A major clinical problem associated with type 1 and 2 diabetes is the debilitating long term complications seen in this disease. This review will discuss 1) the role of epigenetics in type 1 and 2 diabetes, and 2) the dysfunction of endothelial cells in this disease, especially as related to blood vessel growth. While many tissues are affected in DM, pathologies associated with the endothelial cell are often central to these tissue problems. With the identification of epigenetic changes, (e.g. DNA methylation, histone modification, etc.) as processes associated with both DM and MM, investigators now have another potential target for investigation of the molecular mechanisms that may explain the persistent dysfunction seen in the many tissues affected in this disease.


At a time when many American firms are deemphasizing the role of the chief technology officer, those CTOs who also have PL Andrew Grove of Intel provides a typical example. In companies that have a separate CTO, the addition of line responsibility to the job description can significantly boost that person's value to the company. Consider Ronald Kerber, who in 1991 moved from the CTO position at McDonnell Douglas Corp. to his present position as CTO and executive vice president of Whirlpool Corp., based in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Kerber has worldwide responsibility for purchasing, which accounts for 550 percent of Whirlpool's product costs. He also oversees the company's global microwave oven and air conditioning businesses, which account for about $1 billion per year in revenues, "This was," he recalls, "an experiment that the company and I agree has gone quite well." Members of a small, unscientifically-selected group of individuals who have taken on the joint responsibilities agree that the advantages of the double duty far outweigh the disadvantages. They point to two key advantages of giving CTOs P&L responsibility for specific product lines. First, the line job provides the CTO with a true feeling for customers' needs. That type of understanding is impossible to obtain from the sheltered perspective of the laboratory alone. …


This paper deals with the constrained position and angle tracking control design for quadrotor under unknown upper bound disturbances. An adaptive integral sliding mode control (AISMC) is proposed to perform the position and angle tracking for the quadrotor subject the severe disturbances and input saturation constraints. The proposed approach that does not require a priori knowledge of disturbance boundaries, allows through an adaptation dynamic law to reduce the computing effort, to obtain a good tracking, and to avoid an overestimation of the gain of the mode sliding that will automatically handle input saturation constraints. Stability and convergence in finite time are proved by Lyapunov theory. The efficiency of the proposed method is shown by simulation


"C.M. Nwanna's poem further illustrates the influence that a woman can have on the people around her. 'Her Varying Taste' records the enticing beauty of a woman in her element, a woman whose magnetism is simply due to her peculiarities" (Dingle 3).


Cords are important article that has been used in everyday life as well as for ornamental purposes. It was also called Dahoe after the Joseon Dynasty. Small pieces of cords that were attached to or separated from gilt bronze artifacts were found in Korea"s ancient tumuli. These artifacts were too hard to take apart and difficult to analyze the exact composition. The characteristics and weaving techniques were investigated through visual inspection. The cords found in the wetland sites were used as household items. All of them are made with two threads of bast fiber twisted together to the right and to the left. There were also cords which three strands were braided. Most of the flat cords found in tombs are within 1cm of width and made of silk. Several threads with S-twist were put together and used. It was woven by skipping every other thread. The round Dongdahoe was woven using 8 thread of silk and without a core. There is also a cord woven with 5 threads of silk in three different colors. There are not so many textile artifacts existing because it is difficult for textile artifacts to be preserved in Korea"s environment. However, considering the cords expressed in ancient Buddha statues, it can be inferred that various types of cords were used.


Simmondsia is a much debated genus of the euphorbiaceous plexus. Simmondsia chinensis has been investigated anatomically. The various aspects such as stomatal and trichome morphology besides leaf, petiole, nodal and stem anatomy have been studied critically and comparatively. The paper reviewed endomorphic features revealed to date as well as exomorphic features emphasized by the various systematists. The genus is critically assessed taxonomically and phyllogenetically. The authors are inclined to treat it as an independent family as its own-the Simmondsiaceae in between and in close association with the families Euphorbiaceae and Buxaceae.


Starting with the Middle Ages, the German colonists firstly introduced the cultivation of vineyards in the suburban areas of the city; later on, they gradually planted individual orchards as well as grain and maize fields. During the communist period, the entire suburban territory of the city was turned into a new apple and plum orchard area and farmers started practicing other agricultural activities, such as dairy farming. Once with the collapse of the centralized economy in 1989, many of the vineyards and a great part of the intensive orchards were abandoned by the individual owners, who were financially and technologically incapable to sustain modern intensive agricultural activities. Concurrently, people shifted to individual cultivation of small parcels under corn and maize, fact that reflects the reconversion to subsistence agriculture. The city market is currently monopolized by imported fruit and vegetables, which imposes a reassessment of agriculture in the suburban areas of Bistriţa Municipality and its adaptation to the urban needs under all aspects. This adaptation must be accomplished in accordance with the concept of suburban agriculture, the accurate territorial situation, the bio-edaphic and morphological potential of the area, the present needs of urban population, as well as with the situation of agricultural fields and their distribution. Our research tries to reflect the way in which a subsistence type of agriculture based on a high fragmentation of land property can be turned into a modern suburban type of agriculture. Our attempts have been facilitated by the real interest the local administration manifests towards supporting and promoting a sustainable development in the Bistriţa area, where the large territory used for agricultural activities allows suburban agriculture play the central role in this process. Bistriţa municipality represents one of the first cities that benefited from studies regarding integrated territorial development. These studies helped to set a series of measures for the reorientation of traditional agriculture towards an intensive market one, such as: local policies for the reorganizing of proprieties, allotting some public property land to tenants for temporary use, and changing the economic destination of the degraded fields.


Microcystis sp. is one of the most common harmful cyanobacteria that release toxic substances. Counting algal cells is often used for effective control of harmful algal blooms. However, Microcystis sp. is commonly observed as a colony, so counting individual cells is challenging, as it requires significant time and labor. It is urgent to develop an accurate, simple, and rapid method for counting algal cells for regulatory purposes, estimating the status of blooms, and practicing proper management of water resources. The flow cytometer and microscope (FlowCAM), which is a dynamic imaging particle analyzer, can provide a promising alternative for rapid and simple cell counting. However, there is no accurate method for counting individual cells within a Microcystis colony. Furthermore, cell counting based on two-dimensional images may yield inaccurate results and underestimate the number of algal cells in a colony. In this study, a three-dimensional cell counting approach using a novel model algorithm was developed for counting individual cells in a Microcystis colony using a FlowCAM. The developed model algorithm showed satisfactory performance for Microcystis sp. cell counting in water samples collected from two rivers, and can be used for algal management in fresh water systems.


Copyright © 2014 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Abstract Sir Arthur Conan Doyle bestowed high praise on the literary achievements of Edgar Allan Poe, describing him in particular as the father of the modern detective story. Doyle's debt to Poe is most evident in the way he modeled Sherlock Holmes on C. Auguste Dupin, the intellectual detective–hero of three of Poe's tales, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget," and "The Purloined Letter." While comparative analyses of Poe's and Doyle's writings have rightly focused on the likenesses between the detectives in their stories, a striking similarity also exists between two of the cases those detectives investigated. After identifying numerous parallels between Doyle's The Sign of Four (1890) and Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), the article concludes that Doyle, without ever acknowledging his source, took his novel's basic plot from Poe's short story.


GaAs bipolar transistors and ring-oscillators were fabricated by ion implantation into VPE structures. The transistor and circuit performance was tested between 25°C and 400°C. Leakage currents determine the useful temperature range. Present GaAs circuits fail at approximately 390°C due to the metallization technology.


The traditional migration methods are confronted with formidable challenges when data deduplication technologies are incorporated. First, the deduplication creates data-sharing dependencies in the stored files; breaking such dependencies in migration may attach extra space overhead. Second, the redundancy elimination makes the storage system reserves only one copy for each storage file, and heightens the risk of data unavailability. The existing methods fail to tackle them in one shot. To this end, we propose Jingwei, an efficient and adaptive data migration strategy for deduplicated storage systems. To be specific, Jingwei tries to minimize the extra space cost in migration for space efficiency. Meanwhile, Jingwei realizes the service adaptability by encouraging replicas of hot files to spread out their data access requirements. We first model such a problem as an integer linear programming (ILP) and solve it with a commercial solver when only one empty migration target server is allowed. We then extend this problem to a scenario wherein multiple non-empty target servers are available for migration. We solve it by effective heuristic algorithms based on the Bloom Filter-based data sketches. The Jingwei strategy can suffer from performance degradation when the heat degree varies significantly. Therefore, we further present incremental adjustment strategies for the two scenarios, which adjust the number of block replicas and their locations in an incremental manner. The mathematical analyses and trace-driven experiments show the effectiveness of our Jingwei strategy. To be specific, Jingwei fortifies the file replicas by 25% with only 5.7% of the extra storage space, compared with the latest "Goseed" method. With the small extra space cost, the file retrieval throughput of Jingwei can reach up to 333.5 Mbps, which is 12.3% higher than that of the Random method.


This paper discusses the interventionary measures undertaken by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in relation to the performance of enterprises operated by women entrepreneurs. It highlights growth trends as regards sales volumes, profits and job creation, accumulation of assets and record keeping in women's micro and small enterprises (MSEs). The study was an expost-facto, exploratory survey that used questionnaires, interviews, and observation in data collection among 195 sampled women entrepreneurs in Eldoret Municipality. The data was analyzed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics such as Regression analysis and chi-square distribution. It was found out that there is a positive linear relationship between NGO interventions and the performance and growth of women-operated MSEs. It was recommended that NGOs should continue assisting women entrepreneurs, increase credit levels, put more emphasis on training and enhance business counselling/mentoring follow-up sessions.


This book consists of a series of chapters considering the broad theme of care services for older people. Work with older people is a relatively discrete area of social work practice, about which comparatively little has been published. This collection will be a useful resource for practitioners who are interested in social gerontology. It is also likely to be of interest to students undertaking professional training in health and social care with some interest in the area but wishing to know more about the spectrum that this topic covers. In 1998, the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) held its annual conference in ShefŽ eld. This edited collection stems from that conference, with the inclusion of a number of the conference papers, supplemented by additional work. The volume succeeds in highlighting key issues, trends and innovations in this area of practice in a way that is structured and accessible. The book is divided into separate sections, and the overall format is clear and logical. The authors have between them produced a diverse, but valuable collection of work, which contains a mixture of evaluation of successes and limitations of services and service developments, the experience of professionals involved in the Ž eld, critical analyses and the perspectives of service users and their carers. A number of the contributions contain comparative material from Europe, in particular from Sweden. The Ž rst section of the book considers the relevant context in which care services are located. This is pitched at the 'macro' level, with an examination of the structural conditions in which care services are delivered. In a number of different contributions the assumptions and values that underpin the existing welfare systems relating to older people are critically appraised. The factors that have been driving recent changes in service provision are examined and the implications of such changes for future provision are discussed. This is of continuing importance, as there are increasing demands and pressures on existing care provision and changes have become apparent in recent years. The second part of the book considers more speciŽ c areas of provision in rather more detail. The whole spectrum of care provision in later life is covered, from the quality and nature of effective domiciliary care, to discharge from hospital, to residential and nursing home provision, and care at the very end of life. There are also chapters concerning design and technological innovations as they affect older people. However, the addition of two contributions concerning elders from different cultural backgrounds who are ageing in the UK, although valuable, appeared almost as an afterthought, coming in the later stages of the book. A Ž nal concluding chapter attempts to synthesise the whole and to re ect on current initiatives in service provision and in policy development. Priorities for research, evaluation and future developments are clearly established. The book is, however, undoubtedly an edited collection in both nature and scope,


This study reports an experiment designed to test the predictive value of Axelrod's measure of conflict of interest. The results support the conclusion that Axelrod's measure is a good predictor of the time required to reach agreement in a given bargaining game, but that it is not a good pedictor of the frequency with which disagreements will be observed in a given game. The theoretical implications of this conclusion are discussed.


The paper provides a proposal for a pilot project aimed at the creation and use of Polymer Clay Nanocomposites (PCN's) in the Aerospace/Defence and other industries. PCN's have been investigated and commercialized for use in multiple consumer and automotive applications. The use of PCN's may enable the creation of low-cost high-performance composite materials. Due to the conservative nature of the Aerospace/Defence industry, PCN's can potentially be good candidates for adoption and commercialization in relatively short term. The paper proposes a simulation-driven approach to the creation of PCN candidates and their evaluation as nano-composite materials. A prototype project is proposed for work on PCN's with academic and industry partners. The development plan, timelines, licensing strategies and intellectual property are discussed. An assessment is made of the potential investors and the investment risk in the opportunity. An introduction to the various technologies used in PCN's as well as a discussion of the some of the key issues is provided. The paper also presents an overview of the current composites technologies based on Fibre Reinforced Polymers and their usage in Aerospace and other industries. The underlying drivers that would facilitate the adoption of nano-composite materials are discussed. The characteristics of Aerospace and other industries are discussed to determine the criteria for selection of appropriate Micro and Nano Technologies (MNT's) for rapid adoption. © CANEUS Organization 1 Polymer-Clay Nano-composite materials 1. Rationale for Recommendation Overview: The purpose of this paper is to provide a technological and programmatic background to the applications of Micro and Nano Technologies (MNT's) in the creation of thermal/radiation shielding and load bearing structural nano-composite materials for use in Aerospace and other industries. A nano-composite material is a mixture of a conventional material with a nano-scale material. Nano-composite materials combine the bulk properties of conventional materials with the size-dependent properties of nano-scale materials to create composite materials with novel properties. The range of potential nano-composite materials is infinite. The paper addresses one particular class of nano-composite materials, Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites (PCN's), which are created by adding clay particles to polymers. The paper argues that PCN's are a demonstrated MNT based platform that is ready for nearterm commercialization and utilization (unlike many other MNT's). We believe that PCN's will enable novel low-cost nano-composites, with large market potential as evidenced by multiple commercial uses of PCN's. Based on the current uses of PCN's, CANEUS has a unique opportunity to create a PCN based program focused on the needs of the Aerospace/Defense industries with benefits in other industries. The proposed Pilot Project will enable CANEUS to play a fundamental role in the creation of new nano-composites and to retain control over the generated IP. Introduction: Structural materials are the materials that make up all the engineering structures in the world. The primary markets for structural materials are in Construction, Aerospace (civilian and military), Automotive, Bio-medical, and Consumer (e.g. sports equipment) industries. These industries are different in terms of their feature requirements, market drivers, product development cycles, cost structures and ability to take technology risks. The Aerospace industry is conservative, but pushes the envelope in looking for advanced materials with new features. The automotive industry is highly cost driven. The bio-medical industry is not cost-driven, but is conservative and has a limited materials knowledge base. The optical and electronic industries are innovative and have short product development cycles. Finally the consumer segment is innovative and willing to take technology risks, and has very short product development cycles. People look at two main criteria when evaluating new materials: performance and cost. In terms of performance, people typically look for materials that are harder, tougher, stronger, stiffer or more elastic and more corrosion resistant. In addition, it is desirable to look at combinations of properties e.g. hardness and toughness, strength and low weight, toughness and transparency etc. In terms of cost, generally, the lower the cost the better. However, as briefly mentioned earlier, lower cost is not the primary driver for all industries. Figure 1 below shows the relative emphasis placed by each industry mentioned on cost and performance. © CANEUS Organization 2 Polymer-Clay Nano-composite materials


On the occasion of the 700th centenary of the death of Dante Alighieri, medium wave infrared imaging analysis of illuminations of the XIV-century code of the Divina Commedia (MS. 1102), hosted in the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome, was performed and discussed. The investigation was carried out by means of thermographic and reflectographic techniques on illuminations where the iconographic representation appeared severely damaged. In particular, through the combined use of both techniques, it was possible to recover the images of the damaged parts of the pictorial layer of the illuminations and of their underdrawings, displaying details of the "lost guardians", which was useful to reconstruct the conservative history of the precious manuscript.


Barry D. Riccio is assistant professor of American history at Eastern Illinois University and lecturer in American history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of several essays on aspects of twentieth-century American politics and social thought, including "The Presidency and the Ratings Game," The Historian (1990), and "Richard Nixon Reconsidered: The Conservative as Liberal?" in Watergate and Afterward: The Legacy of Richard M. Nixon (1992). In 1993 his book Walter Lippmann: Odyssey of a Liberal will appear, and he is writing a book on Irving Howe, Dwight MacDonald, and Philip Rahv for Twayne Publishers.


In this paper, a new sensorless control strategy based on sliding mode observer(SMO) and phase-locked loop(PLL) for high speed surface-mounted permanent-magnet synchronous motor(SPMSM) is proposed. Compared to conventional sliding mode observer, the novel observer replaces signum function with sigmoid function as the switching function. This paper presents the results for improved SMO and conventional SMO individually based on two different control schemes, which are SVPWM (Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation) control strategy and linear power drive control. The proposed SMO combining with linear power drive control has been demonstrated to be the best strategy among these methods. The simulations show that the accuracy of the rotor position estimation improved as well as chattering problem reduced.


The utility model relates to a rubber fabric composite compensator, in particular to a novel structure of a rubber composite material, which is made by compounding a plurality of materials. The materials arranged in sequence from the inner to the outer are PTFE membrane, fluorine rubber, steel fiberglass cloth, fiberglass cloth wrapped glass wool, fiberglass cloth and fluorine rubber, and the material layers are sewn together as a whole body. The utility model has the advantages of compact structure, high corrosion resistance, good noise elimination and shock absorption performance and long service life, and is suitable for sealing connection of pipelines with hot air, generally corrosive high-temperature medium and strongly corrosive high-temperature medium. The fluorine rubber researchedand prepared in the rubber material field has high strength, high corrosion resistance against sulfuric acid of 70 percent and nitric acid of 50 percent, excellent fire-retardant performance and highresistance against long-term heat aging. Therefore, the utility model solves the series process problems of high molecular rigidity, a large amount of heat generated in rolling, easy burning and poorprocessing flow related to the fluorine rubber material.


Much of our understanding about the U.S. foreclosure crisis is based on research focused exclusively on the subprime sector at the beginning of the housing bust. But subprime mortgages are a relatively small part of the mortgage market (15%) and the largest share of foreclosures occurred over a longer period of time. In this paper we investigate how all types of home purchase financing (prime lending, subprime lending, special government-insured lending (FHA/VA), small lenders, and all-cash transactions) contributed to the foreclosure crisis by creating a nationwide micro panel data set of over 33 million home ownership sequences that includes 96 MSAs, and extends from 1993-2012. Subprime foreclosures did surge one year ahead of the other types of financing, and subprime mortgages also have unconditional probabilities of foreclosure around two times higher than prime and government-insured loans. However, prime mortgages have almost twice the number of foreclosures of the subprime sector and more than five times when compared to FHA/VA loans. Furthermore, the empirical investigation finds that a large part of the higher subprime probability of foreclosure can be explained by negative equity and borrower liquidity--two factors more associated with the economic cycle and emphasized by the traditional mortgage default literature. Other observed factors that have been proposed by the literature as potential determinants of foreclosures, such as owner race and initial income, whether the buyer is a speculator, and housing features, have little or no economic impact. Overall, the recent foreclosure crisis was much less of a uniquely subprime mortgage market event than is commonly perceived.


Economic analysis typically assumes that law changes the expected cost of behavior, and thereby changes behavior, only because it imposes legal sanctions. Another possibility is that law operates "expressively" - that it changes behavior by what it says rather than what it does. This article proposes an informal model to explain how law could have such an expressive effect. In the model, law changes the expected cost of behavior by signaling attitudes of approval or disapproval. The model assumes (1) that individuals value approval either intrinsically or instrumentally, (2) that individuals have only imperfect information about what others approve, and (3) that certain identifiable categories of legislation are positively correlated with diffuse public opinion. As a result, these categories of legislation cause individuals to update their prior beliefs about the approval pattern, and this updated belief produces behavioral change. As an example, anti-smoking legislation signals greater disapproval of public smoking, which raises the expected costs from public smoking, thereby decreasing such smoking independent of the legal sanctions. The article explores several implications of this attitudinal model of expressive law. One is that local ordinances have a greater expressive effect than state or federal laws, because most approval and disapproval occurs locally. Second, judicial decisions have an expressive effect because they are positively correlated with diffuse public opinion. Third, parties wishing to influence the behavior of others will invest in capturing the state's expressive power, with the result that there is substantial political conflict over what appear to be matters of pure symbolism.


Tissue engineering scaffolds provide temporary mechanical support for tissue regeneration and transfer global mechanical load to mechanical stimuli to cells through its architecture. The manufacturing process may cause the deformation and internal defects in multi-layered ceramic scaffold (MLCS) that results in the malfunction for tissue engineering applications. This work aims to investigate the deformation of MLCS that composed of nearly a hundred of ceramic and metal powder films interleaved and stacked due to high pressure at constant elevated temperature. On theoretical analysis, classical laminated plate theory, linear elastic assumptions and equilibrium equations were adopted. Associated with the practical process three types of boundary conditions (BCs) were used, such as all edges simple-supported, two edges simple-supported and the other two free, and four edges free. Also, two more conditions need be added, including four fixed points at corners and the elastic foundation at bottom. As for the numerical simulation the finite element method (FEM) incorporated with software ANSYS was used to obtain the displacement field of MLCS to validate the analytical prediction. Compared with the numerical results the analytical solutions were found satisfactorily acceptable, i.e., the errors were about 0.1%6.2% for the BCs of four edges free and four corners fixed. The errors about 0.13%6.15% were also acceptable for the BCs of two edges simple-supported and the others free. However, the analytical solution for the case of all the edges simple-supported did not agree with the numerical results. Finally, the proposed theoretical methodology alternatively provides an analytical method, instead of FEM and ANSYS, to analyze a nearly and over hundred layered MLCS for tissue engineering scaffolds. [Ming-Hwa R. Jen, Ying-Hui Wu and Pei-Ling Guo. Theoretical and Numerical Analyses on Multi-Layered Ceramic Scaffold due to High Pressure for Tissue Engineering. Life Science Journal. 2012; 9(2):160-166] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 27


One indicator of the success of development in the health sector is the maternal mortality rate, this illustrates how the quality of maternal health. Maternal health quality issues are enhanced through maternal and child health programs. Puskesmas as primary health care unit must apply mother and child health program both promotive and preventive treatment based on Ministry of Health Regulation. 75/2014 on Puskesmas and supported by Central Java Governor Regulation No. 17 of 2016 on the implementation of Maternal and Child Health Services in Central Java Province. This study aims to obtain information about the implementation of the rogram as well as factors inhibiting and driving the implementation of Maternal and Child Health Programs in the Field of Antenatal Care Services and Childbed in the Public Health Center Bandarharjo City of Semarang. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method. The results of the study on program implementation indicate that antenatal care and postpartum services are good but there are some indicators of antenatal care services that are not optimal such as laboratory test services, pregnancy classes implementation, and counseling. The authors use the six obstacles and drivers of program implementation from Van Metter and Van Horn, which are the size and objectives of the policies, resources, the character of the implementing agency, the attitudes/trends of the implementers, inter-organizational communication and implementation activities, and the economic, social and political environment. Based on the result of the research, the inhibiting factors are the limited number of human resources and the social environment that are less supportive. Based on the results of this research, some efforts are needed to improve the antenatal care and postpartum services, among others, equalization of laboratory tests and pregnant women's classes for all pregnant women, Human resources, and commitment from the government to cooperate in conducting guidance to the community with certain social conditions through socialization and mentoring that can increase knowledge and awareness of the community.


Face recognition is one of the most widely used biometric identification systems due to its practicality and ease of use. The COVID-19 outbreak has recently expanded rapidly over the world, posing a major threat to people's health and economic well-being. Using masks in public places is an efficient approach to prevent the spread of infections. However, due to the absence of facial features detail, a masked face recognition system is a difficult task. We offer a technique to identify the masked faces in this project.Masked face recognition is a subset of occluded face recognition that requires prior knowledge of the obscured portion of the targeted face. Occluded face recognition is a current research topic that has captured the interest of the computer vision community. Occluded face recognition systems have previously been focused on detecting and recognizing an individual's face in the wild when the occluded part of the face is in a random form and position. Meanwhile, the nose, mouth, and cheeks of a masked face are frequently hidden. The eyes, brows, and forehead may be the only remaining clear areas. As a result, a masked face recognition system could effectively concentrate on analyzing traits that can be derived from the subject's uncovered portions, such as the eyes, brows, and forehead.


Case scenario An active 62-year-old barrister presented as a new patient with increasingly bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). These consisted mainly of urgency and a weak stream, and had been worsening over the past few months. He had attended another doctor recently, who had ordered a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test (54.5 ng/mL) and a midstream urine (MSU) test (normal) and diagnosed prostatitis. The patient was treated with a course of antibiotics, which did not have any obvious effect on the symptoms. Is there anything in this scenario that worries you?


Geodynamic settings play an important role in controlling generation, ascent and final emplacement of magma. Mesozoic intermediate-acid intrusive rocks are closely related with large scale mineralization in the Tongling metallogenic cluster area. The Fenghuangshan pluton, which consists of granodiorite and quartz monzodiorite, is the main part of the Fenghuangshan ore field. Zircon SHRIMP ~ 206 Pb/~ 238 U dating shows that the Fenghuangshan pluton formed at (144.2±2.3)Ma, belonging to the Late Jurassic era, which is in accordance with most of metallogenic plutons of the Tongling metallogenic cluster area. The contact deformation shows that the Fenghuangshan pluton was controlled by a regional sinistral shear stress field. The internal deformation indicates that the pluton experienced sinistral spiral ascent and final ballooning emplacement. The age and structural deformation imply that the Late Jurassic pluton related to mineralization may correlate with sinistral shear stress field induced by the northward oblique subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate.


The invention relates to the technical field of spacecraft autonomous navigation, in particular to a ground test signal control system for X-ray pulsar navigation. The control system comprises a database module, a time delay module, a pulsar numbering module, a period control module, a stable time module, a communication module, a static random access memory (SRAM) data temporary storage module, a FLASH data storage module, a digital-to-analogue conversion module, an address coding module, a low-pass filtering module, a power amplification module, a phase increment storage module, an addition module, a phase accumulation module and a peripheral equipment X-ray source. The control system is suitable for an X-ray pulsar navigation ground test verification system, and is used for ground semi-physical closed loop verification of relative key techniques of the X-ray pulsar navigation, such as calibration of a space X-ray probe, extraction of a pulse profile, measurement of pulse phases, confirmation of pulse arrival time, large-scale space-time basic standards and verification for navigation algorithm.


The APOS Model is a Mathematical Learning Model Based on Theory: Action, Process, Object, and Schema (APOS). The APOS Model is a refinement of the Calculus Learning Model Based on APOS Theory. The APOS Model has syntax with phases: Orientation, Practicum, Small Group Discussion, Class Discussion, Exercise or Evaluation. Development of SWS based on APOS Model assisted on Geogebra in the subject of Riemann Sum developed using Plomp design which consists of three stages: 1) preliminary research, 2) prototyping phase, and 3) assessment phase. The purpose of this research was to find out how practicality of SWS was being developed, and how the criteria of practicing SWS based on the APOS Model assisted by Geogebra in the Riemann Sum discussion topic. The instrument used to collect data was the SWS practicality instrument in the form of a Likert scale. Research subjects were: one-to-one test conducted by a lecturer, a teacher, 3 senior students. Small group test by 3 groups of senior students with 3 students in each group. Large group test by 30 students in class B on the 3rd semester of Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika Universitas Bengkulu. After processing the data, the average score of practicality test of SWS was: one to one trial = 82.5%; according to the small group test = 77.63%; according to the large group test = 79.0%. The average value of practicality of SWS by users was 79.71 and belongs to the practical category.


The present invention, a) a first component comprising a first epoxy resin and a second epoxy resin (provided that the second epoxy resin being flexibilized by an elastic body.) And b) 1 or 2 one or more primary and / or at least one amine compound having a secondary amino group (provided that the amine compound has a molecular weight less than 450 g / mol.) the second of the two-component epoxy adhesive comprising a component consisting It relates to a composition. The ratio of the total number of epoxy groups of total epoxy resin of the amino groups of the amine compound is 0.01: 1 to 0.5: 1. Upon mixing the two components a) and b), washed out hard composition results. Its washed out hard composition when thermally cured, results in a crash-stable structural adhesive.


We present algorithmic and complexity results concerning computations with one and two real algebraic numbers, as well as real solving of univariate polynomials and bivariate polynomial systems with integer coefficients using Sturm-Habicht sequences.
Our main results, in the univariate case, concern the problems of real root isolation (Th. 19) and simultaneous inequalities (Cor.26) and in the bivariate, the problems of system real solving (Th.42), sign evaluation (Th. 37) and simultaneous inequalities (Cor. 43).


The 1/8-scale Ground Transportation System (GTS) model was studied experimentally in the NASA Ames 7- by 10-Ft Wind Tunnel. Designed for validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the GTS model has a simplified geometry with a cab-over-engine design and no tractor-trailer gap. As a further simplification, all measurements of the GTS model were made without wheels. Aerodynamic boattail plates were also tested on the rear of the trailer to provide a simple geometry modification for computation. The experimental measurements include body-axis drag, surface pressures, surface hot-film anemometry, oil-film interferometry, and 3-D particle image velocimetry (PIV). The wind-averaged drag coefficient with and without boattail plates was 0.225 and 0.277, respectively. PIV measurements behind the model reveal a significant reduction in the wake size due to the flow turning provided by the boattail plates. Hot-film measurements on the side of the cab indicate laminar separation with turbulent reattachment within 0.08 trailer width for zero and +/- 10 degrees yaw. Oil film interferometry provided quantitative measurements of skin friction and qualitative oil flow images. A complete set of the experimental data and the surface definition of the model are included on a CD-ROM for further analysis and comparison.


Code search engine is an essential tool in soft001 ware development. Many code search meth002 ods have sprung up, focusing on the overall 003 ranking performance of code search. In this 004 paper, we study code search from another per005 spective by analyzing the bias of code search 006 models. Biased code search engines provide 007 poor user experience, even though they show 008 promising overall performance. Due to differ009 ent development conventions (e.g., prefer long 010 queries or abbreviations), some programmers 011 will find the engine useful, while others may 012 find it hard to get desirable search results. To 013 mitigate biases, we develop a general debiasing 014 framework that employs reranking to calibrate 015 search results. It can be easily plugged into 016 existing engines and handle new code search 017 biases discovered in the future. Experiments 018 show that our framework can effectively re019 duce biases. Meanwhile, the overall ranking 020 performance of code search gets improved af021 ter debiasing. Our implementation is available 022 at: https://anonymous.4open.science/r/ 023 CodeSearchBias-B2AD. 024


The title compound, [Ti2O(C13H21)4] or {[(1,3-tBu2C5H3)2Ti}2(μ2-O)}, crystallizes as a centrosymmetric molecule, in which the two metallocene fragments are bridged by an O atom. The trigonal planar coordination around each metal consists of two 1,3-tBu2C5H3 ligands and the bridging O atom. The O atom is located on a crystallographic inversion center, resulting in a linear Ti—O—Ti linkage.


Background— Congenital heart disease can be complicated by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the reversibility of which is often difficult to predict. We recently reported a lung biopsy study showing impaired apoptotic regulation of endothelial cells in irreversible PAH. The objective of the present study was to identify noninvasive biomarkers of endothelial turnover that could be used to identify congenital heart disease patients at risk of irreversible PAH. Methods and Results— Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) isolated with CD146-coated beads and circulating CD34+CD133+ progenitor cells (CPCs) were quantified in peripheral vein, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary vein blood samples from 26 patients with congenital heart disease (16 with reversible PAH [median age 2 years] and 10 with irreversible PAH [median age 9 years]) and 5 control patients. Surgical lung biopsy was performed in 19 cases. As expected, endothelial remodeling was observed in irreversible PAH but not in reversible PAH. CEC and CPC numbers were each similar in the 3 types of blood samples. CEC numbers were significantly higher in patients with irreversible PAH (median 57 CEC/mL) than in patients with reversible PAH and control subjects (median 3 CEC/mL in the 2 groups). In contrast, CPC numbers did not differ among patients with irreversible or reversible PAH and control subjects (median 84, 64, and 44 CPC/105 lymphocytes, respectively, in the 3 groups). Conclusions— Irreversible PAH in congenital heart disease is associated with endothelial damage and with increased circulating endothelial cell counts. The present study suggests that CECs could be a valuable tool to define therapeutic strategies in congenital heart disease patients with PAH.


The federal government provides support for children and youth ages 3-21 years under provisions of Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA-B) and also from birth through age 20 in programs operated by state agencies through Chapter I of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act-State Operated Programs (ECIA-SOP) authorization. Each year, personnel in the U.S. Department of Education assess progress in providing services to children and youth with disabilities and prepare a report of their findings for dissemination. Publication of the annual reports typically stimulates interest and dialogue among professionals (cf. Gerber, 1984; Greenburg, 1984) and provides a unique basis for examining what is going on in special education across the country (Blackman, 1989; Danielson & Bellamy, 1989; Tucker, 1989). When the Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Tenth Annual Report) was published, it marked the end of a decade of extraordinary change" (U.S. Department of Education, 1988, p. i). To stimulate thinking about previous and future progress in meeting the needs of students with disabilities, the "Executive Summary" of the Tenth Annual Report and three reactions to it recently were published in Exceptional Children (Gerber & Levine-Donnerstein, 1989; Greenburg, 1989; Wyche, 1989; Ysseldyke, 1989). Greenburg's (1989) perspective on the Tenth Annual Report reflects disappointment and dissatisfaction: The current report again seems overly dependent on congregated numbers and on reports of federally supported projects awarded to a limited number of selected agencies with little or no practitioner contact. Though there may be gross understaffing in the office responsible for the report, both Congress and special education practitioners are justified in anticipating a quality characterization of the implementation of EHA and the Tenth Annual Report seems to fall short of this expectation. (p. 10) In reference to the sections on related services, least restrictive environment, and personnel, Greenburg's opinions varied. For example, he found references to average numbers of related services "totally meaningless" and information on students exiting school programs limited, but helpful. Concerning information presented about special education personnel, Greenburg identified a set of questions worthy of further consideration (e.g., Are state education agencies better enforcing class size and caseload regulations? Do emerging service-delivery options require more, rather than fewer, personnel?) (p. 11). He did not identify a research agenda related to these questions. Despite the shortcomings he observed, Greenburg stated, "the annual reports are essential reading for those interested in the perspective of the Department of Education on the field and the practice of special education," and the report is filled with potential areas for further questions and research" (p. 12). Information about youth with disabilities who drop out of school was the primary focus of Wyche's ( 1 989) review of the Tenth Annual Report. After reviewing figures related to minority dropout rates from several sources, he made a plea for continued research and development to address dropout problems: Systematic strides must be taken to devise a diagnostic assessment battery that will identify potential dropouts in elementary grades, before they choose to leave school. Psychological and educational tests have an accepted tradition of being used to predict future behavior. An assessment battery that could identify specific cutoff scores and predict the possibility of dropping out with at least 80% accuracy would give educators a valuable tool. (p. 15) Although limited in its analysis of the overall report, Wyche's review illustrates the interest generated by annual reporting of figures related to special education. Gerber and Levine-Donnerstein's (1989) plan was "to update some earlier observations, identify some newer issues, and make some recommendations about treatment of data such as those provided by the annual reports" (p. …


Science plays a very important role in education. It is a rich and infinite source of information and it influences and governs many decisions in our lives. To successfully understand scientific concepts and processes required in education and make proper decision in personal life, one must be scientifically literate. Scientific literacy is one of the basic forms of literacy in the digital age. It assumes possession of a capacity to understand and use scientific knowledge and to be informed member of the society who will be able to make decisions based on scientific facts. Scientific content necessary for teaching of scientific literacy is nowadays widely present and available, especially in digital format on the internet. The internet has become the fastest growing medium which provides ubiquitous access to scientific information resources by the help of several internet services such as wikies, blogs, portals, social networks etc. These internet services facilitate teaching of students and the public about scientific discoveries and help improving their scientific literacy. This paper provides an overview of the most important facts about scientific literacy and internet services that are used in teaching scientific literacy.


Giga-cycle fatigue tests were conducted for heats B and C of SUP 7 spring steels tempered at 430 and 500°C. Rotating bending, electromagnetic, high-speed servohydraulic and ultrasonic fatigue testing machines were used at 30 or 100 Hz, 120 Hz, 600 or 800 Hz and 20 kHz, respectively. The heat B developed fish-eye fractures only with an origin of an Al2O3 inclusion, while Al2O3 and TiN inclusions and matrix cracks appeared at the origins in case of the heat C. The Al2O3 inclusions in the heat B were larger than those in the heat C. Hence, the heat C revealed higher fatigue limit than the heat B. In case of fish-eye fracture, S-N curves under 100 Hz rotating bending, and 600 or 800 Hz and 20 kHz uniaxial loading were coincident each other in both heats, while those under 120 Hz uniaxial loading were lower. The frequency effects were negligible in case of fish-eye fracture and the difference between 120 Hz uniaxial tests and others were explained by the difference of the control volumes.


This paper presents a fiber Bragg grating accelerometer prototype for seismic applications, including accelerometer scheme, calibration method and accelerometer resonance frequencies. The acceleration calibration and measurements were obtained from the laser beam deflection method. A series of experiments were carried out and results shows an accelerometer sensitivity of 8.07 mV/g (where 1g= 9.81 m/s2) at 0.5 Hz and 2.63 mV/g at 50 Hz, the measured range scale goes from 0 to 35 m s-2.


We introduce the notion of a δ-primary co-ideal of a commutative semiring R and study some of it properties. Here δ is a mapping that assigns to each co-ideal J a co-ideal δ(J) of the same semiring. We investigate the relationship between the minimal prime co-ideals of R/I and δ(I)/I, when I is a δ-primary Q-co-ideal. We also prove that every identity summand of R/I is contained in δ(I)/I and δ(I) contains all minimal prime co-ideals which contains I.


Load balancing is an important technique to improve the performance of parallel processing. Previous studies used load indices to balance workload. However, the real relationship between runtime of parallel programs and system loads is rarely proposed. Through lots of experiments, two important conclusions are obtained: one about the relationship between runtime of parallel programs and CPU load, and the other about the relationship between runtime and network load. In order to be typical and get network load easily, NAS PVM Benchmarks are used as test applications. A tool of job submission is designed to record the exact runtimes of test applications.


Based on the macroeconomic situation in China,this article points out the deflation in China economy came to end in December, 2002.The mild-inflation in China economy has been birthed since August, 2003.The Chinese economic policy needs a adjustment in order to prevent the recurrence of the inflation.


A genre analysis of 284 essay examination prompts reveals specific discoursal characteristics which function to communicate what type of response will be considered legitimate. The main pedagogical implication is that for test takers to the able to decode prompts, they must draw upon the same functional/linguistic knowledge of genre that the test constructor did. This suggests that academic writing teachers should familiarize their students with the discoursal characteristics of examination prompts.


Sir:In autologous breast reconstruction after mastectomy, fat induration is a rather common complication that causes deep tissue infection, pain, and contracture deformity. Follow-up for fat induration provides important clues after breast reconstruction with an autologous flap because fat induratio


Evans, M., 2016. Structural violence, socioeconomic rights, and transformative justice. Journal of Human Rights, 15 (1), 1–20. Ki-Moon, B. 2014. Fulfilling our collective responsibility: international assistance and the responsibility to protect: report of the secretary-general [online]. New York: United Nations. Available from: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/68/947&referer=/english/&Lang=E [Accessed 3 November 2016]. Stuenkel, O., 2014. The BRICS and the future of R2P: was Syria or Libya the exception? Global Responsibility to Protect, 6 (1), 3–28. United Nations. 2014. Framework of analysis for atrocity crimes: a tool for prevention [online]. New York: United Nations. Available from: http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/pdf/ framework%20of%20analysis%20for%20atrocity%20crimes_en.pdf [Accessed: 2 November 2016].


Disclosure is a prominent variable in child sexual abuse research, but little research has examined male disclosure experiences. Sixteen male survivors of childhood sexual abuse were interviewed regarding experiences of disclosure. Analytic techniques included a grounded theory approach to coding and the use of conceptually clustered matrices. Participants described distinct personal (e.g., lack of cognitive awareness, intentional avoidance, emotional readiness, and shame), relational (e.g., fears about negative repercussions, isolation), and sociocultural (e.g., lack of acceptance for men to experience or acknowledge victimization) reasons for their struggles with disclosure. These results highlight that barriers to disclosure exist in multiple domains of experience and are encountered across the lifespan. Implications for future research and clinical interventions are discussed.


Gallbladder volvulus or torsion is an extremely rare but recognised entity, which can cause acute abdominal pain. We describe an unusual case of a previously well 8-year-old male who presented with a short history of right-sided abdominal pain and vomiting and was found to have a gallbladder volvulus at laparoscopy. The patient was admitted with a history of sudden onset, severe, right-sided abdominal pain associated with non-bilious vomiting. On examination, he had localised right-sided abdominal tenderness. Laboratory investigations showed mildly raised inflammatory markers. The working diagnosis was acute appendicitis, and he was taken to theatre for a diagnostic laparoscopy. At laparoscopy, a necrotic, torted gallbladder was identified with its long axis horizontal. The gallbladder was de-torted and a laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. The postoperative course was uncomplicated, and the patient was discharged home on the third postoperative day. Gallbladder volvulus is an unusual diagnosis in children and is characteristically described in elderly women. The presentation can mimic that of acute appendicitis or cholecystitis. The diagnosis is challenging and is usually made incidentally, either radiologically or at the time of surgery.


A method for supplying an electronic brand certificate using the communications network such as the Internet is provided to generate the electronic brand certificate, display it on a client such as a mobile phone by authenticating the brand with the electronic brand certificate, and moving the electronic brand certificate when moving the brand. A serial number of a brand is inputted in an electronic brand certificate generating server by an audiovisual tag or an RF tag when firstly distributing or buying the brand. The electronic brand certificate generating server generates the corresponding brand certificate. The electronic brand certificate generating server transmits the brand certificate to a client of the first buyer through the wire/wireless Internet. The electronic brand certificate generating server displays a character image of the brand certificate for always authorizing the brand without the step of determining the brand.


Censorship can backfire because it is usually viewed as a violation of the right to free expression, which is widely valued as an ideal; under the Charter of the United Nations, freedom of expression is a universal human right. Backfire occurs, for example, when censorious attacks on a film or book cultivate increased demand for the forbidden work rather than restrict access to it. Censors can inhibit this backfire effect in various ways, including covering up the censorship, devaluing the target, reinterpreting the action, using official channels, and using intimidation and bribery. These five methods to inhibit backfire from attacks on free speech are illustrated by a variety of cases, including attacks that backfired and ones that did not. This analysis provides guidance for effectively opposing attacks on free expression.


The standard deviation of fatigue life increases with reduction of elasticity and plasticity strain components.A standard normal random variable μ and linear standard deviations σe and σp were introduced into Manson-Coffin equation,so the probabilistic model of fatigue life was established,in which four parameters were expressed as the functions of μ.The parameters of the probabilistic model were obtained by the heteroscedastic regression analysis method based on the low cycle fatigue(LCF) test data,the fatigue life probability analysis for the pinhole of a disk was achieved by this model,and the distribution of the fatigue life of the pinhole was obtained.The results show that the life with the reliability of 0.9987 is well consistent with the technical life of the disk based on test evaluation.This model is suitable for engineering application with its good precision.


1. The Significance of Group Trustworthiness We value trustworthiness where we find it, in friends, colleagues, and strangers. This is because it is easier to cooperate with trustworthy individuals than with untrustworthy ones, but also because trustworthiness is appreciated for its own sake. Conversely, we resent untrustworthiness when we encounter it, and try to minimise interaction with untrustworthy individuals. This preference for trustworthiness over untrustworthiness is not limited to our interactions with individuals. Who wouldn't prefer to work for a trustworthy company, to be treated at a trustworthy hospital, and to vote for a trustworthy political party?


World over, there is hue and cry over the adverse impact of climate change. The global community under the aegis of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a scientific and intergovernmental body) is dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts. Here in this regard, The author would like to analyze in broader way who to be blamed for this state of affairs of adverse effects of climate change, and what should be the core of initiatives for tackling the concerned problems?


Spline function and band limited function are two important tools for approximation.In this paper,the error-free recovery of multivariate bandlimited function in L2-scale is discussed by using polyharmonic cardinal spline.The two important approximation tools are linked.Furthermore,an equivalent form about mulitivariate bandlimited is obtained.Some result of literature are generalized.Meanwhile,the best approximation of L2(Rd) in L2-scale is made by using the multivariate bandlimited function space(Paley-Wiener space) and k-degree harmonic cardinal spline in L2(Rd) space,respectively,and the link of the two extremes is established.


Fuel consumption of the ship gets worse by barnacles and stains put on its bottom, so that the ship hull should be cleaned regularly. Usual methods such as cleaning by special divers and cleaning after pulling up to the dock are not used frequently due to those high cost and the heavy burden on cleaners. We proposed a cleaning method using underwater vehicle with brushes, however there is a possibility to remove paints on the hull. To improve cleaning performance of the underwater vehicle, the ultrasonic cleaner is developed by using cavitation occurred by sound waves of the acoustic transduces. The cleaner generates sound waves with sound pressure of 0.2MPa or more required to occur cavitation at the point where sound waves from two transducers overlap. In experimental results, the cleaner occurred cavitation enough to make two holes in the aluminum foil located 50mm away from transducers.


Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present results of creep damage mechanisms in gas pipes made of high density polyethylene [HDPE]. High density polyethylene has been widely used in the piping industry as raw material. Even though there are large numbers of experimental and analytical investigations on HDPE, few of them have examined the effects of manufacturing techniques on the small and finite deformation behaviors of HDPE. Since HDPE is semi-crystalline polymeric material the rate of crystallinity, molecular morphologies and molecular structure extensively influence its mechanical behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: Tensile creep experiments on HDPE with a duration of examinations from four till nine days were performed at temperature of 20°C. Findings: In this study, findings are indicating differences of the property in individual layers walls of the pipe. Research limitations/implications: Applying this method is limited to thermoplastic materials. Practical implications: Presented method can be applied for other thermoplastic materials in the future. Originality/value: The expressed method can be applied in the future for developing the research on the process with creeping of polymers.


Globally, the role of trophy hunting in wildlife conservation has been a topic of much debate. While various studies have focused on the financial contribution of trophy hunting towards wildlife conservation, little is known about whether hunting activities can protect wildlife forage resources. We examined the effect of illegal livestock grazing on wildlife habitat in operational and non-operational wildlife hunting blocks in Moyowosi-Kigosi Game Reserves (MKGR), Tanzania. We assessed whether the physical presence of hunting activities lowered illegal grazing and, thus, led to higher vegetation quality. We compared 324 samples of above-ground biomass (AGB) and grass cover between control (0.0007 cattle ha−1), moderately (0.02 cattle ha−1), and intensively (0.05 to 0.1 cattle ha−1) grazed hunting blocks. Likewise, we assessed soil infiltration, soil penetration, soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (N-P-K) across grazing intensity. Illegal grazing decreased AGB by 55%, grass cover by 36%, soil penetration by 46%, and infiltration rate by 63% compared to the control blocks. Illegal grazing further lowered SOC by 28% (F2,33 = 8, p < 0.002) but increased soil N by 50% (F2,33 = 32.2, p < 0.001) and soil K by 56% (H (2) = 23.9, p < 0.001), while soil P remained stable. We further examined if Hunting Company (HC) complements anti-poaching efforts in the Game Reserves (GR). We found that HC contributes an average of 347 worker-days−1 for patrol efforts, which is 49% more than the patrol efforts conducted by the GR. However, patrol success is higher for GR than HC (F1,21 = 116, p < 0.001), due to constant surveillance by HC, illegal herders avoided invading their hunting blocks. We conclude that illegal grazing severely reduced vegetation and soil quality in MKGR. We further claim that trophy hunting contributes directly to wildlife habitat preservation by deploying constant surveillance and preventing illegal grazing. We propose maintaining trophy hunting as an essential ecological tool in wildlife conservation.


...........................................................................................................................III Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................VIII List of figures.................................................................................................................XVI List of tables....................................................................................................................XX List of abbreviations.......................................................................................................XX Chapter 1: General introduction......................................................................................1 1.1 Overview of hemostasis................................................................................................1 1.1.1 Platelet adhesion and aggregation...................................................................1 1.2 Blood coagulation.........................................................................................................3 1.2.1 Extrinsic pathway of coagulation....................................................................3 1.2.2 In vivo studies of the extrinsic pathway: blood-borne tissue factor................7 1.2.3 Intrinsic pathway of coagulation.....................................................................8 1.2.4 Activators of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation: platelet polyphosphates and nucleic acids......................................................................................................9 1.2.5 Common pathway of coagulation..................................................................11 1.2.6 Formation of the fibrin clot...........................................................................11 1.2.7 Fibrinolysis....................................................................................................12 184.108.40.206 Inhibitors of fibrinolysis.................................................................13 1.3 Inhibitors of coagulation............................................................................................14 1.3.1 Antithrombin.................................................................................................14 1.3.2 Tissue factor pathway inhibitor.....................................................................15 1.3.3 Protein C........................................................................................................18 1.4 Sepsis............................................................................................................................19 1.4.1 Pro-inflammatory response in sepsis.............................................................19 1.4.2 Crosstalk between inflammation and coagulation in sepsis..........................21 1.5 Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).....................................................................22 1.5.1 NETosis, a unique form of cell death............................................................23 1.5.2 NETosis in infection......................................................................................26 220.127.116.11 NETs in sepsis: circulating cf-NETs and anchored NETs.............30 1.5.3 Effects of NETs and NET components on hemostasis..................................31 1.5.4 Pro-inflammatory effects of NETs and NET components............................33 1.5.5 Inhibitors of NETosis and NET components................................................35 1.5.6 Modulation of fibrinolysis by DNA and histones.........................................37 1.6 Historical development of animal models of sepsis.................................................38 1.6.1 Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model of sepsis......................................40


The invention discloses an automatic continuous fly killing device which comprises a fly detecting sensor component, a fly killing component, a fly collecting component, an optical fiber type vibration sensor component, a control system and a pneumatic system. The fly collecting component is fixed to a base. The pneumatic system is connected with the fly collecting component and controls the fly collecting component to be opened and closed. An upright rod is fixed to the base. Two fixing block components are movably connected to the upright rod, one fixing block component is connected with the optical fiber type vibration sensor component, and the other fixing block component is connected with the fly detecting sensor component. The lower end of the fly detecting sensor component is fixedly provided with the fly killing component. The position of the fly detecting sensor component corresponds to that of the fly collecting component. The single-chip microcomputer control technology and a unique fly detecting sensor are adopted by the automatic continuous fly killing device, the automation degree is high, flies can be detected automatically and killed and collected continuously and automatically, the environment is not polluted, and the automatic continuous fly killing device does not need to be guarded by people and has the advantages of being convenient to use, high in efficiency, stable and reliable in performance, easy to manufacture and the like.


The trend towards total mechanization of the production of processing tomatoes is creating many new problems. This paper describes one which may become very important as the practice of direct seeding in the field partly replaces the use of transplants.


The present invention discloses an electronic device having a slide switch and a slide switch, for limiting the movement of the member relative to the casing. The slide switch includes a fastening member, a stopper member and a latch member. The engaging member includes a locking structure and an inclined structure. The stopper member includes a stopper portion and a guide portion. The latch member includes a body, a hook portion provided in the main body, a first guide structure disposed on a top portion of the hook, and a contact portion provided in the main body. The hook portion to engage the locking structure to limit movement of a first member. The first guide structure pushes the inclined structure to drive the first member separated from the casing. The abutting portion abuts against the stopper to limit a movement of the second member. The abutting portion of the guide portion relative to the other to drive the second sliding member is separated from the casing, so that the electronic device having a multistage opening and locking function.


: This study was carried out to provide further information on the patients with diabetic mellitus and any complications for the prevention of what is a life-threatening disorder. One hundred and eighty four diabetic mellitus patients from diabetic centre of Al-Diwaniya city were used :- (114) males & (70) females for the period from 1/8/2016 to 1/1/2017. We studied the relationship between genders and complications of diabetic mellitus. The study showed that cardiovascular diseases was most common occur than other complications while nephropathy was the least occur than other complications. Also, we conclude that the males were more than females with the risk of the dangerous of diabetic mellitus complications in Al-Diwaniya city/ IRAQ. Also that vascular problems that occur as a result of diabetes are made worse when blood pressure is elevated from other sources such as poor or lack of exercise. The current study results showed that occurrence of neuropathy in females were more than males, this agree with (34) while disagree with (35) they found that male are higher neuropathy than female. (36) Explain that researchers are studying how prolonged exposure to high blood glucose causes nerve damage. Nerve damage is likely due to a combination of factors: metabolic factors, such as high blood glucose, long duration of diabetes, abnormal blood fat levels, and possibly low levels of insulin .neurovascular factors, leading to damage to the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to nerves .autoimmune factors that cause inflammation in nerves.


Abstract : The purpose of this MBA Project was threefold: (1) to assess prior proposals to alleviate problems that International Military Students (IMS) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) experience, (2) to identify any new needs or problems they face in the areas of academic support and quality of life, and (3) to determine the feasibility of any recommendations proposed to address these needs/problems. The author conducted a survey of 20 IMS out of a possible 55 IMS in the NPS's Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (GSBPP). The survey was intended to gather critical information on the IMS to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of their problems. The survey revealed the need for more computer facilities in the library, greater access to home-country resources in the home-country language for news and research, more opportunities for improving quality of life, and the establishment of a faculty workshop that would help new instructors understand the distinct status of international students and communicate better with them. Some of the quality of life recommendations were to organize more trips for the IMS and their families, improve health care for IMS families, enrich the welcome package for IMS, create a web site for comments by IMS, and provide IMS with the equivalent U.S. rank insignia upon their arrival to NPS. Lessons that can be extrapolated from this study are identified and recommendations are proposed to ensure the maximization of the learning experience of the IMS at the Naval Postgraduate School.


Effects of the rotational fluid flow on the flux in a rotating annular microporous filter was studied. The simplified Navier-Stokes equations, continuity equation, and Darcy抯 law were used and then combining with the stability theory the flow field in the annular gap of the filter using deionized water and dilute suspension as feed fluid, respectively, was analyzed. An equation describing the relationship between filtrate flux and pressure drop in the filter was derived. The curves calculated by the equation were compared with the Belfort抯 theoretical and experimental results, which showed that when deionized water was used as the fluid medium,the centrifugal force, caused by the rotation of water, would weaken the driving force of micro-filtration, and when the rotating speed of membrane was low, the patterns of the fluid flow had little effect on the filtrate flux of the filter. Furthermore, with the dilute suspension, the equations describing the shear stresses for axial flow and rotating flow were derived, respectively. The results show that the axial shear stress is much higher than the tangential one under the given conditions, which means that it is the Taylor votex other than the tangential shear stress that plays an important role in improving the filter抯 capacity. A new strategy for designing the rotating annular microporous filter was proposed.


Smart beta, which accounts for rule-based factor-tilting strategies that fall between active and passive investment, has emerged as an alternative to active investment after its major decline since the global financial crisis. In spite of the smart beta's remarkable commercial prosperity, many experts in both industry and academia share some concerns. Some of them believe that the marketing hype might confuse investors while others are concerned about the exposure to unintended risks that smart beta products might bring. In this study, we provide a comprehensive review of diverse perspectives from both practitioners and researchers on smart beta and we perform empirical and theoretical investigations on the efficiency of smart beta (or factor-tilting) strategies as investment building blocks. We find that factor-based investment building blocks may cause inefficiency under the mean-variance framework.


Developing low-carbon industry vigorously is to meet the need of our country to deal with multiple global crises in aspects of energy,climate,finance an so on.However,China's low-carbon industry still faces an obstacle in its development: the split of industry chain and innovation chain.To solve the problem,we should enhance our technical innovation ability,deepen school-enterprise cooperative ability,focus on the adjustment ability of market,improve government's guiding ability so as to speed up the development of low-carbon industry.


The application discloses a data processing method and an electronic device. The hand-held electronic device is provided with a microphone array. The microphone array comprises at least two usage modes. When the hand-held electronic device is in a first usage state, the usage mode of the microphone array is in a first usage mode of the at least two usage modes. The method comprises the following steps: an adjusting signal is received; the usage state of the hand-held electronic device is adjusted the first usage state to a second usage state, wherein the second usage state is different from the first usage state; when the hand-held electronic device is be in a second usage state, a control command is obtained; according to the control command, the usage state of the microphone array is adjusted from the first usage mode to a second usage mode, wherein the second usage mode is different from the first usage mode, and the second usage mode is corresponding to the second usage state.


Within nonoptimal vaginal microbial community state type, bacterial composition varied by Nugent bacterial vaginosis status, and Nugent bacterial vaginosis was associated with specific penile taxa, controlling for vaginal community state type, herpes simplex virus 2, and HIV. Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Background Up to 50% of women with nonoptimal vaginal microbial community state type (CST) have bacterial vaginosis (BV). Little is known about what distinguishes women with and without BV diagnosis within nonoptimal CST. We identified features of women and their male sex partners associated with BV among women with nonoptimal vaginal CST. Methods In this prospective study, 252 heterosexual couples were observed at 1, 6, and 12 months after baseline. Microbiomes were characterized in cervicovaginal lavage and penile meatal swabs through high-throughput 16s ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing. Nonoptimal CST was defined as CST-IV. Bacterial vaginosis was defined as a Nugent score of 7 to 10. Generalized estimating equation analysis estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for BV among women with nonoptimal CST. Results At baseline, women with nonoptimal CST were a median age of 22 years, 44% had BV, 16% had HIV, and 66% had herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2. Male partners were a median age of 27 years, 12% had HIV, 48% had HSV-2, and 55% were circumcised. Within nonoptimal CST, Sneathia sanguinegens, Prevotella species, Prevotella amnii, and Clostridiales, BV-associated bacteria-2 were statistically significantly enriched in observations with BV. In multivariable generalized estimating equation controlling for CST, HIV, and HSV-2, BV was increased among women with CST-IVA (aOR, 1.91; P = 0.087), HIV (aOR, 2.30; P = 0.051), HSV-2 (aOR, 1.75; P = 0.065), and enrichment of male partner penile taxa: Dialister (aOR, 1.16; P = 0.034), Megasphaera (aOR, 1.22; P = 0.001), and Brevibacterium (aOR, 1.13; P = 0.019). These results provide insights into factors differentiating women with BV among those with nonoptimal vaginal CST. Interrupting the sexual exchange of penile and vaginal taxa may be beneficial for preventing pathologic state of vaginal microbiome.


Objective The stentless full root aortic bioprosthesis has superior hemodynamics.Clinical data of Bio-Bentall procedure using stentless full root bioprosthesis of our center was retrospectively analyzed in this perspective for validation.Methods From November 2001 to March 2009,317 adult patients ( 196 male and 121 female) underwent modified Bio-Bentall procedure using the Medtronic Freestyle xenograft as a full root replacement.Two hundred and three patients received an isolated root replacement or a root and ascending aortic replacement (ARR).In 114 patients a variety of concomitant procedures including coronary artery bypass grafting ( n =32 ),mitral valve repair ( n =11 ) and aortic arch replacement ( n =36 ) were performed.(ARR + ).Results Mean patient age was (70.3 ± 10.2) years (range 17 -94 years),97 patients were 75 and older at time of procedure.Mean operative time for the ARR was ( 190 ± 57 ) min with a clamp time of 88 - 27 min.Mean operative time for ARR + group was (282 ±93) min with an average clamp time of (110 ±32) min.Overall operative mortality was 7.9% (25/317),for ARR it was 5.4% (11/203 ).Mean ICU stay was (4.9 ± 8.1 ) days,mean hospital stay being (9.8 ± 8.1 ) days.Necessity for bailout bypass surgery among patients with ARR was low at 1.5% (3/203) comparable to stented xenograft implantations.Echocardiography demonstrated excellent clinical results with low transvalvular gradients especially when a single suture inflow anastomosis technique was used.Conclusion Full root stentless valve implantation preserving porcine root integrity is a valuable option in aortic valve/ascending aorta surgery.Though technically a more challenging operation,it does not lead to increased perioperative morbidity and mortality and can be beneficial mainly for elderly patients with small aortic roots with or without aortic root pathology.

Key words:
Aortic valve; Heart valve prosthesis implantation; Stentless valves; Full rootrep lacement technique


Measuring signal in gearbox fault diagnosis low signal-to-noise ratio, high frequency of characteristic signal and noise reduction was difficult. And general gear fault diagnosis method was hard to solve the space-time registration problem of multiple source information. So probability box theory and information fusion methods were applied in this paper, which introduced the basic development process of the probability boxes and the methods of information fusion. However, independent irrelevance of measured signal was assumed before information fusion, which was unreasonable. For this reason, classification strategy and pattern of correlation based on probability box theory was put forward. The experiment proved that correlation classification for multiple source information during gear fault diagnosis improved fusion efficiency and science, can better met the authenticity of the space-time registration problem of multiple source information. which developed a new approach to gear fault diagnosis or bear fault diagnosis research to solve the spacetime registration problem of multiple source information. Keywordsgear fault;probability box theory;space-time registration ;information fusion; correlation;


Objective To examine technical level of individual radiation dosage to guarantee its quality.Methods According to the requirements of "the national comparison protocol for individual dosage surveillance system in radiation emission staff",the reference dosimeter was prepared and then sent to the organizer of surveillance system and determined,and the reported results were compared in the laboratory of Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Results Both single unit determination and comprehensive determination of comparison results of the reference dosimeters between three groups was qualified and their uncertainty were evaluated reasonably.Conclusion Technical level of the surveillance system of individual radiation emission dosage in this laboratory meets the requirements of the national related standards.


Foraging is a common decision problem in natural environments. When new exploitable sites are always available, a simple optimal strategy is to leave a current site when its return falls below a single average reward rate. Here, we examined foraging in a more structured environment, with a limited number of sites that replenished at different rates and had to be revisited. When participants could choose sites, they visited fast-replenishing sites more often, left sites at higher levels of reward, and achieved a higher net reward rate. Decisions to exploit-or-leave a site were best explained with a computational model that included both the average reward rate for the environment and reward information about the unattended sites. This suggests that unattended sites influence leave decisions, in foraging environments where sites can be revisited. Highlights Being able to select sites during foraging increased visits to high value sites This visitation pattern was efficient, producing higher average reward rates Decisions to leave a site were influenced by information about alternative sites Graphical Abstract


System for translating a feed for social network comprises a communication module, the decoding engine, the re-encoding engine. Communication module receives the social feed data and a request from a social network application. Social feed data is configured so as to display the social feed in a first language to the client. The request contains data indicating that it should social feed is displayed in a second language. Decoding engine generates social feed data decoded by decoding the social feed data. Re-encoding for engines, social feed data the decoded re-encoded, and displays the social feed in the second language to the client based at least in part upon the request. Communication module sends the social feed data, which is the translation to the client.


Existence results for Hilbert's problem 13th mean that any equation constructed by continue functions can be given solution represented as a superposition of continue functions of one variable or of continue functions of two variables. Constructive results for discrete functions are given in this paper that any equation constructed by functions called discrete 3 function for which field of definition is a set containing only -1,0,1 can be given solution represented as a superposition of discrete 3 functions of one variable or of two variables. Formula solution for equation with parameterized operations can be given after introducing four special operators being correspondence among known operations and new operations. These results can be extended to discrete operators and operator equations constructed by them.


The papers in this volume cover the following subject areas: A method that utilizes a decision matrix diagram for selecting the most suitable and economical foundations for construction in the arctic; long-term creep tests on piles in frozen soil which show that primary or attenuating creep is predominant in most cases; the thermal effects of snow accumulations on the design of piling when the snow depth is deeper than normal as the result of drifting caused by adjacent facilities; and the creep settlement of large scale strip footing tests where measured settlements are compared with computed values using different analytical methods and constitution equations.


Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gel electrophoresis was performed on normal amniotic fluids obtained at 4–15 weeks of pregnancy. Until 8 weeks, all the fluids were AChE‐positive; the percentage of positive specimens decreased from 9 until 11 weeks and no positive specimen was found after 12 weeks. This method may allow early prenatal dignosis of neural tube defects after the 12th week.


Introduction.- Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS).- Quality Management.- CONQUAS Critical Success Factors.- Research Design and Methodology.- Results and Analysis.- Case Study.- CONQUAS Management Framework.- Conclusion.


Nanai and Hezhen people are from the same tribal origin, and their languages are of Manchu-Tungusic family. Though the two peoples are separated for more than half a century, their languages have not changed and the differences between them are just that of dialects. This paper tends to compare synchronically the vowel systems to show the diversion and reason of diversion that are witnessed.


As part of the project of specific university research at the Institute of Municipal Water Management of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, a laboratory test was carried out to try and remove to pharmaceuticals from water using selected sorption materials. The goal of the laboratory test was to compare two selected adsorbents as Filtrasorb F100 and Bayoxide E33 in terms of pharmaceutical removal effectiveness from water. Salicylic acid was selected as a pharmaceutical; which is a colourless organic acid, which is of great importance in the field of dermatology and is a proven tool for various dermatological problems including acne. This is a pharmaceutical that is obtained from the bark of a willow white. Sorbent Filtrasorb F100 is in practice commonly used for the removal of micropollutants, as opposed to the sorbent Bayoxide E33, which is used to remove metals from water. In order to remove pharmaceutical from water, two glass columns were used with internal diameter 4.4 cm filled with said sorption materials. Height of sorbent was elected as recommended by the producer of filter material at least 75 cm. Model water was prepared in laboratories by mixing liquid pharmaceutical into drinking water. Samples of filtered water were taken after 0.5 minute and after or 1, 2, and 4 minutes respective. Totally 9 samples including model water were taken. The analysis of water samples after filtration from individual columns with said sorption materials showed found that Filtrasorb F100 reliably removed to concentration of salicylic acid after half a minute, while Bayoxide E33 started remove the acid but from one minute higher concentrations were onwards measured again. This means that the latter material was oversaturated, and therefore gradually ceased to remove the acid.


A traumatic hepatic arteriovenous fistula was located by dynamic computed tomography, and its flow characteristics were demonstrated by analysis of the scan sequence with curve fitting and functional imaging programs.


Criminal history and race have been prominent figures in the research of discrimination in the labor market. Initially there was a heavy reliance on statistical analysis of employment data as an indicator of bias in employment. The use of field experiments that use audits conducted by testers applying for entry-level positions has become an important resource in the examination of discrimination in the labor force. The testers are matched on all characteristics, but race. In the present study, evidence of discrimination relied heavily on a comparison of callbacks for entry-level positions of Black male and White male testers based on their race and criminal history. Testers were required to participate in debriefings and maintain a diary of all of their interactions during the application process. Three themes emerged from the diaries and debriefings of the testers: (a) the application process was influenced by a "gatekeeper," (b) racism was evident, and (c) an emotional effect was noted on both testers.


This manuscript presents a new deep learning-based approach for implicit geological modeling using a customized UNet architecture. It's a very interesting approach and shows some promising first results on the synthetic examples and case studies using interpretative inputs. However, there is a large issue with respect to 3D applications (detailed below) that really limits its applicability. Therefore, I suggest developing a workable solution for 3D CNNs to demonstrate it can work with typical 3D implicit inputs, or clearly focusing the manuscript as a method for 2D interpretative inputs. The approach has a lot of potential if the issues can be addressed. Additionally, I have many suggestions and comments to improve the manuscript, with major points given below first. The quality of the writing is generally good.


In the field of Quantum computing, the Peter Shorgave an important algorithm known as Shor's factorization algorithm. With the existing coding it has an issue of finding order and periods finding. Search of new quantum numbers has been already on to strengthen the quantum computing. The development of quantum computer is also slow due to limited availability of simulation. In this paper, we have reported new quantum numbers using Shor's algorithm and simulation. The graphical representation of numbers are shown in this paper.


Introduction: The prevalence of systemic hypertension has increased considerably in India over the past few decades from 5 percent to between 20-40 percent in urban population and 12-17 percent in ...


A device for a fruit machine comprises a rotatable reel (8) with primary symbols around its periphery. The reel (8) can be rotated and brought to rest with one of the symbols displayed through a window (9) of a fruit machine. The surface of the reel (8) is reflective and a supplementary symbol (18, 19) is concealed in a darkened region. The supplementary symbol (18, 19) can be illuminated with a lamp (20, 21) whereupon it then becomes visible, by reflection from the reel surface, on top of or alongside the primary symbol. The surface of the reel may be half-silvered so that supplementary symbols (15) can be seen when illuminated by lamp (14). The primary symbol may represent a playing card rank and the supplementary symbols may represent suits.


Historically fishmeal has been the most important protein source in commercial aquatic feeds. However, annual growth of greater than 10% per year has put increasing pressure on fish meal supplies. Currently world production of fishmeal is approximately 6 to 7 million tonnes per year and this level of production is expected to remain stable over the next 10 years (New, 1999). Since the supply of feed grade fish is limited, expansion of aquaculture production by 300% over the decade 2000-2010 (FAO 1995) will be dependent on lowering the inclusion rate of fishmeal in aqua feeds and replacing it with plant based protein sources.


The diagnosis and treatment of cancer are a stressful and threatening experience, which has tremendous impact on children and their families. As advances in cancer care have led to more treatment options and longer survival for cancer patients, a focus on quality of life for patients and their families has gained.

 The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychosocial aspects of children with different types of pediatric cancer (newly diagnosed as well as survivors), their parents, and sibs in comparison with those with normal children.

 This study comprised 60 children, their sibs and caregivers. They were classified into three groups. Group I which comprised 20 newly diagnosed children with cancer, their caregivers and sibs, group II which comprised 20 cancer survivors children, their caregivers and sibs, group III which comprised 20 clinically healthy children, their caregivers and sibs. All children and their sibs in this study were subjected to full history taking, thorough clinical examination, assessment of socioeconomic standard, assessment of pediatric quality of life, a battery of psychometric tests included pediatric checklist, anxiety, depression, and self- esteem scores. All caregivers were subjected to record of demographic variable, assessment of socio-economic level, assessment of anxiety, depression, and isolation score, assessment of stress and burden related to the disease itself, if any, using standardized questionnaire and assessment of quality of life.

 Mean value of DS was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in newly diagnosed cancer children and survivors compared to controls while AS and PCLS was only significantly higher (P < 0.05) in newly diagnosed cancer children compared to controls. On the other hand, mean value of IQ of newly diagnosed cancer children and survivors was significantly than controls(P < 0.05); Mean values of Child as well as the Parental Total HRQL were significantly lower in newly diagnosed and survivors compared to controls (P < 0.05) with the former significantly lower than the later. In studied sib groups, AS was significantly higher in newly diagnosed compared to survivors and controls (P < 0.05), while PCLS was only significantly higher when newly diagnosed compared to survivors. In studied parental groups, mean values of DS, AS, and SS were significantly higher(P,0.05) in newly diagnosed compared to survivors and controls. Meanwhile, IS was significantly higher in newly diagnosed compared to controls. Newly diagnosed children with cancer, their parents and sibs had significantly lower mean values of all Child HRQL subcategories. On the other hand, survivors showed only significantly lower physical and social subcategories compared to controls. In studied sib groups only sibs of newly diagnosed patients and those of survivors, had significantly lower mean value of social subcategory compared to controls.

 The current study showed that newly diagnosed cancer children had severe impact on their psychosocial aspects as well as their HRQL compared to controls while survivors showed a much lesser effects. On the other hand, sibs were mainly affected socially while parents were extremely affected.


Over the past decades, the increase in the use of digital resources and the growth of research conducted in digital environments has transformed academic scholarship. Never before was there such breadth of information and services available for scholars to use; most importantly, though, such developments offer the advantage of not only speeding up the research process, but also for facilitating innovative research inquiry. Yet, especially in the area of the Arts & Humanities, the capabilities developed by new technologies have had a great impact on the scholarly practices of its disciplines.


PurposeThis study aims to develop a new design for the fluid-safety valve to make it more environmentally friendly.Design/methodology/approachComputational fluid dynamics is carried out to analyse the behaviour of flow in both traditional and new safety valves.FindingsThe possibility of failure in the new design under the maximum allowable working pressure is analysed using finite element analysis.Originality/valueInvestigating a new low-fluid pressure safety valve design.