Atrial fibrillation (PV) remains the most common arrhythmia that is encountered in clinical practice. Patients with this arrhythmia have a significantly higher rate of stroke, which is why they are usually prescribed vitamin K antagonists (warfarin) or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). To date, patients with severe conditions who have copathologies or a history of bleeding, being unable to take warfarin resulting in reduced doses of DOACs, it has become increasingly difficult to balance the therapeutic benefit with the lowest risk of new complications for the patient. The alternative for these patients is left atrial appendage (LAA) closure, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a stroke prevention alternative to warfarin, for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Since recently there was no clinical indication for LAA closure of patient, complications and delayed outcome after closure implantation were not clearly defined and evaluated. After a series of clinical trials (PREVAIL, PROTECTAF) particularly LAA closure as therapy is introduced as a safe general clinical practice. Clinical results showed that the procedure with Watchman occluder device provides stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation comparable to warfarin, with additional reductions in major bleeding, particularly hemorrhagic stroke, and mortality. Moreover, the LAA closure group results have shown reduced risk of stroke, decreased bleeding and risk of death. Considering the worldwide practice first successful procedure in the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kauno klinikos was performed. Conclusion. Based on global postFDA approval clinical experience of LAA closure, procedural success was high and complication rates were low.


One class of applications for human activity recognition methods is found in mobile devices for monitoring older adults and people with special needs. Recently, many studies were performed to create intelligent methods for the recognition of human activities. However, the different mobile devices in the market acquire the data from sensors at different frequencies. This paper focuses on implementing four data normalization techniques, i.e., MaxAbsScaler, MinMaxScaler, RobustScaler, and Z-Score. Subsequently, we evaluate the impact of the normalization algorithms with deep neural networks (DNN) for the classification of the human activities. The impact of the data normalization was counterintuitive, resulting in a degradation of performance. Namely, when using the accelerometer data, the accuracy dropped from about 79% to only 53% for the best normalization approach. Similarly, for the gyroscope data, the accuracy without normalization was about 81.5%, whereas with the best normalization, it was only 60%. It can be concluded that data normalization techniques are not helpful in classification problems with homogeneous data.


The preservation of the teaching of the apostles was a top priority in Paul's mind toward the end of his earthly life. He wrote 1/2Tim and Ti to prepare his successors for the crucial confrontation between the apostolic doctrine and false teachings. One element of the Apostle's pedagogy was the collection of ethical lists or vice catalogues. How do they fit Into the larger context of Paul's discourse regarding the integrity of the deposit of faith in the Church? Is there any literary and/or doctrinal climactic progression from 1 Tim 1:9-10 to 1 Tim 6:4-5 to 2Tim 3:2-4 and to Ti 3:3? Or is there any advancement perceivable from personal and internal sins of disposition towards external vices of eventual social Impact? Paul seems to offer a fairly complete portrayal of false teachers and their flawed tenets. The purpose of the dualistic pattern revealed by the negative tone of the catalogues might be to encourage reader to seek for their directly opposite virtues.


The author in the article demonstrates the results of keratotomy because of astigmatism to decide actual problem of induced corneal astigmatism correction after cataract extraction with IOL implantation. Positive results were in all cases, observations confirmed the stability of the effect. Dosage keratotomy can be recommended among the methods of astigmatism correction because of its simplicity for a surgeon and accessibility for a patient.


I read with interest the recently published systematic review by Martin and colleagues, investigating the therapeutic benefits of physiotherapy for cerebellar dysfunction. The writers are surely to be commended – this is a difficult sector of clinical practice, additionally hindered by a relative dearth of attempts to evaluate and identify 'what works best'. However, while this writer commends the compilers of this review, there appear to be some potential omissions from the studies which were identified. In particular I would like to highlight the following published reports, suggesting that these might also have been included in the published review: Dordel provided a case report of two subjects who had sustained severe traumatic brain injuries, one of whom had problems 'characterized by severe ataxia and by athetoid dysfunction mainly of the arms' (p. 280). Therapy consisted of exercises and motor training, but with a particular focus also on involvement in physical exercises and sports, including swimming and dancing. Outcome measures included photographic motion analysis to detect changes in quality and timing of movement; these showed quantifiable improvements following therapy. Sliwa et al. provided a case study of a woman with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration which resulted in progressive ataxia and disequilibrium. This brief report described the functional improvements seen in activities such as bed transfers, sitto-stand ability, walking and various activities of daily living following a period of 'comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation'. Guercio et al. provide a case study of the effects of relaxation and biofeedback training for a man with 'ataxic tremor' as a result of a previous brain injury. Quantified improvements in relaxation and muscle activation were demonstrated, while improvements in motor function were also described. Clopton investigated the effects of 'the addition of 10% of body weight to the axial skeleton at the waist or at the shoulders' (p. 16) in five subjects with cerebellar ataxia. All subjects had ataxic gait patterns and the study aimed to evaluate effects of the weighting therapy on various spatial and temporal aspects of walking, all evaluated as subjects walked along an automated walkway. Results were equivocal across the group and the researchers were unable to find support for this traditional therapeutic intervention. Vinci provided a case report of a man with severe cerebellar atrophy as a component of Charcot– Marie–Tooth disease. This resulted in major problems with mobility, in part because of severe ataxic unsteadiness. Management of his physical problems was by way of physiotherapy and orthotic provision, consisting essentially of mobility training combined with bespoke footwear. This led to quantified improvements in function. Stoykov et al. described the case of a woman with motor control problems following a stroke which in part affected the cerebellum. Sitting balance and trunk exercises were delivered, aiming to enhance core stability and hence facilitate improved upper limb control. Improvements were demonstrated following treatment when evaluated using two validated assessments of function (Fugl-Meyer and Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients). One issue inherent in offering such a critique of a systematic review, perhaps particularly evident in this instance, is the difficulty of knowing whether these additional studies would actually have satisfied the original authors' inclusion criteria. For example, some of these additional studies might fall without the authors' selection criteria with respect to their lack of ability to relate to 'cerebellar dysfunction'. Martin et al. state that 'eligible studies were those of adult patients . . . with cerebellar dysfunction/diseases. . . Studies were also included if they contained a distinct subgroup fulfilling the above criteria'


In order to more efficiently resolve nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws problems such as the fronts, fine meshes over a small portion of the physical domain are often required. However this local refinement reduces the allowable time step which is very small determined by a global CFL time step for the explicit time discretizations typically employed. In this paper, They develop an efficient adaptive mesh redistribution(AMR)with local time stepping algorithm for one dimension nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws problems. This method is restricted by a local CFL condition rather than the traditional global CFL condition.Serval test problems are computed by using the proposed algorithm.Compared with non-local time stepping, We can increase the efficiency of the time stepping significantly in certain situations. Numerical evidence demonstrates the accuracy of the methods.


This paper reviews the morphology, traditional uses, chemical constituents, and pharmacological activities (including analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiplatelet, antitussive, antiviral, gastroprotective, insecticidal and spermicidal) of Trachyspermum ammi


The classical problem of acid strength of the hydrogen halides in aqueous solution is revisited by means of the RISM-SCF/MCSCF theory, an ab initio electronic structure theory combined with the sta...


Iron is an essential micronutrient for growth and development of living organisms. Ferritin is a widely distributed globular protein, designed to accommodate large amounts of iron in a safe, soluble and bioavailable form. It acts as a buffer against iron deficiency and iron overload by iron stores and releases. It is vital for life because it is the primary iron storage protein, and protecting the organism from damage of reactive oxygen species. At the same time, ferritin level in serum can be used as the biomarker of the presence of a disorder or disease. The study of iron metabolism and regulation reveals strong evidence of the importance of keeping iron homeostasis in living organisms.


The study was conducted to investigate the effects of laser beam position on the weld microstructure of AISI 630 and AISI 321 stainless steels. The optical and scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction of the weld microstructures were carried out. The results showed that if the laser beam was focused at the interface, austenite, marensite and ferrite microstructures were formed at the weld region. If the laser beam was focused toward the AISI 630 stainless steel denoted as sample P in the manuscript, the martensitic-ferritic microstructures were produced in the weld cross section. If the laser beam was focused toward the AISI 321 stainless steel designated as sample A in the text, the austenitic microstructure was produced in the weld bead. The maximum hardness in all samples was occurred at the AISI 630 interface.


Localized current injection near the outboard midplane is used to form 0.1 MA plasma discharges with no induction supplied from a central solenoid in the ultra-low aspect ratio Pegasus Toroidal Experiment. The discharges are initiated by driving open-field-line currents that perturb the vacuum magnetic field such that the magnetic topology transitions to a tokamak-like configuration. The plasma is subsequently driven via helicity injection from the edge current sources and poloidal field induction. Intermittent n = 1 MHD activity is observed during periods of strong edge current drive and each event leads to a rapid inward expansion of the plasma volume and a drop in the plasma inductance. The plasmas are sufficiently turbulent such that the equilibrium approaches the lowest energy state described by Taylor relaxation theory. In agreement with that theory, the maximum Ip scales with (ITFIinj/w)1/2, where ITF is the toroidal field rod current, Iinj is the injected edge current and w is the radial width of the average poloidal magnetic flux in the driven open flux region.


The poorly known, suspect, Uchee terrane occupies a critical tectonic position with regard to how and when peri-Gondwanan (Carolina) and Gondwanan (Suwannee) terranes were sutured to Laurentia. It lies sandwiched between Laurentian(?) continental basement exposed in the Pine Mountain window and adjacent buried Gondwanan crust of the Suwannee terrane. The Uchee terrane has been proposed as both a septum of Piedmont rocks that once was continuous across the erosionally breached Pine Mountain window or part of the Carolina zone. To help resolve this issue, we conducted U-Pb (SHRIMP-RG) (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) zircon studies and whole-rock isotopic analyses of principal metasedimentary and metaplutonic units. U-Pb ages for zircons from the Phenix City Gneiss suggest igneous crystallization at ca. 620 Ma, inheritance ca. 1000 to ca. 1700 Ma, and a ca. 300 Ma (Alleghanian) overprint recorded by zircon rims. Zircons from the metasedimentary/metavolcaniclastic Moffits Mill Schist yield bimodal dates at ca. 620 and 640 Ma. The 620 to 640 Ma dates make these rocks age-equivalent to the oldest parts of the Carolina slate belt (Virgilina and Savannah River) and strongly suggest a Gondwanan (Pan-African and/or Trans-Brasiliano) origin for the Uchee terrane. Alternatively, the Uchee terrane may be correlative with metamorphic basement of the Suwannee terrane. The ca. 300 Ma overgrowths on zircons are compatible with previously reported 295 to 288 Ma 40 Ar/ 39 Ar hornblende dates on Uchee terrane rocks, which were interpreted to indicate deep tectonic burial of the Uchee terrane contemporaneous with the Alleghanian orogeny recorded in the foreland. Temperature-time paths for the Uchee terrane are similar to that of the Pine Mountain terrane, indicating a minimum age of ca. 295 Ma for docking. In terms of tectono-metamorphic history of the Uchee terrane, it is important to note that no evidence for intermediate "Appalachian" dates (e.g., Acadian or Taconian) has been reported. This younger history, together with the ages of metaigneous rocks and evidence for pre-Grenville basement, suggests the Uchee terrane is likely of Gondwanan origin and may be related to Carolina zone terranes that accreted during the Alleghanian orogeny.


XML is becoming first choice format of each kind of data file specially the documents.It has the ability of marking different field,making the search more simple and dynamic.Whether does XML substitute for traditional the database is always a hot topic.This system replaces the traditional database with XML to save,organize the data,and realizes statistics and the comparison function on the documents has been added tagging,reading the XML data with JDOM.


For the past five years the BaBar detector has operated over 200 resistive plate chambers(RPCs) in the forward endcap. Instalfed as part of an 2002 upgrade of the forward muon detection system these 2nd generation RPCs share many construction details with the LHC RPCs. The streamer rates produced by backgrounds and signals from normal BaBar running vary considerably (0.1->20 Hz/cm2) depending on the layer and position of the chambers within the endcap, providing a broad spectrum test of RPC performance and aging. The lowest rate chambers have performed well with efficiencies averaging 95%, but show significant increases in noise rate and HV current. Rate-dependant inefficiencies due to Bakelite drying were reversed by the introduction of humidified gases for the last two years of operation. RPC inefficiencies in the highest rate regions did not improve with humidified gas. 24 of these RPCs were converted to avalanche mode operation and display significantly improved efficiencies.


Seismic wave observation indicates that the Earth''s outer core is liquid state and the wave velocity is lower than that of a pure iron under the conditions corresponding to the Earth''s core. For the explanation, it is necessary that the outer core contains small amount of light elements. The incorporation of light elements into pure iron could decrease the melting temperature in the Earth''s core (Eutectic effect). There are lots of candidates for light elements in outer core, such as H, C, O, Si, and S. In this study, we have selected oxygen as possible light element in the core and studied the melting relationship between Fe (large dominant which consist the core) and FeO (host-mineral for oxygen) under high pressures and temperatures. Diamond anvil cell was used for high-pressure experiments. Pressures were determined by Ruby fluorescence method. Samples were heated by a Nd:YAG laser and temperatures were measured by sample thermal radiations from heated spots. We performed experiments at 16GPa and 1700-2400K to compare with previous results of MA experiments. After the laser heating, the sample was recovered at ambient conditions and polished the reaction region for SEM observation and Wave Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (WDS) analysis. One of recovered samples was thinned by focus ion beam (FIB) milling, which can mill the desired region in the nm scale. We observed textures of the thinned foil by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and analyzed the chemical composition in the nm-scale area by Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), which has enough high energy resolution to decompose the O-K edge peak from Fe-L edge peak. To overcome the problems in LHDAC, we tested many sample assemblages. As the result of them, we concluded that an assemblage sandwiched a FeO with two Fe foils can generate a stable high temperature field and is easy to identify the textural change in the heated


Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are agents that are used primarily for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. These compounds are widely used and have been prescribed for a number of conditions, including degenerative arthritis, inflammatory arthritis, heterotopic ossification, and gout.1 They have welldocumented side effects, including gastrointestinal irritation, anemia, disturbance of platelet function causing bleeding, liver and kidney metabolic alterations, and disturbance of immune and inflammatory responses.2 Ketorolac and other NSAIDs have been used and reported to be quite effective analgesics in patients after orthopedic procedures, including spine fusion surgery.3-5 These studies have noted a statistically significant decrease in narcotic requirement in postoperative patients, decreased hospital length of stay, and facilitation of postoperative rehabilitation. Several reports have also shown a significant deleterious effect of NSAIDs on bone metabolism and spine fusion specifically.1,6-16 The mechanism of this deleterious action is still not clear. Experimental studies have shown that NSAIDs do not modify the osteoinductive properties of bone matrix, but rather exert their effect via their inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis and reduction of the inflammatory response.10-13 It has been hypothesized that the effect may be mediated by an inhibition of blood flow increase in the early period of osteogenesis,10 reduced mesenchymal cell proliferation,12 or a direct effect on the bone-forming cells on endosteal bone surfaces.11 Several experimental studies have documented the effect of NSAIDs on bone healing. Although the exact mechanisms have not been elucidated, animal studies have shown that the use of NSAIDs significantly alter and retard fracture healing.7,10-13 It appears that the quality of bone formed during administration of NSAIDs is histologically and biomechanically inferior.7,8 Early studies by Ro et al.7 using a rat model showed significant adverse biomechanical changes in healing fractures in indomethacin-treated animals. Histologically, they noted changes resembling pseudarthrosis development. Lindholm and Tornkvist11 later observed that ibuprofen altered the chemical composition of bone. In another animal model, Nilsson et al.12 noted that treatment with 2 mg/kg body weight of indomethacin for as little as 6 days showed reduced bone formation. These findings, though experimental, have led to the suggestion that during fracture healing, these compounds should probably be avoided.1,7 Spinal fusion procedures are performed for degenerative, traumatic, congenital, and neoplastic conditions. It has long been known that successful spinal fusion is dependent on multiple factors. These include patient age, smoking status, type of bone graft used, number of vertebral levels fused, the use of spinal instrumentation, and electrical stimulation. The use of NSAIDs, in particular, has been found to have a detrimental effect on spinal fusion.1,9,14,15 Fusion depends on the process of osteogenesis similar to that which occurs during fracture healing.1 An early report on the detrimental effect of NSAIDs on spinal fusion was presented in 1993 at the North American Spine Society14 and has since been confirmed by both animal and human studies.1,9,15,16 Dimar et al.1 studied the effect of indomethacin on spinal fusion using a rat model. They found that only 10% of the indomethacintreated spinal levels obtained a solid fusion versus 45% of the levels in the control group treated with saline injections. In addition, histological evaluation showed that the control subjects exhibited osteoFrom the Spine Institute, Louisville, Kentucky. Accepted for publication July 31, 2000. Reprint requests: Steven D. Glassman, M.D., Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Spine Institute, 210 E Gray St Suite 900, Louisville, KY 40202. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com © 2001 by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. 1098-7339/01/2602-0011$35.00/0 doi:10.1053/rapm.2001.18870


A new numerical approach of nding out the full and reduced structural descriptions of an object (image) or class is suggested in the paper. These structural descriptions are based on the Boolean formulas obtained by a learning procedure. The conjunctions for each object at the rst level of generalization are considered as features. At the next level of generalization the relationship between conjunctions and classes are introduced. For determining the reduced structural descriptions for objects and classes some optimization procedures are also proposed. A numerical example illustrating the suggested approach is given.


Background: We evaluate the diagnostic performance of dried blood microsampling combined with a high-throughput microfluidic nano-immunoassay (NIA) for the identification of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike IgG seropositivity. Methods: We conducted a serological study among 192 individuals with documented prior SARS-CoV- 2 infection and 44 SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals. Participants with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection had a long interval of 11 months since their qRT-PCR positive test. Serum was obtained after venipuncture and tested with an automated electrochemiluminescence anti-SARS-CoV-2 S total Ig reference assay, a commercial ELISA anti-S1 IgG assay, and the index test NIA. 109 participants from the positive co- hort and 44 participants from the negative cohort also participated in capillary blood collection using three microsampling devices: Mitra, repurposed glucose test strips, and HemaXis. Samples were dried, shipped by regular mail, extracted, and measured with NIA. Findings: Using serum samples, we achieve a clinical sensitivity of 98.33% and specificity of 97.62% on NIA, affirming the high performance of NIA in participants 11 months post infection. Combining microsampling with NIA, we obtain a clinical sensitivity of 95.05% using Mitra, 61.11% using glucose test strips, 83.16% using HemaXis, and 91.49% for HemaXis after automated extraction, without any drop in specificity. Interpretation: High sensitivity and specificity was demonstrated when testing micro-volume capillary dried blood samples using NIA, which is expected to facilitate its use in large-scale studies using home- based sampling or samples collected in the field. Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation NRP 78 Covid-19 grant 198412 and Private Foundation of the Geneva University Hospital.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy and the third most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide.Chimeric antigen receptors engineered T cell immunotherapy (CAR-T) has the advantages of endowing engineered T cells great targeting ability, breaking the state of immune tolerance, which made progress in hematology and several solid tumors.These undoubtedly bring great hope for the treatment of HCC by CAR-T.This paper briefly reviewed the principles, structure and improvement of CAR-T, the tumor associated antigenof HCC and difficulties faced by CAR-T treatment for HCC.

Key words:
Hepatocellular carcinoma; Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy; Tumor immunotherapy; Tumor associated antigen


The Country Opinion Survey in Argentina assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Argentina perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Argentina on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Argentina; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Argentina; 3) overall impressions of the WBG's effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Argentina; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG's future role in Argentina.


Abstract : Philosophy: The transmission characteristics of optical fibers are of utmost importance for future communication systems. Higher bandwidth and better signal quality are but a few of the reasons that fiber optics are replacing conventional means of communication. However, an optical signal experiences all kinds of losses as it propagates and demands the use of regenerators repeaters along the length of the fiber. External factors that can cause such losses include deformations of the fiber such as bends or environmental effects such as electrical fields. Consequently, a better understanding of these losses will lead to more efficient optical communication systems.


I AM TOLD THAT NOT so LONG AGO church Correlation adopted a policy of discouraging use of the word "Zion" in official publications and discourses. Perhaps they felt that the term created an irrational exuberance about moving to Jackson County Missouri. However, in a small victory for those who long to keep Mormonism whole, that policy does not appear to have been successful. This may be due in part to the popularity of the term among ordinary Latter-day Saints, including apparently a Brother Gordon Hinckley One reason for the term's popularity must be its versatility. It is used to describe the center city to be built in the aforementioned Missouri county, the Mormon settlement region in the western United States, even all of the Americas. It can refer to both the institutional church and the Saints generally. It can be a state of being, the "pure in heart" (D&C 97:21). The word is also used to invoke a state of society. From the beginning of the Restoration, it was clear that all of the concerns of God's children were within the ken of the restored gospel. Numerous early revelations and efforts of the Saints were devoted to implementing a concept of economic righteousness usually referred to by rubrics such as "consecration and stewardship" or the "united order." The concept that the restored gospel addresses social as well as personal righteousness has carried into our century. David O. McKay described the purpose of the church as "first, to develop in men's lives Christlike attributes; and, second, to transform society so that the world may be a better and more peaceful


THE DETERMINATION of the time of beginning of function in embryonic endocrine glands has long interested embryologists and physiologists, especially since the data accumulated so far attest to the fact that hormones are imporatnt morphogenetic agents in developing organisms as well as in adults. The spectacular participa-tion of the thyroid in the metamorphosis of larval amphibia is an example of this. The postponement of cachectic symptoms in thyroidectomiz;ed pregnant mammals until delivery of full term fetuses provides the hint that fetal thyroids may contribute sig-nificantly to the physiologic economy of the mother. In the present experiments radio-active iodine1 was injected into rats in a known stage of pregnancy, and the developing thyroids of the fetuses were examined by the radio-autograph method (1, 2) to determine the presence of accumulated iodine and its distribution. The iodine was given subcutaneously in a single injection of 1.0 cc. of physiologic saline solution containing 35 microcuries...


UNDP has been undertaking a series of case study research projects about the opportunities and challenges for oters in the Europe CIS region. The present case study presents an analysis of gender and the electoral legislation reform process in Romania, focusing on two aspects of the legal framework factor: descriptive representation. An important entry point is to acknowledge that low participation and representation of


OBJECTIVE
Describtion and evaluation of proposed protocol for conservative, fertility sparing surgeries in the treatment of early stages of cervical cancer and its comparison to most frequently used protocols regarding its reproductive and oncological outcomes.

DESIGN
Prospective clinical study.

SETTING
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Charles University Prague, 2nd Medical Faculty, University Hospital Motol.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
24 patients that fitted into the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study (6 in stage T1A2 and 18 T1B1). Inclusion criteria were: tumor less than 20 mm in largest diameter, less than 1/2 of the stromal invasion, SCC serum levels within normal range, signed informed consent. Minimum follow up was 24 months. Described therapeutic protocol, evaluation of oncological and reproductive outcomes and comparison with different fertility sparing regimens were performed.

RESULTS
In four cases (16.7%) peroperative histopatghological evaluation (frozen section: FS) detected metastatic involvement of lymphatic nodes. In one case (4.1%) following 14 months since initial surgery, reccurent disease in uterine isthmus was detected. The patient underwent chmotherapy and she is 36 months in complete remission. In the series of 15 women planning pregnancy 11 subjects become pregnant so far. Eight deliveries occurred (one in 24th week of gestation--650g, one in 34w--2240g, one in 36w--2700g and five between 37-39w). Only one newborn was delivered in the cathegory of extreme prematurity.

CONCLUSION
Sentinel node detection involving peroperative histopathological evaluation followed by subsequent serial processing and together with 2-step therapeutic management increases efectivity of fertility sparing surgeries. Less radical surgery on uterine cervix: reconisaton (in stage IA2) or simple trachelectomy (in early stage T1B1) with negative finding after laparoscopic lymph node dissection has comparative results with radical trachelectomy and abdominal radical trachelectomy. Pregnancy rates and pregnancy outcomes particularly regarding in term delivery is the best after treatment of early stages of cervical cancer using proposed protocol, while very promising results are published in studies with radical vaginal trachelectomy as well. Results published for the patients treated with abdominal radical trachelectomy are unsatisfactory.


As a major life-supporting ecosystem in cities, urban forest plays a key pole in keeping urban ecosystem balance. The paper emphatically analyzed the existing problems of urban forests in China; subsequently corresponding countermeasures are brought out. Finally, it was suggested that urban forest is the essential ingredient and the symbol of the modernized cities.


AbstrcatIn this paper we study a single machine scheduling problem in which the processing time of a job is dependent on its position in a sequence.Two linear processing time functions used to model the job processing times characterized by position-dependent are discussed,that is p_i(v)=a\-i-b\-iv and p\-i(v)=a\-iv~(-b).The objective function is to minimize the total completion times with discounted weight.Optimal algorithms for the job processing times with given weights are agreeable in several cases are discussed respectively.


The results of a Shapiro-step study in orthorhombic ${\mathrm{TaS}}_{3}$ as a function of temperature are reported. The charge-density-wave (CDW) current density at a given step depends on the rf power applied, and saturates for large amplitudes. In this limit, the relation between the CDW current density ${j}_{\mathrm{CDW}}$ and the frequency ${f}_{0}$ is always linear with intercept at zero. The ratio ${j}_{\mathrm{CDW}/\mathrm{f}=(2.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2)\mathrm{e}}$ per chain, indicating that the current oscillations are related to the CDW displacement by one period.


Various material properties, which are well defined and clearly fixed for macroscopic systems, get a modified significance in nanophysics and nanotechnology, respectively. We show, as an example, that the temperature behavior of nanosystems is considerably changed when we go from macroscopic systems to those of nanometer size. It is pointed out that the standard model of solid-state physics (ordered structure, harmonic approximation) is in general not sufficient for the description of nanosystems.


We begin with a paper from Martha Simmons and Marian Mac Gregor that challenges us to consider who can contribute to clinical work. Their focus on students with disabilities and the challenges and opportunities of providing access to clinic is timely and compelling. We are witnessing an expansion of clinical programmes which can be an opportunity to ask ourselves where the evidence lies that some students are better suited to clinic than others, whether there are pre-existing attributes that fit students to serve our communities or whether social justice ideals demand that more diverse students get to benefit form a clinical experience.


Although carbon‐based nanomaterials (CBNs) have been shown to exert prothrombotic effects in microvessels, it is poorly understood whether CBNs also have the potential to interfere with the process of leukocyte‐endothelial cell interactions and whether the shape of CBNs plays a role in these processes. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the acute effects of two differently shaped CBNs, fiber‐shaped single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and spherical ultrafine carbon black (CB), on thrombus formation as well as on leukocyte‐endothelial cell interactions and leukocyte transmigration in the murine microcirculation upon systemic administration in vivo. Systemic administration of both SWCNT and CB accelerated arteriolar thrombus formation at a dose of 1 mg kg–1 body weight, whereas SWCNT exerted a prothrombotic effect also at a lower dose (0.1 mg kg–1 body weight). In vitro, both CBNs induced P‐selectin expression on human platelets and formation of platelet‐granulocyte complexes. In contrast, injection of fiber‐shaped SWCNT or of spherical CB did not induce leukocyte–endothelial cell interactions or leukocyte transmigration. In vitro, both CBNs slightly increased the expression of activation markers on human monocytes and granulocytes. These findings suggest that systemic administration of CBNs accelerates arteriolar thrombus formation independently of the CBNs' shape, but does not induce leukocyte–endothelial cell interactions or leukocyte transmigration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The utility model relates to a multifunctional wire tightener, which comprises a wire clipping part and a wire tightening part. The utility model has the principal points that the wire tightening part is provided with a ratchet; at the same time, the wire tightening part is also provided with a roller cone in order to realize double wheels, double directions and dual fail-safe, improve the rated tension, increase the safety factor and enlarge the application ranges. The utility model is matched with three tension specifications of one ton, three tons and five tons, the diameter of the dragging rope is from 4 mm to 240 mm, the intrinsic weight is only 4 to 5 kg, and the utility model can be used in various industries, such as electric utility, transportation, forestry, petroleum, mines, porterage, plate work, etc. The utility model has the advantages of reliable performance and flexible operation.


The current recruitment scenario, which is highly dynamic and challenging, calls for the attention of academics and practitioners alike. Recently, several studies were conducted to understand the possible relationship between employer branding and employee retention (Gilani & Cunningham,
 2017; Wilden, Gudergan, & Lings, 2010). In the present study, an attempt has been made to explore the impact of employer branding on employee recruitment and retention. A comprehensive literature review of previous studies on this topic was conducted, in an attempt to understand the influence
 of employer branding on each aspect of recruitment. For this purpose, concepts from signalling theory, person-organisation fit and social identity were considered. Careful analysis of previous studies reveals that employer branding has an impact on an organisation's ability, not only to recruit,
 but also to retain, desired employees. Further, the organisations which are able to successfully project their images as potential employers of choice are bound to reap benefits in the long run.


It is shown that the noise‐limited charge sensitivity of a single‐electron transistor using superconductors (of either SISIS‐ or NISIN‐type) operating near the threshold of quasiparticle tunneling, can be considerably higher than that of a similar transistor made of normal metals or semiconductors. The reason is that the superconducting energy gap, in contrast to the Coulomb blockade, is not smeared by the finite temperature. We also discuss the increase of the maximum operation temperature due to superconductivity and the peaklike features on the I–V curve of SISIS structures.


The Multistage Interconnection Network with Cache control mechanism (MINC) is a hardware mechanism to control the cache coherent in a switchconnected multiprocessors using a crossbar or Multistage Interconnection Network(MIN). In the MINC, the directory is located on the shared memory module, and the Reduced Hierarchical Bit-map Directory schemes(RHBDs) are used to reduce the directory. In order to reduce unnecessary packets caused by compacting the bit map in the RHBD, a small cache called the pruning cache is introduced in the switching element. Using the 0.6 μm LPGA(Laser Programmable Gate Array) technology, the MINC chip(Network scale: 16input/16-output) is implemented in a single chip(26477 cells including 60Kbit memory). The chip works with at least 50MHz clock, and the total throughput of the chip is 800Mbyte/sec(50Mbyte/sec for each port).


IN 2004, WATERSHED events (successful registration of more than 10 million voters, a successful presidential election, and subsequent inauguration) gave rise to a fledgling democracy in Afghanistan after more than 25 years of war and violence. Replacing the rule of the gun with the rule of law signaled the end of an era and gave hope to millions of Afghans who had lived through years of oppression. These events also signaled a change in military strategy in Afghanistan from combat operations and counterterrorism to counterinsurgency, reconstruction, and development. This shift required Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A) to rethink how it would meet the challenges of the new political, military, diplomatic, and economic environments. The command's operations required close coordination with Afghan Government agencies, the U.S. Department of State, and NATO. An effective information campaign was critical to the command's success. The command found itself in a public affairs (PA) campaign to maintain local Afghan and international support for helping rebuild an Afghanistan ravaged by years of war and to help establish the country's new democratic government. Information operations (IO) were critical in discrediting insurgents and what remained of the Taliban to garner support to ensure Afghanistan would never again become a cradle for despots or a haven for international terrorists. Theaterwide Interagency Effects To approach the diverse requirements of running a communication operation in this strategic environment, CFC-A created a new organization called Theaterwide Interagency Effects, or Effects, to synchronize communications-based PA, IO, psychological operations (PSYOPs), and political-military operations. Effects was designed to generate nonlethal effects in support of coalition military operations. One might compare the organization to the Strategic Communications Office that provides the same type of support for operations in Iraq. Both organizations use nonlethal IO effects to help commanders achieve operations success. Both have generated discussions about a "crisis of credibility" that public affairs might encounter if and when the media discover how closely it is aligned with IO and PSYOP. An initial challenge for public affairs officers (PAOs) within the Effects organizational structure was to gain access to the commander for guidance and directives. Traditionally, PAOs serve as special staff officers and report directly to the commander. However, within the Effects organization, things can get lost because of additional layers of bureaucracy. The organization was also not without risk because, by aligning PA so closely with IO and PSYOP, there was a chance credibility with the media could be lost. The Role of Public Affairs The importance of strategic communications creates a challenge for commanders who develop strategies, processes, and organizations that lead to effective communications. In Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders created new organizations to better synchronize communications and, hopefully, achieve certain desired effects in operations. Some commanders modeled their communications operations after those the Pentagon envisaged for the Office of Strategic Influence. This stirred debate between the PA, IO, and PSYOP communities about how to create a synergy that leverages the effects of all three into a coordinated, synchronized, comprehensive communications effort. To do so, three questions must be answered: What, if any, role remains for public affairs? Where should public affairs fall within the organization? How can public affairs be made more effective? In theory, the idea of merging PA, IO, and PSYOP appears to make sense; in practice, however, the goals of these three functions are quite different. Public affairs is charged with informing the public with factual, truthful information, while IO and PSYOP seek to influence their audiences to change perceptions or behavior. …


Sporadic calcification of the left atrium is frequently observed in patients with long standing rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive calcification involving the entire left atrium, the so-called porcelain or coconut atrium, is extremely rare. A case of recurrent thrombosis in the left atrium was experienced due to massive calcification of the left atrial wall, despite the therapeutic anticoagulant level of the patient follow


Clinical reasoning is defined by Alsop and Ryan (1996, p155) as 'thinking and talking about the way you work and giving reasons for what you do ... [it] forms the basis of all therapeutic practice and underpins problem solving'. The occupational therapy literature has a number of descriptive and research articles examining the process of reasoning as being central to clinical practice. Although there are many articles and books published about clinical reasoning, it appears that very little international research has been undertaken to find out about existing approaches in the curricula of occupational therapy education programmes worldwide. Neistadt (1996, p678) published a descriptive paper in which she stated, 'All OT curricula seek to teach clinical reasoning ... it is not necessary to offer specific courses in clinical reasoning.' This comment was a trigger for the current study. The authors recognised the need to explore this question further in order to understand what educational approaches are being used and which ones seem to facilitate and encourage the development of clinical reasoning. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to obtain preliminary information, through a survey, about the ways in which students learn formally and informally about clinical reasoning in a number of different countries.


Purpose – The case of a woman with a history of offending and prolonged imprisonment is given. The purpose of this paper is to explore the complex interplay between diagnoses of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), personality disorder and gender dysphoria. A discussion on useful and less useful treatment approaches follows, given the unusual and complex clinical presentation. Design/methodology/approach – This is a case report with a summary of the background to this under-researched area. Findings – The way in which the diagnostic picture clarified over time is explained. The difficulties in accurately diagnosing are put forward and strategies to address this are suggested. Successful treatment of unusual clinical problems may require highly individualised care within generic services. Originality/value – The authors know of no similar case reports in the published literature. The clinical associations between ASDs, personality disorders and gender dysphoria, in forensic mental health populations, appears ...


Exploring the functions of proteins is crucial for explaining cellular mechanisms, treating diseases, and developing new drugs. Due to experimental limitations, large-scale identification of protein function remains a challenging task in cell biology. Here we propose DeepFusionGo, a novel protein function prediction method that adopts a graph representation learning approach (GraphSAGE) to extract features from heterogeneous data sources. First, we generate embeddings from protein sequences using the pre-trained protein language model and InterPro domains with scaling gradient. Then we integrate these two embeddings with adaptive feature weights to the PPI graph and use GraphSAGE to generate the representation vector. Finally, we build the classification model to predict protein function based on the concatenated feature vector. The experimental results show that DeepFusionGO outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, including sequence-based DeepGOPLUS, and PPI-based DeepGraphGO. DeepFusionGO also performs well in difficult protein function prediction. We demonstrate that selecting an appropriate protein features fusion method can improve the prediction performance, and using the PPI network and the protein representation vector obtained from the protein language model through the GraphSAGE algorithm is an effective way to mine potential functional clues. The source code and data sets are available at: https://github.com/Hhhzj-7/DeepFusionGO.


comes particularly (if somewhat paradoxically) under fire, and it is in M.'s rejection of Arthur Evans as its source ('he does not deserve to be criticized for this', pp. 65–9) in which one may find an integral point related to the modern construct of Minoan Crete, namely that 'other people influenced considerably the production and diffusion of knowledge . . . other people contributed greatly to this creative process' (pp. 65–9). These 'other people' and their diverse contributions are discussed throughout – painters, sculptors, ceramicists, academics, excavators, travel writers, poets, novelists, designers, dancers, tour guides, architects, filmmakers, modern pagans, composers – all illustrated to have engaged with the material culture of Minoan Crete in multifarious forms and to various extents. Significant attention is given to the archaeological narratives of novels, ranging from the widely read work of Mary Renault to the lesser-known Minoan undertones of science fiction, detective stories and erotica. While the inclusion of selected repartee between fictional characters adds a touch of humour ('I think I'd feel at home with the Minoans'/'Gorgeous plumbing', p. 211 and DeLillo's The Names), the actual dialogue emphasised by M. is that between Minoan archaeology and the creative responses it has inspired. M.'s discussion of these Cretomanic creations within the context of both their own socio-historical backgrounds and that of archaeological research illustrates that this relationship is a two-way conversation, with artists and writers not just reacting to the material culture of Crete, but, in multiple cases, anticipating theoretical and interpretative developments in its specialist study. Illustrations, while numerous, lack the vibrancy of colour and sharpness characteristic of Minoan art and of many modern responses to it, but the blanket black-and-white is arguably mediated by the relative affordability of the volume and the wide availability of a high proportion of images online, links to which are frequently provided in the endnotes. While the sustainability of such an approach is uncertain, sufficient detail provided in the main text ensures that any online (or offline) search will yield similar results. The endnotes themselves are extensive, resplendent with further detail and directions for future research, to such an extent that readers with particular interest will also require a certain level of patience and dexterity. The overall impression is of a culmination of years of the careful collection of sources, yet one which, in a refreshing rejection of academic territorialism, urges others to continue this search or delve deeper into the examples already described. While reception studies, often the briefest section, continue to be positioned at the back of volumes in Aegean archaeology, M. has shown that they should be at the forefront of our minds, as valid, non-destructive and rewarding interpretative approaches to the material record. Dedicated to 'all the people who have been affected by Cretomania', this monograph highlights that this condition – the Minoan mutation at least – is endemic.


Purpose
Material-jetting (MJ) three-dimensional (3D) printing processes are competitive due to their printing resolution and printing speed. Driving waveform design of piezoelectric printhead in MJ would affect droplet formation and performance, but there are very limited studies on it besides patents and know-hows by commercial manufacturers. Therefore, in this research, the waveform design process to efficiently attain suitable parameters for a multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead was studied. Therefore, this research aims to study the waveform design process to efficiently attain suitable parameters for a multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead.

Design/methodology/approach
Ricoh's Gen4L printhead was adopted. A high-speed camera captured pictures of jetted droplets and droplet velocity was calculated. The waveforms included single-, double- and triple-pulse trapezoidal patterns. The effects of parameters were investigated and the suitable ones were determined based on the avoidance of satellite drops and preference of higher droplet velocity.

Findings
In a single-pulse waveform, an increase of fill time (Tf) decreased the droplet velocity. The maximum velocity happened at the same pulse width, the sum of fill time and hold time (Tf + Th). In double- and triple-pulse, a voltage difference (Vd) above zero in the holding stage was adopted except the last pulse to avoid satellite drops. Suitable parameters for the selected resin were obtained and the time-saving design process was established.

Research limitations/implications
Based on the effects of parameters and observed data trends, suggested procedures to determine suitable parameters were proposed with fewer experiments.

Practical implications
This study has verified the feasibility of suggested design procedures on another resin. The required number of trials was reduced significantly.

Originality/value
This research investigated the process of driving waveform design for the multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead. The suggested procedures of finding suitable waveform parameters can reduce experimental trials and will be applicable to other MJ 3D printers when new materials are introduced.


This letter investigates hybrid networks composed of a radio frequency (RF) access point (AP) and multiple visible light communication (VLC) APs. We consider mobile multi-homing users that can aggregate resources from both RF and VLC APs. In hybrid RF/VLC networks, RF channel gains vary faster than VLC channels due to small scale fading. By leveraging multi-agent Q-learning to interact with the dynamics of wireless environments, we develop an online two-timescale power allocation strategy that optimizes the transmit powers at the RF and VLC APs to ensure quality-of-service satisfaction. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed Q-learning based strategy.


* Corresponding Author Email: email@example.com How to cite this article Farhadi S, Ajerloo B, Mohammadi A. Low-cost and eco-friendly phyto-synthesis of Silver nanoparticles by using grapes fruit extract and study of antibacterial and catalytic effects. Int. J. Nano Dimens., 2017; 8(1): 49-60, DOI: 10.22034/ijnd.2017.24376 Abstract In this research, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were prepared by a low-cost, rapid, simple and ecofriendly approach using Grape fruit extract as a novel natural reducing and stabilizing agent. The product was characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The reaction conditions including time, content of reducing agent and silver nitrate, temperature and pH were investigated. The optimum yield of Ag NPs was obtained when 10 mM of silver nitrate was reacted with 9 mL of Grape fruit extract at pH=9 and heated it to 55 oC within 25 minutes. The crystalline nature of Ag NPs was confirmed from XRD analysis. SEM and TEM images showed that the obtained Ag NPs were spherical in shape and their sizes were in the range of 25-85 nm. EDX analysis confirmed presence of the elemental silver. On the basis of FT-IR analysis, it can be stated that the hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl functional groups present in bio-molecules of Grape fruit extract are responsible for the reduction of Ag+ ions and stabilization of the obtained Ag NPs. The biosynthesized Ag NPs showed good antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacteria. In addition, the catalytic activity of the Ag NPs was studied for the reduction of nitro compounds by using NaBH4.


A pipelined ADC architecture that exhibits both power and area efficiencies is proposed to be accountable for the major baseband functions of the recently introduced two-step-channel-select (2-SCS) low-IF receiver. Such architecture comprises: 1) a sample and hold (S/H) front-end implementing analog-double quadrature sampling (A-DQS) for IF-to-baseband downconversion and IF channel selection; and 2) one OTA-shared pipeline ADC is employed for digitalization both I and Q channels through I/Q-multiplexing. An IC prototype was designed in a 0.35/spl mu/m CMOS process with 20-MS/s 8-bit resolution, which has been targeted for 2.4-GHz ISM band standards. The key simulated performances achieved 7.7-b ENOB with INL and DNL within /spl plusmn/0.5 LSB and /spl plusmn/0.34 LSB, respectively. A competitive chip area of only 1.34 mm/sup 2/ is achieved, while dissipating an average of 54.5 mW from 2.5 V.


The article proposes a description of liturgical or religious language, a specific type of religious language style. Given its intractability innovation character, the liturgical language is characterized by a preserved archaic vocabulary in the worship books, with a special charm and a unique depth. The vocabulary of these books, is the keeper of the salvation message, it contains words with great power that will not stop changing lives until the end of the time. The liturgical word is a man's word to God, and most often embodies a prayer. It is a way of communication between the heaven and the Earth. Because the words come from the man, an imperfect creation, the main characteristic of these words is the imperfection. Full of symbolic connotation, the words are different from the secular and profane everyday language, in which it can be felt its influence. The religious language can be found in prayers and religious books. The prayer is the most expressive instrument of Christianity.


China Railway Express (CR Express) is a pioneer of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The intermodal container terminal system consisting of a maritime terminal and a railway terminal is investigated in this paper. It connects the shipping route and the CR Express route. Typically, there are two container accumulation modes in the railway terminal to dispatch a train, i.e., the fixed-length and the fixed-time container accumulation modes. The intermodal container terminal system can be formulated as the two-echelon dual-channel supply chain model. The steady-state probability matrix is obtained by solving the equilibrium equations. The cooperation between the maritime terminal and the railway terminal is considered to accelerate the accumulation of the containers. The total revenue of the two terminals is used as the key system performance indicator. Numerical experiments are conducted to compare the fixed-length and the fixed-time container accommodation modes. The situations with and without cooperation between two terminals are also compared in the two container accumulation modes, respectively.


Nitrogen-bearing ligands have received a lot of attention focused primarily on liquid-liquid extraction and separation of lanthanides and actinides. To modelise the complexation mechanism and to understand more deeply the electronic and thermodynamic properties of complexes formed in solution, compound structural data are needed. The present work deals with the synthesis and the crystal structure of three Np(V) compounds: [(NpO2)(NO3)Tpy(H2O)], [(NpO2){4-(OOC)NC5H4}Tpy(H2O)]2H2O formed with terpyridine (Tpy) and [NpO2(2-(OOC)NC5H4)(H2O)2], a new Np(V) complex formed with picolinate-ion. Far-IR spectroscopic properties are investigated and discussed in terms of deformation vibrations in the neptunyl groupings


In the situation where the sampling units in a study can be easily ranked than quantified, the ranked set sampling methods are found to be more efficient and cost effective as compared to SRS. In this paper we propose an estimator of the population mean using paired ranked set sampling (RSS) method. The proposed estimator is an unbiased estimator of the population mean when the set size is even. In case of odd set size the estimator is unbiased when the underlying distribution is symmetric. It is shown that the proposed estimator is more efficient than its counterpart SRS method for all distributions considered in this study.


A sail-like, triangular projection from the mediastinum in chest radiographs is encountered in healthy children in the first few years of life. This has been proved to be the shadow of the thymus and is not of pathological significance. As it resembles a "sail" it is known as the thymic Sail Sign (SS). Literature review reported it is seen in about 10% of normal children. Interestingly many treating doctors are not aware about the significance of the SS and can be missed easily or not given proper importance. SS is also seen in conditions like pneumomediastinum (PNM), DiGeorge syndrome (DiGs) and others. The chance of SS conditions   should be searched in every infant or children to achieve better outcome and to prevent complications. This case study report SS in an infant and highlight the SS with a review of literature. Key words: Thymus gland, Chest radiograph, Sail sign, Pneumomediastinum, DiGeorge Syndrome


This is a policy brief on adolescent pregnancy at the district level in Uganda. The brief highlights data on childbearing contraceptive use and unmet need among adolescents. Includes recommendations for district health officers on ways to improve health services for adolescent clients.


At the southern edge of Bangladesh and of West Bengal in India, bordering on the Bay of Bengal, there is the sundarban which literally means "beautiful forest". That is the natural habitat of the so-called Royal Bengal Tiger. Rather few of them are left, but they are now protected by a hunting ban. The sundarban is also famous for the honey it produces in large clusters of natural beehives. The people bordering that region, desperately poor as they are, go into the forests to collect the honey, but they also have to escape the tigers. In a good year, only about fifty or so honey gatherers are killed by tigers, but that number can be very much higher when things don't go so well. While the tigers are protected, nothing protects the miserable human beings who try to make a living by working in those woods, which are deep and lovely and quite perilous.


Background The ACPA-positive Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a complex disease. Signs of immune activity against citrullinated proteins may be present years before the onset of clinical manifestations. Recent findings suggest that the lung may represent an early site of autoimmune-related injury in ACPA-positive patients without signs of arthritis. Objectives The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the presence of subclinical pulmonary abnormalities in ACPA-positive subjects without arthritis and in RA-patients through laboratory, functional and imaging markers. Methods Eleven ACPA-positive subjects without arthritis, 10 patients naïve to therapy with early ACPA-positive RA (<6 months duration) and 9 with established ACPA-positive RA (<36 months duration) were consecutively enrolled. Subjects underwent baseline pulmonary function tests (PFTs), DLCO measurement and CPET. The evaluation of Surfactant protein D (SP-D) serum levels was performed in all the patients and in 9 healthy controls matched for age and sex with an ELISA test. Twenty-four subjects underwent chest high-resolution computer tomography (HRCT), in order to evaluate parenchymal or airways abnormalities. Results The cohort consisted of 7 men and 23 women, mean age 48,93 (DS+/-12.1). PFTs resulted abnormal only in 2 patients. A DLCO reduction was observed in 54.5% of ACPA-positive subjects without RA, in 60% and in 55.6% of patients with early and established RA, respectively. In RA patients, an inverse correlation between disease duration and DLCO/Va (r=-0.50; p=0.03) was observed. The exercise tolerance at CPET was reduced in 54.5% of ACPA-positive subjects without RA, in 20% of patients with early RA and in 55.6% of those with established RA. Serum SP-D levels were higher in established RA (p=0.079), in ACPA-positive subjects and early RA than in healthy controls. ACPA levels positively correlated (r=0.45;p=0.01) with CPET parameters of ventilation inefficiency, suggesting a ventilation/perfusion mismatch. A negative correlation between ACPA and SP-D levels and CPET metabolic parameters was also observed. The presence of pulmonary nodules was the most common alteration founded at HRCT, equal to 28% in ACPA-positive subjects without arthritis, in 66% and 87% of patients with early and established RA, respectively. In the last group, all patients showed parenchymal abnormalities. There was also a significant (p=0.022) higher frequency of lung abnormalities in patients with established disease compared with the other two groups. Conclusions The early lung involvement in RA is often subclinical and baseline PFT's are scarcely informative. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that DLCO, CPET parameters and SP-D can represent early markers of the subclinical lung injury. Furthermore, lung abnormalities detectable at HRCT seem to develop early in the course of the disease. However, additional studies are needed to clarify lung abnormalities in RA. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The rapid increase in electric and magnetic loadings of electrical machines demands improved methods of predicting the end zone field distribution. This paper presents a numerical method for the determination of end zone fields and for the calculation of end-leakage reactance of high-speed alternators. The method takes account of all boundaries, simplified in regard to their geometries and magnetic nature. As a first step, the partial differential equations of the electromagnetic field in the different regions of the end-winding region of homopolar alternators are developed, based on the concept of the magnetic vector potential. These are transformed into finite difference equations, which are retained in a general form allowing for the nonlinearities of iron and the effect of current carrying regions. The theory of the energy method to evaluate the end-leakage reactance is explained. The difficulties of a numerical solution in three dimensions are presented. Then a mathematical model is set up taking the discrete nature of the windings into account. This model makes possible adequate consideration of the effects of the surrounding boundaries and also the effects of the air gap, slots, and of the short-pitched armature winding. An orthogonal lattice system is then fitted to the model. The boundary conditions in differential and difference forms are developed in terms of the magnetic vector potential. An iterative procedure consisting of successive point relaxation of the vector potentials is described.


The effect of optical inhomogeneity of the glass vitrification boundary on the spatial and energy characteristics of the emission of a neodymium laser is investigated for the case when the vitrification boundary is situated inside the laser resonator perpendicular to its optic axis. The radiation resistance of vitrified specimens of glasses that are transparent to laser radiation but with differing coefficients of thermal expansion is investigated. It is established that for a difference in the refractive indices of the vitrified glasses ..delta..n<10/sup -3/ the intraresonator vitrification boundary has practically no effect on the angular divergence of the emission and the energy of a neodymium laser, but for a difference in the coefficients of thermal expansions of the vitrified glasses of <5 x 10/sup -7/ K/sup -1/, the radiation resistance of the vitrification boundary corresponds to the volume radiation resistance of the glasses employed.


Using parameters of crystal lattices of chromates (rhombic singony) and mathematic model of effie-tive ionic radii and metamorphoses of crystalline structures into quasicubic ones the structure features of crystal lattices of chromates (VI) of 3d-elements (V-Zn) are calculation.


The invention relates to an apparatus for aging test of rubber and / or elastomers. This has a test chamber (1) in which a Speichenradpaar (T1, T2) is arranged. Each of the spoke wheels (T1, T2) has at least three spokes and fins. The spoked wheels are mounted on a common axis (13) and to be examined (n) material sample (s) (3) of the rubber and / or elastomer are between the spokes wheels (T1, T2) attached. Furthermore, the test chamber (1) with a supply line (21) and an outlet (79) is provided, so that they together with the Speichenradpaar (T1, T2) and the one or more attached therebetween, to be tested material sample (s) (3) is longitudinally traversed with a constant concentration profile in turbulent flow of a defined ozone-enriched air stream. The invention also relates to a process for the aging test of rubber and / or elastomers in the test chamber (1) in which a turbulent flow of the ozone-enriched air stream is used.


Addition reactivity of α,β-unsaturated amide derivatives of benzimidazolone,compounds Ⅰ-Ⅵ,was determined by reacting with glutathione,and their antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus was evaluated by micro-broth dilution method,and the relationship between addition reactivity and bioactivity of tested compounds was further investigated.The results indicated that the second-order rate constants(KGSH) of compounds Ⅰ-Ⅴ were ranged from 0.055 9 to 0.063 8 L/(mmol·min),and the KGSH value of the most reactive compound,compound Ⅵ,was 0.290 L/(mmol·min).The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) of the most potential compounds,Ⅱ and Ⅵ,were 0.78 μg/mL.The results indicated that addition reactivity of α,β-unsaturated amide derivatives of benzimidazolone may not be used to quantitatively predict their antibacterial activity.


To compensate the deviating of focal plane position for a spaceborne infrared detector,according to the using environments and optical design requirements,a kind of straight-line focusing mechanism is designed. Requirements of performance are fully considered in design processing of the focusing mechanism,high level ball screw,linear guides and bearings are employed,therefore,the detector has the characteristics of small overall size,light weight,high stiffness,small transmission error etc. Modal analysis show that first order frequency is 155 Hz,error analysis and testing results show that error of the focusing mechanism is 0.003 mm,which meet the requirements of practical applications.


The development of comparative education discipline can be roughly divided into three stages.The main development period of comparative education discipline in China is the past 30 years since the Reform and Opening up.During the 30 years,many aspects of comparative education discipline in China have made great achievements in introducing ideas of education and national educational reform.Comparative education discipline in Chongqing is centering around Southwest University.After long-term development,Southwest University has formed some subject advantages and characteristics,such as comparison of cross-cultural education,the theories and methods of comparative education and comparison of national education systems.In the future,development ideas of comparative education discipline in Chongqing should include many aspects,such as to advance discipline characteristics,to highlight the practical effectiveness,to emphasize construction of talents team,to strengthen academic cooperation and exchanges,to improve the quality of graduate students,and to yield high-level research results.


We estimate the impact of taxes on donations using a large panel of middle-class taxpayers. Our specification allows estimation of the effects of habits, time shifting, and consumption smoothing on the time path of adjustment and produces plausible simulated adjustment paths to permanent and temporary anticipated tax reforms. We find that taxes determine both the longrun level and the timing of donations, so that, even though taxes appear to have long-run behavioral effects, estimates of these effects are exaggerated if one fails to estimate the rescheduling of giving in response to tax regime shifts. Our results challenge the view that tax deductions for charitable giving are efficient.


In this study, we calculated the solvent energy made by different solvents during the complexing de-nitrogen of lubricating base oil. The results show that in the same solvent the more charge, the larger solvent energy created by transition metal ions. When different solvents act with the same metal ion, the smaller solvent inter-electronic constant, the lower solvent energy, which is in favor of the formation of complexes and such complexes are more stable. Besides the solvation effect, suitable selectivity and certain dissolve ability are also considered. When used in the industrial production, the solvents' price is required to be moderate. From solvent energy, selectivity, dissolve ability, price and the actual removing ratio of alkali nitrogen aspects, furfural is the best refining solvent during the complexing de-nitrogen of lubricating base oil.


Bangladesh is a densely populated country of 142.3 millions people where 964 person live per sq. km. It is located in the north-eastern part of South Asia. Although it is predominantly an agriculture dependent country, it has the lowest land man ratio in the world and it accounts fro 0.06 hactres per person. Every year around 18-20 lacs people are born to soar the existing overpopulation. In addition, 47.3% of the total labour forces of the the country are employed in agriculture and it provides 21% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. To meet the multiple demands of the ever increasing population the scarce agricultureal lands of this country are being misused for non-agricultural purposes. Besides, excessive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and intensive cultivation of lands without necessary conservation practices gradually deteriorates the productive capacity of the agricultural lands. If the present trend of Agricultural land management system (ALMS) continues it may hamper the sustainable development of the country. This article examines the dynamics of ALMS in Bangladesh and investigates to indentify the key problems and challenges for promoting sustainable development in ALMS. Lastly, based on overall observations of the research, this article suggests several policy and administrative guidelines to promote sustainable development in agricultural land management in Bangladesh.


Abstract In order to establish an ethogram of interactive behaviors initiated by free-ranging short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and directed to human swimmers, we initiated encounters with non-habituated pilot whale groups during open water encounters southwest of Tenerife, Canary Islands, over two field seasons (1996 and 2001). Human swimmers followed a precautionary set of rules during approaches. Encounters ranged in duration from 3 to 44 min (M = 14.1 min ± SD = 7.6; n = 35). We describe 11 interactive behaviors and compare them with previously described interactive behaviors reported in the scientific literature on the same and other toothed whale species. In contrast to other researchers focusing on reports of aggressive behaviors initiated by free-ranging as well as captive short-finned pilot whales, we observed with one exception ("headshake") apparently affiliative and non-aggressive behaviors during this study. Several interactive behaviors were found to match descriptions from other researchers observing the same as well as other toothed whale species. During this study, swimmers behaved carefully and the number of swimmers was low. We strongly recommend to follow the code of conduct based upon the methodology described in the paper, e.g., low numbers of swimmers and no contact initiations by swimmers during human–pilot whale interactions, in order to reduce the likelihood of potentially dangerous aggressive interactions.


MUCH of the research in the sociology of education has been concerned with examining the relationship between the environment of children and measures of intellectual performance. In general, the environment has been described in terms of: (1) gross social status variables such as the occupation of the father, family income, and level of parental educational attainment, (2) family structure variables such as the size of the family, crowding ratio of the home, and ordinal position in the family, or (3) particular child rearing practices. during infancy or childhood.


ABSTRACT Many think that the aim of Hume's Dialogues is simply to discredit the design argument for the existence of an intelligent designer. We think instead that the Dialogues provides a model of true religion. We argue that, for Hume, the truly religious person: (1) believes that an intelligent designer created and imposed order on the universe; (2) grounds this belief in an irregular argument rooted in a certain kind of experience, for example, in the experience of anatomizing complex natural systems such as the eye; and (3) retains this belief, on the basis of these reasons, even after careful scrutiny. We argue that two of the Dialogues's characters, Philo and Cleanthes, exhibit true religion. A third character, Demea, exhibits false religion and a persistent impiety. Taken as a whole, we see the Dialogues as an educational performance for the benefit of Pamphilus, Cleanthes's ward, as well as for the benefit of readers of the Dialogues. Specifically, we think, given that its lessons concern theology and the principles of religion, the dynamics of the Dialogues's discussion and the interplay between its characters can be seen as a demonstration of a method for becoming truly religious.


Henry VII has established a widely-recognized reputation for the assiduousness of his governance. For all the research conducted on Henry's handling of central government machinery, however, little scholarly effort has concentrated on the king's political interaction with provincial government, and particularly with the king's provincial towns. This article examines Henry's relations with urban polities and argues that in the king's political interaction with larger provincial centres in politically sensitive areas, such as Bristol, York and Exeter, can be witnessed a burgeoning urban policy. In contrast to processes of political centralization at work during Henry's regime, however, the king's policy in this regard helped to promote a degree of autonomy for urban governments, and thus also paved the way for the formation of later, distinctive elite urban political cultures.


A model for quantum dot (QD) superluminescent light emitting diode (SLED) is presented to study an optical power output and linewidth over a wide range of injection currents. The analysis is based on the photon and carrier rate equations including the effects of homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening, carrier escape process, and high-current heating. The model is validated using experimental data available from the literature. The results show non-monotonic variations of the output optical power and linewidth of the SLED with the injection current density. It is seen that there exists an optimum injection current density for which the power–linewidth product becomes maximum for a given device length of the QD SLED.


The standard method for collecting information on both the abundance and distribution of surface-dwelling megafauna, and biotic sediment-features associated with burrowing megafauna has been direct observation and counting by divers. However, remote observations allow information comparable to diver observations to be applied to investigations at greater depths and over wider spatial extents than divers may achieve. The present paper compares abundance estimates of megafaunal biotic sediment-features obtained from diver and remotely operated vehicle-mapping techniques. Results show strong agreement between estimates of total-feature and conspicuous- feature abundance, providing assurance that remote observation techniques are not subject to systematic errors in estimation of feature abundance. The ability to detect the smallest features appeared to differ between observation techniques, but this was an artefact caused by measurement of features rather than feature detection. A laser diode array attached to the camera to quantify image scale increased the amount of quantitative data that may be extracted from remote images.


QoS routing protocols using flooding have two major problems,those are wasting network resources and not guiding route searching efficiently. The authors proposed a routing protocol named MBQR based on the MultiPoint Replaying(MPR) idea. MBQR nodes collect local topology information proactively and utilize some strategy to choose their MPR sets. When applications have packets to transmit,MPR sets are used to forward the routing information,in order to find a appropriate routing path quickly and to reduce costs. The simulation results showed that in big-scale and middle-dynamic environments the MBQR protocol reduced route searching latency and the number of flooding messages,it also improved the routing protocol's adaptability.


The investigations reviewed here indicate that the eukaryotic genome is an integrated structural, functional, and evolutionary system. This view arose from a comparative study of vertebrate genomes, centered on the analysis of their compositional patterms, namely of the compositional distributions of large DNA fragments, coding sequences, and introns


We have compared the electron density height profiles calculated by the global numerical Upper Atmosphere Model with the empirical IRI-2007 and IRI-2012 model values. The comparison has been performed for two solar activity levels and different seasons. It is shown that the UAM results agree well at middle latitudes being closer to the IRI-2007 than to the IRI-2012 values.


Regional transfers are assumed to have an impact on the public opinion towards the benefactor, but empirical evidence is still scarce. In this paper we test this hypothesis for the structural funds of the European Union (EU) by combining detailed data on regional transfers with public opinion surveys. A positive impact of transfers on public support for the EU can be confirmed. Moreover, we scrutinize the role of awareness of being a recipient of funds in this process. In particular, we find that the impact of the amount of transfers on the individual's awareness is heterogenous and particularly depends on education. Finally, we show that the type of information source which arouses the citizen's awareness of the transfers affects the impact on his opinion.


Previously from the British Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (BCCSS) it was seen that adult survivors of childhood cancer were less likely to marry than the general population. The objectives of this study were to assess the number of childhood cancer survivors from the BCCSS who were currently divorced or separated, examine factors associated with marriage dissolution and compare survivor divorce rates to population rates.


In decision-making problems where uncertainty plays a key role and decisions have to be taken prior to observing uncertainty, chance constraints are a strong modelling tool for defining safety of decisions. These constraints request that a random inequality system depending on a decision vector has to be satisfied with a high probability. The characteristics of the feasible set of such chance constraints depend on the constraint mapping of the random inequality system, the underlying law of uncertainty and the probability level. One characteristic of particular interest is convexity. Convexity can be shown under fairly general conditions on the underlying law of uncertainty and on the constraint mapping, regardless of the probability-level. In some situations, convexity can only be shown when the probability-level is high enough. This is defined as eventual convexity. In this paper, we will investigate further how eventual convexity can be assured for specially structured chance constraints involving Copulae. The Copulae have to exhibit generalized concavity properties. In particular, we will extend recent results and exhibit a clear link between the generalized concavity properties of the various mappings involved in the chance constraint for the result to hold. Various examples show the strength of the provided generalization.


Vaginal and tympanic membrane temperatures were simultaneously monitored in nine beef heifers. Data not associated with ear infections were characterized by respective vaginal and tympanic membrane temperatures of 38.81 and 38.58 °C. A close relationship between the two temperatures was indicated by a correlation of 0.77 and residual standard deviation of 0.29 °C. Key words: Cattle, radiotelemetry, thermoregulation, tympanic membrane, vagina


The "natural" magnetic moment of a particle of spin S is generally assumed to be that given by the Belinfante conjecture and has the gyromagnetic ratio g=1∕S. Thus, for the spin 1∕2 electron we find the Dirac value ge=2. However, in the standard model the charged W-boson, a spin-one particle, is found to have gW+=2. We discuss this result and argue that the natural value for any particle of spin S should be g=2, independent of spin.


Breast cancer ( carcinoma mammae ) is a malignant neoplasm derived from the parenchyma group. Purpose of this study to analyze relationships self-concept with quality of life in breast cancer patients at wahidin central public hospital sudirohusodo Makassar. This study used an study design observational analytic with aapproach cross sectional . The population in this study were breast cancer patients at the general hospital center. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Makassar amounted to 174 people the sample was drawn by purposive sampling technique, a sample of 32 people. Data collection is done using a questionnaire. The results showed that self-concept was significantly associated with quality of life (p = 0.022). There is a relationship between self-concept and quality of life based on marital status (p = 0.022). There is a relationship between self-concept and quality of life working as civil servants (PNS) (p = 0.053).Conclusion: self-concept is related to quality of life based on marital status and employment in breast cancer patients. It is expected that the results of this study can be taken into consideration in increasing bio.psosio and spiritual nursing care services so that it can help clients choose adaptive coping.


The optimization of the preparation condition of single phase LaNi0.6Fe0.4O3 or LNF by the combustion technique was examined. The phase formation and the crystal structure were investigated using X-ray diffraction pattern. The highest percent of the perovskite phase at 93.5% was exhibited in the sample calcined at 1000°C for 4 h and repeatedly calcined again at 1200°C for 4 h. A higher than optimum calcination temperature lead to an occurrence of a secondary phase which included a tiny amount of La4Ni3O10. After being sintered between 1250–1450°C for 2 h, the pure perovskite phase was obtained from the samples sintered in the range of 1250 to 1350°C while a higher sintering temperature induced a tiny amount La4Ni3O10. Moreover, increasing the sintering temperature affected the crystal structure which changed from rhombohedral to orthorhombic. The SEM observation revealed that the grain boundaries of sintered ceramics melted when the sintering temperature was higher than 1300°C. From the SEM and density investigation, the results proved that the optimum sintering condition is 1300°C for 2 h. Using the combustion technique, both firing temperature and soaked time is lower than the conventional method preparation.


The paper aims to extend the current knowledge on electrical discharge machining of insulating materials, such as cutting ceramics used to produce cutting inserts to machine nickel-based alloys in the aviation and aerospace industries. Aluminum-based ceramics such as Al2O3, AlN, and SiAlON are in the most demand in the industry but present a scientific and technical problem in obtaining sophisticated shapes. One of the existing solutions is electrical discharge machining using assisting techniques. Using assisting Cu-Ag and Cu mono- and multi-layer coatings of 40–120 µm and ZnO powder-mixed deionized water-based medium was proposed for the first time. The developed coatings were subjected to tempering and testing. It was noticed that Ag-adhesive reduced the performance when tempering had a slight effect. The unveiled relationship between the material removal rate, powder concentration, and pulse frequency showed that performance was significantly improved by adding assisting powder up to 0.0032–0.0053 mm3/s for a concentration of 14 g/L and pulse frequency of 2–7 kHz. Further increase in concentration leads to the opposite trend. The most remarkable results corresponded to the pulse duration of 1 µs. The obtained data enlarged the knowledge of texturing insulating cutting ceramics using various powder-mixed deionized water-based mediums.


The article presents the activities and selected views of the French educationalist Gaston Mialaret on the centenary of his birthday. He was a long-time professor at Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines at the University of Caen. He combined the taste for empirical research with interest in philosophy. He continued and enriched the concepts of the New Education, especially the lasting importance of simultaneous research on the subsequent stages of child development and the implementation of education based on the assumptions of development pedagogy. He developed proposals for progressive educational reform presented in 1947 in the project "Le plan Langevin-Wallon". On the background of the analysis of the changing role of education in the contemporary world, Mialaret showed the changing role of pedagogical studies and especially the new role of the teacher as an animator of educational acts and situations. The article emphasises the basic, in Mialaret's opinion, the importance of the socalled active methods enabling the enrichment of personality at all levels of education and the development of the educational, intellectual, civic and cultural potential of each student.


The main objective of the research is to investigate the relationship and influence between strategic improvisation and entrepreneurial performance in the Ministry of Agriculture and to identify the nature and patterns of thinking prevailing at the leadership levels in the concerned ministry in order to identify appropriate procedures and practices that work to establish a culture of strategic improvisation and direct it towards enhancing entrepreneurial performance. Data were collected from (147) respondents represented by an intentional sample of the administrative leaderships and for data analysis, statistical programs (SPSS, AMOS) were employed by adopting appropriate statistical methods, and the results showed the correctness of correlations and influence at the level of major variables and sub-dimensions, which indicates the essential role of strategic improvisation to achieve entrepreneurial performance in the Ministry of Agriculture.


PURPOSE: To quickly calculate the maximum intensity projection by calculating interpolated gray levels for points along a beam of light and deciding the maximum of the interpolated gray levels for assigning the values to pixels related to the beam of light. CONSTITUTION: An arithmetic means decides an estimated minimum gray level for each beam of light 61 and an estimated maximum gray level for each P k of a plurality of points P 1 -P m provided along the beams of light 61 and extracts the maximum gray level from the values of voxels in prescribed adjacent parts around the points P k . The arithmetic means compares the estimated maximum gray level with the estimated maximum gray level for the beam of light 61 and, when the estimated gray level for the points P k exceed the estimated minimum gray level, calculates the interpolated gray level for the point P k along the beams of light 61. Then, the maximum of the interpolated gray level is decided for the allocation for the pixels related to the beam of light 61. Since the values obtained as a result of interpolation are not gray levels, arithmetically expensive interpolation can be omitted. COPYRIGHT: (C)1994,JPO


In spite of the improvement brought by recent research on load balancing in video on demand (VOD) system, it still as an actuality problem. In this paper we propose a payoff-based dynamic segment replication policy called P-DSR which instead of replicating the entire video file, it divides it into several segments then selects the segments with the highest payoff which can rebalance load faster and consequently reduces rejection rate and improve the system response time. Achieved results prove that our approach reach the desired aim even with a low number of segments.


We have analyzed a-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i)/c-Si(n) heterojunction silicon solar cell having the S-shaped current density–voltage characteristics with a low fill factor and open-circuit voltage, using quantum efficiency (QE) characterization technique under forward/reverse voltage and different light (blue, infrared, and white) bias conditions. The curvature of S-shape is sensitive to excitation light intensities because of modification in junction barrier potential (variation in quasi-Fermi levels splitting). With forward-bias voltage alone near/above S-shaped region, cell's QE is uniformly reduced because of reduction in junction field and dominance of barrier for collection of holes. However, with blue and white light at bias voltages close to S-shaped characteristics, a uniform improvement of QE in broad wavelength region is observed because of defects saturation at the junction interface and photoconductivity in the a-Si layers. With white light and voltage bias, cell's QE is anomalously improved and it has even crossed the QE response at no voltage/light bias conditions in the blue region because of defects saturation in a-Si:H layers, whereas under infrared light and voltage bias conditions defect saturation is not displayed in the QE because of carrier generation in a deeper region of the cell after crossing unabsorbed photons front region.


Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be done through several cannulation sites. Axillary artery cannulation is commonly performed through a Dacron graft sutured in an end‐to‐side fashion to the axillary artery. Direct cannulation of the axillary artery appears a reliable technique with low rate of complications. We report our experience in 16 patients using the direct cannulation technique. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12229 (J Card Surg 2014;29:268–269)


Magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI) is an imaging modality proposed for noninvasive conductivity imaging of high spatial resolution. In our work of study, an adjustable narrow pulse magnetic field excitation system based on the cascade of high speed MOSFETs is designed and applied to produce eddy current and measurable ultrasound signals in biological tissue. The transient power of the pulse can reach up to 2.7MW and the estimated eddy electrical field in the biological tissue excited by a coil is up to 1600V/M. An obvious ultrasound signal can be detected by a general ultrasound probe with an amplifier of 82dB. The coil matching circuit and the optimized pulse transformer is employed to improve the driving capability. The designing principle is discussed in our research. The tomographic result of the experiment showed the capability and reliability of the pulse excitation system.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For millennia, Aboriginal people have applied fire to their country to serve a myriad of purposes. Today the indigenous people of the Tanami Desert in Central Australia continue the practice of applying fire to their land systematically and, in so doing, maintain a central strand of their culture and connection with their traditional country. While fire is a part of daily life in desert communities, in mainstream Australia it is gaining recognition as a critical tool for the maintenance and protection of biological and cultural assets. Over the last twelve years, the Central Land Council (CLC)1 has actively encouraged and supported Aboriginal peoples' involvement in CBFiM in the Tanami region. For the last five years, this programme has had at its core an evolving participatory process with traditional owners of the region that combines traditional and contemporary fire knowledge, practices and technologies in annual cycles of planning, implementation, monitoring and review.


ABSTRACT Several parameters of thyroid function were investigated in 16 euthyroid young adult males before and after a 3–4 week period of administration of 20 mg sublingual methyl testosterone (MT) daily. MT decreased the maximal binding capacity of thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) and increased maximal binding capacity of thyroxine binding prealbumin (TBPA). There was an associated decrease in serum thyroxine (T4) iodine concentration, and an increase in 131I-triiodothyronine (T3) resin sponge uptake. The paper electrophoretic distribution of 131I-T4 among TBG, albumin and TBPA moieties was altered; there was a decreased proportion of label migrating with TBG and an increased proportion with TBPA, and albumin during the period of MT administration. The proportion of plasma free T4 increased significantly during MT administration, but equilibrium free T4 concentration was not altered. Studies of 131I-T4 and 125I-T3 kinetics were conducted simultaneously. T4 distribution space was not altered by MT but fra...


Abstract Monitoring evapotranspiration (ET) at large scales is important for assessing climate and anthropogenic effects on natural and agricultural ecosystems. This paper describes techniques used in evaluating ET with remote sensing, which is the only technology that can efficiently and economically provide regional and global coverage. Some of the empirical/statistical techniques have been used operationally with satellite data for computing daily ET at regional scales. The more complex numerical simulation models require detailed input parameters that may limit their application to regions containing a large database of soils and vegetation properties. Current efforts are being directed towards simplifying the parameter requirements of these models. Essentially all energy balance models rely on an estimate of the available energy (net radiation less soil heat flux). Net radiation is not easily determined from space, although progress is being made. Simplified approaches for estimating soil heat flux a...


One of a group of studies designed to delineate the perinatal and infant mortality problem in the United States, this new report from the National Center for Health Statistics presents an analysis of the problem in Norway.
 The study focuses on the sizable decreases in late neonatal and postneonatal mortality rates and the considerably smaller decrease in the perinatal rate. Changes in several parameters of infant loss and their influences on the infant and perinatal mortality trends are discussed, including such risk factors as legitimacy status, maternal age and parity, seasonal, and urban-rural differences.