Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as potent regulators of cardiac development and can drive transcriptome programming, affecting all aspects of gene regulation. The functional properties of lncRNAs are notoriously diverse and have been mechanistically challenging. Thus, focused an efforts for lncRNA annotation and functional interrogation in these contexts is highly required. Herein, we discuss current approaches for identifying putative regulatory lncRNAs for the mechanistic investigation of their function in cardiovascular development and congenital heart defects (CHDs).


In recent years, the growth of small firms and their importance to the nation's economies has been accompanied by a significant increase in interest in the nature of marketing practices. The mass consumer markets have become fragmented and call for flexible and adaptable marketing approaches (Baker 1995) especially to the smaller organisations (Carson et al 1995).

Marketing is very much situation-specific in that it is dependent on several factors. Sophisticated marketing theories frequently have little meaning for the small business owners (Kotler, et aI. , 1997). Many research have been carried out in the Western countries, but there is a lack of empirical studies of small firms marketing in the Asian countries, particularly in Malaysia. Therefore this study will examine the applicability and adoption of marketing in small firms as evidenced in the small manufacturer's firms in Malaysia.

Since it is so important to know the understanding of marketing concept by small manufacturer's firm, this study will help to understand the success of marketing practices in these firms.


Abstract:Mordicai Gerstein's Caldecott Medal award-winning picturebook, The Man Who Walked between the Towers, commemorates Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the architectural giants in 1974. Gerstein's picturebook was one of the selections of literature featured during a classroom-based study where Grade 4 students were provided with multiple opportunities to develop their visual meaning-making skills and competences, as well as their aesthetic understanding of and critical thinking about multimodal texts.


This paper proposes a modular ACTOR architecture and definitional method for artificial intelligence that is conceptually based on a single kind of object: actors [or, if you will, virtual processors, activation frames, or streams]. The formalism makes no presuppositions about the representation of primitive data structures and control structures. Such structures can be programmed, micro-coded, or hard wired in a uniform modular fashion. In fact it is impossible to determine whether a given object is "really" represented as a list, a vector, a hash table, a function, or a process. The architecture will efficiently run the coming generation of PLANNER-like artificial intelligence languages including those requiring a high degree of parallelism. The efficiency is gained without loss of programming generality because it only makes certain actors more efficient; it does not change their behavioral characteristics. The architecture is general with respect to control structure and does not have or need goto, interrupt, or semaphore primitives. The formalism achieves the goals that the disallowed constructs are intended to achieve by other more structured methods. PLANNER Progress "Programs should not only work, but they should appear to work as well." PDP-1X Dogma The PLANNER project is continuing research in natural and effective means for embedding knowledge in procedures. In the course of this work we have succeeded in unifying the formalism around one_ fundamental concept: the ACTOR. Intuitively, an ACTOR is an active agent which plays a role on cue according to a script. We use the ACTOR metaphor to emphasize the inseparability of control and data flow in our model. Data structures, functions, semaphores, monitors, ports, descriptions, Quillian nets, logical formulae, numbers, identifiers, demons, processes, contexts, and data bases can all be shown to be special cases of actors. All of the above are objects with certain useful modes of behavior. Our formalism shows how all of the modes of behavior can be defined in terms of one kind of behavior: sending messages to actors. An actor is always invoked uniformly in exactly the same way regardless of whether it behaves as a recursive function, data structure, or process. "It is vain to multiply Entities beyond need." William of Occam "Monotheism is the Answer." The unification and simplification of the formalisms for the procedural embedding of knowledge has a great many benefits for us: FOUNDATIONS: The concept puts procedural semantics [the theory of how things operate] on a firmer basis. It will now be possible to do cleaner theoretical studies of the relation between procedural semantics and set-theoretic semantics such as model theories of the quantificational calculus and the lambda calculus. LOGICAL CALCULAE: A procedural semantics is developed for the quantificational calculus. The logical constants FOR-ALL, THERE-EXISTS, AND, OR, NOT, and IMPLIES are defined as actors. KNOWLEDGE BASED PROGRAMMING is programming in an environment which has a substantial knowledge base in the application area for which the programs are intended. The actor formalism aids knowledge based programming in the following ways: PROCEDURAL EMBEDDING of KNOWLEDGE, TRACING BEHAVIORAL DEPENDENCIES, and SUBSTANTIATING that ACTORS SATISFY their INTENTIONS. INTENTIONS: Furthermore the confirmation of properties of procedures is made easier and more uniform. Every actor has an INTENTION which checks that the prerequisites and the context of the actor being sent the message are satisfied. The intention is the CONTRACT that the actor has with the outside world. How an actor fullfills its contract is its own business. By a SIMPLE BUG we mean an actor which does not satisfy its intention. We would like to eliminate simple debugging of actors by the META-EVALUATION of actors to show that they satisfy their intentions. Suppose that there is an external audience of actors E which satisfy the intentions.of the actors to which they send messages. Intuitively, the principle of ACTOR INDUCTION states that the intentions of all actions caused by E are in turn satisfied provided that the following condition holds: If for each actor A the' intention of A is satisfied => that the intentions of all actors sent messages by A are satisfied. Computational induction [Manna], structural induction [Burstall], and Peano induction are all special cases of ACTOR induction. Actor based intentions have the following advantages: The intention is decoupled from the actors it describes. Intentions of concurrent actions are more easily disentangled. We can more elegantly write intentions The intentions are written in the same formalism as the Because for dialogues between actors. procedures they describe. Thus for example intentions can have intentions, protection is an intrinsic property of actors, we hope to be able to deal with protection issues in the same straight forward manner as more conventional intentions. Intentions of data structures are handled by the same machinery as for all other actors. COMPARATIVE SCHEMATOLOGY: The theory of comparative power of control structures is I


 Class I basically included companies which may eventually apply Ind-AS. These companies were permitted to adopta useful life or residual value, other than those prescribed under the schedule, for their assets, provided they disclose justification for the same.  Class II covered companies or assets where useful lives or residual value are prescribed by a regulatory authority constituted under an act of the Parliament or by the Central Government. These companies will use depreciation rates/useful lives and residual values prescribed by the relevant authority.  Class III covered all other companies. For these companies, the useful life of an asset will not be longer than the useful life and the residual value will not be higher than that prescribed in Schedule II.


For revealing the level of genetic divergence and genetic structure of Dahe Black pig,this research was implemented using molecular biological methods that sequenced and analyzed the Cyt b DNA sequences based on 46 samples from 5 geographic populations of Qujing city.The AMOVA results showed that most of genetic variation(62.63%) distributed within populations.This could indicate fully that the whole population genetic structure of this species was not evident because of significant gene flow among different populations.The results of neutrality tests further validated that the instable population structure of this whole group could be affected by the population expansion from the artificial selective breeding and introduction breeding.This instable population structure or lower genetic differentiation could be induced by the large-scale introduction and expanding breeding.The significant gene flow induced the genetic convergence in various geographical populations eventually,population expanding and population genetic diversity declined significantly.This study was expected to provide important scientific basis and data for the molecular genetic breeding of Dahe Black pig and for the manager's effective measures to protect the genetic resources of Dahe Black pig.


This study focuses on three phylogenetic problems related to Capsicum (Solanaceae): (1) the monophyly of the genus, (2) species delimitation within the genus, and (3) phylogenetic relationships of species within Capsicum. The chloroplast atpB‐rbcL noncoding spacer region was used to derive a phylogeny for seven outgroup genera and 11 species of Capsicum. Data derived from five introns within the nuclear gene waxy were used, both separately and in combination with the atpB‐rbcL spacer data, to resolve further questions of species delimitation and phylogenetic relationships within Capsicum. Capsicum is monophyletic, with moderate support. Capsicum ciliatum, which is both molecularly and morphologically distinctive, is sister to a highly supported clade consisting of all other Capsicum species studied. Capsicum cardenasii and C. eximium are sister species and are, in turn, sisters to a moderately supported clade consisting of C. tovarii, C. pubescens, C. chacoense, C. baccatum, C. galapagoense, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. annuum. Capsicum galapagoense, whose taxonomic affinities have been largely unstudied, is included in a weakly supported clade consisting of C. annuum, C. chinensis, and C. frutescens. Many species of Capsicum have sufficient molecular markers in the waxy data set (both nucleotide substitutions and insertions/deletions) to be useful in species delimitation. An informal classification of the genus is proposed.


In 2010 the Government of the Russian Federation established particularly large grants aimed to attract world-renowned scientists, including compatriots living abroad, to Russian scientific and educational centres. These grants, known as Megagrants, ensure the creation of research teams that can compete with the leading world laboratories and achieve world-class scientific results. Involvement of young Russian scientists in the projects became one of the main Megagrant features: half of the participants are people under the age of 35 years. Founded as a part of this project in ITMO University the laboratory "Nonlinear Adaptive Control Systems" under Romeo Ortega's leadership is described in the paper. This laboratory was created at the Department of Control Systems and Informatics. The priority of the laboratory is the preparation and formation of a stable team able to conduct advanced research in the field of nonlinear, adaptive and robust control of various technical objects.


Anthocyanins are well-known plant specialized metabolites and this group can be classified into the phenolic compound class based on their chemical structure characterizing by a C6-C3-C6 carbon framework. Anthocyanins have been identified to play various functions in plants, for example, pigmentation of floral organs, UV protection, and defense system. In addition to their functions in plant growth and development, anthocyanins are also considered as a good natural antioxidant which can be used for human. Because of important functions, the biosynthesis of anthocyanins is precisely regulated by a number of endogenous and exogenous factors. In the plant, light and temperature are critical environmental factors contributing to various developmental processes. From the first identification, ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) has been documented to play as an important transcription factor that is involved in a number of signal transduction ways including light and temperature pathways. The purpose of this review is to provide a precise overview of current research progress on the regulation of anthocyanins biosynthesis under the control of HY5 transcription factor.


A water distribution system may be contaminated by bacteria through cross-connections, by intrusion of soil water after a pressure loss due to a power blackout…


Introduction The pelvis is a very important component in the overall balance. It changes its orientation in space aiming at compensation for any sagittal imbalance. Three pelvic parameters were recognized as descriptive tools for pelvic status. Pelvic incidence (PI) is considered as a constant value after maturity which changes only in pelvic trauma. This work aims to evaluate if the surgical correction of the fixed sagittal imbalance has any effect on the pelvic incidence. Patients and Methods Twenty seven cases with fixed sagittal imbalance were corrected surgically by posterior spinal osteotomies and prospectively followed for at least one year. Pelvic Incidence (PI), Sacral Slope (SS), Pelvic Tilt (PT), Lumbar Lordosis (LL), Thoracic Kyphosis (TK) and Sagittal Vertical Axis (SVA) were compared between preoperative, postoperative and last follow up long standing lateral whole spine radiographs. Measurements were taken by three experienced spine surgeons independently. Results Twenty four cases were included, half of them were males, and the mean age was 16.3 (5–46) years. PI was fixed or changed by five degrees or less in seventeen cases (70%). PI increased in four patients (16%) by more than five degrees and decreased by more than five degrees in three cases (12,5%). The mean increase in the PI was 11.75° (6–20°) and 11.2° (7–23°) postoperatively and at last follow up respectively. Conclusions Despite that the PI is fixed or minimally changes (five degrees or less) in most of the cases of surgically corrected fixed sagittal imbalance, it is increased in some patients and decreased in others. The long term effect of this observation and its implication on surgical planning is yet to be determined.


HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF SAUDI ARABIA. By J. E. Peterson. (Asian Historical Dictionaries, no. 14). Metuchen, NJ and London, Scarecrow Press, 1993. xxii, 244 pp. £29.25. THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE MODERN ISLAMIC WORLD (4 volumes). Editor in Chief John L Esposito. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1995. MUSLIM WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD: A BIBLIOGRAPHY. By Michelle R. Kimball and Barbara R. Von Schlegell. Boulder, CO and London, Lynne Rienner, 1997. ix, 307 pp. £59.95. ALGERIEN‐BIBLIOGRAPHIE: DEUTSCHLAND, OSTERREICH, SCHWEIZ, 1962–1994. Complied by Ernstpeter Ruhe. 2nd enlarged edition. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 1995, 283 pp., DM 148.


We introduce the logic of Here-and-There with Constraints in order to capture constraint theories in the non-monotonic setting known from Answer Set Programming (ASP). This allows for assigning default values to constraint variables or to leave them undefined. Also, it provides us with a semantic framework integrating ASP and Constraint Processing in a uniform way. We put some emphasis on logic programs dealing with linear constraints on integer variables, where we further introduce a directional assignment operator. We elaborate upon the formal relation and implementation of these programs in terms of Constraint ASP, sketching an existing system.


The water quality and aquatic vegetation were investigated in Lake Xiaosihai from 2006 to 2008,and water environmental characteristics at different fisheries developmental stages from 1987 to 2008 were also compared based upon previous literatures.The results showed that:(1)The SD ranged from 44 cm to 120 cm from 2006 to 2008,and was highest in 2008 and lowest in 2007 in the same season.(2)The concentrations of TP and Chl.a were higher in 2007 than those in 2006 and 2008in the same season,and the concentration of TN was lower in 2008 than those in 2007 and 2006.(3)Apparent seasonal variations of SD,TP,TN and Chl.a were found in 2007.SD was highest in winter and lowest in summer.The concentrations of TP and TN were highest in spring,but lowest in winter and autumn,respectively.The concentration of Chl.a was highest in summer and lowest in winter.The lake was at eutrophic level in spring,summer and autumn and was at mesotrophic level in winter.(4)The TN and TP of 1992 showed an obvious increase compared with 1987,while those of 2002 clearly decreased compared with 1992 and reached the historically low levels.From 2002 to 2008,the TN rose up and then fell down gradually,and the TP rose up slowly first,then increased sharply,and fell sharply in the end.(5)The trophic states from 1987 to 2008 underwent five stages:mesotrophic-eutrophic-mesotrophic-eutrophicmesotrophic,and the submersed vegetation underwent four stages: disappearance-recovery-luxuriancedegeneration.Such changes were mainly influenced by fisheries forms in different stages.Irrational fisheries forms such as overstocking of herbivorous fish and Chinese mitten crab(Eriocheir sinensis),extensive use of chemical fertilizers and overfeeding of exogenous baits resulted in rapid disappearance of submersed vegetation and water eutrophication.It was suggested that reasonable fisheries forms would not have negative effects on water environment.Aiming at resolving the ubiquitous problem that fishery development was in contradiction with environmental protection,some suggestions of sustainable development of fishery were put forward.First of all,putting the fertilizers and exogenous baits into lakes should be strictly prohibited.Secondly,strictly control the stocking of herbivorous fishes in order to reconstruct and restore the aquatic vegetation.The nutrients in water and sediment were assimilated through aquatic vegetation for suppressing the reproduction of phytoplankton,and consequently reduceing nitrogen and phosphorus contents and purifying water quality.Finally,it was suggested that the species of the stocked fish should be collocated reasonably,and the protection and reproduction of piscivorous fishes should be strengthened,so as to make full use of the rich resources of small fish and shrimp,and improve the quality of the fish products and the economic benefits.


The progress of signal processing is presented for coherent optic product applications. Requirements are discussed for present and future products. Common pitfalls in system testing are described.


The Sea Beam multibeam bathymetric system is in operation aboard research vessels worldwide. While it has contributed greatly in advancing the understanding of the deep-sea floor, several types of bathymetric artifacts have been identified in its contoured output which could be mistaken for sea floor structure. Among those, the "tunnel" effect results from sidelobe interference caused by the near specular return and is most prominent when the sea floor is relatively flat. It is characterized by a trough in the bottom profile produced by Sea Beam. It will be shown that this type of interference can be greatly reduced or eliminated through an adaptive filtering scheme, pending a minor modification of the Sea Beam data acquisition system. The noise-cancelling configuration of the adaptive least-squares lattice filter will be used to process simulated Sea Beam data obtained through REVGEN, a high-fidelity sonar system simulation program.


Generalized Comparison of the Variscan with the Damara Orogen.- The Variscan Belt of Central Europe.- Palaeozoic Sedimentation in the Northern Branch of the Mid-European Variscides - Essay of an Interpretation.- Neritic Sedimentation of the Lower and Middle Devonian in the Rheinische Schiefergebirge East of the River Rhine.- "Pelagic" Carbonates in the Variscan Belt - Their Sedimentary and Tectonic Environments.- Devonian and Carboniferous Limestone-Turbidites of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge and Their Tectonic Significance.- Depositional Models for the Carboniferous Flysch of the Eastern Rheinisches Schiefergebirge.- Flysch, Olistostromes and Nappes in the Harz Mountains.- The Mineral Composition of Rhenohercynian Flysch Sediments and Its Tectonic Significance.- The Sedimentary Development of the Western Rheinisches Schiefergebirge and the Ardennes (Germany/Belgium).- The Chemical Composition of Sedimentary Deposits in the Rhenohercynian Belt of Central Europe.- Chemical Composition and Genetic Relations of Meta-Volcanic Rocks from the Rhenohercynian Belt of Northwest Germany.- Mineral Composition of Pelitic Sediments in the Rhenohercynian Zone.- Nappe Tectonics in the Southeastern Part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge.- Flysch-Sedimentation: Its Relations to Tectonism in the European Variscides.- Migration of Folding and Metamorphism in the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge Deduced from K-Ar and Rb-Sr Age Determinations.- Experimental Study of Subfluence Tectonics in the Rheinische Schiefergebirge.- Regional Isostatic Model for Vertical Movements in the Shelf Area of the Rhenohercynian Geosyncline.- Intracrustal and Subcrustal Thrust-Tectonics at the Northern Margin of the Bohemian Massif.- The Crustal Structure of the Hercynian Mountain System - A Model for Crustal Thickening by Stacking.- Geodynamic Interpretation of the Mid-European Variscides.- The Damara Orogen.- Overview of the Geosynclinal, Structural and Metamorphic Development of the Intracontinental Branch of the Damara Orogen.- Geodynamic Model for the Geosynclinal Development of the Damara Orogen, Namibia/South West Africa.- Turbidites in the Damara Orogen.- Sedimentology and Mineralogy of Upper Proterozoic Playa-Lake Deposits in the Damara Orogen.- Fluid Inclusions and Genetic Aspects of the Damara Orogen.- The Chemical Composition of the Common Metamorphic Sediments of the Damara Orogen.- The Root Zone of the Naukluft Nappe Complex: Geodynamic Implications.- Structural Development of the Ugab Structural Domain of the Northern Zone of the Damara Orogen.- The Northern Branch: Depositional Development and Timing of the Structural and Metamorphic Evolution within the Framework of the Damara Orogen.- Compositional Variations of Minerals in Metapelites Involved in Low- to Medium Grade Isograd Reactions in the Southern Damara Orogen, Namibia, South West Africa.- Metamorphism of Siliceous Dolomites of the Central and Southern Part of the Damara Orogen.- Experimental Investigation of the Stability Conditions of Petrologically Significant Calc-Silicate Assemblages Observed in the Damara Orogen.- Experimental Investigation of the Stability Conditions of a Petrological Significant Calc-Silicate Assemblage Observed in Originally Marly Rocks in the Kuiseb Formation of the Damara Orogen.- Crustal Radioactivity and Motion as Causes of Regional Metamorphism in the Damara Orogen.- A Survey of Granitic Rocks of the Damara Orogen and Considerations on Their Origin.- Geochronology of the Damara Orogen - A Review.- Genesis of Damaran Granites in the Light of Rb/Sr and ?18 O Data.- Reconstruction of the Cooling History of the Damara Orogen by Correlation of Radiometric Ages with Geography and Altitude.- Deep Seismic Sounding in the Area of the Damara Orogen, Namibia, South West Africa.- The Join of the Coastal and Intracontinental Branches of the Damara Orogen, Namibia, South West Africa.- Alternative Geodynamic Models for the Damara Orogen. A Critical Discussion.


Prenatal invasive procedures serve two purposes-diagnostic and therapeutic. In diagnostic tests, the aim is to identify structural or functional abnormalities of the embryo or fetus in utero. Early identification and appropriate monitoring of the abnormal embryo or fetus can palliate the severity of disease. There are many invasive prenatal diagnostic methods. This article presents information on the definitions, processes, indications and possible complications of the common invasive prenatal procedures, including amniocentesis, fetal blood sampling, chorionic villus sampling and fetal tissue biopsy.


For simplifying parallel programming, Software Transactional Memory is an important method which improves scalability in multiple cores. Python uses a system clock instead of a global counter. STM in python deals with shared data among parallel threads of locked(as in python) data structure. A Haskell has thread-local journaling for operations on mutable and globally shared objects. In this review paper, we have discussed STM having basic approaches called HTM, STM, and HyTM with version management and synchronization. This paper also discusses previous version work and challenges of STM.


According to the problems in the traditional food market management,a scheme of Food Account-Book Managment is brought forward based on information management measure.It is analyzed and modeled by UML(Unified Modeling Language) and implemented based on the ASP.NET and ADO.NET database access technology.This system is used at present.


Abstract To obtain low resistance and high efficiency energy-saving ship, minimum total resistance hull form design method is studied based on potential flow theory of wave-making resistance and considering the effects of tail viscous separation. With the sum of wave resistance and viscous resistance as objective functions and the parameters of B-Spline function as design variables, mathematical models are built using Nonlinear Programming Method (NLP) ensuring the basic limit of displacement and considering rear viscous separation. We develop ship lines optimization procedures with intellectual property rights. Series60 is used as parent ship in optimization design to obtain improved ship (Series60-1) theoretically. Then drag tests for the improved ship (Series60-1) is made to get the actual minimum total resistance hull form.


only in the vocabulary of the more ill-informed, and will also throw light on many an ancient medical theory or practice. The Promptorium and the Catholicon have been issued by the Camden Society, and edited respectively by Mr. Albert Way and Mr. Sidney J. H. Herrtage, who have enriched the volumes by many learned annotations. There exist many MSS. and some early printed editions of the Promptorium. The Camden Society reprint is based upon the text of the Harleian MS. 221, but much use has been made of other versions, concerning which full particulars are given in the work The reprint of the Catholicon was made from


LiV3O8 as cathode material for lithium batteries was prepared via sol-gel method.Effects of the concentration of LiOH solution on the particle size,the structure,the electrical conductivity and the electrochemical performance of LiV3O8 were studied.It was found that the intensity of X-ray diffraction peaks,the particle size and the electrical conductivity of LiV3O8 can be controlled by changing the concentration of the LiOH solution.The paticle size distribution and the structure of LiV3O8 and the electrochemical perfor-mance were measured.The results show that the crystallization degree and the intensity of peak(100) decreased with the increase of the LiOH concentration.An ideal particle size distribution and a high electrical conductivity value(9.06×10-2 s/cm) was obtained at a concentration of 0.030 mol/L.The capacity and the cycle performance of LiV3O8 were found to depend on the concentration of the LiOH solution.The specific capacity was 310 mA·h/g and the cycle performance decreased by 4% after 15 cycles at a LiOH concentration of 0.030 mol/L.


An open architecture of robot control system based on PMAC was designed with IPC plus DSP structure. With bi-microprocessor two level structures applied and modular software designed,high level IPC was in charge of path planning and system management,while low level PMAC executed position servo control of signal joint and coordinated control of several joints. The system had met the requiring of real-time control. The current,velocity and position three close loop control way was applied in the robot joint control,and which ensured position precision of joints.


With the advent of camera‐based full‐field measurement techniques such as digital image correlation (DIC), researchers have been trying to exploit such rich data sets through the use of more complex test configurations than the standard ones (uniaxial tension/compression, bending etc.). This new paradigm in mechanical testing of materials has recently been christened 'Material Testing 2.0'. This paper provides a brief overview of this field, which is currently seeing a large increase in research effort.


Background Potential fremanezumab doses for pediatric patients were evaluated using pharmacokinetic modeling and simulation. An open-label phase 1 pharmacokinetic and safety study was conducted in pediatric patients with migraine. This study's results together with refinement of the adult population pharmacokinetic model were used to determine fremanezumab dose recommendations for phase 3 pediatric studies. Methods Initial application of the adult model suggested that a 75 mg dose in pediatric patients would match exposures determined safe and efficacious in adults; thus, in the phase 1 study, 15 patients, aged 6–11 years and weighing 17–45 kg received a single subcutaneous 75 mg fremanezumab dose. The sparse pharmacokinetic data collected were used to refine the adult model and simulate concentration-time profiles for monthly subcutaneous doses (60 to 225 mg) in a virtual pediatric population. Results In the phase 1 pediatric study, the safety profile was similar to that of adults. A two-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination and body weight effects on clearance and central volume was found to adequately describe the pediatric pharmacokinetic data. Conclusions Using exposure matching to the effective adult fremanezumab dose (225 mg subcutaneous monthly), modeling and simulations predict recommended dose of 120 mg in pediatric patients weighing < 45 kg. Registration: The phase 1 study of this report is registered at EudraCT with the identifier 2018-000734-35.


Aquaponics is an alternative to cultivating plants and fish in one place. This technique integrates fish farming with plants. In this case, aquaponic plants utilize nutrients from fish waste. Plants in aquaponics function as a biofilter, which will reduce these toxic substances into substances that are not harmful to fish and supply oxygen to fish-keeping ponds. With this technique, there will be a symbiosis of mutualism or a mutually beneficial cycle. The advantages obtained are the efficiency of water use and the reduction of waste contamination resulting from disposal into public waters. The water recirculation period affects the quality and quantity of fish and plants produced. Turbidity for cultivation should be no more than 25 NTU. Therefore, this tool is designed to detect the turbidity value of fish pond water in order to know the time to drain the pond using a turbidity sensor and regulate water irrigation in aquaponic installations based on light intensity values so that water does not stagnate in the installation pipe. The manufacture of this tool uses several components, such as an Arduino as a microcontroller, LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) sensor functions to turn on and off the pump, turbidity sensor functions to determine the turbidity value of pool water, and water level sensor functions to adjust the water level when draining and filling. pond water. At pump 1, the water will turn on if the intensity value of the LDR sensor is 650. If the turbidity sensor value is 25 NTU, then pump 2 will turn on and dump pool water into the shelter. After the pond water is drained to the specified height level, pump 3 will turn on to fill the fish pond with water. Pump 3 will stop when the water level is > 665.


Weizhen Mao and David M. Ni ol Department of Computer S ien e The College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795 fwm, ni olg s.wm.edu Abstra t In this paper, we de ne a parallel version of the multidis iplinary design optimization problem, where parallel pro essors are available to exe ute omputation modules with input/output ommuni ations in a omplex engineering system. In addition, we study the omputational omplexity issue and present a few heuristi s for the problem.


The antibiotics, after being discovered, were considered as the "magic bullets" of medicine; even feedlot animals started growing faster and bigger after mixing antibiotics to animal fodder. In the past decades evidences accumulated, that antibiotic resistance will quickly develop if we consume too much antibiotics even if it is used to fatten animals. The increased energy harvest in antibiotic fed animals was associated with the altered gut flora. In animal models and obese subjects the alteration of the gut flora was associated with elevated LPS plasma level and the production of inflammatory cytokines (e.g. TNFα), which could favor certain chronic disorders, including T2DM. As far as antibiotics can play an important role of altering human gut flora, the extensive utilization of antibiotics in humans and animals alike, which are used as growth promoting agents mixed to animal fodder, can enter the environment and food chain as pharmaceutically active compounds and might have effect on the human gut flora promoting obesity and related insulin resistance with type2 diabetes. Accumulation of antibiotic molecules in human nutrients and water might contribute in the spread of other, yet to be explained origin of diseases, like autism.


This paper presents a novel method for structural data recognition using a large number of graph models. Broadly, existing methods for structral data recognition have two crucial problems: 1) only a single model is used to capture structural variation, 2) naive classification rules are used, such as nearest neighbor method. In this paper, we propose to strengthen both capturing structural variation and the classification ability. The proposed method constructs a large number of graph models and trains decision tree classifiers with the models. There are two contributions of this paper. The first contribution is a novel graph model which can be constructed by straightforward calculation. This calculation enables us to construct many models in feasible time. The second contribution is a novel approach to capture structural variation. We construct a large number of our models in a boosting framework so that we can capture structural variation comprehensively. Consequently, we are able to perform structural data recognition with the powerful classification ability and comprehensive structural variation. In experiments, we show that the proposed method achieves significant results and outperforms the existing methods.


Major advances in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods and technology have led to the increased use of this technique to study kidney metabolism and function. These studies include: (1) the identification of organic osmolytes in the renal medulla and their role as potential markers of medullary development and damage; (2) changes in renal epithelial cell organic solute transport, such as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, and (3) the biochemical heterogeneity of the nephron and identification of markers of site-specific renal damage in experimental animals and man. The present review summarises these data with the aim of demonstrating how NMR can be used as an indirect, and non-invasive probe of homeostatic mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Dr. Peta J.D. Foxall Institute of Urology and Nephrology University College London Medical School 48 Riding House Street, London W1P 7PN (UK) Tel. +44 171 636 8333/ext 3471, Fax +44 171 637 7006 ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail email@example.com www.karger.com © 1998 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–7782/98/0065–0409$15.00/0 Accessible online at: http://BioMedNet.com/karger Introduction Major advances in high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods and technology have led to the increased use of this technique to study kidney metabolism and function [1–3]. The developments in NMR spectroscopy have paralleled that of magnetic resonance imaging, the two non-destructive techniques utilising the same physical phenomenom that spinactive magnetic nuclei, such as protons (1H), can absorb radiofrequency energy when placed in a magnetic field. The clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging lies with its ability to provide maps of the spatial orientation of organs and tissues. Similarly, NMR spectroscopy provides a unique metabolic 'snapshot' of the structure, dynamics and interactions of compounds in tissues and biofluids [4]. NMR can therefore be used as an indirect, and non-invasive probe of homeostatic mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. The present review will concentrate primarily on investigations of kidney metabolism and function in vitro, since this approach enables the use of higher magnetic field strengths, producing spectra of superior biochemical information content [4]. The essential requirements for current high-frequency NMR experiments are a strong static magnetic field (typically 9.4–18.8 T), a source of radiofrequency radiation (correspondingly 400–800 MHz 1H resonance frequency) and a method for detecting the magnetic field [5]. Sample pre-treatment is minimal and and samples are measured essentially 'intact'. NMR experiments can be performed at physiological pH and temperature to maintain the complex mixture of compounds in chemical equilibrium,


The experimental results of positron annihilation and sound velocity experiments in aqueous solutions of formamide and ethyl alcohol are compared. The concentration dependences of annihilation parameters and of adiabatic compressibility differ significantly for these systems, indicating hydrophobic hydration occuring in the case of water-alcohol system and hydrophilic one in the case of water-formamide


The article addresses the question of whether jurisprudence is really a science from a cognitive theory standpoint. It will be demonstrated that fallibilism is relevant not only to natural science, but also pertinent as the epistemology of legal science. The role of jurisprudence is to close legal loopholes on the basis of laws and unwritten principles as the axiomatic starting point or dogma. Fallibilism's critics (Feyerabend and Kuhn) are then presented, while Andersson's work is applied to validate it as a rational methodology, criticism of which is thus not justified. From a psychological perspective, however, it is correct to reproach fallibilism, since humans and scientists fail to be rational. Finally, case studies from the literature are presented to explain such jurisprudential irrationalism.


This paper discusses Martha Craven Nussbaum's position in The Fragility of Goodness regarding Isaac's sacrifice (Genesis 22), as compared to Ifigenia's in Aeschylus's Agamemnon. The discussion is developed under two perspectives. In the first place, Aristotle's central elements of the prudent deliberation are brought out, in order to examine if they are present in Abraham's accounts. Secondly, Nussbaum's critique to monotheistic faith –based upon an irrational way of inscrutable authority that imposes and supports inhuman rules– opens us to a question: what does the biblical God provide for ethical requirements? In order to answer this point, sacrifices in the Old Testament are examined under the light of Franz Hinkelammert and Rene Girard's analysis. The conclusion of the paper is that the question regarding the biblical God is intimately linked to that regarding one's responsability towards another person's life when confronted with deities that promote violente.


The middle and small scale library should construct the organizational model which is applied to reference service by reestablishing the process and organization. Moreover, it should gradually realize the digital reference services on the basis of traditional reference model under the available condition of itself.


On the basis of general operating parameters of Korla-Shanshan Oil Pipeline, the variation of thickness of wax deposit obtained between the fourth and fifth pigging is analyzed by calculation, and the friction variation of the pipeline before and after pigging is also discussed. Through qualitative analysis and calculation on the cost increment value of pipeline operation between the fourth and fifth pigging,the pigging period is determined for Korla-Shanshan Oil Pipeline.


For the multi-DSP sharing bus signal processing card,the design of CPCI bus interface based on PCI9054 is introduced,and the developing of WDM bus driver is analyzed.CPLD control timing is designed in Verilog HDL to realize the high speed DMA transfer between the DSP and CPCI bus bridge.Using DriverWorks and DDK which is the driver developing packet of Windows,the driver is proven to be general and adaptive.


Dioxin-Induced nuclear translocation of GFP-AHR within mammalian (J774A.1) and fish (JF) cell line was tested and compared. J774A.1 and JF cells were transfected with GFP-AHR expression vector. After 4 hours of 10-6M dioxin treatment, the nuclear translocation of GFP-AHR is examined by the fluorescence of GFP and effect of dioxin is evaluated. Dioxin-induced nuclear translocations of GFP-AHR were observed in both types of cells. In comparisons, JF cells seem to response to dioxin better in terms of translocation of AHR.


Spondias tuberosa Arr. is an endemic fruit-bearing tree of the Brazilian semiarid region with great socioeconomic and environmental importance. However, there is a lack of seedling recruitment in their natural environment, which has been attributed to seed predation, the low seed germination and establishment, and the irregularity of rainfall in the region. Furthermore, land use change and overexploitation have been hypothesized to cause a risk of extinction in this species. In this study, we aimed to assess the population structure and the natural regeneration of S. tuberosa in Caatinga areas with different land use as well as its influence on emergence of seedlings in greenhouse. We selected individuals in three municipalities in Northeast of Brazil and classified the land use surrounding each tree in agricultural area, degraded caatinga and preserved caatinga. From each tree, we measured the stem diameter, counted seedlings and collected fruits. At the laboratory, we manually unpulped the fruits to obtain the seeds. The seeds were measured and then placed in trays containing vermiculite in greenhouse, following by periodic observation of emergence of seedlings. We found seedlings in all land use options but a great number was found in agricultural areas, probably due abundance of water and absence of wild or domesticated animals in these areas. In all land uses, there is a lack of young individuals, evidencing no natural regeneration. Seeds from agricultural areas were bigger and, consequently, the seedlings have biometry parameters higher than in others land use options. These results show that somehow the species depends on human action to its regeneration. Therefore, we reinforce the importance of cooperation between researchers and local people to develop strategies for S. tuberosa's conservation.


The aim of this study was to investigate the metal chelating, radical-scavenging and anti-lipid peroxidative properties and the chlorogenic acid/rutin contents of two endemic Prangos species; Prangos heyniae H. Duman & M. F. Watson and Prangos denticulata Fisch. & Mey. According to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the highest rutin and chlorogenic acid contents were found in P. denticulata leaf methanol extract (33.6 ± 2.8 μg/mg extract) and P. heyniae leaf methanol extract (24.8 ± 0.2 μg/mg extract), respectively. The water and methanol extracts of the species showed high scavenging abilities and significant capacities to suppress lipid peroxidation. These results demonstrated that chlorogenic acid may be an important component in the antioxidant activities of these Prangos species.

Practical Applications

Prangos Lindl. (Umbelliferae) species are known as "Caksir otu" in Turkey and used to make herbed cheese to give the desired aroma and taste. Young shoots of Prangos species are used as boiled vegetables and pickles. Prangos species have been used in folk medicine as emulient, carminative, to stop bleeding and heal the scars. The results demonstrated that the extracts of two Prangos species exhibited good antioxidant activity, which correlated with high polyphenol content. Therefore, they may be used as a potential source of natural antioxidants for food supplementation or development of nutraceuticals.


This paper aims to reveal local values used by Brayut villagers to maintain the existence of the traditional house as a dwelling. The transformation of traditional houses goes as time passes, influenced by internal aspects related to the needs of residents and external aspects related to the regional development by the government. Traditional Javanese house as a cultural identity of Javanese people, especially in the village, has also experienced the transformation phenomenon. Modernization affects local residents' needs and the Government's Development Program for tourism village influences demands of change. An unfocused transformation can lead to a total change that can eliminate the cultural identity of the rural Java community. The method used is the case study by taking three models of Javanese house in Brayut Village. Brayut Tourism Village is a cultural tourism village that relies on tradition as a tourist attraction. The existence of traditional Javanese house is an important asset for retaining its authenticity as a dwelling. Three models taken as the case studies represent the traditional Javanese house types. The result obtained is that the family bond is a major factor in preserving the traditional Javanese house in Brayut Village, Yogyakarta.


Food Safety Knowledge and Safe Practice Attitudes of Employees in Fine Dining and Quick Service Restaurants by Jee Hye Shin Dr. Lesley Johnson. Examination Committee Chair Professor of Food and Beverage Management University of Nevada. Las Vegas The Foodservice industry has a responsibility to provide safe food to all customers. Food safety and foodbome illness (FBI) prevention, therefore, have become a primary concern in the Foodservice industry. The first step in this food safety chain is employee awareness of food safety procedures to mitigate the potential of causing FBI if correct procedures are not practiced. The purpose o f this study was to examine whether a difference in food safety knowledge and attitudes exists between fine dining restaurant and quick service restaurant (QSR) employees. The relationship between attitudes toward food safety and food safety knowledge was also examined for possible causal links. The results indicate that a significant difference between the two sample groups exists between food safety knowledge and attitudes regarding cooling/reheating. QSR employees in particular were deficient in food safety knowledge in the areas o f cooling/reheating. Attitudes, food safeQf knowledge and restaurant type were causally related. The result of this study should be useful for restaurant managers or trainers who are responsible for food safe^ training programs.


Different hormonal component and their compoundings have different effects on the growth of Pleurotus eryngii var.nebrodensis′ hypha.Hormone can facilitate Pleurotus eryngii var.nebrodensis′growth through improving the vitality of its cell′s ectoenzym.Proper hormonal dealings can obviously shorten the growh period of pleurotus eryngii var.nebrodensis′hypha and the harvest period of Pleurotus eryngii var.nebrodensis,increase its yield and rate of biotransformation.


Variation of breath reflects mental states. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel communication medium named "HAAHAA," which transmits accumulated variation data of breath and shows it in an at-a-glance-able manner. As a result, HAAHAA conveys usual mental states, which allows users to have considerate communications. This paper describes the setup of HAAHAA, illustrates user studies with using two subject couples, and discusses its effectiveness and problems.


The US military, through the Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support (MDIS) system, is installing picture archival communications systems (PACS) and teleradiology at multiple medical treatment facilities throughout the USA and abroad. The goals are to improve patient care, maximize limited resources, and realize cost savings. This paper reviews early experience with clinical use of the MDIS PACS and teleradiology configurations. Emphasis is on lessons learned in the areas of image quality, speed of image transmission, communication between sites, and the advantages of the MDIS two-way teleradiology configuration. The data is accumulated from the combined experience of the authors at multiple sites within the continental US and Korea.<<ETX>>


This paper presents a new approach to form 3D structures by transferring and stacking pre-patterned, free-standing silicon membranes and demonstrate the process by fabricating 17-layer woodpile 3D photonic crystals, which has complete 3D photonic band gap, and relatively simple structure for the application of Dielectric Laser-driven Accelerator.


This paper is concerned with a way of thinking about the standard model that explains the existence of three fermion families and the value of the fine structure constant. The main idea is that the ultraviolet divergences that we encounter in the quantum field theories of the standard model, when interpreted appropriately, have a deep physical significance that leads to new relationships between the physical and bare masses of quarks and leptons. This interpretation is based on the assumption of a quantum gravity induced ultraviolet cutoff at the Planck scale and a novel approach to mass renormalization in which the usual perturbation series for the selfmass of a quark or lepton is rearranged and formally summed. Perturbing around the formally summed expression leads to self-consistency equations for the physical quark and lepton masses with multiple solutions that lie outside the reach of conventional perturbation theory. When applied to the standard model at the lowest level of approximation, this approach explains how three generations of charged leptons with a mass spectrum and a value of the fine structure constant in rough agreement with experiment can emerge from a universal bare mass and bare electromagnetic charge. This approach also explains how three generations of physical quark doublets (six flavors) can emerge from a universal bare doublet and bare color charge. Finally, it explains the origin of quark mixing (and CP violation) and the absence of flavor-changing neutral currents.


Over the last decades Russian higher education institutions have been actively working in global education world and facing problems of adapting its education system to it. Specifically it concerns system of engineering education which has to overcome problems of the past and face modern reality of Industry 4.0. One of the major problems is low flexibility and adaption ability to rapidly changing external circumstances as well as liner and strict curricula structure. To overcome problems successfully, Russian engineering education has got substantial support of Russian government; system is going to be modified in leading Russian universities. General approach that needs to be implemented is focusing on re-adjusting curricula as the set of alternating study courses and work on engineering tasks. University networking supported by interactive platforms in close cooperation with industry should be also the basic for modernization.


In order to ensure secure communications,wireless local area network shall take the necessary security technology.The article analyzes the implementation of wireless LAN security,the need for and impact of wireless LAN security and wireless LAN security solution to the need to respectively put forward to resolve the following security techniques.VPN technology,the use of authentication,IP and MAC address binding,security checks and other proposals to solve the problem of security threats which the current wireless LAN is faced with.


Abstract Traditionally well developed in many countries around the world, occupational therapy targeting older people delivers qualified programmes for preventive home visits, community-based rehabilitation, fall prevention, lifestyle redesign, assistive technology provision, etc. Research findings are to an increasing extent being transferred to practice contexts and serve to successively strengthen the quality of occupational therapy practices. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, at the international political level a number of grand challenges have been identified, in areas such as ageing societies, public health and security. Challenges must turn into sustainable solutions, and the question is what is required for occupational therapy to efficiently serve the community in this era of rapid change? What is needed from research and education to support a future-oriented development of occupational therapy practice? Framed in the context of experiences and results from cross-national and interdisciplinary research on ageing, this paper describes current trends and developments and outlines challenges and recommendations for the development of occupational therapy.


The home-grown technology innovation in network sectors plays great role in the economic development of the national economy and it has shown very different features compared with other traditional industries.After the analyses of the basic problems and issues facing the network economy during the technological progress,the paper summarized the key features of the process and pointed out the major market failures it might occur.In particular,the paper analyzes the excess inertia and excess momentum problems in the process of technological selection in network economy.Combined with the transitional issue of the wireless telecommunication from 2G to 3G,the paper suggests corresponding policy choice in order to ensure the market efficiency and economic welfare of the whole society.


Video Streaming across wide-area networks is one of the most important applications on the Internet. However, most studies of video streaming have been done in theoretical settings instead of practical settings. In this paper, we focus on the quality assurance issue on best-effort networks and propose a practical technique, named staggered two-flow video streaming. We deliver a stored video into two separate flows in a staggered fashion via a VPN pipe from a central server to a proxy server. One containing its essential portion is delivered using a novel controlled TCP, and the other containing its enhanced portion is transmitted using a rate-controlled RTP/UDP. To address the issue of video quality assurance in such a system, we use application-aware approaches to control bandwidth sharing and interactions among flows by exploiting the inherent priority structure of videos, the storage space on proxy servers and the coarse-grain bandwidth assurance of VPN. Our experiments using FreeBSD and simulations on NS2 both have demonstrated the efficacy of the proposed technique.


Strain RFM mice were exposed to 800 MHz radiofrequency radiation at an average incident power level of 43 mW/cm2 2 hr/day, 5 dayslweek, for 35 weeks. Observations on prripheral blood, body weight, voluntary activity and mean life span revealed no decrement attributable to r.f. exposure.


Even in these modern times, with so much technological improvement, women's safety has always been a concern. Women are not safe anywhere, but they are especially vulnerable while driving alone on lonely roads or in uninhabited areas. The goal of this project is to present a safety equipment that will save a woman in numerous scenarios when she is in danger. The device's implementation is broken down into three pieces. The first part assures that if a woman is in danger in public settings, an alarm mechanism is in place. The messaging system, which will be activated by a switch anytime a woman is in an unsafe scenario, is the subject of the second section. A GPS receiver, a microcontroller, and a GSM modem are all included. The GSM modem delivers an SMS to the pre-programmed phone number. The GPS receiver receives location data from satellites, which is then provided to friends and relatives, as well as the nearest police station. The final section discusses self-defense mechanisms such as electric shock, which a woman can use to defend herself if she is in danger. Additional features include audio recording and capturing the Culprit's image in such a way that the gadget is automatically triggered when a suspected motion is detected in front of the camera. This is sufficient evidence against the perpetrator of the crime. We also intend to integrate another self-defense method, such as hitting the perpetrator with a sharp needle by automatically accessing their present location in order to render the perpetrator unconscious for a short period of time, allowing the victim to flee. The project's highlight is that it is designed as a gadget that can be operated by those who have never used a mobile phone before.


The Sinai Peninsula has always served as a geo-strategic pivot point in power struggles between opposing major players. Throughout the fight for domination between ancient Egypt and the Assyrians, the Ottoman and British Empires, and more recently the ongoing confrontation between Israel and Egypt, the peninsula has served as the focal point of the regional balancing forces. The study makes an effort to investigate the Sinai Peninsula's security crises as a function of power tussle between states and quasi states. It will examine the Bedouins who live in Sinai and their interactions with the state, the persistent pattern of Bedouin marginalisation in Sinai, together with their opposition to or difficulty participating in official Egyptian decision making. It will test the premise that both Egypt and Israel have failed to adequately address the needs of the local Bedouin population in Sinai and have instead chosen to ignore them. Thus, the formation of militant groups and their function as third parties will be examined in the same framework


Ethanol and hexane extracts of twenty Thai medicinal plants, used in Thai traditional medicine for the treatment of infectious and septic diseases, were screened in vitro for antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, using disc diffusion method. The ethanol extracts of Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn., Combretum qurdrangulare L., Psidium guajava Kurz., and Stephania venosa (Blume) Spreng. showed antibacterial activity against all three tested pathogens. Based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of these four medicinal plant extracts, the ethanol extract of C. inerme demonstrated the highest antibacterial potency. The determination of MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extract using microdilution method showed that such extract had MICs for B. cereus, E. coli, and S. aureus of 0.039, 0.312 and 0.156 mg/ml, respectively; and MBCs for B. cereus, E. coli, and S. aureus of 0.039, 0.625 and 0.312 mg/ml, respectively. These results confirmed antibacterial potential of the plant.


The traffic flow near the jamming transition is numerically studied by computer simulations of a coupled-map model. Just above the transition, a variety of velocities with which the traffic jams propagate are observed. The entropy of the traffic flow becomes maximum at the same time. Moreover, the current-concentration relation obtained by local measurements shows clear double-valued behavior near the critical concentration. From these properties, the traffic flow can be said as maximally complex near the critical concentration.


To evaluate the long‐term influence of the shear bond strength (SBS) on glass‐ionomer cement (GIC) to Er:YAG‐irradiated and bur‐prepared enamel.


Aiming at the poor detail of the interference fringes in the phase interferogram of the Block-matching and three-dimensional (BM3D) filtering algorithm, it is difficult to deal with the false edge problem caused by the ringing effect. This study proposed an improved BM3D algorithm for the phase interferogram. The algorithm performs similar block search on the phase image, introduces cosine dissimilarity as the similarity measure, then converts the phase image to complex domain for filtering, and finally introduces a Kaiser window in the aggregation process, which further maintains the denoising ability while improving the texture details and phase information of the interference fringes are obtained.


This paper examines the impact of knowledge management processes on innovation of firms in Hangzhou software cluster. The perspective of this study suggests that knowledge process architecture of knowledge acquisition, integration, exploitation and protection are essential capabilities for effective organisational innovation. Through analysis of surveys collected from 205 senior executives, this research empirically models and uncovers key aspects of these dimensions. The results show that knowledge management process is a second-order construct, it has significant impact on innovation performance. This implies that the knowledge spillover, integration, sharing and protection could improve innovation performance of the software cluster. This paper concludes with a discussion and limitations of the research.


Today's ongoing trend towards intense usage of web service based applications in daily business and everybody's daily life poses new challenges for security testing. Additionally, such applications mostly not execute in their own runtime environment but instead are deployed in some data center, run alongside multiple other applications, and serve different purposes for sundry user domains with diverging security requirements. As a consequence, security testing also has to adapt to be able to meet the necessary requirements for each application in its domain and its specific security requirements. In addition, security testing needs to be feasible for both service providers and consumers. In our paper we identify drawbacks of existing security testing approaches and provide directions for meeting emerging challenges in future security testing approaches. We also introduce and describe the idea of language-oriented security testing, a novel testing approach building upon domain-specific languages and domain knowledge to meet future requirements in security testing.


This paper develops in considerable detail the physical picture of the behavior of brushless aircraft generating systems both in the steady state and in the transient state. It describes the little-known phenomenon of exciter-rectifier operation in three distinct modes, defines commutating reactance in terms of exciter machine paramaters, and provides data for calculating system performance.


13 Many high and steep slopes are formed by special topographic and geomorphic types and 14 mining activities during the construction of mountain expressways. Severe soil erosion may also 15 occur under heavy rainfall conditions. Therefore, predicting soil loss on highway slopes is 16 important in protecting infrastructure and human life. In this study, we investigate Xinhe 17 Expressway located at the southern edge of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The revised universal 18 soil loss equation is used as the prediction model for soil and water loss on slopes. Geographic 19 information systems, remote sensing technology, field surveys, runoff plot observation testing, 20 cluster analysis and co-kriging calculations are also utilised. The partition of the prediction units 21 of soil loss on the expressway slope in the mountainous area and the spatial distribution of rainfall 22 on a linear highway are studied. Given the particularity of the expressway slope in the 23 mountainous area, the model parameter is modified, and the risk of soil loss along the mountain 24 expressway is simulated and predicted under 20and 1-year rainfall return periods. The following 25 results are obtained. (1) Natural watersheds can be considered for the prediction of slope soil 26 erosion to represent the actual situation of soil loss on each slope. Then, the spatial location of the 27 soil erosion unit can be determined. (2) Analysis of actual observation data shows that the overall 28 average absolute error of the monitoring area is 33.24 t·km·a, the overall average relative error 29 is 33.96% and the overall root mean square error is between 20.95 and 65.64, all of which are 30 within acceptable limits. The Nash efficiency coefficient is 0.67, indicating that the prediction 31 accuracy of the model satisfies the requirements. (3) Under the 1-year rainfall return period 32 condition, we find through risk classification that the percentage of prediction units with no risk of 33 erosion is 78%. The soil erosion risk is low and does not affect road traffic safety. Under the 2034 year return period rainfall condition, the percentage of units with high and extremely high risks is 35 7.11%. The prediction results can help adjust the design of water and soil conservation measures 36 for these units. 37


This protection device, against an electric current, at least one electronic switching branch (30) of an electrical conversion system (10), the or each branch (30) comprising two half-switching arms (32A, 32B) connected in series at an intermediate terminal (34U, 34V, 34W), at least a half-branch (32A, 32B) comprising at least one switching member (36), the or each switching member (36) comprising a first controllable electronic switch (37) and a diode (38) connected in antiparallel said first electronic switch (37) comprises, for the or each switching branch (30): - at least a second electronic switch (46), the or each second electronic switch (46) being connected to the intermediate terminal (34U, 34V, 34W) or to an electrode of said diode (38) connected in antiparallel of the first electronic switch (37), the or each second electronic switch ( 46) being adapted to move, under the action of a command, an on state to an off state for the protection of said diode (38) against the current, - means (20) for measuring at least a variable relating to a clean current to flow in the or each diode (38) of the leg (30), and - means (48) for controlling the or each second electronic switch (46), depending on the measured variable by measuring means (20).


L‐glutamate, the photoreceptor neurotransmitter, depolarizes horizontal cells and OFF bipolar cells by ionotropic AMPA‐glutamate receptors. The AMPA‐receptor subunit (GluR4) is localized to dendrites of OFF bipolar cells in goldfish retina. Here, we used immunohistochemical techniques to identify AMPA‐receptor subunits on horizontal cell dendrites. A monoclonal antibody against rat GluR2, with high sequence homology to the recently cloned goldfish GluR2a receptor, was used for light‐ and electron‐microscopical immunocytochemistry. Light‐ and dark‐adapted retinas were analyzed, with no major difference in results. GluR2‐immunoreactivity (IR) was restricted to a narrow band in the outer plexiform layer, in which it appeared as bright dome‐shaped structures amidst numerous puncta. At the ultrastructural level, GluR2‐IR was found in horizontal cell dendrites that invaginated cones and rods. Dendrites of OFF bipolar cells were not labeled. GluR2‐IR was present mostly in horizontal cell dendrites that were the lateral elements of the triad, rather than in dendrites that were the central elements. In light‐adapted retinas, GluR2‐IR was found in many horizontal cell spinules. GluR2‐IR was observed, on occasion, in a mixed rod/cone (Mb) ON bipolar cell process that innervated rod spherules. Verification of the Mb ON bipolar cell was made by protein kinase C and metabotropic mGluR1α immunolabeling. The presence of GluR2‐IR in lateral elements suggests that lateral horizontal cell dendrites are postsynaptic to cones rather than only sites of feedback inhibition. All horizontal cell types express the GluR2 subunit, uniquely differentiating themselves from OFF bipolar cells that express the GluR4 subunit. This differentiation most likely has a major influence on the glutamate pharmacology and response kinetics of these cell types to glutamate. J. Comp. Neurol. 441:155–167, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been a universally accepted initiative. It represents a very significant policy in terms of numbers of people prospectively impacted (about 460,000 at full roll out), in terms of complexity, and in terms of the cost (the current funding envelope is set at $22 billion). Adding to this complexity, the roll out of the scheme is intended to be implemented over a relatively brief period ending in 2020 so that the risk related to the establishment of the NDIS is increased as a result.

Because a central tenet of the scheme is for participants (service users) to have choice and control over the services they receive, Person Centred Planning (PCP) is a core element of the NDIS. Every person deemed eligible for support is intended to have a plan that outlines the goals to be achieved, defines the "reasonable and necessary" supports to which they are entitled and which are funded by the NDIS, together with the total amount of funding allocated to spend on those supports. The PCP is then implemented by the participant's preferred provider.

Notwithstanding their considerable experience and capacity, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) prevents service providers undertaking the planning process and so most plans are completed by NDIA personnel. There is concern that providers might focus on developing plans that are more financially rewarding or more aligned with their service provision systems than aligned with the goals of the participant. The NDIA is also seen to have a potential conflict in that scheme sustainability is central to that agency's responsibility and the PCP process is one way the NDIA can maintain control of costs because the plan sets out the funded services amongst other things.

However, significant concerns have been raised with respect to the PCP process suggesting that, because of the sheer size of the scheme and the shortage of appropriately qualified and experienced NDIA planners, amongst other things, the process results in: (1) poor quality plans being developed; (2) delays in services being provided; and (3) for participant health and welfare to be put at risk. It is also an expensive process with $1.76 billion being allocated to this process for the roll out period and an ongoing cost of between $900 million and $1 billion being the ongoing expected annual cost. These costs are increased when plans need to be rectified.

This report results from a project examining the anecdotal concerns raised by all stakeholders involved in the service provision process—NDIA, peak bodies and service providers—via semi-structured interviews and evidence evaluation processes. The project considered the evidence and put to stakeholders three alternate options that could be used to support the PCP process: (1) the status quo; (2) a risk-based proportionate response allowing for both provider and NDIA planning activities but focused on ensuring regulatory resources were applied where the level of risk warranted them; and (3) a model including providers as planners for all situations and with the NDIA providing assurance over the plans developed.

We identified that there is support for the development of a risk-based approach to the planning process (i.e. option 2) so that service providers can assist in planning where appropriate and so that the NDIS only applies its scarce resources to supervise, regulate and/or plan where appropriate in order to reduce the average cost of a plan. Such a strategy is likely to mitigate the perceived problems associated with conflict of interest or bias, increase the quality and timeliness of plans and reduce the costs of the PCP process to the NDIA. Indeed, potentially, costs may be reduced to the NDIS by around $400 million, which can be applied to service delivery.


In this paper we consider the additive interval functions defined on the family $\mathcal{I}_{m}$ of all non-degenerate closed subintervals of the cubic interval $C_{m} = [0,1]^{m}$ in the $m$-dimensional Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{m}$ and taking values in a Banach space $X$. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for an additive interval function $F : \mathcal{I}_{m} \to X$ to be the primitive of a variational McShane (or strong McShane) integrable function $f : C_{m} \to X$ in terms of the convex cubic average range of $F$.


Corresponding Author: Mark G. Kirchhof, Dermatology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa & The Ottawa Hospital, 737 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Email: mkirchho@ uottawa. ca Journal of Cutaneous Medicine & Surgery 2022, Vol. 26(3) 323–324 © The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub. com/ journalspermissions DOI: 10. 1177/ 1203 4754 2110 66905 journals. sagepub. com/ home/ cms Diagnostic Discrepancies Between Dermatologists and Primary Care Providers in the Setting of a Rapid Access Clinic


Many people usually consume neglected and underutilized legumes (NULs) as stop gap diets, making the legumes a critical food security resource. In order to ensure their sustainability, a survey was designed to study the characteristics of 534 respondents towards NULs processing and consumption. The survey questions covered habitual thermal processing times of NULs seeds, the quantities of NULs dishes consumed and the number of times they were consumed per week. Other questions covered consumer characteristics such as age, body weight, educational background, occupation, marital status and household numbers. The statistical analysis used Palisade @Risk software to fit each study item to the most adequate probabilistic distribution, based on their Akaike information criterion. Subsequently, the central tendency characteristics of the studied items together with their variations and uncertainties were recorded. The results showed quantified exposure assessment of each NUL, obtained as an integration of the product of the amount of NULs dishes consumed and the exposure frequency of each NULs dishes consumed per body weights of consumers. Similarly, the output of consumer characteristics were recorded along the statistical distributions of each specific NUL's consumption. These were linked to the ages of individuals consuming it, the household numbers of consumers, the educational levels, marital status and the occupation of the respondents.


[Objective] To investigate gene variant and the relationship between gene variant and pathogenicity of transfusion transmitted virus (TTV). [Methods] A nested polymerase chain reaction (nested-PCR) assay with specific primers from high variable region (HVR) of open reading frame one (ORF1) of TTV genome was established, which was to amplify TTV DNA in the serum sample from a blood donor (BD) and a chronic non-A-G severe hepatitis patient (CSH) with TTV infection. The purified PCR product was cloned and 10 clones from each case were sequenced. The cloned TTV DNA sequences were compared with each other and with TA278 grouped G1a subtype. The sequences were also analyzed by Phylogentic tree. [Results] TTV DNA clone was successfully constructed. The TTV DNA sequences shared 74%~95%homology with TA278. There were two different TTV strains in the blood donor and seven different TTV strains in the chronic non-A-G severe hepatitis patient. The TTV DNA sequences diverged from 5% to 24% in the CSH, but they were only 7% divergent in the BD. The TTV clones in the BD were all grouped G1a subtype, but they were grouped into G1a and G1b subtype in the CSH. [Conclusion] Gene variant of TTV was much more complicated in the chronic non-A-G severe hepatitis patient than that in the blood donor. The complexity of gene variant and the strong virulence strain delivered during gene variation are likely to be responsible for the pathogenesis of TTV. TTV strains grouped G1b maybe have pathogenicity to some extent.


Existing protocol to re-assess women after six months is appropriate; imaging can identify cancers that have spread to lymph nodes.


Data confidentiality, integrity, and persistence are essential in secure non-volatile memory (NVM) systems. However, the cost of persisting all affected security metadata is high and leads to non-negligible overheads, including performance degradation, memory lifetime reduction, and high energy consumption. This is because integrity trees, which are typically used for data authentication of NVMs, require additional cryptographic calculations and memory accesses to persist the metadata for the recovery. In this paper, we propose Cachet, a novel integrity verification scheme that leverages set hash functions to achieve high performance and crash consistency. Specifically, Cachet maintains two set hash values representing the metadata cache state to enable the lazy update of the integrity tree in a joint-subtree manner with minimal overheads. The observation that underlies Cachet is that regarding the metadata cache, the integrity of each cached node is never verified individually, and the recovery process requires just the digest of the cached metadata. Our evaluation results show that Cachet reduces the application execution time by 21%, NVM writes by 30%, and hash calculations by 36% compared to the state-of-art solutions.


This paper describes a microwave measurement technique enabling the automatic and broad-band determination of the complex permeability tensor components /spl mu/, /spl kappa/ of magnetized materials. The method is applicable to ferrites, as well as magnetic composite materials. The measurement cell is composed of a nonreciprocal strip transmission line partly filled with the sample that is to be characterized. The data-processing program based on a quasi-static approach is valid whatever the magnetization state of the material is from the total demagnetization state to the saturation. The scattering matrix of the cell is measured in a wide frequency range (130 MHz-6 GHz) with a network analyzer setup. The stripline is set in the air gap of an electromagnet to magnetize the material. The electromagnetic parameters of the sample under test are deduced from the scattering matrix using analytical relations. General equations for /spl mu/ and /spl kappa/ are proposed. Some measurements of magnetized ferrites are reported and compared with values predicted by Polder's relations to validate the technique in the saturation state. To our knowledge, this is the first noniterative measurement method giving /spl mu/ and /spl kappa/ simultaneously in a wide range of frequency.


Portable entertainment device (e.g., CD player, cassette player or MP3 player) present invention to a radio broadcasting device for transmitting data, for example, to an adjacent radio receiver from the car audio system related. Radio broadcasting device transmits data at a first frequency, and transmits the information identifying the alternative frequency to transmit data at a first frequency and switches the transmission of the data to the alternative frequency.


Abstract—Malware is a term used to describe the types of malicious software that can be used to infect a single computer or the network of an entire company. Viruses and malware are among the most serious risks to online safety that exist right now. There is a serious threat to world security since the volume of malware is increasing at an alarming rate. In order to prevent detection by any antivirus software, all current malware applications tend to incorporate several polymorphic layers or side mechanisms that automatically update themselves at short intervals so that they can remain undetected for longer periods of time. For the identification of malware, we present a flexible framework that allows the use of various machine learning methods, such as decision trees, random forests, and so on. The system's detection rate is greatly improved by selecting the algorithm with the highest level of accuracy. False positive and false negative rates are calculated using the confusion matrix in order to evaluate the system' s overall performance. Keywords—Malware, Malware Detection, Machine Learning, Malware Analysis


The present invention relates to forming a rectangular energy intensity profile of the laser beam by using an optical fiber structure according to a fine pattern of the micro-size laser scribing ice, to a method. Laser scribing method according to the invention a plurality of the plurality of laser beams that have been split open-circuit by using a laser beam to one or a plurality of dividing means which is emitted from the laser oscillator, and the division by the dividing means is multi-core optical fiber core input optionally being input through parts of unit disposed in said a plurality of input selected opposite sides and a plurality of outputs of the removable orifice is attached to multi-core optical fiber core through a laser beam of a rectangular profile and the square of a process region X axis the laser scribing and once without the Y-axis movement. Multi-core optical fiber cores, laser scribing, square profile, energy intensity


L-band microwave radiometers have now been used to measure sea surface salinity (SSS) from space for over a decade with the SMOS, Aquarius, and SMAP missions, and it is expected that the launch of the CIMR mission in the later half of this decade will ensure measurement continuity in the near future. Beyond these missions, it is useful to consider how future missions can be designed to meet different scientific objectives and performance requirements as well as to fit within different cost spaces. In this article, we present a software simulator for remote sensing measurements of ocean state capable of generating L1- and L2- equivalent data products for an arbitrary spacecraft mission including multifrequency fixed-pointing or scanning microwave radiometers.This simulator is then applied to case studies of SSS measurement over selected areas of interest, including the Gulf Stream, Southern Ocean, and Pacific tropical instability wave regions. These simulations illustrate how different design choices concerning receiver bandwidth and revisit time can improve the detection of SSS features in these regions from the mesoscale to the seasonal scale.


Abstract An annual cost is a constant yearly amount of money which pays for purchasing, owning, and maintaining an investment. Comparisons of annual costs can lead to more profitable investment decisions by dairymen. This guideline describes for dairymen expenditures which influence annual costs and provides a method for calculating annual costs of investments. An example and tables of interest are included with estimates of years of life and rates of repair and insurance costs for common dairy buildings and equipment.


For verify possibility of applying R1234ze in high-temperature heat pump,fundamental physical and thermodynamic properties of R1234ze,R124,R134a and R142b were listed and compared. Meanwhile,with different refrigerants,main system parameters of high-temperature heat pump,including COP,pressure ratio,compressor volume,discharge temperature and heat exchange areas with the same heat yields,were compared. Characteristics of R1234ze high-temperature heat pump system were also presented. Results indicated that in condensing temperature range of 75 ~ 95℃,high-temperature heat pump system with R1234ze has advantages on which include high heating COP,low discharge temperature and medium pressure ratio.


Since Stalin's death in 1953, Russia's leaders have every four or five years convened the nominally supreme body of the Soviet Communist Party, its Congress, to ratify policy guidelines and power shifts. Khrushchev lent excitement to the Congresses he presided over, launching surprise attacks on domestic and foreign Communists who were critical of his unorthodox traits. At the 20th Congress in 1956, the Party First Secretary went beyond the text of an anti-Stalin report that had earlier been agreed upon in the Kremlin and he implicated rival associates in cases of Stalinist misrule. The same foes, eliminated from high places in 1957, were just as suddenly brought under heavy criticism by Khrushchev's group at the extraordinary 21st Congress in 1959 and the 22nd Congress in 1961. A delegation of observers from Communist China headed by Premier Chou En-lai walked out of the 22nd Congress after their Albanian clients were unexpectedly assailed for heretical beliefs close to those held in Peking. In contrast, dramatic challenges and disclosures were missing from the 23rd Congress, which the successors of Khrushchev organized in 1966. The flat nature of the proceedings underlined the fact that a cycle of renewal in post-Stalin politics had been superseded by what was essentially a cycle of consolidation.


N-Methylpyrrolidone is a solvent molecule which has been shown to compete with acetyllysine-containing peptides for binding to bromodomains. From crystallographic studies, it has also been shown to closely mimic the acetamide binding motif in several bromodomains, but has not yet been pursued as a fragment in bromodomain inhibition. In this paper, we report the elaboration of N-methylpyrrolidone as a potential lead in fragment-based drug design. Firstly, N-methylpyrrolidone was functionalised to provide points for fragment elaboration. Two of these derivatives were then utilised as part of analogues of the reported bromodomain inhibitor,


: The clinch joints are commonly used by the automotive industry. The clinch joints are produced in between thin sheets by a punch and a die during local plastic deformations. During the design of tools or the joints material testing is necessary to determine the load bearing capacity of the joints. The benefit of the numerical simulations is the reduced numbers of material tests during the design phase. The present article is dealing with simplified examinations of the clinch joints.


A great deal of academic research focuses on how bond issuance impacts the firm. Most recent research focuses on investment grade bonds and ignores noninvestment grade bonds. This article investigates the long-run stock underperformance of high-yield bond Initial Bond Offerings (IBOs) in the 3–5-year post-issuing period compared to firms that do not issue stock and/or bonds over the same 5-year post period. A second dataset featuring investment grade bond issuing firms is also compared to firms that do not issue stocks and/or bonds over the same 5-year post period. It is determined that stock underperformance does exist following bond IBOs using both the buy-and-hold return and Fama–French Four-Factor models. The level of underperformance is found to be greatest for callable bonds issuers followed by straight bonds and convertible bond issuers. Additionally, it is learned that high-yield bond issuing firms experience a greater level of underperformance than their investment-grade counterparts. This line of research partially fills the gap in understanding how noninvestment grade bonds impact the firm in both stock performance and the pricing decision.


Part 1 of the paper deals briefly with the electrical constants of transmission lines, with special reference to steelcored aluminium lines. Where possible, simple formulae are given for the calculation of the various quantities associated with transmission lines, and the limitations of these formulae are indicated.In Part 2 an account is given of the methods which have been adopted for the determination of the constants of the "grid" lines. Three typical lines of diverse characteristics, viz. a 132-kV single-circuit line, a 132-kV double-circuit line, both transposed, and a 33-kV untransposed single-circuit line, are considered and results are given of measurements of 3-phase impedance, loop impedance, single-phase impedance, resistance, charging current, and induced electro-magnetic and electrostatic voltages.


This study is majorly dealing with the Top Down construction method from the views of productivity
and safery improvement in order to improve work efficiency and to insure the safety in underground
construction environment. The conclusion of this study can be summarized as follows.
1.In the underground work that often needs movements of workers, local ventilation instrumentation
system i seffective to prevent the diffusion of dust and to protect employees.
2.Direct connection between ducts and pipes is effective to reduce the situation not considered in
the intial ventilation planning.
3.Short duct lengh and employment of flange at the end of duct are effective in ventilation of dust and
exhausting gas.


Investments of securities performed by Islamic banks in addition to a liquidity instrument in the bank that is as an investment instrument for banks to obtain operating income other than the channeling of funds through financing to customers. The Bank's securities investment is influenced by external and internal factors within the bank. External factors are factors that occur outside the bank, external factors can not be controlled by the management of sharia banks. Internal factors are factors that occur due to decisions and phenomena within the internal bank, internal factors can be controlled by banks through managerial processes. External factors faced by banks such as economic and monetary conditions such as inflation and interest rates, money market conditions (exchange rate), customer character, regulations and others. Internal factors rely heavily on bank management in managing every liquid instrument within the sharia bank itself, such as asset and liability management.Keywords: Sharia Bank, Investment, SBSN, Liquid Instruments


The whole world is making unremitting efforts to ensure the security of global cyberspace. The European Union (EU) has always regarded cyberspace security as the core competitiveness of regional integration and is committed to improving the cyberspace security legal system's
 construction. Now it has been at the forefront of the world. Through the analysis of the EU cyberspace security governance mechanism and legal framework, this study concludes that the construction of cyberspace security is a complex project that requires long-term exploration and development.
 Besides, a sound cyberspace-security governance mechanism and a perfect legal system of cyberspace security should have a clear hierarchy, and specific effectiveness and system, updating the laws and regulations.


Buddleja globosa Hope is a well-known native, medici- nal plant because of its digestive and cicatrizing properties. Due to the increasing domestic and international demand, B. globosa abun- dance and distribution in Chile has resulted in the intensive exploi- tation of the plant's natural habitat, without consideration of the plant's regenerative capacity. The main objective of this research was to establish the B. globosa growth cycle and model its regeneration cycle. This would allow for more productive, efficient and sustain - able use and management of this species, thus ensuring its long-term conservation. We selected two study sites, one wild and another one cultivated. In each one, ten individuals were marked as control treat- ments, for further observations, in order to quantify the monthly growth dynamics. Fifteen plants selected at random were marked in each site under study to know the regeneration rates with three pruning methods: apical, medium and basal (5 plants per treatment). The results showed significant differences between the control and management treatments on plants grown in the valley, and among the wild plants of the mountains. The biomass growth rates achieved in the treatments of pruning, and the period that those were maxi- mum at both sites, allows us to recommend harvesting of B. glo- bosa under a medium pruning management in January for the valley. For the mountain zones, it is suggested to conduct a partial apical- type harvest in December: this would allow that a part of the plant achieves the end of the flowering stage, which will contribute to seed dispersal and natural reproduction of the species.


Abstract Seth Masket's new book, Learning From Loss: The Democrats 2016–2020 (Cambridge University Press, 2020) asks how the modern Democratic party absorbed Hillary Clinton's 2016 defeat and responded to it while preparing to nominate its candidate in 2020. Masket makes a persuasive case that the Democratic party managed its coalition and made strategic adaptations to its rules to help it win the 2020 election. In particular, he shows how competing narratives about Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss to Donald Trump played an important role in activists' decision making in the lead-up to 2020.


plant extract): Epidiolex (can-nabidiol) and three synthetic cannabis-related products (synthetic isolates): Marinol (dronabinol), Syndros (dronabinol) and Cesamet (nabilone) under ABSTRACT Introduction: Cannabis use to treat various diseases or symptoms is not clearly defined. The purpose of this review is to explore the existing evidence regarding the harms and benefits of cannabis use across multiple illnesses. Material and Methods: Search for articles for this review was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar and PsycINFO. We summarize and discuss recent evidence regarding cannabis use in multiple neurological (including seizures, neurodegenerative disorders, multiple sclerosis), psychiatric (including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychotic illness) and other diseases (including chronic pain, cancer, vomiting, cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19). Results: The collated body of evidence shows that the benefit of its use (medicinal or recreational) mostly lacks adequate evidence warranting for further study. In pretext of already available better options (with better efficacy and safety), the consideration of this agent is seriously debatable. Conclusion: Harms or adverse effects of cannabis use clearly are evidence based and are at times serious (e.g. psychosis association), mainly from mental health perspective. Hence, its use should not be suggested and needs serious consideration before using it.


The application of TiO 2 as part of the bu ff er layer stack in thin fi lm Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells is investigated for the improvement of the photovoltaic device performance. In a standard device con fi guration a CdS/ZnO/ Al:ZnO layer stack is applied onto the CIGS absorber layer. By decreasing the CdS bu ff er layer thickness a higher photocurrent is expected from a reduced parasitic absorption. When the CdS layer is not fully covering the CIGS surface, losses in V OC and FF are observed in I-V measurements due to the arising unfavorable CIGS/ZnO band alignment and sputter damage on the CIGS surface. Here we present thin TiO 2 layers deposited by atomic layer deposition at low temperature as alternative to the unintentionally doped ZnO. With this approach, the pho- tocurrent can be increased without adversely a ff ecting V OC . Comparable device e ffi ciency is achieved for the investigated structure and the reference process with the gain in current density being compensated by increased series resistance. Temperature dependent I-V measurements coupled with 1D-SCAPS simulations suggest a positive conduction band o ff set at the CdS/TiO 2 interface limiting the FF. ALD-TiO 2 is suggested as a more suitable intermediate bu ff er layer than sputtered ZnO when thin CdS bu ff er layers are applied.


Increased regulation of mobile offshore rigs may result as federal authorities continue their investigation of the sinking of the Java Sea offshore China last October. The ship was lost with a crew of 81 during a storm with 75-knot winds and seas of 26 to 44 ft. It sailed to the South China Sea in late 1982 to begin work as part of the first U.S.-China joint drilling agreement. During the early stages of the investigation, divers located a crack near midship on the starboard side. The board is puzzled on whether the fracture occurred before or after the vessel sank. Investigators reviewed the ballast control procedure and wanted to know if the weight, coupled with the trauma of a storm, could have imposed a stability problem. Investigators are hoping an underwater search of the wreckage and a stability and load line study will lend more clues as to why the ship sank.


We report on transient membrane perforation of living cancer cells using plasmonic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) enhanced single near infrared (NIR) femtosecond (fs) laser pulse. Under optimized laser energy fluence, single pulse treatment (τ = 45 fs, λ = 800 nm) resulted in 77% cell perforation efficiency and 90% cell viability. Using dark field and ultrafast imaging, we demonstrated that the generation of submicron bubbles around the AuNPs is the necessary condition for the cell membrane perforation. AuNP clustering increased drastically the bubble generation efficiency, thus enabling an effective laser treatment using low energy dose in the NIR optical therapeutical window. Schematic representation of single femtosecond laser pulse plasmonic bubble generation in the vicinity of a cell.