We have studied the evolution of superconducting and normal state properties of neutron irradiated Mg(B0.962C0.038)2 wire segments as a function of post-exposure annealing time and temperature. The initial fluence fully suppressed superconductivity and resulted in an anisotropic expansion of the unit cell. Superconductivity was restored by post-exposure annealing. The upper critical field, Hc2(T = 0), approximately scales with Tc, starting with an undamaged Tc near 37 K and Hc2(T = 0) near 32 T. Up to an annealing temperature of 400 °C the recovery of Tc tends to coincide with a decrease in the normal state resistivity and a systematic recovery of the lattice parameters. Above 400 °C a decrease in ordering along the c-direction coincides with an increase in resistivity, but no apparent change in the evolution of Tc and Hc2. To a first order approximation, it appears that carbon doping and neutron damage affect the superconducting properties of MgB2 independently.


The use of bioenergy has been considered one of the most important solutions for the reduction in the dependence on fossil fuels and to mitigate global climate change. C4 perennial grasses stands as the best alternative for biofuel feedstock and Miscanthus x giganteus has shown outstanding performance in cool climates. In addition, sugarcane has a history of high productivity and success in the biofuel industry of Brazil. The high photosynthetic rate at low temperature (14o to 20oC) and radiation use efficiency of M. x giganteus allow this plant to build a vast canopy early in the spring, allowing it to intercept high amounts of solar radiation once temperature rise in summer, obtaining high yields of biomass by the end of growing season. It is unclear, however, how Miscanthus will tolerate the severe winter cold and frequent episodic frost in the spring of higher latitudes, like Canada. Here, I show that rhizomes of diploid Miscanthus can tolerate temperatures above -14oC if sub-zero acclimation is allowed, while allopolyploid Miscanthus are tolerant to temperatures above -6.5oC. Also, in contrary to M. sinensis, shoots of Miscanthus hybrids were killed when exposed to sunlight at temperatures below 10oC in the spring. However, triploid Miscanthus showed great recovery and three weeks


The Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) of a continuously stratified fluid has implications on the stability of solar and planetary interiors. A nonlinear stage of the two-dimensional RTI is studied by including various effects. By using the multiple scale method, we derived a nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) in 2+1 dimensions. We show the general soliton solutions of the NLSE and this allows to discuss their stability.


This study examines the impact and mechanism of employee improvisation on innovative performance of Internet enterprises from the light of individual. On the basis of exploring the relationship between employee improvisation and innovative performance, this paper analyses and verifies the mediating effect of knowledge creation on the above relationship. This study takes 176 Internet employees as research object, and the results show that: employee improvisation has a significant positive impact on knowledge creation and innovative performance; knowledge creation plays a partially mediating role between employee improvisation and innovative performance.


The present invention provides a method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display device, the device is provided with a light-scattering layer, to provide sufficient light scattering to increase the viewing angle. This apparatus includes a transmission type liquid crystal panel 1, a light diffuser 10 and a certain background light to 3. The liquid crystal panel 1 comprises a pair of glass substrates, a feature of the present invention, the light diffuser 10 located on the front surface thereof, is divided into the light scattering fine particle dispersed 8a on which a first resin layer 11B and the second resin layer 12. 8a resin fine particle and the first layer 11B has a refractive index approximately equal, and the second resin layer 12 and they have different refractive indices.


In last decades software development processes changed in order to address increasing complexity within decreasing implementation time. Hence, new practices like Kanban, Extreme Programming or Agile Software Development emerged. Model-based development is one potential option, which is more and more used to cope these new demands. However, adapting testing processes to the needs is still an open topic. This paper describes how model checking assisted test case generation can be used to integrate testing in new software development processes, focusing on a protocol implementation for electric vehicle charging communication as a case study. Therefore, it describes certain extensions made in the COMmunication Protocol vaLidation Toolchain COMFLgTg in order to enable test case generation in TTCN-3 core language using counterexamples of SPIN model checker.


A non-linear energy-based analytical approach to design flat sandwich panels resistant to bird strike is presented. The approach is then complemented by numerical simulation in Abaqus using smooth particle hydrodynamics to model the bird and a non-linear stress-strain model for the core material. Flat sandwich panels were designed to deform and just fail when the maximum deflections are reached for given strike energies. The panels designed with this approach were tested using gelatin birds and two different material combinations with non-toughened and toughened facesheet and core materials. The analytical and numerical approaches were found to be conservative as they predicted failure onset for the bird energies selected while the tests showed no damage. The maximum deflection and maximum strains at different locations of the panels were well predicted by the numerical analysis, but the predictions departed significantly from the tests after the first peak was reached.


The present invention relates to a fungus cultivation, i.e. substrates of wood and the cultivation method of the short section Phellinus culture. Phellinus master seed medium: glucose 20g, soy peptone 2g, agar 18g, potassium dihydrogen phosphate 0.46g, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, 1g, magnesium sulfate 0.5g, water 1000ml. Phellinus the wood short cultivation method, the following steps: (1) bacteria were isolated parent species Phellinus fruiting body tissue isolation. (2) Phellinus stock culture. (3) Culture of Phellinus linteus cultivars. Preparation of the wood short cultivation material (4). Selection Oak segment made of mushroom, low cost segment oak cultivated Phellinus of production, high yield, good quality, high content of active ingredients, will receive substantial economic returns.


Studies showed that competency-based assessment improvement had generated a much greater impact on students' achievements on standardized tests than other forms of educational activities. However, studies also indicated a number of challenges for teachers when designing competence assessment tools (CAT), especially in building assessment tasks that replicate real-life practice. There have been many different models for teachers' assessment competencies, but the competency of designing competence assessment tools (CDCAT) was not paid much attention. In hope to develop a competency model that would serve as a supporting role in developing the CDCAT for preservice teachers and teachers, this study used a multi-step development process to construct a teachable model that reflectived the complexity of designing assessment tools. The model consisted of 12 behavioural indicators spreading across four dimensions informed by the existing literature and empirical findings in particular contexts. To guarantee the content value of the proposed model, the research twice used the expert method by two panels. The reliability of the model was tested by analyzing the data collected from the survey with students. Interesting findings were met, and the outlined CDCAT model assisted pre-service teachers in solving issues related to their assessment competence. The model was intended for educational researchers, educators, teachers, and policy makers to support teachers' assessment competence concerning the current accountability model across educational systems. Specific implications for developing pre-service teachers' CDCAT were discussed, followed by suggestions for future studies.


Go is the major G protein in bovine brain, with at least three isoforms, GoA, GoB, and GoC. Whereas αoA and αoB arise from a single Goα gene as alternatively spliced mRNAs, αoA and αoC are thought to differ by covalent modification. To test the hypothesis that αoA and αoC have different N-terminal lipid modifications, proteolytic fragments of αo isoforms were immunoprecipitated with an N terminus-specific antibody and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. The major masses observed in immunoprecipitates were the same for all three αoisoforms and corresponded to the predicted mass of a myristoylated N-terminal fragment. Structural differences between αoAand αoC were also compared before and after limited tryptic proteolysis using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis containing 6 m urea. Based upon the αosubunit fragments produced under activating and nonactivating conditions, differences between αoA and αoCwere localized to a C-terminal fragment of the protein. This region, involved in receptor and effector interactions, implies divergent signaling roles for these two αo proteins. Finally, the structural difference between αoA and αoCis associated with a difference of at most 2 daltons based upon measurements by electrospay ionization mass spectrometry.


— or it may be that his definition of 'philosophical' is narrower than some — and the relationships between Empedocles and Pythagoreanism could be fascinating and their examination fruitful. And on the religious aspect, it is time that the nineteenth-century rationalist separation of religion and philosophy which is to some extent forced on Greek philosophy was relaxed a little, to the benefit of our understanding of that tradition.


Abstract The sintering process is an important step in the iron and steel making process and features strong complexity, nonlinearity and large time-delay. This paper presents a coordinating control method that two fuzzy controllers are designed to control the burning through point (BTP) and the bunker-level. First, the BTP control is the main control task with the sinter strand speed as the control variable, and a predictive fuzzy control scheme is developed where an intermediate process model is used to perform on-line controller design to meet a closed-loop performance specification that is associated with desired process output. Then, a fuzzy controller is designed to control the charging bunker-level via adjusting the strand speed. The two fuzzy controllers are proposed for these two closed-loops and it is shown that the satisfactory response of the closed-loop system can be achieved by handling the strand speed. Results of simulation and actual running illustrate the performance of the proposed method.


We report the first observation of single longitudinal mode operation in multiple‐stripe injection lasers. The lasers are fabricated by channel etching and Zn diffusion in three‐layer double heterostructures grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. Linear output characteristics have been observed to cw output powers of 180 mW (uncoated facets) at room temperature with good stripe‐to‐stripe uniformity. Operation in a single longitudinal mode has been seen to 60‐mW output and is evidence for strong stripe‐to‐stripe coupling.


Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a safe, simple, rapid, and cost-effective procedure that is often used as an initial diagnostic modality to work up primary and metastatic tumors at almost any body site. FNA allows acquisition of samples not only from superficial and large lesions, but also from smallor deep-seated lesions, or from multiple lesions during the same biopsy procedure. It provides valuable information that enables oncologists to make optimal therapeutic decisions, including planning preoperative management for patients with operable tumors and choosing adequate medical therapy for patients with hematopoietic malignancies or nonresectable tumors. An informative cytologic diagnosis should address whether the lesion is neoplastic or nonneoplastic, benign or malignant, as well as the histogenesis of the tumor (e.g., epithelial, mesenchymal, melanocytic, or lymphoid), tumor type (e.g., adenocarcinoma, squamous carcinoma, or others), tumor origin (i.e., primary vs. metastatic and if possible the potential primary origin of a metastatic tumor) and information on prognostic and therapeutic markers. Frequently, this information needs to be obtained with the help of ancillary tests. Body cavity fluids may also be utilized for ancillary studies, when indicated. This chapter outlines the utility of immunocytochemistry (ICC), flow cytometric (FCM), cytogenetic and molecular studies in the cytologic diagnosis of neoplastic lesions including the indications, sample requirements, reliability, and limitations.


The objective of our study was to test the bleaching effect of two whitening gels, on stained hybrid ceramic material used for Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacturing technology. 40 rectangular specimens 12/14/1mm were prepared form Vita Enamic blocks. All specimens were accelerated stained, and distributed in two groups. Group 1 was bleached using Opalescence PF 15% (Ultradent, USA), group 2 was bleached using an experimental gel containing natural products. ∆E* (used to asses the color changes) was above the perceptibility threshold of 1.2 in 40%; and the WID (used to asses the bleaching process in dentistry) showed high units for both bleaching gels. Hybrid ceramics staining showed moderate results, while the bleaching effect was present, with no statistical difference between the discolorations produced by the two bleaching gels (p<0.05). SEM images showed that the bleaching gels did not affect the surface structure of the material.


Hydroxyapatite/ polyamide66 (n-HA/PA66) composite was prepared respectively by melting mixing and sol mixing technology. Scanning electron microscope (SEM),differential scanning calorimetr (DSC),electronic tensile testing machine and simulated body fluid (SBF) were adopted to study the microstructure,crystallization behaviour,mechanical properties and bioactivity of HA/PA66 composites. As a results,the distribution uniformity of HA particles and the interface combination strength of HA/PA66 composites prepared by sol mixing are better than that of HA/PA66 composites prepared by melting mixing technology,but due to the dissolution of PA66 and hydrogen-bonding between HA and PA66 matrix,crystallization degree and tensile strength of HA/PA66 composites are lower than that of HA/PA66 composites prepared by melting mixing technology. Both HA/PA66 composites prepared by this two routes exhibit good bioactivity after immersion in SBF for two weeks.


Analysis of variance calculations were made to interpret the effects of filtration, initial copper concentration, and type of water on the concentration of copper in filtered samples of freshwater and saltwater. Five types of filters were tested. Filtration constituted a significant source of variation. Each filter tested reduced the reliability of the copper determination.


The overlap measurement scheme accomplishes the evaluation of the overlap of two input quantum states by only measuring an introduced auxiliary qubit, irrespective of the complexity of the two input states. We find a counterintuitive phenomenon that no quantum dissonance can be found in the process of overlap measurement scheme, even though the auxiliary qubit might be entangled, classically correlated, or even uncorrelated with the two input states based on different types of input states. In principle, this provides an opposite but supplementary example to the remarkable algorithm of the deterministic quantum computation with one qubit in which no entanglement is present but quantum dissonance is necessary. Finally, we consider a simple overlap measurement model to demonstrate the continuous change (including potential sudden death of quantum discord) of the input states from entangled to product states by only adjusting some initial parameters.


The Campagne of Rome, (which is that Tract of Land, that is destitute of Inhabitants and Trees, and extends it self for many miles, taking in Latium, and part of the antient Sabins, and of Tuscany,) would be of great use to the State, and of subsistence to the people, if it could be Inhabited without that great danger to health, which now tis so much noted and fear'd for;


"The principle of finding the truth implies the obligation of the judicial authority to carry out an effective investigation, ex officio, as soon as the commission of a crime is brought to their attention. To ensure the fair and efficient nature of this investigation, finding out the truth must be related to two derived principles: the principle of freedom of evidence and the principle of procedural loyalty. Procedural loyalty was originally understood as an obligation of those who participate in the discovery of the truth in any way, regardless of the procedural position they have, to behave correctly, being forbidden to those who administer evidence to use incorrect procedures, tricks or stratagems. The current regulation configured the principle of loyalty in accordance with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, establishes that there is a lack of loyalty if the judicial authority uses procedures inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the legal order in order to obtain evidence. Disloyalty evokes deception, artifice, promise, threat, all of which have the effect of reducing or suppressing free will, and ultimately distorting the truth that the judge must determine. The present study aims to analyze the principle of the loyalty from a double perspective, national and European, referring both to the scope of the principle and to its particular forms of manifestation, respectively: the prohibition of coercion in taking statements of the defendant and the prohibition of entrapment, regardless of whether they come from judicial bodies or individuals. In the final part of the article, an analysis of the sanctions that intervene in the case of the violation of procedural loyalty is carried out, both by referring to the solution proposed in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, and to the need to retain the autonomous character of the sanction of the exclusion of illegally or unfairly administered evidence."


Any spherical shaped bacteria with an oxygen based metabolism and a cell wall that contains low levels of peptidoglycan and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.


A novel self-homodyne coherent transmission system for short-haul optical access networks is demonstrated. By exploiting a simple binary coding technique, a dramatical receiver DSP complexity reduction is obtained. System performance simulations have been experimentally validated.


This article aims to analyze and evaluate the economics advantages and the decrease of the transaction costs in the application of compliance policies in companies. The main way of analyze will be that wich was propose by Ronald Coase in his articles The Problem of Social Cost and The Nature Of the Firm, among others consecrated authors from, mainly, Chicago School. Will be signal the purposes and the means of the implementing the compliance policies, as well as the profits and the costs that come from this implementation. Eventually, the application of the Brazilian anticorruption law guidelines, sanctioned by the government in 2013, for example, encourages the creation of internal policies with the intention that the companies act in the ethical way and beyond the dictates of the law. Will be propose the importance of the compliance officer like an advisory sector which will bring profits instead the litigiousness of eventually lawsuits. We have conclude, based on Law and Economics prescriptions, such as the Kaldor-Hicks criterion and the Hand Formula, that the costs incurred in compliance have a marginal return greater than the cost.


According to the situation of CHINALCO Henan Branch,combined with ore discharge mechanics theory,similarity experiment and discrete element simulation technology,we deeply research discharge mechanism and main factors that influence ore flow in hopper in both macro and micro conditions.Discrete element simulation shows the dynamic process of mutual interaction between particles-particles,particles-walls.According to the results,we design a new internal vertical flow-aiding device,achieve a better effect in field experiment.New device not only greatly improves the flow capability of ore in hopper,solves the blocking,arching,stucking problems which troubled CHINALCO for several decades,optimizes the mechanical relationship between ore and hopper,reduces wall dynamic contact pressure,but also largely improves the discharge efficiency and safety factor and reduces the labor intensity.


A recently published cylinder seal (Lapp 1989: 5, fig. 4) from Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ, identified as "unique among the finds of the ancient Near East," was dated to the EB III on the basis of accompanying material. The diminutive size of the object, its provenience in a pit, its presence at a site occupied throughout the entire Early Bronze Age, and several parallels in the motifs it bears, are all factors that recommend a reappraisal of the date and significance of this object.


Pharmacists as a pharmacy personnel who do the pharmaceutical work based on Government Regulation No. 51 Year 1999 on Pharmaceutical Works and Regulation of the Health Minister No.889/Menkes/Per/V/2011 concerning the Registration, Practice License and Work License of Pharmaceutical Officer. Pharmacists in doing the pharmaceutical work in a pharmacy must have a Letter of License Practice as a Pharmacist. To obtain a Letter of License Practice as a Pharmacists, a Pharmacists should apply a petition by attaching a letter of recommendation from the professional organization called The Indonesian Pharmacist Association. Granting of recommendations from The Indonesian Pharmacist Association which is regulated in Article 21 of the Regulation of the Health Minister No.889/Menkes/Per/V/2011 could be a barrier in healthy business competition because theres no clear deadline in granting recommendation by The Indonesian Pharmacist Association. That condition could be used by the Officers of The Indonesian Pharmacist Association who are not professional by inhibiting Pharmacists applicant in getting a recommendation as a term of acquiring a Letter of Pharmacist License Practice. As a result, a pharmacist is not able to do pharmaceutical works or to open the pharmacy. By the existence of these barriers caused the existing pharmacy in the market did not have competitors. This is potentially for the exploitation towards the marketting of goods and pharmacy services use or do the monopoly. These conditions could be harmed a new pharmacists who will open a pharmacy in the same market and harmed the society as a consumer.


[reaction: see text] A small collection of nine polyamine-imidazole conjugates, potentially acting as RNases A mimics, has been synthesized on SynPhase lanterns using amino alcohols and diamines as building blocks. Couplings were performed via S(N)2 alkylation of methanesulfonates with amines. The final introduction of N-4-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyldiamines allowed easy purification of the cleaved compounds.


Introduction: Classroom should be an opportunity of repeating the action for learner, because learners pursue his/her unknowing and undoubtedly, in this way will face with successes and failures but the most important issue is that learners understand the value of knowing what he/she doesn't know. In this case, students compensate their failures and learn how to evaluate and improve their performance. The goal of this study was to analyze the role of self-evaluation in the process of education and learning. Conclusion: Increasing the learners' participation through their interference in actions is the transcendence of education and challenging the present situation and make changes due to innovation and creating learning opportunities is the transcendence of evaluation. Using self-evaluation in a continuous and dynamic way and preparing the grounds for learners to achieve it, could be an effective step towards achieving the goals of education and training and the establishment of this method in schools needs public will for development of this concept in all of education processes. It is necessary to provide a schedule for self-evaluation in order to harmonize different fields of education and so to unify the acts and establishing the self-evaluation system.


The heating of houses is an energy intensive commodity. The rise of renewable and intermediate energy sources will have an impact on grid reliability. Considering these factors, the local production of residential heating could be a beneficial supplement for energy resources. In this paper, the housing situation in the south of Europe is considered for improvement. A comparison study is presented for the two main heating systems using models in Simulink. The two considered heating systems are the thermal heating system (that includes the thermal solar panels, heat storage and gas boiler) and the electric heating system (that includes electric photovoltaic panels, lithium battery and heat pump). It is found that the thermal heating system is the better cost-effective solution for southern European housing. The electric heating system if found to has a higher efficiency, but comes at a higher cost for material and technological reasons.


This study's purpose is to balance two-wheel electric vehicle by using the optimal control. Dynamic model of the system is derived by Lagrange equation. Linear quadratic regulator controller is selected to optimize stability of the system. Simulation is used to fine-tune and determine the best performance of the system. Experiment results present the capability of linear quadratic regulator controller that is applied in the real system. The system can balance itself in upright position both at stationary point and while movement. It also has high response to steady state point that is shown in the simulation and experiment results.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the perception of dental students and orthodontists on the degree of influence that pigmented esthetic elastic ligatures have on smile attractiveness, by judging clinical photographs. METHODS: Sixteen clinical facial photographs of the smile and 16 close up images of the smile of a single patient wearing monocrystalline porcelain orthodontic brackets, Teflon coated NiTi wire brackets and esthetic elastic ligatures of five different commercial brands were distributed into eight groups, G1 to G8 (Morelli®, Ortho Tecnology™, TP Orthodontics™, Unitek/3M™clear, Unitek/3M™ obscure, American Orthodontics™ clear, American Orthodontics™ pearl and American Orthodontics™ metallic pearl). Twenty ligatures were used in each group, totaling 160 ligatures. Half of them were used in their natural state, and the other half after in vitro pigmentation. All the photographs were judged by 40 evaluators, 20 orthodontists and 20 dental students. RESULTS: For orthodontists, American™ pearl (G7) ligatures were those that least influenced the degree of attractiveness of the smile in the two types of photographs used. For the dental students, in the facial photographs of the smile, ligatures with the best performance were Morelli® (G1), American™ clear (G6) and American™ pearl (G7) and in the close up photographs of the smile, American™ pearl, metallic pearl and clear (G7, G8 and G6). CONCLUSIONS: For both orthodontists and dental students, pigmentation of the elastic ligatures had a negative influence on the degree of attractiveness of smiles in the two types of clinical photographs evaluated.


The subject innovation can be installed to a block assembly formed of a structure or the like is easy, and the roadside or hacheonbyeon relates to a prefabricated grid block formed so as to naturally possible to adjust the angle according to the inclination and the form of installation. The subject innovation are protrusions that each of the blocks are so fitted to the top and bottom is formed entirely on the upper portion of the support portion and the support portion has a shape of a cylinder-type in the horizontal direction that the end is formed so as to contact the support portion of another block coupled to protrude so as to have a curvature engaging portion having; And said coupling section being formed outwardly bent end portion that is formed by a predetermined angle bend; that to achieve their desired angle block contained in a and coupled to a predetermined angular rotation while in contact with the support portion of the other block to which the protrusion coupling It provides a prefabricated grid block as claimed.


Second order memristors are two terminal devices which present a conductance depending on two orders of variables, namely the geometric parameters and the internal temperature. They have shown to be able to mimic some specific features of neuron synapses, specifically Spike-Timing-Dependent-Plasticity (STDP), and consequently to be good candidates for neuromorphic computing. In particular memristor crossbar structures appear to be suitable for implementing locally competitive algorithms and for tackling classification problems, by exploiting temporal learning techniques. On the other hand spiking networks have been intensively studied in the context of unsupervised, supervised and reinforcement learning. In this manuscript we briefly present a simplified model of second order memristors, that we have derived in a previous paper. Then we focus on two main results. As a first step we show that the model is capable of accurately reproducing a correct synaptic response to complex inputs, like cycles of spike triplets and quadruplets at different frequencies. Then we show that, exploiting such a simple model, complex spatio-temporal patterns can be almost analytically characterized, in memristor networks connecting an arbitrary number of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons.


Kanfer's (2009) article took a triumvirate approach to understanding work motivation by describing the relevance of content, context, and change. In this commentary, I suggest integrating these three elements to move the field further yet. Specifically, we need to recognize the fact that the elements are inextricability linked and thus to better understand and develop measures of the content of individuals that matter (i.e., predictive individual differences), we must model how those individual differences are influenced by and influence context. Moreover, we must model how these influences change the context and the individual over time. By model, I am referring to Ilgen and Hulin's (2000) third discipline—computational modeling—as a means to explicitly recognize the dynamics and how they involve both the individual and the environment. Computational modeling is not merely a statistical representation of observed data but a way to conceptually represent the underlying dynamics responsible for the data observed. Without this approach, we will be slow to change our field's understanding of the entire system (i.e., person nested in context). Although there are many phenomena and issues tobeaddressed fromtaking thisdynamic, interactionist perspective (Vancouver, 1996, 2008), here I want to talk about an issue near and dear to the individual differenceoriented industrial–organizational (I–O) psychologist. Kanfer broached the topic when she discussed the concept of trait complexes. In that section, she cites Mischel and Shoda (1995), who find that personality traits are not very useful without considering the contexts that are likely to evoke behavioral tendencies. This is more than the simple strong–weak situation concept where we assume that personality will be more predictive in weak situations. Instead, it implies that the personality trait expressed might change as a function of context. For example, Johnny Carson was famous for his ability to make people laugh when on stage but was also notoriously shy at parties. Context mattered, yet it was not the mere presence of people, but the clear roles (and script) associated with Johnny as host as opposed to Johnny as guest that likely mattered. Of course, I am just speculating. Unfortunately, we do not have the theory, instruments, or Mr. Carson to examine the possibility. That is, we do not have a good handle on contextdependent individual differences. This might seem a striking remark given psychology's devotion to deliminating individual differences (Cronbach, 1957), but for so many of the constructs we list, we are largely at a loss when it comes to describing why the differences emerge. Without such knowledge, it is not surprising that we have not examined the moderating role of contexts. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jeffrey B. Vancouver. E-mail: vancouve@ ohio.edu Address: Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701 Jeffrey B. Vancouver, Department of Psychology, Ohio University. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2 (2009), 109–111. Copyright a 2009 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 1754-9426/09


Since an early age of heart surgery, atrial fibrillation has been a frequent companion of the postoperative period, and its decline is not to be expected in the near future.The interpretation of its clinical significance has changed in recent years, after knowing its recurrent trend and its association with serious immediate and long-term complications.This fact unveils a new challenge, as it is no longer a minor problem of consideration restricted to the perioperative period and has become a topic of concern and follow-upin the distant future, still with uncertainties as to its evolution and management.The effective prophylaxis of this arrhythmia has been difficult by the multiplicity of risk factors and the intricate of its genesis, added to the increasing age of the patients involved, the greater complexity of the procedures, the possible side effects of the drugs used and the absence of a reliable predictive algorithm that could allow to rationalizing preventive measures.In addition, many recommendations from current clinical practice guidelines are based on information obtained from studies in primary atrial fibrillation, so their adoption in the heart surgery scenario has been less than desirable.All these aspects are analyzed in this review, which ends with directives for the practical management of the arrhythmia in the perioperative environment.


In this paper, we establish the stability and superstability of J ∗ −derivations in J ∗ −algebras for the generalized Jensen-type functional equation rf( x + y r ) + rf( x − y r ) = 2f(x). Finally, we investigate the stability of J ∗ −derivations by using the fixed point alternative.


OpenFOAM* is a software package for solving partial differential equations and is very popular for computational fluid dynamics in the automotive segment. Intel has recently launched the Intel® Xeon Phi" processor which offers an opportunity of porting an application that is already running on Intel® Xeon® processors. The new Intel Xeon Phi processor offers 512 bit wide SIMD vector registers and high bandwidth on-package memory. This paper presents the work done to optimize the performance of OpenFOAM for both single node and clusters of Intel Xeon Phi processors. Feasibility and scope of techniques such as vectorization have been studied closely and implemented for top hotspots to gain improvements. For large scale runs, it becomes critical to deploy the problem on multiple nodes so that the solver scales and provides best possible performance. Thus, getting close to optimal domain decomposition becomes more important. We have studied the scalability of the resulting data distribution of such domain decomposition algorithms. To further improve the scalability we have designed our own algorithm (partition & reshuffle) which reshuffles an already decomposed mesh in order to minimize inter-node communication costs, i.e., network traffic. Our algorithm performs better or is at par when compared to existing decomposition algorithms for a motorbike benchmark with 20 million cells. A compelling study has also been done against Xeon processors to emphasize the speedup that could be achieved.


This paper presents a normalized transmitted signal (NTS) of a fiber-based sensor using gold nanorods as the plasmon excitation medium of the evanescent wave. The NTS and the refractive index (RI) sensitivity is calculated as a function of the gold aspect ratio (R), the RI of the sensing medium, and a scaling parameter given by the ratio of the fiber length and its diameter. Finally, the optimal value of gold aspect ratio is calculated to be R = (3.0-4.0) for maximum figure of merits (FOMs) defined by the ratio of the refractive index sensitivity and the full width at half maximum. The scaling laws and the FOM presented in this paper may serve as the guidelines for optimal designs in fiber-based nanosensors.


The need for automatic feature extraction and comparison has become one of the most important research topics in image based retrieval. That due to the rapid increases in images databases and the difficulties of indexing images based on textual description. CBIR (content based image retrieval) utilizes automatic feature extraction based on color, texture, and shape using image analysis and processing techniques. In this paper a novel two-leveled CBIR system is proposed. In the first level, spatial domain is considered with color features extraction and comparison. While, in the second level a hybrid feature based approach is deployed. In which edge detection and enhancement, morphological operator (Dilate), and 2D-DWT (wavelet transform) are used. WANG database of 1000 images form 10 categories is used to test the proposed system. Moreover, extensive comparisons with the most related systems are conducted and the result are better than the other compared systems. KeywordsCBIR; Edge Detection; Color Moments; Morphological Dilate and 2D-DWT.


Sinus tract occurs commonly in teeth with periapical/periodontal infection but the formation of a vestibular opening, causing esthetic compromise and food lodgement, is uncommon. Definitive treatment of a chronic sinus tract requires treatment of the original problem, that is, the necrotic pulp treated by endodontic therapy or by extraction of the tooth. However, at times endodontic therapy may not be adequate necessitating periodontal intervention. The present case had vestibular opening communicating with root canal of concerned tooth appearing ten years after trauma. The diagnosis of such cases can only be made after careful evaluation and the treatment plan has to be modified from the conventional. The success of such cases depends on the regular follow up as presented here and careful observation after each phase of treatment.


Two types of MOx sensor structures, SnO2 and WO3, of different thicknesses were synthesized on top of the interdigitated Au electrodes and used for the measurements of the ethylene gas. The SEM micrographs revealed inhomogeneities of the WO3 layer and the presence of cracks on the edges of Au electrodes which correlates with the lack of reproducibility of the WO3 sensors. Both sensor structures showed a significant sensitivity to ethylene gas: the sensitivities of both MOx-types were higher at higher temperatures which was more evident in the case of SnO2 structure. The SnO2 layer had approximately 5-times higher sensitivity than the WO3 sensor of the same thickness. The saturation (T10) and desaturation (T90) times were shorter for WO3 sensors at lower temperatures while SnO2 was saturated and desaturated faster at higher temperatures. Sensors with thinner active layer possessed higher sensitivities and shorter T10 and T90 times.


Carbon-embedded or -supported platinum clusters (1−12 wt % Pt) were made rapidly by a scalable, single-step flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) process. Pt-containing precursors dissolved in xylene were sprayed and combusted in a controlled oxidation atmosphere resulting in nanostructured, carbon-embedded Pt clusters. Reversing the order of particle formation by combusting xylene alone and the Pt precursor downstream onto the freshly made carbon particles led to carbon-supported Pt clusters. Both carbon-embedded and -supported Pt clusters possessed the self-preserving size distribution of aerosols grown by coagulation in the free-molecular regime. This indicates a homogeneous gas-phase formation pathway rather than the heterogeneous one typically observed in flame synthesis of noble metal catalysts on ceramic supports. These Pt/C composites were tested as catalysts and characterized by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, and CO...


This is the first part of a 2-part Conference Publication. This document contains papers presented at the 1992 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium held at the Charlottesville, Virginia, from June 4-13, 1992. The papers cover topics in both Tropospheric and Stratospheric research. These topics include ozone trends and climatology, ground based, aircraft, balloon, rocket and satellite measurements, Arctic and Antarctic research, global and regional modeling, and volcanic effects.


The world population is still growing, while the consumers in the emerging markets become more affluent. The consequential environmental impact shall be assessed for the whole product lifecycle. for televisions, the displays dominate the environmental profile and therefore their energy use is one of the key priorities in our EcoDesign approach.


Compared to the business-as-usual scenario, changes in energy production and use to achieve the 2°C goal can create around 18 million jobs throughout the world economy. These changes include a shift towards renewable energy sources and greater efficiency, the projected adoption of electric vehicles and construction work to achieve greater energy efficiency in buildings. This net job growth results from the creation of some 24 million new jobs and the loss of around 6 million jobs by 2030.


Introduction. Studies in the relationships between periodontal diseases and cardiovascular diseases are one of the main research areas in contemporary periodontology. The data published in recent years indicate periodontitis as one of the potential risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and myocardial infarction (MI). Thus the population with cardiovascular diseases is recommended as a target for dental prophylaxis and pro-health educational programmes. Aim of the study. The aim of this study was the assessment of oral hygiene levels and dental pro-health behaviours among patients with CHD and MI. Material and methods. The study encompassed 86 individuals with MI (group 1), and 84 persons with stable CHD (group 2). The control group comprised 50 persons without cardiovascular diseases. Clinical examinations of oral hygiene level using API, gingivitis level using mSBI, and an individual questionnaire regarding dental pro-health behaviours and oral hygiene maintenance methods were performed. Results. Low oral hygiene levels were observed in the examined groups (mean API value: 68.72%, 68.44%, and 60% respectively). Data from the questionnaires revealed a lack of proper periodontal prophylaxis. Gum bleeding was not considered as a pathological symptom, about 60% of patients never participated in oral hygiene training, and the frequency of dental control check-ups and professional hygiene procedures was too low. Only a few percent of patients cleaned interdental spaces. Conclusions. The results obtained indicate a low level of dental pro-health behaviours and could support recommendations regarding the necessity of educational, prophylactic and treatment programmes for patients with CHD / MI – performed by dentists / periodontologists and cardiologists together


The advanced main factor regression analysis was applied to winter wheat's climate analysis in this article, in which the practicality and science character of this method were embodied, eventually it was set that the temperature is the main climate element which affect on winter wheat's regreening and the precipitation is the main climate element which affect on winter wheat's yield. The key period of temperature is Dec to Feb and the second is April. The key period of precipitation is April and the second is Nor.


The Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie [Laboratory of the Physics of the Two Infinities Irène Joliot-Curie; IJCLab) was created on 1 January 2020. This laboratory is a joint research unit of CNRS (IN2P3), Université Paris-Saclay and Université de Paris, located on the Orsay campus 30 kilometers south of Paris. It results from the merger of five laboratories (CSNSM, Imagerie et Modélisation en Neurobiologie et Cancérologie, IPN, LAL, and Laboratoire de Physique Théorique) that were close to each other geographically and scientifically. These former laboratories shared a common history, linked with the creation and the development of the Orsay campus and the existence of strong scientific and technical ties. IJCLab is centered on the "physics of the two infinities" and their applications, with a wealth of subjects related to these domains of physics. Among the 750 IJCLab members, there are about 230 researchers, 350 engineers and technicians, and 120 Ph.D. students. IJCLab's scientific activities are organized around seven scientific departments:


This article argues for a flexible model of learning for adults which allows them to make choices and contextualise their learning in a manner appropriate to their own professional practice whilst also developing as a member of a learning community. It presents a design based around online 'learning activities' which draws on ideas of constructivism, collaborative learning and reflective practice. The model was developed for adult learning in Higher Education, and has been adapted and extended to a number of different programmes. Implementation of the model for the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) has been the subject of an interpretative evaluation using a multiple methods approach. Learners' experiences of this programme together with issues associated with the application of the model to other programmes are discussed.


Objective
To determine the relevant factors associated with the responsiveness of terlipressin in patients with septic shock.

Methods
From June 2013 to June 2018, the clinical data of patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University who received catecholamine and treated with terlipressin for at least 6 h, were retrospectively analyzed.Then, the patients were categorized as either responders or non-responders according to their responsiveness to terlipressin.The potential associations between some clinical indicators before the addition of terlipressin and responsiveness to terlipressin were analyzed.

Results
A total of 132 patients with septic shock were included in this study, including 60cases(45.45%) responders and 72cases(54.54%) non-responders.Compared with responders, non-responders had significantly higher ICU mortality and hospital mortality (ICU mortality: 20.00% vs.72.22%, χ2=35.734, P<0.001; hospital mortality: 81.67% vs.94.44%, P=0.028) and higher median blood lactate (2.73 mmol/L vs.5.22 mmol/L, Z=3.181, P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that blood lactate level before the addition of terlipressin was a risk factor for patients with no response to terlipressin (odds ratio 1.130, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.23, P=0.002). Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the area under the curve of blood lactate before the addition of terlipressin was 0.661.

Conclusion
Blood lactate levels may be useful in predicting terlipressin responsiveness in patients with septic shock.

Key words:
Shock, septic; Lactic acid; Vasopressins; Hospital mortality; ROC curve; Logistic models; Intensive care units


"To pay more for a product or service is bad but to pay less is worse" is a popular truism. By implication, this means that there is always an optimum cost for any product or service. This is the raison- d'etre of the Quantity Surveying profession as far as construction projects are concerned. This paper examined the origin and status of the Quantity Surveying profession in Nigeria and observes its rather unimpressive rate of diffusion both from the standpoints of school leavers and prospective clients. The paper reviewed the constraints to the awareness of the profession in Nigeria and advocates due diligence on the part of Quantity Surveyors with regard to advertisement and effective performance so as to enhance the societal awareness of the profession in Nigeria. Keywords : Constraints, Quantity Surveying profession, Awareness, Nigeria


Although the frequency of endoscopic diagnosis of superficial non‐ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors (SNADETs) has been increasing in recent years, no criteria for the endoscopic diagnosis of these tumors have been established yet. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of endocytoscopy for diagnosis SNADETs and to establish new criteria.


The utility model provides a cmos silicon chip fragment processing device which comprises a pressure-bearing part, an extrusion part and a copper rod. The pressure-bearing part is connected with the extrusion art through a connecting piece. The pressure-bearing part is successively provided with a resilient pad, a first PVC transparent slice and a first rice paper layer from the top to bottom. The extrusion part is successively equipped with a second rice paper layer and a second PVC transparent slice from bottom to top. According to the utility model, splitting efficiency of silicon chip fragments can be greatly raised, the surface of a silicon chip is not scratched, and edge-breaking and triboelectrification are avoided.


There exists some tension on large scales between the Planck data and the LCDM concordance model of the Universe, which has been amplified by the recently claimed discovery of non-zero tensor to scalar ratio $r$. At the same time, the current best-fit value of $r$ suggests large field inflation delta phi>M_p, which requires a UV complete description of inflation. A very promising working example that predicts large tensor modes and can be UV completed is axion monodromy inflation. This realization of inflation naturally produces oscillating features, as consequence of a broken shift symmetry. We analyse a combination of Planck, ACT, SPT, WMAP low l polarization and BICEP2 data, and show a long wavelength feature from a periodic potential can alleviate the tension at low multipoles with an improvement delta chi^2 ~2.5-4 per degree of freedom, depending on the level of foreground subtraction. As with an introduction of running, one expects that any scale dependence should lead to a worsened fit at high multipoles. We show that the logarithmic nature of the axion feature in combination with a tilt n_s~1 allows the fit to be identical to a no feature model at the 2 percent level on scales 100 =<l =2000. We also consider possible unremoved dust foregrounds and show that including these hardly changes the best-fit parameters. Our analysis suggests an axion decay constant of f/M_p ~O(.01). We discuss how Planck measurements of the TE and EE spectra can further constrain axion monodromy inflation with such a large feature. A measurement of the large scale structure power spectrum is even more promising, as the effect is much bigger since the tensor modes do not affect the large scales. At the same time, a feature could also lead to a lower sigma8, lifting the tension between CMB and SZ constraints on sigma8.


On injecting a neutral solution of pure trimethylamine oxide into two quarters of an udder, the quarters increased in turgidity up to 2·5 hr. and then relaxed. The oxide diffused rapidly out of the quarters during the third and fourth hours after injection and a maximum concentration was shown in the urine at the end of the third hour. In a period of 8·3 hr., 76 % of the oxide available for diffusion was recovered from the urine. The milk obtained 7 hr. after injection contained 7–8 mg. % of tertiary nitrogen, but the secretion had not in that time regained normal composition owing to the interference with the natural functioning of the quarters.


In this work, the deposition process features of a copper coating on stainless steel substrate, using the pulse vacuum arc spraying method were researched. A continuous layer of copper was deposited on a stainless steel substrate, and a high degree of coating adhesion to the substrate was demonstrated. The thickness of coating using application time was calculated, and the surface unevenness was estimated. Inside the coating layer substrate material elements were observed, that could appear as a result of simultaneously plasma spraying on the surface of the substrate. The feature of this method was discovered, that surface plasma plays a significant role in the deposition process. Finally, it was shown that the device with a pulsed arc could effectively be used in industry, since it is possible to change the layer thickness in the range of hundreds of microns by varying the deposition time.


The lysine requirements of rats of various body weights were estimated using the feeding and isotope tests.The regression equation obtained by the feeding test was Y= 1.03 – 0.58 log X. Where Y is lysine percentage of the diet and X is the mean of initial and final body weights (g) of rats achieving optimal growth gains during the feeding period.The regression equation obtained by the isotope test was 7=0.90 – 0.49 log X, where Y and X are lysine percentage in the diet and body weights (g) of rats achieving optimal growth gains at the injection time respectively.


Nowadays, custom components are increasingly being replaced by commercially available off-the-shelf hardware and standard protocols. Additionally, emerging industrial paradigms like Industry 4.0 and IoT place new demands on requirements like scalability, transparency, adaptability and efficiency. Accordingly, application layer protocols like the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport Protocol (MQTT) are becoming more and more popular in these fields, thanks to their simplicity, scalability, low resource-usage and decoupling between end nodes. However, these protocols are not deterministic, thus being unsuitable for real-time applications. Recently the authors proposed a set of extensions to the MQTT protocol, allowing applications to explicitly specify real-time requirements that are then used by a resource manager, implemented in Software Defined Networking (SDN), to create real-time channels. This paper extends the work, providing worst-case analysis using the Holistic and Trajectory approaches. The paper also includes a set of experimental results aiming to verify the correctness of both analysis and evaluate its performance in several scenarios.


We revisit the mass properties of the lensing cluster of galaxies MS2137-23 and assess the mutual agreement between cluster mass estimates based on lensing, X-rays and stellar dynamics. We perform a thorough elliptical lens modelling using arcs in the range 20


Many recommender-system datasets are pruned, i.e. some data is removed that wouldn't be removed in a production recommender-system. For instance, the MovieLens dataset contains only data from users who rated 20 or more movies.1 Similarly, some researchers prune data themselves, and conduct 1The 'MovieLens Latest Full' dataset is not pruned. All other variations of MovieLens are pruned (100k, 1m, 10m, ...). However, 'MovieLens Latest Full' is not recommended for research as it is changing over time. their experiments only on subsets of the original data, sometimes as little as 0.58% of the original data. We conduct a study to find out how often pruned data is used for recommender system research, and what the effect of data pruning is. We find that 40% of researchers used pruned recommender system datasets for their research, and 15% pruned data themselves. MovieLens is the most used dataset (40%) and can be considered as a defacto standard dataset. Based on MovieLens, we found that removing users with less than 20 ratings is equivalent to removing 5% of ratings and 42% of users. Performance differs widely for different user groups. Users with less than 20 ratings have an RMSE of 1.03 on average, i.e. 23% worse than users with 20+ ratings (0.84). Ignoring these users may not be always ideal. We discuss the results and conclude that pruning should be avoided, if possible, though more discussion in the community is needed. ACM RecSys 2019 Late-breaking Results, 16th-20th September 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark Copyright ©2019 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International


A method for speech input of spoken speech utterances to a destination address in a built-in into a vehicle guidance system for guiding the vehicle in real time, are in which entered speech statements of a user detected by means of a speech recognition device and classified according to their recognition probability and that speech utterance identified with the greatest recognition probability as the entered voice statement is, at least one speech utterance is a valid voice command which activates associated with this voice command control functions of the route guidance system, wherein all admissible speech statements are stored in at least one external database, characterized in that at least one operating function of the navigation system comprises at least one input dialogue, wherein after the activation of at least Minim an operating function of the navigation system least one input dialogue is determined, and of which at least generate in dependence of the data stored on the external database permissible speech utterances in real time an associated necessary lexicon from the entire possible vocabulary, then the at least one lexicon is loaded as vocabulary into the internal database of the speech recognition device, wherein the Encyclopedia ...


Introduction: Regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are the main supportive treatment for chronic anemia due to β-thalassemia. Transfusion-dependent pts require ICT to prevent iron overload from RBC transfusions, and associated complications. Thus, there is a clinical need to reduce transfusions and iron burden in pts with anemia due to β-thalassemia. Luspatercept, an erythroid maturation agent, is approved by the FDA for treatment of anemia in adult pts with β-thalassemia who require regular RBC transfusions. The phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo (PBO)-controlled BELIEVE study is evaluating the efficacy and safety of luspatercept in adult pts with β-thalassemia requiring regular RBC transfusions (NCT02604433; Cappellini MD, et al. N Engl J Med 2020;382:1219-31).
 Here we assess the effect of long-term luspatercept use on iron loading and ICT use in the BELIEVE trial.
 Methods: Pts were ≥ 18 years with β-thalassemia or hemoglobin (Hb) E/β-thalassemia (compound β-thalassemia mutation and/or multiplication of α-globin genes was allowed) and required regular RBC transfusions (defined as 6-20 RBC units in the 24 wks prior to randomization with no transfusion-free period > 35 days). Pts were randomized 2:1 to luspatercept 1.0 mg/kg (up to 1.25 mg/kg allowed) or PBO subcutaneously every 3 wks for ≥ 48 wks. Pts in both treatment arms continued to receive RBC transfusions to maintain target pretransfusion Hb levels, as well as ICT (deferasirox, deferoxamine, and deferiprone alone or in combination) per product label and physician practice prior to randomization. After study unblinding, pts randomized to PBO were eligible to cross over to luspatercept in an open-label phase.
 Risk for iron overload-related complications was evaluated by stratifying pts into categories based on serum ferritin (SF) level (< 1,000 μg/L, 1,000 to < 2,500 μg/L, ≥ 2,500 μg/L), liver iron concentration (LIC; ≤ 3 mg/g dw, > 3 mg/g dw), and myocardial iron (by T2* MRI; ≤ 20 ms, > 20 ms). Long-term changes in SF and ICT use were assessed in luspatercept pts remaining on treatment up to data cutoff (July 1, 2019) or study discontinuation, whichever was earlier.
 Results: Of 336 pts enrolled, 224 were randomized to luspatercept and 112 to PBO. Mean baseline SF, LIC, and myocardial T2* for luspatercept vs PBO arms were 2,097 vs 1,845 μg/L, 12.0 vs 10.1 mg/g dw, and 33.5 vs 34.8 ms, respectively. Overall, 97.3% of pts received ICT at baseline. As of July 1, 2019, 67.9% of pts initially randomized to luspatercept were still receiving treatment at the end of 2 years; 92 (82.1%) PBO pts crossed over to luspatercept after study unblinding.
 Of 141 luspatercept-treated pts with baseline mean SF ≥ 1,000 μg/L, 24 (17.0%) pts achieved post-baseline mean SF < 1,000 μg/L when assessed over Wks 1−24, vs 3 (5.0%) PBO-treated pts. During Wks 73−96, 26/56 (46.4%) luspatercept pts with baseline mean SF ≥ 1,000 μg/L achieved post-baseline mean SF < 1,000 μg/L (Figure A).
 At Wks 24 and 48, 5/120 (4.2%) and 13/134 (9.7%) luspatercept pts, respectively, shifted from LIC > 3 mg/g dw at baseline to ≤ 3 mg/g dw, vs 4/61 (6.6%) and 4/68 (5.9%) PBO pts; 15/105 (14.3%) of luspatercept pts shifted from LIC > 3 mg/g dw at baseline to ≤ 3 mg/g dw at Wk 96. 6/30 (20.0%) pts receiving luspatercept shifted from myocardial iron T2* ≤ 20 ms at baseline to > 20 ms at Wk 48 (vs 1/11 [9.1%] PBO pts); at Wk 96, 6/24 (25.0%) luspatercept-treated pts shifted from ≤ 20 ms to > 20 ms.
 During Wks 1-12, mean daily deferasirox dose in luspatercept pts was 1,477.08 mg (mean change from baseline +136.27 mg) and 1,516.28 mg (mean change from baseline +131.80 mg) in PBO pts. No significant difference was seen between luspatercept and PBO arms during the first 48 weeks, however, the proportion of patients receiving ≥ 1 ICT gradually declined in both luspatercept responders (defined as pts achieving ≥ 33% reduction in transfusion burden from baseline during Wks 13−24) and non-responders over time (Figure B). Both luspatercept responders and non-responders also experienced a gradual decrease in mean daily dose of deferasirox over time (Figure C).
 Conclusions: Compared with PBO-treated pts, a higher proportion of luspatercept-treated pts shifted to lower SF, LIC, and myocardial iron levels during the first 48 wks, indicative of lower risk of iron overload complications. Long-term luspatercept treatment led to an increasing proportion of patients with SF < 1,000 μg/L and decreasing trends of overall ICT use and deferasirox dosage.
 Figure 1

 Hermine: Celgene BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; AB Science: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Alexion: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding. Cappellini:CRISPR Therapeutics, Novartis, Vifor Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genzyme/Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Honoraria. Taher:Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Vifor Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Silence Therapeutics: Consultancy. Coates:Sangamo: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene, BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bluebird Pharma: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; apo pharma (Chiesi Pharma): Consultancy, Honoraria; Vifor Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria. Viprakasit:BMS, Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Agios Pharmaceuticals, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, La Jolla Pharmaceuticals, Protagonist Therapeutics, Vifor Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding. Voskaridou:ADDMEDICA Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; NOVARTIS Company: Research Funding; GENESIS Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; PROTAGONIST Company: Research Funding; ACCELERON Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding. Lal:Chiesi USA: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding; Celgene, BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company: Research Funding; bluebird bio, Inc.: Research Funding; Insight Magnetics: Research Funding; Terumo Corporation: Research Funding; Protagonist Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Agios Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Perrotta:Acceleron Pharma: Research Funding; Celgene, BMS: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Kattamis:Genesis Pharma SA: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene/BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Apopharma/Chiesi: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Ionis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vertex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vifor: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios: Consultancy. Shetty:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Zhang:BMS: Current Employment. Tian:BMS: Current Employment. Miteva:BMS: Current Employment. Zinger:Celgene International, A Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Current Employment. Tang:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Backstrom:BMS: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Acceleron Pharma: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Porter:Agios Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Protagonist Therapeutics: Honoraria; Silence Therapeutics: Honoraria; La Jolla Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Vifor Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; bluebird bio, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria.


The research article tested the efficiency of chilli futures market in India with respect to price discovery and price stabilization. Various tests employed indicate there is long run equilibrium relation exists between spot and future price in chill commodities. Future market for red chilli in India is leading the spot market in impounding future expectations about the future spot price. The results also corroborates that similar relationship is exists in case of other agro commodities as per the studies conducted by others.


OF THE DISSERTATION On a Hardy type inequality and a singular Sturm-Liouville equation by Hui Wang Dissertation Director: Haim Brezis In this dissertation, we first prove a Hardy type inequality for u ∈ W 0 (Ω), where Ω is a bounded smooth domain in RN and m ≥ 2. For all j ≥ 0, 1 ≤ k ≤ m − 1, such that 1 ≤ j + k ≤ m, it holds that ∂ ju(x) d(x)m−j−k ∈ W k,1 0 (Ω), where d is a smooth positive function which coincides with dist(x, ∂Ω) near ∂Ω, and ∂l denotes any partial differential operator of order l. We also study a singular Sturm-Liouville equation −(x2αu′)′ + u = f on (0, 1), with the boundary condition u(1) = 0. Here α > 0 and f ∈ L2(0, 1). We prescribe appropriate (weighted) homogeneous and non-homogeneous boundary conditions at 0 and prove the existence and uniqueness of H2 loc(0, 1] solutions. We study the regularity at the origin of such solutions. We perform a spectral analysis of the differential operator Lu := −(x2αu′)′ + u under homogeneous boundary conditions. Finally, we are interested in the equation −(|x|2αu′)′ + |u|p−1u = μ on (−1, 1) with boundary condition u(−1) = u(1) = 0. Here α > 0, p ≥ 1 and μ is a bounded Radon measure on the interval (−1, 1). We identify an appropriate concept of solution for this equation, and we establish some existence and uniqueness results. We examine the limiting behavior of three approximation schemes. The isolated singularity at 0 is also investigated.


If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else. -Yogi Berra James Burtchaell's recently published book, The Dying ofthe Light jamesBurtchnell's (Eerdman's, 1998), raises some provocative questions about the situarecentlypublished tion today of church colleges (or as some prefer, "church-related colbook, The Dying leges," or "colleges of the church," etc.), In his book Burtchaell details of the Light, raises what he calls "the disengagement of colleges and universities from someprovocative their Christian churches," referring to 17such colleges and universities questions about the that he uses as examples. They come from 14 institutions within six situation todtl!J of Protestant traditions (Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist, Bapchurch colleges. tist, Lutheran, and Evangelical) and three institutions from the Catholic tradition. In analyzing each college or university Burtchaell provides well-researched documentation how over their histories their sponsoring denominations have come to play less and less of a role in the governance, makeup of students and faculty, and practices of these institutions. If these colleges are not disengaged, they are in the pro-


A new and efficient extraction method using DMF (N,N-dimethylformamide) was developed to concentrate endohedral metallofullerenes. This single-step extraction method obtained a solution containing 5−15% endohedral metallofullerenes and strongly discriminated against the dominant C60, C70, and higher empty fullerenes in raw soot. This highly selective extraction procedure substantially reduced sample loading in the HPLC isolation for a given volume of sample injection. The efficiency of our separation method is demonstrated by the isolation of the endohedral metallofullerene Ce@C82.


Groups of yearling coho salmon held at 10 °C on a natural photoperiod, and fed excess ration daily, were administered either bovine growth hormone (bGH; 0.0092 IU/g body weight), L-thyroxine (T4; 1 μg/g), 17α-methyltestosterone (MT; 1 mg/kg diet), combinations of these hormones, or no hormone for 59 days. Fish received bGH and (or) T4 intramuscularly once weekly.Each individual hormone and hormone combination significantly enhanced growth. The sequence noted for growth rate of the groups was as follows: (bGH + MT + T4) > (bGH + MT) > (bGH + T4) > bGH > (T4 + MT) > MT > T4 > control groups. Three hormonal interactions were additive (T4 + MT; bGH + MT; bGH + MT + T4). The growth rate of fish treated with bGH + MT + T4 was over three times that of the controls.T4 or MT + T4 administration significantly increased condition factors, while MT, bGH, bGH + T4, bGH + MT, and bGH + MT + T4 decreased them.Significant elevations in percentages of muscle water (bGH) and lipid (T4; T4 + MT; bGH + MT) were found. Thyroi...


The paper presents a new method to achieve maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for practical grid-connected PV panels. The method employs the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) to predict the PV plant's maximum power points corresponding to different weather conditions. The RBFNN model can be trained on-line, autonomously, using a simplified genetic algorithm (SGA). The method has been verified by modelling the MPP points for practical PV panels located in Southampton and Leeds, respectively. The Leeds model has been used to control a prototype PV-grid-connected power generation system. The on-line RBFNN training scheme is discussed in detail and experimental results are presented which compared favourably with the conventional perturbation and observation (P&O) technique.


This paper reports on the control systems for upstream optical repeaters in a long range high-split ratio SuperPON access network. Optical amplification means of fast switching semiconductor optical amplifiers is used. Two methods to control the drive current of the optical amplifiers are described: a feed forward self-triggered scheme and a topology using a priori known talker identity information. Trade-offs between both systems will be discussed. The first alternative was used in a lab demonstrator set-up, while the second will be used in a small field trial.


S-(2-Pyridyl) thioates, especially derived from secondary and tertiary carboxylic acids, are decarbonylated by use of a catalytic amount of nickel chloride and zinc powder to give olefins in good yields.


This paper investigates the coordination relations between f0 turning points and segmental landmarks in falling pitch accents in Catalan. Ten Central Catalan speakers participated in the production experiment, for a total of 500 target pitch accents. Results indicate that while the beginning of the falling accent gesture (H) is tightly synchronized with the onset of the accented syllable, the end of the falling gesture (L) is more variable. This contrast has also been reported in rising accents between the alignment behavior of f0 valleys and peaks. It has been suggested that the asymmetry between alignment patterns in syllable-initial vs. syllable-final position might be attributable to general properties of intergestural coordination (Gao, 2006; Prieto and Torreira, 2007). Second, the data reveal a clear effect of syllable structure: while in open syllables the end of the fall is aligned roughly with the end of the accented syllable, in closed syllables it is aligned somewhat later but well before the coda consonant. Thus the L turning point is not aligned with the offset of the accented syllable, and coda consonants seem to have a 'transparent' behavior. This same effect of coda consonants on alignment has been reported in crosslinguistic studies of rising accents. A potential perceptual explanation for these effects is House's (1990) idea that in order to produce a perceptually acceptable rising (or falling) tone in a syllable with a final nasal, speakers would have to implement the most dynamic portion of the contour during the production of the vowel. # 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


In this paper, a hybrid twin scheme for power substations is proposed for secondary system simulation, which can be used to support operator training and equipment testing. The proposed scheme is composed of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) based twin substation and a digital twin substation which can reflect the real operating status for both primary and secondary systems of a real substation. Based on the proposed scheme, the modeling method and system architecture are studied in the paper. According to the proposed hybrid twin substation, equipment testing and operator training can be conducted for new-generation secondary systems with fewer costs and security risks.


For highly nonlinear problems, the linear minimum mean-square error (LMMSE) estimation using a nonlinearly converted measurement can outperform the one using the original measurement. For a function space of measurement conversions, every function in the space can be represented as a linear combination of a basis of the space. Then the LMMSE estimator using a vector with its entries forming a basis of the space is optimal among all the estimators that are linear in the measurement conversions in the space. However, a basis of a space may consist of infinitely many functions and may be hard to determine. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a kernel based filter (KBF), which is equivalent to the LMMSE estimator using the conversion vector but is simpler, more convenient and feasible. Using deterministic sampling and the kernel trick, the KBF can be represented in kernel functions of the sampled and the real measurements provided the space is a reproducing kernel Hilbert space associated with the kernel functions. Because calculating the basis functions directly is avoided by using kernel functions, the computational complexity can be greatly reduced and it is unnecessary to get the basis explicitly. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed filter.


Valle de Bravo reservoir supplies drinking water to 40% of Mexico City. Here we present data on the population growth and life-table demography of the cladoceran Daphnia pulex, cultured at temperatures of 20 °C and 25 °C and with different concentrations of the crude extracts from blooms of Microcystis aeruginosa, collected in January, and Woronichinia naegeliana, collected in September. We hypothesized that Daphnia pulex would be more sensitive at the higher temperature and to toxins from W. naegeliana as these blooms have been shown to be more toxic to rotifers. We extracted the toxins and conducted acute toxicity tests at eight concentrations of microcystins at 20 °C. The LC50 was 26.8 µg/L and 11.5 µg/L, respectively, for Microcystis and Woronichinia samples. The chronic toxicity tests included population growth and life-table demography studies at 5 and 10% of the LC50 concentration, at 20 °C and 25 °C. Four replicates for each of the three treatments, which consisted of treatments with low and high cyanotoxin levels and a control without cyanotoxins, were set up. The population growth rate ranged from 0.18 to 0.42 d−1 on the extracts from M. aeruginosa (January) and from 0.2 to 0.31 on extracts from W. naegeliana. Daphnia, being better adapted to cooler temperatures, was more adversely affected at 25 °C than 20 °C. The adverse effect of cyanobacterial extracts was greater from Microcystis than Woronichinia blooms. The tolerance of Daphnia pulex to cyanotoxins depends on the bloom-forming species and the temperature.


Defra has pursued a cautious and step by step approach to the development of coexistence measures to allow genetically modified ('GM') and conventional farming to work side by side when (as is widely expected) the go-ahead is given after 2009 or the commercial introduction of GM crops in the UK. It published a wide-ranging consultation document on GM coexistence measures as long ago as July 2006.1 The consultation closed on 20 October 2006, and stimulated no fewer than 11,676 submissions. Defra published its initial analysis of these in November 2007.2 The vast majority of responses came from members of the public (11,442), but three petitions generated most of these and a large number of stock answers were prepared by organisations campaigning against GM agriculture. Those responses from the public that were not on stock letters or forms fell into two broad categories, according to Defra: those registering a general opposition to GM crops (approximately 1,370 in total) and those whose primary concern was to protect organic agriculture (approximately 390). The consultation revealed highly motivated, and continuing, opposition from sections of the public to the introduction of GM agriculture in the UK. Before finalising its legislative proposals Defra is waiting for two further developments: the conclusion of three research projects on coexistence and crop separation distances due to report in Spring 2008, and the


Digital circuits used in such domains as automotive, medical, space or nuclear need to satisfy high reliability requirements. In addition, continuous downscaling of consumer electronics consisting in increased integration and lower voltage supply, affects system's sensitivity to several phenomena involved in transient and permanent faults generation : particle strike, thermal noise, crosstalk, etc. These faults may cause dfferent effects in the system behavior ranging from silent fault (no effect) to a total loss of functionality. Transient faults in memories and sequential elements have largely dominated the overall soft error rate (SER) of systems, thus, correction and prevention techniques for these devices are well known, and their application is widely spread. Though, it is expected that the contribution of combinational logic elements to the system's SER becomes dominant with CMOS technology downscaling. Hence, there is a need to fulfill the lack of available models and methodologies that take into account the combinational logic's contribution to the reliability loss. Two main approaches exist to assess this issue : 1. Fault Injection techniques ; 2. Analytical models. The work presented in this manuscript is focused on the analytical approach, also known as probabilistic approach. First, an in-depth analysis of the state of the art is done pointing out the main limitations of probabilistic models. Second, innovative heuristics and approaches are proposed, improving the performance of state of the art methods. Then, new metrics addressing the selective hardening problem and FMDEA analysis are investigated. Finally, we validate our approaches by comparing the performances of our methods with alternative techniques.


The solvent-free hot-melt method was explored to assess how to enhances the dissolution of hydrophobic drug-florfenicol.The florfenicol(FF)-polyethyleneglycol 6000(PEG 6000) solid dispersion(SDs) were prepared with PEG 6000 as carriers.The SDs were detected by x-ray diffraction,infrared spectroscopy,electron microscope and dissolution rate.The high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) method was developed to determine the concent of FF.It was found that the spectra of x-ray diffraction,infrared spectroscopy of the SDs were significant different from that of FF and physical mixture.The structure of FF was the crystal lamellar structure,while the structure of SDs was amorphous state.The dissolution rate of SDs was higher than that of FF and physical mixture.Solubility of FF was 3.441 mg/mL for the formation of SDs.The solubility of FF was increased for the formation of SDs.The method was simple in preparation and easy to spread to the other hydrophobic drugs.


Pressure drop of turbulent flow across 90[Formula: see text] round bends with 10mm inside diameter investigated by employing the shear stress transport [Formula: see text] turbulent model for numerous curvature ratios and flow conditions. A total of 10 flow velocities varied from 1 to 10 m/s and 17 curvature radii between 5 and 300  mm were examined. Velocity profiles were evaluated at eight locations to examine the entrance effect. The simulation results were verified by comparing the evaluated Darcy friction factor with a well-known published correlation. The obtained results of bend pressure drop demonstrate the domination of the curvature ratio effect on the pressure drop over the influence of other factors. The computed pressure loss across the bend in terms of pressure loss coefficient [Formula: see text] and equivalent length to diameter ratio [Formula: see text] shows a good agreement with various published data in the literature with [Formula: see text] maximum average error. The coincidence between the results and the published data verifies the accuracy of the employed model to evaluate the pressure drop of turbulent flow throughout 90[Formula: see text] bends for the applied boundary conditions.


The first full, nonpartisan history of the Greek Civil War, the brutal guerrilla conflict that launched the Cold War. From 1944 to 1949, tens of thousands of Greek soldiers and guerrillas fought and slaughtered each other and thousands of innocents in a civil war of unrelenting and shocking savagery. In the wake of the Allied liberation of Greece, the fighting transformed into a civil war, pitting Soviet-backed Communists against U.S.- and British-backed government forces. As the first proxy war between the superpowers, the Greek Civil War became the first hot zone of the Cold War.In , historian Andre Gerolymatos recounts the full history of this divisive conflict, exposing old wounds that still fester beneath the surface of contemporary Greek society. He tells the stories of ordinary Greek men, women, and children caught up in turbulent times and by powerful foreign forces.In many ways, the Greek Civil War heralded America's future involvement in Vietnam: Not only did it mark the first time the U.S. used napalm, but it convinced U.S. policymakers that counterinsurgency operations were winnable. unflinchingly presents the personal horrors of this brutal war, while exploring the glo


This report presents the case of an 11-month-old female with hemifacial spasm and a cerebellar tumor. She experienced brief spasms associated with left-sided eyelid blinking beginning a few days after birth. Interictal and ictal video- EEG recordings showed no paroxysmal discharges. Brain MRI showed a mass lesion in the left cerebellar hemisphere, involving the left middle and superior cerebellar peduncles and effacing the fourth ventricle. There have so far been few reports of hemifacial spasm in children, therefore the current case was evaluated with a review of the pertinent literature. Nine cases of hemifacial spasm in children cases with a cerebellar tumor were reported with paroxysmal discharges from the cerebellum in some cases. These findings suggest the mechanism of hemifacial spasm in children to therefore differ from the compression of the facial nerve at the root entry zone observed in adult cases.


2. A total of 197 plant species were reported representing 45 families. Herbaceous flora dominates the floristic composition of coal mine spoils. The Poaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae are the dominant families of the flora on coal mine spoils of Singrauli coal fields.


An analysis is made of the coupled lateral-torsional response of a partially symmetric single-storey building model to horizontal translatory earthquake excitation. Interest centres on the evaluation of realistic estimates for two equivalent static actions (a shear and a torque) which account for the worst dynamic consequences of torsional unbalance. The results substantiate the findings of previous investigations which have given rise to the belief that strong modal coupling and severely coupled lateral and torsional responses are possible even in nominally symmetric buildings. The response of the model is assumed to be linearly elastic and viscously damped.

In a preliminary analysis the equations of motion are solved using the modal analysis technique and the conditions necessary for full modal coupling are ascertained.

Then by employing the design spectrum concept, together with suitably conservative procedures for combining the modal maxima, dimensionless forms of the equivalent static actions are evaluated as functions of two independent parameters. The final results are furnished by modified square root of the sum of the squares (SRSS) combination functions which take account of the spacing between the translational and torsional frequencies. Examples at the end of the paper illustrate the practical significance of the work.


The relationship among the enterprises in the supply chain environment is discussed,and the importantce of interconnection of production management data is analyzed.Based on the analysis of the interactional data type of ERP production management data,the reason of information sharing to MPS,MRP and production schedule is discussed,and the data interface of three plans and mapping rules is studied in detail.By the technology of XML web services,the MPS information is achieved,and the feasibility of the interconnection of production management data is proved.


We present tunable optical components for the infrared, incorporating phase transition materials that respond to temperature, current, or light into photonic structures such as interference coatings, optical metasurfaces, and thermal emitters. Article not available.


The Diffeomorphism Kernel Density Estimator (DKDE) requires the estimation of an optimal value of the bandwidth to ensure a reliable pdf estimation of bounded distributions. In this paper, we suggest to approach the optimal bandwidth value by adapting Plug-in algorithm to DKDE estimator. We will show that the proposal method allows better density estimation in the MISE sense. Otherwise, the Gibbs phenomenon completely disappears. These results are illustrated by some bounded and semi bounded distributions simulations.


BACKGROUND
asthma is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases; is increasing in prevalence and an important cause of school absenteeism. Previous studies have failed to evaluate knowledge about asthma among elementary school teachers worldwide because of the lack of validated questionnaires.

OBJECTIVE
to validate a questionnaire about asthma knowledge for elementary school teachers in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
an observational, cross sectional, descriptive study, from February to December 2004, by applying a questionnaire to a group of elementary school teachers in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. The questionnaire is a translation and adaptation to the questionnaire of 13 questions used to assess the knowledge about asthma among parents, according to the National Asthma Education Program of US.

RESULTS
a total of 179 questionnaires were applied, in which 6 of the 13 questions were answered correctly by more than 90% of the teachers. The internal consistency reliability was adequate with a Cronbach a coefficient of 0.75.

CONCLUSIONS
in order to obtain reliable data using questionnaires, these must undergo a validation process. Our questionnaire got validation because of the reliability shown according to the internal consistency analysis.


Dr Corrà and colleagues review the prognostic role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in heart failure (HF) and consider individual patient characteristics, the modality of CPET execution, and newer clinical endpoints.1 Given the lack of well-evidenced information relevant to clinical prediction in particular subsets of the HF population [elderly people, women, obese patients, patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), etc.], the proposed prognostic flowcharts based on CPET parameters are greatly appreciated and may be regarded as representing an excellent starting point for further research. In our opinion, there are some issues in patients with HFpEF that warrant further comment. It is a heterogeneous syndrome that is especially common in elderly people, women and patients with high numbers of co-morbidities. The incidence and prevalence of HFpEF are increasing and the financial burdens imposed by recurrent admissions have become alarming.2,3 This work1 highlights the utility of CPET as a tool for improving risk stratification using objective and functional parameters; however, information about the utility of


We propose a security methodology for Machine Learning (ML) pipelines, supporting the definition of key security properties of ML assets, the identification of threats to them as well as the selection, test and verification of security controls. Our proposal is based on STRIDE, a widely used approach to threat modeling originally developed by Microsoft. We adapt STRIDE to the Artificial Intelligence domain by taking a security property-driven approach that also provides guidance in selecting the security controls needed to alleviate the identified threats. Our proposal is illustrated via an industrial case study.


In numerous critical areas from across science and engineering, models and simulations share a common base of mathematical formulations and algorithms that are multi-physics, multi-scale and/or multi-domain in nature. The crucial demand for predictive computational results in these areas motivates the development of uncertainty quantification approaches for coupled models that feature multiple physics, scales and/or domains.


In the critical infrastructure of the Internet of Things (IoT), the most efficient approach for data collection is to employ the software Mobile Agents (MAs). In MA-based data collection, the energy exhaustion of wireless communications is much more than the data processing costs. Hence, a crucial challenge in IoT is to offer optimal routing for MAs to save the energy of devices. In this paper, we present a new routing method for MAs on IoT using the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm. In our approach, the Euclidean distance between sensor/devices, residual energy, and data priority are considered to measure the appropriateness of the generated routing. Simulation analysis demonstrates that our proposed method improves the energy exhaustion, lifetime, transmission delay, and reliability of IoT.


Aims of the study: To find out the incidence of acute renal failure in falciparum malaria and to correlate between the degree of parasitism at presentation with acute renal failure and its outcome in falciparum malaria. Methodology: Each patient with a history of fever, suggestive of severe malaria was subjected to peripheral blood smear examinations, up to 3 samples were examined or till positive and/or Pf antigen positive cases. The selected patients were then grouped according to the clinical features, laboratory parameters and were followed up for the outcome. Results: Out of the 50 cases of acute renal failure due to falciparum malaria, 21 had Parasite density <5% (42%), 13 had 5-10% (26%) and 16 had >10% (32%). Out of 21 cases of mild ARF 12 patients had parasite density<5% and 9 had >5%. Out of 29 cases of severe ARF 9 patients had parasite density<5% and 20 had >5%.Dialysis was done in a total of 31 cases (62%). In the severe form of acute renal failure. hemodialysis was required in 29 cases (58%), in the milder form of renal failure; only 2 cases (4%) required hemodialysis. Rests of the cases were managed by conservative treatment. Conclusion: Parasite Density has significant impact to predict the severity of renal failure,duration of hospital stays as well as the number of dialysis required. As the study was conducted with small number of cases, further study is necessary with large number of cases to arrive at a conclusion regarding the malady of acute renal failure in falciparum malaria. .......................................................................................................................................


We investigate the finiteness of one-loop /ital N/-tachyon amplitudes in lower-dimensional bosonic string theory. When the fermionic fields used to represent the internal degrees of freedom are given antiperiodic boundary conditions, we find that the apparent divergences in the amplitude from soft dilaton emission can be made to cancel when /ital D/=26 (mod4). We compare this result to simple toroidal compactification.


In the process of second language learning, motivation is an important factor, which helps to determine the level of proficiency achieved by different learners. It is the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language. The paper wishes to classify four main researching aspects of motivation in order to give the implication of researches for language teaching and learning.


Abstract : Agenda. The Vision: Seamless Data Flow, Sensor to Shooter, Sensor to Weapon. Information Assurance Requirements of the Vision. Design Guidance. Reference Monitors. Candidate Technologies. Multiple Independent Levels of Security.


The littoral processes and long-term shore protection plans are analysed for the coast of Valencia (Spain). The breakwaters built during this century by the Port Authorities have gratly affected the most Southern beaches by interrupting the natural longshore sand transport. The monitoring program of the beaches of Valencia (Spain) has been established for a precise estimation of the evolution in time of the beaches to the North and South by the Port of Valencia. Periodic topographic surveys provide the basic timedependent beach description of the area. The two main objetives are the following: a) 3-D description of the beach surface, including estimation of reliability and measurement errors of bathymetrics, and b) stochastic description of wave climate. High precision and cost-efficient beach surveying techniques have been developed during the monitoring program of the beaches of Valencia (Spain). Beach profiles and zero-shorelines have been obtained with systems and errors similar to the terestrial topography. The methods are simple enough to be applied by general land surveyors with a minimum training and may be extended to a variety of beaches for systematic and low-cost monitoring programs. Introduction Most beaches of the Gulf of Valencia in Spain suffer an erosion/acretion Department of Transportation, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, SPAIN. 2871 2872 COASTAL ENGINEERING 1996 processes induced by inappropiate constructions and unadequate coastal policies. The rivers and the natural littoral sand drift created more than a hundred miles continuos natural sand beach which has been altered in several points by breakwaters, jetties, comercial ports and marinas. According to Yepes (1995), economic, social and political presures and different kind of lobbies are interacting on the sand beaches, which are considered the most critical production factor of the touristic sector in Valencia (10% of the Spanish GNP).