Background: Even though cancer of the cervix uteri is a preventable and highly curable disease, in Mexico it is the second cause of cancer mortality among women. According to the last National Survey of Health and Nutrition (2012) , Papanicolaou test screening coverage in Mexico is estimated at 45%. Additionally, studies have revealed quality problems in the taking and interpretation of Papanicolaou test tests and a lack of follow-up in ∼60% of women with positive Pap smears. To date there is no information on the time intervals of care for cervical cancer patients in Mexico. Aims: To quantify the intervals of care from the detection of a possible cervical cancer to the beginning of cancer treatment, describe the form of presentation and identify perceived barriers to timely care. Methods: We surveyed 427 patients that received a new cervical cancer diagnosis between 6.01.16 and 5.31.17 in the 2 largest public hospitals located in Mexico City available for uninsured cancer patients. Approximately 2/3 patients reside in Mexico City metropolitan area and 1/3 in surrounding states. All patients signed informed consent. Participants' medical files were reviewed. We gathered data on: dates necessary to estimate the intervals of care, sociodemographic characteristics, form of cancer identification (symptoms vs screening), perceived barriers of care and cancer clinical stage. Results: Clinical stages at diagnosis were: 9.5% in situ, 16.9% stage I, 25.2% stage II, 20.2% stage III, 17.8% stage IV and 10.5% not known. The median duration of the patient interval (time between symptom discovery and first medical consultation) was 24 days (IQR = 5.5-72), in comparison with 175 days (IQR = 101-272) for the health system interval (time between first medical consultation and treatment start). The diagnosis interval (first consultation to diagnosis) had a median duration of 99 days (IQR = 43-204) and the treatment interval (time between diagnosis and treatment start) a median of 57 days (IQR = 37-78). Only 15% (64/427) patients identified the problem through screening. The most common symptom of presentation was vaginal bleeding in 65.9% (236/363) cases. The main perceived barriers of diagnostic delay were: lack of information of available health services (63%), long waiting times between appointments (52%) and diagnostic medical errors in the first services consulted (38%). Conclusion: The vast majority of cervical cancer cases among uninsured women in the Mexico City metropolitan area have symptomatic presentations. Additionally, these patients face delays of ∼6 months between the first medical consultation and the confirmation of cancer. Low coverage of screening and diagnostic delays are the most likely explanations of the high mortality rates of cervical cancer that persist in Mexico despite the 30-year implementation of the national screening program.


Self-assembled nanocomposite Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3-NiFe2O4 films have been grown on the (001)-oriented MgAl2O4 substrate by a 90° off-axis magnetron sputtering method. X-ray diffraction shows that both Pb(ZrTi)O3 and NiFe2O4 phases are epitaxial with a 1-3 dimensional embedding composite structure. The vertical lattice mismatch between the Pb(ZrTi)O3 and NiFe2O4 phase is only 0.65%, indicating almost perfect matching of both phases and low defect concentration. Magnetization measurement shows that the coercive field is 274 Oe and linear extrapolation of the in-plane magnetization yields a uniaxial anisotropy field of ~1.3 kOe for a 1200 nm-thickness sample. The peak-to-peak ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth of the film is about 271 Oe, therefore, suitable for nonreciprocal RF/microwave devices.


Protein–RNA complexes play key roles in a variety of cellular functions such as gene expression and its regulation. One frequently applied method for the investigation of direct protein–RNA interactions is UV induced cross-linking. Mass spectrometry (MS) is increasingly utilized for the identification of proteins and peptides directly interacting with RNA. The major challenges for this application are the generally low yield of the UV induced cross-linking reaction and the lack of suitable tools for MS data analysis. In this work, both issues are adressed. A novel cross-linking pathway involving net loss of H2S from the photoreactive base-analogue 4-thio-uracil was identified, and a novel approach for automated identification of cross-linked peptides from mass spectrometry data was developed.


Stationary source-free spherical flames ('flame balls') in premixed combustible gases were studied by employing low-gravity (micro-g) environments in a drop tower and an aircraft flying parabolic trajectories to diminish the impact of buoyancy-induced convective flow. Flame balls were found in all mixture families tested when: (1) the Lewis number Le of the deficient reactant was sufficiently low; and (2) the compositions were sufficiently close to the flammability limits. Probably as a consequence of the reduction in buoyant convection, the flammability limits at micro-g were significantly more dilute than those at Earth gravity; for example, 3.35% H2 vs 4.0% H2 in lean H2-air mixtures. By comparison with analytical and computational models, it is inferred that the phenomenon is probably related to diffusive-thermal effects in low-Le mixtures in conjunction with flame-front curvature and radiative heat losses from the combustion products. The chemical reaction mechanism appears to play no qualitative role. In the aircraft experiments, the gravity levels (approximately equal 10(exp -2)g(sub 0)) were found to cause noticeable motion of flame balls due to buoyancy, which in turn influenced the behavior of flame balls. At these g levels, a new type of transient, nearly cylindrical flame structure, termed 'flame strings,' was observed.


Abstract In the Lingue estuary (Valdivia, Chile) Perinereis gualpensis has been found from the mixo‐oligo‐haline to the euhaline zone, although this polychaete has been described by Jeldes (1963) as a typical freshwater species, while Perinereis vallata was found to be restricted to the euhaline zone of this estuary, well separated in habitat from the former species. To make sure the sympatric existence of two species of one and the same genus, these two polychaetes have been redescribed and compared on the basis of morphological differences (shape of the paragnaths, area VI), meristical (number of segments in relation to body length and number of paragnaths) and morfometrical (length of the antennae relative to the length of the palpi). Furthermore, these investigations have shown that P. vallata cannot be considered as a variety of P. nuntia.


Fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is designed to introduce a multitude of new services which require higher processing resources and lower latency. Cloud Radio Access Network (Cloud RAN) is one of the most promising solutions for next generation networks. The basic idea of C-RAN is to migrate Baseband Units (BBU) to the cloud for a centralized processing and management. In our work, we propose to extend C-RAN architecture with an edge cloud: the Cloud RRH in order to enhance the quality of service (QoS). In this paper we propose a service orchestrator in the Cloud RAN based edge cloud in order to enhance resources utilization while keeping a good QoS.


We present experimental results of a random laser in a cylindrical cell. With this configuration we manage to exhibit that the laser's lasing modes, the lasing threshold and the peak wavelength exhibit angular dependence.


In this work, a two-level model for Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and ring lasers based on optical transmission parameters is proposed. The advantage is that these parameters can be directly determined from fiber-transmission measurements. Formulas are given for the absorbed pump power, and gain for amplifier as well as output power of the laser. The model compares well with previously publishe


Functionally graded materials (FGM) eliminate the stress singularity in the interface between two different materials and therefore have a wide range of applications in high temperature environments such as engines, nuclear reactors, spacecrafts etc. Therefore, it is essential to study the mechanical properties of different FGM materials. This paper aims at establishing a method for modelling FGMs in molecular dynamics (MD) to get a better insight of their mechanical properties. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of Cu-Ni FGM nanowires (NW) under uniaxial loading have been investigated using the proposed method through MD simulations. In order to describe the inter-atomic forces and hence predict the properties properly, EAM (Embedded atom model) potential has been used. The nanowire is composed of an alloying constituent in the core and the other constituent graded functionally along the outward radial direction. Simple Linear and Exponential functions have been considered as the functions which defines the grading pattern. The alloying percentage on the surface has been varied from 0% to 50% for both Cu-cored and Ni-cored nanowires. All the simulations have been carried out at 300 K. The L/D ratios are 10.56 and 10.67 for Cu-cored and Ni-cored NWs, respectively. This study suggests that Ultimate Tensile Stress and Young's modulus increase with increasing surface Ni percentage in Cu-cored NWs. However, in Ni-cored NWs these values decrease with the increase of surface Cu percentage. Also, for the same surface percentage of Ni in Cu-cored NW, the values are higher in linearly graded FGMs than that in exponentially graded FGMs. While in Ni-cored NWs, exponentially graded FGM shows higher values of UTS and E than those in linearly graded FGM. Thus, grading functions and surface percentages can be used as parameters for modulating the mechanical properties of FGM nanowires.


Objective To study the influence of folic acid for the gastric juice pH value of helicobacter pylori positive patients with chronic atrophic gastritis.Methods 58 helicobacter pylori positive patients with chronic atrophic gastritis who were treated with routine treatment from November 2010 to June 2012 were selected as control group,and 58 patients who were treated with routine treatment and folic acid at the same time were selected as observation group,then the gastric juice pH value of two groups before and after the treatment were compared.Results The rates of pH7.0 and pH3.5-7.0 of observation group after the treatment at sixth and twelfth week were all lower than those of control group,and those of observation group with different severity were all lower than those of control group,all P 0.05,there were all significant differences.Conclusion The influence of folic acid for the gastric juice pH value of helicobacter pylori positive patients with chronic atrophic gastritis is bigger,and it plays an active effect for treatment of helicobacter pylori positive patients with chronic atrophic gastritis.


Ontology similarity calculation is important research topics in information retrieval and widely used in biology and chemical. By analyzing the technology of semi-supervised learning, we propose the new algorithm for ontology similarity measure and ontology mapping. The ontology function is obtained by learning the ontology sample data which is consisting of labeled and unlabeled ontology data. Via the ontology semi-supervised learning, the ontology graph is mapped into a line consists of real numbers. The similarity between two concepts then can be measured by comparing the difference between their corresponding real numbers. The experiment results show that the proposed new algorithm has high accuracy and efficiency on ontology similarity calculation and ontology mapping.


The wind-induced fatigue of inclined cables was analyzed. Firstly,it was hypothesized that within one random stress cycle,the dispersion between the maximum and minimum stress of the nodes was content with Rayleigh distribution. Subsequently,the formula of fatigue reliability was formulated. Likewise,based on the fatigue objective reliability of bridge structures,the simple formulas for the estimation of fatigue life were then presented. Thirdly,on the basis of present study,the influences of different wind attack angles on both the fatigue reliability and fatigue life were further assessed. Finally,taking the inclined cable in Songhuajiang Cable-stayed Bridge as an example,the time history stress and displacement of several positions in the cable at different wind attack angles,as well as the stress standard deviations,were calculated. With resorting to the stress and displacement under the most dangerous condition,the fatigue life was thus obtained so as to examine the wind-induced fatigue performance of the cable.


Options are amongst the most heavily transacted financial instruments in the world. Nevertheless, even the most sophisticated and accurate option pricing models are known to contain misspecifications. In this work, novel misspecifications are discovered using visual exploratory data analysis. These discoveries may help academics improve pricing models and practitioners better trade and hedge their option positions.


Service-learning has been proven to be a high-impact educational pedagogy in many disciplines. It addresses human, and community needs through engaging in community activities. With professional engineering expertise, integrating engineering into service-learning not only can make particularly impactful community service, especially in developing countries where engineering expertise is not always available but also provides an effective way for students to apply their theoretical knowledge to solve real-world problems. Service-learning in engineering has been documented in the last 20 years, and it was implemented as extracurricular activities followed by integrating into core curriculums. However, most of the programs are only offer to the engineering students and less consider implementing as a form of general education with applying multidisciplinary approach. This research examines how to integrate students from very different disciplines into the same project. Our case study is a credit-bearing service-learning subject offered by the Department of Computing which is open to all undergraduate students and the projects were conducted in Rwanda and Cambodia in 2015 and 2016.


Modification of leukemia L1210 tumor cells with Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase resulted in loss of oncogenicity; 107 treated cells failed to induce leukemia in DBA/2 mice. Immunogenicity of the treated tumor cells was increased, since DBA/2 mice were specifically resistant to 105 virulent L1210 cells after single immunization. Immunogenicity is directly correlated with release of neuraminidase-susceptible N -acetylneuraminic acid. However, prolonged incubation with neuraminidase, beyond 90 min for this particular tumor, gradually destroys the immunogenicity of the tumor cells.


Time-expanded phase sensitive (TE-ϕ)OTDR is a recently reported technique for distributed fiber sensing that relies on the use of an electro-optic dual frequency comb (DFC) scheme. A distinctive feature of this approach is its ability to provide high spatial resolution (on the centimeter scale) with detection bandwidths orders of magnitude lower than those of conventional ϕOTDR systems. The stringent trade-off between resolution, range and sensing bandwidth that exists in TE-ϕOTDR has demonstrated to be substantially relaxed by implementing two frequency combs with quasi-integer-ratio repetition rates. However, employing very dissimilar line separations (with a ratio between them >100) is challenging due to the need of keeping the coherence over long sequences of interferograms, which eventually limits the attainable range. In this paper, we formulate the requirements for the frequency stability of the reference clock used in a quasi-integer-ratio DFC scheme. This analysis allows us to stablish the limits on the number of comb lines (i.e., on the number of available independent sensing points) for a particular reference clock. By using a rubidium atomic clock (with a relative frequency stability of ∼10−13), we demonstrate up to 105 sensing points along 2 km of fiber with tens of Hz sensing bandwidth.


The Scientific Outlook on Development emphasizes sustainable development.This carries on Marxism theory on the relationship of the human and the nature,and it substantiates new content and puts forward new request according to the new complexion.The Scientific Outlook on Development opens out the practical significance of the harmonious of the human and the nature,points out the cognition foundation of the ambivalent in the primary phases,and it brings forward concrete approaches to realize the harmonious,which made great effort to advance the course of the harmonious between the human and the nature.


The influence of microwave and ultrasonic irradiation on the performance of ammonium-tagged Ru-based catalysts in olefin metathesis transformations in aqueous media was studied. Differences in the catalytic activity in correlation with the nature of the present counter ion and the size of the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand were revealed. The presented methodology allows for preparation of a variety of polar and non-polar metathesis products under environmentally friendly conditions.


Let α be an algebraic integer of degree d, not 0 or a root of unity, all of whose conjugates αi are confined to a sector | arg z| ≤ θ. In the paper On the absolute Mahler measure of polynomials having all zeros in a sector, G. Rhin and C. Smyth compute the greatest lower bound c(θ) of the absolute Mahler measure ( ∏d i=1 max(1, |αi|)) of α, for θ belonging to nine subintervals of [0, 2π/3]. In this paper, we improve the result to thirteen subintervals of [0, π] and extend some existing subintervals.


With state agencies adopting Superpave, county and city agencies are facing the prospects of having to switch as well. At the start of 2003, 47 states included Superpave as a standard or only specification for state DOT pavements. The most experienced road contractors are familiar with how to place it, and testing labs have been developed or revised to affirm the mix's performance. Paving equipment now exists to make Superpave easier to place and aggregate suppliers are making the touch, angular, low-sand, low-fines stones it needs. Estimates put the share of Superpave jobs offered by local governments at less than 10%, which shows how difficult it is to change the closed world of local agency specifications writing. One barrier for local agencies is that average daily traffic or car/truck counts need to be converted to equivalent single-axle loadings (ESALs) to specify the proper mix. The Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana has developed a conversion chart that specifies which grade of binder is needed for which pavement course and for what traffic volume. Finally, the price differential is finally starting to narrow to the point where local agencies might be able to justify its initial higher cost. In addition, local governments that model their specs on state specs will find themselves having to switch. Provides links to numerous Web resources about Superpave.


....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. iv ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 SYNOPSIS ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ......................................................................... 3 1.2.1 GRAPHENE: THE FIRST TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIAL .................... 3 1.2.2 GRAPHENE AND RELATED MATERIALS .................................................. 4 1.2.3 COMMON CHARACTERIZATION METHODS ............................................ 6 18.104.22.168 MICROSCOPIES ........................................................................................ 7 18.104.22.168 SPECTROSCOPIES .................................................................................... 8 188.8.131.52 INDUSTRIAL CHARACTERIZATION METHODS ............................... 9 1.2.4 DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS ......................................................................... 11


In this issue of Circulation Research , Shutt et al1 explore the characteristics of resident bone marrow cells (BMC) in patients enrolled in the Timing In Myocardial infarction Evaluation (TIME) clinical trial, in search of cellular correlates of reduction of the infarcted area 6 months after acute myocardial infarction (MI). The central hypothesis is that endogenous BM properties could affect the clinical outcome. They found both phenotypic and biological BMC correlates of infarct size reduction, and the emerging picture is quite interesting.

Article, see p 99

Why should subset composition and functional status of BMC affect recovery after acute MI? One explanation relates to the fact that specific populations of BMC have been shown to mobilize from the BM into the peripheral blood (PB) after MI and to have prognostic and therapeutic values. The first clue of a cross talk between the human ischemic heart and the BM came more than a decade ago with the work of Shintani et al,2 which reported a peak in BM-derived, circulating CD34+ cells 7 days after MI, a trend that correlated with the rise in the number of putative endothelial cell clusters under in vitro angiogenic conditions (ie, in medium supplemented with endothelial cell growth factors). Mobilization of precursor cells after MI was confirmed by subsequent studies: Wojakowski et al3 showed that, immediately after admission, blood mononuclear cells of patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction are enriched in transcripts for early myocardial, muscle, and endothelial markers; Leone et al4 and Massa et al5 detected elevated levels of cells positive for CD34 in combination with CD133 and CD117, in the PB of patients with acute MI compared with patients with chronic stable angina and healthy controls. Of note, Massa et al5 demonstrated, for the first time, that circulating …


Abstract: Cross-section data of the Re(n,2n)Re, Re(n,2n)Re, Re(n,α)Ta, Re(n, 2n)Re, Re(n,α)Ta, and Re(n,p)W reactions were measured at four neutron energies, namely 13.5, 14.1, 14.4, and 14.8 MeV, by means of the activation technique, relative to the reference cross-section values of the Nb(n,2n)Nb reaction. The neutrons were generated from the T(d,n)He reaction at the K-400 Neutron Generator at China Academy of Engineering Physics. The induced γ activities were measured using a high-resolution γ-ray spectrometer equipped with a coaxial high-purity germanium detector. The excitation functions of the six abovementioned nuclear reactions at neutron energies from the threshold to 20 MeV were calculated by adopting the nuclear theoretical model program system Talys-1.9 with the relevant parameters properly adjusted. The measured cross sections were analyzed and compared with previous experiments conducted by other researchers, and with the evaluated data of BROND-3.1, ENDF/B-VIII.0, JEFF-3.3, and the theoretical values based on Talys-1.9. The new measured results agree with those of previous experiments and the theoretical excitation curve at the corresponding energies. The theoretical excitation curves based on Talys-1.9 generally match most of experimental data well.


Data were obtained on the general proteolytic activity of Aspergillus raperi and Sarocladium strictum and on proteolytic activity in relation to the main proteins of the hemostasis system (specific activity). It has been shown that Sarocladium strictum is a more promising strain producing enzymes with urokinase-like plasminogen activator activity due to the high specificity of this activity.


Initiated by Carnegie Corporation of New York in the early 21st century,TNE is a reform of university-based teacher education,the birth of which is propelled by the criticism the university-based teacher education has undertaken,the agreement in the education reform and the accumulation of previous practice.Under the TNE design principles,universities and colleges engaged in TNE focus on enhancing clinical experience,altering the traditional course of teacher education,engagement of art and science faculty,cooperation with public schools,induction education,and building of culture of evidence.TNE deserves our high attention,because in some sense whether or not teacher education can still be a part of university education depends on the result of the implementation of TNE.


UA(1) dynamics have the potential to induce a polarised condensate inside a nucleon. The formation of this condensate is related to the realisation of UA(1) symmetry breaking by tunneling processes such as instantons. If it is present, the polarised condensate induces a term in g1 which has support only at x=0. Tunneling processes then induce a net transfer of "spin" from finite x to x=0. The polarised condensate may be measured by comparing the flavour-singlet axial charges which are extracted from polarised deep inelastic and νp elastic scattering experiments.


Pacific Northwest regional electric power development was studied with three objectives: (1) to assemble an historical account of institutional arrangements for electric power development in the region; (2) to identify emergent public policy issues; (3) to identify long-range institutional research problems relevant to regional energy and resource development.


ASME Grade 122 (11Cr-0.4Mo-2W-CuVNb) has been used for boiler components in ultra-supercritical (USC) thermal power plants at approximately 873 K. The creep life of the welded joints in this steel decreased as a result of Type IV creep damage that forms in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) under long-term use at high temperatures. In this study, we investigated the relationship between microstructural change and the evolutions of two nonlinear acoustic characterizations with electromagnetic acoustic resonance (EMAR) throughout the creep life in the welded joints and the correlation between two nonlinear acoustic characterizations. One was resonant frequency shift and other three-wave mixing. EMAR was a combination of the resonant acoustic technique with a non-contact electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). We used bulk wave EMAT, which transmits and receives shear wave propagating in thickness direction of a plate specimen. Creep tests of thick welded joints specimens were interrupted at several time steps at 873 K, and 90 MPa. Two nonlinear acoustic parameters and ultrasonic attenuation decreased from the start to 50% of creep life. After slightly increased, they rapidly increased from 80% of creep life to rupture. We interpreted these phenomena in terms of dislocation recovery, recrystallization, and restructuring related to the initiation and growth of creep void, with support from the SEM and TEM observation. This noncontact resonance-EMAT measurement can monitor the evolution of nonlinear acoustics throughout the creep life and has a potential to assess the Type IV creep damage advance and to predict the creep life of high Cr ferritic heat resisting steels.


Objective To study the technique and the value of mulitslice CT (MSCT) in upper cervical trauma.Materials and Methods 27 patients with upper cervical trauma including 18 cases with trauma history within 1 month, 9 cases more than 1 month, were analysed retrospectively with MSCT scan, 1 mm collimation, 50% overlapping reconstruction, and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), 3-dimensional shaded surface display (3D SSD) and volume rendering (VR) were applied to analyse fracture, dislocation, and ligament injury. Results The fracture was clearly displayed, especially in the axial and MPR images, and the horizontal fracture and variance of odontoid were also detected on these images. But the display of old trauma(1 month) is not satisfied on axial image, which need supplementary information with MPR. The dislocation was well shown in VR or SSD, and the atals transverse ligamentous injury was shown as asymmtry of odontoid ligament structure in axial and more clearly depicted with thin slice VR images.Conclusion 1 mm collimation combined with MPR and VR was the optimal technique in upper cervical examination with 4 slice CT scanner, and it could reveal the condition of upper cervical trauma.


The methods of comparative frequency distribution were employed to measure the spatial distribution pattern of parasitoids of Psyttalia incisi(Silvestri) in Fujian Province.The results show that the parasitoids obey the Mosaic distribution.The spatial distribution pattern was measured by the indexes of aggregation and Iwao's regression analysis.The results show that the spatial distribution pattern was also aggregating with individual exclusive,but the aggregation did not rely on the increase of population density of P.incisi.This aggregation is possibly related to the aggregation of oriental fruit flies in infested fruits.Meanwhile,the optimal theoretical sampling number and sequential sampling number were also calculated and analyzed.


We consider some integrals first derived by Nikolai Lobachevsky. We evaluate several of these definite integrals of the form ∫ ∞ 0 R(y) cos(b) + cosh(αy) dy in terms of a special function, where R(y) is a general complex function and b and α are arbitrary complex numbers. Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 30-02 30D10 30D30 30E20 11M35 11M06 01A55


For many years, conspiracy theories have been apart of the cultural society that we live in. They have been passed around through social media, the news, and even by word of mouth. Conspiracy theories can be exciting for some people because they pose a mystery as to whether or not they are actually true. Some conspiracy theories may even scare people because they create a distrust of the government.
 There are many different conspiracy theories that have been passed around in our society today. For example there is the conspiracy that 9/11 was an inside job, that JFK was assassinated by the mafia, and even that the Denver airport was created to house world leaders. Some conspiracy theories may seem too crazy and impossible to be true, but some really do cause people to question whether or not they are real.


The article describes the names of letters, that's to say the role literonyms in realization of poetic devices in the works of Alisher Navoi, the brightest representative of Uzbek classic literature, typical features of literonomyc tamsil and tajnis used in the works of the poet have been studied by examples.


The purpose of this research is the development of guiding principles and rules for the design of filling systems for aluminium gravity castings. The approach employs computational modeling and real-time X-ray radiography. Out of five geometries of L-junctions that occur in filling systems and which have been studied, space dictates that only the sprue/runner junction is presented. Progressive filling along the L shaped geometry has been achieved without surface turbulence by eliminating excess cross sectional area of the channels, and in particular reducing the "dead zone" in the corner of the junction. Higher flow rate and less turbulent filling of the mould cavity can be achieved by the new L shaped junction design.


Given that most of property insurance policies are one-year contracts and have a high renewal, this paper establishes Auto-regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) which considers adding lags of the dependent variable and/or lags of some independent variables. Based on the data of Insurance Premiums in China, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Fixed-asset Investment during the period from 1980 to 2012, this paper analyzes the long-term and short-term relationships between them with method of the ARDL bounds testing approach. The results indicate that GDP is the major factor driving the growth of property insurance premiums in China; fixed-asset investment has significant impact on Chinese property insurance premiums, and they show the conspicuous negative correlation; Moreover, CPI has little effect on the premium income.


Flattening performance is evaluated on the atomic scale of Si(lll) surfaces finished by a precise surface-preparation method utilizing fine SiO 2 particles mixed with ultrapure water. An atomically flat Si( 111) surface with periodic steps, which is obtained by dipping into an NH 4 F solution, is processed by the surfacing method. The low-energy electron diffraction image of the processed surface exhibits a 1 X 1 pattern. Atomic force microscopy observations show that the periodic steps formed by the NH 4 F treatment are completely removed, and highly resolved scanning tunneling microscopy images reveal that the processed surface is composed of nanometer-scaled small terraces. From these results, it is speculated that fine powder particles in ultrapure water remove microbumps and apparent steps to flatten work surfaces, although they can etch some surface atoms inside a terrace.


The present thesis aims to scenarios's techno-economic evaluation of broadband information's customers in remote areas of the Greek territory . Based on the absence of existing telecommunication's infrastructure, the network is being set up from the beginning(assuming the existence of OTE's urban centers at a sufficient distance ) and for specific cases of customers, technical requirements of the infrastructure are being marked, as well as, the individual cost. This study is based on Wimax wireless technology , typical wired transmission's infrastructure , as well as, topology PTP or PTMP. In chapter 1, the concepts of broadband, Wimax and ADSL technologies are being introduced . In the 2 chapter , the standard networking topologies are being presented, on which to build the infrastructure's set up of the client's tested models. In the 3 chapter, there is a list , in general form ,of the broadband information customers's cases in accordance with the morphology of Greek remote areas . In the 4 chapter, an analytical description of the technical characteristics of each client case is being provided . In the 5 chapter, operating (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) for each case are being calculated .


Traumas occur frequently in the competitive sportsman's life. The causes and the mechanisms of musculo-skeletal traumas vary with every sport. Objectives 1. To identify the factors that favour/determine traumas caused by overstress. 2. To determine the trauma incidence in the studied sportsmen. 3. To develop and implement prophylactic training protocols. 4. To detect musculo-skeletal traumas early, using modern investigation methods: musculo-skeletal ultrasound scan, MRI, CT. 5. To determine the main musculo-skeletal traumas occurring in sports practising. 6. The functional rehabilitation of the injured segment so that the sportsman can resume his/her competitive activity at best possible parameters and without the risk of relapse. 7. To create (clinical, imagistic and prevention) algorithms to monitor the sportsmen. 8. To keep trauma-affected sportsmen under a three-year monitorisation period and to draw the conclusions. Material and methods : the study batch included 107 sportsmen of the volley, basketball, handball and football teams, league A1 and A2, from Timisoara and Lugoj, in the competition period 2006 -2009. Research methods : bibliographic study, observation, inquiry, questionnaire, the statistical-mathematical method, the graphic method, radio-imagery methods (CT, MRI) of investigating sportsmen with musculo-skeletal traumas. Treatment and prevention : The rehabilitation therapy is complex and intensive. It should be correlated with the sportsman's training level, his/her performance level at the time the trauma occurred, and the functional level the sportsman should reach in order to resume his competitive activity. Relaxation, cryotherapy, anti-inflammatory and myorelaxing drugs, compressions, adjuvants are the first means to apply as soon as trauma has occurred. Means of rehabilitation : massage, kinetotherapy, electrotherapy, thermotherapy, balneotherapy. This paper brings forward several complex physical exercises focusing on groups of muscles and joints involved in specific types of motility required by different sports. The exercises were chosen so as to increase articular mobility and improve muscle and ligament flexibility. In theory, all traumas can be prevented through training that is initiated and performed correctly, proper physical and psychical training and preventive imagistic monitorisation.


In this study, a dual-band circularly polarized bi-sectoral waveguide antenna is proposed, which is used launch and early orbit phases (LEOP) of telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) applications of satellite systems to almost cover full space together with omni-directional (toroidal) antennas. The structure consists of four parts (pyramidal horn antennas) each having excited by a single inclined slot being cut over circular waveguide. However, because the overall antenna is only fed with a single rectangular waveguide, it works as transceiver (in TX and RX bands simultaneously). The parts belonging to each band have bi-directional patterns being opposite to each other. Therefore, instead of using four separate antennas each being fed by separate rectangular waveguide to cover both directions in dual band (TX and RX bands) in 3D space, one antenna with just one feed is demonstrated as being sufficient for same purpose. For this purpose, an antenna is designed for a Ku-band TT&C application. The results show that the antenna is dual-band over 500 MHz bandwidth around 11.75 GHz (TX) and 13.75 GHz (RX) center frequencies. The antenna has more than 9.5 dBi peak gain in both main lobes and 15 dB return loss at TX band; and has more than 10 dBi peak gain and 10 dB return loss at RX band. Besides, it has less than 3 dB and 3.5 dB axial ratio (AR) values at TX and RX bands within almost 45º and 60º azimuth and elevation beamwidth values, respectively.


A correlation equation for calculating the limiting partial molar volumes of rare gases in aqueous solutions, which includes the contribution of the electronic polarizability of solute molecules caused by their interaction with a uniform force field of the solvent, was suggested. The conclusion that there is an interrelation between the volume properties and the mechanism of solution (hydration) of rare gases in water was drawn.


Method of decreasing the antigenicity of the structural protein of adeno-associated virus (AAV) versus the wild type, wherein the structural protein is modified by at least one insertion which is located before and / or behind at least one amino acid in the sequence selected from YKQIS SQSGA, YLTLN NGSQA, YYLSR TNTPS, EEKFF PQSGV, NPVAT EQYGS, LQRGN RQAAT or NVDFT VDTNG VP3, and moreover the structural protein mutated thus follows He is able to form particles.


The analysis presented here is based on the keynote speech discussing the most recent developments in rural policy on urban-rural integration in China delivered in Chinese by Professor Ye Xingqing at the Ninth European Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China (ECARDC9) held at the University of Leeds in the UK on 3–5 April 2009. Professor Ye's paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main initiatives, their rationale and their context, including some of the debates surrounding them. Professor Ye, who is an invited keynote speaker of ECARDC9 and the director-general of the Department for Rural Economy, Research Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China, has been personally involved in the process of formulating these policy initiatives. This translation of his paper seeks to convey properly the author's meanings and to strike a balance between documenting the official perspective and rationales, including the use of concepts, on the one hand and ease of comprehension on the other. The translator's notes are intended only for the clarification of, not commentary on, the content.


The invention photonic crystal fiber; relates to a photonic crystal fiber with the base material, and for this (Photonic Crystal Fiber PCF). Photonic crystal fiber preform of the present invention and a rod (rod) in the form of a body (substrate) having a plurality of holes arranged in a photonic lattice structure; Includes a plurality of material layers having at least two different indices of refraction formed in a plurality of holes, and by the arrangement of the layer of material characterized in that to adjust the refractive index distribution of the photonic crystal fiber preform. Therefore, it is possible according to the invention is easy to manufacture the optical fiber light losses and optical non-linearity with very low excellent transmission characteristics, and to implement the optical fiber having various characteristics according to the trellis. Photonic crystal fiber, the base material, lattice structure, the refractive index distribution


Objective To study the estrogen-like effect of mercury chloride and its mechanism. Methods Mercury chloride was selected to perform proliferation assay of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, uterotrophic assay, assay of peroxidase activity and estrogen receptor of rat uterine binding assay. Results Mercury chloride could proliferate the MCF-7 cell. The maximal increase was at 10 -7 mol/L, which was 3.08 folds higher compared to the negative control group. The relative rate of the proliferation effect of mercury chloride was 59.8%, and the proliferation of MCF-7 cells was 0.01. This effect of proliferation could be blocked completely by a pure antigestrogen ICI 182.780. Mercury chloride could increased the weight of uterus of ovariectomized SD rats and the peroxidase activity of uterus at the levels of 0.04 mg/kg,0.20 mg/kg and 1.00 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection for 3 days. Mercury chloride could not affect the binding of estrogen receptor(ER) and cstradiol(E 2). Conclusion Mercury chloride exhibited the estrogen-like effect through binding and activating ER, but it could not bind to ER by competing with E 2.


Background
Early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine trials excluded pregnant women, resulting in limited data about immunogenicity and maternal-fetal antibody transfer, particularly by gestational timing of vaccination.

Methods
In this multicenter observational immunogenicity study, pregnant and nonpregnant women receiving COVID-19 vaccines were prospectively enrolled. Participants had sera collected before vaccination, at 14-28 days after each vaccine dose, at delivery (umbilical cord and peripheral), and from their infants at 3 and 6 months. Geometric mean titers (GMTs) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ID50 neutralizing antibody (nAb) against D614G-like viruses were compared by participant characteristics.

Results
Overall, 23 nonpregnant and 85 pregnant participants (trimester of first vaccine dose: 10 first, 47 second, 28 third) were enrolled. Ninety-three percent (76/82 with blood samples) of pregnant participants had detectable SARS-CoV-2 nAb after 2 vaccine doses, but GMTs (95% confidence intervals) were lower in pregnant participants than nonpregnant participants (1722 [1136-2612] vs 4419 [2012-9703]; P = .04). By 3 and 6 months, 28% and 74% of infants, respectively, of vaccinated participants had no detectable nAb to D614G-like viruses. Among the 71 pregnant participants without detectable nAb before vaccination, cord blood GMTs at delivery were 5-fold higher among participants vaccinated during the third versus first trimester, and cord blood nAb titers appeared inversely correlated with weeks since first vaccine dose (R2 = 0.06, P = .06).

Conclusions
Though most pregnant women develop nAb after 2 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, this analysis suggests that infant protection from maternal vaccination varies by gestational timing of vaccination and wanes. Additional prevention strategies such as caregiver vaccination may warrant consideration to optimize infant protection.


Despite the progress in conventional methods of maxillofacial surgery, which are based on the substitution of bone defects, alternative methods are being intensively developed. Recent studies focused on the use of a variety of matrices either inorganic or organic (autologous bone) have shown the limitations of these materials: inorganic matrices do not possess sufficient osteoinductive capacity and autologous bone cannot be obtained in large amounts. The presented results of the pilot clinical trial point to the fact that the introduction of tissue engineered constructs consisting of stromal cells from adipose tissue and osteoinductive materials have a beneficial effect on wound healing and formation of new bone tissue.


Abstract : The objective of this research project was to circumvent scattering obstacles for optical signal propagation and imaging through turbid media, making use of the phase singularity and orbital angular momentum of vortex beams. The specific aims of the project were: (1) Develop a guide-probe technique that guides the signal beam into turbid media with optical vortex beams, carrying orbital angular momentum. Unlike more conventional methods that have to bear the deteriorated scattered light, this innovative technique was based on the ability of an optical vortex guide beam to bore a transient viewing path in the medium. Imaging through this path experienced less obstacle scattering events and in turn enhanced contrast and resolution of the image. (2) Investigate the degradation of the orbital angular momentum by turbid media and the optical memory effect and evaluate its capability for providing discrimination against multiply scattered light and thus facilitating imaging through turbid media. (3) Investigate the ability to generate a tunable optical filter using optical vortex light in concert with supercontinuum and a novel liquid crystal q-plate


Objective To study the clinical features and treatment of cardiogenic cerebral embolism caused by atrial fibrillation. Methods Retrospective analysis of previous cerebral embolism caused by atrial fibrillation treated 66 patients,the patient's age,sex,clinical manifestations,imaging data,treatment options,prognosis,and other related information were analyzed. Results 37 cases improved(including two cases of patients with thrombolytic),ineffective in 14 cases,including 11 cases of families to give up treatment,15 cases of death. Patients with cerebral embolism caused by atrial fibrillation were female and the elderly over the age of 70 in the majority. Cerebral embolism caused by atrial fibrillation were more involved carotid artery system,especially the middle cerebral artery,left and right hemisphere involvement was roughly equal,and often large,complicated infarction within the bleeding points,or flake. Cerebral embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation taking intravenous thrombolysis,anticoagulation,anti-platelet aggregation,vasodilator,lowering the intracranial pressure,brain cell protective agent,and improve blood circulation regimen. Conclusion Patients with cerebral embolism caused by atrial fibrillation,a serious nervous system dysfunction,the prognosis was poor,it should be actively prevented. Especially for the elderly( age 70 years) and female patients with atrial fibrillation stroke prevention strengthened,so that patients were more likely to benefit. INR active anticoagulation control could reduce the scope of anticoagulant therapy in appropriate patients cerebral embolism,Ultra early thrombolytic therapy may make patients benefit more.


The vertical shock-resistant ability of tetra-launcher of anti-ship missile was evaluated by using the dynamic design analysis method(DDAM).The non-contact underwater explosion of the naval ship was modeled and the response history and response spectrum were calculated.A first order dynamic model of deck was established by using plate theory.Combined the response spectrum of the ship equipment and the first order dynamic deck model and taken a triangular wave as the loading waveform specified in the standard BV 043/85 of Federal German,the design values of shock response spectrums of equipments with different masses were calculated.The results show that the shock environment specified by DDAM is equivalent to the shock environment deduced by underwater non-contact explosion with 1 000 kg TNT at a distance of 60~100 m.Therefore,according to the features of warship of our country,the design values of response spectrums for different cases can be established reasonably.


East Africa hosts significant reserves of untapped geothermal energy. Exploration has focused on geologically young (<1 Ma) silicic calderas, yet there are many sites of geothermal potential where there is no clear link to an active volcano. The origin and architecture of these systems are poorly understood. Here, we combine remote sensing and field observations to investigate a fault‐controlled geothermal play located north of Lake Abaya in the Main Ethiopian Rift. Soil gas CO2 and temperature surveys were used to examine permeable pathways and showed elevated values along a ∼110 m high fault, which marks the western edge of the Abaya graben. Ground temperatures are particularly elevated where multiple intersecting faults form a wedged horst structure. This illustrates that both deep penetrating graben bounding faults and near‐surface fault intersections control the ascent of hydrothermal fluids and gases. Total CO2 emissions along the graben fault are ∼300 t d−1; a value comparable to the total CO2 emission from silicic caldera volcanoes. Fumarole gases show δ13C of −6.4‰ to −3.8‰ and air‐corrected 3He/4He values of 3.84–4.11 RA, indicating a magmatic source originating from an admixture of upper mantle and crustal helium. Although our model of the North Abaya geothermal system requires a deep intrusive heat source, we find no ground deformation evidence for volcanic unrest or recent volcanism along the graben fault. This represents a key advantage over the active silicic calderas that typically host these resources and suggests that fault‐controlled geothermal systems offer viable prospects for geothermal exploration.


Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) comprises 4–6% of all renal cancers. Prognosis in ChRCC is better than in other types of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Fiveand 10-year disease-free survival for chromophobe RCC was 83.9% and 77.9%, respectively. A total of 86% of ChRCC are diagnosed in stage 1 or 2. Renal vein invasion is seen in approximately 5% of cases. The incidence of metastatic disease in ChRCC is 6–7%. The development of targeted therapy in the treatment of advanced RCC (clear-cell RCC) led to a situation where patients could be classified according to lesion resectability. There are two categories of patients with metastatic/local recurrence: patients with primary resectable metastases (surgical treatment with or without following systemic therapy) and patients unlikely to ever undergo resection of metastases (systemic therapy alone). Based on this therapeutic approach, we could consider the treatment of patients with advanced ChRCC according to the possibility of lesion resectability. Up to now, we have not found a standard of systemic treatment (chemotherapy or immunotherapy) for patients with metastatic ChRCC in the literature. Data come from retrospective analysis and very small prospective trials, but their results are very limited. This is a very timely article published in the International Journal of Urology given the pathology, epidemiology, genetics, biology and potential methods of treatment of metastatic chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. Based on theoretical knowledge and treatment subtype of renal cell carcinoma (clear-cell RCC), the authors indicate potential targeted therapy of metastatic disease: 1 selective inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a regulator of intracellular signaling pathways involved in cell growth and proliferation, cellular metabolism, and angiogenesis – mTOR inhibitors (everolimus or temsirolimus); 2 CD117 (c-KIT), a membrane receptor that plays an important role in signal transduction – c-KIT tyrosine kinases inhibitors (imatinib, dasatinib, nilotinib); 3 vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor are markers of angiogenesis, which plays an essential role in tumor growth and metastasization; ChRCC can be associated with high serum levels of VEGF – tyrosine kinases inhibitors including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (sunitinib, sorafenib, pazopanib and others). These observations are the basis for formulating research hypotheses, which should of course be verified in prospective studies. We require multicenter (large well-conducted cohort study), international, randomized trials comparing particular, active, anticancer agents with placebo (there is no standard of treatment for ChRCC yet). The trials should include the expanded access program for placebo groups after progression. It seems that optimal systemic therapy in the first line (like in treatment patients with clear-cell RCC) could be tyrosine kinases inhibitors (sunitinib or sorafenib or pazopanib) and m-TOR inhibitors in the second line (e.g. everolimus). We cannot forget about another interesting targeted therapy – c KIT tyrosine kinases inhibitors. I realize that this treatment hypothesis can be controversial, but up to now we do not have a standard treatment. We should consider the use of c-KIT tyrosine kinases inhibitors in first-line therapy. I believe that prospective trials with these agents in ChRCC should clarify their use in the future. The authors describe some ongoing studies investigating sunitinib (NCT00465179), temsirolimus (NCT00979966) and double mTORC1-2 and PI3K inhibitor BEZ-235 in patients with metastatic ChRCC. The results are still unknown. I believe that the data will be optimistic. We look forward in particular to reports of studies relating to biological and molecular markers.


Rapid advancements in Information Technology and industrialization methods have expedited the advent of 4th Industrial revolution also known as integrated industry industrial internet or smart manufacturing. The notion of Industry 4.0 promises unprecedented progress in next generation of manufacturing technology by fundamentally changing the ways of production and value creation with the help of digital transformation in product/service offerings and hori-zontaVvertical value chains. Industry4.0 is underpinned by a spectrum of emerging technologies such as internet of things, cloud computing, machine learning, adaptive robotics, cyber physical systems, artificial intelligence, Industrial Integration, and Service Oriented Computing. Distributed ledger technology also known as blockchain can not only affect Industry4.0 but also has its direct implications in the above mentiond set of technologies. Lack of powerful tools for visibility, accountability and auditing is a major obstacle in complex processes and supply chains of Industry 4.0. In particular, issues of cloning of products, counterfeiting, trickier maintenance and IP theft are crucial teething issues for realizing Industry 4.0, which poses unique challenges. This paper is an effort to break the ground for demonstrating and presenting the use of Blockchain technology in 4th industrial era.In this paper we explore some concepts of industry 4.0 using blockchain technology and see how blockchain enablement is beneficial for industry 4.0. we explore different areas where we can use blockchain technlogy to foster the development in Industry4.0.


The main service provider are expanding their service capacity to the greatest extent in recent years.The rapid engineering construction leads to the network problem such as low reliability and low utility of the network resource.All these inevitably call for the optimization of the current networks.This paper focuses on the introduction of network construction and network development and puts forward the optical transmission network optimizing plan.After that,we apply this plan to the optimizing engineering of the transmission network and analyze the network function.The result indicates the high reliability of the new network.This provides an effective scheme for optimizing of the transmission network.


In this paper,the factors which can influence the dispersion stability of Al_2O_3-nanosuspension in- eluding pH value,the kinds and concentration of dispersants are mainly discussed.The experimental results show that: with adding SDBS and GA dispersants,the absolute value of zeta-potential is the biggest at pH≈8,while with adding CTAB dispersant,the absolute value of zeta-potential is the biggest at pH=2~3.It's also found that SDBS is the best dispersant fiting for Al_2O_3-nanosuspension,which can make Al_2O_3-nanosuspension keep the highest zeta-potential and smallest particle size at ph≈8.Based on this result,the effect of the concentration of SDBS on the Al_2O_3-nanosuspen- sion is studied,and it's found that when the concentration of SDBS is about 0.055%,the Al_2O_3-nanosuspension is more stable than that in other concentration cases.


Recently historians paid a great attention on narrative history with the stream of the new cultural history. History educators also noticed the importance of narrative, because history lesson has been a memorization of historical facts based on expository text of textbooks. This study is to find a potential of narrative applying it to history classrooms with narrative type of history texts. So I developed narrative text and applied them to history classrooms to find out students' reaction. The result came like this; textbook failed to lead students to active participation on content, while narrative helped them to think historic circumstances and background of events. One of students who read narrative text reacted with a long sentence writing after reading narrative. On the other hand textbook readers reacted with a short sentence writing after reading textbook, and took a copy of it. The attitude of textbook readers remains in a level of like-dislike emotion rather than in a level of reconsidering the meaning of historical facts under their circumstances. But narrative helped students to highlight continuity of human behavior and events, and helped students think about backgrounds, results and meaning of historic events, and make students to change their historical consciousness with insights into the past.


In the field of low-temperature fuel cells, solid alkaline membrane fuel cells (SAMFCs) appear to be a very promising new fuel cell technology. Nevertheless, commercial hydroxyl-exchange membranes suitable for SAMFCs suffer from some limitations, especially low retention to water at the cathode (where water is required to be reactive in the electrochemical reaction), which weakens fuel cell performances. In this study, the commercial Morgan ADP membrane by Solvay has been modified on the surface by plasma processes using argon or argon/triallylamine as gaseous phases. Plasma-treated and untreated membranes have been characterized in terms of water sorption and diffusion properties performing water vapor sorption measurements. Analysis of sorption isotherms and related modeling from Park model has shown that plasma treatments induce a decrease in water sorption and diffusion abilities without qualitatively affecting the water transport properties. Plasma modification from triallylamine leading to the depos...


In today's world, millions of online users post their opinions on product features, services, quality, benefits and other values of the products. These opinions or sentiment data generated via different communication mediums often include vital data points that can be fruitful for businesses in understanding customer experiences, products quality and services. The E-commerce companies considered social media platform for new product launch, promotion of products and features or establishing a successful business to customer relationship which produces great results. Analytics on this Social media data helps in identifying the customers in the right demographic, psychographic and lifestyle group. This chapter identifying important characteristics of customer reviews which help businesses houses to improve their marketing strategies.


Climate change has been a growing concern among investors. The Conference of Parties (COP) "aims to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C."1 Many investors have begun "divesting" from high-carbon asset classes, or are considering doing so. Some seek to avoid the possibility of fossil fuel reserves becoming unburnable and worthless (aka "stranded assets"), while others are concerned about the impact of regulations (according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), rules governing climate change, energy efficiency and renewable energy have grown from less than 200 in 2005 to close to 1,400 in 2013). Other investors want to align their concerns about climate change with how they are investing.


Faculty members and researchers are among the most important knowledge workers in the science and technology system. Therefore, the correct evaluation of their activities in the form of regulations such as gradation, promotion, top researcher, model professor, and the like, has always been of great importance. These knowledge workers, in addition to providing opportunities for the development and advancement of the higher education system and creating the necessary conditions for the development and scientific and cultural dynamism of society, turn the wheel of science and technology by presenting their valuable scientific and technological achievements, and they are the main leaders of science and technology development.


Dr. Gregory Ruff first developed the concept of placing microscopic barbs along the length of suture in order to provide a more stable fixation for soft tissues in plastic and reconstructive surgery [1]. Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., with the development of the QuillTM suture retention system for wound closure. In 2007, absorbable barbed sutures became available for commercial use and these have been used in all surgical specialties for soft tissue fixation over the past decade [2]. CovidienTM and EthiconTM have both developed their own barbed suture technologies. These are all variations of a similar theme. They alter a smooth suture with microscopic barbs to allow improved fixation. QuillTM SRS utilizes bidirectional barbed sutures along the length of a monofilament suture that changes direction at its midpoint. Surgical Specialties, TMInc., took over production and distribution of QuillTM, and also offers unidirectional suture products.


Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is a measure that is used to display the achievement of college students in Ethiopia. It also serves as a key yardstick in career and scholarship assessment. In recent time there has been a rapid massification of higher educational institutions (HEIs). Many academics believe that the expansion has increased a tendency for grade inflation in Ethiopia. As an objective comparison of the quality of graduates from different HEIs is not easy, this study has attempted to discern the CGPA differentials across sample HEIs in Ethiopia and to derive a new standardization technique for their comparison. The study identifies different grading patterns, not only across college categories but also along various batches of HEIs. To generate the standardization technique, both CGPA and the ESLCE (Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination) are employed to derive the Normalized Index. The index is used to adjust not only the inflated but also the deflated CGPAs. The quality of the index could be further improved by incorporating additional variables and also by validating the method over a large set of HEIs.


: Forecasting exchange is a large industry. Almost 23 of the commercial services all over the world are now adopting different techniques in providing foreign exchange rate forecasts. The purpose of this work is to review the reason why is difficult to predict exchange rate and to critically evaluate the main methods available to predicting the future direction of exchange rates and asses their effectiveness in providing forecast of use to international companies. This paper first considered some reason why is difficult to predict exchange rate, because there are so many reason why is difficult to predict exchange rate, and also the approach used in forecasting exchange rate and finally the effectiveness of those methods used in forecasting exchange rate trying to know the most effective tools to use when forecasting exchange rate. Below diagram shows the previous exchange rate forecast between Euro currency and British pounds sterling between January 13 to December 14, it shows how exchange rate was appreciating and depreciating the diagram reveals that exchange rate as not been fixed and cannot be fixed to approach this exchange rate, this paper as discussed the method to forecast exchange rate and the most effective method to use in forecasting exchange rate.


A number of models exist for deploying digital technologies to enhance student engagement. Many emphasise the centrality of collaborative activities in stimulating engagement, such as Engagement Theory (Kearsley and Shneiderman 1999), Produsage (Bruns 2005) and Participatory Cultures (Jenkins 2006). This paper describes the evaluation of a collaborative technology project entitled EngageME, undertaken in 2009 by Victoria University in partnership with Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES), and outlines practical steps that educators can take to improve the success of technology-based learning using collaborative strategies. Through a series of technology skills workshops, the EngageME project brought together young at-risk [vocational education and training] VET students and their teachers from adult and community education (ACE) providers in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Workshops consisted of tuition in narrative and storytelling, followed by digital media creation, editing and sharing (video, comics and virtual worlds). For teachers, these workshops provided a new form of professional development and for their students, new skills in media production. Evaluation data were gathered using pre- and post-workshop surveys based on the '2008 E-learning benchmarking survey for teachers' by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, focus groups, facilitator observations and an online forum. In reflecting on these evaluations, this paper explores the role of technology and collaboration in facilitating and hindering engagement, and provides suggestions on how technology-facilitated engagement can be facilitated in a classroom setting.


The natural crown of a fractured maxillary right lateral incisor was returned to the dentition of a 12-year-old boy as a temporary measure. Six weeks after the initial procedure, the crown was removed. The gingival tissues were found to be clinically normal and, after additional procedures were performed, the crown was replaced. After six months, the crown was clinically firm and the gingiva appeared to be normal. The patient had experienced no additional discomfort.


A survey' conducted by the Center for Disease Control for the year 1975 indicates that only about two-thirds of children from 1 to 4 years of age have been fully immunized against those communicable diseases for which vaccines exist. One reason for this is a complacency that has developed among parents and physicians because of the apparent "eradicat ion" of many of the communicable diseases. In 1974, there were 2402 reported patients with pertussis in the US of whom 14 died, 272 with diphtheria (5 died) and 101 with tetanus (44 died).^ These figures probably indicate a serious underreporting, but they do not indicate that these diseases have been eradicated. Physicians are concerned that they may be held responsible for untoward reactions attributable to the use of vaccines. They must realize, however, that although serious reactions can occur, the incidence is quite low.-' Many conditions reported as vaccine reactions often occur independently, without previous vaccine administration. There are a few absolute contraindications for immunization; these include acute febrile illnesses, allergies to specific substances that may be present in a vaccine, and the avoidance of administering live vaccines to patients with immunodeficiencies or those receiving immunosuppressive agents such as corti-


chemosensitivity, aff ect the outcome of patients with relapsed Hodgkin's lymphoma. Most research groups have used stage IV at relapse, relapse within 3 months after initial treatment, performance status, tumour bulk, and response to salvage chemotherapy to identify patients at low, intermediate, and high risk. 15


Isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus ( Vp AHPND ) that carry a plasmid encoding two Pir -like 52 toxins cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), a disease that has caused 53 devastating economic losses to the shrimp industry, particularly in Asia. However, lower 54 prevalence of AHPND infection has been associated with farms that operate with biofloc 55 or lower salinity culture water. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to investigate 56 the effects of biofloc, different culture water salinity and Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis 57 niloticus )-conditioned water on survival of whiteleg shrimp ( Penaeus vannamei ) bath 58 challenged experimentally with Vp AHPND . First, groups of shrimp were bath challenged 59 with Vp AHPND in clear 15 ppt seawater (CW) or in the presence of a pre-cultured biofloc at 60 25%, 50% and 100% (v/v). Survival during 96 h post-challenge was significantly greater in 61 groups cultured in 50% and 100% biofloc ( p <0.05). In a second trial, the effect of shrimp 62 stocking density on biofloc protection against bath challenge with Vp AHPND was determined 63 and shrimp challenged in 100% biofloc again had significantly greater survival ( p <0.05) 64 compared to the CW group, whilst under our experimental conditions stocking density had 65 no significant influence on survival post-challenge. In a third trial, shrimp were challenged 66 with Vp AHPND in three different salinities of CW or Nile tilapia-conditioned (NTC) water (5 67 ppt, 10 ppt and 15 ppt). Survival in this final trial was 33% at 96 h in 5 ppt CW compared 68 to just 7% in the 10 ppt and the 15 ppt CW groups, though these differences were not 69 statistically significant. Moreover, shrimp survival in the 5 ppt and 10 ppt NTC water 70 groups was significantly greater than in the 15 ppt NTC water group ( p <0.05), while 71 significantly greater survival was observed in 10 ppt NTC water compared to 10 ppt CW ( p <0.05). The results indicate that biofloc and NTC water may provide some protection against AHPND, whilst low salinity culture water may also offer a degree of protection against this bacterium. These findings may allow for the implementation of inexpensive strategies in the shrimp industry to assist in minimising the impact of Vp AHPND as part of pond management practices.


The summary evaluation of work conditions has been conducted, and the prevalence of noise deafness of the workers of main manufacturing occupations on Orenburg gas-processing plant has been discovered. The total evaluation of work conditions corresponds to 3.3-3.4 class by the intensity of leading harmful industrial factors, this causes heightened probability of development of professional deafness. The sensorineural deafness develops more often with the workers of "noise-dangerous" occupations at the age of 40-49 years old with record of service in noisy conditions about 10-15 years.


A selective nonpeptidic δ opioid receptor agonist TAN-67, (4aS*, 12 aR*) -4 a- (3-hydroxyphenyl) -2-methyl-1, 2, 3, 4, 4 a, 5, 12, 12 a-octahydropyrido [3, 4-b] acridine was designed from the selective δ opioid receptor antagonist NTI on the basis of the message-address concept and the accessory site theory. (-) -TAN-67 is a potent and selective δ1 opioid receptor agonist and showed profound antinociceptive effect, cardioprotective effect, and antiarrhythmic effect. On the contrary, (+) -TAN-67 induced hyperalgesia, which is the opposite effect of the antinociception. Optical resolution of racemic TAN-67 and the synthesis of (4aS*, 8 aR*) -4 a- (3-methoxyphenyl) -2-methyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline, the important intermediate ketone of TAN-67 synthesis were also described.


Factors influencing the ability of kindergarten and first grade children to detect inconsistencies in communications were investigated in two experiments. The first experiment revealed that detection was better when the inconsistency occurred between contiguous rather than interspersed statements but that performance was not influenced by the particular source of the story (an adult versus a puppet). The second experiment manipulated set (whether or not children were explicitly told that some passages would not make sense), passage length (short versus long) and passage content (animal versus non-animal). Main effects were obtained for each variable. The results suggest that children as young as five years of age can detect inconsistencies provided the communications presented to them do not exceed their processing capacities or concern topics which prompt a suspension of these capacities.


Detailed spatial resolution in imaging, requires high frequencies. Indeed, clinical systems with center frequencies up to 50MHz are available. However, at such frequencies, the accuracy in measurements may be compromised if the device may be of comparable size to, or larger than the smallest characteristic length scale of the wave. In such cases, spatial variations in the pressure over the surface of the measurement device will produce a different value from that at the intended location, potentially underestimating the field strength.


In the first half of February, WHO announced that the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, is called COVID-19 The most frequent symptoms are fever, asthenia, dry cough;some patients may have variable neurological symptoms, including headache In severe cases, the infection can cause interstitial pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death Due to its epidemiological impact and its spread, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a very significant impact on health care This reflected on the management of acute and chronic neurological patients In the case of headaches, additional problems were added, related to doubts about taking some commonly used drugs on the one hand and the possibility that the new anti-migraine drugs represented by monoclonal antibodies directed against the calcitonin gene related peptide (GCRP) could play a protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection In this climate of uncertainty, telemedicine has taken on a strategic role in guaranteeing partial continuity of care for cephalalgics © Mattioli 1885


The purposes of this study were to identify factors of midlevel student affairs administrators' professional identity and to examine the association of those factors to career commitment, career entrenchment, and demographic characteristics. Principal axis factor analysis derived 3 dimensions of professional identity: career contentment, community connection, and values congruence with the profession. Regression analyses conducted on 377 survey responses revealed that 3 of 4 demographic characteristics, all 3 career commitment subscales, and all 3 career entrenchment subscales were significantly associated with at least 1 of the professional identity subscales. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


Objective To explore the curative effect between via Quadrant minimally invasive surgery and open surgery in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and the effective nursing method for complication.Methods One hundred and fifteen LDH patients including 79 males and 36 females from January 2011 to January 2012 were chosen and divided into the via Quadrant minimally invasive operation transforaminal lumbarinterbody fusion(TLIF) group (Mini-TLIF,n =53) and the open surgery TLIF group (Open-TLIF,n =62).The length of incision,operative blood loss,symptom improvement,postoperative drainage,the time of postoperative ambulation and hospitalization,the incidence of complications were analyzed and compared between two groups to further explore the effective nursing method.Results The length of incision,operative blood loss,postoperative drainage,the time of postoperative ambulation and hospitalization in the Mini-TLIF group were better than those in the Open-TLIF group,and the differences were statistically significant (t =16.91,57.72,56.55,11.20,12.46,respectively; P < 0.01).The difference was found in the score of Visual Analogue Scale before and after treatment in each group (t =34.108,40.964,respectively; P <0.01),but no difference was found before and after treatment between two groups (P > 0.05).The cases of deep vein thrombosis and wound hematoma were respectively 1,0 case in the Mini-TLIF group,and were 21,10 cases in the Open-TLIF group,and the differences were statistically significant (x2 =18.894,7.441,respectively; P < 0.01).Conclusions Both mini-TLIF and open-TLIF can effectively improve the back and leg pain in LDH patients.However,mini-TLIF is lower or shorter than open-TLIF in the aspects of the length of incision,operative blood loss,postoperative drainage,the time of postoperative ambulation and hospitalization; and the LDH patients with mini-TLIF have less pain,the shorter time in bed,the faster recovery; and the mini-TLIF can not only reduce the incidence rate of postoperative complications,but also greatly reduce the burden of clinical nursing.

Key words:
Lumbar disc herniation;  Via Quadrant minimally invasive operation;  Curative effect; Complication;  Nursing


The invention relates to a flexible sheetmetal processing center, belonging to sheetmetal processing equipment. The flexible sheetmetal processing center mainly comprises a motor and a servo motor, a main spindle box, a main spindle assembly, a screw rod component, a pedestal, crossbeams, a back-blading device, an upright column, a tool storage, a clamping assembly, a linear guide rail assembly, an electric control box and a base, wherein the main spindle box is arranged on the linear guide rail of the upright column and moves up and down to realize a Z-direction coordinate motion; the upright column is arranged on the linear guide rail assembly of the base to realize a Y-direction coordinate motion; a universal rolling ball array is respectively arranged on a left support table and a right support table which are used for supporting sheetmetal parts needing to be processed; a left crossbeam assembly and a right crossbeam assembly can move in the longitudinal direction to form an X-direction coordinate motion; and through a W-direction motion of the back-blading part and a W-direction main spindle rotating motion, back-blading to burrs and chamfers can be automatically carried outon the bottom surface, therefore good manufacturability and high quality and efficiency of sheetmetal processing are achieved, and processing cost is reduced very remarkably. The flexible sheetmetal processing center disclosed by the invention is widely suitable for hole drilling, thread tapping, counter boring, burr back-blading at bottoms of holes, irregular hole milling and cutting and plate pattern etching and milling of the sheetmetal parts.


The limonin and naringin content of commercial single strength grapefruit juice (Citrus puradisi) samples was measured by immunoassay. Results obtained from a Linear Regression Analysis of Variance showed that there was no correlation between limonin and naringin concentration. Therefore, to determine the total bitterness potential of the product, each of these two compounds would have to be determined.


Background:Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine and metabolic disease in women of childbearing age worldwide. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) effectively alleviates the clinical symptoms of PCOS. Methods: Relevant literature on TCM for treating PCOS was collected from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and data mining tools identified the core drug group. The TCMSP database retrieved the active ingredients and targets of the core drug group and through screening data from GeneCard, OMIM, PharmGkb, DrugBank, and Uniprot disease databases to obtain common targets for drugs and diseases. The Cytoscape software constructed the "ingredients-targets" network. Meanwhile, the protein interaction database (STRING) constructed the potential target protein interaction network. The CytoNCA plug-in of Cytoscape screened the core targets. GO functional, and KEGG enrichment analyses of intersection targets were performed using the R statistical software. The molecular docking technology verified the relationship between the core ingredients and targets. Results: A total of 175 prescriptions were extracted from the CNKI literature, including 212 Chinese medicinals. Angelica sinensis, Cuscuta chinensis, and Rehmannia root were selected as the core drug group. Preliminary screening obtained 13 active ingredients and 446 potential targets. The mechanism of action is related to the 175 significantly enriched pathways, including lipid and atherosclerosis, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, MAPK, TNF, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. The absolute value of binding energies of quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin with NCOA2, PGR, and PTGS2 were over 5.0 Kcal / mol, indicating good docking results. Conclusions: The main active ingredients, action targets, and related pathways for treating PCOS using Angelica sinensis, Cuscuta chinensis, and Rehmannia root is discussed. The study confirmed the effects of Angelica sinensis, Cuscuta chinensis, and Rehmannia root for treating PCOS, providing a reference for clinical practice.


This paper describes an index for judging the severity of transient events in simulation. The integral square generator angle (ISGA) index strongly penalizes diverging generators but also accounts for steady state transfer levels. Previous papers presented the ISGA index to evaluate the effectiveness of discontinuous feedforward controls. Most of this paper analyzes the potential use of the ISGA as a modal performance index and compares it with other modal indices for the step response of a second-order linear system.


Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation remains the only therapeutic option for a wide range of hematological malignancies despite the risk of possible adverse, immune-related events, such as infection and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). aGVHD is characterized by T-cell activation, defective B-cell development and osteoblastic niche destruction in bone marrow (BM) among other issues. Transplant conditioning regimens cause excessive inflammatory cytokines production and impaired regulatory T-cell control of aberrant T-cell activation. Here, we show that mesenchymal cells (MSCs) upregulated CD40 upon irradiation at the expense of mesenchymal markers, and that CD40 endows MSC of regulatory function on Treg homeostasis and fitness. Transplantation of wild type hematopoietic cells into a CD40-null recipient reduces Treg numbers allowing persistent T-cell activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines production causing, impaired B-lymphopoiesis. These evidences find correlation in aGVHD patients showing the loss of CD40+ BM-MSCs along with reduction in cells of the B-lineage. Modeling aGVHD in mice we show that the elimination of CD40+ BM-MSCs relies on their higher expression of MHC-I molecules. Indeed, aGVHD mice compared to MHC-matched controls showed the loss of MHC-I + radio-resistant host BM-MSCs. Our data point to CD40+ MHC-I+BM-MSCs as a key regulator of BM tolerogenic niches. Key points CD40 regulates BM immunological tolerance following total body irradiation (TBI) and transplantation (BMT). Loss of CD40+MHC-IhighBM-MSCs is associated to BM manifestation of aGVHD in human and murine model.


An achromatized Fourier processor working with spatially coherent but temporally incoherent light is described. A specific configuration is proposed wherein two zones plates combined with an achromatic objective permits to cancel the chromatic scale factor as broad-band illuminaaon is used in the diffraction process. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of the system to work over the visible spectrum.


This thesis entitled "Implementation Information Services To Reduce Smoking Habits of Students at SMK Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan" preparation of this paper is motivated importance of knowledge about the dangers of smoking in adolescence and how to reduce the smoking habits of students in SMK Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan. Peneitian aims to determine clearly whether there is provision Implementation Information Services To Reduce Smoking Habits of Students at SMK Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan academic year 2014/2015. The author takes the object of research in the whole class X SMK 1 Padangsidimpuan totaling 513 people. Given the large population, the authors define the majority of the population being sampled study of 60 people that is based on grade level (stratified sampling), then the determination samples of each class carried out by random sampling. The research instrument used was a questionnaire. The method used was Quasi Experimental Desaign with nonequivalent control group design shape desaign. Data collection techniques using a Likert scale questionnaire. Data analysis techniques using the program Excel and SPSS version 20 using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and one sample kolmogrov Smirnov test. The research results can be researchers in the experimental class and control class 75.4 77.4. Test the hypothesis produce the experimental class Z on pretest-posttest with a value of -3.194 and signed pretest-posttest worth 0.01. While in the control group Z on the pretest-posttest with a value of -3.138 and signed pretest-posttest worth 0.02. At posttest posttest control experiment and signed (2-tailed) experimental class 538 and class 566 controls. In conclusion there was an increase in signefikan between pretest and posttest experiment as well as the pretest and posttest control. But the results of experimental studies hump higher than the control class. Suggestions for school research is to continue to support the provision of information services to all students.


Characteristics of three databases--the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS) database; the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database; and the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB)--containing information on primary brain tumors are discussed. The recently developed population-based CBTRUS database comprises incidence data on all primary brain tumors from 11 collaborating state registries; however, follow-up data are not available. SEER, the population-based gold standard for cancer data, collects incidence and follow-up data on malignant brain tumors only. While not population-based, the NCDB identifies newly diagnosed cases and conducts follow-up on all primary brain tumors from hospitals accredited by the American College of Surgeons. The NCDB is the largest of the three databases and also contains more complete information regarding treatment of these tumors than either the SEER or CBTRUS databases. Additional strengths and limitations of each of these are described, and their judicious use for supporting research, education, and health care planning is encouraged.


Rats were trained on a crf schedule for bar-pressing requiring different amounts of force to activate the food delivery mechanism. Ss were given 480 reinforced trials under either low, medium, or high food deprivation. Extinction data showed a significant effect of food deprivation; however, neither effortfulness of responses nor its interaction with deprivation was significant.


The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in the study of lithic procurement patterns provides crucial information about energy expenditure and territoriality of prehistoric communities. Cost-weight analyses calculate proxy energetic expenditures of agents who transport lithic materials from a quarry to the nearest habitation site. Illustrating energy expenditure values onto maps helps us understand changes in toolstone procurement patterns through time. Comparing energy expenditure values from one time period to another also demonstrates when agents developed the sense of territoriality. This research investigates how the central Mesa Verde Puebloans utilised resources on their landscape from A.D. 600 to 1280.


SUMMARY - In order to alleviate the adverse effects of drought on agriculture in Morocco, we have developed an Indicator for an Early Drought Warning, based on the prediction of the three main cereal yields at any time of the growing season for a given Province. By comparison of the predicted yield with the statistical yield series, we can determine the drought severity and issue an Early Drought Warning when the predicted yield falls in the moderate or severe drought classes.


Trial test of C30 self compacting concrete with manufactured aggregate(MSCC) in stadium project shows that, silica fume can greatly improve the workability of MSCC about incorporation 2.5% cementitious. Similarly, flour and mud in the aggregate can influence the peaceability on MSCC. After placing the MSCC, take the core drilling method to test the performance on the MSCC.


Many scholars have argued that rural extension and development processes need an inter disci plinary approach, one that includes contribu tions from different sciences, particularly social ones. In this context, social and community psychology have a great potential to address this topic. In spite of this potentiality, psychology has produced scarce useful contributions to rural development and to extension processes. Additionally, limited empiri


Five important difficulties were analyzed in resolving the ecological problems on hydropower development in the current Planning EIA(PEIA) systems.This paper told the reasons that the PEIA can not solve the ecological problems of the dams.And based on the Characteristics of dams development,some recommendation s were pointed for improving the PEIA mechanism in resolving the ecological problems of the dams development.


The activities on forecasting of lifetime of ACD (accelerators with closed electron drift) are conducted rather for a long time. But many problems are far from being solved while. The main reason of this is that the lifetime of the Hall thrusters reaches several thousand hours. Such big lifetime hampers the direct experimental study of influence of accelerators parameters on a wear of channel walls. It is well known, that among the different reasons limiting the lifetime of thrusters such as ACD, the most critical is the wear of the walls of the acceleration channel. The wear of the walls happens owing to the interaction of the accelerated ions flow with channel walls (ionic sputtering). Obviously the research of this process and, as a consequence, the knowledge of the model of the channel walls wear depending on the various factors would allow to make to a high precision the evaluations of lifetime, and also could form the basis for the development of a technique for accelerated tests of ACD. Now for forecasting of the ACD lifetime they usually use various empirical relations. In the given paper the attempt of theoretical research of the main processes influencing to the wear of the acceleration channel walls and, hence, on lifetime of ACD in whole was made. It was shown, that the greatest substantiation from the now in use formulas for prediction of lifetime has the logarithmic relation from time. The simple analytical expressions are obtained for an evaluation of empirical factors used in this logarithmic relation, through the parameters of the accelerator. These results enable us the opportunity to estimate and to predict the degree of the wear of channel walls beforehand, at stage of designing, depending from the operation mode of ACD and its duration. The data obtained during the life test of stationary plasma Hall thruster are presented as an experimental confirmation of the method of lifetime estimation submitted. The results of forecasting of the erosion rate and of thruster lifetime are given. The evaluation of accuracy of the forecasts, gotten with use of logarithmic formula, depending on thruster operation time and forecast period is performed.


Introduction Since the 1980s, the public sectors in most OECD countries have changed from traditional administrator-dominated bureaucracies to manager-dominated and market-oriented organizations (see Figure 1). Hood (1995) observed this kind of global movement as the rise of New Public Management (npm). According to him, the emphasis on npm differs among OECD countries; nations such as Sweden, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK have actively promoted npm whereas Greece, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan have put less emphasis on npm. For specifying and comparing the initiatives of public management between countries, Naschold's (1996) study is helpful. According to his analysis of 11 OECD countries, Japan is categorized as one of the countries with least emphasis on public management. Furthermore, Japan's governance as well as that of the USA, Austria and France was categorized as a traditional bureaucratic organization in contrast to the market-oriented management found in the UK and New Zealand. It should be noted, however, that this study was conducted in 1993 and used data from the 1980s. One of the objectives of our study is to connect the findings of the previous studies with the current Japanese movement for public management reforms. Since the local government of the Mie prefecture initiated drastic public management reforms in 1995, this movement has quickly spread all over Japan. More than 50 percent of all local governments in Japan are now introducing or considering performance measurements to advance their reforms (see Table 1 and Figure 2). This rapid innovative movement of public management reform in Japan, however, has not so far been analyzed empirically and comprehensively enough to clarify its characteristics. The objective of this study, therefore, is first to identify


Over eight hundred members of the engineering societies cooperating with the War Department representing the New York sections of the Army Ordnance Association, the A.S.C.E., the A.I.M.E., the A.S.M.E., the A. I. E. E. and the S.A.E. assembled at the Hotel Commodore on Tuesday evening, February 5, at a dinner, after which a program for the rapid mobilization of the nation's industries in the event of emergency was explained and discussed. The purpose of this gathering was to bring the War Department's plans for mobilization of materials, as well as men, directly to the engineering profession as a means of speeding up production. It was the general tone of the meeting that industrial mobilization plans were not militaristic but were to be regarded as the best insurance against war.


RS485 based networking of distributed embedded systems is most effective as every microcontroller based embedded system has built-in serial communication interface. Establishing a network connecting heterogeneous microcontroller based systems become quite simple when RS485 based communication is used. However RS485 suffers from too much of overhead due to the need for transmitting the addresses along with Data. HUB based RS485 based communication eliminates transmission overheads. In this paper HUB based RS485 based networking of heterogeneous embedded systems that suits to a pilot project that monitors and controls the temperature within a Nuclear reactor system has been presented. Many other related inventions that include message flow architecture, method of addressing the devices on the network, and data packet design that are related to a pilot project have also been presented.


Identifying different types of very diverse organisms within a species is critical for outbreak investigations and for the control of infectious diseases. A large variety of approaches for typing have been developed. These can be divided into two groups phenotypic and genotypic methods. Importantly, such typing methods must have the ability to distinguish epidemic from endemic or sporadic isolates. At the same time, methods must be low-cost, rapid, highly reproducible and easy to carry out and to interpret . The results obtained with phenotypic techniques have a tendency to vary due to the influence growth conditions and/or growth phase on the products of gene expression. Furthermore, some phenotypic approaches are time consuming, tend to more manual, and require greater skill to run. Importantly, as it has been shown in other studies the discriminatory power of phenotypic methods is lower in comparison with genotypic variants. Each of these reasons has led to genotypic techniques gradually replacing phenotypic approaches over the past two decades. There are a large number of genetic typing methods with a high degree of discriminatory Acta Medica Mediterranea, 2017, 33: 607


PCT No. PCT/EP95/02536 Sec. 371 Date Jul. 2, 1997 Sec. 102(e) Date Jul. 2, 1997 PCT Filed Jun. 30, 1995 PCT Pub. No. WO96/01128 PCT Pub. Date Jan. 18, 1996Pharmaceutical agents that contain a gallic acid ester as an antioxidant in combination with a steroidal active ingredient, their production and their use.