. Recently, due to the rapid increase of social networks, user-generated textual contents have grown significantly. Sense of place emerges when a place is functionally different from its surroundings and is therefore recognizable. This paper aims to extract place functionality by analyzing user-generated textual contents. Therefore, using different natural language processing and machine learning methods, we show how much place functionality can be represented through the whole text with lemmatized words and only action verbs in descrining place. The evaluation results demonstrate that using the whole text achieves better performance and among different classifiers, SVM leads to better accuracy and f1-score.


There is a commonly held conception that being able to raise a school's test scores as a principal is the hallmark of effective educational leadership. As a professor involved in the preparation of leaders for democratic schools I strongly contest this notion. Wrenching higher test scores from a group of students and teachers does not constitute educational leadership. Rather, it may constitute nothing more than the successful manipulation of a school's instructional program to comply with the wishes and pressures of educational bureaucrats and political power brokers. Following the dictates of others is hardly leadership; it is compliance and falls far short of the sense of compelling vision that is often articulated as a key characteristic of leadership. The bureaucrats and power brokers who set the agenda for schools typically have their own career aspirations in mind much more than the needs and desires of students or the greater societal good. They want to be able to point to higher numbers—especially for test scores—while students want to make sense of and learn about their world. The global concern of policy makers and others who set the agenda for schools is to prepare students who can "race to the top" and, by implication, vanquish other countries around the globe. Conversely, the global concern of schools should be educating students for peaceful, cooperative, fulfi lling, and universally benefi cial coexistence with others around the planet. The impoverished nature of the current vision for education has, unfortunately, made signifi cant headway with current principals. In recent work with principals that included interviews with 40 principals and spanned 10 states (Reitzug, West, & Angel, 2008; Reitzug & West, in press), one characteristic that


Abstract We studied the effects of the specific endothelin (ETA) receptor antagonist, BQ‐123, on reperfusion injury in a rat model of kidney transplantation. First, Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided into three groups: a sham nephrectomy (SNEPH), an autotransplantation (AUTO‐Tx), and an allotransplan‐tation (ALLO‐Tx) group. In a fourth group, ALLO‐Tx + BQ, allo‐grafts were flushed with 20 µg BQ‐123 containing cold Ringer's lactate before transplantation. For the al‐lograft groups, kidneys from white Wistar albino rats were transplanted into allogeneic Sprague Dawley recipients. Grafts were allowed 120 min of reperfusion after 40 min of cold ischemia. ET‐l,2 plasma concentrations in the renal venous blood, and kidney tissue prostaglan‐din (PG) E2 and leukotriene (LT) B4 levels were studied. Diene conjugates (DC), hydroxyalkanals (HAA), hydroxyalkenals (HAE) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, as the products of lipid peroxi‐dation, and protein carbonyls (PC) and protein sulphydryls (PS), as the parameters of protein oxidation, were also analyzed in the kidney tissue. Plasma ET concentrations increased significantly in the AUTO‐Tx and ALLO‐Tx groups (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) but this increase was reversed in the ALLO‐Tx + BQ group. None of the lipid peroxidation products except DCs (P < 0.05) increased in the AUTO‐Tx group, whereas they all increased in the ALLO‐Tx group (P < 0.01). Protein oxidation parameters also changed significantly (P < 0.01) in the ALLO‐Tx group but did not in the AUTO‐Tx group (P < 0.05). The differences in PGE2 and LTB4 levels were not significant. Histopatho‐logic examination revealed prominent glomerular and tubular injury in the AUTO‐Tx and ALLO‐Tx groups but less in the ALLO‐Tx + BQ group. In the last group, all parameters of lipid peroxidation (P < 0.001 for all) and PCs decreased, and PSs were preserved (P < 0.001 for both) when compared with the AUTO‐Tx and ALLO‐Tx groups. We conclude that BQ‐123, in addition to inhibiting the binding of ET‐1,2 to the ETA receptor, may also inhibit the release and/or synthesis of ET‐1,2 and prevent reperfusion injury in kidney transplantation.


The aim of this study was to determine the condition of achievement motivation, affiliation and power in gender perspective in PT. Bangun Bali Utama. In addition, to determine whether there is any difference in achievement motivation, affiliation, and power in a gender perspective, as well as to find out the differences among the three greatest motivation in a gender perspective. The analysis technique used is Descriptive Statistics, Average Difference Testing Two Samples. The analysis showed the condition of achievement motivation, affiliation, and power in a gender perspective, most of the motivation of men is higher than women. Motivation ruling has the largest difference from the third motivation. Advice can be given as a material consideration in the PT. Bangun Bali Utama is more concerned employees to be able to accept a relatively high risk, able to solve problems in the workplace, it can create a strong relationship between employees and leaders to be more attention to employees who have a suitable character as leaders in their respective fields so as to increase motivation their work. Keywords: Achievement Motivation, Motivation Affiliated, Motivation Power and Gender


The invention discloses a surface-modified rubber plug and a preparation method thereof. The rubber plug comprises a rubber plug body and a modification layer on the surface of the rubber plug body. The modification layer is modified through PVDC (polyvinyl dichloride) emulsion. Chemical modification is performed on the surface of the rubber plug by the aid of the corona-aided high polymer material surface modification technology, oxygen-blocking and dampness-blocking features of the PVDC is utilized to increase negative pressure maintaining capacity of a vacuum container, block the contact of the rubber plug body and medicines and blood, and increase safety and biocompatibility of the rubber plug. The method is suitable for the existing rubber plugs available on the market, thermoplastic elastomer rubber plugs and surface modification of sealing parts with complex shapes.


We investigated the role of [18F]FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in evaluating ground-glass nodules (GGNs) by visual analysis and tissue fraction correction. A total of 40 pathologically confirmed ≥1 cm GGNs were evaluated visually and semiquantitatively. [18F]FDG uptake of GGN distinct from background lung activity was considered positive in visual analysis. In semiquantitative analysis, we performed tissue fraction correction for the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of GGN. Of the 40 GGNs, 25 (63%) were adenocarcinomas, 9 (23%) were minimally invasive adenocarcinomas (MIAs), and 6 (15%) were adenocarcinomas in situ (AIS). On visual analysis, adenocarcinoma showed the highest positivity rate among the three pathological groups (88%, 44%, and 17%, respectively). Both SUVmax and tissue-fraction–corrected SUVmax (SUVmaxTF) were in the order of adenocarcinoma > MIA > AIS (p = 0.033 and 0.018, respectively). SUVmaxTF was significantly higher than SUVmax before correction (2.4 [1.9–3.0] vs. 1.3 [0.8–1.8], p < 0.001). When using a cutoff value of 2.5, the positivity rate of GGNs was significantly higher in SUVmaxTF than in SUVmax (50% vs. 5%, p < 0.001). The diagnostic sensitivity of [18F]FDG PET/CT in predicting the malignancy of lung GGN was improved by tissue fraction correction and visual analysis.


Summary form only given. Sputtered Ta-Si-N films are investigated in view of their use as diffusion barriers. Deposition conditions and film properties such as atomic composition, crystallization temperature, surface roughness and, in particular, the amorphous structure as a function of the nitride concentration were analyzed by RBS, XRD and AFM. Their application as diffusion barriers in electromechanical microstructures and for interconnects with glass sealing are discussed.


Two-fingered parallel grippers often use Four-Bar mechanism with gears to operate both the fingers. This paper describes the development of the similar type of gripper (modeled on CREO and 3-D printed working model with ABS material) with two DC servo motors for the respective fingers instead of gears, because these motors have standard sizes and are easily available in the market. As an integrated feature, the rolling of complete gripper assembly is provided about the shaft of another servo motor attached to the gripper body. Also, an additional embracement plate allows the Four-Bar mechanism to move in a plane making the fingers stable and firm while loading and unloading the external object of varying size from 15mm to 80mm. The configuration diagrams and the force vector diagrams are drawn on AutoCad 2016 for every 5 ° motion of crank, and thus, the gripper force is calculated. The developed model was used in articulated robot for simple pick and place operations.


Using singular at metrics associated to meromorphic differential forms on Riemann surfaces, a converse of the classical residue theorem is due. Also a dynamical interpretation of residues using real geodesic ows is given.


Abstract We describe the structure of Hausdorff locally compact semitopological O-bisimple inverse ω- semigroups with compact maximal subgroups. In particular, we show that a Hausdorff locally compact semitopological O-bisimple inverse ω-semigroup with a compact maximal subgroup is either compact or it is a topological sum of its H-classes. We describe the structure of Hausdorff locally compact semitopological O-bisimple inverse ω-semigroups with a monothetic maximal subgroups. We show the following dichotomy: a T1 locally compact semitopological Reilly semigroup (B(Z+, θ)0, τ) over the additive group of integers Z+, with adjoined zero and with a non-annihilating homomorphism is either compact or discrete. At the end we establish some properties of the remainder of the closure of the discrete Reilly semigroup B(Z+, θ) in a semitopological semigroup.


Abstract. We present a theoretical sensitivity analysis of silicon-on-insulator quadruple Vernier racetrack resonators based on varying, one at a time, various fabrication-dependent parameters. These parameters include the waveguide widths, heights, and propagation losses. We show that it should be possible to design a device that meets typical commercial specifications while being tolerant to changes in these parameters.


The cost of training doctors, both in terms of expenditure on medical education and in terms of the induced demand for NHS expenditure created by having more doctors initiating care and cure, are considerable. However, the forecasting of their number and the planning of their utilisation remain crude and deficient in the UK. This paper reviews doctor manpower planning in the UK in the recent past and criticises official practices. There has been a failure to consider the implications of alternative levels of fundinf for the performance of the NHS and the use of doctors. There has been a reluctance to analyse substitution possibilities e.g. to what extent could nurses be substituted for doctors in general practice? Analysis of the relative "attractiveness" of general practice and hospital work for graduating doctors has been cursory but has important implications for career structures and the efficient use of scarce manpower. For instance, an increase in the size of the consultant grade at the expense of "juniors" has implications for night and weekend cover, for the review of medical practice and, if the labour market is to be kept flexible to avoid "surpluses" and "shortages", for the nature and duration of consultant and GP contracts i.e. short term contracts rather than "jobs for life" may be consistent with efficiency if inconsistent with professional "restrictive practices". These and other major issues need to be analysed by the UK Health Department's Medical Manpower Steering Group. This analysis needs to be informed by careful research of a fundamental nature which emphasises that doctors are merely one input into the processes by which health care is produced for patients. Furthermore, as two of the authors argued nearly a decade ago, this work needs to be part of a continuous public process of review so that scarce intelligent manpower is not diverted into inefficient uses.


In this paper,recursion neural network with bias unit has been introduced,and apply to build flood forecast model.The result of hydrology data provide by Fengman and Baishan show that using recursion neural network with bias unit for flood forecast is effective,and this method can extend to other area.


Orange and red materials were observed and photographed in the dark mantle of the Sulpicius Gallus Formation on the southwestern rim of the Serenitatis basin. These materials occur only within the dark mantle that overlies old rilled mare and highland units and are absent on the younger mare unit in this area. Orange and red materials occur predominantly as halos, patches, or rays around fresh impact craters ranging in diameter from less than 50 to 250 m and in layers exposed at the base of the dark mantle deposit in the steep walls of a depression and a graben. Red material is present in the highland subsurface, possibly as dikes. We conclude that orange material, locally underlain by red material, occurs in the dark mantle to a depth of about 50 m as locally stratified but discontinuous pyroclastic deposits and that it may have been produced by multiple 'fire foundation' eruptions during the later stages of accumulation of the older mare basalt units.


With the widely installation of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in power system and the increasing requirement of the real-time monitoring and control, a novel power system topology analysis algorithm is proposed with high precise information from PMUs to improve the performance of current network topology analysis. First of all, a method of identifying switch status is established to correct the state mistake of circuit breakers (CB) relying on the analog data acquired by PMUs. Subsequently, a topology analysis in substation combined with the PMUs information (including the digital data of CBs state and the phasor of voltage and current) is advanced in this paper. And then an efficient topology analysis algorithm introduces into topology search process using Cotree-to-Bus structure array. Finally, simulation results based on the PSCAD and MATLAB software have validated the efficiency and accuracy of the novel method introduced in this paper.


Preparative chromatography was used to overcome the difficult selectivity challenge of accessing a single isomer of a mono tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) derivative of an unsymmetrical diol. Chromatographic purification allowed rapid purification of more than 10 kg of the desired intermediate from the statistical mixture of undesired mono-TBDMS, bis-TBDMS, and very strongly retained, unreacted starting material. A noteworthy injection cycle strategy of performing three injections, then desorbing the accumulated strongly bound diol starting material with a strong solvent wash was employed in the separation.


Abstract : Commonly accepted scenarios of Warsaw Pact warfare against NATO assume that over half of initial Pact offensive forces would consist of Czechoslovak, East German, and Polish units. These Northern Tier military institutions and their roles domestically and within the Warsaw Pact are examined in this study. The officer corps of all three military establishments are outwardly committed to a Soviet-defined 'lightning war' strategy. This strategy may constitute the principal Soviet lever for ensuring Northern Tier participation in a Warsaw Pact offensive, but how reliably the conscript armies would in fact fulfill that intended roll is another question. In any case, Pact preparations for 'coalition warfare' imply weaknesses and vulnerabilities that deserve careful attention in light of the distinctive individual characteristics of the respective Northern Tier military establishments. (Author)


The derivation of a steady-state phase-variable model of the synchronous machine is considered for the purpose of investigating the influence of machine saliency on the unbalanced behaviour of powersystem networks. The model is particularly relevant as a means of representing the salient-pole generators of important hydroelectric stations feeding large and remote load centres. Application of the model is also considered so that corresponding blocks of the system Jacobian matrix are formulated and used in a previously described Newton - Raphson algorithm to obtain 3-phase load flows. The results of computation illustrate that saliency is not an insignificant parameter amongst those which determine the extent and distribution of system unbalance.


The Marbles sensu stricto of the Mt. Altissimo region form an important district in the central Apuane Alps and were exploited in many quarries active up to some decades ago. The marble varieties are characterized by high quality physical-mechanical properties often joined with very appreciated ornamental features (Tacca Bianca Statuary, Absolute white Porracci, Arabesque-like types, ecc.). At present only two large quarries are active. The most important is the Cervaiole quarry, SE of the Mt. Altissimo, from which decorative Arabesque marbles are extracted; the La Buca quarry, Mt. Altissimo eastern slopes, has been reactivated a few years ago and shows high potentiality of development principally toward the underground production. The marbles here concerned crop out at the core of the Altissimo Syncline, one of the major megastructures of the Apuane Unit that formed during the D 1 compressional tectonics of the Tertiary orogenesis, and were severely affected by the D 2 tectonic phase. In the southern sector of the Altissimo Syncline, the closure of the megafold shows several kilometric-hectometric parasitic folds characterized by diffuse sheath style that controlled orientation and geometry of the following D 2 structures.


Research purposes: The settlement of subway tunnel in different level will be caused under the long-time vehicle dynamic load and it brings unfavorable effects on the stability of subway operation.The settlement is clearer especially in the saturated soft clay.It will help us to correctly understand the subway operation load of the surrounding soil by carrying out soil dynamic stability research under subway tunnel and provide the basis for soil around tunnel reinforcement. Research conclusions: Based on the analysis of stress characteristic during subway operation,a simulated experimental system is researched and built up.This paper investigated the dynamic stability of underlying silty clay of shield tunnel by model test.The dynamic characteristic in different amplitude and frequency of dynamic load was researched,also we analyzed the settlement of the subway tunnel.The test results shows that,the dynamic response of underlying silty clay presented attenuation trend with the increasing of space,the attenuation was more obvious when the distance was smaller,and the larger the value of dynamic load peak,the greater the tunnel settlement.The lower frequency,the greater the vertical settlement when the dynamic load has the same value and the vibration frequency is constant.


Drawing from extensive experience as community educators, this paper discusses
accreditation and its relationship to community development as informed by a
cooperative inquiry conducted by tutors. Beginning with our rationale for undertaking
the inquiry, it details our approach to community development and the
centrality of education within this. It offers a review of some literature pertinent
to both concepts before presenting findings from the inquiry itself. It concludes by
emphasising the positive features of the awarding of credits for set-learning periods
but expresses concern about difficulties with contemporary models of practice
including a degree of discordance between accreditation and education for social
change.


Abstract Computer Literacy courses are offered by many colleges and universities and are often taken by students from various academic majors. Since the course may be unlike others in their major, students may be unfamiliar with strategies that may be useful for learning these concepts. Participants (n=291) completed a survey consisting of course-related selected-response questions, questions adopted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and openended questions focusing on their study habits. Results indicated several strategies strongly related to success as indicated by course grade. Introduction Research has shown that self-regulated learning is an important aspect of student academic performance in the classroom. Students practicing self-regulation behaviors initiate and direct their own efforts to acquire knowledge and skill rather than relying on teachers, parents, or others. In general, self-regulated learning consists of three essential elements: commitment to academic goals, self-efficacy perceptions, and self-regulated learning strategies (Zimmerman, 1989). Student academic goals are the underlying reasons for students' learning behaviors and are most often described as either mastery or performance goals (Ames, 1992; Urdan, 1997). Students possessing mastery goals are considered to be intrinsically motivated, primarily focusing on learning or mastering course material. These students often seek out challenging assignments, put forth more effort to learn the material and tend to use more effective learning strategies while studying. In contrast, students with performance goals are considered to be extrinsically motivated and tend to focus on the outcome of their learning. They are primarily interested in earning a good grade in the course, or gaining social esteem (Pintrich, 1995). Extrinsically motivated students oftentimes use less effective learning strategies (Meece, Blumenfeld & Hoyle, 1988). Self-efficacy is the student's beliefs about his or her ability and not only influences the type of goals students set for themselves but can also influence an individual's willingness to attempt a particular task, the level of effort employed, and persistence in accomplishing the task (Bandura, 1986; Pintrich, 1995). Lack of self-efficacy has also been associated with the debilitating affect of high test-anxiety (Pajares, 2002). Self-regulation also consists of students' use of learning strategies, such as organizing and applying new information, self-monitoring one's performance, seeking assistance, and managing time and student environments (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie, 1991; Zimmerman, 1989). Students' use of self-regulated learning strategies depends not only on their knowledge of strategies but also on their academic goals and self-efficacy perceptions. Students with learning goals tend to use deep processing strategies that enhance their understanding of concepts (Pintrich & Garcia, 1994). Conversely, students with performance goals, tend to use strategies that promote only short-term and surface level processing, like memorizing and rehearsing (Weinstein, Husman & Dierking, 2000). Much of the previous research on self-regulated learning has indicated that self-regulatory processes are linked with content domains, and individuals learn how to apply these skills in a given learning or applied context (Kiewra, 2002; Zimmerman, 1998). Determining specific self-regulation processes associated with successful learning in particular content domains is an important next step in this line of research. Computer Literacy courses are offered by many colleges and universities and are often taken by students from various academic majors. For many students, this course is a requirement of their degree programs. For others, importance and applicability of content information are influential factors. Since these courses are very prevalent and the content a necessity to many students, it is therefore important to determine the relationship of motivation and learning strategies affecting learning and performance. …


Plants exhibit complex responses to change in environmental conditions such as radiant heat flux, water quality, airborne pollutants, and soil contents. We seek to utilize natural chemical and electrophysiological response of plants to develop novel plant-based sensor networks. Our present work focuses on plant responses to nuclear radiation—with the goal of monitoring plant responses as benchmarks for detection and dosimetry. In our study, we used plants including Cactus, Arabidopsis, Dwarf mango (pine), Euymus, and Azela. We demonstrated that these plants Chlorophyll-a (F680) to Chlorophyll-b (F735) ratio can be changed according to the radiation dose amount. The recovery processes and speed are different for different plants.


A 74-year-old woman with multiple myeloma who complained of high fever was diagnosed with influenza A and immediately treated with laninamivir. Ten hours later, she developed dyspnea with bilateral wheezing, which progressed to type-2 respiratory failure. Chest radiography revealed atelectasis and computed tomography showed obstruction (arrow) (Picture 1, 2). A histological analysis of the bronchial tree-shaped mucus plugs removed by bronchoscopy confirmed abundant fibrinous and mucinous material with blood cell infiltration, indicating plastic bronchitis (PB)


Ataraxia is an autonomous therapeutic experience through the senses that involves integrative medicine and the benefits of a self-sustaining rural economy to respond to one of the most relevant situations in our current society, stress, offering an innovative and authenthic solution from colombian ancestral knowledge; with a perspective and methodology of industrial design offering the Ignatian values of the Javeriana community.


Domain generalization (DG) aims to learn a generic model from multiple observed source domains that generalizes well to arbitrary unseen target domains without further training. The major challenge in DG is that the model inevitably faces a severe overfitting issue due to the domain gap between source and target domains. To mitigate this problem, some dropout-based methods have been proposed to resist overfitting by discarding part of the representation of the intermediate layers. However, we observe that most of these methods only conduct the dropout operation in some specific layers, leading to an insufficient regularization effect on the model. We argue that applying dropout at multiple layers can produce stronger regularization effects, which could alleviate the overfitting problem on source domains more adequately than previous layer-specific dropout methods. In this paper, we develop a novel layer-wise and channel-wise dropout for DG, which randomly selects one layer and then randomly selects its channels to conduct dropout. Particularly, the proposed method can generate a variety of data variants to better deal with the overfitting issue. We also provide theoretical analysis for our dropout method and prove that it can effectively reduce the generalization error bound. Besides, we leverage the progressive scheme to increase the dropout ratio with the training progress, which can gradually boost the difficulty of training the model to enhance its robustness. Extensive experiments on three standard benchmark datasets have demonstrated that our method outperforms several state-of-the-art DG methods. Our code is available at https://github.com/lingeringlight/PLACEdropout.


Advanced engine designs incorporate higher mechanical and thermal loading to achieve efficiency improvements. This approach often leads to higher operating temperatures of critical sliding elements (e.g. piston ring/cylinder wall contacts and valve guides) which compromise the use of conventional and even advanced synthetic liquid lubricants. For these applications solid lubricants must be considered. Several novel solid lubricant composites and coatings designated PS/PM200 have been employed to dry and marginally oil lubricated contacts in advanced heat engines. These applications include cylinder kits of heavy duty diesels, and high temperature sterling engines, sidewall seals of rotary engines and various exhaust valve and exhaust component applications. The following paper describes the tribological and thermophysical properties of these tribomaterials and reviews the results of applying them to engine applications. Other potential tribological materials and applications are also discussed with particular emphasis to heavy duty and advanced heat engines.


The prevalence rate of dental caries has experienced an increasing trend from year to year, so that the condition of dental and oral health problems in Indonesia is still worrying, especially for elementary school children. The high number of dental health problems is caused by many factors, one of which is the low level of dental health maintenance behavior. Promotive and preventive measures are needed to prevent dental and oral health problems, namely by providing dental and oral health education. Poster media is a medium or prop/tool that can be used to convey messages from communicators to the audience. Staircase poster media is a development of general poster media, this media is designed for the sequence/stages of maintaining dental health which are attached to the school steps. Objective: This research is to analyze the effectiveness of stair poster media in improving the dental health behavior of elementary school children. Method: This research used a non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design. The research sample was 125 people taken using purposive sampling technique. The intervention group was given dental health education using posters, while the control group was given dental health education using filpchart. Data were tested using Wilcoxon test analysis, namely a pre-post design, while to compare the means of the treatment and control groups, the Mann Whitney test was used. Results: The results of the test of differences in knowledge, attitudes and actions of brushing teeth show that the p-value between the intervention group and the control group is 0.000 (p <0.05), meaning that there is a difference between the values of knowledge, attitudes and actions of brushing teeth after dental health education with children's poster media. steps and dental health education with filpchart. Conclusion: dental health education using stair poster media is more effective in increasing the knowledge, attitudes and actions of brushing teeth in elementary school children compared to dental health education using flipcharts
Keywords: Stair poster, media, dental health, behavior


Considering the difference of single forecasting method 's veracity at different times,this paper presents a new combination forecasting model based on density operator.The core ideal of this method is to cluster the forecasting values by the forecasting veracity,then build the combination forecasting model using the density operator.Based on this,the single forecasting method weight is determined through the minimal warp between the forecasting values and the real values.This combination forecasting model makes full use of single forecasting model 's veracity,so the forecasting value veracity has been increased.At last,an application example is given,and its result is analyzed to illustrate the validity of the new combination forecasting model.


Abstract The 233, 234, 236, 238U fission cross sections have been measured relative to 235U(n, f) for incident neutron energies from 200 KeV to 200 MeV using neutron time-of-flight at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The results are generally consistent with the current ENDF/B-VII evaluation, but some discrepancies with previous measurements above 20 to 30 MeV are observed. These measurements are part of a campaign to measure fission cross sections with high precision in support of fast reactor technology.


Venous leg ulceration is a chronic condition characterized by cycles of healing and recurrence with healing times ranging from weeks to years Purpose: to evaluate the effect of Helium Neon and Gallium Arsenide in healing of venous ulcer using wound surface area and colony count. Methods: sixty (53 males and 7 females) patients with leg venous ulcers were randomly divided into three group. Group (A) received Helium Neon laser in addition to standard ulcer care. Group (B) received Gallium Arsenide laser in addition to standard ulcer care. Group(C) (Control group) received only the standard ulcer care. Results: The result showed that there was a significant decrease in ulcer surface area and number of bacteria using Low Level Laser Therapy (Helium Neon and Gallium Arsenide) better than conservative ulcer care in addition to there were no significant differences between He-Ne 632 and Ga-As 808-904 in decreasing ulcer surface area and colony count in the healing of the venous ulcers. Conclusion: Both types (He-Ne 632 and Ga-As 808-904) are effective in enhancing healing of venous ulcer that reflected by decreasing ulcer surface area and colony count without superiority of one type over the other.


Promoting sexual and reproductive health should be one of the objectives of the nurses specialized in maternal and obstetric health nursing, particularly in its work with adolescents. To know these interventions, a scoping review was developed, with the following subject: "Which are the nursing care, within the family planning scope, that promote sexual and reproductive health in adolescents?". Three qualitative studies were selected, based on the electronic databases. The contributions of the selected articles led to identify the objectives of nursing care, under the family planning. The crucial role of this nurses was unanimous, in promoting positive visions and experiences of sexuality; in advising and helping to select contraceptive methods; in strategies to prevent unwanted pregnancies and control the fertility; in prevent the sexually transmitted infections and in promoting health among adolescents, with periodical appointments and sessions in schools.


The collapse of the 1.398 M, core of a 10 M, star evolved from the main sequence by Weaver and Woosley is followed numerically. General relativistic hydrodynamics was used to evolve the matter, and a multigroup, flux-limited diffusion scheme was used to independently evolve u,'s, V,'s, and up and u, pairs. The equation of state of Lamb et al. was used up to nuclear densities; a soft equation of state modeled after the hot nucleon EOS of Friedman and Pandharipande was used above nuclear density. The zero and first Lengendre moments of all important neutrino interactions were calculated from exact expressions (numerically integrated when necessary) obtained from the standard model of electroweak interactions with s in& = 0.23. The initial evolution was characterized by the approximately homologous collapse of an inner core of mass 0.55 M, and a neutrino trapping density of between 6 x 10" g cm-3 and lo'* g cm-' for all neutrino types. The central density a t bounce was 9.7 x I O l 4 g setting quickly afterwards to 6.6 x loi4 g C I T ~ . Shortly before bounce a quasi-stationary shock formed near the edge of the inner core a t a radius of 25 km and a density of 6 x 10l2 g (31-n~~. On rebound the inner core transferred about 6 x los' ergs to the shock which thereupon began a rapid outward propagation (vShock 10'Ocm s-I). The location of the neutrinosphere was neutrino energy dependent, and about 2 ms were required for the shock to propagate from the 8 MeV to the 23 MeV neutrinosphere. The shock weakened and eventually ceased to propagate outward at all, becoming an accretion shock; no supernovalike explosion occurred and no matter was expelled. A total of -3.3 x los' ergs, -2.1 x loso, and -1.2 x los' ergs were radiated as u,'s, Se's, and u,, and u, pairs by the time the shock reached maximum radius. The u, luminosity rose gradually to a maximum of about 2.2 x los3 ergs s ' . The luminosities of thei:s and the u,, and u, pairs rose abruptly (rise time 1 ms) after shock breakout and were still slowly rising after maximum shock radius, with values a t this time of 2.0 x and 8.8 x los2 ergs SKI, respectively. Mean emergent neutrino energies a t maximum shock radius were 8.0 MeV for the u:s, 10.5 MeV for the ie's, and 14.4 MeV for the u,, and u, pairs.


The adoption of a recent law on abortion (1978) makes available in Italy new statistics at both the national and regional levels. Following the official source of ISTAT, the abortion rate/100 livebirths in 1979 was about 28%, about 40% in the northern part of Italy, and only 16% in Mezzogiorno. This abortion rate, as an average data at the national level, corresponds to a normal position among similar rates in western countries; closer to EEC member states. But the regional variability seems a very interesting new aspect of the Italian tryptic (north, center, south) largely presented in many demographic indicators. 3 factors are presented as a possible explication of this variability: a real different attitude of women and couples towards abortion from cultural, religious, and political points of view; the coexistence of legal and illegal abortion despite the adoption of a new liberal law; and the very important disequilibrium in the distribution of structures and medical services available to assure abortions in different parts of the country. Some other demographic points related to abortion are also presented here, particularly in connection with age structure of women and their marital status. Future trends in abortion with subsequent effects on fertility are also discussed at the end of this article. The arguments follow 2 alternatives presented in Italy by the National Committee on Population and the Committee of Demographic Studies. (author's modified)


This low-noise, high-performance, operational amplifier, part of a series, incorporates junction field-effect transistors (JFETs) on the same chip with standard bipolar transistors. The 15 op amps in the series replace expensive hybrid and module devices in such applications as precision high-speed integrators, fast A/D and D/A converters, high-impedance buffers, logarithmic amplifiers, sample-and-hold circuits, photocell amplifiers, and amplifiers that combine wide bandwidth, low noise, and low drift.


The shallow groundwater near Luoyang has been hard seriously.To solve the problem,it is necessary to find out the temporal and spatial development of the hardness in the shallow groundwater.Gray prediction of data sequence is a good method for trend prediction.It doesn't need a lot of data and is only a dynamic analysis.In this paper,the hardness of the shallow groundwater was treated as a grey variable and the GM(1,1) grey model was created to predict the future trend of the change in hardness.The aim is to provide a reference for solving the high hardness problem of the shallow groundwater.The predictive results show that the grey model is an effective one.The hardness of the shallow groundwater in most places of Luoyang will rise continuously,and the spatial distribution of the hardness will change.


Aiming at the balance between user personalized privacy protection and task data practicability in mobile crowdsensing, this article proposes a lightweight privacy protection (LightPrivacy) scheme based on the matching of attribute preferences between users and tasks with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), bloom filter, binary confusion vector inner product protocol, and differential privacy. First, the fog nodes are introduced to divide the subtasks of sensing tasks, and the optimal subtask set is selected and published through AHP. The fog nodes construct task bloom filter according to task attribute requirement preference. The sensing users construct user bloom filter based on intention attribute preference, and filter target users by calculating the binary confusion vector inner product of two bloom filters. Furthermore, the LightPrivacy scheme perceives sensing users to localize sensitive data that needs to be disturbed according to privacy budget distributed equally by fog nodes. Finally, the fog node evaluates the quality of sensing data and defines task contribution of sensing users in combination with the binary confusion vector inner product, so as to effectively prevent malicious users from submitting false data or adding large data perturbations. Security analysis indicates that the LightPrivacy scheme is still security under the condition that fog nodes are semi‐trusted. Experimental results show that the LightPrivacy scheme is practical and the computational efficiency is significantly improved compared with the related representative schemes.


Abstract Although it is commonly believed that language and culture are inexorably linked, the precise nature of this relationship remains elusive. This study investigated the hypothesis that a loss in language signals a loss in culture if language is considered a central value. This hypothesis was investigated by rating the Hindi and English proficiency of 30 first and second generation Indo-Canadian Hindi speakers (15 parent–child pairs) and relating these to their reactions in a matched-guise task, featuring culturally charged English and Hindi scenarios recorded by the same speaker. The scenarios targeted one aspect of North Indian culture – the value of filial duty – in two contexts (marriage, career). It was hypothesised that, if language loss triggered culture loss, then speakers losing their Hindi (second generation), but not those maintaining it (first generation), would differ in their reactions to scenarios as a function of language. Findings revealed a language shift and the beginnings of a culture shift between the two generations. However, the shift in culture appeared not to be mediated by language. Implications of these findings for heritage language and culture maintenance, the language–culture relationship and group identity construction are discussed.


This paper mainly discusses the existence of positive periodic solutions of hysteretic differential equations approximated by multiple integrals. Delay differential equations play an important role in the modeling of stochastic phenomena, which cannot be replaced by traditional deterministic models. Under some conditions, the trivial solution of the state-dependent time-delay system is exponentially stable if and only if the zero solution of the corresponding linear system is exponentially stable. The asymptotic behavior of solutions of delay differential equations is appropriate in different ranges. A sufficient condition for the existence of a positive periodic solution is studied. The existence of multi-periodic positive solutions for a class of non-autonomous delay differential equations is studied. When general results are applied to several kinds of bio-mathematical models with time-delay, they have high parallelism, high nonlinearity and good fault tolerance. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study its development process and problems.


Objective To explore the clinic associated factors of FGR(fetal growth restriction).Methods A retrospective analysis of clinical data of puerperas who had given birth and neonates with FGR in our hospital from January 2005 to December 2010 was performed to evaluate the FGR associated factors.Results The incidence rates of FGR was 1.72%and showed a downward trend in 6 years.The incidence rate of asphyxia neonatorum was 2.5% and the incidence rate of severe asphyxia neonatorum was 1.25%.The incidence rates of oligohydramnios,hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy moderate to severe anemia,placenta abnormality in FGR puerperas were significantly higher than those of control group(all P0.05).Conclusion Oligohydramnios,hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy,moderate to severe anemia,placenta abnormality are the primary clinical factors leading to FGR instead of cord abnormality and mild anemia.


The resolutions of the optical lithography is limited by the well-known Rayleigh limit. Although the atom lithography can generate features smaller than this limit, the spacing of the pattern is still limited by the optical wavelength. Here, we proposed two atom lithography methods, both of which used the coherent Rabi oscillation to break the diffraction limit. One is in the microwave regime where the Rydberg atom is used and micrometer resolution can be achieved. The other is in the optical regime where sub-10 nanometer resolution is possible.


There was studied the influence of season of birth and calving on milk yield, fat content in milk and milk fat of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cattle in this work. It was established that animals with different season of birth and calving differed among themselves by the indicators of milk productivity. Cows born in autumn and winter had the highest yield and quantity of milk fat. Abovementioned seasons of calving cows marked the best indicators of milk production. However, the correlation coefficients between the studied parameters and the share of influence of birth season and calving season on milk yield, fat content in milk and milk fat amount was insignificant.


The symptoms of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) appear owing to an adult-T-cell-leukemia virus (humanTcell leukemia virus type I: HTLV-1). A 91-year-old woman presented to the ENT service with a one-month history of hoarseness and an abnormal sensation of the throat. Inspection of the oral cavity revealed the presence of a tumor in the oropharynx. On endoscopic examination, the tumor extended from the nasopharynx to the oropharynx. A positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan showed multiple accumulation throughout the body other than Waldeyer's Ring. Histological analysis showed a variety of cells, which stained positive for CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD25, and negative to CD20. Taking those findings into consideration, we diagnosed the patient as having adult T-cell leukemialymphoma (lymphoma type).


The Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Rehabilitation System (ANDERS) aims to provide a uniquely comprehensive tool that will transform the manner in which bridge decks are assessed and rehabilitated. It is going to be achieved through: 1) much higher evaluation detail and comprehensiveness of detection at an early stage deterioration, 2) comprehensive condition and structural assessment at all stages of deterioration, and 3) integrated assessment and rehabilitation that will be minimally invasive, rapid and cost effective. ANDERS is composed of three physical systems that merge novel NDE technologies together with novel intervention approaches to arrest the deterioration processes. These technologies are incorporated within a series of human-operated and robotic vehicles to allow rapid, comprehensive application across large populations of bridges. To perform assessments, ANDERS is equipped with two complimentary nondestructive approaches. The first, Multi-Modal Nondestructive Evaluation (MM-NDE) System aims to identify and characterize localized deterioration with a high degree of resolution. The second, global structural assessment system named STAR aims to capture global structural characteristics and identify any appreciable effects of deterioration on a bridge structure. Output from these two approaches will be merged through a novel Automated Structural Identification (Auto St-Id) approach that constructs, calibrates, and utilizes simulation models to assess the overall structural vulnerability and capacity. These two systems comprise the assessment suite of ANDERS and directly inform the Nondestructive Rehabilitation (NDR) System. The NDR System leverages robotics for the precision and rapid delivery of novel materials capable of halting the early-stage deterioration identified. The paper covers the details of the three ANDERS components developed through the support from National Institute of Standards and Technology-Technology Innovation Program (NIST-TIP). Specifically, the paper will provide a description of the components, their principle of operation and applications, and describe how the components work together.


The piecewise linear approximation is introduced.The model of adaptive hinging hyperplanes(AHH) is a potential piecewie linear model and used in model predictive control(MPC).The nonlinear system to be controlled is modeled via AHH approximation,and the modeling is simple and efficient due to the adaptiveness of AHH identification algorithm.After the predictive model is built,an open-loop optimization problem is formulated to get the optimal control sequence and the receding horizon control strategy is employed.The open-loop optimization problem is actually a series of convex optimization subproblems and the existence of the global optimum is guaranteed for the original problem.In order to make an efficient application,a decent algorithm is proposed to search for a local optimum.Simulation results show the prospect of the AHH-based MPC.


Based on the good autocorrelation and random property of chaotic sequences, a method was proposed to design a polyphase orthogonal code for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. Chaotic waveforms could be generated by quantifying and polyphase-coding chaotic sequences from different initial values. Auto-correlation sidelobes of different chaotic waveforms were uncorrelated, so that the mainlobe-to-sidelobe ratio was improved under the pulse system which increased the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by using the pulse coherent integration. Finally, the simulation results showed that the output of the Doppler channel where the target was located had a good mainlobe-to-sidelobe ratio.


Germanium−perovskite oxide heterostructures have a strong potential for next-generation low-voltage and low-leakage metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. We investigated the atomic structure and electronic properties of Ge on perfect and defective (001) SrTiO3 by first-principle calculations. The specific adsorption sites at the initial growth stage and the atomic structure of Ge on the SrTiO3 (001) substrate have been systematically investigated. The surface grand potential was calculated and compared as a function of the relative chemical potential. The complete surface phase diagram was presented. The energetically favorable interfaces were pointed out among the atomic arrangements of the Ge/SrTiO3 (001) interfaces. The atomic structure and electronic properties of the intrinsic point defects were calculated and analyzed for the Ge/SrTiO3 (001) interfaces.


Aim To investigate the role of RhoA in bradykinin(BK)-induced the opening of blood-tumor barrier(BTB).Methods Rat brain microvascular endothelail cells(RBMECs)of BTB model in vitro were pretreated with a specific RhoA inhibitor,C3 exoenzyme and then treated with bradykinin(BK)for 15 min.HRP flux and TEER assays revealed BTB permeability.An shift in claudin-5 distribution from insoluble to soluble fractions was observed by Western blot.The stress fiber formation and distribution of F-actin and claudin-5 in RBMECs of BTB model in vitro were assessed by fluorescence microscopy.Results C3 exoenzyme could partially inhibit endothelial leakage and restore normal TEER values in RBMECs of BTB model in vitro.An obvious shift in claudin-5 distribution from insoluble to soluble fractions was prevented by C3 exoenzyme.C3 exoenzyme inhibited BK-induced relocation of claudin-5 from cell membrane into the cytoplasm as well as stress fiber formation in RBMECs of BTB model in vitro.Conclusion RhoA plays a key role in BK-induced opening of BTB.


This report presents an analysis of World Heritage criterion (vi) and makes recommendations to improve its application. It documents the evolution of criterion (vi) since 1977 and sets out statistical tables on its use. After presenting the ICOMOS correlation of associations and themes from its 2007 compendium, the report carries out an in-depth analysis of 240 statements of Outstanding Universal Value as a basis for determining themes and attributes for criterion (vi). Recalling that the World Heritage Convention is property-based, the report considers the evolution of the concept of associative value and the relationship of criterion (vi) to other inscription criteria, the Global Strategy and intangible cultural heritage. Key issues
identified in this study are the wording of criterion (vi), current guidance, capacity building, the use of criterion (vi) with natural criteria and alternate international programs.


Abstract : In a democracy, those who govern have power by virtue of a popular vote of their country's citizens. While not similarly elected, the military also holds power. Consequently, effective civil-military relations the relationship between elected civilian leaders and the military are vital to those seeking to create a government that is ultimately responsive to the people who elected it. The key issue remains how a democratic government can exert control over the military, rather than the other way around. This is especially important since the military formed the government in many countries, and in others the military is relied on periodically to support a civilian government. As always, "the devil is in the details" because institutions such as defense ministries, legislative committees, oversight commissions, and others must exercise control over the military for a democratically elected civilian government to succeed.


The function of the visualization cigarette in-out warehouse system based on RFID technology mainly include the commodity files,the out of storage function,the alarm function,the visual management and so on.In view of the above functions,a systematic design is carried out in this paper.The main function is that the 915 antenna establishes a connection with the computer through Socket communication,it receives the label information uploaded to the computer,and then according to the uploaded information,the computer will process it and realize the goods management.The physical connection topology and 915 antenna layouts are also described in this paper.


Changes of several mainly storage substances as well as seed storage protein pattern during zygote embryos development of Quercus variabilis were studied.Similar variation trends were found among soluble sugar,reductant sugar,soluble starch and storage proteins content.The contents of these substances increased as the development of the embryo and decreased then.The storage protein band number also increased accordingly.


The paper addresses the existence and uniqueness of entropy solutions for the degenerate triply nonlinear problem: b(v)t − div α(v, ▽g(v)) = f on Q:= (0, T) × Ω with the initial condition b(v(0, ·)) = b(v0) on Ω and the nonhomogeneous boundary condition "v = u" on some part of the boundary (0, T) × ∂Ω". The function g is continuous locally Lipschitz continuous and has a flat region [A1, A2,] with A1 ≤ 0 ≤ A2 so that the problem is of parabolic-hyperbolic type.


In this study, we present a numerical algorithm for solving systems of Volterra-differential-difference equations with variable coefficients by collocation method. This algorithm based on polynomial approximation, using the first kind Chebyshev polynomial basis with collocation method. This method transforms the system of Volterra-differential-difference equations and the given conditions into matrix equation which corresponds to a system of linear algebraic equation. In addition, convergence analysis of the method is presented. Some cases of the mentioned equations are solved as examples to illustrate the reliability of the method. The results reveal that the method is very effective and accuracy.


By time-of-flight spectrometry we have measured the energy loss of hydrogen projectiles in helium gas. We show that for projectile velocities ${\mathit{v}}_{1}$ below the Bohr velocity the presence of an appreciable minimum excitation energy leads to a significant deviation of the electronic stopping cross section from the ${\mathit{v}}_{1}$ proportionality generally assumed; at 4 keV a dependence on roughly the third power of ${\mathit{v}}_{1}$ is found.


Objective. The article aims to presenting the factors that affect decision-making about vaccination against human influenza among a group of patients with cardiovascular diseases. An additional aim is to determined whether there are differences between the groups of patients involving medical and socio-organizational factors. Materials and method. Pilot studies were carried out in a Cardiology Clinic in a non-public healthcare institution in Białystok, northeast Poland, in 2018. The research tool was an independently designed 8-question questionnaire. A comparison was made between the groups distinguished during the study: patients revaccinated regularly, not vaccinated at all, and those who were vaccinated once, but refused to continue. Results. The questionnaire was answered by 71 respondents. The major medical conditions the patients included: "recurrent viral infections" (73.2%), "all influenza symptoms intensified" (64.8%), and "the number of cases per year" (81.7%). Among the social factors, the following were the most significant: "media information" (69%), "vaccination among friends and family" (69%), "information received from a doctor" (64%), as well as "knowledge about influenza" (74%). Conclusions. The groups of respondents varied significantly in their chosen decision-making factors. The regularly revaccinated pointed out a bigger significance and quantity of factors motivating for vaccination, compared to other patients. The respondents who have never been vaccinated gave a higher rank to the reasons for not doing so, compared to patients who refused to revaccinate.


The antler cycle in male deer is closely associated with the photoperiodic regulation of its reproduction. In most boreal cervids antlers grow during the late spring and early summer, they mineralize before the rut and are cast thereafter. A cascade of events involving several hormones such as melatonin, prolactin (PRL), luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) mediates the primary effect of the photoperiod. The pineal gland serves as a neuroendocrine transducer of circadian and circannual variation of photoperiod, producing melatonin in response to the onset of darkness. Peak melatonin levels occur in December while lowest levels are observed in June. Declining melatonin concentrations in the blood after winter solstice unblock the production of PRL which increases until the peak levels are reached in mid June. High PRL levels block LH receptors on the testicular Leydig cells and thus prevent them from producing T too early, at a time not yet suitable for reproduction. The decline of PRL after June unblocks the LH receptors and allows ever stronger stimulation of T production by LH. Experimental manipulations of the photoperiod, exogenous administration of melatonin or blockade of PRL secretion by bromocriptine induce a distinct seasonal shift of reproductive patterns and the antler cycle. In addition to T, the female sex hormone estradiol appears to be also involved in the development of antler bone by being involved in the formation of the ivory compact bone.


A mixed method is presented for reducing the order of higher-order discrete-time multivariable systems. The reduced model denominator is achieved by stability equation method. The reduced model numerator coefficients in $w$-domain are chosen to fit a number of initial time-moments and Markov parameters of the higher-order system (HOS). The $w$-domain reduced order model (ROM) is then transformed back to the $z$-domain. This method approximates both low and high magnitude poles to give better matching in both the steady state and transient regions of step response. The method is illustrated by an example.


groups; the first group includes strains identical with Etwinia amylovora that causes dry necroses, galls or wilts in plants but not a soft rot (Erroinia sensu stricto) and the second group includes strains identical with Erwinia carotovora that normally causes soft rots in plants (belonging in the genus Pectobacterium Waldee). A great number of the genera of the family Enterobacteriaceae have been profoundly investi gated from the biochemical point of view, while the genus Erwinia, especially the first group centering around Erwinia amylovora, has received very little attention in this respect. In the course of comparative investigations on the fermentation pattern of carbohydrate between the bacteria of the genus Erwinia and the other genera of the Enterobacteriaceae, the authors found an interesting phenomenon in which several strains of the Erwinia amylovora group of bacteria produced a large amount of 2-ketogluconic acid from glucose in growing cultures under aerobic conditions. The production of 2-ketogluconic acid with other microorganisms has been reported by Bernhauer et al.1,2) with Acetobacter species, by Asai and Ikeda3) with Gluconobacter bacteria, by Pervozuvansky and Ivashkevich,4) Lockwood et al.,5) Masuo and Yoshida,6) Kondo and Takeda,7) Ikeda8) and Yokosawa9) with the genus Pseudomonas and by Ikeda8) with Serratia marcescens. The present paper deals with the isolation of 2-ketogluconic acid from the growing cul tures and some biological properties of the bacteria belonging to the Erwinia amylovora


Based on the characteristics of tidal estuary in downstream of an inland river,the problems on particularity of ship pollution,forecasting of coverage and types are analyzed.The frame about ship pollution damage evaluation system is proposed by using the function of space analysis,components,composition of data pool and mainly function of each function-mode.


The harvesting of cereal crops in India is mostly done manually by sickles. Though combine harvesters are being introduced for harvesting of cereal crops but more than 90 per cent area is still harvested manually by sickles. There is large variation in the types of sickles being used in different parts of the country. Mostly the sickles are made by village artisans with wide variation in shapes and sizes. The serrated sickle introduced by Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal consists of a steel blade with special serration and a special handle that makes operation of the sickle easy and comfortable compared to the traditional sickle. The good quality steel used and the special serration gives a cutting tooth profile that easily cuts both dry and wet crops. The special shape of the handle gives protection of fingers from getting rubbed to the soil or stubbles. The sickles have been found very useful for harvesting wheat, rice, fodder and other crops that do not have woody stem.


Grapes have the longest history of all the cultivated fruits and are among the most widely grown. Cooler temperatures and high relative humidity and/or moisture favour the development of fungal diseases of grapes. These diseases affect the leaves, shoots, stems and fruit. Fungal diseases can render fruit unusable and can very easily cause severe losses in yield. Grapevines are fairly adaptable plants, growing in a wide variety of soil types, from light sand to packed clay, and flourishing around the globe in the temperate bands between 20° and 50° latitude, north or south of the Equator. Black rot (Guignardia bidwellii (ELL.) V. et R. (anamorph: Phyllosticta ampelicida (Engelm.) van der Aa), white rot (Metasphaeria diplodiella (Viala et Ravaz) Berl. anamorph: Coniella diplodiella (Speg.) Pet. et Syd.), powdery mildew (Uncinula necator (Schein.) Burr. anamorph: Oidium tuckeri Berk.), downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola (Berk. & Curt. ex. de Bary) and grey mould (Botrytis bunch rot – B. fuckeliana (de Bary) Whetzel) are the most common fungal diseases of grapevine. Recently, decline symptoms (Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (W. Gams, Crous, M. J. Wingf. & L. Mugnai) in young grapevines have increased in areas with new planted vineyards resulting in poor vineyard establishment. In this review we describe symptoms of disease and their management, and the effect of climatic factors. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


This paper proposes throwing aside the three traditional explanatory paradigms still in use to interpret animal behaviour, notably behaviourism, classical ethology and cognitivism in favour of a model which unites mentalistic and cognitive-relational approaches. This latter approach
enables explanations of animal behaviour, from simple to more complex, yet avoids engaging with theories, such as "consciousness", which are strongly imbued with anthropocentrism.
Furthermore, this model considers the subjectivity of the individual to be an emergent factor against a background where the "here" and "now" of the individual become indispensable elements in a continuous process of acquisition/renegotiation of knowledge and construction of new meanings. Such "learning", far from being reduced to the simplistic stimulus-response
chain, becomes part of a continuous process of dialogue between the interfaces involved in the relationship (the individual and the field), in which all the information stored is related to the context in the forming of new knowledge following a Piagettian matrix process of assimilation and accommodation. Finally, within this interpretative framework, I suggest a review of the definition of "intelligence", no longer to be seen as expression of an epistemological anthropocentrism (human intelligence at the vertex of a pseudo-hierarchy of animal intelligence) but as one of many species-specific adaptive functions that characterise all living beings.


Glaciers in High Mountain Asia (HMA) have been experiencing enhanced mass loss and velocity slowdown since the late 1990s, coincident with rising global and regional temperatures. In each HMA region with distinct climatic characteristics, the dynamical responses of glaciers vary substantially; yet these intra-regional variations are overlooked in regional assessments due to large-scale oversampling. In particular, the role of glacier morphological factors (e.g. size, elevation, hypsometry) in causing the different responses is poorly understood.

We investigated the velocity changes of the glaciers in three regions — the Eastern Himalaya, Spiti Lahaul, and Karakoram — between 2000 and 2016 in order to understand the key components of glacier sensitivity and their relationship with glacier morphology. Using the NASA Inter-Mission Time Series of Land Ice Velocity and Elevation dataset as input, we extracted glacier-specific velocities (and associated errors) using a bespoke MATLAB script, and compiled these into “mean annual velocity anomaly” series following established methods. Anomalies were analysed with glacier morphometric parameters using a linear regression approach, with statistically significant relationships identified.

Our results show that mean velocity anomaly within the Eastern Himalaya varies with glacier aspect, with mean annual anomalies of 0.09 ± 2.32 m yr-1 per year for north-flowing glaciers and –0.1 ± 1.59 m yr-1 per year for south-flowing glaciers. Glaciers in the Karakoram also show opposing trends, with anomalies of –0.86 ± 5.69 m yr-1 per year and –3.23 ± 2.53 m yr-1 per year in the north west, and 1.00 ± 3.80 m yr-1 per year in the south east. Glacier slowdown in Spiti Lahaul is –0.37 ± 4.50 m yr-1 per year, and we do not document contrasts in intra-regional glacier response. Overall, glacier size, minimum elevation and hypsometric integral are the most significantly correlated parameters to mean velocity anomaly. Percentage and area of debris, flow line length, slope and termination environment were also found to be important autocorrelations. Importantly, we find no consistent morphometric interactions contributing to glacier anomaly between all three regions, implying that glacier responses are unique and a cumulative product of their morphometric variability.


Not all of our reading for medicine needs to be serious, strictly scientific, or technical. Some of it should be in the category of "light." For those who enjoy biographies, this book is a delightful collection of sketches of 10 physicians whose lives profoundly influenced medical procedures and our quest for knowledge. In the short compass allotted each physician, there is a vivid and concise picture. Original speeches or letters are skillfully used in the story. This is a book which should offer refreshing bedside reading. It is also a splendid introduction for students who are interested in medicine, since it encompasses so much in such a short amount of space.


Processes are developed with activities that should be conducted to reach a set goal. There is no perfect process, and any process at a later stage will need to be improved to keep up with the time and the technology. Business Process Management (BPM) is essential for any process for the management, monitoring and improvement of the developed process. There are different types of business process management models that one could adopt for process enhancement. Drone approval process in South Africa has challenges regarding the implemented processes of the drone regulation. Challenges involve delays and there is a call by the drone industry to amend the regulation. This study explores six core elements and life cycle business process management models. The two BPM models were used to guide the development of the business process model to help improve the drone regulation in process in South Africa.


The objective of this research was to determine the important factors in white rice stem borer larvae, Scirpophaga innotata Walker, entering diapause. The results indicates that white rice stem borer (WRSB) larvae feed on rice plants IR64 grown on soils with continual watering which exposed at short day length (11.76 hours at June 21, 1994) will not be in diapause. However, terminated watering 75 days after transplanting or 15 days after flowering on the host growth media caused diapause. These terminated watering caused declining of soil moisture progressively which had direct effect on rice stem water content, and so affected significantly the increase of abscisic acid (ABA). A changes of primary metabolites (protein, lipid, and methionine) did not cause diapause. The secondary metabolite ABA had juvenile hormone activity in the insects larvae, progressively increased in its content in the rice stem caused the percentage of larval diapause of WRSB to increase. The role of ABA in diapause initiation of WRSB needs more study.  Key words: white rice stem borer, abscisic acid, juvenile hormone


The water sensitivity of soybeans was determined on a day-to-day basis from the onset of flowering to physiological maturity by correlating daily leaf water potential values of 50 different soil water regimes with corresponding grain, vegetative and biomass yields. Days, and consecutive days forming periods, during which significant negative correlations were obtained were regarded as water sensitive periods during the reproductive growth phase of the soybean crop.

Water deficits during flowering significantly inhibited vegetative and biomass production but inhibited grain yields only when occurring during early flowering. During pod elongation and seed development the sensitivity of the soybean plant to water stress was present but diminished in time with regard to vegetative and biomass yields. The effect on grain yields was restricted to pod elongation and to later seed development stages. Water stress affected grain yields to a far greater extent than vegetative growth during seed filling and physiological maturity.


One of the key requirements of a properly functioning digital society is the implementation of a decentralized identity management scheme through which the identity of every citizen can be uniquely determined. Specifically, we believe what is required is for a PKI to be deployed at a global scale. A PKI consists of a collection of digital certificates that cryptographically bind an individual's identity to their public key. In this article, we present an overview of our recent work in the areas of identity management and privacy, with specific emphasis on the deployment of a blockchain backed PKI. Once a PKI is in place, we are in a position to perform a number of common network tasks much more securely and efficiently than we can do currently.


The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) beam-based acceleration baseline uses high-gradient travelling wave accelerating structures at a frequency of 12 GHz. In order to prove the performance of these structures at high peak power and short pulse width RF, two klystron-based test facilities have been put in operation in the last years. The third X-band testing facility at CERN (Xbox3) has recently been commissioned and has tripled the number of testing slots available. Xbox3 uses a novel way of combining relatively low peak power (6 MW) but high average power klystron units whose power is steered to feed four testing slots with RF to the required power with a repetition rate of up to 400 Hz. Besides the repetition rate, peak power, pulse length and pulse shape can be customized to fit the test requirements. This novel way of combining pulsed RF high power can eventually be used for many other applications where multiple test slots are required.


Stresses can cause large yield reductions in cultivated plants. The response to these stresses occurs via a plethora of signalling pathways, where a large number of genes is induced or repressed. Among the environmental stress responsive genes, there are the members of the ethylene response factors (ERF) gene family. The mRNA levels of different ERF are regulated by many hormones and molecules produced under different stress conditions. In this study, with the goal of identifying the response of rice ERF genes to environmental stress, it was analysed the transcriptional expression profile of 114 of these genes under stress by anoxia, salt and Magnaporthe grisea. Also, aiming to characterize how the regulation of ERF genes occurs, the amount of known cis regulatory elements in the promoter region of these genes and their association with the expression profiles under the tested conditions were also assessed. The results indicate that some ERF members present the same specific expression profiles under different environmental stresses, while others do not. Within the ERF family, the regulation of gene expression is complex for some genes which have many cis elements in their promoters, but simple for others, demonstrating high levels of divergence among them. The findings demonstrate the importance of the study of each ERF separately, since it is not possible to establish general rules for regulation and probably for the function of these genes.


To illustrate that a Nash Equilibrium results from a flawed attempt to solve a game, this article studies two extensions of the classic oligopoly model of Cournot. The common cost function is quadratic, and the (still linear) inverse demand functions allow of differentiated goods. The industry has a maximal-profit set that is characterised by a constant profit-output ratio, independent of the number of firms and the slopes of the marginal-cost function and inverse demand functions. The maximal-profit set and the Pareto optimal set—which is the model's solution—have a number of points in common, but in general do not coincide. The choice of parameters is discussed and six model variants are analysed numerically; in five of them, the incentives for merger according to noncooperative game theory are at odds with the rationale of economics. Some comments are made on the use of the model in experimental economics.


The purpose of this correlation study with cross-sectional design is to determine the relation of the midwife's role in administering Fe tablet and nutrition counseling with anemia incidence of pregnant mother in trimester III in public health center of Yogyakarta city. Forty five people from five public health centers in the Yogyakarta city were recruited as sample using proportional sampling technique. Data analysis using Chi Square Test revealed that there is relation between the midwife's role in administering Fe tablet and anemia incidence (÷ = 9,132; p<0,05). Also, there is relationship between midwife's role in nutrition counseling and the anemia incidence (÷ =9,601; p<0.05). Keywords: anemia incidence, administering Fe tablet, nutritional counseling


There has been considerable debate in community colleges over the last forty y ears regarding the impact of increased use of part-time faculty (PTF) on student learning. It has been argued that part-time faculty fail to provide the same level of teachin g quality as fulltime faculty (FTF). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of part-time faculty on student retention at an average-sized urban community college, Kansas Ci ty Kansas Community College . Archival data obtained from the college for 2,030 first-time full-time students (FTFTS) enrolled by the first day of the Fall semest er for academic years: 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, were retrospectively analyzed for retention to the Spring semester, and the next Fall semester in each academic year, and for al l yea s combined. This study applies a multi-step method for model building and a quantitative, descriptive, ex post facto design. The first step involved univariable analysis of six independent variables suggested in the literature to be correlated with rete ntion of all firsttime full-time students: (1) exposure to part-time faculty, (2) ethnicity , (3) gender, (4) degree seeking status, (5) developmental or non-developmental learner status, and (6) number of credit hours enrolled during the first semester. Pearson correlati ns, t tests, and


The puprose of this research is to find out and analyze about Organizational Capacity Development in Pulp and Paper Technology Vocational Education University Of Riau as well as other factors that influence  Organizational Capacity Development in Pulp and Paper Technology Vocational Education University Of Riau. This research uses descriptive qualitative method. The results of this s tudy indicate that, the capacity development of PSD3-TPK is considered good, because seen from the efforts at the individual level, organizational level, and system level made to maximize the organization.this is also evidenced by the absorption of all 43 PSD3-TPK alumni in the pulp and paper industry. Another support factor identified is the shared commitment, institutional reform, and recognition of strengths and weakness


The dynamic performance of asymmetric involute gear transmission system is analyzed by the MSC.ADAMS software during the paper. By comparative analyzed with the traditional dynamic characteristics of symmetrical involute straight gear transmission, it can be summarized that the asymmetric involute gear transmission system has better vibration characteristics in the course of transmission.


The existing heat exchanger networks(HEN) synthesis methods are more applicable for small-sized heat exchanger networks.Available methods for large-sized HENs synthesis are limited because of their complexity.In this study,a new explicit analytical solution of stream temperatures from an arbitrary connected HEN was introduced,which is suitable for the thermal calculation of heat exchanger networks.By simplifying the formula,the new calculation procedure reduces the computer memory requirement dramatically.Based on this solution, a mathematical model with genetic / simulating anneal algorithm(GA/SA) was formulated for large-sized HEN synthesis,and this method was proved to be practical and better than the existing methods by an HEN synthesis in which six hot streams and four cold streams were involved.


Sequential segmental analysis must be used for echocardiography in complex congenital heart diseses. Three segments including atria, ventricles and great arteries should be carefully examined. Meanwhile, atrio-ventricular connection and ventricular-arterial connection should be both determined. Thus, a complete accurate echocardiographic diagnosis for complex congenital heart disease can be made.


While studying the Akkadian pronominal forms, I was brought to a closer examination of the Assyrian pronouns, and I arrived at the conclusion that Assyrian had retained forms lost or forgotten in all the other Semitic dialects. Though in Assyrian the various pronominal forms are used rather loosely, the writers however seem to have retained an unconscious feeling of their primitive value: I find that by means of postpositions, the independent use of which is lost, added to the possessive suffixes, real cases are formed to express the pronouns in regimen: -ia 'my,' iāši 'to me,' iāti 'm e' accusative, iau 'of me' or 'mine.' When I communicated this to Mr. Pinches, he, with his usual kindness, gave me to examine a most important unpublished tablet, giving the Akkadian (or rather the Sumerian or dialectical) pronouns, with an Assyrian translation. As it is often the case in syllabaries or grammatical lists, the forms given are generally the most primitive. I will examine these forms further on and I give the copy of this important tablet as reference.


The accurate, real-time data collection of sidescan sonar imagery is of the utmost importance to an ocean floor survey. However, if the bottom is inaccurately tracked, beam patterns overwhelm the data, or ping dropouts occur, there must be a means of repairing the sonar imagery in post processing. The result of these enhancement techniques presented improve data positioning and the appearance of the overall mosaic.<<ETX>>


Based upon systematic theory the conceptions of urban and urbanization are analyzed. Paper points out that urbanization process reveal a series characteristics and regularity under internal and external interaction. In addition the general development trend of urbanization in our country is put forward.


In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I hereby grant to Georgia State University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive, make accessible, and display my dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, including display on the world wide web. I understand that I may select some access restrictions as part of the online submission of this dissertation. I retain all ownership rights to the copyright of the dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this dissertation. Abstract Psychosocial and Oxidative Stress and Health of Adults Francis Boateng Annor The role of stress (both psychosocial and oxidative) in the pathophysiology of several chronic diseases has been documented and has become a focus for chronic disease prevention and management. Although, psychosocial stress (PS) and oxidative stress (OS) have different mechanisms through which they impact health, they both cause physiological imbalance which might subsequently lead to a disease state. Laboratory and observational studies have linked both stresses to the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension. However, findings from previous studies have not been entirely consistent and results have varied based on the study population and the stress-measurement tool used. Given the gaps in the literature, three studies were conducted to examine: (1) the relationship between PS and glycemic control; (2) the association between PS and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); and (3) the association between OS and hypertension among adults. In the first two studies, a longitudinal data from Kaiser Permanente Georgia (KPGA) survey on Health and Healthy Behaviors linked to patients' laboratory and pharmacy records was used. In the third study a cross-sectional data from Study on Race, Stress and Hypertension was used. The first study examined the association between baseline measure of work-related PS and glycemic control using both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. None of the four PS sub-scales or the overall PS measure at the work environment was significantly associated with glycemic control at either study baseline or over time. The second study examined the association between general measures of PS and changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over time in a structural equation model framework. No significant direct association was observed between general PS measure and eGFR decline. However, age, race, mean …


We provide a simple proof of a result, due to G. Alberti, concerning a rank-one property for the singular part of the derivative of vector-valued functions of bounded variation.


We develop a new method to determine oscillator strength values of atomic absorption lines with state-of-the-art detailed spectral synthesis calculations of the optical spectrum of the Sun and of standard spectral reference stars . We update the log(gf)-values of 911 neutral lines observed in the KPNO-FTS flux spectrum of th e Sun and high-resolution echelle spectra (R=80,000) of Procyon (F5 IV-V) and ǫ Eri (K2 V) observed with large signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios of �2,000 using the new Mercator-Hermes spectrograph at La Palma Observatory (Spain). We find for 483 Fe I, 85 Ni I, and 51 Si I absorption lines in the sample a systematic over-estimation of the literature log(gf)-values with cen tral line depths below 15 %. We employ a curve-of-growth analysis technique to test the accuracy of the new oscillator strength values and compare calculated equivalent line widths to the Moore, Minnaert, & Houtgast atlas of the Sun. The online SpectroWeb database at spectra.freeshell.org interactively displays the observed and synthetic spectra and provides the new log(gf)-values together with important atomic line data. The graphical database is under development for stellar reference spectra of every spectral sub-class observed with large spectral reso lution and S/N ratios.


The Lifestyle project (funded in NRP-1) studied energy requirements of entire household consumption patterns. There, it was concluded that a substantial reduction potential existed for the total household energy requirement and related greenhouse gas emissions. The GreenHouse project, reported in here, paid attention to the possibilities of achieving this potential and the effects thereof on the households and the production sectors. The research question required integration of methodologies originating from both energy studies as well as household studies. A large number of reduction options within the present household practices were identified, including changes in purchase behaviour and changes in household behaviour. Implementation of all these options would result in a 27 % reduction of the national emissions by the Netherlands. Implementation of feasible efficiency improvements in the production sectors would result in a 30 % reduction of national emissions. The combination of both reduction routes would result in a 54 % reduction of the national emissions. Which shows the existence of a large potential for change. However, it is found that the general acceptance of the suggested options by households is low. The findings imply that the feasible reduction as a result of changing consumption patterns lies in order of 5%. Further research showed that households face several constraints to change to an energy efficient lifestyle. Firstly necessary knowledge is lacking. Secondly the opportunities to purchase efficient household appliances are limited. Thirdly present infrastructures impede households to chose an energy efficient lifestyle and social norms are limiting individual households to adopt an environmental friendly behaviour. The knowledge obtained with respect to constraints perceived in households is used to formulate recommendations to improve feasibility of energy efficient lifestyles.


Abstract A novel piecewise water flow technique for text line extraction from multi-skewed document images of handwritten text of different scripts is presented here. The basic water flow technique assumes that the hypothetical water flows from both left and right sides of the image frame. This flow of water fills up the gaps between consecutive objects (texts) but faces obstruction if any object lies in the path of the flow. All unwetted regions in the document image are then labeled distinctly to extract the text lines. However, the technique fails when two neighboring text lines touch each other, as water gets obstructed by the touching segment(s). To get rid of this difficulty, we have modified the basic water flow technique by iteratively applying the same over the vertically segmented document images. The main purpose of this vertical segmentation is to localize the text line segment(s) where two text lines get joined. These segments are then horizontally fragmented, and each fragment is placed suitably to the text line in which it actually belongs to. This way, the probable data loss during isolation of the touching text line segment is minimized. Both the techniques (current and basic ones) have been tested on three different databases, viz., CMATERdb 1.1.1, CMATERdb 1.1.2, and ICDAR2009 handwritten segmentation contest pages, respectively. The test results show that the present technique outperforms the basic one for all three databases.


This paper aims to evaluate the trends of the real estate industry in the Middle East (ME) and its impacts on the investment opportunities and performance of this industry. This study explores the property markets of: Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates. This is important because it underscores those issues that are affecting country specific markets and those throughout the region. The combination of globalization and specific market factors are affecting how much real estate prices fluctuate up or down. In addition, as globalization has fueled the speculative fever that often invites large boom and bust cycles. The study adopted the Qualitative and descriptive methods used to summarize literature in developed countries about global financial system reforms and financial markets; particularly in the emerging property markets.Some of the countries are developed while others are emerging markets in every sense of the word. The study analyzed the performance of PCs and property markets performance in these countries before, during and after the recession. This study concluded that those countries with the most liberalized policies are attracting the largest amounts of investors have rapidly seen their real estate markets develop. While, others have been slow to adopt reforms, which has allowed for supply shortages. As these markets are less affected by what take place in the global real estate industry. The study also concluded that over the long term, these markets could see a considerable increase in price appreciation and demand. The emerging stock markets in the ME region have achieved considerable improvements in the last decade due to several factors such as the achievement of higher economic growth, monetary stability, stock markets reforms, privatization, financial liberalization and an institutional framework for investors. Most of the stock markets in the ME region have been liberalized during the late eighties and nineties. As a result of this liberalization, foreign investors are allowed to purchase shares without restrictions. As result, this provides the greatest insights as to what factors are affecting the ME real estate markets.


The pathogenesis of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. from the state of Michoacan, Mexico was characterized in avocado (Persea americana L.) fruits cv. 'Hass'. The fungus caused typical disease symptoms of 'anthracnose' ten days after inoculation. Fungal infection rate was significantly different (p<0.05) between treatments since the sixth day after inoculation and the disease development was explained by one simple linear regression model (Y = 1.123 + 0.1133X). No appresoria were found but one mucilagous layer associated to germ tubes was detected. Fungal infective process started with intra and inter-cellular penetration by hyphae and after, acervuli were produced twelve days after inoculation. Anthracnose symptoms were associated with poly-phenol degradation, plasmolysis, necrosis and cell disintegration.


The authors read with interest Jabbarli et al.'s article on the incidence and risk factors for radiation-induced scleral necrosis (RISN) following brachytherapy for uveal melanoma (UM). They would like to comment further on the historical incidence of RISN, other potential sequelae and their relevant management. In Australia, there is a particular interest in RISN due to the historical incidence of RISN related to beta radiation plaque brachytherapy formerly used as an adjunct to pterygium excisional surgery. Accordingly, the authors would like to make two observations. Firstly, similar correlations between historical data of RISN associated with pterygium excision and brachytherapy allow us to predict potential sequelae associated with brachytherapy used for UM. However, it must be noted that the radioactive materials used in brachytherapy for UM differ from those used following pterygium excision. Jabbarli et al.'s case series focuses on patients who had received either Ruthenium-106 (Ru) or binuclide radioactive plaques of Ruthenium-106 (Ru) and Iodine (I) seeds. In contrast, beta radiation for pterygia treatment traditionally uses Strontium-90 (Sr). In clinical ophthalmology, the use of Sr was first described in 1950 by Friedell in the treatment of superficial benign tumours such as papillomas of the lids and conjunctiva, as well as vascular abnormalities such as haemangiomas. Although both Ru and Sr primarily emit beta radiation, such that they have similar effects on ocular tissue, they have different levels of ocular penetration, with Sr penetrating less than Ru. Sr brachytherapy reduces the rate of tumour recurrence when used in conjunction with primary surgical excision of pterygium. It gained popularity in the 1970s in Australia due to the high prevalence and recurrence of pterygia. In 1980, Tarr and Constable performed a retrospective study on 63 eyes (57 patients) who had late complications following beta radiation in the management of pterygia in Western Australia. Scleral ulceration occurred in 52 eyes of 46 patients, with 31 of those eyes suffering deep scleral ulceration (ulceration at a depth of two-thirds or greater). These findings were substantiated in a 10-year retrospective case series out of Queensland by Mackenzie's group, which looked at 764 eyes (585 patients) who had undergone beta radiation in the management of pterygia. They noted a RISN incidence of 4.5%. This result is comparable with the 2.9% incidence rate of RISN found by Jabbarli et al. These two studies prompted Australian ophthalmologists to reassess the need for beta radiation, which was subsequently replaced by pterygium excision and conjunctival autografting. It is significant that the data from Mackenzie's group demonstrate the comparable rates of RISN following both beta radiation for pterygium removal and brachytherapy for UM. Unsurprisingly, this form of beta radiation produces similar scleral pathology, even when treating different disorders. Secondly, previous studies addressing RISN-related endophthalmitis may be useful in guiding treatment of RISN in UM patients. Whilst Jabbarli et al. did not comment on the rate of endophthalmitis associated with scleral necrosis, Tarr and Constable reported a correlation. They outlined four cases of what the authors would now label as RISN-associated endophthalmitis caused by particularly virulent strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Following the failure of traditional treatments of RISNassociated infections using topical and subconjunctival fortified antibiotics, continuous infusions of tobramycin into the superior fornix were required to treat the infection successfully. This is an example of subpalpebral antibiotic lavage (SAL), recently reported and reviewed by the authors. SAL is a cost-effective, safe and therapeutic second line treatment, but despite its clear advantages, the literature reveals an apparent underutilisation of this technique. The authors invite Jabbarli et al. to comment on the management and outcomes of their patients who developed RISN, and particularly the rate of RISN-associated endophthalmitis and globe perforation.


Abstract : A program to develop and formulate separation-lubrication compositions for isothermal forging of beta titanium alloys in the temperature range from 1300F to 1500F was successfully completed. Several hundred compositions were chosen at the start of the program, mostly of the vitreous-phase-particulate type, containing boundary film additives or stable semi-abrasives. The field was narrowed to 28 low friction (LFC) types, 12 controlled friction (CFC) types and 8 molten salt (MSC) types. These were further evaluated through quantitative measurement of their application, fusion, stability, densification, accumulation and adhesion characteristics. Optimum combinations of these factors were selected through a simplified multifactor desirability analysis and eight final compositions were selected for further evaluation of their friction reducing properties through ring compression forging at the Westinghouse hot die isothermal forging facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. These compositions included three of the LFC type, one CFC type and one molten salt type for service at the low end of the temperature range (near 1350F) on ferrous alloy dies, and three LFC type for service on nickel alloy dies at the high end of the thermal range (near 1500F). (Author)