It is assumed university students engage with technology as easily for their university studies as they do socially. However, prior research reflects the difficulties that non-law students face in engaging with legal materials. The purpose of this research was to determine how technology use impacts upon non-law students' engagement with legal materials. The project explored inter alia the extent to which first year non-law students engaged with technology for their studies and in particular with legal materials and databases. The project was undertaken during semester 2, 2014 in a legal service unit delivered to a mixed cohort, which included construction management, property economics, planning and quantity surveying students. Actual technology use and familiarity was tested by means of an in class survey delivered in the Week 2 lecture. Use and familiarity was then retested at the end of semester in the Week 13 lecture, with adjustments made in lecture delivery and materials in-between.


Objective To compare the influence of psychological intervention to emotional status and pulmonary function between Zhuang and Han ethnic asthmatic patients.Methods 97 cases of Zhuang ethnic asthmatic patients and 83 cases of Han ethnic asthmatic patients were randomly divided into intervention group and control group.Both were given routine therapy while the intervention group was given psychological intervention.Psychological status measured by means of Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI),forced expired volume in a second(FEV1)and peak expired flow rate(PEF)were determined before and after therapy in all groups.Results Depression and anxiety of Zhuang ethnic asthmatic patients were significantly higher than that of Han ethnic asthmatic patients;After therapy depression and state anxiety were lessened,FEV1 and PEF were increased in intervention groups(P=0.000).No significant differences were found in depression,state anxiety and trait anxiety.FEV1 and PEF obviously decreased in control group of Zhuang and Han ethnic asthmatic patients;The pre-therapy and post-therapy depression and state anxiety differences in Zhuang ethnic intervention group were significantly higher than that in Han ethnic intervention group(P=0.000),however,no significant differences were found in FEV1 and PEF.Conclusion The effect from psychological intervention on Zhang ethnic asthmatic patients was better than Han ethnic asthmatic patients.


Equations corresponding to the application of Reciprocal Derivative Chronopotentiometry with programmed currents to spherical and disk microelectrodes under steady state conditions have been deduced. Traditional stationary dt/dE vs. E curves for a current time function of the form I(t)=I0tu, u>0, and the new dI/dE vs. E curves, which do not depend on the particular characteristics of the applied programmed current I(t) are shown for any degree of reversibility of the electrode process. The evolution from transient to steady state for both derivative techniques has been analyzed. Criteria for characterizing reversible and totally irreversible stationary derivative curves, together with easy methods for determining thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the charge transfer process from the measure of peak parameters are proposed. The validity of the theoretical predictions has been experimentally tested with hexachloroiridate(IV) reversible oxidation and with iron(III) irreversible reduction in aqueous media.


Currently, the cement sector has become aware of the economic and environmental advantages of replacing clinker with other supplementary cementitious materials that have a lower carbon footprint in the design of eco-cements. In this study, hydrotalcite, a natural as well as synthetic clay, which can be fabricated at the cement plant site, was used as such an addition. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of its physical–mechanical properties and durability in pastes and mortars, using a magnesium-type commercial hydrotalcite, Mg6Al2(OH)16CO3·4H2O, as a substitute material for 10, 20 and 30% by weight of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The mechanical strength was not affected by the substitution, the resistance to chlorides increased, as the hydrotalcite (HT) was able to bind chlorides, and the resistance to carbonation increased at 3 months but was almost the same as the reference specimen at 6 months, which indicates the need to have longer test durations.


Abstract Recognizing faces under various lighting conditions is a challenging problem in artificial intelligence and applications. In this paper we describe a new face recognition algorithm which is invariant to illumination. We first convert image files to the logarithm domain and then we implement them using the dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) which yields images approximately invariant to changes in illumination change. We classify the images by the collaborative representation-based classifier (CRC). We also perform the following sub-band transformations: (i) we set the approximation sub-band to zero if the noise standard deviation is greater than 5; (ii) we then threshold the two highest frequency wavelet sub-bands using bivariate wavelet shrinkage. (iii) otherwise, we set these two highest frequency wavelet sub-bands to zero. On obtained images we perform the inverse DTCWT which results in illumination invariant face images. The proposed method is strongly robust to Gaussian white noise. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms several existing methods on the Extended Yale Face Database B and the CMU-PIE face database.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate strategies that external stakeholders can employ to affect construction project outcomes and, second, to identify essential requirements for utilising each strategy.Design/methodology/approachA new theoretical framework of stakeholder influence strategies was proposed and applied. The research design is a multi-case study, comprising four cases in the construction industry in Vietnam.FindingsSeven specific strategies were found, including inputs withholding, inputs compromising, communication, direct action, coalition building, conflict escalation and credibility building. When possessing project inputs, stakeholders can affect a project directly via a withholding or compromising strategy. Communication is available to those who have basic communicating skills; however, direct action is only employed by groups that include a large number of members. Objectors must have common interests or goals with their potential allies for using coalition building. Conflict escalation is restricted to communities having distinctive characteristics which can be used to create new problems sensibly, while credibility building is used by parties possessing adequate resources and expertise.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's generalisability may be limited by the main source of data and the types of projects in the selected cases.Practical implicationsThis study provides directions for project managers to predict stakeholder influence by taking project inputs and utilisation requirements of the strategies into consideration.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first investigations on stakeholder-attributes-related requirements for utilising influence strategies in projects.


Studied the causes of the ineffectiveness of follow-up of elderly patients with pathology of the cardiovascular system with high cardiovascular risk. The necessity of an individual approach, the individual preventive counseling in the usual patient conditions, learning to use tools of self-control belonging to that particular patient. Conducting a «pharmacological control» every visit to an elderly patient at home or a visit to the clinic.


ABSTRACT Adeno-associated virus (AAV) establishes latency in infected cells by integrating into the cellular genome, with a high preference for a unique region, called AAVS1, of the human chromosome 19. The AAV proteins Rep78 and -68 are postulated to initiate the site-specific integration process by binding to a Rep binding site (RBS) in AAVS1. We provide further evidence to corroborate this model by demonstrating that the AAVS1 RBS in human cell lines is located near a DNase I hypersensitive "open" chromatin region and therefore is potentially easily accessible to Rep proteins. This open conformation is maintained in transgenic rats which carry an AAVS1 3.5-kb DNA fragment and are proficient for Rep-mediated site-specific integration. Interestingly, the core of the DNAse I hypersensitive site in AAVS1 corresponds to a sequence displaying transcriptional enhancer-like properties, suggesting that AAVS1 constitutes a transcription-competent environment. The implications of our findings for AAV physiology and gene therapy are discussed.


Experiments were carried out in the one-dimensional drop-tube furnace to discover the mechanism in influencing of pulverized coal concentration on formation and conversion of nitrogen compounds. Concentration of HCN and NH3 were measured under the different coal species and particle size as well as furnace temperature, and relations of among NH3/HCN and NOx conversion ratio as well as burnout rate of pulverized coal were analyzed under the different pulverized coal concentration. Results show that both concentration of HCN and NH3 are high under high volatile and fine pulverized coal particles. For the fine pulverize coal particles, NH3 is easier to release under the high pulverized coal concentration, and HCN is easier to release under the low pulverized coal concentration. But for the coarse pulverize coal particles, there are the opposite results. The higher the furnace temperature is, the lower the concentration of HCN is, and the higher the concentration of NH3 is. 700℃ is the turning temperature for the significant changes in the concentration of HCN and NH3. Nitrogen compounds are released mainly by HCN during the pulverized coal combustion. Conversion ratio of NOx mainly depends on the concentration ratio of NH3 to HCN. The burnout rate of pulverized coal is correlated with the releasing characteristics of HCN. The combustion of high concentration pulverized coal is in favor of restraining the conversion of nitrogen compounds to NOx.


This study examined the use of Lexicons related to ecological lexicons in Javanese that are commonly used by everyday students. This type of research according to Furchan (1982) was a qualitative descriptive research sub-category of survey research. Research subjects were 96 students from Java (Yogyakarta and Central Java). The instrument developed was a questionnaire. Validation of instruments using the expert judgment of Javanese linguists. The results showed students who were ecological lexicon in Javanese were 53.19%, students who did not understand the ecological lexicon of Javanese were 46.81%. More than half of the students still understand the meaning of the ecological lexicon of the Javanese language. The data was followed up with interviews. The results of the interview revealed that students' understanding of the meaning of the ecological lexicon was not entirely appropriate. Some ecological lexicons of Canada are no longer used in terms of the absence of the main factors. First, youth urbanization in Javanese society. Second, the number of speakers is getting smaller. Third, the changing natural factors, climate, and weather are commonly described by the ecological lexicon are not felt by the majority of Javanese people.


The author reviews the hitherto existing efforts at determining the optimal age structure with regard to the optimal growth rate of the population. He concludes that the research on the problems of optimalization should be based on the model of stable populations. He determines the demographic characteristics of stable populations according to sex. He explains his method of determining the population optimum on the basis of the elaboration of stable economic age pyramids. Analyzing the problem of the criteria of optimalization he concludes that the maximum of the total volume of the per capita production exceeding consumption can be used as criterion for the optimalization of the population growth rate. Finally the author deals with the problem of the stationary population and with some problems of the theoretical foundation of future population policy. The article contains numerous tables and graphs. (authors modified) (summaries in ENG RUS)


Chapter 5 emphasizes the group's internal fissures and negotiations over time, including their decision to remain only women as well as their choice to align themselves with the Democratic Party, avoid discussions with conservatives, and remain confidential. This chapter highlights the unique characteristics and decisions of secret organizations whose private nature can create turmoil and insulate members, and that face unique challenges and decisions about how to exist and take political action. This chapter also addresses the confluence of identities such as partisanship, gender, and race/ethnicity, and how people negotiate these identities with one another.


Following the question of Smital and Stefankova we show that there exist continuous maps of [0,1]n, n=2,3,… possessing an ω-scrambled set of the full n-dimensional Lebesgue measure.


In Reply. —An intriguing issue is raised by Dr Dilsaver and Mr Smeltzer in their inquiry concerning a possible relationship between depressive subtypes and neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment. Unfortunately, there are few data addressing this question at present. Dr Dilsaver and Mr Smeltzer cite the finding by Wolfe et al1of a quantitative similarity between bipolar depressed patients and patients with Huntington's disease with respect to degree of cognitive impairment. However, Wolfe et al also point out that, with respect to patterns of response bias (ie, tendency to commit false-positive or false-negative errors), unipolar depressed patients are qualitatively similar to patients with Huntington's disease, while bipolar patients resemble controls. Cummings2has recently noted that it is the "pattern of intellectual disturbances" that best differentiates patients with subcortical dementias from those with dementias involving preponderantly the cerebral cortex. By these criteria, it would seem that unipolar depressed patients


This paper reports the outcome of morphological and microcompozitional (SEM, EDS, X-Ray Maps, Compo and Morpho images) and tribological investigations of biocompatible 316 L stainless steel. The most important conclusion that can draw based on optical microscopy observations is that sparked-in morphology differs depending on its place on the surface of the same sample. This is given by point-to-plate geometry that favors central discharges and a specific sample erosion/etching.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of tailing in the OO mine as a grout material. For the purpose, XRD analysis was performed for mineralogical properties of tailing. In addition, flow, velocity, and uniaxial compressive strength tests were carried out for physical and mechanical properties of a grout material with the mixing ratio of cement and tailing and curing periods. By the result of XRD analysis, tailing of the mine was found to mostly consist of quartz, galena, and pyrite. The flow observed by the flow test showed decreasing tendency with increasing the mixing ratio of tailing. The velocity was also lowered with increasing the mixing ratio of tailing regardless of curing periods. The uniaxial compressive strength as well as Young's modulus also show a tendency to decrease with increasing the mixing ratio of tailing independently on the curing periods. Considering only the physical and mechanical properties of a grout material with tailing, the results are considered to be sufficiently used as a grout material. However, since metallic minerals such as galena and pyrite in tailing contents and these are causing environmental contamination, countermeasures should be considered for this problem in future.


Layered composites have attracted attention for their high specific stiffness, high specific strength, and application specific tailoring of their properties. It is also recognized that layered composites are prone to delamination failure in addition to other failure modes. Consideration of transverse shear on the deformation behavior of the composites is an important aspect in the study of delamination mode failure of such plates. In this paper, we consider the effects of including the transverse shear deformation on the vibration characteristics of layered composites. The formulation is based on the Raleigh-Ritz method using the beam characteristic functions. In addition to including the transverse shear, the formulation is developed for metal-fiber-layered composite plates. This type of laminate construction offers the advantage of both the metallic and fiber properties. Various commonly occuring boundary conditions are discussed. Results are provided showing the effects of the shear deformation on the metal-fiber laminates. The effects of laminate thickness, fiber orientation, and the plate aspect ratios on the free vibration characteristics of the metlal-fiber laminates are given to demonstrate the methodology described.


【Objective】To study the biological properties of Mica/Apatite glass ceramic prepared by ourselves.【Method】Mica/Apatite glass ceramic composite has become more and more popular because of their good mechanical properties.The bioactivity of this material was studied in vitro and in vivo.【Results】The results showed that biological apatite layer formed on the surface of the Mica/Apatite glass ceramics after 1 day of immersion in the simulated body fluid,and became denser after 14 d.In vivo tests indicated that bone formation occured after implanted for 2 weeks,and strong bonding between bone and the implant occurred after 6 weeks.No aseptic loosening occurred during the 6 weeks of implantation.【Conclusion】The finding verified that Mica/Apatite glass ceramics possessed good bioactivity and osteoconductivity for constructing bone graft.


—Grasp detection in cluttered scenes is a very chal- lenging task for robots. Generating synthetic grasping data is a popular way to train and test grasp methods, as is Dex-Net and GraspNet; yet, these methods sample training grasps on 3D synthetic object models, but evaluate at images or point clouds with different sample distributions, which reduces performance due to covariate shift and sparse grasp labels. To solve existing problems, we propose a novel on-policy grasp detection method, which can train and test on the approximate distribution with dense pixel- level grasp labels generated on RGB-D images. An Orthographic-Depth Grasp Generation (ODG-Generation) method is proposed to generate an orthographic depth image through a new imaging model of projecting points in orthographic; then this method generates multiple candidate grasps for each pixel and obtains robust positive grasps through flatness detection, force-closure metric and collision detection. Then, a large comprehensive PixelLevel Grasp Pose Dataset (PLGP-Dataset) is constructed and released; distinguished with previous datasets with off-policy data and sparse grasp samples, this dataset is the first pixel- level grasp dataset, with the on-policy distribution. Lastly, we build and test a series of grasp detection networks with a data augmentation process for imbalance training, which learn grasp poses in a decoupled manner on the input RGB-D images. Extensive experiments show that our on-policy grasp method can largely overcome the gap between simulation and reality, and achieves the state-of-the-art performance. Code and data are provided at https://github.com/liuchunsense/PLGP-Dataset.


Displaced fractures in the upper arm near the shoulder can be treated just as effectively with sling immobilisation as with surgical treatment, a randomised clinical trial published in JAMA has found.1

Proximal humeral fractures account for 5-6% of all adult fractures, and most occur in people over 65. About half of these fractures are displaced, and three quarters involve the surgical neck. Surgical treatment is increasingly used for this type of fracture, contributing to higher …


Objective To investigate the development of vertebral artery in the 2010 enrolled pilot cadets , and provide a foundation for introducing vertebral artery ultrasound examination into inclusion criteria. Methods The ultrasound findings of the vertebral artery in 722 pilot cadets, including its origin, shape, diameter and hemodynamic patterns, were retrospectively reviewed by two-dimensional and color Doppler ultrasound. The proportion of its congenital dysplasia was calculated and summarized. Results Among the 722 pilot cadets, both the inner diameter of the initial segment (D1) and the intervertebral segment (D2) of left vertebral artery were wider than the right one (3.624±0.017mm vs 3.489±0.018mm, 3.623±0.018mm vs 3.438±0.019 mm, P 0.05). Among 5 persons showed both abnormal origin and shape, there were 2 cases in whom there was also small caliber. Conclusions Multiple congenital dysplasia of vertebral artery was found in pilot cadets. The ultrasonography examination of vertebral artery should be included in the selection criteria for pilot cadet enrollment as early as possible.


The tobacco whitefly Bemisia tabaci is among the most damaging pests in greenhouse production of tomatoes. Insecticide resistance management of B. tabaci requires continuous improvement of nonchemical methods for pest control. The goal of this study was to test the effects of scion and rootstock cultivars on the population densities of B. tabaci adult and large nymphs (4th instar to pupae), in a hydroponically grown tomato crop. The experiment was conducted using tomato cultivars (cv.) Clarabella and Estatio during the spring-summer season. The tomato plants were nongrafted, self-grafted or grafted onto the rootstocks of cv. Arnold, Buffon, Emperador, and Maxifort. A two-factorial experimental design was applied. Initially, 3 days after infestation (DAI), the scion cv. Estatio was more attractive to adults of B. tabaci, while 6 DAI, this difference was no longer apparent. For both assessments, the number of pest adult individuals was lower when scions were grafted onto tested rootstocks. Thus, plants of nongrafted or self-grafted cv. Clarabella and Estatio were more infested than the plants grafted onto the rootstocks. The density of large nymphs was higher on cv. Estatio than on cv. Clarabella at 54 DAI, while such a difference was not observed at 35 and 77 DAI. In terms of the rootstock effect, tomato grafting onto commercial rootstocks reduced nymphal populations in all three assessment periods. The differences among the rootstocks for nymphal population density were not confirmed. The results indicated that grafting tomato plants could be included in an integrated management strategy for B. tabaci.


Objective: Anthropometric measurements have often been used for determining vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO). However, most of them seem to be subjective. This study was designed to evaluate the correlation between length of the ear and VDO in dentulous subjects. Materials and methods: Two hundred participants (mean age 24.7) were included in the study. Vertical length was measured from the superior most point of the helix to the inferior most point of the lobule of external ear. Vertical dimension of occlusion was measured between two points on the base of nose and the most prominent point of the chin. All measurements were made with digital vernier caliper with a least count of 0.01 mm by two calibrated investigators. Mean readings were correlated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: An r-value of 0.640 was found to exist between the two variables measured. Correlation was more with respect to the male gender (r = 0.750) as compared to females (r = 0.570). Conclusion: The linear vertical length of the external ear was found to be positively correlated to the VDO. With the help of regression equation one can know the VDO if ear length is known. How to cite this article: Prajapati P, Sethuraman R, Naveen YG, Patel J. An Anthropometric Correlation of Vertical Dimension of Occlusion and Linear Ear Length in Dentulous Subjects. J Contemp Dent 2015;5(3):131-135. Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None


ABSTRACT An investigation is reported of virtual cathode formation and hysteresis effects in electron beams produced by microwave low-noise electron guns in the presence of a strong longitudinal magnetic field. It is shown that, contrary to earlier suggestions, positive ions are not necessary for the formation of a hysteresis loop but they may greatly affect its size. Under certain conditions more than one virtual cathode may form, giving rise to additional effects.


We recently met a special case during routine blood examination. A 56-year-old man was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, WM) and admitted to hospital for treatment. Here are his laboratory examination results on admission. Complete blood cell count (CBC) results measured using the Coulter DxH800 automatic hematology analyzer ("Coulter" in short, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) were: WBC 122.83 × 109/L (ref. 3.50–9.50 × 109/L), RBC 3.25 × 1012/L (ref. 3.80–5.10 × 1012/L), Hb 94 g/L (ref. 130–175 g/L), and PLT 191 × 109/L (ref. 125–350 × 109/L). The patient was with normocytic normochromic anemia, which was the manifestation of WM. The WBC histogram showed a decreasing trend (Figure 1A) and the analyzer alarm indicated the presence of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs). Peripheral smear prepared by the Coulter DxH Slidemaker Stainer (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) indicated normal WBC count and none of NRBCs (Figure 1D). However, a large amount of irregular blue-gray lump-like deposits were observed on the smear prepared manually (Figure 1E). The specimen was immediately assayed by Coulter after the blood was heated to 37 °C for 30 min. The results were as follows: WBC 6.80 × 109/L, RBC 3.20 × 1012/L, Hb 99 g/L, and PLT 166 × 109/L. The WBC histogram of Coulter showed a normal distribution without any alarms (Figure 1B). Microscopic examination showed that these blue-gray deposits disappeared (Figure 1F). Other laboratory tests included: (1) Serum protein concentration: total protein 44.6 g/L (ref. 65.0–85.0 g/L), albumin 28.6 g/L (ref. 40.0–55.0 g/L), and globulin 16.0 g/L (ref. 20.0–40.0 g/L). (2) Immunoglobulin assay: IgG 6.21 g/L (ref. 7.00–16.00 g/L), IgA 0.41 g/L (ref. 0.70–4.00 g/L), and IgM 2.86 g/L (ref. 0.40–2.30 g/L). (3) Identification of cryoglobulin: cryocrit was 0.6% (ref. <0.4%), and serum immunofixation electrophoresis showed light IgM-kappa bands. (4) Renal function tests and renal biopsy: urea nitrogen was 15.04 mmol/L (ref. 2.1–7.2 mmol/L) and creatinine was 748.4 μmol/L (ref. 44–132 μmol/L). Because of the worse renal function, a renal biopsy was performed. The pathology results and immunofluorescence findings confirmed type I cryoglobulinemia. Cryoglobulinemia is defined as the persistent presence of cryoglobulins in serum. The presence of cryoglobulin can lead to erroneous WBC counts and PLT counts in many instances [1–5]. As listed in Table 1, the influence of cryoglobulin on CBC is pseudoleucocytosis and pseudothrombocytosis. Only a few cases were pseudothrombocytosis, while most cases were pseudoleucocytosis. The highest fold recorded for pseudoleucocytosis was reported by Geara et al. [2], which was 8.0. Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, the pseudoleucocytosis of this case is the most prominent with an 18-fold difference. CBC detection mechanism of Coulter series counters is the electrical impedance method. The increased resistances are sensed by the instrument when cells of various sizes flow through an aperture where there is an electrical current. We analyzed the possible reasons for the 18-fold increase in WBC count. Firstly, IgM was 2.86 g/L, just slightly higher than 2.30 g/L. In the WBC channel of Coulter, the whole blood is 1:251 diluted, which means the cryoglobulin concentration will become much lower. Therefore, cryoglobulin itself unlikely causes such a remarkable pseudoleucocytosis. Secondly, the Coulter alarm indicated the presence of NRBCs (not "RBC fragments"). Under microscope, however, no NRBC was observed and the RBCs were surrounded by *Corresponding author: Hong Wang, Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China, Phone: +86 25 68303456, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-0614 Xiang Qian, Yun Ling, Lin Wang and Hanyu Liang: Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, P.R. China


Scholarly studies of elites and political elites have a vibrant recent history. My aim here is to provide a selective summary of that history, focusing on the importance of social distinction and the theories of power structure as a theoretical background for understanding the influence of political elites in social change. Since new insights and concerns have emerged in this field, the organization of this essay is not entirely chronological. Even though I may have ignored many relevant contributions, my hope here is to provide some sense of the richness and significance of what have been accomplished by scholars regarding the relationship among elites and representation, the links between elites, democracy and social change and the theories of power structure. In this paper I also study the extent to which the introduction of a new research method by Domhoffian class domination theory opened a new insight in elite studies. Finally, an elite research strategy and two main conclusions are presented subsequently.


The far‐infrared laser lines in DCN are explained as being due to transitions involving the 2200 and 091c0 levels which are mixed by a Coriolis resonance at J = 21. The HCN laser lines near 130 μ are explained by a Coriolis resonance which affects the 1200, 1220, and 0510 levels. New laser transitions are predicted for these systems.


Objective To investigate the effect of overt responses on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and to develop a more reliable data analysis method for elimination of artifacts. Methods Eight subjects performed Chinese characters reading tasks during scanning, in which 200 Chinese characters severed as stimuli. Each of the subjects completed 2 overt scanning sessions and 2 covert sessions. We compared different data analysis methods for correction of the artifacts. The first two was reported in literature and the last one is newly developed in present study. Results The method developed in this study eliminated the artifacts induced by overt responses during fMRI scanning more completely than those of the others, but the signal loss was less significant. Conclusion By means of more sophisticated data analysis, the artifacts induced by the overt responses during fMRI scanning can be effectively eliminated. Consequently, the overt responses can be introduced to the fMRI studies.


A cross-sectional study on bovine cysticercosis was conducted from December 2015 to April 2016 on 384 zebu cattle slaughtered at Halaba municipal abattoir to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors and to assess public health and economic importance of taeniasis. Moreover 100 residents in Halaba town were randomly sampled for questionnaire survey to assess the public health significance of the disease and inventory of pharmaceutical shops was made to assess the economic significance. Out of the total 384 inspected animals, 33 animals were infected by Cysticercus bovis giving an overall prevalence of 8.6%. Anatomical distribution of the cyst showed that the highest proportions of Cysticercus bovis cyst frequency were observed in Diaphragm (7.8%) followed by Intercostal muscle (7.3%), Heart (6.8%), Tongue (6.8%) and masseter muscle (6.2%). There was no significant association between the prevalence of Cysticercus bovis between age and origin of the animals (P>0.05) but significant association was observed between sexes and body condition (p<0.05). Of the total 100 interviewed respondents, 19 (19%) had infected by T. saginata infection at least once in their life time. Human taeniasis prevalence showed there was statistically significant association in the prevalence of Taeniasis between carcass source (p=0.00, x =19.63) but there was no statistically significant association 2 (p>0.05) observed in the prevalence of Taeniasis between age, sex, educational status, occupation and habit of meat consumption. An inventory of pharmaceutical shops for the year 2014 and 2015revealed a total of 63461 adult taenicidal drug doses were sold for a total cost of 190362 ETB (9285.95USD) with an average of 95181 ETB (4642.97USD) per annum. The finding also indicated that there was importance of cysticercosis and taeniasis both in economic and public health aspects. Therefore, high attention should be given for awareness rising in the public and strict routine meat inspection should be undertaken to minimize the impact of Taenia saginata in the study area.


Chromatic errors are normally corrected using sextupoles in regions of large dispersion. In low emittance linear accelerators, use of sextupoles can be challenging. Apochromatic focusing is a lesser-known alternative approach, whereby chromatic errors of Twiss parameters are corrected without the use of sextupoles, and has consequently been subject to renewed interest in advanced linear accelerator research. Proof of principle designs were first established by Montague and Ruggiero and developed more recently by Balandin et al. We describe a general method for designing drift-quadrupole beam lines of arbitrary order in apochromatic correction, including analytic expressions for emittance growth and other merit functions. Worked examples are shown for plasma wakefield accelerator staging optics and for a simple final focus system.


Pressure vessels for LPG are simple and small vessels made with two circular and one longitudinal weld joint. Geometrical failure caused by welds and opening in shells make unwanted stress concentration. This concentration in some circumstances can achive greate magnitudes which overhang safety of vessel. This paper present stress analysis of LPG tank made by numerical and experimental approach. Numerical analysis is made by FEM and for experimental analysis is used strain gage method.


: A total number of 350 unsexed 7d old ducks were randomly divided among 7 dietary treatments to investigate using date stone meal (DSM) with or without enzymes (EZ) as an alternative feedstuff in duck's diet. Dietary treatments were: the 1 st group was used as control and fed control diet contained 0% date stone. Ducks in the 2 nd and 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th and the 6 th and 7 th groups were fed diets contained 10, 15 and 20% DSM either without or with EZ addition, respectively. Results showed that ducks fed basal diet contained DSM at levels of 10%, 15% and 20% and supplemented with EZ had superior (P ≤ 0.05) live body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, economical efficiency, production index and better feed conversion ratio. As well as, increased serum total protein, albumen, dressing % and total edible parts% compared to those fed diets with DSM without EZ. Ducks fed basal diet contained DSM at level 10% and 15% with EZ supplementation recorded higher significantly (P ≤ 0.05) crude protein digestibility and serum HDL. While, there were no significantly differences between groups for digestibility of ether extract and apparent ash retention, serum content of globulin, glucose, T3, T4, total lipids, cholesterol, blood hematological indices and immune organs. In conclusion, DSM could be used in ducks diets up to 20% with enzyme supplementation without adverse effect on growth performance, however, DSM at 10 and 15 % with adding enzyme achieve optimum growth performance and economic efficiency during growing period.


Received August 30, 2018; accepted December 21, 2018. About the authors: Feihong Ji, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Chenyu Sun, MD, MSc, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China Province. Feras Kamel Rizeq, MPH, The Avalon University School of Medicine, Santa Rosaweg, Willemstad, Curaçao. Minglong Pu, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Hongwei Yang, PhD, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Xinhua Dong, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Zhengyang Wang, PhD, MD, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Weilong Chang, PhD, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Zhen Yang, MD, is Associate Professor and Associate Chief Physician, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Feihong Ji and Chenyu Sun contributed equally to this work. The authors declare that they have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence their work; there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service, and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled. Correspondence to: Zhen Yang, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, 450052 (email@example.com). DOI: 10.1097/SGA.0000000000000449


International efforts to address climate change advanced significantly in December 2015 when 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement. This signalled a collective commitment to aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to limit global warming to two degrees C. While the Paris Agreement was celebrated as a political milestone, efforts to ensure the implications of climate change are integrated by the financial sector, particularly the many trillions of dollars managed by bankers, investors and asset managers, continue. The importance of financial decisions is evident from the reality that to a large degree they either make the problem worse (e.g., by continuing to increase fossil fuel exploration, production, and utilization) or support solutions (e.g., by investing in clean energy and climate resilience). Fortunately, the financial sector is waking up to climate change – first and foremost because, as recent experience shows, the impact of extreme weather events can have devastating financial as well as human impacts, thus resulting in increased awareness of "climate risks," and initial efforts to incorporate these considerations into financial decision-making. These shifts in the policy landscape (as evidenced most clearly by the Paris Agreement, but also by green policy initiatives in some countries such as China, Brazil, Bangladesh and the UK) signify not just political consensus, but also growing momentum for action at the nexus of climate change policy and the finance, including via incentives, carbon pricing or other policy measures. Yet, outside the halls of climate conferences, the awareness about climate issues, risks or opportunities remains low across mainstream financial actors. Perhaps what is less apparent to the financial sector is that climate change is also creating enormous business opportunities – both in the form of investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and more importantly, through measures, tools, services, and indeed investments that enhance climate resilience. Supportive government policies can accelerate the recognition of these risks, and opportunities and in turn demonstrate that actions to address climate change can be profitable, ideally contributing to a virtuous cycle of investments that support climate policies and vice-versa. Furthermore, these opportunities not only help to mitigate financial risks, but also address risks to the wider economy.


Objective To explore the clinical features and operative treatment of chronic bladder entrapment and bowel herniation after traumatic symphysis pubis diastasis. Methods One patient of late pelvic posttraumatic mal-alignment as Tile C2 type, which was associated with serious symphysis separation and combination of chronic bladder entrapment and bowel herniation, was admitted to our hospital in August 2002. The X-ray, three-dimensional CT reconstruction, MRI, and the bladder cystography were performed respectively in order to confirm the conditions. With the usage of ilioinguinal approach, the symphysis pubis diastasis was exposed and restored firstly; then, the malunion site of the left iliac was corrected; finally, after the reduction and internal fixation of the pelvis, the bowel herniation was resolved and the inferior abdominal wall defect was repaired with artificial materials. During the operation, the abnormal conditions were ob-served as follow: 1) The distance of symphysis pubis separation was about 7.5 cm; 2) the full-thick of the ectus abdominis was torn longitudinally tear along the middle line, and the transversalis fascia was fibrosis and adhered to the peritoneum, which consisted of hernia capsule; 3) the small bowel had been entrapped over the bladder through the gap of rectus abdominis and the right Hesselbach triangle. Results The pa-tient was followed up of 6 months. The limb discrepancy had been corrected satisfactory with a sound frac-ture healing and a good gait recovering after operation. The urinary function has recovered with a normal ap-pearance of penis. The patient felt stronger then to relieve the bowels than he did preoperatively. The erected dysfunction did not improve postoperatively. Conclusion The combined osteotomy and rigid fixation through anterior and posterior pelvic ring in the same stage is an effective method to close the symphysis seperation, decrease the volume of pelvic cavity, construct the pelvic floor indirectly, repair the inferior ab-dominal wall defect, cure the bowel herniation, and improve the bladder entrapment.


The article presents two fragments of a shroud with Book of the Dead texts from Heidelberg and Wurzburg which match directly to each other. The shroud shows many rare features in its layout and type face. According to these peculiarities it can be dated to the middle of the 18th dynasty. A list of all known shrouds with Book of the Dead texts rendering their key data is added as an appendix.


This paper considers the jamming resource allocation strategy when a jammer is used to protect its accompanying flights by suppressing the netted radar system (NRS). The NRS adopts a K-N fusion criterion to detect and search the targets in its surveillance area. The mission of the jammer is to protect its accompanying flights by lowering the chances that they are detected by the NRS. The jammer is assumed to be able to simultaneously generate multiple jamming beams with controllable power and assign them to some radar nodes of the NRS. For this problem, we propose a joint jamming beam selection and power allocation (JJBSPA) strategy. The basic idea of the JJBSPA is to optimally schedule limited jamming resources, including the beams and transmitting jamming power, in real-time to maximize the jamming performance. The probability of detection (Pd) of the accompanying flights, protected by the jammer against the NRS, is derived and utilized as the metric of jamming performance. Then, an objective function is designed based on this Pd metric to quantify the global jamming performance while considering the different Pd requirements for the accompanying flights. By minimizing the objective function and combining the function with the jamming resource constraints, the JJBSPA is formulated as an optimization problem. As the formulated JJBSPA problem is non-convex, we propose a two-step solution based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). Finally, simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed JJBSPA strategy.


Image fusion on pixel level is a common process for information analysis of remotely sensed data. However, there is a lack of theoretical research in the field. Based on comparative analysis of GIF and GCOS model, the paper proposed a unified theoretical framework of remotely sensed image fusion. Description of several typical fusion methods are provided. Moreover, works of algorithm equivalence discriminant, fusion performance analysis and fusion algorithm development in the framework are provided. Some interesting and valuable conclusions are drawn by analysis in the unified theoretical framework. The result shows that BT is equivalent to IHS based on triangle model, and PCA is a special case of GS. The reason why hybrid methods could improve fusion performance is also revealed. The study proves the validation and effectivity of the framework on theoretical analysis of image fusion.


System and method for dynamically determining a route for an unmanned aircraft (UAV) is provided. In one example, in a computer system including one or more processors and memory, processing, and receiving a route request including the initial position and the target position of the UAV, geographic space associated with the initial position and the target position an information, receiving a geospatial information including at least one of a physical obstacle with fly zone, based at least in part on the geospatial information, the UAV from the initial position to the target position It includes determining a route, and thereby communicating the path to the UAV, a.


We are to provide an education adapted to the years, the capacity, and the condition of everyone ... directed to their freedom and happiness. We hope to avail the state of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use, if not sought for and cultivate. (1) Thomas Jefferson, 1900, p. 276 Introduction The No Child Left Behind federal mandate (2001) did not intend to leave any children behind, nor was it designed to curb the progress of those at the top of the learning curve. However, since this law was passed, it is apparent that the focus of many schools in the United States has shifted toward providing time, attention, resources, and policies in the direction of students scoring under the 40% level of achievement in reading and mathematics. This focus is necessary in order to avoid governmental sanctions impacting school funding and parental choice to choose a different school if their child is not achieving at this level of competence. According to the Four Pillars of NCLB this law will result in stronger accountability, more freedom for states and communities, proven educational methods, and more choices for parents. (5) Stronger accountability means that under NCLB, the states are working to make sure all students achieve academic proficiency with highly qualified teachers (HQT). There are annual state and school district report cards to let parents know how their schools are progressing. Schools that do not make the required progress must provide supportive services such as free tutoring and after-school assistance. If they do not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) after five years, there will be sanctions on the schools. Such measures may involve staffing changes that include firing teachers and administrators. Unfortunately, threat or imposed sanctions do not seem to be effective motivators for improving teaching or learning. Schools and districts where underachievement is most prevalent, most likely include American's urban population of students who are low income or minority with disadvantaged learners or those who experience low levels of home support, are most accountable. Many of these schools now face losing experienced dedicated, teachers with administrators who may understand the very needs and issues of their community of learners. These schools have teachers and administrators who realize that success is not entirely dependent upon test scores. While high stakes testing is the engine that drives NCLB, there is growing literature to suggest unintended consequences are damaging the education of our students. (6) More freedom for states and communities allows each states and school districts flexibility in how they use federal education funds. This flexibility allows districts to use their funds for their needs whether it be hiring new teachers, increasing teacher pay, or improving training for teachers. However, most schools in their desperate zest to improve test scores for struggling students, overlook those who exceed the minimum standards. Gifted students' needs are compromised as a result of unmet levels of challenge and opportunity. This does not represent freedom for high ability students in the educational system, nor does it provide teacher incentive or support to meet gifted student's needs. Proven education methods implement scientific research to determine which educational programs have proven to be effective. Federal funding is specifically targeted to support specific programs and different teaching methods that have been proven effective. The difficulty with this approach is the variation of what is effective for student learning. Too many U.S. schools "over-invest in testing and under-invest in capacity building." Design flaws in the law include weak knowledge and theories about how to turn around failing schools to become more accountable and academically proficient. …


How does empire operate in frontiers and borderlands during times of conflict? Empire on Edge reveals how British officials attempted, during the second half of the nineteenth century, to understand and impose order on northern Belize, an area that was both a frontier of colonial power and the locus of a disputed border with Mexico. Their efforts were complicated by the local ramifications of Yucatan's Caste War (1847–1901), a long-lasting, violent struggle between segments of the indigenous Maya in southeast Mexico and the Mexican state. The book also illuminates how people who were subject to these efforts, especially the Hispanic and various Maya groups, sought to thwart them by building alliances across seemingly firm lines of racial and ethnic division. Along the way, important questions are raised about the dissonance between colonial and imperial projects, the nature of frontiers and borderlands, and the local effects of disputes between bordering countries.


The growing awareness of child sexual assault and, in particular, the recognition that a relatively large proportion of cases involve family members (especially fathers and father-figures), has led to a demand for new ways of dealing with the problem. Changes in legislation concerning the prosecution of child sexual assault offenders are being considered or have been introduced in most Australian States (for example, Law Reform Commission of Victoria, 1988; New South Wales Task Force on Child Sexual Assault, 1985) and in a number of other countries. These reforms deal with a range of areas, including the penalty structure, the role of child witnesses, and the provision of various sentencing options for offenders. Little information, however, is available concerning prosecuted cases of child sexual assault, either in Australia or overseas. Only two studies in Australia have examined the prosecution of sexual assault cases involving children, and one of these was concerned only with incest cases in Victoria, (Heath, 1985). The other dealt with child sexual assault cases as part of a South Australian study of sexual assault (Office of Crime Statistics, 1983). Three studies have provided some information about the treatment of such cases in the United States (Conte and Berliner, 1981; De Francis, 1969; Finkelhor, 1983), and a Canadian study (Report of the Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Youths, 1984) surveyed over 700 convicted sexual offenders against children. As the Canadian study pointed out, however,


1,2-Diketones are readily reduced by fermenting baker's yeast but the reactions proceed with little selectivity. One notable exception is the reduction of 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione which affords pure (S)-(−)-2-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1-propanone in good yield.


Pharmacology is a discipline to study the interactions between drugs and pathogen, animals and their mechanism, which is a bridge between basic medicine and clinical medicine. Application-oriented university is a kind of university with application type as teaching orientation. The application-oriented undergraduate education could play a positively-promoting role for meeting the China′s economic and social development and the high-level and application-oriented talents, and promoting the popularization process of higher education in China. Anhui Science and Technology University is the first application-oriented college in Anhui Province. According to the training project of application-oriented talents and the training targets of talents, the curriculum of Pharmacology was reconstructed so as to adapt the new training project of talents.


The utility model discloses a wheel chair operating lever adjustable support mainly comprising a fixing base, a movable support and two oscillating bars. The fixing base is fixedly installed on an arm-rest frame on the side of a wheel chair. The movable support is connected with the fixing base through the two oscillating bars which are arranged in the same horizontal plane at intervals in a parallel mode. One end of each of the oscillating bars is in pivoted connection with the fixing base and the other end of each of the oscillating bars is in pivoted connection with the movable support. A four-bar linkage mechanism is composed of the fixing base, the movable support and the two oscillating bars.


- Purpose: To evaluate the CT findings of histopathologically proven pulmonary hamartoma Materials and Methods: CT findings of 16 patients with pulmonary hamartoma , histopatological ly proven between 1990 and 1996 , were retrospectively reviewed. Diagnosis was based on thoracotomy(n=ll) or fine-needle aspiration biopsy(n=S). We analyzed the location , margin discreteness , shape , and size of the mass , and the presence of calcification or fat density , as seen on CT scan. Results: All 16 tumors showed a discrete and smooth margin and there was no predilection for any specific site. They were lobulated( 1l!l 6 , 69%) , round(4/16 , 2S%) or oval(1/16 , 6%) and were less than 1cm(2/16) , 1-( 2cm(4/16) , 2-( 3cm(S !l 6) , 3-( 4cm (3!l 6) or 4-Scm(2 !l 6) in size. Nine of 16 cases(S6%) showed calcification; this was either popcorn-type(n=3) , stippled(n=3) , eccentric (n=2) , or diffuse(n=l). Five of 16 cases(31 %) showed fat attenuation. Conclusion: On CT , pulmonary hamartomas showed a discrete margin , were lobulated (rather than round or ova l) and varied in size. Calcification was more common than fat density. These CT findings may be useful for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary hamartoma.


In this paper, a harmonic tuned low-power low-phase-noise VCO IC with a novel bias feedback circuit is proposed. The transformer-based LC tank providing high impedance at the second and third harmonics is used to improve the phase noise performance. In addition, a novel feedback circuit is designed to suppress the gate-to-source voltage of the core transistors under their threshold voltage at the steady state while guaranteeing the robust start-up of the oscillation. The novel feedback circuit that requires no dc power supply can operate with an extremely small additional dc power consumption. The proposed VCO IC is designed, fabricated, and fully evaluated on-wafer in 40-nm CMOS SOI process. The proposed VCO IC has exhibited a measured best phase noise of -131.8 dBc/Hz at 10-MHz offset from the oscillation frequency of 14.94 GHz under a dc power consumption of only 1.4 mW.


The case study approach has been successfully proven as an effective tool in teaching and learning process, particularly at the postgraduate level. Its main function is to understand the real business challenges,
business scenarios, and relevant issues faced by the business owners. Therefore, building on a real case study from the cooperative's industry setting (Koperasi Social Finance Malaysia Berhad), backed by the authors' own experiences and using "the pseudonyms approach" this
book hopes to stimulate the interests and passions in case study writing for the further development of effective learning approaches through case studies among students, academics, and practitioners. Beyond that, this case study will specifically help the readers to understand the
processes, contents, and underlying objectives when building a case study; starting from writing case descriptions, implementing case analysis, identifying business problems, identifying strategic issues, and finally to provide recommendations to address the business problems.
Indeed, the other main focus of this book is to provide a complete and practical guidance to case study writing for Masters and research students, thus creating a benchmark for both academics and practitioners.


The experiment was carried out at Federal University of Vicosa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using forty crossbred calves from Milk Cattle Research National Centre - Embrapa, Coronel Pacheco, Minas Gerais (MG). Its objective is to study the performance of animals on different liquid diets: milk and fermented colostrum, with or without soybean oil, and with or without growth promoter (Zenarol). The animals were slaughtered in sixty days and had all digesting system organs weighted. The abomasum histology was described and quantified in cardiac, pyloric and fund regions, where thickness of the mucous, gland area and thickness of the epithelium were measured. Argirofilis, oxintic and zimogenic cells were also quantified. The fermented colostrum provided similar performance to milk. In histology measurements some treatment alteration was not observed. However, when the fermented colostrum was compared with several treatments, it provided similar relationship as to the abomasum functionality.


The incidence of gemcitabine-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome (GiHUS) has been reported to be between 0.02% and 2.2% (1,2). A variety of therapies have been employed in the treatment of GiHUS with varying success. In some cases the discontinuation of drug will result in remission of HUS (3). The benefit of plasmapheresis in the treatment of atypical forms of HUS (aHUS) such as GiHUS has been questioned (4). Other treatment modalities have been used with varying rates of success including high dose corticosteroids, vincristine, and rituximab (3,5). Eculizumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against the complement protein C5 that has been recently approved for treatment of atypical HUS (3). We report four cases of GiHUS seen over 2-month period and successfully treated with eculizumab.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To establish a driver's desired torque on the basis of the operation degree of an operation element operable for a driver by applying the constitution that a target value derived from the operation degree is determined on the basis of the preset maximum and minimum torque. SOLUTION: An engine speed is fed to a stored characteristic curve element 70 for maximum torque via a line 28, and maximum torque MMAX is thereby read out. Similarly, the engine speed is fed to a stored characteristics curve element 76 for an idling demand variable, and a value showing an idling torque demand value MMIN is thereby read out. Furthermore, the engine speed and an acceleration pedal position are fed to a characteristic curve element 80. Then, a target value is calculated within the range of linear interpolation between maximum and minimum values in an interpolation block 74, and a driver' s corresponding target torque value is set to a selection stage 86. As a result, a driver can directly calculate desired torque to be set, from the operation degree of an operation element operable for him/her. COPYRIGHT: (C)1997,JPO


A multiwavelength (>200 channels. 0.8-1 nm spacing) picosecond pulse source has been constructed that offers low jitter (<0.3 ps) and high optical frequency-stability at 6.3 GHz by filtering a 200 nm broadened supercontinuum with a 16*16 arrayed-waveguide grating WDM demultiplexer.


For this purpose sera from patients with trichinosis confirmed by biopsy (n=13) as well as sera from patients with other parasitosis caused by either protozoans (toxoplasmosis, amoebiasis and trypanosomiasis) or helminths (cysticercosis, trichiuriasis, ascariasis, visceral larva migrans, hydatidosis, fascioliasis and uncinariasis unique or multiple (n=171) and sera from apparently healthy individuals (n=861) were analyzed


Decoding of real BCH DFT (RBDFT) codes is considered in this paper. RBDFT codes find applications in several areas. Though the generator matrix of RBDFT codes is real, the parity check matrix is still complex, because of which complex arithmetic operations are necessary at the decoder. But for a real message vector, the syndromes of RBDFT code preserve Hermitian symmetry. This Hermitian symmetric structure is exploited and a new alternative subspace based formulation is proposed in this paper. The performance of the proposed formulation is identical to the current state-of-art RBDFT decoding algorithm, while it requires only real arithmetic operations. Simulation results are provided which demonstrates the reduction in the decoding complexity with no degradation in the performance.


Plate crown control is important not only for plate quality but cost reduction in a plate mill. The plate crown can be effectively controlled with the work roll shifting system such as Continuous Variable Crown(CVC)+ and SmartCrown. In this work the characteristics and differences of SmartCrown and CVC+ were analyzed and through the analysis result SmartCrown roll profile was optimized to improve crown control range. From an operation result it is shown that the plate crown can be successfully controlled with the optimized SmartCrown roll profile.


For selective detection of earth faults in medium voltage networks, the general protection can be used, which unlike individual protections controls earth currents in all lines supplied from the substation. To detect high-resistance and arc faults, it is possible to use in such protections the details from wavelet decomposition of earth currents and the Bayesian conditional probability criterion. The paper presents a protection model using details of earth currents and the Bayesian criterion. Significant parameters of the model were determined: sampling frequency, wavelet types and decomposition levels, parameters of the probability density function and decision conditions. The effectiveness of the protection in the case of non-stationary high-resistance short-circuits in the network with natural asymmetry and harmonic distortion was also assessed.


For the abelian self‐dual Chern‐Simons‐Higgs model we address existence issues of periodic vortex configurations—the so‐called condensates—of nontopological type as k → 0, where k > 0 is the Chern‐Simons parameter. We provide a positive answer to the longstanding problem on the existence of nontopological condensates with magnetic field concentrated at some of the vortex points (as a sum of Dirac measures) as k → 0, a question that is of definite physical interest. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


We investigate the evolution behaviour of electron?hole pair wavepacket in optically excited square quantum-dot arrays driven by in-plane (x-y plane) uniform electric field E (viz, E = Exex+Eyey, ex,ey are unit vectors along x and y directions respectively), in the time domain. It is found that if the ratio of the x-component electric field Ex to the y-component electric field Ey is a rational p/q (p and q being coprime integer numbers), the wavepackets undergo a time-periodic breathing mode, with the period 2?p/?Bx, where ?Bx = eExa/, with a being the lattice constant of square dot arrays, being Planck's constant, e being the electron charge. This finding provides a time-domain demonstration of the recent spectral result [Phys. Rev. Lett. 86?(2001)?3116].


As their natural prey, copepods are considered the ideal diets for hatchery culture of fish larvae. However, intensive cultivation of copepods has proven difficult and low culture productivity is the norm, which severely limits their use in aquaculture. This study investigated the effects of algal diets on a range of productivity-related parameters, including egg production, hatching success, naupliar and copepodite survival, post-embryonic development time, population growth and sex ratio of a small-sized tropical copepod, Parvocalanus crassirostris, which has been identified as a high potential species for aquaculture. The diets tested included three live algal diets: Isochrysis sp. (T-Iso), Pavlova 50 (Pav) and the diatom Chaetoceros muelleri (Cht); two algal paste diets: Isochrysis sp. (P-Iso) and Thalassiosira weissflogii (P-TW), as well as four mixed algae treatments composed of three binary algae diets (T-Iso + Pav, T-Iso + Cht and Pav + Cht) and a tri-algal diet (T-Iso + Pav + Cht). All parameters examined except sex ratio were significantly affected by the diets. The binary algal diet T-Iso + Cht produced significant higher total egg production over female lifespan (121.0 ± 5.9 eggs) than all other treatments (P 84% were females) across all treatments. Based on the results of this study, T-Iso + Cht is recommended for intensive cultivation of P. crassirostris.


Background: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder which affects 1 in 10,000 children. Thrombocytopenia occurs largely due to rapid destruction of antibody sensitized platelets in the reticuloendothelial system. While spontaneous resolution is commonly seen in acute ITP, treatment of chronic or persistent ITP is controversial and could pose as management challenges for clinicians. Splenectomy increases platelet survival by removing a common site of platelet destruction and has a 70-80% response rate, however, published literature is conflicting regarding its ideal timing. Furthermore, it is an invasive procedure with significant risk of infections, venous thromboembolism. In 2011, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) published revised clinical practice guidelines for the management of ITP (Neunert C et al. Blood 2011). Splenectomy was recommended in patients with severe symptomatic ITP with significant or persistent bleeding refractory to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), corticosteroids, and anti-D therapy. It is unclear if the rates of splenectomy have changed since the publication of these guidelines. Using a large population-based estimate, we aimed to study the trends of splenectomy in pediatric patients with ITP, and the factors predicting the procedure in this population. Methods: We used discharge data from the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Pediatric patients (age ≤ 18 years) hospitalized with ITP from 2005-2014 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9-CM) code 287.31. Cases of total splenectomy were identified using ICD9-CM procedure code 941.509. To calculate estimated trends of splenectomy, Cochran-Armitage trend test was used. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, survey logistic regression and hierarchal regression were used for analyses. Weights provided by NIS were used to calculate national estimates. A p-value Results: The NIS data included 62 million weighted pediatric hospitalizations between 2005 and 2014 (unweighted admissions n=13 million). After excluding patient transfers, a total of 40,998 weighted hospitalizations with ITP occurred during this time-period. Total splenectomy was performed in 1,009 patients. Splenectomy rate showed a decline prior to revised guidelines: 3.3% (2005-06) to 2.3% (2011-12). It continued to decline further after the publication: 1.6% (2013-14), p Conclusion: Overall, splenectomy rates showed consistently downward trend in pediatric patients with ITP between 2005 and 2014. Reduction in splenectomy rates in children Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The characteristics of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds such as clicking and crepitation have been assessed by many studies, however reports concerning sounds of asymptomatic joint are still scarce. Also, recording TMJ sounds with contact microphones is a difficult matter because several factors cause variation of the recordings. The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of TMJ sounds in normal subjects and to determine the location of an optimum recording site. TMJ sounds and mandibular movements in nine fully dentate, healthy subjects who had no history of TMJ pathology were respectively recorded with contact microphone and a jaw tracking device. Three velocity parameters of jaw opening were studied in four recording sites. The results were as follows: 1. Sound of TMJ movement in normal subjects was distributed below 30 Hz with peak frequency of 2•`4 Hz. 2. TMJ sounds picked up by the contact microphone were considered to be those associated with condylar movement within the joint. 3. Frequency of TMJ sound changed in relation to the recording site; and the magnitude of sound was also affected by the velocity of mandibular opening. 4. TMJ sounds generated by TMJ movement were best recorded when the contact microphone was located 20 mm anterior to the average condylar point. 抄録 クリッキングやクレピタスなどの顎関節雑音はこれまで多 くの研究によって報告 されてきたが,そ の対照 となる正常者の顎関節運動音に関する研究は数少ない.我 々は正常者の顎関節運動音の性状を明ら かにし,ま たコンタク トマイクロフォンにより測定する場合,ど の様な要因に影響を受けるかを明らかに することを目的として実験を行った.被 検者は自覚的他覚的に顎関節に異常 を認めず,聴 診および触診に おいても顎関節に雑音を認めない正常有歯顎者9名 とし,測 定部位を4カ 所に設定 し,開 口速度も3段 階 に変化させた.顎 関節運動音 とマイクロフォンの揺れはコンタク トマイクロフォンとそれに外付けした加 連 絡 先:〒540大 阪 市 中央 区大 手 前1-5-17 顎 機 能 誌4:17-23,1997. 18 速度計を用いて観察 した. その結果, 1. 正常者の顎関節運動音は30Hz以 下に限局 した周波数分布を示 し,2~4Hz付 近にピーク周波数をも つことが明らかとなった. 2. コンタクトマイクロフォンによる正常者の顎関節運動音は関節内部の音 とともに顆頭運動に伴 う顎関 節の動 きをもとらえていることが推察 された. 3. 測定部位の違いにより顎関節運動音は周波数分布が変化し,開 口速度の違いにより運動音の大きさが 変化することが明らかとなった. 4. マイクロフォンの揺れ(加 速度)か らみて,顎 関節運動音は平均的顆頭点の前方20mmの 位置で測定 することが最適であると考えられた.


. An accurate forecast of wheat yield prior to harvest is of great importance to ensure the sustainability of food production. The primary objective of this study is to determine the best remote sensing features and regression model for wheat yield prediction in Hamedan, Iran. In this regard, the e(cid:11)ects of di(cid:11)erent time windows on di(cid:11)erent regression models were veri(cid:12)ed. For this purpose, several Vegetation Indices (VIs) and re(cid:13)ectance values obtained from Sentinel-2, as the input to regression models, were used in di(cid:11)erent time windows. As a result, Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Random Forest (RF) represented the top two best methods, and the best results were achieved for the GPR model using the SAVI, NDVI, EVI2, WDRVI, SR, GNDVI, and GCVI indices corresponding to the image captured at the end of May. The best model yielded Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.228 t/ha and coe(cid:14)cient of determination R 2 = 0:73. Moreover, di(cid:11)erent regression methods regarding the number of training data were compared. Further, Neural Network (NN) and linear regression were the most a(cid:11)ected by the number of training samples while stepwise regression was a(cid:11)ected the least. The experimental results obtained in this study provided a technical reference for estimating large-scale wheat yield.


Photocatalytic compounds have the potential of removing harmful air pollutants from urban areas. One proposed method to expand the reach of this technology is to apply titanium dioxide to concrete pavement surface to result in air-purifying concrete pavement. However, the proper method of applying titanium dioxide to the concrete surface is still unclear. To this end, the objective of this study was to evaluate three methods of application for titanium dioxide to concrete pavement. Prepared samples were subjected to weathering and abrasion by using an accelerated loading test and rotary abrasion. The environmental efficiency of the original and weathered samples to remove nitrogen oxides from the atmosphere was measured using a newly developed laboratory setup. Microscopic analysis was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to determine the relative concentration and distribution of titanium dioxide particles on the surface before and after weathering. Results of the experimental program showed that in the original state, the coating with 5% TiO2 and the PT product were the most efficient in removing nitrogen oxide from the air stream. On the other hand, results of the rotary abrasion test indicated that the use of a thin coating would be more susceptible to abrasion than the photocatalysis compounds applied using the sprinkling method or using the PT product. The highest NOx removal efficiency in the rotary abrasion state was measured for the coating with 5% TiO2. Results of SEM and EDS analysis showed that the samples treated with the PT product had a more uniform distribution and a higher concentration of TiO2 than the samples treated with the sprinkling method. This may explain the greater NO removal efficiency observed in the samples treated with PT product.


We study the Brownian motion of a polarizable ion (within the shell model) in a periodic potential with the method of the memory function. The polarizability is shown to increase the conductivity only at frequencies different from zero.


The connection between cheap and easy fulfilment of transport demand and increased accidents or environmental risk is outlined. While lower speed limits would reduce accident risk, such a move is considered politically unpopular in Germany. Lorry drivers suffer from key problems of time-pressure, fatigue, distraction and poor working conditions across all nations and the role of the EU in legislating to improve their situation is described. Safety standards tend to be adhered to only if enforced. Consumers are motivated primarily by cost rather than by safety considerations. The influence of safety campaigns in raising awareness is discussed. Work stress is implicated as a major cause of accidents, particularly among lorry drivers. Better personnel management, safety equipment and treatment of accident black spots are recommended to alleviate this risk. Providing professional drivers with bonuses for accident-free periods and consequently reduced insurance costs is one measure shown to be successful. Ways of instilling a responsibility mentality in transportation companies and individual drivers are outlined. It is considered that an international platform linking traffic control agencies, health and safety agencies, price regulation agencies, producers and international transport agencies could help alleviate problems by integrated action. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118917.


Pre-service Biology teachers must be equipped with good biology skills, 21st-century teaching skills currently needed, and possess four competencies (pedagogic, professional, personality, and social). The study aims to develop a biology microteaching book to create competent, confident, and creative biology teachers with a practical approach. The development method used is ADDIE. The research instrument uses a questionnaire to measure responses from media experts, content experts, lecturers, and students (the product users). The study reports that the product of a practical approach-based microteaching book is feasible and can be used in Biology learning. This book can be used as a guide and reference for prospective biology teacher students in determining the right microteaching model.


The use of spontaneous plants of the Caatinga biome as green manure is becoming a viable option for vegetable production in northeastern Brazil. Among these plants, the scarlet starglory is a spontaneous plant adapted to the climatic and soil conditions of the region, with high biomass production, rapid growth and low C/N ratio. We evaluated the agroeconomic performance of carrot (cv. Brasilia) depending on added amounts of scarlet starglory under the ground and of its moment of incorporation. The study was carried out in a rural area, in Mossoro, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, from September to December 2009. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks with the treatments arranged in a factorial scheme (4x4) + 1, with three replications. The first factor was comprised of amounts of scarlet starglory placed between the carrot rows, in a depth of 15 cm (5.4, 8.8, 12.2 and 15.6 t ha-1 on a dry basis) and the second factor, of the incorporation moment of this material (0, 15, 30 and 45 days after sowing carrots). The additional treatment (control) was 40 t ha-1 of cattle manure applied 10 days before sowing. We evaluated the marketable and total yield of roots, percentage of the different classes of roots and the economic indicators of gross income, net income, rate of return and profit margin. No significant interaction between the amounts of scarlet starglory under the soil and the incorporation moment was determined in any of the characteristics examined for carrot. The best agroeconomic performance of carrot cropping was obtained by adding 15.6 t ha-1 of scarlet starglory to the soil. The optimization of this performance was achieved with the incorporation moment of 26 days after carrot sowing.


This book has a sub-title 'A Practical Guide to ISO 9000'. In many ways this is a useful book which will help people who need to get up to speed quickly to get into the subject. It provides clear explanations and is based on sound research from extensive interviews with practitioners. Although it provides little novelty or new insights to those already versed in the delights of QA it could act as a useful refresher. It is very much a 'how to do it' book. However, one doesn't get the feel that the book is based on real experience of writing and developing QA systems. It lacks real examples and discussions of common pitfalls and lessons learned from hard experience. It is not a book that will set out to persuade you that QA to ISO9000 is a 'good thing'. It doesn't set out the advantages that you might expect from QA until Chapter 7 which is entitled Facts and Fallacies. One can easily Ž nd out how to write procedures and do all of the formal stuff but the book doesn't tackle the really big issues such as how to create a quality culture. In Chapter 7.2.1 there are comments about how many contractors have only implemented a QA system to qualify for a tender rather than any real concern for quality. The author comments that such a company has got its priorities wrong but he doesn't make a convincing case about what are the possible beneŽ ts. There surely is now enough collective experience to demonstrate the real beneŽ ts of QA if there is a real commitment? The book is in two parts: establishing a quality system and documenting a quality system. The Ž rst part discusses what is quality and quality assurance. It looks at standards and ISO 9000 in particular. There is a chapter on project management and then some tips on getting started, implementing, obtaining third party certiŽ cation. The second part gives some sample documents for the quality manual and quality procedures. Thus in summary this is a nice neatly written useful book, but it could have been so much better had it been less descriptive and more interpretive. A practical guide to creating a quality culture in construction – that's the book that's really needed!


BACKGROUND
Some studies have reported an association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and periodontitis. The aim of the present study is to analyze this potential association and the influence of risk variables associated with GDM.

METHODS
This case-control study includes 360 women, 90 with GDM and 270 controls. Participants received a full-mouth periodontal examination with a record of bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL). Periodontitis is defined as the presence in ≥4 teeth of ≥1 sites with PD ≥4 mm and CAL ≥3 mm associated with BOP. The influence of risk variables in the occurrence of GDM is tested through univariate analysis and multivariate logistic and multinomial regression. Odds ratio (ORs) and respective confidence intervals (CIs) are calculated and reported.

RESULTS
The prevalence of periodontitis was 40% in the case group (GDM) and 46.3% in the control group. There was a lack of association between periodontitis and GDM (OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.38). The multivariate final logistic regression model retained the following as significant variables associated with GDM: maternal age (OR = 2.65; 95% CI = 1.97 to 3.56), chronic hypertension (OR = 3.16; 95% CI = 1.35 to 7.42), and body mass index (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.41 to 2.81).

CONCLUSIONS
A high prevalence of periodontitis was found among cases and controls, with no association between periodontitis and GDM. The present study suggests the need for implementation of health policies directed to the periodontal care of pregnant women.


Upheaval Dome (UD) is an enigmatic structure located in the northeast corner of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. It consists of a 5 km diameter rim monocline, a ring syncline, and a central uplift. Strata within the rim monocline are folded and faulted increasingly toward the central uplift. The origin of UD has been a controversial topic with geologists for decades. The three dominant hypotheses described UD as either a buried salt dome structure, the eroded renmant of a pinchedoff diapiric salt stem, or a complex impact crater. Buchner and Kenkmann (2007) observed shocked quartz grains in samples from the Kayenta formation to show that UD is an impact crater. The purpose of this study is to evaluate fission-track analysis as a possible tool for evaluating impacts by comparing the fission tracks in apatite crystals inside the crater with ones from outside the crater. Samples of Kayenta sandstone were collected from inside the crater where shocked quartz was found, as well as outside the crater and away from the crater damage. Typical extraction methods were used to isolate apatite crystals, which were subsequently mounted in epoxy, ground, and polished. fission tracks form from the spontaneous nuclear fission of 238U and are essentially temperature-sensitive strain markers in the grains. Track densities and geometric properties, such as track straightness, were evaluated to see if impact has annealed andlor deformed the tracks. Analysis of apatite fission tracks from both samples does not support the hypothesis that fission tracks show evidence of impact. Higher track densities were counted on grains within the crater, indicating that the tracks were not reset after


At yearend 1991, Congress enacted fundamental deposit insurance reform for banks and thrifts in the FDIC Improvement Act (FDICIA). This reform followed the failure of more than 2,000 depository institutions in the 1980s. Many of these failed because of the incentive incompatibility of the structure of federal government-provided deposit insurance, which encouraged moral hazard behavior by banks and poor agent behavior by regulators. Insurance was put on a more incentive compatible basis by providing for a graduated series of sanctions that mimic market discipline and first may and then must be applied by the regulators on floundering the banks. This article reviews these changes and evaluates the early results.


Colleges Identity System(CIS) is the outcome of Corporate Identity System inputted into colleges and universities, which is vital to enhance the colleges and universities' brand influences and realize the talen ts training goals. This thesis analyzes the current situation of the CIS in Guangdong Industry Polytechnic(GD IP) after the study on connotation and extension of CIS and puts forward the proposals to construct the CIS o f GDIP. 高校形象识别系统的建设研究 ——以广东轻工职业技术学院为例


This paper presents a process voltage temperature (PVT)‐variation‐tolerant Schmitt‐trigger‐based 12T SRAM cell at 32 nm. The cell uses a modified Schmitt‐trigger action in all operating modes for performance improvement, a characteristic that is not exhibited by existing SRAM cells. The action improves the stability of stored data in read and hold modes and assists the write process to enable a faster and low‐voltage write operation. Additionally, the cell uses negative bitline technique and fully‐gated grounded scheme for achieving further improvement in write ability and ION/IOFF ratio. The proposed cell shows 34.9% reduced deviation in switching threshold voltage in comparison to conventional structure. Further, improvement of up to 211% in write ability and 169% in ION/IOFF ratio is obtained over existing SRAM cells operating in sub‐threshold region. The cell takes up to 86% and 99% lesser read and write access time, respectively. The Monte‐Carlo simulations show the robust performance of proposed cell. The cell has reduced write, read, and hold failure probabilities resulting in overall Vmin of 425 mV, which is the least among the cells considered for comparison, thus making it an amenable design suitable for sub‐threshold operation under PVT‐variations.


Clinical management in the aftermath of breast cancer mainly focuses on screening for cancer recurrence. Issues such as lymphedema and the related cosmetic changes, decreased functional use, and altered self-image often receive less attention than is warranted. Women report, however, that breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL) negatively impacts quality of life, and their ability to advance successfully beyond the breast cancer experience. On the basis of clinical experience and early clinical data, practitioners indicate that moderate aerobic exercise involving trunk and extremity muscle contraction actually assists in BCRL volume control. Aquatic exercise utilizes hydrostatic pressure to reduce residual arm volumes. In addition to the constant hydrostatic pressure, buoyancy allows women to move more freely than on land, creating more muscle pump activity to mobilize lymph fluid. Aquatic exercise provides women with one activity to assist in BCRL management.


Warfare at Sea — Measures and Instruments of Force — Warship — Definition of — Whether Requisitioned Vessels Can be Warships. Belligerent Occupation — Respect for Private Property — Duty of Occupant to Pay Lighthouse Dues to Private Concessionaire Operating in Occupied Territory — Ships Requisitioned by Occupying Power — Whether Exempt from Dues — Whether Equivalent to Warships — Definition of "Warships"


AA6061-SiC composites are the most preferred materials for applications in the automobile and aerospace sector due to their superior properties. The FSW process is one of the novel solid states joining processes that overcome almost all the difficulties of the fusion welding process because the process that operates well below the melting point of the metals to be joined, consumes less energy, environment-friendly, and versatile, no shielding gas or filler metal is used. The welding parameters such as tool rotational speed, axial force, and tool pin profile play a major role in deciding the joint strength and hardness of the weld zone. Taguchi method was employed in this study to scrutinize the impact of welding processing factors, including rotational, speed, axial load, and pin profile on ultimate tensile strength, microhardness of weld zone. The results reveal that the welded joints produced at 750 rpm of tool rotational speed, the axial load of 6 kN using a square pin tool profile that exhibits higher UTS. The Vickers's hardness of AA6061-6 wt.% SiC composites was found to be superior at tool rotational speed of 900 rpm, the axial force of 6kN using cylindrical tool pin. The ANOVA Findings based on Vickers's hardness are tool profile: 53.84%, tool rotational speed: 20.16%, and axial force: 21.32%.


The prolonged service life of civil engineering structures, such as buildings and highway pavement, means that they deteriorate with time, requiring frequent repair work. Polyurethane (PU) materials can effectively maintain engineering structures such as road pavement, runways, and buildings. Thus, the mechanical properties and dynamic performance of these materials for repair are essential to guarantee the safe usage of the facilities. This study investigated the strain–stress behavior and impact strength of polyurethane-based polymer concrete (PUPC) mixtures. Moreover, the tensile stress–strain behavior of rigid PU grout (PUGC) materials was evaluated. The result indicated that the U-shaped PUPC with 20% PU by weight experienced a maximum failure strain of 0.9% and 4.2% under static and dynamic loads, respectively. The average impact energy of PUPC was 3825% higher than that of normal concrete. According to PUGC's mixing ratios, the average elastic modulus revealed an increasing trend, whereas ultimate strength, yield strain, yield stress, and failure stress showed a decreasing trend. Weibull distribution results showed that the probabilistic distribution of the impact strength followed the two-parameter Weibull distribution.


Title of Document: Effects of chronic exercise on global DNA methylation and epigenetic factors in sperm and testes of mice. Michael Paul Marini, 2012 Directed By: Associate Professor, Stephen M. Roth, Department of Kinesiology Epigenetic alterations of DNA affect DNA transcription and translation. These alterations occur frequently, however environmental exposures induce epigenetic changes to DNA that would otherwise remain in autoregulatory stasis. This study aimed to look at exercise as a possible environmental factor causing epigenetic change. The study also assessed global DNA methylation in sperm, which may transmit such epigenetic changes via the paternal germ line. Measurements were compared between groups of mice that engaged in chronic exercise or remained sedentary. This study also examined enzymes causing methylation shifts in sperm by comparing levels of mRNA expression of genes responsible for new DNA methylation – DNMT3A, DNMT3B and DNMT3L – in testes. These results were compared between exercise and sedentary cohorts, and in progeny to assess heritability of epigenetic change. The results showed a significant difference in global methylation in the sperm between exercise and sedentary cohorts and a concomitant increase in gene expression in multiple DNMT3 genes. EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXERCISE ON GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS IN SPERM AND TESTES OF MICE.


Author(s): Slabodnick, Mark Maddock | Advisor(s): Marshall, Wallace F | Abstract: Over the last few decades scientists have often turned to one of a handful of well-established model systems in order to address a number of questions about how all of biology functions. This is absolutely useful and at the time that many of these systems were adopted the state of the art technologies were much more limited, which made it much more efficient to focus on just a few organisms to set the scientific standards. However, recently there have been many advances in technology that have allowed for the relatively quick development of new and interesting model organisms. This should allow scientists to tailor what we are working on with the types of questions we want to address without being limited to the handful of established models. The questions I seek to address are those related to morphogenesis and pattern formation, which are vital processes in any organism whether unicellular or multicellular. But in contrast to the developmental biology of plants and animals, the principles of morphogenesis and pattern formation in single cells remain largely unknown. Although all cells develop patterns, they are most obvious in ciliates; hence I have turned to a classical unicellular model system, the giant Heterotrich ciliate Stentor coeruleus. Here I show that the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery is conserved in Stentor. Using RNAi, I identified the kinase co-activator Mob1 - with conserved functions in cell division and morphogenesis from plants to humans - as an asymmetrically localized patterning protein required for global patterning during development and regeneration in Stentor. During this process I worked in collaboration to sequence and assemble Stentor's macronuclear genome. There is almost no information on Heterotrich genomes and no estimates for gene copy number in Stentor. Using digital droplet PCR, I was able to determine the average contig copy number in Stentor for a handful of loci including the small subunit rDNA gene. Finally, the Stentor genus is amazingly diverse. Different species can vary in size, shape, color, and some even contain algal endosymbionts. I identified sources of five species of wild Stentor near Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory and have also included methods and descriptions of these species. I think there is great potential for tapping natural diversity within the Stentor genus to discover new and interesting biology. My work reopens the door for Stentor as a model regeneration system with potential for many other areas of study.


Involvement is the cornerstone of the educational process, especially in the early years settings. It is a fundamental factor in people's actions particularly when they are deeply concentrated in an activity. However, little research has been conducted in the early years settings, with focus on teaching and learning. This piece of research investigates the effects of the arts as a means to promote children's involvement during literacy activities. This was based on the hypothesis that the arts provide opportunities to children to participate actively. The participants were from a case study of an early years setting in Greece, with 18 children and their average age was 5,2 years old. The research procedure was based on the "Play and Learn through the Arts" programme, which was an interdisciplinary programme that was designed for a PhD project. Children's involvement was measured with Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children (LIS-YC) and it was further examined with a semi structured interview to the head teacher of the class. The findings show that the data collected from both measures verifies the research's hypothesis about the beneficial effect of the arts on children's involvement during literacy activities. These findings should be treated carefully in terms of generalising them, as they derived from a case study. This research could be useful to early years educators as a pioneering approach in early literacy.


The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of group investigation type cooperative learning models with performance assessments on the mastery of science concepts and student's science process skills. This study was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group design and involved a sample of 165 students who were taken with a multi-stage random sampling technique from 43 state elementary schools in Singaraja city. The independent variable in this study is a learning model which is divided into three namely group investigation type cooperative learning model with performance assessment, group investigation type cooperative learning model, and conventional learning. Mastery of science concepts and science process skills as dependent variables. The instrument used was a science concept mastery test and an observation sheet for science process skills. The collected data were analyzed with MANOVA which had previously been tested for data distribution normality and homogeneity of varias. The results showed that there were significant differences in the mastery of the concepts of science and science process skills that were learned with the cooperative learning model type investigation with the performance assessment, cooperative learning model type investigation group, and conventional learning.


Industrial and domestic effluents, as well as indiscriminate applications of various chemicals, pesticides etc. have contributed to the deterioration of environmental quality. Among these pollutants, heavy metals represent a special group because they are not chemically or biologically degraded in a natural manner. The adsorption process is being widely used by various researchers for the removal of heavy metals from waste streams and activated carbon has been frequently used as an adsorbent. Despite its extensive use in the water and wastewater treatment industries, activated carbon remains an expensive material. In recent years, the need for safe and economical methods for the elimination of heavy metals from contaminated waters has necessitated research interest towards the production of low cost alternatives to commercially available activated carbon. The adsorption of Pb (II) metal ions on rice husk has been found to be pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and initial metal ion concentration dependent with the maximum removal efficiency of 80%. The adsorption parameters were determined using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Also, the adsorption kinetics was studied using pseudo first order and second order model showing that the adsorption process follows the second order kinetics.


It is an important goal that the cultivation of students' study interest,and guide students actively participate in history.As the same as imparting teaching students knowledge,cultivating students' history of basic skills,and make students form the profound history and patriotism.The article describes the Situated Teaching Method from "context","performance situation","language situation" and "historical context",and so on,which teaching situation teaching history is feasible and effective ways of teaching methods.