE and 16 other alleles. Such extensive screening wasn't performed in similar past studies (Hainfellner et al., 1998; Irwin et al., 2013). None of these patients presented causal mutations, but three of them presented possible risk factor alleles for frontotemporal dementia/AD (patient 4) and frontotemporal dementia (patients 6 and 8). Although Aβ deposits are not common in frontotemporal dementia, these patients were the ones presenting widespread cortical and leptomeningeal cerebral Aβ angiopathy. Anyhow, considering the large controversy relating genetic risk factors other than ApoE and actual AD development, such minor mutations seem negligible in the presented scenario.

Next, they compared the Aβ burden in these patients with other prion disease patients, in an attempt to connect the iatrogenically transmission specifically to Aβ burden. None of the CJD patients in the same age strata showed similar Aβ pathology using 4 different quantification methods, which the authors interpreted as an evidence of human transmission. However, the authors can't exclude the possibility of a stimulation of endogenous Aβ production by the prion protein, since other studies with larger cohorts found considerable amyloidopathy in the brain of sporadic CJD patients (Hainfellner et al., 1998; Irwin et al., 2013; Tousseyn et al., 2015). This argues against the idea of the Aβ burden being specific for iCJD.

Further, the authors checked for evidences of possible cross-seeding (when one abnormal protein—called a seed—is capable of modifying the folding of another type of protein) between the two protein deposits. Interestingly, cross-seeding with α-synuclein was already showed to occur with Aβ in vitro and with tau in vivo (Waxman and Giasson, 2011; Ono et al., 2012). The authors found an absence of co-localization between them both in plaques and in vascular deposits, suggesting that these pathologies might develop independently. However, as discussed, the lack of co-localization is not enough to completely exclude cross-seeding. Testing whether or not prion pathology might induce Aβ aggregation in health animals might be of interest. Also, they analyzed pituitary glands of AD patients for Aβ and further supported the possibility of contamination of c-GH batches with Aβ as well as prion proteins, as previously described (Peden et al., 2007). The authors argued that both proteins might have been present in the final preparation and iatrogenically contaminated the patients. A biochemical analysis of residual batches of c-GH for Aβ as well as their use in animal models of propagation could shed light into the matter.

Although Aβ is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, no tau pathology was found in the brain of such patients. The authors suggested that, had the patients not died of prion disease, the tau accumulation might have developed over time. It is indeed known that tau pathology develops after the Aβ deposits in AD (Jack et al., 2010), but with the presented findings is still uncertain if they would or not develop tau pathology and AD.

Their hypothesis is supported by the fact that iatrogenic transmission of Aβ has been demonstrated more than once in mice by both intracerebral and peripheral routes (Meyer-Luehmann et al., 2006; Eisele et al., 2009, 2010; Stohr et al., 2012). Also, Tousseyn et al. (2015) exposed human brain homogenates to sporadic CJD human brain homogenates and found positive Aβ labeling as well as hyperphosphorilated tau accumulation. Recently, Ye et al. (2015) demonstrated that such seeds may stay dormant in a mouse brain for months and still be pathological once inoculated in another animal. It would be interesting to see a parabiosis experiment showing that cerebral Aβ deposits in transgenic mice, for example, could be transmitted to another, health, mice through the blood.

Collectively, the literature still doesn't support prion-like transmission as a relevant form of developing AD. Since other larger studies found controversial results, the next step to test Jaunmuktane et al. (2015) hypothesis would be to obtain data from larger cohorts of CJD patients. Once confirmed, we can imagine two scenarios: a scientific fun-fact with little epidemiological significance for the general population or a revolution in AD prevention, patient management and treatment development. Let's wait for the next chapter.


This master thesis describes the marketing management project of the Nemocnice Havlickův Brod, p.o. The topics are divided into two major parts: theoretical and practical. Theoretical part attempts to create insight driven from theories of marketing, strategic marketing, marketing management, planning, communication and marketing analysis, e.g. PEST, Porter five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. The theoretical part includes also marketing for health care. The practical part is dedicated to the analysis of Nemocnice Havlickův Brod itself. It begins with a description of health care in region of Vysocina, followed by general information of the hospital; used analyses then familiarize the reader with the environment of the hospital. On the analyses basis is then later on designed project marketing management of the hospital.


Purpose – Nano‐imprint forming (NIF) is a manufacturing technology capable of achieving high resolution, low‐cost and high‐throughput fabrication of fine nano‐scale structures and patterns. The purpose of this paper is to use modelling technologies to simulate key process steps associated with the formation of patterns with sub‐micrometer dimensions and use the results to define design rules for optimal imprint forming process.Design/methodology/approach – The effect of a number of process and pattern‐related parameters on the quality of the fabricated nano‐structures is studied using non‐linear finite element analysis. The deformation process of the formable material during the mould pressing step is modelled using contact analysis with large deformations and temperature dependent hyperelastic material behaviour. Finite element analysis with contact interfaces between the mould and the formable material is utilised to study the formation of mechanical, thermal and friction stresses in the pattern.Finding...


The main purpose of this article is to determine the paradigmatic axes that cross and organize the field of studies on poverty in Latin America.


Objectives: This study is to investigate whether suppression of sodium/hydrogen exchanger-1(NHE1)by small interfering RNA(siRNA) inhibits in vitro angiogenesis induced by vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).Methods: NHE1 siRNA or NHE1 siNC(negative control) was transfected into human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) according to the cationic lipid complex-based gene-transfer technique.The transfection efficiency was examined by fluorescence microscopy.Moreover,the transfected cells were subject to RT-PCR for NHE1 mRNA or to western blot for NHE1 protein.Intracellular pH(pHi) was measured by BCECF/AM technique.Furthermore,total cell number and dead cell number were counted by hemocytometry after Trypan blue staining.The effects of NHE1 siRNA on cell migration and Matrigel tube formation in HUVECs were examined 48 hours after transfection.Results: NHE1 siNC or siNHE1 was successfully transfected into HUVECs with above 95% transfection efficiency.NHE1 mRNA or protein level at 48h after transfection with NHE1 siRNA was 90.82% or 74.42% lower than that with NHE1 siNC(P0.01,P0.01,respectively),Intracellular pH were decreased at 48h after transfection(7.224±0.231 vs 7.405±0.163;P0.05).Total cell number in NHE1 siRNA is smaller that in NHE1 siNC,whereas the ratio of dead cells to total cells treated with NHE1 siRNA is greater than that with NHE1 siNC.Compared to NHE1 siNC,NHE1 siRNA inhibited cell migration by 33.14% and tube formation by 29.47% after stimulation of VEGF.Conclusion: Inhibition of NHE1 expression and activity by NHE1 siRNA inhibited VEGF-induced angiogenesis,suggesting that NHE1 might be a potential target for controlling angiogenesis in varying conditions.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the predominant cause of sudden cardiac death in the general population, and sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of mortality in end‐stage renal disease (ESRD).


An register color segmentation method based on HSI model and color clustering is proposed. In this method, color image is transformed from RGB model to HSI model, and it is segmented according to H variant in line with S and I variant to get the begin-ning clustering center. Then color is clustering for each pixel, at last combining the relate regions to repair the error segmented re-gions. Many experiments show that this method can segment the register correctly with widely fault-tolerant.


In given article has been expressed solids, free carriers during their motion continuously experience collisions with atoms and ions of impurities and various defects, as a result, free carriers scatter as well.
KEY WORDS: semiconductor, conductivity, source, ion, experience, atoms.


The utility model discloses an environment-friendly, sanitary and saving style meat-type duck fermentation bed feeding house, which belongs to the technical field of bird feeding. The environment-friendly, sanitary and saving style meat-type duck fermentation bed feeding house is mainly characterized in that a breeding duck house comprises a bottom inflating fermentation bed; the bottom inflating fermentation bed comprises a fermentation mattress layer and an inflating fermentation system below the fermentation mattress layer; the fermentation mattress layer comprises a surface scattered padding layer with a thickness of 20cm and a lower straw layer with a thickness of 15-20cm; and the inflating fermentation system comprises an inflating power device and an inflating pipe device which is connected with the inflating power device and is below the mattress layer. The environment-friendly, sanitary and saving style meat-type duck fermentation bed feeding house has functions of effectively overcoming a problem of fermentation bed padding solidification caused by biological characteristics of the duct, improving aerobic degradation capability of the fermentation bed padding to stool of the breeding duck, reducing discharge of foul gases and greenhouse gases, and improving aerobic degradation capability for the stool of the breeding duck; wherein a water drinking device and a spraying cleaning device satisfy a water requirement in dry breeding and simultaneously reduce water consumption.


The analysis of speech by machine, the transmission of the coded message and the synthesis of speech from the code offer many advantages. For instance, if it is desired to transmit only "what" is spoken and not "how" it was spoken, very great savings in channel capacity to transmit information can be made. The digital form of the message permits more secure coding and decoding for secrecy. Work done at the RCA Laboratories on phonetic typewriters, machines that type in response to words spoken into a microphone, has shown that the transmission of speech analyzer output and synthesis of speech therefrom is feasible when performed by units of speech of the order of a syllable. Smaller phonetic entities, phonemes or speech sounds, cannot always be recognized by machine or even by ear without the knowledge of adjoining sounds. This information is always available when the analysis proceeds by syllables. Feasibility studies have also shown that intelligible speech can be synthesized from prerecorded syllables.


A reclaimed rubber composite material with an electromagnetic shielding performance and a preparation method thereof. The reclaimed rubber composite material comprises reclaimed rubbers, chopped carbon fiber and compounding ingredients, wherein the diameter and the length of each one of the chopped carbon fiber are respectively 3 to 10 micrometers and 1 to 5 millimeters, and a weight part ratio of the reclaimed rubber to the chopped carbon fiber is 100: (0.5 to 11). The reclaimed rubber, the chopped carbon fiber and the compounding ingredients are prepared into a reclaimed rubber composite material with an electromagnetic shielding performance. The reclaimed rubber composite material has the characteristics of excellent electromagnetic wave absorption property of chopped carbon fiber, excellent physical and mechanical properties of rubber materials, simple preparation method, low manufacture cost and less energy consumption.


The invention relates to the field of garden greening vehicles, in particular to a multifunctional garden work vehicle. A water pump is mounted on a chassis of a second-category automobile. A power takeoff and a transmission shaft are connected with the water pump. A tank compartment is connected with a pipeline. One end of the pipeline is connected with the water pump. The other end of the pipeline is connected with a preshoot, a ball valve II, an outlet, a firefighting port I, a rear work gun, a ball valve I and a firefighting port II. A generator set is simultaneously connected with an electric plunger pump, an aluminum alloy elevator I and a vehicular long-range wind-delivering sprayer through a power supply cable I. The electric plunger pump is connected with a nozzle on the vehicular long-range wind-delivering sprayer through a liquid supply hose. The vehicular long-range wind-delivering sprayer is mounted on the aluminum alloy elevator I. The vehicular long-range wind-delivering sprayer performs lifting through the aluminum alloy elevator I. An insurance drawstring is movably connected and fixed with a hook on a platform of the aluminum alloy elevator I and a hook on a platform at the tail of the automobile. The generator set is connected with an electric hydraulic source I in an aluminum alloy elevator II through a power supply cable II. The electric hydraulic source I is connected with a multi-way operating valve, the aluminum alloy elevator II and lifting support legs through a hydraulic hose II. By the multifunctional garden work vehicle, application cost is lowered, and work efficiency is improved.


A novel T/R module controller and driver IC is presented.The theory of operation and the circuit and layout design of the controller are described,together with its reliability design. Fabricated with CMOS process technology,the product has advantages of multifunction,low power(≤20 mW),high speed(rising/falling time ≤20 ns),high operating frequency(fmax up to 6 MHz) and wide output swing(VOL≤-4.9 V,VOH≥-0.1 V).This controller can find wide applications in digital communications and antenna systems for phased array radar.


As medical scanning technology continues to accommodate the need for higher quality medical imaging, there is a continuing need for additional research in efficient ways of extracting crucial information from these vast amounts of data. The visualization software, Isis, has been developed to view and manipulate digital medical images in an immersive environment for surgical planning. Isis is designed to display any DICOM/PACS compatible three-dimensional image data for visualization and interaction in an immersive environment. Pseudo-coloring can be applied in real time, with multiple interactive clipping planes to slice into the volume for an interior view, and the windowing feature controls the tissue density ranges to display. Features such as virtual trocars placement, tumor inspection, and an endoscopic view provides surgeons with essential tools for surgical planning. A wireless gamepad controller and an intuitive menu interface allow the user to interact with the software. By wearing a pair of stereo glasses, the surgeon is immersed within the model, providing a sense of realism as if the surgeon is "inside" the patient.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


Deep ultraviolet (UV) optical communications have attracted considerable attention recently. As most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer in Earth's stratosphere, UV optical communications offer not only a high-security communication link between satellites in the upper atmosphere, but also data transmission with low solar background noise for outdoor communication on the ground. Furthermore, deep UV light is strongly scattered in the air caused by abundant molecules and aerosols, which enables non-line-of-sight short-range optical communication. However, in comparison with visible light communications, the data transmission rate based on deep UV light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been little explored and is still quite low. This is mainly due to the low modulation speed of conventional deep UV-LEDs. Therefore, developing high speed deep UV-LEDs is of paramount importance. In recent years, we have developed the micro-LEDs (µLEDs) as novel high-speed transmitters for visible light communications.1 These µLEDs, of edge dimension/diameter typically in the 10-100µm range, have extremely high modulation bandwidths due to their high operating current densities. Based on these studies, we report here the first III-nitride deep UV-µLED array emitting at around 262 nm to demonstrate its full potential for deep UV optical communications. This array consists of 15 µLED elements with a flip-chip configuration. With an emission area of 565.5 µm2, each µLED element is individually addressable. The UV optical power of a single µLED element is 196 µW at 3.4 kA/cm2 direct-current (DC) operating current density. We are currently measuring the modulation bandwidth of these deep UV-µLEDs. As they can sustain such a high DC operating current density, we expect a high modulation bandwidth and, in turn, a high data transmission rate for fast free-space optical communication. These results will be presented in the conference.


Dissociative recombination (DR) is the reaction in which a molecular ion recombines with an electron and dissociates into neutral fragments, and general reviews of this subject have been given by Florescu-Mitchell and Mitchell [1], Larsson and Orel [2] and Adams and co-workers [3]. This process plays a major role in the evolution and composition of interstellar gas clouds and planetary ionospheres as well as in industrial processing and nuclear fusion plasmas. The molecule that have been studied is acetone (CH 3 COCH 3). Fragment ions, the parent ion, adduct ions and dimer ions were seen to be formed with relative concentrations which depended upon the density of reagent gas in the flow tube. Dissociative recombination for the individual ions (with the exception of the dimer ions) were then measured using three different measurement protocols. (Values of a few x 10-6 cm 3 s-1 were found for the ions measured (CH 3 CO + , CH 3 COCH 3 + , CH 3 .CH 3 COCH 3 + , CH3CO.CH 3 COCH 3 +). This is an excellent test case for demonstrating the unique character of the FALP-MS apparatus since comparable apparatuses in Europe and the US, which do not have movable mass spectrometers, are generally limited to conditions where only a single ion species is present in the flow.


ion which can never dojustice to the workings of our visual system ... geared ... to extracting what he calls the invariants of our environment ... independent of any particular viewing point."6 It so happens that I made a similar point in a series of broadcasts in February and March of 1979 on "The Primitive and Its Value in Art" (published in the Listener), which anticipates some of the conclusions of a book on which I am now engaged. Harking back to Art and Illusion, I said in the concluding talk that "the appearance of nature can only be 'trapped' by a roundabout strategy. But, paradoxically, knowing how complex this 'trap' is, makes me question the description of nonnaturalistic styles as 'primitive.'"7 There is no reason why Professor Krieger should have read these items, but there is no excuse for another omission: in the preface to the book he is ostensibly reviewing, I referred to items not included in the selection and wrote: "I venture to hope, however, that those who may want to discuss and criticize my views in any detail will also take cognizance of the writings and, of course, of my book The Sense of Order which concentrates on the perception of patterns rather than images."8 Now if there is a recent book which, in its choice of illustrations and its appreciation of the artistic achievements of our whole globe, is less Representation This content downloaded from 220.127.116.11 on Thu, 26 May 2016 06:09:26 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Critical Inquiry December 1984 201 marked by "ethnocentric parochialism" than my study of ornament, I am yet to hear of it. Here Professor Krieger would have found a good deal about a form of art which is not linked to appearances, but he decided to ignore it. Maybe this is just as well, however. He might have accused me of wanting to introduce the reactionary practice of tatooingat least among the knights of the realm. 1. E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation, A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1956 (New York, 1960), p. 90. 2. See my The Image and the Eye (Ithaca, N.Y., 1982), p. 824. 3. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, pp. 102-3. 4. Gombrich, The Story of Art, 13th ed. (Oxford, 1978), p. 20. 5. See my review of Drawings from Ancient Egypt by William H. Peck,Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 69 (1983):192-93. 6. Ibid., p. 193. 7. Gombrich, "The Tree of Knowledge," Listener, 8 March 1979, p. 348. 8. Gombrich, The Image and the Eye, pp. 8-9. This content downloaded from 184.108.40.206 on Thu, 26 May 2016 06:09:26 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms


An efficient, environmentally benign, highly facile and convenient synthetic protocol for the selective t-butyl carboxylation of aliphatic, aromatic and heterocyclic amines using AmberlystR A 21 catalyst; a mild basic solid resin under solvent free conditions is reported. This method explores several advantages such as reusability of the heterogeneous catalyst, cleaner reaction profile, mild and solvent free system, short reaction time, operational simplicity, high conversions , excellent product yields and low cost of the catalyst. Furthermore since the catalyst is mild basic, decomposition of the carbamate formed is not observed if the reaction is continued for prolonged time as in the case of Lewis acid catalyzed N-Boc protection. This makes the present protocol a useful and attractive for N-Boc protection of amines.


This paper investigates combinatorial arrangements of the dartboard to maximize a penalty function derived from the differences of adjacent sectors. The particular penalty function is constructed by summing the absolute differences of neighbouring sectors raised to a power between zero and one. The arrangement to give the maximum penalty is found


Dysarthria due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) affects speech production. Even the elementary sustained vowel utterances get impaired. For these, the impairments can be in achieving vowel-specific articulatory configurations, reflected in static acoustic cues, and/or in sustaining a configuration for a prolonged duration, reflected in dynamic cues. Such cues can further be attributed to the vocal cord (source) and vocal tract (filter) involved in speech production. This paper analyzes the relative contributions of these static (captured through average spectral characteristics) and dynamic (captured through spectral variations over time) source and filter cues toward automatic classification of ALS patients and healthy subjects using sustained utterances of /a/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. Experiments with 80 ALS patients and 80 healthy subjects suggest that the source cues (static/dynamic) are not the primary discriminators. For /i/, the static filter cues achieve the highest mean classification accuracy of 76.66%, whereas, for /a/, /o/ and /u/, the dynamic filter attributes contribute the most attaining average accuracies of 66.29%, 73.03% and 70.27%, respectively. Hence, ALS patients seem to face difficulties in forming the front closed vocal tract structure of /i/, whereas, holding the target vocal tract shape for long appears to be the primary challenge in case of /a/, /o/ and /u/.


Objective:  The authors previously developed a dynamic and integrated electronic decision support system called ACAFE (Asthma Clinical Assessment Form and Electronic decision support). The objective of this present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this system on asthma management and documentation in an ED.


. The incorporation of POSS into polymeric systems has shown to generally raise the thermal stability and glass transition by restricting interchain movement. This makes these materials attractive in many applications such as space- survivable coatings and ablative and fire-resistant materials. The unique cubic structure of the T8 POSS cage is essentially 'molecular silica' which can be equipped with appropriate hydrocarbon edge groups to provide molecular level miscibility of silica into organic materials 4-10 . Likewise, fluorocarbon tethers may be attached to silicon edges to provide miscibility of POSS into fluoropolymer matrices. Although ceramics and fluoropolymers are well known for high thermal and oxidative resilience, difficult processing has hindered the development of both classes of materials into certain applications. While POSS chemistry has allowed for the development of processable ceramics, the thermal cycloaddition of trifluorovinyl ethers to perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) polymers offers a solution to processing issues of fluoropolymers. Thermal cycloaddition provides polymers by controllable step growth kinetics with no required initiator or byproduct condensate. PFCB polymers have thermal stability to 400 o C and are typically readily soluble in many organic solvents 11- 12 . By combining these chemistries, we hope to develop novel hybrid materials drawing from the strengths of both classes of materials.


Review(s) of: Ewa Tabeau, Anneke van den Berg Jeths and Christopher Heathcote (eds), Forecasting Mortality in Developed Countries: Insights from a Statistical, Demographic and Epidemiological Perspective, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001, 303 pp.


2 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without a group of very important people and with deepest gratitude, I dedicate this to you. To Professor Ong Chong Kim, for your dedication and patient guidance as my supervisor. I have learnt a lot under your supervision and am inspired by your enthusiasm and unending thirst for knowledge and progress in your field of physics. Thank you for the advice you have given me time and time again and for being a great teacher to me. To Dr. Wu Zhe, for your time and encouragement as my mentor in the CSMM lab. Thank you for your patience in answering all my questions and for guiding me along the course of this project. I have learnt much of the things I know because you took the time to explain it to me and I really appreciate that. To everyone in the CSMM Lab group, especially Sun Weiqiang and Shawn Tang, for graciously helping me in one way or another when I needed assistance. To my physics classmates, for the times we've spent together in and out of class. Thank you for being my funny companions the past 4 years. You have shown me that our friendship is more important than your grades in tirelessly explaining concepts or homework questions to me and never hesitating to share your knowledge. I am only here today because of you guys and girls and I am truly grateful to have been allowed to share this experience with you. To all my friends, for sharing your lives with me and for letting me share mine with you. Thank you for the years of friendship and for individually being there for me when I needed someone to pick me up when I fall, to put a smile on my face or to hold my hand. To Charmaine, Jollyn, Samantha, Kirsten and no least, Jonathan, I cannot thank you enough for being my pillars of strength and for standing by me no matter what. I am who I am today because of you and I am truly blessed to have you in my life. You will always and always have a special place in my heart. To my family, for your unconditional love and care all these years. Thank you for being so generous of yourselves and for sacrificing so much to bring me up and to support …