ABSTRACT Lead writers and co-chairs of the International Literacy Association's Standards 2017 provide a hands on guide to using updated standards for the preparation of reading/literacy specialists. Authors share key changes in content, supporting explanations with updated references, and implications for program faculty, state policymakers, and specialist candidates. Standards 2017 adds a new seventh standard for Practicum/Clinical Experiences and sets high expectations for programs to incorporate candidate experiences with technology, diversity, collaboration, and advocacy. Processes to work with colleagues to design or re-design, implement, and evaluate programs are discussed.


It has to wait for the first part of the century XVIII to see the important advances that are coming true in the rest of Europe about the better knowledge of the beekeeping, little by little they go away spreading out Spain, on the basis of translations extendly discussed in the main works of agriculture that were made up in France at the time. In this review we're going to analyse the spanish version made by Torre y Ocon (Navarra) about one of the first agronomic texts, the Economia general de la Casa de Campo of Liger de Oxer.


When Nicholas Hawksmoor recalled the circumstances of the building of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich (Fig. 1), begun in 1696, he twice made the point that the achievement of magnificence was part of the architectural brief. In his Remarks on the Founding and Carrying on the Buildings of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, published in 1728, he noted that it was the desire of the foundress, Queen Mary, 'who had a great Passion for Building', 'to build the Fabrick with great Magnificence and Order'. Later, as if defending a position, Hawksmoor noted 'her Majesty's fixt Intention for Magnificence'. Queen Mary had died in 1694 but her husband King William III, respecting her wishes, had ensured the continuation of the project under the architectural guidance of Christopher Wren who was assisted by Hawksmoor in this great endeavour.


The growing cost gap between DRAM and storage together with increasing database sizes means that database management systems (DBMSs) now operate with a lower memory to storage size ratio than before. On the other hand, modern DBMSs rely on in-memory search trees (e.g., indexes and filters) to achieve high throughput and low latency. These search trees, however, consume a large portion of the total memory available to the DBMS. Existing compression techniques for search trees often rely on general-purpose block compression algorithms such as Snappy and LZ4. These algorithms, however, impose too much computational overhead for in-memory search trees because the DBMS is unable to operate directly on the index data without having to decompress it first. Simply getting rid of all or part of the search trees is also suboptimal because they are crucial to query performance. This dissertation seeks to address the challenge of building compact yet fast in-memory search trees to allow more efficient use of memory in data processing systems. We first present techniques to obtain maximum compression on fast static (i.e., read-optimized) search trees. We identified sources of memory waste in existing trees and designed new succinct data structures to show that we can push the memory consumption of a search tree to the theoretical limit without compromising its query performance. Next, we introduce the hybrid index architecture as a way to efficiently modifying the aforementioned static data structures with bounded and amortized cost in performance and space. Finally, instead of structural compression, we approach the problem from an orthogonal direction by compressing the actual keys. We built a fast string compressor that can encode arbitrary input keys while preserving their order so that search trees can serve range queries directly based on compressed keys. Together, these three pieces form a practical recipe for achieving memory-efficiency in search trees and in DBMSs.


We examine the role that one group of party units—county party organizations—play in electoral politics, based on electoral and county party organizational data collected during 1980–84. Local party chairs report their organizations are involved in a number of electorally relevant activities, including candidate recruitment, joint planning with candidate organizations, and various independent campaign activities. The data demonstrate that county party organizations are indeed effective. The probability of a minority party's running candidates for lower-level offices, which appears to contribute to higher vote totals for higher-level offices, is a function of the local strength and activity level of the party; whereas direct effects are seen to be small. These data suggest that even if mainly at the candidate recruitment stage of the process, party organizations play an important role in local electoral politics.


The past five years have seen a tendency to a new, more differentiated use of circular dichroism spectra and the dispersion of optical rotation in the structural study of complex compounds. This approach is based on recognition that the rotational strength of d-d transitions of the complexing metal depends usually not on one but on a number of factors associated with different structural characteristics of the complex molecule. Accordingly, several contributions to the optical activity of a complex can in general be distinguished. Thus the configurational contribution is due to the helical, dissymmetric arrangement of multidentate ligands about the central metal ion. The conformational contribution is due to the asymmetry of an individual non-planar chelate ring. And the presence of asymmetric carbon atoms in the ligand molecule results in the appearance of a vicinal contribution. The establishment of asymmetry in the donor atoms of the ligand (N*, S*) on coordination with the metal can be regarded as a particular case of this last effect. The additivity of the individual contributions to the optical activity of complex compounds has been proved quite regularly. It is fully justifiable to divide the total effect observed into component parts, and to distinguish each contribution as a differential curve (of the dispersion of optical rotation or, more frequently, of circular dichroism). In order to study an actual property of a given compound (e.g. the configuration of an asymmetric carbon atom in a ligand) the corresponding differential curve (the curve of the vicinal effect) is, of course, immeasurably more useful than the overall spectrum observed. Moreover, analysis of the overall curve will definitely give misleading information in all cases in which the contributions of the dominant effect and of the effect under investigation are opposite in sign. The present Review attempts to analyse some possible modes of inducing rotational strength in d-d transitions of metal complexes and to assess their relative effectiveness. Work published during 1964-1969 is covered. Earlier reviews on optically active coordination compounds summarise the literature of the preceding period"


With the emergence of Internet, it is now possible to connect and access sources of information and databases throughout the world. At the same time, this raises many questions regarding the privacy and the security of the data, in particular how to mine useful information while preserving the privacy of sensible and confidential data. Privacy-preserving data mining is a relatively new but rapidly growing field that studies how data mining algorithms affect the privacy of data and tries to find and analyze new algorithms that preserve this privacy. At first glance, it may seem that data mining and privacy have orthogonal goals, the first one being concerned with the discovery of useful knowledge from data whereas the second is concerned with the protection of data's privacy. Historically, the interactions between privacy and data mining have been questioned and studied since more than a decade ago, but the name of the domain itself was coined more recently by two seminal papers attacking the subject from two very different perspectives (Agrawal & Srikant, 2000; Lindell & Pinkas, 2000). The first paper (Agrawal & Srikant, 2000) takes the approach of randomizing the data through the injection of noise, and then recovers from it by applying a reconstruction algorithm before a learning task (the induction of a decision tree) is carried out on the reconstructed dataset. The second paper (Lindell & Pinkas, 2000) adopts a cryptographic view of the problem and rephrases it within the general framework of secure multiparty computation. The outline of this chapter is the following. First, the area of privacy-preserving data mining is illustrated through three scenarios, before a classification of privacy-preserving algorithms is described and the three main approaches currently used are detailed. Finally, the future trends and challenges that await the domain are discussed before concluding.


The environmental concern has become a well discussed topic within today's society and as a result awareness of the impact human behaviour has on the environment is continuously increasing. This co ...


Bureaucratic reform within the police has been implemented since 2002. Namely by imposing and implementing several changes and reforms in the field of Instrumental, fields of structural and cultural fields. Past policies before the reform may be in the eyes of members, the leadership knows only demanding change and performance improvement without any compensation. But this time it was clear they would be rewarded with either an increase in welfare benefits or salary increases and performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between remuneration and job  satisfaction with the work ethic and the members of staff employees in the first sub-detachment Detachment C Pioneers Brimob Surakarta. Subjects in this study were members and staff employees in the first subdetachment Detachment C Brimob Surakarta Pioneers 40 people. Sampling studies using random sampling. Using  questionnaire data collection tool (questionnaire). Methods ofdata analysis using product moment correlation technique. Based on the calculation ofthe product moment analysis technique remuneration relationship with work ethic correlation coefficient ( rxy ) at = 0.656 , p = 0.000 (p < 0.01 ) and the relationship of job satisfaction with work ethic values obtained correlation coefficient ( rxy ) of = 0.692, p = 0.000 ( p < 0.01 ). These results indicate there is a significant positive correlation between the remuneration of the work ethic and satisfaction with work ethic , therefore it can be interpreted that both job satisfaction and remuneration variable can be used as predictors (independent variables) to predict or measure the work ethic that has members and Detachment C sub-detachment staff  Pioneers Brimob Surakarta.


A kind of arithmetic for adjustment of floating dock was researched. Accordingly, a real-time control and simulation system was developed based on the platform of LabVIEW. The whole framework of the system, data transmission between functional modules and detail implementation methods were introduced orderly. Matlab was called during the process of calculation for making the ballast water adjusting schedule. Calculations for real-time simulation were achieved by cooperation of LabVIEW and Matlab. The workflow of the system was introduced by expressing an embarking procedure of a hull section onto the floating dock. The result shows that the optimum schedule can be made out by the proposed optimization models and arithmetic for ballast water operation and the simulation system developed is practical and applicable.


In their manuscript, the authors present a hydrological benchmark product particularly for MLapproaches. They've collected hydrological time-series data for precipitation, streamflow, evapotranspiration as well as static data for soil types, slopes, etc. mainly for the state of Iowa. This data is area-averaged over several small basins and arranged in a way, that each of their files contains all data for a single sub-basin. They also include a file that describes the relationships between the different sub-basins.


This editorial marks an important occasion for Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA), the path-breaking charity for patient safety and justice. The timing is noteworthy in two respects. First, it is their 40th anniversary as a charity. They may have been the first patient organization focused on patient safety and they have played a significant role in the birth and raising of the patient safety movement, both in the UK and worldwide. Second, Peter Walsh, who has served as Chief Executive for 20 of those years, is stepping down. The Journal has been published in association with AvMA for its entire existence, so these are seismic events for us. We should begin with personal thanks to Peter for his partnership with me over the five years that I've led the Journal. I first met Peter in London in November, 2010 during the relaunch of the NHS policy of Being Open about medical errors. The policy, originally adopted in 2005, promotes "greater openness with patients and families when things go wrong," stating that "sorry is not an admission of liability and it is the right thing to do." I had assembled a group of international experts for a day-long meeting on open disclosure of adverse events. Innovative policies and practices being implemented in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US were shared with NHS leaders and other key stakeholders. During the discussions, I witnessed Peter's passionate insistence on justice for injured patients. In subsequent meetings, he campaigned earnestly for an additional legal "duty of candour" to disclose in the UK. He was justifiably proud when the efforts of AvMA helped to pass this legislation in 2014. When I took over as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal in 2018, Peter had been in place since the inception of its predecessor Clinical Risk. He was a gracious host, helping to bring about a warm handoff as we transitioned to a new name and a more international focus. Since then, he has helped the Journal deliver medico-legal content, while keeping the important perspective of patients. Congratulations are also in order for AvMA, which can notch up several achievements. It is evident that AvMA helped create the market for malpractice claims in the UK, providing structures and support to both injured patients and plaintiff's attorneys. This has contributed to an increase in malpractice claims. Although not all would view this as an unmitigated good, it has increased the number of injured people able to receive needed compensation. In addition, it promoted the uptake of clinical risk management in the NHS. AvMA has long provided a unique resource to the community in the form of a helpline for patients who have been injured by health care. Services include free support and advice to callers, as well as the handling of more complex casework and inquests. In a complex healthcare system, this service has been a lifeline for patients and families who don't know how to raise concerns, or who are seeking explanations for what happened in their care. It helps them navigate the confusing processes for claiming compensation. AvMA has also produced invaluable selfhelp guides, available online. In addition, AvMA has campaigned for changes in legislation and legal procedures to improve patients' access to justice. Notable successes included the statutory duty of candour, noted above, which was implemented by the NHS in 2014. The combined force of these efforts has been to increase awareness of the problem originally referred to as medical accidents, and the development of the field of patient safety. Recent collaborations have focused on influencing policy change, ensuring that patients and families are at the heart of any investigations into unsafe care, and that physical and emotional support are available for all when things go wrong. Groups like AvMA have value in improving patient safety and the quality of care. In discussion with Helen Huges, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, we reflected on the purpose and value of patient safety charities and not-for-profit organizations. These organizations can channel and amplify the patient voice. The patient perspective is needed to influence politicians, policy makers, and organization and systems leaders to drive safety improvements, and influence awareness raising campaigns. Patient focused organizations can highlight specific services where there is avoidable harm that is not being addressed. In recent years, this has included injuries from pelvic mesh implants, pain from outpatient hysteroscopies, and maternity service failures.6–8 In the UK, many public inquiries that have highlighted appalling levels of avoidable harm have been directly commissioned due to tenacious and committed patients and families. These individuals demanded answers as to why harm occurred, and changes to prevent future harm so that others would not Editorial


Job satisfaction is a complex phenomenon because it is a subjective state of mind. This study evaluates the job satisfaction of physiotherapists working in Portugal for more than 6 months. In a sample of 780 physiotherapists, through the application of an online questionnaire that included questions of individual and professional characterization and related to job satisfaction, it was found that they were moderately satisfied with the profession (67.4%), with a positive correlation relationship between the dimensions of job content satisfaction (r=0.134; p<0.01) and work compensation (r=0.180; p<0.001) with years of service. Lower pay and general practice are associated with lower levels of satisfaction (p<0.001). Physiotherapists who saw three or more clients per hour had lower levels of satisfaction (p<0.001). With this study we can conclude that satisfaction is positively impacted by the relationship with patients and negatively influenced by the perspectives of career progression, remuneration received and the recognition of work by institutions.


Durability of engineering structures made of cement concrete with high compressive strength is a very vital issue, especially when they are exposed to different aggressive environments and dynamic loads. Concrete resistance to weathering actions and chemical attack can be improved by combined chemical and mechanical modification of concrete microstructure. Asphalt admixture in the form of asphalt paste (AP) was used for chemical modification of cement composite microstructure. Concrete structure was formed using special technology of compaction. A stand for vibro-vibropressing with regulated vibrator force and pressing force was developed. The following properties of the modified concrete were tested: compressive strength, water absorption, freeze-thaw resistance, scaling resistance in the presence of de-icing agents, chloride migration, resistance to CO2 and corrosion in aggressive solutions. Corrosion resistance was tested alternately in 1.8% solutions of NH4Cl, MgSO4, (NH2)2CO and CaCl2, which were altered every 7 days; the experiment lasted 9.5 months. Optimum compaction parameters in semi-industrial conditions were determined: ratio between piston stress (Qp) and external top vibrator force (Po) in the range 0.4÷-0.5; external top vibrator force 4 kN. High strength concretes with compressive strength fcm = 60÷70 MPa, very low water absorption (<1%) and high resistance to aggressive environments were obtained in this study. AP content was reduced from 10% (previous investigations) to 2-4% of cement mass thanks to the special compaction method. Excellent chloride ion penetration resistance and carbonation resistance of concrete containing AP admixture is due to the asphalt barrier formed in pores of cement hydrates against dioxide and chloride ions. Concrete specimens containing AP 4% c.m. and consolidated by vibro-vibropressing method proved to be practically resistant to highly corrosive environment. Vibro-vibropressing compaction technology of concrete modified with AP can be applied in prefabrication plants to produce elements for road, bridge and hydraulic engineering constructions.


Objectives: To evaluate plasma fibrinogen and C-reactive proteins in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and compare it with normal lipid profile in healthy controls. Methodology: Plasma fibrinogen and C-reactive proteins were determined in 165 patients and 165 age –sex matched control. The plasma fibrinogen was determined using kit, which was obtained from TECO GmbH, Dieselstr. 1, 84088 Neufahrn NB. The C-reactive protein were determined using high sensitivity enzyme Immunoassay kit manufactured by Life Diagnostics, inc. Also lipid profile was analysed enzymatically in these subjects. The values were expressed as means ± standard deviation (SD) and data from patients and controls was compared using student "t" test. Results: Serum CRP and Plasma Fibrinogen were increased significantly (p<0.001) in AMI subjects compared to controls. High fibrinogen concentration and C-Reactive proteins seem to be important contributory risk factor in Indian CAD patients. Conclusions: Thrombotic and inflammatory markers in combination may contribute to AMI with increased severity of the disease. Further larger studies on a nationwide basis recruiting a large number of AMI patients should be done to substantiate these findings.


Backscattering of MeV He ions has been used to investigate the composition and growth kinetics of metal silicides formed from thin films of Pd, Ti, Cr, and Mo evaporated onto Si. In each system studied, one silicide phase predominated (Pd2Si, TiSi2, CrSi2, and MoSi2). The thickness of the phase increased with (time)0.5 for Pd2Si and TiSi2, and linearly in time for CrSi2 and MoSi2. It was found that these two time dependencies correlate directly with the reaction sensitivity to a thin oxide interface (<100 A) and to the extent of the silicide formation in the neighborhood of a typical device contact region.


Good dewatering in deep foundation pit support project is the key point when earthwork excavation.In New City Edifice project we use tri-axes deep mixing support which is propitious to dewatering.During support replacement we can use release of soil stress,bravely dismantle support down with bursting method.At the same time using dewatering monitoring system will insure the good effect of earthwork excavation,and resolve the leakage problem when earthwork excavation.


Engineering optimization mathematical model preprocessing is a series of standardized treatment processes of the model elements.In order to facilitate solving it using genetic algorithm,the preprocessing methods of optimization objectives,optimization variables and constraints are presented.On the basis of analyzing limitation of using penalty function method dealing with constraints,an amending method based on the knowlege regulating strategy is suggested to amende the mapping relationship of infeasible constraints in decoding,thus making the regulated individuals map into the space to obtain the most promising optimal solution.The theoretical analysis and test result show that the proper preprocessing an appropriate preprocessing of the optimization mathematical model can simplify the optimal design process,accelerate the algorithm convergence speed,and at the same time,improve the best solution quality.


To meet the real-time monitoring and control requirements,a ground control system was developed under windows platform with GIS imbedded.This system performed as obtaining the real-time navigation information,showing the real-time flight trace,adjusting the on-line parameters,programming flight path,storing and analyzing data.The experiments show that this system runs stably and accurately,it can be used to implement UAV track information management conveniently and efficiently,and has practicality and promotion value.


The spinning flow of Boger fluids and the gravity-drawing extrusion flow of a Newtonianas well as a Boger fluid have been simulated by using the stream-line finite element method and thetechnique of matching the finite element solutions with those of one-dimensional spinning equations.The recoverable shear strain is proved not to be a basic parameter in characterising thespinning flow of Boger fluids.For Newtonian fluids this technique predicts the experimental jetshape accurately.For Boger fluids,the numerical simulation agrees with the experimental data of spin-ning flow reported by Sridhar et al.,but seems to give an insufficient swelling and over contractionof the jets when drawn by its own weight,compared with the experimental results of Trang andYeow.It implies that the Oldroyd-B model fitting the viscometric-flow data fails to describeaccurately the elasticity and extensional viscosity in the extrusion flow of Boger fluids with gravi-ty-drawing.


Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) membranes have very stringent flatness requirements. SAR antennas are designed to be perfectly flat with electrical elements at a stable position one with respect to another. Although membranes open the possibility of greater packaging possibilities and a much lower mass, these flatness and dimensional stability requirements must still be respected. Several phenomena will affect the flatness of the membrane: the quality of the tensioning system, the modes of vibration of the membrane, and the material behaviour. Past research has shown that using a pocket adopting the shape of parabola is an excellent way of uniformly tensioning a membrane. The uniform tension along one side of a membrane is needed to avoid the creation of ripples in areas where the tension would differ. This paper shows the need to take into account the slope the cable takes as it exits the tensioning pocket. If this slope differs from the slope imposed by the geometric constraints, the position of the membrane with respect to the pulley, there will be a decrease in tension in the membrane near the extremities of the pocket, and this will lead to ripples in that area of the membrane. The equation system allowing the design of a tensioning system using parabolas and taking into account the geometry of the membrane antenna and its supporting structure is described. An analysis of the first mode of the membrane shows that the deflection brought be this mode could be much larger than any creases created by a faulty tensioning system. Solutions to this problem using our current tensioning system have not been found yet, but other others have started exploring options which could be applicable to our tensioning system.


This note provides asymptotic formulas for approximating the sequence factorial of members of a finite arithmetic progression by using Stirling, Burnside and other more accurate asymptotic formulas for large factorials that have appeared in the literature.


The automated system of scientific researches (ASNI) of high and critical technologies of aviation engine-building for design and creation of aviation engines of the new generation is presented. It allows to show action sequence on performance of researches for maintenance of research and development with means of innovative designing of aviation engines. The uniform technologies of aviation engines of new generation are developed and also the dependences and regularities which allow to optimize directive technological processes in aviation engine-building for creation of competitive production are revealed.


The surface metallization of highly pure alumina (96%) ceramic was systematically studied with respect to surface etching, catalyzing, and the optimizing of the processing conditions for electroless plating. The factors affecting the bonding strength between the nickel plating and the ceramic substrate were comprehensively investigated. And the construction suggestions to the practical application of the surface metallization technology of the alumina ceramic were given.


Objective To establish the biological reference interval for our laboratory,taking platelet volume distribution width as example.Methods According to (NCCLS) C282 A2,the platelet volume distribution width levels in 506 healthy individuals were determined and analyzed to establish the biological reference interval.Results The results between male and female or in different age groups showed no statistical significance,the reference interval of PDW was (10.2-18.2).Using the datas of 200 healthy individuals to verificate the new reference interval,only 1% was not in the interval.Conclusion The newly established reference interval is available for our laboratory.


This paper explores the productivity attributes and their impacts in enhancing industrial productivity. The statistical analyses give us insights of the industrial scenario of the estate under consideration. Reliability and validity tests confirm the validity of the scale used. Correlation analysis identifies the relation and closeness among the variables and their intensity in improving the productivity. Chi-square is another test to hypotheses that gives the ideas about the relation and their influences in contributing productivity. Demographic gives the picture of the constitutes of the sample considered. Descriptive statistics high lights the respondents' perceptions about the industrial productivity. The SPSS software is used to analyse various phases of the study. The three points Likert scale is used to extract the impacts of the various attributes considered in this case. This paper indicates the improvement potentials to increase industrial productivity to compete highly competitiveness in the global arena.


In this study, the effects of different packaging materials such as artificial case, barrel and tripe on chemical properties of Karin Kaymagi cheese were investigated. In this research, four different Karin Kaymagi cheese samples were prepared from white cheese, civil cheese, when cheese, pasteurized cream and concentrated yogurt mixes. It was found that samples in barrel had the lowest dry matter ratio. The dry matter ratio of samples in artificial case was the highest among all samples. The protein ratios changed when dry matter ratios changed. M2 and M3 mixes had the highest water soluble protein ratio (wspr). The wspr of M1 and M4 mixes was the lowest. The samples in tripe (original packaging material of the cheese) had the highest ripening degree (36.39%), the lowest ripening degree (21.30%) was found in samples in artificial case. As ripening periods increased the acidity (SH), lipolysis and proteolysis degree of samples increased too.


This article improved the traditional method of AHP.A three-demarcation matrix method was adopted together with the evaluation model of the combination of the analytical hierarchy process and multitiered fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to evaluate the environmental influence of comprehensive post evaluation of highway net.Therefore it can avoid the illegibility of index weight when the traditional nine-demarcation matrix was applied in constructing the judgment matrix,and it can reduce the determiner's subjective assumped.


1 Department of Natural Resources Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. 2 Department of Water Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. 3* Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. (Corresponding Author) 4 Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering & Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A and M University, 321 Scoates Hall, 2117 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-2117, U.S.A. 5 Laboratory of Hydrology, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece & Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece.


The invention relates to a sensor (1) for detecting the direction of a magnetic field comprising at least two holding elements (4, 6, 8, 10) which are integrated into a signal processing electronics (3) having the semiconductor chip (12) or arranged thereon, at least a magnet (2) and at least one semiconductor chip (12) associated with the magnetic field (14) having a flat shape. The invention provides that the magnetic field (14) and the semiconductor chip (12) without any direct connection to one another on a carrier body (16) are arranged.


Graph cuts have become an increasingly important tool for solving a number of energy minimization problems in computer vision and other fields. In this paper, the graph cut problem is reformulated as an unconstrained l1 norm minimization. This l1 norm minimization can then be tackled by solving a sequence of sparse linear systems involving the Laplacian of the underlying graph. The proposed procedure exploits the structure of these linear systems and can be implemented effectively on modern parallel architectures. The paper describes an implementation of the algorithm on a GPU and discusses experimental results obtained by applying the procedure to graphs derived from image processing problems. Disciplines Theory and Algorithms Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-07-10. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/132 Solving the Graph Cut Problem via l1 Norm Minimization Arvind Bhusnurmath GRASP Lab CIS, University of Pennsylvania email@example.com Camillo J Taylor GRASP Lab CIS,University of Pennsylvania firstname.lastname@example.com


Objective
To explore the impact of overweight and obesity on flow mediated dilation (FMD) in adult people.

Methods
Intact clinical data of 183 healthy people, aged 30~65 in our hosipital were analyzed.According to BMI, all people were divided into obesity group (48 cases), overweight group(75 cases) and normal group (60 cases). FMD was detected by E tracing of ultrasonic. Weight, WC, BFP, baPWV, BP, FPG, CHO, HDL-C, LDL-C, TG and UC were observed at the same time. FMD of three groups were compared and the risk factors of FMD were analyzed.

Results
The level of FMD in the obesity group and overweight group was significantly higher than that in the normal group[(5.63±2.76)%, (6.45±2.54)% vs. (8.31±3.04)%](F=13.77, P 0.05). Age(β=0.078, 95%CI: 1.004, 1.164), BMI(β=0.465, 95%CI 1.148, 2.208), LDL-C(β=2.294, 95%CI: 9.918, 1.612) and UC(β=0.007, 95%CI 0.986, 1.000) were independent risk factors of decreased FMD(P<0.05).

Conclusion
Age, BMI, LDL-C and UC are independent risk factors of decreased FMD.

Key words:
Obesity; Overweight; Body mass index


ABSTRACT Recent research into Caddo bottle and biface morphology yielded evidence for two distinct behavioral regions, across which material culture from Caddo burials expresses significant morphological differences. This study asks whether Perdiz arrow points differ across the same geography, which would extend the pattern of morphological differences to a third category of Caddo material culture. Perdiz arrow points were employed to test the hypothesis that morphological attributes differ, and are predictable, between the two communities. The analysis of linear metrics indicated a significant difference in morphology by behavioral region. Using linear metrics combined with the tools of machine learning, a predictive model – support vector machine – was used to assess the degree to which community differences could be predicted, achieving a receiver operator curve score of 97% and an accuracy score of 94%. The landmark geometric morphometric analysis identified significant differences in Perdiz arrow point shape and size between behavioral regions – one characterized by a comparatively smaller blade and larger stem (north), and the other by a comparatively larger blade and smaller stem (south) – coupled with significant results for modularity and morphological integration. These findings build upon recent investigations that posited two discrete Caddo behavioral regions defined on the basis of discernible morphological differences, expanded here to include a third category of Caddo material culture.


In the current scenario of climate change, the future of agriculture is uncertain. Climate change and climate-related disasters have a direct impact on biotic and abiotic factors that govern agroecosystems compromising the global food security. In the last decade, the advances in high throughput sequencing techniques have significantly improved our understanding about the composition, function and dynamics of plant microbiome. However, despite the microbiome have been proposed as a new platform for the next green revolution, our knowledge about the mechanisms that govern microbe-microbe and microbe-plant interactions are incipient. Currently, the adaptation of plants to environmental changes not only suggests that the plants can adapt or migrate, but also can interact with their surrounding microbial communities to alleviate different stresses by natural microbiome selection of specialized strains, phenomenon recently called "Cry for Help". From this way, plants have been co-evolved with their microbiota adapting to local environmental conditions to ensuring the survival of the entire holobiome to improve plant fitness. Thus, the strong selective pressure of native extreme microbiomes could represent a remarkable microbial niche of plant stress-amelioration to counteract the negative effect of climate change in food crops. Currently, the microbiome engineering has recently emerged as an alternative to modify and promote positive interactions between microorganisms and plants to improve plant fitness. In the present review, we discuss the possible use of extreme microbiome to alleviate different stresses in crop plants under the current scenario of climate change.


In December , when the Caribbean world turned to glass, he would take the closed carriage on a climb along the cornices of crags until he came to the house perched on top of the reefs and he would spend the afternoon playing dominoes with the former dictators of other nations of the continent, the dethroned fathers of other countries to whom he had granted asylum over the course of many years and who were now growing old in the shadow of his mercy dreaming in chairs on the terrace about the chimerical vessel of their second chance, talking to themselves, dying dead in the rest home he had built for them on the balcony of the sea after having received all of them as if each were the only one, for they all appeared at dawn in the dress uniform they had put on inside out over their pajamas, with a chest of money they had pilfered from the public treasury and a suitcase with a box of decorations, newspaper clippings pasted into old ledgers, and a photograph album they would show him at the first audience as if they were credentials, saying look general, that's me when I was lieutenant, this was the day I was inaugurated, this was the sixteenth anniversary of my taking power . . .


INTRODUCTION Researchers and medical publishers have designed a variety of document surrogates to aid physicians in using the primary literature. Journal editors implemented the structured abstract to facilitate peer review, electronic retrieval, and critical appraisal (1). Florance proposed clinical extracts to support finding relevant articles and using them for problem solving during patient care (2). Clinicians consult the medical literature for diverse activities in medical research and practice. A single summary, such as an abstract or clinical extract, may not be appropriate for all tasks. Furthermore, these overviews often lack the detail that is necessary to apply the findings of a clinical trial in management of specific patients.


In this paper, we present an integrative perspective on organizational failure by conceptualizing three levels of failure—organizational learning processes (which can give rise to simple failures),...


The effects of additions of SiO 2 , GeO 2 , B 2 O 3 , or Bi 2 O 3 on the formation and properties of heavy metal oxide glasses based on the binary system PbO-Ga 2 O 3 have been studied. Additions of bismuth oxide have little effect on the properties of these glasses, while additions of the other glass-forming oxides decrease the density and refractive index of the resultant glasses. Additions of silica and germania increase the glass transformation temperature, while additions of boric oxide and bismuth oxide slightly decrease this temperature. Silica and boric oxide seriously degrade the infrared transmission of these glasses, while additions of germania and bismuth oxide have only a small effect on the infrared cutoff frequency. The effect of the various glass-forming oxides on the properties of these glasses are discussed in terms of their possible structural roles in the amorphous network


This article identifies the factors that influence business performance (BP) in the construction, trade, and services sectors, as well as sub-sectors and branches of the manufacturing sector of small and mid-size enterprises (SME) in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. A quantitative, descriptive, and correlational statistical analysis was performed on a sample of 460 enterprises, estimating a linear regression model using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. Empirical evidence reveals that the construction, trade, and services sectors agree that profitability, efficient internal processes, and low labor absenteeism are those factors that mostly influence BP. On the other hand, in sub-sectors of low-technology manufacturing (minerals, metals, plastic and rubber; textile; and leather and substitute materials), the quality of product is the factor viewed as the most relevant to explain BP in Mexican SME.


A compact wideband fully tunable fi lter is designed based on a quarter-mode integrated waveguide resonator. With only two varactor diodes at the port gap, the notch frequency can be tuned continuously in the entire passband range, and the interference signal in the band can be fl exibly suppressed. In addition, by controlling the on and o ff of two PIN diodes, switching between the two bandwidths of 1.7GHz and 3.3GHz is achieved without a ff ecting the notch frequency tuning in the bandwidth. The notch frequency tuning range is 4GHz to 6.4GHz. The insertion loss at the notch frequency is − 15dB to − 30dB, which is su ffi cient to eliminate in-band noise.


Mohammad Samir Hossain, a physician and teacher of psychiatry at Medical College for Women and Hospital at Dhaka, Bangladesh, is the author of about 50 mental health articles in different journals and magazines. Since his medical graduation, Dr. Samir has studied abnormal psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy from institutions including Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Bircham International University. His area of specialization is thanatology, with a focus on attitudes toward death. Md. Zakaria Siddique, a psychiatrist in Bangladesh, is the Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Medical College for Women and Hospital at Dhaka. He is also the Executive Editor of the psychiatric magazine, Monojagot (web address: http://www.monojagot.ws), the first mental health magazine in the Bangla language. He has published numerous articles on mental health in different journals and magazines. He has so far written four books on mental health issues.


Sugar beet seed soaking time was better with 24 hours in germination trial or seed soaking before sowing.While sugar seed soaking for 24 hours,seed germination percentage was highest 94.3%.Seed germination percent of seed soaking 24 hours was decreased from 8.0 to 11.6 percent after 35 days which seeds in uncovered air drying and bagged air drying.It is adapted for seed germination to temperature at 25℃,for accumulative germination number on third day after 24 hours soaking seeds to calculate germinating energy,for accumulative germination number on eighth day after soaking seeds fo calculate germinatiom percentage in sugar beet seeds soaking freatment.


This lecture delivered to an international Conference in Norway on social exclusion and marginalization offered a preliminary approach to capture social exclusion phenomena as capability deprivation. It also offers a first sketch about the several methods of inquiry with regards to the different possible postures for the observer and the inquired person.


The constitutive model of soil is established by Plaxis,and the control variable method is used to analyze the stability factors,such as the role of tendon-soil interface,reinforced pitch,reinforced position and so on.Some useful conclusions are drawed:the better the soil's quality and reinforcement stiffness,the better are the reinforcement effect and embankment stability;the stability of bottom reinforcement is obviously better than that of the middle and upper;the reinforcement encryption can not effectively improve the stability of embankment.Through the field tests of a highway in Guangdong,it is proved that the optimized design could reduce the surface subsidence and deep horizontal displacement effectively,and also improve the stability of embankment.


Ba_ x Sr_(1− x )TiO_3 (BST) thin films were fabricated on a Ti substrate using micro-arc oxidation (MAO) in an aqueous solution with the addition of 0.6 M Ba(OH)_2, 0.4 M Sr(OH)_2, and 0.05 M EDTA. The morphology, composition, and electrical properties of BST films prepared under different processing times were characterized, and MAO growth characteristics of BST films were discussed. Results indicate that dielectric and ferroelectric properties of BST films are positively correlated with surface morphology dependent on MAO spark patterns. To obtain a smooth and compact film, the large spark stage should be avoided. During MAO processes, elements from the substrate and electrolyte solution migrate in opposite directions under an electric field, resulting in Ba, Sr, Ti, and O elements exhibiting a gradient distribution between the BST film and the Ti substrate. BST film prepared using MAO is composed of two layers: an outer loose layer and an inner dense layer. In addition, because of the position of discharge breakdown continually changing, the interface between the film and the substrate is uneven. As MAO processing time increases, BST film thickness increases and ferroelectric property improves. When processing time is 15 min, the residual polarization intensity (2Pr) of the BST film is about 4.9 μC/cm^2.


1) Reaction probabilities above 1950°K are determined. 2) The ratio value O/W of the deposit increases with the rise of temperature. 3) The deposit having ratio value O/W greater than 3 appears colorless in transmitted light. 4) The colorless deposit is composed of tungsten trioxide and the ratio value O/W greater than 3 is ascribed to the production of hydrogen, not being accompanied by the weight loss of filament, since the ratio value is determined from the amount of hydrogen produced and the amount of weight loss of filament. 5) Water vapor decomposes and a part of the oxygen thus produced is taken up by the wall of the apparatus, and hence hydrogen is produced, not being accompanied by the weight loss of filament. 6) The reaction rate and the ratio value O/W of the deposit decrease with the increase of hydrogen pressure, since the oxygen taken up by the wall recombines with hydrogen to form water vapor.


The Sukinda Valley of Orissa is underlain by the banded iron formation (BlF) and chromite-bearing ultramafic rocks of Precambrian age. Besides these, local exposure of a quartz-arenite bed with basal conglomerate is correlated with the Kolhans. A basal quartzite horizon is conformably overlain by the BIF. lhe quartz-arenite (Kolhans?) with a conglomerate at the base lies with a local disconformity over the BIF. Chromitebearing ultramafites are pre-kinematic intrusives into the iron formation and have been co-folded with the older sediments. Orthopyroxenite and granitic rocks are intrusive into the chromiferous ultramafites. Occasional intrusive dolerite dykes in the valley may be correlated with the Newer Dolerites of Singhbhum. The regional structure of the Precambrian rocks of the Sukinda Valley, as established by the present authors, is a cross-folded doubly plunging syncline with the culminated fold axis striking ENE-WSW which is parallel to the main fold axis of the Eastern Ghats Orogenic belt. The plunge of the main fold axis is towards NE and wsw. The cross-folded axis, lying between Tungaisuni and Champajhar villages, trends NNW-SSE and is subparallel to the cross-folded axes of the Eastern Ghat Orogenic belt.


The invention provides a BFD report sending method, a system and device, wherein, the method comprises the following steps that: after the timer parameter of the first network node changes, a control device in the first network node sends the BFD report with the timer parameter change information to a second network node according to a first presetting space of time, a detection device in the first network node sends the BDF report without the timer parameter change information to the second network node according to a second preset space of time; wherein, the first space of time is more thanthe second space of time. The control device sends the BDF report with the timer parameter change information in a low-speed period and the detection device sends the BDF report without the timer parameter change information in a high-speed period, thereby reducing the impact of the BFD report with a large amount of timer parameter change information to the control device.


Land is a key asset for the rural and urban poor. It provides a foundation for economic activity and the functioning of market in many developing countries. It is the primary means for generating a livelihood and a main vehicle for investing, accumulating wealth and transferring it between generations. Denying one access to land is like denying one life. This is done in the allocation and distribution of landed property in many parts of Africa and the study area. Land is unequally distributed. While a few have large track of land, many others do not have. This poses a serious problem in the study area both to agriculture and the people who suffer deprivation. The study using questionnaire to gather data observed that land is allocated traditionally on family ties, serious inequality in holding exist and this has caused problems as most farmers are thrown out of farming business, while others steal farm produce and even harbor resentment and animosity against those with large holdings. This, many times has led to communal clashes in the study area. Government should put in place a legal mechanism for equitable distribution of land to all sexes willing to farm. (Chikaire, J., Atala, T.K., Akpoko, J.G., Nnadi, F.N. and Jamilu, A.A. Landholding Inequality Among Smallholder Farmers in Imo State, Nigeria: Implications for Agricultural Development and Rural Livelihood. Nature and Science 2011;9(11):12-20). (ISSN: 1545-0740). http://www.sciencepub.net. Keyword: Land, agriculture, productivity, Rural, smallholder, Nigeria.


In this paper, we study the existence of inverse integrating factors and first integrals for cubic in two-dimensional autonomous system. We found that the inverse integrating factors and first integrals exist for our choosing system. This result contributes that the limit cycles for cubic in two-dimensional autonomous system does not exist.


Contemporary bridge design is generally based on designing individual members for the maximum force effect that each member may experience. This approach ignores the system-level interactions of these individual members, which may greatly increase the ultimate strength of the complete structure. In an attempt to understand better the load redistribution mechanisms that lead to this increase in ultimate strength, the destructive testing of a skewed steel I-girder bridge was planned and executed. However, because of the enormous system-level reserve capacity of the structure, the structure generally responded elastically, despite being loaded with the equivalent of 17 HS-20 design vehicles. Thus, a validated finite element analysis (FEA) approach was used to predict the ultimate capacity of this structure and to analyze the force redistribution as the bridge's elastic limit was exceeded. The FEA results predicted that the equivalent of 41 HS-20 vehicles was needed to plastify fully the four girders of the subject bridge and show the significant amount of yielding that occurs in the cross-frames when the ultimate capacity of the girders is achieved.


Paul Sendziuk of the University of Adelaide reviews curator Catherine Manning's Evidence of Survival: The Impact of World War II in Documents , Migration Museum, Adelaide, 22 August 2008 – February 2009. Admission: free.


Abstract Aim: To measure maternally derived measles antibodies in sera of premature infants at birth and seropositivity rates in early infancy in a rural area of central Turkey. Methods: 65 premature and 24 full-term infants born in Erciyes University Hospital and their mothers were recruited to a longitudinal, prospective study. The infants were divided into three groups by gestational age: group A, <33 weeks; group B, 33–37 weeks; group C, >37 weeks. For specific analyses, the groups were subdivided into groups A1, B1 and C1 (infants of naturally immunised mothers) and A2, B2 and C2 (infants of vaccinated mothers). Blood samples were obtained from mothers and infants after delivery. The infants were re-evaluated at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Results: Of 25 mothers, 20.3% were seronegative for measles antibodies. Twenty of the mothers had not been vaccinated. The percentages of seronegative infants at birth were 24.2% (n=8), 12.5% (n=4) and 0% (n=0) in groups A, B and C, respectively. No infants were seronegative at birth in A1, B1 or C1. Mean levels of antimeasles antibodies in all naturally immunised mothers were significantly higher than in vaccinated mothers. Antibody levels in all infants decreased rapidly with increasing age. Gestational age at birth [β=0.179, t=3.359, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.0001–0.0001, p<0.05], birthweight (β=0.637, t=9.691, 95% CI 0.057–0.086, p<0.05) and maternal naturally immunised status (β=0.168, t=2.825, 95% CI 0.002–0.014, p<0.05) were significantly associated with antibody levels after birth. In all groups of naturally immunised mothers, the percentages of seronegative infants were significantly lower than in vaccinated mothers at birth and at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Conclusion: The current recommendation to immunise all infants at 9 months of age might require revision for premature infants, especially those whose mothers have vaccination-induced immunity.


Problem statement: Rubber has been grown more than a century in South East Asia, who
has been the largest producer of natural rubber. Demand of natural rubber increases steadily due to
increasing demand particularly from developing countries. Water has been a limited and invaluable
resource especially in agriculture. This resource has to be used wisely and there is a need for a detailed
study pertaining to water requirement of rubber plants. This study provides details about rubber plants
growth in relation to water stress. Approach: Two new latex timber clones from Malaysia Rubber
Board (MRB), RRIM 2005 and RRIM 3001 were used in this study with soil from Haplic Ferralsol
used as planting media. Five levels of treatment were used; plants irrigated for every 2, 5, 10 and
15days and everyday which acted as control. The experimental design used was a Completely
Randomized Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Results: Results showed treatment well
watered for clone RRIM 2025 (T6) had most the turgidity with high mean value in stomata
conductance and chlorophyll content. RRIM 2025 also more resist to water stress compared to RRIM
3001. All plants in treatments with extreme different in water regimes cannot survive and dead due to
severe stress. Conclusion: This study found rubber clones RRIM 2025 and RRIM 3001 cannot survive
with acute deficiency of water. Rubber cannot be planted in dry areas with low water regimes which
will retard the plant growth and plant will die under severe water stress.


The boundaries of the subacute spongiform encephalopathies of animals and man or prion diseases are still debated. These are degenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by a transmissible not-yet-identified agent and neuropathologically characterized by astrocytosis, spongiform lesions of cortical and subcortical gray matter and occasionally by amyloid plaques. These diseases include kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSS) and fatal familial insomnia (FFI) in man, and scrapie, transmissible mink encephalopathy and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals. These disorders are biochemically characterized by the deposition in the CNS of a novel amyloid protein named PrP from prion protein. As for other amyloid proteins ( e .g . , A4), PrP derives from a post-translational modification of a cellular precursor (PrPc), which is expressed in neurons and other neural and non-neural cells; while the amyloid PrP is certainly involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases, it is still controversial if it represents an essential component of the causative agent.'.* These diseases have a genetic component with an autosomal pattern of inheritance. A series of point mutations of the human PrP open-reading frame (ORF) have been shown to be linked to familial cases of these human spongiform en~ephalopathies.~.~ Therefore, some authors include in this group all demented patients carrying a mutation in the PrP gene despite atypical clinical or neuropathological feature^.'.^ This broad view, however, has been recently reconsidered.'


[Objective]The present experiment was conducted to further understand the epidemic features, toxicity levels, and genotypes of porcine origin avian paramyxovirus serotype 1 in Guangxi in order to provide the relevant data for carrying out future researches on porcine paramyxovirus, and to provide references for the prevention and control of the disease. [Method]The virus was isolated from suspected samples of pigs using chicken embryos inoculation. The characteristics of the virus were determined with hemagglutination (HA), hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test, mean death time of chicken embryos (MDT), and intracerebral phthogenicity index (ICPI). The virus strain was identified and F gene fragments were amplified using RT-PCR and sequenced. [Result]The pig source avian paramyxovirus serotypeⅠisolate was isolated successfully from suspected samples of pigs. Its titer of HA and HI was 26 and chick embryo minimal lethal dose was 10-8/0.1 mL. The MDT and ICPI of this isolate were 60 h and 1.45, respectively. Amino acid composition was R-R-Q-R-R-F of F gene 112-117 splitting sites, which was in accordance with those of NDV standard virulent strain HER33 and F48E9. The nucleotide homologues were 86.5 and 85.7%, respectively, and the amino acid homologues were 90.1 and 90.8% after comparing the F gene of strain with standard virulent strain F48E9 and moderate virulence strain Beaudette C. [Conclusion]The isolate was virulent strain belonging to A PMV-1 gene typeⅡand traditional strains. It signified that hosts of APMV-1 were spreading and expanding constantly in Guangxi area.


Abstract In the context of the COVID19 pandemic, diabetes mellitus constitutes a main risk factor that increases overall mortality (1). The continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM) is an alternative that allows strict glucose monitoring and reduces the contact of the healthcare providers with the patients in the pandemic era. We conducted a study using CGM in COVID vs non-COVID patients hospitalized at the San José Hospital in Bogotá Colombia. Methods: Single center, prospective study of glucose monitoring in patients with and without COVID19 using the Freestyle system. We included patients of 18 years and older, hospitalized at Hospital San José de Bogotá, with diagnosis of diabetes and treated with insulin. We used the T student distribution to analize the data. Primary outcomes were the usefulness of the device in inpatients, and the clinical outcomes according to glucometric measures in patients with and without COVID19 infection. Results: CGM devices were placed on 30 patients: 10 with, and 20 without COVID. The system was feasible with good nurse acceptance. The age of the patients was between 18 and 90 years. Of the COVID positive patients, 30% required ICU and 10% died, the mean HBA1C was 9.5% (CI 95% 7.5–10.09%) with a general variability of 35.6%, only 3 patients archieved goals of time in range. The general glycemic index was 7.04% (CI 0.66-0.100)Of the non COVID patients, 10% required ICU and 10% died, the average variability was 30.9% and hypoglycemic episodes predominated in 3 patients. The general glycemic index was 6.6% (CI 0.61–0.71)The patients who required ICU had an average HBA1C of 10.4%, 80% received corticosteroid management during the hospital stay. No patient had skin or soft tissue infection at the sensor insertion site. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, CGM is a useful method for glucometric control that reduces the contact of healthcare providers and allows early interventions to improve metabolic control. Worse outcomes are seen in patients with higher variability and with COVID infection. References: 1. Apicella M. Campopiano MC. Mantuano M. Mazoni L. Coppelli A. Del Prato S. COVID-19 in people with diabetes: understanding the reasons for worse outcomes. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol.2020: 8; 782–92.


Model experiments of blood flow are very important in the study of mechanical aspects in cardiovascular research and the development of artificial organs. Several blood analog fluids, such as non-Newtonian fluids have been developed and used in model experiments. However, little is known about blood substitutes with biocompatible properties. We have developed novel procedures for preparing human hair protein films, and have fabricated protein particle suspensions from the films, by mechanical stimulation, for use as blood analog fluid. The average diameter of the protein particles was controlled and microscopic observations were done using a confocal microscope. The Casson's plot patterns of the suspension containing the protein particles were similar to those of human blood. The protein particles also worked well as ultrasound contrast agents in the ultrasound Doppler flow velocity measurements in the model experiments. Therefore, the protein particle system is a promising alternative for blood cells in artificial blood.


Prof. Dr. M. Quraish Shihab is an expert in the field of Ulumul Qur'an and one of the Muslim scientists who actively expresses his thoughts through writing. He has written at least 50 books and received positive responses from the public. Some of his works are in the best seller category and printed many times. "Tafsir Al-Misbah" is his spectacular work which consists of fifteen volumes. This article expresses his thoughts on dakwah. The author examines several of his books that discuss the dakwah and its interpretation of the concept or method of preaching the Qur'an. The results of this study found that he divided the dakwah in two parts, namely al-Ittisal Ghairu al-Lafdzy and al-Ittisal al-lafdzy. Likewise, based on the chronology of the verse about the dakwah command to the Prophet, he concluded that the content and methods cannot be separated from the preacher. Similarly, the dakwah content is not out of date then the breadth of absolute insight, that is what the first verse hinted down. In terms of the method of dakwah, he distinguishes according to the conditions of mad'u based on the interpretation of surah An-Nahl verse 125. In terms of content, he does not agree with some preachers such as a description of the events of the migration of the Prophet Muhammad who emphasized the supernatural dimension. Furthermore he argued verse 120 of Surah Al-Baqarah as a basis for apostasy efforts, and verse 33 of Surah Ar-Rahman as a commandment to seek knowledge as often preached by some preachers. This article is expected to add to the treasury of knowledge, especially the guidance of the Koran (Al-Qur'an) in the implementation of dakwah so that it can be accepted by both Muslim and non-Muslim as dakwah objects


T ype 2 diabetes is associated with poor performance in some aspects of cognition in a middle-aged cohort from the UK's Whitehall II study. According to a study reported in Neurology, the association between diabetes and cognitive function extends to middle-aged adults. said that the findings are important for two reasons. First, diabetes itself is associated with cognitive decline. Second, as the incidence of diabetes in younger age groups increases, there are implications for the management of diabetes in these groups, they said. ASSOCIATION IN YOUNGER ADULTS While the association between type 2 diabetes and poorer cognitive function was demonstrated in a number of studies among older participants, the association in younger cohorts is not well examined, the investigators wrote. " With the Whitehall II study we were able to expand on the research associating diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance [IGT] with cognitive performance , by examining this relation in a younger sample , a mostly middle-aged cohort of men and women. " The Whitehall II study looked at cognition across various domains and assessed diabetes by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) on two separate occasions. Patients were recruited between 1985 and 1988 from 20 London-based civil service departments. Diabetes status was determined from OGTT performed in 1992 to 1993 and 1997 to 1999 (phases 3 and 5, respectively) and from self-reported diagnosis of diabetes in a baseline questionnaire in 1989 (phase 2), phase 3, 1995 (phase 4) and phase 5 of the study. The researchers administered cognitive tests that were measured at phase 5 in 4,020 men and 1,627 women. These patients were free of stroke and had a mean age of 56 years. The cognitive tests involved five standard tasks, including a verbal memory test, the Alice Heim 4 inductive reasoning test, the Mill Hill verbal meaning test, and phonemic and semantic fluency tests (Table 1). LACK OF STANDARD CRITERIA " There is a lack of standard criteria to judge poor performance in standard cognitive tests and assign clinical significance, " the investigators wrote. " We have adopted a previously used approach that identifies poor cogni-tive performance as that being in the worst sex-specific quintile. " At phase 5, a total of 208 men (5%) and 101 women (6%) had diabetes and 405 men (10%) and 192 women (12%) had IGT. The patients with diabetes had an increased risk of poor performance on the Alice Heim 4 test …


The effect of seeds treated with different dosages PP333 and spraying different concentration PP333 in 7.5 leaf stage on grain yield and quality of weak gluten wheat Ningmai 9 were discussed.The results indicated that seeds treated with PP333 and spraying in 7.5 leaf stage could effectively control the length of bottom internodes,also obviously decrease plant height.The former increased yield by enhancing grain number and weight,while the latter increased yield by enhancing spikelet number,grain number and weight.Both of them decreased grain protein content,wet gluten content and sedimentation value,and had different effects on farinograph parameters.The experiment also showed that effect of PP333 on grain yield and quality was not linear.


Shuhe hydraulic power plant is a large scale power plant, whose operation may impose an influence on reservoir bank stability and railway roadbed stability on both slopes of the reservoir. So we must analyse and assess reservoir bank and railway roadbed stability. Available methods on slope stability analysis are in large number, but no a method which is superior to others in any cases. Based on the local geologic settings and combined the lithology and structure features, comprehensive analysis was carried out using prediction for reservoir bank caving, fuzziness analysis, stability mechanical analysis, and numerical simulation.


Introduction: Diclofenac (DIC), a phenylacetic acid compound which belongs to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), is generally used for the treatment of various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, acute muscle pain conditions and osteoarthritis. Overdose of DIC can lead to renal injuries in both experimental animal and human. Our research was done to assess the protective role of silymarin on renal damage induced by DIC in rats. Methods: Thirty-two Wistar rats were assigned to four groups (n=8/group). Group 1 was control group; animals in group 2 were administrated DIC; Groups 3 and 4 administrated DIC plus silymarin with doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, orally (p.o), respectively. Various biochemical, molecular, and histological parameters were evaluated in serum and tissue homogenate. Results: In the second group, the levels of kidney catalase (CAT), vitamin C and superoxide dismutase (SOD) remarkably reduced (P < 0.05) relative to the control group. Also, urea, creatinine (Cr), malondialdehyde (MDA), serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and gene expression of TNF-α in this group were noticeably elevated (P < 0.05) relative to the control group. Treatment with silymarin caused a remarkable elevation (P < 0.05) in vitamin C, SOD, CAT and a remarkable reduction (P < 0.05) in the content of MDA, urea, Cr, TNF-α gene expression and serum TNF-α in comparison with second group. Histological injuries were also ameliorated by silymarin administration. Conclusion: The results confirm that silymarin has an ameliorative role against renal damage and oxidative stress induced by DIC in male rats.


In the autumn of 1966, Congress enacted the Presidential E ection Campaign Fund Act.x The act is still the law of the land, in a manner of speaking. But since the legislature can undo what is done and can, like the courts, accomplish such a feat without admitting it, Congress got rid of the act seven months after it was passed by making it "inoperative."2 The first of these two statutes i popularly known as the Long Act. It was adopted as an amendment tothe "Christmas Tree" bill, i.e., the Foreign Investors Tax Act of 1966. Along with other nongermane matters the campaign financing measure had been added to the Foreign Investors Tax Bill and, on October 22, 1966, passed the Senate in the very last hours of the Eighty-ninth Congress, with half the senators already away campaigning. Herbert E. Alexander attributes the enactment to the "persuasive, skilled, determined and powerful" advocacy of Senator Russell Long, chairman of the Sen-


A QTL detection experiment was organized in a backcross Sarda X Lacaune sheep resource population. The aim of this experiment was primaril y the search for loci influencing milk production and several other traits including wool traits through a whole genome scan on 968 females from 10 sire families. Ten fleece character istics: greasy fleece weight, length of long and fine wool as well as fibre diameter (mean and C V), fibre curvature (mean and CV) and medullation content (coarse and other medullated fi bres) using OFDA 100 methodology were measured on 892 6-months old females. For QTL detection, the Illumina OvineSNP50 beadchip that provided 43,276 SNP markers after quality control was used. Within and across families analyses were performed with the QTLMAP software. The statistical techniques used were linkage analysis (LA), linkage disequilibrium analysis (LD) and joint linkage and association analysis (LDLA) using interval mapping. High significant QTL (p<0.001 at genome wide) affecting 7 wool traits: greasy fleece weight, fibre diameter (mean and CV), Fibre length, medullation content and CV of fibre c urvature were found on chromosome 25 within a 2cM interval suggestting that one or some genes with major effect on fleece characteristics are located on this chromosomal seg ment. Other high significant QTL's (p<0.001 at genome wide) influencing medullation content and, fibre length on chromosome 20 and 15 respectively were also detected. Other pu tative QTL's (p< 0.01 at chromosome wide) were also observed on chromosome 3 and 6, 13 and 18, and 14 for greasy fleece weight, fibre length, and fibre curvature respectiv ely. The linkage disequilibrium analysis and joint LDLA analysis confirmed the locations of the QTL mapped on OAR25, 20 15, 13 and 6 and all QTL found were discussed.


This issue begins with an unusual paper for Computer Gruphics Forum on hardware. Fontenier and Gross trace recent developments in the design of graphics processors and show how the improvements in IC technology have lead to the distribution of processing load across modern systems. They argue that the most important development is probably the video RAM in facilitating this change and they go on to describe their design for a graphics processor based on the clear separation of the generation of graphics and the management of the memory describing the current image. As promised the bulk of the issue contains the refereed papers given at the 6'h Annual EUROGRAPHICS (UK) Conference. Just to prove that we get more hardware papers than the above statements would imply the first UK conference paper is another on hardware. this time by Bland and Bonnet describing the novel use of Digital Signal Processors within the graphics system. They demonstrate substantial speedups using the DSP in parallel to a conventional microprocessor controller for traditional graphics pipeline operations (e.g. transformations). Whilst dedicated special purpose hardware is undoubtedly quicker they have found that the use of DSP's allows great flexibility in prototyping systems using new algorithms.


Esoteric knowledge seems no longer secret in Western contemporary society. It is part of consumer culture and 'secret wisdom' is no longer the privilege of an aristocracy of culture such as mystics or dervishes; it appears to be within every individual's reach. Exploring this issue with the works of Simmel and Baudrillard, this article will attempt firstly to understand the notion of secrecy, secondly to assess its place in consumer culture - or what Baudrillard would call hyperreality - and finally to evaluate its implication - that is that the proliferation of 'secret wisdom' might lead to a re-enchantment of Western society. However, the over-proliferation of this wisdom might have a totally reverse outcome in hyperreality. It could lead to a blase attitude among some (over)consumers of secrecy and thus, paradoxically, towards a feeling of disenchantment.


This article explores the strategic activities and successes of the Canadian National Railway, which underwent privatization 18 years ago. The railroad has expanded its primary focus on Canada to include much of North America, touching eight Canadian provinces and 16 U.S. states. The author highlights CN's financial performance and capital investment program. Also discussed are CN's collaborations with the Hallifax Port Authority and its two container terminal operators to create reliable international shipping supply chains. A joint venture with Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) to develop the Senate Avenue Intermodal Terminal in Indianapolis, Indiana and CN's additional plans for system expansion are also covered.


Ion beams exhibit a finite range and an inverted depth-dose profile (Bragg peak). These favourable physical properties allow superior tumour-dose conformality. However, they introduce sensitivity to range uncertainties. Although these uncertainties are typically taken into account in treatment planning, delivery of the intended treatment has to be ensured to prevent underdosage of the tumour or overdosage of surrounding critical structures. Thus, dedicated Quality Assurance procedures are desirable to provide in-vivo range verification before or during ion therapeutic irradiation.


Mechanical behavior of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) under direct shear is investigated by the double‐shear tests. The main test variables are the volume ratio (0%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%) of polyvinyl alcohol fiber and strength grade of ECC. The failure mode, load‐slip response and shear mechanism of ECC under direct shear are analyzed and discussed, respectively. The test results indicate that the failure mode, direct shear strength, shear slip and ductility (toughness) are influenced and been improved significantly by the incorporation of fibers. With the compressive strength of ECC increases, the direct shear strength increases but the post‐peak ductility decreases considerably. The shear mechanisms of ECC is analyzed according to the failure mode. Based on the typical load‐slip curve of ECC under direct shear, a set of size independent toughness indices including the equivalent shear strength and two toughness indices are recommended for evaluating the shear toughness of ECC.


Knowledge of scatter generated by bowtie filter is crucial for providing artifact free images on the wide-cone low-dose CT scanners. We investigate and determine the scatter level and artifact generated by the widely used bowtie filter in a wide-cone low-dose CT system. Our approach is to use Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the scatter level generated by a bowtie filter made of a material with low atomic number. First, major components of CT systems, such as source, prepatient collimator, flat filter, bowtie filter, body phantom, and an optional post patient collimator (anti-scatter grid), are built into a 3D model. The scattered photon fluence and the primary transmitted photon fluence are simulated by MCNP5 - a Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. With the increased interests in the low dose and wide coverage CT technology, a tube potential of 80 kVp with more than 10 degree of cone angle is selected. The biased sinogram is created by superimposing scatter signal generated by the bowtie filter onto the primary x-ray beam signal. Finally, images with artifacts are reconstructed with the biased signal. Methods to reduce bowtie filter scatter are also discussed and demonstrated.


A risk assessment of gamma radiation and radon gas exposure is carried out in the uranium exploration tunnel area to protect workers from the ionizing radiation hazards in the workplace. Measurement of gamma-ray exposure and radon gas concentrations were carried out in Remaja uranium exploration tunnel and around the workers camp in Kalan Area, West Kalimantan. Gamma exposure was measured using a gamma survey meter while radon (222Rn/220Rn) using RADUET passive detector. The concentrations of radon and thoron gas inside the tunnel generally are high, ranging from 188.84 to 495.86 Bq/m 3 (375.80 Bq/m 3 average) and 58.07 to 340.73 Bq/m 3 (189.80 Bq/m 3 average) respectively. These values are above the radon reference level (300 Bq/m 3 ) which is recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP). The annual gamma effective dose reaches 147.88mSv inside the tunnel. This value is exceeding the 20 mSv dose limit value for workers. It is necessary to control the exposure by fulfilled the principle of " as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA) and external radiation protection to secure workers inside the tunnel from a health issue caused by gamma-ray, radon, and thoron exposures.


Investigation of exotic mesons composed of four valence quarks, i.e., tetraquarks is one of the interesting and intriguing problems on agenda of high energy physics. Experimental data collected by various collaborations and achievements in their theoretical explanations made these states an important part of hadron spectroscopy [1– 5]. But the nonstandard mesons discovered till now and considered as candidates to exotics are wide resonances which decay strongly to conventional mesons. These circumstances obscure their four-quark bound-state nature and inspire appearance of alternative dynamical models to account for observed effects. Therefore, theoretical and experimental studies of 4-quark states, which are stable against the strong interactions can be decisive for distinguishing dynamical effects and genuine multiquark states from each another. The problems of stability of 4-quark mesons were already addressed in the original papers [6–8]. The main conclusion made in these works was that, if a mass ratio mQ/mq is large, then the heavyQ and light q quarks may constitute stable QQq̄q̄ compounds. The stabile nature of the axial-vector tetraquark T bb;ud was predicted in Ref.


ObjectiveTo compare Behçet's syndrome (BS) cohorts from the US and Japan in terms of rates of concordance with the International Study Group (ISG) criteria and Japanese criteria, disease manifestations, and treatment.MethodsAll BS patients seen at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in the US and the Kameda Medical Center and St. Luke's International Hospital in Japan between 2003 and 2010 were included. Diagnosis of BS was made on the basis of clinical manifestations and the clinical decisions of experienced specialists familiar with BS. We classified the patients into complete and incomplete types based on their symptoms; both complete or incomplete types were assumed to fulfil the Japanese criteria.ResultsA total of 769 patients (US n = 634, Japan n = 135) were reviewed. 61.5 % in the US and 63.7 % in Japan fulfilled the ISG criteria. Similarly, there was no difference in the proportions of US and Japanese patients who fulfilled the Japanese criteria. Japanese patients were less likely to be female and to have genital ulcers, but were more likely to have epididymitis and pulmonary disease. Significantly more patients were treated with colchicine, sulfasalazine/mesalazine, and NSAIDs in Japan, while significantly more patients in the US received first-line immunosuppressants.ConclusionsThe concordance rates for ISG and Japanese criteria fulfillment in the US and Japan were not significantly different. These findings could help to clarify regional differences in the diagnostic and clinical features of BS.


General directory for Galveston, Texas includes address listings for businesses and individuals as well as advertisements from local businesses. According to the title page, it contains "a complete business directory and street guide."


The authors believe that,since its introduction to China in 1980s,property theory has become one of the most important concerns of economists and been widely employed in economic reforms.With the deepening of economic system reforms,the application and function of property theory in enterprise will be more and more important.In certain degree,the accounting equalities can reflect the application of property theory in enterprises,because enterprises have their own right to arrange their operation and pursue the target of profit maximization,in current situation.The authors put forward that,the thought of property embodied in accounting equalities is only a part of property economics,and what accounting reflect is how to exchange rights to rights and interests.


This study examines the trends, patterns and policy options of child labour in Bangladesh particularly during the 1990s. The striking finding in the trend and incidence of child labour in Bangladesh is that while child labour is on a declining trend in other South Asian countries – India and Pakistan and in the world, it has been increasing in Bangladesh. This increasing trend in the incidence of child labour particularly focuses on the irrelevance or inadequacy of existing child labour laws in Bangladesh. This study suggests that a combination of policies would be appropriate for reducing child labour. These include employment generation schemes that lead to economic prosperity for the household, compulsory schooling for children, school enrolment subsidy, improving school infrastructure, the quality of education, flexibility in school schedules and adult literacy campaigns that increase community or social awareness, especially of the adult female.


The present invention provides for oral inhalation into the lungs, polyene composition was spray-dried. Polyene antifungal composition demonstrate superior aerosol properties, during spray drying, showed no polyene decomposition enough to clearly recognize, and useful in both the treatment and prevention of fungal infections of fungal infections and systemic lung it is. The method of the present invention may be in a form suitable for oral inhalation into the lungs, a process for preparing a polyene powder spray dried, the method comprising the steps of: (i) acidifying solvent polyene antifungal compound was dissolved in an acidic polyene containing solution process for forming a, and (ii) with the polyene-containing solution was spray-dried, it contains polyene degradation products of less than about 10%, and characterized by more jet doses than 60% attached, including the step of forming an inhalable dry powder.


The invention discloses a solid semiconductor light source tube comprising an outer shell, an inner shell arranged in the outer shell, a circuit board fixed between the inner and outer shells and provided with a light source device and end units arranged on two ends of the outer shell and two ends of the inner shell, wherein a closed ring-shaped heat-conducting cavity is formed by the outer shell, the inner shell and the end units; and heat-conducting liquid is stored in the closed ring-shaped heat-conducting cavity. The solid semiconductor light source tube has good heat-radiating effect because the heat from the light source device and the circuit board is conducted to the heat-conducting liquid, conducted to the outer shell by the heat-conducting liquid and directly conducted to the outside by the outer shell; meanwhile, the tube has the advantages of simple structure relative to a metal conduction structure and low processing difficulty in manufacturing processes so that the cost of time is saved; and moreover, the heat-conducting liquid can be fully contacted with the light source device and the circuit board because of the translucency of the heat-conducting liquid so that the effective radiating area and the radiating efficiency are increased.


A single layer ultrafiltration(UF) ceramic membrane was prepared using boehmite sol. Boehmite was synthesized using a typical sol-gel process with optimization of the viscosity, pH, molar ratio of aluminum isopropoxide(AIP) and HNO 3 . Boehmite sol was coated on a microfiltration(MF) support using the dip-coating method. MF support was dipped into the boehmite sol with a withdrawal speed of 5 mm/s and was maintained for 10 s in the boehmite sol, resulting in a uniform UF membrane layer of 10 μm thickness. The porosity of the obtained membrane was measured and found to be 41.2%; the pore size was found to range from 80~100 nm, corresponding to the pore size of the UF membrane. The flux of the obtained membrane was initially 540 L/m 2 h and approximately 85% of the initial flux was recovered using a periodic back-flushing process.


This chapter proposes to apply combinatorial optimization to past military conflicts with the aim of producing quantitative data that help explaining history. To do this, we can go beyond the classical "problem solving" vision of operations research that focuses on algorithmic development and computation analysis to privilege solution analysis and the needs of matching the obtained solution to the reality we aim to represent, study and analyze. In particular, we propose an iterative logic search method that aims to identify and analyze military strategic logic in terms of logistics. Then, to illustrate it, an application to the French troop assignment plan (Plan XVII of Joffre, 1932) is made to analyze which could be the subjacent logic behind the defense plan of French troops and state on the consequences of the optimization choices in terms of regional distribution of troops. A discussion of the proposed framework and the directions to generalize it will be presented as a conclusion.


To assess the association between serum pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A (PAPP‐A) and free β‐human chorionic gonadotropin (free β‐hCG) in the first trimester and perinatal complications in post‐date pregnancies.


The use of AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) is rapidly expanding in various applications and industries, meeting the growing demand for automated material handling systems. However, AGV control and navigation remain a challenge. To address this issue, robotics simulators such as ROS (Robot Operating System) have become widely used, reducing the cost and time of checking robot performance. Furthermore, the integration of virtual reality technology into the robotics field has facilitated the study of various robot behaviors in realistic environments, replicating the robot's real-life size and dimensions. In this study, the TurtleBot2i and RAZBOT AGV robot platforms were integrated into the 3D Unity environment and controlled using ROS. Using Unity as a simulator for the robot's working environment offers several benefits, including high-quality graphics and a detailed examination of the robot's behavior. The results of the study demonstrate the accurate simulation and control of the AGV platforms in both ROS and Unity environments.


The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is to orbit the S-class asteroid 433 Eros for about one year beginning on February 14, 2000. The X-ray/gamma-ray O, Mg, Al, Si, Fe, and K; possibly H, Ca, S, Ti, and Th) of Eros with a spatial resolution ranging from a few km for X-rays to approx. 25% of the asteroid's surface for gamma-rays. The major scientific goals for the NEAR XGRS are to relate the composition of Eros to known classes of meteorites, to assess compositional heterogeneity and to identify geological processes that have occurred on the asteroid. Comparing remote-sensing data from asteroids to laboratory data from meteorites requires that the latter be well determined and understood. How well particular classes of meteorites can be identified as analogues of Eros depends not only on the error of the XGRS measurement, but also on the spread in abundances observed among different members of a given meteorite class. To prepare for the return of XGRS data from Eros, we have compiled a large database of bulk elemental compositions of meteorites, using data from a wide variety of published and unpublished sources. Custom software was developed to easily extract statistical information and make plots of data from different meteorite classes. Here, we use the meteorite compositional database to investigate which abundances and abundance ratios, of those measureable by the NEAR XGRS, are most diagnostic for distinguishing meteorite classes and identifying geological processes that have occurred on the samples' parent asteroids.


Highly oriented lithium niobate ( LiNbO3) thin films were fabricated using the sol–gel spin coating method. The effects of the sol–gel processing variables, such as reflux time, crystallization temperature and substrate, on the development of texture on the thin film were investigated. The film made from the solution refluxed for 5 h and deposited on a sapphire (012) substrate showed highly oriented growth at the crystallization temperature of 500° C. The film had homogeneous and pore-free microstructure. The film made from the solution refluxed for 1 h showed only preferred orientation and porous microstructure under the same processing conditions. The thin films deposited on MgO(100) substrates were polycrystalline. The crystallization temperature and the film thickness significantly affected the crystallinity and the orientation of the films.


Background: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces one of the highest prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the world. However, there are no credible local data on the trends and future projections of the disease, and the relevant international studies underestimated the true prevalence rates. This thesis used epidemiological modelling to study the trends in T2DM prevalence in Saudi Arabia, predicted its future levels, and quantified the impact of reducing some risk factors on the disease prevalence trends. Methods: This thesis developed and validated the "Saudi IMPACT Diabetes Forecast Model", which integrates data on the population, obesity and smoking prevalence trends in Saudis aged ≥25 years to estimate the trends in T2DM prevalence (1992-2022) using a Markov modelling approach. The model considers different reasonable scenarios of future trends in obesity prevalence, and incorporates a number of parameters to model the disease epidemiology. These parameters include the estimated diabetes incidence, case-fatality, total mortality, relative risk of diabetes if obese, and relative risk of diabetes if a smoker. The model data inputs and parameters were obtained from different sources, including local departments, medical literature and assumptions. The model results were validated against local data from the STEPwise survey in 2005, and against the model of the Global Burden of Disease study, where the model produced reasonably close results to both of these studies. Results: The prevalence of T2DM among the Saudi population aged ≥25 years was estimated to rise substantially during the 30-year period of 1992-2022 from 8.5% to 39.5%, assuming some levelling off of obesity trends (capping), or to 44.1%, assuming uncapped increasing obesity trends. In men, T2DM prevalence was estimated to increase from 8.7% to 39.2% with capped obesity trends, or to 41.3% with continuing linear increase in obesity trends. In women, T2DM prevalence was estimated to increase from 8.2% to 39.8% with capping of obesity trends, or to 47.7% without such a capping. The model showed that if the trends in obesity start to decline by 10% in 12 years (2010-2022), a relative reduction of 13% in diabetes prevalence could be achieved. If the prevalence of obesity was halted at the 2010 levels, a 10% relative reduction in diabetes prevalence could be attained by 2022.


Herein, we demonstrate the effects of using 4-cyano-4-[(dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl] pentanoic acid (CDPA) simultaneously as RAFT chain transfer agent (RAFT-CTA) and (co)stabilizer in a miniemulsion polymerization process. The novelty of this report includes use this RAFT-CTA without modification, such as macro-CTAs, block, or random copolymers. Using an optimized polymerization procedure, it is possible to use distinct formulations and therefore obtain stable latexes comprised of well-defined spherical nanoparticles. The polymerization kinetics and final polymer properties are directly correlated to the function of the CDPA in the system: RAFT-CTA and/or (co)stabilizer. Typically, the nanoparticles present average diameters less than 150 nm. The molar mass properties and the kinetic profiles confirm to an expected RAFT process, although some deviations are observable when using the CDPA as only stabilizer. These deviations are a function of the amount of CDPA present within the nano-droplets, or adsorption on its surface. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 1687–1695


The results of this survey indicate that Vitamins B12 and B$ are of iinportance for the growth and development of Ulva fasciata plants. Accordingly the growth rate of these plants is greatly dependent on the amount of both Vitamins present in the outer medium. Vitamin B6 promoted growth and nitrogen metabolism rather than Vitamin B12 at the same concentration. In general the effect of both Vitamins on fat and sugar synthesis was not elaborate.


This introduction situates the work of Zavaleta in the field of Bolivian intellectual history, Latin American Studies, and Latin American Marxism. It also explains the objectives of the symposium and the logic underlying its constituent parts.


Responding to questions increasingly posed by finders regarding what works best in assisting small businesses and what impacts are caused by program interventions, this paper aims to help program administrators answer these questions. Fo- cusing on business development service provision, specific con- ceptual measures and quantitative variables are presented with ex- amples in an effort to provide some guidance for collecting and analyzing data. The paper elucidates how program planners may emphasize the impact of their interventions, thereby explaining to finders what works best and how to prove it. It presents two ma- jor reflections about measures that yield robust results. The first conceptual measure explored relates to measuring changes in knowledge or empowerment levels among program participants. The second area examines how to demonstrate that program ser- vices may have led to a change or difference in businesses as- sisted by gauging business characteristics and sales or costs. Pre- sented together, findings gene~ated from both quantitative and qualitative methods are the most persuasive and compelling means of informing audiences about the effects of enterprise de- velopment programs.


The invention relates to the field of semiconductor materials and particularly relates to a process for producing thermoelectric conversion materials. The process comprises the steps of (A), mixing, by mass fraction, 55%-60% of bismuth (Bi), 20%-30% of selenium (Se) and 10%-20% of tellurium (Te) to constitute raw materials; and (B) performing vacuum melting treatment on the raw materials to obtain BiSeTe metallic compounds which are the semiconductor thermoelectric conversion materials. According to the process, a method of vacuum melting is used, in traditional bismuth selenide materials, metal alloys of bismuth selenide are uniformly doped with the VI group element of stibium, the BiSeTe metallic compounds are formed, and energy band gaps of the materials are changed, so that the concentration of electrical carrier free 'electrons' inside the semiconductor alloys is increased, the thermoelectric performance of the materials, that is, the so-called ZT parameter, is greatly improved, and the doped element is free from segregation or crystal defects.