The necessity of maintaining lean operations and becoming an 'agile enterprise', in which the speed and flexibility at which a company functions matches that of its technology, is widely accepted. Information technology is providing the means for companies to integrate better their internal and external activities. This level of integration is achieved through 'enterprisewide systems' that reflect the current operations and processes of the business and allow decision-makers to digest information more rapidly and accurately, and with more flexibility. The objective of this paper is to review some of the current literature concerning enterprise integration and to identify and discuss the main issues that need to be considered before attempting to establish enterprise-wide integration.


We describe the design and expected performance of BICEP, a millimeter wave receiver designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. BICEP uses an array of polarization sensitive bolometers operating at 100 and 150 GHz to measure polarized signals over a 20 degree field of view with 1 degree resolution. BICEP is designed with particular attention to systematic effects which can potentially degrade the polarimetric fidelity of the observations. BICEP is optimized to detect the faint signature of a primordial gravitational wave background which is a generic prediction of inflationary cosmologies.


This study aims to explore the effectiveness of inquiry learning models inter-vened by the reflective process to promote the critical thinking ability of preserv-ice teachers in terms of cognitive style. This study is a quasi-experimental re-search with one-group pretest posttest design. The research sample involved 24 preservice physics teachers who studied at the Physics Education Department - Mandalika University of Education (Undikma). Cognitive style measurement us-es the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) to identify groups of preservice teachers into the field dependent (FD) or field independent (FI) cognitive style. Measurement of critical thinking ability using test instruments in the form of es-says consisting of 8 test items. Critical thinking ability score is analyzed descrip-tively and statistically, where the normality test and paired t-test was conducted. The results of the study show that as many as 13 preservice teachers are catego-rized into the FD cognitive style and 11 categorized into the FI cognitive style. The average pretest score of the two cognitive style groups (FD and FI) was 0.87 with the criteria of "less critically", and after the implementation of the inquiry learning model intervened by the reflective process, the average posttest score was 16.25 with the criteria of "critically," and n- a gain of 0.64 with the criteria of "moderate." These results indicate that the inquiry learning model intervened by the reflective process is effective to promote critical thinking ability of preservice teachers with FD and FI cognitive styles.


Custodian banks continue to grapple with cost pressures, operational challenges, and legacy infrastructure. The advent of disruptive technologies such as blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA), and cognitive technologies have helped custodian banks to resolve these challenges. In Part 1, of a twopart series, we examined the potential of blockchain in transforming custodial operations. This paper, the concluding part of the series, highlights how articial intelligence (AI) robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning (ML), and other cognitive tools can be leveraged to reimagine key service areas in custodial operations. WHITE PAPER


It is a well-known fact that survey data always contains measurement errors, which can in different ways bias the results of an analysis (Alwin, 2007). In quantitative research, this problem has usually been ignored due to lack of quality estimates and the complexity of correction procedures. However, this argument is not valid anymore, as there exists a new approach to determining the quality of any specific question based on a prediction of quality using the program SQP2 (Survey Quality Predictor 2.1), which in turn allows for the correction of measurement error by following a relatively simple procedure as described by Saris and Gallhofer (2014) and illustrated by De Castellarnau and Saris (2014). During recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies researching the structure of basic human values (Schwartz, 1992), which has resulted in improvements to the theory and led to a new 19-factor value model (Saris, Knoppen, & Schwartz, 2013; Schwartz et al., 2012). However, none of the recent studies have concurrently taken into account random and systematic errors, which can potentially have an effect on the structure. Therefore in this paper we will try to overcome this shortcoming and will be analysing the effect of the correction for both types of measurement error on the structure of basic human values. We use the same representative data from Estonia that was used in a study by Lilleoja and Saris (2014), which enabled us to compare value structures before and after the correction for measurement error. Due to the existence of a large ethnic minority in Estonian society, the sample additionally allowed testing the equivalence of the measurements in the two subpopulations after correcting for measurement error. This study shows that the correction for measurement error provides additional support for the validity of a new value structure and it also sheds some new light on cross-cultural equivalence.


This paper describes SLX, Wolverine Software's "next generation" successor to GPSS/H. SLX retains fundamental concepts of GPSS/H, such as its Transaction-flow world-view, Facilities, Queues, and Storages. However, SLX replaces some GPSS/H features entirely, and it replaces collections of disparate GPSS/H features with simpler, more general features. SLX is much more than a new implementation of GPSS/H. SLX is a layered modeling system in which GPSS/H comprises but one of the layers. SLX provides a foundation under GPSS/H and powerful extensibility mechanisms which facilitate the development of higher level, application-specific modeling tools. The sections which follow provide an overview of SLX, and describe the goals of the development of SLX, the architecture of SLX, the SLX environment, concepts retained from GPSS/H, features modeled after other languages, and the extensibility mechanisms of SLX. The relationship of SLX to other modeling tools is discussed in Section 8, entitled "Can Do, Can't Do, Must Do, Should Do, Shouldn't Do." Since SLX is still under development as of this writing, this paper emphasizes design philosophies and principles, rather than concrete, syntactically accurate examples. The presentation of this paper will include a "live" demonstration.


Objective To investigate the effects of hemodilution combined with local mild hypothermia on brain ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.Methods Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups:ischemia-reperfusion group(I/R group),mild hypothermia groups(MH group),acute normovolemic hemodilution(NH) and mild hypothermia combined with acute normovolemic hemodilution group(MHNH group),10 rats in each group.The rats were killed 3 h after hemodilution.The concentration of serum S-100B was assessed by ELISA at the end of the study.Brain water content wag was determined by dry wet weight method.The ultrastructure changes of cerebral cells of rat were analyzed with electron microscopy.Results Compared with group I/R,the serum S-100B protein levels and brain water content of other groups were significantly decreased(P 0.05),in which MHNH group was the lowest.MHNH group The severity of injury of the cortex neurons in rats was ameliorated effectively.Conclusion Hemodilution combined with local mild hypothermia can decrease concentration of serum S-I00B induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and can protect brain against I/R injury.


This work was supported by a Capacity Building Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au) to the
Australian Health News Research Collaboration (2009–2013) [571376].


Thick-target yields were measured for the Ni/sup 58/( alpha , gamma ) reaction from 4.9 to 6.1 Mev, the Ni/sup 58/( alpha ,p) reaction from 4.9 to 11 Mev, and the Co/sup 59/( alpha ,n) reaction from 5.8 to 10 Mev. The reactions were identified by measuring the coincident annihilation radiation from the induced BETA /sup +/ activities. The absolute thick-target position yields, which were measured at approximately 100-kev energy intervals, have an accuracy of plus or minus 6%. The reaction cross sections were obtained to an accuracy of 15 to 20% by the differentiation of the smooth thick-target yield curves. Over the measured energy range, the cross sections increase from 1 to 12 mu b for the Ni/sup 58( alpha , gamma ) reaction, 0.6 mu b to 316 mb for the Ni/sup 58/( alpha , p) reaction, and 0.06 to 228 mb for the Co/sup 59/ ( alpha ,n) reaction. The total reaction cross scction for Ni/sup 58/ is compared to some values predicted by optical models. The Co/sup 59/( alpha ,n) yields are compared 10 those obtained by measuring the neutrons directly with the graphite sphere detector. (auth)


Methods, compositions, and kits for adjunctive therapy using 25-hydroxyvitamin D are disclosed. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D may be administered with an agent that increases the risk of hypocalcemia and/or an anticancer agent. The adjunctive therapy is effective to treat and prevent iatrogenic hypocalcemia and/or secondary hyperparathyroidism, as well as delay cancer progression and the time to a post-treatment skeletal related event.


Polarized plumes of elevated cytosolic Ca2+ generate a remodelled actin network that directs localized exo- and endocytosis that is responsible for determining the spatially defined assembly of wall ingrowth papillae in transfer cells.


The article describes the main negative trends in the modern Russian language, as well as pedagogical and methodological ways to overcome them through active learning methods and the phase of planning activities in the pedagogical management of educational environment of college.


What is clear from this latest public airing of differences is that the DOJ and the FTC appear to have very distinct views on enforcement policies regarding monopolization and single firm conduct under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. While recognizing the FTCA¢â'¬â"¢s contributions on the area, the DOJ A¢â'¬A"remains solely responsible for the contents of this report.A¢â'¬Â Thus, it represents only the DOJA¢â'¬â"¢s A¢â'¬A"enforcement policy and is intended to make progress toward the goal of sound, clear, objective, effective, and administrable standards for analyzing single-firm conduct under section 2 [of the Sherman Act].


The basal cell nevus syndrome (Gorlin syndrome) is characterized by multiple basal cell carcinomas and diverse developmental defects. The gene responsible for this syndrome has been mapped previously to a 2 cM interval between D9S196 and D9S180 at 9q22.3, and very recently mutations of a candidate gene in this region—the human homolog of the Drosophila patched gene—have been identified. We report here on physical mapping studies integrating a contig of yeast artificial chromosomes and bacterial artificial chromosomes with a long‐range map spanning approximately 5 Mb between the recombination‐determined flanking markers. Six genes have been mapped to this interval. Genes Chromosom. Cancer 18:305–309, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Messerli suggests that, because chocolate contains flavonoids shown to improve cognitive function, we might expect to see a correlation between a country's chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel laureates that countries produce. Indeed, Messerli revels in the strength of the correlation between these two variables. However, the study seems flakey to us, since the use of large-scale correlations with cultural data is a rocky road, and it can too easy to fudge the difference between cause and correlation. We present some data that mars the previous inference.


Satellite images often contain a significant level of sensitive data compared to ground-view images. That is why satellite images are more likely to be intentionally manipulated to hide specific objects and structures. GAN-based approaches have been employed to create forged images with two major problems: (i) adding a new object to the scene to hide a specific object or region may create unrealistic merging with surrounding areas; and (ii) using masks on color feature images has proven to be unsuccessful in GAN-based object removal. In this paper, we tackle the problem of object removal in high-resolution satellite images given a limited number of training data. Furthermore, we take advantage of conditional GANs (CGANs) to collect perhaps the first GAN-based forged satellite image data set. All forged instances were manipulated via CGANs trained by Canny Feature Images for object removal. As part of our experiments, we demonstrate that distinguishing the collected forged images from authentic (original) images is highly challenging for fake image detector models.


The article considers the issues of realization of the principle of legality in the stages of appeal (protest) of the resolution on case about administrative offence and concludes that it is necessary to improve the existing legislation in order to comply with the principle of legality. The various points of view on this matter are analyzed.


Fractional calculus can always exactly describe anomalous diffusion. Recently
 the discrete fractional difference is becoming popular due to the depiction
 of non-linear evolution on discrete time domains. This paper proposes a
 diffusion model with two terms of discrete fractional order. The numerical
 simulation is given to reveal various diffusion behaviors.


We human beings are now facing and tackling two global issues of energy and environment. Due to the poor policy of rice production control, Rice agriculture is at stake in Japan. Half of the farmers are highly aged over 65 years and successors are not growing up. Paddy fields are not actively and efficiently used. It looks most of them have been planted to the extent of the complaint. In this paper the food and energy production from rice compared with solar power generation is discussed from the effective use of paddy fields because Rice is a buffer resource available for food and energy for sustainable development [1].


Proximity maneuvers of two autonomous spacecraft have been extensively studied in the past years, in which both the strict requirements in terms of spacecraft dynamics variations and the limitations due to the actuation system have taken into account. Since the phase of proximity involves a rapid evolution of the kinematics and dynamics, non-robust control methodologies have limited performance achievement. In particular, rendezvous and docking (RVD) problems require high level of robustness in order to ensure the satisfaction of the mission constraints for any modeled possible disturbance and uncertainty that can affect the system. For this reason, Tube-based Robust MPC represents an appealing strategy to handle disturbances and to ensure robust constraints satisfaction. In this paper, a suitable strategy of control via Tube-based Robust MPC, in which the robustness of the system is guaranteed in presence of additive disturbances, is proposed. The idea of this research is to reduce the computational effort adopting a time- varying control law where the feedback gain matrix is evaluated offline. A Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) approach is applied to the state feedback stabilization criterion for the stability analysis and the evaluation of the feedback matrix. The experimental verification has been carried out considering the final phase of the rendezvous and docking maneuver and using two Floating Spacecraft Simulators (FSS) that float over a polished granite monolith surface reproducing a quasi-frictionless motion. A Vicon motion capture system provides accurate position and orientation data and a discrete time Kalman filter processes the data and provides a full state estimate. An extensive verification campaign, both in simulation and experimentation on this physical test bed, has been accomplished to validate the performance of the control system and its compatibility for real-time implementation. Thus, the efficiency of the control system is measured comparing the control effort and the computational time (in terms of CPU time).


Perturbed Angular Correlation spectroscopy of 181 Ta nuclei occupying cation sites has been used to investigate microscopic structural properties of several pure and stabilized zirconia materials. The PAC spectra are used to derive the electric field gradients at the tracer nucleus. Thse are compared with calculations based on a simple point-ion model. Agreement between experiment and theory is good for stabilized material and qualitatively reasonable for pure zirconia.


In the Contextuality-by-Default theory random variables representing measurement outcomes are labeled contextually, i.e., not only by what they measure but also under what conditions (in what contexts) the measurements are made, including but not reducible to what other measurements are made "together" with the given one. We propose in this paper that the quantum observables generating these random variables be labeled contextually as well, making the sets of the observables in different contexts disjoint. A quantum observable is defined as a pair consisting of the observable's label and a self-adjoint operator in a Hilbert space. If a system is consistently connected (i.e., obeys "non-disturbance," "non-invasivenes," or "non-signaling" conditions), the observables measuring the same property in different contexts have the same operator. A set of random variables possessing a joint distribution is represented by commuting observables. The reverse, however, is not true: random variables from different contexts do not have a joint distribution irrespective of whether the corresponding observables commute. We illustrate this view of observables by deriving the Tsirelson bound for consistently connected cyclic systems of rank 3. 1 Contextually Labeled Random Variables Throughout this paper we use the example of a rank-3 cyclic system of binary random variables [1–3]. This system involves three properties {q1, q2, q3} measured two at a time, with the jointly measured pairs forming a single cycle: c = (q1, q2) , c 2 = (q2, q3) , c 3 = (q3, q1) . (1) The pairs c define (or, simply, are) contexts. The result of measuring property qi in context c is a random variable R j i . All six random variables are assumed to be binary, ±1. We see that these random variables are contextually labeled : e.g., R 1 and R 1 are distinct even though they measure the same property, q1, and even if their distributions are the same. This contextual labeling is the departure point of the analysis of any system of measurements (referred to as


1. Seventy-seven operations on the patella have been reviewed. 2. There is no evidence that arthritic changes in the femoral condyles are an inevitable sequel of complete excision of the patella. 3. There is a direct relationship between the severity of symptoms after complete excision of the patella and the extent of ossification in the quadriceps tendon. 4. Patello-femoral arthritis after partial excision of the patella may be due to faulty realignment of the patellar ligament and consequent tilting of the patellar remnant towards the femoral condyles.


ALTHOUGH I SEE SOME WELCOME ADVANCES IN THE STATE OF THE ART IN THE REALM OF LIBRARY DISCOVERY INTERFACES, MUCH WORK REMAINS.


Currently the dominant form of universities development oriented community engagement is basedon an institutional project-based theoretical framework. This framework has been criticised in thescholarly discipline of Development Communication and Social Change for being diffusion-basedin nature, for its rigid linearity and subsequent hierarchically unequal power relationships, and forits uncritical validation of a particular form of knowledge. Against the background of this critique,paired with the current pronounced global awareness regarding the role of public universities insociety, this conceptual article critically investigates a range of options for development-orientedcommunity engagement by South African public universities. These options are based on differenttheoretical frameworks that already exist in the field of Development Communication and SocialChange, namely: modernisation; dependency disassociation and social movements; Freireandialogical pedagogy; UNESCO's media system approach (that foregrounds access, participationand self-management); and participatory communication for development and social change. Inso doing, the article suggests that universities should critically consider the following aspects whenembarking on development-oriented community engagement: 1) evaluate the main assumptionsof the framework, 2) consider the complex interplay between internal and external factors thatcause problems of development, 3) consider the epistemology of knowledge, 4) reflect on thepurpose and nature of community participation, and 5) consider aspects related to expressionsof voice and identity in the public sphere instead of focusing only on measurable and materialaspects as outcomes.


In this work, the mechanical properties of milled carbon fibers/carbon blacks/rubber compounds were investigated. The three types of rubber as natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and nitrilebutadiene rubber (NBR) were used. The carbon fillers, such as milled carbon fillers and carbon blacks were treated with benzene. The rubbers with milled carbon fibers, carbon blacks, curing accelerators, and crosslinking agents were mixed using internal mixer and then, the compounds were sheeted with two-roll-mill machine. Mechanical properties of the compounds were studied by tensile strength and tearing energies.


This study empirically examines a question often debated in practice: which professional type - specialists, those with deep and focused experience of a particular knowledge, and generalists, who h...


A new calculable capacitor with an operating range of 0.1 pF is being developed at NIST. Incorporation of Fabry-Perot displacement metrology employing a tunable laser will allow a continuous set of electrode displacements, as opposed to the discrete set in the current implementation. In addition, the reduced uncertainty in the displacement measurement will allow a considerably more compact apparatus, greatly minimizing errors arising from other sources.


An executive summary outlining a nine-year effort to develop an advanced fuel cell technology is presented. Descriptions of fuel cell power plants used for utility application, the suitability of initial power plant technology, molten carbonate and advanced phosphoric acid fuel cells, an improved fuel capability, and power conditioning investigations are summarized.


How well do cosmetic interventions work for your patients? This new technology has the capability to measure before and after for actual results.


A method for calculating the acoustic signal generated by a water gun is presented. The equations describing the shuttle motion and the water jet formation are derived with the assumption that the water is incompressible. The motion of the shuttle is evaluated by assuming adiabatic expansion of the air initially contained in the air chamber of the gun. The formation and dynamics of the water jets emerging from the gun ports are closely connected to the shuttle motion. The combined effect of the water motion through the gun ports and the collapse of a cavity inside the gun nozzle can explain the first part of a water‐gun signature, often referred to as the precursor. The last part of the signature is mainly an impulsive shock wave caused by the collapse of external cavities. It is assumed that the external cavities are formed due to the pressure drop behind each water jet, and that the cavities collapse due to the hydrostatic pressure. The main effect of including interaction between the external cavities ...


Abstract Let π be a factor map from an irreducible shift of finite type X to a shift space Y. Let ν be an invariant probability measure on Y with full support. We show that every measure on X of maximal relative entropy over ν is fully supported. As a result, given any invariant probability measure ν on Y with full support, there is an invariant probability measure μ on X with full support that maps to ν under π. If ν is ergodic, μ can be chosen to be ergodic. These results can be generalized to the case of sofic shifts. We demonstrate that the results do not extend to general shift spaces by providing counterexamples.


In a quantitative field research, the objective of this work was to determine the best stocking density for tambatinga juveniles ( Colossoma macropomum × Piaractus brachypomus ) in a recirculation system during 50 days of cultivation. Tambatinga juveniles (0.72±0.02 g) were distributed in 0.08 m 3 polyethylene boxes with densities of 5, 10 and 15 fish/box, with five replicates per treatment. During the experimental period, water quality, weight gain, apparent feed conversion, specific growth rate, carcass yield, proximate composition and final survival were evaluated. The water parameters remained stable and in the desired range for the species during the experimental period (temperature 25±1.52° C, pH 5.85±0.7 and dissolved oxygen 6.51±0.05 mg L -1 ). Statistical analyzes showed no significant difference for apparent feed conversion and survival rate. The lowest stocking density (5 fish/box) showed greater weight gain and specific growth rate, while the density of 10 fish/box showed high lipid deposition in the carcass. Aiming at greater weight gain and better specific growth rate, the results indicated that the density of 5 fish/box (0.08 m 3 ), is the most suitable for juveniles of this species.


PART 1: Operations Management: A Value-Driven Approach Chapter l: Operations Management: A Field In Transition PART II: The Conceptual Foundation of the Value-Driven Approach Chapter 2. Value Chapter 3. Identifying Elements of Value Chapter 4. Decision Making in Operations Management Part III.. Value as a Driver of Operations Management Systems Chapter 5:. Process: The Building Blocks of the Value-Driven OM System Chapter 6. Managing the Human Resources 6a. Selected Learning Rates Chapter 7. Total Quality Management: Frameworks and Standards Chapter 8. Total Quality Management: Tools and Techniques Part IV. The Design of Value-Driven Operations Management Systems Chapter 9. The Just-in-Time Management 9a. Total Productive Mantenance Chapter 10. Demand Management and Demand Forecasting 10a. Forecasting Learning Lab Chapter 11. Product-Innovation Process Chapter 12. Designing the Delivery Process Chapter 13. Supply Chain Management Part V. Planning Issues in Value-Driven OM Systems Chapter 14. Resource Management: Operations Planning and Control Chapter 15. Capacity Management Part VI. Execution in Value-Driven OM Systems Chapter 16. Inventory Management Chapter 17. Materials Management Chapter 18. Shop-Floor Control and Scheduling 18a. Scheduling for Process/Assembly Lines 18b. Scheduling for Cellular Manufacturing Systems Part VII The Strategic Audit Chapter 19. Future Challenges for Operations Managers 19a. Staying Current in a Changing Environment Appendix: Normal Distribution Glossary Name Index Subject Index


Kawazaki disease (kd) is one of most common vasculitis in children. We report the clinical features and management of patients with Kawazaki disease in West Azarbaijan, between 1999 to 2005. The kids were diagnosed on the basis of standard diagnostic criteria.

 Materials & Methods: Forty-two children (22 girls and 20 boys.) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria. The mean age was 3/8= 3/3 years old (range 0/2 -13 years) clustering was seen during the winter months fever, redness of lip and tongue, and skin rush was common (%86, %93), but lymph adenopathy and extremities changes was seen only in %64. %62 cases.

 Results: Thrombocytosis was present in %88 of the patients, %93 patients received ivig. Cardiac abnormalities in %12. There was no mortality in frequent complications and manifestations. Gull bladder hydrops, gangrene of finger, aseptic meningitis, and hepatitis were observed


The European Union has been an important part of everyday life for European consumers, and companies actively encourage cross-national consumption experiences by developing and implementing pan-European marketing strategies. However, the theoretical underpinnings for the cultural dynamics within the EU remain sketchy and largely unexplored. This paper aims to understand how consumers balance the 'new' realities within the EU and their influence on consumption behaviour. Consumer culture theory, ethnic identity and acculturation theory are applied to the multifaceted EU context and particularly the effects on consumption behaviour. Focus groups with consumers in Austria, Denmark (i.e. countries with longer EU membership), Slovenia, Poland and Czech Republic (i.e. countries with short membership status) provide empirical insights to our theoretical contentions. Results for different product categories are discussed by means of emerging stories from focus group discussions.


ABSTRACT In a recent morphometric analysis of the Gonolobus complex (subgenus Gonolobus) in the southeastern United States, we found former specific concepts untenable as stated, as the diagnostic characters could not consistently assign individuals to one of two groups. However, our analysis showed a strong geographical component to the distribution of individuals delimited by uniformly and multicolored corollas, which we used as a basis for suggesting that two entities do appear to exist in the Southeast that may deserve recognition at some taxonomic rank. In the present study, we performed analysis of Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) to assess whether the two entities are genetically differentiated and, if so, to what level. We also conducted a cladistic analysis of morphological characters of the subgenus to determine whether the entities emerge as closest relatives. Our ISSR results showed substantial genetic differentiation at 18 loci between the two entities, although no fixed differences between them were detected. At 7 loci, the frequencies of band presence are significantly higher in the multicolored corolla group (MCCG) than in the uniformly colored corolla group (UCCG). At 11 loci they are significantly higher in the UCCG. Nineteen bands are unique to the MCCG, although at various frequencies (3.5–39.0%), whereas only a single band is unique to the UCCG, suggesting that the latter possesses a subset of the MCCG gene pool and is likely a derivative of it. Analysis of 61 parsimony-informative characters using Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and Unweighted Pair-Group Method using Arithmetic means (UPGMA) did not resolve the two groups, consistent with the view of a single species. In a parsimony analysis of morphological characters of 14 species of the subgenus, the two groups consistently appear as closest relatives. This evidence indicates that the complex represents a single evolutionary lineage with two incompletely differentiated morphological subgroups. On the basis of these results, we propose to treat the MCCG and UCCG as two varieties of Gonolobus suberosus. Gonolobus granulatus Scheele is neotypified in association with the required new combination for the UCCG variety. A key to the infraspecific taxa is provided.


Earlier this year, the Romanian Parliament has introduced a law banning smoking in public places. The law was received with a wide set of reactions, stirring a broad debate on the legitimacy of state's intervention, smokers' decisional autonomy and the effects on businesses. In this context, this paper will import behavioral law analysis on hedonic adaptation in order to argue that the backlash caused by the new Romanian law prohibiting smoking in public places will likely decrease as time passes by and should thus be discounted by legislators pressured to retract the law. After presenting the context, content and societal effects of the law (Part 1), it will introduce the concept of hedonic adaptation as a behavioral concept, as well as some of its applications in real life (Part 2). This phenomenon will be then studied in the context of the newly introduced legislative change, aiming to identify factors that would increase the likelihood of hedonic adaptation to occur in this particular case (Part 3). Lastly, the paper will look at the effects of acknowledging the occurrence of this phenomenon on the course of the legislative process, as well as on the society in itself, highlighting the need to back up the theoretical enquiry produced by this paper with some empirical data (Part 4). It will be concluded that the same patterns observed by researchers in the studies aimed at observing the phenomenon of hedonic adaptation can be applied in this case, and potentially in any other involving a significant change of law.


The flammability map of a thin PMMA sheet with an opposed flow in microgravity environment was investigated with varying the thermal properties of the ambient gas. We also developed a new model to predict the limiting oxygen concentration (LOC) in 1g, minimum limiting oxygen concentration (MLOC) and critical opposed flow velocity, Vcr, at which MLOC was observed. We compared the predicted results with the experiment results by changing the gas-phase properties to validate the model. As the balance gas, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and argon were used. It was found by experiment that LOC, MLOC, and Vcr significantly changed for each balance gas. These differences were reasonably predicted by the scale analysis which included the effects of radiation and kinetics on the suppression of the flame spread.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphological and functional characteristics of bovine spermatozoa retrieved from chilled epidydimides for long periods and cryopreserved. Bovine testicles were collected in abattoir, transported to the laboratory and stored at 5°C for 0, 24, 48h e 72 hours (n=10 for each storage time treatment group). The spermatozoa were retrieved from each epidydimides, evaluated and diluted in tris-egg yolk-glycerol 7% medium and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. The morphological and functional characteristics of the spermatozoa were analyzed in vitro, by microscopic evaluation and in vivo, using artificial insemination. Morphological alterations as sperm immaturity and motility reduction decreased after 72h of epididymides refrigeration and after thaw sperm were observed. The membrane and acrosome integrity were only affected in G48 and G72 groups after cryopreservation. However, the sperm capacity of fertilization post-cryopreservation was sufficient to promote two pregnancies and birth of healthy calves from G24 h and G72h groups. These results indicated that recovery and cryopreservation of chilled epididymal sperm until 72h from dead animals is a viable option to preserve male gametes to compose a germplasm bank.


Vocational adaptability refers to the adaptive process of professionals to particular occupational settings.Taking Quzhou as an example,this paper investigates and analyzes the vocational adaptability of the new graduates in foreign trade industry in under-developed areas,analyzes the demand of foreign trade talents in the local foreign trade enterprises and then puts forward some strategies to improve the vocational adaptability of college students.


To increase the ability of knowledge presentation in relation data base to support decision-making,according to the knowledge representation demanding of in MIS,the study aims to digitize the knowledge by trigger and SQL in RDS.The fuse and knowledge are divided into trigger in this way,so the ability of knowledge representation and knowledge management will be strengthened.The feasibility of knowledge representation in MIS based on RDS is discussed.Obviously,it can enforce the intelligent level to insert the knowledge representation in MIS.


The present invention relates to a cosmetic composition, in particular wrinkle, comprising, in a physiologically acceptable medium suitable for topical application to facial skin: - 0.1 to 20% by weight of least one tensioning agent, with respect to total weight of the composition; and- at least one dispersion in a liquid fatty phase of solid particles of an ethylenic polymer composition greffe.Cette would make to keratin material to which it is applied a tightening effect retentive.


This course guide was created specifically for Instructor Megan Cummin's Spring 2014 ENG 102 class. Search for books that Rutgers owns - or can borrow from another institution!


Objective: To investigate online monitoring of separation technology with macroporous resin column for extract of Gardenia jasminoides by conductivity method.Method: Conductivity changes of eluted components after macroporous resin absorption were determined by conductivity apparatus,and its correlation with changes of geniposide,genipin-1-β-D-gentiobioside and deacetyl-asperulosidic acid methyl ester was detremined respectively.Result: Conductivity decreased first,and then significantly increased with elution of geniposide and other components,showing a good correlation.Conclusion: Conductance method could be used to monitor separation technology with macroporous resin for extract of G.jasminoides.


This paper proposes an extended model of the replacement overtime policy for a cumulative damage model. We consider an operating unit which suffers some damage due to shocks. It is assumed that the total damage is additive, and the unit fails when the total damage has exceeded a prespecified level. We suppose that the unit is replaced at Nth (N = 1, 2, ...) shock over the time T or at failure, whichever occurs first. That is, we start to observe occurrence of shocks after time T. For such a model, we obtain the mean time to replacement and the expected costs rate, and discuss the optimal number of N which minimizes the expected cost rate when shocks occur in a Poisson process. Further, numerical examples are given, and suitable discussions are made.


This paper first of all makes an introduction of Chinese-foreign cooperative school running. Itfocuses on the positive impact on Chinese education in this new way of schooling in view of education inter-nationalization and the affect of the entry to WTO. According to the comparative advantage theory in interna-tional trade, the paper elaborates that this joint form of school running is beneficial to the development of worldeducation. Finally, it points out that there is a positive impact of the Regulations of the People's Republic ofChina on Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Schools on the development of those cooperative schools.


Abstract Background: Neuronal plasticity is the capacity that the neurons have to make new connections and enable new ways of transmit-ting information. Under this context, new methodologies are being addressed in order to measure how important this neuronal capacity is in the process of full recovery of learning in subjects who suffered damage from cerebral ischemia. Methods: A systematic review was performed on the online data-bases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (ME-DLINE) and Scopus, between 1998 and 2014. The MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) descriptors used in this review were: "neuronal plasticity", "brain ischemia" and "learning". We found 164 articles that, when screened, resulted in 46 articles that met the criteria of evidence and were included in this review. Results: There are several ways available in the literature to increase neuronal plasticity to keep the learning process after bad confor-mations resulting from cerebral ischemia. We highlighted the most elucidated: those promoted by SMe1EC2 antioxidant, which brings therapeutic benefits when neuronal plasticity is impaired; and Ator-vastatin, a statin which facilitates recovery of spatial learning. It is further observed that the body has a number of intrinsic devices,


Aspirators are devices used to discharge blood and other fluids from the environment accumulated in bleeding part during surgery. In surgical operations clear vision of surgical area is one of the important factors affecting the success of surgery. In this article we mentioned about a solution to aspiration problem in difficult conditions by usage of a material which is available in all operating rooms.


This work presents a new low-cost test to detect approaching sources, for possible application to inter-vehicular communications. We focus on infrastructure-less vehicular communications, where GPS and other distance vector-based networks are not employed. In fact, here we only need a cheap radio transmitter/receiver. In the proposed testing procedure, the only signs of the difference between the envelope samples of the received signal are used. The testing variable is obtained under the constant false alarm rate criterion, according to the binomial statistical distribution. The performance of the test in terms of probability of detection is evaluated versus SNR, speed, and distance between transmitter and receiver. We have evidenced the effectiveness of our solution, being independent of both the motion and propagation models. 


The dynamic evolution of renewable energy sources (RESs) with utilization of power electronics converters (PECs) caused the situation, where many energy generation units works parallel in local systems named microgrids (MGs). This distributed generation systems with many few kW micro-sources have to provide energy for linear and non-linear loads in grid connected mode of operation, but also in islanded mode of operation, which requires more advanced monitoring and energy management algorithms to ensure power balance and good voltage quality. The issues of power management in islanded AC microgrids are studied by many research centres and novel solutions are necessary to improve the reliability of MGs. In literature, there is still a gap for development of harmonic power sharing method in MG with most often used non-linear loads. Together with active and reactive power management algorithms the harmonic power sharing algorithm need to be implemented in control system to obtain complete solutions. The most often used approach in MG is hierarchical control structure, which includes the basic control loops at primary level, independent for each of PECs and outer control loops at secondary level, which allow to improve voltage amplitude and frequency in point of common coupling, as well as power sharing between PECs. Moreover, the hierarchical control structure is a great opportunity to implement a distributed control algorithm, which is able to execute many operations in the same time. Based on this idea, the novel proportional harmonic power sharing algorithm has been developed. It causes the harmonic power sharing between PECs proportionally to active powers, improving the output current waveforms of converters by decreasing the amplitude of selected current harmonics. The principles of hierarchical droop control and reactive power management has been presented in this paper. The developed solution has been implemented in simulation research together with proportional reactive power sharing algorithm. In order to present the advantage of harmonic power sharing, the results have been compared with non-controlled harmonic power.


We prove that it is possible for nonconvex low-rank matrix recovery to contain no spurious local minima when the rank of the unknown ground truth $r^{\star}<r$ is strictly less than the search rank $r$, and yet for the claim to be false when $r^{\star}=r$. Under the restricted isometry property (RIP), we prove, for the general overparameterized regime with $r^{\star}\le r$, that an RIP constant of $\delta<1/(1+\sqrt{r^{\star}/r})$ is sufficient for the inexistence of spurious local minima, and that $\delta<1/(1+1/\sqrt{r-r^{\star}+1})$ is necessary due to existence of counterexamples. Without an explicit control over $r^{\star}\le r$, an RIP constant of $\delta<1/2$ is both necessary and sufficient for the exact recovery of a rank-$r$ ground truth. But if the ground truth is known a priori to have $r^{\star}=1$, then the sharp RIP threshold for exact recovery is improved to $\delta<1/(1+1/\sqrt{r})$.


Relying on a combination of available evidence and expert opinion, a panel of ophthalmologists has reviewed nearly 150 statements pertaining to the evaluation and treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma and has reached consensus agreement or consensus disagreement with the majority of the statements. The results are intended to inform clinicians how glaucoma practitioners view this disease but are not guidelines or recommended practice patterns, according to several steering committee members of the project panel.


Since the early seventies electrophysiology is a diagnostic tool to evaluate mechanisms of arrhythmias and to control drug therapy. Advances in technology have led to newer methods, such as radiofrequency ablation and the use of implantable defibrillators. These techniques as well as their diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic indications will be discussed.


The aim of this study is to investigate the psychological resilience sub-dimensions in terms of personality features of bank employees. In this regard, a questionnaire was conducted to the banking employess who are operating in Gumushane province. T-test and ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. Challenges, self-commitment and control, which are the three sub-dimensions of psychological resilience, were analyzed according to the demographic characteristics of bank employees. According to the results of the study, it can be said that the sub-dimensions of psychological resilience of bank employees does not differ according to gender and marital status. However, challenge and self-commitment differs according to age variable. Moreover, it can be said that challenge and control differ according to professional year and bank status, respectively.


The present paper develops a new configuration for walking machines which is in a way an hybrid between rigid-frames and zoomorphic walkers. It hopefully shares the advantages of both: the complexity is only marginally higher than that of rigid-frames walkers, while the performances may be similar to those of the more complex machines. The legs are essentially made of linear actuators moving in the vertical direction, like in rigid-frames machines. They are carried at the end of pantograph mechanisms which allows the feet to move along a straight line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the machine. The total number of degrees of freedom goes from 8 in the simplest form to 13 in the most complex one. The paper describes the layout of the machine, with particular reference to a small prototype for planetary exploration or other applications like rchaeological survey or humanitarian demining.


First published in 1978, Larry Suid's classic war film book, Guts and Glory, took a hard look at the symbiotic relationship that existed between the Hollywood motion picture industry and the U.S. Armed Forces. Citing one example after another, Dr. Suid detailed this intricate alliance, tracing its origin back to the inchoate silent pictures days and culminating with the aftermath ofVietnam. During these four decades, military commanders—after scrutinizing every script—provided an array of logistical support tomaintain a positive image, while the industry's moguls—eager to produce money-making photodramas—always waved the Red, White, and Blue. Why not? What is wrong with patriotism? How about a little profit? Almost twenty-five years later, this quid pro quo arrangement has moved into high gear. Eager to uphold its stellar reputation, the Pentagon eagerly cooperates with motion picture directors, offering supervised assistance on every level to promulgate past glories and recent victories. But how pervasive is this contemporary trend? Are there strings attached to military assistance? What subjects are off-limits? Anything taboo? To answer these questions, Dr. Suid has added 500 pages of commentary to his original manuscript and produced an elaborate study about the Hollywood war movie, its influence in shaping public opinion, and the subliminal theme of patriotism. As a revised and expanded edition, Guts & Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film, now stands as the definitive work about America's consummate love affair with combat mov-


I consider the problem of existence of intrinsic determinantal equations for plane projective curves and hypersurfaces in projective space and prove that in many cases of interest there exist intrinsic determinantal equations. In particular I prove (1) in characteristic two any ordinary, plane projective curve of genus at least one is given by an intrinsic determinantal equation (2) in characteristic three any plane projective curve is an intrinsic Pfaffian (3) in any positive characteristic any plane projective curve is set theoretically the determinant of an intrinsic matrix (4) in any positive characteristic, any Frobenius split hypersurface in ${\bf P}^n$ is given by set theoretically as the determinant of an intrinsic matrix with homogeneous entries of degree between $1$ and $n-1$. In particular this implies that any smooth, Fano hypersurface is set theoretically given by an intrinsic determinantal equation and the same is also true for any Frobenius split Calabi-Yau hypersurface.


We use recent data on international migration to construct an indicator of the diversity of a country's workforce based on country of birth, named "birthplace diversity". We construct it for 195 countries at three different levels for the total, low-skill and high-skill (or tertiary-educated) workingage population. We also make a distinction between birthplace diversity computed for the workforce as a whole and for its foreign-born component (which we call the intensive margin, in contrast to the share of immigrants in the workforce, which we call the extensive margin) and compare these different measures to other dimensions of diversity such as ethnic and linguistic diversity. We then investigate the relationship between birthplace diversity and economic performance. In contrast to other types of diversity we find positive associations between birthplace diversity and productivity, especially at the intensive margin, even after controlling for a large range of covariates such as trade openness, the size of immigration, and origin-effects. This association is particularly strong for college-educated migrants in richer, more productive countries, which is suggestive of production function skill-complementarities.


It is known that the spectral sensitivity (by a dye) of photographic emulsions increases when the emulsions are soaked in a concentrated AgNO3 solution. This Ag+ ion effect has also been identified with an electrochemical method as an increase in sensitized photocurrents, which are due to electron injection from photo-excited sensitizing dyes to AgX (X =Br or Cl) conduction band. The Ag+ ion effect is considered to be based on an anodic shift of the conduction band of silver halide. In order to clarify the mechanism of the Ag+ ion effect more precisely, the sensitized photocurrents were measured at various concentrations of Clor Brions, and they were generally found to be decreased with an increase in the concentration of halide ion. This halide ion effect can be considered as a reverse effect of the Ag+ ion on the sensitized photocurrents. It can therefore be concluded that the Ag+ ion and halide ion effects are based on anodic and cathodic shifts of the band edge of the silver halide, respectively.


Sinusoidal coding has proven to be efficient for low bit-rate audio coding. In this paper we consider schemes for frequency-differential (FD) encoding of the sinusoidal model parameters. For a given signal frame, the parameters of a sinusoidal component may be encoded either differentially relative to other components in the same frame, or directly, i.e., without differential encoding. Using basic tools from graph theory, two algorithms are derived for finding bit rate optimal combinations of direct and differential encoding of the sinusoidal parameters. In simulation experiments with audio signals, the algorithms showed bit-rate reductions of up to 27% relative to direct encoding. Furthermore, when compared to a commonly used FD encoding scheme, the proposed algorithms achieved bit rate reductions of up to 7%.


We measured ecosystem metabolism and organic matter transport seasonally in five streams draining catchments dominated by native forest, exotic pine plantation, grazed tussock grassland, or developed pasture. All streams are tributaries of the Taieri River in southeastern New Zealand. Whole-stream metabolism was estimated by both two-station and single-station open-channel methods, allowing comparison between these techniques. Transfer of oxygen across the stream surface was estimated using reaeration coefficients determined from three different procedures: tracer gas injections (propane), analysis of the oxygen record, and empirical velocity–depth equations. Measurements of gross primary production (GPP) and community respiration (CR) showed differences among streams that reflected method rather than ecosystem process. The ratio of GPP:CR and net ecosystem metabolism, however, showed strong concordance among methods, suggesting that bias involved in standardizing estimates to areal units may be more impo...


This cross sectional study aimed to determine the relation between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and peripheral blood picture in children with bronchopneumonia, conducted at the Division of Pulmonology, Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar during 3 months (December 1996 to February 1997). Serum CRP levels, hemoglobin, leukocyte count, neutrophil count and ESR values in 30 cases between 1 month and 4.5 years (20 male and 10 female) were measured. Bronchopneumonia was mostly found in 12 microgram/ml) was found in 33% of 30 cases. Anemia was found in 37%, leukocytosis in 50%, increase segment neutrophil ratio in 30%, increase of ESR in 40% and increase of body temperature more than 38°C in 4 7% of the cases. Neutrophilia, increase of ESR and increase of body temperature were found statistically significant difference between the positive CRP and negative CRP group. Most bronchopneumonia patients in this study were probably caused by non bacteria. Neutrophilia, higher ESR and higher body temperature could be used as an indicator of bacterial infection besides the increase of serum CRP levels.


Abstract : The optimization of a Electric Discharge Coaxial Laser (EDCL) System is described. This CW carbon dioxide laser extracts power in excess of 15 kilowatts routinely at an electrical efficiency of 25 percent and a mass flow efficiency in excess of 100 kw/1b sub m/sec. With the appropriate resonator optics, the output intensity distribution is circular, uniform, temporarily stable, and repeatable within 5 percent. This EDCL is a high power output device offering simplicity of construction, low cost, high reliability, and ease of operation as compared to alternative transverse gas flow laser systems.


Off-peak delivery (OPD) is a simple concept, but it can be challenging to implement because the benefits and costs are not always evenly distributed. Carriers generally like the idea because it can save them time and money, but receiving businesses often resist it because it can add costs. An OPD program needs to be designed in a manner that balances the benefits and costs to make it practical for carriers, receivers, shippers, customers and the community. With that in mind, the Supply Chain Innovation Network of Chicago (SINC) and the Urban Transportation Center (UTC) at the University of Illinois-Chicago are partnering to design a pilot program to incentivize off-peak deliveries in the Chicago area. The approach to this project began with a research and data analysis phase followed by a design phase. Research included a literature review, case studies of off-peak delivery projects in various locations, examination of work complementary to off-peak delivery that has taken place in metropolitan Chicago, and a review of current local laws and regulations that may impact off-peak delivery. Data analysis included an evaluation of business by industry and employment, a review of area congestion, and exploration of businesses in particular zipcodes. The design phase began with meetings with a variety of partners who are working together towards implementation of off-peak delivery. A second step will include a survey of freight carriers and receivers.


From an ecological perspective that understands health behaviours to be the result of interactions between personal, psychosocial and environmental factors, different authors have described patterns and correlations between physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SB) in physical education (PE). However, to our knowledge there have been no systematic evaluations of the PA levels and patterns during structured movement sessions in preschool children in Spain. Therefore, the aims of this study were: (a) to identify the individual, social and environmental factors that influence PA levels and patterns during structured movement sessions; (b) to assess PA and SB levels during these sessions in a preschool population in our country; and (c) to validate the use of the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) in Spanish preschoolers to assess PA and SB levels, using accelerometry as the reference method. Our major findings were that: (a) young children were physically active for more than 60% of the structured movement sessions; (b) boys were significantly more active than girls; (c) the lesson context of free play was associated with low levels of SB; (d) solitary and borderline interaction patterns during structured movement sessions significantly increased moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA; (e) social interaction was generally between the same gender; and (f) teachers spent most of the time observing. This study also provides an argument for reconsidering the responsibilities of early childhood education institutions and practitioners in developing structured PA opportunities in the framework of free exploration and communication.


The purpose of this study is to explore Scientific Interpretation as a style of interpretation that uses a scientific approach in understanding the verses of the Qur'an. The method used in this research is qualitative through literature study using historical and scientific approaches. The results and discussion of this research include, the history of the development of scientific interpretation, limitations, opinions of scholars and the book of scientific interpretation. This study concludes that Scientific Interpretation is a part of the discourse on Al-Qur'an studies and interpretations whose existence cannot be avoided. There are differences of opinion among scholars regarding Scientific Interpretation, some accept and reject the presence of this interpretation. The presence of Scientific Interpretation adds to the scientific treasures of Qur'anic interpretation, especially in developing the principle of harmony between the Qur'an and science. One product that is an example of constructive and solutive ideas from Tafsir Ilmi is the birth of the book Tafsir Al-Kasyaf in the classical era and the Interpretation of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia in the modern-contemporary era. The weakness of this study is that it only explains topics related to Scientific Interpretation without explaining specifically the aspects of the text of the commentary product. Then, this study also recommends that we can study more deeply about the epistemology of Scientific Interpretation.


Outsider Art is enjoying increasing attention in Australia. Recent exhibitions like Without Borders and Australian Outsiders were enthusiastically received, and a show at the Orange Regional Gallery in late 2008 American and European Outsiders spanned the range of Outsider Art's reach. From classics like the spiritualist Madge Gill and self-taught genius Scottie Wilson through more recent additions to the field like Rosemarie Koczy, Malcolm McKesson and Roy Wenzel, it was a taste of the global phenomenon that is Outsider Art building on two decades of visionary programming of Australian outsiders by the gallery's director, Alan Sisley along with other pioneers, Terence Ralphs, Rosemary Jeffers, John Blades, Philip Hammial and Peter Fay. It was also the signal shot for the foundation a few months later of STOARC - Self-Taught and Outsider Art Research Collection - at the University of Sydney.


This study estimated agricultural import demand for twelve of the fifteen largest agricultural import markets using time series data from 1974 through 1990. Countries included in the study group included China. Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, France, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium-Luxmbourg, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Canada, and the United States. A model was estimated for the group regressing agricultural import volume against import unit value, gross domestic product, population, and domestic production. A modified model was estimated to determine if different paramters exist between groups for the following subgroups: (1) high and low import growth groups and (2) net importers and net exporters. The empirical results indicate that the categories within both sub groups have different responses to changes in import demand variables. Domestic production had an unexpected positive effect on agricultural import volume for the high growth coutrnies and for net importers. The findings of ...


This investigation deals with the correlation between the position of sun-spots at their first appearance and the heliocentric longitude of the principal planets. The available data reach back as far as 1874 inclusive, and are to be found in the publications of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. If we neglect the angle between the sun's equator and the ecliptic, and add the heliocentric longitude of the earth to the longitude of a spot referred to the central meridian, we obtain the heliocentric longitude of the sun-spot measured from the first point of Aries; deducting now the heliocentric longitude of a planet, we obtain the longitude of the spot referred to the central meridian as seen from the planet. Excluding spots near the eastern limb, many of which have been formed on the invisible hemisphere and are brought into view by the sun's rotation, the first photograph on which a spot appears gives the position of its origin within about 13° of longitude, provided there are no gaps in the daily records. For the reason given, no account has been taken of any spot which is first seen within 30° longitude from the eastern limb. Measured on the projected disc, the excluded portion covers at the equator a width of 2 minutes of arc or about the eighth part of the solar radius. The total number of spots dealt with is 4271.


Let M be a bounded closed set on the z-plane, which is of logarithmic capacity zero and w — tv(z) be one-valued and meromorphic outside M, every point of which is an essential singularity of w(z\ Let ω be a transcendental singularity of the inverse function z = z(w) of w w(z), whose projection be aQ. Let K: \w — aϋ\ < p be a disc and Fp be a connected piece of the Riemann surface of z(w), which has ω on its boundary and lies above K. Let FP be mapped on a domain Δ on the 2-plane. Δ is multiply connected in general and the boundary of Δ consists of Jordan curves {ΓV}, Jordan curves or arcs {Γ,',} and a closed sub-set M0 of M, where there are no points of M on and inside of Tv and if T'v is a Jordan curve, then Γ̂ contains points of M in its inside and if Γ̂ is a Jordan arc, then Tv ends at two points of Mi>. Tv is the boundary of a hole in Δ. We add the insides [Γv] of I\ to Δ and let


A kind of method that businessman is distributed in preferred payment application that will be stored at mobile device on mobile device, method comprises the following steps:The selection of businessman is received at mobile device;Receive the preferred selection for paying application;And application will be paid by creating the record comprising application identifier and merchant identifier be mapped to businessman.


OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of surgical treatment in spinal metastases.METHODS: A retrospective analysis of clinical data from June 1991 to June 2005 was performed in 59 patients with spinal metastases.Twenty-seven of the 59 patients were treated with surgery,including total or partial tumor removal and spinal reconstruction.Thirty-two were treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.RESULTS: In the surgical group,the self-rated pain was relieved in 16(59.3%) patients,reduced in 9(33.4%) patients,and without changes in 2(7.3%) patients.There were no such complications as death or paralysis during or shortly after the surgery.The survival time was from 1.43 to 34 months,and the median survival time was 10 months.In the non-surgical group,the self-rated pain was relieved in 5(15.6%) patients,reduced in 17(53.1%) patients,and without changes in 10(31.3%) patients.The survival time was from 1.2 to 20 months,and the median survival time was 6 months.The difference of pain relief rates between the two groups was statistically significant(χ2=4.37,P=0.036).The difference of survival rates between the two groups was also statistically significant(χ2=6.16,P0.05).CONCLUSION: Patients with spinal metastases should receive surgical treatment as soon as possible in order to alleviate their symptoms and signs of nerve compression,and to extend their survival time.


Money laundering is a federal crime, commonly understood as the process of cleansing the taint from the proceeds of crime. This report describes in detail the various aspects of money laundering in regards to federal criminal law.


The present volumes contain selected papers providing worldwide state-of-the art knowledge in the fields of thin film and nano materials, composites, coatings, high-temperature alloys, rare-earth materials, energy materials, biological materials, materials strength, design and simulation, and materials processing. This wealth of up-to-date comprehensive information will be of value to anyone working in these domains.


Objective: To assess the vertical forces produced during canal shaping by the Reciproc Blue (RB) and Reciproc (R) systems. Place and Duration: In the Operative Dentistry Department, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine Karachi for one-year duration from January 2022 to December 2022. Methods: A total of 32 maxillary premolar teeth were selected, each with two distinct constricted and straight canals. Every tooth was positioned in a standing position on a platform attached to a force analysing device after access cavity preparation (M5-20 Advanced Digital Force Gauge; Mark-10 Corporation, NY, USA). Until the K file size was up to 15, the glide route was prepared manually. Then, using an R25/RB25 file, all of the groups' canals were completely shaped (0.08 taper, size 25). The canal was shaped with a mild and steady pressure on the file that produced a gradual, 2 mm amplitude "in-and-out" movement. It took three attempts for the file to successfully reach the WL. The canal was irrigated and recapitulated with sodium hypochlorite (1%) solution following each insertion. The Student's t-test was used to analyze the shaping time. The Mann Whitney test was applied to analyse the upward and inward peak forces. With a 95% level of confidence, SPSS software was used for all statistical analyses. Results: A single file was inserted into each root canal successfully three times for shaping till the WL achieved. With each additional file insertion, the overall real-time force increased in each group grew. The R group displayed lower peak forces in comparison to the RB group in the 3 insertions, and both groups inward peak forces varied from 1.76 to 8.64 N. (P<0.05). Complete canal shaping of the RB and R systems took an average of 24.30±3.98 s and 21.91±3.56s, respectively (P>0.05). During canal shaping in this experiment, no file fracture occurred. Conclusion: The forces generated during canal shaping were influenced by the blue heat treatment. Higher inward peak forces were higher in the RB file than the R file. Keywords: Root canal preparation, Endodontics, vertical force and shaping time.


A 51 year female presents with a right upper outer quadrant breast mass that has a benign clinical and radiological appearance. Pre-op fine needle aspiration cytology and tru-cut biopsies did not contribute to diagnosing the lesion. The surgeon recommended an excision of the lump, but in the absence of a definitive pre-operative diagnosis, FS was requested. The steps in this FS section are highlighted in Fig 1-4 below:


Abstract In order to investigate the tensile deformation behavior of ultra-high-strength-steel BR1500HS, a series of isothermal tensile experiments were carried out in a temperature range of 1023˜1123 K and a strain rate range of 0.01˜10 s−1 on a Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator. The results indicate that the flow stress initially increases to a peak value and then decreases gradually to a steady state. Based on the analysis of the effect of strain, temperature and strain rate on flow stress, dynamic recrystallization (DRX) type softening characteristics of the stress-strain curve with single peak were identified. The flow stress level decreases with increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate. By regression analysis for Arrhenius type equation, the hot deformation activation energy Q and material constants (n, α, β and A) were calculated. Further, the Arrhenius-type constitutive equation of flow stress was developed by considering the effect of strain on the variable coefficients (including activation energy Q, material constants n, α, and A). The validity of the developed constitutive equation incorporating the influence of strain was evaluated through comparing the experimental and predicted data. Furthermore, the predictability of the developed model was also evaluated using two standard statistical parameters, correlation coefficient (R) and average absolute relative error (AARE). And R-value and AARE-value for the model are 0.997 and 4.06% respectively, which indicates that the developed model can precisely estimate the flow behavior for BR1500HS alloy throughout the entire temperature and strain rate range.


Question In patients with ureteric lithiasis, what is the efficacy of -blockers? Review scope Included English-language studies compared -blocker monotherapy (tamsulosin, terazosin, doxazosin, alfuzosin, or silodosin) with placebo or usual care (symptom management with fluids, analgesia, or anticholinergic or antispasmodic agents) in adults >18 years of age who presented with acute ureteric colic and had a single calculus confirmed on imaging. Exclusion criteria included -blocker treatment as an adjunct to lithotripsy or surgery. Outcomes included stone expulsion and time to expulsion. Review methods MEDLINE, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, ClinicalTrials.gov, and International Clinical Trials Register (all to Feb 2016), and reference lists were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Authors were contacted for results. 67 RCTs (n =6654, mean age range 26 to 59 y) met selection criteria. 16 RCTs compared -blockers with placebo, and 48 RCTs compared tamsulosin with placebo or usual care. Risk for bias was low (9 RCTs), intermediate (41 RCTs), or high (17 RCTs). Subgroup analysis was done by stone size and location. Main results The main results are in the Table. -blockers reduced time to expulsion by 4.0 days compared with placebo or usual care (95% CI 3.2 to 4.8; 30 RCTs, n =2373; I 2 =88%). Conclusion In patients with ureteric lithiasis, -blockers improve stone expulsion rate and time to expulsion compared with placebo or usual care. -blockers vs placebo or usual care (control) for stone expulsion in patients with ureteric lithiasis* Stone size Number of trials (n) Weighted event rates RBI (95% CI) NNT (CI) I 2 -blocker Control All 67 (6654) 82% 55% 49% (38 to 61) 4 (3 to 5) 75% 5 mm 16 (1900) 81% 68% 19% (8 to 31) 8 (5 to 19) 55% >5 mm 47 (3972) 76% 47% 60% (44 to 77) 4 (3 to 5) 72% Stone location Distal 59 (5414) 85% 56% 50% (38 to 62) 4 (3 to 5) 76% Proximal 10 (666) 62% 48% 29% (3 to 62) 8 (4 to 70) 48% Mid 4 (153) 69% 62% 12% (38 to 105) NS 51% *NS = not significant; RBI = relative benefit increase; other abbreviations defined in Glossary. Weighted event rates, RBI, NNT, and CI calculated from control event rates and risk ratios in article using a random-effects model. Commentary Ureteric stones are a common and recurring problem, leading to more than half a million emergency department visits each year in the USA (1). They pass spontaneously in at least two thirds of cases, but some require intervention with lithotripsy or ureteroscopy (2). Given the presence of -receptors in the smooth muscle of the distal ureter, -blockers have been used to reduce ureteric muscle spasm, relieve pain, and facilitate stone expulsion (3). The systematic review and meta-analysis by Raison and colleagues included 67 RCTs (6654 patients) and found that -blockers improved stone expulsion by 49% and increased speed of expulsion by 4 days compared with placebo or usual care. The range in mean time for expulsion was wide: 1 to 28 days for -blockers and 3 to 38 days for control groups. Most of the included trials used tamsulosin, but the effect was similar for other -blockers. The effect of -blockers seemed to be greater for larger (>5 mm) than smaller stones (relative increase in expulsion rate 60% and 19%, respectively), and greater for distal than proximal stones (relative increase in expulsion rate 50% and 29%, respectively), although the confidence intervals overlap. Interpreting the findings for clinical practice is difficult. First, the largest trial included in the review found no benefit of -blockers (4). Second, a few studies reported clinical outcomes, such as analgesic use or pain scores. Although patients receiving placebo or usual care had a 46% increased risk for analgesia use (21 studies), the absolute effects were small: - blockers reduced diclofenac use by 106 mg (13 RCTs) and the number of pain episodes by <1 episode (14 RCTs). Third, the review provided no data on the need for surgical intervention (ureteroscopy or lithotripsy), which is surprising because a 2016 systematic review on the same topic reported reduced risk for surgical intervention (risk ratio [RR] 0.44, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.52) and hospital admission (RR 0.37, CI 0.22 to 0.64) and no difference in adverse events between - blockers and control groups (5). What should clinicians do when faced with conflicting evidence from systematic reviews that seem to show a benefit for -blockers but a large well-conducted trial shows no effect? The bottom line is that most ureteric stones pass spontaneously, although it can take days to weeks, and there is evidence (albeit mixed) that -blockers may provide some benefit.


At the Heavy-Ion Accelerator Laboratory of the Australian National University (ANU), a new recoil spectrometer module, SOLENOGAM [1], is being developed for characterisation of isomeric states at the focal plane of a compact 6.5-Tesla superconducting solenoidal fusion product separator, SOLITAIRE, [2, 3] which was designed for reaction studies. In SOLENOGAM, the fusion-evaporation residues are implanted into a catcher tape which is viewed by arrays of six Si(Li) detectors to measure conversion electrons, and up to seven Ge/LEPS detectors for γ-ray detection. Transitions of interest, de-exciting short or long isomers, are selected by time-correlation techniques, facilitated by the flexible beam pulsing available with the 14UD Tandem accelerator. The lifetimes of isomeric states are extracted from the time behaviour of the de-exciting transitions, and their spinparities through determination of transition multipolarities using the measured internal conversion coefficients.


This program aims to build public awareness of the values of Pancasila in preventing Tuberculosis. Community service activities were carried out on Friday 4 September 2020 at the multipurpose building Aisyiyah Batang, Jl. Wahid Hasyim, Kauman Batang. The participants of the activity were 44 health cadres who were representatives of all sub-districts in the Batang Regency.. This community service method is carried out by providing socialization and education to the people of Batang Regency. Results of this community service are: 1) the increase in the cultivation of Pancasila values in patients with tuberculosis in Batang Regency, 2) the increase of public awareness of the values of Pancasila in the prevention of Tuberculosis, 3 )the capability of the community to keep the environment clean and avoid environmental pollution according to the values of Pancasila, and 4) the increase of the sense of concern among members of the community for tuberculosis sufferers according to values. In addition, community participation in the culture of Pancasila values in tuberculosis patients has increased. The conclusions are: 1) the cultivation of Pancasila values can increase public awareness in preventing Tuberculosis, 2) through community service activities regarding the culture of Pancasila values, the community is able to maintain personal and environmental hygiene to prevent Tuberculosis, and c) community service activities regarding the culture of Pancasila values can increase the sense of concern among community members towards people who are sick with Tuberculosis. Therefore, through the cultivation of Pancasila values, especially the second principle, a just and civilized humanity becomes very important. The culture of Pancasila values in people with tuberculosis is one of the state's efforts to protect citizens.


It is common practice to use phosphate fertilizers in the soil to raise crop yield. Natural Radionuclides present in fertilizers are sources of external and internal radiation exposure. External radiation exposure is caused by gamma radiation originating from radionuclides in situ . Internal radiation exposure, mainly affecting the respiratory tract, is due to short-lived daughter products of radon which are exhaled from fertilizers. This paper describes the results of gamma spectrometric measurement of the concentration of the natural radionuclides namely 226 Ra, thorium-232 and potassium-40 in the soil samples from the fields using phosphate fertilizers. The radon concentration and exhalation rate have also been discussed. The values of outdoor annual effective dose are found to vary from 0.07 to 0.09 mSv/year in soil samples containing fertilizers, whereas the outdoor annual effective dose is 0.06 mSv/year in barren soil samples.


Cytometry is a ubiquitous tool in biological sciences, allowing rapid determination of cellular health. We present a single-shot microscope capable of simultaneously determining fifteen biophysical parameters, including the cellular water content (by mass and volume), longitudinal modulus, refractive index, mass density, and other parameters.


Twenty‐four patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti‐HBe), HBV DNA positivity, and alanine transaminase (ALT) elevation who failed previous interferon alfa (IFN‐α) therapy were included in a pilot study of combination therapy with ribavirin and IFN‐α. The patients received daily oral ribavirin (1,000‐1,200 mg according to body weight) plus 5 million units (MU) IFN‐α2b three times a week for 12 months and were followed‐up for 12 months. The median viremia level decreased significantly at the end of treatment (1.2 × 103copies/mL) and follow‐up (4.0 × 102 copies/mL) compared with the baseline (3.0 × 106 copies/mL; P < .05). After 12 months, 8 of 24 (33%) patients had cleared HBV DNA and 12 (50%) had normal ALT levels. At the end of the study virological and biochemical response was 50% and 21%, respectively. Thus, virological and biochemical response sustained in 5 of 24 (21%) patients retreated with ribavirin and IFN‐α; none of them lost hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Liver histology improved in 2 of 4 sustained responders but in none of the 12 nonresponders with paired biopsies (P = .05). The response was independent of dose and duration of previous treatment, viral load, or the distribution of HBV precore wild‐type/mutant variants. However, sustained responders had significantly higher necroinflammation (P = .036) and fibrosis (P = .007) scores. IFN‐α–related side effects were mild and reversible on discontinuation. In 4 (17%) patients who suffered nausea and diarrhea the ribavirin dosage was reduced by 50% after 1 month of therapy and finally discontinued in all of them. No patient had liver disease decompensation. In summary, combination therapy with ribavirin and IFN‐α may be efficacious to treat viremic anti‐HBe–positive patients with chronic hepatitis B who have failed previous IFN therapy.


Research suggests that an increase in insurance coverage is associated with increased use of health care services. This should make intuitive sense. Individuals who were previously unable to afford health care services would seek them out once affordability was no longer an issue. This was demonstrated in several situations, including the expansion of Medicaid in Oregon and the introduction of an individual mandate and expansion of heavily subsidized insurance in Massachusetts, both of which predated the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).1-3 These same instances also provided examples of increases in inappropriate health care use, defined as patients seeking nonurgent care in the emergency department. Courtemanche et al4 present a unique example of increased use associated with the implementation of the ACA. In this case-control study, the authors reviewed ambulance dispatch reports in New York City (NYC), New York, comparing low-severity with high-severity dispatches as defined by the city's emergency medical services (EMS) Incident Dispatch Data. For the period evaluated, the authors show that there was a relative increase of 37.2% in dispatches for nonsevere or minor injuries.4 The authors posit that this increase was the result of the ACA "insulating patients from having to pay full cost"4 and suggest that there might be "appropriate incentives"4 (we presume via cost sharing) to decrease use of unnecessary emergency services. Although the authors provide interesting data points for discussion, we believe that only limited conclusions can be made based on the observed association. It must first be noted that during the study, there were more than 4.7 million EMS dispatches in NYC.4 Dispatches for minor injuries represented less than 1% of dispatches during that time. Although the relative increases Courtemanche et al4 found are certainly impressive, the absolute increase needs to be put into perspective. That being said, the increase in EMS use could indeed lead to more congestion, slower response times, and possible mortality, as the authors stated.4 Moreover, evidence exists that while cost sharing can be effective as a means of reducing health care costs, it does so at the expense of both necessary and unnecessary care. Patients can be cost conscious but often times at the expense of needed health care services. This has been borne out specifically in research looking at health care use by patients with high-deductible health insurance plans. A 2017 systematic review5 looked at the effect of high-deductible health insurance plans on health care use and found that most studies demonstrated a reduction in preventive care and office visits. Additionally, while the studies showed a decrease in low-severity emergency department visits, they also saw a decrease in high-severity emergency department visits.5 Intentionally or not, Courtemanche et al4 bring up another critical aspect to health care access— transportation (or the lack thereof). Evidence exists showing that transportation can be a barrier to health care access,6 and in NYC in particular, lower-income individuals feel an increased burden. Owning a car and having access to affordable parking is not feasible for most (including many physicians), and public transportation is limited. Some clinics are far from the nearest public transit stops. Subways and buses are often overcrowded and slow, and for patients with debility, these services can feel especially unwelcoming during a time of distress; any alternative to that would certainly seem more enticing. While the authors may be correct that reduced cost sharing encouraged increased use of ambulance services, this also highlights the need for improving transportation to clinics and urgent care centers. + Related article


The problem of obtaining classification rules of taste signal applied discretization of C\|mean fuzzy clustering,based on rough set theory is discussed. a new definition of the strength of a rule is proposed, considering all objects that supports the rule and uncertainty factor of the rule to increase its generalization. a rule\|extract algorithm is presented, which can reduces the redundancy in the core attributes effectually and obtain all useful rules.finally, a decision algorithm for classification is described.


The extensive use of digital information storage and transfer over communication channels nowadays have raised tremendous hazards. Basically, it has exposed the information confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, copyright, and ownership protection to the danger of being breached. Of the most important concerns is the security of digital images, hence they either be protected by the embedding of watermarks if they are to be publicly visible or by converting them into an unintelligible cipher form. This conversion can be achieved by many existing encryption algorithms with proper secret keys, however, due to the increased computation efficiency, new and stronger algorithms are continually sought. In this paper, a novel image encryption scheme that is based Genetic Algorithms is developed and implemented to convert the image into cipherimage. This approach is made possible by exploiting the Genetic Algorithm (GA) properties, namely crossover and mutation that fulfill Shannon's principle of information diffusion and confusion. Obtained experimental results of the proposed scheme has succeeded in protecting digital images against noise and attacks, and is promising as compared with currently used standard cryptographic algorithms, such as Data Encryption Standards (DES) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).


It has been suggested that a paradigm shift is taking place, from the old model of product innovation based on in-house R&D, to a new model based on the intensive use of external sources (search depth). We test this using Eurostat CIS4 data for 40 sectors in 18 European countries. The findings of estimated GLM models suggest a more nuanced understanding of the role of external search is required. Internal R&D, rather than external search depth, are found to be the key factors affecting the performance of innovation leaders. Further, we find no evidence of a substitution effect between R&D and external sources for innovation leaders. External search is identified as an important factor affecting the performance of innovation followers. There is also evidence of a substitution effect amongst these particular firms, indicating they replace formal R&D with openness, in order to acquire the information needed to catch-up with innovation leaders. These findings are consistent with the old innovation model, cautioning against the suggestion that a paradigm shift has occurred.


Our previous results demonstrated that ZIP4 was overexpressed in pancreatic cancer samples and down-regulation of ZIP4 inhibited pancreatic cancer growth and increased the survival of nude mice bearing orthotopic xenografts through IL6/STAT3 pathway. Only recently did we discover that high ZIP4 was significantly associated with higher glioma grade and worse prognosis of patients. However, the exact role of ZIP4 in glioma progression remains totally unknown. We transfected U87, LN229 and U251 GBM cells with ZIP4 knockdown and overexpression vectors to obtain stable GBM cell lines with different ZIP4 expression profiles. Western blot was used to confirm ZIP4 expression in these screened cell lines. Cell proliferation and invasion were examined by colony formation assay and transwell experiments. Then intracranial mouse GBM model were established to detect the orthotopic tumor growth and survival. Results showed that GBM-shV/shZIP4/V/ZIP4 cells were successfully obtained. ZIP4 inhibition decreased the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells. Moreover, ZIP4 inhibition slowed down tumor growth and prolonged the survival in vivo. Our results showed that aberrant expression of ZIP4 may contribute to GBM progression. ZIP4 might be a very promising target for GBM therapy.


Review(s) of: Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the World Through the Language of Mathematics, by Robyn Arianrhod, Published by University of Queensland Press, 2003 ISBN 0-7022-3408-7, Paperback RRP $24.00.


: The Effect of Using the Interactive Teaching Strategy Based on the Moodel Platform on Developing the Skills of Designing Educational Situations and Levels of Depth of Knowledge for Students of Educational Technology in the Faculties of Specific Education The aim of the research is to investigate the impact of using a strategy of metacognition (reciprocal teaching strategy and its impact on developing the skills of designing educational situations as well as developing levels of depth of knowledge for the fourth year students of education technology at the Faculty of Specific Education and relying on the quasi-experimental curriculum to verify the hypotheses validity of the research. The research sample consist of (64) students from the fourth-year students of education technology at the Faculty of Specific Education, Menoufia University Arithmetic averages and (T) test were used to verify the hypotheses validity of the research. The results indicated that the strategy that based on the Moodle educational platform led to the development of the skills of designing educational situations for the research sample, and it also led to the development the levels of depth of knowledge they have. The researcher recommended the necessity of using modern strategies in teaching through electronic platforms as it achieves continuous communication between students and the teacher.


We present an effective application of quantum machine learning in the field of healthcare. The study here emphasizes on a classification problem of a histopathological cancer detection using quantum transfer learning. Rather than using single transfer learning model, the work model presented here consists of multiple transfer learning models especially ResNet18, VGG-16, Inception-v3, AlexNet and several variational quantum circuits (VQC) with high expressibility. As a result, we provide a comparative analysis of the models and the best performing transfer learning model with the prediction AUC of approximately 93 percent for histopathological cancer detection. We also observed that for 1000 images with Resnet18, Hybrid Quantum and Classical (HQC) provided a slightly better accuracy of 88.5 percent than classical of 88.0 percent.


It is useful to remark that, even if the same data are used to train different SOMs, the trained networks can differ (and most probably will), due e.g. to the stochastic nature of artificial neural networks and to their sensitivity to initial conditions. If the initial positions of the map nodes are randomly set (as in our case), maps will evolve differently, even if the same data are used for the training.


Under microgravity, changes are observed in both structure and content of the gravity-dependent muscles. This may result in disuse atrophy and muscle weakening. However, changes have not been described in the short term exposure of 24 h. Examination of changes in electromyographic activity of the gastrocnemius muscle, on exposure to 24 h of simulated microgravity using dry supine immersion (DSI), was the desired objective of the study.

Ten healthy volunteers were exposed to 24 h of simulated microgravity using DSI. The force generated by maximal voluntary contraction of isometric plantar flexion of ankle was recorded. Electromyography (EMG) of the gastrocnemius corresponding to more than 80% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (labeled as submaximal contraction) was recorded pre- and post-exposure to 24 h of DSI.

Time domain analysis of the surface EMG of gastrocnemius during submaximal contraction revealed a significant increase in mean integrated EMG (iEMG) amplitude (effect size = 0.73, P = 0.031) following 24 h DSI. Power spectral analysis showed a significant decrease in mean frequency (MNF) (P = 0.043) and median frequency (MDF) (P = 0.024) after 24 h DSI. No significant changes were observed in total power, mean power (MNP), and maximal voluntary contraction. A very strong negative correlation was noted between iEMG, MNF, and MDF for the duration of submaximal voluntary contraction (R = −0.827 and −0.810, P = 0.003 and 0.004, respectively); whereas, a very strong positive correlation was noted between iEMG and MNP (R = 0.911, P = 0.002).

The findings of the study point toward muscle weakening seen by an early onset of muscle fatigue in anti-gravity muscles as early as 24 h of exposure to microgravity. The same may be borne in mind even during very short duration human space missions.


Three across-shelf Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings were deployed on the continental shelf in the northern South China Sea in 2006 and 2007, in order to obtain time series of ocean currents. During each of the three observational periods, in spring, autumn, and winter seasons, the observation was sustained for at least 1 month. Conductivity-temperature-depth data were also collected in the vicinity of these ADCP moorings. The two diurnal baroclinic constituents (O-1 and K-1) are found to be more prominent than the semidiurnal baroclinic ones (M-2 and S-2) at each mooring site, which are different from the barotropic tides. The highest diurnal (semidiurnal) baroclinic kinetic energy density exceeded 10 (2.7) kJ/m(2) during the observational periods. In each observational period, the vertical structures of baroclinic tidal ellipses indicate mode-1 characteristics for O-1 and K-1, whereas some of the semidiurnal internal tides show mode-2 characteristics in autumn. Propagation directions of the diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides are basically across-shelf, and their phase speeds estimated from phase changes and buoyancy frequencies indicate deceleration of internal tides, when the internal tidal waves propagate from deeper shelf break to shallower shelf. The increased stratification in autumn is favorable for maintaining internal tidal waveform and preserving internal tidal energy, while the intensity of the internal tidal flow decreases significantly in winter.


Objective To evaluate the pharmacokineties of ropivacaine for single sciatic nerve block in dogs.Methods Twelve healthy adult mongrel dogs weighing 14-17 kg were randomized to receive 0.5% ropivaeaine 10 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg for single sciatic nerve block(n=6 each).ECG,BP and HR were monitored and recorded during anesthesia.Blood samples were obtained from femoral artery before ropivacaine injection (baseline)and at 10,20,30,40,60,90,120,150,180,240,360 and 720 min after ropivacaine injeetion for determination of plasma ropivaeaine concentration(by reversc-phasc high performance liquid chromatography).Arterial blood samples were also taken when adverse reactions occurred.The pharmacokinetic parameters were eMeulated with DAS 1.0 software package.Results The concentration-time curve of ropivacaine for single sciatic nenre block was fitted to two-compartment open model in both groups.The peak plasma concentration of ropivaeaine was significantly lower in 10 mg/kg group than in 20 mg/kg group.Two dogs developed convulsion in 20 mg/kg group.The plasma ropivaeaine concentration was 12.56 and 13.67 mg/L respectively during convulsion.Conclusion Pharmaeokinetic profile of ropivaeaine for single sciatic nerve block is best described by two-compartment model.Bopivaeaine 20 mg/kg for sciatic nerve block can hardly be tolerated by dogs.

Key words:
Amides; Pharmacokinetics; Nerve block; Sciatic nerve


A new mathematical and numerical technique has been developed for calculating the electromagnetic current on smooth one-dimensional perfectly conducting surfaces for low grazing angles; the surfaces can have large vertical displacements compared with the incident wavelength, resulting in considerable shadowing. The new technique, which is based on approximating the usual Fredholm integral equation for the surface current by a Volterra equation, is highly accurate with the boundary conditions typically satisfied with errors of less than 1% for X-band (3 cm wavelength) at a 5-degree grazing angle. >


Everybody has sometimes experienced the vibrations generated by the performance of music. The floor or the seat place can vibrate because of the resonance or the structureborne sound stimulated by instruments. When these vibrations are correlated with airborne sound, they are additional information for us. The correlation between vibration and airborne sound might be important in implementing, for instance, a virtual reality, to intensify the experience and the quality of it. This study investigates the required synchronism between the auditory and the tactile components. First the terms which are related to the musicalproduced whole-body vibrations will be introduced. The next step will be to report on some measurements of musical-produced vibrations. Further, the psychophysical test and the used psychophysical and statistic methods to investigate the time-depending correlations. Finally, the results are presented and discussed.