Despite the current controversial debates about discretion in public bureaucracies in general, and in welfare agencies in particular, the current literature on street-level bureaucracy mainly assumes that discretion is a distinctive feature of the daily work of public servants. Nonetheless, a pertinent question has not specifically been asked in this literature, that is, given the context of privatisation and increased welfare conditionality in the welfare sector that are seriously challenging welfare frontline staff's commitment to social justice and human rights-based practices, what are forms of street-level discretion likely to contribute to improving the quality of welfare services? In this study, we attempt to address this question by exploring discretion displayed by welfare frontline staff in four Australian employment service providers. We argue that emotional labour, especially when being informed by critical empathy, is an important and effective form of street-level discretion that welfare frontline workers can perform to better support welfare recipients and minimise the punitive aspects of welfare policy.


In this paper,fuzzy comprehensive evaluation methods will be introduced to control the quality of construction,the establishment of an evaluation model to address the qualitative indicators to quantify the problem,the use of AHP evaluation to determine the levels of weight and was given a second integrated Examples of the evaluation fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method described.


The persimmon powder was used as raw material to prepare two persimmon biosorbents SPP and HPP by chemical modification with H2SO4 and HNO3,respectively.The adsorption behaviors of Cu2+ and Pb2+ in aqueous solutions on two persimmon biosorbents were investigated.The effects of solution pH,solid-liquid ratio,temperature,adsorption time and metal ion concentration were considered.The results show that the adsorption process of SPP and HPP can be well described by pseudo-second order kinetic equation.The fitting effect of equilibrium isotherms follows Langmuir equation better than that of the Freundlich equation.The maximum adsorption capacities of Cu2+ and Pb2+ on SPP are 61.47 mg/g and 207.90 mg/g,respectively.And the maximum adsorption capacities of Cu2+ and Pb2+ on HPP are 64.0 mg/g and 220.8 mg/g,respectively.The adsorption is controlled by chemical process.


Background:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the lower limit of the normal endothelial function, which may differentiate normal from abnormal values, and to evaluate changes of endothelial function according to ages. Materials and Methods:The study population were consisted of four groups:patients with coronary artery disease (CAD (group A, n=42, mean age:55 yrs, patients with one or more risk factors of atherosc- lerosis (group B, n=43, mean age:54 yrs, age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (group C, n=25, mean age:54 yrs), and healthy young subjects (group D, n=13, mean age:26 yrs. We measured the flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation (FMD of the brachial artery in all subjects using a high-resolution ultrasound and we analyzed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve. Results:The FMD of the A and B groups were significantly lowered (8.6±3.7% vs 9.9±4/5% (4.5% ? than the C (14.3±3.3%, p<0.001 or D groups (18.0±3.5%, p<0.001. The FMD level of 11.5% demonstrated a 76.3% sensitivity and 76% of specificity to differentiate normal endothelial function from abnormal one. The spearman correlation coefficient between age and FMD in groups C and D was -0.543 (p<0.001. Conclusions:Endothelial function was decreased in patients with CAD or risk factors of atherosclerosis. We observed an age-related tendency of a decline of endothelial function in healthy subjects. 11.5% FMD may be used to identify the person at risk of atherosclerosis. (Korean Circulation J 2001;31(6 :544-550


【Objective】 Elite alleles of nitrogen efficiency derived from different irrigated rice and upland rice were detected, and the effects of genetic background on expression of quantitative trait locus (QTL) were analyzed for providing a theoretical basis for fine mapping and molecular marker-assisted breeding of nitrogen efficiency in rice. 【Method】 QTL of some traits associated with nitrogen utilization efficiency were identified using two japonica × japonica recombinant inbred lines (RILs). The first RILs was from the cross IAPAR-9 (upland rice)/Liaoyan241 (irrigated rice), and the second RILs was from the cross IAPAR-9/Akihikari (irrigated rice). 【Result】 A total of 31 QTLs referring some traits correlated with nitrogen utilization efficiency in the first RILs were detected on all chromosomes except chromosomes 6, 7 and 10. QTLs controlling different traits were mapped on the same or adjacent intervals, forming 9 clusters in rice chromosomes. In the second RILs, 33 QTLs for some traits associated with nitrogen utilization efficiency were found on all chromosomes except chromosomes 4 and 10, forming 7 clusters in rice chromosomes. 【Conclusion】 Genetic background had a significant impact on QTL expression of some traits associated with nitrogen utilization efficiency. The interval, RM3421-RM5404, in chromosome 2 and the adjacent interval with RM8264 in chromosome 8, where QTLs underlying traits associated with nitrogen utilization efficiency stably expressed across different genetic backgrounds, may be beneficial to MAS for nitrogen efficiency in rice.


Objective:To establish a method for determination of polydatin in Hu-huang-shao-shang linimentum with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).Methods:HPLC was carried out on Diamonsil C18(5μm,250×4.6mm)column with acetonitrile-water(23∶ 77)as mobile phase,and the flow rate was 1 mL/min.Detection wavelength was 306nm.Results:The calibration curve for polydatin was linear in the range of 0.1236μg-1.9776μg(r=0.9998).The average recovery of polydatin was 99.50 %and RSD % was 0.36 %(n=6).Conclusion:This method is quick,simple,accurate and reproducible,and it can be used for quality control of huhuang Hu-huang-shao-shang linimentum.


Identity-based cryptosystems have an inherent key escrow issue, that is, the Key Generation Center (KGC) always knows user secret key. Thus, if the KGC is malicious, it can always impersonate the user. Certificateless cryptography, introduced by Al-Riyami and Paterson in 2003, is intended to solve this problem. However, in all the previously proposed certificateless schemes, it is always assumed that the malicious KGC starts launching attacks (so-called Type II attacks) only after it has generated a master public/secret key pair honestly. In this paper, we propose new security models that remove this assumption for both certificateless signature and encryption schemes. Under the new models, we show that some previously proposed certificateless encryption/signature schemes still have the key escrow problem, while some other schemes do not. We also give new proofs for the schemes in the latter case.


ABSTRACTStunting in Tulungagung Regency is still a serious threat to the health of infants and toddlers. The Covid-19 pandemic has hampered posyandu activities as health service facilities in the community. Strengthening the knowledge and skills of posyandu cadres is very important, because posyandu cadres are educational agents who are directly related to mothers of toddlers. This community service aims to increase the role of posyandu cadres in an effort to reduce stunting through the development of healthy snack innovations from high-protein flour products. There were three methods, namely counseling, training and mentoring. Counseling on stunting and the use of local food, training on making healthy snacks based on high-protein mixed flour, as well as mentoring participants in the development and innovation of healthy snacks based on high-protein mixed flour. The community service program was carried out in a hybrid manner, namely online and offline in the work area of the Pakel Health Center, with a total of 50 participants. The counseling was carried out using visual power point media, training with demonstrations of making healthy snacks, and mentoring which contained direct practice of making healthy snacks independently for two weeks after the counseling and training activities were carried out. The result shows that community service in the form of counseling has an impact on increasing the knowledge of Posyandu cadres at Pakel Health Center, by 4,5%. Training and assistance in making healthy snacks can also be practiced independently by cadres and mothers of toddlers as evidenced by the success and emergence of various menus. In conclusion, the counseling, training, and assistance provided were able to increase the creativity of posyandu cadres and mothers of toddlers in creating healthy snacks based on high-protein mixed flour as an acceleration of stunting prevention.


This article examines the contribution of the Integrated System for Financial Administration (SIAFI) of the Brazilian government to the promotion of horizontal accountability of the federal public administration in the perception of the system's distinct groups of users. Based on the theoretical framework and analysis of documents on the SIAFI and the rules on public administration, we defined three dimensions to assess accountability – transparency,rendering of accounts and attribution of responsibility – operationalized through an online questionnaire with responses scored on a Likert scale. This questionnaire was sent to four groups of system users — managers, operators, control agents and investigation agents— linked to 128 entities of the federal government. The treatment and analysis of the results through factor analysis and comparison of groups allowed characterizing an overall perception of the efficacy of the SIAFI in promoting horizontal accountability, despite variations in this perception within the constitutive dimensions defined, according to the users' origin and their relationship with the system.


This study aims to determine the structure and performance of the market, the costs, margins, marketing advantage, the farmer's share and profit margin ratio on each channel rubber marketing people in order to know the level of marketing efficiency. Determining the location and number of samples penelitiandilakukan intentionally (purposive) in District Kelam Permai Sintang, West Kalimantan. The market structure in the village, district and county are oligopsony low concentrations, indicating that traders do not have the level of power in influencing pasar.Hasili This study shows: 1. Farmers still use the channel 3 (three) on the type of lump bowl and channels 3 and 4 on the type of bamboo lump fraction farmers because farmers are still bound by the village and district collectors. 2. I channel marketing and channel I lump bowl bamboo lump most efficient marketing.


The rate constant k1 for the reaction Ar+(2P3/2) + 2Ar→Ar2+ + Ar was found to be (2.07±0.20)×10−31 cm6/sec at 296°K. The reaction was studied in a drift tube at pressures reduced to 0°C (P0) of 1.414–3 torr. Ions effused from the drift tube and were counted with a TOF mass spectrometer. It was found that Ar+ in the 2P1/2 state does not form Ar2+ at room temperature. This fact appears to have been neglected in previous determinations of k1. Corrections were made for the collision‐induced transition Ar+(2P1/2) → Ar+(2P3/2), where k2 is the rate constant, and for side reactions with impurities. From experiments at P0=6 and 9 torr it was found that k2,Ar≤1.5×10−15 cc/sec. However, recent experiments indicate k2,Ar<4×10−16 cc/sec, so most of the transitions were caused by collisions with an impurity in the Ar.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of TBO-1 detecting instrument in breast tumor. METHODS: Two hundred were studied including breast cancer 92 cases and breast benign tumor 108 cases. The changes of blood flow and blood oxygen content in tumors were detected. All the patients underwent ultrasonography and mammography. RESULTS: TBO-1 detecting instrument showed that 83 cases of breast cancer exhibited high blood flow and low blood oxygen, and the diagnose accordance rate was 90.2%; 86 cases of breast benign tumor exhibited negative high blood flow and low blood oxygen, and the diagnose accordance rate was 79.6%. By mammography, the diagnose accordance rate was 93.5% in breast cancer and 88.0% in breast benign tumor; by ultrasonography, the diagnose accordance rate was 90.6% in breast cancer and 93.3% in breast benign tumor, respectively. The differences the results obtained from the three detections had no statistical significance, P0.05. CONCLUSION: TBO-1 detecting instrument may be one of the reliable means in breast cancer diagnosis.


Practitioners of criminal law will be aware of guideline judgments that are being promulgated by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) with respect to offences both State and Federal. These constitute offences of dangerous driving causing death (Jurisic), armed robbery (Henry & Ors), break enter and steal (Porifield & Ors) in the State sphere, and the importation of heroin (Wong & Leung) in the Federal sphere. To these judgments has been added one for discount for early pleas of guilt (Thomson).


The Department of Civil Engineering and Operations Research and the School of Architecture at Princeton University offer a unique program that integrates engineering and architectural design by combining the curricula of the two professional schools. This certificate-granting program, designated "Architecture and Engineering," and leading to a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, is intended primarily for students interested in pursuing a career in architectural design or engineering from a broad base that includes course work and independent studies in building structures, history of architecture, and studio design.


This paper explores reported usage and evaluations of the 'Australianness' of heteronyms: pairs of words that have the same referent, are stylistically equal and traditionally are associated with different varieties of English. The data consist of 36 surveys completed by a diverse group of Australian English speakers. It examines the relationship between self reported usage, rankings of 'Australianness' and age. The findings indicate that older participants tend to report using more conservative forms. They also suggest that younger speakers differ to older ones in their views about the 'Australianness' of lexical items and that terms viewed as most Australian were also reported to be most used.


Objective To investigate the role and method of surgical treatment for biliary duct variation with hepatolithiasis. Methods The clinical data of 54 patients with biliary duct variation with hepatolithiasis treated in our hospital from June 1986 to June 1997 were retrospectively analyzed. The operations were divided into 4 types: 1) In situ cholangioplasty of variant hepatic duct in 12 patients. 2) Fenestration of variant hepatic duct and adjacent hepatic duct in 9 patients. 3) Coalescence of variant hepatic duct and adjacent hepatic duct in 14 patients. 4) Lobectomy or segmentectomy of variant hepatic duct in 19 patients. Results In hospital complications including postoperative infection, biliary fistula and adhesive intestinal obstruction occurred in 7 patients and were conservatively cured. There was no perioperative death. The follow up of 54 patients for 4 to 15 years showed that the excellent rate was 83.3% and residual stone rate 24.1%. Residual stones were removed through cholangioscopy in 6 of the 9 patients. Conclusions Accurate topical diagnosis and appropriate operation can acquire satisfactory results in treatment of biliary duct variation with hepatolithiasis.


The apparatus includes at least one electrochemical reactor (32) with two electrodes (64, 66), a voltage source, an inlet and outlet for the liquid, and a solid/liquid separator. An apparatus for removing substances from a liquid medium using an electrochemical technique comprises at least one electrochemical reactor with two electrodes, a voltage source, an inlet and outlet for the liquid, and a solid/liquid separator on the downstream side of the outlet. Independent claims are also included for (a) an electrochemical reactor with an inlet and outlet for a liquid medium, and two electrode plates, one set of electrodes being mounted on a driven shaft (65) and part of this set of electrodes protruding above the level of liquid inside the reactor, as well as a drive mechanism for the shaft and scrapers which are in contact with the rotating electrodes, (b) a flotation chamber (37) with two electrodes mounted in an essentially horizontal surface close to the bottom of the chamber and insulated from the chamber walls, a voltage source for the electrodes, an inlet and outlet for a liquid medium, and a device (40) for removing at least part of the solid layer floating on top of the liquid, and (c) a method for removing substances and/or impurities from a liquid medium by supplying it to this reactor and then to this flotation chamber.


Gastroduodenal symptoms are very common in the general population. The symptoms are classified into four categories accord-ing to the newly revised Rome IV criteria: functional dyspepsia (including postprandial discomfort and epigastric pain syndrome), belching disorders (including excessive gastric and supragastric belching), chronic nausea and vomiting syndrome (including chronic nausea vomiting syndrome, cyclic vomiting syndrome, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome), and rumination syndrome. Newly developed diagnostic criteria are based on recently published studies. These revised criteria will be very helpful for appropriately managing these patients in a clinical situation. (Korean J Med 2017;92:362-365)


The many cases and complexity of the algic alteration, local or systemic, that affect the cephalic segment, requise know ledge and clinical experience for the treatment of the patients. The trigeminal neuralgia is an algic syndrome of unknown etiology, discarding the intracranals expansive process involving the trigeminals roots. Its characteristics are paroxysmal pain, definitive unleashing factors, limitation of pain to the territory of distribution of the trigeminal nerve, absence of abnormalities on the neurologic exam, absence of evident organic causes and favorable responses to the section of the peripheral trunk of the trigeminal nerve or root. It's important to make the differential diagnosis of this algic condition with odontological and other painful syndromes of odontologic origin, since different painful conditions can show some similar signs and symptoms, or even express in the same patient simultaneously. This work intends to emphasize the concept of trigeminal neuralgia involving etiology, physiopathology, signs and symptoms, diagnostic method, differential diagnosis and type of treatment.


The reality in different countries (and what we are experiencing in Romania shows the same), is that the majority of the organisational players are placing great emphasis on alignment and autonomy.This article analyses the reality of the actual global market, identifies some critical aspects around the performing organization and suggests some useful solutions to transform organizations in more successful players. The challenge of the 21st century is that, in order to survive, the companies must prove at the same time a high degree of autonomy - which helps them to rapidly respond to market demands, and a high level of alignment - which helps them build synergies. We will have a look at how the 'ideal company'would look like and will go through some examples of ways to cover the gaps between the current status and the status of "Directed Opportunism". At the end, we will identify areas of improvement and potential solutions to grow organizational competitiveness.


Objective. To determine the reliability of radiographic assessment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) by nonclinician readers compared to an experienced radiologist. Methods. The radiologist trained 3 nonclinicians to evaluate radiographic characteristics of knee OA. The radiologist and nonclinicians read preoperative films of 36 patients prior to total knee replacement. Intrareader and interreader reliability were measured using the weighted k statistic and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Scores k < 0.20 indicated slight agreement, 0.21–0.40 fair, 0.41–0.60 moderate, 0.61–0.80 substantial, and 0.81–1.0 almost perfect agreement. Results. Intrareader reliability among nonclinicians (k) ranged from 0.40 to 1.0 for individual radiographic features and 0.72 to 1.0 for Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade. ICC ranged from 0.89 to 0.98 for the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) summary score. Interreader agreement among nonclinicians ranged from k of 0.45 to 0.94 for individual features, and 0.66 to 0.97 for KL grade. ICC ranged from 0.87 to 0.96 for the OARSI Summary Score. Interreader reliability between nonclinicians and the radiologist ranged from k of 0.56 to 0.85 for KL grade. ICC ranged from 0.79 to 0.88 for the OARSI Summary Score. Conclusion. Intrareader and interreader agreement was variable for individual radiograph features but substantial for summary KL grade and OARSI Summary Score. Investigators face tradeoffs between cost and reader experience. These data suggest that in settings where costs are constrained, trained nonclinicians may be suitable readers of radiographic knee OA, particularly if a summary score (KL grade or OARSI Score) is used to determine radiographic severity. (J Rheumatol First Release April 15 2016; doi:10.3899/jrheum.151300) Key Indexing Terms: KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS RADIOGRAPHY RELIABILITY INTERREADER RELIABILITY From the Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women's Hospital; the Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health; and Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts, USA. K. Klara, BS, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital; J.E. Collins, PhD, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; E. Gurary, MS, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health; S.A. Elman, BA, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; D.S. Stenquist, BA, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; E. Losina, PhD, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, and Harvard Medical School; J.N. Katz, MD, MS, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. Supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: K24AR057827, T32AR055885. Address correspondence to Dr. J.N. Katz, Director, Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research (OrACORe), Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St., BC 4-016, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. E-mail: email@example.com Accepted for publication March 9, 2016. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by degenerative changes in cartilage, bone, meniscus, and other joint structures, in concert with pain, stiffness, and functional loss. The severity of structural damage in knee OA can be assessed by radiographic evidence of joint space narrowing (JSN) and osteophyte formation1,2. In clinical research, knee OA is often staged by radiologists or other physicians using ordinal scales such as the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade or the Osteo arthritis Research Society International (OARSI) score. Having experienced clinicians to grade radiographic OA in research settings can be expensive, raising the question of whether nonradiologist readers can be trained to provide reliable, valid readings. Several studies have measured variability in radiographic assessment of knee OA by clinicians3,4,5,6. Intrareader and interreader reliability of the KL score vary widely across studies, with weighted k ranging from 0.26 to 0.88 and 0.56 to 0.80, respectively4,5,6. One prior study examined the interRheumatology The Journal of on May 8, 2016 Published by www.jrheum.org Downloaded from reader reliability of radiographic assessment of knee OA between nonclinician readers and an experienced clinical reader. This study documented k statistics for radiographic features of tibiofemoral OA ranging from 0.12 to 0.80, suggesting this approach merits further research7. In our current study, we aimed to determine the interreader and intrareader reliability of radiographic assessment of severe knee OA among 3 junior nonclinician readers and to assess the agreement between their readings and those of an experienced radiologist. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study population. The data presented in this report were collected as part of the Adding Value in Knee Arthroplasty (AViKA) Postoperative Care Navigation study, a randomized controlled trial conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The trial prospectively evaluated a behavioral intervention to optimize postoperative outcomes following primary total knee replacement (TKR). Enrolled were 309 patients ≥ 40 years old with a primary diagnosis of OA who underwent primary TKR8. We chose 39 AViKA participant radiographs at random for our study. Demographic information for the subjects analyzed is presented in Table 1. Our study was approved by the Partners Healthcare Institutional Review Board (protocol 2010P002597). Training. Two nonclinician readers (medical students) studied the OARSI Atlas of Individual Radiographic Features in Osteoarthritis 2 to learn to grade osteophytes and JSN on standing bilateral radiographs. They spent 5 hours reading films before attending 2 hour-long training sessions with an experienced radiologist who has graded knee OA for several cohort studies and trials. The training sessions for the medical students took place before a research assistant was included in the study. Because of feasibility concerns (limited study funding and time constraints of the radiologist), the medical students provided the initial training for the research assistant to assess radiographic features of OA in 3 hour-long sessions. The 3 nonclinician readers (2 medical students and 1 research assistant) had a final training session with the radiologist before reading films for reliability analyses. Data collection procedures. The nonclinician readers and the radiologist viewed 39 standing bilateral preoperative radiographs in Centricity Web Version 3.0 and graded individual features of knee OA, blinded to the ratings of other readers. Three subjects were excluded from the analysis because readers inadvertently graded different radiograph views. For each of the 36 subjects included in the analysis, we examined both the left and right knees; however, we were unable to grade radiographic features of OA in knees with implants. Six out of 36 subjects analyzed had 1 knee replaced before enrolling in AViKA. Thus, out of 72 knees (36 × 2), we were able to analyze 66 knees (72 – 6) for interreader reliability. Standing bilateral films were used to assess tibiofemoral features of OA [preferably the posterioranterior (PA) view or the anteroposterior view if PA was unavailable]. These clinical radiographic protocols did not use a standardized positioning device. Sunrise views were used to grade patellofemoral features. Radiology technicians routinely assess image quality and repeat images that are inadequate; therefore, all images used for this reliability analysis were acceptable. To assess intrareader reliability, 2–3 weeks following their initial reading, 2 nonclinician readers re-graded 17 radiographs (31 knees), and 1 nonclinician reader re-graded 36 radiographs (66 knees). We analyzed left and right knees separately, with 1 film per subject. Examining all knees in the same analysis would have created the potential for clustering of observations between 2 knees of the same subject, requiring a less transparent analysis. Radiographic measures. Anatomic alignment (in degrees) was defined as the angle formed by the intersection of a line drawn from the intercondylar notch to the center of the femoral shaft and another line drawn from the center of the tibial spines to the center of the tibial shaft. The angle of anatomic alignment and direction of deformity (varus or valgus) were documented. The deformity was considered varus when the tibia was angled inward with respect to the femur, and valgus when the tibia was angled outward with respect to the femur. The length of tibia and femur available to measure on each study was not standardized. Osteophytes and JSN were graded on a 4-point scale (0-3) as per OARSI guidelines2. Grade 0 was considered normal. Grade 1 indicated mild osteophytes or narrowing, grade 2 moderate osteophytes or narrowing, and grade 3 marked and severe osteophytes or narrowing. Osteophytes were assessed in the lateral femoral, lateral tibial, medial femoral, and medial tibial compartments. Medial and lateral patellofemoral osteophytes were assessed, but only the largest score was recorded. Lateral and medial tibiofemoral JSN were graded in addition to patellofemoral JSN. Joint


Objective
To verify the detection method of residual gentamicin in the live attenuated oral poliovirus vaccine (human diploid cell).

Method
Gentamicin ELISA kit was used to establish a method for the determination of gentamicin residues. The linearity of the standard curve of the method and the accuracy, precision, specificity, durability, detection and quantitative limits of the linear range were verified.

Results
The standard curve of the test was linear, with correlation coefficient >0.98. The recovery rates of the high, medium and low concentrations of gentamicin were 92.7%-123.6%. The relative standard deviation of same batch samples tested was 8%. The relative standard deviations of same batch samples tested by different test personnel and different batches of test kits were all <15%. The recovery rates of gentamicin were 95.9%-121.3%. The method had good durability in the temperature range of (37±1) ℃. The detection limit of gentamicin was 0.040 ng/ml and the quantitative limit was 0.135 ng/ml.

Conclusion
The method is effective for the detection of gentamycin in live attenuated oral poliovirus vaccine (human diploid cell).

Key words:
Poliovirus vaccine, oral; Gentamycins; Drug residues; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Validation


Potato crops are vital to global food security and economy, yet they are vulnerable to a wide range of leaf diseases that can significantly impact yield and quality. Rapid diagnosis and accurate identification of these disorders are critical for effective disease control and prevention. In this research, we offer an extensive evaluation and contrast of three state -of-art CNN models- VGG19, DenseNet121 and ResNet50-in order to identify and forecast potato leaf diseases. Our study employed a sizable dataset of potato leaf images, containing diverse healthy and afflicted specimens, to train and assess the performance of the chosen CNN models. Extensive data augmentation techniques were employed to enhance the dataset's diversity and generalization capabilities. We evaluated the models considering their accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score and computational efficiency to determine the most fitting model for real-life applications. The results demonstrate that all three CNN models achieved high performance in identifying and predicting potato leaf diseases, with VGG19 emerging as the top performer followed closely by DenseNet121 and ResNet50.Our findings provide valuable insights into the efficacy of DL approaches for potato leaf ailment identification and offer a foundation for future research and deployment of these models in precision agriculture systems. Ultimately, this work aims to support the development of more robust and efficient tools for timely disease diagnosis, enabling farmers and agronomists to make better-informed decisions and safeguard the health and productivity of potato crops worldwide.


(A1) a+ b = b+ a (commutativity of addition); (A2) (a+ b) + c = a+ (b+ c) (associativity of addition); (A3) There exists an element, called 0, such that 0 + a = a. (additive identity) (A4) For x ∈ R, there is a y ∈ R such that x+y = 0 (existence of additive inverses). (M1) (a · b) · c = a · (b · c) (associativity of multiplication). (M2) There exists an element, called 1, such that 1 · a = a · 1 = a. (D) a · (b+ c) = a · b+ a · c; (a+ b) · c = a · c+ b · c.


The respective roles of precipitation hardening and reversible martensite reactions have been analysed in relation to development of textures in 17 %Ni-8 %Co-4 %Mo steel. Cold-rolling textures after 90 % reduction are independent of the heat treatment prior to rolling, and are described as mainly {001}〈\bar 110〉α′, and {557}〈\bar 110〉α′, components, with a {111}〈\bar 1\bar 12〉α′, component of lower intensity. The corresponding recrystallization textures produced by annealing in the austenite region vary according to prior heat treatment: solution-treated material exhibits a recrystallization texture consisting mainly of {557}〈\bar 110〉α′, and ~{510}〈\bar 150〉α′, components, whereas when precipitation of Ni3Mo takes place before the recrystallization anneal, the texture is more diffuse and contains, in addition to these components, a more even distribution of orientations which fie within a 〈111〉 fibre texture normal to the rolling plane. It is considered that the {557}〈\bar 110〉α′ + ~{510}〈\bar 150〉α′, recrystallization texture could be accounted for by a double shear transformation α′ → γ → α′, combined with texture sharpening during recrystallization in the austenite. It is necessary to invoke variant selectivity during the shear transformation in order to explain the absence of certain groups of orientations in the final α′ texture. The effect of Ni3Mo is attributed to restriction of grain boundary mobility in the austenite, so preventing sharpening of the texture at this stage by recrystallization.


The concept of a Killing–Maxwell system may be defined by the relation A[μ;v];ρ =(4π/3)j[μgν]. In such a system the one‐form Aμ is interpretable as the four‐potential of an electromagnetic field Fμv, whose source current j μ is an ordinary Killing vector. Such a system determines a canonically associated duality class of source‐free electromagnetic fields, its own dual being a Killing–Yano tensor, such as was found by Penrose [Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 224, 125 (1973)] (with Floyd) to underlie the generalized angular momentum conservation law in the Kerr black hole metrics, the existence of the Killing–Yano tensor being also a sufficient condition for that of the Killing–Maxwell system. In the Kerr pure vacuum metric and more generally in the Kerr–Newman metrics for which a member of the associated family of source‐free fields is coupled in gravitationally, it is shown that the gauge of the Killing–Maxwell one‐form may be chosen so that it is expressible (in the standard Boyer–Lindquist coordinates) by 1/...


This thesis is about Case marking in predicational NPs and APs in Russian, meaning NPs and APs that occur after copular be and copula-like verbs. In the course of this thesis I explore the nature of copular be itself. I argue that copular be in Russian is not ambiguous between a func-tional and lexical category as shown in earlier proposals. My assumption is that copular be is always a lexical verb with different selectional properties and never a functional head. Conse-quently, the different Case markings on predicational XPs as well as the asymmetry between NPs and APs, found in Russian, stem from these verbal selectional properties as well as Case assigning mechanism and the exact position of the predicational XP within the structure. Thus, there are two structures that I propose for copulative clauses and for clauses with copula-like verbs, one in which the lexical verb selects a PredP (Small Clause) as a complement, and one in which the lexical verb selects a NP as a complement. All the data presented in my thesis can be accounted for by these two structures.


A novel targeting cancer imaging platform based on aptamer-functionalized amphiphilic hyperbranched copolymer conjugates, which can self-assemble into nanoscopic micelles with a core-shell structure and a narrow size distribution, has been designed and synthesized. The size, morphology, fluorescence performance, and cytotoxicity of micelles were studied by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. The results indicate that these micelles have low cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells and can be easily internalized by MCF-7 cells. In addition, they also exhibit enhanced cell uptake, excellent fluorescence properties, and smart targeting capability in vitro, indicating great potential to be promising carriers for bioimaging and cancer specific delivery.


Sewage sludge contains high contents of essential elements. Due to such characteristics it may be used in agriculture to improve soil fertility. A field experiment was conducted to study the grain production and mineral composition, as well as the sludge dose for maximum agronomic efficiency, of corn plants grown on a soil amended with sewage sludge from "Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento (COMPESA), Pernambuco state, Brazil. Sewage sludge was applied at six rates: 0, 7.7, 15.4, 29.7, 45.1, and 60.5 t ha-1 on an Ultisol. The results showed that the sludge amendments significantly increased grain production, the application of 26 t ha-1 being required to reach maximum yield production of corn grains. Such sludge dose was effective for increasing Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations in the corn leaves to adequate nutritional levels. Despite the concentrations of N and Fe in leaves increased by sludge application, they were below the adequate level for plant nutrition. Phosphorus and potassium concentrations in leaves were unaffected by sewage sludge doses.


"FORESTRY ECONOMICS" founded in 1979. The background determined the journal's mission of advocating for forestry reform. Over 30 years,"FORESTRY ECONOMICS"always persists in exploring forestry development laws,tracking forestry reform hot,reflecting the trend of high-level decision-making,exchanging the purpose of magazine related theory and the outcome of the domestic and foreign and embodies the characteristics of theory of future-oriented,public opinion-oriented and practice guidance. The mission of "FORESTRY ECONOMICS" in the new era is to identify the right contacts with the community to better serve modern forestry construction and ecology civilization.


Previous antiplatelet therapy (APT) in cardiovascular prevention is common in patients with first‐ever stroke. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of APT on early outcome in stroke patients.


Let $G$ be a connected graph; denote by $\tau(G)$ the set of its spanning trees. Let $\mathbb F_q$ be a finite field, $s(\alpha,G)=\sum_{T\in\tau(G)} \prod_{e \in E(T)} \alpha_e$, where ${\alpha_e\in \mathbb F_q}$. Kontsevich conjectured in 1997 that the number of nonzero values of $s(\alpha, G)$ is a polynomial in $q$ for all graphs. This conjecture was disproved by Brosnan and Belkale. In this paper, using the standard technique of the Fourier transformation of Feynman amplitudes, we express the flow polynomial $F_G(q)$ in terms of the "correct" Kontsevich formula. Our formula represents $F_G(q)$ as a linear combination of Legendre symbols of $s(\alpha, H)$ with coefficients $\pm 1/q^{(|V(H)|-1)/2}$, where $H$ is a contracted graph of $G$ depending on $\alpha\in \left(\mathbb F^*_q\right)^{E(G)}$, and $|V(H)|$ is odd. The case $q=5$ corresponds to the least number with which all coefficients in the linear combination are positive. This allows us to hope that the obtained result can be applied to prove the Tutte 5-flow conjecture.


This study provides an analysis on how Blueocean Technologies manage its account receivable. The purpose of this study is to know the debt collection policies used by the company in managing its account receivables. This study is also to identify the effectiveness of the debt collection policy currently used by Blueocean Technologies. As a company that sells product on credit, account receivables are the main role for a good cash inflow so a good management on the account receivable will benefit the company cash flow. In order for the company to survive in the industry, they need to manage their account receivable effectively and collect their receivables efficiently. In this research, I will analyze every detail on the problem occur and would recommend few ways on how to improve the debt collection policy for Blueocean Technologies for better management of account receivables. I attached with the product sales flow chart, account receivable collection flow, and many more for the use of this research. The data and information needed been collected from the articles, journals, newspaper, internet and also from the interview with the Chief Executive Officer and Finance Manager of Blueocean Technologies.


Imidazoles and imidazole derivatives have been found to play significant roles in many biological systems, particularly in enzymes, as proton donors and/or acceptors, and as coordination system ligands. Because of these and several other known applications of these molecules, imidazole derivatization has been quickly developing and expanding in recent years. The purpose of this project has been to synthesize several of these derivatives by the addition of amine substituents. This is done by two main experimental procedures: reductive amination by palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation and imine formation. 2. Rebecca Berger, Karen Haman Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Interactions with Biological Model Membranes Advisor: Frank Bates Department or Program Sponsoring Summer Research: MRSEC Home Institution: Mount Holyoke College Abstract Cell membrane lipid layers, comprised of lipids, proteins, and cholesterol, are susceptible to the formation of stabilized pores, which compromise membrane integrity. This work focuses on the use of commercially available, amphiphilic block copolymers, specifically Pluronic F68, consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) blocks, to seal permeablized cell membranes. The underlying physical mechanism of membrane sealing is not yet understood, though it is known that block copolymer molecular weight and chemical composition are critical to polymer integration into the amphiphilic lipid bilayer. By using model cell membranes derived from rabbit skeletal muscle tissue, we hope to gain a physiologically relevant understanding of the interaction between the model membrane and Pluronic F68. We will use a Langmuir trough to investigate polymer interactions with lipid monolayers and to verify polymer insertion and persistence in the monolayered membrane model. We will simultaneously visualize the resultant membrane morphologies using fluorescence microscopy. Finally, we will determine the impact of subphase composition on the behavior of monolayered membrane models by investigating several subphase formulations. 3. Amanda Bowers Fiber Test Analysis and Test Consolidation among The Stringing Fiber Test, Visual Test, MSU Laser Test, and Camera Test performed on NOνA Far Detector Modules Advisor: Dr. Greg Pawloski Department or Program Sponsoring Summer Research: University of MinnesotaDepartment of Physics; National Science Foundation Home Institution: Linfield College Abstract In an effort to better understand the fiber-optic technology used to read out information regarding the masses energies and the mixing angles of neutrino flavors, various tests are performed at multiple stages of the module production process. These fiber tests are used to check for damaged fibers to prevent final production of a detector comprising bad channels that may yield faulty readings. It is currently unclear exactly where along the production process damage occurs and the direct cause of most damage is unknown. Analysis of the Stringing Fiber Test (SFT) suggests that high tensions below the threshold constituting restring are not a likely source of damaged fibers. However, the analysis also suggests that something systematic during stringing leads to inconsistencies between extrusions.


Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal reflects the state of the heart. Arrhythmia detection in the ECG record plays a critical role in the clinical diagnosis of heart diseases. With the development of artificial intelligence technology in recent years, machine learning algorithms represented by Support Vector Machine (SVM) have been used for the classification of ECG signal. Based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and SVM classification algorithm, this work implements a hardware system including ECG signal acquisition, feature extraction and the classification on the Xilinx ZYNQ SoC. Especially, a power efficient DWT acceleration module is proposed. The system classification accuracy is 98.7% and the classification time of each heartbeat is 280 $\mu$ s with on-chip power of 2.059 W, which meets the requirement of real-time system.


In this paper, we study the error rate performance of a direct sequence CDMA downlink similar to the CDMA2000 standard. While analytical computation of the error rate is possible in DS-CDMA systems under certain simplifying assumptions, computer simulations are perhaps the only means to quantify the error rate for realistic channel models. Since the delay spread of the multipath channel varies with distance, we investigate the error performance as a function of the distance from the base station. The computer simulations reveal certain interesting results which to our knowledge have not explicitly appeared in open literature. We compare the RAKE error rate performance under situations of no handoff, soft handoff, independent fading, correlated fading, chip-spaced sampling, sub-chip sampling, and pilot channel cancellation at the mobile receiver. These results indicate that narrow-band DS-CDMA downlink has certain severe shortcomings, and that it may be vital to ensure line of sight propagation for the "near" users, and exploit base-station (macro) diversity for the "far" users (in soft handoff) to ensure adequate error rate performance.


A method of optimizing a class of functionals is presented. This class of functionals includes performance indexes related to H~∞-sensitivity and robustness. The optimization is based on an R~(mxn)→R~(mxn) map which parametrizes all Fs that assign the poles of a system as a function of a free parameter in R~(mxn).


Objective To investigate the clinical diagnosis and treatment of back degeneration of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery. Methods 90 cases of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis cases in our hospital were setected and retrospectively analyzed the clinical data. Results The operative time was 1-4 h,intraoperative blood loss of 230-1350 mL,patients were followed up for 9-36 months,the X-ray examination showed no pedicle screw misplacement,breakage and pull out from happening,in some cases the signs and symptoms improved,of which only degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis was significantly higher than the complexity of the lumbar spinal canal stenosis,and complications was lower than the complexity of the lumbar spinal canal stenosis. Conclusion Myelography diagnosis of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis with high accuracy,in accordance with the principle of effective decompression and to limit the damage,with strict control of the surgical indications,surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis can get a good effect,and can effectively reduce the complications.


Mt Bartle Frere is Queensland's highest mountain, situated on the Bellenden Ker Range which stretches from a little north of Innisfail to a little south of Cairns. It rises very steeply from the narrow coastal plain and has several peaks over 1,400 metres altitude. It is covered with dense rainforest and gives rise to the Mulgrave and Russell Rivers as well as numerous fast-flowing creeks, with many waterfalls. This article describes briefly the physical geography of the Bellenden Ker Range. The expeditions to the Range between 1873 and 1904 are discussed and some new conclusions drawn.


Flight management systems are highly capable in nominal conditions but are unable to manage most emergency situations, particularly when the performance envelope is degraded due to damage or component failures. Emerging adaptive control and system identification technologies can maintain stable flight given reduced performance, but the pilot must assume the responsibility of guiding the disabled aircraft to a safe landing. With a highly restricted envelope, the family of feasible trajectories may be so unintuitive that a pilot may not be capable of identifying a safe landing flight plan given current high-level automation aids. This paper presents an adaptive flight planner to build landing trajectories for disabled aircraft. A case study is investigated in which a Generalized Transport Model aircraft must land following the loss of a significant fraction of its left wing. Trimmed (non-accelerating) flight conditions define the post-damage flight envelope. Nearby landing runways are prioritized and segmented trajectories to the top-priority sites are defined by trim state and transition sequences. An LQRbased PID controller enables the damaged GTM aircraft to correctly track trajectory commands over trimmed flight and transition segments. A suite of initial conditions are presented to evaluate flight planner performance.


Amplitude comparison angle measurement is a practical technology for its simple structure and low complexity. MIMO radar can view a broad angular sector and form multiple simultaneous joint-beams. It is very suitable to implement multi- beam amplitude comparison angle measurement in MIMO radar. As the accuracy of angle measurement depends directly on the half-power beamwidth of the antenna pattern, we make detailed analysis on the joint-beam properties for MIMO radar, and derive the mathematical expressions of the half-power beamwidth and peak sidelobe level. We also provide an effective method for allocating the multibeam directions in this paper.


Contemporary society demands innovation in the teaching of the Law. In that sense, the pedagogical methodology based on competences can be a useful instrument since it aims to train students for professional competence in a changing world, so that the link between university education and reality is the main objective of the learning process and is carried out taking into account that the evaluation process, programming and planning are related to each other and must occur in parallel. However, technique, theory and teaching methodology are not enough for a better world, if there is no democratic context and participation of educational actors.


In Ayurveda Sandhigata vata gets its entity in the chapter of vatavyadhi which obviously are co-related with osteoarthritis affecting mainly in the weight bearing joint. Which limits every activity such as walking, dressing, bathing etc. thus making patient disabled/handicapped. It being a vatavyadhi, located in Marmasthisandhi and its occurrence in old age makes it kashtasadhya. Vata dosha plays main role in the disease. Shula pradhana vedana is the cardinal feature of the disease. Osteoarthritis is wear and tear condition of the joints which causes bones to rub together, causing pain, swelling and loss of function of the joint. OA is the most common form of arthritis among the older people. Osteoarthritis is predominant in females as compared to the males. In radiographic survey it was observed that 2% of females who are less than 45 years old, 30% of 45 to 65 years are and 68% in older than 65 years are affected by this disease. It is a single case study. The aim of present study was to find out efficacy of Sameer pannadhi yoga in the management of sandhigata vata. A female patient was suffering from pain, stiffness tenderness and swelling etc. of both knee joints since 1 yr, patient was treated with oral administration of Sameerpannadhi yoga (Sameer pannag ras. Abraka bhasma, Pravala bhasma, Rasasinddor, yogaraja guggulu, pippali churna as a bioavailability agent) for 6 months, this sameera pannadhi yoga shown maximum results, patient got 75% relief from her symptoms.


The invention relates to a rectification device of catalyzed hydrolysis reaction of methyl acetate and a process method thereof, which comprises a reboiler, a catalysis rectifying tower, a condenser, a fixed bad reactor and pipe-lines. The catalysis rectifying tower consists of an upper segment, a middle segment and a lower segment. By making use of the process of combining the catalysis rectifying tower with the fixed bed reactor, the catalysis rectifying tower is divided into a mixing and preheating segment of methyl acetate and water, a catalysis rectifying segment and a methyl acetate stripping segment; after mixing and preheating in upper segment of tower, part of the methyl acetate, water and backflow liquid, is leaded out of the tower, and part thereof continuously flows to the rectifying segment of catalysis; the lead-out part is sent into the upper part of stripping segment after being sent to the fixed bed reactor for hydrolysis reaction; under the rectifying function in the lower segment and after the concentration of methyl acetate is increased, the obtained material is sent into the rectifying segment of the catalysis; the hydrolyzed material is taken out from the tower, and the content of methyl acetate in the material is extremely low; therefore, hydrolysis rate of methyl acetate is enhanced. The hydrolysis rate of methyl acetate of the invention can reach 60-99.9 percent; besides, the difficulty of catalyzer loading and regeneration is also solved.


A (CS, CS ') communication system hands-free mobile phone comprising a system (AU) audio and terminal (MT' mobile '), the latter to receive information via a telephone connection, a sender (RS, SD) radio to send this information via a selected frequency channel system (AU) audio system (AU) equipped audio receiver (TR) of radio transmission being and an amplifier (AMP) radio for an audio output of information received through said selected frequency channel, characterized in that the (CS, CS ') communication system hands free mobile phone further comprises determining means for continuously determining a frequency channel used not periodically performing frequency scanning runs, means (IS, RD) for communicating the information (4, 8) of the determined unused frequency within the sistem to (CS, CS ') and communication means for adjusting the transmitter (SD) and the radio receiver (TR) to said radio frequency channel determined.


In constructing a harmonious socialist society,we must strive to advocate national unity,create harmonious relation,assemble national wisdom and make joint effort.Intensifying unity between different nationalities as major component of national unity,we solve fundamental ideas and deal well with ethnic gap in national community and objective contradictions between ethnic groups.Besides,we must cope with the objective reality of gap formed as a result of interest restructure in social transition,handle properly the relation between ethnic-minority regions and rest of China,ethnic-minority communities and individuals and probe for feasible work method to take an overall plan into coordinated action,practice individualized policy for specific task,diversify and elasticize approach and schedule it timely and moderately.


The Pocarica Festival is an annual Catholic festival dedicated to St Sebastian and Our Lady of Lourdes. From the beginning of the 20 th century, a number of important changes took place in this Festival, as a consequence of the reforms adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, relating to the liturgy and events in Catholic life arising both from Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini (1903), as well as the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), which were adapted by the Portuguese Church to local conditions. This article analyses the changes that occurred, from the 1950s, in the religious and secular music performed during the Festival of Pocarica: 1) the Portuguese Church's adaptation of Tra le Sollecitudini with the local brass band playing in the liturgy of the Festival, something prohibited by Motu Proprio ; 2) the changes implemented after the Second Vatican Council II regarding liturgical music in the 1960s, and secular   music in the 1970s, which were only fully implemented in the Festival after 1974 – with the beginning of the democratic period – diluting the dichotomy between religious and secular music. Indeedy after 1974, pop and rock bands, prohibited by Motu Proprio and considered secular and dangerous music for a Catholic event, began to take part in the Pocarica Festival. The Festival as a whole is considered an officium cordis , a religious festival coming directly from the heart.


The Stoics argue for two apparently conflicting claims: (1) Virtue is sufficient for happiness, because it is the whole of happiness. Hence Plato and Aristotle are wrong. (2) Goods apart from virtue (as Plato and Aristotle conceive them)—health, wealth, good fortune—are preferred indifferents; they deserve rational concern even though they are not goods and contribute nothing to happiness. Hence the Cynics are wrong. The human soul has no non-rational desires; passions are not non-rational conditions, but are simply false beliefs that different sorts of preferred and non-preferred indifferents are really good and evil. Reason controls not only human life, but the providential ordering of the cosmos as a whole. This providential ordering does not undermine human freedom and responsibility. Contrary to Epicurus' views, predetermination of our actions still allows us to act freely and to be responsible for our actions.


The oxidation kinetics of silicon in inductively coupled oxygen plasma (ICP) was studied at temperatures ranging from 350 to 450 °C. The oxide growth kinetics was described by a linear-parabolic growth law, with a rapid initial growth and a negative linear-rate constant. Under oxygen pressure of 10 mTorr, the initial oxide growth at 350 °C (thickness below 25 nm) was faster than at 400 °C. An analysis of transverse-optical mode frequencies and etch rates indicated that the density of the surface oxide was lower than that of the bulk oxide. The oxidation kinetics was explained qualitatively by assuming that the ICP oxide consisted of a surface layer with a larger diffusion coefficient and a bulk layer with a smaller diffusion coefficient. On the other hand, the ICP oxidation of silicon with a thin chemical oxide showed a positive linear-rate constant and no surface layer effect, supporting the fact that the oxide grown by the ICP oxidation has a low-density surface layer with a larger diffusion coefficient.


This factorial experiment within a randomized complete block design with 4 replications was conducted to examine the effect of foliar application of Iron, zinc, and selenium on nutrient uptake and yield of alfalfa under rainfed conditions in Aligoudarz, Iran. The treatments of the experiment included the iron at 3 levels: the control (non-use of iron), iron sulfate at the concentration of 3/1000, and completely liquid iron 5%; zinc at 3 levels: the control (non-use of zinc), zinc sulfate at the concentration of 3/1000, and completely liquid zinc 5%; and selenium at 2 levels: the control (non-use of selenium) and sodium selenite at the concentration of 20 g/ha. The results of data variance analysis showed that the effect of foliar spray of iron, zinc, and selenium was significant on all properties at significance level of 1%. Maximum yield of alfalfa was 3506.2 kg/ha obtaining from the treatment with iron sulfate at a concentration of 3/1000 + zinc sulfate at a concentration of 3/1000 + 20 g of selenium per hectare, which showed an increase of 34% as that in the control treatment. Moreover, results showed that the foliar spray considerably increased the uptake of iron, zinc, and selenium in plants.


Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a widely performed and effective therapy for coronary artery disease. Evolution of the dilatation instruments during the last decade has led to an increased success rate of PTCA and to the development of newer techniques such as recanalization of totally occluded coronary arteries. We report a case of coronary artery recanalization complicated by fatal coronary artery rupture.


One of the major challenges in the field of Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) is the enhancement of crystallization. In the present work, the evaluation of the influence of N, N′-oxalyl bis(benzoic acid) dihydrazide (TBOD), as a novel organic nucleating agent, on the non-isothermal crystallization, melting behavior, and thermal stability of PLLA was performed using differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis. Non-isothermal crystallization measurement revealed that TBOD had an excellent accelerating effect for the crystallization of PLLA in cooling, and upon the addition of 3 wt% TBOD, PLLA exhibited the highest onset crystallization temperature and the crystallization peak temperature, as well as the largest non-isothermal crystallization enthalpy. In particular, when the TBOD concentration was 1 wt% ∼ 3 wt%, the onset crystallization temperatures were higher than the theoretical ceiling temperature of crystallization, thoroughly demonstrating the powerful crystallization promoting ability of TBOD. Additionally, the non-isothermal crystallization behavior of PLLA/TBOD depended on the TBOD concentration, cooling rate as well as the final melting temperature. The melting behavior of PLLA/TBOD after non-isothermal crystallization further confirmed the effect of TBOD on the crystallization process and crystal structure of PLLA, and the appearance of the double melting peaks during melting stages was attribute to the melting-recrystallization. For melting behavior after isothermal crystallization, the crystallization temperature and crystallization time significantly affected the melting behavior of PLLA/TBOD. The addition of TBOD could not change the thermal decomposition profile of the PLLA, but the thermal stability did not regularly decrease with increasing of TBOD concentration, indicating that there might exist intermolecular interaction between PLLA and TBOD.


This study aims to describe and analyze the plan, implementation and assessment in Modern Dayah. The study was a descriptive qualitative research. Data bothered expected through observations, interviews, and documentary study. The results showed that the learning plan was prepared by the top management and operational level (teachers). Learning implementation has been applied with the sequence of output, process and input of learning management that not be separated from the procedure and control. Input of learning process included teachers, students, labours, regulations, contexts, methods, infrastructures, and collaborated curriculum's (national, madrasa, and salafi curriculum). Process means the interaction of teachers and students during learning activities. The output included the goals of national education, modern dayah's and learning goals. the assessment of learning conducted through planning (deciding the purposes, design, and development of the assessments, the implementation of the assessment, the processes of the assessment (collecting, analysing, interpreting, and scoring), reporting and utilization of assessment results.


This study aims to identify the presence of factors which support the ICT integration in teaching and learning. The eight factors studied were based on Ely's framework namely dissatisfaction with the status quo, (ii) knowledge and skills, (iii) resources, (iv) rewards or incentives, (v) time, (vi) participation, (vii) commitment, and (viii) leadership. This study was quantitative descriptive in nature and utilized questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The reliability of the research instrument was more than .68. The research respondents were 317 teachers from a state in Malaysia. Analysis found that seven out of the eight factors were present and supported ICT integration namely: knowledge and skills, leadership, commitment, dissatisfaction with the status quo, participation, time, and rewards and incentives. Resources were identified as the factor that was not supportive for the integration of ICT.


The invention discloses a filtering device for water treatment equipment. A filter is arranged between a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe; the filter comprises two filtering pipelines arranged in parallel; the filtering pipeline is provided with a filter element; a four-station four-way valve is connected in the front of the filter element; two four-station four-way valves are connected with the water inlet pipe; a port A of the four-station four-way valve corresponds to the water inlet pipe; a port B and a port C are adjacent to the port A; a port D is opposite to the port A; the port B and port C are connected with the filter element; the ports D of two four-station four-way valves are connected with a sewage discharge port; and the four-station four-way valve only can realize communication of adjacent two valve ports. The filtering device can normally filter water forwardly and also can clean the filter backwardly, and the filtering element can be cleaned without dismantling. When two ball valves rotate synchronously to change positions, the left and right filters are cleaned alternatively, and the filter is automatically cleaned; and the filtering device is convenient and quick and suitable for the filtering of water treatment equipment.


The catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to an achiral allyl alcohol was achieved by the use of a catalytic amount of diisopropyl (R,R)-tartrate as a chiral auxiliary to afford the corresponding (R)-2-isoxazolines with high enantioselectivity. In order to realize reproducible higher stereoselection, the addition of a small amount of ethereal compound such as 1,4-dioxane was crucial.


This article intends to analyze the character Jeanne Duval from the short story "Black Venus" by the English author Angela Carter – found in the author's book of short stories called Black Venus (1985). To do such analysis, the concept of the goddesses' archetypes is used; especially Aphrodite's, explaining what it means to personify this archetype and in which ways the character here studied personifies it. The goal, then, is to show how Jeanne Duval may be analyzed through Aphrodite's archetype, highlighting the fact that she manages to use her characteristic of Aphrodite-Woman to emancipate herself and resist patriarchal society in her own way. Furthermore, this article uses as its theoretical framework As deusas e a mulher: uma nova psicologia das mulheres (1990) by Bolen and Mulher e Deusa: A construcao do feminino em Fireworks de Angela Carter (2011) by Rapucci, among others.


This work investigated the application of the semi-supervised learning algorithm to analysis of the unlabeled gait data for evaluating the elderly gait. The novel gait classification algorithm that the self-training semi-supervised support vector machine( SVM) based on wavelet entropy for the discrimination between the young and elderly gait pattern was addressed. In the self-training,wavelet entropy was employed to obtain labeled samples from unlabeled dataset. The most valuable information related to the gait change was acquired for current gait classifier model,which obviously improved the gait classification performance of SVM. The labeled gait sample datasets including 10 young and 10 elderly participants were used to develop SVM that was employed to classify the unlabelled gait dataset from 120 subjects of different age groups. The new labeled gait data,obtained by our defined wavelet entropy,were selected and constructed the new sample train dataset for developing self-training SVM. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of our proposed algorithm is90% in recognization of the young and elderly gait pattern. Furthermore,the accuracy of our proposed algorithm was increased approximately 5% compared with that of the classification algorithm by the supervised support vector machine,suggesting that our proposed technique can obtain more information related to gait change from the labeled and unlabeled gait dataset,and provides a new tool for assessment of elder gait.


Whole-genome sequencing projects have drastically changed the landscape of biological research. The lexicon of contemporary biology contains a plethora of new terms, including: genomics, research pertaining to the genome; proteomics, description of the protein complement of an organism; and bioinformatics, the collection and interpretation of biological information (primarily nucleic acid and amino acid sequence data) (Bouchez and Höfte, 1998). However, obtaining sequence information is not an end unto itself. It is essential that the products of these genes be identified and their function and physiological significance discovered (Bork et al., 1998; Saier, 1998). In complex eukaryotes such as flowering plants, as many as 5 3 10 genes can be selectively expressed in individual cells. It is the products of these genes, the proteins, that determine the fate and function of the cells. Protein function is determined by how the protein folds to form a specific three-dimensional structure. The way that a protein folds is determined by the free energy of the constituent amino acid residues (Levitt et al., 1997). As much as 50% of the primary amino acid sequence is necessary just to define the three-dimensional structure of a typical protein (Dobson et al., 1998).


We have investigated a child who presented with pre-B ALL and an acquired t(1;9)(p34;q34). BCR-ABL was not detected by RT-PCR or FISH analysis, however FISH did indicate that the ABL gene at 9q34 was disrupted. To identify the putative partner locus in this case, a modified 5′RACE strategy was employed that selected against normal ABL transcripts. Several clones were recovered in which ABL was fused to SFPQ (also known as PSF), a gene mapping to 1p34 that encodes a polypyrimidine tract-binding protein-associated splicing previously identified as a fusion partner of the helix-loop-helix transcription factor TFE3 in papillary renal cell carcinomas. Both SFPQ-ABL and reciprocal ABL-SFPQ transcripts were detectable by RT-PCR, and disruption of these two genes was further confirmed by amplification and sequencing of the forward genomic breakpoint. SFPQ-ABL, the likely oncogenic product, is predicted to encode a protein that retains the coiled coil domain of SFPQ and the entire tyrosine kinase domain and C-terminal sequences of ABL. The breakpoint in ABL was downstream of that seen for other ABL fusion genes and the chimeric protein is predicted to lack the ABL-encoded SH3 domain and part of the SH2 domain. The patient was treated according to the Children's Cancer Group Protocol 1961 and subsequently received augmented BFM therapy with doxorubicin and double delayed intensification. He achieved complete remission but suffered extramedullary testicular relapse at 4.5 years. Following orchiectomy and intensive chemotherapy he remains in complete remission more than 6 years after diagnosis. We conclude that SFPQ-ABL is a novel fusion gene associated with ALL. Although the patient here responded to conventional chemotherapy, SFPQ-ABL is likely to be sensitive to imatinib and use of this agent might be considered in further cases.


The effects of sodium dichloroisocyanurate(DICA) as antiseptic on the preservation of cut gerberas were investigated.The results showed that 77.0 mg/L DICA treatment extended the vase life by 6.6 d and had significant effects on vase life evaluation and water relations of cut gerbera flowers(P0.05).Observation of antibacterial test indicated that DICA treatment inhibited the growth of bacteria in vase solution of cut gerberas.


Different solvents were added in freeze-dried apple for thinning out the fruit powder, and metal salt were used to deposit apple polyphenol to change the content of polyphenol in high content leach liquor. DPPH·(1,1-Diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl)and ABTS·+(2,2-azino-bis-[3-ethyltiazoline-6-sulfonate) were used also to investigate the antioxidant ability of apple polyphenol. The results showed that the magnesium salt can decrease more total polyphenol,but aluminium salt is better for the deposition of flavanol. Scavenging rate of DPPH· is related to the contents of total polyohenol, however the contents of total flavanol(include catechin and polyprocyanidin)affect obviously the scavenging rate of ABTS·+. When the total polyohenol content is low, the aluminium and magnesium salts can promote free radical scavenging.


The deep-buried steel cylinder structure has the characteristics of both gravity structure and pile foundation structures. Based on the offshore artificial island of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), the stability and deformation response of the deep-buried steel cylinder cofferdam was studied throughout the construction process. Stability calculation of the steel cylinder on deep soft foundation was carried out based on the theoretical formula recommended in the technical standards, and the measured values in situ were summarised. The results show that the steel cylinder displacement in 3D simulation model is consistent with the measured data, which is larger than that using theoretical formula. The stability safety derived from the theoretical formula is consistent with the 3D simulation results and measured data. The instability judgment of the buried steel cylinder and the selection criteria of the bottom bearing layer are also given in the paper.


This study aimed to verify the accuracy of the DIERS Formetric Scan when assessing vertebral rotation of the apical vertebrae in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (A.I.S) patients, to determine whether the DIERS Formetric Scans can be used instead of or alongside radiographs when assessing A.I.S patients. Both the radiographs and the DIERS Formetric Scans of 60 Preoperative A.I.S patients. All patients included in our study had predominant thoracic curves using the Lenke classification method, Cobb angle range 33° – 85°. Each radiograph was categorised into groups according to the severity of Nash-Moe rotation score of the apical vertebrae. Three groups were formed Nash-Moe +1 (20 patients), Nash-Moe +2 (27 patients), Nash-Moe +3 (13 patients). Each result was then compared to the maximal rotation analysed by the DIERS Formetric Scan, which took place on the same day as the radiographs. The results were then assessed using a Pearson Correlation Coefficient and a One-Way ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD Analysis. The Nash-Moe +1 Group scored a mean maximal rotation of 14.65° ±6.56 (11.82 – 17.48) (95% Confidence Interval), Nash-Moe +2 mean maximal rotation was 19.6° ±7.1 (16.92 – 22.28) and Nash-Moe +3 scored 21.53° ±8.9 (16.99 – 26.37). The Pearson Correlation Coefficient of this assessment was +0.342 (p value 0.07) demonstrating a weak positive correlation. The One-Way ANOVA analysis with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD analysis. The results of this analysis was an F value score of +4.115 (p Value 0.021) for the overall One-Way ANOVA test. The Post-Hoc Tukey HSD tests demonstrate that there is a statistical difference between Group 1 and Group 3 (p value 0.030) but there is no statistical difference between Group 1 and Group 2 (p value 0.068) as well as no statistical difference between Group 2 and Group 3 (p value 0.716). DIERS Formetric Scan assessment of vertebral rotation shows a positive correlation with the Nash-Moe method. This allows us to rely on the Formetric scans and thus a possible reduction in radiographs when assessing A.I.S, this reduces the exposure to ionising radiation in A.I.S patients.


The effects of GDG on clotlysis induced and its possible mechanism were investigated with GDG as a promoting fibrinolytic compounds injected in the tail vein of rats and pulmonary thrombotic model on rats established by marking fibrin with FITC. Fluorescence in various groups was assayed. It was found firstly that GDG has the effect of promoting fibrinolysis. It was speculated that GDG could enhance intrinsic activity of prourokinase as a plasminogen activator for FITC-labeling pulmonary thrombotic rats.


This paper investigated the extent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) usage by livestock keepers and limitations encountered. The study was conducted with the objective of coming up with findings that will contribute towards strengthening ICT usage for the development of livestock keeping. In order to meet this objective the researcher used a mixed method approach where by qualitative and quantitative methods were both used. The results of this study, showed mobile phone technology as the most popular ICT used by 89% of the respondents. Also 73 % of the respondents indicated that they have access to the local radio channel, television accounted for 59%. Other types of ICTs that were pointed out by few respondents are Facebook, Email, the Internet and YouTube. Livestock keepers have identified a number of limitations in using ICTs that need to be addressed that include high cost of communication, poor mobile communication signal, unawareness of television and radio program schedule, and lack of electricity in rural areas.
In conclusion, this study has identified ICTs such as radio, mobile phones, and television as types of ICT that are used most frequently by livestock keepers, though they are not used at satisfactory level for livestock production. Therefore, the researcher proposed that information systems aimed at delivering information to livestock keepers should be more mobile driven than being computer based. A major approach that could be adopted to address the challenges of radio and television usage is to come up with livestock programs that combine mobile technology with radio and television programs. Participants and listeners to radio or television programs could use mobile technologies to send in their questions either by calls or short messages.


The present invention relates to a method of controlling the rights of charging process of a vehicle operated by electricity. In the present invention, and the main terminal, the control unit is provided between the number of charging outlet which is connected to the control unit via the current lines. Vehicle to be charged is connected to one of the charging outlet, the total charging current is guided to the charging outlet via the control unit from the main terminal is detected. Charging current request to the control unit are transmitted from each vehicle that is connected to the charging outlet, the total charge current, and the total charging current of the vehicle is connected to the charging outlet are compared. When the total charging current exceeds the total, the charging outlet is turned off. Step of connecting a vehicle to be charged includes the step of transmitting the right information from the vehicle to the control unit. By the control unit, the rights information is compared to a list of vehicles with the right vehicle rights is examined. Transmission of the charging current demand and rights information is carried out by a modulation of the alternating current signal on the current line, alternating current signal represents the right request or charging current request. The present invention further relates to a control unit for executing the present invention.


McNaught and colleagues 1 reported recently that systemic administration of proteasome inhibitors PSI (Z‐Ileu‐Glu(OtBu)‐Ala‐Leu‐CHO) or epoxomicin recapitulated many of the degenerative changes seen in Parkinson's disease including loss of striatal dopamine and cell loss in the substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, dorsal motor nucleus of the X cranial nerve, and nucleus basalis of Meynert. Intracytoplasmic inclusions resembling Lewy bodies were also described. All experiments administering PSI to rats using identical procedures and multiple attempts failed to induce any of the previously described changes. Furthermore, administration of PSI or epoxomicin to monkeys in an attempt to extend the model to a primate species failed. Currently, systemic proteasome inhibition is not a reliable model for Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol 2006;60:264–268


BACKGROUND
Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have a higher prevalence and severity of periodontal disease, which cannot be explained by poor oral hygiene alone and is related to changes in the immune response. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether DS was associated with differential modulation of expression of genes associated with proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses in periodontal disease.

METHODS
A total of 51 individuals were evaluated: 19 individuals with DS and periodontal disease (group 1), 20 euploid individuals with periodontal disease (group 2; positive control), and 12 euploid individuals without periodontal disease (group 3; negative control). Clinical periodontal evaluation and gingival biopsies were performed. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to determine expression levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), the receptors IL-10RA and IL-10RB, intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), and the signaling intermediates Janus kinase 1, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3), and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS-3).

RESULTS
Expression of IL10, SOCS3, IP10, and ICAM1 mRNA in DS patients was significantly lower compared to euploid individuals with periodontal disease, whereas IL-10RB and STAT-3 mRNA levels were higher in individuals with DS.

CONCLUSION
Reduced expression of IL-10 coupled with a possible increase of STAT3 activation (increase of STAT3 and reduction of SOCS3 mRNA) indicates an important modulation of the immune response, with attenuation of anti-inflammatory and increase of proinflammatory mediators. This modulation may be related to the increased prevalence and severity of periodontitis in individuals with DS.


Background. Investigation of aquatic organisms of different water bodies is important for understanding biodiversity in an area as well as for estimating the ecological situation in an ecosystem. The aim of the study is to describe the zooplankton and the zoobentos communities of the Arkhangelsky Pond (Kamenka district, Penza Region). Materials and methods. To study structural parameters of the zooplankton and zoobenthos the authors used methods generally accepted in hydrobiology. Results. The species composition of hydrobionts in the Arkhangelsky Pond was studied. The article discusses the features of the communities of hydrobionts (zooplankton and zoobenthos) and their tracer role. Conclusions. By structural parameters and various indexes the water in the pond has been estimated as «moderately polluted» and «dirty».


Objective To study the expression of Bcl-2 family members in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cells.Methods Apoptosis was measured with flow cytometry using propidium iodide staining.Western blotting was used to detect the target gene expression at protein levels.Results Paclitaxel induced apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner.It appeared that SGC-7901 cells were more sensitive than BGC-823 cells to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis.Up-regulated Bim expression and down-regulated Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cells.Conclusion Bcl-2 family members play an important regulatory role in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cells.


Niko Kuret's interpretation that the Brkini word skoromat originaly denoted the masker of the night-guard, and only secondarily on the account of the semantic model pars pro toto the plural form skoromati became a denotation for the whole group of different Brkini maskers, in which the image of the night-guard could be identified in the masker, named skopit, is to be corrected. The A. shows that the image of the night-guard is not related in any way to the word skoromat(i). The Romance word (in habitu) Scaramatte was probably a general expression for the masker with or without the mask and also for the mask itself and the medieval Latin passus in habitu Scaramatte aut Sibilie, aut alterius insueti habitus unde non appareat in facie manifeste could be translated as in the costume of Scaramatte, i. e. or Sibilia or in another unusual costume, in which the face does not appear clearly. The Romance word was also attested in the speech of Triest as scaramata the masker, dressed in tatter, and with colander on the head and is probably a metathetical variant of the Romance word *mascaratta, the derivation from the well known word mascara masker. The Slovene dialectal word skoromat was originaly (as it is nowadays) the general expression denoting a masker (with or without the mask) and only therefore the plural form skoromati could have meant a group of different special maskers from the area of Brkini.


This paper presents a modified estimator for improving the performance of indirect field oriented control of sensorless induction motor drive. The proposed method estimates the stator resistance of the machine along with speed which is based on knowledge of stator currents and voltages. The proposed scheme takes care of the rotor flux model reference adaptive system (MRAS) based speed estimator which is dependent on the machine stator resistance variation. Stator resistance information is required to improve the accuracy of speed sensorless control of the induction motor especially in low speed region. The paper proposes the stator resistance and rotor speed estimation operation based on rotor flux based MRAS in a systematic manner. The correct speed estimation of the drive operation can be achieved especially at low speed. The proposed parallel speed with stator resistance estimator is verified by MATLAB/SIMULINK software package.


The training and education of medical specialists has traditionally been regarded by the medical profession as a matter for their concern only. Training has been done by the profession through its medical colleges, while professionally dominated medical boards oversee registration of doctors to enable them to practice. (author abstract)


The prevalence of partially edentulous adults that could be treated by removable partial dentures (RPDs) is estimated to be greater than 20% in some regions of the United States. Problems related to traditional materials for RPD construction have been documented. Advances in polymer-based materials and digital fabrication strategies would allow increased biocompatibility, durability, and elasticity, as well as more esthetically pleasing and cost-effective benefits. This article reports on poly(etheretherketone) RPD framework produced by digital and milling technology.


Summary:  Purpose: The influence of hemodialysis on plasma zonisamide (ZNS) concentration has not been clarified. In this study, the dialyzability of ZNS during hemodialysis was investigated in four ZNS‐treated women with systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by seizures.


We describe a study of a multidimensional indexing scheme to solve the nearest neighbor problem based on mapping the high di mensional space onto one dimension The idea can be seen as linearizing the data points in the multidimensional space along a curve We propose using a genetic algorithm to nd a good one dimensional mapping for a given data set Second we look at using two non correlated curves for indexing and examine the accuracy and e ciency trade o using the proposed scheme as opposed to nearest neighbor search by scanning the space linearly Experiments are conducted on a face image recognition application


We prove that a valued field of positive characteristic [Formula: see text] that has only finitely many distinct Artin–Schreier extensions (which is a property of infinite NTP2 fields) is dense in its perfect hull. As a consequence, it is a deeply ramified field and has [Formula: see text]-divisible value group and perfect residue field. Further, we prove a partial analogue for valued fields of mixed characteristic and observe an open problem about 1-units in this setting. Finally, we fill a gap that occurred in a proof in an earlier paper in which we first introduced a classification of Artin–Schreier defect extensions.


POP display, a newly-formed important professional course in modern arts, is still to be improved. In this paper a brief analysis is made of its definition, functions, characters, design concept, etc.


This article aims to demonstrate the influence of project management on fundraising in municipalities resorts. These funds are of significant importance since they provide more investment in tourism infrastructure that boosts the activity in the municipality, and thereby moves the economy and enables the generation of jobs. Thus, it was made a literature review on the subject researched and information was collected at the municipal government about investments made with funds received by DADE (Department for Development Support of Resorts) in the years 2014 and 2015. Facing the results, it was prepared a comparative report with information referring to the years 2004 and 2005. The results show significant loss of fundraising given the limited number of approved projects and it is possible to infer that there is a need for human resources training in the city studied.


Epidemiological studies support an association between elevated levels of sulfates and acute respiratory disease. To determine if these pollutants produce airway hyperreactivity, 16 normal and 17 asthmatic subjects inhaled a control NaCl aerosol and the following sulfates: ammonium sulfate, sodium bisulfate, ammonium bisulfate, and sulfuric acid. A Lovelace generator produced particles with an average MMAD of approx. 1.0 ..mu..m (sigma/sub g/ approx. = 2.0) and concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0 mg/m/sup 3/. By double-blind randomization, all subjects breathed these aerosols for a 16-minute period. To determine if sulfate inhalation caused increased reactivity to a known bronchoconstrictor, all subjects inhaled carbachol following each 16-minute exposure. Before, during, and after exposure, pulmonary function studies were performed. When compared to NaCl, sulfate (1 mg/m/sup 3/) produced significant reductions in airway conductance and flow rates in asthmatics. The two most sensitive asthmatics demonstrated changes even at 0.1 mg/m/sup 3/ sulfate. To a far more significant degree, the bronchoconstrictor action of carbachol was potentiated by sulfates more or less in relation to their acidity in normals and asthmatics.


This paper compares two asymptotic distribution free methods for goodness-of-fit test of one sample of location-scale family: Khmaladze transformation and empirical likelihood methods. The comparison is made from the perspective of empirical level and power obtained from simulations. When testing for normal and logistic null distributions, we try various alternative distributions and find that Khmaladze transformation method has better power in most cases. R-package which was used for the simulation is available online. See section 5 for the detail.


This study explores a gap in the empirical knowledge with regard to the personal qualities/characteristics expected by the organisations for key HRM jobs in the field of HRM in Sri Lanka. The research questions of this exploratory study were: What are the personal qualities/characteristics needed or expected by the organizations which are operating in Sri Lanka for key HRM jobs? And is it possible to develop a sort of illustration to understand personal qualities/characteristics expected for key HRM jobs in Sri Lanka? In order to answer the research questions systematically, an exploratory study was conducted by using eight key HRM job related employment advertisements appeared in the Sunday Observer newspaper for the period of 5 years (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010). Time horizon of the study was longitudinal and HRM related job advertisement was the unit of analysis of the study. Comprehensive and systematic content analysis along with descriptive statistics was applied to generate results and findings. The results of the study revealed that the personal qualities/characteristics are one of the very important requirements in selecting people for key HRM jobs in Sri Lanka. At the same time it differs from key job to another key job. When considering the personal qualities for the selected key HRM jobs, the findings revealed that there are 39 personal qualities related to the post of HR Director, 29 personal qualities related to the Group HR Manager, 41 personal qualities related to Head of HRM, 98 personal qualities related to the HR Manager, 81 personal qualities related to the HR Executive, 50 personal qualities related to the HR Officer, 32 personal qualities related to the Training Manager, and 15 personal qualities related to the post of Recruitment Manager. With regard to the personal qualities eleven (11) key dimensions of personal qualities were identified in addition to the number of personal qualities including attitude related, personality related, good character related, team related, professional related, business related, people related, performance related, physical appearance related, leadership traits related and HR/HRM related aspects. The implications of these findings are useful to all stakeholders and professionals of HRM especially in developing good professionalism among current HR professionals in Sri Lanka and prospective personnel who wish to establish a career in HRM. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljhrm.v3i1.5096 Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.3(1) 2012 pp.32-48


The electrochemical treatment of ammonia using born-doped diamond (BDD) as advanced treatment of coking wastewater was investigated. The effects of chloride ion concentration and current density on current efficiency and energy consumption were also analyzed. The results show that the current efficiency increases with chloride ion concentration increase and current density decrease. And 30% of current efficiency is obtained when current density is less than 19.7mA cm-2, and it decreases above 19.7mA cm-2. The energy consumption decreases with the chloride ion concentration increase and current density decrease. And energy consumption of 0.50kWh g-1 and ammonia removal rate of 84.7% can be achieved at initial ammonia concentration of 100mg L-1, chloride concentration of 900mg L-1 and current density of 29.6mA cm-2.Therefore, BDD electrodes have high current efficiency and low energy consumption, which attributed to its high oxygen evolution overvoltage (2.6V vs. SCE) and low chloride evolution overvoltage (1.5V vs. SCE).


Primary dysmenorrhoea is the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps in the absence of pelvic pathology. This review discusses alternative approaches to the management of this debilitating condition.


We reported a case of Stafne's defect in a 4th century mandible, restored from Zmajevac, Croatia antique site. CT scan was used to analyze and describe the entity. This is a case rarely presented in anthropological research.


To date, there has been little research into the mundane social practices of sport which underpin competitive sporting events. This paper seeks to address this lacuna and expand the literature via an examination of one specific activity: distance running training. Using data from a two year collaborative autoethnography, the paper portrays the mundane ritual practices of preparing for, doing, and departing from distance running training.


The convolutional layers of the standard convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are equivariant to translation. Recently, a new class of CNNs is introduced which is equivariant to other affine geometric transformations such as rotation and reflection by replacing the standard convolutional layer with the group convolutional layer or using the steerable filters in the convloutional layer. We propose to embed the 2D positional encoding which is invariant to rotation, reflection and translation using orthogonal polar harmonic transforms (PHTs) before flattening the feature maps for fully-connected or classification layer in the equivariant CNN architecture. We select the PHTs among several invariant transforms, as they are very efficient in performance and speed. The proposed 2D positional encoding scheme between the convolutional and fully-connected layers of the equivariant networks is shown to provide significant improvement in performance on the rotated MNIST, CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 datasets.


Due to the pandemic situation, the online form of education has become widespread in all its spheres. The education of seniors, which is provided, among others, at universities of the third age, has been no exception. Prior to the global pandemic, universities of the third age mainly provided full-time education. However, the new situation has brought new challenges. Third Age Universities have either decided to provide online education or have temporarily ceased their activities. In this paper, we focus on online education during the pandemic at a particular third age university. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey, we present the experiences of seniors with online learning, specifically, identifying the advantages of online education for seniors and the disadvantages of this form of education for this target group. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative research survey was conducted among seniors who participated in online learning at the University of the Third Age in question.