NEOPLASIA in equines is not common in spite of the fact that horses frequently survive to old age. The B.E.V.A. Survey of Equine Disease (1965) reported an incidence of 0.5 per cent., with 226 tumours occurring in a clinical series of 43,538 racehorses, hunters, ponies and heavy horses. The tumours encountered most frequently in the horse are papillomas and " sarcoids " of the skin, subcutaneous fibromas and melanomas, carcinoma of the third eyelid and penis, lymphosarcoma and teratoma of the testis. The present case is considered to be an example of a primary liver-cell carcinoma in a 2-yr-old thoroughbred colt. No report of a similar case has been found in the literature.


The Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM) is a well-established apparatus to measure anxiety in rodents, i.e., animals exhibiting an increased relative time spent in the closed vs. the open arms are considered anxious. To examine whether such anxiety-modulated behaviors are conserved in humans, we re-translated this paradigm to a human setting using virtual reality in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) system. In two studies, we examined whether the EPM exploration behavior of humans is modulated by their trait anxiety and also assessed the individuals' levels of acrophobia (fear of height), claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), sensation seeking, and the reported anxiety when on the maze. First, we constructed an exact virtual copy of the animal EPM adjusted to human proportions. In analogy to animal EPM studies, participants (N = 30) freely explored the EPM for 5 min. In the second study (N = 61), we redesigned the EPM to make it more human-adapted and to differentiate influences of trait anxiety and acrophobia by introducing various floor textures and lower walls of closed arms to the height of standard handrails. In the first experiment, hierarchical regression analyses of exploration behavior revealed the expected association between open arm avoidance and Trait Anxiety, an even stronger association with acrophobic fear. In the second study, results revealed that acrophobia was associated with avoidance of open arms with mesh-floor texture, whereas for trait anxiety, claustrophobia, and sensation seeking, no effect was detected. Also, subjects' fear rating was moderated by all psychometrics but trait anxiety. In sum, both studies consistently indicate that humans show no general open arm avoidance analogous to rodents and that human EPM behavior is modulated strongest by acrophobic fear, whereas trait anxiety plays a subordinate role. Thus, we conclude that the criteria for cross-species validity are met insufficiently in this case. Despite the exploratory nature, our studies provide in-depth insights into human exploration behavior on the virtual EPM.


Purpose – Healthcare organisations exhibit detail and dynamic complexity. It has been argued that discrete event simulation (DES) is ideal for problems exhibiting detail complexity and system dynamics (SD) lends itself naturally to comprehend dynamic complexity. Appreciating the complexity of healthcare, this paper proposes the use of hybrid simulation wherein both SD and DES are integrated symbiotically. The paper further aims to describe how different forms of hybrid simulation can be applied to different modes of governance in UK healthcare.Design/methodology/approach – In order to find different ways that hybrid simulation can be effectively applied to different problem contexts, a literature review has been conducted to find existing hybrid studies. A meta‐review of literature on different modes of governance in UK healthcare has also been conducted.Findings – It has been induced from the literature review that hybrid simulation can be used in three different formats: hierarchical format, process‐env...


In this article we summarize the precepts of Peripheral Realism, its place in the intellectual history of International Relations Theory, its contributions to interpreting Latin American international politics and its insights for the future. After revising the intellectual merits and tenets of the theory in the four initial sections, we show how it predicted the behavior of Latin American states under unipolarity. Finally, we review its implications for a world where China may hold economic primacy.


This study utilised role theory to investigate teacher aide roles within regional schools in Queensland, Australia. Twenty primary schoolteacher aides were interviewed; data were triangulated with 27 teacher aides' responses to a follow-up questionnaire and interviews with 6 administrative staff. Data suggest that classroom instructional support roles and small group instruction dominate teacher aide work; they also perform many non-instructional roles and work individually with students with diverse needs. School leaders must reconsider the roles expected of these professionals given their position, professional training and remuneration, better supporting teacher aides through improved communication, collaboration and sustained professional learning opportunities.


Excellent drilling fluid techniques are the significant guaranteed measures to insure safety, quality, efficiency and faster completion of drilling operations. However, after the completion of drilling operations these fluids become wastes and are discarded which can have a large negative impact on the environment. Both the drilling materials and additives containing drill cuttings, oil and water are dumped onto soil, surface water, ground water and air causing severe environmental pollution. The preservation of environment has become a major concern these days. Hence, this paper focuses on the use of calcium tannate as an environment friendly drilling fluid additive that is derived from tea waste obtained from tea industries using simple procedures. In this study, basically the rheological properties of the laboratory prepared drilling mud with and without adding calcium tannate have been determined and compared.


Objective To explore the clinical effect of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation on decompensated cirrhosis.Methods Umbilical cord blood stem cells were transplanted by intervention(via proper hepatic artery or portal vein) and intravenous infusion in 20 patients with decompensated cirrhosis.Three months after transplantation,the changes of serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),total bilirubin(TB),prothrombin time(PT) and albumin(ALB) were analyzed and post-operative improvement of clinical symptoms and adverse reactions observed.Results There was significant difference in levels of ALT,TB,PT,ALB between pre-and post-operations(P0.05).The ascites reduction rate was 75%(15/20),appetite and fatigue improvement rate was 80%(16/20),the reduction rate of facies hepatica,liver palm and spider angioma was 70%(14/20).No obvious adverse reactions and complications were noted during and after operation.Conclusion Umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation,a safe treatment for decompensated cirrhosis,can play a temporary role in supporting liver.


Along with the "One Belt And One Road" carrying out in a deep-going way. Yunnan enterprises will get a new opportunity for international business because of its unique geographical location, in which occupy a central position. This article analyzes the status and characteristics of transnational business in Yunnan, and find out the problem of Yunnan enterprises in the location selection. Finally, it will put forward the corresponding solutions in order to improve the international competitiveness of enterprises in Yunnan. Keywords—Yunnan enterprises; Transnational operation;


To the Editor:

We have read with interest the work by Rumi et al[1][1]reporting very low success rates in the treatment with α interferon in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative hemophilac patients with chronic hepatitis C despite prolonged therapy.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated


Upgrading corncob residues (CCR) to a high quality energy resource is an effective utilization of an underutilized industrial lignocellulose waste. A hydrothermal carbonization technique was therefore employed to generate a high heating value (HHV) hydrochar. Results showed that its HHV increased 47% after treatment at 230 °C for 1.5 h. Decreases in H/C and O/C verified that reductions in C and O reactions were occurring following hydrothermal carbonization. The chemical and thermal properties of the final hydrochar as analyzed by FT-IR, TG/DTG, and XRD analyses indicated that dehydration and decarboxylation were the predominant pathways for the C and O reductions. The present hydrothermal carbonization process is offered as a promising approach to upgrade CCR to a high heating value hydrochar under mild conditions.


Textile industries discharge harmful synthetic dyes to nearby water sources. These
colour effluents should be treated before discharge to reduce the toxicity caused by synthetic colours.

To synthesize visible light active superstructures to reduce water pollution caused by textile industries.

We have successfully synthesized ZnO/Dy/NiO hybrid nanocomposites using waste curd as fuel
by a simple combustion method. The obtained material was able to reduce recombination and enhanced the
photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. The as-synthesized material was characterized by XRD,
absorption spectroscopy, FESEM, EDAX, etc. The obtained hybrid nanostructure was used as a photocatalyst
for the degradation of methylene blue under sunlight, UV light as well as in dark. Comparative experiments
were carried out with a variation of catalytic load, pH, dye concentrations, etc. for a better understanding
of the performance of the catalyst at various conditions.

The ternary compound shows wide range of absorption by expanding absorption
band both in UV and visible regions. ZnO/Dy/NiO hybrid nanocomposites performed well and showed
uniqueness in the activity uder visible light.


This paper highlights some of the main topics covered in the book "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms". It discusses the genesis of the tool groupings and their order of use. An alternative to ARIZ is presented which employs extensive causal analysis. As an aid to this method, five more Separation Principles are discussed along with sub-principles and an algorithm for more directed use. Finally, a general invitation to participate in a collaborative book is presented.


this paper provides a Single-Inductor Quadruple-Input-Quadruple-Output buck-boost converter to achieve maximum tracking efficiency of 99.2% due to continuous supply in one cycle. The Maximum Power Point (MPP) tracking mode and the Harvest Energy Delivering (HED) mode harvest each energy harvesting source, deliver energy to the battery and supply it to the loading system in one cycle. Each output voltage ranges from 600mV to 2.5V and the maximum output power is up to 60mW. The peak efficiency is 91.2%.


The proposed EMC filter composed with feed-through capacitors and ferrite beads of high permeability was prepared which satisfy the EMC standard for a wide-band noise signal in the frequence of 10 MHz to 1.5 GHz in power supply line. The optimum structure of ferrite bead was found by calculating the load effect of ferrite beads. As a result, the filter showed excellent differential- and common-mode noises filtering characteristics above 30dB in the frequency band from 10 MHz to 1.5 GHz. The immunity characteristics are improved more than 10 to 30 dB over the frequency band from DC to 1.8GHz.


The tagline of the ad is a powerful marketing tool to motivate customers support a brand. The tagline of the ad utilized to make the buyer always remember with catchprasenya products. The tagline can create new image against a brandnya and persuasive effect to the community. In this case the ad tagline shopee that reads "buy all shopee, Free Ongkir" is an invitation to the public to buy any product to application shopee. This is the one who makes the effectiveness of advertising is very important to scrutinized, because advertising is a means to convey a message to the audience. This research method using a Customer Response Index (CRI) in looking at the effectiveness of Ad Shopee. Method of CRI includes awareness (awareness), comprehend (understanding), interest (interest), intention (intention), and action (action). The result of this analysis is that the ads effectiveness performance Shopee tagline used has exceeded 50% or exceed the average of the expectations of the consumer.


Temperature profiling in both fluid and pipe walls had not been explained theoretically. The equations of energy balance and heat conductivity were queried by introducing known parameters to solveheat transfer using virtual mathematical experimentation. This was achieved by remodelingPoiseuille's equation. Distribution of temperature profiles between pipe wall, fluid flow, and surrounding air was investigated and validated upon comparison with experimental results. A new dimensionless parameter (unified number (U)) was introduced with the aim of solving known errors of the Reynolds and Nusselts number.


Abstract : This article will walk through the current state of affairs, limiting factors, and elements of reform of the Ministerial Development mission in Afghanistan. The premise is that legitimate government is aided by police who serve and protect the public. In turn, building the public's trust is the key ingredient to stability and therefore an important component of COIN strategy. The police are the public face of government as they are the ones who interact with the citizens each and every day. They have unique capabilities in achieving the goal of good governance even when confronted by violence and insecurity. On this last point, the article will explain the importance of the Ministerial Development mission, the challenges to these efforts, and some of the reform efforts that will help advance the Ministry of Interior Affairs. While it is very important to appropriately develop and manage the requisite forces, it is equally important to develop a functioning and sustainable ministerial system. What does Ministerial Development mean? It is the effort of building a legitimate government, one that is able to provide essential services and security to the population. In the case of the DoD, it means creating a self-sustaining Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) that can project an internal security capability across the country and its borders as well as providing law and order to the citizens in each of the 365 Districts of Afghanistan. Growing and maintaining effective leaders, teams, and processes to support and sustain military and police forces are the critical components to this mission. With the challenges of rampant corruption, continued insurgency, wide-spread illiteracy, and an inconsistent existence of security and rule of law, this mission is a tall order. While the U.S. government has provided significant support over the past 10 years, the specific focus on Ministerial Development has only existed in the last three.


The invention describes a sensor system (3) for measuring the thickness of flat material (2) which is moved relative to the sensor system (3), said sensor system having a first sensor apparatus (14) for measuring the thickness of the flat material (2) as well as means for generating an air cushion (23), which are arranged in such a manner that an air cushion (23) is produced between the at least one side (16) of the sensor apparatus (15), which faces the flat material (2), and the flat material (2) during operation. The first sensor apparatus (14) has, in the region of the air cushion (23), surface sections comprising porous material and/or material that is provided with micro-holes.


Noise pollution has been shown to induce overt behavioral changes such as avoidance of a noise source and changes to communication behavior. Few studies however have focused on the more subtle behaviors within an individual's repertoire such as foraging and territoriality. Many species are territorial making it unlikely they will leave a noisy area. The impact of noise on essential behaviors of such species must be examined. It has been suggested that a noise induced increase in sheltering behavior will decrease time available for other activities. To test for this potential knock-on effect, we exposed a territorial fish to noise of differing sound pressure levels (SPL). We found that exposure to noise increased sheltering behavior and decreased foraging activity. However, we found that these behavioral responses did not increase with SPL. Furthermore we demonstrate, for the first time experimentally, that noise has a negative knock-on effect on behavior as a noise induced increase in sheltering caused a ...


Internet technology has helped marketers focus on electronic commerce; one way is by zeroing in on the many factors that influence online shopping behaviour. This paper deals with the impact of social factors such as family, friends, their reviews, and external and interpersonal factors on planned and unplanned online purchases. This descriptive study was conducted using structured survey questionnaires. Data were collected through online and offline techniques, employing "Snowball sampling". The Wald-Wolfowitz RUN test was conducted to ensure randomness. Structural equation models, F Tests, and T Tests were used to determine sample size, which was justified using G power analysis. Online consumer shopping behaviour is formed by attitude, trust, shopping enjoyment, and shopping experiences, which are directly influenced by social context factors. This study establishes that Indian, Singaporean, and Malaysian students are careful and think twice before making purchases, keep shopping lists, are particular about e-stores, and will not purchase without a plan. However, in Uzbekistan and parts of Singapore, unplanned purchases happen often due to patterns of increased spending and impulsive purchases. Since the internet and e-stores are especially new in Uzbekistan, its youth are tempted to browse online suggestions and impulsively act on reviews from friends or peers.


This paper suggests reasons why certain forms and frequencies are found in librations of the pole. The period is about 27 years, but there is also a shorter period which was found empirically to vary with the inverse of the amplitude of the Chandler nutation. It had been found also that the pattern of the motions would sometimes become reversed.


To the Editor: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is the go-to antifibrinolytic agent for intraoperative situations where heavy bleeding is encountered. Having been around for some time, it has been tried and tested in various studies, with mixed results. Aside from the backdrop of fuzzy evidence, its purported mechanistic effect lingers on in the minds of clinicians and prompts its prevalent use in various trauma and surgery settings. For severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), the evidence is even scarcer. The CRASH3 pragmatic trial1 showed the benefit of early administration of TXA in a prespecified sensitivity analysis, which excluded the most severe TBI patients. A smaller trial, on 966 patients, showed a small and uncertain effect of TXA administration in moderate and severe TBI on mortality and 6-mo functional outcome.2 A recent meta-analysis on 9 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 14 846 patients3 demonstrated no statistically significant differences between patients treated with TXA and placebo groups in terms of mortality, long-term outcome, or hematoma expansion. This meta-analysis provides more robust evidence than the CRASH-3 trial and thus should take precedence to dictate clinical practice. Very recently, a multicenter prospective observational study has been published, focusing solely on severe isolated TBI patients and their outcomes after TXA administration.4 Evidencegeneration in severe TBI remains notoriously difficult, and this article proves to be no exception to the rule.5 From the 2589 patients included, 719 composed the actual isolated severe TBI cohort. Of these, only 243 (34%) received TXA. There was a statistically significant association between TXA and 30-d mortality in the subgroup of isolated severe TBI patients, but no association for the entire cohort. The power analysis was calculated with the assumption that both groups would be of equal size, but this was not the case. The authors concluded that TXA use should be avoided in severe isolated TBI patients. Pupillary reactivity was not reported in the baseline tables. It was accounted for, however, in the sensitivity analyses. Given the radical change in coefficients between the crude model and the model after multiple imputations, one could speculate that a large amount of the pupillary reactivity data was missing. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at baseline is the one registered upon arrival of first responders and used by the authors. GCS, especially the motor score, can change considerably from prehospital to study hospital.6 GCS following resuscitation after arrival at a trauma center is the most reliable covariate associated with outcome.6 Cranial imaging data were collected, according to the protocol, but not included in any of the models. The predicted baseline mortality for both groups (TXA and non-TXA) using validated models would have likely shown a higher predicted baseline mortality in the TXA group.7 Confounding by indication is very difficult to account for in observational studies, especially for a heterogeneous disease such as TBI,8 and is likely incompletely accounted for in this study. TXA was administered to patients with a clinical suspicion of TBI, based on the prehospital GCS. Helicopter emergency physicians might have systematically selected patients with the highest risk of mortality to receive the intervention in an effort to ensure TXA gets administered to actual severe TBI patients. The lack of data regarding the evolution of the patients included and of their intracranial hemorrhage (or lack thereof ) and the lack of data regarding treatment make the study by Bossers et al4 virtually impossible to use in order to enforce clinical decision-making. Given these issues, and the magnitude of effect of missing data on the analyses, we also disagree with the authors' main conclusion. Severe isolated TBI patients constitute a subgroup in their study, and subgroup analyses should be regarded as exploratory and should not affect the main conclusion of the study, even in clinical trials, let alone in observational ones.9 TXA has, to date, no proven efficacy in severe TBI, despite a small subgroup analysis of the meta-analysis suggesting a decrease in hematoma expansion.3 The most recent observational data published are laden with confounding by indication. Until more robust evidence is available, the effect of TXA in severe TBI remains unanswered. The most important subgroup that still needs to be investigated is represented by severe TBI patients with intracranial hemorrhage, especially post-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (contusions). If an effect is to be expected, this group will most likely be the one to benefit from it.


This paper uses a new tabu search meta-heuristic optimization method to solve the redundancy allocation problem for multi-state series-parallel systems. The total search space is divided into a set of disjoint subsets. The proposed tabu search heuristic determines the minimal cost system configuration under availability constraints. A universal generating function technique is applied to evaluate system availability. The algorithm was implemented and illustrated through numerical examples


The Blue Nile Grid of Sudan, which supplies Electrical
Power to the central region including the capital,
Khartoum, has experienced a history of problems, of which
the most important are the instability of the system and
the generation shortages, which become particularly acute
during certain months of the year. These problems have been
complicated by a lack of real understanding of the system's
behaviour, especially as it grows in size and complexity,
and as the demand increases. [Continues.]


this paper is nominate a new different method an improved maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method for wind power system. A different control method for MPPT of wind turbine adjusting load characteristic was nominated in this paper. In different methods of M PPT; By using algorithm employed in wind energy conversion system(WECS) the major effect concerning Hill Climb Search (HCS) is it's inefficiency in detecting peak power when there change wind speed. The HCS generate oscillations in delivered power once of this peak value detected. A modified HCS algorithm is nominated in this paper to overcome these limitations. In this algorithm used a variable duty cycle to reduce the oscillation in delivered power once the maximum power point (MPP) is detected ; The wind power management system based on DC to DC convertor was designed .The MPPT pull maximum power from the wind turbine from cut in to variable wind velocity by sensing only DC link power .The maximum power point (MPP) step and search algorithm in addition to the DC to DC are simulated generate by using METLAB software and result generate show that the DC to DC converter topology can generated the maximum power tracking control of the wind turbine ; MPPT method with hysteresis control, the hysteresis controller is similar to that used in the typical P&O (production & observation) control. This method is control the output of wind turbine is unable to reach maximum power, in hysteresis controller different duty ratio within the hysteresis band to correct for operating point by using control method; MPPT by using fuzzy logic controller (FLC), in this method for MPPT a fuzzy logic control is nominated for maximum power tracking in wind turbine control to permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). By using FLC tracks the MPP by measurement the load voltage and current, this controller calculates the load power and transfer through the fuzzy logic system. In this paper by using this method main aim is design of the FLC controller in the mode of boost converter (DCDC converter). FLC method is allows the MPPT controller output (duty cycle) adjust the voltage input to the converter to take MPP of wind power generating system. KeywordsHCS; MPPT; TSR; WECS; DC to DC converter; FLC; PMSG; MATLAB-SIMULINK.


The occurrence of poverty in the community is caused by a condition of the economic inability of the head of the family to meet the primary / basic needs of his family, namely the need for clothing, food, shelter and education. The poor community itself can be found in almost every country, city and region, for example in one of the Bagik Endep hamlets of East Sukamulia Village. Based on these conditions, it is necessary to carry out clustering to assist the village government in grouping poor families, so that assistance can be distributed appropriately. By observing the above problems, Data Mining is needed to classify aid recipients using the K-Means method in clustering the poor. Where the K-Means Clustering Algorithm method aims to classify population data in the East Sukamulia region who are said to be classified as poor. The data used is data on the population of East Sukamulia in 2019, amounting to 200 data with 9 attributes, namely the name of the population, occupation, income / month, the number of children attending elementary school, the number of children attending junior high school, the number of children attending high school, the number of children attending college , the number of children who are not in school and the number of family members. Based on the results of tests carried out by applying the K-Means algorithm, the results obtained are Cluster 1 totaling 18 residents with the criteria of high economic population, Cluster 2 totaling 72 residents with moderate economic population criteria, and Cluster 3 totaling 110 residents with low economic population criteria. The K-Means method is expected to be able to assist the government of Sukamulia Timur Village in making decisions and finding the information needed to solve problems in recording the poor population accurately.


A cognitive model which includes qualitative and quantitative information processing was derived in this paper. Process safety analysis which including qualitative fault event identification, relative frequencies and event probability function as well as consequence analysis was provided. As a case study, the successful application of cognitive modeling is made to process reliability analysis. For accidents detection the cognitive model forecasted the future behaviour of the system and than compared this with the actual situation. The obtained results illustrated a useful estimation of the system behaviour during abnormal situation. This paper is the first report in the literature showing the information flux unit.


We obtain rotating black hole metric for higher dimensional Einstein and pure Lovelock gravity by employing two independent and well motivated methods. One is based on the principle of incorporation of Newtonian acceleration for timelike motion while no acceleration for null motion. The other is the well known Newman-Janis alogrithm that converts a static black hole into a rotating one through a complex transformation. It turns out that both the methods give the same metric which for Einst of the eour pure Lovelock metricein black hole is an exact vacuum solution while for pure Lovelock black hole it satisfies the vacuum equation in the leading order. However it shares all the physical properties with the well known Kerr black hole.


Simulation techniques are being used today in a variety of programs designed to enhance the skills of healthcare providers. The aim of this article is to describe simulation techniques currently being used in healthcare education and identify future directions for the use of simulation in healthcare. The author will describe various types of simulators and simulated experiences, including role playing, standardized patients, partial task trainers, complex task trainers, integrated simulators, and full mission simulation. Next, the use of simulation in undergraduate nursing programs, continuing education programs, interdisciplinary team training, and competency assessment will be presented. Resources for simulation faculty and costs associated with simulation will be discussed. The author will conclude by noting that next steps in using simulation to strengthen the provision of healthcare include providing healthcare educators with the motivation and competencies needed to create and use meaningful simulation learning experiences and initiating more research regarding the benefits of simulation in healthcare education.


The article raises the notions of the changes that take place in the lives of physically disabled people which are caused by their engagement in a sports activity. In the article, I will attempt to prove that practicing sport may create advantageous conditions for self-discovery and self-acceptance by a person with an acquired body dysfunction. The purpose of the conducted research is to analyze the processual dimension of the transformations of a disabled person's life which take place under the influence of experiences related to practicing sport. There is qualitative information applied in the research, collected through the techniques of in-depth free interviews and observations, conducted among disabled people who practice sport. Analysis and interpretation of the research material was performed in accordance with the procedures of grounded theory.


Results Eighteen patients (nine in the CAD group and nine in the control group) met criteria and completed the study. Two in the control group had been excluded, one for a diagnosis of prostate cancer concurrent with his participation, and one for diffuse CAD inadvertently included in the control group. The two groups did not differ with respect to age, ethnicity, body mass index, presence of hypertension, family history, exercise, depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, tobacco use, or a history of alcoholism. Current alcohol use was more likely in the control group (mean drinks per week 13.2 verses 2.89). None had large-vessel stenosis on MR angiogram. Phase contrast quantitative flow analysis of the distal aorta was not different between groups (p value of 0.95), implying similar cardiac output at this level. IPSS and IIEF results trended to difference between the two groups. Mean total IPSS was 13.2 in those with CAD and 7.0 in those without (p = 0.10). Mean IIEF Erectile Function Scale was 13.7 in those with CAD and 22.0 in those without (p = 0.089). Figure 2 shows the mean perfusion plots for prostate, cavernosal and spongiosal tissues from all the patients in the control (6 patients - three were excluded because of adjusted early scan parameters, prostate cancer and diffuse CAD case) and CAD groups (9 patients), based on the ROI defined in figure 1b. It is observed that the patients with coronary artery disease had weaker and slower perfusion enhancement for all three tissues than those without. Two tailed student T-tests were applied to each pair of curves for different tissue types. These differences were highly significant with p values of 0.000, 0.000 and 0.002 for prostate, cavernosal and spongiosal tissues respectively. The prostate perfusion enhancement value is consistent with previous report [3]. This result supports our hypothesis that the small vessels of the pelvis are also affected in individuals with known vascular disease elsewhere in the body (CAD). In addition, these perfusion trends match the differences in symptom scores for lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction suggested above. Conclusion The initial data in this pilot study reflects a novel application of DCE-MRI. It demonstrates that the lower pelvic ischemia can be measured in noncancerous prostate, corporal cavernosal and spogniosal tissues by T1 weighted DCE MRI scan at 3T with multi-channel cardiac coils. The perfusion parameters are different in cardiac versus non-cardiac patients, and the findings mirror the differences in pelvic symptomatology in these groups. The results from this data will be used to perform a power analysis to determine the sample size for the full extension of this project.


Due to the dynamic load, there are some unpredictable stresses which influence the durability and safety of structures. Therefore, it is significant to conduct the real-time and effective monitoring for structures under dynamic loading condition. The piezoelectric ceramic has many advantages such as fast response, low cost, simple processing and so on [1]. Thus, the use of piezoelectric ceramic is increasing widely in structural health monitoring.


When I first heard that yet another evolutionary psychology textbook was shortly to be published, I must confess that I was less than enthusiastic, as there are a number of excellent books already covering my own field of research/teaching. However, when I saw that the title contained the words 'a critical introduction' I felt more positive, and began to look forward to receiving the review copy. The title though is somewhat confusing as a book of exactly the same title by Christopher Badcock was published by Polity Press in 2000 and can still be found on library shelves, though as I note that Badcock contributed one of the chapters in this new text, I presume he is not unhappy about the potential confusion! This new text is edited by Viren Swami and published by BPS Blackwell. It contains 11 chapters written by a selection of authors whose contribution to evolutionary psychology over the years has been impressive. The format of the book is very similar to rival texts; an introductory chapter covering evolutionary approaches to behaviour is followed by a series of modular chapters, each providing a particular focus. Thus we have chapters covering in order of delivery – cognition; cooperation; mate choice; human beauty; life history theory; parenting; personality; mental illness; and then two final chapters addressing the more critical issues of cognition and culture, and the future of evolutionary psychology. It was very pleasing to note that personality was being covered as this topic has been somewhat neglected in previous textbooks. However, I was somewhat surprised at the absence of specific chapters covering topics of language, aggression and emotion. I assumed that such topics would arise within the context of some of the other chapters and there are indeed fleeting references to language, though the terms 'aggression' and 'emotion' are completely absent from the index! I can understand that most texts now pretty much have to be 11–12 chapters to better fit with semester-long modules, and have


To estimate a compressive strength from existing concrete structures by core drilling are usually gathered with a diameter specimen of 100mm or three times of maximum coarse aggregate size and examined by uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) test as stated in JIS A1170. To get an alternative solution with smaller specimen, point load test (PLT) has been selected which is a simple test and widely accepted in rock materials research, but relatively new in concrete. The reliability of PLT is examined by extracting a lot of core drilled specimen from ready mixed concrete blocks with maximum coarse aggregate size, Gmax of 20mm in representative of architectural structures and 40mm in representative of civil structures on the range of concrete grade from 16 to 50. The reference of strength is resulted from concrete core diameter of 100 and 125mm with h/d ratio of 2.0, and examined by UCS test with compressive strength of concrete core of f'cc in results. The core specimen diameters are 35 and 50mm with h/d ratio of 1.5 and 2.0, and examined by PLT with point load index of IS in results. The estimation of compressive strength is conducted by making a linear approximation for IS to f'cc for each group of Gmax and h/d. This study also evaluates the reliability of test results for each core specimen and proposes a new geometric correction factor.


News coverage of human rights is important for education, the protection of rights, and the development of foreign policy. The relationship between the media and human rights makes it essential to know how human rights are reported by the media. Previous studies on news coverage of human rights have examined only the amount of coverage, not its content. This study analyzes human rights coverage in the New York Times, Time magazine, and the CBS Evening News for a ten-year period, 1978-1987. An examination of the different indexes determined what rights and which countries received media attention. I found that the three news outlets present a similar view of human rights, focusing on civil and political rights; there is very little attention given to economic, social, and cultural rights. Geographical coverage focuses on a small number of countries primarily in two regions, Eastern Europe and Latin America.


The interaction of a planar jet with a cooled surface is analyzed by applying both Boltzmann and Navier-Stokes equations. Based on a comparative analysis of numerical solutions, a reasonable principle for constructing hybrid numerical schemes is proposed for flows with widely varying Knudsen numbers.


The effect of a uniform vertical magnetic field on the modes of an isothermal stratified atmosphere is examined. The general solutions of the wave equation for an isothermal magnetized medium are given. Asymptotic expansions of these solutions are presented in the strong- and weak-field limits. For a weak field, it is found that, to lowest order of the present perturbation expansion, the oscillation spectrum can be analyzed in terms of p- and g-like modes, magnetic Lamb modes, and magnetic or slow modes. The frequency corrections for each of the modes due to coupling with the remaining modes are calculated. It is demonstrated that when the frequencies of different modes are almost identical, strong mode coupling occurs and the waves acquire a mixed character. An analysis of the solutions in the vicinity of the degenerate frequencies is carried out. The solutions reveal the presence of avoided crossings, which occur at the otherwise degenerate frequencies. Examples of different types of avoided crossings are given.


In this paper, we propose an automatic model based image segmentation system, where the instantiated model is refined incrementally using the domain knowledge combined by Fuzzy Logic. The Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) combines several different image features, which are used by experts to detect prostates in noisy ultrasound images. We use the Discrete Dynamic Contour (DDC) model because of its favorable performances in both open and closed contour models. The FIS governs the automatic open DDC model initialization and the following incremental growing process on a low-resolution image. At this stage, the initial open contour model grows by tracking the coarse edge details until it closes. The resulting closed contour model is then refined incrementally up to the original image resolution, incorporating finer edge details on to the model. The algorithm developed here is a general tool for object detection in an image analysis system, which employs a flexible framework designed to support multiple decision tools to collaborate in forming a solution. The FIS in our tool retrieves the domain knowledge it needs from the framework, to govern the model refinement process. The proposed algorithm can be used to detect the boundary of any object on an image, if the knowledge of the dominant image features is stored in the system. We have included results of the algorithm successfully applied to several ultrasound images to define the boundary of the prostate.


Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy studies of III–V compound semiconductor surfaces and their metal interfaces show that the optical emission of deep‐level surface and interface states depend on semiconductor‐surface morphology. Spatially resolved measurements reveal metal‐induced interface states at cleavage steps whose optical emission properties depend on electron‐beam injection level. The density and spatial distribution of such metal‐cleavage‐related states may account for variation in electronic measurements reported for clean III–V compound semiconductor/metal interfaces.


INTRODUCTION The importance of a suitable mattress to the patient suffering from low back pain iswell established and adviceon the selection of a mattress forms a basic part of the treatment. A firm mattress, with or without me use of bedboards, is the usual recommendation. The rationale behind this is that the mattress should 'give' enough to conform to the sleeper's body contour but should not sag so that the spine adopts curves other than those of the normal postural position. A new design of mattress has been examined which attempts to do this by providing a resting surface which is already shaped to the individual's body profile. The Isometric'' mattress is basically a firm foam mattress with a thinner softer foam surface layer bonded to it at the head and foot ends only, allowing the insertion between the two layers of moulded foam blocks. The user is thus able to adapt the mattress to suit his own physical requirements.


On today's sharply competitive industrial market, engineers must focus on their core competencies to produce ever more innovative products, while also reducing development times and costs. This has further heightened the complexity of the development process. At the same time, industrial systems, and specifically real-time embedded systems, have become increasingly software-intensive. New software development approaches and methods must therefore be found to free engineers from the even more complex technical constraints of development and to enable them to concentrate on their core business specialties. One emerging solution is to foster model-based development by defining modeling artifacts well-suited to their domain concerns instead of asking them to write code. However, model-driven approaches will be solutions to the previous issues only if models evolves from a contemplative role to a productive role within the development processes. In this context, model transformation is a key design paradigm that will foster this revolution. This paper is the result of discussions and exchanges that took place within the second edition of the workshop "UML&AADL" (http://www.artist-embedded.org/artist/Topics.html) that-was hold in 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand, in conjunction with the ICECCS07 conference. The purpose of this workshop was to gather people of both communities from UML (including its domain specific extensions, with a focus on MARTE) and AADL (including its annexes) in order to foster sharing of results and experiments. More specially this year, the focus was on how both standards do subscribe to the model driven engineering paradigm, or to be more precise, how MDE may ease and foster the usage of both sets of standards for developing real-time embedded systems. This paper will show that, even if the work is not yet finished, the current results seems to be already very promising.


Current state of the art quantum computing experiments in the microwave regime use control pulses generated by modulating microwave tones with baseband signals generated by an arbitrary waveform generator (AWG). Recent advances in digital analog conversion technology have made it possible to directly synthesize arbitrary microwave pulses with sampling rates up to 92 gigasamples per second (GS/s). These new high bandwidth AWG's could dramatically simplify the classical control chain for quantum computing experiments, enabling more advanced pulse shaping and reducing the number of components that need to be carefully calibrated. Here we use a high speed AWG to study the viability of such a simplified scheme. We characterize the AWG and perform randomized benchmarking of a superconducting qubit, achieving average single qubit gate error rates below $5\times10^{-4}$.


We provide a group-theoretical classification of the entangled states of N identical particles. The connection between quantum entanglement and the exchange symmetry of the states of N identical particles is made explicit using the duality between the permutation group and the simple unitary group. Each particle has n-levels and spans the n-dimensional Hilbert space. We shall call the general state of the particle as a qunit. The direct product of the N qunit space is given a decomposition in terms of states with definite permutation symmetry. The nature of fundamental entanglement of a state can be related to the classes of partitions of the integer N. The maximally entangled states are generated from linear combinations of the less entangled states of the direct product space. We also discuss the nature of maximal entanglement and its measures.


In preceding studies two of us 1 reported, among other things, that the Rickettsia of Mexican typhus fever will remain alive and virulent within the bodies of bedbugs and of three varieties of ticks for periods as long as from ten to fourteen days. Dyer, Rumreich and Badger 2 have recently recovered the virus of the North American type of the disease from fleas collected from rats caught in a typhus focus. These investigations, showing that Rickettsia can survive in and perhaps be transmitted by a number of blood-sucking insects parasitic on both animals and man, give strong experimental support to the suggestion made by Maxcy 3 in 1926 to the effect that there might be a reservoir of typhus infection in some species of domestic animal from which the disease can be conveyed to man by an insect vector, possibly "fleas, mites or ticks." In studying the epidemiology of


the will of Christ and living in charity as best he may, he can attain to that communion by i.aplicit desire and is in the way of salvation. If he does see it, no excuse of helping a general re-union will justify his failure to make his submission. But that submission is a very hard sacrifice and any excuse 'to make the Cross of Christ of none effect' will be grasped by poor human wills. We greatly fear that this study will scandalize weak souls, for whom Christ died. We wish the Church of Christ to be enriched vet more bv the fulness of all nations, but we must be very ~areful that our separated brethren know that to the Apostolic See both we and they all owe submission. . G.R.R.


Why is real, sustainable change in the NHS like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Scott Mckenzie looks at how practices should encourage inclusive engagement


Ecological systems are usually complex, with a number of interacting species. These species interactions are commonly divided into two major groups: mutualistic and antagonistic. If the interaction ...


The existence of user data sparsity is inevitable for that the user interacts only with items of interest in the recommender system, and the abundance of cyber resources increases the scale of data makes the system data more sparse eventually, they seriously affect recommender system performance. Many researches have highlighted such problems for applying supplements to those vacancies explicitly or implicitly, to balance computing complexity and the system efficiency. CBR-recommender is proposed to learn user preference from what user really interacts to keep the integrity and virginity of such personalized information, accompanied with Covering algorithm to partition the features of rare items into some specific domains, implement high personalized requirements. Our experiments results indicates that the new system has shorter running time in the research of large-scale recommendation for computing user preference dynamically, and can perform better results to meet the individual needs with high user satisfaction.


The annual average rainfall at Hambegamuwa is 55.8 inches. The greater part of this rainfall occurs during the Northeast Monsoon; the months from October to January receive over 30 inches of the total annual rainfall (Fig. 2). A secondary mnaxinmum, due mainly to convectional thunderstorms, occurs during March and April. The rainfall is unreliable during both wet seasons. The drought which usually sets in about May continues till October and is extremely severe. There is a very high probability of almost arid conditions through June, July, and August. For example, within the period 1926-1950 the rainfall for June did not exceed 0.1 inches in 9 years, for July in 10 years, and for August in 12 years. The number of rainy days for June did not exceed 1 in 11 years, for July in 13 years, and for August in 12 years. There is no station recording temperature in the immediate vicinity. Stations in the Dry Zone lowlands for which statistics are available, have annual average temperatures ranging from 81.00F to 82.10F. Seasonal variations in temperature are slight but diurnal ranges of 15'F to 20'F are experienced. The high day temperatures, the high intensity of sunlight, and the occurrence of fairly strong winds contribute to an appreciably high rate of evaporation. This considerably reduces the effectiveness of the rainfall particularly during the drier months.


This paper uses the systemic quad to examine the strength of the embedding support and firm-level technological capabilities of garment firms in Cambodia and Laos. Although garment exports have surged in both countries, it is argued in the paper that its sustenance will require institutional capacity building. Laos is the more disadvantaged of the two countries as it is landlocked and endowed with too small a labour force. The paper argues that unless the institutional and firm-level technological capabilities are developed further, both countries will find it difficult to retain a significant presence of garment firms once the preferential trade privileges are withdrawn.


An interposer which can prevent an insulating substrate from warping due to heat and a semiconductor device provided with such interposer. The interposer is provided in the semiconductor device with a semiconductor chip. At the time of mounting the semiconductor device on a mounting substrate, the interposer is arranged between the semiconductor chip and the mounting substrate. The interposer is provided with the insulating substrate made of an insulating resin; an island formed on one plane of the insulating substrate with the rear plane of the semiconductor chip bonded through an adhesive; a thermal pad formed on the other plane of the insulating substrate opposite to the one plane, at a substantially opposing position to the island by having the insulating substrate in between; and a thermal via, which is formed by penetrating the insulating substrate from the one plane to the other plane and connects the island and the thermal pad by permitting heat to be transferred.


This experience report describes the deployment of PlayN in undergraduate game programming courses. PlayN is an open-source library for developing digital games in Java and deploying them to Android, iOS, HTML5, and desktop computers. The experience report is based on four semesters and three different course configurations: in each, PlayN was deployed in a project-oriented pedagogy along with distributed version control, continuous integration, and agile project management techniques. This approach brings several benefits, including exposing students to industrial best practices, showing the benefits of code quality, helping students learn to read source code written by others, and reinforcing concepts of object-orientation, particularly the multiple possible reifications of design patterns. The same configuration that brings these benefits also brings challenges: faculty must invest time in learning the library, its dependencies, and the tooling around them; resources or experience are required to configure and maintain the technology infrastructure, as well as to assist students in overcoming fear and ignorance regarding computing systems -- even their own; and significant time must be invested in creating resources to scaffold the student learning experience.


The discharge variability of some karst springs in Bulgaria has been investigated in detail within a region situated in the semiarid zone where most of the principal processes controlling spring outflow (evapotranspiration, snow accumulation, karstic functioning) are significant. While the karstification was notable in the Kotel and Bistretz springs with a predominance of quickflow, in the Beden system the baseflow was higher and had a behaviour similar to a porous aquifer. Univariate and bivariate spectral analyses were applied as a suitable tool in preparation for a further application of precipitation-discharge relationship models.


In this paper, we argue that because of recent technology advances, networks of workstations (NOWs) are poised to become the primary computing infrastructure for science and engineering, from low end interactive computing to demanding sequential and parallel applications. We identify three opportunities for NOWs that will benefit end- users: dramatically improving virtual memory and file system performance by using the aggregate DRAM of a NOW as a giant cache for disk; achieving cheap, highly available, and scalable file storage by using redundant arrays of workstation disks, using the LAN as the I/O backplane; and finally, multiple CPUs for parallel computing. We describe the technical challenges in exploiting these opportunities - namely, efficient communication hardware and software, global coordination of multiple workstation operating systems, and enterprise-scale network file systems. We are currently building a 100-node NOW prototype to demonstrate that practical solutions exist to these technical challenges.


Cereal Chtm. 65(5):39E397 A laboratary wct-milling process was developed for use in determining however, it did decreaseas both harvest moisture and dryingair temperature starch recovery of yellow dent corn. The effects of harvest moisture and increased. Starch recovery was correlated with quantitative measures of drying air temperature on starch recovery were investigated for lour assorted quality factors. Regression analysis found starch recovery to bea hybrids. A split split-plot experimental design was used to evaluate the function of starch content, test weight, and ethanol-soluble protein. effects. Starch recovery was not significantly diMerent among the hybrids; The shift from natural drying of ear corn to artificial drying of shelied corn is one of the factors that has made the U.S. farmer one of the most productive and efficient in the world. However, the shift has not taken place without negative effects and corn quality problems related to artificial drying (Foster 1965). One industry that has been hurt considerabIy by the vast movement toward artificial drying is the corn wet-milling industry (Wichser 1961). The amount of starch recoverable from a wetmilling process is inverseIy related to the severity of the drying treatment of the incoming corn. Traditionally, millers have relied on extremely limited and highly empirical evaluations of corn quality during purchasing to screen out corn dried under severe conditions (Freeman 1973). For example, the evaluations may consist of a visual inspection and a review of the information provided on the official grain inspection certificate. Nevertheless, some low-quality corn is purchased, resulting in a reduced production of starch. To ensure continuing domestic and foreign markets and to improve the efficiency of wet milling, a simple, rapid, and reliable grain quality evaluation procedure is needed (Wichser 196 1, Freeman 1973). The procedure should quantitatively reIate corn quality to millability. Miliability is defined as the ease with which kernel components are separated and purified by the wet milling process. For the purposes of the study, it was assumed that millability was highly correlated with starch recovery. Wichser (196 1) desired a better method than those presently in use for identifying and separating artificially dried corn. He proposed corn being piaced into Iots according to temperature and other drying conditions used. Freeman (1973) called for simpler and more reliable grain evaluation procedures and inclusion of quality factors not considered in the official grading standards. Both wanted a testing method that would give the wet rniHer an , opportunity to practice selective buying of yellow dent cosn. An early attempt to relate a quality factar with the value of corn for wet milling was undertaken by Baird and co-workers (1950). They concluded that a .test for viability with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride solution appeared to offer promise for the determination of industrial suitability of corn as offered for sale. However, a study by Gausrnan et al(1952) showed the correlation between the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrasolium chloride color test and starch recovery was "less apparent than roughly proportional." UacMasters et al (1954) later concluded that there was no correlation between the color test and starch recovery. Also in 1954, Watson and Hirata reported n method for 'Assistant professor. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Clemmn University, Ckrnson. SC 296340357, ' ~ r o f e s s ~ r , Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana 6tBOI . '~roiessor. Department of Food Science, University of Illinois. Urbana 6 1803. Trade names a n used in this publication salely for the purpose of providing specific information. Mcnlionof a trade name, propnetaryproduct, or specificequipment or company doesnot constituteaguarantce or warranty of the University of Illinorsand doesnot imply approvalof rhcnamcd product to theexclusionof other products that m y be suitable. 1988 Amerlcrn Assmiation of Cereal Chemists, Inc. determining the potentiat millability of steeped grain by visually estimating, through magnification, the amount of starch released when thin slices of steeped corn kernels were brushed. Millability scoreswere obtained for numerous hybrids; however, nocorrelation was made with a starch recovery process. Watson and Hirata observed in 1962 that viability of corn, as


We report a new particle in cell (PIC) method based on the implicit moment method (IMM). The novelty of the new method is that unlike any of its predecessors at the same time retains the explicit computational cycle and conserves energy exactly. Recent research has presented fully implicit methods where energy conservation is obtained as part of a non linear iteration procedure.
The new method, referred to as Energy Conserving Implicit Moment Method (ECIMM), does not require any non linear iteration and its computational cycle is similar to that of explicit PIC.
The properties of then new method are: i) it conserves energy exactly to round-off for any time step or grid spacing; ii) it is unconditionally stable in time, freeing the user from the need to resolve the electron plasma frequency and allowing the user to select any desired time step; iii) it eliminates the constraint of the finite grid instability, allowing the user to select any desired resolution without being forced to resolve the Debye length. These features are achieved at a reduced cost compared with either previous IMM or fully implicit implementation of PIC. The particle mover has a computational complexity identical to that of the explicit PIC, only the field solver has an increased computational cost.
The new ECIMM is tested in a number of benchmarks where accuracy and computational performance are tested.


In order to solve the calculation of the vibration frequency,the results superposition of the three directions vibration and the visual display of the whole domain,the Ansys secondary program has been developed. The program has been implicated in a converter device,the results indicates that it can be more rapid,comprehensive and efficient to analyze fatigue life,theoretical guidance can be provided for the optimization of product structure design.


Objective To investigate the statues of the public's psychological security and to explore the effect of violence exposure and violence attitude on the public's psychological security. Methods Taking a random sample of 278 people and adopting questionnaires to investigate the objects. Results Violence exposure,violence attitude and psychological insecurity significantly positive correlated in each other,while violence exposure significantly negative correlated with certainty sense; psychological insecurity and certainty sense significantly correlated in each other. Violence attitude had mediator effect between violence exposure and psychological insecurity. Conclusion Therefore,reducing the violence exposure in the environment and adjusting the publics' violence attitude can maintain the publics' psychological security.


The stability of the positive constant solution of the competitive model with stage-structure and diffusion under Neumann boundary condition is discussed.Moreover,non- existence conditions for non-constant positive solution are given by using two different ways.


ABSTRACT The ivory trade is of global interest due to its impacts on elephant conservation. Thailand permits the domestic trade of ivory from domesticated elephants. Knowledge of the supply chain is important for managing this market in order to achieve sustainable benefits for both wildlife conservation and human livelihoods. We interviewed elephant owners and ivory manufacturers to conduct an analysis of the Thai ivory supply chain. Five key actor groups operate in this supply chain: elephant owners, intermediaries, manufacturers, retailers, and ivory consumers. Factors influencing the supply of raw ivory vary with harvesting, use, and sale destination but the financial needs of elephant owners and market factors are particularly influential. Elephant owner decisions also depend on elephant management, sentimental values, ivory beliefs, tusk forms, and legal awareness. These findings have the potential to inform the design of monitoring the Thai ivory market.


Pancreatic cancer, mainly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), is currently the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and has a dismal prognosis, which is partially due to its resistance to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Immune therapy has been demonstrated to be effective in many malignancies, but its efficacy in treating PDA has been disappointing. One important reason for this lack of efficacy is the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) that prevents effector T cells from infiltrating, being activated in, and eliminating tumor cells [1]. Researchers are investigating various signaling pathways to identify potential therapeutic targets that can convert the TME to immunoresponsive status to improve immune therapy for PDA.


A series of niobium and tantalum imido complexes with mono-anionic ortho-metallated acetophenone imine ligands have been prepared and characterized using NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. These low symmetry complexes are produced with only one or two structural isomers in all cases and display interesting correlations between the steric bulk of the ligands employed and the isomers formed. Crystal structures of several new niobium and tantalum complexes are presented as confirmation of the connectivity in these structural isomers.


Whether one can learn something about the condensed phase from clusters strongly depends on the property under consideration. For a chem. reaction for instance subtle changes in the electronic and geometric structure when going from the atom to the bulk are detg. for the outcome of the reaction. In our exptl. studies on the chem. properties of cluster-assembled materials, metal atoms and small metal clusters are formed in the gas phase, size-selected and then deposited on thin MgO and TiO2 films grown on metal surfaces. Various chem. reactions on the obtained cluster-assembled materials are then investigated under UHV conditions by means of thermal desorption and IR spectroscopies. Oxidn. and polymn. reactions are strongly dependent on cluster size and on the cluster-support interaction, and not only the no. of product mols. per cluster is changed, but also the branching ratio of the certain reactions. In many cases the measured reactivities are different from the ones obtained for the corresponding bulk systems. In addn., first-principle calcns. are used for studying some of the chem. reactions on oxide supported metal clusters. Detailed reaction mechanisms are proposed, which describe many of the exptl. observations. Comparing the proposed reaction mechanisms with the ones for the bulk analogs can elucidate distinct differencies in the chem. behavior of clusters and condensed matter. [on SciFinder(R)]


302 Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) with S-1 (oral fluoropyrimidine) followed by surgery for the treatment of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer that involved the major visceral artery or the portal venous system. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with pancreatic cancers that abutted the SMA in 10, the CHA in 7, the both SMA and CHA in 1, and occluded the SMV/PV in 10 were treated with NACRT at a single institution. Radiation therapy was delivered at a total dose of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions. S-1 was administered orally at a dose of 80 mg/m(2)/day for 14 consecutive days followed by a 7-day rest period during radiation therapy. After radiotherapy and 2 courses of S-1, restaging was done to evaluate secondary resectability. Results: Of the all patients, 25 underwent a full course of NACRT, and NACRT terminated in 3 patients because of grade 3 leukopenia in 2 and tumor bleeding in 1. Partial response was achieved in 3 pati...


This research paper is Semantic Analysis of Codes on Facebook"s Comment Used among the Member of Motorcycle USA.The objectives of the study are to describe the codes used on facebook"s comment among the member of Motorcycle USA and to describe how the codes are contextually construed. As a descriptive research, the study was conducted by collecting some relevant data and information about the topic or problem of the study. The data collection used the following steps: browsing the page group in www.facebook.com; choosing the page group as the data. The researcher choose https://www.facebook.com/MotorcycleUSA; reading the page in order to get some understanding; and ssegmenting the words.
The data was taken from page group of Motorcycle USA in www.facebook.com, dated on August 1st-5th, 2014. Observing words and phrase written in facebook"s comment. The researcher analyzed sentences that have semantic codes used in www.facebook.com, dated on August 1st-5th, 2014. This study focuses on the semantic codes proposed by Baugh"s classification (1963: 372-376). In this research, there are 32 semantic codes and categorized into 8 classification. The first domination is connotation with 10 codes or 31, 25%. It can be happened because there are a lot of word that have different meaning from the Semantics meaning or denotation. It shares between the bikers community. As the result, it will have different meaning and interpretation. The second domination is Narrowing with 7 codes or 21,875%. The third domination is homonyms with 5 codes or 15, 625%. The fourth domination is amelioration with 4 codes or 12,5%. The fourth domination is pejoration and antonym with each 2 codes or 6,25. The last domination is denotation and synonym with each 1 code or 3,125%. Generalization/extension is not found in the data.


For the purpose to simulate the changing process of land use pattern in urbanization, it is necessary to quantify the preference functions of various land users, such as commerce, industry and household.In this paper we have proposed a new method for the estimation of the preference functions by means of statistic discriminant function, which are composed of the accessibility to some urban activities, amenity level and other social and natural environment.First of all, we assumed that the behavior of each land user is making his utility maximum within the limit of the budget for land. Then on this assumption we defined the fact that land user located a certain land means that he prefers it to other lands where he did not locate, and have estimated the preference functions of commerce, industry and household respectively, using data on the land use map of Osaka Prefecture, 1965.The result of the estimation shows as follows: First, each estimated preference function adequately justifies our assumption. Second, the preference function of commerce is similar to that of household, but not to that of industry. Third, the preference function of commerce is strongly effected both by accessibility to the C. B. D. and neighboring land use; that of industry by the industrial water supply and that of household by accessibility, construction cost and public utility level.


A new rapid iodination reagent, N1,N3,N5-tris[(2,4,6-trimethylpyridine)iodo(I)]-2,4,6-triphenyl-s-triazine trihexafluorophosphate, was synthesized in a modification of the established synthesis of 2,4,6-triiodo-3,5-dimethylphenol in the presence of bis(2,4,6-trimethylpyridine)iodo(I) hexafluorophosphate and used for the precise post-modification of mono- and trisubstituted phenyl compounds. We performed triple iodinations with our new phenyl-based compounds as a proof of principle of selected types of phenols, ß-sympatholytic agents and their spin-labeled derivatives, which can be employed in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The new rapid iodination reagent can be employed with high reactivity and regioselectivity.


Summary

Choanocyte or Collar-Cell.

1
The nuclear background contains a fairly dense basophil substance, which is either a dense linin network or a chromophil karyoplasm—more probably the latter (Pl. 19. fig. 1).

2
The collar of the choanocyte has two thickenings, an inner and an outer; the latter one is very well marked; both thickenings are more easily seen in the partly withdrawn collar (Pl. 19. fig. 1, B).

3
The collar consists of delicate protoplasm which is best preserved by prolonged osmication; the collar-cell is often drawn out into two regions, an outer "neck" and an inner "base," containing all the granules and the nucleus (Pl. 19. fig. 4); the Golgi apparatus and centrosome generally lie in the " neck," other granules in the "base."

4
Collar-cells contain three cell-elements other than the nucleus: the Golgi apparatus (and centrosome), the mitochondria, and metaplasmic store-granules.

5
The mitochondria are irregular, but fine, and lie around the nucleus (PI. 19. fig. 1, M, fig. 3, M.)

6
The metaplasmic or yolky store granules are much larger than the mitochondria, but lie in the same region. (Pl. 19. figs. 1 and 4, Y).

7
The Golgi apparatus lies in the "neck" of the bottle-shaped cell, either upon the nucleus (Pl. 19. fig. 1, A) or separately (Pl. 19. fig. 1, B).

8
In certain definite cases the centrosome is seen to lie inside the Golgi apparatus (Pl. 19. fig. 1, A) and the flagellum originates from the centrosome.


Recent studies have indicated that somatic mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene have been identified in a subset of patients with nonsmall‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are associated with sensitivity to the EGFR‐tyrosine‐kinase inhibitors. These mutations have been reported to be almost exclusively found in a pulmonary adenocarcinoma subgroup of NSCLC, with a low frequency in other solid tumors. We describe a patient with advanced‐stage papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) whose disease had been diagnosed as pulmonary adenocarcinoma at first, and who had a marked response to the EGFR‐tyrosine‐kinase inhibitor, gefitinib. An in‐frame deletion in exon 19 that eliminated 4 amino acids at positions 746 through 750, which is one of the common drug‐sensitive mutations in pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and a serine‐to‐proline substitution at codon 752, were found in a tumor specimen of the patient. We subsequently searched for mutations in the EGFR tyrosine kinase domain in primary tumors from 23 patients with PTC, and drug‐sensitive mutations commonly observed in pulmonary adenocarcinoma were found in 7 of these patients. Our observation of a high frequency of the EGFR‐activating mutations in PTC suggests that the EGFR mutation may be an important event in the development of PTC. EGFR gene amplification, also considered to be a predictor of response to EGFR‐tyrosine‐kinase inhibitors, was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); however, only 1 FISH‐positive tumor was detected. Our data suggest that EGFR‐tyrosine‐kinase inhibitors may deserve consideration in the treatment of a subset of patients with PTC, just as with pulmonary adenocarcinoma. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This paper develops a method for generating smooth trajectories for a moving rigid body with speciied boundary conditions. It is well known that SE(3), the set of all rigid body translations and orientations, is a non Euclidean space. In general, the problem of determining trajectories that are optimal with respect to some meaningful metric does not have an analytical solution. Thus it is diicult to develop eecient solutions for real time applications in computer graphics and robotics. In this paper, we consider SE(n) to be a submanifold (and a subgroup) of the Lie group of aane maps in IR n , GA(n). Our method involves two key steps: (1) the generation of optimal trajectories in GA(n); and (2) the projection of the trajectories from GA(n) to SE(n). The overall procedure is invariant with respect to both the local coordinates on the manifold and the choice of the inertial frame. The beneets of the method are twofold. First, it is possible to apply any of the variety of well-known, eecient techniques to generate optimal curves on GA(n) 7, 8]. Second, the method yields approximations to optimal solutions for general choices of Riemannian metrics on SE(3). We rst show how one can deene a metric on the general linear group, GL(n), so that it induces an appropriate metric on SO(n). A similar procedure is used to equip GA(n) with a metric that induces a suitable metric in SE(n). We deene a projection operator, which allows us to project points and curves in the ambient space to SO(n) and SE(n), and establish its invariance with respect to changes in coordinates and reference frames. The projection yields motions that are near optimal on SE(n). Finally, we present results that illustrate the near optimality of the projected curves.


This research is an empirical study of the circulation efficiency evaluation during 1996-2010 in China.After a factor analysis of index data on the circulation efficiency of China's forest product in a macro sense,it shows that the long-term trend of the circulation efficiency keeps upward,while it also has sharp fluctuations.The circulation efficiency has been greatly affected by the national industrial policy and social developing environment.


In the sandpile model, we are given an undirected graph G and an initial list of chip counts on each vertex of G and we may fire degree(v) chips from any vertex v to its neighbors. Doing chip moves either results in a unique terminal configuration or recurs forever. On many families of graphs - including trees - the problem of computing the final configuration is P-complete [13] and simulation can take as long as Θ(n3) time. We give a O(n log5 n) time algorithm for trees that computes the terminal configuration or shows that chip firing will not terminate.


"Three writers connected across the Atlantic and Pacific produced cogent critiques of their native countries in part as a result of their immersion in other cultures, which provided them with critical distance from which to observe domestic mores and policies.... All three writers were nonconformists in their own countries who identified acutely with overseas people and places. Dickinson was gay at a time when homosexuality was outlawed in England; Xu launched the first modern divorce in China; and Buck was subject to a witch hunt in 1933.... when alarming nationalist ideologies are on the rise in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, it might behoove us to revisit three generously open-minded writers whose sympathy and empathy for the "other" allowed them to become staunch critics of the ideologies of their own countries: Britain, China, and the United States, respectively."


Thin wires are produced by drawing through nozzle-like tools, so called dies, that suffer from strong wear due to friction. In order to avoid the latter disadvantage the dies can be replaced by a laser beam heating the wire to such extend that the yield strength becomes smaller than the tensile strength and thus the wire is elongated and consequently constricted. To avoid rupture, the wire is cooled down again after the desired reduction of the diameter is reached. A further important advantage of this new process is that only one drawing step with a laser can substitute a large number of mechanical drawing actions, thus making the process much more efficient. Theoretical considerations and experimental investigations prove the feasibility of the latter new laser process and are subject to a description in the actual paper.


The sensory and instrumental method as well as their corresponding parameters for texture evaluation of cheese were discussed,in the mean time,the study necessity of correlation between the instrumental and sensory parameters was described.Based on the discussion,the status and progress in the related study between the parameters of two methods were comprehensively summarized.


In the following tables I have attempted to classify and to estimate the relative prevalence, first, of the causes of the disabilities, and second, of the actual disabilities. The tables have been compiled from 500 cases that were discharged from the army by Medical Boards and 1,000 cases seen on the Pensions Boards during the year 1920. Causes of the surgical disabilities.?The percentages of causes were almost alike in the two groups. Wounds of the fore-arm and hand, . 24*3 per cent.


Feferman has proposed FS0, a theory of finitary inductive systems, as a framework theory that allows a user to reason both in and about an encoded theory. I look here at how practical FS0 really is. To this end I formalise a sequent calculus presentation of classical propositional logic, and show this can be used for work in both the theory and the metatheory. the latter is illustrated with a discussion of a proof of Gentzen's Hauptsatz.


Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was (1) to examine demographic and medical predictors of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and (2) to provide a normative table for the SWLS that includes appropriate adjustments for the most important predictors of life satisfaction. Study Design: We examined predictors of the SWLS including age, education, sex, race, injury duration, number of rehospitalizations, marital status, employment status, SCI etiology, and level of neurological impairment. Participants: Individuals in the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center database [from 18 SCI model systems (1995-1999)] undergoing follow-up assessment were included for study. Outcome Measure: Satisfaction With Life Scale. Results: Univariate analyses indicated that marital and employment status, race, sex, education, and injury duration were significant factors associated with scores on the SWLS. In general, individuals who were female, white, married, and currently employed and had a higher education and longer injury duration reported significantly higher scores on the SWLS (P <.01). Effect-size estimates for these factors ranged from 0.16 to 0.41. Regression analyses showed that education, employment status, and injury duration were the strongest unique predictors of satisfaction with life but accounted for only 10% of the variance. Conclusion: The SWLS is a global measure of life satisfaction and is relatively unre ated to demographic and medical characteristics. Normative tables are provided for epidemiologic comparison.


Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is an acute, life-threatening condition which is typically induced by stress and manifested by chest pain and ECG changes. The TTC prevalence among patients (pts) with acute coronary syndrome is 1.7–2.2%. The mortality rate from TTC is up to 8%. TTC is clinically indistinguishable from acute myocardial infarction (AIM). Differential diagnosis of TTC and AIM remains an unresolved problem. Recent studies have shown the differences in profiles of plasma microRNAs inTTC and AIM.

 To evaluate the possibility of differentiating TTC and AIM using a PCR-based semi-quantitative analysis of mRNAs, the plasma levels of which had been shown to be increased in patients with AIM (miR-1, miR-208a, miR-133a, miR-499a) and TTC (miR-16, miR-26a).

 Plasma from 38 pts was used: 13 pts with confirmed TTC (12 women, 1 man), 25 pts with AIM (9w, 16m). For 10 pts with AIM, blood was collected twice: at 6 and 24 hours after the heart attack. The control arm comprised 40 healthy people from the same age group (12w, 28m). Plasma was obtained using the Cell-Free DNA blood collection tubes. Nucleic acids were separated using a modified Boom method. A semi-quantitative assessment of the mRNA levels was performed using dCq method with stem-loop qRT-PCR. Normalization for spiked synthetic cel-miR-39 and endogenous miR-23a was performed. Control of hemolysis was performed by measuring the ratio of miR-451 (specific for RBCs) and miR-23a (absent from RBCs). The statistical significance of differences between mRNA levels was assessed using Mann–Whitney test.

 No significant differences in the levels of miR-16, miR-26a and miR-208a in TTC group and control group have been found. Pts with AIM significantly differed from pts with TTC (p=0.0038 and 0.0002, respectively) and control pts (p=3.1x10–9 and 2,66x10–10) with the increased levels of cardiac-specific miR-1 and miR-133a. As compared to plasma levels at 6 hours after the heart attack, at 24-hour point the levels of these mRNAs were markedly reduced in 9 of 10 pts (mean reduction was 22.3-fold for miR-133a and 7.5-fold for miR-1). The correlation between changes in the levels of these mRNAs was high (Spearman correlation coefficient=0.89). Significant differences in plasma levels of miR-133a between pts with AIM and TTC were maintained even if blood was collected after 24 hours (p=0.007). For miR-16 and miR-26a, no significant differences between pts with AIM and TTC were found. The results of analysis of these mRNAs are affected to a substantial degree by the residual hemolysis due to their high content in blood cells.

 It was shown that measuring the plasma levels of mRNAs miR-1 and miR-133a allows to distinguish TTC from AIM by excluding the diagnosis of TTC. The differential diagnosis is possible only within several hours after acute clinical symptoms and requires proper normalization and full compliance with the technical specifications.


. The subject of the study is an analysis of the procedures related to the selection of the most advantageous offer in the process defined in the public procurement law. Pointing out the essence of the problem in the area of public financial resources management, attention was paid first of all to legal solutions, their number of changes since the first act was passed in 1994, and to the essence of public financial resources management in the surrounding reality. Based on an analysis of Internet resources randomly selected from more than 50 local governments, mainly districts of large Polish cities, the transparency of public procurement procedures was assessed. Thus, with regard to a particular district, the methods of case study and expert analysis were used in scientific evaluation of the public procurement phenomenon. Then, on the basis of the literature and analysis of the surrounding reality, changes were indicated, the introduction of which will improve public procurement. The results of the research in particular boroughs were used to diagnose the research problem related to transparency in public procurement proceedings and to achieve the objective, which was to develop a state diagnosis and proposals of changes ensuring an increase in the level of utilisation of public financial resources. It was assumed in the study that proper management of public financial resources in the area of expenses, especially those covered by public procurement law, eliminates excessive debt and thus creates security in the area of local financial resources. At the end of the study, recommendations were presented to eliminate the identified shortcomings in the legal solutions and functioning public procurement procedures.


Purple field corn (Zea mays L.) contains anthocyanins in the grain pericarp and corncob. Several studies undertaken by RMUTL Thailand have shown that purple field corn anthocyanins were not harmful on the productive performance, egg quality and carcass quality in Japanese quail and laying hens. For bioactivity, preliminary evidence of crude extracts of anthocyanins from purple field corncob inhibited growth of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. This experiment used four levels of purple field corn (20, 30, 40 and 60%) as energy sources in broiler rations. These feeding trials were compared with yellow corn for carcass quality. Nine hundred chicks were fed at one day of age. At 42 days of age, six hundred of the birds were random selected and slaughtered to evaluate percentage of carcass, visceral organs and abdominal fat (% of live body weight). The randomized complete block design (RCBD) was tested with 5 treatments and 2 replicates (male and female birds) of 60 birds each. Within sex results were significant (P<0.05) in terms of average percentage of drumstick, breast fillet, gizzard and were highly significant (P<0.01) in the shank. No significant (P>0.05) effects on dressing percentage, liver, gizzard, spleen, bursa gland, winglet (upper wing), wing drumette (lower wing), thigh, shank, breast and breast fillet were detected, except for heart weight and abdominal fat. The percentage of heart weight was highly significant (P<0.01) reducing with increased purple field corn level in diets. This paper showed that purple field corn anthocyanins may be useful for heart health.


This paper investigates the effect of headlight type (daytime running lights, high beams, and modulating headlights) and rider color (bright yellow, blue denim, and black clothing and helmet) on the visual conspicuity of a motorcycle to younger (25 to 55 years old) and older drivers (65 and older) of a passenger vehicle in simulated urban and rural environments. Thirty-six participants completed two study drives on the National Advanced Driving Simulator-2. During the drives, participants were presented with six oncoming motorcycles and three leading parked motorcycles, each with a different combination of rider color and headlight type. Participants indicated when each motorcycle was first visible to them by pressing a button on the steering wheel of the driving simulator for different combinations of rider colors and headlight types. Detection distances from the motorcycles to the participant vehicles were recorded and analyzed. Repeated measures of analysis of variance indicated significant main effects of headlight types as well as interaction effects between rider color and headlight type for oncoming motorcycles. Results also revealed significant main effects of driving environments and rider color, and interaction effects among the driving environments, rider color, and age groups of the participants for leading motorcycles. The results revealed the importance of using a modulating headlight and wearing a bright helmet and clothing while riding motorcycles to increase motorcycle conspicuity. These findings can be put into practice in the design of motorcycle conspicuity-related campaigns and interventions, such as encouraging riders to use modulating headlights and to wear appropriate clothing.


Dear Sir,

Intraoperative or immediate development of contralateral hematoma, following decompressive craniectomy, with or without a coexisting fracture/hematoma, is a well documented entity in the literature.[1,2,3,4] Having read the following article "Contralateral delayed epidural hematoma following intra cerebral hematoma surgery" by Solomiichuk and Drizhdov,[4] had few queries/doubts. This 28-year-old male, who had a traumatic left frontal contusion with a fracture of right temporal bone, was treated by the left sided hemicraniectomy and evacuation of intracerebral haematoma in left frontal lobe. The authors have mentioned an intraoperative event of acute brain swelling, a well documented entity due to loss of tamponade effect resulting in contralateral hematomas, which warrants imaging in the immediate postoperative period.[5] However, the imaging was delayed for reasons not mentioned. On contacting the authors through the editor, the authors contended that the patient was hemodynamically unstable and that was the reason for delay in obtaining the computed tomography (CT) scan. Had the patient been hemodynamically stable, the authors too would have obtained a control CT scan immediately. Development of anisocoria is a late event in the manifestation of transtentorial herniation with other features, especially the initial clouding of consciousness being masked by an already poor preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS; 5/15). In the absence of immediate postoperative scan, the clinical and operative findings are not consistent with the term "delayed" occurrence of contralateral hematoma, for it could have developed when there was a brain swelling and was detected at a later date when all the described signs of herniation had developed. In fact, this is a case best strengthening the classical teaching of obtaining an imaging in the immediate postoperative period with the backdrop of adverse events intraoperatively (acute brain swelling), to rule in or out surgically treatable causes.

However, circumstances may sometimes be unfavorable for shifting an hemodynamically unstable patient (as in the present case). This problem could possibly be avoided with widespread availability of mobile CT scanner in trauma care centers. The very aim of urgency in the setting of trauma is to have a relaxed brain at the earliest.

The debate might not end here but we should aim to develop protocols for improved care especially following an adverse event.


The nimodipine solid lipid nanoparticles(SLN) were prepared by the high pressure homogenizer.An uniform experimental design was used to establish the optimal conditions.The mean diameter of the SLN was 0.3 μm,and drug loading was 3%.;


THE data on the performance of the Malaysian economy from January to March this year has been released. Had it not been for the thriving performance of domestic demand, the economy would have slipped further from the average market expectation.


Illegal drugs are solid or liquid substances, gases that cause physical and psychological changes in the body, almost all drugs affect the central nervous system, drugs act on the brain and can affect anesthesia, view the emergence of side effects and the high persistence to use illegal drugs without being prescribed by a doctor and can cause drug addiction or addiction. Some factors cause drug users, namely environmental factors, family factors and social factors, and 179 drug users in Bulukumba class IIA prisons.The purpose of this study: is to know the factors of the use of illegal drugs in class IIA Bulukumba. The research design used was a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach through in-depth interview techniques. Data was collected in the form of records and results of interviews. Respondents in this study amounted to 6 people using illegal drugs who were selected by purposive sampling. In this study, several theme analysis results were obtained, namely (1) first try (2) the influence of family factors (3) the influence of social factors. Conclusion: Drug users occur as a result of the first try factor, high curiosity, and friend invitations, drug users occur due to family factors, and drug users occur as a result of free sex.


The aim of this study was to determine how varying the inputted surface area value of wood samples would affect the determination of kiln-drying schedules using the drastic drying test. For this purpose, eight individuals of two Eucalyptus clones were selected. Specimens were obtained for drastic drying tests at 100 °C, to measure the basic density and to determine the initial moisture content. The initial and final temperatures and the drying potential were calculated in 100 mm × 50 mm × 10 mm samples, considering the surface area to be 130 cm² (Updated Method), in contrast to the surface area of 100 cm ² that is commonly used in the method known as the Standard Method. Based on these findings, kiln-drying schedules were set for the lumber from each clone. Although the significant differences aforementioned, it was observed that the drying schedules developed by Standard Method and Updated Method are similar.


The total X-ray intensity as a function of h (h is the radial coordinate in reciprocal space), scattered by an isotropic system of particles of equal shapes but of different sizes R, can, under certain conditions, be expressed as an integral over the particle size distribution function D(R), multiplied by a common single-particle function of hR which can be calculated from the assumed particle shape. In the first method D(R) is calculated from this relation by the method of least squares, in which values of D at a limited number of particle sizes are the unknowns. To avoid oscillations in the D curve, constraints are imposed on the D values. The proper weight to be assigned to these constraints must be determined by trial and error. The method has been adapted to suit various assumptions and requirements as to the shape of the particles, the type of distribution function to be calculated, and experimental conditions (slit or pinhole focusing). The second method is essentially the one described by Schmidt, Weil & Brill [X-ray & Electron Methods of Analysis, pp. 86–100. (1968), New York: Plenum], which, however, is adapted to the use of slit-smeared intensities. Both methods may give rise to artefacts in the calculated distribution functions in the range of the smallest particle sizes, which are sensitive to the setting of the various parameters and to experimental errors. However, the position and shape of the main maxima can usually be determined quite well. The agreement between the results obtained by the two methods is satisfactory.


Swedish strawberries, being essential in the celebration of Midsummer and the solstice, hold a strong market position. During the summer season the domestic products have a market share of seventy per cent and meet import competition mainly from Belgium and Germany. A study of some 400 consumers was carried out in 2009 in three different locations in southern Sweden, with the aim of finding out more about purchases, attitudes and views on quality criteria and the length of the season. Over 90 per cent of the respondents stated that they, or someone in their household, had bought strawberries by late June and more than 80 per cent claimed that they bought mostly Swedish berries. Attitudes towards Swedish and Belgian or German strawberries were explored through opinions on different statements about quality criteria, ranging from 1 to 5. The domestic products got high opinions and were considered sweet, fine, tasty and of high quality, and relatively long-lasting, and not sour or watery. The ranking was more favourable than for the imported strawberries, which got marks near the middle. About a fifth of the respondents had no opinion of Belgian or German strawberries. The consumers may, thus, be described as unaware of rather than negative towards imported strawberries. As for the development of the taste a greater number of respondents believed that taste had improved over the last five years than who believed it had declined: an opinion that was more pronounced for the domestic products. Some 80 per cent of these consumers stated that they bought mainly Swedish strawberries during the season, which was defined as starting in mid-June and ending some time between mid-July and late August; a time when there are few strawberries on the market. Two thirds were content with this season, while one third wished it was longer. Statistical analyses showed only slight differences in the results depending on background variables like age, gender and location.