Cloud Systems can be used to enable data sharing capabilities and this is an abundant benefit to the user. As Cloud computing is a modern era computing technique that has a grater future and bringing a lot of benefit to the information technology. There are some security requirements when dealing with cloud storage. Cryptography is used to make sure that the data is protected. The various algorithms used for cryptography must fulfill the properties of confidentiality, authentication, availability, and integrity. In this paper, we have discussed on the data sharing services of cloud systems and surveyed on various cryptographic algorithms that are used during sharing data securely over the cloud.


This paper summarizes the design of the electro-mechanical and software implementation of a single-ray LiDAR-scanner system for the dense 3D reconstruction of static scenes. A test bench was designed aiming to acquire precise distance measurements, using a single-ray Garmin Lite V3 LiDAR, and transform them into a high-resolution point cloud. The goal is to demonstrate the algorithm behind the laser: time-of-flight based 3D reconstruction technique. The yawing scan and pitching scan methods (rotation of the sensor around two orthogonal axis (yaw and pitch)) are used for the current application. A microcontroller application based on the Arduino Uno board was designed and implemented to acquire data from the LiDAR at different positions. Since the LiDAR is a one-dimensional sensor, the electro-mechanical setup must be capable of achieving the second and third dimensions. The information from the scanner is collected based on the spherical coordinates: 9-polar rotation angle (yaw), $\varphi$–azimuthal angle (pitch) and r-Euclidian distance. An accelerometer based PID control algorithm was developed to set the sensor at an initial azimuthal angle, prior to the scan. A desktop application was designed to collect the information from the sensor. It includes a graphical user interface used for setting the scan parameters or commencing a scan routine. A data processing application takes the acquired measurements and calculates the Cartesian coordinates of each pixel based on the parameters of the scan. A3D reconstruction of the scan field of view is generated. The systematic errors of the system have also been calculated using a static reference scenario. Additional experiments in several static scenarios were performed for the quantitative and qualitative assessment of the results.


Present situation of international trade of traditional Chinese medicine, influence of electrical commerce on trade of traditional Chinese medicine and laws and regulations related to electrical commerce in our country are analyzed and generalized, hoping that it can provide reference for the trading development and research of traditional Chinese medicine that is based on the electrical commerce.


The lack of mechanistic understanding of claimed properties of ozone — It has been suggested in the literature that ozone itself can function as the sole treatment of a cooling tower, in which case it must provide corrosion and scale control. Case histories which have been presented are generally inadequately documented and do not have enough experimental control to conclusively assign these properties to the application of ozone. Many of the explanations which have been presented are hypothetical and/or not consistent with the principles of objective science. For example, it has been asserted that it is not possible to realistically study the properties of ozone in the laboratory. If this is true, then it logically follows that ozone behaves in some extra-natural manner in cooling towers.


In a nondegenerate syste, the abelian Berry's phase will never cause transitions among the Hamiltonian's eigenstate. However, in a degenerate syatem, it is well known that the state transition can be caused by the non-abelian Berry phase. Actually, in a such a system, the phase factor is not always nonabelian. Even in the case that the phase is a nondiagonal matrix, it still can be an abelian phase and can cause the state transitions. We then propose a simple scheme to detect such an effect of the Berry phase to the degenerate states by using the optical entangled pair state. In this scheme, we need not control any external parameters during the quantum state evolution.


Background and Objectives: Abdominal wound dehiscence is a very serious post operative complication associated with high morbidity and mortality. This study is conducted in 36 patients admitted in Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital, attached to Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati, who have developed postoperative abdominal wound Dehiscence. The Aim of this study is to :1. To identify the risk factors involved in causing abdominal wound dehiscence. 2. To identify the disease involved in causing abdominal wound dehiscence. 3. To study incidence of wound dehiscence in elective and emergency operations and also incidence based on type of operation. 4. To suggest preventive measures for wound dehiscence. Methods: All cases which developed wound dehiscence after operation and all cases with wound dehiscence in S.V.R.R. Government general Hospital. After taking proper consent a detailed clinical history was taken regarding the significant risk factors and whether they have undergone elective or emergency operation, the type of disease involved. A total of 36 cases are included in the study. Results: The incidence of abdominal wound dehiscence is more common in male patients around the age group of 45 years. Patients with peritonitis due to duodenal and appendicular perforation carried higher risk of abdominal wound dehiscence Patients with surgical sounds classified as contaminated and dirty wound has higher incidence of abdominal wound dehiscence. Post operative abdominal wound dehiscence is more common in patients operated in emergency. Patients with anemia (Hb% < 10g%) and BMI more than 22 had higher incidence of abdominal wound dehiscence. Conclusion: Postoperative abdominal wound dehiscence can be prevented by improving the nutritional status of the patient, strict aseptic precautions, improving patients respiratory pathology to avoid postoperative cough


Abstract The growth rate of the Phycomyces sporangiophore fluctuates under constant environmental conditions. To test for deterministic non-linearity in these growth-rate fluctuations, we applied variants of several recently developed techniques. We found that wild-type sporangiophores have a significant non-linear component, whereas non-linear contributions to the growth fluctuations of a stiff ( mad E) mutant are less significant. This difference may be caused by the dominance of a linear 10·4 min rhythm in the mutant's growth rate. Previous system analysis studies, which involved stimulation by dynamically changing light intensity, identified a non-linearity near the input of the Phycomyces sensory system. Our results, which involve analysis of growth-rate fluctuations under constant environmental conditions, demonstrate the presence of deterministic non-linearity even in the absence of sensory stimulation.


Andrew HUSSEY: The Beast at Heaven's Gate: Georges Bataille and the Art of Transgression Boris BELAY: Le Secret du corps de Madame Edwarda (Bataille de la philosophie a la limite de l'obscene) Martin CROWLEY: L'eschatologie trouee de Ma Mere Lina FRANCO: Deux ecrivains face a l'histoire: George Bataille et Elio Vittorini. La hantise du politique Patrick FFRENCH: Dirty Life Paul HEGARTY: As Above, So Below Informe/Sublime/Abject Andrew HUSSEY: 'The Slaughterhouse of Love': The Corpse of 'Laure' Ian JAMES: From Recuperation to Simulacrum: Klossowski's Readings of George Bataille Cathy MACGREGOR: The Eye of the Storm: Female Representation in Bataille's Madame Edwarda and Histoire de l'oeil John PHILLIPS: 'The Law of the Mother': Masochism, Fetishism and Subjectivity in George Bataille's Histoire de l'oeil Malcolm POLLARD: The Use-Value of Georges Bataille: Philippe Sollers and the Act of Writing Richard WILLIAMS: Informe and 'Anti Form' Notes on Contributors


Renewable energy is developing rapidly and gaining more and more commercial
viability. High reliability of the generation system is essential to maximize the
output power. The power inverter is an important unit in this system and is
believed to be one of the most unreliable parts. In the case of wind power
generation, especially in off-shore wind, when the system reliability requirement
is high, a technique to predict the inverter lifetime is invaluable as it would help
the inverter designer optimize his design for minimal maintenance.
Previous researchers studying inverter lifetime prediction, focus either at device
level such as device fatigue damage models, or at system level which require
experimental data for their selected device. This work presents a new method
to estimate the inverter lifetime from a given mission profile within a reasonable
simulation time. Such model can be used as a converter design tool or an on-line
lifetime estimation tool after being configured to a real converter system.
The key contribution of this work is to link the physics of the power devices to a
large scale system simulation within a reasonable framework of time. With this
technique, the system down time can be reduced and therefore more power can
be generated. Also, the failure damage to the system is avoided which reduces
the maintenance cost. A power cycling test is designed to gather the lifetime
data of a selected IGBT module. Die-attach solder fatigue is found out to be the
dominant failure mode of this IGBT module. The accuracy of widely accepted
Miner's rule, which accumulates damage linearly, is discussed and a nonlinear
accumulation method is promoted to predict the lifetime of power inverters.


SUMMARY Fresh water is vital to human life and economic well-being, and societies extract vast quantities of water from rivers, lakes, wetlands, and underground aquifers to supply the requirements of cities, farms, and industries. Our need for fresh water has long caused us to overlook equally vital benefits of water that remains in stream to sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems. There is growing recognition, however, that functionally intact and biologically complex freshwater ecosystems provide many economically valuable commodities and services to society. These services include flood control, transportation, recreation, purification of human and industrial wastes, habitat for plants and animals, and production of fish and other foods and marketable goods. Over the long term, intact ecosystems are more likely to retain the adaptive capacity to sustain production of these goods and services in the face of future environmental disruptions such as climate change. These ecosystem benefits are costly and often impossible to replace when aquatic systems are degraded. For this reason, deliberations about water allocation should always include provisions for maintaining the integrity of freshwater ecosystems. Scientific evidence indicates that aquatic ecosystems can be protected or restored by recognizing the following: • Rivers, lakes, wetlands, and their connecting ground waters are literally the " sinks " into which landscapes drain. Far from being isolated bodies or conduits, freshwater ecosystems are tightly linked to the watersheds or catchments of which each is a part, and they are greatly influenced by human uses or modifications of land as well as water. The stream network itself is important to the continuum of river processes. • Dynamic patterns of flow that are maintained within the natural range of variation will promote the integrity and sustainability of freshwater aquatic systems. • Aquatic ecosystems additionally require that sediments and shorelines, heat and light properties, chemical and nutrient inputs, and plant and animal populations fluctuate within natural ranges, neither experiencing excessive swings beyond their natural ranges nor being held at constant levels. Failure to provide for these natural requirements results in loss of species and ecosystem services in wetlands, rivers, and lakes. Scientifically defining requirements for protecting or restoring aquatic ecosystems, however, is only a first step. New policy and management approaches will also be required. Current piecemeal and consumption-oriented approaches to water policy cannot solve the problems confronting our increasingly degraded freshwater ecosystems. To begin to redress how water is viewed and managed in the United States, …


Based on the radial basis function neural network,a non-linear dynamic model is established for a coal blending process.This paper presents the neuro-internal model-based optimal control strategy of mixed coal ash contents and the design of a distributed control system with Modbus Plus network technology.The application results from an automatic coal blending system in a coal dressing plant show that this control algorithm can control the mixed coal ash content effectively.


Newcastle-upon-Tyne bookseller William London produced his pioneering bibliographical text, A Catalogue of the Most Vendible Books in England, between 1657 and 1660.2 London's work was one of the earliest attempts to catalog all English-language books, at a time when booksellers and readers alike were scrambling to keep up with the output of printed matter. In his extended preface, London explained that he was offering his audience a new means of harnessing this typographic flood, a treasure map that would ensure that books did not end up buried in obscurity. To date scholars have largely limited their discussion of this catalog to these bibliographic contributions.3 However, as London makes clear in his introduction, he considered books to be far more than repositories of intangible learning; rather, they offered access to an important new kind of functional knowledge. London intended his catalog not only to convey information about the latest printed material to a broad audience-one that he would play a role in creating-but also to promote the very idea of knowledge as a practical tool.


In this letter, a global design of double protograph low-density parity-check (DP-LDPC) codes is proposed for joint source-channel coding (JSCC) system. The maximum number of degree-2 variable nodes (VNs), which is very important for the performance of the system, is determined from a global perspective that considers the joint protograph as a whole. Based on the allocation of degree-2 VNs, the new guidelines with this more comprehensive perspective are summarized and the global optimized DP-LDPC codes are designed. The simulation results that are in consistent with the joint protograph extrinsic information transfer (P-EXIT) analysis indicate that the optimized DP-LDPC codes have better performance compared with the existing re-designed DP-LDPC codes.


Two dye traces in 2005. Report includes geological and hydrogeological site descriptions, injection and sampling methods and a detailed interpretation including site figure with inferred groundwater flow paths and relationships to the Hinckley Fault system.


Gene families implicated in cancer and other genetic diseases have been greatly expanded through two rounds of whole-genome duplication (WGD) that occurred at the onset of jawed vertebrates. However, such gene duplicates are expected to lead to an enhanced susceptibility to genetic diseases, and thus their retention represents an evolutionary puzzle from a natural selection perspective. In this thesis, we have expanded classical population genetics models to reveal the non-adaptive mechanism through which such potentially deleterious ohnologs (WGD-duplicated genes) were retained in the vertebrate genomes. We have solved a deterministic haploid model, we have considered extensions to diploid genotypes, and we have analyzed population size effects and the impact of positive selection through a stochastic approach. The results demonstrate, consistently with available human cancer genome data, that ohnologs prone to dominant deleterious mutations are indirectly selected through purifying selection in post-WGD species, arisen through the ploidy incompatibility between post-WGD individuals and the rest of the pre-WGD population. Extending advanced Bayesian inference methods to quantify direct and indirect causal effects, we have found further supporting evidences for the direct role of the gene susceptibility to deleterious mutations on ohnolog retention. Our findings rationalize the evolutionary mechanism responsible for the expansion of ohnologs prone to dominant deleterious mutations, highlighting the role of WGD-induced speciation. Our extension of Bayesian inference methods paves the way for the identification of direct causal relationships in a huge variety of problems.


Ti-base lead dioxide electrode was successfully prepared by using electrodeposition method.Effect of current density,initial concentration of methyl orange,chloride ion concentration and pH value on the degradation rate of methyl orange was investigated.The results showed that the initial concentration of methyl orange and current density influenced the reaction rate constant greatly.The degradation rate could be up to 94.45% when the initial methyl orange solution was 30mg/L,the pH value was equal to 5,the current density was 21 mA/cm2 and the degradation time was 120 min.Adding chlorine ion made the indirect oxidation ability strengthened,the degradation rate could be up to 91.77% when the chloride ion concentration was 60mmol/L and the degradation time was 20min.


Summary The Gnangara Groundwater Mound, centred 38 km north of Perth, Western Australia, is a large, shallow unconfined aquifer that is currently under abstraction as part of the public metropolitan water supply. To investigate the impact of lowering groundwater levels on a Banksia woodland on the Mound, vegetation monitoring near a groundwater abstraction bore (known as P50) began 1 year before becoming operational. In February 1991, 2 years after abstraction commenced, extensive death of the Banksia overstorey was observed within close proximity of the bore, following a short period of high summer temperatures. The site was subsequently revisited and the understorey floristic composition, abundance and vigour of overstorey species resurveyed, and compared with data collected from a site under long-term monitoring and not currently influenced by abstraction. A lowering of groundwater level by 2.2 m at P50 between the summers of 1990 and 1991, resulting from the cumulative effects of abstraction and below average annual rainfall (low groundwater recharge), coincided with a loss of between 20 and 80% of adults of overstorey species and up to 64% of adults of understorey species within 200 m of the bore. Over a similar time period no significant decreases in the abundance of overstorey or understorey species were recorded in the monitored site not influenced by groundwater abstraction. Of the overstorey species, Holly-leaf Banksia (Banksia ilicifolia) displayed the greatest susceptibility and lowest net recovery following the abstraction event at P50. The negative impact of groundwater drawdown on Holly-leaf Banksia populations makes this overstorey species an important indicator of decreasing groundwater levels on the Gnangara Groundwater Mound. Water stress may have been the primary cause of vegetation death in close proximity to the P50 bore, although this would have been exacerbated by extreme summer temperatures (> 45°C) recorded during February 1991. The P50 scenario represents a localized response to an acute drawdown event, in association with other environmental factors, and provides invaluable information on the assessment of groundwater abstraction and poor groundwater recharge events on a Banksia woodland community. However, there are limitations in using the community response at P50 to manage the impact of drawdown events on other plant communities occurring on sandy, shallow aquifers.


Objective To investigate the relationship between serum ferritin levels and clinical advances in patients suffered HIV_(-1)/AIDS. Methods Serum ferritin levels were assayed in 24 patients suffering from HIV_(-1)/AIDS by Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (CLIA) method, and the correlations with severity of anemia and weight loss were evaluated in different clinical stages of the disease combined with other clinical and laboratory data. Result The AIDS patient group had the highest serum ferritin levels as compared with the ARC and AS patient groups (P0.01), and ARC group was higher than AS group (P0.01). In patients with weight losses of different degree, the serious weight loss group had the highest serum ferritin concentrations as compared to the mild weight loss or normal groups (P0.01). Serious and moderate anemia patients had higher serum ferritin level as compared with patients with mild or no anemia groups (P0.01 or P0.05). Conclusion The levels of serum ferritin rose with pathophysiologic deterioration in the HIV_(-1)/AIDS patients. Serum Ferritin level is a good indicator for the pathological progressive processes of HIV_(-1)/AIDS.


In this rich and sensible assessment of historians' practice and prospects, Allan Megill focuses on the obligation that historians have to support their accounts with evidence. He does this, first, by illustrating the difference between real and merely claimed evidence and, then, by giving an analysis of the underlying nature of evidence in historical accounts. Turning later to the question of how historians and their public should feel about diminishing unity (fragmentation) in historiography and the practices that generate it, Megill explains the sources of fragmentation and then argues that it doesn't matter whether historians are doing the same thing and/or doing it in the same way. What matters, rather, is whether they are doing interesting things and doing them well.


An all-digital phase locked loop (ADPLL) with a proposed time-to-digital converter (TDC) which has no delay cell is designed by the 0.13- μm CMOS process. The delay-cell-less TDC (DLTDC) that can suppress device noises and PVT mismatches is essential for wider bandwidth operations. Moreover, sub-gate TDC resolution can be achieved with the proposed DLTDC. A ring-VCO based digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO) which reduces 1/f noise is also proposed to enhance noise performance. The 2 MHz BW ADPLL which occupies 0.42 mm2 consumes 12 mA and its measured jitter is 4 psrms at 2.4 GHz.


design of complex chips requires acquisition and integration of reusable IP blocks. Effective reuse of an IP block requires documenting the designer's understanding of the block, particularly its interface requirements and any assumptions about its internal operation. Assertions embedded in the design can capture this knowledge so that any errors in the configuration or use of the IP will be caught quickly. Sugar 2.0, an upcoming standard property specification language being developed by the Accellera Formal Verification Technical Committee (1), provides a powerful means of expressing such assertions. 1. INTRODUCTION reuse has become mandatory as design complexity continues to increase and market windows continue to shrink. Rapid creation of new, ever more complex designs demands that significant portions of each design must be acquired from other sources and integrated to achieve the end goal. Reuse of intellectual property (IP), or virtual components (VC), whether developed by the same company or purchased from an IP supplier, has become a fact of life for System on Chip (SoC) development. But IP reuse is challenging. IP must be explicitly designed for reuse, and it must be packaged with all the information necessary to enable its effective reuse, including configuration, synthesis, and especially verification information. The fact that "soft" IP may be further modified by the consumer makes verification even more challenging. Current guidelines for reuse, such as (4) and (6), are starting to reflect these new reuse requirements. IP designed for reuse must be modular in all senses. It must perform a well-defined function, with well-defined interfaces. Knowledge about its function and its interfaces must be captured with the IP, so that the IP can be used in the design of chips that are far removed in time or space from the design team that


The effect of different test models for sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)‐induced irritant contact dermatitis on epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) numbers was examined. Finn Chambers, 8 and 12 mm, containing 15 and 34 or 50 μl, respectively. of l% aq. solution of SLS were applied to human forearm skin for 48h as single or repeated application. The results showed a clear difference between the effects with the 2 chamber Sizes. The effect of the 8‐mm chambers could result in increased, unchanged or decreased LC numbers, while 12‐mm chambers always produced a decrease. These results seem to explain, at least partly, the discrepant results reported from various laboratories.


Summary Three hundred twenty crossbred steercalves were used to evaluate corn pro-cessing method and crude protein levelin finishing diets that included wet corngluten feed. There was no response dueto crude protein level (14 vs 15%)observed in this trial. As corn process-ing method became more intensive (fine-grinding, high-moisture ensiling, andsteam-flaking corn) compared to dry-rolling, daily intake was reduced. Dailygain was similar across corn process-ing methods. Feed efficiency and cost ofgain improved as corn processingmethod intensity increased. Introduction Using products such as wet corngluten feed (WCGF) to replace corn infinishing diets has been shown toimprove feed intake and daily gainwhile maintaining or improving feedefficiency. Most of this work has beendone with dry-rolled corn replacement,although it has been shown that thereare improvements in feed efficiencywhen corn is more intensely processedand WCGF is included in finishingdiets ( 2001 Nebraska Beef Report, pp.59-63


Speaking of Richard Wright, Toni Morrison observed that Wright's artistic endeavor was to "make an art form that is both unquestionably beautiful and also political at the same time" (Brown 455). This same dilemma emerges in Morrison's work as a tension between narrative based in history and narrative based in a mythopoetic framework. 1 Her novels spiral around a central mystery, revealing with each gyration alternating pieces of Black history and Black myth. Although Morrison does occasionally draw upon classical mythology, it is—in her words— "usually to show that something has gone wrong" (461). Instead, she creates a self-referential (hence mythopoetic 2 ) system that criticism has interpreted as magic realism, folkloric narrative, or Africanism. My intention is not to argue against these well-researched assertions but to identify how the existence of a mythic imagination in Morrison's novels rubs against the realistic elements of her work. Even more, these dueling textures are simultaneously developed through Morrison's creation of characters who straddle the temporal divide—historical vs. (aor extra-) historical. Select passages from Song of Solomon, and Tar Baby illuminate how Morrison's novels use the contrast of these textures to engage in a wider discussion of the nature of a uniquely African-American identity and mythology. Given that this analysis is primarily formalistic, a quick definition of terms would be beneficial. At the risk of being overly reductivist, the formal qualities that are common in Morrison's fiction are: the historical ethos, the mythic family/person/enclave, and a central mystery that unites them. Beloved's Sethe is a handy example for a quick explanation of these three elements. Morrison drew Sethe directly from the historical account of Mary Garner and her family's


The random access channel (RACH) congestion due to competing IoT devices in LTE-A is regarded as a priority problem by the 3GPP. In this regard, 3GPP chose the extended access barring (EAB) mechanism, which throttles the short-term congestion of the RACHs by barring channel access from low-priority IoT devices as the baseline solution. Further, 3GPP adopted barring bitmap enabled-EAB (EAB-BB) that announces the EAB information through a barring bitmap as the baseline mechanism. However, there has been no work that analyzes or compares the performance of EAB-BB with barring factor enabled-EAB (EAB-BF), an alternative mechanism that was also considered during the standardization process. Additionally, a much more far-reaching issue, like the effect of these schemes on key network performance parameter, like eNodeB energy consumption, has been overlooked. In this regard, for the first time, we develop a novel analytical model for EAB-BF to obtain its performance metrics. Furthermore, we also build the LTE-A eNodeB energy consumption model to serve the IoT RACH requests. We then show that our analytical and energy consumption models can be combined to obtain EAB-BF settings that can minimize eNodeB energy consumption, while simultaneously providing optimal quality of service (QoS) performance. Results obtained reveal that the optimal performance of EAB-BF is better than that of EAB-BB. Furthermore, we also show that not only do all three 3GPP-proposed EAB-BF settings considered during standardization provide sub-optimal QoS to devices but they also result in excessive eNodeB energy consumption, thereby acutely penalizing the network. Finally, we provide corrections to these 3GPP-settings that can lead to significant gains in EAB-BF performance.


The invention, in certain embodiments, relates to nucleic acid sequences comprising (a) a transcription unit encoding a chimeric protein composed of a composite DNA-binding domain and a transcription activation domain, (b) a transcription unit encoding an immune stimulator expressed under the control of a minimal promoter and an enhancer comprising one or more DNA binding site(s) for the composite DNA-binding domain, and (c) a transcription unit encoding an immunogen, wherein the composite DNA-binding domain comprises a continuous polypeptide chain containing two or more component polypeptide domains, at least two of which are mutually heterologous, and related expression constructs, methods of achieving delayed expression of immune stimulators, methods of inducing an immune response, and methods of immunization.


PALEONTOLOGYNANJING, CHINA-- City officials have asked one of the country's most decorated research institutions to relocate a science museum already under construction. The surprising request has pitted scientists at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology against community leaders and triggered a heated debate over urban redevelopment.


A plethora of research and empiric observation supported the claim that–among other symptoms–diseases often affect the ability to smell and the sense of taste, possibly affecting the taste- and food preferences as well.The aim of the present study was to shed light on the impact of COVID-related smell- (dysosmia/anosmia) and taste function-disorder/loss (dysgeusia/ageusia) on the food and taste preferences COVID-19 patients of different symptomatic and pre-existing conditions and demographic backgrounds.The research based on a descriptive, cross-sectional survey. In total, 514 participants filled our self-administered online questionnaire. Thirteen participants were excluded according to the exclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test for correlation coefficient, were performed.The most common long COVID symptom was fatigue/weakness (53.1%) followed by anosmia (50.9%) and tachycardia (33.5%). Many participants reported dysgeusia/ageusia during the acute phase of the disease, which sometimes prevailed as a long COVID symptom. A high percentage of participants reported that they rejected all kinds of meat of animal origin except cold cuts for their duration of recuperation, which proved to be the most common dietary change during the post-COVID period so far.


Background Obesity is an epidemic that must arouse our attention. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between antibiotic use during pregnancy and childhood obesity in 5-year-old Chinese children. Methods A total of 132 5-year-old children born in our hospital from January 2014 to January 2016 were included. The children's genders, nationalities, chronic diseases, and other factors were collected as adjusted covariates. We also collected the pre-pregnancy body mass indexes (BMIs) of pregnant women, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal smoking, mode of delivery (cesarean section and vaginal delivery), and weight gain during pregnancy, which may affect childhood obesity. A linear mixed effect regression model was used to test the correlation between antibiotic use during pregnancy and the BMI of 5-year-old children, and a logistic mixed effect regression model was used to evaluate the correlation between antibiotic use during pregnancy and obesity outcome. Results When adjusted for the child's gender, birth weight, cesarean section, chronic diseases, maternal smoking during pregnancy, pre-pregnancy BMI, diagnosis of diabetes or GDM, mode of delivery (cesarean section and vaginal delivery), and weight gain during pregnancy (Model 3), antibiotic use during pregnancy was positively correlated with the BMI of 5-year-old children (β=0.01, 95% CI: 0.01–0.03, P=0.04). Antibiotic use during pregnancy increased the risk of obesity by 4% in 5-year-old children (OR =1.04, 95% CI: 1.01–1.16, P=0.02). Conclusions The use of antibiotics during pregnancy is positively correlated with the risk of obesity in 5-year-old children. Keywords Antibiotics; pregnancy; obesity; children


We report a theoretical study of linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of Raman transition in a Λ-type three-level atomic system. In the Raman transition, if t he population of atoms is all prepared in the ground state which interacts with the control light, the linear susceptibility equals zero, while the third-order nonlinear susceptibility does not equal zero. By decreasing the nonradiative dec ay rate γ 12 between the two ground states of the atoms, the Kerr no nlinear refractive index for cross-phase modulation can be significantly enhance d.


Objective:To analyze the current status of human resources in the centers for disease control and prevention in the whole country,so as to provide foundation for making scientific human resource plans.Methods:The data,such as the number,age,years of working,education background,title of technical post,and profession of personnel in the centers for disease control and prevention at the levels of province,city and county,were collected from the basic information system of China centers for disease control and prevention and analyzed with Excel.Results:Those at the age from 35 to 44 accounted for the largest proportion in the personnel of centers for disease control and prevention.Their years of working were mainly between 20 and 29 years with the education background of technical secondary school,just second to junior college and university.Their titles of posts are mainly at middle and primary level and their scope of practice is mainly in five health items,communicable disease control,planned immunization and health inspection.Conclusion:The governments at all levels should strengthen the personnel construction of centers for disease control and prevention,improve the quality of professional personnel and make appropriate human resource plans for centers for disease control and prevention.


Plasma diagnostic data from onboard Langmuir probes, reflectometers, antenna VSWR and beacon and telemetry attenuation for blunt body reentry flow field


Inclined flow into tube inlets is studied in order to investigate the flow characteristics in the first 5 diameters of the tube inlet. The study has as its aim, to establish a link between the flow into a tube and the erosion-corrosion rate in that region. Experimental wall pressures and shear stresses are presented for inlet tube flow for inclination angles up to 60° for a Reynolds number of 71000. The areas with most potential for erosion-corrosion are located at the inlet of the tube on the downstream side of the tube and around the recirculation bubble at the reattachment point. The predictions are compared with plant erosioncorrosion patterns enabling a wear model to be proposed.


In real life, media information has time attributes either implicitly or explicitly known as temporal data. This paper investigates the usefulness of applying Bayesian classification to an interval encoded temporal database with prioritized items. The proposed method performs temporal mining by encoding the database with weighted items which prioritizes the items according to their importance from the user perspective. Naive Bayesian classification helps in making the resulting temporal rules more effective. The proposed priority based temporal mining (PBTM) method added with classification aids in solving problems in a well informed and systematic manner. The experimental results are obtained from the complaints database of the telecommunications system, which shows the feasibility of this method of classification based temporal mining.


New York State Regulations require that "any written or oral instruction relating to condoms must fully and clearly disclose the various risks and consequences of condom failure." The New York City HIV/AIDS Advisory Council to the Board of Education, of which we are members, must see that the educational material complies with this regulation. This means that students learn a lot more than "condoms are not 100% safe." Ninth graders and up learn over 20 precautions to take, including the 13 steps involved in proper condom use.


It's necessary and feasible to make the contract of tourism named as soon as possible,the best way to do it is to make some provisions in the future civil code.In the naming of the contract of tourism,we should rationally define the concepts and confines of the contract of tourism,bring into better balance the relation between it and relevant rules,set up moral damage compensation system of the contract of tourism so as to regulate practically and effectively the relation of the contract of tourism,protect the legal rights and benefits of the tourists.


The possible alteration of transformation-related antigens in cells that revert to a normal phenotype but that continue to retain the viral genome, has been investigated in [3H]glucosamine-Iabeled extractsofratcellsexhibiting a reversible temperature-dependent restriction in the expres sion of transformation and in a comparison of a mompholog ically altered mouse cell transformed by the Kirsten sam coma virus with a flat revertant mouse cell derived from the momphologically transformed cells. With the use of normal goat serum in the presence of dibutyryl cyclic 3':S'-adeno sine monophosphate, some differences became obvious in the rat cells restricted in the expression of transformation. However, use of specific antiserum to mumine leukemia virus revealed in every case the presence of major compo nents that exhibited an electrophoretic mobility come sponding to about 100,000 daltons both in the parent and nevertant mouse cells and in the rat cells exhibiting either untransformed or transformed growth properties. The gly coprotein components detected only by the immune serum may represent a cellular macromolecule antigenically me lated to an interspecies C-typo viral species whose concen tmationis increased in transformed cells.


The western scientifi cism–materialistic tradition has radically changed the way we now conceive the production of scientifi c knowledge. This monistic conception, supported by methodologies and procedures exclusively focused on, the description of the "object"; mainly through the empirical experimentation and the quantifi cation of the information; has been indiscriminately expanded among all scientifi c fi elds; even on those, in which this way to proceed is unsuitable, such as the psychology.This misconception has lead modern science to systematically treat the psychic essence of men as an object; and to a simplify point of view of the very much complex inside experience of the mind. This contemporary milestone is deeply related to the historical and ontological phenomenon of the splitted conscious, which founds its greater expression in the modern western culture. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to fi nd an appropriate balance within the modern science; in which social disciplines, especially psychology, are able to rediscover their own identity.AKADEMOS, Year 10, Vol. 1, No 26, January-June 2016: 71-97


Introduction In 2002 the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted goals for reducing the burden of chronic disease through a new screening program in its publicly funded health centers ("Dom Zdravljas"). This study evaluated the first year of program implementation. Methods The evaluation used in-depth interviews with 25 key stakeholders and in-person interviews with 1004 citizens. Results We found that many health care providers and citizens were unaware of the program. In addition, there was inadequate financing for the program, because the Health Insurance Fund does not collect revenue for uninsured citizens, more than 20 per cent of the population. Conclusion We recommend improved co-ordination among public and private organizations involved in implementation; increased promotion of the program with health care providers and citizens; and increased financial resources for providing screening for uninsured citizens.


A critical step towards reducing errors in health care is the collection and assessment of medical error data so that potential harms to patients can be identified and steps taken to prevent or mitigate them. However, no standardized framework for classifying and evaluating such data currently exists. This paper describes our efforts in developing a comprehensive medical error ontology to serve as a standard representation for medical error concepts from various existing published taxonomies. Eight candidate taxonomies were selected from the published literature and merged to create a reference ontology consisting of 12 multidimensional axes that encompass all the aspects of a medical error event. The ultimate goal of the project is to use the medical error ontology to identify strategies for preventing future adverse events in health care.


A wide-beam and broadband dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with broadside pattern is proposed and analyzed. The excellent performance of wide beam is achieved by designing the metal ground. In addition, the antenna has broad bandwidth by introducing an air gap between the dielectric resonator (DR) and the ground. From simulated results, the impedance bandwidth (S11 < −10 dB) of the proposed antenna is about 35%, from 2.8 to 4 GHz, and the maximum 3 dB beam width in H-plane is greater than 210°. A prototype of the proposed DRA is produced and tested. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is achieved.


Recording of a Jazz Lecture Series presentation by Clark Terry on April 20, 1982 at 12:30PM at the UNT College of Music. It includes a lecture and performance by Clark Terry, trumpet, interspersed with questions from the audience.


A mechanical model of glass fiber reinforced plastics(GFRP) jacking pipe under eccentric load is established according to the engineering practice.Theoretical analysis is developed based on this model and contrasted with that under axial load.The calculation method on the maximum allowable deflection angle and splay length of GFRP jacking pipe joint are obtained.Finally,an example is given to show that the theoretical analysis is right.These results can be use of to instruct the GFRP jacking pipe design and construction.


A practical one-pot synthesis of esters and amides from tert-butyl esters via acid chloride was developed. Reactions of tert-butyl esters with α,α-dichlorodiphenylmethane as the chlorinating agent and SnCl2 as catalyst-generated acid chloride intermediates in situ were subsequently used in reactions with a variety of alcohols and amines to afford the corresponding esters and amides in high yields under mild reaction conditions. This catalytic synthetic procedure offers an effective strategy for the facile esterification and amidation of tert-butyl esters.


These days with the expanded fame of cloud computing, the interest for cloud‐based collaborative editing service is rising. The encryption method is utilized to ensure and secure the data, during the collaborative editing process. In the encryption process, the cloud requires more time to work the collaborative editing. This paper proposes an efficient scheme for reducing the encryption burden over the cooperative users, as the possibilities of cooperative users read and write data by means of any gadget. In the proposed scheme, the encrypted file sent by the data owner is split into smaller segments and stored in the cloud by the cloud service provider (CSP) along with specific tags. Once the cooperative user receives and decrypts the file from the CSP, it modifies and encrypts only the modified segment and resends to the CSP. The CSP after verifying the signature replace the original file segment in the cloud with the modified segment based on the tag information. The scheme that is put forward is performed based on the modified ciphertext‐policy hierarchical attribute–based encryption, and the security process is done based on the attribute‐based signature schemes. This work employs a proficient attribute updating method to accomplish the dynamic change of users' attributes, consisting granting new attributes, revoking previous attributes, and regranting formerly revoked attributes. A writer's attributes and keys have been revoked, and the stale information cannot be written.


This article focuses on the opportunities for language and literacy learning that rich learning spaces and designs provide within an early years classroom. In particular, prospects for such learning may be provided by an early years leaning space I designed in my third year of teacher education (primary), which won the Early Childhood category of the Oxford University Press Education Innovation Award 2014. Included in this article are recognition and exploration of key frameworks, approaches and practices as well as the latest and evolving research.


The ferritic alloy HT-9 is a candidate for the fusion first wall and blanket because of its swelling resistance and low thermal expansion. Fracture behavior following irradiation, however, is of concern, since HT-9 is known to embrittle with neutron irradiation, particularly at low temperatures. Conventional compact tension specimens are not feasible for the determination of postirradiation fracture behavior due to the large amount of irradiation space required and the large associated temperature and neutron gradients. A miniature compact tension specimen was therefore developed and the validity of the data obtained using this specimen was demonstrated. A single-specimen, electropotential technique was subsequently developed using the miniature specimens. Tests have been conducted on several heats of the alloy irradiated in both fast and mixed spectrum reactors to a peak exposure of 100 displacements per atom.


The article addresses the issue of ideological exploitation of the landscape, of mak-ing into an ethno-landscape, which is an important element of the nationalist thought. The authoress analyses the question on the example of the Basque culture, discussing the meaning or the territory and home in the Basque worldview, the most important elements of the Basque national landscape and the way in which they are created and preserved (art, literature).


Providing meals to passengers on aircrafts requires a complex logistical system if it is to be done sucessfully. Variations to that system are required if special meals, such as kosher ones, are to be provided since it entails unique system challenges. The authors discuss service requirements, the challenges they pose to the inflight meal service logistical system, and some of the ways in which these challenges are met. be sua2essfully to system are reouired if s~ecial meals, a> kosher ones, are lo be prowded snce it entails unique system challenges. authors discuss SeMce requirements, the they pose to the ,,,flight servjce iogrshcal system, and some of the impli-ways in &ch these challenges are met.


This article asks who works in Whitehall today. We argue that there are points of consensus about the nature of 'Whitehall', including generalism, internal labour markets, Oxbridge education, and lifetime careers. An analysis of 306 biographies of the top team of the UK civil service, which goes beyond existing published use of biographical data on the topic, allows us to compare the civil service with this model. We find that in every respect the descriptive usefulness of a Whitehall model is weak. Whitehall is no longer marked by internal labour markets, Oxbridge dominance, or lifetime careers, and there are signs of reduced generalism. Furthermore, many of the most politically salient departments appear to be leading the way towards a different public sector model premised on managerial, policy expertise rather than civil service generalism and loyalty.


The immune system is considered a functional trait in life-history theory and its modulation is predicted to be costly and highly dependent on the host's nutrition. Therefore, the nutritional status of an individual has a great impact on an animal's immune ecology. Herbivorous insects are commonly used as model organisms in eco-immunology studies and the use of an artificial diet is the predominant rearing procedure to test them. However, this diet differs from what herbivores experience in nature and it is unclear to what degree this distinction might impact on the relevance of these studies for the real world. Here, we compared plant-based vs. artificial diet in a set of three experiments to investigate the interaction of both diets with a plastic immune strategy known as Density-Dependent Prophylaxis (DDP). We used as a model organism the velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis, which is known to adjust its immune defense in line with the DDP hypothesis. Our main results showed that larvae fed with artificial diet had 20.5% more hemocytes circulating in the hemolymph and died 20% more slowly when infected with an obligate (viral) pathogen. Crucially, however, we did not find any indication of fitness costs related to DDP. The use of artificial diet did not interact with that of DDP except in the case of host survival after infection, where the DDP effect was only observable in this diet. Our findings suggest the use of an artificial diet does not mask resource allocation conflicts between immune investment and fitness related traits, but to some extent it might lead to an overestimation of immune parameters and host survival time after infection. We believe that this is the first study to compare an artificial diet and a host plant covering all these aspects: immune parameters, life-history traits, and host survival after infection. Here we provide evidence that, besides the quantitative effects in immune parameters and host survival time, the use of artificial diet interacts only marginally with a density-dependent immune response. This provides support for the use of artificial diets in eco-immunology studies with insects.


An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the mechanism and conditions of governing the boundary-layer transition phenomena which were induced by a circular cylinder placed at some distance apart from a plate. The cylinder of 1.0 mm in diameter was placed 0.25 m downstream from the leading edge of the plate, and gap to diameter ratios were selected to be 0.3, 0.5 and 0.6. These ratios were chosen because they were found to have different characteristics on the boundary-layer transition in the former experiments. Mean velocity distribution, intensity of turbulence and distribution spectra in the wake flow were measured for each gap condition under the unit Reynolds number of U0/ν=3.5×105 (m ). The results obtained are as follows. In the case of the gap ratio of 0.6, boundary-layer transition occurs by the direct interference between the wake of the cylinder and the laminar boundary-layer of the plate. On the contrary, the transition at the ratio of 0.5 is observed to be shed from the cylinder. In the case of the ratio of 0.3, no vortices were observed and the mechanism of transition was similar to that of a tripping wire which has no gap with the plate.


The Coalition of Immokalee Work rs (CIW) is leading consumer boycott efforts against food corporations that buy speci lty cr ps from growers allegedly hiring farmworker under harsh worki g conditions and low wage rates. The CIW ends its boycott efforts when food corporations agree to establish a supplier code of conduct and pay a monetary supplement to farmworkers. Crop buyers pay an extra cent per pound to go directly to farmworkers as wage supplement. Food products from participating companies are branded as Fair Food. The program is an example of private efforts to improve welfare of farmworkers in specialty crops. Ec nomi research on this program is li ited, but enlightening. This article summarizes farmworker issues leading to the consumer boycott strategy used to make gains amongst farmworkers and research on the strategy. Florida Farmworkers Issues Leading to Consumer Boycott Efforts The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is an organization for farmworker's human rights based in Immokalee, Florida. Although the CIW's work as an organization began in 1993, its most recognized effort began in 2001. That effort has focused on leading consumer boycotts against food retailers who buy Florida tomatoes such as distributors, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants. The boycott efforts denounced these food retailers for perpetuating low farmworker wage rates and harsh working conditions, some in violation of human rights. Factors Contributing to Low Farmworker's Wage Rates Historically, farmworker's wage rates have been lower than, and in fact about half of, wages for nonagricultural workers (Figure 1). Several factors contribute to this persistent outcome. • The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which established federal minimum wage rates in YEAR, did not apply to farmworkers until amendments were made in 1978. • Farm labor demand is derived from final food products' demands; therefore, shocks negatively impacting final product demands reduce farm labor demand and decrease farm labor market wage rates.


The effects of different concentrations of CdCl2 and AlCl3 on NH4 + and NO2 − oxidation in an aqueous system were investigated. AlCl3 had no effect on NH4 + removal and its oxidation to NO2 − , whereas NO2 − disappearance was greatly enhanced by AlCl3. In contrast, CdCl2 delayed removal of NH4 + and its subsequent oxidation to NO2 − and also decreased the rate of NO2 − disappearance. When compared to the controls, NO3 − production from NH4 + oxidation decreased severely by CdCl2 whereas slight increase in NO3 − production was observed in the presence of AlCl3. The results presented provide evidence for differential sensitivity of NH4 + and NO2 − oxidation to AlCl3 and CdCl2 in an aquatic


This data set consists of digital bathymetry contours for Don Williams Lake in Boone Co., Iowa. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a bathymetric survey of Don Williams Lake in 2003.


Using a lively classroom activity and a sense of humor is helpful in conveying a serious message about responsible sexual behavior to college students. The activity described takes only 1 hour, requires simple and easily obtainable equipment, and generates animated discussions. Students learn to feel more comfortable about using condoms after demonstrations of the strength and flexibility of these increasingly available items.


Assessing whether an agent has abandoned a goal is important when multiple agents are trying to achieve joint goals, or when agents commit to achieving goals for each other. Making such an inference for a single goal by observing only plan traces is not a trivial task because agents often deviate from the optimal plans for various reasons, including the pursuit of multiple goals or the inability to act optimally. In this paper, we develop an approach that uses plan optimality monitoring techniques to determine whether an agent will honour a commitment. Specifically, to determine commitment abandonment, we use these techniques with planning fact partitions (e.g., dead-ends). We empirically show, for a number of representative domains, that our approach yields very high accuracy and detects commitment abandonment in nearly all cases.


CAN WE USE REMOTE THERMAL EMISSION OBSERVATIONS TO DERIVE LUNAR SURFACE PROPERTIES? Mary L. Urquhart, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Astrophysical, Planetary, and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0392 (email firstname.lastname@example.com), and Bruce M. Jakosky Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0392 (email email@example.com)


Two months ago, the US FDA has approved a non-replicating adenovirus encoding interferon alfa-2b (IFN-a2b) for high-risk, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. This LETTER TO THE EDITOR provides the insights regarding the use of a replication-defective adenovirus-mediated IFN therapy for cancer treatment and explains why a positive clinical benefit-risk profile can be expected from using this approach. This approach can lead to more gene therapy approvals for cancer treatment.


The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant is a costly and highly complex process, requiring not only a planning and rigorous chronogram execution as well as funds large enough to cost it. The Long-Term Operation of the plant is not only interesting since it allows the plant to keep producing energy with low-carbon footprint as well as postpone to future these expenses. Around the world several nuclear power plants are being evaluated for Long-Term Operation due to these reasons. In Brazil the oldest nuclear plant, Angra 1, is also being evaluated for Long-Term Operation, otherwise it should be retired/shutdown in next future. However, besides the technical reasons, also the plant's decommissioning fund seems to be not enough to cost its decommissioning. In the present work, the decommissioning fund of Angra 1 is evaluated considering two different interest rates and compared with the decommissioning cost. The results demonstrates that the Long-Term Operation is necessary and a good decision since it allow an additional time to the provisions on the decommissioning cost increase, avoiding the lack of funds.


Over recent years, there has been a considerable effort to identify and develop new biomarkers of acute drug-induced liver injury (DILI). It is clear that the development and qualification of sensitive and specific hepatic biomarkers that permit quantitative assessment of the translation between preclinical and clinical studies is urgently required. The potential for novel biomarkers to provide enhanced understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that result in clinical DILI is becoming increasingly recognized. Furthermore, there is a great need for mechanistic biomarkers that can bridge between preclinical models and the clinical situation of DILI. These will therefore enable us to understand the human relevance of predictive models of acute DILI and the interpretation of data generated from such models. Such biomarkers would not only accelerate the pace of drug development but also provide a point-of-care test to enable patient and/or DILI-specific treatment stratification once a new drug is licensed. Currently, the number of putative biomarkers that hold some clinical utility is low, mainly because less attention has been placed on the science of drug safety compared with drug efficacy [1].


The utility model relates to a follow-up clamp type climbing fire control escape capsule, which is characterized by comprising a capsule body and at least two groups of climbing mechanisms, wherein the two groups of climbing mechanisms are arranged on a guide pillar at one side of the capsule body, each climbing mechanism is correspondingly provided with a clamping device, and the upper group of climbing mechanism and the lower group of climbing mechanism are alternately followed up to drive the capsule body to correspond to an upper floor and a lower floor along a vertical firewall pier. The top of the capsule body is also provided with a clamping device. Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the beneficial effects that 1) the capsule body is driven by the climbing mechanisms to ascend and descend along the outer wall of a building; 2) a wall body can be clasped by the clamping devices to hang the capsule body on the outer wall of the building; 3) independent space is arranged in the capsule body which can carry firefighters to quickly arrive at the floor on fire and can also carry trapped people to quickly break away from a dangerous situation; 4) the capsule is driven by a self-taking hydraulic system and can be ascended to any height by the vertical firewall of the building; and 5) a high-pressure hose can be arranged to replace an aerial ladder truck for fire fighting.


We evaluate two architectures for fixed length distribution matching. Distribution matching is essential for probabilistic amplitude shaping, a modulation scheme recently proposed for next generation wireless communications. The parallel architecture, called the bit-level distribution matcher (BL-DM) is compared with the symbol-level constant composition distribution matcher (CCDM). Simulation results confirm higher throughput of the BL-DM without performance loss compared to the symbol-level CCDM, when multiple processors can be used. For single core systems, the symbol-level CCDM achieves higher throughput. We also prove that when the output distributions of the BL-DM and the symbol-level CCDM are the same, i.e., they can be represented as a product of binary distributions, the BL-DM achieves lower or equal rate-loss.


AIM: To study characteristics of anorectal pressure, EMG activity and effect of biofeedback training system on patient with chronic functional constipation (CFC). METHODS: Anorectal manometry was carried out in 144 cases of CFC by a monitor system (liquid-phase type) and Biolab dynamics parameter before and after the biofeedback training. 20 healthy individuals were taken as control. RESULTS: Compared with controls, CFC patients showed slightly lower anal quiesent pressure (P >0.05), lower anorectal sphincteric squeezing pressure (15.7±1.4 vs 12.7± 1.4) (P <0.01), higher rectal defection volume thresholds and higher rectal maximum talerable volume thresholds (12±6.2 vs 14.9±6.6; 29.3±6.8 vs 36.0±7.3) (P <0.01; P <0.01); EMG assessments showed that 100% patients with CFC had the contradictory movement between the pelvic floor muscle (PFM) and abdominal anterior oblique muscle (AAOM). The movement extent of the PFM rose from 5.3±2.8 to 10.2±2.8 under quiet state (P <0.01), and AAOM reduced from 34.4±5.2 to 30.8±4.9 (P <0.01); All the abnormalities significantly improved with Orion PC/ 12 m EMG biofeedback training therapy. After biofeedback training therapy, symptoms of CFC patients were improved with efficient rate of 84.03%; With increase of the treatment time and shortenning of the interval and assistant training, the curative efficacy rose and the recurrence rate reduced (78.8% vs 91.7%; 69.2% vs 92.8%) (P <0.05; P <0.05). CONCLUSION: CFC patients have abnormal anorectal pressure, sensation threshold and unusual anus electric activities. Biofeedback training therapy can improve the above-mentioned indexes and is effective in 84.03% of the patients. The relatively intensive long-time training can improve the curative rate in a short period, and family assistant training can reduce the recurrance rate of the disease.


Abstract : The Inventory of Cognitive Style is a 26 item pencil-and-paper instrument to predict the differences in the ways people think due to differential socialization. Four basic modes of decision-making are identified which are appropriate to different decision-making situations. The Inventory yields 54 different patterns of relative predilections and aversions to the various cognitive styles. Norms based on the responses of 966 United States Navy enlisted men and the percentage of that population showing each of the patterns are presented. If and when the Inventory is validated it should be a valuable tool in personnel selection and educational and vocational counselling.


We investigate the effects of suppression of single-particle dispersion near the Fermi level on the spin gap and the singlet-pairing correlation by using the exact diagonalization method for finite-size systems. We consider strongly correlated one-dimensional models, which have flat band dispersions near wave number k = π/2, if the interactions are switched off. Our results for strongly correlated models show that the spin gap region expands as the single-particle dispersion becomes flatter. The region where the singlet-pairing correlation is the most dominant also expands in models with flatter band dispersions. Based on our numerical results, we propose a pairing mechanism induced by the flat-band dispersion.


2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag Gmb Zeolites are aluminosilicates that are used in a broad field of applications. Because of their ion-exchange capabilities, presence of well-defined rigid cavities, and transparency in the UV–vis/NIR region, zeolites can act as water softeners, catalysts, and host systems for a variety of photoactive guests. In particular, zeolite L, which possesses unidirectional channels, has been shown to be a suitable material for supramolecular organization of different kinds of molecules. The size (30 nm to several micrometers) and aspect ratio of L-type zeolite can be controlled synthetically. Furthermore, it has been shown recently that they can be organized in monolayers on a silica substrate by chemical functionalization. Interestingly, the orientation of the channels is perpendicular to the surface so that they can be filled after their immobilization. However, reports on the formation of well-orderedmonolayers on other (conductive) substrates have been very limited and so far it has not yet been possible to transfer them from one surface to another without disruption of the monolayer. However, the preparation of an oriented monolayer of zeolite L crystals on certain substrates (silicon wafers, ITO, gold) represents an important prerequisite for achieving a controlled architecture of such microsized building blocks for possible optoelectronic applications. Many authors have reported several methods for pursuing this goal by chemical treatment of target surfaces via different kinds of molecular linkers, and in some cases perfect monolayers were achieved, especially for zeolite A. We report a strategy based on the microcontact printing technique (MCP) to obtain well-ordered and uniformly oriented zeolite L monolayers on conductive surfaces without any chemical modification of the zeolite or the substrate. MCP, which has been employed by many authors, represents an inexpensive tool for the formation of a wide variety of molecular assemblies, ranging from quantum dots and silicon particles to carbon nanotubes and nanowires, and it has been also applied to pattern materials allowing new applications in device fabrication. [21–26] We have successfully applied this technique to create particular patterns with L-type zeolites that were filled with fluorescent dyes. We have also demonstrated that it is possible not only to apply the method to cylindrical objects by transferring them and maintaining their orientation, but also to use the anisotropy of the systems to control the different color emissions of zeolites filled with two different dyes by exciting the materials with polarized light.


This paper presents recommendations for the design of stiffened plates under uniaxial compression, presented to the ECCS (European Convention for Constructional Steelwork). Two design methods are postulated based on a column model and an orthotropic plate approach. The governing equations for each model are based on proposals already available in the literature but validation was carried out on the form adopted in the recommendations. This paper presents the basis of the recommendations of the ECCS and also validations carried out using fully non-linear finite element analyses. A wide range of geometric parameters was considered. The results show the differences between the two design approaches. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 869077.


A pot culture experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity and IBA treatment on cuttings of Jatropha curcas L. in relation to sprouting of buds, initial growth parameters, rooting and survival. The performance of Jatropha curcas L. was better in S N (Natural soil) and decreased in all salinity levels. The highest per cent sprouting of buds was recorded under S N (Natural soil) and minimum in S 5 (10 dSm -1 ) in IBA treated cuttings, while no sprouting of buds was observed under the salinity level S 5 (10 dSm -1 ) in untreated cuttings. IBA treated cuttings have higher survival and rooting when compared with their respective untreated cuttings (control). The maximum per cent survival and rooting was observed under natural soil (S N ). The salinity levels of S 3 (6 dSm -1 ) and beyond greatly declined the survival and rooting in IBA treated as well as untreated cuttings (control). Increasing salinity levels also suppressed the growth parameters viz., number of leaves per plant, root length, leaf area, and biomass production in IBA treated cuttings as well as untreated cuttings (control). However, the reducing effect was more pronounced in untreated cuttings when compared to IBA treated cuttings. The salinity level of S 3 (6 dSm -1 ) and beyond greatly reduced the above parameters in both untreated and IBA treated cuttings. Thus the present study reveals that the untreated cuttings of Jatropha curcas can be planted in the soil up to salinity level of 2 dSm -1 , whereas, if treated with IBA the cuttings can be planted up to a salinity level of 4 dSm -1 .


In this text we make the referring analysis of process-crime the cases of accused people, defendants, judged, condemned or acquitted, for practical of Charlatanism and Illegal Exercise of on professions to the area of the health (Medicine, Odontologia, Pharmacy and Nursing). We intend to offer information, that we judge valuable on the characterization of the procedures of the healers and excessively practicing of this not authorized and not recognized medicine for the State, and on the supposed victims, accusations and arguments used for the defense and the public prosecutor's office in elapsing of the processes.


A time‐dependent nonlinear three‐dimensional model for the evolution of the equatorial bottomside lower ionosphere in the presence of dissipating gravity waves has been developed. From the numerical solution of the model, it is found that large bottomtype F‐region ionospheric density perturbations and electric fields can be driven by dissipating gravity waves from tropospheric sources. The spatial distribution of the ionospheric F‐region density perturbations can be characterized as a patchy, layer‐like structure and may be responsible, in part, for observed large scale wavelike structures in the equatorial bottomside F‐region which are a precursor to fully developed equatorial ionospheric bubbles. Favorable comparison of the model with observations is made.


Corporate Retirement Plans during the Bonn Republic: Alleviating the consequences of the war were at the center of social policy during the early years of the young republic. Yet up to 1956 pensions rose only slowly and irregularly so that old-age poverty remained widespread. The transition to a dynamic pension system based on gross earnings with the 1957 Pension Reform was the major step from a social state battling need and poverty to the caregiving welfare state. The minimum pension – abolished in 1957 – was reintroduced with the 1972 Pension Reform, paving the way to the early retirement society. This paper investigates the development of corporate pension plans up to the end of 1970s. Using Volkswagen and Merck as case studies, it shows that companies reacted to changes in the economic situation earlier than did the legislature and adjusted their social benefits systems accordingly. Parallel to the transition to the dynamic pension system based on gross earnings during the late 1950s, corporate retirement plans experienced an expansion, that is to say, following the 1957 Pension Reform, private benefits were not yet replaced by public benefits. This did not change until the expansion of the social state during the 1970s. The objective of including the Works Councils in the corporate pension discussion was to curb corporate social benefits.


Genomic characterization is often used for the identification of therapeutic targets in tumors. Recently, comparative transcriptomics has begun to be utilized for this purpose. In this pilot, we compare the transcriptome of a patient with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG) to our cohort to identify potential therapies. We reviewed transcriptomic profiles from patients who had resection of HGG at our institution over the past year as well as the UCSC cancer compendium. Briefly, tumor RNA was extracted from embedded tumor tissue sections with tumor cellularity higher than 20%. RNA libraries were sequenced to obtain approximately 65 million reads on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 System utilizing patterned flow cell technology. The RNA profile of a 24 male with Li-Fraumeni syndrome and recurrent HGG with leptomeningeal spread underwent comparative transcriptomics to identify targets. A Bayesian statistical framework for gene expression outlier detection was used. These comparisons allowed for the identification of genes and pathways that are significantly overexpressed. Our internal HGG cohort consisted of 44 adult patients and was evenly distributed among the 4 HGG Verhaak subtypes. Our patient of interest had druggable outlier expression in HDAC1, STAT1 and STAT2 in comparison to our internal cohort indicating vorinostat and ruxolitinib as potential therapies, respectively. We then compared our patient of interest to 12,747 patients in the cancer compendium and STAT2 expression was high but not an outlier. In comparison to 738 glioma samples, STAT1 and STAT2 were outliers but not HDAC1 again indicating ruxolitinib as a potential targeted therapy. The patient did not have outlier expression in notch transcriptional targets or immune checkpoint biomarkers when compared to all cohorts. In conclusion, comparative Transcriptomics can identify therapeutic targets in a patient with recurrent HGG even in small cohorts. In our pilot, we identified ruxolitinib as a potential candidate to treat leptomeningeal recurrence.


This paper addresses the depth distributions of implanted hydrogen (1H) in n-type GaAs and the asso-ciated damage in the crystalline material. Secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements are used to demonstrate the presence of hydrogen atoms in the implanted material and to obtain the range profiles of these atoms for fluences of 5E14 and 5E15 cm-2. The nature and the distribution of the resulting lattice damage are studied using transmission electron microscopy. Elevated temperature implants are shown to alter the range profiles and to increase the TEM-visible damage.


As technology node keeps scaling and design complexity keeps increasing, power distribution networks (PDNs) require more routing resource to meet IR-drop and electro-migration (EM) constraints. This paper presents a design flow to generate a PDN that can result in near-minimal overhead for the routing of the underlying standard cells while satisfying both IR-drop and EM constraints based on a given cell placement. The design flow relies on a machine-learning model to quickly predict the total wire length of global route associated with a given PDN configuration in order to speed up the search process. The experimental results based on various 28 nm industrial block designs have demonstrated the accuracy of the learned model for predicting the routing cost and the effectiveness of the proposed framework for reducing the routing cost of the final PDN.


The role of analyticity in partial wave analysis is emphasized and the concept of two-component duality is introduced and illustrated with examples from π N scattering. An intrinsic n-fold ambiguity in partial wave analysis is discussed in terms of Barrelet zeros and techniques for removing the ambiguities are outlined. The problems of resonance backgrounds are touched upon.


Investigation of Genes Associated with the White Coat Color in Tigers. (May 2012) Emilee Ann Larkin Department of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Texas A&M University Research Advisor: Dr. Jan Janecka Department of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences The white phenotype in tigers is highly sought after by zoos and private sanctuaries. There are enough animals in the captive population to avoid severe inbreeding; however close relatives are often bred together to produce the elusive white phenotype. Heritable disorders in white tigers have been noted, for example strabismus, cleft palate, and spinal and facial defects. These are linked to the white phenotype and likely caused by inbreeding. It is important to determine the genetic basis of the white coat color and associated disorders so that breeding could be modified to avoid these detrimental phenotypes. We used information obtained from other species regarding the genes found to be involved in similar coat color patterns to select two likely candidates for the white phenotype in tigers, melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R) and Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP). Both MC1R and ASIP affect the relative amounts of pigments produced by the melanocytes. MC1R controls the peptide hormones melanocortins that determine the


THE enzyme polyphenol oxidase catalyses the oxidation of o-dihydric phenols in general. Oxidation of pyrogallol (1 :2:3-trihydroxybenzene), for example, is accompanied by the absorption of 3 atoms of oxygen and the product (purpurogallin) crystallizes out during the reaction [Willstatter & Heiss, 1923]. Catechol, however, does not furnish any directly identifiable product on enzymic oxidation although manometric measurements have shown that 2 atoms of oxygen are absorbed in the reaction [Robinson & McCance, 1925; Pugh & Raper, 1927]. It was suggested by Szent-Gy6rgyi [1925] that o-quinone might be the first product of oxidation and Pugh & Raper [1927] obtained experimental evidence in support of this view. They oxidized catechol enzymically in the presence of aniline when dianilo-o-quinone (I) separated as a scarlet solid. The following mechanism was therefore proposed:


This paper discusses certain extensions of Smith's method to digital, cascaded and multivariate plants. Difficulties inherent in Smith's method are discussed briefly and additions to the method suggested for plants where drift and plant/model mismatch give rise to design difficulties. Certain insights are given into the problem of mismatch of the delay model.


Objective To investigate the clinical effects of Shenmai Injection in treatment of chronic cor pulmonale and explore the principle of it.Methods Seventy-two chronic cor pulmonale patients were randomly assingned into two groups,all the patients were assaied the cardiac function and the levels of arteria blood gases,right ventricle pressure,average pulmonary artery pressure,blood viscosity,plasma viscosity,hematocrit(PCV),fibrinogen quantity,ferrohemoglobin quantity and RBC before the trial.In addition to the routine treatment,the patints of Shenmai group were given Shenmai In jection,intravenous drip(50 ml/d)for 2 weeks,while the patients of control group were only given routine treatment. Results (1)heart failure redressing rate and arteria blood gases ameliorating rate of Shenmai group were higher than control group(P0.05).(2)weeks later,the markers of right ventricle pressure,average pulmonary artery pressure,blood viscosity,plasma viscosity,hematocrit, fibrinogen quantity,ferrohemoglobin quantity,RBC in Shenmai group were decreased(P0.05),but there were no change in control group(P05).Conclusion Shenmai Injection can redress heart failure,decrease the pressure of right ventricle and pulmonary artery and amelin orate arteria blood gases and hemorheology.


The formation of the Mennonite Brethren Church in 1860 was accompanied by spiritual and cultural shocks which left the Mennonite community at large disoriented and fragmented. Much of this change came from outside the relatively closed Mennonite settlements, and one of the chief agents of change was the revivalist preacher Eduard Wust. However, relatively little was known about Wust and his earlier career, and especially about the kind of religiosity he brought with him to Russia. A file in the State Church Archives in Stuttgart reveals not only how and why he left his native Swabia for Russia, but also what were the characteristic features of continental Revivalism that he brought with him, which were instrumental in the formation of the Mennonite Brethren Church. That these influences have continued to be central to the mission of that church demonstrates that the historian P. M. Friesen was not far wrong in his assessment of Wust.


Effective and sufficient testing has always been a challenging task in software development. The ongoing increase of software complexity forces developers and testers to make extensive use of the concept of abstraction, thereby leading to model-based approaches. Further, standardization organizations aim forion, thereby leading to model-based approaches. Further, standardization organizations aim for harmonized process templates to assure a certain quality level of the processes behind. In order to combine the process-level advice as well as the concept-level advice, we aim for a consistent and strict application of model-based methodologies throughout the testing processes, introduced by the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 standard for software testing. After a brief introduction to the standards content and a critical view on it, we focus on our model-based interpretation of the postulated processes. Thereby, we extend the original idea of model-based testing, incorporating the separation of concerns on the model-level, to form a broad information basis. Subsequent activities are aligned with these concepts, in order to make sure a purely model-based testing life cycle, with respect to consistency and quality of development artifacts. Following the related work of impacted research areas, we end up with a conclusive statement on the intended combination of approaches.


When the public hospital reform is difficult to continue to deepen, through the use of modern business theory, the paper analyzes the possibility that the state-owned assets of the public hospitals choose the strategic withdrawal, and further demonstrates that the state-owned assets withdrawing from hospital is the optimal choice when medical service market has developed a certain degree.Medical service market of Guangzhou is highly developed, and has nurtured many related system environment, so this conditions have allowed the in-depth reform of the strategic withdrawal from medical service market.So it can enhance market efficiency of the medical service market, and serve the large citizen of Guangzhou.


Steroids being one of the most broadly used drugs in dentistry which readily act as immunosuppressive agents. Corticosteroids have modernized the treatment protocol of several disease conditions inclusive of many oral diseases. These are strong and effective anti-inflammatory drugs resembling cortisol (inherently formed hormone by the body). Their function is to decrease inflammation, particularly when the body inaccurately activates inflammatory system. Oral and maxillofacial disease may be either local or occur due to the expression of any systemic problem. There are many oral and maxillofacial clinicians who apply the usage of corticosteroids established on their effectiveness to control consequences of any dental procedure or surgery and also to produce and render a contented post-operative period. Hence, the present review highlights and focuses on the pharmacology, uses, contraindications and side-effects of corticosteroids application in oral diseases. © This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Access to clean and safe water is a human right and to grant it under a sustainable development point of view is paramount for well being of the future generations. Therefore, it is important to understand the interaction between the material flows to coastal waters that are constrained by catchment boundaries and the human activities therein, and those materials that are tied to trade and other trans-boundary processes (e.g. residence time, transport and fate of physical, chemical and microbiological water-quality determinants) and their global implications on preserving the quality of the natural environment.


A conceptual process for separating 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid (MOPS) from its aqueous solution was developed on the basis of the experimental solid−liquid equilibrium (SLE) data of MOPS + water and MOPS + methanol. In MOPS + water, a eutectic point was exhibited on the liquidus line and metastable ice was formed at lower temperatures. Due to the poor solubility of MOPS in methanol, methanol was found to be a suitable solvent to removed the residual water adhered to the crude MOPS crystals. The results from data correlation showed that the nonideal phase behavior of these two binary systems could be represented satisfactorily by the NRTL activity coefficient model.


Abstract The present paper proposes an alternative experimental procedure for studies on empathy. It is intended as a simple and reliable alternative to the commonly used designs, which are certainly very elegant, but costly, as they require delicate real-life experimental manipulations. We advocate that studies using simple well-formulated text stimuli can be methodologically as reliable and valid as game task approaches. To underscore our claim, we report first behavioural evidence that supports this conclusion. The clear advantage of the method we present is that it is less susceptible to bias and, more importantly, more accessible to laboratories that do not have the financial means and the spatial infrastructure to manoeuvre complex and costly experimental setups and techniques. It is an easy to use, computer-based paradigm.


We report intriguing thermo-optic oscillation dynamics, for the first time in a high-Q LiNbO3 microresonator that results from combined effects of thermal refraction, thermal expansion, and photo-refraction.


The karyotype of the Namaqua chamaeleon, Chamaeleo namaquensis Smith, 1831, has 24 chromosomes consisting of 12 macro- and 12 microchromosomes. This chromosome pattern is characteristic of the C. chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) species group and indicates that C. namaquensis is a member of that taxon. It is hypothesized that C. namaquensis and C. chamaeleon are the most ecologically specialized and recently evolved taxa in the chamaeleon group.


1. Relations between the Missions, the Consuls and the Sultans to 1888. The work of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) was started on the East African coast by Krapf and Rebmann in the 1840's. At that time, the missionaries operated by permission of the Sultan of Zanzibar, the Sultan himself being influenced by the British consuls there. Although the work of the CMS was not directed to freed slaves, in time the mission came to realise that the success of its work depended on freed slaves. Freed slave centres were established on the coast by the CMS with direct assistance from the British navy and consul, who delivered captured slaves to the missions' settlements. At the same time, however, the consuls had reason to view with concern the growing freed-slave centres because of the potential they possessed for generating friction with the Arab slave owners. The development of these centres had deep repercussions on the consul's diplomatic relations with the Sultan. Prior to the establishment of freed-slave-Christianity, Missionary work on the coast had made little progress. It was the diplomatic mission of Sir Bartle Frere in 1873, aimed at persuading the Sultan to put an end to the slave trade which altered the situation. Before coming to East Africa, Frere had made a tentative agreement with the CMS in London regarding the establishment of a CMS centre for freed slaves on the coast.2 Prior to the arrival of Frere, the British consul, John Kirk, had directed his attention to the establishment of such centres, but only the Holy Ghost Fathers seem to have benefited much in these early ventures. When Frere arrived with a new programme of subsidising the missions for each slave handed to them, he disregarded his earlier promises to the CMS and instead recommended that most slaves be handed


[CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY received and accepted an article from Akbar S. Ahmed entitled "Islam and the District Paradigm: Emergent Trends in Contemporary Muslim Society," which was duly circulated to commentators in the normal fashion. However, the article was published in the Middle East Journal (vol. 36, no. 2 [Spring 1982], pp. 184-203) under the title "Order and Conflict in Muslim Society: A Case Study from Pakistan," with only minor variations of wording. There is also substantial overlap of material in an article published in Arab Studies Quarterly (vol. 4, nos. 1 and 2 [Spring 1982], pp. 127 ff.) under the title "Mullah, Mahdi, and Mosque: Emergent Trends in Muslim Society." In view of the competition for space in CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY, and in view of our policy of republishing articles only in the most special circumstances, the article was withdrawn from publication. The best reference is to the Middle East Journal. In fairness to the author, however, and in recognition of the considerable work that the commentators have applied to his article, the comments and Ahmed's reply to them are published below.-EDITOR.]


Radiographers worldwide are integral to the diagnostic pathway and are optimally placed to provide expert comment on radiographs. By nature, the radiographer is the first health care professional to view each diagnostic image, which has been acquired by a focus on the patient. Radiographers are in a unique position to communicate their professional observations directly with the treating clinician in a timely manner and thereby have a significant influence on patient care. Currently, advanced practitioner roles, which incorporate radiographer reporting, are limited to the United Kingdom (UK). The changing nature of health care worldwide has seen several countries including Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark develop models of advanced radiographer practice which includes definitive clinical reporting. Swinburne first raised the possibility of trained radiographers expanding their role to incorporate preliminary image interpretation, although the pioneering work of Berman et al. is seen as the origin of radiographer preliminary image interpretation. The proposed system of work required radiographers to highlight abnormal trauma skeletal radiographs by placing a 'red dot' on the image, which indicated to the casualty officer the possible presence of significant pathology. This method has been shown to reduce diagnostic errors in the Emergency Department. In 2006, the Society and College of Radiographers, while recognising the benefits of the 'red dot' system of preliminary radiograph interpretation, also identified several weaknesses, which includes the ambiguity of an absence of a 'red dot'. Preliminary clinical evaluation (PCE) builds on abnormality detection by radiographers, as PCE requires a concise written statement which localises and describes the pertinent findings. The provision of a written interpretation directs the treating clinician to the area(s) of concern and removes many of the ambiguity of the 'red dot' system, such as cases with multiple abnormalities, incorrect interpretation of abnormalities on an abnormal image and communication of uncertainty in the radiographer decision. A survey undertaken of UK radiology departments in 2008 found a significant majority provide a system of radiographer abnormality detection for skeletal trauma imaging; most still use the 'red dot', while some provide a PCE or a hybrid system. In parallel to this expansion of radiographer practice, the role of the advanced practitioner has been developed in the United Kingdom which incorporates the provision of definitive clinical reports by appropriately trained radiographers. The performance of radiographers in interpreting skeletal radiographs at the end of an accredited postgraduate training program was promising with high levels of sensitivity (91.6–96.7%) and specificity (92.1–94.0%) reported. A large multi-centre clinical evaluation, consisting of 7179 cases conducted across four sites in the United Kingdom, demonstrated very high levels of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, 99.1%, 97.6% and 99.3%, respectively, for skeletal trauma reports produced by trained reporting radiographers. A subsequent meta-analysis conducted by Brealey et al. examined the performance of radiographer reporting for 28,900 plain imaging examinations and provided the definitive evidence that trained reporting radiographers can provide clinical reports on skeletal radiographs at a level comparable to consultant radiologists. Trained radiographers now provide definitive clinical reports on skeletal radiographs throughout the U.K., with 59 (41%) of 143 departments providing this service in 2012. In response to evolving service needs, radiographer reporting has expanded in scope beyond skeletal trauma. There is a growing body of evidence that supports trained radiographers who can provide definitive clinical reports for chest radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lumbar spine and knee examinations, and mammograms. Multidisciplinary team working, which incorporates radiographer reporting, has been highlighted in recent a


Savannas are spatially diverse, variable and are susceptible to high rates of disturbance from fire and herbivory. There is significant interest in woody cover dynamics in relation to disturbance regimes. Less effort has been devoted to understand processes that drive tree community composition. In this study, tree species composition data collected at the landscape scale in the Serengeti were used to identify key environmental factors driving variation in species composition. A system of 38 plots clustered within 10 sites spanning the mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient was used to assess the relative role of bottom‐up (precipitation, soil nutrients and soil texture) vs. top‐down factors (fire and elephant herbivory) on tree community composition. We developed candidate models relating tree species composition (based on multivariate community analysis) to different combinations of plot‐level environmental covariates. Results suggest that tree community composition is largely driven by MAP and is associated with elephant population density. Strikingly, we found no evidence that fire influences species compositional turnover. In a second analysis, we used structural equation model (SEM) to explore the possible direction of association between elephant density and tree species composition. We compared a model that included elephant effects on composition to one that included community composition effects on elephant density. Results suggest that variation in elephant population density across space is more likely to drive tree community composition and not vice versa. We propose that precipitation and herbivory, rather than fire, determine tree species composition in Serengeti Acacia tree community.


In this article, we investigate power beacon (PB)-assisted wireless-powered nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based systems, where all transmitters harvest energy from a PB to transmit their signals to a destination by employing a time-splitting mechanism. In order to utilize spectral efficiency and enhance the quality of service of an edge user (EU), a cellular base station can communicate with the EU thank to the help of one IoT node in a cellular network by employing the NOMA protocol. To characterize the performance of the proposed systems, we derive the exact closed-form expression for the outage probability, throughput, energy efficiency, and the approximate closed-form expression for the ergodic capacity. To further improving the system performance, we present two algorithms that are to minimize the outage performance of users by optimizing the time-splitting factor and to maximize sum throughput via jointly optimal power allocation and time-spitting factor. Our numerical results show that the proposed system has outstanding performance in comparison with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer NOMA systems under time switching mechanism based on the IoT relay.


Based on the principle of parallel broadcasting and broadcast-store architecture,a kind of broadcasting system which can be applied to many content broadcasting systems in DVB-C platform is presented,and the experiment system structure and implementation from the hardware and functions are introduced.


Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (E.S.P.I) oftenly called Electronic Holography is a practical powerful technique in non-destructive testing. Practical capabilities of the technique have been improved by fringe betterment and the control of analysis in the time domain, in particular, the scanning of the vibration cycle, with introduction of: synchronized amplitude and phase modulated pulse illumination, microcomputer control, fibre optics design, and moire evaluation techniques.