Objectives: To evaluate future problems in colorectal cancer surgery for elderly patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients receiving colorectal cancer surgery in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2018. Patients were divided into the ≥ 85-year-old patient group and the younger patient group. We compared patient backgrounds, surgical outcomes (surgical procedure, reduction of lymph node dissection range, operative duration, and blood loss), postoperative short-term outcomes (mortality, morbidity, and postoperative length of stay) and prognosis. Results: We performed colorectal cancer surgery on 1,240 patients during the study period. Of them, 109 (8.7%) were ≥ 85 years old, and 1,131 (91.2%) were < 85 years old. The American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) was significantly poorer in the elderly group than in the younger group and patients with a history of cardiac disease and anticoagulant use were significantly more in the elderly group. The rate of reduction of lymph node dissection range was significantly higher in the elderly group (16.8% vs. 3.8%, p < 0.05). Overall morbidity was significantly higher in the elderly group (42.2% vs. 21.9%, p < 0.05), as were the respective frequencies of pneumonia and thromboembolism (8.2% vs. 0.7%, p < 0.05 and 3.6% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.05, respectively). Postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer in the elderly group (17 vs. 12 days, p < 0.05). Overall survival was significantly lower in the elderly group (p < 0.05), but relapse-free survival and colorectal cancer-specific survival were not statistically different between the groups (p = 0.05 and p = 0.15, respectively). Conclusions: Prevention of postoperative pneumonia and thromboembolism remains a problem. After proper assessment and careful management of peri-operative surgical risks, surgery can be indicated in elderly patients.


S.‐H. Kim, S.‐O. Lee, I.‐A. Park, S.J. Park, S.‐H. Choi, Y.S. Kim, J.H. Woo, S.‐K. Park, J.S. Park, S.C. Kim, D.J. Han. Diagnostic usefulness of a T cell‐based assay for latent tuberculosis infection in kidney transplant candidates before transplantation.
Transpl Infect Dis 2010: 12: 113–119. All rights reserved


The main purpose of this paper is throwing light on the mechanism of emplacement of the Hiroshima granite and on the space problem of volcano-plutonism in the Inner Zone of Southwest Japan during the late Cretaceous. In order to discuss these problems which are classical and have so far been unsolved, the author has selected the Togouchi-Yuu-Takehara district as a granite field of the San-yo zone. In the southern end of the district, the granite is in contact with Ryoke granitic and metamorphic rocks formed in 10km depth of crust, and in the central area it intruded into pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and into both the sedimentary rocks and Cretaceous surficial volcanic rocks in northern and eastern areas. The author have investigated the granite distributed in the Togouchi area and another several areas in the district, focuing mainly on contact feature between the granite and wall rocks and internal structure of the granite mass. As a result, it is clarified that throughout the district the Hiroshima granite is not a uniform mass but a mass formed by accumlation of layered bodies of granitic rocks. In the mass, rather mafic granite as granodiorite or hornblende granite occurs overlying rather felsic granite as medium to coarse-grained biotite granite. The forming order of them is closely connected with the stratigraphical sequence of the Cretaceous volcanic rocks. As a whole, it can be regarded that the Hiroshima granite is a large tabular mass gently dipping toward the south, and that the Hiroshima granite passively intruded along the fracture zone gently dipping southward, and at the head of the zone the Cretaceous volcanic activities took place. Additionaly, the stress field during and after the emplacement of granodiorite in the Togouchi area has been analysed based upon micro fabric and homogenization temperature of fluid inclusion planes in quartz. Finally, the author propose flat-dike type mass for the emplacement mechanism of a large granite mass.


Chapter 5 examines the dynamic nature of interfaces and starts examining their characteristics. The authors posit that just as we might derive a multitude of dimensions to describe biological structure, so too are there many dimensions that describe the functional dynamics in how biological systems vary over time. Current environmental epidemiological methods used in analyzing data on our environment and our physiology treat each measure as if it were an independent dimension, much like a carpenter measuring the height, width, or length of a piece of furniture. However, because there are processes underlying our physiological development, constraints are applied to the forms that we and our environment can take. Knowledge of these can be harnessed to identify the primary dimensions along which we must characterize the systems under study. By doing this we were able to take an important first step in operationalizing Environmental Biodynamics for clinical application.


The conditions of the diamond on the working surface of the tools in sawing Indian red granite using diamond saw-blades have been studied in this paper, and the effects of the types and the sizes of the diamond on the sawing performance of the saw-blades have been also investigated. SEM and toolmaker's microscope analyses of the diamond blades after sawing indicate that the conditions of the worn particles can be classified as follows: whole (without significant wear), polished (flat), micro-fractured, macro-fractured, and pull-out. Experimental results show that sawblades containing higher toughness grits result in a better blade performance, lower sawing forces, and a greater proportion of whole and pull-out grits occurring on the worn surface. When saw-blades containing smaller size grits of the same concentration are used, the blade performance is better, but the sawing forces are relatively larger, and a greater proportion of particle are pulled-out with a small number of polished grits appearing on the working segment surface.


In the field of industrial automation, the traditional master/slave real-time data processing (SCADA) system has been unable to deal with the current massive data and diversified business demands in throughput, real-time and scalability. This paper presents a decentralized real-time data space, based decentralized management SCADA cluster solutions for the treatment of object partitioning, distributed real-time data processing, dynamic data migration and decentralized real-time data management are discussed. At last, the scheme is applied to develop the system an-d verify it.


The atrial fibrillation prevalence is found between 0.1% and 4% in community-based research and between 2.8% and 14% in studies conducted in hospitals; nevertheless, a large portion of AF is still misdiagnosed. Smartphone applications for diagnosing AF have been proposed given that a big portion of Indians own smartphones, although it is unknown how accurate these programs would be. The study's objectives were as follows: a) To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the Spandan ECG in detecting AF in a single center trial that took place in SMIH Dehradun under the supervision of the cardiologist, and b) to investigate arrhythmia detection through a smartphone-based and monitoring. This single-blinded, cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted at Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital (SMIH), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India from August 2022 to December 2022. Patients (n=32) undergoing the electrocardiogram (ECG) at the Department of Cardiology of the SMIH, Dehradun during the study period and diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Mean age (SD) was 59.93±13.81 years. Males (n=17/32, 53.1%) show more frequency than females. Most patients had a medical history of coronary artery disease (21.8%). True positive cases derived from confusion matrix of atrial fibrillation detected using smartphone based ECG and 12 lead standard ECG along with the cardiologist's diagnosis was 29/32 on smartphone-based as compared to 19/32 from 12 lead gold standard. Atrial fibrillation was detected correctly in 29/32 cases and 19/32 cases by smartphone ECG and 12 lead gold standard, respectively. The study hypotheses that Spandan's ability of real-time ECG monitoring will be useful in evaluating whether a patient's discomfort is caused by recurrent arrhythmia.


Projectors require large apertures to maximize light throughput. Unfortunately, this leads to shallow depths of field (DOF), hence blurry images, when projecting on non-planar surfaces, such as cultural heritage sites, curved screens, or when sharing visual information in everyday environments. We introduce high-rank coded aperture projectors - a new computational display technology that combines optical designs with computational processing to overcome depth of field limitations of conventional devices. In particular, we employ high-speed spatial light modulators (SLMs) on the image plane and in the aperture of modified projectors. The patterns displayed on these SLMs are computed with a new mathematical framework that uses high-rank light field factorizations and directly exploits the limited temporal resolution and contrast sensitivity of the human visual system. With an experimental prototype projector, we demonstrate significantly increased DOF as compared to conventional technology.


Located in a littoral zone (a basin often exposed to fogs) and increasingly urbanized, the town of Mohammedia is exposed to risks of air pollution. In order to make a diagnosis of the current state, four sites are selected and targeted in order to cover various situations (industries, demographic density, road traffic, refinery, cement, tannery etc....). The followed major pollutants are: Plomb, Cadmium and Zinc. The results obtained show that the contents of the studied pollutants exceed the standards in the industrial zone and downtown. The Seasonal variation of lead shows an increase in winter due to the growth of lichens which explains the quality of lichens as bio-indicator of long-term air quality.


N-Methyl-D-Aspartate(NMDA) receptors are ion channels that contain binding sites of glutamate and glycine.They play a pivotal role in the regulation of synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system.There are 3 NMDA receptor subtypes demonstrated,which have own distribution and function.Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is a treatable disorder predominantly affec-ting young women which was recently identified.It is characterized by a combination of psychotic encephalopathy,seizures,and abnormal movements of the trunk and face,particularly in the form of jaw dystonia.The anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis of children increases recently.Accordingly,enhanced awareness of the typical presentation can increase the index of suspicion and facilitate initiation of appropriate treatment.


The creation of unwound or unknotted loops of DNA is facilitated by topoisomerases, which alter the conformation of DNA by cleaving the phosphate backbone on one or both the strands. A major unexplored question has been the possibility of topoisomerases failing to unpack supercoiled DNA on any one of the several knots, thereby failing to initiate the unwinding process. Computing the unknotting number enables biologists to estimate the smallest amount of times the topoisomerase must act to unpack DNA. In this paper, we define a new variant called the fault-tolerant unknotting number t(K) of the unknotting number u(K) for a knot K. Besides, t(K) is related to the unknotting and knotting phenomena of DNA. We determine t(D) for some families of knot diagrams and conclude that the difference between u(D) and t(D) for a knot diagram D can be arbitrarily large. We also conjectured the existence of fault-tolerant unknotting number for every knot diagram and every knot.


Background Patients with schizophrenia reveal changes in information processing associated with external stimuli, which is reflected in the measurements of brain evoked potentials. We discuss actual knowledge on electro- (EEG) and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) changes in schizophrenia. New method The commonly used averaging technique entails the loss of information regarding the generation of evoked responses. We propose a methodology to describe single-trial (non-averaged) visual evoked potentials (VEP) using spectral and statistical analyses. We analysed EEG data registered in the O1-Cz and O2-Cz leads during unattended pattern-reversal stimulation, collected from a group of adult patients with chronic schizophrenia, and compared them to those of healthy individuals. Short-time single-trial VEP were transformed to the frequency domain using the FFT algorithm. Changes of the spectral power were visualized using spectrograms which were created by stacking single-trial spectra across all trials. Measures of the absolute and the relative spectral power were calculated and compared statistically. Results In schizophrenia, the energy density of VEP oscillations is shifted towards higher (gamma) frequencies, compared to healthy individuals. These differences are statistically significant in all analysed frequency bands for the relative power. This indicates distorted early processing of visual stimuli in schizophrenia. Comparison with existing methods The main advantage of the presented methodology is its simplicity and ease of interpretation of obtained results. The presented observations complement the knowledge on gamma oscillations acquired from computationally more complex methods of time–frequency analysis. Conclusions High-frequency changes for single-trial VEPs are detected in chronic schizophrenia.


This section contains problems intended to challenge students and teachers of college mathematics. We urge you to participate actively both by submitting solutions and by proposing problems that are new and interesting. To promote variety, the editors welcome problem proposals that span the entire undergraduate curriculum. Proposed problems should be sent to Greg Oman as a pdf, TEX, or Word attachment to email@example.com (preferred) or by mail to the Colorado address above. A proposed problem should be accompanied by a solution, appropriate references, and any other material that would be helpful to the editors. Only submit unpublished problems not under consideration at another journal. Solutions to the problems in this issue should be sent to Chip Curtis as a pdf, TEX, or Word attachment to email@example.com (preferred) or by mail to the Missouri address above no later than March 15, 2019.


Studies of the trophic structure and functioning of reservoirs located in the semiarid region of Northeast Brazil have focused in 1997 on two reservoirs located in the State of Pernambuco (Ingazeira and Tapacura) and have been followed by large scale studies in the State (39 reservoirs) during the severe drought in this region linked to the 1997 El Nino event (ENSO). The seasonal studies conducted in the two reservoirs revealed a marked vertical stratification of dissolved oxygen concentrations although no clear thermal stratification was observed at seasonal scale. The two reservoirs studied can be classified as discontinuously warm polymictic reservoirs. Due to the annual rainfall deficit, all of the 39 reservoirs sampled between September and November 1998 were at their lowest level, with an average reduction of 86% in the total water capacity, inducing a nutrient enrichment and a natural eutrophisation of the reservoirs. Cyanobacteria dominated the phytoplankton community across the reservoirs, representing on average 63.5% of algal numbers. The Cylindrospermopsis genus was found in 31 reservoirs (79.5%) and represented more than 50% of the total phytoplankton density in 17 reservoirs (43%). In the two standard reservoirs (Ingazeira and Tapacura), the populations of the various forms of Cylindrospermopsis dominated the algal community, with a proportion of 100% and 80% during their respective bloom. Bioassays for toxicity (cyanotoxins) were performed on mice and fish revealing the presence of neurotoxins in the cell extracts from many samples during the Cylindrospermopsis blooms. Global climate change, such as a drought linked to El Nino effects, can influence phytoplankton population dynamics in continental waters, as is frequently proven in marine ecosystems.


Harvey's lament "... that the motion of the heart [is] to be understood by God alone" may have given way a bit to modern methods of examination. But when, in the latter half of the 20th century, one gazes on a postmortem specimen of the heart, opened after the fashion of most American pathologists, he may feel inclined to agree with Harvey. And the matter is made even less favorable by the usual method of preserving heart specimens obtained at autopsy. Who has failed to feel the hopelessness of the student who, faced with a dripping, evil-smelling mass of unidentifiable tissue just fished out of a formaldehyde-filled crock, is asked to discern the cardiac effects of rheumatic fever or syphilis or hypertension? At best, he will be able to make out mutilated fragments of vulvular cusps, avulsed chordae tendineae, and triangular appendages of myocardium. But to reconstruct the whole is


A recent article introduced a method for detecting subtle spatio-temporal patterns within a dataset of mitotic processes. The method is based on permutation tests, and involves (1) permuting process parameters (e.g., division angle in the earlier case of mitosis), (2) calculating the effects, and (3) checking for distributional changes in a set of measures based on simple considerations of geometry. This paper examines the method's application to a more common dataset: particles that undergo migration in three or fewer dimensions. The method is further extended in another direction: multiple types of particle are allowed. Exploiting these distinct types significantly enlarges the set of detectable patterns. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to illustrate the new capabilities. The resulting contribution is an increasingly systematic basis for the inference of patterned behavior from imaging datasets.


TiO_2 photocatalytic oxidation was used to perform the advanced treatment of discharge wastewater from a coking wastewater treatment station.The effects of reaction time,TiO_2 dosage and initial pH on TOC removal rate of wastewater were tested.The GC/MS technique was used to give a qualitative analysis of wastewater before and after treatment.The degradation regularity of wastewater during the TiO_2 photocatalytic oxidation process was analyzed.The result showed that under the conditions of reaction time 3 h,TiO_2 concentration 4(g/L) and unadjusted wastewater pH,the TOC removal rate of the wastewater was 53.40%.Additionally,the number of species of organic matter was reduced from 66 to 23 in the wastewater after being treated by TiO_2 photocatalytic oxidation.TiO_2 photocatalytic oxidation had better removal efficiency for organic pollutants with the exception of PAHs.During the process of TiO_2 photocatalytic oxidation,the degradation rates of different organic pollutants were as follows: petroleum hydrocarbon alcohol,acid,aldehyde and other organic pollutants phenols benzene derivatives nitrogen heterocyclic compounds PAHs.


Patients with high‐risk prostate cancer (PC) can experience biochemical relapse (BCR), despite surgery, and develop noncurative disease. The present study aimed to reduce the risk of BCR with a personalized dendritic cell (DC) vaccine, given as adjuvant therapy, after robot‐assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).


Cyber mimic defense is designed to ensure endogenous security, effectively countering unknown vulnerabilities and backdoors, thereby addressing a significant challenge in cyberspace. However, the immense scale of real-world networks and their intricate topology pose challenges for measuring the efficacy of cyber mimic defense. To capture and quantify defense performance within specific segments of these expansive networks, we embrace a partitioning approach that subdivides large networks into smaller regions. Metrics are then established within an objective space constructed on these smaller regions. This approach enables the establishment of several fine-grained metrics that offer a more nuanced measurement of cyber mimic defense deployed in complex networks. For example, the common-mode index is introduced to highlight shared vulnerabilities among diverse nodes, the transfer probability computes the likelihood of risk propagation among nodes, and the failure risk assesses the likelihood of cyber mimic defense technology failure within individual nodes or entire communities. Furthermore, we provide proof of the convergence of the transfer probability. A multitude of simulations are conducted to validate the reliability and applicability of the proposed metrics.


Abstract Biecheleriopsis adriatica is a brittle dinoflagellate first described from the Adriatic Sea. In the present study, not only the presence of this species, but also the order Suessiales, is recorded for the first time in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, specifically in Todos Santos Bay, northwestern Mexico. The specimens found were collected at three sampling stations in November 2020. A molecular analysis was carried out based on the amplification of the 28 s rDNA gene, and cell morphology was examined using light microscopy. The analyses confirmed the identity and the first record of Biecheleriopsis adriatica in the area. Phylogenetically, the sequences formed a monophyletic group with those from GenBank for the Adriatic Sea and the Indo-Pacific; the morphology was consistent with the original and later descriptions. These results suggest that the diversity of the Suessiales in Mexico had been underestimated and the potential presence of a greater number of species of this group in the region.


The Trindade Island is made up of ultrabasic to intermediate alkaline rocks resulting from different volcanic events. The geological column comprises from the bottom to the top: i) Trindade Complex represented by pyroclastic deposits and subvolcanic bodies (domes, dikes, plugs); ii) Desejado Sequence, with spills of phonolites, phono-tephrites and nephelinites, interbedded with pyroclastic rocks; iii) Morro Vermelho Formation; iv) Valado Formation and v) Paredão Volcano, newer volcanogenic successions characterized by the abundance of melanephelinitic spills and pyroclastic deposits. We reconstruct the magmatic crystallization using the thermal history versus time association for the basal Trindade Complex which preserves excellent minerals and isotopic markers were used for ZrFT and U-Th/He thermochronology. The ZrFT and U/Th-He methodology developed at the Chronometry and Chronology Center of DG/IGCE/UNESP in apatite proved to be adequate for the reconstruction of the thermal history of the volcanic rocks and consistent with the geological environment. The alkaline igneous rocks of the Trindade Complex, rich in apatite and poor in zircon, presented


We derive sharp function estimates for convolution operators whose kernels are more singular than Calder6n-Zygmund kernels. This leads to weighted norm inequalities. Weighted weak (1, 1) results are also proved. All the results obtained are in the context of AP weights. 0. Introduction. We begin by recalling notations relevant to R'7. Given a function f (x), its Fourier transform will be denoted by j(0) = ff(x) e -'<x`) dx. Throughout this paper v(x) and w(x) will denote nonnegative locally integrable functions. We let


We document the quantity and quality of us roads, bridges, buses and subways in each year over the last 20 to 30 years. Next, we investigate total expenditure and the unit cost for each type of infrastructure over about the same time period. Third, we survey available estimates of the effects of infrastructure on various sorts of economic activity. Finally, we propose a simple theoretical framework with which to organize this information and to think about whether current investments can be rationalized as a part of a socially optimal infrastructure policy. This analysis suggests that the marginal contribution to mobility is lower for us transit expenditure than for highway expenditure.


Based on the theory of error analysis,this paper counts and analyzes the errors in the English writing by the senior high school students and discusses the reasons which cause the errors.As the results indicate,grammatical,lexicon errors and Chinglish are the main errors occurring most frequently.Therefore,some suggestions are put forward on teaching writing more proficiently.


Trichomonas vaginalis, the causative organism of trichomoniasis, was ® rst described by Donne1 in 1836 and the pathogenic role of T. vaginalis in causing vaginitis was ® rst established in female volunteers in 19422. The 5-nitroimidazole, metronidazole, was ® rst shown to have activity against T. vaginalis by Cosar and Julou in 19593. Clinical introduction of metronidazole in 1960 revolutionized the treatment of trichomoniasis4. Metronidazole clinical resistance was ® rst reported in T. vaginalis by Robinson in 19625. Unfortunately, the organism did not survive on subculture and his ® ndings were never con® rmed. Waitkins and Thomas reported the ® rst con® rmed metronidazole-resistant T. vaginalis after treatment failure in 19816. Clinical resistance of T. vaginalis to metronidazole is rare but is likely to become an increasing problem as the organism becomes refractory to the action of metronidazole through adaptation to a microaerophilic or aerobic environment. We report our experience in managing 3 patients in whom treatment of symptomatic trichomonal vaginitis with both conventional and high-dose metronidazole regimens was unsuccessful.


The data on the possibility of determining the ecological characteristics of Hedysarum gmelinii Ledeb. in the Middle Volga basin using EcoScaleWin.


A blind watermarking algorithm based on discrete wavelet transform(DWT) was proposed.Before embedding,it scrambles the watermark by random state,then chooses the embedding position randomly in the wavelet low-frequency sub-band of the cover image according to the watermark,then embeds the watermark image with the quantization thought.Since using secret keys that make the embedding positions change randomly,it greatly enhances the security of the watermark.The simulation result shows that this algorithm is robust to common watermarking attacks.


Frequency lowering is an important audio signal processing method used in digital hearing aids. It helps patients with severe hearing loss in high frequencies by compressing speech into the patients' residual hearing regions. In this study, a general frequency lowering algorithm was proposed, which could separately process the contents in the disabled high frequencies and those in the low frequencies as well; and two different lowering strategies (the overlapped and segmented compression strategy) based on it were implemented, compared with traditional proportional frequency compression algorithm. The respective performances of both strategies were then evaluated using a specially designed software system, which simulated the signal processing procedure of digital hearing aids. After fitting this system to the patients, the results of a detailed speech intelligibility test showed that both of the frequency-lowering strategies provided more benefits, especially in consonant recognition, as compared with the hearing aids used by the patients. Furthermore, the segmented compression strategy showed better 'anti-noise' quality and was thus preferred by the patients. Finally, the impact of noise and training to the benefits of frequency lowering algorithms was also discussed in this paper.

 Key words: Hearing aid, frequency lowering algorithm, speech intelligibility, compression strategy, software system development, noise.


In Scotland, the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) provides education practitioners
with the opportunity for transformational change through the delivery of a holistic,
broad and general education. This paper explores the extent to which play can be
used as a pedagogical tool in developing the capabilities of children to realise the
ambitions of CfE. The focus here is four of the ten core capabilities identified by
Martha Nussbaum in her version of the Capabilities Approach; one of which is play,
the others being those with which it is intrinsically linked, i.e. affiliation, 'senses,
imagination and thought', and 'practical reason'. This conceptual analysis of play,
autonomy and the Capabilities Approach constitutes a theoretical case for playful
approaches in all stages of Scottish primary schools. It is argued that this would
provide opportunities for human flourishing in the context of the CfE.


Informal physics programs often have the aim of supporting and cultivating physics identities; however, a student is more than just a physicist. Students have multiple identities, including their racial, cultural, and gender identities, which we believe must be supported within their experiences in informal programs. Informal physics programs that intentionally blend physics learning with other areas of interest (art, music, sports, etc.) are supportive of more than a student's physics identity. In this work, we theorize that blended informal physics programs can be examined using both Critical Race Theory and Critical Physics Identity frameworks to understand how program design possibly supports diverse identities. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we analyze an informal physics practitioner's interview about a youth program involving both art and physics. We look at connections between the theoretical constructs from the two frameworks to understand how informal spaces can be designed to support multiple identities.


In the Netherlands, household end-users of electricity face several legal restrictions related to the use of their solar photovoltaic installation. The three main restrictions are the demands of the license of supply, unclarity as to program responsibility and regulated distribution tariffs. This paper analyzes these legal challenges further in order to suggest possible solutions. To this end, it investigates to what extent national legal provisions provide restrictions in four different cases of local solar markets, how these cases differ and what the implications of these differences are. Based on the obtained results, the paper explores three possible solutions the mentioned to legal restrictions: a supply license light, a system for local distribution and balancing, and different tax structures.


'How can it possibly be December?' - The question I hear frequently asked amongst colleagues. Where exactly has the year gone? I look at the National Intern Training Program (NITP) calendar and reflect...'


The influence of laser tuning delay is investigated for the TWDM-PON based fronthaul transmission and proposed a WT-DWBA scheme to improve the bandwidth efficiency. We realize a superior performance in wavelength reduction up to 47%.


Intergenerational support regains attention in course of population aging. This paper focuses on the relationship between private and public financial transfers to and from the elderly. Based on German data we find that the giving of private transfers is influenced by public transfers. The close link between public transfers to the elderly and the financial support they give to others represents an inefficient backflow of pay-as-you-go financed pensions to the young generation. This mechanism can be interpreted as a private compensation device for the generations. We can also show that at the same time the receipt of public transfers by the elderly crowd-out private financial support they would have received otherwise in the German welfare state.


Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) represent the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and claims hundreds of thousands of lives annually in the rest of the world. This paper presents a novel low-cost mobile device|called Stery-Hand|that helps to avoid HAI by improving hand hygiene control through providing an objective evaluation of the quality of hand washing. The use of the system is intuitive: having performed hand washing with a soap mixed with UV re ective powder, the skin appears brighter in UV illumination on the disinfected surfaces. Washed hands are inserted into the Stery-Hand box, where a digital image is taken under UV lighting. Automated image processing algorithms are employed in three steps to evaluate the quality of hand washing. First, the contour of the hand is extracted in order to distinguish the hand from the background. Next, a semi-supervised clustering algorithm classies the pixels of the hand into three groups, corresponding to clean, partially clean and dirty areas. The clustering algorithm is derived from the histogram-based quick fuzzy c-means approach, using a priori information extracted from reference images, evaluated by experts. Finally, the identied areas are adjusted to suppress shading eects, and quantied in order to give a verdict on hand disinfection quality. The proposed methodology was validated through tests using hundreds of images recorded in our laboratory. The proposed system was found robust and accurate, producing correct estimation for over 98% of the test cases. Stery-Hand may be employed in general practice, and it may also serve educational purposes.


In this paper, the use of a carbon microfiber bundle (CMB) is investigated for manufacturing a monopole antenna. In particular, the radiating properties of a carbon microfiber bundle, having filaments of 7 μm in diameter, were studied as a monopole. The proposed monopole was mounted vertically on two separate types of ground plane, i.e., a small copper and a large aluminum ground plane. The monopole design was modeled in HFSS. To analyze the radiation characteristics of the microfibers and its shift in the resonant frequency, CMB monopole antenna prototypes with various lengths were manufactured and tested in an anechoic chamber. Overall, the simulation results agreed well with the measured results. Prototypes manufactured on the larger ground plane showed higher gain as compared to those on the smaller ground plane, with no significant difference in the matching characteristics. Overall, it was demonstrated that the light weight, low cost carbon microfiber bundle can be used to design an antenna for a range of resonant frequencies.


behaviour at forest trees. The optical spectroscopic method, however, has been widely used. There fore, the 15N tracer technique is regarded as useful in nutritional researches. In this study, the distribution of nitrogen applied to Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora SIEB. et ZUCC.) seedlings in spring (Apr.), summer (Jul.) and fall (Sep.) was investigated using tagged nitro gen as a tracer. The nitrogen balance sheet of this experiment gives a fundamental view of the nitrogen cycle, and a basic information for experi ments of the nitrogen metabolism of forest trees. The distribution of the nitrogen in the plants will be reported subsequently in detail.


Sponsored by the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Technical Committee on Computer Architecture, HPCA-6 was held in January 2000 in Toulouse, France. The session opened with a keynote address on Relaxing Constraints: Thoughts on the Evolution of Computer Architecture by


Rutin and quercetin were investigated for their effects on blood pressure and antioxidant defense system of rats fed with 8% sodium chloride-supplemented diet (high salt diet) for 6 weeks. Animals fed with high salt diet demonstrated an increase in systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial blood pressures (p < 0.05) as well as lipid peroxidation but decreases in the activities of antioxidant enzymes compared with control group. Groups post-treated with rutin and quercetin for 2 weeks showed significant reversals in the values of these indices compared with the group fed with only the high salt diet but not post-treated. The high salt diet also led to significant increase in serum glucose, urea, creatinine, triglycerides, low-density-lipoprotein, and total cholesterol concentrations. Treatment with rutin and quercetin ameliorated the effects of high salt diet on these biochemical indices. The reference standard, nifedipin was less effective than rutin and quercetin. The results of this study highlight the risk of high salt consumption on cardiovascular health and the potent antioxidant and antihypertensive property of rutin and quercetin.


The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of 'Europeanisation' as an external democratising force in the management of minority issues in contemporary Slovakia. The starting point is that the integration of postcommunist democracies into established Euro-Atlantic structures impacts directly on democratic forms and practices by which national groups integrate within and between states. The emphasis is on the construction and interpretation of national identity. The efforts by the EU and the Council of Europe are focused on the reduction of ethnic tensions. It is argued that some of the more intrusive moves may lead to resentment among majorities, but the overall assessment of the 'Europeanisation' process is that it contributes to democratic consolidation which in turn is the most effective route to a reduction in inter-ethnic tensions within and between states. The European Union possesses the most powerful set of resources for promoting democracy and there is little doubt that the further democratisation in postcommunist Central Europe is now synonymous with European integration and vice versa. The distinguishing feature of postcommunist democratisation processes is the prominence of identity-related issues at the centre of political life and their potential to destabilise new democracies and interstate relations. The complex interaction between the national and international dimension of democratisation is here illustrated by the latest developments in the relationship between Slovakia, its Hungarian minority and Hungary. The case study demonstrates clearly the choices to be made between two approaches to the management of minority issues in Slovakia: a 'Europeanistion' paradigm and a nationalism paradigm. The former stands for political accommodation of identity-related differences in order to minimise the tensions between majority and minority whilst the latter seeks to accommodate one group at the risk of maintaining or even increasing the existing tensions. Both national groups in question the Hungarian minority and the Slovak majority – vacillate between those two approaches. However, it is argued here that the relationship is becoming more accommodating and characterised by political pragmatism and European integration, but always in danger of being undermined by non-abating currents of latent nationalism (from both sides).


We consider a dissipative quantum Ising model periodically driven by a train of $\pi$-pulses and investigate dissipative discrete time crystals (DTCs) in solids. In this model, the interaction between the spins spontaneously breaks the discrete time translation symmetry, giving rise to a dissipative DTC, where two ferromagnetic states are switched alternately by each pulse. We microscopically describe the generic dissipation due to thermal contact to an equilibrium heat bath using the Bloch-Redfield equation. In contrast to other DTC studies, this dissipation stabilizes, rather than destroys, the DTC order without fine-tuning as long as the temperature is low enough. Invoking the time-dependent mean-field theory and solving self-consistently the periodic drive, dissipation, and DTC order parameter, we investigate the nonequilibrium DTC phase transition and determine the critical exponents, including a dynamical one. We also find phase transitions without equilibrium counterpart: a nontrivial interplay of the periodic drive and dissipation gives rise to reentrant DTC transition when changing the pulse interval at a fixed temperature. Besides, to demonstrate the rigidity of the DTC, we consider imperfect $\pi$-pulses, showing that the DTC is robust against the small imperfections and finding that discrete time quasicrystals (DTQC) can appear for the larger imperfections. Together with experimental proposals in magnetic materials, our results pave the ways for realizing the DTC and for uncovering nonequilibrium critical phenomena in real solid-state materials.


During the last decades, parallel computer systems with tremendous computational power, thousands of processors and deep and complex memory hierarchies have been developed. Even though modern parallel architectures provide great opportunities to solve computationally intensive problems, their complexity confronts software developers with immense challenges, since the performance of programs strongly depends on the characteristics of the target platform, such as multi-core processor design and cache architecture. To obtain optimal performance, applications would have to be tuned for each specific target architecture. But the rapidly growing variety of parallel platforms and the fast time to market makes such manual tuning a time-consuming and costly process. The problem of manual tuning is also compounded by the fact that the performance of many programs depends on input data. Consequently, such programs have to be tuned for every possible set of input data. Auto-tuning is a promising way to avoid manual tuning. The key idea of auto-tuning is the generation of several implementation variants of an algorithm based on program transformations and optimization techniques such as loop interchange, loop tiling, and scheduling. Then, the variant with the best performance on the target machine is selected from the set of generated implementation variants. This work targets auto-tuning for the efficient solution of initial value problems (IVPs) of systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) on modern computer systems. As an example for solution methods for IVPs, a class of explicit predictor–corrector methods of Runge–Kutta type is considered, which possesses a deeply nested loop structure with potential for different loop transformations and different types of parallelism. In this work online auto-tuning algorithms for the sequential and the parallel execution of a given method are presented. Online auto-tuning is supported by offline benchmarks and exploits the time-stepping nature of ODE methods to selects suitable parameters for variants and the best implementation variant from a candidate pool at runtime during the first time steps. The auto-tuning algorithms include the selection of suitable tile sizes for implementation variants containing tiled loops. Suitable tile sizes are selected by a combination of an analytical model, based on the working spaces of the loops and regarding the cache organization of the target platform, and an empirical search.


The utility model relates to a camber measuring instrument; a laser camber measuring instrument consists of a water level, a data collector and a computer processing system; the water level is a laser compensator level and the bottom of the data collector is equipped with a light target and a distance gauge; the data collector is connected with the computer processing system by an image transmission line and a controlled data line. The utility model has a simple structure and is easy for operation; the water level is the laser emitting part and the emit laser light spot is a circular one; the data collector completes the tasks of receiving of the circular light spot and distance measuring by laser and at the same time, the collected images and distance data are delivered to the computer by the image transmission line and the controlled data line; the computer will complete the tasks of data processing and analysis and output the measuring results at the same time. The measuring data are obtained through the two methods of reading the distance gauge and computer image analysis which avoids the artificial effect; at the same time, the measuring precision with this method is greatly promoted.


An airtightess detection apparatus for a vehicle natural gas bottle comprises a water tank, a baffle plate, a gas bottle support and a cylinder fixing support. The baffle plate is arranged in front of the water tank; the cylinder fixing support is connected over the water tank in a welding manner; a first cylinder is arranged over the cylinder fixing support; a second cylinder is arranged over the gas bottle support; a first cylinder piston is fixedly connected with the gas bottle support; a second cylinder piston is connected with a gas bottle fixing plate; and the gas bottle support is arranged in the cylinder fixing support. According to the airtightess detection apparatus, the principle is simple, an airtightness detection inlet is connected with a detection streamline, a gas bottle is directly pushed into the airtightess detection apparatus for inflation detection, whole course automation detection is realized, the baffle plate arranged in front of the water tank guarantees the safety of the detection personnel in the test process, and the detection efficiency of extraordinary equipment is raised.


Fluids (including melts) play a crucial role in most geological processes from ore formation, through subduction and magmatism. Therefore, characterizing the fluids and/or melts, commonly found as inclusions of minerals, help to better understand these geological processes. Fluid and melt inclusions from the Cabo Ortegal Complex (NW Spain) are derived from subduction zone conditions, generally showing great complexity in compositions of the constituent solid and vapor phases at room temperature [1]. To better understand multiphase (solid + liquid + vapor) inclusions, we aim to elaborate the methodological background of confocal 3D Raman microspectroscopic imaging of fluid and melt inclusions, which allows the collection of volumetric data of inclusions in 3D. We are going to demonstrate how different parameters, such as the size of the confocal hole and the step size can be optimized in case of 3D Raman imaging in different host minerals under varying operation conditions. Raman 3D imaging on the inclusions, combined with FIB-SEM analyses of the exposed inclusions (e.g. EDS during FIB exposure), allows to carry out mass balance calculations by considering the volume percentages and the composition of each phase. In addition, uncertainty of volume percentages of solid phases obtained from Raman 3D imaging can be independently compared to complementary FIB-SEM data, optimizing our methodology. The major goal of our study is to determine the compositions of primary fluid/melt inclusions, which could have been trapped as a suspected homogeneous phase based on our current observations, and to reconstruct phase transformation after entrapment, since they cannot be homogenized with regularly used microthermometric measurements. This study presents 3D reconstruction of inclusions via


The teachers' communication quality is one of the key factors which impact the effect of the process of educational communication.In this article,the author introduced the concept and elements of teachers' communication quality,discussed the teachers' task in the process of network education communication and the requirements of network education to teachers' communication quality.Analyzed teachers' problems which exist in the practice of network education communication then put forward three tactics of the development of teachers' communication quality in network education.


Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are transients associated with the formation of compact objects. It had long been theorised that mergers of two neutron stars leading to the formation of a heavier neutron star or a black hole are the progenitors of the so-called 'short' GRBs. The merger is associated with the emission of gravitational waves (GWs) that are detectable on earth, and this association was proved empirically with the detection of a short GRB and other electromagnetic emission of the GW source 170817. It is important to make statistical predictions of the number of sGRBs detectable by a GRB monitor in the sky. Here I present predictions of the event rate of the AstroSat-CZTI via careful studies of the luminosity function of short GRBs. Using the maximum distance to which the GW networks are sensitive in the past, present and future runs, stringent lower limits are placed on the rate of binary neutron star mergers (BNSMs). It is shown that the number will go up significantly in the next observing runs of aLIGO/VIRGO. Comparison of the short GRB rate with the BNSM rate calculated independently from the single source statistics of GW170817 reveals the presence of a slight tension that can have significant implications on the physics of the merger ejecta; however the scenario that each BNSM indeed produces a short GRB, cannot be ruled out.


The proposed Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) builds on the success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), offering a constellation of microwave-sensor-equipped smaller satellites in addition to a larger, multiply-instrumented "mother" satellite that will include an improved precipitation radar system to which the precipitation estimates of the smaller satellites can be tuned. Coverage by the satellites will be nearly global rather than being confined as TRMM was to lower latitudes. It is hoped that the satellite constellation can provide observations at most places on the earth at least once every three hours, though practical considerations may force some compromises. The GPM system offers the possibility of providing precipitation maps with much better time resolution than the monthly averages around which TRMM was planned, and therefore opens up new possibilities for hydrology and data assimilation into models. In this talk, methods that were developed for estimating sampling error in the rainfall averages that TRMM is providing will be used to estimate sampling error levels for GPM-era configurations. Possible impacts on GPM products of compromises in the sampling frequency will be discussed.


The introduction of femtocells results in more frequent initiation of handover procedure, which leads to a huge amount of signaling overhead in the network. For indoor deployed femtocells, most of the frequent handovers are initiated in some special areas where the subscribers' mobility characteristic is special, such as frequently step in and out of the femtcell coverage at a balcony. While in general areas, the mobility of subscribers seldom results in frequent handovers. In this paper, an automated handover optimization mechanism is proposed for femtocells in LTE. The proposed mechanism could differentiate the special areas and general areas by dint of an ACO (ant colony optimization) algorithm, and then configures different HM (hysteresis margin) for different areas in the same femtocell coverage. Simulation results indicate that significant reduction of the handover number is achieved and have no negative impact on the network performance.


Epidermal growth factor (EGF), which promotes epidermal regeneration and wound closure, is important for the proliferation and differentiation of epidermal and epithelial tissues in animals. Exogenous EGF is a promising therapeutic agent for wound healing, but its general use is restricted by the limited availability of this protein. In this work, we show that the transfection of mouse BALB/MK keratinocytes, which are totally dependent on EGF for growth and migration, with mature cDNA for human EGF via a retroviral vector abolished the cells requirement for exogenous EGF. The transformed cells had normal morphology and a growth rate that varied according to the source of the retroviral vector used. Keratinocyte transfection with EGF cDNA provides a time- and cost-efficient means of culturing keratinocytes and yields cells that may be useful for skin grafting.


Abstract During May–September 1991–1992, we monitored mortality of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides at 14 catch-and-release tournaments on Lake Eufaula, Alabama. Prerelease fish mortality was documented at weigh-ins, and postrelease mortality was determined by holding fish (927 in all) for 4 d in nylon pens. Water temperature ranged from 27.2 to 32.8°C during the study period. Overall, prerelease mortality averaged 8.9% (range, 2.4–18.4%), postrelease mortality averaged 22.0% (1.3–50%), and, total averaged 30.8% (9.1–68.4%). Ten rules and procedures that tournament officials could control influenced total mortality. Tournaments received one point for each factor handled correctly. Higher tournament scores were associated with lower postrelease and total mortalities (rank correlations, P < 0.05). Largemouth bass mortality increased significantly with fish length (P < 0.005). Our results indicate that catch-and-release tournament officials can reduce total mortalities of largemouth bass by following sp...


The word "Seeking Begumpura"" derived from the poem composed by the great bhakti radical saint Sant Ravidas who imagined a city without caste, class, taxes and torture but equality and abundance for all. Gail Omvedt Seeking Begumpura covers the period of five hundred years from the Sant Ravidas (1450-1520)to the age of Dr B R Ambedkar (1891-1956). It gives us the vision of the anti cast Intellectuals . It is completely related to the vision of Ideal society in the context of India. The present research paper is an attempt to focus on the Idea of Utopia and the vision of the anticaste intellectual Dr B R Ambedkar.


The Blue-headed macaw (Primolius couloni) is considered a New World endangered parrot. Blood samples were collected from 13 captive blue-headed macaws (7 male, 6 female) housed in the Las Leyendas Zoological Park in Lima, Peru to establish hematologic reference values. Mean values for erythrocytes and leukocytes were 2608 x 10 3 /ml and 10.11 x 10 3 /ml respectively; hematocrit was 50.15% and mean corpuscular volume was 200 fl. The differential leukocyte count showed 64.7 and 25.3% of heterophils and leukocytes respectively. The largest and smallest diameter of erythrocytes was 11.3 and 7.0 µm respectively. Baseline hematologic ranges were established and can be used as reference values for this species.


Objective: This research aims to compare the effectiveness of intrathecal bupivacaine combined with dexmedetomidine to bupivacaine alone in patients having caesarian procedures. Methods: This randomized, controlled study was conducted at in operation theatre in Liaquat national hospital, with the agreement of the hospital's institutional review board. There were 272 patients total, and they were split evenly in two groups of 136 using non-probability consecutive sampling technique. Group A: Patients received subarachnoid block (2 ml of 0.5 % hyperbaric bupivacaine and 10 micrograms of normal saline). Group B: Patients received subarachnoid block (2 ml of 0.5 % hyperbaric bupivacaine and 10 micrograms of dexmedetomidine at L3-L4 or L4-L5 inter-vertebral space). Before the induction of anaesthesia, the patient's systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic blood pressure (BP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SPO2) will be monitored Results: The mean age of the participants in both study groups were 27.14±5.3 and 25.9±3.65 years. A significant difference in the mean systolic blood pressure of the participants in both groups as observed at 15-, 45- and 60-minutes interval (p=0.000). The mean time interval from blocks to shivering occurrence in the participants in both study groups were 57.08±3.8 and 81.03±2.8minutes. A significant difference (P=0.000) in the mean time interval from blocks to shivering occurrence in the participants in both study groups was observed. 49% participants in the groups experienced shivering while 24% in group B. Conclusion: From our findings, we infer that adding 10µg of dexmedetomidine to strong bupivacaine in SA may reduce the frequency and severity of shivering without causing any serious side effects.


Compressive Sensing is an alternative to the acquisition and compression of sparse signals. One of the CS applications is the single pixel camera that reconsiders the conventional imaging systems. The key part of the camera is a Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD), which is operated by a binary sensing matrix. The paper objective is to evaluate the CS performances in the case of three different binary sensing matrices - Binary Random (BRandom), Binary Sparse (BSparse) and Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code - and three sparsifying transforms: Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Total Variation (TV). The study concerns numeric images and it is done from the perspective of the Rate-Distortion characteristic. The experimental results indicate the couple LDPC - TV as the best solution and proves that visually lossless compression can be obtained by this approach.


The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a critical turning point in the decline of the French and British empires following the end of the Second World War. Egyptian President Nasser's nationalization of the French and British-controlled Suez Canal sent officials in both countries into a panic, leading the two nations, together with Israel, to invade Egypt. The shortlived and unsuccessful invasion, ended under pressure from the United States, was a decisive political failure after years of colonial losses since 1945. While scholars have written in depth about the crisis from Britain's perspective, they have tended to oversimplify France's motivations as stemming from the ongoing Algerian War of independence and the fear that President Nasser would become the "next" Hitler. In my research, I examine the Suez Crisis in the larger context of the French colonial issues of the time: the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the losses of Tunisia and Morocco, the bomb attacks against pied-noir citizens in Algiers, the impending losses of the Sub-Saharan colonies, and the diplomatic efforts to include these colonies in European treaty negotiations. I focus on English and French-language sources, including the memoirs of former government officials, diplomatic communication, press coverage, and academic writing from the period to examine how the crisis was seen through these lenses in France. Ultimately, I demonstrate that French motivations during the crisis stemmed just as much from these broader colonial anxieties as from the two most common explanations. The topic of the French empire and its former "great power" status has remained a contentious one in France throughout the last half century. This research showcases a significant moment in the development of this mindset. Barriers in Immigration Court: The Nexus Between Language Accessibility and Due Process Abigail Olga (Abi) Heath, Senior, American Ethnic Studies McNair Scholar, UW Honors Program Mentor: Carolyn Pinedo Turnovsky, American Ethnic Studies


The dressing chain equations for the second order Sturm-Liouville differential operators is integrated. The simplest closure at the third step is linked to the spectral curve of the genus 1 and the explicit solution in elliptic Weierstrass functions is given. Dependence on integrals that enter the bihamiltonian structure is specified. AMS 1991 Subject Classification: 58F07


In this paper we investigate a class of phenomenologically viable F (R,G) theories that are able to avoid the cosmological constant issue. While the absence of ghosts and other kinds of instability issues is of prime importance, other reasonable requirements such as vanishing effective (low curvature) cosmological constant, including the flat space as a stable vacuum solution, are also imposed on the viable models. These are free of the cosmological constant problem thanks to the following outstanding feature: the de Sitter space is an attractor of the asymptotic cosmological dynamics, with the resulting constant Hubble rate being unrelated both to the energy density of vacuum and to the low-curvature effective cosmological constant.


PurposeBased on profound information lacking in compiled information materials, the risks of losing knowledge related to the values of traditional woodworking processes are increasing. The purpose of this article is to collect and structure diverse marking tool data into a comprehensive, understandable and clear design schematic view, which serves as a basis for the accumulation and preservation of diverse marking objects and shows woodworking marking tool relation in the group and subgroup levels.Design/methodology/approachA method for marking tools structuring and analysis are described, including breaking down a set of objects into groups of marking objects, and assigning one or more attributes to the parcelled objects by arranging them into hierarchic levels. Research is based on marking tools used by carpenters, joiners and woodcarvers mainly in the Baltic region.FindingsCollected data, object analyses and comparison within-group and subgroup levels are based on written and visual sources, museum and museum funds visits, and participation in the local craftsmen events. The created structure is expandable in group and subgroup levels. The most comprehensive way for object structuring is chosen as a base to reveal a diversity of the objects.Originality/valueStructure schemes of woodworking marking tools are important in scientific, educative and cultural levels based on their wide range and use. Aggregated information of the woodworking tools serves as a base for existing tool studies and improvement, new tool and wood product creation as well as complements the structure of the upcoming woodworking hand tool database and book.


We propose a phenomenological light-front wave function for hadrons with arbitrary twist-dimension (mesons, baryons and multiquark states), which gives the correct scaling behavior of structure functions (parton distributions) and form factors for pions and nucleons. For other hadronic states the proposed wave function produces form factors consistent with quark counting rules, and gives predictions for structure functions (parton distributions). As an application we build a light-front quark model for nucleons based on the proposed wave function.


Introduction: Current cage devices considerably exceed the stiffness of the spinal segment, which may lead to stress-shielding, migration of the cage, and pseudarthrosis. In order to avoid these material related complications, a poly (L-lactic acid) cage device (PLLA cage) has been designed with limited stiffness compared to current cage devices and which will be absorbed on the long term. Biomechanical in vitro testing demonstrated that the PLLA cage is mechanically sufficient directly after implantation [1] and radiographic evaluation in an in vivo investigation disclosed that interbody fusion could be obtained after 6 months follow-up [2]. In the last three decades the use of biodegradable PLLA osteosynthesis devices has gained an increasing interest and have mainly been used in non weightbearing conditions due to their attributed limited mechanical properties [3]. The use of PLLA spinal cages to induce lumbar interbody fusion under high load bearing conditions has not yet been investigated. Under the high load bearing conditions in the current investigation, the degradation kinetics of the PLLA cage may be increased as the rate of polymer degradation is influenced by the degree of dynamic loading. The aim of this investigation was therefore to describe the in vitro degradation of bioabsorbable PLLA cages and the in vivo degradation under high load bearing conditions in a lumbar interbody fusion goat model. In addition, the segments with the PLLA cages were subjected to radiologic, macroscopic and microscopic evaluation after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of implantation.


Objective: To examine whether baseline measures of stress, life satisfaction, depression and alcohol use predict making or sustaining quit attempts in a national cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers.


Banana belonging to family Musaceae is the fourth most important crop after rice, wheat and corn. Fruit harvested from bananas and plantains are important components of food-security in the tropical world and provide main source of income to the agrarians through local and international trade. India stands as the major producer of banana with an annual production of 28.4 million tons on 796,500 ha, which contribute to 27% of the world production and about 38% of the total fruit crop production in the nation. In developing countries, post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables account for almost 50% of the produce. India, the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, loses 35–40% of the produce due to excessive softening, every year. Therefore, ripening associated softening is the obvious target to extend the fruit shelf-life and to control the post-harvest losses globally. In this study, proteins were phenol extracted from different fruit tissues (peel and pulp) during different developmental (40, 60, 80 and 90-days after flowering) and ripening stages (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12-days after ripening) of banana (cv.Grand naine), and resolved using global proteome approach. 2-D gel images were further submitted to powerful image analysis software (Image Master Platinum, Version.7.1) for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Several protein spots showed fold-change (increase and decrease in abundance), and some protein spots are unique to certain developmental and ripening stages, after image analysis. Further, spots of interest were subjected to both MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and LC-MS/MS (Q-TOF) mass spectrophotometry for protein mass fingerprinting and peptide sequencing, after tryptic digestion of the excised protein spots. In parallel, experiments are in progress to subject the samples for transcriptome (RNAseq.) analysis. Based on protein/gene sequence information corresponding genes will be isolated and cloned, and knowledge will be utilized for RNAi constructs preparation to define individual role of identified key proteins/genes in ripening and enhancing fruit shelf-life in banana. Citation: Mohanty, S., Das, M.P. and Surabhi, G.K. 'OMICS'-approach to regulate ripening and enhance fruit shelf-life in banana: an important fruit crop for food security [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the NGBT conference; Oct 02-04, 2017; Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India: Can J biotech, Volume 1, Special Issue (Supplement), Page 289. https://doi.org/10.24870/cjb.2017-a273


The pursuit of urban development is to achieve high efficiency of resource use.Measurement and evaluation of the resource use efficiency can provide a scientific basis for decision making in urban development planning and policy formulation.Taking 30 Chinese capital cities as the research samples,this article evaluates the integrated efficiency,pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of resource use in urban development by using the DEA module and method.The results indicate that: In general,the efficiency of resource use in urban development is low;there are 19 cities in the invalid state.Most capital cities are in the status of increasing or decreasing returns to scale.Analysis of projection shows that redundant input and inadequate output exist in capital cities.More obvious differences can be viewed from the regional distribution of capital cities.The average efficiency of the capital cities in eastern China is higher than central and western China.There is a certain causal relationship between integrated efficiency and various input-output indicators.Urban development should increase the technical inputs,optimize the allocation of resources and control the urban scale.The efficiency of resource use in urban development is improved by relying on the technological progress.


The cloud computing paradigm shift brings about disruptive changes to the traditional business models in the infocomm sector, especially for existing software licensing models and server purchase or lease models. Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) have ramped up their cloud computing efforts as a strategic response to protect their current market share. This paradigm shift also has major separability on Vietnam's infocomm industry, which is heavily dependent on these traditional VNPT. Since 2014, Viet Nam has started offering services in domestic and international network in the country. The Global Data Services Joint Stock Company (GDS) is a joint venture between NTT Communications (NTT Com) and Vietnam Posts Telecommunications (VNPT). Although, a number of studies were published by third parties on how Vietnam has fared in its cloud journey. While such studies use different definitions and yardsticks, their results nonetheless are instructive in helping us to understand the progress Vietnam has made and to highlight areas for improvement. We have a few studies resources allocation such infrastructure as a services. With the aim to share research solutions and seek opportunities for local businesses who want to invest in infrastructure cloud from the Open Source duty. In this paper, we proposes an algorithm deadlock prevention the model n VM - out - of 1 PM to separate and manage resources. The algorithms for allocating multiple resources to competing services running in virtual machines on a heterogeneous distributed platforms. This paper presents an algorithm prevention deadlock used to reschedule the policies of resource supply for resource allocation. In the current scenario, deadlock prevention algorithm using method global state prevention based. We have implemented and performed our algorithm proposed by using CloudSim simulator.


This study of syntax-pragmatics interface analyzes the meaning of two Cantonese question particles, namely me1 and ho2, and contrasts their felicity conditions with that of neutral questions. Both particles introduce complex speech acts which exercise two illocutionary forces (asserting and asking), contrary to neutral questions which are simple speech acts. Co-occurrence patterns of question particles, scope facts and clause-typing restrictions suggest that the addresseeoriented particle ho2 is higher than speaker-oriented me1 in syntax. A complex ForceP structure is proposed, in which a higher head FORCEA(ddressee) hosts ho2, while FORCES(peaker) hosts me1.


Due to the increase of international business and activities, Koreans nowadays have higher needs to present their personal identity to the foreigners. In this process, the first requirement is to exchange personal names with foreigners. Therefore, the phonetic translation of Korean names into Roman alphabetic notation is frequently required, in order to deliver Korean personal names to the people who do not understand Korean alphabet. However, some confusions have been witnessed in the way of transforming Korean names into Roman (English) alphabet notation, due to the fact that there are many different ways to put Korean pronunciation into Roman (English) alphabet. This study examines different formats of Romanization of Korean personal names to find and suggest an optimal one. It first examines structures of and differences between Korean and Western personal names and usage patterns, reviews the issues surrounding Romanization of Korean personal names, and patternizes diverse Romanization formats currently used. Based on these examinations and consequent findings, I would like to suggest a format for the Romanization of Korean personal names which is considered to be the best.


Traditional herbal remedies are used by many patients for selfhealing. A recent study of the prevalence and frequency of use of unconventional therapy in the US found that 3% of adult respondents used an herbal medicine during the preceding year.' It has been estimated that I in 4 people in the US who see their physician for a serious health problem use some type of unconventional therapy. Seven of 10 such uses occur without the physician's knowledge. Marketing of botanicals has grown into a $1.5 billion industry and is expanding at approximately 15% per year.' The potential risk of toxicity with herbal products is increased because these products are not categorized as drugs. Herbal products sold in health food stores are designated as dietary supplements and are therefore not subject to standard Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests for safety and effectiveness' or good manufacturing practice standards that ensure quality control.' Many herbal products are imported from foreign countries that may not mandate safety and/or manufacturing regulations. Additionally, these products are not required to be sold in childproof packaging and often do not have the active or inactive ingredients listed on the package labeling.


The translation of Ch. Darwin's main and most well-known book, On the Origin of Species, had great significance for the reception and development of his evolution theory in Russia and later in the USSR, and for many reasons. The history of the book's publication in Russian in tsarist Russia and in the Soviet Union is analyzed in detail.

The first Russian translation of On the Origin of Species was made by Sergey A. Rachinsky in 1864. Till 1917 On the Origin of Species had been published more than ten times, including the publication in Darwin's collected works. The edition of 1907– –1909 with Timiryazev as editor had the best quality of translation and scientific editing. This translation was used in all subsequent Soviet and post-Soviet editions. During Soviet time, On the Origin of Species was published seven times in total, and three times as a part of Darwin's collected works.

From 1940 to 1987, as a result of the domination of Lysenkoism in Soviet biology, On the Origin of Species was not published in the USSR.

During the post-Soviet period, the book was published only two times, and it happened already in the 21st century. The small number of editions of Darwin's main book in post-Soviet time is one of the consequences of the discredit of the evolutionary theory in mass media and by the Russian Orthodox Church as well as the rise of neo-Lysenkoism.

The general circulation of nine pre-revolutionary editions of On the Origin of Species was about 30,000–35,000 copies. Only four editions which had been released in the USSR from 1926 to 1937 had the total circulation in 79,200 copies. Two post-Soviet editions published in 2001 and in 2003 had already a circulation of only 1,000 copies. Subsequent editions in each period of Russian history was thus some kind of an answer to the scientific, political and social requirements of the Russian society and the Russian state.


Transparent conducting ZnO:Al thin films have been deposited on polyester (Mylar type D, 100 μm thickness) substrates at room temperature by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the deposited films have been studied. The samples are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and a strong crystallographic c-axis orientation (002) perpendicular to the substrate surface. As deposited ZnO:Al thin films have an 85% transmittance in the visible and infra-red region and a resistivity as low as 3.6×10 cm. The obtained results are comparable to those ones obtained on glass substrates, opening a new field for low cost, light weight, small volume, flexible and unbreakable large area optoelectronic devices. Introduction Aluminium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) have been extensively studied in recent years, because of their material low cost, relatively low deposition temperature, non-toxicity and stability in hydrogen plasma, compared with ITO and SnO2. Nowadays there is great interest in replacing glass substrates with polymer substrates, particularly in flat panel display and touch screens technologies, where low volume, lightweight, and robustness are important. Besides that the added flexibility of polymer substrates opens new display application opportunities that utilize curved surfaces. Due to these new demands some authors have prepared ZnO:Al films deposited on organic substrates like polyisocyanate [1]. Recently we presented preliminary results on ZnO:Al thin films deposited on Mylar substrates [2]. In this paper we give a more detailed description on the preparation as well as on the characterization of the obtained films. Experimental details The substrates used in this work are polyester (Mylar type D) foils from DuPont with a thickness of 100 μm. Before depositing the ZnO thin films, the substrates were ultrasonically cleaned in a detergent bath, followed by isopropyl alcohol and dried in nitrogen. The substrates (10 cm × 10 cm) were placed inside the chamber and then evacuated until a base pressure of 7×10 mbar. The ZnO:Al thin films were produced by r.f. magnetron sputtering from a commercially available sintered ceramic ZnO:Al2O3 (98:2) target with 99.99% purity (Cerac), of 50 mm diameter, placed at a distance of 20 cm from the substrate. The flow rate of the sputtering gas (argon) was controlled by a mass flow controller to 10 SCCM and the deposition pressure was fixed to 1.7×10 mbar (optimised deposition conditions for this chamber, in order to guarantee uniformity over 10 × 10 cm, see ref. [3]), while the r.f. power was varied between 150 W to 200 W. The films were produced at room temperature and were not annealed after deposition. The structural properties of the films were studied by XRD spectroscopy (Rigaku diffractometer DMAX III-C series, with a copper target). The growth morphologies were analysed by using a SKey Engineering Materials Online: 2002-10-25 ISSN: 1662-9795, Vols. 230-232, pp 571-574 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.230-232.571 © 2002 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (Semanticscholar.org-13/03/20,22:50:26) 1400 Hitachi scanning electron microscope. The optical transmittance measurements were performed with a Shimadzu UV/VIS 3100 PC double beam spectrophotometer in the wavelength range from 200 nm to 1500 nm. The thickness of the films was measured using a Sloan Dektak 3D profilometer. The resistivity, carrier concentration and Hall mobility were obtained from four-point probe (square configuration, 5 mm side with Cr contacts deposited by thermal evaporation assisted by electron gun) and Hall effect measurements using a BIORAD HL5500 system with a permanent magnet of 5 kG. Results and discussion The prepared films were physically stable and presented very good adherence to the polymer substrates. No crack or peel off of the films was observed. The average thickness of the films was 0.1 μm. The X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that all the obtained films were polycrystalline with the hexagonal structure, and had a strong preferred orientation with the c axis perpendicular to the substrate. The X-ray diffraction patterns for three samples deposited at different r.f. power are shown in Fig. 1. The only diffraction peak observed is the (002) peak and its location at 2 is 34.34o, 34.0o and 34.28o for the three samples. These values are very similar to that of the standard ZnO crystal (34.44o). The intensities of the diffraction peaks (normalized to the thickness of the samples) become more intense with increasing the r.f. power. This is due to the cristallinity of the resulting films being improved and crystallites sizes becoming larger with increasing r.f. power. Crystallite size has been estimated using the Scherrer formula [4] and they average about 16, 18 and 21 nm respectively for the three samples. 30 35 40 45 (002) (002) (002) In te ns it y (a .u .)


Dependable detection of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in glassy-winged sharpshooters (GWSS) is imperative for understanding Xf epidemiology and optimizing grapevine protection strategies. In this study, we have developed methods for extracting Xf DNA from GWSS vectors and optimized a SYBR green I based real-time PCR detection protocol that is fast, consistent, and inexpensive. The Qiagen DNeasy Tissue kit (Qiagen Inc., Hercules, CA, USA) was the most efficient kit tested in our studies, having a lower detection limit of 500 cells in the presence of insect tissue. The considerably faster pre-extraction method of repeatedly flushing the foregut with lytic buffer with vacuum pressure prior to extraction using Qiagen DNeasy Tissue kit was not significantly different than whole-tissue maceration. Storage of GWSS samples at -4°C did not compromise Xf-detection capabilities. INTRODUCTION New epidemics of Pierce's disease of grapevine induced by Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in southern California are associated with the invasive vector species Homalodisca coagulata, the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS). These epidemics have stimulated investigations of plant protection tactics that depend on reducing the interaction between infectious GWSS and grapevines. Deployment of these tactics would be optimized by the ability to monitor the dispersion of Xf in infectious GWSS. The ability to detect Xf in GWSS vectors would also allow us to describe its movement in time and space at both local and regional levels. PCR protocols have been developed to detect Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in plants (Minsavage et al. 1993, Oliveira et al. 2002, Schaad et al. 2002). Unfortunately, when methods are adapted for insects they tend to be inconsistent. Extraction of DNA from Xf in insect vectors may be difficult for several reasons. First, Xf exists at low titers in vectors (Nome et al. 1980). The large amount of insect DNA present in the extract could interfere with extraction of Xf DNA by saturating the capacity of the extracting process, thus diluting the DNA of interest. Second, the bacterium adheres to sites in the foregut of the insect. This region of the insect's alimentary canal is chitonized and may be difficult to expose to DNA extraction. Third, potential DNA inhibitors are commonly found in insects. It has been suggested that pigments contained in the insect's eyes might inhibit PCR, and removal of the eyes prior to extraction has improved detection (Gispert, unpublished data). Removal of the eyes is tedious and time consuming and therefore not suitable for extracting DNA from large numbers of GWSS samples. The selection of a DNA extraction protocol depends on the system in which it is being applied. Because no one extraction protocol fits every detection system, factors such as performance of the kit, price, time investment, and maximum number of samples extracted must be considered. In our recent studies, we compared three standard methods and 11 commercially available kits for relative efficiency of Xf DNA extraction in the presence of insect tissue. All of the protocols tested were proficient at extracting DNA from pure bacterial culture (1x105 cells) and all but one protocol successfully extracted sufficient bacterial DNA when in the presence of insect tissue. DNA extraction kits were found to be amenable to large sample sizes by being relatively inexpensive and time-efficient. OBJECTIVES The over-all goal of this project is to develop a method of detecting Xf in GWSS that would allow us to conduct epidemiological studies and optimize plant protection. To this end, our objectives are: 1. Develop a DNA extraction protocol that is optimal for Xf DNA recovery from GWSS. 2. Develop a real-time PCR-based detection system that is sensitive, rapid, and cost-efficient. RESULTS Extraction kit comparison The Qiagen DNeasy Tissue kit detected Xf 50 cells without insect tissue present (Table 1). When the sample dilution series was tested with insect tissue, 500 cells was the lowest concentration detected (a 10-fold decrease). Although the immunomagnetic separation method returned similar results without insect tissue, it only allowed detection of Xf at >1600 cells with insect tissue (Table 1). The Fermentus DNA Purification kit only detected the concentration of 1600 cells without insect tissue and did not detect any dilution with insect tissue present.


Introduction. «Kologrivsky Les» nature reserve was established in 2006, therefore the dynamics, growth and yield of forest vegetation have been understudied so far. The prior research carried out on the area was sporadic, irregular and incomplete. The work is aimed at the analysis of forest dynamics of stands included into nature reserve «Kologrivsky Les» beginning from 1998 to 2009 in order to identify alterations occurred without any forest operations and for the purpose of further monitoring. The key research method included compiling summary tables of area distribution covered with forest stands based on the main species age class, quality class, forest type, forest site type and thickness. In order to find correlation between inventory indicators and the age of stands we used Korsun-Bachmann function. Results. The nature reserve consists of two parts that differ significantly in terms of species composition of a forest stand. In the framework of the reference period from 1998 to 2009 we observed the ageing of a stand and reduction of areas covered with young stands. The yield of Kastovskoy forest district is lower than in the Central forest district. The difference in area distribution in 1998 and 2009 in terms


The invention provides a substrate for a power module, the power module with the substrate and a manufacturing method of the substrate for the power module, wherein the substrate has metal plates and a ceramic substrate which are jointed definitely and has high heat circulation reliability. According to the substrate (10) for the power module, the surface of the ceramic substrate (11) is laminated and jointed with aluminum metal plates (12 and 13). The substrate is characterized in that besides Si, one or more than two adding elements selected from Zn, Ge, Ag, Mg, Ca, Ga and Li are solidly dissolved in the metal plates (12 and 13), the sum of the Si concentration near an interface of the ceramic substrate (11) and the concentration of the adding elements is set to be higher than 0.05 percent by mass and lower than 5 percent by mass.


BACKGROUND
The incidence of syphilis has been increasing worldwide in the last 20 years, disproportionately impacting those living with HIV. Alongside this increase, several jurisdictions have reported increasing incidence of syphilis-related complications, including ocular syphilis. We sought to characterize ocular syphilis cases in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

METHODS
This case-control study compared ocular syphilis cases matched (1:4) to syphilis controls diagnosed in BC between 01/2010 - 12/2018. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify potential correlates of ocular syphilis, where variables were included in the final model if significant (P ≤ 0.05).

RESULTS
During the study period, there were 6716 syphilis diagnoses, including 66 (0.98%) ocular syphilis cases. Median age of cases was 49.5 years (interquartile ratio [IQR]: 39-59). 87.8% of cases were male, where 54.6% identified as men who have sex with men. The most common ophthalmologic diagnosis was panuveitis (42.4%). 48.5% of ocular syphilis cases were HIV-positive at the time of syphilis diagnosis, compared to 26.4% of controls (P=0.001). The proportion of syphilis cases with ocular syphilis increased from 2010-2018, from 0.48% to 0.83%, respectively. The final multivariable model demonstrated the following correlates of ocular syphilis: early syphilis stage, including primary/secondary (odds ratio [OR]: 4.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.86-13.24) and early latent (OR 4.29; CI 1.62-11.34); and HIV serostatus (OR 2.16; CI 1.14-4.09).

CONCLUSIONS
Ocular syphilis increased over the study period, both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of all syphilis cases, a finding consistent with other jurisdictions. These findings highlight the importance of vigilance for ocular syphilis, to avoid diagnostic and treatment delays.


This study addresses applicant selection outcomes and perceived work group satisfaction and performance using a social categorization and social identity theory perspective. Controlling for sex, mi...


Imagine attending a video conference call with multiple parties without having to determine which monitor to look at to determine who is speaking because everyone is present in the same room via augmented virtual reality. While the basic building blocks to create such a reality [1] exist, putting the building blocks together in a practical sense is still elusive. In this paper we take the reader to the technologic forefront of the quest to make mixed reality – a reality in the mainstream. We focus on the needs, challenges and breakthroughs in the following key areas: 1) Mixed reality image capture technology: We identify leading research and provide an analysis of mixed reality content capture technology. 2) Mixed reality encoding technology: We review recent research related to the paramount task of efficiently capturing and rendering mixed reality content for transport over networks. 3) Mixed reality streaming and display technology: We breakdown the various display technologies and identify pros and cons. 4) Advanced applications and breakthroughs: We take the reader on a tour of recent breakthroughs related to mixed reality applications (and platforms) ranging from tourism applications, to promising educational tools that apply mixed reality, to training military personnel. 5) We end by considering future research areas that may prove promising to make mixed reality common place. Keywords—Mixed reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3-D video encoding, 3-D image display, mobile devices


Glucan preparations, primarily modifi ed water-soluble glucans, are involved in the activation of the body's natural defense mechanisms and in the acceleration of the skin's wound-healing processes. Pleuran, an insoluble β-D-glucan in hydrogel form, offers a natural alternative to more common chemically derivated soluble β-D-glucans. Pleuran was applied to human keratinocyte primary cultures, and after 24 h of incubation the release of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) by stimulated keratinocytes was detected using gelatine zymography. There was a concentration-dependent increase in pro-MMP-9 release after treatment with pleuran over the concentration range of 2 to 200 μg/ml, but pro-MMP-2 was detected at a constant level. Moreover, the active forms of both MMPs were not detectable, indicating that in vitro autoactivation of these zymogens did not occur. The results indicate that pleuran is a potent keratinocyte stimulator of pro- MMP-9 release, which implies its application in dermatological therapies


After an analysis of the growth procedure, the causes that result in the stand status, and the function features of the stand, we established the judgment function of incorporate grades of the low quality and low benefit secondary fir stand and divided it into four types: the extreme low quality and low benefit type, the potential type, the low quality type and the incorporate low quality and low benefit type. Gradual regression analyses of the site factors show that in the area of its distribution, the main site factors that affect the growth of the stand are respectively the soil name, the soil depth and the stand position, besides the altitude above sea level and the slope direction. The slope has the least effect. The combination of these factors can constitute various site types. Based on the analysis of the stand growth procedure and its site features, we provided a parameter criterion used to sort the low quality and low benefit secondary fir stands.


: The online teaching mode is becoming more and more mature with the development of Internet technology, but the online teaching mode also has some defects. Some experts put forward the online and offline mixed teaching mode. Therefore, this paper puts forward the application of online and offline mixed teaching mode in the teaching of Chinese modern and contemporary literature, puts forward the necessity of online and offline mixed teaching mode of Chinese modern and contemporary literature in the information-based education era, and expounds the application mode of online and offline mixed teaching mode in Chinese modern and contemporary literature, Design the online teaching link of Chinese modern and contemporary literature and the offline teaching link of Chinese modern and contemporary literature, optimize the assessment method of mixed teaching mode, change the traditional idea of respecting scores, and improve the teaching efficiency of Chinese modern and contemporary literature.


A new method based on neural network and genetic algorithm to optimizate the Multiphase Rotodynamic pump is given. Using cubic B-spline surface to parametric the blade profile. Based on the ability of highly nonlinear fitting of BP neural network, the nonlinear relation between the blade parameter and the pump performance parameters is build. Let the trained neural network as a fitness function of the genetic algorithm, using the characteristic of nonlinear global optimization of genetic algorithms to optimize multiphase rotodynamic pump. Through the fluent numerical calculation of the genetic algorithms output value, the results show that the capability of multiphase pump blade is improved, and then proved the feasibility of the optimization method.


The present invention relates to a seismic device for a distributing board. The seismic device which is installed on the lower side of the distributing board comprises; a lower base which is installed on the ground to be fixated; and an upper base which is installed on the upper side of the lower base to be able to move. The lower base installs; a ball which is fixated on the upper one side of the lower base and is weltered; and a first spring which connects the lower and upper bases by being installed on the other side of the upper side of the lower base. The upper base installs; a shaft which is installed to be penetrated to the lower side of the distributing board and the upper base and forms a screw thread on the outer circumference surface; a spherical body which is formed on the lower end of the shaft and is rotated on the lower base; and a second spring which is inserted into the shaft between the upper base and the distributing board.


Optimal design techniques are not routinely used in the industry when dealing with complex physical phenomena, due to high computing costs. In the CFD field, simpli- fied methods can only provide discrete solutions. The parameterization method described in this paper is based on the differentiation and high-order Taylor-series expansion of the discretized Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. A flow database containing the derivatives of the physical variables with respect to the design variables is produced by the Turb'Opty c parameterization tool and thoroughly explored by a multi-objective Ge- netic Algorithm coupled to the extrapolation tool Turb'Post c . The optimization case of an automotive engine cooling fan blade is fully described. Five geometric parameters have been chosen to characterize the fan blade. Three objective functions have been taken into account: the minimization of the loss coefficient,the maximization of the static pressure rise and the minimization of the torque. Quantitative results are finally discussed. A noticeable reduction in CPU time cost has been demonstrated.


Scheduling scheme design of carrier-based aircraft ammunition is a NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem because of its equipments and restrictedness. Traditional simple genetic algorithm has deficiencies in global search and convergence speed when solving this kind of problem, and so modified genetic algorithm is brought. Real-coding of subsection is adopted to ensure solutions feasibility. The method of saving elite is adopted and the number of elite and bad ones is regulated adaptively to ensure individuals multiform and enhance constringency speed. The experimental result of emulation indicates that it is superior to find the best scheduling scheme with this algorithm.


With the development of the study on Aesthetics in China,the Study of Aesthetics of Arts is upsurging in an inexorable trend. The thesis lays emphasis on four aspects,such as aesthetic study in the background of Chinese culturalogy-philosophy.


ABSTRACT Hazardous waste minimization is essential to the Department of Defense to reduce the serious liabilities associated with the management and disposal of hazardous waste. DoD policy is to limit the generation of hazardous waste and to recycle resources where practical. Any action that reduces the need for disposal of hazardous waste is considered minimization: hazardous materials control; material substitution; process change; recycling; treatment, including thermal destruction. Case examples of successful waste reduction efforts are presented in the paper.


An  investigation on the effect of slopes and load volumes  on the productivity  of hand lorry was carried out  at Padangan Forest  District, Unit II Perum Perhutani,  East Java, in 1983.  In the investigation,  four  levels of slopes  (i.e. 3, 4, 5, and 6 percent), four  levels of  load volumes  (i.e. 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 m 3 ) and the crew of 4 workers were used.  The objective was to find  the productivity of  hand  lorry  opearating  on several slopes  and  with  several load volumes. The results reveal that: The productivities of log hauling by hand lorry ranged from : 7.16 to 25.09  m 3 km/hour   with an average of 16.46  m 3 km/hour. Higher slope and load volume  caused the decrease in lorry productivity. The relation  of productivity (Y), slope (X 1 ) and load volume (X 2 ) can  be expressed  by  the following  equation  of linear multiple regression: Y  = 48.626 - 2.199X 1 -  5.342X 2 with  R 2 = 0.58 Slopes and load volumes  have highly significant  effect  on productivities.